,,chambers' ,,edinburgh ,,journal       
,,conducted ,,by ,,william ,,and        
,,robert ,,chambers1 ,,editors ,,of     
',,chambers',s   ,,information ,,for    
,,the ,,people1' ',,chambers',s         
,,educational ,,course1' c4     ,no4    
#dec4 ,,new ,,series4   ,,saturday1     
,,september #d1 #aheb4   ,,price        
#a-a_/b;d4     ,a ,,possible ,,event4   
,occupied as most of us are with our    
respective worldly concerns1 and        
accustomed to see the routine of common 
events going on smoothly from age to    
age1 we are little apt to reflect on    
natural events of a tremendous          
character1 which modern science shews   
might possibly happen1 and that on any  
day of any year4 ,we think of the land  
as a firm and solid thing--as terra     
firma1 in short--not recollecting that  
geology shews how it may rise or sink1  
so as to pass into new relations to the 
enveloping sea2 how it may be raised1   
for instance1 to such an extent as to   
throw every port inland1 or so far      

lowered as to submerge the richest and  
most populous regions4 ,no doubt1 the   
relations of sea and land have been much
 as they are during historical time2 but
 it is at the same time past all doubt1 
that the last great geological event1 in
 respect of most countries known1 was a 
submergence which produced the marine   
alluvial deposits2 and when we find that
 ,scandinavia is slowly but steadily    
rising in some parts at this moment1 and
 that a thousand miles of the west coast
 of ,south ,america rose four feet in a 
single night only thirty years ago1 we  
cannot feel quite assured1 that the     
agencies which produced that            
submergence1 and the subsequent         
re-emergence1 are at an end4 ,we        
likewise forgot1 in these cool districts
 of the earth1 that we are not quite    
beyond the hazard of subterranean fire4 
,there are numberless extinct volcanoes 
in both ,britain and ,france2 there are 
some on the banks of the ,rhine2 indeed1
 they are thick-sown everywhere4 ,now1  

an extinct volcano is not quite so safe 
a neighbour as many may suppose4        
,vesuvius was an extinct volcano from   
time immemorial till the year #fc1 when 
it suddenly broke out again1 and soon   
after destroyed ,pompeii and            
,herculaneum2 since which time it has   
never again subsided into entire        
inactivity4 ,suppose ,arthur's ,seat1   
which is 'within a mile of ,edinburgh   
town1' were to recommence business in   
like manner1 we should like to know at  
how many years' purchase house property 
in that beautiful ,new ,town would be   
selling next day4 ,yet what is there    
about an old volcano here more than an  
old volcano in ,italy1 to give assurance
 that its means of annoyance and        
destruction are absolutely extinguished8
  ,there is1 however1 in the showings of
 science1 a more serious danger than any
 of these4 ,comets were once regarded as
 most terrific objects1 but only in a   
superstitious way1 perplexing nations   
with fear of change1 and shaking        

pestilence from their horrid hair4      
,during an intermediate enlightened     
time1 these notions passed away2 and we 
have even come to think1 that such a    
visitant of our skies may exercise a    
beneficial influence4 ,we at least      
recollect when old gentlemen1 after     
dinner1 brightened up at the mention of 
'claret #ahaa1' merrily attributing the 
extraordinary merits of the liquor to   
the comet of that year4 ,but comets1 in 
the cool eye of modern science1 are not 
without their terrors4 ,crossing as they
 often do the paths of the planets in   
their progress to and from their        
perihelia1 it cannot but be that they   
should now and then come in contact with
 one of these spheres4 ,one1 called     
,lexell's1 did come athwart the         
satellites of ,jupiter in #agfi1 and    
once again in #aggi1 so as to be        
deranged in its own course4 ,it made1   
indeed1 no observable change in the     
movements of the ,jovian train1 being of
 too light a consistence for that2 but  

can we doubt1 that it might nevertheless
 seriously affect the condition of their
 surfaces1 and especially any animal    
life existing thereon8 ,this very comet1
 on the #bhth of ,june #aggj1 passed the
 earth at a distance only six times that
 of the moon4 ,there is another called  
,biela's1 which revisits the sun every  
six years1 or a little more2 and this   
busy traveller actually crossed our     
orbit in #ahcb1 only a month before we  
passed through the same point in space6 
,another1 which made a grand appearance 
in the western sky in ,march #ahdc1     
would have involved us in its tail1 if  
we had been only a fortnight earlier at 
a particular place6 ,rather fine shaving
 that in the celestial economics4 ,now1 
if we consider that as many as eight    
comets have been observed telescopically
 in a single year 7#ahdf71 we must see  
that the chance of a collision of this  
kind is not quite so small as to be     
unworthy of regard4 ,if it be true that 
there are thousands of comets1 all of   

which make periodical visits to the near
 neighbourhood of the sun1 it must be   
evident that the earth1 being itself not
 far1 comparatively speaking1 from that 
luminary1 must be rather liable as      
otherwise to a brush from one of these  
wanderers2 and1 indeed1 the wonder is1  
that several thousand years should have 
passed without1 so far as we know1 any  
one such collision having taken place4  
,seeing what a highly-organised system  
is formed by the physical and organic   
arrangements upon our planet1 one is apt
 to think that the scheme of ,providence
 must have been framed with a provision 
for the complete exclusion of such      
accidents4 ,to allow of the sudden      
undoing of all this fair scene1 which it
 has taken thousands of years to bring  
out in its full proportions1 seems like 
a wanton destruction of valuable        
property1 and we are not disposed to    
believe that such a thing could be      
permitted4 ,but we must at the same time
 remember1 that our sense of what is    

important and consequential has a regard
 to the earth alone1 which is but a     
trifling atom in the universe4 ,who can 
tell what are the limits which the      
,master of worlds has set to mundane    
calamity8 ,and assuredly1 even though a 
whole solar system were here and there1 
now and then1 to be remodelled in       
respect of all such arrangements as have
 been spoken of1 it could not be        
supposed to be a very great event in the
 progress of the entire scheme1 seeing  
that astronomy has taught us to regard  
such systems as no more than particles  
in the dust-cloud or grains of sand on  
the sea-shore4 ,it must1 then1 in sober 
reasoning be admitted1 that our mere    
abhorrence of so much destruction is no 
guidance to our judgment on this point2 
and that for anything we can see of the 
plans of ,providence1 an entanglement of
 our globe with a comet may take place  
any day1 with consequences incalculably 
damaging for the meantime1 though not   
conclusively destructive1 and perhaps   

necessary as a step towards an improved 
system of things--the bringing in of    
what ,ben ,jonson calls 'an age of      
better metal4'  ,in the frame of mind   
which these speculations induce--not    
very greatly alarmed about such         
extraordinary contingencies1 yet not    
insensible to the solemnity of the      
thought of what may come to pass even   
before our living eyes--it is curious1  
and not necessarily unpleasant1 to      
consider what might be the actual       
phenomena attending a cometary          
collision4 ,we know not what comets are 
composed of1 but are certain that they  
consist of some palpable matter1 however
 diffused1 for they observe the rules of
 motion in their revolutions round the  
sun4 ,on the whole1 the most plausible  
supposition as to their composition1 is 
that which regards them as watery vapour
 or cloud1 of great tenuity4 ,how like1 
for example1 to the doings of a cloud1  
is the splitting into two1 which has    
been occasionally observed in them6     

,well1 if they be clouds1 the coming of 
one into contact with our earth would   
most likely deposit with us an immense  
addition to our stock of water4 ,it     
would be instantaneous1 or nearly so4   
,only think of a sudden fall of water   
sufficient to raise the ocean a hundred 
feet1 and submerge all parts of the land
 which were less than that height above 
the present level of the sea6 ,there    
would1 of course1 be a fearful          
abridgment of our continents2 all big   
islands would be made little2 and many  
littler ones would cease to be4 ,the    
surviving lands would be so swept by the
 flood1 that scarcely any of the present
 features would remain unchanged4 ,all  
animals and movable things would be     
engulfed4 ,in a few minutes1 this       
brawling1 chattering1 bustling world    
would be stilled in universal death4    
,what a settlement of 'questions' there6
 ,what a strike of work6 ,what a command
 of ,silence6  ,a board of bank         
directors was hesitating about a bill   

for ,l4#ajj1 some thinking it rather    
indifferent paper1 others viewing it    
more favourably2 when down comes the    
cometic flood1 and while the manager    
rings his bell to see what is the       
matter1 it enters by doors and windows1 
and in an instant closes the whole      
concern4 ,a criminal court was sitting  
in expectation of the return of the jury
 with their verdict4 ,there was one     
thinking that death may not be far from 
his door1 and a hundred pitying him in  
the contrast of their own assurance from
 the imminent foe1 when lo6 the flood1  
and judges1 jury1 criminal1 and         
sympathising audience1 are all instantly
 on a level4 ,a sanitary commission was 
deliberating on impediments to the      
bringing in of fresh and the taking away
 of foul water1 and wondering if there  
ever would be a body of their           
denomination which could do anything it 
wished to do for the benefit of a mild1 
expectant1 inactive1 suffering public4  
,the comet pours in its fresh water on  

the instant1 and the whole difficulties 
of the case are at once resolved4 ,a    
synod had been called to consider some  
nice point1 hardly palpable to common   
understandings1 but which everybody     
thought a very important point          
notwithstanding1 and three gentlemen    
speaking at once to contrary purposes   
were about to be interrupted by a fourth
 of a different opinion still1 when     
enter comet--a real ,moderator--and at  
one stroke decides what poor mankind had
 been wrangling about for centuries1 and
 what1 to all appearance1 but for this  
'redding straik1' they would have       
wrangled about for centuries to come4   
,lord ,augustus ,anser had demanded     
satisfaction of the ,honourable ,mr     
,pavo for an injurious remark1 and they 
were proceeding by railway to make a    
deadly end of it1 when1 lo6 the comet   
dashes in like an undesired train from a
 siding1 and quashes one of the         
prettiest quarrels which has happened   
for a twelvemonth4 ,there was an        

unpleasant dispute with ,america about a
 herring-barrel1 and barrels of a       
different kind were likely to be        
resorted to to settle it4 ,the          
,admiralty was all astir as to how many 
vessels it might be necessary to set    
afloat for the business4 ,brother       
,jonathan was calculating what could be 
made of the crisis in working out the   
election of a president4 ,the comet     
takes upon itself to set the whole naval
 force of both countries afloat--the    
'origo mali' too--and at the same time  
to countermand the presidential         
election4 ,so that matter passes4       
,another president was on the point of  
electing himself emperor--a loving pair 
was about to be wed--the ,court of      
,chancery was just commencing a career  
of reform--a new author was starting    
into fame with the most brilliant novel 
of the season--when the comet thwarts   
every hope4 ,lloyd's had never          
calculated on such an accident4 ,on     
',change1 if there had been time for a  

moment's remark1 it would have been     
regarded as a most unheard-of thing4    
,the life-assurance companies1 having in
 their tables made no allowance for such
 a contingency1 would have been ruined  
by so many policies 'emerging' 7oh1 word
 of mockery67 at once1 had it not been  
that there were no survivors to claim   
the various amounts4 ,debts1 bonds1     
contracts1 obligations of all kinds1 in 
like manner were absolved by the comet1 
and ,creation itself left to open a new 
score in1 it is to be hoped1 a less     
blotted book4  ,considered as a reform1 
our possible event must be viewed with  
great interest4 ,the patriot's heart is 
broken1 in the ordinary current of      
things1 by the passive resistance he    
meets with from the great1 inert mass of
 prejudice and contrary interest4 ,his  
most generous views are thwarted by     
thousands of accidents which there was  
no foreseeing when he put the affair    
down on paper4 ,tories hate and         
scandalise him2 despots put him in      

prison2 he only can bequeath his scheme 
to be wrought out by the happy man of a 
happier age4 ,here1 however1 comes me in
 a besom which sweeps all the old       
peccant institutions away at one whisk4 
,church and state are severed1 and for  
ever4 ,the ,holy ,alliance against the  
liberties of mankind is broken up--the  
pomp and corruption of courts is        
annihilated--bribery and bigotry are no 
more4 ,what a clean sweep6--how hopeless
 reaction6 ,surely the most extravagant 
views of the ,destructives must be      
gratified and contented at last4  ,if   
the event shall ever happen1 it cannot  
be doubted that the present ,mankind    
will leave many interesting memorials of
 themselves and their progress for the  
examination of a new race1 should such  
ever arise4 ,when the geologist of the  
after-world begins his work--who can    
tell how many hundreds of thousands of  
years hence8--he will find1 over all our
 stratification and palontology1 a      
,,drift containing the remains of the   

ancient human species--here a tibia of a
 stockbroker1 there the skull of a      
poet--here a lady's dressing-case in a  
fossilised state1 there a gentleman's   
box of cigars3 besides all these odds   
and ends1 there will doubtless be ruins 
of temples1 fortresses1 ships1          
gin-palaces1 and other pertinents of an 
active1 passionate humanity1 the        
purposes of which will form most curious
 matter of speculation for the more     
angelic species then at last come upon  
the earth4 ,nothing in writing or print 
will have survived to convey an idea of 
the state of our knowledge1 or of the   
attainments of our great writers2 but it
 is possible that a few inscriptions may
 be disinterred1 and that through these 
some glimpses may be obtained of our    
history1 though of a most detached and  
confused nature4 ,probably1 the most    
puzzling thing of all will be our       
warlike implements and munitions2 for to
 one who never thought of harming his   
neighbour1 how incomprehensible must be 

any tool designed expressly for that    
purpose6 ,if the intent of these        
articles be penetrated1 they will       
doubtless be ranged in museums as       
curious monuments of passions long      
extinct1 just as we see the instruments 
of torture used by the ,inquisition and 
other ancient judicatories hung up in   
antiquarian collections of our own day4 
,well1 well1 my dear brethren--you have 
read thus far without1 ,i hope1 being   
too much distressed by the idea of the  
physical contingencies to which it is   
shewn we are liable4 ,probably you have1
 each of you1 too many matters of sore  
concern pressing closely upon you1 to be
 much incommoded by possibilities of so 
infinitesimal a character4 ,it cannot1  
nevertheless1 be amiss1 that you should 
know these amongst other things that may
 any day leap from the laps of the      
,parc1 were it only to expand your souls
 a little with things superior to the   
eternal commonplaces of life4 ,it is1   
after all1 a great thing to be a part of

 so great a system as that revealed to  
us in the external frame of things1 and 
to feel in what a mighty hand our       
destiny lies4 ,even in the danger of    
what is here styled a ,possible ,event1 
there is a grandeur--both as to the     
event itself1 and the ,power under whose
 permission it will1 if at all1 take    
place1 and our filial relations to that 
,power1 which never leaves us without   
hope--which1 to a high and purified     
mind1 must be felt as more than         
reconciling4     ,,barthold ,,george    
,,niebuhr4   ,we have been reading with 
profound interest the life and letters  
of one of the great men of ,germany1    
,barthold ,niebuhr1 published very      
recently in an ,english garb4#a ,the    
original work we have not seen1 but we  
understand it is about one-third larger 
than the present selection1 made in a   
great measure under the auspices of the 
,chevalier ,bunsen1 the friend of       
,niebuhr1 and his immediate successor in
 the ,prussian embassy to ,rome4 ,the   

interest of the book is1 indeed1        
principally derived from the private    
letters of ,niebuhr1 the greater part of
 which were addressed to his early      
friend1 ,mme ,hensler1 whose younger    
sister was his first wife1 and her niece
 his second4 ,most unfortunately1 the   
valuable series of his letters to his   
father was destroyed by fire a short    
time before his own death2 but the      
account given of him by ,mme ,hensler is
 quite sufficient to connect all that   
remains2 and from this1 and one or two  
other sources open to us1 we shall try  
to fill up our present narrative4       
,niebuhr is one of those men whose      
advent forms an era in the history of   
human knowledge4 ,it is a mistake1      
however1 to suppose that he was the     
first to infuse even into ,roman story  
that element of doubt which has changed 
the whole fabric of historical science4 
,if ,niebuhr was a mere sceptic1 he     
would be only the humble follower of    
,bayle1 ,lesurgnes de ,pouilly1 and     

other writers of the last century2 but  
his merit lies in reconstruction--in the
 jealous care with which he             
distinguishes between the true monuments
 of history and the mass of traditional 
rubbish in which they lay entombed4 ,in 
his ,roman history1 however1 although by
 that alone he is known in ,england1 we 
find only a portion of the intellectual 
man3 he was learned in the learning of  
all times1 modern as well as ancient2   
and yet he was so completely immersed1  
not merely as an observer1 but as a     
participator1 in the business of the    
world and the great events of his own   
time1 that even literature seems to have
 been little more than a study indulged 
in during the pauses of active life4    
,the history of a mind so vast is by no 
means1 we are aware1 adapted for pages  
like ours2 and yet it seems             
important--indeed indispensable--that in
 a popular journal1 flowing on with the 
spirit of the age1 we should trace some 
authentic records of the character and  

career of the man4  ,carsten ,niebuhr1  
the father of the historian1 had not the
 advantages of early education4 ,he was 
no more than a free peasant1 living on  
the marsh-farm in ,friesland1 which had 
been possessed by several generations of
 his ancestors2 but at the age of       
two-and-twenty he put himself under     
mathematical tutorship at ,hamburg1 and 
then studied at ,gottingen4 ,he was     
invited to join a mission which the     
,danish government determined to send   
into ,arabia2 and the proposal1 at first
 scarcely made in earnest to the        
half-educated young farmer1 was accepted
 by him with eagerness4 ,by a singular  
fatality1 he was the only one of the    
travellers sent out on this expedition  
who returned2 he was absent more than   
six years1 during four of which he was  
alone1 all his companions being dead4   
,he had added largely to what was       
previously known of ,egypt2 had made    
scientific observations of great value  
in the deserts of ,arabia1 and undergone

 prodigious hardships2 but the most     
remarkable thing was1 that his eagerness
 to fulfil in some measure the purposes 
of the expedition1 made the whole       
journey a work of preparation and study1
 as well as of actual exploration4 ,in  
#aggc1 being then just forty years of   
age1 he married the orphan daughter of  
,dr ,blumenberg1 a ,thuringian          
physician1 and lived at ,copenhagen1    
with the rank of captain of engineers1  
till the year #aggh4 ,he then removed to
 ,meldorf1 a town in the province of    
,ditmarsch1 ,holstein1 where he settled 
for life as collector of the revenues of
 the district4  ,barthold ,george       
,niebuhr was born in ,copenhagen on the 
#bgth of ,august #aggf2 but with the    
little old town of ,meldorf--once the   
capital of an ancient commonwealth--his 
earliest associations were connected4 ,a
 kind of rude equality still reigned in 
the manners of the rustic population1   
which was not likely to be disturbed by 
the influx of the world into a bleak and

 gloomy district remote from the great  
roads4 ,here young ,niebuhr grew up a   
studious and solitary boy2 instructed by
 his father in ,french1 the rudiments of
 ,latin1 and above all1 in geography and
 history1 which the old traveller taught
 him to illustrate by maps and plans1   
and by digging regular fortifications in
 the garden4 ,the sheriff of ,meldorf1  
and editor of the ,deutsches ,museum1 a 
man of both fancy and learning1 assisted
 in this early education2 and the       
boy--who had never been a               
child--employed himself1 even at seven  
years of age1 in writing down the       
instructions he received4 ,in future    
years1 he regretted his having thus     
'lost the life of a child4' ',i found   
matter for my childish fancy only in    
books1 engravings1 or conversation4 ,i  
drew into its sphere all ,i read1 and ,i
 read without reason and without aim2   
but the real world was closed to me1 and
 ,i could not conceive or imagine       
anything which had not been first       

conceived or imagined by another4'      
,from this second-hand world he removed 
at the age of thirteen1 when he was sent
 to the school at ,meldorf1 where the   
principal1 ,dr ,jger1 gave him as much  
attention as he could spare for a pupil1
 who1 though much the youngest1 was the 
most advanced in the class4 ,afterwards1
 finding it was impossible to do for him
 what this strange child required1 ,dr  
,jger advised his removal1 and gave him 
a private lesson of an hour every day   
instead4 ,this was continued with only a
 few months' interruption and           
unsuccessful trial of a school at       
,hamburg1 till ,barthold was eighteen1  
when he was sent to the university of   
,kiel4  ,his interest in politics dated 
from a very early period4 ,at the age of
 eleven1 he studied the newspapers1     
,english ones especially1 which he read 
with ease2 and his knowledge of         
geography enabled him to follow all the 
details of a campaign with vivid        
interest4  ,his going to the university 

was an important incident in his life4  
,his particular vocation1 indeed1 seems 
to have been clear enough from even an  
earlier period2 for though he was a     
learned linguist1 history especially1   
and philology1 were the pursuits to     
which his heart was given4 ,the letters 
he wrote from ,kiel to his parents are  
amiable1 full of affectionate           
outpourings about the new men and women 
to whom he was introduced1 about his    
studies1 and about his theories4 ,he    
profits by the kindness of the          
physician1 ,dr ,hensler1 whose house and
 friendly advice were always accessible2
 but he declines evening-parties2 and   
contemplates the mountain of knowledge1 
up whose steep sides he has yet to      
climb1 with profound awe and some       
anxiety4 ',my head swims when ,i survey 
what ,i have yet to learn--philosophy1  
mathematics1 physics1 chemistry1 natural
 history4 ,then1 too1 ,i must perfect   
myself in history1 ,german1 and ,french2
 study ,roman law1 and the political    

constitutions of ,europe1 as far as ,i  
can1 c42 and all this must be done      
within five years at most4444 ,i must   
know all these things2 but how ,i shall 
learn them1 ,heaven knows6 ,that ,i     
shall require them as a learned man1 or 
in any position ,i may occupy1 ,i am    
fully convinced4'  ,in ,dr ,hensler's   
house he saw frequently ,mme ,hensler1  
the widow of the doctor's son4 ,she was 
six years older than ,niebuhr2 but to   
him1 unused to female society1 and      
admitted at once into domestic          
familiarity with a sensible and engaging
 woman1 this disparity was              
nothing--perhaps1 indeed1 it added to   
the charm4 ,from other sources1 we learn
 that he at first became attached to    
,mme ,hensler herself2 but being        
discouraged as a lover1 allowed her to  
introduce him to her younger sister1    
,amelia ,behrens1 a beautiful and       
intellectual woman2 and although the    
attachment he then formed was not sudden
 or violent1 it became very profound4   

,after his engagement with this lady in 
#agig1 and before his marriage1 he      
visited ,england2 and in                
,scotland--chiefly in ,edinburgh--he    
spent nearly a year4 ,the account given 
in his letters of his sojourn in our    
capital1 would interest and amuse many  
of its present inhabitants4 ,the        
,edinburgh of #agig was more different  
perhaps from its present self in outward
 things1 than in mental characteristics4
 ,his remarks on the want of a more open
 manifestation of feeling and affection 
among his friends there are striking4   
',it is quite a national trait1' he     
says1 'not to dwell on what concerns us 
personally1 upon what fills our heart2  
and it is as unnatural to them to hear  
me speak of the topics upon which ,i am 
feeling strongly1 as it would be to do  
the same themselves4444 ,i am far from  
attributing it to coldness in these good
 people4 ,it is altogether national1 and
 it is the same with every one ,i have  
known here1 whatever their rank1        

calling1 learning1 or sex4 ,it has quite
 surprised me1 for example1 that if you 
meet a person in whose family some one  
has been ill1 he will hardly allude to  
it1 beyond a short answer to your       
inquiries1 or speak of it with any      
feeling4 ,in this way1 it must be       
allowed1 people may easily be           
independent of each other4 ,i believe   
firmly that the ,scots love their       
children--that ,playfair is a good      
father2 and yet the former only speak of
 them because they have them with them  
in the evenings1 and the boys make their
 presence known3 the latter behaves     
exactly as if his boy were not in the   
room4 ,so far from inviting me to speak 
of my relations1 so far from ,mr ,scott 
making any inquiries as to my father's  
position--though he is1 nevertheless1 as
 much attached to him as possible--they 
have met every attempt on my part to    
talk to them on these subjects with a   
silence which admits of no other        
explanation1 than that it is not in good

 taste to say much about these things4  
,they have never once asked after my    
mother and sister4' ,we have copied the 
above1 because there is no trace in any 
part of ,niebuhr's writings1 former or  
latter1 of narrow national judgments2   
and he repeatedly bears testimony to the
 fatherly kindness with which he was    
welcomed1 especially in the two houses  
mentioned in the above extract4 ,it is  
simply the sense of a difference1 and a 
difference we should be inclined to     
regret as well as he1 between the       
,german and the ,english or ,scotch     
habit4 ,we shall never forget the       
earnest1 pained manner in which a young 
,german in ,england once said1 when     
adverting to the case of some very      
irreproachable ,english youths1 who yet 
were never heard to express a feeling1  
scarcely to utter a kind thing3 ',your  
young countrymen seem to me positively  
ashamed of being good4'  ,the diligence 
of ,niebuhr1 though often impeded by    
illness1 was immense4 ,languages1       

philosophy1 history1 natural science1   
all took their turn4 ,his number of     
languages was not short of twenty at    
this time1 and in some he was profoundly
 versed--in most1 very respectably4 ,but
 the most remarkable thing through life 
was his memory1 and its wonderful       
combination of retentiveness and        
readiness4 ,this1 rather than the       
imaginative power1 it was that made his 
descriptions so graphic4 ,seeing and    
retaining everything1 he painted as if  
all history was before him4 ,when he    
spoke of a striking event1 the coast1   
the mountain-line1 or the plain1 all the
 accompaniments rose up and were grouped
 before him4 ,you felt carried away with
 him1 as if he had lived there1 and was 
taking you up by the way4  ,his return  
to ,denmark took place late in #agii4 ,a
 double appointment awaited him at      
,copenhagen--two government offices1    
neither bringing in a large salary1 but 
sufficient to allow of his marrying2 and
 accordingly ,amelia ,behrens became his

 wife in ,may #ahjj4 ,the five following
 years found him engaged in the civil   
service at ,copenhagen--sometimes in    
very onerous and uncongenial duties1    
sometimes in a position of peril1 for   
the bombardment of the city under       
,nelson took place in #ahja1 and he     
keenly entered into every political     
incident4 ,during this period of five   
years1 his official service was more    
than once changed1 but it seems always  
to have been connected with finance4 ,he
 still found time for study1 straining  
every power of his mind1 he says1 at one
 time in investigating ,roman history1  
sure 'that the representations of all   
the moderns1 without exception1 are but 
mistaken1 imperfect glimpses of the     
truth4' ,this ,copenhagen life allowed  
him time but for one visit to his       
parents2 and a disappointment which     
annoyed him considerably1 in what1 he   
thought1 a just expectation of          
preferment1 disposed him1 in #ahjf1 to  
accept an offer from the ,prussian      

government of a post at ,berlin not     
unlike that he had occupied in          
,copenhagen1 but promising many         
advantages in society and literary      
opportunities4  ,never was there a more 
disastrous commencement of a new career4
 ,the ,niebuhrs reached ,berlin in      
,october #e1 #ahjf1 and on the #adth    
came the dreadful battles of ,jena and  
,auerstadt1 while ,napoleon1 with his   
conquering army1 marched rapidly upon   
the city1 and seven of the ,prussian    
ministers gave in their allegiance to   
the ,french without even the ceremony of
 communicating with their king4 ,the new
 bank-director shared in the general    
misfortune1 and was forced to fly1 with 
the court and ministry1 first to        
,danzig1 then to ,konigsberg1 afterwards
 to ,memel and ,riga4 ,a fearful time it
 was2 yet still ,niebuhr could write    
soothingly to his parents3 ',you must   
not be uneasy3 ,i can earn a living     
either as a scholar or a merchant2 and  
if ,i do not succeed in one country1 ,i 

shall in another4' ,to ,mme ,hensler    
also he wrote cheeringly1 but under     
caution1 for all letters were unsafe4   
,in the meantime1 the indefatigable     
student took the opportunity of learning
 ,russian and ,sclavonic4  ,it is       
difficult to follow out his course      
distinctly during the next three and a  
half trying years4 ,he was always       
employed in the finance department1 and 
for some little time was a              
privy-councillor2 but he differed widely
 in his views from some of those with   
whom he worked4 ,his letters shew the   
most conscientious desire to put aside  
every thought of personal ease1 and to  
avert from the poor people around1 if   
possible1 some part of the calamity     
which hostile armies and bad government 
entailed on them2 and it is delightful  
to observe his perfect honesty and      
plainness of speech as a statesman--his 
high ideas of truthfulness in all       
things4 ,yet they were mournful years2  
and his health at last thoroughly       

failing1 he sent in his resignation to  
the king of ,prussia1 and solicited the 
office of historiographer1 vacant by the
 death of ,mller4 ,this was granted2 and
 in #ahaj1 he and his wife once more    
found a settled home at ,berlin4  ,and  
now came the happiest time of his life2 
though the great delicacy of his wife's 
health was an obstacle to the feeling of
 security1 and though still the menaces 
of ,napoleon sounded fearfully loud1 if 
not close at hand4 ,the breathing-time1 
however1 was delightful4 ,the university
 of ,berlin was now just opened1 and    
thither came intelligent professors1 men
 of renown in art and science1 in       
knowledge and wisdom4 ,as               
historiographer to the king1 ,niebuhr's 
part was to lecture on history2 and now1
 for the first time1 the treasures he   
had long been amassing came into direct 
use as the means1 through his           
management1 of instructing other minds4 
,he had never before delivered public   
lectures1 and his advantages in manner  

were not great2 but the success of his  
first essays on the history of ,rome1   
proves how solid and real must have been
 the information he had to bestow4 ,he  
was attended not merely by the young    
men1 but by members of the academy1 by  
professors1 by military and public men  
of all grades4 ,it is no wonder that he 
succeeded thus3 he was half a ,roman by 
nature and feeling4  ,so passed the     
happy years of his professorship4 ,but  
again the noise of war was heard1 and he
 and all his coadjutors had to take up  
arms1 and fight the battle of ,prussia  
against the great tyrant of ,europe4    
,most touching anecdotes are told of the
 bravery and fine behaviour of the      
native troops4 ,perhaps no war was ever 
more nobly sustained1 and with such     
anxious avoidance of cruelty4 ,what a   
moment it was to ,prussia when the news 
of ,bonaparte's abdication reached the  
country6 when there might be some hope  
of reaping the harvests they had sown1  
and rebuilding their ruined villages6   

,but the ,niebuhrs were never again to  
know the calm and happy days they had   
enjoyed4 ,mme ,niebuhr1 who had long    
been declining1 was grievously changed  
for the worse by the anxieties of the   
war4 ,on the #b;d of ,may #ahae1 her    
husband received at ,berlin news of his 
father's death2 and on the #bast of     
,june1 his beloved ,amelia followed4    
,the good ,mme ,hensler1 who had taken  
alarm1 was near to soothe her last      
hours1 and to comfort the husband4      
,niebuhr had never spoken to his wife of
 her approaching end3 though longing to 
know her parting wishes1 he dared not   
break the physician's orders against    
excitement4 ,once only1 a few days      
before her death1 as he was holding her 
in his arms1 he asked her if there was  
nothing he could do for her sake--no    
pleasure he could give her4 ,she        
replied1 with a look of unutterable     
love3 ',you shall finish your history   
whether ,i live or die6'  ,they had no  
family--he was therefore left alone4 ,at

 first1 nature gave way1 and it seemed  
as if he had imbibed his wife's         
disease--pulmonary consumption--and that
 he regarded the legacy as a blessing2  
but his higher nature triumphed4 ,he    
promised ,mme ,hensler to live1 and try 
to accomplish his ,amelia's wishes1 and 
she1 by her kindly influence1 won him to
 something more4 ,she saw that to him a 
lonely life was nearly impossible1 and  
she had another partner in store for    
him--,gretchen ,hensler1 a niece of her 
late husband4 ,again he took her        
counsel2 and again1 which is perhaps the
 most extraordinary part of the affair1 
it proved that she had judged as well   
for both parties as possible4 ,there was
 no concealment in the matter2 the new  
,mme ,niebuhr perfectly understood his  
character and his sorrow--understood    
that she could not be to him what       
,amelia had been2 but she married him in
 faith and hope1 and the life she       
brought him was peaceful and ultimately 
happy4  ,then another change had to be  

made4 ,he could no longer bear ,berlin4 
,every one saw that a different position
 was desirable1 and what better than a  
residence in that country which his     
literary labours had seemed to mark out 
as his own8 ,the king of ,prussia wanted
 an ambassador at ,rome1 to negotiate   
with the pope certain matters touching  
the interests of his ,catholic subjects1
 and ,niebuhr's appointment was the most
 natural one possible4  ,his first      
impressions of ,rome were not           
favourable1 and his first letter was    
even querulous2 but soon his clear      
single mind grew strong again2 and the  
spirit of his correspondence during the 
whole seven years of his ,roman         
residence is delightful4 ,children      
brought out the fatherly part of his    
character2 his wife was ever his loving 
and devoted companion2 some powerful and
 interesting minds sought his           
companionship2 and a taste for art was  
improved by intercourse with the rising 
young artists who were then at          

,rome--,cornelius1 ,overbeck1 ,schadow2 
but1 above all1 the education of        
,marcus1 his eldest child and only boy1 
who can wonder if he became more and    
more of a ,roman1 and if he closed the  
seventh year of his residence mournfully
 when preparing for his return to       
,germany8  ,his mission had been a      
difficult one--not that the papal court 
was unfriendly1 but the home            
instructions were not always clear and  
consistent4 ,an earnest ,protestant     
himself1 he was yet profoundly alive to 
the duties of rulers towards all their  
subjects1 of all religious beliefs1 and 
wished in every negotiation to make sure
 of a large measure of real freedom4    
,when at length the concordatives were  
agreed to1 he was anxious for a recall1 
on account1 chiefly1 of the delicate    
state of ,mme ,niebuhr's health2 but for
 this he had some little time to wait4  
,it is interesting to see the manner in 
which he was affected by the passing    
events of this time4  ',idle talk1' says

 ,m4 ,bunsen1 'on matters of lofty      
import1 and a dwelling with pleasure    
upon trifling topics1 were equally      
abhorrent to him4 ,i shall never forget 
how ,niebuhr spoke at a princely table  
in ,rome1 during the bloody scenes in   
,greece1 of ,suli and the ,suliots1 and 
the future of the ,christian ,hellenes1 
in much the same terms as he has spoken 
to posterity in a passage of his ,roman 
history1 which breathes a noble         
indignation1 and a sense that the brand 
of infamy still cleaves to us4 ,the     
prince1 a high-minded1 amiable1 and     
intelligent man1 listened1 as did his   
guests1 with attention and sympathy2 a  
serious mood seemed to come over the    
whole party2 a pause occurred4 ,one of  
the guests1 a diplomatist1 of           
,mephistophelian aspect and species1    
took advantage of it to turn the        
conversation4 ,one of the eternally     
repeated trifles of the day--a so-called
 piece of news that must be repeated to 
the prince--was skilfully used as a     

stepping-stone2 and in ten minutes1 the 
whole table was alive with a dispute    
between the spokesman and another person
 who had contradicted him on a most     
important point--what aurora signified  
in the slang of the ,roman coffeehouses1
 whether a mixture of chocolate with    
coffee or not4 ,niebuhr was silent4 ,at 
last1 with quiet earnestness and        
dignified mien1 he spoke these words3   
,what heavy chastisements must be still 
in store for us1 when1 in such times1   
and with such events still occurring    
around us1 we can be entertained with   
such miserable trifles6 ,all were mute1 
and ,niebuhr also4 ,a long pause ensued2
 and the mysteries of the ,caff ,nuovo  
were not mentioned again that day4'     
,the life which ,niebuhr led after      
returning to ,germany1 was not          
remarkable as to incident1 but it       
abounded in useful and noble pursuit4   
,he still shunned ,berlin2 and1 on the  
whole1 the university of ,bonn appeared 
to him as the best and most suitable    

residence for the family1 now consisting
 of five children4 ,he did not take any 
actual professorship1 but he lectured   
and he wrote4 ,here he became the centre
 of a circle of the highest minds of    
,germany4 ,all prized him2 all1 young   
and old1 felt the benefit of his        
presence1 his labours1 and example4 ,he 
regularly worked at the history of      
,rome2 but he cultivated his garden1    
taught and played with his children1 and
 built himself a house4 ,the time was   
not all passed at ,bonn2 in #ahbi1 the  
family visited ,holstein and ,mme       
,hensler4 ,a twelve years' absence had  
produced many alterations1 but the love 
of country and early home was wrought   
into ,niebuhr's heart1 and he enjoyed   
this renewal of youth4 ,a sad calamity1 
however1 awaited him at ,bonn4 ,on the  
night of ,february the #fth #ahcj1 the  
new house he had built with such        
pleasure and care1 was burnt completely 
down4 ,very little could be             
saved--excepting1 indeed1 that the      

books1 being the first object to which  
his neighbours were attracted when the  
family were rescued1 were for the most  
part preserved1 and also the manuscript 
of the second volume of his ,roman      
history4 ,the whole correspondence with 
his father1 and many other letters and  
papers1 were destroyed4  ,this event1   
though a great shock1 he bore with much 
calmness1 and set himself to restore    
what was lost4 ,foreign politics did not
 lose their interest2 on the contrary1  
the ,french ,revolution of #ahcj excited
 all his ardour4 ,at first1 he was      
alarmed1 anticipating fresh horrors2 but
 the welcome he gave to ,louis-,philippe
 was most enthusiastic4 ,dr ,arnold     
describes him as being made quite happy 
by this turn of the page of present     
life1 and deeply indignant with the     
,bourbon ministers4 ,his ardour in this 
cause was indeed the immediate occasion 
of his fatal illness2 for while the     
,french trials were pending1 he would go
 every evening1 through severe cold1 in 

the depth of winter1 to the news-rooms1 
and by this exposure caught the         
inflammatory cold of which he died4 ,on 
the evening of ,christmas-day #ahcj1    
this formidable attack began2 and on the
 #ast of ,january #ahca1 the excellent  
man breathed his last1 fully conscious  
of his impending fate1 and not less so  
of that of his beloved partner1 who had 
nursed him during the first two days1   
but was afterwards too ill to leave her 
bed4 ,when her husband was informed of  
this1 he turned his face to the wall1   
and was heard to murmur3 ',hapless      
house6 to lose father and mother at     
once6' ,then1 ',pray to ,god1 children2 
,he alone can help us'--and his         
attendants saw that he himself was      
seeking comfort in prayer4 ,poor ,mme   
,niebuhr survived him but nine days4    
,she had her children with her1 and     
tried to give them counsel2 but the     
shock had been too great for her broken 
health2 she rests in the same grave with
 him1 not far from the glorious river4  

,the king of ,prussia erected a monument
 to his honour4  ,niebuhr was only a few
 months more than fifty-four4 ,mrs      
,austin1 who saw him in #ahbh1 says3    
',his person was diminutive1 almost to  
meanness1 but his presence very         
imposing4 ,his head and eye were grand1 
austere1 and commanding4 ,he had all the
 authority of intelligence1 and looked  
and spoke like one not used to          
contradiction4 ,he lived a life of study
 and domestic seclusion1 but he         
conversed freely and unreservedly4' ,his
 habits1 we are told by another writer1 
were temperate and regular4 ',he entered
 with earnest sympathy into all the     
little interests and conventional jokes 
of his family and friends2 and he writes
 with quite as much eagerness about     
,marcus's learning great ,e2 or         
,cornelia's flowered frock for her      
birthday1 as about consuls or cabinets4'
 ,niebuhr himself says3 ',i shall teach 
little ,amelia to write myself1 for her 
mother has no time for it2 and the poor 

little thing might be jealous of        
,marcus1 if one of us did not teach     
her4' ,his consideration for his        
dependents may be illustrated by this   
remark3 ',i wish ,i had taken the       
governess's room when we got into the   
house first2 but1 anti-revolutionist as 
,i am1 ,i am too much of a democrat to  
turn her out now in right of superior   
rank4'  ,of his character1 some faint   
idea may be formed from our sketch and  
extracts2 but of the beauty of his      
thoughts1 his soundness1 sagacity1 the  
perfect simplicity of his whole style of
 character1 a large acquaintance with   
his free outpourings to his friends can 
alone give an adequate notion4 ,we      
regard them as among the very best      
private letters we know--of their kind1 
we mean--for they are not witty1 not    
playful4 ,the reader will not find      
lightness and grace1 but strength and   
manliness1 and1 in a remarkable degree1 
affectionateness4 ,they are the charming
 utterances of a clear and honest mind1 

and have made us thankful for the       
privilege of knowing the inner life of  
one whose outward works have long had   
our admiration4   ,,footnotes3  #a ,by  
the ,chevalier ,bunsen and ,professors  
,brandis and ,loebell4 #b vols4 #hvo4   
,london3 ,chapman  ,hall4 #aheb4        
,,the ,,tattleton ,,election4   ,there  
never was a contested election in the   
borough of ,great ,tattleton that ,i    
remember but one1 and it took place on  
what was termed the last appeal to the  
country in the matter of the ,reform    
,bill4 ,staid and substantial fathers of
 families doubtless recollect the strife
 of parties and opinions which filled   
those times1 and in which themselves    
took part1 with all the bootless haste  
and fervour of twenty2 feeling          
especially indignant that they were not 
yet householders1 as their incorruptible
 votes might save the nation4 ,england  
has floated safely through many a       
conflict of the old and new since then1 
and more of the kind are coming2 but no 

event in our national history ever      
appeared to the denizens of ,tattleton  
of half such magnitude as that contested
 election4 ,tattleton was an ancient and
 respectable borough4 ,it has a railway 
station now1 but looks much as it did at
 the time of my story--a small1         
old-fashioned country town1 situated    
among corn and orchard lands in one of  
the cider-making counties1 with a       
newspaper1 a sheriff's court1 and sundry
 quiet shops and alehouses4 ,there is an
 old church there1 with high ,gothic    
windows full of painted glass1 quaint   
carving1 strange tombs1 and a suit of   
knightly armour hanging between two     
tattered banners1 which the sexton says 
were carried some time in the wars4     
,tradition says also1 that there is a   
fine old painting in fresco1 whitewashed
 over from the ,reformation1 but of that
 ,i know nothing4 ,the town had other   
antiquities4 ,its stocks were a marvel  
of age and efficiency4 ,a ducking-stool 
for scolds yet remained in the          

courthouse1 beside the beam with which  
they weighed witches against the ,bible2
 but the oldest thing in ,great         
,tattleton was its charter3 a native    
antiquary demonstrated1 that it had been
 signed by ,king ,john the day after    
,runnymede2 and among other             
superannuated privileges1 it conferred  
on the free burghers the right of trade 
and toll1 ward and gibbet1 besides that 
of electing their own mayor and one     
loyal commoner1 to serve in the king's  
parliament4  ,we all believed that      
,palladium of ,tattleton to be kept     
somewhere in the church1 and generations
 had returned their representatives     
according to its provisions4 ,but the   
bounds of the borough were so devious1  
and the free burghers so thinly         
scattered among us1 that all elections  
within the memory of man had been       
quietly managed by the mayor1 the       
town-clerk1 and the sheriff4 ,moreover1 
an old gateway and two crazy posts had  
something to do in the business by right

 of ancient custom4 ,in short1          
,tattleton was what the advocates of the
 whole ,bill were apt to term a close   
and sometimes a rotten borough4 ,its    
representation had become               
hereditary--some said1 since the ,long  
,parliament--in the ,stopford family1   
who owned at least half the soil1 and   
were supposed to be as old as its       
charter4 ,one of their ancestors had    
built the church1 another wore the      
armour and captured the banners that    
hung in it4 ,the family pew and vault   
were there2 and they had been squires   
and justices of peace from father to    
son1 dispensing hospitality1 work1 and  
law1 at their seat of ,fern ,hall--a    
great old manor-house1 standing deep in 
a thickly-wooded dell not half a mile   
from ,tattleton4 ,so far as ,i could    
learn1 the ,stopfords had given no      
ornaments to state or church1 but theirs
 was pre-eminently a safe house4 ,its   
martlets were generally fortunate in    
their connections2 and its chiefs had   

supported the character of moderate     
reformers1 each in his generation4 ,at  
home1 they were lenient magistrates and 
prudent landlords1 never overtaxing     
their tenantry1 and rarely enforcing the
 game-laws4 ,none of them ever took a   
first step2 but all improvements in the 
neighbourhood1 if once commenced1 were  
certain of their countenance2 and in    
parliament they always voted for any    
measure of reform which it was evident  
the people would want no longer4  ,it   
was1 therefore1 in accordance with      
family principles and practice1 that the
 then reigning squire and ,m4 ,p41      
,levison ,stopford1 ,esquire1 should    
take his seat on the ministerial        
benches1 and vote in and out of         
parliament for the ,bill with which all 
,england rang4 ,levison ,stopford did   
not make brilliant speeches1 but he had 
a fair share of prominence in county    
business1 was a middling landlord1 a    
respectable head of a family1 connected 
by marriage with a ,whig peer1 the      

father of a promising son1 and1 as the  
newspapers said1 four lovely daughters4 
,all these recommendations to public    
favour could not secure him against     
division in his native borough4 ,there  
were ,conservatives among us1 who clung 
to the time-honoured institutions of    
,tattleton1 and could not consent to see
 their ancient privileges1 charter1 old 
posts1 and all1 submerged in those of   
two adjoining boroughs--,little         
,tattleton1 whose constituency consisted
 of the beadle1 and ,lumberdale1 to     
which the earl always nominated his     
second son2 for people already          
understood1 that on the passing of the  
,bill these three should become one1 at 
least in elections4  ,sir ,jonas        
,underwood1 of ,little ,tattleton ,park1
 did not like that prospect--he had been
 regularly returned by the loyal and    
independent beadle ever since his       
majority1 a period of some forty        
years--neither did the ,earl of         
,lumberdale1 as the present state of    

things made his second son's canvass by 
no means difficult4 ,both the earl and  
the baronet possessed some property1 and
 more influence1 in our borough1 by help
 of which they warned the loyal         
,conservatives that their country was in
 danger1 and exhorted ,great ,tattleton 
to rush to the rescue4 ,the mayor said1 
that though he respected birth and      
breeding1 yet1 if a country gentleman   
like ,mr ,stopford would so far disgrace
 his family as to vote for a measure    
which must break down the ,british      
constitution1 and utterly ruin ,england 
in less than twenty years1 he1 for his  
own part1 felt called upon to oppose    
him4 ,the town-clerk always said as the 
mayor did3 all the ,tories in ,tattleton
 took them for examples1 by degrees a   
party was formed against ,stopford on   
what had hitherto been his own ground2  
and long before the dissolution1 it was 
known that they intended1 as the phrase 
is1 'to start' ,sommerset ,cloudesly1   
,esquire1 as an opposing candidate in   

the ,conservative interest4  ,sommerset 
,cloudesly occupied a large but neat    
brick house on the verge of our town's  
liberties1 with a meadow-like lawn in   
front1 and acres of orchard in the rear4
 ,his father had been a small farmer1   
who bettered his fortune by all manner  
of money-making speculations--the last  
of which1 a cider-manufactory1 and a    
mill1 together with a house he had      
built1 the orchard he had planted1 and a
 handsome strip of landed property1     
descending to his only son1 made him the
 second man in ,tattleton4 ,sommerset   
had been what is called carefully       
educated3 ten years of his life had been
 spent in the house of a clergyman1 who 
received select boarders as part of his 
own family2 five more at a college in   
,oxford under the direction of a staid  
tutor2 and the residue in a series of   
fidgets through the house and land left 
him by his father2 for at the time of   
our story1 the worthy cider-maker had   
long gone to his account4  ,sommerset   

was a tall1 thin1 genteel-looking man1  
in his thirtieth year4 ,motherless1     
sisterless1 and wifeless--strange to    
say1 under such circumstances1 he was   
restless too4 ,it was not a weight of   
crime that pressed upon his conscience4 
,cloudesly's life had been as harmless  
as those of his own apple-trees4 ,it was
 not inordinate ambition that disturbed 
his days1 for though1 like most of us1  
,sommerset would have rather preferred  
being a great man1 could greatness be   
easily come at1 he lost no labour in its
 pursuit4 ,neither was it love that     
besieged his peace2 for1 except ,miss   
,lily ,prior1 old ,tom the brewer's     
daughter1 who sat in the same pew at    
church1 ,sommerset had never been known 
to look on one of womankind with        
attention4 ,perhaps the carefulness of  
his education might have done it4 ,life 
could not be entirely folded up like a  
napkin1 and put into its proper drawer2 
and everything annoyed ,sommerset       
,cloudesly4 ,the coming off of his      

waistcoat button was the destruction of 
,messina4 ,the world was going to ruin  
if his horse lost a shoe4 ,like the idle
 family in the ,eastern tale1 he could  
draw a disturbance from the future also1
 and many a heart-quake had he regarding
 what might happen4 ,his ,oxford tutor  
had made him a strong ,tory2 old        
,cloudesly had averred1 that was the    
only politics for a gentleman2 and      
though ,sommerset believed in all the   
alarms of his time1 his faith being     
particularly strong for terrors1 he had 
always supposed himself to be somebody4 
,sir ,jonas and the ,earl of ,lumberdale
 assured him he was the hope of         
,tattleton2 and1 in an evil hour1 he    
consented1 in electioneering phrase1 to 
contest the borough4  ,with his         
relations1 who regarded ,sommerset as   
their top branch1 the step was in high  
favour2 and all his friends came out    
strong in approbation1 excepting old    
,tom ,prior4 ,he had been the consulting
 friend and boon-companion of old       

,cloudesly forty years before1 when the 
one began to brew beer and the other to 
make cider4 ,tom's brewery had not paid 
him so well as old ,cloudesly's apples4 
,he had been the first to establish a   
business of the kind in ,tattleton4     
,there were three there at the time of  
the election2 but the townspeople still 
knew him familiarly as the brewer1      
though he had long become a sleeping    
partner1 having saved enough for himself
 and his old wife to live on in a       
cottage covered with grape vines1 at the
 end of a long green lane in which the  
main street of ,tattleton dwindled away4
 ,there was1 besides1 a thousand pounds 
for ,lily1 the heiress-apparent1        
moreover1 of his interest in the        
brewery4 ,tom said 'he had no notion of 
politics1 being entirely given to beer2 
and who was right about that there ,bill
 he couldn't say1 but he never knowed an
 honest man as made money by a contested
 election4' ,old ,mrs ,prior always     
echoed what her husband said1 besides   

knitting a perpetual stocking that was  
her only occupation2 but ,tom and his   
wife were old people now1 and in small  
intimacy with the college-bred young    
,cloudesly1 though they sat in the same 
church-pew1 and some thought their      
daughter ,lily was also a friend to our 
proposed member4 ,lily was as pretty a  
girl as could be found in all           
,tattleton1 which1 together with her    
prospects1 rather insured admirers2 but 
,lily took no trouble with any of them1 
and it was believed that the old folks  
rather wished she should not be in a    
hurry4  ,that was no wonder2 for1 in    
this fidgety world1 ,lily ,prior was a  
treasure4 ,nothing ever disturbed her4  
,her hair might go out of curl1 or her  
friends out of humour2 her bonnet might 
take unbecoming fits1 as ,i am told     
bonnets sometimes do1 but her equanimity
 remained unruffled1 and her days were  
spent in knitting beside her mother in  
the little oak parlour1 taking quiet    
walks1 and hoeing peacefully in her own 

flower-garden4 ,spiteful people said1   
that ,lily was beginning to look        
old-maidish1 but ,i never saw it in her 
calm face4 ,it was also said--what      
didn't they say in ,great               
,tattleton8--that her muslin dress and  
crimped collar were more carefully      
arranged when ,sommerset ,cloudesly     
might be expected to walk that way2 but 
,lily's strongest demonstration was     
',dear me6' and that she said on hearing
 of his intended contest4 ,a perilous   
contest it seemed for ,sommerset        
,cloudesly4 ,stopford was by far the    
richer and more influential man2 the    
interest of his party1 his aristocratic 
connections1 and his individual pride1  
all determined him to keep his ground2  
and the generally prudent man had been  
heard to declare1 that he would spend to
 the last sixpence of his property1     
rather than see himself unseated by an  
upstart simpleton4  ,sommerset and his  
friends had1 of course1 the accredited  
weapons of their party wherewith to     

attack the adversary1 and ,stopford was 
called everything1 from ,radical up to  
,atheist4 ,thus the battle began1 and   
fiercely was it fought2 but suffice it  
to say1 that all the usual means for    
obtaining the independent suffrage of   
freeborn ,englishmen were put in        
requisition4 ,voters suddenly emerged   
from corners wherein no freeholds had   
been previously dreamed of2 others were 
unaccountably absent on the             
polling-days2 the alehouses abounded in 
trade1 and the town in all              
disorderliness4 ,there was everlasting  
controversy over claims of residence and
 ownership1 with numerous appeals to our
 famous charter2 and prosecutions for   
assault and battery occupied our town   
lawyers the whole succeeding year4      
,what spites and quarrels are still     
flourishing among my old neighbours     
which owe their origin to that election6
 ,how many long friendships it split up1
 and how much family peace it disturbed1
 ,i cannot precisely state2 but the like

 did happen4 ,neither is it within my   
memory's scope to enlarge on the        
,countess ,dowager of ,lumberdale and   
her seven charming daughters1 in elegant
 morning-dresses1 appearing at the poll1
 where they shook hands with everybody1 
and shewed a singular acquaintance with 
family history2 nor to relate how ,lord 
,littlemore1 ,stopford's brother-in-law1
 and the proudest peer in ,england1 made
 calls on small shopkeepers and farmers1
 perhaps to shew what rank could do on  
important occasions4 ,no manoeuvre was  
left untried by the rival factions1 nor 
any cause of dispute omitted1 and the   
strife increased in bitterness every    
day4 ,readers1 can any of you explain   
why people so generally run into the way
 of whatever they most fear8 ,i never   
could2 but the case is common1 and      
,sommerset ,cloudesly was a striking    
instance4 ,what waves of worry passed   
over him6 and what heaps of annoyance   
were piled on his spirit during that    
county election6--a rather tedious      

business in those unreformed days4 ,his 
peace was killed with cabbage-stocks on 
the hustings2 his days were devastated  
by groans2 and his soul harrowed by     
hisses4 ,nevertheless1 both his friends 
and enemies were amazed to see how well 
,cloudesly acquitted himself2 his       
speeches1 when they could be heard1 were
 models of neat eloquence2 and his      
colours--pea-green and white--were      
sported with genteel triumph4 ,by and   
by1 however1 it became evident to his   
most sanguine supporter that ,sommerset 
had no chance2 ,sir ,jonas and ,lord    
,lumberdale themselves advised him to   
give up the contest2 but the man had    
been persuaded that the safety of ,great
 ,tattleton1 if not that of the ,british
 nation1 depended on him1 and a         
persuasion once in ,sommerset's head was
 not easily got out4 ,he believed on1 in
 spite of them and fortune4 ,i never    
found out precisely what the business   
cost him2 nobody dared inquire1 and he  
burned all the accounts2 but at length  

the last day's poll was taken1 and amid 
cheers1 yells1 and a newly-begun row1   
,levison ,stopford1 ,esq41 was declared 
duly elected4  ,men cannot have         
,waterloos of their own every day4 ,no  
wonder1 then1 that the honourable       
member's glory was too great for his    
prudence3 scarcely had the poll closed1 
when it became generally known in front 
of the ,stopford ,arms1 that there were 
two barrels of strong beer1 which his   
liberality had devoted to the populace4 
,on the publication of this             
intelligence1 the ancient ceremony of   
chairing went on with more than usual   
vigour4 ,it was a quiet autumn evening1 
but there was no peace for ,tattleton4  
,the shops and houses of ,stopford's    
friends were lighting up in every       
quarter for a grand illumination1 while 
the opposition and the stingy were      
closing as quickly as possible4 ,half   
the rabble of the county were gathered  
in the streets2 all our own             
respectability occupied doors and       

windows2 and forth from the town-hall1  
in a substantial armchair1 decorated    
with bunches of ribbons1 blue and       
red--the ,stopford colours--borne in    
high triumph by his most zealous and    
noisy adherents1 came the newly-chosen  
senator 7a rather stout gentleman1 and  
father of a hopeful family71 scattering 
coppers and silver with no sparing hand1
 from a large canvas bag1 among the     
crowd1 who roared and scrambled in all  
the might of beer4 ,old politicians said
 it was a great victory for ,whig       
principles1 and many a joke was cracked 
at the unsuccessful candidate's expense4
 ,some believed he had retired behind   
bolt and bar2 others that he was defying
 fortune at a late dinner4 ,if the      
latter statement were true1 ,sommerset's
 company must have been small4 ,the     
,earl and ,sir ,jonas had long since    
washed their hands of him1 as           
incorrigibly obstinate4 ,the more       
influential of his supporters kept out  
of sight1 being rather ashamed of the   

losing side2 and1 ,i grieve to say1 the 
barrels had utterly shaken the faith of 
many a voteless adherent1 the           
freeholders of our streets and lanes1   
who now shouted ,stopford instead of    
,cloudesly for ever4 ,some there were1  
nevertheless1 with souls above          
barrels--men who had votes1 and men who 
had none--and they collected their      
forces at the foot of the main street1  
as vantage-ground from which to groan at
 the above-mentioned procession1 and    
inform ,mr ,stopford of their intentions
 to unseat him for bribery and          
corruption4  ,great ,tattleton was not a
 fighting place--a serious riot had     
never occurred within the memory of its 
'oldest inhabitant2' yet on that evening
 quiet people began to feel uneasy2 and 
my particular friend1 ,miss ,croply1 had
 selected it as a fitting occasion for  
her tea-party4 ,miss ,croply was a      
maiden lady of some fifty years1 and    
great note among us4 ,she drew dividends
 at the bank2 kept her own              

establishment1 consisting of a maid and 
a boy2 and gave select parties4         
,moreover1 ,miss ,croply was a ,tory    
after her own fashion4 ,she said there  
was nothing she hated but ,radicals and 
reformers1 for all they wanted was to   
bring down the respectable people1 and  
maybe break the banks4 ,on these        
principles1 she had been in great       
fervour for ,sommerset ,cloudesly2 and  
by way of testifying that his defeat had
 not broken her spirit1 ,miss ,croply   
assembled the ,priors1 myself1 and two  
or three other favoured friends1 to tea 
and crumpets prepared by her own fair   
hands4 ,these requisites were on the    
table1 and the party assembled in the   
little drawing-room1 all but ,lily1 whom
 her mother had left to manage some     
domestic matter 7the old lady was       
particular at times72 but at its        
conclusion1 ,lily was to come through   
the lane1 over the fields1 and up ,miss 
,croply's garden1 to avoid the crowd1   
and shew the beautiful new bonnet she   

had received that morning as a present  
from her aunt4 ,we all knew ,lily to be 
exact2 but the hour had come1 and not   
the woman4  ',don't draw that curtain1  
if you please1 ,mr ,prior2 ,i would not 
gratify the low creatures by looking    
out6' said ,miss ,croply1 as shouts     
louder than ordinary rose from the      
street1 and old ,tom stepped to the     
window4 ,the noise came nearer4 ,it     
sounded like1 ',miss ,prior for ever6'  
,we rushed in a body to the windows4    
,miss ,croply herself drew the curtain4 
,there was a woman borne in a           
garden-chair1 dangerously high1 by the  
most zealous of the ,cloudeslyites1     
while the rest followed in applauding   
procession1 augmented every moment1 and 
,tom's hands went together like the     
'crack of doom' as he exclaimed3 ',by   
jingo1 it's my own daughter6'  ,lily it 
was1 in her pretty green gown1 white    
shawl1 and gay new bonnet--it was       
trimmed with pale-green and white3 as   
for her face1 it expressed nothing but  

',dear me6' ,i never saw such           
philosophy4 ,out rushed ,tom1 so did all
 the men of us1 and followed the crowd  
up the street1 and down the lane to the 
front of ,cloudesly's house1 where we   
arrived just in time to see the gallant 
,sommerset hand ,lily from her chair    
with the air of a man about to kneel4   
,poor ,cloudesly6 he was both weak and  
strong1 but a good fellow at heart4     
',she wore my colours1 and suffered for 
my sake1' was all he said1 as with ,lily
 on his arm he marched back with us to  
,miss ,croply's drawing-room1 followed  
by the crowd1 shouting3 ',prior and     
,cloudesly for ever6'  ',lily1 dear1    
what's the meaning of this8' said old   
,mrs ,prior4  ',i thought ,i would take 
a look1' said ,lily calmly2 'and they   
all got about me1 saying ,i had on ,mr  
,cloudesly's colours1 and'----  ',so you
 did wear his colours1' cried ,miss     
,croply2 'and ,i'm proud of you for     
keeping up your principles6 ,mrs ,prior1
 ,i always knew there was something     

great in that girl6'  ',it's just the   
bonnet my aunt sent me1' said ,lily2    
'and ,i didn't mean'----  ',never mind  
what you meant1' cried ,miss ,croply1 in
 whose mind policy as well as romance   
might have been at work at that moment3 
'we don't want no excuses4'  ,in short1 
,lily was made a heroine that evening4  
,her father and mother thought          
themselves called upon to rebuke1 but it
 was done rather in the encouraging     
style1 especially when ,mr ,cloudesly   
gave the company to understand that     
henceforth he was to be considered      
,lily's humble servant4 ,isn't that the 
proper phrase1 readers8 ,and ,miss      
,prior1 who had not her composure to    
regain1 coloured slightly1 and finished 
the matter by saying3 ',dear me6'  ,i   
have heard from herself1 that she had   
put on her aunt's bonnet1 and come      
quietly through the lane1 when it struck
 her that she would like to see what was
 going on1 as ,miss ,croply would allow 
no looking out at the low creatures2 so 

nearer and nearer to the street did     
,lily wend1 till a boy--are not boys at 
the bottom of all mischief8--raised the 
shout that she was wearing ,mr          
,cloudesly's colours2 the phalanx then  
surrounded her1 and improvised the      
triumph which we witnessed4 ,the        
,tattleton ,chronicle was remarkably    
full upon it4 ,i think1 till this day1  
,lily is regarded as a devoted heroine  
by all the ,tories of ,tattleton1 for   
there are ,tories there still4 ,but we  
had a splendid wedding at our church1   
under ,mr ,stopford's very nose1 before 
he went to parliament4 ,i can vouch for 
old ,tom and ,miss ,croply leading off a
 country-dance the same evening in      
,prior ,cottage2 but it is              
two-and-twenty years ago4 ,there is a   
tombstone over the old man and his wife4
 ,miss ,croply has left her bank deposit
 to three nieces4 ,sommerset ,cloudesly 
grew less fidgety long ago1 and some    
people say less genteel1 but he brews   
the best beer1 and makes the best cider 

now in the county4 ,there are ten       
children in the brick-house1 but ,mrs   
,cloudesly looks as composed as ever2   
and when her husband reads to her at    
work on the winter nights1 as he        
dutifully does1 in the newspapers1 she  
sometimes remarks1 at the close of long 
parliamentary debates1 to which         
,sommerset was always partial3 ',what   
trouble those people have in that ,house
 of ,commons1 my love6 ,wasn't it really
 good for you that you lost the         
,tattleton election8'     ,,sailors'    
,,homes4   ,our readers may probably    
have from time to time read allusions to
 ',sailors' ,homes1' without precisely  
understanding the nature of these       
institutions4 ,they are based on the    
fact that sailors1 as a class1 are      
little better than children when ashore1
 and require to be providently cared    
for1 to save them from imposition and   
misery4 ,the seaman when afloat is so   
thoroughly accustomed to obey orders1   
and to be directed and instructed in    

everything1 that he never thinks for    
himself1 and never acquires the least   
forethought or capability of guiding    
himself in any position apart from the  
active duties of his profession2        
consequently1 from time out of mind1 he 
has been especially doomed to be        
victimised on the land4 ,no sooner has  
he been paid off after a voyage1 than he
 is--at least at all the great          
ports--beset with 'crimps1' 'runners1'  
and other land-sharks1 who entice him to
 low public-houses and lodging-houses1  
where he is plundered with such         
extraordinary dispatch1 that he         
frequently loses the results of many    
months of toil in a few days1 or even a 
few hours4  ,of all men1 seamen have    
pre-eminently a claim on public sympathy
 and protection2 no class needs the     
latter more1 and1 strange to say1 no    
class has1 until a comparatively recent 
period1 received it less4 ,in the words 
of ,thomas ,clarkson3 ',the grievances  
of mercantile seamen are a national and 

crying evil2' and when we reflect on    
their importance1 both as regards       
commerce and war1 it will be            
acknowledged that it is a national duty 
to do all that is possible to protect   
them while ashore1 and to ameliorate and
 improve their lot in every practical   
way4 ,but this1 like many other national
 duties1 has been left to the voluntary 
exertions of a few practical            
philanthropists4 ,in the words of ,mr   
,sheriff ,alison 7now ,sir ,a4 ,alison71
 when addressing a meeting at ,glasgow1 
with the view of founding a ',home'     
there3 ',the seamen are placed in very  
peculiar circumstances--their virtues   
are exhibited at sea1 and their vices   
are exhibited on shore4 ,the community  
is benefited by the former1 and they1   
the sailors1 are the victims of the     
latter4 ,it is therefore more incumbent 
on those who are enriched by their      
industry1 and protected by their valour1
 to prevent their falling into those    
vices to which unhappily so many of them

 are addicted4 ,as had been so well     
stated1 they could do nothing to improve
 the character of the seaman without at 
the same time benefiting all classes of 
the community4'  ,there is weighty truth
 in the last sentence4 ,undoubtedly1 any
 and all improvements1 whether of the   
physical or moral condition of one class
 of the community1 reacts on all4 ,but  
especially in the case of seamen1 the   
result would be beneficial to the nation
 in an incalculable degree4 ,raise the  
moral character of the sailor1 by       
inducing in him reformed and provident  
habits1 and he will soon feel that he   
has a stake in the prosperity and       
security of his country2 and he will    
indeed repay all that has been done for 
him by his steady industry in peace1 and
 by his gallantry in war2 for we think  
it is a great error to suppose1 as some 
do1 that a mere reckless outcast will   
fight more bravely than a man who feels 
that he is a responsible and respected  
citizen of a great nation1 with his own 

proportionate interests involved in the 
results of the conflict4  ,it is to     
protect the seaman from extortion and   
temptation while ashore1 and to elevate 
him in the social scale1 that the       
excellent institutions called ,sailors' 
,homes have been projected4 ,their      
object is to insure a respectable and   
truly comfortable 'home' to seamen1 at  
an exceedingly moderate rate of payment2
 together with other advantages to be   
hereafter alluded to4 ,an able pamphlet 
on the subject1 by ,mr ,montague ,gore1 
has recently been published1 and we are 
indebted to him for the statistical     
information we are about to lay before  
the reader4  ,it appears that ,captain  
,elliott1 ,r4,n41 was the first who     
conceived the idea of founding ,sailors'
 ,homes4 ,this was in #ahbh4 ,in #ahcc1 
one was established at ,charleston1 in  
,south ,carolina2 but the first in      
,england was under the auspices of ,mr  
,green1 the great shipbuilder and       
ship-owner of ,blackwall1 near ,london1 

and he originally designed it only for  
his own numerous seamen1 although by a  
recent regulation others are admitted4  
,captain ,hall1 ,r4,n41 deserves worthy 
mention as one of the first promoters of
 ,sailors' ,homes1 and he has for years 
indefatigably devoted himself to their  
formation4 ,he recently visited the     
chief ports in the kingdom1 to observe  
personally the condition of seamen      
ashore1 and to advocate the             
establishment of ,homes4  ,the first    
public ,sailors' ,home was that of      
,wells ,street1 ,london4 ,it was opened 
in ,may #ahce2 and ,mr ,gore informs us1
 that from that time up to ,december    
#ca1 #ahea1 no less than '#ed1jbf seamen
 were received into the institution1 of 
which number #ae1jee were old or        
returned boarders4 ,last year the       
inmates amounted to #dfcc1 and          
,l4#be1afj passed through the           
secretary's hand of money left in his   
charge1 ,l4#bejj of which was deposited 
in the savings-bank4 ,the building in   

,wells ,street is capable of holding    
#cbj men1 each of whom has a separate   
berth4 ,the terms of admission are #ads4
 per week for full-grown men2 #abs4 per 
week for lads2 and #ajs4 #f;d4 per week 
for apprentices4 ,for this sum they are 
entitled to lodging washing also1 and   
four excellent meals daily2 the dietary 
is admirable4444 ,the terms and         
regulations of ,mr ,green's             
establishment are nearly the same as    
those in ,wells ,street4 ,it is capable 
of holding #bjj men2 and here1 too1 are 
to be found equally gratifying proofs of
 provident habits1 instances having     
occurred of men having as much as       
,l4#ajj in the ,poplar ,bank4'  ,good   
libraries are provided at these         
,sailors' ,homes1 and the               
morning-prayers of the ,church of       
,england are duly read2 but the         
attendance of the inmates is perfectly  
voluntary1 and no distinction of        
religious creed bars their admission4   
,this is as it should be1 and we have   

heard the ,wells ,street ,home spoken of
 in terms of praise and gratitude by    
seamen who have been boarders there4    
,seamen of the best character thankfully
 flock to the ,homes1 and1 consequently1
 captains prefer to ship their crews    
from them4 ,mr ,gore says1 that in one  
year #aab ships were manned from the    
,home in ,wells ,street4  ,the          
,portsmouth ,home was opened in ,april  
#ahea1 and has been greatly supported   
and enlarged by the munificent          
contributions of the sovereign and some 
of the nobility4 ,it receives ,british  
sailors at #acs4 per week for men1 and  
#ajs4 for boys and apprentices4         
,concerning it1 ,sir ,edward ,parry1    
governor of ,haslar ,naval ,hospital1   
says3 ',the practice formerly prevalent 
with the crimps1 and other sharks1 of   
besetting the gates of the ,hospital1 to
 waylay and beguile the invalids on     
their discharge1 is now almost at an    
end4 ,this is1 ,i believe1 principally  
to be attributed to our ,portsmouth     

,sailors' ,home1 from which             
establishment a boat is generally sent  
every discharge-day1 to give the        
invalids the opportunity of going there 
without difficulty--the regulations of  
the ,home being posted up in various    
parts of the hospital4 ,i am sure it is 
a comfort and a blessing to all who go  
there4'  ,a ,home was opened in ,dublin 
in ,july #ahdh2 and at ,bristol1        
,plymouth1 ,cork1 ,dundee1 c41 ,homes   
are in course of formation4 ,a          
magnificent ,sailors' ,home has long    
been in course of establishment at      
,liverpool2 but it is not yet opened1   
although nearly finished4 ,influential  
meetings have also been held at         
,aberdeen1 ,glasgow1 ,greenock1 c41 to  
establish ,homes at these several ports4
 ,no one can conceive how absolutely    
necessary such institutions are but     
those who1 like ourselves1 have seen the
 way in which seamen are robbed and led 
astray ashore4 ,mr ,gore gives the      
public a little insight into the case4  

',i visited1' says he1' a short time    
ago1 some of the houses at ,wapping and 
its neighbourhood1 into which the       
sailors are decoyed4 ,these houses are  
kept by crimps1 who waylay the          
unsuspecting sailors2 they are by them  
conducted to these places1 where they   
find music and dancing going forward2   
they are induced to take up their abode 
there1 and are often plundered of every 
farthing they possess4 ,in some houses1 
,i saw several foreigners2 and in the   
days when burking was common1 many of   
these unfortunates were made away with4 
,in ,bristol1 when a ship arrives1 the  
sailors are surrounded by a set of      
miscreants1 who are called runners1 and 
are taken by them to houses of the      
lowest description4444 ,instances       
innumerable might be stated of the      
horrible state of the dens to which     
seamen are obliged to resort for want of
 more respectable residences2 robberies 
are of frequent occurrence2 and in one1 
,i fear not a solitary case1 murder was 

committed4'  ,our object in giving those
 extracts is1 to shew the vital         
necessity for the formation of ,homes at
 all our leading ports4 ,at ,liverpool1 
for instance1 the crimps are so active  
and speculative in driving their        
abominable traffic1 that no sooner do   
they hear of a man-of-war being paid off
 at ,portsmouth1 or any other naval     
port1 than they send their agents to    
entice the sailors down to ,liverpool4  
,let us quote one solitary example of   
the way in which ,poor ,jack is         
plundered4 ',when ,her ,majesty's ship  
,raleigh was paid off at ,portsmouth1   
many of the men were so plundered1 that 
they were obliged to apply to the       
magistrates for redress4 ,it appears    
from the notes of the evidence taken    
before them1 that seven of these men    
were charged ,l4#ajb for three days'    
entertainment at a low public-house1 one
 item being ,l4#f1 #bs4 for two hours'  
ride in an omnibus2 and a messmate1 who 
came to breakfast with them1 was        

compelled to pay #ags4 #d;d4 for two    
eggs1 some salt beef1 and a cup of      
coffee4 ,it is gratifying to state1 at  
the same time1 that nineteen men of this
 ship were received into the ,sailors'  
,home1 ,wells ,street1 ,london1 taking  
with them ,l4#bbb1 besides their        
remittance-bills4'  ,we will make one   
more extract from ,mr ,gore's           
interesting brochure3 ',every seaport   
has a direct interest in the improvement
 of the character of the seamen who     
frequent it1 and whose example must     
exercise considerable influence on the  
rest of the community4 ,to the          
ship-owners1 as well as to their men1   
the ,homes cannot fail of proving in the
 highest degree advantageous4 ,their    
ships are now often manned by men upon  
whom1 when at foreign ports1 little or  
no dependence can be placed4 ,they care 
little about the ship in which they     
sail2 they are heedless as to what port 
they shall return2 but the establishment
 of ,homes will induce those who have   

experienced their advantages1 to be     
desirous of returning to them4 ,it will 
render the seamen better men and better 
citizens1 and it will cause them to     
continue with their masters4' ,we       
cordially endorse these opinions4  ,one 
great obstacle to the speedy formation  
of ,sailors' ,homes1 seems to be the    
outlay necessary in the shape of        
buildings1 c4 ,on this point we offer1  
with deference1 a suggestion of our own4
 ,it is1 that hulls of large old ships  
be bought and fitted up as              
floating-homes4 ,such establishments    
would accommodate a large number of     
seamen in a very comfortable manner1 and
 could be kept up at an exceedingly     
moderate annual outlay for repairs4     
,surely the proprietors of the docks in 
our large ports could1 and would afford 
a convenient mooring-place at a merely  
nominal rent4  ,in conclusion1 we may   
mention1 that an establishment of a     
kindred nature to ,sailors' ,homes is   
the ',asylum for ,distressed ,seamen' in

 ,london4 ,it is supported by voluntary 
contributions1 and receives destitute   
seamen of all nations4 ,it lodges #ajj  
inmates1 and provides them with two good
 meals daily4 ,it were to be wished that
 similar asylums were established at    
every port in the empire4  ,the         
philanthropist1 ,thomas ,clarkson1      
shortly before his death1 proposed that 
all public-houses for seamen's lodgings 
should be licensed under strict special 
regulations4 ,this1 we think1 would be a
 step in the right direction2 but there 
is nothing like a regular ,sailors'     
,home4 ,nevertheless1 even in the large 
ports1 licensed lodging-houses would be 
exceedingly useful as auxiliaries to the
 ,homes4     ,,uncle ,,tom',s ,,cabin4  
,,story ,,of ,,eliza4   ,uncle ,tom's   
,cabin is the title of an ,american     
work1 respecting which it is alleged    
that fifty thousand copies1 weighing    
fifty-five tons1 were disposed of in the
 short period of eight weeks4 ,so high a
 degree of popularity could not rest on 

an insufficient foundation4#b ,the book 
is a species of novel or story1 designed
 to portray in vivid colours negro-life 
in the slave states of ,america2 and    
such is the graphic and truth-like way  
in which the authoress1 ,harriet        
,beecher ,stowe1 has strung the whole   
together1 that the production has not   
only enlisted the sympathy of the       
,abolitionists1 but roused something    
like a sense of shame in the holders of 
slaves--hitherto impervious to all      
remonstrance on the subject4 ,a cheap   
,london reprint of this somewhat        
interesting book enables us to give a   
slight sketch of its character4  ,uncle 
,tom is a middle-aged negro slave1 on   
the farm of a ,mr ,shelby1 in ,kentucky2
 he has learned to read1 is pious and   
exemplary1 and his hut is resorted to   
for edification by old and young in the 
neighbourhood4 ,tom is married1 has     
several children1 and is highly         
trustworthy4 ,between his family and    
that of his owner there is an agreeable 

intercourse1 and to all appearance he is
 likely to live and die on the estate2  
but his master falls into pecuniary     
difficulties2 becomes indebted to a     
wretch1 ,haley1 a dealer in slaves from 
the south2 and he is obliged to part    
with so much live property to wipe out  
his obligations4 ,it is arranged that   
,tom must go1 and along with him a young
 female slave1 ,eliza1 almost white1 who
 is married1 and has hitherto acted as  
lady's-maid to ,mrs ,shelby4 ,eliza's   
pretty boy1 ,harry1 makes up the lot4   
,the first point of interest in the     
narrative turns on ,eliza and her child2
 and we cannot do better than allow the 
authoress to enter on the history of    
this unfortunate female slave and her   
husband4 ,it is said to be drawn from   
the life4  ',eliza had been brought up  
by her mistress from girlhood as a      
petted and indulged favourite4 ,the     
traveller in the south must often have  
remarked that peculiar air of           
refinement1 that softness of voice and  

manner1 which seems in many cases to be 
a particular gift to the quadroon and   
mulatto women4 ,these natural graces in 
the quadroon are often united with      
beauty of the most dazzling kind1 and in
 almost every case with a personal      
appearance prepossessing and agreeable4 
,eliza1 such as we have described her1  
is not a fancy sketch1 but taken from   
remembrance1 as we saw her years ago in 
,kentucky4 ,safe under the protecting   
care of her mistress1 ,eliza had reached
 maturity without those temptations     
which make beauty so fatal an           
inheritance to a slave4 ,she had been   
married to a bright and talented young  
mulatto man1 who was a slave on a       
neighbouring estate1 and bore the name  
of ,george ,harris4  ',this young man   
had been hired out by his master to work
 in a bagging factory1 where his        
adroitness and ingenuity caused him to  
be considered the first hand in the     
place4 ,he had invented a machine for   
the cleaning of the hemp1 which1        

considering the education and           
circumstances of the inventor1 displayed
 quite as much mechanical genius as     
,whitney's cotton-gin4 ,he was possessed
 of a handsome person and pleasing      
manners1 and was a general favourite in 
the factory4 ,nevertheless1 as this     
young man was in the eye of the law not 
a man1 but a thing1 all these superior  
qualifications were subject to the      
control of a vulgar1 narrow-minded1     
tyrannical master4 ,this same gentleman1
 having heard of the fame of ,george's  
invention1 took a ride over to the      
factory1 to see what this intelligent   
chattel had been about4 ,he was received
 with great enthusiasm by the employer1 
who congratulated him on possessing so  
valuable a slave4 ,he was waited upon   
over the factory1 shewn the machinery by
 ,george1 who1 in high spirits1 talked  
so fluently1 held himself so erect1     
looked so handsome and manly1 that his  
master began to feel an uneasy          
consciousness of inferiority4 ,what     

business had his slave to be marching   
round the country1 inventing machines1  
and holding up his head among gentlemen8
 ,he'd soon put a stop to it4 ,he'd take
 him back1 and put him to hoeing and    
digging1 and see if he'd step about so  
smart4 ,accordingly1 the manufacturer   
and all hands concerned were astounded  
when he suddenly demanded ,george's     
wages1 and announced his intention of   
taking him home4  ,but1 ,mr ,harris1    
remonstrated the manufacturer1 isn't    
this rather sudden8  ,what if it is8    
,isn't the man mine8  ,we would be      
willing1 sir1 to increase the rate of   
compensation4  ,no object at all1 sir4  
,i don't need to hire any of my hands   
out1 unless ,i've a mind to4  ,but1 sir1
 he seems peculiarly adapted to this    
business4  ,daresay he may be2 never was
 much adapted to anything that ,i set   
him about1 ,i'll be bound4  ,but only   
think of his inventing this machine1    
interposed one of the workmen1 rather   
unluckily4  ,o yes6--a machine for      

saving work1 is it8 ,he'd invent that1  
,i'll be bound2 let a nigger alone for  
that any time4 ,they are all            
labour-saving machines themselves1 every
 one of 'em4 ,no1 he shall tramp6       
',george had stood like one transfixed  
at hearing his doom thus suddenly       
pronounced by a power that he knew was  
irresistible4 ,he folded his arms1      
tightly pressed in his lips1 but a whole
 volcano of bitter feelings burned in   
his bosom1 and sent streams of fire     
through his veins4 ,he breathed short1  
and his large dark eyes flashed like    
live coals2 and he might have broken out
 into some dangerous ebullition1 had not
 the kindly manufacturer touched him on 
the arm1 and said1 in a low tone3 ,give 
way1 ,george3 go with him for the       
present4 ,we'll try to help you yet4    
',the tyrant observed the whisper1 and  
conjectured its import1 though he could 
not hear what was said2 and he inwardly 
strengthened himself in his             
determination to keep the power he      

possessed over his victim4 ,george was  
taken home1 and put to the meanest      
drudgery of the farm4 ,he had been able 
to repress every disrespectful word2 but
 the flashing eye1 the gloomy and       
troubled brow1 were part of a natural   
language that could not be              
repressed--indubitable signs1 which     
shewed too plainly that the man could   
not become a thing4  ',it was during the
 happy period of his employment in the  
factory that ,george had seen and       
married his wife4 ,during that          
period--being much trusted and favoured 
by his employer--he had free liberty to 
come and go at discretion4 ,the marriage
 was highly approved of by ,mrs ,shelby1
 who1 with a little womanly complacency 
in match-making1 felt pleased to unite  
her handsome favourite with one of her  
own class1 who seemed in every way      
suited to her2 and so they were married 
in her mistress's great parlour1 and her
 mistress herself adorned the bride's   
beautiful hair with orange-blossoms1 and

 threw over it the bridal veil1 which   
certainly could scarce have rested on a 
fairer head2 and there was no lack of   
white gloves1 and cake and wine--of     
admiring guests to praise the bride's   
beauty1 and her mistress's indulgence   
and liberality4 ,for a year or two1     
,eliza saw her husband frequently1 and  
there was nothing to interrupt their    
happiness1 except the loss of two infant
 children1 to whom she was passionately 
attached1 and whom she mourned with a   
grief so intense as to call for gentle  
remonstrance from her mistress1 who     
sought1 with maternal anxiety1 to direct
 her naturally passionate feelings      
within the bounds of reason and         
religion4  ',after the birth of little  
,harry1 however1 she had gradually      
become tranquillised and settled2 and   
every bleeding tie and throbbing nerve1 
once more entwined with that little     
life1 seemed to become sound and        
healthful2 and ,eliza was a happy woman 
up to the time that her husband was     

rudely torn from his kind employer1 and 
brought under the iron sway of his legal
 owner4  ',the manufacturer1 true to his
 word1 visited ,mr ,harris a week or two
 after ,george had been taken away1     
when1 as he hoped1 the heat of the      
occasion had passed away1 and tried     
every possible inducement to lead him to
 restore him to his former employment4  
,you needn't trouble yourself to talk   
any longer1 said he doggedly2 ,i know my
 own business1 sir4  ,i did not presume 
to interfere with it1 sir4 ,i only      
thought that you might think it for your
 interest to let your man to us on the  
terms proposed4  ,oh1 ,i understand the 
matter well enough4 ,i saw your winking 
and whispering the day ,i took him out  
of the factory2 but you don't come it   
over me that way4 ,it's a free country1 
sir2 the man's mine1 and ,i do what ,i  
please with him--that's it4  ',and so   
fell ,george's last hope3 nothing before
 him but a life of toil and drudgery1   
rendered more bitter by every little    

smarting vexation and indignity which   
tyrannical ingenuity could devise4' ,one
 day ,george visited his wife in a      
distracted state of feeling4 ',i have   
been careful1 and ,i have been patient1 
said he2 but it's growing worse and     
worse3 flesh and blood can't bear it any
 longer4 ,every chance he can get to    
insult and torment me1 he takes4 ,i     
thought ,i could do my work well1 and   
keep on quiet1 and have some time to    
read and learn out of work-hours2 but   
the more he sees ,i can do1 the more he 
loads on4 ,he says that though ,i don't 
say anything1 he sees ,i've got the     
devil in me1 and he means to bring it   
out2 and one of these days it will come 
out in a way that he wont like1 or ,i'm 
mistaken4  ,o dear6 what shall we do8   
said ,eliza mournfully4  ,it was only   
yesterday1 said ,george1 as ,i was busy 
loading stones into a cart1 that young  
,mas'r ,tom stood there1 slashing his   
whip so near the horse1 that the        
creature was frightened4 ,i asked him to

 stop1 as pleasant as ,i could3 he just 
kept right on4 ,i begged him again1 and 
then he turned on me1 and began striking
 me4 ,i held his hand1 and then he      
screamed1 and kicked1 and ran to his    
father1 and told him that ,i was        
fighting him4 ,he came in a rage1 and   
said he'd teach me who was my master2   
and he tied me to a tree1 and cut       
switches for young master1 and told him 
that he might whip me till he was tired2
 and he did do it4 ,if ,i don't make him
 remember it some time6 ,and the brow of
 the young man grew dark1 and his eyes  
burned with an expression that made his 
young wife tremble4 ,who made this man  
my master--that's what ,i want to know8 
he said4  ,well1 said ,eliza mournfully1
 ,i always thought that ,i must obey my 
master and mistress1 or ,i couldn't be a
 ,christian4  ,there is some sense in   
it1 in your case3 they have brought you 
up like a child--fed you1 clothed you1  
indulged you1 and taught you1 so that   
you have a good education--that is some 

reason why they should claim you4 ,but  
,i have been kicked1 and cuffed1 and    
sworn at1 and at the best only let      
alone2 and what do ,i owe8 ,i've paid   
for all my keeping a hundred times over4
 ,i won't bear it--no1 ,i won't6 he     
said1 clenching his hand with a fierce  
frown4  ',eliza trembled1 and was       
silent4 ,she had never seen her husband 
in this mood before1 and her gentle     
system of ethics seemed to bend like a  
reed in the surges of such passions4'   
,the end of this is1 that ,george       
absconds1 and is followed by his wife   
and child1 for she had overheard the    
bargain as to her transfer1 and was     
resolved to gain her liberty or die in  
the attempt4 ,she leaves the house      
stealthily at night1 with her boy in her
 arms1 hurries over fields1 through     
swamps and forests1 and actually arrives
 at the ,ohio without hinderance4 ',her 
first glance was at the river1 which    
lay1 like ,jordan1 between her and the  
,canaan of liberty on the other side4   

,it was now early spring1 and the river 
was swollen and turbulent2 great cakes  
of floating ice were swinging heavily to
 and fro in the turbid waters4 ,owing to
 the peculiar form of the shore on the  
,kentucky side1 the land bending far out
 into the water1 the ice had been lodged
 and detained in great quantities1 and  
the narrow channel which swept round the
 bend was full of ice1 piled one cake   
over another1 thus forming a temporary  
barrier to the descending ice1 which    
lodged1 and formed a great undulating   
raft1 filling up the whole river1 and   
extending almost to the ,kentucky shore4
 ,eliza stood for a moment contemplating
 this unfavourable aspect of things1    
which she saw at once must prevent the  
usual ferry-boat from running1 and then 
turned into a small public-house on the 
bank1 to make a few inquiries4' ,while  
resting here1 ,haley1 her infuriated    
pursuer1 who had tracked her1 arrived at
 the ferry1 guided1 not very willingly1 
by two slaves1 ,sam and ,andy4 ,eliza   

caught a glimpse of the trader1 and1    
frantic with terror1 rushed forth4 ',a  
thousand lives seemed to be concentrated
 in that one moment to ,eliza4 ,her room
 opened by a side-door to the river4    
,she caught her child1 and sprang down  
the steps towards it4 ,the trader caught
 a full glimpse of her1 just as she was 
disappearing down the bank2 and throwing
 himself from his horse1 and calling    
loudly on ,sam and ,andy1 he was after  
her like a hound after a deer4 ,in that 
dizzy moment her feet to her scarce     
seemed to touch the ground1 and a moment
 brought her to the water's edge4 ,right
 on behind they came2 and1 nerved with  
strength such as ,god gives only to the 
desperate1 with one wild cry and flying 
leap she vaulted sheer over the turbid  
current by the shore on to the raft of  
ice beyond4 ,it was a desperate         
leap--impossible to anything but madness
 and despair2 and ,haley1 ,sam1 and     
,andy1 instinctively cried out1 and     
lifted up their hands1 as she did it4   

',the huge green fragment of ice on     
which she alighted pitched and creaked  
as her weight came on it1 but she stayed
 there not a moment4 ,with wild cries   
and desperate energy1 she leaped to     
another and still another cake2         
stumbling1 leaping1 slipping1 springing 
upwards again6 ,her shoes are gone--her 
stockings cut from her feet--while blood
 marked every step2 but she saw nothing1
 felt nothing1 till dimly1 as in a      
dream1 she saw the ,ohio side1 and a man
 helping her up the bank4  ,yer a brave 
gal1 now1 whoever ye ar6 said the man4  
',eliza recognised the voice and face of
 a man who owned a farm not far from her
 old home4  ,oh1 ,mr ,symmes6--save     
me--do save me--do hide me6 said ,eliza4
  ,why1 what's this8 said the man4 ,why1
 if 'tan't ,shelby's gal6  ,my          
child6--this boy--he'd sold him6 ,there 
is his mas'r1 said she1 pointing to the 
,kentucky shore4 ,oh1 ,mr ,symmes1      
you've got a little boy4  ,so ,i have1  
said the man1 as he roughly1 but kindly1

 drew her up the steep bank4 ,besides1  
you're a right brave gal4 ,i like grit  
wherever ,i see it4  ',when they had    
gained the top of the bank1 the man     
paused4 ,i'd be glad to do something for
 ye1 said he2 but then there's nowhar ,i
 could take ye4 ,the best ,i can do is  
to tell ye to go thar1 said he1 pointing
 to a large white house which stood by  
itself1 off the main street of the      
village4 ,go thar2 they're kind folks4  
,thar's no kind o' danger but they'll   
help you3 they're up to all that sort o'
 thing4  ,the ,lord bless you6 said     
,eliza earnestly4  ,no 'casion1 no      
'casion in the world1 said the man4     
,what ,i've done's of no 'count4  ,and  
oh1 surely1 sir1 you won't tell any one6
  ,go to thunder1 gal6 ,what do you take
 a feller for8 ,in course not1 said the 
man4 ,come1 now1 go along like a likely1
 sensible gal1 as you are4 ,you've arnt 
your liberty1 and you shall have it1 for
 all me4  ',the woman folded her child  
to her bosom1 and walked firmly and     

swiftly away4 ,the man stood and looked 
after her4  ,shelby1 now1 mebbe won't   
think this yer the most neighbourly     
thing in the world2 but what's a feller 
to do8 ,if he catches one of my gals in 
the same fix1 he's welcome to pay back4 
,somehow ,i never could see no kind o'  
critter a-strivin' and pantin'1 and     
trying to clar theirselves1 with the    
dogs arter 'em1 and go agin 'em4        
,besides1 ,i don't see no kind of       
'casion for me to be hunter and catcher 
for other folks neither4  ',so spoke    
this poor heathenish ,kentuckian1 who   
had not been instructed in his          
constitutional relations1 and           
consequently was betrayed into acting in
 a sort of ,christianised manner1 which1
 if he had been better situated and more
 enlightened1 he would not have been    
left to do4  ',haley had stood a        
perfectly amazed spectator of the scene1
 till ,eliza had disappeared up the     
bank1 when he turned a blank1 inquiring 
look on ,sam and ,andy4  ,that ar was a 

tolable fair stroke of business1 said   
,sam4  ,the gal's got seven devils in   
her1 ,i believe1 said ,haley4 ,how like 
a wild-cat she jumped6  ,wal1 now1 said 
,sam1 scratching his head1 ,i hope      
mas'r'll 'scuse us tryin' dat ar road4  
,don't think ,i feel spry enough for dat
 ar1 noway6 and ,sam gave a hoarse      
chuckle4  ,you laugh6 said the trader   
with a growl4 ,i'll make ye laugh       
t'other side yer mouths6 and he began   
laying about their heads with his       
riding-whip4  ',both ducked1 and ran    
shouting up the bank1 and were on their 
horses before he was up4  ,good-evening1
 mas'r1 said ,sam1 with much gravity4 ,i
 berry much 'spect missis be anxious4   
,missis wouldn't hear of our ridin' the 
critters over ,lizy's bridge to-night2  
and he started off1 followed by ,andy1  
at full speed1 their shouts of laughter 
coming faintly on the wind4'  ,having   
gone this length1 we may as well        
conclude the episode of ,eliza4 ,it may 
be generally known1 that runaway slaves 

are in many instances favoured by the   
kindly aid of a denomination unwearied  
in well-doing--the ,society of ,friends4
 ,by a family belonging to this         
respectable body1 ,eliza1 her child1 and
 husband1 were succoured and forwarded1 
under various disguises1 to the northern
 frontier of the ,states1 on their way  
to ,canada4 ,for the final crisis1 on   
the shore of ,lake ,erie1 ,eliza was    
dressed in male attire1 and seemed a    
handsome young man4 ,harry figured as a 
little girl4  ',mrs ,smyth1 a           
respectable woman from the settlement of
 ,canada1 whither they were fleeing1    
being fortunately about crossing the    
lake to return thither1 had consented to
 appear as the aunt of little ,harry2   
and in order to attach him to her1 he   
had been allowed to remain the last two 
days under her sole charge2 and an extra
 amount of petting1 joined to an        
indefinite amount of seed-cakes and     
candy1 had cemented a very close        
attachment on the part of the young     

gentleman4  ',the hack drove to the     
wharf4 ,the two young men1 as they      
appeared1 walked up the plank into the  
boat1 ,eliza gallantly giving her arm to
 ,mrs ,smyth1 and ,george attending to  
their baggage4  ',george was standing at
 the captain's office1 settling for his 
party1 when he overheard two men talking
 by his side4  ,i've watched every one  
that came on board1 said one1 and ,i    
know they're not on this boat4  ',the   
voice was that of the clerk of the boat4
 ,the speaker whom he addressed was     
,marks1 a friend of ,haley1 who had come
 on to ,sandusky1 seeking whom he might 
devour4  ,you would scarcely know the   
woman from a white one1 said ,marks4    
,the man is a very light mulatto4 ,he   
has a brand in one of his hands4  ',the 
hand with which ,george was taking the  
tickets and change trembled a little2   
but he turned coolly around1 fixed an   
unconcerned glance on the face of the   
speaker1 and walked leisurely toward    
another part of the boat1 where ,eliza  

stood waiting for him4  ',mrs ,smyth1   
with little ,harry1 sought the seclusion
 of the ladies' cabin1 where the dark   
beauty of the supposed little girl drew 
many flattering comments from the       
passengers4  ',george had the           
satisfaction1 as the bell rang out its  
farewell peal1 to see ,marks walk down  
the plank1 to the shore2 and drew a long
 sigh of relief when the boat had put a 
returnless distance between them4  ',it 
was a superb day4 ,the blue waves of    
,lake ,erie danced rippling and         
sparkling in the sunlight4 ,a fresh     
breeze blew from the shore1 and the     
lordly boat ploughed her way right      
gallantly onward4  ',oh what an untold  
world there is in one human heart6 ,who 
thought1 as ,george walked calmly up and
 down the deck of the steamer1 with his 
shy companion at his side1 of all that  
was burning in his bosom8 ,the mighty   
good that seemed approaching seemed too 
good1 too fair1 even to be a reality2   
and he felt a jealous dread every moment

 of the day that something would rise to
 snatch it from him4  ',but the boat    
swept on--hours fleeted1 and1 at last1  
clear and full rose the blessed ,english
 shore--shores charmed by a mighty      
spell--with one touch to dissolve every 
incantation of slavery1 no matter in    
what language pronounced1 or by what    
national power confirmed4  ',george and 
his wife stood arm in arm as the boat   
neared the small town of ,amherstberg1  
in ,canada4 ,his breath grew thick and  
short2 a mist gathered before his eyes2 
he silently pressed the little hand that
 lay trembling on his arm4 ,the bell    
rang--the boat stopped4 ,scarcely seeing
 what he did1 he looked out his baggage1
 and gathered his little party4 ,the    
company were landed on the shore4 ,they 
stood still till the boat had cleared2  
and then1 with tears and embracings1 the
 husband and wife1 with their wondering 
child in their arms1 knelt down1 and    
lifted up their hearts to ,god6         
'',twas something like the burst from   

death to life2       ,from the grave's  
cerements to the robes of heaven2       
,from sin's dominion1 and from passion's
 strife1       ,to the pure freedom of a
 soul forgiven2       ,where all the    
bonds of death and hell are riven1      
,and mortal puts on immortality1        
,when ,mercy's hand hath turned the     
golden key1     ,and ,mercy's voice hath
 said3 ,rejoice1 thy soul is free4      
',the party were soon guided by ,mrs    
,smyth to the hospitable abode of a good
 missionary1 whom ,christian charity has
 placed here as a shepherd to the       
outcast and wandering1 who are          
constantly finding an asylum on this    
shore4  ',who can speak the blessedness 
of that first day of freedom8 ,is not   
the sense of liberty a higher and finer 
one than any of the five8 ,to move1     
speak1 and breathe1 go out and come in  
unwatched and free from danger6 ,who can
 speak the blessings of that rest which 
comes down on the free man's pillow1    
under laws which insure to him the      

rights that ,god has given to man8 ,how 
fair and precious to that mother was    
that sleeping child's face1 endeared by 
the memory of a thousand dangers6 ,how  
impossible was it to sleep in the       
exuberant possession of such            
blessedness6 ,and yet these two had not 
one acre of ground1 not a roof that they
 could call their own2 they had spent   
their all1 to the last dollar4 ,they had
 nothing more than the birds of the air1
 or the flowers of the field2 yet they  
could not sleep for joy4 ,o ye who take 
freedom from man1 with what words shall 
ye answer it to ,god8'  ,with this      
episode1 we close for the present1 and  
will go into the history of ,uncle ,tom 
in a subsequent paper4   ,,footnotes3   
#b ,we understand that ,mrs ,h4 ,b4     
,stowe has received from her publishers 
the sum of ten thousand three hundred   
dollars1 as her copyright premium on    
three months' sale of ,uncle ,tom's     
,cabin4-,boston newspaper4              
,,fortunes ,,of ,a ,,literary           

,,gold-,,seeker4   ,the same passion for
 gold-seeking1 which in our day has     
developed itself in a new form1 raged in
 ,europe from the depth of the middle   
ages till the eighteenth century was far
 advanced4 ,by the arrival of the latter
 period1 however1 a good deal of        
discredit had been thrown upon the      
business2 awkward revelations had been  
made2 well-authenticated facts had been 
turned outside in2 and1 in fine1 the    
world's dread laugh helped not a little 
to put down the conviction of ages4     
,that conviction did not relate to the  
existence of natural hoards of the      
precious metal4 ,such idle dreams were  
left to the fanciful and superstitious1 
whose stores were usually situated in   
the bosom of mountains1 and guarded by  
gnomes and demons4 ,the others were more
 rational and practical3 they sought to 
obtain their end by means of legitimate 
science1 based upon virtue and religious
 faith4 ,this basis is the only thing   
that since then has been unanimously    

abandoned2 for philosophers are still by
 no means agreed as to the impossibility
 of making gold4  ,only a few of the    
gold-seekers of the present day are     
literary men1 for the pickaxe does not  
very naturally replace the pen2 but at  
the time we speak of1 almost the whole  
tribe were authors4 ,borel1 in #afed1   
makes the list amount to #djjj2 but this
 is an exaggeration2 many of his names  
being imaginary1 and some cut into      
several pieces4 ,we have before us1     
however1 a catalogue by a less zealous  
compiler1 brought between eighty and    
ninety years further down1 containing   
about #bejj treatises by about #ijj     
authors--a number which we consider not 
the least remarkable of the facts       
connected with the hermetic science4    
,all these works1 with the exception of 
a small number1 are in ,latin2 and ten  
of them are the production of a certain 
,bernard ,trevisanus1 to give him his   
learned name1 although he was born at   
,padua in #adjf4 ,we do not1 however1   

particularise this author on account of 
the value of his books1 for we are      
thankful to say we have never seen his  
,secret ,work of ,chemistry1 or his     
,philosophers' ,egg1 or1 in fact1 a     
single line he has written2#c but we    
look upon him in his personal character 
as the very ideal of a gold-seeker2 and 
we are on that account anxious to rescue
 his name from the obscurity in which it
 rests4  ,bernard's attachment for his  
life-long profession was spontaneous1   
perhaps instinctive4 ,he had no need to 
apply himself to make the precious      
metals1 for he was born with a piece of 
one of them in his mouth--the piece     
which is technically called a silver    
spoon4 ,he had the rank of count2 and   
his father1 a doctor of medicine1       
leaving him a sufficient fortune1 he had
 nothing to do but to enjoy the world in
 any way he thought fit4 ,we shall see  
how he managed4 ,when only fourteen     
years of age1 he fell in with one of the
 works of the ,arabian physician        

,rhasis1 and this led him1 after four   
years' labour1 to the fountain-head of  
the occult philosophy1 ,geber4 ,the     
latter1 next to ,hermes himself1 is the 
acknowledged chief of the science1 and  
,trevisan found himself in good hands2  
although he wished he had made his      
acquaintance earlier1 as he had already 
spent to no purpose about #hjj crowns4  
,the reader must not suppose that the   
wealth of adepts vanished in the common 
operations of chemistry2 for in point of
 fact1 the material consumed was the    
material sought for--gold4 ,some1       
indeed1 supposed that by subliming or   
purifying the imperfect metals to a high
 enough degree1 they might convert them 
into the perfect one2 but in general it 
was acknowledged that there was no way  
of making gold but by means of gold     
itself4 ,the philosopher's stone1 as it 
was called1 was a powder containing the 
pure essence of gold1 and how to obtain 
this was the question4  ,trevisan was   
not without friends and advisers in the 

great search4 ,philosophers gathered    
about him like bees2 and by their       
assistance1 together with the formul in 
the works of ,geber1 he had soon spent  
#bjjj crowns more4 ,but he was not      
discouraged4 ,he applied to the         
treatises of ,archelaus1 ,rufreissa1 and
 ,sacro-bosco2 associated a monk with   
him in his experiments2 and in the      
course of three years had rectified     
spirits of wine more than thirty times1 
till it reached a point at which no     
glass was strong enough to hold it4     
,that was very well2 but it cost more   
than #cjj crowns1 and he was no nearer  
his object than before4  ,he now began  
to dissolve1 congeal1 and sublime common
 salt1 sal-ammonia1 the alums1 and      
copperas2 and in distillation1          
circulation1 and sublimation1 he spent  
twelve busy years1 at a cost of about   
#fjjj crowns4 ,trevisan almost lost     
faith in human science1 and set himself 
earnestly to pray for illumination4 ,in 
this he was assisted by a magistrate of 

his own country2 but while invoking     
divine aid1 they were all the while     
working away with marine salt4 ,this    
substance they continued to rectify for 
eight months without finding any change 
in its nature4 ,it will be seen1 that   
the object of all these experiments was 
to find a solvent powerful enough to    
separate the essence of gold from its   
material1 the spirit from the body2 but 
it now struck him like a flash of       
lightning1 that aqua fortis must be the 
thing2 and throwing himself upon this   
substance in its state of greatest      
intensity1 he tried it first upon       
silver1 then upon common mercury--but   
all in vain4  ,however1 our ,bernard was
 still in the flower of his age--he was 
only forty-six3 nothing for a           
philosopher4 ,he began to travel1 with  
the view of collecting wisdom in his    
way2 and at length fell in with ,matre  
,geoffrey ,leuvrier1 a ,cistercian monk1
 a man after his own heart4 ,these      
congenial companions set to work at     

first upon hens' eggs1 calcining even   
the shells2 till at the end of eight    
laborious years1 devoted to these and   
other substances1 they had acquired the 
skill of at least preparing in an       
artistic manner the furnaces used in    
their operations4 ,after this1 he       
attached himself to another theological 
friend1 who was prothonotary of         
,berghes1 in ,flanders2 and with him he 
worked during fourteen months in        
distilling copperas with vinegar4 ,but  
the result of the experiments was       
nothing better than a quartan-ague4     
,when ,bernard began to get better1 the 
interesting intelligence came to his    
ears1 that ,matre ,henry1 confessor of  
the ,emperor ,ferdinand ,,iii41         
possessed the secret of the             
philosopher's stone4 ,our adept1        
therefore1 set out at once for ,germany1
 and by means of the good offices of    
friends1 and the liberal expenditure of 
money1 obtained an introduction to the  
fortunate man4 ,with him he set to work 

with a good heart2 but after rectifying 
and dissolving till they were tired1 he 
found that he had only succeeded in     
melting away #cjj crowns more of his    
wealth4 ,the thing grew serious4 ,he was
 now fifty-eight4 ,he could afford to   
dally no longer3 it was necessary to    
find the secret of the hermetic science 
at once1 or give up the search4         
,trevisan pondered over his critical    
position for two entire months2 but at  
the end of that time a ray of hope      
flashed across the gloom of his         
meditations4 ,the nature of the hope we 
do not know2 we can only tell what was  
the course of action on which it        
determined him4 ,he arose suddenly from 
his depression1 and1 girding up his     
loins1 began to travel4 ,he went first  
to ,rome2 then to ,spain2 then to       
,turkey2 then to ,greece4 ,he passed    
into ,egypt2 then into ,barbary2 then   
visited ,rhodes2 and then traversed a   
portion of ,palestine and ,persia4 ,he  
then returned to ,france1 by way of     

,messina1 and visited ,england1         
,scotland1 and finally ,germany4        
,wherever he went1 it was the same      
thing4 ,the phantom he followed fled as 
he pursued2 and alike in the heart of   
,london1 and in the deserts of the ,holy
 ,land1 he saw appearing1 and then      
vanishing1 in the distance--       ,the 
unreached paradise of his despair4      
,that the secret existed1 there could be
 no doubt2 for it was a part of         
,trevisan's creed that it was born      
before the ,flood2 that it was revealed 
to the ,israelites in their passage     
through the ,desert2 and that it had    
thus been handed down through the       
various generations of men4 ,in his own 
travels1 there was no want of true      
philosophers here1 there1 and           
everywhere4 ,but they were alone2 they  
kept their science to themselves2 and   
they fixed upon the inquirer a stony    
gaze1 which petrified his heart4        
,pretenders1 on the contrary1 were as   
open as day--there was no end to their  

civilities3 but their favours were      
expensive2 they cost altogether1        
including his travelling expenses1 about
 #ac1jjj crowns2 and he was at length   
obliged to sell an estate which had     
produced him the agreeable little       
revenue of #hjjj ,german florins4       
,bernard was now sixty-two years of age1
 within a year of his grand climacteric4
 ,he had succeeded in divesting himself 
by degrees of all his property1 with the
 exception of what afforded him a very  
bare subsistence2 and his relatives1    
incensed at a conduct which their       
ignorance of science prevented them from
 appreciating1 had turned their backs   
upon him4 ,poor1 friendless1 and alone1 
he had hatched his ,philosophers' ,egg  
to some purpose2 and now what was he to 
do8 ,he must1 in the first place1 find  
some cheap retirement1 where he could at
 least live2 and accordingly he set out 
for a place he had visited in his       
travels--the island of ,rhodes4 ,why he 
should have chosen the island of ,rhodes

 more than any other island1 or an      
island more than any part of the        
mainland1 it would be difficult to tell4
 ,but ,bernard speedily saw that he had 
been conducted thither by the hand of   
destiny2 for in his solitary wanderings 
he encountered a monk whom he at once   
recognised as a kindred spirit4 ,it     
would be too long to tell how they fell 
into talk about the ,companions of      
,cadmus1 the ,doves of ,diana1 the      
,dragon1 the ,serpent1 and the ,nymphs2 
of the ,male1 the ,female1 and the      
,hermaphrodite2 of the ,hermetic        
,sulphur which exists in gold1 and of   
the means of coagulating with this      
sulphur the sacred ,mercury4 ,suffice it
 to say1 that their conversation excited
 in them an intense desire to           
experiment1 and an absolute conviction  
that the collision of two such          
intellects would strike out the sublime 
spark of truth4 ,but how to manage8     
,gold could not be made without the aid 
of gold2 and they had not a piece       

between them4 ,but here the lucky stars 
of our philosopher interposed4 ,bernard 
fell in with a merchant to whom his     
family was known1 and his adventures    
unknown2 and the good man had the       
kindness to lend him #hjjj florins4     
,this was a trifling debt to incur at a 
time when he stood on the very brink of 
the ,secret2 and the two friends set to 
work with a will4 ,they occupied        
themselves for three years in dissolving
 gold and silver2 and then discovered   
that their fund was exhausted1 and that 
nothing remained to them of all their   
labours but the embers of the fire4     
,trevisan applied to philosophy for     
consolation3 he set himself to read     
attentively ,arnold of ,villenova4 ,this
 'great theologian1 skilful physician1  
and learned alchemist1' as we are       
assured by ,andreas1 a celebrated lawyer
 of his day1 was in the habit of making 
gold at pleasure2 but not satisfied with
 this triumph1 he would needs interfere 
in the concerns of religion1 and more   

especially scandalised the whole        
orthodox world by affirming1 'that the  
works of charity and medicine are more  
agreeable to ,god than the services of  
the altar4' ,he was likewise the master 
in the sublime science of the famous    
,raymond ,lully1 who1 as is well known  
to ,english history 7although the fact  
is omitted by the historians71 converted
 in one operation #ej1jjj lbs4 weight of
 mercury1 lead1 and tin1 into pure gold1
 which was coined into rose nobles4     
,raymond1 like his master1 was a great  
theologian1 and the grand aspiration of 
his life1 to which he finally fell a    
martyr1 was the conversion of the       
infidels4 ,in reading him1 also--for    
,bernard was led naturally from one to  
the other--he was greatly struck with   
that blending of religion with science  
which is observable in almost all the   
,hermetic books1 where the practical    
part of ,christianity1 the love of ,god 
and man1 is inculcated as the           
fundamental maxim4 ,on this he pondered 

for eight years1 by which time he had   
attained the ripe age of seventy-three1 
and then at length the mind of the adept
 opened to the ,secret he had been so   
long and so blindly pursuing4  ,his     
,search was successful4 ,he was now able
 to separate the pure spirit from the   
material gold that had all his life been
 harmonising and fusing1 and while      
reading the books of the alchemists1 to 
collect their truths1 and pass over     
their errors as dross4 ,it was two years
 before he had fairly accustomed his    
mind to this view of the subject2 but   
his life was prolonged for five years   
more1 during which time1 notwithstanding
 his poverty and solitude1 he probably  
enjoyed the only real happiness he had  
ever known4 ,he reached the age of      
eighty-four1 and1 in the year #adij1    
gave up his last breath with a smile4   
,if a bystander had inquired at the     
moment he was passing away1 what it was 
which gave this illumination to his     
countenance1 and this tranquillity to   

his heart1 he would doubtless have      
answered1 the philosopher's stone4      
,after his death1 he obtained the       
reputation he had missed when living4   
,his works were widely circulated1 and  
some of them printed so late as #afgb4  
,they were reckoned an important help to
 the student of hermetic science2 and   
the name of the luckless ,bernard       
,trevisan was always included in the    
list of great adepts4   ,,footnotes3  #c
 ,the ,french author of the catalogue we
 allude to 7#agdb7 while declaring that 
it is good for people to know what the  
books are1 counsels them to read very   
little of them1 and to do nothing at all
 that they recommend4     ,,lacon',s    
,,boat-,,lowering ,,apparatus4   ,the   
want of a ready means of lowering boats 
from vessels in distressed              
circumstances1 has been exemplified with
 the most tragical results in such cases
 as those of the ,orion1 ,birkenhead1   
and ,amazon4 ,mr ,w4 ,s4 ,lacon1 late of
 the ,h4,e4,i4,c4's service1 has        

invented a plan for making them quickly 
available1 which seems likely to be     
successful4 ,it was tried on the #eth   
,august by the ,regatta ,committee at   
,folkestone1 with the approval of a     
great number of persons professionally  
qualified to pronounce on the subject4  
,the wind was blowing strongly from the 
southwest1 with a heavy surge running4  
,this proved fortunate1 for the better  
testing of the efficacy of the system4  
,in the first trial1 a boat was lowered 
from the steamer by one man1 with       
several persons on board1 and alighted  
on the water1 abaft of the larboard     
paddle-box1 with the utmost safety and  
apparent comfort1 the tackle being      
released momentarily by the weight of   
the boat's descent1 the vessel at the   
time steaming at the rate of #ab-a_/b   
knots per hour4 ,it was afterwards      
hoisted up again by two men4 ,at the    
second trial1 the boat was lowered and  
cleared from the ship by one man1 with  
,mr ,lacon and three men on board1 the  

vessel at the time maintaining full     
speed4 ,the same experiments were       
performed several times during the day1 
in a similarly successful manner4 ,the  
apparatus employed by ,mr ,lacon is very
 compact and simple1 being fixed under  
the deck-seats1 so as to be not in the  
least incommodious4 ,in treating of this
 patent invention1 the ,liverpool       
,mercury says1 ,mr ,lacon has succeeded 
in 'solving a problem which has hitherto
 baffled the ingenuity of scientific and
 practical men1 and attaining the       
desideratum of lowering boats evenly1   
and of rapidly disengaging the tackles1 
by a self-acting contrivance4 ,mr ,lacon
 takes as his principle the well-known  
axiom in mechanics1 that what is gained 
in power is lost in time2 and although  
he approves of the method at present in 
use1 as being the best for hoisting up  
boats3 he 7seeing that the hoisting need
 never be a hurried operation7          
substitutes two single ropes or chains1 
which1 being secured to two broad slings

 passing round the body of the boat1 are
 then brought inboard on davits1 and    
carried to two concave barrels connected
 together by means of a shaft4 ,the ends
 of the ropes or chains are secured to  
the barrels in such a manner that they  
will support any amount of weight until 
such time as the boat has reached the   
water1 when they will disconnect and    
fall away from their attachment by their
 own weight1 by which means he prevents 
the possibility of a ship1 in its onward
 progress through a rough sea1 dragging 
forward a lowered boat sideways1 and    
capsizing or swamping it4 ,by means1    
then1 of a friction-strap and pulley    
round the shaft1 one man is enabled to  
regulate the descent of the boat1 which 
will go down by its own weight2 and by  
means of the parallel action of the two 
barrels1 he lowers both ends uniformly1 
and insures the boat falling in a proper
 position on the water4'     ,,ignorance
 ,,the ,,great ,,cause ,,of ,,poverty4  
,there are1 in every fully-peopled      

country1 large numbers of persons whose 
lives are passed in hardship and misery1
 and whose greatest exertions can do no 
more for them than procure the barest   
means of subsistence4 ,these are greatly
 to be pitied1 and it should be the     
study of the government1 and of all who 
possess the means1 to remove1 as far as 
possible1 the causes of their           
misfortune4 ,it cannot1 however1 be said
 that any competition1 save only that   
which they themselves naturally and     
necessarily exhibit among their class1  
for obtaining the inadequate amount of  
employment for which they are fitted1 is
 chargeable with the hardships they     
endure4 ,it is a melancholy truth1 as   
concerns the individuals1 that we cannot
 extend to them any indirect relief     
without tending to increase the evil by 
raising an addition to their number4    
,how1 then1 is their condition to be    
mended8 ,the only way1 it appears to me1
 is to fit them for entering into       
competition with others above them in   

the social scale by means of            
instruction1 which shall enable them to 
give a greater value to the services    
which they render1 and thus entitle them
 to command a greater value of services 
in return4 ,we need entertain no fear   
lest1 by this letting in competition    
upon the class above them1 we shall     
lower these latter in the scale of      
society4 ,so long as the capital in the 
country shall continue to increase in a 
greater proportion than its population1 
there must always be found additional   
employment and better remuneration for  
those whose labour is capable of adding 
to the national wealth4 ,it may with    
more truth be stated1 that the          
consequence to the community of the     
existence of any large number of        
destitute persons1 is to keep down the  
general rate of wages1 positively1      
through the absorption of capital       
required for their relief1 and1         
negatively1 through the absence of those
 additions to capital which the surplus 

services of instructed artisans always  
occasion4--,g4 ,r4 ,porter's ,lecture at
 ,wandsworth1 entitled ',services for   
,services4' ,london3 ,clowes4 #ahea4    
,a ,,wee ,,bit ,,name4  ,,shepherd      
loquitur4--,an' a wee bit name--canna it
 carry a weight o' love8--,noctes       
,ambrosian1 ,no4 lxxii4       ,a wee bit
 name6 ,o wae's the heart       ,when   
nought but that is left1     ,but doubly
 dear it comes to be       ,when time a'
 else hath reft1     ,an' youth1 an'    
hope1 an' innocence1       ,an'         
happiness1 an' hame1     ,are a'        
concentred in a word1       ,that       
word--a wee bit name4      ,back through
 the weary waste o' years       ,my     
memory is borne1     ,an' gurglin'      
streams1 an' thickets green1       ,an' 
fields o' yellow corn3     ,an' lanely  
glens1 an' sunny hills       ,upon my   
spirit gleam1     ,the phantoms o' the  
past before       ,that spell--a wee bit
 name4      ,o vision sweet6 a fair1    
fair face1       ,a young1 but thochtfu'

 brow1     ,twa gentle een o' azure     
sheen1       ,are beamin' on me noo4    
,be still1 my beatin' heart--be still2  
,it's but an idle dream3     ,she heeds 
na though wi' tremblin' joy       ,i    
breathe a wee bit name4      ,a wee bit 
name6 ,o lives there ane       ,that    
never1 never felt     ,its pathos an'   
its wizard power       ,to saften and to
 melt8     ,no--callous though the bosom
 be       ,wi' years o' sin an' shame1  
',twill melt like snaw in summer's sun  
,before some wee bit name4      ,a wee  
bit name6 the rod whose touch           
,bids hidden waters start1     ,the     
torch that lichts the pile upon         
,the altar o' the heart1     ,an'       
kindles what wad else decay1       ,into
 a holy flame3     ,a sacred influence  
may lie       ,within a wee bit name6   
,c4         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