diff options
Diffstat (limited to '43721-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 43721-8.txt | 10345 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 10345 deletions
diff --git a/43721-8.txt b/43721-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f236253..0000000 --- a/43721-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10345 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 66, No -405, July 1849, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 66, No 405, July 1849 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: September 14, 2013 [EBook #43721] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, JULY 1849 *** - - - - -Produced by Brendan OConnor, Richard Tonsing, Jonathan -Ingram and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Library of Early -Journals.) - - - - - - - - - -BLACKWOOD'S - -Edinburgh - -MAGAZINE. - -VOL. LXVI. - -JULY--DECEMBER, 1849. - - -[Illustration] - -WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, EDINBURGH; - -AND - -37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. - - * * * * * - -1849. - -BLACKWOOD'S - -EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. - -NO. CCCCV. JULY, 1849. VOL. LXVI. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - DIES BOREALES. NO. II. CHRISTOPHER UNDER CANVASS, 1 - - THE ISLAND OF SARDINIA, 33 - - THE CAXTONS.--PART XIV. 48 - - THE GAME LAWS IN SCOTLAND, 63 - - DOMINIQUE, 77 - - PESTALOZZIANA, 93 - - THE CROWNING OF THE COLUMN, AND CRUSHING OF THE - PEDESTAL, 108 - - POSTSCRIPT, 131 - -EDINBURGH: - -WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET; -AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. - -_To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed._ - -SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. - -PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH. - -BLACKWOOD'S -EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. - -NO. CCCCV. JULY, 1849. VOL. LXVI. - - - - -Dies Boreales. - -NO. II. - -CHRISTOPHER UNDER CANVASS. - - -ENCAMPMENT AT CLADICH. TIME--_Eleven_, A.M. - -SCENE--_The Portal of the Pavilion._ - -NORTH--BULLER--SEWARD. - - * * * * * - -BULLER. - -I know there is nothing you dislike so much as personal observations---- - -NORTH. - -On myself to myself--not at all on others. - -BULLER. - -Yet I cannot help telling you to your face, sir, that you are one of -the finest-looking old men---- - -NORTH. - -Elderly gentlemen, if you please, sir. - -BULLER. - -In Britain, in Europe, in the World. I am perfectly serious, sir. You -are. - -NORTH. - -You needed not to say you were perfectly serious: for I suffer no man -to be ironical on Me, Mr Buller. I am. - -BULLER. - -Such a change since we came to Cladich! Seward was equally shocked, -with myself, at your looks on board the Steamer. So lean--so bent--so -sallow--so haggard--in a word--so aged! - -NORTH. - -Were you shocked, Seward? - -SEWARD. - -Buller has such a blunt way with him that he often makes me blush. I -was not shocked, my dear sir, but I was affected. - -BULLER. - -Turning to me, he said in a whisper, "What a wreck!" - -NORTH. - -I saw little alteration on you, Mr Seward; but as to Buller, it was -with the utmost difficulty I could be brought, by his reiterated -asseverations, into a sort of quasi-belief in his personal identity; -and even now, it is far from amounting to anything like a settled -conviction. Why, his face is twice the breadth it used to be--and -so red! It used to be narrow and pale. Then what a bushy head--now, -cocker it as he will, bald. In figure was he not slim? Now, stout's the -word. Stout--stout--yes, Buller, you have grown stout, and will grow -stouter--your doom is to be fat--I prophesy paunch---- - -BULLER. - -Spare me--spare me, sir. Seward should not have interrupted me--'twas -but the first impression--and soon wore off--those Edinboro' people -have much to answer for--unmercifully wearing you out at their -ceaseless _soirées_--but since you came to Cladich, sir, CHRISTOPHER'S -HIMSELF AGAIN--pardon my familiarity--nor can I now, after the minutest -inspection, and severest scrutiny, detect one single additional wrinkle -on face or forehead--nay, not a wrinkle at all--not one--so fresh of -colour, too, sir, that the irradiation is at times ruddy--and without -losing an atom of expression, the countenance absolutely--plump. Yes, -sir, plump's the word--plump, plump, plump. - -NORTH. - -Now you speak sensibly, and like yourself, my dear Buller. I wear well. - -BULLER. - -Your enemies circulated a report-- - -NORTH. - -I did not think I had an enemy in the world. - -BULLER. - -Your friends, sir, had heard a rumour--that you had mounted a wig. - -NORTH. - -And was there, among them all, one so weak-minded as to believe it? But -to be sure, there are no bounds to the credulity of mankind. - -BULLER. - -That you had lost your hair--and that, like Sampson-- - -NORTH. - -And by what Delilah had my locks been shorn? - -SEWARD. - -It all originated, I verily believe, sir, in the moved imagination of -the Pensive Public: - - "Res est soliciti plena timoris Amor." - -NORTH. - -Buller, I see little, if any--no change whatever--on you, since the -days of Deeside--nor on you, Seward. Yes, I do. Not now, when by -yourselves; but when your boys are in Tent, ah! then I do indeed--a -pleasant, a happy, a blessed change! Bright boys they are--delightful -lads--noble youths--and so are my Two--emphasis on _my_-- - -SEWARD AND BULLER. - -Yes, all emphasis, and may the Four be friends for life. - -NORTH. - -In presence of us old folks, composed and respectful--in manly modesty -attentive to every word we say--at times no doubt wearisome enough! -Yet each ready, at a look or pause, to join in when we are at our -gravest--and the solemn may be getting dull--enlivening the sleepy flow -of our conversation as with rivulets issuing from pure sources in the -hills of the morning-- - -SEWARD. - -Ay--ay; heaven bless them all! - -NORTH. - -Why, there is more than sense--more than talent--there is _genius_ -among them--in their eyes and on their tongues--though they have -no suspicion of it--and that is the charm. Then how they rally one -another! Witty fellows all Four. And the right sort of raillery. -Gentlemen by birth and breeding, to whom in their wildest sallies -vulgarity is impossible--to whom, on the giddy brink--the perilous -edge--still adheres a native Decorum superior to that of all the -Schools. - -SEWARD. - -They have their faults, sir-- - -NORTH. - -So have we. And 'tis well for us. Without faults we should be -unloveable. - -SEWARD. - -In affection I spake. - -NORTH. - -I know you did. There is no such hateful sight on earth as a perfect -character. He is one mass of corruption--for he is a hypocrite--_intus -et in cute_--by the necessity of nature. The moment a perfect character -enters a room--I leave it. - -SEWARD. - -What if you happened to live in the neighbourhood of the nuisance? - -NORTH. - -Emigrate. Or remain here--encamped for life--with imperfect -characters--till the order should issue--Strike Tent. - -BULLER. - -My Boy has a temper of his own. - -NORTH. - -Original--or acquired? - -BULLER. - -Naturally sweet-blooded--assuredly by the mother's side--but in her -goodness she did all she could to spoil him. Some excuse--We have but -Marmy. - -NORTH. - -And his father, naturally not quite so sweet-blooded, does all he can -to preserve him? Between the two, a pretty Pickle he is. Has thine a -temper of his own, too, Seward? - -SEWARD. - -Hot. - -NORTH. - -Hereditary. - -SEWARD. - -No--North. A milder, meeker, Christian Lady than his mother is not in -England. - -NORTH. - -I confess I was at the moment not thinking of his mother. But somewhat -too much of this. I hereby authorise the Boys of this Empire to have -what tempers they choose--with one sole exception--THE SULKY. - -BULLER. - -The Edict is promulged. - -NORTH. - -Once, and once only, during one of the longest and best-spent lives on -record, was I in the mood proscribed--and it endured most part of a -whole day. The Anniversary of that day I observe, in severest solitude, -with a salutary horror. And it is my Birthday. Ask me not, my friends, -to reveal the Cause. Aloof from confession before man--we must keep -to ourselves--as John Foster says--a corner of our own souls. A black -corner it is--and enter it with or without a light--you see, here and -there, something dismal--hideous--shapeless--nameless--each lying in -its own place on the floor. There lies the CAUSE. It was the morning -of my Ninth Year. As I kept sitting high upstairs by myself--one -familiar face after another kept ever and anon looking in upon me--all -with one expression! And one familiar voice after another--all with -one tone--kept muttering at me--"_He's still in the Sulks!_" How I -hated them with an intenser hatred--and chief them I before had loved -best--at each opening and each shutting of that door! How I hated -myself, as my blubbered face felt hotter and hotter--and I knew how -ugly I must be, with my fixed fiery eyes. It was painful to sit on -such a chair for hours in one posture, and to have so chained a child -would have been great cruelty--but I was resolved to die, rather than -change it; and had I been told by any one under an angel to get up and -go to play, I would have spat in his face. It was a lonesome attic, -and I had the fear of ghosts. But not then--my superstitious fancy -was quelled by my troubled heart. Had I not deserved to be allowed to -go? Did they not all know that all my happiness in this life depended -on my being allowed to go? Could any one of them give a reason for -not allowing me to go? What right had they to say that if I did go, I -should never be able to find my way, by myself, back? What right had -they to say that Roundy was a blackguard, and that he would lead me to -the gallows? Never before, in all the world, had a good boy been used -so on his birthday. They pretend to be sorry when I am sick--and when I -say my prayers, they say theirs too; but I am sicker now--and they are -not sorry, but angry--there's no use in prayers--and I won't read one -verse in the Bible this night, should my aunt go down on her knees. And -in the midst of such unworded soliloquies did the young blasphemer fall -asleep. - -BULLER. - -Young Christopher North! Incredible. - -NORTH. - -I know not how long I slept; but on awaking, I saw an angel with a most -beautiful face and most beautiful hair--a little young angel--about the -same size as myself--sitting on a stool by my feet. "Are you quite well -now, Christopher? Let us go to the meadows and gather flowers." Shame, -sorrow, remorse, contrition, came to me with those innocent words--we -wept together, and I was comforted. "I have been sinful"--"but you are -forgiven." Down all the stairs hand in hand we glided; and there was -no longer anger in any eyes--the whole house was happy. All voices -were kinder--if that were possible--than they had been when I rose -in the morning--a Boy in his Ninth Year. Parental hands smoothed my -hair--parental lips kissed it--and parental greetings, only a little -more cheerful than prayers, restored me to the Love I had never lost, -and which I felt now had animated that brief and just displeasure. I -had never heard then of Elysian fields; but I had often heard, and -often had dreamt happy, happy dreams of fields of light in heaven. And -such looked the fields to be, where fairest Mary Gordon and I gathered -flowers, and spoke to the birds, and to one another, all day long--and -again, when the day was gone, and the evening going, on till moon-time, -below and among the soft-burning stars. - -BULLER. - -And never has _Christopher been in the Sulks_ since that day. - -NORTH. - -Under heaven I owe it all to that child's eyes. Still I sternly keep -the Anniversary--for, beyond doubt, I was that day possessed with a -Devil--and an angel it was, though human, that drove him out. - -SEWARD. - -Your first Love? - -NORTH. - -In a week she was in heaven. My friends--in childhood--our whole future -life would sometimes seem to be at the mercy of such small events -as these. Small call them not--for they are great for good or for -evil--because of the unfathomable mysteries that lie shrouded in the -growth, on earth, of an immortal soul. - -SEWARD. - -May I dare to ask you, sir--it is indeed a delicate--a more than -delicate question--if the Anniversary--has been brought round with the -revolving year since we encamped? - -NORTH. - -It has. - -SEWARD. - -Ah! Buller! we know now the reason of his absence that day from the -Pavilion and Deeside--of his utter seclusion--he was doing penance in -the Swiss Giantess--a severe sojourn. - -NORTH. - -A Good Temper, friends--not a good Conscience--is the Blessing of Life. - -BULLER. - -Shocked to hear you say so, sir. Unsay it, my dear sir--unsay -it--pernicious doctrine. It may get abroad. - -NORTH. - -THE SULKS!--the CELESTIALS. The Sulks are hell, sirs--the Celestials, -by the very name, heaven. I take temper in its all-embracing sense -of Physical, Mental, and Moral Atmosphere. Pure and serene--then we -respire God's gifts, and are happier than we desire! Is not that -divine? Foul and disturbed--then we are stifled by God's gifts--and are -wickeder than we fear! Is not that devilish? A good Conscience and a -bad Temper! Talk not to me, Young Men, of pernicious doctrine--it is -a soul-saving doctrine--"millions of spiritual creatures walk unseen" -teaching it--men's Thoughts, communing with heaven, have been teaching -it--surely not all in vain--since Cain slew Abel. - -SEWARD. - -The Sage! - -BULLER. - -Socrates. - -NORTH. - -Morose! Think for five minutes on what that word means--and on what -that word contains--and you see the Man must be an Atheist. Sitting in -the House of God _morosely_! Bright, bold, beautiful boys of ours, ye -are not morose--heaven's air has free access through your open souls--a -clear conscience carries the Friends in their pastimes up the Mountains. - -SEWARD. - -And their fathers before them. - -NORTH. - -And their great-grandfather--I mean their spiritual -great-grandfather--myself--Christopher North. They are gathering -up--even as we gathered up--images that will never die. Evanescent! -Clouds--lights--shadows--glooms--the falling sound--the running -murmur--and the swinging roar--as cataract, stream, and forest all -alike seem wheeling by--these are not evanescent--for they will all -keep coming and going--before their Imagination--all life-long at the -bidding of the Will--or obedient to a Wish! Or by benign Law, whose -might is a mystery, coming back from the far profound--remembered -apparitions! - -SEWARD. - -Dear sir. - -NORTH. - -Even my Image will sometimes reappear--and the Tents of Cladich--the -Camp on Lochawe-side. - -BULLER. - -My dear sir--it will not be evanescent---- - -NORTH. - -And withal such Devils! But I have given them _carte blanche_. - -SEWARD. - -Nor will they abuse it. - -NORTH. - -I wonder when they sleep. Each has his own dormitory--the cluster -forming the left wing of the Camp--but Deeside is not seldom broad -awake till midnight; and though I am always up and out by six at the -latest, never once have I caught a man of them napping, but either -there they are each more blooming than the other, getting ready their -gear for a start;--or, on sweeping the Loch with my glass, I see their -heads, like wild-ducks--swimming--round Rabbit Island--as some wretch -has baptised Inishail--or away to Inistrynish--or, for anything I know, -to Port-Sonachan--swimming for a Medal given by the Club! Or there -goes _Gutta-Percha_ by the Pass of Brandir, or shooting away into the -woods near Kilchurn. Twice have they been on the top of Cruachan--once -for a clear hour, and once for a dark day--the very next morning, -Marmaduke said, they would have "some more mountain," and the Four -Cloud-compellers swept the whole range of Ben-Bhuridh and Bein-Lurachan -as far as the head of Glensrea. Though they said nothing about it, I -heard of their having been over the hills behind us, t'other night, at -Cairndow, at a wedding. Why, only think, sirs, yesterday they were off -by daylight to try their luck in Loch Dochart, and again I heard their -merriment soon after we had retired. They must have footed it above -forty miles. That Cornwall Clipper will be their death. And off again -this morning--all on foot--to the Black Mount. - -BULLER. - -For what? - -NORTH. - -By permission of the Marquis, to shoot an Eagle. She is said to be -again on egg--and to cliff-climbers her eyrie is within rifle-range. -But let us forget the Boys--as they have forgot us. - -SEWARD. - -The Loch is calmer to-day, sir, than we have yet seen it; but the -calm is of a different character from yesterday's--that was serene, -this is solemn--I had almost said austere. Yesterday there were few -clouds; and such was the prevailing power of all those lovely woods on -the islands, and along the mainland shores--that the whole reflexion -seemed sylvan. When gazing on such a sight, does not our feeling of the -unrealities--the shadows--attach to the realities--the substances? So -that the living trees--earth-rooted, and growing upwards--become almost -as visionary as their inverted semblances in that commingling clime? -Or is it that the life of the trees gives life to the images, and -imagination believes that the whole, in its beauty, must belong, by the -same law, to the same world? - -NORTH. - -Let us understand, without seeking to destroy, our delusions--for has -not this life of ours been wisely called the dream of a shadow! - -SEWARD. - -To-day there are many clouds, and aloft they are beautiful; nor is the -light of the sun not most gracious; but the repose of all that downward -world affects me--I know not why--with sadness--it is beginning to look -almost gloomy--and I seem to see the hush not of sleep, but of death. -There is not the unboundaried expanse of yesterday--the loch looks -narrower--and Cruachan closer to us, with all his heights. - -BULLER. - -I felt a drop of rain on the back of my hand. - -SEWARD. - -It must have been, then, from your nose. There will be no rain this -week. But a breath of air there is somewhere--for the mirror is dimmed, -and the vision gone. - -NORTH. - -The drop was not from his nose, Seward, for here are three--and clear, -pure drops too--on my Milton. I should not be at all surprised if we -were to have a little rain. - -SEWARD. - -Odd enough. I cannot conjecture where it comes from. It must be dew. - -BULLER. - -Who ever heard of dew dropping in large fat globules at meridian on a -summer's day? It is getting very close and sultry. The interior must -be, as Wordsworth says, "Like a Lion's den." Did you whisper, sir? - -NORTH. - -No. But something did. Look at the quicksilver, Buller. - -BULLER. - -Thermometer 85. Barometer I can say nothing about--but that it is very -low indeed. A long way below Stormy. - -NORTH. - -What colour would you call that Glare about the Crown of Cruachan? -Yellow? - -SEWARD. - -You may just as well call it yellow as not. I never saw such a colour -before--and don't care though I never see such again--for it is horrid. -That _is_ a--Glare. - -NORTH. - -Cowper says grandly, - - "A terrible sagacity informs - The Poet's heart: he looks to distant storms; - He hears the thunder ere the tempest lowers." - -He is speaking of tempests in the moral world. You know the passage--it -is a fine one--so indeed is the whole Epistle--Table-Talk. I am a bit -of a Poet myself in smelling thunder. Early this morning I set it down -for mid-day--and it is mid-day now. - -BULLER. - -Liker Evening. - -NORTH. - -Dimmish and darkish, certainly--but unlike Evening. I pray you look at -the Sun. - -BULLER. - -What about him? - -NORTH. - -Though unclouded--he seems shrouded in his own solemn light--expecting -thunder. - -BULLER. - -There is not much motion among the clouds. - -NORTH. - -Not yet. Merely what in Scotland we call a carry--yet that great -central mass is double the size it was ten minutes ago--the City -Churches are crowding round the Cathedral--and the whole assemblage -lies under the shadow of the Citadel--with battlements and colonnades -at once Fort and Temple. - -BULLER. - -Still some blue sky. Not very much. But some. - -NORTH. - -Cruachan! you are changing colour. - -BULLER. - -Grim--very. - -NORTH. - -The Loch's like ink. I could dip my pen in it. - -SEWARD. - -We are about to have thunder. - -NORTH. - -Weather-wise wizard--we are. That mutter was thunder. In five seconds -you will hear some more. One--two--three--four--there; that was a -growl. I call that good growling--sulky, sullen, savage growling, that -makes the heart of Silence quake. - -SEWARD. - -And mine. - -NORTH. - -What? Dying away! Some incomprehensible cause is turning the thunderous -masses round towards Appin. - -SEWARD. - -And I wish them a safe journey. - -NORTH. - -All right. They are coming this way--all at once--the whole -Thunderstorm. Flash--roar. - - "Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France; - For ere thou canst report I will be there, - The thunder of my cannon shall be heard." - -Who but Willy could have said _that_? - -SEWARD. - -Who said what? - -NORTH. - -How ghastly all the trees! - -SEWARD. - -I see no trees--nor anything else. - -NORTH. - -How can you, with that Flying Dutchman over your eyes? - -BULLER. - -I gave him my handkerchief--for at this moment I know his head is like -to rend. I wish I had kept it to myself; but no use--the lightning is -seen through lids and hands, and would be through stone walls. - -NORTH. - -Each flash has, of course, a thunder-clap of its own--if we knew -where to look for it; but, to our senses, all connexion between cause -and effect is lost--such incessant flashings--and such multitudinous -outbreaks--and such a continuous roll of outrageous echoes! - -BULLER. - -Coruscation--explosion--are but feeble words. - -NORTH. - -The Cathedral's on Fire. - -BULLER. - -I don't mind so much those wide flarings among the piled clouds, as -these gleams----oh! - -NORTH. - -Where art thou, Cruachan! Ay--methinks I see thee--methinks I do -not--thy Three Peaks may not pierce the masses that now oppress -thee--but behind the broken midway clouds, those black purple breadths -of solid earth are thine--thine those unmistakeable Cliffs--thine the -assured beauty of that fearless Forest--and may the lightning scathe -not one single tree! - -BULLER. - -Nor man. - -NORTH. - -This is your true total Eclipse of the Sun. Day, not night, is the time -for thunder and lightning. Night can be dark of itself--nay, cannot -help it; but when Day grows black, then is the blackness of darkness -in the Bright One terrible;--and terror--Burke said well--is at the -heart of the sublime. The Light, such as it is, sets off the power of -the lightning--it pales to that flashing--and is forgotten in Fire. It -smells of hell. - -SEWARD. - -It is constitutional in the Sewards. North, I am sick. - -NORTH. - -Give way to gasping--and lie down--nothing can be done for you. The -danger is not-- - -SEWARD. - -I am not afraid--I am faint. - -NORTH. - -You must speak louder, if you expect to be heard by ears of clay. Peals -is not the word. "Peals on peals redoubled" is worse. There never -was--and never will be a word in any language--for _all that_. - -BULLER. - -Unreasonable to expect it. Try twenty--in twenty languages. - -NORTH. - -Buller, you may count ten individual deluges--besides the descent of -three at hand--conspicuous in the general Rain, which without them -would be Rain sufficient for a Flood. Now the Camp has it--and let us -enter the Pavilion. I don't think there is much wind here--yet far -down the black Loch is silently whitening with waves like breakers; -for here the Rain alone rules, and its rushing deadens the retiring -thunder. The ebbing thunder! Still louder than any sea on any -shore--but a diminishing loudness, though really vast, seems quelled; -and, losing its power over the present, imagination follows it not into -the distant region where it may be raging as bad as ever. Buller? - -BULLER. - -What? - -NORTH. - -How's Seward? - -SEWARD. - -Much better. It was very, very kind of you, my dear sir, to carry me -in your arms, and place me in your own Swing-chair. The change of -atmosphere has revived me--but the Boys! - -NORTH. - -The Boys--why, they went to the Black Mount to shoot an eagle, and -see a thunder-storm, and long before this they have had their heart's -desire. There are caves, Seward, in Buachail-Mor; and one recess I -know--not a cave--but grander far than any cave--near the Fall of -Eas-a-Bhrogich--far down below the bottom of the Fall, which in its -long descent whitens the sable cliffs. Thither leads a winding access -no storm can shake. In that recess you sit rock-surrounded--but with -elbow-room for five hundred men--and all the light you have--and you -would not wish for more--comes down upon you from a cupola far nearer -heaven than that hung by Michael Angelo. - -SEWARD. - -The Boys are safe. - -NORTH. - -Or the lone House of Dalness has received them--hospitable now as -of yore--or the Huntsman's hut--or the Shepherd's shieling--that -word I love, and shall use it now--though shieling it is not, but a -comfortable cottage--and the dwellers there fear not the thunder and -the lightning--for they know they are in His hands--and talk cheerfully -in the storm. - -SEWARD. - -Over and gone. How breathable the atmosphere! - -NORTH. - -In the Forests of the Marquis and of Monzie, the horns of the -Red-deer are again in motion. In my mind's eye--Harry--I see one--an -enormous fellow--bigger than the big stag of Benmore himself--and -not to be so easily brought to perform, by particular desire, the -part of Moriens--giving himself a shake of his whole huge bulk, and -a _caive_ of his whole wide antlery--and then leading down from the -Corrie, with Platonic affection, a herd of Hinds to the greensward -islanded among brackens and heather--a spot equally adapted for feed, -play, rumination, and sleep. And the Roes are glinting through the -glades--and the Fleece are nibbling on the mountains' glittering -breast--and the Cattle are grazing, and galloping, and lowing on the -hills--and the furred folk, who are always dry, come out from crevices -for a mouthful of the fresh air; and the whole four-footed creation are -jocund--are happy! - -BULLER. - -What a picture! - -NORTH. - -And the Fowls of the Air--think ye not the Eagle, storm-driven not -unalarmed along that league-long face of cliff, is now glad at heart, -pruning the wing that shall carry him again, like a meteor, into the -subsided skies? - -BULLER. - -What it is to have an imagination! Worth all my Estate. - -NORTH. - -Let us exchange. - -BULLER. - -Not possible. Strictly entailed. - -NORTH. - -Dock. - -BULLER. - -Mno. - -NORTH. - -And the little wren flits out from the back door of her nest--too happy -she to sing--and in a minute is back again, with a worm in her mouth, -to her half-score gaping babies--the sole family in all the dell. And -the seamews, sore against their will driven seawards, are returning -by ones and twos, and thirties, and thousands, up Loch-Etive, and, -dallying with what wind is still alive above the green transparency, -drop down in successive parties of pleasure on the silver sands of -Ardmatty, or lured onwards into the still leas of Glenliver, or the -profounder quietude of the low mounds of Dalness. - -SEWARD. - -My fancy is contented to feed on what is before my eyes. - -BULLER. - -Doff, then, the Flying Dutchman. - -NORTH. - -And thousands of Rills, on the first day of their apparent existence, -are all happy too, and make me happy to look on them leaping and -dancing down the rocks--and the River Etive rejoicing in his strength, -from far Kingshouse all along to the end of his journey, is happiest -of them all; for the storm that has swollen has not discoloured him, -and with a pomp of clouds on his breast, he is flowing in his expanded -beauty into his own desired Loch. - -SEWARD. - -Gaze with me, my dear sir, on what lies before our eyes. - -NORTH. - -The Rainbow! - -BULLER. - -Four miles wide, and half a mile broad. - -NORTH. - -Thy own Rainbow, Cruachan--from end to end. - -SEWARD. - -Is it fading--or is it brightening?--no, it is not fading--and to -brighten is impossible. It is the beautiful at perfection--it is -dissolving--it is gone. - -BULLER. - -I asked you, sir, have the Poets well handled Thunder? - -NORTH. - -I was waiting for the Rainbow. Many eyes besides ours are now regarding -it--many hearts gladdened--but have you not often felt, Seward, as if -such Apparitions came at a silent call in our souls--that we might -behold them--and that the hour--or the moment--was given to us alone! -So have I felt when walking alone among the great solitudes of Nature. - -SEWARD. - -Lochawe is the name now for a dozen little lovely lakes! For, lo! as -the vapours are rising, they disclose, here a bay that does not seem to -be a bay, but complete in its own encircled stillness,--there a bare -grass island--yes, it is Inishail--with a shore of mists,--and there, -with its Pines and Castle, Freoch, as if it were Loch Freoch, and not -itself an Isle. Beautiful bewilderment! but of our own creating!--for -thus Fancy is fain to dally with what we love--and would seek to -estrange the familiar--as if Lochawe in its own simple grandeur were -not all-sufficient for our gaze. - -BULLER. - -Let me try my hand. No--no--no--I can see and feel, have an eye and a -heart for Scenery, as it is called, but am no hand at a description. -My dear, sweet, soft-breasted, fair-fronted, bright-headed, delightful -Cruachan--thy very name, how liquid with open vowels--not a consonant -among them all--no Man-Mountain Thou--Thou art the LADY OF THE LAKE. -I am in love with Thee--Thou must not think of retiring from the -earth--Thou must not take the veil--off with it--off with it from -those glorious shoulders--and come, in all Thy loveliness, to my -long--my longing arms! - -SEWARD. - -Is that the singing of larks? - -NORTH. - -No larks live here. The laverock is a Lowland bird, and loves our -brairded fields and our pastoral braes; but the Highland mountains are -not for him--he knows by instinct that they are haunted--though he -never saw the shadow nor heard the sugh of the eagle's wing. - -SEWARD. - -The singing from the woods seems to reach the sky. They have utterly -forgotten their fear; or think you, sir, that birds know that what -frightened them is gone, and that they sing with intenser joy because -of the fear that kept them mute? - -NORTH. - -The lambs are frisking--and the sheep staring placidly at the Tents. I -hear the hum of bees--returned--and returning from their straw-built -Citadels. In the primal hour of his winged life, that wavering -butterfly goes by in search of the sunshine that meets him; and happy -for this generation of ephemerals that they first took wing on the -afternoon of the day of the Great Storm. - -BULLER. - -How have the Poets, sir, handled thunder and lightning? - -NORTH. - - Sæpe ego, cum flavis messorem induceret arvis - Agricola, et fragili jam stringeret hordea culmo, - Omnia ventorum concurrere prælia vidi, - Quæ gravidam latè segetem ab radicibus imis - Sublimè expulsam eruerent: ita turbine nigro - Ferret hyems culmumque levem, stipulasque volantes. - Sæpe etiam immensum coelo venit agmen aquarum, - Et foedam glomerant tempestatem imbribus atris - Collectæ ex alto nubes: ruit arduus æther, - Et pluviâ ingenti sata læta, boumque labores - Diluit: implentur fossæ, et cava flumina crescunt - Cum sonitu, fervetque fretis spirantibus æquor. - Ipse Pater, mediâ nimborum in nocte, corusca - Fulmina molitur dextrâ: quo maxima motu - Terra tremit: fugêre feræ, et mortalia corda - Per gentes humilis stravit pavor: ille flagranti - Aut Atho, aut Rhodopen, aut alta Ceraunia telo - Dejicit: ingeminant Austri, et densissimus imber: - Nunc nemora ingenti vento, nunc littora plangunt. - -BULLER. - -You recite well, sir, and Latin better than English--not so -sing-songy--and as sonorous: then Virgil, to be sure, is fitter for -recitation than any Laker of you all---- - -NORTH. - -I am not a Laker--I am a Locher. - -BULLER. - -Tweedledum--Tweedledee. - -NORTH. - -That means the Tweed and the Dee? Content. One might have thought, -Buller, that our Scottish Critics would have been puzzled to find a -fault in that strain---- - -BULLER. - -It is faultless; but not a Scotch critic worth a curse but yourself---- - -NORTH. - -I cannot accept a compliment at the expense of all the rest of my -countrymen. I cannot indeed. - -BULLER. - -Yes, you can. - -NORTH. - -There was Lord Kames--a man of great talents--a most ingenious man--and -with an insight---- - -BULLER. - -I never heard of him--was he a Scotch Peer? - -NORTH. - -One of the Fifteen. A strained elevation--says his Lordship--I am sure -of the words, though I have not seen his Elements of Criticism for -fifty years---- - -BULLER. - -You are a creature of a wonderful memory. - -NORTH. - -"A strained elevation is attended with another inconvenience, that -the author is apt to fall suddenly, as well as the reader; because -it is not a little difficult to descend sweetly and easily from such -elevation to the ordinary tone of the subject. The following is a good -illustration of that observation"--and then his Lordship quotes the -passage I recited--stopping with the words, "_densissimus imber_," -which are thus made to conclude the description! - -BULLER. - -Oh! oh! oh! That's murder. - -NORTH. - -In the description of a storm--continues his Lordship--"to figure -Jupiter throwing down huge mountains with his thunderbolts, is -hyperbolically sublime, if I may use the expression: the tone of mind -produced by that image is so distinct from the tone produced by a thick -shower of rain, that the sudden transition _must be very unpleasant_." - -BULLER. - -Suggestive of a great-coat. That's the way to deal with a great Poet. -Clap your hand on the Poet's mouth in its fervour--shut up the words -in mid-volley--and then tell him that he does not know how to descend -sweetly and easily from strained elevation! - -NORTH. - -Nor do I agree with his Lordship that "to figure Jupiter throwing -down huge mountains with his thunderbolts is hyperbolically sublime." -As a part for a whole is a figure of speech, so is a whole for a -part. Virgil says, "dejicit;" but he did not mean to say that Jupiter -"tumbled down" Athos or Rhodope or the Acroceraunian range. He -knew--for he saw them--that there they were in all their altitude -after the storm--little if at all the worse. But Jupiter had -struck--smitten--splintered--rent--trees and rocks--midway or on the -summits--and the sight was terrific--and "dejicit" brings it before our -imagination which not for a moment pictures the whole mountain tumbling -down. But great Poets know the power of words, and on great occasions -how to use them--in this case--one--and small critics will not suffer -their own senses to instruct them in Poetry--and hence the Elements -of Criticism are not the Elements of Nature, and assist us not in -comprehending the grandeur of reported storms. - -BULLER. - -Lay it into them, sir. - -NORTH. - -Good Dr Hugh Blair again, who in his day had a high character for taste -and judgment, agreed with Henry Home that "the transition is made too -hastily--I am afraid--from the preceding sublime images, to a thick -shower and the blowing of the south wind, and shows how difficult it -frequently is to descend with grace, without seeming to fall." Nay, -even Mr Alison himself--one of the finest spirits that ever breathed -on earth, says--"I acknowledge, indeed, that the 'pluviâ ingenti sata -læta, boumque labores diluit' is defensible from the connexion of the -imagery with the subject of the poem; but the 'implentur fossæ' is both -an unnecessary and a degrading circumstance when compared with the -magnificent effects that are described in the rest of the passage." In -his quotation, too, the final grand line is inadvertently omitted-- - - "Nunc nemora ingenti vento, nunc litora plangunt." - -BULLER. - -I never read Hugh Blair--but I have read--often, and always with -increased delight--Mr Alison's exquisite Essays on the Nature and -Principles of Taste, and Lord Jeffrey's admirable exposition of the -Theory--in statement so clear, and in illustration so rich--worth all -the Æsthetics of the Germans--Schiller excepted--in one Volume of Mist. - -NORTH. - -Mr Alison had an original as well as a fine mind; and here he seems to -have been momentarily beguiled into mistake by unconscious deference -to the judgment of men--in his province far inferior to himself--whom -in his modesty he admired. Mark. Virgil's main purpose is to describe -the dangers--the losses to which the agriculturist is at all seasons -exposed from wind and weather. And he sets them before us in plain -and perspicuous language, not rising above the proper level of the -didactic. Yet being a Poet he puts poetry into his description from -the first and throughout. To say that the line "Et pluviâ" &c. is -"_defensible_ from the connexion of the imagery with the subject of -the Poem" is not enough. It is _necessitated_. Strike it out and you -abolish the subject. And just so with "implentur fossæ." The "fossæ" -we know in that country were numerous and wide, and, when swollen, -dangerous--and the "cava flumina" well follow instantly--for the -"fossæ" were their feeders--and we hear as well as see the rivers -rushing to the sea--and we hear too, as well as see, the sea itself. -_There the description ends._ Virgil has done his work. But his -imagination is moved, and there arises a new strain altogether. He is -done with the agriculturists. And now he deals with man at large--with -the whole human race. He is now a Boanerges--a son of thunder--and he -begins with Jove. The sublimity comes in a moment. "Ipse Pater, mediâ -nimborum in nocte"--and is sustained to the close--the last line being -great as the first--and all between accordant, and all true to nature. -Without rain and wind, what would be a thunder-storm? The "densissimus -imber" obeys the laws--and so do the ingeminanting Austri--and the -shaken woods and the stricken shores. - -BULLER. - -Well done, Virgil--well done, North. - -NORTH. - -I cannot rest, Buller--I can have no peace of mind but in a successful -defence of these Ditches. Why is a Ditch to be despised? Because it -is dug? So is a grave. Is the Ditch--wet or dry--that must be passed -by the Volunteers of the Fighting Division before the Fort can be -stormed, too low a word for a Poet to use? Alas! on such an occasion -well might he say, as he looked after the assault and saw the floating -tartans--_implentur fossæ_--the Ditch is filled! - -BULLER. - -Ay, Mr North, in that case the word Ditch--and the thing--would be -dignified by danger, daring, and death. But here---- - -NORTH. - -The case is the same--with a difference, for there is all the -Danger--all the Daring--all the Death--that the incident or event -admits of--and they are not small. Think for a moment. The Rain -falls over the whole broad heart of the tilled earth--from the -face of the fields it runs into the Ditches--the first unavoidable -receptacles--these pour into the rivers--the rivers into the river -mouths--and then you are in the Sea. - -BULLER. - -Go on, sir, go on. - -NORTH. - -I am amazed--I am indignant, Buller. _Ruit arduus æther._ The steep or -high ether rushes down! as we saw it rush down a few minutes ago. What -happens? - - "Et pluvià ingenti sata læta, boumque labores - Diluit!" - -Alas! for the hopeful--hopeless husbandman now. What a multiplied and -magnified expression have we here for the arable lands. All the glad -seed-time vain--vain all industry of man and oxen--there you have the -true agricultural pathos--washed away--set in a swim--deluged! Well has -the Poet--in one great line--spoke the greatness of a great matter. -Sudden affliction--visible desolation--imagined dearth. - -BULLER. - -Don't stop, sir, you speak to the President of our Agricultural -Society--go on, sir, go on. - -NORTH. - -Now drop in--in its veriest place, and in two words, the _necessitated -Implentur fossæ_. No pretence--no display--no phraseology--the -nakedest, but quite effectual statement of the fact--which the -farmer--I love that word farmer--has witnessed as often as he has ever -seen the Coming--the Ditches that were dry ran full to the brim. The -homely rustic fact, strong and impressive to the husbandman, cannot -be dealt with by poetry otherwise than by setting it down in its bald -simplicity. Seek to raise--to dress--to disguise--and you make it -ridiculous. The Mantuan knew better--he says what must be said--and -goes on-- - -BULLER. - -He goes on--so do you, sir--you both get on. - -NORTH. - -And now again begins Magnification, - - "Et cava flumina crescunt - Cum sonitu." - -The "hollow-bedded rivers" grow, swell, visibly wax mighty and -turbulent. You imagine that you stand on the bank and see the river -that had shrunk into a thread getting broad enough to fill the capacity -of its whole hollow bed. The rushing of arduous ether would not of -itself have proved sufficient. Therefore glory to the Italian Ditches -and glory to the Dumfriesshire Drains, which I have seen, in an hour, -change the white murmuring Esk into a red rolling river, with as -sweeping sway as ever attended the Arno on its way to inundate Florence. - -BULLER. - -Glory to the Ditches of the Vale of Arno--glory to the Drains of -Dumfriesshire. Draw breath, sir. Now go on, sir. - -NORTH. - -"Cum sonitu." Not as Father Thames rises--_silently_--till the flow -lapse over lateral meadow-grounds for a mile on either side. But "cum -sonitu," with a voice--with a roar--a mischievous roar--a roar of--ten -thousand Ditches. - -BULLER. - -And then the "flumina"--"cava" no more--will be as clear as mud. - -NORTH. - -You have hit it. They will be--for the Arno in flood is like liquid -mud--by no means enamouring, perhaps not even sublime--but showing -you that it comes off the fields and along the Ditches--that you see -swillings of the "sata læta boumque labores." - -BULLER. - -Agricultural Produce! - -NORTH. - -For a moment--a single moment--leave out the Ditches, and say merely, -"The rain falls over the fields--the rivers swell roaring." No picture -at all. You must have the fall over the surface--the gathering in the -narrower artificial--the delivery into the wider natural channels--the -fight of spate and surge at river mouth-- - - "Fervetque fretis spirantibus æquor." - -The Ditches are indispensable in nature and in Virgil. - -BULLER. - -Put this glass of water to your lips, sir--not that I would -recommend water to a man in a fit of eloquence--but I know you are -abstinent--infatuated in your abjuration of wine. Go on--half-minute -time. - -NORTH. - -I swear to defend--at the pen's point--against all Comers--this -position--that the line - - "Diluit: implentur fossæ, cava flumina crescunt - Cum sonitu--" - -is, where it stands--and looking before and after--a perfect line; -and that to strike out "implentur fossæ" would be an outrage on -it--just equal, Buller, to my knocking out, without hesitation, your -brains--for your brains do not contribute more to the flow of our -conversation--than do the Ditches to that other Spate. - -BULLER. - -That will do--you may stop. - -NORTH. - -I ask no man's permission--I obey no man's mandate--to stop. Now Virgil -takes wing--now he blazes and soars. Now comes the power and spirit -of the Storm gathered in the Person of the Sire--of him who wields -the thunderbolt into which the Cyclops have forged storms of all -sorts--wind and rain together--"_Tres Imbri torti radios!_" &c. You -remember the magnificent mixture. And there we have VIRGILIUS _versus_ -HOMERUM. - -BULLER. - -You may sit down, sir. - -NORTH. - -I did not know I had stood up. Beg pardon. - -BULLER. - -I am putting Swing to rights for you, Sir. - -NORTH. - -Methinks Jupiter is _twice_ apparent--the first time, as the President -of the Storm, which is agreeable to the dictates of reason and -necessity;--the second--to my fancy--as delighting himself in the -conscious exertion of power. What is he splintering Athos, or Rhodope, -or the Acroceraunians for? The divine use of the Fulmen is to quell -Titans, and to kill that mad fellow who was running up the ladder at -Thebes, Capaneus. Let the Great Gods find _out their enemies now_--find -out and finish them--and enemies they must have not a few among those -prostrate crowds--"per gentes humilis stravit pavor." But shattering -and shivering the mountain tops--which, as I take it, is here the -prominent affair--and, as I said, the true meaning of "dejicit"--is -mere pastime--as if Jupiter Tonans were disporting himself on a holiday. - -BULLER. - -Oh! sir, you have exhausted the subject--if not yourself--and -us;--I beseech you sit down;--see, Swing solicits you--and oh! sir, -you--we--all of us will find in a few minutes' silence a great relief -after all that thunder. - -NORTH. - -You remember Lucretius? - -BULLER. - -No, I don't. To you I am not ashamed to confess that I read him with -some difficulty. With ease, sir, do you? - -NORTH. - -I never knew a man who did but Bobus Smith; and so thoroughly was he -imbued with the spirit of the great Epicurean, that Landor--himself the -best Latinist living--equals him with Lucretius. The famous Thunder -passage is very fine, but I cannot recollect every word; and the man -who, in recitation, haggles and boggles at a great strain of a great -poet deserves death without benefit of clergy. I do remember, however, -that he does not descend from his elevation with such ease and grace as -would have satisfied Henry Home and Hugh Blair--for he has so little -notion of true dignity as to mention rain, as Virgil afterwards did, in -immediate connexion with thunder. - - "Quo de concussu sequitur _gravis imber_ et uber, - Omnis utei videatur in imbrem vortier æther, - Atque ita præcipitans ad diluviem revocare." - -BULLER. - -What think you of the thunder in Thomson's Seasons? - -NORTH. - -What all the world thinks--that it is our very best British Thunder. -He gives the Gathering, the General engagement, and the Retreat. In -the Gathering there are touches and strokes that make all mankind -shudder--the foreboding--the ominous! And the terror, when it comes, -aggrandises the premonitory symptoms. "Follows the loosened aggravated -roar" is a line of power to bring the voice of thunder upon your soul -on the most peaceable day. He, too--prevailing poet--feels the grandeur -of the Rain. For instant on the words "convulsing heaven and earth," -ensue, - - "Down comes a deluge of sonorous hail, - Or prone-descending rain." - -Thomson had been in the heart of thunder-storms many a time before -he left Scotland; and what always impresses me is the want of -method--the confusion, I might almost say--in his description. -Nothing contradictory in the proceedings of the storm; they all go on -obediently to what we know of Nature's laws. But the effects of their -agency on man and nature are given--not according to any scheme--but -as they happen to come before the Poet's imagination, as they happened -in reality. The pine is struck first--then the cattle and the sheep -below--and then the castled cliff--and then the - - "Gloomy woods - Start at the flash, and from their deep recess - Wide-flaming out, their trembling inmates shake." - -No regular ascending--or descending scale here; but wherever -the lightning chooses to go, there it goes--the blind agent of -indiscriminating destruction. - -BULLER. - -Capricious Zig-zag. - -NORTH. - -Jemmy was overmuch given to mouthing in the _Seasons_; and in this -description--matchless though it be--he sometimes out-mouths the -big-mouthed thunder at his own bombast. Perhaps that is inevitable--you -must, in confabulating with that Meteor, either imitate him, to keep -him and yourself in countenance, or be, if not mute as a mouse, as -thin-piped as a fly. In youth I used to go sounding to myself among the -mountains the concluding lines of the Retreat. - - "Amid Carnarvon's mountains rages loud - The repercussive roar; with mighty crush, - Into the flashing deep, from the rude rocks - Of Penmanmaur heap'd hideous to the sky, - Tumble the smitten cliffs, and Snowdon's peak, - Dissolving, instant yields his wintry load: - Far seen, the heights of heathy Cheviot blaze, - And Thule bellows through her utmost isles." - -Are they good--or are they bad? I fear--not good. But I am dubious. The -previous picture has been of one locality--a wide one--but within the -visible horizon--enlarged somewhat by the imagination, which, as the -schoolmen said, inflows into every act of the senses--and powerfully, -no doubt, into the senses engaged in witnessing a thunder-storm. Many -of the effects so faithfully, and some of them so tenderly painted, -interest us by their picturesque particularity. - - "Here the soft flocks, with that same harmless look - They wore alive, and ruminating still - In fancy's eye; and there the frowning bull, - And ox half-raised." - -We are here in a confined world--close to us and near; and our -sympathies with its inhabitants--human or brute--comprehend the -very attitudes or postures in which the lightning found and left -them; but the final verses waft us away from all that terror and -pity--the geographical takes place of the pathetic--a visionary -panorama of material objects supersedes the heart-throbbing region of -the spiritual--for a mournful song instinct with the humanities, an -ambitious bravura displaying the power and pride of the musician, now -thinking not at all of us, and following the thunder only as affording -him an opportunity for the display of his own art. - -BULLER. - -Are they good--or are they bad? I am dubious. - -NORTH. - -Thunder-storms travel fast and far--but here they seem simultaneous; -Thule is more vociferous than the whole of Wales together--yet perhaps -the sound itself of the verses is the loudest of all--and we cease to -hear the thunder in the din that describes it. - -BULLER. - -Severe--but just. - -NORTH. - -Ha! Thou comest in such a questionable shape-- - -ENTRANT. - -That I will speak to thee. How do you do, my dear sir? God bless you, -how do you do? - -NORTH. - -Art thou a spirit of health or goblin damned? - -ENTRANT. - -A spirit of health. - -NORTH. - -It is--it is the voice of TALBOYS. Don't move an inch. Stand still for -ten seconds--on the very same site, that I may have one steady look at -you, to make assurance doubly sure--and then let us meet each other -half-way in a Cornish hug. - -TALBOYS. - -Are we going to wrestle already, Mr North? - -NORTH. - -Stand still ten seconds more. He _is_ He--You _are_ You--gentlemen--H. -G. Talboys--Seward, my crutch--Buller, your arm-- - -TALBOYS. - -Wonderful feat of agility! Feet up to the ceiling-- - -NORTH. - -Don't say ceiling-- - -TALBOYS. - -Why not? ceiling--coelum. Feet up to heaven. - -NORTH. - -An involuntary feat--the fault of Swing--sole fault--but I always -forget it when agitated-- - -BULLER. - -Some time or other, sir, you will fly backwards and fracture your skull. - -NORTH. - -There, we have recovered our equilibrium--now we are in grips, don't -fear a fall--I hope you are not displeased with your reception. - -TALBOYS. - -I wrote last night, sir, to say I was coming--but there being no -speedier conveyance--I put the letter in my pocket, and there it is-- - -NORTH. - -(_On reading_ "_Dies Boreales._--No. 1.") - - A friend returned! spring bursting forth again! - The song of other years! which, when we roam, - Brings up all sweet and common things of home, - And sinks into the thirsty heart like rain! - Such the strong influence of the thrilling strain - By human love made sad and musical, - Yet full of high philosophy withal, - Poured from thy wizard harp o'er land and main! - A thousand hearts will waken at its call, - And breathe the prayer they breathed in earlier youth,-- - May o'er thy brow no envious shadow fall! - Blaze in thine eye the eloquence of truth! - Thy righteous wrath the soul of guilt appal, - As lion's streaming hair or dragon's fiery tooth! - -TALBOYS. - -I blush to think I have given you the wrong paper. - -NORTH. - -It is the right one. But may I ask what you have on your head? - -TALBOYS. - -A hat. At least it was so an hour ago. - -NORTH. - -It never will be a hat again. - -TALBOYS. - -A patent hat--a waterproof hat--it was swimming, when I purchased it -yesterday, in a pail--warranted against Lammas floods-- - -NORTH. - -And in an hour it has come to this! Why, it has no more shape than a -coal-heaver's. - -TALBOYS. - -Oh! then it can be little the worse. For that is its natural artificial -shape. It is constructed on that principle--and the patentee prides -himself on its affording equal protection to head, shoulders, and -back--helmet at once and shield. - -NORTH. - -But you must immediately put on dry clothes-- - -TALBOYS. - -The clothes I have on are as dry as if they had been taking -horse-exercise all morning before a laundry-fire. I am waterproof all -over--and I had need to be so--for between Inverary and Cladich there -was much moisture in the atmosphere. - -NORTH. - -Do--do--go and put on dry clothes. Why the spot you stand on is -absolutely swimming-- - -TALBOYS. - -My Sporting-jacket, sir, is a new invention--an invention of my own--to -the sight silk--to the feel feathers--and of feathers is the texture--- -but that is a secret, don't blab it--and to rain I am impervious as a -plover. - -NORTH. - -Do--do--go and put on dry clothes. - -TALBOYS. - -Intended to have been here last night--left Glasgow yesterday -morning--and had a most delightful forenoon of it in the Steamer to -Tarbert. Loch Lomond fairly outshone herself--never before had I -felt the full force of the words--"Fortunate Isles." The Bens were -magnificent. At Tarbert--just as I was disembarking--who should be -embarking but our friends Outram, M'Culloch, Macnee---- - -NORTH. - -And why are they not here? - -TALBOYS. - -And I was induced--I could not resist them--to take a trip on to -Inverarnan. We returned to Tarbert and had a glorious afternoon -till two this morning--thought I might lie down for an hour or -two--but, after undressing, it occurred to me that it was advisable -to redress--and be off instanter--so, wheeling round the head of Loch -Long--never beheld the bay so lovely--I glided up the gentle slope of -Glencroe and sat down on "Rest and be thankful"--to hold a minute's -colloquy with a hawk--or some sort of eagle or another, who seemed to -think nobody at that hour had a right to be there but himself--covered -him to a nicety with my rod--and had it been a gun, he was a dead -bird. Down the other--that is, this side of the glen, which, so far -from being precipitous, is known to be a descent but by the pretty -little cataracts playing at leap-frog--from your description I knew -that must be Loch Fine--and that St Catherine's. Shall I drop down -and signalise the Inverary Steamer? I have not time--so through the -woods of Ardkinglass--surely the most beautiful in this world--to -Cairndow. Looked at my watch--had forgot to wind her up--set her by -the sun--and on nearing the inn door an unaccountable impulse landed -me in the parlour to the right. Breakfast on the table for somebody -up stairs--whom nobody--so the girl said--could awaken--ate it--and -the ten miles were but one to that celebrated Circuit Town. Saluted -Dun-nu-quech for your sake--and the Castle for the Duke's--and could -have lingered all June among those gorgeous groves. - -NORTH. - -Do--do--go and put on dry clothes. - -TALBOYS. - -Hitherto it had been cool--shady--breezy--the very day for such a -saunter--when all at once it was an oven. I had occasion to note that -fine line of the Poet's--"Where not a lime-leaf moves," as I passed -under a tree of that species, with an umbrage some hundred feet in -circumference, and a presentiment of what was coming whispered "Stop -here"--but the Fates tempted me on--and if I am rather wet, sir, there -is some excuse for it--for there was thunder and lightning, and a great -tempest. - -NORTH. - -Not to-day? Here all has been hush. - -TALBOYS. - -It came at once from all points of the compass--and they all met--all -the storms--every mother's son of them--at a central point--where I -happened to be. Of course, no house. Look for a house on an emergency, -and if once in a million times you see one--the door is locked, and the -people gone to Australia. - -NORTH. - -I insist on you putting on dry clothes. Don't try my temper. - -TALBOYS. - -By-and-by I began to have my suspicions that I had been distracted -from the road--and was in the Channel of the Airey. But on looking -down I saw the Airey in his own channel--almost as drumly as the -mire-burn--vulgarly called road--I was plashing up. Altogether the -scene was most animating--and in a moment of intense exhilaration--not -to weather-fend, but in defiance--I unfurled my Umbrella. - -NORTH. - -What, a Plover with a Parapluie? - -TALBOYS. - -I use it, sir, but as a Parasol. Never but on this one occasion had it -affronted rain. - -NORTH. - -The same we sat under, that dog-day, at Dunoon? - -TALBOYS. - -The same. Whew! Up into the sky like the incarnation of a whirlwind! No -turning outside in--too strong-ribbed for inversion--before the wind he -flew--like a creature of the element--and gracefully accomplished the -descent on an eminence about a mile off. - -NORTH. - -Near Orain-imali-chauan-mala-chuilish? - -TALBOYS. - -I eyed him where he lay--not without anger. It had manifestly been a -wilful act--he had torn himself from my grasp--and now he kept looking -at me--at safe distance as he thought--like a wild animal suddenly -undomesticated--and escaped into his native liberty. If he had sailed -before the wind--why might not I? No need to _stalk_ him--so I went at -him right in front--but such another flounder! Then, sir, I first knew -fatigue. - -NORTH. - - "So eagerly THE FIEND - O'er bog, or steep, through strait, rough, dense, or rare, - With head, hands, wings, or feet pursues his way, - And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies." - -TALBOYS. - -Finally I reached him--closed on him--when Eolus, or Eurus, or Notus, -or Favonius--for all the heathen wind-gods were abroad--inflated -him, and away he flew--rustling like a dragon-fly--and zig-zagging -all fiery-green in the gloom--sat down--as composedly as you would -yourself, sir--on a knoll, in another region--engirdled with young -birch-groves--as beautiful a resting-place, I must acknowledge as, -after a lyrical flight, could have been selected for repose by Mr -Wordsworth. - -NORTH. - -I know it--Arash-alaba-chalin-ora-begota-la-chona-hurie. Archy will go -for it in the evening--all safe. But do go and put on dry clothes. What -now, Billy? - -BILLY BALMER. - -Here are Mr Talboys' trunk, sir. - -NORTH. - -Who brought it? - -BILLY. - -Nea, Maister--I dan't kna'--I s'pose Carrier. I ken't reet weell--ance -at Windermere-watter. - -NORTH. - -Swiss Giantess--Billy. - -BILLY. - -Ay--ay--sir. - -NORTH. - -You will find the Swiss Giantess as complete a dormitory as man can -desire, Talboys. I reserve it for myself, in event of rheumatism. -Though lined with velvet, it is always cool--ventilated on a new -principle--of which I took merely a hint from the Punka. My cot hangs -in what used to be the Exhibition-room--and her Retreat is now a -commodious Dressing-room. Billy, show Mr Talboys to the Swiss Giantess. - -BILLY. - -Ay--ay, sir. This way, Mr Talboy--this way, sir. - -TALBOYS. - -What is your dinner-hour, Mr North? - -NORTH. - -Sharp seven--seven sharp. - -TALBOYS. - -And now 'tis but half-past two. Four hours for work. The Cladich--or -whatever you call him--is rumbling disorderly in the wood; and -I noted, as I crossed the bridge, that he was proud as a piper -of being in Spate--but he looks more rational down in yonder -meadows--and----HEAVEN HAVE MERCY ON ME! THERE'S LOCH AWE!! - -NORTH. - -I thought it queer that you never looked at it. - -TALBOYS. - -Looked at it? How could I look at it? I don't believe it was there. -If it was--from the hill-top I had eyes but for the Camp--the Tents -and the Trees--and "Thee the spirit of them all!" Let me have another -eye-full--another soul-full of the Loch. But 'twill never do to be -losing time in this way. Where's my creel--where's my creel? - -NORTH. - -On your shoulders-- - -TALBOYS. - -And my Book? Lost--lost--lost! Not in any one of all my pockets. I -shall go mad. - -NORTH. - -Not far to go. Why your Book's in your hand. - -TALBOYS. - -At eight? - -NORTH. - -Seven. Archy, follow him--In that state of excitement he will be -walking with his spectacles on over some precipice. Keep your eye on -him, Archy-- - -ARCHY. - -I can pretend to be carrying the landing-net, sir. - -NORTH. - -There's a specimen of a Scottish Lawyer, gentlemen. What do you think -of him? - -BULLER. - -That he is without exception the most agreeable fellow, at first sight, -I ever met in my life. - -NORTH. - -And so you would continue to think him, were you to see him twice -a-week for twenty years. But he is far more than that--though, as the -world goes, that is much: his mind is steel to the back-bone--his -heart is sound as his lungs--his talents great--in literature, had he -liked it, he might have excelled; but he has wisely chosen a better -Profession--and his character now stands high as a Lawyer and a Judge. -Yonder he goes! As fresh as a kitten after a score and three quarter -miles at the least. - -BULLER. - -Seward--let's after him. Billy--the minnows. - -BILLY. - -Here's the Can, sirs. - -_Scene closes._ - - * * * * * - - -SCENE II. - -_Interior of Deeside._--TIME--_Seven_ P.M. - -NORTH--TALBOYS--BULLER--SEWARD. - -NORTH. - -Seward, face Buller. Talboys, face North. Fall too, gentlemen; to-day -we dispense with regular service. Each man has his own distinct dinner -before him, or in the immediate vicinity--soup, fish, flesh, fowl--and -with all necessary accompaniments and sequences. How do you like the -arrangement of the table, Talboys? - -TALBOYS. - -The principle shows a profound knowledge of human nature, sir. In -theory, self-love and social are the same--but in practice, self-love -looks to your own plate--social to your neighbours. By this felicitous -multiplication of dinners--this One in Four--this Four in One--the -harmony of the moral system is preserved--and all works together for -the general good. Looked at artistically, we have here what the Germans -and others say is essential to the beautiful and the sublime--Unity. - -NORTH. - -I believe the Four Dinners--if weighed separately--would be found not -to differ by a pound. This man's fish might prove in the scale a few -ounces heavier than that man's--but in such case, his fowl would be -found just so many ounces lighter. And so on. The Puddings are cast in -the same mould--and things equal to the same thing, are equal to one -another. - -TALBOYS. - -The weight of each repast? - -NORTH. - -Calculated at twenty-five pounds. - -TALBOYS. - -Grand total, one hundred. The golden mean. - -NORTH. - -From these general views, to descend to particulars. Soup (turtle) two -pounds--Hotch, ditto--Fish (Trout) two pounds--Flesh, (Jigot--black -face five-year-old,) six pounds--Fowl (Howtowdie boiled) five -pounds--Duck, (wild) three pounds--Tart (gooseberry) one pound--Pud -(Variorum Edition) two pounds. - -BULLER. - -That is but twenty-three, sir! I have taken down the gentleman's words. - -NORTH. - -Polite--and grateful. But you have omitted sauces and creams, breads -and cheeses. Did you ever know me incorrect in my figures, in any -affirmation or denial, private or public? - -BULLER. - -Never. Beg pardon. - -NORTH. - -Now that the soups and fishes seem disposed of, I boldly ask you, one -and all, gentlemen, if you ever beheld Four more tempting Jigots? - -TALBOYS. - -I am still at my Fish. No fish so sweet as of one's own catching--so -I have the advantage of you all. This one here--the one I am eating -at this blessed moment--I killed in what the man with the Landing-net -called the Birk Pool. I know him by his peculiar physiognomy--an odd -cast in his eye--which has not left him on the gridiron. That Trout of -my killing on your plate, Mr Seward, made the fatal plunge at the tail -of the stream so overhung with Alders that you can take it successfully -only by the tail--and I know him by his colour, almost as silvery as -a whitling. Yours, Mr Buller, was the third I killed--just where the -river--for a river he is to-day, whatever he may be to-morrow--goes -whirling into the Loch--and I can swear to him from his leopard spots. -Illustrious sir, of him whom you have now disposed of--the finest of -the Four--I remember saying inwardly, as with difficulty I encreeled -him--for his shoulders were like a hog's--this for the King. - -NORTH. - -Your perfect Pounder, Talboys, is the beau-ideal of a Scottish Trout. -How he cuts up! If much heavier--you are frustrated in your attempts -to eat him thoroughly--have to search--probably in vain--for what -in a perfect Pounder lies patent to the day--he is to back-bone -comeatable--from gill to fork, Seward, you are an artist. Good creel? - -SEWARD. - -I gave Mr Talboys the first of the water, and followed him--a mere -caprice--with the Archimedean Minnow. I had a run--but just as the -monster opened his jaws to absorb--he suddenly eschewed the scentless -phenomenon, and with a sullen plunge, sunk into the deep. - -BULLER. - -I tried the natural minnow after Seward--but I wished Archimedes at -Syracuse--for the Screw had spread a panic--and in a panic the scaly -people lose all power of discrimination, and fear to touch a minnow, -lest it turn up a bit of tin or some other precious metal. - -NORTH. - -I have often been lost in conjecturing how you always manage to fill -your creel, Talboys; for the truth is--and it must be spoken--you are -no angler. - -TALBOYS. - -I can afford to smile! I was no angler, sir, ten years ago--now -I am. But how did I become one? By attending you, sir--for seven -seasons--along the Tweed and the Yarrow, the Clyde and the Daer, the -Tay and the Tummel, the Don and the Dee--and treasuring up lessons from -the Great Master of the Art. - -NORTH. - -You surprise me! Why, you never put a single question to me about -the art--always declined taking rod in hand--seemed reading some -book or other, held close to your eyes--or lying on banks a-dose -or poetising--or facetious with the Old Man--or with the Old Man -serious--and sometimes more than serious, as, sauntering along our -winding way, we conversed of man, of nature, and of human life. - -TALBOYS. - -I never lost a single word you said, sir, during those days, breathing -in every sense "vernal delight and joy," yet all the while I was taking -lessons in the art. The flexure of your shoulder--the sweep of your -arm--the twist of your wrist--your Delivery, and your Recover--that -union of grace and power--the utmost delicacy, with the most perfect -precision--All these qualities of a heaven-born Angler, by which you -might be known from all other men on the banks of the Whittadder on a -Fast-day---- - -NORTH. - -I never angled on a Fast-day. - -TALBOYS. - -A _lapsus linguæ_--From a hundred anglers on the Daer, on the Queen's -Birthday---- - -NORTH. - -My dear Friend, you ex---- - -TALBOYS. - -All those qualities of a heaven-born Angler I learned first to -admire--then to understand--and then to imitate. For three years I -practised on the carpet--for three I essayed on a pond--for three I -strove by the running waters--and still the Image of Christopher North -was before me--till emboldened by conscious acquisition and constant -success, I came forth and took my place among the Anglers of my country. - -BULLER. - -To-day I saw you fast in a tree. - -TALBOYS. - -You mean my Fly. - -BULLER. - -First your Fly, and then, I think, yourself. - -TALBOYS. - -I have seen _Il Maestro_ himself in Timber, and in brushwood too. From -him I learned to disentangle knots, intricate and perplexed far beyond -the Gordian--"with frizzled hair implicit"--round twig, branch, or -bole. Not more than half-a-dozen times of the forty that I may have -been fast aloft--I speak mainly of my noviciate--have I had to effect -liberation by sacrifice. - -SEWARD. - -Pardon me, Mr Talboys, for hinting that you smacked off your tail-fly -to-day--I knew it by the sound. - -TALBOYS. - -The sound! No trusting to an uncertain sound, Mr Seward. Oh! I did so -once--but intentionally--the hook had lost the barb--not a fish would -it hold--so I whipped it off, and on with a Professor. - -BULLER. - -You lost one good fish in rather an awkward manner, Mr Talboys. - -TALBOYS. - -I did--that metal minnow of yours came with a splash within an inch of -his nose--and no wonder he broke me--nay, I believe it was the minnow -that broke me--and yet you can speak of _my_ losing a good fish in -rather an awkward manner! - -NORTH. - -It is melancholy to think that I have taught young Scotland to excel -myself in all the Arts that adorn and dignify life. Till I rose, -Scotland was a barbarous country-- - -TALBOYS. - -Do say, my dear sir, semi-civilised. - -NORTH. - -Now it heads the Nations--and I may set. - -TALBOYS. - -And why should that be a melancholy thought, sir? - -NORTH. - -Oh, Talboys--National Ingratitude! They are fast forgetting the man -who made them what they are--in a few fleeting centuries the name of -Christopher North will be in oblivion! Would you believe it possible, -gentlemen, that even now, there are Scotsmen who never heard of the Fly -that bears the name of me, its Inventor--Killing Kit! - -BULLER. - -In Cornwall it is a household word. - -SEWARD. - -And in all the Devons. - -BULLER. - -Men in Scotland who never heard the name of North! - -NORTH. - -Christopher North--who is he? Who do you mean by the Man of the -Crutch?--The Knight of the Knout? Better never to have been born than -thus to be virtually dead. - -SEWARD. - -Sir, be comforted--you are under a delusion--Britain is ringing with -your name. - -NORTH. - -Not that I care for noisy fame--but I do dearly love the still. - -TALBOYS. - -And you have it, sir--enjoy it and be thankful. - -NORTH. - -But it may be too still. - -TALBOYS. - -My dear sir, what would you have? - -NORTH. - -I taught you, Talboys, to play Chess--and now you trumpet Staunton. - -TALBOYS. - -Chess--where's the board? Let us have a game. - -NORTH. - -Drafts--and you quote Anderson and the Shepherd Laddie. - -TALBOYS. - -Mr North, why so querulous? - -NORTH. - -Where was the Art of Criticism? Where Prose? Young Scotland owes -all her Composition to me--buries me in the earth--and then claims -inspiration from heaven. "How sharper than a Serpent's tooth it is to -have a thankless Child!" Peter--Peterkin--Pym--Stretch--where are your -lazinesses--clear decks. - - "Away with Melancholy-- - Nor doleful changes ring - On Life and human Folly, - But merrily, merrily sing--fal la!" - -BULLER. - -What a sweet pipe! A single snatch of an old song from you, sir-- - -NORTH. - -Why are you glowering at me, Talboys? - -TALBOYS. - -It has come into my head, I know not how, to ask you a question. - -NORTH. - -Let it be an easy one--for I am languid. - -TALBOYS. - -Pray, sir, what is the precise signification of the word "Classical?" - -NORTH. - -My dear Talboys, you seem to think that I have the power of answering, -off-hand, any and every question a first-rate fellow chooses to ask me. -Classical--classical! Why, I should say, in the first place--One and -one other Mighty People--Those, the Kings of Thought--These, the Kings -of the Earth. - -TALBOYS. - -The Greeks--and Romans. - -NORTH. - -In the second place-- - -TALBOYS. - -Attend--do attend, gentlemen. And I hope I am not too much presuming on -our not ancient friendship--for I feel that a few hours on Lochawe-side -give the privilege of years--in suggesting that you will have the -goodness to use the metal nut-crackers; they are more euphonious than -ivory with walnuts. - -NORTH. - -In the second place--let me consider--Mr Talboys--I should say--in the -second place--yes, I have it--a Character of Art expressing itself by -words: a mode--a mode of Poetry and Eloquence--FITNESS AND BEAUTY. - -TALBOYS. - -Thank you, sir. Fitness and Beauty. Anything more? - -NORTH. - -Much more. We think of the Greeks and Romans, sir, as those in whom the -Human Mind reached Superhuman Power. - -TALBOYS. - -Superhuman? - -NORTH. - -We think so--comparing ourselves with them, we cannot help it. In the -Hellenic Wit, we suppose Genius and Taste met at their height--the -Inspiration Omnipotent--the Instinct unerring! The creations of Greek -Poetry!--~Poiêsis~--a Making! There the soul seems to be free from -its chains--happily self-lawed. "The Earth we pace" is there peopled -with divine Forms. Sculpture was the human Form glorified--deified. -And as in Marble, so in Song. Something common--terrestrial--adheres -to _our_ being, and weighs _us_ down. They--the Hellenes--appear to us -to have _really_ walked--as we walk in our visions of exaltation--as -if the Graces and the Muses held sway over daily and hourly existence, -and not alone over work of Art and solemn occasion. No moral stain or -imperfection can hinder them from appearing to us as the Light of human -kind. Singular, that in Greece we reconcile ourselves to Heathenism. - -TALBOYS. - -It may be that we are all Heathens at heart. - -NORTH. - -The enthusiast adores Greece--not knowing that Greece monarchies over -him, only because it is a miraculous mirror that resplendently and more -beautifully reflects--himself-- - - "Divisque videbit - Permixtos Heroas, et IPSE, videbitur illis." - -SEWARD. - -Very fine. - -NORTH. - -O life of old, and long, long ago! In the meek, solemn, soul-stilling -hush of Academic Bowers! - -SEWARD. - -The Isis! - -NORTH. - -My youth returns. Come, spirits of the world that has been! Throw -open the valvules of these your shrines, in which you stand around -me, niched side by side, in visible presence, in this cathedral-like -Library! I read Historian, Poet, Orator, Voyager--a life that slid -silently away in shades, or that bounded like a bark over the billows. -I lift up the curtain of all ages--I stand under all skies--on the -Capitol--on the Acropolis. Like that magician whose spirit, with a -magical word, could leave his own bosom to inhabit another, I take upon -myself every mode of existence. I read Thucydides, and I would be a -Historian--Demosthenes, and I would be an Orator--Homer, and I dread to -believe myself called to be, in some shape or other, a servant of the -Muse. Heroes and Hermits of Thought--Seers of the Invisible--Prophets -of the Ineffable--Hierophants of profitable mysteries--Oracles of the -Nations--Luminaries of that spiritual Heaven! I bid ye, hail! - -BULLER. - -The fit is on him--he has not the slightest idea that he is in Deeside. - -NORTH. - -Ay--from the beginning a part of the race have separated themselves -from the dusty, and the dust-devoured, turmoil of Action to -Contemplation. Have thought--known--worshipped! And such knowledge -Books keep. Books now crumbling like Towers and Pyramids--now -outlasting them! Books that, from age to age, and all the sections of -mankind helping, build up the pile of Knowledge--a trophied Citadel. -He who can read Books as they should be read, peruses the operation of -the Creator in his conscious, and in his unconscious Works, which yet -we call upon to join, as if conscious, in our worship. Yet why--oh! why -all this pains to attain that, through the labour of ages, which in -the dewy, sunny prime of morn, one thrill of transport gives to me and -to the Lark alike, summoning, lifting both heavenwards? Ah! perchance -because the dewy, sunny prime does not last through the day! Because -light poured into the eyes, and sweet breath inhaled, are not the whole -of man's life here below--and because there is an Hereafter! - -SEWARD. - -I know where he is, Buller. He called it well a Cathedral-like Library. - -NORTH. - -The breath of departed years floats here for my respiration. The pure -air of heaven flows round about, but enters not. The sunbeams glide -in, bedimmed as if in some haunt half-separated from Life, yet on our -side of Death. Recess, hardly accessible--profound--of which I, the -sole inmate, held under an uncomprehended restraint, breathe, move, and -follow my own way and wise, apart from human mortals! Ye! tall, thick -Volumes, that are each a treasure-house of austere or blazing thoughts, -which of you shall I touch with sensitive fingers, of which violate the -calmly austere repose? I dread what I desire. You may disturb--you may -destroy me! Knowledge _pulsates_ in me, as I receive it, communing with -myself on my unquiet or tearful pillow--or as it visits me, brought on -the streaming moonlight, or from the fields afire with noon-splendour, -or looking at me from human eyes, and stirring round and around me -in the tumult of men--Your knowledge comes in a holy stillness and -chillness, as if spelt off tombstones. - -SEWARD. - -Magdalen College Library, I do believe. Mr North--Mr -North--awake--awake--here we are all in Deeside. - -NORTH. - -Ay--ay--you say well, Seward. "Look at the studies of the Great -Scholar, and see from how many quarters of the mind impulses may mingle -to compose the motives that bear him on with indefatigable strength in -his laborious career." - -SEWARD. - -These were not my very words, sir-- - -NORTH. - -Ay, Seward, you say well. From how many indeed! First among the prime, -that peculiar aptitude and faculty, which may be called--a Taste and -Genius for--Words. - -BULLER. - -I rather failed there in the Schools. - -NORTH. - -Yet you were in the First Class. There is implied in it, Seward, -a readiness of logical discrimination in the Understanding, which -apprehends the propriety of Words. - -BULLER. - -I got up my Logic passably and a little more. - -NORTH. - -For, Seward, the Thoughts, the Notions themselves--must be -distinctly dissevered in the mind, which shall exactly apply to each -Thought--Notion--its appropriate sign, its own Word. - -BULLER. - -You might as well have said "Buller"--for I beat Seward in my Logic. - -NORTH. - -But even to this task, Seward, of rightly distinguishing the meaning of -Words, more than a mere precision of thinking--more than a clearness -and strictness of the intellectual action is requisite. - -BULLER. - -And in Classics we were equal. - -NORTH. - -You will be convinced of this, Buller, if you recollect what Words -express. The mind itself. For all its affections and sensibilities, -Talboys, furnish a whole host of meanings, which must have names -in Language. For mankind do not rest from enriching and refining -their languages, until they have made them capable of giving the -representation of their whole Spirit. - -TALBOYS. - -The pupil of language, therefore, sir--pardon my presumption--before he -can recognise the appropriation of the Sign, must recognise the Thing -signified? - -NORTH. - -And if the Thing signified, Talboys, by the Word, be some profound, -solemn, and moral affection--or if it be some wild, fanciful -impression--or if it be some delicate shade or tinge of a tender -sensibility--can anything be more evident than that the Scholar must -have experienced in himself the solemn, or the wild, or the tenderly -delicate feeling before he is in the condition of affixing the right -and true sense to the Word that expresses it? - -TALBOYS. - -I should think so, sir. - -SEWARD. - -The Words of Man paint the spirit of Man. The Words of a People -depicture the Spirit of a People. - -NORTH. - -Well said, Seward. And, therefore, the Understanding that is to possess -the Words of a language, in the Spirit in which they were or are -spoken and written, must, by self-experience and sympathy, be able to -converse, and have conversed, with the Spirit of the People, now and of -old. - -BULLER. - -And yet what coarse fellows hold up their dunderheads as Scholars, -forsooth, in these our days! - -NORTH. - -Hence it is an impossibility that a low and hard moral nature should -furnish a high and fine Scholar. The intellectual endowments must -be supported and made available by the concurrence of the sensitive -nature--of the moral and the imaginative sensibilities. - -BULLER. - -What moral and imaginative sensibilities have they--the blear-eyed--the -purblind--the pompous and the pedantic! But we have some true -scholars--for example---- - -NORTH. - -No names, Buller. Yes, Seward, the knowledge of Words is the Gate of -Scholarship. Therefore I lay down upon the threshold of the Scholar's -Studies this first condition of his high and worthy success, that he -will not pluck the loftiest palm by means of acute, quick, clear, -penetrating, sagacious, intellectual faculties alone--let him not hope -it: that he requires to the highest renown also a capacious, profound, -and tender soul. - -SEWARD. - -Ay, sir, and I say so in all humility, this at the gateway, and upon -the threshold. How much more when he _reads_. - -NORTH. - -Ay, Seward, you laid the emphasis well there--_reads_. - -SEWARD. - -When the written Volumes of Mind from different and distant ages of -the world, from its different and distant climates, are successively -unrolled before his insatiable sight and his insatiable soul! - -BULLER. - -Take all things in moderation. - -NORTH. - -No--not the sacred hunger and thirst of the soul. - -BULLER. - -Greed--give--give. - -NORTH. - -From what unknown recesses, from what unlocked fountains in the -depth of his own being, shall he bring into the light of day the -thoughts by means of which he shall understand Homer, Pindar, -Æschylus, Demosthenes, Plato, Aristotle--DISCOURSING! Shall understand -them, as the younger did the elder--the contemporaries did the -contemporaries--as each sublime spirit understood--himself? - -BULLER. - -Did each sublime spirit always understand himself? - -TALBOYS. - -Urge that, Mr Buller. - -NORTH. - -So--and so only--to read, is to be a Scholar. - -BULLER. - -Then I am none. - -NORTH. - -I did not say you were. - -BULLER. - -Thank you. What do you think of that, Mr Talboys? Address Seward, sir. - -NORTH. - -I address you all three. Is the student smitten with the sacred love of -Song? Is he sensible to the profound allurement of philosophic truth? -Does he yearn to acquaint himself with the fates and fortunes of his -kind? All these several desires are so many several inducements of -learned study. - -BULLER. - -I understand that. - -TALBOYS. - -Ditto. - -NORTH. - -And another inducement to such study is--an ear sensible to the Beauty -of the Music of Words--and the metaphysical faculty of unravelling the -causal process which the human mind followed in imparting to a Word, -originally the sign of one Thought only, the power to signify a cognate -second Thought, which shall displace the first possessor and exponent, -usurp the throne, and rule for ever over an extended empire in the -minds, or the hearts, or the souls of men. - -BULLER. - -Let him have his swing, Mr Talboys. - -TALBOYS. - -He has it in that chair. - -NORTH. - -A Taste and a Genius for Words! An ear for the beautiful music of -Words! A happy justness in the perception of their strict proprieties! -A fine skill in apprehending the secret relations of Thought with -Thought--relations along which the mind moves with creative power, to -find out for its own use, and for the use of all minds to come, some -hitherto uncreated expression of an idea--an image--a sentiment--a -passion! These dispositions, and these faculties of the Scholar in -another Mind falling in with other faculties of genius, produce a -student of a different name--THE POET. - -BULLER. - -Oh! my dear dear sir, of Poetry we surely had enough--I don't say more -than enough--a few days ago, sir. - -NORTH. - -Who is the Poet? - -BULLER. - -I beseech you let the Poet alone for this evening. - -NORTH. - -Well--I will. I remember the time, Seward, when there was a great -clamour for a Standard of Taste. A definite measure of the indefinite! - -TALBOYS. - -Which is impossible. - -NORTH. - -And there is a great clamour for a Standard of Morals. A definite -measure of the indefinite! - -TALBOYS. - -Which is impossible. - -NORTH. - -Why, gentlemen, the Faculty of Beauty _lives_; and in finite beings, -which we are, Life changes incessantly. The Faculty of Moral Perception -_lives_--and thereby it too changes for better and for worse. This -is the Divine Law--at once encouraging and fearful--that Obedience -brightens the moral eyesight--Sin darkens. Let all men know this, -and keep it in mind always--that a single narrowest, simplest Duty, -steadily practised day after day, does more to support, and may do more -to enlighten the soul of the Doer, than a course of Moral Philosophy -taught by a tongue which a soul compounded of Bacon, Spenser, -Shakspeare, Homer, Demosthenes, and Burke--to say nothing of Socrates, -and Plato, and Aristotle, should inspire. - -BULLER. - -You put it strongly, sir. - -TALBOYS. - -Undeniable doctrine. - -NORTH. - -Gentlemen, you will often find this question--"Is there a Standard of -Taste?" inextricably confused with the question "Is there a true and a -false Taste?" He who denies the one seems to deny the other. In like -manner, "Is there a Right and Wrong?" And "is there accessible to us -an infallible measure of Right and Wrong" are two questions entirely -distinct, but often confused--for Logic fled the earth with Astræa. - -TALBOYS. - -She did. - -NORTH. - -Talboys, you understand well enough the sense and culture of the -Beautiful? - -TALBOYS. - -Something of it perhaps I do. - -NORTH. - -To feel--to love--to be swallowed up in the spirit and works of the -Beautiful--in verse and in the visible Universe! That is a life--an -enthusiasm--a worship. You find those who would if they could, and who -pretend they can, attain the same end at less cost. They have taken -lessons, and they will have their formalities go valid against the -intuitions of the dedicated soul. - -TALBOYS. - -But the lessons perish--the dedicated soul is a Power in all -emergencies and extremities. - -NORTH. - -There are Pharisees of Beauty--and Pharisees of Morality. - -SEWARD. - -At this day spiritual Christians lament that nine-tenths of Christians -Judaise. - -NORTH. - -Nor without good reason. The Gospel is the Standard of Christian -Morality. That is unquestionable. It is an authority without appeal, -and under which undoubtedly all matters, uncertain before, will -fall. But pray mark this--it is not a _positive standard_, in the -ordinary meaning of that word--it is not one of which our common human -understanding has only to require and to obtain the indications--which -it has only to apply and observe. - -SEWARD. - -I see your meaning, sir. The Gospel refers all moral intelligence to -the Light of Love within our hearts. Therefore, the very reading of the -canons, of every prescriptive line in it, must be by this light. - -NORTH. - -That is my meaning--but not my whole meaning, dear Seward. For take it, -as it unequivocally declares itself to be, a Revelation--not simply of -instruction, committed now and for ever to men in written human words, -and so left--but accompanied with a perpetual agency to enable Will and -Understanding to receive it; and then it will follow, I believe, that -it is at every moment intelligible and applicable in its full sense, -only by a direct and present inspiration--is it too much to say--anew -revealing itself? "They shall be taught of God." - -SEWARD. - -So far, then, from the Christian Morality being one of which the -Standard is applicable by every Understanding, with like result -in given cases, it is one that is different to every Christian in -proportion to his obedience? - -NORTH. - -Even so. I suppose that none have ever reached the full understanding -of it. It is an evergrowing illumination--a light more and more unto -the perfect day--which day I suppose cannot be of the same life, in -which we see as through a glass darkly. - -TALBOYS. - -May I offer an illustration? The land shall descend to the eldest -son--you shall love your neighbour as yourself. In the two codes these -are foundation-stones. But see how they differ! There is the land--here -is the eldest son--the right is clear and fast--and the case done with. -But--do to thy neighbour! Do what? and to whom? - -NORTH. - -All human actions, all human affections, all human thoughts are -then contained in the one Law--as the _subject_ of which it defines -the disposal. All mankind, but distributed into communities, and -individuals all differently related to me are contained in it, as the -parties in respect of whom it defines the disposal! - -SEWARD. - -And what is the Form? Do as thou wouldst it be done to thee! - -NORTH. - -Ay--my dear friend--The form resolves into a feeling. Love thy -neighbour. That is all. Is a measure given? As thyself. - -SEWARD. - -And is there no limitation? - -NORTH. - -By the whole apposition, thy love to thyself and thy neighbour are both -to be put together in subordination to, and limitation and regulation -by--thy Love to God. Love Him utterly--infinitely--with all thy mind, -all thy heart, all thy strength. This is the entire book or canon--THE -STANDARD. How wholly indefinite and formless, to the Understanding! How -full of light and form to the believing and loving Heart! - -SEWARD. - -The Moon is up--how calm the night after all that tempest--and how -steady the Stars! Images of enduring peace in the heart of nature--and -of man. They, too, are a Revelation. - -NORTH. - -They, too, are the legible Book of God. Try to conceive how different -the World must be to its rational inhabitant--with or without a Maker! -Think of it as a soulless--will-less World. In one sense, it abounds -as much with good to enjoy. But there is no good-giver. The banquet -spread, but the Lord of the Mansion away. The feast--and neither grace -nor welcome. The heaped enjoyment, without the gratitude. - -SEWARD. - -Yet there have been Philosophers who so misbelieved! - -NORTH. - -Alas! there have been--and alas! there are. And what low souls must -be theirs! The tone and temper of our feelings are determined by the -objects with which we habitually converse. If we see beautiful scenes, -they impart serenity--if sublime scenes, they elevate us. Will no -serenity, no elevation come from contemplating Him, of whose Thought -the Beautiful and the Sublime are but shadows! - -SEWARD. - -No sincere or elevating influence be lost out of a World out of which -He is lost? - -NORTH. - -_Now_ we look upon Planets and Suns, and see Intelligence ruling -them--on Seasons that succeed each other, we apprehend Design--on -plant and animal fitted to its place in the world, and furnished with -its due means of existence, and repeated for ever in its kind--and we -admire Wisdom. Oh! Atheist or Sceptic--what a difference to Us if the -marvellous Laws are here without a Lawgiver--If Design be here without -a Designer--all the Order that wisdom could mean and effect, and not -the Wisdom--if Chance, or Necessity, or Fate reigns here, and not -Mind--if this Universe is matter of Astonishment merely, and not of -adoration! - -SEWARD. - -We are made better, nobler, sir, by the society of the good and the -noble. Perhaps of ourselves unable to think high thoughts, and without -the bold warmth that dares generously, we catch by degrees something -of the mounting spirit, and of the ardour proper to the stronger souls -with whom we live familiarly, and become sharers and imitators of -virtues to which we could not have given birth. The devoted courage -of a leader turns his followers into heroes--the patient death of one -martyr inflames in a thousand slumbering bosoms a zeal answerable to -his own. And shall Perfect Goodness contemplated move no goodness in -us? Shall His Holiness and Purity raise in us no desire to be holy and -pure?--His infinite Love towards His creatures kindle no spark of love -in us towards our fellow-creatures! - -NORTH. - -God bless you, my dear Seward--but you speak well. Our -fellow-creatures! The name, the binding title, dissolves in air, if -He be not our common Creator. Take away that bond of relationship -among men, and according to circumstances they confront one another -as friends or foes--but Brothers no longer--if not children of one -celestial Father. - -TALBOYS. - -And if they no longer have immortal souls! - -NORTH. - -Oh! my friends--if this winged and swift life be all our life, what -a mournful taste have we had of possible happiness? We have, as it -were, from some dark and cold edge of a bright world, just looked in -and been plucked away again! Have we come to experience pleasure by -fits and glimpses; but intertwined with pain, burdensome labour, with -weariness, and with indifference? Have we come to try the solace and -joy of a warm, fearless, and confiding affection, to be then chilled -or blighted by bitterness, by separation, by change of heart, or by -the dread sunderer of loves--Death? Have we found the gladness and the -strength of knowledge, when some rays of truth have flashed in upon our -souls, in the midst of error and uncertainty, or amidst continuous, -necessitated, uninstructive avocations of the Understanding--and is -that all? Have we felt in fortunate hour the charm of the Beautiful, -that invests, as with a mantle, this visible Creation, or have we -found ourselves lifted above the earth by sudden apprehension of -sublimity? Have we had the consciousness of such feelings, which have -seemed to us as if they might themselves make up a life--almost an -angel's life--and were they "instant come and instant gone?" Have -we known the consolation of DOING RIGHT, in the midst of much that -we have done wrong? and was that also a corruscation of a transient -sunshine? Have we lifted up our thoughts to see Him who is Love, and -Light, and Truth, and Bliss, to be in the next instant plunged into the -darkness of annihilation? Have all these things been but flowers that -we have pulled by the side of a hard and tedious way, and that, after -gladdening us for a brief season with hue and odour, wither in our -hands, and are like ourselves--nothing? - -BULLER. - -I love you, sir, better and better every day. - -NORTH. - -We step the earth--we look abroad over it, and it seems immense--so -does the sea. What ages had men lived--and knew but a small portion. -They circumnavigate it now with a speed under which its vast bulk -shrinks. But let the astronomer lift up his glass and he learns to -believe in a total mass of matter, compared with which this great globe -itself becomes an imponderable grain of dust. And so to each of us -walking along the road of life, a year, a day, or an hour shall seem -long. As we grow older, the time shortens; but when we lift up our eyes -to look beyond this earth, our seventy years, and the few thousands of -years which have rolled over the human race, vanish into a point; for -then we are measuring Time against Eternity. - -TALBOYS. - -And if we can find ground for believing that this quickly-measured span -of Life is but the beginning--the dim daybreak of a Life immeasurable, -never attaining to its night--what _weight_ shall we any longer allow -to the cares, fears, toils, troubles, afflictions--which here have -sometimes bowed down our strength to the ground--a burden more than we -could bear? - -NORTH. - -They then all acquire a new character. That they are then felt as -transitory must do something towards lightening their load. But more is -disclosed in them; for they then appear as having an unsuspected worth -and use. If this life be but the beginning of another, then it may be -believed that the accidents and passages thereof have some bearing upon -the conditions of that other, and we learn to look on this as a state -of Probation. Let us out, and look at the sky. - - - - -THE ISLAND OF SARDINIA.[1] - - -The opinion of Nelson with regard to the importance of Sardinia,--that -it is "worth a hundred Maltas," is well known; and that he strongly -recommended its purchase to our government, thinking it might be -obtained for £500,000. We can scarcely believe that Nelson failed -to make an impression on the government, and conjecture rather that -it was with the King of Sardinia the precious inheritance of a -Naboth's vineyard. We do not remember to have met with a Sardinian -tourist. Travellers as we are, with our ready "Hand-Books" for the -remote corners of the earth, we seem, by a general consent, to have -cut Sardinia from the map of observable countries. "Nos numerus -sumus"--we plead guilty to this ignorance and neglect, and should have -remained unconcerned about Sardinia still, had we not, in the work of -Mr Tyndale, dipped into a few extracts from Lord Nelson's letters. -Extending our reading, we find in these three volumes so much research, -learning, historical speculation, and interesting matter, interspersed -with amusing narrative, that we think a notice in Maga of this valuable -and agreeable work may be not unacceptable. - -The very circumstance that Sardinia is little known, renders it an -agreeable speculation. The _ignotum_ makes the charm. Our pleasure -is in the fabulous, the dubious, the unexplained. In the ecstacy of -ignorance the reader stands by the side of Mr Layard, watching the -exhumation of the unknown gods or demons of Nineveh. "Ignorance is -bliss,"--for the subject-matter of ignorance is fact--fact isolated--or -the broken links in time's long chain. The mind longs to fabricate, -and connect. Were it possible that other sibylline books should be -offered for sale, it would be preferable that Mr Murray should act -the part of Tarquin than publish them as "Hand-Books." In truth, -curiosity, that happy ingredient in the clay of the human mind, if so -material an expression be allowed, is fed by ignorance, but dies under -a surfeit of knowledge. Now, to apply this to our subject--Sardinia. -The island is full of monuments, as mysterious to us as the Pyramids. -There is sufficient obscurity to make a "sublime." It is happy for -the reader, who has not lost his natural propensity to wonder, that -there is so little known respecting them, and yet such grounds -for conjecture; for he may be sure that, if any documents existed -anywhere, Mr Tyndale would have discovered them, for he is the most -indefatigable of authors in exploring in all the mines of literature. -But he has to treat of things that were before literature was. The -traveller who should first discover a Stonehenge--one who, walking on -a hitherto untrodden plain, should come suddenly upon two such great -sedate sitting images in stone as look over Egyptian sands--is he not -greatly to be envied? We, who peer about our cities and villages, -raking out decayed stone and mortar for broken pieces of antique art -or memorial, as we facetiously term the remnants of a few hundred -years, and of whose "whereabouts," from the beginning, we can receive -some tolerable assurance, have but a slight glimpse of the delight -experienced by the first finder of a monument of the Pelasgi, or -even Cyclopean walls. But to make conjecture upon monuments beyond -centuries--to count by thousands of years, and make out of them a -dream that shall, like an Arabian magician, take the dreamer back to -the Flood--is a happiness enjoyed by few. We never envied traveller -more than we once did that lady who came suddenly upon the Etrurian -monument, in which there was just aperture enough to see for a moment -only a sitting figure, with its look and drapery of more than thousands -of years; who just saw it for a few seconds, preserved only in the -stillness of antiquity, and falling to dust at her very breathing. Not -so ancient the monument, but of like character the discovery of him -who, digging within the walls of his own house at Portici, came upon -marble steps that led him down and down, till he found before him, -in the obscure, a white marble equestrian statue the size of life. -If one could be _made_ a poet, these two incidents were enough. The -interior of Sardinia has been hitherto a kind of "terra incognita." -Mr Tyndale must therefore have ascended and descended its craggy or -wooded mountains, and threaded its ravines, and crossed its fertile -or desolate plains, with no common feeling of expectation; and though -the frequent "Noraghe" and "Sepolture de is Gigantes," and their -accompanying strange conical stones, were not of a character to fill -him with that amazement produced by the above-mentioned incidents, -they were sufficiently mysterious, and the attempt to reach them in -some instances sufficiently adventurous--to keep alive the mind, and -stir the imagination to the working out visions, and conjuring up the -seeming-probable existences of the past, or wilder dreams, in such -variety as reason deduced or fancy willed. On one occasion he descended -an aperture, in a domed chamber of a Noraghe, groped his way through -a subterranean passage, and came upon some finely-pulverised matter, -"about fifteen inches deep, which at first appeared to be earth, but -on scraping into it were several human bones, some broken and others -mouldering away on being touched." But here the reader unacquainted -with Sardinia, as it may be presumed very many are, may ask something -about these Noraghe, with their domed chambers, and the Sepolture. -There may be a preliminary inquiry into the origin of the inhabitants. -Various are the statements of different authors: without following -chronological order, we may readily concur in their conclusions, that -the island was peopled by Phoenician, Libyan, Tyrrhenian, Greek, -Trojan, and other colonies--unless the disquisitions of some historians -of our day would compel us to reject the Trojans, in the doubt as -to the existence of Troy itself. But many of these may have been -only partial, temporary immigrations, which found a people in prior -possession. The argument is strongly in favour of the supposition that -the Sarde nation are of Phoenician origin, and that its antiquities are -Phoenician, or of a still earlier epoch. In descending to more historic -times, we find the Carthaginians exercising influence there as early -as 700 B.C., and that the island suffered severely from the alternate -sway of the rival powers of Rome and Carthage. And here we are disposed -to rest, utterly disinclined to follow the labyrinth of cruelties -which the history of every people, nation, and language under the sun -presents. - -If, at least for the present moment, a disgust of history is a -disqualification for the notice of such a work as this before us, the -reader must be referred to the book itself at once; but there are in -it so many subjects of interest, both as to customs, manners, and -some characters that shine out from the dark pages of history here -and there, that we venture on, not careful of the thread, but with a -purpose of taking it up, wherever there may be a promise of amusement. -There is little pleasure in recording how many hundreds of thousands -were put to the sword by Carthaginians, Romans, and, subsequently, -Vandals and Goths; nor the various tyrannies arising out of contests -for the possession of the island, which have been continually inflicted -upon the people by the European powers of Christian times. Mankind -never did, and it may be supposed never will, let each other alone. We -are willing to believe that peace and security, for any continuance, -is not for man on earth, and that his nature requires this universal -stirring activity of aggression and defence, for the development of -his powers--and that out of this evil comes good. Where would be -virtue without suffering? Yet we are not always in the humour to sit -out the tragedy of human life. There are moments when the present and -real troubles of our own times press too heavily on the spirits, and -we shrink from the scrutiny of past results, through a dread of a -similar future, and gladly seek relief from bitter truths in lighter -speculations. In such a humour we confess a dislike to biography, in -which kind of reading the future does cast its dark shadow before, -and we are constantly haunted by the ghost of the last pages, amid -the earnest pursuits and perhaps gaieties of the first. But what that -last page of biography is, we find nearly every page of history to be, -only far sadder, and far more cruel. The man's tale may tell us that -at least he died in his bed; but history draws up the curtain at every -act, presenting to the unquiet sight, scenes of wholesale tortures, -poisonings, slaughters, and fields of unburied and mutilated carcases. - -It is time to say something of these monuments of great antiquity, the -Noraghe, and what they are, before speculating upon who built them. We -extract the following account, unable to make it more concise:-- - - "All are built on natural or artificial mounds, whether in - valleys, plains, or on mountains, and some are partially enclosed - at a slight distance, by a low wall of a similar construction to - the building. Their essential architectural feature is a truncated - cone or tower, averaging from thirty to sixty feet in height, and - from one hundred to three hundred in circumference at the base. - The majority have no basement, but the rest are raised on one - extending either in corresponding or in irregular shape, and of - which the perimeter varies from three hundred to six hundred and - fifty-three feet, the largest yet measured. The inward inclination - of the exterior wall of the principal tower, which almost always - is the centre of the building, is so well executed as to present, - in its elevation, a perfect and continuously symmetrical line; but - sometimes a small portion of the external face of the outer-works - of the basements, which are not regular, is straight and - perpendicular: such instances are, however, very rare. There is - every reason to believe, though without positive proof--for none - of the Noraghe are quite perfect--that the cone was originally - truncated, and formed thereby a platform on its summit. The - material of which they are built being always the natural stone - of the locality, we accordingly find them of granite, limestone, - basalt, trachyte porphyry, lava, and tufa; the blocks varying in - shape and size from three to nine cubic feet, while those forming - the architraves of the passages are sometimes twelve feet long, - five feet wide, and the same in depth. The surfaces present that - slight irregularity which proves the blocks to have been rudely - worked by the hammer, but with sufficient exactness to form - regular horizontal layers. With few exceptions, the stones are not - polygonal, but, when so, are without that regularity of form which - would indicate the use of the rule; nor is their construction - of the Cyclopean and Pelasgic styles; neither have they any - sculpture, ornamental work, or cement. The external entrance, - invariably between the E.S.E. and S. by W., but generally to the - east of south, seldom exceeds five feet high and two feet wide, - and is often so small as to necessitate crawling on all fours. The - architrave, as previously mentioned, is very large; but having - once passed it, a passage varying from three to six feet high, - and two to four wide, leads to the principal domed chamber, the - entrance to which is sometimes by another low aperture as small - as the first. The interior of the cone consists of one, two, or - three domed chambers, placed one above the other, and diminishing - in size in proportion to the external inclination; the lowest - averaging from fifteen to twenty feet in diameter, and from twenty - to twenty-five in height. The base of each is always circular, - but, when otherwise, elliptical; the edges of the stones, where - the tiers overlay each other, are worked off, so that the exterior - assumes a semi-ovoidal form, or that of which the section would - be a parabola, the apex being crowned with a large flat stone, - resting on the last circular layer, which is reduced to a small - diameter." "In the interior of the lowest chamber, and on a - level with the floor, are frequently from two to four cells or - niches, formed in the thickness of the masonry without external - communication, varying from three to six feet long, two to four - wide, and two to five high, and only accessible by very small - entrances. The access to the second and third chambers, as well as - to the platform on the top of those Noraghe which have only one - chamber, is by a spiral corridor made in the building, either as a - simple ramp, with a gradual ascent, or with rough irregular steps - made in the stones. The corridor varies from three to six feet in - height, and from two to four in width, and the outer side either - inclines according to the external wall of the cone, and the inner - side according to the domed chamber, or resembles in the section - a segment of a circle. The entrance to this spiral corridor is - generally in the horizontal passage which leads from the external - entrance to the first-floor chamber of the cone; though sometimes - it is by a small aperture in the chamber, about six or eight feet - from the base, and very difficult of entry. The upper chambers are - entered by a small passage at right angles to this corridor; and - opposite to this passage, is often a small aperture in the outer - wall, having apparently no regular position, though frequently - over the external entrance to the ground floor; while, in some - instances, there are several apertures so made that only the sky, - or most distant objects in the horizon, are visible." - -Such is the description of these singular structures--when and by whom -built? Their number must have been very great indeed; for although -there have ever been decay and abstraction of the materials for -common purposes going on, there are now upwards of three thousand in -existence; yet, not one has been built during the last 2500 years. Not -only is the inquiry, by whom, and when were they erected, but for what -purpose? On all these points, various opinions have been given. Mr -Tyndale, who has well weighed all that has been written on the subject, -is of opinion that they were built by the very early Canaanites, -when, expelled from their country, they migrated to Sardinia. There -are visible indications of other migrations of the Canaanites, but -nowhere are exactly, or even nearly similar buildings found. We know, -upon the authority of Procopius, that in Mauritania were two columns, -on which were inscribed in Phoenician characters, "We are those who -fled from the face of Joshua, the robber, the son of Nane." There is -certainly a kind of similarity between these buildings and the round -towers of Ireland--a subject examined by our author; but there is also -a striking dissimilarity in dimensions, they not being more than from -eight to fifteen feet in diameter. But there is a tumulus on the banks -of the Boyne, between Drogheda and Slane, which in its passages, domed -chambers, and general dimensions, may find some affinity with the Sarde -Noraghe. It certainly is curious that an opinion has been formed, not -without show of reason for the conjecture, that these people, whether -as Canaanites, Phoenicians, or Carthaginians, reached Ireland; and it -is well known that the single specimen of the Carthaginian language, -in a passage in Plautus, is very intelligible Irish. It has been -observed that when Cato, in the Roman senate, uttered those celebrated -and significant words, "Delenda est Carthago," he was unconsciously -fulfilling a decree against that denounced people. We should be -unwilling to trace the denunciation further. There are, however, few -things more astonishing in history, than that so powerful a people -as the Carthaginians were--the great rivals of the masters of the -world, should have been apparently so utterly swept from the face of -the world, and nothing left, even of their language, but those few -unintelligible (unless they be Irish) words in Plautus. - -The "Sepolture de is Gigantes" should also be here noticed. - - "They may be described as a series of large stones placed together - without any cement, enclosing a foss or vacuum, from fifteen to - thirty-six feet long, from three to six wide, the same in depth, - with immense flat stones resting on them as a covering; but though - the latter are not always found, it is evident, by a comparison - with the more perfect sepulture, that they once existed, and - have been destroyed or removed. The foss runs invariably from - north-west to south-east; and at the latter point is a large - upright headstone, averaging from ten to fifteen feet high, - varying in its form from the square, elliptical, and conical, to - that of three quarters of an egg, and having in many instances an - aperture about eighteen inches square at its base. On either side - of this still commences a series of separate stones, irregular in - size and shape, but forming an arc, the chord of which varies from - twenty to forty feet, so that the whole figure somewhat resembles - the bow and shank of a spear." - -Their number must have been very great. They are called sepulchres -of giants by the Sardes, who believe that giants were buried within -them. There is no doubt that these Sepolture and Noraghe were works -of one and the same people. Mr Tyndale thinks, if the one kind of -structure were tombs, so were the other: we should draw a different -conclusion from their general contiguity to each other. It should be -mentioned, that in the Noraghe have been found several earthenware -figures, which are described in La Marmora's work as Phoenician idols. -There is another very remarkable object of antiquity--"a row of six -conical stones near the Sepoltura, standing in a straight line, a few -paces apart from each other, with the exception of one, which has -been upset, and lies on the ground, but in the sketch is represented -as standing. They are about four feet eight inches high, of two kinds, -and have been designated male and female, from three of them having -two globular projections from the surface of the stone, resembling -the breasts of a woman." He meets elsewhere with five others, there -evidently having been a sixth, but without the above remarkable -significance. We know, from Herodotus, that columns were set up with -female emblems, denoting the conquest over an effeminate people, but -can scarcely attribute to these such a meaning, for they are together -of both kinds. For a curious and learned dissertation upon the subject -of these antiquities, we confidently refer the reader to Mr Tyndale's -book. - -After the mention of these singular monuments, perhaps of three -thousand years ago, it may be scarcely worth while to notice the -antiquities of, comparatively speaking, a modern date, Roman or other. -Nor do we intend to speak of the history of the people under the Romans -or Carthaginians, and but shortly notice that kind of government -under "Giudici," as princes presiding over the several provinces some -centuries before the Pisan, Genoese, and Aragon possession of the -island. The origin of this government is involved in much obscurity; -there are, however, documents of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, -which speak of preceding Giudici, and their acts. It would be idle to -inquire why they were called Giudici: it may suffice, that the "judges" -were the actual rulers. - -"It is supposed," says our author, "that the whole island was -originally comprehended in one Giudicato, of which Cagliari was the -capital; but, in the course of time, the local interests of each grew -sufficiently self-important to cause a subdivision and establishment of -separate Giudicati." The minor ones were in time swallowed up by the -others, and only four remained, of which there is a precise history, -Cagliari, Arborea, Gallura, and Logudoro. - -To us, the government of Giudicati is interesting from its similarity -to the condition of England under the Heptarchy. This similarity is -traced through its detail by Mr Tyndale. The Giudici are mentioned as -early as 598, though there is no account of any direct succession till -about 900. "In both countries the ecclesiastics took a leading part in -the administration of public affairs; and the hierarchy of Sardinia was -as sacred and honoured as that of England, where, by the laws of some -of the provinces of the Heptarchy, the price of the archbishop's head -was even higher than that of the king's. It is unnecessary, though it -would be easy, to give further proofs of similarity in the institutions -of the two countries; but those above are sufficient to show their -analogy, without the appearance of there having been the slightest -connexion or communication with each other, or derived from the same -origin." Perhaps something may be attributed to the long possession of -both countries by the Romans. We have not certainly lost all trace of -them in our own. - -The government of the Giudici was not characterised by feudalism, -before the Pisan, Genoese, and Aragon influence. It did, however, -become established in all its usual forms. Feudalism has, however, been -abolished by the present reigning family; and we trust, notwithstanding -our author's evident doubts and suspicious, that the change will -ultimately, if not immediately, be for the happiness of the Sardes. -It requires a very intimate knowledge of a people, of their habits, -their modes of thinking, their character as a race, as well as their -character from custom, to say that this or that form of government is -best suited to them. - -The constitution-mongering fancy is a very mischievous one, and is -generally that of a very self-conceited mind. There are some among us, -in high places, who have dabbled very unsuccessfully that way; and -there is now enough going on in the state of Europe to read them a -good lesson. Carlo Alberto is no great favourite with Mr Tyndale; yet -we are not sure that he has not done more wisely for Sardinia than if -the barons had set aside their "pride and ignorance," and made such -"spontaneous concessions" as we find elsewhere have not had very happy -terminations. We conclude the following was written prior to events -which throw rather a new light on the nature of constitutional reforms, -as they are called: "In Hungary and Sicily the nobles, with generous -patriotism, voluntarily conceded, not only privileges, but pecuniary -advantages, and the people have reaped the benefit. In Sardinia, the -empty pride and ignorance of the greater part of the feudal barons -always prevented such a spontaneous concession." We beg Mr Tyndale to -reflect upon the peculiar _benefits_ those two happy people are now -reaping. A man cannot tell his own growth of mind and character, how -he comes to be what he is; but he must have little reflection indeed -not to know, that, under other circumstances than those in which he has -been placed, he must have been a very different man, and have required -a very different kind of self, or other government, to regulate his own -happiness. So institutions grow--and so governments. Paper changes are -very pretty pieces for declamation; but for sudden application, and -that to all, whatever their condition in morals and knowledge, they are -but "~sêmata lygra~," and indicate bloodshed. - -To return, however. We will not dismiss the subject of the Giudici -without the mention of two persons whose romantic histories are -intimately connected with Sardinian affairs. The celebrated Enzio, -illegitimate son of the Emperor Frederick II. and the Giudicessa -Eleonora. More than a century elapsed between these two extraordinary -characters; the benefits conferred on Sardinia by the latter may be -said to still live in some of the excellent laws which she established. - -Enzio, not a Sarde by birth, by his marriage with Adelasia, a widow, -Giudicessa of Torres, and Gallura, and a part of Cagliari, came into -possession of those provinces, and soon, by treaty and force of arms, -became powerful over the whole island. The favourite son of Frederick -II., as a matter of course, he obtained the enmity of Gregory IX., -who had, by this marriage, been foiled in his schemes upon Sardinia, -through a marriage he contemplated between Adelasia and one of his -own relatives. Enzio bore an illustrious part in the warfare of those -times, between the Pope and the Emperor; and such was his success, -that, after his celebrated engagement of the fleets near Leghorn, and -the capture of the prelates who had been summoned from the Empire to -the Pope--to prevent whose arrival this armament was undertaken--Pope -Gregory died in his hundredth year, his disease having been greatly -aggravated by this disastrous event. The quarrel was, however, -continued by his successor, Innocent IV., and the fortune of events -turned against the Emperor. Enzio was taken prisoner in an unsuccessful -battle near Modena, by the Bolognese, and was, though handsomely -treated, detained captive twenty years, during which all the members of -his family quitted this life. He consoled the hours of his captivity by -music and poetry, in which he excelled, so as to have obtained eminence -as a poet amongst the poets of Italy. But he enjoyed a still sweeter -solace. When he had been led in triumph as prisoner into Bologna, in -his twenty-fifth year, so early had he distinguished himself as a -warrior, the beauty of his person, and the elegance of his deportment, -awakened in all the tenderest sympathies. An accomplished maiden of -Bologna, Lucia Viadagoli, besides the pity and admiration which all -felt, entertained for him the most ardent passion; an intimacy ensued, -and the passion was as mutual as it was ardent. From this connexion, as -it is said, arose the founder of the family of Bentivoglio, who were, -in after years, the avengers of his sufferings, and lords over the -proud republic. He had likewise obtained the devoted attachment of a -youth, Pietro Asinelli; through this faithful friend, a plan was laid -down for his escape, which was very nearly successful. He was carried -out in a tun, in which some excellent wine for the King Enzio's use -had been brought. His friends Asinelli and Rainerio de' Gonfalioneri -were waiting near, with horses for his escape, when a lock of beautiful -hair, protruding from the barrel, was discovered, either by a soldier, -or, as some say, a maid, or an old mad woman, for accounts vary. Alarm -was given, and the prisoner rescued in his place of confinement. -Gonfalioneri was arrested and executed; his friend Asinelli escaped, -but was banished for life. Enzio died in this captivity in the 47th -year of his age, 15th March 1272, on the anniversary of his father -the Emperor's death, ad the saints' day of his beloved Lucia. He was -buried magnificently at the expense of the republic. It might have been -recorded of him, that he possessed every virtue, had not his conduct to -his wife left a stain on his name. His early and ill-assorted marriage -may offer some excuse for one who showed himself so amiable on all -other occasions. He had won and governed Sardinia, and "conquered a -great part of Italy, at an age when the vast majority of youths, even -under the most favourable circumstances, are but beginning to aspire -to glory and active life; while, equally fitted for the duties of a -peaceful statesman, he was, at the same early age, intrusted with a -highly important charge, and opposed to the most subtle politicians." - -Should any future Hesiod meditate another poem on illustrious women, -Eleonora of Sardinia will have a conspicuous place among the "~Êoiai~." -This Giudicessa was born about the middle of the fourteenth century. -Her father was Mariano IV., Giudice of Arborea. She was married to -Brancaleone Doria, a man altogether inferior to his wife. On the -death of her brother Ugone IV., a man worthy of note, she assumed the -government, styling herself Giudicessa of Arborea, in the name of her -infant son; in this she displayed a talent and vigour superior even to -her father. - - "The first occasion on which her courage and political sagacity - were tried, was on the murder of her brother Ugone, and his - daughter Benedetta, when the insurgents sought to destroy the - whole reigning family, and to form themselves into a republic. - Perceiving the danger which threatened the lives and rights of her - sons, and undismayed by the pusillanimous conduct of her husband, - who fled for succour to the court of Aragon, she promptly took - the command in the state, and placing herself in arms, at the - head of such troops as remained faithful, speedily and entirely - discomfited the rebels. She lost no time in taking possession of - the territories and castles belonging to the Giudici of Arborea, - causing all people to do homage, and swear fealty to the young - prince, her son; and wrote to obtain assistance from the King - of Aragon, in restoring order in her Giudicato. Brancaleone, - encouraged by his wife's intrepidity and success, asked permission - from the King of Aragon to return to Sardinia with the promised - auxiliaries; but the king, alarmed at the high spirit of the - Giudicessa, prevented his departure, and kept him in stricter - confinement, under pretence of conferring greater honours on him. - He was, however, at last allowed to depart, under certain heavy - conditions, one of them being the surrender of Frederic, his son, - as a hostage for the performance of a treaty then commenced. On - his arrival at Cagliari in 1384, with the Aragonese army, he - repeatedly besought his wife to submit to the king, in pursuance - of the treaties. It was in vain. Despising alike the pusillanimous - recommendation of her husband, and the threats of the Aragonese - general, she for two years kept up a courageous and successful - warfare against the latter, till having, by her exertions, - acquired an advantageous position, she commenced a treaty with - her enemy respecting the sovereignty in dispute, and for the - deliverance of her husband, who, during the whole of the time, was - kept in close confinement at Cagliari." - -Finally, these terms of peace, so honourable to her, were signed by Don -Juan I., who succeeded his brother Pedro, who died in 1387. - - "The peace was but ill kept, for Brancaleone, when at liberty, and - once more under the influence of his high-minded wife, regained - his courage, and in 1390, renewing the war more fiercely than - ever, he continued it for many years, without the Kings of Aragon - ever reducing Eleonora to submission, or obtaining possession of - her dominions. She formed alliances with Genoa, and, with the - aid of their fleet, took such vigorous measures that nearly the - whole of Logoduro was in a short time subdued; while Brancaleone, - inspired by her example, reconquered Sassari, the castle of Osilo, - and besieged the royal fortresses of Alghero and Chivia." - -After this, Don Martino, who succeeded his brother Don Juan I. of -Aragon, made peace, which secured the prosperity and honour of Arborea -during the life of Eleonora. But this extraordinary woman not only, -in a remarkable degree, exhibited the talents of a great general, and -the genius of a consummate politician, but, for that age, a wonderful -forethought, sagacity, and humanity, in the fabrication of a code of -laws for her people. As Debora _judged_ Israel, and the people came to -her for judgment, so might it be said of Eleonora. - - "The Carta di Logu, so called from its being the code of laws in - her own dominions, had been commenced by her father, Mariano IV., - but being compiled, finished, and promulgated by Eleonora, to her - is chiefly due the merit of the undertaking, and the worthy title - of enlightened legislatrix. It was first published on 11th April - 1395, and by its provisions, the forms of legal proceedings and - of criminal law are established, the civil and customary laws - defined, those for the protection of agriculture enjoined, the - rights and duties of every subject explained, the punishments for - offences regulated; and, in these last provisions, when compared - with the cruelty of the jurisprudence of that age, we are struck - with the humanity of the Carta de Logu, and its superiority to - the other institutions of that period. The framing of a body of - laws so far in advance of those of other countries, where greater - civilisation existed, must ever be the highest ornament in the - diadem of the Giudicessa. Its merits were so generally felt, that, - though intended only for the use of the dominions subject to her - own sceptre, it was some years after her death adopted throughout - the island, at a parliament held under Don Alfonzo V., in 1421. - This great princess died of the plague in 1403 or 1404, regretted - by all her subjects." - -Of the natural curiosities, the Antro de Nettuno, a stalactitic grotto, -about twelve miles from Alghero, is one of the most interesting. It -was seen by Mr Tyndale under very favourable circumstances, he having -been invited by the civic authorities to visit it in the suite of -the King of Sardinia. The Antro de Nettuno is under the stupendous -cliffs of Capo Caccia, close to the little island of Foradala. "In -parts of the grotto were corridors and galleries some 300 or 400 feet -long, reminding one, if the comparison is allowable, of the Moorish -architecture of the Alhambra. One of them terminates abruptly in a -deep cavern, into which we were prevented descending." "Some of the -columns, in different parts of the grotto, are from seventy to eighty -feet in circumference, and the masses of drapery, drooping in exquisite -elegance, are of equally grand proportions." - -The coast of Alghero is noted for the Pinna marina, of the mussel -tribe, whose bivalved shell frequently exceeds two feet in length. As -the shark is accompanied by its pilot fish, so is this huge mussel by -a diminutive shrimp, supposed to be appointed by nature as a watchman, -but in fact the prey of the Pinna. The Pinna is fastened by its -hinges to the rock, and is itself a prey to a most wily creature, the -Polypus octopodia. This crafty creature may be seen, in fine weather, -approaching its victim with a pebble in its claws, which it adroitly -darts into the aperture of the yawning shells, so that the Pinna can -neither shut itself close, to pinch off the feelers of the polypus, -nor save itself from being devoured. The tunny fishery is of some -importance to the Sardes. Mr Tyndale was present at one of their great -days of operation, the Tonnara. A large inclosure is artificially made, -into which the fish pass, when the "portcullis" is let down, and a -great slaughter commences. - - "Fears now began to be expressed lest the wind, which had - increased, should make it too rough for the Mattanza, but, while - discussing it, a loud cry broke upon us of 'Guarda sotto'--'look - beneath.' The ever watchful Rais, (commander,) whose eye had - never been off its victims, in a moment had perceived by their - movements that they were making for the Foratico, and, obeying - his warning voice, we all were immediately on our knees, - bending over the sides of the barges, to watch the irruption, - and, from the dead silence and our position, it appeared as if - we were all at prayers. In less than two minutes the shoal of - nearly 500 had passed through. The well-known voice shouted out - 'Ammorsella'--'let down the portcullis,'--down it went amid the - general and hearty cheers of all present; and the fatal Foratico, - into which 'Lasciate ogni speranza voi che entrate,' was for ever - closed on them." - -Whatever foundation there may be for conjecture as to the origin of -the races, and extent of Phoenician migrations, we are continually -struck with the resemblance between the Sardes and the native Irish. -There is the same indolence, the same recklessness, superstition, -and Vendetta--that disregard of shedding human blood, and the same -screening of the murderers, who, we are told, though well known, -visit the towns on "festa" days, fearlessly and with impunity. But the -Vendetta of the Sardes is not only more excusable, from a habitual -denial or perversion of justice, but it has its own honourable and -humane laws, not under any circumstances to be infringed, which -place it in conspicuous contrast with the too common barbarities and -cruelties of our unfortunate sister island. - -The Sardinian "fuorusciti" are not the Italian banditti. The term -includes, with the robber, those who escape from the arm of the law, -and the avenger of injuries. These take to the mountains. The common -robbers are few, and their attacks on passengers are for necessary -subsistence, and more commonly for gunpowder with which they may -obtain it. Those who escape from the consequences of crime for -vengeance--Vendetta--are many; but these, as we related, have their -humane code, we might almost say their romantic--for the presence of -a woman is a perfect security. It is their law that no atrocity, no -Vendetta, is allowable when a woman is in the company. A foe travelling -with wife or child is safe. A melancholy instance of a breach of this -law is thus given:-- - - "A brigand was conducting his wife on horseback through the - mountains when he suddenly met his adversary, who, regardless of - the conventional and living flag of truce, attacked and slew him, - together with his pregnant wife. The relations and friends of the - deceased were not the only outraged parties; a general feeling - of indignation and vengeance was kindled throughout the whole - province. Every bandit felt it to be a breach of their laws of - honour; and even the murderer's partisans not only denounced the - act, but 'refused him the kiss of peace.' The mangled corpses were - conveyed home, and the friends of the deceased having sworn, on - the body of the unfortunate Teodora, a perpetual Vendetta against - the family of the assassin, a system of revenge and bloodshed - was framed and carried out to such an extent, that hundreds of - victims, perfectly innocent of even indirect participation in this - single act of dishonour, fell in all parts of Gallura." - -Another characteristic story is told. A party of six females were -sojourning at a church, performing a "Novena." Some banditti, knowing -this, descended from their mountains to visit them, and proposed the -hospitality of the mountains. The women assented, and accompanied -the bandits, who treated them with respect, and they closed their -evenings with songs and dancing. The banditti kept watch the whole -night guarding their fair guests: one of the bandits had been the -rejected lover of one of the party, whose husband and other friends, -hearing of this departure to the mountains, in fear and for vengeance, -collected in force to rescue the women. The bandits, in their descent, -to conduct back their guests, met the other party ascending. The -presence of women prohibited Vendetta; a truce was therefore demanded, -when the bridegroom and the rejected lover met, with feelings of past -injuries, and fears of more recent on one side. Each had his gun -cocked; they felt them, and gazed at each other. Their lives were at -instant peril, when the bride rushed into the arms of her husband, -seized his gun, and discharged it; then, placing herself in front to -protect him, she led him up to the bandit, and demanded from him his -gun. He yielded it, and she discharged it also. The rest of the party -pressed on, an explanation was given of the nature of the visit, and -both parties joined in a feast, and mutual explanations of former -differences were given and received, their Vendetta terminated, and -a general and lasting reconciliation took place. Such quarrels are, -however, sometimes settled otherwise than by Vendetta. The "Paci" are -reconciliations through means of the priest. The parties meet in the -open air near some chapel, and such settlements are perpetual. But -another mode is preferred, by "Ragionatori" or umpires; but appeals may -be made from these to a greater number, whose decision is final. An -interesting anecdote showing their power is thus told:-- - - "It was the case of a young shepherd who had been too ardent - in his advances to a young maiden. On the youth demurring to - the decision as too severe, the Ragionatori, indignant at his - presumption, arose from under the shady wild olive, and saying - to the surprised spectators, 'we have spoken, and done justice,' - saluted them and turned towards their homes. But one of his - nearest relations, who was leaning against the knotted trunk of - an oak, with his bearded chin resting on the back of his hand on - the muzzle of his gun, raised his head, and, with a fierce look, - extended his right hand to the Ragionatori: 'Stop, friends!' he - exclaimed, 'the thing must be finished at this moment.' Then - turning to his nephew, with a determined and resolute countenance, - and placing his right hand upon his chest, he said to him, 'Come, - instantly!--either obey the verdict of the Ragionatori, or----'. - The offender, at this deadly threat, no longer hesitated, but - approached the offended party and sued for pardon. The uncle, - thus satisfied, advanced, and demanded for him the hand of the - maiden; the betrothal took place, and things being thus happily - terminated, they betook themselves to prepare the feast." - -We could wish that we had space to describe an interview our author -had with one of the Fuorusciti, and of his rescue of his guide from -the Vendetta. But we must refer to the book for this, and many other -well-told incidents respecting these strange people; and particularly -a romantic tale of "Il Rosario e La Palla," which, if not in all its -parts to be credited, is no bad invention--"_Se non e vero e ben' -trovato._" - -We would make some inquiry into the habits and manners of the Sardes. -We have before observed their resemblance to the Irish. A description -of the houses, or rather huts or hovels in the country, will remind -the reader of the Irish cabin, where a hole in the roof serves for -chimney, and the pig and the family associate on terms of mutual right. -Like Italians in general, they are under a nervous hydrophobia, and -prefer dirt to cleanliness, and, in common with really savage nations, -lard their hair with an inordinate quantity of grease. Washing is very -superfluous, as if they considered the removal of dirt as the taking -off a natural clothing. Upon one occasion Mr Tyndale, arriving at a -friend's house, and retiring to his room, sent his servant to request -some jugs of water, for ablution after a hot ride. This unusual demand -put the whole habitation into commotion, and brought the host and -several visitors in his rear, into the room, while Mr Tyndale was in -a state of nudity, to ascertain the use of so much water. They had no -idea of this being an indelicate intrusion. Finding that the water was -for a kind of cold bath, they were astonished--"What, wash in cold -water? what is the good of it? do all your countrymen do such things? -are they very dirty in England? we do not wash in that way--why do -you?" Such were the questions, on the spot, which he was required -to answer. But they were reiterated by the ladies below stairs, who -expressed amazement at the eccentricities of the English. - -Hospitality is the common virtue of the Sardes. "In most houses -admitting of an extra room, one is set apart for the guests--the -_hospitale cubiculum_ of the Romans--ready and open to all strangers." -It would be the highest offence to offer the smallest gratuity to the -host, however humble, though a trifle may be given to a servant. "La -mia casa è piccola, ma il cuore é grande," (my house is small, but my -heart is large,) was the apology on one occasion of his Cavallante, -on his arrival in Tempio, where, owing to the presence of the King, -not a bed was to be had, and the Cavallante earnestly entreated the -use of his hospitality, which, indeed, seemed in the proof to bear -no proportion to his means of exercising it. Even the family bed -was emptied of four children and a wife's sister, in spite of all -remonstrance, for his accommodation. - -Where hospitality is a custom stronger than law, inns offer few -comforts and fewer luxuries--the traveller is supposed to bring, not -only his own provisions, but his own furniture. Our traveller arriving -at Ozieri, a town with more than eight thousand inhabitants, "mine -host" was astonished at the unreasonable demand of a bed. Finding how -things were, Mr Tyndale stood in the court-yard, contemplating the -alternative of presenting some of his letters to parties in the town, -when he was attracted to a window on the other side of the court, from -whence this invitation issued: "Sir, it is impossible for you to go to -the Osteria; there is no accommodation fit for you. Apparently you are -a stranger, and if you have no friends here, pray accept what little -we can do for you." He ascended the stairs to thank his hostess, who -sent for her husband, holding a high government appointment in the -town, who received and entertained him as if they had been his intimate -friends. On another occasion, in search of the Perdas Lungas stones, -antiquarian curiosities, he met a stranger, who, though going to Nuovo -in a great hurry, and anxious to return for the Festa, on finding he -was a foreigner, insisted on accompanying him, as he was acquainted -with the way--"one of the many instances," says Mr Tyndale, "of Sarde -civility and kindness." And such hospitable kindness he invariably -received, whether in towns or among the poorest in the mountain -villages, or more lonely places. It has been cynically observed, that -hospitality is the virtue of uncivilised nations. However selfishly -gratifying the exercise of it may have been to that wealthy Scotch -laird, who said that his nearest neighbour, as a gentleman, was the -King of Denmark, among such a people as the Sardes, it surely may be an -indication of natural kindness, and, in some degree, of honesty, for -our civilised roguery is a sore destroyer of open-housed hospitality. - -A royal return for hospitable care is, however, not to be altogether -rejected. When the King of Sardinia visited the island, a shepherd of -the little island of Tavolara, the ancient Hermea, near the port of -Terranova, of simple manners and notions, sent his majesty some sheep -and wild goats, judging that the royal larder might not be over-richly -stored. His majesty properly, in turn, requested to know if he could -grant him anything. The shepherd consulted his family upon all their -real and imaginary wants, and finally decided against luxuries, but -"would not mind if the king gave him a pound of gunpowder." On the -royal messenger, therefore, suggesting that he should ask for something -else, the dilemma was greater than ever; but, after strolling about, -and torturing his imagination for several minutes, he suddenly broke -out--"Oh, tell the King of Terra-firma that I should like to be the -king of Tavolara; and that if any people come to live in the island, -that they must obey me, as the people obey him in Terra-firma." What -compromise his majesty made between the regal crown and the pound of -gunpowder, we are not told. Though we would by no means vouch for this -shepherd's story, which is nevertheless very probable, we can vouch for -one not very dissimilar. - -Not very long since, a small farmer in a little village in -Somersetshire, who prided himself on his cheeses, in a fit of unwonted -generosity--for he was a penurious man--sent to her majesty Queen -Victoria a prime cheese. A person given to practical jokes knowing -this, bought an eighteen-penny gilt chain, and sent it in a letter, -purporting to be from her majesty, appointing him her "well beloved" -mayor of the village, in the document exalted into a corporate town, -but whereof he, the said mayor, formed the sole body and whole -authority. The ignorant poor man swallowed the bait, and called the -village together; gave an ox to be roasted whole, and walked at the -head of the invited procession, wearing his chain of office; and for -several weeks exhibited the insignia of royal favour, the chain and -royal autograph, at church and at markets. It is a doubt if he be yet -undeceived, and lowered from his imaginary brief authority. We know -not what our farmer would say to the use to which the Sardes apply -their cheeses, or what may be expected from a free trade with them in -this article; but we learn that so plentiful was cheese in the Donori -district, in 1842, that some of it was used for manuring the ground, -which practice would amount to throwing it away, for they are not given -to any industrial means of agriculture. So fertile was Sardinia under -the Romans, that, in the last years of the second Punic war, corn was -so abundant that it was sold for the mere price of the freight. Should -the reader be curious to know the result of this cheapness, he may see -it in the present condition of Sardinia compared with its former, a -population diminished from about two millions to about five hundred and -twenty-four thousand, and full three quarters of the land uncultivated. - -The "Attitu," or custom of mourning around the body of the dead, -will bring to mind, to those who have witnessed such a ceremony, the -Irish hovel. The "Conducti" are ever more vehement than the _verè -plorantibus_. The word Attitu is supposed to be derived from the _atat_ -of the Romans, but it was not an original word of their language, -nor may it have been so with the Greeks, from whom they took it. The -Sarde Attitadores are thus described, and the description perfectly -answers to exhibitions we have witnessed in some remote parts of -Ireland. "They wear black stuff gowns, with a species of Capucin hood, -and, maintaining a perfect silence, assume the air of total ignorance -as to there having been a death in the family, till, suddenly and -accidentally seeing the dead body, they simultaneously commence a -weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, accompanied with groans and -ejaculations,--tearing their hair, throwing themselves on the ground, -raising their clenched fists maniacally to heaven, and carrying on -the attitudes and expressions of real anguish." It is curious that -the "ailinon" of the Greeks is traced to the Phoenicians, and, on -the authority of Athenæus, "Linus was a mythological personage, who -gave his name to a song of a mournful character." It is said that the -Phoenician "Lin" signifies complaint. - -It would be well if writers, especially travellers, would exercise a -little more forbearance in speaking of the superstitions of the people -amongst whom they are thrown. It is too prevalent a custom to attribute -every superstition to the priesthood, whereas the mere traveller can -scarcely be able to distinguish what belongs wholly and hereditarily to -the people, and what the priests enjoin. We suspect in most instances -the foundation is in the people, and that the priests could not, -though in many cases it may be admitted they would not, put a stop to -them. They would too often lose their influence in the attempt, and -find themselves compelled to acquiesce in practices and ceremonies of -which they do not approve. Those who treat with contempt and ridicule -the superstitions of other countries do not scrutinise those of their -own. It is true ours are wearing out, and before their expiration -become very innocent: attempts to suppress them by authority would -only tend to perpetuate them. It would be very silly, for instance, -to issue a proclamation against "May day," or to remind the innocents -who crown the Maypole that they are following a pagan and not very -decent worship and ceremony. Superstitions are the natural tares of -the mind, and spring up spontaneously, and among the wheat, too, it -should be observed; and we should remember the warning not to be over -eager to uproot the tares, lest we uproot the wheat also. It is the -object of travel to gratify curiosity, and the nature of travel to -increase the appetite for it. It is, therefore, like wholesome food, -which by giving health promotes a fresh relish; but there arises from -this traveller's habit a less nice distinction as to quality, and at -length a practised voracity is not dismayed by quantity. The inquirer -is on the look-out, and overlooks but little; and in all Roman Catholic -countries there is no lack of infidels, happy to have their tongues -loosened in the presence of questioning Englishmen, and to pour into -their listening ears multitudes of tales, fabricated or true, as it may -chance, with a feeling of hatred for the religion of their country--for -the superstition of unbelief is inventive and persecuting. We are -not for a moment meditating a defence of Romish superstitions, but -we think they are too widespread, and too mixed up with the entire -habit of thought of the general population, to render a sudden removal -possible, or every attempt safe. The reformation will not commence with -the unlearned. In the meanwhile, there is a demand on the traveller's -candour and benevolence for the exercise of forbearance; for we doubt -if a foreign traveller in our own country would not, were he bent -upon the search, pick up, amongst both our rural and town population, -a tolerably large collection of the "Admiranda" of superstition, and -sectarian and other saints, with surprising lives and anecdotes, to -rival the Romish calendar and the "Aurea Leggenda." We offer these -few remarks, because we think our author in his anti-popish zeal, and -abhorrence of "ignorance," is too much inclined to see all the wrong, -and overlook the good in--shall we say the superstitions he meets -with, and to conclude that the clergy encourage, where, and possibly -wisely, they only tolerate. It may not be amiss here to refer to a -fact narrated by our author, that a Capucin convent at Ozieri is at -present indebted for the severity with which its laws are enforced, -to the interference of the bishop, not to establish but to put down -a pretended miracle. A nun had announced that she had received the -"stigmata;" pilgrims flocked, and offerings were made. The bishop -suspected, perhaps more than suspected, fraud, caused a strict inquiry, -and the miraculous Stigmata disappeared. But let us come to an instance -where the clergy encouraged, or, to be candid, assuming the perfect -truth of the narration, originated a superstitious fear. It is one that -had so much reverence of a right kind in it, and so much of _truth_ at -least in the feeling, if not in the fact, as may well pass for a kind -of belief in the minds of those who propagated it. - -When the King of Sardinia visited the island, he caused some -excavations to be made at Terranova. Tombs were broken into, and -the dead despoiled of their rings, buckles, and other ornaments; -upon which, Mr Tyndale says, "a heavy gale of wind and storm, having -done some damage to the town, during the progress of digging up the -graves, the priests assured the people, and the people reiterated the -assurance, that the calamity arose from, and was a punishment for -having disturbed and dug up the tombs of the holy saints and martyrs of -Terranova!" - -Is the mark of admiration one of approbation or the reverse? We cannot -believe it to be one of contempt, and are sure our author would not -wish to see the feeling--to the credit of human nature, a common -one--eradicated. When the Scythians were taunted with flying before -their invaders, they simply replied, "We will stay and fight at the -burial places of our fathers." They considered no possession so well -worth preserving intact. - -When Mr Tyndale was receiving hospitality in a shepherd's hut among -the mountains, a Ronuts arrived with a box of relics. The household -within doors, a mother and daughters, placed themselves on their knees -before it. They embraced the box, and three times affectionately -kissed it, and expressed dismay in their looks that their guest did -not do likewise. He admits they looked upon him as an infidel, but -they did not treat him, on that account, as Franklin's apologue -feigned that Abraham treated his unbelieving aged stranger guest, but -bore with him, as the warning and reproving voice told Abraham to -do. The poor hostess, in her ignorance, knew not even whose relics -she had reverenced, for hers was the common answer, when inquired -of as to this particular--"Senza dubbio la reliquia d'una Santa del -Paese, ben conosciuta da per tutto." But this poor family superstition -did not harden the heart; the shepherd's wife believed at least in -the _sanctity_ of some saint, and that veneration for a life passed -in holiness, by whomsoever, demanded of her goodwill to all, and -kindly hospitality, and such as should overcome even the prejudice -of an ignorant shepherd's wife; and therefore we must quote Mr -Tyndale's confession to this virtue of her faith. "If the ignorance -and superstitious credulity of my present hostess were great, her -hospitality and generosity were no less. She soon recovered from her -momentary horror of my heretical irreverence, and, though not the -bearer of a holy relic, it was with some difficulty I could get away -without having several cheeses put into my saddle-bags; and when my -repeated assurances that I was not partial to them at length induced -her to desist, she wanted to send her husband to bring me home a kid -or a lamb. She would have considered it an insult to have been offered -any payment for her gifts, had they been even accepted; and after -repeated expressions of her wish to supply me from her humble store, we -parted with a shower of mutual benedictions." We have brought to our -remembrance patriarchal times, when kids and lambs were readily set -before wayfaring strangers. There have been, and are, worse people in -the world than those poor ignorant superstitious Sardes. - -Not far from San Martino our traveller halted, to inquire his way -at an "ovile," the shepherd's hut. It may not be unsatisfactory to -describe the dwellings whose inhabitants are thus hospitable. The -hut here spoken of was rude enough--a mass of stones in a circle of -about twelve feet diameter, and eight feet high, with a conical roof -made of sticks and reeds. The whole family had but one bed; a few -ashes were burning in a hole in the ground; a bundle of clothes, some -flat loaves of bread, and three or four pans, made up the inventory -of goods. The shepherd was preparing to kill a lamb for his family, -yet he offered to accompany the stranger, which he did, and went -with him a distance of three miles. "After showing me the spot, and -sharing a light meal, I offered him a trifle for his trouble; but he -indignantly refused it, and, on leaving to return home, gave me an -adieu with a fervent but courteous demeanour, which would have shamed -many a mitred and coroneted head." We are not, however, to conclude -that all the shepherd districts, however they may bear no reproach on -the score of hospitality, are regions of innocence and virtue. We are -told, on the authority of a Padre Angius, that the people of Bonorva -are quarrelsome and vindictive; and a story is told of their envious -character. A certain Don Pietrino Prunas was the owner of much cattle, -and ninety-nine flocks of sheep; he was assassinated on the very day he -had brought the number to a hundred, for no other reason than out of -envy of his happiness. And here Mr Tyndale remarks, in a note, a French -translator's carelessness. "Valery, in mentioning the circumstance, -says that he was murdered 'le jour même où il atteignait sa centième -année.'" The words professed to be translated are, "Padrone di 99 -greggi di pecori, trucidato nel giorno istesso che ei doneva formarsi -la centessima." - -The reader will not expect to find accounts of many treasures of the -fine arts in Sardinia. Convents and churches are, however, not without -statues and pictures. Nor do the clergy or inmates of convents possess -much knowledge on the subject. If a picture is pronounced a Michael -Angelo, without doubt the possessors, with a charming simplicity, would -inquire "who Michael Angelo was." We quote the following as worthy the -notice of the Arundel Society, particularly as it is out of the general -tourings of connoisseurs. - - "The screen of the high altar (the church at Ardara) is covered - with portraits of apostles, saints, and martyrs, apparently a work - of the thirteenth or early part of the fourteenth century; and, - notwithstanding the neglect and damp, the colours and gildings - are still bright and untarnished. Many of them are exquisitely - finished, with all the fineness of an Albert Durer and Holbein, - and will vie with the best specimens of the early masters in the - gallery of Dresden, or the Pinakothek at Munich." - -Valery, the mis-translator just mentioned, is in ecstacy in his notice -of these works. He considers them worthy the perpetuity which the -graver alone can give them, and considers how great their reputation -would be had they found a Lanzi, a d'Agincour, or a Cicognara. - -We have now travelled with our agreeable, well-informed author over -much country--wild, and partially cultivated; have speculated with -him upon all things that attracted attention by the way; and, though -the roads have been somewhat rough, we have kept our tempers pretty -well--no light accomplishment for fellow-travellers; and our disputes -have been rather amusing than serious. We now enter with him the -capital of Sardinia--Cagliari. We shall not follow him, however, -through the modern town, though there can be no better cicerone; nor -look in at the museum, fearful of long detention; not even to examine -the Phoenician curiosities, or discuss the identity in character, with -them, of some seals found in the bogs of Ireland; or to speculate -with Sir George Staunton as to their Chinese origin, and how they -unaccountably found themselves, some in an Irish bog and some in -excavated earth in Sardinia, and from thence into the museum at -Cagliari. We are content to visit some Roman antiquities, and read -inscriptions probably of the age of the Antonines, or of an earlier -period. The monuments are sepulchral: one is of a very interesting -character. It is of some architectural pretensions--in honour of -an exemplary wife, who, like Alcestis, is said to have died for -her husband. The prose tale, were it in existence, might have told, -perhaps, how Pomptilla--for that is her name--attended her husband -in a sickness, caught his fever, and died, while he recovered. The -inscriptions are many. Some have been made out tolerably well: they -are in Latin and Greek. One, in Greek, has so much tenderness, that, -deeming it quite worthy the melancholy cadence of verse, we have been -tempted to substitute our own translation for that of Mr Tyndale in -prose, with which we are not quite satisfied. - - Pomptilla, from thy dew-embalmèd earth, - Which mournful homage of our love receives, - May fairest lilies rise, - Pale flow'rets of a sad funereal birth-- - And roses opening their scarce-blushing leaves, - Of tenderest dyes, - And violets, that from their languid eyes, - Shed perfumed shower-- - And blessèd amaranth that never dies. - O! be thyself a flower, - Th' unsullied snow-drop--being and witness true - Of thy pure self, e'en to perpetual years-- - As erst a flow'ret fair Narcissus grew-- - And Hyacinthus all bedew'd with tears. - - For when, now in the tremulous hour of death, - Her spouse Philippus near to Lethe drew - His unresisting lips and fainting breath, - A woman's duteous vow she vow'd-- - And gently put aside his drooping head, - And her firm presence to the waters bow'd, - And drank the fatal stream instead. - - Such perfect union did stern Death divide, - Th' unwilling husband and the willing wife-- - Willing to die, while he, now loathing life, - Through the dear love of his devoted bride-- - Still lives, and weeps, and prays that he may die-- - That his releasèd spirit to hers may fly, - And mingled evermore with hers abide. - -In taking leave of our author, we confidently recommend the three -volumes on Sardinia to the general reader--we say general reader, -for, whatever be his taste or pursuit, he will find amusement and -information. The work is a _full_ work. If the reader be an antiquary, -he will be gratified with deep research and historic lore; if an -economist, he will have tabular detail and close statistics; an -agriculturist, and would he emigrate from his own persecuted lands, -he will learn the nature of soils, their capabilities, and how fair -a field is offered for that importable and exportable commodity, his -industry, so much wanted in Sardinia, and so little encouraged at home; -if a sportsman, besides the use of the gun, which he knows already, he -will be initiated into the mystery of tunny fishing, and, would he turn -it to his profit, have license to dispose of his game. Nay, even the -wide-awake shopkeeper may learn how to set up his "store" in Sassari or -Cagliari, and what stock he had best take out. If he be a ne'er-do-well -just returned from California, and surprised into the possession of a -sackful of gold, Mr Tyndale will conduct him to the Barathra into which -he may throw it, whether they be sea-fisheries or land-marshes; or into -whose pockets he may deposit the wealth, whose burthen he is of course -wearied in bearing, for the excitement of generosity in becoming a -benefactor, or for the amusement of corrupting. - -The work is indeed a "guide book," as well as much more, for it -tells every one what he may do profitably or unprofitably in -Sardinia--whether as traveller and private speculator, minding his own -concerns; or as an enthusiastic disperser of ignorance, and renovator -of the customs, manners, religion, and political condition of a people -as unlike his own race and kindred as possible. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] _The Island of Sardinia._ By JOHN WARRE TYNDALE. 3 vols., post 8vo. - - - - -THE CAXTONS.--PART XIV. - -CHAPTER LXXX. - - -There would have been nothing in what had chanced to justify the -suspicions that tortured me, but for my impressions as to the character -of Vivian. - -Reader, hast thou not, in the easy, careless sociability of youth, -formed acquaintance with some one, in whose more engaging or brilliant -qualities thou hast--not lost that dislike to defects or vices which -is natural to an age when, even while we err, we adore what is good, -and glow with enthusiasm for the ennobling sentiment and the virtuous -deed--no, happily, not lost dislike to what is bad, nor thy quick sense -of it,--but conceived a keen interest in the struggle between the bad -that revolted, and the good that attracted thee, in thy companion? -Then, perhaps, thou hast lost sight of him for a time--suddenly thou -hearest that he has done something out of the way of ordinary good or -commonplace evil: And, in either--the good or the evil--thy mind runs -rapidly back over its old reminiscences, and of either thou sayest, -"How natural!--only So-and-so could have done this thing!" - -Thus I felt respecting Vivian. The most remarkable qualities in his -character were his keen power of calculation, and his unhesitating -audacity--qualities that lead to fame or to infamy, according to the -cultivation of the moral sense and the direction of the passions. Had -I recognised those qualities in some agency apparently of good--and it -seemed yet doubtful if Vivian were the agent--I should have cried, "It -is he! and the better angel has triumphed!" With the same (alas! with -a yet more impulsive) quickness, when the agency was of evil, and the -agent equally dubious, I felt that the qualities revealed the man, and -that the demon had prevailed. - -Mile after mile, stage after stage, were passed, on the dreary, -interminable, high north road. I narrated to my companion, more -intelligibly than I had yet done, my causes for apprehension. The -Captain at first listened eagerly, then checked me on the sudden. -"There may be nothing in all this!" he cried. "Sir, we must be men -here--have our heads cool, our reason clear: stop!" And, leaning back -in the chaise, Roland refused further conversation, and, as the night -advanced, seemed to sleep. I took pity on his fatigue, and devoured -my heart in silence. At each stage we heard of the party of which we -were in pursuit. At the first stage or two we were less than an hour -behind; gradually, as we advanced, we lost ground, despite the most -lavish liberality to the postboys. I supposed, at length, that the -mere circumstance of changing, at each relay, the chaise as well as -the horses, was the cause of our comparative slowness; and, on saying -this to Roland, as we were changing horses, somewhere about midnight, -he at once called up the master of the inn, and gave him his own price -for permission to retain the chaise till the journey's end. This was -so unlike Roland's ordinary thrift, whether dealing with my money or -his own--so unjustified by the fortune of either--that I could not help -muttering something in apology. - -"Can you guess why I was a miser?" said Roland, calmly. - -"A miser!--anything but that! Only prudent--military men often are so." - -"I was a miser," repeated the Captain, with emphasis. "I began the -habit first when my son was but a child. I thought him high-spirited, -and with a taste for extravagance. 'Well,' said I to myself, 'I will -save for him; boys will be boys.' Then, afterwards, when he was no -more a child, (at least he began to have the vices of a man!) I said -to myself, 'Patience, he may reform still; if not, I will save money -that I may have power over his self-interest, since I have none over -his heart. I will bribe him into honour!' And then--and then--God -saw that I was very proud, and I was punished. Tell them to drive -faster--faster--why, this is a snail's pace!" - -All that night, all the next day, till towards the evening, we pursued -our journey, without pause, or other food than a crust of bread and a -glass of wine. But we now picked up the ground we had lost, and gained -upon the carriage. The night had closed in when we arrived at the stage -at which the route to Lord N----'s branched from the direct north road. -And here, making our usual inquiry, my worst suspicions were confirmed. -The carriage we pursued had changed horses an hour before, but had -not taken the way to Lord N----'s;--continuing the direct road into -Scotland. The people of the inn had not seen the lady in the carriage, -for it was already dark, but the man-servant, (whose livery they -described) had ordered the horses. - -The last hope that, in spite of appearances, no treachery had been -designed, here vanished. The Captain, at first, seemed more dismayed -than myself, but he recovered more quickly. "We will continue the -journey on horseback," he said; and hurried to the stables. All -objections vanished at the sight of his gold. In five minutes we were -in the saddle, with a postilion, also mounted, to accompany us. We did -the next stage in little more than two-thirds of the time which we -should have occupied in our former mode of travel--indeed, I found it -hard to keep pace with Roland. We remounted; we were only twenty-five -minutes behind the carriage. We felt confident that we should overtake -it before it could reach the next town--the moon was up--we could see -far before us--we rode at full speed. Milestone after milestone glided -by, the carriage was not visible. We arrived at the post-town, or -rather village; it contained but one posting-house. We were long in -knocking up the ostlers--no carriage had arrived just before us; no -carriage had passed the place since noon. - -What mystery was this? - -"Back, back, boy!" said Roland, with a soldier's quick wit, and -spurring his jaded horse from the yard. "They will have taken a -cross-road or by-lane. We shall track them by the hoofs of the horses -or the print of the wheels." - -Our postilion grumbled, and pointed to the panting sides of our -horses. For answer, Roland opened his hand--full of gold. Away we went -back through the dull sleeping village, back into the broad moonlit -thoroughfare. We came to a cross-road to the right, but the track we -pursued still led us straight on. We had measured back nearly half the -way to the post-town at which we had last changed, when, lo! there -emerged from a by-lane two postilions and their horses. - -At that sight our companion, shouting loud, pushed on before us and -hailed his fellows. A few words gave us the information we sought. A -wheel had come off the carriage just by the turn of the road, and the -young lady and her servants had taken refuge in a small inn not many -yards down the lane. The man-servant had dismissed the postboys after -they had baited their horses, saying they were to come again in the -morning, and bring a blacksmith to repair the wheel. - -"How came the wheel off?" asked Roland sternly. - -"Why, sir, the linchpin was all rotted away, I suppose, and came out." - -"Did the servant get off the dickey after you set out, and before the -accident happened?" - -"Why, yes. He said the wheels were catching fire, that they had not the -patent axles, and he had forgot to have them oiled." - -"And he looked at the wheels, and shortly afterwards the linchpin came -out?--Eh?" - -"Anon, sir!" said the postboy, staring; "why, and indeed so it was!" - -"Come on, Pisistratus, we are in time; but pray God--pray God--that--" -the Captain dashed his spur into the horse's sides, and the rest of his -words was lost to me. - -A few yards back from the causeway, a broad patch of green before it, -stood the inn--a sullen, old-fashioned building of cold gray stone, -looking livid in the moonlight, with black firs at one side, throwing -over half of it a dismal shadow. So solitary! not a house, not a hut -near it. If they who kept the inn were such that villany might reckon -on their connivance, and innocence despair of their aid--there was no -neighbourhood to alarm--no refuge at hand. The spot was well chosen. - -The doors of the inn were closed; there was a light in the room below; -but the outside shutters were drawn over the windows on the first -floor. My uncle paused a moment, and said to the postilion-- - -"Do you know the back way to the premises?" - -"No, sir; I doesn't often come by this way, and they be new folks that -have taken the house--and I hear it don't prosper overmuch." - -"Knock at the door--we will stand a little aside while you do so. -If any one ask what you want--merely say you would speak to the -servant--that you have found a purse;--here, hold up mine." - -Roland and I had dismounted, and my uncle drew me close to the wall by -the door. Observing that my impatience ill submitted to what seemed to -me idle preliminaries, - -"Hist!" whispered he; "if there be anything to conceal within, they -will not answer the door till some one has reconnoitred: were they -to see us, they would refuse to open. But seeing only the postboy, -whom they will suppose at first to be one of those who brought the -carriage--they will have no suspicion. Be ready to rush in the moment -the door is unbarred." - -My uncle's veteran experience did not deceive him. There was a long -silence before any reply was made to the postboy's summons; the light -passed to and fro rapidly across the window, as if persons were moving -within. Roland made sign to the postboy to knock again; he did so -twice--thrice--and at last, from an attic-window in the roof, a head -obtruded, and a voice cried, "Who are you?--what do you want?" - -"I'm the postboy at the Red Lion; I want to see the servant with the -brown carriage; I have found this purse!" - -"Oh, that's all--wait a bit." - -The head disappeared; we crept along under the projecting eaves of -the house; we heard the bar lifted from the door; the door itself -cautiously opened; one spring and I stood within, and set my back to -the door to admit Roland. - -"Ho, help!--thieves!--help!" cried a loud voice, and I felt a hand -gripe at my throat. I struck at random in the dark, and with effect, -for my blow was followed by a groan and a curse. - -Roland, meanwhile, had detected a ray through the chinks of a door in -the hall, and, guided by it, found his way into the room at the window -of which we had seen the light pass and go, while without. As he threw -the door open, I bounded after him; and saw in a kind of parlour, -two females--the one a stranger, no doubt the hostess, the other the -treacherous Abigail. Their faces evinced their terror. - -"Woman," I said, seizing the last, "where is Miss Trevanion?" Instead -of replying, the woman set up a loud shriek. Another light now gleamed -from the staircase, which immediately faced the door, and I heard a -voice that I recognised as Peacock's, cry out, "Who's there?--what's -the matter?" - -I made a rush at the stairs. A burly form (that of the landlord, who -had recovered from my blow) obstructed my way for a moment, to measure -its length on the floor at the next. I was at the top of the stairs, -Peacock recognised me, recoiled, and extinguished the light. Oaths, -cries, and shrieks, now resounded through the dark. Amidst them all, -I suddenly heard a voice exclaim, "Here, here!--help!" It was the -voice of Fanny. I made my way to the right, whence the voice came, -and received a violent blow. Fortunately, it fell on the arm which I -extended, as men do who feel their way through the dark. It was not the -right arm, and I seized and closed on my assailant. Roland now came up, -a candle in his hand; and at that sight my antagonist, who was no other -than Peacock, slipped from me, and made a rush at the stairs. But the -Captain caught him with his grasp of iron. Fearing nothing for Roland -in a contest with any single foe, and all my thoughts bent on the -rescue of her whose voice again broke on my ear, I had already (before -the light of the candle which Roland held went out in the struggle -between himself and Peacock) caught sight of a door at the end of the -passage, and thrown myself against it: it was locked, but it shook and -groaned to my pressure. - -"Hold back, whoever you are!" cried a voice from the room within, far -different from that wail of distress which had guided my steps. "Hold -back, at the peril of your life!" - -The voice, the threat, redoubled my strength; the door flew from its -fastenings. I stood in the room. I saw Fanny at my feet, clasping my -hands; then, raising herself, she hung on my shoulder and murmured, -"Saved!" Opposite to me, his face deformed by passion, his eyes -literally blazing with savage fire, his nostrils distended, his lips -apart, stood the man I have called Francis Vivian. - -"Fanny--Miss Trevanion--what outrage--what villany is this? You have -not met this man at your free choice,--oh speak!" Vivian sprang forward. - -"Question no one but me. Unhand that lady,--she is my betrothed--shall -be my wife." - -"No, no, no,--don't believe him," cried Fanny; "I have been betrayed by -my own servants--brought here, I know not how! I heard my father was -ill; I was on my way to him: that man met me here, and dared to"-- - -"Miss Trevanion--yes, I dared to say I loved you." - -"Protect me from him!--you will protect me from him!" - -"No, madam!" said a voice behind me, in a deep tone, "it is I who claim -the right to protect you from that man; it is I who now draw around -you the arm of one sacred, even to him; it is I who, from this spot, -launch upon his head--a father's curse. Violator of the hearth! Baffled -ravisher!--go thy way to the doom which thou hast chosen for thyself. -God will be merciful to me yet, and give me a grave before thy course -find its close in the hulks--or at the gallows!" - -A sickness came over me--a terror froze my veins--I reeled back, and -leant for support against the wall. Roland had passed his arm round -Fanny, and she, frail and trembling, clung to his broad heart, looking -fearfully up to his face. And never in that face, ploughed by deep -emotions, and dark with unutterable sorrows, had I seen an expression -so grand in its wrath, so sublime in its despair. Following the -direction of his eye, stern and fixed as the look of one who prophesies -a destiny, and denounces a doom, I shivered as I gazed upon the son. -His whole frame seemed collapsed and shrinking, as if already withered -by the curse: a ghastly whiteness overspread the cheek, usually glowing -with the dark bloom of Oriental youth; the knees knocked together; and, -at last, with a faint exclamation of pain, like the cry of one who -receives a death-blow, he bowed his face over his clasped hands, and so -remained--still, but cowering. - -Instinctively I advanced and placed myself between the father and the -son, murmuring, "Spare him; see, his own heart crushes him down." -Then stealing towards the son, I whispered, "Go, go; the crime was -not committed, the curse can be recalled." But my words touched a -wrong chord in that dark and rebellious nature. The young man withdrew -his hands hastily from his face, and reared his front in passionate -defiance. - -Waving me aside, he cried, "Away! I acknowledge no authority over my -actions and my fate; I allow no mediator between this lady and myself. -Sir," he continued, gazing gloomily on his father--"sir, you forget our -compact. Our ties were severed, your power over me annulled; I resigned -the name you bear; to you I was, and am still, as the dead. I deny your -right to step between me and the object dearer to me than life. - -"Oh!" (and here he stretched forth his hands towards Fanny)--"oh! Miss -Trevanion, do not refuse me one prayer, however you condemn me. Let me -see you alone but for one moment; let me but prove to you that, guilty -as I may have been, it was not from the base motives you will hear -imputed to me--that it was not the heiress I sought to decoy, it was -the woman I sought to win; oh! hear me"-- - -"No, no," murmured Fanny, clinging closer to Roland, "do not leave -me. If, as it seems, he is your son, I forgive him; but let him go--I -shudder at his very voice!" - -"Would you have me, indeed, annihilate the very memory of the bond -between us?" said Roland, in a hollow voice; "would you have me see in -you only the vile thief, the lawless felon,--deliver you up to justice, -or strike you to my feet. Let the memory still save you, and begone!" - -Again I caught hold of the guilty son, and again he broke from my grasp. - -"It is," he said, folding his arms deliberately on his breast, "it is -for me to command in this house: all who are within it must submit to -my orders. You, sir, who hold reputation, name, and honour at so high -a price, how can you fail to see that you would rob them from the lady -whom you would protect from the insult of my affection? How would the -world receive the tale of your rescue of Miss Trevanion? how believe -that--Oh pardon me, madam,--Miss Trevanion--Fanny--pardon me--I am mad; -only hear me--alone--alone--and then if you too say 'Begone,' I submit -without a murmur; I allow no arbiter but you." - -But Fanny still clung closer, and closer still, to Roland. At that -moment I heard voices and the trampling of feet below, and supposing -that the accomplices in this villany were mustering courage, perhaps, -to mount to the assistance of their employer, I lost all the compassion -that had hitherto softened my horror of the young man's crime, and all -the awe with which that confession had been attended. I therefore, this -time, seized the false Vivian with a gripe that he could no longer -shake off, and said sternly-- - -"Beware how you aggravate your offence. If strife ensues, it will not -be between father and son, and--" - -Fanny sprang forward. "Do not provoke this bad, dangerous man. I fear -him not. Sir, I _will_ hear you, and alone." - -"Never!" cried I and Roland simultaneously. - -Vivian turned his look fiercely to me, and with a sullen bitterness to -his father, and then, as if resigning his former prayer, he said--"Well -then, be it so; even in the presence of those who judge me so severely, -I will speak at least." He paused, and, throwing into his voice a -passion that, had the repugnance at his guilt been less, would not have -been without pathos, he continued to address Fanny: "I own that, when I -first saw you, I might have thought of love, as the poor and ambitious -think of the way to wealth and power. Those thoughts vanished, and -nothing remained in my heart but love and madness. I was as a man in a -delirium when I planned this snare. I knew but one object--saw but one -heavenly vision. Oh, mine--mine at least in that vision--are you indeed -lost to me for ever!" - -There was that in this man's tone and manner which, whether arising -from accomplished hypocrisy or actual if perverted feeling, would, I -thought, find its way at once to the heart of a woman who, however -wronged, had once loved him; and, with a cold misgiving, I fixed my -eyes on Miss Trevanion. Her look, as she turned with a visible tremor, -suddenly met mine, and I believe that she discerned my doubt; for -after suffering her eyes to rest on my own, with something of mournful -reproach, her lips curved as with the pride of her mother, and for the -first time in my life I saw anger on her brow. - -"It is well, sir, that you have thus spoken to me in the presence of -others, for in their presence I call upon you to say, by that honour -which the son of this gentleman may for a while forget, but cannot -wholly forfeit,--I call upon you to say, whether by deed, word, or -sign, I, Frances Trevanion, ever gave you cause to believe that I -returned the feeling you say you entertained for me, or encouraged you -to dare this attempt to place me in your power." - -"No!" cried Vivian readily, but with a writhing lip--"no; but where I -loved so deeply, periled all my fortune for one fair and free occasion -to tell you so alone, I would not think that such love could meet only -loathing and disdain. What!--has nature shaped me so unkindly, that -where I love no love can reply? What!--has the accident of birth shut -me out from the right to woo and mate with the highborn? For the last, -at least, that gentleman in justice should tell you, since it has been -his care to instil the haughty lesson into me, that my lineage is one -that befits lofty hopes, and warrants fearless ambition. My hopes, my -ambition--they were you! Oh, Miss Trevanion, it is true that to win -you I would have braved the world's laws, defied every foe, save him -who now rises before me. Yet, believe me, believe me, had I won what I -dared to aspire to, you would not have been disgraced by your choice; -and the name, for which I thank not my father, should not have been -despised by the woman who pardoned my presumption,--nor by the man who -now tramples on my anguish, and curses me in my desolation." - -Not by a word had Roland sought to interrupt his son--nay, by a -feverish excitement, which my heart understood in its secret sympathy, -he had seemed eagerly to court every syllable that could extenuate the -darkness of the offence, or even imply some less sordid motive for the -baseness of the means. But as the son now closed with the words of -unjust reproach, and the accents of fierce despair;--closed a defence -that showed in its false pride, and its perverted eloquence, so utter a -blindness to every principle of that honour which had been the father's -idol, Roland placed his hand before the eyes that he had previously, as -if spellbound, fixed on the hardened offender, and once more drawing -Fanny towards him, said-- - -"His breath pollutes the air that innocence and honesty should breath. -He says 'All in this house are at his command,'--why do we stay?--let -us go." He turned towards the door, and Fanny with him. - -Meanwhile the louder sounds below had been silenced for some moments, -but I heard a step in the hall. Vivian started, and placed himself -before us. - -"No, no, you cannot leave me thus, Miss Trevanion. I resign you--be it -so; I do not even ask for pardon. But to leave this house thus, without -carriage, without attendants, without explanation!--the blame falls on -me--it shall do so. But at least vouchsafe me the right to repair what -I yet can repair of the wrong, to protect all that is left to me--your -name." - -As he spoke, he did not perceive (for he was facing us, and with his -back to the door,) that a new actor had noiselessly entered on the -scene, and, pausing by the threshold, heard his last words. - -"The name of Miss Trevanion, sir--and from what?" asked the new comer, -as he advanced and surveyed Vivian with a look that, but for its quiet, -would have seemed disdain. - -"Lord Castleton!" exclaimed Fanny, lifting up the face she had buried -in her hands. - -Vivian recoiled in dismay, and gnashed his teeth. - -"Sir," said the marquis, "I await your reply; for not even you, in my -presence, shall imply that one reproach can be attached to the name of -that lady." - -"Oh, moderate your tone to me, my Lord Castleton!" cried Vivian: "in -you at least there is one man I am not forbidden to brave and defy. It -was to save that lady from the cold ambition of her parents--it was -to prevent the sacrifice of her youth and beauty, to one whose sole -merits are his wealth and his titles--it was this that impelled me to -the crime I have committed, this that hurried me on to risk all for -one hour, when youth at least could plead its cause to youth; and this -gives me now the power to say that it does rest with me to protect the -name of the lady, whom your very servility to that world which you have -made your idol forbids you to claim from the heartless ambition that -would sacrifice the daughter to the vanity of the parents. Ha! the -future Marchioness of Castleton on her way to Scotland with a penniless -adventurer! Ha! if my lips are sealed, who but I can seal the lips -of those below in my secret? The secret shall be kept, but on this -condition--you shall not triumph where I have failed; I may lose what -I adored, but I do not resign it to another. Ha! have I foiled you, my -Lord Castleton?--ha, ha!" - -"No, sir; and I almost forgive you the villany you have _not_ effected, -for informing me, for the first time, that, had I presumed to -address Miss Trevanion, her parents at least would have pardoned the -presumption. Trouble not yourself as to what your accomplices may say. -They have already confessed their infamy and your own. Out of my path, -sir!" - -Then, with the benign look of a father, and the lofty grace of a -prince, Lord Castleton advanced to Fanny. Looking round with a -shudder, she hastily placed her hand in his, and, by so doing, perhaps -prevented some violence on the part of Vivian, whose heaving breast, -and eye bloodshot, and still un-quailing, showed how little even shame -had subdued his fiercer passions. But he made no offer to detain them, -and his tongue seemed to cleave to his lips. Now, as Fanny moved to the -door, she passed Roland, who stood motionless and with vacant looks, -like an image of stone; and with a beautiful tenderness, for which -(even at this distant date, recalling it) I say, "God requite thee, -Fanny," she laid her other hand on Roland's arm, and said, "Come too; -_your_ arm still!" - -But Roland's limbs trembled, and refused to stir; his head, relaxing, -drooped on his breast, his eyes closed. Even Lord Castleton was so -struck (though unable to guess the true and terrible cause of his -dejection) that he forgot his desire to hasten from the spot, and cried -with all his kindliness of heart, "You are ill--you faint; give him -your arm, Pisistratus." - -"It is nothing," said Roland feebly, as he leant heavily on my arm, -while I turned back my head with all the bitterness of that reproach -which filled my heart, speaking in the eyes that sought _him_ whose -place should have been where mine now was. And, oh!--thank heaven, -thank heaven!--the look was not in vain. In the same moment the son was -at the father's knees. - -"Oh, pardon--pardon! Wretch, lost wretch though I be, I bow my head -to the curse. Let it fall--but on me, and on me only--not on your own -heart too." - -Fanny burst into tears, sobbing out, "Forgive him, as I do." - -Roland did not heed her. - -"He thinks that the heart was not shattered before the curse could -come," he said, in a voice so weak as to be scarcely audible. Then, -raising his eyes to heaven, his lips moved as if he prayed inly. -Pausing, he stretched his hands over his son's head, and averting his -face, said, "I revoke the curse. Pray to thy God for pardon." - -Perhaps not daring to trust himself further, he then made a violent -effort, and hurried from the room. - -We followed silently. When we gained the end of the passage, the door -of the room we had left, closed with a sullen jar. - -As the sound smote on my ear, with it came so terrible a sense of -the solitude upon which that door had closed--so keen and quick -an apprehension of some fearful impulse, suggested by passions so -fierce, to a condition so forlorn--that instinctively I stopped, -and then hurried back to the chamber. The lock of the door having -been previously forced, there was no barrier to oppose my entrance. -I advanced, and beheld a spectacle of such agony, as can only be -conceived by those who have looked on the grief which takes no -fortitude from reason, no consolation from conscience--the grief which -tells us what would be the earth were man abandoned to his passions, -and the CHANCE of the atheist reigned alone in the merciless heavens. -Pride humbled to the dust; ambition shivered into fragments; love (or -the passion mistaken for it) blasted into ashes; life, at the first -onset, bereaved of its holiest ties, forsaken by its truest guide; -shame that writhed for revenge, and remorse that knew not prayer--all, -all blended, yet distinct, were in that awful spectacle of the guilty -son. - -And I had told but twenty years, and my heart had been mellowed in -the tender sunshine of a happy home, and I had loved this boy as a -stranger, and, lo--he was Roland's son! I forgot all else, looking upon -that anguish; and I threw myself on the ground by the form that writhed -there, and, folding my arms round the breast which in vain repelled -me, I whispered, "Comfort--comfort--life is long. You shall redeem the -past, you shall efface the stain, and your father shall bless you yet!" - - -CHAPTER LXXXI. - -I could not stay long with my unhappy cousin, but still I stayed long -enough to make me think it probable that Lord Castleton's carriage -would have left the inn: and when, as I passed the hall, I saw it -standing before the open door, I was seized with fear for Roland; his -emotions might have ended in some physical attack. Nor were those fears -without foundation. I found Fanny kneeling beside the old soldier in -the parlour where we had seen the two women, and bathing his temples, -while Lord Castleton was binding his arm; and the marquis's favourite -valet, who, amongst his other gifts, was something of a surgeon, was -wiping the blade of the penknife that had served instead of a lancet. -Lord Castleton nodded to me, "Don't be uneasy--a little fainting -fit--we have bled him. He is safe now--see, he is recovering." - -Roland's eyes, as they opened, turned to me with an anxious, inquiring -look. I smiled upon him as I kissed his forehead, and could, with a -safe conscience, whisper words which neither father nor Christian could -refuse to receive as comfort. - -In a few minutes more we had left the house. As Lord Castleton's -carriage only held two, the marquis, having assisted Miss Trevanion and -Roland to enter, quietly mounted the seat behind, and made a sign to -me to come by his side, for there was room for both. (His servant had -taken one of the horses that had brought thither Roland and myself, and -already gone on before.) No conversation took place between us then. -Lord Castleton seemed profoundly affected, and I had no words at my -command. - -When we reached the inn at which Lord Castleton had changed horses, -about six miles distant, the marquis insisted on Fanny's taking some -rest for a few hours, for indeed she was thoroughly worn out. - -I attended my uncle to his room, but he only answered my assurances of -his son's repentance with a pressure of the hand, and then, gliding -from me, went into the furthest recess of the room, and there knelt -down. When he rose, he was passive and tractable as a child. He -suffered me to assist him to undress; and when he had lain down on -the bed, he turned his face quietly from the light, and, after a few -heavy sighs, sleep seemed mercifully to steal upon him. I listened to -his breathing till it grew low and regular, and then descended to the -sitting-room in which I had left Lord Castleton, for he had asked me in -a whisper to seek him there. - -I found the marquis seated by the fire, in a thoughtful and dejected -attitude. - -"I am glad you are come," said he, making room for me on the hearth, -"for I assure you I have not felt so mournful for many years; we have -much to explain to each other. Will you begin? they say the sound of -the bell dissipates the thunder-cloud. And there is nothing like the -voice of a frank, honest nature to dispel all the clouds that come upon -us when we think of our own faults and the villany of others. But, I -beg you a thousand pardons--that young man, your relation!--your brave -uncle's son! Is it possible!" - -My explanations to Lord Castleton were necessarily brief and imperfect. -The separation between Roland and his son, my ignorance of its cause, -my belief in the death of the latter, my chance acquaintance with the -supposed Vivian; the interest I took in him; the relief it was to the -fears for his fate with which he inspired me, to think he had returned -to the home I ascribed to him; and the circumstances which had induced -my suspicions, justified by the result--all this was soon hurried over. - -"But, I beg your pardon," said the marquis, interrupting me, "did you, -in your friendship for one so unlike you, even by your own partial -account, never suspect that you had stumbled upon your lost cousin?" - -"Such an idea never could have crossed me." - -And here I must observe, that though the reader, at the first -introduction of Vivian, would divine the secret,--the penetration of -a reader is wholly different from that of the actor in events. That -I had chanced on one of those curious coincidences in the romance of -real life, which a reader looks out for and expects in following the -course of narrative, was a supposition forbidden to me by a variety -of causes. There was not the least family resemblance between Vivian -and any of his relations; and, somehow or other, in Roland's son I -had pictured to myself a form and a character wholly different from -Vivian's. To me it would have seemed impossible that my cousin could -have been so little curious to hear any of our joint family affairs; -been so unheedful, or even weary, if I spoke of Roland--never, by a -word or tone, have betrayed a sympathy with his kindred. And my other -conjecture was so probable!--son of the Colonel Vivian whose name he -bore. And that letter, with the postmark of 'Godalming!' and my belief, -too, in my cousin's death; even now I am not surprised that the idea -never occurred to me. - -I paused from enumerating these excuses for my dulness, angry with -myself, for I noticed that Lord Castleton's fair brow darkened;--and -he exclaimed, "What deceit he must have gone through before he could -become such a master in the art!" - -"That is true, and I cannot deny it," said I. "But his punishment now -is awful; let us hope that repentance may follow the chastisement. -And, though certainly it must have been his own fault that drove him -from his father's home and guidance, yet, so driven, let us make some -allowance for the influence of evil companionship on one so young--for -the suspicions that the knowledge of evil produces, and turns into a -kind of false knowledge of the world. And in this last and worst of all -his actions"-- - -"Ah, how justify that!" - -"Justify it!--good heavens! justify it!--no. I only say this, strange -as it may seem, that I believe his affection for Miss Trevanion was for -herself: so he says, from the depth of an anguish in which the most -insincere of men would cease to feign. But no more of this,--she is -saved, thank Heaven!" - -"And you believe," said Lord Castleton musingly, "that he spoke the -truth, when he thought that I--." The marquis stopped, coloured -slightly, and then went on. "But no; Lady Ellinor and Trevanion, -whatever might have been in their thoughts, would never have so forgot -their dignity as to take him, a youth--almost a stranger--nay, take any -one into their confidence on such a subject." - -"It was but by broken gasps, incoherent, disconnected words, that -Vivian,--I mean my cousin,--gave me any explanation of this. But Lady -N----, at whose house he was staying, appears to have entertained such -a notion, or at least led my cousin to think so." - -"Ah! that is possible," said Lord Castleton, with a look of relief. -"Lady N---- and I were boy and girl together; we correspond; she has -written to me suggesting that----. Ah! I see,--an indiscreet woman. -Hum! this comes of lady correspondents!" - -Lord Castleton had recourse to the Beaudesert mixture; and then, as if -eager to change the subject, began his own explanation. On receiving my -letter, he saw even more cause to suspect a snare than I had done, for -he had that morning received a letter from Trevanion, not mentioning a -word about his illness; and on turning to the newspaper, and seeing a -paragraph headed, "Sudden and alarming illness of Mr Trevanion," the -marquis had suspected some party manoeuvre or unfeeling hoax, since the -mail that had brought the letter would have travelled as quickly as -any messenger who had given the information to the newspaper. He had, -however, immediately sent down to the office of the journal to inquire -on what authority the paragraph had been inserted, while he despatched -another messenger to St James's Square. The reply from the office -was, that the message had been brought by a servant in Mr Trevanion's -livery, but was not admitted as news until it had been ascertained by -inquiries at the minister's house that Lady Ellinor had received the -same intelligence, and actually left town in consequence. - -"I was extremely sorry for poor Lady Ellinor's uneasiness," said Lord -Castleton, "and extremely puzzled, but I still thought there could be -no real ground for alarm when your letter reached me. And when you -there stated your conviction that Mr Gower was mixed up in this fable, -and that it concealed some snare upon Fanny, I saw the thing at a -glance. The road to Lord N----'s, till within the last stage or two, -would be the road to Scotland. And a hardy and unscrupulous adventurer, -with the assistance of Miss Trevanion's servants, might thus entrap -her to Scotland itself, and there work on her fears; or, if he had -hope in her affections, win her consent to a Scotch marriage. You may -be sure, therefore, that I was on the road as soon as possible. But -as your messenger came all the way from the city, and not so quick -perhaps as he might have come; and then as there was the carriage to -see to, and the horses to send for, I found myself more than an hour -and a half behind you. Fortunately, however, I made good ground, and -should probably have overtaken you half-way, but that, on passing -between a ditch and waggon, the carriage was upset, and that somewhat -delayed me. On arriving at the town where the road branched off to -Lord N----'s, I was rejoiced to learn you had taken what I was sure -would prove the right direction, and finally I gained the clue to -that villanous inn by the report of the postboys who had taken Miss -Trevanion's carriage there, and met you on the road. On reaching the -inn, I found two fellows conferring outside the door. They sprang in -as we drove up, but not before my servant Summers--a quick fellow, -you know, who has travelled with me from Norway to Nubia--had quitted -his seat, and got into the house, into which I followed him with a -step, you dog, as active as your own! Egad! I was twenty-one then! Two -fellows had already knocked down poor Summers, and showed plenty of -fight. Do you know," said the marquis, interrupting himself with an air -of seriocomic humiliation--"do you know that I actually--no, you never -will believe it--mind 'tis a secret--actually broke my cane over one -fellow's shoulders?--look!" (and the marquis held up the fragment of -the lamented weapon.) "And I half suspect, but I can't say positively, -that I had even the necessity to demean myself by a blow with the naked -hand--clenched too!--quite Eton again--upon my honour it was. Ha, ha!" - -And the marquis, whose magnificent proportions, in the full vigour of -man's strongest, if not his most combative, age, would have made him a -formidable antagonist, even to a couple of prize-fighters, supposing -he had retained a little of Eton skill in such encounters--laughed -with the glee of a schoolboy, whether at the thought of his prowess, -or his sense of the contrast between so rude a recourse to primitive -warfare, and his own indolent habits, and almost feminine good temper. -Composing himself, however, with the quick recollection how little I -could share his hilarity, he resumed gravely, "It took us some time--I -don't say to defeat our foes, but to bind them, which I thought a -necessary precaution;--one fellow, Trevanion's servant, all the while -stunning me with quotations from Shakspeare. I then gently laid hold -of a gown, the bearer of which had been long trying to scratch me; -but being luckily a small woman, had not succeeded in reaching to -my eyes. But the gown escaped, and fluttered off to the kitchen. I -followed, and there I found Miss Trevanion's Jezebel of a maid. She -was terribly frightened, and affected to be extremely penitent. I own -to you that I don't care what a man says in the way of slander, but -a woman's tongue against another woman--especially if that tongue be -in the mouth of a lady's lady--I think it always worth silencing; I -therefore consented to pardon this woman on condition she would find -her way here before morning. No scandal shall come from her. Thus you -see some minutes elapsed before I joined you; but I minded that the -less, as I heard you and the Captain were already in the room with Miss -Trevanion; and not, alas! dreaming of your connexion with the culprit, -I was wondering what could have delayed you so long,--afraid, I own -it, to find that Miss Trevanion's heart might have been seduced by -that--hem--hem!--handsome--young--hem--hem!--There's no fear of that?" -added Lord Castleton, anxiously, as he bent his bright eyes upon mine. - -I felt myself colour as I answered firmly, "It is just to Miss -Trevanion to add that the unhappy man owned, in her presence and -in mine, that he had never had the slightest encouragement for his -attempt--never one cause to believe that she approved the affection, -which I try to think blinded and maddened himself." - -"I believe you; for I think"--Lord Castleton paused uneasily, again -looked at me, rose, and walked about the room with evident agitation; -then, as if he had come to some resolution, he returned to the hearth -and stood facing me. - -"My dear young friend," said he, with his irresistible kindly -frankness, "this is an occasion that excuses all things between us, -even my impertinence. Your conduct from first to last has been such, -that I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that I had a daughter to -offer you, and that you felt for her as I believe you feel for Miss -Trevanion. These are not mere words; do not look down as if ashamed. -All the marquisates in the world would never give me the pride I should -feel, if I could see in my life one steady self-sacrifice to duty and -honour, equal to that which I have witnessed in you." - -"Oh, my lord! my lord!" - -"Hear me out. That you love Fanny Trevanion, I know; that she may have -innocently, timidly, half unconsciously, returned that affection, I -think probable. But--" - -"I know what you would say; spare me--I know it all." - -"No! it is a thing impossible; and, if Lady Ellinor could consent, -there would be such a life-long regret on her part, such a weight of -obligation on yours, that--no, I repeat, it is impossible! But let us -both think of this poor girl. I know her better than you can--have -known her from a child; know all her virtues--they are charming; all -her faults--they expose her to danger. These parents of hers--with -their genius, and ambition--may do very well to rule England, and -influence the world; but to guide the fate of that child--no!" Lord -Castleton stopped, for he was affected. I felt my old jealousy return, -but it was no longer bitter. - -"I say nothing," continued the marquis, "of this position, in which, -without fault of hers, Miss Trevanion is placed: Lady Ellinor's -knowledge of the world, and woman's wit, will see how all that can be -best put right. Still it is awkward, and demands much consideration. -But, putting this aside altogether, if you do firmly believe that Miss -Trevanion is lost to you, can you bear to think that she is to be -flung as a mere cipher into the account of the worldly greatness of -an aspiring politician--married to some minister, too busy to watch -over her; or some duke, who looks to pay off his mortgages with her -fortune--minister or duke only regarded as a prop to Trevanion's power -against a counter cabal, or as giving his section a preponderance in -the Cabinet? Be assured such is her most likely destiny, or rather the -beginning of a destiny yet more mournful. Now, I tell you this, that he -who marries Fanny Trevanion should have little other object, for the -first few years of marriage, than to correct her failings and develop -her virtues. Believe one who, alas! has too dearly bought his knowledge -of women--hers is a character to be formed. Well, then, if this prize -be lost to you, would it be an irreparable grief to your generous -affection to think that it has fallen to the lot of one who at least -knows his responsibilities, and who will redeem his own life, hitherto -wasted, by the steadfast endeavour to fulfil them? Can you take this -hand still, and press it, even though it be a rival's?" - -"My lord! This from you to me, is an honour that--" - -"You will not take my hand? Then believe me, it is not I that will give -that grief to your heart." - -Touched, penetrated, melted by this generosity in a man of such lofty -claims, to one of my age and fortunes, I pressed that noble hand, -half raising it to my lips--an action of respect that would have -misbecome neither; but he gently withdrew the hand, in the instinct of -his natural modesty. I had then no heart to speak further on such a -subject, but, faltering out that I would go and see my uncle, I took up -the light, and ascended the stairs. I crept noiselessly into Roland's -room, and shading the light, saw that, though he slept, his face was -very troubled. And then I thought, "What are my young griefs to his?" -and--sitting beside the bed, communed with my own heart and was still! - - -CHAPTER LXXXII. - -At sunrise, I went down into the sitting-room, having resolved to write -to my father to join us; for I felt how much Roland needed his comfort -and his counsel, and it was no great distance from the old Tower. I -was surprised to find Lord Castleton still seated by the fire; he had -evidently not gone to bed. - -"That's right," said he; "we must encourage each other to recruit -nature," and he pointed to the breakfast things on the table. - -I had scarcely tasted food for many hours, but I was only aware of my -own hunger by a sensation of faintness. I eat unconsciously, and was -almost ashamed to feel how much the food restored me. - -"I suppose," said I, "that you will soon set off to Lord N----'s?" - -"Nay, did I not tell you, that I have sent Summers express, with a -note to Lady Ellinor, begging her to come here? I did not see, on -reflection, how I could decorously accompany Miss Trevanion alone, -without even a female servant, to a house full of gossiping guests. -And even had your uncle been well enough to go with us, his presence -would but have created an additional cause for wonder; so as soon as -we arrived, and while you went up with the Captain, I wrote my letter -and despatched my man. I expect Lady Ellinor will be here before nine -o'clock. Meanwhile, I have already seen that infamous waiting-woman, -and taken care to prevent any danger from her garrulity. And you will -be pleased to hear that I have hit upon a mode of satisfying the -curiosity of our friend Mrs Grundy--that is, 'The World'--without -injury to any one. We must suppose that that footman of Trevanion's -was out of his mind--it is but a charitable, and your good father -would say, a philosophical supposition. All great knavery is madness! -The world could not get on if truth and goodness were not the natural -tendencies of sane minds. Do you understand?" - -"Not quite." - -"Why, the footman, being out of his mind, invented this mad story of -Trevanion's illness, frightened Lady Ellinor and Miss Trevanion out of -their wits with his own chimera, and hurried them both off, one after -the other. I having heard from Trevanion, and knowing he could not -have been ill when the servant left him, set off, as was natural in -so old a friend of the family, saved her from the freaks of a maniac, -who, getting more and more flighty, was beginning to play the Jack o' -Lantern, and leading her, Heaven knows where! over the country;--and -then wrote to Lady Ellinor to come to her. It is but a hearty laugh at -our expense, and Mrs Grundy is content. If you don't want her to pity, -or backbite, let her laugh. She is a she-Cerberus--she wants to eat -you: well--stop her mouth with a cake." - -"Yes," continued this better sort of Aristippus, so wise under all his -seeming levities; "the cue thus given, everything favours it. If that -rogue of a lackey quoted Shakspeare as much in the servant's hall as -he did while I was binding him neck and heels in the kitchen, that's -enough for all the household to declare he was moon-stricken; and if -we find it necessary to do anything more, why, we must get him to go -into Bedlam for a month or two. The disappearance of the waiting-woman -is natural; either I or Lady Ellinor send her about her business for -her folly in being so gulled by the lunatic. If that's unjust, why, -injustice to servants is common enough--public and private. Neither -minister nor lackey can be forgiven, if he help us into a scrape. One -must vent one's passion on something. Witness my poor cane; though, -indeed, a better illustration would be the cane that Louis XIV. broke -on a footman, because his majesty was out of humour with a prince -whose shoulders were too sacred for royal indignation. - -"So you see," concluded Lord Castleton, lowering his voice, "that your -uncle, amongst all his other causes of sorrow, may think at least that -his name is spared in his son's. And the young man himself may find -reform easier, when freed from that despair of the possibility of -redemption, which Mrs Grundy inflicts upon those who--Courage, then; -life is long!" - -"My very words!" I cried; "and so repeated by you, Lord Castleton, they -seem prophetic." - -"Take my advice, and don't lose sight of your cousin, while his pride -is yet humbled, and his heart perhaps softened. I don't say this only -for his sake. No, it is your poor uncle I think of: noble old fellow. -And now, I think it right to pay Lady Ellinor the respect of repairing, -as well as I can, the havoc three sleepless nights have made on the -exterior of a gentleman who is on the shady side of remorseless forty." - -Lord Castleton here left me, and I wrote to my father, begging him -to meet us at the next stage, (which was the nearest point from the -high road to the Tower,) and I sent off the letter by a messenger on -horseback. That task done, I leant my head upon my hand, and a profound -sadness settled upon me, despite all my efforts to face the future, and -think only of the duties of life--not its sorrows. - - -CHAPTER LXXXIII. - -Before nine o'clock, Lady Ellinor arrived, and went straight into Miss -Trevanion's room. I took refuge in my uncle's. Roland was awake and -calm, but so feeble that he made no effort to rise; and it was his -calm, indeed, that alarmed me the most--it was like the calm of nature -thoroughly exhausted. He obeyed me mechanically, as a patient takes -from your hand the draught, of which he is almost unconscious, when I -pressed him to take food. He smiled on me faintly when I spoke to him; -but made me a sign that seemed to implore silence. Then he turned his -face from me, and buried it in the pillow; and I thought that he slept -again, when, raising himself a little, and feeling for my hand, he said -in a scarcely audible voice,-- - -"Where is he?" - -"Would you see him, sir?" - -"No, no; that would kill me--and then--what would become of him?" - -"He has promised me an interview, and in that interview I feel assured -he will obey your wishes, whatever they are." - -Roland made no answer. - -"Lord Castleton has arranged all, so that his name and madness (thus -let us call it) will never be known." - -"Pride, pride! pride still!"--murmured the old soldier. "The name, the -name--well, that is much; but the living soul!--I wish Austin were -here." - -"I have sent for him, sir." - -Roland pressed my hand, and was again silent. Then he began to mutter, -as I thought, incoherently, about "the Peninsula and obeying orders; -and how some officer woke Lord Wellesley at night, and said that -something or other (I could not catch what--the phrase was technical -and military) was impossible; and how Lord Wellesley asked 'Where's -the order-book?' and looking into the order-book, said, 'Not at all -impossible, for it is in the order-book;' and so Lord Wellesley turned -round and went to sleep again." Then suddenly Roland half rose, and -said in a voice clear and firm, "But Lord Wellesley, though a great -captain, was a fallible man, sir, and the order-book was his own mortal -handiwork.--Get me the Bible!" - -Oh Roland, Roland! and I had feared that thy mind was wandering! - -So I went down and borrowed a Bible in large characters, and placed it -on the bed before him, opening the shutters, and letting in God's day -upon God's word. - -I had just done this, when there was a slight knock at the door. -I opened it, and Lord Castleton stood without. He asked me, in a -whisper, if he might see my uncle. I drew him in gently, and pointed -to the soldier of life "learning what was not impossible" from the -unerring Order-Book. - -Lord Castleton gazed with a changing countenance, and, without -disturbing my uncle, stole back. I followed him, and gently closed the -door. - -"You must save his son," he said in a faltering voice--"you must; and -tell me how to help you. That sight!--no sermon ever touched me more. -Now come down, and receive Lady Ellinor's thanks. We are going. She -wants me to tell my own tale to my old friend, Mrs Grundy: so I go with -them. Come." - -On entering the sitting-room, Lady Ellinor came up and fairly embraced -me. I need not repeat her thanks, still less the praises, which fell -cold and hollow on my ear. My gaze rested on Fanny where she stood -apart--her eyes, heavy with fresh tears, bent on the ground. And the -sense of all her charms--the memory of the tender, exquisite kindness -she had shown to the stricken father; the generous pardon she had -extended to the criminal son; the looks she had bent upon me on that -memorable night--looks that had spoken such trust in my presence--the -moment in which she had clung to me for protection, and her breath -been warm upon my cheek,--all these rushed over me; and I felt that -the struggle of months was undone--that I had never loved her as I -loved her then--when I saw her but to lose her evermore! And then there -came for the first, and, I now rejoice to think, for the only time, a -bitter, ungrateful accusation against the cruelty of fortune and the -disparities of life. What was it that set our two hearts eternally -apart, and made hope impossible? Not nature, but the fortune that gives -a second nature to the world. Ah, could I then think that it is in -that second nature that the soul is ordained to seek its trials, and -that the elements of human virtue find their harmonious place! What I -answered I know not. Neither know I how long I stood there listening to -sounds which seemed to have no meaning, till there came other sounds -which indeed woke my sense, and made my blood run cold to hear,--the -tramp of the horses, the grating of the wheels, the voice at the door -that said "All was ready." - -Then Fanny lifted her eyes, and they met mine; and then involuntarily -and hastily she moved a few steps towards me, and I clasped my right -hand to my heart, as if to still its beating, and remained still. Lord -Castleton had watched us both. I felt that watch was upon us, though -I had till then shunned his looks: now, as I turned my eyes from -Fanny's, that look came full upon me--soft, compassionate, benignant. -Suddenly, and with an unutterable expression of nobleness, the marquis -turned to Lady Ellinor, and said--"Pardon me for telling you an old -story. A friend of mine--a man of my own years--had the temerity to -hope that he might one day or other win the affections of a lady young -enough to be his daughter, and whom circumstances and his own heart -led him to prefer from all her sex. My friend had many rivals; and you -will not wonder--for you have seen the lady. Among them was a young -gentleman, who for months had been an inmate of the same house--(Hush, -Lady Ellinor! you will hear me out; the interest of my story is to -come)--who respected the sanctity of the house he had entered, and left -it when he felt he loved--for he was poor, and the lady rich. Some -time after, this gentleman saved the lady from a great danger, and was -then on the eve of leaving England--(Hush! again--hush!) My friend was -present when these two young persons met, before the probable absence -of many years, and so was the mother of the lady to whose hand he -still hoped one day to aspire. He saw that his young rival wished to -say, 'Farewell!' and without a witness: that farewell was all that his -honour and his reason could suffer him to say. My friend saw that the -lady felt the natural gratitude for a great service, and the natural -pity for a generous and unfortunate affection; for so, Lady Ellinor, -he only interpreted the sob that reached his ear! What think you my -friend did? Your high mind at once conjectures. He said to himself--'If -I am ever to be blest with the heart which, in spite of disparity of -years, I yet hope to win, let me show how entire is the trust that I -place in its integrity and innocence: let the romance of first youth be -closed--the farewell of pure hearts be spoken--unembittered by the idle -jealousies of one mean suspicion.' With that thought, which _you_, Lady -Ellinor, will never stoop to blame, he placed his hand on that of the -noble mother, drew her gently towards the door, and, calmly confident -of the result, left these two young natures to the unwitnessed impulse -of maiden honour and manly duty." - -All this was said and done with a grace and earnestness that thrilled -the listeners: word and action suited each to each with so inimitable -a harmony, that the spell was not broken till the voice ceased and the -door closed. - -That mournful bliss for which I had so pined was vouchsafed: I was -alone with her to whom, indeed, honour and reason forbade me to say -more than the last farewell. - -It was some time before we recovered--before we _felt_ that we were -alone. - -O ye moments! that I can now recall with so little sadness in the -mellow and sweet remembrance, rest ever holy and undisclosed in the -solemn recesses of the heart. Yes!--whatever confession of weakness -was interchanged, we were not unworthy of the trust that permitted the -mournful consolation of the parting. No trite love-tale--with vows -not to be fulfilled, and hopes that the future must belie--mocked the -realities of the life that lay before us. Yet on the confines of the -dream, we saw the day rising cold upon the world: and if--children -as we wellnigh were--we shrunk somewhat from the light, we did not -blaspheme the sun, and cry "There is darkness in the dawn!" - -All that we attempted was to comfort and strengthen each other for that -which must be: not seeking to conceal the grief we felt, but promising, -with simple faith, to struggle against the grief. If vow were pledged -between us--_that_ was the vow--each for the other's sake would strive -to enjoy the blessings Heaven left us still. Well may I say that we -were children! I know not, in the broken words that passed between us, -in the sorrowful hearts which those words revealed--I know not if there -were that which they who own, in human passion, but the storm and the -whirlwind, would call the love of maturer years--the love that gives -fire to the song, and tragedy to the stage; but I know that there was -neither a word nor a thought which made the sorrow of the children a -rebellion to the heavenly Father. - -And again the door unclosed, and Fanny walked with a firm step to her -mother's side, and, pausing there, extended her hand to me, and said, -as I bent over it, "Heaven WILL be with you!" - -A word from Lady Ellinor; a frank smile from him--the rival; one last, -last glance from the soft eyes of Fanny, and then Solitude rushed -upon me--rushed, as something visible, palpable, overpowering. I felt -it in the glare of the sunbeam--I heard it in the breath of the air: -like a ghost it rose there--where _she_ had filled the space with her -presence but a moment before? A something seemed gone from the universe -for ever; a change like that of death passed through my being; and -when I woke to feel that my being lived again, I knew that it was my -youth and its poet-land that were no more, and that I had passed with -an unconscious step, which never could retrace its way, into the hard -world of laborious man! - - - - -THE GAME LAWS IN SCOTLAND. - - -Those who have been accustomed to watch the tactics of the Manchester -party cannot have overlooked or forgotten the significant coincidence, -in point of time, between Mr Bright's attack on the Game Laws, and -the last grand assault upon the barrier which formerly protected -British agriculture. That wily lover of peace among all orders of -men saw how much it would assist the ultimate designs of his party -to excite distrust and enmity between the two great divisions of the -protectionist garrison--the owners and the cultivators of land; and the -anti-game-law demonstration was planned for that purpose. The manoeuvre -was rendered useless by the sudden and unconditional surrender of -the fortress by that leader, whose system of defence has ever been, -as Capefigue says--"céder incessamment." It is impossible, however, -to disguise the true source of the sudden sympathy for the farmers' -grievances, which in 1845 and 1846 yearned in the compassionate bowels -of the agrarian leaders, and led to the lengthened inquiries of Mr -Bright's committee. - -But it seems we are not yet done with the game-law agitation. It is -true the last rampart of protection is levelled to the ground: but the -subjugation of the country interest to the potentates of the factory -is not yet accomplished. The owners of the soil have not yet bowed low -enough to the Baal of free trade; their influence is not altogether -obliterated, nor their privileges sufficiently curtailed; and therefore -Mr Bright and the Anti-Game-Law Association have buckled on their -armour once more, and the tenantry are again invited to join in the -crusade against those who, they are assured, have always been their -inveterate oppressors; and, to cut of as much as possible the remotest -chance of an amicable settlement, it is proclaimed that no concession -will be accepted--no proposal of adjustment listened to--short of the -total and immediate abolition of every statute on the subject of game. - -The truth is, that this branch of the agitation trade is too valuable -to be lost sight of by those who earn their bread or their popularity -in that line of business. Hundreds of honest peasants, rotting in -unwholesome gaols, their wives and children herded in thousands to -the workhouse--hard-working tenants sequestrated by a grasping and -selfish aristocracy--these are all too fertile topics for the platform -philanthropist to be risked by leaving open any door for conciliation; -and therefore the terms demanded are such as it is well known cannot be -accepted. - -Our attention has been attracted to the doings of an association which -has for its professed object the abolition of all game laws, and which -has recently opened a new campaign in Scotland, under the leadership -of the chief magistrate of Edinburgh, and one of the representatives -of the city. Of course the construction of such societies is no -longer a mystery to any one; and that under our notice appears to -be got up on the most approved pattern, and with all the newest -improvements. A staff of active officials directs its movements, and -collects funds--lecturers, pamphleteers, newspaper editors are paid or -propitiated. From the raw material of Mr Bright's blue-books the most -exaggerated statements and calculations of the most zealous witnesses -are carefully picked out, and worked up into a picture, which is held -up to a horrified public as a true representation of the condition -of the rural districts; and the game laws become, in the hands of -such artists, a monster pestilence, enough to have made the hair of -Pharaoh himself to stand on end. It is not to be wondered at if some, -who have not had the opportunity of investigating for themselves the -effects of these laws, have been misled by the bold ingenuity of -the professed fabricators of grievances; but it is a fact which we -shall again have occasion to notice, that they have made but little -impression on the tenant farmers. Of the few members of that class who -have taken an active share in the agitation, we doubt if there is -one who could prove a loss from game on any year's crop to the value -of a five-pound note.[2] The fact is, that while no one will deny the -existence of individual cases of hardship from the operation of the -game laws, you will hear comparatively little about them among those -who are represented as groaning under their intolerable burden. If you -would learn the weight of the grievance, you must go to the burghs -and town-councils; and there--among small grocers and dissenting -clergymen, who would be puzzled to distinguish a pheasant from a -bird-of-paradise--you will be made acquainted with the extent of the -desolation of these "fearful wildfowl:" from them you will learn the -true shape and dimensions of "the game-law incubus," which, as one -orator of the tribe tells us, "is gradually changing the surface of -this once fertile land into a desert." - -But while we are willing to allow for a certain leaven of misled -sincerity among the supporters of this association, it is evident that, -among its most active and influential leaders, the relief of the farmer -or the relaxation of penal laws is not the real object. We shall show -from their own writings and speeches the most convincing proof that -they contemplate far more extensive and fundamental changes than the -mere abolition of the game laws. There is not, indeed, much congruity -or system in the opinions which we shall have to quote; but in one -point it will be seen that they all concur--a vindictive hostility to -the possessors of land, and an eager desire to abridge or destroy the -advantages attached, or supposed to be attached, to that description of -property. Thus the system of entails--the freedom of real property from -legacy and probate duty--the landlord's preferable lien for the rent of -his land, figure in the debates of the abolitionist orators, along with -other topics equally relevant to the game laws, as oppressive burdens -on the industry of the country. The system of the tenure of land, also, -is pronounced to be a crying injustice; and one gentleman modestly -insists on the necessity of a law for compelling the landlord to make -payment to his tenant at the expiry of every lease for any increase in -the value of the farm during his occupation. The author of an "Essay -on the Evils of Game-Laws," which the association rewarded with their -highest premium, and which, therefore, we are fairly entitled to take -as an authorised exposition of their sentiments, thus enlarges on "the -withering and ruinous thraldom" to which the farmers are subjected by a -system of partial legislation. - -"No individual," he complains, "of this trade has ever risen to -importance and dignity in the state. While merchants of every other -class, lawyers, and professional men of every other class, have often -reached the highest honours which the crown has to bestow, no farmer -has ever yet attained even to a seat in the legislature, or to any -civic title of distinction; uncertain as the trade is naturally, and -harassed and weighed down by those sad enactments the game laws, to -be enrolled among the class of farmers is now tantamount to saying, -that you belong to a caste which is for ever excluded from the rewards -of fair and honourable ambition."--(Mr Cheine Shepherd's _Essay_. -Edinburgh, 1847.) - -The association of the game laws with the scorns which "patient merit -of the unworthy takes," is at least ingenious. We confess, with Mr -Cheine Shepherd, that the aspect of the times is wofully discouraging -to any hope that a coronet, "or even the lowest order of knighthood," -will in our days become the usual reward for skill - - "In small-boned lambs, the horse-hoe, or the drill." - -We cannot flatter him with the prospect of becoming a Cincinnatus; or -that we shall live to see the time when muck shall make marquisates as -well as money; and perhaps the best advice, under the circumstances, -we can tender him, is that which the old oracle gave to certain unhappy -_shepherds_ in Virgil's time-- - - "Pascite, ut ante, boves, pueri--submittite tauros." - -Absurd, however, as the complaint of this ambitious Damon appears, it -indicates at least the extent of change which he and his patrons of -the association think they may justly demand. It is not, then, redress -of game-law grievances they aim at, but an indefinite change in the -social and political system of the country. If any one doubts this, -let him read the following extract from the address of Mr Wilson of -Glassmount:-- - -"Much _organic change_ must, however, precede the reforms -for which they were now agitating. _The suffrage must be -extended._--(applause)--and, above all, the voters must be protected -in the exercise of their functions by _the ballot_; for, in a country -where so great a disparity existed between the social condition of the -electoral body, parliamentary election, as now conducted under a system -of open voting, was only a delusion and a mockery."--(_Caledonian -Mercury_, Feb. 12, 1849.) - -From such an authority we cannot expect much amity towards the -aristocracy, who, he says, "it is notorious, are, in point of -political, scientific, and general knowledge, far behind those employed -in commerce and manufactures."[3] He compares the present state of -Britain with "the condition of France anterior to her first revolution, -when the ancient _noblesse_ possessed the same exclusive privileges -which are still enjoyed by the aristocracy of this country--and, among -the rest, _a game law_, which was administered with so much severity, -that it is admitted on all hands to have been the chief cause of that -convulsion which shook Europe to its centre."[4] - -France and its institutions form a subject of constant eulogy to this -gentleman, whose speeches show him to be by far the ablest, and, at -the same time, the most straightforward of the League lecturers. He -admonishes our landed proprietors to visit that country. "In the social -condition of that country they would see the results of the abolition -of those class privileges and distinctions which their order are still -permitted to enjoy in England; and they would there find a widespread -comfort in all the rural districts, which has been produced by the -subdivision of property, and which is nowhere to be found in this -country, where game laws, and laws of entail and primogeniture, are -maintained for the exclusive amusement and aggrandisement," &c.[5] - -We are willing to believe that Mr Wilson of Glassmount has never -himself visited the country whose condition he longs to see resembled -here; and that it is simply from ignorance that he eulogises the -agricultural prosperity of a land where five bushels of wheat is -the average yield of an imperial acre--where, in two generations, -the landed system of the Code Napoleon has produced five and a-half -millions of proprietors, the half of whom have revenues not exceeding -£2 a-year, and whom the greatest statist of France describes as -"_propriétaires républicains et affamés_." Our object, however, is -not to reason with adversaries of this stamp, but simply to show, -from their own words, the nature of the reforms they contemplate, -under cover of a design to ameliorate the game laws. It may be said, -indeed, that such indiscreet avowals of the more zealous members of the -Anti-Game-Law Association cannot be fairly ascribed to its leaders. But -though their language is, of course, more wary, it were easy to select -from their orations even equally strong proofs of that bitter hostility -to the landed interest, which prompts Mr Bright himself to cheer on his -followers with the announcement that the people are ready to throw off -"the burdens imposed on them by _an aristocracy who oppress, grind them -down, and scourge them_;" and "that _the time is now come to leach the -proprietors of the soil the limits of their rights_."[6] - -A reference to the proceedings of the anti-game-law leaders will show -that the specimens we have given are only fair samples of the factious -spirit--the querulous, yet bullying and vindictive tone, in which -they have conducted this controversy. No one can seriously believe -that a hostility, directed not against these laws in particular, but -against the whole social and political system of our country, can be -founded on a wise and deliberate review of the effects of the statutes -in question. Discontent with things in general is a disease which -admits of no remedy, and which any ordinary treatment, by argument or -concession, would only aggravate. - -There are many, however, of more moderate views, who are interested -in knowing to what extent the complaints they have heard are founded -on reason, and are capable of redress. We purpose, for the present, -to limit our remarks principally to the operation of the Scotch law -upon game, both because agitation on this subject has recently been -most active on this side of the Tweed, and because we think the -important differences in the game-laws of England and Scotland have -not been sufficiently attended to, and have given rise to much popular -misapprehension. - -All the abolition orators begin by telling us that game laws are a -remnant of the feudal system--that they originated in the tyranny and -oppression of the middle ages, and are, therefore, wholly unsuited to -our improved state of society. Such an origin, of course, condemns them -at once; for, in the popular mind, feudal law is somehow synonymous -with slavery, rape, robbery, and all that is damnable. The truth is, -however, that the game law of Scotland has no more connexion with the -feudal law than with the code of Lycurgus. Even as regards England, -there is good ground for questioning Blackstone's doctrine that the -right to pursue and kill game is, in all cases, traceable to, and -derived from, the crown. But in Scotland, at all events, there never -existed any such exclusive system of forest laws as that which grew -up under the Norman kings, and which King John was finally compelled -to renounce. The broad and liberal principle out of which the Scotch -game law has grown, is the maxim of the civil law--_quod nullius est -occupanti conceditur_--that any one may lawfully appropriate and -enjoy whatever belongs to no one else--a maxim which must necessarily -form the fountainhead of all property. All wild animals, therefore, -may be seized by any one, and the law will defend his possession of -them. But out of this very principle itself there naturally springs a -most important restriction of the common privilege of pursuing game; -for the possessor of _land_, as well as the possessor of game, must -be protected in the exclusive enjoyment of what (though originally -_res nullius_) he has made his own by occupation or otherwise. It is -evident, then, that the contingent right of the hunter to the animals -he may succeed in seizing, can be exercised to its full extent only in -an unoccupied and uncultivated country; and must give way, wherever -the soil has become the subject of property, to the prior and perfect -right of the landowner. Accordingly, we find that in the Roman law -the affirmation of the common right to hunt wild animals is coupled -with this important restriction, under the very same title--"Qui -alienum fundum ingreditur, venandi aut aucupandi gratiâ, potest a -domino prohiberi ne ingrediatur;" and, notwithstanding the perplexed -and anomalous nature of the tenure of land among the Romans, we find -everywhere traces of a strict law of trespass, from the Twelve Tables -down to Justinian. And in this the civil law was followed by that -of Scotland. Subject to this inevitable restriction, and to a few -regulative enactments of less importance, the privilege continued open -to all, without distinction, up to the year 1621.[7] About this time -the tenor of the statutes shows that game of all kinds had become -exceedingly scarce; and it was probably with a view of preventing its -extirpation, as well as of discouraging trespass, which, from the -increase of the population, had increased in frequency, that, in the -above-mentioned year, an act was introduced which was, without doubt, a -decided violation of the principle on which the system was originally -founded. The act 1621 prohibited every one from hunting or hawking -who had not "a plough of land in heritage;" and subsequent statutes -extended this prohibition to the sale and purchase, and even to the -possession of game, by persons not thus qualified. This, we repeat, -was a direct departure from the leading maxim of the law, as it stood -previously; and we can see no reason whatever for now retaining it on -the statute-book. It is notorious, however, that, practically, these -statutes have now fallen into desuetude, and that the mere want of the -heritable qualification has not, for a long period, been made a ground -for prosecution. In fact, the privilege is open to any one provided -with the landlord's permission, and who has paid the tax demanded by -the Exchequer, though he may not possess a foot of land. When, then, we -find the orators of Edinburgh complaining of the harsh and intolerable -operation of the qualification statutes, it affords the most complete -evidence either of their utter ignorance of the actual state of the -law, or of the weakness of a cause that needs such disingenuous -advocacy. - -The fiscal license, which was first required by the act 24th Geo. III. -c. 43, cannot be justly regarded in the light of an infraction of the -general principle of the Scotch law. Its direct object is not the -limitation of the right of hunting, but the maintenance of the public -revenue; and it will be readily admitted by all reasonable men that, on -the one hand, there cannot be a less objectionable source of taxation -than the privilege in question, and, on the other, that the duty is -not excessive, when we find above 60,000 persons in Great Britain -voluntarily subjecting themselves to it every year. - -The two other principal enactments regarding the pursuit of game in -Scotland, commonly known as the Night and the Day Trespass Acts, 9 -Geo. IV. c. 69, and 2 and 3 Will. IV. c. 68, cannot here be criticised -in detail. Their provisions contain one or two anomalies which we -shall have occasion to notice below, in suggesting some practicable -amendments on the present law. But as to their general spirit, we -venture to affirm that they are most legitimate developments of -the general principle above stated. In every class of injuries to -the rights of others, there are some species of the offence which, -from their frequency, or from their being difficult to detect, must -necessarily be prevented by more stringent prohibitions than those -attached to the genus in general; and in the same way that orchards -for example, timber, salmon fisheries, and many other subjects are -protected by special penalties, so has it been found requisite to -amplify the common law of trespass, in its application to that -particular manner of trespass which is confessedly the most frequent -and annoying. If the penalties are unnecessarily stringent, let them -by all means be modified; but their severity, in comparison with the -punishment of ordinary trespass, is not inconsistent with justice, or -the principles of wise legislation. - -We have adverted, in this hasty sketch, only to the prominent features -and growth of the law of Scotland; but a more detailed comparison with -that of England and other countries of Europe, especially when recent -statutes and decisions are taken into view, will fully justify the -opinion of Hutcheson and other well qualified judges, that it is "the -most liberal and enlightened of all laws as to game." It recognises, -of course, no such thing as _property_ in game more than in any other -animals of a wild nature. The proprietor of a manor has no right to the -pheasant he has fed until he shall have actually brought it to bag, or -at least disabled it from escaping; and the right which he then first -acquires is quite independent of his ownership of the land. - -To many the distinction thus created, by considering all game as wild -animals, appears too theoretical; and no doubt it is a question for -zoologists rather than for lawyers to decide, whether there really be -in animals any such permanent and invariable character as to justify -such a universal distinction. There is the strongest presumption -that all our domesticated animals were at one time _feræ_; and it is -rather a difficult task to show reason for considering some classes as -"_indomitabiles_," when we see the reindeer, of a tribe naturally the -most shy of man, living in the hut of his Lapland master--and when we -recollect that among birds, the duck, turkey, and peacock, with us the -most civilised and familiar of poultry, are elsewhere most indubitable -_feræ_ at this very moment. It has been argued that the commoner kinds -of game, under the system of rearing and feeding now so general, are -scarcely more shy or migratory in their habits than those animals -which the law contrasts with them as _mansuefactæ_, and therefore -regards as property: that even when straying in the fields, we may as -reasonably impute to them the _animus revertendi_--the instinct of -returning to their haunts and coverts, as to pigeons and bees which the -law for this reason retains under its protection, though abroad from -their cots or hives; that the common objection as to the difficulty -of identifying game, is one which applies as strongly to many other -subjects recognised as vested in an owner; and finally, that, being -now in reality valuable articles of commerce, these classes of animals -should cease to be viewed as incapable of becoming property. It is -difficult to gainsay the premises on which this proposal is built: -and if we look to analogy, it cannot be doubted that the invariable -tendency of civilisation is towards the restriction of the category of -_res nullius_, and by art and culture to subject all products of the -earth to the use, and consequently to the possession of man. But, apart -from this speculative view of the subject--it seems to us that, while -common opinion is unprepared for so fundamental a change in the law of -Scotland, the alteration proposed would not in practice improve the -position of any of those classes who are affected by the operation of -the present game laws, nor materially obviate any of the bad effects -usually ascribed to them. - -But it is time now to turn to those alleged evils, and to form some -judgment as to whether they are in reality so weighty and numerous, -that nothing short of the total abolition of the game laws can -effectually check them. The abrogation of a law is no doubt an easy way -of overcoming the difficulty of amending it--in the same way that the -expedient of wearing no breeches will unquestionably save you the cost -of patching them; and as a device for diminishing game-law offences, -the total repeal of all game laws is perhaps as simple and efficacious -a recipe as could well be conceived. But let us first inquire into the -existence of the disease, before we resort to so summary a remedy. - -There are three distinct parties who are said to be injured by the -operation of these laws--_The community_ at large suffer chiefly by -being deprived, it is alleged, of a very large proportion of the -produce of the soil, which, if not consumed by game, would go to -increase the stock of human food--_The poacher_ has to bear the double -injustice of a law which first makes the temptation, and then punishes -the transgression--_The farmer_ finds, in the protection given to game, -a source of constant annoyance, loss, and disappointment. We shall take -these complainants in their order. - -The public, (we are told by the enlightened commercial gentleman who -represents the metropolis of Scotland,) the public have _a right_ to -see that none of the means for maintaining human life are wasted--a -great popular principle popularly and broadly stated. It is possible, -however, that Mr Cowan may not have contemplated all the admirable -results of his principle. He may, perchance, not have seen that it -sweeps away, not only every hare and pheasant, but every animal -whatever that cannot be eaten or turned to profit in the ledger. His -carriage horses eat as much as would maintain six poor paper-makers and -their families; the keep of his children's pony would board and educate -four orphans at the Ragged Schools. But we are not yet done with him; -for he cannot stick his fork into that tempting fowl before him until -he can satisfy us, the public, that the grain it has consumed would -not have been more profitably applied in fattening sheep or cattle. -And what, pray, is that array of plate on the _buffet_ behind him but -so much capital held back from the creation of employment and food -for that starving population, which he assures us (though every one -but himself knows it is nonsense) is increasing at the rate of 1000 -per diem! Political economy of this quality may do very well for the -Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce; but we really hope, for the credit of -the city he represents, that he will not expose himself on any other -stage, nor consider it a necessary part of his duties as a legislator, -to prescribe the precise manner in which corn shall or shall not be -used. - -The supposed amount of destruction by game of cereal and other produce, -has afforded a fine field for the more erudite of the game law -opponents. Mr Gayford's celebrated calculation, that three hares eat -as much as a full-grown sheep, is generally assumed as the infallible -basis of their estimates, and the most astounding results are evolved -from it.[8] Mr Charles Stevenson thinks the destruction cannot be less -than two bushels per acre over the whole kingdom, representing a total -of _two hundred thousand quarters_. "_If it be the case_," says Mr -Chiene Shepherd, with a modest hesitation--"if it be the case, that -throughout this empire the farmers, in general, suffer more loss from -game than they pay in the form of poor's tax (_and I suppose it cannot -be doubted that they do so_--that in most parts they suffer _more than -double_ the amount of their poor-rates,) then it follows, of course, -that there is more destruction from game than would make up the sum -collected from poor-rates from the whole lands of the empire."[9] -Double the amount of poor-rates paid by land may be taken roughly at -some £9,000,000. But there are others who think even this too low -an estimate, and throw into the scale (a million out or in is of no -importance) the county rate, highway rate, and all the other direct -burdens on land put together! Let us carry on the line of calculation -a step further: if game animals _alone_ consume all this, and if we -allow a fair proportion of voracity to the minor, but more numerous -_feræ_--rats, mice, rooks, wood-pigeons, &c.--it is clear as daylight -that it is a mere delusion to think that a single quarter of wheat -can, by any possibility, escape the universal devastation. There is -no lunatic so incurable as your rampant arithmetician; and the only -delusion that could stand a comparison with the above would be the -attempt to reason such men out of their absurdities. - -But the actual waste of grain is not, it seems, the only way in which -the public suffers. The annual cost to the community of prosecutions -under the game acts is an enormous and annually increasing burden. -This is proved, of course, by the same system of statistics run mad as -that of which we have just given some specimens. The game convictions -in the county of Bedford, it is discovered, were, in the year 1843, 36 -per cent of the total _male_ summary convictions; and the lovers of the -marvellous, who listen to such statements, are quietly left to infer, -not only that this is usually the case in Bedfordshire, but that a -similar state of things prevails throughout England and Scotland also. -They are sagacious enough, however, never to refer to general results. -They carefully avoid any mention of the fact, (which, however, any -one may learn for himself, by referring to Mr Phillipps' tables,) that -the average of the game convictions during the five years these tables -include, was, for _all England_, not 36, but a fraction over 6 per cent -of the whole. Now, let us see how the case stands in Scotland. We have -observed that our northern orators always draw their illustrations -from the south of the Tweed; and we have, therefore, looked with some -curiosity into the records of our Scotch county courts, as affording -some test of the real extent of the grievance in this part of the -empire. Unfortunately these records are not preserved in a tabular -form by all the counties; but we have been favoured with returns from -five of the most important on the east coast, which we selected as -being those in which the preservation of game is notoriously carried -to the greatest extent. An abstract of these returns will be found -below,[10] and will suffice to show how false, in regard to Scotland, -is the assertion that game prosecutions are alarmingly numerous; while -every one knows that the expense is borne, not by the public, but by -the private party, except in very rare and aggravated cases. From these -it appears that the whole number of game cases tried, or reported to -the authorities, in these five counties, during the years 1846 and -1847, was one hundred and forty-four, being about 2.5 per cent of the -whole. Fifeshire (which was selected to be shown up before Mr Bright's -committee as an abyss of game-law abuses) had, in 1848, out of eight -hundred and thirty offences, only _three_ under the game acts. As to -the alleged progressive _increase_ of such cases, the subjoined table -of the numbers for the five years preceding 1848[11] proves that, -whether it be true or not as respects isolated districts of England, -that the number of game-law trials is every year becoming a heavier -burden on the public, it certainly is not true in four of the largest -and most _game-keeping_ counties of Scotland. - -We have now to make a remark or two on the plea set up on behalf of -the poacher against the present game laws. What is it that makes a man -become a poacher? "Temptation," says Mr Bright, "and temptation only. -How can you expect that the poor but honest labourer, who, on his way -home from his daily toil, sees hares and pheasants swarming round -his path, should abstain from eking out his scanty meal with one of -those wild animals, which, though on your land, are no more yours than -his? The idea would never have occurred to him if he had not seen the -pheasants; and if there had been no game laws, he would have remained -an upright and useful member of society." Such, we believe, is the -beau-ideal of the poacher, as we find it in abolitionist speeches, and -in popular afterpieces at the theatre. He is, of course, always poor, -but virtuous,-- - - "A friendless man, at whose dejected eye - Th'unfeeling proud one looks, and passes by." - -We shall not quarrel, however, with the fidelity of this fancy sketch; -but we may be allowed to doubt whether any large proportion of those -who incur penalties for game trespass have been led into temptation -by the mere abundance of game in large preserves. Men of plain sense -will think it just as fair to ascribe the frequency of larceny to the -abundance of bandanas which old gentlemen _will_ keep dangling from -their pockets while pursuing their studies at print-shop windows. -The evidence taken by the committee seems rather to show that the -poacher's trade thrives best where there is what is called "a fair -sprinkling" of ill-watched game, than where he has to encounter a staff -of vigilant and well-trained keepers. But what though the case were -otherwise? Suppose the existence of the temptation to be admitted, is -it to be seriously argued that the province of legislation is not to -prohibit offence, but to remove all temptation from the offenders? not -to protect men in the enjoyment of their rights, but to abridge or -annihilate those rights, that they may not be invaded by others? This, -we affirm, is the principle when reduced to simple terms; and startling -enough it is to those who have been accustomed to think that the -proper tendency of laws and civilisation is in precisely the opposite -direction. What although a breach of these laws may sometimes be the -commencement of a course of crime, are there no other temptations which -open the road to the hulks or the penitentiary? If the magistrates of -our towns, who so vehemently denounce the danger of the game laws, -are sincere in their search after the sources of crime, and in their -efforts to repress them, we can help their inquiries--we can show -them at their own doors, and swarming in every street, temptations to -debauchery, which have made a hundred crimes for every one that can be -traced to game laws,--and yet we cannot perceive that the zeal of our -civic reformers has been very strenuously directed to discourage or to -diminish the numbers of these dens of dissipation. We can refer them -to the reports of our gaol chaplains for proof that three out of every -four prisoners are ignorant of the simplest rudiments of education; and -yet a praiseworthy attempt lately made in our metropolis to promote -instruction by means of apprentice schools, was not favoured with the -countenance of our chief magistrate, because he happened to be engaged -in the more philanthropic duty of presiding at a meeting for condemning -the game laws! - -If we are called upon to assign a reason for the frequency of poaching, -we should attribute it neither to the mere superabundance of game -by itself, nor yet to the pressure of poverty, but very much to the -same sort of temptation that encourages the common thief to filch a -watch or a handkerchief--namely, the facility of disposing of his -spoil. Well-stocked covers may present opportunities to the poacher -for turning his craft to account, but it is plain the practice would -be comparatively rare if he did not know that at the bar of the next -alehouse he can barter his sackful of booty either for beer or ready -coin, and no questions asked. Every village of 1000 or 1500 inhabitants -offers a market for his wares, and any surplus in the hands of the -country dealer can be transferred in eighteen hours to the London -poulterer's window. There cannot be a doubt that the consumption of -game has increased enormously since the beginning of this century. It -was formerly unknown at the tables of men of moderate means, except -when haply it came as an occasional remembrance from some country -relation, or grateful M.P. Now-a-days the spouse of any third-rate -attorney or thriving tradesman would consider her housekeeping -disgraced for ever, if she failed to present the expected pheasant -or brace of moorfowl "when the goodman feasts his friends." And even -if we descend to the artisans and operatives of our large towns, it -will be found that hares and rabbits form a wholesome and by no means -unusual variation of their daily fare. We have the evidence of one of -the great Leadenhall game dealers, that in the month of November hares -are sent up to London in such quantities, that they are often enabled -to sell them at 9d., and even at 6d. each. The average weight of a hare -may be taken at about 8 lb.; and if we deduct one-half for the skin, -&c., there will remain 4 lb. of nutritious food, which, even at 2s., -is cheaper than beef or mutton; while the occasional change cannot but -be both agreeable and beneficial to those who have so limited a choice -of food within reach of their means. Some idea may be formed of the -vast quantity of game brought into London, from the statements of Mr -Brooke, who buys £10,000 worth of game during the course of the winter; -and there are ten other great salesmen in Leadenhall market alone. -If we make allowance for the supplies sent directly to the smaller -poulterers, for the consumption in the other great towns throughout -the kingdom, and for the probably still larger quantity that never -comes into market at all, it is impossible to deny that game has now -become an important part of the food of the people, and that, as an -article of commerce, it deserves the attention of the legislature. Any -attempt to check the production and sale of a commodity for which there -is so general a demand, must prove both useless and mischievous. It -is in vain to proscribe it as an expensive luxury, and insist on the -substitution of less costly fare. It may be true, for anything we know, -that the grain or provender consumed by the 164,000 head of game, which -Mr Brooke disposed of in six months, might have produced a greater -weight of bullocks or Leicester wedders, (though this is extremely -unlikely, for the simple reason that grain, grass, and green crops form -only a _part_ of the food of any of the game species); but, whether -true or not, it is useless to prevent the rearing of game by any sort -of sumptuary enactment, direct or indirect. The proper course of -legislation is very plain. While compensation should be made exigible -for all damage from excess of game, and new statutory provision -made for this purpose, if the present law is insufficient--fair -encouragement should at the same time be given for the production, -in a legitimate way, of what is required for the use of the public. -Facilities should be afforded to the honest dealer for conducting -his trade without risk or disguise, and the useless remnant of the -qualification law in Scotland should be abolished. Measures of this -nature, by turning the constant demand for game into proper channels, -will prove the most effectual discouragement to the occupation of the -poacher, and to the reckless and irregular habits of life which it -generally induces. - -A very opposite result, we are persuaded, would follow from the -adoption of Mr Bright's quack recipe for putting an end to the practice -of poaching. By what indirect influence is the abolition of the game -laws expected to produce this effect? If, indeed, along with the game -laws, you sweep away also the law of common trespass--if you proclaim, -in the nineteenth century, a return to the habits of the golden age, -when, as Tibullus tells us-- - - "Nullus erat _custos_, nulla exclusura volentes Janua"; - -and if you authorise the populace at large to traverse every park and -enclosure, at all hours and seasons, and in any numbers and any manner -they please, then we can understand that a few months probably of -rustic riot and license may settle the question by the extermination of -the whole game species. But we have not yet met any game-law reformer -so rabid as to propose putting an end to the penalties on ordinary -trespass; on the contrary, we find most of them, (Sir Harry Verney and -Mr Pusey among the number,)[12] anticipating the necessity of arming -the law with much stronger powers for preventing common trespasses. -And even without such additional powers, will not the trespass law as -it stands be employed by proprietors to prevent interference with their -sports? Is it supposed that the abolition of the game statutes will at -once prevent the owners of great manors from rearing pheasants in their -own covers? It may indeed drive them to do so at a greater expense, -and to enlist additional watchers; but it is not likely that keen game -preservers will not avail themselves of such defences as the common law -may still leave them. Game then, we contend, may be thinned by this -plan, but it will not be exterminated. The consequence will be that -its price will be enhanced; but as the demand will still continue, the -trade of the poachers will remain as thriving as ever. He may have to -work harder and to trudge farther before he can fill his wallet; but -this will be compensated by the additional price; and if the present -quantity of game is diminished by one-half, the consequence will be -that his agents will be able to pay him five shillings a-head for -his pheasants instead of five shillings a-brace. In short, we should -anticipate, as the effects of abolishing the present statutes, that, -while many of the less wealthy owners of land would be deterred by the -expense from protecting game, and while the amusement (such as it is) -would become greatly more exclusive than it is now, such a measure -would not only fail to remove any of the inducements which tempt the -idle peasant to take to the predatory life of a poacher, but would, -in the outset at least, induce many to try it who never thought of it -before. - -We must now pass on to the considerations we have to offer on the -situation of the tenant-farmer as to game; and the first question that -suggests itself as to his case is this,--Whether the injury suffered by -tenants be really so serious and extensive as is represented? - -"There is no denying," says Mr Shepherd, in his _Essay_, (p. 12,) -"the notoriety of the fact that, _in a great majority of instances_, -this excessive power of infringement on the property of the tenant -through these laws has been abused. It has been almost _universally -abused_." Is this true as regards either England or Scotland? or is -it merely one of those vague and reckless affirmations which a man -writing for a purpose, and not for truth, is so apt to hazard, in -disregard or defiance of the facts before him? One thing we do find -to be notorious--that the committee's evidence of game abuses in -Scotland was limited _to one solitary case_, that of the estate of -Wemyss. And although we may very readily conceive that, with more time -and exertion, the agents of the league might have ferreted out other -instances, we may, nevertheless, be allowed to express our astonishment -that, on the slender foundation of this single case, Mr Bright should -have ventured to ask his committee to find the general fact proved, -that the prosperity of agriculture "_in many parts of Scotland_ as well -as England, is greatly impaired by the preservation of game." We learn -at least to estimate the value of the honourable gentleman's judgment, -and the amount of proof which an abolitionist regards as demonstration. -But the truth is, that the case of Scotland was not examined at all; -and the _rejected_ report of Mr Bright and his associates bears on its -face the most satisfactory evidence of their utter ignorance that the -law on this side the Tweed is a perfectly different system from that of -England. - -Will any believe that if our Scotch farmers, "in a great majority -of instances," found their property sacrificed, they would not have -universally joined in demanding the interference of the legislature? -But what is the fact? An examination of the reports on petitions -during the last two sessions shows that there certainly have been -petitions against the game laws, but that for every one emanating -from an agricultural body there have been ten from town-councils. We -have better evidence, however, than mere inference, for the general -distrust with which the farmers have regarded this agitation; for we -find the Leaguers themselves, one and all of them, lamenting that -their disinterested exertions on behalf of the tenantry have been -viewed by that body with the most callous and ungrateful indifference. -It is impossible to read without a smile Mr Bright's Address to the -Tenant-farmers (prefixed to Mr Welford's Summary of the Evidence); -and to mark the patient earnestness with which he entreats them to -believe that they are groaning under manifold oppressions--and insists -on "rousing them to a sense of what is due to themselves." But your -tiller of the soil is ever hard to move. It is surprising that the -obstinate fellow cannot be made to comprehend that he is the victim -of a malady he has never felt--that he will persist in believing that -if game were all he had to complain of, he might snap his fingers at -Doctor Bright and his whole fraternity. The essayist of the Association -can find no better reason to assign for what he calls "the wondrous -and apparently patient silence of the tenantry under so exasperating -an evil,"--than, forsooth, that they are too servile to speak out -their true opinions. Such an explanation, at the expense of the body -whom he pretends to represent, can only insure for him the merited -scorn of all who have opportunities of knowing the general character -of the spirited, educated, and upright men whom he ventures thus to -calumniate. The most obvious way of accounting for their wondrous -silence under oppression is also the true one--namely, that, as a -general fact, the oppression is unknown. When an intelligent farmer -looks round among his neighbours, and finds that for every acre damaged -by game there are thousands untouched by it,--when he knows that there -are not only whole parishes, but almost whole counties, in which he -could not detect in the crops the slightest indication of game,--and -further, that, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred in which a tenant -really suffers injury, he is sure of prompt and ample compensation--it -is not surprising that he looks upon the Association with suspicion, -and refuses to support, by his name or his money, their system of -stupendous exaggeration. If anyone wishes to convince himself of the -actual truth, we venture to suggest to him a simple test. Damage from -game, to be appreciable at all, cannot well be less than a shilling an -acre. Now, let any farmer survey in his mind the district with which -he is best acquainted, and estimate on how much of it the tenants -would give this additional rent, on condition of the game laws being -abolished. An average-sized farm, in our best cultivated counties, may -be taken at two hundred acres--how many of his brother farmers can he -reckon up, who would consent to pay £10 a-year additional on these -terms? A similar test, it may be mentioned, was offered to one of Mr -Bright's witnesses, (Evidence, i. 4938,) who had set down his annual -damages from game at from £180 to £200, and who, after successively -declining to give £200, £100, and £75 a-year additional rent for leave -to extirpate the game, thought, at last, he _might_ give £50 a-year for -that bargain. - -But the question immediately before us is this: what remedy does the -existing law of Scotland give a tenant in cases of real hardship from -the preservation of game? In regard to this question, it is impossible -to overlook the broad distinction between the cases of those who -have expressly undertaken the burden of the game, and those whose -leases contain no such covenant. The quasi-right of property in game -recognised by the English law is, by Lord Althorpe's statute of 1832, -vested in the _occupier_ of land, when there is no express stipulation -to the contrary. The reverse is virtually the case in Scotland--the -landlord retains his right to kill game, unless he shall have agreed -to surrender it to his tenant. In most cases, however, the landlord's -right does not rest merely on the common law, but is expressly reserved -to him in the lease. Now, when a tenant has deliberately become a -party to such an express stipulation, and when the quantity of game -(whether it be small or great) does not exceed, during the currency -of the lease, what it was at his entry, on what conceivable plea of -reason or justice can he ask the interference either of a court of -law or of the legislature? To say, with Mr Bright and his coadjutors, -that he seldom attends much to such minor articles in a lease--that -he does not understand their effect--that in the competition for land -he is glad to secure a farm on any conditions--all this is the most -childish trifling, and unworthy of a moment's serious notice. There is -not a single sentence in any lease that may not be set aside on the -very same grounds; and if agreements of this nature are to be cancelled -on pretences so frivolous, there is an end to all faith and meaning in -contracts between man and man. - -But the tenant's case assumes a very different aspect when, by -artificial means expressly contrived for the purpose, the game has been -increased _subsequent_ to his entry. Then, it is obvious, the burden -is no longer the same which the tenant undertook. It is a state of -things which he could not anticipate from the terms of his contract; -and if the authority of the courts of law were unable to reach such a -case, and to protect the tenant from what is in fact an infringement, -on the part of the landlord, of their mutual agreement, it is difficult -to imagine stronger grounds for insisting that the defect should be -supplied by positive enactment. No such interference, however, is -requisite. Our law courts not only possess the power of enforcing -compensation for such injuries, but in the recent decision, in the -case of Wemyss and Others v. Wilson, the supreme court has asserted -and exercised that power in the most distinct and unqualified manner. -"There is no instance," says Mr Chiene Shepherd, writing before the -date of the above-mentioned judgment, "in which our head court in -Scotland--the Court of Session--has ever given a decision entitling -a tenant to damages from a landlord for destruction of his crops by -game." Now, supposing the fact as here stated, to be strictly correct, -what inference, we ask, can common candour draw from it? Are we to -conclude that the law of Scotland, or the bench that administers it, -are so corrupt as to countenance such an insult to justice? No such -express decision had then been given, simply because no such claim had -ever been tried; and surely this very fact is in itself the strongest -possible presumption against the alleged universal abuse of the power -of preserving game--a presumption that a hardship which, up to 1847, -had never been made the ground of a formal appeal to the law tribunals, -cannot be either very frequent or very severe. The statement, however, -is not strictly correct; for, though no actual decree had been given -on the special amount of damages before 1847, a very distinct, though -incidental, opinion as to the liability of landlords in such cases was -given in a case which occurred fifteen years ago--Drysdale v. Jameson. -The principle of the law could not be more lucidly stated than in the -words of the learned judge (Fullerton) on that occasion. - -"A tenant, in taking a farm, must be considered as taking it under the -burden of supporting the game, and may be presumed to have satisfied -himself of the extent of that burden, as he is understood to do of -any other unfavourable circumstance impairing the productiveness of -the farm. But, on the other hand, it would seem contrary to principle -that the landlord, who is bound to warrant the beneficial possession -to the tenant, should be allowed, by his own act, to aggravate the -burden in any great degree. A tenant, in order to support such a claim, -must prove not only a certain visible damage arising from game, but -a certain visible increase of the game, and _a consequent alteration -of the circumstances contemplated in the contract, imputable to the -landlord_. The true ground of damage seems to be, not that the game is -abundant, but that its abundance has been materially increased since -the date of the lease."[13] - -Surely so clear an opinion, coming from such a quarter, was a pretty -plain indication of the protection which the law would extend to a -tenant in these circumstances; and, accordingly, it has been completely -confirmed on every point by the more recent and comprehensive decision -on Captain Wemyss' case. Any new steps on the part of a landlord for -stimulating the natural supply of game, whether by feeding them, -breeding them artificially, or by a systematic destruction of the -vermin which naturally prey on them, will be held as indicating an -intention on his part to depart from the terms of the contract, and -as therefore opening a valid claim for any damage the tenant may -experience in consequence of the change. And it is not only such -direct and active measures for augmenting the stipulated burden that -will be thus interpreted against the landlord; but even his doing so -negatively--that is, his failing to exercise the power he retains in -his own hands, and to keep down the burden to the same amount at which -the tenant found it on his entry, will be held as equivalent to his -positive act. - -If, then, there ever was any ground for alleging that the state of the -law was indefinite, the objection is now removed. No one can pretend -to doubt that a tenant of land in Scotland has as ample a protection -against injury from game as the law can give him. To prevent the injury -beforehand is beyond the power of any law. All that it can do is to -afford him as prompt and effectual means of redress as it furnishes -against any other species of injury. In short, when its principle is -weighed fairly, and when we take into consideration the relief from the -fiscal qualification which Mr Mackenzie's act of last session conferred -on the farmers, we shall be able to estimate how far it is true that, -"both in parliament and out of parliament, the interests and industry -of tenants are systematically sacrificed to the maintenance of the -odious privileges of more favoured classes." - -We have followed out and exposed, perhaps at greater length than was -necessary, the stock sophisms and more flagrant exaggerations by which -the total abolition of game laws is usually supported. Some points are -yet untouched; but we prefer employing the rest of our paper in briefly -stating a few suggestions for the removal of some of those difficulties -and anomalies in the Scotch law, which we set out with acknowledging. -In judging of any such alterations, it is necessary never to lose -sight of the leading principle on which the whole Scotch system is -founded--namely, the original and common right to seize and appropriate -the animals of chase, qualified and determined by the previous right of -the landowner to the exclusive use of the soil. - -1st. Keeping this in view, our first change would be the abolition of -the land-qualification introduced by the Act 1621; and this for the -double reason that it was originally an unwarrantable departure from -the general principle just mentioned, and that it is inexpedient to -cumber the system with a law which is practically in desuetude. - -2d. The effect of this alteration would be to remove also the useless -and improper restriction on the sale of game. There can be no good -reason for throwing difficulties in the way of the game-dealer's -trade. As a check to poaching, we have abundant proof that the present -restriction is inoperative; or, if it has any effect, it is directly -the reverse of that intended, by throwing the trade very much into the -hands of a low class of retailers. Instead of requiring a qualification -or permission, which is constantly evaded, we would substitute a -game-dealer's license, as in England. - -3d. The fifth section of the Day Trespass Act empowers the person -having the right to kill game on any lands, or any person authorised by -him, to seize game in the possession of a trespasser. This provision -has sometimes given occasion to dangerous conflicts between the -parties, and is, moreover, quite at variance with the principle of the -law above noted. - -4th. The next particular we shall mention is of more importance. The -evidence of Mr Bright's committee has, we think, fully disproved the -charge against the county magistracy of England, of partiality and -excessive severity in game cases. Exceptions no doubt were brought -forward, but their paucity shows the contrary to be the rule. In -Scotland there is still less ground for such an accusation. With -us, such an occurrence as a justice adjudicating in his own case is -unknown; and we find even the most violent of the abolition lecturers -admitting that proceedings before the sessions under the game statutes -are conducted with equity and leniency. But this is not enough. The -parties who have to administer the law should be above all suspicion -of bias or interest, even of the most indirect kind; and we should -greatly prefer that game prosecutions were removed altogether, into the -court of the judge-ordinary. Such an alteration, were a sure, would -be regarded generally by the benches of county magistrates as a most -desirable relief from one of the most invidious and embarrassing duties -they have to execute. But, as the law stands, they have no option--for -offences under the Day Trespass Act are cognisable by them only. If, -then, there be any valid reason against transferring the trial of all -game offences to the sheriff court, (and at present we can see none) -it is at all events most advisable that his jurisdiction should be -extended to day as well as to night trespasses. - -5th. Any revisal of the law should embrace provisions against the -accumulation of penalties; for although these are very rarely insisted -on in Scotland, the power of enforcing them affords a pretext for -declamations against the severity of the game law, which its opponents -know well how to employ. - -Besides these modifications of the statutes, it seems most desirable -that in all leases the disposal of game should be regulated by special -clauses, which should include a reference to arbitration in case of -dispute. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2] "The game agitators are individuals who suffer _a little_, and -see their brethren suffering more, and who have _their feelings -annoyed_; and those who are not hurt at all by game, but will strike -at any public wrong."--_Speech of Mr Munro, one of the Council of the -Association._ - -[3] _Lecture on the Game Laws_, by R. Wilson, &c., March 22, 1848. - -[4] Ibid. - -[5] Ibid. - -[6] Address in Mr Welford's _Influences of the Game Laws_. - -[7] The statute of 1600, prohibiting hunting and hawking to those who -had not "the revenues requisit in sik pastimes," is plainly one of a -sumptuary tenor, and not properly a game law. - -[8] It is right to mention, that there is some discrepancy in the -estimates of Mr Bright's authorities on this point, of whom Mr Gayford -is comparatively moderate; for we have others who, (upon, no doubt, -equally sound data,) think two hares is the proper equivalent; and Mr -Back of Norfolk is convinced that _one_ hare is _worse_ than a sheep; -in other words, that one hare will eat up a statute acre. On the other -hand, Mr Berkeley weighed the _full_ stomachs of a large hare, and -an average Southdown sheep, and found them as one to fifty-five. So -that, if the accounts of Mr Gayford and his _confrères_ are right, -we have arrived at a law in physiological science equally new and -surprising--that the digestive powers of animals increase in a compound -inverse ratio to the capacity of the digestive organs! - -[9] _Scotsman_, February 12, 1848. - -[10] - - | | || || | - | | 1846. || 1847. || | - | | || || Per cent. | - | | Total | Game || Total | Game ||(both years.)| - |Counties. | cases. | cases.|| cases. | cases. || | - | +--------+-------++--------+--------++-------------+ - |Aberdeen, | 683 | 2 || 800 | 5 || 0.4 | - |Berwick, | 317 | 10 || 342 | 16 || 3.9 | - |Edinburgh, | 336 | 12 || 475 | 14 || 3.2 | - |Haddington,| 456 | 33 || 572 | 33 || 6.4 | - |Fife, | 862 | 13 || 819 | 6 || 1.1 | - | +--------+-------++--------+--------++-------------+ - | Total, | 2654 | 70 || 3008 | 74 || 2.5 | - -Compare these facts with the preposterous statements which the latest -orator of the league, Mr M. Crichton, has been repeating to listening -zanies at Greenock, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, that "the commitments -arising from game laws amount to ONE-FOURTH of the whole crime of the -country." - -[11] Return of game-law offences during the years 1843-7 - - | | | | | | | - |Counties. | 1843. | 1844. | 1845. | 1846. | 1847. | - | +-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ - |Berwick, | 14 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 16 | - |Edinburgh, | 41 | 48 | 21 | 12 | 14 | - |Haddington, | 35 | 55 | 23 | 33 | 33 | - |Fife, | 30 | 25 | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | +-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ - | Total, | 120 | 136 | 77 | 68 | 69 | - - - -[12] Evidence, Part i. 1414; ii. 7647, 7651. - -[13] Shaw, ii. 147. - - - - -DOMINIQUE. - -A SKETCH FROM LIFE. - - -TWO STUDENTS. - -At the lower extremity of that ancient street long recognised as the -head and centre of the _Pays Latin_ or scholastic quarter of Paris, and -which, for six centuries, has borne the name of the _Rue de la Harpe_, -within a few doors of the bridge of _St Michel_, and in a room upon the -fifth floor, two young men were seated, on a spring morning of the year -182-. Even had the modest apartment been situated elsewhere than in the -focus of the students' district, its appearance would have prevented -the possibility of mistake as to the character of its inmates. Scanty -furniture, considerably battered, caricatures of student life, -partially veiling the dirty damp-stained paper that blistered upon -the walls, which were also adorned by a pair of foils, a cracked -guitar, and a set of castanets; a row of pegs supporting pipes, empty -bottles in one corner, ponderous octavos thickly coated with dust in -another, told a tale confirmed by the exterior of the occupants of the -apartment. One of these, a young man of two-and-twenty, was evidently -at home, for his feet were thrust into slippers, once embroidered, a -Greek cap covered his head, and a tattered dressing-gown of pristine -magnificence enveloped his slender and active figure. His features were -regular and intelligent, and he had the dark fiery eyes, clustering -black hair, and precociously abundant beard of a native of southern -France. His companion, a young Norman, had nothing particularly -noticeable in his countenance, save a broad open brow and a character -of much shrewdness and perspicacity--qualities possessed in a high -degree by a majority of his fellow provincials. His dress was one of -those nondescript eccentric coats and conical broad-leafed hats at all -times particularly affected by French _studiosi_. - -The two young men were seated at either extremity of the low sill of -a tall French window, thrown wide open to admit the pleasant spring -sunshine, into which they puffed, from capacious pipes, wreaths of -thin blue smoke. Their conversation turned upon a crime--or rather a -series of crimes--which occasioned, at that particular moment, much -excitement in Paris, and which will still be remembered by those -persons upon the tablets of whose memory the lapse of a quarter of a -century does not act as a spunge. About three years previously, a young -man named Gilbert Gaudry, of respectable family, liberal education, -and good reputation, had been tried and convicted for the murder of -an uncle, by whose death he largely inherited. The accused man was -in debt, and his embarrassed circumstances prevented his marrying a -woman to whom he was passionately attached; his uncle had recently -refused him pecuniary assistance, upon which occasion Gaudry was heard -to express himself harshly and angrily. Many other circumstances -concurred to throw upon him the odium of the crime; and, altogether, -the evidence, although entirely circumstantial, was so strong against -him, that, in spite of his powerful appeal and solemn denial, the judge -condemned him to death. The sentence had been commuted to the galleys -for life. Three years passed, and the real murderer was discovered--a -discharged servant of the murdered man, who, at the trial, had given -important evidence against Gaudry. The guillotine did its work on the -right offender, and Gaudry's sentence was reversed. But three years -of slavery and opprobrium, of shame, horror, and gnawing sense of -injustice, had wrought terribly upon the misjudged man, inspiring him -with a blind and burning thirst of revenge. Almost his first act, on -finding himself at liberty, was to stab, in broad daylight, and in the -open street, the judge who had condemned him. This time there could be -no question of his guilt, and he would inevitably have been condemned -to death; but, before his trial, he found means of hanging himself in -his cell. This last tragical and shocking incident had occurred but -two days previously, and now furnished the embryo jurists with a theme -for animated discussion. Without vindicating the wretched murderer -and suicide, the young Norman was disposed to find an extenuating -circumstance in the unjust punishment he had endured. But his friend -scouted such leniency, and, taking up high ground, maintained that no -criminal was baser than he who, the victim of judicial error, revenged -himself upon the magistrate who had decided according to the best of -his judgment and conscience, but who, sharing the liability to err of -every human judge, was misled by deceitful appearances or perjured -witnesses. - -"Argue it as you will," cried Dominique Lafon; "be plausible and -eloquent, bring batteries of sophisms to the attack, you cannot breach -my solid position. Excuse and extenuation are alike in vain. I repeat -and maintain, that to make a magistrate personally responsible for his -judgments, be they just or unjust, so long as he has kept within the -line of his duty, and acted according to his conscience, is revenge of -the basest and most criminal description." - -"Bear in mind," replied Henry la Chapelle, "that I attempt not to -justify the unhappy Gaudry. All I assert is, that injustice excites in -the breast of every man, even of the gentlest, hatred against him by -whom the injustice is done. And its frequent repetition, or the long -continuance of the suffering it occasions, will ultimately provoke, -in nine cases out of ten, an outbreak of revengeful fury. The heart -becomes embittered, the judgment blinded, the mild and beautiful -injunctions of Scripture are forgotten or disregarded, in the gust of -passion and vindictive rage. To offer the left cheek when the right -has been buffeted, is, of all divine precepts, the most difficult -to follow. A man ruined, tortured, or disgraced by injustice, looks -to the sentence, not to the intention, of his judge; taxes him with -precipitation, prejudice, or over-severity, and views revenge as -a right rather than a crime. Doubtless there are exceptions--men -whose Christian endurance would abide by them even unto death; but, -believe me, they are few, very few. The virtues of Job are rare; and -rancour, the vile weed, chokes, in our corrupt age, the meek flower, -resignation." - -"A man to whom injustice is really done," said Dominique, "may console -himself with the consciousness of his innocence, which an act of -rancorous revenge would induce many to doubt. The suffering victim -finds sympathy; the fierce avenger excites horror and reprobation." - -"Mere words, my dear fellow," replied la Chapelle. "Fine phrases, and -nothing else. You are a theorist, pleading against human nature. What -logic is this? Undeserved punishment is far more difficult to endure -than merited castigation; and an act of revenge should rather plead -in favour of the innocence of him who commits it. In a criminal, the -consciousness that he merited his punishment would leave less room -for hatred than for shame; it would excite vexation at his ill luck, -rather than enduring anger against his judge. There would be exceptions -and variations, of course, according to the moral idiosyncracy of the -individual. It is impossible to establish a mathematical scale for -the workings of human passions. I repeat that I do not justify such -revenge, but I still maintain that to seek it is natural to man, and -that many men, even with less aggravation than was given to Gaudry, -might not have sufficient resolution and virtue to resist the impulse." - -"You have but a paltry opinion of your fellow-creatures," said -Dominique. "I am glad to think better of them. And I hold him a weak -slave to the corruption of our nature, who has not strength to repress -the impulse to a deed his conscience cannot justify." - -"Admirable in principle," said la Chapelle, smiling, "but difficult -in practice. You yourself, my dear Dominique, who now take so lofty -a tone, and who feel, I am quite sure, exactly as you speak--you -yourself, if I am not greatly mistaken in your character, would be the -last man to sit down quietly under injustice. Your natural ardour and -impetuosity would soon upset your moral code." - -"Never!" vehemently exclaimed Dominique. "La Chapelle, never will I -suffer my passions thus to subdue my reason! What gratification of -revenge can ever compensate the loss of that greatest of blessings, -a pure and tranquil conscience? What peace of mind could I hope for, -after permitting such discord between my principles and my actions? La -Chapelle, you wrong me by the thought." - -"Well, well," replied his friend, "I may be wrong, and at any rate I -reason in the abstract rather than personally to you. I heartily wish -you never may suffer wrong, or be tempted to revenge. But remember, my -friend, safety is not in over-confidence. The severest assaults are for -the strongest towers." - -A knock at the room-door interrupted the conversation. It was the -porter of the lodging-house, bringing a letter that had just arrived -for Dominique. On recognising the handwriting of the address, and the -postmark of Montauban, the young man uttered a cry of pleasure. It was -from home, from his mother. He hastily tore it open. But as he read, -the smile of joy and gratified affection faded from his features, and -was replaced by an expression of astonishment, indignation, grief. -Scarcely finishing the letter, he crumpled it in his hand with a -passionate gesture, and stripping off his dressing-gown began hastily -to dress. With friendly solicitude la Chapelle observed his varying -countenance. - -"No bad news, I hope?" he inquired. - -For sole reply, Dominique threw him the letter. - - -MOTHER AND SON. - -Dominique Lafon was the son of a man noted for his democratic -principles, who, after holding high provincial office under the -Republic and the Consulate, resigned his functions in displeasure, -when Napoleon grasped an emperor's sceptre, and retired to his native -town of Montauban, where he since had lived upon a modest patrimony. -Under Napoleon, Pascal Lafon had been unmolested; but when the Bourbons -returned, his name, prominent during the last years of the eighteenth -century, rendered him the object of a certain _surveillance_ on the -part of the police of the Restoration. On the occasion of more than -one republican conspiracy, real or imaginary, spies had been set upon -him, and endeavours made to prove him implicated. Once he had even been -conducted before a tribunal, and had undergone a short examination. -Nothing, however, had been elicited that in any way compromised him; -and in a few hours he was again at liberty, before his family knew -of his brief arrest. In reality, Lafon, although still an ardent -republican, was entirely guiltless of plotting against the monarchy, -which he deemed too firmly consolidated to be as yet shaken. France, -he felt, had need of repose before again entering the revolutionary -arena. His firm faith still was, that a time would come when she would -dismiss her kings for ever, and when pure democracy would govern the -land. But before that time arrived, his eyes, he believed, would be -closed in death. He was no conspirator, but he did not shun the society -of those who were; and, moreover, he was not sufficiently guarded in -the expression of his republican opinions and Utopian theories. Hence -it came that, like the Whig in Claverhouse's memoranda, he had a triple -red cross against his name in the note-book of the Bourbon police, who, -at the time now referred to, had been put upon the alert by the recent -assassination of the Duke of Berri. Although the circumstances of that -crime, and the evidence upon Louvel's trial, combined to stamp the -atrocious deed as the unaided act of a fanatic, without accomplices or -ulterior designs, the event had provoked much rigid investigation of -the schemes of political malcontents throughout France; and in several -districts and towns, magistrates and heads of police had been replaced, -as lax and lukewarm, by men of sterner character. Amongst other -changes, the Judge of Instruction at Montauban had had a successor -given him. The new magistrate was preceded by a reputation of great -vigilance and severity--a reputation he lost no time in justifying. By -the aid of a couple of keen Parisian police agents of the _Procureur -du Roi_, whom he stimulated to increased activity, he soon got upon -the scent of a republican conspiracy, of which Montauban was said to -be a principal focus. Various reports were abroad as to the manner in -which Monsieur Noell, the new judge, had obtained his information. Some -said, the plotters had been betrayed by the mistress of one of them, -in a fit of jealous fury at a fancied infidelity of her lover; others -declared, that hope of reward had quickened the invention of a police -spy, who, despairing of discovering a conspiracy, had applied himself -to fabricate one. Be that as it might, a number of arrests took place, -and, amongst others, that of Dominique's father. The intelligence of -this event was conveyed to the young student in a few despairing lines -from his mother, whose health, already very precarious, had suddenly -given way under the shock of her husband's imprisonment. She wrote from -a sick-bed, imploring her son to lose no time in returning to Montauban. - -Gloomy were the forebodings of Dominique as the mail rattled him over -the weary leagues of road between Paris and Montauban. Yet, when he -reached home, he half hoped to be greeted by his father's friendly -voice, for, himself convinced of his innocence, he could not believe -the authorities would be long in recognising it. He was disappointed. -The sorrowful mien of the domestic who opened the door told a tale of -misfortune. - -"Oh, Monsieur Dominique!" said the man, an old servant, who had known -the student from his cradle, "the house is not wont to be so sad when -you return." - -"My mother! where is my mother?" cried Dominique. The next instant he -was at her bedside, clasping her poor thin fingers, and gazing in agony -on her emaciated features. A few days of intense alarm and anxiety, -acting on an exquisitely susceptible organisation, had done the work -of months of malady. A slow fever was in her veins, undermining her -existence. Dominique shuddered at sight of her sunken temples, and of -the deep dark furrows below her eyes. It seemed as if the angel of -death had already put his stamp upon that beloved countenance. But he -concealed his mental anguish, and spoke cheeringly to the invalid. -She told him the particulars of his father's arrest. She had already -written to some friends, sent for others, and had done all in her power -to ascertain exactly the offences of which Lafon was accused; but the -persons who had made the inquiries had been put off with generalities, -and none had obtained access to the prisoner, who was in solitary -confinement. - -Dominique Lafon was tenderly attached to both his parents. Upon him, -their only child, their entire affection was concentrated and lavished. -They had made him their companion even from his earliest years, had -tended him with unwearying solicitude through his delicate infancy, -had devoted themselves to his education when he grew older, and had -consented with difficulty and regret to part from him, when his arrival -at man's estate rendered it desirable he should visit the capital for -the conclusion of his studies. Dominique repaid their care with devoted -love. His father's consistency and strength of character inspired -him with respect; he listened to his precepts with veneration and -gratitude; but he idolised his mother, whose feminine graces and tender -care were intertwined with the sweetest reminiscences of childhood's -happy days. He now strove to repay some portion of his debt of filial -love by the most unwearying attendance at the invalid's pillow. His -arrival brought a gleam of joy and hope to the sick woman's brow, -but the ray was transient, and quickly faded. The vital flame had -sunk too low to revive again permanently. She grew weaker and weaker, -and felt that her hour approached. But her spirit, so soon to appear -before her Maker, yet clung to an earthly love. Whilst striving to -fix her thoughts on things heavenly, they still dwelt upon him by -whose side she had made life's checkered pilgrimage. She wrung her -hands in agony at the thought that she must leave the world without -bidding him a last farewell. She asked but a moment to embrace him -who, for five-and-twenty years, had been her guardian and protector, -her tenderest friend and companion. Dominique could not endure the -spectacle of her grief. He left the house to use every endeavour to -obtain for her the indulgence she so ardently desired. - -The first person to whom he applied was the Judge of Instruction, -Monsieur Noell. Provided with a medical certificate of his mother's -dying state, he obtained admission to that magistrate's cabinet. He -found a tall thin man, with harsh strongly marked features, and a -forbidding expression of countenance. The glazed stare of his cold -gray eyes, and the cruel lines about his mouth, chilled Dominique's -hopes, and almost made him despair of success. The youth preferred -his request, however, with passionate earnestness, imploring that his -father might be allowed to leave his prison for a single hour, under -good guard, to visit the bedside of his expiring wife, in presence of -such witnesses as the authorities would think proper to name. The reply -to this prayer was a formal and decided negative. Until the prisoner -Lafon had undergone a second examination, no one could be admitted to -see him under any pretext whatever. That examination was not to take -place for at least a week. Dominique was very sure, from what the -physicians had told him, that his mother could not survive for a third -of that time. - -The frigid manner and unsympathising tone of the magistrate, and -the uncourteous brevity of his refusal, grated so unpleasantly upon -the irritated feelings of the student, that he had difficulty in -restraining a momentary anger. In less imminent circumstances, his -pride would have prevented his persisting in a petition thus unkindly -rejected, but the thought of his dying mother brought patience and -humility to his aid. Warmly, but respectfully, he reiterated his suit. -The magistrate was a widower, but he had children, to whom report said -he was devotedly attached. Harsh and rigid in his official duties, -in his domestic circle he was said to be the tenderest of fathers. -Dominique had heard this, and availed of it in pleading his suit. - -"You have children, sir!" he said; "you can picture to yourself the -grief you would feel were your deathbed unblessed by their presence. -How doubly painful must be the parting agony, when the ear is unsoothed -by the voice of those best beloved, when no cherished hand is there -to prop the sinking head, and close the eyes for ever on this world -and its sufferings! Refuse not my father the consolation of a last -interview with his dying wife! Have compassion on my poor mother's -agony! Suffer her to breathe her last between the two beings who share -all her affection! So may your own deathbed be soothed by the presence -of those you most dearly love!" - -Doubtless Monsieur Noell's ear was well used to such pleadings, and -his heart was hardened by a long course of judicial severity. His -glance lost nothing of its habitual cold indifference, as he replied to -Dominique's passionate entreaties with a decided negative. - -"I must repeat my former answer," he said; "I neither can nor will -grant the indulgence you require. And now I will detain you no longer, -as you may perhaps make use of your time to greater advantage in other -quarters." - -He rose from his chair, and remained standing till Dominique left -the room. The tone of his last words had wellnigh crushed hope in -the young man's bosom. But as long as a possibility remained, the -student pursued it. He betook himself to the _Procureur du Roi_, whose -office constituted him public prosecutor in cases of this kind. That -functionary declared himself incompetent, until the prisoner should -have undergone another examination. Until then, the only appeal from -the judge was to the minister of justice. Dominique instantly drew -up and forwarded a petition; but before it reached Paris, his mother -breathed her last. She met her death, preceded and attended by acute -sufferings, with the resignation of a martyr. But even after the -last sacrament of her religion had been administered, and when she -earnestly strove to fix her mind on eternity, to the exclusion of -things temporal, the thought of her husband, so long and tenderly -beloved, and absent at this supreme hour, intruded itself upon her -pious meditations, brought tears to her eyes, and drew heartrending -sobs from her bosom; her last sigh was for him, her latest breath -uttered his name. This fervent desire, so cruelly thwarted, those tears -of deferred hope and final profound disappointment, were inexpressibly -painful to contemplate. Upon Dominique, whose love for his mother was -so deep and holy, they made a violent impression. Bitter were his -feelings as he sat beside her couch when the spirit had fled, and gazed -upon her clay-cold features, whereon there yet lingered a grieved and -suffering expression. And later, when the earth had received her into -its bosom, that pallid and sorrowful countenance was ever before his -eyes. In his dreams he heard his mother's well-known voice, mournfully -pronouncing the name of her beloved husband, and praying, as she had -done in the last hours of her life, that she might again behold him -before she departed. Nor were these visions dissipated by daylight. -They recurred to his excited imagination, and kindled emotions of -fierce hatred towards the man who had had it in his power to smooth his -mother's passage from life to death, and who had wantonly refused the -alleviation. Nay more; convinced of his father's innocence, Dominique -considered the judge who had thrown him into prison as in some sort -his mother's murderer. He had accelerated her decease, and thrown gall -into the cup it is the lot of every mortal to drain. The physicians -had declared anxiety of mind to be the immediate cause of her death. -Dominique brooded over this declaration, and over the misfortunes that -had so suddenly overtaken him, until he came to consider M. Noell as -much an assassin as if he had struck a dagger into his mother's heart. -"What matter," he thought, "whether the wound be dealt to body or to -soul, so long as it slays?" He had nothing to distract his thoughts -from dwelling upon and magnifying the wrongs that had deprived him -of both parents, one by death, the other by an imprisonment whose -termination he could not foresee. At times his melancholy was broken by -bursts of fury against him he deemed the cause of his misfortunes. - -"Could I but see him die!" he would exclaim, "the cold-blooded -heartless tyrant--die alone, childless, accursed, without a friendly -hand to wipe the death-sweat from his face! Then, methinks, I could -again be happy, when his innocent victim was thus revenged. Alas, my -mother!--my poor, meek, long-suffering mother,--must your death go -unrequited? For what offence was your life taken as atonement? By what -vile distortion of justice did this base inquisitor visit upon your -innocent head a transgression that never was committed?" - -Meanwhile the captivity of the elder Lafon was prolonged. A second -examination relaxed nothing of his jailor's severity, and his son's -applications to see him were all rejected. Dominique wrote to his -father, but he received no answer; and he afterwards learned that his -letter had not been delivered when sent, but had been detained by -Noell, who, finding nothing criminatory in its contents, had subjected -it, with characteristic suspicion, to chemical processes, in hopes -to detect writing with sympathetic ink, and had finally made it -accessory to an attempt to extort a confession from the prisoner. This -information, obtained from an understrapper of the prison by means of a -large bribe, raised Dominique's exasperation to the highest pitch. - -"Gracious Heaven!" he exclaimed, "are such things to be endured in -silence and submission? Has human justice iron scourges for nominal -offences,--honours and rewards for real crimes? On a false accusation -my father pines in a dungeon, whilst my mother's murderer walks -scatheless and exalted amongst his fellows; but if the laws of man are -impotent to avenge her death, who shall blame her son for remembering -her dying agony, and requiting it on those who aggravated her -sufferings?" - -And he walked forth, pondering vengeance. Unconsciously his steps -took the direction of the prison. Long he stood, with folded arms and -lowering brow, gazing at the small grated aperture that gave light -and air to his father's cell, and hoping to see his beloved parent -look out and recognise him. He gazed in vain: twilight came, night -followed, no one appeared at the window. Dominique knew not that it -was high above the prisoner's reach. He returned home, fancying his -father ill, nourishing a thousand bitter thoughts, and heaping up -fresh hatred against the author of so much misery. That night Michel, -the old servant, came twice to his room door, to see what ailed him, -since, instead of retiring to rest, he unceasingly paced the apartment. -Dominique dismissed the faithful fellow to his bed, and resumed -his melancholy walk. But in the morning he was so pale and haggard -that Michel slipped out to ask the family physician to call in _by -accident_. When he returned, Dominique had left the house. In great -alarm--for his young master's gloomy despondency at once suggested fear -of suicide--Michel tracked his steps. His fears proved unfounded. With -some trouble he ascertained that Dominique had quitted the town on the -top of a passing diligence, with a valise for sole baggage, and without -informing any one of the object of his journey. - - -THE DOUBLE DUEL. - -Antony Noell, the judge, had three children, and report lied not when -it said that he was tenderly attached to them. A harsh and unfeeling -man in his official capacity, and in the ordinary affairs of life, -all the softer part of his nature seemed to have resolved itself into -paternal affection. His two sons were students at the university of -Toulouse; his youngest child, a blooming maiden of twelve, still -brightened his home and made his heart joyful, although she soon was -to leave him to finish her education in a convent. The two students -were gay handsome lads, but somewhat dissipated; fonder of the bottle -and the billiard-room than of grave lectures and dry studies. They -were in small favour with their pedagogues, but in high repute with -their fellow collegians; whilst peaceable citizens and demure young -ladies regarded them with mingled aversion, interest, and curiosity, on -account of certain mad pranks, by which, during their first half-year's -residence, they had gained a certain notoriety in the quiet city of -Toulouse. - -It happened one night, as the brothers came both flushed with play and -wine from their accustomed coffeehouse on the Place du Capitole, that -Vincent, the elder of the two, stumbled over the feet of a man who sat -upon one of the benches placed outside the establishment. The passage -through the benches and tables was narrow; and the stranger, having -thrust his legs nearly across it, had little reason to complain of the -trifling offence offered him. Nevertheless he jumped to his feet and -fiercely taxed young Noell with an intentional insult. Noell, full of -good humour and indifferent wine, and taking his interlocutor for a -fellow student, made a jesting reply, and seizing one of the stranger's -arms, whilst his brother Martial grasped the other, dragged him into -the lamp-light to see who he was. But the face they beheld was unknown -to them; and scarcely had they obtained a glimpse at it when its owner -shook them off, applying to them at the same time a most injurious -epithet. The students would have struck him, but he made a pace -backwards, and, seizing a heavy chair which he whirled over his head as -though it had been a feather, he swore he would dash out the brains of -the first who laid a finger on him. - -"I do not fight like a water-carrier," he said, "with fists and -feet; but if you are as ready with your swords as you are with your -insolence, you shall not long await satisfaction." - -And offering a card, which was at once accepted, he received two in -return. The disputants then separated; and as soon as the Noells turned -out of the square, they paused beneath a lamp to examine the card they -had received. Inscribed upon it was the name of Dominique Lafon. - -It was too late, when this quarrel occurred, for further steps to -be taken that night; but early on the following morning Dominique's -second, a young lawyer whom he had known during his studies at Paris, -had an interview with the friends appointed by the Noells to act on -their behalf. The latter anticipated a duel with swords, and were -surprised to find that Dominique, entitled, as the insulted party, -to fix the weapon, selected the more dangerous and less usual one of -pistols. They could not object, however, and the meeting was fixed for -the next day; the arrangement being that both brothers should come upon -the ground, and that, if Dominique was unhurt in the first encounter, -the second duel should immediately succeed it. - -In a secluded field, to the right of the pleasant road from Toulouse -to Albi, and at no great distance from the tumulus on whose summit a -stone pillar commemorates Soult's gallant resistance to Wellington's -conquering forces, the combatants met at the appointed hour, and -saluted each other with cold courtesy. Dominique was pale, but his -hand and eye were steady, and his pulse beat calmly. The two Noells -were cheerful and indifferent, and bore themselves like men to whom -encounters of this kind were no novelty. The elder brother took the -first turn. The seconds asked once more if the affair could not be -peaceably arranged; but, receiving no answer, they made the final -arrangements. Two peeled willow rods were laid upon the ground, six -yards apart. At ten yards from either of these the duellists were -placed, making the entire distance between them six and twenty yards; -and it was at their option, when the seconds gave the word, either to -advance to the barrier before firing, or to fire at once, or from any -intervening point. - -The word was given, and the antagonists stepped out. Vincent Noell took -but two paces, halted and fired. He had missed. Dominique continued -steadily to advance. When he had taken five paces, the seconds looked -at each other, and then at him, as if expecting him to stop. He took no -notice, and moved on. It was a minute of breathless suspense. In the -dead silence, his firm tread upon the grass was distinctly audible. -He paused only when his foot touched the willow wand. Then he slowly -raised his arm, and fired. - -The whirling smoke prevented him for an instant from discerning the -effect of his shot, but the hasty advance of the seconds and of two -surgeons who had accompanied them to the field, left him little doubt -that it had told. It had indeed done so, and with fatal effect. The -unhappy Vincent was bathed in his blood. The surgeons hastened to -apply a first dressing, but their countenances gave little hope of a -favourable result. - -Pale and horror-stricken, not with personal fear, but with grief at -his brother's fate, Martial Noell whispered his second, who proposed -postponing the second duel till another day. Dominique, who, whilst -all his companions had been busy with the wounded man, had remained -leaning against a tree, his discharged pistol in his hand, collected -and unsympathising, stepped forward on hearing this proposition. - -"Another day?" said he with a cruel sneer. "Before another day arrives, -I shall doubtless be in prison for this morning's work. But no matter; -if the gentleman is less ready to fight than he was to insult me, let -him leave the field." - -The scornful tone and insinuation brought a flush of shame and anger to -the brow of the younger Noell. He detested himself for the momentary -weakness he had shown, and a fierce flame of revenge kindled in his -heart. - -"Murderer!" he exclaimed, "my brother's blood calls aloud for -vengeance. May Providence make me its instrument!" - -Dominique replied not. Under the same conditions as before, the -two young men took their stations. But the chances were not equal. -Dominique retained all his coolness; his opponent's whole frame -quivered with passionate emotion. This time, neither was in haste to -fire. Advancing slowly, their eyes fixed on each other, they reached -at the same moment the limits of their walk. Then their pistols were -gradually raised, and, as if by word of command, simultaneously -discharged. This time both balls took effect. The one that struck -Dominique went through his arm, without breaking the bone, and lodged -in his back, inflicting a severe but not a dangerous wound. But Martial -Noell was shot through the head. - -The news of this bloody business soon got wind, and the very same -day it was the talk of all Toulouse. Martial Noell had died upon the -spot; his brother expired within forty-eight hours. The seconds got -out of the way, till they should see how the thing was likely to go. -Dominique's wound prevented his following their example, if he were so -disposed; and when it no longer impeded his movements, he was already -in the hands of justice. Frantic with grief on learning the fate of his -beloved sons, Anthony Noell hurried to Toulouse, and vigorously pushed -a prosecution. He hoped for a very severe sentence, and was bitterly -disappointed when Dominique escaped, in consideration of his wounds and -of his having been the insulted party, with the lenient doom of five -years' imprisonment. - - -FIVE YEARS LATER. - -Five years of absence from home may glide rapidly enough away, when -passed in pursuit of pleasure or profit; dragged out between prison -walls, they appear an eternity, a chasm between the captive and -the world. So thought Dominique as he re-entered Montauban, at the -expiration of his sentence. During the whole time, not a word of -intelligence had reached him from his home, no friendly voice had -greeted his ear, no line of familiar handwriting had gladdened his -tearless eyes. Arrived in his native town, his first inquiry was for -his father. Pascal Lafon was dead. The fate of his wife and son had -preyed upon his health; the prison air had poisoned the springs of life -in the strong, free-hearted man. The physician declared drugs useless -in his case, for that the atmosphere of liberty alone could save him; -and he recommended, if unconditional release were impossible, that -the prisoner should be guarded in his own house. The recommendation -was forwarded to Paris, but the same post took a letter from Anthony -Noell, and a few days brought the physician's dismissal and an order -for the close confinement of Lafon. Examinations followed each other -in rapid succession, but they served only to torment the prisoner, -without procuring his release; and after some months he died, his -innocence unrecognised. The cause of his death, and the circumstances -attending it, were loudly proclaimed by the indignant physician; and -Dominique, on his return to Montauban, had no difficulty in obtaining -all the details, aggravated probably by the unpopularity of the judge. -He heard them with unchanging countenance; none could detect a sign -of emotion on that cheek of marble paleness, or in that cold and -steadfast eye. He then made inquiries concerning Anthony Noell. That -magistrate, he learned, had been promoted, two years previously, and -now resided in his native town of Marseilles. At that moment, however, -he happened to be at an hotel in Montauban. He had never recovered the -loss of his sons, which had aged him twenty years in appearance, and -had greatly augmented the harshness and sour severity of his character. -He seemed to find his sole consolation in the society of his daughter, -now a beautiful girl of seventeen, and in intense application to his -professional duties. A tour of inspection, connected with his judicial -functions, had now brought him to Montauban. During his compulsory -absences from home, which were of annual occurrence and of some -duration, his daughter remained in the care of an old female relation, -her habitual companion, whose chief faults were her absurd vanity, and -her too great indulgence of the caprices of her darling niece. - -Dominique showed singular anxiety to learn every particular concerning -Anthony Noell's household, informing himself of the minutest details, -and especially of the character of his daughter, who was represented to -him as warmhearted and naturally amiable, but frivolous and spoiled by -over-indulgence. On the death of his sons, Noell renounced his project -of sending her from home, and the consequence was, that her education -had been greatly neglected. Madame Verlé, the old aunt already -mentioned, was a well-meaning, but very weak widow, who, childless -herself, had no experience in bringing up young women. In her own youth -she had been a great coquette, and frivolity was still a conspicuous -feature in her character. As M. Noell, since his sons' death, had shown -a sort of aversion for society, the house was dull enough, and Madame -Verlé's chief resource was the circulating library, whence she obtained -a constant supply of novels. Far from prohibiting to her niece the -perusal of this trash, she made her the companion of her unwholesome -studies. The false ideas and highflown romance with which these books -teemed, might have made little impression on a character fortified by -sound principles and a good education, but they sank deep into the -ardent and uncultivated imagination of Florinda Noell, to whose father, -engrossed by his sorrows and by his professional labours, it never once -occurred to check the current of corruption thus permitted to flow into -his daughter's artless mind. He saw her gay, happy, and amused, and he -inquired no further; well pleased to find her support so cheerfully the -want of society to which his morose regrets and gloomy eccentricity -condemned her. - -One of Dominique's first cares, on his return to Montauban, was to -visit his parents' grave. Although his father died in prison, and -his memory had never been cleared from the slur of accusation, his -friends had obtained permission, with some difficulty, to inter his -corpse beside that of his wife. The day was fading into twilight when -Dominique entered the cemetery, and it took him some time to find the -grave he sought. The sexton would have saved him the trouble, but the -idea seemed a profanation; in silence and in solitude he approached -the tomb of his affections and happiness. Long he sat upon the mound, -plunged in reverie, but with dry eyes, for the source of tears appeared -exhausted in his heart. Night came; the white tombstones looked ghastly -pale in the moonlight, and cast long black shadows upon the turf. -Dominique arose, plucked a wild-flower from his mother's grave, and -left the place. He had taken but three steps when he became aware he -was not alone in the churchyard. A tall figure rose suddenly from an -adjacent grave. Although separated but by one lofty tombstone, the two -mourners had been too absorbed and silent in their grief to notice -each other's presence. Now they gazed at one another. The moon, for -a moment obscured, emerged from behind a cloud, and shone upon their -features. The recognition was mutual and instantaneous. Both started -back. Between the graves of their respective victims, Anthony Noell and -Dominique Lafon confronted each other. - -A dusky fire gleamed in the eyes of Dominique, and his features, worn -and emaciated from captivity, were distorted with the grimace of -intense hatred. His heart throbbed as though it would have burst from -his bosom. - -"May your dying hour be desolate!" he shrieked. "May your end be in -misery and despair!" - -The magistrate gazed at his inveterate foe with a fixed stare of -horror, as though a phantom had suddenly risen before him. Then, slowly -raising his hand, till it pointed to the grave of his sons, his eye -still fixed, as if by fascination, upon that of Dominique, a single -word, uttered in a hollow tone, burst from his quivering lips. - -"Murderer!" he exclaimed. - -Dominique laughed. It was a hideous sound, a laugh of unquenchable -hatred and savage exultation. He approached Noell till their faces were -but a few inches apart, and spoke in a voice of suppressed fierceness. - -"My father and my mother," he said, "expired in grief, and shame, and -misery. By your causeless hate and relentless persecution, I was made -an orphan. The debt is but half paid. You have still a child. You still -find happiness on earth. But you yet shall lose all--all! Yet shall you -know despair and utter solitude, and your death shall be desolate, even -as my father's was. Remember! _We shall meet again._" - -And passing swiftly before the magistrate, with a gesture of solemn -menace, Dominique left the cemetery. Noell sank, pale and trembling, -upon his children's grave. His enemy had found him, and security had -fled. Dominique's last words, "We shall meet again!" rang in his ears, -as if uttered by the threatening voice of hostile and irresistible -destiny. Slowly, and in great uneasiness, he returned into the town, -which he left early the next day for Marseilles. To his terrified -fancy, his daughter was safe only when he watched over her. So great -was his alarm, that he would have resigned his lucrative and honourable -office sooner than have remained longer absent from the tender flower -whom the ruthless spoiler threatened to trample and destroy. - - -THE HORSE-RIDERS. - -Months passed away, and spring returned. On a bright morning of -May--in parched Provence the pleasantest season of the year--a motley -cavalcade approached Marseilles by the Nice road. It consisted of two -large waggons, a score of horses, and about the same number of men and -women. The horses were chiefly white, cream-coloured, or piebald, and -some of them bore saddles of peculiar make and fantastical colours, -velvet-covered and decorated with gilding. One was caparisoned with a -tiger-skin, and from his headstall floated streamers of divers-coloured -horsehair. The women wore riding-habits, some of gaudy tints, bodices -of purple or crimson velvet, with long flaunting robes of green or -blue. They were sunburned, boldfaced damsels, with marked features and -of dissipated aspect, and they sat firmly on their saddles, jesting -as they rode along. Their male companions were of corresponding -appearance; lithe vigorous fellows, from fifteen to forty, attired -in various hussar and jockey costumes, with beards and mustaches -fantastically trimmed, limbs well developed, and long curling hair. -Various nations went to the composition of the band. French, Germans, -Italians, and Gipsies made up the equestrian troop of Luigi Bartolo, -which, after passing the winter in southern Italy, had wandered north -on the approach of spring, and now was on its way to give a series of -representations at Marseilles. - -A little behind his comrades, upon a fine gray horse, rode a young -Florentine named Vicenzo, the most skilful rider of the troop. Although -but five-and-twenty years old, he had gone through many vicissitudes -and occupations. Of respectable family, he had studied at Pisa, -had been expelled for misconduct, had then enlisted in an Austrian -regiment, whence his friends had procured his discharge, but only to -cast him off for his dissolute habits. Alternately a professional -gambler, a stage player, and a smuggler on the Italian frontier, he -had now followed, for upwards of a year, the vagabond life of a -horse-rider. Of handsome person and much natural intelligence, he -covered his profligacy and taste for low associations with a certain -varnish of good breeding. This had procured him in the troop the -nickname of the _Marchese_, and had made him a great favourite with -the female portion of the strollers, amongst whom more than one fierce -quarrel had arisen for the good graces of the fascinating Vicenzo. - -The Florentine was accompanied by a stranger, who had fallen in with -the troop at Nice, and had won their hearts by his liberality. He had -given them a magnificent supper at their _albergo_, had made them -presents of wine and trinkets--all apparently out of pure generosity -and love of their society. He it was who had chiefly determined them to -visit Marseilles, instead of proceeding north, as they had originally -intended, by Avignon to Lyons. He marched with the troop, on horseback, -wrapped in a long loose coat, and with a broad hat slouched over his -brow, and bestowed his companionship chiefly on Vicenzo, to whom he -appeared to have taken a great affection. The strollers thought him -a strange eccentric fellow, half cracked, to say the least; but they -cared little whether he were sane or mad, so long as his society proved -profitable, his purse well filled, and ever in his hand. - -The wanderers were within three miles of Marseilles when they came to -one of the _bastides_, or country-houses, so thickly scattered around -that city. It was of unusual elegance, almost concealed amongst a -thick plantation of trees, and having a terrace, in the Italian style, -overlooking the road. Upon this terrace, in the cool shade of an -arbour, two ladies were seated, enjoying the sweet breath of the lovely -spring morning. Books and embroidery were on a table before them, which -they left on the appearance of the horse-riders, and, leaning upon the -stone parapet, looked down on the unusual spectacle. The elder of the -two had nothing remarkable, except the gaudy ribbons that contrasted -with her antiquated physiognomy. The younger, in full flush of youth, -and seen amongst the bright blossoms of the plants that grew in pots -upon the parapet, might have passed for the goddess of spring in her -most sportive mood. Her hair hung in rich clusters over her alabaster -neck; her blue eyes danced in humid lustre; her coral lips, a little -parted, disclosed a range of sparkling pearls. The sole fault to be -found with her beauty was its character, which was sensual rather than -intellectual. One beheld the beautiful and frivolous child of clay, but -the ray of the spirit that elevates and purifies was wanting. It was -the beauty of a Bacchante rather than of a Vestal--Aurora disporting -herself on the flower banks, and awaiting, in frolic mood, the advent -of Cupid. - -The motley cavalcade moved on, the men assuming their smartish seat in -the saddle as they passed under the inspection of the _bella biondina_. -When Vicenzo approached the park wall, his companion leaned towards -him and spoke something in his ear. At the same moment, as if stung -by a gadfly, the spirited gray upon which the Florentine was mounted, -sprang with all four feet from the ground, and commenced a series of -leaps and curvets that would have unseated a less expert rider. They -only served to display to the greatest advantage Vicenzo's excellent -horsemanship and slender graceful figure. Disdaining the gaudy -equipments of his comrades, the young man was tastefully attired in a -dark closely-fitting jacket. Hessian boots and pantaloons exhibited -the Antinöus-like proportions of his comely limbs. He rode like a -centaur, he and his steed seemingly forming but one body. As he -reached, gracefully caracoling, the terrace on whose summit the ladies -were stationed, he looked up with a winning smile, and removing his -cap, bowed to his horse's mane. The old lady bridled and smiled; the -young one blushed as the Florentine's ardent gaze met hers, and in her -confusion she let fall a branch of roses she held in her hand. With -magical suddenness Vicenzo's fiery horse stood still, as if carved of -marble. With one bound the rider was on foot, and had snatched up the -flowers; then placing a hand upon the shoulder of his steed, who at -once started in a canter, he lightly, and without apparent effort, -vaulted into the saddle. With another bow and smile he rode off with -his companion. - -"'Twas well done, Vicenzo," said the latter. - -"What an elegant cavalier!" exclaimed Florinda Noell pensively, -following with her eyes the accomplished equestrian. - -"And so distinguished in his appearance!" chimed in her silly aunt. -"And how he looked up at us! One might fancy him a nobleman in -disguise, bent on adventures, or seeking intelligence of a lost -lady-love." - -Florinda smiled, but the stale platitude, borrowed from the absurd -romances that crammed Madame Verlé's brain, abode in her memory. Whilst -the handsome horse-rider remained in sight, she continued upon the -parapet and gazed after him. On his part, Vicenzo several times looked -back, and more than once he pressed to his lips the fragrant flowers of -which accident had made him the possessor. - -A small theatre, which happened then to be unoccupied, was hired by -the equestrians for their performances, the announcement of which was -soon placarded from one end to the other of Marseilles. At the first -representation, Florinda and her aunt were amongst the audience. They -had no one to cheek their inclinations, for Mr Noell, after passing -many months with his daughter without molestation from Dominique, who -had disappeared from Montauban the day after their meeting in the -churchyard, had forgotten his apprehensions, and had departed on his -annual tour of professional duty. At the circus, the honours of the -night were for Vicenzo. His graceful figure, handsome face, skilful -performance, and distinguished air, were the theme of universal -admiration. Florinda could not detach her gaze from him as he flew -round the circle, standing with easy negligence upon his horse's back; -and she could scarcely restrain a cry of horror and alarm at the -boldness of some of his feats. Vicenzo had early detected her presence -in the theatre; and the expression of his eyes, when he passed before -her box, made her conscious that he had done so. - -Several days elapsed, during which Florinda and her aunt had more -than once again visited the theatre. Vicenzo had become a subject -of constant conversation between the superannuated coquette and her -niece, the old lady indulging the most extravagant conjectures as -to who he could be, for she had made up her mind he was now in an -assumed character. Florinda spoke of him less, but thought of him -more. Nor were her visits to the theatre her only opportunities of -seeing him. Vicenzo, soon after his arrival at Marseilles, had excited -his comrades' wonder and envy by appearing in the elegant costume of -a private gentleman, and by taking frequent rides out of the town, -at first accompanied by Fontaine, the stranger before mentioned, but -afterwards more frequently alone. These rides were taken early in the -morning, or by moonlight, on evenings when there was no performance. -The horse-riders laughed at the airs the _Marchese_ gave himself, -attributed his extravagance to the generosity of Fontaine, and twitted -him with some secret intrigue, which he, however, did not admit, and -they took little pains to penetrate. Had they followed his horse's -hoof-track, they would have found that it led, sometimes by one road, -sometimes by another, to the _bastide_ of Anthony Noell the magistrate. -And after a few days they would have seen Vicenzo, his bridle over his -arm, conversing earnestly, at a small postern-gate of the garden, with -the charming _biondina_, whose bright countenance had greeted, like a -good augury, their first approach to Marseilles. - -At last a night came when this stolen conversation lasted longer -than usual. Vicenzo was pressing, Florinda irresolute. Fontaine had -accompanied his friend, and held his horse in an adjacent lane, whilst -the lovers (for such they now were to be considered) sauntered in a -shrubbery walk within the park. - -"But why this secrecy?" said the young girl, leaning tenderly upon the -arm of the handsome stroller. "Why not at once inform your friends you -accede to their wishes, in renouncing your present derogatory pursuit? -Why not present yourself to my father under your real name and title? -He loves his daughter too tenderly to refuse his consent to a union on -which her happiness depends." - -"Dearest Florinda!" replied Vicenzo, "how could my ardent love abide -the delays this course would entail? How can you so cruelly urge me -thus to postpone my happiness? See you not how many obstacles to our -union the step you advise would raise up? Your father, unwilling to -part with his only daughter, (and such a daughter!) would assuredly -object to our immediate marriage--would make your youth, my roving -disposition, fifty other circumstances, pretexts for putting it off. -And did we succeed in overruling these, there still would be a thousand -tedious formalities to encounter, correspondence between your father -and my family, who are proud as Lucifer of their ancient name and -title, and would be wearisomely punctilious. By my plan, we would -avoid all long-winded negotiations. Before daylight we are across the -frontier; and before that excellent Madame Verlé has adjusted her smart -cap, and buttered her first roll, my adored Florinda is Marchioness of -Monteleane. A letter to papa explains all; then away to Florence, and -in a month back to Marseilles, where you shall duly present me to my -respected father-in-law, and I, as in humility bound, will drop upon my -knees and crave pardon for running off with his treasure. Papa gives -his benediction, and curtain drops, leaving all parties happy." - -How often, with the feeble and irresolute, does a sorry jest pass for a -good argument! As Vicenzo rattled on, his victim looked up in his face, -and smiled at his soft and insidious words. Fascinated by silvery tones -and gaudy scales, the woman, as of old, gave ear to the serpent. - -"'Tis done," said the stroller, with a heartless smile, as he rode off -with Fontaine, half an hour later--"done. A post-chaise at midnight. -She brings her jewels--all the fortune she will ever bring me, I -suppose. No chance of drawing anything from the old gentleman?" - -"Not much," replied Fontaine drily. - -"Well, I must have another thousand from you, besides expenses. And -little enough too. Fifty yellow-boys for abandoning my place in the -troop. I was never in better cue for the ring. They are going to Paris, -and I should have joined Franconi." - -"Oh!" said Fontaine, with a slight sneer, "a man of your abilities will -never lack employment. But we have no time to lose, if you are to be -back at midnight." - -The two men spurred their horses, and galloped back to Marseilles. - -A few minutes before twelve o'clock, a light posting-carriage was drawn -up, by the road-side, about a hundred yards beyond Anthony Noell's -garden. Vicenzo tapped thrice with his knuckles at the postern door, -which opened gently, and a trembling female form emerged from the gloom -of the shrubbery into the broad moonlight without. Through the veil -covering her head and face, a tear might be seen glistening upon her -cheek. She faltered, hesitated; her good genius whispered her to pause. -But an evil spirit was at hand, luring her to destruction. Taking in -one hand a casket, the real object of his base desires, and with the -other arm encircling her waist, the seducer, murmuring soft flatteries -in her ear, hurried Florinda down the slope leading to the road. -Confused and fascinated, the poor weak girl had no power to resist. She -reached the carriage, cast one look back at her father's house, whose -white walls shone amidst the dark masses of foliage; the Florentine -lifted her in, spoke a word to the postilion, and the vehicle dashed -away in the direction of the Italian frontier. - -So long as the carriage was in sight, Fontaine, who had accompanied -Vicenzo, sat motionless upon his saddle, watching its career as it -sped, like a large black insect, along the moonlit road. Then, when -distance hid it from his view, he turned his horse's head and rode -rapidly into Marseilles. - - -FOES AND FRIENDS. - -Upon the second day after Florinda's elopement with her worthless -suitor, the large coffee-room of the Hotel de France, at Montauban, -was deserted, save by two guests. One of these was a man of about -fifty-five, but older in appearance, whose thin gray hair and stooping -figure, as well as the deep, anxious wrinkles and mournful expression -of his countenance, told a tale of cares and troubles, borne with a -rebellious rather than with a resigned spirit. The other occupant of -the apartment, who sat at its opposite extremity, and was concealed, -except upon near approach, by a sort of high projecting counter, was -much younger, for his age could hardly exceed thirty years. A certain -sober reserved expression, (hardly amounting to austerity,) frequently -observable in Roman Catholic priests, and which sat becomingly enough -upon his open intelligent countenance, betrayed his profession as -surely as some slight clerical peculiarities of costume. - -Suddenly a waiter entered the room, and approaching the old man with -an air of great respect, informed him that a gentleman, seemingly just -come off a journey, desired particularly to speak with him. The person -addressed raised his eyes, whose melancholy expression corresponded -with the furrows of his cheek, from the Paris newspaper he was reading, -and, in a voice at once harsh and feeble, desired the stranger should -be shown in. The order was obeyed; and a person entered, wrapped -in a cloak, whose collar was turned up, concealing great part of -his face. His countenance was further obscured by the vizard of a -travelling-cap, from beneath which his long hair hung in disorder. -Splashed and unshaven, he had all the appearance of having travelled -far and fast. The gentleman whom he had asked to see rose from his seat -on his approach, and looked at him keenly, even uneasily, but evidently -without recognition. The waiter left the room. The stranger advanced to -within three paces of him he sought, and stood still and silent, his -features still masked by his cloak collar. - -"Your business with me, sir?" said the old man quickly. "Whom have I -the honour to address?" - -"I am an old acquaintance, Mr Anthony Noell," said the traveller, in -a sharp ironical tone, as he turned down his collar and displayed a -pale countenance, distorted by a malignant smile. "An old debtor come -to discharge the balance due. My errand to-day is to tell you that you -are childless. Your daughter Florinda, your last remaining darling, has -fled to Italy with a nameless vagabond and stroller." - -At the very first word uttered by that voice, Noell had started and -shuddered, as at the sudden pang of exquisite torture. Then his glassy -eyes were horribly distended, his mouth opened, his whole face was -convulsed, and with a yell like that of some savage denizen of the -forest suddenly despoiled of its young, he sprang upon his enemy and -seized him by the throat. - -"Murderer!" he cried. "Help! help!" - -The waiters rushed into the room, and with difficulty freed the -stranger from the vice-like grasp of the old man, to whose feeble hands -frenzy gave strength. When at last they were separated, Noell uttered -one shriek of impotent fury and despair, and fell back senseless in the -servants' arms. The stranger, who himself seemed weak and ailing, and -who had sunk upon a chair, looked curiously into his antagonist's face. - -"He is mad," said he, with horrible composure and complacency; "quite -mad. Take him to his bed." - -The waiters lifted up the insensible body, and carried it away. The -stranger leaned his elbows upon a table, and, covering his face with -his hands, remained for some minutes absorbed in thought. A slight -noise made him look up. The priest stood opposite to him, and uttered -his name. - -"Dominique Lafon," he said, calmly but severely, "what is this -thing you have done? But you need not tell me. I know much, and can -conjecture the rest. Wretched man, know you not the word of God, to -whom is all vengeance, and who repayeth in his own good time?" - -Dominique seemed surprised at hearing his name pronounced by a -stranger. He looked hard at the priest. And presently a name connected -with days of happiness and innocence broke from the lips of the -vindictive and pitiless man. - -"Henry la Chapelle!" - -It was indeed his former fellow-student, whom circumstances and -disposition had induced to abandon the study of the law and enter the -church. They had not met since Dominique departed from Paris to receive -the last sigh of his dying mother. - -Who shall trace the secret springs whence flow the fountains of the -heart? For seven years Dominique Lafon had not wept. His captivity and -many sufferings, his father's death, all had been borne with a bitter -heart, but with dry eyes. But now, at sight of the comrade of his -youth, some hidden chord, long entombed, suddenly vibrated. A sob burst -from his bosom, and was succeeded by a gush of tears. - -Henry la Chapelle looked sadly and kindly at his boyhood's friend. - -"He who trusteth in himself," he said in low and gentle tones, "let -him take heed, lest his feet fall into the snares they despise. Alas! -Dominique, that you so soon forgot our last conversation! Alas! that -you have laid this sin to your soul! But those tears give me hope: they -are the early dew of penitence. Come, my friend, and seek comfort where -alone it may be found. Verily there is joy in heaven over one repentant -sinner, more than over many just men." - -And the good priest drew his friend's arm through his, and led him from -the room. - -Dominique's exclamation was prophetic. When Anthony Noell rose from -the bed of sickness to which grief consigned him, his intellects were -gone. He never recovered them, but passed the rest of his life in -helpless idiocy at his country-house, near Marseilles. There he was -sedulously and tenderly watched by the unhappy Florinda, who, after a -few miserable months passed with her reprobate seducer, was released -from farther ill-usage by the death of Vicenzo, stabbed in Italy in a -gambling brawl. - -Not long after 1830, there died in a Sardinian convent, noted for its -ascetic observances and for the piety of its inmates, a French monk, -who went by the name of brother Ambrose. His death was considered to be -accelerated by the strictness with which he followed the rigid rules of -the order, from some of which his failing health would have justified -deviation, and by the frequency and severity of his self-imposed -penances. His body, feeble when first he entered the convent, was no -match for his courageous spirit. In accordance with his dying request, -his beads and breviary were sent to a vicar named la Chapelle, then -resident at Lyons. When that excellent priest opened the book, he found -the following words inscribed upon a blank page:-- - -"Blessed be the Lord, for in Him have I peace and hope!" - -And Henry la Chapelle kneeled down, and breathed a prayer for the soul -of his departed friend, Dominique Lafon. - - - - -PESTALOZZIANA. - - "Etiam illud adjungo, sæpius ad laudem atque virtutem _naturam - sine doctrinâ_, quam sine naturâ valuisse doctrinam."--CICERO, - _pro. Arch._, 7. - - "Que vous ai-je donc fait, O mes jeunes années! - Pour m'avoir fui si vite, me croyant satisfait?" - - VICTOR HUGO, _Odes_. - - -For the abnormal, and, we must think, somewhat faulty education -of our later boyhood--a few random recollections of which we here -purpose to lay before the reader--our obligations, _quantuloecunquoe -sint_, are certainly due to prejudices which, though they have now -become antiquated and obsolete, were in full force some thirty years -ago, against the existing mode of education in England. Not that -the public--_quâ_ public--were ever very far misled by the noisy -declamations of the Whigs on this their favourite theme: people for -the most part paid very little attention to the inuendoes of the -peripatetic schoolmaster, so carefully primed and sent "abroad" to -disabuse them; while not a few smiled to recognise under that imposing -misnomer a small self-opinionated _clique_--free traders in everything -else, but absolute monopolists here--who sought by its aid to palm -off on society the _jocosa imago_ of their own crotchets, as though -in sympathetic response to a sentiment wholly proceeding from itself. -When much inflammatory "stuff" had been discharged against the walls -of our venerable institutions, not only without setting Isis or Cam -on fire, but plainly with some discomfitures to the belligerents -engaged, from the opposite party, who returned the salute, John -Bull began to open his eyes a little, and, as he opened them, to -doubt whether, after all, the promises and _programmes_ he had been -reading of a spic-and-span new order of everything, particularly of -education, might not turn out a _flam_; and the authors of them, who -certainly showed off to most advantage on _Edinburgh Review_ days, -prove anything but the best qualified persons to make good their own -vaticinations, or to bring in the new golden age they had announced. -Still, the crusade against English public seminaries, though abortive -in its principal design--that of exciting a _general_ defection -from these institutions--was not quite barren of results. It was -so far successful, at least, as completely to unsettle for a time -the minds of not a few over-anxious parents, who, taught to regard -with suspicion the credentials of every schoolmaster "at home," were -beginning to make diligent inquiries for his successor among their -neighbours "abroad." To all who were in this frame of mind, the first -_couleur de rose_ announcements of Pestalozzi's establishment at -Yverdun were news indeed! offering as they did--or at least seeming to -offer--the complete solution of a problem which could scarcely have -been entertained without much painful solicitude and anxiety. "Here, -then," for so ran the accounts of several trustworthy eyewitnesses, -educational amateurs, who had devoted a _whole morning_ to a most -prying and probing dissection of the system within the walls of the -chateau itself, and putting down all the results of their carefully -conducted autopsy, "here was a school composed of boys gathered from -all parts of the habitable globe, where each, by simply carrying -over a little of his mother tongue, might, in a short time, become a -youthful Mezzofante, and take his choice of many in return; a school -which, wisely eschewing the routine service of books, suffered neither -dictionary, gradus, grammar, nor spelling-book to be even seen on -the premises; a school for morals, where, in educating the head, -the right training of the heart was never for a moment neglected; a -school for the progress of the mind, where much discernment, blending -itself with kindness, fostered the first dawnings of the intellect, -and carefully protected the feeble powers of memory from being -overtaxed--where delighted Alma, in the progress of her development, -might securely enjoy many privileges and immunities wholly denied to -her at home--where even philosophy, stooping to conquer, had become -_sportive_ the better to _persuade_; where the poet's vow was actually -realised--the bodily health being as diligently looked after as that -of the mind or the affections; lastly, where they found no fighting -nor bullying, as at home, but agriculture and gymnastics instituted -in their stead." To such encomiums on the school were added, and with -more justice and truth, a commendation on old Pestalozzi himself, the -real liberality of whose sentiments, and the overflowings of whose -paternal love, could not, it was argued, and did not, fail to prove -beneficial to all within the sphere of their influence. The weight of -such supposed advantages turned the scale for not a few just entering -into the pupillary state, and settled their future destination. Our own -training, hitherto auspiciously enough carried on under the birchen -discipline of Westminster, was _suddenly_ stopt; the last silver -prize-penny had crossed our palm; the last quarterly half-crown tax for -birch had been paid into the treasury of the school; we were called on -to say an abrupt good-by to our friends, and to take a formal leave -of Dr P----. That ceremony was not a pleasing one; and had the choice -of a visit to Polyphemus in his cave, or to Dr P---- in his study, -been offered to us, the first would certainly have had the preference; -but as the case admitted neither evasion nor compromise, necessity -gave us courage to bolt into the august presence of the formidable -head-master, after lessons; and finding presently that we had somehow -managed to emerge again safe from the dreaded interview, we invited -several class-fellows to celebrate so remarkable a day at a tuck-shop -in the vicinity of Dean's Yard. There, in unrestricted indulgence, did -the party get through, there was no telling how many "lady's-fingers," -tarts, and cheese-cakes, and drank--there was no counting the corks -of empty ginger-beer bottles. When these delicacies had lost their -relish--~kai hex heron hento~--the time was come for making a -distribution of our personal effects. First went our bag of "taws" -and "alleys," _pro bono publico_, in a general scramble, and then a -Jew's-harp for whoever could twang it; and out or one pocket came a -cricket-ball for A, and out of another a peg-top for B; and then there -was a hockey-stick for M, and a red leathern satchel, with book-strap, -for N, and three books a-piece to two class-chums, who ended with a -toss-up for Virgil. And now, being fairly cleaned out, after reiterated -good-bys and shakes of the hand given and taken at the shop door, we -parted, (many of us never to meet again,) they to enjoy the remainder -of a half-holiday in the hockey-court, while we walked home through the -park, stopping in the midst of its ruminating cows, ourself to ruminate -a little upon the future, and to wonder, unheard, what sort of a place -Switzerland might be, and what sort of a man Pestalozzi! - -These adieus to old Westminster took place on a Saturday; and the -following Monday found us already _en route_ with our excellent father -for the new settlement at Yverdun. The school to which we were then -travelling, and the venerable man who presided over it, have both -been long since defunct--_de mortuis nil nisi bonum_; and gratitude -itself forbids that we should speak either of one or of the other with -harshness or disrespect; of a place where we certainly spent some very -happy, if not the happiest, days of life; of him who--rightly named -the _father_ of the establishment--ever treated us, and all with whom -he had to do, with a uniform gentleness and impartiality. To tell -ill-natured tales out of school--of such a school, and after so long -a period too--would indeed argue ill for _any one's_ charity, and -accordingly _we_ do not intend to try it. But though the feeling of the -_alumnus_ may not permit us to think unfavourably of the _Pensionat_ -Pestalozzi, we shall not, on that account, suppress the mention of some -occasional hardships and inconveniences experienced there, much less -allow a word of reproach to escape our pen. The reader, with no such -sympathies to restrain his curiosity, will no doubt expect, if not a -detailed account, some outline or general ground-plan of the system, -which, alas! we cannot give him; our endeavour to comprehend it as a -digested _whole_--proceeding on certain data, aiming at certain ends, -and pursuing them by certain means--has been entirely unsuccessful; -and therefore, if pressed for more than we can tell, our answer must -be, in the words of Cicero, _Deprecor ne me tanquam philosophum putet -scholam sibi istam, explicaturum_.[14] But though unable to make -out--if, indeed, there were any spirit of unity to be made out--in -Pestalozzi's scheme, there were certain manifest imperfections in -the composition of his plan of education--improprieties to which -the longest familiarity could scarcely reconcile, nor the warmest -partiality blind even the most determined partisan. In the first -place--to state them at once, and have done with the unpleasing office -of finding fault--it always struck us as a capital error, in a school -where books were not allowed, to suffer almost the whole teaching of -the classes to devolve upon some leading member of each; for what, in -fact, could self-taught lads be expected to teach, unless it were to -make a ring or a row--to fish, to whistle, or to skate? Of course, any -graver kind of information, conveyed by an infant prodigy to his gaping -pupils, must have lacked the necessary precision to make it available -to them: first, because he would very seldom be sufficiently possessed -of it himself; and secondly, because a boy's imperfect vocabulary and -inexperience render him at all times a decidedly bad interpreter even -of what he may really know. In place of proving real lights, these -little Jack-o'-Lanterns of ours tended rather to perplex the path of -the inquiring, and to impede their progress; and when an appeal was -made to the master, as was sometimes done, the master--brought up in -the same vague, bookless manner, and knowing nothing more _accurately_, -though he might know _more_ than his puzzle-pated pupils--was very -seldom able to give them a lift out of the quagmire, where they -accordingly would stick, and flounder away till the end of the lesson. -It was amusing to see how a boy, so soon as he got but a glimpse of a -subject before the class, and could give but the ghost of a reason for -what he was eager to prelect upon, became incontinent of the bright -discovery, till all his companions had had the full benefit of it, -with much that was irrelevant besides. The mischiefs which, it would -occur to any one's mind, were likely to result in after life from such -desultory habits of application in boyhood, actually did result to -many of us a few years later at college. It was at once painful and -difficult to indoctrinate indocile minds like ours into the accurate -and severe habits of university discipline. On entering the lists for -honours with other young aspirants, educated in the usual way at home, -we were as a herd of unbroken colts pitted against well-trained racers: -neither had yet run for the prize--in that single particular the cases -were the same; but when degree and race day came, on whose side lay -the odds? On theirs who had been left to try an untutored strength -in scampering over a wild common, at will, for years, or with those -who, by daily exercise in the _manège_ of a public school, had been -trained to bear harness, and were, besides, well acquainted with the -ground? _Another_ unquestionable error in the system was the absence of -emulation, which, from some strange misconception and worse application -of a text in St Paul, was proscribed as an unchristian principle; in -lieu of which, we were to be brought--though we never _were_ brought, -but that was the object aimed at--to love learning for its own sake, -and to prove ourselves anxious of excelling without a motive, or to be -_good for nothing_, as Hood has somewhere phrased it. - - "Nunquam præponens se aliis, ITA facillime - Sine invidia invenias laudem," - -says Terence, and it will be so where envy and conceit have supplanted -emulation: yet are the feelings perfectly distinct; and we think it -behoves all those who contend that every striving for the mastery is -prohibited by the gospel, to show how _communism_ in inferiority, or -_socialism_ in dulness, are likely to improve morals or mend society. -Take from a schoolboy the motive of rewards and punishments, and you -deprive him of that incentive by which your own conduct through life -is regulated, and that by which God has thought fit, in the moral -government of his rational creatures, to promote the practice of good -works, and to discourage and dissuade from evil. Nor did that which -sounds thus ominously in theory succeed in its application better -than it sounded. In fact, nothing more unfortunate could have been -devised for all parties, but especially for such as were by nature -of a studious turn or of quicker parts than the rest; who, finding -the ordinary stimulus to exertion thus removed, and none other to -replace it, no longer cared to do well, (why should they, when they -knew that their feeblest efforts would transcend their slow-paced -comrades' best?) but, gradually abandoning themselves to the _vis -inertiæ_ of sloth, incompetence, and bad example, did no more than -they could help; repressing the spirit of rivalry and emulation, -which had no issue in the school, to show it in some of those feats -of agility or address, which the rigorous enactment of gymnastic -exercises imposed on all alike, and in the performance of which we -certainly _did_ pride ourselves, and eagerly sought to eclipse each -other in exhibiting any natural or acquired superiority we might -possess. The absence of all elementary books of instruction throughout -the school, presented another barrier in the way of improvement still -more formidable than even the _bétise_ of boy pedagogues, the want of -sufficient stimulus to exertion, or the absurd respect paid sometimes -to natural incapacity, and sometimes even to idleness. Those who -had no rules to learn had of course none to apply when they wanted -them; no masters could have adequately supplied this deficiency, and -those of the chateau were certainly not the men to remedy the evil. -As might therefore have been anticipated, the young Pestalozzian's -ideas, whether innate or acquired, and on every subject, became sadly -vague and confused, and his grammar of a piece with his knowledge. -We would have been conspicuous, even amongst other boys, for what -_seemed_ almost a studied impropriety of language; but it _was_, in -fact, nothing more than the unavoidable result of natural indolence and -inattention, uncoerced by proper discipline. The old man's slouching -gait and ungraceful attire afforded but too apt an illustration of the -intellectual _nonchalance_ of his pupils. As to the modern languages, -of which so much has been said by those who knew so little of the -matter, they were in parlance, to be sure--but how spoken? Alas! -besides an open violation of all the concords, and a general disregard -of syntax, they failed where one would have thought them least likely -to fail, in correctness of idiom and accent. The French--this was the -language of the school--abounded in conventional phrases, woven into -its texture from various foreign sources, German, English, or Italian, -and in scores of barbarous words--not to be found in the _Dictionnaire -de l'Academie_, certainly, but quite current in the many-tongued -vernacular of the chateau. Our pronunciation remained unequivocally -John Bullish to the end--not one of us ever caught or thought of -catching the right intonation; and, whether the fault originated -merely in want of ear, or that we could not make the right use of our -noses, it is quite certain that all of us had either no accent or a -wrong one. The German was as bad as the French: it was a Swiss, not a -German, abounding in _patois_ phrases and provincialisms--in short, a -most hybrid affair, to say nothing of its being as much over-guttural -as the last was sub-nasal. With regard to Spanish and Italian, as the -English did not consort with either of these nations, all they ever -acquired of their languages were such oaths and _mauvais mots_ as -parrots pick up from sailors aboard ship, which they repeated with all -the innocence of parrots. Thus, then, the opportunities offered for the -acquisition of modern languages were plainly defective; and when it is -further considered that the dead languages remained untaught--nay, were -literally unknown, except to a small section of the school, for whom -a kind Providence had sent a valued friend and preceptor in Dr M----, -(whose neat Greek characters were stared at as cabalistical by the -other masters of the _Pensionat_,)--and finally, that our very English -became at last defiled and corrupted, by the introduction of a variety -of foreign idioms, it will be seen that for any advantage likely -to accrue from the polyglot character of the institution, the Tower -of Babel would, in fact, have furnished every whit as good a school -for languages as did our turreted chateau. And now, if candour has -compelled this notice of some, it must be admitted, serious blemishes -in the system of old Pestalozzi, where is the academy without them? - - "Whoever hopes a faultless school to see, - Hopes what ne'er was, nor is, nor is to be." - -Meanwhile the Swiss Pension was not without solid advantages, and might -justly lay claim to some regard, if not as a school for learning, at -least as a _moral_ school; its inmates for the most part spoke truth, -respected property, eschewed mischief, were neither puppies, nor -bullies, nor talebearers. There were, of course, exceptions to all -this, but then they were _exceptions_; nor was the number at any time -sufficient to invalidate the general rule, or to corrupt the better -principle. Perhaps a ten hours' daily attendance in class, coarse -spare diet, hardy and somewhat severe training, may be considered by -the reader as offering some explanation of our general propriety of -behaviour. It may be so; but we are by no means willing to admit, that -the really high moral tone of the school depended either upon gymnastic -exercises or short commons, nor yet arose from the want of facilities -for getting into scrapes, for here, as elsewhere, where there is the -will, there is ever a way. We believe it to have originated from -another source--in a word, from the encouragement held out to the study -of natural history, and the eagerness with which that study was taken -up and pursued by the school in consequence. Though Pestalozzi might -not succeed in making his disciples scholars, he certainly succeeded -in making many among them _naturalists_; and of the two--let us ask -it without offence--whether is he the happier lad (to say nothing of -the future man) who can fabricate faultless pentameters and immaculate -iambics to order; or he who, already absorbed in scanning the wonders -of creation, seeks with unflagging diligence and zeal to know more -and more of the visible works of the great _Poet of Nature_? "Sæpius -sane ad laudem atque virtutem naturam sine doctrinâ, quam sine naturâ -valuisse doctrinam;" which words being Cicero's, deny them, sir, if you -please. - -The Pension, during the period of our sojourn at Yverdun, contained -about a hundred and eighty élèves, natives of every European and -of some Oriental states, whose primitive mode of distribution into -classes, according to age and acquirements, during school hours, was -completely changed in playtime, when the boys, finding it easier to -speak their own tongue than to acquire a new one, divided themselves -into separate groups according to their respective nations. The English -would occasionally admit a German or a Prussian to their coterie; -but that was a favour seldom conferred upon any other foreigner: for -the Spaniards, who were certainly the least well-conducted of the -whole community, did not deserve it: among them were to be found the -litigious, the mischief-makers, the quarrellers, and--for, as has been -hinted, we were not all honest--the exceptional thieves. The Italians -we could never make out, nor they us: we had no sympathy with Pole or -Greek; the Swiss we positively did not like, and the French just as -positively did not like us; so how could it be otherwise? The ushers, -for the most part trained up in the school, were an obliging set of -men, with little refinement, less pretension, and wholly without -learning. A distich from Crabbe describes them perfectly-- - - "Men who, 'mid noise and dirt, and play and prate, - Could calmly mend the pen, and wash the slate." - -Punishments were rare; indeed, flogging was absolutely prohibited; and -the setting an imposition would have been equally against the _genius -loci_, had lesson-books existed out of which to hear it afterwards. -A short imprisonment in an unfurnished room--a not very formidable -black-hole--with the loss of a _goutte_, now and then, and at very long -intervals, formed the mild summary of the penal "code Pestalozzi." - -It was Saturday, and a half holiday, when we arrived at Yverdun, and -oh the confusion of tongues which there prevailed! All Bedlam and -Parnassus let loose to rave together, could not have come up to that -diapason of discords with which the high corridors were ringing, -as, passing through the throng, we were conducted to the venerable -head of the establishment in his private apartments beyond. In this -gallery of mixed portraits might be seen long-haired, highborn, and -high-cheek-boned Germans; a scantling of French _gamins_ much better -dressed; some dark-eyed Italians; Greeks in most foreign attire; here -and there a fair ingenuous Russian face; several swart sinister-looking -Spaniards, models only for their own Carravagio; some dirty specimens -of the universal Pole; one or two unmistakeable English, ready to shake -hands with a compatriot; and Swiss from every canton of the Helvetic -confederacy. To this promiscuous multitude we were shortly introduced, -the kind old man himself taking us by the hand, and acting as master -of the ceremonies. When the whole school had crowded round to stare at -the new importation, "Here," said he, "are four English boys come from -their distant home, to be naturalised in this establishment, and made -members of our family. Boys, receive them kindly, and remember they are -henceforth your brothers." A shout from the crowd proclaiming its ready -assent and cordial participation in the adoption, nothing remained but -to shake hands _à l'Anglaise_, and to fraternise without loss of time. -The next day being Sunday, our skulls were craniologically studied by -Herr Schmidt, the head usher; and whatever various bumps or depressions -phrenology might have discovered thereon were all duly registered in a -large book. After this examination was concluded, a week's furlough was -allowed, in order that Herr Schmidt might have an opportunity afforded -him of seeing how far our real character squared with phrenological -observation and measurement, entering this also into the same ledger -as a note. What a contrast were we unavoidably drawing all this time -between Yverdun and Westminster, and how enjoyable was the change to -us! The reader will please to imagine as well as he can, the sensations -of a lately pent up chrysalis, on first finding himself a butterfly, or -the not less agreeable surprise of some newly metamorphosed tadpole, -when, leaving his associates in the mud and green slime, he floats at -liberty on the surface of the pool, endowed with lungs and a voice,--if -he would at all enter into the exultation of our feelings on changing -the penitential air of Millbank for the fresh mountain breezes of the -Pays de Vaud. It seemed as if we had--nay, we had actually entered -upon a new existence, so thoroughly had all the elements of the old -been altered and improved. If we looked back, and compared past and -present experiences, there, at the wrong end of the mental telescope, -stood that small dingy house, in that little mis-yclept Great Smith -Street, with its tiny cocoon of a bedroom, whilom our close and -airless prison; here, at the other end, and in immediate contact with -the eye, a noble chateau, full of roomy rooms, enough and to spare. -Another retrospective peep, and _there_ was Tothill Fields, and its -seedy cricket ground; and _here_, again, a level equally perfect, -but carpeted with fine turf, and extending to the margin of a broad -living lake, instead of terminating in a nauseous duck-pond; while the -cold clammy cloisters adjoining Dean's Yard were not less favourably -replaced by a large open airy play-ground, intersected by two clear -trout-streams--and a sky as unlike that above Bird-Cage Walk as the -interposed atmosphere was different; whilst, in place of the startling, -discordant _Keleusmata_ of bargees, joined to the creaking, stunning -noise of commerce in a great city, few out-of-door sounds to meet our -ear, and these few, with the exception of our own, all quiet, pastoral, -and soothing, such as, later in life, make - - "Silence in the heart - For thought to do her part," - -and which are not without their charm even to him "who whistles as -he goes for _want_ of thought." No wonder, then, if Yverdun seemed -Paradisaical in its landscapes. Nor was this all. If the views -outside were charming, our domestic and social relations within doors -were not less pleasing. At first, the unwelcome vision of the _late_ -head-master would sometimes haunt us, clad in his flowing black D.D. -robes--"tristis severitas in vultu, atque in verbis fides," looking as -if he intended to flog, and his words never belying his looks. That -terrible Olympian arm, raised and ready to strike, was again shadowed -forth to view; while we could almost fancy ourselves once more at -that judicial table, one of twenty boys who were to draw lots for -a "hander." How soothingly, then, came the pleasing consciousness, -breaking our reverie, that a very different person was _now_ our -head-master--a most indulgent old man whom we should meet ere long, -with hands uplifted, indeed, but only for the purpose of clutching us -tight while he inflicted a salute on both cheeks, and pronounced his -affectionate _guten morgen, liebes kind_, as he hastened on to bestow -the like fatherly greeting upon every pupil in turn. - - -THE DORMITORY. - -The sleeping apartments at the chateau occupied three of the four sides -of its inner quadrangle, and consisted of as many long rooms, each -with a double row of windows; whereof one looked into the aforesaid -quadrangle, while the opposite rows commanded, severally, views of the -garden, the open country, and the Grande Place of the town. They were -accommodated with sixty uncurtained stump bedsteads, fifty-nine of -which afforded _gîte_ to a like number of boys; and one, in no respect -superior to the rest, was destined to receive the athletic form of -Herr Gottlieb, son-in-law to Vater Pestalozzi, to whose particular -charge we were consigned during the hours of the night. These bedrooms, -being as lofty as they were long, broad, and over-furnished with -windows, were always ventilated; but the in-draught of air, which was -sufficient to keep them cool during the hottest day in summer, rendered -them cold, and sometimes _very_ cold, in the winter. In that season, -accordingly, especially when the _bise_ blew, and hail and sleet were -pattering against the casements, the compulsory rising to class by -candlelight was an ungenial and unwelcome process; for which, however, -there being no remedy, the next best thing was to take it as coolly, -we were going to say--_that of course_--but, as patiently as might be. -The disagreeable anticipation of the _réveil_ was frequently enough -to scare away sleep from our eyes a full hour before the command to -jump out of bed was actually issued. On such occasions we would lie -awake, and, as the time approached, begin to draw in our own breath, -furtively listening, not without trepidation, to the loud nose of a -distant comrade, lest its fitful stertor should startle another pair -of nostrils, on whose repose that of the whole dormitory depended. -Let Æolus and his crew make what tumult they liked inside or outside -the castle--_they_ disturbed nobody's dreams--_they_ never murdered -sleep. Let them pipe and whistle through every keyhole and crevice of -the vast _enceinte_ of the building--sigh and moan as they would in -their various imprisonments of attic or corridor; howl wildly round -the great tower, or even threaten a forcible entry at the windows, -nobody's ears were scared into unwelcome consciousness by sounds so -familiar to them all. It was the expectation of a blast louder even -than theirs that would keep our eyes open--a blast about to issue -from the bed of Herr Gottlieb, and thundering enough, when it issued, -to startle the very god of winds himself! Often, as the dreaded six -A.M. drew nigh, when the third quarter past five had, ten minutes -since, come with a sough and a rattle against the casements, and still -Gottlieb slept on, we would take courage, and begin to dream with our -eyes open, that his slumbers might be prolonged a little; his face, -turned upwards, looked so calm, the eyes so resolutely closed--every -feature so perfectly at rest. It could not be more than five minutes -to six--might not he who had slept _so long_, for once _over_sleep -himself? NEVER! However placid those slumbers might be, they invariably -forsook our "unwearied one" just as the clock was on the point of -striking six. To judge by the rapid twitchings--they almost seemed -galvanic--first of the muscles round the mouth, then of the nose and -eyes, it appeared as though some ill-omened dream, at that very nick -of time, was sent periodically, on purpose to awaken him; and, if so, -it certainly never returned ~apraktos~. Gottlieb would instantly set -to rubbing his eyes, and as the hour struck, spring up wide awake in -his shirt sleeves--thus destroying every lingering, and, as it always -turned out, ill-founded hope of a longer snooze. Presently we beheld -him jump into his small-clothes, and, when sufficiently attired to be -seen, unlimber his tongue, and pour forth a rattling broadside--_Auf, -kinder! schwind!_--with such precision of delivery, too, that few -sleepers could turn a deaf ear to it. But, lest any one should still -lurk under his warm coverlet out of earshot, at the further end of -the room, another and a shriller summons to the same effect once more -shakes the walls and windows of the dormitory. Then every boy knew -right well that the last moment for repose was past, and that he must -at once turn out shivering from his bed, and dress as fast as possible; -and it was really surprising to witness how rapidly all could huddle on -their clothes under certain conditions of the atmosphere! - -In less than five minutes the whole school was dressed, and Gottlieb, -in his sounding shoes, having urged the dilatory with another -admonitory _schwind, schwind!_ has departed, key and candle in hand, -to arouse the remaining sleepers, by ringing the "Great Tom" of the -chateau. So cold and cheerless was this matutinal summons, that -occasional attempts were made to evade it by simulated headach, or, -without being quite so specific, on the plea of general indisposition, -though it was well known beforehand what the result would be. Herr -Gottlieb, in such a case, would presently appear at the bedside of the -delinquent patient, with very little compassion in his countenance, -and, in a business tone, proceed to inquire from him, Why not -up?--and on receiving for reply, in a melancholy voice, that the -would-be invalid was _sehr krank_, would instantly pass the word for -the doctor to be summoned. That doctor--we knew him well, and every -truant knew--was a quondam French army surgeon--a sworn disciple of -the Broussais school, whose heroic remedies at the chateau resolved -themselves into one of two--_i. e._, a starve or a vomit, alternately -administered, according as the idiosyncracy of the patient, or as -this or that symptom turned the scale, now in favour of storming the -stomach, now of starving it into capitulation. Just as the welcome hot -mess of bread and milk was about to be served to the rest, this dapper -little Sangrado would make his appearance, feel the pulse, inspect the -tongue, ask a few questions, and finding, generally, indications of -what he would term _une légère gastrite_, recommend _diète absolue_; -then prescribing a mawkish _tisane_, composed of any garden herbs at -hand, and pocketing lancets and stethoscope, would leave the patient to -recover _sans calomel_--a mode of treatment to which, he would tell us, -we should certainly have been subjected in our own country. Meanwhile, -the superiority of _his_ plan of treatment was unquestionable. On the -very next morning, when he called to visit his _cher petit malade_, -an empty bed said quite plainly, "Very well, I thank you, sir, and in -class." But these feignings were comparatively of rare occurrence; -in general, all rose, dressed, and descended together, just as the -alarum-bell had ceased to sound; and in less than two minutes more all -were assembled in their respective class-rooms. The rats and mice, -which had had the run of these during the night, would be still in -occupation when we entered; and such was the audacity of these vermin -that none cared _alone_ to be the first to plant a candle on his desk. -But, by entering _en masse_, we easily routed the _Rodentia_, whose -forces were driven to seek shelter behind the wainscot, where they -would scuffle, and gnaw, and scratch, before they finally withdrew, -and left us with blue fingers and chattering teeth to study to make -the best of it. Uncomfortable enough was the effort for the first ten -minutes of the session; but by degrees the hopes of a possible warming -of hands upon the surface of the Dutch stoves after class, if they -should have been lighted in time, and at any rate the certainty of a -hot breakfast, were entertained, and brought their consolation; besides -which, the being up in time to welcome in the dawn of the dullest day, -while health and liberty are ours, is a pleasure in itself. There was -no exception to it here; for when the darkness, becoming every moment -less and less dark, had at length given way, and melted into a gray -gloaming, we would rejoice, even before it appeared, at the approach -of a new day. That approach was soon further heralded by the fitful -notes of small day-birds chirping under the leaves, and anon by their -sudden dashings against the windows, in the direction of the lights -not yet extinguished in the class-rooms. Presently the pigs were heard -rejoicing and contending over their fresh wash; then the old horse and -the shaggy little donkey in the stable adjoining the styes, knowing -by this stir that their feed was coming, snorted and brayed at the -pleasant prospect. The cocks had by this time roused their sleepy -sultanas, who came creeping from under the barn-door to meet their -lords on the dunghill. Our peacock, to satisfy himself that he had not -taken cold during the night, would scream to the utmost pitch of a -most discordant voice; then the prescient goats would bleat from the -cabins, and plaintively remind us that, till their door is unpadlocked, -they can get no prog; then the punctual magpie, and his friend the -jay, having hopped all down the corridor, would be heard screaming -for broken victuals at the school-room door, till our dismissal bell, -finding so many other tongues loosened, at length wags its own, and -then for the next hour and a half all are free to follow their own -devices. Breakfast shortly follows; but, alas! another cold ceremony -must be undergone first. A preliminary visit to pump court, and a -thorough ablution of face and hands, is indispensable to those who -would become successful candidates for that long-anticipated meal. -This bleaching process, at an icy temperature, was never agreeable; -but when the pipes happened to be frozen--a contingency by no means -unfrequent--and the snow in the yard must be substituted for the -water which was not in the pump, it proved a difficult and sometimes -a painful business; especially as there was always some uncertainty -afterwards, whether the chilblained paws would pass muster before the -inspector-general commissioned to examine them--who, utterly reckless -as to how the boys might "be off for soap," and incredulous of what -they would fain attribute to the adust complexion of their skin, would -require to have that assertion tested by a further experiment at the -"pump head." - - -THE REFECTORY. - - "Forbear to scoff at woes you cannot feel, - Nor mock the misery of a stinted meal."--CRABBE. - -The dietary tables at the chateau, conspicuous alike for the paucity -and simplicity of the articles registered therein, are easily recalled -to mind. The fare they exhibited was certainly _coarse_--though, by a -euphemism, it might have been termed merely _plain_--and spare withal. -The breakfast would consist of milk and water--the first aqueous enough -without dilution, being the produce of certain ill-favoured, and, -as we afterwards tasted their flesh, we may add ill-flavoured kine, -whose impoverished lacteals could furnish out of their sorry fodder -no better supplies. It was London sky-blue, in short, but not of the -Alderney dairy, which was made to serve our turn at Yverdun. This milk, -at seven in summer, and at half-past seven in winter, was transferred -boiling, and as yet unadulterated, into earthenware mixers, which had -been previously half-filled with hot water from a neighbouring kettle. -In this half-and-half state it was baled out for the assembled school -into a series of pewter platters, ranged along the sides of three -bare deal boards, some thirty feet long by two wide, and mounted on -tressels, which served us for tables. The ministering damsels were -two great German Fraus, rejoicing severally in the pleasing names of -Gretchen and Bessie. When Frau Gretchen, standing behind each boy, -had dropt her allowance of milk over his right shoulder--during which -process there was generally a mighty clatter for full measure and -fair play--the other Frau was slicing off her slices of bread from a -brown loaf a yard long, which she carried under her arm, and slashed -clean through with wonderful precision and address. It was now for all -those who had saved pocket-money for _menus-plaisirs_ to produce their -_cornets_ of cinnamon or sugar, sprinkle a little into the milk, and -then fall to sipping and munching with increased zest and satisfaction. -So dry and chaffy was our _pain de ménage_ that none ventured to soak -it entire, or at once, but would cut it into _frustrums_, and retain -liquid enough to wash down the boluses separately. In a few minutes -every plate was completely cleaned out and polished; and the cats, -that generally entered the room as we left it, seldom found a drop -with which they might moisten their tongues, or remove from cheeks -and whiskers the red stains of murdered mice on which they had been -breaking their fast in the great tower. So much for the earliest -meal of the day, which was to carry us through five hours, if not of -laborious mental study, at least of the incarceration of our bodies in -class, which was equally irksome to them as if our minds had been hard -at work. These five hours terminated, slates were once more insalivated -and put by clean, and the hungry garrison began to look forward to the -pleasures of the noon-day repast. The same bell that had been calling -so often to class would now give premonitory notice of dinner, but -in a greatly changed tone. In place of the shrill snappish key in -which it had all the morning jerked out each short unwelcome summons -from lesson to lesson, as if fearful of ringing one note beyond the -prescribed minute, it now would take time, vibrate far and wide in -its cage, give full scope to its tongue, and appear, from the loud -increasing swell of its prolonged _oyez_, to announce the message -of good cheer like a herald conscious and proud of his commission. -Ding-dong!--come along! Dinner's dishing!--ding-dong! _Da capo_ and -_encore_! Then, starting up from every school-room form throughout -the chateau, the noisy boys rushed pell-mell, opened all the doors, -and, like emergent bees in quest of honey, began coursing up and down -right busily between the _salle-à-manger_ and the kitchen--snuffing -the various aromas as they escaped from the latter into the passage, -and inferring from the amount of exhaled fragrance the actual progress -of the preparations for eating. Occasionally some "sly Tom" would peep -into the kitchen, while the Fraus were too busy to notice him, and -watch the great cauldron that had been milked dry of its stores in the -morning, now discharging its aqueous contents of a much-attenuated -_bouillon_--the surface covered with lumps of swimming bread, thickened -throughout with a hydrate of potatoes, and coloured with coarse insipid -carrots, which certainly gave it a savoury appearance. It was not good -broth--far from it, for it was both _sub_-greasy and _super_-salted; -but then it was hot, it was thick, and there was an abundant supply. -It used to gush, as we have said, from the great stop-cock of the -cauldron, steaming and sputtering, into eight enormous tureens. The -shreds of beef, together with whatever other solids remained behind -after the fluid had been drawn off, were next fished up from the abyss -with long ladles, and plumped into the decanted liquor. The young -_gastronome_ who might have beheld these proceedings would wait till -the lid was taken off the _sauerkraut_; and then, the odour becoming -overpoweringly appetising, he would run, as by irresistible instinct, -into the dining-room, where most of the boys were already assembled, -each with a ration of brown bread in his hand, and ready for the -Fraus, who were speedily about to enter. The dinner was noisy and -_ungenteel_ in the extreme--how could it be otherwise? _ventre affamé -n'a point d'oreilles._ Hardly was the German grace concluded, and -the covers removed, when that bone of contention, the marrow bone, -was caught up by some big boy near the top of the table, and became -the signal for a general row. All in his neighbourhood would call out -second, third, fourth, fifth, &c., for said bone; and thus it would -travel from plate to plate, yielding its contents freely to the two or -three first applicants, but wholly inadequate--unless it could have -resolved itself altogether into marrow--to meet all the demands made -upon its stores. Then arose angry words of contention, which waxed hot -as the marrow waxed cold, every candidate being equally vociferous in -maintaining the priority of his particular claim. Earnest appeals in -German, French, Spanish, English, &c., were bandied from one to the -other in consequence, as to who had really said _après toi_ first! At -last the "dry bone" was found undeserving of further contention; and, -ceasing to drop any more fatness upon any boy's bread, the competition -for it was dropt too. When now we had half-filled our stomachs with a -soup which few physicians would have withheld from their fever patients -on the score of its strength, we threw in a sufficiency of bread and -_sauerkraut_ to absorb it; and, after the post-prandial German grace -had been pronounced, the boys left the table, generally with a saved -crust in their pockets, to repair to the garden and filch--if it was -filching--an alliaceous dessert from the beds, which they washed in -the clear stream, and added, without fear of indigestion, to the -meal just concluded within the chateau. Most of us throve upon this -Spartan diet; but some delicate boys, unendowed with the ostrich power -of assimilation usual at that period--for boys, like ostriches, can -digest almost anything--became deranged in their chylopoietics, and -continued to feel its ill effects in mesenteric and other chronic -ailments for years afterwards. An hour was given for stomachs to -do their work, before we reassembled to ours in the class-room. At -half-past four precisely, a _gouté_, was served out, which consisted -of a whacking slice of bread, and either a repetition of the morning's -milk and water, or _café au lait_, (without sugar "_bien entendu_,") or -twenty-five walnuts, or a couple of ounces of strong-tasted _gruyère_, -or a plateful of _schnitz_ (cuttings of dried apples, pears, and -plums). We might choose any one of these several dainties we liked, -but not more. Some dangerous characters--not to be imitated--would -occasionally, while young Frau Schmidt stood doling out the supplies -from her cupboard among the assembled throng, make the disingenuous -attempt to obtain cheese with one hand and _schnitz_ with the other. -But the artifice, we are happy to say, seldom succeeded; for that -vigilant lady, quick-eyed and active, and who, of all things, hated -to be imposed upon, would turn round upon the false claimant, and bid -him hold up both his hands at once--which he, ambidexter as he was, -durst not do, and thus he was exposed to the laughter and jeers of -the rest. At nine, the bell sounded a feeble call to a _soi-disant_ -supper; but few of us cared for a basin of _tisane_ under the name of -lentil soup--or a pappy potato, salted in the boiling--and soon after -we all repaired to our bedrooms--made a noise for a short time, then -undressed, and were speedily asleep under our _duvets_, and as sound, -if not as musical, as tops. - -Our common fare, as the reader has now seen, was sorry enough; but we -had our Carnival and gala days as well as our Lent. Vater Pestalozzi's -birthday, in summer, and the first day of the new year, were the most -conspicuous. On each of these occasions we enjoyed a whole week's -holiday; and as these were also the periods for slaughtering the pigs, -we fed (twice a-year for a whole week!) upon black puddings and pork _à -discretion_, qualified with a sauce of beetroot and vinegar, and washed -down with a fluid really like small-beer. - - -CLASSES. - -The school-rooms, which lay immediately under the dormitories on the -ground-floor, consisted of a number of detached chambers, each of which -issued upon a corridor. They were airy--there was plenty of air at -Yverdun--and lofty as became so venerable a building; but they were -unswept, unscrubbed, peeled of their paint, and, owing to the little -light that could find its way through two very small windows punched -out of the fortress walls, presented, save at mid-day, or as the -declining sun illumined momentarily the dark recess, as comfortless -a set of interiors as you could well see. It required, indeed, all -the elasticity of youth to bear many hours' daily incarceration in -such black-holes, without participating in the pervading gloom. Such -dismal domiciles were only fit resorts for the myoptic bat, who would -occasionally visit them from the old tower; for the twilight horde of -cockroaches, which swarmed along the floor, or the eight-eyed spiders -who colonised the ceiling. The tender sight, too, of a patient just -recovering from ophthalmia would here have required no factitious or -deeper shade--but merits like these only rendered them as ungenial as -possible to the physiology and feelings of their youthful occupants. If -these apartments looked gloomy in their dilapidations and want of sun, -the sombre effect was much heightened by the absence of the ordinary -tables and chairs, and whatever else is necessary to give a room a -habitable appearance. Had an appraiser been commissioned to make out -a complete list of the furniture and the fixtures together, a mere -glance had sufficed for the inventory. In vain would his practised eye -have wandered in quest of themes for golden sentences, printed in such -uncial characters that all who run may read; in vain for the high-hung -well-backed chart, or for any pleasing pictorial souvenirs of Æsop or -the Ark--neither these nor the long "coloured Stream of Time," nor -formal but useful views in perspective, adorned our sorry walls. No -old mahogany case clicked in a corner, beating time for the class, and -the hour up-striking loud that it should not be defrauded of its dues. -No glazed globe, gliding round on easy axis, spun under its brassy -equator to the antipodes on its sides being touched. No bright zodiac -was there to exhibit its cabalistic figures in pleasing arabesques. -In place of these and other well-known objects, here stood a line -of dirty, much-inked desks, with an equally dirty row of attendant -forms subjacent alongside. There was a scantling--it seldom exceeded -a leash--of rickety rush-bottom chairs distributed at long intervals -along the walls; a coal-black slate, pegged high on its wooden horse; -a keyless cupboard, containing the various implements of learning, a -dirty duster, a pewter plate with cretaceous deposits, a slop-basin -and a ragged sponge;--and then, unless he had included the cobwebs of -the ceiling, (not usually reckoned up in the furniture of a room,) no -other movables remained. One conspicuous fixture, however, there was, -a gigantic Dutch stove. This lumbering parallelogram, faggot-fed from -the corridor behind, projected several feet into the room, and shone -bright in the glaze of earthenware emblazonments. Around it we would -sometimes congregate in the intervals of class: in winter to toast our -hands and hind quarters, as we pressed against the heated tiles, with -more or less vigour according to the fervency of the central fire; and -in summer either to tell stories, or to con over the pictorial History -of the Bible, which adorned its frontispiece and sides. We cannot say -that every square exactly squared with even our schoolboy notions of -propriety in its mode of teaching religious subjects; there was a Dutch -quaintness in the illustrations, which would sometimes force a smile -from its simplicity, at others shock, from its apparent want of decorum -and reverence. Preeminent of course among the gems from Genesis, Adam -and Eve, safe in innocency and "_naked_ truth," here walked unscathed -amidst a menagerie of wild beasts--_there_, dressed in the costume of -their fall, they quitted Eden, and left it in possession of tigers, -bears, and crocodiles. Hard by on a smaller tile, that brawny "knave -of clubs," Cain, battered down his brother at the altar; then followed -a long picture-gallery of the acts of the patriarchs, and another -equally long of the acts of the apostles. But, queer as many of these -misconceptions might seem, they were nothing to the strange attempts -made at dramatising the _parables_ of the New Testament--_e. g._ a -stout man, staggering under the weight of an enormous beam which grows -out of one eye, employs his fingers, assisted by the other, to pick -out a black speck from the cornea of his neighbour. Here, an unclean -spirit, as black as any sweep, issues from the mouth of his victim, -with wings and a tail! Here again, the good Samaritan, turbaned like a -Turk, is bent over the waylaid traveller, and pours wine and oil into -his wounds from the mouths of two Florence flasks; there, the grain of -mustard-seed, become a tree, sheltering already a large aviary in its -boughs; the woman, dancing a hornpipe with the Dutch broom, has swept -her house, and lo! the piece of silver that was lost in her hand; a -servant, who is digging a hole in order to hide his lord's talent under -a tree, is overlooked by a magpie and two crows, who are attentive -witnesses of the deposit:--and many others too numerous to mention. So -much for the empty school-room, but what's a hive without bees, or a -school-room without boys? The reader who has peeped into it untenanted, -shall now, if he pleases, be introduced, _dum fervet opus_ full and -alive. Should he not be able to trace out very clearly the system at -work, he will at least be no worse off than the bee-fancier, who hears -indeed the buzzing, and sees a flux and reflux current of his winged -confectioners entering in and passing out, but cannot investigate -the detail of their labours any farther. In the Yverdun, as in the -hymenopterus apiary, we swarmed, we buzzed, dispersed, reassembled at -the sound of the bell, flocked in and flocked out, all the day long; -exhibited much restlessness and activity, evincing that something was -going on, but _what_, it would have been hard to determine. Here the -comparison must drop. Bees buzz to some purpose; they know what they -are about; they help one another; they work orderly and to one end,-- - - "How skilfully they build the cell, - How neat they spread the wax, - And labour hard to store it well - With the sweet food," &c. &c. - -In none of these particulars did we resemble the "busy bee." This -being admitted, our object in offering a few words upon the course -of study pursued at the chateau is not with any idea of enlightening -the reader as to anything really acquired during the long ten hours' -session of each day; but rather to show how ten hours' imprisonment may -be inflicted upon the body for the supposed advantage of the mind, and -yet be consumed in "profitless labour, and diligence which maketh not -rich;" to prove, by an exhibition of their opposites, that method and -discipline are indispensable in tuition, and (if he will accept our -"pathemata" for his "mathemata" and guides in the bringing up of his -sons) to convince him that education, like scripture, admits not of -private interpretation. Those who refuse to adopt the Catholic views -of the age, and the general sense of the society in which they live, -must blame themselves if they find the experiment of foreign schools a -failure, and that they have sent their children "farther to fare worse." - -And now to proceed to the geography class, which was the first after -breakfast, and began at half-past eight. As the summons-bell sounded, -the boys came rushing and tumbling in, and ere a minute had elapsed -were swarming over, and settling upon, the high reading-desks: the -master, already at his work, was chalking out the business of the hour; -and as this took some little time to accomplish, the youngsters, not -to sit unemployed, would be assiduously engaged in impressing sundry -animal forms--among which the donkey was a favourite--cut out in -cloth, and well powdered, upon one another's backs. When Herr G---- -had finished his chalkings, and was gone to the corner of the room -for his show-perch, a skeleton map of Europe might be seen, by those -who chose to look that way, covering the slate: this, however, was -what the majority of the assembly never dreamt of, or only dreamt -they were doing. The class generally--though ready when called upon -to give the efficient support of their tongues--kept their eyes to -gape elsewhere, and, like Solomon's fool, had them where they had -no business to be. The map, too often repeated to attract from its -novelty, had no claim to respect on other grounds. It was one of a -class accurately designated by that careful geographer, old Homer, as -"~maps ou Kata Kosmon~." Coarse and clumsy, however, as it necessarily -would be, it might still have proved of service had the boys been -the draughtsmen. As it was, the following mechanically Herr G----'s -wand to join in the general chorus of the last census of a city, the -perpendicular altitude of a mountain, or the length and breadth of a -lake, could obviously convey no useful instruction to any one. But, -useful or otherwise, such was our _regime_,--to set one of from fifty -to sixty lads, day after day, week after week, repeating facts and -figures notorious to every little reader of penny guides to science, -till all had the last statistical returns at their tongue's tip; and -knew, when all was done, as much of what geography really meant as -on the day of their first matriculation. Small wonder, then, if some -should later have foresworn this study, and been revolted at the -bare sight of a map! All our recollections of _map_, unlike those of -_personal_ travel, are sufficiently distasteful. Often have we yawned -wearily over them at Yverdun, when our eyes were demanded to follow the -titubations of Herr G----'s magic wand, which, in its uncertain route, -would skip from Europe to Africa and back again--_qui modo Thebas -modo me ponit Athenis_; and our dislike to them since has increased -amazingly. Does the reader care to be told the reason of this? Let -him--in order to obtain the pragmatic sanction of some stiff-necked -examiner--have to "get up" all the anastomosing routes of St Paul's -several journeyings; have to follow those rebellious Israelites in all -their wanderings through the desert; to draw the line round them when -in Palestine; going from Dan to Beersheba, and "meting out the valley -of Succoth;" or, finally, have to cover a large sheet of foolscap with -a progressive survey of the spread of Christianity during the three -first centuries--and he will easily enter into our feelings. To return -to the class-room: The geographical lesson, though of daily infliction, -was accurately circumscribed in its duration. Old Time kept a sharp -look-out over his blooming daughters, and never suffered one hour to -tread upon the heels or trench upon the province of a sister hour. -Sixty minutes to all, and not an extra minute to any, was the old -gentleman's impartial rule; and he took care to see it was strictly -adhered to. As the clock struck ten, geography was shoved aside by the -muse of mathematics. A sea of dirty water had washed out in a twinkling -all traces of the continent of Europe, and the palimpsest slate -presented a clean face for whatever figures might next be traced upon -it. - -The hour for Euclidising was arrived, and anon the black parallelogram -was intersected with numerous triangles of the Isosceles and Scalene -pattern; but, notwithstanding this promising _début_, we did not make -much quicker progress here than in the previous lesson. How should -we, who had not only the difficulties inseparable from the subject to -cope with, but a much more formidable difficulty--viz. the obstruction -which we opposed to each other's advance, by the plan, so unwisely -adopted, of making all the class do the same thing, that they might -keep pace together. It is a polite piece of folly enough for a whole -party to be kept waiting dinner by a lounging guest, who chooses to -ride in the park when he ought to be at his toilet; but we were the -victims of a much greater absurdity, who lost what might have proved -an hour of profitable work, out of tenderness to some incorrigibly -idle or Boeotian boy, who could not get over the Pons Asinorum, (every -proposition was a _pons_ to some _asinus_ or other,) and so made those -who were over stand still, or come back to help him across. Neither -was this, though a very considerable drawback, our only hindrance--the -guides were not always safe. Sometimes he who acted in that capacity -would shout "Eureka" too soon; and having undertaken to lead the van, -lead it astray till just about, as he supposed, to come down upon -the proof itself, and to come down with a Q. E. D.: the master would -stop him short, and bid him--as Coleridge told the ingenious author -of _Guesses at Truth_--"to guess again." But suppose the "guess" -fortunate, or that a boy had even succeeded, by his own industry or -reflection, in mastering a proposition, did it follow that he would -be a clear expositor of what he knew? It was far otherwise. Our young -Archimedes--unacquainted with the terms of the science, and being -also (as we have hinted) lamentably defective in his knowledge of the -power of words--would mix up such a "farrago" of irrelevancies and -repetitions with the proof, as, in fact, to render it to the majority -no proof at all. Euclid should be taught in his own words,--just enough -and none to spare: the employment of less must engender obscurity; and -of more, a want of neatness and perspicacity. The best geometrician -amongst us would have cut but a bad figure by the side of a lad of very -average ability brought up to know Euclid by book. - -Another twitch of the bell announced that the hour for playing at -triangles had expired. In five minutes the slate was covered with -bars of minims and crotchets, and the music lesson begun. This, in -the general tone of its delivery, bore a striking resemblance to the -geographical one of two hours before; the only difference being that -"ut, re, me" had succeeded to names of certain cities, and "fa, so, la" -to the number of their inhabitants. It would be as vain an attempt to -describe all the noise we made as to show its rationale or motive. It -was loud enough to have cowed a lion, stopped a donkey in mid-bray--to -have excited the envy of the vocal Lablache, or to have sent any _prima -donna_ into hysterics. When this third hour had been bellowed away, and -the bell had rung unheard the advent of a fourth--_presto_--in came -Mons. D----, to relieve the meek man who had acted as coryphæus to the -music class; and after a little tugging, had soon produced from his -pocket that without which you never catch a Frenchman--a _thème_. The -theme being announced, we proceeded (not quite _tant bien que mal_) -to scribble it down at his dictation, and to amend its orthography -afterwards from a corrected copy on the slate. Once more the -indefatigable bell obtruded its tinkle, to proclaim that Herr Roth was -coming with a Fable of Gellert, or a chapter from Vater Pestalozzi's -serious novel, _Gumal und Lina_, to read, and expound, and catechise -upon. This last lesson before dinner was always accompanied by frequent -yawns and other unrepressed symptoms of fatigue; and at its conclusion -we all rose with a shout, and rushed into the corridors. - -On resuming work in the afternoon, there was even less attention and -method observed than before. The classes were then broken up, and -private lessons were given in accomplishments, or in some of the useful -arts. Drawing dogs and cows, with a master to look after the trees and -the hedges; whistling and spitting through a flute; playing on the -patience of a violin; turning at a lathe; or fencing with a powerful -_maître d'armes_;--such were the general occupations. It was then, -however, that we English withdrew to our Greek and Latin; and, under -a kind master, Dr M----, acquired (with the exception of a love for -natural history, and a very unambitious turn of mind) all that really -could deserve the name of education. - -We have now described the sedentary life at the chateau. In the next -paper the reader shall be carried to the gymnasium; the drill ground -behind the lake; to our small menageries of kids, guinea pigs, and -rabbits; be present at our annual ball and skating bouts in winter, and -at our bathings, fishings, frog-spearings, and rambles over the Jura in -summer. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[14] CICERO, _De Fin._, ii. 1. - - - - -THE CROWNING OF THE COLUMN, AND CRUSHING OF THE PEDESTAL. - - -It was said in the debate on the Navigation Laws, in the best speech -made on the Liberal side, by one of the ablest of the Liberal party, -that the repeal of the Navigation Laws was the _crowning of the column -of free trade_. There is no doubt it was so; but it was something more. -It was not only the carrying out of a principle, but the overthrow of a -system; it was not merely the crowning of the column, but the _crushing -of the pedestal_. - -And what was the system which was thus completely overthrown, for the -time at least, by this great triumph of Liberal doctrines? It was the -system under which England had become free, and great, and powerful; -under which, in her alone of all modern states, liberty had been found -to coexist with law, and progress with order; under which wealth had -increased without producing divisions, and power grown up without -inducing corruption; the system which had withstood the shocks of two -centuries, and created an empire unsurpassed since the beginning of -the world in extent and magnificence. It was a system which had been -followed out with persevering energy by the greatest men, and the most -commanding intellects, which modern Europe had ever produced; which was -begun by the republican patriotism of Cromwell, and consummated by the -conservative wisdom of Pitt; which had been embraced alike by Somers -and Bolingbroke, by Walpole and Chatham, by Fox and Castlereagh; which, -during two centuries, had produced an unbroken growth of national -strength, a ceaseless extension of national power, and at length reared -up a dominion which embraced the earth in its grasp, and exceeded -anything ever achieved by the legions of Cæsar, or the phalanx of -Alexander. No vicissitudes of time, no shock of adverse fortune, had -been able permanently to arrest its progress. It had risen superior -alike to the ambition of Louis XIV. and the genius of Napoleon; the -rude severance of the North American colonies had thrown only a passing -shade over its fortunes; the power of Hindostan had been subdued by -its force, the sceptre of the ocean won by its prowess. It had planted -its colonies in every quarter of the globe, and at once peopled with -its descendants a new hemisphere, and, for the first time since the -creation, rolled back to the old the tide of civilisation. Perish when -it may, the _old English system_ has achieved mighty things; it has -indelibly affixed its impress on the tablets of history. The children -of its creation, the Anglo-Saxon race, will fill alike the solitudes of -the Far West, and the isles of the East; they will be found equally on -the shores of the Missouri, and on the savannahs of Australia; and the -period can already be anticipated, even by the least imaginative, when -their descendants will people half the globe. - -It was not only the column of free trade which has been crowned in -this memorable year. Another column, more firm in its structure, -more lasting in its duration, more conspicuous amidst the wonders of -creation, has, in the same season, been crowned by British hands. -While the sacrilegious efforts of those whom it had sheltered were -tearing down the temple of protection in the West, the last stone -was put to the august structure which it had reared in the East. The -victory of Goojerat on the Indus was contemporary with the repeal of -the Navigation Laws on the Thames. The completion of the conquest of -India occurred exactly at the moment when the system which had created -that empire was repudiated. Protection placed the sceptre of India -in our hands, when free trade was surrendering the trident of the -ocean in the heart of our power. With truth did Lord Gough say, in -his noble proclamation to the army of the Punjaub, on the termination -of hostilities, that "what Alexander had attempted they had done." -Supported by the energy of England, guided by the principles of -protection, restrained by the dictates of justice, backed by the navy -which the Navigation Laws had created, the British arms had achieved -the most wonderful triumph recorded in the annals of mankind. They -had subjugated a hundred and forty millions of men in the Continent -of Hindostan, at the distance of ten thousand miles from the parent -state; they had made themselves felt alike, and at the same moment, at -Nankin, the ancient capital of the Celestial Empire, and at Cabool, the -cradle of Mahommedan power. Conquering all who resisted, blessing all -who submitted, securing the allegiance of the subjects by the justice -and experienced advantages of their government, they had realised the -boasted maxim of Roman administration-- - - "Parcere subjectis et debellare superbos," - -and steadily advanced through a hundred years of effort and glory, not -unmixed with disaster, from the banks of the Hoogley to the shores of -the Indus--from the black hole of Calcutta to the throne of Aurengzebe. - -"Nulla magna civitas," said Hannibal, "diu quiescere potest--si foris -hostem non habet, _domi invenit_: ut praevalida corpora ab externis -causis tuta videntur, suis ipsis viribus conficiuntur."[15] When the -Carthaginian hero made this mournful reflection on the infatuated -spirit which had seized his own countrymen, and threatened to destroy -their once powerful dominion, he little thought what a marvellous -confirmation of it a future empire of far greater extent and celebrity -was to afford. That the system of free trade--that is, the universal -preference of foreigners, for the sake of the smallest reduction -of price, to your own subjects--must, if persisted in, lead to the -dismemberment and overthrow of the British empire, cannot admit of a -moment's doubt, and will be amply proved to every unbiassed reader -in the sequel of this paper. Yet the moment chosen for carrying this -principle into effect was precisely that, when the good effects of the -opposite system had been most decisively demonstrated, and an empire -unprecedented in magnitude and magnificence had reached its acme under -its shadow. It would be impossible to explain so strange an anomaly, -if we did not recollect how wayward and irreconcilable are the changes -of the human mind: that action and reaction is the law not less of the -moral than of the material world; that nations become tired of hearing -a policy called wise, not less than an individual called the just; -and that if a magnanimous and truly national course of government has -been pursued by one party long in possession of power, this is quite -sufficient to make its opponents embrace the opposite set of tenets, -and exert all their influence to carry them into effect when they -succeed to the direction of affairs, without the slightest regard to -the ruin they may bring on the national fortunes. - -The secret of the long duration and unexampled success of the British -national policy is to be found in the protection which it afforded to -_all_ the national interests. But for this, it must long since have -been overthrown, and with it the empire which was growing up under its -shadow. No institutions or frames of government can long exist which -are not held together by that firmest of bonds, _experienced benefits_. -What made the Roman power steadily advance during seven centuries, and -endure in all a thousand years? The protection which the arms of the -legions afforded to the industry of mankind, the international wars -which they prevented, the general peace they secured, the magnanimous -policy which admitted the conquered states to the privileges of Roman -citizens, and caused the Imperial government to be felt through the -wide circuit of its power, only by the vast market it opened to the -industry of its multifarious subjects, and the munificence with which -local undertakings were everywhere aided by the Imperial treasury. Free -trade in grain at length ruined it: the harvests of Libya and Egypt -came to supersede those of Greece and Italy,--and thence its fall. To -the same cause which occasioned the rise of Rome, is to be ascribed -the similar unbroken progress of the Russian territorial dominion, -and that of the British colonial empire in modern times. What, on the -other hand, caused the conquests of Timour and Charlemagne, Alexander -the Great and Napoleon, to be so speedily obliterated, and their vast -empires to fall to pieces the moment the powerful hand which had -created them was laid in the dust? The _want of protection_ to general -interests, the absence of the strong bond of experienced benefits; the -oppressive nature of the conquering government; the sacrifice of the -general interests to the selfish ambition or rapacious passions of a -section of the community, whether civil or military, which had got -possession of power. It is the selfishness of the ruling power which -invariably terminates its existence: men will bear anything but an -interference with their patrimonial interests. The burning of 50,000 -Protestants by the Duke of Alva was quietly borne by the Flemish -provinces: but the imposition of a small _direct_ tax at once caused -a flame to burst forth, which carried the independence of the United -Provinces. Attend sedulously to the interests of men, give ear to -their complaints, anticipate their wishes, and you may calculate with -tolerable certainty on acquiring in the long run the mastery of their -passions. Thwart their interests, disregard their complaints, make game -of their sufferings, and you may already read the handwriting on the -wall which announces your doom. - -That the old policy of England, foreign, colonial, and domestic, was -thoroughly protective, and attended, on the whole, with a due care -of the interests of its subjects in every part of the world, may be -inferred with absolute certainty from the constant growth, unexampled -success, and long existence of her empire. But the matter is not left -to inference: decisive proof of it is to be found in the enactments -of our statute-book, the treaties we concluded, or the wars we waged -with foreign powers. Protection to native industry, at home or in the -colonies, security to vested interests, a sacred regard to the rights -and interests of our subjects, in whatever part of the world, were the -principles invariably acted upon. Long and bloody wars were undertaken -to secure their predominance, when threatened by foreign powers. This -protective system of necessity implied some restrictions upon the -industry, or restraints upon the liberty of action in the colonial -dependencies, as well as the mother country--but what then? They were -not complained of on either side, because they were accompanied with -corresponding and greater benefits, as the consideration paid by the -mother country, and received by her distant offspring. Reciprocity in -those days was not entirely one-sided; there was a _quid pro quo_ on -both sides. The American colonies were subjected to the Navigation -Laws, and, in consequence, paid somewhat higher for their freights -than if they had been permitted to export and import their produce -in the cheaper vessels of foreign powers; but this burden was never -complained of, because it was felt to be the price paid for the immense -advantages of the monopoly of the English market, and the protection of -the English navy. The colonies of France and Spain desired nothing so -much, during the late war, as to be conquered by the armies of England, -because it at once opened the closed markets for their produce, and -restored the lost protection of a powerful navy. The English felt that -their colonial empire was in some respects a burden, and entailed -heavy expenses both in peace and war; but they were not complained -of, because the manufacturing industry of England found a vast and -increasing market for its produce in the growth of its offspring in -every part of the world, and its commercial navy grew with unexampled -rapidity from the exclusive enjoyment of their trade. - -Such was the amount of protection afforded in our statute-book to -commercial industry, that we might imagine, if there was nothing else -in it, that the empire had been governed exclusively by a manufacturing -aristocracy. Such was the care with which the interests of the -colonies were attended to, that it seemed as if they must have had -representatives who possessed a majority in the legislature. To one -who looked to the welfare of land, and the protection of its produce, -the chapel of St Stephens seemed to have been entirely composed of -the representatives of squires. The shipping interest was sedulously -fostered, as appeared in the unexampled growth and vast amount of our -mercantile tonnage. The interests of labour, the welfare of the poor, -were not overlooked, as was demonstrated in the most decisive way by -the numerous enactments for the relief of the indigent and unfortunate, -and the immense burden which the legislature voluntarily imposed on -itself and the nation for the relief of the destitute. Thus _all_ -interests were attended to; and that worst of tyrannies, the tyranny -of one class over another class, was effectually prevented. It is in -this sedulous attention to _all_ the interests of the empire that its -long duration and unparalleled extension is to be ascribed. Had any -one class or interest been predominant, and commenced the system of -pursuing its separate objects and advantages, to the subversion or -injury of the other classes in the state, such a storm of discontent -must have arisen as would speedily have proved fatal to the unanimity, -and with it to the growth and prosperity of the empire. - -Two causes mainly contributed to produce this system of catholic -protection by the British government to native industry; and to their -united operation, the greatness of England is chiefly to be ascribed. -The first of these was the peculiar constitution which time had worked -out for the House of Commons, and the manner in which all the interests -of the state had come silently, and without being observed, to be -indirectly but most effectually represented in parliament. That body, -anterior to the Reform Bill, possessed one invaluable quality--its -franchise was multiform and various. In many burghs the landed interest -in their neighbourhood was predominant; in most counties it returned -members in the interests of agriculture. In other towns, mercantile or -commercial wealth acquired by purchase an introduction, or won it from -the influence of some great family. Colonial opulence found a ready -inlet in the close boroughs: Old Sarum or Gatton nominally represented -a house or a green mound--really, the one might furnish a seat to a -representative of Hindostan, the other of the splendid West Indian -settlements. The members who thus got in by purchase had one invaluable -quality, like the officers who get their commissions in the army in the -same way--they were independent. They were not liable to be overruled -or coerced by a numerous, ignorant, and conceited constituency. Hence -they looked only to the interests of the class to which they belonged, -amidst which their fortunes had been made, and with the prosperity of -which their individual success was entirely wound up. With what energy -these various interests were attended to, with what perseverance the -system of protecting them was followed up, is sufficiently evident -from the simultaneous growth and unbroken prosperity of all the great -branches of industry during the long period of a hundred and fifty -years. Talent, alike on the Whig and the Tory side, found a ready -entrance by means of the nomination burghs. It is well known that all -the great men of the House of Commons, since the Revolution, obtained -entrance to parliament in the first instance through these narrow -inlets. Rank looked anxiously for talent, because it added to its -influence. Genius did not disdain the entrance, because it was not -obstructed by numbers, or galled by conceit. No human wisdom could have -devised such a system; it rose gradually, and without being observed, -from the influence of a vast body of great and prosperous interests, -feeling the necessity of obtaining a voice in the legislature, and -enjoying the means of doing so by the variety of election privileges -which time had established in the House of Commons. The reality of this -representation of interests is matter of history. The landed interest, -the West India interest, the commercial interest, the shipping -interest, the East Indian interest, could all command their respective -phalanxes in parliament, who would not permit any violation of the -rights, or infringement on the welfare, of their constituents to take -place. The combined effect of the whole was the great and glorious -British empire, teeming with energy, overflowing with patriotism, -spreading out into every quarter of the globe, and yet held together in -all its parts by the firm bond of experienced benefits and protected -industry. - -The second cause was, that no speculative or theoretical opinions -had then been broached, or become popular, which proclaimed that the -real interest of any one class was to be found in the spoliation -or depression of any other class. No gigantic system of _beggar my -neighbour_ had then come to be considered as a shorthand mode of -gaining wealth. The nation had not then embraced the doctrine, that -to buy cheap and sell dear constituted the sum total of political -science. On the contrary, protection to industry in all its branches -was considered as the great principle of policy, the undisputed -dictate of wisdom, the obvious rule of justice. It was acknowledged -alike by speculative writers and practical statesmen. The interests -of the producers were the main object of legislative fostering and -philosophic thought--and for this plain reason, that they constitute -the great body of society, and their interests chiefly were thought of. -Realised wealth was then, in comparison to what it now is, in a state -of infancy; the class of traders and shopkeepers, who grow up with -the expenditure of accumulated opulence, was limited in numbers and -inconsiderable in influence. It would have been as impossible _then_ -to get up a party in the House of Commons, or a cry in the country, in -favour of the consumers or against the producers, as it would be now to -do the same among the corn producers in the basin of the Mississippi, -or among the cotton growers of New Orleans. - -It is in the profound wisdom of Hannibal's saying--that great states, -impregnable to the shock of external violence, are consumed and wasted -away by their own internal strength--that the real cause of the -subsequent and extraordinary change, first in the opinions of men, -and then in the measures of government, is to be found. Such was the -wealth produced by the energy of the Anglo-Saxon race, sheltered and -invigorated by the protection-policy of government in every quarter -of the globe, that in the end it gave birth to a new class, which -rapidly grew in numbers and influence, and was at length able to bid -defiance to all the other interests in the state put together. This -was the _moneyed interest_--the class of men whose fortunes were made, -whose position was secure, and who saw, in a general cheapening of -the price of commodities and reduction of prices, the means of making -their wealth go much farther than it otherwise would. This class had -its origin from the long-continued prosperity and accumulated savings -of the whole producing classes in the state; like a huge lake, it -was fed by all the streams and rills which descended into it from -the high grounds by which it was surrounded; and the rise of its -waters indicated, as a register thermometer, the amount of additions -which it was receiving from the swelling of the feeders by which it -was formed. But when men once get out of the class of producers, and -into that of moneyed consumers, they rapidly perceive an _immediate_ -benefit to themselves in the reduction of the price of articles of -consumption, because it adds proportionally to the value of their -money. If prices can be forced down fifty per cent by legislative -measures, every thousand pounds in effect becomes fifteen hundred. -It thus not unfrequently and naturally happened, that the son who -enjoyed the fortune made by protection came to join the ranks of the -free traders, because it promised a great addition to the value of -his inheritance. The transition from Sir Robert Peel the father, and -staunch supporter of protection, who _made the fortune_, to Sir Robert -Peel the son, who _inherited it_, and introduced free-trade principles, -was natural and easy. Each acted in conformity with the interests of -his respective position in society. It is impossible to suppose in such -men a selfish or sordid regard to their own interests, and we solemnly -disclaim the intention of imputing such. But every one knows how the -ablest and most elevated minds are insensibly moulded by the influence -of the atmosphere with which they are surrounded; and, at all events, -they were a type of the corresponding change going on in successive -generations of others of a less elevated class of minds, in whom the -influence of interested motives was direct and immediate. - -Adam Smith's work, now styled the _principia_ of economical science by -the free-traders, first gave token of the important and decisive change -then going forward in society. It was an ominous and characteristic -title: _The Nature and Cause of the_ WEALTH _of Nations_. It was not -said of their wisdom, virtue, or happiness. The direction of such a -mind as Adam Smith's to the exclusive consideration of the riches of -nations, indicated the advent of a period when the fruits of industry -in this vast empire, sheltered by protection, had become so great that -they had formed a powerful class in society, which was beginning to -look to its separate interests, and saw them in the beating down the -price of articles--that is, diminishing the remuneration of other men's -industry. It showed that the _Plutocracy_ was becoming powerful. The -constant arguments that able work contained, in favour of competition -and against monopoly,--its impassioned pleadings in favour of freedom -of commerce, and the removal of all restrictions on importation, were -so many indications that a new era was opening in society; that the -interests of _realised wealth_ were beginning to come into collision -with those of _creating industry_, and that the time was not far -distant when a fierce legislative contest might be anticipated between -them. It is well known that Adam Smith advocated the Navigation Laws, -upon the ground that national independence was of more importance than -national wealth. But there can be no doubt that this was a deviation -from his principles, and that, if they were established in other -particulars, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to succeed in -maintaining an exception in favour of the shipping interests, because -that was retaining a burden on the colonies, when the corresponding -benefit had been voted away. - -Although, however, the doctrines of Adam Smith, from their novelty, -simplicity, and alliance with democratic liberty, spread rapidly in -the rising generation--ever ready to repudiate the doctrines and -throw off the restraints of their fathers--yet, so strongly were the -producing interests intrenched in the legislature, that a very long -period would probably have elapsed before they came to be practically -applied in the measures of government, had it not been that, at the -very period when, from the triumph of protection-principles during the -war, and the vast wealth they had realised in the state, the moneyed -interest had become most powerful, a great revolution in the state gave -that interest the command of the House of Commons. By the Reform Bill -_two-thirds of the seats_ in that house were given to boroughs, and -_two-thirds of the voters_ in boroughs, in the new constituency, were -shopkeepers or those in their interest. Thus a decisive majority in the -house, which, from having the command of the public purse, practically -became possessed of supreme power, was vested in those who made their -living by buying and selling--with whom cheap prices was all in all. -The producing classes were virtually, and to all practical purposes, -cast out of the scale. The landed interest, on all questions vital to -its welfare, would evidently soon be in a minority. Schedules A and B -at one blow disfranchised the whole colonial empire of Great Britain, -because it closed the avenue by which colonial wealth had hitherto -found an entrance to the House of Commons. Seats could no longer be -bought: the virtual representation of unrepresented places was at an -end. The greatest fortunes made in the colonies could now get into the -house only through some populous place; and the majority of voters -in most populous places were in favour of the consumers and against -the producers, because the consumers bought _their goods_, and they -bought those of the producers. Thus no colonial member could get in -but by forswearing his principles and abandoning the interests of his -order. The shipping interest was more strongly intrenched, because -many shipping towns had direct representatives in parliament, and it -accordingly was the last to be overthrown. But when the colonies were -disfranchised, and protection was withdrawn from their industry to -cheapen prices at home, it became next to impossible to keep up the -shipping interest--not only because the injustice of doing so, and so -enhancing freights, when protection to colonial produce was withdrawn, -was evident, but because it was well understood, by certain unequivocal -symptoms, that such a course of policy would at once lead to colonial -revolt, and the dismemberment of the empire. - -The authors of the Reform Bill were well aware that under it two-thirds -of the seats in the House of Commons were for boroughs: but they -clung to the idea that a large proportion of these seats would fall -under the influence of the landed proprietors in their vicinity, and -thus be brought round to the support of the agricultural interest. -It was on that belief that Earl Grey said in private, amidst all his -public democratic declamations, that the Reform Bill was "the most -_aristocratic_ measure which had ever passed the House of Commons." But -in this anticipation, which was doubtless formed in good faith by many -of the ablest supporters of that revolution, they showed themselves -entirely ignorant of the effect of the great monetary change of 1819, -which at that very period was undermining the influence of the owners -of landed estates as much as it was augmenting the power of the holders -of bonds over their properties. As that bill changed the prices of -agricultural produce, at least to the extent of forty _per cent_, it of -course crippled the means and weakened the influence of the landowners -as much as it added to the powers of the moneyed interest which held -securities over their estates. This soon became a matter of paramount -importance. After a few severe struggles, the landowners in most places -saw that they were over-matched, and that their burdened estates and -declining rent-rolls were not equal to an encounter with the ready -money of the capitalists, which that very change had so much enhanced -in value and augmented in power. One by one the rural boroughs slipped -out of the hands of the landed, and fell under the influence of the -moneyed interest. At the same time one great colonial interest, that of -the West Indies, was so entirely prostrated by the ruinous measure of -the emancipation of the negroes, that its influence in parliament was -practically rendered extinct. Thus two of the great producing interests -in the state--those of corn and sugar--were materially weakened or -nullified, at the very time when the power of their opponents, the -moneyed aristocracy, was most augmented. - -Experience, however, proved, on one important and decisive occasion, -that even after the Reform Bill had become the law of the land, it -was still possible, by a coalition of _all_ the producing interests, -to defeat the utmost efforts of the moneyed party, even when aided by -the whole influence of government. On occasion of the memorable Whig -budget of 1841, such a coalition took place, and the efforts of the -free-traders were overthrown. A change of ministry was the consequence; -but it soon appeared that nothing was gained by an alteration of -rulers, when the elements in which political power resided, under the -new constitution, remained unchanged. - -Sir Robert Peel, and the leaders of the party which now succeeded to -power, appear to have been guided by those views in the free-trade -measures which they subsequently introduced. They regarded, and with -justice, the Reform Bill as, in the language of the _Times_, "a -great fact"--the settlement of the constitution upon a new basis--on -foundations _non tangenda non movenda_, if we would shun the peril -of repeated shocks to our institutions, and ultimately of a bloody -revolution. Looking on the matter in this light, the next object was -to scan the composition of the House of Commons, and see in what party -and interest in the state a preponderance of power was now vested. -They were not slow in discerning the fatal truth, that the Reform Bill -had given a decided majority to the representatives of boroughs, and -that a clear majority in these boroughs was, from the embarrassments -which monetary change had produced on the landed proprietors, and -the preponderance of votes which that bill had given to shopkeepers, -vested in the moneyed or consuming interest. Such a state of things -might be regretted, but still it existed; and it was the business of -practical statesmen to deal with things as they were, not to indulge -in vain regrets on what they once were or might have been. It seemed -impossible to carry on the government on any other footing than that -of concession to the wishes and attention to the interests of the -moneyed and mercantile classes, in whose hands supreme power, under the -new constitution, was now practically vested. Whether any such views, -supposing them well founded, could justify a statesman and a party, who -had received office on a solemn appeal to the country, under the most -solemn engagement to support the principles of protection, to repudiate -those principles, and introduce the measures they were pledged to -oppose, is a question on which, it is not difficult to see, but one -opinion will be formed by future times. - -Still, even when free-trade measures were resolved on by Sir R. Peel's -government, it was a very doubtful matter, in the first instance, -how to secure their entire success. The great coalition of the chief -producing interests, which had proved fatal to the Whig administration -by the election of 1841, might again be reorganised, and overthrow -any government which attempted to renew the same projects. Ministers -had been placed in office on the principles of protection--they were -the watches, planted to descry the first approaches of the enemy, and -repel his attacks. But the old Roman maxim, "_Divide et impera_," was -then put in practice with fatal effect on the producing interests, and, -in the end, on the general fortunes of the empire. The assault was in -the first instance directed against the agricultural interest: the cry -of "Cheap bread," ever all-powerful with the multitude, was raised to -drown that of "Protection to native industry." The whole weight of -government, which at once abandoned all its principles, was directed -to support the free-trade assault, and beat down the protectionist -opposition. The whole population in the towns--that is, the inhabitants -of the places which, under the Reform Bill, returned two-thirds of the -House of Commons--was roused almost to madness by the prospect of a -great reduction in the price of provisions. The master-manufacturers -almost unanimously supported the same views, in the hope that the wages -of labour and the cost of production would be in a similar way reduced, -and that thus the foreign market for their produce would be extended. -The West India interest, the colonial interest, the shipping interest, -stood aloof, or gave only a lukewarm support to the protectionists, -conceiving that it was merely an agricultural question, and that the -time was far distant when there was any chance of their interests being -brought into jeopardy. "_Cetera quis nescit?_" The corn-laws were -repealed, agricultural protection was swept away, and England, where -wheat cannot be raised at a profit when prices are below 50s., or, at -the lowest, 45s. a quarter, was exposed to the direct competition of -states possessing the means of raising it to an indefinite extent, -where it can be produced and imported at a profit for in all 32s. - -What subsequent events have abundantly verified, was at the time -foreseen and foretold by the protectionists,--that when agricultural -protection at home was withdrawn, it could not be maintained in the -colonies, and that cheap prices must be rendered universal, as they -had been established in the great article of human subsistence. This -necessity was soon experienced. The West Indies were the first to be -assailed. Undeterred by the evident ruin which a free competition with -the slave-growing states could not fail to bring on British planters -forced to work with free labourers--undismayed by the frightful -injustice of first establishing slavery by law in the English colonies, -and giving the utmost encouragement to negro importation, then forcibly -emancipating the slaves on a compensation not on an average a fourth -part of their value, and then sweeping away all fiscal protection, and -exposing the English planters, who could not with their free labourers -raise sugar below £10 a ton, to competition with slave states who -could raise it for £4 a ton--that great work of fiscal iniquity and -free-trade spoliation was perpetrated. The English landed interest -resisted the unjust measure; but it could hardly be expected that -they were to be very enthusiastic in the cause. They had not forgotten -their desertion in the hour of need by the West India planters, and the -deferred punishment, as they conceived, dealt out to them in return, -was not altogether displeasing. The shipping interest did little or -nothing when either contest was going on; nay, they in general, and -with fatal effect, supported free-trade principles thus far: they -were delighted that the tempest had not as yet reached their doors, -and flattered themselves none would be insane enough to attack the -wooden walls of Old England, and hand us over, bereft of our ocean -bulwarks, to the malice and jealousy of our enemies. They little knew -the extent and infatuation of political fanaticism. They were only -reserved, like Ulysses in the cave of Polyphemus, for the melancholy -privilege of being last devoured. Each session of Parliament, since -free trade was introduced, has been marked by the sacrifice of a fresh -interest. The year 1846 witnessed the repeal of the corn laws; the -year 1847 the equalisation, by a rapidly sliding scale, of the duties -on English free-grown and foreign slave-raised sugar; and 1849 was -immortalised by the destruction of the Navigation Laws. The British -shipowner, who pays £10 for wages on ships, is exposed to the direct -competition of the foreign shipowner, who navigates his vessel for £6. -"Perish the colonies," said Robespierre, "rather than one principle -be abandoned." Fanaticism is the same in all ages and countries. The -triumph of free trade is complete. A ruinous and suicidal principle has -been carried out, in defiance alike of bitter experience and national -safety. Each interest in the state has, since the great conservative -party was broken up by Sir R. Peel's free-trade measures, looked on -with indifference when its neighbour was destroyed; and to them may be -applied with truth what the ancient annalist said of the enemies of -Rome, "_Dum singuli pugnant, universi vincuntur._"[16] - -We say advisedly, each interest has looked on with indifference -when its neighbour was _destroyed_. That this strong phrase is not -misapplied to the effect of these measures in the West Indies, is too -well known to require any illustration. Ruin, widespread and universal, -has, we know by sad experience, overtaken, and is rapidly destroying -these once splendid colonies. While we write these lines, a decisive -proof[17] has been judicially afforded of the frightful depreciation -of property which has there taken place, from the acts of successive -administrations acting on liberal principles, and yielding to popular -outcries: the fall has amounted to _ninety-three per cent_. Beyond all -doubt, since the new system began to be applied to the West Indies, -property to the amount of _a hundred and twenty millions_ has perished -under its strokes. The French Convention never did anything more -complete. Free-trade fanaticism may well glory in its triumphs; it is -doubtful if they have any parallel in the annals of mankind. - -We do not propose to resume the debate on the Navigation Laws, of -which the public have heard so much in this session of parliament. We -are aware that their doom is sealed; and we accept the extinction of -shipping protection as _un fait accompli_, from which we must set out -in all future discussions on the national prospects and fortunes. But, -in order to show how enormously perilous is the change thus made, and -what strength of argument and arrays of facts free-trade fanaticism -has had the merit of triumphing over, we cannot resist the temptation -of transcribing into our pages the admirable letter of Mr Young, the -able and unflinching advocate of the shipping interest, to the Marquis -of Lansdowne, after the late interesting debate on the subject in the -House of Lords. We do so not merely from sincere respect for that -gentleman's patriotic spirit and services, but because we do not know -any document which, in so short a space, contains so interesting a -statement of that leading fact on which the whole question hinges--viz. -the progressive and rapid decline of British, and growth of foreign -tonnage, with those countries with whom we have concluded reciprocity -treaties: affording thus a foretaste of what we may expect now that we -have established a reciprocity treaty, by the repeal of the Navigation -Laws, with the whole world: - - "My Lord,--In the debate last night on the Navigation Laws, your - Lordship said,-- - - 'The noble and learned Lord opposite has spoken contemptuously - of statistics. Let me remind that noble and learned Lord that if - any statement founded on statistics remains unshaken, it is the - statement that under reciprocity treaties now existing, by which - this country enjoys no protection, she, nevertheless, monopolises - the greater part of the commerce of the north of Europe.' - - As an impartial statist, as well as a statesman, your Lordship - will perhaps permit me to invite your attention to the following - abstract from Parliamentary returns, respectfully trusting that, - if the facts it discloses should be found irreconcilable with the - opinions you have expressed, a sense of justice will induce your - Lordship to correct the error:-- - - The reciprocity treaty with the United States was concluded in - 1815. - - The British inward entries from that country were-- - - Tons. - In 1816 45,140 - In 1824, reciprocity having been - eight years in operation 44,994 - -------- - British tonnage having in } - that period decreased } 146 - - The inward entries of American tonnage were-- - - Tons. - In 1816 91,914 - In 1824 153,475 - -------- - American tonnage having in } - that period increased } 61,561 - - During that period no reciprocity existed with the Baltic Powers; - and - - Tons. - In 1815 the British entries from - Prussia, Sweden, Denmark, - and Norway were 78,533 - In 1824 129,895 - -------- - British tonnage having increased 51,362 - - In 1815 those Baltic entries were 319,181 - In 1824 350,624 - -------- - Baltic tonnage having increased 31,443 - - Thus, from the peace in 1815 to 1824, when the "Reciprocity of - Duties Act" passed, in the trade of the only country in the - world with which great Britain was in reciprocity, her tonnage - declined 146 tons, and that of the foreign nation advanced 61,561 - tons; while in the trade with the Baltic powers, with which no - reciprocity existed, British tonnage advanced on its competitors - in the proportion of 51,362 to 31,443 tons. - - From 1824 the reciprocity principle was applied to the Baltic - powers; and-- - - Tons. - In 1824, the British entries being 129,895 - In 1846 they had declined to 88,894 - -------- - Having diminished during } - the period } 41,001 - - While the Baltic tonnage, which - in 1824 was 350,624 - Had advanced in 1846 to 571,161 - -------- - Showing an increase of no } - less than } 220,537 - - And during this same period, the proportion of tonnage of - the United States continued, under the operation of the same - principle, steadily to advance, the British entries thence being-- - - Tons. - In 1846 205,123 - And the American 435,399 - -------- - Showing an excess of American } - over British of } 230,276 - - I have (I hope not unfairly) introduced into this statement - American tonnage, because it shows that while, in the period - antecedent to general reciprocity, the adoption of the principle - in the trade with that nation produced an actual decline of - British navigation, while in the trade with the Baltic powers, - which was free from that scourge, British navigation outstripped - its competitor, it exhibits in a remarkable manner the reverse - result, from the moment the principle was applied to the Baltic - trade; while, above all, it completely negatives the statement - of the greater part of the commerce of the north of Europe being - monopolised by British ships, showing that in that commerce, in - 1846, of an aggregate of 660,055 tons, British shipping had only - 88,894 tons, while no less than 571,161 tons were monopolised by - Baltic ships!" - -It is evident, from this summary, that the decline of British and -growth of foreign shipping will be so rapid, under the system of Free -Trade in Shipping, that the time is not far distant when the foreign -tonnage employed in conducting our trade will be superior in amount to -the British. In all probability, in six or seven years that desirable -consummation will be effected; and we shall enjoy the satisfaction of -having purchased freights a farthing a pound cheaper, by the surrender -of our national safety. It need hardly be said that, from the moment -that the foreign tonnage employed in conducting our trade exceeds the -British, our independence as a nation is gone; because we have reared -up, in favour of states who may any day become our enemies, a nursery -of seamen superior to that which we possess ourselves. And every year, -which increases the one and diminishes the other, brings us nearer -the period when our ability to contend on our own element with other -powers is to be at end, and England is to undergo the fate of Athens -after the catastrophe of Aigos Potamos--that of being blockaded in our -own harbours by the fleets of our enemies, and obliged to surrender at -discretion on any terms they might think fit to impose. - -But in truth, the operations of the free-traders will, to all -appearance, terminate our independence, and compel us to sink into the -ignoble neutrality which characterised the policy of Venice for the -last two centuries of its independent existence, before the foreign -seamen we have hatched in our bosom have time to be arrayed in a -Leipsic of the deep against us. So rapid, _so fearfully rapid_, has -been the increase in the importation of foreign grain since the repeal -of the corn laws took place, and so large a portion of our national -sustenance has already come to be derived from foreign countries, that -it is evident, on the first rupture with the countries furnishing -them, we should at once be starved into submission. The free-traders -always told us, that a considerable importation of foreign grain would -only take place when prices rose high; that it was a resource against -seasons of scarcity only; and that, when prices in England were low, -it would cease or become trifling. Attend to the facts. Free trade -in grain has been in operation just three years. We pass over the -great importation of the year 1847, when, under the influence of the -panic, and high prices arising from the Irish famine, no less than -12,000,000 quarters of grain were imported in fifteen months, at a cost -of £31,000,000, nearly the whole of which was paid in specie. Beyond -all doubt, it was the great drain thus made to act upon our metallic -resources--at the very time when the free-traders had, with consummate -wisdom, established a _sliding paper circulation_, under which the -bank-notes were to be _withdrawn_ from the public in proportion as -the sovereigns were exported--which was the main cause of the dreadful -commercial catastrophe which ensued, and from the effects of which, -after two years of unexampled suffering, the nation has scarcely yet -begun to recover. But what we wish to draw the public attention to -is this. The greatest importation of foreign grain ever known, into -the British islands, before the corn laws were repealed, was in the -year 1839, when, in consequence of three bad harvests in succession, -4,000,000 quarters in round numbers were imported. The average -importation had been steadily diminishing before that time, since the -commencement of the century: in the five years ending with 1835, it was -only 381,000 quarters. But since the duties have become nominal, since -the 1st February in this year, the importation has become so prodigious -that it is going on at the rate of FIFTEEN MILLIONS of quarters a-year, -or a full fourth of the national consumption, which is somewhat under -sixty millions. This is in the face of prices fallen to 44s. 9d. for -the quarter of wheat, and 18s. the quarter of oats! We recommend the -Table below, taken from the columns of that able free-trade journal, -the _Times_--showing the amount of importation for the month ending -April 5, 1849, when wheat was at 45s. a-quarter--to the consideration -of those well-informed persons who expect that low prices will check, -and at last stop importation. It shows decisively that even a very -great reduction of prices has not that tendency in the slightest -degree. The importation of grain and flour is going on steadily, under -the present low prices, at the rate of about 15,000,000 quarters -a-year.[18] - -The reasons of this continued and increasing importation, -notwithstanding the lowness of prices, is evident, and was fully -explained by the protectionists before the repeal of the corn laws took -place, though the free-traders, with their usual disregard of facts -when subversive of a favourite theory, obstinately refused to credit -it. It is this. The price of wheat and other kinds of grain, in the -grain-growing countries, especially Poland and America, is entirely -regulated by its price in the British islands. They can raise grain -in such quantities, and at such low rates, that everything depends on -the price which it will fetch in the great market for that species of -produce--the British empire. In Poland, the best wheat can be raised -for 16s. a-quarter, and landed at any harbour in England at 25s. The -Americans, out of the 250,000,000 quarters of bread stuffs which they -raise annually, and which, if not exported, is in great part not -worth above 10s. a-quarter, can afford, with a handsome profit to -the exporting merchant, to send grain to England, however small its -price may be in the British islands. However low it may be, it is much -higher than with them--and therefore it is _always_ worth their while -to export it to the British market. If the price here is 40s., it will -there be 28s. or 30s.; if 30s. here, it will not be more than 15s. -or 20s. there. Thus the profit to be made by importation retains its -proportion, whatever prices are in this country, and the motives to it -are the same whatever the price is. It is as great when wheat is low -as when it is high, except to the fortunate shippers, before the rise -in the British islands was known on the banks of the Vistula or the -shores of the Mississippi. Now that the duty on wheat is reduced to 1s. -a-quarter, we may look for an annual importation of from 15,000,000 to -20,000,000 quarters--that is, from a fourth to a third of the annual -subsistence, constantly, alike in seasons of plenty and of scarcity. - -That the importation is steadily going on, appears by the following -returns for the port of London alone, down to May, taken from the -_Morning Post_ of May 7:-- - - Entered for home consumption during the month ending-- - - Wheat. Flour. - qrs. cwt. -February 5, 442,389 478,815 -March 5, 405,685 355,462 -April 5, 559,602 356,308 -May 5, 383,395 243,154 - --------- --------- - Making a total } 1,791,071 1,433,739 -in four months, } - - --equal, if we take 3-1/2 cwt. of flour to the qr. of wheat, to - 2,200,700 qrs. of the latter. The importations of the first four - months of the year are, therefore, nearly as great as they were - during the whole of the preceding twelve months, the quantities - duty paid in 1848 being, of wheat, 2,477,366 qrs., and of flour, - 1,731,974 cwt. - -The reason why young states, especially if they possess land eminently -fitted for agricultural production, such as Poland and America, can -thus permanently undersell older and longer established empires in the -production of food, is simple, permanent, and of universal application, -but nevertheless it is not generally understood or appreciated. It is -commonly said that the cause is to be found in the superior weight of -debts, public and private, in the old state. There can be no doubt -that this cause has a considerable influence in producing the effect, -but it is by no means the only or the principal one. The main cause is -to be found in the superior _riches_ of the old state, when compared -with the young one, which makes money of less value, because it is -more plentiful. The wants and necessities of an extended commerce, -the accumulated savings of centuries of industry, at once require an -extended circulation, and produce the wealth necessary to purchase it. -The precious metals, and wealth of every sort, flow into the rich old -state from the poor young one, for the same reason that corn, and wine, -and oil, follow the same direction in obedience to the same impulse. -That it is the superior riches, and not the debts or taxes, of England -which render prices so high, comparatively speaking, in these islands, -is decisively proved by the immense difference between the value of -money, and the cost of living at the same time, in different parts of -the same empire, subject to the same public and private burdens,--in -London, for example, compared with Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Lerwick. -Every one knows that £1500 a-year will not go farther in the English -metropolis than £1000 in the Scotch, or £750 in the ancient city of -Aberdeen, or £500 in the capital of the Orkney islands. Whence this -great difference in the same country, and at the same time? Simply, -because money is over plentiful in London, less so in Edinburgh, and -much less so in Aberdeen or Lerwick. The same cause explains the -different cost of agricultural production in England, Poland, the -Ukraine, and America. It is the comparative poverty, the _scarcity of -money_, in the latter countries which is the cause of the difference. -Machinery, and the division of labour, almost omnipotent in reducing -the cost of the production of manufactured articles, are comparatively -impotent in affecting the cost of articles of rude or agricultural -produce. England, under a real system of free trade, would undersell -all the world in its manufactures, but be undersold by all the world -in its agricultural productions. If the national debt was swept away, -and the whole taxes of Great Britain removed, the cost of agricultural -production would not be materially different from what it now is. We -shall be able to raise grain as cheap as the serfs of Poland, or the -peasants of the Ukraine, when we become as poor as they are, but _not -till then_. Under the free-trade system, however, the period may arrive -sooner than is generally suspected, and the importation of foreign -grain be checked by the universal pauperism and grinding misery of the -country. - -Assuming it, then, as certain that, under the free-trade system, the -importation of grain is to be constantly from a third to a fourth of -the annual consumption, the two points to be considered are, How is -the national _independence to be maintained_, or _incessant commercial -crises averted_, under the new system? These are questions on which -it will become every inhabitant of the British islands to ponder; for -on them, not only the independence of his country, but the private -fortune of himself and his children, is entirely dependent. If so -large a portion as a third or a fourth of the annual subsistence -is imported almost entirely from three countries, Russia, Prussia, -and America, how are we to withstand the hostility of these states? -Prussia, in the long run, is under the influence of Russia, and follows -its system of policy. The nations on whom we depend for so large a -part of our food are thus practically reduced to two, viz., Russia and -America--what is to hinder them from coalescing to effect our ruin, -as they practically did in 1800 and 1811, against the independence of -England? Not a shot would require to be fired, not a loan contracted. -The simple threat of closing their harbours would at once drive us to -submission. Importing a third of our food from these two states, to -what famine-price would the closing of their harbours speedily raise -its cost! The failure of £15,000,000 worth of potatoes in 1847--scarce -a _twentieth_ part of the annual agricultural produce of these islands, -which is about £300,000,000,--raised the price of wheat, in 1848, from -60s. to 110s.--what would the sudden stoppage of a _third_ do? Why, -it would raise wheat to 150s. or 200s. a-quarter--in other words, to -famine-prices--and inevitably induce general rebellion, and compel -national submission. After the lapse of fifteen centuries, we should -again realise, after similar Eastern triumphs, the mournful picture of -the famine in Rome, in the lines of the poet Claudian,[19] from the -stoppage of the wonted supplies of grain from the two granaries of -the empire, Egypt and Libya, by the effect of the Gildonic war. But -the knowledge of so terrible a catastrophe impending over the nation -would probably prevent the collision. England would capitulate while -yet it had some food left, on the first summons from its imperious -grain-producing masters. - -But supposing such a decisive catastrophe were not to arise, at least -for a considerable period, how are _commercial crises_ to be prevented -from continually recurring under the new policy? How is the commercial -interest to be preserved from ruin--from the operation of the system -which itself has established? This is a point of paramount interest, -as it directly affects every fortune in the kingdom, the commercial -in the first instance, but also the realised and landed in the last; -but, nevertheless, it seems impossible to rouse the nation to a sense -of its overwhelming importance and terrible consequences. Experience -has now decisively proved that the corn-growing states, upon whom we -most depend for our subsistence, will not take our manufactures to any -extent, though they will gladly take our sovereigns or bullion to any -imaginable amount. The reason is, they are poor states, who are neither -rich enough to buy, nor civilised enough to have acquired a taste for -our manufactured articles, but who have an insatiable thirst for our -metallic riches, the last farthing of which they will drain away, in -exchange for their rude produce. The dreadful monetary crises of 1839 -and 1848, it is well known, were owing to the drain upon our metallic -resources, produced by the great grain importations of those years, in -the latter of which above £30,000,000 of gold, probably a half of the -metallic circulation, was at once sent headlong out of the country. -Now, if an importation of grain to a similar amount is to become -_permanent_, and an export of the precious metals to a corresponding -degree to go on year after year, how, in the name of wonder, is a -perpetual repetition of similar disasters to be prevented? - -We could conceive, indeed, a system of paper currency which might in -a great degree, if not altogether, prevent these terrible disasters. -If the nation possessed a circulation of bank-notes capable of being -_extended_ in proportion as the metallic circulation was withdrawn by -the exchanges of the commerce in grain, as was the law during the war, -the industry of the country might be vivified and sustained during -the absence of the precious metals, and their want be very little, if -at all, experienced. But it is well known that not only is there no -provision made by law, or the policy of government, for an _extension_ -of the paper circulation when the metallic currency is withdrawn, but -the very reverse is done. There is a provision, and a most stringent -and effectual one, made for the _contraction_ of the currency at the -very moment when its expansion is most required, and when the national -industry is threatened with starvation in consequence of the vast and -ceaseless abstraction of the precious metals which free trade in grain -necessarily establishes. When free trade is sending gold headlong -out of the country, to buy food, Sir Robert Peel's law sends the -bank-notes, public and private, back into the banker's coffers, and -leaves the industry of the country without _either_ of its necessary -supports! Beyond all question, it is the double operation of free trade -in sending the sovereigns in enormous quantities out of the country, -and of the monetary laws, in contracting the circulation of paper in a -similar degree, and at the same time, which has done all the mischief, -and produced that widespread ruin which has now overtaken nearly all -the interests--but most of all the _commercial_ interests--in the -state. That ruin is easily explained, when it is recollected what -government has done by legislative enactment, on free-trade principles, -during the last five years. - -1. They first, by the Acts of 1844 and 1845, restricted the paper -circulation of the whole empire, including Ireland, to £32,000,000 in -round numbers. For every note issued, either by the Bank of England or -private banks, above that sum, they required these establishments to -have sovereigns in their coffers. - -2. Having thus restricted the currency, by which the industry of the -country was to be paid and supplied, to an amount barely sufficient for -its _ordinary_ wants, they next proceeded to encourage to the greatest -degree railway speculation, and pass bills through parliament requiring -an _extraordinary_ expenditure, in the next four years, of £333,000,000 -sterling. - -3. Having thus contracted the currency of the nation, and doubled its -work, they next proceeded to introduce, in 1846 and the two following -years, the free-trade system, under the operation of which our specie -was sent out of the country in enormous quantities, in exchange -for food, and by the operation of the law the paper proportionally -contracted.[20] - -4. When this extraordinary system of augmenting the work of the people, -at the time the currency which was to sustain it was withdrawn, had -produced its natural and unavoidable effects, and landed the nation, in -October 1847, in such a state of embarrassment as rendered a suspension -of the law unavoidable, and induced a commercial crisis of unexampled -severity and duration, the authors of the monetary measures still -clung to them as the sheet-anchor of the state, and still upheld them, -although it is as certain as any proposition in Euclid, that, combined -with a free trade in grain, they _must_ produce a constant succession -of similar catastrophes, until the nation, like a patient exhausted by -repeated shocks of apoplexy, perishes under their effects. - -It may be doubted whether the annals of the world can produce another -example of insane and suicidal policy on so great a scale as has been -exhibited by the government of England of late years, in its West -India measures, and the _simultaneous_ establishment of free trade and -fettered currency, and a railway mania, in the heart of the empire. - -The effect of these measures upon the internal state of the empire -has been beyond all measure dreadful, and has far exceeded the worst -predictions of the protectionists upon their inevitable effect. Proofs -on this subject crowd in on every side, and all entirely corroborative -of the prophecies of the protectionists, and subversive of all the -prognostics of the free-traders. It was confidently asserted by them -that their system would immensely increase our foreign trade, because -it would enrich the foreign agriculturists from whom we purchased -grain, and who would take our manufactures in exchange; and what -has been the result, after free-trade principles have been in full -operation for three years? Why, they have stood thus:-- - - Exports, - Imports, Declared Value. - Market Value. British and - Irish produce. - - 1845, £84,054,272 £60,111,081 - 1846, 89,281,433 57,786,875 - 1847, 117,047,229 58,971,166 - 1848, 92,660,699 53,099,011[21] - -Thus, while there has been an enormous increase going on during -the last three years in our imports, there has been nothing but a -diminution at the same time taking place in our exports. The foreigners -who sent us, in such prodigious quantities, their rude produce, would -not take our manufactures in return. They would only take our gold. -Hence our metallic treasures were hourly disappearing in exchange for -the provisions which showered in upon us; and this was the precise -time which the free-traders took to establish the monetary system -which compelled the contraction of the paper circulation _in direct -proportion to that very disappearance_. It is no wonder that our -commercial interests were thrown into unparalleled embarrassments from -such an absurd and monstrous system of legislation. - -Observe, if the arguments and expectations of the free-traders had -been well founded, the immense importation of provisions which took -place in 1847 and 1848, in consequence of the failure of the potato -crop in Ireland and the west of Scotland, should immediately have -produced a vast rise in our exports. Was this the case? Quite the -reverse; it was attended with a decline in them. The value of corn, -meal, and flour imported in the following years stood thus:-- - - 1845, £3,594,299 - 1846, 8,870,202 - 1847, 29,694,112 - 1848, 12,457,857[22] - -Now, in the year 1847, though we imported nearly thirty millions' worth -of grain, our exports were £1,200,000 _less_ than in 1845, when we only -received three millions and a half of subsistence from foreign states. -Can there be a more decisive proof that the greatest possible addition -to our importation of grain is not likely to be attended with any -increase to our export of manufactures? - -But if the great importation of grain which free-trade induces into -the British empire is not attended with any increase of our exports, -in the name of heaven, what good does it do? Feed the people cheap. -But what do they gain by that, if their wages, and the profits of -their employers, fall in the same or a greater proportion? That effect -has already taken place, and to a most distressing extent. Wages of -skilled operatives, such as colliers, iron-moulders, cotton-spinners, -calico-printers, and the like, are now not more than _half_ of what -they were when the corn-laws were in operation. They are now receiving -2s. 6d. a-day where, before the change, they received 5s. Wheat has -been forced down from 56s. to 44s.: that is somewhat above a fifth, but -wages have fallen a half. The last state of those men is worse than the -first. The unjust change for which they clamoured has proved ruinous to -themselves. - -The way in which this disastrous effect has taken place is this: -In the first place, the _balance_ of trade has turned so ruinously -against us, from the effect of the free-trade measures, that the credit -of the commercial classes has, under the operation of our monetary -laws, been most seriously confused. It appears, from the accurate -and laborious researches of Mr Newdegate, that the balance of trade -against Great Britain, during the last three years of free trade, has -been no less than £54,000,000 sterling.[23] Now, woful experience has -taught the English people that the turning of the balance of trade -is a most formidable thing against a commercial nation, and that the -practical experience of mankind, which has always regarded it as one -of the greatest of calamities, is more to be regarded than the theory -of Adam Smith, that it was a matter of no sort of consequence. When -coupled with a sliding currency scale, which contracts the circulation -of bank-notes in proportion as the specie is withdrawn, it is one -of the most terrible calamities which can befall a commercial and -manufacturing state. It is under this evil that the nation is now -labouring: and it will continue to do so, till folly of conduct and -error of opinion have been expiated or eradicated by suffering. - -In the next place, the purchase of so very large a portion as a fourth -of the annual subsistence--not from our own cultivators, who consume -at an average five or six pounds a-head of our manufactures, but -from foreign growers, who consume little or nothing--has had a most -serious effect upon the home trade. The introduction of 12,000,000 or -13,000,000 quarters of grain a-year into our markets, from countries -whose importation of our manufactures is almost equal to nothing, is -a most dreadfully depressing circumstance to our manufacturers. It is -destroying one set of customers, and that the very best we have--the -home growers--without rearing up another to supply their place. It is -exchanging the purchases by substantial yeomen, our own countrymen and -neighbours, of our fabrics, for the abstraction by aliens and enemies -of our money. It is the same thing as converting a customer into a -pauper, dependent on our support. It was distinctly foretold by the -protectionists, during the whole time the debate on the repeal of -the corn laws was going forward, that this effect would take place: -that the peasants of the Ukraine and the Vistula did not consume a -hundredth part as much, per head, as those of East Lothian or Essex; -and that to substitute the one for the other was to be penny wise and -pound foolish. These predictions, however, were wholly disregarded; -the thing was done; and now it is found that the result has been _much -worse_ than was anticipated--for not only has it gratuitously and -unnecessarily crippled the means of a large part of the home consumers -of our manufactures, but it has universally shaken and contracted -credit, especially in the commercial districts, by the drain it has -induced upon the precious metals. These evils, from the earliest times, -have been felt by mercantile nations; but they were the result, in -previous cases, of adverse circumstances or necessity. It was reserved -for this age to introduce them voluntarily, and regard them as the last -result of political wisdom. - -In the third place, the reduction of prices, and diminution in the -remuneration of industry, which has taken place from the introduction -of free trade, and the general admission of foreign produce and -manufactures, raised in countries where production is cheap, because -money is scarce and taxes light, to compete with one where production -is dear, because money is plentiful and taxes heavy, cannot of course -fail to be attended--and that from the very outset--with the most -disastrous effects upon the general interests of the empire, and -especially such of them as are engaged in trade and manufactures. -Suppose that, anterior to the monetary and free-trade changes intended -to force down prices, the annual value of the industry of the country -stood thus, which we believe to be very near the truth:-- - - Lands and minerals, £300,000,000 - Manufactures and commerce - of all sorts, 200,000,000 - ------------ - Deduct taxes and - local burdens, £80,000,000 - Interest of mortgages, 50,000,000 - ----------- - 130,000,000 - ------------ - Clear to national industry, £370,000,000 - -But if prices are forced down a half, which, at the very least, may be -anticipated, and in fact has already taken place, from the _combined_ -effect of free trade and a restricted currency, estimating each at a -fourth only, the account will stand thus,-- - - Land and minerals, £150,000,000 - Manufactures, 100,000,000 - ------------ - Total, £250,000,000 - - Deduct taxes and - rates, £80,000,000 - Interest of mortgages, 50,000,000 - ----------- - 130,000,000 - ------------ - Clear to national industry, £120,000,000 - -Thus, by the operation of these changes, in money and commerce, which -lower prices _a half_, the whole national income is reduced from -£370,000,000 to £120,000,000, or _less than a third_. Such is the -inevitable effect of a great reduction of prices, in a community of -which the major and more important part is still engaged in the work of -production; and such the illustration of the truth of the Marquis of -Granby's observation, that, under such a reduction, the whole producing -classes must lose more than they can by possibility gain, because their -loss is upon their _whole_ income, their gain only upon that portion of -their means--seldom more than a half--which is spent on the purchase of -articles, the cost of which is affected by the fall of prices. - -The most decisive proof of the universality and general sense of this -reduction of income and general distress, is to be found in the efforts -which Mr Cobden and the free-trade party are now making to effect a -great reduction in the public expenditure. During the discussion on -corn-law repeal, they told us that the change they advocated could make -no sort of difference on the income of the producing and agricultural -classes, and that it would produce an addition to the income of the -trading classes of £100,000,000 a-year. Of course, the national and -public resources were to be greatly benefited by the change; and it -was under this belief adopted. Now, however, that the change has taken -place, and its result has been found to be a universal embarrassment -to all classes and interests, but especially to the commercial, they -turn round and tell us that this effect is inevitable from the change -of prices--that the halcyon days of high rents and profits are at -an end, and that all that remains is for all classes to accommodate -themselves the best way they can to the inevitable change. They propose -to begin with Queen Victoria and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, from -whom they propose to cut off £11,000,000 a-year of income. But they -consider this perfectly safe, because, as the aspect of things, both -abroad and in our colonial empire, is so singularly pacific, and peace -and goodwill are so soon to prevail among men, they think it will be -soon possible to disband our troops, sell our ships of war, and trust -the stilling the passions and settling the disputes of nations and -races to the great principles of justice and equity, which invariably -regulate the proceedings of all popular and democratic communities. We -say nothing of the probability of such a millennium soon arriving, or -of the prognostics of its approach, which passing and recent events in -India, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Sicily, and Ireland, -have afforded, or are affording. We refer to them only as giving the -most decisive proof that the free-traders have now themselves become -sensible that their measures have produced a general impoverishment of -all classes, from the head of the state downwards, and that a great -reduction of expenditure is unavoidable, if a general public and -private bankruptcy would be averted. - -In truth, the proofs of this general impoverishment are now so numerous -and decisive, that they have brought conviction home to the minds of -the most obdurate, and, with the exception of the free-trade leaders or -agitators--whose fanaticism is, of course, fixed and incurable--have -produced a general distrust of the new principles. A few facts -will place them in the most striking light. The greatest number of -emigrants who had previously sailed from the British shores was in -1839, when they reached 129,000. But in the year 1847, the sacred year -of free trade and a fettered currency, they rose at once to 258,270. -In 1848 they were 248,000. The number this year is understood to be -still greater, and composed almost entirely, not of paupers--who, -of course, cannot get away--but of the better sort of mechanics, -tradesmen, and small farmers, who, under the new system, find their -means of subsistence dried up. The poor-rate in England has now risen -to £7,000,000 annually--as much in nominal amount as it was in 1834, -when the new poor-law was introduced by the Whig government, and, if -the change in the value of money is taken into account, half as much -more. A _seventh_ of the British empire are now supported in the two -islands by the parish rates, and yet the demands on private charity are -hourly increasing. Crime is universally and rapidly on the increase: -in Ireland, where the commitments never before exceeded 21,000, they -rose in 1848 to 39,000. In England, in the same year, they were 30,000; -in Scotland, 4908; all a great increase over previous years. It is not -surprising crime was so prolific in a country where, in the preceding -year, at least 250,000 persons _died of famine_, in spite of the noble -grant of £10,000,000 from the British treasury for their support. We -extract from the _Standard of Freedom_ the following summary of some -of the social results which have followed the adoption of liberal -principles:-- - - "STATE OF ENGLAND.--One man in every ten, according to Sir J. - Graham, a short time ago was in receipt of parish relief in this - country; but now, it appears, from a return up to June last, it - is not 10 per cent, but 11 per cent of the population who receive - parochial relief; for the persons so relieved amount to 1,700,000 - out of 15,000,000. £7,000,000 was raised annually for the relief - of the poor in England, and £500,000 in Scotland; and, taking - the amount collected for and raised in Ireland at £1,860,957, it - makes a total of £9,460,957, as the sum levied annually in the - British empire for the relief of the poor, or three times the cost - of the civil government, independently of the cost of the army - and navy. Besides the regular standing force, there is the casual - poor, a kind of disposable force, moving about and exhausting - every parish they go through. In 1815, there were 1,791 vagrants - in one part of the metropolis, and, in 1828, in the same district - in London, they had increased to 16,086. In 1832, the number was - 35,600, which had increased, in 1847, to 41,743. Moreover, there - is a certain district south of the Thames, in which, for the six - months ending September 1846, the number was 18,533, and which had - increased, during the same six months in 1847, to 44,937. And, in - the county of York, in one of the first unions in the West Riding, - in 1836, one vagrant was relieved, and, in 1847, 1,161. This - affords a pretty strong, dark, and gloomy picture of the state of - destitution prevailing in this country."--_Standard of Freedom._ - -General as the distress is which, under the combined operations of free -trade and a fettered currency, has been brought upon the country, there -is one circumstance of peculiar importance which has not hitherto, from -the efforts of the free-traders to conceal it, met with the attention -it deserves. This is the far greater amount of ruin and misery they -have brought upon the commercial classes, who supported, than the -agriculturists, who opposed them. The landed interest is only beginning -to experience, in the present low prices, the depressing effects of -free trade. The Irish famine has hitherto concealed or postponed them. -London is suffering, but not so much as the provincial towns, from -its being the great place where the realised wealth of the country is -spent. But the whole commercial classes in the manufacturing towns -have felt them for nearly two years in the utmost intensity. It is -well known that, during that short period, _one-half_ of the wealth -realised, and in course of realisation, in Manchester, Liverpool, -Birmingham, and Glasgow, has perished. There is no man practically -acquainted with these cities who will dispute that fact. The poor-rates -of Glasgow, which, five years ago, did not exceed £30,000 a-year for -the parliamentary city, have now reached £200,000; viz. - - Glasgow parish, £90,000 - Barony, 70,000 - Gorbals, 40,000 - -------- - £200,000 - -The sales by shopkeepers in these towns have not, during three years, -been a third of their average amount. All the witnesses examined before -the Lords' committee on the public distress, describe this panic of -autumn 1847 as infinitely exceeding in duration and severity anything -previously experienced; and the state of matters, and the intensity of -the shock given to public credit, may be judged of by the following -entries as to the state of the Bank of England in June 1845 and October -1847, when the law was suspended:-- - -JUNE 1845. - - | | ISSUE DEPARTMENT. | BANKING DEPARTMENT. | - | Date. | Notes | Gold and | Notes in | Gold and | - | | Issued. | Silver | Reserve. | Silver | - | | | Bullion. | | Coin. | - +--------+ | | | | - | June 7 | £29,732,000 | £15,732,000 | £9,382,000 | £779,000 | - | -- 14 | 29,917,000 | 15,917,000 | 9,854,000 | 696,000 | - | -- 21 | 30,051,000 | 16,051,000 | 9,837,000 | 587,000 | - | -- 28 | 30,047,000 | 16,047,000 | 9,717,000 | 554,000 | - -OCTOBER 1847. - - | | ISSUE DEPARTMENT. | BANKING DEPARTMENT. | - | | | | | | - | Date. | Notes | Gold and | Notes in | Gold and | - | | Issued. | Silver | Reserve. | Silver | - | | | Bullion. | | Coin. | - +--------+ | | | | - | Oct. 2 | £22,121,000 | £8,121,000 | £3,409,000 | £443,000 | - | -- 9 | 21,961,000 | 7,961,000 | 3,321,000 | 447,000 | - | -- 16 | 21,989,000 | 7,989,000 | 2,630,000 | 441,000 | - | -- 23 | 21,865,000 | 7,865,000 | 1,547,000 | 447,000 | - | -- 30 | 22,009,000 | 8,009,000 | 1,176,000 | 429,000 | - - _Commercial Crisis_, 2d edition, 132-133. - -Thus, such was the severity of the panic, and the contraction of the -currency, consequent on the monetary laws and the operation of free -trade in grain, that the nation was all but rendered bankrupt, and -half its traders unquestionably were so, when there were still eight -millions of sovereigns in the issue department of the bank which could -not be touched, while the reserve of notes in the banking department -had sunk from nearly £10,000,000, in 1845, to £1,100,000! - -So portentous a state of things, fraught as it necessarily was with -utter ruin to a great part of the best interests in the empire, was -certainly not contemplated by the commercial classes, when they -embarked in the crusade of free trade against the productive interests. -It might have been long of coming on, and certainly would never have -set in with half the severity which actually occurred, had it not been -that, not content with the project of forcing down prices by means of -the unrestricted admission of foreign produce, they at the same time -sought to augment their own fortunes by restricting the currency. It -was the _double project_, beyond all question, which proved their ruin. -They began and flattered themselves they would play out successfully -the game of "_beggar my neighbour_," but by pushing their measures -too far, it turned into one of "_beggar ourselves_." It was the -double strain of free trade and a fettered currency which brought -such embarrassment on the commercial classes, as it was the double -strain of the Spanish and Russian wars which proved the destruction -of Napoleon. It would appear to be a general law of nature, that -great measures of injustice cannot be carried into execution, either -by communities or single men, without vindicating the justice of the -Divine administration, by bringing down upon themselves the very ruin -which they have designed for others. - -The free-traders say that there is no general reaction against their -principles, and that the formation of a government on protectionist -principles is at present impossible. We shall not inquire, and have not -the means of knowing, whether or not this statement is well founded. -We are willing to accept the statement as true, and we perceive a -great social revolution, accompanied with infinite present suffering, -but most important ultimate results, growing from their obstinate -adherence to their principles in defiance of the lessons of experience. -_The free-traders are with their own hands destroying the commercial -classes, which had acquired an undue preponderance in the state._ They -must work out their own punishment before they abjure their principles. -Every day a free-trading merchant or shopkeeper is swept into the -_Gazette_, and his family cast down to the humblest ranks in society. -They go down like the Fifth Monarchy men when expelled from the House -of Commons by the bayonets of Cromwell, or the Girondists when led -to the scaffold by the Jacobins, chanting hymns in honour of their -principles when perishing from their effects:-- - - "They are true to the last of their blood and their breath, - And, like reapers, descend to the harvest of death." - -But this constancy of individuals when suffering under the measures -they themselves have introduced, however curious and respectable as -a specimen of the unvarying effect of fanaticism, whether religious -or social, on the human mind, cannot permanently arrest the march -of events; it cannot stop the effect of their own measures, any more -than the courage of the Highlanders in 1745 could prevent the final -extinction of the Jacobite cause. Let them adhere to free trade and a -fettered currency as they like, the advocates of the new measures are -daily and hourly losing their influence. Money constitutes the sinews -of war not less in social than in national contests. No cause can be -long victorious which is linked to that worst of allies, INSOLVENCY. -In two years the mercantile classes have destroyed one-half of their -own wealth; in two years more, one-half of what remains will be gone. -Crippled, discredited, ruined, beat down by foreign competition, -exhausted by the failure of domestic supplies, the once powerful -mercantile body of England will be prostrate in the dust. All other -classes, of course, will be suffering from their fall, but none in -the same degree as themselves. It is not improbable that the land -may regain its appropriate influence in the state, by the ruin which -their own insane measures have brought upon its oppressors. No one -will regret the lamentable consequences of such a change, already far -advanced in its progress, more than ourselves, who, have uniformly -foretold its advent, and strenuously resisted the commercial and -monetary changes which, amidst shouts of triumph from the whole Liberal -party, were silently but certainly inducing these results. - -Confounded at such a series of events, so widely different from -what they anticipated and had predicted from their measures, the -free-traders have no resource but to lay them all on two external -causes, for which they are not, as they conceive, responsible: these -causes are, the French and German revolutions, and the potato famine in -Ireland. - -That the revolutions on the continent of Europe have materially -affected the market for the produce of British industry, in the -countries where they have occurred, is indeed certain; but are the -Liberals entitled to shake themselves free from the consequences -of these convulsions? Have we not, for the last thirty years, been -labouring incessantly to encourage and extend revolution in all the -adjoining states? Did we not insidiously and basely support the -revolutions in South America, and call a new world into existence to -redress the balance of the old? Was not the result of that monstrous -and iniquitous interference in support of the rebels in an allied -state, to induce the dreadful monetary catastrophe of December 1825, -the severest, till that of 1847, ever experienced in modern Europe? -Did we not, not merely instantly recognise the French revolutions of -1830 and 1848, but lend our powerful aid and countenance to extend the -laudable example to the adjoining states? Did we not join with France -to prevent the King of the Netherlands from regaining the command -of Flanders in 1832, and blockade the Scheldt while Marshal Gerard -bombarded Antwerp? Did we not conclude the Quadruple Alliance to effect -the revolutionising of Spain and Portugal, and bathe both countries -for four years with blood, to establish revolutionary queens on both -the thrones in the Peninsula? Have we not intercepted the armament -of the King of Naples against Sicily, by Admiral Parker's fleet, and -aided the insurgents in that island with arms from the Tower? Did we -not interfere to arrest the victorious columns of Radetsky at Turin, -but never move a step to check Charles Albert on the Mincio? Did we -not side with revolutionary Prussia against the Danes, and aid in -launching Pio Nono into that frantic career which has spread such ruin -through the Italian peninsula? Have we not all but lost the confidence -of our old ally, Austria, from our notorious intrigues to encourage -the furious divisions which have torn that noble empire? Nay, have we -not been so enamoured of revolution, that we could not avoid showing -a partiality for it in our own dominions--rewarding and encouraging -O'Connell, and allowing monster meetings, till by the neglect of -Irish industry we landed them in famine, and by the fanning of Irish -passions brought them up to rebellion;--and establishing a constitution -in Canada which gave a decided majority in parliament to an alien -and rebel race, and, as a necessary consequence, giving the colonial -administration to the very party whom, ten years ago, the loyalists -put down with true British spirit at the point of the bayonet? All -this we have done, and have long been doing, with impunity; and now -that the consequences of such multifarious sins have fallen upon us, -in the suffering which revolution has at last brought upon the British -empire, the Liberals turn round and seek to avoid the responsibility of -the disasters produced by their internal policy, by throwing it on the -external events which they themselves have induced. - -Then as to the Irish famine of 1846, it is rather too much, after the -lapse of _three_ years, to go on ascribing the general distress of the -empire to a partial failure of a particular crop, which, after all, -did not exceed the loss of a twentieth part of the annual agricultural -produce of the British Islands. But if the free-traders' principles -had been well founded, this failure in Ireland should have been the -greatest possible blessing to their party in the state, because it -_immediately_ effected that transference of the purchase of a part of -the national food from home to foreign cultivators, which is the very -thing they hold out as such an advantage, and likely in an especial -manner to enlarge the foreign market for our manufactures. It induced -the importation of £30,000,000 worth of foreign grain in three months: -that, on the principles of the free-traders, should have put all our -manufacturers in activity, and placed the nation in the third heaven. -Disguise it as you will, the Irish potato-rot was but an anticipation, -somewhat more sudden than they expected, of the _free-trade rot_, which -was held out as a certain panacea for all the national evils. And now, -when free trade and a restricted currency have not proved quite so -great a blessing as they anticipated, the free-traders turn round and -lay it all on the substitution of foreign importation for domestic -production in Ireland, when that very substitution is the thing they -have, by abolishing the corn laws, laboured to effect over the whole -empire. - -Then as to the state of Ireland, which has at length reached the -present unparalleled crisis of difficulty and suffering, the conduct -of the Liberals has been, if possible, still more inconsistent and -self-condemnatory. For half a century past, they have been incessantly -declaiming on the mild, inoffensive, and industrious character of -the Irish race; upon their inherent loyalty to the throne; and upon -the enormous iniquity of British rule, which had brought the whole -misfortunes under which they were labouring on that virtuous people. -Nothing but equal privileges, Catholic emancipation, parliamentary -reform, burgh reform, and influence at Dublin Castle, we were told, -were required to set everything right, and render Ireland as peaceable -and prosperous as any part of the British dominions. The conduct of -James I. and Cromwell, in planting Saxon and Protestant colonies in -Ulster, was in an essential manner held up to detestation, as one of -the chief causes of the social and religious divisions which had over -since distracted the country. Well, the Liberals have given all these -things to the Irish. For twenty years, the island has been governed -entirely on these principles. They have got Catholic emancipation, -a reduction of the Protestant church, national education, corporate -reform, parliamentary reform, monster meetings, ceaseless agitation, -and, in fact, all the objects for which, in common with the Liberal -party in Great Britain, they have so long contended. And what has -been the result? Is it that pauperism has disappeared, industry -flourished, divisions died away, prosperity become general? So far -from it, divisions never have been so bitter, dissension never so -general, misery so grinding, suffering so universal, since the British -standards, under Henry II., seven centuries ago, first approached -their shores. A rebellion has broken out; anarchy and agitation, by -turning the people aside from industry, have terminated in famine; -and even the stream of English charity seems dried up, from the -immensity of the suffering to be relieved, and the ingratitude with -which it has heretofore been received. And what do the Liberals now -do? Why, they put it all down to the score of the incurable indolence -and heedlessness of the Celtic race, which nothing can eradicate, and -cordially support Sir R. Peel's proposal to plant English colonies -in Connaught, _exactly similar to Cromwell's in Ulster_, so long the -object of Liberal hatred and declamation! They tell us now that the -native Irish are irreclaimable helots, hewers of wood and drawers of -water, and incapable of improvement till directed by Saxon heads and -supported by the produce of Saxon hands. They forget that it is these -very helots whom they represented as such immaculate and valuable -subjects, the victims of Saxon injustice and Ulster misrule. They -forget that English capitalists and farmers would long since have -migrated to Ireland, and induced corn cultivation in its western and -southern provinces, were it not that Liberal agitation kept the people -in a state of menacing violence, and Liberal legislation took away -all prospect of remunerating prices for their grain produce. And thus -much for the Crowning of the Column of Free Trade, and Crushing of the -Pedestal of the Nation. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[15] "No great state can long remain quiet; if it has not an enemy -abroad, it finds one at home, as powerful bodies resist all external -attacks, but are destroyed by their internal strength."--LIVY. - -[16] "While each separately fights, all are conquered."--TACITUS. - -[17] - - Column Headings-- - A - Slavery Value. - B - After Abolition. - C - After Abolition of Apprenticeship. - D - Since passing Sugar Bill of 1846. - - A | B | C | D | Name of the - | | | | Estate. - ---------+---------+---------+---------+ - £ | £ | £ | £ | - 120,000 | 60,000 | 45,000 | 5,000 | Windsor Forest. - 65,000 | 32,000 | 26,000 | 5,000 | La Grange. - 55,000 | 27,500 | 23,000 | 3,500 | Belle Plaine. - 80,000 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 6,000 | Rabacca. - 70,000 | 25,000 | 17,000 | 3,000 | Sir W. South. - 45,000 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 5,000 | Richmond Hill. - ---------+---------+---------+---------+ - 435,000 | 194,500 | 146,000 | 27,500 | - - Slavery value, £435,000 - Estimated present value, 27,500 - -------- - Depreciation, £407,500 - Or equal to 93-1/2 per cent on original value. - - --IN RE CRUIKSHANKS, IN CHANCERY, _Times_, June 6th, 1849. - - - -[18] - - | QUANTITIES imported into the United Kingdom in the | - | month ending April 5, 1849:-- | - | | - | | | The | | - | | | produce | | - | | | of, and | | - | Species of | Imported | imported | | - | Corn, Grain, | from foreign | from, | Total. | - | Meal, and | countries. | British | | - | Flour. | | possessions| | - | | | out of | | - | | | Europe. | | - +-----------------+----------------+------------+-----------------+ - | | Qrs. Bush.| Qrs. Bls. | Qrs. Bush. | - | Wheat | 535,015 2 | | 535,015 2 | - | Barley | 150,177 5 | | 150,177 5 | - | Oats | 146,149 6 | 1 6 | 146,151 4 | - | Rye | 20,768 4 | | 20,768 4 | - | Peas | 12,313 6 | | 12,313 6 | - | Beans | 60,294 5 | | 60,294 5 | - | | | | | - | Maize or } | 184,772 4 | | 184,772 4 | - | Indian corn } | | | | - | Buck-wheat | 12 3 | | 12 3 | - | Bere or bigg | 800 0 | | 800 0 | - | +----------------+------------+-----------------+ - | Total of corn } | 1,110,304 3 | 1 6 | 1,110,306 1 | - | and grain } | | | | - | +----------------+------------+-----------------+ - | | | | | - | | Cwt. qrs. lb.| Cwt. q. lb.| Cwt. qrs. lb.| - | Wheat meal } | 307,617 0 7 | 753 3 11 | 308,370 3 18 | - | or flour } | | | | - | Barley meal | | | | - | Oat meal | 24 2 0 | | 24 2 0 | - | Rye meal | 1,571 1 9 | | 1,571 1 9 | - | Pea meal | 10 0 0 | | 10 0 0 | - | Indian meal | 10,707 1 10 | | 10,707 1 10 | - | Buck-wheat meal | 80 0 0 | | 80 0 0 | - | +----------------+------------+-----------------+ - | Total of meal } | 320,010 0 26 | 753 3 11 | 320,764 0 9 | - | and flour } | | | | - - | QUANTITIES charged with duty for Home Consumption in the | - | United Kingdom in the month ended April 5, 1849:-- | - | | - | | | The | | - | | | produce | | - | | | of, and | | - | Species of | Imported | imported | | - | Corn, Grain, | from foreign | from, | Total. | - | Meal, and | countries. | British | | - | Flour. | | possessions| | - | | | out of | | - | | | Europe. | | - +-----------------+----------------+------------+-----------------+ - | | Qrs. Bush.| Qrs. Bls. | Qrs. Bush.| - | Wheat | 559,602 2 | | 559,602 2 | - | Barley | 170,343 5 | | 170,343 5 | - | Oats | 149,784 5 | | 149,786 3 | - | Rye | 22,432 1 | 1 6 | 22,432 1 | - | Peas | 17,782 0 | | 17,782 0 | - | Beans | 59,546 5 | | 59,546 5 | - | | | | | - | Maize or } | 183,604 6 | | 183,604 6 | - | Indian corn } | | | | - | Buck-wheat | 12 3 | | 12 3 | - | Bere or bigg | 800 0 | | 800 0 | - | +----------------+------------+-----------------+ - | Total of corn } | 1,163,908 3 | 1 6 | 1,163,910 1 | - | and grain } | | | | - | +----------------+------------+-----------------+ - | | | | | - | | Cwt. qrs. lb.| Cwt. q. lb.| Cwt. qrs. lb.| - | Wheat meal } | 353,799 1 3 | 2509 0 1 | 356,308 1 4 | - | or flour } | | | | - | Barley meal | | | | - | Oat meal | 26 2 8 | | 26 2 8 | - | Rye meal | 825 3 6 | | 825 3 6 | - | Pea meal | 10 0 0 | | 10 0 0 | - | Indian meal | 10,671 1 7 | | 10,671 1 7 | - | Buck-wheat meal | 80 0 0 | | 80 0 0 | - | +----------------+------------+-----------------+ - | Total of meal } | 365,412 3 24 | 2509 0 1 | 367,921 3 25 | - | and flour } | | | | - - --_London Gazette_, 20th April, 1849. - - - -[19] - - "Advenio supplex, non ut proculcet Araxen - Consul ovans, nostræve premant pharetrata secures - Susa, nec ut rubris Aquilas figamus arenis. - Hæc nobis, hæc ante dabas. Nunc pabula tantum - Roma precor. Miserere tuæ pater optime gentis, - _Extremam defenda famam_--Satiavimus iram, - Si quâ fuit. Lugenda Getis et flenda Suëvis - Hausimus: ipsa meos exhorret Parthia casus. - - * * * * * - - Armato quondam populo, Patrumque vigebam - Consiliis. Domui terras, urbesque revinxi - Legibus: ad solem victrix utrumque cucurri, - - * * * * * - - Nunc inhonorus egens perfert miserabile pacis - Supplicium, nulloque palam circumdatus hoste, - Obsessi discrimen habet--per singula letum - Impendit momenta mihi, dubitandaque pauci - Prescribant alimenta Dies." - - --CLAUDIAN, _De Bello_. _Gildonico_, 35--100. - - - -[20] In 1845, the Bank of England notes out with the public were about -£23,000,000. Since the free trade began they have seldom been above -£18,000,000, and at times as low as £16,800,000, and that at the very -time when all the railways were going on. - -[21] Newdegate's _Letter to Mr Labouchere_, p. 12-13. - -[22] Newdegate's _Letter to Mr Labouchere_, p. 17. - -[23] - - | | | | Balance of | Balance of Trade | - | | | Total | Freight | against Britain. | - | | Total | Exports. | carried by | | - | | Imports. | Home and | British |Exports and | Deducting | - | | | Colonial. | Ships. | Imports. | Freights. | - +----+------------+------------+------------+------------+-----------+ - |1845| £84,054,272| £70,236,726| £12,979,089| £13,817,446| £838,357| - |1846| 89,281,433| 66,283,270| 13,581,165| 22,998,163| 9,416,998| - |1847| 117,047,229| 70,329,671| 18,817,742| 46,717,558| 27,899,816| - |1848| 92,660,699| 61,557,191| 14,699,491| 31,103,508| 16,404,017| - | +------------+------------+------------+------------+-----------+ - | |£383,043,633|£268,406,878| £60,077,487|£114,636,675|£54,559,188| - - --NEWDEGATE, 12-13. - - - - - - -POSTSCRIPT. - - -The discussion on the Canadian question, in the House of Lords, has -had one good effect. It has elicited from Lord Lyndhurst a most -powerful and able speech, in the best style of that great judge and -distinguished statesman's oratory; and it has caused Lord Campbell to -make an exhibition of spleen, ill-humour, and bad taste, which his -warmest friends must have beheld with regret, and which was alone -wanting to show the cogent effect which Lord Lyndhurst's speech had -made on the house. Of the nature of Lord Campbell's attack on that able -and venerable judge, second to none who ever sat in Westminster Hall -for judicial power and forensic eloquence, some idea may be formed from -the observations in reply of Lord Stanley:-- - - "I must say for myself, and I think I may say for the rest of the - house, and not with the exception of noble lords on the opposite - side of it, that they listened to that able, lucid, and powerful - speech (Lord Lyndhurst's) with a feeling of anything but pain--a - feeling of admiration at the power of language, the undiminished - clearness of intellect--(cheers)--the conciseness and force with - which my noble and learned friend grappled with the arguments - before him, and which, while on the one hand they showed that age - had in no degree impaired the vigour of that power, on the other - added to the regret at the announcement he made of his intention - so seldom to occupy the attention of the house. (Hear, hear.) - But I should have thought that if there were one feeling it was - impossible for any man to entertain after hearing that speech, it - would be a feeling in any way akin to that which led the noble and - learned lord to have introduced his answer to that speech by any - unworthy taunts. (Loud cheers.) His noble and learned friend's - high position and great experience, his high character and eminent - ability, might have secured him in the honoured decline of his - course from any such unworthy taunts--(great cheering)--as the - noble and learned lord has not thought it beneath him on such an - occasion to address to such a man. (Renewed cheering.) If the - noble and learned lord listened with pain to the able statement of - my noble and learned friend, sure am I that there is no friend of - the noble and learned lord who must not have listened with deeper - pain to what fell from him on this occasion."--_Times_, 20th June - 1849. - -And of the feeling of the country, on this uncalled-for and unprovoked -attack, an estimate may be formed from the following passage of the -_Times_ on the subject:--"This debate has also recalled to the scene -of his former triumphs the undiminished energy and vigorous eloquence -of Lord Lyndhurst. That it supplied Lord Campbell with the opportunity -of making a series of remarks in the worst possible taste on that aged -and distinguished peer is, we suspect, a matter on which neither the -learned lord nor any of his colleagues will be disposed to look back -with satisfaction."--_Times_, 22d June 1849. - -What Lord Campbell says of Lord Lyndhurst is, that he was once a -Liberal and he has now become a Conservative: that the time was when he -would have supported such a bill as that which the Canadian parliament -tendered to Lord Elgin, and that now he opposes it. There is no doubt -of the fact: experience has taught him the errors of his early ways; -he has not stood all day gazing at the east because the sun rose there -in the morning--he has looked around him, and seen the consequences of -those delusive visions in which, in common with most men of an ardent -temperament, he early indulged. In doing so, he has made the same -change as Pitt and Chatham, as Burke and Mackintosh, as Windham and -Brougham, as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey. There are men of a -different stamp--men whom no experience can teach, and no facts wean -from error--who retain in advanced life the prejudices and passions -of their youth, and signalise declining years by increased personal -ambition and augmented party spleen. Whatever Lord Lyndhurst may be, he -is not one of them. He has not won his retiring allowance by a week's -service in the Court of Chancery. He can look back on a life actively -spent in the public service, and enjoy in his declining years the -pleasing reflection, that the honours and fortune he has won are but -the just meed of a nation's gratitude, for important public services -long and admirably performed. - -The Canadian question, itself, on which ministers so narrowly escaped -shipwreck in the House of Peers (by a majority of THREE) appears to us -to lie within a very small compass. Cordially disapproving as we do -of the bill for indemnifying the rebels which the Canadian ministry -introduced and the Canadian parliament passed, we yet cannot see that -any blame attaches to Lord Elgin personally for giving the consent of -government to the bill. Be the bill good or bad, just or unjust, it -had passed the legislature by a large majority, and Lord Elgin would -not have been justified in withholding his consent, any more than -Queen Victoria would have been in refusing to pass the Navigation Laws -Bill. The passing of disagreeable and often unjust laws, by an adverse -majority, is a great evil, no doubt; but it is an evil inherent in -popular and responsible government, for which the Canadian loyalists -equally with the Canadian rebels contended. Let our noble brethren in -Canada reflect on this. The Conservatives of England have for long seen -a series of measures pass the legislature, which they deem destructive -to the best interests of their country; but they never talked of -separating from their Liberal fellow-citizens on that account, or -blamed the Queen because she affixed the royal assent to their bills. -They are content to let time develop the consequences of these acts; -and meanwhile they direct all their efforts to enlighten their -countrymen on the subject, and, if possible, regain a preponderance in -the legislature for their own party. The Canadian loyalists, second to -none in the British empire in courage, energy, and public spirit, will -doubtless see, when the heat of the contest is over, that it is by such -conduct that they will best discharge their duty to their country. - -_Printed by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh._ - - - - - Transcriber's Notes: - - - Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant - preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed. - - Simple typographical and spelling errors were corrected. - - Italics markup is denoted by _underscores_. - - Bold markup is denoted by =equals=. - - Greek text has been transliterated and is denoted by ~tildes~. - - Provided anchor for unanchored footnote on p. 33. - - In the table to the footnote to p. 119 the 1 6 for oats or rye - should likely be in the same row. - - On p. 122 either the total of £9,460,957 should be £9,360,957 or - one of the summands is incorrect. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. -66, No 405, July 1849, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, JULY 1849 *** - -***** This file should be named 43721-8.txt or 43721-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/7/2/43721/ - -Produced by Brendan OConnor, Richard Tonsing, Jonathan -Ingram and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Library of Early -Journals.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |