,,chambers' ,,edinburgh ,,journal       
,,conducted ,,by ,,william ,,and        
,,robert ,,chambers1 ,,editors ,,of     
',,chambers',s   ,,information ,,for    
,,the ,,people1' ',,chambers',s         
,,educational ,,course1' c4     ,no4    
#dea4 ,,new ,,series4   ,,saturday1     
,,august #ba1 #aheb4   ,,price          
#a-a_/b;d4     ,,who ,,shall ,,rule     
,,the ,,waves8   ,a contest of a very   
remarkable kind is now going on1 one    
which is pregnant with important results
 in respect to commerce1 to naval       
architecture1 to geographical discovery1
 to colonisation1 to the spread of      
intelligence1 to the improvement of     
industrial art1 and to the balance of   
political power among nations4 ,the     
nature of this contest cannot be better 
made intelligible than by giving the    
words of a challenge recently put forth3
 ',the ,american ,navigation ,company   
challenge the ship-builders of ,great   
,britain to a ship-race1 with cargo on  
board1 from a port in ,england to a port

 in ,china and back4 ,one ship to be    
entered by each party1 and to be named  
within a week of the start4 ,the ships  
to be modelled1 commanded1 and officered
 entirely by citizens of the ,united    
,states and ,great ,britain             
respectively2 to be entitled to rank ,a 
#a either at the ,american offices or at
 ,lloyd's4 ,the stakes to be ,l4#aj1jjj1
 and satisfactorily secured by both     
parties2 to be paid without regard to   
accidents1 or to any exceptions2 the    
whole amount forfeited by either party  
not appearing4 ,judges to be mutually   
chosen4 ,reasonable time to be given    
after notice of acceptance1 to build the
 ships1 if required1 and also for       
discharging and loading cargo in ,china4
 ,the challenged party may name the size
 of the ships--not under #hjj nor over  
#abjj ,american register tons2 the      
weight and measurement which may be     
carried each way2 and the allowance for 
short weight or oversize4'  ,there is a 
boldness1 a straightforwardness1 an     

honesty in this challenge1 which cannot 
be mistaken4 ,it is difficult to be     
interpreted in any other sense than that
 the challengers mean what they say4    
,brother ,jonathan has fairly thrown    
down the gauntlet to the ,britishers1   
and it behoves the latter to take it up 
in a becoming spirit4 ,our              
ship-builders1 especially on the ,dee1  
the ,clyde1 the ,wear1 the ,mersey1 and 
the ,thames1 ought to feel that much is 
now expected from them2 for if once the 
,yankees obtain a reputation--a         
,european reputation it will then       
be--for outstripping ,british ships on  
the broad seas1 our ship-owners will    
assuredly feel the effects in a         
commercial sense4  ,this question of the
 speed of ships is a very curious one4  
,empirical rules1 rather than scientific
 principles1 have hitherto determined   
the forms which shall be given to ships4
 ,smith adopts a certain form because   
,brown's ship sailed well1 whereas      
,jones's differently shaped vessel was a

 bad sailer2 although ,smith1 ,brown1   
and ,jones collectively may be little   
able to shew why one of the vessels     
should sail better than the other4  ,if 
opportunity should occur to the reader  
to visit a large ship-building          
establishment1 such as those on any one 
of the five rivers named above1 he will 
see something like the following routine
 of operation going on3--  ,there is1   
first1 the 'ship's draughtsman1' whose  
duties are somewhat analogous to those  
of the architect of a house1 or the     
engineer of a railway1 or the scientific
 cutter at a fashionable tailor's3 he   
has to shape the materials out of which 
the structure is to be built up1 or at  
least he has to shew others how it is to
 be done4 ,when the ship-builder has    
received an order1 we will say1 to      
construct a ship1 and has ascertained   
for what route1 and for what purpose1   
and of what size it is to be1 he and his
 ship's draughtsman 'lay their heads    
together' to devise such an arrangement 

of timbers as will meet the requirements
 of the case4 ,here it is that a science
 of ship-building would be valuable2 the
 practical rules followed are deductions
 not so much from general principles as 
from accumulated facts which are waiting
 to be systematised2 and until this     
process has been carried further1       
ship-building will be an art1 but not a 
science4 ,well1 then2 the draughtsman1  
gathering up all the crumbs of knowledge
 obtainable from various quarters1 puts 
his wisdom upon paper in the form of    
drawings and diagrams1 to represent not 
only the dimensions of the vessel1 but  
the sizes and shapes of the principal   
timbers which are to form it1 on the    
scale1 perhaps1 of a quarter of an inch 
to a foot4 ,then this very responsible  
personage goes to his 'mould-loft1' on  
the wide-spreading floor of which he    
chalks such a labyrinth of lines as     
bewilder one even to look at4 ,these    
lines represent the actual sizes and    
shapes of the different parts of the    

ship1 with curvatures and taperings of  
singularly varied character4 ,one floor 
of one room thus contains full-sized    
contours of all the timbers for the     
ship4  ,so far1 then1 the draughtsman4  
,next1 under his supervision1 thin      
planks of deal are cut to the contours  
of all these chalk-lines2 and these thin
 pieces1 called moulds1 are intended to 
guide the sawyers in cutting the timbers
 for the ship4 ,a large ,east ,indiaman 
requires more than a hundred            
mould-pieces1 chalked and marked in     
every direction4  ,another skilful      
personage1 called the 'converter1' then 
makes a tour of the timber-yard1 and    
looks about for all the odd1 crooked1   
crabbed trunks of oak and elm which he  
can find2 well knowing that if the      
natural curvature of a tree accords     
somewhat with the required curvature of 
a ship's timber1 the timber will be     
stronger than if cut from a straight    
trunk4 ,he has the mould-pieces for a   
guide1 and searches until he has        

ferreted out all the timbers wanted4    
,then he sets the sawyers to work1 who1 
with the mould-pieces always at hand1   
shape the large trunks to the required  
form4 ,and here it may be noted as a    
remarkable fact1 that although we live  
in such a steam-engine and              
machine-working age1 very few engines or
 machines afford aid in sawing ships'   
timbers4 ,the truth seems to be1 that   
the curvatures are so numerous and      
varied1 that machine-sawing would       
scarcely be applicable4 ,yet attempts   
are from time to time made to construct 
such machines4 ,mr ,cochran has invented
 one2 and it is said that at the ,earl  
of ,rosse's first soire as president of 
the ,royal ,society1 a model of this    
timber-cutting machine was exhibited2   
that ,prince ,albert cut a miniature    
timber with it2 and that he thus began  
an apprenticeship to the national art of
 ship-building4  ,leaving the supposed  
visitor to a ship-yard to trace the     
timbers through all their stages of     

progress1 we will proceed with that     
which is more directly the object of the
 present paper--namely1 the relation of 
speed to build4 ,some sixteen or        
eighteen years ago1 the ,british        
,association rightly conceived that its 
,mechanical ,section would be worthily  
occupied in an inquiry concerning the   
forms of ships1 and the effect of form  
on the speed and steadiness4 ,the       
inquiry was intrusted to ,mr ,scott     
,russell and ,mr 7afterwards ,sir ,john7
 ,robison2 and admirably has it been    
carried out4 ,mr ,scott ,russell1       
especially1 has sought to establish     
something like a science of form in     
ship-building--precisely the thing which
 would supply a proper basis for the    
artificers4  ,it is interesting to see  
how1 year after year1 this committee of 
two persons narrated the result of their
 unbought and unpaid labours to the     
,association4 ,in #ahch and #ahci1 they 
shewed how a solid moving in the water  
produced a particular kind of wave2 how1

 at a certain velocity1 the solid might 
ride on the top of the wave1 without    
sinking into the hollow2 how1 if the    
external form of a vessel bore a certain
 resemblance to a section of this wave1 
the ship would encounter less resistance
 in the water than any other form2 and  
thus originated the wave principle--so  
much talked of in connection with       
ship-building4 ,a ship built on that    
principle in that year 7#ahci7 was      
believed to be the fastest ship in      
,britain4 ,in #ahdj1 the committee      
stated that they had 'consulted the most
 eminent ship-builders as to the points 
upon which they most wanted information1
 and requested them to point out what   
were the forms of vessel which they     
would wish to have tried4 ,more than    
#ajj models of vessels of various sizes1
 from #cj inches to #be feet in length1 
were constructed1' and an immense mass  
of experiments were made on them4 ,in   
#ahda1 they described how they had      
experimented on vessels of every size1  

from models of #cj inches in length to  
vessels of #acjj tons4 ,in the next     
following year1 the committee presented 
a report of no fewer than #bj1jjj       
experiments on models and ships1 some of
 which afforded remarkable confirmation 
of the efficiency of the wave principle 
in ship-building4 ,thus the committee   
went on1 year after year1 detailing to  
the ,association the results of their   
experiments1 and pointing out how the   
ship-builders were by degrees giving    
practical value to these results4  ,now1
 a country in which a scientific society
 will spend a thousand pounds on such an
 inquiry1 and in which scientific men   
will give up days and weeks of their    
time to it without fee or reward1 ought 
not to be beaten on the broad seas by   
any competitor4 ,it affords an          
instructive confirmation of the results 
arrived at by the committee1 that when  
some of our swiftest yachts and clippers
 came to be carefully examined1 it was  
found that the wave principle had been  

to a great extent adopted in their form1
 in cases even where the vessels were   
built before the labours of the         
committee had commenced4 ,the art had in
 this case preceded the science4 ,and   
let it not be considered that any       
absurdity is involved here3 farmers     
manured their fields long before        
chemists were able to explain the real  
nature of manuring2 and so in other     
arts1 ingenious practical men often     
discover useful processes before the men
 of science can give the rationale of   
those processes4  ,it may be all very   
well to assert1 that ',britannia rules  
the waves1' and that ',britons never    
will be slaves1' and so forth2 only let 
us prove the assertions to be true1 or  
not assert at all4 ,we must appeal to   
the ',shipping ,intelligence' which     
comes to hand from every side1 and      
determine1 from actual facts1 whether   
any one country really outsails another4
  ,among the facts which thus present   
themselves to notice1 is one relating to

 clippers4 ,who first gave the name of  
clipper to a ship1 or what the name     
means1 we do not know2 but a clipper is 
understood to be a vessel so shaped as  
to sail faster than other vessels of    
equal tonnage4 ,it is said that these   
swift sailers originated in the wants of
 the salmon shippers1 and others at our 
eastern ports4 ,a bulky1 slow-moving    
ship may suffice for the conveyance to  
,london of the minerals and manufactures
 of ,northumberland and ,durham2 but    
salmon and other perishable articles    
become seriously deteriorated by a long 
voyage2 and hence it is profitable in   
such case to sacrifice bulk to speed4   
,leith1 ,dundee1 and especially         
,aberdeen1 are distinguished for the    
speed of their vessels above those of   
the ,tyne and the ,wear2 and the above  
facts probably explain the cause of the 
difference4 ,the ,aberdeen clipper is   
narrow1 very keen and penetrating in    
front1 gracefully tapering at the stern1
 and altogether calculated to 'go ahead'

 through the water in rapid style4 ,as  
compared with one of the ordinary       
old-fashioned ,english coasting brigs of
 equal tonnage1 an ,aberdeen clipper    
will attain nearly double the speed4    
,one of these fine vessels1 the         
,chrysolite1 in a recent voyage from    
,china1 traversed #cbj nautical miles   
7nearly #cgj ,english statute miles7 in 
twenty-four hours3 this was a great     
performance4 ,but it must not be        
forgotten1 that the ,united ,states     
claim to have attained a high ship-speed
 before ,england had thought much on the
 matter2 the ,baltimore clippers have   
long been known on the other side of the
 ,atlantic as dashing1 rapid1 little    
vessels1 mostly either single or        
double-masted4  ,it is to the opening of
 the ,china trade the present wonderful 
rivalry may in great part be attributed4
 ,so long as ,european vessels were     
cooped up stagnantly in ,canton river1  
and allowed to trade only under         
circumstances of great restriction and  

annoyance1 little was effected except by
 the tea-drinking denizens of ,great    
,britain2 but when1 by the treaty of    
,nankin in #ahdb1 ,sir ,henry ,pottinger
 obtained the opening of the four ports 
of ,amoy1 ,foo-tchow-foo1 ,ning-po1 and 
,shang-hae1 and stipulated that foreign 
vessels should be allowed to share with 
those of ,england the liberty of trading
 at those ports1 there was a great      
impetus given to ship-builders and      
ship-owners3 those who had goods to     
sell1 thus found a new market for them2 
and those who could perform the voyage  
most quickly1 would have a quicker      
return for their capital4 ,this1        
following at an interval of seven or    
eight years the changes made in the     
,india trade by the ,east ,india        
,company's charter of #ahcd1 brought the
 ,americans and the ,french and others  
into the ,indian seas in great numbers4 
,then came the wonders of #ahdg1 in the 
discovery of ,californian gold2 and     
those of #ahea1 in the similar          

discoveries in ,australia4  ,now1 these 
four dates--#ahcd1 #ahdb1 #ahdg1        
#ahea--may be considered as four        
starting-points1 each marked by a       
renewed conquest of man over the waves1 
and a strengthened but not hostile      
rivalry on the seas between nation and  
nation4 ,so many inducements are now    
afforded to merchants to transact their 
dealings rapidly1 that the ship-builders
 are beset on all sides with demands for
 more speed--more speed2 and it is      
significant to observe that1 in almost  
every recent newspaper account of a     
ship-launch1 we are told how many knots 
an hour she is expected to attain when  
fitted4 ,every ship seems to beat every 
other ship1 in the glowing language     
employed2 but after making a little     
allowance for local vanity1 there is a  
substratum of correctness which shews   
strongly how we are advancing in rate of
 speed4  ,it will really now become     
useful to collect and preserve records  
of speed at sea1 in connection with     

particular ships of particular build1 as
 a guide to future construction4 ,mr    
,henry ,wise published a volume about   
#ahdj1 containing an analysis of one    
hundred voyages1 made by ships belonging
 to the ,east ,india ,company1 extracted
 from the ships' logs preserved by the  
,company4 ,it appears that an average   
gave #aab days as the duration of a     
voyage from ,london to ,bombay4 ,now1   
within the last few months we have seen 
that the ,chrysolite1 a small clipper1  
built at ,aberdeen for a ,liverpool     
firm1 has made the run from ,england to 
,china in #ajd days2 and the ,stornoway1
 built at the same place for a ,london  
firm1 has accomplished the distance in  
#ajc days4 ,let the reader open his map1
 and compare the relative distances of  
,bombay and ,china from ,england1 and he
 will then see what a wonderful increase
 of speed is implied in the above       
numbers4 ,three ,american clippers were 
sighted during the out and home voyages 
of the two vessels1 and1 if newspaper   

reports tell truly1 were distanced by   
them4  ,we must not expect that the vast
 and unprecedented emigration to        
,california and ,australia now going on1
 will be designedly and materially      
connected with high speed1 because most 
of the emigrants go in roomy ships1 at  
fares as low as are attainable2 but     
goods-traffic1 and the higher class of  
passenger-traffic1 are every month      
coming more and more within the domain  
of high speed4 ,let us take two         
instances which #aheb has afforded1 one 
furnished by ,england1 and one by       
,america--one connected with the        
,australian trade1 and one with the     
,chinese4 ,the ,aberdeen clipper-built  
barque1 ,phoenician1 arrived at         
,plymouth on ,february #c1 having left  
,sydney on ,november #ab1 and performed 
the voyage in #hc days6 ,her previous   
voyages had varied from #hh to #ajc     
days4 ,the other instance is that of the
 ,american clipper1 ,witch of the ,wave1
 a fine vessel of #adjj tons burden1    

which left ,canton on #eth ,january1 and
 arrived in the ,downs on #dth ,april1 a
 period of #ij days4 ,her greatest speed
 is said to have been #cch nautical     
miles--equivalent to about #chi ,english
 miles--in #bd hours4  ,thus it is1 we  
find1 that in one voyage we beat the    
,americans--in another1 they outstrip   
us2 and there seems at present no reason
 why either country should fail in      
making still further advances4 ,the     
,liverpool and ,new ,york packet-trade  
affords another example of the same     
principle which we have been            
considering2 gradually these truly noble
 vessels are acquiring an increased rate
 of speed4 ,not only does the general   
desire for high speed impel their owners
 to this1 but there is a more direct    
incentive in the increased rivalry of   
steam-vessels4 ,the ,american 'liners1' 
as the sailing-packets on this route are
 usually called1 have had in past years 
an average of about #cf days outward    
passage1 and #bd days homeward2 but they

 are now shooting ahead unmistakably4   
,the ,racer1 built at ,new ,york in     
#ahea1 and placed upon the ,liverpool   
station1 is a magnificent clipper of    
#agjj tons register2 it made its first  
voyage from ,new ,york to ,liverpool in 
#ad days--a quickness not only exceeding
 that of its predecessors1 but leaving  
nearly all of them many days in arrear4 
,even this1 however1 was shortly        
afterwards excelled2 for another new    
clipper1 the ,washington1 accomplished  
the distance in a little over #ac-a_/b  
days4  ,the pleasure-vessels which are  
so numerous in the south of ,england1   
belonging to the several yacht-clubs1   
are sharing in the modern               
speed-producing improvements observable 
in other vessels4 ,every one has heard  
of the yacht ,america1 which arrived at 
,cowes from the ,united ,states in ,july
 #ahea1 and of the challenge which her  
owners threw out against ,english       
yacht-owners4 ,every one knows that the 
,america beat the yachts which were     

fitted against her4 ,this victory has   
led to an immense activity on the part  
of yacht-builders in ,england2 they are 
studying all the peculiarities in the   
build and the trim of the yachts        
belonging to the different ports and    
different countries2 and we are         
justified by every analogy in expecting1
 that good results will spring out of   
wits thus sharpened4  ,although we have 
not deemed it necessary in the present  
paper to touch on the national struggle 
between steam-ships1 we must not forget 
that one of the most promising and      
valuable features in steam navigation   
arose as an appendage to sailing4 ,the  
auxiliary screw will deserve the        
blessings of our colonists1 for reasons 
which may be soon told4 ,when it was yet
 uncertain what result would mark the   
contest ,screw v4 ,paddle1 it was       
suggested that the screw-propeller might
 probably be used as an auxiliary power1
 for occasional use during calms and    
contrary winds2 the vessel to be a      

sailing-vessel under ordinary           
circumstances2 but to have a marine     
engine and a screw for exigencies at    
times when the ship would be brought to 
a stand-still or even driven backwards4 
,about seven years ago1 an ,american    
packet-ship1 the ,massachusetts1 a      
complete sailing-vessel in other        
respects1 was provided with a screw and 
a steam-engine powerful enough to keep  
the ship moving when winds and tides    
were adverse2 the screw was capable of  
being lifted out of the water when not  
in use4 ,in her first voyage from       
,liverpool to ,america1 this ship gained
 from five to thirteen days as compared 
with five other ships which sailed      
either on the same or the following day4
 ,this experiment was deemed so far     
successful1 that the ,admiralty ordered1
 in #ahdf1 an auxiliary screw to be     
fitted to the ,amphion frigate1 then    
building at ,woolwich4 ,another example 
was the ,sarah ,sands1 an iron ship of  
#acjj tons2 she had engines of #ahj     

horse-power1 much below that requisite  
for an ordinary steamer of the same     
size4 ,she could carry three classes of 
passengers1 coal for the whole voyage1  
and #ijj tons of merchandise4 ,she made 
four voyages in #ahdg1 two out and two  
home2 and in #ahdh she made five3 her   
average time was about nineteen days    
out1 and seventeen days home1 and she   
usually passed about six liners on the  
voyage4  ,the speed here mentioned is   
not quite equal to that of the truly    
remarkable clippers noticed above1 but  
it far exceeded that of any liner at    
work in #ahdh4 ,the example was followed
 in other vessels2 and then men began to
 cherish the vision of a propeller      
screwing its way through the broad ocean
 to our distant colonies4 ,from this    
humble beginning as an auxiliary1 the   
screw has obtained a place of more and  
more dignity1 until at length we see the
 mails for the ,cape and for ,australia 
intrusted confidently to its            
safe-keeping4  ,the icy regions of the  

north are braved by the auxiliary screw4
 ,the little ,isabel1 fitted out almost 
entirely at the expense of ,lady        
,franklin to aid in the search for her  
gallant husband1 is a brigantine of #ahj
 tons1 with an auxiliary screw to ship  
and unship4 ,the ,intrepid and the      
,pioneer1 the two screw-steamers which  
form part of ,sir ,edward ,belcher's    
arctic expedition--lately started from  
,england--are to work with or without   
their auxiliary appendage as            
circumstances may determine4  ,the      
present article1 however1 will shew that
 sailing is not less alive and busy than
 steaming2 and that the yachts and      
clippers of both nations are probably   
destined to a continuous series of      
improvements4 ,when these               
improvements--whether by aid of         
scientific societies and laborious      
experiments1 or by the watchful eye and 
the shrewd intelligence of              
ship-builders1 or by both combined--have
 advanced steadily to a point perhaps   

far beyond that which we have yet       
attained1 then1 if at all1 may we       
trouble ourselves about the             
question--',who shall rule the waves8'  
,,number ,,nineteen ,,in ,,our ,,street4
   ,number ,nineteen in our street is a 
gloomy house1 with a blistered door and 
a cavernous step2 with a hungry area and
 a desolate frontage4 ,the windows are  
like prison-slips1 only a trifle darker1
 and a good deal dirtier2 and the       
kitchen-offices might stand proxies for 
the ,black ,hole of ,calcutta1 barring  
the company and the warmth4 ,for as to  
company1 black beetles1 mice1 and red   
ants1 are all that are ever seen of     
animated nature there1 and the          
thermometer rarely stands above         
freezing-point4 ,number ,nineteen is a  
lodging-house1 kept by a poor old maid1 
whose only friend is her cat1 and whose 
only heirs will be the parish4 ,with the
 outward world1 excepting such as slowly
 filter through the rusty opening of the
 blistered door1 ,miss ,rebecca ,spong  

has long ceased to have dealings4 ,she  
hangs a certain piece of cardboard1 with
 ',lodgings to ,let1' printed in        
school-girl print1 unconscious of       
straight lines1 across it2 and this act 
of public notification1 coupled with    
anxious peepings over the blinds of the 
parlour front1 is all the intercourse   
which she and the world of men hold     
together4 ,every now and then1 indeed1 a
 mangy cab may be seen driving up to her
 worn-out step2 and dingy individuals1  
of the kind who travel about with small 
square boxes1 covered with marbled      
paper1 and secured with knotted cords of
 different sizes1 may be witnessed      
taking possession of ,nineteen1 in a    
melancholy and mysterious way4 ,but even
 these visitations1 unsatisfactory as   
most lodging-house keepers would        
consider them1 are few and far between2 
for somehow the people who come and go  
never seem to have any friends or       
relations whereby ,miss ,spong may      
improve her 'connection4' ,you never see

 the postman stop at that desolate door2
 you never hear a visitor's knock on    
that rusty lion's head2 no unnecessary  
traffic of social life ever takes place 
behind those dusty blinds2 it might be  
the home of a select party of           
,trappists1 or the favourite            
hiding-place of coiners1 for all the    
sunshine of external humanity that is   
suffered to enter those interior        
recesses4 ,if a murder had been         
committed in every room1 from the attics
 to the cellar1 a heavier spell of      
solitude and desolation could not rest  
on its floors4  ,one dreary afternoon in
 ,november1 a cab stopped at ,number    
,nineteen4 ,it was a railway cab1 less  
worn and ghastly than those vehicles in 
general1 but not bringing much evidence 
of gaiety or wealth for all that4 ,its  
inmates were a widow and a boy of about 
fifteen2 and all the possessions they   
had with them were contained in one     
trunk of very moderate dimensions1 a    
cage with a canary bird twittering      

inside1 some pots of flowers1 and a     
little white rabbit1 one of the comical 
'lop-eared' kind4 ,there was something  
very touching in these evidences of the 
fresh country life which they had left  
for the dull atmosphere and steaming    
fogs of the metropolis4 ,they told a sad
 tale of old associations broken1 and   
old loves forsworn2 of days of comfort  
and prosperity exchanged for the        
dreariness of poverty2 and freedom1     
love1 and happiness1 all snapped asunder
 for the leaden chain of suffering to be
 forged instead4 ,one could not help    
thinking of all those two hapless people
 must have gone through before they     
could have summoned courage to leave    
their own dear village1 where they had  
lived so many years in that local       
honourableness of the clergyman's       
family2 throwing themselves out of the  
society which knew and loved them1 that 
they might enter a harsh world1 where   
they must make their own position1 and  
earn their own living1 unaided by       

sympathy1 honour1 or affection4 ,they   
looked as if they themselves thought    
something of this too1 when they took   
possession of the desolate second floor2
 and the widow sat down near her son1   
and taking his hand in hers1 gave vent  
to a flood of tears1 which ended by     
unmanning the boy as well4 ,and then    
they shut up the window carefully1 and  
nothing more was seen of them that      
night4  ,mrs ,lawson1 the widow1 was a  
mild1 lady-like person1 whose face bore 
the marks of recent affliction1 and     
whose whole appearance and manners were 
those of a loving1 gentle1 unenergetic1 
and helpless woman1 whom sorrow could   
well crush beyond all power of          
resistance4 ,the boy was a tall1 thin   
youth1 with a hectic flush and a hollow 
cough1 eyes bright and restless1 and as 
manifestly nervous as his mother was the
 reverse in temperament--anxious and    
restless1 and continually taxing his    
strength beyond its power1 making       
himself seriously ill in his endeavours 

to save his beloved mother some small   
trouble4 ,they seemed to be very        
tenderly attached one to the other1 and 
to supply to each all that was wanting  
in each3 the mother's gentleness        
soothing down her boy's excitability1   
and the boy's nervousness rousing the   
mother to exertion4 ,they were          
interesting people--so lonely1          
apparently so unfit to 'rough it' in the
 world2 the mother so gentle in temper1 
and the son so frail in                 
constitution--two people who ought to   
have been protected from all ill and all
 cares1 yet who had such a bitter cup to
 empty1 such a harsh fate to fulfil4    
,they were very poor4 ,the mother used  
to go out with a small basket on her    
arm1 which could hold but scanty        
supplies for two full-grown people4 ,yet
 this was the only store they had2 for  
no baker1 no butcher1 no milkman1       
grocer1 or poulterer1 ever stopped at   
the area gate of ,miss ,rebecca ,spong2 
no purveyor of higher grade than a      

cat's-meat-man was ever seen to hand    
provisions into the depths of ,number   
,nineteen's darkness4 ,the old maid     
herself was poor2 and she1 too1 used to 
do her marketing on the basket          
principle2 carrying home1 generally at  
night1 odd scraps from the open stalls  
in ,tottenham ,court-,road1 which she   
had picked up as bargains2 and dividing 
equally between herself and her fagged  
servant-of-all-work the wretched meal   
which would not have been too ample for 
one4 ,she therefore could not help her  
lodgers1 and they all scrambled on over 
the desolate places of poverty as they  
best might4 ,in general1 tea1 sugar1    
bread1 a little rice1 a little coffee as
 a change1 a scrap of butter which no   
cow that ever yielded milk would have   
acknowledged--these were the usual items
 of ,mrs ,lawson's marketing1 on which  
she and her young son were to be        
nourished4 ,and on such poor fare as    
this was that pale boy expected to      
become a hearty man8 ,the mother could  

not1 did not expect it4 ,else why were  
the tears in her eyes so often as she   
returned8 and why did she hang over her 
son1 and caress him fondly1 as if in    
deprecation1 when she brought him his   
wretched meal1 seeming to lament1 to    
blame herself1 too1 that she had not    
been able to provide him anything       
better8 ,poor things6 poor things6  ,mrs
 ,lawson seemed at last to get some     
employment4 ,she had been seeking for it
 long--to judge by her frequent absences
 from home1 and the weary look of       
disappointment she wore when she        
returned4 ,but at last the opening was  
found1 and she set to work in earnest4  
,she used to go out early in the        
morning1 and not return until late in   
the evening1 and then she looked pale   
and tired1 as one whose energies had    
been overtasked all the day2 but she had
 found no gold-mine4 ,the scanty meals  
were even scantier than before1 and her 
shabby mourning was getting shabbier and
 duller4 ,she was evidently hard-worked 

for very little pay2 and their condition
 was not improved1 only sustained by her
 exertions4 ,things seemed to be very   
bad with them altogether1 and with      
little hope of amendment2 for poor ,mrs 
,lawson had been 'brought up as a lady1'
 and so was doubly incapable--by        
education as well as by temperament--of 
gaining her own living4 ,she was now    
employed as daily governess in the      
family of a city tradesman--people1 who 
though they were kindly-natured enough1 
had as much as they could do in keeping 
their own fortunes afloat without giving
 any substantial aid to others1 and who 
had therefore engaged her at the lowest 
possible salary1 such as was barely     
sufficient to keep her and her son from 
absolute want4  ,the boy had long been  
very busy4 ,he used to sit by the window
 all the day1 earnestly employed with   
paper and scissors2 and ,i wondered what
 fascinating occupation he had found to 
chain him for so many hours by those    
chinks and draughts2 for he was usually 

enveloped in shawls1 and blankets were  
hung about his chair1 and every tender  
precaution taken that he should not     
increase his sickness by exposure even  
to the ordinary changes in the          
temperature of a dwelling-room4 ,but    
now1 in spite of his terrible cough1 in 
spite of his hurried breathing1 he used 
to sit for hours on hours by the dusky  
window1 cutting and cutting at that     
eternal paper1 as if his very life      
depended on his task4 ,but he used to   
gather up the cuttings carefully1 and   
hide all out of sight before his mother 
came home--sometimes nearly caught      
before quite prepared1 when he used to  
shew as much trepidation as if          
committing a crime4  ,this went on for  
some time1 and at last he went out4 ,it 
was fortunately a fine day--a clear1    
cold1 ,january day2 but he had no sooner
 breathed the brisk frosty air than a   
terrible fit of coughing seemed to      
threaten his frail existence4 ,he did   
not turn back though2 and ,i watched him

 slowly pass down the street1 holding on
 by the rails1 and every now and then   
stopping to take breath4 ,i saw a       
policeman speak to him in a grave1      
compassionating way1 as if--seeing that 
he was so young and feeble1 and so much 
a stranger that he was asking his way to
 ,oxford ,street1 while going in a      
totally contrary direction--he was      
advising him to go home1 and to let some
 one else do his business--his father   
perhaps2 but the boy only smiled1 and   
shook his head in a hopeful way2 and so 
he went from my sight1 though not from  
my thoughts4  ,this continued daily1    
sometimes ,herbert bringing home a small
 quantity of money1 sometimes only      
disappointment2 and these were terrible 
trials6 ,at last1 the mother was made   
acquainted with her son's new mode of   
life1 by the treasured #es4 which the   
poor boy thrust into her hand one       
evening1 with a strange shy pride that  
brought all the blood into his face1    
while he kissed her with impetuosity to 

smother her reproaches4 ,she asked him  
how he had got so much money--so much6  
and then he told her how1 self-taught1  
he had learned to cut out figures--dogs 
and landscapes--in coloured paper1 which
 he had taken to the bazaars and        
stationers' shops1 and there disposed   
of--for a mere trifle truly4 ',for this 
kind of thing is not fashionable1       
mother1 though ,i think the ,queen likes
 them1' he said2 'and of course1 if not 
fashionable1 ,i could not get very much 
for them4' ,so he contented himself1 and
 consoled her1 for the small payment of 
sixpence or a shilling1 which perhaps   
was all he could earn by three or four  
days' work4  ,the mother gently blamed  
him for his imprudence in exposing      
himself as he had done to the wet and   
cold--and1 alas6 these had told sadly on
 his weakened frame2 but ,herbert was so
 happy to-night1 that she could not damp
 his pleasure1 even for maternal love2  
so she reserved the lecture which must  
be given until to-morrow4 ,and then his 

out-door expeditions were peremptorily  
forbidden2 and ,miss ,spong was called  
up to strengthen the prohibition--which 
she did effectually by offering1 in her 
little1 quick1 nervous way1 to take     
,herbert's cuttings to the shops        
herself1 and thus to spare him the      
necessity of doing so4 ,poor ,mrs       
,lawson went up to the little woman1 and
 kissed her cheek like a sister1 as she 
spoke2 while ,miss ,spong1 so utterly   
unused as she had been for years to the 
smallest demonstration of affection1    
looked at first bewildered and aghast1  
and finally sank down on the chair in a 
childish fit of crying4 ,i cannot say   
how much the sight of that poor little  
old maid's tears affected me6 ,they     
seemed to speak of such long years of   
heart-loneliness--such loving impulses  
strangled by the chill hand of          
solitude--such weary familiarity with   
that deadness of life wherein no        
sympathy is bestowed1 no love           
awakened--that ,i felt as one witnessing

 a dead man recalled to life1 after all 
that made life pleasant had fled4 ,what 
a sorrowful house that ,number ,nineteen
 was6 ,from the desolate                
servant-of-all-work at her first place  
from the ,foundling1 to the half-starved
 ,german in the attics1 every inmate of 
the house seemed to have nothing but the
 bitter bread of affliction to          
eat--nothing but the salt waters of     
despair to drink4  ,and now began       
another epoch in the ,lawson history1   
which shed a sad but most beautiful     
light over the fading day of that young 
life4  ,a girl of about fourteen--she   
might have been a year or so            
younger--was once sent from one of the  
stationer's shops to conclude some      
bargain with the sick paper-cutter4 ,i  
saw her slender figure bound up the     
desolate steps with the light tread of  
youth1 as if she had been a divine being
 entering the home of human sorrow4 ,she
 was one of those saintly children who  
are sometimes seen blooming like white  

roses1 unstained by time or by contact4 
,her hair hung down her neck in long1   
loose curls1 among which the sunlight   
seemed to have fairly lost itself1 they 
were so golden bright2 her eyes were    
large1 and of that deep1 dark gray which
 is so much more beautiful1 because so  
much more intellectual1 than any other  
colour eyes can take2 her lips were     
fresh and youthful2 and her figure had  
all that girlish grace of fourteen which
 combines the unconscious innocence of  
the child with the exquisite modesty of 
the maiden4 ,she soon became the daily  
visitor of the ,lawsons--pupil to       
,herbert4  ,the paper-cutting was not   
wholly laid aside though2 in the early  
morning1 and in the evening1 and often  
late into the night1 the thin1 wan      
fingers were busy about their task2 but 
the middle of the day was snatched like 
an hour of sleep in the midst of        
pain--garnered up like a fountain of    
sweet waters in the wilderness2 for then
 it was that little ,jessie came for her

 ,latin lesson1 which she used to learn 
so well1 and take such pleasure in1 and 
be doubly diligent about1 because poor  
,herbert ,lawson was ill1 and vexation  
would do him harm4 ,does it seem strange
 that a stationer's daughter should be  
so lovely1 and should learn ,latin8 ,and
 there those two children used to sit   
for three dear hours of the day2 she1   
leaning over her book1 her sweet young  
face bent on her task with a look of    
earnest intellectuality in it1 that made
 her like some sainted maid of olden    
time2 and he watching her every         
movement1 and listening to every        
syllable1 with a rapt interest such as  
only very early youth can feel4 ,how    
happy he used to look6 ,how his face    
would lighten up1 as if an angel's wing 
had swept over it1 when the two gentle  
taps at the door heralded young ,jessie6
 ,how his boyish reverence1 mixed with  
boyish care1 gave his wasted features an
 expression almost unearthly1 as he hung
 over her so protectingly1 so tenderly1 

so adoringly6 ,it was so different from 
a man's love6 ,there was something so   
exquisitely pure and spiritual in       
it--something so reverential and so     
chivalrous--it would have been almost a 
sin to have had that love grow out into 
a man's strong passion6 ,the flowers she
 brought him--and seldom did a day pass 
without a fresh supply of violets1 and1 
when the weather was warmer1 of         
primroses and cowslips1 from her gentle 
hand--all these were cherished more than
 gold would have been cherished2 the    
books she lent him were never from his  
side2 if she touched one of the paltry  
ornaments on the chimney-piece1 that    
ornament was transferred to his own     
private table2 and the chair she used   
was always kept apart1 and sacred to her
 return4  ,it was very beautiful to     
watch all these manifestations3 for ,i  
did watch them1 first from my own       
window1 then in the house1 in the midst 
of the lonely family1 comforting when ,i
 could not aid1 and sharing in the      

griefs ,i could not lessen4 ,under the  
new influence1 the boy gained such      
loveliness and spiritualism1 that his   
face had an angelic character1 which1   
though it made young ,jessie feel a     
strange kind of loving awe for the sick 
boy1 betokened to me1 and to his mother1
 that his end was not far off4  ,he was 
now too weak to sit up1 excepting for a 
small part of the day2 and ,i feared    
that he would soon become too weak to   
teach1 even in his gentle way1 and with 
such a gentle pupil4 ,but the ,latin    
exercises still held their place2 the   
books lying on the sofa instead of on   
the table1 and ,jessie sitting by him on
 a stool1 where he could overlook her as
 she read3 this was all the change2     
unless1 indeed1 that ,jessie read aloud 
more than formerly1 and not always out  
of a ,latin book4 ,sometimes it was     
poetry1 and sometimes it was the ,bible 
that she read to him2 and then he used  
to stop her1 and pour forth such        
eloquent1 such rapturous remarks on what

 he heard1 that ,jessie used to sit and 
watch him like a young angel holding    
converse with a spirit4 ,she was        
beginning to love him very deeply in her
 innocent1 girlish1 unconscious way2 and
 ,i used to see her bounding step grow  
sad and heavy as1 day by day1 her       
brother-like tutor seemed to be sinking 
from earth so fast4  ,thus passed the   
winter1 poor ,mrs ,lawson toiling       
painfully at her task1 and ,herbert     
falling into death in his2 but with such
 happiness in his heart as made his     
sufferings divine delights1 and his     
weakness1 the holy strength of heaven4  
,he could do but little at his          
paper-cutting now1 but still he         
persevered2 and his toil was well       
repaid1 too1 when he gave his mother the
 scanty payment which he received at the
 end of the week1 and felt that he had  
done his best--that he had helped her   
forward--that he was no longer an idler 
supported by her sorrow--but that he had
 braced the burden of labour on to his  

own shoulders also1 weak as they were1  
and had taken his place1 though dying1  
among the manful workers of the world4  
,jessie brought a small weekly          
contribution also1 neatly sealed up in  
fair white paper2 and of these crumpled 
scraps ,herbert used to cut angels and  
cherubs' heads1 which he would sit and  
look at for hours together2 and then he 
would pray as if in a trance--so earnest
 and heartfelt was it--while tears of   
love1 not grief1 would stream down his  
face1 as his lips moved in blessings on 
that young maiden child4  ,it came at   
last4 ,he had fought against it long and
 bravely2 but death is a hard adversary1
 and cannot be withstood1 even by the   
strongest4 ,it came1 stealing over him  
like an evening cloud over a            
star--leaving him still beautiful1 while
 blotting out his light--softening and  
purifying1 while slowly obliterating his
 place4 ,day by day1 his weakness       
increased2 day by day1 his pale hands   
grew paler1 and his hollow cheek more   

wan4 ,but the love in his boy's heart   
hung about his sick-bed as flowers that 
have an eternal fragrance from their    
birth4  ,jessie was ever a daily        
visitor1 though no longer now a scholar2
 and her presence had all the effect of 
religion on the boy--he was so calm1 and
 still1 and holy1 while she was there4  
,when she was gone1 he was sometimes    
restless1 though never peevish2 but he  
would get nervous1 and unable to fix his
 mind on anything1 his sick head turning
 incessantly to the window1 as if vainly
 watching for a shadowy hope1 and his   
thin fingers plucking ceaselessly at his
 bed-clothes1 in restless1 weary1       
unsoothed sorrow4 ,while she sat by him1
 her voice sounding like low music in   
his ears1 and her hands wandering about 
him in a thousand offices of gentle     
comforting1 he was like a child sinking 
softly to sleep--a soul striving upward 
to its home1 beckoned on by the hands of
 the holier sister before it4  ,and thus
 he died--in the bright spring-time of  

the year1 in the bright spring-time of  
his life4 ,love had been the cradle-song
 of his infancy1 love was the requiem of
 his youth4 ,his was no romantic fable1 
no heroic epic2 adventures1 passions1   
fame1 made up none of its incidents2 it 
was simply the history of a boy's manful
 struggling against fate--of the quiet  
heroism of endurance1 compensated by    
inward satisfaction1 if not by actual   
happiness4  ,true1 his career was in the
 low-lying paths of humanity2 but it was
 none the less beautiful and pure1 for  
it is not deeds1 it is their spirit1    
which makes men noble1 or leaves them   
stained4 ,had ,herbert ,lawson been a   
warrior1 statesman1 hero1 philosopher1  
he would have shewn no other nature than
 that which gladdened the heart of his  
widowed mother1 and proved a life's     
instruction to ,jessie ,hamilton1 in his
 small deeds of love and untaught words 
of faith in the solitude of that        
lodging-house4 ,brave1 pure1 noble then1
 his sphere only would have been        

enlarged1 and with his sphere the weight
 and power of his character2 but the    
spirit would have been the same1 and in 
the dying child it was as beautiful as  
it would have been in the renowned      
philosopher4  ,we have given this simple
 story--simple in all its bearings--as  
an instance of how much real heroism is 
daily enacted1 how much true morality   
daily cherished1 under the most         
unfavourable conditions4 ,a widow and   
her young son cast on the world without 
sufficient means of living--a brave boy 
battling against poverty and sickness   
combined1 and doing his small endeavour 
with manful constancy--a dying youth1   
whose whole soul is penetrated with     
love1 as with a divine song3 all these  
are elements of true human interest1 and
 these are circumstances to be found in 
every street of a crowded city4 ,and to 
such as these is the divine mission of  
brotherly charity required2 for though  
poverty may not be relieved by reason of
 our inability1 suffering may always be 

lightened by our sympathy4 ,it takes but
 a word of love1 a glance of pity1 a    
gentle kiss of affection--it takes but  
an hour of our day1 a prayer at night1  
and we may walk through the sick world  
and the sorrowful as angels dropping    
balm and comfort on the wounded4 ,the   
cup of such human love as this poured   
freely out will prove in truth 'twice   
blessed1' returning back to our own     
hearts the peace we have shed on others4
 ,alas6 alas6 how thick the harvest and 
how few the reapers6     ,,visit ,,to ,a
 ,,spot ,,connected ,,with ,,the        
,,biography ,,of ,,burns4   ,having     
occasion to spend a few days of the     
beautiful ,july of the present year in  
the lower part of ,nithsdale1 ,i felt   
tempted to bestow a forenoon upon an    
effort to discover and examine a        
particular spot in the district         
connected with the history of the poet  
,burns1 but respecting which a doubt has
 till lately existed4 ,the subject was  
the more excitingly placed before me1 by

 my seeing every morning1 from my       
bedroom windows1 the smiling farmstead  
of ,ellisland1 which the poet built1 and
 where he spent more than four years of 
his life4 ,daily beholding his simple   
home1 and the fields he had tilled1 ,i  
felt a revived interest in his sad      
history and everything associated with  
it4  ,all the readers of ,burns are of  
course acquainted with his extravagant  
,bacchanalian lyric1 beginning--      ,o
 ,willie brewed a peck o' maut1         
,and ,rab and ,allan cam to prie2       
,three blither hearts that lee-lang     
night       ,ye wadna find in           
,christendie4  ,it was well known that  
the affair described was a real         
one--that the ,willie who gave the      
entertainment was ,mr ,william ,nicol1 a
 master in the ,high ,school of         
,edinburgh--,rab1 the poet himself--and 
,allan1 a certain ,mr ,masterton1       
likewise of the ,edinburgh ,high        
,school3 three merry-hearted men1 of    
remarkable talents and many other good  

properties1 but who1 unfortunately1 were
 all of them too liable to the          
seductions of the 'barley-bree4' ,that  
such was the scene1 and such the actors1
 we had learned from ,burns himself1 who
 thus annotated the song in a musical   
collection3 ',this air is ,masterton's2 
the song mine4 ,the occasion of it was  
this3 ,mr ,william ,nicol1 of the ,high 
,school1 ,edinburgh1 during the autumn  
vacation being at ,moffat1 honest       
,allan--who was at that time on a visit 
to ,dalswinton--and ,i went to pay      
,nicol a visit4 ,we had such a joyous   
meeting1 that ,mr ,masterton and ,i     
agreed1 each in our own way1 that we    
should celebrate the business4' ,that is
 to say1 ,burns undertook to compose a  
song descriptive of the merry encounter1
 while ,mr ,masterton1 who was an       
amateur musician1 should compose an     
appropriate air4 ,so far there seems to 
be little obscurity about the matter4   
,the locality pointed out is the        
well-known spa village of ,moffat1      

situated among the hills of ,annandale1 
about twenty miles from ,ellisland4     
,nicol had had a lodging there1 in which
 to enjoy his few weeks of autumn       
vacation2 ,burns and ,masterton--the one
 from ,ellisland1 the other from        
,dalswinton--had journeyed thither in   
company2 and there1 probably in some    
small cottage room1 had the strength of 
the peck o' maut been tried4 ,most      
likely1 as ,moffat is so far on the way 
from ,dalswinton to ,edinburgh1 ,mr     
,masterton would part with his two      
friends next day1 and proceed on his way
 to the city1 while ,burns returned to  
his farm1 lone-meditating on the song in
 which he was to make the frolic        
immortal4  ,with so explicit a statement
 from the poet1 we never should have had
 occasion to feel any doubt about the   
circumstances referred to in ',willie   
brewed a peck o' maut1' had not ,dr     
,currie1 the editor of the posthumous   
collection of ,burns's works1 inserted  
therein a note1 stating that the        

merry-meeting 'took place at ,laggan1 a 
farm purchased by ,mr ,nicol in         
,nithsdale1 on the recommendation of    
,burns4' ,currie1 proceeding upon the   
undoubted fact of ,nicol having         
purchased such a farm1 seems to have    
imagined that the meeting was what is   
called in ,scotland a house-heating1 or 
entertainment given to celebrate the    
entering upon a new domestic            
establishment1 ,laggan itself being of  
course the scene4 ,to add to the        
perplexity thus created1 ,dr ,currie's  
assumptions were taken up by a          
subsequent editor1 who ought to have    
known better--the late ,allan           
,cunningham4 ,he gives the whole affair 
with daring circumstantiality4 ,the     
song1 he says1 'was composed to         
commemorate the house-heating--as       
entering upon possession of a new house 
is called in ,scotland4 ,william ,nicol 
made the brewst strong and nappy2 and   
,allan ,masterton1 then on a visit at   
,dalswinton1 crossed the ,nith1 and1    

with the poet and his celebrated        
punch-bowl1 reached ,laggan a wee before
 the sun gaed down4 ,the sun1 however1  
rose on their carousal1 if the tradition
 of the land may be trusted4' ,thus1 as 
,laggan is on the right bank of the     
,nith1 while ,dalswinton is on the left1
 we have ,masterton crossing the river  
to join ,burns at ,ellisland1 which is  
the converse of the procedure necessary 
on the supposition of ,moffat being the 
locality4 ,a place called ,laggan1 about
 two miles from ,ellisland1 being       
further assumed as the seat of ,nicol1  
we have the poet marching along to it   
bearing his punch-bowl as an essential  
of the frolic6--a particular which this 
biographer would have probably          
suppressed1 if he had known that the    
real ,laggan of ,william ,nicol is eight
 or nine miles from ,ellisland1 in a    
part of the country naturally so        
difficult of access1 that a visitor     
might be glad to get there himself      
without any such nice burden as a       

punch-bowl to carry4  ,in a more recent 
edition of the poet's life and          
writings--where at length an effort is  
made to illustrate both1 by documentary 
and other exact evidence#a--the affair  
is set in such a light as to throw a    
ludicrous commentary on such testimony  
as the 'tradition of the land4' ,it     
appears1 from a letter of ,burns in     
which two verses of the song are        
transcribed1 that it was written before 
#afth ,october #aghi2 while it equally  
appears that ,mr ,nicol did not purchase
 ,laggan till ,march #agij3 ergo1 the   
maut was not brewed at ,laggan2         
,masterton did not cross the ,nith2 and 
the punch-bowl is a myth1 which most    
likely originated in editorial fancy4   
,laggan is1 nevertheless1 a remarkable  
place1 for ,burns and ,nicol must have  
been there together in some fashion1 if 
not a ,bacchanalian one1 since it was   
upon the recommendation of the former   
that the latter became its proprietor4  
,there are1 however1 two ,laggans--one  

in ,dunscore parish1 about two miles    
from ,ellisland2 the other in ,glencairn
 parish1 a comparatively remote         
situation2 and the latter was the       
,laggan of ,nicol4 ,mr ,m----1 of       
,a----1 who now lives near ,ellisland1  
remembers1 while living in his father's 
house1 ,laggan of ,dunscore--the place  
erroneously assumed by ,cunningham--that
 ,burns and ,nicol came there rather    
late one evening1 and induced his father
 to accompany them to the town of       
,minniehive1 whence he did not return   
home till next day at three o'clock4    
,laggan of ,glencairn being on the way  
to ,minniehive1 and near it1 and there  
being no other imaginable reason for    
,nicol going to such an out-of-the-way  
place1 it seems a very reasonable       
supposition1 that the pair of friends   
were on their way to see the property   
which ,nicol thought of purchasing2 and 
that ,burns1 knowing ,mr ,m---- to be   
well skilled in land1 had thought of    
asking his advice on its value4 ,the    

junior ,mr ,m---- adds a reminiscence1  
too characteristic1 we fear1 to be much 
doubted1 that ,burns and ,nicol on that 
occasion were for a whole week engaged  
in merry-making4  ,we had1 therefore1 a 
half-melancholy interest in seeing      
,laggan--a name1 we felt1 associated    
with reckless gaieties1 but then they   
were the gaieties of genius1 and well   
had they been moralised in the          
punishments which they drew down--for1  
as ,currie remarks in #agii1 these      
'three merry boys' were already all of  
them under the turf4 ,our kind host1 the
 successor of ,masterton's1 took us in  
his carriage across the ,nith1 through a
 scene of natural luxuriance and beauty 
not to be surpassed1 and under a sun of 
as intense brilliancy as ever shone in  
these climes4 ,passing into a high      
side-valley1 we soon left the glowing   
plains of ,nithsdale behind4 ,we passed 
under the farmstead of ,laggan of       
,dunscore1 and thought of ,burns and    
,nicol coming there to seduce the worthy

 farmer away to partake of their        
festivities at ,minniehive4 ,by and by  
we came to ,dunscore kirk1 which ,burns 
used to attend with his family while    
resident at ,ellisland--a gloomy-looking
 man1 the people thought him1 all the   
time that he1 with his generous1        
benevolent nature1 was in reality       
groaning over the stern ,calvinistic    
theology of the preacher4 ,it is a tract
 of country which has but recently been 
reclaimed from a marshy and moorish     
state1 and which still shews only       
partial traces of decoration and high   
culture4 ,in a gloomy recess among the  
hills1 we caught a glimpse of the       
situation of the old castle of ,lagg1 a 
fortalice surrounded by bogs1 the       
ancient residence of the persecutor     
,grierson of ,lagg1 and fit scene to be 
connected with the history of a man who 
could coolly stand to see innocent women
 drowned at a stake in the sea for      
conscience' sake4 ,the name of the place
 is pure ,norwegian1 expressing simply  

water1 such being1 no doubt1 the        
predominating feature of the scenery in 
its original state--while ,laggan merely
 gives the article en 7the7 in addition4
 ,soon after passing ,dunscore1 we      
entered the valley of the ,cairn1 which1
 with its chalet-like farmhouses far up 
the slopes on both sides1 reminded us   
much of ,switzerland4 ,here1 a few miles
 onward1 we saw ,maxwellton ,house1     
surrounded by those slopes so warmly    
spoken of in ,scottish song--           
,maxwellton braes are bonnie1           
,where early fa's the dew2     ,where ,i
 and ,annie ,laurie1       ,made up the 
promise true1 c4  ,of this estate1 the  
,laggan of ,william ,nicol was          
originally a part1 being sold in #agij  
by ,sir ,robert ,laurie of ,maxwellton1 
a gentleman whom ,burns has celebrated  
in his famous poem of ',the ,whistle4'  
,even in this splendid summer-day1 the  
whole vale has a rude and triste        
appearance1 somewhat at issue with the  
declaration of the old song just quoted1

 and not likely1 one would have thought1
 to attract the regard of such men as   
,william ,nicol and ,robert ,burns4  ,we
 had inquired1 as we came along1 as to  
the place of which we were in quest2 and
 finding nobody with a very clear or    
ready conception of it or its           
whereabouts1 began to feel as if it were
 of a half-fabulous character4 ,at      
length1 however1 at a place called      
,crossford1 we were told we should have 
to leave our carriage and the road1 and 
ascend the side of the valley to the    
northward1 where1 about a mile and a    
half onward1 we should find a small farm
 called ,laggan ,park4 ,this we hoped to
 find to be the true place4 ,to walk a  
mile and a half up hill on a roasting   
,july day was not a task to be          
encountered on light grounds2 however1  
we had resolved to make out our point if
 possible4 ,behold a couple of          
wayfarers1 then1 pursuing their way     
along the skirts of turnip-fields1      
through slight coppices1 and along      

various clayey braes1 with this unseen  
place of ,laggan ,park still keeping    
wonderfully ahead1 long after it ought  
to have been reached4 ,we wondered how  
the ,ayrshire bard would have looked    
carrying a punch-bowl along our present 
path1 after a journey of eight miles    
similarly loaded2 and whether he would  
have thought any amount of the 'barley  
bree' during 'the lee-lang night' a fair
 recompense for his toils4 ,at length1  
we arrived at the spot1 but in a state  
of deliquescence and exhaustion not to  
be described4 ,it is a small            
farm-establishment1 nestling in a bosom 
of the hills1 with some shelter and good
 exposure1 making up for elevation of   
position1 so that its few fields of     
growing grain1 of potatoes1 and meadow  
grass1 have a tolerably good appearance4
 ,some patches of ancient coppice at the
 base of the barish hills behind1 give  
it even a smiling aspect4 ,the farmer1  
seeing us approach1 left his people in  
the field1 and came to greet us4 ,we    

entered a neat clean room1 and met a    
kind reception from 'the ,mistress1' who
 was as trigly dressed as if she had    
been expecting company4 ,it soon became 
clear1 from our conversation with the   
good couple1 that our toils were crowned
 with success4 ,this really had been    
,nicol's property2 it still belonged to 
a member of his family4 ,that line of   
gray heights seen from the door was what
 ,burns alluded to when he facetiously  
dubbed his friend ',illustrious lord of 
,laggan's many hills4' ,this cottage had
 been the retreat of the ,high ,school  
master in his hours of rustic vacation4 
,there was a difficulty1 which we       
discussed over a glass of most welcome  
spirits and water furnished by the      
farmer3 ,did this neat room form a part 
of the dwelling of ,nicol8 ,it appeared 
not4 ,it was a modern addition4 ,the    
original house1 to which it adjoined    
upon a different level of flooring1 was 
the merest hut1 of one room1 with a line
 of box-beds dividing the sitting-place 

from a small space1 which1 being rudely 
causewayed like a cow-house1 had        
probably been employed in keeping       
animals of some kind4 ,such was the     
humble tuguriolum of ,willie ,nicol of  
the 'peck o' maut'--an interesting      
memorial of the simplicity of country   
life in ,scotland at the close of the   
eighteenth century4 ,we did not venture 
to indulge in any dreamings as to       
festive meetings between ,burns and     
,nicol in this humble shed2 for we felt 
that here there was no certain ground to
 go upon4 ,enough that we could be      
assured of ,burns and ,nicol having been
 together here2 two most singular       
examples of the peasant class of their  
country1 and one of them an unapproached
 master of his country's lyre1 whose    
strains have floated to the ends of the 
earth1 and promise to last through many 
ages4  ,the elements of the place1 and  
the ideas connected with it were1 after 
all1 too simple to detain us long4 ,we  
only waited to snatch a slight pencil   

sketch of the house and its adjuncts2   
and then1 having taken leave of the     
farmer and his wife1 we retraced our    
steps to the road4 ,somewhat            
unexpectedly1 and not at all in keeping 
with the idea of either ,maxwellton     
braes or ,laggan's many hills1 we       
discovered in our walk that the rough   
terrace-like ground over which we had   
passed before coming in sight of        
,nicol's estate1 was a moraine1 or mass 
of dbris1 produced and left there by a  
glacier4 ,its surface1 thickly covered  
with loose blocks of rock different from
 that of the district1 first fixed our  
attention2 then looking into some       
openings which had been made in the     
earth for building materials1 we readily
 observed that the internal constitution
 of the mass was precisely like that of 
the moraines of the existing glaciers of
 the ,alps1 and of the similar masses of
 drift scattered over ,sweden--a        
confused mixture of angular1            
slightly-worn blocks of all sizes1      

bedded in clayey gravel of a brown      
colour4 ,such objects are rare in       
,scotland2 but here is undoubtedly one1 
though we cannot pretend to tell from   
what quarter it has come4 ,the thing    
most nearly resembling it in general    
appearance1 which we have ever seen1 is 
an undoubted ancient moraine at a place 
called ,mosshuus1 in the ,valley of the 
,laug1 in ,norway4  ,one reflection     
arises at the conclusion of this trivial
 investigation1 and it is this--,if so  
much doubt and obscurity have already   
settled on circumstances which took     
place scarcely beyond the recollection  
of living people1 can we wonder at that 
which invests the events of a more      
remote epoch8 ,if editors in our        
enlightened time have contrived so soon 
to give the history of ,burns a mythical
 character1 what safety have we in      
trusting to such ancient narrations as  
those of ,plutarch or ,thucydides8 ,on  
the other hand1 where even such a       
biography as that of ,burns is placed by

 sound and carefully-examined evidence  
upon an irrefragable basis1 a service is
 rendered to the public beyond the      
merits of any immediate question that   
may be under discussion1 in the         
encouragement which it gives to         
historical inquirers of all grades1 to  
rest satisfied with nothing on vague    
assertion1 but to sift everything to the
 bottom4   ,,footnotes3  #a ,life and   
,works of ,robert ,burns1 edited by     
,robert ,chambers4 #d vols4 ,edinburgh3 
,w4  ,r4 ,chambers4                     
,,one-,,sidedness4    ,plantagenet4 ,the
 truth appears so naked on my side1     
,that any purblind eye may find it out4 
,somerset4 ,and on my side it is so well
 apparelled1                  ,so clear1
 so shining1 and so evident1            
,that it will glimmer through a blind   
man's eye4                              
,first ,part of ,henry ,,vi4   ,having  
made up our mind upon a question1       
probably by a delightfully curt process1
 how pleasant and natural it is to laugh

 sublimely at all dissentients6 ,poor   
creatures1 those nonconformists are     
almost to be pardoned1 so much does     
their impenetrable dulness amuse us6    
,how they can have scrambled to a       
conclusion opposite to ours1 is a       
problem so absurd that it tickles us    
amazingly4  ,yet the formation of       
opinions is vastly dependent upon       
circumstances4 ,whang-shing is born in  
the ,celestial ,empire2 and the chances 
are that the fellow will go the length  
of pinning his faith to ,confucius4     
,yonder squalid urchin1 turning out of  
,saffron ,hill or some other            
sweet-scented purlieus1 has been cradled
 on the ragged lap of professional      
mendicancy2 and there is a strong       
probability that he will come to a      
misunderstanding with the police one of 
these fine days4 ,the mild-eyed priest  
who just passed you1 was born and       
educated within the states of the       
church2 and somehow or other he firmly  
believes in the ,romanism you so hotly  

repudiate4 ,the sallow-faced gentleman  
crossing the road1 and exhibiting so    
wobegone an aspect1 has always had a bad
 liver2 and you will never persuade him 
to look on the bright side of life4     
,while this bustling1 vivacious         
personage1 who approaches us with such a
 springy step1 and rapid merry glance1  
has never known a day's illness--is     
indebted to hearsay for his belief in   
nerves--and is ready to challenge       
,europe to beat him at a hearty         
guffaw--he is perplexed by the shadow of
 a long face1 marvels with all his might
 at a heavy eye1 and cannot unriddle the
 philosophy of a bent brow4 ,when shall 
we learn that the result of looking     
depends on the state of the eye--that   
the vision is modified by the position  
of the seer--that he who stands on one  
side1 sees one side only8 ,says         
,wordsworth--      ,we safely may affirm
 that human life     ,is either fair or 
tempting1 a soft scene1     ,grateful to
 sight1 refreshing to the soul1     ,or 

a forbidden tract of cheerless view1    
,even as the same is looked at1 or      
approached4  ,and the pastor of the     
,excursion1 who is the spokesman1       
illustrates his doctrine by shewing that
 the church-yard among the mountains1 in
 which he and his companions are        
standing1 if approached from the sullen 
north1 when 'in changeful ,april1 fields
 are white with new-fallen snow1' and   
ere the sun has gained his noontide     
height1 will appear an 'unillumined1    
blank1 and dreary plain1 with more than 
wintry cheerlessness and gloom saddening
 the heart2' whereas1 if it be regarded 
from the quarter whence the lord of     
light dispenses his beams1 'then will a 
vernal prospect greet your eye'--       
,all fresh and beautiful1 and green and 
bright1     ,hopeful and                
cheerful--vanished is the pall     ,that
 overspread and chilled the sacred turf1
     ,vanished or hidden2 and the whole 
domain1     ,to some1 too lightly       
minded1 might appear     ,a meadow      

carpet for the dancing hours4  ,the same
 principle of mental optics is of       
universal application4 ,we cannot ignore
 it without fatal results when studying 
history1 science1 art1 human nature1 or 
any conceivable object of inquiry4      
,thus1 in forming our opinion of the    
actions of others1 there is no more     
mischievous absurdity1 it has been      
remarked1 than to judge them from the   
outside as they look to us1 instead of  
from the inside as they look to the     
actors2 nothing more irrational than to 
criticise deeds as though the doers of  
them had the same hopes1 fears1 desires1
 and restraints with ourselves4 ',we    
cannot understand another's character   
except by abandoning our own identity1  
and realising to ourselves his frame of 
mind1 his want of knowledge1 his        
hardships1 temptations1 and             
discouragements4' ,if we turn to        
history1 we are reminded of ,thomas     
,moore's lines--      ,by ,tory ,hume's 
seductive page beguiled1     ,we fancy  

,charles was just1 and ,stratford mild2 
,and ,fox himself1 with party pencil    
draws     ,monmouth a hero 'for the good
 old cause6'     ,then1 rights are      
wrongs1 and victories are defeats1      
,as ,french or ,english pride the tale  
repeats4  ,thus1 too1 ,macaulay remarks1
 that for many years every ,whig        
historian was anxious to prove that the 
old ,english government was all but     
republican--every ,tory1 to prove it all
 but despotic4 ',with such feelings1    
both parties looked into the chronology 
of the middle ages4 ,both readily found 
what they sought1 and obstinately       
refused to see anything but what they   
sought4' ,accordingly1 to see only      
one-half of the evidence1 you would     
conclude that the ,plantagenets were as 
absolute as the sultans of ,turkey2 to  
see only the other half1 you would      
conclude that they had as little real   
power as the ,doges of ,venice3 and both
 conclusions would be equally remote    
from the truth4  ,carlyle justly        

affirms1 that if that man is a          
benefactor to the world who causes two  
ears of corn to grow where only one grew
 before1 much more is he a benefactor   
who causes two truths to grow up        
together in harmony and mutual          
confirmation1 where before only one     
stood solitary1 and1 on that side at    
least1 intolerant and hostile4 ,every   
genius rides a winged horse2 but all are
 apt to ride too fast4 ,plotinus1 says  
,emerson1 'believes only in             
philosophers2 ,fnlon1 in saints2 ,pindar
 and ,byron1 in poets4 ,read the haughty
 language in which ,plato and the       
,platonists speak of all men who are not
 devoted to their own shining           
abstractions4' ,if genius is liable to  
such one-sidedness1 the greater the need
 of educational correctives to          
common-place minds4 ,hence the          
overpursuit of any one subject may be   
hurtful1 unless duly balanced by        
countervailing forces4 ,as the author of
 ,friends in ,council says1 a human     

being1 like a tree1 if it is to attain  
to perfect symmetry1 must have light and
 air given to it from all quarters4     
,this may be done without making men    
superficial--without sanctioning the    
dissipation of mere desultory reading4  
,one or two great branches of science   
may be systematically prosecuted1 and   
others used in a more supplementary and 
illustrative form4 ',a number of        
one-sided men1' observes the same       
writer1 'may make a great nation1 though
 ,i much incline to doubt that2 but such
 a nation will not contain a number of  
great men4' ,with the advance of        
intelligence1 advances a catholicism of 
literature1 of taste1 of humanity at    
large4 ,uncultured intellect1 'cabined1 
cribbed1 confined1' is ill at ease among
 the riches of variety in literary lore2
 it is satisfied with the little1       
because1 as ,menzel says1 it knows not  
the great2 it is content with           
one-sidedness1 because it sees not the  
other sides4 ,if critical esprit de     

corps has its advantages1 it has its    
penalties also2 potent within its       
self-imposed bounds1 it is impotent     
outside of them4 ,longfellow reminds his
 brethren of the lyre1 that whatever is 
best in the great poets of all          
countries1 is not what is national in   
them1 but what is universal3 their roots
 are in their native soil1 but their    
branches wave in the unpatriotic air1   
that speaks the same language to all    
men1 and their leaves shine with the    
illimitable light that pervades all     
lands4 ',let us throw all the windows   
open2 let us admit the light and air on 
all sides2 that we may look towards the 
four corners of the heavens1 and not    
always in the same direction4'          
,monomania is sometimes simply the      
exaggerated regard to one side of       
many-sided truth4 ,it is not absolute1  
but only relative delusion4 ,it is in   
its degree true2 but by affecting to be 
the whole truth1 it becomes untrue4     
,philosophic reflection shews1 that if a

 man fasten his attention on a single   
aspect of truth1 and apply himself to   
that alone for a long time1 'the truth  
becomes distorted1 and not itself1 but  
falsehood2' and may be compared to the  
air1 which is our natural element1 and  
the breath of our nostrils2 'but if a   
stream of the same be directed on the   
body for a time1 it causes cold1 fever1 
and even death4' ',how wearisome1'      
exclaims ,emerson1 'the grammarian1 the 
phrenologist1 the political or religious
 fanatic1 or1 indeed1 any possessed     
mortal1 whose balance is lost by the    
exaggeration of a single topic6 ,it is  
incipient insanity4' ,the bore of       
society is constituted by his           
one-sidedness4 ,his ear is deficient in 
the sense of harmony1 and he deafens and
 disgusts you by harping on one string4 
,the retired nabob holds you by the     
button1 to hear his wearisome diatribes 
on ,indian economics2 the half-pay      
officer is too fluent on his worn-out   
recollections of the ,peninsular ,war1  

and becomes savage if you broach a new  
theme1 or move to adjourn the debate2   
the university pedant distracts you with
 his theories on philology and          
scansion--with his amended translation  
of a hexameter in ,persius1 and his new 
reading of a line in ,theocritus2 the   
bagman is all for 'the shop2' the       
policeman is redolent of the 'lock-up   
house 'and 'your wertchup2' the tailor  
is profoundly knowing on the 'sweating  
system2 'the son of ,crispin vows and   
protests there's 'nothing like leather4'
 ,all these minus signs have a tendency 
to cancel each other3 and thus the      
equation of life is worked out4 ,society
 has been said to have at all times the 
same want--namely1 of one sane man1 with
 adequate powers of expression to hold  
up each object of monomania in its right
 relations4 ',the ambitious and         
mercenary bring their last new          
,mumbo-,jumbo--whether tariff1 railway1 
mesmerism1 or ,california--and by       
detaching the object from its relations1

 easily succeed in making it seen in a  
glare1 and a multitude go mad about it2 
and they are not to be reproved or cured
 by the opposite multitude1 who are kept
 from this particular insanity by an    
equal frenzy on another crotchet4 ,but  
let one man have the comprehensive eye  
that can replace this isolated prodigy  
in its right neighbourhood and bearings1
 and the illusion vanishes--the         
returning reason of the community thanks
 the reason of the monitor4' ,there is  
perhaps nothing which more urgently     
calls for such a controlling and        
overseeing mind1 to curb eccentric      
excesses1 and to restore equilibrium of 
action1 than philanthropy itself4 ,in   
the enthusiasm of its impulses1 it      
thinks it can afford to sneer at        
political economy1 and that it is right 
to wander at its own sweet will1        
benevolently defying the remonstrances  
of all who have a method to propound1 a 
science to explain1 a system to uphold4 
,though the heart be large1 yet the     

mind--as ,nathaniel ,hawthorne somewhere
 observes--is often of such moderate    
dimensions1 as to be exclusively filled 
up with one idea2 and thus1 when a good 
man has long devoted himself to a       
particular kind of beneficence1 to one  
species of reform1 he is apt to become  
narrowed into the limits of the path    
wherein he treads1 and to fancy that    
there is no other good to be done on    
earth but that selfsame good to which he
 has put his hand1 and in the very mode 
that best suits his own conceptions4    
',all else is worthless2 his scheme must
 be wrought out by the united strength  
of the whole world's stock of love1 or  
the world is no longer worthy of a      
position in the universe4 ,moreover1    
powerful truth1 being the rich          
grape-juice expressed from the vineyard 
of the ages1 has an intoxicating quality
 when imbibed by any but a powerful     
intellect1 and often1 as it were1 impels
 the quaffer to quarrel in his cups4'   
,even a saint with one idea may be a    

plague to his neighbourhood2 and1 by    
being canonised1 may retard1 not        
further1 the progress of his church4    
,let us own1 however1 that one-idea'd   
people are often amusing as well as     
mischievous--or rather1 when not        
mischievous4 ,the rapt devotion they pay
 to their idola specs oscillates between
 the sublime and the ridiculous4 ,we    
have all seen such people1 and          
alternately admired and laughed at them4
 ,we have all witnessed or read pleasant
 illustrations of their doings4 ,with   
one such illustration we conclude this  
discursive fragment4 ,it is related by  
the witty author of ,a ,defence of      
,ignorance1 who introduces it in the    
course of an imaginary dialogue on      
one-sided university training1 in which 
one of the speakers 7at dessert7 says to
 his companion3 ',if you reach after    
that pear1 without considering what     
stands against your elbows1 you may     
empty a decanter over me4 ,he who       
desires thoroughly to know one subject1 

should be possessed of so much          
intellectual geography as will enable   
him to see its true position in the     
universe of thought4' ,the allusion to  
upsetting a decanter reminds the other  
interlocutor of a story1 which he       
proceeds to tell4 ,a gentleman who      
carved a goose was inexpert2 and        
thinking only of the stubborn joints    
that would not be unhinged1 he totally  
forgot the gravy4 ,presently1 the goose 
slipped off the dish1 and escaped into  
his neighbour's lap4 ,now1 to have      
thrown a hot goose on a lady's lap would
 disconcert most people1 but the        
gentleman in question was not           
disconcerted4 ,turning round1 with a    
bland smile1 he said3 ',i'll trouble you
 for that goose4' ,here we have a       
sublime example of a man with one idea4 
,this gentleman's idea was the goose2   
and in the absorbing interest attached  
to his undertaking1 that he was to carve
 the goose1 not altogether knowing how1 
he had shut out extraneous objects4     

,suddenly the goose was gone1 but his   
eye followed it1 his mind was wrapt up  
in his struggle with it2 what did he    
know of that lady8 ',i'll trouble you   
for that goose1' expressed the perfect  
abstraction of a mind bent on developing
 its one idea4     ,,mr ,,kirby ,,the   
,,naturalist4   ,the popular fame of ,mr
 ,kirby rests upon the ,introduction to 
,entomology1 a work 7partly written by  
him7 full of interesting facts          
respecting the economy of the insect    
world4 ,amongst the scientific1 his     
reputation depends on a variety of      
elaborate papers which he wrote for     
learned societies on subjects connected 
with natural history4 ,for sixty years  
previous to the conclusion of his long  
life in #ahej1 he had devoted the       
leisure of a parsonage to that          
delightful study1 and being a diligent  
and accurate observer1 and an elegant   
and entertaining writer1 he had attained
 the highest rank amongst the ,british  
naturalists of his day4 ,it appears1    

from a memoir just published1#b that ,mr
 ,kirby was born in #agei1 and settled  
in #aghb in the cure of ,barham1 near   
,ipswich1 where he was ultimately       
rector1 and which he only left for his  
last long-home sixty-eight years        
thereafter4 ,in an age of sluggish      
theology1 he was an earnest minister and
 zealous controversialist1 all the time 
that he was cultivating a taste for     
natural objects4 ,this is equally       
unexpected and creditable4 ,and yet it  
does not appear that his personal       
conduct was characterised by anything   
like rigour1 for1 as an example1 we     
find1 from the journal of an            
entomological excursion in #agig1 that  
it was commenced on a ,sunday afternoon1
 and involved one other ,sunday of      
constant travelling4 ,a reference of the
 dates to an almanac enables us to      
establish this fact1 so unlike the      
spirit of a zealous man in our times4   
,of the sister sciences of nature1      
botany first attracted ,mr ,kirby's     

regards4 ',this he pursued in no hasty  
or superficial manner1 but with the     
greatest perseverance and research4 ,it 
was not enough for him to know a plant  
by sight1 and to ascertain its proper   
name1 but he compared the minutest parts
 of inflorescence and fructification2 he
 sought for the most trifling           
differences in those nearly allied1 and 
studied with a keen but generous        
criticism the various theories of       
writers on the science1 from the        
earliest age to the time of the immortal
 ,linn4 ,of every plant he met with1    
even to the daisy and primrose1 the     
whole physiological structure was       
thoroughly investigated2 he discovered1 
or rather observed1 what it was which   
enabled some plants to endure great     
changes of temperature1 while others    
perished--the formation which enabled   
some to live in water1 while others     
flourished in the most dry and arid     
sands2 he carefully marked the causes   
which combined to clothe even rocks with

 verdure1 in consequence of the         
wonderful structure of the plants       
inhabiting them1 enabling them to live  
as it were by the suction of their      
numerous mouths1 rather than by         
nourishment transmitted by a root in    
contact with that which would refuse to 
yield the ordinary food of plants4 ,and 
as he thus marked all these peculiar    
adaptations of plants to their          
respective situations1 his mind was by a
 constant train of thought directed from
 the beauty and wondrous mechanism of   
the creature1 to contemplate the supreme
 and ineffable glory of the ,creator4'  
,with a mind so predisposed and so      
fitted for the study of entomology1 a   
casual occurrence of a trivial nature   
was sufficient to awaken and give it    
direction4 ',observing accidentally1 one
 morning1 a very beautiful golden bug   
creeping on the sill of my window1 ,i   
took it up to examine it1 and finding   
that its wings were of a more yellow hue
 than was common to my observation of   

these insects before1 ,i was anxious    
carefully to examine any other of its   
peculiarities2 and finding that it had  
twenty-two beautiful clear black spots  
upon its back1 my captured animal was   
imprisoned in a bottle of gin1 for the  
purpose1 as ,i supposed1 of killing him4
 ,on the following morning1 anxious to  
pursue my observation1 ,i took it again 
from the gin1 and laid it on the        
window-sill to dry1 thinking it dead2   
but the warmth of the sun very soon     
revived it3 and hence commenced my      
further pursuit of this branch of       
natural history4'  ,a ,dr ,gwyn of      
,ipswich was his preceptor in this      
study4 ',though now in his seventy-fifth
 year1 so much was the good old doctor  
interested in the pursuit of his friend1
 that he would frequently walk over to  
,barham1 a distance of five miles1 to   
see what had been the success of recent 
perambulations4 ,the parsonage-house was
 then approached by a narrow wicket1    
with posts higher than the gate1 and    

often1 while working in his garden1 or  
sitting in his parlour1 ,mr ,kirby would
 look up and see1 to his great delight1 
the shovel hat of his facetious friend  
adorning one post1 and the cumbrous wig 
and appertaining pig-tail ornamenting   
the other4 ,and soon the kind old man   
would walk in with his bald head1 as he 
used to say1 cool and ready for the     
investigation4 ,these visits were always
 hailed with pleasure1 the delights of  
which were still fresh in the memory of 
,mr ,kirby1 and would call forth        
expressions of affectionate gratitude1  
even when nearly half a century had     
elapsed1 after his friend and ,mcenas1  
as he loved to call him1 had gone to his
 rest4'  ,there seems no room to doubt1 
that his studies tended not merely to   
the happiness of ,mr ,kirby's life1 but 
to its duration4 ,it is at the same time
 abundantly evident1 that much hard work
 was undergone4 ,he carried on a most   
laborious correspondence with other     
naturalists1 often extending a letter to

 the dimensions of a pamphlet3 this     
altogether over and above his practical 
researches and his published writings4  
,he took good-humoured views of most    
things1 and was not easily put out of   
temper4 ,a slight dash of absence of    
mind increased that quaintness of       
character so often found in zealous     
students4 ,on an entomological excursion
 with two friends1 ,mr ,marsham and ,mr 
,macleay1 it happened on their arriving 
at an old-fashioned wayside inn1 that   
'there was only one large room for them1
 with three beds in it4 ,the arrangement
 having been made for the night1        
according to the custom of the time1    
three nightcaps were laid upon the      
dressing-table4 ,mr ,kirby retired      
before his companions1 and was soon     
sound asleep4 ,perceiving no caps ready 
for them1 his friends inquired for what 
they considered the due appurtenances of
 the pillow3 they were assured by the   
hostess that three nightcaps were laid  
upon the table1 but they stoutly averred

 they had not seen them2 the landlady no
 less stoutly maintaining her side of   
the question4 ,what actually passed in  
her own mind did not transpire1 but she 
appealed to the first gentleman as being
 the only one who could throw light upon
 the subject2 when1 lo and behold6 as   
soon as his head appeared1 in answer to 
the hasty summons1 the three nightcaps  
appeared at the same time upon it1 one  
being dragged over the other1 much to   
the amusement not only of those present1
 but also of those who long after heard 
the tale4'  ,another example of the     
pleasantries that sometimes enliven the 
path of the naturalist4 ,it is related  
by ,mr ,spence1 and refers to the time  
when that gentleman was engaged with ,mr
 ,kirby in preparing the work which has 
for ever combined their names4 ',mr 7now
 ,sir ,william ,j47 ,hooker was at that 
time staying at ,barham1 and being      
desirous to have pointed out to him1 and
 to gather with his own hands1 a rare   
species of ,marchantia8 from its        

habitat1 first discovered by ,mr ,kirby1
 near ,nayland1 some miles distant1 it  
was agreed we three should walk thither1
 entomologising by the way1 and after   
dinner proceed to the hedge-bank where  
it grew4 ,entering the head inn-yard on 
foot1 with dusty shoes1 and without     
other baggage than our insect-nets in   
our hands1 we met with but a cool       
reception1 which1 however1 visibly      
warmed as soon as we had desired to be  
shewn into the best dining-room1 and had
 ordered a good dinner and wine4 ,we    
intended to walk back in the evening1   
but as the bank where the ,marchantia8  
grew was a mile or two out of the direct
 road1 and it came on rain1 we ordered  
out a postchaise1 merely saying we      
wanted to drive a short way on a road   
which ,mr ,kirby indicated to the       
postilion4  ',when we arrived at the    
gate of the field where the bank was1   
the rain had become very heavy2 so1     
calling to the postilion to stop and    
open the door1 we scampered out of the  

chaise1 all laughing1 and hastily       
telling him to wait there1 without other
 explanation we climbed over the gate1  
and not to be long in the rain1 set off 
running as fast as we could along the   
field-side of the hedge1 to the bank we 
were looking for4 ,we saw amazement in  
the face of our postilion at what       
possible motive could have made three   
guests of his master clamber pell-mell  
over a gate into a field that led       
nowhere1 in the midst of a heavy shower 
of rain1 and then run away as if        
pursued2 and it was the expression in   
his countenance which caused our mirth1 
which was increased to peals of         
merriment when we saw that1 instead of  
waiting for us at the gate1 as we had   
directed1 he mounted his horses with all
 speed1 and pushed on in a gallop along 
the road on the other side of the hedge1
 evidently to circumvent our nefarious  
plan 7as he conceived7 of bilking his   
master both of our dinners and the      
chaise-hire4 ,when the cessation of our 

uncontrollable mirth had allowed us to  
gather specimens of our plant1          
perceiving through the hedge whereabouts
 we stopped1 he also halted to watch our
 motions1 and when he saw us run back1  
he obeyed our orders to return to the   
gate--where we got into the chaise1     
still in a roar of laughter at the whole
 affair1 and at his awkward attempt to  
explain away his not having waited for  
us there1 as we had directed1 and       
evident high satisfaction at bringing   
back in triumph to our inn the three    
cheats whose intended plans he had so   
cleverly frustrated1 as he no doubt told
 his master2 to whom1 being too much    
amused with the adventure1 we did not   
make any explanation1 but left it to    
form one of the traditions of the inn4' 
,when a man excels in anything1 it must 
always be of some consequence to know   
what were his habits1 and what external 
means he employed1 in connection with   
his particular gift4 ,mr ,spence says3  
',there were two circumstances in ,mr   

,kirby's study of insects1 by which ,i  
was always forcibly struck on my visits 
to him at ,barham4 ,the first was the   
little parade of apparatus with which   
his extensive and valuable acquisitions 
were made4 ,if going to any distance1 he
 would put into his pocket a forceps-net
 and small water-net1 with which to     
catch bees1 flies1 and aquatic insects2 
but1 in general1 ,i do not remember to  
have seen him use a net of any other    
description4 ,his numerous captures of  
rare and new ,coleoptera were mostly    
made by carefully searching for them in 
their haunts1 from which--if trees1     
shrubs1 or long grass1 c4--he would beat
 them with his walking-stick into a     
newspaper2 and1 collected in this way1  
he would bring home in a few small      
phials in his waistcoat pockets1 and in 
a moderate-sized collecting-box1 after  
an afternoon's excursion1 a booty often 
much richer than his companions had     
secured with their more elaborate       
apparatus4 ,the second circumstance in  

,mr ,kirby's study of insects1 to which 
,i allude1 was the deliberate and       
careful way in which he investigated the
 nomenclature of his species4 ,every    
author likely to have described them was
 consulted1 their descriptions duly     
estimated2 and it was only after thus   
coming to the decision that the insect  
before him had not been previously      
described1 that he placed it in his     
cabinet under a new name4 ,it was owing 
to this cautious mode of                
proceeding--which young entomologists   
would do well to follow--that he fell   
into so few errors1 and rendered such   
solid service to the science2 and a not 
less careful consideration was always   
exercised by him in the forming of new  
genera1 and in his published            
descriptions of new species1 as his     
admirable papers in the ,linnan         
,transactions amply testify4'           
,considering how well ,mr ,kirby        
performed his professional duties1 how  
much he did to advance his favourite    

science1 and how greatly he contributed 
to the happiness of society within the  
sphere of his personal influence1 his   
may truly be said to have been a        
well-spent life4 ,on this account1 ,mr  
,freeman's memoir may be recommended to 
the notice of many who are not as yet   
conscious of the charms of entomology4  
,,footnotes3  #b ,life of the ,rev4     
,william ,kirby1 ,m4,a4 ,by ,john       
,freeman4 #hvo1 pp4 #ejf4 ,london3      
,longman  ,co4 #aheb4     ,,the ,,modern
 ,,tartar4   ,the phrase1 ',catching a  
,tartar1' points to a peculiarity in    
,tartar life1 which1 however correct    
historically1 is not in keeping with the
 actual current state of the ,mongol    
character4 ,it implies something        
impetuous1 stern1 unyielding1           
relentless1 and cruel2 whereas the      
modern life of the children of the      
desert exhibits much that is simple1    
confiding1 generous1 and even chivalric4
 ,it is nothing to our discredit that we
 should have been so long in discovering

 these features in the great nomadic    
class of the day1 because ,european     
barbarians are absolutely prohibited    
from visiting the desert places which   
are the scenes of their wanderings2 and 
but for the enterprise of two ,roman    
,catholic missionaries from ,france1 we 
should probably have remained in        
ignorance for a much longer period4     
,these gentlemen1 however1 have thrown a
 light on this subject1 which is too    
remarkable to be passed over without    
notice4 ,messrs ,gabet and ,huc composed
 their work in #ahdf1 but it has only   
recently been published in this         
country1#c and its perusal cannot fail  
to modify many of our preconceived      
notions regarding ,tartar life4  ,it    
will1 for example1 be admitted that1    
according to the hitherto popular       
acceptation of the character1 ,tartars  
were not exactly the sort of persons on 
whom practical jokes might be           
perpetrated with impunity4 ,read1       
however1 the following anecdote3--,while

 our two travellers were one day in     
their tents1 two ,tartar horsemen dashed
 up to the entrance1 and threw          
themselves on the ground4 ',men of      
prayer1' said they with voices full of  
emotion1 'we come to ask you to draw our
 horoscope4 ,we have this day had two   
horses stolen from us4 ,we cannot find  
the robbers1 and we come to you men of  
learning1 to tell us where we shall find
 our property4'  ',brothers1' answered  
the missionaries1 'we are not lamas of  
,buddha1 and do not believe in          
horoscopes4 ,for a man to say that he   
can discover stolen goods by such means1
 is falsehood and deception4'  ,the     
horsemen entreated1 but the priests were
 inflexible1 and the disappointed       
,tartars mounted their steeds1 and      
galloped off4 ,it so happened that      
,samdadchiemba1 the guide of the        
missionaries--a ,christianised          
,oriental1 but withal a very merry      
fellow--was present during this         
interview1 but he sat drinking his tea  

without uttering a word4 ,all on a      
sudden he knitted his brows1 rose1 and  
came to the door4 ,the horsemen were at 
some distance2 but the dchiahour1 by an 
exertion of his strong lungs1 induced   
them to turn round in their saddles4 ,he
 motioned to them1 and they1 thinking   
that the horoscope was to be given1     
galloped once more to the tent4 ',my    
,mongol brothers1' said ,samdadchiemba1 
'in future be more careful3 watch your  
herds well1 and you won't be robbed4    
,retain these words of mine in your     
memory3 they are worth all the          
horoscopes in the world4'  ,samdad--the 
reader will perhaps thank us for the    
abbreviation--gravely returned to the   
tent2 and the ,tartars did not dismount 
and whip him1 as two horsemen of any    
other nation under the sun would have   
done1 but quietly resumed their journey4
 ,it appeared that ,samdad had once     
acted as diviner on a similar occasion4 
,the missing valuable was a bull1 and   
the sage having called for eleven       

stones1 counted1 arranged and rearranged
 them with great gravity1 and then      
appeared to meditate4 ',if you would    
find your bull1 go seek him in the      
north1' said the magician2 and without  
querulously inquiring1 like             
,shakspeare's ,richard1 what ,taurus did
 in that region1 the ,mongols pursued a 
northern course1 and by mere chance     
actually discovered the animal4 ,samdad 
was entertained for a week1 and took his
 departure laden with butter and tea4   
,he hinted his regret that 'his         
attachment to ,mother ,church' prevented
 him from playing the soothsayer to the 
two horsemen4  ,a peculiarity in ,tartar
 manners1 regarding stolen horses when  
abstracted near caravans1 is likely to  
prove of more service than casting      
horoscopes4 ,some time after the        
occurrence mentioned1 the missionaries  
lost a horse and mule4 ',we each mounted
 a camel1 and made a circuit in search  
of the animals4 ,our search being       
futile1 we resolved to proceed to the   

,mongol encampment1 and inform them that
 our loss had taken place near their    
habitation4 ,by a law among the         
,tartars1 when animals are lost from a  
caravan1 the persons occupying the      
nearest encampment are bound either to  
find them or replace them4444 ,this it  
is which has contributed to render the  
,mongols so skilful in tracking4 ,a mere
 glance at the slight traces left by an 
animal on the grass1 suffices to inform 
the ,mongol pursuer how long it is since
 it passed1 and whether or not it bore a
 rider2 and the track once found1 they  
follow it throughout all its            
meanderings1 however complicated4  ',we 
had no sooner explained our loss to the 
,mongol chief1 than he said to us       
cheerfully3 ,sirs ,lamas1 do not permit 
sorrow to invade your hearts4 ,your     
animals cannot be lost2 in these plains 
there are neither robbers nor associates
 of robbers4 ,i will send in quest of   
your horses4 ,if we do not find them1   
you may select what others you please in

 their place from our herd4 ,we would   
have you leave this place as happy as   
you came to it4' ,eight horses darted   
off in pursuit2 the missionaries were   
invited to take tea in the interim1 and 
in two hours the strayed cattle were    
recovered4 ,we should like to know in   
what other country travellers would be  
so treated8  ,regal personages in these 
regions observe the characteristic      
simple manners of the country4 ,our     
pilgrims were pursuing their solitary   
way1 when the tramping of many horses   
and the sound of many voices disturbed  
the silence of the desert4 ,a large     
caravan belonging to the queen of       
,mourguevan overtook them1 and a        
mandarin addressed them4  ',sirs1 where 
is your country8'  ',we come from the   
west4'  ',through what districts have   
your beneficial shadows passed8'  ',we  
have come from ,tolon ,noor4'  ',has    
peace accompanied your progress8'       
',hitherto we have journeyed in all     
tranquillity4 ,and you--are you at      

peace1 and what is your country8'  ',we 
are ,khalkhas of the kingdom of         
,mourguevan4'  ,after some other        
,oriental queries and answers1 her      
majesty comes up4 ,the cavalcade halted1
 and the camels formed into a           
semicircle1 the centre being occupied by
 a close four-wheeled carriage4 ,two    
mandarins1 'decorated with the blue     
button1' opened the door1 and handed out
 the queen1 who was attired in a long   
silk robe4  ',sirs ,lamas1' said she1   
raising her hands1 'is this place       
auspicious for an encampment8'  ',royal 
pilgrim of ,mourguevan1' said we1 'you  
may light your fires here in all        
security4 ,for ourselves1 we must       
proceed on our way1 for the sun was     
already high when we folded our tent4'  
,the ,tartars are divided into two grand
 classes--lamas and laymen4 ,the former 
act as priests1 lawyers1 physicians1    
painters1 decorators1 c41 and in fact   
monopolise every learned and liberal art
 and profession4 ,of course1 they are   

held in high repute2 and our travellers 
having1 like ,joseph ,wolff1 adopted    
sacerdotal costume1 they were everywhere
 received with the honours and respect  
awarded to the indigenous clergy4 ,it   
will duly appear1 from subsequent       
illustrations1 that mere ecclesiasticism
 did not secure the hospitality and     
kindness which they experienced at all  
hands2 but even after making allowance  
for the national devotion to the cloth1 
the attentions shewed by the ,mongols   
are often marked by a delicate sense of 
the hospitable4 ,on one occasion1 ,m4   
,huc and his companions encountered an  
unusual storm of rain and wind4 ,after  
travelling several weary miles1 ,samdad 
contrived to erect the tent in a place  
that1 for the locality1 was tolerable1  
but no more4 ',my spiritual fathers1'   
observed the guide1 ',i told you we     
should not die to-day of thirst1 but ,i 
am not at all sure that we don't run    
some risk of dying of hunger4' ,in point
 of fact1 there seemed no possibility of

 making a fire4 ,there was not a tree1  
not a shrub1 not a root to be seen4 ,as 
to argols1 the rain had long since      
reduced that combustible of the desert  
to a liquid pulp4 ,the pilgrims were    
about to partake of the primitive fare  
of meal steeped in cold water--a        
cheerless beverage to three men drenched
 to the skin--when at the critical      
juncture up came two ,tartars4  ',sirs  
,lamas1 this day the heavens have       
fallen4 ,you doubtless have been unable 
to make a fire4'  ',alas6 how should we 
make a fire8 we have no argols4'  ',men 
are all brothers1 and belong to each    
other2 but laymen should honour and     
serve the holy ones3 therefore it is    
that we have come to make a fire for    
you4'  ,the fire soon blazed and        
crackled1 and a hot repast speedily     
rejoiced the jaded frames of the two    
priests and the imp ,samdad4  ,the      
domiciliary hospitalities of the        
,tartars are frank and artless1 forming 
a marked contrast to the formal         

reception of strangers among the        
,chinese4 ',on entering1 you give the   
word of peace1 amor or mendon1 to the   
company generally4 ,you then seat       
yourself on the right of the head of the
 family1 whom you find squatting on the 
floor opposite the entrance4 ,next1     
everybody takes from a purse1 suspended 
at his girdle1 a little snuff-bottle1   
and mutual pinches accompany such       
phrases as these3 ,is the pasturage with
 you rich and abundant8 ,are your herds 
in fine condition8 ,did you travel in   
peace8 ,does tranquillity prevail8 ,the 
mistress then silently holds out her    
hand to the visitor4 ,he as silently    
takes from his breast-pocket a small    
wooden bowl1 the indispensable vade     
mecum of all ,tartars1 and presents it  
to the hostess1 who fills it with tea   
and milk1 and returns it4' ,in higher   
families1 a table is spread with butter1
 oatmeal1 millet1 cheese1 all in small  
boxes of polished wood2 and these       
luxuries are all mixed in the           

everlasting tea4 ,amongst the uppermost 
aristocratic classes1 fermented milk is 
proffered2 but ,europeans would perhaps 
regard this liquor as more honoured by  
being set aside than indulged in4  ,we  
now proceed to exhibit some traits of   
,tartar character1 as developed in their
 intercourse with their ,asiatic        
brethren4 ,as usual1 a horseman         
overtakes or meets the travellers2 and  
after the customary salutations1 the    
missionaries inquired why he and his    
brethren did not cultivate corn1 instead
 of allowing every field to run to      
grass4  ',we ,mongols1' replied this    
stranger1 'are formed for living in     
tents1 and pasturing cattle4 ,so long as
 we kept to that in the kingdom of      
,gechekten1 we were rich and happy4     
,now1 ever since the ,mongols have set  
themselves to cultivating the land1 and 
building houses1 they have become poor4 
,the ,kitats 7,chinese7 have taken      
possession of the country3 flocks1      
herds1 lands1 houses--all have passed   

into their hands4 ,there remain to us   
only a few prairies1 on which still live
 under their tents such of the ,mongols 
as have not been forced by utter        
destitution to emigrate to other lands4'
  ',but if the ,chinese are so baneful  
to you1 why did you allow them to       
penetrate into your country8'  ',we took
 pity on these wicked ,kitats1 who came 
to us weeping1 to solicit our charity4  
,we allowed them1 through pure          
compassion1 to cultivate a few patches  
of land4 ,the ,mongols insensibly       
followed their example1 and abandoned   
the nomadic life4 ,they drank the wine  
of the ,kitats1 and smoked their tobacco
 on credit2 they bought their           
manufactures on credit1 at double the   
real value4 ,when the day of payment    
came1 there was no money ready1 and the 
,mongols had to yield to the violence of
 their creditors houses1 lands1 flocks1 
everything4'  ',but could you not seek  
justice from the tribunals8'  ',justice 
from the tribunals6 ,that is out of the 

question4 ,the ,kitats are skilful to   
talk and to lie4 ,it is impossible for a
 ,mongol to gain a suit against a       
,kitat4 ,sirs ,lamas1 the kingdom of    
,gechekten is undone6'                  
,after-experience amply corroborated the
 truth of these statements4 ',the       
commercial intercourse between the      
,tartars and the ,chinese is revoltingly
 iniquitous on the part of the latter4  
,so soon as the ,mongols arrive in a    
trading town1 they are snapped up by    
some ,chinese1 who carry them off1 as it
 were1 by main force to their houses1   
give them tea for themselves1 and forage
 for their horses1 and cajole them in   
every conceivable way4 ,the ,mongols    
take all they hear to be perfectly      
genuine1 and congratulate               
themselves--conscious1 as they are1 of  
their inaptitude for business--upon     
their good-fortune in thus meeting with 
brothers ,ahaton1 as they say1 in whom  
they can place full confidence1 and who 
will undertake to manage their whole    

business for them4 ,a good dinner1      
provided in the back-shop1 completes the
 illusion--and when once the ,chinese   
has established his hold1 he employs all
 the resources of a skilful and utterly 
unprincipled knavery4 ,he keeps his     
victim in his house1 eating1 drinking1  
and smoking one day after another1 until
 his subordinates have sold all the poor
 man's cattle1 or whatever else he has  
to sell1 and bought for him in return   
the commodities he requires1 at prices  
double and treble the market value4 ,but
 so plausible is the ,chinese1 and so   
simple is the ,tartar1 that the latter  
invariably departs with the most entire 
confidence in the immense philanthropy  
of the former1 and with a promise to    
return1 when he has other goods to sell1
 to the establishment where he has been 
treated so fraternally4'  ,the          
missionaries were themselves mistaken   
for ,tartars when they visited the      
',blue ,town1' and every kind of        
imposition was attempted to be practised

 on them4 ,the hotel scouts assailed    
them at their first entry1 and almost   
compelled them1 by physical force1 to   
become their guests2 shopkeepers cozened
 on all hands2 and even bankers         
condescended to cheat4 ,messrs ,gabet   
and ,huc wished to exchange silver for  
,chinese coin current4 ,the ,tartars can
 weigh1 but cannot calculate1 and       
accordingly the bank-teller of ,blue    
,town1 after gravely consulting his     
souan-pan 7exchange-table71 announced   
the value to be about a thousand sapeks 
less than it should have been4 ,the     
missionaries remonstrated1 and a        
colleague was called in to check the    
sum1 but he1 with due gravity1 declared 
that the first was right4 ,a bystander  
interfered1 and declared in favour of   
the strangers4 ',sirs ,lamas1' said the 
banker1 'your mathematics are better    
than mine4' ',oh1 not at all1' replied  
we1 with a profound bow2 'your souan-pan
 is excellent2 but who ever heard of a  
calculator always exempt from error8'   

,these phrases were1 it seems1          
rigorously required under the           
circumstances by ,chinese politeness4   
,whenever any person in ,china is       
compromised by any awkward incident1    
those present always carefully refrain  
from any observation which may make him 
blush1 or1 as the ,chinese call it1 take
 away his face4 ,a further proof of     
,chinese cupidity was afforded by the   
admission of a gentleman1 whom we may   
take the liberty of denominating an     
,oriental bagman4 ,this worthy arrived  
at an inn after our travellers had      
secured all the accommodation4  ',peace 
and happiness unto you1 ,sirs ,lamas2 do
 you need the whole of your room1 or can
 you accommodate me8'  ',why not8 ,we   
are all brothers1 and should serve each 
other4'  ',words of excellence6 ,you are
 ,tartars1 ,i am ,chinese2 yet          
comprehending the claims of hospitality1
 you act upon the truth that all men are
 brothers4'  ',whither are you bound8   
,are you going to buy up salt or catsup 

for some ,chinese company8'  ',no2 ,i   
represent a great commercial house at   
,peking1 and ,i am collecting some debts
 from the ,tartars4444 ,you1 like       
myself1 are ,tartar-eaters--you eat them
 by prayers1 ,i by commerce4 ,and why   
not8 ,the ,mongols are poor simpletons1 
and we may as well get their money as   
anybody else4444 ,oh1 we devour them2 we
 pick them clean6 ,whatever they see1   
when they come into our towns1 they     
want2 and when we know who they are1 and
 where we can find them1 we let them    
have goods upon credit of course at a   
considerable advance upon the price1 and
 upon interest at #cj and #dj per cent41
 which is quite right and necessary4 ,in
 ,china1 the emperor's laws do not allow
 this2 it is only done with the         
,tartars4 ,well1 they don't pay the     
money1 and the interest goes on until   
there is a good sum owing1 worth the    
coming for4 ,when we come for it1 we    
take all the cattle and sheep and horses
 we can get hold of for the interest1   

and leave the capital debt and future   
interest to be paid next time1 and so it
 goes on from one generation to another4
 ,oh1 a ,tartar debt is a gold-mine6'   
,the yearly settlement of accounts      
amongst the ,chinese furnishes another  
curious chapter in their commercial     
life4 ,bills are made up to the last few
 days of the year1 'and every ,chinese  
being at once debtor and creditor1 every
 ,chinese is hunting his debtors and    
hunted by his creditors4 ,he who returns
 from his neighbour's house1 which he   
has been throwing into utter confusion  
by his clamorous demands for what the   
neighbour owes him1 finds his own house 
turned inside out by an uproarious      
creditor2 and so the thing goes round4  
,the whole town is a scene of           
vociferation1 disputation1 and fighting4
 ,on the last day of the year1 disorder 
attains its height2 people rush in all  
directions with anything they can       
scratch together to raise money upon at 
the broker's or pawnbroker's--the shops 

of which tradesmen are absolutely       
besieged throughout the day with        
profferers of clothes1 bedding1         
furniture1 cooking utensils1 and        
movables of every description4 ,those   
who have already cleared their houses in
 this way1 and yet have not satisfied   
the demands upon them1 post off to their
 relations and friends1 to borrow       
something or other1 which they vow shall
 be returned immediately1 but which     
immediately takes its way to the        
tang-pon or pawnbroker's4 ,this species 
of anarchy continues till midnight1 then
 calm resumes its sway4 ,no one1 after  
the twelfth hour has struck1 can claim a
 debt1 or even make the slightest       
allusion to it4 ,you now only hear the  
words of peace and good-will2 everybody 
fraternises with everybody4 ,those who  
were just before on the point of        
twisting their neighbour's neck1 now    
twine their friendly arms about it4'    
,tartar warriors and ,tartar robbers are
 also peculiar of their kind4 ,the      

warrior presents a curious combination  
of the national simplicity with the     
spirit of the ancient ,gascon4 ,two of  
those military gentlemen gave a singular
 account of the war with the ,rebels of 
the ,south1 as the ,english are         
designated4 ,they belonged to the ,eight
 ,banners1 or army of reserve--and      
stated1 that when at war the            
grand-master 7the emperor of ,china7    
first sent the ,kitats against the      
enemy2 next the banners of the ,solon   
country are set in motion2 and if they  
fail1 then 'we 7the ,tchakars7 take the 
field1 and the mere sound of our march  
suffices to reduce the rebels to        
subjection6' ,in the ,english war1 the  
first two classes availed not1 and then 
came the turn of the sacred order4 ',the
 ,kitats told us everywhere that we were
 marching upon certain and unavailing   
death4 ,what can you do against         
sea-monsters8 ,they live in the water   
like fish3 when you least expect them1  
they appear on the surface1 and hurl the

 fire-bombs at you2 while the instant   
your bow is bent to shoot them1 down    
they dive like frogs4' ,the third class 
was not to be intimidated2 the lamas had
 opened the ,book of ,celestial         
,secrets1 and predicted victory2 and on 
they marched1 till met with the         
intelligence that the rebels1 hearing of
 the approach of this invincible legion1
 had sued for and obtained peace6  ,the 
robbers of this extraordinary territory 
are also entitled to claim credit for   
their share of eccentricity4 ',they are 
extremely polite2 they do not rudely    
clap a pistol to your ear1 and bawl at  
you3 ,your money or your life6 ,no2 they
 mildly advance with a courteous        
salutation3 ,venerable elder brother1 ,i
 am on foot2 pray lend me your horse4   
,i've got no money2 be good enough to   
lend me your purse4 ,it's quite cold    
to-day2 oblige me with the loan of your 
coat4 ,if the venerable elder brother   
charitably complies1 the matter ends    
with3 ,thanks1 brother6 but otherwise1  

the request is forthwith emphasised with
 the arguments of a cudgel2 and if these
 do not convince1 recourse is had to the
 sabre4'  ,as a matter of course1       
,chinese thieves belong in contrast to  
the species of which the ',artful       
,dodger' may be regarded as the type4   
,the modus operandi of ,eastern         
appropriators is this3 ',two of them1   
associated together for the purpose1    
hawk about various articles of          
merchandise--boots1 skin-coats1 bricks  
of tea1 and what not4 ,they offer these 
for sale to travellers4 ,while one of   
them engages the attention of the       
destined victim by displaying his goods 
and bargaining1 the other ferrets about1
 and pockets whatever he can lay his    
hands on4 ,these rascals have           
inconceivable skill in counting your    
sapeks for you1 in such a way as to     
finger fifty or one hundred of them     
without your having the slightest notion
 as to what is going on4 ,one day1 two  
of these little thieves came to offer   

for our purchase a pair of leathern     
boots4 ,excellent boots1 said           
they--boots such as we would not find in
 any shop in the whole town2 boots that 
would keep out the rain for days2 and as
 to cheapness1 perfectly unexampled4 ,if
 we missed this opportunity1 we should  
never have such another4 ,only just     
before they had been offered #abjj      
sapeks for them6 ,as we did not want    
boots1 we replied that we could not have
 them at any price4 ,thereupon the      
acting merchant assumed a lofty tone of 
generosity4 ,we were foreigners1 we     
should have them for #ajjj sapeks1 #ijj1
 #hjj1 #gjj4 ,well1 said we1 we         
certainly don't want any boots just now2
 yet doubtless1 as you say1 these are   
very cheap1 and it will be worth while  
to buy them as a reserve4 ,the bargain  
was accordingly concluded2 we took our  
purse and counted out #gjj sapeks to the
 merchant1 who counted them over        
himself1 under our very eyes1 pronounced
 the amount correct1 and once more laid 

the coin before us4 ,he then called out 
to his companion1 who was poking about  
in the court-yard3 ,here1 ,i have sold  
these capital boots for #gjj sapeks4    
,nonsense1 cried the other2 #gjj sapeks6
 ,i wont hear of such a thing6 ,very    
well1 said we2 come1 take your boots1   
and be off with you6 ,he was off1 and so
 quickly1 that we thought it expedient  
to count our sapeks once more3 there    
were #aej of them gone2 and that was not
 all4 ,while one of these rascals had   
been pocketing our money under our very 
nose1 the other had bagged two great    
iron pins that we had driven into the   
court-yard for the purpose of our       
camels4 ,therefore1 we took a           
resolution1 better late than never1 to  
admit in future no merchant whatever    
into our room4'  ,we cannot sufficiently
 regret1 that two travellers who have   
furnished us with such interesting      
accounts of territories comparatively so
 little unexplored1 should1 after a     
brief sojourn1 have been compelled to   

quit the scene of their labours4 ,after 
eighteen months' travel1 ,messrs ,huc   
and ,gabet arrived at the ,thibetian    
town of ,lha-,ssa1 where1 under the     
protection of the local authorities1    
they remained unmolested for several    
weeks2 but their presence excited the   
jealousy of ,ki-,chan1 the deputy of the
 emperor of ,china1 and at his          
instigation the nomekhan of ,lha-,ssa   
ordered them to quit4 ,they ultimately  
settled at ,macao in #ahdf1 and there   
compiled the narrative from which we    
have been quoting4   ,,footnotes3  #c   
,travels in ,tartary1 ,thibet1 and      
,china1 during the years #ahdd-e-f4 ,by 
,m4 ,huc4 ,translated by ,w4 ,hazlitt4  
,london4 7,national ,illustrated        
,library47     ,a ,,dainty ,,dish4      
,among the variety of curious insects   
which are common to tropical climates1  
the groogroo worms of the ,west ,indies 
may be considered particularly          
interesting4 ,from the peculiar manner  
in which they are produced1 and from the

 circumstance of their constituting a   
choice article of food for man1 they    
become entitled to some attention4  ,the
 groogroo worm--so called because it is 
found in a species of palm vulgarly     
called the groogroo--is the larva of a  
large-sized beetle1 the ,prionus1 which 
is peculiar to the warm latitudes of    
,america4 ,with the exception of a      
slight similarity about the region of   
the head1 the worm bears no resemblance 
to the parent beetle4 ,when full-grown1 
it is about #c-a_/b inches in length1   
having the body large and turgid1 and   
increasing in circumference from the    
head towards the opposite extremity4    
,the head is of a corneous1 opaque      
substance4 ,it has neither eyes nor the 
rudiments of the antenn which           
distinguish the beetle tribe4 ,it is1   
however1 provided with the mandibles and
 other oral apparatus of the mandibulate
 group of insects1 and it is only in    
this feature that any connection with   
the beetle can be traced4 ,the trunk is 

precisely that of a worm2 it consists of
 many closely-knitted segments1 which   
are possessed of an extraordinary       
contractile power4 ,it bears no mark    
which would indicate a future           
metamorphosis into a beetle4 ,there is  
no sign of a future division into thorax
 and abdomen4 ,there are no rudiments of
 wings or feet1 as the under surface of 
the body presents exactly the same      
appearances as the upper4 ,at the       
posterior extremity of the worm1        
however1 there is a small horny         
termination1 something like the hinder  
part of a leech4 ,the organs are        
exceedingly simple1 the digestive being 
the most developed4 ,albumen is the     
substance which composes its body1 and  
its blood is of a greenish tint4 ,with a
 motion similar to that of the          
earthworm1 it perforates with           
extraordinary rapidity into the         
substance of the tree in which it is    
found4  ,when the moon is at her full1  
the gatherer of worms enters a          

neighbouring wood1 and selects a young  
palmiste tree4 ,this is a tree of the   
palm order1 exceedingly stately and     
graceful1 growing sometimes to the      
extraordinary height of eighty feet4    
,from the roots upwards1 it has not a   
single branch or shrubby excrescence1   
but grows beautifully smooth and        
straight1 tapering towards the top4 ,at 
its top1 an abundance of the richest and
 most beautiful leaves spread out in    
graceful symmetry1 and bend down on all 
sides1 forming a figure like an         
umbrella2 while the young leaf1 still   
firm and compact in its foliar envelope1
 is seen standing erect in the centre of
 this foliage1 like a                   
lightning-conductor4  ,when a promising 
palmiste is found1 the gatherer makes an
 incision into it with a cutlass or a   
hatchet4 ,this incision is generally in 
the figure of a half-moon1 with the base
 of the semicircle downwards1 and the   
wound increasing in depth in that       
direction1 so as to expose effectually  

the flesh of the tree4 ,when this is    
done1 the gatherer marks the locality1  
and leaves the tree1 which he does not  
revisit for a considerable time4 ,when  
the moon is in her wane1 he returns and 
examines his palmiste4 ,if the young    
leaf1 together with the others1 begins  
to shew a yellow tinge at its extremity1
 and if1 on application of his ear to   
the trunk1 a hollow1 rumbling noise is  
heard within1 he concludes that the     
worms have attacked the vital parts1 and
 the tree is immediately cut down2 but  
if these symptoms are absent1 the tree  
is left standing until they appear4 ,the
 gatherer1 however1 must now visit the  
tree frequently1 because the transition 
of the insects is so rapid1 that almost 
immediately after the appearance of the 
yellow tinge the whole would disappear4 
,when the tree is felled1 a square      
portion of the bark is cut out          
longitudinally from the original        
incision upwards1 and its fibrous       
texture laid open4 ,myriads of worms are

 then seen voraciously devouring their  
way through the substance4 ,in capturing
 them some degree of dexterity is       
necessary1 both to protect one's self   
from the mandibles of the insects1 which
 inflict a painful bite1 and also to    
save time1 by preventing them from      
burrowing out of sight4 ,when the worms 
are taken1 they are placed into a close 
vessel1 where they continue to retain   
their activity and vigour4  ,the number 
that can be procured from a single tree1
 depends altogether upon the season in  
which it is wounded4 ,if the moon is at 
her full1 they are generally numerous   
and good--many thousands being found in 
an ordinary young tree of #be feet in   
height4 ,if a few succeed in eluding the
 gatherer1 they do so only to become a  
prey of as voracious animals1 for the   
wild hogs1 or quencos1 of the forest    
relish much the soft substance of the   
palmiste when in a state of             
decomposition4 ,it never happens1       
therefore1 that much time passes before 

they discover any palmiste-tree that has
 been felled2 and as soon as night sets 
in1 they flock in numbers to the spot   
and devour the whole substance4 ,a      
gathering of worms1 therefore1 brings a 
hunt of quencos2 and the gatherer1 when 
his first business is over1 chooses a   
convenient tree1 where he places himself
 in ambush4 ,seated on a cross branch1  
he awaits the coming of the animals4    
,it is difficult to form an idea of the 
peculiar excitement of this midnight    
sport in the thick woods of a tropical  
country4 ,the usual stillness of the    
night1 and the solitude of the          
wilderness--the croaking of the         
night-birds1 the movement of every leaf1
 animated as it is by the myriads of    
nocturnal insects that fill the         
atmosphere--the brilliant and fleeting  
fire-flies traversing the gloom--the    
strange animals wandering in their      
nightly prowlings--the approach of the  
grunting hogs1 and the incidents of the 
hunt3 all these things1 combined with   

the idea of isolation when a man finds  
himself alone in the wilds of a scarcely
 pervious forest1 create an             
inexpressible feeling of mingled fear1  
pleasure1 and anxiety4  ,before the     
worms are cooked1 they are1 each in its 
turn1 carefully pricked with an         
orange-thorn1 and thrown into a vessel  
containing a sauce of lime-juice and    
salt4 ,this is for the purpose of       
cleansing them from the viscid fluids   
they may have imbibed from the palmiste4
 ,notwithstanding this discipline1 the  
worms retain their vitality till they   
are deprived of it by the culinary      
process4 ,the simpler mode of dressing  
them is to spit a number together on a  
piece of stick or a long orange-thorn1  
and roast them before the fire in their 
own fat4 ,the general mode1 however1 is 
by frying them with or without a sauce1 
and when dressed in this manner1 they   
form a most savoury dish4  ,groogroo    
worms are considered great delicacies in
 some parts of the ,west ,indies1       

chiefly in those whose inhabitants are  
of ,french or ,spanish origin4 ,the good
 old planter at his table presents you  
with a dish of worms1 with as much pride
 as an epicure in ,england introduces   
you to cod-sounds1 eels1 or high        
venison4 ,nor does it appear that there 
is any peculiarity in the taste of those
 who relish the insects2 because it very
 frequently happens1 that the stranger1 
who manifested on his arrival the       
greatest disgust at the idea of eating  
worms1 becomes immediately converted    
into an extravagant lover of them4  ,it 
may appear strange1 that in the tropics1
 especially1 where nature provides so   
abundantly for the wants of man1 such   
creatures should be resorted to as      
articles of consumption2 but while we on
 this side of the ,atlantic are shocked 
at the idea of eating worms1 the ,west  
,indian consumer in his turn expresses  
surprise that human beings can use      
things which resemble snakes so much as 
eels1 and pronounces it to be the height

 of uncleanness to eat frogs1 as some of
 the continentals do4 ,indeed1 the      
groogroo worm is by no means more       
repulsive in appearance than any of the 
other unprepossessing creatures which   
are so highly prized4 ,it would be a    
difficult matter to decide on the merits
 of the many extraordinary things which 
the taste of man1 in its morbid         
cravings1 has discovered and converted  
into luxurious use2 and the philosopher 
finds himself at last driven to take    
shelter from his own unanswerable       
inquiries behind the concluding power of
 that most true1 but somewhat musty     
proverb3 ',de gustibus non est          
disputandum4'     ,,gratitude ,,of ,,the
 ,,country ,,for ,,steam                
,,communication4   ,mr ,patrick ,miller 
of ,dalswinton1 who first experimented  
in the application of steam to          
navigation1 never received any mark of  
gratitude from his country2 his family1 
though long in comparatively reduced    
circumstances1 remain to this day       

equally without requital on that        
account4 ,henry ,bell1 who1 taking his  
ideas from ,mr ,miller's experimental   
boat1 first set a steam-vessel afloat in
 this country1 spent his latter years in
 poverty1 from which he was rescued only
 a short time before his death by a     
small pension from the ,clyde ,trustees4
 ,mr ,thomas ,gray1 whose ,observations 
on ,railways1 published about thirty    
years ago1 may be said to have given    
origin and impulse to our present       
railway system1 by which three hundred  
millions have been expended1 died in    
poverty1 to which he had been reduced by
 his exertions in the cause2 his widow  
and children are at this day in that    
state1 without any public acknowledgment
 of his services to the country2 and his
 son has lately applied to nearly every 
railway company in the kingdom for a    
situation1 but in vain4 ,beyond a       
pension of ,l4#ej a year to the widow of
 ,mr ,james ,taylor1 who prompted ,mr   
,miller to try his experiments1 we are  

not aware of a single penny having been 
expended by the country in requiting the
 services1 or compensating the losses1  
of individuals in respect of steam      
communications of any kind4     ,a      
,,dream ,,of ,,resurrection4       ,so  
heavenly beautiful it lay1       ,it was
 less like a human corse       ,than    
that fair shape in which perforce     ,a
 dead hope clothes itself alway4        
,the dream shewed very plain3 the bed   
,where that known unknown face reposed--
       ,a woman's face with eyelids     
closed1     ,a something precious that  
was dead3      ,a something1 lost on    
this side life1       ,by which the     
mourner came and stood1       ,and laid 
down1 ne'er to be renewed1     ,all     
glittering robes of earthly strife2--   
,shred off1 like votive locks of hair1  
,youth's ornaments of joy and strength1 
,and cast them in their golden length   
,the silence of that bier to share4     
,no tears fell--but a gaze1 fixed1 long1
       ,that memory might print the face

       ,on the heart's ever-vacant space
     ,with a sun-finger1 sharp and      
strong4      ,then kisses1 dropping     
without sound2       ,and solemn arms   
wound round the dead2       ,and lifting
 from the natural bed     ,into the     
coffin's strange new bound2      ,yet   
still no parting--no belief       ,in   
death2 no more than we believe       ,in
 some dread falsehood that would weave  
,the world in one black shroud of grief4
      ,and still1 unanswered kisses2    
still1       ,warm clingings to the     
image cold1       ,with an impossible   
faith's close fold1     ,creative1      
through its fierce ',i will4'           
,hush1 hush6 the marble eyelids move2   
,the kissed lips quiver into breath2    
,avaunt1 thou ghastly-seeming ,death6   
,avaunt6 ,we are conquerors--,i and     
,love6      ,corse of dead hope1 awake1 
arise6       ,a living hope1 that only  
slept       ,until the tears thus       
overwept     ,had washed the blindness  
from our eyes4      ,come back into the 

upper day6       ,dash off those        
cerements6 ,patient shroud1       ,we'll
 wrap thee as a garment proud     ,round
 the bright shape we thought was clay4  
,clasp1 arms6 ,cling1 soul6 ,eyes1 drink
 anew1       ,like pilgrims at a living 
spring6       ,faith1 that out-loved    
this perishing1     ,may see this       
resurrection too4         99       99   
99       99       99  ,printed and      
,published by ,w4 and ,r4 ,,chambers1   
,high ,street1 ,edinburgh4 ,also sold by
 ,w4 ,s4 ,,orr1 ,amen ,corner1 ,london2 
,d4 ,n4 ,,chambers1 #ee ,west ,nile     
,street1 ,glasgow2 and ,j4 ,m',,glashan1
 #ej ,upper ,sackville ,street1         
,dublin4--,advertisements for ,monthly  
,parts are requested to be sent to      
,,maxwell  ,,co41 #ca ,nicholas ,lane1  
,lombard ,street1 ,london1 to whom all  
applications respecting their insertion 
must be made4