,,the ,,atlantic ,,monthly4    ,a       
,,magazine ,,of ,,literature1 ,,art1    
,,and ,,politics4    ,,vol4             
,,iii4--,,may1 #ahei4--,,no4 ,,xix4     
,,the ,,gymnasium4      ,two distinct   
yet harmonious branches of study claimed
 the early  attention of the youth of   
ancient ,greece4 ,education was         
comprised in  the two words1 ,music and 
,gymnastics4 ,plato includes it all     
under these  divisions3--,that having   
reference to the body is gymnastics1 but
 to the  cultivation of the mind1 music4
    ,grammar was sometimes distinguished
 from the other branches classed  under 
the term1 ,music2 and comprehended1     
besides a knowledge of  language1       
something of poetry1 eloquence1 and     
history4 ,music embraced  all the arts  
and sciences over which the ,muses      
presided4    ,grammar1 ,music1 and      
,gymnastics1 then1 comprised the whole  
curriculum  of study which was          
prescribed to the ,athenian boy4 ,there 
were not  separate and distinct learned 

professions1 or faculties1 to so great  
an extent as in modern times4 ,the      
compass of knowledge was far less       
defined1 and the studies and attainments
 of the individual more  miscellaneous4 
,some of the arts rose to an            
unparalleled perfection4  ,architecture 
and sculpture attained an excellence    
which no subsequent  civilization has   
reached4 ,but the practical application 
of the sciences  to daily use was almost
 entirely neglected2 and inventions and 
mechanics  languished until the far     
later uprising of the ,saxon mind4      
,yet the whole system of education among
 the ,greeks was peculiarly  calculated 
for the development of the powers of the
 mind and of the body  in common4 ,and  
it is from this point of view that we   
wish to consider  it1 and to show the   
nature and preeminence of gymnastics in 
their times  as compared with our own4  
,doubtless ,grecian ,art owed its       
superiority1 in some degree1 to the     
gymnasium4 ,living models of manliness1 

grace1 and beauty were daily  before the
 artist's eye4 ,the stadium furnished   
its fleet runners1  nimble as the       
wing-footed ,mercury1--fit types for his
 light and airy  conceptions2 while the 
arena of the athletes offered marvellous
  opportunities for the study of muscle 
and posture1 to show its results  in the
 burly limbs of ,hercules or the        
starting sinews of ,laocon4 ,many  of   
the most lifelike groups of marble which
 remain to us from that time  are but   
copies of the living statues who        
wrestled or threw the quoit in  the     
public gymnasium4    ,it is worthy of   
remark1 in corroboration of this view1  
that the  department of the fine arts   
which depended on outline surpassed     
that which derived its power from       
coloring and perspective4 ,the          
sculptors far excelled the painters4    
,the statue was the natural result  of  
the imitative faculty surveying the nude
 human figure in every  posture of      
activity or repose4 ,pictures came      

later1 from more educated  senses1 and  
from minds which had first learned      
outward nature through  the medium of   
the simpler arts4    ,the ancient       
gymnasium1 apart from its baths and     
philosophic groves1  was far from being1
 as with us1 a mere appendage of the    
school4 ,modern  instructors advertise1 
that1 in addition to teachers of every  
tongue and  art1 a gymnasium is attached
 to their educational institutions4 ,in 
old  times1 the gymnasium was the       
school1--the public games and festivals 
its  annual exhibitions4    ,the word   
gymnasium has reference in its          
derivation to the nude or  semi-nude    
condition of those who exercised there4 
,but in their proper  classical         
interpretation the public gymnasia were1
 to a great extent1  places set apart   
for physical education and training4    
,gymnastics1  indeed1 in the broadest   
sense of the word1 have been cultivated 
in all  ages4 ,the spontaneous exercises
 and mimic contests of the boys of all  

countries1 the friendly emulation of    
robust youth in trials of speed and     
strength1 and the discipline and        
training of the military recruit have   
in them much of the true gymnastic      
element4 ,in ,attica and ,ionia they    
were first adapted to their noblest     
ends4    ,the hardy ,spartans1 who      
valued most the qualities of bravery1   
endurance1  and self-denial1 used the   
gymnasia only as schools of training for
 the  more sanguinary contests of war4  
,so1 too1 the martial ,roman despised   
those who practised gymnastics with any 
other object than as fitting  them to be
 better soldiers4 ,yet to so great a    
degree were these  exercises cultivated1
 even by the latter nation1 that the    
,roman private  of the line did his     
fifteen or twenty miles' daily march    
under a weight  of camp-equipage and    
weapons which would have foundered some 
of the  best-drilled modern warriors1   
and concluded his day's labors by       
digging  the trenches of his camp at    

night4 ,the ponderous pilum1 and the    
heavy1  straight sword of the infantry  
were exchanged in the barrack-yard for  
drill-weapons of twice their weight2 and
 so perfectly were the detail  and      
regularity of actual service carried out
 in their daily discipline1  that1 as an
 ancient writer has remarked1 their     
sham-fights and reviews  differed only  
in bloodshed from real battles4 ,the    
soldier of the early  ,republic was     
hence taught gymnastics only as a means 
of increasing his  efficiency2 the lax  
praetorian and the corrupt populace of  
the ,empire  turned gladly from the     
gymnasium to the circus and the         
amphitheatre4    ,in the same manner    
were these exercises regarded by the    
,dorians and the  people of some other  
of the ,grecian ,states4 ,the           
inhabitants of ,attica  and of ,ionia1  
on opposite shores of the ,aegean1 as   
more cultivated  races1 viewed them in a
 more correct physiological light4 ,but 
it was at  ,athens that the gymnasium   

was held in highest repute4    ,we read 
that ,solon1 the ,athenian lawgiver1    
first established particular            
regulations for its government4 ,attic  
legends1 however1 gratefully  refer the 
earliest rules of the gymnasium to      
,theseus1 as to one of the  mightiest of
 the mythical heroes1--the emulator of  
,hercules1 slayer of  the ,minotaur1 and
 conqueror of the ,amazons4 ,hermes was 
the presiding  deity1 which may appear  
strange to us1 as he was as noted for an
  unworthy cunning as for his dexterity4
 ,generous emulation and  magnanimity   
were regarded as the noblest qualities  
called forth in  gymnastic exercises2   
and ,mercury seems a fitter tutelar     
divinity of the  wary boxer and of the  
race-course than of the whole gymnasium4
    ,probably no ,greek town of any     
importance was destitute of one of      
these schools of exercise4 ,athens      
boasted three public gymnasia1--the     
,cynosarges1 the ,lyceum1 and the       
,academy4 ,these were the daily resort  

of young and old alike1 though certain  
penal laws forbade them from  exercising
 together at the same hour4    ,the     
school-boy frequented them as part of   
his daily task2 the young man  of       
leisure1 as an agreeable lounging-place2
 the scholar1 to listen  to the master  
in philosophy2 the sedentary1 for their 
customary  constitutional on the        
foot-course2 and the invalid and the    
aged1 to  court the return of health1 or
 to retain somewhat of the vigor of     
their  earlier years4 ,the ,athenians   
wisely held that there could be no      
health  of the mind1 unless the body    
were cared for1--and viewed exercise    
also  as a powerful remedial agent in   
disease4 ,such a variety of useful      
purposes were thus subserved by the     
gymnasia1 that it will be proper  to    
look briefly at their internal          
arrangements4 ,we shall follow the      
description which has been left us by   
,vitruvius4    ,the ancient gymnasium   
was generally situated in the suburbs1  

and was  often as large as a stadium    
7six hundred and twenty-five feet7      
square4 ,its principal entrance faced   
the east4 ,a quadrangular inclosure     
comprehended two principal courts1      
divided by a party-wall4 ,the eastern   
court was called the peristylium1 from  
the rows of columns which  surrounded   
it2 the western also was bordered by    
porticos1 but for it  we have no        
distinct name4 ,the peristyle must have 
been from one to two  hundred feet      
square4 ,it was sometimes termed the    
palaestra1 though  this name was        
afterwards restricted to the            
training-school of the  athletes proper1
 who made gymnastics the business of    
their lives4 ,it was  also styled the   
sphaeristerium1 or ball-ground1 to which
 the nearest  approach in modern times  
is the tennis-court4 ,the chief western 
inclosure was planted with plane-trees  
in regular order1 with walls  between   
them and seats of the so-called signine 
work1 and was about  one half larger    

than the peristyle4 ,the space between  
the columns of the  latter and the outer
 walls allowed sufficient room for rows 
of chambers1  halls1 and corridors1     
whose uses we will next designate4      
,the first room on the right1 as one    
entered the east gate1 was the  loutron1
 or room for washing1 distinct from the 
regular baths4 ,next1  in the northeast 
corner1 was the conisterium1 where sand 
was kept for  sprinkling the wrestlers  
after they had been anointed for the    
struggle4  ,west of this lay the        
coryceum1 a hall for exercising with a  
sack of  sand suspended from the roof4  
,it seems plausible to suppose that this
  exercise corresponded with that more  
recently practised by ,mr4 ,thomas      
,hyer1 previously to his fight with     
,yankee ,sullivan4 ,a bag of sand1 equal
  in weight to his adversary1 was daily 
pommelled by the champion of  ,america  
until he could make it swing and recoil 
satisfactorily4    ,adjoining this room 
were two small apartments called the    

ephebeum and  the elaeothesium          
respectively4 ,the former was devoted to
 preparatory  exercise1 probably by way 
of warming up for severer efforts2 the  
latter  was used for anointing1 and was 
connected with the baths1 which followed
  next in order4 ,these were the        
frigidarium1 the caldarium1 the         
sudatorium1 and the tepidarium1 for the 
cold1 the hot1 the sweating  or vapor1  
and the warm baths4 ,they did not       
possess the magnitude and  ornament of  
the ,roman thermae4 ,they were used in  
connection with and  after exercising1  
and were enough for all practical       
purposes4 ,bathing  was not then the    
business of hours every day1 as it was  
later in the  ,roman ,empire1 when the  
luxurious subjects of ,caracalla        
indulged several  times in the          
twenty-four hours in such a variety of  
ablutions as would  have satisfied a    
,sandwich-,islander4    ,we have now    
arrived at a point nearly opposite our  
entrance at the east1  and1 continuing  

round the southwest1 south1 and         
southeast sides of the  peristyle1 find 
a large number of consecutive chambers  
devoted mainly to  the philosophers1 as 
lecture-rooms and auditories for their  
classes  and followers4 ,on the north   
side of the peristyle is a double       
portico  containing the exedrae1 or     
seats of the sophists1 where each most  
cunning rhetorician delivered his       
opinions ex cathedr1 and lay in  wait   
for any passer whom he could insnare    
into an argument4 ,the groves  of the   
great western court were probably used  
by the lounger1 the  contemplative1 and 
the studious1 if we may judge by        
numerous seats and  benches1 at         
convenient intervals4 ,on the south side
 of these was again a  double portico2  
and on the north1 outside the pillars1  
the xystus1  or covered porch1 where the
 athletes exercised in winter and in bad
  weather4 ,the arena was twelve feet   
wide1 and sunk a foot and a half  below 
a marginal path of ten feet1 where      

spectators could walk4 ,on the  north   
and south sides of the whole building   
were wings1 of less width1  extending   
nearly its entire length4 ,that on the  
north contained  the stadium1 or        
foot-race course1 which was1 however1   
sometimes  disconnected from the        
gymnasium4 ,the south wing was of like  
dimensions1  and adorned with           
plane-trees and walks1 forming a more   
private retreat4    ,it will be readily 
conceived that this vast area was not   
devoted  exclusively to physical        
exercises4 ,logic1 rhetoric1 and        
metaphysics  claimed their place in this
 common focus of the city's life1 and   
were  the delight of the subtile        
,greeks4 ,the ,socratic reasoning and   
the  syllogisms of ,aristotle met here  
on common ground4 ,the ,stoics1 with    
their stern fatalism1 derived their name
 from the stoae1 or porticos2  the      
,peripatetics imparted their ambulatory 
instructions under the  plane-trees of  
the ,lyceum--and ,plato reasoned in the 

,academy1 which he  held with his       
school1 and into which no ungeometrical 
mind was to enter4  ,and though some dog
 of a ,cynic might despise the union of 
the ornamental  with the useful1 and    
claim austerity as the rule of life1 yet
 to the  great body of the social ,greek
 people the gymnasium offered all those 
attractions which boulevards1 cafs1 and 
jardins-chantants do  now to the ,gallic
 nation4 ,there is more than one point  
of resemblance  between the two         
countries2 but while the ,athenian had  
the same mercurial  qualities1 which    
fitted him for outdoor life1 he had even
 a less  comfortable domestic           
establishment to retain him at home than
 the modern  ,parisian4    ,we must     
turn1 however1 rather to the physical   
view of the gymnasium4 ,all  the sports 
of the gymnasia were either games1 or   
special exercises for  the contests of  
the public festivals4 ,and here a       
distinction must be  made between       
amateur and professional gymnasts4 ,the 

former were  styled agonistae1 and      
exercised in the public gymnasium2 the  
latter  athletae1 and were trained      
fighters1 whose school was the          
palaestra4  ,at first frequenting the   
same1 they afterwards became divided    
between  two institutions4 ,some of the 
harsher sports of the prize-fighters    
were  not thought genteel for           
well-nurtured youths to indulge in4     
,among the  simpler games were the ball1
 played in various ways1 and the top1   
which  was as popular with juveniles    
then as now4 ,the sport called skaperda 
can be seen in any gymnasium of to-day1 
and consisted in two boys  drawing each 
other up and down by the ends of a rope 
passing over a  pulley4 ,familiar still 
is also a game of dexterity played with 
five  stones thrown from the upper part 
of the hand and caught in the palm4     
,various other gentle exercises might be
 mentioned4    ,the training for the    
public games was comprised in the       
pentathlon1 or  five exercises1--which  

were running1 leaping1 throwing the     
discus1  wrestling1 boxing4 ,the first  
four were practised also by amateurs1   
and  by most persons who frequented the 
gymnasium for health4    ,the race1 run 
upon the foot-race course1 was between  
fixed boundaries1  about a stadium      
apart4 ,the distances run were from one 
to twenty  stadia1 or from one-eighth of
 a mile to two and a half miles1 and    
sometimes more4 ,this exercise was much 
followed4 ,horses were sometimes        
introduced1 but then the hippodrome was 
the course4 ,they ran without  riders1  
as at the ,roman carnival1 or with      
chariots4 ,horse-racing was  most       
popular in the ,roman circus1 whose     
ruins still show its massiveness  and   
great size4    ,leaping was performed   
also within fixed limits1--generally    
with metallic  weights in the hands1 but
 sometimes attached to the head or      
shoulders4    ,the quoit1 or discus1 was
 made of stone or metal1 of a circular  
form1  and thrown by means of a thong   

passing through the centre4 ,it was     
three  inches thick and ten or twelve in
 diameter4 ,he who threw farthest1 won4 
,it is a modern game also1 and is       
imitated in the ,old-,country custom of 
pitching the bar4    ,wrestling has been
 a favorite contest in all times4 ,milo 
of ,crotona  was the prince of          
wrestlers4 ,he who threw his adversary  
three times  conquered4 ,the wrestlers  
were naked1 anointed1 and covered with  
sand1  that they might take firm hold4  
,striking was not allowed4 ,elegance was
  studied in the attack1 as well as     
force4 ,there was a distinction between 
upright and prostrate wrestling4 ,in the
 former the one thrown was  allowed to  
get up2 in the latter the struggle was  
continued on the  ground4 ,the          
vanquished held up his finger when he   
acknowledged himself  beaten4    ,boxing
 was a severer sport1 and not much      
followed except by gentlemen of  the    
profession4 ,it was practised with the  
clenched fists1 either naked  or armed  

with the deadly cestus4 ,the science of 
the game was to  parry the blows of the 
antagonist1 as it is in the noble and   
manly art  of self-defence now4 ,the    
exercise was violent and dangerous1 and 
the  combatants often lost their lives1 
as they do at the present day4 ,the     
cestus1 like our brass-knuckle1 was a   
thong of hide1 loaded with  lead1 and   
bound over the hand4 ,at first used to  
add weight to the blow1  it was         
afterwards continued up the fore-arm1   
and formed also a weapon  of defence4   
,mr4 ,morrissey1 or any other           
shoulder-hitter1 would hardly  need more
 than a few rounds to settle his        
opponent1 if his sinewy arm  were       
garnished with the cestus4    ,we read  
that the late contest for the ,american 
belt1 though short1 was  unusually      
fierce1 and afforded intense delight to 
the spectators1--in  proportion1        
probably1 to its ferocity4 ,by all means
 let the profession  take the cestus    
from the hands of the highwayman and    

adopt it  themselves4 ,it would be one  
step nearer the glorious days of the    
gladiators1 and would render their      
combats more bloody and more  exciting4 
,or1 better still1 let us revive the    
ancient mode of sparring  called the    
klimax1 where both parties faced the    
music without  warding blows at all4 ,we
 scarcely think the ancients were up to 
countering1 as it is understood now2 but
 they fully appreciated the  facetious  
practice of falling backwards to avoid a
 blow1 and letting the  adversary waste 
his strength on the air4 ,the deceased  
,mr4 ,sullivan  would hardly recognize  
his favorite dodge under its classic    
name of  hyptiasmos1 or be aware that it
 was in use by his very respectable     
predecessor1 ,sostratus of ,sicyon1 who 
was noted for such tricks4    ,the      
pankration1 again1 was a mode of battle 
which the modern  prize-ring is yet too 
magnanimous to adopt1 and which excelled
 in  brutality the so-called getting    
one's nob in chancery1--the most        

stirring episode of our pugilistic      
encounters4 ,the ,greek custom alluded  
to was so named because it called all   
the powers of the fighter into  action4 
,it was a union of boxing and wrestling4
 ,it began by trying to  get one's      
antagonist into the unfavorable position
 of facing the sun4  ,then the sport    
commenced with either wrestling or      
sparring4 ,as soon as  one party was    
thrown or knocked down1 the other kept  
him so until he had  pommelled him into 
submission2 and when he arose1 at last1 
to receive  the plaudits of the         
assembly1 it was often from the corpse  
of his  adversary4    ,beginning as the 
most promising pupils of the gymnasium1 
and becoming  victors in the public     
games1 certain gymnasts gradually grew  
into  a distinct class of prize-runners1
 wrestlers1 and fighters1 called        
,athletes4 ,they then devoted their     
lives to attaining excellence in these  
exercises1 and withdrew to the          
palaestra1 or training-school4 ,those   

who  quitted the profession became      
instructors in the public gymnasium4 ,to
  attain great bodily strength1 they    
submitted to many rigid rules4 ,by      
frequent anointing1 rubbing1 and        
bathing1 they rendered their bodies     
very supple4 ,the trainer1 or teacher in
 the palaestra1 was termed  xystarch4   
,he was himself the ,nestor of the ring4
 ,the food of the  athlete was mainly   
beef and pork4 ,the latter1 we believe1 
is excluded  from the diet-list of the  
modern prize-fighter4 ,of their         
particular  rules of living and getting 
into condition we know but little4      
,before  being allowed to contend1 they 
were subjected to a strict examination  
by  the judges4 ,in so high estimation  
were the victors held1 that they were   
rewarded with a public proclamation of  
their names1 the laudations  of the     
poet1 statues1 banquets1 and other      
privileges4 ,the immediate  material    
gain was not the winning of the stakes1 
but a simple crown or  garland of       

laurel1 olive1 pine1 or parsley1        
according to the festival at  which they
 fought4 ,pindar has embalmed the names 
of many victors in his  ,olympic1       
,pythian1 and other odes4    ,but let us
 leave the athletes for something more  
inviting4 ,the  lampadephoria1 or       
torch-race1 must have been a singular   
spectacle4  ,there were five            
celebrations of this game at ,athens1 of
 which the most  noted was at the       
,panathenaea1 where horsemen often      
contended4 ,the text  describing it has 
been a puzzle to commentators2--the most
 rational  and accepted interpretation  
seems to be1 that it was a contest      
between  opposite parties1 and not      
between individuals4 ,lighted lamps1    
protected  by a shield1 were passed from
 runner to runner along the lines of    
players1 to a certain goal4 ,they who   
succeeded in carrying their lights  from
 boundary to boundary unextinguished    
were declared the victors4 ,this  game  
will at once recall the moccoletti1     

which close the carnival at  ,rome4     
,dancing to the sound of the cithara1   
flute1 and pipe1 was a favorite         
amusement with all classes4 ,the grizzly
 veterans and the younger  soldiers all 
joined in martial dances4 ,the dance and
 the game of ball  were often connected4
 ,the ,romac dance1 peculiar to the     
modern ,greeks1  is an inheritance from 
their ancestors4 ,dancing by youths and 
maidens  formed part of the             
entertainment of guests4 ,tumblers threw
 somersets  and leaped amid sharp       
knives1 somewhat after the manner of the
 ,chinese  jugglers4 ,music was also    
usually associated with either poetry or
  dancing4    ,incitements to the       
various gymnastic exercises which have  
been mentioned  could be found only in  
public emulation1 for which abundant    
opportunity  was offered in the national
 games or festivals4 ,these were a part 
of  the religious customs of the        
,greeks1 and were originally established
  in honor of the gods4 ,it was their   

effect to bring into nearer contact     
people from the several parts of        
,greece1 and to stimulate and publicly  
reward talent1 as well as bodily vigor4 
,they afforded orators1 poets1  and     
historians the best opportunities of    
rehearsing their productions4           
,herodotus is said to have read his     
,history1 and ,isocrates to have        
recited his ,panegyric at the ,olympic  
games4 ,the four sacred games were  the 
,olympic1 ,pythian1 ,isthmian1 and      
,nemean2 and to these should be added   
the ,panathenaea1 or festival of        
,minerva4 ,the five exercises before    
mentioned1 together with music1 in its  
classic sense1 formed the  programme4   
,in the lesser ,panathenaea occurred1   
first1 the torch-race2  next1 the       
gymnastic exercises2 thirdly1 a musical 
contention1 instituted  by ,pericles2   
and lastly1 a competition of the poets  
in four plays4  ,numerous other         
observances1 of a religious nature1 were
 varied with the  different festivals4  

,it may be doubted whether subsequent   
times have  seen any gatherings of equal
 magnitude for similar objects4    ,so  
rigid was the discipline of the ancient 
gymnasium1 and so important  was it     
considered that confidence should be    
undoubting there1 that  thefts1         
exceeding ten drachmae in amount1       
committed within its  precincts1 were   
punished with death4    ,the            
,gymnasiarch1 or presiding magistrate1  
clothed in a purple cloak1  with white  
shoes1 possessed almost unlimited       
authority4 ,he had the  superintendence 
of the building1 and could remove the   
teachers and  under-officers at his     
pleasure4 ,the exercises practised were 
ordained  by law1 subject to regulations
 and animated by the commendation of    
the masters4 ,instructions were given by
 the gymnastae and the  paedotribae1 two
 classes of officers4 ,the former gave  
practical  lessons1 and were expected to
 know the physiological effect of the   
different exercises1 and to adapt them  

to the constitution and needs of  the   
youth4 ,the latter possessed a knowledge
 of all the games1 and taught  them in  
all their variety4 ,nor were the morals 
of the young less cared  for by the     
sophronistae1 a set of officials        
appointed for that  purpose4    ,the    
plan and scope of ,grecian education    
were more adapted to the common         
purposes of the community1 and less to  
the individual aim of the pupil4        
,beside the public teachings of         
philosophers and sophists1 common       
schools  were established at ,athens by 
,solon4 ,government provided for their  
management1 and strict discipline was   
enforced4 ,here the boy was  instructed 
in music and grammar4 ,until the age of 
sixteen1 he pursued  these two branches 
in connection with gymnastics4 ,some    
authorities  assert1 that1 even at this 
period of his life1 as much time was    
devoted  to the latter as to the other  
two together4 ,at sixteen1 he left the  
school1 and1 until he was eighteen years

 of age1 frequented the  gymnasium      
alone2 probably devoting most of his    
time to physical  training1 though      
enjoying opportunities of listening to  
the masters  in philosophy4 ,the period 
of adolescence past1 and his growing    
frame  expanded and well knit by        
exercise1 he either continued to follow 
athletic sports1 or began a military or 
other career4 ,if a young man  of       
leisure1 he probably needed all the     
virtue imparted by his moral  teachers  
to restrain him from dice1 quail-fights1
 and fine horses1 and  all his physical 
vigor to resist the dissipations of     
,athens or ,corinth1  and the potations 
of the symposia4    ,so far the male    
rising generation was well cared for4   
,what became of the  girls8    ,in      
accordance with the freer manners1 but  
not less virtuous habits of  ,lacedemon1
 maidens were there admitted as         
spectators and sharers of the  gymnastic
 sports4 ,though clad only in the       
,spartan chiton1 they took  vigorous    

part in dancing and probably wrestling4 
,the ,athenian maid could  not air even 
her modest garments in public with the  
consent of popular  opinion4 ,the girls 
were educated and the women stayed at   
home4 ,the  gynaekeion1 or female       
apartment1 was nearly as secluded as the
  seraglio4 ,the females were under     
direct1 though not slavish submission   
to the men4 ,modesty forbade their      
appearance in the gymnasium4 ,domestic  
occupations1 the rearing of children1   
spinning1 light work1 and  household    
cares filled up their time4 ,we are told
 that an ,athenian  mother once ventured
 in male attire to mingle among the     
spectators of  the ,olympic games4 ,her 
cry of joy at the triumph of her son    
betrayed  her4 ,because she was the     
mother of many victors1 she was spared  
from  infamy2 and her services to the   
state1 in rearing men1 alone saved her  
from the consequences of an act which   
maternal solicitude could not have      
excused4    ,too much license in the    

intermingling of the sexes formed part  
of the  arguments of many distinguished 
,romans against the gymnasium4 ,habits  
of  idle lounging and waste of time1    
together with even graver vices1 were   
imputed to its influence4 ,some said it 
favored polysarkia1 or obesity1  and    
unfitted for military or other active   
life4 ,the ,romans were too  utilitarian
 to see its higher aims4 ,though there  
was some justice1 it  must be confessed1
 in these accusations1 yet they applied 
with more  force to the palaestra than  
to the gymnasium1--to the trained       
fighters1 who devoted their lives to    
exercise1 than to the mass of the       
,greeks1 who cultivated it for nobler   
purposes4    ,the ancients valued       
gymnastics highly as curative agents in 
disease4  ,some of the gymnasia were    
dedicated to ,apollo1 god of physicians4
 ,the  officers of these establishments 
passed for doctors1 and were so called1 
on account of the skill which long      
experience had given them4 ,the         

directors regulated the diet of the     
youth1 the gymnastae prescribed  for    
their diseases1 and the inferiors       
dressed wounds and fractures4 ,not  only
 was the general idea entertained that  
bodily exercise is good for  the health1
 but different kinds of exertion were   
selected as adapted to  particular      
maladies4 ,upright wrestling was thought
 most beneficial to  the upper portion  
of the body1 and the cure of dropsy was 
believed to be  peculiarly promoted by  
gymnastic sports4 ,hippocrates had some 
faith in  the motor cure4 ,in some cases
 he advises common wrestling2 in others1
  wrestling with the hands only4 ,the   
practice with the corycus1 or           
hanging-bag of sand1 and a regular      
motion of the upper limbs1 resembling   
the manual exercise of the soldier1 were
 also esteemed by him4 ,galen  inveighs 
against the more violent exercises1 but 
recommends moderate  ones as part of the
 physician's art4 ,asclepiades1 in the  
time of ,pompey  the ,great1 called     

exercises the common aids of physic1 and
 got great  glory--and money1 it is to  
be hoped--by various mechanical         
contrivances  for the sick4    ,the     
ancients probably esteemed gymnastics   
too much1 as the moderns do  too little1
 for medical or sanative purposes4 ,the 
,greeks1 with a very  limited knowledge 
of physiology and pathology1 would be   
more apt to  treat symptoms than to     
trace the causes of disease2 and no     
doubt they  sometimes prescribed        
exercises which were injudicious or     
positively  injurious4 ,we still trust  
too much1 perhaps1 to medication1 and do
 not  keep in view the great helps which
 ,nature spreads around us4 ,truth lies 
between the two extremes2 and we are    
beginning to recognize the fact1  which 
experience daily teaches us1 that light1
 air1 and motion are more  potent than  
drugs1--and that iron will not redden   
the cheeks1 nor bark  restring the      
nerves1 so safely and so surely as      
moderate daily exercise  out of doors4  

,in the flourishing days of ,attica1 the
 gymnasium was in its perfection4  ,it  
degenerated with the license of later   
times4 ,it was absorbed and sunk  in the
 fashions and vices of imperial ,rome4  
,though ,nero built a  public gymnasium1
 and ,roman gentlemen attached private  
ones to their  country-seats1 it        
gradually fell into disuse1 or existed  
only for  ignoble purposes4 ,the        
gladiator succeeded naturally to the    
athlete1 the  circus to the stadium1 and
 the sanguinary scenes of the           
amphitheatre  brutalized the pure tastes
 of earlier years4 ,then came the       
barbarians1  and the rough1 graceless   
strength of ,goths and ,vandals         
supplanted the  supple vigor of the     
gymnast4 ,the rude1 migratory life of   
the ,dark ,ages  needed not the         
gymnasium as a means of physical        
culture1 and was too  changeable and    
evanescent to establish permanent       
institutions4 ,chivalry  afforded some  
exception4 ,the profession of knighthood

 and the calling  of the men-at-arms    
gave ample scope to warlike exercises1  
reduced to  something like a science in 
armor1 horses1 and modes of combat4 ,the
  tournament recalled somewhat the      
generous emulation of the gymnasium2    
but bodily exercise for physiological   
ends was lost sight of in the  midst of 
advancing civilization1 until its       
culture was resumed in  ,sweden1 in the 
latter half of the last century4    ,the
 reviver of gymnastics was ,,peter      
,,henry ,,ling4 ,born of humble         
parentage1 and contending in his earlier
 years with the extremest  poverty1 he  
completed a theological education1      
became a tutor1  volunteered in the     
,danish navy1 travelled in ,france and  
,england1 and  began his career of      
gymnast as a fencing-master in          
,stockholm4 ,he died  a professor1 a    
knight1 and a member of the ,swedish    
,academy1 and was  posthumously honored 
as a benefactor of his country4         
,while fencing1 he was struck with the  

wholesome effects which may  be produced
 on the body by a rational system of    
movements1 and this  suggested the idea 
which he developed by practice and      
precept through  his entire life4 ,it   
was1 that an harmonious organic         
development of the  body and of its     
powers and capabilities by exercises    
ought to constitute  an essential part  
in the general education of a people4   
,ling thought  not of merely imitating  
the gymnastics of the ancients1 but he  
aimed at  their reformation and         
improvement4 ,wishing to put gymnastics 
in harmony  with ,nature1 he studied    
anatomy1 physiology1 and the natural    
sciences4  ,of their value in directing 
rational exercise he says3 ,anatomy1    
that  sacred genesis1 which shows us the
 masterpiece of the ,creator1 and which 
teaches us how little and how great man 
is1 ought to form the constant  study of
 the gymnast4 ,but we ought not to      
consider the organs of the  body as the 
lifeless forms of a mechanical mass1 but

 as the living1  active instruments of  
the soul4 ,and even this is not         
sufficient2 for  the gymnast1 the       
ultimate aim of whose art is the beau   
idal of  humanity1 must know what       
effects applied movements produce upon  
the  corporeal and psychical condition  
of man2 a knowledge which can be        
obtained only from the most careful and 
untiring examination4    ,it has been   
asserted1 that1 in pursuance of this    
plan1 ,ling invented a  separate        
movement or exercise for every muscle in
 the body4 ,this is not  strictly true1 
for it is practically impossible4 ,few  
muscles act alone1  and such as do are  
developed symmetrically1 and are        
antagonized by those  of the opposite   
side4 ,most movements are performed by  
groups of muscles4  ,the cripple1       
swinging on his crutches1 develops the  
broad sheet of  muscular fibres which   
enfolds the back and loins1 and         
approaches in  form the simian tribe1   
the business of whose life is climbing4 

,the  sledge-hammer brings out the      
biceps of the blacksmith1 and striking  
out from the shoulder the triceps of the
 pugilist4 ,the calves of the           
ballet-dancer are noted for the abrupt  
line which marks the transition  from   
muscle to tendon2 and other instances   
might be cited4 ,as a general  rule1    
however1 numerous muscles act in        
concert4 ,trades stamp their  impress on
 special groups2 and the power of       
co-ordination1 which is  supposed to    
derive its impulse from the cerebellum1 
varies in different  persons1 and marks 
them as clumsy or dexterous1 sure-footed
 or the  reverse4 ,ling aimed only at   
the regulation of associated1 or the    
equal  development of antagonistic      
groups4 ,for1 as the ,supreme ,medical  
,board of  ,russia say in their report  
on his system1 made to the ,emperor in  
#ahej1  empirical gymnastics develop the
 muscular strength sometimes to a       
wonderful degree1 and teach the         
execution of movements combined with  an

 extraordinary effort of the muscles2 by
 these means1 instead of  fortifying the
 whole body equally and generally1 they 
often contribute  to the development of 
the most dangerous diseases1 since they 
do not  teach the evil which the        
injudicious use of movements may        
produce4 ,it  was the harmonious and    
equable increase of all the voluntary   
and some of  the involuntary muscles    
which the ,swedish system sought to     
attain4    ,the authority just quoted1  
in continuation1 says3--,notwithstanding
  bodily exercises under the name of    
,turnen were generally known and        
practised in ,germany at the beginning  
of the present century1 and many  of its
 enlightened professional writers tried 
to give to them a proper  direction by  
combining them with anatomy and         
physiology1 ,ling must be  considered as
 the founder of the rational system of  
movements4 ,we have  all seen deformed  
gymnasts1 with square shoulders and lank
 loins1 or  with some particular group  

of muscles projecting in ugly           
prominences  from the violated outlines 
of nature4 ,all this the followers of   
,ling  claim that he avoided or         
overcame4 ,his gymnastics were          
introduced years  ago1 not only into all
 the military academies of ,sweden1 but 
into all  town-schools1 colleges1 and   
universities1 and even orphan-asylums   
and  country-schools4 ,three objects are
 asserted to be obtained by his         
disciples3 development of muscular      
fibre1 increased arterialization1  and  
improved innervation4 ,increase of      
function promotes the growth and        
capability of organic structures1 and   
causes an augmented afflux of  arterial 
blood and nervous influence to the part4
    ,the ambitious reformer of the      
gymnasium did not pause here2 but1      
pursuing a still bolder course1         
undertook to make gymnastics not only a 
branch of education for healthy persons1
 but to demonstrate them to be  a remedy
 for disease4 ,the new science was      

called ,kinesipathy1 or the  motor-cure4
 ,the curative movements were first     
practised in #ahac1  while ,ling        
remained at ,stockholm4 ,a              
motor-hospital was established in       
connection with the gymnasium2 and to   
accommodate the invalid and the  feeble1
 new exercises1 called passive          
movements1 were devised4 ,these  were   
executed by an external agent upon the  
patient1--that agent being  usually the 
hand of the physician4 ,the sick man1   
too weak for violent1  voluntary effort1
 was stretched and champooed1 the       
muscles of his trunk  and limbs         
alternately flexed and extended by      
another person1 until he  gradually     
acquired strength to use active         
movements4 ,as he gained power1  he     
increased the voluntary resistance which
 he made to the operator1 and  thus1 at 
the same time1 the amount of his own    
muscular exertion4 ,it is  claimed that 
volition is thus called forth to        
neglected parts1 and their  innervation 

and vascularity increased2 and that so  
at length the normal  fulness of life   
and function is restored4 ,this system  
confines itself  mostly to chronic      
diseases4 ,in the paralysis of the      
young1 in defective  volition from      
hysteria1 in impaired local nutrition1  
in local  deformities dependent on      
muscular contraction1 and in lateral    
curvature  of the spine1 it             
unquestionably often produces the best  
results4 ,its  advocates claim for it   
much more4 ,on its further benefits we  
are unable  to decide4 ,like all things 
else1 it is susceptible of abuse4       
,russia and ,prussia have adopted1 to a 
limited extent1 the ,ling system  of    
corporeal training and the motor-cure4  
,in ,london there exists an  institution
 of this kind1 and more recently one has
 been established  by the ,doctors      
,taylor in ,new ,york4 ,in a still less 
degree the ,swedish  gymnastics are used
 in some educational institutions here4 
,ling died in #ahci1 in his             

seventy-third year4 ,even on his        
death-bed he  spoke till the last hour1 
and gave instructions in his favorite   
science4  ,his life is a remarkable     
instance of purity1 energy1 and devotion
 to a  single end4    ,meanwhile1 what  
have modern nations done to atone for   
the neglect of the  ancient gymnasium8  
,germany1 to some extent1 has supplied  
its place with  the ,turnverein4        
,turnkunst1 or the gymnastic art1 is    
cultivated by  a limited number of      
youth4 ,as we see the public exhibitions
 of the  ,turners in this country1 they 
are as noted for their libations to     
,bacchus1 and their sacrifices to the   
god of tobacco1--a deity still  wanting 
in the ,pantheon1--as for their culture 
and superiority in  athletic sports4    
,still they exert a wide1 and1 for the  
most part1 a good  influence4 ,other    
continental nations of ,europe furnish a
 large portion  of their young men with 
the gymnastic element in the shape of   
military  discipline and drill4 ,as     

affording the best examples of martial  
training1 ,prussia and ,france are to be
 signalized1--the former for the        
universality1 the latter for the kind of
 its instructions4    ,all young        
,prussians are liable to a call to      
actual service in the army  for three   
years4 ,after this1 if they do not      
continue members of the  regular        
standing army1 they remain until a      
certain age in that portion  of the     
active force which is mustered and      
drilled every year4 ,past the  age      
referred to1 they fall into the corps of
 reserve1 a sort of ,national  ,guard of
 veterans1 summoned to the field only in
 emergencies4 ,young men  who have the  
means to purchase an immunity can obtain
 one for only two  years4 ,one year they
 must serve1 parade1 drill1 march1 and  
mount guard1  though they are not       
required to live in the barracks4       
,occasional cases  of hardship or       
injustice occur4 ,we know of a poor1 but
 promising  pianist whose studies were  

cut short and his fingers stiffened by  
the  three-years' service4 ,leaving out 
of view exceptional facts1 the system   
works well4 ,all the youth of the       
country acquire health1 strength1 an    
upright carriage1 and habits of         
punctuality and cleanliness4 ,the clumsy
  rustic is soon licked into shape1 and 
leaves his barrack1 to return to  the   
fields1 a soldier and a more            
self-reliant man4 ,prussia1 too1 secures
  the services of an army1 in time of   
need1 commensurate in numbers with  the 
adult male population4    ,the ,french  
conscript1 if he draws the unlucky      
number1 can buy a  substitute4 ,all are 
not enrolled as recruits2 and all those 
so enrolled  are not obliged to serve4  
,the only sons of widows1 and some other
  persons1 are always exempt4 ,once in  
the line1 however1 the young man  is    
engaged for five or seven years1 and    
receives a training in matters          
gymnastic and military which turns out  
the best soldiers in ,europe4    ,little

 would one imagine1 as he passes the    
groups of dainty and  scrupulously neat 
,french officers upon the boulevards1   
looking the  laziest persons in the     
world1 that these seeming carpet-knights
 are out  upon the ,champ de ,mars at   
three o'clock in the morning1 and  often
 drill until nine or ten in the         
forenoon1--or that the little           
toulourou1 as he is nicknamed1 or       
private of the ligne1 in his            
brick-colored trowsers and clean        
gaiters1 whose voice is the gayest and  
whose legs are the nimblest in the      
barrier-ball1 has done a day's work  of 
parade and gymnastics which equals the  
toil of an ouvrier4 ,running1  swimming1
 climbing1 and fencing with the bayonet1
 are often but the  preludes of long    
marches on duty1 or equally long walks  
to reach the  parade-ground1 or to fetch
 the daily rations of the mess4 ,then1  
too1  during several months of summer1  
camp-life is led on a grand scale4 ,vast
  encampments1 which for size1          

regularity1 and order vie with the old  
,roman castra1 are formed at convenient 
spots4 ,and here all the details  of    
actual service are imitated2 cavalry and
 infantry are disciplined in  equally   
arduous labors2 nor does the artillery  
escape the fatigue of  mock-sieges1     
sham-fights1 and reviews4    ,the       
,chasseurs de ,vincennes1 or            
rifle-corps1 are the pride of the army4 
,their training is still more severe4   
,they are all athletic men1 taught  to  
march almost upon the run1 and to go    
through evolutions with the  rapidity of
 bush-fighters4 ,there are few more     
stirring sights than a  ,french regiment
 upon the march4 ,advancing in loose    
order1 and with a  long1 swinging gait1 
their guns at an angle of forty-five    
degrees1  lightly carried upon the      
shoulder1 they impart an idea of        
alertness and  efficiency which no other
 soldiers present to the same degree4   
,gymnasia are somewhat patronized by the
 civilians4 ,the art of fencing is  a   

national accomplishment1 and few        
gentlemen complete their education      
without the instructions of the matre   
d'escrime4 ,the savate is a  rude       
exercise in vogue among rowdies1 and    
consists in kicking with  the peasant's 
wooden shoe4 ,the ,french are a tough1  
but not a large or  powerful race4 ,the 
same amount of training dispensed among 
as large a  proportion of the youth of  
this country would show much greater    
results4    ,the ,british soldier has   
long been considered by his own nation  
as a  model of manliness4 ,he owes his  
long limbs and round chest to his       
ancestors and his mode of life before   
enlisting4 ,while on the  home-service1 
he does not yet exercise enough to      
harden him or to ward  off disease4     
,recent returns show a higher           
comparative rate of mortality  in the   
,british army from consumption than     
among other ,englishmen4 ,his  close    
barracks1 unvarying diet1 and listless  
life explain it all4 ,his  countrymen   

and countrywomen1 however1 who have the 
time and means1  largely cultivate      
athletic sports4 ,the ,english lady is  
noted for her  long walks in the open   
air1 and for the preservation of her    
youthful  bloom1--the ,english gentleman
 for his red face1 broad shoulders1 and 
happy digestion4    ,how do we compare  
with them in vigor and attention to     
gymnastics and  health-giving exercises8
 ,better than we did ten years ago1 but 
still not  very favorably4    ,the      
,western ,border-,states are noted for  
the production of a large and  hardy    
race4 ,new ,hampshire and ,vermont      
contribute a good share of the  tall and
 well-developed men who yearly recruit  
the population of  our ,eastern cities4 
,let a generation pass1 however1 and we 
find the  offspring of such sires with  
equally capacious frames1 but far less  
muscular power4 ,the skeleton is laid of
 a man mighty in strength1 but  the     
filling-in is wanting4 ,broad-jointed   
bones swing listlessly in their         

sockets1 the head projects1 and the     
shoulders bend1 under the influence  of 
a sedentary life4 ,the laboring and     
mechanical classes bring certain  groups
 of muscles to perfection in development
 and dexterity1 but  present few        
instances of an harmonious organization4
 ,commercial and  professional men do   
not accomplish even a limited muscular  
development4  ,for the other sex1       
,nature seems to have provided a certain
 immunity from  the necessity of active 
exercise for the rounding and completion
 of  their bodies4 ,the lack of fresh   
air1 however1 soon tells with them a    
fatal story of fading complexions and   
departing bloom4 ,that ethereal  beauty 
which peculiarly marks the ,american    
woman is also the earliest to  decay4   
,as they are the prettiest1 so are they 
the soonest passes of  any ,northern    
nation4 ,could they but realize that    
exercise in the open  air is ,nature's  
great and only cosmetic1 the reproach of
 early old age  would cease4 ,nothing   

will give that peach-bloom to the cheek 
and that  peculiar sweetness to the eye 
which a long walk through the fields1 of
 a  clear ,october day1 bestows         
unbought4    ,one evil breeds another4  
,the brain fed only with thin blood     
gives rise  to morbid thoughts4         
,activity1 sharpness1 and quickness of  
perception  are but poor compensations  
for the want of the milder and more     
generous  attributes of the mind4       
,dyspepsia spawns a moody literature4   
,broad1  manly views and hopeful        
thoughts of life exist less here1 we    
think1 than  in ,england4 ,the cities   
are supplied year by year with people   
from the  country2 yet the latter1 the  
source of all this supply1 does not     
produce  so healthy mothers as the city2
 and were it not for the increasing     
study  of physiology and its vital      
truths1 we fear that we should awaken   
too  late to a knowledge of our physical
 degeneration4    ,now what means are in
 use among us to furnish the needed     

stimulant of  exercise8 ,it is          
paradoxical to say that the average of  
people take more  exercise in the city  
than in the country2 yet we believe it  
to be true4  ,that exercise is only of  
one form1 to be sure1 namely1 walking4  
,the  common calls of business1 and the 
mere daily locomotion from point to     
point of an extended city1 necessitate a
 large amount of this simplest          
exercise4 ,other sources of health1 as  
sunlight and the vivifying  influence of
 trees and grass upon the air1 exist    
more in the real  country4 ,yet as many 
girls attain a vigorous development in  
town as out  of it2 for in our smaller  
,new ,england villages indoor cares and 
labors  confine the females excessively 
and prevent their using much exercise in
  the open air4    ,our militia system1 
including the exercises of volunteer    
companies1  supplies but to a very      
limited extent the want of real         
gymnastics4 ,the  common militia meet   
too infrequently and drill too little to

 gain much  sanative benefit4 ,the      
old-fashioned training-day was always a 
day of  drunkenness and subsequent      
sickness4 ,the going into camp now      
adopted  is even worse2 for here youths 
taken from the sheltered counting-room  
and furnace-heated house are exposed to 
the inclemencies of the weather  not    
long enough to harden them1 but long    
enough to lay the foundation of         
disease4 ,volunteer companies parade and
 are reviewed oftener1 and  drill more  
constantly2 but the good effects of the 
manual exercise are  rendered nugatory  
by its being conducted in confined      
armories and a bad  atmosphere4    ,the 
frequency of conflagrations and the     
emulation of rival volunteer  corps     
render the fire-companies an active     
school of exercise4 ,but the  benefits  
of this are neutralized by the violence 
and irregularity of  their exertions4   
,quitting the workshop half-clad1 and   
running long  distances1 the fireman    
arrives panting at the fire1 to breathe 

in1 with  lungs congested by the unusual
 effort1 the rarefied and smoky         
atmosphere  of the burning buildings4   
,we should naturally suppose this a     
fertile  source of pulmonary complaints4
 ,besides1 were it the most healthy of  
exercises1 it is followed only by the   
mechanic and the laborer1 who use  their
 muscles enough without it4    ,the     
prize-ring and the professed athlete    
still exist among us4  ,unfortunately1  
their habits brutalize the mind4 ,a     
limited knowledge  of sparring1 and a   
full vocabulary of the slang of the     
pugilist1 are  fashionable among many   
youths4 ,few young men1 however1 can    
cultivate the  one1 or frequent the     
society of the other1 without the risk  
of becoming  rowdies or bullies1 if     
nothing worse4    ,the revival of the   
,old-,country games of cricket and      
base-ball affords  some of the best     
examples of a growing desire for        
athletic sports4  ,they have many things
 to recommend them1 and1 as we conceive1

 no  objectionable features4    ,the    
suicidal war waged against trees and    
birds alike by the early  settlers has  
left but little inducement to follow in 
this country the  field-sports so       
fashionable in ,england4 ,riding on     
horseback1 however1 is  now more popular
 than it has been since our             
carriage-roads were first  laid out4    
,this exercise is peculiarly beneficial 
to the feeble in body4  ,accelerated    
inspiration of pure air and a gentle    
succussion of all the  internal organs  
are blended with that consciousness of  
power and that  self-dependence which   
the good horseman always feels in the   
saddle4  ,hardly less do we value the   
intimate acquaintance into which it     
brings  us with the noble animal who    
bears us1 establishing a sympathy which 
no  amount of driving can awaken to its 
full extent4    ,our rivers1 lakes1 and 
bays spread around us a vast and        
inviting field  for the cultivation of  
summer or winter sports4 ,boating and   

sailing are  adapted1 from their        
gentleness of motion1 even to the most  
delicate  organizations4 ,rowing is     
equally suited to the young and strong4 
,boat-clubs are quite popular in our    
colleges1 and we hope they will ere     
long become so in our academies and     
minor schools4 ,few exercises bring     
more muscles into play than the steady  
stroke of the oar4 ,few are more        
exhilarating and pleasant to those who  
have tried them4 ,give us the  strong   
pull through an open bay before all     
boating on placid lakes or  rivers4 ,the
 long1 well-timed stroke becomes a mere 
mechanical effort1  leaving the mind at 
liberty to enjoy the sense of freedom1  
the tonic  salt-breeze1 and the         
enlivening scenes of the sea4    ,when  
the boats are beached1 and the          
wharf-logs grow1 with successive  layers
 congealed from every tide1 into huge   
spindles of ice1 the same  element      
offers its glassy surface to the skater4
 ,that skating has  actually become     

fashionable among the gentler sex we    
regard as the  strongest indication of  
an awakening national taste for         
exercise4 ,but  there is need of        
caution4 ,most persons skate with too   
heavy clothes4  ,the quick movements of 
the limbs in the changing evolutions of 
this  pastime--though the practised     
skater is unconscious of much muscular  
effort--quicken the circulation enough  
to increase palpably the  animal heat   
and produce a very sensible             
perspiration4 ,in this exposed          
condition1 the quiet walk home is taken 
without additional covering1 and  is the
 origin of many colds4    ,returning to 
first principles1 we find one useful    
exercise more or  less within reach of  
all1 without preparation or expense4 ,we
 mean  walking4 ,the flexors and        
extensors of the legs1 the broad muscles
 of the  back and abdomen1 and the      
slender and intricate bundles of fibres 
which  support and steady the spine1 are
 all gently exercised in locomotion4    

,the respiration and circulation are    
moderately increased1 and the blood     
arated with fresh air4 ,and all this can
 be had by simply stepping out  of doors
 and setting in motion the muscular     
machinery1 which moves so  automatically
 that we soon become unconscious of its 
exertions4 ,this1  like all other       
exercise1 should be taken at seasonable 
hours4 ,we enter  our protest against   
long walks before breakfast4 ,to any but
 the robust  they are positively        
injurious4 ,the early riser and walker1 
unless long  habituated and naturally   
vigorous1 returns from his exercise     
draggled1  faint1 and exhausted1 to     
begin the digestive labors of the day1  
and take  his food with hunger rather   
than appetite4 ,abstinence has blunted  
the  nicer perceptions of taste1 and the
 jaded organs lose the power not  only  
of discriminating flavors1 but of       
knowing when to cry1 ,enough6  ,brushing
 away the morning dew1 like love in a   
cottage1 is very  pretty in a book1 but 

needs a solid basis in the stomach or in
 the  larder4    ,running is a very     
healthy and an equally neglected        
exercise4 ,few  vocations call upon us  
to fully expand the chest once a month4 
,running  improves the wind1 it is said4
 ,we give the name of long-winded to    
those  who have a reserve of breathing  
capacity which they do not use in       
ordinary exertions1 but which lies ready
 to carry them through  extraordinary   
efforts without distress or exhaustion4 
,such persons  breathe quietly and      
deeply4 ,running forms part of the      
training of the  prize-fighter4 ,it     
should be begun and ended at a moderate 
pace1 as  a knowing jockey drives a fast
 horse2 otherwise1 panting1 and even    
dangerous congestion1 may arise from the
 too sudden afflux of blood to  the     
lungs4    ,nothing so pleasantly        
combines mental occupation with bodily  
labor as  a pursuit of some one of the  
natural sciences1 particularly zology   
or botany4 ,if our means allow a        

microscope to be added to our natural   
resources1 the field of exercise and    
pleasure is boundlessly enlarged4  ,to  
the labor of collecting specimens is    
joined the exhilaration of  discovery2  
and he who has once opened the outer    
gate of the sanctuary of  ,nature finds 
in the study of her arcana a pastime    
which will be a joy  forever4    ,our   
larger towns and cities still support   
gymnasia of greater or  less size and   
perfectness4 ,but the modern gymnasium  
has two great  deficiencies3 the lack of
 open air1 and of the emulation arising 
from  publicity4 ,the first is a very   
grave objection4 ,not a tithe of the    
benefits of exercise can be obtained    
within-doors4 ,the sallow mechanic  and 
the ruddy farmer are the two points of  
comparison4 ,the one may work  as hard  
and be as strong as the other1 and yet  
we cannot call him as  healthy4 ,nothing
 short of ,nature's own sweet air will  
supply the highest  physical needs of   
the human frame4 ,as our gymnasia are   

usually private1  and only moderately   
frequented1 the gymnast is not          
stimulated to those  exertions which    
society and competition would arouse4   
,ennui often mars  his enjoyment4 ,we   
have seen men methodically pursuing1 day
 after day1  the same exercises1 with   
all the listless drudgery of a          
hack-horse4  ,geniality and generous    
emulation are among the great benefits  
of the  true gymnasium4    ,but how     
shall ,i find time to follow out even   
one of these exercises8  objects the    
victim of ,american social life4 ,it is 
true1 he cannot4 ,we  live so fast that 
we have no time to live4 ,nevertheless1 
gymnastics  have one advantage adapted  
to our hurried habits4 ,they afford the 
most  exercise in the shortest time4 ,in
 no other way1 so easily accessible1    
can as much powerful motion be used in  
so brief a space4    ,the tired clerk or
 merchant comes home late1 with feverish
 brain and  weary legs4 ,his chest and  
arms have had no exercise proportional  

to the  rest of his system4 ,what shall 
he do to restore the balance8 ,if he    
can1  let him erect in some upper room1 
away from furnace-heat1 instead of a    
billiard-table1 a private shrine to     
,apollo or ,mercury4 ,he will need but  
little apparatus4 ,a set of weights and 
pulleys1 a pair of parallel bars1  two  
suspended rings1 and a leaping-pole are 
all the necessary permanent  fixtures4  
,other articles1 as the dumb-bells1 the 
,indian club1  boxing-gloves1 foils1 or 
single-sticks1 take up no room1 and can 
be  added as his growing taste for their
 use demands4 ,we would single out  the 
parallel bars and the weights as the    
most generally useful4 ,the  former     
develop particularly the chest1 stretch 
the pectoral muscles1 and  lengthen the 
collar-bones4 ,the latter increase the  
volume and power  of the extensors of   
the shoulder1 arm1 and forearm1 and are 
to be  sedulously practised1 because we 
have fewer common and daily movements   
of these muscles than of their          

antagonists1 the flexors1 and they are  
consequently weaker in most persons4    
,the windows should be widely  opened1  
and the room warmed by the sun alone4   
,though1 after the first few trials1 the
 whole body will ache1 and the          
astonished muscles tremble with         
soreness1 a week's perseverance will    
overcome these earlier drawbacks4 ,the  
gymnast will be surprised at the  new   
feeling of vigor in the back and        
shoulders1 and to find the upright1     
military posture as natural as it was   
before difficult to maintain4  ,temper  
and digestion undergo a parallel        
improvement1 and it will require  much  
to make him forego the luxury of        
exercise which he at first thought  so  
painful4    ,many persons become        
discouraged by beginning too violently4 
,alarmed at  the fatigue and suffering  
at first induced1 they shrink from      
further  efforts4 ,gymnastics are1 to be
 sure1 an injudicious mode of exercise  
for some4 ,children get a good many     

sprains1 and sometimes permanent        
deformity1 from their use4 ,the growing 
period requires care to avoid  injuring 
the articulations2 yet it is the most   
favorable time to spread  the shoulders 
and deepen the chest4 ,the young grow   
most in height and  can best gain an    
harmonious development by frequenting   
the ,,gymnasium4           99       99  
99       99       99      ,,why ,,did   
,,the ,,governess ,,faint8      ,we were
 all sitting together in the evening1   
and my sister ,fanny had  been reading  
aloud from the newspaper4 ,for my       
father's benefit1 she had  read all the 
political articles1 and all about       
business1 till he had  said he had heard
 enough1 and there was nothing in the   
papers1 and then  had left the room4 ,so
 ,fanny looked over the marriages and   
deaths1 and  read about the weather in  
,new ,york and ,chicago1 and some other 
things  that she thought would interest 
us while we were sewing4 ,suddenly ,i   
looked up1 towards where ,miss ,agnes   

was sitting1 far away at the other  end 
of the room4 ,she was leaning back in   
her chair1 and1 all in a  moment1 ,i    
thought she looked white1 as though she 
had fainted4 ,i did not  say a word1 but
 got up and went quietly towards her4 ,i
 found she had  fainted quite away1 and 
her lips were pale1 and her eyes shut4  
,i opened  the window by her2 for the   
night was cool1 and all the windows were
  closed4 ,there came in a little breeze
 of fresh air1 and then ,i ran to  fetch
 a glass of water4 ,when ,i returned1 ,i
 found ,miss ,agnes reviving a  little4 
,the air and the water served to refresh
 her1 and very gradually  she came back 
to herself4 ,as she opened her eyes1 she
 looked at me  wonderingly1 then round  
the room1--then a shudder came over her1
 as if  with a sudden painful memory4   
,i'm better1--thank you for the water1  
she said2 and then she rose up  and went
 to the window1 and leaned against the  
casement4 ,i had a glimpse  of her face2
 so sad a face ,i had never seen before4

    ,for ,miss ,agnes was not often sad1
 though she was quiet in her ways and   
manners4 ,she could be gay1 when it was 
the time to be gay4 ,she was our        
governess1--that is1 she taught ,mary   
and ,sophy and me4 ,fanny was too old   
to be taught by her1 and had an ,italian
 master and a ,french teacher2  but she 
practised duets for the piano with ,miss
 ,agnes1 and read with  her1--and she   
made visits with her1 for ,miss ,agnes  
was a favorite  everywhere4 ,she had a  
kind word for everybody1 and listened   
kindly  to all that was said to her4    
,she talked to everybody at the sewing  
societies1 had something to say to every
 one1 and when she came home she  had   
always something to tell that was       
entertaining4 ,i often wished ,i  could 
be one-quarter as amusing1 but ,i never 
could succeed in making my  little      
experiences at all agreeable in the way 
,miss ,agnes did4 ,i have  tried it     
often since1 but ,i always fail4 ,only  
the other day1 ,i quite  prided myself  

that ,i had found out all about ,mrs4   
,endicott's going to  ,europe1 and came 
home delighted with my piece of news4   
,she was going  with her husband2 two of
 the children she was to leave behind1  
and take  the baby with her2 they were  
to be gone six months2 and ,i even knew 
the vessel they were going in1 and the  
day they were to sail4 ,my  intelligence
 was very quickly told2--,miss ,agnes   
and many others would  have made a great
 deal more of it4 ,i had no sooner come 
to the end than  ,fanny said1 ,who is   
going to take care of the children she  
leaves at  home8 ,i had never thought to
 ask6 ,i was disappointed2--my news was 
quite imperfect2 ,i might as well not   
have tried to bring any news4 ,but  it  
was never so with ,miss ,agnes4 ,i      
believe it was because she was really   
interested in what concerned others1    
that they always told her willingly     
about themselves2 and though she never  
was inquisitive about others'  affairs1 
yet she knew very well all that was     

going on4    ,so she was a most valuable
 member of our home-circle1 and was     
welcome  also among our friends4 ,and we
 thought her beautiful1 too4 ,she was   
very  tall and slender1 and her         
light-brown eyes were of the color of   
her  light-brown hair4 ,we liked to see 
her come into the room1--her smile and  
face made sunshine there2 and she was   
more to us than a governess1--she  was  
our dear friend4    ,but now she looked 
round at me1 pale and sad4 ,she suddenly
 saw that ,i  looked astonished at her1 
and she said1 ,i am not well1 ,jeanie1  
but we  will not say anything about it4 
,i am going to my room2 to-morrow ,i    
shall  be better4 ,she held her hand to 
her head1 and ,i thought there must be  
some heavy pain there1 she still looked 
so sad and pale4 ,she bade us all  good 
night and went away4    ,i did not tell 
the others what had happened1--partly   
because1 as ,i have  said1 ,i was not in
 the way of telling things1 and partly  
because they  were all talking and had  

not observed what had been going on4    
,but ,i  found the paper ,fanny had been
 reading1 and wondered if there were    
anything in what she had read that could
 have moved ,miss ,agnes so much4  ,i   
had not been paying much attention to   
the reading1 but ,i knew upon  which    
side of the paper to look4 ,fanny told  
me it was time for me to go  to bed1    
however1 and ,i left my search before ,i
 could find anything that  seemed to    
concern ,miss ,agnes4 ,i stopped at her 
door1 and bade her good  night again2   
and she came out to me1 and kissed me1  
and said1--,i was a  good child1 and ,i 
must not trouble myself about her4      
,the next day she seemed quiet1 yet the 
same as ever4 ,though ,i said  nothing  
to anybody else about her fainting1 ,i  
could not help telling my  friend       
,jessie of it2--for ,i always told      
,jessie everything4 ,fanny called  us   
the two ,jays1 we chattered so when we  
were together4 ,i knew she would  not   
tell anybody1 so ,i could not help      

sharing my wonder with her1--what  could
 have made ,miss ,agnes faint so        
suddenly8 ,she thought it must have     
been something in the                   
newspaper1--perhaps the death of some   
friend1 or  the marriage of some other4 
,i was willing to look again1 and this  
time  remembered three things that      
,fanny had just been reading when ,i had
  looked up at ,miss ,agnes4 ,one was   
about ,mr4 ,paul ,shattuck2--in         
descending  from a haycart1 he had      
fallen upon a pitchfork1 and had        
seriously  wounded his thigh4 ,another  
was the marriage of ,mr4 ,abraham ,black
 to  ,miss ,susan ,whitcomb1 and ,fanny 
had wondered if she were related to the 
,whitcombs of ,hadley4 ,then she had    
read a singular advertisement for a     
lost ring1 a seal ring1 with some       
,arabic letters engraved upon it4 ,i    
was of opinion that ,miss ,agnes was    
somehow connected with this             
signet-ring1--that it had some influence
 over her fate4 ,jessie thought  that   

,miss ,agnes must have been formerly    
engaged to ,mr4 ,abraham ,black1  and   
that when she heard of his              
marriage----but ,i interrupted her in   
this suggestion4 ,in the first place1   
she could never have been engaged  to a 
,mr4 ,abraham ,black2 and then1 nobody  
who could marry ,miss ,agnes  would     
think of taking up with a ,susan        
,whitcomb4 ,so ,jessie fell back upon   
,paul ,shattuck1 and1 to tell the truth1
 we had some warm discussions on  the   
subject4    ,time passed on1 and it was 
,june4 ,one lovely afternoon1 we had    
quite a  frolic with the hay1 the grass 
having been cut on the lawn in front of 
the house4 ,miss ,agnes had been with   
us4 ,we had made nests in the hay1  and 
had buried each other in deep mounds of 
it1 and had all played till  we were    
quite tired4 ,i went into the house in  
search of ,miss ,agnes1  after she had  
gone in1 and found her sitting at one of
 the side windows4  ,i came near1 then  
wished to draw back again1 for ,i saw   

there were tears  in her eyes4 ,but when
 ,i found she had seen me1 ,i tried to  
speak as if ,i  had seen nothing4       
,how high the cat has to step1 to walk  
over the grass6 ,i said1 as ,i  looked  
out of the window4    ,miss ,agnes put  
her arms about me4 ,you wonder1 because 
you see me  crying1 she said1 and looked
 into my face4    ,i never before saw   
anybody cry that was grown up1 said ,i4 
,miss ,agnes smiled and said1 ,they tell
 children it is naughty to cry2  but    
sometimes you can't help crying1 can    
you8 ,and her tears came  dropping down4
    ,oh1 ,miss ,agnes1 ,i said1 ,i wish 
,i could help your crying6 ,it is too   
bad6--it is too bad6    ,yes1 it is very
 bad1 she said1 as she held me in her   
arms1 it is very  bad2 but you do help  
me4 ,you shall be my little friend4     
,that was all4 ,she did not tell me     
anything2--yet ,i felt as if she had    
said a great deal1 and ,i did not speak 
of this to ,jessie4    ,a few days      
after1 as ,i was passing the door of the

 parlor1 ,i fancied ,i  heard a little  
cry1 and it sounded to me as if ,i had  
heard the voice  of ,miss ,agnes4 ,i    
hurried in4 ,a stranger had just entered
 the room4 ,but  before me stood ,miss  
,agnes1 pale1 erect1 her lips quivering4
 ,she held  fast a chair1 which she had 
drawn up in front of her1 as one would  
place a shield between one's self and   
some wild animal4 ,how slender and      
defenceless she looked6 ,i followed the 
terrified glance of her eyes4  ,there1  
in the middle of the room1 stood a      
stranger1--not so terrible to  look     
upon1 for he was young1 and it seemed to
 me ,i had never seen so  handsome a    
man4 ,his black hair and eyes quite     
pictured the hero of my  romance4 ,he   
was strongly built1 and directly showed 
his strength by  seizing a large marble 
table that stood near the centre of the 
room1 and  wheeling it between himself  
and ,miss ,agnes4    ,if you are afraid 
of me1 he said1 ,i will build up a      
barrier between  us4 ,poor lamb1 you    

would like to be free from the clutches 
of the wolf6    ,i am afraid of you1    
said ,miss ,agnes1 slowly1--and the     
color came into  her cheeks4 ,you know  
your power over me4 ,i begged you1 if   
you loved me1  not to come to me4       
,and all for that foolish ring6 ,and the
 spirits of mischief betrayed its  loss 
to you2 it was none of my work that     
published it in the papers4 ,can  you   
let a fancy1 an old story in a ring1    
disturb your faith in me8    ,if the    
faith is disturbed1 answered ,miss      
,agnes1 what use in asking  what has    
disturbed it8 ,ernest1 as you stand     
there1 you cannot say you  love me as   
you once professed to love me6    ,i can
 say that you are my guiding            
star1--that1 if you fail me1 ,i fall    
away into ruin4    ,can my little light 
keep you from ruin8 said ,miss ,agnes1  
shuddering4  ,do not talk to me so6     
,alas1 you know how weak ,i am6    ,i   
know that you are an angel1 and that ,i 
am too low a wretch to dare  to speak to

 you4 ,i came here to tell you ,i was   
worthy of your deepest  hatred4 ,but1   
,agnes1 when you speak to me of my power
 over you1 it tempts  me to wield it a  
little longer1 before ,i fall below your
 contempt4    ,he walked up and down the
 room1 and presently saw me standing    
there4    ,a listener6 he exclaimed2 you
 are afraid to be alone with me6    ,i  
was about to leave the room1 but he     
called me back4    ,stay1 child6 he     
said2 if ,i can speak in her presence1  
it makes  little difference that any one
 else should hear me4 ,agnes1 little    
,agnes1  you would not like to be quite 
alone2--let the child stay4 ,yet you    
know  already that ,i am faithless to   
you4 ,you know what ,i am going to tell 
you4 ,i love you1 passionately1 as ,i   
have always loved you4 ,but there are   
other passions hold me tighter4 ,money1 
and position1--,i need them1--,i  cannot
 live without them4 ,the first ,i have  
lost already1 and the claims  ,i have to
 reputation will follow soon4 ,i am mad4

 ,i am flinging away  happiness for the 
sake of its mask4 ,next week ,i marry   
riches1--a  fortune4 ,with the golden   
lady1 ,i go to ,europe4 ,i forsake      
home1--my  better self4 ,i leave you1   
,agnes2--and you may thank ,god that ,i 
do leave  you2 ,i am not worthy of you4 
,she lifted herself from the chair on   
which she was leaning1 and walked       
towards him4 ,she laid her hand upon his
 shoulder1 and1 white and pale1  looked 
in his face4    ,do not go1 ,ernest6 she
 said4 ,you are mine4 ,a promise cannot 
be  broken2--you are promised to        
me4--,stay1--do not go away6    ,my     
beautiful ,agnes6 he said1 do you come  
to lay your pure self down  in the scale
 against my follies and all my passions8
 ,you stand before  me too fair1 too    
lovely for me4 ,it is only in your      
presence that ,i can  appear noble      
enough for you4 ,even here1 by your     
side1 ,i see the life ,i  must lead with
 you1 the struggle that you must share4 
,in that life you  would only see me    

fail4 ,i am weak2 ,i can never be       
strong4 ,let me go  down the current4   
,your heart will not break2--,i am not  
worth such a  sacrifice4    ,you are    
desperate1 said she4 ,you say these     
cold1 bitter words1 and  you must know  
that each word cuts me4 ,oh1 ,ernest1   
you are false1 indeed1  if you come to  
taunt me with your faithlessness6    ,i 
needed to see you once more1 he said1   
imperiously1--,i needed it4  ,but you   
were right1 ,agnes1--the ring was a true
 talisman4 ,it seemed to  me that its   
letters had changed color4 ,i carried it
 to an old ,eastern  scholar4 ,he       
declared that the letters could never   
have formed the word  ',faith1'--that   
the word was some black word that meant 
death4 ,i left it  with him1 that he    
might study it4 ,when ,i saw him again1 
he declared he  had lost it1 and had    
advertised it4 ,you see you can trust   
your talisman  sooner than you can trust
 me4    ,at this moment the outer door  
opened1 and presently ,fanny came in1   

with one of her friends4 ,miss ,agnes   
looked bewildered1 but her visitor      
recovered his composure directly4       
,miss ,fanny1 ,i believe2--,i have met  
you before4 ,i have just been bidding   
good-bye to ,miss ,agnes1 before leaving
 for ,europe4 ,can ,i be of service  to 
you8    ,before we had time to think1 he
 had said something to each one of us1  
and had left the house4 ,fanny turned to
 speak to ,miss ,agnes1 but she had     
fallen to the ground before we could    
reach her4    ,she was ill1 very ill1   
for a long time4 ,she had the brain     
fever1--so the  doctor said4 ,they let  
me stay with her1--she liked to have me 
with her4  ,i was glad to sit in the    
darkened room all the long day4 ,i never
 was a  handy child1 but ,i learned to  
be useful to her4 ,i waited on all her  
wants4 ,i held her hand when she reached
 it out as if to meet some kindly       
touch4    ,in the quiet of her room1 ,i 
had not heard the great piece of        
news1--of  the terrible railroad        

accident3 that ,mr4 ,carr1 the ,ernest  
who had been  to see ,miss ,agnes1 was  
among those who were suddenly           
killed1--the very  day he left our      
house6 ,i had not heard it2 so ,i was   
not able to warn  ,fanny1 when she came 
into the sick room of ,miss ,agnes1 the 
first day she  was able to talk1--,i    
could not warn ,fanny that she must not 
speak of it4  ,but she did4 ,how could  
she be so thoughtless8 ,miss ,agnes1 it 
is true1  looked almost well1 as she was
 lying on her couch1 a soft color in her
  cheeks4 ,but then ,fanny need not have
 told her anything so painful4 ,miss    
,agnes looked quite wild1 and turned to 
me as if to know whether it were  true4 
,i could not say anything to her1 but   
knelt by her1--and she seemed  almost   
calm1 as she asked to know all that was 
known1 all the terrible  particulars    
that ,fanny knew so well4    ,she was   
worse after that4 ,we thought she would 
die1 one night4 ,but she  did not die4  
,either she was too weak or too strong  

to die of a broken  heart4 ,perhaps she 
was not strong enough to love so        
earnestly such a one  as ,mr4 ,carr1 or 
else she had such strength as could bear
 the trial that  was given her to bear4 
,she lived1 but life seemed very feeble 
in her for  a long time4    ,one day she
 began to talk with me4    ,you would   
like to know1 ,jeanie1 the story of that
 ring1 she said4    ,i told her ,i was  
afraid to have her talk about it1 but   
she went on3--    ,it is an old         
heirloom1 and all our family history is 
full of stories of  this ring4 ,there   
are so many tales connected with it1    
that every one of  us has looked upon it
 with a sort of superstition1 and       
cherished it as  a talisman connected   
with our lives4 ,it was always a test of
 constancy1  and the stories of those   
occasions when it has detected falsehood
 have  always been remembered4 ,i       
suppose there are many when it has been 
quietly worn1 undisturbed1 that have    
been forgotten4 ,it has told many a  sad

 tale in my own family4 ,it came back1  
broken1 to my brother ,arthur1  and he  
died of a broken heart4 ,my sister      
,eveline gave it to her young  cousin1  
to whom she engaged herself4 ,but       
afterwards1 when she went to  live with 
a gay and heartless aunt of mine1 she   
broke her promise to him  for the sake  
of a richer match4 ,the day that she was
 married1 our cousin  far away saw the  
black letters turn red upon the         
signet-ring4    ,oh1 ,miss ,agnes6 ,i   
exclaimed4    ,and why should not       
letters change8 she asked1 abruptly2 and
 ,i saw her  eyes look out dreamily1 as 
if at something ,i did not see4 ,the    
letter  clothes the spirit2 and the     
spirit gives life to the form4 ,a face  
grows  lovely or unlovely with the      
spirit that lies behind it4 ,i cannot   
say if  there be a spirit in such       
things4 ,yet what we have worn we give a
 value  to4 ,it has an expression in our
 eyes4 ,do we give it all that          
expression1  or has it some life of its 

own8    ,she interrupted herself1 and   
went on3--    ,i had known that ,ernest 
was not true to me4 ,i had known it by  
the words  he wrote to me4 ,they did not
 have the ring of pure silver2 there was
 a  clang to them4 ,when ,fanny read    
aloud the loss of that ring1 it spoke to
  a suspicion that was lying in the     
depth of my heart1 and roused it into   
life4 ,my little ,jeanie1 ,i was very   
sad then4    ,you do not know how deeply
 ,i loved ,ernest ,carr4 ,you do not    
know how ,i  might have loved your      
brother ,george1--yes1 the noble1       
upright ,george4  ,he loved me1 and     
treated me most tenderly2 he found this 
home for me4  ,i did not banish him from
 it1--he would have stayed all these    
years in  ,calcutta1 if it had not been 
for me1--so he said4 ,you cannot        
understand  how it was that ,ernest     
,carr1 whom ,i had known before1 should 
have  impressed me more4 ,you do not    
know1 yet1 that we cannot command our   
love1--that it does not always follow   

where our admiration leads4 ,i  loved   
,ernest for his very faults4 ,the       
fascinations that made the world1  its  
prizes1 its money1 its fame1 so         
attractive to him1 won me as ,i saw     
them in him4 ,it is terrible to think of
 my last meeting with him2 but  his fate
 seems to me not so awful as the fate   
towards which he was  hurrying1--the    
life which could never have satisfied   
him4    ,she left off speaking1 and     
dreamed on1 her eyes and thoughts far   
away4  ,and ,i1 too1 dreamed4 ,i fancied
 my brother ,george coming home1 and    
that  he would meet with that ring      
somehow4 ,i knew it must come back to   
her4  ,and it did2 and he came with it4 
,,two ,,years ,,after4        ,oh1 ,i   
forgot that1 long ago6      ,it was very
 fine at the time1 no doubt1--          
,remembering is so hard1 you know2--    
,well1 you will one day find it out4    
,i love the life of the happy flowers1  
,but ,i hate the brown and crumbling    
leaves2    ,you cannot with spices      

embalm the hours1      ,nor gather the  
sunshine into sheaves4      ,we are     
older now1 and wiser1 too4      ,only   
two summers ago1 you say1    ,two       
autumns1 two winters1 two springs1 since
 you----      ,will you hold for a      
moment my bouquet8    ,yes1--take that  
sprig of mignonette2      ,it will      
wither with you as it would with me3    
,freshness and sweetness a half-hour    
yet1      ,then a toss of the hand1 and 
one is free4      ,why will you talk of 
such silly things8--      ,what a pretty
 bride6 ,do you like her hair8    ,see  
,madam there1 with her twenty rings4    
,ogling the youth with the foreign      
air6--    ,the moon was bright and the  
winds were low1      ,the lilies bent   
listening to what we said8    ,i did not
 make your lilies grow2      ,will they 
bloom for me now they are dead8         
,you hate the rooms and the heartless   
hum1      ,the thick perfumes and the   
studied smile8    ',tis the air ,i love 
to breathe1--yet come1      ,i will     

watch the stars with you awhile2    ,but
 you won't talk nonsense1 you promise   
me8      ,tear from the book the page we
 read2    ,we are friends1--dear        
friends4 ,you must come and see      ,my
 new home1 and soon4--,what was it you  
said8      ,heartsick1 and weary1 and   
sad1 and strange1--      ,ashes and dust
 where swept the fire8    ,i am sorry   
for you1 but ,i cannot change4--        
,did you see that star fall from the    
,lyre8    ,a moment's gleam1 and a      
deeper night      ,closing around its   
wandering way3    ,but then there are   
other orbs as bright2      ,let your    
incense burn to them1 ,i pray4      ,oh1
 conjure your mighty manhood up6        
,let it blaze its best in your flashing 
eyes6    ,can it stare my womanhood     
down1 or hope      ,to scorch my pride  
till it droops and dies8--    ,there1 do
 not be angry2--take my hand2           
,forgive me2--,i meant not anything3    
,i am foolish1 and cannot understand    
,why you throw life out for one dumb    

string4      ,sweeter its music than all
 the rest8      ,it may be so1 though ,i
 cannot tell2    ,but take the good when
 you lose the best1      ,and school    
yourself till it seems as well4    ,love
 may pass by1 but here is fame1         
,and wealth1 and power2--when these are 
gone1    ,god is left1--and the         
altar-flame      ,may1 brightening ever1
 burn on and on4      ,and yet to my    
heart at times there come      ,tidings 
of lands ,i shall never see1    ,sweet  
odors1 and wooing winds1 and hum        
,of bees in the fields that are far from
 me1--    ,far fields1 and skies that   
are always fair2      ,and ,i dream the 
old dreams of heaven1 and you4--    ,but
 here comes the youth of the foreign    
air4      ,i will dance and forget1--and
 you must1 too4          ,a ,,bundle    
,,of ,,old ,,letters4      ,to struggle 
painfully for years1 spending all of    
life's energies for  others1 and then to
 be forgotten by those for whom all was 
hazarded and  consumed1 is a lot        

demanding the most unselfish aims4 ,yet 
this befell  many a suffering patriot in
 our ,revolutionary struggle4 ,the names
 of  those who were the leaders in      
battle and in council1 men whose        
position in the field or whose words in 
,congress gave them a country's         
immortality1 have remained bright in our
 memory4 ,but others there were  who    
cheerfully surrendered eminence in their
 private walks and happiness  in social 
life to endure the hardships of a       
protracted contest till life  was spent1
 and who1 from the very nature of the   
services they rendered1  have remained  
in obscurity4 ,they would not themselves
 repine at this2  for they gave their   
strength1 not for their country's       
applause1 but  their country's good4    
,they sought1 not our remembrance1 but  
our freedom4    ,in many an old garret1 
or treasured up in some old man's safest
 nook1  are worn-out1 faded letters1    
telling of struggles and hopes in that  
long  contest1 that would make their    

writers' names bright on the nation's   
record1 were not the number of those who
 rendered that our golden age  so       
countless4 ,pious is the task of tracing
 the services of some revered  ancestor1
 who gave whatever he had to give1 when 
his country called1 but  whose name is  
not now remembered4 ,those days are fast
 becoming to our  younger race almost   
mythical1 so that every living word from
 the actors  in them is of use in       
vivifying scenes that else would seem   
dim fable4    ,from a somewhat bulky    
bundle of yellow1 tattered letters1 long
 cherished  with fond and filial care1 a
 few are selected to interest the       
readers of  the ,atlantic1 who1 it is   
supposed1 will first be glad to know a  
little  about their writer4    ,dr4     
,isaac ,foster was born in ,charlestown1
 ,massachusetts1 on the #bhth of        
,august1 #agdj4 ,his father1 in early   
life a sea-captain1 making frequent     
voyages between ,boston and ,europe1 was
 for many years a prominent  citizen of 

,charlestown1 participating largely in  
the measures that  preceded and led to  
the ,revolution4 ,at the age of         
eighteen1 ,dr4 ,foster  graduated at    
,harvard1 in the class of #ageh4 ,he    
then studied medicine  under ,dr4 ,lloyd
 of ,boston1 and afterwards completed   
his studies in  ,england4 ,he married1  
as his first wife1 ,martha1 daughter of 
,thaddeus  ,mason of ,cambridge1 and at 
her death1 some years later1 ,mary1     
daughter  of ,richard ,russell of       
,charlestown4 ,in his profession he     
achieved a  considerable reputation1    
acquired a large practice1 and numbered 
among  his pupils ,doctors ,bartlett1   
,welch1 and ,eustis4    ,but while he   
was working his way to position and     
influence1 more  exciting themes began  
to attract his attention4 ,with the     
earliest signs  of coming conflict he   
took a determined stand on the ,colonial
 side4 ,in  the town-meetings of the day
 he seems to have been prominent1 and   
his  name appears on most of the        

important committees appointed by the   
town  in reference to public affairs4   
,thus1 when1 as early as ,november1     
#aggb1  the ,committee of               
,correspondence in ,boston called upon  
the other towns  to stand firm as one   
man1 his name is found upon a committee 
appointed  to answer this letter and    
prepare instructions to the             
representative of  the town in the      
,general ,court4,a    ,footnote ,a3     
,,frothingham',s ,history of            
,charlestown1 p4 #bhf4    ,he was also  
one of a committee appointed to consult 
with the committees  of other towns     
concerning the expected importation of a
 quantity of  tea4 ,this was ,november  
#bdth4 ,on the #bb;d of ,december of the
 same year1 a  petition numerously      
signed was presented to the selectmen1  
asking that a  meeting might be called  
to take some effectual measures to      
prevent the  consumption of tea4 ,among 
the signatures is ,dr4 ,foster's4,b     
,footnote ,b3 ,,frothingham',s ,history 

of ,charlestown1 p4 #bic4    ,he was    
elected a delegate to the ,convention in
 the ,county of ,middlesex1  in ,august1
 #aggd1 and a member of the first       
,provincial ,congress of                
,massachusetts1 in ,october of the same 
year4 ,early in #agge1 he was  appointed
 a surgeon1 and was1 for some months1 at
 the head of the  military medical      
department1 while ,general ,ward        
commanded at ,cambridge4  ,the day after
 the battle of ,concord1 at the urgent  
request of ,general  ,ward and ,dr4     
,warren1 he gave up his private         
practice1 then very large1  to attend   
the wounded4 ,on the #ahth of ,june1 he 
was appointed by the  ,committee of     
,safety to attend the men wounded on the
 previous day at  the battle of         
,bunker's ,hill4 ,he was soon after     
appointed ,surgeon of  the ,state       
,hospital1 and by ,general ,washington1 
on the discovery of the  treachery of   
,dr4 ,church1 in ,october1              
,director-,general1 pro tem41 of  the   

,american ,hospital ,department4        
,congress soon nominated to this post   
,dr4 ,john ,morgan of ,philadelphia1    
,dr4 ,foster remaining as the oldest    
surgeon in the hospital4    ,it seemed  
necessary1 before selecting some of ,dr4
 ,foster's letters1 to  give this       
account of his earlier life1 to show    
that he was no soldier of  fortune or   
eleventh-hour laborer1 but that his     
sympathies were enlisted  and his aid   
given among the earliest of the friends 
of a then doubtful  cause1--and that he 
ventured influence1 wealth1 and         
professional fame1  and abandoned home  
and ease1 at what seemed to him the call
 of his  country4    ,the first extracts
 shall be from a letter to his wife1    
dated    ,new ,york1 ,sunday1 ,p4,m41   
,june #b1 #aggf4    ,,my ,,dear ,,polly1
    ,i received your kind letter of the 
#bgth last1 and thank you for your      
ready acceptance of my invitation to    
come to me4 ,indeed1 my dear1 you  could
 not have given a stronger proof of your

 affection for me4 ,heaven  only knows  
what dangers and difficulties you may be
 exposed to in this  undertaking2 but it
 shall be my constant endeavor to keep  
you out of the  way of danger1 and      
procure the best accommodation for you  
this country  affords4 ,if mother will  
add to her former kindness by taking the
 charge  of our children1 it will       
greatly ease my mind2 and as our enemies
 have1  by their wanton barbarity1 from 
being inhabitants of ,charlestown1 made 
us citizens of the ,united ,colonies at 
large1 ,i believe you will be as  safe  
and happy with or near me as            
anywhere4444    ,the night before last1 
the city was much alarmed4 ,a signal had
 been  made from one of the islands of  
the arrival of a ship to join the small 
fleet at the ,hook4 ,some one raised    
this to a large number of transports    
with the expected ,german forces2 some  
of the ,tories here had the  impudence  
to affirm they had seen eleven sail4    
,when ,i came from the  hospital to my  

lodging1 in the evening1 ,i found the   
neighborhood in  confusion1 the women   
talking of and preparing for flight4 ,i 
thought it  my duty to wait on ,general 
,putnam1 who at present commands here2  
in my  way1 ,i met ,major ,webb1 who    
acquainted me with the truth of the     
matter4  ,upon this occasion1 ,i could  
not help thinking ,i should go to my    
post  with much more alacrity1 if ,i    
might have the pleasure of seeing you   
again first4444    ,your affectionate   
husband1    ,,isaac ,,foster4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,the next is a short extract from a     
letter to his father1 bearing date      
,june #fth1 #aggf4 ,speaking of his     
wife1 he says3--    ,i wish she may have
 a pleasant journey1 and arrive here in 
season to  see the city before our      
enemies attack us4 ,we are in daily     
expectation  of them1 and tolerably     
prepared to receive them4 ,i am under no
  apprehension of their being able to   
get footing here2 but if they behave    

with spirit1 the city must suffer in the
 contest4    ,the next is also to his   
father4    ,new ,york1 ,july #gth1      
#aggf4    ,,honored ,,sir1    ,it is    
with the greatest pleasure ,i embrace   
this opportunity of  congratulating you 
on the most important event that has    
happened  since the commencement of     
hostilities4 ,on ,tuesday1 the #bnd     
inst41 the  ,honorable the ,continental 
,congress declared the ,thirteen ,united
 ,colonies  free and independent        
,states4 ,this ,declaration is to be    
published at  ,philadelphia to-morrow1  
with all the pomp and solemnity proper  
on such  an occasion2 and before the    
week is out1 we hope to have the        
pleasure of  proclaiming it to the      
,british fleet1 now riding at anchor in 
full  view between this city and ,staten
 ,island1 by a feu de joie from our     
musketry1 and a general discharge of the
 cannon on our works4 ,this step1       
whatever some lukewarm would-be-thought 
friends or concealed enemies  may think1

 the cruel oppression1 the wanton1      
insatiable revenge of the  ,british     
,administration1 the venality of its    
,parliament and ,electors1 and  the     
unaccountable inattention of the people 
of ,great ,britain in general  to their 
true interest and the importance of the 
contest with their  late ,colonies1 had 
rendered absolutely necessary for our   
own  preservation1--and has given great 
spirits to the army1 as1 by shutting    
the door against any reconciliation in  
the least degree connected with         
dependence on ,great ,britain1 they know
 for what they are fighting1 and  are   
freed from the apprehension of being    
duped by ,commissioners1 after  having  
risked their lives in the service of    
their country1 and to secure  the       
enjoyment of liberty to their posterity4
           99       99       99       99
       99    ,the next letters of public
 import are addressed to his father1 and
  relate mainly to the expected attack  
upon ,new ,york4    ,new ,york1 ,july   

#bbnd1 #aggf4    ,,honored ,,sir1    ,i 
received your kind favor of the #aeth   
inst4 ,i am glad to hear our  friends   
are all well4 ,i congratulate you on the
 spirited behavior and  glorious success
 of our army under ,general ,lee4 ,it is
 generally thought  to have been a      
decisive action1 at least for this      
summer1 as the two  fifty-gun ships are 
never like to get to sea again4 ,i hope 
by the next  post you will hear some of 
our exploits1 if the enemy have courage 
enough to attack us4 ,it is my week at  
the hospital2 and if anything  happens1 
,i hope to give you the particulars4    
,polly has got much better2  she joins  
me in duty to mother and love to the    
children4 ,there has been  another flag 
from the fleet2 the ,adjutant-,general  
of the ,british troops  has been on     
shore to wait on his ,excellency4 ,he   
endeavored1 but in vain1  to persuade   
him to accept the letter which had been 
twice refused4 ,in  conversation he     
related its contents1 much the same as  

those to the late  ,governor4 ,he was   
answered1 7as ,i am told from good      
authority17 that it  could not be       
expected people who were sensible of    
having committed  no offence should ask 
pardon1--that1 as the ,american ,states 
owed no  allegiance1 so they were not   
accountable1 to any earthly prince4 ,he 
tarried about half an hour1 and seemed  
pleased with the politeness of  his     
reception4      ,july #bc;d1 ,p4,m4     
,i write to congratulate you on advice  
received this day from ,virginia1  an   
agreeable supplement to the paper ,i    
sent yesterday4 ,on the #ith  instant1  
,lord ,dunmore with his slavish         
mercenaries and stolen negroes  were    
driven from their post on ,gwin ,island 
in ,virginia1 and the  piratical fleet  
from their station near it1 with the    
loss of one ship1  two tenders or armed 
vessels burnt by themselves1 three armed
 vessels  taken by our people1 and ,lord
 ,dunmore wounded2 on our side not a man
  lost4 ,i would be more particular1    

but1 as ,i had only time to read the    
,philadelphia paper of yesterday which  
contains the account1 and ,mr4 ,mayo  is
 just setting out1 it is not in my      
power4      ,new ,york1 ,aug4 #ab1 #aggf
    ,polly is still here with me1 and we
 are both very well1 but  disappointed  
in not hearing oftener from our friends 
at ,boston4 ,for news  in general ,i    
must refer to the inclosed paper4 ,i was
 in company the  evening they came to   
this city with the two gentlemen who    
came from  ,england in the packet4 ,they
 say the ,british force on ,staten      
,island  is from twelve to fifteen      
thousand1 of which about one thousand   
are  ,hessians2 that ,lord and ,general 
,howe speak very respectfully of our    
worthy commander-in-chief1 at their     
tables and in conversation giving  him  
the title of ,general2 that many of the 
officers affect to hold our  army in    
contempt1 calling it no more than a mob2
 that they envy us our  markets1 and    
depend much on having their             

winter-quarters in this city1  out of   
which they are confident of driving us1 
and pretend only to dread  our          
destroying of it2 that the officers'    
baggage was embarked1 a number  of      
flat-bottom boats prepared1 and every   
disposition made for an attack1  which  
we may hourly expect4 ,on our side1 we  
have not been wanting2 our  army has for
 several nights lain on their arms1     
occasioned by several  ships of war and 
upwards of thirty transports going out  
at the ,narrows  and anchoring at that  
part of ,long ,island best calculated   
for their  making a descent1 and where  
they received1 by means of flat-bottom  
boats1 a large detachment from the army 
on ,staten ,island4 ,but this fleet     
went to sea yesterday1 where bound we   
know not2 some think1 to go round  the  
east end of ,long ,island1 come down the
 ,sound1 and land on our backs1  in     
order to cut off any retreat1 and oblige
 us to surrender ourselves  and the city
 into their hands3 but if they are so   

infatuated as to  venture themselves    
into a broken1 woody country1 between us
 and the  ,new ,england governments1 ,i 
trust they will have cause to repent    
their  rashness4 ,generals ,heath1      
,spencer1 ,greene1 and ,sullivan are    
promoted by  the ,honorable ,congress to
 the rank of ,major-,generals2 and the  
,colonels ,reed1 ,nixon1 ,parsons1      
,clinton1 ,sinclair1 and ,mc,dougall to 
be  ,brigadier-,generals4 ,we have      
removed all our superfluous clothing1   
and  whatever is not necessary for      
present use1 to ,rye1 whither ,general  
,putnam's lady has retired4 ,miss       
,putnam is yet in town1 and the chaise  
is  in readiness for her and ,polly to  
remove at a minute's warning4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,the following copy of an ,order from   
,head-,quarters was found among the     
papers1 directed apparently to his      
father2 and as ,washington's ,orderly   
,books have never been published1 with  
the exception of a few orders  chiefly  

relating to court-martials1 it has been 
thought that it would  be interesting4  
,though dated on successive days1 it    
seems to have been  issued as one order4
 ,a note by ,dr4 ,foster1 at the close1 
says1--,this  copy was made in a hurry  
by one of the mates4 ,some sentences are
  omitted4 ,imperfect as it is1 ,i      
thought it would be agreeable4 ,the     
principal omission is the order for     
having three days' provisions           
ready-dressed1 and that all who do not  
appear at their posts upon the  signal  
are to be deemed cowards1 and prosecuted
 as such4      ,head-,quarters1 ,august 
#ad1 #aggf4    ,the enemy's whole       
reinforcement is now arrived1 so that an
 attack must  and soon will be made4    
,the ,general1 therefore1 again repeats 
his  earnest request1 that every officer
 and soldier will have his arms and     
ammunition in good order1 keep within   
their quarters and encampment as  much  
as possible1 to be ready for action at a
 moment's call1--and when  called upon1 

to remember that liberty1 property1 and 
honor are all at  stake1 that upon their
 courage and conduct rest the hopes of  
their  bleeding and insulted country1   
that their wives1 children1 and parents 
expect safety from them only1 and that  
we have every reason to expect  that    
,heaven will crown us with success in so
 just a cause4    ,the enemy will       
endeavor to intimidate us by show and   
appearance2 but  remember how they have 
been repulsed on these occasions by a   
few brave  ,americans4 ,their cause is  
bad1 their men are conscious of it1 and1
  if opposed with firmness and coolness 
at their first onset1 with our          
advantages of works and knowledge of the
 ground1 the victory is most  assuredly 
ours4 ,every good soldier will be silent
 and attentive1  wait for orders1 and   
reserve his fire till he is sure of its 
doing  execution2--the officers to be   
particularly careful of this4 ,the      
colonels and commanding officers of     
regiments are to see their              

supernumerary officers so posted as to  
keep their men to their duty2 and  it   
may not be amiss for the troops to know1
 that1 if any infamous rascal  shall    
attempt to skulk1 hide himself1 or      
retreat from the enemy without  the     
orders of his commanding officers1 he   
will instantly be shot down  as an      
example of cowardice4 ,on the other     
hand1 the ,general solemnly  promises   
that he will reward those who shall     
distinguish themselves by  brave and    
noble actions2 and he desires every     
officer to be attentive to  this        
particular1 that such men may be        
afterwards suitably noticed4            
,head-,quarters1 ,august #ae1 #aggf4    
,the ,general also flatters himself that
 every man's mind and arms are  now     
prepared for the glorious contest upon  
which so much depends4    ,the time is  
too precious1 nor does the ,general     
think it necessary1 to  spend it in     
exhorting his brave countrymen and      
fellow-soldiers to behave  like men     

fighting for everything that can be dear
 to free-men4 ,we must  resolve to      
conquer or die4 ,with this resolution1  
victory and success  certainly will     
attend us4 ,there will then be a        
glorious issue to this  campaign1 and   
the ,general will reward his brave      
soldiers with every  indulgence in his  
power4      ,new ,york1 ,august #af1    
#aggf4    ,,honored ,,sir1    ,it is now
 past ten o'clock1 and ,mr4 ,adams1 who 
favors me by carrying  this1 sets out by
 five o'clock to-morrow morning1 so that
 ,i have only  time to acknowledge the  
favors received by ,dr4 ,welch4 ,if ,i  
survive the  grand attack hourly        
expected1 or if it is delayed until     
then1 ,i will  write again by next post4
 ,polly has her things packed up2 the   
chaise can  be ready at a minute's      
warning2 if the wind favors our enemies1
 it is  probable she will breakfast out 
of the way of danger4 ,to-morrow is     
watched for by our army in general with 
eager expectation of confirming  the    

independence of the ,american ,states4  
,all the ,ministerial force from  every 
part of ,america except ,canada1 with   
the mercenaries from ,europe1  being    
collected for this attempt1 ,god only   
knows the event4 ,to ,his  protection ,i
 commend myself1 earnestly praying that 
in this glorious  contest ,i may not    
disgrace the place of my nativity1 nor1 
after it is  over1 be ashamed to see my 
wife1 my children1 and my parents again4
 ,to  the care of ,providence1 and1     
under that1 to you1 honored ,sir1 with  
our  other friends1 ,i commend all that 
is near and dear to me1 and am1 with    
duty to mother1 love to the children1   
c41 c41    ,,your ,,dutiful ,,son4      
,p4,s4 ,our troops are in good spirits1 
and1 relying on the justice of  their   
cause and favor of ,heaven1 assured of  
victory4           99       99       99 
99       99    ,the next four months    
were1 of course1 spent amid the         
hardships of camps  and removals4 ,the  
frequent letters sent to his father and 

other friends  are all of interest to   
those who claim descent from him1 but   
the general  reader can be concerned in 
but a few of more public import1 and1 in
 most  cases1 only in extracts from     
these4    ,bethlehem1 ,state of ,penn41 
,dec4 #bd1 #aggf4    ,,honored ,,sir1   
,i returned from ,general ,washington's 
head-quarters last evening1 and  had the
 pleasure of finding ,polly well and as 
agreeably situated as ,i  could expect4 
,were ,i to attempt writing all ,i wish 
to communicate1 a  week's time and a    
quire of paper would hardly suffice4 ,i 
fancy ,i shall  be no gainer by lending 
my furniture to the ,general            
,court2--,general  ,washington would    
have paid me for the use of it before ,i
 left ,cambridge1  but1 for the credit  
of ,massachusetts1 ,i declined it4      
,fishkill1 ,state of ,n4 ,york1    ,jan4
 #bj1 #aggg4    ,,honored ,,sir1        
,after spending the winter hitherto in  
,pennsylvania and the ,jerseys1  with   
frequent removals1 some loss1 much      

expense and fatigue1 we are once  more  
on the east side of ,hudson's ,river4   
,we arrived at this place last  ,friday1
 in good health1 after a journey of more
 than one hundred miles1  in severe     
weather1 through the upper part of ,new 
,jersey1 a new-settled1  uncultivated   
country4 ,the sight of a boarded house  
or glass window was a  great rarity2 a  
cordial welcome to any connected with   
the ,american army  still greater4      
,although they are fully sensible of the
 value of money1  and we offered cash   
for all we wanted1 yet ,i believe we    
were not a  little obliged to their     
fears for what civility we met with1    
except only  from one family4 ,but ,i   
must defer a particular account until ,i
 have the  happiness to see you4    ,i  
have nothing of news to write but what  
you must hear sooner  in another way4   
,general ,heath and the militia are     
besieging ,fort  ,independence2 if they 
can carry that1 they will attempt ,new  
,york4 ,it is  not improbable ,i shall  

join him in a few days4           99    
99       99       99       99    ,the   
office of ,deputy ,director-,general of 
,hospitals was established by           
ordinance1 ,april #gth1 #aggg2 and four 
days later1 ,dr4 ,foster was chosen  by 
,congress to this office1 having charge 
of the ,eastern ,department4 ,his       
subsequent residence was mainly at      
,danbury1 ,connecticut4           99    
99       99       99       99    ,of    
,tryon's expedition against ,danbury we 
have the following account1  differing  
in some respects from the common        
version3--    ,danbury1 ,may #a1 #aggg4 
,you have doubtless heard of the enemy's
 expedition to this place1 and  been    
anxious for us4 ,this is the first      
moment of leisure ,i have had1  and1 if 
not interrupted1 ,i will endeavor to    
give you a particular  account4    ,on  
,saturday morning1 about three o'clock1 
an express from ,fairfield  brought     
advice1 that a large body1 three or four
 thousand ,british  troops1 had landed  

from upwards of twenty transports1 under
 cover of  some ships of war near that  
place1 and that it was probable their   
design  was against the provision and   
other stores collected in this town2    
another express soon after sunrise      
informed us of their being on the       
march4 ,the militia were mustered1 and a
 few ,continental troops that  were here
 on their way to ,peekskill prepared to 
receive them2 but their  number was so  
inconsiderable1 and that of the enemy so
 large1 with a  formidable train of     
artillery1 ,i had no hope of the place  
being saved4    ,i had1 upon the first  
alarm1 ordered all the stores in my     
charge to  be packed up1 ready for      
removal at a minute's warning4 ,upon the
 second  express1 ,i persuaded ,polly1  
with what money was in my hands1 to quit
 the  town3 she was unwilling1 but ,i   
insisted on it4 ,we were so much put to 
it  for teams to remove the medicines   
and bedding1 that ,i determined rather  
to lose my own baggage than put it on   

any cart intended for that  purpose2 and
 had not a gentleman's team1 already    
loaded with his own  goods1 taken it up1
 ,i must have lost it4 ,as the enemy    
entered the room  at one end1 after our 
troops had retreated to the heights1 ,i 
went out at  the other1 not without some
 apprehension 7as ,i was to cross the   
route of  their flank-guard7 of being   
intercepted by the light horse4         
,after having seen the medicines1 all of
 them that were worth moving1  safe at  
,new ,milford1 ,i returned to town the  
next morning1 and went with  our forces 
in pursuit of the enemy4 ,about noon the
 action began in their  rear1 and       
continued with some intermission until  
night2 the running  fight was renewed   
next morning1 and lasted until the enemy
 got under  cover of their ships4 ,we   
have lost some brave officers and men4  
,their  loss is unknown1 as they buried 
some of their dead1 and carried off     
others2 but1 from the dead bodies they  
were forced to leave on the  field1 it  

must have greatly exceeded ours4        
,general ,wooster was wounded  early in 
the action2 he is in the same house with
 me1 and ,i fear will  not live till    
morning4    ,our loss in provisions1 c41
 is between two and three thousand      
barrels  of pork1 a quantity of flour1  
some wheat1 and some bedding4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,in this bundle are many letters from   
,mrs4 ,foster4 ,they are interesting    
for their true-hearted patriotism and   
domestic love2 but there is  room for   
only a brief extract from a letter      
referring to this same  expedition4     
,danbury1 ,may #ac1 #aggg4    ,,dear    
,,madam1    ,i received yours and       
father's by ,messrs4 ,russell and       
,gorham4 ,doctor had  not the pleasure  
of seeing either of the gentlemen1 as he
 was gone to  ,fishkill to oversee the  
inoculation of the troops1 which was a  
very  great disappointment4    ,i       
expected last ,monday to have been with 
you by this time1 as ,i was  driven from

 here by the enemy 7tho' very           
unexpected1 as this place was  thought  
to be very secure74 ,i removed to ,new  
,milford1 from whence ,i  intended to   
have set out for ,boston4 ,on ,sunday1  
the ,doctor took his  leave1 and left me
 to take care of the wounded4 ,monday   
morning1  everything was got ready for  
me to set out at twelve o'clock1 when ,i
  received a note from the ,doctor1     
desiring ,i would tarry a little longer4
  ,i have now returned to my old        
lodgings at ,danbury1 where the ,doctor 
thinks of building a hospital4 ,he joins
 me in duty and love4    ,your          
affectionate daughter1    ,,mary        
,,foster4           99       99       99
       99       99    ,much of ,dr4     
,foster's time was necessarily spent in 
journeyings to the  several divisions of
 the army and various military stations4
 ,on such  journeys his letters to his  
wife were very frequent4 ,we extract a  
part  of one4    ,palmer1 ,thursday     
even'g1    ,july #ca1 #aggg4    ,,dear  

,,polly1    ,i arrived here1 which is   
eighty-three miles from ,boston1 about  
sunset  this evening1 in good health4   
,the enemy's fleet has sailed from ,new 
,york1 and was seen standing to         
eastward4 ,some suppose them bound for  
,boston2 but ,i cannot think so1 as     
,general ,washington1 who1 ,i presume1  
has the best intelligence1 is moving    
towards ,philadelphia4 ,before you      
receive this1 it will be made certain   
with you4 ,should they attack  ,boston1 
,i would have you get as many of our    
effects as possible removed  out of     
their way1 and inform me by the post    
where you remove to4 ,should  such an   
event take place1 it will become my     
duty1 after visiting  ,danbury1 to      
return to the scene of action4 ,to your 
own prudence and the  care of ,heaven ,i
 leave all1 and am1 with love to the    
children1 ever  yours4           99     
99       99       99       99    ,in the
 lapse of years1 many letters have1     
without doubt1 been lost4  ,thus1 but   

two remain bearing date of #aggh4       
,neither of these contains  matter of   
public import4 ,in ,may1 he speaks of   
intending a journey to  ,yorktown1 and  
says1 if anything extraordinary happens 
between the two  armies1 he shall be on 
the spot4 ,in a letter addressed to his 
father1  dated ,november #bg1 #aggh1 he 
says1--           99       99       99  
99       99    ,public business calls me
 to ,philadelphia2 but the state of your
 health1  and my own1 which is much     
impaired1 determine me to visit ,boston 
first4  ,i expect a visit from the      
,marquis ,la ,fayette next week1 on his 
way to  ,boston1 and shall set out with 
him4           99       99       99     
99       99    ,may #aath1 #aggi1 he    
writes1--    ,to-morrow all the         
gentlemen of the department at this post
 ,danbury  dine with me1 and the next   
morning ,i begin my journey to          
,head-,quarters4  ,i mean to take       
,newark in my way4    ,general ,silliman
 was taken prisoner last week1 and      

carried to ,long  ,island4           99 
99       99       99       99    ,in the
 two following letters to his wife he   
speaks of this visit4    ,philadelphia1 
,june #e1 #aggi4    ,my business is     
almost completed1 and to my mind4 ,i now
 wait for nothing  but the money which  
the ,medical ,committee recommended ,i  
should be  furnished with2 ,i expect to 
receive it the beginning of next week1  
when  ,i shall set out immediately4 ,mr4
 ,samuel ,adams travels with me2 indeed1
  the time seems tedious until get away4
 ,give my duty to our parents1  love to 
the children1 c41 and believe me to be1 
with the sincerest  affection1 my       
dearest ,polly1    ,ever yours4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,philadelphia1 ,june #i1 #aggi4    ,,my 
,,dear ,,polly1    ,another post has    
arrived1 and no letter from ,boston4 ,it
 is now a month1  and near five weeks1  
since ,i have heard from you4 ,if ,i    
thought you had  neglected writing1 it  
would make me very unhappy2 but1 from   

your usual  goodness1 ,i cannot think   
that is the case1 but am confident your 
letters  must have miscarried4 ,i have  
wanted nothing but hearing from you to  
make  my time here perfectly agreeable4 
,i have been received with the greatest 
politeness and friendship1 and every    
attention paid to me1 by men ,i  most   
esteem1 ,i could wish for2 at the same  
time my business has gone  perfectly to 
my mind4 ,i have leave to reside in     
,boston for the future1  and shall be   
under no necessity of attending the     
camp1 nor be obliged  to visit          
,philadelphia oftener than once a year4 
,i am to have a mode of  settling my    
accounts pointed out to me1 that will be
 easy1 simple1 and  much to my mind4 ,i 
now wait for nothing but money to begin 
my journey4  ,the ,treasury ,board this 
morning passed a resolve recommending it
 to  ,congress to furnish me with       
#aej1jjj4 ,i expect to receive the      
warrant  to-morrow1 and as soon as ,i   
get the money shall set out1 which ,i   

expect  will be about next ,monday1     
until which time ,i am engaged for      
almost  every day4 ,i dine this day with
 ,mr4 ,adams2 tomorrow with ,dr4        
,shippen1 in  company with the ,new     
,england delegation2 ,thursday and      
,friday ,i expect  to spend with ,dr4   
,craigie in visiting ,red ,bank1 ,mud   
,island1 and other  principal scenes of 
action while the enemy were here4 ,we   
have an account  that the enemy are in  
motion up the ,north ,river2 but of them
 you will  hear sooner than ,i can      
inform you4 ,general ,lincoln has       
actually defeated  the enemy in         
,carolina1 and is like to take them all 
prisoners4 ,the  express is on the road1
 and expected in town to-morrow1 when   
there will  be great rejoicing4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,the following letter describes one of  
,dr4 ,foster's frequent journeys on     
business of his department4    ,windsor1
 ,october #g1 #aggi4    ,,my ,,dear     
,,polly1    ,as ,i am waiting for ,mr4  

,de ,lamater to come up1 ,i will        
endeavor to give  you an account of our 
journey4 ,the evening we left ,boston   
,dr4 ,warren  rode with us as far as    
,jamaica ,plains2 after he left us we   
proceeded  to ,dedham1 where we arrived 
about dark1 and were exceedingly well   
entertained3 we had a brace of          
partridges for supper4 ,colonel         
,trumbull  spent the evening with us4   
,the next morning we proceeded nine     
miles to  ,heading's to breakfast1 and  
from thence seven miles to ,mann's1     
where  we fed our horses1 and dined at  
,daggett's1 nine miles further2 that    
afternoon we arrived at ,providence1 and
 put up at our old friend  ,olney's4    
,the next day we dined with ,adams and  
,townshend at their  quarters2 the      
,general honored us with his company2   
the same evening  supped with the       
,general4 ,sunday1 dined with the       
,general1 in company with  some of the  
principal ladies of the place2 here ,i  
also saw your old  acquaintance1        

,general ,stark2 he drank tea at my     
quarters one afternoon1  and inquired   
after you4 ,having finished my business 
much to my mind1 ,i  continued my       
journey on ,monday morning2 the         
,general1 ,colonel ,armstrong1  and ,dr4
 ,brown were so polite as to ride out   
four miles with us4 ,after  they left   
us1 we proceeded to ,angell's1 twelve   
miles from ,providence1  where we       
dined1--not on the fat of the land4     
,after dinner we rode to  ,dorrence's1  
an ,irishman1 but beyond all comparison 
the best house on the  road2 here we    
were exceedingly well entertained1 and1 
as it looked like  a storm1 intended    
staying there1 but1 it growing lighter  
towards noon1  we set out1 but had not  
rode far before the rain came on2       
however1 as  we had begun1 we determined
 to go through with it1 and rode a very 
uncomfortable ten miles to ,canterbury1 
where we dined1 poorly enough1 at  one  
,backus's4 ,not liking our quarters1 we 
proceeded1 notwithstanding the  rain1 to

 ,windham1 eight miles further1 where we
 were well entertained at  one ,cary's4 
,as the storm looked likely to continue1
 and ,i was so near  ,windsor1 ,i was   
determined1 if ,i must lie by for it1 to
 lie by in a place  where ,i could do   
some business4 ,i accordingly proceeded 
fifteen miles in  the forenoon to       
,andover1 where ,i dined at one         
,white's1 and fifteen miles  in the     
afternoon to ,bissell's at ,east        
,windsor1 where ,i lodged4 ,i was       
thoroughly soaked1 but do not find that 
,i have got any cold4 ,indeed1 ,i  find 
my health considerably better than when 
,i left ,boston4 ,this morning  it has  
cleared off very pleasant1 and ,i       
crossed from ,east ,windsor to  this    
place4 ,i have just returned from       
visiting ,mr4 ,hooker's and ,dr4        
,johonnot's stores4 ,i find everything  
in such excellent order as to do  credit
 to the department4 ,mr4 ,de ,lamater is
 not yet come up2 as soon as  he arrives
 we shall visit ,springfield4 ,i shall  

not close this letter  until ,i meet the
 post2 if anything worth notice occurs1 
,i shall mention  it4 ,adieu1 my love4  
,october #h4--,mr4 ,de ,lamater arrived 
last night4 ,altho' it is very  raw and 
uncomfortable1 ,i shall proceed         
immediately after dinner to             
,springfield4 ,we have certain advice   
that the ,count ,d',estaing has been  at
 ,georgia1 and taken all the ,british   
ships there2 it is reported1 and        
believed by many1 that he is arrived off
 ,long ,island4 ,you see1 my dear       
,polly1 ,i have set you the example of a
 very long letter4 ,i hope1 as you  have
 leisure enough1 you will follow it1 as 
nothing can give me greater  pleasure4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,fishkill1 ,october #ba1 #aggi4    ,,my 
,,dear ,,polly1    ,i returned from     
,head-,quarters this forenoon4 ,we went 
down yesterday  morning1 and dined with 
,general ,heath1 who was so good as to  
lend us  his barge to carry us to       
,head-,quarters4 ,his ,excellency       

received us as ,i  could wish4 ,he      
invited us to dine with him this day4   
,upon my excusing  myself1 as being in  
haste to finish my journey1 he accepted 
the excuse1  and invited us to breakfast
 with him1 which we did4 ,we returned   
last  night to ,robinson's house1 and   
slept with our friend ,eustis4 ,general 
,heath favored us again with his barge  
to carry us to ,head-,quarters1  and    
after breakfast his ,excellency ordered 
his own to convey us to  our horses1    
which we had ordered four or five miles 
up the river4 ,one  principal reason of 
my declining the ,general's invitation  
to dinner was  my impatience to return  
to ,fishkill1 that ,i might receive a   
letter from  you4 ,judge1 then1 what was
 my disappointment to find the post     
arrived  and no letter4 ,i shall cross  
the ,north ,river to-morrow morning to  
proceed on my journey to ,philadelphia4 
,if the nature of the service will      
allow it1 ,general ,heath and his suit  
propose returning with me to spend  the 

winter in ,boston4 ,eustis desires you  
would look out some suitable  object of 
his attentions1 while in ,boston4 ,he   
pretends it is only with a  view to keep
 him alert and properly attentive to the
 ladies in general2  but ,i suspect he  
designs to become the domestic man4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,morristown1 ,oct4 #bfth1 #aggi4    ,,my
 ,,dear ,,polly1    ,i wrote you from   
,fishkill the day before ,i left it1 and
 shall put this  into the office here   
for the post to take as he comes along4 
,on ,friday1  towards evening1 we left  
,fishkill4 ,it was dark and squally when
 we got  to the landing1 and we had nine
 horses in the boat1 which made us a    
little uneasy1 as a few days before a   
boat had been overset and some  people  
drowned2 however1 we got safe over1 and 
lay that night at ,colonel              
,hawsbrook's1 where you spent two or    
three days on your return from          
,bethlehem4 ,the next morning we        
breakfasted with ,dr4 ,craik at         

,murderer's  ,creek1 and then proceeded 
through the ,clove1 a most disagreeable 
place1  and horrid road4 ,in the evening
 we got to ,ringwood4 ,upon our arrival 
there1 we were informed there was no    
public house in the place1 and it  was  
after dark4 ,colonel ,biddle had favored
 me with an order on all his  magazines 
to supply me with forage2 he has one in 
this place4 ,i waited  on his deputy and
 presented the order2 he went out of the
 room1 and in a  few minutes returned   
with a ,mr4 ,erskine1 who is            
surveyor-general of the  roads2 he gave 
me a polite invitation to spend the     
night at his house1  where we were      
entertained in the most genteel1        
hospitable1 and friendly  manner4 ,a    
shower of rain yesterday morning        
prevented our proceeding1  but1 as it   
cleared up about noon1 we came on       
thirty-four miles to this  place4 ,i    
expect to reach ,philadelphia the day   
after tomorrow4 ,i have  been from home 
almost a month1 and have received but   

one letter1 but  hope to find several   
waiting for me at ,philadelphia1 as ,i  
cannot think  you would miss a post4    
,the enemy last ,thursday left their    
posts at ,stony  ,point and ,verplanck's
 ,point1 and retired to ,new ,york4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,bristol1 ,october #bg1 #aggi4    ,,my  
,,dear ,,polly1    ,i wrote you from    
,morristown1 which it is probable you   
will receive by  this post4 ,lest that  
should miscarry1 this will inform you   
that ,i am at  length arrived within    
twenty miles of ,philadelphia1 where ,i 
expect  to dine this day4 ,a few days   
will determine how long ,i am like to be
  detained there2--,i think it upon     
every account best to finish all my     
business4 ,the gentlemen have bound     
themselves to each other by an          
engagement upon honor1 if nothing is    
done for our department by ,new  ,year's
 day1 all to resign1 and have informed  
,congress of it3 ,i have  joined in the 
engagement4 ,if ,i find ,i am like to be

 detained here any  time1 it is not     
improbable ,i may put my accounts in the
 hands of the  ,commissioners1 and1 if  
,i can get fresh horses1 proceed with   
,mr4 ,lee on a  visit to ,mrs4          
,washington at ,mount ,pleasant in      
,virginia4 ,mr4 ,lee desires  his       
compliments4 ,adieu1 my love4 ,i am1    
with the sincerest affection1    ,ever  
yours4           99       99       99   
99       99    ,danbury1 ,december #h1  
#aggi4    ,,my ,,dear ,,polly1    ,i am 
once more returned to dear ,danbury1 on 
my way to ,boston4 ,i arrived  here     
about an hour since1 and never had a    
more fatiguing1 disagreeable  journey in
 my life than from ,philadelphia here4  
,i expected to have been  in ,boston by 
this time2 but two severe storms1 and   
one day waiting for  his ,excellency at 
,morristown1 have made me twelve days   
performing a  journey which according to
 my usual way of travelling ,i should   
have  performed in four4 ,i have1       
however1 no reason to repent my         

undertaking  this journey4    ,if       
sickness or very bad weather does not   
prevent1 ,i shall certainly be  home by 
,christmas1 and wish to have all our    
friends together2--,i promise  myself a 
great deal of happiness1 and hope ,i    
shall not be disappointed4  ,adieu1 my  
love4           99       99       99    
99       99    ,september #cjth1 #aghj1 
the ,hospital ,department was newly     
organized1 and  the office of ,deputy   
,director-,general was abolished1 and of
 course the  incumbents of that office  
were no longer in the hospital service4 
,dr4 ,foster's health was irreparably   
injured by the fatigues and  exposures  
he had undergone1 and he lingered but a 
few months longer1  dying on the #bgth  
of ,february1 #agha1 in his forty-second
 year4    ,one sentence in his will     
deserves record1 as in harmony with the 
disinterestedness of his life4 ,after   
desiring that all debts due him  should 
be collected as soon as possible after  
his decease1 he adds this  clause3 ,but 

,i would not have any industrious and   
really poor persons  distressed for this
 purpose4    ,the writer of these       
letters needs no additional eulogy4 ,he 
sacrificed  all the prospects of his    
life to give his services in our        
struggle for  freedom4 ,he1 too1 was but
 one of that innumerable multitude who1 
in  more exalted or in humbler stations1
 freely gave their exertions1 their     
wealth1 their comfort1 and their lives  
for freedom and right4 ,it is  possible 
so to linger by the grave of the past as
 to forget the living  present2 but the 
grateful memory of those who have in    
their times  contended for truth with   
self-denial should be ever animating to 
those  now laboring in the holy warfare1
 to which1 in every age1 whether the    
outward signs be of peace or strife1    
,god calls the noble of mankind4        
,therefore bring violets6 ,yet1 if we1  
self-balked1      ,stand still          
a-strewing violets all the while1       
,these had as well not moved1 ourselves 

not        talked      ,of these4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,,in ,,the ,,pines4      ,if ,i were a  
crow1 or1 at least1 had the faculty of  
flying with that  swift directness which
 is proverbially attributed to the      
corvine tribe1  and were to wing a      
southwesterly course from the truck of  
the flag-staff  which rises from the    
,battery at ,new ,york1 ,i should find  
myself1 within a  very short time1 about
 fifty miles from the turbulent city1   
and hovering  over a region of country  
as little like the civilized emporium   
just  quitted as it is well possible to 
conceive4 ,not being a crow1 however1   
nor fitted up with an apparatus for     
flying1--destitute even of a            
balloon1--,i am compelled to adopt the  
means of locomotion which the  bounty of
 ,god or the ingenuity of man affords   
me1 and to spend a  somewhat longer time
 in transit to my destination4    ,over 
the ,new ,jersey ,railroad1 then1 ,i    
rattled1 one fine1 sunshiny autumn      

morning1 in the year that has recently  
taken leave of us1 as far as            
,bordentown1 a distance of some         
fifty-seven miles1 on my way to a       
locality the very existence of which is 
scarcely dreamed of by thousands  in the
 metropolis1 who can tell you how many  
square miles of malaria  there are in   
the ,roman ,campagna1 and who have got  
the topography of  ,caffre ,land at     
their fingers' ends4 ,it is a region    
aboriginal in  savagery1 grand in the   
aspects of untrammelled ,nature2 where  
forests  extend in uninterrupted lines  
over scores of miles2 where we may      
wander  a good day's journey without    
meeting half-a-dozen human faces2 where 
stately deer will bound across our path1
 and bears dispute our passage  through 
the cedar-brakes2 where1 in a word1 we  
may enjoy the undiluted  essence1 the   
perfect wildness1 of woodland life4     
,deep and far under the  shade of       
melancholy boughs we shall be taken1 if 
together we visit the  ancient ,pines of

 ,new ,jersey4    ,in order to do so1 we
 must make at ,bordentown the           
acquaintance of ,mr4  ,cox1 and take our
 seats in his stage for a jolt1 twelve  
miles long1 to  the village of ,new     
,egypt1 on the frontier of the ,pines4  
,although the  forest is accessible from
 many points1 and may be entered by a   
number of  distinct approaches1 ,i1 the 
writer hereof1 selected that vi ,new    
,egypt  as the most convenient to a     
comer from ,new ,york1 and as1 perhaps1 
the  least fatiguing to accomplish4     
,but1 oh6 the horrors of those ,new     
,jersey roads6 ,mud8 ',tis as if all the
  rains of heaven had been concentrated 
upon all the marls and clays of  earth1 
and all the sticky stratum plastered    
down in a wiggling line  of             
unascertainable length and breadth6     
,holes8 ,as if a legion of              
sharpshooters had been detailed for the 
defence of ,sandy ,hook1 and had        
excavated for themselves innumerable    
rifle-pits or caverns for the           

discomfiture of unhappy passengers6 ,up 
hill and down dale1--with  merciless    
ruts and savage ridges1--now1 a slough1 
to all appearance  destitute of bottom1 
and1 next1 a treacherous stretch of     
sand1 into  which the wheels sink deeper
 and deeper at every revolution1 as if  
the  vehicle were ,france1 and the road 
disorder1--such is a faint adumbration  
of the state of affairs in the benighted
 interior of our petulant little        
whiskey-drinking sister ,state6    ,but 
all earthly things come to an end1 and  
so1 accordingly1 did our  three-hours'  
drive4 ,the stage pompously rolled into 
the huddled street  of its terminus1 and
 deposited me1 in the neighborhood of   
noon1 on the  stoop of the only tavern  
supported in the deadly-lively place4   
,no long  sojourn1 however1 was in store
 for me4 ,presently--ere ,i had grown   
tired  of watching the couple of        
clodhoppers1 well-bespattered as to     
boots and  undergarments with ,jersey   
mud1 who1 leaning against a fence in    

true  agricultural laziness1            
deliberately eyed1 or rather1 gloated   
over the  inoffensive traveller1 as     
though he were that daily stranger1  for
 whom1 as is well known1 every          
,jerseyman offers up matutinal          
supplications--a buggy appeared in the  
distance1 and ,i was shortly asked  for4
 ,it was the vehicle in which ,i was to 
seek my destination in the  ,pines2 and 
my back was speedily turned upon the    
queer little  village with the curiously
 chosen name4 ,my driver1 an            
intelligent1  sharp-featured old man1   
soon informs me that he was born and has
 lived  for fifty years in the forest4  
,a curious1 old-world mortal1--our      
father's serving-man1 to the very life6 
,the ,pines are to him what  ,banks and 
,city ,halls and ,cooper ,institutes and
 ,astor ,houses are to a  poor          
cittadini2 every tree is individualized2
 and ,i doubt not he could  find his way
 by night from one end to the other of  
the forest4    ,we had driven no great  

distance1 when my companion lifted his  
whip1 and1  pointing to a long1 dark1   
indistinct line which crossed the road  
in the  distance1 blocking the prospect 
ahead and on either side1 as far as the 
eye could reach1 exclaimed3 ,them's the 
,pines6 ,as we approached the  forest1 a
 change1 theatrical in its suddenness1  
took place in the  scenery through which
 our course was taken4 ,the rich and    
smiling  pasture-lands1 interspersed    
with fields of luxuriant corn1 were left
  behind1 the red clay of the road was  
exchanged for a gritty sand1 and  the   
road itself dwindled to a mere pathway  
through a clearing4 ,the  locality      
looked like a plagiarism from the ,ohio 
backwoods4 ,on both sides  of our path  
spread the graceful undergrowth1 waving 
in an ocean of  green1 and hiding the   
stumps with which the plain was covered1
 while far  away1 to right and left1 the
 prospect was bounded by forest walls1  
and  gloomy bulwarks and parapets of    
pines arose in front1 as if designed1 in

  their perfect denseness1 to exclude   
the world from some bosky ,garden  of   
,paradise beyond4 ,not so1 however2 for 
our pathway squeezes itself  between two
 melancholy sentinel-pines1 tracing its 
white scroll into the  forest farther   
than the eye can follow1 and in a few   
moments we leave  the clearing behind1  
and pass into the shadow of the endless 
avenue1  and bow beneath the trailing   
branches of the silent1 stern1 immovable
  warders at the gate4 ,we were fairly  
in the ,pines2 and a drive of  somewhat 
more than three miles lay before us     
still4    ,the immense forest region ,i 
had thus entered covers an extensive    
portion  of ,burlington ,county1 and    
nearly the whole of ,ocean1 beside parts
  of ,monmouth1 ,camden1 ,atlantic1     
,gloucester1 and other counties4 ,the   
prevailing soils of this great          
area--some sixty miles in length by ten 
in breadth1 and reaching from the river 
,delaware to the very shore of  the     
,atlantic--are marls and sands of       

different qualities1 of which the  most 
common is a fine1 white1 angular sand1  
of the kind so much in  request for     
building-purposes and the manufacture of
 glass4 ,in such an  arid soil the      
coniferae alone could flourish1 and     
accordingly we find  that the           
wide-spreading region is overgrown      
almost entirely with white  and yellow  
pine1 hemlock1 and cedar4 ,hence its    
distinctive appellation4    ,it was a   
most lovely afternoon1 warm and serene  
as only an ,american  autumn afternoon  
knows how to be2 and while we hurried   
past the mute1  monotonous1 yet         
ever-shifting array of pines and cedars1
 the very rays  of the sun seemed to be 
perfumed with the aroma of the fragrant 
twigs1  about which humming-birds now   
and then whirred and fluttered as we    
startled them1 scarcely more brilliant  
in color than the gorgeous maples  which
 grew in one or two dry and open spots4 
,for three-quarters of an  hour our     
drive continued1 until at length a      

slight undulation broke the  level of   
the sand1 and a fence1 inclosing a patch
 of ,indian corn1 from  which the forest
 had been driven back1 betokened for the
 first time the  proximity of some      
habitation4 ,in fact1 having reached the
 summit of the  slope1 ,i found myself  
in the centre of an irregular range of  
dwellings1  scattered here and there in 
picturesque disregard of order1 and     
next moment my hand was grasped by my   
friend ,b4 ,i had reached my            
destination1--,hanover                  
,iron-,works1--and was soon walking up1 
past the  white gateway1 to the ,big    
,house4    ,somewhat less than eighty   
years ago1 ,mr4 ,benjamin ,jones1 a     
merchant of  ,philadelphia1 invested a  
portion of his fortune in the purchase  
of one  hundred thousand acres of land  
in the then unbroken forest of the      
,pines4  ,the site of the present hamlet
 of ,hanover struck him as admirably    
adapted for the establishment of a      
smelting-furnace1 and he accordingly    

projected a settlement on this spot4    
,the ,rancocus ,river forms here a      
broad embayment1 the damming of which   
was easily accomplished1 and one  of the
 best of water-privileges was thus      
obtained4 ,on the north of this  bay or 
pond1 moreover1 there rises a sloping   
bluff1 which was covered1  at the period
 of its purchase1 with ancient trees1   
but upon which a  large and commodious  
mansion was soon erected4 ,here ,mr4    
,jones planted  himself1 and quickly    
drew around him a settlement which rose 
in number  to some four hundred souls2  
and here he commenced the manufacture of
  iron4 ,at frequent intervals in the   
,pines were found surface-deposits  of  
ore1 the precipitate from waters holding
 iron in solution1 which  frequently    
covered an area of many acres1 and      
reached a depth of  from two or three   
inches to as many feet4 ,the ore thus   
existing in  surface-deposits was       
smelted in the iron-works1 and the metal
 thence  obtained was at once molten and

 moulded in the adjoining foundry4      
,here1  in the midst of these spreading 
forests1 many a ponderous casting1  many
 a fiery rush of tons of molten metal1  
has been seen4 ,here1  five-and-forty   
years ago1 the celebrated ,decatur      
superintended1 during  many weeks1 the  
casting of twenty-four pounders1 to be  
used in the  famous contest with the    
,algerine pirates whom he humbled2 and  
the echoes  of the forest were awakened 
with strange thunders then4 ,as the     
great  guns were raised from the pits in
 which they had been cast1 and were     
declared ready for proof1 ,decatur      
ordered each one to be loaded with      
repeated charges of powder and ball1 and
 pointed into the woods4 ,then1  for    
miles between the grazed and quivering  
boles1 crashed the missiles  of         
destruction1 startling bear and deer and
 squirrel and raccoon1 and  leaving     
traces of their passage which are even  
still occasionally  discovered4 ,the    
cannon-balls themselves are now and then

 found imbedded  in the sand of the     
forest4 ,in this manner the guns were   
tried which were  to thunder the        
challenge of ,america against the dens  
of ,mediterranean  pirates4    ,hanover1
 too1 in its day of pride1 furnished    
many a city with its iron  tubes for    
water and for gas1 many a factory and   
workshop with its  castings1 many a     
farmer with his tools1 but the glow of  
the furnace is  quenched forever now4   
,the slowly gathering ferruginous       
deposits have  been exhausted1 and three
 years have elapsed since the           
furnace-fires  were lighted4 ,the       
blackened shell of the building stands  
in cold  decrepitude1 a melancholy      
vestige of usefulness outlived4 ,in     
consequence  of the stoppage of the     
works1 ,hanover has lost seven-eighths  
of its  population1 and only about fifty
 inhabitants remain in the white        
cottages grouped about the ,big ,house1 
who are employed in agricultural  labors
 and occupations connected with the     

forest4 ,yet in this solitary  nook the 
elegances and the tastes of the most    
cultivated society are to  be found4    
,the ,big ,house1 surrounded by its     
well-trimmed gardens sloping  down to   
the broad ,rancocus1 with its           
comfortable apartments1 and the         
diversified prospect which it commands1 
offers a resting-place which1  although 
deep in the genuine forest1 combines    
urban refinement with the  quiet and    
seclusion of country-life4    ,bright   
and early on the morning after my       
arrival1 ,friend ,b4 was at my  door2   
and after a savory1 if hasty breakfast1 
we sounded boute-selle4  ,outside the   
gate a couple of forest-ponies were     
waiting1--stout1 lively1                
five-year-olds1 equal1 if not to a      
two-forty heat1 yet to twenty miles  of 
steady trot without distress1--brown and
 sleek as you please1 with  the         
knowingest eyes1 and intelligence       
expressed in the impatient stamp  of the
 fore-foot1 and good-humor in the       

twitching of the ear4 ,into the  saddle 
and off1 with the cheery breeze to bathe
 us in exhilaration1  as it went humming
 around us laden with aromatic odors and
 mysterious  whisperings of the         
pine-trees to the sea1--through the     
dew-diamonded  grass of the little lawn 
at the top of the hill1--past the great 
elm  with its glistening foliage1 and   
its carolling crew of just-awakened     
birds1--then a canter down the sandy    
slope to the edge of the forest1  and   
again the pines are around us4          
,before us lay a four-mile ride over a  
devious track among trees which my      
companion knows by heart4 ,paths diverge
 into the forest on either side1        
running north and south1 east and west1 
straight and crooked1 narrow  and broad2
 but ,b4 follows unerringly the right1  
though undistinguished  trail4 ,this    
knowledge of woodcraft1--how it appalls 
and wonder-strikes  the unlearned       
metropolitan1 accustomed as he is to    
numbered houses and  name-boarded       

streets6 ,no omnibus-driver threading   
the confusion of a  great thoroughfare  
could shape his course with greater     
assurance and  lack of hesitation than  
does ,b4 through these endless avenues  
of  heavy-foliaged pines1 broken only   
now and then by some tangled1           
impenetrable brake of cedars1 or by a   
charred and blackened clearing1  where  
the coaler has been at work4 ,i         
gradually grew to believe that he  could
 call every tree by its name1 as        
generals have been said to know  every  
soldier in their armies4    ,at length  
we reached a clearing of one or two     
acres in extent1 the site  of ,cranberry
 ,lodge1 and the terminus of our ride4  
,in the centre of the  lone expanse two 
unusually tall pines were left standing1
 at the base of  which a curious        
structure nestled1 which had been for   
several weeks the  occasional hermitage 
of my companion4 ,it was built entirely 
with his own  hands1 of cedar rails and 
white-pine planks1 which he had cut and 

sawed  from trees that his own hands had
 felled4 ,a queer little cabin1 some    
nine feet in length by five or six in   
breadth1 standing all alone in the      
forest1 with not a neighbor within a    
distance of at least four miles6        
,dismounting1 we fastened our horses to 
a couple of saplings1 and ,i was        
introduced to the interior of ,cranberry
 ,lodge1 which was tenanted only  by the
 hired man1 who1 in the absence of ,mr4 
,b41 reigned supreme in  the clearing4  
,the dwelling ,i found no less primitive
 in internal than  in its external      
appearance4 ,three persons1 moderately  
doubled up and  squeezed1 could find    
room in the interior1 which was         
furnished with a  bench for the         
safe-keeping of sundry pots1 pans1 and  
other culinary  necessaries1 and with a 
shelf on which some blankets were laid1 
constituting my companion's bedstead and
 bed1 when he slept in ,cranberry       
,lodge4 ,beneath the bunk a small hole  
scooped in the sand stood in  lieu of a 

cellar1 and contained a stock of        
provisions of ,mr4 ,b4's own  cooking4  
,such a backwoodish dwelling as         
,cranberry ,lodge1 existing in the year 
#aheh1 within seventy miles of ,new     
,york1 requires some explanation4  ,its 
foundation is--pies6 ,cape ,cod1 the    
great emporium of the  cranberry-trade1 
has been running short for the last few 
years2 in other  words1 its supply is   
unequal to the demand4 ,the heavy       
,britishers  have awakened to the fact1 
since #ahea1 that1 of all condiments and
  delicacies1 cranberry-sauce and       
cranberry-pie are best in their way2    
and ,john ,bull takes many a barrel     
clean out of our market now4 ,it so     
happened that in the ,pines of ,new     
,jersey cranberries superior to those   
of ,cape ,cod have grown unheeded for   
centuries1--grew red and purple  and    
white and pink when ,columbus was       
unthought of1 as well as when           
,washington passed through the          
,pines1--and for sixty or seventy years 

have furnished a certain class of       
gypsies--of whom more anon--with        
merchandise which sold well in the      
neighboring villages and cities4  ,no   
one thought of cultivating cranberries2 
no one1 but the gypsies  aforesaid1 of  
gathering them for sale4 ,but it came to
 pass that a  certain farmer of ,hanover
 was1 like many another1 unsuccessful   
during  several years4 ,as a last       
resource1 he purchased of the owner of  
the ,big  ,house a cranberry-bog1--that 
is to say1 one of the many marshy spots 
which are interspersed in the           
forest1--for which he paid five dollars 
the acre4 ,there were a little more than
 one hundred acres in the bog4 ,at  a   
cost of some six hundred dollars ,mr4   
,f4 fenced in his bog1 and spent  three 
months in watching the cranberries as   
they ripened1 to protect  them from     
depredation4 ,to his intense            
astonishment1 he found1 in  ,october1   
that the yield was between two and three
 hundred bushels to the  acre1 and that 

his land and fencing were paid for1 with
 a balance left  over for next year4 ,in
 consequence of this success1 a little  
mania  for cranberry-farming seized upon
 the denizens of the ,pines1 and bogs   
acquired a value they had never borne   
before4 ,this was in #aheg4 ,early in   
#aheh1 one of these plots of land1 with 
an adjoining piece of forest1 was       
rented by ,mr4 ,b41 who1 like a         
right-down ,yankee1 determined to       
cultivate  it himself4 ,so1 with the aid
 of one hired man1 a clearing was made  
in  his forest-patch1 a hut built1 four 
miles from the nearest habitation1  and 
the trees cut down were converted into  
rails1 wherewith to fence in  the       
cranberry-land4 ,at the time of my      
visit1 the crop was just beginning  to  
think of getting ripe1 and the great    
lazy vines1 each one creeping  for      
several feet along the ground1 were     
severally loaded with dozens of         
delicately-tinted berries1 plump and    
fair as ,british beauties1 which        

silently drew to themselves and absorbed
 the rays of the sun1 turning  them to  
color and succulent subacidulousness4 ,a
 most glorious sight that  same         
hundred-acre bog must have been a couple
 of weeks later1 when the  berries had  
ripened1 and a carpet of rosy redness   
blushed upwards to  the waning sun6 ,yet
 #aheh 7the even year7 was a bad season 
for  cranberries1--the yield was only   
sufficient to pay for the land and      
fencing1 with a modicum over to begin   
#ahei with6    ,so cranberries grew to  
be institutions in the ,pines1 and all  
the bogs  for miles around the site of  
the first experiment were hired by      
sanguine  farmers4 ,but the             
cranberry-cultivator has one enemy1     
which is neither  bird1 nor worm1 nor   
blight1 but biped1--a ,rat1 two-legged1 
erect1 or  moderately so1 talking1 even1
 in audible and intelligible            
speech1--the  ,pine ,rat1 namely4 ,few  
but ,new ,jerseymen1 and of them chiefly
 those who  dwell about the forest1 have

 heard of this human species2 it has not
  yet had its ,agassiz nor its          
,wyman1--yet there it flourishes and    
repeats  itself6    ,my friend1 ,mr4    
,b41 considerately undertook to initiate
 me into some  of the mysteries of this 
race1 which has proved minatory1 though 
not  destructive1 to his blushing       
crop1--and accordingly led me through   
brake  and brier1 past wild and gloomy  
cedar-swamps1 over brooks insecurely    
bridged with fallen logs1 or1 perchance1
 with stepping-blocks of  pine-stumps1  
far into the silent forest1 and to a    
little dell or  dingle1--a natural      
clearing1--where a couple of tents were 
pitched1 and  the smoke of a struggling 
fire told infallibly of human           
neighborhood4  ,the barking of a        
splenetic little terrier brought from   
one of the tents  a man of some fifty   
years1 lank and gaunt of visage1 with   
matted hair1  and wild1 uncivilized     
eyes1 dressed in a ragged jacket and    
what had once  been a pair of trousers4 

,his face wore no expression of         
intelligence2  but a look of intense1   
though animal cunning lurked in his     
eyes4 ,while ,i  was gazing on this     
individual1 who stood in silence by his 
tent1 there  emerged from the other an  
ancient female1 who might have been     
eighty  years of age1 but who hobbled   
towards us with much briskness4    ,good
 evening1 ,hannah ,butler1 said ,mr4    
,b42 ,i've brought you some  tomatoes   
from the ,big ,house4 ,this is my       
friend1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,york4    ,mr4   
,smith of ,york 7grimly repressing a    
smile1 as his mischievous memory        
whispered something about ,brooks of    
,sheffield7 bowed gravely to ,mrs4      
,butler4 ,mr4 ,b4 whispers1--,that's the
 ,queen of the ,pine ,rats6 ,hannah     
meanwhile mumbles over one of the fleshy
 tomatoes4    ,the man whom we had first
 seen held in his hand a tattered shawl1
 with  which he now began patching a    
portion of his tent1 saying at the same 
time that there was a storm a-brewing4  

,ay1 is there6 said ,mrs4 ,butler2 and a
 storm like the one when ,i seed        
,leeds's devil--    ,hush6 interrupted  
her ragged companion1 with a look of    
terror4 ,what's  the good o' namin' him1
 and allus talkin' about him1 when yer  
don't  never know as he ar'n't byside   
ye8    ,i'll devil yer6 shrieked the    
crone1 through a half-eaten tomato4     
,finish mendin' up yer cover1 yer mean  
cranberry-thief6    ,the spiteful       
terrier1 which had meanwhile evinced an 
unpleasant interest  in the thickness of
 my pantaloons1 added his yelping to the
 clamor1 and  ,mr4 ,b41 pointing to the 
clouds1 thought we had better hasten    
homewards4  ,so we bade farewell to     
,hannah and her nephew1 as ,i learned   
that the  unfortunate vessel of her     
wrath in reality was1 and dived into the
  gloomy recesses of the ,pines again4  
,long ere we got back to ,cranberry     
,lodge1 all doubts of an impending      
tempest had disappeared4 ,the eastern   
sky1 cloudless an hour before1  was now 

overhung with a livid bank of ash-gray  
clouds1 which were  incessantly riven by
 broad and terrible flashes of silent   
lightning4 ,a  slight westerly breeze   
was blowing1 and evidently impeded the  
progress  of the storm1 which was       
beating up from seaward against the     
wind4  ,plunging through prickly        
thickets and dashing through the turbid 
brooks1  we hastened toward the         
clearing1 committed ,cranberry ,lodge to
 the  custody of the hired man1 and     
untied our horses from the saplings to  
which they were made fast4 ,in another  
moment we were on the back trail4       
,scarcely1 however1 was the clearing    
shut out of view when a little          
hesitating puff of wind from the east   
blew chill upon us2 the breeze had      
veered1 and the tempest was at hand4 ,in
 the twinkling of an eye1 the  western  
horizon was overhung with the same      
ghastly storm-bank that  threatened in  
the east1 while a monitory gust rustled 
through the  sighing pines1 wildly      

twisting and tossing the                
undergrowth1--overspread  with a        
quivering pallor as it bent before the  
breeze1--and bade us be  prepared4 ,next
 moment1 a clap of thunder1 rattling    
like the artillery of  ten thousand     
sieges1 or like millions of bars of iron
 dashed furiously  together1 broke upon 
the forest4 ,it was the most awful      
sound1 terrible  even in its expected   
suddenness1 that ,i ever heard4         
,simultaneously a  flash of purple      
lightning fell from the zenith to the   
horizon1 splitting  the clouds asunder1 
and with it there descended rain in a   
cataract  rather than in torrents1 so   
that in the twinkling of an eye the     
thirsty  sand was saturated1 and        
bubbling pools of water pattered in the 
deluged  path4 ,crash after crash1 each 
clap more terrific than the one         
preceding1  came the awful thunder2     
blinding flashes of lightning darted    
around  us2--but still our phlegmatic   
ponies galloped on1 and only once       

started  violently1 when a peal which   
really seemed as if its shock must burst
  the heavens asunder dazed us          
momentarily with its almost unendurable 
sound4 ,the gloomy canopy above us1     
meanwhile1 was overrun by incessant     
streams of purple lightning1 and the    
deluge of rain still fell4 ,at  length  
we reached the ,big ,house1 7somewhat   
ostentatiously reducing the  speed of   
our horses to a walk as we came within  
sight of its embowered  windows17 and   
were soon dripping in the kitchen4 ,a   
change of apparel1  calling into        
requisition ,mexican ponchos and other  
picturesque  garments1 with a smoke     
beside a roaring fire1 completely       
obviated  all dangerous consequences2   
nor was it without feelings of great    
satisfaction that ,b4 and myself watched
 tranquilly from our comfortable        
ensconcement the beatings of the storm  
on the encircling forest4    ,the ,big  
,house1 ,i found1 was full of legends of
 the ,pine ,rats4 ,this  extraordinary  

race of beings are lineal descendants of
 the ,new ,jersey  ,tories1 who1 during 
the ,revolution1 made the ,pines their  
refuge1 whence  they sallied in         
perpetual forays against the farms and  
dwellings of the  partisans of the      
opposite cause4 ,several hundreds of    
these fanatical  desperadoes made the   
forest their home1 and laid waste the   
surrounding  townships by their sudden  
raids4 ,most barbarous cruelties were   
practised  on both sides1 in the        
contests which continually took place   
between  ,whigs and ,tories1 and the    
unnatural seven-years' war possessed    
nowhere  darker features than in the    
neighborhood of the ,new ,jersey ,pines4
  ,remains of these forest-freebooters  
are still discovered from time to  time1
 in the process of clearing the woods1  
and unmistakable relics are             
occasionally met with in the denser     
portions of the forest1 which must  have
 been comparatively open eighty years   
ago4    ,the degraded descendants of    

these ,tories constitute the principal  
difficulty with which a proprietor in   
this region has to contend4  ,completely
 besotted and brutish in their          
ignorance1 they are incapable  of       
obtaining an honest living1 and have    
supported themselves1 from a  time which
 may be called immemorial1 by practising
 petty larceny on  an organized plan4   
,the ,pine ,rat steals wood1 steals     
game1 steals  cranberries1 steals       
anything1 in fact1 that his hand can be 
laid upon2  and woe to the property of  
the man who dares attempt to restrain   
him6 ,a  few weeks may1 perhaps1 elapse1
 after the tattered savage has received 
a  warning or a reprimand1 and then a   
column of smoke will be seen stealing   
up from some quarter in the forest2--he 
has set the woods on fire6              
,conflagrations of this kind will       
sometimes sweep away many hundreds of   
acres of the most valuable timber2 while
 accidental fires are also of  frequent 
occurrence4 ,when indications of a fire 

are noticed1 every  available hand--men1
 women1 and children alike--is hurried  
to the spot  for the purpose of fighting
 it4 ,getting to leeward of the flames1 
the  fighters kindle a                  
counter-conflagration1 which is drawn or
 sucked  against the wind to the part   
already burning1 and in this manner a   
vacant space is secured1 which proves a 
barrier to the flames4 ,dexterity  in   
fighting fires is a prime requisite in a
 forest overseer or workman4    ,and    
now1 something about ,leeds's devil6 ,i 
said to my friend1 after  satisfactory  
definition of the ,pine ,rat2 what fiend
 may he be1 if you  please8    ,i will  
answer1--,i will tell you1 replies ,mr4 
,b4 ,there lived1 in the  year #agce1 in
 the township of ,burlington1 a woman4  
,her name was ,leeds1  and she was      
shrewdly suspected of a little amateur  
witchcraft4 ,be that  as it may1 it is  
well established1 that1 one stormy1     
gusty night1 when  the wind was howling 
in turret and tree1 ,mother ,leeds gave 

birth to a  son1 whose father could have
 been no other than the ,prince of      
,darkness4  ,no sooner did he see the   
light than he assumed the form of a     
fiend1 with  a horse's head1 wings of   
bat1 and a serpent's tail4 ,the first   
thought of  the newborn ,caliban was to 
fall foul of his mother1 whom he        
scratched  and bepommelled soundly1 and 
then flew through the window out into   
the  village1 where he played the       
mischief generally4 ,little children he 
devoured1 maidens he abused1 young men  
he mauled and battered2 and it  was many
 days before a holy man succeeded in    
repeating the enchantment  of ,prospero4
 ,at length1 however1 ,leeds's devil was
 laid1--but only for  one hundred years4
    ,during an entire century1 the      
memory of that awful monster was        
preserved1 and1 as #ahce drew nigh1 the 
denizens of ,burlington and the  ,pines 
looked tremblingly for his rising4      
,strange to say1 however1 no one  but   
,hannah ,butler has had a personal      

interview with the fiend2 though1  since
 #ahce1 he has frequently been heard    
howling and screaming in the  forest at 
night1 to the terror of the ,rats in    
their lonely encampments4  ,hannah      
,butler saw the devil1 one stormy night1
 long ago2 though some  skeptical       
individuals affirm1 that very possibly  
she may have been led1  under the       
influence of liquid ,jersey lightning1  
to invest a pine-stump1  or1 possibly1 a
 belated bear1 with diabolical          
attributes and a ,satanic  voice4       
,however that may be1 you cannot induce 
a ,rat to leave his hut  after          
dark1--nor1 indeed1 will you find many  
,jerseymen1 though of a  higher order of
 intelligence1 who will brave the       
supernatural terrors of  the gloomy     
forest at night1 unless secure in the   
strength of numbers4    ,the ,pine ,rat1
 in his vocation as a picker-up of every
 unconsidered  trifle1 is an adept at   
charcoal-burning1 on the sly4 ,the      
business of  legitimate                 

charcoal-manufacture is also largely    
practised in the ,pines1  although the  
growing value of wood interferes sadly  
with the coalers4  ,here and there1     
however1 a few acres are marked out     
every year for  charring1 and the       
coal-pits are established in the        
clearing made by  felling the trees4    
,the coaling1 as it is technically      
termed1 is an  assemblage of pits1 or   
piles of wood1 conical in form1 and     
about ten  feet in height by twenty in  
diameter4 ,the wood is cut in equal     
lengths1  and is piled three or four    
tiers high1 each log resting on the end 
of  that below it1 and inclining        
slightly inwards4 ,an opening is left in
 the  centre of the pile1 serving as a  
chimney2 and the exterior is overlaid   
with strips of turf1 called floats1     
which form an almost air-tight          
covering4 ,when the pile is overlaid1   
fire is set at various small  apertures 
in the sides1 and when the whole pit is 
fairly burning1 the  chimney is closed1 

in order to prevent too rapid           
combustion1 and the  whole pile is      
slowly converted into charcoal4 ,the    
application of the  term pit to these   
piles is worthy of remark4 ,it is due1  
of course1  to the fact1 that for       
centuries it was customary to burn      
charcoal in  excavated pits1 until it   
was discovered that gradual combustion  
could be  as well secured by another and
 less tedious method4    ,the ,pine ,rat
 glories in his surreptitious coal-pits4
 ,in secluded  portions of the forest1  
he may continually be discovered        
pottering over  a coaling1 for which he 
has stolen the wood4 ,this1 indeed1 is  
his only  handicraft1--the single labor 
to which he condescends or is equal4    
,two  or three men sometimes band       
together and build themselves huts after
  the curious fashion peculiar to the   
,rat1 namely1 by piling sticks or       
branches in a slope on each side of some
 tall pine1 so that a wigwam1  with the 
trunk of the tree in the centre1 is     

constructed4 ,inside this  triangular   
shelter--the idea of which was probably 
borrowed from the  ,indians--the ,pine  
,rat ensconces himself with his         
whiskey-bottle at  night1 crouching in  
dread of the darkness1 or of ,leeds's   
devil1  aforesaid4 ,in this respect he  
singularly resembles the ,bohemian      
charcoal-burner1 who trembles at the    
thought of ,rbezahl1 that malicious     
goblin1 who has an army of              
mountain-dwarfs and gnomes at his       
command4 ,so  long as the sunlight      
inspires our ,rat with confidence1      
however1 he will  work at his coal-pit1 
while one comrade is away in the forest1
 snaring  game1 and another has1        
perhaps1 been dispatched to the         
precincts of  civilization with his     
wagon-load of coal4 ,yes6 the ,pine ,rat
 sometimes  treads the streets of       
cities1--nay1 even extends his          
wanderings to the  banks of the         
,delaware and the ,hudson1 to           
,philadelphia and ,trenton1  to ,jersey 

,city and ,new ,york4 ,then1 who so     
sharp as the grimy  tatterdemalion1 who 
passes from street to street and from   
house to  house1 with his swart and     
rickety wagon1 and his jangling bell1   
the  discordant clangor of which1 when  
we hear it1 calls up horrible           
recollections of the bells that froze   
our hearts in plague-stricken  cities of
 other lands1 when doomed galley-slaves 
and forats wheeled  awful vehicles of   
putrefaction through the streets1       
clashing and  clinking their clamorous  
bells for more and still more corpses1  
and  foully jesting over the ,death     
which they knew was already upon them6  
,but  the long-drawn1 monotonous1 nasal 
cry of the charcoal-vender--who has  not
 heard it8--,cha-r-coa'6                
,cha-r-coa'6--is more cheerful than the 
demoniac laughter of the desperate      
galley-slaves1 and his bell sounds      
musically when we hear it and think of  
theirs4 ,sometimes a couple of  these   
peregrinants may be seen to encounter   

each other in the streets1  and         
straightway there is an adjournment to  
the nearest bar-room1 where  the most   
scientific method of springing the arch 
is discussed over a  glass of whiskey1  
at three cents the quart4 ,springing the
 arch1 though  few may be able to       
interpret the phrase1 is a trick by     
which every  housewife has suffered4 ,it
 is the secret of piling the coal into  
the  measure in such a manner as to make
 the smaller quantity pass for the      
larger1 or1 in other words1 to make     
three pecks go for a bushel4 ,so the    
,pine ,rat vindicates his claim to a    
common humanity with all the rest  of us
 men and women2 for have not we all our 
secret and most approved  method of     
springing the arch1--of palming off our 
three short pecks for  a full and       
bounteous imperial bushel8 ,ah1 yes6    
brothers and sisters1  whisper it1 if   
you will1 below your breath1 but we all 
can do the ,pine  ,rat's trick6    ,we  
shall not suffer his company much longer

 in this world1--poor1  neglected1      
pitiable1 darkened soul that he is1 this
 fellow-citizen  of ours4 ,he must move 
on2 for civilization1 like a stern1     
prosaic  policeman1 will have no idlers 
in the path4 ,there must be no vagrants1
  not even in the forest1 the once free 
and merry greenwood1 our                
policeman-civilization says2 nay1 the   
forest1 even1 must keep a-moving6  ,we  
must have farms here1 and happy         
homesteads1 and orchards heavy with     
promise of cider1 and wheat golden as   
hope1 instead of silent aisles and      
avenues of mournful pine-trees1         
sheltering such forlorn miscreations as 
our poor cranberry-stealing friends6    
,railways are piercing the ,pines2      
surveyors are marking them out in       
imaginary squares2 market-gardeners  are
 engaging land2 and farmers are clearing
 it4 ,the ,rat is driven from  point to 
point1 from one means of subsistence to 
another2 and shortly1  he will have to  
make the bitter choice between regulated

 labor and  starvation clean off from   
the face of the earth4 ,there is no room
 for  a gypsy in all our wide ,america6 
,the ,rat must follow the ,indian1--must
  fade like breath from a window-pane in
 winter6    ,in fact1 the forest1 left  
so long in its aboriginal savagery1 is  
about  to be regenerated4 ,a railroad is
 to be constructed1 this year1 which    
will place ,hanover and the centre of   
the forest within one hour's travel  of 
,philadelphia2 and it is scarcely too   
much to anticipate1 that1 within  five  
years1 thousands of acres1 now dense    
with pines and cedars of a  hundred     
rings1 will be laid out in blooming     
market-gardens and in fields  of        
generous corn4 ,such little cultivation 
as has hitherto been attempted  has been
 attended by the most astonishing       
results2 and persons have  actually     
returned from the ,west and ,south1 in  
order to occupy farms in the            
neighborhood of ,hanover4    ,in one    
respect c'est dommage2 one is grieved to

 part with the game  that is now so     
plentiful in the ,pines4 ,owing to the  
beneficent provision  of the laws of    
,new ,jersey1 which stringently forbid  
every description of  hunting in the    
,state during alternate periods of five 
years1 game of  all kinds has an        
opportunity to multiply2 and at the     
termination of the  season of rest1 in  
,october1 #aheh1 there was some noble   
hunting in the  neighborhood of         
,hanover4 ,five years hence1 bears and  
deer will be a  tradition1 panthers and 
raccoons a myth1 partridges and quails a
 vain  and melancholy recollection1 in  
what shall then be known as what was    
once the ,pines4           99       99  
99       99       99      ,,the ,,last  
,,bird4            ,little ,bird that   
singest    ,far atop1 this warm         
,december day1        ,heaven bestead   
thee1 that thou wingest1    ,ere the    
welcome song is done1 thy way           
,to more certain weather1    ,where1    
built high and solemnly1 the skies1     

,shaken by no storm together1    ,fixed 
in vaults of steadfast sapphire rise6   
,there1 the smile that mocks us         
,answers with its warm serenity2        
,there1 the prison-ice that locks us    
,melts forgotten in a purple sea4       
,there1 thy tuneful brothers1    ,in the
 palm's green plumage waiting long1     
,mate them with the myriad others1      
,like a broken rainbow bound with song4 
,winter scarce is hidden1    ,veiled    
within this fair1 deceitful sky2        
,fly1 ere1 from his ambush bidden1      
,he descend in ruin swift and nigh6     
,by the ,summer stately1    ,truant1    
thou wast fondly reared and bred3       
,dost thou linger here so lately1       
,knowing not thy beauteous friend is    
dead1--         ,like to hearts that1   
clinging    ,fervent where their first  
delight was fed1       ,move us with    
untimely singing    ,of the hopes whose 
blossom-time is sped8         ,beauties 
have their hour1    ,safely perched on  
the ,spring-budding tree2       ,for the

 ripened soul is trust and power1       
,and1 beyond1 the calm eternity4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,,the ,,utah ,,expedition3    ,,its     
,,causes ,,and ,,consequences4          
,concluded4      ,on the #c;d of ,july1 
the ,commissioners started on their     
return to the  ,states4 ,during their   
stay at ,salt ,lake ,city1 the doubt    
which they had  been led to entertain of
 the wisdom of the policy which they    
were the  agents to carry out1 had      
ripened into a firm conviction4    ,the 
people who were congregated on the      
eastern shore of ,lake ,utah did  not   
begin to repair to their homes until the
 army had marched thirty or  forty miles
 away from the city2 and even then there
 was a secrecy  about their movements   
which was as needless as it was         
mysterious4 ,they  returned in divisions
 of from twenty to a hundred families   
each4 ,their  trains1 approaching the   
city during the afternoon1 would encamp 
on some  creek in its vicinity until    

midnight1 when1 if intended for the     
northern  settlements1 they would pass  
rapidly through the streets1 or else    
make  a circuit around the city-wall4   
,august arrived before the return was   
completed4    ,morning after morning1   
one square after another was seen       
stripped of the  board barricades which 
had sheltered windows and doors from    
intrusion4  ,in front of every gateway  
wagons were emptying their loads of     
household  furniture4 ,the streets soon 
lost their deserted aspect1 though for  
many  days the only wayfarers were      
men1--not a woman being visible1 except1
 by  chance1 to the profane eyes of the 
invaders4 ,it was near the end of ,july 
before a single house was rented except 
to the intimate associates of  the      
,governor4 ,up to that time1 those      
,gentiles who did not follow the  army  
to its permanent camp bivouacked on the 
public squares4 ,by a ,church  edict1   
all ,mormons were forbidden to enter    
into business transactions  with persons

 outside their sect without consulting  
,brigham ,young1 whose  office was beset
 daily by a throng of clients beseeching
 indulgences  and instruction4          
,immediately after his return to the    
city1 however1  he secluded himself from
 public observation1 never appearing in 
the  streets1 nor on the balconies of   
his mansion-house4 ,he even encompassed 
his residence with an armed guard4      
,gradually1 nevertheless1 the           
necessities of the people induced a     
modification of this system of          
non-intercourse4 ,the ,gentile          
merchants1  who were present with great 
wagon-trains containing all those       
articles  indispensable to the comfort  
of life1 of which the ,mormons stood so 
much  in need1 refused to open a single 
box or bale until they could hire       
storehouses4 ,the permission was at     
length accorded1 and immediately the    
absolute external reserve of the people 
began to wear away4 ,both sexes         
thronged to the stores1 eager to supply 

themselves with groceries and  garments2
 but there they experienced a wholesome 
rebuff1 for which some  of them were not
 entirely unprepared4 ,the merchants    
refused to receive  the paper of the    
,deseret ,currency ,association with    
which the ,territory  was flooded2 and  
its notes were depreciated instantly by 
more than  fifty per cent4 ,many of the 
people were driven to barter cattle and 
farm-produce for the articles they      
needed2 and for the first time since    
the establishment of the ,church in     
,utah an audible murmur arose among  its
 adherents against its exactions4 ,the  
sight of their neglected  farms was also
 calculated to bring the poorer         
agriculturists to sober  reflection4    
,they perceived that the army1 which    
they had been taught to  believe would  
commit every conceivable outrage1 was1  
on the contrary1  demeaning itself with 
extreme forbearance and even kindness   
toward them1  and was supplying an      
ampler market for the sale of their     

produce than  they had enjoyed since the
 years when the overland emigration to  
,california culminated4 ,nevertheless1  
their regrets1 if entertained at  all1  
found no public and concerted utterance4
 ,the authority of the  ,church exacted 
a sullen demeanor toward all ,gentiles4 
,the #bdth of ,july1 the great ,mormon  
anniversary1 was suffered to pass       
without celebration2 but its recurrence 
must have suggested anxious  thoughts   
and bitter recollections to a great part
 of the population4  ,when they         
remembered their enthusiastic           
declaration of independence  only one   
year before1 the warlike demonstrations 
which followed it1 the  prophecies of   
,young that the ,lord would smite the   
army as he smote the  hosts of          
,sennacherib1 the fever of hate and     
apprehension into which they  had been  
worked1 and contrasted that period of   
excitement with their  present          
condition1 they must1 indeed1 have found
 abundant material for  meditation4 ,by 

the emigration southward they had lost  
at least four  months of the most       
valuable time of the year4 ,their       
families had been  subjected to every   
variety of exposure and hardship4 ,their
 ready money  had been extorted from    
them by the ,currency ,association1 or  
consumed in  the expenses of            
transporting their movables to ,lake    
,utah4 ,and more than  all1 the fields  
had so suffered by their absence1 that  
the crops were  diminished to at least  
one-half the yield of an ordinary year4 
,to a  community the mass of which lives
 from hand to mouth1 this was a most    
serious loss4    ,almost all agriculture
 in ,utah is carried on by the aid of   
irrigation4  ,from ,april till ,october 
hardly a shower falls upon the soil1    
which  parches and cracks in the hot    
sunshine4 ,the settlements are all at   
the  base of the mountains1 where they  
can take advantage of the brooks that   
leap down through the caons4 ,they are1 
therefore1 necessarily scattered  along 

the line of the main ,wahsatch range1   
from the ,roseaux ,river1 which  flows  
into the ,salt ,lake from the north1 to 
the ,vegas of the ,santa  ,clara1--a    
distance of nearly four hundred miles4  
,the labor expended in  ditching has    
been immense1 but it has been confined  
wholly to tapping  the smaller streams4 
,by damming the ,jordan in ,salt ,lake  
,valley and the ,sevier in ,parawan     
,valley1 and distributing their water   
over the broad bottom-lands1 on  which  
the only vegetation now is wild sage and
 greasewood1 the area of  arable ground 
might be quintupled2 and any            
considerable increase of  population    
will render such an undertaking         
indispensable2 for the narrow  strip    
which is fertilized by the              
mountain-brooks yields scarcely more    
than enough to supply the present number
 of inhabitants4 ,nowhere does it       
exceed two or three miles in breadth1   
except along the eastern shore of  ,lake
 ,utah1 where it extends from the base  

of the mountains to the verge  of the   
lake4    ,almost all cereals and        
vegetables attain the utmost perfection1
  rivalling the most luxuriant          
productions of ,california4 ,within the 
last  few years the cultivation of the  
,chinese sugar-cane has been introduced1
  and has proved successful4 ,in ,salt  
,lake ,city considerable attention is   
paid to horticulture4 ,peaches1 apples1 
and grapes grow to great size1 at  the  
same time retaining excellent flavor4   
,the grape which is most common  is that
 of the vineyards of ,los ,angeles4 ,in 
the vicinity of ,provo an  attempt has  
been made to cultivate the tea-plant2   
and on the ,santa ,clara  several       
hundred acres have been devoted to the  
culture of cotton1  but with imperfect  
success4 ,flax1 however1 is raised in   
considerable  quantity4 ,the fields are 
rarely fenced with rails1 and almost    
never with  stones4 ,the dirt-walls by  
which they are usually surrounded are   
built by  driving four posts into the   

ground1 which support a case1 ten or    
twelve  feet in length1 made of boards4 
,this is packed full of mud1 which dries
  rapidly in the intense heat of a      
summer noon4 ,when it is sufficiently   
dry to stand without crumbling1 the     
posts are moved farther along and  the  
same operation is repeated4    ,the     
country is not dotted with farmhouses1  
like the agricultural  districts of the 
,east4 ,the inhabitants all live in     
towns1 or forts1 as  they are more      
commonly called1 each of which is       
governed by a ,bishop4  ,these are      
invariably laid out in a square1 which  
is surrounded by a  lofty wall of mere  
dirt1 or else of adobe4 ,in the smaller 
forts there  are no streets1 all the    
dwellings backing upon the wall1 and    
inclosing  a quadrangular area1 which is
 covered with heaps of rubbish1 and     
alive  with pigs1 chickens1 and         
children4 ,the same stream which        
irrigates the  fields in the vicinity   
supplies the people with water for      

domestic  purposes4 ,there are few      
wells1 even in the cities4 ,except in   
,salt ,lake  ,city and ,provo1 no barns 
are to be seen4 ,the wheat is usually   
stored  in the garrets of the houses2   
the hay is stacked2 and the animals are 
herded during the winter in sheltered   
pastures on the low lands4    ,all the  
people of the smaller towns are         
agriculturists4 ,in none of them  is    
there a single shop4 ,in ,provo there   
are several small manufacturing         
establishments1 for which the abundant  
water-power of the ,timpanogas  ,river1 
that tumbles down the neighboring caon1 
furnishes great  facilities4 ,the       
principal manufacturing enterprise ever 
undertaken in  the ,territory--that for 
the production of beet-sugar--proved a  
complete  failure4 ,a capital advanced  
by ,englishmen1 to the amount of more   
than one hundred thousand dollars1 was  
totally lost1 and the result            
discouraged foreigners from all similar 
investments4 ,rifles and  revolvers are 

made in limited number from the iron    
tires of the numerous  wagons in which  
goods are brought into the ,valley4     
,there are tanneries1  and several      
distilleries and breweries4 ,in the     
large towns there are  many thriving    
mechanics2 but elsewhere even the       
blacksmith's trade  is hardly           
self-supporting1 and the carpenters and 
shoemakers are all  farmers1 practising 
their trades only during intervals from 
work in the  fields4    ,the deficiency 
of iron1 coal1 and wood is the chief    
obstacle to the  material development of
 ,utah4 ,no iron-mines have been        
discovered1 except  in the extreme      
southern portion of the ,territory2 and 
the quality of the  ore is so inferior1 
that it is available only for the       
manufacture of the  commonest household 
utensils1 such as andirons4 ,the        
principal coal-beds  hitherto found are 
in the immediate vicinity of ,green     
,river4 ,there are  several sawmills1   
all run by water-power1 scattered among 

the more  densely-wooded caons2 but they
 supply hardly lumber enough to meet the
  demand1--even the sugar-boxes and     
boot-cases which are thrown aside at    
the merchants' stores being eagerly     
sought after and appropriated4 ,the     
most ordinary articles of wooden        
furniture command extravagant prices4   
,nowhere is the absence of trees1 the   
utter desolation of the scenery1  more  
impressive than in a view from the      
southern shore of the ,great ,salt      
,lake4 ,the broad plain which intervenes
 between its margin and the  foot of the
 ,wahsatch ,range is almost entirely    
lost sight of2 the  mountain-slopes1    
their summits flecked with snow1 seem to
 descend into  water on every side      
except the northern1 on which the blue  
line of the  horizon is interrupted only
 by ,antelope ,island4 ,the prospect in 
that  direction is apparently as        
illimitable as from the shore of an     
ocean4  ,the sky is almost invariably   
clear1 and the water intensely blue1    

except  where it dashes over fragments  
of rock that have fallen from some      
adjacent cliff1 or where a wave1 more   
aspiring than its fellows1  overreaches 
itself and breaks into a thin line of   
foam4 ,through a gap in  the ranges on  
the west1 the line of the ,great ,desert
 is dimly visible4  ,the beach of the   
lake is marked by a broad belt of fine  
sand1 the grains  of which are all      
globular4 ,along its upper margin is a  
rank growth of  reeds and salt grass4   
,swarms of tiny flies cover the surface 
of every  half-evaporated pool1 and a   
few white sea-gulls are drifting on the 
swells4 ,nowhere is there a sign of     
refreshing verdure except on the        
distant mountainsides1 where patches of 
green grass glow in the sunlight  among 
the vast fields of sage4    ,the        
buildings throughout the entire         
,territory are1 almost without          
exception1 of adobe4 ,the brick is of a 
uniform drab color1 more pleasing  to   
the eye than the reddish hue of the     

adobes of ,new ,mexico or the buff      
tinge of many of those in ,california4  
,in size it is about double that        
commonly used in the ,states4 ,the clay1
 also1 is of very superior  quality4    
,the principal stone building in the    
,territory is the ,capitol1  at         
,fillmore1 one hundred and fifty miles  
south of ,salt ,lake ,city4 ,the  design
 of the architect is for a very         
magnificent edifice in the shape  of a  
,greek cross1 with a rotunda sixty feet 
in diameter4 ,only one wing  has been   
completed1 but this is spacious enough  
to furnish all needful  accommodation4  
,the material is rough-hammered         
sandstone1 of an intense  red4    ,the  
plan of ,salt ,lake ,city is an index to
 that of all the principal  towns4 ,it  
is divided into squares1 each side of   
which is forty rods  in length4 ,the    
streets are more than a hundred feet    
wide1 and are all  unpaved4 ,there is   
not a single sidewalk of brick1 stone1  
or plank4 ,the  situation is well       

chosen1 being directly at the foot of   
the southern  slope of a spur which juts
 out from the main ,wahsatch range4     
,less than  twenty miles from the city1 
almost overshadowing it1 are peaks which
  rise to the altitude of nearly twelve 
thousand feet1 from which the snow  of  
course never disappears4 ,but during the
 summer months1 when scarcely  a shower 
falls upon the valley1 its drifts become
 dun-colored with dust  from the friable
 soil below1 and present an aspect      
similar to that of  the ,pyrenees at the
 same season4 ,during most of the year1 
the rest of  the mountains which        
encircle the ,valley are also capped    
with snow4 ,the  residences of ,young   
and ,kimball are situated on almost the 
highest  ground within the city-limits1 
and the land slopes gradually down from 
them to the south1 east1 and west4 ,this
 inclination suggested the mode  of     
supplying the city with water4 ,a       
mountain-brook1 pure and cold1  bubbling
 from under snow-drifts1 is guided from 

this highland down  the gently sloping  
streets in gutters adjoining both the   
sidewalks4 ,a  municipal ordinance      
imposes severe penalties on any one who 
fouls it4  ,young's buildings and       
gardens occupy an entire square1 ten    
acres in  extent1 as do also ,kimball's4
 ,they consist1 first1 of the ,mansion1 
a  spacious two-storied building1 in the
 style of the ,yankee-,grecian villas   
which infest ,new ,england towns1 with  
piazzas supported by ,doric columns1    
and a cupola which is surmounted by a   
beehive1 the peculiar emblem of  the    
,mormons1 although there is not a single
 honey-bee in the ,territory4  ,this1   
like all its companions1 is of adobe1   
but it is coated with  plaster1 and     
painted white4 ,next to it is a small   
building1 used  formerly as an office1  
in which the temporal business of the   
,governor  was transacted4 ,by its side 
stands another office1 on the same      
model1  but on a larger scale1 devoted  
to the business of the ,president of the

  ,church4 ,these are connected by      
passage-ways both with the ,mansion and 
with the ,lion-,house1 which is the most
 westerly of the group1 and is the      
finest building in the ,territory1      
having cost nearly eighty thousand      
dollars4 ,like both the offices1 it     
stands with a gable toward the  street1 
and the plaster with which it is covered
 has a light buff tinge4  ,the          
architecture is ,elizabethan4 ,above a  
porch in front is the figure  of a      
recumbent lion1 hewn in sandstone4 ,on  
each of the sides1 which  overlook the  
gardens1 ten little windows project from
 the roof  just above the eaves4 ,the   
whole square is surrounded by a wall of 
cobblestones and mortar1 ten or twelve  
feet in height1 strengthened by         
buttresses at intervals of forty or     
fifty feet4 ,massive plank gates bar    
the entrances4 ,in one corner is the    
,tithing-,office1 where the faithful    
render their reluctant tribute to the   
,lord4 ,only the swift city-creek       

intervenes between this square and      
,kimball's1 which is encompassed by a   
similar wall4 ,his buildings have no    
pretensions to architectural merit1     
being merely rough piles of adobe       
scattered irregularly all over the      
grounds4    ,the ,temple ,square is in  
the immediate neighborhood1 and is of   
the same  size4 ,it is inclosed by a    
wall even more massive than the others1 
plastered and divided into panels4 ,near
 its southwestern corner stands  the    
,tabernacle1 a long1 one-storied        
building1 with an immense roof1         
containing a hall which will hold three 
thousand people4 ,there the  ,mormon    
religious services are conducted during 
the winter months2 but  throughout the  
summer the usual place of gathering to  
listen to the  sermons is in boweries1  
so called1 which are constructed by     
planting  posts in the ground and       
weaving over them a flat roof of        
willow-twigs4  ,an excavation near the  
centre of the square1 partially filled  

with dirt  previously to the exodus to  
,provo1 marks the spot where the ,temple
 is  to rise4 ,it is intended that this 
edifice shall infinitely surpass in     
magnificence its predecessor at ,nauvoo4
 ,the design purports to be a           
revelation from heaven1 and1 if so1 must
 have emanated from some one  of the    
,gothic architects of the ,middle ,ages 
whose taste had become  bewildered by   
his residence among the spheres2 for the
 turrets are to be  surmounted by       
figures of sun1 moon1 and stars1 and the
 whole building  bedecked with such     
celestial emblems4 ,only part of the    
foundation-wall  has yet been laid1 but 
it sinks thirty feet deep and is eight  
feet broad  at the surface of the       
ground4 ,its length1 according to the   
heavenly  plan1 is to be two hundred and
 twenty feet1 and its width one hundred 
and fifty feet4 ,beside the ,tabernacle 
and the incipient ,temple1 the only     
considerable building within the square 
is the ,endowment-,house1 where  those  

rites are celebrated which bind a member
 to fidelity to the ,church  under      
penalty of death1 and admit him to the  
privilege of polygamy4    ,the other    
principal buildings within the city are 
the ,council-,house1  a square pile of  
sandstone1 once used as the             
,capitol1--and the ,county              
,court-,house1 yet unfinished1 above    
which rises a cupola covered with  tin4 
,most of the houses in the immediate    
vicinity of ,young's are two  stories   
high1 for that is the aristocratic      
quarter of the town4 ,in  the outskirts1
 however1 they never exceed one story1  
and resemble in  dimensions the         
innumerable cobblers'-shops of ,eastern 
,massachusetts4    ,none of the streets 
have names1 except those which bound the
 ,temple  ,square and are known as      
,north1 ,south1 ,east1 and ,west ,temple
 ,streets1 and  also the broad avenue   
which receives the road from ,emigration
 ,caon and  is called ,emigration       
,street4 ,except on ,east ,temple or    

,main ,street1 which  is the business   
street of the city1 the houses are all  
built at least  twenty feet back from   
the sidewalk1 and to each one is        
attached a  considerable plot of ground4
 ,there is no provision for lighting the
  streets at night4 ,the cotton-wood    
trees along the borders of the gutters  
have attained a considerable growth     
during the eight or nine years since    
they were planted1 and afford an        
agreeable shade to all the sidewalks4   
,around a great portion of the city     
stretches a mud wall with embrasures    
and loopholes for musketry1 which was   
built under ,young's direction in       
#ahec1 ostensibly to guard against      
,indian attacks1 but really to keep  the
 people busy and prevent their          
murmuring4 ,to the east of this runs a  
narrow canal1 which was dug by the      
voluntary labor of the ,saints1 nearly  
fifteen miles to ,cottonwood ,creek1 for
 the transportation of stone to be  used
 in building the ,temple4    ,just      

outside the city-limits1 near the       
northeastern corner of the wall1  lies  
the ,cemetery1 on a piece of undulating 
ground traversed by deep  gullies1 and  
unadorned even by a solitary tree1--the 
only vegetation  sprouting out of its   
parched soil being a melancholy crop of 
weeds  interspersed with languid        
sunflowers4 ,the disproportion between  
the  deaths of adults and those of      
children1 which has been a subject for  
comment by every writer on ,mormonism1  
is peculiarly noticeable there4  ,most  
of the graves are indicated only by     
rough boards1 on which are  scrawled    
rudely1 with pencil or paint1 the names 
and ages of the dead1  and usually also 
verses from the ,bible and scraps of    
poetry2 but among  all the inscriptions 
it is remarkable that there is not a    
single  quotation from the ,book of     
,mormon4 ,the graves are totally        
neglected  after the bodies are         
consigned to them4 ,nowhere has a shrub 
or a flower  been planted by any        

affectionate hand1 except in one little 
corner of  the inclosure which is       
assigned to the ,gentiles1 between whose
 dust and  that of the ,mormons there   
seems to exist a distinction like that  
which  prevails in ,catholic countries  
between the ashes of heretics and those 
of faithful churchmen4 ,the mode of     
burial is singularly careless4 ,a       
funeral procession is rarely seen2 and  
such instances are mentioned by         
travellers as that of a father bearing  
to the grave the coffin of his  own     
child upon his shoulder4    ,the        
interiors of the houses are as neat as  
could be expected1  considering the     
extent of the families4 ,very often1    
three wives1 one  husband1 and          
half-a-dozen children will be huddled   
together in a  hovel containing only two
 habitable rooms1--an arrangement of    
course  subversive of decency4 ,few     
people are able to purchase carpets1 and
  their furniture is of the coarsest and
 commonest kind4 ,there are few1 if     

any1 families which maintain servants4  
,in that of ,brigham ,young1 each  woman
 has a room assigned her1 for the       
neatness of which she is herself        
responsible2--,young's own chamber is in
 the rear of the office of the          
,president of the ,church1 upon the     
ground floor4 ,the precise number  of   
the female inmates can often be computed
 from the exterior of the  houses4      
,these being frequently divided into    
compartments1 each with its  own        
entrance from the yard1 and its own     
chimney1 and being generally  only one  
story in height1 the number of doors is 
an exact index to that  of residents4   
,the domestic habits of the people vary 
greatly according to their  nativity4   
,of the forty-five thousand inhabitants 
of the ,territory1 at  least one-half   
are immigrants from ,england and        
,wales1--the scum of the  manufacturing 
towns and mining districts1 so          
superstitious as to have  been capable  
of imbibing the ,mormon faith1--though  

between what is  preached in ,great     
,britain and what is practised in       
,america there exists  a wide           
difference1--and so destitute in        
circumstances as to have been  incapable
 of deteriorating their fortunes by     
emigration4 ,possibly  one-fifth are    
,danes1 ,swedes1 and ,norwegians4 ,this 
allows a remainder of  three-tenths for 
the native ,american element4 ,an       
,irishman or a ,german is  rarely found4
 ,of the ,americans1 by far the greater 
proportion were born  in the            
,northeastern ,states2 and the three    
principal characters in the  history of 
the ,church--,smith1 ,young1 and        
,kimball--all originated in  ,vermont1  
but were reared in ,western ,new ,york1 
a region which has been  the hot-bed of 
,american isms from the discovery of the
 ,golden ,bible to  the outbreak of the 
,rochester rappings4 ,this ,american    
element maintains1  in all affairs of   
the ,church1 its natural political      
ascendency4 ,of the  twelve ,apostles   

only one is a foreigner1 and among the  
rest of the  ecclesiastical dignitaries 
the proportion is not very different4   
,the ,scandinavian ,mormons are very    
clannish in their disposition4 ,they    
occupy some settlements exclusively1 and
 in ,salt ,lake ,city there is one      
quarter tenanted wholly by them1 and    
nicknamed ,denmark1 just as that        
portion of ,cincinnati monopolized by   
,germans is known as over the  ,rhine4  
,like their ,english and ,welsh         
associates1 they belonged to the  lowest
 classes of the mechanics and peasantry 
of their native countries4  ,they are   
all clownish and brutal4 ,their women   
work in the fields4  ,in their houses   
and gardens there is no symptom of      
taste1 or of the  recollection of former
 and more innocent days2 while in every 
cottage  owned by ,americans there is   
visible1 at least1 a clock1 or a pair of
  ,china vases1 or a rude picture1 which
 once held a similar position in  some  
farm-house in ,new ,england4    ,it is  

not intended to discuss here the        
cardinal points of the ,mormon  faith1  
for the subject is too extensive for the
 limits of this article4  ,a great      
misapprehension1 however1 prevails      
concerning polygamy1 that it  was one of
 the original doctrines of the ,church4 
,on the contrary1 it was  expressly     
prohibited in the ,book of ,mormon1     
which declares3--    ,behold1 ,david and
 ,solomon truly had many wives and      
concubines1 which  thing was abominable 
before me1 saith the ,lord4 444         
,wherefore hearken to  the word of the  
,lord3 ,there shall not any man among   
you have save it  be one wife1 and      
concubines he shall have none2 for ,i1  
the ,lord ,god1  delight in the chastity
 of women4--p4 #aah4    ,up to this     
date1 there have been four eras in the  
history of polygamy  among the ,mormons3
 the first1 from about #ahcc to #ahdc1  
during which it  was practised          
stealthily only by those ,church leaders
 to whom it was  considered prudent to  

impart the secret2 the second1 from     
#ahdc to #aheb1  during which its       
existence was known to the ,church1 but 
denied to the  world2 the third1 from   
#aheb to #ahef1 during which it was left
 to the  discretion of individuals      
whether to adopt its practice or not2   
and the  fourth1 since #ahef1 when its  
acceptance was inculcated as essential  
to  happiness in this world and         
salvation in the next4 ,it was the      
inevitable  tendency of ,mormonism1 like
 every other religious delusion1 from   
the  advent of ,john of ,leyden to that 
of the ,spiritualists1 to disturb the   
natural relation of the sexes under the 
,christian dispensation4 ,the  mystery  
surrounding the subject constituted the 
most attractive charm of  the religion1 
both to the initiated and to those who  
were seeking to be  admitted to the     
secrets of the ,endowment1--for the     
,endowed alone possess  the privilege of
 a plurality of wives4 ,but until the   
community had  become firmly fixed in   

,utah1 no one dared to justify or even  
to proclaim  the doctrine4 ,at the time 
of the passage of the ,organic ,act of  
the  ,territory1 in the autumn of #ahej1
 and repeatedly during the next  two    
years1 prominent ,mormons at ,washington
 and ,new ,york denied its  existence1  
with the most solemn asseverations4 ,it 
was on ,sunday1 ,august  #bith1 #aheb1  
that it was openly avowed at ,salt ,lake
 ,city1--,brigham ,young  on that day   
producing the copy of a revelation1     
pretended to have  been received by     
,smith on the #abth of ,july1 #ahdc1    
which annulled  the monogamic           
injunctions of the ,book of ,mormon1 and
 stating1 that1  although the doctrine  
of polygamy has not been preached by the
 elders1  the people have believed in it
 for years4 ,upon the same occasion1    
another doctrine was urged1--that human 
beings upon earth propagate  merely     
bodies1 the souls which inhabit them    
being begotten by spirits in  heaven4   
,the number of the wives of many of the 

principal ,mormons has been  greatly    
exaggerated4 ,attached to ,young's      
establishment in ,salt ,lake  ,city1    
there are only sixteen4 ,his first wife 
occupies the ,mansion-,house            
exclusively1 while the others are       
quartered in the ,lion-,house4 ,besides 
these1 he has probably fifty or sixty   
more1 scattered all over the            
,territory1 and in the principal cities 
of the ,united ,states and of ,great    
,britain4 ,his living children do not   
exceed thirty in number4 ,kimball's     
wives1 resident in ,salt ,lake ,city1   
are quite as numerous as ,young's1 and  
his children even more so4 ,both of them
 aim to reproduce the domestic  life of 
the ,biblical patriarchs2 and within the
 squares which they  occupy their       
descendants dwell also1 with their wives
 and progeny1 all  of them acknowledging
 the control of the head of the family4 
,the harems  of very few of the ,church 
dignitaries approach these in magnitude4
 ,the  extent of the practice of        

polygamy cannot be determined by a      
residence  in ,salt ,lake ,city alone1  
for it is there that those ,church      
officers  congregate whose wealth       
enables them to maintain large families4
 ,as  the traveller journeys northward  
or southward1 he finds the instances    
diminish in almost exact proportion to  
his remoteness from the central         
ecclesiastical influence4 ,there is even
 a sect of ,mormons1 called             
,gladdenites1 after their founder1 one  
,gladden ,bishop1 who deny the  right of
 ,young to supreme authority over the   
,church1 and discountenance  polygamy4  
,no computation of their number can be  
made1 for few of them  dare avow their  
heresy1 on account of the persecution   
which is the  invariable result4 ,the   
leaders of this sect maintain that a    
majority of  the married men in ,utah   
have but one wife each1 and their       
assertion has  never been controverted4 
,one of the most monstrous results of   
the practice is the indifference  with  

which an incestuous connection is       
tolerated4 ,the cohabitation1 with  the 
same man1 of a mother1 and her daughter 
by a previous marriage1 is  not         
unfrequent2 and there are other         
instances even more disgusting4 ,one  or
 two of them will exemplify the         
character of the whole4 ,one ,george ,d4
  ,watt1 an ,englishman1 residing at    
,salt ,lake ,city1 has for his fourth   
wife his own half-sister1 who had been  
previously divorced from ,brigham       
,young2 and one ,aaron ,johnson1 the    
,bishop of the town of ,springville1  on
 ,lake ,utah1 has seven wives1 four of  
whom are sisters1 and his own  nieces4  
,young himself has declared in print1   
that he looks forward to  the time when 
his son by one wife shall marry his     
daughter by another4  ,marriages also   
are effected with girls who are mere    
children4 ,accustomed  from their       
cradles to sights and sounds calculated 
to impart precocious  development1 they 
mature rapidly1 and few of them remain  

single after  attaining the age of      
sixteen4 ,they look around for husbands1
 and  understand1 that1 if they marry   
young men and become first wives1 in    
course of time other wives will be      
associated with them2 and they          
conclude1 therefore1 that it is as well 
for themselves to unite with  some      
,bishop or ,high-,priest1 with perhaps  
half-a-dozen wives already1 who  is able
 to feed his family well and clothe them
 decently2 so they plunge  into polygamy
 at once4 ,another result of the        
practice is universal  obscenity of     
language among both sexes4 ,the         
published sermons of the  ,mormon       
leaders are utterly vile in this        
respect1 although they are  somewhat    
expurgated before being printed4 ,they  
consider no language  profane from which
 the name of the ,deity is exempted4    
,there is1 unquestionably1 much         
unhappiness in families where polygamy  
prevails1--daily bickering1 jealousies1 
and heart-burnings1--but it  is         

carefully concealed from the knowledge  
of the public4 ,if domestic  troubles   
become so aggravated as to be           
unendurable1 recourse is usually  had to
 ,brigham ,young for a divorce4 ,there  
are women in ,salt ,lake ,city  who have
 been married and divorced half-a-dozen 
times within a year4 ,the  first wife   
maintains a supremacy over all the      
others4 ,on the occasion  of her        
marriage1 a civil magistrate usually    
officiates1 and the rite of  sealing is 
afterwards administered by ,young4 ,by  
the civil process1  in the cant language
 of the ,mormons1 she is bound to her   
husband for  time1 and by the           
ecclesiastical solemnization for        
eternity4 ,every  wife taken after the  
first is called a spiritual1 and is     
sealed  ecclesiastically only1 not      
civilly4 ,it follows1 as a legitimate   
consequence1 that the first wife of one 
man for time may be the  spiritual wife 
of another man for eternity4 ,the power 
of sealing and  unsealing is vested in  

the ,head of the ,church1 which1        
however1 he may  and does assign1 with  
certain limitations1 to deputies4 ,the  
ceremony is  performed in a room in the 
,mansion-,house within ,brigham's       
square1 which  is furnished with an     
altar and kneelng-benches4 ,in every    
instance of  divorce1 the woman is      
supplied with a printed certificate of  
the fact1  for which a fee of ten or    
eleven dollars is exacted4 ,when a      
polygamist  dies1 it becomes the duty of
 his next friend to care for his wives4 
,thus1 when ,young became the ,president
 of the ,church1 he succeeded to all    
the widows of ,joseph ,smith4    ,every 
year some modification of the system is 
effected1 which tends to  increase still
 further the confusion in the relations 
of the sexes4 ,the  latest is the       
doctrine1 7which1 like polygamy in its  
earlier stages1 is  believed1 but not   
avowed17 that absence is temporary      
death1 so far as  concerns the          
transference of wives4 ,this is intended

 to apply to the two  or three hundred  
missionaries who are dispatched yearly  
to all parts  of the globe1 from        
,stockholm to ,macao4 ,it is astonishing
 that these  missionary efforts1 which  
have been pursued with unremitting zeal 
for  the last twenty years1 should not  
have ingrafted upon ,mormonism some     
degree of that refinement which is      
supposed to result from travel4 ,on  the
 contrary1 they seem to have elaborated 
the natural brutality of the            
,anglo-,saxon character2 and especially 
with regard to polygamy1 their  effect  
has been to acquaint the people of ,utah
 with the grossest  features of its     
practice in foreign lands1 and encourage
 them to  imitation4 ,every ,mormon1    
prominent in the ,church1 however       
illiterate  in other respects1 is       
thoroughly acquainted with the extent   
and  characteristics of polygamy in     
,asiatic countries1 and prepared to     
defend  his own domestic habits1 in     
argument1 by historical and geographical

  references4 ,not one of their         
missionaries has ever been admitted to  
intercourse with the higher classes of  
,european society4 ,their sphere  of    
labor and acquaintance has been entirely
 among those whom they would  term the  
lowly1 but who might also be called the 
credulous and vulgar4  ,the abuse of a  
knowledge of the machinery of the       
,masonic order--from  which they have   
been formally excluded--is one of the   
least evil of  their practices1 not only
 abroad1 but at home4 ,of the           
,endowment1 one  apostate ,mormon has   
declared that its signs1 tokens1 marks1 
and ideas  are plagiarized from         
,masonry2 and it was a notorious fact1  
that every  one of the ,mormon prisoners
 at the camp at ,fort ,bridger was      
accustomed  to endeavor to influence the
 sentinels at the guard-tents by means  
of  the ,masonic signs4    ,this cursory
 review of the domestic condition of the
 ,mormons would not  be complete without
 some allusion to the ,indians who      

infest the whole  country4 ,in the      
,north1 having their principal village  
at the foot of the  ,wind ,river        
,mountains1 in the southeastern corner  
of ,oregon1 is the tribe  of ,mountain  
,snakes or ,shoshonees1 and the kindred 
tribe of ,bannocks4  ,throughout all the
 valleys south of ,salt ,lake ,city are 
the numerous  bands of the great tribe  
of ,utahs4 ,still farther south are the 
,pyides4  ,the ,snakes are superior in  
condition to any of the others2 for1    
during  a portion of the year1 they have
 access to the buffalo1 which have not  
crossed the ,wahsatch ,range into the   
,great ,basin1 within the recollection  
of the oldest trapper4 ,the only wild   
animals common in the country of  the   
,utahs are the hare1 or jackass-rabbit1 
the wild-cat1 the wolf1 and  the grizzly
 bear4 ,there are few antelope or elk4  
,trout abound in the  mountain-brooks   
and in ,lake ,utah4 ,in the ,salt ,lake1
 as in the ,dead ,sea1  there are no    
fish4 ,before the advent of the         

,mormons1 the habits of all  the ,utah  
bands were very degraded4 ,no agency had
 been established among  them4 ,they had
 few guns and blankets4 ,for several    
years they were  engaged in constant    
hostilities with the people of the young
 and feeble  settlements1--their own    
method and implements of warfare        
improving  steadily all the while4      
,ultimately1 however1 the ,mormons      
inaugurated a  system of ,indian policy1
 which was highly successful4 ,they     
propagated  their religion among the    
,utahs1 baptized some of the most       
prominent  chiefs into the ,church1 fed 
and clothed them1 and thereby acquired  
an  ascendency over most of the bands1  
which they attempted to use to the      
detriment of the army during the winter 
of #aheg-h1 but without success4        
,brigham ,young1 being vested with the  
superintendence of ,indian affairs1     
during his entire term of service as    
,governor1 abused the functions of  that
 office4 ,he taught the tribe1 that     

there was a distinction between         
,americans and ,mormons1--and that the  
latter were their friends1  while they  
were free to commit any depredations on 
the former which  they might see fit4   
,these infamous teachings were          
counteracted with  considerable success 
by ,dr4 ,hurt1 the ,indian ,agent1 to   
whom allusion has  frequently been made2
 but it was impossible wholly to        
neutralize their  effect4 ,some of the  
,mormons even took squaws for spiritual 
wives2 and in  all the settlements1 from
 ,provo to the ,santa ,clara1 there are 
scores of  half-breed children1         
acknowledging half-a-dozen mothers1 some
 white1  some red4 ,the ,utahs1 though a
 beggarly1 are a docile tribe4 ,several 
,government farms have now been         
established among them1 and they display
  more than ordinary aptitude for work4 
,but they require to be spurred to      
regular labor4 ,none of the charges     
which have been preferred against  the  
,mormons1 of direct participation in the

 murder of ,americans by  the ,indians  
in the southern portion of the          
,territory1 have ever been              
substantiated by legal evidence2 but no 
person can become familiar with  the    
relations which they sustain to those   
tribes1 without attaching  to them some 
degree of credibility4 ,the most noted  
instances were the  slaughter of        
,captain ,gunnison and his exploring    
party1 near ,lake ,sevier1  in ,october1
 #ahec2 and the horrible massacre of    
more than a hundred  emigrants on their 
way to ,california1 at the ,mountain    
,meadows1 still  farther south1 in      
,september1 #aheg1 from which only those
 children were  spared who were too     
young to speak4    ,the history of      
events in ,utah since the encamping of  
the army in ,cedar  ,valley and the     
return of the ,mormons to the northern  
settlements is too  recent to need to be
 recounted4 ,it has been established by 
satisfactory  experiments1 that law is  
powerless in the ,territory when it     

conflicts  with the ,church4 ,no        
,gentile1 whose property was confiscated
 during the  rebellion1 has yet obtained
 redress4 ,the legislature refuses to   
provide  for the expenses of the        
,district ,courts while enforcing the   
,territorial  laws4 ,the grand juries   
refuse to find indictments4 ,the        
traverse juries  refuse to convict      
,mormons4 ,the witnesses perjure        
themselves without  scruple and without 
exception4 ,the unruly crowd of         
camp-followers1 which  is the           
inseparable attendant of an army1 has   
concentrated in ,salt  ,lake ,city1 and 
is in constant contact and conflict with
 the ,mormon  population4 ,an           
apprehension prevails1 day after day1   
that the presence  of the army may be   
demanded there to prevent mob-law and   
bloodshed4  ,the ,governor is alien in  
his disposition to most of the other    
,federal  officers2 and the ,judges are 
probably already on their way to the    
,states1 prepared to resign their       

commissions4 ,the whole condition of    
affairs justifies a prediction made by  
,brigham ,young1 ,june #agth1 #ahee1  in
 a sermon1 in which he declared3--      
,though ,i may not be ,governor here1 my
 power will not be diminished4 ,no  man 
they can send here will have much       
influence with this community1  unless  
he be the man of their choice4 ,let them
 send whom they will1 it  does not      
diminish my influence one particle4     
,the consequences of the ,expedition1   
therefore1 have not corresponded  to the
 original expectation of its projectors4
 ,so far as the political  condition of 
the ,territory is concerned1 the result1
 filtered down1  amounts simply to a    
demonstration of the impolicy of        
applying the  doctrine of ,squatter     
,sovereignty as a rule for its          
government4 ,the  administration of     
,president ,polk was an epoch in the    
history of  the continent4 ,by the      
annexation of ,texas a system of        
territorial  aggrandizement was         

inaugurated2 and the treaty of          
,guadalupe ,hidalgo1 by  which          
,california1 ,utah1 and ,new ,mexico    
were acquired1 was a legitimate  result4
 ,every child knows that the tendency is
 toward the acquisition of  all ,north  
,america4 ,but the statesmen who        
originated a policy so  grand did not   
stop to establish a system of           
,territorial government  correspondent  
to its necessities4 ,the character of   
such a ,territorial  policy is now the  
principal subject upon which the great  
parties of  the nation are divided2 and 
its development will constitute the     
chief  political achievement of the     
generation4 ,on one side1 it is proposed
 to  leave each community to work out   
its own destiny1 trusting to ,providence
  for the result4 ,on the other1 it is  
contended1 that the only safe  doctrine 
is1 that supreme authority over the     
,territories resides in  ,congress1     
which it is its duty to assign to such  
hands and in such  degrees as it may    

deem expedient1 with a view to create   
homogeneous  ,states2 that the same     
influences which moulded ,minnesota into
 a ,state  homogeneous to ,massachusetts
 might operate on ,cuba1 or ,sonora and 
,chihuahua1 without avail2 and that to  
various districts the various  methods  
should be applied which a father would  
employ to secure the  obedience and     
welfare of his children4    ,at the very
 outset1 the ,territory of ,utah now    
presents itself as a  subject for the   
application of the one system or the    
other4 ,to all  intents and purposes1   
the ,mormons are proved to be a people  
more foreign  to the population of the  
,states than the inhabitants of ,cuba or
 ,mexico4  ,alien in great part by      
birth1 and entirely alien in religion1  
there  never can occur in the history of
 the country an instance of a community 
harder to govern1 with a view to adapt  
it to harmonious association  with the  
,states on the ,atlantic and the        
,pacific4 ,it is undeniably             

demonstrated that it is unsafe to trust 
it to administer a government in        
accordance with republican ideas2 for it
 acknowledges a higher law than  even   
the human conscience1 in the will of a  
person whom it professes  to believe a  
vicegerent of ,divinity1 and in         
obedience to whom perjury1  robbery1    
incest1 and even murder1 may be         
justifiable1--for his commands  are     
those of ,heaven4 ,it is obvious that it
 is fruitless to anticipate  fair       
dealing from a people professing such   
doctrines2 and the result has  shown1   
that1 in transactions with ,mormons1    
even under oath1 no one who  does not   
acknowledge a standard of religious     
belief similar to their own  can count  
upon justice any farther than they may  
think it politic  to accord it4 ,the    
army is1 indeed1 placed in a position to
 suppress  instantaneously another      
forcible outbreak2 but everybody is     
aware that  there are means of annulling
 the operation of law quite as          

effectually  as by an uprising in arms4 
,recent proceedings in the courts of the
  extreme ,southern ,states have caused 
this fact to be keenly appreciated4     
,the pirates who sailed the slavers     
,echo and ,wanderer yet remain to  be   
punished4 ,so far as ,south ,carolina   
and ,georgia are concerned1 the law     
declaring the slave-trade piracy is a   
dead letter2 and the sentiment  which   
prevails toward it in ,charleston and   
,savannah is an imperfect  index of that
 which is manifested at ,salt ,lake     
,city toward all national  authority4   
,the legislation of ,utah has been      
conducted with a view to precisely the  
condition of affairs which now exists1  
and the ,territorial statute-book  shows
 that the transfer of executive power   
from ,brigham ,young had long  been     
anticipated4 ,it is impracticable to    
adduce1 in this place1 proof of  the    
fact in extenso2 but a brief enumeration
 of some of the principal  statutes will
 indicate the character of the entire   

code4 ,an act exists  incorporating the 
,mormon ,church with power to hold      
property1 both real  and personal1 to an
 indefinite extent1 exempt from         
taxation1 coupled  with authority to    
establish laws and criteria for its     
safety1  government1 comfort1 and       
control1 and for the punishment of all  
offences  relating to fellowship1       
according to its covenants4 ,by this act
 the  ,church is invested with absolute 
and perpetual sovereignty4 ,under it    
the whole system of polygamy is         
conducted1 for plural marriages are     
sanctioned by the covenants2 the ,danite
 organization is authorized1 for  it is 
instituted for the comfort and control  
of the ,church1 and the  punishment of  
offences relative to fellowship2 the    
burden of the taxes  is thrown in a     
yearly increasing ratio upon ,gentiles1 
for the ,church  property exempted from 
taxation amounts already to several     
millions  of dollars1 and increases     
every day2 and the treasonable rites of 

the  ,endowment are celebrated1 and the 
inferior members of the ,church tithed  
and pillaged1 for the benefit of the    
,first ,presidency and the ,twelve      
,apostles4 ,acts also exist legalizing  
negro and ,indian slavery4 ,there are   
within the ,territory at the present    
time not more than fifty or sixty       
negroes1 but there are several hundred  
,indians1 held in servitude4  ,these are
 mostly ,pyides1 into whose country some
 of the ,utah bands make  periodical    
forays1 capturing their young women and 
children1 whom they  sell to the        
,navajoes in ,new ,mexico1 as well as to
 the ,mormons4 ,there are  other acts1  
which rob the ,united ,states judges of 
their jurisdiction1  civil1 criminal1   
and in equity1 and confer it on the     
,probate ,courts2  which forbid the     
citation of any reports1 even those of  
the ,supreme  ,court of the ,united     
,states1 during any trial2 which        
regulate the descent  of property so as 
to include the issue of polygamic       

marriages among the  legal heirs2 which 
withdraw from exemption from attachment 
the entire  property of persons         
suspected of an intention to leave the  
,territory2  which authorize the        
invasion of domiciles for purposes of   
search1 upon  the simple order of any   
judicial officer2 which legalize the    
rendition  of verdicts in civil cases   
upon the concurrence of two-thirds of   
the  jurors2 which command attorneys to 
present in court1 under penalty  of fine
 and imprisonment1 in all cases1 every  
fact of which they are  cognizant1      
whether calculated to make against their
 clients or not2  which restrict the    
institution of proceedings against      
adulterers to the  husband or the wife  
of one of the guilty parties2 which levy
 duties  on all goods imported into the 
,territory for sale2 which abolish  the 
freedom of the ballot-box1 by providing 
that each vote shall be  numbered1 and a
 record kept of the names of the        
electors with the  numbers attached1    

which1 together with the ballots1 shall 
be preserved  for reference2 and which  
empower the county courts to impose     
taxes to  an indefinite amount on       
whomsoever they may please1 for the     
erection  of fortifications within their
 respective jurisdictions4 ,but the most
  extraordinary and unconstitutional    
series of acts--no less than sixty  in  
number--exists with regard to the       
primary disposal of the soil1 with      
which the ,territorial legislature is   
expressly forbidden by the ,organic     
,act to interfere4 ,these pretend to    
confer upon ,church dignitaries1 and    
especially on ,brigham ,young and his   
family1 tracts of land probably         
amounting in the aggregate to more than 
ten thousand square miles1 as  well as  
the exclusive right to establish bridges
 and ferries over the  principal rivers 
in the ,territory1--together with the   
exclusive use of  those streams flowing 
down from the ,wahsatch ,mountains which
 are most  valuable for irrigating and  

manufacturing purposes4 ,the virtual    
control  of the settlement of the       
eastern portion of ,utah is thus vested 
in  the ,church2 for these grants       
include almost all the lands which are  
immediately valuable for occupation4    
,after a glance at a list of them1  it  
is not hard to understand the causes of 
the great disparity in the  distribution
 of wealth among the ,mormons4 ,they    
have been so allotted as  to benefit a  
very few at the expense of the whole    
people2 and they are  protected by a    
terrorism which no one dares to confront
 in order to  challenge their validity4 
,the majority of the population are     
ignorant  of their rights1--and too     
pusillanimous to maintain them against  
the  hierarchy1 if they were not4 ,they 
therefore contribute to its coffers  not
 merely their tithing1 but heavy        
exactions also for grazing their  cattle
 on pastures to which they themselves   
have just as much title as  the nominal 
proprietors1 and for grinding their     

grain and purchasing  their lumber at   
mills on streams which are of right     
common to all the  settlers on their    
banks4    ,from the ,utah ,expedition1  
then1 it has become patent to the world1
 if  it is not to ourselves1 that the   
,mormons are unwilling to administer a  
republican form of government1 if not   
incapable of doing so4 ,the author  of  
the letter recently addressed by ,a ,man
 of the ,latin ,race to the  ,emperor   
,napoleon1 on the subject of ,french    
influence in ,america1  comments        
especially upon this fact as symptomatic
 of the disintegration  of this         
republic2 and allusion is made to it in 
every other foreign  review of our      
political condition4 ,it is obviously   
inconsistent with our  national dignity 
that a remedy should not be immediately 
applied2 but  when we seek for such1    
only two courses of action are          
discernible1 in  the maze of political  
quibbles and constitutional scruples    
that at once  suggest themselves4 ,one  

is1 to repeal the ,organic ,act and     
place the  ,territory under military    
control2 the other is1 to buy the       
,mormons out  of ,utah1 offering them a 
reasonable compensation for the         
improvements  they have made there1 as  
also transportation to whatever foreign 
region  they may select for a future    
abode4    ,the embarrassments which     
might result from the adoption of the   
former  course are obvious4 ,it would be
 attended with immense expense1 and     
would  embitter the ,mormons still more 
against the ,national ,government2 and  
it would also deter ,gentiles from      
emigrating to a region where three      
thousand ,federal bayonets would        
constitute the sole guaranty of the     
security of their persons and property4 
,the other course is not only           
practicable1 but humane and expedient4  
,during his whole career1 ,brigham      
,young committed no greater mistake than
  when he settled in ,utah a community  
whose recruits are almost without       

exception drawn from foreign lands2 for1
 since the removal from  ,illinois1     
every attempt to propagate ,mormonism in
 the ,american ,states  has been a      
failure4 ,every avenue of communication 
with ,utah is  necessarily obstructed4  
,no railroad penetrates to within eleven
 hundred  miles of ,salt ,lake ,valley4 
,there is no watercourse within four    
hundred  miles1 on which navigation is  
practicable4 ,neither the ,columbia nor 
the  ,colorado empties into seas        
bordered by nations from which the      
,mormons  derive accessions2 and the    
length of a voyage up the ,mississippi1 
,missouri1 and ,yellowstone forbids any 
expectation that their channels  will   
ever become a pathway to the centre of  
the continent4 ,the road to  ,utah must 
always lead overland1 and travel upon it
 is the more expensive  from the fact   
that no great passenger-transportation  
companies exist at  either of the       
termini4 ,each family of emigrants must 
provide its own  outfit of provisions1  

wagons1 and oxen1 or mules4 ,through the
 agency of  what is called the          
,perpetual ,emigration ,fund of the     
,church1 the capital  of which amounts  
to several millions of dollars1--which  
was instituted  professedly to befriend1
 but really to fleece the foreign       
converts1--few  ,englishmen arrive at   
,salt ,lake ,city without having        
exhausted their own  means and incurred 
an amount of debt which it requires the 
labor of many  years to discharge4 ,the 
physical sufferings of the journey1     
also1 are  severe and often fatal4 ,the 
bleak cemetery at ,salt ,lake ,city     
contains  but a small proportion of the 
,mormon dead4 ,along the thousand miles 
of  road from the ,missouri ,river to   
the ,great ,lake1 there stand1 thicker  
than milestones1 memorials of those who 
failed on the way4 ,a rough  board1 a   
pile of stones1 a grave ransacked by    
wolves1 crown many a swell  of the      
bottom-lands along the ,platte2 and     
across the broad belt of  mountains     

there is no spot so desolate as to be   
unmarked by one of these  monuments of  
the march of ,mormonism4    ,as these   
difficulties of transit subside under   
the surge of population  toward the new 
,state of ,oregon1 or to the            
gold-diggings on the  head-waters of the
 ,south ,fork of the ,platte1 an element
 must permeate  ,utah which would be    
fatal to the supremacy of the ,church4  
,that depends1  as has been so often    
repeated1 upon isolation4 ,already the  
presence of  the army with its crowd of 
unruly dependents has begun to disturb  
it4  ,in the trail of the troops1 like  
sparks shed from a rocket1 a legion  of 
mail-stations and trading-posts have    
sprung up1 which materially  facilitate 
communication with the ,east4 ,a        
horseman1 starting now from  ,fort      
,leavenworth1 with a good animal1 can   
ride to ,salt ,lake ,city1  sleeping    
under cover every night2 while in ,july1
 #aheg1 when the army  commenced its    
march from the frontier1 there were     

stretches of more than  three hundred   
miles without a single white inhabitant4
 ,on the west1  under the shadow of the 
,sierra ,nevada1 there is a settlement  
of several  thousand ,gentiles in       
,carson ,valley1 who1 though nominally  
under the same  ,territorial government 
with the ,mormons1 have no real         
connection with  them1 politically1     
socially1 or commercially1 and are      
petitioning  ,congress for a            
,territorial organisation of their own4 
,a telegraphic wire  has already wound  
its way over the sierra among them1 and 
will soon  palpitate through ,salt ,lake
 ,city in its progress toward the       
,atlantic4    ,brigham ,young perceives 
this inevitable advance of ,christian   
civilization toward his stronghold1 as  
clearly as the most unprejudiced        
spectator4 ,no one is better aware than 
himself1 that1 if the great  industrial 
conception of the age1 the ,pacific     
,railroad1 shall ever begin  to be      
realized1 the first shovelful of dirt   

thrown on its embankments  will be the  
commencement of the grave of his        
religion and authority4  ,among the     
projects with which his brain is busy is
 that of yet another  exodus2 and it    
must be undertaken speedily1 if at      
all1--for a generation  is growing up in
 the ,church with an attachment for the 
land in which it  was reared4 ,the      
pioneers of the faith1 who were buffeted
 from ,ohio to  ,missouri1 from         
,missouri to ,illinois1 and from        
,illinois to the ,rocky  ,mountains1 are
 dwindling every year4 ,their migrations
 have been so  various1 that no local   
sentiment would influence them against  
another  removal4 ,such a sentiment1 if 
it exists at all among them1 is not for 
,utah1 but for ,missouri1 where they    
believe that the capital will be        
founded of that kingdom in which the    
,church in the progress of ages will    
unite the world4 ,they dropped upon the 
shores of the ,salt ,lake in #ahdg1     
like birds spent upon the wing1 only    

because they could not fly farther4     
,two regions have been suggested for the
 ultimate resort of the ,mormons3  one1 
the ,mosquito ,coast in ,central        
,america2 the other1 the ,island of     
,papua or ,new ,guinea1 among the ,east 
,indies4 ,during the winter1 while  the 
army lay encamped at ,fort ,bridger1    
,colonel ,kinney1 the colonizing        
adventurer1 endeavored to communicate   
from the ,east to ,brigham ,young an    
offer to sell to the ,church several    
millions of acres of land on the        
,mosquito ,coast1 of which he purports  
to be the proprietor4 ,his agent1       
however1 reached no farther than ,green 
,river4 ,but during the spring of       
#aheh1 other agents1 dispatched from    
,california1 were more successful in    
reaching ,salt ,lake ,valley4 ,they were
 hospitably received by the ,mormons1   
but ,young declined to enter into the   
negotiation4 ,the other scheme--that    
for an emigration to ,papua--originated 
at ,washington during the same  winter4 

,it was eagerly seized upon by ,captain 
,walter ,gibson1 the same  who was once 
imprisoned by the ,dutch in ,java4 ,he  
put himself into  communication on the  
subject with ,mr4 ,bernhisel1 the       
,mormon delegate  to ,congress1 who     
appeared to regard the plan with favor4 
,after it  was developed1 as a step     
preliminary to transmitting it to ,utah 
for  consideration1 ,mr4 ,bernhisel     
waited upon the ,president of the       
,united  ,states in order to ascertain  
whether the cooperation of the ,national
  ,government in the undertaking could  
be expected4 ,the reply of ,mr4         
,buchanan was fatal to the project1     
which he discountenanced as a vague  and
 wild dream4    ,nevertheless1 it may   
well be considered whether the movement 
toward ,utah  appeared any less         
,quixotic in #ahdf than does the idea of
 an emigration  to ,papua now4 ,on that 
island the ,mormons would encounter no  
such  obstacles to material prosperity  
as their indomitable industry has       

already conquered in ,utah4 ,they would 
find a fertile soil1 a propitious       
climate1 and a native population which  
could be trained to docility4           
,transplanted thither1 they would cease 
to be a nuisance to ,america1 and  would
 become benefactors to the world by     
opening to commerce a region  now       
valueless to ,christendom1 but of as    
great natural capacities as any  portion
 of the globe4 ,the expense of their    
migration need not exceed  the amount   
already expended upon the ,army of      
,utah1 together with that  necessary to 
maintain it in its present position for 
the next five  years4 ,into the seats   
which they would relinquish on the      
border of  the ,salt ,lake a sturdy     
population would pour from the ,valley  
of the  ,mississippi1 and develop an    
intelligent1 ,christian1 and ,republican
  ,state4 ,that portion of the ,mormons 
which would not follow the fortunes  of 
the ,church beyond the seas would soon  
become submerged1 and the last  vestige 

of its religion and peculiar domestic   
life would disappear  speedily and      
forever from the continent4    ,for that
 consummation1 every genuine ,christian 
must fervently pray4 ,if  the ,message  
in the ,book of ,mormon be1 as one of   
its own ,apostles has  asserted1 indeed 
such1 that1 if false1 none who persist  
in believing it  can be saved1 the      
sooner this nation washes its hands of  
responsibility  for its toleration1 the 
better for its credit in history4 ,the  
,constitution1 to be sure1 denies to    
,congress the power to pass laws        
prohibiting the free exercise of        
religion2 but it is the most monstrous  
nonsense to argue that the ,federal     
,government is bound thereby to  connive
 at polygamy1 perjury1 incest1 and      
murder4 ,there are principles  of social
 order which constitute the political   
basis of every state in  ,christendom1  
that are violated by the practices of   
the ,mormon ,church1  and which this    
,republic is bound to maintain without  

regard to any  pretence that their      
transgressors act in pursuance of       
religious belief4  ,thirty years ago1 no
 other doctrine would have occurred to  
the mind  of an ,american statesman4 ,it
 is only the special-pleadings and      
constitutional hair-splittings by which 
,slavery has been forced under  national
 protection1 that now impede            
,congressional intervention in the      
affairs of ,utah4 ,the ,christian       
,church of the ,united ,states1 also1   
has a  duty to perform toward the       
,mormons1 which has long been neglected4
 ,while  its missionaries have been     
shipped by the score to ,india and      
,china1 it  has been blind to the       
growth1 upon the threshold of its own   
temple1 of a  pagan religion more       
corrupt than that of the ,brahmin4      
,never once has a  ,christian preacher  
opened his lips in the valleys of ,utah2
 and yet the  surplice of a ,christian  
priest would be a sight more portentous 
to the  ,mormon1 on his own soil1 than  

the bayonet of the ,federal soldier4    
,,bulls ,,and ,,bears4    ,continued4   
,,chapter ,,xxiv4      ,the next day1   
,monroe went with the artist to good    
,mr4 ,holworthy1  and proposed to       
undertake the task of instructing a     
school4 ,the  preliminaries were        
speedily arranged3 he was to receive a  
small weekly  stipend1 enough1 with     
prudence1 to meet his household         
expenses1 and  was to commence at once4 
,both of the gentlemen accompanied him  
to the  quarter where his labor was to  
begin4 ,a large room was hired in a     
rickety and forlorn-looking house2 the  
benches for the scholars and a  small   
desk and chair were the only furniture4 
,and such scholars6--far  different from
 the delicate1 curled darlings of the   
private schools4 ,the  new teacher found
 his labor sufficiently discouraging4   
,it was nothing  less than the          
civilization of a troop of savages4     
,everything was to be  done2 manners1   
speech1 moral instincts1 were all       

equally depraved4 ,they  were to be     
taught neatness1 respect1 truth-telling1
 as well as the usual  branches of      
knowledge4 ,it was like the task of the 
pioneer settler in  the wilderness1 who 
must uproot trees1 drain swamps1 burn   
briers and  brambles1 exterminate       
hurtful beasts1 and prepare the soil for
 the  reception of the seeds that are to
 produce the future harvest4 ,we leave  
him with his charge1 while we attend to 
other personages of our story4    ,mr4  
,sandford and his sister1 upon leaving  
their house1 took lodgings1  and then   
began to cast about them for the means  
of support4 ,the money on  which he had 
relied was gone4 ,his credit was utterly
 destroyed1 and he  had no hope of being
 reinstated in his former position4 ,the
 only way  he could possibly be useful  
in the street was by becoming a         
curbstone  broker1 a go-between1 trusted
 by neither borrower nor lender1 and    
earning a precarious livelihood by      
commissions4 ,even in that position  he 

felt that he should labor under         
disadvantages1 for he knew that his     
course had been universally condemned4  
,it was a matter of every-day           
experience for him to meet old          
acquaintances who looked over him1 or   
across the street1 or in at             
shop-windows1 to avoid recognition4 ,and
 the  half-patronizing1                 
half-contemptuous nods he did receive   
were far worse  to bear than downright  
cuts4    ,to a man out of employment1   
proscribed1 marked1 there is nothing so 
terrible as the impenetrability of the  
close ranks of society around  him4     
,every busy man seems to have found his 
place2 each locks step with  his        
neighbor1 and the vast procession moves 
on4 ,once out of the serried  order1 the
 unhappy wretch can never resume his    
position4 ,he finds  himself the fifth  
wheel of a coach2 there is nothing for  
him to do1--no  place for him at the    
bountiful board where others are fed4   
,he may starve  or drown himself1 as he 

likes2 the world has no use for him1 and
 will  not miss him4 ,what ,sandford    
felt1 as he walked along the streets1   
may  well be imagined4 ,if he had not   
been supported by the indomitable       
courage and assurance of his sister1 he 
would have sunk to the level of  a      
pauper4    ,one day1 as he was passing a
 church1 his eye was caught by a placard
 at  the door1 inviting1 in bold        
letters1 friend1 stranger1 or traveller 
to enter1 if but for a few minutes4 ,it 
was a business-men's  prayer-meeting4   
,the novelty of the idea struck him2 he 
was at leisure2  he had no notes to pay2
 anybody might fail1 for aught he cared4
 ,he went  in1 and1 to his surprise1    
saw1 among the worshippers1 scores of   
his old  friends1 engaged in devotion4  
,like himself1 they had1 many of them1  
failed1 and1 after the loss of all      
temporal wealth1 had turned their       
attention to the more durable riches4   
,he fell into a profound  meditation1   
from which he did not recover until the 

meeting ended4    ,the next day he      
returned1 and the day following1        
also1--taking a seat  each time a little
 nearer the desk1 until at last he      
reached the front  row of benches1 where
 he was to be seen at every service4 ,it
 is not  necessary to speculate upon his
 motives1 or to conjecture how far  he  
deceived himself in his                 
professions1--if1 indeed1 there was any 
deception in the case4 ,let him have the
 benefit of whatever doubt there  may   
be4 ,the leading religious men hoped1   
without feeling any great  confidence2  
the world1 especially the business      
world1 mocked and  derided4    ,but     
piety1 in itself1 however heartfelt1    
does not clothe or feed its  possessor1 
and ,mr4 ,sandford1 even with that      
priceless gift1 must find  some means of
 supplying his temporal wants4 ,his new 
friends had plenty  of advice for him1  
and some of them would have been glad to
 furnish  him with employment2 but none 
of them were so well satisfied with the 

sincerity of his conversion as to trust 
him far4 ,it was not to be  wondered1   
after his exploits on the day of his    
failure1 that there  should be a        
reasonable shyness on the part of those 
who had money which  they could not     
afford or did not choose to give away4  
,it was quite  remarkable to see the    
change produced when the subject was    
introduced4  ,faces1 that a few minutes 
before had shone with tearful joy or    
rapturous  aspirations1 full of         
brotherly affection1 would suddenly     
cool1 and  contract1 and grow severe1   
when ,sandford broached the one topic   
that was  nearest to him4 ,he found that
 there was no way of escaping from the  
law of compensation by appropriating the
 results of other men's  labors1--that  
religion 7very much to his              
disappointment7 gave him no  warrant to 
live in idleness2 therefore he was fain 
to do what he could  for himself4 ,he   
tried to act as a curb-stone broker1 as 
an insurance  agent1 as an adjuster of  

marine losses and averages1 as an       
itinerant  solicitor for a              
life-insurance company1 as an           
accountant1 and in various  other       
situations4 ,all in vain4 ,he was       
shunned like an escaped convict2  the   
motley suit itself would hardly have    
added to his disgrace4 ,no one  put     
faith in him or gave him                
employment1--save in a few instances1   
for  charity's sake4 ,few men can brave 
a city2 and ,sandford1 certainly1 was   
not the man to do it4 ,the scowling1 or 
suspicious1 or contemptuous1  pitying   
glances he encountered smote him as with
 fiery swords4 ,he  quailed2 he cowered2
 he dropped his eyes2 he acquired a     
stooping1  shambling gait4 ,the man who 
feels that he is looked down upon grows 
more diminutive in his own estimation1  
until he shrinks into the place  which  
the world assigns him4 ,so ,sandford    
shrunk1 until he crept through  the     
streets where once he had walked erect1 
and earned a support as  meagre and     

precarious as the more brazen-faced and 
ragged of the great  family of          
mendicants1 to which he was gravitating4
    ,mendicants1--an exceeding great    
army6 ,they do not all knock at         
area-doors for old clothes and broken   
victual1 nor hold out hats at           
street-crossings1 nor expose sharp-faced
 babies to win pity1 nor send  their    
infant tatterdemalions to torture the   
ears of the wealthy with  scratchy      
fiddles and wheezing accordions4 ,no1   
these plagues of society  are only the  
extreme left wing2 the right wing is a  
very respectable  class in the          
community4 ,the party-leader who makes  
his name and  influence serve him in    
obtaining loans which he never intends  
to  pay1--shall we call him a beggar8   
,it is an ugly word4 ,the parasite  who 
makes himself agreeable to              
dinner-givers1 who calculates upon his  
accomplishments as a stock in trade1    
intending that his brains shall  feed   
his stomach1--what is he1 pray8 ,it is  

ungracious to stigmatize  such a jolly  
dog4 ,the woman whose fingers are hooped
 with rings won  in wagers which        
gallantry or folly could not decline1   
who is ready by  philopaena1 or even by 
more direct suggestions1 to lay every   
beau or  acquaintance under             
contribution1--is she a beggar1 too8 ,it
 is a long  way1 to be sure1 from the   
girl with scanty and draggled petticoat 
and  tangled hair1 picking out lumps of 
coal from ash-heaps1 or carrying home   
refuse from the tables of the rich1--a  
long way from that squalid object  to   
the richly-cloaked1 furred1 bonneted1   
jewelled1 flaunting lady1 whose  friends
 are all so kind4    ,but the most      
charitable must feel a certain degree of
 pity1 if not of  scorn1 for those who1 
like ,mr4 and ,miss ,sandford1 contrive 
to wear the  outward semblance of       
respectability1 boarding with           
fashionable people  and wearing garments
  la mode1 while they have neither      
fortune nor  visible occupation4 ,miss  

,sandford1 to be sure1 had a few pupils 
in  music1--young friends1 who1 as she  
averred1 insisted upon practising  with 
her1 although she did not profess to    
give lessons1 not she4 ,still  her      
toilet was as elegant as ever4 ,the     
first appearance of a new style  of     
cloak1 a new pattern of silk or         
embroidery1 new ribbons1 laces1         
jewelry1 might be observed1 as she took 
her morning promenade4 ,the  dealers in 
rich goods1 elegant trifles1 costly     
nothings1 all knew her  well4 ,whatever 
satisfied her artistic taste she        
purchased4 ,to see was to  desire1 and1 
in some way1 all she coveted tended by a
 magical attraction  to her rooms4      
,society frowned upon her2 she went to  
no receptions in  the higher circles1   
but she had no lack of associates for   
all that4  ,at concerts and other public
 assemblages1 her brilliant figure and  
irreproachable costume were always to be
 seen1--the admiration of men1  the envy
 of women4 ,nor was she without         

gallants4 ,gentlemen flocked about  her1
 and seemed only too happy in her       
smiles2 but it never happened that      
their wives or sisters joined in their  
attentions4 ,on fine days1 as she  came 
out for a walk1 she was sure to be      
accompanied by some person whose  dress 
and manners marked him as belonging to  
the wealthy classes2 and  at such times 
it generally happened1--according to the
 scandal-loving  shopkeepers1--that the 
last new book1 the little love of a     
ring1 or  the engraved scent-bottle was 
purchased4    ,an odd affair is         
,society4 ,at its outposts are flaming  
swords for women1  though invisible to  
other eyes2 men can venture without the 
lines1 if  they only return at          
roll-call4 ,let a woman receive or visit
 one of the  demi-monde1 7the technical 
use of the word is happily inapplicable 
here17 and she might as well earn her   
living by her own labor1 or do  any     
other disreputable thing2 but her       
brother may pay court to the most       

doubtful1 and mothers will only shake   
their heads and say1 ,he must  sow his  
wild oats2 he'll get over all that      
by-and-by4    ,so the beauty was still  
queen in her circle1 and found admirers 
in  plenty4 ,perhaps she even enjoyed   
the freedom2 for1 to a woman of spirit1 
the constraints of taboo must be irksome
 at times4 ,not the ,brahmin1  who fears
 to tread upon sole-leather from the    
sacred cow1 and dares  not even think of
 the flavor of her forbidden beef1 who  
keeps himself  haughtily aloof from the 
soldier and the trader1 and walks       
sunward from  the pariah1 lest the      
polluting shadow fall on his holy       
person1 has a  more difficult and       
engrossing occupation than the woman of 
fashion1 in  a country where the        
distinctions of rank are so purely      
factitious as in  ours4 ,miss           
,sandford's time was now her own2 she   
was accountable to no  supervisor4 ,her 
brother was a cipher4 ,he did not       
venture to intrude upon  her1 except at 

seasons when she was at leisure1 and in 
a humor to be  bored by him4 ,perhaps   
she looked back regretfully1 but1 as far
 as could  be told by her manner1 she   
carried herself proudly1 with the air of
 one  who says1--      ,better reign in 
hell than serve in heaven4    ,the      
observant reader has doubtless wondered 
before this1 that ,mr4  ,sandford did   
not1 in his emergency1 apply to his old 
clerk1 ,fletcher1  for the money in     
exchange for the peculiar obligation of 
which mention  has been made4 ,it is    
presuming too much upon ,mr4 ,sandford's
 stupidity  to suppose that the idea had
 not frequently occurred to him4 ,but he
 was  satisfied that ,fletcher was one  
of the few who were making money in this
  time of general distress1 and that    
with every day's acquisition the  paper 
became more valuable2 therefore1 as it  
was his last trump1 he  preferred to    
play it when it would sweep the board2  
and he was willing  to live in any way  
until the proper time came4 ,not so easy

 was ,fletcher4  ,several times he      
attempted to pay the claim1 so that he  
could once more  hold his head erect as 
a free man4 ,but ,sandford smiled       
blandly2 he was  in no hurry1 he said2  
,mr4 ,fletcher evidently had money1 and 
was good  for the amount4 ,poor         
,fletcher6--walking about with a rope   
around his  neck1--a long rope now1 and 
slack1--but held by a man who knows not 
what  pity means6      ,,chapter ,,xxv4 
,greenleaf pursued his search for ,alice
 with all the ardor of his nature4  ,one
 glimpse only he had of her2--at a      
clothing-store1 where he inquired1  the 
clerk seemed to recognize the           
description given1 and was quite  sure  
that such a girl had taken out work1 but
 he knew nothing of  her whereabouts1   
and he believed she was now employed by 
another  establishment4 ,it was         
something to know that she was in the   
city1 and1  probably1 not destitute2    
still better to know what path of life  
she had  chosen1 so that his time need  

not be wasted in fruitless inquiries4   
,on his return1 after the second day's  
search1 he sought his friend            
,easelmann1 whose counsel and sympathy  
he particularly desired4    ,any tidings
 of the fugitive8 was the first         
question4    ,no1 replied               
,greenleaf1--nothing satisfactory4 ,i   
have heard of her  once2 but it was like
 a trail in the woods1 which the hunter 
comes upon1  then loses utterly4    ,but
 the hunter who measures a track once   
will be likely to find it  again4       
,yes1 ,i have that consolation4 ,but1   
,easelmann1 though this mishap of       
losing ,alice has cost me many sleepless
 nights1 and will continue to  engross  
my time until ,i find her1 ,i cannot rid
 myself of other troubles  and          
apprehensions4 ,i have done nothing for 
a long time4 ,i have no  orders2 and1 as
 ,i have no fortune to fall back upon1  
,i see nothing but  starvation before   
me4    ,then1 my dear fellow1 look the  
other way4 ,it isn't wise to distress   

yourself by looking ahead1 so long as   
you have the chance of turning  round4  
,i feel lonely1 too1--isolated4 ,people 
that ,i meet are civil enough2  but ,i  
don't know a man1 except in my          
profession1 that ,i can consider a      
friend4    ,very likely4 ,caste isn't   
confined to ,india4    ,i had supposed  
that intellect and culture were enough  
to secure for  a man a recognition in   
good society2 but ,i am made to feel1 a 
hundred  times a day1 that ,i have no   
more status than a clever colored man1  
an  itinerant actor1 or any other       
anomaly4 ,to-day ,i met ,travis2 you    
know he  comes here and makes himself   
free and easy with us1 and has always   
put  himself on a footing of equality4  
,wherein you made a mistake4 ,he has no 
right1 but by courtesy1 to  any         
equality4 ,a little taste1 perhaps1 and 
money enough to gratify  it1--that's    
all4 ,he never had an idea in his life4 
,that is the reason ,i felt the slight4 
,he was walking with a lady whose       

manner and dress were unmistakable1--a  
lady of undoubted position4 ,i  bowed1  
and received in return one of those     
hardly-perceptible nods1 with  a forced 
smile that covered only the side of his 
face from the lady4  ,it was a          
recognition that one might throw to his 
boot-black4 ,i am a  mild-mannered man1 
as you know2 but ,i could have murdered 
him on the  spot4    ,greenleaf walked  
the floor with flashing eyes and his    
teeth set4    ,now1 ,i like the spirit1 
said ,easelmann2 but1 pray1 be sensible4
  ',where ,macdonald sits1 there is the 
head of the table4' ,stand firm in  your
 own shoes1 and graduate your bows by   
those you get4    ,i suppose ,i am      
thin-skinned4    ,as long as you are1   
you will chafe4 ,cultivate a hide like a
  rhinoceros's1 and ,society will let   
fly its pin-pointed arrows in vain4     
,you have a great deal to learn1 my dear
 boy4    ,but other special classes are 
not so treated1--literary men1 for      
instance4    ,don't be too sure of that4

 ,an author who has attained position is
  fted1 because the fashionable circles 
must have their lions4 ,but to  stand   
permanently like other men1 he must have
 money or family1 or else  obey the     
world's ten commandments1 of which the  
first is1 ',thou shalt  not wear a      
slouched hat1'--and the rest are like   
unto it4 ,no1--the  literary men have   
their heart-burnings1 ,i suspect4 ,they 
forget1 as you  do1 that their very     
profession1 the direction of their      
thoughts1 their  mode of life1 cut them 
off from sympathy and fellowship4 ,what 
has a  writer who dreams of rivalling   
,emerson or the ',autocrat' to do with  
costly and absorbing private            
theatricals1 with dances at ,papanti's1 
with  any of the thousand modes of      
killing time agreeably8 ,and how shall  
you  become the new ,claude1 if you give
 your thoughts to the style of your     
clothes1 and to the inanities that make 
up the staple of conversation8    ,but  
because ,i am precluded from devoting my

 time to society1 that is no  reason why
 ,i should bear the patronizing airs----
    ,don't be patronized1--that's all4  
,if a man gives you such a look as  you 
have described1 cut him dead the next   
time you meet him4 ,if anybody  gives   
you two fingers to shake1 give him only 
one of yours4 ,i tried that  plan on a  
doctor of divinity once1 and it worked  
admirably4 ,his intended  condescension 
somehow vanished in a mist1 and the     
foolish confusion that  overspread his  
blank features would have done you good 
to behold4    ,i have no doubt4 ,i don't
 think it would be easy to be           
impertinent to  you4 ,not that there are
 not presuming people enough2 but you   
have a  way with you4 ,your blade that  
cuts off a bayonet at a blow will glide 
through a feather as well4    ,a        
delicate stroke of yours6 ,now to       
return4 ,you are out of money1 you  say4
 ,perhaps you will allow me to become   
your creditor for a while4 ,i  may      
presume upon the relation and take on   

some airs2--that's inevitable2  one     
can't forego such a privilege2--but ,i  
promise to bow very civilly  whenever ,i
 meet you2 and ,i won't remind you of   
the debt--above twice a  day4    ,taking
 out his pocket-book1 he handed his     
friend fifty dollars1 and  pshawed and  
poohed at every expression of gratitude4
    ,by the way1 ,greenleaf1 he         
continued1 ,i have been in search of an 
absconding female also4 ,you remember   
,mrs4 ,sandford1 the charming widow8    
,yes1--what has become of her8    ,you  
see how philosophical ,i am4 ,i have not
 seen her yet2 and yet ,i am  not crazy 
about it4 ,some chickens think the sky  
is falling1 whenever a  rose-leaf drops 
on their heads4    ,but you have no such
 reason to be anxious4    ,haven't ,i8  
,do you think old fellows like me have  
lost recollection as  well as feeling8  
,one of the most deadly cases of romance
 ,i ever knew was  between people of    
forty and upwards4    ,how dull ,i was6 
,i saw some rather odd glances between  

you at the  musical party1 but thought  
nothing more about it4 ,but why haven't 
you  been looking for her8    ,i have   
been cogitating1 said ,easelmann1       
twisting his moustaches4    ,i should   
think so4 ,if you had asked me1 now6 ,i 
went with her to the  house where ,i    
suppose she is still boarding4    ,did  
you8 very indifferently1 and with the   
falling inflection4    ,why1 don't you  
want to know8    ,yes1--to-morrow4 ,and 
,i think1 that1 when we find her1 we may
 find a  clue to your ,alice4           
,greenleaf started up as if he had been 
galvanized4    ,you have seen her1 then6
 ,you old fox6 ,where is she8           
,to-morrow1  indeed6 ,tell me1 and ,i   
will fly4    ,you can't2 for1 as        
,brother ,chadband observed1 you haven't
 any wings4    ,don't trifle with me4 ,i
 know your fondness for surprises2 but  
if you  love me1 don't put me off with  
your nonsense4    ,greenleaf was        
thoroughly in earnest1 and ,easelmann   
took a more  soothing tone4 ,at another 

time the temptation to tease would have 
been  irresistible4    ,be calm1 you man
 of gunpowder1 steel1 whalebone1 and    
gutta-percha6 ,i  positively have       
nothing but guesses to give you4        
,besides1 do you think  you have nothing
 to do but rush into ,alice's arms when 
you find her8  ,take some valerian to   
quiet your nerves1 and go to bed4 ,in   
the morning1  try to smooth over those  
sharp features of yours4 ,use rouge1 if 
you  can't get up your natural color4   
,when you are presentable1 come over    
here again1 and we'll stroll out in     
search of adventure4 ,but mind1 ,i      
promise nothing1--,i only guess4        
,while he spoke1 ,greenleaf looked into 
the mirror1 and was surprised to  see   
how anxiety had worn upon him4 ,his face
 was thin and bloodless1 and  his eyes  
sunken1 but glowing4 ,the quiet         
influence of his friend calmed  him1 and
 his impatience subsided4 ,he took his  
leave silently1 wringing  ,easelmann's  
hand1 and walked home with a lighter    

heart4    ,he is a good fellow1 mused   
,easelmann1 and has suffered enough for 
his  folly4 ,the lesson will do him     
good4      ,,chapter ,,xxvi4      ,mr4  
,bullion was not without good natural   
impulses1 but his education and         
experience had been such as to develop  
only the sharp and selfish traits  of   
his character4 ,an orphan at the age of 
eleven years1 he was placed  in a shop  
under the charge of a grasping1         
unscrupulous man1 where he  learned the 
rules of business which he followed     
afterwards with so much  success4 ,the  
old-fashioned notions about the ,golden 
,rule he was speedily  well rid of2 for 
when his indiscreet frankness to        
customers was  observed1 the rod taught 
him the folly of untimely truth-telling1
 if not  the propriety of smoothing the 
way to a bargain by a glib falsehood4   
,with such training1 he grew up an      
expert salesman2 and before he was of   
age1 after various changes in business1 
he became the confidential clerk  in a  

large wholesale house4 ,owing to        
unexpected reverses1 the house  became  
embarrassed1 and at length failed4 ,the 
head of the firm went back  to his      
native town a broken-hearted man1 and   
not long afterwards died1  leaving his  
family destitute4 ,but ,bullion1 with a 
junior partner1  settled with the       
creditors1 kept on with the business1   
and prospered4  ,perhaps1 if the widow  
had received what was rightfully hers1  
the juniors  would have had a smaller   
capital to begin upon1--,bullion knew2  
but the  account1 if there was one1 was 
past settlement by human tribunals1 and 
had gone upon the docket in the great   
,court of ,review4    ,wealth grows like
 the banian1 sending down branches that 
take root on  all sides in the thrifty  
soil1 and then become trunks themselves1
 and  the parents of ever-increasing    
boughs1--a sturdy forest in breadth1 a  
tree in unity4 ,so ,bullion grew and    
flourished4 ,at the time of our story   
he was rich enough to satisfy any       

moderate ambition2 but he wished to     
rear a colossal fortune1 and the        
operations he was now concerned in  were
 fortunate beyond his expectations4 ,but
 he was not satisfied4 ,he  conceived   
the idea of carrying on the same        
stock-speculation in ,new  ,york on a   
larger scale1 and made an arrangement   
with one of the leading  bears of that  
city2 but he was careful to keep this a 
secret1 most of  all from ,fletcher and 
others of his associates at home4       
,fortune favored  him1 as usual1 and he 
promised himself a success that would   
make him a  monarch in the financial    
world4 ,under the excitement of the     
moment1 he  had filled the baby hands of
 ,fletcher's child with gold pieces4 ,it
 was  as ,fletcher said2 his head was   
fairly turned by the glittering prospect
  before him4    ,the associate in ,new 
,york proposed to ,bullion the purchase 
of a  controlling interest in a         
railroad2 and ,bullion1 believing that  
the  depression had nearly reached its  

limit1 and that affairs would soon  take
 a turn1 agreed that it was best now to 
change their policy1 and to  buy all the
 shares in this stock that should be    
offered while the price  was low1 and   
keep them as an investment4 ,he felt    
sure that he with the  ,new ,york       
capitalist had now money enough to swing
 all the shares in  market1 and they    
each agreed to purchase all that should 
be brought  to the hammer in their      
respective cities4 ,following up his    
promise  faithfully1 ,bullion bought all
 the stock of the railroad that came    
into  ,state ,street1 and in this way   
rapidly exhausted his ready money4 ,then
 he  raised loans upon his other        
property1 and still kept the market     
clear4  ,but he wondered that so many   
shares came to ,boston for sale2 for the
  railroad was in a ,western ,state1 and
 few of the original holders were  ,new 
,england men4    ,bullion now met the   
first check in his career4 ,kerbstone1  
whose appeals  for help he had          

disregarded1 and whose property had been
 wofully  depreciated by the course of  
the bears1 of whom ,bullion was chief1  
failed for a large sum4 ,as he was      
treasurer of the ,neversink ,mills1  the
 stockholders and creditors of that     
corporation made an immediate           
investigation of its accounts4          
,kerbstone was found to be a defaulter  
to the amount of hundreds of thousands  
of dollars2 the property was            
gone1--undermined like a snow-bank in   
spring4 ,the largest owner was          
,bullion4 ,he was overreached by his own
 shrewdness2 and the hitherto  unlucky  
bulls1 who had had small cause to laugh1
 thought that it was        sport to see
 the engineer    ,hoist with his own    
petard1--    better even than to have   
tossed him on their own horns4          
,bullion made some wry faces2 but the   
loss1 though great1 was not  ruinous4   
,he was obliged1 however1 to take back  
the shares of the  factory-stock on     
which he had obtained loans for his ,new

 ,york  operations1 and to substitute an
 equal amount of other securities1--thus
  cramping his resources at a time when 
he needed every dollar to carry  out his
 vast plans4    ,in the multiplicity of 
his affairs1 ,bullion had almost        
forgotten  ,fletcher1 and left him to   
pursue his own course4 ,but there was a 
man who  had not forgotten him1 and who 
followed all his movements with vigilant
  eyes4 ,sandford was convinced that    
,fletcher had in some way become        
prosperous1 and he now advanced to use  
the peculiar note as a draft on  the    
miserable debtor's funds4 ,there was the
 same wily approach1 the same  covert   
allusion to ,fletcher's supposed        
resources1 the same peremptory  demand1 
and the same ugly threat which had so   
desperately maddened him  when the      
subject was broached before4 ,fletcher  
felt the tightening of  the lasso1 but  
could not free himself from the fatal   
noose4 ,he must pay  whatever the       
cold-eyed creditor demanded4 ,two       

thousand dollars was the  sum asked for 
the acknowledgment of having            
appropriated five hundred4  ,twopence   
for halfpenny has been accounted fair   
usury among the ,jews2 but  in          
,christian communities it is only crime 
that accumulates interest like  that4   
,as a measure of precaution1 ,sandford  
had made a copy of the paper and        
prepared an explanatory statement2 these
 he now inclosed in an envelope1  in    
,fletcher's presence1 and directed it to
 ,messrs4 ,foggarty1 ,danforth1  and    
,dot4 ,then drawing out his watch1 as if
 to make a careful computation  of time1
 he said1--    ,nine1 ten1              
eleven1--yes1--at eleven1 to-morrow1 ,i 
shall expect to  receive the sum2       
otherwise ,i shall feel it my duty to   
send this letter  by a trusty hand4 ,in 
fact1 ,i suppose ,i have hardly done    
right in not  putting the gentlemen on  
their guard before4    ,a cold sweat    
covered ,fletcher's shivering limbs1 and
 for a moment he  stood irresolute2 but 

recollecting ,bullion1 he rallied       
himself1 and1  assenting to the         
proposition1 bade ,sandford good-bye2   
then1 as the only  revenge practicable1 
he cursed him with the heartiest        
emphasis1 when  his back was turned4    
,presently ,tonsor came with the news of
 ,kerbstone's  failure4    ,the street  
is full of rumors1 he said2--,bullion is
 a large owner in  the ,neversink4      
,bosh6 said ,fletcher1--,bullion is in  
there for fifty thousand1 to be  sure2  
but what is that8 ,he has other property
 enough1--half a million1  at least4    
,still1 a pebble brought down ,goliath4 
,a house in ,new ,york1 worth a         
million1 failed yesterday for want of   
twenty-five thousand4    ,don't you be  
alarmed4 ,bullion knows4 ,he isn't going
 to fail4    ,i want to get ten thousand
 from him to take some shares ,i bought 
for  him4    ,how soon8    ,now2 and he 
is not at his office4    ,i'll get you  
the money from our house4 ,i haven't    
deposited the funds  for to-day yet1 and

 ,i'll put in a memorandum which        
,bullion will make  good4    ,hadn't you
 better wait8    ,no2 it doesn't matter4
 ,he's all right2 and it isn't best to  
break his  orders for any ten thousand  
dollars4    ,fletcher handed the money  
to the broker1 and1 as bank-hours were  
then  about over1 he put his papers in  
order and went home4    ,lovey6 he      
exclaimed1 upon meeting his wife1 ,i    
have been thinking  over what you said  
about getting my notes cashed4 ,i       
believe ,i'll take  ,bullion's offer and
 salt the money down4 ,probably1 now1 he
 will give me  a better trade1 for there
 is considerable more due4    ,oh1      
,john6 how glad ,i am6 ,you will do it  
to-morrow1--won't you1 now8    ,yes1    
,i'll settle with him to-morrow4    ,he 
was thinking of the fact that ,tonsor   
had bought shares for ,bullion1  and he 
wondered what the move meant4 ,a house  
divided against itself  could not stand2
 and he said to himself1 that a man must
 be uncommonly  deep to be a bull and a 

bear at the same time4 ,there was no    
doubt  that ,bullion had embarked in    
some speculation which he had not seen  
fit  to make known to his agent4        
,there you go1--off into one of your    
fogs again6 said the wife1  noticing his
 suddenly abstracted air4 ,that's the   
way you have done for  the last three   
months1--ever since you began with that 
hateful man4    ,i get to thinking about
 affairs1 my little woman1 and ,i don't 
want to  bother your simple head with   
them2 so ,i go cruising off in the fog1 
as  you call it1 by myself4    ,oh1 if  
you once get through with that man's    
affairs1 we'll have no more  fogs6      
,no1 deary1 we'll have summer weather   
and a smooth sea1 ,i hope1 for the  rest
 of our voyage4    ,you see1 ,john1 ,i  
have been dreadfully anxious1 more than 
,i could tell  you4 ,if anything goes   
wrong1 ,i've always noticed that it     
isn't the big  people that have to      
suffer2 it's the smaller ones that get  
caught4    ,yes1 it's an old story2 the 

big flies break out of the spider's net2
  the little chaps hang there4 ,but     
,i'll settle up the business to-morrow4 
,i shall have enough to buy us a little 
house in the country1--a snug  box1 with
 a garden2 then ,i'll get a horse to    
drive about with1 and we'll  take some  
comfort4 ,come1 little woman1 sit on my 
knee6 ,come1 baby1 here  is a knee for  
you1 too6    ,holding them in his arms1 
he still mused upon the morrow1 and once
 and  again charged his mind to remember
 two thousand for ,sandford1 ten        
thousand for ,danforth and ,dot6        
,,chapter ,,xxvii4      ,alice did not  
feel the utter loneliness of her        
situation1 until1 as she  walked along1 
square after square1 she encountered so 
many hundreds of  abstracted or curious 
or impudent faces1 and reflected that it
 was upon  such people that her future  
support and comfort would depend4 ,she  
tried  to discover in some countenance  
the impress of kindly benevolence2--not 
that she proposed to risk so much as a  

question2 but it was her first          
experience with the busy world1 and she 
wished to observe its ways1  when       
neither relationship nor personal       
interest was involved4 ,small           
encouragement she would have felt to    
approach any that she met4 ,men of      
middle-age walked by as in dreams1 cold1
 unobservant1 listless2 the  younger    
ones1 fuller of life1 strode on with    
high heads1 and flinging  glances that  
were harder to bear than stony          
indifference1 even4 ,ladies  clothed in 
costly furs scanned the pretty face     
under the mourning bonnet  with prying  
eyes1 or tossed her a hasty1 scornful   
look4 ,shop-girls  giggled and stared4  
,boys rushed by1 rudely jostling every  
passenger4  ,old women in scanty        
petticoats that were fringed by no      
dressmaker1 with  pinched faces and     
watery eyes1 looked imploringly and     
hobbled along1  wrapping parcels of     
broken victual under their faded        
shawls4--,a sorry  world ,alice thought 

it4 ,in the country1 she had been used  
to receive a  kindly bow or a civil     
,good-morning6 from every person she    
met2 and the  isolation of the          
individual in the city was to her       
something unnatural1  even appalling4   
,she had cut out some boarding-house    
advertisements from the daily  papers1  
and her first care was to find a home   
suited to her slender  means4 ,reaching 
the door of the first on her list1 she  
rang and was  shown into a small        
drawing-room1 shabby-genteel in its     
furniture and  ornaments4 ,two          
seamstresses sat chattering around the  
centre-table2  while a ruddy young man1 
with greenish brown moustaches and sandy
 hair1  rested his clumsy boots on the  
fender1 holding an open music-book in   
his  lap and a flute in his ill-kept and
 gaudily-ringed hands4 ,the kitchen1    
apparently1 was not ventilated2 and a   
mingled odor1 beyond the analysis  of   
chemistry1 came up into the entry and   
pervaded the hot and confined           

atmosphere of the room4 ,the landlady1 a
 stout and resolute woman1  entered with
 a studied smile1 which changed         
gradually to a cold  civility4 ,her     
eyes1 unlike ,banquo's1 had a deal of   
speculation in them4  ,one might read   
the price-current in the busy wrinkles4 
,around her  pursed-up mouth lurked the 
knowledge of the number of available    
slices  in a sirloin1--the judgment of  
the lump of butter that should leave no 
margin for prodigality4 ,warfare with   
market-men1 shrewish watchfulness  over 
servants1 economy scarcely removed from 
meanness at the table1 all  were clearly
 indicated in her flushed and           
hard-featured face4    ,alice was not   
familiar with such people2 but she      
shrank from her by  instinct1 as the    
first chicken fled from the first hawk4 
,the landlady1  on her part1 was equally
 suspicious1 and1 finding that ,alice   
had no  relatives to depend upon1 and   
that she expected to earn her own       
living1  was not at all solicitous to   

increase the number of her boarders4    
,it's pootty hard to tell who's who1    
now-a-days1 she said4 ,i have to  pay   
cash for all ,i set on the table1 and ,i
 can't trust to fair promises4          
,perhaps1 though1 you've got some cousin
 that looks arter your bills8    ,the   
flute-player exchanged knowing glances  
with the seamstresses4                  
,all-unconscious of the taunt1 ,alice   
simply replied1--    ,no1 ,i have told  
you that ,i have no one to depend upon4 
,the landlady's mouth was primly set1   
and she merely exclaimed1--    ,oh6     
indeed6    ,i think ,i'll look further1 
said ,alice4 ,good-morning4             
,good-morning4    ,half-suppressed      
chuckles followed her1 as she left the  
room4 ,sorely  grieved and indignant1   
she took her way to another house4      
,fortune this  time favored her4 ,the   
landlady1 a kind-hearted woman1 was in  
mourning  for her only daughter1 and    
with the first words she heard she felt 
her heart drawn to the lovely and       

soft-voiced stranger4 ,without any      
offensive inquiries1 ,alice was at once 
received1 and an upper room  assigned to
 her4 ,after sending for her trunk1 she 
dressed for dinner4    ,the table       
presented specimens of all the familiar 
characters of  boarding-house life4     
,there was the lawyer1 sharp1 observant1
 talkative1  ready for a joke or an     
argument4 ,there was the solemn man of  
business1  who ate from a sense of duty1
 and scowled at the lawyer's bad puns4  
,near  him1 with an absurdly youthful   
wig and opaque goggles1 sat the         
,unknown2  his name1 occupation1        
resources1 and tastes alike a profound  
mystery4  ,several dapper clerks1 whose 
right ears drooped from having been used
 as  pen-racks1 wearing stunning        
cravats1 outr brooches and shirt-studs1 
learned in the lore of two-forty        
driving1 were ranged opposite4 ,then    
there was the jolly widow1 who was the  
admiration of men of her own age1  but  
who cruelly gave all her smiles to the  

boys with newly-sprouting  chins4 ,near 
her sat the fastidious man1 whose       
nostrils curled ominously  when any     
stain appeared on his napkin1 or when   
anything sullied the  virgin purity of  
his own exclusive fork4 ,his spectacles 
seemed to serve  as microscopes1 made   
for the sole purpose of detecting some  
fatal speck  invisible to other eyes4   
,there was the singer1 with a neck like 
a swan's1 bowing with the gracious air  
that is acquired in the  acknowledgment 
of bouquets and bravas4 ,the artist was 
her vis--vis1  powerful like ,samson in 
his bushy locks1 negligent with         
fore-thought1  wearing a massive        
seal-ring1 and fragrant with the perfume
 of countless  pipes4 ,the nice old maid
 near him turns away in disgust when she
 sees  his moustaches draggle in the    
soup4    ,down the long row of faces    
,alice looked timidly1 and at length    
fastened  her eyes upon a lady in       
mourning like herself4 ,there is no     
physiognomist  like the frank1          

affectionate young man or woman who     
looks to find  appreciation and         
sympathy4 ,it is not necessary1 for such
 a purpose1 to  speculate upon ,grecian 
or ,roman noses1 thin or protruding     
lips1 blue1  gray1 or brown eyes2 each  
soul knows its own sphere and the people
 that  belong in it2 and a sure instinct
 or prescience guides us in our choice  
of friends4 ,alice at a glance became   
conscious of an affinity1 and  quietly  
waited till circumstances should bring  
her into associations  with the woman   
whom she hoped to make a friend4    ,it 
was not long before the occasion came4  
,not to make any mystery1 it  was our   
old acquaintance1 ,mrs4 ,sandford1 who  
attracted the gaze of  ,alice1 and who  
soon became her kindly adviser4 ,never  
was there a more  motherly woman2 and1  
as she was now almost a stranger in the 
house1  she attached herself to ,alice  
with a warmth and an unobtrusive        
solicitude that quite won the girl's    
heart4 ,alice lost no time in  procuring

 such work from a tailor as she felt    
competent to do1 and  applied herself   
diligently to her task2 but a very short
 trial convinced  her1 that1 at the     
starvation prices then paid for         
needlework1 she  should not be able to  
earn even her board4 ,then came in the  
thoughtful  friend1 who1 after gently   
drawing out the facts of the case1      
furnished  her with sewing on which she 
could display her taste and skill4 ,day 
after day new employment came through   
the same kind hands1 until ,alice       
wondered how one wearer could want such 
a quantity of the various  nameless1    
tasteful articles in which all women    
feel so much pride4  ,it was not until  
long after1 that she learned how the    
work had been  procured by her friend's 
active1 but noiseless agency4    ,not   
many days after their intimacy          
commenced1 as ,mrs4 ,sandford sat       
watching ,alice at her work1 it occurred
 to her that there was a look of  tender
 sorrow1 an unexplained melancholy1     

which her recent bereavement  did not   
wholly account for4 ,not that the girl  
was given to romantic  sighs or tragic  
starts1 or that she carried a miniature 
for lachrymose  exercises2 but it was   
evident that she had what we term a     
history4 ,she  was frank and cheerful1  
although there was palpably something   
kept  back1 and her cheerfulness was    
like the mournful beauty of flowers that
  blossom over graves4 ,no sympathetic  
nature could refuse confidence to  ,mrs4
 ,sandford1 and it was not long before  
she discovered that ,alice had  passed  
through the golden gate to which all    
footsteps tend1 and from  which no one  
comes back except with a change that    
colors all the after  life4    ,and so  
you are in love1 poor child6 said ,mrs4 
,sandford1  compassionately4    ,i have 
been 7with a gentle emphasis74    ,ah1  
you think you are past it now1 ,i       
suppose8    ,i sha'n't forget soon1--,i 
could not1 if ,i would2 but love is     
over1--gone like yesterday's sunshine4  

,but the sun shines again to-day4       
,well1 if you prefer another comparison1
 said ,alice1 smiling  faintly1--gone   
out like yesterday's fire4    ,fire     
lurks a long time in the ashes unseen1  
my dear4    ,alice dropped her needle   
and looked steadily at her companion4   
,i am young1 she said2 yet ,i have      
outgrown the school-girl period4  ,the  
current of my life has flowed in a deep 
channel3 the shallow little  brook may  
fancy its first spring-freshet to be a  
,niagara2 but my  feelings have swelled 
with no transient overflow4 ,i gave my  
utmost love  and devotion to a man ,i   
thought worthy4 ,he treated me with     
neglect1 and  at last falsified his word
 in offering his hand to another1 ,i do 
not  hate him4 ,i have none of that     
alchemy which changes despised love to  
gall4 ,but ,i could never forgive him1  
nor trust him again4 ,and if he1  who   
seemed always so frank1 so earnest1 so  
tender1 so single in his  aims1--if he  
could not be trusted1 ,i do not know    

where ,i could rest my  heart and       
say1--',here ,i am safe1 whatever       
betide6'    ,it was a strange thing for 
,alice to speak in such an exalted      
strain1 and  she trembled as she tried  
to resume her sewing4 ,the thread       
slipped and  knotted2 the needle broke  
and pricked her finger2 and then1       
feeling her  cheeks begin to glow1 she  
laid down her work and turned to the    
window4    ,don't lose all faith1       
,alice2 there are true hearts in the    
world4  ,perhaps this lover of yours1   
now1 has repented and is striving to    
find  you4 ,or you may have been        
misinformed as to the extent of his     
treachery4  ,to take your own simile1   
you don't accuse the brook of fickleness
 merely  because it eddies around under 
some flowery bank2 after it has made the
  circle1 it keeps on its steady course4
    ,alice only shook her head1 still   
keeping her face averted to conceal the 
tremor of her lips4    ,but you haven't 
told me who this man is4 ,how odd it    

would be1 if ,i knew  him6    ,i would  
rather not have you know4 ,the secret   
isn't a fatal one1 to be  sure2 but ,i  
prefer to keep it4    ,suddenly she     
stepped back from the window1 ashy pale1
 and gasping  hysterically4 ,mrs4       
,sandford rose hastily to assist her1   
and1 as she  did so1 noticed her old    
acquaintance1 ,mr4 ,greenleaf1 on the   
opposite  sidewalk4 ,she helped ,alice  
to her seat and brought her a glass of  
water1 and1 as she did so1 in an instant
 the long track of the past was         
illumined as by a flash of lightning4   
,she saw the reason for ,greenleaf's    
conduct towards her sister-in-law1      
,marcia4 ,she remembered his early      
fascination1 his long1 vacillating      
resistance1 his brief engagement1 and   
the stormy scene when it was broken4    
,she had seen the thread of ,fate  spun 
for each1 without knowing that invisible
 strands connected them4  ,she had begun
 to read a tale of sorrow1 but the page 
was torn1 and now  she had finished it  

upon the chance-found fragment2 the     
irregular and  jagged edges fitted      
together like mosaic-work4    ,what a   
mystery is ,truth6 ,a ,lie may simulate 
its form or hue1 and1 taken  by itself1 
may deceive the most acute observer4    
,but in the affairs of  the world1 every
 fact is related2 it meets and is joined
 by other facts  on every side1--the    
whole forming an harmonious figure in   
all its angles  and curves as well as in
 its gradations of color4 ,each truth   
slips  easily into its predestined      
place2 a lie1 however trivial1 has no   
place2  its angles are belligerent1 its 
colors false2 it makes confusion1 and is
  thrown out as soon as the eye of the  
,master falls upon it4    ,alice        
revived4    ,did ,i speak8 she asked4   
,no1--you said nothing4    ,i am glad4  
,i feared ,i had been foolish4 ,it was a
 mere passing  faintness4    ,mrs4      
,sandford thought it was the cause of   
the faintness that was  passing1 but she
 prudently kept her discovery to        

herself4      ,,chapter ,,xxviii4       
,fletcher rose next morning betimes1    
after a night of fitful and             
unrefreshing slumber4 ,in his dreams he 
had sought ,bullion in vain2 that       
substantial person seemed to have become
 a new ,proteus1 and to  escape1 when   
nearly overtaken1 by taking refuge in   
some unexpected  transformation4        
,sometimes the scene changed1 and it was
 the dreamer that  was flying1 while    
,sandford1 shod with swiftness1 pursued 
him1 swinging  a lasso2 and as often as 
the fierce hunter whirled the deadly    
coil1  ,fletcher awoke with a           
suffocating sensation1 and a cold sweat 
trickling  from his forehead4 ,at       
breakfast1 his wife noticed with intense
 anxiety  his sharpened features and his
 evident preoccupation of mind4 ,he     
hurried  off1 snatching a kiss from the 
baby and from the mother who held it1   
and  walked towards ,bullion's office4  
,he knew ,bullion was an early riser1   
and he felt sure of being able to see   

him before the usual hour of  commencing
 business4 ,but the office was not even 
opened2 and1 looking  through the glass 
door1 he saw that there was no fire in  
the grate4 ,what  was the meaning of    
this8 ,going into the street1 he met    
,tonsor near the  post-office4 ,at the  
first sight of the broker's face1       
,fletcher's heart  seemed to stop       
beating4    ,good-morning1 ,fletcher4   
,bad business1 this6 ,i suppose you've  
heard4  ,bullion went to protest        
yesterday4 ,hope you got wind of it in  
time1 and  made all safe4    ,bullion   
failed6 exclaimed ,fletcher1 through his
 chattering teeth4  ,then ,i'm a ruined 
man6    ,but a sudden thought struck    
him1 and he asked eagerly1--    ,but the
 money1--haven't you got it still8      
,no1--paid it over yesterday4    ,well1 
the shares1 then8    ,no1--sorry to say1
 ,bullion's clerk came for them not ten 
minutes before  ,i heard of the protest4
    ,o ,god6 groaned the unhappy man1   
there is no hope6 ,but you1 ,mr4        

,tonsor1 you are my friend2 help me out 
of this6 ,you can raise the  money4     
,ten thousand dollars6 ,it's a pretty   
large sum4 ,i'm afraid ,i couldn't  get 
it4    ,try1 my friend1--you shall never
 regret it4    ,tonsor hesitated1 and   
,fletcher's spirits rose4 ,he watched   
the broker's  composed face with eyes   
that might pierce a mummy4    ,what is  
the collateral8 asked ,tonsor1 slowly   
raising his wrinkled  eyelids4          
,bullion's notes for seventeen thousand 
dollars4    ,and ,bullion gone to       
protest4    ,he'll come up again4       
,perhaps2 but while he is down1 ,i can't
 do anything with his paper4 ,the  truth
 is1 ,fletcher1 you ought not to have   
advanced the money for him4  ,remember1 
,i warned you when you were about to do 
it4    ,fletcher did not look as though 
he found the ,balm of ,i-told-you-so    
very consoling4    ,tonsor continued1-- 
,now1 if ,i were in your place1 ,i would
 go and make a clean breast of it  to   
,danforth4 ,it was wrong1 though ,i know

 you didn't mean any harm4 ,he  may be  
angry1 but he won't touch you4 ,you     
can't raise ten thousand  dollars in    
these times1--not to save your soul4    
,keep your advice1 and your money1 too1 
said ,fletcher1 in sullen  despair4 ,i  
ask for bread1 and you give me a stone4 
,your moral lecture  won't pay my debts4
    ,he turned away abruptly and went   
again to ,bullion's office4 ,it was     
still  closed4 ,determined at all       
hazards to see the man for whom he had  
risked  so much1 he went to his house on
 ,beacon ,hill4 ,the servant said ,mr4  
,bullion was not at home4 ,fletcher did 
not believe it1 but the door was  closed
 in his face before he could send a more
 urgent message1 and with  a sinking    
heart he retraced his steps towards     
,state ,street4    ,the horror of his   
position was now fully before him4 ,he  
could not  conceal his defalcation1 and 
there was no longer a shadow of hope of 
replacing the money4 ,many a time he had
 taken the risk of lending large  sums  

to brokers and others2 but who would    
trust him1 a man without  estate1 in a  
time like this8 ,in his terrible anxiety
 about the new  obligation1 he had      
forgotten the old1 until he chanced to  
observe  ,sandford on the opposite      
sidewalk1 strolling leisurely towards   
the  business quarter of the town4 ,the 
ex-secretary made a barely-perceptible  
bow1 and1 drawing out his watch1        
significantly turned the face towards   
his debtor4 ,it was enough2 there was no
 need of words4 ,it was a little  after 
ten o'clock2 the fatal letter would be  
delivered at eleven6  ,fletcher crossed 
the street and accosted ,sandford1      
though not without  trepidation2 for he 
shuddered like a swimmer within reach of
 a shark1 as  he encountered those cold 
and pitiless eyes4    ,come to the      
office1 ,mr4 ,sandford1 at eleven1 he   
said4 ,the affair will  be settled then1
 and forever4    ,mr4 ,sandford nodded  
and walked on4 ,fletcher1 meanwhile1    
quivering with  agony1 hurried to his   

employer's office4 ,he scanned each face
 sharply  as he entered1 and felt sure  
that the loss had not yet been          
discovered4  ,going to his desk1 he     
wrote and sealed a letter1 and then went
 out1  saying he had some business with 
a lawyer overhead4    ,mrs4 ,fletcher   
grew momently more uneasy1 after her    
husband left the  house4 ,a vague sense 
of coming evil oppressed her1 until at  
length she  could bear it no longer2 she
 left her child with the servant1 and1  
walking to the nearest stand1 took a    
coach for ,state ,street4 ,on the way   
she recalled again and again the        
muttered words she heard during the     
night2 she thought of the silent1       
comfortless breakfast1 the hurried      
good-bye2 she felt again the pressure of
 his trembling lips upon her  own4 ,full
 of apprehension1 she asked the coachman
 to call her husband  to the door4      
,answer was made by a clerk that ,mr4   
,fletcher was out on  business1 but was 
expected back presently4 ,so she waited1

 looking out  of the carriage-window1--a
 sad face to see6 ,the hands of the ,old
  ,state-,house clock pointed at eleven1
 when ,mr4 ,sandford punctually made    
his appearance1--smooth1 cheerful1 and  
with a slight exhilaration1 in  prospect
 of the two thousand dollars4 ,almost at
 the same moment ,bullion  came also2   
for ,tonsor1 fearing that ,fletcher     
would take some desperate  step1 had    
been to the surly bankrupt's house and  
insisted upon his  coming down to see   
his unfortunate agent4 ,just at the     
office-door1 and  opposite the carriage1
 met the two bankrupts1 the disgraced   
bull  and the vanquished bear4 ,it was  
an odd look of recognition that  was    
exchanged between them2 and if there was
 a shade of triumph in  ,sandford's     
face1 it was not to be wondered at4     
,they stood at the door1  each motioning
 the other to enter first1 when an      
unusual sound from the  adjoining entry 
caused both of them to stop1 and one of 
them1 at least1  to shiver4 ,it was a   

sound of slow and hesitating1 shuffling 
steps1 as of  men carrying a burden4    
,the steps came nearer4 ,both ,bullion  
and ,sandford  moved hurriedly to the   
spot4 ,the men stopped in the doorway   
with their  burden1 and in a moment1    
with frantic shrieks1 ,mrs4 ,fletcher   
rushed in  and fell upon the body of her
 husband6    ,good ,god6 what's this8   
exclaimed ,bullion4 ,dead8 ,he stooped  
down and  thrust his hand under the     
waistcoat4 ,the heart was still6 ,he    
shuddered  convulsively and drew back1  
covering his eyes4 ,dead6    ,mr4       
,sandford seemed frozen to the threshold
 in speechless horror4 ,there  was his  
debtor1 free1--the old account settled  
forever6 ,the pallid  temples would     
throb no more2 the mobile lips had      
trembled their last2  the glancing1     
restless eyes had found a ghastly       
repose2 the slender and  shapely frame1 
bereft of its active tenant1 was limp   
and unresisting4  ,what a moment for the
 two men1 as they stood over the corpse 

of their  victim6    ,attracted by the  
unusual outcry1 ,mr4 ,danforth came     
hastily out of the  office1 and stood1  
as it were1 transfixed at the sight of  
the dead4 ,the  men who had brought down
 the body at last found words to tell   
their  dismal story4    ,they were at   
work on the upper floor1 when they heard
 a noise in one of  the adjoining rooms2
 as the apartment had been for some time
 unoccupied1  they were naturally       
surprised4 ,after a while all sounds    
ceased1 and  still no one came out to   
descend the stairs4 ,appalled by the    
silence1  they broke open the door1 and 
discovered ,fletcher hanging by the neck
  from a coat-hook2 a chair1 overturned1
 had served as the scaffold from  which 
he had stepped into eternity4 ,they took
 him down1 but life was  already gone4  
,a paper lay on his hat1 with these     
words hastily pencilled  on it3--    ,on
 my desk is a letter that explains all4 
,i'm off4 ,good-bye4    ,,john          
,,fletcher4    ,mr4 ,danforth1 hearing  

this1 instantly went into his office1   
and  reappeared1 reading a note         
addressed to him4 ,mr4 ,sandford1       
meanwhile1  was striving to raise the   
wretched woman to her feet1 and to lead 
her  to the carriage4 ,mr4 ,bullion no  
longer whisked his defiant eyebrow1 but 
stood downcast1 silent1 and             
conscience-stricken4    ,listen a       
moment1 said ,mr4 ,danforth4 ,here is a 
letter from our rash  friend1 and1 as it
 concerns you1 gentlemen1 ,i will read  
it4 ,but first1  my dear ,madam1 let me 
help you into the carriage4    ,the     
prostrate woman made no answer1 save by 
a slow rolling of her  body1--her sobs  
continuing without cessation4 ,the      
letter was read3--    ,,mr4 ,,danforth1 
,to make a payment for shares bought by 
,mr4 ,bullion1 ,i borrowed ten  thousand
 dollars from your house yesterday4 ,mr4
 ,bullion has failed1 and  does not     
protect me4 ,he escapes1 and ,i am left 
in the trap4 ,i charge him  to pay my   
wife the notes he owes me4 ,as he hopes 

to be saved1 let him  consider that a   
debt of honor4    ,but my death ,i lay  
at ,sandford's door4 ,he has followed me
 with a steady  bay1 like a bloodhound4 
,his claim is now settled forever1 as ,i
 told him4  ,i don't ask ,god to forgive
 him2--,i don't1 and ,god won't4 ,let   
him live1  the cold-blooded wretch that 
he is2 one world or another would make  
no  difference2 for1 to a devil like    
him1 there is no heaven1 no earth1      
nothing but hell4    ,my poor wife6 ,see
 to her1 if you have any pity for       
,,john ,,fletcher4    ,look1 said ,mr4  
,danforth1 holding the letter under the 
stony eyes of  ,sandford1--see where the
 tears blistered the paper6    ,all the 
while1 ,mrs4 ,fletcher kept up an       
inarticulate moaning1 though the  sound 
grew fainter from exhaustion4    ,let us
 stop this1 said ,bullion1 seeing the   
gathering crowd of  passers-by4 ,better 
be at home4    ,pointing to the still   
prostrate woman1 he1 with ,mr4          
,danforth1 gently  raised her up and    

placed her in the carriage4 ,she did not
 speak1 but  murmured pleadingly1 while 
her face wore a look of agonized        
longing1 and  her outstretched hands    
clutched nervously4    ,poor thing6 said
 ,mr4 ,danforth1 his voice beginning to 
tremble1--she  shall have her dead      
husband1 if it is any comfort to her4   
,that's right1 said ,bullion1--carry him
 off before half-a-dozen                
coroner-buzzards come to fight over him4
    ,the body was laid in the carriage1 
the head she had so often caressed      
resting in her lap1 while her tears     
bathed the unconscious face1 and  her   
groans became heart-rending4 ,still     
holding the carriage-door1 ,mr4         
,danforth turned to ,sandford1 saying1--
    ,i don't know what you have done1   
but his blood is on your soul4 ,i  would
 rather be like him there1 than you1 on 
your feet4--,bullion1 ,i  don't mind the
 ten thousand dollars2 but was it just  
the manly thing to  leave a man that    
trusted you in this way to be           

sacrificed8 ,why didn't  you come down  
this morning8 ,god forgive              
you6--,coachman1 drive to  ,carleton    
,street4    ,he stepped into the        
carriage1 and away it rolled with its   
load of  sorrow4    ,mr4 ,sandford found
 the glances of his companion and the   
bystanders quite  uncomfortable1 and he 
slunk silently away4 ,failure and       
disgrace he  had met2 but this was a    
position for which he had not the nerve4
  ,the self-accusing ,cain was not the  
only man who has exclaimed1 ,my         
punishment is greater than ,i can bear4 
,flight was the only alternative  for   
,sandford4 ,as long as he remained in   
,boston1 every face seemed to  wear a   
look of condemnation4 ,the mark was set 
upon him1 and avenging  fiends pursued  
him4 ,that very day he left the city in 
disguise4 ,through  what trials he      
passed will never be known4 ,but        
destitute1 friendless1  and             
broken-spirited1 he wandered from city  
to city1 a vagabond upon the  face of   

the earth4 ,nor did a sterner           
retribution long delay4 ,in ,new        
,orleans1 he was so far reduced that he 
was obliged to earn a miserable  support
 in an oyster-saloon near the levee4    
,one night1 a fight began  between some 
drunken boatmen3 and ,sandford1 though  
in no way concerned  in the affair1     
received a chance bullet in his         
forehead1 and fell dead  without a word4
      ,,chapter ,,xxix4      ,bullion1  
at last1 in spite of his armor of       
selfishness and stoicism1 was  touched  
in a vital part4 ,his dreams of wealth  
had vanished into air4 ,the  confederate
 in ,new ,york in whom he had trusted   
had only made him a dupe4  ,blindly     
following out his agreement1 he found   
himself saddled with a  load of         
railroad-shares1 useless for any present
 purpose1 and all his  convertible      
property gone4 ,the consciousness that  
he--the man of all  others who prided   
himself upon his sagacity--had been so  
easily  overreached was quite as        

humiliating as the idea of ruin itself4 
,he  remembered ,kerbstone's appeals1   
also1 and now cursed his own stupidity  
in refusing to aid him4 ,there he had   
overreached himself2 it was his own     
stocks which he had thrown down to the  
bears4 ,and now1 heaviest stroke  of    
all1 ,fletcher1 his intrepid and        
chivalrous agent1 who had stepped  into 
the breach for him1 had paid for his    
indiscretion with his life4  ,the       
thought gave him a pang he had never    
felt1 not even when he followed  his    
wife to the grave4 ,homeward he went1   
but slowly and almost without  volition4
 ,he recognized no acquaintances that he
 met1 but walked on  abstractedly1      
fixing his eyes on vacancy with a look  
as mournful as his  iron features could 
wear4 ,in his ears still rang those     
thrilling cries4  ,his hand1 that had   
groped over that motionless heart1 still
 felt a  creeping chill2 it would not   
warm4 ,and constantly an accusing voice 
asked1 ,why didn't you come down8--and  

conscience repeated the question  in    
tones like those of a judge arraigning a
 criminal4 ,he reached his  house and   
gave orders that no one should be       
admitted4 ,in his room he  passed the   
day alone1 drifting on an ocean of      
remorse1 full of vague  purposes of     
repentance and restitution4 ,dinner     
passed unheeded1 and  still he paced the
 silent chamber4 ,with the approach of  
evening his  terrors increased2 he rang 
for a servant and had the gas-burners   
lighted4 ,still1 in all the blaze1      
shapes would haunt him2 they crouched   
at the foot of his bed2 they lurked     
behind his wardrobe-door4 ,he dared  not
 look over his shoulder1 but forced     
himself to stand up and face  what he so
 dreaded to see4 ,he rang again and bade
 the servant bring  a screw-driver and  
take down the coat-hooks from the       
wardrobe2 the  garments hanging there   
seemed to be men struggling in the      
agonies of  asphyxia4 ,the slender      
thread of sound from the gas-burners    

seemed to be  changed to low1 mournful  
cries1 as of a woman over the dead4 ,he 
turned  the gas down a little2 then the 
shadows of the cannel-coal fire danced  
like spectres on the ceiling4 ,he jumped
 up and raised the lights again2  again 
the low1 dismal monotone sang in his    
ears4 ,he stopped them with  his        
fingers2 again the persistent voice     
asked1 ,why didn't you come  down8      
,flakes fell off the coal in the grate  
in shapes like coffins2  the flames     
seemed to dart at him with their fiery  
tongues4 ,he rang once  more1 and when  
the servant came he bade him drink      
enough strong tea and  then take his    
chair by the fire4    ,touch me1 if ,i  
groan1 said he to the astonished ,john4 
,keep awake  yourself1 and hold your    
tongue4 ,if you go to sleep or leave me1
 ,i'll  murder you4    ,then wrapping   
himself in his dressing-gown1 he settled
 down in his  easy-chair for the night4 
,the night passed1 as all nights will1  
and in the morning ,mr4 ,bullion  was   

calmer4 ,the first intelligence he      
received after breakfast was in a       
message from ,tonsor1 delivered by a    
servant4    ,plaze1 ,sur1 ,mr4 ,tonsor's
 compliments1 and he says the banks is  
suspinded and money's to be asier4      
,send after ,mr4 ,tonsor2 overtake him1 
and ask him to come back4 ,i want  to   
see him4    ,tonsor returned1 and they  
had a long conference4 ,it now seemed   
probable  that stocks would be more     
buoyant and the bulls would have their  
turn4  ,any considerable rise in shares 
would place ,bullion on his feet and    
enable him to resume payment4 ,most of  
his time-contracts had been met1  and   
the change would be of the greatest     
service to him4 ,he placed his  shares1 
therefore1 in ,tonsor's hands with      
instructions to sell when  prices       
advanced4 ,he then looked over the      
amount of his liabilities1 and  saw1    
with some of his old exultation1 that1  
if he could effect sales  at the rates  
he expected1 he should have at least two

 hundred thousand  dollars after paying 
all his debts4 ,ambition again whispered
 to him1  that he might now take his old
 place in the business world1 and       
perhaps  might more than retrieve his   
losses4 ,but he thought of the last     
night1  and shrank from encountering a  
new brood of horrors4 ,firm in his new  
purpose1 he dismissed the broker and    
sent for his counsellor4    ,my son1 he 
meditated1 is a lawyer in good practice4
 ,he needs no  fortune4 ,twenty thousand
 will be enough for him2 more than ,i   
had1 which  wasn't a penny4 ,my daughter
 is married rich4 ,didn't mean to have  
any  pauper son-in-law to be plaguing   
me4 ,the same for her4 ,the rest will   
square those old accounts1--and the new 
one1 too1 on the book up yonder6  ,best 
to fix it now1 while ,i can muster the  
courage4 ,if ,i once get the  money1    
,i'm afraid ,i shouldn't do it4 ,so my  
will shall set all these  matters right2
 and it shall be drawn and signed       
to-day4    ,that night ,mr4 ,bullion    

needed no servant to watch with him4    
,the ghosts  were laid4    ,to be       
concluded in the next number4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,,inscription    ,,for ,,an             
,,alms-,,chest ,,made ,,of              
,,camphor-,,wood4        ,this fragrant 
box that breathes of ,india's balms     
,hath one more fragrance1 for it asketh 
alms2    ,but1 though 'tis sweet and    
blessed to receive1    ,you know who    
said1 ,it is more blest to give3        
,give1 then1 receive ,his blessing1--and
 for me    ,thy silent boon sufficient  
blessing be6    ,if ,ceylon's isle1 that
 bears the bleeding trees1    ,with any 
perfume load the ,orient breeze1--      
,if ,heber's ,muse1 by ,ceylon as he    
sailed1    ,a pleasant odor from the    
shore inhaled1--    ,more lives in me2  
for underneath my lid    ,a sweetness as
 of sacrifice is hid4      ,thou gentle 
almoner1 in passing by1    ,smell of my 
wood1 and scan me with thine eye2--     
,i1 too1 from ,ceylon bear a spicy      

breath    ,that might put warmness in   
the lungs of death2    ,a simple chest  
of scented wood ,i seem1    ,but1 oh6   
within me lurks a golden beam1--      ,a
 beam celestial1 and a silver din1      
,as though imprisoned angels played     
within2    ,hushed in my heart my       
fragrant secret dwells2    ,if thou     
wouldst learn it1 ,paul of ,tarsus      
tells2--    ,no jangled brass nor       
tinkling cymbal sound1    ,for in my    
bosom ,charity is found4           99   
99       99       99       99      ,a   
,,trip ,,to ,,cuba4      ,,the          
,,departure4      ,why one leaves home  
at all is a question that travellers are
 sure1  sooner or later1 to ask         
themselves1--,i mean1                   
pleasure-travellers4 ,home1  where one  
has the ,transcript every night1 and the
 ,autocrat  every month1 opera1 theatre1
 circus1 and good society1 in constant  
rotation1--home1 where everybody knows  
us1 and the little good there is  to    
know about us1--finally1 home1 as seen  

regretfully for the last time1  with the
 gushing of long frozen friendships1 the
 priceless kisses of  children1 and the 
last sad look at dear baby's pale face  
through the  window-pane1--well1 all    
this is left behind1 and we review it as
 a  dream1 while the railroad-train     
hurries us along to the spot where we   
are to leave1 not only this1 but        
,winter1 rude tyrant1 with all our      
precious hostages in his grasp4 ,soon   
the swift motion lulls our brains  into 
the accustomed muddle2 we seem to be    
dragged along like a miserable  thread  
pulled through the eye of an            
ever-lasting needle1--through and       
through1 and never through1--while here 
and there1 like painful knots1  the dpts
 stop us1 the poor thread is arrested   
for a minute1 and then  the pulling     
begins again4 ,or1 in another dream1 we 
are like fugitives  threading the       
gauntlet of the grim forests1 while the 
ice-bound trees  essay a charge of      
bayonets on either side2 but1 under the 

guidance of  our fiery ,mercury1 we pass
 them as safely as ancient ,priam passed
 the  outposts of the ,greeks1--and ,new
 ,york1 as hospitable as ,achilles1     
receives us in its mighty tent4 ,here we
 await the ,karnak1 the ,british  ,mail 
,company's new screw-steamer1 bound for 
,havana1 vi ,nassau4 ,at  length comes  
the welcome order to be on board4 ,we   
betake ourselves  thither1--the anchor  
is weighed1 the gun fired1 and we take  
leave of our  native land with a        
patriotic pang1 which soon gives place  
to severer  spasms4    ,i do not know   
why all celebrated people who write     
books of travels begin  by describing   
their days of sea-sickness4 ,dickens1   
,george ,combe1 ,fanny  ,kemble1 ,mrs4  
,stowe1 ,miss ,bremer1 and many others1 
have opened in like  manner their       
valuable remarks on foreign countries4  
,while intending to  avail myself of    
their privilege and example1 ,i would1  
nevertheless1  suggest1 for those who   
may come after me1 that the subject of  

sea-sickness should be embalmed in      
science1 and enshrined in the crypt  of 
some modern encyclopaedia1 so that      
future writers should refer to it  only 
as the ,pang ,unspeakable1 for which    
vide ,ripley and ,dana1  vol4 ---1 page 
---4 ,but1 as ,i have already said1 ,i  
shall speak of  sea-sickness in a       
hurried and picturesque manner1 as      
follows3--    ,who are these that sit by
 the long dinner-table in the forward   
cabin1  with a most unusual lack of     
interest in the bill of fare8 ,their    
eyes are  closed1 mostly1 their cheeks  
are pale1 their lips are quite          
bloodless1  and to every offer of good  
cheer1 their ,no1 thank you1 is as      
faintly  uttered as are marriage-vows by
 maiden lips4 ,can they be the same     
that1  an hour ago1 were so composed1 so
 jovial1 so full of dangerous defiance  
to the old man of the sea8 ,the officer 
who carves the roast-beef offers  at the
 same time a slice of fat2--this is too 
much2 a panic runs through  the ranks1  

and the rout is instantaneous and       
complete4 ,the ghost of what  each man  
was disappears through the trap-door of 
his state-room1 and the  hell which the 
theatre faintly pictures behind the     
scenes begins in good  earnest4    ,for 
to what but to ,dante's ,inferno can we 
liken this steamboat-cabin1  with its   
double row of pits1 and its dismal      
captives8 ,what are these  sighs1       
groans1 and despairing noises1 but the  
alti guai rehearsed by  the poet8 ,its  
fiends are the stewards who rouse us    
from our perpetual  torpor with offers  
of food and praises of shadowy          
banquets1--,nice  mutton-chop1 ,sir8    
roast-turkey8 plate of soup8 ,cries of  
,no1 no6  resound1 and the wretched turn
 again1 and groan4 ,the philanthropist  
has  lost the movement of the           
age1--keeled up in an upper berth1      
convulsively  embracing a blanket1 what 
conservative more immovable than he8    
,the great  man of the party refrains   
from his large theories1 which1 like the

  circles made by the stone thrown into 
the water1 begin somewhere and end      
nowhere4 ,as we have said1 he expounds  
himself no more1 the significant        
fore-finger is down1 the eye no longer  
imprisons yours4 ,but if you ask  him   
how he does1 he shakes himself1 as if1  
like ,farinata1--      avesse l' inferno
 in gran dispetto1--    he had a very   
contemptible opinion of hell4 ,let me   
not forget to add1  that it rains every 
day1 that it blows every night1 and that
 it rolls  through the twenty-four hours
 till the whole world seems as if turned
  bottom upwards1 clinging with its     
nails to chaos1 and fearing to launch   
away4 ,the captain comes and says1--,it 
is true1 you have a nasty1 short1       
chopping sea hereabouts2 but you see1   
she is spinning away down ,south  jolly6
 ,and this is the ,gulf-,stream6    ,but
 all things have an end1 and most things
 have two4 ,after the third  day1 a new 
development manifests itself4 ,various  
shapeless masses are  carried upstairs  

and suffered to fall like snow-flakes on
 the deck1 and  to lie there in         
shivering heaps4 ,from these larvae     
gradually emerge  features and          
voices1--the luncheon-bell at last stirs
 them with the  thrill of returning     
life4 ,they look up1 they lean up1 they 
exchange  pensive smiles of             
recognition1--the steward comes1 no     
fiend this time1  but a ministering     
angel1 and1 lo6 the strong man eats     
broth1 and the  weak woman clamors for  
pickled oysters4 ,and so ends my        
description of  our sea-sickness4       
,for1 as for betraying the confidences  
of those sad days1 as for telling  how  
wofully untrue ,professors of           
,temperance were to their principles1   
how the ,apostle of ,total ,abstinence  
developed a brandy-flask1 not           
altogether new1 what unsuccessful       
tipplings were attempted in the         
desperation of nausea1 and for what lady
 that stunning brandy-smasher  was      
mixed1--as for such tales out of school1

 ,i would have you know that  ,i am not 
the man to tell them4    ,yet a portrait
 or so lingers in my mental             
repository2--let me throw them  in1 to  
close off the lot4    ,no4 #a4 ,a sober 
,bostonian in the next state-room1 whose
 assiduity with  his sea-sick wife      
reminds one of ,cock-,robin1 when he    
sent ,jenny ,wren  sops and wine4 ,this 
person was last seen in a dressing-gown1
 square-cut  night-cap1 and odd         
slippers1 dancing up and down the       
state-room floor  with a cup of gruel1  
making wild passes with a spoon at an   
individual in  a berth1 who never got   
any of the contents4 ,item1 the gruel1  
in a moment  of excitement1 finally ran 
in a stream upon the floor1 and was     
wiped up  by the steward4 ,result not   
known1 but disappointment is presumable4
    ,no4 #b4 ,a stout lady1 imprisoned  
by a board on a sofa nine inches wide1  
called by a facetious friend ,the       
,coffin4 ,she complains that her sides  
are tolerably battered in2--we hold our 

tongues1 and think that the  board1 too1
 has had a hard time of it4 ,yet she is 
a jolly soul1 laughing  at her          
misfortunes1 and chirruping to her baby4
 ,her spirits keep up1  even when her   
dinner won't keep down4 ,her favorite   
expressions are ,good  ,george6 and ,oh1
 jolly6 ,she does not intend1 she says1 
to lay in any  dry goods in ,cuba1 but  
means to eat up all the good victuals   
she comes  across4 ,though seen at      
present under unfavorable circumstances1
 she  inspires confidence as to her     
final accomplishment of this result4    
,no4 #c4 ,a woman1 said to be of a      
literary turn of mind1 in the           
miserablest condition imaginable4 ,her  
clothes1 flung at her by the            
stewardess1 seem to have hit in some    
places1 and missed in others4  ,her     
listless hands occasionally make an     
attempt to keep her draperies  together1
 and to pull her hat on her head2 but   
though the intention is  evident1 she   
accomplishes little by her motion4 ,she 

is perpetually being  lugged about by a 
stout steward1 who knocks her head      
against both sides  of the vessel1 folds
 her up in the gangway1 spreads her out 
on the deck1  and takes her up-stairs1  
down-stairs1 and in my lady's chamber1  
where1  report says1 he feeds her with a
 spoon1 and comforts her with such      
philosophy as he is master of4 ,n4,b4   
,this woman1 upon the first change of   
weather1 rose like a cork1 dressed like 
a ,christian1 and toddled about  the    
deck in the easiest manner1 sipping her 
grog1 and cutting sly jokes  upon her   
late companions in misery1--is supposed 
by some to have been an  impostor1 and1 
when ill-treated1 announced intentions  
of writing a book4    ,no4 #d1 my last1 
is only a sketch2--circumstances allowed
 no more4 ,can  ,grande1 the great dog1 
has been got up out of the pit1 where he
 worried  the stewardess and snapped at 
the friend who tried to pat him on the  
head4 ,everybody asks where he is4      
,don't you see that heap of shawls      

yonder1 lying in the sun1 and heated up 
to about #bab degrees ,fahrenheit8      
,that slouched hat on top marks the spot
 where his head should lie1--by         
treading cautiously in the opposite     
direction you may discover his  feet4   
,all between is perfectly passive and   
harmless4 ,his chief food is            
pickles1--his only desire is rest4      
,after all these years of controversy1  
after all these battles1 bravely fought 
and nobly won1 you might write  with    
truth upon this moveless mound of       
woollens the pathetic words from  ,pre  
la ,chaise3--,implora ,pace4    ,but no 
more at present1 for land is in sight1  
and in my next you shall  hear how we   
found it1 and what we saw at ,nassau4   
,,nassau4      ,nassau looked very green
 and pleasant to us after our           
voyage2--the eyes  enjoy a little fresh 
provision after so long a course of salt
 food4 ,the  first view of land is      
little more than the feeling of the     
thing1--it  is matter of faith1 rather  

than of sight4 ,you are shown a dark and
  distant line1 near the horizon1       
without color or features4 ,they say it 
is land1 and you believe it4 ,but you   
come nearer and nearer1--you see  first 
the green of vegetation1 then the form  
of the trees1--the harbor  at last opens
 its welcome arms1--the anchor is       
dropped1--the gun  fired1--the steam    
snuffed out4 ,led by a thread of        
sunshine1 you have  walked the labyrinth
 of the waters1 and all their gigantic  
dangers lie  behind you4    ,we made    
,nassau at twelve o'clock1 on the sixth 
day from our departure1  counting the   
first as one4 ,the first feature        
discernible was a group  of tall        
cocoa-nut trees1 with which the island  
is bounteously  feathered2--the second  
was a group of negroes in a small boat1 
steering  towards us with open-mouthed  
and white-toothed wonder4 ,nothing makes
 its  simple impression upon the mind   
sophisticated by education4 ,the        
negroes1  as they came nearer1 suggested

 only ,christy's ,minstrels1 of whom    
they were a tolerably faithful          
imitation1--while the cocoa-nut-trees   
transported us to the ,boston in        
,ravel-time1 and we strained our eyes to
  see the wonderful ape1 ,jocko1 whose  
pathetic death1 nightly repeated1  used 
to cheat the credulous ,bostonians of   
time1 tears1 and treasure4  ,despite the
 clumsiest management1 the boat soon    
effected a junction with  our gangway1  
allowing some nameless official to come 
on board1 and to go  through ,i know not
 what mysterious and indispensable      
formality4 ,other  boats then came1 like
 a shoal of little fishes around the    
carcass of  a giant whale4 ,there were  
many negroes1 together with whites of   
every  grade2 and some of our number1   
leaning over the side1 saw for the first
  time the raw material out of which    
,northern ,humanitarians have spun so   
fine a skein of compassion and sympathy4
    ,now we who write1 and they for whom
 we write1 are all orthodox upon this   

mighty question2 we have all made our   
confession of faith in private and  in  
public2 we all1 on suitable occasions1  
walk up and apply the match to  the keg 
of gun-powder which is to blow up the   
,union1 but which1 somehow1  at the     
critical moment1 fails to ignite4 ,but  
you must allow us one  heretical        
whisper1--very small and low4 ,the negro
 of the ,north is an  ideal negro2 it is
 the negro refined by white culture1    
elevated by white  blood1 instructed    
even by white iniquity2--the negro among
 negroes is a  coarse1 grinning1        
flat-footed1 thick-skulled creature1    
ugly as ,caliban1  lazy as the laziest  
of brutes1 chiefly ambitious to be of no
 use to any  in the world4 ,view him as 
you will1 his stock in trade is         
small2--he has  but the tangible        
instincts of all creatures1--love of    
life1 of ease1 and  of offspring4 ,for  
all else1 he must go to school to the   
white race1 and  his discipline must be 
long and laborious4 ,nassau1 and all    

that we saw  of it1 suggested to us the 
unwelcome question1 whether compulsory  
labor  be not better than none4 ,but as 
a question ,i gladly leave it1 and      
return  to the simple narration of what 
befell4    ,there was a sort of eddy at 
the gangway of our steamer1 made by the 
conflicting tides of those who wanted to
 come on board and of those who  wanted 
to go on shore4 ,we were among the      
number of the latter1 but were  stopped 
and held by the button by one of the    
former1 while those more  impatient or  
less sympathizing made their way to the 
small boats which  waited below4 ,the   
individual in question had come         
alongside in a  handsome barge1 rowed by
 a dozen stout blacks1 in the undress   
uniform  of the ,zouaves4 ,these men1   
well drilled and disciplined1 seemed of 
a  different sort from the sprawling1   
screaming creatures in the other  boats1
 and their bright red caps and white    
tunics became them well4  ,but he who   
now claimed my attention was of ,british

 birth and military  profession4 ,his   
face was ardent1 his pantaloons were of 
white flannel1  his expression of       
countenance was that of habitual        
discontent1 but with  a twinkle of      
geniality in the eye which redeemed the 
,grumbler from the  usual tedium of his 
tribe4 ,he accosted us as follows3--    
,go ashore8 ,what for8 ,to see          
something1 eh8 ,there's nothing to see2 
the island isn't bigger than a          
nut-shell1 and doesn't contain a single 
prospect4--,go ashore and get some      
dinner8 ,there isn't anything to eat    
there4--,fruit8 ,none to speak of2 sour 
oranges and green bananas4--,i went  to 
market last ,saturday1 and bought one   
cabbage1 one banana1 and half  a pig's  
head2--there's a market for you6--,fish8
 ,oh1 yes1 if you like  it4--,turtle8   
,yes1 you can get the ,gallipagos       
turtle2 it makes tolerable  soup1 but   
has not the green fat1 which1 in my     
opinion1 is the most  important feature 
in turtle-soup4--,shops8 ,you can't buy 

a pair of  scissors on the island1 nor a
 baby's bottle2--broke mine the other   
day1  and tried to replace it2          
couldn't4--,society8 ,there are lots of 
people to  call upon you1 and bore you  
to death with returning their visits4   
,at last the ,major went below1 and we  
broke away1 and were duly conveyed  to  
terra firma4 ,it was ,sunday1 and late  
in the afternoon4 ,the first  glimpse   
certainly seemed to confirm the ,major's
 disparaging statements4  ,the town is  
small2 the houses dingy and out of      
repair2 the legend1 that  paint costs   
nothing1 is not received here2 and      
whatever may have been  the original    
colors of the buildings1 the climate has
 had its own  way with them for many a  
day4 ,the barracks are superior in      
finish  to anything else we see4        
,government-,house is a                 
melancholy-looking  caserne1 surrounded 
by a piazza1 the grounds being adorned  
with a most  chunky and inhuman statue  
of ,columbus4 ,all the houses are       

surrounded by  verandas1 from which pale
 children and languid women in muslins  
look  out1 and incline us to ask what   
epidemic has visited the island and     
swept the rose from every cheek4 ,they  
are a pallid race1 the ,nassauese1  and 
retain little of the vigor of their     
,english ancestry4 ,one ,english  trait 
they exhibit1--the hospitality which has
 passed into a proverb2  another1       
perhaps1--the stanch adherence to the   
forms and doctrines of  ,episcopacy4 ,we
 enter the principal church2--they are  
just lighting it  for evening service2  
it is hung with candles1 each burning in
 a clear  glass shade4 ,the walls and   
ceiling are whitewashed1 and contrast   
prettily with the dark timbering of the 
roof4 ,we would gladly have  staid to   
give thanks for our safe and prosperous 
voyage1 but a black  rain-cloud warns us
 homeward1--not1 however1 until we have 
received a  kind invitation from one of 
the hospitable islanders to return the  
next  morning for a drive and breakfast4

    ,returning soon after sunrise to    
fulfil this promise1 we encounter the   
barracks1 and are tempted to look in and
 see the sons of darkness  performing   
their evolutions4 ,the morning drill is 
about half over4 ,we  peep in1--the     
,colonel1 a lean ,don ,quixote on a     
leaner ,rosinante1 dashes  up to us with
 a weak attempt at a canter2 he         
courteously invites us to  come in and  
see all that is to be seen1 and1 lo6 our
 friend the ,major1  quite gallant in   
his sword and scarlet jacket1 is        
detailed for our  service4 ,the soldiers
 are black1 and very black1--none of    
your dubious  ,american shades1 ranging 
from clear salmon to caf au lait or even
  to caf noir4 ,these are your good1    
satisfactory1 ,african sables1          
warranted not to change in the washing4 
,their ,zouave costume is very          
becoming1 with the ,oriental turban1    
caftan1 and loose trousers2 and the     
,philosopher of our party remarks1 that 
the ,african requires costume1  implying

 that the ,new ,englander can stand     
alone1 as can his clothes1 in  their    
black rigidity4 ,the officers are white1
 and the ,major very polite2  he shows  
us the men1 the arms1 the kits1 the     
quarters1 and1 having done  all that he 
can do for us1 relinquishes us with a   
gallant bow to our  host of the drive   
and breakfast4    ,the drive does       
something to retrieve the character of  
the island4 ,the  road is hard and even1
 overhung with glossy branches of       
strange trees  bearing unknown fruits1  
and studded on each side with pleasant  
villas  and with negro huts4 ,there are 
lovely flowers everywhere1 among which  
the ,hibiscus1 called ,south-,sea ,rose1
 and the ,oleander1 are most  frequent1 
and most brilliant4 ,we see many tall   
groves of cocoa-nut1  and cast longing  
glances towards the fruit1 which little 
negroes1 with  surprising activity1     
attain and shake down4 ,a sudden turn in
 the road  discloses a lovely view of   
the bay1 with its wonderful green       

waters1  clear and bright as            
emerald2--there is a little beach1 and  
boats lie  about1 and groups of negroes 
are laughing and chattering1--quoting   
stocks from the last fish-market1 very  
likely4 ,we purchase for half a  dollar 
a bunch of bananas1 for which ,ford or  
,palmer would ask us ten  dollars at    
least1 and go rejoicing to our          
breakfast4    ,our host is a physician  
of the island1 ,english by birth1 and   
retaining  his robust form and color in 
spite of a twenty-years' residence in   
the  warm climate4 ,he has a pleasant   
family of sons and daughters1 all in    
health1 but without a shade of pink in  
lips or cheeks4 ,the breakfast  consists
 of excellent fried fish1 fine ,southern
 hominy1--not the pebbly  broken corn   
which our dealers impose under that     
name1--various hot  cakes1 tea and      
coffee1 bananas1 sapodillas1 and if     
there be anything  else not included in 
the present statement1 let haste and    
want of time  excuse the omission4 ,the 

conversation runs a good deal on the    
hopes of  increasing prosperity which   
the new mail-steamer opens to the eyes  
of the ,nassauese4 ,invalids1 they say1 
will do better there than in  ,cuba1--it
 is quieter1 much cheaper1 and the      
climate is milder4 ,there  will be a    
hotel1 very soon1 where no attention    
will be spared1 etc41  etc4 ,the        
,government will afford every facility1 
etc41 etc4 ,it seemed1  indeed1 a       
friendly little place1 with delicious   
air and sky1 and a good1  reasonable1   
decent1 ,english tone about it4         
,expenses moderate1 ye fathers  of      
encroaching families4 ,negroes abundant 
and natural1 ye students  of            
ethnological possibilities4 ,officers in
 red jackets1 you young  ladies1--young 
ones1 some of them4 ,why wouldn't you   
all try it1  especially as the captain  
of the ,karnak is an excellent sailor1  
and  the kindest and manliest of        
conductors8      ,,from ,,nassau ,,to   
,,cuba4      ,the breakfast being over1 

we recall the captain's parting         
admonition to  be on board by ten       
o'clock1 with the significant gesture   
and roll of the  eye which clearly      
express that ,england expects every     
passenger to do his  duty4 ,now we know 
very well that the ,karnak is not likely
 to weigh  anchor before twelve1 at the 
soonest1 but we dare not1 for our lives1
  disobey the captain4 ,so1 passing by  
yards filled with the huge ,bahama      
sponges1 piles of wreck-timber1         
fishing-boats with strange fishes1 red1 
yellow1 blue1 and white1 and tubs of    
aldermanic turtle1 we attain the  shore1
 and1 presently1 the steamer4 ,here we  
find a large deputation of  the         
towns-people taking passage with us for 
a pleasure excursion to  ,havana4 ,the  
greater number are ladies and children4 
,they come fluttering  on board1 poor   
things1 like butterflies1 in gauzy      
dresses1 hats1 and  feathers1 according 
to the custom of their country2 one     
gentleman takes  four little daughters  

with him for a holiday4 ,we ask         
ourselves whether  they know what an    
ugly beast the ,gulf-,stream is1 that   
they affront him  in such light armor4  
,good heavens6 how sick they will be6 we
 exclaim2  while they eye us askance1 in
 our winter trim1 and pronounce us slow1
  and old fogies4 ,with all the rashness
 of youth1 they attack the              
luncheon-table4 ,so boisterous a popping
 of corks was never heard in all  our   
boisterous passage2--there is a chorus1 
too1 of merry tongues and  shrill       
laughter4 ,but we get fairly out to sea1
 where the wind1 an  adverse one1 is    
waiting for us1 and at that gay table   
there is silence1  followed by a rush   
and disappearance4 ,the worst cases are 
hurried out of  sight1 and1 going above1
 we find the disabled lying in groups   
about the  deck1 the feather-hats       
discarded1 the muslins crumpled1 and we1
 the old  fogies1 going to cover the    
fallen with shawls and blankets1 to     
speak  words of consolation1 and to     

implore the sufferers not to cure       
themselves with brandy1 soda-water1     
claret1 and wine-bitters1 in quick      
succession1--which they1 nevertheless1  
do1 and consequently are no  better that
 day1 nor the next4    ,but ,i am       
forgetting to chronicle a touching      
parting interview with the  ,major1 the 
last thing remembered in ,nassau1 and of
 course the last to be  forgotten       
anywhere4 ,our concluding words might   
best be recorded in the  form of a      
catechism of short questions and        
answers1 to wit3--    ,how long did the 
,major expect to stay in ,nassau8       
,about six months4    ,how long would he
 stay1 if he had his own way8    ,not   
one6    ,what did he come for1 then8    
,oh1 you buy into a nigger regiment for 
promotion4    ,these were the most      
important facts elicited by             
cross-examination4 ,at  last we shook   
hands warmly1 promising to meet again   
somewhere1 and the  crimson-lined barge 
with the black ,zouaves carried him     

away4 ,in humbler  equipages depart the 
many black women who have visited the   
steamer1 some  for amusement1 some to   
sell the beautiful shell-work made on   
the island4  ,these may be termed1 in   
general1 as ugly a set of wenches as one
 could  wish not to see4 ,they all wear 
palm-leaf hats stuck on their heads     
without strings or ribbons1 and their   
clothes are so ill-made that you  cannot
 help thinking that each has borrowed   
somebody else's dress1 until  you see   
that the ill-fitting garments are the   
rule1 not the exception4    ,but neither
 youth nor sea-sickness lasts forever4  
,the forces of nature  rally on the     
second day1 and the few who have taken  
no remedies recover  the use of their   
tongues and some of their faculties4    
,from these ,i  gather what ,i shall    
here impart as      ,,serious ,,views   
,,of ,,the ,,bahamas4      ,the         
principal exports of these favored      
islands are fruits1 sponges1  molasses1 
and sugar4 ,their imports include most  

of the necessaries of  life1 which come 
to them oftenest in the form of wrecks1 
by which they  obtain them at a small   
fraction of the original cost and value4
 ,for this  resource they are indebted  
to the famous ,bahama ,banks1 which1 to 
their  way of thinking1 are institutions
 as important as the ,bank of ,england  
itself4 ,these banks stand them in a    
handsome annual income1 and  facilitate 
large discounts and transfers of        
property not contemplated by  the       
original possessors4 ,one supposes that 
somebody must suffer by these  forced   
sales of large cargoes at prices ruinous
 to commerce1--but who  suffers is a    
point not easy to ascertain4 ,there     
seems to be a good1  comfortable        
understanding all round4 ,the owners    
say1 ,go ahead1 and  don't bother       
yourself1--she's insured4 ,the captain  
has got his ship  aground in shoal water
 where she can't sink1 and no harm done4
 ,the  friendly wreckers are close at   
hand to haul the cargo ashore4 ,the     

underwriter of the insurance company has
 shut his eyes and opened his  mouth to 
receive a plum1 which1 being a good     
large one1 will not let him  speak4 ,and
 so the matter providentially comes to  
pass1 and enterprises  of great pith and
 moment oftenest get no farther than the
 ,bahamas4    ,nassau produces neither  
hay nor corn1--these1 together with     
butter1  flour1 and tea1 being brought  
chiefly from the ,united ,states4       
,politics1  of course1 it has none4 ,as 
to laws1 the colonial system certainly  
needs  propping up1--for under its      
action a man may lead so shameless a    
life  of immorality as to compel his    
wife to leave him1 and yet not be held  
responsible for her support and that of 
the children she has borne him4  ,the   
principal points of interest are1 first1
 the garrison1--secondly1               
,government-,house1 with an occasional  
ball there1--and1 third1 one's          
next-door neighbor1 and his or her      
doings4 ,the principal event in the     

memory of the citizens seems to be a    
certain most desirable wreck1 in        
consequence of which1 a diamond         
card-case worth fifteen hundred dollars 
was sold for an eighth part of that sum1
 and laces whose current price  ranges  
from thirty to forty dollars a yard were
 purchased at will for  seventy-five    
cents4 ,that was a wreck worth having6  
say the ,nassauese4  ,the price of milk 
ranges from eighteen to twenty-five     
cents a  quart2--think of that1 ye ,new 
,england housekeepers6 ,that precious   
article1 the pudding1 is nearly unknown 
in the ,nassauese economy2 nor  is      
pie-crust so short as it might be1 owing
 to the enormous price of  butter1 which
 has been known to attain the sum of one
 dollar per pound4  ,eggs are quoted at 
prices not commendable for large        
families with  small means4 ,on the     
other hand1 fruits1 vegetables1 and     
sugar-cane are  abundant4    ,the       
,nassauese1 on the whole1 seem to be a  
kind-hearted and friendly set  of       

people1 partly ,english1 partly         
,southern in character1 but with rather 
a predominance of the latter ingredient 
in their composition4 ,their  women     
resemble the women of our own ,southern 
,states1 but seem simpler  and more     
domestic in their habits1--while the men
 would make tolerable  ,yankees1 but    
would scarcely support ,president       
,buchanan1 the ,kansas  question1 or the
 ,filibustero movement4 ,physically1 the
 race suffers and  degenerates under the
 influence of the warm climate4 ,cases  
of pulmonary  disease1 asthma1 and      
neuralgia are of frequent occurrence1   
and cold is  considered as curative to  
them as heat is to us4 ,the diet1 too1  
is not  that giant ox-beef which the    
,saxon race requires4 ,meat is rare1 and
  tough1 unless brought from the ,states
 at high cost4 ,we were forced to  the  
conclusion that no genuine ,english life
 can be supported upon a  rgime of fish 
and fruit1--or1 in other words1 no beef1
 no ,bull1 but  a very different sort of

 ,john1 lantern-jawed1 leather-skinned1 
and of  a thirsty complexion4 ,it       
occurred to us1 furthermore1 that it is 
a  dolorous thing to live on a lonely   
little island1 tied up like a wart on   
the face of civilization1--no healthful 
stream of life coming and going  from   
the great body of the main land1--the   
same moral air to be breathed  over and 
over again1 without renewal1--the same  
social elements turned  and returned in 
one tiresome kaleidoscope4 ,wherefore   
rejoice1 ye  ,continentals1 and be      
thankful1 and visit the ,nassauese1     
bringing beef1  butter1 and             
beauty1--bringing a few ,french muslins 
to replace the  coarse ,english fabrics1
 and buxom ,irish girls to outwork the  
idle negro  women1--bringing new books1 
newspapers1 and periodicals1--bringing  
the  ,yankee lecturer1 all expenses     
paid1 and his drink found him4 ,all     
these  good things1 and more1 the       
,states have for the ,nassauese1 of whom
 we  must now take leave1 for all hands 

have been piped on deck4    ,we have    
jolted for three weary days over the    
roughest of ocean-highways1  and ,cuba1 
nay1 ,havana1 is in sight4 ,the worst   
cases are up1 and begin to  talk about  
their sea-legs1 now that the occasion   
for them is at an end4  ,sobrina1 the   
chief wit of our party1 who would eat   
sour-sop1 sapodilla1  orange1 banana1   
cocoa-nut1 and sugar-cane at ,nassau1   
and who has lived  upon toddy of        
twenty-cocktail power ever since1--even 
she is seen1  clothed and in her right  
mind1 sitting at the feet of the prophet
 she  loves1 and going through the      
shawl-and-umbrella exercise4 ,and here  
is  the ,moro ,castle1 which guards the 
entrance of the harbor1--here go  the   
signals1 answering to our own4 ,here    
comes the man with the                  
speaking-trumpet1 who1 understanding no 
,english1 yells out to our  captain1 who
 understands no ,spanish4 ,the following
 is a free rendering  of their          
conversation3--    ,any ,americans on   

board8    ,yes1 thank ,heaven1 plenty4  
,how many are ,filibusteros8    ,all of 
them4    ,bad luck to them1 then6       
,the same to you6    ,caramba says the  
,spaniard4    --------1 says the        
,englishman4    ,and so the forms of    
diplomacy are fulfilled2 and of ,havana1
 more in my  next4    ,to be continued4 
,,the ,,professor ,,at ,,the            
,,breakfast-,,table4    ,,what ,,he     
,,said1 ,,what ,,he ,,heard1 ,,and      
,,what ,,he ,,saw4      ,the ,professor 
finds a ,fly in his ,teacup4    ,i have 
a long theological talk to relate1 which
 must be dull reading to  some of my    
young and vivacious friends4 ,i don't   
know1 however1 that any  of them have   
entered into a contract to read all that
 ,i write1 or that ,i  have promised    
always to write to please them4 ,what if
 ,i should sometimes  write to please   
myself8    ,now you must know that there
 are a great many things which interest 
me1  to some of which this or that      
particular class of readers may be      

totally  indifferent4 ,i love ,nature1  
and human nature1 its thoughts1         
affections1  dreams1 aspirations1       
delusions1--,art in all its             
forms1--virtu in all  its               
eccentricities1--old stories from       
black-letter volumes and yellow         
manuscripts1 and new projects out of hot
 brains not yet imbedded in the  snows  
of age4 ,i love the generous impulses of
 the reformer2 but not less  does my    
imagination feed itself upon the old    
litanies1 so often warmed  by the human 
breath upon which they were wafted to   
heaven that they glow  through our      
frames like our own heart's blood4 ,i   
hope ,i love good men  and women2 ,i    
know that they never speak a word to me1
 even if it be of  question or blame1   
that ,i do not take pleasantly1 if it is
 expressed  with a reasonable amount of 
human kindness4    ,i have before me at 
this time a beautiful and affecting     
letter1 which  ,i have hesitated to     
answer1 though the postmark upon it gave

 its  direction1 and the name is one    
which is known to all1 in some of its   
representatives4 ,it contains no        
reproach1 only a delicately-hinted fear4
  ,speak gently1 as this dear lady has  
spoken1 and there is no heart so        
insensible that it does not answer to   
the appeal1 no intellect so virile  that
 it does not own a certain allegiance to
 the claims of age1 of  childhood1 of   
sensitive and timid natures1 when they  
plead with it not  to look at those     
sacred things by the broad daylight     
which they see in  mystic shadow4 ,how  
grateful would it be to make perpetual  
peace with  these pleading saints and   
their confessors1 by the simple act     
that silences all complainings6 ,sleep1 
sleep1 sleep6 says the                  
,arch-,enchantress of them all1--and    
pours her dark and potent anodyne1      
distilled over the fires that consumed  
her foes1--its large1 round drops       
changing1 as we look1 into the beads of 
her convert's rosary6 ,silence6  the    

pride of reason6 cries another1 whose   
whole life is spent in  reasoning down  
reason4    ,i hope ,i love good people1 
not for their sake1 but for my own4 ,and
 most  assuredly1 if any deed of wrong  
or word of bitterness led me into an act
  of disrespect towards that enlightened
 and excellent class of men who  make it
 their calling to teach goodness and    
their duty to practise it1  ,i should   
feel that ,i had done myself an injury  
rather than them4 ,go and  talk with any
 professional man holding any of the    
mediaeval creeds1  choosing one who     
wears upon his features the mark of     
inward and outward  health1 who looks   
cheerful1 intelligent1 and kindly1 and  
see how all  your prejudices melt away  
in his presence6 ,it is impossible to   
come into  intimate relations with a    
large1 sweet nature1 such as you may    
often  find in this class1 without      
longing to be at one with it in all its 
modes of being and believing4 ,but does 
it not occur to you that one may  love  

truth as he sees it1 and his race as he 
views it1 better than even  the sympathy
 and approbation of many good men whom  
he honors1--better  than sleeping to the
 sound of the ,miserere or listening to 
the  repetition of an effete ,confession
 of ,faith8    ,the three learned       
professions have but recently emerged   
from a state of  quasi barbarism4 ,none 
of them like too well to be told of it1 
but it  must be sounded in their ears   
whenever they put on airs4 ,when a man  
has  taken an overdose of laudanum1 the 
doctors tell us to place him between    
two persons who shall make him walk up  
and down incessantly2 and if he  still  
cannot be kept from going to sleep1 they
 say that a lash or two  over his back  
is of great assistance4    ,so we must  
keep the doctors awake by telling them  
that they have not  yet shaken off      
astrology and the doctrine of           
signatures1 as is shown by  their       
prescriptions1 and their use of nitrate 
of silver1 which turns  epileptics into 

,ethiopians4 ,if that is not enough1    
they must be given  over to the         
scourgers1 who like their task and get  
good fees for it4 ,a  few score years   
ago1 sick people were made to swallow   
burnt toads and  powdered earth-worms   
and the expressed juice of wood-lice4   
,the physician  of ,charles ,i4 and     
,,ii4 prescribed abominations not to be 
named4  ,barbarism1 as bad as that of   
,congo or ,ashantee4 ,traces of this    
barbarism  linger even in the greatly   
improved medical science of our century4
 ,so  while the solemn farce of         
over-drugging is going on1 the world    
over1  the harlequin pseudo-science     
jumps on to the stage1 whip in hand1    
with  half-a-dozen somersets1 and begins
 laying about him4    ,in #ahag1 perhaps
 you remember1 the law of wager by      
battle was  unrepealed1 and the rascally
 murderous1 and worse than murderous1   
clown1  ,abraham ,thornton1 put on his  
gauntlet in open court and defied the   
appellant to lift the other which he    

threw down4 ,it was not until the  reign
 of ,george ,,ii4 that the statutes     
against witchcraft were repealed4  ,as  
for the ,english ,court of ,chancery1 we
 know that its antiquated abuses  form  
one of the staples of common proverbs   
and popular literature4  ,so the laws   
and the lawyers have to be watched      
perpetually by public  opinion as much  
as the doctors do4    ,i don't think the
 other profession is an exception4 ,when
 the ,reverend  ,mr4 ,cauvin and his    
associates burned my distinguished      
scientific  brother1--he was burned with
 green fagots1 which made it rather slow
 and  painful1--it appears to me they   
were in a state of religious barbarism4 
,the dogmas of such people about the    
,father of ,mankind and his creatures   
are of no more account in my opinion    
than those of a council of ,aztecs4  ,if
 a man picks your pocket1 do you not    
consider him thereby disqualified  to   
pronounce any authoritative opinion on  
matters of ethics8 ,if a man  hangs my  

ancient female relatives for sorcery1 as
 they did in this  neighborhood a little
 while ago1 or burns my instructor for  
not  believing as he does1 ,i care no   
more for his religious edicts than ,i   
should for those of any other barbarian4
    ,of course1 a barbarian may hold    
many true opinions2 but when the ideas  
of the healing art1 of the              
administration of justice1 of ,christian
 love1  could not exclude systematic    
poisoning1 judicial duelling1 and murder
  for opinion's sake1 ,i do not see how 
we can trust the verdict of that  time  
relating to any subject which involves  
the primal instincts  violated in these 
abominations and absurdities4--,what if 
we are even now  in a state of          
semi-barbarism8    ,perhaps some think  
we ought not to talk at table about such
 things4--,i  am not so sure of that4   
,religion and government appear to me   
the two  subjects which of all others   
should belong to the common talk of     
people  who enjoy the blessings of      

freedom4 ,think1 one moment4 ,the earth 
is a  great factory-wheel1 which1 at    
every revolution on its axis1 receives  
fifty thousand raw souls and turns off  
nearly the same number worked up  more  
or less completely4 ,there must be      
somewhere a population of two  hundred  
thousand million1 perhaps ten or a      
hundred times as many1  earth-born      
intelligences4 ,life1 as we call it1 is 
nothing but the edge  of the boundless  
ocean of existence where it comes on    
soundings4 ,in  this view1 ,i do not see
 anything so fit to talk about1 or half 
so  interesting1 as that which relates  
to the innumerable majority of our      
fellow-creatures1 the dead-living1 who  
are hundreds of thousands to one  of the
 live-living1 and with whom we all      
potentially belong1 though we  have got 
tangled for the present in some parcels 
of fibrine1 albumen1  and phosphates1   
that keep us on the minority side of the
 house4 ,in point  of fact1 it is one of
 the many results of ,spiritualism to   

make  the permanent destiny of the race 
a matter of common reflection and       
discourse1 and a vehicle for the        
prevailing disbelief of the ,middle-,age
  doctrines on the subject4 ,i cannot   
help thinking1 when ,i remember how     
many conversations my friend and myself 
have reported1 that it would be  very   
extraordinary1 if there were no mention 
of that class of subjects  which        
involves all that we have and all that  
we hope1 not merely for  ourselves1 but 
for the dear people whom we love        
best1--noble men1 pure  and lovely      
women1 ingenuous children1--about the   
destiny of nine-tenths  of whom you know
 the opinions that would have been      
taught by those old  man-roasting1      
woman-strangling dogmatists4--,however1 
,i fought this  matter with one of our  
boarders the other day1 and ,i am going 
to report  the conversation4            
99       99       99       99       99  
,the divinity-student came down1 one    
morning1 looking rather more serious    

than usual4 ,he said little at          
breakfast-time1 but lingered after the  
others1 so that ,i1 who am apt to be    
long at the table1 found myself  alone  
with him4    ,when the rest were all    
gone1 he turned his chair round towards 
mine1 and  began4    ,i am afraid1--he  
said1--you express yourself a little too
 freely on a  most important class of   
subjects4 ,is there not danger in       
introducing  discussions or allusions   
relating to matters of religion into    
common  discourse8    ,danger to        
what8--,i asked4    ,danger to          
truth1--he replied1 after a slight      
pause4    ,i didn't know ,truth was such
 an invalid1--,i said4--,how long is it 
since  she could only take the air in a 
close carriage1 with a gentleman in  a  
black coat on the box8 ,let me tell you 
a story1 adapted to young  persons1 but 
which won't hurt older ones4            
----,there was a very little boy who had
 one of those balloons you may  have    
seen1 which are filled with light gas1  

and are held by a string to  keep them  
from running off in aeronautic voyages  
on their own  account4 ,this little boy 
had a naughty brother1 who said to him1 
one  day1--,brother1 pull down your     
balloon1 so that ,i can look at it and  
take  hold of it4 ,then the little boy  
pulled it down4 ,now the naughty brother
  had a sharp pin in his hand1 and he   
thrust it into the balloon1 and all  the
 gas oozed out1 so that there was       
nothing left but a shrivelled skin4     
,one evening1 the little boy's father   
called him to the window to see the     
moon1 which pleased him very much2 but  
presently he said1--,father1 do  not    
pull the string and bring down the moon1
 for my naughty brother will  prick it1 
and then it will all shrivel up and we  
shall not see it any  more4    ,then his
 father laughed1 and told him how the   
moon had been shining a  good while1 and
 would shine a good while longer1 and   
that all we could  do was to keep our   
windows clean1 never letting the dust   

get too thick  on them1 and especially  
to keep our eyes open1 but that we could
 not  pull the moon down with a string1 
nor prick it with a pin4--,mind you     
this1 too1 the moon is no man's private 
property1 but is seen from a  good many 
parlor-windows4    ----,truth is tough4 
,it will not break1 like a bubble1 at a 
touch2 nay1  you may kick it about all  
day1 like a football1 and it will be    
round and  full at evening4 ,does not   
,mr4 ,bryant say1 that ,truth gets well 
if she is  run over by a locomotive1    
while ,error dies of lockjaw if she     
scratches  her finger8 ,i never heard   
that a mathematician was alarmed for the
  safety of a demonstrated proposition4 
,i think1 generally1 that fear  of open 
discussion implies feebleness of inward 
conviction1 and great  sensitiveness to 
the expression of individual opinion is 
a mark of  weakness4    ----,i am not so
 much afraid for truth1--said the       
divinity-student1--as  for the          
conceptions of truth in the minds of    

persons not accustomed to  judge wisely 
the opinions uttered before them4       
,would you1 then1 banish all allusions  
to matters of this nature from the      
society of people who come together     
habitually8    ,i would be very careful 
in introducing them1--said the          
divinity-student4    ,yes1 but friends  
of yours leave pamphlets in people's    
entries1 to be  picked up by nervous    
misses and hysteric housemaids1 full of 
doctrines  these people do not approve4 
,some of your friends stop little       
children  in the street1 and give them  
books1 which their parents1 who have had
  them baptized into the ,christian fold
 and give them what they consider       
proper religious instruction1 do not    
think fit for them4 ,one would say  it  
was fair enough to talk about matters   
thus forced upon people's  attention4   
,the divinity-student could not deny    
that this was what might be called      
opening the subject to the discussion of
 intelligent people4    ,but1--he       

said1--the greatest objection is this1  
that persons who have  not made a       
professional study of theology are not  
competent to speak on  such subjects4   
,suppose a minister were to undertake to
 express opinions  on medical subjects1 
for instance1 would you not think he was
 going  beyond his province8    ,i      
laughed1--for ,i remembered ,john       
,wesley's sulphur and supplication1  and
 so many other cases where ministers had
 meddled with  medicine1--sometimes well
 and sometimes ill1 but1 as a general   
rule1  with a tremendous lurch to       
quackery1 owing to their very loose way 
of  admitting evidence1--that ,i could  
not help being amused4    ,i beg your   
pardon1--,i said1--,i do not wish to be 
impolite1 but ,i was  thinking of their 
certificates to patent medicines4 ,let  
us look at this  matter4    ,if a       
minister had attended lectures on the   
theory and practice of  medicine1       
delivered by those who had studied it   
most deeply1 for thirty  or forty years1

 at the rate of from fifty to one       
hundred a year1--if he  had been        
constantly reading and hearing read the 
most approved textbooks  on the         
subject1--if he had seen medicine       
actually practised according to         
different methods1 daily1 for the same  
length of time1--,i should think1  that1
 if a person of average understanding1  
he was entitled to express  an opinion  
on the subject of medicine1 or else that
 his instructors were  a set of ignorant
 and incompetent charlatans4    ,if1    
before a medical practitioner would     
allow me to enjoy the full  privileges  
of the healing art1 he expected me to   
affirm my belief in a  considerable     
number of medical doctrines1 drugs1 and 
formulae1 ,i should  think that he      
thereby implied my right to discuss the 
same1 and my  ability to do so1 if ,i   
knew how to express myself in ,english4 
,suppose1 for instance1 the ,medical    
,society should refuse to give us an    
opiate1 or to set a broken limb1 until  

we had signed our belief in  a certain  
number of propositions1--of which we    
will say this is the  first3--    ,i4   
,all men's teeth are naturally in a     
state of total decay or caries1  and1   
therefore1 no man can bite until every  
one of them is extracted and  a new set 
is inserted according to the principles 
of dentistry adopted  by this ,society4 
,i1 for one1 should want to discuss that
 before signing my name to it1  and ,i  
should say this3--,why1 no1 that isn't  
true4 ,there are a good many  bad teeth1
 we all know1 but a great many more good
 ones4 ,you mustn't  trust the dentists2
 they are all the time looking at the   
people who  have bad teeth1 and such as 
are suffering from toothache4 ,the idea 
that  you must pull out every one of    
every nice young man and young woman's  
natural teeth6 ,poh1 poh6 ,nobody       
believes that4 ,this tooth must be      
straightened1 that must be filled with  
gold1 and this other perhaps  extracted2
 but it must be a very rare case1 if    

they are all so bad as to  require      
extraction2 and if they are1 don't blame
 the poor soul for it6  ,don't tell us1 
as some old dentists used to1 that      
everybody not only  always has every    
tooth in his head good for nothing1 but 
that he ought  to have his head cut off 
as a punishment for that misfortune6    
,no1 ,i  can't sign ,number ,one4 ,give 
us ,number ,two4    ,,ii4 ,we hold that 
no man can be well who does not agree   
with our views  of the efficacy of      
calomel1 and who does not take the doses
 of it  prescribed in our tables1 as    
there directed4    ,to which ,i demur1  
questioning why it should be so1 and get
 for answer  the two following3--       
,,iii4 ,every man who does not take our 
prepared calomel1 as prescribed by  us  
in our ,constitution and ,by-,laws1 is  
and must be a mass of disease  from head
 to foot2 it being self-evident that he 
is simultaneously  affected with        
,apoplexy1 ,arthritis1 ,ascites1        
,asphyxia1 and ,atrophy2 with           

,borborygmus1 ,bronchitis1 and ,bulimia2
 with ,cachexia1 ,carcinoma1 and        
,cretinismus2 and so on through the     
alphabet1 to ,xerophthalmia and ,zona1  
with all possible and incompatible      
diseases which are necessary to make  up
 a totally morbid state2 and he will    
certainly die1 if he does not  take     
freely of our prepared calomel1 to be   
obtained only of one of our  authorized 
agents4    ,,iv4 ,no man shall be       
allowed to take our prepared calomel who
 does not  give in his solemn adhesion  
to each and all of the above-named and  
the  following propositions 7from ten to
 a hundred7 and show his mouth to       
certain of our apothecaries1 who have   
not studied dentistry1 to  examine      
whether all his teeth have been         
extracted and a new set inserted        
according to our regulations4    ,of    
course1 the doctors have a right to say 
we shan't have any rhubarb1  if we don't
 sign their articles1 and that1 if1     
after signing them1 we  express doubts  

7in public7 about any of them1 they will
 cut us off from  our jalap and         
squills1--but then to ask a fellow not  
to discuss the  propositions before he  
signs them is what ,i should call       
boiling it down  a little too strong6   
,if we understand them1 why can't we    
discuss them8 ,if we can't understand   
them1 because we haven't taken a medical
 degree1 what the ,father of ,lies  do  
they ask us to sign them for8    ,just  
so with the graver profession4 ,every   
now and then some of its  members seem  
to lose common sense and common         
humanity4 ,the laymen have  to keep     
setting the divines right constantly4   
,science1 for instance1--in  other      
words1 knowledge1--is not the enemy of  
religion2 for1 if so1  then religion    
would mean ignorance4 ,but it is often  
the antagonist of  school-divinity4     
,everybody knows the story of early     
astronomy and the school-divines4  ,come
 down a little later4 ,archbishop       
,usher1 a very learned ,protestant      

prelate1 tells us that the world was    
created on ,sunday1 the twenty-third  of
 ,october1 four thousand and four years 
before the birth of ,christ4  ,deluge1  
,december #gth1 two thousand three      
hundred and forty-eight years           
,b4,c4--,yes1 and the earth stands on an
 elephant1 and the elephant on a        
tortoise4 ,one statement is as near the 
truth as the other4    ,again1 there is 
nothing so brutalizing to some natures  
as moral  surgery4 ,i have often        
wondered that ,hogarth did not add one  
more  picture to his four stages of     
,cruelty4 ,those wretched fools1        
reverend  divines and others1 who were  
strangling men and women for imaginary  
crimes a little more than a century ago 
among us1 were set right by a  layman1  
and very angry it made them to have him 
meddle4    ,the good people of          
,northampton had a very remarkable man  
for their  clergyman1--a man with a     
brain as nicely adjusted for certain    
mechanical  processes as ,babbage's     

calculating machine4 ,the commentary of 
the laymen  on the preaching and        
practising of ,jonathan ,edwards was1   
that1 after  twenty-three years of      
endurance1 they turned him out by a vote
 of twenty  to one1 and passed a resolve
 that he should never preach for them   
again4  ,a man's logical and analytical 
adjustments are of little consequence1  
compared to his primary relations with  
,nature and truth2 and people have      
sense enough to find it out in the long 
run2 they know what logic is  worth4    
,in that miserable delusion referred to 
above1 the reverend ,aztecs and         
,fijians argued rightly enough from     
their premises1 no doubt1 for many  men 
can do this4 ,but common sense and      
common humanity were unfortunately  left
 out from their premises1 and a layman  
had to supply them4 ,a hundred  more    
years and many of the barbarisms still  
lingering among us will1 of  course1    
have disappeared like witch-hanging4    
,but people are sensitive  now1 as they 

were then4 ,you will see by this extract
 that the ,rev4  ,cotton ,mather did not
 like intermeddling with his business   
very well4  ,let the ,levites of the    
,lord keep close to their ,instructions1
 he  says1 and ,god will smile thro' the
 loins of those that rise up against    
them4 ,i will report unto you a ,thing  
which many ,hundreds among us know  to  
be true4 ,the ,godly ,minister of a     
certain ,town in ,connecticut1 when  he 
had occasion to be absent on a ,lord's  
,day from his ,flock1 employ'd  an      
honest ,neighbour of some small ,talents
 for a ,mechanick1 to read a  ,sermon   
out of some good ,book unto 'em4 ,this  
,honest1 whom they ever  counted also a 
,pious ,man1 had so much conceit of his 
,talents1 that  instead of ,reading a   
,sermon appointed1 he to the ,surprize  
of the  ,people1 fell to preaching one  
of his own4 ,for his ,text he took these
  ,words1 ',despise not ,prophecyings'2 
and in his ,preachment he betook        
himself to bewail the ,envy of the      

,clergy in the ,land1 in that they did  
not wish all the ,lord's ,people to be  
,prophets1 and call forth ,private      
,brethren publickly to prophesie4 ,while
 he was thus in the midst  of his       
,exercise1 ,god smote him with horrible 
,madness2 he was taken  ravingly        
distracted2 the ,people were forc'd with
 violent ,hands to  carry him home4444  
,i will not mention his ,name3 ,he was  
reputed a ,pious  ,man4--,this is one of
 ,cotton's ,remarkable ,judgments of    
,god1 on ,several  ,sorts of            
,offenders1--and the next cases referred
 to are the ,judgments  on the          
,abominable ,sacrilege of not paying the
 ,ministers' ,salaries4    ,this sort of
 thing doesn't do here and now1 you see1
 my young friend6 ,we  talk about our   
free institutions2--they are nothing but
 a coarse outside  machinery to secure  
the freedom of individual thought4 ,the 
,president  of the ,united ,states is   
only the engine-driver of our           
broad-gauge  mail-train2 and every      

honest1 independent thinker has a seat  
in the  first-class cars behind him4    
----,there is something in what you     
say1--replied the                       
divinity-student2--and yet it seems to  
me there are places and times  where    
disputed doctrines of religion should   
not be introduced4 ,you would  not      
attack a church dogma--say1 ,total      
,depravity--in a lyceum-lecture1  for   
instance8    ,certainly not2 ,i should  
choose another place1--,i               
answered4--,but1 mind  you1 at this     
table ,i think it is very different4 ,i 
shall express my  ideas on any subject  
,i like4 ,the laws of the lecture-room1 
to which my  friends and myself are     
always amenable1 do not hold here4 ,i   
shall not  often give arguments1 but    
frequently opinions1--,i trust with     
courtesy  and propriety1 but1 at any    
rate1 with such natural forms of        
expression  as it has pleased the       
,almighty to bestow upon me4    ,a man's
 opinions1 look you1 are generally of   

much more value than his  arguments4    
,these last are made by his brain1 and  
perhaps he does not  believe the        
proposition they tend to prove1--as is  
often the case with  paid lawyers2 but  
opinions are formed by our whole        
nature1--brain1  heart1 instinct1 brute 
life1 everything all our experience has 
shaped  for us by contact with the whole
 circle of our being4    ----,there is  
one thing more1--said the               
divinity-student1--that ,i wished  to   
speak of2 ,i mean that idea of yours1   
expressed some time since1 of           
depolarizing the text of sacred books in
 order to judge them fairly4  ,may ,i   
ask why you do not try the experiment   
yourself8    ,certainly1--,i            
replied1--if it gives you any pleasure  
to ask foolish  questions4 ,i think the 
ocean telegraph-wire ought to be laid   
and will be  laid1 but ,i don't know    
that you have any right to ask me to go 
and  lay it4 ,but1 for that matter1 ,i  
have heard a good deal of ,scripture    

depolarized in and out of the pulpit4 ,i
 heard the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,f4 once          
depolarize the story of the ,prodigal   
,son in ,park-,street ,church4 ,many    
years afterwards1 ,i heard him repeat   
the same or a similar depolarized       
version in ,rome1 ,new ,york4 ,i heard  
an admirable depolarization of the      
story of the young man who had great    
possessions from the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,h4  in 
another pulpit1 and felt that ,i had    
never half understood it before4  ,all  
paraphrases are more or less perfect    
depolarizations4 ,but ,i tell you  this3
 the faith of our ,christian community  
is not robust enough to  bear the       
turning of our most sacred language into
 its depolarized  equivalents4 ,you have
 only to look back to ,dr4 ,channing's  
famous  ,baltimore discourse and        
remember the shrieks of blasphemy with  
which it  was greeted1 to satisfy       
yourself on this point4 ,time1 time     
only1  can gradually wean us from our   
,epeolatry1 or word-worship1 by         

spiritualizing our ideas of the thing   
signified4 ,man is an idolater or       
symbol-worshipper by nature1 which1 of  
course1 is no fault of his2 but  sooner 
or later all his local and temporary    
symbols must be ground to  powder1 like 
the golden calf1--word-images as well as
 metal and wooden  ones4 ,rough work1   
iconoclasm1--but the only way to get at 
truth4 ,it is1  indeed1 as that quaint  
and rare old discourse1 ,a ,summons for 
,sleepers1  hath it1 no doubt a         
thankless office1 and a verie unthriftie
  occupation2 veritas odium parit1 truth
 never goeth without a scratcht  face2  
he that will be busie with vae vobis1   
let him looke shortly for  coram nobis4 
,the very aim and end of our            
institutions is just this3 that we may  
think  what we like and say what we     
think4    ----,think what we like6--said
 the divinity-student2--think what we   
like6  ,what6 against all human and     
divine authority8    ,against all human 
versions of its own or any other        

authority4 ,at our own  peril always1 if
 we do not like the right1--but not at  
the risk of  being hanged and quartered 
for political heresy1 or broiled on     
green  fagots for ecclesiastical        
treason6 ,nay1 we have got so far1 that 
the  very word heresy has fallen into   
comparative disuse among us4    ,and    
now1 my young friend1 let us shake hands
 and stop our discussion1  which we will
 not make a quarrel4 ,i trust you know1 
or will learn1 a  great many things in  
your profession which we common scholars
 do not  know2 but mark this3 when the  
common people of ,new ,england stop     
talking  politics and theology1 it will 
be because they have got an ,emperor to 
teach them the one1 and a ,pope to teach
 them the other6           99       99  
99       99       99    ,that was the   
end of my long conference with the      
divinity-student4  ,the next morning we 
got talking a little on the same        
subject1 very  good-naturedly1 as people
 return to a matter they have talked    

out4    ,you must look to               
yourself1--said the                     
divinity-student1--if your  democratic  
notions get into print4 ,you will be    
fired into from all  quarters4    ,if it
 were only a bullet1 with the marksman's
 name on it6--,i said4--,i  can't stop  
to pick out the peep-shot of the        
anonymous scribblers4    ,right1 ,sir6  
right6--said ,little ,boston4--,the     
scamps6 ,i know the fellows4  ,they     
can't give fifty cents to one of the    
,antipodes1 but they must have  it      
jingled along through everybody's palms 
all the way1 till it reaches  him1--and 
forty cents of it get spilt1 like the   
water out of the  fire-buckets passed   
along a lane at a fire2--but1 when it   
comes to  anonymous defamation1 putting 
lies into people's mouths1 and then     
advertising those people through the    
country as the authors of  them1--oh1   
then it is that they let not their left 
hand know what their  right hand doeth6 
,i don't like ,ehud's style of doing    

business1 ,sir4 ,he comes along with a  
very sanctimonious look1 ,sir1 with his 
secret errand unto thee1 and  his       
message from ,god unto thee1 and then   
pulls out his hidden knife  with that   
unsuspected left hand of his1--7the     
little gentleman  lifted his clenched   
left hand with the blood-red jewel on   
the  ring-finger17--and runs it1 blade  
and haft1 into a man's stomach6 ,don't  
meddle with these fellows1 ,sir4 ,they  
are read mostly by persons whom you     
would not reach1 if you were to write   
ever so much4 ,let 'em alone4 ,a man    
whose opinions are not attacked is      
beneath contempt4    ,i hope so1--,i    
said4--,i got three pamphlets and       
innumerable squibs flung  at my head for
 attacking one of the pseudo-sciences1  
in former years4  ,when1 by the         
permission of ,providence1 ,i held up to
 the professional  public the damnable  
facts connected with the conveyance of  
poison from  one young mother's chamber 
to another's1--for doing which humble   

office  ,i desire to be thankful that ,i
 have lived1 though nothing else good   
should ever come of my life1--,i had to 
bear the sneers of those whose  position
 ,i had assailed1 and1 as ,i believe1   
have at last demolished1 so  that       
nothing but the ghosts of dead women    
stir among the ruins4--,what  would you 
do1 if the folks without names kept at  
you1 trying to get a  ,san ,benito on to
 your shoulders that would fit          
you8--,would you stand  still in        
fly-time1 or would you give a kick now  
and then8    ,let 'em bite6--said       
,little ,boston2--let 'em bite6 ,it     
makes 'em hungry to  shake 'em off1 and 
they settle down again as thick as ever 
and twice as  savage4 ,do you know what 
meddling with the folks without names1  
as you  call 'em1 is like8--,it is like 
riding at the quintain4 ,you run full   
tilt at the board1 but the board is on a
 pivot1 with a bag of sand on an  arm   
that balances it4 ,the board gives way  
as soon as you touch it2 and  before you

 have got by1 the bag of sand comes     
round whack on the back of  your neck4  
,ananias1 for instance1 pitches into    
your lecture1 we will  say1 in some     
paper taken by the people in your       
kitchen4 ,your servants  get saucy and  
negligent4 ,if their newspaper calls you
 names1 they need  not be so particular 
about shutting doors softly or boiling  
potatoes4  ,so you lose your temper1 and
 come out in an article which you think 
is  going to finish ,ananias1 proving   
him a booby who doesn't know enough  to 
understand even a lyceum-lecture1 or    
else a person that tells lies4  ,now you
 think you've got him6 ,not so fast4    
,ananias keeps still and  winks to      
,shimei1 and ,shimei comes out in the   
paper which they take  in your          
neighbor's kitchen1 ten times worse than
 t'other fellow4 ,if you  meddle with   
,shimei1 he steps out1 and next week    
appears ,rab-shakeh1  an unsavory       
wretch2 and now1 at any rate1 you find  
out what good  sense there was in       

,hezekiah's ,answer him not4--,no1      
no1--keep your  temper4--,so saying1 the
 little gentleman doubled his left fist 
and  looked at it1 as if he should like 
to hit something or somebody a most     
pernicious punch with it4               
,good6--said ,i4--,now let me give you  
some axioms ,i have arrived at1 after   
seeing something of a great many kinds  
of good folks4    ----,of a hundred     
people of each of the different leading 
religious  sects1 about the same        
proportion will be safe and pleasant    
persons to  deal and to live with4      
----,there are1 at least1 three real    
saints among the women to one among  the
 men1 in every denomination4    ----,the
 spiritual standard of different classes
 ,i would reckon thus3--    #a4 ,the    
comfortably rich4    #b4 ,the decently  
comfortable4    #c4 ,the very rich1 who 
are apt to be irreligious4    #d4 ,the  
very poor1 who are apt to be immoral4   
----,the cut nails of machine-divinity  
may be driven in1 but they won't        

clinch4    ----,the arguments which the 
greatest of our schoolmen could not     
refute  were two3 the blood in men's    
veins1 and the milk in women's breasts4 
----,humility is the first of the       
virtues--for other people4    ----,faith
 always implies the disbelief of a      
lesser fact in favor of  a greater4 ,a  
little mind often sees the unbelief1    
without seeing the  belief1 of a large  
one4    ,the ,poor ,relation had been   
fidgeting about and working her mouth   
while  all this was going on4 ,she broke
 out in speech at this point4    ,i hate
 to hear folks talk so4 ,i don't see    
that you are any better than a  heathen4
    ,i wish ,i were half as good as many
 heathens have been1--,i said4--,dying  
for a principle seems to me a higher    
degree of virtue than scolding for  it2 
and1 the history of heathen races is    
full of instances where men  have laid  
down their lives for the love of their  
kind1 of their country1  of truth1 nay1 
even for simple manhood's sake1 or to   

show their  obedience or fidelity4 ,what
 would not such beings have done for the
  souls of men1 for the ,christian      
commonwealth1 for the ,king of ,kings1  
if they had lived in days of larger     
light8 ,which seems to you nearest      
heaven1 ,socrates drinking his hemlock1 
,regulus going back to the enemy's      
camp1 or that old ,new ,england divine  
sitting comfortably in his study  and   
chuckling over his conceit of certain   
poor women1 who had been  burned to     
death in his own town1 going roaring out
 of one fire into  another8    ,i don't 
believe he said any such thing1--replied
 the ,poor ,relation4    ,it is hard to 
believe1--said ,i1--but it is true for  
all that4 ,in another  hundred years it 
will be as incredible that men talked as
 we sometimes  hear them now4    ,cor   
facit theologum4 ,the heart makes the   
theologian4 ,every race1  every         
civilization1 either has a new          
revelation of its own or a new          
interpretation of an old one4           

,democratic ,america has a different    
humanity from feudal ,europe1 and so    
must have a new divinity4 ,see1 for  one
 moment1 how intelligence reacts on our 
faiths4 ,the ,bible was a  divining-book
 to our ancestors1 and is so still in   
the hands of some of  the vulgar4 ,the  
,puritans went to the ,old ,testament   
for their laws2 the  ,mormons go to it  
for their patriarchal institution4      
,every generation  dissolves something  
new and precipitates something once held
 in solution  from that great storehouse
 of temporary and permanent truths4     
,you may observe this3 that the         
conversation of intelligent men of the  
stricter sects is strangely in advance  
of the formulae that belong to  their   
organizations4 ,so true is this1 that ,i
 have doubts whether a large  proportion
 of them would not have been rather     
pleased than offended1  if they could   
have overheard our talk4 ,for1 look you1
 ,i think there is  hardly a            
professional teacher who will not in    

private conversation allow  a large part
 of what we have said1 though it may    
frighten him in print2  and ,i know well
 what an under-current of secret        
sympathy gives vitality  to those poor  
words of mine which sometimes get a     
hearing4    ,i don't mind the           
exclamation of any old stager who drinks
 ,madeira  worth from two to six ,bibles
 a bottle1 and burns1 according to his  
own  premises1 a dozen souls a year in  
the cigars with which he muddles his    
brains4 ,but for the good and true and  
intelligent men whom we see all  around 
us1 laborious1 self-denying1 hopeful1   
helpful1--men who know  that the active 
mind of the century is tending more and 
more to the two  poles1 ,rome and       
,reason1 the sovereign church or the    
free soul1 authority  or personality1   
,god in us or ,god in our masters1 and  
that1 though a  man may by accident     
stand half-way between these two points1
 he must  look one way or the other1--,i
 don't believe they would take offence  

at  anything ,i have reported of our    
late conversation4    ,but supposing any
 one do take offence at first sight1 let
 him look  over these notes again1 and  
see whether he is quite sure he does not
  agree with most of these things that  
were said amongst us4 ,if he agrees     
with most of them1 let him be patient   
with an opinion he does not  accept1 or 
an expression or illustration a little  
too vivacious4 ,i don't  know that ,i   
shall report any more conversations on  
these topics2 but  ,i do insist on the  
right to express a civil opinion on this
 class of  subjects without giving      
offence1 just when and where ,i         
please1--unless1  as in the             
lecture-room1 there is an implied       
contract to keep clear of  doubtful     
matters4 ,you didn't think a man could  
sit at a breakfast-table  doing nothing 
but making puns every morning for a year
 or two1 and never  give a thought to   
the two thousand of his fellow-creatures
 who are  passing into another state    

during every hour that he sits talking  
and  laughing6 ,of course1 the one      
matter that a real human being cares for
  is what is going to become of them and
 of him4 ,and the plain truth is1  that 
a good many people are saying one thing 
about it and believing  another4        
----,how do ,i know that8 ,why1 ,i have 
known and loved to talk with good       
people1 all the way from ,rome to       
,geneva in doctrine1 as long as ,i can  
remember4 ,besides1 the real religion of
 the world comes from women much  more  
than from men1--from mothers most of    
all1 who carry the key of our  souls in 
their bosoms4 ,it is in their hearts    
that the sentimental  religion some     
people are so fond of sneering at has   
its source4 ,the  sentiment of love1 the
 sentiment of maternity1 the sentiment  
of the  paramount obligation of the     
parent to the child as having called it 
into  existence1 enhanced just in       
proportion to the power and knowledge of
  the one and the weakness and ignorance

 of the other1--these are the           
sentiments that have kept our soulless  
systems from driving men off to  die in 
holes like those that riddle the sides  
of the hill opposite  the ,monastery of 
,st4 ,saba1 where the miserable victims 
of a  falsely-interpreted religion      
starved and withered in their delusion4 
,i have looked on the face of a saintly 
woman this very day1 whose creed  many  
dread and hate1 but whose life is lovely
 and noble beyond all  praise4 ,when ,i 
remember the bitter words ,i have heard 
spoken against her  faith1 by men who   
have an ,inquisition which              
excommunicates those who ask  to leave  
their communion in peace1 and an ,index 
,expurgatorius on which  this article   
may possibly have the honor of          
figuring1--and1 far worse  than these1  
the reluctant1 pharisaical confession1  
that it might perhaps  be possible that 
one who so believed should be accepted  
of the  ,creator1--and then recall the  
sweet peace and love that show through  

all her looks1 the price of untold      
sacrifices and labors1--and again       
recollect how thousands of women1 filled
 with the same spirit1 die1  without a  
murmur1 to earthly life1 die to their   
own names even1 that  they may know     
nothing but their holy duties1--while   
men are torturing  and denouncing their 
fellows1 and while we can hear day and  
night the  clinking of the hammers that 
are trying1 like the brute forces in the
  ,prometheus1 to rivet their adamantine
 wedges right through the breast  of    
human nature1--,i have been ready to    
believe that we have even now a  new    
revelation1 and the name of its ,messiah
 is ,,woman6           99       99      
99       99       99    ----,i should be
 sorry1--,i remarked1 a day or two      
afterwards1 to the                      
divinity-student1--if anything ,i said  
tended in any way to foster any         
jealousy between the professions1 or to 
throw disrespect upon that one  on whose
 counsel and sympathies almost all of us

 lean in our moments  of trial4 ,but we 
are false to our new conditions of life1
 if we do not  resolutely maintain our  
religious as well as our political      
freedom1  in the face of any and all    
supposed monopolies4 ,certain men will1 
of  course1 say two things1 if we do not
 take their views3 first1 that we  don't
 know anything about these matters2 and1
 secondly1 that we are not  so good as  
they are4 ,they have a polarized        
phraseology for saying these  things1   
but it comes to precisely that4 ,to     
which it may be answered1 in  the first 
place1 that we have good authority for  
saying that even babes  and sucklings   
know something2 and1 in the second1     
that1 if there is a  mote or so to be   
removed from our premises1 the courts   
and councils of  the last few years have
 found beams enough in some other       
quarters to  build a church that would  
hold all the good people in ,boston and 
have  sticks enough left to make a      
bonfire for all the heretics4    ,as to 

that terrible depolarizing process of   
mine1 of which we were  talking the     
other day1 ,i will give you a specimen  
of one way of managing  it1 if you like4
 ,i don't believe it will hurt you or   
anybody4 ,besides1 ,i  had a great deal 
rather finish our talk with pleasant    
images and gentle  words than with sharp
 sayings1 which will only afford a text1
 if anybody  repeats them1 for endless  
relays of attacks from ,messrs4         
,ananias1  ,shimei1 and ,rab-sha-keh4   
,i must leave such gentry1 if any of    
them show themselves1 in the hands  of  
my clerical friends1 many of whom are   
ready to stand up for the  rights of the
 laity1--and to those blessed souls1 the
 good women1 to  whom this version of   
the story of a mother's hidden hopes and
 tender  anxieties is dedicated by their
 peaceful and loving servant4           
,a ,,mother',s ,,secret4           ,how 
sweet the sacred legend--if unblamed    
,in my slight verse such holy things are
 named--    ,of ,mary's secret hours of 

hidden joy1    ,silent1 but pondering on
 her wondrous boy6    ,ave1 ,maria6     
,pardon1 if ,i wrong    ,those heavenly 
words that shame my earthly song6       
,the choral host had closed the angel's 
strain    ,sung to the midnight watch on
 ,bethlehem's plain2    ,and now the    
shepherds1 hastening on their way1      
,sought the still hamlet where the      
,infant lay4    ,they passed the fields 
that gleaning ,ruth toiled o'er1--      
,they saw afar the ruined               
threshing-floor    ,where ,moab's       
daughter1 homeless and forlorn1         
,found ,boaz slumbering by his heaps of 
corn2    ,and some remembered how the   
holy scribe1    ,skilled in the lore of 
every jealous tribe1    ,traced the warm
 blood of ,jesse's royal son    ,to that
 fair alien1 bravely wooed and won4     
,so fared they on to seek the promised  
sign    ,that marked the anointed heir  
of ,david's line4         ,at last1 by  
forms of earthly semblance led1    ,they
 found the crowded inn1 the oxen's shed4

    ,no pomp was there1 no glory shone  
around    ,on the coarse straw that     
strewed the reeking ground2    ,one dim 
retreat a flickering torch betrayed1--  
,in that poor cell the ,lord of ,life   
was laid6         ,the wondering        
shepherds told their breathless tale    
,of the bright choir that woke the      
sleeping vale2    ,told how the skies   
with sudden glory flamed2    ,told how  
the shining multitude proclaimed1       
,joy1 joy to earth6 ,behold the hallowed
 morn6    ,in ,david's city ,christ the 
,lord is born6    ',glory to ,god6' let 
angels shout on high1--    ',good-will  
to men6' the listening ,earth reply6    
,they spoke with hurried words and      
accents wild2    ,calm in his cradle    
slept the heavenly child4    ,no        
trembling word the mother's joy         
revealed1--    ,one sigh of rapture1 and
 her lips were sealed2    ,unmoved she  
saw the rustic train depart1    ,but    
kept their words to ponder in her heart4
         ,twelve years had passed2 the  

boy was fair and tall1    ,growing in   
wisdom1 finding grace with all4    ,the 
maids of ,nazareth1 as they trooped to  
fill    ,their balanced urns beside the 
mountain-rill1--    ,the gathered       
matrons1 as they sat and spun1    ,spoke
 in soft words of ,joseph's quiet son4  
,no voice had reached the ,galilean vale
    ,of star-led kings or awe-struck    
shepherds' tale2    ,in the meek1       
studious child they only saw    ,the    
future ,rabbi1 learned in ,israel's law4
         ,so grew the boy2 and now the  
feast was near1    ,when at the holy    
place the tribes appear4    ,scarce had 
the home-bred child of ,nazareth seen   
,beyond the hills that girt the         
village-green1    ,save when at         
midnight1 o'er the star-lit sands1      
,snatched from the steel of ,herod's    
murdering bands1    ,a babe1            
close-folded to his mother's breast1    
,through ,edom's wilds he sought the    
sheltering ,west4         ,then ,joseph 
spake3 ,thy boy hath largely grown2     

,weave him fine raiment1 fitting to be  
shown2    ,fair robes beseem the        
pilgrim1 as the priest3    ,goes he not 
with us to the holy feast8         ,and 
,mary culled the flaxen fibres white2   
,till eve she spun2 she spun till       
morning light2    ,the thread was       
twined2 its parting meshes through      
,from hand to hand her restless shuttle 
flew1    ,till the full web was wound   
upon the beam1--    ,love's curious     
toil1--a vest without a seam6           
,they reach the holy place1 fulfil the  
days    ,to solemn feasting given1 and  
grateful praise4    ,at last they turn1 
and far ,moriah's height    ,melts in   
the southern sky and fades from sight4  
,all day the dusky caravan has flowed   
,in devious trails along the winding    
road    7,for many a step their homeward
 path attends1--    ,and all the sons of
 ,abraham are as friends74    ,evening  
has come1--the hour of rest and joy2--  
,hush6 hush6--that whisper1--,where is  
,mary's boy8         ,o weary hour6 ,o  

aching days that passed    ,filled with 
strange fears1 each wilder than the     
last3    ,the soldier's lance1--the     
fierce centurion's sword1--    ,the     
crushing wheels that whirl some ,roman  
lord1--    ,the midnight crypt that     
sucks the captive's breath1--    ,the   
blistering sun on ,hinnom's vale of     
death6         ,thrice on his cheek had 
rained the morning light1    ,thrice on 
his lips the mildewed kiss of night1    
,crouched by some porphyry column's     
shining plinth1    ,or stretched beneath
 the odorous terebinth4         ,at     
last1 in desperate mood1 they sought    
once more    ,the ,temple's porches1    
searched in vain before2    ,they found 
him seated with the ancient men1--      
,the grim old rufflers of the tongue and
 pen1--    ,their bald heads glistening 
as they clustered near1    ,their gray  
beards slanting as they turned to hear1 
,lost in half-envious wonder and        
surprise    ,that lips so fresh should  
utter words so wise4         ,and ,mary 

said1--as one who1 tried too long1      
,tells all her grief and half her sense 
of wrong1--    ,what is this thoughtless
 thing which thou hast done8    ,lo1 we 
have sought thee sorrowing1 ,o my son6  
,few words he spake1 and scarce of      
filial tone1--    ,strange words1 their 
sense a mystery yet unknown2    ,then   
turned with them and left the holy hill1
    ,to all their mild commands obedient
 still4         ,the tale was told to   
,nazareth's sober men1    ,and          
,nazareth's matrons told it oft again2  
,the maids re-told it at the fountain's 
side2    ,the youthful shepherds doubted
 or denied2    ,it passed around among  
the listening friends1    ,with all that
 fancy adds and fiction lends1    ,till 
newer marvels dimmed the young renown   
,of ,joseph's son1 who talked the       
,rabbis down4         ,but ,mary1       
faithful to its lightest word1    ,kept 
in her heart the sayings she had heard1 
,till the dread morning rent the        
,temple's veil1    ,and shuddering      

,earth confirmed the wondrous tale4     
,youth fades2 love droops2 the leaves of
 friendship fall3    ,a mother's secret 
hope outlives them all4           99    
99       99       99       99      ,,the
 ,,minister',s ,,wooing4    ,continued4 
,,chapter ,,xii4    ,,miss ,,prissy4    
,will our little ,mary really fall in   
love with the ,doctor8--,the question   
reaches us in anxious tones from all the
 circle of our readers2 and what        
especially shocks us is1 that grave     
doctors of divinity1 and serious1       
stocking-knitting matrons1 seem to be   
the class who are particularly  set     
against the success of our excellent    
orthodox hero1 and bent on  reminding us
 of the claims of that unregenerate     
,james1 whom we have sent  to sea on    
purpose that our heroine may recover    
herself of that foolish  partiality for 
him which all the ,christian world seems
 bent on  perpetuating4    ,now1 really1
 says the ,rev4 ,mrs4 ,q41 looking up   
from her bundle of  ,sewing-,society    

work1 you are not going to let ,mary    
marry the  ,doctor8    ,my dear ,madam1 
is not that just what you did1 yourself1
 after having  turned off three or four 
fascinating young sinners as good as    
,james any  day8 ,don't make us believe 
that you are sorry for it now6    ,is it
 possible1 says ,dr4 ,theophrastus1 who 
is himself a stanch  ,hopkinsian divine1
 and who is at present recovering from  
his last grand  effort on ,natural and  
,moral ,ability1--is it possible that   
you are going  to let ,mary forget that 
poor young man and marry ,dr4 ,h48 ,that
 will never  do in the world6    ,dear  
,doctor1 consider what would have become
 of you1 if some lady at a  certain time
 had not had the sense and discernment  
to fall in love with  the man who came  
to her disguised as a theologian4       
,but he's so old6 says ,aunt ,maria4    
,not at all4 ,old8 ,what do you mean8   
,forty is the very season of            
ripeness1--the very meridian of manly   
lustre and splendor4    ,but he wears a 

wig4    ,my dear ,madam1 so did ,sir    
,charles ,grandison1 and ,lovelace1 and 
all the  other fine fellows of those    
days2 the wig was the distinguishing    
mark of  a gentleman4    ,no1--spite of 
all you may say and declare1 we do      
insist that our ,doctor  is a very      
proper and probable subject for a young 
lady to fall in love  with4    ,if women
 have one weakness more marked than     
another1 it is towards  veneration4     
,they are born worshippers1--makers of  
silver shrines for  some divinity or    
other1 which1 of course1 they always    
think fell  straight down from heaven4  
,the first step towards their falling in
 love with an ordinary mortal  is       
generally to dress him out with all     
manner of real or fancied  superiority2 
and having made him up1 they worship    
him4    ,now a truly great man1 a man   
really grand and noble in heart and     
intellect1 has this advantage with      
women1 that he is an idol ready-made  to
 hand2 and so that very painstaking and 

ingenious sex have less labor  in       
getting him up1 and can be ready to     
worship him on shorter notice4    ,in   
particular is this the case where a     
sacred profession and a moral  supremacy
 are added to the intellectual4 ,just   
think of the career of  celebrated      
preachers and divines in all ages4 ,have
 they not stood like  the image that    
,nebuchadnezzar the king set up1 and all
 womankind1  coquettes and flirts not   
excepted1 been ready to fall down and   
worship1  even before the sound of      
cornet1 flute1 harp1 sackbut1 and so    
forth8 ,is  not the faithful ,paula1    
with her beautiful face1 prostrate in   
reverence  before poor1 old1 lean1      
haggard1 dying ,st4 ,jerome1 in the most
 splendid  painting of the world1 an    
emblem and sign of woman's eternal power
 of  self-sacrifice to what she deems   
noblest in man8 ,does not old ,richard  
,baxter tell us1 with delightful        
single-heartedness1 how his wife fell   
in love with him first1 spite of his    

long1 pale face1--and how she           
confessed1 dear soul1 after many years  
of married life1 that she had  found him
 less sour and bitter than she had      
expected8    ,the fact is1 women are    
burdened with fealty1 faith1 reverence1 
more  than they know what to do with2   
they stand like a hedge of sweet-peas1  
throwing out fluttering tendrils        
everywhere for something high and       
strong to climb by1--and when they find 
it1 be it ever so rough in the  bark1   
they catch upon it4 ,and instances are  
not wanting of those who  have turned   
away from the flattery of admirers to   
prostrate themselves  at the feet of a  
genuine hero who never wooed them1      
except by heroic  deeds and the rhetoric
 of a noble life4    ,never was there a 
distinguished man whose greatness could 
sustain the  test of minute domestic    
inspection better than our ,doctor4     
,strong in a  single-hearted humility1 a
 perfect unconsciousness of self1 an    
honest  and sincere absorption in high  

and holy themes and objects1 there was  
in  him what we so seldom see1--a       
perfect logic of life2 his minutest     
deeds  were the true results of his     
sublimest principles4 ,his whole nature1
  moral1 physical1 and intellectual1 was
 simple1 pure1 and cleanly4 ,he was     
temperate as an anchorite in all matters
 of living1--avoiding1 from a  healthy  
instinct1 all those intoxicating stimuli
 then common among the  clergy4 ,in his 
early youth1 indeed1 he had formed an   
attachment to the  almost universal     
clerical pipe1--but1 observing a        
delicate woman once  nauseated by coming
 into the atmosphere which he and his   
brethren had  polluted1 he set himself  
gravely to reflect that that which could
 so  offend a woman must needs be       
uncomely and unworthy a ,christian man2 
wherefore he laid his pipe on the       
mantelpiece1 and never afterwards       
resumed the indulgence4    ,in all his  
relations with womanhood he was delicate
 and reverential1  forming his manners  

by that old precept1 ,the elder women   
entreat as  mothers1 the younger as     
sisters1--which rule1 short and simple  
as  it is1 is nevertheless the most     
perfect rsum1 of all true               
gentlemanliness4 ,then1 as for person1  
the ,doctor was not handsome1 to be     
sure2 but he was what sometimes serves  
with woman better1--majestic  and manly1
 and1 when animated by thought and      
feeling1 having even a  commanding      
grandeur of mien4 ,add to all this1 that
 our valiant hero is  now on the        
straight road to bring him into that    
situation most likely  to engage the    
warm partisanship of a true             
woman1--namely1 that of a man  unjustly 
abused for right-doing1--and one may see
 that it is ten to one  our ,mary may   
fall in love with him yet1 before she   
knows it4    ,if it were not for this   
mysterious selfness-and-sameness which  
makes  this wild1 wandering1 uncanonical
 sailor1 ,james ,marvyn1 so intimate    
and internal1--if his thread were not   

knit up with the thread of her          
life1--were it not for the old habit of 
feeling for him1 thinking for  him1     
praying for him1 hoping for him1 fearing
 for him1 which--woe is  us6--is the    
unfortunate habit of womankind1--if it  
were not for that  fatal something which
 neither judgment1 nor wishes1 nor      
reason1 nor  common sense shows any     
great skill in unravelling1--we are     
quite sure  that ,mary would be in love 
with the ,doctor within the next six    
months2 as it is1 we leave you all to   
infer from your own heart and           
consciousness what his chances are4     
,a new sort of scene is about to open on
 our heroine1 and we shall show  her to 
you1 for an evening at least1 in new    
associations1 and with a  different     
background from that homely and rural   
one in which she has  fluttered as a    
white dove amid leafy and congenial     
surroundings4    ,as we have before     
intimated1 ,newport presented a rsum of 
many  different phases of society1 all  

brought upon a social level by the then 
universally admitted principle of       
equality4    ,there were scattered about
 in the settlement lordly mansions1     
whose  owners rolled in emblazoned      
carriages1 and whose wide halls were the
  scenes of a showy and almost princely 
hospitality4 ,by her husband's  side1   
,mrs4 ,katy ,scudder was allied to one  
of these families of wealthy  planters1 
and often recognized the connection with
 a quiet undertone  of satisfaction1 as 
a dignified and self-respecting woman   
should4 ,she  liked1 once in a while1   
quietly to let people know1 that1       
although they  lived in the plain little
 cottage and made no pretensions1 yet   
they had  good blood in their           
veins1--that ,mr4 ,scudder's mother was 
a ,wilcox1 and  that the ,wilcoxes were1
 she supposed1 as high as               
anybody1--generally  ending the remark  
with the observation1 that all these    
things1 to be  sure1 were matters of    
small consequence1 since at last it     

would be of  far more importance to have
 been a true ,christian than to have    
been  connected with the highest        
families of the land4    ,nevertheless1 
,mrs4 ,scudder was not a little pleased 
to have in her  possession a card of    
invitation to a splendid wedding-party  
that was  going to be given1 on ,friday1
 at the ,wilcox ,manor4 ,she thought it 
a very  becoming mark of respect to the 
deceased ,mr4 ,scudder that his widow   
and  daughter should be brought to      
mind1--so becoming and praiseworthy1  in
 fact1 that1 though an old woman1 as she
 said1 with a complacent  straightening 
of her tall1 lithe figure1 she really   
thought she must  make an effort to go4 
,accordingly1 early one morning1 after  
all domestic duties had been  fulfilled1
 and the clock1 loudly ticking through  
the empty rooms1 told  that all needful 
bustle had died down to silence1 ,mrs4  
,katy1 ,mary1 and  ,miss ,prissy        
,diamond1 the dressmaker1 might have    
been observed sitting in  solemn senate 

around the camphor-wood trunk1 before   
spoken of1 and which  exhaled vague     
foreign and ,indian perfumes of silk and
 sandal-wood4    ,you may have heard of 
dignitaries1 my good reader1--but1 ,i   
assure you1  you know very little of a  
situation of trust or importance        
compared to  that of the dress-maker in 
a small ,new ,england town4    ,what    
important interests does she hold in her
 hands6 ,how is she  besieged1 courted1 
deferred to6 ,three months beforehand1  
all her days  and nights are spoken for2
 and the simple statement1 that only on 
that  day you can have ,miss ,clippers1 
is of itself an apology for any omission
  of attention elsewhere1--it strikes   
home at once to the deepest             
consciousness of every woman1 married or
 single4 ,how thoughtfully is           
everything arranged1 weeks beforehand1  
for the golden1 important season  when  
,miss ,clippers can come6 ,on that day1 
there is to be no extra  sweeping1      
dusting1 cleaning1 cooking1 no visiting1

 no receiving1 no  reading or writing1  
but all with one heart and soul are to  
wait upon  her1 intent to forward the   
great work which she graciously affords 
a day's leisure to direct4 ,seated in   
her chair of state1 with her  well-worn 
cushion bristling with pins and needles 
at her side1 her ready  roll of patterns
 and her scissors1 she hears1 judges1   
and decides ex  cathedr on the possible 
or not possible1 in that important art  
on  which depends the right presentation
 of the floral part of ,nature's  great 
horticultural show4 ,she alone is       
competent to say whether there is  any  
available remedy for the stained breadth
 in ,jane's dress1--whether  the fatal  
spot by any magical hocus-pocus can be  
cut out from the  fulness1 or turned up 
and smothered from view in the gathers1 
or  concealed by some new fashion of    
trimming falling with generous          
appropriateness exactly across the fatal
 weak point4 ,she can tell you  whether 
that remnant of velvet will make you a  

basque1--whether ,mamma's  old silk can 
reappear in juvenile grace for ,miss    
,lucy4 ,what marvels  follow her1       
wherever she goes6 ,what wonderful      
results does she contrive  from the most
 unlikely materials1 as everybody after 
her departure  wonders to see old things
 become so much better than new6        
,among the most influential and happy of
 her class was ,miss ,prissy            
,diamond1--a little1 dapper1 doll-like  
body1 quick in her motions and  nimble  
in her tongue1 whose delicate           
complexion1 flaxen curls1 merry  flow of
 spirits1 and ready abundance of gayety1
 song1 and story1 apart  from her       
professional accomplishments1 made her a
 welcome guest in every  family in the  
neighborhood4 ,miss ,prissy laughingly  
boasted being past  forty1 sure that the
 avowal would always draw down on her   
quite a storm  of compliments1 on the   
freshness of her sweet-pea complexion   
and the  brightness of her merry blue   
eyes4 ,she was well pleased to hear     

dawning  girls wondering why with so    
many advantages she had never married4  
,at  such remarks1 ,miss ,prissy always 
laughed loudly1 and declared that she   
had always had such a string of         
engagements with the women that she     
never found half an hour to listen to   
what any man living would say to  her1  
supposing she could stop to hear him4   
,besides1 if ,i were to get  married1   
nobody else could1 she would say4 ,what 
would become of all  the wedding-clothes
 for everybody else8 ,but sometimes1    
when ,miss ,prissy  felt extremely      
gracious1 she would draw out of her     
little chest just the  faintest tip-end 
of a sigh1 and tell some young lady1 in 
a confidential  undertone1 that one of  
these days she would tell her           
something1--and  then there would come a
 wink of her blue eyes and a fluttering 
of the  pink ribbons in her cap quite   
stimulating to youthful inquisitiveness1
  though we have never been able to     
learn by any of our antiquarian         

researches that the expectations thus   
excited were ever gratified4    ,in her 
professional prowess she felt a         
pardonable pride4 ,what feats  could she
 relate of wonderful dresses got out of 
impossibly small  patterns of silk6 what
 marvels of silks turned that could not 
be told  from new6 what reclaimings of  
waists that other dress-makers had      
hopelessly spoiled6 ,had not ,mrs4      
,general ,wilcox once been obliged to   
call in her aid on a dress sent to her  
from ,paris8 and did not ,miss  ,prissy 
work three days and nights on that      
dress1 and make every stitch  of that   
trimming over with her own hands1 before
 it was fit to be seen8  ,and when ,mrs4
 ,governor ,dexter's best silver-gray   
brocade was spoiled by  ,miss ,pimlico1 
and there wasn't another scrap to       
pattern it with1 didn't  she make a new 
waist out of the cape and piece one of  
the sleeves  twenty-nine times1 and yet 
nobody would ever have known that there 
was a  joining in it8    ,in fact1      

though ,miss ,prissy enjoyed the fair   
average plain-sailing of  her work1 she 
might be said to revel in difficulties4 
,a full pattern  with trimming1 all     
ample and ready1 awoke a moderate       
enjoyment2 but the  resurrection of     
anything half-worn or imperfectly made1 
the brilliant  success1 when1 after     
turning1 twisting1 piecing1 contriving1 
and1  by unheard-of inventions of       
trimming1 a dress faded and defaced was 
restored to more than pristine          
splendor1--that was a triumph worth     
enjoying4    ,it was true1 ,miss        
,prissy1 like most of her nomadic       
compeers1 was a  little given to gossip2
 but1 after all1 it was innocent        
gossip1--not  a bit of malice in it2 it 
was only all the particulars about ,mrs4
  ,thus-and-,so's wardrobe1--all the    
statistics of ,mrs4 ,that-and-,t'other's
  china-closet1--all the minute items of
 ,miss ,simpkins's wedding-clothes1     
--and how her mother cried1 the morning 
of the wedding1 and said  that she      

didn't know anything how she could spare
 ,louisa ,jane1 only  that ,edward was  
such a good boy that she felt she could 
love him  like an own son1--and what a  
providence it seemed that the very ring 
that was put into the bride-loaf was one
 that he gave her when he first  went to
 sea1 when she wouldn't be engaged to   
him because she thought she  loved      
,thomas ,strickland better1 but that was
 only because she hadn't  found him out1
 you know1--and so forth1 and so forth4 
,sometimes1 too1  her narrations assumed
 a solemn cast1 and brought to mind the 
hush of  funerals1 and told of words    
spoken in faint whispers1 when hands    
were  clasped for the last time1--and of
 utterances crushed out from hearts1    
when the hammer of a great sorrow       
strikes out sparks of the divine1 even  
from common stone2 and there would be   
real tears in the little blue  eyes1 and
 the pink bows would flutter            
tremulously1 like the last  three leaves
 on a bare scarlet maple in autumn4 ,in 

fact1 dear reader1  gossip1 like        
romance1 has its noble side to it4 ,how 
can you love your  neighbor as yourself 
and not feel a little curiosity as to   
how he  fares1 what he wears1 where he  
goes1 and how he takes the great life   
tragi-comedy at which you and he are    
both more than spectators8 ,show me  a  
person who lives in a country-village   
absolutely without curiosity or         
interest on these subjects1 and ,i will 
show you a cold1 fat oyster1 to  whom   
the tide-mud of propriety is the whole  
of existence4    ,as one of our esteemed
 collaborators in the ,,atlantic        
remarks1--,a dull  town1 where there is 
neither theatre nor circus nor opera1   
must have  some excitement1 and the real
 tragedy and comedy of life must come   
in place of the second-hand4 ,hence the 
noted gossiping propensities  of        
country-places1 which1 so long as they  
are not poisoned by envy or  ill-will1  
have a respectable and picturesque side 
to them1--an undoubted  leave to be1 as 

probably has almost everything1 which   
obstinately and  always insists on      
being1 except sin6    ,as it is1 it must
 be confessed that the arrival of ,miss 
,prissy in a  family was much like the  
setting up of a domestic show-case1     
through  which you could look into all  
the families in the neighborhood1 and   
see  the never-ending drama of          
life1--births1 marriages1 deaths1--joy  
of new-made mothers1 whose babes weighed
 just eight pounds and  three-quarters1 
and had hair that would part with a     
comb1--and tears of  ,rachels who wept  
for their children1 and would not be    
comforted because  they were not4 ,was  
there a tragedy1 a mystery1 in all      
,newport1 whose  secret closet had not  
been unlocked by ,miss ,prissy8 ,she    
thought not2  and you always wondered1  
with an uncertain curiosity1 what those 
things  might be over which she gravely 
shook her head1 declaring1 with such a  
look1--,oh1 if you only could know6--and
 ending with a general sigh  and        

lamentation1 like the confidential      
chorus of a ,greek tragedy4    ,we have 
been thus minute in sketching ,miss     
,prissy's portrait1 because  we rather  
like her4 ,she has great power1 we      
admit2 and were she a  sour-faced1      
angular1 energetic body1 with a heart   
whose secretions had  all become acrid  
by disappointment and dyspepsia1 she    
might be a fearful  gnome1 against whose
 family-visitations one ought to watch  
and pray4 ,as  it was1 she came into the
 house rather like one of those breezy  
days  of spring1 which burst all the    
blossoms1 set all the doors and windows 
open1 make the hens cackle and the      
turtles peep1--filling a solemn         
,puritan dwelling with as much bustle   
and chatter as if a box of martins  were
 setting up housekeeping in it4    ,let 
us now introduce you to the sanctuary of
 ,mrs4 ,scudder's own private  bedroom1 
where the committee of exigencies1 with 
,miss ,prissy at their  head1 are seated
 in solemn session around the           

camphor-wood trunk4    ,dress1 you know1
 is of some importance1 after all1 said 
,mrs4  ,scudder1 in that apologetic way 
in which sensible people generally      
acknowledge a secret leaning towards    
anything so very mundane4 ,while  the   
good lady spoke1 she was reverentially  
unpinning and shaking out  of their     
fragrant folds creamy crape shawls of   
rich ,chinese  embroidery1--,india      
muslin1 scarfs1 and aprons2 and already 
her hands  were undoing the pins of a   
silvery damask linen in which was       
wrapped  her own wedding-dress4 ,i have 
always told ,mary1 she continued1 that1 
though our hearts ought not to be set on
 these things1 yet they had  their      
importance4    ,certainly1 certainly1   
,ma'am1 chimed in ,miss ,prissy4 ,i was 
saying  to ,miss ,general ,wilcox1 the  
other day1 ,i didn't see how we could   
'consider the lilies of the field1'     
without seeing the importance of        
looking pretty4 ,i've got a             
flower-de-luce in my garden now1 from   

one of  the new roots that old ,major   
,seaforth brought over from ,france1    
which is  just the most beautiful thing 
you ever did see2 and ,i was thinking1  
as  ,i looked at it to-day1 that1 if    
women's dresses only grew on 'em as     
handsome and well-fitting as that1 why1 
there wouldn't be any need of  me2 but  
as it is1 why1 we must think1 if we want
 to look well4 ,now  peach-trees1 ,i    
s'pose1 might bear just as good peaches 
without the pink  blows1 but then who   
would want 'em to8 ,miss ,deacon        
,twitchel1 when ,i was  up there the    
other day1 kept kind o' sighin' 'cause  
,cerintha ,ann is  getting a new pink   
silk made up1 'cause she said it was    
such a dying  world it didn't seem right
 to call off our attention3 but ,i told 
her  it wasn't any pinker than the      
apple-blossoms2 and what with robins and
  blue-birds and one thing or another1  
the ,lord is always calling off our     
attention2 and ,i think we ought to     
observe the ,lord's works and take a    

lesson from 'em4    ,yes1 you are quite 
right1 said ,mrs4 ,scudder1 rising and  
shaking out a  splendid white brocade1  
on which bunches of moss-roses were     
looped to  bunches of violets by        
graceful fillets of blue ribbons4 ,this 
was my  wedding-dress1 she said4        
,little ,miss ,prissy sprang up and     
clapped her hands in an ecstasy4        
,well1 now1 ,miss ,scudder1 really6--did
 ,i ever see anything more  beautiful8  
,it really goes beyond anything ,i ever 
saw4 ,i don't think1  in all the        
brocades ,i ever made up1 ,i ever saw so
 pretty a pattern as  this4    ,mr4     
,scudder chose it for me1 himself1 at   
the silk-factory in ,lyons1  said ,mrs4 
,scudder1 with pardonable pride1 and ,i 
want it tried on to  ,mary4    ,really1 
,miss ,scudder1 this ought to be kept   
for her wedding-dress1  said ,miss      
,prissy1 as she delightedly bustled     
about the congenial task4  ,i was up to 
,miss ,marvyn's1 a-working1 last week1  
she said1 as she  threw the dress over  

,mary's head1 and she said that ,james  
expected to  make his fortune in that   
voyage1 and come home and settle down4  
,mary's fair head emerged from the      
rustling folds of the brocade1 her      
cheeks crimson as one of the            
moss-roses1--while her mother's face    
assumed  a severe gravity1 as she       
remarked that she believed ,james had   
been much  pleased with ,jane ,spencer1 
and that1 for her part1 she should be   
very  glad1 when he came home1 if he    
could marry such a steady1 sensible     
girl1  and settle down to a useful1     
,christian life4    ,ah1 yes1--just     
so1--a very excellent idea1 certainly1  
said ,miss  ,prissy4 ,it wants a little 
taken in here on the shoulders1 and a   
little under the arms4 ,the biases are  
all right2 the sleeves will want        
altering1 ,miss ,scudder4 ,i hope you   
will have a hot iron ready for          
pressing4    ,mrs4 ,scudder rose        
immediately1 to see the command obeyed2 
and as her  back was turned1 ,miss      

,prissy went on in a low tone1--        
,now1 ,i1 for my part1 don't think      
there's a word of truth in that  story  
about ,james ,marvyn and ,jane ,spencer2
 for ,i was down there at work  one day 
when he called1 and ,i know there       
couldn't have been anything  between    
them1--besides1 ,miss ,spencer1 her     
mother1 told me there  wasn't4--,there1 
,miss ,scudder1 you see that is a good  
fit4 ,it's  astonishing how near it     
comes to fitting1 just as it was4 ,i    
didn't think  ,mary was so near what you
 were1 when you were a girl1 ,miss      
,scudder4 ,the  other day1 when ,i was  
up to ,general ,wilcox's1 the ,general  
he was in the  room when ,i was a-trying
 on ,miss ,wilcox's cherry velvet1 and  
she was  asking couldn't ,i come this   
week for her1 and ,i mentioned ,i was   
coming  to ,miss ,scudder1 and the      
,general says he1--',i used to know her 
when she  was a girl4 ,i tell you1 she  
was one of the handsomest girls in      
,newport1  by ,george6' says he4 ,and   

says ,i1--',general1 you ought to see   
her  daughter4' ,and the ,general1--you 
know his jolly way1--he laughed1 and    
says he1--',if she is as handsome as her
 mother was1 ,i don't want to see  her1'
 says he4 ',i tell you1 wife1' says he1 
',i but just missed falling  in love    
with ,katy ,stephens4'    ,i could have 
told her more than that1 said ,mrs4     
,scudder1 with a  flash of her old      
coquette girlhood for a moment lighting 
her eyes and  straightening her lithe   
form4 ,i guess1 if ,i should show a     
letter he  wrote me once----,but what am
 ,i talking about8 she said1 suddenly   
stiffening back into a sensible woman4  
,miss ,prissy1 do you think it  will be 
necessary to cut it off at the bottom8  
,it seems a pity to cut  such rich silk4
    ,so it does1 ,i declare4 ,well1 ,i  
believe it will do to turn it up4    ,i 
depend on you to put it a little into   
modern fashion1 you know1 said  ,mrs4   
,scudder4 ,it is many a year1 you know1 
since it was made4    ,oh1 never you    

fear6 ,you leave all that to me1 said   
,miss ,prissy4 ,now1  there never was   
anything so lucky as1 that1 just before 
all these  wedding-dresses had to be    
fixed1 ,i got  a letter from my sister  
,martha1  that works for all the first  
families of ,boston4 ,and ,martha she is
  really unusually privileged1 because  
she works for ,miss ,cranch1 and ,miss  
,cranch gets letters from ,miss         
,adams1--you know ,mr4 ,adams is        
,ambassador  now at the ,court of ,st4  
,james1 and ,miss ,adams writes home all
 the  particulars about the             
court-dresses2 and ,martha she heard one
 of the  letters read1 and she told     
,miss ,cranch that she would give the   
best  five-pound-note she had1 if she   
could just copy that description to send
  to ,prissy4 ,well1 ,miss ,cranch let  
her do it1 and ,i've got a copy of the  
letter here in my work-pocket4 ,i read  
it up to ,miss ,general ,wilcox's1  and 
to ,major ,seaforth's1 and ,i'll read it
 to you4    ,mrs4 ,katy ,scudder was a  

born subject of a crown1 and1 though now
 a  republican matron1 had not outlived 
the reverence1 from childhood           
implanted1 for the high and stately     
doings of courts1 lords1 ladies1        
queens1 and princesses1 and therefore it
 was not without some awe that  she saw 
,miss ,prissy produce from her little   
black work-bag the well-worn  epistle4  
,here it is1 said ,miss ,prissy1 at     
last4 ,i only copied out the parts      
about being presented at ,court4 ,she   
says3--    ',one is obliged here to     
attend the circles of the ,queen1 which 
are held  once a fortnight2 and what    
renders it very expensive is1 that you  
cannot  go twice in the same dress1 and 
a court-dress you cannot make use of    
elsewhere4 ,i directed my mantua-maker  
to let my dress be elegant1 but  plain  
as ,i could possibly appear with        
decency4 ,accordingly1 it is white      
lutestring1 covered and full-trimmed    
with white crape1 festooned with  lilac 
ribbon and mock point-lace1 over a hoop 

of enormous size4 ,there  is only a     
narrow train1 about three yards in      
length to the gown-waist1  which is put 
into a ribbon on the left side1--the    
,queen only having her  train borne4    
,ruffled cuffs for married              
ladies1--treble lace ruffles1 a  very   
dress cap with long lace lappets1 two   
white plumes1 and a blonde  lace        
handkerchief4 ,this is my rigging4'     
,miss ,prissy here stopped to adjust her
 spectacles4 ,her audience  expressed a 
breathless interest4    ,you see1 she   
said1 ,i used to know her when she was  
,nabby ,smith4 ,she  was ,parson        
,smith's daughter1 at ,weymouth1 and as 
handsome a girl as  ever ,i wanted to   
see1--just as graceful as a sweet-brier 
bush4 ,i don't  believe any of those    
,english ladies looked one bit better   
than she did4  ,she was always a        
master-hand at writing4 ,everything she 
writes about1  she puts it right before 
you4 ,you feel as if you'd been there4  
,now1 here  she goes on to tell about   

her daughter's dress4 ,she says3--      
',my head is dressed for ,st4 ,james's1 
and in my opinion looks very  tasty4    
,whilst my daughter is undergoing the   
same operation1 ,i set myself  down     
composedly to write you a few lines4    
,well1 methinks ,i hear ,betsey  and    
,lucy say1 ,what is cousin's dress8     
,white1 my dear girls1 like  your       
aunt's1 only differently trimmed and    
ornamented1--her train being  wholly of 
white crape1 and trimmed with white     
ribbon2 the petticoat1  which is the    
most showy part of the dress1 covered   
and drawn up in  what are called        
festoons1 with light wreaths of         
beautiful flowers2 the  sleeves1 white  
crape drawn over the silk1 with a row of
 lace round the  sleeve near the        
shoulder1 another half-way down the arm1
 and a third  upon the top of the       
ruffle1--a little stuck between1--a kind
 of hat-cap  with three large feathers  
and a bunch of flowers1--a wreath of    
flowers  on the hair4'    ,miss ,prissy 

concluded this relishing description    
with a little smack of  the lips1 such  
as people sometimes give when reading   
things that are  particularly to their  
taste4    ,now1 ,i was a-thinking1 she  
added1 that it would be an excellent way
  to trim ,mary's sleeves1--three rows  
of lace1 with a sprig to each row4      
,all this while1 our ,mary1 with her    
white short-gown and blue               
stuff-petticoat1 her shining pale brown 
hair and serious large blue  eyes1 sat  
innocently looking first at her mother1 
then at ,miss ,prissy1  and then at the 
finery4    ,we do not claim for her any 
superhuman exemption from girlish       
feelings4  ,she was innocently dazzled  
with the vision of courtly halls and    
princely  splendors1 and thought ,mrs4  
,adams's descriptions almost a perfect  
realization of things she had read in   
,sir ,charles ,grandison4 ,if her       
mother thought it right and proper she  
should be dressed and made fine1  she   
was glad of it2 only there came a heavy1

 leaden feeling in her  little heart1   
which she did not understand1 but we who
 know womankind  will translate for you3
 it was1 that a certain pair of dark    
eyes would  not see her after she was   
dressed2 and so1 after all1 what was the
 use  of looking pretty8    ,i wonder   
what ,james would think1 passed through 
her head2 for ,mary  had never changed a
 ribbon1 or altered the braid of her    
hair1 or pinned  a flower in her bosom1 
that she had not quickly seen the effect
 of the  change mirrored in those dark  
eyes4 ,it was a pity1 of course1 now she
  had found out that she ought not to   
think about him1 that so many           
thought-strings were twisted round him4 
,so while ,miss ,prissy turned over her 
papers1 and read out of others  extracts
 about ,lord ,caermarthen and ,sir      
,clement ,cotterel ,dormer and the      
,princess ,royal and ,princess ,augusta1
 in black and silver1 with a silver     
netting upon the coat1 and a head stuck 
full of diamond pins1--and ,lady        

,salisbury and ,lady ,talbot and the    
,duchess of ,devonshire1 and scarlet    
satin sacks and diamonds and            
ostrich-plumes1 and the ,king's kissing 
,mrs4  ,adams1--little ,mary's blue eyes
 grew larger and larger1 seeing far off 
on the salt green sea1 and her ears     
heard only the ripple and murmur of     
those waters that earned her heart      
away1--till1 by-and-by1 ,miss ,prissy   
gave her a smart little tap1 which      
awakened her to the fact that she was   
wanted again to try on the dress which  
,miss ,prissy's nimble fingers had      
basted4    ,so passed the day1--,miss   
,prissy busily chattering1 clipping1    
basting1--,mary patiently trying on to  
an unheard-of extent1--and ,mrs4        
,scudder's neat room whipped into a     
perfect froth and foam of gauze1  lace1 
artificial flowers1 linings1 and other  
aids1 accessories1 and  abetments4      
,at dinner1 the ,doctor1 who had been   
all the morning studying out his        
,treatise on the ,millennium1 discoursed

 tranquilly as usual1 innocently        
ignorant of the unusual cares which were
 distracting the minds of his           
listeners4 ,what should he know of      
dress-makers1 good soul8 ,encouraged  by
 the respectful silence of his auditors1
 he calmly expanded and  soliloquized on
 his favorite topic1 the last golden age
 of ,time1 the  ,marriage-,supper of the
 ,lamb1 when the purified ,earth1 like a
 repentant  ,psyche1 shall be restored  
to the long-lost favor of a celestial   
,bridegroom1 and glorified saints and   
angels shall walk familiarly as         
wedding-guests among men4    ,sakes     
alive6 said little ,miss ,prissy1 after 
dinner1 did ,i ever hear  any one go on 
like that blessed man8--such a spiritual
 mind6 ,oh1 ,miss  ,scudder1 how you are
 privileged in having him here6 ,i do   
really think it  is a shame such a      
blessed man a'n't thought more of4 ,why1
 ,i could just  sit and hear him talk   
all day4 ,miss ,scudder1 ,i wish        
sometimes you'd just  let me make a     

ruffled shirt for him1 and do it all up 
myself1 and put a  stitch in the hem    
that ,i learned from my sister ,martha1 
who learned it  from a ,french young    
lady who was educated in a              
convent2--nuns1 you know1  poor things1 
can do some things right2 and ,i think  
,i never saw such  hemstitching as they 
do there2--and ,i should like to        
hemstitch the  ,doctor's ruffles2 he is 
so spiritually-minded1 it really makes  
me love  him4 ,why1 hearing him talk put
 me in mind of a real beautiful song of 
,mr4 ,watts1--,i don't know as ,i could 
remember the tune4    ,and ,miss        
,prissy1 whose musical talent was one of
 her special fortes1  tuned her voice1 a
 little cracked and quavering1 and sang1
 with a  vigorous accent on each        
accented syllable1--      ,from the     
third heaven1 where ,god resides1       
,that holy1 happy place1    ,the ,new   
,jerusalem comes down1      ,adorned    
with shining grace4      ,attending     
angels shout for joy1      ,and the     

bright armies sing1--    ',mortals6     
behold the sacred seat      ,of your    
descending ,king6'    ,take care1 ,miss 
,scudder6--that silk must be cut exactly
 on the bias2  and ,miss ,prissy1       
hastily finishing her last quaver1      
caught the silk and  the scissors out of
 ,mrs4 ,scudder's hand1 and fell down at
 once from  the ,millennium into a      
discourse on her own particular way of  
covering  piping-cord4    ,so we go1    
dear reader1--so long as we have a body 
and a soul4 ,two worlds  must           
mingle1--the great and the little1 the  
solemn and the trivial1  wreathing in   
and out1 like the grotesque carvings on 
a ,gothic  shrine2--only1 did we know it
 rightly1 nothing is trivial2 since the 
human soul1 with its awful shadow1 makes
 all things sacred4 ,have not  ribbons1 
cast-off flowers1 soiled bits of gauze1 
trivial1 trashy  fragments of millinery1
 sometimes had an awful meaning1 a      
deadly power1  when they belonged to one
 who should wear them no more1 and whose

  beautiful form1 frail and crushed as  
they1 is a hidden and a vanished  thing 
for all time8 ,for so sacred and        
individual is a human being1 that1  of  
all the million-peopled earth1 no one   
form ever restores another4  ,the mould 
of each mortal type is broken at the    
grave2 and never1 never1  though you    
look through all the faces on earth1    
shall the exact form you  mourn ever    
meet your eyes again6 ,you are living   
your daily life among  trifles that one 
death-stroke may make relics4 ,one false
 step1 one  luckless accident1 an       
obstacle on the track of a train1 the   
tangling of  the cord in shifting a     
sail1 and the penknife1 the pen1 the    
papers1 the  trivial articles of dress  
and clothing1 which to-day you toss idly
 and  jestingly from hand to hand1 may  
become dread memorials of that awful    
tragedy whose deep abyss ever underlies 
our common life4      ,,chapter ,,xiii4 
,,the ,,party4      ,well1 let us       
proceed to tell how the eventful evening

 drew on1--how  ,mary1 by ,miss         
,prissy's care1 stood at last in a      
long-waisted gown  flowered with        
rose-buds and violets1 opening in front 
to display a white  satin skirt trimmed 
with lace and flowers1--how her little  
feet were  put into high-heeled shoes1  
and a little jaunty cap with a wreath of
  moss-rose-buds was fastened over her  
shining hair1--and how ,miss ,prissy1   
delighted1 turned her round and round1  
and then declared that she must  go and 
get the ,doctor to look at her4 ,she    
knew he must be a man of  taste1 he     
talked so beautifully about the         
,millennium2 and so1 bursting  into his 
study1 she actually chattered him back  
into the visible world1  and1 leading   
the blushing ,mary to the door1 asked   
him1 point-blank1 if  he ever saw       
anything prettier4    ,the ,doctor1     
being now wide awake1 gravely gave his  
mind to the subject1  and1 after some   
consideration1 said1 gravely1 ,no1--he  
didn't think he  ever did4 ,for the     

,doctor was not a man of compliment1 and
 had a habit  of always thinking1 before
 he spoke1 whether what he was going to 
say  was exactly true2 and having lived 
some time in the family of ,president   
,edwards1 renowned for beautiful        
daughters1 he naturally thought them    
over4    ,the ,doctor looked innocent   
and helpless1 while ,miss ,prissy1      
having  got him now quite into her      
power1 went on volubly to expatiate on  
the  difficulties overcome in adapting  
the ancient wedding-dress to its        
present modern fit4 ,he told her that it
 was very nice1--said1 ,yes1  ,ma'am1 at
 proper places1--and1 being a very      
obliging man1 looked at  whatever he was
 directed to1 with round1 blank eyes2   
but ended all with  a long gaze on the  
laughing1 blushing face1 that1 half in  
shame and  half in perplexed mirth1     
appeared and disappeared as ,miss       
,prissy in her  warmth turned her round 
and showed her4    ,now1 don't she look 
beautiful8 ,miss ,prissy reiterated for 

the  twentieth time1 as ,mary left the  
room4    ,the ,doctor1 looking after her
 musingly1 said to himself1--',the      
king's  daughter is all glorious within2
 her clothing is of wrought gold2 she   
shall be brought unto the king in       
raiment of needlework4'    ,now1 did ,i 
ever8 said ,miss ,prissy1 rushing out4  
,how that good man  does turn           
everything6 ,i believe you couldn't get 
anything1 that he  wouldn't find a text 
right out of the ,bible about it4 ,i    
mean to get the  linen for that shirt   
this very week1 with the ,miss ,wilcox's
 money2 they  always pay well1 those    
,wilcoxes1--and ,i've worked for them1  
off and on1  sixteen days and a quarter4
 ,to be sure1 ,miss ,scudder1 there's no
  real need of my doing it1 for ,i must 
say you keep him looking like a         
pink1--but only ,i feel as if ,i must do
 something for such a good man4    ,the 
good ,doctor was brushed up for the     
evening with zealous care and  energy2  
and if he did not look like a pink1 it  

was certainly no fault  of his hostess4 
,well1 we cannot reproduce in detail the
 faded glories of that  entertainment1  
nor relate how the ,wilcox ,manor and   
gardens were  illuminated1--how the     
bride wore a veil of real               
point-lace1--how  carriages rolled and  
grated on the gravel works1 and negro   
servants1 in  white kid gloves1 handed  
out ladies in velvet and satin4    ,to  
,mary's inexperienced eye it seemed like
 an enchanted dream1--a  realization of 
all she had dreamed of grand and high   
society4 ,she had  her little triumph of
 an evening2 for everybody asked who    
that beautiful  girl was1 and more than 
one gallant of the old ,newport first   
families  felt himself adorned and      
distinguished to walk with her on his   
arm4  ,busy1 officious dowagers repeated
 to ,mrs4 ,scudder the applauding       
whispers that followed her wherever she 
went4    ,really1 ,mrs4 ,scudder1 said  
gallant old ,general ,wilcox1 where have
 you  kept such a beauty all this time8 

,it's a sin and a shame to hide such a  
light under a bushel4    ,and ,mrs4     
,scudder1 though1 of course1 like you   
and me1 sensible reader1  properly      
apprised of the perishable nature of    
such fleeting honors1 was1  like us1    
too1 but a mortal1 and smiled           
condescendingly on the follies of  the  
scene4    ,the house was divided by a   
wide hall opening by doors1 the front   
one  upon the street1 the back into a   
large garden1 the broad central walk  of
 which1 edged on each side with high    
clipped hedges of box1 now  resplendent 
with colored lamps1 seemed to continue  
the prospect in a  brilliant vista4     
,the old-fashioned garden was lighted in
 every part1 and the company  dispersed 
themselves about it in picturesque      
groups4    ,we have the image in our    
mind of ,mary as she stood with her     
little hat  and wreath of rose-buds1 her
 fluttering ribbons and rich brocade1 as
 it  were a picture framed in the       
door-way1 with her back to the          

illuminated  garden1 and her calm1      
innocent face regarding with a pleased  
wonder the  unaccustomed gayeties       
within4    ,her dress1 which1 under     
,miss ,prissy's forming hand1 had been  
made to  assume that appearance of style
 and fashion which more particularly    
characterized the mode of those times1  
formed a singular1 but not  unpleasing1 
contrast to the sort of dewy freshness  
of air and mien which  was              
characteristic of her style of beauty4  
,it seemed so to represent  a being who 
was in the world1 yet not of it1--who1  
though living  habitually in a higher   
region of thought and feeling1 was      
artlessly  curious1 and innocently      
pleased with a fresh experience in an   
altogether  untried sphere4 ,the feeling
 of being in a circle to which she did  
not  belong1 where her presence was in a
 manner an accident1 and where she  felt
 none of the responsibilities which come
 from being a component part  of a      
society1 gave to her a quiet1 disengaged

 air1 which produced all  the effect of 
the perfect ease of high breeding4      
,while she stands there1 there comes out
 of the door of the bridal              
reception-room a gentleman with a       
stylishly-dressed lady on either arm1   
with whom he seems wholly absorbed4 ,he 
is of middle height1 peculiarly         
graceful in form and moulding1 with that
 indescribable air of  high breeding    
which marks the polished man of the     
world4 ,his  beautifully-formed head1   
delicate profile1 fascinating sweetness 
of  smile1 and1 above all1 an eye which 
seemed to have an almost mesmeric  power
 of attraction1 were traits which       
distinguished one of the most           
celebrated men of the time1 and one     
whose peculiar history yet lives  not   
only in our national records1 but in the
 private annals of many an  ,american   
family4    ,good ,heavens6 he said1     
suddenly pausing in conversation1 as his
 eye  accidentally fell upon ,mary4 ,who
 is that lovely creature8    ,oh1 that1 

said ,mrs4 ,wilcox1--why1 that is ,mary 
,scudder4 ,her father  was a family     
connection of the ,general's4 ,the      
family are in rather  modest            
circumstances1 but highly respectable4  
,after a few moments more of ordinary   
chit-chat1 in which from time to  time  
he darted upon her glances of rapid and 
piercing observation1 the  gentleman    
might have been observed to disembarrass
 himself of one of the  ladies on his   
arm1 by passing her with a compliment   
and a bow to another  gallant1 and1     
after a few moments more1 he spoke      
something to ,mrs4  ,wilcox1 in a low   
voice1 and with that gentle air of      
deferential  sweetness which always made
 everybody well satisfied to do his     
will4 ,the  consequence was1 that in a  
few moments ,mary was startled from her 
calm  speculations by the voice of ,mrs4
 ,wilcox1 saying at her elbow1 in a     
formal tone1--    ,miss ,scudder1 ,i    
have the honor to present to your       
acquaintance ,colonel  ,burr1 of the    

,united ,states ,senate4    7,to be     
continued47          ,,the ,,walker ,,of
 ,,the ,,snow4        ,speed on1 speed  
on1 good master6      ,the camp lies far
 away2--    ,we must cross the haunted  
valley      ,before the close of day4   
,how the snow-blight came upon me       
,i will tell you as we go1--    ,the    
blight of the shadow hunter      ,who   
walks the midnight snow4      ,to the   
cold ,december heaven      ,came the    
pale moon and the stars1    ,as the     
yellow sun was sinking      ,behind the 
purple bars4      ,the snow was deeply  
drifted      ,upon the ridges drear     
,that lay for miles between me      ,and
 the camp for which we steer4           
',twas silent on the hill-side1         
,and by the solemn wood    ,no sound of 
life or motion      ,to break the       
solitude1      ,save the wailing of the 
moose-bird      ,with a plaintive note  
and low1    ,and the skating of the red 
leaf      ,upon the frozen snow4        
,and said ,i1--,though dark is falling1 

,and far the camp must be1    ,yet my   
heart it would be lightsome1      ,if ,i
 had but company4      ,and then ,i sang
 and shouted1      ,keeping measure1 as 
,i sped1    ,to the harp-twang of the   
snow-shoe      ,as it sprang beneath my 
tread4      ,nor far into the valley    
,had ,i dipped upon my way1    ,when a  
dusky figure joined me1      ,in a      
capuchon of gray1      ,bending upon the
 snow-shoes      ,with a long and limber
 stride2    ,and ,i hailed the dusky    
stranger1      ,as we travelled side by 
side4      ,but no token of communion   
,gave he by word or look1    ,and the   
fear-chill fell upon me      ,at the    
crossing of the brook4      ,for ,i saw 
by the sickly moonlight1      ,as ,i    
followed1 bending low1    ,that the     
walking of the stranger      ,left no   
foot-marks on the snow4      ,then the  
fear-chill gathered o'er me1      ,like 
a shroud around me cast1    ,as ,i sank 
upon the snow-drift      ,where the     
shadow hunter passed4      ,and the     

otter-trappers found me1      ,before   
the break of day1    ,with my dark hair 
blanched and whitened      ,as the snow 
in which ,i lay4      ,but they spoke   
not1 as they raised me2      ,for they  
knew that in the night    ,i had seen   
the shadow hunter1      ,and had        
withered in his blight4      ,sancta    
,maria speed us6      ,the sun is       
falling low1--    ,before us lies the   
,valley      ,of the ,walker of the     
,snow6          ,,reviews ,,and         
,,literary ,,notices4      ,a ,new      
,history of the ,conquest of ,mexico4   
,in which ,las ,casas'  ,denunciations  
of the ,popular ,historians of that ,war
 are fully  vindicated4 ,by ,,robert    
,,anderson ,,wilson1 ,counsellor at     
,law2 ,author of  ,mexico and its       
,religion1 etc41 ,philadelphia3 ,james  
,challen  ,son4  ,boston3 ,crosby1      
,nichols1  ,co4    7,,second ,,notice47 
,according to the well-authenticated    
legend of the martyrdom of ,saint       
,lawrence1 the ,saint1 as he lay upon   

the grid-iron1 conscious that he  had   
been sufficiently done on one side1     
begged the cooks1 if it were  a matter  
of indifference to them1 to turn him on 
the other4 ,common  humanity demanded   
compliance with so reasonable a request4
 ,we fancy that  we hear ,mr4 ,wilson1  
preferring a similar petition2 and we   
hope we are  too good-natured to be     
insensible to the appeal4 ,we cannot1 at
 this  moment1 indeed1 think of him     
otherwise than good-naturedly4 ,with    
many  things in his book we have been   
highly pleased4 ,the number1 the        
novelty1 and the variety of his blunders
 have given us a very favorable         
impression of his ingenuity1 and have   
afforded us constant entertainment  in  
what we feared was to be a drudgery and 
a task4 ,we had intended to  cull some  
of these beauties for the amusement of  
our readers and  the personal           
gratification of ,mr4 ,wilson himself4  
,but1 as children1  gathering shells on 
the sea-shore1 resign1 one after        

another1 the  treasures which they have 
collected1 and grasp at newer1 and1     
therefore1  more pleasing specimens1    
which are abandoned in their turn1 so   
we1  finding our stores accumulate      
beyond our means of transportation1 and 
tantalized by a richness that made the  
task of selection an impossible  one1   
have been forced to relinquish the prize
 and come away with empty  hands4 ,if   
there be1 in the compass of what the    
author calls these  volumes1--though to 
us1 perhaps from inability to           
distinguish between  unity and duality1 
his work appears to be comprised in a   
single tome1--a  sentence decently      
constructed1 a foreign name correctly   
spelt1 a  punctuation-mark rightly      
placed1 a fact clearly and accurately   
stated1  or an argument that is not     
capable of an easy reduction to the     
absurd1  we have not been so unfortunate
 as to discover it4 ,mr4 ,wilson is a   
man  who1 to use ,carlyle's favorite    
expression1 has swallowed all formulas4 

,the principles that have generally been
 held to govern the use of  language    
appear to him mere arbitrary rules1     
invented by the sevenfold  censorship   
and the ,spanish ,inquisition1 for the  
purpose of preventing  the free         
communication of ideas4 ,all such       
trammels he rejects2 and1  accordingly1 
we have to thank him1 so far as mere    
style is concerned1  for an             
uninterrupted flow of pleasure in the   
perusal of his book1  adorned as it is  
with graces that are very far indeed    
beyond the  reach of ,art4    ,we come  
now to those important questions which  
,mr4 ,wilson was not1  indeed1 the first
 to agitate1 but which he has awakened  
from their  profound slumbers in the    
bosom of the ,hon4 ,lewis ,cass and the 
pages  of the ,north ,american ,review4 
,we are not to be tempted into writing  
another ,new ,history of the ,conquest  
of ,mexico2 but we shall endeavor  to   
state with clearness those points on    
which the world has had the  temerity to

 differ from the high authorities we    
have named4 ,it has  been1 then1        
commonly asserted1 and is1 we fear1 by  
the great mass of  our readers still    
superstitiously believed1 that1 at the  
time of the  discovery of this          
continent1 there existed1 in certain    
portions of it1  nations not wholly     
barbarous1 and yet not civilized1       
according to our  notions of that       
term1--nations which had regular        
governments and  systems of polity1 many
 correct notions in regard to morals1   
and some  acquaintance with ,art and    
with the refinements of life1--but which
 were  yet1 in a great measure1 ignorant
 of the true principles of science1     
little skilled in mechanics1 and        
addicted to the practice of idolatrous  
rites4 ,this assertion would seem to    
have some prim-facie evidence in  its   
favor4 ,the regions in which these      
nations are said to have existed  lie   
within the tropics2 and it is a         
well-established principle1 that a      

genial climate1 a fertile soil1 the     
consequent facilities for obtaining  a  
subsistence1 and the stimulus thus given
 to the increase of  population1 are the
 first elements of an advance from a    
savage to a  civilized state1 of the    
abandonment of rude freedom and nomadic 
habits1  and of the development of a    
regular social system4 ,this principle  
is  clearly set forth and elaborately   
illustrated by ,mr4 ,buckle2 and we the 
more readily refer to this author1      
because he stands high in the esteem  of
 ,mr4 ,wilson1 who1 in order to prove   
his own especial fitness for  historical
 composition1 and the incompetence of   
all who have preceded  him in the       
attempt1 refers to a passage in ,buckle1
 containing an  enumeration of the      
qualifications which he considers       
indispensable for  the historian4 ,this 
enumeration includes all the attainments
 that have  ever been in the common     
possession of the human family4 ,mr4    
,buckle  remarks1 with indisputable     

truth1 that one historian has lacked    
some of  these qualifications1 another  
historian has lacked others of them4    
,mr4  ,wilson states that each and every
 writer who has preceded him has  lacked
 them all4 ,mr4 ,buckle1 by implication1
 excepts one person1 as  uniting in     
himself all the qualifications he       
demands4 ,mr4 ,wilson thinks  he is the 
exception2 but we are quite sure that   
the exception intended  by the author   
was--,henry ,thomas ,buckle4    ,in the 
,old ,world1 civilization1 as all admit1
 had its origin in tropical  regions4   
,across the whole extent of the ,eastern
 ,continent1 races are  found inhabiting
 the warmer latitudes1 which are now1 or
 formerly were1  in what is popularly   
called a semi-civilized condition4 ,no  
one1 we  believe1 has ever been foolish 
enough to account for this fact by      
supposing that a single people or tribe1
 having attained some degree of         
culture1 had diffused the germs of      
knowledge over so large a portion  of   

the globe4 ,chinese civilization differs
 almost as much from that  of ,hindostan
 as from that of ,england or of ,france4
 ,the ,assyrian  civilization was       
indigenous on the borders of the        
,euphrates1 and the  ,egyptian on the   
borders of the ,nile4 ,what is          
remarkable in these and  in all the     
other cases that might be cited is1 that
 in those regions  civilization never   
reached the high point which it has     
attained in other  parts of the world1  
less favored at the outset2 that it     
exhibited a  grotesque union of refined 
ideas and strangely artificial          
institutions1  with customs1 manners1   
and creeds that seem to the ,european   
mind  abhorrent and ridiculous2 and     
that1 the internal impulse with which it
  started having been exhausted1 it     
either remained stationary1 without     
further development1 or sank into decay1
 or fell before the hostile  attacks of 
races that had never yielded to its     
influence4 ,now the  civilization which 

is described as having once existed in  
,america  exhibits these general        
characteristics1 while it has1 like each
 of the  others1 its own peculiar       
traits4 ,if the discoverers had made a  
different  report1 we might have been   
led to suppose that some such state of  
things  as we have described had        
previously existed1 but had perished    
before  their arrival4    ,mr4 ,wilson1 
however1 does not reason in this manner4
 ,he has found1 from  his own           
observation1--the only source of        
knowledge1 if such it can  be called1 on
 which he is willing to place much      
reliance1--that the  ,ojibways and      
,iroquois are savages1 and he rightly   
argues that their  ancestors must have  
been savages4 ,from these premises1     
without any  process of reasoning1 he   
leaps at once to the conclusion1 that in
 no  part of ,america could the         
aboriginal inhabitants ever have lived  
in any  other than a savage state4      
,hence he tells us1 that1 in all        

statements  regarding them1 everything  
must be rejected that is inconsistent   
with well-established ,indian traits4   
,the ancient ,mexican empire was1       
according to his showing1 nothing more  
than one of those confederacies  of     
tribes with which the reader of early   
,new ,england history is  perfectly     
familiar4 ,the far-famed city of ,mexico
 was an ,indian village  of the first   
class1--such1 we may hope1 as that which
 the author saw  on his visit to the    
,massasaugus1 where1 to his immense     
astonishment1 he  found the people      
clothed1 and in their right minds4 ,the 
,aztecs1 he  argues1 could not have     
built temples1 for the ,iroquois do not 
build  temples4 ,the ,aztecs could not  
have been idolaters or offered up human 
sacrifices1 for the ,iroquois are not   
idolaters and do not offer up human     
sacrifices4 ,the ,aztecs could not have 
been addicted to cannibalism1 for  the  
,iroquois never eat human flesh1 unless 
driven to it by hunger4 ,this  is what  

,mr4 ,wilson means by the ,american     
standpoint2 and those who  adopt his    
views may consider the whole question   
settled without any  debate4    ,but    
there are some slight difficulties to be
 overcome1 before we can  embrace these 
views4 ,putting human testimony aside1  
there are witnesses  of the past that   
still give their evidence to the fact1  
that parts of  this continent were once 
inhabited by races who had other        
pursuits  besides hunting and fishing1  
and whose ideas and manners differed    
widely from those of the red men of the 
,north4 ,ruined cities1 defaced         
temples1 broken statues1--relics such as
 on the ,eastern ,continent1 from  the  
,straits of ,gibraltar to the shores of 
the ,ganges1 mark the sites of  fallen  
empires and extinct                     
civilizations1--relics such as we should
 have  expected1 from a priori          
reasoning1 to meet with in the          
corresponding  latitudes of the ,new    
,world1--lie scattered through their    

whole extent1  proclaiming themselves   
the works of men who lived in settled   
communities  and under regular forms of 
government1 who had some knowledge of   
architecture and some rude notions of   
the beautiful and the sublime1 who  had 
strong feelings and vivid conceptions in
 regard to the agency of  supernal      
powers in the control of human affairs1 
but who clothed their  conceptions in   
uncouth forms1 and worshipped their     
deities with absurd  and debasing rites4
 ,some of these remains being known to  
,mr4 ,wilson1  on the evidence of the   
only pair of eyes in the universe which1
 in his  estimation1 have the faculty of
 seeing1 he cannot treat them1 according
  to his usual method in such cases1 as 
fabrications of ,spanish priests  and   
lying chroniclers4 ,how1 then1 does he  
account for them8 ,he unfolds  a theory 
on the subject1 which he has stolen from
 the monkish  chroniclers whom he treats
 with so much contempt1 and which has   
long  ago been exploded and set aside4  

,he tells us1 that these relics have no 
connection with the history of the      
,american ,aborigines1--that they have  
a different origin and a far greater    
antiquity1--that they are proofs1  not  
to be gainsaid1 of the discovery of this
 continent1 at a very early  date1 by   
,phoenician adventurers1 and of the     
establishment1 in the  regions where    
they are found1 of ,phoenician colonies4
 ,these ruins1 he  tells us1 were       
,phoenician temples1 these statues are  
the representations  of ,phoenician     
gods4 ,in the comparison of facts by    
which he endeavors to  support this     
theory1 we have been surprised to find  
him admitting  the testimony of other   
explorers4 ,but they are1 it seems1     
reluctant  witnesses4 ,their inferences 
from the facts which they have          
themselves  collected are directly      
opposite to his4 ,proving our case1 he  
says1 by  such testimony1 we have       
admitted their statement of fact1 only  
rejecting  their conclusions4 ,their    

proper business1 it would appear1 was to
  amass the materials which our author  
alone was competent to use4 ,he         
encountered1 indeed1 a solitary         
difficulty2 but this1 in the most       
astonishing manner1 has been removed4   
,thus far1 he writes1 had we  carried   
the argument1 but had here been         
compelled to stop1 for want of  further 
evidence2 and the very stereotype plate 
that at first occupied  this page1      
expressed our regrets that we were not  
able more completely  to identify the   
,palenque statue as ,hercules4 ,at our  
publishers'1  however1 the eyes of that 
distinguished ,orientalist1 the ,rev4   
,mr4  ,osborn1 chanced to fall upon a   
proof of the ,american goddess in the   
fourth note to this chapter1 which he at
 once recognized as ,astarte1           
represented according to an antique     
pattern4 ,her head-dress1 he  insisted1 
was in the ancient form of the mural    
crown1 without the  crescent1 the       
prototype of that worn by ,diana of the 

,ephesians1 and so  too1 he insisted1   
was her necklace of 'two rows4' ,thus   
the chain of  evidence was complete1    
and1 for once1 ,mr4 ,wilson derived     
assistance from  eyes not placed in his 
own head4    ,but1 whatever             
distinguished ,orientalists may say1    
undistinguished  ,occidentalists may be 
pardoned for inquiring when it was that 
this  stream of ,phoenician emigration  
flowed to the ,american shores1 in what 
manner such an enormous body of         
colonists as the hypothesis necessarily 
supposes were conveyed hither1 and what 
has become of their descendants4  ,with 
an uncommon indulgence to our weakness  
of faith1 ,mr4 ,wilson  condescends to  
meet these obvious questions4 ,the time 
he cannot exactly  fix2 but it was      
thousands of years ago1--before the time
 of ,moses4  ,to the query in regard to 
the means of conveyance1 he answers1    
that at  that remote period sailing     
ships were in common use1--as is proved 
by  representations of them found in    

,egyptian tombs1--although they were    
afterwards superseded by galleys        
propelled by oars alone4 ,the reason    
assigned by ,mr4 ,wilson for this change
 makes a valuable addition to the       
stores of ,biblical commentary4 ,the    
,greeks1 he says1 appear to have  been  
selected from their imitative powers1 to
 perpetuate such of the  arts and       
civilization of the elder world1 as were
 to be preserved from  that decree of   
extermination1 pronounced by the        
,almighty against its  nations4         
,commerce had been the chief cause of   
the total demoralization  of antiquity1 
and of this1 they were permitted to     
preserve only a boat  navigation4       
,coeval with the decline of commerce and
 the extermination  of sailing ships was
 the cessation of this ,phoenician      
emigration to  ,america4 ,the colonists1
 having no longer any communication with
 the  mother country1 soon dwindled away
 and perished1 in accordance with a     
well-known law of ,nature4 ,extinction  

is the doom of every immigrant          
population in an uncongenial climate    
7habitat7 when migration ceases to  keep
 up and renew the original stock4 ,the  
same fate is impending over  us4 ,in our
 own country various causes have been   
assigned for the  recognized delicacy1  
which is steadily advancing in what may 
be called  the pure ,american4 ,the     
growing smallness of the hands and feet1
 the  shortening of the jawbones1 the   
diminution in the number of the teeth   
and their rapid decay1 are matters of   
daily comment4 ,in like manner1  the    
,caucasian race is melting away in the  
colonies of ,great ,britain1  in ,south 
,africa1 ,australia1 and the ,west      
,indies4 ,in these uniform  consequences
 the most obtuse cannot fail to         
recognise the operation of  a universal 
law1 whose primary effects are to       
diminish migration1 and  whose ultimate 
results are the extinction of the exotic
 population4 ,we  suppose none of our   
readers are obtuse enough not to be     

aware of the  gradual shortening of     
their jawbones1 a phenomenon especially 
noticeable  in members of ,congress and 
popular lecturers4 ,as for the          
diminution in  the number of our teeth1 
and their rapid decay1 we need1 alas6 no
 ,wilson  to remind us of these         
melancholy facts4    ,what we may call  
the physical evidence in favor of the   
,aztec  civilization having been thus   
disposed of by ,mr4 ,wilson1 we come now
 to  his treatment of the written and   
traditional testimony1 the accounts     
that have been handed down to us of the 
,spanish conquest of ,mexico1 and  of   
the condition of the country at the time
 when that conquest was made4  ,mr4     
,wilson opens his ,chapter ,preliminary 
with the statement1 that1 in  this work1
 the standard ,spanish authorities have 
been followed as long  as they followed 
the truth4 ,this declaration excited1 we
 confess1  painful misgivings in our    
mind2 for1 if ,mr4 ,wilson was already  
in  possession of the truth1            

independently of historical             
research1--whether  by communications   
from the spirits of the ,conquistadores1
 or by any  other of the easy and       
popular methods of solving obscure      
problems1--what  need was there of his  
consulting the standard authorities at  
all8 ,but we  were somewhat cheered1    
when1 a little farther on1 we found him 
stating1  that the writer who enters    
into these discussions must con musty   
folios  innumerable2 that it will not do
 to denounce in general terms the       
venerable precedents 8 so constantly    
quoted by our annalists1 but  that their
 defects and their errors must be shown 
in detail4 ,for  it does appear to us1  
that1 if a great historical question is 
to be  opened1--if a series of          
extraordinary events1 hitherto believed 
by the  world to have really happened1  
are to be denounced as fabulous1--if    
numerous writers1 whose statements and  
relations have been regarded  in the    
main as worthy of credit1 are now to be 

rejected as liars  and impostors1--it is
 indispensable that the works containing
 these  relations should be carefully   
examined1 that the statements should be 
compared and subjected to the severest  
scrutiny1 and that the refutation       
should proceed1 step by step1 inch by   
inch1 over the whole field of  debate4  
,has ,mr4 ,wilson taken this course8    
,has he met with clear and  resolute    
argument the accounts which he denounces
 as fabrications8 ,has  he diligently   
and carefully examined the standard     
,spanish authorities8  ,has he conned   
musty folios innumerable8 ,has he read  
all the works in  question8 ,has he ever
 seen them8    ,we may divide these     
works into three classes1--not with     
reference to  their different degrees of
 merit and importance1 but as regards   
their  accessibility and the relative   
ease with which they may be consulted4  
,the first class comprises two or three 
works which have been translated  into  
,english2 and these translations may be 

procured with facility and  read by any 
one who has some acquaintance with the  
,english language1  though not          
acquainted with any other4 ,in the      
second class we may place a             
considerable number of works which have 
been published indeed1 but only  in the 
original ,spanish1 or1 in a few         
instances1 in ,french or ,italian       
translations4 ,some of them are rare1   
and difficult to meet with2 others  may 
be found in several of our best         
libraries4 ,the third class embraces    
relations and documents which have never
 been translated1 which have  never been
 published1 of which the originals      
repose in the ,spanish  archives at     
,simancas or the ,escorial1 or in       
private collections1  jealously guarded1
 in ,mexico or ,madrid1 and of which the
 only copies  known to exist in this    
country are in the collection formed1   
with so  much trouble and at so great   
cost1 by ,mr4 ,prescott4 ,now the       
writings  which come under our first    

category ,mr4 ,wilson has both seen and 
read1--to what purpose and with what    
profit we shall hereafter show4 ,the    
publications comprised in the second    
class we feel very confident he  has    
never read4 ,the manuscripts1 which come
 under the last head1 we are  morally   
certain he has never seen4 ,that he has 
not seen them is capable  of the        
strongest proof1 short of absolute      
demonstration4 ,that he had  no         
acquaintance with ,mr4 ,prescott's      
collection is a matter within our       
personal knowledge4 ,had he been in a   
position to obtain copies for  himself1 
and had he availed himself of that      
circumstance1 he would not  have failed 
to proclaim the fact in his loudest and 
shrillest tones4 ,nor  does he pretend  
that he has ever visited ,spain1 and had
 access to the  originals4 ,indeed1 we  
do not think he would have ventured upon
 such  a step4 ,he tells us1 that1      
besides the reasons already given for   
distrusting the correctness of ,spanish 

statements1 there is another1  more     
secret in character1 but not less potent
 than all combined--fear of  incurring  
the displeasure of that tribunal which  
punished unbelief  with fire1 torture1  
and confiscation4 ,if ,mr4 ,wilson1 as  
his language  implies1 stands in fear of
 fire1 torture1 and confiscation1 and if
  this is his most potent reason for    
distrusting the correctness of  ,spanish
 statements1 we can readily understand  
why he should have chosen  to remain on 
his native soil and write the history of
 the ,conquest of  ,mexico from the     
,american stand-point4 ,lastly1 ,mr4    
,wilson makes no  allusions to matter   
contained in the manuscripts which had  
not been  reproduced in the pages of    
,prescott4 ,he is careful1 indeed1 to   
tell us  very little of the contents of 
these works2 but he talks about them    
with the most gratifying candor1 and in 
his choicest phraseology4 ,he  informs  
us1 that ,sarmiento's ,history of the   
,peruvian ,incas altogether  surpasses  

that of ,dr4 ,johnson's ,rasselas and   
the ,happy ,valley4 ,the  history of    
,dr4 ,johnson's ,rasselas is related1 we
 believe1 by ,boswell4  ,the great      
moralist composed his beautiful and     
philosophical1 but  somewhat gloomy     
romance1 in the evenings of a single    
week1 in order to  obtain the means of  
defraying the expenses of his mother's  
funeral4 ,the  story is a touching one2 
but ,mr4 ,wilson's comparison is so     
inapt1 that  we cannot help suspecting  
him of having had in his mind1 not the  
history  of ,johnson's ,rasselas1 but   
,johnson's history of ,rasselas4 ,we    
think it  rather hard1 that1 having1 in 
general1 such a limited amount of       
meaning  to express1 ,mr4 ,wilson should
 have followed the maxim of ,talleyrand1
 and  employed language chiefly as a    
means of concealing his thoughts4       
,mr4 ,wilson nowhere asserts1 in so many
 words1 that he has had access to       
manuscript authorities4 ,his mode of    
speaking of them1 however1 implies  as  

much1 and he evidently intends that this
 inference should be drawn by  his      
readers4 ,in a printed note1 addressed  
to his publishers1 disclaiming  any     
intention of assailing the memory of the
 dead1--a disclaimer  which was not     
needed to suggest the reason why his    
book1 loaded with  typographical        
blunders1 was hurried through the       
press1,a--he insists  on the lawyer's   
privilege of sifting the evidence--a    
labor which ,mr4  ,prescott was         
incapable of performing1 from a physical
 infirmity2 and he  undertakes to prove 
that ,mr4 ,prescott's books and         
manuscripts were not  reliable          
authorities4 ,now even the lawyer's     
privilege does not extend  to sifting   
evidence which he has never heard2 and  
if ,mr4 ,prescott was  incapable1 from a
 physical infirmity1 of properly        
scrutinizing his  authorities1 it was   
the more necessary that ,mr4 ,wilson1   
with his own  wonderful eyes1 should    
undertake the task4 ,there is one       

manuscript which  he might be supposed  
to have had a strong desire to examine4 
,his book  professes to be a vindication
 of ,las ,casas' denunciations of the   
popular historians of the ,conquest4    
,the work of ,las ,casas1 supposed to   
contain these denunciations1 is his     
,history of the ,indies4 ,mr4 ,wilson   
acknowledges that he has never seen this
 work2 it has1 he says1 been  wholly    
suppressed2 and he is terribly severe on
 the censorship and the  ,inquisition   
for having been guilty of this          
suppression4 ,but the only  suppression 
in the case is1 that the book has never 
been printed4 ,the  original manuscript 
may be consulted at ,madrid4 ,a copy of 
the most  important parts of it is in   
,mr4 ,prescott's collection4 ,mr4       
,wilson might  have seen that copy1 had 
he expressed the wish4 ,he did not1     
however1  give himself this trouble2 and
 we think he was right4 ,the truth is1  
that1 of all the ,spanish historians of 
the ,conquest of ,mexico1 ,las ,casas   

is the one who has indulged most largely
 in hyperbole4 ,writing1 with  little   
personal knowledge1 in support of a     
theory which required him  to magnify   
the ruin accomplished by the            
,conquistadores1 he has  exaggerated the
 population of the ,mexican empire1 the 
number and size of  its towns1 and the  
evidences of its civilization4 ,it was  
on this very  account that ,navarrete1  
who examined the work with a view to its
  publication1 came to the decision not 
to print it4 ,we have little doubt  as  
to the propriety of that decision2 and  
,mr4 ,wilson1 we think1 also did  well  
in sticking to ,cass and suppressing    
,las ,casas4,b    ,footnote ,a3 ,author1
 compositor1 and proof-reader were      
evidently engaged  in a stampede1--the  
7,printer's7 ,devil having strict orders
 to make  seizure of the hindmost4 ,part
 of a ,spanish poem1 borrowed1 without  
acknowledgment1 from ,prescott1 seems to
 have gone to pie on the                
imposing-stone1 and been suffered to    

remain in that state4    ,footnote ,b3  
,mr4 ,wilson would have been less       
unfortunate1 if he  could have          
suppressed the work of ,mr4 ,gallatin to
 which he has the  effrontery to refer  
as an authority for his ridiculous      
assertion1 that  the so-called          
picture-writing of the ,aztecs was a    
,spanish invention4  ,as ,mr4           
,gallatin's essay is within the reach of
 any of our readers who  may be inclined
 to consult it1 we shall content        
ourselves with a single  remark on the  
subject4 ,that learned writer1 who had  
made a real and  thorough study of the  
,mexican civilization1 7having obtained 
from ,mr4  ,prescott the books necessary
 for the purpose17 was so far from      
denying  that hieroglyphical painting   
was practised by the ,aztecs1 or that   
authentic copies1 and even actual       
specimens of it1 have been preserved1   
that he himself constructed a ,mexican  
chronology which has no other           
foundation than these same              

picture-writings4 ,there is one remark  
in ,mr4  ,gallatin's work on which ,mr4 
,wilson would have done wisely to       
ponder4 ,it  is this3--,the conquest of 
,mexico is an important event in the    
history  of man4 ,mr4 ,prescott has     
exhausted the subject4    ,our reason   
for believing that ,mr4 ,wilson has     
never read the works1  relating to his  
subject1 which have been published only 
in the original  ,spanish or in         
translations into other foreign         
languages1 is a very  simple one4 ,he   
produces no evidence that he has ever   
read them4 ,some of  them he does not   
even mention4 ,from none of them does he
 glean a single  fact that was not ready
 to his hand in the pages of ,prescott4 
,except in  two or three instances1     
where he filches a reference from the   
citations  made by the latter historian1
 he brings forward no statement         
contained  in any of these books1 either
 to support his own positions or to     
refute  theirs4 ,why did he take from   

,prescott--to whom on this occasion he  
confesses his indebtedness--the facts in
 relation to the early life of  ,corts1 
7we would he had borrowed the language  
as well as the matter67  if he had      
himself the means of consulting the     
works from which  ,prescott's account   
was derived8 ,but it is unnecessary to  
pursue the  argument2 ,mr4 ,wilson      
acknowledges that he knows nothing of   
the works in  question4 ,for our        
purpose1 he writes1 the standard        
histories of the  conquest might as well
 be blank paper4 ,we believe him2 but   
had  his purpose been1 not to denounce  
in general terms the venerable          
precedents so constantly quoted by our  
annalists1 but to show their  defects   
and their errors in detail1 he would    
hardly have used them1 as  he has done1 
as mere wadding for the great gun which 
he was loading1  and which has exploded 
with such terrible effect4 ,his         
objection to  the standard histories is1
 that their authors were ,spaniards1    

ecclesiastics1 royal                    
historiographers1--that they wrote under
 the eye of  the ,inquisition and the   
censorship4 ,like objections would apply
 to the  whole field of ,spanish        
history4 ,the reigns of ,ferdinand and  
,isabella1  ,charles the ,fifth1 and    
,philip the ,second must1 therefore1 be 
as fabulous  as the conquests of ,mexico
 and ,peru4 ,accordingly1 ,mr4 ,wilson1 
when he  wishes to study the history of 
,spain1 declines to have recourse to    
,spanish writers4 ,he goes to writers of
 other countries1 and has a very        
natural preference for such as speak the
 ,english tongue4 ,besides that         
valuable work known among mortals as the
 ,encyclopaedia ,britannica1  but       
usually cited by ,mr4 ,wilson1 in an    
off-hand and familiar way1 as           
,britannica1 he draws much upon a       
treasure of his own discovery1 a        
ponderous folio of the seventeenth      
century1 written in ,english by one     
,grimshaw1 and containing a full and    

veritable history of ,spain from  the   
earliest epochs4 ,he makes much of      
,grimshaw1 styling him our  chronicler4 
,he pats the volume fondly1 and calls it
 my old  folio1--just as ,mr4 ,collier  
pats and fondles his celebrated old     
folio4 ,to judge from some specimens    
which ,mr4 ,wilson gives us1 the        
venerable ,grimshaw cannot have the     
merit of being very easy of             
comprehension4 ,here is an extract1 just
 as we find it3--,about the year  #gef1 
at which time there were great troops of
 ,turks beginne to disperse  themselves 
over all ,armenia1 the which did        
overrunne and spoil the  ,sarrazin's    
country4 ,and here is another3--,over   
common1 then1 in ,spain1  and elsewhere1
 which nevertheless chastise the world  
in such sort1 but  that this sinne is at
 this day more in use than ever it was1 
to the  dishonor of our ,god1 contempt  
of his laws1 and confusion of all good  
order4 ,apparently1 ,mr4 ,wilson1       
besides writing in a singular style     

himself1 is the cause of singularities  
in the writings of other men4  ,what is 
more worthy of note is the credulity    
with which he swallows the  fabulous    
inventions of the monkish chroniclers   
when set before him  in ,english        
earthenware4 ,we would undertake1 for a 
very trifling  consideration1 to furnish
 him with the ,spanish originals of the 
stories  of ,hispan and ,hercules1 and  
all the other absurdities with which his
  old folio has supplied him4 ,from what
 source does he imagine them to  have   
been derived8 ,does he think they belong
 to the stock of traditions  in         
possession of the ,anglo-,saxon         
race1--that ,grimshaw got them from     
,bagshaw1 and ,bagshaw from ,bradshaw8  
,our argument in regard to ,mr4         
,wilson's ignorance of most of the      
standard authorities will be            
strengthened by a review of the works   
which he actually has used1--or1 to     
speak more correctly1 misused1--and  an 
examination of his reasons for selecting

 them4 ,they are two in  number4 ,he can
 hardly be said to overrate the         
importance of one of  these works1--the 
celebrated ,letters of ,cortes4 ,for the
 events of  the ,conquest1 and the first
 impressions made upon the minds of the 
discoverers by the aspect of the        
country1 we could have no evidence of   
equal value with the dispatches written 
by the great adventurer from the  field 
of his enterprises and during the course
 of the operations4 ,mr4  ,wilson does  
not1 however1 consult the original      
letters4 ,his strong  prejudice against 
everything ,spanish would not allow him 
to do so4 ,he  has studied them through 
the medium of a translation2 and the    
reason he  assigns for his preference of
 this version is1 that it is better than
  the original4 ,we have no doubt that  
it is better for ,mr4 ,wilson's         
purpose2 indeed1 we fear1 that1 had it  
not been for the labors of the          
translator1 ,mr4 ,george ,folsom1 the   
letters of ,cortes would1 like most  of 

the standard histories1 have been       
regarded by ,mr4 ,wilson as no  better  
than so much blank paper4 ,lockhart1 by 
translating the chronicle  of ,bernal   
,diaz1 has saved it from similar        
condemnation1--but only that  it might  
incur a still more terrible fate4 ,mr4  
,wilson's theory in  regard to the      
origin and character of this work is no 
less subtile than  startling4 ,according
 to the common belief1 ,bernal ,diaz was
 a soldier in  the army of ,corts1      
accompanied him throughout his          
campaigns1 and1 at a  late period of his
 life1 composed a narrative of the      
memorable events  in which he had       
participated as an actor or an          
eye-witness4 ,writers who  knew him in  
his old age have left us descriptions of
 his appearance  and character4 ,mr4    
,wilson1 however1 holds that he never   
existed4 ,the  chronicle which bears the
 name is1 according to him1 a work of   
fiction1  written by some ,spanish ,de  
,foe1 who had read the common narratives

 of  the conquest of ,mexico1 but who   
had no personal knowledge of the scene  
in which his story is laid4 ,what first 
excited ,mr4 ,wilson's suspicions  was  
the charming simplicity and apparent    
truthfulness which1 in common  with all 
readers of ,bernal ,diaz1 he has found  
to be the distinguishing                
characteristics of the narrative4 ,a    
striking feature1 he tells us1  in      
,spanish literature1 is the plausibility
 with which it has carried  a fictitious
 narrative through its most minute      
details1 completely  captivating the    
uninitiated4 ,if its supporters were not
 permitted to  write truth1 they        
succeeded in getting up a most excellent
 imitation4 ,in  ,bernal ,diaz the      
alleged individual affairs of private   
soldiers are so  artfully interwoven    
with the general history as to give the 
effect of  truth to the whole4 ,there   
being no fear of contradiction1 this    
practice  of inventing familiar details 
could be indulged in to any extent1     

while  the beauty and simplicity of such
 a style fixes at once the doubting4    
,ah6 si ,molire avait connu l'autre6--  
,oh that ,fielding had known ,mr4       
,wilson6 ,partridge1 a mere             
unsophisticated  booby1 thought         
simplicity the characteristic of        
,nature1 and therefore  out of place in 
,art4 ,mr4 ,wilson1 a transcendental    
,partridge1 thinks  simplicity the      
characteristic of ,art1 and therefore   
out of place in  ,nature4 ,he is more   
than ordinarily severe on ,mr4 ,prescott
 for not having  detected in ,bernal    
,diaz these striking marks of the       
counterfeit  instead of the common      
soldier4 ,we differ1 he says1 decidedly 
from  ,mr4 ,prescott4 ,the difference   
seems to be1 that ,prescott regarded the
  appearance of truthfulness in the     
narrative of ,bernal ,diaz as prim      
facie evidence of its truthfulness1     
while ,mr4 ,wilson regards the same     
appearance as the most complete evidence
 of its untruthfulness4    ,but we have 

been anxious to discover some more      
definite and substantial  grounds for   
,mr4 ,wilson's hypothesis4 ,in a couple 
of closely-printed  pages1 devoted to   
the subject1 he asks himself1 again and 
again1 the  questions1--,who1 then1 was 
,bernal ,diaz8--,who1 then1 wrote the   
history of ,bernal ,diaz8 ,failing to   
extract any reply from the singular     
individual to whom these queries are    
addressed1 he winds up with the  solemn 
and emphatic declaration1 ,on the       
evidence hereafter to be  presented1 we 
have with much deliberation concluded to
 denounce ,bernal  ,diaz as a myth4 ,for
 the evidence here promised we have     
searched  with a patience of            
investigation which1 if applied to the  
problem of  perpetual motion or squaring
 the circle1 could not1 we humbly think1
  have been wholly unproductive2 and    
these are the results4 ,the author of   
',bernal ,diaz' says the march to       
,jalapa was accomplished in one day2--a 
proof that he never saw the country4444 

,cortez makes the ascent the work  of   
three days1 and says he did not reach   
,sienchimalen until the fourth  day4    
,the main discrepancy here is ,mr4      
,wilson's own handiwork1 as he  has     
confounded the ,sienchimalen of ,corts  
with ,jalapa1 instead of  identifying it
 with the ,socochima of ,bernal ,diaz4  
,but so far as there  is any real       
discrepancy1 it may be sufficient to    
remark1 in explanation  of it1 that     
,bernal ,diaz professes to have written 
many years after the  events which he   
narrates1 and at a distance from the    
scene1 while the  letters of ,corts were
 written in the country1 and while the  
events were  taking place4 ,on another  
occasion1 ,bernal ,diaz represents the  
,tlascalans  as complaining that they   
could get no cotton for their clothing4 
,if  this writer1 says ,mr4 ,wilson1 had
 really been acquainted with the  tribes
 of the table-land1 he must have known  
that the fibres of the  maguey were1    
among them1 substitutes for that        

article1 and are even  now used at the  
city of ,mexico in the manufacture of   
some fine fabrics4  ,we do not see how  
,bernal ,diaz could be expected to know 
that the fibres  of the maguey are now  
used in ,mexican manufactures2 neither  
can we  comprehend how his statement1   
that the ,tlascalans had no cotton1 is  
at  variance with ,mr4 ,wilson's        
assertion1 that they used the maguey as 
a  substitute4 ,we can imagine1 however1
 that an old soldier1 writing for  the  
uninitiated1 might prefer to speak of   
cotton1 for which he had a  ,spanish    
word1 rather than enter into            
explanations in regard to an ,indian    
substitute for cotton1 resembling it in 
appearance2 while it is not easy  to    
believe1 on ,mr4 ,wilson's bare         
assertion1 that an article in  common   
use throughout the ,valley of ,mexico   
was wholly unknown to the  inhabitants  
of the table-land4    ,these1 and1 so   
far as we can discover1 these alone1 are
 the proofs on  which ,mr4 ,wilson      

convicts ,bernal ,diaz of being a       
nonentity1--of having1  like ,rosalind  
in ,as you like it1 merely counterfeited
 to be a man4  ,as a natural sequitur to
 this delicious train of reasoning1 he  
proceeds to take this nonentity1 this   
myth1 as his guide throughout  the      
narrative of the ,conquest4 ,we may     
safely follow ,diaz1 he remarks1  in    
unimportant particulars2 and the        
particulars of the ,conquest  being1 in 
,mr4 ,wilson's narration of them1 all   
equally unimportant1 he  is so far      
consistent in following ,diaz           
throughout4 ,surely the ,grecian  fables
 will never grow old2 here again we have
 blind ,polyphemus groping  in pursuit  
of cunning ,greek3 ,outis4 ,but we must 
be allowed to ask ,mr4  ,wilson why he  
has not rather preferred to take ,gomara
 as his guide4  ,it is true that he     
entertains a strong loathing1 a rooted  
aversion1 for this harmless old         
chronicler1 whom he calls always        
,gomora1--associating him1 apparently1  

by some confusion of ideas1 with  the   
ancient city of bad fame1 buried with   
,sodom beneath the waters of  the ,dead 
,sea4 ,but1 at least1 he does not deny  
that ,gomara had an actual  existence1  
that he was a veritable somebody1--a    
reality1 and not a  myth1--that he was  
the chaplain of ,corts1 that he had     
access to the  papers of the great      
commander1 that he wrote a history of   
the ,conquest1  and that this history is
 still extant4 ,mr4 ,wilson himself     
asserts that  the dispatches of ,corts  
and the work of ,gomora are the only    
original  documents touching the        
,conquest of ,mexico1 its people1 its   
civilization1  its difficulties1 and its
 dangers4 ,after this declaration1 it is
  somewhat remarkable1 that1 throughout 
his narrative of the ,conquest1  while  
continually quoting from ,diaz1 he makes
 not a single reference to  ,gomara2 and
 he even censures ,mr4 ,prescott for    
having pursued a different  course4 ,how
 shall we explain this fact8 ,alas for  

,gomara6 he wrote in his  native        
,castilian1 no ,lockhart or ,folsom had 
done him into ,english1 and  so he      
missed his chance of having his         
statements cited1 and1 possibly         
even1--though we should not like to     
hazard an assertion on this  point1--of 
having his name correctly spelt1 by the 
author of the ,new  ,history of the     
,conquest of ,mexico4    ,it remains    
only that we should notice1 as briefly  
as possible1 the use  which ,mr4 ,wilson
 has made of his two authorities1 the   
translations of  ,bernal ,diaz and      
,corts1 which1 rejecting all assistance 
from other  quarters1 he takes for the  
basis of his narrative4 ,that narrative 
is  constructed on a plan which1 we     
venture to say1 is without a parallel   
in literature4 ,like whatever else is   
strikingly original1 it cannot be       
described2 we can only hope to convey a 
faint idea of it by some random         
illustrations4 ,to nearly every         
statement which he notices in the works 

before him ,mr4 ,wilson offers a flat   
contradiction4 ,when these statements   
relate to numbers1 his method of        
treating them is a systematic one4  ,he 
has picked out of ,bernal ,diaz1 who    
wrote in an avowed spirit of  hostility 
to ,gomara1 a pettish remark1 that the  
exaggerations of the  latter are so     
great1 that1 when he says eighty        
thousand1 we may read  one thousand4    
,this piece of rhetoric ,mr4 ,wilson    
receives literally1  and makes it a rule
 of measurement1 applying it with more  
or less  exactness1--not1 however1 to   
the statements of ,gomara1 with whose   
work  he is acquainted only at second   
hand1 but to those of ,corts and of     
,bernal ,diaz himself6 ,thus1 in every  
computation of the number of the        
enemy's forces1 or of the ,indian allies
 who joined the ,spaniards in  their    
contest with the ,aztecs1 ,mr4 ,wilson  
takes the liberty1 to use  his own      
phrase1 of dropping one or more ciphers 
from the amount4 ,this  mode of adapting

 the narrative to his own conceptions he
 calls reducing  it to reality4 ,when   
,corts--not ,gomara1 be it              
remembered--computes the  number of his 
allies at eighty thousand1 ,mr4 ,wilson 
says1 ,let us drop  the thousands1 and  
assume eighty as the actual number4 ,we 
must do so  often4 ,when ,corts writes  
thirty-five thousand1 ,mr4 ,wilson      
prefers  to say three hundred or so4    
,when ,diaz writes twelve thousand1 ,mr4
  ,wilson suggests that we should read  
five hundred4 ,corts says that he       
caused a canal to be dug twelve feet    
deep4 ,mr4 ,wilson1 speaking as  if he  
had been an eye-witness1 says the canal 
was only twelve inches  deep4 ,in       
another place he writes1 ,accordingly a 
force of thirteen  horse1 two hundred   
foot1 and three hundred--not thirty     
thousand--,indian  allies were sent to  
relieve that village2 merely leaving his
 readers to  the inference that the     
number placed between dashes is the one 
given by  ,corts4 ,in a single instance1

 he admits the estimate of ,bernal      
,diaz1 who  puts the loss sustained by  
the ,indians in a battle at eight       
hundred2  while ,las ,casas1 whose      
corrections of other writers ,mr4       
,wilson professes  to vindicate1 says   
the loss of the ,indians on this        
occasion amounted  to thirty thousand4  
,las ,casas also reckons the number of  
natives who  fell victims to ,spanish   
cruelty in ,america at forty millions4  
,this wild  estimate has been often     
quoted4 ,mr4 ,wilson1 instead of        
vindicating it1  as he was bound to do1 
triumphantly refutes it4 ,there never   
probably  existed1 he most justly       
remarks1 more than forty millions of    
savage  races at one time on our globe4 
,it is not merely the arithmetic of his 
authorities that ,mr4 ,wilson           
undertakes to rectify4 ,when they       
describe a pitched battle1 he asserts   
that it was a mere skirmish4 ,when they 
speak of a large town1 he tells  us it  
was a rude hamlet4 ,when they portray   

the magnificence of the city  of        
,mexico1 he says that they are painting 
wild figments--whatever  that may       
mean1--and that ,montezuma's capital was
 a mere collection of  huts4 ,corts     
tells us1 that1 in his retreat1 he lost 
a great portion  of his treasure4 ,mr4  
,wilson writes1 ,the ,conquistador was  
too good a  soldier to hazard his gold2 
it was therefore1 in the advance1 and   
came  safely off4 ,corts states1 that1  
in a certain battle1 he retired from    
the front in order to make a new        
disposition of his rear4 ,mr4 ,wilson   
replies1 that ,corts did not go to the  
rear1 because1 though his  presence was 
greatly needed there1 the press must    
have been too great to  allow of his    
reaching it4 ,the presents which ,corts1
 while at ,vera ,cruz1  received from   
,montezuma1 he transmitted to the       
,emperor ,charles the  ,fifth1 sending1 
at the same time1 an inventory of the   
articles1 among  which was a large wheel
 of gold1 with figures of strange       

animals on it1  and worked with tufts of
 leaves1--weighing three thousand eight 
hundred  ounces4 ,the original inventory
 is still in existence4 ,we have the    
evidence of persons who were then at the
 imperial court of the reception  of    
these presents1 of the sensation which  
they produced1 and of the  ideas which  
they suggested in regard to the wealth  
and civilization  of the ,new ,world2   
and we have minute descriptions of the  
different  articles1 including the wheel
 of gold1 from persons who saw them at  
,seville and at ,valladolid4 ,mr4       
,wilson1--without making the least      
allusion to this testimony1 which we    
cannot help regarding as of the         
strongest possible kind1 intimates that 
the presents were of very little        
value1--represents the workmanship1     
which excited the admiration of the     
best ,european artificers1 as a mere    
specimen of savage ingenuity1--and  as  
for the wheel of gold1 tells us that it 
never existed but in the  fertile fancy 

of ,cortez4    ,in general1 ,mr4 ,wilson
 contents himself with the barest1      
though  broadest1 denial of the         
statements of his authorities1 or with  
silently  substituting his own version  
of the facts in place of theirs4 ,but he
  sometimes condescends to argue the    
point4 ,his logic is ingenious1 but     
singularly monotonous4 ,his arguments   
are all drawn from one source1  namely1 
his own personal experience4 ,the       
,tlascalan wall1 described by  ,corts   
and ,diaz1 can never have been in       
existence1 for ,mr4 ,wilson has  been on
 the very spot and found no remains of a
 wall4 ,other travellers1  it may be    
remarked1 have been more fortunate4     
,corts states1 that1 in  a march across 
the mountains1 some of his ,indian      
allies perished of  thirst4 ,this ,mr4  
,wilson pronounces impossible1 because  
he himself  travelled over the same     
route1 and did not perish of thirst1 as 
neither did his horse1 though the       
sufferings of both1 from that or  some  

other cause1 were great4 ,one of the    
most remarkable acts in the  career of  
,corts was his voluntary destruction of 
the vessels which had  brought his      
little army to the ,mexican coast1 in   
order1 as he avers1  that his men might 
stand committed to follow the fortunes  
of their  leader1 whatever might be the 
dangers of the enterprise4 ,this event1 
says ,mr4 ,wilson1 has been the subject 
of eloquent eulogies for  centuries4    
,among these ,robertson is of course    
pre-eminent4 ,we are  here left in doubt
 whether ,robertson is to be regarded as
 a preminent  century or a pre-eminent  
eulogy4 ,however this may be1 our author
 denies  that the stranding of the      
vessels was the voluntary act of the    
,spanish  general4 ,he is confident that
 they were cast away in a storm4 ,his   
most  potent reason is1 that he himself 
has witnessed1 not only hereabout1  but 
elsewhere1 upon this tideless shore1    
wrecks by the grounding of  vessels at  
anchor4 ,this he calls submitting the   

narrative to the  ordeal of proof4      
,however1 as we have already intimated1 
it is seldom that his authorities  are  
submitted to this ordeal1 which we admit
 to be a trying one4  ,usually they are 
informed that their assertions rest on  
air1--that  they are foolish and        
baseless1--wild figments1 or intolerable
  nonsense4 ,corts states that some of  
his men1 who had been taken  prisoners  
by the ,mexicans1 were offered up as    
sacrifices to the ,aztec  deities4 ,mr4 
,wilson1 after telling that their hearts
 were cut out1 and  their bodies tumbled
 to the ground1 complains that to this  
most  probable act of an ,indian enemy1 
is foolishly added--it was done in      
sacrifice to their idols1 though the    
very existence of ,indian idols is      
still problematical6 ,corts1 who had    
seen too many ,indian idols to          
entertain any doubts of their existence1
 ought1 nevertheless1 not  to have      
mentioned them1 because to ,mr4 ,wilson 
the matter is still a  problem4         

,whenever that gentleman finds it       
inconvenient to reduce the  statements  
of the ,spanish historians to realities1
 he omits them  altogether4 ,thus1 he   
says not a word of those fearful        
spectacles which  struck horror to the  
hearts of the ,spaniards in their visit 
to the  teocallis1--the pyramidal mound 
garnished with human skulls1 the        
hideous idols and the blood-stained     
priests1 the chapels drenched with      
gore1 and other evidences of a          
diabolical worship4 ,not unfrequently he
  fills up what he considers as gaps in 
the ordinary narratives4 ,thus1  he     
pictures the dying ,cuitlahua as        
stoically wrapping himself in  his      
feathered mantle1 and rejoicing at his  
expected welcome to the  celestial      
hunting-grounds1 where he felt that he  
was worthy a name  among the immortal   
braves4 ,this wild figment from ,mr4    
,wilson's  fertile fancy was1 perhaps1  
suggested by ,theobald's famous         
emendation  in the description of       

,falstaff's death-scene1--a babbled o'  
green  fields4 ,on such occasions1 ,mr4 
,wilson explains that he is relating    
the occurrences as they are understood  
by one familiar with ,indian  affairs4  
,a remarkable example of this method of 
narration shall close  our citations    
from his work4    ,the reader is1       
doubtless1 acquainted with the          
tradition1 said to have  been preserved 
among the ,mexicans1 of a               
fair-complexioned deity1 with  flowing  
beard1 who had once ruled over them and 
taught them the arts  of peace1 and1    
being subsequently driven from the      
country1 promised to  return at some    
future time4 ,predictions of his        
reappearance lingered  amongst them1 and
 were supposed to be accomplished in the
 arrival of the  ,spaniards4 ,mr4       
,wilson tells us that too much stress   
has been laid on  this tradition2 but we
 know of no modern writer who has laid  
any stress  on it except himself4 ,it   
has been usually supposed to be one of  

those  myths in which nations partially 
civilized embalm the memory of their    
heroes4 ,mr4 ,wilson does not believe   
the ,mexicans to have been partially    
civilized4 ,he regards them merely as a 
horde of savages4 ,nevertheless1  he    
believes that among these savages       
tradition in the form here  noticed had 
handed down1 through untold generations1
 from a remote  antiquity1 the          
establishment in ,america of ,phoenician
 colonies1 their  history1 and their    
subsequent extinction4 ,nor is this the 
whole story4  ,in order to strengthen   
his argument1 he gives a new and        
corrected  version of this tradition4   
,it told1 he writes1 that pale faces had
  once before occupied the hot country1 
coming from beyond the great  water4    
,perhaps with this were coupled also    
tales of suffering and  wrongs2 perhaps 
how cruelly they1 the natives1 had been 
forced1 by  these hard task-masters1 to 
labor upon the truncated pyramids and   
their  crowning chapels4 ,with          

unrequited ,indian toil1 these men had  
builded  cities and public works which  
still preserved their memory1 though    
they  themselves had long since         
perished1 having fulfilled their        
allotted  centuries4 ,but with their    
decaying monuments they left a fearful  
prophecy1 and thus it ran3 that floating
 houses would again return to  the      
eastern coast1 wafted by like winds1 and
 filled with the same race1  to teach   
the same religion1 and to practise the  
same cruelties1 until  they again       
finished their cycle1 and gave place to 
others1 such as the  laws of climate and
 population might determine4 ,when the  
reader1 after  perusing this            
extraordinary relation1 recovers his    
breath1 he naturally  casts his eye     
towards the bottom of the page1 in the  
hope of finding  some explanation of it4
 ,he accordingly discovers a note1 in   
which ,mr4  ,wilson states that he has  
given a little different shading to the 
famous tradition1 but that such1        

translated into ,indian phraseology1    
would be the popular accounts4 ,now he  
had a perfect right to  interpret the   
tradition as he pleased4 ,he was at     
liberty to conjecture  that it related  
to the ,phoenicians1 as the ,spaniards  
were at liberty to  conjecture that it  
related to ,st4 ,thomas4 ,of the two    
interpretations1 we  prefer the latter4 
,mr4 ,wilson1 were he consistent1 would 
have done so  too2 for how could the    
,aztecs1 when they saw the ,spaniards   
desecrating  the ,phoenician temples and
 destroying the ,phoenician idols1      
suppose that  these people were of the  
same race1 and had come to teach the    
same  religion8 ,we care little for his 
inconsistencies2 but the feat which  he 
has here performed1 by his shadings1 his
 translations into ,indian  phraseology1
 and his medley of pale faces1 great    
waters1 floating  houses1 truncated     
pyramids1 hard taskmasters1 winds1      
climates1  religions1 and laws of       
population1 we believe to be unsurpassed

  by anything ever perpetrated in prose 
or rhyme1 by ,grecian bard or  mediaeval
 monk4    ,he appears to think himself  
justified in taking these liberties with
 the  ,muse of ,history by his anxiety  
to construct a narrative that should not
  overstep the bounds of probability4   
,as if all history were not a chain  of 
improbabilities1 and what is most       
improbable were not often that  which is
 most certain6 ,but if1 at ,mr4         
,wilson's summons1 we reject as         
improbable a series of events supported 
by far stronger evidence than  can be   
adduced for the conquests of ,alexander1
 the ,crusades1 or the  ,norman conquest
 of ,england1 what is it1 we may ask1   
that he calls upon  us to believe8 ,his 
skepticism1 as so often happens1 affords
 the measure  of his credulity4 ,he     
contends that ,corts1 the greatest      
,spaniard of the  sixteenth century1 a  
man little acquainted with books1 but   
endowed with  a gigantic genius and with
 all the qualities requisite for success

 in  warlike enterprises and an         
adventurous career1 had his brain so    
filled  with the romances of chivalry1  
and so preoccupied with reminiscences   
of the ,spanish contests with the       
,moslems1 that he saw in the ,new ,world
  nothing but duplicates of those       
contests1--that his heated imagination  
turned wigwams into palaces1 ,indian    
villages into cities like ,granada1     
swamps into lakes1 a tribe of savages   
into an empire of civilized  men1--that1
 in the midst of embarrassments and     
dangers which1 even on  ,mr4 ,wilson's  
showing1 must have taxed all his        
faculties to the utmost1  he employed   
himself chiefly in coining lies with    
which to deceive his  imperial master   
and all the inhabitants of              
,christendom1--that1 although  he had a 
host of powerful enemies among his      
countrymen1 enemies who were  in a      
position to discover the truth1 his     
statements passed unchallenged  and     
uncontradicted by them1--that the       

numerous adventurers and explorers  who 
followed in his track1 instead of       
exposing the falsity of his  relations  
and descriptions1 found their interest  
in embellishing the  narrative1--that a 
similar drama was performed by other    
actors and on a  different stage1--that 
the ,peruvian civilization1 so analogous
 to that  of the ,aztecs and yet so     
different from it1 was1 like that1 the  
baseless  fabric of a vision1--that the 
whole intellect1 in short1 of the       
sixteenth century was employed in       
fashioning a gorgeous fable1 and that   
to this end continents were discovered1 
nations exterminated1 countries  laid   
waste1 evidences forged1 and witnesses  
invented4 ,and this theory  is to be    
swallowed in one solid and indigestible 
lump1 unleavened with  logic1           
unmoistened with grammar1 unsweetened   
with rhetoric4 ,let those  whose        
appetites are strong1 and whose         
olfactory nerves are not too  delicate1 
sit down to the repast4    ,for our own 

part1 we are quite satisfied with the   
bare contemplation of  the fare4 ,our   
readers1 also1 we suspect1 have long ago
 been satiated4  ,they have dropped off1
 one by one1 and left us alone with our 
kind  entertainer4 ,what more we have to
 say must therefore be bestowed upon    
his private ear4 ,we shall speak with   
the greater freedom4 ,we know  the      
exquisite pleasure we have given him4   
,we are sure that he is not  ungrateful4
 ,when his book comes to a second       
edition1--with a change of  title-page  
corresponding to some change in the     
popular sentiment1--we  shall have to   
submit to the same honors which he has  
inflicted on ,mr4  ,prescott and        
,rousseau de ,st4 ,hilaire2 he will     
reprint our article  as a flattering    
notice1--as the ,atlantic ,monthly's    
estimate of his  researches4 ,we beg to 
call his attention to our closing       
remarks1 which1  indeed1 may serve as a 
digest of the whole4 ,when he has       
translated  them into ,indian           

phraseology1 7we regret that we cannot  
save him this  trouble17 and reduced    
them to reality1 we shall take our leave
 of  him1 not without a mournful        
presentiment that the separation is to  
be  eternal4    ,there are many points  
of difference between his work and ,mr4 
,prescott's  ,history of the ,conquest  
of ,mexico2 but the chief distinction1  
we  think1 may be thus stated4 ,if the  
foundations on which ,mr4 ,prescott's   
narrative is built should ever be       
overthrown1--a contingency which as  yet
 we do not apprehend1--that narrative   
would still rank among the  masterpieces
 of our literature4 ,it could no longer 
be received as a  truthful relation of  
what had actually happened in the past2 
but it  would be received as a most     
faithful and graphic relation of what   
had  been asserted1 of what was once    
universally believed1 to have so        
happened4 ,if the reality appears       
strange1 how much stranger would  appear
 the fiction6 ,the truth of such a story

 may seem improbable2  the invention of 
such a story would be little short of   
miraculous4  ,prescott's work1 if       
removed from its place among histories1 
must stand  in the first rank among     
works of imagination1--must be classed  
with the  ,odyssey and the ,arabian     
,nights' ,entertainments4    ,but this  
book of ,wilson's must1 under all       
conditions1 and in any  contingency1 be 
regarded as worthless4 ,be the story of 
the ,conquest true  or false1 this      
contains no relation of it1 this        
contains no refutation  of it4 ,not     
content with vilifying his authorities1 
with impugning  their faith1 denying    
their existence1 and mangling their     
names1 he has  disfigured their         
statements1 corrupted their narrative1  
and substituted  gross absurdities for  
what was at least beautiful and         
coherent1 whether  it was fiction or    
reality4 ,his book is in every sense a  
fabrication4  ,it is no record of the   
truth2 it is not a romance or a fable1  

artfully  constructed and elegantly     
told2 it is--to use that plain language 
which the occasion authorizes and       
demands--a barefaced1 but awkward       
falsification of history1--so awkward1  
that it has cost us little  trouble to  
detect it1--so barefaced1 that it has   
been a duty1 though1 of  course1 a      
painful one1 to expose it4      ,mothers
 and ,infants1 ,nurses and ,nursing4    
,translated from the ,french  of ,a     
,treatise1 etc41 by ,,dr4 ,,al4 ,,donn1 
late ,head of the ,clinical  ,department
 of the ,faculty of ,paris1 etc41 etc4  
,boston3 ,phillips1  ,sampson1  ,co4    
#ahei4    ,when the young ,count of     
,paris was at the tender age which      
requires the  food that only mothers and
 their substitutes can supply1 ,m4      
,donn1 the  author of this work1 was    
called in consultation at the royal     
palace4 ,he  had a new way of examining 
milk through the microscope1 and        
deciding  upon its healthy and nutritive
 qualities or its defects1 as the case  

might be4 ,the whole world was full of  
the great question just then1--for  the 
deep-bosomed dame of ,normandy or       
,picardy who should be selected  was to 
be the nurse not of a child only1 but of
 a dynasty4 ,so thought  short-sighted  
mortals1 at least1 in those             
days1--little dreaming what  cradle     
would be under the square dome of the   
,tuileries before twenty  years were    
past6    ,m4 ,donn1 as we said1 was the 
man selected from all men for the task  
of choosing a nurse for the most        
important baby of his time4 ,this is a  
voucher for his position at that period 
in the great medical world  of ,paris4  
,he is known1 also1 to the scientific   
world by a number of  treatises1 with   
some of which we have long been         
familiar1 as1 for  instance1 the ,cours 
de ,microscopic1 with the remarkable    
,atlas copied  from daguerreotypes taken
 by the aid of the camera4 ,the present 
work is  of a somewhat more popular     
character than his previous productions4

    ,little ,nursing ,america is the    
father of ,young ,america that is to be4
  ,and there is no denying that our new 
vital conditions on this side of  the   
planet suggest some very grave          
questions1--such as these3--,whether    
there be not a gradual deterioration of 
the primitive ,european stock  under    
these influences2 and1 ,whether it is   
not possible that the  imported human   
breed may run out here1 so that1 some   
time or other1 the  resuscitated tribes 
of ,algonquins and ,hurons may show a   
long shank of  the extinct ,yankee1 as  
they show the ,dodo's foot at the       
,british ,museum4    ,it is this        
contingency against which many          
intelligent and worthy persons  are now 
trying to provide4 ,the indefatigable   
,dr4 ,bowditch has made a map  of this  
,state of ,massachusetts1 showing the   
distribution of consumption  in its     
different localities4 ,that is the first
 thing1--where to live4  ,we have been  
told an alleged fact with reference to a

 certain large ,new  ,england town1     
which1 if it were true1 would raise the 
value of real  estate in that place a   
million of dollars1 perhaps1 in         
twenty-four  hours4 ,we do not tell it1 
though mentioned to us by a celebrated  
practitioner and professor1 simply      
because we are afraid it is too good  to
 be true4 ,at any rate1 attention is    
beginning to be thoroughly awake  as to 
the point of where we shall live4 ,now1 
then1 how shall we  live8    ,it is just
 as well to begin early4 ,infancy is too
 late4 ,if men were  dealt with like    
other live stock1 a contractor might    
undertake to  deliver at ,long ,wharf a 
cargo of three-year old human colts and 
fillies  of almost any required standard
 of development and health1 in five     
years  from date4 ,if only a cheap      
article were required1 such and such    
parents  would be selected2 if the young
 animals were to be of prime quality1 he
  must know it long enough beforehand1  
and be particular in his choice4  ,this 

is plain speaking1 but true1--as        
everybody knows1 who studies the  laws  
of life4 ,ex nihilo nihil fit4 ,given a 
half-starved dyspeptic  and a bloodless 
negative blonde as parents1 ,hercules or
 ,apollo is  an impossibility in their  
progeny4 ,yet people look with infinite 
expectations of health1 strength1       
beauty1 intellect1 as the product of  #j
 times -#a4 ,the late ,colonel ,jaques1 
of the ,ten ,hills ,farm1 knew  ever so 
much better2--what a pity so much sound 
physiology should have  been confined to
 ,caelobs1 and ,dolly ,creampot1 and the
 likes of them6    ,granted a sound1    
fair baby1--viable1 as the ,french      
say1--liveable1 or  life-capable1 and   
life-worthy4 ,what shall we do with it8 
,a baby answers to the lively definition
 of an animal as a stomach  provided    
with organs4 ,it lives to feed4 ,it does
 not know much1 but in  its speciality  
it is unrivalled4 ,the way in which it  
helps itself from  the sources of life  
is a masterpiece of hydraulic skill4    

,once let it  lose the ,heaven-imparted 
art of haustion1 and all the arts and   
academies  of the world can never teach 
it again4    ,to manage this little     
feeding organism1 with its wondrous     
instinct and  capacity of imbibition1 is
 the first great question after that of 
race  is settled4 ,shall the mother's   
blood continue to flow through its      
fast-throbbing heart1 and all the       
subtile affinities that bind the two    
lives be continued until reason and     
affection take up the chain where  the  
link of bodily dependence is broken8 ,or
 shall it cleave no more to  her bosom1 
but transfer its endearing dependence to
 a stranger1 or learn  to call a bottle 
its mother8    ,these are some of the   
questions learnedly1 and yet familiarly1
 discussed  in ,m4 ,donn's book4 ,he has
 laid down many excellent rules for the 
physical and moral management of the    
infant1 which the young mother can      
readily learn and put in practice4 ,for 
the physician1 his work contains  many  

interesting facts with reference to the 
quality and the microscopic  appearances
 of milk1 as obtained from various      
sources and under  different            
circumstances4    ,on one or two points 
our ,american experience would somewhat 
modify the  rules commonly accepted in  
,paris4 ,the nurse from the ,french     
provinces is  evidently a different     
being from our ,milesian milky mothers4 
,so1 too1  the rules given by our own   
venerable and sagacious observer1 ,dr4  
,james  ,jackson1 as to the period of   
separating the infant from its mother or
  nurse1 should be borne in mind1 as    
laid down in his admirable ,letters  to 
a ,young ,physician4    ,but there is a 
great deal of information applicable to 
children and  their mothers in all      
civilized regions2 and as we wish to    
start fair  with the next generation1 we
 are very glad to have so intelligent a 
guide for the management of our infant  
citizens4      ,street ,thoughts4 ,by   
the ,rev4 ,henry ,m4 ,dexter1 ,pastor of

 ,pine-,street  ,church1 ,boston4 ,with 
,illustrations by ,billings4 ,boston3   
,crosby1 ,nichols1   ,co4 #ahei4    ,if 
a profusion of introductory mottoes were
 any indication of the  excellence of a 
book1 this volume would be indeed a     
chef-d'oeuvre4 ,on  the page usually    
devoted to the ,dedication1 we have no  
less than six  more or less appropriate 
quotations3 a ,greek one from ,julian1 a
 ,latin  one from ,quintilian1 a        
dramatic one from ,shakspeare1 a        
metrical one from  ,young1 a ponderous  
philosophical one from ,dr4 ,johnson1   
and a commonplace  one from ,bryant4 ,in
 consideration of the number and        
learnedness of these  certificates of   
character1 we approach the lucubrations 
of the ,reverend  ,mr4 ,dexter with     
profound respect4    ,in the days when  
controversial literature was fashionable
 in ,england1  and the strife between   
,protestantism and ,catholicism         
possessed some  interest for the public1
 we remember with considerable amusement

 the  manner in which the champions on  
either side conducted the attack4 ,the  
,romish warrior would this month issue a
 formidable volume entitled ,a          
,conversation between a ,roman ,catholic
 ,english ,nobleman and an ,irish       
,protestant4 ,in this work the ,roman   
,catholic lord had it all his own  way2 
the ,irish ,protestant was              
accommodatingly weak in all his         
arguments1  and the noble ,papist       
battered him famously4 ,but the         
,episcopal side  was on hand next month 
with a volume entitled ,a ,dialogue     
between a  ,protestant ,peer and an     
,irish ,papist4 ,here the whole thing   
was reversed4  ,the noble was still     
victorious1 but he had changed his      
religion2 and  this time the ,roman     
,catholic was feeble1 and the           
,protestant stalwart4 ,it  is worthy of 
remark1 however1 that in both cases the 
nobleman was on the  right side4    ,the
 ,reverend ,mr4 ,dexter thoroughly      
comprehends this ingenious method of    

attack4 ,does he1 for instance1 desire  
to impress upon the mind of his  reader 
that it is in the highest degree        
criminal to wear kid gloves in  the     
street1 he1 by a happy accident1        
encounters on his way to the  office two
 persons conversing upon that important 
topic4 ,he innocently  eavesdrops4 ,the 
individual who advocates the wearing of 
gloves is 7of  course7 frivolous1       
fashionable1 and feeble4 ,his companion1
 who despises  such vanities1 is poor1  
though honest1--brawny and impregnable4 
,it is  wonderful how stupidly the      
kid-glove advocate reasons4 ,the honest 
son  of toil overwhelms him in a few    
moments4 ,when a man talks so splendidly
  about the hard palm of labor being    
more useful to the world than the       
silken fingers of the aristocrat1 who   
would have the courage to reply8  ,the  
feeble aristocrat is 7very properly7    
discomfited1 and the curtain  falls amid
 applause from the gallery4    ,the     
reverend gentleman seems to combine with

 his talent for  eavesdropping a most   
remarkable good-fortune in the contrasts
 afforded  by the various interlocutors 
whose conversation he overhears4        
,whether  he is in a shop1 or an        
omnibus1 or on the sidewalk1 he is      
certain to  encounter a foolish person  
and a sensible person 7according to ,mr4
  ,dexter's idea of sense7 discussing   
some important social topic1--such  as1 
,whether dancing is criminal1 or1       
,whether people should wear  stove-pipe 
hats4 ,at the end of the discussion1 the
 reverend listener  appears in a        
paragraph as the deus ex machin of the  
drama1 pats the  victorious sensible boy
 on the head1 and treats the foolish boy
 with  silent contempt4 ,it does not    
take much to win ,mr4 ,dexter's         
approval4 ,he  goes into rhapsodies over
 a rich man who insists on carrying home
 his  own bundle2 while another         
purchaser1 who is villain enough to     
desire his  parcel to be sent to his    
house1 meets with all the scorn that he 

merits4  ,our author takes cheerful     
views of life4 ,he goes into ,state     
,street1  and1 struck with the great    
crowds of people1 asks the solemn       
question1  ,whither are they going8--,to
 the open grave6 is his jocund reply4   
,he1  in fact1 sees nothing but a job   
for the undertaker in all the health and
  life by which he is surrounded2 and a 
file of schoolboys out for a  walk would
 doubtless to him be nothing more than  
the beginning of a  procession to ,mount
 ,auburn4 ,the shop-keepers should      
beware of ,mr4  ,dexter4 ,he is the     
avowed enemy of nice coats1 kid gloves1 
silk dresses1  fine houses1 and his     
proof-reader knows what other et ceteras
 which  ignorant people have been in the
 habit of looking on as commodities     
useful in helping trade1 and            
consequently forwarding civilization4   
,we really thought that this shallow    
philosophy had completely died out1  and
 that every educated person had been    
brought to comprehend the uses  of      

,beauty and ,luxury4 ,mr4 ,dexter's     
,street ,thoughts is a silly proof  that
 there are men yet living whose theory  
of social ethics may  apparently be     
summed up thus3 ,live meanly1 be afraid 
of ,god1 and listen  at keyholes4       
,the ,mathematical ,monthly4 ,edited by 
,j4,d4 ,,runkle1 ,a4,m41 ,a4,a4,s4 ,nos4
  ,i4-,,vii4 ,october1 #aheh1 to ,april1
 #ahei4 ,cambridge3 ,john ,bartlett4    
#dto4  pp4 #bhd4    ,the title of ,mr4  
,runkle's ,monthly is much drier than   
its table of  contents4 ,he has aimed at
 interesting all classes of             
mathematicians1 has  introduced problems
 and discussions intelligible to        
scholars in our ,high  ,schools1 and has
 also published contributions to the    
highest departments  of the science4    
,educational questions have great       
prominence on the pages  of his journal2
 he gives frequent notes upon the best  
modes of teaching  the elementary       
branches1 and proposes to publish in a  
serial form  treatises adapted to use in

 the school-room4 ,every number of the  
,monthly contains five prize problems   
for students4 ,nor are its pages        
confined to topics strictly             
mathematical4 ,the number for ,february 
introduces a problem by a quotation from
 ,longfellow's ,hiawatha2  another gives
 a list of fifty-five of the ,asteroid  
group1 with their  orbits1 and the      
circumstances of their discovery4 ,the  
,march number  explains an ingenious    
holocryptic cipher1 written with the    
,english  alphabet1 with no more letters
 than would be required for ordinary    
writing1 yet so curiously complicated1  
that1 while with the key easy to        
understand1 it is without the key       
absolutely undecipherible1 even to the  
inventor of the plan2 and the key is    
capable of so many variations1 that     
every pair of correspondents in         
,christendom may have their own cipher  
practically different from all others4  
,in the ,november and ,december         
numbers1 a popular account of ,donati's 

,comet was given by ,geo4 ,p4 ,bond1    
then assistant1 now chief director of   
the ,observatory at ,cambridge4 ,this   
paper has been issued separately1 very  
finely illustrated by twenty-one  cuts1 
and by two beautiful engravings4 ,no    
papers1 readily accessible to  the      
public1 contain1 in a form so entirely  
devoid of technicalities1 and  so       
clearly illustrated to the eye1 so much 
information relative to the  nature of  
cornels in general1 and in particular to
 the phenomena of this  most beautiful  
comet of the present century4    ,the   
purely mathematical articles are all    
original1 many are of great  value1 and 
some are1 to those who understand their 
secret meaning1  peculiarly interesting4
 ,a note of ,peirce's1 for example1 in  
the number  for ,february1 proposes two 
new symbols1 one for the mystic ratio of
  the circumference to the diameter1 a  
second for the base of ,napier's        
logarithms1--and then1 by joining them  
in an equation with the imaginary       

symbol1 expresses in a single sentence  
the mutual relation of the three  great 
talismans in the magic of modern        
science4 ,another article1 in the       
,april number1 by ,chauncey ,wright1    
contains a new view of the law of       
,phyllotaxis1 approaching it from an a  
priori stand-point1 and showing  that   
the natural arrangement of leaves about 
the stems of plants is  precisely that  
which will keep the leaves most         
perfectly distributed for  the reception
 of light and air4    ,we are glad to   
learn that a constantly increasing      
subscription-list1  both at home and    
abroad1 shows1 not only that ,mr4       
,runkle judged wisely  in thinking such 
a journal needed1 but also that the     
editorial office  has fallen upon the   
right man4      ,memoir and ,letters of 
the late ,thomas ,seddon1 ,artist1 ,by  
his ,,brother4  ,london3 #aheh4         
,associations are fast gathering round  
the ,english ,pre-,raphaelites4 ,those  
that come with honors and with death    

already belong to them4 ,a permanent    
influence is assured to the new school  
by a continuance of vigor1 and by  the  
space which it already occupies in the  
history of ,art4 ,this little  volume is
 of interest as being the first of its  
biographies4 ,mr4 ,seddon  attained no  
wide reputation during his life1 but he 
left a few pictures  of enduring value2 
and his early death was felt1 by those  
who best knew  his powers and purposes1 
to be a great loss to ,art4    ,he was  
the son of a cabinet-manufacturer1 and  
was born in ,london in  #ahba4 ,after   
receiving a good school-education1 at   
the age of sixteen he  entered his      
father's work-rooms4 ,he had already    
shown a decided love of  drawing4 ,he   
had a quick perception of beauty1 and   
excellent power of  observation4 ,his   
disposition was serious1 and his        
conscience sensitive2  but he had a     
pleasant vein of humor1 and a generous  
nature4 ,after some  years of irksome   
work1 he was sent to ,paris to perfect  

himself in the  arts of ornamentation1  
and his residence there seems to have   
confirmed  his taste for painting1 to   
the practice of which he desired to     
devote  his life4 ,but for the next ten 
years he was engaged in business1       
giving1  however1 his evenings and his  
few vacations to the study and practice 
of  ,art1 and becoming more and more    
eager to leave an employment which was  
wholly uncongenial to him4 ,at length1  
in his thirtieth year1 he was able  to  
begin his career as a professional      
artist4 ,his experiences at first       
differed but little from those of the   
common run of young painters2 but  his  
fidelity in work1 his conscientious     
rendering of the details of  ,nature1   
and his sincerity of purpose1 gave real 
worth even to his  earlier pictures1 and
 brought him into relations of cordial  
friendship with ,holman ,hunt1 ,madox   
,brown1 and others of the heads of      
,pre-,raphaelitism4 ,after making a long
 visit1 in company with ,hunt1  for the 

purposes of study1 to ,egypt and        
,palestine1 and painting a few          
remarkable pictures1 he returned home1  
and was married4 ,some months  afterward
 he set out again for the ,east1 but had
 hardly reached ,cairo  before he was   
seized with fatal illness4 ,he died on  
the #bc;d of ,november1  #ahef1--;just  
as he was grasping the fruit of years of
 labor and waiting4    ,the best part of
 the volume of memoirs is made up of    
,seddon's letters  from the ,east4 ,they
 exhibit his character in a most        
agreeable light1  while1 apart from any 
personal interest1 they have a charm1 as
 natural1  vivid delineations of        
,eastern scenery and modes of life4 ,he 
saw with  a painter's eye1 and he       
described what he saw clearly and       
vigorously1  showing in his letters the 
same traits which he displayed in his   
pictures4 ,writing from his             
camping-ground on the edge of the       
,desert1  he says1--,the ,pyramids and  
,sphinxes1 in ordinary daylight1 are    

merely  ugly1 and do not look half as   
large as they ought to look from their  
real size2 but in particular effects of 
light and shade1 with a fine  sunset    
behind them1 for example1 or when the   
sky lights up again1 a  quarter or half 
an hour afterwards1--when long beams of 
rose-colored  light shoot up like a     
glory from behind the middle one into a 
sky of  the most lovely violet1--they   
then look imposing1 with their huge     
black  masses against the flood of      
brilliant light behind4    ,here is the 
first sight of ,jerusalem3--,at length1 
about five o'clock1  after expecting1   
for the last half-hour1 that every      
hill-side we climbed  would be the last1
 we came suddenly in full view of       
,jerusalem4--,few1 ,i  think1 however   
careless1 have looked for the first time
 on this scene1  without some feelings  
of solemn awe4 ,we read the accounts of 
all that  passed within or around these 
walls with something of the vagueness   
that  always veils the history of times 

that have gone by two thousand years    
ago2 but however soon the feeling may   
wear off or be cast away1 it is         
impossible1 with the very spot before   
you where your ,saviour lived and  died1
 not to feel vividly impressed with the 
actual reality of what we  have read of1
 and its intimate connection with       
ourselves4--,but soon ,i  was struck    
with the very erroneous idea ,i had had 
of ,jerusalem4 ,from the  west it does  
not look at all like a city built on a  
hill2 for1 rather  below you1 at the    
farther end of a barren plain1 you see  
nothing but the  embattled walls of a   
feudal town1 with one or two large      
buildings and a  minaret alone visible  
above them4 ,to the right the ground    
dips into the  ,valley of ,hinnom1--but 
to the left it is level with the        
city-walls1 and  its surface is covered 
with bare ribs of rock running along it2
 and it  is from this side that the     
,romans and ,crusaders attacked4 ,behind
 the  city1 rather to the north1 lay the

 ,mount of ,olives1 and the long1       
straight lines of the ,moab ,mountains  
beyond the ,dead ,sea1 stretching  from 
horizon to horizon1 half-shadowy and    
veiled in mist1 through which  they     
shone rosy in the evening's sunlight4   
,we have no space for further           
descriptions1 excellent as they are4    
,but  we make one or two extracts       
relating more immediately to ,art and to
  ,seddon's views of the duties of an   
artist4    ,i am sure that there is a   
great work to do1 which wants every     
laborer1--to show that ,art's highest   
vocation is1 to be the handmaid to      
religion and purity1 instead of to mere 
animal enjoyment and sensuality4  ,this 
is what the ,pre-,raphaelites are really
 doing in various degrees1  but         
especially ,hunt1 who takes higher      
ground than mere morality1 and  most    
manfully advocates its power and duty as
 an exponent of the higher  duties of   
religion4    ,i hope ,i may be able to  
return to this place2 for1 to assist in 

directing attention to ,jerusalem1 and  
thus to render the ,bible more  easily  
understood1 seems to me to be a humble  
way in which1 perhaps1 ,i  may aid in   
doing some good4    ,here is a portion  
of a letter written in ,england3--,the  
railway from  ,farnborough went through 
a most beautiful country1--by           
,guildford1  ,dorking1 and ,boxhill4    
,while ,i was at ,farnborough1 on the   
bridge1  sketching1 a                   
respectably-dressed man came up and     
touched his hat4 ,after  standing a     
minute or two1 he said1 ',so you are    
doing something in my  line1            
,sir8'--',what6' said ,i1 'are you an   
artist8'--',well1 ,sir1 ,i cannot       
venture to call myself an artist1 but ,i
 gets my living by making  drawings4 ,i 
makes 'em in pencil4'--,i asked him if  
he took portraits4--',i  does every     
line1 portraits and all2 but ,i don't   
get many portraits since  the           
daguerreotype came in4 ,no1 ,sir1 my    
drawings are principally in the         

sporting line4 ,i does portraits of     
gentlemen going over a fence or a       
five-barred gate4 ,i does 'em all in    
pencil1 and puts a little color on      
their faces1 but all the rest in        
pencil1--d'ye see8'--',yes2 but do you  
make a good living8'--',well1 not much  
of that2 ,i used to earn a good  deal   
more money when ,i did portraits at     
sixpence each than ,i do now4'--,i      
said1 ',i suppose you begin to see that 
you can do better1 and it takes  you    
longer4'--',that's just it2 you've hit  
it1 ,sir4 ,i used to knock them  off in 
a quarter or half an hour1 and now it   
takes me seven or eight  days to do a   
sporting piece4'--,so ,i told the poor  
man that ,i would  willingly give him   
advice1 but ,i was afraid it would ruin 
him  completely1 for that afterwards he 
would have to take two or three         
months4--',yes1 ,sir1 ,i sees that2 but 
,i am too old now to learn a new  line4 
,but ,i find trees very hard2 ,i can't  
manage them4'--,so ,i sat down1  and    

drew a branch of a tree1 which he said  
was very much in his style2  and ,i gave
 him some advice which ,i thought might 
help him1 and the good  man went away so
 much obliged4    ,when the news of ,mr4
 ,seddon's death reached ,england1 it   
was at once felt  by his friends that it
 was due to his memory that the public  
should be  made better acquainted with  
the excellence of his works4 ,an        
exhibition  of them was accordingly     
made1 and a subscription raised for the 
benefit  of his widow1 by purchasing his
 large picture of ,jerusalem1 to be     
presented to the ,national ,gallery4    
,the subscription was successful1 and   
,seddon's fame is secure4    ,mr4       
,seddon's works1 says ,mr4 ,ruskin1 are 
the first which represent  a truly      
historic landscape ,art2 that is to say1
 they are the first  landscapes uniting 
perfect artistical skill with           
topographical  accuracy1--being directed
 with stern self-restraint to no other  
purpose  than that of giving to persons 

who cannot travel trustworthy knowledge 
of the scenes which ought to be most    
interesting to them4 ,whatever  degrees 
of truth may have been attempted or     
attained by previous artists  have been 
more or less subordinate to pictorial or
 dramatic effect4 ,in  ,mr4 ,seddon's   
works1 the primal object is to place the
 spectator1 as far  as ,art can do1 in  
the scene represented1 and to give him  
the perfect  sensation of its reality1  
wholly unmodified by the artist's       
execution4    ,mr4 ,ruskin's judgment   
will not be questioned by those who have
 seen  ,seddon's pictures4 ,but it might
 also be added1 that such accuracy as he
  attained is by no means the result of 
mere laborious and conscientious        
copying1 but implies and requires the   
possession of strong and  well-balanced 
imagination4    ,we trust that the      
extracts we have given may lead lovers  
of ,art to read  the whole of the little
 volume from which they are taken4      
,passages from my ,autobiography4 ,by   

,,sydney1 ,,lady ,,morgan4 ,new ,york3  
,d4  ,appleton  ,co4 #ahei4    ,aged    
sportiveness is not seductive1 and we do
 not become slaves at the  tap of a fan1
 when the hand that holds it is palsied 
and withered4 ,we  have in the volume   
before us the melancholy spectacle of an
 aged female  of quality setting her cap
 at everybody4    ,when an old woman    
makes up her mind to be young1 she      
invariably overdoes  it4 ,the gypsy     
horse-dealers1 when they have a         
particularly ancient horse  to dispose  
of administer a nostrum to the animal1  
which has the effect  of keeping him    
continually in motion1 and bestowing on 
him a temporary  vivacity which a colt  
would hardly exhibit4 ,lady ,morgan is  
unnecessarily  frisky4 ,the gypsy's     
horse1 when the effect of the medicine  
has passed  off1 becomes more aged and  
infirm than ever4 ,what a terrible      
reaction  must have been the lot of this
 old lady1 after all the capers she had 
cut in these passages from her          

autobiography6    ,a great1 great1      
great1 long time ago1 as the            
story-tellers say1 when  novels were few
 and far between1 and an ,irish novel   
was a thing almost  unheard of1 a smart1
 self-educated ,irish girl1 of1 we      
believe1 rather  humble origin1         
discovered that she had a knack at      
writing1 and1 having  published a       
cleverish novel1 called ,the ,wild      
,irish ,girl1 was taken  up by great    
people1 exploited1 made the fashion1 and
 had ,sir ,charles  ,morgan1 a physician
 of some standing1 given her for a      
husband4 ,she  continued to write4 ,her 
work on ,france made some noise1 on     
account of  its having been prohibited  
by the ,french government2 and her      
subsequent  book on ,italy1 if not      
profound1 was at least sprightly4 ,her  
,irish novels  were1 however1 her best  
productions4 ,there is considerable     
observation1  and some feeling1         
displayed in them4 ,her knowledge of    
,irish society  is very exact1 and her  

pictures of it very slightly            
exaggerated4 ,the  ,o',briens and       
,o',flahertys and ,florence ,mac,carthy 
are1 perhaps1 the  best of her works of 
fiction4 ,at this period1 ,lady ,morgan 
possessed a  rather interesting         
appearance1 great audacity1 and a       
certain reckless  style of conversation1
 which was found to be piquant by the   
jaded  gossips of the metropolis4 ,she  
was taken up by ,london society1--which 
must always be taking up something1     
whether it be a chimney-sweep that      
composes music1 or an elephant that     
dances the valse  deux temps2  and she  
fluttered from party to party1 a sort of
 ,tom ,moore in  petticoats1--with this 
difference1 that ,moore left his meek   
little wife  at home1 while ,lady       
,morgan trotted her husband out after   
her on all  occasions4 ,it is amusing to
 observe what pains the poor woman takes
 to  persuade us that ,sir ,charles is a
 monstrous clever man4 ,betsy ,trotwood 
never labored harder to convince the    

world of the merits of ,mr4 ,dick1  than
 ,lady ,morgan does to obtain a place   
for her husband as a learned            
philosopher who was in advance of his   
age1 or1 as she prettily expresses  it  
in ,french2 7she likes to parade her    
,french1 this excellent wife17  il      
devanait son sicle4 ,this mania for     
inlaying her writing with  ,french      
scraps rises with her ,ladyship to a    
species of insanity4 ,est  il possible  
that ,i am going to ,italy8 she         
exclaims4 ,how much more  forcible is   
this than the vulgar ,is it possible8   
,when the ,duke of  ,sussex comes into a
 party1 he does not excite anything so  
common-place  as a great sensation2     
no1--it is a grand mouvement6 ,praise   
bestowed  on her is an loge4 ,she would 
not condescend to speak of such things  
as folding-doors1--they are better as   
grands battants4 ,a change of  scene is 
a changement de dcoration4 ,mrs4 ,opie1 
whom she sees at a  party1 is not in    
full dress1 but en grand costume4 ,the  

three ,messrs4  ,lygon look very        
hautain4 ,and while driving with ,lady  
,charleville1  instead of having a      
charming conversation on the road1 her  
,ladyship  has it chemin faisant4       
,allons1 mi lady6 you prefer that style 
of  writing4 ,chacun  son gout6 ,mais   
we1 nous autres1 love mieux the  plain  
old ,saxon langue4    ,if ,lady ,morgan 
had called this volume ,passages from my
 ,card-,basket1  there would have been  
some harmony between the title and the  
contents4  ,the three hundred and       
eighty-two pages are for the most part  
taken up  with frivolous notes from     
great people1 either inviting her       
,ladyship to  parties or apologizing for
 not having called4 ,these are          
interspersed  with a number of          
philoprogenitive letters to ,lady       
,clarke1--her  ,ladyship's sister1--in  
which1 being childless herself1 she     
expends all  her bottled-up maternity on
 her nephews and nieces4 ,the little    
pieces of  autobiography scattered here 

and there are painfully vivacious4 ,the 
poor  old lady smirks and capers and    
ogles1 until one becomes sick of this   
sexagenarian agility4 ,paris beheld no  
more melancholy spectacle than  that of 
poor old ,madame ,saqui dancing on the  
tight-rope for a living at  the age of  
eighty-five1 and displaying her withered
 limbs and long  white hair to a curious
 public4 ,we do not feel any particular 
degree  of veneration for that ,countess
 of ,desmond who lived to the age of a  
hundred and ten1 and died of a fall from
 a cherry-tree then1 as ,mr4  ,thomas   
,moore sings4 ,well1 ,lady ,morgan      
dances on any amount of literary        
tight-ropes1 and climbs any number of   
intellectual cherry-trees4 ,it is  a    
sight more surprising than pleasant2 and
 her ,ladyship must not be  astonished  
that the critics should not treat her   
with the respect due to  her age1 when  
she herself labors so hard to make them 
forget it4      ,bitter-,sweet4 ,a      
,poem4 ,by ,j4,g4 ,,holland1 ,author of 

,the ,bay ,path1  ,titcomb's ,letters1  
etc4 ,new ,york3 ,charles ,scribner1    
#abd ,grand ,street4  pp4 #bbj4 #ahei4  
,unexpectedness is an essential element 
of wit1--perhaps1 also1 of  pleasure2   
and it is the ill-fortune of            
professional reviewers1 not only  that  
surprise is necessarily something as    
rare with them as a ,june  frost1 but   
that loyalty to their extemporized      
omniscience should forbid  them to      
acknowledge1 even if they felt1 so      
fallible an emotion4    ,unexpectedness 
is also one of the prime components of  
that singular  product called ,poetry2  
and1 accordingly1 the much-enduring man 
whose  finger-ends have skimmed many    
volumes and many manners of verse may be
  pardoned the involuntary bull of not  
greatly expecting to stumble  upon it in
 any such quarter4 ,shall we1 then1 be  
so untrue to our  craft1--shall we1 in  
short1 be so unguardedly natural1 as to 
confess  that ,bitter-,sweet has        
surprised us8 ,it is truly an original  

poem1--as  genuine a product of our soil
 as a golden-rod or an aster4 ,it is as 
purely ,american1--nay1 more than       
that1--as purely ,new-,english1--as the 
poems of ,burns are ,scotch4 ,we read   
ourselves gradually back to our  boyhood
 in it1 and were aware of a flavor in it
 deliciously local and  familiar1--a    
kind of sour-sweet1 as in a frozen-thaw 
apple4 ,from  the title to the last     
line1 it is delightfully characteristic4
 ,the  family-party met for             
,thanksgiving can hit on no better way  
to be jolly  than in a discussion of the
 ,origin of ,evil1--and the ,yankee     
husband 7a  shooting-star in the quiet  
heaven of village morals7 about to run  
away  from his wife can be content with 
no less comet-like vehicle than  a      
balloon4 ,the poem is ,yankee1 even to  
the questionable extent of  substituting
 locality for scene in the              
stage-directions2 and we feel  sure that
 none of the characters ever went to bed
 in their lives1 but  always sidled     

through the more decorous subterfuge of 
retiring4    ,we could easily show that 
,bitter-,sweet was not this and that and
  t'other1 but1 after all said and done1
 it would remain an obstinately         
charming little book4 ,it is not free   
from faults of taste1 nor from a        
certain commonplaceness of metre2 but   
,mr4 ,holland always saves himself  in  
some expression so simply poetical1 some
 image so fresh and natural1  the       
harvest of his own heart and eye1 that  
we are ready to forgive  him all faults1
 in our thankfulness at finding the soul
 of ,theocritus  transmigrated into the 
body of a ,yankee4    ,it would seem the
 simplest thing in the world to be able 
to help  yourself to what lies all      
around you ready to your hand2 but      
writers  of verse commonly find it a    
difficult1 if not impossible1 thing to  
do4  ,conscious that a certain          
remoteness from ordinary life is        
essential in  poetry1 they aim at it by 
laying their scenes far away in time1   

and  taking their images from far away  
in space1--thus contriving to be        
foreign at once to their century and    
their country4 ,such self-made  exiles  
and aliens are never repatriated by     
posterity4 ,it is only here  and there  
that a man is found1 like ,hawthorne1   
,judd1 and ,mr4 ,holland1  who discovers
 or instinctively feels that this       
remoteness is attained1  and attainable 
only1 by lifting up and transfiguring   
the ordinary and  familiar with the     
mirage of the ideal4 ,we mean it as very
 high praise1  when we say that         
,bitter-,sweet is one of the few books  
that have found  the secret of drawing  
up and assimilating the juices of this  
,new ,world  of ours4      ,the ,mustee2
 or1 ,love and ,liberty4 ,by ,b4,f4     
,,presbury4 ,boston3 ,shepard1  ,clark1 
,brown4 #abmo4    ,the plot of this     
novel is open to criticism1 and we might
 take exception  to some of the opinions
 expressed in it2 but it is evidently   
the work of  a thoughtful and scholarly 

mind and benevolent heart1--is          
exceedingly  well written1 shows a great
 deal of power in the delineation both  
of  ideal and humorous character1 and   
includes some scenes of the most        
absorbing dramatic interest4 ,the       
character of ,featherstone is admirably 
drawn1 and ,bill ,frink is a positive   
addition to the literature of  ,american
 low life4 ,we commend him to our       
,southern friends1 as an example  of one
 of the most peculiar products of their 
peculiar institution4 ,the  author of   
the novel has lived at the ,south1 and  
his descriptions of  slavery display    
accurate observation1 candid judgment1  
and a vivid power  of pictorial         
representation4 ,the scenes in ,new     
,orleans are all good2 and  in few      
novels of the present day is there a    
finer instance of animated  narration   
than the account of ,flora's escape from
 slavery4 ,the incidents  are so managed
 that the reader is kept in breathless  
suspense to the  end1 with sympathies   

excited almost to pain1 as one          
circumstance after  another seems to    
threaten the capture of the beautiful   
fugitive4 ,though  the book belongs to  
the class of anti-slavery novels1 it is 
not confined  to the subject of slavery1
 but includes a consideration of almost 
all  the exciting topics of the day1 and
 treats of them all with singular       
conscientiousness of spirit and vigor of
 thought4      ,rowse's ,portrait of    
,emerson4 ,published in ,photograph4    
,boston3 ,williams   ,everett4          
,durand's ,portrait of ,bryant4         
,engraved by ,schoff  ,jones4 ,new      
,york3  ,published by the ,century      
,club4    ,barry's ,portrait of         
,whittier4 ,published in ,photograph4   
,boston3  ,brainard4    ,almost one of  
the lost arts is that of portraiture4   
,raised by ,titian and  his             
contemporaries to the position of one of
 the noblest walks of ,art1  and in the 
generations following depressed to the  
position of minister  to vanity and     

foolish pride1 it has remained1 during  
the most of the  years since1 one of the
 lowest and least reputable of the      
fields  of artistic labor4 ,the lost    
vein was broken into by ,reynolds and   
,gainsborough1 who left a golden glory  
in all they did for us2 but no  one came
 to inherit1 and in ,england no one has 
since appeared worthy of  comparison    
with them4 ,in all ,europe there is no  
school of portraiture  worth notice2 the
 so-called portrait-painters are only   
likeness-makers1  comparing with the    
true portraitist as a topographical     
draughtsman does  with a landscape      
artist4 ,the intellectual elements of   
the artistic  character1 which          
successful portraiture insists on1 are  
some of its very  greatest1--if we      
admit1 as it seems to us that we must1  
that imagination  is not strictly       
intellectual1 but an inspiration1 an    
exaltation of the  whole nature4 ,to    
paint a great man1 one must not merely  
comprehend  that he is great1 but must  

in some sense rise up by the side of1   
and  sympathize with1 his               
greatness1--must enter into and identify
 himself  with some essential quality of
 his character1 which quality will be   
the  theme of his portrait4 ,so it      
inevitably follows that the greatness of
  the artist is the limitation of his   
art1--that he expresses in his work     
himself as much as his subject1 but no  
more of the latter than he can          
comprehend and appreciate4    ,the      
distinction between the true and the    
false portraitist is that  between      
expression of something felt and        
representation of something  seen2 and  
as the subtilest and noblest part of the
 human soul can only  be felt1 as the   
signs of it in the face can be          
recognized and translated  only by      
sympathy1 so no mere painter can ever   
succeed in expressing in  its fulness   
the character of any great man4 ,the    
lines in which holiest  passion1        
subtilest thought1 divinest activity    

have recorded in the face  their        
existence and presence1 are hieroglyphs 
unintelligible to one who  has not      
kindled with that passion1 been rapt in 
that thought1 or swept  away in sympathy
 with that activity2 he may follow the  
lines1 but must  certainly miss their   
meaning4 ,a successful portrait implies 
an equality1  in some sense1 between the
 artist and his original4 ,the greatest 
of  artists fail most completely in     
painting people with whom they have no  
sympathy1 and only the mechanical       
painter succeeds alike with all1--the   
fair average of his works being a       
general levelling of his subjects2 the  
great successes of the genuine artist   
being as surely offset 7if one  success 
can find offset in a thousand failures7 
by as absolute and  extreme failure4    
,as regards portraiture in general1 the 
public may1 without injury to ,art  or  
history1 employ the painters who make   
the prettiest pictures of them2  it     
doesn't matter to the future1 if ,mr4   

,jenkins1 or even the ,hon4 ,mr4        
,twaddle1 has employed the promising    
,mr4 ,mahlstock to perpetuate him  with 
a hundred transitory and borrowed       
graces1--if the talented young          
littrateur1 ,mr4 ,simeah1 has been found
 by his limner to resemble  ,lord ,byron
 amazingly1 and has in consequence      
consented to sit for a  half-length1 to 
be done  la ,corsair1 etc41 etc42 but   
for our men of  thought1 for those whose
 works will stand to all time as the    
signals  pointing out the road a nation 
followed1 whose presence and acts shall 
be our intellectual history1--it is of  
some little moment that these  should be
 given to us in such visible form1 that 
men shall not  conjecture1 a thousand   
years hence1 if ,emerson were really a  
man1 or  a name under which some        
metaphysical club chose to publish their
  philosophies4 ,in psychological       
history1 portraits are as necessary  as 
dates2 and one of the most valuable     
gifts to an age is a great              

portrait-painter1--a ,titian1 a         
,gainsborough1 a ,reynolds1 or a        
,page1--which last has more of the      
,titianesque character than any one who 
has painted since the great ,venetians  
lived1 and few1 indeed1 are the         
generations so endowed4    ,beside this 
full insight and representation of      
character1 which makes  the ideal       
portraiture1 we have the less complete1 
but only in degree  less valuable1      
apprehension which results from a point 
of sympathy1  a likeness of liking in   
one or more fields of thought1 a common 
sensitiveness1 a common interest2 and   
the rarer sympathy between artist  and  
subject1 of that intimacy and complete  
understanding of personal  character1   
which1 even where no great talent exists
 in the artist1 gives  a unique value to
 his work1 but which1 where the intimacy
 is that of  great minds1 gives us works
 on which no dilettanteism1 even1 makes 
a  criticism1--as in that portrait of   
,dante by ,giotto1 to our mind the      

portrait par excellence of past time4   
,in the three admirable portraits whose 
titles stand at the head of our  notice1
 we have in one way and another all of  
the conditions we have  spoken of       
fulfilled4 ,rowse's portrait of ,emerson
 is one of the most  masterly and       
subtile records of the character of a   
signal man1 nay1  the most masterly1 we 
have ever seen4 ,those who know ,emerson
 best  will recognize him most fully in 
it4 ,it represents him in his most      
characteristic mood1 the subtile        
intelligence mingling with the kindly   
humor in his face1 thoughtful1 cordial1 
philosophic4 ,the portrait is not  more 
happy in the comprehension of character 
than in the rendering of  it1 and is as 
masterly technically as it is grandly   
characteristic4 ,an  eminent ,english   
poet1 who knows ,emerson well1 says of  
it1 justly1--,it  is the best portrait  
,i have ever seen of any man2 and we say
 of it1  without any hesitation1 that no
 living man1 except1 perhaps1 ,william  

,page1 is capable1 at his best moment1  
of such a success4    ,in ,barry's      
portrait of ,whittier it is easy to see 
the points of contact  between the      
characters of the artist and the        
poet-subject1 in the  sensitiveness     
shown in the lines of the mouth in the  
drawing1 in the  delicacy of            
organization which has wasted the cheek 
and left the eye  burning with undimmed 
brilliancy in the sunken socket1 the    
fervent1  earnest face1 defying age to  
affect its expressiveness1 as the heart 
it  manifests defies the chill of time4 
,it is an exceedingly interesting       
drawing1 and one by which those who love
 the poet are willing to have  him seen 
by the future4 ,it must remain as the   
only and sufficient record  of          
,whittier's personnel4    ,in the       
portrait of ,bryant we have the results 
of an intimacy of the most  cordial     
kind1 of years' duration1--an almost    
absolute unity of sentiment  and        
similarity of habits of regarding the   

things most interesting to  each4 ,of   
nearly the same age1 ,bryant and ,durand
 have grown old together1  loving the   
same ,nature1 and regarding it with the 
same eyes1--the  painter catching       
inspiration from the poet's themes1 and 
the poet in  turn getting new insight   
into the mystery of the outer world     
through the  painter's eyes4 ,bryant's  
face has been a ,sphinx's riddle to our 
best  painters2 none have succeeded in  
rendering its severe simplicity1 and    
clear1 self-disciplined expression1     
until ,durand tried it with a  success  
which renders the picture interesting   
evermore as a tribute of  friendship as 
well as a solution of a difficult       
problem4 ,the artist's  hand was        
directed by a more than ordinary        
understanding of the lines it  drew2 it 
has not varied in a line from reverence 
for the verisimilitude  the world had a 
right to insist on2 it has not flattered
 or softened1  but is simply1           
completely1 absolutely1 true4 ,bryant's 

face has an  immovable tranquillity1 a  
reserve and impassiveness1 which yet are
 not  coldness2 the clear gray eye      
calmly looks through and through you1   
but  permits no intelligence of what is 
passing behind it to come out to you4   
,it is such a face as one of the old    
,greek kings might have had1 as he  sat 
administering justice4 ,all this1 it    
seems to us1 ,durand's picture  gives4  
,it looks out at you impassive1         
penetrating1 as though it would  hear   
all and tell nothing1--a strong1        
self-continent1 completely  balanced    
character1--unshrinking1 unyielding1 yet
 without being                          
unsensitive1--concentrated1 justly      
poised1 and intense1 without being      
passionate4 ,the head is admirably      
engraved1 though we do not at all  fancy
 the way in which the background is     
done2 it is heavy1 formal1 and          
unartistic1--but this may be matter of  
choice4          ,,recent ,,american    
,,publications4      ,man and his       

,dwelllng-,place4 ,an ,essay towards the
 ,interpretation of  ,nature4 ,new      
,york4 ,redfield4 #abmo4 pp4 #cia4      
#a4jj4    ,annual of ,scientific        
,discovery2 or ,year-,book of ,facts in 
,science and ,art  for #ahei1 exhibiting
 the most ,important ,discoveries and   
,improvements in  ,mechanics1 etc41     
etc41 etc4 ,edited by ,david ,a4 ,wells1
 ,a4,m4 ,boston4 ,gould   ,lincoln4     
#abmo4 pp4 #daj4 #a4be4    ,letters of a
 ,traveller4 ,second ,series4 ,by       
,william ,cullen ,bryant4 ,new  ,york4  
,d4 ,appleton  ,co4 #abmo4 pp4 #bgg4    
#a4be4    ,my ,thirty ,years out of the 
,senate4 ,by ,major ,jack ,downing4     
,illustrated4  ,new ,york4 ,oaksmith    
,co4 #abmo4 pp4 #deh4 #a4be4            
,tressilian and his ,friend4 ,by ,dr4   
,r4 ,shelton ,mackenzie4 ,philadelphia4 
,j4,b4 ,lippincott  ,co4 #abmo4 pp4     
#cgb4 #a4be4    ,the ,new ,american     
,encyclopaedia2 a ,popular ,dictionary  
of ,general  ,knowledge4 ,by ,george    
,ripley and ,charles ,a4 ,dana4 ,vol4   

,v4  ,chartreuse--,cougar4 ,new ,york4  
,d4 ,appleton  ,co4 #hvo4 #c4jj4        
,history of the ,institution of the     
,sabbath-,day1 its ,uses and ,abuses2   
with ,notices of the ,puritans1         
,quakers1 etc4 ,by ,m4 ,logan ,fisher4  
,second  ,edition4 ,revised and         
enlarged4 ,philadelphia4 ,j4,b4 ,pugh4  
#afmo4 pp4 #bdh4  #ej cts4              
,redemption4 ,a ,poem4 ,by ,john ,d4    
,bryant1 ,m4,d4 ,philadelphia4 ,john    
,pennington  ,son4 #abmo4 pp4 #cff4     
#a4jj4    ,opportunities for ,industry  
and the ,safe ,investment of ,capital2  
or ,a  ,thousand ,chances to make       
,money4 ,by a ,retired ,merchant4       
,philadelphia4  ,j4,b4 ,lippincott  ,co4
 #abmo4 pp4 #daf4 #a4be4    ,the ,dead  
,secret4 ,by ,wilkie ,collins4 ,a ,new  
,edition4 ,philadelphia4 ,t4,b4         
,peterson  ,brothers4 #abmo4 pp4 #fcg4  
#a4be4    ,the ,losing and ,taking of   
,mansoul1 or ,lectures on the ,holy     
,war4 ,by ,alfred  ,s4 ,patton1 ,a4,m4  
,new ,york4 ,shelton  ,co4    ,the ,big 

,bear of ,arkansas1 and other ,sketches1
 ,illustrative of ,characters  and      
,incidents in the ,south and ,southwest4
 ,edited by ,william ,t4 ,porter4       
,philadelphia4 ,t4,b4 ,peterson and     
,brothers4 #abmo4 #a4be4    ,judge      
,haliburton's ,yankee ,stories4 ,with   
,illustrations4 ,a ,new ,edition4       
,philadelphia4 ,t4,b4 ,peterson         
,brothers4 #abmo4 #a4be4    ,american   
,weeds and ,useful ,plants4 ,being a    
,second and ,illustrated ,edition  of   
,agricultural ,botany1 etc4 ,by ,william
 ,darlington1 ,m4,d4 ,revised1 with     
,additions1 by ,george ,thurber4 ,new   
,york4 ,a4,o4 ,moore  ,co4 #abmo4 pp4   
#dfj4  #a4ej4    ,the ,american         
,numismatic ,manual of the ,currency or 
,money of the  ,aborigines and ,colonial
 ,states1 and ,united ,states ,coins1   
with ,historical  and ,descriptive      
,notices of each ,coin or ,series4 ,by  
,montroville ,wilson  ,dickerson1 ,m4,d4
 ,illustrated by ,nineteen ,plates of   
,fac-,similes4  ,philadelphia4 ,j4,b4   

,lippincott  ,co4 #dto4 pp4 #bef4 #f4ge4
    ,dictionary of the ,united ,states  
,congress1 containing ,biographical     
,sketches of its ,members1 from the     
,foundation of the ,government1 with  an
 ,appendix4 ,compiled as a ,manual of   
,reference for the ,legislator  and     
,statesman4 ,by ,charles ,lanman4       
,published for the ,author by ,j4,b4    
,lippincott  ,co4 ,philadelphia4 #hvo4  
#b4jj4    ,a ,treatise on the ,theory   
and ,practice of ,landscape ,gardening1 
adapted to  ,north ,america1 etc41 etc4 
,by the late ,a4,j4 ,downing4 ,with a   
,supplement1  by ,henry ,winthrop       
,sargent4 ,new ,york4 ,a4,o4 ,moore     
,co4 #hvo4 pp4 #egf4  #b4ge4    ,the    
,roving ,editor1 or ,talks with ,slaves 
of ,southern ,states4 ,by ,james        
,redpath4 ,new ,york4 ,a4,d4 ,burdick4  
#abmo4 pp4 #cdi4 #a4jj4    ,the         
,chess-,player's ,instructor1 or ,guide 
to ,beginners4 ,containing all the      
,information necessary to acquire a     
,knowledge of the ,game2 with ,diagrams1

  ,illustrative of the ,various         
,movements of the ,pieces4 ,by ,charles 
,henry  ,stanley4 ,new ,york4 ,robert   
,m4 ,de,witt4 #cbmo4 pp4 #gb4 #ch cts4  
,matrimonial ,brokerage in the          
,metropolis4 ,being the ,narrative of   
,strange  ,adventures in ,new ,york and 
,startling ,facts in ,city ,life4 ,by a 
,reporter  of the ,press4 ,new ,york4   
,thatcher  ,hutchinson4 #abmo4 pp4 #cee4
 #a4jj4    ,adam ,bede4 ,by ,george     
,eliot1 ,author of ,scenes in ,clerical 
,life4 ,new  ,york4 ,harper  ,brothers4 
#abmo4 pp4 #dif4 #a4jj4    ,three       
,visits to ,madagascar1 during the      
,years #ahec1 #ahed1 #ahef4 ,including  
a ,journey to the ,capital2 with        
,notices of the ,natural ,history of the
  ,country and of the ,present          
,civilization of the ,people4 ,by       
,william ,ellis1  ,f4,h4,s41 ,author of 
,polynesian ,researches4 ,illustrated by
 ,wood-,cuts from  ,photographs1 etc4   
,new ,york4 ,harper  ,brothers4 #hvo4   
pp4 #ead4 #b4ej4    ,the ,lady of the   

,isle4 ,a ,romance of ,real ,life4 ,by  
,mrs4 ,emma ,d4,e4,n4  ,southworth4     
,philadelphia4 ,t4,b4 ,peterson         
,brothers4 #abmo4 pp4 #ebh4  #a4be4     
,the ,american ,home ,garden4 ,being    
,principles and ,rules for the ,culture 
of  ,vegetables1 ,fruits1 and           
,shrubbery4 ,to which are               
,transcriber's note3 ,final page missing
 in original4