,,the ,,atlantic ,,monthly ,a ,,magazine ,,of ,,literature1 ,,art1 ,,and ,,politics ,,contents4 ,abb de l',epe1 the ,agassiz's ,natural ,history ,akin by ,marriage ,american ,antiquity ,aquarium1 my ,architecture1 ,domestic ,art ,autocrat of the ,breakfast-,table1 the ,battle of ,lepanto1 the ,beecher1 ,henry ,ward ,beethoven ,branger ,birds and their ,ways ,books ,british ,gallery in ,new ,york1 the ,british ,india ,buchanan's ,administration ,burr1 ,aaron ,button-,rose1 the ,carlyle1 ,thomas ,catacombs of ,rome1 the ,child-,life by the ,ganges ,cretins and ,idiots ,diamond ,lens1 the ,eben ,jackson ,financial ,flurry1 the ,florentine ,mosaics ,ghost ,redivivus1 the ,great ,failure1 the ,grindwell ,governing ,machine1 the ,hundred ,days1 the ,illusions ,india1 ,british ,indian ,revolt1 the ,intellectual ,character ,jerrold1 ,douglas ,journal to my ,cousin ,mary ,kansas ,usurpation1 ,review of the ,lepanto1 the ,battle of ,l',epe1 the ,abb de ,librarian's ,story1 the ,loo ,loo ,mamoul ,manchester ,exhibition1 the ,maya1 the ,princess ,mourning ,veil1 the ,music ,my ,aquarium ,my ,journal to my ,cousin ,mary ,new ,england ,ministers ,notes on ,domestic ,architecture ,our ,birds and their ,ways ,pendlam1 a ,modern ,reformer ,persian ,poetry ,pictures1 ,something about ,president's ,message1 the ,prima ,donna1 ,who paid for the ,pure ,pearl of ,diver's ,bay1 the ,queen of the ,red ,chessmen1 the ,robin ,hood ,roger ,pierce ,round ,table1 the ,saints1 and their ,bodies ,sally ,parsons's ,duty ,solitude and ,society ,something about ,pictures ,spartacus ,tea ,tiflin of ,paragraphs ,turkey ,tracks ,welsh ,musical ,festival ,where will it ,end8 ,who is the ,thief8 ,who paid for the ,prima ,donna8 ,wichern1 ,dr41 and his ,pupils ,winds and the ,weather1 the ,,poetry4 ,amours de ,voyage ,beauty ,brahma ,burying-,ground1 the ,old ,busts of ,goethe and ,schiller1 the ,by the ,dead ,camille ,catawba ,wine ,charley's ,death ,chartist's ,complaint1 the ,cornucopia ,daybreak ,daylight and ,moonlight ,days ,didactic ,poetry1 the ,origin of ,epigram on ,j4,m4 ,gift of ,tritemius1 the ,goethe and ,schiller1 the ,busts of ,golden ,milestone1 the ,happiness ,karin1 the ,story of ,lucknow1 the ,relief of ,mercedes ,milestone1 the ,golden ,my ,portrait ,gallery ,nest1 the ,old ,burying-,ground1 the ,origin of ,didactic ,poetry1 the ,psyche1 thy ,relief of ,lucknow1 the ,rommany ,girl1 the ,sandalphoa ,santa ,filomena ,sculptor's ,funeral1 the ,skipper ,ireson's ,ride ,sonnets ,story of ,karin1 the ,tacking ,ship off ,shore ,telling the ,bees ,thy ,psyche ,two ,rivers ,wedding ,veil1 the ,wind and ,stream1 the ,word to the ,wise ,,literary ,,notices ,american ,cyclopdia1 the ,new ,anglais1 les1 et l',inde ,bayne1 ,peter1 ,essays in ,biography and ,criticism ,beatrice ,cenci1 by ,guerrazzi ,brazil and the ,brazilians ,city ,poems1 by ,alexander ,smith ,clerical ,life1 ,scenes of ,comic and ,humorous ,german ,poetry ,cyclopdia1 the ,new ,american ,dante's ,hell1 by ,j4,c4 ,peabody ,de ,vere1 ,aubrey1 ,may ,carols by ,dichtung1 die deutsche komische und humoristische1 seit ,beginn des #af4 ,jahrhunderts bis auf unsere ,zeit ,dunglison's ,dictionary of ,medical ,science ,elements of ,drawing1 by ,ruskin ,et dans le ,sahara1 une ,france au ,,xvi4 ,sicle1 ,histoire de ,galleries and ,cabinets of ,art in ,great ,britain1 by ,dr4 ,waagen ,german ,poetry1 ,comic and ,humorous ,greyson ,letters1 the1 by ,henry ,rogers ,hamilton1 ,alexander1 ,history of ,u4,s4 as traced in the ,writings of ,handbook of ,railroad ,construction ,handel1 ,schoelcher's ,life of ,harford's ,life of ,michel ,angelo ,helps's ,history of the ,spanish ,conquest ,homoeopathic ,domestic ,physician ,hunt1 ,leigh1 ,poetical ,works of ,kane1 ,dr4 ,e4,k41 ,elder's ,life of ,kraft und ,stoff1 von ,c4 ,bchner ,libert1 la1 par ,emile de ,girardin ,library of ,old ,authors1 ,smith's ,materie und ,geist1 von ,bchner ,may ,carols1 by ,aubrey de ,vere ,michel ,angelo ,buonarotti1 ,harford's ,life of ,michelet1 ,histoire de ,france par ,norwge1 la1 par ,louis ,enault ,parthenia1 by ,mrs4 ,lee ,prudhomme1 ,m4 ,joseph1 ,memoires de ,reichspostreiter1 der1 in ,ludwigsburg ,revolution ,francaise1 ,histoire de la ,roumania1 by ,jas4 ,o4 ,noyes1 ,m4,d4 ,ruskin's ,elements of ,drawing ,sahara1 une ,et dans le ,scenes of ,clerical ,life ,smith1 ,alexander1 ,city ,poems by ,spanish ,conquest in ,america1 the ,spurgeon1 ,rev4 ,c4,h41 ,sermons of ,thringer ,naturen1 von ,otto ,ludwig ,twin ,roses ,waagen1 ,dr41 ,galleries and ,cabinets of ,art in ,great ,britain by ,waverley ,novels ,white ,lies1 by ,charles ,reade ,,the ,,atlantic ,,monthly ,,vol4 ,i4--,,november1 #aheg4--,,no4 ,i4 ,,douglas ,,jerrold4 ,my personal acquaintance with ,douglas ,jerrold began in the spring of #ahea4 ,i had always had a keen relish for his wit and fancy2 ,i felt a peculiar interest in a man who1 like myself1 had started in life in the ,navy2 and one of the things poor ,douglas prided himself on was his readiness to know and recognize young fellows fighting in his own profession4 ,i shall not soon forget the dinner he gave at the ,whittington ,club that spring4 ,st4 ,clement's had rung out a late chime before we parted2 and it was a drizzly1 misty small hour as he got into a cab for ,putney1 where he was then living4 ,i had found him all ,i expected2 and he did not disappoint1 on further acquaintance1 the promise of that first interview4 ,it will be something to remember in afterlife1 that one enjoyed the friendship of so brilliant a man2 and if ,i can convey to my readers a truer1 livelier picture of his genius and person than they have been able to form for themselves hitherto1 ,i shall be delighted to think that ,i have done my duty to his memory4 ,the last summer which he lived to see is now waning2 let us gather1 ere it goes1 the lilies and purple flowers that are due to his grave4 ,jerrold's ,biography is still unwritten4 ,the work is in the hands of his eldest son1--his successor in the editorship of ,lloyd's1--and will be done with pious carefulness4 ,meanwhile ,i cannot do more than sketch the narrative of his life2 but so much1 at all events1 is necessary as shall enable the reader to understand the ,genius and ,character which ,i aspire to set before him4 ,douglas ,william ,jerrold was1 ,i take it1 of ,south-,saxon ancestry1--dashed with ,scotch through his grandmother1 whose maiden name was ,douglas1 and who is said to have been a woman of more than ordinary energy of character4 ,as a ,scot1 ,i should like to trace him to that spreading family apostrophized by the old poet in such beautiful words1-- ,o ,douglas1 ,o ,douglas1 ,tender and true6 ,but ,i don't think he ever troubled himself on the subject2 though he had none of that contempt for a good pedigree which is sometimes found in men of his school of politics4 ,as regarded fortune1 he owed every thing to nature and to himself2 no man of our age had so thoroughly fought his own way2 and no man of any age has had a much harder fight of it4 ,to understand and appreciate him1 it was1 and is1 necessary to bear this fact in mind4 ,it colored him as the ,syrian sun did the old crusading warrior4 ,and hence1 too1 he was in a singular degree a representative man of his age2 his age having set him to wrestle with it1--having tried his force in every way1--having left its mark on his entire surface4 ,jerrold and the century help to explain each other1 and had found each other remarkably in earnest in all their dealings4 ,this fact stamps on the man a kind of genuineness1 visible in all his writings1--and giving them a peculiar force and raciness1 such as those of persons with a less remarkable experience never possess4 ,we are told1 that1 in selling yourself to the ,devil1 it is the proper traditionary practice to write the contract in your blood4 ,douglas1 in binding himself against him1 did the same thing4 ,you see his blood in his ink1--and it gives a depth of tinge to it4 ,he was the son of a country manager named ,samuel ,jerrold1 and was born in ,london on the #c;d of ,january1 #ahjc4 ,his father was for a long time manager of the seaport theatres of ,sheerness and ,southend1--which stand opposite each other1 just where the ,thames becomes the sea4 ,douglas spent most of his boyhood1 therefore1 about the sea-coast1 in the midst of a life that was doubly dramatic1--dramatic as real1 and dramatic as theatrical4 ,there were sea1 ships1 sailors1 prisoners1 the hum of war1 the uproar of seaport life1 on the one hand2 on the other1 the queer1 rough1 fairy world 7to him at once fairy world and home world7 of the theatre4 ,it was a position to awaken precociously1 one would think1 the feelings of the quick-eyed1 quick-hearted lad4 ,no wonder he took the sea-fever to which all our blood is liable1 and tried a bout of naval life4 ,at eleven years of age he became a middy1 and served a short time--not two years in all--in a vessel stationed in the ,north ,sea4 ,naval life was a rough affair in those days4 ,jerrold's most remarkable experience seems to have been bringing over the wounded of ,waterloo from ,belgium2 which stamped on his mind a sense of the horrors of war that never left him1 but is marked on his writings everywhere1 in spite of a certain combative turn and an admiration of heroes which also belonged to him4 ,to the last1 he had an interest in sea matters1 and spoke with enthusiasm of ,lord ,nelson4 ,but the literary use he made of his nautical experience ended with ,black-eyed ,susan4 ,he was a boy when he came ashore and threw himself on the very different sea of ,london2 and it is the influence of ,london that is most perceptible in his mature works4 ,here his work was done1 his battles fought1 his mind formed2 and you may observe in his writings a certain romantic and ideal way of speaking of the country1 which shows that to him it was a place of retreat and luxury1 rather than of sober1 practical living4 ,this is not uncommon with literary men whose lot has been cast in a great city1 if they possess1 as ,jerrold did1 that poetic temperament which is alive to natural beauty4 ,he now became an apprentice in a printing-office1 and went through the ordinary course of a printer's life4 ,he felt genius stirring in him1 and he strove for the knowledge to give it nourishment1 and the field to give it exercise4 ,he read and wrote1 as well as worked and talked4 ,it would be a task for antiquarian research to recover his very earliest lucubrations scattered among the ephemeral periodicals of that day4 ,plays of his might be dug out1 whose very names are unknown to his most intimate friends4 ,he scattered his early fruit far and wide1--getting little from the world in exchange4 ,literature was then a harder struggle than in our days4 ,jerrold did not know the successful men who presided over it4 ,he had no patrons2 and he had few friends4 ,the isolation and poverty in which he formed his mind and style deepened the peculiarity which was a characteristic of these4 ,they gave to his genius that intense and eccentric character which it has2 and no doubt 7for ,fortune has a way of compensating7 the chill they breathed on the fruits of his young nature enriched their ripeness1 as a touch of frost does with plums4 ,the grapes from which ,tokay is made are left hanging even when the snow is on them2--all the better for ,tokay6 ,his youth1 then1 was a long and hard struggle to get bread in exchange for wit2--a struggle like that of the poor girls who sell violets in the streets4 ,he was wont to talk of those early days very freely1--passionately1 even to tears1 when he got excited1--and always bravely1 heartily1 and with the right moral to follow4 ,when ,diderot had passed a whole day without bread1 he vowed that if he ever got prosperous1 he would save any fellow-creature that he could from such suffering4 ,jerrold had learned the same lesson4 ,through life1 he took the side of the poor and weak4 ,it was the secret1 at once1 of his philosophy and his politics4 ,he got endless abuse for his eternal tirades against the great and the respectable1--against big-wigs of every size and shape4 ,but the critics who attacked him for this negative pole of his intellectual character overlooked the positive one4 ,he had kindness and sympathy enough2 but he always gave them first to those who wanted them most4 ,and as humorist and satirist he had a natural tendency to attack power1--to play ,pasquin against the world's ,pope4 ,in fact1 his radicalism was that of a humorist4 ,he never adopted the utilitarian1 or1 as it was called1 philosophical1 radicalism which was so fashionable in his younger days2--not1 indeed1 the ,continental radicalism held by a party in ,england2--but was an independent kind of warrior1 fighting under his own banner1 and always rather with the weapons of a man of letters than those of a politician4 ,for the business aspect of politics he never showed any predilection from first to last4 ,well1 then1--picture him to yourself1 reader1 a small1 delicate youth1 with fair1 prominent features1--long1 thin hair1--keen1 eager1 large1 blue eyes1 glancing out from right to left1 as he walks the streets of ,babylon1--and seizing with a quick impulsiveness every feeling of the hour4 ,still young1--and very young1--he has married for love4 ,he is living in a cottage or villakin on the outskirts of town1 where there is just a peep of green to keep one's feelings fresh2 and he is writing for the stage4 ,it is hard work1 and sometimes the dun is at the door1 and contact is inevitable with men who don't understand the precious jewel he weareth in his head2--but the week's hard work is got through somehow2 and on ,sundays he sallies forth for rural air with a little knot of friends1 and the talk is of art1 and letters1 and the world4 ,so quick and keen a nature as his had immense buoyancy in it4 ,nay1 for the very dun young ,douglas had an epigram1--as bright1 but not as welcome1 as a sovereign4 ,a saying of those early days has found its way into a comedy1--but not the less belongs to his authentic biography4 ,a threatening attorney shakes his fist at the villakin where at the window the wit is parleying with him4 ,i'll put a man in the house1 ,sir6 ,couldn't you1 says ,douglas1 7and of course the right-minded reader is shocked17 couldn't you make it a woman8 ,what a scandalous way to treat a man of business6 ,between ,douglas and the lawyers1 for many years1 there was open war4 ,he was a kind of ,robin ,hood to these representatives of the ,crown1--adopting the plucky and defiant gaiety of the old outlaw1 and shooting keen arrows at them with a bow that never grew weak4 ,the theatres were his regular sources of employment for many years1 and he wrote dramas at a salary4 ,tradition and family connection must have led him chiefly to this walk2 for though he had some of the most important qualities of a dramatist1 very few of his dramas seem likely to live1--and even these are not equal to his works in other departments4 ,the ,man made of ,money will outlast his best play4 ,his most popular drama1--,black-eyed ,susan1--though clever1 pretty1 and tender1 is not1 as a work of art1 worthy of his genius2 nor did he consider it so himself4 ,in his dramas we find1 ,i think1 rather touches of character1 than characters1--scenes1 rather than plots1--disjecta membra of dramatic genius1 rather than harmonious creations of it4 ,he could not separate himself from his work sufficiently for the purposes of the higher stage4 ,as ,johnson says of ,cato1 ,we pronounce the name of ,cato1 but we think on ,addison1--so one may say of any character of ,jerrold's1 that it suggests and refers us to its author4 ,all the gold has his head on it4 ,to be sure1 there is plenty of gold2 and ,i wish somebody would put his scores of plays1 big and little1 into a kind of wine-press and give us the wine4 ,there is always the wit of the man1 whether the play be ,gertrude's ,cherries1 or ,the ,smoked ,mixer1 or ,fifteen ,years of a ,drunkard's ,life1--or what not4 ,that quality never failed him4 ,he dresses up all his characters in that brilliant livery4 ,but dialogue is not enough for the stage1 and compared with the attraction of an intense action is nothing4 ,besides1 ,jerrold found the modern taste for spectacle forming thirty years ago4 ,in his prefaces he complains bitterly of the preference of the public for the mechanical over the higher attractions of the art4 ,and the satirical war he waged against actors and managers showed that he looked back with little pleasure to the days when his life was chiefly occupied with them and their affairs4 ,it may be mentioned here1 that he was very shabbily treated by several people who owed fame and fortune to his genius4 ,i have heard a curious story about his connection with ,davidge1 manager of the ,surrey1--the original1 as ,i take it1 of his ,bajazet ,gay4 ,they say that he had used ,douglas very ill1--that ,douglas invoked this curse upon him1--that he might live to keep his carriage1 and yet not be able to ride in it1--and that it was fulfilled1 curiously1 to the letter4 ,the ancient gods1 we know1 took the comic poet under their protection and avenged him4 ,was this a case of the kind1--or but a flying false anecdote8 ,i would not be certain2--but at least1 when ,davidge died one evening1 and ,douglas was informed of the hour1 he remarked1 ,i did not think he would have died before the half-price came in6 ,sordid fellows are not safe from genius even in the grave4 ,it spoils their sepulchral monuments1--as the old heralds tore the armorial blazonry from plebeian tombs4 ,his first fame and success1 however1 were owing to the ,drama2 and though his non-dramatic labors were greater and still more successful1 he never altogether left the stage4 ,i repeat1 that ,i value his plays1 most1 because they helped to discipline him for his after-work2 and ,i thank the theatre chiefly for ripening in its heat the philosophic humorist4 ,that was the real character of the man4 ,he tried many things1 and he produced much2 but the root of him was that he was a humorous thinker4 ,he did not write first-rate plays1 or first-rate novels1 rich as he was in the elements of playwright and novelist4 ,he was not an artist4 ,but he had a rare and original eye and soul1--and in a peculiar way he could pour out himself4 ,in short1 to be an ,essayist was the bent of his nature and genius4 ,english literature is rich in such men1--in men whose works are cherished for the individuality they reveal4 ,what the ,song is in poetry the ,essay is in prose4 ,the producer pours out himself in his own way1 and cannot be separated even in thought from that which he has produced4 ,jerrold's characters in plays and novels are interesting to me because they are ,jerrold in masquerade4 ,but none of us are just what we should like to be4 ,fortune has her say in the matter2 and as ,bacon observes1 a man's fortune works on his nature1 and his nature on his fortune4 ,many a play ,jerrold no doubt wrote when he would rather have been writing something else1--and so on1 as life rolled by1 and the day that was passing over him required to be provided for4 ,his fight for fame was long and hard2 and his life was interrupted1 like that of other men1 by sickness and pain4 ,in the stoop in his gait1 in the lines in his face1 you saw the man who had reached his ,ithaca by no mere yachting over summer seas4 ,and hence1 no doubt1 the utter absence in him of all that conventionalism which marks the man of quiet experience and habitual conformity to the world4 ,in the streets1 a stranger would have known ,jerrold to be a remarkable man2 you would have gone away speculating on him4 ,in talk1 he was still ,jerrold2--not ,douglas ,jerrold1 ,esq41 a successful gentleman1 whose heart and soul you were expected to know nothing about1 and with whom you were to eat your dinner peaceably1 like any common man4 ,no4 ,he was at all times ,douglas the peculiar and unique1--with his history in his face1 and his genius on his tongue1--nay1 and after a little1 with his heart on his sleeve4 ,this made him piquant2 and the same character makes his writings piquant4 ,hence1 too1 he is often quaint1--a word which describes what no other word does1--always conveying a sense of originality1 and of what1 when we wish to be condemnatory1 we call egotism1 but which1 when it belongs to genius1 is delightful4 ,as he became better known1 he wrote in higher quarters4 ,men of ,character appeared in ,blackwood1--a curious collection of philosophical stories2--for artist he was not2 he was always a thinker4 ,he had a way of dressing up a bit of philosophical observation into a story very happily4 ,he had much feeling for symbol1 and1 like the old architects1 would fill all things1 pretty or ugly1 with meaning4 ,when one reads these stories1 one does not feel as if it were the writer's vocation to be a story-teller1 but as if he were using the story as a philosophical toy4 ,and it was fortunate for him that he fell on an age of periodicals1 a class of works which just suited his genius4 ,he and the modern development of periodical literature grew up together1 and grew prosperous together4 ,he was never completely known in ,england till after the establishment of ,punch4 ,an independent and original organ just suited him1 above all2 for there he had the full play which he required as a humorist1 and as a self-formed man with a peculiar style and experience4 ,punch was the ,argo which conveyed him to the ,golden ,fleece4 ,up to the time of the appearance of this journal1 ,jerrold had scattered himself very freely over periodical literature4 ,he had conquered a position4 ,he had formed his mind4 ,he had seen the world in many phases1 and besides his knowledge of ,london1 had varied his experience of that city by a lengthened residence in ,france4 ,still1 he had not yet caught the nation1--there being many degrees of celebrity below that stage of it2 and now1 in middle life1 his best and crowning success was to begin4 ,i believe that ,jerrold had long desiderated a ,punch2 but it is certain that the present famous periodical of that name was started by his son-in-law1 ,mr4 ,henry ,mayhew4 ,for a while it had no great success1 and the copyright was sold for a small sum to ,messrs4 ,bradbury and ,evans4 ,success came1 and such a success that ,punch must always last as part of the comic literature of ,england4 ,that literature is rich in political as well as other forms of satire2 and from various causes1 about the time of ,punch1 political satire was at a low ebb4 ,the newspapers no longer published squibs as they once had done4 ,the days of the ,hooks and ,moores had gone by2 there was nobody to do with the pen what ,h4 ,b4 did with the pencil4 ,so ,punch was at once a novelty and a necessity1--from its width of scope1 its joint pictorial and literary character1 and its exclusive devotion to the comic features of the age4 ,figaro 7a satirical predecessor1 by ,mr4 ,beckett7 had been very clever1 but wanted many of ,punch's features1 and was1 above all1 not so calculated to hit society and get into families4 ,jerrold's first papers of mark in ,punch were those signed ,q4 ,his style was now formed1 as his mind was1 and these papers bear the stamp of his peculiar way of thinking and writing4 ,assuredly1 his is a peculiar style in the strict sense2 and as marked as that of ,carlyle or ,dickens4 ,you see the self-made man in it1--a something sui generis1--not formed on the classical models1 but which has grown up with a kind of twist in it1 like a tree that has had to force its way up surrounded by awkward environments4 ,fundamentally1 the man is a thinking humorist2 but his mode of expression is strange4 ,the perpetual inversions1 the habitual irony1 the mingled tenderness and mockery1 give a kind of gnarled surface to the style1 which is pleasant when you get familiar with it1 but which repels the stranger1 and to some people even remains permanently disagreeable4 ,i think it was his continual irony which at last brought him to writing as if under a mask2 whereas it would have been better to write out flowingly1 musically1 and lucidly4 ,his mixture of satire and kindliness always reminds me of those lanes near ,beyrout in which you ride with the prickly-pear bristling alongside of you1 and yet can pluck the grapes which force themselves among it from the fields4 ,inveterately satirical as ,jerrold is1 he is even spoonily tender at the same time2 and it lay deep in his character2 for this wit and bon-vivant1 the merriest and wittiest man of the company1 would cry like a child1 as the night drew on1 and the talk grew serious4 ,no theory could be more false than that he was a cold-blooded satirist1--sharp as steel is sharp1 from being hard4 ,the basis of his nature was sensitiveness and impulsiveness4 ,his wit is not of the head only1 but of the heart1--often sentimental1 and constantly fanciful1 that is1 dependent on a quality which imperatively requires a sympathetic nature to give it full play4 ,take those ,punch papers which soon helped to make ,punch famous1 and ,jerrold himself better known4 ,take the ,story of a ,feather1 as a good expression of his more earnest and tender mood4 ,how delicately all the part about the poor actress is worked up6 ,how moral1 how stoical1 the feeling that pervades it6 ,the bitterness is healthy1--healthy as bark4 ,we cannot always be ,seeing only what is fair1 ,sipping only what is sweet1 in the presence of such phenomena as are to be seen in ,london alongside of our civilization4 ,if any feeling of ,jerrold's was intense1 it was his feeling of sympathy with the poor4 ,i shall not soon forget the energy and tenderness with which he would quote these lines of his favorite ,hood3-- ,poor ,peggy sells flowers from street to street1 ,and--think of that1 ye who find life sweet6-- ,she hates the smell of roses4 ,he was1 therefore1 to be pardoned when he looked with extreme suspicion and severity on the failings of the rich4 ,they at least1 he knew1 were free from those terrible temptations which beset the unfortunate4 ,they could protect themselves4 ,they needed to be reminded of their duties4 ,such was his view1 though ,i don't think he ever carried it so far as he was accused of doing4 ,nay1 ,i think he sometimes had to prick up his zeal before assuming the flagellum4 ,for a successful1 brilliant man like himself1--full of humor and wit1--eminently convivial1 and sensitive to pleasure1--the temptation rather was to adopt the easy philosophy that every thing was all right1--that the rich were wise to enjoy themselves with as little trouble as possible1--and that the poor 7good fellows1 no doubt7 must help themselves on according as they got a chance4 ,it was to ,douglas's credit that he always felt the want of a deeper and holier theory1 and that1 with all his gaiety1 he felt it incumbent on him to use his pen as an implement of what he thought reform4 ,indeed1 it was a well-known characteristic of his1 that he disliked being talked of as a wit4 ,he thought 7with justice7 that he had something better in him than most wits1 and he sacredly cherished high aspirations4 ,to him buffoonery was pollution4 ,he attached to salt something of the sacredness which it bears in the ,east4 ,he was fuller of repartee than any man in ,england1 and yet was about the last man that would have condescended to be what is called a diner-out4 ,it is a fact which illustrates his mind1 his character1 and biography4 ,the ,q4 papers1 ,i say1 were the first essays which attracted attention in ,punch4 ,in due time followed his ,punch's ,letters to his ,son1 and ,complete ,letter-,writer1 with the ,story of a ,feather1 mentioned above4 ,a basis of philosophical observation1 tinged with tenderness1 and a dry1 ironical humor1--all1 like the ,scottish lion in heraldry1 within a double tressure-fleury and counter-fleury of wit and fancy1--such is a ,jerroldian paper of the best class in ,punch4 ,it stands out by itself from all the others1--the sharp1 critical knowingness1 sparkling with puns1 of ,beckett1--the inimitable1 wise1 easy1 playful1 worldly1 social sketch of ,thackeray4 ,in imagery he had no rivals there2 for his mind had a very marked tendency to the ornamental and illustrative1--even to the grotesque4 ,in satire1 again1 he had fewer competitors than in humor2--sarcasms lurk under his similes1 like wasps in fruit or flowers4 ,i will just quote one specimen from a casual article of his1 because it happens to occur to my memory1 and because it illustrates his manner4 ,the ,chronicle had been attacking some artists in whom he took an interest4 ,in replying1 he set out by telling how in some vine countries they repress the too luxuriant growths by sending in asses to crop the shoots4 ,then he remarked gravely1 that young artists required pruning1 and added1 ,how thankful we ought all to be that the ',chronicle' keeps a donkey6 ,this is an average specimen of his playful way of ridiculing4 ,in sterner moods he was grander4 ,of a ,jew money-lender he said1 that he might die like ,judas1 but that he had no bowels to gush out2--also1 that he would have sold our ,saviour for more money4 ,an imaginative color distinguished his best satire1 and it had the deadly and wild glitter of war-rockets4 ,this was the most original quality1 too1 of his satire1 and just the quality which is least common in our present satirical literature4 ,he had read the old writers1--,browne1 ,donne1 ,fuller1 and ,cowley1--and was tinged with that richer and quainter vein which so emphatically distinguishes them from the prosaic wits of our day4 ,his weapons reminded you of ,damascus rather than ,birmingham4 ,a wit with a mission1--this was the position of ,douglas in the last years of his life4 ,accordingly he was a little ashamed of the immense success of the ,caudle ,lectures1--the fame of which ,i remember being bruited about the ,mediterranean in #ahde1--;and which1 as social drolleries1 set nations laughing4 ,douglas took their celebrity rather sulkily4 ,he did not like to be talked of as a funny man4 ,however1 they just hit the reading ,english1--always domestic in their literary as in their other tastes1--and so helped to establish ,punch and to diffuse ,jerrold's name4 ,he began now to be a ,power in popular literature2 and coming to be associated with the liberal side of ,punch1 especially1 the ,radicals throughout ,britain hailed him as a chief4 ,hence1 in due course1 his newspaper and his magazine1--both of which might have been permanently successful establishments1 had his genius for business borne any proportion to his genius for literature4 ,this1 however1 was by no manner of means the case4 ,his nature was altogether that of a literary man and artist4 ,he could not speak in public4 ,he could not manage money matters4 ,he could only write and talk1--and these rather as a kind of improvvisatore1 than as a steady1 reading1 bookish man1 like a ,mackintosh or a ,macaulay4 ,his politics partook of this character1 and ,i always used to think that it was a queer destiny which made him a ,radical teacher4 ,the ,radical literature of ,england is1 with few exceptions1 of a prosaic character4 ,the most famous school of radicalism is utilitarian and systematic4 ,douglas was1 emphatically1 neither4 ,he was impulsive1 epigrammatic1 sentimental4 ,he dashed gaily against an institution1 like a picador at a bull4 ,he never sat down1 like the regular workers of his party1 to calculate the expenses of monarchy or the extravagance of the civil list4 ,he had no notion of any sort of economy4 ,i don't know that he had ever taken up political science seriously1 or that he had any preference for one kind or form of government over another4 ,i repeat1--his radicalism was that of a humorist4 ,he despised big-wigs1 and pomp of all sorts1 and1 above all1 humbug and formalism4 ,but his radicalism was important as a sign that our institutions are ceasing to be picturesque2 of which1 if you consider his nature1 you will see that his radicalism was a sign4 ,and he did service to his cause4 ,not an abuse1 whether from the corruption of something old1 or the injustice of something new1 but ,douglas was out against it with his sling4 ,he threw his thought into some epigram which stuck4 ,praising journalism once1 he said1 ,when ,luther wanted to crush the ,devil1 didn't he throw ink at him8 ,recommending ,australia1 he wrote1 ,earth is so kindly there1 that1 tickle her with a hoe1 and she laughs with a harvest4 ,the last of these sayings is in his best manner1 and would be hard to match anywhere for grace and neatness4 ,here was a man to serve his cause1 for he embodied its truths in forms of beauty4 ,his use to his party could not be measured like that of commoner men1 because of the rarity and attractive nature of the gifts which he brought to its service4 ,they had a kind of incalculable value1 like that of a fine day1 or of starlight4 ,he was now immersed in literary activity4 ,he had all kinds of work on hand4 ,he brought out occasionally a five-act comedy1 full as usual of wit4 ,he wrote in ,punch1--started a newspaper1--started a magazine1--published a romance1--all within a few years of each other4 ,the romance was ,a ,man made of ,money1 which bids fair1 ,i think1 to be read longer than any of his works4 ,it is one of those fictions in which1 as in ,zanoni1 ,peter ,schlemil1 and others1 the supernatural appears as an element1 and yet is made to conform itself in action to real and every-day life1 in such a way that the understanding is not shocked1 because it reassures itself by referring the supernatural to the regions of allegory4 ,shall we call this a kind of bastard-allegory8 ,jericho1 when he first appears1 is a common man of the common world4 ,he is a money-making1 grasping man1 yet with a bitter savour of satire about him which raises him out of the common place4 ,presently it turns out1 that by putting his hand to his heart he can draw away bank-notes1--only that it is his life he is drawing away4 ,the conception is fine and imaginative1 and ought to rank with the best of those philosophical stories so fashionable in the last century4 ,its working-out in the every-day part is brilliant and pungent2 and much ingenuity is shown in connecting the tragic and mysterious element in ,jericho's life with the ordinary1 vain1 worldly existence of his wife and daughters4 ,it is startling to find ourselves in the regions of the impossible1 just as we are beginning to know the persons of the fable4 ,but the mind reassures itself4 ,this ,jericho1 with his mysterious fate1--is not he1 in this twilight of fiction1 shadowing to us the real destiny of real money-grubbers whom we may see any day about our doors8 ,has not the money become the very life of many such8 ,and so feeling1 the reader goes pleasantly on1--just excited a little1 and raised out of the ordinary temperature in which fiction is read1 by the mystic atmosphere through which he sees things1--and ends1 acknowledging that with much pleasure he has also gathered a good moral4 ,for his mere amusement the best fireworks have been cracking round him on his journey4 ,in short1 ,i esteem this ,jerrold's best book1--the one which contains most of his mind4 ,certain aspects of his mind1 indeed1 may be seen even to better advantage in others of his works2 his sentimental side1 for instance1 in ,clovernook1 where he has let his fancy run riot like honeysuckle1 and overgrow every thing2 his wit in ,time works ,wonders1 which blazes with epigrams like ,vauxhall with lamps4 ,but ,a ,man made of ,money is the completest of his books as a creation1 and the most characteristic in point of style1--is based on a principle which predominated in his mind1--is the most original in imaginativeness1 and the best sustained in point and neatness1 of the works he has left4 ,during the years of which ,i have just been speaking1 ,jerrold lived chiefly in a villa at ,putney1 and afterwards at ,st4 ,john's ,wood1--the mention of which fact leads me to enter on a description of him in his private1 social1 and friendly relations4 ,now-a-days it is happily expected of every man who writes of another to recognize his humanity1--not to treat him as a machine for the production of this or that--scientific1 or literary1 or other--material4 ,homo sum is the motto of the biographer1 and so of the humbler biographic sketcher4 ,jerrold is just one of those who require and reward this kind of personal sympathy and attention2--so radiant was the man of all that he put into his books6--so quick1 so warm1 so full of light and life1 wit and impulse6 ,he was one of the few who in their conversation entirely come up to their renown4 ,he sparkled wherever you touched him1 like the sea at night4 ,the first thing ,i have to remark1 in treating of ,jerrold the man1 is the entire harmony between that figure and ,jerrold the writer4 ,he talked very much as he wrote1 and he acted in life on the principles which he advocated in literature4 ,he united1 remarkably1 simplicity of character with brilliancy of talk4 ,for instance1 with all his success1 he never sought higher society than that which he found himself gradually and by a natural momentum borne into1 as he advanced4 ,he never suppressed a flash of indignant sarcasm for fear of startling the genteel classes and ,mrs4 ,grundy4 ,he never aped aristocracy in his household4 ,he would go to a tavern for his oysters and a glass of punches simply as they did in ,ben ,jonson's days2 and ,i have heard of his doing so from a sensation of boredom at a very great house indeed1--a house for the sake of an admission to which1 half ,bayswater would sell their grandmothers' bones to a surgeon4 ,this kind of thing stamped him in our polite days as one of the old school1 and was exceedingly refreshing to observe in an age when the anxious endeavour of the ,english middle classes is to hide their plebeian origin under a mockery of patrician elegance4 ,he had none of the airs of success or reputation1--none of the affectations1 either personal or social1 which are rife everywhere4 ,he was manly and natural1--free and off-handed to the verge of eccentricity4 ,independence and marked character seemed to breathe from the little1 rather bowed figure1 crowned with a lion-like head and falling light hair1--to glow in the keen1 eager1 blue eyes glancing on either side as he walked along4 ,nothing could be less commonplace1 nothing less conventional1 than his appearance in a room or in the streets4 ,his quick1 impulsive nature made him a great talker1 and conspicuously convivial1--yea1 convivial1 at times1 up to heights of vinous glory which the ,currans and ,sheridans shrank not from1 but which a respectable age discourages4 ,and here ,i must undertake the task of saying something about his conversational wit1--so celebrated1 yet so difficult 7as is notoriously the case with all wits7 to do justice to on paper4 ,the first thing that struck you was his extreme readiness in conversation4 ,he gave the electric spark whenever you put your knuckle to him4 ,the first time ,i called on him in his house at ,putney1 ,i found him sipping claret4 ,we talked of a certain dull fellow whose wealth made him prominent at that time4 ,yes1 said ,jerrold1 drawing his finger round the edge of his wineglass1 that's the range of his intellect1--only it had never any thing half so good in it4 ,i quote this merely as one of the average bons-mots which made the small change of his ordinary conversation4 ,he would pun1 too1 in talk1 which he scarcely ever did in writing4 ,thus he extemporized as an epitaph for his friend ,charles ,knight1 ,,good ,,night6--,when ,mrs4 ,glover complained that her hair was turning gray1--from using essence of lavender 7as she said71--he asked her whether it wasn't essence of thyme8 ,on the occasion of starting a convivial club1 7he was very fond of such clubs17 somebody proposed that it should consist of twelve members1 and be called ,the ,zodiac1--each member to be named after a sign4 ,and what shall ,i be8 inquired a somewhat solemn man1 who feared that they were filled up4 ,oh1 we'll bring you in as the weight in ,libra1 was the instant remark of ,douglas4 ,a noisy fellow had long interrupted a company in which he was4 ,at last the bore said of a certain tune1 ,it carries me away with it4 ,for ,god's sake1 said ,jerrold1 let somebody whistle it4--,such dicteria1 as the ,romans called them1 bristled over his talk4 ,and he flashed them out with an eagerness1 and a quiver of his large1 somewhat coarse mouth1 which it was quite dramatic to see4 ,his intense chuckle showed how hearty was his gusto for satire1 and that wit was a regular habit of his mind4 ,i shall set down here some ,jerroldiana current in ,london1--some heard by myself1 or otherwise well authenticated4 ,remember how few we have of ,george ,selwyn's1 ,hanbury ,williams's1 ,hook's1 or indeed any body's1 and you will not wonder that my handful is not larger4 ,when the well-known ,letters of ,miss ,martineau and ,atkinson appeared1 ,jerrold observed that their creed was1 ,there is no ,god1 and ,miss ,martineau is his prophet4 ,i have had such a curious dinner6 said ,c4 ,calves' tails4--,extremes meet1 ,douglas said1 instantly4 ,he admired ,carlyle2 but objected that he did not give definite suggestions for the improvement of the age which he rebuked4 ,here1 said he1 is a man who beats a big drum under my windows1 and when ,i come running down stairs has nowhere for me to go4 ,a wild ,republican said profanely1 that ,louis ,blanc was next to ,jesus ,christ--,on which side8 asked the wit4 ,pretty ,miss ----1 the actress1 being mentioned1 he praised her early beauty4 ,she was a lovely little thing1 he said1 when she was a bud1 and--7a pause7--before she was a blowen'4--,this was in a very merry vein1 and the serious reader must forgive me4 ,he called a small1 thin ,london littrateur of his acquaintance1 a pin without the head or the point4 ,when a plain1 not to say ugly1 gentleman intimated his intention of being godfather to somebody's child1 ,jerrold begged him not to give the youngster his mug4 ,a dedication to him being spoken of1--,ah6 said he1 with mock gravity1 that's an awful power that ---- has in his hands6 ,carlyle and a much inferior man being coupled by some sapient review as biographers1--,those two joined6 he exclaimed4 ,you can't plough with an ox and an ass4 ,is the legacy to be paid immediately8 inquired somebody1--apropos of a will which made some noise4--,yes1 on the coffin-nail1 answered he4 ,being told that a recent play had been done to order1--he observed1 that it would be done to a good many 'orders1' he feared4 ,it may be honestly said that these are average specimens of the pleasantries which flowed from him in congenial society4 ,his talk was full of such1 among friends and acquaintance1 and he certainly enjoyed the applause which they excited4 ,but in his graver and tenderer moods1 in the country walks and lounges of which he was fond1 his range was higher and deeper4 ,for a vein of natural poetry and piety ran through the man1--wit and satirist as he was1--and appeared in his speech1 occasionally1 as in his writings4 ,a long habit of indulgence in epigram had made him rather apt to quiz his friends4 ,but we are to remember that he was encouraged in this1 and that a self-indulgent man is only too liable to have the nicety of his sensitiveness spoiled4 ,certainly1 he had a kind heart and good principles4 ,he would lend any man money1 or give any man help1--even to the extent of weakness and imprudence4 ,this was one reason why he died no better off1--and one reason why his friends have so much exerted themselves to pay a tribute to his memory in the shape of an addition to the provision he had made for his family4 ,the quickness of feeling which belonged to him made him somewhat ready to take offence4 ,but if he was easily ruffled1 he was easily smoothed4 ,of few men could you say1 that their natural impulses were better1 or that1 given such a nature and such a fortune1 they would have arrived at fifty-four years of age with so young a heart4 ,the last literary event of any magnitude in ,jerrold's life was his assuming the editorship of ,lloyd's ,newspaper4 ,this journal1 which before his connection with it had no position to brag of1 rose under his hands to great circulation and celebrity4 ,every week1 there you traced his hand at its old work of embroidering with queer and fanciful sarcasm some bit of what he thought timely and necessary truth4 ,against all tyrants1 all big-wigged impostors1 black1 white1 or gray1 was his hammer ringing1 and sparks of wit were flying about as ever under his hand4 ,he was getting up in years2 but still there seemed many to be hoped for him1 yet4 ,though not so active in schemes as formerly1 he still talked of works to be done2 and at ,our ,club1 and such-like friendly little associations1 the wit was all himself1 and came to our stated meetings as punctually as a star to its place in the sky4 ,he had suffered severely from illness1 especially from rheumatism1 at various periods of life2 and he had lived freely and joyously1 as was natural to a man of his peculiar gifts4 ,but1 death6 ,we never thought of the brilliant and radiant ,douglas in connection with the black river4 ,he would have sunk ,charon's boat with a shower of epigrams1 one would have fancied1 if the old fellow1 with his squalid beard1 had dared to ask him into the stern-sheets4 ,to more than one man who knew him intimately the first announcement of his decease was made by the ,times4 ,on the evening of the #aith of ,may1 ,i met him1--as ,i frequently did on ,saturday evenings1--and on no evening do ,i remember him more lively and brilliant4 ,next ,saturday1 ,i believe1 he was at the same kindly board2 but some accident kept me away2--,i never saw him again4 ,soon after1 he was taken ill4 ,there passed a week of much suffering4 ,june had come1 warm and rainy1 but our friend was dying4 ,the nature of the illness might be doubtful1 but there could be no doubt that the end was near4 ,he prepared himself to meet it4 ,he sent friendly messages of farewell to those he loved1 begging1 too1 that if what he had ever said had pained any one1 he might now be forgiven4 ,his mind was made up1 and his children were all about him4 ,on a fine evening in the first week of ,june1 he was moved to the window1 that he might see the sun setting4 ,on ,monday1 the eighth of that month1 being perfectly conscious almost till the very last1 he died4 ,the time is not yet come to discuss what his ultimate place will be in the literature of his century4 ,it will not be denied that he was a man of rare gifts1 and of a remarkable experience in life2 and his life and the popularity of his writings will by and by help posterity to understand this our generation4 ,meanwhile ,i shall leave him in his resting-place in ,norwood1 among the hills and fields of ,surrey1 near the grave of the friend of his youth1 the gentle and gifted ,laman ,blanchard1 where he was laid on the #aeth of ,june1 amidst a concourse of people not often assembled round the remains of one who has begun life as humbly as he did4 ,his death made a great impression2 and the acuteness with which his friends felt it said more than could be said in a long dissertation for the kindly and love-inspiring qualities of the man4 ,as soon as it appeared that his family were left in less prosperous circumstances than had been hoped1 their interest took an active form4 ,a committee met to organize a plan by which the genius of those who had known ,jerrold might be employed in raising a provision for his family4 ,the rest has been duly recorded in the newspapers1 where the success of these benevolent exertions may be read4 ,,florentine ,,mosaics4 ,i4 ,,historical4 ,the capital of ,tuscany--according to its most respectable and veracious chroniclers--is the oldest city extant4 ,its history is traced with great accuracy up to the ,deluge1 which is as much as could be reasonably expected4 ,the egg of ,florence is ,fiesole4 ,this city1 according to the conscientious and exhaustive ,villani1 ,footnote3 ,cronica4 ,lib4 ,i4 c4 vii4 was built by a grandson of ,noah1 ,attalus by name1 who came into ,italy in order to avoid the confusion occasioned by the building of the ,tower of ,babel4 ,footnote3 per evitare la confusione creata per la edificazione della torre di ,babel1 etc4 ,noah and his wife had1 however1 already made a visit to ,tuscany1 soon after the ,deluge2 so that it is not remarkable that ,king ,attalus should have felt inclined to visit the estates of his ancestor4 ,at the same time1 it is obvious that the ,noahs had not been satisfied with the locality1 and had remigrated2 for ,attalus1 upon his arrival1 found ,italy entirely without inhabitants4 ,he1 therefore1 with great propriety claimed jurisdiction over the whole country1 elected himself king1 and his wife ,electra queen2 built himself a palace1 with a city attached to it2 and in short1 made himself1 generally1 at home4 ,we are also fortunate in having some genealogical particulars as to his wife's antecedents2 and it is to be regretted that modern historians1 of the skeptical1 the irreverent1 and the startling schools1 could not imitate the gravity1 the good faith1 and the respect for things established1 by which the elder chroniclers were inspired4 ,the apothecaries of the ,middle ,ages never dealt so unkindly with the ,pharaohs of ,egypt1 as the historical excavators of more recent times have done with the embalmed1 crowned1 and consecrated mummies which they have been pleased to denounce as delusions4 ,your ,potiphars or your ,mizraims1 even when converted into balsam1 or employed as a styptic1 were at least not denuded of their historical identity by the druggists who reduced their time-honored remains to a powder4 ,their dust was made merchandise1 but their characters were respected4 ,moreover1 there was an object and a motive1 even if mistaken ones1 on the part of the medival charlatans4 ,but what ointment1 what soothing syrup1 what panacea has been the result of all this pulverizing of ,semiramis and ,sardanapalus1 ,mucius ,scvola and ,junius ,brutus8 ,are all the characters graven so deeply by the stylus of ,clio upon so many monumental tablets1 and almost as indelibly and quite as painfully upon school-boy memory1 to be sponged out at a blow1 like chalk from a blackboard8 ,we1 at least1 cling fondly to our ,tarquins2 we shudder when the abyss of historic incredulity swallows up the familiar form of ,mettus ,curtius2 we refuse to be weaned from the she-wolf of ,romulus4 ,your unbelieving ,guy ,faux1 who approaches the stately superstructures of history1 not to gaze upon them with the eye of faith and veneration1 but only that he may descend to the vaults1 with his lantern and his keg of critical gunpowder1 in order to blow the whole fabric sky-high1--such an ill-conditioned trouble-tomb should be burned in effigy once a year4 ,electra1 then1 wife of ,attalus1 founder and king of ,fiesole1 was of very brilliant origin1 being no less than one of the ,pleiades1 and the only one of the sisters who seems to have married into a patriarchal family4 ,the reason why the seven stars are seven is a pretty reason2 but it is not because they are not eight1 as ,lear suggests1 but1 as we now discover by patient investigation1 because one of them had married and settled in ,tuscany4 ,we are not informed whether the lost ,pleiad1 thus found on the ,arno1 was happy or not1 after her removal from that more elevated sphere which she had just begun to move in4 ,but if respectability of connection and a pleasant locality be likely to insure contentment to a fallen star1 we have reason to believe that she found herself more comfortable than ,lucifer was after his emigration4 ,great care must be taken not to confound ,attalus with ,tantalus1--a blunder which1 as ,villani observes1 ,footnote3 ,cron4 ,lib4 ,i4 c4 vii4 is often committed by ignorant chroniclers4 ,but ,tantalus1 as we all very well know1 was the son of ,jupiter1 and grandson of ,saturn4 ,now we are quite sure that ,noah never married a daughter of ,saturn1 because that voracious heathen ate up all his children except ,jupiter4 ,this simple fact precludes all possibility of a connection with ,saturn by the mother's side1 and illustrates the advantage of patient historical investigation1 when founded upon a reverence for traditional authority4 ,had it not been for such an honest chronicler as ,giovanni ,villani1 our historic thirst might have been tantalized for seven centuries longer with this delusion4 ,certainly1 to confound ,tantalus1 ancestor of all the ,trojans1 with ,attalus1 ancestor of all the ,tuscans1 would be worse than that confusion of ,babel which the quiet-loving potentate came to ,florence to avoid4 ,attalus brought with him from ,babel an eminent astrologer and civil engineer1 who assured him1 after careful experiments1 that1 of all places in ,europe1 the mount of ,fiesole was the healthiest and the best4 ,he was therefore ordered to build the city there at once4 ,when finished1 it was called ,fia sola1 because of its solitariness2 ,attalus1 in consequence of his participation in the ,babel confusion1 having become familiar with ,tuscan several thousand years before that language was invented4 ,the city1 thus auspiciously established1 flourished forty or fifty centuries1 more or less1 without the occurrence of any event worth recording1 down to the time of ,catiline4 ,the ,fiesolans1 unfortunately1 aided and comforted that conspirator in his designs against ,rome1 and were well punished for their crime by ,julius ,csar1 who battered their whole town about their ears1 in consequence1 and then ploughed up their territory1 and sowed it with salt4 ,the harvest of that agricultural operation was reaped by ,florence2 for the conqueror immediately afterwards1 by command of the ,roman ,senate1 converted a little suburb at the bottom of the hill into a city4 ,into this the ,fiesolans removed at once1 and found themselves very comfortable there2 being saved the trouble of going up and down a mountain every time they came out and went home again4 ,florence took its name from one ,fiorino1 marshal of the camp1 in the ,roman army1 who was killed in the battle of ,fiesole4 ,as he was the flower of chivalry1 his name was thought of good augury2 the more so1 as roses and lilies sprang forth plenteously from the spot where he fell4 ,hence the fragrant and poetical name which the ,city of ,flowers has retained until our days2 and hence the cognizance of the three flowers-de-luce which it has borne upon its shield4 ,julius ,csar1 whose sword had severed the infant city from its dead mother in so ,csarean a fashion1 had set his heart upon calling the town after himself1 and took the contrary decree of the ,roman ,senate very much in dudgeon4 ,he therefore left the country in a huff1 and revenged himself by annihilating vast numbers of unfortunate ,gauls1 ,britons1 ,germans1 and other barbarians1 who happened to come in his way4 ,the first public edifice of any importance erected in the city was a temple to ,mars1 with a colossal statue of that divinity in the midst of it4 ,this is the present baptistery1 formerly cathedral1 of ,saint ,john2 for the temple never was destroyed1 and never can be destroyed1 until the day of judgment4 ,this we know on the authority of more than one eminent historian4 ,it is also proved by an inscription to that effect in the mosaic pavement1 which any one may inspect who chooses to do so4 ,footnote3 ,villani1 ,cron4 ,lib4 ,i4 c4 xlii4 ,the town was utterly destroyed ,a4,d4 #dej1 by ,totila1 ,flagellum ,dei1 who1 with great want of originality1 immediately rebuilt ,fiesole2 thus repeating1 but reversing1 the achievement of the ,romans five hundred years before4 ,so ,fiesole and ,florence seem to have alternately filled and emptied themselves1 like two buckets in a well1 down to the time of ,charlemagne4 ,that emperor rebuilt ,florence1 but experienced some difficulty in doing so1 by reason of the statue of ,mars1 which had been thrown into the ,arno4 ,the temple1 converted to ,christian purposes1 had been the only building to escape the wrath of ,totila2 but owing to the pagan incantations practised when the town was originally consecrated to the god of war1 the statue of that divinity would not consent to lie quietly and ignominiously in the bed of the ,arno1 while his temple and town were appropriated to other purposes4 ,the river was dragged4 ,the statue was found and set upon a column near the edge of the river1 on a spot which is now the head of the ,ponte ,vecchio4 ,true to its pugnacious character1 it brought nothing but turbulence and bloodshed upon the town4 ,the long and memorable feuds between the ,guelphs and ,ghibellines began by the slaying of ,buondelmonte in his wedding dress1 at the base of the statue4 7,a4,d4 #abae47 ,there could be no better foundation for romance or drama than the famous ,buondelmonte marriage1 before which1 sings ,dante1 ,florence had never cause to shed a tear1 and after which the white lily of her escutcheon was dyed red in her heart's blood4 ,there were four noble families in ,florence1 of surpassing importance1--the ,buondelmonti1 the ,uberti1 the ,donati1 and the ,amidei4 ,a match-making widow of the ,donati has a daughter of extraordinary beauty1 whom she intends to bestow in marriage upon the young chief of the ,buondelmonti4 ,before she has time to complete her arrangements1 however1 ,buondelmonte betroths himself to a daughter of the house of ,amidei4 ,signora ,donati waylays him1 as he passes the door1 and suddenly displays to him the fatal beauty of her daughter4 ,she should have been your bride1 said the widow1 had you not been so hasty4 ,the gentleman1 dazzled by the beauty of the girl1 and satisfied by the prudent mother as to the dowry1 marries ,signorina ,donati upon the spot4 ,next day1 riding across the ,ponte ,vecchio upon a white horse1 he is beset by a party of friends and relatives of the deserted damsel1 and killed close by the statue of ,mars4 ,all the nobles of ,florence take part in the question2 upon one side the ,nerli1 the ,frescobaldi1 the ----2 but courage1 gentle reader1 as ,tristram ,shandy observes1 in his famous historical chapter upon ,calais2 ,i scorn it2 'tis enough to have thee in my power2 but to make use of the advantage which the fortune of the pen has now gained over thee would be too much4 ,thirty years long1 then1 the town gates were all fastened1 and the streets all chained1 so as to make many little compact inclosures for slaughtering purposes2 while the whites and blacks1 ,guelphs and ,ghibellines1 red caps and brown1 all buffeted each other pell-mell4 ,to the exhaustion thus produced of noble blood is often ascribed the establishment of a popular government at the close of the thirteenth century4 ,the causes lay really much deeper1 however1--in the great revolutions consequent upon the extinction of the ,suabian dynasty1 and in the wonderful progress in culture made by the ,florentine democracy4 ,o ,buondelmonte1 quanto mal fuggisti ,le nozze sue per gli altrui conforti6 ,molti sarebber lieti1 che son tristi1 ,se ,dio t' avesse conceduto ad ,ema ,la prima volta ch' a citt venisti4 ,ma conveniasi a quella pietra scema ,che guarda il ponte1 che ,fiorenza fesse ,vittima nella sua pace postrema4 ,con queste genti1 e con altre con esse1 ,vid' io ,fiorenza in s fatto riposo1 ,che non avea cagione onde piangesse4 ,con queste genti vid' io glorioso ,e giusto il popol suo tanto1 che 'l giglio ,non era ad asta mai posto a ritroso1 ,n per division fatto vermiglio4 ,paradiso1 ,,xvi4 #adj-aed4 ,,ii4 ,,san ,,miniato4 ,the walk to the church of ,san ,miniato is a paved1 steep path1 through olive orchards fringed by a row of cypresses1 to the little church of ,san ,salvadore2 thence1 through a garden of roses and cabbages1 fresh and fragrant in the ,december sun1 to the convent of ,miniato4 ,from the terrace is one of the best views of the city2 not so fine1 however1 as that from ,bello ,sguardo4 ,the gentle1 beautiful chain of hills which encircle ,florence smile cheerfully in the sunshine1 clapping their hands and skipping like lambs1 if little hills ever did make such a demonstration4 ,these environs of the town are like a frame of golden filigree1 almost too fantastic a one for so shadowy and sombre a city4 ,the green hill-sides and plains are sown thickly with palaces and villas glancing whitely through silvery forests of olives and myrtle2 while the distant ,apennines1 like guardian giants1 lift their icy shields in the distance4 ,the church is built upon the grave of the eminent saint1 ,miniato4 ,this personage was1 it seems1 the son of the king of ,armenia1--very much as all the heroes in the ,arabian ,nights are sons of the emperor of ,china4 ,having been converted to ,christianity1 he was offered by the emperor ,decius great honors and rewards suitable to his royal rank1 if he would renounce his faith4 7,a4,d4 #bej47 ,he refused1 and the emperor cut off his head4 ,the execution took place in ,florence1 on the north side of the ,arno4 ,the holy man was not so easily disposed of1 however2 for he immediately clapped his head upon his shoulders again1 and holding it on with both hands1 waded across the river1 and marched steadily up the hill on the other side4 ,arrived at the top1 he gave up his head and the ghost4 ,hence the convent and church of ,san ,miniato4 ,the church1 to an architectural student1 is interesting and important4 ,a man needs a good eye and a good education to feel and thoroughly appreciate the grand symphonies which this wonderful architectural music of the ,middle ,ages has so long been silently playing4 ,san ,miniato belongs to the close of the ,romanesque or ,latin period4 ,the early ,christian school had expired in the midst of the general convulsions of the ninth and tenth centuries1--in the struggles of an effete and expiring antiquity with the brutal1 blundering1 but vigorous infancy of medival ,europe4 ,during the three centuries which succeeded1 there was rather a warming into unnatural life of the mighty corpse1 than the birth of a new organism1 capable of healthy existence and unlimited reproduction4 ,the ,romanesque art seems to have dealt with the ancient forms1 without moulding any thing essentially and vitally new4 ,where there seemed originality1 it was1 after all1 only a theft from the ,saracenic or ,byzantine1 and the plagiarism became incongruity when engrafted upon the ,roman4 ,thus a ,latin church was often but an early ,christian basilica with a ,moorish arcade4 ,the ,san ,miniato has an arcade1 of course not pointed1 upon the faade and the interior4 ,its tessellated marble work1 its ancient mosaics1 with its ,roman capitals and columns1 all make it interesting4 ,these last show that at the close of the epoch1 even as at its beginning1 the chain which binds the school to the ancient ,roman is fastened anew4 ,the frescos in the sacristy1 by ,spinello ,aretino1 painted at the end of the fourteenth century1 are singularly well preserved1--fresh as if painted yesterday4 ',tis a great pity that the works of other masters of the same age1 ,spinello's superiors1 could not have been as fortunate4 ,if the frescos of ,orgagna1 and of ,benozzo ,gozzoli in the ,campo ,santo at ,pisa1 were in as good condition1 it would be much more satisfactory4 ,these pictures of ,spinello are drawn with much boldness and energy1 but it is not the fortunate audacity of ,orgagna4 ,they are much more the work of a mechanic1 not self-distrustful1 but with comparatively little feeling for the higher range of artistic expression4 ,they are quite destitute of sentiment1 but are not without a strong1 rough1 hardy humor4 ,the drawing is far from accurate1 but the coloring is well laid on4 ,they represent the life and adventures of ,saint ,benedict1 are of colossal size1 and depict the saint in various striking positions4 ,here he is portrayed as rescuing a brother friar from the inconveniences resulting from a house having fallen upon him2 in another he is miraculously mending a crockery jug belonging to his nurse2 and in a third he is unsuccessfully attempting to move a large stone1 upon which the ,devil has seated himself1 much to ,benedict's discomfiture4 ,the fiend is drawn1 con amore1 in black1 with hairy hide1 bat's wings1 and a monkey's tail2 the traditional ,devil who has come down to us unharmed through all the vicissitudes of the ,middle ,ages4 ,the saints and friars are generally attired in mazarine blue4 ,,iii4 ,,academy ,,of ,,the ,,fine ,,arts4 ,there is here a large hall1 containing a brief chronicle of the progress of painting from ,cimabue to--,carlo ,dolce6 ,there may be a still deeper descent2 but that is bathos sufficient for any lover of his species4 ,it is desirable to look at these painters of the thirteenth1 fourteenth1 and fifteenth centuries with some reference to the political condition of ,florence and of ,italy at that time4 ,in truth1 ,florence during the period of its life was ,italy1--the vivida vis1 creative1 contemplative1 ornative1 impulsive to the clay of ,europe4 ,the art of painting seems to spring full-grown into existence1 with the appearance of ,cimabue in the latter part of the thirteenth century4 ,even so the ,italian language suddenly crystallizes itself into a brilliant and perpetual type1 at the same epoch as the wondrous poem of ,dante flashes forth from the brooding chaos1--the fiat lux of a new intellectual world4 ,the ,emperor ,frederic ,,ii41 last of the imperial ,hohenstaufens1 died in #abej4 ,chivalrous1 adventurous1 despotic1 as became the head of the conquering ,german races at their epoch of triumph1--imaginative1 poetical1 debauched1 atheistical1 as might be expected of a prince born in ,italy1 he seemed to justify the somewhat incongruous eagerness with which the ,florentine mind sought political salvation in the bosom of the ,church4 ,yet here seems the fatal flaw in the liberal system of ,italy at that period4 ,the ,ghibelline party was at least consistent4 ,to be an imperialist1 a ,hohenstaufenite1 was at least definite2 as much so as to be an absolutist1 a ,habsburgite1 a ,napoleonite to-day4 ,but to be a ,guelph1--to be in favor of municipal development1 local self-government1 intellectual progress1 and to fight for all these things under the banner of the ,church1 in an age which witnessed the establishment of the ,inquisition1 in an age when the mighty spirit of ,hildebrand was rising every day from his grave in more and more influential and imposing shape1--this was to place one's self in a false position4 ,dante1 no doubt1 felt all this to the core of his being4 ,a poet by nature1 with that intense1 morbid1 proud1 uncomfortable1 alternately benevolent and misanthropical temperament which occasionally accompanies the poetic faculty1 he had little in common with the bustling1 vivacious character of his fellow-townsmen4 ,fiorentino di nascita1 non di costumi1 as he describes himself1 he had slight sympathy with ,blacks or ,whites1 ,guelphs or ,ghibellines4 ,a ,guelph by birth1 a ,ghibelline by banishment1 he was in reality an absolutist in politics1 and a bigot in religion4 ,had a hell never been heard of1 he would have invented one1 for the mere comfort of roasting his enemies in it1 and his friends along with them1--the solitary enjoyment of his lifetime4 ,his part in public affairs has been much magnified4 ,he was prior in #acjj2 but almost any citizen of ,florence might be prior4 ,he was once sent to ,rome1 on a diplomatic errand2 but he was only the envoy of a party1 only one of a set of delegates appointed by the ,whites4 ,he was banished for his political opinions1 and afterwards condemned to death2 but even this was no distinction2 for six hundred other persons1 most of them obscure men1 were included in the same sentence1 for the same offence4 ,they all happened1 in short1 to belong to the party opposed to the one which was successful4 ,his merits of style can hardly be exaggerated4 ,alone of mankind he almost created a language4 ,imagine the ,english1 or the ,german1 or the ,french poetry of the year #acjj flowing musically and familiarly from the lips of #aheg6 ,the culture1 too1 of his epoch might almost be measured by his personal accomplishments4 ,the ,aristotle1 the ,bacon1 the ,humboldt of ,florence was one of the world's great poets into the bargain2 but he was any thing but a statesman or a politician4 ,in his poetry1 accordingly1 written when the ,florentine democracy was young1 vigorous1 and mischievous1 there is no chord of sympathy with the polity of his native place4 ,on the contrary1 the whole magnificent ,commedia is a ,de profundis chanted out of an oppressed and scornful bosom1 a fiery protest1 an excoriating satire against the liberty upon which the ,commonwealth prided itself4 ,florence banished and would have burned her poet4 ,the poet banished and burned ,florence in the great hell which his imagination created and peopled4 ,his ashes1--so often and so vainly implored for by the repentant and sorrowing mother1 who had driven him from her bosom with curses1 to wander and to starve1 to eat the bitter bread of exile1 and to feel that sharpest arrow in the bow of exile1 the going up and down in another's house1--his ashes are not the property of the ,republic4 ,are his laurels8 ,yes4 ,the ,divina ,commedia is a splendid proof of the vitality which pervades a republican atmosphere4 ,there was little of justice perhaps1 and less of security and comfort2 but there was at any rate life1 intellectual development1 thought1 pulsation1 fierce collision of mind with mind1 attrition of human passions and divine faculties1 out of which an elemental fire was created which flamed over the civilized world1 and has lighted the torches of civilization for centuries4 ,he who would study the artes humaniores must turn of necessity to two fountain heads2 and he finds them in the trampled marketplaces of two noisy1 turbulent1 unreasonable1 pestilent little democratic cities1--,athens and ,florence4 ,extinguish the architecture and the sculpture1 the poetry and the philosophy of ,attica2 obliterate from the sum of civilization the names of ,dante1 ,boccaccio1 ,petrarch1 ,machiavelli1--of ,cimabue1 ,giotto1 ,leonardo da ,vinci1 ,brunelleschi1 ,michel ,angelo1--of ,brunetto1 ,ficino1 ,politian2 and how much diminished will be the remainder6 ,nevertheless1 it is in vain to look for any special seal set by the spirit of liberty upon the artistic productions of the earlier age in ,florence4 ,the works of the great painters bear the impress of the ,church4 ,if the spirit of liberty be present at all1 it is veiled and hooded by monastic garments4 ,but it should never be forgotten1 that1 in this age1 the ,church embodied an element of liberty4 ,the keys of ,saint ,peter were brandished against the universal sceptre of the ,suabians2 cultivated intellect was matched1 and often successfully1 against brutal violence4 ,the ,pope was the rival of ,csar4 ,the first great painting in the ,academy--to return from this digression--is the famous ,madonna of ,cimabue4 ,this picture is astonishing4 ,although considered by many critics to manifest lingering traces of the ,byzantine bandages1 it seems to us1 on the contrary1 to be wonderfully free from stiffness and conventionality4 ,the genius of ,cimabue extricates itself at a bound from the trammels of preceding systems1 and flies vigorously towards nature4 ,the ,madonna is colossal4 ,she wears a hood1 and holds her child in her arms4 ,there is a strong human1 yet spiritualized expression upon the face4 ,the drapery is gracefully arranged1 not folded like mummy cloths2 and the color is strong and liberally laid on1 without any attempt1 however1 at transparency of shadow4 ,there is little indication of the technical glories of succeeding centuries4 ,perhaps the best part of the picture is in the lower margin4 ,here are four heads of saints1 painted with a breadth and energy absolutely startling1 when one recollects by whom and when they were executed4 ,dominic ,ghirlandaio1 two hundred years later1 could hardly have put more masculine expression into a quartet of heads4 ,giotto's ,madonna is the pendant to that of ,cimabue2 but although painted twenty-five years later1 it shows less progress in art than might be expected4 ,giotto's triumphs are to be found in the frescos of the ,santa ,croce4 ,in that unequalled series1 the art-student recognizes1 almost at a glance1 the power of the master4 ,largeness1 rhythm1 and harmony of composition1--dramatic movement1 and individual beauty of expression1--heads which have brains1 eyes which can smile1 lips which can speak1 fluent limbs which can move1 or remain in natural repose1--the whole surrounded and inspired by that atmosphere of piety1 that effluence of religious ecstasy1 which can never be imitated1 and which came from the unquestioning faith of the artist2--such wonders were for the first time revealed by ,giotto4 ,the shepherd boy1 whom ,cimabue found drawing pictures upon a stone in the open field1 nobly repaid his patron and master1 by extending still farther the domain of art1--by throwing its doors wide open to the cool breath of nature and the liberal sunshine4 ,to pass from the ,byzantines into the school of ,giotto is to come out from the catacombs into the warm precincts of the cheerful day4 ,of the pictures of the early part of the fifteenth century1 none are more worthy of attention in this collection than those of ,fra ,angelico of ,fiesole4 7#achg-adee47 ,nevertheless1 it seems no great progress from ,cimabue1 ,giotto1 and ,orgagna1 whose compositions are so full of energetic life and human passion1 to these careful1 gentle miniatures upon an expanded scale4 ,the ,fra was a miniatore1 after all1--a manuscript illuminator of the first class4 ,his effort to represent a descent from the cross in a large and dramatic manner is feeble and flat4 ,this flight seems beyond his strength2 and his waxy little wings1 which sustained him so well within his own sphere1 melted at once in this higher region4 ,far better is an exquisite little picture in his very best manner1 a work which hangs in the apartment ,de' ,piccoli ,quadri4 ,this is a ,judgment ,day1 and a cheerful painting of its class4 ,there is an old conceit1 very cleverly carried out through the whole composition1 of representing all the just made perfect as actually converted into little children4 ,kings with crowns1 popes1 bishops1 cardinals in hats and mitres1 monks cowled and robed in conventual habiliments1 are all philandering together through gardens of amaranth and asphodel towards the ,grecian portico of heaven2 and all these fortunate personages1 whether monarchs1 priests1 fine ladies1 or beggars1 are depicted with perfectly infantine faces4 ,to do this well lay exactly in the quaint1 delicate nature of the angelic ,frater2 and this portion of the picture is most exquisitely handled4 ,the other moiety1 where devils with rabbits' ears1 tiger faces1 and monkeys' tails1 are forking over the damned into frying-pans1 while ,satan devours them as fast as cooked1 is common-place and vulgar4 ,at the same time1 it is certain that the whole composition shows much poetry of invention and delicacy of finish4 ,andrew ,castagno's ,magdalen1 like ,donatello's ,wooden ,statue of the same penitent in the ,baptistery1 seems a female ,robinson ,crusoe1--hirsute1 cadaverous1 fleshless1 uncombed and uncomely1--certainly a more edifying spectacle than the voluptuous1 ,titianesque exhibitions of fair frailty which became the fashion afterwards4 ,of ,gentile da ,fabriano1 a very rare master1 there hangs an ,adoration of the ,magi1 marked ,may1 #adbc4 ,one always feels grateful to such of the ,quattrocentisti as enlarged the sphere of artistic action1 by going out of the conventional circle of holy families1 nativities1 and entombments4 ,there is a dash about ,gentile1 a fresh1 cavalier-like gentility1 quite surprising1 and altogether his own4 ,a showy1 flippant frivolity in several of the figures enlivens and refreshes us with its mundane sparkle and energy4 ,one of the three kings1 in particular1--a young1 well-dressed1 vivacious1 goguenard-looking personage1 with a very glittering pair of spurs1 which his groom is just unbuckling1 while another holds a highly bedizened war-horse1 who is throwing up his head1 showing all his teeth1 and crying ha1 ha1 with all his might1--has a very dramatic effect4 ,of the ,lippo ,lippis1 the ,lorenzo di ,credis1 the ,ghirlandaios1 the ,peruginos1 and the other great masters of the fifteenth century1 of whom are many masterpieces in this collection1 there shall1 for the present1 not a word be said4 ,there is also a portrait of ,savonarola1 by ,fra ,bartolommeo4 ,the face is neither impressive nor attractive4 ,the head is shorn1 except the monastic coronal1 and shows a small organ of benevolence1 and a very large one of self-esteem4 ,the profile is not handsome1--the nose being regularly aquiline1 while the mouth is heavy with a projecting upper lip4 ,a strong1 blue beard1 closely shaven1 but very visible1 darkens and improves the physiognomy4 ,,iv4 ,,santa ,,maria ,,novella4 ,this church was so beloved by ,michel ,angelo as to be called his bride4 ,it must be confessed that the great artist was determined in his choice less by the external charms than by the interior excellence of his sposa2 for although she has now got herself a new front and vamped herself up a little1 thus looking a trifle younger than she must have done three hundred years ago1 still she has any thing but a bridal or virginal aspect4 ,this church and monastery belong to the earlier ,german period of ,italy1 if such a thing as ,italian ,gothic can be said to have ever existed4 ,the truth is1 that with the exception of ,milan cathedral1 which is modern1 exotic1 and exceptional1 the ,german1 or1 to use the common and senseless expression1 the ,gothic system of architecture never fairly took root in ,italy4 ,certainly1 the pointed windows and arches of the ,florence duomo and its campanile do not constitute it a ,gothic church4 ,the square cornices1 vast masses of wall1 heavy pilasters1 and1 in general1 the horizontal outlines and heavy expression of all these churches1 have a character very remote from that of the airy1 upspringing1 fantastic ,german architecture1 in which every shaft1 arch1 vault-girdle1 pillar1 window-frame1 pinnacle1 seems struggling and panting upward with an almost audible eloquence4 ,this is not the expression of the duomo here4 ,there is no perpetual ,excelsior ringing from point1 spire1 and turret4 ,on the contrary1 the grave1 almost rigid aspect of the ancient basilica--the ,roman business-hall1 compounded of ,greek elements1 and transformed into a ,grecian temple--is ever at work repressing that devotional ecstasy which is the characteristic of the ,gothic church4 ,the ,italian language in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was like the ,italian architecture of the same period4 ,the different intellectual manifestations1 subjected to the same influences1 obeyed one general law4 ,the conquering ,german mind of the ,dark ,ages easily impressed itself where the soil was still virgin4 ,throughout savage ,europe the dominion was yielded at once to the new power which succeeded to the decrepit empire of ,rome4 ,gaul1 ,germany1 ,britain1 ,iberia obeyed instinctively the same impulse4 ,the children born of that vigorous embrace were of fresh and healthy beauty4 ,the manifestations of the ,german mind in the cathedrals of ,paris1 ,cologne1 ,antwerp are undimmed and unrivalled4 ,the early ,german architecture in the actual realms of ,germany is as romantic1 energetic1 and edifying as its poetry at the same epoch4 ,a great ,german cathedral is a religious epic in stone4 ,all the ornaments1 all the episodes1 spring from and cluster around one central1 life-giving principle4 ,in ,italy1 on the other hand1 the architecture of the so-called ,gothic period embodies a constant struggle between the ancient and the new-born mind1--a contest in which the eventual triumph of the elder is already foreshadowed1 even while the new has apparently gained the ascendency4 ,why was this8 ,because in ,italy the ,german conquerors had invaded the land of ancient culture1 of settled and organized form4 ,the world could not be created de novo1 as in the shaggy deserts of ,hercynia and ,belgica4 ,the seeds of human speech1 planted in those vast wildernesses1 sprouted readily into new and luxuriant languages4 ,english1 ,flemish1 ,german1 ,french spring from ,german roots hidden in ,celtic soil4 ,the ,latin element1 afterwards engrafted1 is exotic1 excrescent1 and not vital to the organization4 ,in ,italy1 where a language1 a grammar1 a literature already existed in full force1 the ,german element was almost neutralized4 ,the ,goths could only deface the noble language of ,rome4 ,they gave it auxiliary verbs1--that feeblest form of assistance to human eloquence1--and they took away its declensions4 ,architecture presented the same phenomenon4 ,it submitted to what seemed the ,german tyranny for a time1 but it submitted under a perpetual and visible protest4 ,footnote3 ,compare ,kugler1 ,kunstgeschichte1 pp4 #eij1 #eia4 ,the ,gothic details in the campanile and the duomo look altogether extraneous and compulsory2 they are not assimilated into the constitution of the structure4 ,the severe ,roman profile is marked as distinctly as ever1 notwithstanding the foreign ornaments which it has been forced to assume4 ,santa ,maria ,novella1 then1 is as good a ,german ,italian church as can be found2 but1 for the reasons stated1 it is not particularly interesting as a piece of architecture4 ,its wealth is in its frescos4 ,in the quadrangle of the cloister is a series of pictures by ,paolo ,uccello1 who1 by the introduction of linear perspective1 of which he is esteemed the inventor1 made a new epoch in art4 ,in the chapel of the ,spaniards is a famous collection of frescos by ,giotto's scholars4 ,a large1 thoughtful1 and attractive composition is called the ,wisdom of the ,church4 ,on the opposite side is a very celebrated painting1 entitled the ,church ,militant and ,triumphant2 the militating and triumphing business being principally confided to the dogs of the ,lord1--videlicet1 ,domini-canes4 ,a large number of this dangerous fraternity is represented as a pack of hounds1 fighting1 pulling1 biting1 and howling most vigorously in a life-and-death-struggle with the wolves of heresy4 ,in the centre of the composition are introduced various portraits4 ,these were thought for a long time to represent ,cimabue 7in a white night-cap71 ,petrarch 7in long petticoats71 ,laura 7in short ones71 and various other celebrities4 ,vasari is the original authority ,footnote3 ,vite da ,vasari1 ed4 ,lemonnier1 #ahdf4 ,sim4 and ,lippo ,memmi1 p4 #ij1 and notes4 for this opinion1 which has ceased to be entertained by cognoscenti4 ,it is also no longer believed that the pictures are the work of ,taddeo ,gaddi and ,simon ,memmi4 ,the custode clings to both delusions1--the portraits and the painters4 ,whether red ,murray1 and that devoted band of ,english and ,americans who follow his flag1 patronize the ,vasari theory or more modern ones1 we are at this moment unable to state4 ,by what subtile threads are international hearts bound together6 ,two great nations have wrangled for a century2 but they have a common property in ,shakspeare and ,tupper1--and--most precious of all joint-possessions--in the hand-books of ,murray4 ,we feel with one throb upon all sthetic subjects4 ,we admire the same great works of art4 ,we drop a tear upon exactly the same spots1 hallowed in ancient or modern history4 ,the fraternity is absolute4 ,in the ,strozzi chapel are an altar-piece and several wall-pictures by ,andrew ,orgagna4 ,they are not so grandly conceived as that wondrous composition of his1 the ,triumph of ,death1 in the ,pisan ,campo ,santo2 but they are additional proofs of his intense and ,dante-like genius4 ,no doubt ,dante influenced him deeply1 as he did all his contemporaries1 whose minds were fertile enough to ripen such seed4 ,the large picture on the left--a view of paradise--is full of energetic and beautiful figures1 combined with much dramatic effect and great technical skill4 ,the opposite pictures1 representing hell1 were not by ,andrew1 but by ,bernard ,orgagna1 a man of far inferior calibre4 ,they have1 moreover1 been entirely revamped4 ,in the choir are the renowned frescos of ,dominic ,ghirlandaio1--scenes from the lives of ,john the ,baptist and the ,virgin ,mary4 ,these1 however1 are but names and frames4 ,the great merit of these paintings is that they were the first1 or among the first1 to introduce the actual into the world of conventional and conventual art4 ,they form a series of full-length portraits1--sometimes of celebrated contemporaries1 as ,politian1 ,marsilio ,ficino1 and others1--but always of flesh-and-blood people1 living1 moving1 and having a being4 ,that group of ,platonists1 with their looks of profound wisdom and dogmatic eloquence1 are lifting their forefingers1 pricking up their ears1 opening their mouths1 7each obviously interrupting the flow of the others' rhetoric17 in most lifelike fashion4 ,one almost catches the winged syllogisms as they fly from lip to lip4 ,we are almost drawn into the dispute ourselves1 and are disposed to ventilate a score of outrageous paradoxes1 for the mere satisfaction of contradicting such wiseacres4 ,these heads are painted with a vivacity and an energy worthy of the ,dutch great masters of the seventeenth century4 ,in fact1 there is something caught1 no doubt1 from the early schools of ,flanders2 for ,dominic was the contemporary of the glorious masters protected by ,philip the ,good of ,burgundy1--the only good thing he ever did in his life1--the man who opened the road for that long triumphant procession which for two centuries was to march through the ,netherlands1 ,germany1 and ,italy4 ,there is no want1 however1 of historical dignity in these compositions4 ,each one has a stately rhythm1 an harmonious grandeur of conception and execution1 which1 in connection with the lifelike fidelity and unaffected beauty of the heads1 stamp their creator as a dramatic genius of a higher order than any of his contemporaries4 ,the ,madonna of ,cimabue1 which hangs at the end of the south transept1 resembles the one in the ,academy4 ,in place of the powerful saints' heads1 is a group of angels of much grace and purity1 supporting a shrine4 ,this picture is considered a bolder and more untrammelled composition than the other4 ,it is the world-renowned masterpiece of the thirteenth century1 which all ,florence turned out in procession to honor when it left the painter's hands2 and which even ,charles of ,anjou1 dripping in blood1 and stalking through the scenes of that great tragedy whose catastrophe was the ,sicilian vespers1 paused on his way to admire4 ,v4 ,,san ,,spirito4 ,in this church1 which the admirers of ,brunelleschi must study1 are two small1 but most exquisite masterpieces of ,lippo ,lippi4 ,all the works of this most profligate of friars are tender and holy beyond description4 ,they have also that distinguishing charm of the ,florentine school of the fifteenth century1 navet1--a fresh1 gentle1 and loving appreciation of the beautiful and the natural4 ,it is evident that the ,fra went through the world with his eyes open1 looking for beauty wherever it was visible2 and in his works1 at least1 there is no lingering trace of ,byzantinism4 ,a scholar of ,masaccio1 of a far inferior mind both to ,masaccio and ,maselino1 and without the force of hand of either1 he is still1 more than both together1 the founder of the natural school of ,florence4 ,one of his pictures is in this church1--a ,madonna with the child on her lap4 ,the ,christ is leaning forward and playing with a cross which the infant ,saint ,john holds in his hand4 ,nothing can be more suggestive or touching than this prophetic infantile movement4 ,although the color of the picture is rather feeble and washy1 as frequently may be observed of ,lippo's paintings1 the whole expression is bathed in purity and piety4 ,yet the ,fra was such an incorrigible mauvais sujet1 that when he was employed to decorate the palazzo of ,cosmo ,vecchio1 the ,pater ,patri was obliged to lock up his artist in the chamber which he was painting4 ,the holy man was not easily impounded1 however2 for he cut his bedclothes into strips1 let himself into the street from an upper-story window1 and departed on his usual adventures2 so that it was weeks before ,cosmo could hear of his painter again4 ,concluded in the next ,number4 ,,santa ,,filomena4 ,whene'er a noble deed is wrought1 ,whene'er is spoken a noble thought1 ,our hearts1 in glad surprise1 ,to higher levels rise4 ,the tidal wave of deeper souls ,into our inmost being rolls1 ,and lifts us unawares ,out of all meaner cares4 ,honor to those whose words or deeds ,thus help us in our daily needs1 ,and by their overflow ,raise us from what is low6 ,thus thought ,i1 as by night ,i read ,of the great army of the dead1 ,the trenches cold and damp1 ,the starved and frozen camp1-- ,the wounded from the battle-plain1 ,in dreary hospitals of pain1 ,the cheerless corridors1 ,the cold and stony floors4 ,lo6 in that house of misery ,a lady with a lamp ,i see ,pass through the glimmering gloom ,and flit from room to room4 ,and slow1 as in a dream of bliss1 ,the speechless sufferer turns to kiss ,her shadow1 as it falls ,upon the darkening walls4 ,as if a door in heaven should be ,opened1 and then closed suddenly1 ,the vision came and went1 ,the light shone and was spent4 ,on ,england's annals1 through the long ,hereafter of her speech and song1 ,that light its rays shall cast ,from portals of the past4 ,a lady with a lamp shall stand ,in the great history of the land1 ,a noble type of good1 ,heroic womanhood4 ,nor even shall be wanting here ,the palm1 the lily1 and the spear1 ,the symbols that of yore ,saint ,filomena bore4 ,,sally ,,parsons',s ,,duty4 ,the sun that shines on eastern ,massachusetts1 specially on buttercups and dandelions1 and providentially on potatoes1 looks down on no greener fields in these days than it saw in the spring of #agge1 fenced in and fenced off by the zigzag snake-fences of ',zekiel ,parsons's farm4 ,about this time1 as almanacs say1 young orchards were misty with buds1 red maples on the highway shone in the clear light1 and a row of bright tin pans at the shed door of the farm-house testified to a sturdy arm and skilful hand within1--arm and hand both belonging to no less a person than ,miss ,sally1 ',zekiel ,parsons's only daughter1 and the prettiest girl in ,westbury2 a short1 sturdy1 rosy little maid1 with hair like a ripe chestnut shell1 bright blue eyes full of mischief1 and such a sunny1 healthy1 common-sense character1 one is almost afraid to tell of it1 it is so out of date now4 ,but of what use is it to describe her8 ,how can ,i impress upon moderns how enlivening and refreshing was her aspect1 as she spun1 or scoured pans1 in a linsey-woolsey petticoat and white short gown1 wearing her pretty curls in a crop8 ,george ,tucker knew it all without telling2 and so did half a dozen of the ,westbury boys1 who haunted the picket fence round ',zekiel's garden every moonlight night in summer1 or scraped their feet by the half hour together on his door-step in winter evenings4 ,sally was a belle2 she knew it and liked it1 as every honest girl does2--and she would have been a belle without the aid of her father's wide farm and pine-tree shillings2 for she was fresh and lovely1 with a spice of coquetry1 but a true woman's heart beneath it all4 ,it was very hard to discover whom ,sally ,parsons favored among her numerous beaux4 ,her father seriously inclined to ,george ,tucker2 not because he was rich1--for ',zekiel had not arrived at fashionable principles1--but because he was honest1 kind-hearted1 and reliable2 but as yet ,sally showed no decided preference2 time and the hour were near1 but not in sight4 ,one ,sunday night1 early in ,april1 after the nine o'clock bell had scattered ,sally's admirers far and wide1 and old ',zekiel sat by the chimney corner1 watching his sister1 ,aunt ,poll1 rake up the rest of the hickory log in the ashes1 while he rubbed away sturdily at his feet1 holding in one hand the blue yarn stockings1 wrought by no hand1 as you may guess1 but that of ,sally2 the talk1 that had momentarily died away1 began again1 and with a glance at ,long ,snapps1--a lank1 shrewd-faced old sailor1 who1 to use his own speech1 had cast anchor 'longside of an old ship-met fur a spell1 bein' bound fur his own cabin up in ,lenox1--',zekiel spoke after this wise3-- ,i expect1 ,long1 you sailors hev a drefful hard1 onsartain time navigatin'1 don't ye8 ,well1 skipper6 that are depen's on folks4 ,i don't calk'late to hev no sort of a hard time1 ef ,i don't get riled with it2 but these times ,i doo rile easy4 ,what onsettles ye1 ,snapps8 ,well1 there's a squall to wind'ard1 skipper2 'ta'n't no cat's-paw neither2 good no-no-east1 ef it's a flaw4 ,and you landlubbers are a-goin' to leeward1 some on ye4 ,you don't say6 what be you a hintin' at8 ,well1 there's a reel blow down to ,bostin1 ,zekle2 there's no more gettin' out o' harbour with our old sloop2 she's ben an' gone1 an' got some 'tarnal lawyer's job spliced to her bows1 an' she's laid up to dry2 but that's a pesky small part o' judgment4 ,bostin's full o' them ,britishers1 sech as scomfishkated the ,susan ,jane1 cos our skipper done suthin' he hedn't oughter1 or didn't do suthin' he hed oughter2 and ,i tell yew the end o' things is nigh about comin' on here6 ,sally1 in the chimney corner1 heard ,long ,snapps with open eyes1 and hitching her wooden chair nearer1 inquired solemnly1-- ,what do you mean1 ,mister ,snapps8 ,is the end of the world comin' here8 ,bless your pooty little figger-head1 ,sally6 ,i don't know as 'tis1 but suthin' nigh about as bad is a-comin4 ,them ,britishers is sot out for to hev us under hatches1 or else walk the plank2 and they're darned mistook1 ef they think men is a-goin' to be steered blind1 and can't blow up the cap'en no rate4 ,there a'n't no man in ,ameriky but what's got suthin' to fight for1 afore he'll gin in to sech tyrints2 and it'll come to fightin'1 yet1 afore long6 ,oh my6 oh goody6 the land's sakes6 yew don't mean ter say that1 ,long8 wofully screeched ,aunt ,poll1 whose ideas of war were derived in great measure from the tattered copy of ,josephus extant in the ,parsons family2 and who was at present calculating the probable effect of a battering-ram on their back buttery1 and thinking how horrid it would be to eat up ,uncle ',zekiel in case of famine1--even after long courses of rats and dogs4 ,well1 ,i dew1 ,aunt ,poll2 there'll be some poppin' an' stickin' done in these parts1 afore long6 ,the ,lord deliver us6 an' the rest on't6 devoutly ejaculated ,poll1 whose piety exceeded her memory2 whereat ',zekiel1 pulling on the other blue stocking that had hung suspended in his fingers1 while the sailor discoursed1 exhorted a little himself4 ,well1 the ,lord don't deliver nobody1 without they wriggle for themselves pretty consider'ble well fust4 ,this a'n't the newest news to me2 ,i've been expectin' on't a long spell1 an' ,i've talked consider'ble with ,westbury folks about it2 and there a'n't nobody much1 round about here1 but what'll stand out agin the ,britishers1 exceptin' ,tucker's folks2 they're desp'rit for ,church an' ,king2 they tell as ef the ,lord gin the king a special license to set up in a big chair an' rewl creation2 an' they think it's perticular sin to speak as though he could go 'skew anyhow4 ,now ,i believe the ,lord lets folks find out what ,he does1 out o' ,scriptur2 and ,i han't found nothin' yet to tell about kings bein' better than their neighbours1 and it don't look as ef this king was so clever as common4 ,i s'pose you ha'n't heerd what our ,colony ,congress is a-doin'1 hev ye1 ,snapps8 ,well1 no1 ,i ha'n't4 ,they was a-layin' to1 last ,i heerd1 so's to settle their course1 ,i 'xpect they've heaved up an' let go by this1 but ,i han't seen no signals4 ,dear me6 interrupted ,sally1 a real war coming6 and ,i a'n't any thing but a woman6 ,her cheeks and eyes glowed with fervent feeling1 as she said this2 and the old sailor1 turning round1 surveyed her with a grin of honest admiration4 ,well said1 gal6 but you're out o' your reckonin'1 ef you think women a'n't nothin' in war-time4 ,i tell yew1 them is the craft that sails afore the wind1 and does the signallin' to all the fleet4 ,when gals is full-rigged an' tonguey1 they're reg'lar press-gangs to twist young fellers round1 an' make 'em sail under the right colors4 ,stick to the ship1 ,miss ,sally2 give a heave at the windlass now'n then1 an' don't let nary one o' them fellers that comes a buzzin' round you the hull time turn his back on ,yankee ,doodle2 an' you won't never hanker to be a man1 ef 'tis war-time6 ,sally's eyes burned bluer than before4 ,thank you kindly1 ,mister ,snapps4 ,i'm obleeged to you for putting the good thought into my head4 7,if ,i don't pester ,george ,tucker6 the plaguy ,tory67 ,this parenthesis was mental1 and ,sally went off to bed with a busy brain2 but the sleep of youth and health quieted it2 and if she dreamed of ,george ,tucker in regimentals1 ,i am afraid they were of flagrant militia scarlet2--the buff and blue were not distinctive yet4 ,however1 for the next week ,sally heard enough revolutionary doctrine to revive her ,sunday-night enthusiasm2 the flame of successful rebellion had spread2 the country began to stir and hum ominously2 people assembled in groups1 on corners1 by church steps1 around tavern-doors1 with faces full of portent and expectance2 ploughs stood idly in the fields2 and the raw-boned horses1 that should of right have dragged the reluctant share through heavy clay and abounding stones1 now1 bestridden by breathless couriers1 scoured the country hither and yon1 with news1 messages1 and orders from those who had taken the right to order out of the hands of sleek and positive officials4 ,nor were ,westbury people the last to wake up in the general rveille4 ,everybody in the pretty1 tranquil village1 tranquil now no more1 declared themselves openly on one side or the other2--,peter ,tucker and his son ,george for the king1 of course2 and this open avowal caused a sufficiently pungent scene in ,miss ,sally ,parsons's keeping-room the very next ,sunday night1 when the aforesaid ,george1 in company with several of his peers1 visited the farm-house for the laudable purpose of sparkin' ,miss ,sally4 ,there were three other youths there1 besides ,george2 all stout for the ,continental side of the question1 and full of eager but restrained zeal2 ready to take up arms at a moment's notice2 equally ready to wait for the ripened time4 ,of such men were those armies made up that endured with a woman's patience and fought with a man's fury1 righting a great wrong as much by moral as by physical strength1 and going to death for the right1 when death1 pitiless and inevitable1 stared them in the face4 ,long ,snapps had been1 in his own phrase1 weather-bound at ,westbury1 and was there still1 safe in the chimney-corner1 his shrewd face puckered with thought and care1 his steady old heart full of resolute bravery1 and longing for the time to come2 flint and steel ready to strike fire on the slightest collision4 ,on the other side of the hearth from ,snapps sat ,zekle in his butternut-colored ,sunday suit2 the four young men ranged in a grim row of high-backed wooden chairs2 ,sally1 blooming as the roses on her chintz gown1 occupying one end of the settle1 while ,aunt ,poll filled the rest of that institution with her ample quilted petticoat and paduasoy cloak1 trying hard to keep her hands still1 in their unaccustomed idleness1--nay1 if it must be told1 surreptitiously keeping up a knitting with the fingers1 in lieu of the accustomed needles and yarn4 ,an awful silence reigned after the preliminary bows and scrapes had been achieved1--first broken by ,george ,tucker1 who drew from under his chair a small basket of red-cheeked apples and handed them to ,aunt ,poll4 ,well1 now1 ,george ,tucker6 exclaimed the benign spinster1 you dew beat all for sass out o' season6 ,kep 'em down sullar1 ,i expect8 ,yes'm1 our sullar's very dry4 ,well1 it hed oughter4 ,what kind be they8 ,english pippins1 ma'am4 ,dew tell6 be you a-goin to hev one1 ,sally8 ,no1 ,aunt ,poll6 ,i don't want any thin' ,english 'round6 ,the three young men grinned and chuckled4 ,george ,tucker turned red4 ,hooray for you1 ,sally6 sung out old ,snapps4 ,you're a three-decker1 ef ever there was 'un6 ,again ,george reddened1 fidgeted on his chair1 and at last said1 in a disturbed1 but quite distinct voice1-- ,i think the apples are good1 ,miss ,sally1 if the name don't suit you4 ,the name's too bad to be good1 sir6 retorted ,sally1 with a decided sniff and toss of the head4 ,old ,zekle gave a low laugh and interfered4 ,you see1 ,george ,tucker1 these here times is curus6 ,it wakes up the wimmen folks to hev no tea1 nor no prospects of peace an' quiet1 so's to make butter an' set hens4 ,oh1 father6 burst out ,sally1 do you think that's all that ails women8 ,i wouldn't care if ,i eat samp forever1 and had nothing but saxifrax tea2 but ,i can't stand by cool1 and see men driven like dumb beasts by another man1 if he has got a crown1 and never be let speak for themselves6 ,sally's logic was rather confused1 but ,george got at the idea as fast as was necessary4 ,if 'twas a common man1 ,miss ,sally2 but a king's set up on high by the ,lord1 and we ought to obey what ,he sets over us4 ,i don't see where in ,scriptur you get that idee1 ,george1 retorted ,zekle4 ,well1 it says in one place you're to obey them that has the rule over you1 sir4 ,so it do2 but ef the king ha'n't got no rewl over us1 7an' it looks mighty like it jes' now17 why1 ,i don't see's we're bound to mind him6 ,this astute little sophism confounded poor ,george for a minute1 during which ,sally began to giggle violently1 and flirt in her rustic fashion with the three rebels in a row4 ,at length ,george1 recovering his poise and clear-sightedness1 resumed1-- ,but he did rule over us1 ,mister ,parsons1 and ,i can't see how it's right to rebel4 ,there don't everythin' come jest square about seein' things1 interposed ,long ,snapps2 folks hed better steer by facts sometimes1 than by yarns4 ,it's jest like v'yagin'2 yew do'no' sumtimes what's to pay with a compass2 it'll go all p'ints to once2 mebbe somebody's got a hatchet near by1 or some lubber's throwed a chain down by the binnacle1 or some darned thing's got inside on't1 or it's shipped a sea an' got rusted2 but there's allers the ,dipper an' the ,north ,star2 they're allers true to their bearin's1 and you can't go to ,davy ,jones's locker for want of a light'us so long's they're ahead4 ,i calk'late its jes' so about this king-talk2 orders is very well when they a'n't agin common sense an' the rights o' natur2 but you see1 ,george ,tucker1 folks will go 'cordin to natur an' reason1 ef there's forty parlamints an' kings in tow4 ,natur's jest like a no'west squall2 you can't do nothin' but tack ag'inst it2 and no men is goin' to stan' still and see the wind taken out o' their sails1 an' their liberty flung to sharks1 without one mutiny to know why6 ,no6 burst out ,sally1 who had stopped flirting1 and been listening with soul and body to ,long2 and no man1 that is a man1 will go against the right and the truth just because the wrong is strongest6 ,this little feminine insult was too much for ,george ,tucker1 particularly as he had not the least idea how its utterance burned ,sally's lips1 and made her heart ache4 ,he got up from his chair with a very bitter look on his handsome face4 ,i see1 said he1 quite coldly1 ,i am likely to be scarce welcome here4 ,i believe the king is my master1 made so by the ,lord1 and ,i think it is my honest duty to obey him4 ,it hurts me to part otherwise than kind with friends2 but ,i wish you a good night1 and better judgment4 ,there was something so manly in ,george's speech1 that1 but for its final fling and personality1 every man in the room would have crowded round him to shake hands2 but what man ever coolly heard his judgment impeached8 ,sally swallowed a great round sob2 but being1 like all women1 an actress in her way1 bowed as calmly to ,mr4 ,george as if he only said adieu1 after an ordinary call4 ,aunt ,poll snuffled1 and followed ,george to the door2 ,uncle ,zekle drew himself up straight1 and looked after him1 his clear blue eyes sparkling with two rays1--one of honest patriotic wrath1 one of affection and regret for ,george2 while ,long1 from the corner1 eyed all with a serpent's wisdom in his gaze1 oracularly uttering1 as the door shut1-- ,well1 that 'are feller is good grit6 ,all the worse for us6 growled ,eliashib ,sparks1 the biggest of the three1 surprising ,sally into a little hysterical laugh1 and surprised himself still more at this unexpected sequence to his remark4 ,pooty bad6 ,george is a clever fellow6 ejaculated ,zekle4 ,he han't got the rights on't1 but ,i think he'll come round by'n by4 ,i do'no'1 said ,long1 meditatively2 he's pooty stiff1 that 'are feller4 ,he's sot on dooty1 ,i see2 an' that means suthin'1 when a man that oughter be called a man sez it4 ,wimmin-folks1 now1 don't sail on that tack4 ,when a gal sets to talkin' about her dooty1 it's allers suthin' she wants ter do and han't got no grand excuse for't4 ,ye never see a woman't didn't get married for dooty yet2 there a'n't nary one on 'em darst to say they wanted ter4 ,oh6 ,mister ,long6 exclaimed ,sally4 ,well1 ,sally1 it's nigh about so2 you han't lived a hunderd year4 ,some o' these days you'll get to know yer dooty4 ,sally turned red1 and the three young men sniggered4 ,forgive the word1 gentle and fair readers6 it means what ,i mean1 and no other word expresses it2 let us be graphic and die6 ,just then the meeting-house bell rang for nine o'clock2 and every man got up from his seat1 like a son of ,anak1 bowed1 scraped1 cleared his throat to say ,goodnight1 did say something like it1 and left4 ,well1 ,sally1 ,i swear you're good at signallin'1 broke out ,long1 as soon as the youths were fairly out of sight and sound2 you hev done it for ,george ,tucker6 ,sally gave no answer1 but a brand from the back-log fell1 blazed up in a shaft of rosy flame1 and showed a suspicious glitter on the girl's round1 wholesome cheek4 ,aunt ,poll had gone to bed2 ,zekle was going the nightly rounds of his barns1 to see to the stock2 ,long ,snapps was aware of opportunity1 the secret of success4 ,sally1 said he1 is that feller sparkin' you8 ,sally laughed a little1 and something1 perhaps the blaze1 reddened her face4 ,i don't know1 said the pretty hypocrite1 demurely4 ,h'm6 well1 ,i do1 answered ,long2 and you a'n't never goin' to take up with a ,tory8 don't think it's yer dooty1 hey8 ,no indeed6 flashed ,sally4 ,do you think ,i'd marry a ,britisher8 ,i'd run away and live with the ,indians first4 ,pooty good6 pooty good6 you're calk'lating to make ,george into a rebel1 ,i 'xpect8 ,long was looking into the fire when he said this2 he did not see ,sally's look of rage and amazement at his unpleasant penetration4 ,i'm sure ,i don't care what ,george ,tucker thinks1 said she1 with a toss of her curly head4 ,h'm6 uttered ,long1 meditatively1 lucky6 ,i 'xpect he carries too many guns to be steered by a woman2 'tis a kinder pity you a'n't a man1 ,sally2 mebbe you'd argufy him round then2 it's plain as the ,gulf you can't crook his v'yage2 he's too stiff for wimmin-folks1 that is a fact6 ,oh1 ,long ,snapps6 ,long ,snapps6 how many wives1 in how many ports1 went to the knowledge of feminine nature that dictated that speech8 ,sally set her lips4 ,from that hour ,george ,tucker was a doomed man2 but she said nothing more audible than ,goodnight4 ,long looked at her1 as she lit the tallow dip by the fire1 and chuckled when he heard her shut the milk-room door in the safe distance4 ,he was satisfied4 ,the next afternoon1 ,sally was weeding onions in the garden2--heroines did1 in those days2--the currant-bushes had but just leafed out2 so ,george ,tucker1 going by1 saw her2 and she1 who had seen him coming before she began to weed1 accidentally of course1 looked up and gave him a very bright smile4 ,that was the first spider-thread1 and the fly stepped into it with such a thrill6 ,of course he stopped1 and said1-- ,what a pleasant day6--the saving phrase of life4 ,then ,sally said something he couldn't hear1 and he leaped the low fence without being asked1 rather than request her to raise her voice2 he was so considerate6 ,next he remembered1 just as he turned to go away1 that there were some white violets down in the meadow1 that ,sally always liked4 ,couldn't she spend time to walk down there across lots and get some8 ,sally thought the onions could not be left4 ,truth to tell1 her heart was in her mouth4 ,she had been playing with edge-tools2 but just then she smelt a whiff of smoke from ,long ,snapps's pipe1 and the resolve of last night came back2 her face relented1 and ,george1 seeing it1 used his utmost persuasiveness2 so the result was1 that ,sally washed her hands at the well1 and away they went1 in the most serene silence1 over fences1 grass-lots1 and ditches1 through bits of woodland1 and fields of winter-green1 till they reached the edge of the great meadow1 and sat down on a log to rest4 ,it was rather a good place for that purpose4 ,an old pine had fallen at the feet of a majestic cluster of its brethren1 so close that the broad column of one made a natural back to part of the seat4 ,the ground was warm1 dry sand1 strown with the fine dead leaves of past seasons1 brown and aromatic4 ,a light south wind woke the voices of every bough above1 and the melancholy susurrus rose and fell in delicate cadences2 while beyond the green meadow1 ,westbury ,river1 a good-sized brook1 babbled and danced as if there were no pine-tree laments in the world4 ,i believe the air1 and the odor1 and the crying wind drove the violets quite out of both the two heads that drooped silently over that pine log4 ,if ,sally had been nervous or poetical1 she would have been glad to recollect them2 but no such morbidness invaded her healthy soul4 ,she sat quite still till ,george said1 in a suppressed and rather broken tone1-- ,i was sorry to vex you last night1 ,sally6 ,i could not be sorry for any thing else4 ,you did grieve me very much1 ,mister ,george1 said ,sally1 affecting a little distance in her address1 but sufficiently tender in manner4 ,well1 ,i suppose you don't see it the way ,i do1 returned ,george2 and ,i am very sorry1 for ,i had rather please you than any body else4 ,this was especially tender1 and he possessed himself of ,sally's little red hand1 unaware or careless that it smelt of onions2 but it was withdrawn very decidedly4 ,i think you take a strange way of showing your liking6 sniffed the damsel4 ,george sat astounded4 ,another tiny spider-thread stopped the fly2 a subtle ray of blue sped sideways out of ,sally's eye1 that meant1--,i don't object to be liked4 ,i wish with all my heart ,i knew any good way to please you1 he fervently ejaculated4 ,i should think any way to please people was a good way1 retorted ,sally1 saying more with her eyes than with her voice1--so much more1 that in fact this fly was fast4 ,a little puff of wind blew off ,sally's bonnet2 she looked shy1 flushed1 lovely4 ,george stood up on his feet1 and took his hat off4 ,sally6 said he1 in the deepest notes of his full1 manly voice1 ,i love you very much indeed2 will you be my wife8 ,sally was confounded4 ,i rejoice to say she was quite confounded2 but she was made of revolutionary stuff1 and what just now interfered with her plans and schemes was the sudden discovery how very much indeed she loved ,george ,tucker2 a fact she had not left enough margin for in her plot4 ,but1 as ,i said1 she was made of good metal1 and she answered very low1-- ,i do like you1 ,george2 but ,i never will marry a ,britisher and a ,tory4 ,a spasm of real anguish distorted the handsome face1 bent forward to listen4 ,do you mean that1 ,sally8 ,can't you love me because we don't think alike8 ,sally choked a little2 her tones fell to a whisper4 ,george had to sit down close to her to hear4 ,i didn't say ,i didn't love you1 ,george6--,a blissful pause of a second2 then in a clear1 cold voice1--,but my mind's set4 ,i can't marry a ,britisher and a ,tory1 if ,i died sayin' so4 ,george gasped4 ,and ,i cannot turn traitor and rebel1 ,sally4 ,i can not4 ,i love you better than any thing in the world2 but ,i can't do a wicked thing2 no1 not even for you4 ,he was pale as death4 ,sally's secret heart felt proud of him1 and never had she been so near repenting of her work in the good cause before2 but she was resolute4 ,very well6 replied she1 coolly1 if you prefer the king to me1 it's not my fault2 when your side beats1 you can take your revenge6 ,the thorough injustice of this speech roused her lover's generous indignation4 ,if you can think that way of me1 ,sally1 it is better for us both to have me go6 ,good night6 ,and away strode the loyal fellow1 never looking back to see his sweetheart have a good cry on the pine-log1 and then an equally comfortable fit of laughter2 for she knew very well how restless ,mister ,george would be1 all alone by himself1 and how much it meant that they both loved each other1 and both knew it4 ,sally's heart was stout4 ,a sort of ,yankee ,evangeline1 she would not have gone after ,gabriel2 she would have staid at home and waited for him to the end of time2 doing chores and mending meanwhile1 but unmarried1 in the fixed intention of being her lover's sixth wife possibly1 but his wife at last4 ,so she went home and got supper1 strained and skimmed milk1 set a sponge for bread1 and slept all night like a dormouse4 ,george ,tucker never went to bed4 ,hooraw6 roared ,long ,snapps1 trundling in to dinner1 the next day2 they're wakin' up down to ,bostin6 ,good many on 'em's quit the town4 ,them 'are ,britishers is a-gettin' up sech a breeze2 an' they doo say the reg'lars is comin' out full sail1 to cair' off all the amminition in these parts1 fear o' mutiny 'mongst the milishy6 ,come along6 shouted ,zekle1 let 'em come6 like to see 'em takin' our powder an' shot 'thout askin'6 ,guess they'll hear thunder1 ef they stick their heads inter a hornet's nest4 ,dredful suz6 exclaimed ,aunt ,poll1 pulling turnips out of the pot with reckless haste1 and so scalding her brown fingers emphatically2 be they a-comin' here8 will they fetch along the batterin' rams8 ,thunder an' dry trees1 ejaculated ,zekle1 what does the woman--2 but at that instant ,long made for the door1 and flung it open1 thereby preventing explanations4 ,goin' to ,concord1 ,george8 shouted he to ,george ,tucker1 who in a one-horse wagon and his ,sunday-best clothes was driving slowly past4 ,no6 goin' to ,lexington1 after corn4 ,can ,i do anything for you8 ,well1 no1 ,i 'xpect not4 ,when be you a-comin' back8 ,i don't know4 ,well1 go long6 good-luck to ye2 keep to wind'ard o' squalls1 ,george4 ,long nodded1 and ,george drove on4 ,that day the whole village of ,westbury was in an uproar4 ,news had come from ,boston that the ,british were about to send out forces to possess themselves of all the military stores in the country1 and forestall rebellion by rendering it helpless4 ,from every corner of every farm and village1 young men and old mustered2 from every barn1 horses of all sizes and descriptions were driven out and saddled2 rusty muskets1 balls of all shapes and of any available metal that would melt and run1 disabled broadswords1 horse-pistols1 blunderbusses1 whatever wore any resemblance to a weapon1 or could be rendered serviceable to that end1--all were hunted out1 cleaned1 mended1 and laid ready2--an array that might have made a properly drilled and equipped army smile in contempt1 but whose deficiencies were more than supplied by iron sinews1 true blood1 resolve and desperate courage4 ,sally and ,aunt ,poll partook the gale of patriotism4 ,they scoured the ole queen's arm to brilliancy2 they ran bullets by the hour2 baked bread and brewed ,spring beer1 with no more definite purpose than a general conviction that men must and would eat1 as the men of their house certainly did1 in the intervals of repairing harness1 filling powder-horns and shot-belts1 trotting over to the tavern after news1 and coming back to retail it1 till ,aunt ,poll began to imagine she heard the distant strokes of a battering-ram1 and rushing out in terror to assure herself1 discovered it to be only ,sam ,pequot1 an old ,indian1 who1 with the apathy of his race1 was threshing in the barn4 ,aunt ,poll took down ,josephus to refresh her memory1 and actually drew a laugh from ,sally's grave lips by confiding to her this extreme horror of the case2 a laugh she forgave1 since ,sally reassured her by recommending to her notice the fact that ,jerusalem had stone walls that were more difficult to climb than stone fences4 ,as for ,sally1 she thought of ,george1 all day of ,george1 all night2 and while the next day deepened toward noon1 was still thinking of him1 when in rushed ,long ,snapps1 tarpaulin in hand1 full of news and horror4 ,i swan6 we've got it now6 said he4 ,them darned ,britishers sot out fur ,concord last night1 to board our decks an' plunder the magazine2 the boys heerd on't1 and they was ready over to ,lexin'ton1 waitin' round the meetin'us2 they stood to't1 an' that old powder monkey ,pitcairn sung out to throw down their arms1 darned rebels2 an' cause they didn't muster to his whistle1 he let fly at 'em like split2 an' there's some killed an' more wounded2 pretty much all on 'em our folks1 though they did giv the reg'lars one round o' ball afore they run4 ,hooray6 shouted ,zekle2 that's the talk2 guess they'll sing smaller next time6 ,they'll do more'n that1 ,zekle1 responded ,long2 this a'n't but the beginnin' o' sorrers1 as ,parson ,marsh sez1 sez he2 there'll be a hull gulf stream o' blood1 afore them darned reg'lars knows the color on't well enough to lay their course4 ,sally glided past ,long1 and plucked him by the sleeve1 unseen by the rest4 ,he followed her into the shed4 ,she was ghastly pale4 ,long1 said she1 hurriedly1 did you hear who8 was anybody shot8 ,bless ye1 gal6 a hull school on 'em was shot2 there wasn't many went to the bottom1 though2 han't heerd no names4 ,but ,george8 gasped ,sally2 he went to ,lexington yesterday4 ,well1 ,i am took aback6 growled ,long4 ,i swear ,i never thought on't4 ,i'll go see4 ,come back and tell me8 whispered ,sally4 ,lord-a-massy1 yes1 child6 jest as soon's ,i know myself trewly6 but ,i shan't know nothin' more till sundown1 ,i expect4 ,desire ,trowbridge is a-ridin' post2 he'll come through 'bout that time with news4 ,long did not come back for several hours1 some time after sundown1 when he found ,sally in the shed1 waiting for him4 ,she saw the news in his face4 ,dead8 said she1 clutching at the old sailor's hand4 ,no6 no6 he a'n't slipt his moorins' yet1 but he is badly stove about the figger-head2 he's got a ball through his head somewhere1 an' another in his leg2 and he a'n't within hail2 don't hear no speakin'-trumpets2 fact is1 ,sally1 he's in for the dockyard a good spell1 ef he a'n't broke up hull and all4 ,who shot him8 whispered ,sally4 ,that's the best on't1 gal2 he's took an' tacked beautiful2 he went into port at ,lexin'ton yesterday1 and heerin' there all sides o' the story1 an' how them critters sot up for to thieve away our stores1 he got kinder riled at the hull crew1 like a common-sense feller1 an' when ,pitcairn come along1 ,george finally struck his colors1 run up a new un to the mast-head1 borrered a musket1 an' jined the milishy1 an' got shot by them cussed reg'lars fur his pains2 an ef he doos die1 ,i'll hev a figger cut on a stun myself1 to tell folks he was a rebel and an honest man arter all4 ,where is he8 asked ,sally in another whisper4 ,he's to the tavern there in ,lexin'ton4 ,there a'n't nobody along with him1 cause his father's gone to ,bostin to see 'bout not gettin' scomfishkated1 or arter a protection1 or sumthin4 ,and his mother is dead1 said ,sally1 slowly4 ,long6 ,i must go to ,lexington to-night1 on the pillion1 and you must go with me4 ,father's got too much rheumatiz to ask it of him4 ,well6 said ,long1 after a protracted stare at ,sally1--wimmin is the oddest craft that ever sailed4 ,i swan1 when ,i sight 'em ,i don't know a main-top-sail from a flyin' jib6 ,goin' to take care o' ,george1 be ye8 ,yes1 said ,sally1 meekly4 ,long rolled the inseparable quid in his cheek1 and slyly drawled out1 ,w-ell1 if ye must1 ye must6 ,i a'n't a-goin' ter stand in the way of yer dooty6 ,sally was too far away to hear1 or she might have smiled4 ,uncle ,zeke and ,aunt ,poll were to be told and coaxed into assent2--no very hard task2 for ,george ,tucker was a favorite of ',zekiel's1 and now he had turned rebel1 the only grudge he had ever owed him was removed2 he was only too glad to help him in any way4 ,aunt ,poll's sole trouble was lest ,sally should take cold4 ,the proprieties1 those gods of modern social worship1 as well as their progenitors1 the improprieties1 were unknown to these simple souls2 they did things because they were right and wrong4 ,they were not nice according to ,swift's definition1 nor proper in the mode of the best society1 but they were good and pure2 are the disciples and lecturers of the 'proper' equally so8 ,sally's simple preparations were quickly made4 ,by nine o'clock she was safe on the pillion behind ,long ,snapps1 folded in ,aunt ,poll's red joseph1 and provided with saddle-bags full of comforts and necessaries4 ,the night was dark1 but ,sally did not feel any fear2 not ,tam ,o',shanter's experience could have shaken the honest little creature's courage1 when ,george filled the perspective before her4 ,the way was lonely2 the hard road echoed under the old cart-horse's hoofs2 many a black and desolate tract of forest lay across their twenty miles' ride2 more than once the tremulous shriek of a screech-owl smote ominously on ,sally's wakeful sense1 and quavered away like a dying groan2 more than once a mournful whippoorwill cried out in pain and expostulation1 and in the young leaves a shivering wind foreboded evil2--but they rode on4 ,presently ,sally's drooping head rose erect2 she listened2 she laid her hand on the bridle4 ,stop1 ,long6 said she4 ,i hear horses' feet1 and shouts4 ,look here6 said ,long1 after a moment's listening1 there's breakers ahead1 ,sally2 let's heave to in these 'ere piny bushes side o' the track2 it's pitch dark1 mebbe they'll go by4 ,he reined the horse from the road1 and forced him into a group of young hemlocks1 which hid them entirely from passers by4 ,just as he was well ensconced1 a company of ,british cavalry rode up1 broken and disorderly enough1 cursing and swearing at the ,yankees1 and telling to unseen ears a bloody story of ,concord and its men4 ,sally trembled1 but it was with indignation1 not fear1 and as soon as the last hoof-beat died away1 she urged ,long forward2 they regained the road1 and made their way at once to ,george in ,lexington4 ,is it well to paint1 even in failing words1 such emotions as ,sally fought with and conquered in that hour8 ,whoever has stood by the bed of a speechless1 hopeless1 unconscious human being1 in whom their own soul lived and suffered1 will know these pangs without my interpretation4 ,whoever knows them not need not so anticipate4 ,if ,sally had been less a woman1 ,i might have had more to say2 but she was only a woman1 and loved ,george1 so she went on in undisturbed self-control1 and untiring exertion1 to nurse him4 ,the doctor said he could not live2 ,long said he was booked for ,davy ,jones2 the minister prayed for our dying brother2--but ,sally said he should live1 and he did4 ,after weeks of patient care he knew her2 after more weeks he spoke1--words few1 but precious2 and when accumulating months brought to the battlefields of ,america redder stains than even patriotic blood had splashed upon their leaves1--when one nation began to hope1 and another to fear1 both hope and fear had shaken hands with ,sally and said good-bye4 ,she was married to ,george ,tucker1 and1 with the prospect of a crippled husband for life1 was perfectly happy2 too happy not to laugh1 when1 the day after their wedding1 sitting on the door-sill of the old ,westbury homestead1 with ,george and ,long ,snapps1 ,george said1 ,would you ever have come to take care of me1 ,sally1 if ,i'd 'a' been shot on the side of the reg'lars8 ,sally looked at him1 and then looked away4 ,i 'xpect she'd 'a' done her dooty1 said ,long ,snapps dryly2 and ,sally laughed4 ,,the ,,manchester ,,exhibition4 ,in a number of the ,illustrated ,news1 not long since1 there was what professed to be a view of ,manchester4 ,it represented a thousand tall factory-chimneys rising out of a gray mist1 and surmounted by a heavy1 drifting cloud of smoke4 ,and in truth a view not very different from this was presented to any one who1 standing at the entrance of the ,palace of the ,exhibition of ,art ,treasures1 turned and looked back before going within4 ,two miles off lies the body of the great workshop-city1 already stretching its begrimed arms in the direction of the ,exhibition4 ,the vast flat expanse of brick walls1 diversified by countless chimney and occasional steeples1 now and then interrupted by the insertion of a low shed or an enormous warehouse1 offers no single object upon which the eye or the imagination can rest with pleasure4 ,such a view was never to be seen in the world before this century2 a city built merely by trade1 built for the home of labor1 of machines1 and of engines1 and for the dwelling-place 7one cannot call it the home7 of crowds of human beings1 whose value is1 for the most part1 estimated according to the development of their machine-like qualities4 ,beauty is not consulted here4 ,in those places in or near the city1 where ,nature1 reluctant to be driven utterly away1 still tries to keep a foothold1 she is parched and scorched by the feverish breath of forges and furnaces4 ,standing here1 one may see the cloud of smoke1 which waves in the wind like a pall over the city1 slowly moving and settling down upon the land4 ,one may almost hear the roar of the continual fires1 the throb of the engines1 the heavy beat of the trip-hammers1 and the rattle of the spindles1 by which the work of the world is done2 and their noises1 blended by the distance into one monotonous sound1 seem like the voice of the restless1 hard-working1 unsettled spirit of gain4 ,manchester is built and is worked for profit1 not for pleasure2 beauty is driven away from her as a thing at variance with practical life2 and even the sky above her and the fields around her yield only at rare moments and for short seasons those precious and gracious shows of beauty which are the free and blessed gift of love to all the world4 ,smoke1 steam1 coal-dust1 blackened walls1 and bare fields lie outside the ,exhibition2 and now let us go within4 ,the world could show no sharper and more affecting contrast4 ,outside1 all suggests the competitions and struggles of trade1 the crowded street1 the bustle of the exchange1 the cold and dry elements of purely unimaginative life4 ,inside1 all suggests the quietness and composure of solitary and delightful labor1 the silence of the studio1 the resort to nature1 and the frequenting of the springs of poetry4 ,from the present1 one is suddenly transferred to the past2 from the near1 to the remote4 ,in place of the blank1 black factory wall1 there is the low wall of some ,italian ,campo ,santo1 its painted sides more precious than marbles or gold could have made them2 in place of the dull and heavy stone of the ,exchange1 the glowing mosaics of some southern cathedral2 in place of the factory bell and the rush into the steaming and dirty workroom1 the bell of a convent on ,fiesole1 and the slow walk through its cool cloisters2 in place of the dead files of uniform ugly houses1 ,venetian palaces1 with the water at their base1 reflecting the colors which ,giorgione and ,titian1 housepainters at ,venice1 left upon their stones2 in place of the racket of the street1 the quiet greenness of an ,english lane1 or the inaccessible ice and glory of a far-off mountain summit2 in place of the burnt waste of fields covered with ashes and coal-dust1 the burning stretch of the desert with the ,sphinx looking out over it century after century2 in place of the shower coming down through the dirty air to wash the dirty roofs1 a storm breaking over the sea-shore rocks1 or beating down on the broken wreck2 instead of the drabbled calico of the factory girl and her face old before its time1 the satins of ,vandyck's beauties1 and the fair looks of ,sir ,peter ,lely's heroines2 instead of ,manchester mayors and masters of factories1 ,tintoret's noble ,venetian counsellors and doges1 and ,titian's ,shakspearian men4 ,it was a bold thought thus to bring pictures and statues into one great collection at ,old ,trafford1 and to set off the art of the world against the manufactures of ,manchester4 ,the ,exhibition building was admirably designed for its purpose4 ,its plan is simple1 and not unpleasing1 although the proportions1 which its object required1 were such as to prevent any attempt at grand architectural effect4 ,the general arrangement of the interior is easily understood1 even without the aid of a ground-plan4 ,the chief entrance leads into a nave1 which has on each side an aisle of less height1 separated from it by a wall4 ,the wall is broken by two openings1 through which is the passage from nave to aisle1 or aisle to nave4 ,the nave and aisles end in a transept1 and behind the transept are two small saloons1 and a large hall or aisle crossing the building transversely and forming its western end4 ,a gallery runs round the transept1 and another crosses the nave at its eastern end4 ,this is the general arrangement4 ,the walls of the nave or central hall are occupied by the gallery of ,british portraits1 and between the iron columns that support the roof are set pieces of sculpture1 and the cases containing the precious collection of ,ornamental ,art1 7works of the minor arts1 as they might be called17 which has been brought together from private and public sources1 and is quite unrivalled in its completeness4 ,the southern aisle contains the main collection of pictures by ancient1 foreign masters2 while the opposite aisle is filled with the works of the ,british school4 ,the transept1 being chiefly given up to arrangements for an orchestra1 contains below little but a collection of busts1 but its galleries are occupied with the collection of miniatures1 a most admirable and extensive historical series of engravings1 a large number of photographs1 and a very precious collection of original drawings by the old masters4 ,the saloon at the north end of the transept is filled with ,east ,indian and ,chinese tapestries1 furniture1 and works of ornamental design2 while the opposite saloon continues the collection of paintings of ancient masters1 being chiefly occupied with works from the gallery of the ,marquis of ,hertford1 which he sent to the ,exhibition on condition that they should be kept together4 ,the hall that crosses the building at the western end is filled with a collection of water-color drawings4--,such1 in brief1 is an outline of the distribution of the treasures contained in this great palace of ,art4 ,the first impression1 on entering the nave1 is that of the vast space filled with light and rich with color4 ,the attention is not attracted to particular details4 ,separate objects are dwarfed in the long vista4 ,the eye rests on nothing that is not precious1 and is at first contented to wander rapidly from one object to another1 without attempting to delay on any thing4 ,passing down the middle between the ordered files of statues1 7all modern works1 and few of them worthy of remark17 we enter from the transept the south nave1 where the works of the foreign schools of painting are arranged for the most part in chronological order4 ,this nave1 like the opposite1 is divided into three saloons and two vestibules4 ,we are now in the first saloon4 ,on the one side are the works of the earlier ,italian masters1 and on the other those of the masters of the earlier ,german and ,flemish schools4 ,and it is here that one observes the chief deficiency of the collection4 ,the pictures which are here have been brought from the private galleries in which ,england is so rich4 ,many a famous country-house1 full of historic and poetic associations1 gains additional interest from its gallery of pictures or of marbles4 ,blenheim1 ,wilton ,house1 ,warwick ,castle1 have their old walls hung with pictures by ,titian1 ,vandyck1 and ,holbein4 ,who does not remember1 as one of his most delightful recollections of ,england1--delightful as all his recollections of that dear old ,mother-land are1 if he has really seen her1--who does not thus remember the drive from the little country town to the old family place1 up the long avenue under its ancestral trees1 the ferny brook crossed by the stone bridge with its carved balustrade1 the deer feeding on the green slope of the open park or lying under some secular oak1 the heavy white clouds casting their slow shadows on the broad lawn1 the dark spreading cedars of ,lebanon standing on the edge of the bright flower-garden1--the old house itself1 with its quaint gables and oriels1 the broad flight of steps leading to the wide door1--the cheerful reception from the prim1 but good-natured housekeeper1--her pride in the great hall1 and in the pleasant1 home-like rooms1 in ,vandyck's portrait of the beautiful countess1 and in ,holbein's of the fifth earl1--the satisfaction with which she would point to the pictures and the marbles brought two centuries ago from ,italy1 now stopping before this to tell you that it is considered a very improportionable ,virgin by ,parmigianino1 and calling you to observe this old statue of a couching ,silenius wrapped in the skin of a ,pantheon1--and then1 when the ,rubens1 and the ,claude1 and all the other pictures have been seen1 her letting you pass1 as a great favor1 through the library with its well-filled oaken shelves1 the gilding worn off the backs of many of its books by the love of successive generations2--who does not remember such scenes as these1 and recall the glorious pictures from ,florence1 or from ,venice1 or from ,antwerp1 that enrich many an ,english country home8 ,it was1 indeed1 from such homes that the ,manchester collection was1 in great measure1 brought together2 and this being the case1 it is not to be wondered at that it was difficult to form an historic sequence of pictures by which the course and progress of ,art should be properly illustrated1 or that many of the old pictures that hang on the walls of the ,exhibition bear the names of greater masters than they deserve to be honored with4 ,nor is it strange that the earlier schools of ,art should be but very scantily represented4 ,the earlier painters did not do much work that would answer for the decoration of homes2 their work was of a public1 and1 for the most part1 a consecrated nature4 ,the pictures of later centuries are more easily appreciated by those who have not made a thoughtful study of ,art1 and they have consequently been more loudly praised and more generally sought for4 ,the later works have attractive qualities in which the earlier are often deficient1 and it is not until very recently that the real beauty and value of these first pictures of the revival have been felt with any due appreciation4 ,the masters of the fourteenth1 and of the greater part of the fifteenth century1 did not1 as we have said1 paint pictures simply as objects of beauty or for mere purposes of adornment1 nor were those methods of painting then in use which have brought pictures into private homes and within private means4 ,and so it happens that the schools of this period are not represented at ,manchester in any fair proportion to the schools of the sixteenth century4 ,the two most important centuries of ,art are not to be studied here4 ,of the six pictures1 for instance1 that profess to be by ,giotto1 the great head and master of ,italian ,art1 there are but two from which even a faint impression of his style can be gained4 ,there is nothing here which would enable one who had not seen his works in ,italy to conceive a true idea of their character and merits4 ,giotto stands at the threshold of the fourteenth century1 breaking open the door1 so long barred up1 that was to let men into the glories of the unseen world4 ,the friend of ,dante1 he1 as painter1 stands side by side with the poet4 ,in the midst of the tumults1 the confusion1 and violence of those bloody times1 his soul rose above the discord of the world1 his hand snapped the fetters of authority and tradition1 and revealed by line and color the exalted visions of his imagination4 ,painting1 with him1 took its inspiration from religious faith1 and spent itself in religious service4 ,whether at ,padua1 in the little withdrawn ,arena chapel1 or on the bare mountains at ,assisi1 in the great church of ,st4 ,francis1 or at ,naples1 in the king's chapel1 his frescos1 though dimmed by the dust of five hundred years1 blackened by the smoke of incense1 abused by restorers1 still show a power of imagination1 a spirituality and tenderness of feeling1 a simplicity and directness of treatment1 which give them place among the most sacred and precious works that ,art has yet produced4 ,that quiet1 solitary chapel of the ,arena at ,padua is one of the places most worthy of reverence in ,italy2 for in the pictures from the lives of the ,virgin and the ,saviour1 that are painted upon its walls1 there is the expression of such religious fervor1 such faith and love1 as ,art has rarely or never reached in later times4 ,nor is there at ,manchester any picture by ,duccio da ,siena1 the great1 and1 one may almost say1 the worthy contemporary of ,giotto1 from which his power and feeling are to be well estimated4 ,like ,giotto he struggled to free himself from the swathing-clothes in which the traditions of ,byzantine ,art had bound up the limbs and the imaginations of artists1 and he succeeded in at last breaking loose4 ,but the long restraint had impaired the power of all who were subjected to it2 and as in the works of ,giotto1 so in the rarer works of ,duccio1 one often finds an effort after truth of expression1 which is almost pathetic in its character1 from its revealing the inefficiency of the hand to carry out the thought1 and the resolute will striving half in vain to overcome the impediments of bad teaching and imperfect knowledge of the materials and limits of painting4 ,it is this groping effort after truth which results often in the nave rendering of details1 and the quaintness of composition1 which are so common in the works of these early masters2 but the deep feeling of the artists penetrates through all1 and thus even their awkward and imperfect drawing frequently produces a stronger effect1 and seems a better rendering of nature1 than the cold1 unfeeling1 academic accuracy of ,bologna1 or all the finished science of the eclectic schools4 ,in passing down through the century one finds lamentable omissions at ,manchester4 ,fifty pictures1 of which half at least have been restored1 7that is to say1 in part or wholly spoiled17 and half originally the work of inferior masters1 do not represent the art of a century which was full of the glow of reawakening life1 and which1 as the spring covers the earth with flowers1 covered ,italy with cathedrals1 campaniles1 churches1 baptisteries1 and camposantos1 and decorated their walls with sculpture and painting4 ,art was gaining gradually a knowledge of her own powers4 ,orgagna1 the ,michel ,angelo of his time1 7one of his pictures is at ,manchester17 was opening a wider field for her progress2 and ten years after his death ,fra ,angelico was born4 ,he was a boy of fifteen years old when in #adjb ,masaccio was born at ,florence1 and the brightness of the fifteenth century had begun4 ,there is one1 among the four pictures ascribed to ,fra ,angelico in this collection1 from which something of the heavenly purity1 the sweetness1 and the tenderness of this great and gentle master may be learned4 ,it is a picture of the ,last ,judgment4 ,unfortunately1 it has been much injured by time and by neglect2 its brilliant colors have sunk and become dim1--those pure1 clear colors which give to ,fra ,angelico's panel pictures the brilliancy of a missal illumination1 and which reflect the purity and the clearness of his tranquil life and his reverential soul4 ,it is no fanciful theory which connects the uses of color with moral qualities1 and which from the coloring of a picture will deduce something of the moral character of its painter4 ,thus it is not only from the exquisite delicacy of form1 the spirituality of expression1 and the sweet1 reverent fancy in attitude1 of the angels from which ,fra ,angelico derived his name1 but also from the brightness of their golden wings1 from the deep glow of their crimson1 or scarlet1 or azure robes1 and from the clear shining of the stars on their foreheads1 that one learns that he deserved that name as characteristic of his temper and his life4 ,something of the influence of the cloister shows itself in most of his larger works2 but if his vision was narrowed within convent walls1 it did but pierce the more clearly into the regions of tranquillity and loveliness that lay above them4 ,with the end of the fifteenth century religion almost disappears from ,art4 ,john ,bellini1 dying ninety years old in #aeaf1 was the last and one of the greatest of the long line of artists who had loved ,art as the means granted them of serving ,god upon earth4 ,the manly vigor of his conceptions1 the tender and holy purity of his imagination1 the delicate strength of his fancy1 are not to be discovered in the few pictures that bear his name at ,manchester4 ,his pictures are to be fairly seen only at ,venice1 where1 in out-of-the-way churches1 over tawdry altars1 his colors gleam undimmed by time1 and the faces of his ,virgins look down with a still celestial sweetness4 ,but there is one picture here1 by a ,venetian contemporary of ,john ,bellini1 before which we shall do well to pause4 ,it is a ,st4 ,catharine1 by ,cima da ,conegliano4 ,it is the picture of a noble woman1 full of fortitude1 serenity1 and faith4 ,the richness of the color of her dress1 her calm dignity1 the composure of her attitude1 recall to mind and make her the worthy companion of the beautiful ,st4 ,barbara of the church of ,santa ,maria ,formosa4 ,it is well to look at her1 for we are coming to those days when such saints as these were no longer painted2 but in their places whole tribes of figures with faces twisted into every trick of sentimental devotion1 imbecile piety1 and pretended fervor4 ,but before this time1 somewhere about the middle of the fifteenth century1 the fashion of painting pictures upon panel for private purposes1 though as yet religious subjects were principally chosen for treatment1 had already begun2 and we find the masters of the early part of the sixteenth century represented with tolerable fulness at ,manchester4 ,english collectors have long had a passion for ,raphael1 and ,england is almost as rich in his works in oils as ,italy herself4 ,italy1 however1 keeps his frescos2 and may she long keep them6 ,there are more than thirty works ascribed to ,raphael hanging on the walls of the ,exhibition4 ,many of them are of doubtful genuineness2 many of them have been restored4 ,it is impossible to trace in these pictures the progress of ,raphael's manner1 and to mark the development of his style2 but even in these one may see something of the change from the simplicity and feeling of his early works1 produced under the influence of religious sentiment1 and the still clinging stiffness of traditional restraints1 to the freedom and coldness of his later works1 painted under the influence of success at a dissolute court1 of flattery1 of jealousy1 and of indifference to the motives of religion4 ,the ,venetian masters of the sixteenth century fill a large portion of the sides of one of the great saloons of this aisle1 covering it with a glow of deepest color4 ,the opposite side is hung with many pictures by ,rubens2 and the contrast between the works of the mighty colorists of ,venice and the famous colorist of ,antwerp is not without curious interest and instruction4 ,the ,venice wall has the color of ,venetian sunsets1 the gold and crimson of its clouds1 the solemn blue of the ,cadore hills1 the deep green of the lagoons1 the brown and purple of the seaweeds1 and the shadows of the city of decaying palaces4 ,here are such harmonies as ,nature strikes in her great symphony of color4 ,but on the other wall are the colors of the courts in which ,rubens passed so many of his days1--the dyes of tapestry1 the sheen of jewels and velvet1 the glaring crimson and yellow of royal displays2 while the harmonies that he strikes out with his rapid and powerful hand are like those of the music of some great military band4 ,there are noble pictures here by ,giorgione1 and ,titian1 and ,tintoret1 and ,paul ,veronese1 and ,bonifazio4 ,look at this ,musical ,party by ,giorgione1 this landscape by ,titian1 this portrait of the vile ,duke of ,alva by the same great master1 the greatest master of all in portraiture4 ,it is the ,duke himself1 not merely in his outward presence1 but such as the insight of one as profoundly versed in human as in external nature beheld him4 ,the portrait is a biography of the man1 and one may read in the narrow1 hard1 and wily face the history of his cruel life4 ,the same qualities of inward vision are displayed by ,tintoret in his more hasty portraits1 and one learns as much of ,venetian men and of their lives from the pencil of ,titian and of ,tintoret as from the pens of contemporary chroniclers4 ,the picture by ,bonifazio of a ,virgin and ,child surrounded by saints is a splendid example of this almost unsurpassed colorist2 while several of the pictures by ,paul ,veronese are among the most precious things in all the ,exhibition1 as clear and uninjured specimens of admirable ,venetian work4 ,the ,bolognese school is represented at ,manchester out of all proportion to its worth1 in comparison with the earlier and greater schools of ,italy4 ,it is essentially the school of decline1 and1 after the time of ,francia1 very few pictures proceeded from it dignified by noble thought1 or exhibiting either purity or power of imagination4 ,its very method condemned it to inferiority4 ,but debased as it is1 it has been during the last two centuries the object of perhaps more real and affected admiration than any other of the schools of ,italian art4 ,fortunately1 we have entered upon a better period of criticism1 and a change is fast coming over the public taste4 ,but it is a curious fact1 that the most popular picture in the whole gallery of ancient masters1 the picture before which larger crowds assemble and linger than before any other1 is one from this school1--the three ,maries weeping over the body of the ,saviour1 by ,annibale ,caracci4 ,a portion of the interest which it excites undoubtedly arises from the report that ,louis ,napoleon has offered the sum of #bj1jjj for it to its possessor1 the ,earl of ,carlisle2 but its intrinsic qualities are such as to explain much of its attraction for uneducated eyes4 ,the attitudes of the figures are violent and theatrical1 the colors are strong1 the surface is smooth1 the subject is easily recognized and of general interest4 ,but whatever value be set upon these points1 it is an example of many of the worst defects of the school4 ,the expressions of the figures are exaggerated and unnatural1 the color1 though strong1 is cold and inharmonious1 the drawing feeble and incorrect1 the sentiment inconceivably material4 ,it is a true exponent of the low ebb of artistic power and of religious feeling at the period at which it was painted4 ,but we are delaying too long in these halls of the old painters4 ,we have scarcely looked at a tithe of the eleven hundred pictures that hang around1 and we must pass by with only a glance the long lines of ,german1 ,flemish1 and ,dutch works1 and the rows of pictures by the great ,spanish masters4 ,we can but see how much there is for pleasure and for study1 and wish in vain to pause before ,rembrandt1 and ,cuyp1 and ,ruysdael1 and ,vandyck1 before ,murillo and ,velasquez4 ,we come out into the nave1 and1 forgetting for a time pictures as works of art1 let us look at them as representations of men1 as we pass along before the portraits of ,british worthies1 with which the two sides of this great hall are hung4 ,it is a gallery of which every one of ,british blood may be proud2 for no other country could show such a long line of the portraits of her famous men1 and feel at the same time that so many of her greatest were not to be found in the collection4 ,the gallery begins with a portrait of ,king ,henry ,,iv42 it ends with that of ,mr4 ,prescott4 ,after nearly four hundred ,english worthies1 at last one ,american1--and only one2 for in the whole collection there is but one other portrait of an ,american1--,west1 the painter1--and he was ,english by adoption1 though not by birth4 ,we could spare his fame without great loss1 but it would not do for us to give up that of our popular historian4 ,in the next great assemblage of the portraits of the worthies of the ,english race and speech1 perhaps those born on this side of the ,atlantic may appear in larger numbers and in even rank of honor4 ,the first portrait on the catalogue is that of ,king ,henry ,,iv42 but he has displaced here1 as in life1 his predecessor on the throne4 ,henry ,,vi4 and ,richard ,,iii4 follow in near succession2 but it is not till ,henry ,,viii4's time that we really enter upon the field of ,english portraiture4 ,we begin with the king himself4 ,here is ,holbein's famous picture of him2 a picture that represents a man so gross1 so sensual1 so disgusting in appearance1 that one recognizes its truth1 and wonders that the court-painter did not lose his head for such a libellous sincerity4 ,wolsey is near his master2 his face is that of a man exceeding wise1 fair-spoken1 and persuading2 he has a large1 full brow1 narrow and shrewd eyes1 a delicate nose1 and somewhat heavy and sensual cheeks4 ,a little later the portraits become more numerous4 ,of ,queen ,elizabeth there are seven here1 and in them may be traced the great changes of her face1--from that of the plain1 awkward1 not altogether unpleasing1 red-haired girl1 to that of the hard1 bitter1 disappointed old woman4 ,some of her courtiers surround her2--,leicester1 with a treacherous uncertainty of expression2 and ,burleigh1 riding on a mule1 and holding flowers in his hand1--an odd representation of the great ,lord ,treasurer4 ,and here1 too1 is ,henry ,wriothesley1 the ,earl of ,southampton1 finding a deserved place among the chief men of his time1--for he was ,shakspeare's friend1 and to him the ,rape of ,lucrece was dedicated1 with the words1 ,what ,i have done is yours2 what ,i have to do is yours2 being part in all ,i have devoted yours4 ,here is ,holbein's portrait of ,sir ,walter ,raleigh1 with the face of a true knight4 ,sidney is not here1 but ,sidney's sister1 ,pembroke's mother1 has an honored place1--and though her portrait is not of so fair a woman as one might desire to have seen her1 it has the look of a woman wise and good4 ,and here are ,shakspeare and ,ben ,jonson themselves2--the ,chandos portrait of ,shakspeare1 with which all the world is familiar1 more interesting from its own fame than from its being either an authentic or a satisfactory likeness of the poet2 and ,ben ,jonson close by1 with his strong features and manly face4 ,and ,fletcher1 and ,shirley1 and ,dick ,burbadge1 who first acted ,hamlet1 and whose picture explains why the queen should say1 ,he's fat and scant of breath1--and others of the same great band of contemporaries4 ,their heads belong for the most part to one broad type2 their common characteristics are strongly marked4 ,there were never finer heads than these2--the broad1 uplifted1 solidly based skulls2 the strong and vigorous marking of the features1 giving evidence1 both in shape and in expression1 of the union of pure intellect and pure imagination4 ,compare with them the heads of the wits and statesmen of ,charles ,,ii4's time4 ,see the difference2--the high1 wide arch of the skull is lowered or narrowed2 the broad brow cramped2 the features finer cut1 but losing in force what they gain in fineness4 ,look1 for instance1 at this ,vandyck of ,sir ,john ,suckling1--only the next generation after the great men2 but his portrait is that of an idler1 his head that of a man without great thoughts or great interests4 ,the age of imagination had passed2 the age of fancy was setting in4 ,here and there in the later days one finds a man who might belong to the earlier time2--for instance1 this likeness of ,sir ,henry ,wotton1 also by ,vandyck1 gives us a broad and noble head2 but one sees the time to which he belonged in his somewhat affected meditative attitude1 and in the word ,philosophemur1 which is inscribed upon the canvas4 ,the finest type of head which ,england has had since the time of ,elizabeth was that developed among the ,roundheads4 ,round heads they were1 and noble heads too4 ,they are well represented here4 ,look at this portrait of ,cromwell2--it has the same character and expression with that still nobler likeness of him which he sent to the ,duke of ,tuscany1 and which hangs now in one of the back halls of the ,pitti ,gallery1 a stern1 silent monitor to the dull ,florentines4 ,frederick ,tennyson said of it1 that it was the best battle-piece he ever saw2--,in its red ruggedness it looks as if it had been sketched in by the gleam of ,dunbar's cannon flashes4 ,hampden1 ,eliot1 and ,pym1 with wide individual differences1 all belong to the same class2--the lines of their faces1 which in ,hampden and in ,eliot have settled into a cast of resolute melancholy1 and in ,pym betray the sternness of his nature1 tell in all of the hard discipline of their lives1 and the upright patriotism of their hearts4 ,compare the faces of these patriots with those of the leaders of the ,french ,revolutions4 ,the ,cavaliers1 with a type of head less fine1 were for the most part handsomer men than the ,roundheads4 ,here is ,lovelace1 the poet1 for instance2 ,aubrey says of him1 ,he was an extraordinary handsome man1 and this likeness bears out the assertion4 ,his face has a look of enthusiasm and of gallantry1 appropriate to the man who could write1 ,stone walls do not a prison make4 ,with the portraits of ,brooke1 and ,fairfax1 and ,falkland1 and ,astley1 and others of the time1 the comparison between ,roundhead and ,cavalier might be carried still farther1--but we must pass on4 ,the portrait of ,hobbes of ,malmesbury1 as an old man1 hangs near that of ,sir ,thomas ,browne4 ,it is a curious contrast between the imaginative and the unimaginative philosopher1--between the student of innumerable books1 and the cynic who declared that he should know as little as other men1 if he had read as many books4 ,there is a whole bevy here of the famous beauties of ,charles ,,ii4's court1--full of the affected airs and languishing graces which ,sir ,peter ,lely knew well how to paint1 and rarely showing any thing in their portraits of the sprightliness which some of them at least possessed in life4 ,the only one of ,sir ,peter's full-length beauties1 who calls up any associations but such as belong to ,grammont's ,memoirs1 is ,margaret ,lucas1 the ,duchess of ,newcastle4 ,who does not know her through ,charles ,lamb1 and love her for ,charles ,lamb's sake8 ,she looks out of place here1 between ,charles ,,ii4 and the ,duchess of ,cleveland2 and it was not in a fancy dress of most fantastic style that she wrote her memoir of her husband1--in which she tells of what ,my ,lord would eat at dinner1 as well as collects the wise things which dropped from ,my ,lord's lips4 ,the worthy ,secretary ,pepys appears here1 in an excellent conceited picture1 of which he himself has told the story in his ,diary3-- #afff1 ,march #ag4 ,to ,hales's1 and paid him #ad for the picture1 and #a #es4 for the frame4 ,this day ,i began to sit1 and he will make me1 ,i think1 a very fine picture4 ,he promises it shall be as good as my wife's2 and ,i sit to have it full of shadows1 and do almost break my neck looking over my shoulder1 to make the posture for him to work by4 ,march #cj4 ,to ,hales's1 and there sat till almost quite dark upon working my gowne1 which ,i hired to be drawn in2 an ,indian gowne4 ,april #aa4 ,to ,hales's1 where there was nothing found to be done more to my picture1 but the musique1 which now pleases me mightily1 it being painted true4 ,footnote3 ,mr4 ,peter ,cunningham has quoted these passages in his excellent catalogue of the gallery4 ,and here is ,kneller's familiar portrait of ,john ,evelyn1 the other diarist of the times4 ,and ,lely's portrait of ,rochester1 the rou1 represented in the characteristic act of crowning his monkey with laurel1--laurel to which he sometimes aspired himself4 ,and ,kneller's portrait of ,lord ,william ,russell1 with a face that answers better to the character of the man1 as it appeared before he was brought face to face with death1 and forced to exert and to display the manlier qualities of his nature4 ,the men of letters of the end of the #agth and the beginning of the #ahth century appear here in great force4 ,with the faces of most of them the world is familiar4 ,here are six of the ,kit-,kat ,club portraits that were painted for ,jacob ,tonson4 ,first in order ,tonson himself1 the very personification of the nourishing publisher and patron of authors1 with the pleasant air of the happy discoverer of genius1 and the maker of its fortune as well as of his own4 ,he holds a folio copy of ,paradise ,lost2 it is ,tonson patting ,milton on the back4 ,dryden1 ,vanbrugh1 ,congreve1 ,steele1 ,addison1 and ,lord ,chancellor ,somers are the other five of these celebrated portraits4 ,what a congress of wits6 ,but we have besides1 ,atterbury1 and ,pope1 and ,lady ,mary ,wortley ,montague1 and ,prior1 and ,tickell1 and ,swift4 ,pope's face1 as given in ,kneller's portrait1 7which recalls the poet's stolen complimentary verse to the painter17 has a sad and weary look1 and is marked by that pallor1 and that peculiar hollowness of eye and cheek1 which often accompany bodily deformity4 ,swift's face betrays but little of the bitterness of his soul2 but it was painted in his best days1 before the cloud of darkness had begun to settle down upon him4 ,it is the portrait of him as he was in ,london1 among his set1--not as he was in the half-banishment of his ,irish life4 ,the end of the century brings us to other familiar portraits1 and at length to portraits painted by great native artists4 ,gainsborough and ,reynolds appear in full rivalry4 ,here are ,gainsborough's ,johnson1 the well-known profile portrait1 and ,sir ,joshua's ,boswell2 ,gainsborough's ,garrick1 a most delightful portrait of ,garrick's pleasantest expression1 and ,sir ,joshua's ,gibbon1 which looks as ugly and as conceited as the little man himself4 ,one of ,reynolds's most pleasing portraits is his likeness of himself in spectacles4 ,it has suffered from the fading of colors and the cracking of the paint1 as so many of ,sir ,joshua's best pictures have done2 but it still presents him amiable1 cultivated1 and unpretending1 the accomplished artist and the kindly friend1 and affords the best possible illustration of the character which ,goldsmith drew of him in his ,retaliation4 ,we pass rapidly before the portraits of the present century4 ,every one knows by heart the faces of ,scott and ,byron1 ,southey and ,coleridge4 ,but there is one little portrait1 hung at the end of the gallery1 in front of which we pause4 ,it has no remarkable merit as a work of art1 but it is the portrait of ,keats1 painted in ,rome by his friend ,severn4 ,the young poet is resting his head on his hand1 as if it were heavy and tired4 ,his face has a look of illness2 his eyes are large1 and the spaces around them are hollow4 ,his wide and well-formed brow1 and all the features1 betray a temperament delicate1 passionate1 and sensitive to excess4 ,this portrait was painted1 according to tradition1 in the little summer-house studio1 at the corner of the ,via ,strozzi4 ,the windows look out over the garden with its cypress walks1 its old pine trees1 its rows of cabbages and artichokes1 its weather-stained statues and bits of ancient marbles4 ,beyond are the walls of ,rome1 and beyond these the ,campagna stretches away in level lines of beauty to the blue billow of the ,alban hills4 ,on this view the eyes of the dying poet rested1 while his heart gave no prophecy to him of coming fame4 ,would it have cheered him1 during those last disheartened days1 to have foreseen that so soon ,england would rank him among her honored children1 and place his portrait in the gallery of the most worthy of her dead2 while a line of his writing1 ,a thing of beauty is a joy forever1 should be emblazoned in glowing letters at the end of the great hall of her first great ,palace of ,art8 ,we come now to the northern aisle1 the aisle which contains the works of the ,british school of painters4 ,it is the most complete of the sections of this great collection of pictures1 and the lessons which are to be learned from it of the present condition and prospects of ,art are of the highest interest4 ,here are six hundred pictures1 the ,english record of about a hundred years of painting4 ,never before has there been such a collection of the works of ,english painters1 and never before has there been an opportunity of studying so fully and satisfactorily the course and progress of the ,english school4 ,the beginning of this school hardly dates before the first quarter of the last century4 ,public taste was then at its lowest level4 ,the fall of ,art in ,italy1 in the preceding century1 had carried down with it both the appreciation and the feeling for what was truly good4 ,a factitious taste had taken the place of honest and simple likings4 ,the worst things were often preferred1 the worst pictures bought4 ,artists1 as a class1 had given up the study of ,nature as the foundation of ,art2 and in the place of ,nature1 they had put other men's pictures4 ,they had substituted a system of conventional rules and traditional methods1 for the infinite variety and the unceasing study of truth4 ,they preferred falsehood1 they liked imitation1 and their patrons soon came to consider the feeble results of falsehood and imitation as better than honest work and strong originality4 ,of course1 here and there was a man whose native love of truth or spirit of opposition would give him strength to break loose from the fetters of artistic convention and prevailing taste1 and to exhibit the truth in his pictures4 ,such a man was the first great artist of the ,english school1 ,hogarth2 the greatest humorist of a century rich in humorists1 with a knowledge of human nature that reminds one sometimes of ,fielding's in its clearness and variety1 sometimes of ,goldsmith's in its tender pleasantry4 ,but ,hogarth had to struggle all his life against the taste of his time1 which was unable to appreciate his merit4 ,he was too natural for an artificial age4 ,among the pictures exhibited here is one from his famous series of the ,harlot's ,progress4 ,it is too well known by the engravings to need description2 but when the eight masterly pictures which compose this series were sold at auction during ,hogarth's life1 they brought the sum of fourteen guineas each6 ,the ,march of the ,guards to ,finchley1 so admirable in composition1 so full of incident and character1 so rich in humor1 could not be sold by the artist1 and he disposed of it in a lottery1 in which many tickets were left on his hands4 ,and while this was the fate of works which still stand unsurpassed in their peculiar field1 the amateurs were paying enormous prices for worthless pictures of second-rate ,italian masters1 and talking about their ,correggios and ,raphaels and stuff4 ,from ,hogarth to ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds is a wide step4 ,sir ,joshua is well represented here by some thirty pictures2 and ,gainsborough is at his side with perhaps half as many4 ,if ,sir ,joshua had not been a man of genius1 he would have been ruined by his academic principles4 ,he laid down rules which he constantly violated4 ,he praised the ,bolognese masters1 and advised all students of ,art in ,italy to study at ,bologna2 but he did not confine himself to the study of other men's works1 but sometimes gave himself1 with honest sincerity and affection1 to the study of ,nature2 and thus it is that it becomes hard to draw the line of praise between some of his pictures and some of those by ,gainsborough1 and to say which are the best4 ,gainsborough was no academician2 he did not believe in conventionalities4 ,when ,sir ,joshua laid down as a rule that blue was bad as a prevailing color in pictures1 ,gainsborough painted his famous ,blue ,boy1 and made one of the most charming portraits and pleasantest pictures that had ever been painted in ,england4 ,look at ,sir ,joshua's delightful1 winning ,nelly ,o',brien1--what a happy picture of a girl6--and then look at ,gainsborough's ,mrs4 ,graham1 with her exquisite1 perhaps even too exquisite1 beauty2 and see1 not which of the artists was the best1 for that it is hard to see1 but how great both were as students and renderers of human nature4 ,one of the best of ,reynolds's portraits is that of ,foote1 the actor4 ,he is leaning over a chair1 and his laughing face is looking out from the canvas1 as if he were watching the effect of one of his own most brilliant and easy jokes4 ,but ,sir ,joshua does not compare with ,gainsborough in landscape2 there the lover of ,nature had the advantage over the lover of ,poussin and ,claude4 ,the famous picture of ,puck1 which ,lord ,fitzwilliam lately bought at ,mr4 ,rogers's sale for the extravagant sum of nine hundred and eighty guineas1 is here for all eyes to see how far the imagination of the ,president of the ,royal ,academy differed from that of ,shakspeare4 ,but the principles which ,sir ,joshua laid down1 though they did not ruin his own works1 did much to ruin those of the next generation of painters4 ,there was still the struggle between the painters by rule and according to convention1 and the painters of truth as found in ,nature4 ,but the painters of ,nature were in a minority so small as to be powerless against the prevailing current4 ,english ,art seemed to be running down2 cold formalisms1 classicalities1 extravagances1 affectations1 imitations1 high art1 occupied the field almost to the exclusion of better things4 ,west1 ,fuseli1 ,northcote1 ,barry1 ,sir ,thomas ,lawrence1 ,haydon1 ,maclise1 and ,sir ,charles ,eastlake form a famous line of painters who have been admired1 but whose works have little value except as warnings1 and as showing into what errors a false method and want of recognition of the foundation and the end of ,art may lead men not destitute of ability4 ,but while these men had their day1 the school of the lovers of ,nature as seen in the external world was making irregular progress4 ,the overwhelming pressure of conventional traditions is shown most forcibly1 however1 by the fact that the great leader of this school of the students of landscape nature1 the man to whom was given the power to see and to represent ,nature in all the changing glories and beauties of her ceaselessly varying moods1 the man who knew the value of truth and set his desires upon it accordingly1--that this man should have been for years of his life kept down to the imitation of and competition with the works of painters of previous centuries who were supposed to have painted landscapes4 ,but it was ,pegasus running a race with cart-horses4 ,he had reached the goal which they had never aspired after4 ,there are nineteen pictures of ,turner's here at ,manchester2 some of them among his noblest works4 ,here is his ,cologne at ,sunset2 look at it1 for the picture will fade before your eyes1 and you will stand looking at the golden glow of evening over the church towers1 and the gleaming river of the ancient city4 ,with the growth of ,turner's power1 and the commencement of a better period of public taste and feeling1 as marked not only in ,art1 but in letters1 the study of ,nature became more manifest in the ,english school4 ,in different directions1 and with different degrees of success1 many artists1 but generally with more or less faltering1 broke away from the old system4 ,wilkie1 ,etty1 ,constable1 ,collins1 and others1 often painted simple and sincere pictures1 pictures that showed careful study and real love of ,nature4 ,all these artists may be seen to advantage here4 ,but in looking at the mass of the collection1 one sees that the true principles of ,art have not even as yet been generally recognized by the majority of ,english artists4 ,the last hall of the gallery1 which is devoted to the works of living artists1 gives especial proof of this fact4 ,but at the same time1 it gives proof of the rise of a spirit among a small body of the younger painters1 whose influence promises to be of strong and beneficial effect4 ,the artists among whom this spirit exists are the ,pre-,raphaelites4 ,great misconception exists with regard to the works and to the principles of ,art of this school4 ,the name by which it is known has in part occasioned this misconception4 ,it was not happily chosen2 for these ,pre-,raphaelites1 instead of being three centuries behind their times1 are fully up with the day in which they live4 ,pre-,raphaelitism was not intended to mean1 as it might seem to imply1 the going back to worn-out and obsolete methods of painting1 the resort to past modes of representation2 it does not mean the adoption of the artistic forms1 traditions1 or rules of the old painters2 it does not mean the seeking of inspiration from the works of any other men2 but1 in theory at least1 it means the pursuit of ,art in that spirit which the painters before ,raphael possessed1 the spirit which united ,art with ,religion2 it means the pursuit of ,art with the humility of learners1 with the faith of apostles4 ,it does not mean the reproduction of the quaintnesses1 and awkwardnesses1 and limitations of the early artists1 more than it means the adoption of the errors of their creed as exhibited in their paintings2 but it means that as those artists broke loose from the bondage of ,byzantine captivity1 and found in ,nature the source of all true inspiration1 the exhaustless fountain from which their imaginations might draw perpetual refreshment1--so these artists who took this name would free themselves from whatever they could discern to be false in the teaching and practice of ,art in our times1 and give themselves to the study of that beauty and that truth which are to be found in ,god's world to-day1 whether in external nature or in human hearts1 actions1 and lives4 ,truth was to be their device2 ,nature was to be their mistress4 ,and in the ardor of youth1 they set forth for the conquest of new and untravelled lands4 ,it is greatly to be regretted that there should be but an inconsiderable number of pictures in this last hall of the ,english gallery by ,pre-,raphaelite artists4 ,a little private exhibition of seventy-two pictures and drawings1 by some twenty artists of this school1 which was held in a small house in ,london1 during the month of ,june1 gave a far better view of what had been already accomplished by them1 of the practical working out of their principles of ,art1 and of their present tendencies4 ,three men stand as the prominent leaders of the movement1--,rosetti1 ,hunt1 and ,millais4 ,there is not a single picture by ,rosetti at ,manchester2 but two 7if we remember rightly7 by ,millais2 and although there are several by ,hunt1 there are none of his latest works1 nor the most powerful and beautiful of his comparatively early ones1 the well-known ,light of the ,world4 ,rosetti has never1 we believe1 exhibited in public4 ,but whether he paint ,dante led in a vision by ,love to see ,beatrice lying dead1--or the ,angel leading ,king and ,shepherd to adore the new-born ,saviour1 while the angelic choir in white robes stand around the manger in the night1 singing their song of ,peace and ,good-will1--or ,queen ,guinever and ,sir ,lancelot meeting in the autumn day at ,king ,arthur's tomb1--or ,mary of ,magdala flying from the house of revels1 and clasping the alabaster box of ointment to her bosom1--or ,ophelia redelivering to ,hamlet his gifts of remembrance1 while he strips the leaves from a rosetree as he breaks her heart1--or the young farmer1 who1 having driven his cart to ,london1 and crossed one of the bridges over the black river1 finds in the cold1 wet morning his old love1 long lost1 now fallen at the side of the street1 fainting against the dead brick wall of a graveyard2 whether he paint these or other scenes1 in all are to be found such sense of the higher truths of ,nature and such faithful rendering of them1 such force of expression1 and such beauty of conception1 as place them as works of imagination among the first that this age has produced4 ,with equal fidelity to ,nature1 with a more definite moral purpose1 perhaps with a more consistent steadiness of work1 but with less delicate sense of beauty1 and with imagination of a very different order1 ,hunt stands with ,rosetti in the front ranks of ,pre-,raphaelitism4 ,the earnestness and directness of moral expression in most of his pictures is such as has for a long time been rare in ,art4 ,art is with him a means of enforcing the recognition of truths often avoided or carefully concealed4 ,their powerful dramatic character compels the attention of the careless to his pictures4 ,he paints ,claudio and ,isabella in the prison scene1 and it is not merely a vivid rendering of the scene in its external features1 but also a true rendering of the character of ,claudio and ,isabella1 of the weakness of the coward1 of the strength that dwells with the pure4 ,his ,awakened ,conscience is a scene from the interior of ,london life2 a denunciation of the vice of which the world is so careless2 a sad1 stern picture of the bitterness of sin4 ,millais is less in earnest1 and his pictures1 with many great technical merits1 with portions of very exquisite painting1 have rarely possessed any great worth as works of imagination4 ,one of the tenderest of them all is the ,huguenots1 the girl and her lover parting1 which is now becoming generally known through the engraving that has recently been published4 ,the ,autumn ,leaves1 which is exhibited at ,manchester1 is one of his least satisfactory pictures4 ,but all these men are young1 and what they have already accomplished is but as the promise of greater things to come4 ,it is impossible1 however1 to look forward for these greater things1 without a feeling of doubt and uncertainty as to their being produced4 ,the times in which we are living are not fitted to develope and confirm the qualities on which the best results of ,art depend4 ,ours is neither an age of composure nor of faith4 ,it urges speedy results2 it desires effective1 rather than simple1 truthful work4 ,but the ,pre-,raphaelites are exposed to especial dangers2 just now to the dangers that come from success4 ,and these are of two kinds2 first1 the undermining of that humility which is the secret of mastery2 and secondly1 the tendency to the development of peculiarities and mannerisms1 to the exaggeration of special features that have attracted attention in their work1 and which have a factitious value set upon them by the public1 as they are taken to be the signs and passwords of initiation into the new school4 ,but1 lying deeper than these1 there is a danger to ,pre-,raphaelitism from the tendency to insist on too literal an application of its own principles4 ,the best principles will not include all cases4 ,the workings and ways of ,nature are infinite1 and the principles of ,art are finite deductions from these infinite examples4 ,as yet these deductions have been but imperfectly made4 ,the most exact and truthful representation of ,nature may be the rule of the artist1 but it is not an easy thing to attain to an understanding of the truth of ,nature4 ,the actual is not always the real4 ,literal truth is not always exact truth2 and the seeming truth1 which is what ,art must often represent1 is very different from the absolute truth4 ,and here there has been much stumbling in ,pre-,raphaelitism1 and there is likelihood of fall2 likelihood of the actual being mistaken for the real1 the show for the essence4 ,it is1 indeed1 apparently1 a tendency toward this error which has deprived most of the best pictures of the ,pre-,raphaelites of the quality of breadth1 a quality which ,nature usually preserves in herself1 which in painting takes the place of harmony in music1 and which only the greatest painters have acquired4 ,but if ,pre-,raphaelitism be true1 not to the letter1 but to the spirit of its principles1--if its artists remain unspoiled by flattery and success1--if they avoid mannerisms1 conceits1 and the affectations of originality1--if they can keep religious faith undimmed by the world's slow stain2 then we may expect from the school such works of painting as have not been seen in past times1--works which shall be the forerunners of a new period of ,art1 and shall show what undreamed conquests yet lie open before it1--works which shall take us into regions of yet undiscovered beauty1 and reveal to us more and more of the exhaustless love of ,god4 ,,the ,,rommany ,,girl4 ,the sun goes down1 and with him takes ,the coarseness of my poor attire2 ,the fair moon mounts1 and aye the flame ,of gypsy beauty blazes higher4 ,pale northern girls6 you scorn our race2 ,you captives of your air-tight halls1 ,wear out in-doors your sickly days1 ,but leave us the horizon walls4 ,and if ,i take you1 dames1 to task1 ,and say it frankly without guile1 ,then you are gypsies in a mask1 ,and ,i the lady all the while4 ,if1 on the heath1 under the moon1 ,i court and play with paler blood1 ,me false to mine dare whisper none1-- ,one sallow horseman knows me good4 ,go1 keep your cheek's rose from the rain1 ,for teeth and hair with shopmen deal2 ,my swarthy tint is in the grain1 ,the rocks and forest know it real4 ,the wild air bloweth in our lungs1 ,the keen stars twinkle in our eyes1 ,the birds gave us our wily tongues1 ,the panther in our dances flies4 ,you doubt we read the stars on high1 ,nathless we read your fortunes true2 ,the stars may hide in the upper sky1 ,but without glass we fathom you4 ,,the ,,chartist',s ,,complaint4 ,day6 hast thou two faces1 ,making one place two places8 ,one1 by humble farmer seen1 ,chill and wet1 unlighted1 mean1 ,useful only1 triste and damp1 ,serving for a laborer's lamp8 ,have the same mists another side1 ,to be the appanage of pride1 ,gracing the rich man's wood and lake1 ,his park where amber mornings break1 ,and treacherously bright to show ,his planted isle where roses glow8 ,o ,day6 and is your mightiness ,a sycophant to smug success8 ,will the sweet sky and ocean broad ,be fine accomplices to fraud8 ,o ,sun6 ,i curse thy cruel ray6 ,back1 back to chaos1 harlot ,day6 ,,days4 ,daughters of ,time1 the hypocritic ,days1 ,muffled and dumb1 like barefoot dervishes1 ,and marching single in an endless file1 ,bring diadems and fagots in their hands4 ,to each they offer gifts1 after his will1-- ,bread1 kingdoms1 stars1 or sky that holds them all4 ,i1 in my pleached garden1 watched the pomp1 ,forgot my morning wishes1 hastily ,took a few herbs and apples1 and the ,day ,turned and departed silent4 ,i1 too late1 ,under her solemn fillet saw the scorn4 ,,brahma4 ,if the red slayer think he slays1 ,or if the slain think he is slain1 ,they know not well the subtle ways ,i keep1 and pass1 and turn again4 ,far or forgot to me is near1 ,shadow and sunlight are the same1 ,the vanished gods to me appear1 ,and one to me are shame and fame4 ,they reckon ill who leave me out2 ,when me they fly1 ,i am the wings2 ,i am the doubter and the doubt1 ,and ,i the hymn the ,brahmin sings4 ,the strong gods pine for my abode1 ,and pine in vain the sacred ,seven2 ,but thou1 meek lover of the good6 ,find me1 and turn thy back on heaven4 ,,the ,,autocrat ,,of ,,the ,,breakfast-,,table4 ,,every ,,man ,,his ,,own ,,boswell4 ,i was just going to say1 when ,i was interrupted1 that one of the many ways of classifying minds is under the heads of arithmetical and algebraical intellects4 ,all economical and practical wisdom is an extension or variation of the following arithmetical formula3 #b #b #d4 ,every philosophical proposition has the more general character of the expression a b c4 ,we are mere operatives1 empirics1 and egotists1 until we learn to think in letters instead of figures4 ,they all stared4 ,there is a divinity student lately come among us to whom ,i commonly address remarks like the above1 allowing him to take a certain share in the conversation1 so far as assent or pertinent questions are involved4 ,he abused his liberty on this occasion by presuming to say that ,leibnitz had the same observation4--,no1 sir1 ,i replied1 he has not4 ,but he said a mighty good thing about mathematics1 that sounds something like it1 and you found it1 not in the original1 but quoted by ,dr4 ,thomas ,reid4 ,i will tell the company what he did say1 one of these days4 --,if ,i belong to a ,society of ,mutual ,admiration8--,i blush to say that ,i do not at this present moment4 ,i once did1 however4 ,it was the first association to which ,i ever heard the term applied2 a body of scientific young men in a great foreign city who admired their teacher1 and to some extent each other4 ,many of them deserved it2 they have become famous since4 ,it amuses me to hear the talk of one of those beings described by ,thackeray-- ,letters four do form his name-- about a social development which belongs to the very noblest stage of civilization4 ,all generous companies of artists1 authors1 philanthropists1 men of science1 are1 or ought to be1 ,societies of ,mutual ,admiration4 ,a man of genius1 or any kind of superiority1 is not debarred from admiring the same quality in another1 nor the other from returning his admiration4 ,they may even associate together and continue to think highly of each other4 ,and so of a dozen such men1 if any one place is fortunate enough to hold so many4 ,the being referred to above assumes several false premises4 ,first1 that men of talent necessarily hate each other4 ,secondly1 that intimate knowledge or habitual association destroys our admiration of persons whom we esteemed highly at a distance4 ,thirdly1 that a circle of clever fellows1 who meet together to dine and have a good time1 have signed a constitutional compact to glorify themselves and put down him and the fraction of the human race not belonging to their number4 ,fourthly1 that it is an outrage that he is not asked to join them4 ,here the company laughed a good deal1 and the old gentleman who sits opposite said1 ,that's it6 that's it6 ,i continued1 for ,i was in the talking vein4 ,as to clever people's hating each other1 ,i think a little extra talent does sometimes make people jealous4 ,they become irritated by perpetual attempts and failures1 and it hurts their tempers and dispositions4 ,unpretending mediocrity is good1 and genius is glorious2 but a weak flavor of genius in an essentially common person is detestable4 ,it spoils the grand neutrality of a commonplace character1 as the rinsings of an unwashed wineglass spoil a draught of fair water4 ,no wonder the poor fellow we spoke of1 who always belongs to this class of slightly flavored mediocrities1 is puzzled and vexed by the strange sight of a dozen men of capacity working and playing together in harmony4 ,he and his fellows are always fighting4 ,with them familiarity naturally breeds contempt4 ,if they ever praise each other's bad drawings1 or broken-winded novels1 or spavined verses1 nobody ever supposed it was from admiration2 it was simply a contract between themselves and a publisher or dealer4 ,if the ,mutuals have really nothing among them worth admiring1 that alters the question4 ,but if they are men with noble powers and qualities1 let me tell you1 that1 next to youthful love and family affections1 there is no human sentiment better than that which unites the ,societies of ,mutual ,admiration4 ,and what would literature or art be without such associations8 ,who can tell what we owe to the ,mutual ,admiration ,society of which ,shakspeare1 and ,ben ,jonson1 and ,beaumont and ,fletcher were members8 ,or to that of which ,addison and ,steele formed the centre1 and which gave us the ,spectator8 ,or to that where ,johnson1 and ,goldsmith1 and ,burke1 and ,reynolds1 and ,beauclerk1 and ,boswell1 most admiring among all admirers1 met together8 ,was there any great harm in the fact that the ,irvings and ,paulding wrote in company8 or any unpardonable cabal in the literary union of ,verplanck and ,bryant and ,sands1 and as many more as they chose to associate with them8 ,the poor creature does not know what he is talking about1 when he abuses this noblest of institutions4 ,let him inspect its mysteries through the knot-hole he has secured1 but not use that orifice as a medium for his popgun4 ,such a society is the crown of a literary metropolis2 if a town has not material for it1 and spirit and good feeling enough to organize it1 it is a mere caravansary1 fit for a man of genius to lodge in1 but not to live in4 ,foolish people hate and dread and envy such an association of men of varied powers and influence1 because it is lofty1 serene1 impregnable1 and1 by the necessity of the case1 exclusive4 ,wise ones are prouder of the title ,m4,s4,m4,a4 than of all their other honors put together4 ,all generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called facts4 ,they are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain4 ,who does not know fellows that always have an ill-conditioned fact or two that they lead after them into decent company like so many bull-dogs1 ready to let them slip at every ingenious suggestion1 or convenient generalization1 or pleasant fancy8 ,i allow no facts at this table4 ,what6 ,because bread is good and wholesome and necessary and nourishing1 shall you thrust a crumb into my windpipe while ,i am talking8 ,do not these muscles of mine represent a hundred loaves of bread8 and is not my thought the abstract of ten thousand of these crumbs of truth with which you would choke off my speech8 ,the above remark must be conditioned and qualified for the vulgar mind4 ,the reader will of course understand the precise amount of seasoning which must be added to it before he adopts it as one of the axioms of his life4 ,the speaker disclaims all responsibility for its abuse in incompetent hands4 ,this business of conversation is a very serious matter4 ,there are men that it weakens one to talk with an hour more than a day's fasting would do4 ,mark this that ,i am going to say1 for it is as good as a working professional man's advice1 and costs you nothing3 ,it is better to lose a pint of blood from your veins than to have a nerve tapped4 ,nobody measures your nervous force as it runs away1 nor bandages your brain and marrow after the operation4 ,there are men of esprit who are excessively exhausting to some people4 ,they are the talkers that have what may be called jerky minds4 ,their thoughts do not run in the natural order of sequence4 ,they say bright things on all possible subjects1 but their zigzags rack you to death4 ,after a jolting half-hour with one of these jerky companions1 talking with a dull friend affords great relief4 ,it is like taking the cat in your lap after holding a squirrel4 ,what a comfort a dull but kindly person is1 to be sure1 at times6 ,a ground-glass shade over a gas-lamp does not bring more solace to our dazzled eyes than such a one to our minds4 ,do not dull people bore you8 said one of the lady-boarders1--the same that sent me her autograph-book last week with a request for a few original stanzas1 not remembering that ,the ,pactolian pays me five dollars a line for every thing ,i write in its columns4 ,madam1 said ,i1 7she and the century were in their teens together17 all men are bores1 except when we want them4 ,there never was but one man that ,i would trust with my latch-key4 ,who might that favored person be8 ,zimmermann4 ,the men of genius that ,i fancy most have erectile heads like the cobra-di-capello4 ,you remember what they tell of ,william ,pinkney1 the great pleader2 how in his eloquent paroxysms the veins of his neck would swell and his face flush and his eyes glitter1 until he seemed on the verge of apoplexy4 ,the hydraulic arrangements for supplying the brain with blood are only second in importance to its own organization4 ,the bulbous-headed fellows that steam well when they are at work are the men that draw big audiences and give us marrowy books and pictures4 ,it is a good sign to have one's feet grow cold when he is writing4 ,a great writer and speaker once told me that he often wrote with his feet in hot water2 but for this1 all his blood would have run into his head1 as the mercury sometimes withdraws into the ball of a thermometer4 --,you don't suppose that my remarks made at this table are like so many postage-stamps1 do you1--each to be only once uttered8 ,if you do1 you are mistaken4 ,he must be a poor creature that does not often repeat himself4 ,imagine the author of the excellent piece of advice1 ,know thyself1 never alluding to that sentiment again during the course of a protracted existence6 ,why1 the truths a man carries about with him are his tools2 and do you think a carpenter is bound to use the same plane but once to smooth a knotty board with1 or to hang up his hammer after it has driven its first nail8 ,i shall never repeat a conversation1 but an idea often4 ,i shall use the same types when ,i like1 but not commonly the same stereotypes4 ,a thought is often original1 though you have uttered it a hundred times4 ,it has come to you over a new route1 by a new and express train of associations4 ,sometimes1 but rarely1 one may be caught making the same speech twice over1 and yet be held blameless4 ,thus1 a certain lecturer1 after performing in an inland city1 where dwells a ,littratrice of note1 was invited to meet her and others over the social teacup4 ,she pleasantly referred to his many wanderings in his new occupation4 ,yes1 he replied1 ,i am like the ,huma1 the bird that never lights1 being always in the ears1 as he is always on the wing1--,years elapsed4 ,the lecturer visited the same place once more for the same purpose4 ,another social cup after the lecture1 and a second meeting with the distinguished lady4 ,you are constantly going from place to place1 she said4--,yes1 he answered1 ,i am like the ,huma1--and finished the sentence as before4 ,what horrors1 when it flashed over him that he had made this fine speech1 word for word1 twice over6 ,yet it was not true1 as the lady might perhaps have fairly inferred1 that he had embellished his conversation with the ,huma daily during that whole interval of years4 ,on the contrary1 he had never once thought of the odious fowl until the recurrence of precisely the same circumstances brought up precisely the same idea4 ,he ought to have been proud of the accuracy of his mental adjustments4 ,given certain factors1 and a sound brain should always evolve the same fixed product with the certainty of ,babbage's calculating machine4 --,what a satire1 by the way1 is that machine on the mere mathematician6 ,a ,frankenstein-monster1 a thing without brains and without heart1 too stupid to make a blunder2 that turns out formul like a corn-sheller1 and never grows any wiser or better1 though it grind a thousand bushels of them6 ,i have an immense respect for a man of talents plus the mathematics4 ,but the calculating power alone should seem to be the least human of qualities1 and to have the smallest amount of reason in it2 since a machine can be made to do the work of three or four calculators1 and better than any one of them4 ,sometimes ,i have been troubled that ,i had not a deeper intuitive apprehension of the relations of numbers4 ,but the triumph of the ciphering hand-organ has consoled me4 ,i always fancy ,i can hear the wheels clicking in a calculator's brain4 ,the power of dealing with numbers is a kind of detached lever arrangement1 which may be put into a mighty poor watch4 ,i suppose it is about as common as the power of moving the ears voluntarily1 which is a moderately rare endowment4 --,little localized powers1 and little narrow streaks of specialized knowledge1 are things men are very apt to be conceited about4 ,nature is very wise2 but for this encouraging principle how many small talents and little accomplishments would be neglected6 ,talk about conceit as much as you like1 it is to human character what salt is to the ocean2 it keeps it sweet1 and renders it endurable4 ,say rather it is like the natural unguent of the sea-fowl's plumage1 which enables him to shed the rain that falls on him and the wave in which he dips4 ,when one has had all his conceit taken out of him1 when he has lost all his illusions1 his feathers will soon soak through1 and he will fly no more4 ,so you admire conceited people1 do you8 said the young lady who has come to the city to be finished off for--the duties of life4 ,i am afraid you do not study logic at your school1 my dear4 ,it does not follow that ,i wish to be pickled in brine because ,i like a saltwater plunge at ,nahant4 ,i say that conceit is just as natural a thing to human minds as a centre is to a circle4 ,but little-minded people's thoughts move in such small circles that five minutes' conversation gives you an arc long enough to determine their whole curve4 ,an arc in the movement of a large intellect does not sensibly differ from a straight line4 ,even if it have the third vowel as its centre1 it does not soon betray it4 ,the highest thought1 that is1 is the most seemingly impersonal2 it does not obviously imply any individual centre4 ,audacious self-esteem1 with good ground for it1 is always imposing4 ,what resplendent beauty that must have been which could have authorized ,phryne to peel in the way she did6 ,what fine speeches are those two3 ,non omnis moriar and ,i have taken all knowledge to be my province6 ,even in common people1 conceit has the virtue of making them cheerful2 the man who thinks his wife1 his baby1 his house1 his horse1 his dog1 and himself severally unequalled1 is almost sure to be a good-humored person1 though liable to be tedious at times4 --,what are the great faults of conversation8 ,want of ideas1 want of words1 want of manners1 are the principal ones1 ,i suppose you think4 ,i don't doubt it1 but ,i will tell you what ,i have found spoil more good talks than anything else2--long arguments on special points between people who differ on the fundamental principles upon which these points depend4 ,no men can have satisfactory relations with each other until they have agreed on certain ultimata of belief not to be disturbed in ordinary conversation1 and unless they have sense enough to trace the secondary questions depending upon these ultimate beliefs to their source4 ,in short1 just as a written constitution is essential to the best social order1 so a code of finalities is a necessary condition of profitable talk between two persons4 ,talking is like playing on the harp2 there is as much in laying the hand on the strings to stop their vibrations as in twanging them to bring out their music4 --,do you mean to say the pun-question is not clearly settled in your minds8 ,let me lay down the law upon the subject4 ,life and language are alike sacred4 ,homicide and verbicide--that is1 violent treatment of a word with fatal results to its legitimate meaning1 which is its life--are alike forbidden4 ,manslaughter1 which is the meaning of the one1 is the same as man's laughter1 which is the end of the other4 ,a pun is prim facie an insult to the person you are talking with4 ,it implies utter indifference to or sublime contempt for his remarks1 no matter how serious4 ,i speak of total depravity1 and one says all that is written on the subject is deep raving4 ,i have committed my self-respect by talking with such a person4 ,i should like to commit him1 but cannot1 because he is a nuisance4 ,or ,i speak of geological convulsions1 and he asks me what was the cosine of ,noah's ark2 also1 whether the ,deluge was not a deal huger than any modern inundation4 ,a pun does not commonly justify a blow in return4 ,but if a blow were given for such cause1 and death ensued1 the jury would be judges both of the facts and of the pun1 and might1 if the latter were of an aggravated character1 return a verdict of justifiable homicide4 ,thus1 in a case lately decided before ,miller1 ,j41 ,doe presented ,roe a subscription paper1 and urged the claims of suffering humanity4 ,roe replied by asking1 ,when charity was like a top8 ,it was in evidence that ,doe preserved a dignified silence4 ,roe then said1 ,when it begins to hum4 ,doe then--and not till then--struck ,roe1 and his head happening to strike a bound volume of the ,monthly ,rag-bag and ,stolen ,miscellany1 intense mortification ensued1 with a fatal result4 ,the chief laid down his notions of the law to his brother justices1 who unanimously replied1 ,jest so4 ,the chief rejoined1 that no man should jest so without being punished for it1 and charged for the prisoner1 who was acquitted1 and the pun ordered to be burned by the sheriff4 ,the bound volume was forfeited as a deodand1 but not claimed4 ,people that make puns are like wanton boys that put coppers on the railroad tracks4 ,they amuse themselves and other children1 but their little trick may upset a freight train of conversation for the sake of a battered witticism4 ,i will thank you1 ,b4,f41 to bring down two books1 of which ,i will mark the places on this slip of paper4 7,while he is gone1 ,i may say that this boy1 our landlady's youngest1 is called ,,benjamin ,,franklin1 after the celebrated philosopher of that name4 ,a highly merited compliment47 ,i wished to refer to two eminent authorities4 ,now be so good as to listen4 ,the great moralist says3 ,to trifle with the vocabulary which is the vehicle of social intercourse is to tamper with the currency of human intelligence4 ,he who would violate the sanctities of his mother tongue would invade the recesses of the paternal till without remorse1 and repeat the banquet of ,saturn without an indigestion4 ,and1 once more1 listen to the historian4 ,the ,puritans hated puns4 ,the ,bishops were notoriously addicted to them4 ,the ,lords ,temporal carried them to the verge of license4 ,majesty itself must have its ,royal quibble4 ',ye be burly1 my ,lord of ,burleigh1' said ,queen ,elizabeth1 'but ye shall make less stir in our realm than my ,lord of ,leicester4' ,the gravest wisdom and the highest breeding lent their sanction to the practice4 ,lord ,bacon playfully declared himself a descendant of ',og1 the ,king of ,bashan4 ,sir ,philip ,sidney1 with his last breath1 reproached the soldier who brought him water1 for wasting a casque full upon a dying man4 ,a courtier1 who saw ,othello performed at the ,globe ,theatre1 remarked1 that the blackamoor was a brute1 and not a man4 ',thou hast reason1' replied a great ,lord1 'according to ,plato his saying2 for this be a two-legged animal with feathers4' ,the fatal habit became universal4 ,the language was corrupted4 ,the infection spread to the national conscience4 ,political double-dealings naturally grew out of verbal double meanings4 ,the teeth of the new dragon were sown by the ,cadmus who introduced the alphabet of equivocation4 ,what was levity in the time of the ,tudors grew to regicide and revolution in the age of the ,stuarts4 ,who was that boarder that just whispered something about the ,macaulay-flowers of literature8--,there was a dead silence4--,i said calmly1 ,i shall henceforth consider any interruption by a pun as a hint to change my boarding-house4 ,do not plead my example4 ,if ,i have used any such1 it has been only as a ,spartan father would show up a drunken helot4 ,we have done with them4 --,if a logical mind ever found out anything with its logic8--,i should say that its most frequent work was to build a pons asinorum over chasms that shrewd people can bestride without such a structure4 ,you can hire logic1 in the shape of a lawyer1 to prove anything that you want to prove4 ,you can buy treatises to show that ,napoleon never lived1 and that no battle of ,bunker-hill was ever fought4 ,the great minds are those with a wide span1 that couple truths related to1 but far removed from1 each other4 ,logicians carry the surveyor's chain over the track of which these are the true explorers4 ,i value a man mainly for his primary relations with truth1 as ,i understand truth1--not for any secondary artifice in handling his ideas4 ,some of the sharpest men in argument are notoriously unsound in judgment4 ,i should not trust the counsel of a smart debater1 any more than that of a good chess-player4 ,either may of course advise wisely1 but not necessarily because he wrangles or plays well4 ,the old gentleman who sits opposite got his hand up1 as a pointer lifts his forefoot1 at the expression1 his relations with truth as ,i understand truth1 and when ,i had done1 sniffed audibly1 and said ,i talked like a transcendentalist4 ,for his part1 common sense was good enough for him4 ,precisely so1 my dear sir1 ,i replied2 common sense1 as you understand it4 ,we all have to assume a standard of judgment in our own minds1 either of things or persons4 ,a man who is willing to take another's opinion has to exercise his judgment in the choice of whom to follow1 which is often as nice a matter as to judge of things for one's self4 ,on the whole1 ,i had rather judge men's minds by comparing their thoughts with my own1 than judge of thoughts by knowing who utter them4 ,i must do one or the other4 ,it does not follow1 of course1 that ,i may not recognize another man's thoughts as broader and deeper than my own2 but that does not necessarily change my opinion1 otherwise this would be at the mercy of every superior mind that held a different one4 ,how many of our most cherished beliefs are like those drinking-glasses of the ancient pattern1 that serve us well so long as we keep them in our hand1 but spill all if we attempt to set them down6 ,i have sometimes compared conversation to the ,italian game of mora1 in which one player lifts his hand with so many fingers extended1 and the other matches or misses the number1 as the case may be with his own4 ,i show my thought1 another his2 if they agree1 well2 if they differ1 we find the largest common factor1 if we can1 but at any rate avoid disputing about remainders and fractions1 which is to real talk what tuning an instrument is to playing on it4 --,what if1 instead of talking this morning1 ,i should read you a copy of verses1 with critical remarks by the author8 ,any of the company can retire that like4 ,when ,eve had led her lord away1 ,and ,cain had killed his brother1 ,the stars and flowers1 the poets say1 ,agreed with one another ,to cheat the cunning tempter's art1 ,and teach the race its duty1 ,by keeping on its wicked heart ,their eyes of light and beauty4 ,a million sleepless lids1 they say1 ,will be at least a warning2 ,and so the flowers would watch by day1 ,the stars from eve to morning4 ,on hill and prairie1 field and lawn1 ,their dewy eyes upturning1 ,the flowers still watch from reddening dawn ,till western skies are burning4 ,alas6 each hour of daylight tells ,a tale of shame so crushing1 ,that some turn white as sea-bleached shells1 ,and some are always blushing4 ,but when the patient stars look down ,on all their light discovers1 ,the traitor's smile1 the murderer's frown1 ,the lips of lying lovers1 ,they try to shut their saddening eyes1 ,and in the vain endeavour ,we see them twinkling in the skies1 ,and so they wink forever4 ,what do you think of these verses1 my friends8 ,is that piece an impromptu8 said my landlady's daughter4 7,aet4 #ai4 ,tender-eyed blonde4 ,long ringlets4 ,cameo pin4 ,gold pencil-case on a chain4 ,locket4 ,bracelet4 ,album4 ,autograph book4 ,accordeon4 ,reads ,byron1 ,tupper1 and ,sylvanus ,cobb1 junior1 while her mother makes the puddings4 ,says1 ,yes8 when you tell her anything47--,oui et non1 ma petite1--,yes and no1 my child4 ,five of the seven verses were written off-hand2 the other two took a week1--that is1 were hanging round the desk in a ragged1 forlorn1 unrhymed condition as long as that4 ,all poets will tell you just such stories4 ,c'est le ,,dernier pas qui coute4 ,don't you know how hard it is for some people to get out of a room after their visit is really over8 ,they want to be off1 and you want to have them off1 but they don't know how to manage it4 ,one would think they had been built in your parlour or study1 and were waiting to be launched4 ,i have contrived a sort of ceremonial inclined plane for such visitors1 which being lubricated with certain smooth phrases1 ,i back them down1 metaphorically speaking1 stern-foremost1 into their native element1 the great ocean of out-doors4 ,well1 now1 there are poems as hard to get rid of as these rural visitors4 ,they come in glibly1 use up all the serviceable rhymes1 day1 ray1 beauty1 duty1 skies1 eyes1 other1 brother1 mountain1 fountain1 and the like2 and so they go on until you think it is time for the wind-up1 and the wind-up won't come on any terms4 ,so they lie about until you get sick of the sight of them1 and end by thrusting some cold scrap of a final couplet upon them1 and turning them out of doors4 ,i suspect a good many impromptus could tell just such a story as the above4--,here turning to our landlady1 ,i used an illustration which pleased the company much at the time1 and has since been highly commended4 ,madam1 ,i said1 you can pour three gills and three quarters of honey from that pint jug1 if it is full1 in less than one minute2 but1 ,madam1 you could not empty that last quarter of a gill1 though you were turned into a marble ,hebe1 and held the vessel upside down for a thousand years4 ,one gets tired to death of the old1 old rhymes1 such as you see in that copy of verses1--which ,i don't mean to abuse1 or to praise either4 ,i always feel as if ,i were a cobbler1 putting new top-leathers to an old pair of boot-soles and bodies1 when ,i am fitting sentiments to these venerable jingles4 99 99 99 99 youth 99 99 99 99 morning 99 99 99 99 truth 99 99 99 99 warning ,nine tenths of the ,juvenile ,poems written spring out of the above musical and suggestive coincidences4 ,yes8 said our landlady's daughter4 ,i did not address the following remark to her1 and ,i trust1 from her limited range of reading1 she will never see it2 ,i said it softly to my next neighbour4 ,when a young female wears a flat circular side-curl1 gummed on each temple1--when she walks with a male1 not arm in arm1 but his arm against the back of hers1--and when she says ,yes8 with the note of interrogation1 you are generally safe in asking her what wages she gets1 and who the feller was you saw her with4 ,what were you whispering8 said the daughter of the house1 moistening her lips1 as she spoke1 in a very engaging manner4 ,i was only giving some hints on the fine arts4 ,yes8 --,it is curious to see how the same wants and tastes find the same implements and modes of expression in all times and places4 ,the young ladies of ,otaheite1 as you may see in ,cook's ,voyages1 had a sort of crinoline arrangement fully equal in radius to the largest spread of our own lady-baskets4 ,when ,i fling a ,bay-,state shawl over my shoulders1 ,i am only taking a lesson from the climate that the ,indian had learned before me4 ,a blanket-shawl we call it1 and not a plaid2 and we wear it like the aborigines1 and not like the ,highlanders4 --,we are the ,romans of the modern world1--the great assimilating people4 ,conflicts and conquests are of course necessary accidents with us1 as with our prototypes4 ,and so we come to their style of weapon4 ,our army sword is the short1 stiff1 pointed gladius of the ,romans2 and the ,american bowie-knife is the same tool1 modified to meet the daily wants of civil society4 ,i announce at this table an axiom not to be found in ,montesquieu or the journals of ,congress3-- ,the race that shortens its weapons lengthens its boundaries4 ,corollary4 ,it was the ,polish lance that left ,poland at last with nothing of her own to bound4 ,dropped from her nerveless grasp the shattered spear6 ,what business had ,sarmatia to be fighting for liberty with a fifteen-foot pole between her and the breasts of her enemies8 ,if she had but clutched the old ,roman and young ,american weapon1 and come to close quarters1 there might have been a chance for her2 but it would have spoiled the best passage in ,the ,pleasures of ,hope4 --,self-made men8--,well1 yes4 ,of course every body likes and respects self-made men4 ,it is a great deal better to be made in that way than not to be made at all4 ,are any of you younger people old enough to remember that ,irishman's house on the marsh at ,cambridgeport1 which house he built from drain to chimney-top with his own hands8 ,it took him a good many years to build it1 and one could see that it was a little out of plumb1 and a little wavy in outline1 and a little queer and uncertain in general aspect4 ,a regular hand could certainly have built a better house2 but it was a very good house for a self-made carpenter's house1 and people praised it1 and said how remarkably well the ,irishman had succeeded4 ,they never thought of praising the fine blocks of houses a little farther on4 ,your self-made man1 whittled into shape with his own jack-knife1 deserves more credit1 if that is all1 than the regular engine-turned article1 shaped by the most approved pattern1 and ,french-polished by society and travel4 ,but as to saying that one is every way the equal of the other1 that is another matter4 ,the right of strict social discrimination of all things and persons1 according to their merits1 native or acquired1 is one of the most precious republican privileges4 ,i take the liberty to exercise it1 when ,i say1 that1 other things being equal1 in most relations of life ,i prefer a man of family4 ,what do ,i mean by a man of family8--,o1 ,i'll give you a general idea of what ,i mean4 ,let us give him a first-rate fit out2 it costs us nothing4 ,four or five generations of gentlemen and gentlewomen2 among them a member of his ,majesty's ,council for the ,province1 a ,governor or so1 one or two ,doctors of ,divinity1 a member of ,congress1 not later than the time of top-boots with tassels4 ,family portraits4 ,the member of the ,council1 by ,smibert4 ,the great merchant-uncle1 by ,copley1 full length1 sitting in his arm-chair1 in a velvet cap and flowered robe1 with a globe by him1 to show the range of his commercial transactions1 and letters with large red seals lying round1 one directed conspicuously to ,the ,honourable etc4 etc4 ,great-grandmother1 by the same artist2 brown satin1 lace very fine1 hands superlative2 grand old lady1 stiffish1 but imposing4 ,her mother1 artist unknown2 flat1 angular1 hanging sleeves2 parrot on fist4 ,a pair of ,stuarts1 viz41 #a4 ,a superb full-blown1 medival gentleman1 with a fiery dash of ,tory blood in his veins1 tempered down with that of a fine old rebel grandmother1 and warmed up with the best of old ,india ,madeira2 his face is one flame of ruddy sunshine2 his ruffled shirt rushes out of his bosom with an impetuous generosity1 as if it would drag his heart after it2 and his smile is good for twenty thousand dollars to the ,hospital1 besides ample bequests to all relatives and dependants4 #b4 ,lady of the same2 remarkable cap2 high waist1 as in time of ,empire2 bust la ,josephine2 wisps of curls1 like celery-tips1 at sides of forehead2 complexion clear and warm1 like rose-cordial4 ,as for the miniatures by ,malbone1 we don't count them in the gallery4 ,books1 too1 with the names of old college-students in them1--family names3--you will find them at the head of their respective classes in the days when students took rank on the catalogue from their parents' condition4 ,elzevirs1 with the ,latinized appellations of youthful progenitors1 and ,hic liber est meus on the title-page4 ,a set of ,hogarth's original plates4 ,pope1 original edition1 #ae volumes1 ,london1 #agag4 ,barrow on the lower shelves1 in folio4 ,tillotson on the upper1 in a little dark platoon of octodecimos4 ,some family silver2 a string of wedding and funeral rings2 the arms of the family curiously blazoned2 the same in worsted1 by a maiden aunt4 ,if the man of family has an old place to keep these things in1 furnished with claw-foot chairs and black mahogany tables1 and tall bevel-edged mirrors1 and stately upright cabinets1 his outfit is complete4 ,no1 my friends1 ,i go 7always1 other things being equal7 for the man that inherits family traditions and the cumulative humanities of at least four or five generations4 ,above all things1 as a child1 he should have tumbled about in a library4 ,all men are afraid of books1 that have not handled them from infancy4 ,do you suppose our dear ,professor over there ever read ,poll ,synopsis1 or consulted ,castelli ,lexicon1 while he was growing up to their stature8 ,not he2 but virtue passed through the hem of their parchment and leather garments whenever he touched them1 as the precious drugs sweated through the bat's handle in the ,arabian story4 ,i tell you he is at home wherever he smells the invigorating fragrance of ,russia leather4 ,no self-made man feels so4 ,one may1 it is true1 have all the antecedents ,i have spoken of1 and yet be a boor or a shabby fellow4 ,one may have none of them1 and yet be fit for councils and courts4 ,then let them change places4 ,our social arrangement has this great beauty1 that its strata shift up and down as they change specific gravity1 without being clogged by layers of prescription4 ,but ,i still insist on my democratic liberty of choice1 and ,i go for the man with the gallery of family portraits against the one with the twenty-five-cent daguerreotype1 unless ,i find out that the last is the better of the two4 --,i should have felt more nervous about the late comet1 if ,i had thought the world was ripe4 ,but it is very green yet1 if ,i am not mistaken2 and besides1 there is a great deal of coal to use up1 which ,i cannot bring myself to think was made for nothing4 ,if certain things1 which seem to me essential to a millennium1 had come to pass1 ,i should have been frightened2 but they haven't4 ,perhaps you would like to hear my ,,latter-,,day ,,warnings4 ,when legislators keep the law1 ,when banks dispense with bolts and locks1 ,when berries1 whortle--rasp--and straw-- ,grow bigger downwards through the box1-- ,when he that selleth house or land ,shows leak in roof or flaw in right1-- ,when haberdashers choose the stand ,whose window hath the broadest light1-- ,when preachers tell us all they think1 ,and party leaders all they mean1-- ,when what we pay for1 that we drink1 ,from real grape and coffee-bean1-- ,when lawyers take what they would give1 ,and doctors give what they would take1-- ,when city fathers eat to live1 ,save when they fast for conscience' sake1-- ,when one that hath a horse on sale ,shall bring his merit to the proof1 ,without a lie for every nail ,that holds the iron on the hoof1-- ,when in the usual place for rips ,our gloves are stitched with special care1 ,and guarded well the whalebone tips ,where first umbrellas need repair1-- ,when ,cuba's weeds have quite forgot ,the power of suction to resist1 ,and claret-bottles harbor not ,such dimples as would hold your fist1-- ,when publishers no longer steal1 ,and pay for what they stole before1-- ,when the first locomotive's wheel ,rolls through the ,hoosac tunnel's bore2-- ,till then let ,gumming blaze away1 ,and ,miller's saints blow up the globe2 ,but when you see that blessed day1 ,then order your ascension robe6 ,the company seemed to like the verses1 and ,i promised them to read others occasionally1 if they had a mind to hear them4 ,of course they would not expect it every morning4 ,neither must the reader suppose that all these things ,i have reported were said at any one breakfast-time4 ,i have not taken the trouble to date them1 as ,raspail1 pre1 used to date every proof he sent to the printer2 but they were scattered over several breakfasts2 and ,i have said a good many more things since1 which ,i shall very possibly print some time or other1 if ,i am urged to do it by judicious friends4 ,,illusions4 ,some years ago1 in company with an agreeable party1 ,i spent a long summer day in exploring the ,mammoth ,cave in ,kentucky4 ,we traversed1 through spacious galleries affording a solid masonry foundation for the town and county overhead1 the six or eight black miles from the mouth of the cavern to the innermost recess which tourists visit1--a niche or grotto made of one seamless stalactite1 and called1 ,i believe1 ,serena's ,bower4 ,i lost the light of one day4 ,i saw high domes1 and bottomless pits2 heard the voice of unseen waterfalls2 paddled three quarters of a mile in the deep ,echo ,river1 whose waters are peopled with the blind fish2 crossed the streams ,lethe and ,styx2 plied with music and guns the echoes in these alarming galleries2 saw every form of stalagmite and stalactite in the sculptured and fretted chambers1--the icicle1 the orange-flower1 the acanthus1 the grapes1 and the snowball4 ,we shot ,bengal lights into the vaults and groins of the sparry cathedrals1 and examined all the masterpieces which the four combined engineers1 water1 limestone1 gravitation1 and time1 could make in the dark4 ,the sights and scenery of the cave had the same dignity that belongs to all natural objects1 and which shames the fine things to which we foppishly compare them4 ,i remarked1 especially1 the mimetic habit1 with which ,nature1 on new instruments1 hums her old tunes1 making night to mimic day1 and chemistry to ape vegetation4 ,but ,i then took notice1 and still chiefly remember1 that the best thing which the cave had to offer was an illusion4 ,on arriving at what is called the ,star-,chamber1 our lamps were taken from us by the guide1 and extinguished or put aside1 and1 on looking upwards1 ,i saw or seemed to see the night heaven thick with stars glimmering more or less brightly over our heads1 and even what seemed a comet flaming among them4 ,all the party were touched with astonishment and pleasure4 ,our musical friends sung with much feeling a pretty song1 ,the stars are in the quiet sky1 c41 and ,i sat down on the rocky door to enjoy the serene picture4 ,some crystal specks in the black ceiling high overhead1 reflecting the light of a half-hid lamp1 yielded this magnificent effect4 ,i own1 ,i did not like the cave so well for eking out its sublimities with this theatrical trick4 ,but ,i have had many experiences like it1 before and since2 and we must be content to be pleased without too curiously analyzing the occasions4 ,our conversation with ,nature is not just what it seems4 ,the cloud-rack1 the sunrise and sunset glories1 rainbows1 and northern lights are not quite so spheral as our childhood thought them2 and the part our organization plays in them is too large4 ,the senses interfere everywhere1 and mix their own structure with all they report of4 ,once1 we fancied the earth a plane1 and stationary4 ,in admiring the sunset1 we do not yet deduct the rounding1 coordinating1 pictorial powers of the eye4 ,the same interference from our organization creates the most of our pleasure and pain4 ,our first mistake is the belief that the circumstance gives the joy which we give to the circumstance4 ,life is an ecstasy4 ,life is sweet as nitrous oxide2 and the fisherman dripping all day over a cold pond1 the switchman at the railway intersection1 the farmer in the field1 the ,irishman in the ditch1 the fop in the street1 the hunter in the woods1 the barrister with the jury1 the belle at the ball1 all ascribe a certain pleasure to their employment1 which they themselves give it4 ,health and appetite impart the sweetness to sugar1 bread1 and meat4 ,we fancy that our civilization has got on far1 but we still come back to our primers4 ,thackeray's ,vanity ,fair is pathetic in its name1 and in his use of the name4 ,it is an admission from a man of the world in the ,london of #ahej1 that poor old ,puritan ,bunyan was right in his perception of the ,london of #afej4 ,and yet now1 in ,thackeray1 is the added wisdom or skepticism1 that though this be really so1 he must yet live in tolerance of and practically in homage and obedience to these illusions4 ,the world rolls1 the din of life is never hushed4 ,in ,london1 in ,paris1 in ,boston1 in ,san ,francisco1 the carnival1 the masquerade is at its height4 ,nobody drops his domino4 ,the unities1 the fictions of the piece it would be an impertinence to break4 ,the chapter of fascinations is very long4 ,great is paint2 nay1 ,god is the painter2 and we rightly accuse the critic who destroys too many illusions4 ,society does not love its unmaskers4 ,it was wittily1 if somewhat bitterly1 said by ,d',alembert1 ,un tat de vapeur tait un tat trs fcheux1 parcequ'il nous faisait voir les choses comme elles sont4 ,i find men victims of illusion in all parts of life4 ,children1 youths1 adults1 and old men1 all are led by one bawble or another4 ,yoganidra1 the goddess of illusion1 ,proteus1 or ,momus1 or ,gylfi's ,mocking1--for the ,power has many names1--is stronger than the ,titans1 stronger than ,apollo4 ,the toys1 to be sure1 are various1 and are graduated in refinement to the quality of the dupe4 ,the intellectual man requires a fine bait2 the sots are easily amused4 ,but everybody is drugged with his own dream1 and the pageant marches at all hours1 with music and banner and badge4 ,amid the joyous troop who give in to the charivari1 comes now and then a sad-eyed boy1 whose eyes lack the requisite refractions to clothe the show in due glory1 and who is afflicted with a tendency to trace home the glittering miscellany of fruits and flowers to one root4 ,science is a search after identity1 and the scientific whim is lurking in all corners4 ,at the ,state ,fair1 a friend of mine complained that all the varieties of fancy pears in our orchards seem to have been selected by somebody who had a whim for a particular kind of pear1 and only cultivated such as had that perfume2 they were all alike4 ,and ,i remember the quarrel of another youth with the confectioners1 that1 when he racked his wit to choose the best comfits in the shops1 in all the endless varieties of sweetmeat he could only find three flavors1 or two4 ,what then8 ,pears and cakes are good for something2 and because you1 unluckily1 have an eye or nose too keen1 why need you spoil the comfort which the rest of us find in them8 ,i knew a humorist1 who1 in a good deal of rattle1 had a grain or two of sense4 ,he shocked the company by maintaining that the attributes of ,god were two1--power and risibility2 and that it was the duty of every pious man to keep up the comedy4 ,and ,i have known gentlemen of great stake in the community1 but whose sympathies were cold1--presidents of colleges1 and governors1 and senators1--who held themselves bound to sign every temperance pledge1 and act with ,bible societies1 and missions1 and peacemakers1 and cry ,hist-a-boy6 to every good dog4 ,we must not carry comity too far1 but we all have kind impulses in this direction4 ,when the boys come into my yard for leave to gather horsechestnuts1 ,i own ,i enter into ,nature's game1 and affect to grant the permission reluctantly1 fearing that any moment they will find out the imposture of that showy chaff4 ,but this tenderness is quite unnecessary2 the enchantments are laid on very thick4 ,their young life is thatched with them4 ,bare and grim to tears is the lot of the children in the hovel ,i saw yesterday2 yet not the less they hung it round with frippery romance1 like the children of the happiest fortune1 and talked of the dear cottage where so many joyful hours had flown4 ,well1 this thatching of hovels is the custom of the country4 ,women1 more than all1 are the element and kingdom of illusion4 ,being fascinated1 they fascinate others4 ,they see through ,claud-,lorraines4 ,and how dare any one1 if he could1 pluck away the coulisses1 stage effects1 and ceremonies1 by which they live8 ,too pathetic1 too pitiable1 is the region of affection1 and its atmosphere always liable to mirage4 ,we are not very much to blame for our bad marriages4 ,we live amid hallucinations2 and this especial trap is laid to trip up our feet with1 and all are tripped up first or last4 ,but the mighty ,mother who had been so sly with us1 as if she felt that she owed us some indemnity1 insinuates into the ,pandora-box of marriage some deep and serious benefits1 and some great joys4 ,we find a delight in the beauty and happiness of children1 that makes the heart too big for the body4 ,in the worst-assorted connections there is ever some mixture of true marriage4 ,teague and his jade get some just relations of mutual respect1 kindly observation1 and fostering of each other1 learn something1 and would carry themselves wiselier1 if they were now to begin4 ',tis fine for us to point at one or another fine madman1 as if there were any exempts4 ,the scholar in his library is none4 ,i1 who have all my life heard any number of orations and debates1 read poems and miscellaneous books1 conversed with many geniuses1 am still the victim of any new page2 and1 if ,marmaduke1 or ,hugh1 or ,moosehead1 or any other1 invent a new style or mythology1 ,i fancy that the world will be all brave and right1 if dressed in these colors1 which ,i had not thought of4 ,then at once ,i will daub with this new paint2 but it will not stick4 ',tis like the cement which the peddler sells at the door2 he makes broken crockery hold with it1 but you can never buy of him a bit of the cement which will make it hold when he is gone4 ,men who make themselves felt in the world avail themselves of a certain fate in their constitution1 which they know how to use4 ,but they never deeply interest us1 unless they lift a corner of the curtain1 or betray never so slightly their penetration of what is behind it4 ',tis the charm of practical men1 that outside of their practicality are a certain poetry and play1 as if they led the good horse ,power by the bridle1 and preferred to walk1 though they can ride so fiercely4 ,bonaparte is intellectual1 as well as ,csar2 and the best soldiers1 sea-captains1 and railway men have a gentleness1 when off duty2 a good-natured admission that there are illusions1 and who shall say that he is not their sport8 ,we stigmatize the cast-iron fellows1 who cannot so detach themselves1 as dragon-ridden1 thunder-stricken1 and fools of fate1 with whatever powers endowed4 ,since our tuition is through emblems and indirections1 'tis well to know that there is method in it1 a fixed scale1 and rank above rank in the phantasms4 ,we begin low with coarse masks1 and rise to the most subtle and beautiful4 ,the red men told ,columbus1 they had an herb which took away fatigue2 but he found the illusion of arriving from the east at the ,indies more composing to his lofty spirit than any tobacco4 ,is not our faith in the impenetrability of matter more sedative than narcotics8 ,you play with jackstraws1 balls1 bowls1 horse and gun1 estates and politics2 but there are finer games before you4 ,is not time a pretty toy8 ,life will show you masks that are worth all your carnivals4 ,yonder mountain must migrate into your mind4 ,the fine star-dust and nebulous blur in ,orion1 the portentous year of ,mizar and ,alcor1 must come down and be dealt with in your household thought4 ,what if you shall come to discern that the play and playground of all this pompous history are radiations from yourself1 and that the sun borrows his beams8 ,what terrible questions we are learning to ask6 ,the former men believed in magic1 by which temples1 cities1 and men were swallowed up1 and all trace of them gone4 ,we are coming on the secret of a magic which sweeps out of men's minds all vestige of theism and beliefs which they and their fathers held and were framed upon4 ,with such volatile elements to work in1 'tis no wonder if our estimates are loose and floating4 ,we must work and affirm1 but we have no guess of the value of what we say or do4 ,the cloud is now as big as your hand1 and now it covers a county4 ,that story of ,thor1 who was set to drain the drinking-horn in ,asgard1 and to wrestle with the old woman1 and to run with the runner ,lok1 and presently found that he had been drinking up the sea1 and wrestling with ,time1 and racing with ,thought1 describes us who are contending1 amid these seeming trifles1 with the supreme energies of ,nature4 ,we fancy we have fallen into bad company and squalid condition1 low debts1 shoe-bills1 broken glass to pay for1 pots to buy1 butcher's meat1 sugar1 milk1 and coal4 ,set me some great task1 ye gods6 and ,i will show my spirit4 ,not so1 says the good ,heaven2 plod and plough1 vamp your old coats and hats1 weave a shoestring2 great affairs and the best wine by and by4 ,well1 'tis all phantasm2 and if we weave a yard of tape in all humility and as well as we can1 long hereafter we shall see it was no cotton tape at all1 but some galaxy which we braided1 and that the threads were ,time and ,nature4 ,we cannot write the order of the variable winds4 ,how can we penetrate the law of our shifting moods and susceptibility8 ,yet they differ as all and nothing4 ,instead of the firmament of yesterday1 which our eyes require1 it is to-day an eggshell which coops us in2 we cannot even see what or where our stars of destiny are4 ,from day to day1 the capital facts of human life are hidden from our eyes4 ,suddenly the mist rolls up1 and reveals them1 and we think how much good time is gone1 that might have been saved1 had any hint of these things been shown4 ,a sudden rise in the road shows us the system of mountains1 and all the summits1 which have been just as near us all the year1 but quite out of mind4 ,but these alternations are not without their order1 and we are parties to our various fortune4 ,if life seems a succession of dreams1 yet poetic justice is done in dreams also4 ,the visions of good men are good2 it is the undisciplined will that is whipped with bad thoughts and bad fortunes4 ,when we break the laws1 we lose our hold on the central reality4 ,like sick men in hospitals1 we change only from bed to bed1 from one folly to another2 and it cannot signify much what becomes of such castaways1--wailing1 stupid1 comatose creatures1--lifted from bed to bed1 from the nothing of life to the nothing of death4 ,in this kingdom of illusions we grope eagerly for stays and foundations4 ,there is none but a strict and faithful dealing at home1 and a severe barring out of all duplicity or illusion there4 ,whatever games are played with us1 we must play no games with ourselves1 but deal in our privacy with the last honesty and truth4 ,i look upon the simple and childish virtues of veracity and honesty as the root of all that is sublime in character4 ,speak as you think1 be what you are1 pay your debts of all kinds4 ,i prefer to be owned as sound and solvent1 and my word as good as my bond1 and to be what cannot be skipped1 or dissipated1 or undermined1 to all the clat in the universe4 ,a little integrity is better than any career4 ,this reality is the foundation of friendship1 religion1 poetry1 and art4 ,at the top or at the bottom of all illusions ,i set the cheat which still leads us to work and live for appearances1 in spite of our conviction1 in all sane hours1 that it is what we really are that avails with friends1 with strangers1 and with fate or fortune4 ,one would think from the talk of men1 that riches and poverty were a great matter2 and our civilization mainly respects it4 ,but the ,indians say1 that they do not think the white man with his brow of care1 always toiling1 afraid of heat and cold1 and keeping within doors1 has any advantage of them4 ,the permanent interest of every man is1 never to be in a false position1 but to have the weight of ,nature to back him in all that he does4 ,riches and poverty are a thick or thin costume2 and our life--the life of all of us--identical4 ,for we transcend the circumstance continually1 and taste the real quality of existence2 as in our employments1 which only differ in the manipulations1 but express the same laws2 or in our thoughts1 which wear no silks1 and taste no ice-creams4 ,we see ,god face to face every hour1 and know the savour of ,nature4 ,the early ,greek philosophers ,heraclitus and ,xenophanes measured their force on this problem of identity4 ,diogenes of ,apollonia said1 that unless the atoms were made of one stuff1 they could never blend and act with one another4 ,but the ,hindoos1 in their sacred writings1 express the liveliest feeling1 both of the essential identity1 and of that illusion which they conceive variety to be4 ,the notions1 ',i am1' and ',this is mine1' which influence mankind1 are but delusions of the mother of the world4 ,dispel1 ,o ,lord of all creatures6 the conceit of knowledge which proceeds from ignorance4 ,and the beatitude of man they hold to lie in being freed from fascination4 ,the intellect is stimulated by the statement of truth in a trope1 and the will by clothing the laws of life in illusions4 ,but the unities of ,truth and of ,right are not broken by the disguise4 ,there need never be any confusion in these4 ,in a crowded life of many parts and performers1 on a stage of nations1 or in the obscurest hamlet in ,maine or ,california1 the same elements offer the same choices to each new comer1 and1 according to his election1 he fixes his fortune in absolute nature4 ,it would be hard to put more mental and moral philosophy than the ,persians have thrown into a sentence3-- ,fooled thou must be1 though wisest of the wise2 ,then be the fool of virtue1 not of vice4 ,,the ,,gift ,,of ,,tritemius4 ,tritemius of ,herbipolis one day1 ,while kneeling at the altar's foot to pray1 ,alone with ,god1 as was his pious choice1 ,heard from beneath a miserable voice1-- ,a sound that seemed of all sad things to tell1 ,as of a lost soul crying out of hell4 ,thereat the ,abbot rose1 the chain whereby ,his thoughts went upward broken by that cry1 ,and1 looking from the casement1 saw below ,a wretched woman1 with gray hair aflow1 ,and withered hands stretched up to him1 who cried ,for alms as one who might not be denied4 ,she cried3 ,for the dear love of ,him who gave ,his life for ours1 my child from bondage save1 ,my beautiful1 brave first-born1 chained with slaves ,in the ,moor's galley1 where the sun-smit waves ,lap the white walls of ,tunis6 ,what ,i can ,i give1 ,tritemius said1--my prayers4 ,o man ,of ,god6 she cried1 for grief had made her bold1 ,mock me not so2 ,i ask not prayers1 but gold2 ,words cannot serve me1 alms alone suffice2 ,even while ,i plead1 perchance my first-born dies6 ,woman6 ,tritemius answered1 from our door ,none go unfed2 hence are we always poor4 ,a single soldo is our only store4 ,thou hast our prayers2 what can we give thee more8 ,give me1 she said1 the silver candlesticks ,on either side of the great crucifix2 ,god well may spare them on ,his errands sped1 ,or ,he can give you golden ones instead4 ,then said ,tritemius1 ,even as thy word1 ,woman1 so be it2 and our gracious ,lord1 ,who loveth mercy more than sacrifice1 ,pardon me if a human soul ,i prize ,above the gifts upon ,his altar piled6 ,take what thou askest1 and redeem thy child4 ,but his hand trembled as the holy alms ,he laid within the beggar's eager palms2 ,and as she vanished down the linden shade1 ,he bowed his head and for forgiveness prayed4 ,so the day passed2 and when the twilight came ,he rose to find the chapel all a-flame1 ,and1 dumb with grateful wonder1 to behold ,upon the altar candlesticks of gold6 ,,the ,,mourning ,,veil4 ,then in life's goblet freely press ,the leaves that give it bitterness1 ,nor prize the colored waters less1 ,for in thy darkness and distress ,new light and strength they give ,and he who has not learned to know ,how false its sparkling bubbles flow1 ,how bitter are the drops of woe ,with which its brim may overflow1 ,he has not learned to live4 ,,longfellow4 ,it was sunset4 ,the day had been one of the sultriest of ,august4 ,it would seem as if the fierce alembic of the last twenty-four hours had melted it like the pearl in the golden cup of ,cleopatra1 and it lay in the ,west a fused mass of transparent brightness4 ,the reflection from the edges of a hundred clouds wandered hither and thither1 over rock and tree and flower1 giving a strange1 unearthly brilliancy to the most familiar things4 ,a group of children had gathered about their mother in the summer-house of a garden which faced the sunset sky4 ,the house was one of those square1 stately1 wooden structures1 white1 with green blinds1 in which of old times the better classes of ,new ,england delighted1 and which remain to us as memorials of a respectable past4 ,it stood under the arches of two gigantic elms1 and was flanked on either side with gardens and grounds which seemed designed on purpose for hospitality and family freedom4 ,the evening light colored huge bosquets of petunias1 which stood with their white or crimson faces looking westward1 as if they were thinking creatures4 ,it illumined flame-colored verbenas1 and tall columns of pink and snowy phloxes1 and hedges of ,august roses1 making them radiant as the flowers of a dream4 ,the group in the summer-house requires more particular attention4 ,the father and mother1 whom we shall call ,albert and ,olivia1 were of the wealthiest class of the neighbouring city1 and had been induced by the facility of railroad travelling1 and a sensible way of viewing things1 to fix their permanent residence in the quiet little village of ,q----4 ,albert had nothing in him different from multitudes of hearty1 joyous1 healthily constituted men1 who subsist upon daily newspapers1 and find the world a most comfortable place to live in4 ,as to ,olivia1 she was in the warm noon of life1 and a picture of vitality and enjoyment4 ,a plump1 firm cheek1 a dark eye1 a motherly fulness of form1 spoke the being made to receive and enjoy the things of earth1 the warm-hearted wife1 the indulgent mother1 the hospitable mistress of the mansion4 ,it is true that the smile on the lip had something of earthly pride blended with womanly sweetness1--the pride of one who has as yet known only prosperity and success1 to whom no mischance has yet shown the frail basis on which human hopes are built4 ,her foot had as yet trod only the high places of life1 but she walked there with a natural grace and nobleness that made every one feel that she was made for them and they for her4 ,around the parents were gathered at this moment a charming group of children1 who with much merriment were proceeding to undo a bundle the father had just brought from the city4 ,here1 ,rose1 said little ,amy1 a blue-eyed1 flaxen-haired pet1 who seemed to be a privileged character1 let me come2 don't be all night with your orderly ways2 let me cut that string4 ,a sharp flash of the scissors1 a quick report of the bursting string1 and the package lay opened to the little marauder4 ,rose drew back1 smiled1 and gave an indulgent look at her eager younger sister and the two little ones who immediately gathered around4 ,she was one of those calm1 thoughtful1 womanly young girls1 that seem born for pattern elder sisters1 and for the stay and support of mothers' hearts4 ,she watched with a gentle1 quiet curiosity the quick and eager fingers that soon were busy in exposing the mysteries of the parcel4 ,there's a dress for ,rose1 said ,amy1 triumphantly drawing out a delicate muslin2 ,i can always tell what's for her4 ,how8 put in the father1 who stood regarding the proceeding with that air of amused superiority with which the wearers of broadcloth look down on the mysteries of muslin and barge4 ,how8 said ,amy1 why1 because they look just like her4 ,if ,i were to see that lilac muslin in ,china1 ,i should say it was meant for ,rose4 ,now this is mine1 ,i know1--this bright pink2 isn't it1 mamma8 ,no half shades about me6 ,no1 indeed1 said her mother2 that is your greatest fault1 ,amy4 ,oh1 well1 mamma1 ,rose has enough for both2 you must rub us together1 as they do light red and ,prussian blue1 to make a neutral tint4 ,but oh1 what a ribbon6 oh1 mother1 what a love of a ribbon6 ,rose6 ,rose6 look at this ribbon6 ,and oh1 those buttons6 ,fred1 ,i do believe they are for your new coat6 ,oh1 and those studs1 father1 where did you get them8 ,what's in that box8 a bracelet for ,rose1 ,i know6 oh1 how beautiful6 perfectly exquisite6 ,and here--oh6 ,here something happened to check the volubility of the little speaker2 for as she hastily1 and with the license of a petted child1 pulled the articles from the parcel1 she was startled to find lying among the numerous colored things a black crape veil4 ,sombre1 dark1 and ill-omened enough it looked there1 with pink1 and lilac1 and blue1 and glittering bijouterie around it6 ,amy dropped it with instinctive repugnance1 and there was a general exclamation1 ,mamma1 what's this8 how came it here8 what did you get this for8 ,strange6 said ,olivia2 it is a mourning veil4 ,of course ,i did not order it4 ,how it came in here nobody knows2 it must have been a mistake of the clerk4 ,certainly it is a mistake1 said ,amy2 we have nothing to do with mourning1 have we8 ,no1 to be sure2 what should we mourn for8 chimed in little ,fred and ,mary4 ,what a dark1 ugly thing it is6 said ,amy1 unfolding and throwing it over her head2 how dismal it must be to see the world through such a veil as this6 ,and yet till one has seen the world through a veil like that1 one has never truly lived1 said another voice1 joining in the conversation4 ,ah1 ,father ,payson1 are you there8 said two or three voices at once4 ,father ,payson was the minister of the village1 and their nearest neighbor2 and not only their nearest neighbor1 but their nearest friend4 ,in the afternoon of his years1 life's day with him now stood at that hour when1 though the shadows fall eastward1 yet the colors are warmer1 and the songs of the birds sweeter1 than even in its jubilant morning4 ,god sometimes gives to good men a guileless and holy second childhood1 in which the soul becomes childlike1 not childish1 and the faculties in full fruit and ripeness are mellow without sign of decay4 ,this is that songful land of ,beulah1 where they who have travelled manfully the ,christian way abide awhile to show the world a perfected manhood4 ,life1 with its battles and its sorrows1 lies far behind them2 the soul has thrown off its armor1 and sits in an evening undress of calm and holy leisure4 ,thrice blessed the family or neighborhood that numbers among it one of these not yet ascended saints6 ,gentle are they and tolerant1 apt to play with little children1 easy to be pleased with simple pleasures1 and with a pitying wisdom guiding those who err4 ,new ,england has been blessed in numbering many such among her country pastors2 and a spontaneous1 instinctive deference honors them with the title of ,father4 ,father ,payson was the welcome inmate of every family in the village1 the chosen friend even of the young and thoughtless4 ,he had stories for children1 jokes for the young1 and wisdom for all4 ,he talked good1 as the phrase goes1--not because he was the minister1 but because1 being good1 he could not help it2 yet his words1 unconsciously to himself1 were often parables1 because life to him had become all spiritualized1 and he saw sacred meanings under worldly things4 ,the children seized him lovingly by either hand and seated him in the arbor4 ,isn't it strange1 said ,amy1 to see this ugly black thing among all these bright colors8 such a strange mistake in the clerk6 ,if one were inclined to be superstitious1 said ,albert1 he might call this an omen4 ,what did you mean1 sir1 asked ,rose1 quietly seating herself at his feet1 by 'seeing life through this veil'8 ,it was a parable1 my daughter1 he said1 laying his hand on her head4 ,i never have had any deep sorrow1 said ,olivia1 musingly2 we have been favored ones hitherto4 ,but why did you say one must see the world through such a medium as this8 ,sorrow is ,god's school1 said the old man4 ,even ,god's own ,son was not made perfect without it2 though a son1 yet learned he obedience by the things that he suffered4 ,many of the brightest virtues are like stars2 there must be night or they cannot shine4 ,without suffering1 there could be no fortitude1 no patience1 no compassion1 no sympathy4 ,take all sorrow out of life1 and you take away all richness and depth and tenderness4 ,sorrow is the furnace that melts selfish hearts together in love4 ,many are hard and inconsiderate1 not because they lack capability of feeling1 but because the vase that holds the sweet waters has never been broken4 ,is it1 then1 an imperfection and misfortune never to have suffered8 said ,olivia4 ,father ,payson looked down4 ,rose was looking into his face4 ,there was a bright1 eager1 yet subdued expression in her eyes that struck him2 it had often struck him before in the village church4 ,it was as if his words had awakened an internal angel1 that looked fluttering out behind them4 ,rose had been from childhood one of those thoughtful1 listening children with whom one seems to commune without words4 ,we spend hours talking with them1 and fancy they have said many things to us1 which1 on reflection1 we find have been said only with their silent answering eyes4 ,those who talk much often reply to you less than those who silently and thoughtfully listen4 ,and so it came to pass1 that1 on account of this quietly absorbent nature1 ,rose had grown to her parents' hearts with a peculiar nearness4 ,eighteen summers had perfected her beauty4 ,the miracle of the growth and perfection of a human body and soul never waxes old2 parents marvel at it in every household as if a child had never grown before2 and so ,olivia and ,albert looked on their fair ,rose daily with a restful and trusting pride4 ,at this moment she laid her hand on ,father ,payson's knee1 and said earnestly1--,ought we to pray for sorrow1 then8 ,oh1 no1 no1 no6 interrupted ,olivia1 with an instinctive shudder1--such a shudder as a warm1 earnest1 prosperous heart always gives as the shadow of the grave falls across it1--don't say yes6 ,i do not say we should pray for it1 said ,father ,payson2 yet the ,master says1 ',blessed are they that mourn1' not ',blessed are they that prosper4' ,so heaven and earth differ in their judgments4 ,ah1 me6 said ,olivia1 ,i am afraid ,i have not courage to wish to be among the blessed4 ,well1 said ,albert1 whom the gravity of the discussion somewhat disturbed4 let us not borrow trouble2 time enough to think of it when it happens4 ,come1 the dew is falling1 let us go in4 ,i want to show ,father ,payson some peaches that will tempt his ,christian graces to envy4 ,come1 ,rose1 gather up here4 ,rose1 in a few moments1 gathered the parcel together1 and quietly flitted before them into the house4 ,now1 said ,albert1 you'll see that girl will have everything quietly tucked away in just the right place2 not a word said4 ,she is a born housewife2 it's in her1 as much as it is in a pointer to show game4 ,rose is my right hand1 said ,olivia2 ,i should be lost without her4 ,whence comes it1 that1 just on the verge of the great crises and afflictions of life1 words are often spoken1 that1 to after view1 seem to have had a prophetic meaning8 ,so often do we hear people saying1 ,ah1 the very day before ,i heard of this or that1 we were saying so and so6 ,it would seem sometimes as if the soul felt itself being drawn within the dark sphere of a coming evil1 of which as yet nothing outward tells4 ,then the thoughts and conversation flow in an almost prophetic channel1 which a coming future too well interprets4 ,the evening passed cheerfully with our friends1 notwithstanding the grave conversation in the arbor4 ,the mourning veil was laid away in a drawer along with many of its brilliant companions1 and with it the thoughts it had suggested2 and the merry laugh ringing from the half-open parlor-door showed that ,father ,payson was no despiser of the command to rejoice with them that do rejoice4 ,rose played and sung1 the children danced1 and the mirth was prolonged till a late hour in the evening4 ,olivia and ,albert were lingering in the parlor after the departure of the family1 busy in shutting windows1 setting back chairs1 and attending to all the last duties of orderly householders4 ,a sudden shriek startled them2 such a shriek as1 once heard1 is never forgotten4 ,with an answering cry of horror1 they rushed up the stairs4 ,the hall lamp had been extinguished1 but the passage and staircase were red with a broad glare from the open door of the nursery4 ,a moment more showed them the drapery of the bed in which their youngest child was sleeping all in flames2 then they saw a light form tearing down the blazing curtains4 ,oh1 ,rose6 ,rose6 take care1 for ,god's sake6 your dress6 you'll kill yourself6 oh1 ,god help us6 ,there were a few moments--awful moments of struggle--when none knew or remembered what they did2 a moment more and ,rose lay panting in her father's arms1 enveloped in a thick blanket which he had thrown around her burning night-dress4 ,the fire was extinguished1 the babe lay unawakened1 and only the dark flecks of tinder scattered over the bed1 and the trampled mass on the floor1 told what had been4 ,but ,rose had breathed the hot breath of the flame1 deadly to human life1 and no water could quench that inward fire4 ,a word serves to explain all4 ,the child's nurse had carelessly set a lamp too near the curtains1 and the night breeze had wafted them into the flame4 ,the apartment of ,rose opened into the nursery1 and as she stood in her night-dress before her mirror1 arranging her hair1 she saw the flashing of the flame1 and1 in the one idea of saving her little sister1 forgot every other4 ,that act of self-forgetfulness was her last earthly act2 a few short hours of patient suffering were all that remained to her4 ,peacefully as she had lived1 she died1 looking tenderly on her parents out of her large blue eyes1 and only intent to soothe their pain4 ,yes1 ,i suffer1 she said1 but only a short pain4 ,we must all suffer something4 ,my ,father thinks a very little enough for me4 ,i have had such a happy life1 ,i might bear just a little pain at the last4 ,a little later her mind seemed to wander4 ,mamma1 mamma1 she said1 hurriedly1 ,i put the things all away2 the lilac muslin and the barge4 ,mamma1 that veil1 the mourning veil1 is in the drawer4 ,oh1 mamma1 that veil was for you2 don't refuse it2 our ,father sends it1 and he knows best4 ,perhaps you will see heaven through that veil4 ,it is appalling to think how near to the happiest and most prosperous scene of life stands the saddest despair4 ,all homes are haunted with awful possibilities1 for whose realization no array of threatening agents is required1--no lightning1 or tempest1 or battle2 a peaceful household lamp1 a gust of perfumed evening air1 a false step in a moment of gayety1 a draught taken by mistake1 a match overlooked or mislaid1 a moment's oversight in handling a deadly weapon1--and the whole scene of life is irretrievably changed6 ,it was but a day after the scene in the arbor1 and all was mourning in the so lately happy1 hospitable house2 everybody looked through tears4 ,there were subdued breathings1 a low murmur1 as of many listeners1 a voice of prayer1 and the wail of a funeral hymn1--and then the heavy tread of bearers1 as1 beneath the black pall1 she was carried over the threshold of her home1 never to return4 ,and ,olivia and ,albert came forth behind their dead4 ,the folds of the dark veil seemed a refuge for the mother's sorrow4 ,but how did the flowers of home1 the familiar elms1 the distant smiling prospect look through its gloomy folds1--emblem of the shadow which had fallen between her heart and life8 ,when she looked at the dark moving hearse1 she wondered that the sun still shone1 that birds could sing1 and that even her own flowers could be so bright4 ,ah1 mother6 the world had been just as full of sorrow the day before2 the air as full of farewells to the dying and mournings for the dead2 but thou knewest it not6 ,now the outer world comes to thee through the mourning veil6 ,but after the funeral comes life again1--hard1 cold1 inexorable life1 knocking with business-like sound at the mourner's door1 obtruding its common-place pertinacity on the dull ear of sorrow4 ,the world cannot wait for us2 the world knows no leisure for tears2 it moves onward1 and drags along with its motion the weary and heavy-laden who would fain rest4 ,olivia would have buried herself in her sorrows4 ,there are those who refuse to be comforted4 ,the condolence of friends seems only a mockery2 and truly1 nothing so shows the emptiness and poverty of human nature as its efforts at condolence4 ,father ,payson1 however1 was a visitor who would not be denied2 there was something of gentle authority in his white hairs that might not be resisted4 ,old1 and long schooled in sorrow1 his heart many times broken in past years1 he knew all the ways of mourning4 ,his was no official common-place about afflictive dispensations4 ,he came first with that tender and reverent silence with which the man acquainted with grief approaches the divine mysteries of sorrow2 and from time to time he cast on the troubled waters words1 dropped like seeds1 not for present fruitfulness1 but to germinate after the floods had subsided4 ,he watched beside a soul in affliction as a mother waits on the crisis of a fever whose turning is to be for life or for death2 for he well knew that great sorrows never leave us as they find us2 that the broken spirit1 ill set1 grows callous and distorted ever after4 ,he had wise patience with every stage of sorrow2 he knew that at first the soul is blind1 and deaf1 and dumb4 ,he was not alarmed when returning vitality showed itself only in moral spasms and convulsions2 for in all great griefs come hours of conflict1 when the soul is tempted1 and complaining1 murmuring1 dark1 skeptical thoughts are whirled like withered leaves through all its desolate chambers4 ,what have ,i learned by looking through this veil8 said ,olivia to him1 bitterly1 one day when they were coming out of a house where they had been visiting a mourning family4 ,i was trusting in ,god as an indulgent ,father2 life seemed beautiful to me in the light of his goodness2 now ,i see only his inflexible severity4 ,i never knew before how much mourning and sorrow there had been even in this little village4 ,there is scarcely a house where something dreadful has not at some time happened4 ,how many families here have been called to mourning since we have6 ,i have not taken up a paper in which ,i have not seen a record of two or three accidental deaths2 some of them even more bitter and cruel than what has befallen us4 ,i read this morning of a poor washerwoman1 whose house was burned1 and all her children consumed1 while she was away working for her bread4 ,i read the other day of a blind man whose only son was drowned in his very presence1 while he could do nothing to help him4 ,i was visiting yesterday that poor dress-maker whom you know4 ,she has by toil and pains been educating a fine and dutiful son4 ,he is smitten down with hopeless disease1 while her idiot child1 who can do nobody any good1 is spared4 ,ah1 this mourning veil has indeed opened my eyes2 but it has taught me to add all the sorrows of the world to my own2 and can ,i believe in ,god's love8 ,daughter1 said the old man1 ,i am not ignorant of these things4 ,i have buried seven children2 ,i have buried my wife2 and ,god has laid on me in my time reproach1 and controversy1 and contempt4 ,each cross seemed1 at the time1 heavier than the others4 ,each in its day seemed to be what ,i least could bear2 and ,i would have cried1 ',anything but this6' ,and yet1 now when ,i look back1 ,i cannot see one of these sorrows that has not been made a joy to me4 ,with every one some perversity or sin has been subdued1 some chain unbound1 some good purpose perfected4 ,god has taken my loved ones1 but he has given me love4 ,he has given me the power of submission and of consolation2 and ,i have blessed him many times in my ministry for all ,i have suffered1 for by it ,i have stayed up many that were ready to perish4 ,ah1 said ,olivia1 you indeed have reason to be comforted1 because you can see in yourself the fruit of your sorrows2 but ,i am not improving2 ,i am only crushed and darkened1--not amended4 ,have patience with thyself1 child2 weeping must endure for a night2 all comes not at once4 ',no trial for the present seemeth joyous'2 but 'afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruit'2--have faith in this afterwards4 ,some one says that it is not in the tempest one walks the beach to look for the treasures of wrecked ships2 but when the storm is past we find pearls and precious stones washed ashore4 ,are there not even now some of these in your path8 ,is not the love between you and your husband deeper and more intimate since this affliction8 ,do you not love your other children more tenderly8 ,did you not tell me that you had thought on the sorrows of every house in this village8 ,courage1 my child6 that is a good sign4 ,once1 as you read the papers1 you thought nothing of those who lost friends2 now you notice and feel4 ,take the sorrows of others to your heart2 they shall widen and deepen it4 ,ours is a religion of sorrow4 ,the ,captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering2 our ,father is the ,god of all consolation2 our ,teacher is named the ,comforter2 and all other mysteries are swallowed up in the mystery of the ,divine sorrow4 ',in all our afflictions ,he is afflicted4' ,god refuseth not to suffer2--shall we8 ,there is no grave so desolate that flowers will not at last spring on it4 ,time passed with ,albert and ,olivia with healing in its wings4 ,the secret place of tears became first a temple of prayer1 and afterwards of praise2 and the heavy cloud was remembered by the flowers that sprung up after the rain4 ,the vacant chair in the household circle had grown to be a tender influence1 not a harrowing one2 and the virtues of the lost one seemed to sow themselves like the scattered seeds of a fallen flower1 and to spring up in the hearts of the surviving ones4 ,more tender and more blessed is often the brooding influence of the sacred dead than the words of the living4 ,olivia became known in the abodes of sorrow1 and a deep power seemed given her to console the suffering and distressed4 ,a deeper power of love sprung up within her2 and love1 though born of sorrow1 ever brings peace with it4 ,many were the hearts that reposed on her2 many the wandering that she reclaimed1 the wavering that she upheld1 the desolate that she comforted4 ,as a soul in heaven may look back on earth1 and smile at its past sorrows1 so1 even here1 it may rise to a sphere where it may look down on the storm that once threatened to overwhelm it4 ,it was on the afternoon of just such another summer day as we have described at the opening of our story1 that ,olivia was in her apartment1 directing the folding and laying away of mourning garments4 ,she took up the dark veil and looked on it kindly1 as on a faithful friend4 ,how much had she seen and learned behind the refuge of its sheltering folds6 ,she turned her thoughts within herself4 ,she was calm once more1 and happy1--happy with a wider and steadier basis than ever before4 ,a new world seemed opened within her2 and with a heart raised in thankfulness she placed the veil among her most sacred treasures4 ,yes1 there by the smiling image of the lost one1--by the curls of her glossy hair1--by the faded flowers taken from her bier1 was laid in solemn thankfulness the ,mourning ,veil4 ,,pendlam3 ,a ,,modern ,,reformer4 ,my theatre-going friend pulled up suddenly in his ambling discourse concerning the merits of the last actress1 dropped his voice to a whisper1 touched my arm1 and pointed with his cane4 ,look6 the ,reverend ,john ,henry ,pendlam6 ,coming out of a bar-room6 ,ho1 ho6 ,sir ,reverend6 ,i spoke gayly1 but with an indefinably serious sentiment at heart ,i was interested in this ,john ,henry ,pendlam2 not particularly on account of the reputation for eloquence and zeal which he had so early and rapidly achieved1 but his approaching marriage with my friend's second cousin1 ,susan ,d----1 7whom ,i had myself even barely escaped marrying17 quickened a personal curiosity regarding my successor4 ,he is on no base errand1 replied ,horatio4 ,he goes about carrying the ,gospel into these dens4 ,the papers you see in his hand are tracts4 ,shall ,i introduce you8 ,before ,i could fairly answer1 ,no1 7for ,i felt a repugnance to making the acquaintance of any man who was to marry ,susan17 ,pendlam1 standing a moment in the gas-light before the door of the saloon1 observed my friend1 and advanced quickly4 ,too late to escape6 cried the young clergyman1 seizing ,horatio by the collar4 ,i have you1 truant6 ,and he drew a tract upon him1 like a revolver4 ,i surrender6 said ,horatio4 ,if it's you1 don't shoot2 ,i'll come down1 as the treed coon said to the hunter4 ,don't think to disarm me by a pleasantry1 replied ,pendlam1 brandishing his spiritual weapon4 ,this is my sermon on the theatre1 which you engaged to hear me preach2 ,i have had it printed for you4 ,really1 said ,horatio1 with a humorous smile1 ,i had forgotten my promise4 ,besides1 ,i was engaged1--let me see1 it was two ,sundays ago1 wasn't it8--yes1 ,i was engaged to dine with ,miss ,kellerton4 ,the actress6 ,on ,sunday6 said ,pendlam1 with a shocked expression4 ,but you might have heard me in the morning4 ,in the morning we rode together1 laughed ,horatio4 ,i knew all this was a fiction on the part of my friend1 designed to mystify the minister4 ,i said nothing1 to avoid an introduction2 ,i had stepped aside1 and now stood1 amused and observant1 under the street lamp4 ,pendlam especially ,i studied1 with one eye 7figuratively speaking7 on him1 and the other on ,susan4 ,i compared him with myself1 and had no doubt but she was weak enough to consider him the handsomer man of the two4 ,he was of medium height1 slightly built1 of a nervous temperament1 with bright1 quick-glancing eyes1 and vehement gestures4 ,the chief characteristic of the man seemed intensity4 ,it manifested itself in his eager movements1 in his emphasis and tones of voice1 in his swiftly changing expression1 in his wild hair1 in his neckerchief1 which seemed to have been tied with a jerk1 and in his dress throughout1 which was evidently that of a man who had things of vaster importance to think of4 ,he was whirling ,horatio away in a torrent of eloquence1 poured out against the sins of the age1 and mainly against the theatre1 which he denounced as the citadel of dissipation and all immoralities2 and my poor friend1 who had opened the gates of this flood by his indiscreet pleasantry1 was vainly endeavouring to escape and rejoin me1 when ,i observed a person come out of the saloon1 and gradually draw near1 until he stood within a few feet of the zealous reformer4 ,a group watched him from the door4 ,before ,i suspected his object1 he threw out the coils of a concealed whip1 and springing upon ,pendlam from behind1 dealt him furious successive blows over the shoulders and head4 ,i ran to the rescue4 ,but already ,horatio had seized the whip4 ,good for evil1 cried ,pendlam1 as ,i was on the point of throttling the assailant4 ,my friend1 how have ,i injured you8 ,interfering with my business6 getting away my custom6 insulting folks with your cursed tracts6 frothed the angry man4 ,i swore to cowhide you1 and ,i've done it6 ,if that is the case1 ,i have no complaint to make1 said ,pendlam4 ,you can go on with your cowhiding4 ,you've had enough for once6 growled the other1 rolling up the lash4 ,but if ,i deserve whipping for doing my duty1 ,i deserve a good deal more1 cried ,pendlam4 ,and if you are to be my castigator for each offence1 you will find yourself pretty well employed4 ,it would be less trouble1 ,i should think1 to do a little more1 while you have your hand in4 ,meanwhile1 take this tract upon the sin of ,anger1 carry it home with you1 and read it carefully at your leisure4 ,muttering threats1 the man returned to the saloon1 amid the laughs and acclamations of his constituents4 ,pendlam followed impulsively1 and left the tract within4 ,he then returned to us4 ,up to this time1 he had appeared exalted and firm2 but now there came a reaction2 his voice forsook him1 he trembled violently1 and we were obliged to give him the support of our arms4 ,as we conducted him away1 his condition might have been taken for that of many others who get into difficulty in bar-rooms4 ,arrived at his boarding-house1 he thanked us with pathetic earnestness1 and urged us to go in4 ,on one condition1 said ,horatio1--that you say no more about the theatres4 ,pendlam smiled faintly4 ,i should think ,i might refrain from that and kindred topics1 at least until my shoulders have done smarting6 ,but ,i assure you1 my zeal will only be quickened by the occurrences of this night4 ,the first horsewhipping is a great event4 ,i now know what it is to be a martyr6 ,we went in and conversed4 ,my repugnance to forming a friendship with the man who was to marry ,susan had vanished4 ,i found him rather too zealous1--almost fanatical2 but we forgive every thing in a man who shows generosity of heart1 and sincere aspirations4 ,horatio took a paper from his pocket and read for the twentieth time a certain criticism upon ,miss ,kellerton's acting2 occasionally looking up1 to listen to some remark from either ,pendlam or myself1--then returning to his favorite article4 ,i had the honor of differing1 on many essential points1 with my new clerical acquaintance2 and we were soon on excellent terms of courteous dispute4 ,i assumed the philosopher1 and expressed candidly my conviction that his intellect had early projected itself into doctrines which would prove too confined for its future growth4 ,i remember distinctly his reply4 ,on the contrary1 it is you1 he said1 who1 ,i perceive1 will some day come over upon the very ground ,i now occupy4 ,our modern ways of thinking have become too free and lax4 ,we cannot draw the rein and tighten the girth4 ,there was a charming sparkle in his blue eyes as he spoke4 ,i gave him my hand1 and we parted4 ,as we walked away together1 ,horatio asked how ,i liked him4 ,he is in earnest1 and that is everything4 ,but mark me1 he is not the man for ,susan4 ,your jealousy6 said ,horatio4 ,not a bit6 ,i see a discrepancy4 ,where8 ,in my mind's eye1 ,horatio4 ,i concluded that silence was discretion1 and refused to answer more questions4 ,horatio looked at his watch4 ,we have just time to see ,miss ,kellerton in the last act of ',the ,stranger4' ,she is great6 ,you should see her1 when she turns and embraces the children2 it's a scene of overwhelming pathos6 ,come6 ,with ,pendlam's printed sermon in your pocket8 ,horatio laughed4 ,we will read it during the dance6 ,but ,i declined2 and he went alone into the theatre4 ,not long after1 ,i received a certain wedding card1 and1 in consequence1 made a certain call4 ,susan was all blushes and smiles at sight of me2 but ,i was cool and circumspect4 ,we are friends1 are we not8 ,i said1 ,we once thought we were more than that2 but we became older and wiser4 ,we agreed to disagree1 very properly4 ,it did not break our hearts2 and that shows that it is better as it is4 ,perhaps1 murmured ,susan4 ,let us be quite frank with each other2 that is the best way1 ,susan4 ,we are good friends8 ,o1 yes6 said ,susan4 ,thank you1 dear ,susan1--if ,i may still call you so1 in the sense of friendship4 ,i know your husband1 and love him4 ,i congratulate you on having so noble a companion4 ,susan sighed1 and concealed a tear4 ,just then ,pendlam entered4 ,he seemed abstracted1 and took a quick turn across the room2 then gave me a surprised look1 a pleased smile1 and a cordial grasp of the hand4 ,the next hour ,i was oblivious of all external things1 in the delightful excitement of our conversation4 ,i even forgot ,susan4 ,poor ,susan6 the trouble was1 she was not intellectual2 not at all imaginative2 but a very plain1 matter-of-fact person1 with deep affections1 and paramount instincts4 ,during that memorable hour1 she spoke not one word4 ,when at length ,i observed her consciously1 she was gazing at us with a look of weariness and vacancy4 ,is it not so8 cried ,pendlam4 ,he appealed to her4 ,she smiled sweetly1 and said with simplicity that she scarcely understood any thing that had been said4 ,i could see that ,pendlam was a little shocked4 ,from clear1 joyous heights of poetic discourse1 we looked down1 and saw how far off below was her beingless mind4 ,to the vision we then enjoyed1 there was something thick and earthy in her expression4 ,it was the first time ,pendlam had observed it2 ,i had seen it before4 ,and even as before1 ,i looked back1 with wonder at myself1 to the earlier period when ,i deemed her beauty peerless4 ,both ,pendlam and ,i were chilled4 ,the fine tension of the spiritual chords relaxed1 and gave forth heavier music4 ,susan failing to ascend to us1 we came down to her4 ,she now made haste to atone for her long silence by talking freely of the pretty new church1 and the people she saw out ,sunday2 and she seemed proud and happy when she brought out her wedding gifts1 and ,i praised them4 ,it was several weeks before ,i again saw ,pendlam4 ,i went with ,horatio to hear him preach4 ,the sermon surprised me4 ,many of the thoughts which ,i had advanced in our private conversations1 and which he had opposed1 were reproduced1 but very slightly modified1 in his discourse4 ,pendlam is enlarging1 whispered ,horatio4 ,the very things you said to him the first time you met6 ,i was gratified by the fact1 and gratified that ,horatio observed it2 regarding it as evidence of ,pendlam's emancipation from his chains4 ,the services over1 the young clergyman made his way to us through the crowd4 ,i have so much wished to see you6 he exclaimed1 grasping my hand4 ,you were a little astonished at my sermon4 ,and a good deal pleased1 ,i added4 ,pendlam's delicate and changing features colored finely4 ,you think ,i have altered my views1 ,i see by your smile4 ,not at all1 except that ,i have gone farther4 ,i am glad you have gone farther1 ,i answered4 ,but in the same direction1 ,i assure you6 said ,pendlam1 quickly4 ,step by step1 step by step4 ,you were on your way back to ,paul and the ,fathers4 ,yes2 and on my arrival among them1 ,i found myself one of the ,fathers6 ,it was a necessary experience4 ,as ,paul spoke by authority1 so ,i1 when ,i stand where ,paul stood1 also speak by authority4 ,we must first be obedient1 before we can be free4 ,you see where ,i am1 said ,pendlam4 ,here a young woman came forward1 and1 with tears in her eyes1 thanked her pastor for the glorious truths he had that day preached4 ,they are not my truths2 they are the ,lord's2 ,i am but his mouthpiece1 answered ,pendlam1 well pleased4 ,a gray-haired deacon now approached4--,on the hull1 said he1 ,i liked your sarmon tolerable well1 ,brother ,pendlam2 but it warn't one o' your best2 and if anybody else had preached it1 ,i should have thought it contained a little dangerous doctrine4 ,pendlam blushed4 ,this compliment did not please him quite so well4 ,but before he could shape a reply1 quite an old woman seized his hand and kissed it4 ,god bless you for those words6 ,they have done my soul good1 sir6 ,her gratitude and piety were quite affecting4 ,tears gushed into ,pendlam's eyes4 ,the deacon turned away with a smirk and an ominous shake of the head4 ,horatio had found ,susan4 ,pendlam took my arm1 and we walked out of the church4 ,the crowd pressed on before us2 and as we reached the vestibule1 we overheard suppressed voices the merits of the sermon4 ,it was full of beautiful truth6 said a sweet young girl's voice4 ,the most eloquent discourse ,i ever heard6 added a young man with a singing-book under his arm4 ,for my part1 remarked a portly and well-dressed pillar of the church1 ,i was a good deal surprised4 ,rather too wild and flowery4 ,must have a bad tendency4 ,what we want is sound doctrine1 observed another prosperous pillar4 ,better let such abstract subjects alone4 ,dangerous doctrine6 dangerous doctrine6 chimed in the gray-haired deacon4 ,on reaching the open air1 ,i observed that ,pendlam was quite tremulous and flushed4 ,you see1 he said with a smile1 what it is to be a minister4 ,we went home to his house4 ,horatio had arrived before us1 in company with ,susan and her mother4 ,the latter was looking very uncomfortable at seeing me1 ,i thought1 for she had hated me cordially since my affair with her daughter4 ,i declare1 ,john ,henry1 she said1 in her energetic way1 ,i hope you never will preach another such sermon as long as ,i live6 ,i couldn't make neither head nor tail to it4 ,and she gathered up her ,sunday things1 which she had taken off in the parlour1 with an air of offended piety that occasioned a general smile4 ,pendlam smiled with the rest4 ,well1 ,horatio1 you next1--what did you think of my sermon8 ,i liked it4 ,good6 but give your reason4 ,because you said nothing about the theatre4 ,i was mortally afraid you would2 for1 d'ye see1 you had a distinguished theatrical personage in your audience4 ,indeed6 ,i was not aware2 who8 ,miss ,kellerton herself6 ,is it possible8 ,pendlam looked surprised1 ,susan interested1 ,mrs4 ,d---- 7with her ,sunday things on her arm7 amazed4 ,she told me she was going to hear you1 to show you that she could be quite as tolerant as yourself4 ,she expects you to return the compliment1 and go to her benefit4 ,poor ,pendlam hardly knew what to say in his confusion4 ,susan spoke up1-- ,why didn't you point her out to me8 ,i have such a curiosity to see her4 ,it was to her ,i took off my hat1 coming away from the church door4 ,to her6 broke forth ,mrs4 ,d----1 to an actress6 ,horatio1 ,i'm ashamed of you4 ,you wouldn't have caught me walking with you1 if ,i had known6 ,she shook her ,sunday things indignantly2 and there was another general smile1 as she took these representatives of her piety abruptly out of the room4 ,ail this is very interesting1 said ,pendlam1 recovering his equanimity4 ,i wonder what sort of a sermon ,i shall preach next ,sabbath8 ,we were invited to stay to luncheon4 ,horatio consented2 but ,i declined1 and took my leave1 much to the gratification of ,susan's mother1 no doubt4 ,some months passed before ,i again saw ,pendlam4 ,our next meeting was in the street4 ,i observed him coming towards me with the peculiarly abstracted and intense expression which his face assumed under excitement4 ,what now8 ,i asked4 ,a little difficulty with my people1 he said1 with a forced smile4 ,i have just come from a church meeting2 it was terribly hot there6 ,no serious trouble1 ,i hope8 ,o1 no1--only1 you will hardly be surprised to hear1 my preaching has been somewhat too liberal for them4 ,why1 sir1 ,i cried1 if ,i remember right1 you were for restoring the more rigorous and stringent forms of religion2 drawing the rein and tightening the girth4 ,most certainly6 and do you not see8 ,step by step ,i worked back to the primitive and central principle1 the soul of all religion4 ,you know what that is4 ,it is ,love6 ,this ,i have preached1 said ,pendlam1 his features suffused1 his eyes glistening bright2 and this ,i shall continue to preach1 while life lasts4 ,persecution cannot influence me4 ,i know my duty1 and ,i shall perform it1 at all risks4 ,you see where ,i am1 added ,pendlam4 ,i was thrilled to admiration by his enthusiasm and heroic resolution4 ,at the same time ,i saw him in that transitional state which is so full of peril to persons of certain temperaments1 escaping into too sudden freedom and light from the walls of a narrow and gloomy belief2 and ,i could not but smile1 with mingled amusement and commiseration1 at his singular step-by-step processes4 ,it was during the following autumn that ,horatio and ,i one day looked in upon a reform meeting1 held at the ,melodeon4 ,the audience was thin1 the speakers numerous4 ,the platform was crowded with male and female reformers1 among whom ,i recognized our clerical friend ,pendlam4 ,a celebrated female orator sat down1 and ,pendlam stood up4 ,the audience cheered a little2 the platform cheered a good deal4 ,he at first stammered and hesitated1 not from want of thoughts1 but from their pressure and multitude4 ,they soon fused1 however1 and poured forth streams of fire1 rather largely mixed with smoke4 ,there is no other religion but ,love1 declared the speaker4 ,and where ,love is1 there is ,religion2 in the ,mohammedan1 in the ,mormon1 in the savage1--,i care not for names4 ,and where ,love is not1 there ,religion is not1 though her image be preserved and clothed in all ,christian forms4 ,theology and sects fall away from it2 it is alone vital2 it is eternal1 it is unitary1 it is ,god4 ,here ,i proclaim it to the world2 here ,i announce to you and to all where ,i stand4 ,this speech was reported along with others in the morning papers4 ,it was not long before ,pendlam had more church business to perplex him2 and he soon withdrew from the pastorship of his troublesome flock4 ,a number of these went with him2 there was a schism in the church2 and the following spring1 a new society was formed1 which gave ,pendlam a call4 ,i also gave him a call1 at his house4 ,changes had taken place since my last visit4 ,i was shocked at ,susan's altered appearance4 ,she had had an infant1 and untold trouble along with it4 ,the bloom of the bride was gone1 and the finer permeating beauty of the happy mother had failed to replace it4 ,mrs4 ,d---- was with her4 ,this excellent lady received me with surprising politeness1 and brought out the little ,pendlam for my inspection4 ,is it possible1 ,susan1 that this living1 breathing1 dimpled little wonder is yours8 ,i suppose it is1 said the blushing ,susan4 ,where is its father8 ,i inquired1 for ,john ,henry had not yet appeared4 ,it hasn't got any father6 ejaculated ,mrs4 ,d----1 with grim sarcasm4 ,a man can't be a reform-preacher1 and a father too4 ,his sermons1 lectures1 and conventions are of too much importance for him even to think of his wife and child4 ,i looked to see poor ,susan writhe with pain under these harsh words4 ,but she merely heaved a sigh1 and let fall a tear on the babe1 which she had taken from its grandmother's arms4 ,i will speak to ,mr4 ,pendlam1 she said1 as she hastily left the room4 ,i am glad you have come1 said ,mrs4 ,d----1 bitterly1 seating herself on the sofa4 ,i am glad to see any person enter this house1 who isn't all eaten up with the evils of society4 ,i have heard about the evils of society till ,i'm heartily sick of them4 ,people that come to see ,pendlam don't generally talk about anything else4 ,it's the ruin of him1 as ,i tell ,susan2 ,i never in this world can be reconciled to his leaving his church4 ,mrs4 ,d---- became confidential1 and abused her daughter's husband in a style which did not argue much for the peace of his household during that energetic lady's visits4 ,her indignation against him had quite swallowed up her old cherished resentment against myself4 ,she soon went so far as to insinuate a regret that ,susan had not married a man of solid sense and some mental ballast1 7meaning me17 instead of a hotheaded reformer4 ,susan reentered4 ,mr4 ,pendlam is very busy2 but he will come down presently4 ,she sighed1 and took a seat4 ,mrs4 ,d---- continued her abuse of her son-in-law1 in her daughter's presence1--which ,i thought in very bad taste1 to say the least4 ,susan uttered not one word in her husband's defence1 but simply sat and sighed4 ,i defended and praised him2 for which act of friendship ,i earned not one look of gratitude from her1 and only contempt and sneers from her mother4 ,i was glad when ,pendlam appeared4 ,he was looking care-worn and toil-worn2 his expression had grown more intense than ever4 ,his face lighted up a little at sight of me2 but it was some minutes before his mind seemed capable of extricating itself from its abstractions1 and meeting me upon social grounds4 ,you will excuse me4 ,i am heartily rejoiced to see you4 ,i was hard at work4 ,just pass your hand over my forehead2 it will relieve the pressure upon my brain4 ,my mission is now fully revealed to me2 everything is reform1 reform4 ,i have been led here step by step4 ,your magnetism is very soothing4 ,the old crumbling walls of creeds and conventionalities are to be swept away1 and their foundations subjected to the plough and the harrow4 ,i am in the harness4 ,i have no motive for concealment2 ,i tell you frankly where ,i stand1 said ,pendlam4 ,another long sigh from ,susan4 ,mrs4 ,d---- tossed her contemptuous chin1 and expressed scorn in divers significant ways4 ,i should want to conceal a little1 if ,i was in your place1 she remarked1 cuttingly4 ,truth is truth2 it can harm only those who are in error1 said ,pendlam4 ,it certainly hasn't done you a very great amount of good4 ,another toss of the contemptuous chin4 ,on the contrary1 it has done me incalculable good1 answered the son-in-law1 with a smile4 ,oh6 you consider it good1 then1 to be cut off from the church1--to give up a good situation and sure salary1--to lose the respect of everybody whose respect is worth having6 ,if ,i have done all this for the truth's sake1 it is good1--the reformer's face kindled with enthusiasm1--and ,i for one find it good4 ,perhaps you do1 but ,i know who don't4 ,i believe reform1 like charity1 begins at home4 ,you talk of your duty to humanity2 ,i believe the first duty is to one's own family4 ,i don't think much of that man's mission to the world1 who forgets his own wife and child4 ,horatio had previously told me1 what ,i could hardly believe1 that ,mrs4 ,d---- was accustomed to abuse her son-in-law in this way1 in the presence of strangers4 ,susan did nothing but sigh4 ,pendlam smiled1 as if he was used to it4 ,i need a little such invective occasionally1 to refresh my zeal1 he said1 with provoking meekness4 ,it shows me where ,i am4 ,it assures me that ,i am fighting the good fight4 ,i do not blame my good mother2 she is worldly-minded1 and sees things from her stand-point4 ,neither she nor ,susan can perceive anything but loss and disgrace1 in the change from the handsome1 fashionable church1 where ,i used to preach1 to the naked hall where our new society holds its meetings4 ,very natural for people upon their plane4 ,but ,i view things from another stand-point1 to which ,i have been led step by step2 and ,i have simply to be true to my own revealed mission4 ,mission6 revealed6 step by step6 planes and stand-points6 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,d----1 rising in great disgust4 ,for my part1 ,i believe in common sense2 ,i don't know any other plane or stand-point1 and ,i don't believe ,providence ever intended we should have any other4 ,there1 you have my opinion6 ,and with a violent gesture1 as if throwing her opinion from her1 and shutting our little party into the room with that formidable object1 she swept out1 slammed the door after her1 and rustled remorselessly up stairs4 ,persons upon her plane are very much to be pitied1 observed ,pendlam1 quietly4 ,susan began to cry1 and the scene became so painful to me1 that ,i made haste to shake hands with the ill-mated couple1 say a few soothing words1 and take leave of them4 ,from that time1 ,i saw ,pendlam occasionally1 but avoided the house4 ,it was a peculiarity of his impressible nature1 to imbibe1 unconsciously to himself1 the sentiments of powerful persons with whom he came in contact1 retain and revolve them in his intellect1 until they reappeared as his own original convictions4 ,he now went with reformers1 and carried with him their atmosphere4 ,to hear him talk1 you would have thought universal reorganization at hand4 ,i said ,i avoided the house2 but one day ,horatio came to me with a doleful face1 backing a petition that ,i would go and talk with ,susan4 ,there has been an explosion6 ,the old woman is gone2 she has declared open1 internecine war against ,pendlam4 ,i thought she had declared that some time ago1 good ,horatio6 ,ah1 but now she is trying to get his wife away from him6 ,she has sent plenipotentiaries1 with threats and entreaties1 and they have frightened ,susan out of her poor little wits4 ,go and reassure her4 ,horatio1 ,i am not certain what would be best4 ,they never belonged together4 ,but at your request1 ,i will go and see what ,i can do4 ,i went4 ,susan received me with an effort at a smile1 which was a failure1 and at my inquiry for ,pendlam1 burst into tears4 ,he is not dead1 ,i hope4 ,no1 sobbed ,susan4 ,nor in jail8 ,no4 ,another sob4 ,nor in any serious trouble8 ,trouble enough1 ,heaven knows6 ,mother has gone4 ,i don't know what to do4 ,all the nice people we used to visit with have turned against us4 ,but our happiness does not depend upon nice people1 you know1 dear ,susan4 ,but he is getting into the strangest ways6 ,shabby folks1 with long beards1 come to see him4 ,he has left off family devotions4 ,susan was weeping2 when1 at a quick step in the hall1 she took alarm1 and hurried from the room1 just in time to hide her tears from her husband4 ,alone8 said ,pendlam4 ,no2 ,susan has just left me4 ,i am glad you have come4 ,i have thought for several days that ,i required your magnetism4 ,every thing with me now is magnetism4 ,my nature demands a certain magnetism1 as the appetite demands a certain quality of food4 ,there are coarse magnetisms1 and fine magnetisms2 yours is peculiarly agreeable to me4 ,some repel me1 and some attract irresistibly4 ,i have only to follow my impressions1 to get what is necessary for me4 ,that's where ,i am1 said ,pendlam4 ,he urged me to stay and dine2 and as ,i desired an opportunity to converse further with ,susan1 ,i consented4 ,i was surprised to see a dish of roast meat come upon the table1--,pendlam having1 for the past year1 preached vegetarianism4 ,but he assured me that he had not changed his theory of dietetics4 ,there are times1 however1 when we require the magnetisms of certain animal foods4 ,to-day ,i perceived that my system demanded the magnetism of lamb4 ,if your constitution is wanting in the lamb element1 you will find this tender4 ,pendlam1 ,i should observe1 had neglected to say grace4 ,your theory of magnetisms1 said ,i1 would seem a very convenient one4 ,to-morrow1 for example1 you can require the magnetism of roast beef4 ,the next day1 the magnetisms of turtle-soup and venison will be found agreeable4 ,the magnetisms of some birds are said to be excellent4 ,and ,i have no doubt but in time you will arrive at the discovery1 that the magnetism of a certain distilled beverage1 called brandy1 stimulates digestion4 ,pendlam laughed and blushed4 ,i have not forgotten that for three good years of my life ,i waged war against ,king ,alchohol4 7,will you try a bit of the lamb87 ,but ,i do not push my principles over the verge of prejudice1 as those do who condemn the grape4 ,condemn the grape8 ,i repeated4 ,the juice of the grape1 which is the same thing4 ,where this can be obtained pure1 it will be found highly beneficial to persons on a certain plane4 ,the grape magnetism is eminently spiritualizing4 ,so saying1 to my utter astonishment1 ,pendlam uncorked a small bottle1 which ,i had supposed to contain pepper-sauce1 and commenced pouring out ,,wine4 ,this will answer in lieu of grace1 ,i suggested4 ,the act of prayer1 said ,pendlam1 has indisputable uses4 ,it opens the avenues to an influx of spiritual magnetisms4 ,but where the mind is kept in the receptive condition without the aid of the external form of prayer1 this becomes like a scaffolding after the house is built4 ,step by step1 ,i have been led to this high spiritual plane4 ,susan1 as of old1 sat and sighed4 ,pendlam found my magnetism so attractive1 that it was impossible for me to obtain a minute's conversation with ,susan alone4 ,i departed1 wearied and disheartened with her sad1 despairing face haunting me4 ,i had little further personal knowledge of ,pendlam's career1 until ,horatio came for me1 one evening1 to attend a meeting of the ,disciples of ,freedom4 ,we found the ,melodeon crowded by one of those stifling audiences for which no ventilation seems availing4 ,a portion had come to be interested1 a portion to be amused4 ,to the former1 the object of the meeting was wise and great2 to the latter1 it was ridiculous enough to be worth an evening's senseless laughter4 ,for my own part1 only the strong desire ,i felt to observe the characteristics of a new sect daily increasing in numbers and influence could induce me to undergo the exhaustion of sitting an hour in such an assembly4 ,we took seats in an obscure corner1 and looked around4 ,here were curious1 lank stalks of humanity1 which seemed to have been raked from unheard-of1 outlandish stubbles4 ,occasionally1 in beautiful relief out of these1 a clear1 full-berried stem of ripened grain lifted its gracious head4 ,it was a strange mixture2 a strange power1 indeed1 that had swept together such promising wheat and such refuse chaff and straw in one incongruous mass4 ,we turned our eyes to the platform4 ,there sat ,pendlam1 with other prominent ,disciples4 ,a young man was speaking wise and beautiful words4 ,from the well of a deep and sincere soul he drew needed counsel for the perishing multitude2 said what he seemed impelled to say1 and sat down4 ,he was followed by a sallow-visaged1 black-bearded speaker1 who poured forth abundant venomous froth of denunciation4 ,he had caught enough of the phraseology of the more philosophical ,disciples1 to impress the earnest ignorant with some show of profundity4 ,i was glad when his stream dried up4 ,pendlam next arose and read a paper upon ,magnetisms and ,organizations4 ,after him1 came forward a gentleman with a model1 illustrating the design of a dwelling-house for the ,associated ,disciples4 ,he showed1 entirely to the satisfaction of himself at least1 that society should be reduced to a mechanism1 and mankind to pivots and wheels4 ,this was the dawn of the millennial era4 ,the world was to be saved by organization4 ,first1 an association2 then an association of associations1 which should spread over the ,united ,states1 abolish taxes1 banks1 slavery1 and private property1 elect its president1 annex ,south ,america1 the ,british and ,russian possessions1 and eventually ,europe1 ,africa1 and ,asia4 ,the model dwelling-house was likened to a manger1 in which ,christ was to be born1 at his second coming4 ,the speaker ended by introducing the ,practical ,organizer of the ,initial ,association of ,free ,disciples4 ,horatio and myself had already remarked upon the platform an individual whose features seemed somehow familiar to us4 ,he was rather stoutly built1 full-faced1 of a sanguine complexion and temperament4 ,his mouth indicated both sensuality and decision of character4 ,his forehead was prominent and low1 his eye keen1 his neck thick and muscular4 ,we were not surprised to see him arise and step forward as the ,practical ,organizer of the ,initial ,association of ,free ,disciples4 ,ladies and gentlemen1 said he1 ,i am no orator4 ,i am a business man4 ,i am not here to make a speech1 but to tell you about the practical part of this ,association4 ,at the first words he spoke1 a flood of recollections rushed over me4 ,for a moment my breath was quite taken away4 ,i know him6 ,i remember him6 ,horatio and ,i whispered almost simultaneously4 ,his voice was unmistakable4 ,he was the fellow who had flogged ,pendlam four years before4 ,extremes had met4 ,the temperance missionary and the infuriate liquor-dealer stood upon the same platform4 ,soon after1 we took our leave4 ,we walked up and down in the fresh air4 ,how sweet1 how cool it seemed1 after an hour spent amid the heated breaths of the packed audience6 ,i had parted from my friend1 and was returning home1 when ,i met two persons walking arm in arm4 ,i heard one of them say1-- ,i find that no great work can be accomplished1 without due regard paid to magnetisms2 and in organization1 we must take care that they are harmoniously distributed4 ,i find that ,i now assume relations with every individual according to these subtile laws4 ,you see where ,i am1 said ,pendlam4 ,for ,pendlam was the speaker4 ,his companion was the ,practical ,organizer of the ,initial ,association of ,free ,disciples4 ,i went home1 filled with a multitude of reflections4 ,strong interest led me soon after to pay a visit to ,pendlam's house4 ,as ,i went in1 ,i met a man coming out4 ,he had a stout frame1 keen eye1 sensual mouth1 sanguine complexion1 muscular neck4 ,susan1 said ,i1 who is that man8 ,one of my husband's friends1 answered ,susan1 in some confusion4 ,and yours8--eyeing her closely4 ,oh1 he comes frequently to the house2 ,i see him occasionally4 ',tis he who gave ,pendlam that bottle of wine8 ,i believe so4 ,and that flogging1 ,susan6 ,oh1 they have made that up1 said ,susan1 innocently4 ,if they are satisfied1 ,i have nothing to say4 ,are you happy1 ,susan8 for a change had come over her1 which ,i did not readily understand4 ,oh1 dear6 said ,susan1 we have had so much trouble6 ,she began to give way to her emotions4 ,we have lost all our old friends4 ,mother never comes near us now4 ,sometimes ,i don't know what we shall do4 ,tell me what you think of it2--is ,henry so much out of the way as people think8 ,he certainly knows more than anybody else1 and ,i don't see how he can be wrong4 ,she ended with a sob4 ,you are aware1 ,i answered1 that ,pendlam and ,i partly agree in every thing1 and wholly agree in nothing4 ,he is right1 and he is wrong4 ,he takes hold of what is a truth1 but detaches it from universal truth1 and so it becomes an error4 ,i saw she did not comprehend4 ,but never despair1 ,i added1 ,the future depends upon you4 ,what can ,i do8 she pleaded4 ,remain firm in principle1 dear ,susan4 ,whatever happens1 stand true to him and to yourself4 ,do that1 and all will be well4 ,the crying of her child1 which was sick1 called her away4 ,i sought ,pendlam's study4 ,i found him busily writing4 ,he was pale and thin1 and there was a wild brightness in his eye which did not please me4 ,you1 of all men6 he exclaimed4 ,sit down4 ,he closed the door1 with an air of mystery4 ,i was just writing to you4 ,to me8 ,then ,i have saved you the trouble of employing a messenger4 ,susan would be mortified and incensed1 if she knew what ,i am about to say4 ,but truth is truth4 ,she is perishing2 ,i see new evidence of it every day4 ,it is for want of magnetisms4 ,i have little to give her1 and what ,i have is not such as she requires4 ,do not be astonished when ,i tell you ,i have discovered that there do not exist between us the requisite affinities4 ,i smiled2 for ,pendlam was continually announcing discoveries of facts ,i had discovered long before4 ,you see where ,i am1 said ,pendlam4 ,i am compelled to go to other women for the magnetisms ,i need2 she must receive what she requires from other men4 ,that is interesting1 ,i replied4 ,what is the peculiar process of imparting these magnetisms8 ,sometimes by conversation1--sometimes by the contact of hands1--perhaps by a kiss2 no rule is laid down2 the process must depend upon the kind of magnetism to be imparted4 ,very naturally4 ,but what have ,i to do with all this8 ,i will tell you4 ,i was not ,susan's first choice2 but you were4 ,that fact is very significant2 it shows an affinity4 ,and what ,i desire is1 that-- ,my dear ,john ,henry1 ,i interrupted1 allow me to say that you are quite mistaken4 ,if ,i know any thing of affinities1 there is none between ,susan and myself2 no more1 ,i judge1 than there is between you and the gentleman ,i met going out1 as ,i was coming in4 ,oh1--,clodman6 ,you saw him8 cried ,pendlam4 ,yes1 and remember distinctly seeing him at least twice before2 once as the ,practical ,organizer of the ,initial ,association of ,free ,disciples1 and once as the self-appointed castigator of unfortunate temperance missionaries4 ,you are pleased to be sarcastic1 said ,pendlam1 mildly4 ,he is a very useful man to us4 ,i welcome his visits to my house2 for ,i consider his magnetism highly beneficial to ,susan4 ,then1 by all the gods at once1 you wrong me6 ,i said4 ,if that man's magnetism is what she needs1 to suppose that mine is1 also1 is an insult4 ,i lose patience with you1 ,o most free ,disciple6 ,i see1 replied ,pendlam1 with a smile1 you have not yet reached the plane of perfect freedom4 ,i cannot argue with you2 but when you have had certain necessary experiences1 and arrived at my stand-point1 you will see as ,i do4 ,he conducted me to the door1 rather coolly4 ,i stopped a moment to speak to ,susan4 ,for the love of ,heaven1 ,i said1 remember what ,i told you4 ,you don't know how much depends upon you6 ,susan stared4 ,i left her staring4 ,about this time ,miss ,kellerton returned1 and played a brilliant engagement4 ,i accompanied ,horatio one evening to witness her fourth appearance in a new play1 which had taken the theatrical portion of the city by storm4 ,the play-house was packed from top to bottom4 ,we had our seats in the orchestra1 where we enjoyed a view of both actors and audience1 and a cool breeze from behind the scenes4 ,for criticisms of the performance1 ,i must refer the reader to the newspapers of the period4 ,horatio cheered like a madman4 ,he was quite beside himself with enthusiasm1 especially at the close of the third act4 ,he was clapping furiously1 and looking about upon the audience to see who else was cheering1 when he suddenly stopped1 his hands asunder1 his countenance transfixed with an alarming expression4 ,i thought he had clapped himself into a fit4 ,horatio6 ,i cried1--,horatio6 what's the matter8 ,look6 look6 ,where8 ,yonder6 by the pillar6 ,i now thought 7his head being turned7 that perchance he beheld a ghost4 ,don't you see8--,pendlam6 ,it was true2--there sat the reformer1 out-cheering ,horatio himself6 ,by his side was ,susan1 looking brighter and happier than ,i had seen her for months4 ,by her side sat-- ,that rascal ,clodman6 hissed ,horatio1 through his teeth4 ,miss ,kellerton came before the curtain4 ,a vast tumult of applause burst forth and died away4 ,pendlam cheered after all the rest had ceased4 ,then he and ,clodman conferred1--the face of the latter so near ,susan's1 as he leaned before her1 that ,horatio swore he kissed her4 ,both ,pendlam and ,susan were beaming with smiles4 ,this recreation will do them good1 ,i whispered4 ,that ,clodman is a villain6 muttered ,horatio4 ,ask ,miss ,kellerton2 she knows him4 ,but1 villainy aside1 what a stupendous joke it is to see ,pendlam here6 ,horatio arose1 flushed and excited4 ,where are you going8 ,i demanded4 ,i'll tell you soon4 ,let me pass4 ,he left the theatre4 ,i did not see him again until the play was over4 ,he made his way to the orchestra box where ,i sat1 in time to applaud ,miss ,kellerton's final appearance before the curtain4 ,then he grasped my arm4 ,come with me2 they are going6 ,he indicated ,pendlam's party4 ,we passed up the aisle1 reached the hall1 and waited for them at the foot of the stairs4 ,presently they appeared4 ,clodman was praising the performance2 ,susan expressed her delight2 ,pendlam said something about miscellaneous magnetisms4 ,they had reached the foot of the stairs1 when ,horatio sprang upon them like a brigand1 and seized ,john ,henry's collar4 ,ha6 ,horatio6 gasped ,pendlam1 a good deal startled4 ,too late to escape6 ,and ,horatio drew a tract upon him1 like a revolver4 ,here is something1 sir1 which ,i think will suit your case1 levelling it at ,pendlam's throat4 ,ha6 stammered ,pendlam1 reading the title1 ',the ,theatre a ,stronghold of ,vice2 a ,sermon1 by--' ,by the ,reverend ,john ,henry ,pendlam1 roared out ,horatio4 ,pendlam1 the distinguished temperance-preacher6 ,a lurid smile played over the grim features of the ,practical ,organizer4 ,pendlam has outgrown his former opinions1 he said1 with a look of hate at ,horatio4 ,not precisely1 said ,pendlam4 ,i have simply enlarged them1 or rather added to them4 ,i preach temperance the same2 but every man must be his own master4 ,the vices of the theatre appear just as hideous to me as ever2 but the theatre itself may be redeemed1 and made an instrument of salvation4 ,as the patronage of bad people rendered it what it has been1 so the patronage of the good is required to make it what it should be4 ,the divine magnetism of a few spiritual persons in the audience must necessarily affect1 not only the remainder of the audience1 but also the actors4 ,in our new ,association-- ,come6 growled the ,practical ,organizer1 turning away1 with ,susan leaning confidingly on his arm2 shall we go8 ,excuse me4 ,i will give you my ideas of a spiritual drama another time4 ,i'll take this sermon4 ,i shall read with interest what ,i had to say on the subject before my mind had attained its present plane4 ,good night6 ,you see where ,i am1 added ,pendlam4 ,thenceforward the ,pendlams were frequent visitors at the theatres4 ,when ,john ,henry was too much occupied to attend1 ,clodman had the gallantry to escort ,susan4 ,this was considered exceedingly kind in ,clodman2 he not only treated ,susan to delightful dramatic performances1 but at the same time imparted to her his valuable magnetism4 ,one ,sabbath evening ,horatio came suddenly upon me in the street1 and pulled me breathlessly around a corner4 ,wait till ,i can speak2 the miracle of miracles6 ,i have been to--to call on ,,her2 and who do you suppose had been dining with her8 ,i named successively several noted actress-hunters and snobs1 whose names disgusted ,horatio4 ,who then8 ,i asked4 ,pendlam6 ,pendlam6 ,pendlam6 ejaculated ,horatio4 ,he wanted to consult ,,her upon the subject of creating a ,divine ,drama1 or some such nonsense4 ,possibly a new ,divine ,comedy1 ,i suggested4 ,she made him stay and dine on ,sunday6 ,and will you believe it8--he finds her magnetic impartations1 as he calls them1 highly agreeable and advantageous to his constitution6 ,bless him6 he isn't the first man who has found them agreeable1 if not so advantageous4 ,but she gave him a dose6 ,of what8 ,of bitter truth about ,clodman4 ,she knows him for a villain1 and told him so4 ,i was there1 and glad to hear it4 ,but ,i was enraged4 ,i could have wrung ,john ,henry ,pendlam's neck for him1 when he said1 with his quiet1 charitable1 mild1 incredulous smile1 that he was already aware there existed in the community a good deal of prejudice against ,clodman6 ,matters were now progressing rapidly to a crisis4 ,one day during the ensuing summer1 ,i asked ,horatio the usual question1 ,where is ,pendlam now8--referring1 as ,john ,henry himself would have said1 not to locality1 but condition4 ,that is impossible to say1 replied ,horatio1 for ,i have not seen him since yesterday4 ,then he was situated opposite a bottle of pale sherry1 which that rascal ,clodman had just brought to the house4 ,they were drinking1 and talking over the ,organization of ,free ,disciples4 ,several wealthy men have become interested in the enterprise1 and large amounts have been subscribed4 ,pendlam is writing a work on the subject4 ,and ,susan8 ,her child is sick1 and claims all her attention4 ,they are trying to cure it with magnetisms4 ,clodman is day and night at the house2 his magnetism being considered indispensable for the restoration of the child4 ,a month later1 ,horatio brought me word that the child was dead4 ,another month1 and ,i learned that ,susan had been sent to some celebrated ,western ,magnetic ,springs for her health4 ,how did she go8 ,horatio hesitated4 ,i am sorry to say she has gone with that rascal ,clodman1 who is travelling on business for the ,association4 ,pendlam remains at home1 hard at work on his book4 ,i will now add what ,i did not wish you to know1 said ,horatio4 ,for some months ,pendlam's family subsisted almost entirely upon funds advanced him by that rascal ,clodman4 ,they talk of his wonderful generosity6 ,but the villain has a wife of his own1 and a couple of young children1 who are left to suffer for want of the actual necessaries of life4 ,pendlam has given up preaching1 you know1 in order to devote himself entirely to the ,association4 ,horatio1 ,i am afraid that all is lost4 ,i did hope better things of ,susan4 ,wretched1 wretched girl6 ,tears came into ,horatio's eyes4 ,how could the damnable thing ever happen8 he exclaimed1 passionately4 ,she was a true1 honest girl2 and ,pendlam is not a bad man4 ,he is a man1 ,i said1 who verily thinketh no evil4 ,he has imagination1 intellect1 spirituality2 but he wants balance4 ,from the first1 ,i saw that his powers needed centralizing4 ,he had no hold upon integral truth1 but snatched here a fragment and there a fragment4 ,always distrust that man1 ,horatio1 that talks forever of planes1 and stand-points1 and step-by-step processes1 and deems it necessary to inform you each day where he stands4 ,i do not know what could have saved him6 sighed ,horatio4 ,i know what could2 an entire and absorbing love4 ,his wife should have been one towards whom all his thoughts and sympathies would have been drawn4 ,such a love would have given him concentration1 poise1 unity4 ,but1 on the other hand1 his heart had no anchor1 and his intellect was left adrift4 ,he has pursued truth1 forgetting that truth is a tree1 one and mighty1 but with innumerable branches2 and that it is unsafe to risk the weight of one's salvation upon a single bough4 ,susan had no part in his life2 she was left with that hungry1 yearning heart1 until the sympathy even of a ,clodman seemed food to her perishing nature4 ,pity her1 ,horatio1 but do not condemn4 ,the ,initial ,association failed4 ,clodman did not return2 and it was found that he had appropriated to his private use the funds of the ,association4 ,behind him he had left a distressed family1 and many creditors4 ,where was ,susan8 ,i now thought it time to hunt up ,pendlam4 ,after no little search1 ,i was sent to an obscure lodging4 ,i opened the door pointed out to me1 and entered an extraordinary chamber4 ,the sides were covered with strange diagrams1 grotesque drawings1 lettered inscriptions4 ,some were sketched rudely upon the plastering with colored chalk2 others were designed upon paper1 and pasted on the wall4 ,in the centre of the room sat an indescribable human figure1 with its face buried in its hands4 ,it wore an anomalous garment1 slashed with various colors1 like a harlequin's coat4 ,upon one shoulder was sewed the semblance of a door cut out of blue cloth2 on the other1 a crescent cut out of green4 ,upon the head was set a tinsel crown1 amid tangles of disordered hair4 ,above was a huge brass key1 suspended by a tow string from the ceiling4 ,table and floor were littered with manuscripts and papers2 under the former ,i observed an empty bottle4 ,i spoke4 ,the figure started1 and looked up4 ,in the sallow cheeks1 untrimmed beard1 sunken and encircled eyes1 ,i recognized ,pendlam4 ,a quick flush spread over his haggard features1 and he made a snatch at his tinsel crown4 ,do not be disturbed1 ,i entreated4 ,he smiled1 but with an air of embarrassment2 and leaving the tinsel upon his uncombed head1 pointed to the wall4 ,you see where ,i am1 said ,pendlam4 ,i see1 yet do not see4 ,i have reached the plane of symbols4 ,you are aware that there is something in symbols8 ,a great deal6 a great deal6 ,i said1 from a sorrowful heart1 as ,i glanced around me4 ,pendlam1 who had spoken doubtingly1 seemed encouraged4 ,symbols are the highest expression of spiritual thought4 ,both words and pictures are used4 ,they are the language of the spirit1 which only the same spirit can understand4 ,look here1 and you will see some symbols of a very astonishing character4 ,astonishing1 said ,i1 is a mild word6 ,and what is equally astonishing1 added the eager reformer1 is the manner in which they are produced4 ,the hand is moved to write or draw them spontaneously4 ,the symbol comes first1 the interpretation afterwards4 ,here is a vulture soaring away with a lamb4 ,it has a meaning4 ,a deep meaning6 ,i added4 ,we have known such a vulture6 ,here1 he cried1--too excited to heed any words but his own1--are swine feeding upon golden fruit4 ,oh1 the swine6 ,oh1 the precious1 wasted1 golden fruit6 ,here is one in words2 it reads1 ,beware of falling from a balloon4 ,it requires a peculiar experience1 added ,pendlam1 with a smile1 to enable one to understand that beautiful symbol4 ,perhaps ,i have not had the requisite experience2 but--,i laid my hand on ,pendlam's shoulder--,i know a man who has fallen from several balloons6 ,here is one1 said ,pendlam1 turning to the table1 which ,i have just drawn4 ,i was trying to get at its meaning when you came in4 ,he showed me a sketch consisting of a number of zigzag lines1 joined one to another1 and tending towards a circle4 ,my dear ,john ,henry1 said ,i1 any person who has watched your course for the last four or five years will readily see the meaning of that symbol4 ,it is a map of your voyage of discoveries4 ,such tacking and shifting8 queried ,pendlam1 with a smile commiserating my ignorance4 ,just such tacking and shifting4 ,if you had possessed a good compass1 it would have shown you4 ,pendlam caught at the word compass4 ,it is singular2--you must have some spiritual perception2--it was written through my hand nine days ago1 ,purchase a compass4 ,here is the writing2 ,i placed it upon the wall as a symbol2 and ,i have intended buying a compass as soon as ,i could get the means4 ,ah1 ,john ,henry1 said ,i1 there is more in your symbols than you suppose4 ,you want no purchasable compass4 ,pendlam rewarded my simplicity with another pitying smile4 ,here1 said he1 you who know so much of symbols1 explain this4 ,avoid the shores of ,old ,spain4 ,i have not yet penetrated its meaning4 ,leave it1 ,i replied1 with the unexplained ,pythagorean symbol touching abstinence from beans4 ,perhaps future events will reveal it4 ,pendlam smiled as before4 ,but was ,i not right8 ,did not lamentable events in the not far-off future give to the symbol a melancholy significance8 ,come1 ,i said1 leave these abstruse studies2 take off that symbolic coat1 that tinsel crown2 wash1 comb your hair1 and walk with me4 ,i should enjoy a walk1 replied ,pendlam2 but ,i am directed to retain these symbols upon my person1 and you would hardly wish me to appear in the street with them4 ,directed6--by what authority8 ,by the ,spirit4 ,some beautiful use is to be fulfilled4 ,i see where you are1 added ,pendlam2--from your stand-point it must look absurd enough4 ,i sat down1 and endeavoured to reason with him4 ,but ,i found it impossible for a person upon my plane to reach with any argument a person upon his4 ,in vain ,i recapitulated his successive trials and failures4 ,it is true1 he confessed1 ,i have been called to pass through some strange experiences4 ,but all were necessary steps2 and ,i have now reached a stand-point from which ,i can look back and see in its indisputable place every grade of the progressive ascent4 ,there has been only apparent failure4 ,our attempted ,association was a necessary foreshadowing of what remains to be unfolded2 a prophetic symbol4 ,we have all been taught great lessons4 ,and the vulture and the lamb6 ,i said1 sternly2 where are they8 ,i perceive1 answered ,pendlam1 charitably1 you do not understand4 ,it is you1 ,i cried1 who have failed to understand your own symbols4 ,to use plain language1 then1 where is ,susan8 ,she is the lamb that was entrusted to your keeping1 and that you suffered the obscene bird to carry away6 ,you are pleased to employ harsh terms1 said ,pendlam1 meekly4 ,susan has done well2 she has followed her attractions1 and that is obedience to the ,spirit4 ,perfect freedom is essential to progression4 ,consequently1 above a certain plane1 monogamy1 which has undeniable primitive uses1 ceases to exist4 ,the laws of chemical affinity teach this by analogy4 ,when the mutual impartations which result from the conjunction of positive and negative have blended in a state of equilibrium1 there is consequent repulsion1 and the law of harmonies ordains new combinations4 ,you see where ,i am1 said ,pendlam4 ,disheartened and sorrowful1 ,i set out to go4 ,at the door ,i turned back4 ,can ,i do anything for you1 ,john ,henry8 ,not unless--,pendlam hesitated a moment--if you have a dollar to spare8 ,i gave him a bank-bill4 ,as he leaned forward to receive it1 he struck his head against the suspended key4 ,another symbol1 ,i said4 ,break not your brains upon the key of brass4 ,he scratched his head1 rearranged his tinsel1 and smiling1 advanced to show me the stairs4 ,i looked back once3 there crowned he stood1 in his symbolic coat1 with the green crescent and blue door on the shoulders2 and as a gust from the stairway blew open the garment1 ,i beheld a great yellow heart on his breast4 ,that picture remained impressed upon my vision4 ,in the street1 ,i recalled the room1 the drawings1 the inscriptions1--all so tragical and saddening6 ,i had not proceeded far1 when1 moved by greater compassion1 ,i turned and retraced my steps4 ,at the door of the house1 ,i saw the servant girl who had admitted me coming out with a bottle1 and thought it the same ,i had seen lying empty under ,pendlam's table4 ,i followed her into a grocery on the corner4 ,she called for gin1 and paid for it out of my bank-bill4 ,i now changed my mind1 and went to consult ,horatio4 ,it was concluded that ,pendlam's old habits of thought and associations ought to be entirely broken up4 ,deserted1 destitute1 dependent1 he condescended1 after long holding out against us1 to listen to what we proposed4 ,hearing of a vacancy in a newspaper office in a western city1 we had procured for him the situation4 ,not without a struggle1 he consented to accept it1 abandoned his darling reformatory projects1 and set out for his new sphere4 ,his position was that of subordinate writer2 and for a time he maintained it with considerable ability4 ,but he grew restless under restraint2 and at length1 taking advantage of the managing editor's absence1 he published articles on prohibited subjects1 which lost the paper half its subscribers1 and him his situation4 ,when next heard of1 he was gaining a meagre subsistence by writing theatrical puffs1--employment for which he was indebted to the kindness of a certain influential actress named ,kellerton4 ,in the mean time ,susan returned from her unhappy wanderings2 and her mother's family1 seizing upon her like wolves1 hid her from the world in their den4 ,and ,i was pleased not long after to read that an individual named ,clodman1 a noted swindler1 had recently been shot in a street-fight in ,st4 ,louis1 by a husband whose domestic peace he had disturbed4 ,the last word of all1 that ends this strange1 eventful1 and1 alas6 too true history1 remains to be said4 ,for some months1 we had heard nothing of ,pendlam4 ,but last week ,i received a bundle of ,roman ,catholic publications1 one of which contained an article proclaiming a miraculous conversion of the distinguished reformer1 and thereby greatly glorifying ,catholicism4 ,the same mail brought me a letter from the convert4 ,at last1 he wrote1 ,i have found peace in the bosom of the ,holy ,catholic ,church4 ,all my previous experiences were necessary to lead me where ,i am4 ,this is the divine association ,i was so long seeking elsewhere in vain2 ,i find in its forms the true symbols of a universal religion2 and ,i now perceive that the seeming errors1 in which ,i was for a time permitted to stray1 were wisely designed to convince me of the sublime truth1 that celibacy is the single condition befitting a holy apostolic teacher4 ,amid the flood of reflections that rushed upon me1 arose prominent the image of poor ,pendlam's unexplained symbol3 ,avoid the shores of old ,spain4 ,had it not now received its interpretation8 ,the tossed voyager1 failing to make the continent of truth1 but beating hither and thither amid the reefs and breakers of dangerous coasts1 mistaking many islands for the main1 and drifting on unknown seas1 had at last steered straight to the old ,catholic shores1 from which the great discoverers had sailed so many years before4 ,,british ,,india4 ,the year #ageg was one of the gloomiest ever known to ,england4 ,at home1 the government was in a state of utter confusion1 though the country was at war with ,france1 and ,france was in alliance with ,austria2 these two nations having departed from their policy of two centuries and a half1 in order that they might crush ,frederic of ,prussia1 ,england's ally4 ,frederic was defeated at ,kolin1 by the ,austrians1 on the #ahth of ,june1 and a ,russian army was in possession of ,east ,prussia4 ,a ,german army in ,british pay1 and commanded by the ,butcher hero of ,culloden1 was beaten in ,july1 and capitulated in ,september4 ,in ,america1 the pusillanimity of the ,english commanders led to terrible disasters1 among which the loss of ,fort ,william ,henry1 and the massacre of its garrison1 were conspicuous events4 ,in ,india1 the ,english were engaged in a doubtful contest with the viceroy of ,bengal1 who was supported by the ,french4 ,even the navy of ,england appeared at that time to have lost its sense of superiority2 for not only had ,admiral ,byng just been shot for not behaving with proper spirit1 but a combined expedition against the coast of ,france ended in signal failure1 and ,admiral ,holburne declined to attack a ,french fleet off ,louisburg4 ,no wonder that the ,british people readily believed an author who then published a work to establish the agreeable proposition1 that they were a race of cowards and scoundrels2 that nothing could save them2 that they were on the point of being enslaved by their enemies1 and that they richly deserved their fate4 ,such a succession of disasters might well discourage a people1 some of whom could recollect the long list of victories which commenced with ,blenheim and closed with ,malplaquet1 and by which the arrogance of the ,grand ,monarque had been punished4 ,yet it is from this very year of misfortune that the power of modern ,england must take its date4 ,adversity1 said ,el ,hakim to the ,knight of the ,leopard1 is like the period of the former and of the latter rain1--cold1 comfortless1 unfriendly to man and to animal2 yet from that season have their birth the flower and the fruit1 the date1 the rose1 and the pomegranate4 ,in the summer of #ageg was formed that ministry which succeeded in carrying ,england's power and glory to heights which they did not reach even under the ,protectorship of ,cromwell or the rule of ,godolphin4 ,then were commenced those measures which ended in the expulsion of the ,french from ,north ,america1 and gave to ,england a territory here which may perpetuate her institutions for ages after they shall have ceased to be known in the mother-land4 ,then was ,america conquered in ,germany1 and not only was ,frederic so assisted as to be able to contend successfully against the three great houses of ,bourbon1 ,habsburg1 and ,romanoff1 and a horde of lesser dynasties1 but ,british armies1 at ,minden and ,creveldt1 renewed on the fields of the continent recollections of the island skill and the island courage4 ,then was a new spirit breathed into the ,british marine1 by which it has ever since been animated1 and which has seldom stopped to count odds4 ,then began that dashing course of enterprise which gave almost everything to ,england that was assailable1 from ,goree to ,cuba1 and from ,cuba to the ,philippines4 ,then was laid the foundation of that ,oriental dominion of ,england which has been the object of so much wonder1 and of not a little envy2 for on the #bc;d of ,june1 #ageg1 was fought the battle of ,plassey1 the first of those many ,indian victories that illustrate the names of ,clive1 ,coote1 ,wellesley1 ,gough1 ,napier1 and numerous other heroes4 ,it seems odd1 that the interest in ,indian affairs should have been suddenly and strangely revived in the hundredth year after the victory that laid ,bengal at the feet of an ,english adventurer4 ,had the insurgent ,sepoys delayed action but a few weeks1 they might have inaugurated their movement on the very centennial anniversary of the birth of ,british ,india4 ,there is nothing like the rule of the ,english in ,india to be found in history4 ,it has been compared to the dominion which ,rome held over so large a portion of the world2 but the comparison has not the merit of aptness4 ,the population of the ,roman ,empire1 in the age of the ,antonines1 has been estimated at #abj1jjj1jjj1 including that of ,italy4 ,the population of ,india is not less than #aej1jjj1jjj1 without counting any portion of the conquering race4 ,rome was favorably situated for the maintenance of her supremacy1 as she had been for the work of conquest4 ,her dominion lay around the ,mediterranean1 which ,italy pierced1 looking to the ,east and the ,west1 and forming1 as it were1 a great place of arms1 whence to subdue or to overawe the nations4 ,cicero called the ,hellenic states and colonies a fringe on the skirts of ,barbarism1 and the description applies also to the ,roman dominion2 for though ,gaul and ,spain were conquered from sea to sea1 and the legions were encamped on the ,euphrates1 and the valley of the ,nile was as submissive to the ,csars as it had been to the ,lagidse1 yet the ,mediterranean was the basis of ,roman power1 and a short journey in almost any direction from it would have taken the traveller completely from under the protection of the eagles4 ,not so is it with ,british ,india4 ,from no ,european country is ,india so remote as from ,england4 ,the two regions are separated by the ocean1 by seas1 by deserts1 and by some of the most powerful nations4 ,their sole means of union are found in the leading cause of their separation4 ,england owes her ,indian empire to her empire of the sea4 ,india will be hers just so long1 and no longer1 as she shall be able to maintain her naval supremacy4 ,those who predict her downfall in the ,east1 either as a consequence of the natives throwing off her rule1 or through a ,russian invasion1 forget that she entered ,india from the sea1 and that until she shall have been subdued on that element it would be idle to think of dispossessing her of her ,oriental supremacy4 ,were the long-cherished dream of ,russia to be realized1--a dream that is said to have troubled the sleep of ,peter1 and which certainly haunted the mind of ,catharine1--and ,russian proconsuls ruling on the ,ganges1 ,india could no more be to ,russia what she has been to ,england1 than the ,crimea1 had he kept it1 could have been to ,louis ,napoleon what it is to the ,czar4 ,the condition of ,indian dominion is ocean dominion4 ,in one respect the ,indian empire of ,england resembles the ,roman empire4 ,the latter comprised many and widely different countries and races1 and so is it with the former4 ,we are so accustomed to speak of ,india as if it constituted one country1 and were inhabited by a homogeneous people1 that it is difficult to understand that not even in ,europe are nations to be found more unlike to one another than in ,british ,india4 ,in ,hindostan and the ,deccan there are ten different civilized nations1 resembling each other no more than ,danes resemble ,italians1 or ,spaniards ,poles4 ,they differ in moral1 physical1 and intellectual conditions1--in modes of thought and in modes of life4 ,this is one of the chief causes of ,england's supremacy1 just as a similar state of things not only promoted the conquests of ,rome1 but facilitated her rule after they had been made4 ,the ,emperors ruled over ,syrians1 ,greeks1 ,egyptians1 and other ,eastern peoples1 with ease1 because they had little in common1 and could not combine against their conquerors4 ,they did the same in the ,west1 because the inhabitants of that quarter1 if left to themselves1 would have passed their time in endless quarrels4 ,the old world abounded in great cities1 all of which owned the supremacy of ,rome1 from ,gades to ,thapsacus2 and in modern ,india the most venerable places are compelled to bow before the upstart ,calcutta4 ,the peculiar condition of ,india a hundred years since enabled the ,english to lay the foundations of their power in that country so broadly and so deep that nothing short of a moral convulsion can uproot them1 though the edifice erected upon them may be rudely shaken by internal revolts1 or by the consequences of external wars4 ,fifty years sooner or forty years later1 the ,english could have made no impression on ,india as conquerors4 ,seventy years before the conquest of ,bengal the ,english traders had been plundered by a viceroy who anticipated the tyranny of ,surajah ,doulah4 ,they determined not to submit to such exactions4 ,they resolved upon war4 ,but the great ,aurungzebe was then on the throne of ,delhi2 and though the ,moghul empire had declined somewhat from the standard set up by ,akbar and maintained by ,shah ,jehan1 the fighting merchants were soon taught that they were but as children in the hands of its chief4 ,they were driven out of ,bengal1 and ,aurungzebe thought of expelling them from his whole empire4 ,the punishment of death was visited upon some of the ,east ,india ,company's officers and servants by the ,moghul4 ,this severe lesson made a deep impression on the ,english4 ,they resumed their humble position as traders on sufferance4 ,they never thought of conquest again4 ,it was not until every man who had been concerned in that business had long been in his grave1 that the ,english dared so much as to think of making another war4 ,though the ,moghuls rapidly became powerless after the death of ,aurungzebe1 the blows struck by anticipation in their behalf protected them for forty years against the ambition of the intrusive ,occidentals1 and even for some time after ,nadir ,shah's ,persian invasion had demonstrated that their dynasty was as weak as that of ,lodi had been found when ,baber came into the land4 ,whether the ,english have been right or wrong in making themselves masters of ,india1 it is certain that they were forced upon the work against their own wishes and inclinations1 and in self-defence4 ,the very expedition which ,clive made use of to effect the subjugation of ,bengal had been undertaken on defensive grounds2 and so fearful was even that great man of the consequences of a union of the forces of the ,moghul with those at the command of the ,french in the ,east1 that he was at first desirous of making peace with ,surajah ,doulah himself4 ,when the arrival of reinforcements had induced him to take a bolder course1 and the destruction of that fierce viceroy had been resolved upon1 it was not until after much doubt and hesitation1 and against his original judgment1 that that course of action was entered upon which ended in the victory of ,plassey4 ,he knew the risk that was run in fighting a pitched battle against a force nearly twenty times larger than his own2 and had the viceroy been either a respectable ruler or a good soldier1 the ,english1 humanly speaking1 must have then failed as signally as their predecessors of #afhg2 but as he was as destitute of humanity as of courage and skill1 and could neither animate his followers by affection nor command them by force of character1 he was utterly routed4 ,not six hundred men fell in the battle of ,plassey1 on both sides1 and most of these were on the side of the vanquished4 ,seldom has it happened that so mighty a change has been effected with so little slaughter4 ,one is reminded of the battles fought by the few ,romans under ,lucullus against the entire array of the ,armenian monarchy4 ,had circumstances not led to the display of ,british power at the time when great prizes were sure to follow even from minor exertions1 ,england never could have become mistress of ,india4 ,had the ,english remained traders forty years longer1--or even for half that time1 perhaps1--they would have encountered very different foes from those which they overthrew so easily when forced to fight for property and life4 ,india was breaking up in #ageg1 and the process of reformation was about to begin4 ,had not the ,english been brought into the vast arena1 either a number of powerful monarchies would have been formed1 or the whole country would have passed under some new dynasty1 which would have revived the power of the state with that rapidity which is so often exhibited in the ,east1 when new and able men assume the reins of government4 ,hyder ,ali might have made himself the master of all ,india1 had it been his lot to contend only with native rulers and native races4 ,had this been the course of events1 and had circumstances brought him into collision with the ,east ,india ,company when he had made himself the ,moghul's successor1 can it be believed that he would have experienced any more difficulty in dealing with them than was found by ,aurungzebe8 ,we know that the ,english found in ,hyder a very able foe1 with but limited means at his disposal1 and when they were masters of half the country1 and had been almost uniformly victorious4 ,can it be supposed that they could have effected anything against all ,india1 ruled by so consummate a statesman as ,hyder ,ali8 ,there seems to have been something providential in the events that caused them to pass from traders to conquerors1 at the only time when such a transition could be made either with safety or success4 ,that their career of conquest has been occasionally marked by injustice and crime proves nothing against the position that they may have been appointed by a higher ,power to work out a revolution in the ,east4 ,the dark mystery of the moral world1 in this as in a thousand other instances1 remains impenetrable4 ,heaven selects its own agents1 and all that it becomes us to say concerning such relations is1 that they do not appear in all cases to be made from among men specially entitled to the honors of canonisation4 ,the ,english have frequently been denounced1 not only for their errors in governing ,india1 but for their conquest of that country4 ,the ,french have been especially fervent in these denunciations4 ,it is a fact1 however1 that the ,french saw nothing wrong in subduing ,india until all their own plans to that end had utterly failed4 ,the device originated with them1 but the ,english applied it4 ,dupleix planned for ,france what ,clive executed for ,england4 ,the ,french adhered to their plans for years1 and it was not until a very recent period that the last remnants of their influence disappeared from ,india4 ,they saw not the evil involved in the overthrowing of virtuous nabobs and venerable viceroys1 until time and a whole train of events had proved that ,england alone was competent to the full performance of the work4 ,the ,english in ,india have not1 on all occasions1 been saints2 but we are unable to see what moral right the ,french have to reproach them with the enumeration of their errors4 ,in the ,east1 ,france was overcrowed by ,england2 and that is the sole and the very simple cause of the vast amount of sympathy which the ,french have bestowed upon suffering ,indian princes1 whose condition in no sense would have been improved1 had fortune favored the ,gallic race1 instead of the ,saxon1 in their struggle for supremacy in ,hindostan4 ,the prejudice that exists in many minds against ,england1 concerning her ,indian empire1 is in no small degree owing to something of which she is justly proud2 to the talent that characterized the prosecution--his friends called it the persecution--of ,warren ,hastings4 ,no man1 not even ,strafford1 when borne down by the whole weight of the country party in the first session of the ,long ,parliament1 ever encountered so able a host as that which set itself to effect the ruin of the great ,british proconsul4 ,he was acquitted by his judges1 but he stands blackened forever on the most magnificent pages of his country's eloquence4 ,burke's speeches are yet read everywhere2 and to ,burke1 ,hastings was the principle of ,evil incarnate4 ,the two great divisions of civilized mankind hold ,burke in lasting remembrance1--the liberals for his labors in the early part of his life1 and the conservatives for his writings against the ,french ,revolution2 and it is impossible to admire him without condemning ,hastings4 ,it is equally impossible to condemn ,hastings without condemning the nation for which he performed deeds so vicious and cruel1 and which formally acquitted him of each and every charge preferred by ,burke and his immortal associates1 in the name of the ,commons of ,england4 ,even those charges were the result1 not of conscientious conviction on the part of the ,commons1 but of ,mr4 ,pitt's determination to crush one who promised to become a formidable political rival4 ,the arguments and eloquence of such men as ,burke1 ,fox1 ,sheridan1 and ,grey1 constitute a splendid armory1 from which the enemies of ,england can forever draw admirable weapons with which to assail her ,indian policy2 and they have not been backward in making use of this mighty advantage4 ,no one1 who has ever sought to defend ,england's course in the ,east1 but has had experience of the difficulties which those great men have placed in the way of a successful vindication of their country's cause4 ,either they were honest1 or they were not4 ,if honest1 what shall be said of the nation which would not listen to them8 ,if dishonest1 what are we to think of men1 the first statesmen of their age1 who1 for mere party ends1 had persecuted to his ruin one who was in no respect their inferior1 and who had saved ,india for ,england8 ,our own opinion is that ,burke and his associates were honest1 and that the only dishonest men in the prosecuting party were ,william ,pitt and ,henry ,dundas1--the first being chief minister1 and the other second only to the premier himself in the government4 ,pitt talked much of his conscience1 after having absolved ,hastings on the very worst of the charges that had been preferred against him1 and then condemned him on lighter charges4 ,when ,roger ,wildrake heard the landlord at ,windsor talk much of his conscience1 he was led to observe that his measures were less and his charges larger than they had been in those earlier times when sin was allowed to take its natural course4 ,it was so with ,pitt1 who was guilty of gross injustice1 according to his own arguments1 and then threw his conscience into the scale against the accused party1 when he saw that that party's acquittal would probably lead to his being converted into a successful political rival4 ,hastings deserved severe censure1 and no light punishment1 for some of his deeds2 but not even ,burke would have condemned him to the slow torture to which he was sentenced by one who believed him to be innocent1 and the object of party persecution4 ,but the nice distinctions which ,englishmen and ,americans can make in the cause and course of this famous state trial1 because they live in the very atmosphere of party politics1 are utterly unknown to the men of continental ,europe2 and until the end of time1 ,england will be condemned out of the mouths of her most brilliant sons1 whenever her foes--and she is too great not to have many and bitter foes--shall discuss the history of her ,indian empire4 ,every nation condemns conquest1 and every nation with power to enter upon a career of conquest rushes eagerly upon it4 ,the harshest condemnation that has visited ,england because of her ,indian successes has proceeded from nations who have never been backward in seizing the lands of other nations4 ,she has been stigmatized as a usurper1 and as having destroyed the independence of ,indian states4 ,the facts do not warrant these charges4 ,she has rarely had a contest with any power which was not as much an intruder in ,india as herself4 ,the ,moghul dynasty was as foreign to ,india as the ,east ,india ,company1 or the house of ,hanover2 and the viceroys sent to rule over its vast and populous provinces had the same bases of power as were possessed by ,clive1 and ,hastings1 and ,wellesley1 and ,bentinck1 and ,ellenborough1 and ,dalhousie4 ,the ,moghuls obtained ,indian dominion by conquests that were rendered easy by ,indian troubles2 and this is precisely the history of ,england's ,oriental dominion4 ,what difference there is1 is favorable to ,england4 ,the ,moghuls were deliberate invaders of ,india2 the founder of that dynasty being an adventurer who sought an empire sword in hand1 and won it by violence which no man had provoked4 ,baber was to ,india what the ,norman ,william was to ,england4 ,he long contemplated the conquest of the country1 showing a wolf-like perseverance in hunting down his prey4 ,for two-and-twenty years he had his object in view1 and invaded ,india five times before he obtained the throne of ,delhi4 ,the ,english were forced to assume the part of conquerors1 and would gladly have remained traders4 ,they did not commence their military career until the ,moghul had become a mere shadow1 and when that potentate was altogether unable to protect them against the tyrannical practices of his lieutenants4 ,they had to choose between war and extermination1 and they belonged to a race which never hesitates when forced to make such a choice4 ,their wars were waged with the ,moghul's viceroys1 who were aiming at the foundation of dynastic rule1 each in his own government1 or with other princes1 who were equally usurpers with those viceroys1 the ,mahratta chiefs1 for example1 and ,hyder ,ali4 ,one war led to another1 in all of which the ,english were victorious1 until their power extended itself over all ,india4 ,in one hundred and six years--dating from the capture of ,madras by the ,french in #agdf1 which event must be taken as the commencement of their military career in ,india1 and closing with the annexation of ,pegu1 ,december #bh1 #aheb1--they had completed their work4 ,that1 in the course of operations so mighty1 and relating to the condition of so many millions of people1 they were sometimes guilty of acts of singular injustice1 is true1 and might be inferred1 if there were no facts upon which to base the charge4 ,it is impossible that it should have been otherwise1 considering the nature of man1 and the character of many of the instruments by which great enterprises are accomplished4 ,but we think it may safely be said1 that never was there a career of conquest of such extent accompanied with so little of wrong and suffering to the body of the people4 ,as against the wrong that was perpetrated1 and the suffering that was inseparable from wars so numerous and long-continued1 are to be set the reign of order and law1 under which the mass of the inhabitants have been able to cultivate their fields in quiet1 and with the assurance that they should reap where they had sowed1 undisturbed by the incursions of robber-bands4 ,the cessation of the ,mahratta invasions alone is an ample compensation for whatever of evil may have marked the course of ,british conquest4 ,the stop that has been put to the cruelties of the native rulers ought not to be forgotten in estimating the amount of evil and of good which that conquest has brought upon ,india4 ,the world has been shocked by the cruelties of which the rebellious ,sepoys have been guilty2 but they can astonish no one who is familiar with the history of the races to which these mutineers belong4 ,an indifference to life1 and a love of cruelty for cruelty's sake1 are common characteristics of most of the ,orientals1 and are chiefly conspicuous in the ruling classes4 ,the reader of ,indian history sickens over details compared with which all that is told of the horrors of the ,black ,hole of ,calcutta is tame and common-place4 ,the ,english have prevented repetitions of those outrages on humanity1 wherever it has been in their power to coerce the princes4 ,they have pared the claws and drawn the teeth of these human tigers4 ,they have acted humanely2 yet it may be doubted if they would not have consulted their own immediate interests more closely1 if they had acted the part of tyrants rather than of protectors4 ,by ruling through the princes1 and allowing them to act as middle-men1 they would have been less troubled with mutinies1 and could have amassed greater sums of money4 ,it is to their credit that they have pursued the nobler course2 nor ought they to repent of it even in the midst of disasters brought upon them1 we are firmly convinced1 as much by the mildness of their rule as by any other cause that can be mentioned4 ,it is yet too early to attempt to account for the rebellion of the ,bengal army4 ,that rebellion took the world by surprise1 and nowhere more so1 it would seem1 than in ,england4 ,a remarkable proof of this is to be found in the tone and language of the debate that took place in the ,british ,house of ,commons on the #bgth of ,july1 in which ,mr4 ,disraeli1 ,lord ,palmerston1 ,lord ,john ,russell1 ,mr4 ,whiteside1 ,mr4 ,t4 ,baring1 ,sir ,t4,e4 ,perry1 ,mr4 ,mangles1 ,mr4 ,vernon ,smith1 and others1 participated4 ,that debate was most lively and interesting2 and the reading of the ample report in the ,times revives the recollection of the great field-days of the ,english senate4 ,mr4 ,disraeli's speech is a masterpiece1 and would have done honor to times when eloquence was far more common than it is now4 ,yet the conclusion to which the careful reader of the report must come is1 that neither ,mr4 ,disraeli1 nor the ,premier1 nor the ,president of the ,board of ,control1 nor the ,chairman of the ,directors of the ,east ,india ,company1 nor any other of the speakers1 had a definite idea of the cause of the sudden mutiny of the ,sepoys4 ,it is impossible not to admire ,mr4 ,disraeli's talents1 as displayed in this speech2 and equally impossible is it to find in that speech anything that an intelligent observer of ,indian affairs can regard as settling the question1 ,why did the ,sepoys of the ,bengal army mutiny in #aheg8 ,everything that he brought forward as a cause of the mutiny was distinctly proved not to be worthy of the name of a cause4 ,yet the men who could show that he had failed to clear up the mystery could themselves throw no light upon it4 ,the government was especially ignorant of all that it should have known2 and there is something almost ludicrous in the tone of the speech made by the ,president of the ,board of ,control4 ,it is not for us to speak authoritatively as to the cause of the ,sepoy mutiny1 but we venture to express our concurrence with those who have regarded it as1 in considerable measure1 of ,mahometan origin4 ,the ,mahometan rule was displaced by the ,british rule4 ,the ,mahometans were for centuries the aristocracy of ,india1 standing to the genuine ,indians in pretty much the same relation that the ,normans held to the ,saxons in ,england2 only it is but justice to them to say1 that they rarely bore themselves so offensively towards the ,indians as the ,normans were accustomed to bear themselves towards the ,english4 ,they have never lost the recollection of their former status1 or ceased to sigh for its restoration4 ,nor is the time so very remote when they were yet great in the land4 ,old men among them can recollect when ,tippoo ,saib was treated as an equal by the ,english1 and have not forgotten how powerful was his father1 ,hyder4 ,some few aged ,mussulmans there may be yet living who heard from their sires or grandsires1 who saw it with their mortal eyes1 of the glories of the magnificent ,aurungzebe1 ere the ,persian1 or the ,affghan1 or the ,mahratta had carried fire and sword into ,shahjehanabad4 ,two not over-long lives would measure the whole interval of time between the punishment of the ,english by ,aurungzebe and the mutiny at ,meerut4 ,time enough has not yet elapsed to cause the ,mahometans to forget what they have been1 or to cease to hope that they may yet surpass their fathers4 ,they are not actuated by anything of a sentimental character1 but desire to win back1 and to enjoy at the expense of the ,indian races1 the solid advantages of which they have been deprived through the ascendency of a ,christian people in the ,east4 ,mahometans in ,india sigh for the restoration of the old ,mahometan rgime1 says ,colonel ,sleeman1 not from any particular attachment to the descendants of ,tymour1 but with precisely the same feelings that ,whigs and ,tories sigh for the return to power of their respective parties in ,england2 it would give them all the offices in a country where office is everything4 ,among them1 as among ourselves1 every man is disposed to rate his own abilities highly1 and to have a good deal of confidence in his own good luck2 and all think1 that if the field were once opened to them by such a change1 they should very soon be able to find good positions for themselves and their children in it4 ,perhaps there are few communities in the world1 among whom education is more generally diffused than among the ,mahometans in ,india4 ,he who holds an office worth twenty rupees a month commonly gives his sons an education equal to that of a prime-minister4 ,footnote3 ,rambles and ,recollections of an ,indian ,official1 ,vol4 ,,ii4 pp4 #bhb1 #bhc4--;,colonel ,sleeman's work is one of the best ever published on ,india1--learned1 liberal1 and philosophical4 ,it has been highly praised by so competent a judge as ,mr4 ,grote4 ,this very capability for rule must render them not only all the more desirous of obtaining it1 but exceedingly dangerous as seekers after it4 ,they are not an ignorant rabble1 but men who have an intelligent idea of what they want1 and rational modes of effecting its realization4 ,colonel ,sleeman adds1 ,it is not only the desire for office that makes the educated ,mahometans cherish the recollection of the old rgime in ,hindostan2 they say1 ',we pray every night for the ,emperor and his family1 because our forefathers ate of the salt of ,his forefathers1'--that is1 our ancestors were in the service of his ancestors1 and consequently were of the aristocracy of the country4 ,whether they really were so matters not2 they persuade themselves or their children that they were4 ,in this way the idea of superiority has been kept up among the ,mahometans of ,india2 and they have continued to hope for the restoration of their old political supremacy1 as pious ,jews dream of the rebuilding of ,zion4 ,that they were at the bottom of the ,meerut mutiny may be taken for granted4 ,that they took for their leader the heir of the ,moghul shows the ,mahometan nature of the outbreak4 ,at the same time1 we believe that if it had not been for the imbecility of ,hewitt1 who commanded at ,meerut1 the mutiny never would have occurred1 or the mutineers would have been promptly put down4 ,even after they had escaped from ,meerut1 ,delhi never could have fallen into their hands1 if that city--so important1 morally and geographically1 as well as in a military point of view--had not been without a garrison4 ,that a station of such consequence1 stored so abundantly with all the munitions of war1 should have been left in an utterly defenceless condition1 is a fact that creates inexpressible astonishment1 notwithstanding all that happened during the ,russian war4 ,mr4 ,whiteside1 in the debate of the #bgth of ,july1 stated that the late ,general ,sir ,c4,j4 ,napier said of ,delhi1 that to guard against surprise1 considering its position1 its treasures1 and its magazines1 it should always be defended by twelve thousand picked men4 ,from all that appears1 there were not twelve hundred men1 or anything like that number1 of any kind1 in ,delhi1 last ,may1 to protect either the inhabitants or the stores there deposited4 ,such another instance of neglect it would be impossible to find in history1 after due warning given4 ,long ago1 ,albany ,fonblanque said1 ,the sign of the fool with his finger in his mouth1 and the sentiment1 ',who'd have thought it8' is the precise emblem of ,english jurisprudence4 ,the same sign would seem to be applicable to some other branches of the ,english public service1 as well as to that of the law4 ,perhaps it was because of the warning that nothing was done1--that being the usual course with governments2 while it was thought a duty to treat with a sort of spiteful neglect every warning that came from ,sir ,c4,j4 ,napier1 because he had a rough1 fiery way of expressing his opinion of the folly of those who are perpetually giving occasion for warnings which they never heed1--as if in all ages roughness and fire had not been especial characteristics of the prophetic office4 ,,akin ,,by ,,marriage4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,the railway traveller1 journeying between ,springfield and ,hartford along the banks of the fair ,connecticut1 sees from the car window1 far away to the eastward1 across the broad level of intervening plains1 a chain of purple hills1 whose undulating crest-line meets the bending sky and forms the distant horizon4 ,just beyond the loftiest hummock of this range a fertile valley lies concealed2 and near its centre1 upon the smooth summit of a gently swelling ridge1 which1 extending north and south for miles1 divides the valley lengthwise1 stands ,belfield1 the shire town of the rural county of ,hillsdale4 ,its fourscore white dwellings1 scattered unevenly along the shady margins of a straight and ample street1 are mostly large1 substantial granges1 each with its little suburb of dependencies making a hamlet by itself4 ,but where the broad avenue1 at midway1 spreads still wider1 forming a spacious square1 are thickly clustered the public buildings of the town and county1--together with the meeting-houses1 the taverns1 the bank1 the shops1 and a few handsome dwellings1 whose large dimensions and ornate style show them to be the abodes of people of wealth and consideration4 ,the greensward in the middle of this square contains two or three elms of immemorial age1 besides many thrifty trees of a later planting4 ,the wooden barrier by which it is enclosed was once adorned with a coat of white paint1 now nearly worn off4 ,the topmost rails and post-heads of this fence have been so notched and gnawed by the jackknives of whittling idlers and the teeth of cribbing horses1 that their original size and shape are matters concerning which the present generation are informed only by tradition4 ,this square was long ago named ,the ,green2 a pleasant title1 by which1 in course of time1 the village itself came to be known and called4 ,instead of going to town1 the farmers of the remote school districts talk of going to the ,green1 to meeting and to market2 and in all that region the guideboards point the way ,to ,,belfield ,,green4 ,this spot was the site of the old blockhouse and stockaded fort1 within whose rude but safe defences the early colonists of ,belfield1 with their wives1 children1 and cattle1 used to huddle at night1 through all the time of ,king ,philip's ,war4 ,here1 with much labor1 the settlers dug a deep well1 fed by never-failing springs1 to provide a sure supply of water1 in case of siege1 for all the garrison4 ,and now1 as if it were a monument raised to commemorate those dismal times1 there stands1 at a point where all the crossing footpaths meet1 a huge town-pump1 near ten feet high1 carved and painted1 with a great ball upon its top1 and an iron ladle chained to its nose4 ,in the torrid summer-days1 from early morning till late at night1 the old pump-handle has but little rest2 for1 though in a season of drought the neighboring wells are apt to run low1 the ancient pump1 like a steadfast friend1 never fails at such a time of need4 ,near at hand1 in the centre of a foot-worn circle1 a stout wooden post stands by itself1 which1 in spite of its homely aspect1 may well be termed a ,pillar of the ,state4 ,it is one of the institutions of the ,commonwealth1 established by an act of the ,general ,assembly4 ,here1 with torn corners fluttering in the wind1 hang weather-stained probate notices1 mildewed town-meeting warnings1 and tattered placards of sheriff's sales2 for no estate can be settled1 no land set off or chattel sold on execution1 no legal meeting of the voters or freemen holden1 without previous notice on the sign-post4 ,it used to be known by another name1 and marks the spot1 where1 whilom1 petty thieves1 shiftless vagrants1 and other small offenders against the majesty of the law1 were wont to suffer a shameful penalty for their vile misdeeds4 ,on the western side of the square1 on the summit of the grassy slope1 stands the ,presbyterian meeting-house1 flanked on one side by the academy1 and on the other by the court-house4 ,there are1 besides1 two other places of worship in the village2 but neither is built upon the square2 and when1 at ,belfield1 the meeting-house is mentioned1 the speaker is understood to indicate by that title the edifice which stands between the academy and the court-house1 and not the plain1 square structure1 with neither steeple nor bell1 in which the ,baptists assemble for worship1 nor the little white ,methodist chapel in the lane1 with green blinds to its windows1 and a little toy of a turret1 scarcely bigger than a martin-box1 upon its shingled roof4 ,the quaint style and old-fashioned aspect of ,belfield meeting-house attest its venerable age4 ,for more than a hundred years its slender spire has glowed in the ruddy beams of early dawn1 and cast at sunset its lengthening shadow across the village green4 ,a century ago1 the mellow tones of its ,sabbath bell1 echoing through the valley1 summoned the pious congregation to their austere devotions4 ,before the worn threshold of the great double-leaved door1 in the broadside of the building1 lies a platform1 which was once a solid shelf of red sandstone1 but now is cracked in twain1 and hollowed by the footsteps of six generations4 ,in the very spot where it now lies it has lain ever since the first framed meeting-house was built in ,belfield1 in the reign of good ,king ,william ,,iii4 ,there1 gathered in a little knot1 on ,sundays and public days1 the forefathers of the settlement used to talk over the current news2 how the first ,port ,royal expedition had failed2 or how ,new ,england militiamen1 without aid from home1 had captured the great fortress of ,louisburg1 after a brief and glorious siege4 ,there1 still later1 the sons of these men rejoiced at the news of ,wolfe's victory1 and sorrowfully related the sad intelligence of ,braddock's shameful defeat4 ,there stood their grandsons1 a flushed1 excited throng of hardy yeomen1 clinching their fists unconsciously1 and breathing hard and fast1 as they listened to the tidings of the fight at ,concord ,bridge4 ,here1 during the war that followed1 when troops were mustered before marching off to camp1 the roll used to be called upon this very stone4 ,no town of its size in all ,new ,england contributed a larger number to the ranks of the ,continental army than did ,belfield4 ,one hot summer1 all the unwonted toils and unbefitting cares of haying and harvest fell upon the little boys and women and a few old gray-haired men1 whose aged limbs had long before earned the right to rest4 ,in all ,belfield there was not a male able to bear arms who was not gone to camp4 ,some war-worn veterans lived to return2 and many a ,sunday noon1 in later years1 sitting here1 upon the broad doorstone of the meeting-house1 they used to tell over the stories of their battles and campaigns1 until the sound from the belfry overhead1 and the sight of the minister approaching from the parsonage1 with stately pace and solemn aspect1 would check the flowing current of their talk1 and recall their thoughts to subjects more in keeping with the holy ,sabbath-day4 ,but some of the friends and comrades of these brave men never came home2 their bones lie mouldering beneath the turf at ,white ,plains1 at ,saratoga1 at ,brandywine1 and at ,princeton4 ,some perished with cold and hunger at ,valley ,forge2 some died of fever in the horrible ,old ,sugar-house2 some rotted alive in the ,jersey prison-hulk2 some lie buried under the gloomy walls of ,dartmoor2 and some there were whose fate was never known4 ,it was the custom1 formerly1 to hold all meetings for the transaction of public business in the sanctuary4 ,none1 not even the most piously fastidious parson or deacon1 ever thought of being shocked at what in these degenerate times would seem like a gross desecration of the house of ,god4 ,there were fewer ,pharisees in ,belfield a hundred years ago than now4 ,to the ,puritans1 and to all their descendants1 until of late1 their places of worship were not churches1 but meeting-houses merely2 and by the stout-hearted men who used to dwell in ,new ,england it would have been deemed a heresy near akin to idolatry itself1 or at least savoring strongly of the damnable errors of the ,romish ,church1 to hold that wood and stones1 carved and fashioned by the hand of man1 could be hallowed by an empty rite of consecration4 ,on these week-day occasions1 therefore1 no part of the house was kept sacred from the world4 ,even the pulpit itself would have been given up to secular uses1 but that1 being so lofty1 it was found to be an inconvenient position for the moderator's chair4 ,so this important functionary was accustomed1 from time immemorial1 to take his place in the deacons' seat1 below1 with the warning of the meeting1 the statute-book1 and the ballot-boxes arranged before him on the communion-table1 which in course of time became so banged and battered1 by dint of lusty gavel-strokes1 that there was scarcely a place big enough to put one's finger upon which was not bruised and dented4 ,for1 in the days of the fierce conflict between the ,federalists and ,democrats1 the meetings were often noisy and disorderly2 and once1 even1 at the memorable election of #ahah1 two hot-headed partisans from sharp words fell to blows1 and others joining in the fray1 the skirmish became at length a general engagement4 ,the recurrence of a scene like this1 upon the same stage1 is never to be expected4 ,the meeting-house has been set apart for religious uses exclusively1 since its interior was thoroughly altered and remodelled1 the tall pulpit replaced by one of modern style1 the sounding-board removed1 the aisles carpeted1 and the square1 old-fashioned pews changed for cushioned slips4 ,in the rear1 a little way off1 is a row of ugly sheds1 yawning towards the street1 where1 on ,sundays1 the farmers who come from a distance tie their beasts1 each in his separate stall4 ,in hot days1 in the summer time1 when all the doors and windows of the meeting-house are set wide open1 the hollow sound of horses' stamping mingles with the preacher's drowsy tones1 and sometimes the congregation is startled from repose by the shrill squeal of some unlucky brute1 complaining of the torture inflicted by the sharp teeth of its ill-natured mate or vicious neighbor2 or1 perhaps1 the flutter of fans is suspended at the obstreperous neigh by which some anxious dam recalls the silly foal that has strayed from her side2 or the dissonant creaking of a cramped wheel makes doleful interludes between the verses of the hymn4 ,here naughty boys1 escaped from the confinement of the sanctuary1 are wont to lounge in the wagons during prayer and sermon time1 munching green pears and apples1 devouring huge bunches of fennel1 dill1 and caraway1 comparing and swapping jackknives1 or striving1 by means of cautious hems and whispers1 and other sly signals1 to attract the notice of their more decent fellows sitting near the open gallery-windows4 ,when the black doors of the little dingy building not far from the south end of the horse-sheds are seen standing open1 it is a pretty sure sign that somebody lies dead in the parish4 ,in this gloomy place the sexton keeps his dismal apparatus1--the hearse1 with its curtains of rusty sable1 the bier1 the spades and shovels for digging graves2 and in a corner lies a coil of soiled ropes1 whose rasping sound1 as they slipped through the coffin-handles1 while the bearers lowered the corpse into the earth1 has grated harshly on many a shuddering mourner's ear4 ,the leaves of the hearse-house door are fastened together by a hasp and pin1 so that any one may enter at will4 ,but there is no need of bolts and bars4 ,the boys1 at play1 in the evening1 at ,i spy or hide and seek1 never go there for concealment1 although their smothered whoops may be heard issuing from every other dark corner in the neighborhood4 ,the narrow space between the hearse-house and the sheds forms a short lane or passage-way1 through which all the funeral processions pass from the street into the burying-ground1 lying behind the sheds1 on the western slope of the ridge upon which the village stands4 ,this ancient cemetery was laid out by the early settlers1 when they made the first allotments of land4 ,it is a square area of two acres in extent1 inclosed by a mossy picket paling1 so rickety that the neighbors' sheep sometimes leap through the gaps from the adjacent pastures1 and feed among the graves upon the long grass and nettles4 ,the lower portion of the graveyard is set apart as a sort of potter's-field1 where negroes1 ,indians1 and stranger-paupers are buried4 ,this region is bordered by a little jungle of poke-berry and elder-bushes1 sumachs and brambles1 so dense and thrifty that they overtop and hide the fence2 and there is a tradition among the school-boys1 that somewhere in the copse there is a black-snake hole1 the abode of an enormous monster1 upon whom no one1 however1 has ever happened to set eyes4 ,here1 with but few exceptions1 the graves are marked only by low mounds of turf1 overrun with matted wild-blackberry vines1 where the lightest footstep1 crushing through the crumbling sod1 destroys the labors of whole colonies of ants4 ,but farther up the hillside1 headstones and monuments stand so close together1 that1 at a distance1 there seems to be scarcely room for another grave4 ,near the summit lie the early settlers of the town2 and in a conspicuous place upon the brow of the acclivity stands a row of tombstones several rods in length4 ,these mark the graves of an ancient and honorable family of townsfolk4 ,at one end1 a thick slab of red sandstone1 of uncouth shape and rude appearance1 leans aslant1 partly buried in the mellow soil4 ,the moss and lichens1 with which its roughly cut back and edges are overgrown1 have been removed from its face1 and the quaint inscription is distinctly legible1 whereby the curious idler is informed that ,here lies1 in y'e ,hope of a ,joyfull ,resurrecion1 y'e ,body of ,maj'r ,iohn ,bugbee1 an ,assistant of y'e ,colony ,a ,iustice of y'e ,peace4 ,born at ,austerfield1 in y'e ,county of ,lincoln1 ,england4 ,dyed ,feb4 y'e #i ,,ad4 #afii 4 #gb4 ,close by the side of this venerable grave is another1 which the stone at its head announces to be the resting-place of ,mistress ,mindwell ,bugbee--,consort of ,maj'r ,iohn ,bugbee and youngest ,daut3 of ,sir ,roger ,braxley1 of ,braxley ,hall1 ,lincolnshire1 ,england4 ,then follow1 in order of time1 the headstones which mark the graves of successive generations descended from this worthy couple4 ,some of these are so defaced and weather-worn1 that in aspect they seem even more venerable than the monuments of the founders of the race4 ,nearly all of those erected before the beginning of the present century bear quaint devices1--some of cherubs1 all wings1 and blank1 staring faces2 some of hour-glasses1 some of masonic emblems1 and upon one of two are rudely carved1 ugly death's heads and crossbones4 ,two thirds of the way down the line stands the first marble headstone4 ,it is taller than its neighbors1 and1 though spotted with weather stains1 it bears a deeply graven inscription1 which seems as legible as the day it was cut1 full forty years ago4 ,in the grave at the foot of this stone lies buried another ,major ,bugbee1 the great-great-grandson of the first ,major4 ,the commission of this gentleman1 signed by ,john ,hancock1 ,president of the ,continental ,congress1 still hangs in a frame against the wainscot1 over the mantel1 in the parlor of the great gambrel-roofed house1 whose front-yard fence and garden palings form1 for almost half the way1 the eastern side of the village square4 ,the late master of this dwelling1 ,doctor ,bugbee1 who was the eldest son of the ,continental major1 lies at the end of the long platoon of dead1 in the newest grave of all the range1 over which a marble obelisk has been erected1 in memory of the name and many virtues of the deceased1 who departed this life1 as the inscription attests1 on the #gth day of ,september1 #ahdc1 in the fifty-seventh year of his age4 ,near by this spot1 with its drooping boughs shading the monument ,i have just described1 grows a weeping-willow tree1 of such great size1 that its top1 from half way up1 can be plainly discerned from almost every corner of the village green2 and it is1 withal1 of such perfect symmetry of form1 that on a moonlight night it resembles a fountain1 as its leaves1 fluttering in the breezy air1 and turning their silver linings to the moonbeams1 seem to sparkle like spray and drops of falling water4 ,behind this tree is placed a rustic bench1 where1 on a pleasant day in ,june1 one may sit and look forth upon as pretty a landscape as can be seen in all ,hillsdale ,county1 or1 for that matter1 in all the ,state as well4 ,before you lies the declivity of the hill upon which the village stands4 ,at its foot begins a verdant plain of interval meadows1 dotted here and there with graceful elms and stately hickories1 each standing alone in its ring of shadow1 the turf everywhere bespangled with dandelions and buttercups1 and changing its hue from shade to shade of vivid green1 as the wind sweeps over the thick growing verdure4 ,through these meadows flows a sluggish brook1 in broad meandering curves1 crossed at each turn by rustic farm-bridges1 with clumps of trees fringing the deeper pools4 ,the plain is skirted by a country road1 bordered with majestic trees1 and with farm-houses standing all along its winding course4 ,beyond1 the land rises1 and the slope is checkered1 to the foot of the hills1 with arable fields4 ,the view is bounded by the craggy sides of the great hills which separate this quiet vale from the broad valley of the ,connecticut4 ,here1 all is soft and tranquil beauty4 ,but just beyond the rugged barrier of those western hills lies a grander landscape1 of wide extent1 through which flows ,new ,england's greatest river1 and crossed from end to end by ,new ,england's busiest thoroughfares1 dusty with the tread of commerce1 and bordered with growing cities and thrifty1 bustling towns4 ,here1 reclining on this rustic bench1 in the shadow of the willow branches1 among the tombstones of the silent dead1 you may dream away the sultry afternoon1 and hear no sounds but drowsy noises that dispose to rest and quiet2 the whispering of the wind in the treetops1 the droning pipe of grasshoppers and locusts1 the distant cries of teamsters to their cattle1 the shouts of children loitering home from school or gathering berries in the sunny fields1 the whetting of a scythe in a far-off meadow1 or the music of the blacksmith's hammer upon his ringing anvil4 ,four times a year1 during the brief terms of court1 the usual stillness that pervades the sober village is enlivened by the presence of a scanty crowd4 ,then1 for a week1 judges1 jurors1 suitors1 and witnesses flock together2 and sometimes1 in the winter season1 when farm work is not pressing1 the neighbors throng by scores into the court-house1 to hear the wordy harangues of the lawyers in some notable cause4 ,likewise on town-meeting days1 the stores and tavern bar-rooms about the square are filled with a concourse of the sovereign people from the more rural districts2 and at the annual cattle show and fair all ,hillsdale comes up to ,belfield4 ,then1 ,i warrant you1 if it chance to be a pleasant ,indian-summer day1 there is indeed a crowd1 and for a while the little capital contains a greater number of living souls than all the county besides4 ,from early twilight till sunset blazes on the western hills the square and street are densely thronged4 ,a ,babel of strange noises fills the dusty air3 the lowing of cows and oxen2 the bellowing of frightened calves2 the plaintive bleating of bewildered lambs2 the fierce neighing of excited horses2 the yelping of curs2 the crowing of imprisoned cocks1 responding to each other's defiant notes2 the sing-song clamor of itinerant auctioneers1 standing on their wagons and displaying their tempting wares to the little knots around them2 the din and hubbub of the busy1 moving1 talking1 jostling multitude1--shouts1 laughs1 cries1 murmurs1 all mingled together1 till confusion harmonizes2 and above all1 the constant clanking of the iron handle of the old town-pump1 which never ceases all the livelong day4 ,at nightfall the uproar lessens1 and as the evening wanes1 the unaccustomed sounds diminish1 though till midnight1 ever and anon1 the tired and sleepy citizens are startled from their dreams by whoops1 hurrahs1 snatches of songs1 and outbursts of rude laughter ringing through the frosty air and mingling with the clattering of horses' feet and the whirring rumble of swift-revolving wheels1 as some party of roystering blades1 excited by deep potations1 drive shouting homewards from the village inns4 ,excepting on these unfrequent occasions1 ,belfield ,green is as free from bustle as if it were a hamlet whose name was never seen upon a map4 ,the time has been1 however1 when it was a busy little mart1 the centre of trade for an extensive district4 ,in yonder low-roofed store that stands upon the square1 near by the great gambrel-roofed house of which mention has already been made1 the second ,major ,bugbee increased a handsome patrimony till it grew to be a great estate2 the share of which that fell to his two eldest sons1 the ,doctor and his younger brother1 ,james1 they in time1 by gainful traffic in the same old place1 made more than equal to the entire estate1 of which a quarter only came to them4 ,thousands and tens of thousands of tons of golden butter and cheese1 hundreds of thousands of bushels of rye1 oats1 flaxseed1 buckwheat1 and corn1 millions of eggs and skeins of linen and woollen yarn have been bartered at ,belfield ,green by the country folks1 in exchange for rum1 molasses1 tea1 coffee1 salt1 and codfish1 enough to freight the royal navy4 ,time was when folks came twenty miles to ,belfield post-office1 and when a dusty miller and his men1 at the old red mill standing on the brook at the foot of the valley1 took toll from half the grists in ,hillsdale ,county4 ,but that was long ago1 when people who lived twenty miles away from ,hartford went to the city scarcely twice in a dozen years1--in the good old days of turnpikes1 stage-coaches1 and wayside taverns1 before railroads were built to carry all the trade to great1 overgrown towns and cities4 ,now-a-days1 as ,i have said1 it is hard to find a village of its size and rank in all the land1 which is more quiet1 at ordinary times1 than ,belfield ,green4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,every community has its quota of great men2 and in this respect a country village is often1 in proportion to its numbers1 as well endowed as the capital itself4 ,so ,belfield has her magnates whom she delights to honor4 ,chief among them used to be numbered the late ,doctor ,john ,bugbee1 a worthy gentleman1 now gathered to his fathers in the ancient burying-ground behind the meeting-house4 ,he was not1 to be sure1 esteemed by all1 especially the women1 to be so great a man as the ,reverend ,jabez ,jaynes1 ,a4,m41 who1 by virtue of his sacred office and academical honors1 took formal precedence of every mere layman in the parish4 ,but with this notable exception1 ,doctor ,bugbee was the peer of every other dignitary1 whether civil1 military1 or ecclesiastical1 within the borders of the town4 ,but when ,i say the ,doctor was a great man in ,belfield1 ,i do not mean to aver1 or to be understood1 that1 in person1 he was of colossal bulk or stature2 neither is it true that his intellect was of a quality so far superior to the average of human minds as to make him a giant in that respect4 ,it would be great presumption in so humble a penman as myself to choose1 even for the hero of my tale1 a man of eminent distinction4 ,so ,i make haste to confess1 that1 doubtless1 there were at least a score or two of his fellow-townsmen as well endowed by nature as the ,doctor4 ,but above many of these persons he was elevated by accidental circumstances and acquired advantages to a position which rendered him a man of greater mark and influence than they4 ,he was descended from a most reputable ancestry1 and1 being a professional man1 of polite address and handsome fortune1 it would have been strange indeed1 if he had not been highly esteemed in the community where he dwelt4 ,besides1 he was a man of sense and taste1 witty1 jovial1 talkative1 and of such extremely easy good-nature1 that1 if it had not been for the tact and shrewdness of his brother and partner in trade1 who managed the business of the firm1 the ,doctor's income would have diminished1 instead of increasing1 as it did1 year after year4 ,as it was1 his practice as a physician scarcely paid for his horsekeeping and the medicines he dispensed1 though for a while he was a favorite physician in all that region2 growing in the good-will of the people1 until1 as a mark of their esteem1 he received a nomination to the ,general ,assembly4 ,at first there was such an outcry of dismay from the old ladies of the parish1 that the ,democrats came near defeating him1 though the ,whigs had a sure majority for every other name on the ticket4 ,but having triumphed over this outburst of stubborn opposition1 the ,doctor speedily became the most popular politician in the county1 if frequent election to office was a true test of public favor4 ,for it turned out1 that1 instead of the mortality happening1 which the ,democrats1 and their allies1 the old women1 had predicted would prevail1 there never had been known a healthier season within the memory of man4 ,and always afterwards1 whenever the worthy ,doctor was chosen to represent the town at ,hartford or ,new ,haven1 there seemed to be a special interposition of providential mercy1 inasmuch as in all his professional round1 none ever sickened unto death during his absence2 though it sometimes happened that the population of the town would be increased by one or two4 ,in course of time1 therefore1 his fame as a statesman even rivalled his reputation as physician1 and all parties were brought to join in voting for him with the most cordial unanimity4 ,in his youth the ,doctor had been reckoned a handsome young fellow1 and1 to the day of his death1 he preserved his good looks to a wonderful degree4 ,a cheerful temper like his is a famous preventive of gray hairs and wrinkles4 ,so the jovial ,doctor never seemed to grow old2 and at fifty1 his erect form1 smooth1 ruddy cheeks1 curly brown poll1 and merry blue eyes made him look younger than many of his neighbors who were his juniors by a dozen years4 ,when a very young man1 not quite twenty years of age1 and before he had finished his course of professional study1 the ,doctor had taken to wife his cousin1 ,miss ,naomi ,bugbee1 who had lived in his father's house ever since he could remember2 for the young lady was an orphan1 with a good estate1 and during her minority had been her uncle's ward4 ,the bride was not an uncomely damsel1 neither was she distinguished for beauty2 and between the ages of the happy young couple there was quite a difference2 a circumstance by no means unusual1 and which would not have been mentioned here1 but for the fact1 that1 in this case1 it was the bride who was the senior of the pair4 ,some people said she was ten years older than the ,doctor2 and1 for a wonder1 these gossips had the evidence of the registry to back their statements4 ,in fact1 the youthful bridegroom had been very tenderly dry-nursed1 in his infancy1 by his bride2 and a certain sound spanking which she gave him when he was just coming four1 because he insisted upon crying and keeping awake1 one evening1 while his mother was gone to a wedding1 instead of going to sleep in his trundle-bed like a good boy1--this chastisement1 ,i say1 had been one of the earliest and most vivid of the bridegroom's recollections of his childhood4 ,but though he had not forgotten this grievance1 he had doubtless forgiven it with all his heart2 thereby setting an example worthy of imitation by the fair ,naomi1 who1 indeed1 was doubly bound to exercise forgiveness and forbearance towards her lord2 for1 whatever might have been the faults and failings of the youth to whom she surrendered the ripened harvest of her charms1 it certainly did not lie in the mouth of one to complain of them unduly1 who had enjoyed such rare and excellent opportunities to train up for herself a husband in the way he should go4 ,there was not wanting at that time in ,belfield a class of spiteful people1 who1 doubtless1 being inspired by envy at beholding the felicity of the happy pair1 affected to laugh and sneer a good deal at what they jeeringly called ,jack ,bugbee's marrying his grandmother4 ,but1 as if it had been specially ordered on purpose to confound these ill-natured jokers1 this union1 the object of their ridicule1 was most signally prospered1 and in due time the ,doctor himself put his wife to bed with a pair of nice little girls4 ,not long after1 the twins were christened at the meeting-house1 a great crowd attending to witness the ceremony4 ,to the elder girl was given the name of ,amelia4 ,upon the other was bestowed the equally desirable appellative of ,cornelia4 ,while they were babies1 both were considered remarkably pretty children2 at least1 so everybody told ,mrs4 ,bugbee2 but as they grew in years and stature1 it became more and more apparent1 that1 although each resembled the other in figure1 features1 and expression1 so strongly that you could not see one without being reminded of the other1 none would ever be at a loss to distinguish between them2 for ,amelia promised to be as extremely handsome as her sister seemed likely to be homely4 ,indeed1 ,amelia was a beautiful counterpart of ,cornelia1 resembling her in the same wise that a flattered portrait1 painted by some shrewd and skilful limner1 will sometimes resemble the rich and ugly original1 in which1 while the likeness is faithfully portrayed1 all the harsh lines are softened1 and even blemishes are transformed into beauty-spots1 or made to serve as foils4 ,besides these twins1 other children1 from time to time1 were born to the ,doctor and his spouse1 all of whom died in infancy4 ,the love of the parents for their first-born seemed to redouble at each of these bereavements4 ,the mother1 especially1 would scarcely suffer her darlings to be absent from her sight2 and when1 at last1 after infinite persuasion1 she was induced to let them go to the ,misses ,primber's great boarding-school at ,hartford1 she used to ride over to see them as often as she could invent a pretext4 ,it was with the greatest reluctance that she consented to this separation2 but in those days it was indispensable that a young woman of good family should spend at least a twelve-month at the ,misses ,primber's famous establishment1 where all the rough hewing of less skilful teachers was shaped and polished1 so to speak1 according to the most fashionable models then in vogue4 ,it was while the twins remained at this notable seminary that they executed those wonderful landscapes1 in ,reeves's best water-colors1 which used to decorate the walls of the parlors in the ,bugbee mansion1 and which1 ,i dare say1 still hang in tarnished gilt frames in some of the bedchambers4 ,it was there they filled the copybooks of ,french exercises from ,levizac's ,grammar1 which ,miss ,cornelia still carefully preserves in a bureau drawer4 ,there they learned to play and sing ,days of ,absence1 ,i'm ,a ,merry ,swiss ,boy1 and many other delightful melodies1 the which1 even now1 ,miss ,cornelia will sometimes hum softly to herself4 ,besides acquiring these and sundry other accomplishments1 ,miss ,amelia found time to carry on a secret epistolary correspondence with a good-looking young law-student1 7of whom more extended mention will presently be made17 and also to contrive many meetings and walks with him1 of which nobody was cognizant but her sister and some five or six other bosom friends and faithful confidants4 ,but ,miss ,cornelia1 though as well inclined thereto as her sister1 having1 nevertheless1 been able to find no lover to occupy her thoughts1 and with whom to hold amatory interviews to fill her leisure1 was fain to devote all her spare moments to the reading of romances and novels1 of which1 though rigorously interdicted1 a great number were in the house1 in possession of the ,misses ,primber's pupils2 and when this supply was exhausted1 she had recourse to a circulating library near by2 being often put as nearly to her wits' end to devise expedients whereby to smuggle the contraband volumes into her chamber1 as ,amelia was to fulfil1 at the time and place of tryst1 the frequent engagements which she made to meet her lover4 ,accordingly it came to pass1 that ,amelia's heart became affected in such a way and to that degree that she was never heart-whole again so long as she lived2 and ,cornelia's head was filled with such an accumulation of romantic rubbish1 that1 to this very day1 a mighty heap of it remains1--mingled1 to be sure1 with ideas of a more solid and useful quality4 ,for when a woman lives a maid during those years in which most of her sex are busy with the cares attendant upon the matronly estate1 fantastic notions1 such as ,i have mentioned1 are not so apt to be excluded from the mind1 and in this way many girls of good natural parts are spoiled1 merely for lack of husbands4 ,with the exception of this inordinate liking for the romantic and mysterious1--by which she was sometimes betrayed into follies and absurdities that provoked a little harmless scandal or ridicule1--,miss ,cornelia has ever been held in good repute among her neighbors as a kind-hearted1 obliging1 sentimental little woman4 ,at last1 at the end of a year1 the young ladies came home from the seminary1 having fully completed their education2 an event which filled ,mrs4 ,bugbee's heart with ineffable satisfaction4 ,when the loving mother reflected1 that1 for a long time1 if it pleased ,god to spare their lives1 she should now enjoy the pleasure of her children's presence1 her bosom overflowed with happiness4 ,though she looked forward to their being married as to something quite likely to happen in the course of time1 yet such events are always uncertain1 and they appeared to her to lie so far ahead in the vague distance of the future1 that these anticipations caused her no serious disquiet4 ,for the girls were but eighteen years of age1 and it seemed hardly a twelvemonth since the time when they used to wear their hair curling in their necks1 and to go hand in hand to the district school in pinafores and pantalets4 ,the good lady's chagrin1 therefore1 was excessive1 when1 the next ,saturday morning but one after her daughters' return1 ,amelia came into her bedroom1 where she sat darning a stocking by the window1 and after so much hesitation that her mother began to wonder1 suddenly put her arms about her neck1 hid her blushing face upon her shoulder1 and in that position softly whispered a confession1 that a certain young gentleman1 with whom she had become acquainted in ,hartford1 had told her he was very much attached to her indeed2 that she was not wholly indifferent with respect to him1 and that1 in fact1 she loved him4 ,while ,mrs4 ,bugbee remained speechless with surprise1 ,miss ,amelia proceeded to say1 that it was highly probable the young gentleman would that very afternoon take it into his head to ride out from ,hartford to ,belfield2 and perhaps he would also request permission to visit her regularly1 with the ultimate purpose of asking her hand in marriage2 in which case1 she said1 it was to be hoped her parents would not refuse his modest petition2 for that the young gentleman was a very good and worthy young gentleman1 a law-student of extraordinary promise1 of as old and respectable a family as any other in the ,state1 and1 withal1 a young gentleman in no wise given to bad habits of any kind whatsoever1 but1 on the contrary1 distinguished for his exemplary morals and sober conduct4 ,all this ,amelia uttered very earnestly2 but1 strange to say1 made no mention of the quality which1 as much as all the rest1 had attracted her regards2 namely1 the young gentleman's good looks1 for which he was somewhat noted1 and of which he was not a little vain4 ,when the ,doctor returned that day from his morning ride among his patients1 his wife took him aside into their bedroom and related what has just been set forth4 ,the ,doctor listened with grave attention till his wife concluded her story2 but when1 at the end of it1 she began to lament1 he turned the thing off with a laugh1 and giving her a hearty kiss1 endeavored to soothe her disquiet4 ,well1 well1 mother1 said he1 why1 let him come1 let him come4 ,it's only a year or two sooner than ,i expected1 and may be it'll be a flash in the pan after all4 ,i think ,i must have seen the young fellow in at ,squire ,johnson's2 and at any rate1 ,i'm pretty sure ,i know his father4 ,when he comes1 we'll just invite him right over here to spend the ,sabbath1 and by the time he goes away on ,monday we'll know the twist of every thread in his jacket4 ,if he's the right one to make our girl happy1 we ought to be glad she's found him2 and if he a'n't1 it'll be all the harder to make her listen to reason1 unless we show reason ourselves2 and1 surely1 it would be unreasonable to be set against him1 before we've even seen him or heard him say a word4 ,when ,mr4 ,edward ,talcott 7for that was the young gentleman's name7 came over from the tavern1 where he had left his horse and portmanteau1 and with much secret trepidation and assumed boldness had walked up the wide flagstones which led from the street to the green front door of ,doctor ,bugbee's mansion1 it was opened1 at the summons of the brass knocker1 by a little black girl1 who vainly strove to hide a grin behind a corner of her long check apron4 ,before the visitor had time to utter a word1 ,amelia1 blushing like a rose and looking handsomer than ever1 came tripping into the hall1 and after a whisper1 which ,dinah1 who tried1 failed to overhear1 and the purport of which1 therefore1 ,i cannot relate1 ushered him into the parlor1 and presented him in due form to her mother1 and also to her grandmother1 ,madam ,major ,bugbee1 as she was styled by the townsfolk1--a stately old lady in black silk1 who1 being hard of hearing1 and therefore incapable of mingling in the conversation that ensued1 regarded the new comer through her gold-bowed spectacles1 during the remainder of the afternoon1 with a furtive1 but earnest attention which was quite embarrassing to the object of it4 ,presently a sulky came dashing up the drive1 and soon afterwards the ,doctor came in1 who1 being made acquainted with ,mr4 ,talcott by the blushing ,amelia1 fell into a lively conversation with his visitor1 which finally turning upon the subject of politics1 both gentlemen agreed cordially in lauding the wisdom displayed in ,mr4 ,adams's administration1 and congratulating each other and the country upon the defeat of ,general ,jackson4 ,after tea1 the hired man was sent to fetch ,mr4 ,talcott's horse and luggage from the inn1 and then1 it being near sundown1 the ,doctor put on as solemn an expression as his merry visage was capable of assuming1 took up the big quarto ,bible from its place1 on a stand in the corner of the room1 and read a chapter from the ,new ,testament4 ,then1 standing up behind his arm-chair1 he made a hurried prayer1 which was evidently one he had got by heart2 for when he endeavored to interpolate an apt allusion to the young stranger within his gates1 he made such a piece of work of it1 that everybody but the dowager had to bite his lips to keep from smiling4 ,the brief remainder of the evening was spent in sober conversation4 ,soon after nine o'clock the little black girl showed ,mr4 ,talcott up the broad stairway into the best front chamber1 a spacious apartment directly over the parlor1 where he went to bed under a lofty tester canopy1 with embroidered curtains trimmed with lace4 ,after a long reverie1 coming to the conclusion that the downright courtship of a young lady in her father's house was a much more serious affair than a mere clandestine flirtation with a pretty school-girl1 the young gentleman turned over upon his side and went to sleep4 ,the next day1 being ,sunday1 everybody went to meeting1 except the ,doctor1 who was obliged to ride away upon his round of visits4 ,accordingly1 ,mr4 ,talcott walked twice to and fro across the green1 with ,miss ,amelia tripping demurely by his side1 and served as the target for a thousand eyeshots as he stood up at the head of the ,doctor's pew during the long prayers4 ,in the evening1 after supper1 the ,doctor put off his grave ,sabbath face and invited his young guest to walk over to the store1 which stood in the corner of the yard1 a little distance off4 ,presently1 ,miss ,amelia1 peeping from behind her bedroom window-curtain1 beheld them sitting together upon the broad back-stoop of the store1 talking and smoking in a most amicable manner1 the fragrant incense of their cigars being wafted across the intervening space1 which was quite too wide1 however1 to enable her to hear the words of their earnest conversation4 ,but that night1 as she and her lover sat together alone in the front parlor1 after the family had gone to bed1 he told her that her father had consented to his courtship4 ,but if ,i am so circumstantial in relating these events1 which are merely introductory to my story1 ,i shall have neither time nor space left for the story itself4 ,so ,i will hasten to say1 that the upshot of ,mr4 ,edward ,talcott's frequent visits1 as might have been expected1 was a very splendid wedding1 which took place in the front parlor of the ,bugbee mansion1 one evening during the winter after ,amelia came nineteen1 the bridegroom being then twenty-three1 and just admitted to practice as an attorney-at-law4 ,in pursuance of a condition which ,mrs4 ,bugbee had proposed1 in order to avoid the pangs of a separation from her child1 the young couple remained members of the ,doctor's household2 and ,mr4 ,talcott1 who1 through the influence of his wife's father1 had been taken into partnership with a well-established attorney1 commenced the practice of law at the ,hillsdale bar4 ,his partner1 ,squire ,bramhall1 had for many years been clerk of the courts1 and was a sage and prudent counsellor1 noted for the careful preparation bestowed upon his causes before they came to trial4 ,but1 in spite of his learning and industrious painstaking1 he used to cut a poor figure at the bar2 for being1 though a lawyer1 an exceedingly modest and bashful man1 he failed to acquire the habit of addressing either court or jury with ease1 fluency1 or force4 ,on the other hand1 ,squire ,talcott1 as he soon came to be called1 was a young man of fine appearance and good address1 in no wise troubled with an undue degree of doubt touching the excellence of his own abilities4 ,his first argument before a jury was a showy and successful effort in behalf of a person for whom the sympathies of the public were already warmly enlisted4 ,by this1 of course1 he won considerable applause4 ,his subsequent attempts sustained the popular expectation4 ,he began to acquire distinction as a fluent1 persuasive1 and even eloquent speaker4 ,a lawyer haranguing a jury in a densely crowded courtroom fills a much larger space in the public eye than when1 in the solitude of his back-office1 he is preparing a brief2 and1 as young ,squire ,talcott used to argue all the cases which his plodding partner elaborately prepared to his hand1 his fame as a wonderfully smart young lawyer soon began to extend even beyond the limits of the county4 ,the judges1 in other places upon their circuit1 spoke of his quick and brilliant parts1 and his apparent learning and familiar acquaintance with authorities1 so unusual at his age4 ,these flattering commendations1 returning to ,belfield1 came to young ,talcott's ears4 ,it would have been strange if he had not been too much elated by his sudden success in the practice of a profession in which so very few win a speedy renown4 ,forgetful how much of the praise he received was due to his partner's laborious researches and unobtrusive learning1 he suffered his vanity to lead him astray2 becoming discontented with his position1 and secretly repining at the necessity by which he was compelled to remain in an obscure country town1 when1 as he imagined1 his talents were sufficient to win for him1 unaided1 an easy and rapid promotion even at the metropolitan bar4 ,the ,doctor and his wife1 as was to be expected1 soon got to be proud of their clever son-in-law4 ,in fact1 after the birth of a little girl1 an event by which the honors of grand-paternity were conferred upon the ,doctor when he was but a year or two past forty1 ,mrs4 ,bugbee could scarcely tell which she loved best1 her daughter1 the baby1 or its father4 ,when little ,helen1 as the child was named1 was just coming three years old1 ,mrs4 ,talcott1 being in childbed again1 was taken with a fever1 and1 in spite of everything which was done to save her1 died1 and was buried with her infant on her bosom4 ,i do not need to relate what a grievous stroke this sad event was to all the household1--nay1 ,i might say to the whole village as well2 for all who knew ,amelia loved her1 and the praise of the dead was in everybody's mouth4 ,as for poor ,mrs4 ,bugbee1 she sorrowed like one in despair4 ,even the worthy parson's pious words1 to which she appeared to listen with passive attention1 fell unheeded upon her ear4 ,people began to shake their heads when her name was mentioned1 and to predict that ere long she would follow her daughter to the grave4 ,at last1 however1 after many weeks of close seclusion1 she grew more cheerful1 and seemed to transfer all the affection she had borne the dead to the child who survived her4 ,not long after ,amelia's death1 the secret discontent existing in her husband's mind1 which1 if she had lived1 would in time1 perhaps1 have abated1 began instead to increase1 and at length he came to talk openly of departure4 ,the ,doctor1 perceiving that he was firmly resolved upon the step1 did not seriously endeavor to dissuade him2 and even ,mrs4 ,bugbee could not withhold her consent1 when the young widower said1 with a trembling voice1 he could not endure to stay in a spot endeared to him by no other associations than those which continually reminded him of his grievous loss4 ,one stipulation only the good couple insisted on2 namely1 that ,amelia's child should be given to them1 to be adopted as their own daughter4 ,knowing not whither he should go1 the father yielded2 reflecting that he could not better promote the welfare of his little girl than by consenting4 ,so1 a few weeks afterwards1 when ,edward ,talcott bade farewell to ,belfield1 the relation of parent and child between him and his little daughter was completely severed4 ,for though since their first sorrowful parting they have met more than once1 and though long after that mournful day she used to wear in her bosom a locket containing his miniature and a lock of his hair1 which she used to kiss every night and morning1 yet ,helen seldom remembers that the distant stranger is her father1 and he forgets to reckon his first-born among the number of his children4 ,when he was gone1 the child was told that the name of ,bugbee was thereafter to be appended to those she already bore2 and being quite pleased with the notion1 she forthwith adopted her new appellative1 retaining it for several years1 until 7such is the fickle nature of women7 she took a fancy to change it for another which she liked better still4 ,she was also taught to call her grandparents papa and mamma2 and though1 while a child1 she continued to address ,miss ,cornelia by the title of ,aunty1 this respectful custom1 as the relative difference between her age and the elder spinster's gradually diminished1 was suffered1 at the latter's special request1 to fall into disuse1 and give place to the designation of sister4 ,the few new-comers to ,belfield1 therefore1 were never apt to suspect that ,helen ,bugbee was not really the ,doctor's own daughter2 and even the neighbors forgot that her name had ever been changed1 except when the gossips sometimes put each other in mind of it4 ,the older she grew the more ,helen resembled her mother1 as the ladies always used to exclaim when they came to take tea with ,mrs4 ,bugbee4 ,some of the village folks1 who were in the habit1 so common with old people1 of thinking that the race is continually degenerating1 ,i have heard express the opinion that ,helen was never so handsome as her mother had been4 ,but ,i have seen a portrait of ,miss ,amelia ,bugbee1 for which she sat just before her wedding1 and which1 ,i am assured1 was1 in the time of it1 called a wonderful likeness2 ,i also knew ,miss ,helen ,talcott ,bugbee when she was not far from her mother's age at the time the picture was taken2 and though ,miss ,amelia must have been a very sweet young lady1 of extraordinarily good looks1 ,i used to think1 for my part1 that ,helen was much handsomer than the portrait2 although people of a different taste might very properly have preferred the less haughty expression of the face depicted on the canvas4 ,it was not strange that ,helen was petted and humored as much as was well for her4 ,but her disposition being naturally docile and amiable1 she was not to be easily spoiled4 ,be that as it may1 however1 when she had grown to be a woman1 there were1 ,i dare say1 no less than fifty young men who knew her well1 any one of whom would have jumped at the chance to get her for a wife1 and made but little account of the risk of her turning out a shrew4 ,to be sure1 when ,i first knew her1 she had rather a high and mighty way with her1 at which some people took offence1 calling her proud and disdainful2 but those whom she wished to please never failed to like her2 and ,i used to observe she seldom put on any of her lofty airs when she spoke to unpresuming people1 especially if they were poor or in humble circumstances4 ,though the indulgence of all her whims and fancies by her doting grandparents was a danger of no small magnitude1 ,helen encountered a still greater peril in the shape of a vast store of novels1 poems1 and romances1 which ,miss ,cornelia had accumulated1 and to which she was continually making additions4 ,in that young lady's bedchamber1 where ,helen slept1 there was a large bookcase full of these seductive volumes2 even the upper shelves of the wardrobe closet1 and a cupboard over the mantel1 were closely packed with them2 and there was not one of them all which ,helen had not read by the time she was fifteen4 ,thus1 in spite of natural good sense1 strengthened and educated by much wise and wholesome instruction1 she grew up with an imagination quite disproportioned to her other mental faculties2 so that1 in some respects1 she was almost as romantic in her notions as her ,aunt ,cornelia1 who1 at forty1 used to prefer moonlight to good honest sunshine1 and would have heard with an emotion of delight that the mountains between ,belfield and ,hartford were infested by a band of brigands1 in picturesque attire1 with a handsome chief like ,rinaldo ,rinaldini1 or haunted by two or three dashing highwaymen1 of the genteel ,paul-,clifford style4 ,indeed1 the ideal lover1 to whom for many years ,miss ,cornelia's heart was constant as the moon1 was a tall1 dark1 mysterious man1 with a heavy beard and glittering eyes1 who1 there is every reason to suspect1 was either a corsair1 a smuggler1 or a bandit chief4 ,i am loath to have it supposed that ,helen turned out a silly young woman4 ,indeed1 it would be wrong to believe so2 for she possessed many good parts and acquirements4 ,but ,i must confess that her fancy1 being naturally lively1 was unduly stimulated by reading too many books of the kind ,i have mentioned2 and that seeing but little of the world in her tender years1 she learned from their pages to form false and extravagant notions concerning it4 ,she used to build castles in the air1 was subject to fits of tender melancholy1 and1 like ,miss ,cornelia1 adored moonlight1 pensive music1 and sentimental poetry4 ,but she would have shrunk from contact with a brigand1 in a sugar-loaf hat1 with a carbine slung across his shoulder1 and a stiletto in his sash1 with precisely the same kind and degree of horror and disgust that would have affected her in the presence of a vulgar footpad1 in a greasy ,scotch-cap1 armed with a horse-pistol and a sheath-knife4 ,her romantic tastes differed in many respects from her ,aunt ,cornelia's4 ,she1 too1 had an ideal lover2 7and for that matter the fickle little maid had several27 but the special favorite was a charming young fellow1 of fair complexion1 with blue eyes1 and a light1 elegant moustache1 his long brown hair falling down his neck in wavy masses1--tall in stature1 athletic1 and yet slim and graceful1--gifted with many accomplishments1 with a heart full of noble qualities1 and a brain inspired by genius1--a poet1 or an author1 or an artist1 perhaps a lawyer merely1 but of rare talents1 at any rate a man of superior intellect1--in a word1 a paragon1 who1 when he should appear upon the earth1 incarnate1 she expected would conceive a violent passion for her1 in which case1 she should take it into consideration whether to marry him or not4 ,my inexperience in the art of story-telling must be manifest to everybody2 for here ,i am talking of ,helen1 as of a young lady of sixteen or more1 with shy notions of beaux and lovers in her head1--whereas1 in point of time1 my story has not advanced by regular stages beyond the period of her childhood1 when she thought more of a single doll in her baby-house1 and held her in higher estimation1 than the whole rising generation of the other sex4 ,i shall resume the thread of my narrative by relating1 that1 some two or three years before ,miss ,cornelia ,bugbee1 in her journey across the sands of time1 came to the thirtieth mile-stone1 she arrived at an oasis in the desert of her existence2 or1 to be more explicit1 she had the rare good-fortune to find a heart throbbing in unison with her own1--a tender bosom in whose fidelity she could safely confide even her most precious secret2 namely1 the passion she entertained for the aforementioned corsair1--a being of congenial soul1 whose loving ears could hear and interpret her lowest whisper and most incoherent murmur1 by means of the subtile instinct of spiritual sympathy1--in fine1 a trusty1 true1 and confidential friend4 ,all this1 and more1 was ,miss ,laura ,stebbins1 the youngest sister of ,mrs4 ,jaynes1 who1 being suddenly left an orphan1 dependent on the charity of her kindred1 came to reside at the parsonage in ,belfield4 ,an intimacy forthwith commenced between the ,doctor's daughter and the ,parson's sister-in-law1 which ripened speedily into the enduring friendship of which mention has just been made4 ,there were some who affected to wonder at the ardent attachment which sprung up between the two young ladies1 because1 forsooth1 one was but sixteen1 and the other eight-and-twenty2 as if this slight disparity in years must necessarily engender a diversity of tastes1 fatal to a budding friendship4 ,i would fain describe the person of ,miss ,laura ,stebbins1 if ,i could call to mind any similitudes1 whereunto to liken her charms1 which have not been worn out in the service of other people's heroines4 ,to use any but brand-new comparisons to illustrate graces like hers would be singularly inappropriate2 for she herself always had a bright1 fresh look1 like some piece of handiwork just finished by the maker4 ,her hair was black1 glossy1 and abundant4 ,she had large1 hazel eyes1 full of expression1 shaded by long1 black eyelashes1 a clear1 light-brown complexion1 rosy cheeks1 small1 even teeth1 as white as cocoanut meat1 and lips whose color was like the tint of sealing-wax4 ,there was not a straight line or an angle about her plump and well-proportioned figure4 ,her waist was round and full1 and yet appeared so slim between the ravishing curves of her shapely form1 above and below it1 that it seemed as if it were fashioned so on purpose to be embraced4 ,if ,laura had been as wise as she was handsome1 some pen more worthy than mine would have celebrated her wit and beauty4 ,but she was nothing more than a wild1 merry1 frolicsome girl1 whom1 if you knew her1 it was very hard not to like2 even her reverend brother-in-law1 a very grave personage1 of whom1 at first1 she stood in no little awe1 learned to smile at some of her very giddiest nonsense1 and ,mrs4 ,bugbee's sober reserve1 which had been increased by her domestic afflictions1 thawed in the sunshine of ,laura's presence1 like snow in the warmth of a bright spring morning4 ,helen1 also1 grew to be extremely fond of ,laura1 who returned the child's regard in twofold measure1 at least1 and yet had love enough to spare wherewith to answer the immense draughts upon her heart by which ,miss ,cornelia's romantic affection was repaid4 ,it was more than even ,miss ,cornelia ,bugbee could do to transform this gay creature into a lackadaisical young lady2 though1 as she tried her very best to do so1 none ought to blame her because she failed of success4 ,all her stock of novels she lent to ,laura1 who read them1 every one1 in secret1 skipping only the dull and didactic pages4 ,that she was not spoiled by this experiment was due less to the strength of ,laura's understanding than to the liveliness of her temper1 which1 in this strait1 stood her in very good stead of more solid qualities and a wiser experience4 ,as it was1 she learned to talk in a romantic fashion1 longed1 above all things1 to grow thin1 pretended to sigh frequently1 and affected1 at times1 an air of pensive thoughtfulness4 ,her imagination began to be haunted by the apparition of a brave1 gallant1 and exceedingly graceful and good-looking young officer1 of rank and high renown1 who1 she confidently hoped1 would some day appear before her1 arrayed in full uniform1 with a sword by his side1 and1 with all the impetuous ardor of a soldier1 throw himself at her feet and pour forth a declaration of inextinguishable love4 ,until ,laura was nearly twenty1 this phantom in regimentals held exclusive possession of her bosom1 and reigned in that sweet domain without a rival2 for1 strange as it may appear1 she never had a suitor of real flesh and blood1 until a certain young divinity-student from ,east ,windsor ,seminary1 who sometimes of a ,sunday when ,mr4 ,jaynes was absent came over to ,belfield to try his hand at preaching1 perceived1 by sly and stealthy glances at ,laura over the rim of his blue spectacles1 how exceeding comely the damsel was1 and firmly resolved to win her for a helpmeet4 ,and even ,mr4 ,elam ,hunt 7for that was the pious student's name7 seemed scarcely more substantial than a ghost1 so very pale and bloodless was his meagre face1 and so lean and spare his stooping1 narrow-chested figure4 ,this youthful saint was well esteemed by ,laura's sister1 ,mrs4 ,jaynes1 a sharp-visaged little woman1 to whose energetic control her absent-minded1 studious husband surrendered the parsonage and all it contained4 ,nay1 she even shared his labors in the moral vineyard of his parish2 for while he remained at home among his favorite volumes1 she used to go about from house to house1 collecting donations in aid of some one of the great eleemosynary corporations1 whose certificates attesting her life-membership1 all framed and glazed1 covered the walls of the parsonage parlor4 ,her zeal in this good work was untiring1 and she levied tribute to her favorite charities upon all classes and conditions of her neighbors with strict impartiality4 ,the poorest widow was not suffered to withhold her mite1 and1 wherever she went1 the pouting children of the household were forced to open their money-boxes and tin savings-banks1 and bring forth the hoarded pence with which they had hoped to purchase candy and toys at ,christmas and ,new ,year4 ,the village folks reckoned the cost of her visits among their annual expenses1 and1 when she was seen approaching1 made ready1 as if a sturdy beggar or a tax-gatherer was at the door4 ,to have heard this estimable lady1 when in private she sometimes rebuked the failings of her reverend spouse1 one would not have supposed that she regarded him with awful veneration2 nevertheless1 she magnified his office greatly4 ,the dignity conferred by ordination she held to be the highest honor to which a mortal man can possibly attain4 ,herself adorning the elevated station of a pastor's wife1 she resolved to secure for ,laura a position of equal eminence4 ,when1 therefore1 she perceived that her sister had found favor in the eyes of ,mr4 ,elam ,hunt1 she gave the bashful student frequent opportunities to speak his mind2 and when1 at last1 he ventured in private to tell her of the flame which warmed his breast with a gentle glow1 quite unlike that fervent heat by which the hearts of more impassioned1 worldly-minded swains are apt to be tortured and consumed1 she assuaged his pangs of doubt by encouraging assurances of her countenance and favor4 ,in the mean time she resolved to guard against every misadventure by which the successful termination of his suit might be prevented or imperilled4 ,this was by no means an easy thing to do2 for ,laura1 at twenty1 though an orphan1 without a penny to buy even so much as a dozen teaspoons for a setting-out1 was not a girl that would have been apt to lack for lovers1 if she had had a fair chance to get them4 ,as ,i have already told you1 she was as sweet and as pretty as a pink full of dewdrops1 and might have picked out a sweetheart from as many beaux as she had fingers and thumbs1 but that her vigilant duenna1 ,mrs4 ,jaynes1 kept the young fellows beyond courting distance4 ,it was impossible1 even for this shrewd and discreet lady1 so to manage1 without danger of giving offence1 as to prevent ,laura from associating with the other young folks of the parish2 and indeed1 to do her justice1 she was not so austerely strict that she desired her sister to abstain from all social intercourse with those of her own age1 sex1 and condition4 ,on the contrary1 as the reader already knows1 she was permitted to cherish a tender and devoted friendship for ,miss ,cornelia ,bugbee2 and there were several other young ladies1 whose brothers were only little boys1 with whom she was on the most amicable and familiar terms4 ,but by means of various arts and devices ,mrs4 ,jaynes contrived to keep the young men from becoming too intimate with her pretty sister2 although some of them had vainly endeavored to be more than neighborly4 ,if one ventured to call at the parsonage1 ,mrs4 ,jaynes was always in the parlor1 with ,laura1 to receive him1 and sat there1 grimly1 on the sofa1 as long as he staid2 taking a part in the conversation1 which she generally managed to turn upon the most grave and serious topics4 ,the benighted condition of the heathen was a favorite subject of discourse with her1 upon these occasions2 and the visitor was a lucky youth1 if he escaped without making1 upon the spot1 a cash contribution to the worthy cause of foreign missions4 ,if ,laura was invited to ride or to walk with a gentleman1 ,mrs4 ,jaynes always had a plausible pretext for objecting4 ,it was either too hot1 or too cold1 or too damp1 or too dusty1 or there was sure to be some other reason1 equally sufficient1 for withholding her consent4 ,as for balls and cotillon parties1 the most enterprising and audacious youngster of them all would have quailed at the idea of facing the parson's wife with a request to take her sister to such a place4 ,at last the report got wind that ,mrs4 ,jaynes was saving ,laura for ,mr4 ,elam ,hunt1 until such time as1 having finished his course of study at ,east ,windsor1 he should be ordained and settled in a parish of his own1 and ready to take to himself a wife4 ,to be sure1 it did not seem that ,laura was of the right sort of temper for a minister's sober helpmeet2 nevertheless1 this rumor gained credit1 and very soon came to be believed by many of the neighbors4 ,mrs4 ,jaynes1 it was noticed1 would never contradict the story1 though1 to be sure1 ,laura herself always did1 whenever she had a chance to do so4 ,indeed1 she was often heard to declare1 with great vehemence and apparent sincerity1 that she would as lief be buried alive as marry that living skeleton1--by which scandalous epithet she designated the lean and reverend youth from ,east ,windsor4 ,some people who heard these protestations let them go for naught1 giving them all the less heed on account of their violence1 or1 perhaps1 being even confirmed in the belief of what she so earnestly denied4 ,for it is a very common artifice with young women to pretend a strong aversion for their most favored lovers1 and to feign an utter dislike and abhorrence for the very persons whom they love most fondly4 ,others1 however1 gave credit to her passionate declarations1 and believed that she recoiled from the idea of marrying the lank young student with unfeigned repugnance and disgust4 ,between people holding these diverse opinions discussions would sometimes arise1 especially at meetings of the ,dorcas ,society1 when neither ,laura nor ,mrs4 ,jaynes was present4 ,but1 just at this juncture1 an event occurred which gave a new direction to the current of village gossip1 setting every member of the ,dorcas sisterhood all agape with wonder and surprise1 and all agog with excitement and curiosity4 ,of this strange and memorable affair ,i will presently give a veritable account1 and even show the reader how it came to pass4 ,but in the mean time the fortunes of the ,bugbee family demand my brief attention4 ,continued in the next ,number4 ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,didactic ,,poetry ,when wise ,minerva still was young ,and just the least romantic1 ,soon after from ,jove's head she flung ,that preternatural antic1 ',tis said to keep from idleness ,or flirting1--those twin curses1-- ,she spent her leisure1 more or less1 ,in writing po--1 no1 verses4 ,how nice they were6 to rhyme with far ,a kind star did not tarry2 ,the metre1 too1 was regular ,as schoolboy's dot and carry2 ,and full they were of pious plums1 ,so extra-super-moral1-- ,for sucking ,virtue's tender gums ,most tooth-enticing coral4 ,a clean1 fair copy she prepares1 ,makes sure of moods and tenses1 ,with her own hand1--for prudence spares ,a man-7or woman7-uensis2 ,complete1 and tied with ribbons proud1 ,she hinted soon how cosy a ,treat it would be to read them loud ,after next day's ,ambrosia4 ,the ,gods thought not it would amuse ,so much as ,homer's ,odyssees1 ,but could not very well refuse ,the properest of ,goddesses2 ,so all sat round in attitudes ,of various dejection1 ,as with a hem6 the queen of prudes ,began her grave prelection4 ,at the first pause ,zeus said1 ,well sung6-- ,i mean--ask ,phoebus1--he knows4 ,says ,phoebus1 ,zounds6 a wolf's among ,admetus's merinos6 ,fine6 very fine6 but ,i must go2 ,they stand in need of me there2 ,excuse me6 snatched his stick1 and so ,plunged down the gladdened ether4 ,with the next gap1 ,mars said1 ,for me ,don't wait1--naught could be finer2 ,but ,i'm engaged at half-past three1-- ,a fight in ,asia ,minor6 ,then ,venus lisped1 ,how very thad6 ,it rainth down there in torrinth2 ,but ,i mutht go1 becauthe they've had ,a thacrifithe in ,corinth6 ,then ,bacchus1--,with those slamming doors ,i lost the last half dist--7hic67 ,mos' bu'ful se'ments6 what's the ,chor's8 ,my voice shall not be missed--7hic67 ,his words woke ,hermes2 ,ah6 he said1 ,i so love moral theses6 ,then winked at ,hebe1 who turned red1 ,and smoothed her apron's creases4 ,just then ,zeus snored1--the ,eagle drew ,his head the wing from under2 ,zeus snored1--o'er startled ,greece there flew ,the many-volumed thunder2 ,some augurs counted nine1--some1 ten1-- ,some said1 'twas war1--some1 famine1-- ,and all1 that other-minded men ,would get a precious ----4 ,proud ,pallas sighed1 ,it will not do2 ,against the ,muse ,i've sinned1 oh6 ,and her torn rhymes sent flying through ,olympus's back window4 ,then1 packing up a peplus clean1 ,she took the shortest path thence1 ,and opened1 with a mind serene1 ,a ,sunday-school in ,athens4 ,the verses8 ,some1 in ocean swilled1 ,killed every fish that bit to 'em2 ,some ,galen caught1 and1 when distilled1 ,found morphine the residuum2 ,but some that rotted on the earth ,sprang up again in copies1 ,and gave two strong narcotics birth1-- ,didactic bards and poppies4 ,years after1 when a poet asked ,the ,goddess's opinion1 ,as being one whose soul had basked ,in ,art's clear-aired dominion1-- ,discriminate1 she said1 betimes2 ,the ,muse is unforgiving2 ,put all your beauty in your rhymes1 ,your morals in your living4 ,,the ,,financial ,,flurry4 ,break1 break1 break1 ,on thy cold1 gray crags1 ,o ,sea6 ,i remember a day1 said a friend not long since1 a day as sweet1 calm1 cool1 and bright as that whose wedding and funeral song the poet sings in the same verse1 when ,i stood upon the white sea-coast near ,naples1 and looked far away across the blue1 silent waters1 and up the gray1 flowery steeps1 to where the towering cone of ,vesuvius cleaves the skies4 ,it was in the spring-time2 luxuriant nature seemed to have nothing to do but to grow and bloom1 and the huge mountain itself was profoundly at peace1--smiling a welcome1 apparently1 to the delicate bean-plants and wild vines which clambered up its sides1 and wearing a light curl of smoke1 like a gay coronal1 around its brow4 ,the bay was alive with red-capped fishermen1 each one intent on fishing up his inverted brother below him2 the beach was thronged with women1 who chattered cheerfully over their baskets2 and along the road scampered soldiers in bright uniforms1 as if they had no conceivable purpose in life but to bathe in that clear sunshine1 and breathe that soft1 delicious air4 ,a few hours later1 continued he1 ,i stood not far from the same spot1 and saw that mountain angrily belching forth pitch and flames2 the earth beneath my feet groaned with sullen1 suppressed rage1 or as if it were in pain2 vast volumes of lurid smoke rolled through the sky1 and streams of melted brimstone coursed down the hill-sides1 burning up the pretty flowers1 crushing the trees1 and ruthlessly devouring the snug farms and cottages of the loving ,philemons and ,baucises who had incautiously built too near the fatal precinct4 ,the poor contadini1 who lately chaffered so vivaciously over their macaroni and chestnuts1 were flying panic-smitten in all directions2 some clasped their crucifixes1 and called wildly upon the saints for protection2 others leaped frantically into boats and rowed themselves dead1 in the needless endeavor to escape death2 while the general expression of the people was that of a multitude who1 the next minute1 expected to see the skies fall to crush them1 or the earth open to swallow them up forever4 ,but ,i was myself unmoved1 our friend concluded1 in his usual vein of philosophy1 though1 ,i trust1 not unsympathizing2 because ,i saw1 through those dun clouds of smoke1 the stars still shining serenely aloft1 and because ,i felt that after that transient convulsion of nature the great sun would rise as majestically as ever on the morrow1 to show us1 here and there1 no doubt1 a beautiful tract now desolate1 here and there a fruitful vale now filled with ashes1--but also1 the same glorious bay breathing calmly in its bed1 the same cloudless sky holding the green and peaceful earth in its complacent embrace4 ,we could not1 as we listened to the story of the traveller1 help considering it an illustration of that great convulsion of finance which has visited us during the last month4 ,we do not mean to call this an eruption1 which would scarcely be appropriate1--inasmuch as the characteristic of it was not a preternatural activity1 but rather a preternatural stagnation and paralysis2 but there is certainly a striking similarity in the contrasts presented by the two pictures just painted1 and the contrasts presented in the condition of the commercial world as it is now1 and as it was only a few weeks since4 ,then all nature smiled1 and we scarcely thought of the future in the happy consciousness of the present2 whereas now all nature seems to frown1 and we eagerly long for the future to escape the endless vexations and miseries of the present4 ,our trade1 which lately bloomed like a ,neapolitan spring-day1 is now covered with clouds and sifted with ashes1 as if some angry ,vesuvius had exploded its contents over us and shot the hot lava-tides among our snug vineyards and cottages4 ,may we not also1 in this case1 as in that1 draw some consolation from the knowledge that the stars are still shining behind the smoke1 and that the sun will assuredly come up to-morrow1 as it has come up on so many morrows1 for so many thousands of years8 ,convulsions1 by the very fact of their violence1 show that they are short-lived2 and though we1 who suffer by them directly1 are apt to derive the slenderest solace from the philosophy which demonstrates their transientness1 or their utility in certain aspects1 it is nevertheless profitable1 for various reasons1 to make them a subject of remark4 ,in a season of great public calamity1 moreover1 everybody feels that he ought to participate in it in some way1 if not as a sufferer1 then as a sympathizer1 and1 in either capacity1 as a speculator upon its causes and probable effects4 ,the learned historian1 ,monsieur ,alcofribas1 who preserves for our instruction the heroic deeds and prowesses of the great king of the ,dipsodes1 tells us how that once1 when ,philip of ,macedon threatened ,corinth1 the virtuous inhabitants of that city were thrown into mortal fear2 but they were not too much paralyzed to forget the necessity of defence2 and while some fortified the walls1 others sharpened spears1 and others again carried the baskets1 the noble ,diogenes1 who was doubtless the chief literary man of the place1 was observed to thwack and bang his tub with unmerciful vehemence4 ,when he was asked why he did so1 he replied1 that it was for the purpose of showing that he was not a mere slug and lazy spectator1 in a crowd so fervently exercised4 ,in these times1 therefore1 when ,philip of ,macedon is not precisely thundering at our walls1 but nibbling at every man's cupboard and cheese-press1 it behooves each ,diogenes to rattle his tub at least1 in order to prove1 in the spirit of his prototype and master1 ,though he be rid of fear1 ,he is not void of care4 ,if the noise he makes only add to the general turbulence and confusion1 the show of sympathy will at least go for something4 ,the same authority1 whom we have just quoted1 has a piece of advice with which we intend to set our tub in motion4 ,whatsoever1 he says1 those blindfolded1 blockheady fools1 the astrologers of ,louvain1 ,nuremberg1 ,tubingen1 and ,lyons1 may tell you1 don't you feed yourselves up with whims and fancies1 nor believe there is any ,governor of the whole universe this year but ,god the ,creator1 who by his ,word rules and governs all things1 in their nature1 propriety1 and conditions1 and without whose preservation and governance all things in a moment would be reduced to nothing1 as out of nothing they were by him created4 ,it is a most sound and salutary truth1 not to be forgotten in times of commercial distress1 nor even in discussing financial questions1 remote as they may seem to be from the domain of ethics4 ,god rules in the market1 as he does on the mountain2 he has provided eternal laws for society1 as he has for the stars or the seas2 and it is just as impossible to escape him or his ways in ,wall ,street or ,state ,street as it is anywhere else4 ,we do not wish to suggest any improper comparisons1 but does not the ,psalmist assert1 ,if ,i make my bed in sheol1 behold ,thou art there8 ,in other words1 commerce1 the exchange of commodities1 banking1 and whatever relates to it1 currency1 the rise and fall of prices1 the rates of profits1 are all subject to laws as universal and unerring as those which ,newton deduces in the ,principia1 or ,donald ,mc,kay applies in the construction of a clipper ship4 ,as they are manifested by more complicated phenomena1 man may not know them as accurately as he knows the laws of astronomy or mechanics2 but he can no more doubt the existence of the former than he can the existence of the latter2 and he can no more infringe the one than he can infringe the other with impunity4 ,the poorest housekeeper is perfectly well aware that certain rules of order are to be observed in the management of the house1 or else you will have either starvation or the sheriff inside of it in a little time4 ,but what means that formidable1 big-sounding phrase1 ,political ,economy1 more than national housekeeping8 ,can you manage the immense1 overgrown family of ,uncle ,sam with less calculation1 less regard to justice1 prudence1 thrift1 than you use in your own little affairs8 ,can you sail that tremendous vessel1 the ,ship of ,state1 without looking well to your chart and compass and ,navigator's ,guide8 ,when the ,central ,america sinks to the bottom of the sea with five hundred souls on board1 though it is in the midst of a terrible tempest1 the public instinct is inclined to impute the disaster less to the mysterious uproar of wind and wave than to some concealed defect in the vessel4 ,had she sunk in a tranquil ocean1 while the winds were idle and the waves asleep1 the incident would have produced a burst of indignation1 above the deeper wail of sorrow1 strong enough to sweep the guilty instruments of it out of existence4 ,the world would have felt that some great law of mechanics had been wilfully violated4 ,but here is a whole commercial society suddenly wrecked1 in a moment of general peace1 after ten years of high1 but not very florid or very unwholesome prosperity1 on the heel of an abundant recompense to the efforts of labor1--when there has occurred no public calamity1 no war1 no famine1 no fire1 no domestic insurrection1 scarcely one startling event1 and when the interpositions of the government have been literally as unfelt as the dropping of the dew1 a whole commercial society is wrecked2 values sink to the bottom like the ,california gold on the ,central ,america2 great money-corporations fall to pieces as her state-rooms and cabins fell to pieces2 the relations of trade are dislocated as her ribs and beams were dislocated2 and the people are cast upon an uncertain sea1 as her passengers were cast1--not to struggle for physical existence like them1 but to endure an amount of anguish and despair almost equal to what was endured by those unhappy victims4 ,how can this have happened arbitrarily1 capriciously1 mysteriously1 without some gross and positive violation of social law1 some wilful and therefore wicked departure from the known principles of science8 ,every random conjecture as to the causes of the prevailing distress implies an answer to the question1 and it need not be repeated4 ,it is more important to inquire what those violations and departures have been1 than to reiterate the general principle4 ,what has led to the lamentable results under which we suffer8 ,what has rendered the winds so tempestuous that they must needs blow down our noble ship8 ,what has provoked the ire of those big bully waves so that they advance to demolish us8 ,ah6 hark just here how the ,diogenid tumble and thump their tubs6 each one rapping out his own tune2 each one screaming to boot1 to be heard above the din6 ,one cries1 that we ,americans are an unconscionably greedy people1 ever hasting to get rich1 never satisfied with our gains1 and1 in the frantic eagerness of accumulation1 disregarding alike justice1 truth1 probity1 and moderation4 ,under this impulse our trade becomes an incessant and hazardous adventure1 like the stakes of the gambler upon the turn of the dice1 or upon the figures of the sweat-cloth2 a feverish impatience for success pushes everything to the verge of ruin1 and only after it has toppled over the brink1 and we have followed it1 does the danger of the game we had been playing become apparent4--,a second qualifies this view1 and shouts1 that our vice is not so much greed1 which is the vice of the miser1 as extravagance1 which is the vice of the spendthrift2 and that as soon as we get one dollar1 we run in debt for ten4 ,we must have fine houses1 fine horses1 fine millinery1 fine upholstery1 troops of servants1 and give costly dinners1 and attend magnificent balls4 ,our very shops and counting-houses must resemble the palaces of the ,venetian nobility1 and our dwellings be more royally arrayed than the dwellings of the mightiest monarchs4 ,when the time comes--as come it will--for paying for all this glorious frippery1 we collapse1 we wither1 we fleet1 we sink into the sand4--,a third ,diogenes1 of a more practical turn of mind1 vociferates1 that the whole thing comes from the want of a high protective tariff4 ,these subtle and malignant foreigners1 who are so jealous of our progress1 who are ever on the watch to ruin us1 who make any quantity of goods at any time1 for nothing1 and send them here just at the right moment1 to swamp us irrecoverably1 are the authors of the mischief1 and ought to be kept outside of the nation by a triple wall of icebergs drawn around each port4 ,they pour in upon us a flood of commodities1 which destroys our manufactures2 they carry off all our gold and silver1 which eviscerates the banks2 the banks squeeze the merchants1 to the last drop of blood2 and the merchants perish in the process1 carrying with them hosts of mechanics1 farmers1 and professional men4--,not so1 bellows a fourth philosopher1 perhaps a little more seedy than the rest2 it is all the work of the infernal credit system1--of the practice of making money out of that which is only a promise to pay money1--out of that which purports to have a real equivalent in some vault1 when no such equivalent exists1 and is1 therefore1 a fraud on the face of it1--and which1 deluging the community1 raises the price of everything1 begets speculation1 stimulates an excessive and factitious trade1 and is then suddenly withdrawn from the system1 at the height of its inflation1 like wind sucked from a bladder1 to leave it a mere flaccid1 wrinkled1 empty1 worthless old film of fat6 ,now1 for our part1 we think all the ,diogenid right1 but not precisely in the way in which they state the matter2 and we think the seedy ,diogenes the rightest of all1--because he has struck nearest to the centre1 to the organic fact which controls the other facts1--yet1 without sharing his prejudice against credit1 one of the blessedest of inventions4 ,as a very long and a very dull treatise1 however1 would scarcely suffice to explain all the reasons for our thinking so1 we must devote the one or two pages that are given us to a few simple1 elementary1 frontal principles1 familiar1 no doubt1 to every one1 and therefore the more important to be recalled1 when every one seems to have forgotten them4 ,nothing is better known than the laws of gravitation2 nothing staler in the repetition2 but if the folk around us are building their houses so that they all fall down upon our heads1 it behooves us to remind them of those laws4 #a4 ,human wisdom has discovered nothing clearer than this1--that in all the operations of trade above a primitive barter1 you must have a standard or measure of values2 and human ingenuity has never been able to devise any standard more perfect1 in essential respects1 than the precious metals4 ,it may be doubted1 indeed1 whether the choice of these metals for currency is a result of human ingenuity4 ,paley and his school of theologians demonstrate the existence1 intelligence1 and goodness of ,god from the evidences of design in creation1--from that nice adaptation of means to ends which shows an infinite knowledge and infinite benevolence at work2 but no one of the instances in which they found their argument1 from the watch1 which affords the primal illustration1 to the human body1 which furnishes the most complex confirmations1 is a more astonishing or exquisite proof of pre-arrangement than is the adaptedness of gold and silver to the purposes of currency4 ,your standard or measure1 for instance1 must1 in the first place1 possess a certain uniformity2 if it be a measure of capacity1 it must not be of the size of a thimble in the morning1 and as big as a haystack at night1 like the mystic bottle of the fairy tale2 if a measure of length1 it must not be made of caoutchouc1 as long as your finger to-day1 and as long as the ,atlantic ,cable to-morrow2 and so1 if a measure of value1 it must not equal one thousand at ten o'clock1 and equal zero at three4 ,but the precious metals do possess this uniformity2 they are not scarce1 as diamonds are1 so that a pinch of them might measure the value of a city2 nor are they as plenty as blackberries1 so that a wagon-load could scarcely buy a fat goose for dinner4 ,they cannot be washed away like a piece of soap1 nor wear out like a bit of wampum1 nor crumble like agate or carnelian in dividing4 ,in short1 they combine all the advantages that are needed1 with few or none of the disadvantages that would be troublesome1 in a substance which is used for money4 ,they possess intrinsic utility1 they are equably supplied1 they may be easily divided and then fused again1 they take a stamp1 and they retain the same qualities everywhere and at all times4 ,accordingly1 all the civilized nations1 from the time of great-great-great-grandfather ,moses down to the time of ,president ,buchanan1 have used the precious metals for their standard of values2 while your barbarians only1 your silly ,sandwich-islanders1 your stupid troglodytes of interior ,africa1 your savage red men1 have used for that purpose fish-bones1 beaver-skins1 cowries1 strings of beads1 or a lump of old rags4 ,q4,e4,d41 then1 on ,paley's principles1 the precious metals were meant by ,divine ,providence for use as money1 at least more than anything else1 because nothing else is so well adapted to the end4 ,intelligent man everywhere has been glad to recognize the ,divine teaching2 and the ,american man--holding himself the most intelligent of all men--has incorporated the lesson in his fundamental law4 ,nothing can be money for him1 constitutionally1 but metal which has a genuine ring in it4 #b4 ,being the established standard1 the precious metals1 so long as they continue unchanged in amount1 have a precise and definite relation to all other commodities4 ,but they do not continue unchanged2 and neither do other commodities continue unchanged4 ,there is more gold at one time than another1 and more wheat at one time than another2 so that the relation between the two is not a determinate1 but a variable one2 and it is this variation which causes or constitutes the fluctuation of prices4 ,if wheat increases in quantity1 more of it will be given for the same money2 and if it decreases1 less of it will be given for the same money2 on the other hand1 if money increases1 more of it will be given for a specific quantity of wheat1 and if it decreases1 less will be given2 while if they increase or decrease together1 a relative equilibrium will be maintained4 ,but the beauty of the precious metals1 as we have said1 is that they are not liable to very sudden or considerable increase or decrease2 only twice in the course of history1 on the occasion of the discovery of the ,south ,american mines by the ,spaniards1 and of the ,california mines by the ,americans1 has there been recorded an unusual production of gold and silver2 and in both cases1 it is important to note1 the same effect followed1--a very considerable enhancement of prices2 that is1 all other articles seemed to grow dear1 although the real fact was that money had only grown cheap4 ,in ,spain every commodity rose2 everybody experienced that delicious feeling1 which we sometimes enjoy in dreams1 of going up without spring or effort2 and ,spain was considered to be enviably prosperous and happy4 ,as for ,san ,francisco1 we all remember the fabulous prices which ruled in that vicinity4 ,an acquaintance of ours wrote us then1 that he gave five dollars for a dinner consisting of half a pullet and two potatoes1 and when he added a pint of champagne1 it came to five dollars more4 ,he allowed his washerwoman one hundred and fifty dollars a month1 paid fifty dollars for a pair of second-hand cow-hide boots1 and hired a cellar1 seven feet by nine1 and six feet under ground1 at the rate of fifteen thousand dollars a year4 ,but both in ,spain and in ,san ,francisco this ludicrous exaggeration of values cured itself4 ,the manufacturers and merchants of all the world sent their goods of all sorts to such tempting markets2 and it was not long before the goods1 not the money1 were in excess4 ,prices came down1 as sailors say1 by the run1 and ,spain and ,san ,francisco were reduced once more to rationality and comfort4 ,these were exceptional cases1 but they illustrate the general principle1 that the increase of money raises prices1 and the decrease of money lowers them1 which is all we wish to state4 ,in ordinary cases1 however1 when the currency is in its normal condition1 this rise and fall of prices is like the rise and fall of the tides1 the mere pulsations of the great sea1 which drown and damage nobody1 and rather keep the waters more clear and wholesome by their gentle agitation4 #c4 ,the same law is observed to operate1 whenever anything is made1 either by the decrees of government or the usages of society1 to take the place of the precious metals as money4 ,paper1 in the shape of bank-bills1 promising to pay money on demand1 is the most frequent1 because the most cheap and convenient substitute2 accordingly1 when convertible paper-money is increased1 it raises prices1 and when it is diminished1 it depresses prices1 just as in the case of a metallic currency4 ,but there are these two signal points of distinction between a paper and a metallic currency3 first1 that paper money may be increased or diminished much more easily than metallic money2 and1 second1 that any excess or deficiency of the former is not so easily corrected by the natural operations of trade4 ,the sudden or large increase of the metals is prevented by their scarcity and the laborious processes necessary to produce them1 and a sudden or large decrease of them could be brought about only by some great public calamity which should destroy them or cause them to be hoarded4 ,but paper money1 whether made by a government or made by authorized corporations1 may be issued and put in circulation almost at will1 and again be withdrawn at will4 ,we do not mean that the issue and withdrawal of it are wholly unchecked1 but that the checks1 as the entire history of banking would seem to prove1 are comparatively inefficient and delusive4 ,if the rise and fall of prices1 caused by the fluctuations of metallic money1 are to be compared to the rise and fall of the tides1 the rise and fall of paper prices are more like the increase and decrease of steam in a boiler1 which is an admirable agent1 but demanding an incessant and scientific control4 ,the sea-tides1 even after a tempest1 will regulate themselves1 because they have all the oceans and all the rivers of the globe to draw upon2 but the steam in a boiler is a thing confined1 and yet capable of immense and destructive expansion4 ,a metallic currency runs from nation to nation1 and has its perturbations corrected from nation to nation2 but a paper currency is local1 and cannot be so well corrected by the great interchanges of the globe4 ,let us make this clearer in another way4 #d4 ,it is universally conceded1 by all the writers on finance1 that any unusual production of currency occasions a rise of prices2 the relative value of money is less than it was before1 while the relative value of other articles is greater2 a greater quantity of money is given for other articles1 and fewer of other articles are given for the same amount of money4 ,this rise has the double effect of provoking the importation of foreign commodities1 and of preventing the exportation of domestic commodities2 inasmuch as the same enhancement of rates1 which opens a good domestic market for the former1 closes the foreign market to the latter2 and thus an unfavorable balance accumulates rapidly against the country where the rise occurs1 in respect to other countries where it has not occurred4 ,now sooner or later this balance must be paid2 and as products cannot be profitably shipped abroad to furnish a fund whereupon to draw bills of exchange1 it must be paid in coin4 ,the coin is therefore abstracted from circulation2 and if coin were the only currency1 such an abstraction would of itself induce a fall of prices1 which would operate as a check upon importations until the old relation of equilibrium should be restored4 ,but where the government1 or where individuals1 whether organized or alone1 have the power to replace the departed coin by issues of paper money1 prices are for a while maintained1 and importations continued as vigorously as ever4 ,all this1 however1 is but a postponement of the day of settlement4 ,the balance to be extinguished is a substantial balance1 which can be discharged only by substantial means2 a mere promise to pay1 a mere sign and representative of debt1 will not extinguish it1 any more than the smell of a cook-shop will extinguish a ravenous appetite4 ,the insatiable creditor will have money2 and the depositories of that essential become1 under his assaults1 more and more meagre and tenuous4 ,the managers of them at last get alarmed1 and begin to withhold their issues of paper2 which means that they begin to reduce their loans to the community4 ,the money-market grows tight1 as it is phrased2 the money-world feels generally as if it had taken an overdose of persimmons4 ,merchants and dealers1 shorn of their usual accommodations1 are compelled to borrow at ruinous usuries1 or to fail to meet their payments4 ,their default involves others2 others fail1 and others again4 ,the bowels of the banks1 with us the great money-lenders1 close with the snap and tenacity of steel-traps2 and then a general panic1 or want of commercial confidence1 brings on a paralysis of the domestic exchanges1 and wide-spread bankruptcy and ruin4 ,importations are checked1 of course2 but they are checked in a sharp1 rapid1 and violent way1 accompanied by the most painful embarrassments and convulsions4 ,this we believe to be an outline of the history of all our commercial catastrophes1 stripped of those local and incidental circumstances which vary from time to time3 over-issues of money1--speculative prosperity1--all the world getting rich in the most agreeable manner1--fairy palaces rising on all sides1 without the sound of trowel or hammer2 then1--the day of adjustment1--the rapid contraction of the currency1--all the world getting poor in the most drastic and disagreeable manner1--and those fairy palaces1 which rose under our very eyelids over-night1 vanishing1 like the palace of ,aladdin from the vision of the ,grand-,seignior after he awoke in the morning4 ,but1 alas6 the revulsion does not stop with the overthrow of the palaces which had been reared without labor2 it is not satisfied with the dissipation of mere fancies and dreams2 but1 being itself a most real thing1 it carries with it many a stately structure1 which the toil1 the economy1 the self-denial of years had hardly raised4 ,extraneous causes1--a short crop1--a reduced tariff1--a peculiar mania of enterprise1--may hasten or retard the various steps of the process which has been described2 but its cause and its course are almost always the same1 and the discerning eye may easily detect them1 from the beginning to the end of our modern commercial experience4 ,in the existing difficulties1 in this country1 the railroad speculations have had much to do with producing and aggravating the effect2 but the primary source of it1 we think1 is to be found in the ease with which our currency is inflated1 under a banking system which varies from ,state to ,state1 and which1 outside of ,new ,england and ,new ,york1 where it is by no means perfect1 is as bungling a contrivance1 for the ends to be answered1 as was ever inflicted on the patience of mankind4 ,much of the trouble is due also to the extravagance and reckless waste of our people1 which1 though owing in some degree to our want of good manners and good taste1 are directly traceable to the stimulus given to expense by the over-issue of artificial money4 ,while the paper which passes for money is plenty1 and every man can easily get accommodations from the banks1 we squander without thought4 ,no matter how costly the articles we buy2 the expansion of the currency is greater than the rise in market values2 and it is only when the contraction comes that we see how foolishly lavish we have been4 ,what1 then1 is the remedy8 ,why1 away with paper currency altogether6 says one4 ,yes1--tear up your ,croton-water-pipes1 because the breaking of a main sometimes submerges your dwellings2 destroy your railroads1 because the trains sometimes run off the track2 arrest your steamships1 because an ,arctic and a ,central ,america go disastrously down into the deep1 deep sea6 ,that were not wise1 surely2 that were very unwise1 even were it possible1 which it is not4--,give us a high protective tariff1 says another4 ,most certainly1 friend1 if we are to be perpetually flooded with paper1 a high tariff is needed2--your theory is at least consistent1 however it may have worked in practice4 ,but a high protective tariff is an impossibility1 because it can be attained only by favor of the ,federal legislature2 and1 as we all know1 at the door of that legislature stands the inexorable shape of the ,slave ,power1 which consults no interest but its own in the management of government1 and which will never make a concession to the manufacturers or the merchants of the ,north1 unless it be to purchase some new act of baseness1 or bind them in some new chains of servility4--,but have you inquired whether that flood of paper is necessary8 ,we frankly tell you that we do not believe it is2 we believe that a better system is possible1--to be brought about1 not by greater restrictions on banking1 but by greater freedom2 and we only regret that we have not now space to discuss that faith with you in all its reasons and results4 ,we hope to be permitted to do so at some other time4 ,meanwhile1 let us rejoice that the whole subject is in a position to be frankly discussed4 ,a few years ago1 when the question of the currency was a question of party politics1 there was no aspect in which it could be presented1 which did not arouse all the restless jealousies of party prejudice4 ,if you talked of hard-money1 you were denounced as a ,benton bullionist2 if you talked of credit1 you were called a ,whig banker1 plotting to devour the poor2 and the calmest phrases of science were turned into the shibboleths of an internecine warfare4 ,a better hour has come1 and let us improve it to our mutual edification4 ,,sonnet4 ,the ,maple puts her corals on in ,may1 ,while loitering frosts about the lowlands cling1 ,to be in tune with what the robins sing1 ,plastering new log-huts 'mid her branches gray2 ,but when the ,autumn southward turns away1 ,then in her veins burns most the blood of ,spring1 ,and every leaf1 intensely blossoming1 ,makes the year's sunset pale the set of day4 ,o ,youth unprescient1 were it only so ,with trees you plant1 and in whose shade reclined1 ,thinking their drifting blooms ,fate's coldest snow1 ,you carve dear names upon the faithful rind1 ,nor in that vernal stem the cross foreknow ,that ,age may bear1 silent1 yet unresigned6 ,,the ,,round ,,table4 ,it was said long ago1 that poets1 like canaries1 must be starved in order to keep them in good voice1 and1 in the palmy days of ,grub ,street1 an editor's table was nothing grander than his own knee1 on which1 in his airy garret1 he unrolled his paper-parcel of dinner1 happy if its wrapping were a sheet from ,brown's last poem1 and not his own4 ,now an editorial table seems to mean a board of green cloth at which literary broken-victuals are served out with no carving but that of the editorial scissors4 ,la ,maga has her table1 too1 and at fitting times invites to it her various ,eminent ,hands4 ,it is a round table1--that is1 rounded by the principle of rotation1--for how could she settle points of precedence with the august heads of her various ,departments without danger of the dinner's growing cold8 ,substantial dinners are eaten thereat with ,homeric appetite1 nor1 though impletus venter non vult studere libenter1 are the visits of the ,muse unknown4 ,at these feasts no tyranny of speech-making is allowed1 but the bonbons are all wrapped in original copies of verses by various contributors1 which1 having served their festive turn1 become the property of the guests4 ,reporters are not admitted1 for the eating is not done for inspection1 like that of the hapless inmates of a menagerie2 but ,la ,maga herself sometimes brings away in her pocket a stanza or so which she esteems worthy of a more general communication4 ,last month she thus sequestered the following ,farewell addressed by ,holmes to the historian of ,william the ,silent4 ,yes1 we knew we must lose him1--though friendship may claim ,to blend her green leaves with the laurels of fame2 ,though fondly1 at parting1 we call him our own1 ',tis the whisper of love when the bugle has blown4 ,as the rider that rests with the spur on his heel1-- ,as the guardsman that sleeps in his corselet of steel1-- ,as the archer that stands with his shaft on the string1 ,he stoops from his toil to the garland we bring4 ,what pictures yet slumber unborn in his loom ,till their warriors shall breathe and their beauties shall bloom1 ,while the tapestry lengthens the life-glowing dyes ,that caught from our sunsets the stain of their skies6 ,in the alcoves of death1 in the charnels of time1 ,where flit the gaunt spectres of passion and crime1 ,there are triumphs untold1 there are martyrs unsung1 ,there are heroes yet silent to speak with his tongue6 ,let us hear the proud story that time has bequeathed ,from lips that are warm with the freedom they breathed6 ,let him summon its tyrants1 and tell us their doom1 ,though he sweep the black past like ,van ,tromp with his broom6 99 99 99 99 99 ,the stream flashes by1 for the west-winds awake ,on pampas1 on prairie1 o'er mountain and lake1 ,to bathe the swift bark1 like a sea-girdled shrine1 ,with incense they stole from the rose and the pine4 ,so fill a bright cup with the sunlight that gushed ,when the dead summer's jewels were trampled and crushed3 ,,the ,,true ,,knight ,,of ,,learning1--the world holds him dear1-- ,love bless him1 ,joy crown him1 ,god speed his career6 ,aug4 #h1 #aheg4 ,,literary ,,notices4 ,the ,greyson ,letters1 ,selections from the ,correspondence of ,r4,e4,h4 ,,greyson1 ,,esq4 ,edited by ,,henry ,,rogers1 ,author of ,the ,eclipse of ,faith1 c4 ,boston3 ,gould ,lincoln4 #a vol4 #abmo4 ,we are assured in the ,american preface to this volume1 that while it exhibits ,henry ,rogers as the peer of ,butler as a reasoner1 it also shows him not inferior to ,lamb as a humorist4 ,much as we are inclined to echo the critical decisions of prefaces1 we regret being unable to indorse this confident statement4 ,in amplitude1 vigor1 and fertility of thought we must think the author of the ,analogy holds some slight advantages over the author of ,the ,eclipse of ,faith2 and we seriously doubt if the lovers of ,charles ,lamb will be likely to rush into mirthful ecstasies over the humor of ,the ,greyson ,letters4 ,but we suppose that ,henry ,rogers himself would make no pretensions to the rank of a writer1 or reasoner1 or humorist of the first class4 ,far from being a great man1 he occasionally slips into the prejudices of quite a little one1 and he never wholly puts off the pedagogue and puts on the philosopher4 ,without much original force of nature1 and never unmistakably stamping his own image and superscription either on his arguments or his language1 he is still a well-trained theological scholar1 a skilful logician1 and one of that class of elegant writers who neither offend the taste nor kindle the soul4 ,as a controversialist on themes which are now engaging popular attention1 he grasps the questions he discusses at one or two removes from their centre and heart1 where they pass out of the sphere of ideas and pass into the region of opinions2 and in this region he is candid to the extent of his perceptions1 quick to detect the weak points in the formal statements of his opponents1 and1 without touching the vitalities of the matter in controversy1 is always hailed as victor by those who agree with him1 but rarely convinces the doubters and deniers he aims to convert4 ,the ,greyson ,letters are evidently the work of an amiable1 learned1 accomplished1 and able man1 interested in a wide variety of themes which especially attract the attention of thinkers1 but in his treatment of them indicating a lack of deep and wide experience1 and of that close1 searching thought which pierces to the core of a subject1 and broods patiently over its living elements and relations1 before it assumes to take them as materials for argumentation4 ,this broad grasp of premises1 which implies a penetrating and interpretative as well as dialectic mind1 is the distinguishing difference between a great reasoner and an able logician4 ,in regard to the form of the work1 we can see no reason why its essays should be thrown into the shape of letters4 ,the epistolary spirit vanishes almost as soon as ,dear ,sir and ,dear ,madam create its expectation4 ,the author's mind is grave by nature and culture1 and is sprightly1 as it seems to us1 by compulsion and laborious levity4 ,his nature has none of the richness and juiciness1 none of the instinctive soul of humor1 which must have vent in the ludicrous4 ,occasionally an adversary or adverse dogma is demolished with excellent logic1 and then comes a dismal grin or chuckle at the feat1 which hardly reminds us of the sly1 shy smile of ,addison1 or the frolic intelligence which laughs in the victorious eyes of ,pascal4 ,still1 with all abatements1 ,the ,greyson ,letters make a book well worthy of being read1 contain much admirable matter and suggestive thought1 and might be allowed to pass muster among good books of the second class1 did they not come before us with professions that seemed to invite the tests applicable to the first4 99 99 99 99 99 ,essays in ,biography and ,criticism4 ,by ,,peter ,,bayne1 ,m4,a41 ,author of ,the ,christian ,life1 ,social and ,individual1 c4 ,first ,series4 ,boston3 ,gould ,lincoln4 #a vol4 #abmo4 ,this volume contains essays on ,de ,quincey1 ,tennyson and his ,teachers1 ,mrs4 ,barrett ,browning1 ,glimpses of ,recent ,british ,art1 ,john ,ruskin1 ,hugh ,miller1 ,the ,modern ,novel1 and ,currer ,bell4 ,though of various degrees of merit1 they all evince careful study and patient thought1 and are written with considerable brilliancy and eloquence4 ,as a critic1 ,mr4 ,bayne is generally candid1 conscientious1 and intelligent1 with occasional remarks evincing delicacy and depth of thought2 but his perceptions are not always trustworthy1 and his judgments are frequently of doubtful soundness4 ,thus when we are told that ,wordsworth owed his fame to his moral elevation rather than to his intellectual or sthetic capacities1 and that there is hardly an instance of the highest creative imagination in the whole range of his poetry1--when we are informed that since ,shakspeare no one has laid bare the burning heart of passion so perfectly as ,byron1--and when the question is triumphantly asked1 ,where1 out of ,shakspeare1 can we find such a series of female portraits as those in ,bulwer's ,rienzi1--we feel inclined1 in this association of ,byron and ,bulwer with ,shakspeare1 and this oversight of ,wordsworth's claim to represent the highest original elements in the ,english poetry of the present century1 to dispute ,mr4 ,bayne's right to assume the chair of interpretative criticism4 ,but still there are so many examples in his book of fine and true perception1 and so evident a sympathy with intellectual excellence and moral beauty1 that we do not feel disposed to quarrel with him on account of the apparent erroneousness of some of his separate opinions4 ,besides1 his work is written in a style which will recommend it to a class of readers who are not especially interested in the subjects of which it treats1 and it cannot fail to stimulate in them a desire to know more of the great writers of the century4 99 99 99 99 99 ,white ,lies4 ,a ,novel4 ,by ,charles ,reade4 ,boston3 ,ticknor ,fields4 #a vol4 #abmo4 ,the early chapters of this novel lack the brisk movement1 the sparkling compactness1 the stinging surprises of ,mr4 ,reade's usual style1 but he kindles and condenses as he proceeds4 ,as a whole1 the work compares favorably with his most brilliant compositions4 ,he is a writer difficult to criticize1 because his defects are pleasing defects4 ,dogmatism is commonly offensive1 and ,mr4 ,reade's dogmatism is of the most uncompromising1 not to say insulting character2 yet it is exhibited in connection with insight so sure and vivid1 that we pardon the positiveness of the assertion for the truth of what is asserted4 ,then he has a way of forcing ,nature1 much against her wish1 to be epigrammatic1--of producing startling effects by artifices almost theatrical2 and though his devices are obvious1 they are more than forgiven for the genuine power and real naturalness behind the rhetorical masquerade4 ,other men's freaks and eccentricities lead to the distortion of truth and the confusion of relations1 but ,mr4 ,reade has freaks of wisdom and eccentricities of practical sagacity4 ,occasionally he has a stroke of observation that comes like a flash of lightning1 blasting and shattering in an instant a prejudice or hypocrisy which was strong enough to resist all the arguments of reason and all the appeals of humanity4 ,white ,lies is full of examples of his power1 and of the peculiarities of his power4 ,blunt and bold and arrogant as his earnestness often appears1 it is capable of the most winning gentleness1 the most delicate grace1 and the most searching pathos4 ,the delineation of the female characters in this novel is especially admirable4 ,josephine and ,laure are exquisite creations1 and the ,baroness and ,jacintha1 though different1 are almost as perfect1 considered as examples of characterization4 ,in the invention and management of incidents1 the author exhibits a sure knowledge of the means and contrivances by which expectation is stimulated1 and the interest of the story kept from flagging4 ,we hope to read many more novels from the same pen as delightful as ,white ,lies4 99 99 99 99 99 ,brazil and the ,brazilians4 ,portrayed in ,historical and ,descriptive ,sketches4 ,by ,rev4 ,d4,p4 ,kidder1 ,d4,d41 and ,rev4 ,j4,c4 ,fletcher4 ,illustrated by one hundred and fifty ,engravings4 ,philadelphia3 ,childs ,peterson4 #a vol4 #hvo4 ,brazil is a country but little known to the majority of readers1 and the little that is known is so fragmentary that it is as likely to convey a false idea as an incomplete one4 ,the writers of this volume combine two qualifications for the work of dissipating this ignorance4 ,they have a direct personal knowledge of ,brazil1 gained during a long residence in the country1 and they have carefully studied every valuable book on its history and resources4 ,the manners1 customs1 laws1 government1 productions1 literature1 art1 and religion of the people have all been carefully observed under circumstances favorable for accurate investigation4 ,the result is a valuable1 interesting1 and attractive volume1 well worthy of being extensively read4 ,the elegance of its mechanical execution1 and the profusion of engravings illustrating the text1 will add to its popularity1 if not to its value4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,poetical ,works of ,leigh ,hunt4 ,now first entirely collected4 ,revised by himself1 and edited1 with an ,introduction1 by ,s4 ,,adams ,,lee4 ,boston3 ,ticknor ,fields4 #b vols4 #ahmo4 ,leigh ,hunt has outlived all the enmities and enemies provoked either by his merits or his demerits1 and is especially interesting as the sole survivor of the illustrious company of poets with whom the mind instinctively associates him4 ,some burnt out2 some died out2 some dried up2 but he remains the same cosey1 chirping1 fine-natured1 and self-pleased singer1 who won the love of ,shelley and ,keats1 and roused the wrath of ,gifford and ,wilson4 ,we are glad to welcome his collected poems in their appropriate attire of blue and gold1 and trust they will have a wide circulation in the ,united ,states1 as the genial poet is himself to be a participant in the profits of the publication4 ,we wish that a word of ours could be influential in assisting this veteran of letters to reap from the publication something more substantial than fame1 yet in some degree the expression of it1--something which shall give him assurance that his volumes are on thousands of parlor tables1 because the proofs of it are palpable in the increased comforts afforded to his old age4 ,and certainly the poet deserves a wide circle of readers4 ,though he does not succeed in the delineation of the great and grand passions of our nature1 he is very successful in the sphere of its humane and tender sentiments2 and though open to criticism for the jaunty audacity with which he coins dainty sweetnesses of expression rejected by all dictionaries1 and for an occasional pertness in asserting opinions of doubtful truth1 he is so lovable a creature that we pardon his literary foibles as we would pardon the personal foibles of a charming companion and friend4 ,he has a genuine love for all cheerful and cheering things1 and power enough to infuse his cheer into other minds4 ,disliking all internal and external foes to human comfort1 he is equally the enemy of evil1 and of the morbid discontent which springs from the bitter contemplation of evil4 ,his nature is essentially sprightly and sensuous1 with here a bit of ,suckling and there a bit of ,fletcher1 carrying us back to an elder period of ,british poetry by the careless grace and freedom of his movement1 and proving his connection with the present by the openness of his mind to all liberal thought and philanthropic feeling4 ,good-humor and benevolence are so dominant in his nature1 that they prevent him from having any deep perceptions of evil and calamity4 ,he is personally affronted when he sees the thunder-cloud push away the sunshine from life2 and ,god1 to him1 is not only absolute ,good1 but absolute ,good ,nature4 ,it would be easy to quote passages from these volumes illustrative of his acute observation1 his largeness of sympathy1 his delicacy and daintiness of touch1 his sweetness1 humor1 pathos1 and fancy4 ,as a specimen of the playful and beautiful ingenuity of his mind1 we extract a portion of his little poem on ,love-,letters made of ,flowers4 ,an exquisite invention this1 ,worthy of ,love's most honeyed kiss1 ,this art of writing billets-doux ,in buds and odors and bright hues6 ,in saying all one feels and thinks ,in clever daffodils and pinks2 ,in puns of tulips2 and in phrases1 ,charming for their truth1 of daisies2 ,uttering1 as well as silence may1 ,the sweetest words the sweetest way4 ,how fit1 too1 for the lady's bosom6 ,the place where billets-doux repose 'em4 ,what delight1 in some sweet spot ,combining love with garden plot1 ,at once to cultivate one's flowers ,and one's epistolary powers6 ,growing one's own choice words and fancies ,in orange tubs and beds of pansies2 ,one's sighs and passionate declarations ,in odorous rhetoric of carnations2 ,seeing how far one's stocks will reach2 ,taking due care one's flowers of speech ,to guard from blight as well as bathos1 ,and watering every day one's pathos6 ,from the exquisite little poem entitled ,songs of the ,flowers we should like to cut a few stanzas2 but our limits forbid4 ,,music4 ,what will the ,muses do in these hard times8 ,must they cease to hold court in opera-house and concert-room1 because stocks fall1 factories and banks stop1 credit is paralyzed1 and princely fortunes vanish away like bubbles on the swollen tide of speculation8 ,must ,art1 too1 bear the merchant's penalties8 or shall not rather this ideal1 feminine element of life1 shall not ,art1 like woman1 warm and inspire a sweeter1 richer1 more ideal1 though it be a humbler home for us1 with all the tenderer love and finer genius1 now that man's enterprise is wrecked abroad8 ,shall we have no ,music8 ,has the universal panic griped the singers' throats1 that they can no longer vibrate with the passionate and perfect freedom indispensable to melody8 ,it must not be4 ,the soul is too rich in resources to let all its interests fail because one fails4 ,if business and material speculation have been overdone1 if we are checked and flung down in these mad endeavors to accumulate vast means of living1 we shall have time to pick ourselves up1 compose ourselves to some tranquillity and some humility1 and actually1 with what small means we have1 begin to live4 ,panic strangles life1 and the money-making fever always tends to panic4 ,panic is the great evil now1 and panic needs a panacea4 ,what better one can we invent than music8 ,it were the very madness of economy to cut off that4 ,some margin every life must have1 around this everlasting sameness of the dull page of necessity1--some opening into the free infinite of joy and careless ideality1 or the very life-springs dry up4 ,music is a cheap luxury2 the more so as one seeks real music for its own sake1 and not the music which is imported like the ,paris fashions4 ,this winter it will be a question between whether we can afford to pay for it1 and whether we can afford to do without it4 ,we think the absolute necessity of some diversion1 something to lift the leaden cloud1 and keep us in a state of natural buoyancy and courage1 already settles the question4 ,music we shall have1 simply because we need it4 ,or view it from the opposite side1 from the point of mere political economy4 ,music1 in many ways1 has built itself up into a great industry among us1--music-publishers1 musical instrument-makers1 music teachers1 musical performers1--all mutually dependent1 and together swelling the national industry to the amount of many millions4 ,it is the opportunities of hearing music1 it is the concerts and the operas1 that give the impulse to this whole many-branched machine4 ,taken together1 it feeds many mouths1 and helps turn many other very different sort of mills1 and plays its part in ,wall ,street and in ,state ,street1 and its notes in that sense enter as much into the general currency as they do into the general ear in another4 ,now which is cheaper1 which is wiser1 to employ these artists1 and the crowds of workers whom the public exercise of their talent keeps in motion1 or cast them off upon society to be a general burden in a more hopeless form8 ,surely1 we can afford the stoppage of some banks and factories1 quite as well as we can that of music4 ,let us look around1 then1 upon its prospects for the winter4 ,while we write 7the first week in ,october7 the musical season1 in what we take to be the most music-loving of our cities1 ,boston1 has not commenced1 or shaped itself into much distinctness of plan4 ,the season is late2 hard times may make it later2 yet shall the winter of our discontent be glorious summer ere long4 ,boston1 for its best music1--best in artistic tendency1 though not perhaps the most exciting or most fashionable1--has always relied more than ,new ,york on its own quiet1 domestic resources4 ,our musical societies have been the centres of our musical activity1 and have more or less successfully provided us with sterling opportunities of making ourselves acquainted with the master compositions in the various forms of ,oratorio1 ,orchestra1 ,chamber ,music1 etc41 where the end has been more to get at the intrinsic worth and beauty of the music1 than to go into fashionable raptures about some new-come singer or solo-playing virtuoso4 ,yet virtuosodom and the ,italian opera come in to reap an annual harvest here too1 and have and long will have their zealous party of admirers4 ,were ,opera an organized home industry among us1 as much as other forms of music1--were there some meaning in the name ,academy of ,music worn by operatic theatres1 it would be more useful to our artistic progress4 ,but ,italian ,opera1 as managed1 and star concerts generally1 are no part of the healthy1 permanent development of our own musical resources4 ,they are speculations2 they attack us from without1 exploiting a factitious enthusiasm1 and exhausting the soil in one short season1 so they may only carry off the present fatness of the land4 ,operas and virtuoso concerts are wholly in the hands of speculators1 musical ,jew-brokers1 who do a formidable business in old clothes1 the worn-out musical celebrities of ,europe2--often with great skill1 often much to our pleasure and advantage2 for it is much to us to hear great artists1 even when the voice has lost some of its freshness1 and to admire now what long ago perhaps exhausted admiration in the ,old ,world4 ,but the effect is bad on our domestic industry4 ,we almost need a musical protective system4 ,our good old society concerts have been much thrown out of joint4 ,few of them of late1 as compared with former years1 have paid4 ,the dazzling novelties1 that come trumpeted with all the cunning speculators' arts1 debauch us somewhat from our wholesome1 quiet love of pure1 high music for its own sake1 and lead the public into little short-lived fanaticisms about certain prima donnas1 baritones1 or tenors1 and about music chiefly made to show off the singer1 full of the commonplaces that he loves to make effect in1--fanaticisms alternating with blas indifference4 ,but this would lead us into a long discussion1 and it is our wish here to avoid vexed questions4 ,for the present we will avow no sides1 of ,german or ,italian1 light or classical4 ,the lovers of opera have something to look forward to in ,boston2 what1 we shall see when we survey the field elsewhere4 ,our noble ,boston theatre must needs be one point in the triangular campaign of the three cities4 ,and here we may allude1 en passant1 to the prospect of one novelty that ought to interest our opera-lovers who are weary of the usual hackneyed rpertoire4 ,our townsman1 ,mr4 ,l4 ,h4 ,southard1 the composer of ,the ,scarlet ,letter1 has also written an ,italian opera1 on an ,oriental subject1 with the title ,omano1 the libretto by ,signor ,manetta1 founded on ,beckford's ,vathek4 ,a private or subscription concert will soon give an opportunity of hearing some of its scenas1 quatuors1 etc4 ,to come back1 then1 to what is more peculiarly ,bostonian in the way of music1--what concerts shall we have8 ,of large societies1 the only one remaining now in operative force is the oldest and the largest1 the ,handel and ,haydn ,society4 ,this set the right example last ,may1 in that splendid three-days' ,festival1 of true domestic musical enterprise1 organizing the whole thing on the basis of internal and domestic means1 with our own permanent nucleus of orchestra and chorus1 and drawing from without such other talent1 such solo singers1 as were needed for the right interpretation of the noble music1 and not merely for their own private exhibition and profit4 ,this was genuine2 this was wholesome2 and the success warrants the best hopes for another season4 ,carl ,zerrahn1 the excellent conductor upon that occasion1 is on his way home from ,germany 7his old home7 with new stock of zeal and of new music1 and the oratorio rehearsals will at once begin4 ,it is event enough for one winter1 the single fact that ,handel's ,israel in ,egypt1 that mightiest oratorio1 which is one mountain range of sublime choruses1 will be the chief subject of study4 ,it is proposed to give at least four ,sunday-evening performances1 consisting of ,the ,messiah1 of course1 at ,christmas2 ,costa's ,eli1 or ,elijah2 the ,requiem of ,mozart1 and the ,lobgesang by ,mendelssohn2 and for the last1 and we trust many last1 ,israel in ,egypt4 ,all this will be but so much rehearsal for the grander ,festival to follow4 ,we have no organized orchestral or symphony society1 as we should have2 but we have with us always the elements of a good orchestra1 who always work well together1 and never better than last year under the enterprise and drill of ,mr4 ,zerrahn4 ,then we had glorious symphonies and overtures1 both old and new2 and we shall have as good1 and still more brilliant concerts soon1 if hard times do not daunt the leader's very sanguine purpose4 ,as a pendant1 too1 to the orchestral evenings1 will come cheap afternoon concerts in the ,music ,hall1 where good symphonies and overtures1 with sparkling varieties for younger tastes1 will hold out weekly invitation4 ,for the select few1 who hold communion in the love of classical quartet and trio music by the great masters1--in the piano poems of ,chopin1 ,mendelssohn1 and ,beethoven1 there will be abundant opportunities4 ,the ,mendelssohn ,quintette ,club1 the ,german ,trio1 ,mr4 ,satter1 the pianist1 and would we might add ,otto ,dresel1 will give series of concerts in the pleasant ,chickering ,saloon1 that holds two hundred4 ,alas6 we may be disappointed there4 ,the ,masonic ,temple has been sold to the government for a ,united ,states ,court-house4 ,think of the musical associations that haunt and consecrate the place1 and think of the uses to which it may soon be put6 ,what profanation6 ,hitherto the only chains that have surrounded that ,temple have been chains of harmony1 which one may wear and not be a slave6 ,it has been a ,temple of ,concord2--may we hope that it will be in truth a ,temple of ,justice6--,for virtuoso concerts1 we shall have what the managers at ,new ,york send us4 ,we shall of course have ,vieuxtemps and ,thalberg1 if no more4 ,in ,new ,york the campaign has been opened for this month past1 and we do not yet hear that the troubles down in ,wall ,street have discouraged the lessees of the ,academy of ,music4 ,great is the array of singers and of players that revolve around the little knot of musical speculators in ,new ,york4 ,strange to say1 ,italian opera has ,german managers4 ,they catch the birds1 having beforehand caught and prepared the public4 ,but it is as well to state1 that there are two great operatic enterprises1 as there are two rival musical broker managers3 to wit1 ,maretzek and ,ullman2 the former backed by ,marshall of the ,philadelphia ,academy1 and proceeding forth with hope to conquer from that centre2 the latter backed by ,thalberg1 and strengthened by the ,strakosch and ,vestvali tributaries that roll proudly in from scenes of conquest in the ,western ,states and ,mexico4 ,the ,ullman party hold the ,new ,york ,academy2 the other party hold the theatres of ,philadelphia and ,boston2 either must make itself felt at the three points1 to avoid a losing game4 ,hence these harmonious and deadly rivals have perforce entered into a league of amity and commerce1 whereby they exchange singers1 so that all shall in turn be heard at every theatre4 ,at ,new ,york the company includes1 for leading soprani1 ,madame ,lagrange1 the wonder of the last two years1 greatest of vocal gymnasts1 and fine actress always1 with voice well worn1 and ,madame ,frezzolini1 as the last imported celebrity from ,europe2 her voice1 too1 is past its prime1 but her art is pronounced immaculate1 and she is quite a charmer1 if we may trust the critics4 ,for contralto there is ,vestvali1 the dashing tall one1 who delights in man's clothes1 and sings ,charles the ,fifth1 the baritone 767 rle in ,ernani4 ,there is a delicate new tenor1 ,labocetta1 and another named ,maccaferri1 and a fresh1 universally admired baritone1 ,gassier2 and there is our old buffo friend1 ,rocco1 and many more4 ,besides whom are two famous announcements1 yet to come from ,europe3 the ,french tenor1 ,roger1 and the ,german basso1 ,formes4 ,the orchestra and chorus are1 we suppose1 as usual2 the conductor better2 he is ,herr ,anschtz1 who has had experience in ,london1 and who subdues his orchestra to sympathetic support of the singers4 ,with ,max it is the other way2 he loves to ride full swing upon the top of his forces1 brass and all1 fortissimo1 conquering and to conquer4 ,is ,il ,trovatore wanted1 everlasting ,trovatore1--music that whirls and fascinates1 possessed and driven by one fixed idea of burning at the stake1 with furies of love and jealousy to match1--they borrow from the other company 7under the amicable treaty7 ,brignoli1 of the golden tenor voice1 who sings so sweetly and sulks so proudly lazy1 and ,amodio1 that ton of juvenile humanity1 whose weighty baritone and eagerness to please make up for the see-saw alternation of his two only expressions and gesticulations1--those of vulgar love-making and mock-heroical revenge4 ,these1 with ,gazzaniga1 the charming1 lively1 natural ,gazzaniga1 whose voice is fresh1 and who can sing and act so charmingly in genial music1 such as ,donizetti's ,elisir d' ,amore1 with also ,assoni1 the buffo1 and ,coletti1 the bass1 compose the year-old and tried nucleus of the ,philadelphia opera1 which opened the first ,monday in ,october4 ,to these are added new attractions1 in the shape of old celebrities from ,europe3 namely1 ,ronconi1 the great ,don ,giovanni of the ,london opera2 ,tagliafico1 the basso2 ,stecchi-,bottardi1 tenor from ,her ,majesty's2 ,signora ,ramos1 prima donna from ,turin2 ,signora ,tagliafico2 and greatest of all1 to come when he has got through with the ,russians1 the famous tenor1 ,tamberlik4 ,here is a great array1 and great expense4 ,verily1 it rains stars1 as it rains meteors in our cold ,november nights4 ,perhaps it will pay1--perhaps not4 ,but for the interests of ,art1 and the true gratification and advancement of the taste for music1 one might ask whether a better economy of means would not have dictated fewer stars1 and more completeness in the orchestra1 the chorus1 and the general ensemble1 so that we might for once hear and enjoy an opera1 and not merely a few singers lifted up on the cheapest platform of an opera1 loosely nailed together for their sakes4 ,and this question leads to another consideration of still more importance to the real interests of ,art4 ,what music1 what operas shall we hear8 ,so far1 it has been the same old story1 the same hackneyed round of ,norma1 and ,lucia1 and ,lucrezia ,borgia1 and ,ernani1 and ,trovatore1 and so on1 with once or twice the ever genial and sparkling ,il ,barbiere4 ,the whole attraction lies 7as always in these great musical speculations7 in the solo singers4 ,these ever place themselves between you and good music2 they choose to sing the music that best shows their powers1 no matter how familiar1 hackneyed1 sentimental1 commonplace1 and trashy4 ,if you call for ,william ,tell1 for the ,nozzi di ,figaro1 to say nothing of ,fidelio1 or ,oberon1 or ,freischtz1 they have not the organization for it1 have not the chorus1 the secondary singers1 the artists who know and love the music2 it will not pay1 and so forth4 ,our ,academies must justify their name and be domestic institutions1 permanent lyric organizations1 before we can call in singers to illustrate an opera1 instead of worn-out operas to illustrate the singer4 ,since penning the above1 we hear of a fortnight's suspension of the ,opera in ,new ,york1 to allow time for the preparation of the ,nozzi di ,figaro1 ,robert le ,diable1 ,les ,huguenots1 c4 ,in close connection with the opera1 the brilliant concerts of ,vieuxtemps and ,thalberg go on4 ,probably there is nothing better of the virtuoso kind2 and as they bring in the orchestra sometimes1 they give occasionally something classical and great1 performed in a masterly manner4 ,indeed1 all the music of ,new ,york seems to revolve now round the ,ullman-,thalberg centre4 ,they sweep all into their orbit4 ,with the ,harmonic ,society1 they give ,sunday oratorios1 promising ,the ,messiah1 ,creation1 ,elijah1 ,david's ,desert1 767 and others4 ,we have not left ourselves room to more than hint at the truest musical pride of ,new ,york1 her ,philharmonic ,society1 whose orchestra now numbers eighty excellent performers1 and whose list of regular subscribers reaches eighteen hundred4 ,they are rehearsing ,spohr's symphony1 ,die ,weihe der ,tne1 with ,schumann's ,manfred overture1 and ,beethoven's sublime ,leonora1 for their first concert1 and will do much for classical music by their four concerts4 ,in ,boston1 in spite of our broken and disorganized condition1 we have ten or a dozen ,symphony concerts in a winter4 ,chamber ,quartets1 too1 and ,trios with ,piano1 will have their audiences1--let us hope numerous enough to gladden the hearts of the artists4