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XII.—SEPTEMBER, 1863.—NO. LXXI. + </center> + <hr class="short" /> + <center> + Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by TICKNOR AND FIELDS, in + the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. + </center> + <hr /> + <h2>THE PURITAN MINISTER.</h2> + <p>It is nine o'clock upon a summer Sunday morning, in the year sixteen hundred and + something. The sun looks down brightly on a little forest settlement, around whose + expanding fields the great American wilderness recedes each day, withdrawing its + bears and wolves and Indians into an ever remoter distance,—not yet so far but + that a stout wooden gate at each end of the village street indicates that there is + something outside which must stay outside, if possible. It would look very busy and + thriving in this little place, to-day, but for the Sabbath stillness which broods + over everything with almost an excess of calm. Even the smoke ascends more faintly + than usual from the chimneys of these abundant log-huts and scanty framed houses, and + since three o'clock yesterday afternoon not a stroke of this world's work has been + done. Last night a preparatory lecture was held, and now comes the consummation of + the whole week's life, in the solemn act of worship. In which settlement of the + Massachusetts Colony is the great observance to pass before our eyes? If it be + Cambridge village, the warning drum is beating its peaceful summons to the + congregation. If it be Salem village, a bell is sounding its more ecclesiastic peal, + and a red flag is simultaneously hung forth from the meeting-house, like the + auction-flag of later periods, but offering in this case goods without money and + beyond price. But if it be Haverhill village, then Abraham Tyler has been blowing his + horn assiduously for half an hour, a service for which Abraham, each year, receives a + half-pound of pork from every family in town.</p> + <p>Be it drum, bell, or horn, which gives the summons, we will draw near to this + important building, the centre of the village, the one public + edifice,—meeting-house, town-house, school-house, watch-house, all in one. So + important is it, that no one can legally dwell more than a half-mile from it. And yet + the people ride to meeting, short though the distance be, for at yonder oaken block a + wife dismounts from behind her husband;—and has it not, moreover, been found + needful to impose a fine of forty shillings on fast trotting to and fro? All sins <a + name="page266" id="page266"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 266]</span> are not modern + ones, young gentlemen.</p> + <p>We approach nearer still, and come among the civic institutions. This is the + pillory, yonder the stocks, and there is a large wooden cage, a terror to evil-doers, + but let us hope empty now. Round the meeting-house is a high wooden paling, to which + the law permits citizens to tie their horses, provided it be not done too near the + passage-way. For at that opening stands a sentry, clothed in a suit of armor which is + painted black, and cost the town twenty-four shillings by the bill. He bears also a + heavy matchlock musket; his rest, or iron fork, is stuck in the ground, ready to + support the weapon; and he is girded with his bandoleer, or broad leather belt, which + sustains a sword and a dozen tin cartridge-boxes.</p> + <p>The meeting-house is the second to which the town has treated itself, the first + having been "a timber fort, both strong and comely, with flat roof and + battlements,"—a cannon on top, and the cannonade of the gospel down below. But + this one cost the town sixty-three pounds, hard-earned pounds, and carefully + expended. It is built of brick, smeared outside with clay, and finished with + clay-boards, larger than our clapboards, outside of all. It is about twenty-five feet + square, with a chimney half the width of the building, and projecting four feet above + the thatched roof. The steeple is in the centre, and the bell-rope, if they have one, + hangs in the middle of the broad aisle. There are six windows, two on each of the two + sides, and two more at the end, part being covered with oiled paper only, part glazed + in numerous small panes. And between the windows, on the outside, hang the heads of + all the wolves that have been killed in the township within the year. But the Quakers + think that the wolves have cheated the parish and got inside, in sheep's + clothing.</p> + <p>The people are assembling. The Governor has passed by, with his four vergers + bearing halberds before him. The French Popish ambassadors, who have just arrived + from Canada, are told the customs of the place, and left to stay quietly in the + Governor's house, with sweetmeats, wines, and the liberty of a private walk in the + garden. The sexton has just called for the minister, as is his duty twice every + Sunday, and, removing his cocked hat, he walks before his superior officer. The + minister enters and passes up the aisle, dressed in Geneva cloak, black skull-cap, + and black gloves open at thumb and finger, for the better handling of his manuscript. + He looks round upon his congregation, a few hundred, recently <i>seated</i> anew for + the year, arranged according to rank and age. There are the old men in the pews + beneath the pulpit. There are the young men in the gallery, or near the door, with + ruffs, showy belts, gold and silver buttons, "points" at the knees, and great boots. + There are the young women, with "silk or tiffany hoods or scarfs," "embroidered or + needle-worked caps," "immoderate great sleeves," "cut works,"—a + mystery,—"slash apparel,"—another mystery,—"immoderate great + vayles, long wings," etc.,—mystery on mystery, but all recorded in the + statutes, which forbid these splendors to persons of mean estate. There are the wives + of the magistrates in prominent seats, and the grammar-school master's wife next + them; and in each pew, close to the mother's elbow, is the little wooden cage for the + youngest child, still too young to sit alone. All boys are held too young to sit + alone also; for, though the emigrants left in Holland the aged deaconess who there + presided, birch in hand, to control the rising generation in Sunday meetings, yet the + urchins are now herded on the pulpit- and gallery-stairs, with four constables to + guard them from the allurements of sin. And there sits Sin itself embodied in the + shrinking form of some humiliated man or woman, placed on a high stool in the + principal aisle, bearing the name of some dark crime written on paper and pinned to + the garments, or perhaps a Scarlet Letter on the breast.</p> + <a name="page273" id="page273"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 273]</span> + <p>Oh, the silence of this place of worship, after the solemn service sets in! + "People do not sneeze or cough here in public assemblies," says one writer, + triumphantly, "so much as in England." The warning caution, "Be short," which the + minister has inscribed above his study-door, claims no authority over his pulpit. He + may pray his hour, unpausing, and no one thinks it long; for, indeed, at + prayer-meetings four persons will sometimes pray an hour each,—one with + confession, one with private petitions, a third with petitions for church and + kingdom, and a fourth with thanksgiving,—neither part of the quartette being + for an instant confused with the other. Then he may preach his hour, and, turning his + hour-glass, may say,—but that he will not anticipate the levity to be born in a + later century with Mather Byles,—"Now, my hearers, we will take another + glass."</p> + <p>In short, this is the pomp and circumstance of glorious preaching. Woe to any one + who shall disturb its proprieties! It is written in the statute, "If any one + interrupt or oppose a preacher in season of worship, they shall be reproved by the + magistrate, and on repetition shall pay £5, or stand two hours on a block four + feet high, with this inscription in capitals, 'A Wanton Gospeller.'" Nor this alone, + but the law stands by the minister's doctrine even out of the meeting-house. It is + but a few days since Nathaniel Hadlock was sentenced to be severely whipped for + declaring that he could receive no profit from Mr. H——'s + preaching,—since Thomas Maule was mauled to the extent of ten stripes for + declaring that Mr. H—— preached lies, and that his instruction was the + doctrine of devils,—since even the wife of Nicholas Phelps was sentenced to pay + five pounds or be whipped, for asserting that this same Mr. H—— sent + abroad his wolves and bloodhounds among the sheep and lambs. Truly, it is a perilous + thing to attend public worship in such reverential days. However, it is equally + dangerous to stay at home; there are tithing-men to look after the absentees, and any + one unnecessarily absent must pay five shillings. He may be put in the stocks or in + the wooden cage, if delinquent for a month together.</p> + <p>But we must give our attention to the sermon. It is what the congregation will + pronounce "a large, nervous, and golden discourse," a Scriptural + discourse,—like the skeleton of the sea-serpent, all backbone and a great deal + of that. It may be some very special and famous effort. Perhaps Increase Mather is + preaching on "The Morning Star," or on "Snow," or on "The Voice of God in Stormy + Winds"; or it may be his sermon entitled "Burnings Bewailed," to improve the lesson + of some great conflagration, which he attributes partly to Sabbath-breaking and + partly to the new fashion of monstrous periwigs. Or it may be Cotton Mather, his son, + rolling forth his resounding discourse during a thunder-storm, entitled "Brantologia + Sacra,"—consisting of seven separate divisions or thunderbolts, and filled with + sharp lightning from Scripture and the Rabbinical lore, and Cartesian natural + philosophy. Just as he has proclaimed, "In the thunder there is the voice of the + glorious God," a messenger comes hastening in, as in the Book of Job, to tell him + that his own house has just been struck, and though no person is hurt, yet the house + hath been much torn and filled with the lightnings. With what joy and power he + instantly wields above his audience this providential surplus of excitement, + reminding one irresistibly of some scientific lecturer who has nearly blown himself + up by his own experiments, and proceeds beaming with fresh confidence, the full power + of his compound being incontestably shown. Rising with the emergency, he tells them + grandly, that, as he once had in his house a magnet which the thunder changed + instantly from north to south, so it were well if the next bolt could change their + stubborn souls from Satan to God. But afterward he is compelled to own that Satan + also is sometimes permitted to have <a name="page274" id="page274"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 274]</span> a hand in the thunder, which is the reason why it + breaks oftener on churches than on any other buildings; and again he admits, + pensively, at last, that churches and ministers' houses have undoubtedly the larger + share.</p> + <p>The sermon is over. The more demoralized among the little boys, whose sleepy eyes + have been more than once admonished by the hare's-foot wand of the + constables,—the sharp paw is used for the boys, the soft fur is kept for the + smooth foreheads of drowsy maidens,—look up thoroughly awakened now. Bright + eyes glance from beneath silk or tiffany hoods, for a little interlude is coming. + Many things may happen in this pause after the sermon. Questions may be asked of the + elders now, which the elders may answer,—if they can. Some lay brother may + "exercise" on a text of Scripture,—rather severe exercise, it sometimes turns + out. Candidates for the church may be proposed. A baptism may take place. If it be + the proper month, the laws against profaning the Sabbath may be read. The last + town-regulations may be read; or, far more exciting, a new marriage may be published. + Or a darker scene may follow, and some offending magistrate may be required to stand + upon a bench, in his worst garments, with a foul linen cap drawn close to his eyes, + and acknowledge his sins before the pious people, who reverenced him so lately.</p> + <p>These things done, a deacon says impressively, "Brethren, now there is time for + contribution; wherefore, as God hath prospered you, so freely offer." Then the people + in the galleries come down and march two abreast, "up one ile and down the other," + passing before the desk, where in a long "pue" sit the elders and deacons. One of + these holds a moneybox, into which the worshippers put their offerings, usually + varying from one to five shillings, according to their ability and good-will. Some + give paper pledges instead; and others give other valuables, such as "a fair gilt + cup, with a cover," for the communion-service. Then comes a psalm, read, line after + line, by some one appointed, out of the "Bay Psalm-Book," and sung by the people. + These psalms are sung regularly through, four every Sunday, and some ten tunes + compose the whole vocal range of the congregation. Then come the words, "Blessed are + they who hear the word of the Lord and keep it," and then the benediction.</p> + <p>And then the reverend divine descends from his desk and walks down the aisle, + bowing gravely right and left to his people, not one of whom stirs till the minister + has gone out; and then the assembly disperses, each to his own home, unless it be + some who have come from a distance, and stay to eat their cold pork and peas in the + meeting-house.</p> + <p>Roll aside the panorama of the three-hours' Sunday service of two centuries ago, + lest that which was not called wearisome in the passing prove wearisome in the + delineation now. It needed all this accumulation of small details to show how widely + the externals of New-England church-going have changed since those early days. But + what must have been the daily life of that Puritan minister for whom this exhausting + service was but one portion of the task of life! Truly, they were "pious and painful + preachers" then, as I have read upon a stone in the old Watertown + graveyard;—"princely preachers" Cotton Mather calls them. He relates that Mr. + Cotton, in addition to preaching on Sunday and holding his ordinary lecture every + Thursday, preached thrice a week besides, on Wednesday and Thursday early in the + morning, and on Saturday afternoon. He also held a daily lecture in his house, which + was at last abandoned as being too much thronged, and frequent occasional days + occurred, when he would spend six hours "in the word and in prayer." On his voyage to + this country, he being accompanied by two other ministers, they commonly had three + sermons a day,—one after every meal. He was "an universal scholar and a walking + library,"—he studied twelve hours a day, <a name="page275" + id="page275"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 275]</span> and said he liked to sweeten + his mouth with a piece of Calvin before he went to sleep.</p> + <p>A fearful rate of labor; a strange, grave, quaint, ascetic, rigorous life. It + seems a mystery how the Reverend Joshua Moody could have survived to write four + thousand sermons, but it is no mystery why the Reverend John Mitchell was called "a + truly aged young man" at thirty,—especially when we consider that he was + successor at Cambridge to "the holy, heavenly, sweet-affecting, and soul-ravishing + Mr. Shepard," in continuance of whose labors he kept a monthly lecture, "wherein he + largely handled man's misery by sin and made a most entertaining exposition of the + Book of Genesis."</p> + <p>For the minister's week-days were more arduous than his Sundays, and to have for + each parish both pastor and teacher still left a formidable duty for each. He must + visit families during several afternoons in every week, sending previous notice, so + that children and domestics might be ready for catechizing. He was "much visited for + counsel" in his own home, and must set apart one day in the week for cases of + conscience, ranging from the most fine-drawn self-tormentings up to the most + unnatural secret crimes. He must often go to lectures in neighboring towns, a kind of + religious dissipation which increased so fast that the Legislature at last interfered + to restrict it. He must have five or six separate seasons for private prayer daily, + devoting each day in the week to special meditations and intercessions,—as + Monday to his family, Tuesday to enemies, Wednesday to the churches, Thursday to + other societies, Friday to persons afflicted, and Saturday to his own soul. He must + have private fasts, spending whole days locked in his study and whole nights + prostrate on the floor. Cotton Mather "thought himself starved," unless he fasted + once a month at farthest, while he often did it twice in a week. Then there were + public fasts quite frequently, "because of sins, blastings, mildews, drought, + grasshoppers, caterpillars, small pox," "loss of cattle by cold and frowns of + Providence." Perhaps a mouse and a snake had a battle in the neighborhood, and the + minister must expound it as "symbolizing the conflict betwixt Satan and God's poor + people," the latter being the mouse triumphant. Then if there were a military + expedition, the minister might think it needful to accompany it. If there were even a + muster, he must open and close it with prayer, or, in his absence, the captain must + officiate instead.</p> + <p>One would naturally add to this record of labors the attendance on weddings and + funerals. It is strange how few years are required to make a usage seem ancestral, or + to reunite a traditional broken one. Who now remembers that our progenitors for more + than a century disused religious services on both these solemn occasions? Magistrates + alone could perform the marriage ceremony; though it was thought to be carrying the + monopoly quite too far, when Governor Bellingham, in 1641, officiated at his own. + Prayer was absolutely forbidden at funerals, as was done also by Calvin at Geneva, by + John Knox in Scotland, by the English Puritans in the Westminster Assembly, and by + the French Huguenots. The bell might ring, the friends might walk, two and two, to + the grave; but there must be no prayer uttered. The secret was, that the traditions + of the English and Romish Churches must be avoided at all sacrifices. "Doctor," said + King James to a Puritan divine, "do you go barefoot because the Papists wear shoes + and stockings?" Even the origin of the frequent New-England habit of eating salt fish + on Saturday is supposed to have been the fact that Roman Catholics eat it on + Friday.</p> + <p>But if there were no prayers said on these occasions, there were sermons. Mr. John + Calf, of Newbury, described one specimen of funeral sermon in immortal + verse:—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "On Sabbath day he went his way, + </div> + <div class="line"> + As he was used to do, + </div> + <div class="line"> + God's house unto, that they might know + </div> + <div class="line"> + What he had for to show; + </div> + </div> + <a name="page276" id="page276"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 276]</span> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + God's holy will he must fulfil, + </div> + <div class="line"> + For it was his desire + </div> + <div class="line"> + For to declare a sermon rare + </div> + <div class="line"> + Concerning Madam Fryer." + </div> + </div> + </div> + <p>The practice of wedding discourses was handed down into the last century, and + sometimes beguiled the persons concerned into rather startling levities. For + instance, when Parson Smith's daughter Mary was to marry young Mr. + Cranch,—(what graceful productions of pen and pencil have come to this + generation from the posterity of that union!)—the father permitted the saintly + maiden to decide on her own text for the sermon, and she meekly selected, "Mary hath + chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her," and the discourse + was duly pronounced. But when her wild young sister Abby was bent on marrying a + certain Squire Adams, called John, whom her father disliked and would not even invite + to dinner, she boldly suggested for <i>her</i> text, "John came, neither eating bread + nor drinking wine, and ye say he hath a devil." But no sermon stands recorded under + this prefix, though Abby lived to be the wife of one President of the United States + and mother of another.</p> + <p>The Puritan minister had public duties also upon him. "New England being a + country," said Cotton Mather, "whose interests are remarkably enwrapped in + theological circumstances, ministers ought to interest themselves in politics." + Indeed, for many years they virtually controlled the franchise, inasmuch as only male + church-members could vote or hold office, at least in the Massachusetts Colony. Those + malecontents who petitioned to enlarge the suffrage were fined and imprisoned in + 1646, and even in 1664 the only amendment was by permitting non-church-members to + vote on a formal certificate to their orthodoxy from the minister. The government + they aimed at was not democracy, but theocracy: "God never did ordain democracy as a + fit government," said Cotton. Accordingly, when Cotton and Ward framed their first + code, Ward's portion was rejected by the colony as heathen,—that is, based on + Greek and Roman models, not Mosaic,—and Cotton's was afterwards rebuked in + England as "fanatical and absurd." But the government finally established was an + ecclesiastical despotism, tempered by theological controversy.</p> + <p>In Connecticut it was first the custom, and then the order, lasting as late as + 1708, that "the ministers of the gospel should preach a sermon, on the day appointed + by law for the choice of civil rulers, proper for the direction of the town in the + work before them." They wrote state-papers, went on embassies, and took the lead at + town-meetings. At the exciting gubernatorial election in 1637, Rev. John Wilson, + minister of the First Church in Boston, not satisfied with "taking the stump" for his + candidate, took to a full-grown tree and harangued the people from among the boughs. + Perhaps the tree may have been the Great Elm which still ornaments the Common; but + one sees no chips of that other old block among its branches now.</p> + <p>One would expect that the effect of this predominant clerical influence would have + been to make the aim of the Puritan codes lofty, their consistency unflinching, their + range narrow, and their penalties severe,—and it certainly was so. Looking at + their educational provisions, they seem all noble; looking at their schedule of sins + and retributions, one wonders how any rational being could endure them for a day. + Communities, like individuals, furnish virtues piecemeal. Roger Williams, with all + his wise toleration, bequeathed to Rhode Island no such system of schools as his + persecutors framed for Massachusetts. But the children who were watched and trained + thus carefully might be put to death, if they "cursed their orderly parents" after + the age of sixteen;—not that the penalty ever was inflicted, but it was on the + statute-book. Sabbath-breaking was placed on a level with murder,—though Calvin + himself allowed the old men to play at bowls and the young men to practise military + training, <a name="page277" id="page277"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 277]</span> + after afternoon service, at Geneva. Down to 1769 not even a funeral could take place + on Sunday in Massachusetts, without license from a magistrate. Then the stocks and + the wooden cage were in frequent use, though "barbarous and cruel" punishments were + forbidden in 1641. Scolds and railers were set on a ducking-stool and dipped over + head and ears three times, in running water, if possible. Mrs. Oliver, a troublesome + theologian, was silenced with a cleft stick applied to her tongue. Thomas Scott, in + 1649, was sentenced for some offence to learn "the chatachise," or be fined ten + shillings, and, after due consideration, paid the fine. Sometimes offenders, with a + refinement of cruelty, were obliged to "go and talk to the elders." And if any youth + made matrimonial overtures to a young female without the consent of her parents, or, + in their absence, of the County Court, he was first fined and then imprisoned. A new + etymology for the word "courting."</p> + <p>An exhibition of this mingled influence was in the relation of the ministers to + the Indian wars. Roger Williams, even when banished and powerless, could keep the + peace with the natives. But when the brave Miantonimo was to be dealt with for + suspected treason, and the civil authorities decided, that, though it was unsafe to + set him at liberty, they yet had no ground to put him to death, the matter being + finally referred to five "elders," Uncas was straightway authorized to slay him in + cold blood. The Pequots were first defeated and then exterminated, and their heroic + King Philip, a patriot according to his own standard, was hunted like a wild beast, + his body quartered and set on poles, his head exposed as a trophy for twenty years on + a gibbet in Plymouth, and one of his hands sent to Boston: then the ministers + returned thanks, and one said that they had <i>prayed</i> the bullet into Philip's + heart. Nay, it seems that in 1677, on a Sunday in Marblehead, "the women, as they + came out of the meeting-house, fell upon two Indians, that had been brought in as + captives, and in a tumultuous way very barbarously murdered them," in revenge for the + death of some fishermen: a moral application which certainly gives a singular + impression of the style of gospel prevailing inside the meeting-house that day. But + it is good to know, on the other side, that, when the Commissioners of the United + Colonies had declared an Indian war, and the Massachusetts Colony had become + afterwards convinced that the war was unrighteous, the troops were recalled, though + already far towards the field, and no pride or policy prevented the order from being + rescinded.</p> + <p>These were some of the labors of the clergy. But no human being lives without + relaxation, and they may have had theirs. True, "ministers have little to joy in in + this world," wrote old Norton; and one would think so, to read the dismal diaries, + printed or manuscript, of those days. "I can compare with any man living for fears," + said Hooker. "I have sinned myself into darkness," said Bailey. "Many times have I + been ready to lay down my ministry, thinking God had forsaken me." "I was almost in + the suburbs of hell all day." Yet who can say that this habit of agonizing + introspection wholly shut out the trivial enjoyments of daily life? Who drank, for + instance, that twelve gallons of sack and that six gallons of white wine which the + General Court thought it convenient that the Auditor should send, "as a small + testimony of the Court's respect, to the reverend assembly of Elders at Cambridge," + in 1644? Did the famous Cambridge Platform rest, like the earth in the Hebrew + cosmology, upon the waters,—strong waters? Was it only the Derry Presbyterians + who would never give up a p'int of doctrine, nor a pint of rum? It is startling to + remember that in 1685 it was voted, on occasion of a public funeral, that "some + person be appointed to look after the burning of the wine and the heating of the + cider," and to hear that on this occasion there were thirty-two gallons of wine and + still more of cider, with one hundred and four pounds of <a name="page278" + id="page278"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 278]</span> that ensnaring accessory, + sugar. Francis Higginson, in writing back to the mother country that one sup of New + England's air was better than a whole draught of Old England's ale, gave convincing + proof that he had tasted both beverages. But, after all, the very relaxations of the + Puritan minister were more spiritual than spirituous, and to send forth a good + Nineteenthly from his own lips was more relishing than to have the best Double X go + in.</p> + <p>In spite of the dignity of this influential class, they were called only Elders + for a long time. Titles were carefully adjusted in those days. The commonalty bore + the appellations of Goodman and Goodwife, and one of Roger William's offences was his + wishing to limit these terms to those who gave some signs of deserving them. The name + "Mr." was allowed to those who had taken the degree of Master of Arts at College, and + also to professional men, eminent merchants, military officers, and mates of vessels, + and their wives and daughters monopolized the epithet "Mrs." Mr. Josiah Plastow, when + he had stolen four baskets of corn from the Indians, was degraded into plain Josiah. + "Mr." seems to have meant simply "My Sir," and the clergy were often called "Sir" + merely, a title given also to college graduates, on Commencement programmes, down to + the time of the Revolution. And so strong was the Puritan dislike to the idolatry of + saints' names, that the Christian Apostles were sometimes designated as Sir Paul, Sir + Peter, and Sir James.</p> + <p>In coming to the private affairs of the Puritan divines, it is humiliating to find + that anxieties about salary are of no modern origin. The highest compensation I can + find recorded is that of John Higginson in 1671, who had £160 voted him "in + country produce," which he was glad, however, to exchange for £120 in solid + cash. Solid cash included beaver-skins, black and white wampum, beads, and + musket-balls, value one farthing. Mr. Woodbridge in Newbury at this same time had + £60, and Mr. Epes preached in Salem for twenty shillings a Sunday, half in + money and half in provisions. Holy Mr. Cotton used to say that nothing was cheap in + New England but milk and ministers. Down to 1700, Increase Mather says, most salaries + were less than £100, which he thinks "might account for the scanty harvests + enjoyed by our farmers." He and his son Cotton both tell the story of a town where + "two very eminent ministers were only allowed £30 per annum" and "the God who + will not be mocked made them lose £300 worth of cattle that year." The latter + also complains that the people were very willing to consider the ministers the stars, + rather than the mere lamps, of the churches, provided they, like the stars, would + shine without earthly contributions.</p> + <p>He also calls the terms of payment, in one of his long words, "Synecdotical + Pay,"—in allusion to that rhetorical figure by which a part is used for the + whole. And apparently various causes might produce this Synecdoche. For I have seen + an anonymous "Plea for Ministers of the Gospel," in 1706, which complains that "young + ministers have often occasion in their preaching to speak things offensive to some of + the wealthiest people in town, on which occasion they may withhold a considerable + part of their maintenance." It is a comfort to think how entirely this source of + discomfort, at least, is now eradicated from the path of the clergy; and it is + painful to think that there ever was a period when wealthy parishioners did not enjoy + the delineation of their own sins.</p> + <p>However, the ministerial households contrived to subsist, in spite of rhetorical + tropes and malecontent millionnaires. The Puritan divine could commonly afford not + only to keep house, but to keep horse likewise, and to enjoy the pet professional + felicity of printing his own sermons. As to the last privilege there could have been + no great trouble, for booksellers were growing rich in New England as early as + 1677,—not that it is always an inevitable inference that authors are,—and + Cotton Mather published <a name="page279" id="page279"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 279]</span> three hundred and eighty-two different works for his own share. Books + were abundant enough at that day, though somewhat grim and dingy, and two complete + Puritan libraries are preserved in the rich collection of the American Antiquarian + Society at Worcester,—without whose treasures, let me add, this modest + monograph never could have been written. As for the minister's horse, the moral + sentiment of the community protected him faithfully; for a man was fined in Newbury + for "killing our elder's mare, and a special good beast she was." The minister's + house was built by the town; in Salem it was "13 feet stud, 23 by 42, four chimnies + and no gable-ends,"—so that the House with Seven Gables belonged to somebody + else;—and the Selectmen ordered all men to appear with teams on a certain day + and put the minister's grounds in order.</p> + <p>Inside the parsonage-house, however, there was sometimes trouble. Rev. Ezekiel + Rogers wrote in 1657 to his brother in England,—"Much ado I have with my own + family; hard to get a servant who enjoys catechising or family duties. I had a rare + blessing of servants in England, and those I brought over were a blessing; but the + young brood doth much afflict me." Probably the minister's wife had the worst of + this; but she seems to have been generally, like the modern minister's wife, a saint, + and could bear it. Cotton Mather, indeed, quotes triumphantly the Jewish phrase for a + model female,—"one who deserved to marry a priest"; and one of the most + singular passages in the history of the human heart is the old gentleman's own + narrative, in his manuscript diary, of a passionate love-adventure, in his later + years, with a fascinating young girl, an "ingenious child," as he calls her, whom his + parish thought by no means a model female, but from whom it took three days of + solitary fasting and prayer to wean him at last.</p> + <p>He was not the only Puritan minister who bestowed his heart somewhat strangely. + Rev. John Mitchell, who succeeded the soul-ravishing Shepard at Cambridge, as + aforesaid, married his predecessor's widow "on the general recommendation of her," + and the college students were greatly delighted, as one might imagine. Rev. Michael + Wigglesworth, in 1691, wooed the Widow Avery in a written discourse, which I have + seen in manuscript, arranged under twelve different heads,—one of which treats + of the prospect of his valuable life being preserved longer by her care. She having + children of her own, he offers mysteriously to put some of his own children "out of + the way," if necessary,—a hint which becomes formidable when one remembers that + he was the author of that once famous theological poem, "The Day of Doom," in which + he relentingly assigned to infants, because they had sinned only in Adam, "the + easiest room in hell." But he wedded the lady, and they were apparently as happy as + if he had not been a theologian; and I have seen the quaint little heart-shaped + locket he gave her, bearing an anchor and a winged heart and "Thine forever."</p> + <p>Let us glance now at some of the larger crosses of the Puritan minister. First + came a "young brood" of heretics to torment him. Gorton's followers were exasperating + enough; they had to be confined in irons separately, one in each town, on pain of + death, if they preached their doctrines,—and of course they preached them. But + their offences and penalties were light, compared with those of the Quakers. When the + Quakers assembled by themselves, their private doors might be broken open,—a + thing which Lord Chatham said the king of England could not do to any one,—they + might be arrested without warrant, tried without jury, for the first offence be + fined, for the second lose one ear, for the third lose the other ear, and for the + fourth be bored with red-hot iron through the tongue,—though this last penalty + remained a dead letter. They could be stripped to the waist, tied to a cart, and + whipped through town after town,—three women were whipped through eleven towns, + eighty miles,—but afterwards the number <a name="page280" + id="page280"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 280]</span> was limited to three. Their + testimony was invalid, their families attainted, and those who harbored them were + fined forty shillings an hour. They might be turned out shelterless among wolves and + bears and frosts: they could be branded H for Heretic, and R for Rogue; they could be + sold as slaves; and their graves must not be fenced to keep off wild beasts, lest + their poor afflicted bodies should find rest there.</p> + <p>Yet in this same age female Quakers had gone as missionaries to Malta and to + Turkey and returned unharmed. No doubt the monks and the Sultan must have looked on + the plain dress much as some clerical gentlemen have since regarded the Bloomer + costume,—and the Inquisition imprisoned the missionaries, though the Sultan did + not. But meanwhile the Quaker women in New England might be walking to execution with + their male companions,—like Mary Dyer in Boston,—under an armed guard of + two hundred, led on by a minister seventy years old, and the fiercer for every year. + When they asked Mary Dyer, "Are you not ashamed to walk thus hand in hand between two + young men?" she answered, "No, this is to me an hour of the greatest joy I could + enjoy in this world. No tongue could utter and no heart understand the sweet + influence of the Spirit which now I feel." Then they placed her on the scaffold, and + covered her face with a handkerchief which the Reverend Mr. Wilson lent the hangman; + and when they heard that she was reprieved, she would not come down, saying that she + would suffer with her brethren. And suffer death she did, at last, and the Reverend + Mr. Wilson made a pious ballad on her execution.</p> + <p>It is no wonder, if some persons declare that about this time the wheat of + Massachusetts began to be generally blasted, and the peas to grow wormy. It is no + wonder, that, when the witchcraft excitement came on, the Quakers called it a + retribution for these things. But let us be just, even to the unjust. Toleration was + a new-born virtue in those days, and one which no Puritan ever for a moment + recognized as such, or asked to have exercised toward himself. In England they did + not wish to be tolerated for a day as sectaries, they claimed to have authority as + the one true church. They held with Pym, that "it is the duty of legislators to + establish the true religion and to punish false,"—a doctrine equally fatal, + whether applied to enforce the right theology or the wrong. They objected to the + Church of England, not that it persecuted, but that its persecution was wrongly + aimed. It is, therefore, equally absurd to praise them for a toleration they never + professed, or to accuse them of any inconsistency when they practised intolerance. + They have been so loosely praised, that they are as loosely blamed. What was great in + them was their heroism of soul, not their largeness. They sought the American + wilderness not to indulge the whims of others, but their own. They said to the + Quakers, "We seek not your death, but your absence." All their persecution, after + all, was an alternative sentence; all they asked of the Quakers was to keep out of + their settlements and let them alone. Moreover, their worst penalties were borrowed + from the English laws, and only four offenders were put to death from the + beginning;—of course, four too many.</p> + <p>Again, it is to be remembered that the Quaker peculiarities were not theological + only, but political and social also. Everything that the Puritan system of government + asserted the Quakers denied; they rendered no allegiance, owned no laws, paid no + taxes, bore no arms. With the best possible intentions, they subverted all + established order. Then their modes of action were very often intemperate and + violent. One can hardly approve the condemnation pronounced by Cotton Mather upon a + certain Rarey among the Friends in those days, who could control a mad bull that + would rend any other man. But it was oftener the Quakers who needed the Rareys. + Running naked through the public streets,—coming into meeting dressed in + sackcloth, with ashes <a name="page281" id="page281"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 281]</span> on their heads and nothing on their feet,—or sitting there with + their hats on, groaning and rocking to and fro, in spite of elders, deacons, and + tithing-men: these were the vagaries of the zealots, though always repudiated by the + main body. The Puritans found themselves reproached with permitting these things, and + so took refuge in outrageous persecutions, which doubled them. Indeed, the Quakers + themselves began to persecute, on no greater provocation, in Philadelphia, thirty + years afterwards,—playing over again upon George Keith and his followers the + same deluded policy of fines and imprisonment from which they had just + escaped;—as minorities have persecuted sub-minorities ever since intolerance + began.</p> + <p>Indeed, so far as mere language went, the minority always watched the majority. + Grave divines did not like to be pelted with such epithets as these: "Thou fiery + fighter and green-headed trumpeter! thou hedgehog and grinning dog! thou mole! thou + tinker! thou lizard! thou bell of no metal but the tone of a kettle! thou + wheelbarrow! thou whirlpool! thou whirligig! thou firebrand! thou moon-calf! thou + ragged tatterdemalion! thou gormandizing priest! thou bane of reason and beast of the + earth! thou best to be spared of all mankind!"—all of which are genuine + epithets from the Quaker books of that period, and termed by Cotton Mather, who + collected them, "quills of the porcupine." They surpass even Dr. Chauncy's catalogue + of the unsavory epithets used by Whitefield and Tennent a century later; and it was + not likely that they would be tolerated by a race whose reverence for men in + authority was so comprehensive that they actually fined some one for remarking that + Major Phillips's old mare was as lean as an Indian's dog.</p> + <p>There is a quaint anecdote preserved, showing the continuance of the Quaker feud + in full vigor as lately as 1705. A youth among the Friends wished to espouse a fair + Puritan maiden; but the Quakers disapproved his marrying out of their society, and + the Congregationalists his marrying into theirs; so in despair he thus addressed + her:—"Ruth, let us break from this unreasonable bondage. I will give up my + religion, and thou shalt give up thine; and we will marry and go into the Church of + England, and go to the Devil together." And they fulfilled the resolution, the + Puritan historian says, <i>so far</i> as going into the Church, and marrying, and + staying there for life. But probably the ministers thought it to be another case of + synecdoche.</p> + <p>With the same careful discrimination we must try to study the astonishing part + played by the ministers in the witchcraft delusions. It must be remembered that the + belief in this visitation was no new or peculiar thing in New England. The Church, + the Scriptures, the mediæval laws, had all made it a capital crime. There had + been laws against it in England for a hundred years. Bishop Jewel had complained to + Queen Elizabeth of the alarming increase of witches and sorcerers. Sir Thomas Browne + had pronounced it flat atheism to doubt them. High legal and judicial authorities, as + Dalton, Keeble, Sir Matthew Hale, had described this crime as definitely and + seriously as any other. In Scotland four thousand had suffered death for it in ten + years; Cologne, Nuremberg, Geneva, Paris, were executing hundreds every year; even in + 1749 a girl was burnt alive in Würtzburg; and is it strange, if, during all that + wild excitement, Massachusetts put to death twenty? The only wonder is in the + independence of the Rhode Island people, who declared that "there were no witches on + the earth, nor devils,—except" (as they profanely added) "the New-England + ministers, and such as they."</p> + <p>John Higginson sums it up best:—"They proceeded in their integrity with a + zeal of God against sin, according to their best light and law and evidence." "<i>But + there is a question</i>," he wisely adds, "whether some of the laws, customs, and + privileges used by judges and juries in England, which were followed as patterns <a + name="page282" id="page282"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 282]</span> here, were not + insufficient." Cotton Mather also declared that he observed in judges and juries a + conscientious endeavor to do the thing which was right, and gives a long list of the + legal authorities whom they consulted; observing, finally, that the fact of fifty + confessions was, after all, the one irresistible vindication of their strong + measures.</p> + <p>It must have been so. Common sense and humanity might have refuted every other + evidence than that of the victims themselves. But what were the authorities to do, + when, in addition to all legal and Scriptural precedents, the prisoners insisted on + entering a plea of guilty? When Goody E—— testified that she and two + others rode from Andover to a witch-meeting on a broomstick, and the stick broke and + she fell and was still lame from it,—when her daughter testified that she rode + on the same stick, and confirmed all the details of the casualty,—when the + grand-daughter confirmed them also, and added, that she rode on another stick, and + they all signed Satan's book together,—when W. B——, aged forty, + testified that Satan assembled a hundred fine blades near Salem Meeting-House, and + the trumpet sounded, and bread and wine were carried round, and Satan was like a + black sheep, and wished them to destroy the minister's house, (by thunder probably,) + and set up his kingdom, and "then all would be well,"—when one woman summoned + her three children and some neighbors and a sister and a domestic, who all testified + that she was a witch and so were they all,—what could be done for such + prisoners by judge or jury, in an age which held witchcraft a certainty? It was only + the rapid rate of increase which finally stopped the convictions.</p> + <p>One thing is certain, that this strange delusion, a semi-comedy to + us,—though part of the phenomena may find their solution in laws not yet + unfolded,—was the sternest of tragedies to those who lived in it. Conceive, for + an instant, of believing in the visible presence and labors of the arch-fiend in a + peaceful community. Yet from the bottom of their souls these strong men held to it, + and they waged a hand-to-hand fight with Satan all their days. Very inconveniently + the opponent sometimes dealt his blows, withal. Surely it could not be a pleasant + thing to a sound divine, just launched upon his seventeen-headed discourse, to have a + girl with wild eyes and her hair about her ears start up and exclaim, "Parson, your + text is too long,"—or worse yet, "Parson, your sermon is too long,"—or + most embarrassing of all, "There's a great yellow bird sitting on the parson's hat in + the pulpit." But these formidable interruptions veritably happened, and received the + stern discipline in such cases made and provided.</p> + <p>But beside Quakers and witches, the ministers had other female tormentors to deal + with. There was the perpetual anxiety of the unregenerated toilet. "Immodest apparel, + laying out of hair, borders, naked necks and arms, or, as it were, pinioned with + superfluous ribbons,"—these were the things which tried men's souls in those + days, and the statute-books and private journals are full of such plaintive + inventories of the implements of sin. Things known as "slash apparel" seem to have + been an infinite source of anxiety; there must be only one slash on each sleeve and + one in the back. Men also must be prohibited from shoulderbands of undue width, + double ruffs and cuffs, and "immoderate great breeches." Part of the solicitude was + for modesty, part for gravity, part for economy: none must dress above their + condition. In 1652, three men and a woman were fined ten shillings each and costs for + wearing silver-lace, another for broad bone-lace, another for tiffany, and another + for a silk hood. Alice Flynt was accused of a silk hood, but, proving herself worth + more than two hundred pounds, escaped unpunished. Jonas Fairbanks, about the same + time, was charged with "great boots," and the evidence went hard against him; but he + was fortunately acquitted, and the credit of the family saved.</p> + <p>The question of veils seems to have <a name="page283" id="page283"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 283]</span> rocked the Massachusetts Colony to its foundations, + and was fully discussed at Thursday Lecture, March 7th, 1634. Holy Mr. Cotton was + utterly and unalterably opposed to veils, regarding them as a token of submission to + husbands in an unscriptural degree. It is pleasant to think that there could be an + unscriptural extent of such submission, in those times. But Governor Endicott and + Rev. Mr. Williams resisted stoutly, quoting Paul, as usual in such cases; so Paul, + veils, and vanity carried the day. But afterward Mr. Cotton came to Salem to preach + for Mr. Skelton, and did not miss his chance to put in his solemn protest against + veils; he said they were a custom not to be tolerated; and so the ladies all came to + meeting without their veils in the afternoon. Probably the most astounding visible + result from a single sermon within the memory of man.</p> + <p>Beginning with the veils, the eye of authority was next turned on what was under + them. In 1675 it was decided, that, as the Indians had done much harm of late, and + the Deity was evidently displeased with something, the General Court should publish a + list of the evils of the time. And among the twelve items of contrition stood this: + "Long hair like women's hair is worn by some men, either their own or others' hair + made into periwigs;—and by some women wearing borders of hair, and their + cutting, curling, and immodest laying out of their hair," (does this hint at + puff-combs?) "which practice doth increase, especially among the younger sort." Not + much was effected, however,—"divers of the elders' wives," as Winthrop lets + out, "being in some measure partners in this disorder." The use of wigs also, at + first denounced by the clergy, was at last countenanced by them: in portraits later + than 1700 they usually replace the black skull-cap of earlier pictures, and in 1752 + the tables had so far turned that a church-member in Newbury refused communion + because "the pastor wears a wigg." Yet Increase Mather thought they played no small + part in producing the Boston Fire. "Monstrous Periwigs, such as some of our + church-members indulge in, which make them resemble the Locusts that came out of y^e + Bottomless Pit. Rev. ix. 7, 8,—and as an eminent Divine calls them, <i>Horrid + Bushes of Vanity</i>; such strange apparel as is contrary to the light of Nature and + to express Scripture. 1 Cor. xi. 14, 15. Such pride is enough to provoke the Lord to + kindle fires in all the towns in the country."</p> + <p>Another vexation was the occasional arrival of false prophets in a community where + every man was expected to have a current supply of religious experiences always ready + for circulation. There was a certain hypocritical Dick Swayn, for instance, a + seafaring man, who gave much trouble; and E.F.,—for they mostly appear by + initials,—who, coming to New Haven one Saturday evening, and being dressed in + black, was taken for a minister, and asked to preach: he was apparently a little + insane, and at first talked "demurely," but at last "railed like Rabshakeh," Cotton + Mather says. There was also M.J., a Welsh tanner, who finally stole his employer's + leather breeches and set up for a preacher,—less innocently apparelled than + George Fox. But the worst of all was one bearing the since sainted name of Samuel + May. This vessel of wrath appeared in 1699, indorsed as a man of a sweet gospel + spirit,—though, indeed, one of his indorsers had himself been "a scandalous + fire-ship among the churches." Mather declares that every one went a-Maying after + this man, whom he maintains to have been a barber previously, and who knew no Latin, + Greek, Hebrew, nor even English,—for (as he indignantly asserts) "there were + eighteen horrid false spells, and not one point, in one very short note I received + from him." This doubtful personage copied his sermons from a volume by his namesake, + Dr. Samuel Bolton,—"Sam the Doctor and Sam the Dunce," Mather calls them. + Finally, "this eminent worthy stranger," Sam, who was no dunce, after all, quarrelled + <a name="page284" id="page284"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 284]</span> with his + parish for their slow payments, and "flew out like a Dragon, spitting this among + other fire at them:—'I see, no longer pipe, no longer dance,'—so that + they came to fear he was a cheat, and wish they had never seen him." Then "the guilty + fellow, having bubbled the silly neighbors of an incredible number of pounds, on a + sudden was gone," and Cotton Mather sent a letter after him, which he declares to + have been the worst penalty the man suffered.</p> + <p>It is safer to say little of the theological scheme of the Puritan ministers, lest + the present writer be pronounced a Wanton Gospeller, and have no tithingman to take + his part. But however it may be with the regular standards of theology of that + period, every one could find a sufficient variety to suit him among its heresies. + Eighty-two "pestilent heresies" were counted as having already sprung up in 1637; + others say one hundred and six; others, two hundred and ten. The Puritans kept Rhode + Island for what housekeepers call an "odd drawer," into which to crowd all these + eccentricities. It was said, that, if any man happened to lose his religious opinion, + he might be sure to find it again at some village in Rhode Island. Thither went Roger + Williams and his Baptists; thither went Quakers and Ranters; thither went Ann + Hutchinson, that extraordinary woman, who divided the whole politics of the country + by her Antinomian doctrines, denouncing the formalisms around her, and converting the + strongest men, like Cotton and Vane, to her opinions. Thither went also Samuel + Gorton, a man of no ordinary power, who proclaimed a mystical union with God in love, + thought that heaven and hell were in the mind alone, but esteemed little the clergy + and the ordinances. The colony was protected also by the thoughtful and chivalrous + Vane, who held that water baptism had had its day, and that the Jewish Sabbath should + give place to the modern Sunday. All these, and such as these, were called generally + "Seekers" by the Puritans,—who claimed for themselves that they had found that + which they sought. It is the old distinction; but for which is the ship built, to be + afloat or to be at anchor?</p> + <p>Such were those pious worthies, the men whose names are identified with the + leadership of the New-England colonies,—Cotton, Hooker, Norton, Shepard, the + Higginsons, the Mathers. To these might be added many an obscurer name, preserved in + the quaint epitaphs of the "Magnalia":—Blackman, "in spite of his name, a + Nazarene whiter than snow";—Partridge, "a hunted partridge," yet "both a dove + and an eagle";—Ezekiel Rogers, "a tree of knowledge, whose apples the very + children might pluck";—Nathaniel Rogers, "a very lively preacher and a very + preaching liver, he loved his church as if it had been his family and he taught his + family as if it had been his church";—Warham, the first who preached with + notes, and who suffered agonies of doubt respecting the Lord's Supper;—Stone, + "both a loadstone and a flint stone," and who set the self-sacrificing example of + preaching only one hour.</p> + <p>These men had mingled traits of good and evil, like all mankind,—nobler than + their descendants in some attributes, less noble in others. The most strait-laced + Massachusetts Calvinist of these days would have been disciplined by them for + insufferable laxity, and yet their modern successor would count it utter shame, + perhaps, to own a slave in his family or to drink rum-punch at an + ordination,—which Puritan divines might do without rebuke. Not one of them has + left on record a statement so broad and noble as that of Roger Williams:—"To be + content with food and raiment,—to mind, not our own, but every man the things + of another,—yea, and to suffer wrong, and to part with what we judge to be + right, yea, our own lives, and, as poor women martyrs have said, as many as there be + hairs upon our heads, for the name of God and for the Son of God's sake,—this + is humanity, this is Christianity; the <a name="page285" id="page285"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 285]</span> rest is but formality and picture-courteous idolatry, + and Jewish and Popish blasphemy against the Christian religion." And yet the mind of + Roger Williams was impulsive, erratic, and unstable, compared with theirs; and in + what respect has the work they left behind them proved, after the testing of two + centuries, less solid or durable than his?</p> + <p>These men were stern even to cruelty against all that they held evil,—Satan + and his supposed emissaries, witches, Quakers, Indians, negligent parishioners, + disobedient offspring, men with periwigs, and women in slash apparel. Yet the + tenderest private gentleness often lay behind this gloomy rigor of the conscience. + Some of them would never chastise a son or daughter, in spite of Solomon; others + would write in Greek characters in their old almanacs quaint little English verses on + the death of some beloved child. That identical "Priest Wilson" who made the ballad + at Mary Dyer's execution attended a military muster one day. "Sir," said some one, + "I'll tell you a great thing: here's a mighty body of people, and there's not seven + of them all but loves Mr. Wilson." "Sir," it was replied, "I'll tell you as good a + thing: here's a mighty body of people, and there's not one of them all but Mr. Wilson + loves him." Mr. Cotton was a terror to evil-doers, yet, when a company of men came + along from a tavern and said, "Let us put a trick upon Old Cotton," and one came and + cried in his ear, "Cotton, thou art an old fool,"—"I know it, I know it," + retorted cheerily the venerable man, and pungently added, "The Lord make both me and + thee wiser!" Mr. Hooker was once reproving a boy in the street, who boldly replied, + "I see you are in a passion; I will not answer you," and so ran away. It contradicts + all one's notions of Puritan propriety, and yet it seems that the good man, finding + afterwards that the boy was not really guilty, sent for him to apologize, and owned + himself to have been wrong.</p> + <p>What need to speak of the strength and courage, the disinterestedness and zeal, + with which they bore up the fortunes of the colony on their shoulders, and put that + iron into the New-England blood which has since supplied the tonic for a continent? + It was said of Mr. Hooker, that he was "a person who, while doing his Master's work, + would put a king in his pocket"; and it was so with them all: they would pocket + anything but a bribe to themselves or an insult to God or their profession. They + flinched from no reproof that was needed: "Sharp rebukes make sound Christians" was a + proverb among them. They sometimes lost their tempers, and sometimes their parishes, + but never their independence. I find a hundred anecdotes of conscientious cruelty + laid up against them, but not one of cowardice or of compromise. They may have bored + the tongues of others with a bar of iron, but they never fettered their own tongues + with a bar of gold,—as some African tribes think it a saintly thing to do, and + not African tribes alone.</p> + <p>There was such an absolute righteousness among them, that to this day every man of + New-England descent lives partly on the fund of virtuous habit they accumulated. And, + on the other hand, every man of the many who still stand ready to indorse everything + signed by a D.D.—without even adding the commercial E.E., for Errors + Excepted—is in part the victim of the over-influence they obtained. Yet there + was a kind of democracy in that vast influence also: the Puritans were far more + thorough Congregationalists than their successors; they recognized no separate + clerical class, and the "elder" was only the highest officer of his own church. Each + religious society could choose and ordain its own minister, or dispense with all + ordaining services at will, without the slightest aid or hindrance from council or + consociation. So the stern theology of the pulpit only reflected the stern theology + of the pews; the minister was but the representative man. If the ministers were <a + name="page286" id="page286"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 286]</span> recognized as + spiritual guides, it was because they were such to the men of their time, whatever + they might be to ours. Demonax of old, when asked about the priests' money, said, + that, if they were really the leaders of the people, they could not have too much + payment,—or too little, if they were not. I believe that on these conditions + the Puritan ministers well earned their hundred and sixty pounds a year, with a + discount of forty pounds, if paid in wampum-beads, beaver-skins, and musket-balls. + What they took in musket-balls they paid back in the heavier ammunition of moral + truth. Here is a specimen of their grape-shot:—"My fathers and brethren," said + John Higginson, "this is never to be forgotten, that our New England is originally a + plantation of religion, and not a plantation of trade. Let merchants and such as are + making cent. per cent. remember this. Let others who have come over since at sundry + times remember this, that worldly gain was not the end and design of the people of + New England, but religion. And if any man among us make religion as twelve and the + world as thirteen, let such a man know he hath neither the spirit of a true + New-England man, nor yet of a sincere Christian."</p> + <hr /> + <h2>THOREAU'S FLUTE.</h2> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + We, sighing, said, "Our Pan is dead; + </div> + <div class="line"> + His pipe hands mute beside the river;— + </div> + <div class="line"> + Around it wistful sunbeams quiver, + </div> + <div class="line"> + But Music's airy voice is fled. + </div> + <div class="line"> + Spring mourns as for untimely frost; + </div> + <div class="line"> + The bluebird chants a requiem; + </div> + <div class="line"> + The willow-blossom waits for him;— + </div> + <div class="line"> + The Genius of the wood is lost." + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Then from the flute, untouched by hands, + </div> + <div class="line"> + There came a low, harmonious breath: + </div> + <div class="line"> + "For such as he there is no death;— + </div> + <div class="line"> + His life the eternal life commands; + </div> + <div class="line"> + Above man's aims his nature rose: + </div> + <div class="line"> + The wisdom of a just content + </div> + <div class="line"> + Made one small spot a continent, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And tuned to poetry Life's prose. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "Haunting the hills, the stream, the wild, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Swallow and aster, lake and pine, + </div> + <div class="line"> + To him grew human or divine,— + </div> + <div class="line"> + Fit mates for this large-hearted child. + </div> + <div class="line"> + Such homage Nature ne'er forgets, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And yearly on the coverlid + </div> + <div class="line"> + 'Neath which her darling lieth hid + </div> + <div class="line"> + Will write his name in violets. + </div> + </div> + <a name="page287" id="page287"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 287]</span> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "To him no vain regrets belong, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Whose soul, that finer instrument, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Gave to the world no poor lament, + </div> + <div class="line"> + But wood-notes ever sweet and strong. + </div> + <div class="line"> + O lonely friend! he still will be + </div> + <div class="line"> + A potent presence, though unseen,— + </div> + <div class="line"> + Steadfast, sagacious, and serene: + </div> + <div class="line"> + Seek not for him,—he is with thee." + </div> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <h2>MR. MARTIN'S DISAPPOINTMENTS.</h2> + <p>The circumstances of a first meeting so color long years of acquaintanceship, + that, should these circumstances be comic in their nature, the intercourse which + follows partakes much of the grotesque. Thus, perhaps, it is, that the misfortunes of + Edward Martin, apart from the whimsical demeanor of the man himself, provoke in my + memory a smile rather than a sigh.</p> + <p>Some years ago, journeying on foot through Northern Connecticut, it became + necessary for me to stop overnight at the quiet inn of Deacon S——.</p> + <p>Sharon I had visited, fair as Berkshire, but less an old story; I had lingered + about the twin lakes of Salisbury; I had carried away many sweet memories of + Warramaug and its mountain; and I now found myself in the neighborhood of Gramley + Bridge, eager for fresh water, clean towels, and the plenty of a country + tea-table,—not averse to strawberry short-cake, or the snowy delights of + cottage-cheese.</p> + <p>It was rapidly growing dark, when, as I hurried on toward my cheerful welcome, a + bend in the road brought me in sight of a figure that filled me with curiosity and + amazement.</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Was it a man? + </div> + <div class="line"> + A devil infernal? + </div> + <div class="line"> + An angel supernal?" + </div> + </div> + <p>Was it were-wolf spectral, or bear aboriginal? It lived and moved, and, as I + cautiously neared the spot, I seemed to recognize a human being in the singular + form,—stooping, squatting, and groping before me.</p> + <p>The man, for such it proved, was performing most wondrous gymnastics upon the + ground,—smelling here, smelling there, too agile to be tipsy, too silent to be + mad. I had no desire to be alone in a lonely road at nightfall with a maniac, and I + was not sorry when my nearer approach resolved these strange phenomena into a + well-dressed pedestrian on all-fours in the middle of a dusty highway.</p> + <p>He rose as I approached, and I smiled to see that the spectacles astride his + handsome nose were minus one lens. He seemed half blind and wholly bewildered. I + looked at once for the lost glass, and there it lay shining at me from the very spot + where he had been so industriously peering. He laughed grimly as I handed it to him, + fitted his treasure into its wonted rim, took out his watch, and with a low chuckle + said,—</p> + <p>"Twenty-five minutes is a long time to search for a bit of such small + circumference. Thank you. Do you go to the Deacon's?"</p> + <p>"Yes."</p> + <p>"So do I."</p> + <p>We walked on together in silence, till we reached our journey's end,—I too + tired, he too reserved, too preoccupied, or too shy, to speak again; but when, at + last, we were seated with our cigars on the Deacon's door-step, he turned suddenly to + me and asked,—</p> + <a name="page288" id="page288"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 288]</span> + <p>"Are you fond of the country?"</p> + <p>"Why, yes! What else is there?" I answered, laughing.</p> + <p>"Ah, you are an artist!"</p> + <p>"I hope to be one."</p> + <p>"Its a bad business," said he, testily,—"a very bad business. If I were you, + I would give it up."</p> + <p>"Have you ever tried it?"</p> + <p>"Tried it?" he ejaculated, kicking the gravel-walk,—"yes, and everything + else, I believe. If I thought it would do you any good, I would give you the benefit + of my experience; but you'd only laugh, and make a good story of it to your + wife."</p> + <p>"Alas! I have no such incumbrance."</p> + <p>"The worse for you, if you have genius and the modesty of genius. A true artist, + who seeks to interpret Nature in its purest and most exquisite relations, who + penetrates the deepest temples of the woods and the silent sanctuaries of the + mountains, must be a true, pure, and good man. He must be a happy man,—happy in + a sweet and natural way. A man whose life is passed in a daily delight that gently + stirs without feverish excitement will be tender and most lovely to women. He + <i>ought</i> to marry."</p> + <p>"Did you ever write poetry?" I asked.</p> + <p>"I began to compose when I was six years old. I wrote a poem on the sea, + commencing,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + 'O thou earthly sea, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Every person thinks of thee,— + </div> + <div class="line"> + The sailor, and the busy bee, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And the Chinese drinking tea!' + </div> + </div> + <p>I thought it very fine. I have written many things since then, and they seemed + good to me at the time. I would not venture to say how they struck others."</p> + <p>He smiled pleasantly.</p> + <p>"Do not be frightened by the shadow of a possible wife from unfolding your + history," said I. "Chance has thrown us together; befriend me with your + experience."</p> + <p>"Take warning, then, if need be.</p> + <p>"In college I was thought 'a very able fellow,' one 'who held the pen of a ready + writer'; and I graduated as vain of my supposed talents as a young miss of her first + conquest.</p> + <p>"My earliest literary essay was in a new magazine, which, as it was just rising + into notice, would be, I imagined, greatly assisted by my condescension. It was a + charity, indeed, to give my support to this fledgling, and I sent to it a long + article, entitled, 'The Cultivated, as Moving and Educational Powers.' My manuscripts + were returned, with this quiet bit of advice:—'Before "X.Y.Z." institutes any + other reforms, we would advise him to reperuse his English Grammar.' Far from having + a salutary effect, this rebuff only rankled in my soul. I determined to revenge + myself on the paltry malignant who dared to despise my efforts. I therefore wrote a + slashing criticism for one of the evening papers, demolishing (as I thought) the + delinquent periodical, and denouncing its whole corps of writers as frivolous and + almost illiterate. My satire was returned, being too personal for publication.</p> + <p>"Just at this time I chanced to fall in love with Miss Ellen Wilson, now Mrs. + Martin. Fancying my passion unrequited, I poured forth my feelings in ten melancholy + stanzas, beginning,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + 'Oh! what avails it, if the spring be bright?' + </div> + </div> + <p>These verses were very morbid and dreary, but they were published in the + 'Tri-Weekly Tribune,' and 'Hope revived again.'</p> + <p>"The drama I next deemed worthy of my attention, and wrote a play, the plot of + which I thought quite new and original. A large fortune is left to my hero, who + forthwith becomes enamored of a fair damsel; but, fearful lest the beloved object + should worship his money more than his merits, he disguises himself in a wig and blue + spectacles, becomes tutor to her brother, and wins her affections while playing + pedagogue. On her acknowledging her attachment, he flings his disguises into the sea, + and, in the wildness of his joy at being adored for his profundity in Latin, Greek, + Hebrew, French, Spanish, German, Mathematics, <a name="page289" + id="page289"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 289]</span> Natural Science, and Civil + Engineering, folds his loved one in his arms, and springs into the surf, where both + are drowned.</p> + <p>"This, you see, was quite new."</p> + <p>"Quite," I replied, laughing.</p> + <p>"I published it at my own expense, and I must say I have yet to receive the first + remittance for this truly original work.</p> + <p>"During the next season, I met with Hans Andersen's inimitable 'Märchen,' + and, immediately setting myself to work, I wrote 'Uncle Job's Legacies,' a series of + children's tales, full, as I fondly fancied, of poetry, pleasantry, and information. + I sent them to 'The Juvenile Weekly,' then published in the city. They were accepted + with a profusion of thanks; and in a few days I called, by request, at the office, + expecting large compensation for services so eagerly received.</p> + <p>"I went up a dirty staircase, into a mean, slovenly back-office, where a small, + uncleanly man sat tipped back in his chair, picking his teeth. He seemed the + personification of <i>nonchalance</i>, impudence, and conceit. As I entered, he + looked up with a lazy insolence, which, had I been a woman, would have brought a hot + flush of indignation to my face, and, on my mentioning my name, he rose and extended + a very dirty hand.</p> + <p>"'Glad to see you, Sir,—hope you'll continue your contributions,—Uncle + Job,—good idea, Sir,—love the little ones? So do we, Sir,—work very + hard for them,—don't pay at all,—poor business,—pure + charity,—that's all.'</p> + <p>"'But you don't mean to say,' I exclaimed, 'that your contributors are expected to + work from charity?'</p> + <p>"'Glad to pay them, if we could, but we can't afford it,—more contributions + than we can use,—best authors in the country write for us,—pure love for + the little ones, I assure you.'</p> + <p>"'Will you give me my manuscripts?' I said. 'I do not vouchsafe to bestow my time + and thoughts for nothing. If you do not pay, I can offer them to others who do.'</p> + <p>"'You won't find a child's paper in the United States that pays,' he growled. 'We + don't care for contributions. Me and my partner writes most of the articles + ourselves.'</p> + <p>"'Will you give me my manuscripts?' I said again, anxious to put an end to the + interview, and disgusted with the fellow's falsehood.</p> + <p>"'Hallo! Mortimer, do you know where them are?'</p> + <p>"'Sorry I can't oblige you,' said a fat man, dirtier and greasier than the first, + emerging from an inner den; 'they're gone to press.'</p> + <p>"'If you tell me any more lies,' cried I, becoming furious, 'I shall take measures + that you will not at all relish. If you will not <i>give</i> me my manuscripts, I + shall <i>take</i> them'; and, suiting the action to the word, I snatched them from a + shelf, where they lay conspicuous, and carried them off without further parley.</p> + <p>"This cured me for a while of all literary ambition. But the unquiet spirit within + me would not rest, and during the following summer I wrote a sentimental tale, full + of aspirations, large adjectives, and soft epithets. It was accepted by a well-known + monthly, then supposed to be in the height of its prosperity. This was a grain of + comfort, and I looked forward confidently to a long future of remuneration and + renown, when a letter of regret arrived from the fair editress, returning my story, + and explaining, that, being unable to meet her engagements, the magazine had been + sold to pay her debts.</p> + <p>"This was bad; but my story was my own, and I accordingly despatched it to 'The + Salmagundian,' a periodical of the highest reputation. There it was published, + praised, and further contributions requested. Several weeks passed away. I indited a + poem, entitled, 'Past and Future, or, Golden and Leaden Hours.' This also appeared in + print, and my thirst for fame was beginning to be satisfied, when a polite note + reached me from 'The Salmagundian' office, begging for another tale, and offering to + pay <a name="page290" id="page290"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 290]</span> me in + <i>back numbers of the magazine</i>. I wrote no more."</p> + <p>"Art beguiled you then, perhaps?"</p> + <p>"Alas, yes, the siren! I had taken lessons from a very clever colorist, and was + thoroughly imbued with his enthusiasm. 'I, too, am a painter,' I took for my motto; + and, hiring a small studio in —— Street, I bought a large canvas, on + which I sketched out a picture which cost me much money, more time, and many anxious + thoughts.</p> + <p>"It represented the interior of a church, at the dim end of which a marriage was + being solemnized. In the foreground, a group of ten people, in anomalous costumes, + was gathered round a youth supposed to be a rejected and despairing lover, who had + fallen on the ground in a swoon. It was very affecting, I thought.—it would be + very effective. Were <i>she</i> to see it, she would be stung with remorse,—she + would behold the probable effects of her present indifference,—she would + relent.</p> + <p>"No one knew of my painting. I would keep it a profound secret, till it was a + complete and glorious success. So I worked on in my quiet studio, draping before a + cheval-glass for my women, attitudinizing and agonizing for my men, until the last + touches were on, the varnish dry, and it was all ready for the Spring Exhibition. + Then came doubts and speculations. Would it be accepted? Was it good, after all? + Would Ellen like it? How would it seem among so many others? Should I take her to + look at it? Should I tell her it was mine? Who would buy it?</p> + <p>"I had hired my studio under an assumed name, and under an assumed name sent my + picture to the Academy. Now, when I went to see it, I found it, by some strange + chance, hung next to a beautiful portrait by Huntington. The juxtaposition gave me a + new idea. I saw at once what a villanous daub mine was, and went away oppressed with + shame and a new-found modesty. Some time after this I strolled again into the + Exhibition, in the hope of finding Miss Wilson; as I entered the vestibule, I met her + coming out.</p> + <p>"'Oh, Mr. Martin!' she exclaimed, 'I am just going away, but I <i>must</i> turn + back, and show you the <i>funniest</i> picture! So theatrical! So distorted!'</p> + <p>"'Does it hang next to a lady in a purple shawl, by Huntington?'</p> + <p>"'Yes. Of course I might have known you would appreciate it, you are such a good + critic of pictures. Isn't it the very worst specimen of art you ever saw?'</p> + <p>"Can you imagine my feelings?"</p> + <p>"I think I can."</p> + <p>"This was not all, however. That afternoon I went to my now forsaken studio, + previous to taking my departure from it forever. I was carefully packing my + materials, when I heard a knock at the door. I opened it, and an elderly, + shrewd-looking man walked into the room.</p> + <p>"'Are you T. Markham Worthington?' he asked.</p> + <p>"'I am a friend of his.'</p> + <p>"'Authorized to sell his picture in the Academy, Number ——?'</p> + <p>"'Yes.'</p> + <p>"'How much does he ask for it?'</p> + <p>"'How much are you willing to give?'</p> + <p>"'Not more than twenty-five dollars,'</p> + <p>"'That will do. Where shall it be sent?'</p> + <p>"He paid the money, wrote the address, and, bowing, left the studio. Twenty-five + dollars just paid for the frame. Who had bought my picture? I looked at the + card:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p>'PARKER J. SPERRY,</p> + <p>'<i>Yankee Pie Depot</i>,</p> + <p>'126 —— Street.'"</p> + </blockquote> + <p>"Did you ever paint again?"</p> + <p>"Once only. I made a portrait of my sister-in-law, and sent it to her in a + gorgeous frame. I happened to go into her sitting-room, one morning, when she was + out, and found my picture hanging with its face to the wall. I turned it round. + Directly across the mouth was pasted a white label, on which I saw neatly <a + name="page291" id="page291"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 291]</span> printed in + India-ink,—'Queen of the Deplorables.' I took it home with me, and hung it in + my library as a lesson to me for all future time.</p> + <p>"So," said Martin, throwing away the of his third cigar, "you have heard my + experience. May you profit by it! I am now in the pork-packing business, and make a + handsome income for my wife and two children. To-morrow I go to New York, to bring + them into these wilds for change of air. And now, good night."</p> + <hr /> + <h2>ROBERT AND CLARA SCHUMANN.</h2> + <center> + FLORESTAN'S STORY. + </center> + <h3>I.</h3> + <p>In every person's memory there are niches fixed, and in those niches are sacred + persons. These are such as never obtruded themselves upon you, staining the pane + through which their light shone with their own images, but who became perfectly + transparent to the word they uttered, the song they sang, or the work they did. Such + a sacred person to me is the gifted woman who first interpreted for me Schumann's + Albums. Many years ago it was, as she told me, that she one day stood unperceived in + the half-open door of her master, near the lesson-hour, and heard him softly + rendering a theme which stole far into places of her heart, which had been awaiting + its spell unconsciously. Presently he felt that there was a listener, and, hastily + brushing away a tear, he placed the music in a far corner of the room, away from his + <i>répertoire</i>. She confessed, that, afterward, when he was not present, + she had looked on that which he evidently desired to conceal; she saw written, in + pencil, upon it, "Sternenkranz." Thenceforth shops and catalogues were ransacked, but + no "Sternenkranz" was found,—the word was evidently her master's own fancy; so + she summoned all her heroism, one day, when Herr Otto complained of her indifference + to the pieces he set before her, and informed him that she should perish at his feet, + unless he would give her "Sternenkranz." Of course her guilt was manifest, and Herr + Otto, in a spasm of anger at "prying women," as he called them, brought out the + treasure, and with it others of a very rare album of Schumann's, to which he had + given no names, leaving them to whisper their own names to each soul that could + receive them: Star-Wreath it might be to one, Bower of Lilies to another. It was the + same as with that white stone which the Seer of Patmos saw,—within it "a name + written which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it."</p> + <p>This piece was to the lady a touch of consecration. Thenceforth she was known + among us as "the Schumannite woman." I verily believe that to-day, next to the divine + Clara herself, she is the best interpreter of Robert Schumann's works living; and if + the love she has obtained for him is not as universal, it is just as fervent. Many + silent and holy hours have I sat communing, through her, with him whom the Germans + love to call their Tone-Poet; and the music remained to clothe with the full vesture + of romance the meagre paragraphs of the journals which hinted his love, his sorrow, + and at length his insanity and death. More, however, I longed to know of + him,—of the wedlock of these Brownings of music; and more I came to know, in + the way which, with this preface, I now proceed to relate.</p> + <a name="page292" id="page292"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 292]</span> + <p>A bitter December evening found me tumbling through snow and ice to accommodate a + certain lyceum in one of our Northwestern cities. Cold winds from over the Lakes made + me wish that the Modern Athens had kept its lecture-system at home; for it has always + seemed to me, that, wherever this has gone, her eastern storms have gone with it. + Such ugly thoughts were shamed, however, by the beaming welcome which shone from the + face of the kindest of landladies, and at length completely thawed out of me by the + glowing fire to which she introduced me, and which animated the coziest of rooms. Why + has not some poet celebrated the experience of thawing? How deliciously each fibre of + the thawee responds to the informing ray, evolving its own sweet sensation of release + until all unite in a soft choral reverie! Carried thus, in a few moments, from the + Arctic to the Tropic, I thought, as dear Heine says, my "sweet nothing-at-all + thoughts," until a subtile breath of music won me back to life.</p> + <p>Heavens! what is that? A strain, strong and tender, pressed its way into the room, + soothed my temples, then broke over me in a shower of pearls. Confused, I started up; + and it was some moments before I understood that the music proceeded from the room + adjoining mine in the hotel. Not altogether unfamiliar was the theme; the priestess + of whom I have spoken had once brought it from the Holy of Holies, when she was + appointed to stand; and now, remembering, I broke out with the word, "Florestan!"</p> + <p>As I uttered it, the music ceased with the dreary fall of an octave. Whether the + musician had heard the exclamation, or whether such a terrible termination was in the + music, I knew not: the latter was quite probable, for, alas! such fearful + Icarus-falls are not rare in poor Schumann's music. However, I did not consider long, + but, rising quickly, passed into the hall, and knocked gently at the door of the next + room.</p> + <p>"Enter," replied a voice, eagerly, but softly.</p> + <p>Enter I did, and stood before a man of about forty winters. His face was so swart + that I could see only the German in the blue eye, and at once imagined that a stream + of Plutonic fire had streamed into his veins from some more Oriental race. I + stammered out an apology for my intrusion, but told him how irresistible were such + subtile threads as Schumann's "Carnival" had projected through the walls which + separated our rooms.</p> + <p>"Florestan," I said, "was too much for me."</p> + <p>Then his eye lighted up as might that of some Arctic voyager, which, having for + bleak months rested only on the glittering scales of the ice-dragon coiled about him, + is suddenly filled with the warm spread of the Polar Sea. Taking my hand, he + said,—</p> + <p>"In me, wanderer that I am,—in me, with the <i>Heimweh</i> in my heart never + to be stilled but in that home where Schumann has already gone,—you see + Florestan."</p> + <p>"Louis Boehner!"</p> + <p>Filled with wonder, and scarcely knowing what I did, I took a little piece of + paper which he unwrapped from many folds and placed in my hand. On it these words + were written:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"<i>Peace and joy attend thee, Louis Boehner! and mayst thou never want for such + a friend as thou hast been to</i></p> + <p>ROBERT SCHUMANN."</p> + </blockquote> + <p>I could say no word; never have I felt a profounder emotion than when, at this + moment, I drew so near one whose brow Art had crowned with a living halo.</p> + <p>Students of German music and composers will need no word to bring before them the + fulness of this incident. But to others I may briefly mention some facts connected + with Schumann's "Carnival, or <i>Scènes Mignonnes</i>, on Four Notes." Not by + any means representing the pure depths of Schumann's soul, this strange <a + name="page293" id="page293"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 293]</span> medley is yet + pregnant with historic associations. The composer wrote it in his young days, + stringing twenty-two little pieces on four letters composing the name of Asch, a town + of Saxony, "whither," according to Sobolewski, "Schumann's thoughts frequently + strayed, because at that time there was an object there interesting to his sensitive + soul." In the letters A, S, C, H, it must be remembered that the H in German stands + for our B natural, and S or <i>es</i> for E flat. The Leipsic "Neue Zeitschrift + für Musik" was begun and for ten years edited by Schumann,—in what spirit + we may gather from his own words:—"The musical state of Germany, at that time, + was not very encouraging. On the stage Rossini yet reigned, and on the piano Herz and + Hünten excluded all others. And yet how few years had passed since Beethoven, + Weber, and Schubert lived among us! True, Mendelssohn's star was ascending, and there + were wonderful whispers of a certain Pole, Chopin; but it was later that these gained + their lasting influence. One day the idea took possession of our young and hot + heads,—Let us not idly look on; take hold, and reform it; take hold, and the + Poetry of Art shall be again enthroned!" Then gathered together a Protestant-league + of music, whose Luther and Melancthon in one was Schumann. The Devil at which they + threw their inkstands and semi-breves was the <i>Philistines</i>, which is the + general term amongst German students, artists, poets, etc., for prosaic, narrow, + hard, ungenial, commonplace respectabilities. "Young Germany" was making itself felt + in all coördinate directions: forming new schools of plastic Art in Munich and + Dresden,—a sharp and spirited Bohemian literature at Frankfort, under the lead + of Heine and Boerne; and now, music being the last to yield in Germany, because most + revered, as it is with religion in other countries, a new vitality brought together + in Kühne's cellar in Leipsic the revolutionists, "who talked of Callot, + Hoffmann, and Jean Paul, of Beethoven and Franz Schubert, and of the three foreign + Romanticists beyond the Rhine, the friends of the new phenomenon in French poetry, + Victor Hugo." This was the <i>Davidsbund</i>, or League of David (the last of the + "Scènes Mignonnes" is named "Marche des <i>Davidsbündler</i> contre les + Philistines"). An agreeable writer in the "Weimarer Somitagsblatt" has given us a + fine sketch of this company, which we will quote.</p> + <blockquote> + "The head of the table was occupied by a lively, flexible man of middle age, + intellectual in conversation, and overflowing with sharp and witty remarks. He was + the instructor of more than one of the young musicians around him, who all listened + to his observations with profound attention. He was very fond of monopolizing the + conversation and suffering himself to be admired. For he called many a young, + highly promising musician his pupil, and had, besides, the certain consciousness of + having moulded his daughter Clara, at that time a girl of fourteen, into a prodigy, + whose first appearance delighted the whole world, and whose subsequent + artist-activity became the pride of her native city, Leipsic. By his side sat a + quiet, thoughtful young man of twenty-three, with melancholy eyes. But lately a + student in Heidelberg, he had now devoted himself entirely to music, had removed to + Leipsic and was now a pupil of the 'old schoolmaster,' as the father of Clara Wieck + liked to be called. Young Robert Schumann had good reason to be melancholy. After + long struggles, he had only been able to devote himself entirely to music + comparatively late in life, and had been obliged to pass a part of his precious + youth in studies which were as uncongenial as possible to his artist-spirit. He had + finally decided for the career of a <i>virtuoso</i>, and was pursuing the study of + the piano with an almost morbid zeal, when the disabling of one of his fingers, a + consequence of his over-exertions, obliged him to give up this career forever. He + did not yet suspect that this accident would prove fortunate for him in the end, by + directing him to <a name="page294" id="page294"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 294]</span> his true vocation, composition. Perhaps, too, it was the first germ of + love, in the garb of admiration for the wondrous talent of Clara, which made young + Robert so quiet and dreamy. His companions were all the more lively. There sat the + eccentric Louis Boehner,<a id="footnotetag1" name="footnotetag1" + href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a> who long ago had served as the model for E.T.A. + Hoffmann's fantastic pictures. Here J.P. Lyser, a painter by profession, but a poet + as well, and a musician besides. Here Carl Bauck, the indefatigable, yet + unsuccessful composer of songs,—now, in his capacity of critic, the paper + bugbear of the Dresden artists. He had just returned from Italy, and believed + himself in possession of the true secret of the art of singing, the monopoly of + which every singing-master is wont to claim for himself. C.F. Becker, too, the + eminent organist and industrious collector, belonged to this circle, as well as + many more young and old artists of more or less merit and talent."<a + id="footnotetag2" name="footnotetag2" href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a> + </blockquote> + <p>Florestan then stood before me; and with him, although invisible, stood that + sacred circle, which had unconsciously borne within it the germs of so many future + sorrows and glories.</p> + <p>"With him," said Louis Boehner, "I began life, when we were boys together at + Heidelberg; with him I stood when the dawn of a better day, which since has blessed + hill and vale, was glowing for his eye alone; this breast held his sorrows and his + hopes, when he was struggling to reach his Clara; these hands saved him when in his + madness he cast himself into the Rhine; these eyes dropped their hot tears on his + eyelids when they were closed in death."</p> + <p>Overcome by his emotion, he sat down and sobbed aloud.</p> + <p>At that moment, hearing my name called loudly in the hall, I went out, and was + informed that my audience was waiting at the Lyceum, and had been waiting nearly + fifteen minutes!</p> + <h3>II.</h3> + <p>Next morning, bright and early, I was in the artist-pilgrim's room, listening to + that which it thrilled him to tell and me to hear. And first he told me the story of + Schumann's love.</p> + <p>The "old schoolmaster," Wieck, trained his daughter more ambitiously than + judiciously; and, indeed, none but one of the elect would ever have survived the + tasks imposed on her childhood. Indeed, she had no childhood: at the piano she was + kept through all the bright days, roving only from scale to scale, when she should + have been roving from flower to flower. At length her genius asserted itself, and she + entered into her destiny; thenceforth flowers bloomed for her out of exercise-books, + and she could touch the notes which were sun-bursts, and those which were mosses + beneath them. From this training she came before the best audience in Germany, and + stood a sad-eyed, beautiful child of fourteen summers, and by acclamation was crowned + the Queen of the Piano. Franz Liszt remembered his enthusiasm of that period, and + many years afterward wrote in his extravagant way,—"When we heard Clara Wieck + in Vienna, fifteen years ago, she drew her hearers after her into her poetic world, + to which she floated upward in a magical car drawn by electric sparks and lifted by + delicately prismatic, but nervously throbbing winglets." At her performance of + Beethoven's F Minor Sonata, Grillparzer was inspired to write the following + verses:—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "A weird magician, weary of the world, + </div> + <div class="line"> + In sullen humor locked his charms all up + </div> + <div class="line"> + Within a diamond casket, firmly clasped, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And threw the key into the sea, and died. + </div> + <div class="line"> + The manikins here tried with all their might; + </div> + <div class="line"> + In vain! no tool can pick the flinty lock; + </div> + <div class="line"> + His magic arts still slumber, like their master. + </div> + <div class="line"> + A shepherd's child, along the sea-shore playing, + </div> + <a name="page295" id="page295"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 295]</span> + <div class="line"> + Watches the waves, in hurrying, idle chase. + </div> + <div class="line"> + Dreaming and thoughtless, as young maidens are, + </div> + <div class="line"> + She dippeth her white fingers in the flood, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And grasps, and lifts, and holds it! 'Tis the key. + </div> + <div class="line"> + Up springs she, up, her heart still beating higher. + </div> + <div class="line"> + The casket glances, as with eyes, before her. + </div> + <div class="line"> + The key fits well, up flies the lid. The spirits + </div> + <div class="line"> + All mount aloft, then bow themselves submissive + </div> + <div class="line"> + To this their gracious, innocent, sweet mistress, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Who with white fingers guides them in her play." + </div> + </div> + <p>The first, perhaps, to recognize the surpassing ability of that child was the + young editor of the "Zeitschrift." Robert Schumann. On her first appearance, he + wrote,—"Others make poetry,—she is a poem." And soon + afterward,—"She early lifted the veil of Isis. The child looks calmly + up,—the man would, perhaps, be dazzled by the brilliancy."</p> + <p>From this moment there was an elasticity and purpose about the young composer, the + secret of which no one knew, not even himself. Like one caught in the whorls of some + happy dream, who will not pause to ask, "Whither?" he poured out before this child + the half-revealed hopes striving within him; an equal spell was woven about her + ingenuous and earnest heart, and their souls were joined in that purple morning; in + due time they were to be rather <i>clenched</i>, through pain. It was under this + baptismal touch of Love that Schumann wrote his first sonata,—"Florestan and + Eusebius." It gained him at once a fame with all from whom fame was graceful.</p> + <p>In the light of this period of his life must be interpreted those wonderful little + "pieces" which mystify whilst they fascinate; without it their meaning is as strange + as their names. Often did he say,—"I can write only where my life is in unison + with my works." "Listen now to these," said Florestan, as he opened an album and + struck the piano; "these are the voices of a new life." The "Alternatives," with + song, "My peace is o'er"; "Evening Thoughts"; "Impromptus," (whose first theme was + written by Clara): these; seemed like the emotion of some newly winged aspirant + released from its chrysalis, resting on its first flower. But faster than planets + through the abysses Love moves on. Florestan ceased, and there was a long silence; + and then he told the unspeakable portion of his story by performing these two: + "Sternenkranz," "Warum." Who has ever scaled the rapture of the former, or fathomed + the pathos of the latter? Every summit implies its precipice; and the star-wreath + that crowned Love was snatched at by the Fate which soon burdened two hearts with the + terrible questioning, <i>Wherefore?</i></p> + <p>Thus: before these two were fully conscious of the love they bore each other, the + shrewd eye of old Wieck had caught a glimpse of what was coming to pass. He had + educated this girl to be an artist to bring <i>him</i> fame; alas, it must be + confessed that he thought also of certain prospective thalers. Willing as he was that + all Leipsic should admire his daughter, he did not like the enthusiasm of the + "Zeitschrift." He then began to warn Clara against "this Faust in modern garb, who, + when he had gained one finger, would soon have the whole hand, and finally the poor + soul into the bargain!" Stupid old schoolmaster, thou shouldst have known that it is + Mephistopheles, and not Faust, that women hate!</p> + <p>The old man, finding that his warnings were of no avail, forbade all acquaintance, + forbade Robert's visits to his house. Then, inaugurating at once Clara's career as a + <i>virtuoso</i>, he took her to Vienna.</p> + <p>No wonder, that, when she appeared there, it was to be as the priestess of + Beethoven. It takes something besides an academy to train artists up to Beethoven. + Robert was forbidden to write to her; but the "Schwärmibriefe of Eusebius to + Chiara," utterly unintelligible to the general reader of the "Zeitschrift," <a + name="page296" id="page296"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 296]</span> who, doubtless, + fancied that its editor had gone mad, were quite clear to a certain little lady in + Vienna, who consequently pined less than her father had anticipated.</p> + <p>"Amid all our musical soul-feasts," he writes, "there always peeps out an + angel-face, which more than resembles a certain Clara. Why art thou not with us? + (<i>Warum!</i>) And how thou wilt have thought of us last night, from the + 'Meeresstille' to the flaming close of the A major symphony! I also thought of thee + then, Chiara, pure one, bright one, whose hands are stretched towards Italy, whither + thy longing draws thee, but thy dreamy eye still turned to us."</p> + <p>At length a sun-burst. In 1840 appeared the first number of Schumann's "Myrthen," + whose dedication, <i>Seiner geliebten Braut</i>, breaks forth in the passionate and + beautiful song,—"Thou my soul, O thou my heart!"</p> + <p>But this word <i>Braut</i> means Bride in the German sense of "affianced"; and + although the joy of this relation passed over Schumann like the breath of a Tropic, + bringing forth, amongst other gorgeous fruits, his glorious First Symphony, which + some one has well called the Symphony of Bliss, yet, ere this bliss was more than an + elusive vision, the two passed through fierce wildernesses, and drank together of + bitter Marahs. "But of all this," said Florestan, "you will know, if you have the + right to know, from these,"—his "Voice from afar," and his "Night-Pieces."</p> + <p>Neither of us dared break the silence claimed by these exquisite pieces when they + ceased; we shook hands and parted without a word.</p> + <h3>III.</h3> + <p>But another mystery about the loved and lost master, which I longed to have + revealed, would not let me leave the city. In the afternoon I sought Boehner, and + asked him to walk with me. As soon as we had alluded to the one subject that bound us + together, I requested him to tell me, what had not yet been given to the world, the + details of Schumann's insanity and death.</p> + <p>Then, as one who takes up a heavy burden to bear it, he proceeded:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"The heart of Robert Schumann was a lyre so delicate, and with strings so + sensitive, that the effect of his pains and his joys, both always in extremes, was + as if you gave an Æolian harp to be swept now by a cold north-wind and now by + a hot sirocco. His spirit wore on to the confines of his flesh, and was not warmly + covered thereby, but only veiled. Under his grief he seemed stronger; but when his + joy came, when Clara was his own, and went through Europe with him, giving + expression to the voices within, which, to him, had been unutterable,—then we + saw that the emotions which would have been safe, had they been suffered to well up + gently from the first, could come forth now only as a fierce and perhaps + devastating torrent.</p> + <p>"Schumann saddened his intimate friends by times of insanity, five or six years + before the world at large knew anything of it. At such times he imagined himself + again cruelly separated from the patient and tender being who never left his side; + and he would write pieces full of distractions, in the midst of each of which, + however, some touchingly beautiful theme would float up, like a fair island through + seething seas. Then there were longer intervals, of seven and eight months, in + which he was perfectly sane; at which times he would write with a wearing + persistence which none could restrain: he would put our advice aside gently, + saying,—'A long life is before me; but it must be lived in a few years.' And, + indeed, the works which have reached farthest into hearts that loved him most + deeply date from these times. I remember, that, when he sat down to compose his + last symphony, he said,—'It is almost accomplished; but the invisible mansion + needs another chamber.'</p> + <p>"Once when I was at Frankfort, Clara Schumann sent me this word: 'Hasten.' I + left all my affairs, and came to <a name="page297" id="page297"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 297]</span> watch for many months beside this beloved one. It + was not a wild delirium which had taken possession of him; the only fit of that + kind was that in which he tried to drown himself in the Rhine,—at the time + when the papers got hold of the terrible secret. His insanity was manifested in his + conviction that he was occupied by the souls of Beethoven and Schubert. Much in the + manner of your American mediums, he would be seized by a controlling + power,—would snatch a pencil, and dash out upon paper the wildest discords. + These we would play for him, at his request, from morning till night,—during + much of which time he would seem to be in a happy trance. Of this music no chord or + melody was true; they were jangling memories of his earlier works.</p> + <p>"One day he called his wife and myself, and took our hands in his + own:—'Beethoven says that my earthly music is over; it cannot be understood + here; he writes for angels, and I shall write for them.' Then, turning to me, he + said,—'Louis, my friend, farewell! This is my last prayer for + you,'—handing me the paper which I have shown you; 'and now leave us, to come + again and kiss me when I am cold.'</p> + <p>"Then I left him alone with his Clara.</p> + <p>"A month from that time, Schumann was no more."</p> + </blockquote> + <p>Out under the glowing sunset, I clasped hands parting with Louis Boehner, and + said, as my voice would let me.—"Take this paper, and when you would have a + friend, such as you have been to Robert Schumann, come and help me to be that + friend."</p> + <hr /> + <h2>THE FREEDMEN AT PORT ROYAL.</h2> + <p>Two questions are concerned in the social problem of our time. One is, Will the + people of African descent work for a living? and the other is, Will they fight for + their freedom? An affirmative answer to these must be put beyond any fair dispute + before they will receive permanent security in law or opinion. Whatever may be the + theses of philosophers or the instincts of the justest men, the general sense of + mankind is not likely to accord the rights of complete citizenship to a race of + paupers, or to hesitate in imposing compulsory labor on those who have not industry + sufficient to support themselves. Nor, in the present development of human nature, is + the conscience of great communities likely to be so pervasive and controlling as to + restrain them from disregarding the rights of those whom it is perfectly safe to + injure, because they have not the pluck to defend themselves. Sentiment may be + lavished upon them in poetry and tears, but it will all be wasted. Like all + unprivileged classes before them, they will have their full recognition as citizens + and men when they have vindicated their title to be an estate of the realm, and not + before. Let us, then, take the world as we find it, and try this people accordingly. + But it is not pertinent to any practical inquiry of our time to predict what triumphs + in art, literature, or government they are to accomplish, or what romance is to glow + upon their history. No Iliad may be written of them and their woes. No Plutarch may + gather the lives of their heroes. No Vandyck may delight to warm his canvas with + their forms. How many or how few astronomers like Banneker, chieftains like + Toussaint, orators like Douglass they may have, it is not worth while to conjecture. + It is better to dismiss these fanciful discussions. To vindicate their title to a + fair chance in the <a name="page298" id="page298"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 298]</span> world as a free people, it is sufficient, and alone sufficient, that it + appear to reasonable minds that they are in good and evil very much like the rest of + mankind, and that they are endowed in about the same degree with the conservative and + progressive elements of character common to ordinary humanity.</p> + <p>It is given to the people of this country and time, could they realise it, to make + a new chapter of human experience. The past may suggest, but it can do little either + in directing or deterring. There is nothing in the gloomy vaticinations of + Tocqueville, wise and benevolent as he is, which should be permitted to darken our + future. The mediæval antagonisms of races, when Christianity threw but a + partial light over mankind, and before commerce had unfolded the harmony of interests + among people of diverse origin or condition, determine no laws which will fetter the + richer and more various development of modern life. Nor do the results of + emancipation in the West Indies, more or less satisfactory as they may be, afford any + measure of the progress which opens before our enfranchised masses. The insular and + contracted life of the colonies, cramped also as they were by debt and absenteeism, + has no parallel in the grand currents of thought and activity ever sweeping through + the continent on which our problem is to be solved.</p> + <p>In the light of these views, the attempt shall be made to report truthfully upon + the freedmen at Port Royal. A word, however, as to the name. Civilization, in its + career, may often be traced in the nomenclatures of successive periods. These people + were first called contrabands at Fortress Monroe; but at Port Royal, where they were + next introduced to us in any considerable number, they were generally referred to as + freedmen. These terms are milestones in our progress; and they are yet to be lost in + the better and more comprehensive designation of citizens, or, when discrimination is + convenient, citizens of African descent.</p> + <p>The enterprise for the protection and development of the freedmen at Port Royal + has won its way to the regard of mankind. The best minds of Europe, as well as the + best friends of the United States, like Cairnes and Gasparin, have testified much + interest in its progress. An English periodical of considerable merit noticed at some + length "Mr. Pierce's Ten Thousand Clients." In Parliament, Earl Russell noted it in + its incipient stage, as a reason why England should not intervene in American + affairs. The "Revue des Deux Mondes," in a recent number, characterizes the colony as + "that small pacific army, far more important in the history of civilization than all + the military expeditions despatched from time to time since the commencement of the + civil war."</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>No little historical interest covers the region to which this account belongs. + Explorations of the coast now known as that of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, + involving the rival pretensions of Spain and France, were made in the first half of + the sixteenth century. They were conducted by Ponce de Leon, Vasquez, Verrazani, and + Soto, in search of the fountain of perpetual youth, or to extend empire by right of + discovery. But no permanent settlement by way of colony or garrison was attempted + until 1562.</p> + <p>In that year,—the same in which he drew his sword for his faith, and ten + years before the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, in which he fell the most illustrious + victim,—Admiral Coligny, the great Protestant chief, anxious to found beyond + the seas a refuge for persecuted Huguenots, fitted out the expedition of Jean + Ribault, which, after a voyage of over three months across the ocean and northward + along the coast, cast anchor on May 27th in the harbor of Port Royal, and gave it the + name which it retains to this day. That year was also to be ever memorable for + another and far different enterprise, which was destined to be written in dark and + perpetual lines on human history. Then it was that John <a name="page299" + id="page299"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 299]</span> Hawkins sailed for Africa in + quest of the first cargo of negroes ever brought to the New World. The expedition of + Ribault was the first visit of Europeans to Port Royal or to any part of South + Carolina, and the garrison left by him was the first settlement under their auspices + ever made on this continent north of Mexico. There is not space or need to detail + here the mutiny and suffering of this military colony, their abandonment of the post, + the terrible voyage homeward, or the perseverance of Coligny in his original purpose. + Nor is it within the compass of this narrative to recount the fortunes of the second + garrison, which was founded on the St. John's, the visit of John Hawkins in 1565 with + timely relief, the return of Ribault from France and his sad fate, the ferocity of + Melendez against all heretic Frenchmen, and the avenging chivalry of Dominic de + Gourges. The student is baffled in attempts to fix localities for the deeds and + explorations of this period, even with the help of the several accounts and the + drawings of Le Moyne; and, besides, these later vicissitudes did not involve any + permanent occupation as far north as Port Royal, that region having been abandoned by + the French, and being then visited by the Spanish only for trade or adventure.</p> + <p>Some merchants of Barbados, in 1663, sent William Hilton and other commissioners + to Florida, then including Port Royal, to explore the country with reference to an + emigration thither. Hilton's Narration, published in London the year after, mentions + St. Ellens as one of the points visited, meaning St. Helena, but probably including + the Sea Islands under that name. The natives were found to speak many Spanish words, + and to be familiar enough with the report of guns not to be alarmed by it. The + commissioners, whose explorations were evidently prompted by motives of gain, close a + somewhat glowing description of the country by saying, "And we could wish that all + they that want a happy settlement of our English nation were well transported + thither."</p> + <p>Hitherto England had borne no part in exploring this region. But, relieved of her + civil wars by the Restoration, she began to seek colonial empire on the southern + coast of North America. In 1663, Charles II. granted a charter to Clarendon, Monk, + Shaftsbury,—each famous in the conflicts of those times,—and to their + associates, as proprietors of Carolina. The genius of John Locke, more fitted for + philosophy than affairs, devised a constitution for the colony,—an idle work, + as it proved. In 1670, the first emigrants, under Governor William Sayle, arrived at + Port Royal, with the purpose to remain there; but, disturbed probably with + apprehensions of Spanish incursions from Florida, they removed to the banks of the + Ashley, and, after another change of site, founded Charleston.</p> + <p>In 1682, a colony from Scotland under Lord Cardross was founded at Port Royal, but + was driven away four years later by the Spanish. No permanent settlement of the + Beaufort district appears to have succeeded until 1700. This district is divided into + four parishes, St. Peter's, St. Luke's, St. Helena, and Prince William, being + fifty-eight miles long and thirty-two broad, and containing 1,224,960 acres. St. + Helena parish includes the islands of St. Helena, Ladies, Port Royal, Paris, and a + few smaller islands, which, together with Hilton Head, make the district occupied by + our forces. The largest and most populous of these islands is St. Helena, being + fifteen miles long and six or seven broad, containing fifty plantations and three + thousand negroes, and perhaps more since the evacuation of Edisto. Port Royal is + two-thirds or three-quarters the size of St. Helena, Ladies half as large, and Hilton + Head one-third as large. Paris, or Parry, has five plantations, and Coosaw, Morgan, + Cat, Cane, and Barnwell have each one or two. Beaufort is the largest town in the + district of that name, and the only one at Port Royal in our possession. Its + population, black and white, in time of peace may have been <a name="page300" + id="page300"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 300]</span> between two and three + thousand. The first lots were granted in 1717. Its Episcopal church was built in + 1720. Its library was instituted in 1802, had increased in 1825 to six or eight + hundred volumes, and when our military occupation began contained about thirty-five + hundred.</p> + <p>The origin of the name Port Royal, given to a harbor at first and since to an + island, has already been noted. The name of St. Helena, applied to a sound, a parish, + and an island, originated probably with the Spaniards, and was given by them in + tribute to Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, whose day in the + calendar is August 18th. Broad River is the equivalent of La Grande, which was given + by Ribault. Hilton Head may have been derived from Captain Hilton, who came from + Barbados. Coosaw is the name of a tribe of Indians. Beaufort is likely to have been + so called for Henry, Duke of Beauford, one of the lord proprietors, while Carolina + was a province of Great Britain.</p> + <p>The Beaufort District is not invested with any considerable Revolutionary romance. + In 1779, the British forces holding Savannah sent two hundred troops with a howitzer + and two field-pieces to Beaufort. Four companies of militia from Charleston with two + field-pieces, reinforced by a few volunteers from Beaufort, repulsed and drove them + off. The British made marauding incursions from Charleston in 1782, and are said to + have levied a military contribution on St. Helena and Port Royal Islands.</p> + <p>There are the remains of Indian mounds and ancient forts on the islands. One of + these last, it is said, can be traced on Paris Island, and is claimed by some + antiquaries to be the Charles Fort built by Ribault. There are the well-preserved + walls of one upon the plantation of John J. Smith on Port Royal Island, a few miles + south of Beaufort, now called Camp Saxton, and recently occupied by Colonel + Higginson's regiment. It is built of cemented oyster-shells. Common remark refers to + it as a Spanish fort, but it is likely to be of English construction. The site of + Charles Fort is claimed for Beaufort, Lemon Island, Paris Island, and other + points.</p> + <p>The Sea Islands are formed by the intersection of the creeks and arms of the sea. + They have a uniform level, are without any stones, and present a rather monotonous + and uninteresting scenery, spite of the raptures of French explorers. The creeks run + up into the islands at numerous points, affording facilities for transportation by + flats and boats to the buildings which are usually near them. The soil is of a light, + sandy mould, and yields in the best seasons a very moderate crop, say fifteen bushels + of corn and one hundred or one hundred and thirty pounds of ginned cotton to the + acre,—quite different from the plantations in Mississippi and Texas, where an + acre produces five or six hundred pounds. The soil is not rich enough for the + cultivated grasses, and one finds but little turf. The coarse saline grasses, + gathered in stacks, furnish the chief material for manure. The long-fibred cotton + peculiar to the region is the result of the climate, which is affected by the action + of the salt water upon the atmosphere by means of the creeks which permeate the land + in all directions. The seed of this cotton, planted on the upland, will produce in a + few years the cotton of coarser texture; and the seed of the latter, planted on the + islands, will in a like period produce the finer staple. The Treasury Department + secured eleven hundred thousand pounds from the islands occupied by our forces, + including Edisto, being the crop, mostly unginned, and gathered in storehouses, when + our military occupation began.</p> + <p>The characteristic trees are the live-oak, its wood almost as heavy as + lignum-vitæ, the trunk not high, but sometimes five or six feet in diameter, + and extending its crooked branches far over the land, with the long, pendulous, + funereal moss adhering to them,—and the palmetto, shooting up its long, spongy + stem thirty or forty feet, unrelieved by <a name="page301" id="page301"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 301]</span> vines or branches, with a disproportionately small + cap of leaves at the summit, the most ungainly of trees, albeit it gives a name and + coat-of-arms to the State. Besides these, are the pine, the red and white oak, the + cedar, the bay, the gum, the maple, and the ash. The soil is luxuriant with an + undergrowth of impenetrable vines. These interlacing the trees, supported also by + shrubs, of which the cassena is the most distinguished variety, and faced with + ditches, make the prevailing fences of the plantations. The hedges are adorned in + March and April with the yellow jessamine, (<i>jelseminum</i>,)—the cross-vine + (<i>bignonia</i>,) with its mass of rich red blossoms,—the Cherokee rose, + (<i>loevigata</i>,) spreading out in long waving wreaths of white,—and, two + months later, the palmetto royal, (<i>yucca gloriosa</i>,) which protects the fence + with its prickly leaves, and delights the eyes with its pyramid-like clusters of + white flowers. Some of these trees and shrubs serve a utilitarian end in art and + medicine. The live-oak is famous in shipbuilding. The palmetto, or cabbage-palmetto, + as it is called, resists destruction by worms, and is used for facing wharves. It was + employed to protect Fort Moultrie in 1776, when bombarded by the British fleet; and + the cannon-balls were buried in its spongy substance. The moss (<i>tillandsia + usneoides</i>) served to calk the rude vessel of the first French colonists, longing + for home. It may be used for bedding after its life has been killed by boiling water, + and for the subsistence of cattle when destitute of other food. The cassena is a + powerful diuretic.</p> + <p>The game and fish, which are both abundant and of desirable kinds, and to the + pursuit of which the planters were much addicted, are described in Eliot's book. + Russell's "Diary" may also be consulted in relation to fishing for devil and + drum.</p> + <p>The best dwellings in Beaufort are capacious, with a piazza on the first and + second stories, through each of which runs a large hall to admit a free circulation + of air. Only one, however, appeared to have been built under the supervision of a + professional architect. Those on the plantations, designed for the planters or + overseers, were, with a few exceptions, of a very mean character, and a thriving + mechanic in New England would turn his back on them as unfit to live in. Their yards + are without turf, having as their best feature a neighboring grove of orange-trees. + One or two dwellings only appear to be ancient. Indeed, they are not well enough + built to last long. The estates upon Edisto Island are of a more patrician character, + and are occasionally surrounded by spacious flower-gardens and ornamental trees + fancifully trimmed.</p> + <p>The names of the planters indicated mainly an English origin, although some may be + traced to Huguenot families who sought a refuge here from the religious persecutions + of France.</p> + <p>The deserted houses were generally found strewn with religious periodicals, mainly + Baptist magazines. This characteristic of Southern life has been elsewhere observed + in the progress of our army. Occasionally some book denouncing slavery as criminal + and ruinous was found among those left behind. One of these was Hewatt's history of + South Carolina, published in 1779, and reprinted in Carroll's collection. Another was + Gregoire's vindication of the negro race and tribute to its distinguished examples, + translated by Warden in 1810. These people seem, indeed, to have had light enough to + see the infinite wrong of the system, and it is difficult to believe them entirely + sincere in their passionate defence of it. Their very violence, when the moral basis + of slavery is assailed, seems to be that of a man who distrusts the rightfulness of + his daily conduct, has resolved to persist in it, and therefore hates most of all the + prophet who comes to confront him for his misdeeds, and, if need be, to publish them + to mankind.</p> + <p>Well-authenticated instances of cruelty to slaves were brought to notice without + <a name="page302" id="page302"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 302]</span> being sought + for. The whipping-tree is now often pointed out, still showing the place where it was + worn by the rope which bound the sufferer to it. On the plantation where my own + quarters were was a woman who had been so beaten when approaching the trials of + maternity as to crush out the life of the unborn child. But this planter had one + daughter who looked with horror on the scenes of which she was the unwilling witness. + She declared to her parents and sisters that it was hell to live in such a place. She + was accustomed to advise the negroes how best to avoid being whipped. When the war + began, she assured them that the story of the masters that the Yankees were going to + send them to Cuba was all a lie. Surely a kind Providence will care for this noble + girl! This war will, indeed, emancipate others than blacks from bonds which marriage + and kindred have involved. But it is unpleasant to dwell on these painful scenes of + the past, constant and authentic as they are; and they hardly concern the practical + question which now presses for a solution. Nor in referring to them is there any need + of injustice or exaggeration. Human nature has not the physical endurance or moral + persistence to keep up a perpetual and universal cruelty; and there are fortunate + slaves who never received a blow from their masters. Besides, there was less labor + exacted and less discipline imposed on the loosely managed plantations of the Sea + Islands than in other districts where slave-labor was better and more profitably + organized and directed.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>The capture of Hilton Head and Bay Point by the navy, November 7th, 1861, was + followed by the immediate military occupation of the Sea Islands. In the latter part + of December, the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Chase, whose foresight as a statesman + and humane disposition naturally turned his thoughts to the subject, deputed a + special agent to visit this district for the purpose of reporting upon the condition + of the negroes who had been abandoned by the white population, and of suggesting some + plan for the organization of their labor and the promotion of their general + well-being. The agent, leaving New York January 13th, 1862, reached that city again + on his way to Washington on the 13th of February, having in the mean time visited a + large number of the plantations, and talked familiarly with the negroes in their + cabins. The results of his observations, in relation to the condition of the people, + their capacities and wishes, the culture of their crops, and the best mode of + administration, on the whole favorable, were embodied in a report. The plan proposed + by him recommended the appointment of superintendents to act as guides of the negroes + and as local magistrates, with an adequate corps of teachers. It was accepted by the + Secretary with a full indorsement, and its execution intrusted to the same agent. The + agent presented the subject to several members of Congress, with whom he had a + personal acquaintance, but, though they listened respectfully, they seemed either to + dread the magnitude of the social question, or to feel that it was not one with which + they as legislators were called upon immediately to deal. The Secretary himself, and + Mr. Olmsted, then connected with the Sanitary Commission, alone seemed to grasp it, + and to see the necessity of immediate action. It is doubtful if any member of the + Cabinet, except Mr. Chase, took then any interest in the enterprise, though it has + since been fostered by the Secretary of War. At the suggestion of the Secretary, the + President appointed an interview with the agent. Mr. Lincoln, who was then chafing + under a prospective bereavement, listened for a few moments, and then said, somewhat + impatiently, that he did not think he ought to be troubled with such + details,—that there seemed to be an itching to get negroes into our lines; to + which the agent replied, that these negroes were within them by the invitation of no + one, being domiciled there before we commenced occupation. The President then <a + name="page303" id="page303"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 303]</span> wrote and + handed to the agent the following card:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"I shall be obliged if the Sec. of the Treasury will in his discretion give Mr. + Pierce such instructions in regard to Port Royal contrabands as may seem + judicious.</p> + <p>"A. LINCOLN.</p> + <p>"Feb. 15, 1862."</p> + </blockquote> + <p>The President, so history must write it, approached the great question slowly and + reluctantly; and in February, 1862, he little dreamed of the proclamations he was to + issue in the September and January following. Perhaps that slowness and reluctance + were well, for thereby it was given to this people to work out their own salvation, + rather than to be saved by any chief or prophet.</p> + <p>Notwithstanding the plan of superintendents was accepted, there were no funds + wherewith to pay them. At this stage the "Educational Commission," organized in + Boston on the 7th of February, and the "Freedmen's Relief Association," organized in + New York on the 20th of the same month, gallantly volunteered to pay both + superintendents and teachers, and did so until July 1st, when the Government, having + derived a fund from the sale of confiscated cotton left in the territory by the + Rebels, undertook the payment of the superintendents, the two societies, together + with another organized in Philadelphia on the 3d of March, and called the "Port Royal + Relief Committee," providing for the support of the teachers.</p> + <p>When these voluntary associations sprang into being to save an enterprise which + otherwise must have failed, no authoritative assurance had been given as to the legal + condition of the negroes. The Secretary, in a letter to the agent, had said, that, + after being received into our service, they could not, without great injustice, be + restored to their masters, and should therefore be fitted to become self-supporting + citizens. The President was reported to have said freely, in private, that negroes + who were within our lines, and had been employed by the Government, should be + protected in their freedom. No official assurance of this had, however, been given; + and its absence disturbed the societies in their formation. At one meeting of the + Boston society action was temporarily arrested by the expression of an opinion by a + gentleman present, that there was no evidence showing that these people, when + educated, would not be the victims of some unhappy compromise. A public meeting in + Providence, for their relief, is said to have broken up without action, because of a + speech from a furloughed officer of a regiment stationed at Port Royal, who + considered such a result the probable one. But the societies, on reflection, wisely + determined to do what they could to prepare them to become self-supporting citizens, + in the belief, that, when they had become such, no Government could ever be found + base enough to turn its back upon them. These associations, it should be stated, have + been managed by persons of much consideration in their respective communities, of + unostentatious philanthropy, but of energetic and practical benevolence, hardly one + of whom has ever filled or been a candidate for a political office.</p> + <p>There was a pleasant interview at this time which may fitly be mentioned. The + venerable Josiah Quincy, just entered on his ninety-first year, hearing of the + enterprise, desired to see one who had charge of it. I went to his chamber, where he + had been confined to his bed for many weeks with a fractured limb. He talked like a + patriot who read the hour and its duty. He felt troubled lest adequate power had not + been given to protect the enterprise,—said that but for his disability he + should be glad to write something about it, but that he was living "the postscript of + his life"; and as we parted, he gave his hearty benediction to the work and to + myself. Restored in a measure to activity, he is still spared to the generation which + fondly cherishes his old age; and recently, at the organization of the Union Club, he + read to his fellow-citizens, <a name="page304" id="page304"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 304]</span> gathering close about him and hanging on his speech, + words of counsel and encouragement.</p> + <p>On the morning of the 3d of March, 1862, the first delegation of superintendents + and teachers, fifty-three in all, of whom twelve were women, left the harbor of New + York, on board the United States steam-transport Atlantic, arriving at Beaufort on + the 9th. It was a voyage never to be forgotten. The enterprise was new and strange, + and it was not easy to predict its future. Success or defeat might be in store for + us; and we could only trust in God that our strength would be equal to our + responsibilities. As the colonists approached the shores of South Carolina, they were + addressed by the agent in charge, who told them the little he had learned of their + duties, enjoined patience and humanity, impressed on them the greatness of their + work, the results of which were to cheer or dishearten good men, to settle, perhaps, + one way or the other, the social problem of the age,—assuring them that never + did a vessel bear a colony on a nobler mission, not even the Mayflower, when she + conveyed the Pilgrims to Plymouth, that it would be a poorly written history which + should omit their individual names, and that, if faithful to their trust, there would + come to them the highest of all recognitions ever accorded to angels or to men, in + this life or the next,—"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye + have done it unto Me."</p> + <p>This first delegation of superintendents and teachers were distributed during the + first fortnight after their arrival at Beaufort, and at its close they had all + reached their appointed posts. They took their quarters in the deserted houses of the + planters. These had all left on the arrival of our army, only four white men, + citizens of South Carolina, remaining, and none of those being slaveholders, except + one, who had only two or three slaves. Our operations were, therefore, not interfered + with by landed proprietors who were loyal or pretended to be so. The negroes had, in + the mean time, been without persons to guide and care for them, and had been exposed + to the careless and conflicting talk of soldiers who chanced to meet them. They were + also brought in connection with some <i>employés</i> of the Government, + engaged in the collection of cotton found upon the plantations, none of whom were + doing anything for their education, and most of whom were in favor of leasing the + plantations and the negroes upon them as <i>adscripti gleboe</i> looking forward to + their restoration to their masters at the close of the war. They were uncertain as to + the intentions of the Yankees, and were wondering at the confusion, as they called + it. They were beginning to plant corn in their patches, but were disinclined to plant + cotton, regarding it as a badge of servitude. No schools had been opened, except one + at Beaufort, which had been kept a few weeks by two freedmen, one bearing the name of + John Milton, under the auspices of the Rev. Dr. Peck. This is not the place to detail + the obstacles we met with, one after another overcome,—the calumnies and even + personal violence to which we were subjected. These things occurred at an early + period of our struggle, when the nation was groping its way to light, and are not + likely to occur again. Let unworthy men sleep in the oblivion they deserve, and let + others of better natures, who were then blind, but now see, not be taunted with their + inconsiderate acts. The nickname of Gibeonites, applied to the colonists, may, + however, be fitly remembered. It may now justly claim rank with the honored titles of + Puritan and Methodist. The higher officers of the army were uniformly respectful and + disposed to coöperation. One of these may properly be mentioned. Our most + important operations were in the district under the command of Brigadier-General + Isaac I. Stevens, an officer whose convictions were not supposed to be favorable to + the enterprise, and who, during the political contest of 1860, had been the chairman + of the National Breckinridge Committee. But such was his honor as a gentleman, and + his sense of the <a name="page305" id="page305"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 305]</span> duty of subordination to the wishes of the Government, that his personal + courtesies and official aid were never wanting. He received his mortal wound at + Chantilly, Virginia, on the first of September following, and a braver and abler + officer has not fallen in the service.</p> + <p>Notwithstanding our work was commenced six weeks too late, and other hindrances + occurred, detailed in the second report of the agent, some eight thousand acres of + esculents,—a fair supply of food,—and some four thousand five hundred + acres of cotton (after a deduction for over-estimates) were planted. This was done + upon one hundred and eighty-nine plantations, on which were nine thousand and fifty + people, of whom four thousand four hundred and twenty-nine were field-hands, made up + of men, women, and children, and equivalent, in the usual classification and estimate + of the productive capacity of laborers, to three thousand eight hundred and five and + one-half full hands. The cotton-crop produced will not exceed sixty-five thousand + pounds of ginned cotton. Work enough was done to have produced five hundred thousand + pounds in ordinary times; but the immaturity of the pod, resulting from the lateness + of the planting, exposed it to the ravages of the frost and the worm. Troops being + ordered North, after the disasters of the Peninsular campaign, Edisto was evacuated + in the middle of July, and thus one thousand acres of esculents, and nearly seven + hundred acres of cotton, the cultivation of which had been finished, were abandoned. + In the autumn, Major-General Mitchell required forty tons of corn-fodder and + seventy-eight thousand pounds of corn in the ear, for army-forage. These are but some + of the adverse influences to which the agricultural operations were subjected.</p> + <p>It is fitting here that I should bear my testimony to the superintendents and + teachers commissioned by the associations. There was as high a purpose and devotion + among them as in any colony that ever went forth to bear the evangel of civilization. + Among them were some of the choicest young men of New England, fresh from Harvard, + Yale, and Brown, from the divinity-schools of Andover and Cambridge,—men of + practical talent and experience. There were some of whom the world was scarce worthy, + and to whom, whether they are among the living or the dead, I delight to pay the + tribute of my respect and admiration.</p> + <p>Four of the original delegation have died. William S. Clark died at Boston, April + 25th, 1863, a consumptive when he entered on the work, which he was obliged to leave + six months before his death. He was a faithful and conscientious teacher. Though so + many months had passed since he left these labors, their fascination was such that he + dwelt fondly upon them in his last days.</p> + <p>The colony was first broken by the death of Francis E. Barnard, at St. Helena + Island, October 18th, 1862. He was devoted, enthusiastic,—and though not + fitted, as it at first appeared, for the practical duties of a superintendent, yet + even in this respect disappointing me entirely. He was an evangelist, also, and he + preached with more unction than any other the gospel of freedom,—always, + however, enforcing the duties of industry and self-restraint. He was never sad, but + always buoyant and trustful. He and a comrade were the first to be separated from the + company, while at Hilton Head, and before the rest went to Beaufort,—being + assigned to Edisto, which had been occupied less than a month, and was a remote and + exposed point; but he went fearlessly and without question. The evacuation of Edisto + in July, the heat, and the labor involved in bringing away and settling his people at + the village on St. Helena Island, a summer resort of the former residents, where were + some fifty vacant houses, were too much for him. His excessive exertions brought on + malarious fever. This produced an unnatural excitement, and at mid-day, under a hot + sun, he rode about to attend to his people. He died,—men, women, and children, + for whom he had toiled, filling the house with <a name="page306" + id="page306"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 306]</span> their sobs during his + departing hours. His funeral was thronged by them, his coffin strewn with flowers + which they and his comrades had plucked, and then his remains were borne to his + native town, where burial-rites were again performed in the old church of Dorchester. + Read his published journal, and find how a noble youth can live fourscore years in a + little more than one score. One high privilege was accorded to him. He lived to hear + of the immortal edict of the twenty-second of September, by which the freedom of his + people was to be secured for all time to come.</p> + <p>Samuel D. Phillips was a young man of much religions feeling, though he never + advertised himself as having it, and a devout communicant of the Episcopal Church. He + was a gentleman born and bred, inheriting the quality as well as adding to it by + self-discipline. He had good business-capacity, never complained of inconveniences, + was humane, yet not misled by sentiment, and he gave more of his time, otherwise + unoccupied, to teaching than almost any other superintendent. I was recently asking + the most advanced pupils of a school on St. Helena who first taught them their + letters, and the frequent answer was, "Mr. Phillips." He was at home in the autumn + for a vacation, was at the funeral of Barnard in Dorchester, and though at the time + in imperfect health, he hastened back to his charge, feeling that the death of + Barnard, whose district was the same as his own, rendered his immediate return + necessary to the comfort of his people. He went,—but his health never came back + to him. His quarters were in the same house where Barnard had died, and in a few + days, on the 5th of December, he followed him. He was tended in his sickness by the + negroes, and one day, having asked that his pillow might be turned, he uttered the + words, "Thank God," and died. There was the same grief as at Barnard's death, the + same funeral-rites at the St. Helena Church, and his remains were borne North to + bereaved relatives.</p> + <p>Daniel Bowe was an alumnus of Yale College, and a student of the Andover + Theological Seminary, not yet graduated when he turned from his professional studies + at the summons of Christian duty. He labored faithfully as a superintendent, looking + after the physical, moral, and educational interests of his people. He had a + difficult post, was overburdened with labor, and perhaps had not the faculty of + taking as good care of himself as was even consistent with his duties. He came home + in the summer, commended the enterprise and his people to the citizens and students + of Andover, and returned. He afterwards fell ill, and, again coming North, died + October 30th, a few days after reaching New York. The young woman who was betrothed + to him, but whom he did not live to wed, has since his death sought this field of + labor; and on my recent visit I found her upon the plantation where he had resided, + teaching the children whom he had first taught, and whose parents he had guided to + freedom. Truly, the age of Christian romance has not passed away!</p> + <blockquote> + <p>On the first of July, 1862, the administration of affairs at Port Royal having + been transferred from the Treasury to the War Department, the charge of the + freedmen passed into the hands of Brigadier-General Rufus Saxton, a native of + Massachusetts, who in childhood had breathed the free air of the valley of the + Connecticut, a man of sincere and humane nature; and under his wise and benevolent + care they still remain. The Sea Islands, and also Fernandina and St. Augustine in + Florida, are within our lines in the Department of the South, and some sixteen or + eighteen thousand negroes are supposed to be under his jurisdiction.</p> + <p>The negroes of the Sea Islands, when found by us, had become an abject race, + more docile and submissive than those of any other locality. The native African was + of a fierce and mettlesome temper, sullen and untamable. The master was obliged to + abate something of the <a name="page307" id="page307"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 307]</span> usual rigor in dealing with the imported slaves. A tax-commissioner, + now at Port Royal, and formerly a resident of South Carolina, told me that a native + African belonging to his father, though a faithful man, would perpetually insist on + doing his work in his own way, and being asked the threatening question, "A'n't you + going to mind?" would answer, with spirit, "No, a'n't gwine to!" and the master + desisted! Severe discipline drove the natives to the wilderness, or involved a + mutilation of person which destroyed their value for proprietary purposes. In 1816, + eight hundred of these refugees were living free in the swamps and everglades of + Florida. There the ancestors of some of them had lived ever since the early part of + the eighteenth century, rearing families, carrying on farms, and raising cattle. + They had two hundred and fifty men fit to bear arms, led by chiefs brave and + skilful. The story of the Exiles of Florida is one of painful interest. The + testimony of officers of the army who served against them is, that they were more + dangerous enemies than the Indians, fighting the most skilfully and standing the + longest. The tax-commissioner before referred to, who was a resident of Charleston + during the trial and execution of the confederates of Denmark Vesey, relates that + one of the native Africans, when called to answer to the charge against him, + haughtily responded,—"<i>I was a prince in my country, and have as much right + to be free as you!</i>" The Carolinians were so awe-struck by his defiance that + they transported him. Another, at the execution, turned indignantly to a comrade + about to speak, and said, "<i>Die silent, as I do!</i>" and the man hushed. The + early newspapers of Georgia recount the disturbances on the plantations occasioned + by these native Africans, and even by their children, being not until the third + generation reduced to obedient slaves.</p> + <p>Nowhere has the deterioration of the negroes from their native manhood been + carried so far as on these Sea Islands,—a deterioration due to their + isolation from the excitements of more populous districts, the constant + surveillance of the overseers, and their intermarriage with each other, involving a + physical degeneracy with which inexorable Nature punishes disobedience to her laws. + The population with its natural increase was sufficient for the cultivation of the + soil under existing modes, and therefore no fresh blood was admitted, such as is + found pouring from the Border States into the sugar and cotton regions of the + Southwest. This unmanning and depravation of the native character had been carried + so far, that the special agent, on his first exploration, in January, 1862, was + obliged to confess the existence of a general disinclination to military service on + the part of the negroes; though it is true that even then instances of courage and + adventure appeared, which indicated that the more manly feeling was only latent, to + be developed under the inspiration of events. And so, let us rejoice, it has been. + You may think yourself wise, as you note the docility of a subject race; but in + vain will you attempt to study it until the burden is lifted. The slave is unknown + to all, even to himself, while the bondage lasts. Nature is ever a kind mother. She + soothes us with her deceits, not in surgery alone, when the sufferer, else writhing + in pain, is transported with the sweet delirium, but she withholds from the spirit + the sight of her divinity until her opportunity has come. Not even Tocqueville or + Olmsted, much less the master, can measure the capacities and possibilities of the + slave, until the slave himself is transmuted to a man.</p> + </blockquote> + <p>My recent visit to Port Royal extended from March 25th to May 10th. It was + pleasant to meet the first colonists, who still toiled at their posts, and specially + grateful to receive the welcome of the freedmen, and to note the progress they had + made. There were interesting scenes to fill the days. I saw an aged negro, + Cæsar by name, not less than one hundred years old, who had left children in + Africa, when stolen away. The vicissitudes <a name="page308" id="page308"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 308]</span> of such a life were striking,—a free savage in + the wilds of his native land, a prisoner on a slave-ship, then for long years a + toiling slave, now again a freeman under the benign edict of the President,—his + life covering an historic century. A faithful and industrious negro, Old Simon, as we + called him, hearing of my arrival, rode over to see me, and brought me a present of + two or three quarts of pea-nuts and some seventeen eggs. I had an interview with Don + Carlos, whom I had seen in May, 1862, at Edisto, the faithful attendant upon Barnard, + and who had been both with him and Phillips during their last hours,—now not + less than seventy years of age, and early in life a slave in the Alston family, where + he had known Theodosia Burr, the daughter of Aaron Burr, and wife of Governor Alston. + He talked intelligently upon her personal history and her mysterious fate. He had + known John Pierpont, when a teacher in the family of Colonel Alston, and accompanying + the sons on their way North to college after the completion of their preparatory + studies. Pierpont was a classmate of John C. Calhoum at Yale College, and, upon + graduating, went South as a private tutor.</p> + <p>Aunt Phillis was not likely to be overlooked,—an old woman, with much power + of expression, living on the plantation where my quarters had formerly been. The + attack on Charleston was going on, and she said, "If you're as long beating Secesh + everywhere as you have been in taking the town, guess it'll take you some time!" + Indeed, the negroes had somewhat less confidence in our power than at first, on + account of our not having followed up the capture of Bay Point and Hilton Head. The + same quaint old creature, speaking of the disregard of the masters for the feelings + of the slaves, said, with much emphasis, "They thought God was dead!"</p> + <p>I visited Barnwell Island, the only plantation upon which is that of Trescot, + formerly Secretary of Legation at London, a visit to whom Russell describes in his + "Diary." But the mansion is not now as when Russell saw it. Its large library is + deposited in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. Its spacious rooms in the + first and second stories, together with the attics, are all filled with the families + of negro refugees. From this point, looking across the water, we could see a + cavalry-picket of the Rebels. The superintendent who had charge of the plantation, + and accompanied me, was Charles Follen, an inherited name, linked with the struggles + for freedom in both hemispheres.</p> + <p>The negro graveyards occasionally attracted me from the road. They are usually in + an open field, under a clump of some dozen or twenty trees, perhaps live-oaks, and + not fenced. There may be fifty or a hundred graves, marked only by sticks eighteen + inches or two feet high and about as large as the wrist. Mr. Olmsted saw some stones + in a negro graveyard at Savannah, erected by the slaves, and bearing rather + illiterate inscriptions; but I never succeeded in finding any but wooden memorials, + not even at Beaufort. Only in one case could I find an inscription, and that was in a + burial-place on Ladies Island. There was a board at the head of the grave, shaped + something like an ordinary gravestone, about three feet high and six inches wide. The + inscription was as follows:—</p> +<pre> + OLd Jiw +de PArt his +Life on the + 2 of WAY + Re st frow + LAuer +</pre> + <p>On the foot-board were these words:—</p> +<pre> + We ll +d OW N. +</pre> + <p>The rude artist was Kit, the son of the old man. He can read, and also write a + little, and, like his deceased father, is a negro preacher. He said that he used to + carry his father in his arms in his old age,—that the old man had no pain, and, + as the son expressed it, "sunk in years." I inquired of Kit concerning several of the + graves; and I found, by his intelligent <a name="page309" id="page309"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 309]</span> answers, that their tenants were disposed in families + and were known. These lowly burial-places, for which art has done nothing, are not + without a fascination, and in some hours of life they take a faster hold on the + sentiments than more imposing cemeteries, adorned with shafts of marble and granite, + and rich in illustrious dead.</p> + <p>There were some superstitions among the people, perhaps of African origin, which + the teachers had detected, such as a belief in hags as evil spirits, and in a kind of + witchcraft which only certain persons can cure. They have a superstition, that, when + you take up and remove a sleeping child, you must call its spirit, else it will cry, + on awaking, until you have taken it back to the same place and invoked its spirit. + They believe that turning an alligator on his back will bring rain; and they will not + talk about one when in a boat, lest a storm should thereby be brought on.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>But the features in the present condition of the freedmen bearing directly on the + solution of the social problem deserve most consideration.</p> + <p>And, first, as to <i>education</i>. There are more than thirty schools in the + territory, conducted by as many as forty or forty-five teachers, who are commissioned + by the three associations in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, and by the American + Missionary Association. They have an average attendance of two thousand pupils, and + are more or less frequented by an additional thousand. The ages of the scholars range + in the main from eight to twelve years. They did not know even their letters prior to + a year ago last March, except those who were being taught in the single school at + Beaufort already referred to, which had been going on for a few weeks. Very many did + not have the opportunity for instruction till weeks and even months after. During the + spring and summer of 1862 there were not more than a dozen schools, and these were + much interrupted by the heat, and by the necessity of assigning at times some of the + teachers to act as superintendents. Teachers came for a brief time, and upon its + expiration, or for other cause, returned home, leaving the schools to be broken up. + It was not until October or November that the educational arrangements were put into + much shape; and they are still but imperfectly organized. In some localities there is + as yet no teacher, and this because the associations have not had the funds wherewith + to provide one.</p> + <p>I visited ten of the schools, and conversed with the teachers of others. There + were, it may be noted, some mixed bloods in the schools of the town of + Beaufort,—ten in a school of ninety, thirteen in another of sixty-four, and + twenty in another of seventy. In the schools on the plantations there were never more + than half a dozen in one school, in some cases but two or three, and in others + none.</p> + <p>The advanced classes were reading simple stories and didactic passages in the + ordinary school-books, as Hillard's Second Primary Reader, Willson's Second Reader, + and others of similar grade. Those who had enjoyed a briefer period of instruction + were reading short sentences or learning the alphabet. In several of this schools a + class was engaged on an elementary lesson in arithmetic, geography, or writing. The + eagerness for knowledge and the facility of acquisition displayed in the beginning + had not abated.</p> + <p>On the 25th of March I visited a school at the Central Baptist Church on St. + Helena Island, built in 1855, shaded by lofty live-oak trees, with the long, + pendulous moss everywhere hanging from their wide-spreading branches, and surrounded + by the gravestones of the former proprietors, which bear the ever-recurring names of + Fripp and Chaplin. This school was opened in September last, but many of the pupils + had received some instruction before. One hundred and thirty-one children were + present on my first visit, and one hundred and forty-five on my second, which was a + few days later. Like most of the schools on the plantations, it opened at noon and + closed at <a name="page310" id="page310"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 310]</span> + three o'clock, leaving the forenoon for the children to work in the field or perform + other service in which they could be useful. One class, of twelve pupils, read page + 70th in Willson's Reader, on "Going Away." They had not read the passage before, and + they went through it with little spelling or hesitation. They had recited the first + thirty pages of Towle's Speller, and the multiplication-table as high as fives, and + were commencing the sixes. A few of the scholars, the youngest, or those who had come + latest to the school, were learning the alphabet. At the close of the school, they + recited in concert the Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd," requiring prompting at the + beginning of some of the verses. They sang with much spirit hymns which had been + taught them by the teachers, as,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "My country, 'tis of thee, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Sweet land of liberty"; + </div> + </div> + <p>also,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Sound the loud timbrel"; + </div> + </div> + <p>also, Whittier's new song, written expressly for this school, the closing stanzas + of which are,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "The very oaks are greener clad, + </div> + <div class="line"> + The waters brighter smile; + </div> + <div class="line"> + Oh, never shone a day so glad + </div> + <div class="line"> + On sweet St. Helen's Isle! + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "For none in all the world before + </div> + <div class="line"> + Were ever glad as we,— + </div> + <div class="line"> + We're free on Carolina's shore, + </div> + <div class="line"> + We're all at home and free!" + </div> + </div> + </div> + <p>Never has that pure Muse, which has sung only of truth and right, as the highest + beauty and noblest art, been consecrated to a better service than to write the songs + of praise for these little children, chattels no longer, whom the Saviour, were he + now to walk on earth, would bless as his own.</p> + <p>The prevalent song, however, heard in every school, in church, and by the + way-side, is that of "John Brown," which very much amuses our white soldiers, + particularly when the singers roll out,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree!" + </div> + </div> + <p>The children also sang their own songs, as,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "In de morning' when I rise, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Tell my Jesus. Huddy oh?<a id="footnotetag3" name="footnotetag3" + href="#footnote3"><sup>3</sup></a> + </div> + <div class="line"> + In de mornin' when I rise, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Tell my Jesus, Huddy oh? + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "I wash my hands in de mornin' glory, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Tell my Jesus, Huddy oh? + </div> + <div class="line"> + I wash my hands in de mornin' glory, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Tell my Jesus, Huddy oh? + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "Pray, Tony, pray, boy, you got de order, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Tell my Jesus, Huddy oh? + </div> + <div class="line"> + Pray, Tony, pray, boy, you got de order, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Tell my Jesus, Huddy oh? + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "Pray, Rosy, pray, gal," etc. + </div> + </div> + </div> + <p>Also,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "I would not let you go, my Lord, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I would not let you go, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I would not let you go, my Lord, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I would not let you go. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "Dere's room enough, dere's room enough, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Dere's room enough in de heab'nly groun', + </div> + <div class="line"> + Dere's room enough, dere's room enough, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I can't stay behin'. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "I can't stay behin', my Lord, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I can't stay behin', + </div> + <div class="line"> + I can't stay behin', my Lord, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I can't stay behin'. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "De angels march all roun' de trone, + </div> + <div class="line"> + De angels march all roun' de trone, + </div> + <div class="line"> + De angels march all roun' de trone, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I can't stay behin'. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "I can't stay behin', my Lord. + </div> + <div class="line"> + I can't stay behin', + </div> + <div class="line"> + I can't stay behin', my Lord, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I can't stay behin'. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "Dere's room enough," etc. + </div> + </div> + </div> + <p>Other songs of the negroes are common, as, "The Wrestling Jacob," "Down in the + lonesome valley," "Roll, Jordan, roll," "Heab'n shall-a be my home." Russell's + "Diary" gives an account of these songs, as he heard them in his evening row over + Broad River, on his way to Trescot's estate.</p> + <p>One of the teachers of this school is an accomplished woman from Philadelphia, <a + name="page311" id="page311"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 311]</span> Another is from + Newport, Rhode Island, where she had prepared herself for this work by benevolent + labors in teaching poor children. The third is a young woman of African descent, of + olive complexion, finely cultured, and attuned to all beautiful sympathies, of gentle + address, and, what was specially noticeable, not possessed with an overwrought + consciousness of her race. She had read the best books, and naturally and gracefully + enriched her conversation with them. She had enjoyed the friendship of Whittier; had + been a pupil in the Grammar-School of Salem, then in the State Normal School in that + city, then a teacher in one of the schools for white children, where she had received + only the kindest treatment both from the pupils and their parents,—and let this + be spoken to the honor of that ancient town. She had refused a residence in Europe, + where a better social life and less unpleasant discrimination awaited her, for she + would not dissever herself from the fortunes of her people; and now, not with a + superficial sentiment, but with a profound purpose, she devotes herself to their + elevation.</p> + <p>At Coffin Point, on St. Helena Island, I visited a school kept by a young woman + from the town of Milton, Massachusetts, "the child of parents passed into the skies," + whose lives have both been written for the edification of the Christian world. She + teaches two schools, at different hours in the afternoon, and with different scholars + in each. One class had read through Hillard's Second Primary Reader, and were on a + review, reading Lessons 19, 20, and 21, while I was present. Being questioned as to + the subjects of the lessons, they answered intelligently. They recited the twos of + the multiplication-table, explained numeral letters and figures on the blackboard, + and wrote letters and figures on slates. Another teacher in the adjoining district, a + graduate of Harvard, and the son of a well-known Unitarian clergyman of Providence, + Rhode Island, has two schools, in one of which a class of three pupils was about + finishing Ellsworth's First Progressive Reader, and another, of seven pupils, had + just finished Hillard's Second Primary Header. Another teacher, from Cambridge, + Massachusetts, on the same island, numbers one hundred pupils in his two schools. He + exercises a class in elocution, requiring the same sentence to be repeated with + different tones and inflections, and one could not but remark the excellent + imitations.</p> + <p>In a school at St. Helena village, where were collected the Edisto refugees, + ninety-two pupils were present as I went in. Two ladies were engaged in teaching, + assisted by Ned Loyd White, a colored man, who had picked up clandestinely a + knowledge of reading while still a slave. One class of boys and another of girls read + in the seventh chapter of St. John, having begun this Gospel and gone thus far. They + stumbled a little on words like "unrighteousness" and "circumcision"; otherwise they + got along very well. When the Edisto refugees were brought here, in July, 1862, Ned, + who is about forty or forty-five years old, and Uncle Cyrus, a man of seventy, who + also could read, gathered one hundred and fifty children into two schools, and taught + them as best they could for five months until teachers were provided by the + societies. Ned has since received a donation from one of the societies, and is now + regularly employed on a salary. A woman comes to one of the teachers of this school + for instruction in the evening, after she has put her children to bed. She had become + interested in learning by hearing her younger sister read when she came home from + school; and when she asked to be taught, she had learned from this sister the + alphabet and some words of one syllable. Only a small proportion of the adults are, + however, learning.</p> + <p>On the 8th of April, I visited a school on Ladies Island, kept in a small church + on the Eustis estate, and taught by a young woman from Kingston, Massachusetts. She + had manifested much persistence in going to this field, went with the <a + name="page312" id="page312"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 312]</span> first + delegation, and still keeps the school which she opened in March, 1862. She taught + the pupils their letters. Sixty-six were present on the day of my visit. A class of + ten pupils read the story which commences on page 86th of Hillard's Second Primary + Reader. One girl, Elsie, a full black, and rather ungainly withal, read so rapidly + that she had to be checked,—the only case of such fast reading that I found. + She assisted the teacher by taking the beginners to a corner of the room and + exercising them upon an alphabet card, requiring them to give the names of letters + taken out of their regular order, and with the letters making words, which they were + expected to repeat after her. One class recited in Eaton's First Lessons in + Arithmetic; and two or three scholars with a rod pointed out the states, lakes, and + large rivers on the map of the United States, and also the different continents on + the map of the world, as they were called. I saw the teacher of this school at her + residence, late in the afternoon, giving familiar instruction to some ten boys and + girls, all but two being under twelve years, who read the twenty-first chapter of the + Book of Revelation, and the story of Lazarus in the eleventh chapter of St. John. + Elsie was one of these. Seeing me taking notes, she looked archly at the teacher, and + whispered,—"he's putting me in the book"; and as Elsie guessed, so I do. The + teacher was instructing her pupils in some dates and facts which have had much to do + with our history. The questions and answers, in which all the pupils joined, were + these:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"Where were slaves first brought to this country?"</p> + <p>"Virginia."</p> + <p>"When?"</p> + <p>"1620."</p> + <p>"Who brought them?"</p> + <p>"Dutchmen."</p> + <p>"Who came the same year to Plymouth, Massachusetts?"</p> + <p>"Pilgrims."</p> + <p>"Did they bring slaves?"</p> + <p>"No."</p> + <p>A teacher in Beaufort put these questions, to which answers were given in a loud + tone by the whole school:—</p> + <p>"What country do you live in?"</p> + <p>"United States."</p> + <p>"What State?"</p> + <p>"South Carolina."</p> + <p>"What island?"</p> + <p>"Port Royal."</p> + <p>"What town?"</p> + <p>"Beaufort."</p> + <p>"Who is your Governor?"</p> + <p>"General Saxton."</p> + <p>"Who is your President?"</p> + <p>"Abraham Lincoln."</p> + <p>"What has he done for you?"</p> + <p>"He's freed us."</p> + </blockquote> + <p>There were four schools in the town of Beaufort, all of which I visited, each + having an average attendance of from sixty to ninety pupils, and each provided with + two teachers. In some of them writing was taught. But it is unnecessary to describe + them, as they were very much like the others. There is, besides, at Beaufort an + industrial school, which meets two afternoons in a week, and is conducted by a lady + from New York, with some dozen ladies to assist her. There were present, the + afternoon I visited it, one hundred and thirteen girls from six to twenty years of + age, all plying the needle, some with pieces of patchwork, and others with aprons, + pillow-cases, or handkerchiefs.</p> + <p>Though I have never been on the school-committee, I accepted invitations to + address the schools on these visits, and particularly plied the pupils with + questions, so as to catch the tone of their minds; and I have rarely heard children + answer with more readiness and spirit. We had a dialogue substantially as + follows:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"Children, what are you going to do when you grow up?"</p> + <p>"Going to work, Sir."</p> + <p>"On what?"</p> + <p>"Cotton and corn, Sir."</p> + <p>"What are you going to do with the corn?" <a name="page313" + id="page313"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 313]</span> "Eat it."</p> + <p>"What are you going to do with the cotton?"</p> + <p>"Sell it."</p> + <p>"What are you going to do with the money you get for it?"</p> + <p>One boy answered in advance of the rest,—</p> + <p>"Put it in my pocket, Sir."</p> + <p>"That won't do. What's better than that?"</p> + <p>"Buy clothes, Sir."</p> + <p>"What else will you buy?"</p> + <p>"Shoes, Sir."</p> + <p>"What else are you going to do with your money?"</p> + <p>There was some hesitation at this point. Then the question was put,—</p> + <p>"What are you going to do Sundays?"</p> + <p>"Going to meeting."</p> + <p>"What are you going to do there?"</p> + <p>"Going to sing."</p> + <p>"What else?"</p> + <p>"Hear the parson."</p> + <p>"Who's going to pay him?"</p> + <p>One boy said,—"Government pays him"; but the rest answered,—</p> + <p>"We's pays him."</p> + <p>"Well, when you grow up, you'll probably get married, as other people do, and + you'll have your little children; now, what will you do with them?"</p> + <p>There was a titter at this question; but the general response came,—</p> + <p>"Send 'em to school, Sir."</p> + <p>"Well, who'll pay the teacher?"</p> + <p>"We's pays him."</p> + </blockquote> + <p>One who listens to such answers can hardly think that there is any natural + incapacity in these children to acquire with maturity of years the ideas and habits + of good citizens.</p> + <p>The children are cheerful, and, in most of the schools, well-behaved, except that + it is not easy to keep them from whispering and talking. They are joyous, and you can + see the boys after school playing the soldier, with corn-stalks for guns. The memory + is very susceptible in them,—too much so, perhaps, as it is ahead of the + reasoning faculty.</p> + <p>The labor of the season has interrupted attendance on the schools, the parents + being desirous of having the children aid them in planting and cultivating their + crops, and it not being thought best to allow the teaching to interfere in any way + with industrious habits.</p> + <p>A few freedmen, who had picked up an imperfect knowledge of reading, have assisted + our teachers, though a want of proper training materially detracts from their + usefulness in this respect. Ned and Uncle Cyrus have already been mentioned. The + latter, a man of earnest piety, has died since my visit. Anthony kept four schools on + Hilton Head Island last summer and autumn, being paid at first by the + superintendents, and afterwards by the negroes themselves; but in November he + enlisted in the negro regiment. Hettie was another of these. She assisted Barnard at + Edisto last spring, continued to teach after the Edisto people were brought to St. + Helena village, and one day brought some of her pupils to the school at the Baptist + Church, saying to the teachers there that she could carry them no farther. They could + read their letters and words of one syllable. Hettie had belonged to a planter on + Wadmelaw Island, a kind old gentleman, a native of Rhode Island, and about the only + citizen of Charleston who, when Samuel Hoar went on his mission to South Carolina, + stood up boldly for his official and personal protection. Hettie had been taught to + read by his daughter; and let this be remembered to the honor of the young woman.</p> + <p>Such are the general features of the schools as they met my eye. The most advanced + classes, and these are but little ahead of the rest, can read simple stories and the + plainer passages of Scripture; and they could even pursue self-instruction, if the + schools were to be suspended. The knowledge they have thus gained can never be + extirpated. They could read with much profit a newspaper specially prepared for them + and adapted to their condition. They are learning that the world is not bounded north + <a name="page314" id="page314"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 314]</span> by + Charleston, south by Savannah, west by Columbia, and east by the sea, with dim + visions of New York on this planet or some other,—about their conception of + geography when we found them. They are acquiring the knowledge of figures with which + to do the business of life. They are singing the songs of freemen. Visit their + schools; remember that a little more than a twelve-month ago they knew not a letter, + and that for generations it has been a crime to teach their race; then contemplate + what is now transpiring, and you have a scene which prophets and sages would have + delighted to witness. It will be difficult to find equal progress in an equal period + since the morning rays of Christian truth first lighted the hill-sides of Judea. I + have never looked on St. Peter's, or beheld the glories of art which Michel Angelo + has wrought or traced; but to my mind the spectacle of those poor souls struggling in + darkness and bewilderment to catch the gleams of the upper and better light + transcends in moral grandeur anything that has ever come from mortal hands.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>Next as to <i>industry</i>. The laborers, during their first year under the new + system, have acquired the idea of ownership, and of the security of wages, and have + come to see that labor and slavery are not the same thing. The notion that they were + to raise no more cotton has passed away, since work upon it is found to be + remunerative, and connected with the proprietorship of land. House-servants, who were + at first particularly set against it, now generally prefer it. The laborers have + collected the pieces of the gins which they destroyed on the flight of their masters, + the ginning being obnoxious work, repaired them, and ginned the cotton on the promise + of wages. Except upon plantations in the vicinity of camps, where other labor is more + immediately remunerative, and an unhealthy excitement prevails, there is a general + disposition to cultivate it. The culture of the cotton is voluntary, the only penalty + for not engaging in it being the imposition of a rent for the tenement and land + adjacent thereto occupied by the negro, not exceeding two dollars per month. Both the + Government and private individuals, who have become owners of one-fourth of the land + by the recent tax-sales, pay twenty-five cents for a standard day's-work, which may, + by beginning early, be performed by a healthy and active hand by noon; and the same + was the case with the tasks under the slave-system on very many of the plantations. + As I was riding through one of Mr. Philbrick's fields one morning, I counted fifty + persons at work who belonged to one plantation. This gentleman, who went out with the + first delegation, and at the same time gave largely to the benevolent contributions + for the enterprise, was the leading purchaser at the tax-sales, and combining a fine + humanity with honest sagacity and close calculation, no man is so well fitted to try + the experiment. He bought thirteen plantations, and on these has had planted and + cultivated eight hundred and sixteen acres of cotton where four hundred and + ninety-nine and one twelve-hundredth acres were cultivated last year,—a larger + increase, however, than will generally be found in other districts, due mainly to + prompter payments. The general superintendent of Port Royal Wand said to + me,—"We have to restrain rather than to encourage the negroes to take land for + cotton." The general superintendent of Hilton Head Island said, that on that island + the negroes had, besides adequate corn, taken two, three, and in a few cases four + acres of cotton to a hand, and there was a general disposition to cultivate it, + except near the camps. A superintendent on St. Helena Island said, that, if he were + going to carry on any work, he should not want bettor laborers. He had charge of the + refugees from Edisto, who had been brought to St. Helena village, and who had cleared + and fenced patches for gardens, felling the trees for that purpose.</p> + <p>The laborers do less work, perhaps, than a Yankee would think they might <a + name="page315" id="page315"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 315]</span> do; but they do + about as much as he himself would do, after a residence of a few years in the same + climate, and when he had ceased to work under the influence of Northern habits. + Northern men have sometimes been unjust to the South, when comparing the results of + labor in the different sections. God never intended that a man should toil under a + tropical sun with the same energy and constancy as in our bracing latitude. There has + been less complaint this year than last of "a pain in the small of the back," or of + "a fever in the head,"—in other words, less <i>shamming</i>. The work has been + greatly deranged by the draft, some features of which have not been very skilfully + arranged, and by the fitfulness with which the laborers have been treated by the + military authorities. The work both upon the cotton and the corn is done only by the + women, children, and disabled men. It has been suggested that field-work does not + become women in the new condition; and so it may seem to some persons of just + sympathies who have not yet learned that no honest work is dishonorable in man or + woman. But this matter may be left to regulate itself. Field-work, as an occupation, + may not be consistent with the finest feminine culture or the most complete + womanliness; but it in no way conflicts with virtue, self-respect, and social + development. Women work in the field in Switzerland, the freest country of Europe; + and we may look with pride on the triumphs of this generation, when the American + negroes become the peers of the Swiss peasantry. Better a woman with the hoe than + without it, when she is not yet fitted for the needle or the book.</p> + <p>The negroes were also showing their capacity to organize labor and apply capital + to it. Harry, to whom I referred in my second report, as "my faithful guide and + attendant, who had done for me more service than any white man could render," with + funds of his own, and some borrowed money, bought at the recent tax-sales a small + farm of three hundred and thirteen acres for three hundred and five dollars. He was + to plant sixteen and a half acres of cotton, twelve and a half of corn, and one and a + half of potatoes. I rode through his farm on the 10th of April, my last day in the + territory, and one-third of his crop was then in. Besides some servant's duty to an + officer, for which he is well paid, he does the work of a full hand on his place. He + hires one woman and two men, one of the latter being old and only a three-quarters + hand. He has two daughters, sixteen and seventeen years of age, one of whom is + likewise only a three-quarters hand. His wife works also, of whom he said, "She's the + best hand I got"; and if Celia is only as smart with her hoe as I know her to be with + her tongue, Harry's estimate must be right. He has a horse twenty-five years old and + blind in both eyes, whom he guides with a rope,—carrying on farming, I thought, + somewhat under difficulties. Harry lives in the house of the former overseer, and + delights, though not boastingly, in his position as a landed proprietor. He has + promised to write me, or rather dictate a letter, giving an account of the progress + of his crop. He has had much charge of Government property, and when Captain Hooper, + of General Saxton's staff, was coming North last autumn, Harry proposed to accompany + him; but at last, of his own accord, gave up the project, saying, "It'll not do for + all two to leave together."</p> + <p>Another case of capacity for organization should be noted. The Government is + building twenty-one houses for the Edisto people, eighteen feet by fourteen, with two + rooms, each provided with a swinging board-window, and the roof projecting a little + as a protection from rain. The journey-carpenters are seventeen colored men, who have + fifty cents per day without rations, working ten hours. They are under the direction + of Frank Barnwell, a freedman, who receives twenty dollars a month. Rarely have I + talked with a more intelligent contractor. It was my great regret that I had not time + to visit the village of <a name="page316" id="page316"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 316]</span> improved houses near the Hilton Head camp, which General Mitchell had + extemporized, and to which he gave so much of the noble enthusiasm of his last + days.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>Next as to the <i>development of manhood</i>. This has been shown, in the first + place, in the prevalent disposition to acquire land. It did not appear upon our first + introduction to these people, and they did not seem to understand us when we used to + tell them that we wanted them to own land. But it is now an active desire. At the + recent tax-sales, six out of forty-seven plantations sold were bought by them, + comprising two thousand five hundred and ninety-five acres, sold for twenty-one + hundred and forty-five dollars. In other cases the negroes had authorized the + superintendent to bid for them, but the land was reserved by the United States. One + of the purchases was that made by Harry, noted above. The other five were made by the + negroes on the plantations combining the funds they had saved from the sale of their + pigs, chickens, and eggs, and from the payments made to them for work,—they + then dividing off the tract peaceably among themselves. On one of these, where Kit, + before mentioned, is the leading spirit, there are twenty-three field-hands, who are + equivalent to eighteen full hands. They have planted and are cultivating sixty-three + acres of cotton, fifty of corn, six of potatoes, with as many more to be planted, + four and a half of cow-peas, three of pea-nuts, and one and a half of rice. These + facts are most significant. The instinct for land—to have one spot on earth + where a man may stand, and whence no human being can of right drive him—is one + of the most conservative elements of our nature; and a people who have it in any fair + degree will never be nomads or vagabonds.</p> + <p>This developing manhood is further seen in their growing consciousness of rights, + and their readiness to defend themselves, even when assailed by white men. The former + slaves of a planter, now at Beaufort, who was a resident of New York when the war + broke out, have generally left the plantation, suspicious of his presence, saying + that they will not be his bondmen, and fearing that in some way he may hold them, if + they remain on it. A remarkable case of the assertion of rights occurred one day + during my visit. Two white soldiers, with a corporal, went on Sunday to Coosaw + Island, where one of the soldiers, having a gun, shot a chicken belonging to a negro. + The negroes rushed out and wrested the gun from the corporal, to whom the soldier had + handed it, thinking that the negroes would not take it from an officer. They then + carried it to the superintendent, who took it to head-quarters, where an order was + given for the arrest of the trespasser. Other instances might be added, but these are + sufficient.</p> + <p>Another evidence of developing manhood appears in their desire for the comforts + and conveniences of household life. The Philadelphia society, for the purpose of + maintaining reasonable prices, has a store on St. Helena Island, which is under the + charge of Friend Hunn, of the good fellowship of William Penn. He was once fined in + Delaware three thousand dollars for harboring and assisting fugitive slaves; but he + now harbors and assists them at a much cheaper rate. Though belonging to a society + which is the advocate of peace, his tone is quite as warlike as that of the world's + people. In this store alone—and there are others on the island, carried on by + private enterprise—two thousand dollars' worth of goods are sold monthly. To be + sure, a rather large proportion of these consists of molasses and sugar, + "sweetening," as the negroes call it, being in great demand, and four barrels of + molasses having been sold the day of my visit. But there is also a great demand for + plates, knives, forks, tin ware, and better clothing, including even hoop-skirts. + Negro-cloth, as it is called, osnaburgs, russet-colored shoes,—in short, the + distinctive apparel formerly dealt out to them, as a uniform allowance,—are + very generally rejected. But there is no article of household-furniture or wearing + apparel, used <a name="page317" id="page317"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 317]</span> by persons of moderate means among us, which they will not purchase, when + they are allowed the opportunity of labor and earning wages. What a market the South + would open under the new system! It would set all the mills and workshops astir. Four + millions of people would become purchasers of all the various articles of manufacture + and commerce, in place of the few coarse, simple necessaries, laid in for them in + gross by the planters. Here is the solution of the vexed industrial question. The + indisposition to labor is overcome in a healthy nature by instincts and motives of + superior force, such as the love of life, the desire to be well clothed and fed, the + sense of security derived from provision for the future, the feeling of self-respect, + the love of family and children, and the convictions of duty. These all exist in the + negro, in a state of greater or less development. To give one or two examples. One + man brought Captain Hooper seventy dollars in silver, to keep for him, which he had + obtained from selling pigs and chickens,—thus providing for the future. + Soldiers of Colonel Higginson's regiment, having confidence in the same officer, + intrusted him, when they were paid off, with seven hundred dollars, to be transmitted + by him to their wives, and this besides what they had sent home in other + ways,—showing the family-feeling to be active and strong in them. They have + also the social and religious inspirations to labor. Thus, early in our occupation of + Hilton Head, they took up, of their own accord, a collection to pay for the candles + for their evening meetings, feeling that it was not right for the Government longer + to provide them. The result was a contribution of two dollars and forty-eight cents. + They had just fled from their masters, and had received only a small pittance of + wages, and this little sum was not unlike the two mites which the widow cast into the + treasury. Another collection was taken, last June, in the church on St. Helena + Island, upon the suggestion of the pastor that they should share in the expenses of + worship. Fifty-two dollars was the result,—not a bad collection for some of our + Northern churches. I have seen these people where they are said to be lowest, and sad + indeed are some features of their lot, yet with all earnestness and confidence I + enter my protest against the wicked satire of Carlyle.</p> + <p>Is there not here some solution of the question of prejudice or caste which has + troubled so many good minds? When these people can no longer be used as slaves, men + will try to see how they can make the most out of them as freemen. Your Irishman, who + now works as a day-laborer, honestly thinks that he hates the negro; but when the war + is over, he will have no objection to going South and selling him groceries and + household-implements at fifty per cent. advance on New-York prices, or to hiring him + to raise cotton for twenty-five or fifty cents a day. Our prejudices, under any + reasonable adjustment of the social system, readily accommodate themselves to our + interests, even without much aid from the moral sentiments.</p> + <p>Let those who would study well this social question, or who in public trusts are + charged with its solution, be most careful here. Every motive in the minds of these + people, whether of instinct, desire, or duty, must be addressed. All the elements of + human nature must be appealed to, physical, moral, intellectual, social, and + religious. Imperfect indeed is any system which, like that at New Orleans, offers + wages, but does not welcome the teacher. It is of little moment whether three dollars + or thirty per month be paid the laborer, so long as there is no school to bind both + parent and child to civil society with new hopes and duties.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>There are some vices charged upon these people, or a portion of them, and truth + requires that nothing be withheld. There is said to be a good deal of petty pilfering + among them, although they are faithful to trusts. This is the natural growth of the + old system, and is quite <a name="page318" id="page318"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 318]</span> likely to accompany the transition-state. Besides, the present disturbed + and unorganized condition of things is not favorable to the rigid virtues. But + inferences from this must not be pressed too far. When I was a private soldier in + Virginia, as one of a three-months' regiment, we used to bide from each other our + little comforts and delicacies, even our dishes and clothing, or they were sure to + disappear. But we should have ridiculed an adventurous thinker upon the + characteristics of races and classes, who should have leaped therefrom to the + conclusion that all white men or all soldiers are thieves. And what inferences might + not one draw, discreditable to all traders and manufacturers, from the universal + adulteration of articles of food! These people, it is said, are disposed to falsehood + in order to get rations and small benefits,—a natural vice which comes with + slavery, and too often attends on poverty without slavery. Those of most + demonstrative piety are rarely better than the rest, not, indeed, hypocritical, but + satisfying their consciences by self-depreciation and indulgence in + emotion,—psychological manifestations which one may find in more advanced + communities. They show no special gratitude to us for liberating them from bonds. Nor + do they ordinarily display much exhilaration over their new condition,—being + quite unlike the Italian revolutionist who used to put on his toga, walk in the + forum, and personate Brutus and Cassius. Their appreciation of their better lot is + chiefly seen in their dread of a return of their masters, in their excitement when an + attack is feared, in their anxious questionings while the assault on Charleston was + going on, and in their desire to get their friends and relatives away from the + Rebels,—an appreciation of freedom, if not ostentatious, at least sensible.</p> + <p>But away with such frivolous modes of dealing with the rights of races to + self-development! Because Englishmen may be classified as hard and conceited, + Frenchmen as capricious, Austrians as dull, and the people of one other nation are + sometimes thought to be vainglorious, shall these therefore be slaves? And where is + that model race which shall sway them all? A people may have grave defects, but it + may not therefore be rightfully disabled.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>During my recent visit, I had an opportunity, on three different occasions, to + note carefully Colonel T.W. Higginson's colored regiment, known as the First Regiment + of South-Carolina Volunteers. Major-General Hunter's first regiment was mainly made + up of conscripts, drafted May 12th, 1862, and disbanded August 11th, three months + afterwards, there being no funds wherewith to pay them, and the discharged men going + home to find the cotton and corn they had planted overgrown with weeds. On the 10th + of October, General Saxton, being provided with competent authority to raise five + thousand colored troops, began to recruit a regiment. His authority from the War + Department bore date August 25th, and the order conferring it states the object to be + "to guard the plantations, and protect the inhabitants from captivity and murder." + This was the first clear authority ever given by the Government to raise a negro + regiment in this war. There were, indeed, some ambiguous words in the instructions of + Secretary Cameron to General Sherman, when the original expedition went to Port + Royal, authorizing him to organize the negroes into companies and squads for such + services as they might be fitted for, but this not to mean a general arming for + military service. Secretary Stanton, though furnishing muskets and red trousers to + General Hunter's regiment, did not think the authority sufficient to justify the + payment of the regiment. The first regiment, as raised by General Saxton, numbered + four hundred and ninety-nine men when Colonel Higginson took command of it on the 1st + of December; and on the 19th of January, 1863, it had increased to eight hundred and + forty-nine. It has made three expeditions to Florida and Georgia,—one before + Colonel Higginson assumed <a name="page319" id="page319"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 319]</span> the command, described in Mrs. Stowe's letter to the + women of England, and two under Colonel Higginson, one of which was made in January + up the St. Mary's, and the other in March to Jacksonville, which it occupied for a + few days until an evacuation was ordered from head-quarters. The men are volunteers, + having been led to enlist by duty to their race, to their kindred still in bonds, and + to us, their allies. Their drill is good, and their time excellent. They have borne + themselves well in their expeditions, quite equalling the white regiments in + skirmishing. In <i>morale</i> they seemed very much like white men, and with about + the same proportion of good and indifferent soldiers. Some I saw of the finest metal, + like Robert Sutton, whom Higginson describes in his report as "the real conductor of + the whole expedition at the St. Mary's," and Sergeant Hodges, a master-carpenter, + capable of directing the labors of numerous journeymen. Another said, addressing a + meeting at Beaufort, that he had been restless, nights, thinking of the war and of + his people,—that, when he heard of the regiment being formed, he felt that his + time to act had come, and that it was his duty to enlist,—that he did not fight + for his rations and pay, but for wife, children, and people.</p> + <p>These men, as already intimated, are very much like other men, easily depressed, + and as easily reanimated by words of encouragement. Many have been reluctant to + engage in military service,—their imagination investing it with the terrors of + instant and certain death. But this reluctance has passed away with participation in + active service, with the adventure and inspiration of a soldier's life, and the + latent manhood has recovered its rightful sway. Said a superintendent who was of the + first delegation to Tort Royal in March, 1862,—a truthful man, and not given to + rose-colored views,—"I did not have faith in arming negroes, when I visited the + North last autumn, but I have now. They will be not mere machines, but real tigers, + when aroused; and I should not wish to face them." One amusing incident may be + mentioned. A man deserted from the regiment, was discovered hidden in a chimney in + the district where he had lived, was taken back to camp, went to Florida in + Higginson's first expedition, bore his part well in the skirmishes, became excited + with the service, was made a sergeant, and, receiving a furlough on his return, went + to the plantation where he had hid, and said he would not take five thousand dollars + for his place.</p> + <p>But more significant, as showing the success of the experiment, is the change of + feeling among the white soldiers towards the negro regiment, a change due in part to + the just policy of General Saxton, in part to the President's Proclamation of January + 1st, which has done much to clear the atmosphere everywhere within the army-lines, + but more than all to the soldierly conduct of the negroes themselves during their + expeditions. I had one excellent opportunity to note this change. On the 6th of + April, Colonel Higginson's regiment was assigned to picket-duty on Port Royal + Island,—the first active duty it had performed on the Sea Islands,—and + was to relieve the Pennsylvania Fifty-Fifth. When, after a march of ten miles, it + reached the advanced picket-station, there were about two hundred soldiers of the + Pennsylvania Fifty-Fifth awaiting orders to proceed to Beaufort. I said, in a + careless tone, to one of the Pennsylvania soldiers, who was looking at Higginson's + regiment as it stood in line,—</p> + <p>"Isn't this rather new, to be relieved by a negro regiment?"</p> + <p>"All right," said he. "They've as much right to fight for themselves as I have to + fight for them."</p> + <p>A squad of half a dozen men stood by, making no dissent, and accepting him as + their spokesman. Moving in another direction, I said to a soldier,—</p> + <p>"What do you think of that regiment?"</p> + <p>The answer was,—</p> + <p>"All right. I'd rather they'd shoot <a name="page320" id="page320"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 320]</span> the Rebels than have the Rebels shoot me"; and none + of the by-standers dissented.</p> + <p>As one of the negro companies marched off the field to picket a station at the + Ferry, they passed within a few feet of some twenty of the Pennsylvania soldiers, + just formed into line preparatory to marching to Beaufort. The countenances of the + latter, which I watched, exhibited no expression of disgust, dislike, or + disapprobation, only of curiosity. Other white soldiers gave to the weary negroes the + hominy left from the morning meal. The Major of the Fifty-Fifth, highest in command + of the relieved regiment, explained very courteously to Colonel Higginson the + stations and duties of the pickets, and proffered any further aid desired. This was, + it is true, an official duty, but there are more ways than one in which to perform + even an official duty. I rode back to Beaufort, part of the way, in company with a + captain of the First Massachusetts Cavalry, who was the officer of the day. He said + "he wasn't much of a negro-man, but he had no objection to their doing our fighting." + He pronounced the word as spelled with two <i>g</i>s; but I prefer to retain the good + English. Colonel Montgomery, who had a partly filled regiment, most of whom were + conscripts, said that on his return from Jacksonville he sent a squad of his men + ashore in charge of some prisoners he had taken. Some white soldiers seeing them + approach from the wharf, one said,—</p> + <p>"What are those coming?"</p> + <p>"Negro soldiers," (word pronounced as in the former case,) was the answer.</p> + <p>"Damn 'em!" was the ejaculation.</p> + <p>But as they approached nearer, "What have they got with 'em?" was inquired.</p> + <p>"Why, some Secesh prisoners."</p> + <p>"Bully for the negroes!" (the same pronunciation as before,) was then the response + from all.</p> + <p>So quick was the transition, when it was found that the negroes had demonstrated + their usefulness! It is, perhaps, humiliating to remember that such an unreasonable + and unpatriotic prejudice has at any time existed; but it is never worth while to + suppress the truth of history. This prejudice has been effectually broken in the Free + States; and one of the pageants of this epoch was the triumphal march through Boston, + on the 28th of May, on its way to embark for Port Royal, of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment + of Massachusetts Volunteers, the first regiment of negro soldiers which the Free + States have sent to the war. On the day previous, May 27th, a far different scene + transpired on the banks of the Mississippi. Two black regiments, enlisted some months + before in Louisiana under the order of Major-General Butler, both with line and one + with field officers of their own lineage, made charge after charge on the batteries + of Port Hudson, and were mown down like summer's grass, the survivors, many with + mutilated limbs, closing up the thinned ranks and pressing on again, careless of + life, and mindful only of honor and duty, with a sublimity of courage unsurpassed in + the annals of war, and leaving there to all mankind an immortal record for themselves + and their race.</p> + <p>I cannot here forbear a momentary tribute to Wentworth Higginson. Devoting himself + heroically to his great work, absorbed in its duties, and bearing his oppressive + responsibility as the leader of a regiment in which to a great extent are now + involved the fortunes of a race, he adds another honorable name to the true chivalry + of our time.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>Homeward-bound, I stopped for two days at Fortress Monroe, and was again among the + familiar scenes of my soldier-life. It was there that Major-General Butler, first of + all the generals in the army of the Republic, and anticipating even Republican + statesmen, had clearly pointed to the cause of the war. At Craney Island I met two + accomplished women of the Society of Friends, who, on a most cheerless spot, and with + every inconvenience, were teaching the children of the freedmen. Two good men, <a + name="page321" id="page321"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 321]</span> one at the fort + and the other at Norfolk, were distributing the laborers on farms in the vicinity, + and providing them with implements and seeds which the benevolent societies had + furnished. Visiting Hampton, I recognized, in the shanties built upon the charred + ruins, the familiar faces of those who, in the early days of the war, had been for a + brief period under my charge. Their hearty greetings to one whom they remembered as + the first to point them to freedom and cheer them with its prospect could hardly be + received without emotion. But there is no time to linger over these scenes.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>Such are some of the leading features in the condition of the freedmen, + particularly at Port Royal. The enterprise for their aid, begun in doubt, is no + longer a bare hope or possibility. It is a fruition and a consummation. The negroes + will work for a living. They will fight for their freedom. They are adapted to civil + society. As a people, they are not exempt from the frailties of our common humanity, + nor from the vices which hereditary bondage always superadds to these. As it is said + to take three generations to subdue a freeman completely to a slave, so it may not be + possible in a single generation to restore the pristine manhood. One who expects to + find in emancipated slaves perfect men and women, or to realize in them some fair + dream of an ideal race, will meet disappointment; but there is nothing in their + nature or condition to daunt the Christian patriot; rather, there is everything to + cheer and fortify his faith. They have shown capacity for knowledge, for free + industry, for subordination to law and discipline, for soldierly fortitude, for + social and family relations, for religious culture and aspirations; and these + qualities, when stirred and sustained by the incitements and rewards of a just + society, and combining with the currents of our continental civilization, will, under + the guidance of a benevolent Providence which forgets neither them nor us, make them + a constantly progressive race, and secure them ever after from the calamity of + another enslavement, and ourselves from the worse calamity of being again their + oppressors.</p> + <hr /> + <h2>NO AND YES.</h2> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + I watched her at her spinning; + </div> + <div class="line"> + And this was my beginning + </div> + <div class="line"> + Of wooing and of winning. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + But when a maid opposes, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And throws away your roses, + </div> + <div class="line"> + You say the case forecloses. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Yet sorry wit one uses, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Who loves and thinks he loses + </div> + <div class="line"> + Because a maid refuses. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + For by her once denying + </div> + <div class="line"> + She only means complying + </div> + <div class="line"> + Upon a second trying. + </div> + <a name="page322" id="page322"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 322]</span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + When first I said, in pleading, + </div> + <div class="line"> + "Behold, my love lies bleeding!" + </div> + <div class="line"> + She heard me half unheeding. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + When afterward I told her, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And blamed her growing colder,— + </div> + <div class="line"> + She dropped upon my shoulder. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Had I a doubt? That quelled it: + </div> + <div class="line"> + Her very look dispelled it, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I caught her hand, and held it. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Along the lane I led her, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And while her cheeks grew redder, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I sued outright to wed her. + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Good end from bad beginning! + </div> + <div class="line"> + My wooing came to winning,— + </div> + <div class="line"> + And still I watch her spinning. + </div> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <h2>THE MATHER SAFE.</h2> + <h3>I.</h3> + <p>The service I was able to render an official personage connected with + —— College in New England procured me access to the library belonging to + that institution. In common with many of my fellow-citizens, I had previously enjoyed + the pleasure of responding to circulars petitioning for money to buy books for + interment in this choice literary catacomb; nay, I was even allowed the satisfaction + of an annual stare at them through an iron grating, and of reading a placard to the + effect that nobody was allowed to enter an alcove or take down a volume. As it + occurred to me that the generous donors could not object to add one more to the + select half-dozen or so, who, by having the privilege of the shelves, could really + use the library, I demanded this favor of the gentleman who desired to recompense me + for what I had done for him. The Librarian, who valued books as things capable of + being locked up in cells like criminals, there to figure numerically to the confusion + of rival institutions, was manifestly disturbed when I presented my credentials. The + authority, however, was not to be questioned;—I was to be admitted to the + library at any hour of the day; and I took care to drop a civil expression to imply + my estimation of the privilege and my purpose of enjoying it.</p> + <p>Wanting the leisure to attempt that ponderous undertaking known as "a course of + reading," it became my habit to browse about the building upon Saturday afternoons, + and finally to establish myself, with whatever authors I had selected, in a certain + retired alcove devoted to the metaphysicians. This comfortable nook opens just behind + Crawford's bust of the late President T——, and is nearly opposite the + famous Mather Safe. As it is possible that I am addressing some who are not graduates + of —— College, nor familiar with its library, it may be well to say a + word of the history of the spacious <a name="page323" id="page323"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 323]</span> and ancient coffer to which allusion is made.</p> + <p>The Mather Safe—which, by the way, is not of iron, but of oak heavily bound + with that metal—is said to have been among the possessions of the author of the + "Magnalia." Its last private proprietor was a collateral descendant of the Mathers, + an eccentric character, popularly known as Miser Farrel. As Farrel was a bachelor, + and had the reputation of being enormously rich, the College authorities of his day + were accustomed to treat him with distinguished consideration, and went so far, I + believe, as to vote him some minor degree. What effect these academic blandishments + may have had upon their object cannot at present be determined. For when the day came + for the long-expected will to be opened, it was found that the old gentleman had + bequeathed to the College only his Mather Safe, with certain papers carefully let + into the wood-work in one corner of the same,—which papers were not to be + removed or opened for a hundred years.</p> + <p>It may be conceived that this bulky benefaction was not accepted with the best + grace, particularly as the testator made no provision for considerable expense + necessarily incurred in moving and setting it up in the library. Yet, not satisfied + with this culpable negligence, Mr. Farrel had affixed still other conditions to the + acceptance of his gift. He had caused two massive locks to be put upon the Mather + Safe, of which he enjoined that the respective keys should be forever held by the + President and Treasurer of the College, to the end that neither could have access to + its contents except in the presence of the other. Moreover, he required that the Safe + should be used only as a receptacle for packages which the depositors desired to keep + from the world for at least fifty years. Of course no right-minded corporation would + have endured this posthumous fussiness, were it not for the mysterious papers left in + the Safe,—these being considered instruments whereby immense possessions would + finally come to the College. But, as their worthy friend, however niggardly in other + respects, had taken care to save nothing in lawyers, there were really no means of + disregarding his wishes, except by relinquishing all claims under the will. And so, + many years ago, the Mather Safe came to be opened to the public on the conditions + already declared. At first, it was matter of surprise that so many persons appeared + to claim the privilege of Farrel's singular legacy. Carefully enveloped packages had + been consigned to various periods of oblivion by all conditions of men and women. + These were numbered and registered in a volume kept for the purpose; they were + severally addressed, perhaps to a specified descendant of some living person, perhaps + to the future occupant of some professor's chair or metropolitan pulpit.</p> + <p>It was near the Mather Safe, as I have already said, that my favorite alcove + opened. In the short winter afternoon, when the twilight thickened without the + building, and the type began to blur within, I would lay aside my book and muse over + wild rumors of secrets borne by this messenger between the generations. Journals and + letters, it was said, were there concealed, which should change the current gossip of + history, and explode many bubble-reputations that had glittered on the world. There + were hints of deadly sins, committed by men high in Church and State, which their + perpetrators lacked the courage to confess before their fellows, but which, in the + bitterness of remorse, they had recorded in the Mather Safe, to blacken their fame to + future times,—thus taking a ghastly satisfaction from the knowledge that they + should not always appear as whited sepulchres before men. There was vague talk, also, + of funds which had been deposited to found some professorship in the College, to + furnish some instruction which the age was not advanced enough to accept. Then, too, + there were intimations of endowments to establish scholarships for women, + who,—so <a name="page324" id="page324"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 324]</span> it was argued,—after the increasing enlightenment of a few score of + years, would be admitted to every privilege of culture offered to men. In short, + there was matter enough to send a curdling tingle through the blood, as this tough + old ark, buffeting slowly through the years, entered its familiar night. If there was + deficiency in the testimony which consigned any special wonder to its keeping, there + was, doubtless, sufficient truth in common reports to justify the imagination in + interpreting misty hieroglyphics of its own device.</p> + <p>During the latter part of a certain August—my family being established at + the seaside—I determined to devote a long day to the College Library. The fact + was, that a trifling domestic incident—no other than the smoking of a + kitchen-chimney—had turned my attention to the conditions of atmospheric + changes. Certain phenomena I had observed seemed inconsistent with the law assumed in + popular text-books. Indeed, as it appeared to me, modifications of a received + theory—which might be determined by a diligent comparison of existing + authorities—would suggest a household economy of great practical importance. + Certain facts, which must have been noted by all the great voyagers of the world, + might give me data from which to establish the suspected conclusion. I accordingly + repaired to the library at a very early hour, and labored through the day in + collecting and committing to writing what had been observed by many eminent + navigators upon the point in question. Four o'clock in the afternoon found me too + tired to apply any process of analysis to the observations obtained. I therefore + retired to my accustomed seat, took down almost the first book which came to hand, + and resigned myself to the impressions of a favorite author. I had passed about an + hour in a delicious state of dreamy tranquillity, sometimes reading, sometimes + pausing to color the faded page with the brilliant hues of more modern thought, when + my attention was attracted by a familiar voice proceeding from the neighborhood of + the Mather Safe.</p> + <p>"The President and Treasurer were to have been here at five o'clock."</p> + <p>"I have heard nothing of it," said the Librarian. "I am sure that the President is + out of town for the day."</p> + <p>"Strange! strange!" exclaimed the Reverend Mr. Clifton, in a very excited tone. "I + wish to make a deposit of great importance in the Mather Safe. I had the assurance + that the Safe should be opened at five this afternoon. Here, read the solemn promise + upon which I have come from Foxden!"</p> + <p>The Librarian glanced at an open letter which Clifton held out to him, and said, + in a quiet manner,—</p> + <p>"The President promises to meet you in the College Library on the afternoon of + Thursday, the twenty-fourth instant; to-day is Wednesday, the twenty-third."</p> + <p>"Is it possible?" muttered the clergyman, with a look of startled despair. "Pardon + my disturbance. I have been hardly myself for these last weeks. Yet I can wait."</p> + <p>I spoke to Mr. Clifton as he was about to leave the library. He blenched at + hearing my voice, and strove to conceal the package beneath his arm.</p> + <p>"How do my good friends in Foxden?" said I, inviting him into my alcove. "Is it + true that Dr. Dastick has presented his cabinet of curiosities to the town?"</p> + <p>"What are you reading?" said the clergyman, in a tone of curt authority very + foreign to the mild persuasiveness of his usual professional accents.</p> + <p>I exhibited the title of the book: it was the "Meditations of Descartes."</p> + <p>"And do you follow those who vainly seek for truth through the inner world of man, + not conforming themselves to the necessities of the outward world and the teachings + of Revelation?"</p> + <p>I defended the usefulness of some acquaintance with the original and powerful + thinker, whose apologies are certainly profuse enough to satisfy the most + orthodox.</p> + <a name="page325" id="page325"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 325]</span> + <p>"Yes; I suppose you read Spinoza, Hegel, Fichte, the Atheism of D'Holbach, + Utilitarianism Systematized by Auguste Comte! Did you ever go fishing in a dory when + the wind was off shore?"</p> + <p>There was an alarm in the eye and manner of Mr. Clifton, a tremulous restlessness + in his speech, which warned me to avoid discussion, and endeavor to soothe his + agitation. It was only to the last interrogatory, therefore, that I made some light + reply.</p> + <p>"The sea sparkles gayly," pursued the clergyman, in the manner of an + extemporaneous preacher who strives to catch in a net of decorations some + illustration which presents itself,—"the boat tosses on from wave to wave, for + dories will sail before the wind. Soon we are miles from shore, and throw the anchor. + What auspicious expansion of soul and body! How we slide up and down the backs of + great billows, and cast our lines with ever-varying success! But the night comes, and + with it the necessity of rowing back against wind and tide. Ah, then how long the + lonely ocean-leagues! How distant the time when we may hope to stand confused and + giddy upon solid earth! Some never see the land again, but are swept out into the + storm and darkness, and are lost,—<i>lost</i>!"</p> + <p>"I presume I understand the significance of your similitude," I replied, a little + annoyed at this inopportune indulgence of the pastoral privilege. "You would imply + the dangerous tendency of a certain sort of philosophical speculation; and so far we + doubtless agree. Yet I ought to say, that, in cases where personal investigation is + possible, I would take neither popular clamor nor learned dogmatism as conclusive + evidence against any writer's honesty and usefulness. With the vulgar, genius has + always seemed a sort of madness; and should a man rise preeminent above the teachers + of his generation, his wisdom would appear to them as foolishness."</p> + <p>A change came over the face of Clifton as I said these words. It was as if a mask + had fallen. Perchance he had wished to appear to me in that character of instructor + which he desired some competent person to assume to him. Now, the relaxed muscles and + averted eye only asked the sympathy of an equal. He spoke with forced, and almost + grating, utterance.</p> + <p>"Then you have used experience well enough to know that some minds may bear into + the world a light, a knowledge too fine for general perception, too pure for even + exceptional recognition."</p> + <p>"I fully believe it possible," I said. "Yonder old Safe, if rumor says true, holds + many mystic signals which the past and present could address only to the + future,—signs meaningless, no doubt, to you or me, but which the freemasonry of + higher intelligence shall render plain in the time hereafter."</p> + <p>"And what if I had come," exclaimed Clifton, eagerly,—"what if I had come to + add to those deposits which are not for this time, but which may be for other times? + What blame to me, if I am here to do this? Should we common men, who find a life full + of active duties presented to our acceptance,—should such as we, I say, receive + this world as a pageant before which we must sit down and evolve a doctrine? The + conceit of external education is at present too strong to acknowledge a divine + element radiating from the depths of the soul, and finding in the mind only an + awkward and imperfect instrument. Any extravagance is now tolerated, but an + extravagance of spirituality; and we find altogether wanting the perception, that, + rising from the gross symbols of language, can know the subtile and precious emotion + which in a more advanced state of being those symbols might suggest."</p> + <p>As it was evident that Mr. Clifton was laboring under great nervous excitability, + I judged it prudent not to question the sequence of what he said, or even demand that + it be made intelligible by further explanation. Indeed, I was sufficiently occupied + in striving to identify this incomprehensible person with my familiar acquaintance, + the pastor of the <a name="page326" id="page326"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 326]</span> First Church in Foxden. It occurred to me that something had once been + said of Clifton's connection with that topsy-turvy sodality popularly known as "The + Transcendentalists." But this was many years ago; and the world always supposed that + he had outgrown his early errors, and found, in the liberal theology of New England, + a more genuine inspiration. In meeting him in his pastoral relation, I had only + remarked that he was one of those men who find it very difficult to resist the social + influences into which they may be thrown. This was probably the case even where that + influence tended to degrade him from the plane he would have occupied, if left to + himself. His spiritual life seemed to lack that vigor and buoyancy so infinitely + important to contemplative men. He appeared to be ever yearning for something which + should add robustness to his convictions. After a pause of some moments, Clifton + again addressed me.</p> + <p>"Recollections of moments, months of excitement, of intense power, have returned! + They may not fade again unspoken. You shall know my long-cherished secret. Younger in + years, you may scarcely advise; but, at least, you may give sympathy that shall + confirm my decision. I have engaged rooms at the neighboring hotel. Come and pass the + evening—nay, the night—with me; for much must be read and thought and + spoken before the black veil of personality can be lifted between us."</p> + <p>It has already been observed that my family were at the seaside. This circumstance + left me sole disposer of my time and localities. How, then, resist the inclination to + see out the adventure upon which I had stumbled? Let me credit myself also with a + worthier motive: I saw that my companion was in no state to be left to + himself,—and, really, there was no mutual friend to whom I could consign him. + Accordingly I offered my arm in a manner to imply acquiescence in his proposal.</p> + <p>We soon reached the hotel, and ascended to a room in the remote corner of a + spacious wing. Clifton at once turned the key, placed his package upon the table, and + proceeded to employ a stray bit of carpet in stopping a ventilator which communicated + with the entry. Having satisfied himself that this passage was rendered impervious to + sound, he drew two chairs up to the table, motioned me into one, and planted himself + in the other with the air of a man, in popular phrase, about to make a night of + it.</p> + <p>"Did you ever hear of Herbert Vannelle?" he asked, abruptly.</p> + <p>It can hardly be necessary to say that a substitute is here placed for the name + really mentioned.</p> + <p>I replied in the negative, and asked where the gentleman lived.</p> + <p>"He lives nowhere on earth; he is dead,—just dead."</p> + <p>"A friend of yours?"</p> + <p>"A master once; now a presence eluding, haunting, torturing. He left me this + manuscript; it is a 'Philosophy of the Absolute.'" (Here Clifton drew from a + curiously contrived case of parchment a cluster of pages.) "It has now twenty-two + hours to appear in the present century. You shall devote the night to reading it, and + tell me that I have acted well."</p> + <p>A sultry August evening, a smoky boarding-house lamp, much skirmishing of + mosquitoes, and—a manuscript system of philosophy! The prospect was not + inviting. The reading of other people's manuscripts is surely the crucial test of a + devoted benevolence. There are few ways in which I am so little ready to oblige my + fellow-men. I had, indeed, at times, been induced to inspect sundry romances in + blotted embryo; but, as yet, nobody had called upon me with a system of philosophy. + <i>Printed</i> philosophy is none too easy reading. But to sit there, under the + guardianship of Clifton, and spell out the dim dogmatism of some nebulous + fanatic,—of course it was not to be thought of for a moment. With a + <i>suave</i> periphrasis of speech I questioned the expediency of the + proposition.</p> + <a name="page327" id="page327"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 327]</span> + <p>"I shall ring for candles that will burn during the night," said Mr. Clifton, + heedless of my expostulation. "Also some refreshment. You take tea, I suppose? You + shall read the first ten pages of Vannelle's writing. It is possible you may exercise + self-control enough to abandon it unfinished. But you will not sleep tonight."</p> + <p>There was a confidence in the minister's tone which gave rather unpleasant + emphasis to this final prophecy. Still, I believed myself capable of the ten pages + without establishing a hopelessly wakeful condition,—indeed, it was something + to be guarantied against the opposite infirmity. The tea, accompanied by a few thin + shavings of toast, presently arrived. The means of procuring light were also + furnished us. Clifton's hand lay heavily upon the manuscript until the attendant had + disappeared for the last time, and the door was locked behind him. He then opened the + papers before me, and signified that the time had come. I braced myself as for a + serious undertaking.</p> + <p>Thus I accepted the task. How give words to the singular emotions which soon + possessed me? As if some charm, some spell of magnetism, had been given to the paper, + my whole consciousness was riveted upon it. I know not how to represent this bold, + this startling attempt to establish a positive basis for metaphysical philosophy, an + exact science of all things human and divine. Here was a man, perchance of more + courage and conscience, perchance of more devilish recklessness, than any of his + contemporaries. But how deal with what came to me from that wondrous writing in the + ambiguities of common language? All thought—even supposing it embodied in a + perfect form of speech—is subject to the limitations of the recipient mind. My + own glimpses of the writer's meaning were necessarily most indistinct. I cannot + attempt to transfer them. I was controlled by a force not my own. The shadow of a + mysterious power was over me. The mists of sentimental pantheism were left far below + the clear-cut summits whither the reader was invited to ascend. There was an + interpretation of Revelation far more removed from the apparent letter than that of + Swedenborg. Here was reaffirmed (though for a widely different purpose) what the + Romish Church has ever declared,—that the Scriptures, recording spiritual + truth, cannot be comprehensible to the natural understanding,—that, while the + Sacred Writings contain a natural letter, it can be translated into spiritual verity + only by a few exceptional men. If this scheme of philosophy was an idealism, it + nevertheless manifested itself through the plainest realities. The solution of the + problem seemed to come not from one point, but from all points. Certainly there was a + tendency towards the supersensible; but this direction was taken through stern + grappling with the actual. At one time I struggled against the august spirit that was + borne in upon me; at another, I was utterly subdued by the lofty enthusiasm of the + writer,—something within me capable of absolute cognition seemed responding to + his appeals. But the pith and vitality of this marvel could be recognized only by + long experience. And here the student was required to stake his soul upon a perilous + cast. For, if not pursued and fathomed to full satisfaction, this view of things + would be disturbing, paralyzing. With any half-acceptance a man might scarcely live. + It must fashion the mind as an artist fashions the passive metals into a musical + instrument, and then every event in time might touch it to exquisite harmony. But the + more ravishing the beauty which seemed offered through perfect realization of this + knowledge, the more blighting would be its effects, if entertained in the spirit of a + selfish dilettanteism. For in certain passages were breathed faint suggestions, that + moral codes held sacred by the people could not bind the initiated,—nay, that + what seemed most evil might be so explained as to become wholly legitimate to the + elect.</p> + <p>It was far into the night. I had gone over about a third of the manuscript. <a + name="page328" id="page328"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 328]</span> Sharp questions + assailed my ears. Was I bound to jeopard all the common good of life for the chance + of—just failing to know existence from a higher plane? Could I ascend so far + above the frailties of average men as to receive in purity and innocence the license + which acceptance of this strange scheme would surely give? Dim-sighted as I was, it + was necessary to rise and dispel this splendid phantasm. I shuddered in sudden alarm + at the danger which threatened me. By a spasmodic movement, in which I failed to + recognize any presence of my will, the manuscript was closed and handed to Clifton. + Welcome existence under coarsest and harshest terms, rather than tamper with such + fearful possibilities!</p> + <p>For hours the minister had gazed into my face, partaking the excitement to which + he had subjected me. He had lighted and trimmed the candles, as was necessary, but + had never broken silence. And now there came from him the deep sigh of relief from an + absorbing interest; he sighed as a little child when the fairytale is ended and the + tense strain of attention may be relaxed.</p> + <p>"What was this man?" I demanded, hurriedly.</p> + <p>"What he was is to be discovered through these writings, if it may be found out at + all. What he was is not for me nor for you to know. It is possible that he may meet + with competent judges hereafter, even among men. Look at this address."</p> + <p>Clifton handed me a little memorandum relating to the ultimate disposition of the + manuscript. It was to remain for eighty years in the Mather Safe, and was then to be + consigned to the occupant of the Chair of Moral Philosophy in the College.</p> + <p>"Say rather to the last minority-candidate for the professorship!" I exclaimed. "I + doubt if the actual winner of that comfortable possession will feel disposed to + abandon the market-worth of conventional acquirements, and set forth as a humble + student of unpopular truth."</p> + <p>The minister seemed struck with the suggestion, and made the alteration I had + indicated.</p> + <p>The darkest hour of the night had come. Every sound of human activity had long ago + ceased. It was the quiet time when one may most easily probe an intense experience. I + felt that more was to be known,—something which the minister longed to + tell,—something to which what he had caused me to read was to serve as a + prelude. I suspected how powerless must have been this sensitive man in the presence + of the Idea which he had carried. Doubtless, in one of his peculiar tendencies, it + might prevent all harmonious action,—it might ever goad the intellect, and + crush the heart. As the confession trembled upon the lips of Clifton, I signified my + profound sympathy. It is an awful moment, when a mature man tries to put off the + solitariness of his life.</p> + <p>What was then communicated I can repeat only in the first person. The pathetic + earnestness of the speaker imprinted on my memory the very phrases that he used; + there can be few verbal changes as they now flow from the pen.</p> + <h3>II.</h3> + <center> + NARRATIVE OF THE REVEREND CHARLES CLIFTON. + </center> + <p>I am indebted for education to a bachelor uncle, who, after our great bereavement, + received at his house an infant sister and myself. I was at that time about twelve + years old. My relative enjoyed a handsome annuity, which he spent with the utmost + liberality. As I was rather a thoughtful, though not very studious boy, it was + determined that I should go to college. I entered with some difficulty soon after my + seventeenth birthday,—an age somewhat later than the average at that time.</p> + <p>Two years before me in college was the class of 18—. Upon the roll of its + fifty-two members stood the name of Herbert Vannelle. Rich, an orphan, <a + name="page329" id="page329"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 329]</span> inclined to + thought and study beyond the limited academic range of those days, endowed with + personal fascinations of a very rare and peculiar kind,—there seemed only one + possible shadow to darken his career. In his family there had been said to exist a + tendency to eccentric independence of action, which vulgarly, perhaps justly, passed + for insanity. His father, who died soon after Herbert entered college, had given much + uneasiness to the wealthy and respectable city-circle with which he was socially + connected. Upon the death of his wife he had retired to the Vannelle homestead in the + northwestern part of Connecticut, and there lived in studious seclusion. There he + insisted upon bringing up his only son, deprived of such recreations and + companionships as are suitable to youth. He had, indeed, superintended his studies + with patience and thoroughness, and had not failed to accomplish him in the grace of + physical power, at that time little recognized as a part of education.</p> + <p>So much was known of Vannelle when he appeared at college among the young men of + the Junior Class. And little more was known of him when he left America on the day + his class graduated. His connections with the other students had been very slight. He + had never cared to acquire that fluency in retailing the thoughts of others upon + which college-rank depends. An access to the library was all that he seemed to value + in his connection with the institution. And here he busied himself, not with the + openings to the solid and rational sciences, but with the bewildering sophistries of + the school-philosophies, and their aimless wrangling over verbal conceits.</p> + <p>At that time I happened to be taking a young man's first enchanting rounds upon + the tread-mill of metaphysics. At the library I often encountered Vannelle in search + of some volume of which I had just possessed myself. This led to an acquaintance. I + was soon fascinated by a power which streamed from his large, expressive eyes, and + persuaded by a voice modulated in a pathos and sweetness that I have heard in no + other person. His influence upon me at this time was not unlike that which the + mesmerists had just begun to exercise. Yet, while he showed an interest in directing + my inquiries along the paths to which they naturally tended, he never communicated + the results of his own studies, or offered me the slightest assistance in + generalizing my random observations. What he thought himself, or by what writers he + was influenced, it was not easy to fathom. He was deeply acquainted with the writings + of the New-England Transcendentalists, then at their greatest notoriety, yet never + for an instant seemed giddy upon the hazy heights where those earnest spirits + soared.</p> + <p>Vannelle spent two years in Germany, and returned to America about the time that + my college-course was finished. The little I knew of him during his absence was from + the scattered notices of newspaper-correspondents, who intimated that Herbert + possessed the privilege of friendly intercourse with men most distinguished for + knowledge in the Old World. Just before Class-Day, I received a letter dated from + X——, in Connecticut, inviting me, in terms which seemed almost a command, + to spend the summer at the Vannelle homestead. Herbert had returned, and thus + abruptly summoned me. Intending to postpone until the autumn the study of a + profession, I promised to come to him for a few weeks,—a visit which might be + extended, were it mutually agreeable.</p> + <p>There was, at that time, a day of weary staging after leaving the cars, before + arriving in the village of X——; there were also six rough miles of + carriage-conveyance before the traveller could attain the old house by the damp + river-marsh whereto I was destined. When I arrived there, Vannelle stood at the door + to greet me.</p> + <p>"We have six months' concern together," he said, as if delivering himself of some + studied speech,—"we have six months' concern together; then we may <a + name="page330" id="page330"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 330]</span> stand at the + parting of the ways,—we may cleave to one another, or separate forever."</p> + <p>A low, dark house. The south-side planted out from the sun by pines and cedars. + The parlors covered with well-worn Turkey carpets, chafed into dusty ridges. The + wretched window-glass breaking and distorting the pine-trees without. Little oval + mirrors distorting the human countenance within. In the living-room (so called by + those able to live in it) loomed a rusty air-tight stove of cathedral + proportion,—a ghastly altar which the bitterest enemy of the family might feel + fully justified in protecting. A square, cellarless room, about twenty feet from the + house, had been the study of the elder Vannelle. Tables covered with a confused mass + of writing-materials. A jumble of retorts and other chemical apparatus about the + floor. Cabinets of the ugliest pattern reached to the ceiling;—at first I + supposed them to be made of painted wood; afterwards I discovered they were of iron, + and filled with rare books and manuscripts.</p> + <p>"My father built this study," said Vannelle, as we passed into it. "He wished to + get rid of those periodical clearings-up from which there is no escape in a + New-England household. Mrs. Brett, the wife of our farmer, could never resist the + feminine itch to put things to rights. She was always contriving to arrange papers + and books in symmetrical piles where nothing could be found. My father could never + turn his back but she was sure to annihilate important scraps of writing that were + lying about the floor, and, under pretence of sweeping, invoke a simoom of dust that + hours were insufficient to allay. But when he built this room, and kept the key of + it, there was no more trouble."</p> + <p>I shudder as I hurry through these descriptions, for a confession which I hardly + dare to put into words must accompany them. All these surroundings, seen by me for + the first time, had a fearful familiarity. In some occult state of spiritual + existence I seemed to have known them all. I have learned that the soul may enter + into communion with other minds otherwise than through the senses,—nay, more, + it may thus take an inexplicable cognizance of material things. Of this I have had + such proof as it would be infatuation to doubt. I was compelled to test this + startling suspicion for the first time.</p> + <p>"You need not take me up-stairs, Herbert," I said, as we returned to the house. + "The picture of your father, which hangs in the large chamber projecting over the + porch, was doubtless a good likeness of the mask he wore at city club-houses and + family-dinners,—but the man as you knew him <i>here</i>, how little does it + resemble! As for the Chinese cabinet which stands between the windows, it has + associations, no doubt, but it is sadly out of repair. Those pink tiles about the + fireplace may be interesting to antiquaries; but I rather prefer the blue variety, as + corresponding to the mental state in which their infinitely pretentious subjects and + execrable drawing always put me."</p> + <p>The lightness of speech was painfully forced. Vannelle turned to me and said, + slowly,—</p> + <p>"Have you been here before?"</p> + <p>"No."</p> + <p>"Has any one described to you this house or its contents?"</p> + <p>"No."</p> + <p>"Then thought has been conveyed from mind to mind in unconditioned purity. It is + as I had supposed. We are brothers forever."</p> + <p>The next day, after an early breakfast, Vannelle summoned me to the study. I + glanced distrustfully at the confusion of the room, which seemed in strange contrast + with the exquisitely neat and even fashionable attire of its proprietor. A smile of + proud pity touched the lips of Vannelle, as he seemed to divine my thought. Then, as + if I had read them in letters of light, these words seemed to answer me:—</p> + <p>"Shall we, the stewards and guardians of the highest interests of mankind, fret <a + name="page331" id="page331"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 331]</span> our souls at + trifles,—we, who are to be instruments in marshalling the race from slavery and + folly to wisdom and freedom? Behold, in one bound, the hovels and palaces of earth + shall be alike, and, floating free in spiritual space, we will win such dominion as + the highest graduates in saintship dimly perceived, but were never able to + declare!"</p> + <p>These thoughts, energizing the brain of my companion, seemed thrown into my + consciousness with far more distinctness than if they had been uttered. It was with + awe that this mystic correspondence between mind and mind was made plain to me. One + man out of this myriad-bodied humanity had sought me out, and in his presence I was + never more to be alone. The gigantic shadow of self passed from me; I was as clay in + the potter's hands!</p> + <p>At length Herbert spoke.</p> + <p>"Our work in this world is determined for us; mine is allotted to me,—not by + my own choice. I return to this house never to leave it till I go to join my father, + with his great work more nearly completed than when it came to my hands. At that + table he died, with some glimpses of the promised land whither he tended,—where + he prayed that I might enter."</p> + <p>There escaped from me a feeble remonstrance,—no utterance of the heart, but + rather a dry rattling of such conventional proprieties as lingered in the memory.</p> + <p>"And you intend to leave this wholesome world,—you, whose career might be + such as few have it in their power to choose? You know, you must know, the wonderful + gifts which you possess; you cannot alone be ignorant of the fascination you might + exercise over man and woman."</p> + <p>"I know all these temptations, and others that you cannot surmise," exclaimed + Vannelle, "and I will conquer them,—if not through spiritual grace, then by + some bodily penance of lasting effect. I discern in you certain qualities of mind + that may serve to regulate the equipoise of mine. I have the means to provide for us + both during the high speculations in which we shall engage. Let us be comrades in + this undertaking. I seek to bridge the great gulf that separates the natural from the + spiritual. My father firmly believed in the possibility of obtaining an absolute + ground for the philosophy which should include all things human and divine. He passed + onward before the inestimable gift he seemed to have won could be set forth in the + symbols of the world. To see is not difficult, but only to contrive a popular + adaptation through which others may discern the thought. I seek the means to express + the truth which he saw, and of which I can catch some glimpses through such colored + mythologies as represent the higher religions of the world. Man has found out the + knowledge by which a universe was evoked from chaos: shall he not perfect that + knowledge in the Law which includes the divine element by which the universe is + informed? How can we love with our whole heart what we do not know with our whole + mind? Clifton, I declare to you that knowledge of the Law by which the Creator is and + acts is possible to man!"</p> + <p>I shall seem to you weak and unstable in no common degree to have been moved by + utterance like this. Remember that I can reproduce only the words, not the wild power + of that persuasive voice, not the aspiring courage that struck me from his eye. + Almost against my will there was produced in me a plasticity of mind that seemed to + demand the impress of some foreign mould. The tree of knowledge was set in the midst + of the garden, and again were audible the seductive serpent-tones: "Your eyes shall + be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."</p> + <p>I found Vannelle so far my superior in the knowledge of all earthly lores, that I + at length came to think it possible he might be the appointed instrument of + communicating the singular intelligence that he sought. He proposed to review the + different systems built by human <a name="page332" id="page332"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 332]</span> thought before applying himself to the problem of + finding a system of philosophy which should include them all. His idea was, that from + the extreme negation of the so-called transcendental position—when that + position had been legitimately attained by a thoroughly conscientious + thinker—some new light must break upon the mind. His was no shrinking from the + conflict with real things to indulge in vague yearnings after the inaccessible, but a + definite effort so to place the soul and discipline the understanding that wisdom + could be realized without process or media. Unlike most inquirers of that time, he + had no love for the abstract and the controversial, but entertained them freely as + finally discovering some path to the concrete and the unquestioned. He declared that + only to superficial persons was skepticism the terminus of speculative deism. Let me + also say this for my friend,—that his directing stimulus to action was neither + ambition nor curiosity, but what, had it been directed to any recognized end, the + world would have called a religious principle. He was never guilty of the shallow + wickedness of seeking self-culture as an end; he sought the highest self-culture only + as a state of more passionate yearning for regeneration.</p> + <p>What need to tell how I was fascinated, mesmerized, into a humble companionship? + how I became inspired with his own mighty belief in the feasibility of the object he + strove to attain? We read together certain manuscripts of the elder Vannelle, in + which, wrapt in a gorgeous symbolism, seemed dimly to approach a great truth, which, + at times, could be faintly perceived, but never mastered. There were hints, + apparently of the deepest significance, which, when the mind endeavored to grasp + them, vanished like a vision.</p> + <p>Day after day, almost night after night, for five months, I passed with Vannelle + in the room I have described. And during that vivid period I knew an intellectual + intoxication which seemed the pure ecstasy of spirit wholly delivered from the burden + of the flesh. Vannelle talked like one inspired upon the higher problems of + metaphysical research, showing, or appearing to show, in what sense the speculations + of the philosophers were true, and in what sense absolutely false. We seemed to have + cut ourselves adrift from the human race, and to look down upon it from a position + whence its basest moral corruptions and most detestable oppressions marked the rhythm + in a majestic poem. The infinite vagaries of crime, the unspeakable ecstasies of + blessedness, were equally wholesome as equally full of Law. At times it seemed + impossible that any words could so mould themselves as to give distinctness to the + thought which flashed through our minds. At times a representation corresponding to + what Vannelle so eloquently uttered seemed embodied in every phase of opinion man had + known. But, alas, there were also periods of doubt and despair analogous to those + which succeed physical intoxication. The grosser systems of antiquity were not only + considered, but actually personated in our experience. Here it was necessary for us + to penetrate into some of the darkest recesses of the human soul, and to test how + nearly allied is that which exalts man to that which degrades him, how the noblest + virtues plunge headlong into the maddest passions. Yet we learned to welcome these + convulsions of Chaos and Old Night, as blindly bearing us onward towards our destined + goal.</p> + <p>—But enough of this. I would only faintly express how terribly real was the + delusion (the world would so call it, and who am I to gainsay it?) which has overhung + my earthly life.</p> + <p>Let me tell in briefest words how the spell was broken,—partially broken. + During those months of passionate exaltation, letters from friends once dear to me + had been thrown aside half-read, and wholly valueless. On the eleventh of November I + started,—as a black seal was to be broken. My uncle had suddenly died. The last + instalment of his annuity had been paid, and my little <a name="page333" + id="page333"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 333]</span> sister, an orphan and + penniless, was thrown upon me for education and support. Shame to me that I then + hesitated! Yet it was some hours before I could persuade myself to put the letter + into Vannelle's hand, and say that I must abandon him forever. Let me forget the + bitter temptation. Of course my friend begged to provide for my sister from his own + ample means, and even offered her an asylum at his house. I still retained sufficient + sanity to perceive the wrong of bringing a young child to that dismal place to wither + removed from all human companionship and sympathy. A spirit not in a condition to be + sustained and elevated by the society of Herbert would be confused, and finally + petrified. Had this refined probing and questioning deadened all sense of duty? Was + this the end of my Absolute Philosophy, that the intellect should usurp the place of + the conscience and the moral law? Shame to me that I could have paused to ask such + questions! yet any claim but one tittle less urgent I should have bantered aside. I + seemed to realize the torture described in the dream of Dante,—two souls + struggling together in one frail body. I had been applauding good and condemning evil + when it cost me nothing but the sentiment; but when the fiery test came, my purpose + cracked and shrivelled before it. Yes, I conquered; but the scars that purchased the + victory have ached through my life.</p> + <p>There was but one calling wherein it seemed possible for me to earn my bread; for + how could I descend to chaffer in the market, to trim and huckster through the + world,—<i>I</i>, who had thought to condition the Spirit of the Universe? But + there were metaphors faintly shadowing divine things, symbols adapted to the + limitations of the popular mind, and with these I might do an honest work for the + souls of men. <i>Honest?</i> Yes,—unless Augustine was a hypocrite, when he + declared that he spoke of the Unseen as unity in three persons, less to say something + than not to remain altogether silent. To a certain order of minds among the clergy + this is the daily cross,—the necessity of maintaining a fixed position, and + ever looking down from it to teach, instead of ever yearning upward to be taught.</p> + <p>It is enough to say, that, supporting myself and my sister by school-teaching, I + achieved such courses of reading as are supposed to qualify for enrolment among the + liberal clergy of New England. Until the time when my sister left me by marriage I + was settled at N——, on the Connecticut. Soon after this event, died old + Dr. P—— of Foxden, and I received a call to his vacant parish. I knew + that the sort of society to be found in that place would minister to my most urgent + need. I craved some intellectual clanship which should never seek to rise to an equal + spiritual companionship. For there was only one man to whom I might speak freely, and + from him my path ever diverged. How far apart the years had led us! Sometimes there + came a whisper that I had been snatched from the hand of Satan, killer of souls; + sometimes my only opportunities of salvation seemed left in that sad, damp homestead. + I could never return to him; I could never be wholly free from him. Ever was I + controlled by a shadowy force which reached me from his abundant power. No occupation + was so absorbing as to protect me from the invading presence of Herbert Vannelle.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>The first Sunday of the present month brought the twentieth anniversary of the day + that I parted from Vannelle. In the morning I had preached a written sermon on those + solemn words of the Apostle, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." For the first time + I shrank from the consciousness that the words uttered were true to me in a very + different sense from that in which the congregation received them. I found it + difficult to poise in tremulous balance between Truth and its available + representation to common men. It is my custom to preach extemporaneously in the + afternoon. Upon rising, after the introductory services, I could perceive that my + pulse and breathing <a name="page334" id="page334"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 334]</span> were accelerated. A certain numbness of the brain seemed pierced with + convulsive, fugitive shocks. An inexplicable influence, a command for cerebral + sympathy, seemed beating at my forehead. I turned the sacred pages before me, but + could find nothing upon which to base my remarks. But to my lips would come + incessantly a passage from Sir Thomas Browne. At last I gave it voice:—</p> + <p>"There are, as in philosophy, so in divinity, sturdy doubts and boisterous + objections wherewith the unhappiness of our knowledge too nearly acquainteth us. More + of these no man hath known than myself; which I confess I conquered, not in martial + attitude, but on my knees."</p> + <p>An extraordinary impetus seemed imparted to my mental powers. Men have said that I + spoke with a fluency and eloquence unknown to them before. Indeed, I was conscious of + a capacity to receive and convey such portions of divine wisdom as corresponded to + their needs. To speak in figure, my heavenly race was as if the Lord of Evil pursued + my soul.</p> + <p>Thoroughly exhausted by the effort, I returned to my study and threw myself upon a + sofa. More fully than ever before, I entered that state where one far distant may + make himself perceived and known. The occult power of foreknowing events, the + delicate perception of forbidden things, worked their abnormal invigoration in the + brain. I became conscious that a carriage miles off was rolling nearer and nearer; I + knew that it would stop at my door. I waited, waited long into the night. One by one + went out the scattered village-lights. Another consciousness of twenty years seemed + compressed into those brilliant, bitter hours. My lamp flickered. I rose with effort + and supplied oil; it would now burn till morning. The carriage came nearer. I knew + that Vannelle was in it. At last the heavy rumble ceased at the door.</p> + <p>A figure stood before me. The old fascination in the eyes; a soul burning with + lofty enthusiasm looked through and kindled them. But the face,—it was ghastly, + livid as the face of a leper: it was spectral,—blanched and dried with the + white flames of his exalted vigils. Ah, black eyes, well may you shine in terrible + triumph! The old idolatry this man demanded of me would not be repelled. I gazed upon + my visitor as upon a phantom from another sphere, and knew no reckoning of time. His + magnetism was upon me; I could only crouch into myself—and wait. At length the + silence was broken.</p> + <p>"Charles Clifton, teacher of the people, listen that you may be taught! For the + last time I have come down into your world of passion and sense. The impulses with + which you vainly strive and wrestle are behind me. Alone, alone, I have risen from + the abysmal depths of personality. I have struggled fiercely. I have also + conquered."</p> + <p>The livid face showed no change. It suddenly came to me, that, by some voluntary + disfigurement of his exquisite beauty of feature, this man had cut away the lusts for + pleasure, fame, and influence. What woman would kiss that ghastly cheek? What + sycophant could fawn and smirk in that chilly presence? The injunctions concerning + the offending eye and hand Vannelle had interpreted literally.</p> + <p>"I hold," he continued, "the noble prize of intellectual satisfaction seized by + effort. Multiply the self-satisfactions of earth by infinity, and you may guess a + little of the sublime contentment which wraps me round! Does the best stage-trick of + your liberal clergy help them to anything but a plasticity of mind to be moulded into + artistic forms of skepticism? How can you feel the delight of a definite, positive + affirmation which accounts for and includes all creeds and lives of men? How can you + come out from your partial dogmas to enter Truth and find it alone dogmatic and + compulsive? Clifton, I pity you. I would rescue you from this haze of thought and + feeling,—I, who have even now discarded Intelligence and enthroned Wisdom."</p> + <a name="page335" id="page335"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 335]</span> + <p>"I hope to be pardoned," I said,—"the current of this life sets so in favor + of Utility and the Practical; men long to be fed with sentiment,—why try to + give them ideas?"</p> + <p>"Fulfil, then, forever your little round of decencies and proprieties," exclaimed + Vannelle; "I judge you not. Perchance your weakness is the pardonable weakness of one + who has done his best. You may be guiltless in failing to attain the strength, the + glory, of a true conviction."</p> + <p>"Is it too late?" I asked, faintly.</p> + <p>"It is the question I must put to you," replied Herbert. "I bring you in this + manuscript the result of my life,—the result of two lives. Here is written, as + clearly as can be written in gross symbols of human language, that which may suggest + the Absolute, the Alpha and Omega, the System, not humanly built upon hypothesis, but + divinely founded upon Law."</p> + <p>I knew that a package had been placed upon the table at my side.</p> + <p>"If you can so far command the fragmentary life you lead as to give this + manuscript the sober, searching thought which it invites, the truth may be brought to + you. But if these twenty years have only filled you with the pride of inventing + arguments and detecting analogies, if they have only given you the petty skill of a + petty scholar, why then dally on with a tinsel variety of superficial attainments, + and give others the blessed privilege you are not strong enough to accept."</p> + <p>"Take it from me," I said. "It has haunted me too long. What you may have found, + it is for your honor to promulgate."</p> + <p>"The finding is enough for one life," replied Vannelle. "The spiritual manhood is + indeed complete, but the shell which enclosed it totters towards earth. My + responsibility in this matter is at an end: yours will now begin."</p> + <p>A tremor ran through my frame as he spoke these words. A mystery rigid as Fate + seemed to shackle me. Without seeing him go, I knew that Vannelle had left the room. + Again was I conscious of the carriage-rumble growing fainter, fainter, fainter in the + distance. A dream of passionate excitement, a phantasmagoria of old wishes, old + hopes, of the life I might have led, flew before me. For a moment the energy of + Vannelle seemed to have transfused itself through every fibre. An unquenchable thirst + that I had never summoned struck into my brain. I seized the manuscript, and devoured + page after page. Then I felt the approaches of a supreme despotism that might + annihilate all I had been, all I hoped to be,—that might compel me to denounce + all that I had taught, to hear all that was respectable and healthy in the world jeer + at me as an impostor, an enthusiast, a madman. It was not that I was simply invited + to come above the ordinary doctrines of the day, and stand supported and encouraged + by a few advanced minds; but I was called to place myself where the most earnest + souls—unless a second birth could be granted them—would scoff with the + ignorance and intolerance of the mass.</p> + <p>At last the gray light of morning shone upon me.</p> + <p>One of my deacons, whistling sturdily, passed along the street. A physical + emanation from his healthy vitality partially counteracted the influence of the + night. Gathering up every muscle of my feeble will, I closed the manuscript forever. + Hereditary imperfections of body and mind confine me to a sphere of reputable + usefulness. If I have sinned in the past, I have also suffered. If, as I sometimes + suspect, I have thrust from me the grandest opportunity ever offered to man, the loss + through all eternity will be mine.</p> + <p>In eight days I heard of the death of Herbert Vannelle.</p> + <h3>III.</h3> + <p>As the last words of his strange narration fell from Clifton's lips, he bowed his + head and was greatly agitated. The <a name="page336" id="page336"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 336]</span> vast theologic conception over which he had so long + brooded, instead of lifting him on high, had crushed him to the earth. His moral + consciousness had demanded a satisfaction which he lacked integrity of purpose to + pursue and challenge. A fixed conviction of the dreariest pessimism would have been + better for this man than the lofty uncertainty which had tortured his days; for in + the belief that one may neither struggle nor aspire there is a certain practical + drift. But how shall he do any good who bears about him a quick conscience, a + skeptical understanding, sensitive religious affections, and a feeble will? Charles + Clifton had neither the leisure, nor possibly the application, to follow the creeping + advances of systematic knowledge. He had listened to a fatal persuasion, and at the + same time had sought to satisfy contradictory principles of the human mind. The + kindest thing I could do for him was soon perceived.</p> + <p>"Reverend Sir," I said, "you must permit me to advise you. It is now six o'clock. + In an hour the early train leaves for Foxden. You must take it and return home. Any + further vacuum in your daily employment will produce a crushing pressure from without + that might endanger reason itself. I solemnly promise to deposit this manuscript in + the Mather Safe,—nay, I will not leave town until the President and Treasurer + have met me this afternoon according to your agreement. I pledge you my honor that + the parchment shall be consigned to its resting-place with every necessary + formality."</p> + <p>My companion gazed long upon vacancy before returning any answer. He strove to + dispel the cloud-pageantry which had sailed above him in shapeless beauty. He walked + up and down the chamber, paused, threw open the window, and looked upon the street + below. I felt that every petty detail of man's daily craft struck outlines of painful + vividness upon the morbid sensibility of his condition. Finally he spoke to this + effect: —</p> + <p>"A grief has been lessened in giving it words. My deepest and most solitary + moments have been revealed to human sympathy, and the relief is great. It may be that + I have been created to some wholesome end,—that some truth may shine before the + world through what seems the failure of my life. I will return at once to the sphere + of the senses: it is, as you say, all that is left me. Let who will inquire into the + significance and purpose of the Universe; it is for me to work in the bondage of the + flesh, to be the humble tool of the age in which my lot is cast."</p> + <p>Yet it was not easy to induce the clergyman to commit to my care the conclusion of + the enterprise which had brought him to town. His peculiar nervous temperament + foretold a thousand accidents that might befall the precious legacy of his friend. It + was only by addressing his reason in repeated arguments, and by solemnly asseverating + my entire fidelity, that I induced him to yield.</p> + <p>It was a gracious gift to be once more alone.</p> + <p>I seemed awakened from a dream of pining exultation, of dark foreboding. Without + acknowledging it to myself, I had been strangely wrought upon by what I had read and + heard. As Clifton emerged from the magical influence of Vannelle, was it not + concentrated upon me? The impulse to return to the perusal of the manuscript was + almost irresistible. Yet it was evident, that, failing to receive as my very life + what was there written, I should become hopelessly entangled in discrepancies and + contradictions. A glance at the imminent peril sent me shuddering to my only + safety.</p> + <p>It has been mentioned that I had interested myself in some inquiries tending to + modify the received understanding of a certain natural law. During my morning in the + College Library I had collected the records of many facts, which, laboriously + compared, might confirm the hypothesis I had conceived. I now braced myself to the + task of tracing an order in these random observations. I was soon stimulated by + perceiving that my <a name="page337" id="page337"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 337]</span> statistics seemed to confirm the justice of the reasoning which at first + roused my suspicion. More and more plainly did man's experience respond to the + results I had dared to predict. Trivial circumstances, noted in remote times and + disconnected places, pointed in one direction, and there beat the regular pulse of + Nature.</p> + <p>It is perhaps a little humiliating to mention, what I afterwards discovered, that + the doctrine which I endeavored to reach had been already conceived and passed upon + by a not very eminent scientist in one of the Western States. But at that time + absorption in the search for attainable truth was necessary to my welfare; and, with + very brief intervals for rest and refreshment, I continued my pursuit until the + afternoon-hour for visiting the library.</p> + <p>The President and Treasurer entered the building at five o'clock.</p> + <p>For some minutes I had stood before the massive doors of the Mather Safe, + wondering if any of its mysterious contents could be more singular than the + consignment about to be made to its keeping.</p> + <p>"Is Mr. Clifton of Foxden in the library?" inquired the President.</p> + <p>"I am here to represent him," I replied. "He made a strange mistake in the day of + appointment, and was compelled to leave town this morning. The package which he + wished to deposit in the Mather Safe I hold in my hand."</p> + <p>"<i>Lex Universalis Naturæ</i>; THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE ABSOLUTE," exclaimed + the Treasurer, reading the inscription upon the outer parchment. "Poh, poh! I thought + that sort of philosophy had long ago been handed over to the limbo of fallacies."</p> + <p>"By those who have neither feeling nor imagination enough to care for anything not + transmutable into dollars, perhaps it has," I rejoined, somewhat tartly.</p> + <p>"Come, come!" said the President, in his good-natured, rolling tones; "since the + days of the great Jonathan, our New-England metaphysicians have generally been + broken-down poets, and should be treated with the greatest tenderness. Some flighty + minds will prefer dangerous trips to dream-land to the rigid demonstrations of + figures; but the mass of our graduates accept the teaching of their Alma Mater, that + only the mathematician has the right to investigate, and that of all philosophers + only natural philosophers are competent instructors."</p> + <p>"Yet, Sir," I said, "you will remember that the time was when your natural + philosophers were persecuted as wizards by Church and State. Even the mathematician + is defined by an old lexicographer to be '<i>Magus dæmonum invocator</i>'; and + I cannot forget that all that is of honor and respect to-day is but the actual of a + once despised ideal."</p> + <p>I really marvelled at my own audacity in presuming to question the words of this + distinguished and excellent gentleman. Indeed, it was particularly surprising, + because (if I knew myself) I precisely agreed with him. But there is a certain + waywardness in my composition, which loves to puncture an inflated conventionality, + even when I myself am most conventional.</p> + <p>In the mean time the Treasurer, taking the President's key with his own, had + opened the Safe. I looked in and beheld coffers of lead and oak, nooks and + pigeon-holes covered and sealed with the College seal, little cells of glass which + appeared to hold documents of the utmost importance, and, in short, whatever might + best defy the injuries of time. The weighty book which registered the contents of the + Safe was opened before me. I was told to write the number assigned to the manuscript, + to describe its present condition, and to indicate its destination. This I carefully + did, and was about to confide my charge to its long oblivion.</p> + <p>"Stay!" said the President. "You have forgotten the mottoes! Here is only one; and + it is our rule that every deposit in the Mather Safe be distinguished by three, in as + many languages.</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + '<i>Alteri Sæculo</i>.' + </div> + </div> + <a name="page338" id="page338"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 338]</span> + <p>The selection is good, though it has already been adopted by a Massachusetts + statesman. It is now for you to supply two others."</p> + <p>Singular as it may appear, this sudden call to perform a trifling office which I + had not anticipated, filled me with a conflict of emotions. In choosing another's + words, I seemed to indorse or repudiate the strange matter with which they were to be + associated. I thought of Vannelle's wondrous language, of Clifton's exhilaration, and + of the vivid buoyancy with which my spirit had striven to rise. I even groped for + some phrase which might hint what delicate aërial impressions had tended to + condense the soul on the supreme point of spiritual ecstasy. But memory was a blank + when I demanded words for this seeming-glorious fact in the experience of humanity. + Success was made impossible by the very intensity of the effort to summon an + appropriate message to be dropped over the abyss of Time. I was confident that there + were many apt things which might be said, if I could come at them, as it were, + sideways. In order that I might take them at this advantage, I snatched a letter from + my pocket, and began to read. My eye was soon caught by the impression of a seal that + I had once given my wife. It was a good [woman's] motto, I jestingly told her; and + now it was returned to me at my sorest need. Six little words of the good + Pascal,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "<i>Le plus súr est de croire</i>." + </div> + </div> + <p>Something compelled me to write them, and a new freedom was with me when I had + done so.</p> + <p>"Make haste, make haste, for the prayer-bell is ringing!" cried the President + "See, here is a copy of Plato's 'Phædrus,'—a work which our vapory + brethren are fond of quoting, generally at second-hand; perhaps you may pick out a + sentence that will prophesy with sufficient ambiguity."</p> + <p>But it was not Plato or his "Phædrus" that then claimed my thoughts. There + loomed a Rock graven with more august instruction than the sage of the Academy was + privileged to communicate,—a Rock against which the heaving surface of human + opinion had chafed and broken in vain. Tossed to and fro upon the tide of life, who + has not sometimes listened to the wrangling voices which shouted, "Mystical + Interpretation," "Absolute Fiction," "Huge Conglomerate of Myths"? Whose eye has + never been caught by the sparkling tinsel of modern philosophies, with their Seers, + Heroes, Missions, Developments, Insights, Principles of Nature, Clairvoyance, and + Magnetic Currents? Happy those who are able to return to that one channel through + which magnetic currents have indeed descended from an unseen sphere, and touched the + noblest hearts! For there <i>is</i> a certain mediation between the necessities and + aspirations of man,—an assured deliverance from the gross and sordid + surroundings of his earthly life. There came before me one simple period from a + familiar Book. Most direct and confident is the solemn statement. I wrote it as the + final motto.</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"NOW THE SERPENT WAS MORE SUBTILE THAN ANY BEAST OF THE FIELD WHICH THE LORD GOD + HAD MADE."</p> + </blockquote> + <a name="page339" id="page339"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 339]</span> + <hr /> + <h2>THE TERTIARY AGE, AND ITS CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.</h2> + <p>In entering upon the Tertiaries, we reach that geological age which, next to his + own, has the deepest interest for man. The more striking scenes of animal life, + hitherto confined chiefly to the ocean, are now on land; the extensive sheets of + fresh water are filled with fishes of a comparatively modern character,—with + Whitefish, Pickerel, Perch, Eels, etc.,—while the larger quadrupeds are + introduced upon the continents so gradually prepared to receive them. The connection + of events throughout the Tertiaries, considered as leading up to the coming of man, + may be traced not only in the physical condition of the earth, and in the presence of + the large terrestrial Mammalia, but also in the appearance of those groups of animals + and plants which we naturally associate with the domestic and social existence of + man. Cattle and Horses are first found in the middle Tertiaries; the grains, the + Rosaceæ, with their variety of fruits, the tropical fruit-trees, Oranges, + Bananas, etc., the shade- and cluster-trees, so important to the comfort and shelter + of man, are added to the vegetable world during these epochs. The fossil vegetation + of the Tertiaries is, indeed, most interesting from this point of view, showing the + gradual maturing and completion of those conditions most intimately associated with + human life. The earth had already its seasons, its spring and summer, its autumn and + winter, its seed-time and harvest, though neither sower nor reaper was there; the + forests then, as now, dropped their thick carpet of leaves upon the ground in the + autumn, and in many localities they remain where they originally fell, with a layer + of soil between the successive layers of leaves,—a leafy chronology, as it + were, by which we read the passage of the years which divided these deposits from + each other. Where the leaves have fallen singly on a clayey soil favorable for + receiving such impressions, they have daguerreotyped themselves with the most + wonderful accuracy, and the Oaks, Poplars, Willows, Maples, Walnuts, Gum- and + Cinnamon-trees, etc., of the Tertiaries are as well known to us as are those of our + own time.</p> + <p>It was an eventful day, not only for science, but for the world, when a Siberian + fisherman chanced to observe a singular mound lying near the mouth of the River Lena, + where it empties into the Arctic Ocean. During the warmer summer-weather, he noticed, + that, as the snow gradually melted, this mound assumed a more distinct and prominent + outline, and at length, on one side of it, where the heat of the sun was greatest, a + dark body became exposed, which, when completely uncovered, proved to be that of an + immense elephant, in so perfect a state of preservation that the dogs and wolves were + attracted to it as by the smell of fresh meat, and came to feed upon it at night. The + man knew little of the value of his discovery, but the story went abroad, and an + Englishman travelling in Russia, being curious to verify it, visited the spot, and + actually found the remains where they had been reported to lie, on the frozen shore + of the Arctic Sea,—strange burial-place enough for an animal never known to + exist out of tropical climates. Little beside the skeleton was left, though parts of + the skin remained covered with hair, showing how perfect must have been the condition + of the body when first exposed. The tusks had been sold by the fisherman; but Mr. + Adams succeeded in recovering them; and collecting all the bones except those of one + foot, which had been carried off by the wolves, he had them removed to St. + Petersburg, where the skeleton now stands in the Imperial Museum. The inhabitants of + Siberia seem to be familiar with this animal, which they designate by the name of + <i>Mammoth</i>, while naturalists call <a name="page340" id="page340"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 340]</span> it <i>Elephas primigenius</i>. The circumstance that + they abound in the frozen drift of the great northern plain of Asia, and are + occasionally exposed in consequence of the wearing of the large rivers traversing + Siberia, has led to the superstition among the Tongouses, that the Mammoths live + under ground, and die whenever, on coming to the surface, the sunlight falls upon + them.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/image1_full.png"><img src="images/image1_thumbnail.png" alt="" /> + </a> + </div> + <p>Had this been the only creature of the kind found so far from the countries to + which elephants are now exclusively confined, it might have been believed that some + strange accident had brought it to the spot where it was buried. But it was not long + before similar remains were found in various parts of Europe,—in Russia, in + Germany, in Spain, and in Italy. The latter were readily accounted for by the theory + that they must be the remains of the Carthaginian elephants brought over by the + armies of Hannibal, while it was suggested that the others might have been swept from + India by some great flood, and stranded where they were found. It was Cuvier, + entitled by his intimate acquaintance with the anatomy of living animals to an + authoritative opinion in such matters, who first dared to assert that these remains + belonged to no elephant of our period. He rested this belief upon structural + evidence, and insisted that an Indian elephant, brought upon the waves of a flood to + Siberia, would be an Indian elephant still, while all these remains differed in + structure from any species existing at present. This statement aroused research in + every direction, and the number of fossil Mammalia found within the next few years, + and proved by comparison to be different from any living species, soon demonstrated + the truth of his conclusion.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/image2_full.png"><img src="images/image2_thumbnail.png" alt="" /> + </a> + </div> + <p>Shortly after the discovery of fossil elephants had opened this new path of + investigation, some curious bones were found by some workmen in the quarries of + Montmartre, near Paris, and brought to Cuvier for examination. Although few in + number, and affording but very scanty <i>data</i> for such a decision, he at once + pronounced them to be the remains of some extinct animal preceding the present + geological age. Here, then, at his very door, as it were, was a settlement of that + old creation in which he could pursue the inquiry, already become so important in its + bearings. It was not long before other bones of the same kind were found, though + nothing as yet approaching an entire skeleton. However, with such means as he had, + Cuvier began a comparison with all the living Mammalia,—with the human skeleton + first, with Monkeys, with the larger Carnivora and Ruminants, then with all the + smaller Mammalia, then with the Pachyderms; and here, for the first time, he began to + find some resemblance. He satisfied himself that the animal must have belonged to the + family of Pachyderms; and he then proceeded to analyze and compare all the living + species, till he had collected ample <a name="page341" id="page341"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 341]</span> evidence to show that the bones in question did not + correspond with any species, and could not even be referred to any genus, now in + existence. At length there was discovered at Montmartre an upper jaw of the same + animal,—next a lower jaw, matching the upper one, and presently a whole head + with a few backbones was brought to light. These were enough, with Cuvier's vast + knowledge of animal structure, to give him a key to the whole skeleton. At about the + same time, in the same locality, were found other bones and teeth also, differing + from those first discovered, and yet equally unlike those of any living animal. The + first evidently belonged to some stout and heavy animal, the others were more slender + and of lighter build. From these fragments, ample evidence to him of his results, he + drew the outlines of two animals: one which he called the Palæotherium, (old + animal,) a figure of which is given in the above wood-cut, and the other + Anoplotherium, (animal without fangs). He presented these figures with an explanatory + memoir at the Academy, and announced them as belonging to some creation preceding the + present, since no such animals had ever existed in our own geological period. Such a + statement was a revelation to the scientific world: some looked upon it with + suspicion and distrust; others, who knew more of comparative anatomy, hailed it as + introducing a new era in science; but it was not till complete specimens were + actually found of animals corresponding perfectly to those figured and described by + Cuvier, and proving beyond a doubt their actual existence in ancient times, that all + united in wonder and admiration at the result obtained by him with such scanty + means.</p> + <p>It would seem that the family of Pachyderms was largely represented among the + early Mammalia; for, since Cuvier named these species, a number of closely allied + forms have been found in deposits belonging to the same epoch. Of course, the + complete specimens are rare; but the fragments of such skeletons occur in abundance, + showing that these old-world Pachyderms, resembling the Tapirs more than any other + living representatives of the family, were very numerous in the lower Tertiaries.</p> + <p>There is, however, one animal now in existence, forming one of those singular + links before alluded to between the present and the past, of which I will say a few + words here, though its relation is rather with a later group of Tertiary Pachyderms + than with those described by Cuvier. On the coast of Florida there is an animal of + very massive, clumsy build, long considered to be a Cetacean, but now recognized, by + some naturalists at least, as belonging to the order of Pachyderms. In form it + resembles the Cetaceans, though it has a fan-shaped tail, instead of the broad + flapper of the Whales. It inhabits fresh waters or shoal waters, and is not so + exclusively aquatic as the oceanic Cetaceans. Its most striking feature is the form + of the lower jaw, which is bent downward, with the front teeth hanging from it. This + animal is called the Manatee, or Sea-Cow. There are three species known to + naturalists,—one in Tampa Bay, one in the Amazon, and one in Africa. In the + Tertiary deposits of Germany there has been found an animal allied in some of its + features to those described by Cuvier, <a name="page342" id="page342"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 342]</span> but it has the crown of its teeth folded like the + Tapir, while the lower jaw is turned down with a long tusk growing from it. This + animal has been called the Dinotherium. A part of the head, showing the heavy jaws + and the formidable tusk, is represented in the subjoined wood-cut.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/image3_full.png"><img src="images/image3_thumbnail.png" alt="" /> + </a> + </div> + <p>Its hanging lower jaw, with the protruding tusk, corresponds perfectly to the + formation of the lower jaw and teeth in the Manatee. Some resemblance of the + Dinotherium to the Mastodon suggested a comparison with that animal as the next step + in the investigation, when it was found that at the edge of the lower jaw of the + latter there was a pit with a small projecting tooth, also corresponding exactly in + its position to the tusk in the Dinotherium. The Elephant was now examined; and in + him also a rudimentary tooth appeared in the lower jaw, not cut through, but placed + in the same relation to the jaw and the other teeth as that of the Mastodon. It would + seem, then, that the Manatee makes one in this series of Dinotherium, Mastodon, and + Elephant, and represents the aquatic Pachyderms, occupying the same relation to the + terrestrial Pachyderms as the Seals bear to the terrestrial Carnivora, and, like + them, lowest in structure among their kind.</p> + <p>The announcement of Cuvier's results stimulated research, and from this time + forward Tertiary Mammalia became the subject of extensive and most important + investigations among naturalists. The attention of collectors once drawn to these + remains, they were found in such numbers that the wonder was how they had been so + long hidden from the observation of men. They remind us chiefly of tropical animals; + indeed, Tigers, Hyenas, Rhinoceroses, Hippopotamuses, Mastodons, and Elephants had + their home in countries which now belong to the Cold Temperate Zone, showing that the + climate in these latitudes was much milder then than it is at present. Bones of many + of these animals were found in caverns in Germany, France, Italy, and England. + Perhaps the story of Kirkdale Cave, where the first important discovery of this kind + was made on English soil, may not be so well known to American readers as to forbid + its repetition here.</p> + <p>It was in the summer of 1821 that some workmen, employed in quarrying stone upon + the slope of a limestone hill at Kirkdale, in Yorkshire, came accidentally upon the + mouth of a cavern. Overgrown with grass and bushes, the mouth of this cave in the + hill-side had been effectually closed against all intruders, and it was not strange + that its existence had never been suspected. The hole was small, but large enough to + admit a man on his hands and knees; and the workmen, creeping in through the opening, + found that it led into a cavern, broad in some parts, but low throughout. There were + only a few spots where a man could stand upright; but it was quite extensive, with + branches opening out from it, some of which have not yet been explored. The whole + floor was strewn, from one end to the other, with hundreds of bones, like a huge + dog-kennel. The workmen wondered a little at their discovery, but, remembering that + there had been a murrain among the cattle in this region some years before, they came + to the conclusion that these must be the bones of cattle that had died in great + numbers at that time; and, having so settled the matter to their own satisfaction, + they took little heed to the bones, but threw many of them out on the road with the + common limestone. Fortunately, a gentleman, living in the neighborhood, whose + attention had been <a name="page343" id="page343"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 343]</span> attracted to them, preserved them from destruction; and a few months + after the discovery of the cave, Dr. Buckland, the great English geologist, visited + Kirkdale, to examine its strange contents, which proved indeed stranger than any one + had imagined; for many of these remains belonged to animals never before found in + England. The bones of Hyenas, Tigers, Elephants, Rhinoceroses, and Hippopotamuses + were mingled with those of Deer, Bears, Wolves, Foxes, and many smaller creatures. + The bones were gnawed, and many were broken, evidently not by natural decay, but + seemed to have been snapped violently apart. After the most complete investigation of + the circumstances, Dr. Buckland convinced himself, and proved to the satisfaction of + all scientific men, that the cave had been a den of Hyenas<a id="footnotetag4" + name="footnotetag4" href="#footnote4"><sup>4</sup></a> at a time when they, as well + as Tigers, Elephants, Rhinoceroses, etc., existed in England in as great numbers as + they now do in the wildest parts of tropical Asia or Africa. The narrow entrance to + the cave still retained the marks of grease and hair, such as one may see on the bars + of a cage in a menagerie against which the imprisoned animals have been in the habit + of rubbing themselves constantly, and there were marks of the same kind on the floor + and walls.</p> + <p>It was evident that the Hyenas were the lords of this ancient cavern, and the + other animals their unwilling guests; for the remains of the latter were those which + had been most gnawed, broken, and mangled; and the head of an enormous Hyena, with + gigantic fangs found complete, bore ample evidence to their great size and power. + Some of the animals, such as the Elephants, Rhinoceroses, etc., could not have been + brought into the cave without being first killed and torn to pieces, for it is not + large enough to admit them. But their gnawed and broken bones attest, nevertheless, + that they were devoured like the rest; and probably the Hyenas then had the same + propensity which characterizes those of our own time, to tear in pieces the body of + any dead animal, and carry it to their den to feed upon it apart.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/image4_full.png"><img src="images/image4_thumbnail.png" alt="" /> + </a> + </div> + <p>While Kirkdale Cave was evidently the haunt of Hyenas chiefly, other caverns in + Germany and France were tenanted in a similar manner by a gigantic species of Bear. + Their remains, mingled with those of the animals on which they fed, have been found + in great numbers in the Cavern of Gailenreuth, in Franconia. The subjoined wood-cut + shows the head of this formidable beast, which must have exceeded in size any Bear + now living. <a name="page344" id="page344"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 344]</span> + Indeed, although there were many smaller kinds, and the other types of the Animal + Kingdom in the Tertiaries seem to approach very nearly both in size and general + character their modern representatives, yet, on the whole, the earlier Mammalia were + giants in comparison with those now living. The Mastodon and Mammoth, as compared + with the modern Elephant, the Megatherium, as compared with the Sloths of present + times, the Hyenas and Bears of the European caverns, and the fossil Elk of Ireland, + by the side of which even the Moose of our Northern woods is belittled, are + remarkable instances in proof of this. One cannot but be struck with the fact that + this first representation of Mammalia, the very impersonation of brute force in + power, size, and ferocity, immediately preceded the introduction of man, with whose + creation intelligence and moral strength became the dominant influences on earth.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/image5_full.png"><img src="images/image5_thumbnail.png" alt="" /> + </a> + </div> + <p>Among these huge Tertiary Mammalia, one of those most common on the North-American + continent seems to have been the Mastodon. The magnificent specimens preserved in + this country are too well known to require description. The remains of the Rhinoceros + occur also in the recent Tertiary deposits of North America, though as yet no perfect + skeletons have been found. The Edentata, now confined to South America and the + western coast of Africa, were also numerous in the Southern States during that time; + their remains have been found as far north as the Salt Lick in Kentucky. But we must + not judge of the Tertiary Edentata by any now known to us. The Sloths, the + Armadillos, the Ant-Eaters, the Pangolins, are all animals of rather small size; but + formerly they were represented by the gigantic Megatherium, the Megalonyx, and the + Mylodon, some of which were larger than the Elephant, and others about the same size + of the Rhinoceros or Hippopotamus. The subjoined wood-cut represents a Mylodon in the + act of lifting himself against the trunk of a tree.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/image6_full.png" alt="" /> + </div> + <p>They were clumsy brutes, and though their limbs were evidently built with + reference to powerful movements, perhaps climbing, or at least rising on their hind + quarters, the act of climbing with them cannot have had anything of the nimbleness or + activity generally associated with it. On the contrary, they probably were barely + able to support their huge bodies on their hind limbs, which are exceedingly massive, + and on the stiff, heavy tail, while they dragged down with their front limbs the + branches of the trees, and fed upon them at leisure. The Zoölogical Museum at + Cambridge is indebted to the generosity of Mr. Joshua Bates for a very fine set of + casts taken from the Megatherium in the British Museum. They are now mounted, and may + be seen in one of the exhibition-rooms of the building. Large Reptiles, but very + unlike those of the Cretaceous and Jurassic epochs, belonging chiefly to the types of + Turtles, Crocodiles, Pythons, and Salamanders, existed during the Tertiary epochs. + The <a name="page345" id="page345"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 345]</span> wood-cut + below represents a gigantic Salamander of the Tertiary deposits. It is a curious + fact, illustrative of the ignorance of all anatomical science in those days, that, + when the remains of this reptile (Audrias, as it is now called) were first discovered + toward the close of the seventeenth century, they were described by old Professor + Scheuchzer as the bones of an infant destroyed by the Deluge, and were actually + preserved, not for their scientific value, but as precious relics of the Flood, and + described in a separate pamphlet, entitled, "Homo Diluvii Testis." Among the Tertiary + Reptiles the Turtles seem to have been a very prominent type, by their size as well + as by their extensive distribution. Their remains have been found both in the far + West and in the East. The fossil Turtles of Nebraska are well known to American + naturalists; but the Oriental one exceeds them in size, and is, indeed, the most + gigantic representative of the order known thus far. A man could stand under the arch + of the shield of the old Himalayan Turtle preserved in the British Museum.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/image7_full.png"><img src="images/image7_thumbnail.png" alt="" /> + </a> + </div> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/image8_full.png"><img src="images/image8_thumbnail.png" alt="" /> + </a> + </div> + <p>It would carry me too far, were I to attempt to give anything more than the most + cursory sketch of the animals of the Tertiary age; and, indeed, they are so well + known, and have been so fully represented in text-books, that I fear some of my + readers may think even now that I have dwelt too long upon them. Monkeys were + unquestionably introduced upon earth before the close of the Tertiaries; some bones + have been found in Southern France, and also on Mount Pentelicus in Greece, in the + later Tertiary deposits; but these remains have not yet been collected in sufficient + number to establish much more than the fact of their presence in the animal creation + at that time. I do not offer any opinion respecting the fossil human bones so much + discussed recently, because the evidence is at present too scanty to admit of any + decisive judgment concerning them. It becomes, however, daily more probable that + facts will force us sooner or later to admit that the creation of man lies far beyond + any period yet assigned to it, and that a succession of human races, as of animals, + have followed one another upon the earth. It may be the inestimable privilege of our + young naturalists to solve <a name="page346" id="page346"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 346]</span> this great problem, but the older men of our + generation must be content to renounce this hope; we may have some prophetic vision + of its fulfilment, we may look from afar into the land of promise, but we shall not + enter in and possess it.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/image9_full.png" alt="" /> + </div> + <div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/image10_full.png" alt="" /> + </div> + <div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/image11_full.png" alt="" /> + </div> + <p>The other great types of the Animal Kingdom are very fully represented in the + Tertiaries, and in their general appearance they approach much more closely those of + the present creation than of any previous epochs. Professor Heer has collected and + described the Tertiary Insects in great number and variety; and the Butterflies, + Bugs, Flies, Grasshoppers, Dragon-Flies, Beetles, etc., described in his volumes, + would hardly be distinguished from our own, except by a practised entomologist. Among + Crustacea, the Shrimp-like forms of the earlier geological epochs have become much + less conspicuous, while Crabs and Lobsters are now the prominent representatives of + the class. Among Mollusks, the Chambered Shells, hitherto so numerous, have become, + as they now are, very few in comparison with the naked Cephalopods. The Nautili, + however, resemble those now living in the Pacific Ocean; and some fragments of the + Paper-Nautilus have been found, showing that this delicate shell was already in + existence. There is one very peculiar type of this class, belonging to the + Tertiaries, which should not be passed by unnoticed. It partakes of the character + both of the Cretaceous Belemnites and of the living Cuttle-Fish, and is known as the + Spirulirostra. Another very characteristic group among the Tertiary Shells is that of + the Nummulites, formerly placed by naturalists in immediate proximity with the + Ammonites, on account of their internal partitions. This is now admitted to have been + an error; their position is not yet fully determined, but they certainly stand very + low in the scale, and have no affinity whatever with the Cephalopods. The subjoined + wood-cut represents one of these Shells, so numerous in the Tertiaries that large + masses of rock consist of their remains. The Univalve Shells or Gasteropods of the + Tertiaries embraced all the families now living, including land and fresh-water + Shells as well as the marine representatives of the type. Some of the latter, as, for + instance, the Cerithium, are accumulated in vast numbers. The limestone quarries out + of which Paris is chiefly built consist wholly of these Shells. The fresh-water + basins were filled with Helices, one of which is represented in the following <a + name="page347" id="page347"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 347]</span> wood-cut, with + Planorbis, Limnæus and other Shells resembling those now so common in all our + lakes and rivers, and differing from the living ones only by slight specific + characters. The Bivalves also have the same resemblance to the present ones, + including fresh-water Mussels as well as the marine Clams and Oysters. Among + Radiates, the higher Echini (Sea-Urchins) have become numerous, while the other + Echinoderms of all families abound. Corals include, for the first time, the more + highly organized Madrepores.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/image12_full.png" alt="" /> + </div> + <p>In the Tertiaries we see the dawn of the present condition of things, not only in + the character of the animals and plants, but in the height of the mountains and in + the distribution of land and sea.</p> + <p>Let us give a glance at the continents whose growth we have been following, and + see what these more recent geological epochs have done for their completion. In + Europe they have filled the basin in Central France, and converted all that region + into dry land: they have filled also the channel between France and Spain; they have + united Central Russia with the rest of Europe by the completion of Poland, and have + greatly enlarged Austria and Turkey; they have completed the promontories of Italy + and Greece, and have converted the inland sea at the foot of the Jura into the plain + of Switzerland. But this fruitful period in the progress of the world, when the + character of organic life was higher and the physical features of the earth more + varied than ever before, was not without its storms and convulsions. The Pyrenees, + the Apennines, the Alps, and with them the whole range of the Caucasus and Himalayas, + were raised either immediately after the Cretaceous epoch, or in the course of the + Tertiaries. Indeed, with this most significant passage in her history, Europe + acquired all her essential characters. There remained, it is true, much to be done in + what is called by geologists "modern times." The work of the artist is not yet + finished when his statue is blocked out and the grand outline of his conception + stands complete; and there still remained, after the earth was rescued from the + water, after her framework of mountains was erected, after her soil was clothed with + field and forest, processes by which her valleys were to be made more fruitful, her + gulfs to be filled with the rich detritus poured into them by the rivers, her whole + surface to be rendered more habitable for the higher races who were to possess + it.</p> + <p>We left America at the close of the Carboniferous epoch. A glance at the + geological map will show the reader that during the Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic + epochs little was added to the United States, though here and there deposits + belonging to each of them crop out. In the Cretaceous epoch, however, large tracts of + land were accumulated, chiefly in the South and West; and during the Tertiaries the + continent was very nearly completed, leaving only a narrow gulf running up to the + neighborhood of St. Louis to be filled by modern detritus, and the peninsula of + Florida to be built by the industrious Coral-Workers of our own period. The age of + the Alleghany chain is not yet positively determined, but it was probably raised at + the close of the Carboniferous epoch. Up to that time, only the Laurentian Hills, the + northern side of that mountainous triangle which now makes the skeleton, as it were, + of the United States, existed. The upheaval of the Alleghanies added its eastern + side, raising the central part of the continent so as to form a long slope from the + base of the Alleghanies to the Pacific Ocean; but it was not until the Tertiary Age + that the upheaval of the great chain at the West completed the triangle, and + transformed that wide westerly slope into <a name="page348" id="page348"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 348]</span> the Mississippi Valley, bounded on one side by the + Alleghanies, and on the other by the Rocky Mountains.</p> + <p>It is my belief, founded upon the tropical character of the Fauna, that a much + milder climate then prevailed over the whole northern hemisphere than is now known to + it. Some naturalists have supposed that the presence of the tropical Mammalia in the + Northern Temperate Zone might be otherwise accounted for,—that they might have + been endowed with warmer covering, with thicker hair or fur. But I think the simpler + and more natural reason for their existence throughout the North is to be found in + the difference of climate; and I am the more inclined to this opinion because the + Tertiary animals generally, the Fishes, Shells, etc., in the same regions, are more + closely allied in character to those now living in the Tropics than to those of the + Temperate Zones. The Tertiary age may be called the geological summer; we shall see, + hereafter, how abruptly it was brought to a close.</p> + <p>One word more as to the relation of the Tertiary Mammalia to the creation which + preceded them. I can only repeat here the argument used before: the huge quadrupeds + characteristic of these epochs make their appearance suddenly, and the deposits + containing them follow as immediately upon those of the Cretaceous epoch, in which no + trace of them occurs, as do those of the Cretaceous upon those of the Jurassic epoch. + I would remind the reader that in the central basin of France, in which Cuvier found + his first Palæotherium, and which afterwards proved to have been thickly + settled by the early Mammalia, the deposits of the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary + epochs follow each other in immediate, direct, uninterrupted succession; that the + same is true of other localities, in Germany, in Southern Europe, in England, where + the most complete collections have been made from all these deposits; and there has + never been brought to light a single fact leading us to suppose that any intermediate + forms have ever existed through which more recent types have been developed out of + older ones. For thirty years Geology has been gradually establishing, by evidence the + fulness and accuracy of which are truly amazing, the regularity in the sequence of + the geological formations, and distinguishing, with ever-increasing precision, the + specific differences of the animals and plants contained in these accumulations of + past ages. These results bear living testimony to the wonderful progress of the + kindred sciences of Geology and Palæontology in the last half-century; and the + development-theory has but an insecure foundation so long as it attempts to + strengthen itself by belittling the geological record, the assumed imperfection of + which, in default of positive facts, has now become the favorite argument of its + upholders.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="page349" id="page349"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 349]</span> + <h2>THE NEW SANGREAL.</h2> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + "Show me the Sangreal, Lord! Show me Thy blood! + </div> + <div class="line"> + Thy body and Thy blood! Give me the Quest! + </div> + <div class="line"> + Lord, I am faint and tired; my soul is sick + </div> + <div class="line"> + Of all the falseness, all the little aims, + </div> + <div class="line"> + The weary vanities, the gasping joys, + </div> + <div class="line"> + The slow procession of this satiate world! + </div> + <div class="line"> + Dear Lord, I burn for Thee! Give me Thy Quest! + </div> + <div class="line"> + Down through the old reverberating time, + </div> + <div class="line"> + I see Thy knights in wonderful array + </div> + <div class="line"> + Go out to victory, like the solemn stars + </div> + <div class="line"> + Fighting in courses, with their conquering swords, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Their sad, fixed lips of purity and strength, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Their living glory, their majestic death. + </div> + <div class="line"> + Give me Thy Quest! Show me the Sangreal, Lord!" + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + He lay upon a mountain's rocky crest, + </div> + <div class="line"> + So high, that all the glittering, misty world, + </div> + <div class="line"> + All summer's splendid tempests, lay below, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And sudden lightnings quivered at his feet; + </div> + <div class="line"> + So still, not any sound of silentness + </div> + <div class="line"> + Expressed the silence, nor the pallid sun + </div> + <div class="line"> + Burned on his eyelids; all alone and still, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Save for the prayer that struggled from his lips, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Broken with eager stress. Then he arose. + </div> + <div class="line"> + But always, down the hoary mountain-side, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Through whispering forests, by soft-rippled streams, + </div> + <div class="line"> + In clattering streets, or the great city's roar, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Still from his never sated soul went up, + </div> + <div class="line"> + "Give me Thy Quest! Show me the Sangreal, Lord!" + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Through all the land there poured a trumpet's clang, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And when its silvery anger smote the air, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Men sprang to arms from every true man's home, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And followed to the field. He followed, too,— + </div> + <div class="line"> + All the mad blood of manhood in his veins, + </div> + <div class="line"> + All the fierce instincts of a warring race + </div> + <div class="line"> + Kindled like flame in every tingling limb, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And raging in his soul on fire with war. + </div> + <div class="line"> + He heard a thousand voices call him on: + </div> + <div class="line"> + Lips hot with anguish, shrieking their despair + </div> + <div class="line"> + From swamps and forests and the still bayous + </div> + <div class="line"> + That hide the wanderer, nor bewray his lair: + </div> + <div class="line"> + From fields and marshes where the tropic sun + </div> + <div class="line"> + Scorches a million laborers scourged to work; + </div> + <div class="line"> + From homes that are not homes; from mother-hearts + </div> + <div class="line"> + Torn from the infants lingering at their breasts; + </div> + <div class="line"> + From parted lovers, and from shuddering wives; + </div> + <div class="line"> + From men grown mad with whips and tyranny; + </div> + <a name="page350" id="page350"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 350]</span> + <div class="line"> + From all a country groaning in its chains. + </div> + <div class="line"> + Nor sleep, nor dream beguiled him any more; + </div> + <div class="line"> + He leaped to manhood in one torrid hour, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And armed, and sped to battle. Now no more + </div> + <div class="line"> + He cried or prayed,—"Show me the Sangreal, Lord!" + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + So in the front of deadly strife he stood; + </div> + <div class="line"> + The glorious thunder of the roaring guns, + </div> + <div class="line"> + The restless hurricane of screaming shells, + </div> + <div class="line"> + The quick, sharp singing of the rifle-balls, + </div> + <div class="line"> + The sudden clash of sabres, and the beat + </div> + <div class="line"> + Of rapid horse-hoofs galloping at charge, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Made a great chorus to his valorous soul, + </div> + <div class="line"> + The dreadful music of a grappling world, + </div> + <div class="line"> + That hurried him to fight. He turned the tide, + </div> + <div class="line"> + But fell upon its turning. Over him + </div> + <div class="line"> + Fluttered the starry flag, and fluttered on, + </div> + <div class="line"> + While he lay helpless on the trampled sward, + </div> + <div class="line"> + His hot life running scarlet from its source, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And all his soul in sudden quiet spent, + </div> + <div class="line"> + As still as on the silent mountain-top; + </div> + <div class="line"> + So still that from his quick-remembering heart + </div> + <div class="line"> + Burst that old cry,—"Show me the Sangreal, Lord!" + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Then a bright mist descended over him, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And in its central glory stood a shape, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Wounded, yet smiling. With His bleeding hands + </div> + <div class="line"> + Stretched toward that bleeding side, His eyes divine + </div> + <div class="line"> + Like a new dawn, thus softly spake the Lord:— + </div> + <div class="line"> + "The blood poured out for brothers is my blood; + </div> + <div class="line"> + The flesh for brothers broken is my flesh; + </div> + <div class="line"> + No more in golden chalices I dwell, + </div> + <div class="line"> + No longer in a vision, angel-borne: + </div> + <div class="line"> + Here is the Sangreal, here the Holy Quest. + </div> + <div class="line"> + Thy prayer is heard, thy soul is satisfied: + </div> + <div class="line"> + Come, my belovèd! I am come for thee. + </div> + <div class="line"> + As first I broke the bread and poured the wine, + </div> + <div class="line"> + So have I broken thee and poured thy life, + </div> + <div class="line"> + So do I bless thee and give thanks for thee, + </div> + <div class="line"> + So do I bear thee in my wounded hands." + </div> + <div class="line"> + Smiling, He stooped, and kissed the tortured brow, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And over all its anguish stole a smile; + </div> + <div class="line"> + The blood-sealed lips unclosed; the dying breath + </div> + <div class="line"> + Sighed, like the rain-sound in a summer wind, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Sobbing, but sweet,—"I see the Sangreal, Lord!" + </div> + </div> + </div> + <a name="page351" id="page351"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 351]</span> + <hr /> + <h2>THOMAS DE QUINCEY.</h2> + <p>In the notice of so memorable a man, even the briefest prelusive flourish seems + uncalled for; and so indeed it would be, if by such means it were meant simply to + justify the undertaking. In regard to any of the great powers in literature there + exists already a prevailing interest, which cannot be presumed to slumber for one + moment in any thinking mind.<a id="footnotetag5" name="footnotetag5" + href="#footnote5"><sup>5</sup></a> By way of notification, there is no need of + prelude. Yet there are occasions, as, for example, the entrances of kings, which + absolutely demand the inaugural flourish of arms,—which, like the rosy flood of + dawn, require to be ushered in by a train of twilight glories. And there are lives + which proceed as by the movements of music,—which, must therefore be heralded + by overtures: majestic steppings, heard in the background, compel us, through mere + sympathy with their pomp of procession, to sound the note of preparation.</p> + <p>Else I should plunge <i>in medias res</i> upon a sketch of De Quincey's life; were + it not a rudeness amounting to downright profanity to omit the important ceremony of + prelibation, and that at a banquet to which, implicitly, gods are invited. The reader + will assuredly unite with me in all such courtesies,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Neu desint epulis rosæ"; + </div> + </div> + <p>particularly as the shade we deal with can be evoked only by peculiar + incantations,—only the heralding of certain precise claims will this monarch + listen to as the just <i>inferiæ</i>, the fitting sacrifice or hecatomb of our + homage.</p> + <p>The key-note of preparation, the claim which preëminently should be set forth + in advance, is this: that De Quincey was the prince of hierophants, or of pontifical + hierarchs, as regards all those profound mysteries which from the beginning have + swayed the human heart, sometimes through the light of angelic smiles lifting it + upwards to an altitude just beneath the heavens, and sometimes shattering it, with + the shock of quaking anguish, down to earth. As it was the function of the + hierophant, in the Grecian mysteries, to show the sacred symbols as concrete + incarnations of faith, so was it De Quincey's to reveal in open light the everlasting + symbols, universally intelligible when once disclosed, which <a name="page352" + id="page352"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 352]</span> are folded in the involutions + of dreams and of those meditations which most resemble dreams; and as to the manner + of these revelations, no Roman <i>pontifex maximus</i>, were it even Cæsar + himself, could have rivalled their magisterial pomp.</p> + <p>The peculiarities of his life all point in the direction here indicated. It was + his remarkable experience which furnished him the key to certain secret recesses of + human nature hitherto sealed up in darkness. Along that border-line by which the + glimmerings of consciousness are, as by the thinnest, yet the most impervious veil, + separated from the regions of the unexplored and the undefinable, De Quincey walked + familiarly and with privileged eye and ear. Many a nebulous mass of hieroglyphically + inscribed meanings did he—this Champollion, defying all human enigmas, this + Herschel, or Lord Rosse, forever peering into the obscure chasms and yawning abysses + of human astronomy—resolve into orderly constellations, that, once and for all, + through his telescopic interpretation and enlargement, were rendered distinct and + commensurable amongst men. The conditions of his power in this respect are + psychologically inseparable from the remarkable conditions of his life, two of which + are especially to be noticed. First, a ruling disposition towards meditation, + constituting him, in the highest sense of the word, a poet. Secondly, the peculiar + qualities which this singular mental constitution derived from his use of + opium,—qualities which, although they did not increase, or even give direction + to his meditative power, at least magnified it, both optically, as to its visual + capacity, and creatively, as to its constructive faculty. These two conditions, each + concurrent with the other in its ruling influence, impart to his life a degree of + psychological interest which belongs to no other on record. Nor is this all. The + reader knows how often a secondary interest will attach to the mightiest of + conquerors or to the wisest of sovereigns, who is not merely in himself, and through + his own deeds, magnificent, but whose glory is many times repeated and piled up by + numerous reverberations of itself from a contemporary race of Titans. Thus, + doubtless, Charles V., although himself King of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and + a portion of Italy, gloried in the sublime empery of the Turkish Solyman, as by some + subtile connection of fate sympathetic with his own. A secondary interest of this + nature belongs to the life of De Quincey,—a life which inclosed, as an island, + a whole period of English literature, one, too, which in activity and originality is + unsurpassed by any other, including the names of Scott and Dickens, of Wordsworth, + Coleridge, Lamb, and Southey, of Moore, Byron, Shelley, and Keats. His connection + with very many of these was not simply that of coëxistence, but also of familiar + intercourse.</p> + <p>Between De Quincey's life and his writings it is impossible that there should be + any distraction of interest, so intimately are the two interwoven: in this case more + so than in that of any known author. Particularly is this true of his more + impassioned writings, which are a faithful rescript of his all-impassioned life. + Hierophant we have called him,—the prince of hierophants,—having + reference to the matter of his revelations; but in his <i>manner</i>, in his style of + composition, he is something more than this: here he stands the <i>monarch</i> + amongst rhapsodists. In these writings are displayed the main peculiarities of his + life and genius.</p> + <p>But, besides these, there is a large section of his works, the aim of which is + purely intellectual, where feeling is not at all involved; and surely there is not, + in either ancient or modern literature, a section which, in the same amount of space, + exhibits the same degree of intense activity on the part of the analytic + understanding, applied to the illustration of truth or to the solution of vexed + problems. This latter class is the more remarkable from its polar antithesis to the + former; just as, in his life, it is a most remarkable characteristic of the man, <a + name="page353" id="page353"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 353]</span> that, rising + above all other men through the rhapsodies of dreams, he should yet be able truly to + say of himself that he had devoted a greater number of hours to intellectual pursuits + than any other man whom he had seen, heard of, or read of. A wider range is thus + exhibited, not of thought merely, but also of the possible modes of expressing + thought, than is elsewhere to be found, even in writers the most skilled in + rhetorical subtilty. The distance between these two opposites De Quincey does not + traverse by violent leaps; he does not by some feat of legerdemain evanish from the + fields of impassioned eloquence, where he is an unrivalled master, to appear + forthwith in those of intellectual gymnastics, where, at least, he is not surpassed. + He is familiar with every one of the intervening stages between the rhapsody and the + demonstration,—between the loftiest reach of aspirant passion, from which, with + reptile instinct, the understanding slinks downwards to the earth, and that fierce + antagonism of naked thoughts, where the crested serpent "mounts and burns." His + alchemy is infinite, combining light with warmth in all degrees,—in pathos, in + humor,<a id="footnotetag6" name="footnotetag6" href="#footnote6"><sup>6</sup></a> in + genial illumination. Let the reader, if he can, imagine Rousseau to have written + "Dinner, Real and Reputed," or the paper on "The Essenes," in both of which great + erudition is necessary, but in which erudition is as nothing when compared to the + faculty of recombining into novel forms what previously had been so grouped as to be + misunderstood, or had lacked just the one element necessary for introducing order. To + have written these would have entitled Rousseau to a separate sceptre. Or, moving + into a realm of art totally distinct from this, suppose him to have been the author + of "Murder considered as one of the Fine Arts": that would mount a new plume in + Rousseau's hat. But I happen just now to be reminded of another little paper, + numbering about six pages, entitled, "On the Knocking at the Gate, in Macbeth": give + him <i>that</i>, too. Why, the <a name="page354" id="page354"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 354]</span> little French king is beginning to assume an imperial + consequence! We beg the reader's pardon for indulging in comparisons of this nature, + which are always disagreeable; but we have this excuse, that the two writers are + often mentioned as on the same level, and with no appreciation of that unlimited + range of power which belongs to De Quincey, but not at all to Rousseau. All but one + of the trophies which we have hypothetically transferred to the Frenchman adorn a + single volume out of twenty-two, in the Boston edition. Nor is this one imperial + column adorned by these alone: there are, besides,—alas for Rousseau!—two + other <i>spolia opima</i> by which the French master is, in his own field, proved not + the first, nor even the second,—<i>proximus, sed non secundus</i>,—so + wide is the distance between De Quincey and <i>any</i> other antagonist. These two + are the essays respectively entitled, "Joan of Arc," and "The English + Mail-Coach."</p> + <p>It is impossible to be exhaustive upon such a subject as that which I have + undertaken. I shall select, therefore, two prominent centres, about which the + thoughts which I wish to present naturally revolve: De Quincey's childhood, and his + opium-experiences.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>Thomas de Quincey—hierophant, rhapsodist, philosopher—was born at + Greenhay, then a suburb of Manchester, in Lancashire County, England, on the 15th of + August, 1785. According to his own account, the family of the De Quinceys was of + Norwegian origin; and after its transfer to France, in connection with William the + Norman, it received its territorial appellation from the village of Quincy, in + Normandy. Thence, at the time of the Norman Invasion, it was transplanted to England, + where, as afterwards in Scotland, it rose to the highest position, not merely in + connection with a lordly title and princely estates, but chiefly on account of + valuable services rendered to the State, and conferring preeminence in baronial + privilege and consideration.</p> + <p>So sensitive was De Quincey, even at the early age of fifteen, on the point of his + descent, lest from his name he might be supposed of French extraction, that, even + into the ears of George III. (that king having, in an accidental interview with him + at Frogmore, suggested the possibility of his family having come to England at the + time of the Huguenot exodus from France) he ventured to breathe the most earnest + protest against any supposition of that nature, and boldly insisted upon his purely + Norman blood,—blood that in the baronial wars had helped to establish the + earliest basis of English constitutional liberty, and that had flowed from knightly + veins in the wars of the Crusades. Robert De Quincey came into England with William + the Conqueror, uniting with whose fortunes, he fared after the Conquest as a feudal + baron, founding the line of Winchester; and that he was a baron of the first water is + evident from the statement of Gerard Leigh,—that his armorial device was + inscribed (and how inscribed, if not memorially and as a mark of eminent + distinction?) on the stained glass in the old church of St. Paul's.</p> + <p>And here it is proper that the reader's attention should be momentarily diverted + to the American branch of this family, at the head of which stands the Hon. Josiah + Quincy, (the aristocratic <i>De</i> being omitted,)—a branch which fled from + England in the early part of the seventeenth century, to avoid a strife which had + then become too intense and fiery to admit of reconciliation, and which, indeed, a + few years after their withdrawal, culminated in civil war. As illustrating the + inevitableness of any great moral issue, no matter how vast the distance which at a + critical moment we may put between it and ourselves,—as indicating how surely + the Nemesis, seemingly avoided, but really only postponed, will continue to track our + flying footsteps, even across the barren wastes of ocean, that ought, if anything + could, to interpose an effectual barrier between us and all pursuers, and, having + caught up with us in our fancied <a name="page355" id="page355"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 355]</span> retreat, will precipitate upon our devoted heads its + accumulated violence,—as demonstrating thus the melancholy persistence with + which that ugly Sphinx who impersonates Justice in our human affairs doggedly insists + on having her questions answered, and, coming by a circuitous route upon those who by + good luck have escaped her direct path, through an incarnation of unusual terror + compels her dread alternative,—it is interesting to note how this same family, + separated by over seven generations from one political revolution, the momentous + crisis of which was by them successfully evaded, are now, after an interval of + unsound and hollow peace, compelled to witness the precise reiteration of that storm, + in the very land to which they fled for refuge,—a reiteration that repeats, + only on a different stage, and under an aggravation of horror as to minute details, + not merely two antagonistic races corresponding on either side to those which met in + battle on Marston Moor, but also interests far outweighing any that could possibly + attach to a conflict between royalty and democracy.</p> + <p>But the Earls of Winchester, in England, whatever may have been their prosperity + during the nine or ten generations after the Conquest, came suddenly to an abrupt + termination, abutting at length on some guilty traitor in the line, who, like a + special Adam for the family, involved in his own ruin that prosperity which would + else have continued to his successors. The dissevered fragments of the old feudal + estate, however, remained in possession of separate members of the family, as De + Quincey tells us, until the generation next preceding his own, when the last vestige + slipped out of the hands of the one sole squire who, together with the name, held + also some relic of its ancient belongings. But above the diluvial wreck of the + Winchester estates there has arisen an estate far more royal and magnificent, and + beneath a far-reaching bow of promise, sealed in magical security against a similar + disaster. For just here, where every hold is lost upon the original heritage, is the + family freshly grounded upon a second heritage,—one sublime in its order above + that of all earthly possessions, one that is forever imperishable,—namely, the + large domain which the gigantic intellect of Thomas De Quincey has absolved from + aboriginal darkness and brought under distinct illumination for all time to come. + These are the vast acres over which human pride must henceforth soar,—acres + that have been, through the mighty realizations of human genius, built out into the + mysterious ocean-depths of chaotic Nature, and that have in some measure bridged over + infinite chasms in thought, and by just so far have extended the fluctuating + boundaries of human empire. And for De Quincey himself, in view of that monumental + structure which rises above the shattered wrecks of his poor, frail body, as above + the mummied dust of Egyptian kings remain eternally the pyramids which they wrought + in their lifetime, we find it impossible to cherish a single regret, that, possibly, + by the treasonable slip of a predecessor, he may have been robbed of an + earldom,—or even that, during a life which by some years overlapped the average + allotment to humanity, and through which were daily accumulating the most splendid + results in the very highest departments of philosophy and art, these accumulations + nevertheless went on without any notable recognition from a court the most liberal in + all Europe; no badge of outward knighthood coming to him through all these years, as + formerly to Sir Thomas Browne for his subtile meditations, and to Sir William + Hamilton for his philosophic speculations. The absence of such merely <i>nominal</i> + titles excites in us no deep regret; there is in them little that is monumental, and + the pretty tinsel, with which they gild monuments already based on substantial worth, + is easily, and without a sigh, exchanged for that everlasting sunshine reflected from + the loving remembrances of human hearts.</p> + <p>But at the same time that we so willingly dispense with these nominal conditions + <a name="page356" id="page356"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 356]</span> in the case + of De Quincey,—though, assuredly, there was never a man upon earth whom these + conditions, considered as aërial hieroglyphs of the most regal pomp and + magnificence, would more consistently fit,—we cannot thus easily set aside + those other outward conditions of affluence and respectability, which, by their + presence or absence, so materially shape and mould the life, and particularly in its + earliest tendencies and impulses,—in that season of immature preparation when + the channels of habit are in the process of formation, and while yet a marvellous + uncertainty hangs and broods over the beginnings of life, as over the infant rivulet + yet dandled and tended by its mountain-nurses. For, although there are certain + elements which rigidly and by a foreseen certainty determine its course, as, for + instance, an extraordinary vantage-height of source, securing for it the force and + swiftness of a torrent,—yet how shifting are the mountain-winds, chilling into + frosty silence or quickening with Favonian warmth, and how shifting the flying + clouds, which, whether marshalled in mimic tournament above it, or in the shock of a + real conflict, forever sway its tender fountains! Thus, even in inexperienced + childhood, do the scales of the individual destiny begin, favorably or unfavorably, + to determine their future preponderations, by reason of influences merely material, + and before, indeed, any sovereignty save a corporeal one (in conjunction with + heavenly powers) is at all recognized in life. For, in this period, with which above + all others we associate influences the most divine, "with trailing clouds of glory," + those influences which are purely material are the most efficiently operative. + Against the former, adult man, in whom reason is developed, <i>may</i> battle, though + ignobly, and, for himself, ruinously; and against the latter oftentimes he + <i>must</i> struggle, to escape ignominious shipwreck. But the child, helpless alike + for both these conflicts, is, through the very ignorance which shields him from all + conscious guilt, bound over in the most impotent (though, because impotent and + unconscious, the least humiliating) slavery to material circumstance,—a slavery + which he cannot escape, and which, during the period of its absolutism, absorbs his + very blood, bone, and nerve. To poverty, which the strong man resists, the child + succumbs; on the other hand, that affluence of comfort, from which philosophy often + weans the adult, wraps childhood about with a sheltering care; and fortunate indeed + it is, if the mastery of Nature over us during our first years is thus a gentle + dealing with us, fertilizing our powers with the rich juices of an earthly + prosperity. And in this respect De Quincey <i>was</i> eminently fortunate. The powers + of heaven and of earth and—if we side with Milton and <i>other</i> pagan + mythologists in attributing the gift of wealth to some Plutonian dynasty—the + dark powers <i>under</i> the earth seem to have conjointly arrayed themselves in his + behalf. Whatever storms were in the book of Fate written against his name they + postponed till a far-off future, in the mean time granting him the happiest of all + childhoods. Really of gentle blood, and thus gaining whatever substantial benefits in + constitutional temperament and susceptibilities <i>could</i> be thence derived, + although lacking, as Pope also had lacked, the factitious circumstance and airy + heralding of this distinction, he was, in addition to this, surrounded by elements of + aristocratic refinement and luxury, and thus hedged in not merely against the + assault, in any form, of pinching poverty, (as would be any one in tolerably + comfortable circumstances,) but even against the most trivial hint of possible + want,—against all necessity of limitation or retrenchment in any normal line of + expenditure.</p> + <p>He was the son of a merchant, who, at the early age of thirty-nine, died, leaving + to his family—a wife and six children—an estate yielding annually an + income of sixteen hundred pounds. And as at his father's death De Quincey was seven + years old, we may reasonably infer, that, during this previous period, while his + father was still living, and adding to this <a name="page357" id="page357"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 357]</span> fixed a fluctuating income from his yearly gains, + (which to a wholesale merchant of his standing were considerable,) the + family-fortunes were even more auspicious, amounting to the yearly realization of + between two and three thousand pounds, and that at a time when Napoleon had not as + yet meddled with the financial affairs of Europe, nor by his intimidations caused + even pounds and shillings to shrink into less worth and significance than they + formerly had,—in view of which fact, if we are to charge Alexander the Great + (as in a famous anecdote he was charged) with the crime of highway-robbery, as the + "snapper-up of unconsidered trifles" in the way of crowns and a few dozen sceptres, + what a heinous charge must be brought against this Corsican as universal pickpocket! + This pecuniary depreciation De Quincey himself realized some years later, when, + determining to quit school, he thought himself compelled<a id="footnotetag7" + name="footnotetag7" href="#footnote7"><sup>7</sup></a> to cut off all communication + with his guardians, and gave himself up to a Bohemian life among the Welsh mountains, + wandering from one rustic valley to another with the most scanty means of + support,—for just then the Allies were in full rig against France, and the + shrinkage of guineas in our young wanderer's pocket became palpably evident in view + of the increased price of his dinner.</p> + <p>The time <i>did</i> come at length when the full epos of a remarkable prosperity + was closed up and sealed for De Quincey. But that was in the unseen future. To the + child it was not permitted to look beyond the hazy lines that bounded his oasis of + flowers into the fruitless waste abroad. Poverty, want, at least so great as to + compel the daily exercise of his mind for mercenary ends, was stealthily advancing + from the rear; but the sound of its stern steppings was wholly muffled by intervening + years of luxurious opulence and ease.</p> + <p>I dwell thus at length upon the aristocratic elegance of De Quincey's earliest + surroundings, (which, coming at a later period, I should notice merely as an + accident,) because, although not a <i>potential</i> element, capable of producing or + of adding one single iota to the essential character of genius, it is yet a negative + condition—a <i>sine qua non</i>—to the displays of genius in certain + directions and under certain aspects. By misfortune it is true that power may be + intensified. So may it by the baptism of malice. But, given a certain degree of + power, there still remains a question as to its <i>kind</i>. So deep is the sky: but + of what <i>hue</i>, of what aspect? Wine is strong, and so is the crude alcohol but + what the <i>mellowness</i>? And the blood in our veins, it is an infinite force: but + of what temper? Is it warm, or is it cold? Does it minister to Moloch, or to Apollo? + Will it shape the Madonna face, or the Medusa? Why, the simple fact that the rich + blue sky over-arches this earth of ours, or that it is warm blood which flows in our + veins, is sufficient to prove that no malignant Ahriman made the world. Just here the + question is not, what increment or what momentum genius may receive from outward + circumstances, but what coloring, what mood. Here it is that a Mozart differs from a + Mendelssohn. The important difference which obtains, in this respect, between great + powers in literature, otherwise coördinate, will receive illustration from a + comparison between De Quincey and Byron. For both these writers were capable, in a + degree rarely equalled in any literature, of reproducing, or rather, we should say, + of reconstructing, the pomp of Nature and of human life. In this general office they + stand together: both wear, in our eyes, the regal purple; both have caused to rise + between earth and heaven miracles of grandeur, such as never Cheops <a name="page358" + id="page358"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 358]</span> wrought through his myriad + slaves, or Solomon with his fabled ring. But in the final result, as in the whole + <i>modus operandi</i>, of their architecture, they stand apart <i>toto coelo</i>. + Byron builds a structure that repeats certain elements in Nature or humanity; but + they are those elements only which are allied to gloom, for he builds in suspicion + and distrust, and upon the basis of a cynicism that has been nurtured in his very + flesh and blood from birth; he erects a Pisa-like tower which overhangs and threatens + all human hopes and all that is beautiful in human love. Who else, save this + archangelic intellect, shut out by a mighty shadow of eclipse from the bright hopes + and warm affections of all sunny hearts, could have originated such a Pandemonian + monster as the poem on "Darkness"? The most striking specimen of Byron's imaginative + power, and nearly the most striking that has ever been produced, is the apostrophe to + the sea, in "Childe Harold." But what is it in the sea which affects Lord Byron's + susceptibilities to grandeur? Its destructiveness alone. And <i>how</i>? Is it + through any high moral purpose or meaning that seems to sway the movements of + destruction? No; it is only through the gloomy mystery of the ruin itself,—ruin + revealed upon a scale so vast and under conditions of terror the most + appalling,—ruin wrought under the semblance of an almighty passion for revenge + directed against the human race. Thus, as an expression of the attitude which the sea + maintains toward man, we have the following passage of Æschylian grandeur, but + also of Æschylian gloom:—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Thou dost arise + </div> + <div class="line"> + And shake him from thee; the vile strength he wields + </div> + <div class="line"> + For earth's destruction thou dost all despise, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Spurning him from thy bosom to the skies, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And send'st him, shivering in thy <i>playful</i> spray, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And howling, to his gods, where haply lies + </div> + <div class="line"> + His petty hope in some near port or bay, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And dashest him again to earth: there let him lay!" + </div> + </div> + <p>Who but this dark spirit, forever wooing the powers of darkness, and of darkness + the most sullen, praying to Nemesis alone, could, with such lamentable lack of faith + in the purity and soundness of human affections, have given utterance to a sentiment + like this:—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "O love! no habitant of earth thou art,— + </div> + <div class="line"> + An <i>unseen</i> seraph we believe in thee"? + </div> + </div> + <p>or the following:—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Who loves, raves,—'tis youth's frenzy," etc.? + </div> + </div> + <p>and again:—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Few—<i>none</i>—find what they love or could have loved, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Though accident, blind contact, and the strong + </div> + <div class="line"> + >Necessity of loving having removed + </div> + <div class="line"> + Antipathies"? + </div> + </div> + <p>This, then, is the nearest approach to human love,—the removal of all + antipathies! But even these</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "recur erelong, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Envenomed with irrevocable wrong: + </div> + <div class="line"> + And circumstance—that unspiritual god + </div> + <div class="line"> + And miscreator—makes and helps along + </div> + <div class="line"> + Our coming evils with a crutch-like rod, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Whose touch turns hope to dust,—the dust which all have trod." + </div> + </div> + <p>De Quincey, on the other hand, in whose heart there was laid no such hollow basis + for infidelity toward the master-passions of humanity, repeated the pomps of joy or + of sorrow, as evolved out of universal human nature, and as, through sunshine and + tempest, typified in the outside world,—but never for one instant did he seek + alliance, on the one side, with the shallow enthusiasm of the raving Bacchante, or, + on the other, with the overshadowing despotism of gloom; nor can there be found on a + single page of all his writings the slightest hint indicating even a latent sympathy + with the power which builds only to crush, or with the intellect that denies, and + that against the dearest objects of human faith fulminates its denials and shocking + recantations solely for the purposes of scorn.</p> + <p>Whence this marked difference? To account for it, we must needs trace back to the + first haunts of childhood the steps <a name="page359" id="page359"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 359]</span> of these two fugitives, each of whom has passed + thence, the one into a desert <i>mirage</i>, teeming with processions of the + gloomiest falsities in life, and the other—also into the desert, but where he + is yet refreshed and solaced by an unshaken faith in the genial verities of life, + though separated from them by irrecoverable miles of trackless wastes, and where, + however apparently abandoned and desolate, he is yet ministered unto by angels, and + no mimic fantasies are suffered to exercise upon his heart their overmastering + seductions to</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Allure, or terrify, or undermine." + </div> + </div> + <p>Whether the days of childhood be our happiest days, is a question all by itself. + But there can be no question as to the inevitable certainty with which the conditions + of childhood, fortunate or unfortunate, determine the main temper and disposition of + our lives. For it is underneath the multitude of fleeting proposals and conscious + efforts, born of reason, and which, to one looking upon life from any superficial + stand-point, seem to have all to do with its conduct, that there runs the + undercurrent of disposition, which is born of Nature, which is cradled and nurtured + with us in our infancy, which is itself a general choice, branching out into our + specific choices of certain directions and aims among all opposite directions and + aims, and which, although we rarely recognize its important functions, is in all + cases the arbiter of our destiny. And in the very word <i>disposition</i> is + indicated the finality of its arbitraments as contrasted with all + <i>proposition</i>.</p> + <p>Now, with respect to this disposition: Nature furnishes its basis; but it is the + external structure of circumstance, built up or building about childhood,—to + shelter or imprison,—which, more than all else, gives it its determinate + character; and though this outward structure may in after-life be thoroughly + obliterated, or replaced by its opposite,—porcelain by clay, or clay by + porcelain,—yet will the tendencies originally developed remain and hold a sway + almost uninterrupted over life. And, generally, the happy influences that preside + over the child may be reduced under three heads: first, a genial + temperament,—one that naturally, and of its own motion, inclines toward a + centre of peace and rest rather than toward the opposite centre of strife; secondly, + profound domestic affections; and, thirdly, affluence, which, although of all three + it is the most negative, the most material condition, is yet practically the most + important, because of the degree in which it is necessary to the full and unlimited + prosperity of the other two. For how frequent are the cases in which the happiest of + temperaments are perverted by the necessities of toil, so burdensome to tender years, + or in which corroding anxieties, weighing upon parents' hearts, check the free play + of domestic love!—and in all cases where such limitations are present, even in + the gentlest form, there must be a cramping up of the human organization and + individuality somewhere; and everywhere, and under all circumstances, there must be + sensibly felt the absence of that leisure which crowns and glorifies the affections + of home, making them seem the most like summer sunshine, or rather like a sunshine + which knows no season, which is an eternal presence in the soul.</p> + <p>As regards all these three elements, De Quincey's childhood was prosperous; + afterwards, vicissitudes came,—mighty changes capable of affecting all other + transmutations, but thoroughly impotent to annul the inwrought grace of a + pre-established beauty. On the other hand, Byron's childhood was, in all these + elements, unfortunate. The sting left in his mother's heart by the faithless + desertion of her husband, after the desolation of her fortunes, was forever inflicted + upon him, and intensified by her fitful temper; and notwithstanding the change in his + outward prospects which occurred afterwards, he was never able to lift himself out of + the Trophonian cave into which his infancy had been thrust, any more than Vulcan + could have cured that crooked gait of his, which dated from <a name="page360" + id="page360"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 360]</span> some vague infantile + remembrances of having been rudely kicked out of heaven over its brazen battlements, + one summer's day,—for that it was a summer's day we are certain from a line of + "Paradise Lost," commemorating the tragic circumstance:—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "From morn till noon he fell, from noon till dewy eve— + </div> + <div class="line"> + <i>A summer's day</i>." + </div> + </div> + <p>And this allusion to Vulcan reminds us that Byron, in addition to all his other + early mishaps, had also the identical clubfoot of the Lemnian god. Among the + guardians over Byron's childhood was a demon, that, receiving an ample place in his + victim's heart, stood demoniacally his ground through life, transmuting love to hate, + and what might have been benefits to fatal snares. Over De Quincey's childhood, on + the contrary, a strong angel guarded to withstand and thwart all threatened ruin, + teaching him the gentle whisperings of faith and love in the darkest hours of life: + an angel that built happy palaces, the beautiful images of which, and their echoed + festivals, far outlasted the splendor of their material substance.</p> + <p>"We,—the children of the house,—" says De Quincey, in his + "Autobiographic Sketches," "stood, in fact, upon the very happiest tier in the social + scaffolding for all good influences. The prayer of Agur—'Give me neither + poverty nor riches'—was realized for us. That blessing we had, being neither + too high nor too low. High enough we were to see models of good manners, of + self-respect, and of simple dignity; obscure enough to be left in the sweetest of + solitudes. Amply furnished with all the nobler benefits of wealth, with <i>extra</i> + means of health, of intellectual culture, and of elegant enjoyment, on the other hand + we knew nothing of its social distinctions. Not depressed by the consciousness of + privations too sordid, nor tempted into restlessness by privileges too aspiring, we + had no motives for shame, we had none for pride. Grateful, also, to this hour I am, + that, amidst luxuries in all things else, we were trained to a Spartan, simplicity of + diet,—that we fared, in fact, very much less sumptuously than the servants. And + if (after the manner of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius) I should return thanks to + Providence for all the separate blessings of my early situation, these four I would + single out as worthy of special commemoration: that I lived in a rural solitude; that + this solitude was in England; that my infant feelings were moulded by the gentlest of + sisters, and not by horrid pugilistic brothers; finally, that I and they were dutiful + and loving members of a pure, holy, and magnificent church."</p> + <p>Let the reader suppose a different case from that here presented. Let him suppose, + for instance, that De Quincey, now arrived at the age of seven, and having now at + least one "pugilistic brother" to torment his peace, could annul his own infancy, and + in its place substitute that of one of the factory-boys of Manchester, of the same + age, (and many such could be found,) among those with whom daily the military + predispositions of this brother brought him into a disagreeable conflict. Instead of + the pure air of outside Lancashire, let there be substituted the cotton-dust of the + Lancashire mills. The contrast, even in thought, is painful. It is true that thus the + irrepressible fires of human genius could not be quenched. Nay, through just these + instrumentalities, oftentimes, is genius fostered. We need not the instance of + Romulus and Remus, or of the Persian Cyrus, to prove that men have sometimes been + nourished by bears or by she-wolves. Nevertheless, this is essentially a Roman + nurture. The Greeks, on the contrary, laid their infant heroes on beds of + violets,—if we may believe the Pindaric odes,—set over them a divine + watch, and fed them with angels' food. And this Grecian nurture De Quincey had.</p> + <p>And not the least important element of this nurture is that of perfect + <i>leisure</i>. Through this it is that we pass from the outward to the subjective + relations of De Quincey's childhood; for only in connection with these has the + element just introduced any value, since leisure, which <a name="page361" + id="page361"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 361]</span> is the atmosphere, the + breathing-place of genius, is also cap and bells for the fool. In relation to power, + it is, like solitude, the open heaven through which the grandeurs of eternity flow + into the penetralian recesses of the human heart, after that once the faculties of + thought, or the sensibilities, have been powerfully awakened. Sensibility <i>had</i> + been thus awakened in De Quincey, through grief occasioned by the loss of a sister, + his favorite and familiar playmate,—a grief so profound, that he, somewhere, in + speaking of it, anticipates the certainty of its presence in the hour of death; and + thought, also, had been prematurely awakened, both under the influence of this + overmastering pathos of sorrow, and because of his strong predisposition to + meditation. Both the pathos and the meditative tendencies were increased by the + halcyon peace of his childhood. In a memorial of the poet Schiller, he speaks of that + childhood as the happiest, "of which the happiness has survived and expressed itself, + not in distinct records, but in deep affection, in abiding love, and the hauntings of + meditative power." His, at least, was the felicity of this echoless peace.</p> + <p>In no memorial is it so absolutely requisite that a marked prominence should be + given to its first section as in De Quincey's. This is a striking peculiarity in his + life. If it were not so, I should have seriously transgressed in keeping the reader's + attention so long upon a point which, aside from such peculiarity, would yield no + sufficient, at least no proportionate value. But, in the treatment of any life, that + cannot seem disproportionate which enters into it as an element only and just in that + ratio of prominence with which it enters into the life itself, No stream can rise + above the level of its source. No life, which lacks a prominent interest as to its + beginnings, can ever, in its entire course, develop any distinguishing features of + interest. This is true of any life; but it is true of De Quincey's above all others + on record, that, through all its successive arches, ascending and descending, it + repeats the original arch of childhood. Repeats,—but with what marvellous + transformations! For hardly is its earliest section passed, when, for all its future + course, it is masked by a mighty trouble. No longer does it flow along its natural + path, and beneath the open sky, but, like the sacred Alpheus, runs</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Through caverns measureless to man, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Down to the sunless sea." + </div> + </div> + <p>Yet, amid the "briny tides" of that sea, amid turmoil and perplexity and the + saddest of mysteries, it preserves its earliest gentleness, and its inward, noiseless + peace, till once more it gushes up toward the sweet heaven through the Arethusan font + of death. Easily, then, is it to be seen why De Quincey himself continually reverted, + both in his conscious reminiscences and through the subconscious relapses of dreams, + from a life clouded and disguised in its maturer years, to the unmasked purity of its + earliest heaven. And what from the vast desert, what from the fatal wreck of life, + was he to look back upon, for even an imaginary solace, if not upon the rich argosies + that spread their happier sails above a calmer sea? We are forcibly reminded of the + dream which Milton<a id="footnotetag8" name="footnotetag8" + href="#footnote8"><sup>8</sup></a> gives to his Christ in the desert, hungry and + tired:—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "There he slept, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And dreamed, as appetite is wont to dream, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Of meats and drinks, Nature's refreshment sweet. + </div> + <div class="line"> + Him thought he by the brook of Cherith stood, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And saw the ravens with their horny beaks + </div> + <div class="line"> + Food to Elijah bringing even and morn, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Though ravenous, taught to abstain from what they brought: + </div> + <div class="line"> + He saw the prophet also, how he fled + </div> + <div class="line"> + Into the desert, and how there he slept + </div> + <div class="line"> + Under a juniper, then how, awaked, + </div> + <div class="line"> + He found his supper on the coals prepared, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And by the angel was bid rise and eat, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And eat the second time after repose, + </div> + <div class="line"> + The strength whereof sufficed him forty days; + </div> + <div class="line"> + Sometimes that with Elijah he partook, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Or as a guest with Daniel at his pulse." + </div> + </div> + <p>If the splendors of divinity could be so disguised by the severe necessities of + the wilderness and of brutal hunger as to be thus solicited and baffled even in + dreams,—if, by the lowest of mortal appetites, <a name="page362" + id="page362"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 362]</span> they could be so humiliated + and eclipsed as to revel in the shadowy visions of merely human plenty,—then by + how much more must the human heart, eclipsed at noon, revert, under the mask of + sorrow and of dreams, to the virgin beauties of the dawn! with how much more violent + revulsion must the weary, foot-sore traveller, lost in a waste of sands, be carried + back through the gate of ivory or of horn to the dewy, flower-strewn fields of some + far happier place and time!</p> + <p>The transition from De Quincey's childhood to his opium-experiences is as natural, + therefore, as from strophe to antistrophe in choral antiphonies. Henceforth, as the + reader already understands, we are not permitted to look upon a simple, undisguised + life, unless we draw aside a veil as impenetrable as that which covers the face of + Isis or the poppy-sceptred Demeter. Under this <i>papaverian</i> mask it is likely to + be best known to the reader; for it is under the title of "Opium-Eater" that he is + most generally recognized. It was through his Opium-Confessions, popular both as to + matter and style, that he first conciliated and charmed the reading public,—and + to such a degree that great expectations were awakened as to anything which + afterwards he might write. This expectation heightens appreciation; and in this case + it helped many a metaphysical dose down the voracious throat of the public, without + its being aware of the nauseating potion, or experiencing any uncomfortable + consequences. The flood of popularity produced by the Opium-Confessions among that + large intellectual class of readers who, notwithstanding their mental capacity, yet + insist upon the graces of composition and upon a subject of immediate and moving + interest, was sufficient to float into a popular haven many a ship of heavier + freightage, which might else have fallen short of port.</p> + <p>The general interest which is manifested in De Quincey <i>personally</i> is also + very much due to the fact that he was an opium-eater, and an opium-eater willing to + breathe into the public ear the peculiarities of his situation and its hidden + mysteries, or "<i>suspiria de profundis</i>." This interest is partly of that vulgar + sort which connects itself with all mysterious or abnormal phenomena in Nature or in + the human mind, with a "What is it?" or a spiritual medium, and which is satisfied + with a palpable exhibition of the novelty; and partly it is of a philosophical order, + inquiring into the causes and modes of the abnormal development. It is rarely the + case that human vision is especially or deliberately directed to the sun or the moon, + except at the marvellous season of eclipse, when interest is awakened by the novelty + of the appearance among the vulgar, and among philosophers by the unusual nature of + the phenomenon, demanding explanation. Then it is that the people inhabiting this + globe are excited by something which calls off their attention from terrestrial + trifles to that which connects them with unknown worlds. If we had been born Hindoos, + we should, at such times, exhibit our skittish tendencies, "shying" at the sun-eating + monster with nervous apprehension, and should doubtless do our best, through horrid + yells and tintinnabulations, towards getting up a tremendous counter-irritation upon + the earth that should tell mightily on the nerves of this umbratilous tiger in the + heavens. But since we are neither Hindoos nor Egyptians, nor skittish heathen of any + sort, we take defiant attitudes and look through smoked glasses. At any rate, it is + only at such times that we pay particular attentions, by way of courtesy, to foreign + worlds. And of all the creatures of God which come within the circle of human + knowledge or notice, which is it that may be said to enjoy the most continuous round + of attentions, and to live in excitement the most nearly approaching to perpetual? It + is the comet, which no sooner gets out of reach of <i>our</i> flying compliments than + she becomes the pet of Jupiter's magnificent citizens, or calls forth deprecating + murmurs from our shy sister Venus, and Mercury, our milder brother, who, from all + such mischiefs, creeps as nearly as possible under the paternal <a name="page363" + id="page363"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 363]</span> wings of the Sun. No one of + these erratic visitors can remember the time when she was not making a stir somewhere + in the universe, or when a cloudy night, intercepting her from vision, would not have + been as surely execrated as are the colds which afflict <i>prima donnas</i>.</p> + <p>Strikingly similar to our interest in these heavenly bodies is that which we + manifest in mortal men. Here, too, it is the darkened orb or the eccentric comet that + bespeaks especial notice. Judged by this interest, considered in its vulgar aspects, + De Quincey would suffer gross injustice. Externally, and at one period of his life, I + am certain that he had all the requisite qualifications for collecting a mob about + him, and that, had he appeared in the streets of London after one of his long + sojourns amongst the mountains, no unearthly wight of whatever description, no + tattered lunatic or Botany-Bay convict, would have been able to vie with him in the + picturesque <i>déshabillé</i> of the whole "turnout." Picture to + yourself the scene. This "king of shreds and patches"—for, to the outward + sense, he seems that now—has been "at large" for days, perhaps for two or three + weeks; he has been unkennelled, and, among the lawless mountains, has felt no + restraint upon his own lawlessness, however Cyclopean. Doubtless he has met with + panthers and wolves, each one of whom will to its dying day retain impressive + recollections of the wee monster, from which they fled as a trifle too uncanny even + for them. As to his subsistence during these rambles, it would be very difficult to + say how he managed that affair, at these, or indeed at any other times; and it may be + that the prophetic limitation of a fast to forty days is now the urgent occasion of + his return from vagabondism. One thing we may be sure of,—that he has made + plentiful use of a certain magical drug hid away in his waistcoat-pocket. Like + Wordsworth's brook, he has been wandering purposely and at his own sweet will, or + rather where his feet have taken him; and he has laid him down to sleep wherever + sleep may have chanced to find him.</p> + <p>The result we have here, in this uncouth specimen of humanity, in the matted hair, + the soiled garments, and the straggling gait; and what gives the finishing touch to + this grotesque picture is his utter unconsciousness of the ludicrous features of his + situation, as they appear to other eyes. Soon, it is true, he will go through an + Æson-like rejuvenation; for, in a certain cottage, there are hearts that + anxiously await his return, and hands ready to fulfil their oft-repeated duties in + the way of refitting him out for another tramp. But, before this transformation is + effected, let us suppose the case of his being set down in the streets of London, + somewhere in the vicinity of Cheapside. What an eddying of stragglers about this + new-found focus of attraction! what amazement, and curiosity to find him out, if, + indeed, he be find-out-able, and not, as the unmistakable papaverian odor suggests, + some Stygian bird, hailing from the farther side of Lethe. But, Stygian or not, + neither Hermes nor Pan (nor Panic, his namesake) could muster such a rabble at his + heels, supposing <i>him</i> to appear on Cheapside!</p> + <p>In his innermost sensibilities he would have shrunk from this vulgar notice as + from pollution itself. It would be monstrous to conceive of him in such situations, + except for the purpose of showing that he had very much in his outward habit that + would readily attract such a notice. In the same light we are to regard some + illustrations which J. Hill Burton has given in "The Book-Hunter" of similar features + in his character, and which I take the liberty of introducing here; for, although + they have appeared in "Blackwood," and more lately in a book-form, they are still + unpublished to many of my readers.</p> + <p>Thus, we have him pictured to us as he appeared at a dinner, "whereto he was + seduced by the false pretence that he would there meet with one who entertained novel + and anarchical views regarding the 'Golden Ass' of Apuleius. The festivities of the + afternoon are far on, when a commotion is heard in the hall, as if some <a + name="page364" id="page364"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 364]</span> dog or other + stray animal had forced its way in. The instinct of a friendly guest tells him of the + arrival; he opens the door, and fetches in the little stranger. What can it be? A + street-boy of some sort? His costume, in fact, is a boy's duffle great-coat, very + threadbare, with a hole in it, and buttoned tight to the chin, where it meets the + fragments of a party-colored belcher handkerchief; on his feet are list shoes, + covered with snow, for it is a stormy winter night; and the trousers,—some one + suggests that they are inner linen garments blackened with writing-ink, but that + Papaverius never would have been at the trouble so to disguise them." De Quincey, led + on by the current of his own thoughts,—though he was always too courteous to + absorb the entire conversation,—talks on "till it is far into the night, and + slight hints and suggestions are propagated about separation and home-going. The + topic starts new ideas on the progress of civilization, the effect of habit on men in + all ages, and the power of the domestic affections. Descending from generals to the + specials, he could testify to the inconvenience of late hours: for was it not the + other night, that, coming to what was, or what he believed to be, his own door, he + knocked and knocked, but the old woman within either couldn't or wouldn't hear him, + so he scrambled over a wall, and, having taken his repose in a furrow, was able to + testify to the extreme unpleasantness of such a couch?"</p> + <p>"Shall I try another sketch of him, when, travel-stained and foot-sore, he glided + in on us one night like a shadow, the child by the fire gazing on him with round eyes + of astonishment, and suggesting that he should get a penny and go home,—a + proposal which he subjected to some philosophical criticism very far wide of its + practical tenor. How far he had wandered since he had last refreshed himself, or even + whether he had eaten food that day, were matters on which there was no getting + articulate utterance from him. How that wearied, worn little body was to be refreshed + was a difficult problem: soft food disagreed with him; the hard he could not eat. + Suggestions pointed at length to the solution of that vegetable unguent to which he + had given a sort of lustre, and it might be supposed that there were some fifty cases + of acute toothache to be treated in the house that night. How many drops? Drops! + nonsense! If the wineglasses of the establishment were not beyond the ordinary normal + size, there was no risk,—and so the weary is at rest for a time.</p> + <p>"At early morn, a triumphant cry of '<i>Eureka!</i>' calls me to his place of + rest. With his unfailing instinct he has got at the books, and lugged a considerable + heap of them around him. That one which specially claims his attention—my + best-bound quarto—is spread upon a piece of bedroom-furniture readily at hand, + and of sufficient height to let him pore over it as he lies recumbent on the floor, + with only one article of attire to separate him from the condition in which + Archimedes, according to the popular story, shouted the same triumphant cry. He had + discovered a very remarkable anachronism in the commonly received histories of a very + important period. As he expounded it, turning up his unearthly face from the book + with an almost painful expression of grave eagerness, it occurred to me that I had + seen something like the scene in Dutch paintings of the Temptation of St. + Anthony."</p> + <p>I cannot refrain from quoting from Mr. Burton one more example, illustrative of + the fact that De Quincey, in money-matters, considered merely the immediate and + pressing exigencies of the present. "He arrives very late at a friend's door, and on + gaining admission,—a process in which he often endured impediments,—he + represents, with his usual silver voice and measured rhetoric, the absolute necessity + of his being then and there invested with a sum of money in the current coin of the + realm,—the amount limited, from the nature of his necessities, which he very + freely states, to seven shillings and sixpence. Discovering, or fancying he + discovers, that his eloquence is likely <a name="page365" id="page365"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 365]</span> to prove unproductive, he is fortunately reminded, + that, should there be any difficulty in connection with security for the repayment of + the loan, he is at that moment in possession of a document which he is prepared to + deposit with the lender,—a document calculated, he cannot doubt, to remove any + feeling of anxiety which the moat prudent person could experience in the + circumstances. After a rummage in his pockets, which develops miscellaneous and + varied, but as yet by no means valuable, possessions, he at last comes to the object + of his search, a crumpled bit of paper, and spread it out,—a fifty-pound + bank-note! All sums of money were measured by him through the common standard of + immediate use; and, with more solemn pomp of diction than he applied to the + bank-note, might he inform you, that, with the gentleman opposite, to whom he had + hitherto been entirely a stranger, but who happened to be the nearest to him at the + time when the exigency occurred to him, he had just succeeded in negotiating a loan + of two-pence."</p> + <p>These pictures, though true to certain phases of De Quincey's outward life, are + yet far from personally representing him, even to the eye. They satisfy curiosity, + and that is about all. As to the real character of the man, they are negative and + unessential; they represent, indeed, his utter carelessness as to all that, like + dress, may at pleasure be put on or off, but "the human child incarnate" is not thus + brought before us. For, could we but once look upon his face in rest, then should we + forget these inferior attributes; just as, looking upon the Memnonian statues, one + forgets the horrid nicknames of "Shandy" and "Andy" which they have received from + casual travellers, observing merely their grotesque features. Features of this latter + sort "dislimn" and yield, as the writing on palimpsests, to the regal majesty of the + divine countenance, which none can look upon and smile. Let me paint De Quincey's + face as at this moment I seem to see it. It is wrinkled as with an Homeric antiquity; + arid it is, and sallow, as parchment. Through a certain Bedouin-like + conformation,—which, however, is idealized by the lofty, massive forehead, and + by the prevailing subtilty of the general expression,—it seems fitted to desert + solitudes; and in this respect it is truly Memnonian. In another respect, also, is it + Memnonian,—that, whenever should rest upon its features the morning sunlight, + we should surely await its responsive requiem or its trembling <i>jubilate</i>. By a + sort of instinctive palmistry (applied, not to the hands, but to the face) we + interpret symbols of ineffable sorrow and of ineffable peace. These, too, are + Memnonian,—as is also that infinite distance which seems to interpose between + its subtile meanings and the very possibility of interpretation. This air of + remoteness, baffling the impertinent crowd not less effectually than the dust which + has gathered for centuries about the heads of Sphinxes, is due partly to the deeply + sunken eyes beneath the wrinkled, overarching forehead; partly it arises from that + childlike simplicity and sweetness which lurk in gentle undulations of the + features,—undulations as of happy wavelets set in motion ages since, and that + cannot cease forever; but chiefly it is born of a dream-like, brooding eternity of + speculation, which we can trace neither to the eye alone, nor to the mouth, but + rather to the effect which both together produce in the countenance.</p> + <p>This is the face which for more than half a century opium veiled to mortal eyes, + and which refuses to reveal itself save through hints the most fugitive and + impalpable. Here are draperies and involutions of mystery from which mere curiosity + stands aloof. This is the head which we have loved, and which in our eyes wears a + triple wreath of glory: the laurel for his Apollo-like art, the lotos-leaf for his + impassioned dreams, and roses for his most gentle and loving nature.</p> + <p>How much of that which glorified De Quincey was due to opium? Very little as to + quality, but very much as to the <a name="page366" id="page366"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 366]</span> degree and the peculiar manner in which original + qualities and dispositions are developed, for here it is that the only field of + influence open to abnormal agencies lies. Coleridge, as an opium-eater, is the only + individual worthy of notice in the same connection. Had <i>he</i> also confessed, it + is uncertain what new revelations might have been made. It is certain that opium + exercised a very potent effect upon him; for it was generally after his dose that his + remarkable intellectual displays occurred. These displays were mostly confined to his + conversations, which were usually long-winded metaphysical epics, evolving a + continued series of abstractions and analyses, and, for their movement, depending + upon a sort of poetic construction. A pity it is that we must content ourselves with + empty descriptions of this nature. Here, doubtless, if anywhere, opium was an + auxiliary to Coleridge. For a laudanum negus, whatever there may be about it that is + pernicious, will, to a mind that is metaphysically predisposed, open up thoroughfares + of thought which are raised above the level of the gross material, and which lead + into the region of the shadowy. Show us the man who habitually carries pills of + <i>any</i> sort in his waistcoat-pocket, be they opium or whatever else, and we can + assure you that that man is an <i>aërobat</i>,—that somehow, in one sense + or another, he walks in the air above other men's heads. Whatever disturbs the + healthful isolation of the nervous system is prosperous to metaphysics, because it + attracts the mental attention to the organism through which thought is carried on. + Numerous are the instances of men who would never have been heard of as thinkers or + as reflective poets, if they had had sufficient muscular ballast to pull against + their teeming brains. The consequence of the disproportion has been that the + superfluous brain has exhaled, as a mere necessity.<a id="footnotetag9" + name="footnotetag9" href="#footnote9"><sup>9</sup></a> If Tacitus had fared in any + sort like his brother,—if there had been anything like an equitable division + between them of muscle and brain, it is more than probable that we should have lost + the illustrious historian.</p> + <p>Coleridge was indolent from temperament, a disposition which was increased by + opium. Hence De Quincey was of the opinion that it injured Coleridge's poetic + faculties; which probably was the case, since in genuine poetry the mind is + prominently realistic, its motions are all outward, and therefore excessive indolence + must of necessity be fatal.</p> + <p>De Quincey's physical system, on the contrary, seemed preconformed to opium: it + demanded it, and would be satisfied with nothing else. No temptation so strong + <i>could</i> have been presented to Coleridge. De Quincey really craved the drug. His + stomach was deranged, and was still suffering from the sad results of his youthful + wanderings in London. It seems almost as if fate had compelled the unfortunate course + into which he finally drifted. The craving first appeared in the shape of a horrid + gnawing at the stomach; afterwards this indefinite yearning gave place to a specific + one, which was unmistakable in its demands. Daily, like the daughters of the + horse-leech, it cried, "Give, give!" Toward the last, this craving became, in De + Quincey's solemn <a name="page367" id="page367"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 367]</span> belief, an animal incarnate, and the opium-eater reasoned after the + following fashion:—It is not I that eat, it is not I that am responsible either + for the fact of eating or the amount; am I the keeper of this horrid monster's + conscience? He even carried the conceit so far as to consider a portion of each meal + as especially devoted to this insane stomachic reveller, just as a voracious Greek or + Roman would have attributed no small part of his outrageous appetite to the gods, as + eating by proxy through the mouths of mortals. This is almost as bad as the case + reported of Stonewall Jackson, who, it is said, religiously believed that whatever he + ate was, by some mysterious physiological economy, conveyed into his left leg.</p> + <p>No less was De Quincey <i>psychologically</i> preconformed to opium. The + prodigious mental activity so early awakened in him counteracted the narcotic + despotism of the drug, and made it a sort of ally. The reader sees from this how much + depends upon predispositions as to the effect of opium. De Quincey himself says that + the man whose daily talk is of oxen will pursue his bovine speculations into dreams. + Opium originates nothing; but, given activity of a certain type and moving in a + certain direction, and there will be perhaps through opium a multiplication of + energies and velocities. What was De Quincey <i>without</i> opium? is, therefore, the + question preliminary to any proper estimate as to what in him was due to opium. This + question has already been answered in the remarks made concerning his childhood. His + meditative tendencies were especially noticed as most characteristic. There was + besides this a natural leaning toward the mysterious,—the mysterious, I mean, + as depending, not upon the terrible or ghostly, or upon anything which excites gloom + or fear, but upon operations that are simply inscrutable as moving in darkness. Take, + for example, the idea of a grand combination of human energies mustered together in + secret, and operating through invisible agencies for the downfall of + Christianity,—an idea which was conveyed to De Quincey in his childhood through + the Abbé Baruel's book exposing such a general conspiracy was existing + throughout Europe: this was the sort of mystery which arrested and engrossed his + thoughts. Similar elements invested all secret societies with an awful grandeur in + his conception. So, too, the complicated operations of great cities such as London, + which he call the "Nation of London," where even Nature is mimicked, both in her + strict regularity of results, and in the seeming unconsciousness of all her outward + phases, hiding all meaning under the enigmas that defy solution. In order to this + effect it was absolutely necessary that there should be not simply one mystery + standing alone by itself, and striking in its portentous significance; there must + have been more than this,—namely, a network of occult influences, a vast + organization, wheeling in and out upon itself, gyrating in mystic cycles and + epicycles, repeating over and again its dark omens, and displaying its insignia in a + never-ending variety of shapes. To him intricacy the most perplexing was also the + most inviting. It was this which lent an overwhelming interest to certain problems of + history that presented the most labyrinthian mazes to be disinvolved: for the demon + that was in him sought after hieroglyphics that by all others had been pronounced + undecipherable; and not unfrequently it was to his eye that for the first time there + seemed to be an unknown element that must be supplied. Such a problem was presented + by the religious sect among the Hebrews entitled the <i>Essenes</i>. Admitting the + character and functions of this sect to have been those generally ascribed to it no + special importance. But the idea once having occurred to De Quincey that the general + assumption was the farthest removed from the truth,—than there was an unknown + <i>x</i> in the problem, which could be satisfied by no such meagre + hypothesis,—that, to meet the urgent demands of the case, there must be + substituted for this Jewish <a name="page368" id="page368"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 368]</span> sect an organization of no less importance than the + Christian Church itself,—that this organization, thus suddenly brought to + light, was one, moreover, that, from the most imperative necessity, veiled itself + from all eyes, uttering its sublime articles of faith, and even its very name, to + itself only in secret recesses of silence:—from the moment that all this was + revealed to De Quincey, there was thenceforth no limit to his profound interest. Two + separate essays he wrote on this subject,<a id="footnotetag10" name="footnotetag10" + href="#footnote10"><sup>10</sup></a> of which he seemed never to tire.</p> + <p>"Klosterheim" is from beginning to end only the development, through regular + stages, of an intricately involved mystery of this subtile nature. Oftentimes De + Quincey deals with the horrid tragedy of murder; but the mere fact of a murder, + however shocking, was not sufficient to arrest him. With the celebrated Williams + murders, on the contrary, he was entirely taken up, since these proceeded in + accordance with designs not traceable to the cursory glance, but which tasked the + skill of a decipherer to interpret and reduce to harmony. Here were murders that + revolved musically, that modulated themselves to master-principles, and that at every + stage of progress sought alliance with the hidden mysteries of universal human + nature. I know of no writer but De Quincey who invests mysteries of this tragic order + with their appropriate drapery, so that they shall, to our imaginations, unfold the + full measure of their capacities for striking awe into our hearts.</p> + <p>This sort of mystery is always connected with dreams. They owe their very + existence to darkness, which withdraws them from the material limitations of + every-day life; they are shifted to an ideal <i>proscenium</i>; their <i>dramatis + personæ</i>, however familiar nominally, and however much derived from material + suggestions, are yet in all their motions obedient to an alien centre as opposite as + is possible to the ordinary centre about which the mere mechanism of life revolves. + We should therefore expect beforehand in De Quincey an overruling tendency towards + this remote architecture of dreams. The careful reader of his "Autobiographic + Sketches" will remember, that, at the early age of seven, and before he knew of even + the existence of opium, the least material hint which bordered on the shadowy was + sufficient to lift him up into aërial structures, and to lead his infant + footsteps amongst the clouds. Such hints, after his little sister's death, were + furnished by certain expressions of the Litany, by pictures in the stained windows of + the church, and by the tumult of the organ. Nor were the dreams thus introduced mere + fantasies, irregular and inconsistent. Throughout, they were self-sustained and + majestic.</p> + <p>The natural effects of opium were concurrent with preëxisting tendencies of + De Quincey's mind. If, instead of having his restless intellect, he had been + indolent,—if, instead of loving the mysterious, because it invited a Titanic + energy to reduce its anarchy to order, he had loved it as simply dark or + obscure,—if his natural subtilty of reflection had been less, or if he had been + endowed with inferior powers in the sublime architecture of impassioned + expression,—then might he as well have smoked a <a name="page369" + id="page369"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 369]</span> meerschaum, taken snuff or + grog or any other stimulant, as to have gone out of his way for the more refined + pleasures of opium.</p> + <p>The reader will indulge us in a single philosophical distinction, at this point, + by which we mean to classify the effects of opium under two heads: first, the + <i>external</i>, and, secondly, the <i>internal</i>. Properly speaking, all the + <i>positive</i> effects of opium must be internal; for all its movements are inward + in their direction, being refluent upon the focal centres of life. Thus, one of the + most noticeable phenomena connected with opium-eating is the burden of life resting + back upon the heart, which deliberately pulsates the moments of existence, as if the + most momentous issues depended upon each separate throb. But this very reflux of + sensibility will produce great effects at the surface, which are purely negative. + This latter class of effects Homer has indicated with considerable accuracy, in the + ninth Odyssey, (82-105,) where he notices specifically an air of carelessness + regarding external things,—carelessness as to the mutual interchange of + conversation by question and answer, and as to the ordinary pursuits of life as + disturbing an inward peace. The same characteristics are more fully developed in + Tennyson's "Lotos-Eaters":—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Branches they bore of that enchanted stem, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Laden with flower and fruit, whereof they gave + </div> + <div class="line"> + To each; but whoso did receive of them, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And taste, to him the gushing of the wave, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Far, far away, did seem to mourn and rave + </div> + <div class="line"> + On alien shores; and if his fellows spake, + </div> + <div class="line"> + His voice was thin, as voices from the grave; + </div> + <div class="line"> + And deaf-asleep he seemed, yet all awake, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And music in his ears his beating heart did make." + </div> + </div> + <p>By causing the life to flow inward upon a more ideal centre, opium deepens the + consciousness, and compels it to give testimony to processes and connections that in + ordinary moments escape unrecorded. It is as if new materials were found for a + history of the individual life,—materials which, like freshly discovered + records, sound the deepest meanings of the present and measure the abysses of the + past. Thus it is that the fugitive imagery of sense is interpreted as a scroll which + hides infinite truths under the most fleeting of symbols,—symbols which are not + sufficiently enduring to call them words, or even syllables of words, since the most + trivial hint or whisper of them has hardly reached us ere they have perished. Thus it + is that even the still more intangible record of memory, where are preserved only + images and echoes of that which undeniably has perished, is revivified and + enlarged.</p> + <p>There is, then, in the opium-eater a most marked, a polar antithesis between his + every-day life and the central manifestations of his genius. In the latter, there is + beautiful order, as in a symphony of Beethoven's; but in the former, looked upon from + without, all seems confusion. There is the same antithesis in every meditative mind; + but here opium has heightened each part of the contrast. The more we admire the + <i>en</i>centric harmonies of inwrapt power, the more do we find to draw forth + laughter in the eccentricities of outward habit. The very same agencies which + undisguised and unveiled the deep, divine heaven, masked the earth with desert sands; + and De Quincey's outward life was thus masked and rendered abnormal, that the blue + heaven in which he revelled might be infinitely exalted.</p> + <p>Thus is it possible for the seemingly ludicrous to harmonize with transcendent + sublimity. We smile at De Quincey's giving in "copy" on the generous margins of a + splendid "Somnium Scipionis"; but the precious words, that might perhaps have found + some more fit vehicle to the composer's eye, could have found no deeper place in our + hearts. We look at the hatless sleeper among the mountains: his face seems utterly + blank and meaningless, and to all intents and purposes he seems as good as dead; but + let us ascend with him in his dreams, and we shall soon forget that under God's + heavens there exists mortality <a name="page370" id="page370"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 370]</span> or the commonplace uses of mortality.</p> + <p>As we ascend from grotesque features to such as are more intellectual, that + peculiarity of his character which most strikes us is his inimitable courtesy. Mr. + F.,—to whom I am indebted for the most novel and interesting portions of this + memorial,—from his own personal interviews with the man, among many other + things, retains this chiefly in remembrance,—that De Quincey was the perfectest + gentleman he had ever seen.</p> + <p>I take the liberty here of particularizing somewhat in regard to one visit which + this friend of De Quincey's paid him, particularly as it introduces us to the man + towards the last of his life (1851). Mr. F., curious as it may seem, found but one + person in Edinburgh who could inform him definitely as to De Quincey's whereabouts. + In return to a note, giving De Quincey information of his arrival, etc., the latter + replies in a letter which is very characteristic, and which may well be highly + prized, so rarely was it that any friend was able to obtain from him such a memento. + The style, perhaps, is as familiar as it was ever his habit to indulge in; and it + shows how impossible it was for him, even on the most temporary summons, to dispense + with his usual regularity of expression or with any logical nicety of method. The + letter runs thus:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p><i>Thursday evening, August 26, 1851</i>.</p> + <p>"My dear Sir,—The acccompanying billet from my daughter, short at any rate + under the pressure of instant engagements, has been cut shorter by a sudden and + very distressing headache; I, therefore, who (from a peculiar nervousness connected + with the act of writing) so rarely attempt to discharge my own debts in the + letter-writing department of life, find myself unaccountably, I might say + mysteriously, engaged in the knight-errantry of undertaking for other people's. + Wretched bankrupt that I am, with an absolute refusal on the part of the + Commissioner to grant me a certificate of the lowest class, suddenly, and by a + necessity not to be evaded, I am affecting the large bounties of supererogation. I + appear to be vaporing in a spirit of vainglory; and yet it is under the mere + coercion of '<i>salva necessitas</i>' that I am surprised into this unparalleled + instance of activity. Do you walk? That is, do you like walking for four hours + '<i>on end</i>'—(which is our archaic expression for <i>continuously</i>)? If + I knew <i>that</i>, I would arrange accordingly for meeting you. The case as to + distance is this. The Dalkeith railway, from the Waverley station, brings you to + Esk Bank. That is its nearest approach,—its <i>perihelion</i>, in relation to + ourselves; and it is precisely two and three-quarters miles distant from <i>Mavis + Bush</i>,—the name of our cottage. Close to us, and the most noticeable + object for guiding your inquiries, is <i>Mr. Annandale's Paper-Mills</i>.</p> + <p>"Now, then, accordingly as you direct my motions, I will—rain being + supposed absent—join you at your hotel in Edinburgh any time after 11 A.M. + and walk out the whole distance, (seven miles from the Scott monument,) or else I + will meet you at Esk Bank; or, if you prefer coming out in a carriage, I will await + your coming here in that state of motionless repose which best befits a + philosopher. Excuse my levity; and believe that with sincere pleasure we shall + receive your obliging visit.</p> + <p>"Ever your faithful servant,</p> + <p>"THOMAS DE QUINCEY."</p> + </blockquote> + <p>In order to appreciate the physical powers of him who proposed a walk of the + distance indicated in the letter, we must remember that he was then just sixty-six + years <i>plus</i> ten days old. He was now living with his daughters, in the utmost + simplicity. On his arrival, Mr. F. found De Quincey awaiting him at the door of his + cottage,—a short man, with small head, and eyes that were absolutely + indescribable as human features, with a certain boyish awkwardness of manner, but + with the most urban-like courtesy and affability. From noon till <a name="page371" + id="page371"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 371]</span> dark, the time is spent in + conversation, continued, various, and eloquent. What a presence is there in this + humble, unpretending cottage! And as the stream of Olympian sweetness moves on, now + in laughing ripples, and again in a solemn majestic flood, what a past do we bring + before ourselves! what a present! For this is he that talked with Coleridge, that was + the friend of Wilson,—and—what furnishes a more sublime + suggestion—this is he that knows by heart the mountain-fells and the mysterious + recesses of hidden valleys for miles around; and we think, if he could convey us from + the haunts of this Lasswade of his old age to those which glorified the Grasmere of + his youth, what new chords he might touch,—of human love, for there it was that + the sweetness of his wedded life had been buried and embalmed in a thousand outward + memorials of happy hours long gone by,—and of human sadness, for there it was + that he had experienced the reversal of every outward fortune, and the alienations of + friendships which he most highly valued. But the remembrances of Grasmere and of + youth seem now to have been removed as into some other life: the man of a past + generation walks alone, and amid other scenes. And yonder is the study in which he + spends hours that are most holy,—hours consecrated to what specific employments + is known to none, since across its threshold no feet save his have passed for years. + Now and then some grand intellectual effort proceeds forth from its sacred precincts; + but that only happens when pecuniary necessities compel the exertion. How is it that + the time not thus occupied is spent?—in what remembrances, in what hidden + thoughts, what passing dreams?</p> + <p>As it grows dark, De Quincey's guest, having spent most precious moments which he + feels ought never to cease, signifies the necessity of his taking his departure. To + take leave of this strange man, however, is not so easy a matter as one might rashly + suppose. There is a genius of procrastination about him. Was he ever known to make + his appearance at any dinner in season, or indeed at any entertainment? Yes, he did + <i>once</i>, at the recital of a Greek tragedy on the Edinburgh stage; but that + happened through a trick played on him by an acquaintance, who, to secure some remote + chance of his seeing the performance, told him that the doors opened at half-past + six, whereas, in fact, they opened at seven. How preposterous, then, to suppose that + he would let an opportunity pass for procrastinating other people, and putting all + manner of snares about their feet! It is dangerous with such a man to hint of late + hours; for just that lateness is to him the very jewel of the thing. In mentioning + the circumstance, you only suggest to him the infinite pleasure connected with the + circumstance. Perhaps he will deliberately set to work to prove that candle-light is + the one absolutely indispensable condition to genial intercourse,—which would + doubtless suggest a great contrast, in that respect, between the ancient and modern + economy,—and where, then, <i>is</i> there to be an end? All attempts to + extricate yourself by unravelling the net which is being woven about you are + hopelessly vain; you cannot keep pace with <i>him</i>. The thought of delay enchants + him, and he dallies with it, as a child with a pet delicacy. Thus, he is at the house + of a friend; it storms, and a reasonable excuse is furnished for his favorite + experiment. The consequence is, that, once started in this direction, the delay is + continued for a year. Late hours were particularly potent to "draw out" De Quincey; + and, understanding this, Professor Wilson used to protract his dinners almost into + the morning, a tribute which De Quincey doubtless appreciated.</p> + <p>So that it is better to be on the sly about saying "Good bye" to this host of + yours. When, however, it was absolutely necessary to be gone, De Quincey forthwith + insisted on accompanying his guest. What, then, was to be done? Ominously the sky + looked down upon them, momently threatening a storm. No resource was there but to + give the man his way, and accept his offer of companionship <a name="page372" + id="page372"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 372]</span> for a short distance, + painfully conscious though you are of the fact that every step taken forwards must, + during this same August night, be retraced by the weary-looking old man at your side, + who now lacks barely four years of life's average allotment. Thus you move on: and + the heavens move on their hurricanes by nearer approaches, warnings of which + propagate themselves all around you in every sound of the wind and every rustle of + the forest-leaves. Meanwhile, there is no rest to the silvery vocal utterances of + your companion: every object by the way furnishes a ready topic for conversation. + Just now you are passing an antiquated old mansion, and your guide stops to tell you + that in this house may have been committed most strange and horrible murders, that, + in spite of the tempestuous mutterings heard on every side, ought now and here to be + specially and solemnly memorialized by human relation. A woman passes by, a perfect + stranger, but De Quincey steps entirely out of the road to one side, takes off his + hat, and in the most reverent attitude awaits her passage,—and you, poor + astonished mortal that you are, lest you should yourself seem scandalously + uncourteous, are compelled to do likewise. In this incident we see what infinite + majesty invested the very semblance of humanity in De Quincey's thoughts: and + something of the same remarkable courtesy was manifested by Rufus Choate, who + uniformly addressed the lowest of women in the witness-box as if they were every one + of them worthy of the most queenly consideration.</p> + <p>Onward you proceed,—one,—two,—three miles, and you can endure no + longer the thought that your friend shall go on farther, increasing thus at every + step the burden of his journey back. You have, reached the Esk bank and the bridge + which spans the stream; the storm so long threatened begins now to let loose its rage + against all unsheltered mortals. Here De Quincey consents to bid you + good-bye,—to you his last good-bye; and as here you leave him, so is he forever + enshrined in your thoughts, together with the primal mysteries of night and of storm, + of human tragedies and of the most pathetic human tenderness.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>But this paper, already sufficiently prolonged, should draw to a close. It is a + source of great mortification to me that I cannot find some very disagreeable thing + to say of De Quincey, merely as a matter of poetic justice; for assuredly he was in + the habit of saying all the malicious things <i>he</i> could about his friends. If + there was anything in a man's face or shape particularly uncouth, you might trust De + Quincey for noticing <i>that</i>. Even Wordsworth he could not let off without a + Parthian shot at his awkward legs and round shoulders; Dr. Parr he rated soundly on + his mean proportions; and one of the most unfortunate things which ever happened to + the Russian Emperor Alexander was to have been seen in London by De Quincey, who, + even amid the festivities of national and international congratulation on the fall of + Napoleon, could not forget that this imperial ally was a very commonplace-looking + fellow, after all. But, in regard to physical superiority, De Quincey lived in a + glass house too fragile to admit of his throwing many stones at his neighbors. The + very fact that he valued personal appearance at so low an estimate takes away the + sting from his remarks on the deformities of other people: he could not have meant + any detraction, but simply wished to present a perfect picture to the eye, preserving + the ugly features with the faultless, just as we all insist on doing in regard to + those we love. De Quincey and myself, therefore, are likely to part good friends. + Surely, if there was anything which vexed the tender heart of this man, it was "the + little love and the infinite hate" which went to make up the sum of life. If morbid + in any direction, it was not in that of spite, but of love; and as an instance of + almost unnatural intensity of affection, witness his insane grief over little Kate + Wordsworth's grave,—a grief which satisfied <a name="page373" + id="page373"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 373]</span> itself only by reasonless + prostrations, for whole nights, over the dark mould which covered her from his + sight.</p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>It only remains for us to look in upon De Quincey's last hours. We are enabled to + take almost the position of those who were permitted really to watch at his bedside, + through a slight unpublished sketch, from the hand of his daughter, in a letter to an + American friend. I tremble almost to use materials that personally are so sacred; but + sympathy, and the tender interest which is awakened in our hearts by such a life, are + also sacred, and in privilege stand nearest to grief.</p> + <p>During the few last, days of his life De Quincey wandered much, mixing up "real + and imaginary, or apparently imaginary things." He complained, one night, that his + feet were hot and tired. His daughter arranged the blankets around them, saying, "Is + that better, papa?" when he answered, "Yes, my love, I think it is; you know, my dear + girl, these are the feet that Christ washed."</p> + <p>Everything seemed to connect itself in his mind with little children. He aroused + one day, and said suddenly,—"You must know, my dear, the Edinburgh cabmen are + the most brutal set of fellows under the sun. I must tell you that I and the little + children were all invited to supper with Jesus Christ. So, as you see, it was a great + honor. I thought I must buy new dresses for the little ones; and—would you + believe it possible?—when I went out with the children, these wretches laughed + at their new dresses."</p> + <p>"Of my brothers he often spoke, both those that are dead and those that are alive, + as if they were his own brothers. One night he said, when I entered the + room,—</p> + <p>"'Is that you, Horace?'</p> + <p>"'No, papa.'</p> + <p>"'Oh, I see! I thought you were Horace; for he was talking to me just now, and I + suppose has just left the room.'"</p> + <p>Speaking of his father, one day, suddenly and without introduction, he + exclaimed,—"There is one thing I deeply regret, that I did not know my dear + father better; for I am sure a better, kinder, or juster man could never have + existed."</p> + <p>When death seemed approaching, the physician recommended that a telegram should be + sent to the eldest daughter,<a id="footnotetag11" name="footnotetag11" + href="#footnote11"><sup>11</sup></a> who resided in Ireland, but he forbade any + mention of this fact to the patient. De Quincey seemed to have a prophetic feeling + that she was on her way to him, saying, "Has M. got to that town yet, that we stopped + at when we went to Ireland? How many hours will it be before she can be here? Let me + see,—there are eight hours before I can see her, and three added to that!" His + daughter came sooner than the family expected; but the time tallied very nearly with + the computation he had made. On the morning his daughter arrived occurred the first + intimation his family had seen that the hand of death was laid upon him. He had + passed a quiet, but rather sleepless night, appearing "much the same, yet more than + ordinarily loving." After greeting his child, he said, "And how does mamma's little + girl like her leaving her?" "Oh, they were very glad for me to come to grandpapa, and + they sent you this kiss,—which they did of their own accord." He seemed much + pleased. It was evident that M. presented herself to him as the mother of children, + the constant theme of his wanderings. Once when his daughter quitted the room, he + said, "They are all leaving me but my <i>dear</i> little children." "I heard him + call, one day, distinctly, 'Florence! Florence! Florence!'—again, 'My dear, + dear mother!'—and to the last he called us 'my love,' and it sounded like no + other <a name="page374" id="page374"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 374]</span> sound + ever uttered. I never heard such pathos as there was in it, and in every tone of his + voice. It gave me an idea of a love that passeth all understanding."</p> + <p>During the next night he was thought dying, "but he lingered on and on till half + past nine the next morning. He told me something about 'to-morrow morning,' and + something about sunshine; but the thought that he was talking about what he would + never see drove the exact idea out of my head, though I am sure it was morning in + another world he was talking of."</p> + <p>"There was an extraordinary appearance of youth about him, both for some time + before and after death. He looked more like a boy of fourteen, and very beautiful. We + did not like to let in the morning light, and the candle was burning at nine o'clock, + when the post brought the following letter, which my sister and myself glanced over + by the candle-light, just as we were listening to his decreasing breath. At the + moment it did not strike me with the astonishment, at such an extraordinary + coincidence, that when we came to read it afterwards it did.</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"'<i>Brighton, Dec. 7th, 1859</i>.</p> + <p>"'My Dear De Quincey,—Before I quit this world, I most ardently desire to + see your handwriting. In early life, that is, more than sixty years ago, we were + school-fellows together and mutually attached; nay, I remember a boyish paper ("The + Observer") in which we were engaged. Yours has been a brilliant literary career, + mine far from brilliant, but I hope not unuseful as a theological student. It seems + a pity we should not once more recognize one another before quitting the stage. I + have often read your works, and never without remembering the promise of your + talents at Winkfield. My life has been almost a domestic tragedy. I have four + children in lunatic-asylums. Thank God, it is now drawing to a close; but it would + cheer the evening of my days to receive a line from you, for I am, with much + sincerity,</p> + <p>"'Your old and attached friend,</p> + <p>"'E.H.G.'</p> + </blockquote> + <p>"I do not remember the name of G., but the name of Edward constantly recurred in + his wanderings.</p> + <p>"Half an hour after the reading of that letter we heard those last pathetic sighs, + so terrible from their very softness, and saw the poor, worn-out garment laid aside." + Just before he died, he looked around the room, and said very tenderly to the nurse, + the physician, and his daughters, who were present, "Thank you,—thank you all!" + Sensible thus to the very last of kindness, he breathed out his life in simple + thanks, swayed even in death by the spirit of profound courtesy that had ruled his + life.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="page375" id="page375"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 375]</span> + <h2>MRS. LEWIS.</h2> + <center> + A STORY IN THREE PARTS. + </center> + <center> + PART I. + </center> + <h3>I.</h3> + <p>"Here's something Gus Lewis would like to send by you, mother," said my hasty boy + John, plunging into the room at nine in the evening, and stumbling over two trunks, + three valises, and bandboxes countless.</p> + <p>The floor was strewn with bundles, and the mantel-piece adorned with letters, + directed to Springfield, Hartford, New Haven, and New York.</p> + <p>"Oh! ah! yes. Any packages, if not too large," said I, wistfully eying the box, (a + foot square,) full of fresh maple-sugar, with its card of direction to "<i>Mrs. Lulu + L., by the politeness of Mrs. Prince</i>." Boy-like.</p> + <p>"First of all, my John, go you to bed, where Charley has been this half-hour, and + say good-bye, for we shall be off before you are up."</p> + <p>"See, then, father, if you are!" retorted the wide-awake youth, going out of the + room in ground and lofty tumbling, and up-stairs in somersets.</p> + <p>"I don't see," said I, pettishly, "how I <i>am</i> to get this bundle into my + trunk, nor where in the world this great box of sugar is to go. See! not a direction! + but I suppose she is in New York somewhere."</p> + <p>"We shall see her at all events, which is something. I should like to know what + she is like,—not to look after her boy for two mortal years," said the + Dominie.</p> + <p>"I hope not like Gus. He'd make an ugly woman, with his black hair and heavy + eyebrows, and his big, black eyes always staring. He don't look like an American + child."</p> + <p>"If we could only say what an American type is. At present, it is a little of + everything."</p> + <p>"I mean a New-Englander,—an original American."</p> + <p>"Well, he don't.—What do you say to these trunks? Shall we try again to + compress the gigantic genie into the copper vessel? I thought it was a dangerous + move, that last one of yours, taking out Tirzah White's quilted coat. And what's to + be done with these three packages?"</p> + <p>"Well! we can't sit here!" said I, briskly; "half-past nine already, and only one + trunk packed! Never mind. You can put these three bundles in with your clothes."</p> + <p>"Bursting the lock, now."</p> + <p>"How easy 'tis to pack other people's things! But what, then, have you in + there,—I mean, besides your shirts, etc.?"</p> + <p>"<i>Imprimis</i>. Eight volumes of Scott's Commentaries, brought by Deacon + Boardman. I am to exchange them. They are imperfect. <i>Item</i>. A dozen of 'Sinbad + the Sailor,' sent by mistake to the Association, instead of Doddridge. These books + won't press nor give, more than sound doctrine; and I must have room for my gown, + without which I am nothing."</p> + <p>The clock struck ten, and we were still struggling with unabated ardor to compress + Lorana Briggs's shawl, and the flat packages from Burt's, into the largest + carpet-bag, that there might be room for the seventeen letters on top of the + minister's luggage, inside the sanctuary of his silk gown.</p> + <p>"We can carry a good deal in your coat-pocket, my dear," said I, cheerfully; for + really we seemed to be coming to daylight, a little.</p> + <p>"Full."</p> + <p>The knocker sounded.</p> + <p>"My galoches at last! Deacon, I can't ask you to come in, we are so untidy; but I + couldn't pack as I meant to, this afternoon."</p> + <p>How we dreaded his coming in,—half deacon, half shoemaker, and two-thirds <a + name="page376" id="page376"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 376]</span> missionary, + with his "Panoplist" sticking out of his coat-pocket, and his ears evermore pricked + up for the latest news from Bombay! and how angry I had been for three weeks because + I couldn't get those indispensable galoches!</p> + <p>It seemed as if he never would go from the half-open door. He reckoned the York + folks would stare to see so many patches; he expected ministers down to York warn't + quite so carfle and troubled about many things, as they be to Weston; but he added, + with a grim joyfulness,—</p> + <p>"We took up a good collection, though, last Sabbath! eight dollars and fifteen + cents, clear!"</p> + <p>"Yes, Deacon," responded the minister, with as much heartiness as he could muster, + between the pushings, puffings, and pressings at the carpet-bag; "a cup of cold water + shall in no wise lose its reward, we're told.—These carpet-bags stretch + well!"</p> + <p>"Them poor, dear heathen!" groaned the Deacon.</p> + <p>"Oh, dreadful!" chimed I; "give me that biggest shawl, will you?—no, the + other,—Ursula Drury's! Shall we ever finish packing?"</p> + <p>"S'pose ye'll see th' A.B.C.F.M.!—Lucina Rand's put in 'the avails of a + hen,'—and Semela Briggs sold the silver thimble her aunt gin her. 'T all helps + the good work. I told the Widow Rand she'd ough' to do somethin' for the heathen, so + she's gone to raisin' mustard. She said she hadn't more 'n a grain o' that to spare, + she was so poor; but I told her 't would be blest, I guessed. Widow Rand's rather + worldly-minded, I'm afraid."</p> + <p>A minute more and we should have had Hindostan, Harriet Newell, and Juggernaut. + Happily, somebody came for the Deacon, and we were left to our packing again.</p> + <h3>II.</h3> + <p>This was the second week in May, in the year 1830. We were a promising country, + but had not yet performed. Neither railroads, telegraphs, nor cheap postage had been + established. Enthusiastic inventors yet sucked their fingers in garrets, waiting for + the good time coming; and philanthropic statesmen aired their vocabularies in vain, + in Congressional halls, built in defiance of acoustics. Their words rose, their fine + sentiments curled up and down the pillars of the temple of eloquence, and fell flat + to the floor. Meanwhile human nature travelled by stage-coaches; and postage for over + a hundred miles rose to eighteen cents. Not a lover's sigh for a cent less; and it + took a fortune for persons of sensibility to exchange sentiments.</p> + <p>The consequence to country-people of this last-mentioned fact was, that everybody + who went anywhere took everybody's letters, and, as there were no expresses, added, + of course, everybody's packages and messages. And the consequence of this was, that + everybody made everybody's purchases, whether gowns, books, bonnets, or what not. It + mattered little who did errands, so only they were done. Generally, the one + store-keeper bought our bonnets when he went to Boston for his yearly stock of goods, + and our one bonnet lasted in those days a year, being retrimmed for winter weather. I + remember, too, when our one store-keeper, mingling in the æsthetic conversation + at one of our parties, where Art was on the <i>tapis</i>, made a comical mistake, but + one natural enough, too,—stating that he could buy, and had bought, Vandykes + for ten dollars. We were not thinking of exactly the same kind of Vandyke that he + was.</p> + <p>Many a time have I carried in my trunk more letters than the mail-bag did to + Boston, and conscientiously finished all the parish's business before touching my + own.</p> + <p>A certain amount of self-complacency and satisfaction is felt, and laudably + earned, by being intrusted with commissions; and I flatter myself few persons ever + set off for New York with such an array of them as I did on this occasion.</p> + <a name="page377" id="page377"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 377]</span> + <p>Looking over my list, I must confess to a flush of real enjoyment at finding + <i>carte blanche</i> for a scarf. "Now, that is something like!" said I. "I can see + now how pleasantly an artist feels, or would feel, at an order for a + picture,—'your own subject,—your own terms.' Miss Patty Jones knows what + is what, and shall be my patroness."</p> + <p>And did I not vindicate triumphantly Miss Patty's confidence? I knew better than + to buy her a gray and brown thing, merely because she, too, was gray and brown. I + wreathed her with lilies and hyacinths and French green leaves, and she blossomed + under it like a rose. If she were not the garland, she wore it, and so borrowed bloom + and gay freshness. She extolled my taste to all Weston.</p> + <p>Then Mrs. Eben Loring had concluded on the whole that I should buy her a hat, in + Maiden Lane, at the very tip-top milliner's. The thought of my return was somewhat + embittered by the prospective necessity of carrying two very large bandboxes in my + lap, in case of rain. Rain might not unreasonably be expected in the course of a + three days' journey. Think of all the bandboxes that in such a case would be put in + at the coach-window by the driver, to be held in the hapless laps of the nine + passengers! Almost I was persuaded to leave my own black satin bonnet, and + perambulate the streets of New York in my travelling-calash, which looked exactly + like, and was nearly of the size of, a "bellows-top shay."</p> + <p>I was thinking of this last sacrifice, when my husband said, in a dreamy, + bewildered way,—</p> + <p>"Here are five boxes, mother, two bundles, and the rest of these books. I give + up!"</p> + <p>"Give up? Not I! Now, where a man's energies are exhausted, a woman's just begin + to show themselves. First and foremost, lock this trunk, and let me put the key in my + pocket. That's one thing done, and can't be undone."</p> + <p>He stepped back from the trunk.</p> + <p>"What's this? all your clothes on the floor!"</p> + <p>"Well, yes, my dear, most of 'em. You see, I couldn't leave Zipporah Haven's shawl + out, which she sends to her grandmother; and I must put in these bundles of the + Burts's, and Mary Skinner's box of linen thread. If my own things are lost, why, they + must be replaced, you know, my dear; that is all."</p> + <p>"And we must keep a good lookout, ourselves, that our bandboxes and bundles don't + fall off behind," replied the Dominie, faintly.</p> + <p>"Yes; and you can put the small trunk under my feet, and the big basket under your + own, and you will keep an eye on my red shawl,—and pray don't lose the + umbrella, nor your great-coat, nor your cane. I will, on my part, see to these three + small bundles, and my parasol. Doubtless we shall go on smoothly as need be, only I + am afraid you won't be able to think up many sermons on the highway. There! I forgot + the jar of currant-jelly to go to Ruth Hoyt's aunt! However, we must manage somehow. + You are sure our names are down at the stage-office?"</p> + <p>But, like Charles XII., "after Pultowa's dreadful day," when the tale-teller + listened for his sympathy,</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "The king had been an hour asleep." + </div> + </div> + <p>I am ashamed to say that I must have lost myself after that, though I thought I + was only thinking of the Day of Judgment. But I must have dreamed it, or how should I + have thought it the last trumpet, when it was only the stage-driver's warning + knock?</p> + <p>It was delightful to hear the knock, and the simultaneous clang of pots and pans + which assured us, that, though night had been no night to us, the dark morning would + usher in our breakfast with coffee by the faithful Polly. The driver coming in again + before we had finished, we seduced him without scruple into taking a cup of boiling + comfort, while we guiltily collected the waifs and strays of our multifarious + luggage. Many a time I have waited, myself, in the coach, while similar orgies were + going on among the unready, <a name="page378" id="page378"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 378]</span> so I know just how vexed and impatient the passengers + were. But what use to go on without the driver? At last we squeezed into the full + stage.</p> + <h3>III.</h3> + <p>No sooner in than out, however. I was determined not to die before my time, as I + was sure to do on the back-seat of an overloaded stage, with nine passengers, besides + numerous, because gratuitously earned, children. "For who," as it was sometimes + pertinently asked, "would charge anything for a poor little innocent child?" The + younger, the more innocent, of course, and the more numerous.</p> + <p>"If you'll set up here 'long o' me, Miss Prince, there's a plenty o' + room,—and for you, too, Parson," said the good-natured driver.</p> + <p>Extricating ourselves from the Black Hole, we delightedly clambered to the heights + above, regardless of risk, and catching at wheel and step like Alpine hunters. How + comfortable the seat was, with the fresh, early morning air blowing freely in our + faces! How small the horses looked in the dim light of three o'clock! How oddly the + wheel-horses looked, all backs and no legs!—and how mysteriously many were the + reins that were tied round and round the iron lantern-rod!</p> + <p>"Just let me put the mail-bag under your feet, Miss Prince. Here we are, now, all + right, and nothin' to do but go along!"</p> + <p>"Now, then!"</p> + <p>"Come up! come! come!"</p> + <p>But in vain were caresses; in vain were chirrups, duckings, and kisses, wafted to + the nigh leader. Like the rebellious South of to-day, he had taken his attitude, and + stood now on four legs, now on two, pawing only the dark air, and regardless of the + general welfare behind him.</p> + <p>"Now what will you do, driver?" said cowardly I, who, always mortally afraid of + horse-flesh, felt on this occasion a strange confidence: partly in the staid, heavy + mass of determination beside me, who looked so calm and good-natured; and partly in + the queer, elfin look of the beast, who seemed so far off as to have no necessary + connection with our safety or ultimate progress. It seemed quite possible for us to + get on with the other three pulling, while our demoniacal friend ornamented the + occasion by plunges, rearings, and kickings.</p> + <p>Still gathering the reins lightly in his large hand, the stable and sure + intelligence beside me calmly chirruped, and then as calmly switched his long whip at + the distant rebel brute. How the switching and snapping galled his proud neck! How + his black back curved, and his small head tossed! Still, he would not pull an ounce, + but just pawed like a fairy horse, or as if he were born to tread on clouds alone, or + to herald in the morning.</p> + <p>"He'll start by-'m-by,—he's a devil of a spirit in him, when he doos start," + remarked our Phoebus, composedly, giving, through the darkness, the unerring switch + every half minute.</p> + <p>What acted on the capricious thing at last,—whether the Inevitability behind + him, or the folly exhausting itself, nobody knows; but the "beautiful disdain" left + his black back and tossing mane in a moment, and he buckled down to his work with an + energy worthy of the cause, and with a good-will that was an example to the other + three.</p> + <p>"There! you see he can do well enough, 'f he's jest a mind to! nothin' wantin' but + the will! There's a pair on 'em," said the driver, "but I won't never drive 'em + together. Staples drove the pair last summer. He says they'd run till they dropped + down dead. I guess they would. He's a putty critter enough, and well made, but + dreadful ugly. Now, I like that 'ere wheeler!"—he pointed his whip towards the + horse below my foot. "She's kind,—that mare is; and she's fast enough, and + handsome. Broad back,—short legs,—goes like a duck!"</p> + <p>In such pleasant chat (and why not? for wasn't the driver a cousin of my + own?—a man of means,—owning his team,—and with more knowledge of + his district than most members of Congress have? <a name="page379" + id="page379"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 379]</span> Indeed, I believe he's in + Congress this minute!) we pulled up hill and tore down dale. Nobody knows a hill by + experience but New-Hampshire travellers. The Green Mountains are full of + comparatively gentle slopes, and verdure crowns their highest and tallest tops; but + the hills of New Hampshire are Alpine in their steepness and barrenness, and the + roads of old time made by the Puritans took the Devil by the horns. There was no + circuitous, soothing, easy passage. The road ran straight over mountains and pitched + deep down ravines, the surveyors having evidently kept only in view the shortest + air-line between places.</p> + <p>Sometimes we chained the wheels, but not often. Oftenest we ran down a steep + place, and the impetus carried us up the opposite hill. At the foot of a long hill, + of a two-mile stretch, the driver generally stopped, to indicate the propriety of the + male passengers, at least, ascending the hill on foot. And often the whole stage-load + gladly availed itself of the permission. It was handy for the owners of bandboxes, to + pick them up from the rocky road, as they tumbled off now and then; and the four + beasts, like those in Revelation, said "Amen" to the kindly impulse of humanity that + lightened their load, and left them to scramble comfortably from one side to the + other of the still ascending path. When they did get to the top of some of those + Walpole hills, would they could have taken in the living glory and beauty of the + far-reaching and most magnificent landscape!</p> + <h3>IV.</h3> + <p>We had the mails to change at the post-offices, and a seemingly inexhaustible + store, intrusted to the care and courtesy of the driver, and surrounding him like a + rampart,—of newspapers, bundles, cans, pillow-cases full of dried apples, and + often letters.</p> + <p>At the red house near the mill below Surrey, a sweet-looking girl ran out, as we + passed, holding her hand forward for a letter, which our driver pretended to drop + half a dozen times, on purpose to tantalize her. It was pretty to see her blushing, + sparkling face, as the blood danced to her brow with hope, and back with the baffled + expectancy to her heart.</p> + <p>"Neouw, Sil, be still! give to me, yeouw!"</p> + <p>If it hadn't been Yankee, it was soft and melodious enough for an Italian peasant. + As picturesque, too, was her short, blue woollen petticoat, and white short-gown, + that "half hid and half revealed" the unconstrained grace of healthy mountain-nature; + and more modest the happy look with which she received the letter at last, and flew + with it like a bird back to the red nest.</p> + <p>"A love-letter, I suppose," said I, answering the twinkle of the driver's + good-natured eye.</p> + <p>"Wal, I expect 's likely. They've been sparking now over a year. And it's a pity, + too, such a real clever girl as that is! She a'n't so dreadful bright, but she's real + clever, and ough' to hev a better chance 'n Jim Ruggles."</p> + <p>"A bad match for her?"</p> + <p>"Wal, Jim's a good feller enough, but he drinks. I don't mean to say nothin' agin + moderate drinkin'. I drink myself moderately. But Jim's a real sponge. He'd drink all + day hard and never show it, without it is bein' cross, maybe, and paler 'n common. + Now I say,—and I a'n't no 'reformed inebriate,' nor Father Matthew + sort,—but I do say, and will hold to it, such a man at twenty-one makes a poor + beginnin'. If he lives, he'll be a poor shote, and no mistake. I'm sorry for the + gal."</p> + <p>"Somebody ought to tell her. Why not you?"</p> + <p>"Wal, what's the good on 't? She wouldn't hear a word. When a woman's once sot her + mind, don't do no good to talk. For that matter, talkin' never did do much, I'm + thinkin',—exceptin' preachin'. We're bound to hear that, Parson," he added, + laughing, and with a nod which might seem respectful.</p> + <p>In three hours we had driven thirteen miles. Pretty good progress this of a <a + name="page380" id="page380"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 380]</span> warm day, and + with a full complement of passengers. We had watched the sun rise over Walpole hills, + and the specks in the distance where the early farmers were ploughing and sowing. The + breaking day, the bursting spring, and all the outward melodies with which the + welcoming day rings as we toil on, are so many incentives to appetite, and we are all + sharp for the ready breakfast, at six o'clock.</p> + <p>Then, as I am talking of the past, and not of the present, there was time enough: + time enough for the comfortable discussion of breakfast, for the changing of raiment + among the babies, for chatting in the bar-room, for the interchange of news among the + men, and even for glasses of milk-punch. Tell it not in modern Gath that even the + Dominie spiced his half-mug of flip with an anecdote, and that every man and woman + took cider as well as coffee.</p> + <p>How can I describe the events and vicissitudes that befell us during this journey + of three days and a half to New York? Modern travellers, who are, or are not, as it + happens, run off the track, smashed up, or otherwise suddenly and summarily disposed + of, have little notion of our successive and amusing accidents, and of how they + diversified and occupied the mind, so as entirely to preclude the <i>ennui</i> which + comes from railroad-travelling, with its ninety-nine chances of safety to one of + accident.</p> + <p>That we were tipped out and over repeatedly,—that one of the leaders had + fits, (which amiable weakness was understood and allowed for by our driver, who was + in hopes the critter wouldn't have 'em that day,)—that the coach wholly + collapsed once, letting all the patient passengers into a promiscuous heap of + unbroken bones,—this, and such as this, will be easily believed by any + New-England traveller who remembers thirty years back. But how we fell so softly that + the brains were never damaged,—why falling into ditches at night wasn't an + unhealthy process,—and, above all, how the driver's stock of leathern straps, + strings, and nails should always prove exhaustless, and be always so wonderfully + adapted to every emergency,—that was a wonder, and is a wonder still to me. No + amount of mechanical skill, though the Yankee has made machines that almost think, + and altogether do, for him, has superseded or exhausted his natural tact, expediency, + and invention. With string and nail in his pocket, I would defy the horses of Phoebus + to get away from a Yankee, or his chariot to get out of gear; and if Phaeton had only + been a Vermonter, the deserts of Ethiopia might to this day have been covered with + roses instead of sand. Our driver, though he didn't know his own powers, knew all + about Phoebus, and had read Virgil and Ovid by the light of a pine-knot in his + father's kitchen. This rude culture is the commonest fact among our mountaineers.</p> + <p>We "stopped over" one day in Hartford, to see the deaf-mutes. Their bright, + concentrated, eager looks haunted me long after. I should like to know who would stop + anywhere now to see anything! One might as well be put into a gun and fired off to + New York as go there now by steam-cars. Line a gun with red plush, and it is not + unlike a "resonant steam-eagle." And you would see as much in one as in the + other.</p> + <p>But travelling in 1830 enlarged your mind. A journey then was one as <i>was</i> a + journey. You saw people, you made their acquaintance, you entered their hearts and + took lodgings,—sometimes for life.</p> + <p>Then the country! You saw that, too,—not the poorest part of it, scooting + round wherever it is most level, till you pronounce the whole way flat, and are glad + to shut your eyes and listen to the engine, rather than have them ache with seeing + everything you would never wish to look at!</p> + <p>All these days were full of great, beautiful pictures. From the time we leave the + Granite State, with it a wild, fierce grandeur, its long, dreary reaches of unfertile + pastures, and its wealth of stone <a name="page381" id="page381"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 381]</span> wall,—so abundant that travellers wonder where + the stones came from to build it, seeing no lack in the road or field,—from the + time we enter on trim, well-kept Massachusetts, the panorama shifts with ever new + interest and beauty. We leave the pretentious brick houses, or the glaring white + ones, which mark the uncultivated taste of the American Switzerland, and enter for + the first time regions impressed with the necessary element of fine landscape, + maturity. With and under the old oaks and birches rest the sad-colored houses that + have held life and experience,—birth, death, and old historic adventure.</p> + <p>Looking over the broad meadows that skirt the Connecticut by Hadley and + Northampton, one seems to see under the distant oaks spectral shapes of Indian + struggle, or wandering regicides, hiding their noble heads in caves, or bursting out + like white spirits to lead and avenge. The air is peopled with traditions far back + from the present, but with which the grave, imposing, characteristic landscape seems + still to sympathize.</p> + <p>In two days we emerged from the brown chrysalis of a New-Hampshire spring into the + exultant richness of the winged butterfly,—into white, fragrant fields of + blossoming fruit, and the odor of tree-lilacs.</p> + <p>In my enchantment at the bounteous panorama that spread out before me in ever + varying abundance, I forgot to cultivate any interest in my fellow-passengers, and, + except in listening to some communicative old women, might really, as far as society + was concerned, as well have been travelling in the style of to-day. Beyond the casual + acquaintances I made when rain compelled me to indoor chat, I saw nobody who + interested me until we reached Springfield. There, at the top of the first short hill + outside the town, after looking back on the white houses standing in the river-mist + like so many ghosts in white muslin, I saw somebody whom my prophetic soul announced + as a companion, looking wholly unlike a ghost, and very unlike a mist. He raised his + hand, just as we were about passing him, as if signalling an omnibus, and our driver + suddenly reined in his team.</p> + <p>A full, hearty voice, not a bit nasal, but fresh from the broad chest, showed us a + traveller by the road-side, waiting to be taken up.</p> + <p>He sprang with two bounds to the top of the coach, and made room for himself just + above us among the countless boxes.</p> + <p>"Don't let me disturb you, Madam All right. Just room for my bag. Go on, + driver."</p> + <p>"Fine day," said we.</p> + <p>"A warm morning. I have been walking for the last fifteen miles,—but the sun + is too hot for me."</p> + <p>He took off his travelling-hat of weather-beaten Panama, and dried his broad brow + with his handkerchief. Then he looked at us with clear blue eyes, and tossed back his + curling brown hair. He had a gray travelling-dress, such as everybody wears now, but + which was then a novelty; and something in his curt, clear accents, and his crimson + lips, and the fresh life in his limbs and action, betrayed that he was not an + American. So much the better.</p> + <h3>V.</h3> + <p>I said he looked sharply at us two. He seemed to have a habit of investigating, at + least to a certain extent; and he took us in at once, evidently. A country-parson and + his wife. If I say his pretty wife, I will promise faithfully that it shall be the + last time I will refer to myself or my prettiness, the whole way, further than may be + absolutely necessary; and it isn't every woman who will do as much. For with this man + and his belongings I came to have much to do in the course of the next five years. + Little thought I, as I heard him chatting soberly with my husband, and nodding from + time to time gravely at me, as If to take me into the conversation,—little + thought I of the shadow he <a name="page382" id="page382"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 382]</span> would one day cast over both of our lives!</p> + <p>He showed us his travelling-apparatus for making a cup of tea in ten minutes, + toasting bread, and boiling eggs. It was like a doll's cooking-stove six inches + square, a curious invention, new then, and a wonderful convenience.</p> + <p>"With my tea and this," said he, "I can go over the United States. Good bread and + sweet butter I can always get at your farm-houses, and I often walk fifty miles + together."</p> + <p>We looked and spoke our New-English astonishment. In our part of the world nobody + walked anywhere. Everybody, however poor, had a wagon, if not a chaise; and he must + be miserable indeed who did not own at least one horse. Nobody in his sober senses + demeaned himself to walking. Perhaps it was the climate. Perhaps our fathers + instituted the custom, to be as unlike the British as possible,—as they did of + making their houses like lanterns, to show they had no window-tax to pay.</p> + <p>This man's hearty voice and healthy frame, charged, as it seemed, with fresh air, + jollity, and strength, made us think better of walking. We looked at his six feet of + height, his broad chest, and his firmly knit limbs, and fancied how Antaeus gained + supernatural vigor from natural contact: he trod the earth with a loving and free + step, as a child approaches and caresses his mother. So, too, his voice, and the + topics he chose in talking, gave us the feeling of out-door existence always + connected with him: of singing-birds, and the breeze of mountain-tops, of great + walnut- and chesnut-trees, and children gathering nuts beneath; never of the solemn + hush of pines, or twilight, or anything "sough"-ing or whispering: no, all about him + sounded like the free, dashing, rushing water. So were his bright blue eyes, merry + lips, and wind-crimsoned cheeks, interpreters of his nature. They linked him firmly + to the outward. The man's soul was made up of joyfulness, strength, and a sort of + purposeless activity,—energy for its own sake. While his energies harmonized + with the right, or were exercised in the pursuit of knowledge, one felt that he would + have much power for good. But suppose his activities to take a wrong direction, all + his powers would help him to be and enjoy the wrong. In either case, his nature would + have the same harmonious energy, and the moral part of him would not disturb the + balance of his character. He had no special liking for evil, I am sure; yet, + according to all the theories, his intense love of Nature ought to have elevated and + refined him far more than it had done.</p> + <p>Before we had been an hour together, I had also observed that he was good-natured, + impulsive, and, in a sort, kindly,—that he loved himself and his own enjoyment + too well ever knowingly to annoy or distress another. There is a little difference + between this and kindness. No matter how I found him out. He who runs may read, if he + looks sharply enough; and in travelling, people betray and assert character + continually. I was also as sure as I was years afterwards, that he would walk + rough-shod over heart-violets and -daisies, nor once notice them bleeding under his + heel. It was in the grain of the man's nature. He had lived at least thirty-five + years, and was too old to be made over into anything else by any experience.</p> + <p>His bag was half full of tulip-bulbs which he had bought and begged, he said. He + had a passion at present for cultivating tulips, and was quite sure, that, if he had + lived in the seventeenth instead of the nineteenth century, he would have ruined + himself twenty times over for a favorite bulb, even without being a Dutchman.</p> + <p>His dominant idea, to which for the first hour he sacrificed without scruple every + other, was flowers. I had a mischievous pleasure in professing a similar passion, on + purpose to confound him with a description of a Weston flower-garden. If he talked of + jessamine and Daphne odora, I talked of phlox and bachelor's-buttons. If he raved of + azaleas <a name="page383" id="page383"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 383]</span> and + gladioluses, I told him of our China-asters, sunflowers, and hollyhocks.</p> + <p>"Ah, now I see you are laughing at me!" said he, good-humoredly, after I had said, + that, after all, I could not get up an admiration for day-lilies or tulips; "promise + me that I may show you my tulips, and I will promise you that you shall like botany + hereafter."</p> + <p>We agreed at last to bury the hatchet at the foot of a rose-bush, which I said I + would allow, excused the existence of other flowers. The bulbs he gave me on the top + of the stage-coach that day made a revolution in the taste of Weston; and some + climbing plants, from his house afterwards, took root in our rude homes, and have + displaced the old glaring colors with soft beauty and grace. Before I left Weston, + which happened in time, we had prairie-roses, honeysuckles, and woodbine clambering + over half the houses in the place, and bouncing-Bets were extinguished forever.</p> + <p>I forgot that we had never heard this man's name, though it did not matter at all. + He was a cultivated gentleman, and we had no occasion for introduction. We met freely + on that platform, and it was pleasant to us to talk on so many subjects outside of + personal interest. He had travelled, and gave us results, in a sketchy, off-hand way, + of much that he had observed that was extremely entertaining in foreign manners.</p> + <p>Suddenly his loud, cheery voice rang out,—</p> + <p>"Halloo, old boy, get up here!"</p> + <p>He did get up, a languid, pale man, with sharp features, and a frame so attenuated + that I involuntarily placed a soft bag for him to lean against, and removed a cane + and umbrella that seemed likely to hurt his bones.</p> + <p>It was about half an hour before I saw that the new man was not at all an invalid, + but of the natural gaunt frame and pallid complexion of my countrymen. My eyes had + become so full of the fresh, rosy life of the Englishman's face, that the new man's + face was bleached and unhealthy to me. I happened to glance back from him to the + Dominie, and saw, that, allowing for green spectacles, they were both of a color. We + were so arranged on the top of the coach, that with reasonable twisting of necks we + were able to maintain an animated conversation, and soon found our account in the new + element.</p> + <p>"Well, Remington!"</p> + <p>"Well, Lewis!"</p> + <p>"Where from now?"</p> + <p>"From Niagara, and home by the White Hills."</p> + <p>"And what of the last, or of both?"</p> + <p>"Miss Rugg has fallen into the one, and Miss Somebody has been to the top of the + other. Had to be brought down, though. Women shouldn't climb mountains."</p> + <p>"There has been some talk of a road, or practicable path at least, to the top of + Mount Washington."</p> + <p>"Never'll be done. Impossible on the face of the thing."</p> + <p>"Nothing is impossible to Yankees, Remington."</p> + <p>"This is. And now, Lewis, whence come you, and whither go?"</p> + <p>"From Weston, and to New York."</p> + <p>Here was a <i>denouement!</i> We looked at him with new interest, and saw at once, + such was the force of imagination, the very eyes and eyebrows of Gus Lewis. However, + it proved afterwards to be only imagination. When we told him we came from Weston + only two days and a half before, the conversation assumed the native style of New + England, and for the next quarter of an hour we talked of each other and each other's + affairs.' Mr. Lewis was delighted to see us, had stayed only an hour in Weston, and + there heard of our trip from Auguste,—profanely called Gus,—took the box + of maple-sugar in charge at once, laughed at the boy-like direction without even a + surname, and ended with recommending us to go at once to Miss Post's, on Broadway, + where himself and his wife were at present boarding. All the particulars of life, + character, and relative interests were discussed between ourselves <a name="page384" + id="page384"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 384]</span> and Mr. Lewis with the relish + and zest of compatriots. I had forgotten how close a tie was that of Yankee birth, + and how like an unknown tongue our talk was to the Englishman, till we stopped and + turned to him to say something, and found him fast asleep. Then I was glad that he + hadn't heard my satirical description of "donation-parties" at Weston, nor the + account I gave of our two boys, our salary of five hundred dollars, and the various + comical shifts we had to make to live comfortably on that sum and support aged + parents and graceless relations. Little touches told Mr. Lewis the whole story. I + knew very well that Mr. Remington would be entirely abroad about such a social + existence as ours in Weston, travel he ever so long or widely.</p> + <p>Mr. Lewis had black eyes and hair, and bent like an habitual student. He had a + scar on his right eyebrow, which he had got by a fall, and by which he had saved the + life of Mr. Remington, who was a connection of his wife's. This he told us, + afterwards, and I amused myself with drawing parallels between his face and his mind. + One side was gentle, sweet-humored, sentimental, with a touch of melancholy. The + other, disfigured with the scar, seemed to have been turned harsh, suspicious, proud, + reserved, and unrelenting. These were many qualities, all to depend on a scar, to be + sure; but they generally herd together, and he might be one man or another, as life + presented its dark or sunny side to him. To me, he was very interesting, from the + first; and my husband was delighted with him. The Dominie starved in Weston for + congenial intellectual nutriment. Nobody but myself could tell what a drain it was on + him always to impart, always to simplify, to descend, to walk on the ground with + wings folded flat to his back, and the angel in him habitually kept out of view. The + most he could do was to insinuate now and then a thought above the farming interest, + and in a direction aside from Bombay. More than that exposed him to suspicion, and + hindered his usefulness in Coös County.</p> + <p>Somehow, we got talking of Mr. Remington, which we might well do, seeing him there + before us, sleeping like a baby.</p> + <p>"That he could always do, like Napoleon," said Mr. Lewis, "and so can accomplish + much without fatigue."</p> + <p>"Is he married?" said I.</p> + <p>"Yes. His wife is in delicate health."</p> + <p>I was surprised to hear that he was married.</p> + <p>"He hasn't a married look, has he?"</p> + <p>"You are talking about me," said Remington, waking up. "I felt it mesmerically. + And, to give you a good opportunity, I will walk a mile or two. Give me a good + character, Lewis. Hold up, driver!"</p> + <p>Springing down, he went on, laughing, before us, now and then calling back to ask + if we were nearly through?</p> + <p>"He has not the 'subdued domestic smile upon his features mild', that marks the + man who has a wife at home," said I.</p> + <p>"No. He is a man, however, born under a lucky star, and his cup filled with + good-fortune to the brim. His self-lordship has been to him no heritage of woe, thus + far."</p> + <p>"A certain happiness, but necessarily of a poor quality, comes from being able to + gratify our wishes. If he has no more, it is poor enough."</p> + <p>"Do you mean that pleasure must be an outgrowth of pain to be properly + appreciated?" said Mr. Lewis.</p> + <p>"Somewhat,—mostly," said the minister; "since the insensibility that + protects one from pain prevents also delicate picture. I think, indeed, a rational + being must suffer in order to enjoy, after infancy."</p> + <p>"His eyes don't look as if they had been in training of any sort," said I, without + knowing what my words implied, till I saw the harsh expression on Mr. Lewis's + face.'</p> + <p>"I mean that they have a sort of undisciplined expression, as if he had never been + tamed by suffering or sorrow of any sort," said I.</p> + <p>"That sadness is the true human look," said the minister, "the look that redeems + <a name="page385" id="page385"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 385]</span> us from the + mere animal expression of enjoyment. It is the stamp God puts on those He loves. He + chastens them; after that, they are no more servants, but sons of the house."</p> + <p>I saw by Mr. Lewis's eyes that he understood and felt this. Also, that from his + nature he bought his enjoyments every step of the way of life. How differently his + cousin laid hold on the cornucopia of enjoyment, and covered himself with bountiful + beauty, drinking in at every sense pleasure! The former, as could be seen too, held + his title to happiness by the most uncertain tenure; the nervous quiver betraying, + and the sensitive blood witnessing, how keenly he felt and how dearly he paid for + every passing pleasure. I remember, as I saw his purple, thrilling face, that I hoped + his home-life was happy, feeling that to such a man it must be everything. Yet I was + sure, from what he did not say, with eye or lips, that he had not learned religious + trust. Still, he did not listen to the mere minister, but to the friend; and there + sprang up between the two the corresponding interest and respect belonging to natures + kindred in depth and sensibility, though of widely differing experience. In + after-years, he who had already attained was able frequently to hold out a helping + hand to his younger brother; but now, only a smile and a look told much. This + acquaintance of the soul is very fascinating. In the two or three steps we take + together, with cognizance and measure of each other, what a long path opens before us + of alternate shade and sunshine, and how imagination borders every step of the way + with richest heart-blossoms! In friendship, all is glowing and enriching. As it has + not the depth of love, it neither anticipates nor requires sacrifice. We do not think + of doing or suffering for a friend; but the friend ministers to our weakness, and + exalts our strength. He sympathizes gently with our self-love, he magnifies every + excellence. He is perpetually charmed, alike with the novelty and the similarity of + our experience, and unwearied in comparing thoughts and balancing opinions. All, and + more, that he gives us, he receives; and so an incipient friendship is one of the + most intoxicating delights of life. What long leaps in acquaintance we took during + our first hour, and while Mr. Remington still walked up-hill before us!</p> + <p>"You will probably have an opportunity to see and judge for yourselves of Mr. + Remington, as we are together a great deal, and he is a cousin of Mrs. Lewis's. This + will be better than for me to attempt a description, I think, and, on the whole, more + satisfactory. He annoys me, and offends me frequently; and then I am not just to him, + of course. But he is a fine fellow, honorable and agreeable; and with a love of + natural science that leads him, for the time, like a dog. Just now, he is wild with + floriculture. Last year, it was geology. You will see."</p> + <p>And then, as if he feared to trust himself with his cousin's character, or that it + was a distasteful subject for some reason, he turned to the minister, and began + talking about Cherry Mountain and the scenery in Coös.</p> + <p>Mr. Remington called out, at the top of the hill,—</p> + <p>"Now it is my turn! Let me ride, and I will give your character!"</p> + <p>"Oh! we don't need it, I assure you," said I; "we understand him entirely."</p> + <p>"Not a bit of it!" said he, shaking his brown curls; "I am the transparent + one."</p> + <p>He stepped up on the wheel-hub to get his bag, and to say he should strike off for + Middleton on foot. He would see us very soon in New York, and claim our promise to + visit him.</p> + <p>Being relieved from the fascination of personal beauty and presence, with only the + impression of character remaining, I was a little ashamed to find how much I had + liked, without being at all able to esteem him. It was with a very different feeling + that I looked at Mr. Lewis, whose ugly, positively ugly face was being perpetually + transfigured with emotion and variety. Without grace of feature or figure, he + impressed one as a living soul; <a name="page386" id="page386"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 386]</span> and this inward light gave a translucent beauty to + the frail, chance-shapen vase, which all Mr. Remington's personal advantages of form + and color failed to impress us with. Only dark eyes of un-sounded depth, and a voice + whose rich cadences had an answering rhythm in the inward man, showed what his + attractions might be, or were, to a woman. We became curious to see Mrs. Lewis, of + whom we gained no idea from his casual references to her.</p> + <hr /> + <h2>LYRICS OF THE STREET.</h2> + <h3>VI.</h3> + <h3>PLAY.</h3> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + From yon den of double-dealing, + </div> + <div class="line"> + With its Devil's host, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Come I, maddened out of healing: + </div> + <div class="line"> + All is lost! + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + So the false wine cannot blind me, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Nor the braggart toast; + </div> + <div class="line"> + But I know that Hell doth bind me: + </div> + <div class="line"> + All is lost! + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Where the lavish gain attracts us, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And the easy cost, + </div> + <div class="line"> + While the damning dicer backs us, + </div> + <div class="line"> + All is lost! + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Blest the rustic in his furrows, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Toil- and sweat-embossed; + </div> + <div class="line"> + Blest are honest souls in sorrows. + </div> + <div class="line"> + All is lost! + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Wifely love, the closer clinging + </div> + <div class="line"> + When men need thee most, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Shall I come, dishonor bringing? + </div> + <div class="line"> + All is lost! + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Babe in silken cradle lying, + </div> + <div class="line"> + To low music tossed, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Will they wake thee for my dying? + </div> + <div class="line"> + All is lost! + </div> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="line"> + Yonder where the river grimly + </div> + <div class="line"> + Whitens, like a ghost, + </div> + <div class="line"> + Must I plunge and perish dimly; + </div> + <div class="line"> + All is lost! + </div> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <a name="page387" id="page387"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 387]</span> + <h2>INTERESTING MANUSCRIPTS OF EDMUND BURKE.</h2> + <p>Macaulay opens his most remarkable article on Milton by saying, "The dexterous + Capuchins never choose to preach on the life and miracles of a saint, till they have + awakened the devotional feelings of their auditors by exhibiting some relic of + him,—a thread of his garment, a lock of his hair, or a drop of his blood." If + we were in the mood, we might take advantage of interesting manuscripts of Edmund + Burke, which are now before us, to say something of this remarkable character. But we + shall confine ourselves for the present to a passing glance at the manuscripts which + have strayed across the Atlantic.<a id="footnotetag12" name="footnotetag12" + href="#footnote12"><sup>12</sup></a></p> + <p>The authentic manuscripts of Burke have passed through several hands. On his + death, they were intrusted to the eminent civilian, Dr. French Lawrence, of Doctors' + Commons, and to Dr. King, afterwards Bishop of Rochester. To these two gentlemen we + are indebted for the first eight volumes of the London octavo edition of Burke's + Works. The career of Dr. Lawrence was cut short by death in 1809. His associate had + the exclusive charge of the papers till 1812, when the venerable widow of Burke died + at Beaconsfield, and by her last will gave to Earl Fitzwilliam, the Bishop of + Rochester, and the Right Honorable William Elliott the entire direction of the + printing and publishing of such parts of the works of her late husband as were not + published before her decease,—bequeathing to them all the printed and + manuscript papers for this purpose. Eight more volumes were published by the Bishop, + who died in 1828, a few months after the publication of the fifteenth and sixteenth + volumes. Mr. Elliott had already died in 1818. The papers now came into the sole + possession of Earl Fitzwilliam, the distinguished nobleman associated with the latter + portion of Burke's life, from whom they descended to his son, the late Earl + Fitzwilliam, who, in conjunction with Sir Richard Bourke, published, in 1844, the + four volumes of correspondence, with a few notes of unpublished speeches.</p> + <p>We have personal reason to know that there are yet other unpublished manuscripts + of Burke in the hands of Lord Fitzwilliam, some of which it was our fortune many + years ago to inspect. Mr. Macknight, it appears, applied to the present Earl for + permission to publish some of those which are preserved in the archives of Wentworth + House, but, "out of obedience to the expressed wish of his father, who published all + he thought necessary, he declined to sanction any further publication of these + documents."<a id="footnotetag13" name="footnotetag13" + href="#footnote13"><sup>13</sup></a></p> + <p>There are also letters of Burke which from time to time have seen the light, as + they were communicated by their possessors. Among these none equals in interest that + addressed to Pitt with regard to his pension, which has been printed recently by Lord + Stanhope, in his small, but rich and rare collection, entitled "Miscellanies." This + important letter came to light among the papers of Pitt, and has been described by + Macaulay as "interesting and very characteristic."</p> + <p>The manuscripts now before us are none of these. They have a history of their + own.</p> + <p>They constitute a thin volume in folio, neatly bound, having a book-mark, and arms + with the name of <i>Fillingham</i>. Here are four familiar autograph-letters from + Burke to his amanuensis, Swift, all of them written from Margate, on the sea-shore, + <a name="page388" id="page388"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 388]</span> and bearing + Burke's frank as a member of Parliament. According to habit with us, the frank of a + member of Congress is written in the right-hand upper corner of the superscription, + while the old English frank is in the left-hand lower corner. But English law, while + the privilege of franking existed, required also that the name of the place where the + letter was pasted, and the day on which it was posted, written at length, should + appear in the superscription. Take, for instance, the following frank of Burke in + this collection:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"Margate July seventeenth, 1791<br /> + "Mr Swift,<br /> + "Mr Burke's Chambers<br /> + "4 Stone Buildings<br /> + "Lincoln's Inn<br /> + "London.<br /> + "Edm. Burke."</p> + </blockquote> + <p>These letters have been recently published by Mr. Macknight, who says of them that + "they show how kind and familiar Burke was to the humblest dependants with whom he + was thrown into any human relationship"; they also "show the statesman, when at the + height of literary fame, as busy and anxious in sending his sheets through the press, + and making corrections and alterations, as any young author with his first proofs"; + and he adds, "These letters seem to me quite as important, as illustrations of + Burke's private character, as those which he wrote to the Nagles in former years." It + seems that the amanuensis to whom they were addressed had at his death other similar + letters in his possession; but his wife, ignorant of their value, deliberately + committed them to the names, and the four now before us are all that were saved. Mr. + Macknight adds, in a note,—"These letters I owe to the kindness of John + Fillingham, Esq., of Hoxton, who allowed me to inspect and copy the originals."<a + id="footnotetag14" name="footnotetag14" href="#footnote14"><sup>14</sup></a></p> + <p>Of one of these letters there is an accurate <i>fac-simile</i>, which will be + found in the third volume of Mr. Macknight's elaborate biography of Burke.</p> + <p>But the main paper in the collection is none other than the manuscript of the + "Observations on the Conduct of the Minority," being the <i>identical copy</i> from + which the surreptitious publication was made which disturbed the last hours of Burke. + The body of it is in the handwriting of the amanuensis to whom the familiar letters + were addressed; but it shows the revision of Burke, and on several pages most minute + and elaborate corrections and additions, with changes of sections. Of one of these + pages there is an accurate <i>fac-simile</i> in the third volume of Mr. Macknight, + who says that "the manuscript was given by Swift's sister, after his death, to the + gentleman who kindly permitted him to inspect it." <a id="footnotetag15" + name="footnotetag15" href="#footnote15"><sup>15</sup></a></p> + <p>These manuscripts—both the letters and the Observations—all concern + the closing period of Burke's life, after the unhappy feud between himself and Fox, + to which they directly relate. In order to appreciate their value, we must glance at + the scene by which the memorable friendship of these men was closed.</p> + <p>Few political events in English history are read with more interest than the + separation of Burke and Fox. They had been friends and allies; but the French + Revolution, which separated so many persons in France, reached across the Channel to + separate them. They differed so radically with regard to this portentous, undeveloped + movement, that their relations, both political and personal, were rudely severed. + Burke, in the House of Commons, openly announced this result. He was most earnestly + inveighing against France, when he said, "It may be indiscreet in me at my time of + life to provoke enemies, and give occasion to friends to desert me." Fox whispered, + "There is no loss of friends." Burke for a moment paused, and then exclaimed, "Yes, + there is a loss of friends; I know the price of my conduct. I have done my <a + name="page389" id="page389"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 389]</span> duty at the + expense of my friend. Our friendship is at an end." As he finished, Burke walked + across the floor of the House, and squeezed himself between Pitt and Dundas on the + Treasury Bench. Fox rose to reply, while tears streamed down his face. In the course + of his remarks he intimated that Burke had heaped upon him the most ignominious + terms. Burke at once said that he did not recollect having used any; when Fox + replied, "My right honorable friend does not recollect the epithets. They are out of + his mind. Then they are completely and forever out of mine. I cannot cherish a + recollection so painful; and from this moment they are obliterated and + forgotten."</p> + <p>But the difference was too intense. A few days later it broke forth again. "I + complain," said Burke, "of being obliged to stand upon my defence by the right + honorable gentleman, who, when a young man, was brought to me and evinced the most + promising talents, which I used my best endeavors to cultivate; and this man, who has + arrived at the maturity of being the most brilliant and powerful debater that ever + existed, has described me as having deserted and abandoned every one of my + principles!" Fox replied, but alluded to Burke no longer as "friend", but as "the + right honorable gentleman", and said, in a taunting style, that "all he had to do was + to repent, and his friends would be ready to receive him back and love him as they + had previously done". Burke was indignant. He said,—"I have gone through my + youth without encountering any party disgrace, and though in my age I have been so + unfortunate as to meet it, I do not solicit the right honorable gentleman's + friendship, nor that of any other man, either on one side of the House or the other." + <a id="footnotetag16" name="footnotetag16" href="#footnote16"><sup>16</sup></a> This + most important and historic friendship was at an end.</p> + <p>The larger part of the Whigs at that time sided with Fox. But Burke turned away + from Parliament and politicians in one of the most masterly productions of his pen, + entitled, "An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs." One of the autograph-letters in + the collection before us, addressed to the amanuensis, Swift, relates to the last + corrections of this tract, and contains the title, arranged for the printer. It is + the letter of which a <i>fac-simile</i> is given by Mr. Macknight.</p> + <p>Meanwhile, the difference between the two statesmen became more fixed and intense. + The Whig Club declared, "that their confidence in Mr. Fox was confirmed, + strengthened, and increased by the calumnies against him." Burke and some forty-five + noblemen and gentlemen withdrew from the club. It was then that Burke, in + justification of himself and his friends, took the pen, and drew up what his + biographer Prior calls the "famous" paper, entitled, "Observations on the Conduct of + the Minority, particularly in the Last Session of Parliament, addressed to the Duke + of Portland and Lord Fitzwilliam, 1793," which will be found in the third volume of + Bonn's edition of his Works.</p> + <p>This paper presents, in fifty-four articles, duly numbered, objections to the + course and policy of Fox. It was, in brief, an arraignment of that distinguished + gentleman. But it was not intended for publication, at least at that time. It was + transmitted to the Duke of Portland, with a letter, asking that it might not even be + read at once, but that the Duke would keep it locked in the drawer of his + library-table, and when a day of compulsory reflection came, then be pleased to turn + to it. Communicated thus in confidence, it might have remained indefinitely, if not + always, unknown to the public, locked in the ducal drawer, if the amanuensis whom + Burke employed in copying it had not betrayed him. This was none other than Swift, to + whom the familiar letters were addressed. Unknown to his employer, he had + appropriated to himself a copy in his own handwriting, with corrections and additions + by Burke, which seems to have come between the original rough draught and the final + copy transmitted <a name="page390" id="page390"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 390]</span> to the Duke of Portland. Some time afterwards, while Burke was in his + last illness, feeble and failing fast, this faithless scrivener communicated this + copy to an equally faithless publisher, by whom it was advertised as "Fifty-Four + Articles of Impeachment against the Eight Honorable C.J. Fox." When this was seen by + Mrs. Burke, she felt it her duty to keep all newspapers and letters from her husband, + that he might know nothing of the treachery, at least until it was relieved so far as + it could be. Dr. Lawrence and Dr. King, assisted by the affidavit of Mr. Rivington, + succeeded in obtaining an injunction against the publisher on the very day when the + tract appeared. But two thousand copies had already stolen abroad.</p> + <p>It was not until Mrs. Burke, on opening a letter from Dr. Lawrence to her husband, + learned that the injunction had been obtained, that, at two o'clock in the afternoon + of the 15th of February, 1797, she delivered to him his newspapers and correspondence + for the past week. He was less disturbed than had been expected. "This affair does + vex me," he said; "but I am not in a state of health at present to be deeply vexed at + anything. Had I intended it for the public, I should have been more exact and full. + Many temperaments and explanations there would have been, if ever I had had a notion + that it should meet the public eye." He was justly indignant at the knavish + publisher, whose conduct surpassed that of the Dublin pirates, or Edmund Curll. But + he was at a loss to know how the publisher obtained a copy. He did not suppose that + the Duke of Portland had given up his, and he remembered only "the rough and + incorrect papers" constituting the first draught, which, it seems, Dr. Lawrence, + about a year before, had paid the false Swift a guinea to deliver back. He had + forgotten the intermediate copy made by Swift and corrected by himself.</p> + <p>This illicit publication, especially under such a title, was calculated to attract + attention. Its author was dying, so that it seemed to be his last words. Pitt read it + with delight, and declared it to be a model in that style of composition. But his + latest biographer says of it, that "it may, perhaps, be regretted that Burke ever + wrote the 'Observations on the Conduct of the Minority.' It is certainly the least + pleasing of all his compositions."<a id="footnotetag17" name="footnotetag17" + href="#footnote17"><sup>17</sup></a> In style, it is direct, terse, and compact, + beyond any other composition of Burke's. Perhaps, as it was not intended for the + public, he was less tempted to rhetorical indulgence. But the manuscript now before + us exhibits the minute care with which it was executed. Here also may be traced + varieties of expression, constituting the different forms which a thought assumed, + not unlike the various drawings of Raffaelle for the same wonderful picture.</p> + <p>But we must stop. It is only as a literary curiosity that we are now dealing with + this relic.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="page391" id="page391"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 391]</span> + <h2>HARVARD'S HEROES.</h2> + <p>The stranger who enters the nave of St. Paul's Cathedral in London cannot fail to + notice the superb pulpit which stands at the angle of the choir. It is composed of + rare and costly marbles and other precious stones. But, beautiful and fitting as it + is, its greatest value lies in the circumstance which placed it there. It is a + memorial, the tribute of affection. It was erected by his surviving comrades in arms + to a noble officer of the Indian army. Yet this, from its position a [Greek: + ktêma es aei], is only one among numberless like monuments which the traveller + in England meets at every turn. In public squares, in parish churches, in stately + cathedrals,—wherever the eye of the wayfarer can be arrested, whereever the + pride of country is most deeply stirred, wherever the sentiment of loyalty is + consecrated by religion,—the Englishman loves to guard from oblivion the names + of his honored dead. There is in this both a cause and a consequence of that intense + local pride and affection by which the men of Great Britain are bound to the scenes + of their early lives.</p> + <p>"It will never do for us to be beaten," said the Duke at Waterloo; "think what + they will say of us at home!"—and this simple sentence went straight to the + heart of every man who heard. What they will say at home is the prevailing thought in + each young soldier's heart as he goes into his first fight. And "home" does not mean + for him so much broad England as it does the little hamlet where he was born, the + school where he was trained, the county in which his forefathers were honored in + times gone by. He thinks of his name, henceforward linked with a glorious victory! + whispered around among the groups who linger in the church-yard after the morning + service. He trusts, that, if he fall nobly, there will be for him the memorial window + through whose blazoned panes the sunlight will fall softly across the "squire's pew," + where as a boy he knelt and worshipped, or touch with a crimson and azure gleam the + marble effigies of his knightly sires recumbent on their tombs. Or he thinks of a + place among the lettered names high up on the old oaken wall of the school-room at + Winchester or Harrow or Westminster,—that future boys, playing where he played, + shall talk of him whom they never knew as "one of ours." For he is well aware that he + is making fame not for himself alone, but to be prized where he himself has been most + loved and happiest.</p> + <p>We, in this new land of ours, have but a very faint experience of the intense + working of such influences upon a people in whom the local association and sentiment + are ingrained. We are but just beginning where Englishmen began eight centuries and + more ago. Hence our glorifying of the past has been a little indiscriminate, and + withal has sought to commemorate events more than individuals. But the last two years + have taken us through one of those great periods which, in their concentrated energy, + compress the work of years into days, and which mark the water-sheds of history. The + United States of 1865 will be as unlike the same land in 1855 as the youth is unlike + the child. Life is measured by action, not duration. The brilliant epoch of the first + Persian invasion was more to Greece than its slumbering centuries under Turkish rule, + and "fifty years of Europe" more "than a cycle of Cathay." We shall look back upon a + past. We shall have a truly national existence. It will be but natural, as it will be + most wise, that we take heed of those elements which have ever been so potent in + strengthening national character. One of these has been briefly hinted at above. Yet + it may be undesirable to perpetuate the memory of events in which the whole country + cannot <a name="page392" id="page392"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 392]</span> + participate, which will not for the remainder of this century be thought of by one + section without shame and confusion of face, and which will only tend to keep alive + the sad old jealousies and hates. We shall be very loath to place our monumental + columns upon the fields of Antietam and Gettysburg. We should not tolerate them upon + the slopes of Manassas or the bluffs of Edwards' Ferry. When the war is ended, and + the best guardian of our internal commerce is the loyalty of the returning citizens + to their old allegiance, we shall do wisely to level the earthworks of Vicksburg and + Port Hudson. In the city where mob-violence is crushed under the force of armed law, + no one cares to keep for a day the crumbling walls and the shattered barricade, + though they may have witnessed heroism as splendid as Arcola or Wagram, for they + witness also to a wickedness and a terror which all would gladly forget. The only + memorial that a wise and high-souled nation <i>can</i> erect after this war will be + the single monument which shall commemorate the hour of peace restored.</p> + <p>But while we are debarred from thus recording upon tablets more lasting than brass + the story of our mournful triumphs over erring brethren, we are doubly bound in + gratitude to keep green the memory of the men who have deserved well of their country + in the hour of utmost need. We ought to do this also in that temper which shall look + most singly to the noble end of forming heroic traditions for the youth of our future + land. I know no place where this can be more fitly carried out than in New-England's + foremost university. Coeval with the commonwealth itself, the starry roll of its + heroes links it with all the fortunes of our history. Men who sat in the Long + Parliament, and who may have seen the Battles of Worcester and Dunbar, took their + early degrees upon Harvard's first Commencement-stage. Her sons fought against King + Philip, were colonels and captains in the "old French War," went forth in the days of + Wolfe and Amherst, and exchanged the lexicon for the musket in the eight years' + struggle which gave to the Thirteen Colonies their independence. Alumni still survive + who did military duty in the second war with England. The men of Harvard were with + Taylor at Buena Vista, and helped Scott in his victorious march upon the Aztec + capital. Of these the only record is in the annual necrology and the quaint Latin of + the "Triennial."</p> + <p>For the young heroes who dropped the oar and took up the sword, who laid aside the + gown for the sash and shoulder-strap, who, first in the bloodless triumphs of the + regatta and in "capital training" for the great race of life where literary and + professional fame are the prizes, went forth to venture all for honor and country, + the Alma Mater surely should have a special commemoration. For her own sake, because + of her high responsibility in the education of "ingenuous youth," she can do no less. + I will venture to say that not a Harvard man, among all the loyal thousands of her + surviving Alumni, but feels his heart beat quicker as he reads the story of her + children amid their "baptism of fire." There is a notable peculiarity about this the + most purely New-England of our colleges,—the continual recurrence of familiar + patronymics. I take up the last semi-annual catalogue, and there among the five + hundred names I can almost make out my own classmates of twenty years ago. Abbots, + Bigelows, Lawrences, Masons, Russells,—they come with every + Commencement-season. Some families have had for every generation in a hundred and + fifty years a representative in her halls. There is a patent of nobility in this, + such peerage as a republic can rightly confer, the coronet which marks the union of + birth and worth. We cannot, we, the Alumni, suffer these our brothers to sleep + unhonored. Those who shall come after us, who shall fill our places in dear Old + Harvard, shall occupy our ancient rooms in Hollis and Massachusetts and Stoughton and + Holworthy, have a right not only to count <a name="page393" id="page393"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 393]</span> the academic wreaths which have been won in past days + by their namesakes, but also to be taught the inspiring lesson of holy love of + country, of highest courage and truth and soldierly virtue.</p> + <p>And how shall this be done? Let these few remaining lines suggest at least one + plan. Harvard's chief want is a hall for her Alumni, one worthy, in architecture and + convenience, of her children's fame, which Harvard Hall is not. That long, awkward + room, very hot and cramped to dine in at midsummer, hotter and more cramped still for + the Class-day dances, is just fit for one purpose,—the declamation-exercises of + the Sophomore year. Let us have a hall fit for Commencements, for Alumni and Phi-Beta + orations, for our annual dinners, worthy of the "Doctor's" poems and the "General's" + speeches, with a wainscot, not of vulgar plaster, but of noble oak, against which + Copley's pictures and Story's busts may properly be placed.</p> + <p>Then let its windows be filled, as in the glorious halls and chapels of England, + with memorial glass. Let one of these, if no more, be formed, of the costliest and + most perfect workmanship our art can compass, to the memory of the Heroes of Harvard. + It shall be the gift of every class which counts among its members one of these. + There, amid the gorgeous emblazonry, shall be read their names, their academic year, + their battles.</p> + <p>Or, if this may not be, because our Alma Mater is still too poor or too humble to + offer to her returning children such banqueting-place,—if there is no Wykcham + or Waynflete or Wolsey to arch for us the high-embowed roof, let us place our + memorial in the Library, along its shaded alcoves and above its broad portals. There + the bright shadows shall sleep and pass with the sliding day, where the young + scholars mused and studied. There the future student, as he walks, shall read as + noble a lesson as he can glean from any of the groaning shelves and dusty tomes. + There shall be for Harvard her <i>Libro d'Oro</i> wherein she has written the names + of her best-beloved.</p> + <p>Some token let us have that they are unforgotten. It was no quarrel of vulgar + ambition in which they fell. It was the sacred strife for which the mother armed them + when she sent them forth. For her they fought, for culture, generous learning, noble + arts, for all that makes a land great and glorious, against the barbarism of anarchy + and the baseness of a system founded upon wrong and oppression. We cannot, indeed, + forget them while we live to come up to our annual gathering, and see the vacant + places amid familiar ranks. There will then be question and reply, saddening, but + proud. "He fell at Port Hudson, cheering on the forlorn hope." "He lies beneath the + forest-trees of Chancellorsville." "He was slain upon the glacis of Fredericksburg." + "He died in the foul prisons of Richmond." We cannot forget them, and we would fain + leave the memorial of them to future generations. Their fame belongs to Harvard; for + what they learned there could not be other than noble, inspiring, manly. Let Harvard + make the plan, and give the call, and all of us, from our distant homes and according + to our ability, will offer our gifts with gladness. Let the graduates who have + leisure and taste and means, and who are still dwelling under the pleasant shades of + the Cambridge elms, come together and take up the matter while love and gratitude and + pride are fresh.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="page394" id="page394"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 394]</span> + <h2>WHO IS ROEBUCK?</h2> + <p>An inquiring American mind, seeking the solution of this momentous question, would + naturally turn to Appleton's "New Cyclopædia," Vol. XIV., page 131. The + inquiring mind would be enlightened in a somewhat bewildering manner by the + description there laid down of a little animal, some of whose qualities are thus set + forth in the first article on the page indicated above:—</p> + <blockquote> + <p>"ROEBUCK. A small European deer of the genus <i>Capreolus</i>.... The skull has + a very small, shallow suborbital pit, ... tear-bag indistinct, hoofs narrow and + triangular.... The color in summer is reddish brown, in winter olive, with paler + shades; inside of the ears fulvous, and a black spot at the angles of the mouth.... + It is about four feet long.... The horns are used for knife-handles.... They + congregate in small families, but not in herds.... From their strong scent they are + easily hunted; though they frequently escape by their speed, doublings, springing + to cover, and other artifices.... The roebucks are represented in North America by + the Virginia deer."</p> + <p>Inquiring mind, not wishing for researches in the direction of Natural History, + albeit the subject of parallelisms is a somewhat curious study and in special cases + infinitely amusing, passes on to the next article in the Cyclopædia.</p> + </blockquote> + <p>It is sufficiently obvious that it requires neither fame nor greatness to excite + public curiosity. A notorious criminal or an unusually eccentric lunatic frequently + gives rise to a larger share of newspaper-comment and general discussion than the + wisest and most virtuous of mankind. It must be well remembered by those who have + read Tom Taylor's Life of Haydon that a dwarf was attracting thousands to the + Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, while the historical painter, stung to madness + by the neglect of the frivolous crowd, committed the hideous and ghastly suicide + which threw a tragic darkness over the close of his strange and troubled existence. + The desperate and dangerous frequently succeed in placing themselves on a bad + eminence, from which they are conspicuous enough; and if to be talked of and pointed + at be the sole object of their ambition, they can, of course, be congratulated on + their success. Virtue may sit in humble and obscure usefulness at a thousand quiet + firesides, while the work of the incendiary may be seen to spread widely, and the + tumult of his mischief be heard from afar. And so any public man or politician, whose + taste is so morbidly depraved and whose aim in life is so debased as to prefer + notoriety to honest, useful service, may revel in the questionable enjoyment of being + the especial theme of public debate and private conversation. Hence it happens that + so many of our fellow-countrymen are at this moment asking the question with which we + head these pages,—"Who is Roebuck?"</p> + <p>An unhappy culprit, who combined with an innocent taste for green peas a thievish + method of acquiring their usual savory accompaniment, is reported to have been + addressed by an English judge in the following felicitous terms:—"Prisoner at + the bar, Providence has endowed you with health and strength, <i>instead of which</i> + you go about the country stealing ducks." Providence has endowed John Arthur Roebuck, + member of the Parliament of Great Britain, with fair talents and some power of + speech, <i>instead of which</i> (to use the accurate judicial ellipsis) he goes about + using violent and vulgar words of menace against those who have never offended him, + and scattering firebrands as if there were no gun-powder anywhere to ignite and + explode. This would be a mean and mischievous occupation for the dullest man; but for + one who has proved by his very failures <a name="page395" id="page395"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 395]</span> that he is not devoid of intellect or energy, it is a + monstrous perversion of mental gifts, even if they are small.</p> + <p>A portion of the fiery heat of his nature may be traced, perhaps, to the fact that + he was born at Madras; but as on the mother's side he is descended from the poet + Tickell, the friend of Addison, it would not be altogether unreasonable to have + expected in him some few of the amenities of the <i>literæ humaniores</i>. He + soon, however, exchanged the torrid scenes of Oriental life for the snows of Canada, + where he received his education; and when we remember what the bizarre oddities of + his subsequent career have been, it might be interesting, if we had the materials for + the purpose, to inquire what that education was. The British Provinces, however, were + not deemed a sufficiently ample theatre of action for the energy of the capacious + soul that dwelt in that not over-capacious body; and so, at the age of twenty-three, + he repaired to England and commenced his studies for the profession of the law.</p> + <p>He was called to the bar in 1832. He had, however, by no means paid an exclusive + attention to the study of the law, or his success in his profession might have been + greater, and the world might have had a good lawyer instead of a bad politician. The + period of his Inner-Temple student-life was a very stirring time in England. Old + principles were dying out, and wrestling in death-struggle with newer and wider + theories of human liberty and human progress. The young East-Indian Canadian rushed + with natural impetuosity into the arena, and was one of the most reckless and noisy + debating-club spouters of the day. In speaking of the Reform Bill at a meeting at a + tavern in London, he said, that, if the bill did not pass, he for one should like to + "wade the streets of the capital knee-deep in blood." It was consoling to reflect, + even at the time, that the atrocious aspiration was mitigated by the reflection that + it would not require a deluge of gore to reach the knees of such a Zacchæus as + Roebuck. "Pretty wicious that for a child of six!" said the amiable Mr. Squeers on + one occasion; and pretty sanguinary that, say we, for a rising little demagogue of + thirty.</p> + <p>As England was at that time in a seething ferment of excitement, men who were + unscrupulous in their language were at a premium in the political market, and the + respectable constituency of the pleasant watering-place of Bath, in Somersetshire, + elected the fierce little man as their representative in the Imperial Parliament. + This was a great start in life for the new-fledged barrister, and, had he moderated + his overweening vanity, and studied wisely, and with some self-abnegation and honest + adherence to party, he might have risen to some useful position, and been saved, at + least, from the indignity of fetching and carrying for the Emperor of Austria, and + from the impertinence of intruding himself into the august presence of Mr. Kinglake's + amiable and virtuous friend, the Emperor of France. The English nation might then + possibly have pointed to his portrait in their historical gallery as that of an + efficient public servant who had deserved well of his country, and he might have + escaped a ludicrous immortality as the Dog Tear-'em, in the recent admirable sketch + in "Punch."</p> + <p>But, in the words of a political song,—</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "There weren't no such luck + </div> + <div class="line"> + For John A. Roebuck, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And he thought he would teach the whole nation + </div> + <div class="line"> + That the Tories were fools, + </div> + <div class="line"> + And the Whigs only tools, + </div> + <div class="line"> + But Roebuck was England's salvation." + </div> + </div> + <p>And he, according to this programme, set himself to reform the Constitution and + protect the Colonies.</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri," + </div> + </div> + <p>he was an eclectic in politics,—acknowledged no leader, had himself no + followers. A chief without a party, an apostle without disciples, a critic without + the merest ordinary penetration, a cynic whose bitterness was not enlivened by wit or + humor, a spouter whose arguments, when he had any, were usually furnished from the + mint, John Arthur Roebuck was for many <a name="page396" id="page396"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 396]</span> years that impersonation of terrific honesty, glaring + purity, and indignant virtue, known in English politics as an INDEPENDENT member of + Parliament. When party-spirit runs high, and many party-men are disposed to be + unscrupulous in the measures and artifices by which they win or retain place and + power, such a position, occupied with judgment and fortified by modesty and good + sense, is a most powerful and a most beneficent one; but it is useless when seized on + by one whose obtrusive egotism and more than feminine vanity disqualify him for any + serious or permanent influence on his fellow-men. When a Pocket-Diogenes rolls his + little tub into the House of Commons, and complains that everybody is standing + between him and the sun,—why, in an assembly of educated and sensible men the + sham is soon discovered, the pseudo-cynic seen through, and his affected misanthropy + deservedly gains for him universal derision and scorn. Some years after he entered + Parliament, Mr. Disraeli, with whom he had many encounters, in which he was + invariably worsted, made the House roar with laughter by taunting Roebuck with his + "Sadler's Wells sarcasms and melodramatic malignities," and drew a most amusing + picture of him as "a solitary sentinel pacing round the deserted citadel of his own + opinions."</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="line"> + "He who surpasses or subdues mankind + </div> + <div class="line"> + Must look down on the hate of those below"; + </div> + </div> + <p>but as Mr. Roebuck has done neither the one nor the other, his only chance of not + being utterly forgotten, instead of being feared or hated, by his contemporaries, is + to continue his work of mischief, and merely change the object of his puny attacks as + one becomes more prominent than another, and as he can manage to maintain his own + quasi-importance by attaching his name to great questions. He had no special dislike + for this country; so far from that, he admired and praised us, as by an extract from + one of his books we will presently prove; but since he has become a self-appointed + lackey, has donned imperial livery, and as a volunteer does the dirty work of + despots, he must have lost all sympathy with and all regard for an independent, free, + and brave people. We hope and believe that this country vastly prefers his censure to + his praise, and, as far as it has leisure at the present crisis for any serious + consideration of his erratic pranks, would rather have his enmity than his + friendship. <i>Non tali auxilio!</i></p> + <hr class="short" /> + <p>But we must recur to his inconsistent and rather uninteresting career, and so + satisfy, and perhaps weary, the curiosity of any reader who is still disposed to ask + the momentous question, "Who is Roebuck?"</p> + <p>In 1835, he was appointed the agent—the <i>paid</i> agent—of the House + of Assembly of Lower Canada, during the dispute then raging between the Executive + Government and the House of Assembly. As Englishmen especially plume themselves on + the fact that the members of their legislative bodies are unremunerated, it is + somewhat difficult to understand how this exception was made in John Arthur's favor. + As a precedent it is to be hoped that it has not been followed; for it is obvious + that such an arrangement, however advantageous or pleasant to individual members, + might throw grave suspicions on the purity of public men, and introduce a wholesale + venality into public life. If such a system is permitted, any foreign monarch or any + foreign government may secure the services of a British senator as his agent and + representative. It is quite appalling to think that the chivalrous Earl of Derby or + the conscientious Mr. Gladstone should be shocked by the offer of a handsome annual + salary paid quarterly, (not deducting the income-tax,) made by the King of Dahomey + for an eloquent defence of his humane and enlightened rule, or by an equally + munificent donative from the famous and merry monarch of the Cannibal Islands for the + support of himself and his loyal subjects in their copious consumption of human + flesh. We should be sorry wantonly to raise so dreadful a suspicion; but if British + M.P.s are permitted, <a name="page397" id="page397"></a><span class="newpage">[pg + 397]</span> according to the Roebuck precedent, to be PAID agents, why has not + Southern money found its way into senatorial pockets? Greedy Mr. Laird, and + unscrupulous, money-loving Mr. Lindsay,<a id="footnotetag18" name="footnotetag18" + href="#footnote18"><sup>18</sup></a> always resolutely grubbing for the main chance, + are perhaps sufficiently paid by indirect, though heavy gains in shipbuilding. Needy + Mr. Roebuck may be salaried by the Emperor of Austria, though there is nothing to + prove, except his own open-mouthed and loud-tongued professions of purity, that he is + not "<i>paid</i> agent" of the Confederate Government. The indulgence of the evil + feelings of malice and uncharitableness may, however, sufficiently recompense him; + and to him, perhaps, his virtue may be its own reward. But if paid agencies are not + permitted, a very serious suspicion fastens on that hard-mouthed, rising lordling, + Robert Cecil, son of the Marquis of Salisbury, and one of the most active and + energetic champions of the slave-mongers of the South. The young lord, it is well + known, stepped down from the lofty pedestal of a bad pedigree to marry the fair, but + portionless daughter of an English judge; his father is proverbially mean and stingy, + and the young lord himself proportionately poor; and in the intervals of his + strenuous advocacy of the claims of the Rebels to European recognition he laudably + ekes out his very narrow income by writing articles for the London newspapers and + reviews; and rumor says that he communicates gossiping letters, full of piquant and + satirical sketches of the proceedings of the House of Commons to two or three of the + provincial papers. He is under these circumstances peculiarly open to suspicion. If + the proceeding in question is a usual one, why does he not openly avow it? If it is + unusual or improper, why does he not deny the soft impeachment so much credited both + in this country and in his own? It is really refreshing to contemplate, that Roebuck, + after being the paid agent of the Canadian House of Assembly, should have become such + a <i>purist</i> as to drag poor Mr. Isaac Butt before the notice of the Commons, and + scream for the censure on him on a mere suspicion that he had touched the yellow and + handsome gold coins of one of the innumerable Indian princes and rajahs who come to + England with complaints of grievances, sometimes real, and sometimes fictitious, + against the British Government.</p> + <p>During the period of the "paid agency" Roebuck was tolerably industrious with his + pen; but in literature and journalism he proved his utter incapacity for joining in + any combined action. Such was his dogged self-assertion and indomitable egotism that + none of the ordinary channels would answer his purpose; and so he issued a series of + political papers, entitled "Pamphlets for the People," to which the curious may + sometimes refer, but which have now lost all their significance and interest. His + quarrels with editors and publishers were notorious; and an altercation with Mr. + Black, the well-known editor of the "Morning Chronicle," eventuated in a duel so + bloodless as to be ridiculous. David's pebble did not reach Goliath, and Goliath was + equally merciful to David. In these pamphlets he violently assailed the whole body of + editors, sub-editors, reporters, etc., of most of the papers of any note. And the + more accustomed he became to the House of Commons, the greater liberties did he take + with the conventional fairness and courtesy of debate. His personality and scurrility + were so indiscriminating and excessive that he was perhaps at this time the most + unpopular member of the House.</p> + <p>In 1837 he lost his election for Bath, <a name="page398" id="page398"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 398]</span> but was reelected in 1841. In a subsequent contest at + Bath he was successfully opposed by Lord Ashley, the present Earl of Shaftesbury. On + this occasion he exhibited even more than his usual bad temper and bad taste. He + declined to accept Lord Ashley's proffered hand; and in the chagrin and vexation + occasioned by unexpected defeat he uttered a rabid invective against the + Non-Conformist ministers of the place, to whose influence he rightly attributed his + rival's success. Lord Ashley was a well-known philanthropist, and his consistent + support and patronage of many religious and charitable societies had naturally given + him popularity among the Protestant clergy of all denominations,—a popularity + heightened in the case of the Evangelical and Calvinistic ministers by his Lordship's + strict Sabbatarianism and his belief in cold dinners on Sunday. On the other hand, + Mr. Roebuck was openly accused of private professions of skepticism in matters of + religion; and this report, so dangerous to the repute of any public man in England, + (where theology and politics so frequently cross each other,) considerably damaged + his chance of success. Lord Ashley, however, was in no way responsible for the rumor; + and the difference between the conduct of the two during the contest was this, that + Lord Ashley behaved like a gentleman and Mr. Roebuck did not.</p> + <p>During his retirement into private life, after this defeat in 1847, he wrote his + work entitled "The History of the Whig Ministry of 1830,"—a book in the + preparation of which he is said to have received considerable and valuable assistance + from no less a person than Lord Brougham. Despite the aid that he received, it is + amusing to find in his preface a characteristic vaunting of his entire difference + with Lord Brougham about the character of King William IV. "Lord Brougham," he + writes, "is accustomed to describe William IV as frank, just, and straightforward. We + believe him to have been very weak and very false, a finished dissembler, and always + bitterly hostile to the Whig Ministry and their great measure of Reform." This is + Roebuck all over. He would infinitely rather argue that white was black than quietly + coincide in any generally received opinion.</p> + <p>While on the subject of his writings, we will mention the book in which he + vouchsafed to praise those whom he now so elaborately vilifies. In 1849 he published + an octavo volume of two hundred and forty-eight pages on "The Colonies of England." + Speaking (page 84) of the vast and rapid progress made by this country, he + says:—</p> + <p>"We are led to inquire by what machinery, by what favoring circumstances, such a + result has been brought about. The people, be it remarked, are the same as + ourselves,—the original Thirteen States were the work of Englishmen. English + heads, English hearts, English hands brought those new communities into existence. No + longer connected by government with us, they nevertheless retained the + characteristics of the race from which they sprang, and proceeding in the great work + to which they were destined, they strode across the continent, the fairest portion of + which they could now call their own. In planting new settlements they were aided by + our own people,—the very elements <i>out of which we endeavor to frame + colonies, and with which we do produce sickly, miserable communities that can only be + said to exist, and to linger on in a sort of half-life</i>, without the spirit of a + young, or the amenities and polish of an old community, and, above all, <i>without + any spirit of independence</i>."</p> + <p>Again, speaking of colonization In this country as opposed to Canada and other + English colonies, he writes (page 88):—"Certain adventurous persons, the + 'pioneers' of civilization, wishing to make new settlements beyond the boundaries of + Pennsylvania and Virginia, upon wild lands belonging to the United States, made + formal application to the Government of the United States at Washington, who, being + bound to afford all possible facility, thereupon take steps to have the land surveyed + and laid out <a name="page399" id="page399"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 399]</span> + into counties, townships, parishes. The roads are also indicated, and at once the law + exists; and security, guarantied by the authority of the United States, immediately + follows, both for person and property; and all the machinery known to the Common Law, + and needed for the maintenance of this security, and the enforcement of the law's + decrees, is at once adopted. A municipal authority comes into existence; a + court-house, a jail, a school-room, arise in the wilderness; and although these + buildings be humble, and the men who exercise authority in them may appear to be in + some degree rude, yet is the law there in all its useful majesty. To it a reverent + obedience is rendered; and the plain magistrate, who, in a hunter's frock, may, in + the name of the United States, pronounce the law's decree, commands an obedience as + complete and sincere as that which is paid to the Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court + at Washington, or to the ermined judge who presides in the courts of our Lady the + Queen in Westminster Hall."</p> + <p>This in 1849; but what a very different tone has he thought fit to adopt now! Was + any agency then expected which has not been forthcoming? Or, having degenerated from + being a supporter of liberal opinions in his youth to being the fond and fatuous + admirer of autocrats in his old age, does he think that it is absolutely necessary + that the firm friend of Austrian despotism should be the malignant assailant of the + Government and people of the United States? The man is consistent in nothing but his + spiteful vindictiveness and love of mischief. He is now the general object of + deserved ridicule and contempt for his flunkyistic attendance at the Tuileries. At + the time of Louis Napoleon's visit to London, Roebuck raved and ranted about his + "perjured lips having kissed the Queen of England."</p> + <p>He has, on some occasions, put himself prominently forward, and in such a way as + to make himself an influential member of Parliament. He moved the vote of confidence + in the Whig Government in 1850, when the great debate ensued in which the late Sir + Robert Peel made his last speech, and they were kept in office by a poetical majority + of nine. But the speech with which Roebuck introduced the motion was entirely + eclipsed by the magnificent declamation of Sir Alexander Cockburn, the present + Lord-Chief-Justice of England. On another great occasion, in January, 1855, he + brought forward in the House of Commons a motion for inquiry into the conduct of the + Crimean War. Lord Aberdeen's Government was defeated by an immense majority, and, of + course, resigned. Mr. Roebuck was chairman of the Committee of Inquiry; but the + cabinet that came in discreetly declined to give him any official post in their + ranks. They knew too well the terrible uncertainty and inconsistency of the man's + conduct. They could place no reliance either on his temper or his discretion. In 1855 + he was one of the numerous candidates for the chairmanship of the Metropolitan Board + of Works, but failed to inspire the electors with any confidence in his capacity for + the post. In the following year he became the chairman of the Administrative Reform + Association, and although the league had at first been highly successful, and aided + much in awaking public attention to the miscarriages and mismanagement in the Crimea, + yet, under this fatal presidency, it became speedily and ingloriously defunct. This + was his last great failure, before abdicating all his early liberal principles. He + has of late years endeavored to solace himself for the now irretrievable blunders of + his career by an exaggerated indulgence in his idiosyncratic waywardness, paradox, + and eccentricity. He is proud of being considered the acquaintance of the Emperor of + Austria, and rather pleased than otherwise at being assailed on this account. He + affects the society and friendship of conservative members of the House of Commons. + He has become tolerant of lords. He may be seen sitting next to Lord Robert Cecil, + indulging in ill-natured jocosities, from which his Lordship probably borrows when <a + name="page400" id="page400"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 400]</span> he indites + ill-natured articles for the misguided "Saturday Review."<a id="footnotetag19" + name="footnotetag19" href="#footnote19"><sup>19</sup></a> He hates the Manchester + school of politicians, because their liberality and their sympathy with the cause of + freedom and civilization in this country remind Roebuck of his own deflection from + the right path.</p> + <p>His private undertakings have not been more fortunate than his public acts. He was + chairman of a bank, which was unsuccessful, to say the least of it. He has been + connected with other enterprises, which soon courted and obtained failure.</p> + <p>What he has recently said and done in reference to this country is too fresh in + our memories to require that we should recite or recapitulate it here. His past + career, as we have reviewed it, may account for the now intolerable acerbity of + temper and the ludicrous vanity which disgrace him. Never was a Nemesis more just + than that which has for the present consigned him to a melancholy obscurity. The + political extinguisher has certainly dropped upon his head, and this burning and + shining light has gone out with an unpleasant odor into utter darkness.</p> + <p>In summing up his character, it is evident that excessive vanity is his besetting + sin. He is not too clever or too honest to act in union with other people, but he is + too <i>vain</i>. He is by no means too good for the rest of the world; but he is too + conceited and self-opinionated to condescend to coöperate with them. As, at some + of the minor theatres, a single actor may play an army, so, in the House of Commons, + Roebuck is a host in himself,—is his own party, and leads it. His occasional + popularity in his own country is due to the fact, that, in his own character, he, to + a certain extent, represents and crystallizes a few of the good and many of the bad + qualities of Englishmen. He has their courage and audacity, their independence and + pride, their generally defiant front to the rest of the world; but he is also vain, + obstinate, bigoted, prejudiced, narrow in his views, and boastful in his language. + His vulgar swagger, for instance, about the navy sweeping the seas, would have been + condemned here, if it had been addressed by the most violent of demagogues to the + most ignorant of Irish mobs.</p> + <p>We have heard him speak in the House of Commons in his palmier days, before he was + as decrepit in mind as he is in body. He had great fluency, some power of invective, + and a vast stock of assurance. We listened to him upon one occasion, when, without + the slightest provocation, he used the most undignified personalities to the late Sir + Robert Peel,—to which Sir Robert, very wisely, never replied.</p> + <p>We cannot say that we feel any profound interest as to his future. He has compared + himself to a dog,—but, on behalf of that faithful and valued companion of man, + we protest against the similitude. He has the kind of pugnacity which prompts a cur + or a puppy to attack a Newfoundland or a mastiff. He has not the fidelity and many + other good qualities of the canine race. At any rate, he has become a mischievous + dog,—and a dull dog,—and will soon be a "sad dog."</p> + <p>We would venture to suggest, that he should at once be raised to the peerage, + under the title of Baron Tear-'em. He might then aid the good cause of the + slave-mongers of the South, and act in unison with that just, generous, moral, and + virtuous nobleman, the Marquis of Clanricarde.</p> + <p>We ought to apologize to our readers for so lengthy an account of so undeserving a + person,—but, at any rate, they ought by this time to know "Who is Roebuck?"</p> + <hr /> + <a name="page401" id="page401"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 401]</span> + <h2>REVIEWS AND LITERARY NOTICES.</h2> + <blockquote> + <i>Six Months in the Federal States</i>. By EDWARD DICEY. In Two Volumes. London + and Cambridge: Macmillan & Co. + </blockquote> + <p>This is a very <i>gentlemanly</i> book. Whatever excellence of commendation + belongs to the adjective we have Italicized must be awarded to Mr. Dicey. And it is + ill-adapted to the manufactures of most British tourists who have preceded him. For, + to make no mention of the vulgar buffooneries of Bunn or Grattan, we hold that + neither the exalted and irrepressible prosiness of Dr. Charles Mackay, nor the + cleverish magic-lantern pictures of that good-natured book-maker, Mr. Anthony + Trollope, would be perfectly fitted with this polite addition. It is no mean praise + to say that the word <i>gentlemanly</i> naturally applies itself to a traveller's + work. And it is necessary to allow that the majority of Americans who have printed + their impressions of a scamper over Europe have fallen as hopelessly below it as a + few have risen far above it. Some word of deeper meaning must characterize the + sterling sentences of "English Traits"; some epithet of more rare and subtile + significance is suggested by those exquisitely painted scenes of foreign life with + which Hawthorne is even now adorning the pages of the "Atlantic." But after the + manner in which such a well-informed, modest, humane man as we would emphatically + credit as an American <i>gentleman</i> might speak of six months in England, so has + Mr. Dicey spoken of his six months in the Federal States.</p> + <p>And, at this present time, far better than all curious delineations or + "stereographic" descriptions are the sober testimonies concerning us which Mr. Dicey + offers to his countrymen. To such loyal Americans as these volumes may reach they + will give a heart not to be found in Dr. Russell's pictorial neutrality, in the + dashing effects of popular Mr. Trollope, nor even—making all allowance for the + sanative influence of counter-irritation—in the weekly malignity of that + <i>ex</i>-Moral Minstrel whom the London "Times" has sent to the aid of our insurgent + slave-masters. For, instead of gloating over objections and picking out what petty + enigmas may not be readily soluble, Mr. Dicey has a manly, English way of accepting + the preponderant evidence concerning the crisis he came to study. He seldom gets + entangled in trivial events, but knows how to use them as illustrations of great + events. It is really refreshing to meet with a British traveller who is so happily + delivered from the haunting consciousness of a personal identity. The reader is not + called upon to bemoan the tribulations of temperance-taverns, the hardships of + indiscriminate railroad-carriages, nor the rapacity of New-York hackmen. There is + scarcely an offence against good taste or good feeling in Mr. Dicey's volumes; and + whatever American homes may have been opened to him would doubtless reopen far more + readily than to most publishing tourists from the mother-land.</p> + <p>Mr. Dicey clearly exhibits the bearing of the Rebellion upon the fate of the + servile population of the South, and confesses that his deep sympathy with the + Federal cause came from the conviction that the supremacy or overthrow of Slavery was + intimately connected with the success or failure of Secession. In acknowledging the + necessity that was upon loyal Americans of defending the fundamental law of their + society, he is not disposed to adopt the lamentation of some of our foreign + well-wishers who are troubled by the fear of a military despotism in the Free States. + He has the sagacity to perceive that the genius and development of the graduates of + Northern school-houses are totally opposed to a military rule. Mr. Dicey cordially + recognizes the democratic idea which sanctifies our convulsion, and displays a + careful observation in noting "the self-restraint, the moderation, and the patience + of the American people in the conduct of the people's war." He is not over-disturbed + because this same people loved law and order more than freedom itself, and with few + murmurs committed high principles to the championship of whatever petty men happened + to represent them. Indeed, one of the best sayings he reports is that of an old + Polish exile, who congratulates himself that there will be no saviours of society, no + fathers of their country, <a name="page402" id="page402"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 402]</span> to be provided for when the war is over.</p> + <p>Throughout these two volumes British readers may discern something more than the + barren facts of our struggle: they may catch glimpses of its energy and movement; + they may see it as reflected from the most generous American minds. For it seems to + have been Mr. Dicey's good fortune in this country to have gained admission to the + society of men and women of high intelligence, in whom the religious sentiment was + living and powerful; and he appears to estimate the full weight of testimony such + persons offered in sending their loved ones to Virginia to fall beneath the rifle of + some Southern boor. It is this silent public opinion of the North which our foreign + critics have generally failed to comprehend. They have been so long accustomed to + parody the rhetorical elation of our third-rate political speakers, and to represent + this as a universal American characteristic, that they signally failed to estimate + the genuine emotion with which it is never connected. When the cherished barbarism of + slaveholders arose and threatened our Western civilization, those who most felt and + have best wrought for their country were cautious in their speech. They knew that the + principle underlying the struggle must submit itself to the checks and counter-checks + of constitutional law. While the fire of liberty burned at the heart of citizens of + abiding loyalty, it seemed best, that, like the Psalmist, they should hold their + peace even from good words. Many thought it an act of necessary self-restraint to + dwell only upon the Union as a symbol of that universal freedom which they felt the + Union must finally represent. The dread of overleaping the restraints of law, which, + perchance, has prolonged the conflict, has been most creditable to the genuine + democracy we have represented. We are proud to remember many intelligent soldiers who + used no language of passionate denunciation towards the guilty institution which + called them to the field, yet who knew the end when they gave their lives to a cause + utterly antagonistic to its despotic claims.</p> + <p>By the representations of Secessionists encountered in the Free States, as well as + from disloyal newspapers which the "Lincoln despotism" never sought to suppress, Mr. + Dicey was convinced that the sole purpose of the Rebellion was to get possession of + the vast regions which lie west of the Mississippi, wherein to establish Slave States + and Territories. "The North," he declares, "is fighting against, the South is + fighting for, the power of extending slavery across the American continent; and if + this was all that could be said, it is clear on which side must be the sympathies of + any one who really and honestly believes that slavery is an evil and a sin." But it + is not here that Mr. Dicey rests the case of the North as appealing to the Christian + sentiment of the world. He shows that the inexorable logic of facts must work the + overthrow of slavery where it now exists. The suppression of the slave-trade, the + recognition of Hayti, abolition in the District of Columbia, and finally the + Proclamation of January have one tendency and can have but one result. We state these + views as one more confirmation of the fact, that, whether agreeable to us or not, the + sympathies of liberal men in Europe are to be had on the sole ground that ours is an + anti-slavery war.</p> + <p>Mr. Dicey's predilections lead him to make a generous, although discriminating, + estimate of those men who, in time past, have endeavored to serve their country by + leaving the level commonplaces of respectable citizenship. It is no slight praise to + say that his chapter upon the New-England Abolitionists is clear and just. Their + points of disagreement with the Republican party are stated with no common accuracy. + Careful sentences give the precise position of Garrison and his adherents: the + intrinsic essence of the movement of these reformers is divested of the subordinate + and trivial facts so often put forward to misrepresent it. Although Mr. Dicey + endeavors not to commit himself upon the vital differences in the agitation of + anti-slavery sentiments by the Abolitionists and by the Republican party, it is very + evident that he inclines to the belief that the former, in their advocacy of + disunion, acted not from a perverse and fanatical philosophy, but from the logical + compulsions of a critical understanding, stimulated by an intense conviction of the + national sin.</p> + <p>We have dwelt thus upon Mr. Dicey's views of the war, and of the great moral + question with which it is connected, because these portions of his volumes are <a + name="page403" id="page403"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 403]</span> most pertinent + to us, as well as creditable to him. His sketches of public characters are good + common-sense grasps at them, which generally get their externals, and occasionally + something more. The description of the President is forcible, though a little too + graphic for perfect courtesy. Caleb Cushing impresses the traveller as one of the + ablest of our public men, and Wendell Phillips as by far the most eloquent speaker he + ever heard. General Butler, however, is not to Mr. Dicey's taste. Indeed, he is + hardly behind the "Saturday Review" in the terrible epithets he bestows upon the man + who he acknowledges "was associated with the grandest triumph of the Federal arms, + and by some means or other preserved New Orleans to the Union with but little cost of + either men or money." It is rather late to renew discussion about the notorious order + relating to the women of the subjected city. But Mr. Dicey chooses to express his + belief in an infamous intention of General Butler at the time of its + issue,—though he declares that "the strictest care was taken lest the order + should be abused," and that the "Southern ladies [?] were grossly insulting in their + behavior to the Union soldiers, using <i>language and gestures</i> which, in a city + occupied by troops of any other nation, would have subjected them, <i>without + orders</i>, to the coarsest retaliation." To which we have only to reply, that + General Butler may be a villain, but that he is certainly not a fool. Nobody doubts + that he has military or civil aspirations for the future, and, for such ends, if for + nothing else, wishes the approbation of his loyal countrymen. Now Mr. Dicey testifies + to "the almost morbid sentiment of Americans in the Free States with regard to + women": he tells us that "it renders them ridiculously susceptible to female + influences"; also, that this same "sentiment" among us "protects women from the + natural consequences of their own misconduct." These characteristics of his + countrymen are just as familiar to General Butler as they are patent to Mr. Dicey; + and we hold it to be simply incredible that one who is at least a very shrewd + politician used language which <i>he intended</i> should convey a meaning that must + necessarily consign his future career to privacy and infamy. It is perhaps not + wonderful that men who have deluged their country in blood, to propagate a system + which consigns unborn millions to enforced harlotry, should put an evil + interpretation upon the indignant stigma applied to <i>acts</i> which, in civilized + States, come from one class of women, and are designed for one purpose. Neither is it + very astonishing that such persons as have been employed to pump the New-York sewers + into the <i>cloaca maxima</i> which sets towards us from Printing-House Square should + share the sensitive chastity of the slave-masters whose work they are put to do. But + it is passing strange that a gentleman so fair and reasonable as Mr. Dicey, one so + appreciative of the moral tone which Northern society demands of its representatives, + should join in an accusation whose absurdity is only lost in its infinite + offence.</p> + <p>There are small inaccuracies, as well as occasional instances of carelessness or + repetition, in these volumes, which, had circumstances allowed time for revision, + might have been avoided. It would require the "Pathfinder" himself to discover + "Fremont Street" in the city where we write; the "Courier" is <i>not</i> "the most + largely circulated of any Boston paper"; and our Ex-Mayor "Whiteman" requires no + fanciful orthography to free his name from the obloquy of an over-devotion to the + interests of colored citizens. These are local illustrations of mistakes which are + excusable in view of the commendable expedition with which the work was + issued,—for, in the late crisis of our affairs, an Englishman who had any good + words to give us fulfilled the proverb by giving twice in giving quickly. But, + whatever trifling details might be subjected to criticism, the total impression of + what Mr. Dicey has written bears honorable testimony to the accuracy of his + observation, as well as to his powers of comparison and judgment.</p> + <p>As has been already remarked, we cannot be blind to the fact that our only + supporters in England are those men who recognize at the heart of our contest that + genuine principle of Liberty which is not to be limited to caste or to race. And it + is only by hastening to justify their confidence that we can win to our cause the + great people they address. If we cannot gain the national sympathy of England, we + must do without the true sympathy of any nation. It was, indeed, remarked by De + Tocqueville, that, "in the eyes of the English, the cause which is most useful to <a + name="page404" id="page404"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 404]</span> England is + always the cause of justice." But the rare insight of the philosopher assigns the + phenomenon, not to a political Machiavelism, but to a "laudable desire to connect the + actions of one's country with something more stable than interest." The English have + a peculiar gift of fixing their whole attention upon certain traits or single + circumstances which they desire to see. We doubt not that a portion of their sympathy + with the energy and endurance of those in arms against their country is estimable + according to its light. But as the dignity of our mission in this struggle becomes + more and more apparent, the moral intelligence of England will be forced to unite + itself with the Government of the United States. Let that day come when it will, + posterity will remember its obligations to those Englishmen who did so much to avert + the hideous calamity of a war between the two liberal powers of the world. And to us + of this present generation it is grateful to know that our brave and generous young + men have not died wholly unrecognized in the land of their ancestors. Mill, Ellison, + Hughes,—what need to name the rest?—have stood up to report them and + their cause aright to the unsatisfied: in which roll of the honorable and honored we + are glad to write the name of Edward Dicey.</p> + <hr /> + <blockquote> + <i>Hospital Transports</i>. A Memoir of the Embarkation of the Sick and Wounded + from the Peninsula of Virginia in the Summer of 1862. Compiled and published at the + Request of the Sanitary Commission. Boston: Ticknor and Fields. + </blockquote> + <p>If pure benevolence was ever organized and utilized into beneficence, the name of + the institution is the Sanitary Commission. It is a standing answer to Samson's + riddle, "Out of the strong came forth sweetness." Out of the very depths of the agony + of this cruel and bloody war springs this beautiful system, built of the noblest and + divinest attributes of the human soul. Amidst all the heroism of daring and enduring + which this war has developed, amidst all the magnanimity of which it has shown the + race capable, the daring, the endurance, and the greatness of soul which have been + discovered among the men and women who have given their lives to this work shine as + brightly as any on the battle-field,—in some respects even more brightly. They + have not the bray of trumpets nor the clash of swords to rouse enthusiasm, nor will + the land ever resound with their victories. Theirs is the dark and painful side, the + menial and hidden side, but made light and lovely by the spirit that shines in and + through it all. Glimpses of this agency are familiar to our people; but not till the + history of its inception, progress, and results is calmly and adequately written out + and spread before the public will any idea be formed of the magnitude and importance + of the work which it has done. Nor even then. Never, till every soldier whose last + moments it has soothed, till every soldier whose flickering life it has gently + steadied into continuance, whose waning reason it has softly lulled into quiet, whose + chilled blood it has warmed into healthful play, whose failing frame it has nourished + into strength, whose fainting heart it has comforted with sympathy,—never, + until every full soul has poured out its story of gratitude and thanksgiving, will + the record be complete; but long before that time, ever since the moment that its + helping hand was first held forth, comes the Blessed Voice, "Inasmuch as ye have done + it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."</p> + <p>An institution asking of Government only permission to live and opportunity to + work, planting itself firmly and squarely on the generosity of the people, subsisting + solely by their free-will offerings, it is a noble monument of the intelligence, the + munificence, and the efficiency of a free people, and of the alacrity with which it + responds when the right chord is rightly touched. It is, however, not unnatural that + doubts should exist as to the success of a plan so far-reaching in its aims and + hitherto so untried. Stories have been circulated of a mercenary disposition of its + stores and trickery among its officers. Where these stories have found considerable + credence, they have been tracked to their source and triumphantly refuted; but it + would indeed be hardly less than miraculous, if an institution ramifying so widely, + with agents so numerous, and resources so extensive, should have no knaves among its + servants, and no waste in its circulation. The wonder is, that more <a name="page405" + id="page405"></a><span class="newpage">[pg 405]</span> leakage has not been proved + than has ever been suspected. All that is necessary to remove floating doubts, to + convince all heads of the wisdom which projected this Commission, and to warm all + hearts up to its continued and sufficient support, is a knowledge of what it has + done, is doing, and purposes to do. This information the Commission has, at different + times, and by piecemeal, furnished: necessarily by piecemeal, since, as this book + justly remarks, the immense mass of details which a circumstantial account of its + operations in field and hospital must involve would prove nearly as laborious in the + reading as in the performance. In this little volume we have, photographed, a single + phase of its operations. It consists simply of extracts from letters and reports. + There is no attempt at completeness or dramatic arrangement; yet the most elaborate + grouping would probably fail to present one-half as accurately a picture of the work + and its ways as these unpretending fragments. It delights us to see the—we can + hardly say cheerful, as that savors too much of the "self-sacrifice" which + benevolence sometimes tarnishes by talking about—but, rather, the gay, lively, + merry manner in which the most balky matters are taken hold of. Men and women seem to + have gone into the service with good-will and hearty love and buoyant spirits. It + refreshes and strengthens us like a tonic to read of their taking the wounded, + festering, filthy, miserable men, washing and dressing them, pouring in lemonade and + beef-tea, and putting them abed and asleep. There is not a word about "devotion" or + "ministering angels," (we could wish there were not quite so much about "ladies,") + but honest, refined, energetic, able women, with quick brains and quick hands, now + bathing a poor crazy head with ice-water, to be rewarded with one grateful smile from + the parting soul,—now standing in the way of a procession of the slightly + wounded, to pour a little brandy down their throats, or put an orange into their + hands, just to keep them up till they reach food and rest,—now running up the + river in a steam-tug, scrambling eggs in a wash-basin over a spirit-lamp as they + go,—now groping their way, at all hours of the night, through torrents of rain, + into dreadful places crammed with sick and dying men, "calling back to life those in + despair from utter exhaustion, or again and again catching for mother or wife the + last faint whispers of the dying,"—now leaving their compliments to serve a + disappointed colonel instead of his dinner, which they had nipped in the bud by + dragging away the stove with its four fascinating and not-to-be-withstood + pot-holes;—and let the sutler's name be wreathed with laurel who not only + permitted this, but offered his cart and mule to drag the stove to the boat, and + would take no pay!</p> + <p>The blessings of thousands who were ready to perish, and of tens of thousands who + love their country and their kind, rest upon those who originated, and those who + sustain, this noble work. Let the people's heart never faint and its hand never + weary; but let it, of its abundance, give to this Commission full measure, pressed + down, shaken together, and running over, that, wherever the red trail of war is seen, + its divine footsteps may follow,—that, wherever the red hand of war is lifted + to wound, its white hand may be lifted to heal,—that its work may never cease + until it is assumed by a great Christian Government, or until peace once more reigns + throughout the land. And even then, gratitude for its service, and joy in its glory, + shall never die out of the hearts of the American people.</p> + <hr /> + <blockquote> + <i>The History of the Supernatural, in all Ages and Nations, and in all Churches, + Christian and Pagan, demonstrating a Universal Faith</i>. By WILLIAM HOWITT. + Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co. + </blockquote> + <p>There has been a great change of late years in connection with the science of + Pneumatology and with the manner of treating it. There was a revolution of opinion on + this subject in the middle of the last century; there is a counter-revolution + to-day.</p> + <p>The superstitions and credulities of the Middle Ages eventuated, during the course + of the eighteenth century, in the Encyclopædism of French philosophy. The + grounds upon which the Church based her doctrine of the supernatural were fiercely + attacked. The proofs brought forward to prove the insufficiency of such grounds were + assumed to prove more than lack of logic in the Church; they were taken as proofs, + that, in the nature of things, there <a name="page406" id="page406"></a><span + class="newpage">[pg 406]</span> is no evidence for the supernatural, in any sense of + the term; in other words, that there is no knowledge within the reach of mortals, + except that which relates to the physical,—to this earth, as the only phase of + existence,—to the vital body, as the all of the human being. Emotional and + intellectual phenomena were but results of material organization, as heat is the + result of combustion: they exhibited themselves so long as vitality continued; they + disappeared when death supervened, as the warmth from a fire dies out with the + cessation of combustion. No hypothetical soul was needed to account for the thousand + phenomena of thought or of sensation. Pneumatology was no science, but the mere fancy + of an excited imagination.</p> + <p>Not to the literature and the social life of France alone was this materialistic + influence confined. The mind of Germany, of England, and, more or less, of the rest + of Europe, and of America, was pervaded by it. The tendency, all over the civilized + world, was towards unbelief, not merely in miracles, but in all things spiritual. + Science, with her strict tests and her severe inductions, lent her aid in the same + direction.</p> + <p>It does not seem to have occurred to the philosophers of the Encyclopædian + school that a doctrine is not necessarily false because an insufficient argument is + brought forward to prove it. It does not appear to have occurred to skeptical + physicists that there may be laws of Nature regulating ultramundane phenomena, as + fixed, as invariable, as those which decide the succession of geological phenomena + and the products of chemical combinations.</p> + <p>Here is a theory which is worth considering. May it not be that God adapts the + proofs of that which it is important that man should know to the intellectual + progress of mankind? Is it certain that the same evidence which sufficed for the + foundation of religious faith five hundred years ago will suffice equally well + to-day? Truths are eternal; laws of Nature vary not. But of the world's thoughts + there is a childhood, a youth, a manhood; and there may be various classes of + arguments suited to various stages of progress.</p> + <p>Again, assuming that the materialist takes a contracted view of the economy of + human life, ignoring every portion of it except its present phase, (that phase being + but the preparation for another and a higher,) may it not be, that, as the world + advances, men may gradually be permitted, occasionally and to a limited extent, to + become aware of influences exerted from a more advanced phase of existence over this? + May it not be that the links connecting the two phases of existence are gradually to + become more numerous and apparent?</p> + <p>Such are the general views which William Howitt's work is intended to illustrate + and enforce. He selects, as a title-page motto, an axiom from Butler's + "Analogy,"—"There are two courses of Nature: the ordinary and the + extraordinary." By the supernatural he does not mean phenomena out of the course of + Nature, but such comparatively rare phenomena as are governed by laws with which we + are unacquainted, and as are, therefore, to us something extraordinary, something to + be wondered at,—miracles.</p> + <p>The author travels over a vast extent of ground,—more, we think, than can be + properly explored in the compass of two duodecimo volumes. All ages, all countries, + all faiths, furnish their quota towards his collection. It is curious, interesting, + suggestive, rather than conclusive. It exhibits more industry than logic. It consists + rather of abundant materials for others to use, than of materials worked up by the + collector. It gives evidence of learning, research, and a comprehensive study of the + subject. It is a <i>thesaurus</i> of pneumatological knowledge, collected with German + assiduity. It will set many to thinking, though it may convince but few, except of + the one truth, that the faith in the supernatural has been a universal faith, + pervading all nations, persisting through all ages.</p> + <p>The number of those who take an interest in the subject treated of in Mr. Howitt's + book, and who believe that great truths underlie popular superstitions, increases day + by day; and the work will probably have a wide circulation.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a> <b>Footnote 1</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag1">return</a>) + <p>The "Florestan" of the "Scènes Mignonnes"; "Chiara" is Clara herself; + "Eusebius" was Robert Schumann.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" name="footnote2"></a> <b>Footnote 2</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag2">return</a>) + <p>See Dwight's <i>Journal of Music</i>, Vol. VIII. No. 3.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote3" name="footnote3"></a> <b>Footnote 3</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag3">return</a>) + <p>How d' y' do?</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote4" name="footnote4"></a> <b>Footnote 4</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag4">return</a>) + <p>Among the other facts showing that Kirkdale Cave had been the den of these + animals, and not tenanted as their home by any of the other creatures whose remains + occurred there, were the excrements of the Hyenas found in considerable quantity by + Dr. Buckland, and identified as such by the keeper of a menagerie. Any one who may + wish to read the whole history of Dr. Buckland's investigations of this matter, + showing the patience and sagacity with which he collected and arranged the + evidence, will find a full account of Kirkdale Cave and other caverns containing + fossil bones in his "Reliquiæ Diluvianæ."</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote5" name="footnote5"></a> <b>Footnote 5</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag5">return</a>) + <p>"<i>In any thinking mind</i>." Yet it must be confessed that there <i>does</i> + exist a woful ignorance or negligence concerning De Quincey in quarters from which + better things might be expected. Misappreciation it cannot be called, where no + trouble has been taken to estimate claims that needed only to be weighed to be + truly valued. Up to this time, there has never been published in England a single + essay on the life or the genius of De Quincey that indicated even a good + acquaintance, on the part of the writer, with that author's works; and in such a + case, of course, not much could be looked for in the way of just interpretation. + Gilfillan did him gross injustice: indeed, from what he condescended to say of the + man, it would be difficult to conjecture that a greater than Gilfillan was there. + And, will the reader believe it? in Professor Craik's "English Literature"—a + work of great excellence—the name of De Quincey is not mentioned! "Sam + Johnson," says Craik, "was the last king that sat upon the throne of English prose + literature." Let it be that Sam was a proper king; yet it is just as true that De + Quincey was legitimately his successor. First, in the matter of time: Sam died in + 1784, and De Quincey was born in 1785, just in time to continue the regal line. + What was it, again, that entitled Johnson to kingly honors? Was it learning? De + Quincey was as erudite. Was it his style? There is no writer in the language who in + that matter may look down on De Quincey.</p> + <p>If there ever was a writer "damned with faint praise," it was De Quincey. Some + stupid writer for the London "Athenæum," for instance, dared to compliment + the poor "opium-chewer" after the following style:—"He possessed taste, but + <i>he lacked creative energy</i>; and his subtle and highly refined intellect was + ingenious and acute rather than powerful." This reminds me of a criticism once + passed upon Shakspeare by a mere pedagogue, to the effect that the great poet had + considerable genius, but very little taste!</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote6" name="footnote6"></a> <b>Footnote 6</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag6">return</a>) + <p>Of De Quincey's humor, a friend once remarked to me, that it always reminded him + of an elephant attempting to dance. Now, without any doubt, an elephant could dance + after an elephantine fashion; but surely you would never catch him going through + the movements of a jig or a Virginia "breakdown." He never lets you forget that he + is an elephant. So with De Quincey. Levity is an element farthest removed from + <i>his</i> humor; in fact, whenever he allows himself to indulge in humor at all, + you may be sure that murder is going on somewhere in the vicinity, a tragedy of + pretty frequent occurrence in De Quincey's works.</p> + <p>There was sufficient humor in De Quincey to have endowed a dozen Aristophaneses. + There was something, too, in its order, by which it resembled the gigantesque + features of the old Greek master. I will illustrate my meaning by a single instance + from each. In Aristophanes's "Clouds," Strepsiades is being initiated into the + Socratic <i>Phrontisterium</i>, and in the course of the ceremony Socrates directs + his pupil's attention to the moon for certain mysterious purposes. But the moon + only reminds Strepsy of numerous imperturbable duns that storm about his ears with + lunar exactness, (literally so, since the Greeks paid, or refused to pay, regularly + on the last day of the month,)—and here it is that the opportunity is offered + for a monstrous stroke of humor; for, at this crisis, Strepsy is made to exclaim, + "Some magic is it, O Socrates, about the moon? Well! since you are up to that sort + of thing, what do you say, now, to a spell by which I could snap the old monster + out of her course for a generation or so?" Now for the parallel case from De + Quincey. It is from his paper on "California," a politico-economical treatise. The + author's object is to illustrate the fact that scarcity of gold is not due to its + non-existence, but to the difficulty of obtaining it. "Emeralds and sapphires," + says he, "are lying at this moment in a place which I could indicate, and no + policeman is on duty in the whole neighborhood to hinder me or the reader from + pocketing as many as we please. We are also at perfect liberty to pocket the + anchors of Her Majesty's ship the Victoria, (one hundred and twenty guns,) and to + sell them for old iron. Pocket them by all means, and I engage that the magistrate + sitting at the Thames police-office will have too much respect for your powers to + think of detaining you. If he does, your course is to pocket the police-office, and + all which it inherits. The man that pockets an anchor may be a dangerous customer, + but not a customer to be sneezed at." This strikes us as very similar to + Strepsiades's bagging the moon.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote7" name="footnote7"></a> <b>Footnote 7</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag7">return</a>) + <p>But afterwards he discovered his mistake, and that it was only by the lack on + his part of that frankness which the kindness of his guardians deserved that he had + brought so much misery upon himself in after-life. His younger brother, + Richard,—the Pink of the "Autobiographic Sketches,"—made the same + mistake, a mistake which in his case was never rectified, but led to a life of + perilous wanderings and adventures.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote8" name="footnote8"></a> <b>Footnote 8</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag8">return</a>) + <p><i>Paradise Regained</i>, Book II.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote9" name="footnote9"></a> <b>Footnote 9</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag9">return</a>) + <p>It has been adduced as an important proof of the soul's immortality, that + frequently, as physical power declines, the mind exhibits unusual activity. But the + argument moves in the opposite direction. For of what sort is this unusual + activity? That which results from unbalanced nerves; and the indications are that + not only are the physical harmonies disturbed, but that the same disturbing cause + has impaired the delicate adjustments of thought itself. Sometimes there is + manifested, towards the near approach of death, an almost insane brilliancy; as, + for instance, in the case of a noted theologian, who occupied the last minutes of + his ebbing life with a very subtile mathematical discourse concerning the + exceeding, the excruciating smallness of nothing divided into infinitesimal parts. + And strange as it may seem, I once heard this identical instance cited as a + triumphant vindication of the most sublime article of either Pagan or Christian + faith. Nay, from the lips of a theological professor, the fragmentary glimmerings + of a maniac's mind have been adduced for precisely the same purpose.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote10" name="footnote10"></a> <b>Footnote 10</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag10">return</a>) + <p>Yet, marvellous as it may seem, he wrote the second without being distinctly + conscious of having written a previous one. It was no uncommon thing for him to + forget his own writings. In one case it is known that for a long time he persisted + in disowning his production. His American editor—a fact which is little + known—selected, from among the mass of periodical writings in the various + magazines for which De Quincey wrote, those which, having no other clue to guide + him than, their peculiar style, he judged to have proceeded from De Quincey's pen. + In one instance,—as to the "Traditions of the Rabbins,"—after + considerable examination, he still hesitated, and finally wrote to De Quincey, to + set himself right. The latter disowned the essay: he had forgotten it. Mr. F., + however, after another examination, concluded, that, notwithstanding De Quincey's + denial of the fact, he <i>must</i> have written it; accordingly, at his own risk, + he published it. Afterwards De Quincey owned up, and ever after that referred all + disputed cases of this nature to his Boston publishers.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote11" name="footnote11"></a> <b>Footnote 11</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag11">return</a>) + <p>De Quincey, at his death, had two sons and three daughters. The, eldest of the + daughters became the wife of Robert Craig of Ireland. It was this one, and the + youngest, who were present during his last hours. The second daughter, Florence, + was with her husband (a colonel of the British army) in India. The two sons were + both absent: one in India, a captain in the army; the other, a physician, in + Brazil.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote12" name="footnote12"></a> <b>Footnote 12</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag12">return</a>) + <p>These manuscripts are now in the possession of the Hon. Charles Sumner, who is + also the fortunate owner of the <i>Album Amicorum</i> containing the autograph of + John Milton.—ED.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote13" name="footnote13"></a> <b>Footnote 13</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag13">return</a>) + <p>Macknight's <i>Life of Burke</i>, Vol. III. p. 737.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote14" name="footnote14"></a> <b>Footnote 14</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag14">return</a>) + <p><i>Life of Burke</i>, Vol. III. p. 410.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote15" name="footnote15"></a> <b>Footnote 15</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag15">return</a>) + <p><i>Lifo of Burke</i>, Vol. III. p. 700.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote16" name="footnote16"></a> <b>Footnote 16</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag16">return</a>) + <p><i>Parliamentary History</i> Vol. XXIX. p. 426.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote17" name="footnote17"></a> <b>Footnote 17</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag17">return</a>) + <p>Macknight, Vol. III. p. 532.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote18" name="footnote18"></a> <b>Footnote 18</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag18">return</a>) + <p>Lindsay's fawning, plastic sycophancy is well known this side the water. After + shrewdly filling his coffers with profits from Northern business-transactions, he + now turns about, kicks his old friends, who always half suspected his knavish + propensities, bows, cap in hand, to visionary cotton-bales, and hopes to turn some + honest pounds, shillings, and pence by advocating the slave-drivers' rebellion. A + "fool's gudgeon" will surely reward his laborious endeavors for Southern gold, that + article growing beautifully less every day.</p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote19" name="footnote19"></a> <b>Footnote 19</b>: (<a + href="#footnotetag19">return</a>) + <p>This journal is now owned by Mr. Alexander James Beresford Beresford-Hope, (we + dare not omit any portion of this august name,) who has ample means to enlist the + talents of reckless, "smart" young men in search of employment for any work he may + require, no matter how unprincipled the job in hand.</p> + </div> + + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13631 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/13631-h/images/image10_full.png b/13631-h/images/image10_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..67b1b9e --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image10_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image11_full.png b/13631-h/images/image11_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0a2b663 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image11_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image12_full.png b/13631-h/images/image12_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..620598c --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image12_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image1_full.png b/13631-h/images/image1_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..fb2e6ec --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image1_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image1_thumbnail.png b/13631-h/images/image1_thumbnail.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..482f5c1 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image1_thumbnail.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image2_full.png b/13631-h/images/image2_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5b8332b --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image2_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image2_thumbnail.png b/13631-h/images/image2_thumbnail.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c2f3cf0 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image2_thumbnail.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image3_full.png b/13631-h/images/image3_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1a23042 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image3_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image3_thumbnail.png b/13631-h/images/image3_thumbnail.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7759be1 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image3_thumbnail.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image4_full.png b/13631-h/images/image4_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c319058 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image4_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image4_thumbnail.png b/13631-h/images/image4_thumbnail.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..58cc364 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image4_thumbnail.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image5_full.png b/13631-h/images/image5_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..08d709c --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image5_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image5_thumbnail.png b/13631-h/images/image5_thumbnail.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8f7ba76 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image5_thumbnail.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image6_full.png b/13631-h/images/image6_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..12d8a7c --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image6_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image7_full.png b/13631-h/images/image7_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3a72ea3 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image7_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image7_thumbnail.png b/13631-h/images/image7_thumbnail.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8d7188d --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image7_thumbnail.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image8_full.png b/13631-h/images/image8_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..12d8b53 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image8_full.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image8_thumbnail.png b/13631-h/images/image8_thumbnail.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cfff5d7 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image8_thumbnail.png diff --git a/13631-h/images/image9_full.png b/13631-h/images/image9_full.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ca53158 --- /dev/null +++ b/13631-h/images/image9_full.png |
