diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-02 04:53:23 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-02 04:53:23 -0800 |
| commit | b0d22b2f134116dddd421ec87b77f5365e304946 (patch) | |
| tree | 2beea93a5945cb6d1074b8988b488da419ab8f4e | |
| parent | 2ffdce0e668951d2e4c116c506b92932210a231a (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-0.txt | 2944 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-0.zip | bin | 55042 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h.zip | bin | 1340548 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/62519-h.htm | 2863 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 247902 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_001.jpg | bin | 158827 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_036.jpg | bin | 200816 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_045.jpg | bin | 157275 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_059.jpg | bin | 171139 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_104.jpg | bin | 175562 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_137.jpg | bin | 173968 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_half_title-a.jpg | bin | 4786 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_half_title-b.jpg | bin | 1124 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_iii.jpg | bin | 2409 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62519-h/images/i_title.jpg | bin | 2171 -> 0 bytes |
18 files changed, 17 insertions, 5807 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ffcfd21 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62519 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62519) diff --git a/old/62519-0.txt b/old/62519-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 833d288..0000000 --- a/old/62519-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2944 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Journey Round My Room, by Xavier de Maistre - -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: A Journey Round My Room - -Author: Xavier de Maistre - -Translator: Henry Attwell - -Release Date: June 29, 2020 [EBook #62519] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNEY ROUND MY ROOM *** - - - - -Produced by Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - [Illustration] - - A JOURNEY ROUND MY ROOM. - - [Illustration] - - - - - A JOURNEY - - ROUND MY ROOM - - BY XAVIER DE MAISTRE - - TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH WITH A NOTICE - - OF THE AUTHOR’S LIFE - - BY H. A. - - [Illustration] - - - LONDON - - LONGMANS, GREEN, READER, AND DYER. - - 1871 - - H. O. HOUGHTON AND CO., PRINTERS, RIVERSIDE PRESS, - CAMBRIDGE. - - - TO - - S. A. - - H. A. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The author of the “Voyage autour de ma Chambre” was the younger brother -of Count Joseph de Maistre, a well-known writer upon political and -philosophical subjects. Chambéry was the place of their birth, but their -family was of French origin. Both brothers were officers in the -Sardinian army; and when Savoy was conquered by the French, Xavier de -Maistre sought an asylum in Saint Petersburg, where his brother resided -in the capacity of envoy from the court of Sardinia. Xavier entered the -Russian army, distinguished himself in the war against Persia, and -attained the rank of major-general. - -Our interest in the “Voyage” is heightened by our knowledge that it was -actually written during De Maistre’s forty-two days’ arrest at Turin, -referred to in the third chapter. He sent the manuscript, which he -regarded as a mere playful effort of his imagination, for his brother’s -perusal. Joseph was pleased with the book; and Xavier, who had an almost -filial affection for his brother, was soon afterwards agreeably -surprised by receiving, in place of his manuscript, the “Voyage” in -print. - -This success encouraged him to begin a sequel to the “Voyage.” Joseph, -however, disapproved of this new attempt. The “Expédition Nocturne” was, -notwithstanding, finished, and was published some years later. - -Xavier de Maistre’s next production (1811) was “Le Lépreux de la Cité -d’Aoste,” a very touching and gracefully written narrative. It occupies -but a few pages; and, as it is to be found in almost every good -anthology of French literature, is perhaps the best known of our -author’s works. - -His other books are “Les Prisonniers du Caucase” (1815) and “La Jeune -Sibérienne,” both of them charming works, containing faithful pictures -of domestic scenes with which we are little familiar through other -sources. - -From his childhood Xavier de Maistre was devoted to painting. He -deservedly gained considerable reputation as a painter of miniature -portraits and landscapes. - -Nor did he neglect science while devoting himself to art and -literature. He applied himself so successfully to the study of chemistry -that he was able to communicate several valuable “Mémoires” to the -Academy of Turin, of which he was a member. - -Xavier de Maistre died (1852) at an advanced age in his adopted country, -where he had married, and which he only quitted once, for a brief -season. - - * * * * * - -Some apology for publishing this translation is perhaps necessary. - -Although in France the “Voyage” retains the high esteem in which it has -been held for half a century, it is hardly known in England, except by -those who are familiar with the French language and literature. - -During the last twenty years the proportion of educated persons in this -country who are unable to enjoy a French book in the original has -greatly decreased. Still, there are some to whom a translation of this -delightful work may be acceptable. - -To them I offer the pleasant labor of a few leisure hours; but not -without assuring them that, in endeavoring to reproduce faithfully the -author’s ideas, I have felt at every paragraph how true it is that “_le -style ne se traduit pas_,”--“style is untranslatable.” - - * * * * * - -The _headings_ of the chapters are not De Maistre’s. They appear in -Tardieu’s pretty little edition of the “Voyage.” The miniatures, by M. -Veyssier, are from the same source. - -H. A. - -Barnes, Surrey. - - _Autumn, 1871._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER PAGE - -PREFACE iii - -I. A BOOK OF DISCOVERIES (_Vignette._) 1 - -II. EULOGY OF THE JOURNEY 4 - -III. LAWS AND CUSTOMS 7 - -IV. LATITUDE AND TOPOGRAPHY 11 - -V. THE BED 14 - -VI. FOR METAPHYSICIANS 17 - -VII. THE SOUL 21 - -VIII. THE ANIMAL 24 - -IX. PHILOSOPHY 26 - -X. THE PORTRAIT 29 - -XI. ROSE AND WHITE 33 - -XII. THE HILLOCK (_Vignette_.) 36 - -XIII. A HALT 37 - -XIV. JOANNETTI 38 - -XV. A DIFFICULTY 42 - -XVI. SOLUTION (_Vignette_) 45 - -XVII. ROSE 49 - -XVIII. RESERVE 52 - -XIX. A TEAR 54 - -XX. ALBERT AND CHARLOTTE 57 - -XXI. A FRIEND (_Vignette_) 59 - -XXII. JENNY 64 - -XXIII. THE PICTURE GALLERY 66 - -XXIV. PAINTING AND MUSIC 69 - -XXV. AN OBJECTION 72 - -XXVI. RAPHAEL 75 - -XXVII. A PERFECT PICTURE 78 - -XXVIII. THE UPSET CARRIAGE 81 - -XXIX. MISFORTUNE 87 - -XXX. CHARITY 91 - -XXXI. INVENTORY 93 - -XXXII. MISANTHROPY 95 - -XXXIII. CONSOLATION 98 - -XXXIV. CORRESPONDENCE 99 - -XXXV. THE WITHERED ROSE (_Vignette_) 104 - -XXXVI. THE LIBRARY 109 - -XXXVII. ANOTHER WORLD 113 - -XXXVIII. THE BUST 118 - -XXXIX. A DIALOGUE 121 - -XL. IMAGINATION 129 - -XLI. THE TRAVELLING-COAT 132 - -XLII. ASPASIA’S BUSKIN (_Vignette_) 137 - -LIBERTY 150 - -Circumstances beyond my control prevented my seeing any proof of these -pages. Such Latinized forms as _behavior_ and _favor_; the misplaced -hyphen on the first line of page 25; the double _l_ in _skilful_ (p. -138, last line but one); and the frequent suppression of the former of -two parenthetical commas (as before I, p. 19, l. 18),--these are the few -deviations from my manuscript for which the printer is responsible. - -The reader will oblige by substituting _comfortable_ for _agreeable_ on -page 38 line 3, _sweet_ for _lovely_ on page 68 line 4, and -_ignoramuses_ for _ignorant_ on page 78 line 12. - -H. A. - - - - -[Illustration: - -WEYSSIER D. GUILLAUME, S. -] - - - - -I. - -_A Book of Discoveries._ - - -What more glorious than to open for one’s self a new career,--to appear -suddenly before the learned world with a book of discoveries in one’s -hand, like an unlooked-for comet blazing in the empyrean! - -No longer will I keep my book in obscurity. Behold it, gentlemen; read -it! I have undertaken and performed a forty-two days’ journey round my -room. The interesting observations I have made, and the constant -pleasure I have experienced all along the road, made me wish to publish -my travels; the certainty of being useful decided the matter. And when -I think of the number of unhappy ones to whom I offer a never failing -resource for weary moments, and a balm for the ills they suffer, my -heart is filled with inexpressible satisfaction. The pleasure to be -found in travelling round one’s room is sheltered from the restless -jealousy of men, and is independent of Fortune. - -Surely there is no being so miserable as to be without a retreat to -which he can withdraw and hide himself from the world. Such a -hiding-place will contain all the preparations our journey requires. - -Every man of sense will, I am sure, adopt my system, whatever may be his -peculiar character or temperament. Be he miserly or prodigal, rich or -poor, young or old, born beneath the torrid zone or near the poles, he -may travel with me. Among the immense family of men who throng the -earth, there is not one, no, not one (I mean of those who inhabit -rooms), who, after reading this book can refuse his approbation of the -new mode of travelling I introduce into the world. - - - - -II. - -_Eulogy of the Journey._ - - -I might fairly begin the eulogium of my journey by saying it has cost me -nothing. This point merits attention. It will gain for it the praise and -welcome of people of moderate means. And not of these only: there is -another class with whom its success will, on this account, be even more -certain. “And who are they?” you ask. Why, the rich, to be sure. And -then, again, what a comfort the new mode of travelling will be to the -sick; they need not fear bleak winds or change of weather. And what a -thing, too, it will be for cowards; they will be safe from pitfalls or -quagmires. Thousands who hitherto did not dare, others who were not -able, and others to whom it never occurred to think of such a thing as -going on a journey, will make up their minds to follow my example. -Surely, the idlest person will not hesitate to set out with me on a -pleasure jaunt which will cost him neither trouble nor money. Come then, -let us start! Follow me, all ye whom the “pangs of despised love” or the -slights of friends keep within doors,--follow me far from the meannesses -and unkindnesses of men. Be ye unhappy, sick, or weary, follow me. Ye -idle ones, arouse ye, one and all. And ye who brood over gloomy projects -of reform and retreat, on account of some infidelity,--amiable -anchorites of an evening’s duration, who renounce the world for your -boudoir,--come, and be led by me to banish these dark thoughts; you lose -a moment’s pleasure without gaining a moment’s wisdom! Deign to -accompany me on my journey. We will jog cheerfully and by easy stages -along the road of travellers who have seen both Rome and Paris. No -obstacle shall hinder our way; and giving ourselves up gaily to -Imagination, we will follow her whithersoever it may be her good -pleasure to lead us. - - - - -III. - -_Laws and Customs._ - - -How many inquisitive people there are in the world! I am sure my reader -wants to know why the journey round my room has lasted forty-two days -rather than forty-three, or any other number. But how am I to tell him -what I do not know myself? All I can say is, that if the work is too -long for him, it is not my fault that it was not shorter. I dismiss all -the pride a traveller may fairly indulge in, and candidly declare I -should have been well contented, for my part, with a single chapter. It -is quite true that I made myself as comfortable as possible in my room; -but still, alas, I was not my own master in the matter of leaving it. -Nay, more, I even think that had it not been for the intervention of -certain powerful persons who interested themselves in me, and towards -whom I entertain a lively sense of gratitude, I should have had ample -time for producing a folio volume; so prejudiced in my favor were the -guardians who made me travel round my room. - -And yet, intelligent reader, see how wrong these men were; and -understand clearly, if you can, the argument I am about to put before -you. - -Can there be anything more natural or more just than to draw your sword -upon a man who happens to tread on your toe, who lets slip a bitter word -during a moment’s vexation caused by your own thoughtlessness, or who -has had the misfortune to gain favor in the sight of your lady-love? - -Under such or like circumstances, you betake yourself to a meadow, and -there, like Nicole and the “Bourgeois Gentilhomme,” you try to give the -fourth cut while your adversary parries tierce; and, that vengeance may -be fully satisfied, you present your naked breast to him, thus running -the risk of being killed by your enemy, in order to be avenged. - -It is evident that such a custom is most reasonable. And yet, we -sometimes meet with people who disapprove of so praiseworthy a course. -But what is about of a piece with the rest of the business is, that the -very persons who condemn the course we have described, and who would -have it regarded as a grave error, would judge still more harshly any -one who refused to commit it. More than one unlucky wight has, by -endeavoring to conform to their opinion, lost his reputation and his -livelihood. So that, when people are so unfortunate as to have an affair -of honor to settle, it would not be a bad plan to cast lots to see -whether it shall be arranged according to law, or according to fashion. -And as law and fashion are at variance, the judges might decide upon -their sentence by the aid of dice,--and probably it is to some such -decision as this that we should have to refer in order to explain how it -came about that my journey lasted just two and forty days. - - - - -IV. - -_Latitude and Topography._ - - -My room is situated in latitude 48° east, according to the measurement -of Father Beccaria. It lies east and west, and, if you keep very close -to the wall, forms a parallelogram of thirty-six steps round. My journey -will, however, be longer than this; for I shall traverse my room up and -down and across, without rule or plan. I shall even zig-zag about, -following, if needs be, every possible geometrical line. I am no admirer -of people who are such masters of their every step and every idea that -they can say: “To-morrow I shall make three calls, write four letters, -and finish this or that work.” So open is my soul to all sorts of ideas, -tastes, and feelings; so greedily does it absorb whatever comes first, -that ... but why should it deny itself the delights that are scattered -along life’s hard path? So few and far between are they, that it would -indeed be senseless not to stop, and even turn aside, to gather such as -are placed within our reach. Of these joys, none, to my thinking, is -more attractive than following the course of one’s fancies as a hunter -follows his game, without pretending to keep to any set route. Hence, -when I travel in my room, I seldom keep to a straight line. From my -table I go towards a picture which is placed in a corner; thence I set -out in an oblique direction for the door; and then, although on starting -I had intended to return to my table, yet, if I chance to fall in with -my arm-chair on the way, I at once, and most unceremoniously, take up my -quarters therein. By the by, what a capital article of furniture an -arm-chair is, and, above all, how convenient to a thoughtful man. In -long winter evenings it is ofttimes sweet, and always prudent, to -stretch yourself therein, far from the bustle of crowded assemblies. A -good fire, some books and pens; what safeguards these against _ennui_! -And how pleasant, again, to forget books and pens in order to stir the -fire, while giving one’s self up to some agreeable meditation, or -stringing together a few rhymes for the amusement of friends, as the -hours glide by and fall into eternity, without making their sad passage -felt. - - - - -V. - -_The Bed._ - - -Next to my arm-chair, as we go northward, my bed comes into sight. It is -placed at the end of my room, and forms the most agreeable perspective. -It is very pleasantly situated, and the earliest rays of the sun play -upon my curtains. On fine summer days I see them come creeping, as the -sun rises, all along the whitened wall. The elm-trees opposite my -windows divide them into a thousand patterns as they dance upon my bed, -and, reflecting its rose-and-white color, shed a charming tint around. I -hear the confused twitter of the swallows that have taken possession of -my roof, and the warbling of the birds that people the elms. Then do a -thousand smiling fancies fill my soul; and in the whole universe no -being enjoys an awakening so delightful, so peaceful, as mine. - -I confess that I do indeed revel in these sweet moments, and prolong as -far as I can the pleasure it gives me to meditate in the comfortable -warmth of my bed. What scene can adapt itself so well to the -imagination, and awaken such delicious ideas, as the couch on which my -fancy floats me into the forgetfulness of self! Here it is that the -mother, intoxicated with joy at the birth of a son, forgets her pangs. -Hither it is that fantastic pleasures, the fruit of fancy or of hope, -come to agitate us. In a word, it is here that during one half of a -life-time we forget the annoyances of the other half. - -But what a host of thoughts, some agreeable, some sad, throng my brain -at once,--strange minglings of terrible and delicious pictures! - -A bed sees us born, and sees us die. It is the ever changing scene upon -which the human race play by turns interesting dramas, laughable farces, -and fearful tragedies. It is a cradle decked with flowers. A throne of -love. A sepulchre. - - - - -VI. - -_For Metaphysicians._ - - -This chapter is for metaphysicians, and for metaphysicians only. It will -throw a great light upon man’s nature. It is the prism with which to -analyze and decompose the human faculties, by separating the animal -force from the pure rays of intellect. - -It would be impossible for me to explain how I came to burn my fingers -at the very onset of my journey without expounding to my reader my -system of the _Soul and the Animal_.[1] And besides, this metaphysical -discovery has so great an influence on my thoughts and actions, that it -would be very difficult to understand this book if I did not begin by -giving the key to its meaning. - -Various observations have enabled me to perceive that man is made up of -a soul and an animal. These two beings are quite distinct, but they are -so dovetailed one into the other, or upon the other, that the soul must, -if we would make the distinction between them, possess a certain -superiority over the animal. - -I have it from an old professor (and this is as long ago as I can -remember), that Plato used to call matter the OTHER. This is all very -well; but I prefer giving this name _par excellence_ to the animal which -is joined to our soul. This substance it is which is really the OTHER, -and which plays such strange tricks upon us. It is easy enough to see, -in a sort of general way, that man is twofold. But this, they say, is -because he is made up of soul and body; and they accuse the body of I -don’t know how many things, and very inconsistently, seeing that it can -neither feel nor think. It is upon the animal that the blame should -fall; upon that sensitive being, which, while it is perfectly distinct -from the soul, is a real individual, enjoying a separate existence, with -its own tastes, inclinations, and will, and which only ranks higher than -other animals, because it is better educated than they, and is provided -with more perfect organs. - -Ladies and gentlemen! Be as proud of your intellect as you please, but -be very suspicious of the OTHER, especially when you are together. - -I have experimented I know not how oft, upon the union of these two -heterogeneous creatures. I have, for instance, clearly ascertained that -the soul can make herself obeyed by the animal, and that, by way of -retaliation, the animal makes the soul act contrary to its own -inclination. The one, as a rule, has the legislative, the other the -executive power, but these two are often at variance. The great business -of a man of genius is to train his animal well, in order that it may go -alone, while the soul, delivered from this troublesome companion, can -raise herself to the skies. - -But this requires illustration. When, sir, you are reading a book, and -an agreeable idea suddenly enters your imagination, your soul attaches -herself to the new idea at once, and forgets the book, while your eyes -follow mechanically the words and lines. You get through the page -without understanding it, and without remembering what you have read. -Now this is because your soul, having ordered her companion to read to -her, gave no warning of the short absence she contemplated, so that the -OTHER went on reading what the soul no longer attended to. - - - - -VII. - -_The Soul._ - - -Is not this clear to you? Let us illustrate it still farther. - -One day last summer at an appointed hour, I was wending my way to court. -I had been sketching all day, and my soul, choosing to meditate upon -painting, left the duty of taking me to the king’s palace to the animal. - -How sublime, thought my soul, is the painter’s art! Happy is he who is -touched by the aspect of nature, and does not depend upon his pictures -for a livelihood; who does not paint solely as a pastime, but struck -with the majesty of a beautiful form, and the wonderful way in which the -light with its thousand tints plays upon the human face, strives to -imitate in his works the wonderful effects of nature! Happy, too, is the -painter who is led by love of landscape into solitary paths, and who can -make his canvas breathe the feeling of sadness with which he is inspired -by a gloomy wood or a desert plain. His productions imitate and -reproduce nature. He creates new seas and dark caverns into which the -sun has never peered. At his command, coppices of evergreens spring into -life, and the blue of heaven is reflected on his pictures. He darkens -the air, and we hear the roar of the storm. At another time he presents -to the eye of the wondering beholder the delightful plains of ancient -Sicily: startled nymphs flee the pursuit of a satyr through the bending -reeds; temples of stately architecture raise their grand fronts above -the sacred forest that surrounds them. Imagination loses itself among -the still paths of this ideal country. Bluish backgrounds blend with -the sky, and the whole landscape, reproduced in the waters of a tranquil -river, forms a scene that no tongue can describe. - -While my soul was thus reflecting, the _other_ went its way, Heaven -knows whither! Instead of going to court, according to orders, it took -such a turn to the left, that my soul just caught it up at Madame de -Hautcastel’s door, full half a mile from the Palais Royal! - -Now I leave the reader to fancy what might have been the consequence had -the truant visited so beautiful a lady alone. - - - - -VIII. - -_The Animal._ - - -If it is both useful and agreeable to have a soul so disengaged from -matter that we can let it travel alone whenever we please, this has also -its disadvantages. Through this, for instance, I got the burn I spoke of -a few chapters back. - -I generally leave my animal to prepare my breakfast. Its care it is to -slice and toast my bread. My coffee it makes admirably, and helps itself -thereto without my soul’s concerning herself in the transaction. But -this is a very rare and nice performance to execute; for though it is -easy enough while busied in a mechanical operation, to think of -something quite different, it is extremely difficult, so to speak, to -watch one’s self-work, or, if I express myself systematically, to employ -one’s soul to examine the animal’s progress, and to watch its work -without taking part in it. This is the most extraordinary metaphysical -feat a man can execute. - -I had rested my tongs on the embers to toast my bread, and some little -time afterwards, while my soul was travelling, a burning stick fell on -the hearth: my poor animal seized the tongs, and I burnt my fingers. - - - - -IX. - -_Philosophy_. - - -I hope I have sufficiently developed my ideas in the foregoing chapters -to furnish you, good reader, with matter for thought, and to enable you -to make discoveries along the brilliant career before you. You cannot be -other than highly satisfied with yourself if you succeed in the long run -in making your soul travel alone. The pleasure afforded by this power -will amply counterbalance any inconvenience that may arise from it. What -more flattering delight is there than the being able thus to expand -one’s existence, to occupy at once earth and heaven, to double, so to -speak, one’s being? Is it not man’s eternal, insatiable desire to -augment his strength and his faculties, to be where he is not, to -recall the past, and live in the future? He would fain command armies, -preside over learned societies, and be the idol of the fair. And, if he -attain to all this, then he regrets the tranquillity of a rural life, -and envies the shepherd’s cot. His plans, his hopes, are constantly -foiled by the ills that flesh is heir to. He can find happiness nowhere. -A quarter of an hour’s journey with me will show him the way to it. - -Ah, why does he not leave to the OTHER those carking cares and that -tormenting ambition. Come, my poor friend! Make but an effort to burst -from thy prison, and from the height of heaven, whither I am about to -lead thee, from the midst of the celestial shades, from the empyrean -itself, behold thy _animal_ run along the road to fortune and honor. See -with what gravity it walks among men. The crowd falls back with respect, -and believe me, none will remark that it is alone. The people among -whom it walks care very little whether it has a soul or not, whether it -thinks or not. A thousand sentimental women will fall desperately in -love with it without discovering the defect. It may even raise itself -without thy soul’s help to the highest favor and fortune. Nay, I should -not be astonished if, on thy return from the empyrean, thy soul, on -getting home, were to find itself in the _animal_ of a noble lord. - - - - -X. - -_The Portrait._ - - -But you must not let yourself think that instead of keeping my promise -to describe my journey round my room, I am beating the bush to see how I -can evade the difficulty. This would be a great mistake on your part. -For our journey is really going on; and while my soul, falling back on -her own resources, was in the last chapter threading the mazy paths of -metaphysics, I had so placed myself in my arm-chair, that its front legs -being raised about two inches from the floor, I was able, by balancing -myself from left to right, to make way by degrees, and at last, almost -without knowing it, to get close to the wall, for this is how I travel -when not pressed for time. When there, my hand possessed itself by a -mere mechanical effort, of the portrait of Madame de Hautcastel; and the -OTHER amused itself with removing the dust which covered it. This -occupation produced a feeling of quiet pleasure, and the pleasure was -conveyed to my soul, lost though it was in the vast plains of heaven. -For it is well to observe that when the mind is thus travelling in -space, it still keeps linked to the senses by a secret and subtle chain; -so that, without being distracted from its occupations, it can -participate in the peaceful joys of the OTHER. But should this pleasure -reach a certain pitch, or should the soul be struck by some unexpected -vision, it forthwith descends swift as lightning, and resumes its place. - -And that is just what happened to me while dusting the picture. Whilst -the cloth removed the dust, and brought to light those flaxen curls and -the wreaths of roses that crowned them, my soul, from the sun, whither -she had transported herself, felt a slight thrill of pleasure, and -partook sympathetically of the joy of my heart. This joy became less -indistinct and more lively, when, by a single sweep, the beautiful -forehead of that charming face was revealed. My soul was on the point of -leaving the skies in order to enjoy the spectacle. But had she been in -the Elysian Fields, had she been engaged in a seraphic concert, she -could not have stayed a single second longer when her companion, glowing -with the work, seized a proffered sponge, and passed it at once over the -eyebrows and the eyes, over the nose, over that mouth, ah heavens!--my -heart beats at the thought--over the chin and neck! It was the work of -an instant. The whole face seemed suddenly recalled into existence. My -soul precipitated herself like a falling star from the sky. She found -the OTHER in a state of ecstasy, which she herself increased by sharing -it. This strange and unexpected position caused all thought of time and -space to vanish from my mind. I lived for a moment in the past, and, -contrary to the order of nature, I grew young again. Yes, before me -stands that adored one; ’tis she, her very self! She smiles on me, she -will speak and own her love. That glance!... come, let me press thee to -my heart, O, my loved one, my other self! Partake with me this -intoxicating bliss! The moment was short, but ravishing. Cool reason -soon reasserted her sway, and in the twinkling of an eye I had grown a -whole year older. My heart grew icy cold, and I found myself on a level -with the crowd of heedless ones who throng the earth. - - - - -XI. - -_Rose and White._ - - -But we must not anticipate events. My hurry to communicate to the reader -my system of the soul and animal caused me to abandon the description of -my bed earlier than I ought to have done. When I have completed this -description, I will continue my journey where I interrupted it in the -last chapter. But let me pray you to bear in mind that we left one half -of my _ego_ four steps from my bureau, close to the wall, and holding -the portrait of Madame de Hautcastel. - -In speaking of my bed, I forgot to recommend every man to have, if -possible, a bed with rose and white furniture. There can be no doubt -that colors so far affect us as to make us cheerful or sad, according -to their hues. Now, rose and white are two colors that are consecrated -to pleasure. Nature in bestowing them upon the rose has given her the -crown of Flora’s realm. And when the sky would announce to the world a -fine day, it paints the clouds at sunrise with this charming tint. - -One day we were with some difficulty climbing a steep pathway. The -amiable Rosalie, whose agility had given her wings, was far in front. We -could not overtake her. All on a sudden, having reached the top of a -hillock, she turned toward us to take breath, and smiled at our -slowness. Never, perhaps, did the two colors whose praise I proclaim so -triumph. Her burning cheeks, her coral lips, her alabaster neck, were -thrown into relief by the verdure around, and entranced us all. We could -not but pause and gaze upon her. I will not speak of her blue eyes, or -of the glance she cast upon us, because this would be going from the -subject, and because I dwell upon these memories as little as possible. -Let it suffice that I have given the best illustration conceivable of -the superiority of these two colors over all others, and of their -influence upon the happiness of man. - -Here will I stop for to-day. Of what subject can I treat which would not -now be insipid? What idea is not effaced by _this_ idea? I do not even -know when I shall be able to resume my work. If I go on with it at all, -and if the reader desire to see its termination, let him betake himself -to the angel who distributes thoughts, and beg him to cease to mingle -with the disconnected thoughts he showers upon me at every moment the -image of that hillock. - -If this precaution is not taken, my journey will be a failure. - - - - -XII. - -_The Hillock._ - -[Illustration] - - - - -XIII. - -_A Halt._ - - -My efforts are useless. I must sojourn here awhile, whether I will or -not. The “Halt!” is irresistible. - - - - -XIV. - -_Joannetti._ - - -I remarked that I was singularly fond of meditating when influenced by -the agreeable warmth of my bed; and that its agreeable color added not a -little to the pleasure I experienced. - -That I may be provided with this enjoyment, my servant is directed to -enter my room half an hour before my time for rising. I hear him moving -about my room with a light step, and stealthily managing his -preparations. This noise just suffices to convey to me the pleasant -knowledge that I am slumbering,--a delicate pleasure this, unknown to -most men. You are just awake enough to know you are not entirely so, and -to make a dreamy calculation that the hour for business and worry is -still in the sand-glass of time. Gradually my man grows noisier; it is -so hard for him to restrain himself, and he knows too that the fatal -hour draws near. He looks at my watch, and jingles the seals as a -warning. But I turn a deaf ear to him. There is no imaginable cheat I do -not put upon the poor fellow to lengthen the blissful moment. I give him -a hundred preliminary orders. He knows that these orders, given somewhat -peevishly, are mere excuses for my staying in bed without seeming to -wish to do so. But this he affects not to see through, and I am truly -thankful to him. - -At last, when I have exhausted all my resources, he advances to the -middle of the room, and with folded arms, plants himself there in a -perfectly immovable position. It must be admitted that it would be -impossible to show disapproval of my idleness with greater judgment and -address. I never resist this tacit invitation, but, stretching out my -arms to show I understand him, get up at once. - -If the reader will reflect upon the behavior of my servant, he will -convince himself that in certain delicate matters of this kind, -simplicity and good sense are much better than the sharpest wit. I dare -assert that the most studied discourse on the impropriety of sloth would -not make me spring so readily from my bed as the silent reproach of -Monsieur Joannetti. - -This Monsieur Joannetti is a thoroughly honest fellow, and at the same -time just the man for such a traveller as I. He is accustomed to the -frequent journeys of my soul, and never laughs at the inconsistencies of -the OTHER. He even directs it occasionally when it is alone, so that one -might say it is then conducted by two souls. When it is dressing, for -instance, he will warn it by a gesture that it is on the point of -putting on its stockings the wrong way, or its coat before its -waistcoat. - -Many a time has my soul been amused at seeing poor Joannetti running -after this foolish creature under the arches of the citadel, to remind -it of a forgotten hat or handkerchief. One day, I must confess, had it -not been for this faithful servant, who caught it up just at the bottom -of the staircase, the silly creature would have presented itself at -court without a sword, as boldly as if it had been the chief -gentleman-usher, bearing the august rod. - - - - -XV. - -_A Difficulty._ - - -“Come, Joannetti,” I said, “hang up this picture.” He had helped to -clean it, and had no more notion than the man in the moon what had -produced our chapter on the portrait. He it was, who, of his own accord, -held out the wet sponge, and who, through that seemingly unimportant -act, caused my soul to travel a hundred millions of leagues in a moment -of time. Instead of restoring it to its place, he held it to examine it -in his turn. A difficulty, a problem, gave him an inquisitive air, which -I did not fail to observe. - -“Well, and what fault do you find with that portrait?” said I. - -“O, none at all, sir.” - -“But come now, you have some remark to make, I know.” - -He placed it upright on one of the wings of my bureau, and then drawing -back a little, “I wish, sir,” he said, “that you would explain how it is -that in whatever part of the room one may be, this portrait always -watches you. In the morning, when I am making your bed, the face turns -towards me; and if I move toward the window, it still looks at me, and -follows me with its eyes as I go about.” - -“So that, Joannetti,” said I, “if my room were full of people, that -beautiful lady would eye every one, on all sides, at once.” - -“Just so, sir.” - -“She would smile on every comer and goer, just as she would on me?” - -Joannetti gave no further answer. I stretched myself in my easy-chair, -and, hanging down my head, gave myself up to the most serious -meditations. What a ray of light fell upon me! Alack, poor lover! While -thou pinest away, far from thy mistress, at whose side another perhaps, -has already replaced thee; whilst thou fixest thy longing eyes on her -portrait, imagining that at least in picture, thou art the sole being -she deigns to regard,--the perfidious image, as faithless as the -original, bestows its glances on all around, and smiles on every one -alike! - -And in this behold a moral resemblance between certain portraits and -their originals, which no philosopher, no painter, no observer, had -before remarked. - -I go on from discovery to discovery. - -[Illustration: VESSIER GUILLAUME] - - - - -XVI. - -_Solution._ - - -Joannetti remained in the attitude I have described, awaiting the -explanation he had asked of me. I withdrew my head from the folds of my -travelling dress, into which I had thrust it that I might meditate more -at my ease; and after a moment’s silence, to enable me to collect my -thoughts after the reflections I had just made, I said, turning my -arm-chair toward him,-- - -“Do you not see that as a picture is a plane surface, the rays of light -proceeding from each point on that surface ...?” - -At that explanation, Joannetti stretched his eyes to their very widest, -while he kept his mouth half open. These two movements of the human face -express, according to the famous Le Brun, the highest pitch of -astonishment. It was, without doubt, my _animal_, that had undertaken -this dissertation, while my soul was well aware that Joannetti knew -nothing whatever about plane surfaces and rays of light. The prodigious -dilatation of his eyelids caused me to draw back. I ensconced my head in -the collar of my travelling coat, and this so effectively that I -well-nigh succeeded in altogether hiding it. I determined to dine where -I was. The morning was far advanced, and another step in my room would -have delayed my dinner until night-fall. I let myself slip to the edge -of my chair, and putting both feet on the mantel-piece, patiently -awaited my meal. This was a most comfortable attitude; indeed, it would -be difficult to find another possessing so many advantages, and so well -adapted to the inevitable sojourns of a long voyage. - -At such moments, Rose, my faithful dog, never fails to come and pull at -the skirts of my travelling dress that I may take her up. She finds a -very convenient ready-made bed at the angle formed by the two parts of -my body. A V admirably represents my position. Rose jumps to her post if -I do not take her up quickly enough to please her, and I often find her -there without knowing how she has come. My hands fall into a position -which minister to her well-being, and this, either through a sympathy -existing between this good-natured creature and myself, or through the -merest chance. But no, I do not believe in that miserable doctrine of -_chance_,--in that unmeaning word! I would rather believe in animal -magnetism. - -There is such reality in the relations which exist between these two -animals, that when out of sheer distraction, I put my two feet on the -mantel-piece and have no thought at all about a _halt_, dinner-time not -being near, Rose, observing this movement, shows by a slight wag of her -tail the pleasure she enjoys. Reserve keeps her in her place. The -_other_ perceives this and is gratified by it, though quite unable to -reason upon its cause. And thus a mute dialogue is established between -them, a pleasing interchange of sensations which could not be attributed -to simple chance. - - - - -XVII. - -_Rose._ - - -Do not reproach me for the prolixity with which I narrate the details of -my journey. This is the wont of travellers. When one sets out for the -ascent of Mont Blanc, or to visit the yawning tomb of Empedocles, the -minutest particulars are carefully described. The number of persons who -formed the party, the number of mules, the quality of the food, the -excellent appetite of the travellers,--everything, to the very stumbling -of the quadrupeds, is carefully noted down for the instruction of the -sedentary world. - -Upon this principle, I resolved to speak of my dog Rose,--an amiable -creature for whom I entertain sincere regard,--and to devote a whole -chapter to her. - -We have lived together for six years, and there has never been any -coolness between us, and if ever any little disputes have arisen, the -fault has been chiefly on my side, and Rose has always made the first -advances towards reconciliation. - -In the evening, if she has been scolded she withdraws sadly and without -a murmur. The next morning at daybreak, she stands near my bed in a -respectful attitude, and at her master’s slightest movement, at the -first sign of his being awake, she makes her presence known by rapidly -tapping my little table with her tail. - -And why should I refuse my affection to this good-natured creature that -has never ceased to love me ever since we have lived together? My memory -would not enable me to enumerate all the people who have interested -themselves in me but to forget me. I have had some few friends, several -lady-loves, a host of acquaintances; and now I am to all these people as -if I had never lived; they have forgotten my very name. - -And yet what protestations they made, what offers of assistance! Their -purse was at my disposal, and they begged me to depend upon their -eternal and entire friendship! - -Poor Rose, who has made me no promises, renders me the greatest service -that can be bestowed upon humanity, for she has always loved her master, -and loves him still. And this is why I do not hesitate to say that she -shares with my other friends the affection I feel towards them. - - - - -XVIII. - -_Reserve._ - - -We left Joannetti standing motionless before me, in an attitude of -astonishment, awaiting the conclusion of the sublime explanation I had -begun. - -When he saw me bury my head in my dressing-gown, and thus end my -dissertation, he did not doubt for a moment that I had stopped short for -lack of resources, and that he had fairly overcome me by the knotty -question he had plied me with. - -Notwithstanding the superiority he had hereby gained over me, he felt no -movement of pride, and did not seek to profit by his advantage. After a -moment’s silence, he took the picture, put it back in its place, and -withdrew softly on tip-toe. He felt that his presence was a sort of -humiliation to me, and his delicacy of feeling led him thus to retire -unobserved. His behavior on this occasion interested me greatly, and -gave him a higher place than ever in my affections. And he will have -too, without doubt, a place in the heart of my readers. If there be one -among them who will refuse it him after reading the next chapter, such a -one must surely have a heart of stone. - - - - -XIX. - -_A Tear._ - - -“Good Heavens!” said I to him one day, “three times have I told you to -buy me a brush. What a head the fellow has!” He answered not a word; nor -had he the evening before made any reply to a like expostulation. “This -is very odd,” I thought to myself, “he is generally so very particular.” - -“Well, go and get a duster to wipe my shoes with,” I said angrily. While -he was on his way, I regretted that I had spoken so sharply, and my -anger entirely subsided when I saw how carefully he tried to remove the -dust from my shoes without touching my stockings. “What,” I said to -myself, “are there then men who brush others’ shoes for _money_!” This -word _money_ came upon me like a flash of lightning. I suddenly -remembered that for a long time my servant had not had any money from -me. - -“Joannetti,” said I, drawing away my foot, “have you any change?” - -A smile of justification lit up his face at the question. - -“No, sir; for the last week I have not possessed a penny. I have spent -all I had for your little purchases.” - -“And the brush? I suppose that is why ...?” - -He still smiled. Now, he might very well have said, “No, sir; I am not -the empty-headed ass you would make out your faithful servant to be. Pay -me the one pound two shillings and sixpence halfpenny you owe me, and -then I’ll buy you your brush.” But no, he bore this ill treatment rather -than cause his master to blush at his unjust anger. And may Heaven -bless him! Philosophers, Christians! have you read this? - -“Come, Joannetti,” said I, “buy me the brush.” - -“But, sir, will you go like that, with one shoe clean, and the other -dirty?” - -“Go, go!” I replied, “never mind about the dust, never mind that.” - -He went out. I took the duster, and daintily wiped my left shoe, on -which a tear of repentance had fallen. - - - - -XX. - -_Albert and Charlotte._ - - -The walls of my room are hung with engravings and pictures, which adorn -it greatly. I should much like to submit them to the reader’s -inspection, that they might amuse him along the road we have to traverse -before we reach my bureau. But it is as impossible to describe a picture -well, as to paint one from a description. - -What an emotion he would feel in contemplating the first drawing that -presents itself! He would see the unhappy Charlotte,[2] slowly, and with -a trembling hand, wiping Albert’s pistols. Dark forebodings, and all the -agony of hopeless, inconsolable love, are imprinted on her features, -while the cold-hearted Albert, surrounded by bags of law papers and -various old documents, turns with an air of indifference towards his -friend to bid him good-by. Many a time have I been tempted to break the -glass that covers this engraving, that I might tear Albert away from the -table, rend him to pieces, and trample him under foot. But this would -not do away with the Alberts. There will always be sadly too many of -them in the world. What sensitive man is there who has not such a one -near him, who receives the overflowings of his soul, the gentle emotions -of his heart, and the flights of his imagination just as the rock -receives the waves of the sea? Happy is he who finds a friend whose -heart and mind harmonize with his own; a friend who adheres to him by -likeness of tastes, feeling, and knowledge; a friend who is not the prey -of ambition or greediness, who prefers the shade of a tree to the pomp -of a court! Happy is he who has a friend! - -[Illustration] - - - - -XXI. - -_A Friend._ - - -I had a friend. Death took him from me. He was snatched away at the -beginning of his career, at the moment when his friendship had become a -pressing need to my heart. We supported one another in the hard toil of -war. We had but one pipe between us. We drank out of the same cup. We -slept beneath the same tent. And, amid our sad trials, the spot where we -lived together became to us a new father-land. I had seen him exposed to -all the perils of a disastrous war. Death seemed to spare us to each -other. His deadly missives were exhausted around my friend a thousand -times over without reaching him; but this was but to make his loss more -painful to me. The tumult of war, and the enthusiasm which possesses the -soul at the sight of danger might have prevented his sighs from piercing -my heart, while his death would have been useful to his country, and -damaging to the enemy. Had he died thus, I should have mourned him less. -But to lose him amid the joys of our winter-quarters; to see him die at -the moment when he seemed full of health, and when our intimacy was -rendered closer by rest and tranquillity,--ah, this was a blow from -which I can never recover! - -But his memory lives in my heart, and there alone. He is forgotten by -those who surrounded him, and who have replaced him. And this makes his -loss the more sad to me. - -Nature, in like manner indifferent to the fate of individuals, dons her -green spring robe, and decks herself in all her beauty near the cemetery -where he rests. The trees cover themselves with foliage, and intertwine -their branches; the birds warble under the leafy sprays; the insects hum -among the blossoms: everything breathes joy in this abode of death. - -And in the evening, when the moon shines in the sky, and I am meditating -in this sad place, I hear the grasshopper, hidden in the grass that -covers the silent grave of my friend, merrily pursuing his unwearied -song. The unobserved destruction of human beings, as well as all their -misfortunes, are counted for nothing in the grand total of events. - -The death of an affectionate man who breathes his last surrounded by his -afflicted friends, and that of a butterfly killed in a flower’s cup by -the chill air of morning, are but two similar epochs in the course of -nature. Man is but a phantom, a shadow, a mere vapor that melts into -the air. - -But day-break begins to whiten the sky. The gloomy thoughts that -troubled me vanish with the darkness, and hope awakens again in my -heart. No! He who thus suffuses the east with light, has not made it to -shine upon my eyes only to plunge me into the night of annihilation. He -who has spread out that vast horizon, who raised those lofty mountains -whose icy tops the sun is even now gilding, is also He who made my heart -to beat, and my mind to think. - -No! My friend is not annihilated. Whatever may be the barrier that -separates us, I shall see him again. My hopes are based on no mere -syllogism. The flight of an insect suffices to persuade me. And often -the prospect of the surrounding country, the perfume of the air, and an -indescribable charm which is spread around me, so raise my thoughts, -that an invincible proof of immortality forces itself upon my soul, and -fills it to the full. - - - - -XXII. - -_Jenny._ - - -The chapter I have just written had often presented itself to my pen, -but I had as often rejected it. I had promised myself that I would only -allow the cheerful phase of my soul to show itself in this book. But -this project, like many others, I was forced to abandon. I hope the -sensitive reader will pardon me for having asked his tears; and if any -one thinks I should have omitted this chapter, he can tear it from his -copy, or even throw the whole book on the fire. - -Enough for me, dear Jenny, that thy heart approves it, thou best and -best-beloved of women, best and best-beloved of sisters. To thee I -dedicate my work. If it please thee, it will please all gentle and -delicate hearts. And if thou wilt pardon the follies into which, albeit -against my will, I sometimes fall, I will brave all the critics of the -universe. - - - - -XXIII. - -_The Picture Gallery._ - - -One word only upon our next engraving. - -It represents the family of the unfortunate Ugolino, dying of hunger. -Around him are his sons. One of them lies motionless at his feet. The -rest stretch their enfeebled arms towards him, asking for bread; while -the wretched father, leaning against a pillar of his prison, his eyes -fixed and haggard, his countenance immovable, dies a double death, and -suffers all that human nature can endure. - -And there is the brave Chevalier d’Assas, dying, by an effort of courage -and heroism unknown in our days, under a hundred bayonets. - -And thou who weepest under the palm-trees, poor negro woman! thou, whom -some barbarous fellow has betrayed and deserted, nay, worse, whom he has -had the brutality to sell as a vile slave, notwithstanding thy love and -devotion, notwithstanding the pledge of affection thou hast borne at thy -breast,--I will not pass before thine image without rendering to thee -the homage due to thy tenderness and thy sorrows. - -Let us pause a moment before the other picture. It is a young -shepherdess tending her flock alone on the heights of the Alps. She sits -on an old willow trunk, bleached by many winters. Her feet are covered -by the broad leaves of a tuft of _cacalia_, whose lilac blossoms bloom -above her head. Lavender, wild thyme, the anemone, centaury, and flowers -which are cultivated with care in our hot-houses and gardens, and which -grow in all their native beauty on the Alps, form the gay carpet on -which her sheep wander. - -Lovely shepherdess! tell me where is the lovely spot thou callest thy -home. From what far-off sheepfold didst thou set out at daybreak this -morning? Could I not go thither and live with thee? - -But alas, the sweet tranquillity thou enjoyest will soon vanish! The -demon of war, not content with desolating cities, will ere long carry -anxiety and alarm to thy solitary retreat. Even now I see the soldiers -advancing: they climb height after height, as they march upward towards -the clouds. The cannons’ roar is heard high above the thunder-clap. - -Fly, O shepherdess! Urge on thy flock! Hide thee in the farthest caves, -for no longer is repose to be found on this sad earth! - - - - -XXIV. - -_Painting and Music._ - - -I do not know how it is, but of late my chapters have always ended in a -mournful strain. In vain do I begin by fixing my eyes on some agreeable -object; in vain do I embark when all is calm: a sudden gale soon drifts -me away. To put an end to an agitation which deprives me of the mastery -of my ideas, and to quiet the beating of a heart too much disturbed by -so many touching images, I see no remedy but a dissertation. Yes, thus -will I steel my heart. - -And the dissertation shall be about painting, for I cannot at this -moment expatiate upon any other subject. I cannot altogether descend -from the point I just now reached. Besides, painting is to me what -Uncle Toby’s hobby-horse was to him.[3] - -I would say a few words, by the way, upon the question of preëminence -between the charming arts of painting and music. I would cast my grain -into the balance, were it but a grain of sand, a mere atom. - -It is urged in favor of the painter, that he leaves his works behind -him; that his pictures outlive him, and immortalize his memory. - -In reply to this we are reminded that musical composers also leave us -their operas and oratorios. - -But music is subject to fashion, and painting is not. The musical -passages that deeply affected our forefathers seem simply ridiculous to -the amateurs of our own day; and they are placed in absurd farces to -furnish laughter for the nephews of those whom they once made to weep. - -Raphael’s pictures will enchant our descendants as greatly as they did -our forefathers. - -This is my grain of sand. - - - - -XXV. - -_An Objection._ - - -“But what,” said Madame de Hautcastel to me one day,--“what if the music -of Cherubini or Cimarosa differs from that of their predecessors? What -care I if the music of the past make me laugh, so long as that of the -present day touch me by its charms? Is it at all essential to my -happiness that my pleasures should resemble those of my -great-grandmother? Why talk to me of painting, an art which is only -enjoyed by a very small class of persons, while music enchants every -living creature?” - -I hardly know at this moment how one could reply to this observation, -which I did not foresee when I began my chapter. - -Had I foreseen it, perhaps I should not have undertaken that -dissertation. And pray do not imagine that you discover in this -_objection_ the artifice of a musician, for upon my honor I am none, -Heaven be my witness, and all those who have heard me play the violin! - -But, even supposing the merits of the two arts to be equal, we must not -be too hasty in concluding that the merits of the _disciples_ of -Painting and Music are therefore balanced. We see children play the -harpsichord as if they were _maestri_, but no one has ever been a good -painter at twelve years old. Painting, besides taste and feeling, -requires an amount of thoughtfulness that musicians can dispense with. -Any day may you hear men who are well nigh destitute of head and heart, -bring out from a violin or harp the most ravishing sounds. - -The human ANIMAL may be taught to play the harpsichord, and when it has -learned of a good master, the soul can travel at her ease while sounds -with which she does not concern herself are mechanically produced by the -fingers. But the simplest thing in the world cannot be painted without -the aid of all the faculties of the soul. - -If, however, any one should take it into his head to ply me with a -distinction between the composition and the performance of music, I -confess that he would give me some little difficulty. Ah, well! were all -writers of essays quite candid they would all conclude as I am doing. -When one enters upon the examination of a question, a dogmatic tone is -generally assumed, because there has been a secret decision beforehand, -just as I, notwithstanding my hypocritical impartiality, had decided in -favor of painting. But discussion awakens objections, and everything -ends with doubt. - - - - -XXVI. - -_Raphael._ - - -Now that I am more tranquil, I will endeavor to speak calmly of the two -portraits that follow the picture of the shepherdess of the Alps. - -Raphael! Who but thyself could paint thy portrait; who but thyself would -have dared attempt it? Thy open countenance, beaming with feeling and -intellect, proclaims thy character and thy genius. - -To gratify thy shade, I have placed beside thee the portrait of thy -mistress, whom the men of all generations will hold answerable for the -loss of the sublime works of which art has been deprived by thy -premature death. - -When I examine the portrait of Raphael, I feel myself penetrated by an -almost religious respect for that great man, who, in the flower of his -age, excelled the ancients, and whose pictures are at once the -admiration and the despair of modern artists. My soul, in admiring it, -is moved with indignation against that Italian who preferred her love to -her lover, and who extinguished at her bosom that heavenly flame, that -divine genius. - -Unhappy one! Knewest thou not that Raphael had announced a picture -superior even to that of the _Transfiguration_? Didst thou not know that -thine arms encircled the favorite of nature, the father of enthusiasm, a -sublime genius ... a divinity? - -While my soul makes these observations, her companion, whose eyes are -attentively fixed upon the lovely face of that fatal beauty, feels quite -ready to forgive her the death of Raphael. - -In vain my soul upbraids this extravagant weakness; she is not listened -to at all. On such occasions a strange dialogue arises between the two, -which terminates too often in favor of the bad principles, and of which -I reserve a sample for another chapter. - -And if, by the way, my soul had not at that moment abruptly closed the -inspection of the gallery, if she had given the OTHER time to -contemplate the rounded and graceful features of the beautiful Roman -lady, my intellect would have miserably lost its supremacy. - -And if, at that critical moment I had suddenly obtained the favor -bestowed upon the fortunate Pygmalion, without having the least spark of -the genius which makes me pardon Raphael his errors, it is just possible -that I should have succumbed as he did. - - - - -XXVII. - -_A Perfect Picture._ - - -My engravings, and the paintings of which I have spoken, fade away into -nothing at the first glance bestowed upon the next picture. The immortal -works of Raphael and Correggio, and of the whole Italian school, are not -to be compared to it. Hence it is that when I accord to an amateur the -pleasure of travelling with me, I always keep this until the last as a -special luxury, and ever since I first exhibited this sublime picture to -connoisseurs and to ignorant, to men of the world, to artists, to women, -to children, to animals even, I have always found the spectators, -whoever they might be, show, each in his own way, signs of pleasure and -surprise, so admirably is nature rendered therein. - -And what picture could be presented to you, gentlemen; what spectacle, -ladies, could be placed before your eyes more certain of gaining your -approval than the faithful portraiture of yourselves? The picture of -which I speak is a mirror, and no one has as yet ventured to criticise -it. It is to all who look on it a perfect picture, in depreciation of -which not a word can be said. - -You will at once admit that it should be regarded as one of the wonders -of the world. - -I will pass over in silence the pleasure felt by the natural philosopher -in meditating upon the strange phenomena presented by light as it -reproduces upon that polished surface all the objects of nature. A -mirror offers to the sedentary traveller a thousand interesting -reflections, a thousand observations which render it at once a useful -and precious article. - -Ye whom Love has held or still holds under his sway, learn that it is -before a mirror that he sharpens his darts, and contemplates his -cruelties. There it is that he plans his manœuvres, studies his tactics, -and prepares himself for the war he wishes to declare. There he -practices his killing glances and little affectations, and sly poutings, -just as a player practices, with himself for spectator, before appearing -in public. - -A mirror, being always impartial and true, brings before the eyes of the -beholder the roses of youth and the wrinkles of age, without calumny and -without flattery. It alone among the councilors of the great, invariably -tells them the truth. - -It was this recommendation that made me desire the invention of a moral -mirror, in which all men might see themselves, with their virtues and -their vices. I even thought of offering a prize to some academy for this -discovery, when riper reflection proved to me that such an invention -would be useless. - -Alas! how rare it is for ugliness to recognize itself and break the -mirror! In vain are looking-glasses multiplied around us which reflect -light and truth with geometrical exactness. As soon as the rays reach -our vision and paint us as we are, self-love slips its deceitful prism -between us and our image, and presents a divinity to us. - -And of all the prisms that have existed since the first that came from -the hands of the immortal Newton, none has possessed so powerful a -refractive force, or produced such pleasing and lively colors, as the -prism of self-love. - -Now, seeing that ordinary looking-glasses record the truth in vain, and -that they cannot make men see their own imperfections, every one being -satisfied with his face, what would a moral mirror avail? Few people -would look at it, and no one would recognize himself. None save -philosophers would spend their time in examining themselves,--I even -have my doubts about the philosophers. - -Taking the mirror as we find it, I hope no one will blame me for ranking -it above all the pictures of the Italian school. - -Ladies, whose taste cannot be faulty, and whose opinion should decide -the question, generally upon entering a room let their first glance fall -upon this picture. - -A thousand times have I seen ladies, aye, and gallants, too, forget at a -ball their lovers and their mistresses, the dancing, and all the -pleasures of the fête, to contemplate with evident complaisance this -enchanting picture, and honoring it even, from time to time, in the -midst of the liveliest quadrille, with a look. - -Who then can dispute the rank that I accord to it among the masterpieces -of the art of Apelles? - - - - -XXVIII. - -_The Upset Carriage._ - - -I had at last nearly reached my bureau. So close was I, that had I -stretched out my arm I could have touched the corner nearest to me. But -at this very moment I was on the verge of seeing the fruit of all my -labors destroyed, and of losing my life. I should pass over in silence -the accident that happened to me, for fear of discouraging other -travellers, were it not that it is so difficult to upset such a -post-chaise as I employ, that it must be allowed that one must be -uncommonly unlucky--as unlucky, indeed, as it is my lot to be--to be -exposed to a like danger. - -There I was, stretched at full length upon the ground, completely upset, -and it was done so quickly, so unexpectedly, that I should have been -almost tempted to question the cause of my abject position, had not a -singing in my ears and a sharp pain in my left shoulder too plainly -demonstrated it. - -This was again the OTHER, who had played a trick upon me. - -Startled by the voice of a poor man who suddenly asked alms at my door, -and by the voice of Rose, my other half suddenly turned the arm-chair -sharply round, before my soul had time to warn it that a piece of brick, -which served as a drag, was gone. The jerk was so violent that my -post-chaise was quite thrown from its centre of gravity, and turned over -upon me. - -This was, I must own, one of the occasions upon which I had most to -complain of my soul. For instead of being vexed at herself for having -been absent, and scolding her companion for its hurry, she so far -forgot herself as to give way to the most animal resentment, and to -insult the poor fellow cruelly. - -“Idle rascal,” she said, “go and work.” (An execrable apostrophe this, -the invention of miserly, heartless Mammon.) - -“Sir,” replied the man, hoping to soften my heart, “I come from -Chambéry.” - -“So much the worse for you.” - -“I am James. You saw me when you were in the country. I used to drive -the sheep into the fields.” - -“And what do you do here?” My soul began to regret the harshness of my -first words; I almost think she regretted them a moment before they were -uttered. In like manner, when one meets in the road a rut or puddle, one -sees it, but has not time to avoid it. - -Rose finished the work of bringing me to good sense and repentance. She -had recognized Jem, who had often shared his crust with her, and she -testified by her caresses, her remembrance and gratitude. - -Meanwhile, Joannetti, who had gathered together what was left of my -dinner, his own share, gave it at once to Jem. - -Poor Joannetti! - -Thus it is that in my journey I get lessons of philosophy and humanity -from my servant and my dog. - - - - -XXIX. - -_Misfortune._ - - -Before proceeding farther, I wish to remove a suspicion which may have -crossed the minds of my readers. - -I would not for all the world be suspected of having undertaken this -journey just because I did not know how to spend my time, and was in a -manner compelled thereto by circumstances. I here affirm, and swear by -all that is dear to me, that I projected it long before the event took -place which deprived me of my liberty for forty-two days. This forced -retirement only served as an opportunity for setting out sooner than I -had intended. - -This gratuitous protestation will, I know, appear suspicious in the eyes -of some. But those who are so ready to suspect are just the persons who -will not read this book. They have enough to do at home and at their -friends’, plenty of other business to attend to. And good, honest folk -will believe me. - -Still, I freely admit that I should have preferred another season for my -journey, and that I should have chosen for its execution Lent rather -than the Carnival. The philosophical reflections, however, that have -come to me from above have greatly aided me in supporting the loss of -those pleasures which Turin offers at this noisy and exciting time. - -It is certain, I have thought to myself, that the walls of my chamber -are not so magnificently decorated as those of a ballroom. The silence -of my cottage is far less agreeable than the pleasing sounds of music -and dancing. But among the brilliant personages one meets in those -festive scenes, there are certainly some who are more sick at heart -than I am. - -And why should I picture to myself those who are more happily -circumstanced than it is my lot to be, while the world swarms with those -who are worse off? Instead of transporting myself in fancy to that -sumptuous dancing-hall, where so many beauties are eclipsed by the young -Eugénie, I need only pause a moment in one of the streets, that lead -thither, if I would learn how happy is my fate. - -For, under the porticos of those magnificent apartments, lie a crowd of -wretched people, half-naked, and ready to die from cold and misery. What -a spectacle is here! Would that this page of my book were known -throughout the universe! Would that every one knew that in this opulent -city a host of wretched beings sleep, without covering, in the coldest -winter nights, and with no pillow but the corner-stone of a street, or -the steps of a palace. - -Here, again, is a group of children, crouching together for protection -from the deadly cold; and here a trembling woman, who has no voice left -to complain with. The passers-by come and go without being touched by a -spectacle with which they are so familiar. The noise of carriages, the -shouts of intemperance, the ravishing sounds of music, mingle not -unfrequently with the wails of those unhappy creatures, and fill the ear -with doleful discord. - - - - -XXX. - -_Charity._ - - -Were any one to pass a hasty judgment upon a city, taking my last -chapter as a criterion, he would err greatly. I have spoken of the poor -we meet with, of their pitiful lamentations, and of the indifference -with which many regard them. But I have said nothing of the multitude of -charitable persons who sleep while others seek amusement, and who rise -at dawn, unobserved and unostentatiously, to succor the unfortunate. - -This aspect of city life must not be passed by in silence. I will write -it on the reverse of the page I was anxious everybody should read. - -After having divided their good things with their brethren, after -having poured balm into hearts chafed by sorrow, you may see them enter -the churches, while wearied vice sleeps upon eider-down, to offer up -their prayers to God, and to thank Him for his mercies. The light of a -solitary lamp still struggles in the sanctuary with the daylight; but -they are already prostrate before the altar. And the Almighty, angered -by the hard-hearted selfishness of men, witholds his threatening hand. - - - - -XXXI. - -_Inventory._ - - -I could not help saying a word in my journey about those poor creatures, -for the thought of them has often come across me on my way, and turned -the current of my reflections. Sometimes, struck with the difference -between their case and my own, I have suddenly stopped my -travelling-carriage, and thought my chamber extravagantly embellished! -What superfluous luxury! Six chairs, two tables, a bureau, and a -looking-glass! What vain display! My bed above all things, my rose and -white bed, with its two mattresses, seemed to rival the magnificence and -effeminacy of Asiatic monarchs. - -These meditations made me indifferent to the pleasures that had been -forbidden me. And, as I went on from one reflection to another, my fit -of philosophy became so serious that I could have seen a ball going on -in the next room, and heard the sound of violins and flutes without -stirring. I could have heard Marchesini’s melodious voice, that voice -which has so often transported me, yes, I could have listened to it -without being moved. Nay, more, I could have gazed upon the most -beauteous woman in Turin, upon Eugénie herself, adorned from head to -foot by the hands of Mademoiselle Rapoux,[4] without emotion. But, of -this last, I must confess myself not quite sure. - - - - -XXXII. - -_Misanthropy._ - - -But, gentlemen, allow me to ask a question. Do you enjoy balls and plays -as much as you used to do? As for me, I avow that for some time past -crowded assemblies have inspired me with a kind of terror. When in their -midst, I am assailed by an ominous dream. In vain I try to shake it off; -like the dream of _Athalie_, it constantly returns. Perhaps this is -because the soul, overwhelmed at the present moment by dark fancies and -painful pictures, sees nothing but sadness around it, just as a -disordered stomach turns the most wholesome food into poison. However -this may be, my dream is as follows. When I am at one of these fêtes, -among a crowd of kind, good-natured men, who dance and sing, who weep at -tragedies, and are full of frankness and cordiality, I say to myself:-- - -“If suddenly a white bear, a philosopher, a tiger, or some other animal -of this kind were to enter, and ascending to the orchestra, were to -shout out furiously: ‘Wretched beings! Listen to the truth that comes -from my lips! You are oppressed! You are the slaves of tyrants! You are -wretched and heart-sick! Awake from your lethargy! - -“‘Musicians, break your instruments about your heads, and let each one -of you arm himself with a poniard. Think no more about holidays and -rejoicings. Climb into the boxes, and stab their occupants, one and all. -And let the women steep their timid hands in blood. - -“‘Quit this room, for you are free! Tear your king from his throne, and -your God from his sanctuary.’ - -“Well, and how many of these charming men will obey this tiger’s voice. -How many of them thought, perhaps, of such deeds before they entered? -Who can tell? Was there no dancing in Paris five years ago?” - -Joannetti! shut the door and windows! I do not wish to see the light! -Let no one enter my room. Put my sword within reach. Go out yourself, -and keep away from me. - - - - -XXXIII. - -_Consolation._ - - -No, no! Stay, Joannetti, my good fellow! And you too, Rose, you who -guess what are my sorrows, and soften them by your caresses, come! - -V forms the resting-place. - - - - -XXXIV. - -_Correspondence._ - - -The upset of my post-chaise has rendered the reader the service of -shortening my journey by a good dozen chapters, for, upon getting up, I -found myself close to my bureau, and saw that I had no time left for any -observations upon a number of engravings and pictures which had yet to -be surveyed, and which might have lengthened my excursions into the -realm of painting. - -Leaving to the right the portraits of Raphael and his mistress, the -Chevalier d’Assas and the Shepherdess of the Alps, and taking the left, -the side on which the window is situated, my bureau comes into view. It -is the first and the most prominent object the traveller’s eyes light -upon, taking the route I have indicated. - -It is surmounted by a few shelves that serve as a book-case, and the -whole is terminated by a bust which completes the pyramid, and -contributes more than any other object to the adornment of this region. - -Upon opening the first drawer to the left, we find an inkstand, paper of -all kinds, pens ready mended, and sealing-wax; all which set the most -indolent person longing to write. - -I am sure, dear Jenny, that if you chanced to open this drawer, you -would reply to the letter I wrote you a year ago. - -In the opposite drawer lies a confused heap of materials for a touching -history of the prisoner of Pignerol,[5] which, my dear friends, you will -ere long read. - -Between these two drawers is a recess into which I throw whatever -letters I receive. All that have reached me during the last ten years -are there. The oldest of them are arranged according to date in several -packets; the new ones lie pell-mell. Besides these, I have several -dating from my early boyhood. - -How great a pleasure it is to behold again through the medium of these -letters the interesting scenes of our early years, to be once again -transported into those happy days that we shall see no more! - -How full is my heart, and how deeply tinged with sadness is its joy, as -my eyes wander over those words traced by one who is gone forever! That -handwriting is his, and it was his heart that guided his hand. It was to -me that he addressed this letter, and this letter is all that is left of -him! - -When I put my hand into this recess, I seldom leave the spot for the -whole day. In like manner, a traveller will pass rapidly through whole -provinces of Italy, making a few hurried and trivial observations on the -way, and upon reaching Rome will take up his abode there for months. - -This is the richest vein in the mine I am exploring. How changed I find -my ideas and sentiments, and how altered do my friends appear when I -examine them as they were in days gone by, and as they are now! In these -mirrors of the past I see them in mortal agitation about plans which no -longer disturb them. - -Here I find an event announced which we evidently looked upon as a great -misfortune; but the end of the letter is wanting, and the circumstance -is so entirely forgotten that I cannot now make out what the matter was -which so concerned us. We were possessed by a thousand prejudices. We -knew nothing of the world, and of men. But then, how warm was our -intercourse! How intimate our friendship! How unbounded our confidence! - -In our ignorance there was bliss. But now,--ah! all is now changed. We -have been compelled, as others, to read the human heart; and truth, -falling like a bomb into the midst of us, has forever destroyed the -enchanted palace of illusion. - -[Illustration] - - - - -XXXV. - -_The Withered Rose._ - - -If the subject were worth the trouble, I could readily write a chapter -upon that dry rose. It is a flower of last year’s carnival. I gathered -it myself in the Valentino.[6] And in the evening, an hour before the -ball was to begin, I bore it, full of hope, and agreeably excited, to -Madame Hautcastel, for her acceptance. She took it, and without looking -at it or me, placed it upon her toilette-table. And how could she have -given _me_ any of her attention? She was engaged in looking at herself. -There she stood before a large mirror; her hair was ornamented for a -fête, and the decorations of her dress were undergoing their final -arrangement. She was so fully occupied, her attention was so totally -absorbed by the ribbons, gauzes, and all sorts of finery that lay in -heaps before her, that I did not get a look or any sign of recognition. -There was nothing for me but resignation. I held out humbly in my hand a -number of pins arranged in order. But her pincushion being more within -reach, she took them from her pincushion, and when I brought my hand -nearer, she took them from my hand, quite indifferently, and in taking -them up she would feel about for them with the tips of her fingers, -without taking her eyes from the glass, lest she should lose sight of -herself. - -For some time I held behind her a second mirror that she might judge the -better how her dress became her, and as her face reflected itself from -one glass to another, I saw a prospective of coquettes, no one of whom -paid me the least attention. In a word, I must confess that my rose and -I cut a very poor figure. - -At last I lost all patience, and unable longer to control the vexation -that preyed upon me, I put down the looking-glass I had been holding, -and went out angrily without taking leave. - -“O! you are going?” she said, turning so as to see her figure in -profile. I made no answer, but I listened some time at the door to see -what effect my abrupt departure would have. - -“Do you not see,” she said to her maid, after a moment’s silence, “that -this caraco, particularly the lower part, is much too large at the -waist, and will want pinning?” - -Why and wherefore that rose is upon my shelf, I shall certainly not -explain, for, as I said before, a withered rose does not deserve a -chapter. - -And pray observe, ladies, that I make no reflection upon the adventure -with the rose. I do not say whether Madame de Hautcastel did well or -otherwise in preferring her dress to me, or whether I had any right to a -better reception. - -I take special care to deduce therefrom no general conclusions about the -reality, the strength, and the duration of the affection of ladies for -their friends. I am content to cast this chapter (since it is one) into -the world with the rest of my journey, without addressing it to any one, -and without recommending it to any one. - -I will only add, gentlemen, a word of counsel. Impress well upon your -minds this fact, that your mistress is no longer yours on the day of a -ball. - -As soon as dressing begins, a lover is no more thought of than a husband -would be; and the ball takes the place of a lover. - -Every one knows how little a husband gains by enforcing his love. Take -your trouble, then, patiently, cheerfully. - -And, my dear sir, do not deceive yourself; if a lady welcome you at a -ball, it is not as a lover that you are received, for you are a -husband--but as a part of the ball; and you are therefore but a fraction -of her new conquest. You are the decimal of a lover. Or, it may be, you -dance well, and so give éclat to her graces. After all, perhaps, the -most flattering way in which you can regard her kind welcome is to -consider that she hopes by treating as her cavalier a man of parts like -yourself, to excite the jealousy of her companions. Were it not for that -she would not notice you at all. - -It amounts then to this. You must resign yourself to your fate, and wait -until the husband’s _rôle_ is played. I know those who would be glad to -get off at so cheap a rate. - - - - -XXXVI. - -_The Library._ - - -I promised to give a dialogue between my soul and the OTHER. But there -are some chapters which elude me, as it were, or rather, there are -others which flow from my pen _nolens volens_, and derange my plans. -Among these is one about my library; and I will make it as short as I -can. Our forty-two days will soon be ended; and even were it not so, a -similar period would not suffice to complete the description of the rich -country in which I travel so pleasantly. - -My library, then, is composed of novels, if I must make the confession; -of novels and a few choice poets. - -As if I had not troubles enough of my own, I share those of a thousand -imaginary personages, and I feel them as acutely as my own. How many -tears have I shed for that poor Clarissa,[7] and for Charlotte’s[8] -lover! - -But if I go out of my way in search of unreal afflictions, I find in -return, such virtue, kindness, and disinterestedness in this imaginary -world as I have never yet found united in the real world around me. I -meet with a woman after my heart’s desire, free from whim, lightness, -and affectation. I say nothing about beauty; this I can leave to my -imagination, and picture her faultlessly beautiful. And then, closing -the book, which no longer keeps pace with my ideas, I take the fair one -by the hand, and we travel together over a country a thousand times more -delightful than Eden itself. What painter could represent the fairy -land in which I have placed the goddess of my heart? What poet could -ever describe the lively and manifold sensations I experience in those -enchanted regions? - -How often have I cursed that Cleveland,[9] who is always embarking upon -new troubles which he might very well avoid! I cannot endure that book -with its long list of calamities. But if I open it by way of -distraction, I cannot help devouring it to the end. - -For how could I leave that poor man among the Abaquis? What would become -of him in the hands of those savages? Still less dare I leave him in his -attempt to escape from captivity. - -Indeed, I so enter into his sorrows, I am so interested in him and in -his unfortunate family, that the sudden appearance of the ferocious -Ruintons makes my hair stand on end. When I read that passage a cold -perspiration covers me, and my fright is as lively and real as if I was -going to be roasted and eaten by the monsters myself. - -When I have had enough of tears and love, I turn to some poet, and set -out again for a new world. - - - - -XXXVII. - -_Another World._ - - -From the Argonautic expedition to the Assembly of Notables; from the -bottom of the nethermost pit to the furthest fixed star beyond the Milky -Way; to the confines of the Universe; to the gates of chaos; thus far -extends the vast field over the length and breadth of which I leisurely -roam. I lack nor time nor space. Thither, conducted by Homer, by Milton, -by Virgil, by Ossian, I transport my existence. - -All the events that have taken place between these two epochs; all the -countries, all the worlds, all the beings that have existed between -these two boundaries,--all are mine, all as lawfully belong to me as -the ships that entered the Piræus belonged to a certain Athenian. - -Above all the rest do I love the poets who carry me back to the remotest -antiquity. The death of the ambitious Agamemnon, the madness of Orestes, -and the tragical history of the heaven-persecuted family of the Atrides, -inspire me with a terror that all the events of modern times could not -excite in my breast. - -Behold the fatal urn which contains the ashes of Orestes! Who would not -shudder at the sight? Electra, unhappy sister! be comforted, for it is -Orestes himself who bears the urn, and the ashes are those of his -enemies. - -No longer are their banks like those of Xanthus or the Scamander. No -longer do we visit plains such as those of Hesperia or Arcadia. Where -are now the isles of Lemnos and Crete? Where the famous labyrinth? Where -is the rock that forlorn Ariadne washed with her tears? Theseus is seen -no more; Hercules is gone forever. The men, aye, and the heroes of our -day are but pigmies. - -When I would visit a scene full of enthusiasm, and put forth all the -strength of my imagination, I cling boldly to the flowing robe of the -sublime blind poet of Albion at the moment when he soars heavenward, and -dares approach the throne of the Eternal. What muse was able to sustain -him in a flight so lofty that no man before him ever ventured to raise -his eyes so high? From heaven’s dazzling pavement which avaricious -Mammon looked down upon with envious eyes, I pass, horror-stricken, to -the vast caverns of Satan’s sojourn. I take my place at the infernal -council, mingle with the host of rebellious spirits, and listen to their -discourse. - -But here I must confess a weakness for which I have often reproached -myself. - -I cannot help taking a certain interest in Satan, thus hurled headlong -from heaven. (I am speaking, of course, of _Milton’s_ Satan.) While I -blame the obstinacy of the rebel angel, the firmness he shows in the -midst of his exceeding great misery, and the grandness of his courage, -inspire me, against my will, with admiration. Although not ignorant of -the woe resulting from the direful enterprise that led him to force the -gate of hell and to trouble the home of our first parents, I cannot for -a moment, do what I will, wish he may perish in the confusion of chaos -on his way. I even think I could willingly help him, did not shame -withhold me. I follow his every movement, and take as much pleasure in -travelling with him as if I were in very good company. In vain I -consider that after all he is a devil on his way to the ruin of the -human race, that he is a thorough democrat not after the manner of those -of Athens, but of Paris. All this does not cure me of my prejudice in -his favor. - -How vast was his project! How great the boldness displayed in its -execution! - -When the thrice-threefold gates of hell fly open before him, and the -dark, boundless ocean discloses itself in all its horror at his feet, -with undaunted eye he surveys the realm of chaos, and then, opening his -sail-broad wings, precipitates himself into the abyss.[10] - -To me this passage is one of the noblest efforts of imagination, and one -of the most splendid journeys ever made, next to _the journey round my -room_. - - - - -XXXVIII. - -_The Bust._ - - -I should never end if I tried to describe a thousandth part of the -strange events I meet with when I travel in my library. The voyages of -Cook and the observations of his fellow-travellers Banks and Solander -are nothing compared with my adventures in this one district. Indeed, I -think I could spend my life there in a kind of rapture, were it not for -the bust I have already mentioned, upon which my eyes and thoughts -always fix themselves at last, whatever may be the position of my soul. -And when my soul is violently agitated, or a prey to despair, a glance -at this bust suffices to restore the troubled being to its natural -state. It sounds the chord upon which I keep in tune the harmonies, and -correct the discords of the sensations and perceptions of which my being -is made up. How striking the likeness! Those are the features nature -gave to the best of men. O, that the sculptor had been able to bring to -view his noble soul, his genius, his character! But what am I -attempting! Is it here that his praise should be recorded? Do I address -myself to the men that surround me? Ah! what concern is it of theirs? - -I am contented to bend before thy image, O best of fathers! Alas, that -this should be all that is left me of thee and of my father-land! Thou -quittedst the earth when crime was about to invade it; and so heavy are -the ills that oppress thy family, that we are constrained to regard thy -loss as a blessing. Many would have been the evils a longer life would -have brought upon thee! And dost thou, O my father, dost thou, in thine -abode of bliss, know the lot of thy family! Knowest thou that thy -children are exiled from the country thou hast served with so much zeal -and integrity for sixty years? - -Dost thou know that they are forbidden to visit thy grave? But tyranny -has not been able to deprive them of the most precious part of thy -heritage, the record of thy virtues, and the force of thine example. In -the midst of the torrent of crime which has borne their father-land and -their patrimony to ruin, they have steadfastly remained united in the -path marked out for them by thee. And when it shall be given them to -prostrate themselves once more beside thy tomb, thou shalt see in them -thine obedient children. - - - - -XXXIX. - -_A Dialogue._ - - -I promised a dialogue, and I will keep my word. - -It was daybreak. The rays of the sun were gilding the summit of Mount -Viso, and the tops of the highest hills on the island beneath our feet. -My soul was already awake. This early awakening may have been the effect -of those night visions which often excite in her a fatiguing and useless -agitation: or perhaps the carnival, then drawing to a close, was the -secret cause; for this season of pleasure and folly influences the human -organization much as do the phases of the moon and the conjunction of -certain planets. However this may be, my soul was awake, and wide awake, -when she shook off the bands of sleep. - -For some time she had shared, though confusedly, the sensations of the -OTHER: but she was still encumbered by the swathes of night and sleep; -and these swathes seemed to her transformed into gauze and fine linen -and Indian lawn. My poor soul was, as it were, enwrapped in all this -paraphernalia, and the god of sleep, that he might hold her still more -firmly under his sway, added to these bonds disheveled tresses of flaxen -hair, ribbon bows, and pearl necklaces. Really it was pitiful to see her -struggle in these toils. - -The agitation of the nobler part of myself communicated itself to the -OTHER; and the latter, in its turn, reacted powerfully upon my soul. - -I worked myself, at last, into a state which it would be hard to -describe, while my soul, either sagaciously or by chance, hit upon a way -of escaping from the gauzes by which it was being suffocated. I know -not whether she discovered an outlet, or whether, which is a more -natural conclusion, it occurred to her to raise them: at all events, she -found a means of egress from the labyrinth. The tresses of disheveled -hair were still there; but they were now rather help than hindrance; my -soul seized them, as a drowning man clutches the sedge on a river’s -bank, but the pearl necklace broke in the act, and the unstrung pearls -rolled on the sofa, and from the sofa to Madame Hautcastel’s floor (for -my soul, by an eccentricity for which it would be difficult to give a -reason, fancied she was at that lady’s house); then a great bunch of -violets fell to the ground, and my soul, which then awoke, returned -home, bringing with her common sense and reality. She strongly -disapproved, as you will readily imagine, of all that had passed in her -absence; and here it is that the dialogue begins which forms the subject -of this chapter. - -Never had my soul been so ungraciously received. The complaints she -thought fit to make at this critical moment fully sufficed to stir up -domestic strife; a revolt, a formal insurrection followed. - -“What!” said my soul, “is it thus that during my absence, instead of -restoring your strength by quiet sleep that you may be better able to do -my bidding, you have the insolence (the expressing was rather strong) to -give yourself up to transports which my authority has not sanctioned!” - -Little accustomed to this haughty tone, the OTHER angrily answered:-- - -“Really, madame” (this madame was meant to remove from the discussion -anything like familiarity), “really, this affectation of virtuous -decorum is highly becoming to you! Is it not to the sallies of your -imagination, and to your extravagant ideas, that I owe what in me -displeases you? What right have you to go on those pleasant excursions -so often, without taking me with you? Have I ever complained about your -attending the meetings in the Empyrean or in the Elysian fields, your -conversations with the celestial intelligences, your profound -speculations (a little raillery here, you see), your castles in the air, -and your transcendental systems? And have I not a right, when you leave -me in this way, to enjoy the blessings bestowed upon me by Nature, and -the pleasures she places before me?” - -My soul, surprised at so much vivacity and eloquence, did not know how -to reply. In order to settle the dispute amicably, she endeavored to -veil with the semblance of good-nature the reproaches that had escaped -her. But, that she might not seem to take the first steps towards -reconciliation, she affected a formal tone. “_Madame_,” she said, with -assumed cordiality.... If the reader thought the word misplaced when -addressed to my soul, what will he say of it now, if he call to mind the -cause of the quarrel? But my soul did not feel the extreme absurdity of -this mode of expression, so much does passion obscure the intellect! -“Madame,” she said, “nothing, be assured, would give me so much pleasure -as to see you enjoy those pleasures of which your nature is susceptible, -if even I did not participate in them, were it not that such pleasures -are harmful to you, injuriously affecting the harmony which....” Here my -soul was rudely interrupted, “No, no, I am not the dupe of your -pretended kindness. The sojourn we are compelled to make together in -this room in which we travel; the wound which I received, which still -bleeds, and which nearly destroyed me,--is not all this the fruit of -your overweening conceit and your barbarous prejudices? My comfort, my -very existence, is counted as nothing when your passions sway you: and -then, forsooth, you pretend that you take an interest in my welfare, and -that your insults spring from friendship.” - -My soul saw very well that the part she was playing on this occasion was -no flattering one. She began, too, to perceive that the warmth of the -dispute had put the cause of it out of sight. Profiting from this -circumstance, she caused a further distraction by saying to Joannetti, -who at that moment entered the room, “Make some coffee!” The noise of -the cups attracted all the rebel’s attention, who forthwith forgot -everything else. In like manner we show children a toy to make them -forget the unwholesome fruit for which they beg and stamp. - -While the water was being heated, I insensibly fell asleep. I enjoyed -that delightful sensation about which I have already entertained my -readers, and which you experience when you feel yourself to be dozing. -The agreeable rattling Joannetti made with the coffee-pot reëchoed in my -brain, and set all my sensitive nerves vibrating, just as a single -harp-string when struck will make the octaves resound. - -At last I saw as it were, a shadow pass before me. I opened my eyes, and -there stood Joannetti. Ah, what an aroma! How agreeable a surprise! -Coffee! Cream! A pyramid of dry toast! Good reader, come, breakfast with -me! - - - - -XL. - -_Imagination._ - - -What a wealth of delights has kind Nature given to those who can enjoy -them. Who can count the innumerable phases they assume in different -individuals, and at different periods of life! The confused remembrance -of the pleasures of my boyhood sends a thrill through my heart. Shall I -attempt to paint the joys of the youth whose soul glows with all the -warmth of love, at an age when interest, ambition, hatred, and all the -base passions that degrade and torment humanity are unknown to him, even -by name? - -During this age, too short, alas! the sun shines with a brightness it -never displays in after-life; the air is then purer, the streams -clearer and fresher, and nature has aspects, and the woods have paths, -which in our riper age we never find again. O, what perfumes those -flowers breathe! How delicious are those fruits! With what colors is the -morning sky adorned! Men are all good, generous, kind-hearted; and women -all lovely and faithful. On all sides we meet with cordiality, -frankness, and unselfishness. Nature presents to us nothing but flowers, -virtues, and pleasures. - -The excitement of love, and the anticipation of happiness, do they not -fill our hearts to the brim with emotions no less lively and various? - -The sight of nature and its contemplation, whether we regard it as a -whole, or examine its details, opens to our reason an immense field of -enjoyments. Soon the imagination, brooding over this sea of pleasures, -increases their number and intensity. The various sensations so unite -and blend as to form new ones. Dreams of glory mingle with the -palpitations of love. Benevolence moves hand in hand with self-esteem. -Melancholy, from time to time, throws over us her solemn livery, and -changes our tears to joy. Thus the perceptions of the mind, the feelings -of the heart, the very remembrance of sensations, are inexhaustible -sources of pleasure and comfort to man. No wonder, then, that the noise -Joannetti made with the coffee-pot, and the unexpected appearance of a -cup of cream, should have impressed me so vividly and so agreeably. - - - - -XLI. - -_The Travelling-coat._ - - -I put on my travelling-coat, after having examined it with a complacent -eye; and forthwith resolved to write a chapter _ad hoc_, that I might -make it known to the reader. - -The form and usefulness of these garments being pretty generally known, -I will treat specially of their influence upon the minds of travellers. - -My winter travelling-coat is made of the warmest and softest stuff I -could meet with. It envelops me entirely from head to foot, and when I -am in my arm-chair, with my hands in my pockets, I am very like the -statue of Vishnu one sees in the pagodas of India. - -You may, if you will, tax me with prejudice when I assert the influence -a traveller’s costume exercises upon its wearer. At any rate I can -confidently affirm with regard to this matter, that it would appear to -me as ridiculous to take a single step of my journey round my room in -uniform, with my sword at my side, as it would to go forth into the -world in my dressing-gown. Were I to find myself in full military dress, -not only should I be unable to proceed with my journey, but I really -believe I should not be able to read what I have written about my -travels, still less to understand it. - -Does this surprise you? Do we not every day meet with people who fancy -they are ill because they are unshaven, or because some one has thought -they have looked poorly, and told them so? Dress has such influence upon -men’s minds that there are valetudinarians who think themselves in -better health than usual when they have on a new coat and well-powdered -wig. They deceive the public and themselves by their nicety about dress, -until one finds some fine morning they have died in full fig, and their -death startles everybody. - -And in the class of men among whom I live, how many there are who, -finding themselves clothed in uniform, firmly believe they are officers, -until the unexpected appearance of the enemy shows them their mistake. -And more than this, if it be the king’s good pleasure to allow one of -them to add to his coat a certain trimming, he straightway believes -himself to be a general, and the whole army gives him the title without -any notion of making fun of him! So great an influence has a coat upon -the human imagination! - -The following illustration will show still further the truth of my -assertion. - -It sometimes happened that they forgot to inform the Count de ---- some -days beforehand of the approach of his turn to mount guard. Early one -morning, on the very day on which this duty fell to the Count, a -corporal awoke him, and announced the disagreeable news. But the idea of -getting up there and then, putting on his gaiters, and turning out -without having thought about it the evening before, so disturbed him -that he preferred reporting himself sick and staying at home all day. So -he put on his dressing-gown, and sent away his barber. This made him -look pale and ill, and frightened his wife and family. He really _did_ -feel a little poorly. - -He told every one he was not very well, partly for the sake of -appearances, and partly because he positively believed himself to be -indisposed. Gradually the influence of the dressing-gown began to work. -The slops he was obliged to take upset his stomach. His relations and -friends sent to ask after him. He was soon quite ill enough to take to -his bed. - -In the evening Dr. Ranson[11] found his pulse hard and feverish, and -ordered him to be bled next day. - -If the campaign had lasted a month longer, the sick man’s case would -have been past cure. - -Now, who can doubt about the influence of travelling-coats upon -travellers, if he reflect that poor Count de ---- thought more than once -that he was about to perform a journey to the other world for having -inopportunely donned his dressing-gown in this? - -[Illustration] - - - - -XLII. - -_Aspasia’s Buskin._ - - -I was sitting near my fire after dinner, enveloped in my “habit de -voyage,” and freely abandoning myself to its influence: the hour for -starting was, I knew, drawing nigh; but the fumes generated by digestion -rose to my brain, and so obstructed the channels along which thoughts -glide on their way from the senses, that all communication between them -was intercepted. And as my senses no longer transmitted any idea to my -brain, the latter, in its turn, could no longer emit any of that -electric fluid with which the ingenious Doctor Valli resuscitates dead -frogs. - -After reading this preamble, you will easily understand why my head fell -on my chest, and why the muscles of the thumb and forefinger of my right -hand, being no longer excited by the electric fluid, became so relaxed -that a volume of the works of the Marquis Caraccioli, which I was -holding tightly between these two fingers, imperceptibly eluded my -grasp, and fell upon the hearth. - -I had just had some callers, and my conversation with the persons who -had left the room had turned upon the death of Dr. Cigna, an eminent -physician then lately deceased. He was a learned and hard-working man, a -good naturalist, and a famous botanist. My thoughts were occupied with -the merits of this skillful man. “And yet,” I said to myself, “were it -possible for me to evoke the spirits of those whom he has, perhaps, -dismissed to the other world, who knows but that his reputation might -suffer some diminution?” - -I travelled insensibly to a dissertation on medicine and the progress it -has made since the time of Hippocrates. I asked myself whether the -famous personages of antiquity who died in their beds, as Pericles, -Plato, the celebrated Aspasia, and Hippocrates, died, after the manner -of ordinary mortals, of some putrid or inflammatory fever; and whether -they were bled, and crammed with specifics. - -To say why these four personages came into my mind rather than any -others, is out of my power; for who can give reasons for what he dreams? -All that I can say is that my soul summoned the doctor of Cos, the -doctor of Turin, and the famous statesman who did such great things, and -committed such grave faults. - -But as to his graceful friend, I humbly own that it was the OTHER who -beckoned her to come. Still, however, when I think of the interview, I -am tempted to feel some little pride, for it is evident that in this -dream the balance in favor of reason was as four to one. Pretty fair -this, methinks, for a lieutenant. - -However this may be, whilst giving myself up to the reflections I have -described, my eyes closed, and I fell fast asleep. But upon shutting my -eyes, the image of the personages of whom I had been thinking, remained -painted upon that delicate canvas we call memory; and these images, -mingling in my brain with the idea of the evocation of the dead, it was -not long before I saw advancing in procession Hippocrates, Plato, -Pericles, Aspasia, and Doctor Cigna in his bob-wig. - -I saw them all seat themselves in chairs ranged around the fire. -Pericles alone remained standing to read the newspapers. - -“If the discoveries of which you speak were true,” said Hippocrates to -the doctor, “and had they been as useful to the healing art as you -affirm, I should have seen the number of those who daily descend to the -gloomy realm of Pluto decrease; but the ratio of its inhabitants, -according to the registers of Minos which I have myself verified, -remains still the same as formerly.” - -Doctor Cigna turned to me and said: “You have without doubt heard these -discoveries spoken of. You know that Harvey discovered the circulation -of the blood; that the immortal Spallanzani explained the process of -digestion, the mechanism of which is now well understood;” and he -entered upon a long detail of all the discoveries connected with physic, -and of the host of remedies for which we are indebted to chemistry: in -short, he delivered an academical discourse in favor of modern -medicine. - -“But am I to believe,” I replied, “that these great men were ignorant of -all you have been telling them, and that their souls, having shuffled -off this mortal coil, still meet with any obscurities in nature?” - -“Ah! how great is your error!” exclaimed the _proto-physician_[12] of -the Peloponnesus. The mysteries of nature are as closely hidden from the -dead as from the living. Of one thing we who linger on the banks of the -Styx are certain, that He who created all things alone knows the great -secret which men vainly strive to solve. “And,” added he, turning to the -doctor, “do be persuaded by me to divest yourself of what still clings -to you of the party-spirit you have brought with you from the sojourn of -mortals. And since, seeing that Charon daily ferries over in his boat as -many shades as heretofore, the labors of a thousand generations and all -the discoveries men have made have not been able to prolong their -existence, let us not uselessly weary ourselves in defending an art -which, among the dead, cannot even profit its practitioners.” - -Thus, to my great amazement, spoke the famous Hippocrates. - -Doctor Cigna smiled; and as spirits can neither withstand evidence, nor -silence truth, he not only agreed with Hippocrates, but, blushing after -the manner of disembodied intelligences, he protested that he had -himself always had his doubts. - -Pericles, who had drawn near the window, heaved a deep sigh, the cause -of which I divined. He was reading a number of the “Moniteur,” which -announced the decadence of the arts and sciences. He saw illustrious -scholars desert their sublime conceptions to invent new crimes, and -shuddered at hearing a rabble herd compare themselves with the heroes -of generous Greece; and this, forsooth, because they put to death, -without shame or remorse, venerable old men, women, and children, and -coolly perpetrated the blackest and most useless crimes. - -Plato, who had listened to our conversation without joining in it, and -seeing it brought to a sudden and unexpected close, thus spoke: “I can -readily understand that the discoveries great men have made in the -various branches of natural science do not forward the art of medicine, -which can never change the course of nature, except at the cost of life. -But this will certainly not be so with the researches that have been -made in the study of politics. Locke’s inquiries into the nature of the -human understanding, the invention of printing, the accumulated -observations drawn from history, the number of excellent books which -have spread sound information even among the lower orders,--so many -wonders must have contributed to make men better, and the happy republic -I conceived, which the age in which I lived caused me to regard as an -impracticable dream, no doubt now exists upon the earth?” At this -question the honest doctor cast down his eyes, and only answered by -tears. In wiping them with his pocket-handkerchief, he involuntarily -moved his wig on one side, so that a part of his face was hidden by it. -“Ye gods!” exclaimed Aspasia, with a scream, “how strange a sight! And -is it a discovery of one of your great men that has led you to the idea -of turning another man’s skull into a head-dress?” - -Aspasia, from whom our philosophical dissertations had elicited nothing -but gapes, had taken up a magazine of fashions which lay on the -chimney-piece, the leaves of which she had been turning over for some -time when the doctor’s wig made her utter this exclamation. Finding the -narrow, ricketty seat upon which she was sitting uncomfortable, she had, -without the least ceremony, placed her two bare legs, which were adorned -with bandelets, on the straw-bottomed chair between her and me, and -rested her elbow upon the broad shoulders of Plato. - -“It is no skull,” said the doctor, addressing her, and taking off his -wig, which he threw on the fire, “it is a wig, madam; and I know not why -I did not cast this ridiculous ornament into the flames of Tartarus when -first I came among you. But absurdities and prejudices adhere so closely -to our miserable nature that they even follow us sometimes beyond the -grave.” I took singular pleasure in seeing the doctor thus abjure his -physic and his wig at the same moment. - -“I assure you,” said Aspasia, “that most of the head-dresses represented -in the pages I have been turning over deserve the same fate as yours, -so very extravagant are they.” - -The fair Athenian amused herself vastly in looking over the engravings, -and was very reasonably surprised by the variety and oddity of modern -contrivances. One figure, especially struck her. It was that of a young -lady with a really elegant head-dress which Aspasia only thought -somewhat too high. But the piece of gauze that covered the neck was so -very full you could scarcely see half her face. Aspasia, not knowing -that these extraordinary developments were produced by starch, could not -help showing a surprise which would have been redoubled (but inversely), -had the gauze been transparent. - -“But do explain,” she said, “why women of the present day seem to wear -dresses to hide rather than to clothe them. They scarcely allow their -faces to be seen, those faces by which alone their sex is to be -guessed, so strangely are their bodies disfigured by the eccentric folds -of their garments. Among all the figures represented in these pages, I -do not find one with the neck, arms, and legs bare. How is it your young -warriors are not tempted to put an end to such a fashion? It would -appear,” she added, “that the virtue of the women of this age, which -they parade in all their articles of dress, greatly surpasses that of my -contemporaries.” - -As she ended these words, Aspasia turned her eyes on me as if to ask a -reply. I pretended not to notice this, and in order to give myself an -absent air, took up the tongs and pushed away among the embers the -shreds of the doctor’s wig which had escaped the flames. Observing -presently afterwards that one of the bandelets which clasped Aspasia’s -buskin had come undone, “Permit me,” said I, “charming lady,”--and -eagerly stooping, stretched out my hands towards the chair on which I -had fancied I saw those legs about which even great philosophers went -into ecstacies. - -I am persuaded that at this moment I was very near genuine somnambulism, -so real was the movement of which I speak. But Rose, who happened to be -sleeping in the chair, thought the movement was meant for her, and -jumping nimbly into my arms, she drove back into Hades the famous shades -my travelling-coat had summoned. - - - - -_Liberty._ - - -Delightful realm of Imagination, which the benevolent Being has bestowed -upon man to console him for the disappointments he meets with in real -life. - -This day, certain persons on whom I am dependent affect to restore me to -liberty. As if they had ever deprived me of it! As if it were in their -power to snatch it from me for a single moment, and to hinder me from -traversing, at my own good pleasure, the vast space that ever lies open -before me! They have forbidden me to go at large in a city, a mere -speck, and have left open to me the whole universe, in which immensity -and eternity obey me. - -I am now free, then; or rather, I must enter again into bondage. The -yoke of office is again to weigh me down, and every step I take must -conform with the exigencies of politeness and duty. Fortunate shall I be -if some capricious goddess do not again make me forget both, and if I -escape from this new and dangerous captivity. - -O why did they not allow me to finish my captivity! Was it as a -punishment that I was exiled to my chamber, to that delightful country -in which abound all the riches and enjoyments of the world? As well -might they consign a mouse to a granary. - -Still, never did I more clearly perceive that I am double than I do now. -Whilst I regret my imaginary joys, I feel myself consoled. I am borne -along by an unseen power which tells me I need the pure air, and the -light of heaven, and that solitude is like death. Once more I don my -customary garb; my door opens; I wander under the spacious porticos of -the Strada della Po; a thousand agreeable visions float before my eyes. -Yes, there is that mansion, that door, that staircase! I thrill with -expectation. - -In like manner the act of slicing a lemon gives you a foretaste that -makes your mouth water. - -Poor ANIMAL! Take care! - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] _Bête_ is not translatable here. The English word _animal_ is -hardly nearer than _beast_. _Bête_ is a milder word than _beast_, and -when used metaphorically, implies silliness rather than brutality. In -some cases our _creature_ would translate it, _Pauvre bête!_ _Poor -creature!_ - -[2] Vide _Werther_, chapter xxviii. - -[3] The reader will probably have been reminded of the “Sentimental -Journey” before reaching this proof of our author’s acquaintance with -the writings of Sterne. - -H. A. - - -[4] A fashionable milliner of the time. - -[5] This work was not published. - -[6] The botanical garden of Turin. - -[7] Richardson’s _Clarissa Harlowe_. - -[8] Goethe’s _Werther_. - -[9] _Cleveland_, by the Abbé Prévost. - -[10] Some freedom of translation is, perhaps, pardonable here. Our -author, depending, it would seem, upon his memory, gives Satan wings -large enough “to cover a whole army.” It was “the extended wings” of -the gates of hell, not of Satan, that Milton describes as wide enough -to admit a “bannered host.” _Paradise Lost_, ii. 885. - -H. A. - - -[11] A popular Turin physician when the _Voyage_ was written. - -[12] A title known at the Sardinian court. - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Journey Round My Room, by Xavier de Maistre - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNEY ROUND MY ROOM *** - -***** This file should be named 62519-0.txt or 62519-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/5/1/62519/ - -Produced by Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -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. diff --git a/old/62519-0.zip b/old/62519-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 06152e7..0000000 --- a/old/62519-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h.zip b/old/62519-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8761ef2..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/62519-h.htm b/old/62519-h/62519-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 3e733cc..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/62519-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2863 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" -"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en"> - <head> <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> -<title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Journey Round My Room, -by Xavier De Maistre. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.astc {text-align:center;text-indent:0%; -letter-spacing:1em;font-weight:bold;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;} - -.lftspc {margin-left:.25em;} - -.letra {font-size:250%;float:left;margin-top:-1%;} - @media print, handheld - { .letra - {font-size:250%;padding:0%;} - } - -.hang {text-indent:-2%;margin-left:2%;} - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - -.r {text-align:right;margin-right: 5%;} - -.rt {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -big {font-size: 130%;} - - h1 {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:5%;text-align:center;clear:both; -font-weight:normal;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;font-weight:normal;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - table {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;} - - body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:100%;} - - img {border:none;} - -.footnotes {border:dotted 3px gray;margin-top:5%;clear:both;} - -.footnote {width:95%;margin:auto 3% 1% auto;font-size:0.9em;position:relative;} - -.label {position:relative;left:-.5em;top:0;text-align:left;font-size:.8em;} - -.fnanchor {vertical-align:30%;font-size:.8em;} - -.pagenum {font-style:normal;position:absolute; -left:95%;font-size:55%;text-align:right;color:gray; -background-color:#ffffff;font-variant:normal;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0em;} -@media print, handheld -{.pagenum - {display: none;} - } -</style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Journey Round My Room, by Xavier de Maistre - -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: A Journey Round My Room - -Author: Xavier de Maistre - -Translator: Henry Attwell - -Release Date: June 29, 2020 [EBook #62519] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNEY ROUND MY ROOM *** - - - - -Produced by Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="c"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="550" alt="" /> -</p> - -<p class="cb"><img src="images/i_half_title-a.jpg" -width="250" -alt="" -/><br /><br />A JOURNEY ROUND MY ROOM.<br /><br /> -<img src="images/i_half_title-b.jpg" -width="80" -alt="" -/></p> - -<h1> -A J O U R N E Y<br /> -<br /><small> -ROUND MY ROOM</small></h1> - -<p class="c"><big>BY XAVIER DE MAISTRE</big><br /> -<br /><small> -TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH WITH A NOTICE<br /> -<br /> -OF THE AUTHOR’S LIFE</small><br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap">By</span> H. A.<br /> -<br /><br /> -<img src="images/i_title.jpg" -width="100" -alt="" -/><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -LONDON<br /> -<br /> -LONGMANS, GREEN, READER, AND DYER.<br /> -<br /> -1871<br /> -<br /><br /><small> -H. O. HOUGHTON AND CO., PRINTERS, RIVERSIDE PRESS,<br />CAMBRIDGE.</small><br /> - -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_i" id="page_i">{i}</a> </span> -<br /> -<br /> -TO<br /> -<br /><br /> -<b><big>S. A.</big></b><br /> -<br /><br /> -H. A.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ii" id="page_ii">{ii}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii">{iii}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/i_iii.jpg" width="50" alt="" /></p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE author of the “Voyage autour de ma Chambre” was the younger brother -of Count Joseph de Maistre, a well-known writer upon political and -philosophical subjects. Chambéry was the place of their birth, but their -family was of French origin. Both brothers were officers in the -Sardinian army; and when Savoy was conquered by the French, Xavier de -Maistre sought an asylum in Saint Petersburg, where his brother resided -in the capacity of envoy from the court of Sardinia. Xavier entered the -Russian army, distinguished himself in the war<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv">{iv}</a></span> against Persia, and -attained the rank of major-general.</p> - -<p>Our interest in the “Voyage” is heightened by our knowledge that it was -actually written during De Maistre’s forty-two days’ arrest at Turin, -referred to in the third chapter. He sent the manuscript, which he -regarded as a mere playful effort of his imagination, for his brother’s -perusal. Joseph was pleased with the book; and Xavier, who had an almost -filial affection for his brother, was soon afterwards agreeably -surprised by receiving, in place of his manuscript, the “Voyage” in -print.</p> - -<p>This success encouraged him to begin a sequel to the “Voyage.” Joseph, -however, disapproved of this new attempt. The “Expédition Nocturne” was, -notwithstanding, finished, and was published some years later.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v">{v}</a></span></p> - -<p>Xavier de Maistre’s next production (1811) was “Le Lépreux de la Cité -d’Aoste,” a very touching and gracefully written narrative. It occupies -but a few pages; and, as it is to be found in almost every good -anthology of French literature, is perhaps the best known of our -author’s works.</p> - -<p>His other books are “Les Prisonniers du Caucase” (1815) and “La Jeune -Sibérienne,” both of them charming works, containing faithful pictures -of domestic scenes with which we are little familiar through other -sources.</p> - -<p>From his childhood Xavier de Maistre was devoted to painting. He -deservedly gained considerable reputation as a painter of miniature -portraits and landscapes.</p> - -<p>Nor did he neglect science while devo<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi">{vi}</a></span>ting himself to art and -literature. He applied himself so successfully to the study of chemistry -that he was able to communicate several valuable “Mémoires” to the -Academy of Turin, of which he was a member.</p> - -<p>Xavier de Maistre died (1852) at an advanced age in his adopted country, -where he had married, and which he only quitted once, for a brief -season.</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/i_iii.jpg" width="50" alt="" /></p> - -<p>Some apology for publishing this translation is perhaps necessary.</p> - -<p>Although in France the “Voyage” retains the high esteem in which it has -been held for half a century, it is hardly known in England, except by -those who are familiar with the French language and literature.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii">{vii}</a></span></p> - -<p>During the last twenty years the proportion of educated persons in this -country who are unable to enjoy a French book in the original has -greatly decreased. Still, there are some to whom a translation of this -delightful work may be acceptable.</p> - -<p>To them I offer the pleasant labor of a few leisure hours; but not -without assuring them that, in endeavoring to reproduce faithfully the -author’s ideas, I have felt at every paragraph how true it is that “<i>le -style ne se traduit pas</i>,”—“style is untranslatable.”</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>The <i>headings</i> of the chapters are not De Maistre’s. They appear in -Tardieu’s pretty little edition of the “Voyage.” The miniatures, by M. -Veyssier, are from the same source.</p> - -<p class="r"> -H. A.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="hang"> -Barnes, Surrey.<br /> -<i>Autumn, 1871.</i><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ix" id="page_ix">{ix}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii">{viii}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td class="rt"><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td> </td> -<td><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap"><a href="#PREFACE">Preface</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_iii">iii</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#I">I.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#I"><span class="smcap">A Book of Discoveries</span> (<i>Vignette.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_1">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#II">II.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#II"><span class="smcap">Eulogy of the Journey</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_4">4</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#III">III.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#III"><span class="smcap">Laws and Customs</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_7">7</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#IV">IV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#IV"><span class="smcap">Latitude and Topography</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_11">11</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#V">V.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#V"><span class="smcap">The Bed</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_14">14</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#VI">VI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#VI"><span class="smcap">For Metaphysicians</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_17">17</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#VII">VII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#VII"><span class="smcap">The Soul</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_21">21</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#VIII">VIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#VIII"><span class="smcap">The Animal</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_24">24</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#IX">IX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#IX"><span class="smcap">Philosophy</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_26">26</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#X">X.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#X"><span class="smcap">The Portrait</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_29">29</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XI">XI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XI"><span class="smcap">Rose and White</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_33">33</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XII">XII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XII"><span class="smcap">The Hillock</span> (<i>Vignette</i>.)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_36">36</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XIII">XIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XIII"><span class="smcap">A Halt</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_37">37</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_x" id="page_x">{x}</a></span><a href="#XIV">XIV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XIV"><span class="smcap">Joannetti</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_38">38</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XV">XV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XV"><span class="smcap">A Difficulty</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_42">42</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XVI">XVI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XVI"><span class="smcap">Solution</span> (<i>Vignette</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_45">45</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XVII">XVII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XVII"><span class="smcap">Rose</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_49">49</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XVIII">XVIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XVIII"><span class="smcap">Reserve</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_52">52</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XIX">XIX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XIX"><span class="smcap">A Tear</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_54">54</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XX">XX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XX"><span class="smcap">Albert and Charlotte</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_57">57</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXI">XXI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXI"><span class="smcap">A Friend</span> (<i>Vignette</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_59">59</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXII">XXII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXII"><span class="smcap">Jenny</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_64">64</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXIII">XXIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXIII"><span class="smcap">The Picture Gallery</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_66">66</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXIV">XXIV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXIV"><span class="smcap">Painting and Music</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_69">69</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXV">XXV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXV"><span class="smcap">An Objection</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_72">72</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXVI">XXVI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXVI"><span class="smcap">Raphael</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_75">75</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXVII">XXVII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXVII"><span class="smcap">A Perfect Picture</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_78">78</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXVIII">XXVIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXVIII"><span class="smcap">The Upset Carriage</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_81">81</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXIX">XXIX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXIX"><span class="smcap">Misfortune</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_87">87</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXX">XXX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXX"><span class="smcap">Charity</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_91">91</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXXI">XXXI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXI"><span class="smcap">Inventory</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_93">93</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXXII">XXXII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXII"><span class="smcap">Misanthropy</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_95">95</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXXIII">XXXIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXIII"><span class="smcap">Consolation</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_98">98</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXXIV">XXXIV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXIV"><span class="smcap">Correspondence</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_99">99</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXXV">XXXV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXV"><span class="smcap">The Withered Rose</span> (<i>Vignette</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_104">104</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xi" id="page_xi">{xi}</a></span><a href="#XXXVI">XXXVI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXVI"><span class="smcap">The Library</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_109">109</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXXVII">XXXVII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXVII"><span class="smcap">Another World</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_113">113</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXXVIII">XXXVIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXVIII"><span class="smcap">The Bust</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_118">118</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XXXIX">XXXIX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XXXIX"><span class="smcap">A Dialogue</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_121">121</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XL">XL.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XL"><span class="smcap">Imagination</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_129">129</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XLI">XLI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XLI"><span class="smcap">The Travelling-coat</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_132">132</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#XLII">XLII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#XLII"><span class="smcap">Aspasia’s Buskin</span> (<i>Vignette</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_137">137</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td valign="top"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Liberty">Liberty</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_150">150</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xii" id="page_xii">{xii}</a></span></p> - -<p>Circumstances beyond my control prevented my seeing any proof of these -pages. Such Latinized forms as <i>behavior</i> and <i>favor</i>; the misplaced -hyphen on the first line of page 25; the double <i>l</i> in <i>skilful</i> (p. -138, last line but one); and the frequent suppression of the former of -two parenthetical commas (as before I, p. 19, l. 18),—these are the few -deviations from my manuscript for which the printer is responsible.</p> - -<p>The reader will oblige by substituting <i>comfortable</i> for <i>agreeable</i> on -page 38 line 3, <i>sweet</i> for <i>lovely</i> on page 68 line 4, and -<i>ignoramuses</i> for <i>ignorant</i> on page 78 line 12.</p> - -<p class="r"> -H. A.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xiii" id="page_xiii">{xiii}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="I" id="I"></a><br /> -<img src="images/i_001.jpg" width="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /><br />I.<br /><br /> -<i>A Book of Discoveries.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>HAT more glorious than to open for one’s self a new career,—to appear -suddenly before the learned world with a book of discoveries in one’s -hand, like an unlooked-for comet blazing in the empyrean!</p> - -<p>No longer will I keep my book in obscurity. Behold it, gentlemen; read -it! I have undertaken and performed a forty-two days’ journey round my -room. The interesting observations I have made, and the constant -pleasure I have experienced all along the road, made me wish to publish -my travels; the certainty of being<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span> useful decided the matter. And when -I think of the number of unhappy ones to whom I offer a never failing -resource for weary moments, and a balm for the ills they suffer, my -heart is filled with inexpressible satisfaction. The pleasure to be -found in travelling round one’s room is sheltered from the restless -jealousy of men, and is independent of Fortune.</p> - -<p>Surely there is no being so miserable as to be without a retreat to -which he can withdraw and hide himself from the world. Such a -hiding-place will contain all the preparations our journey requires.</p> - -<p>Every man of sense will, I am sure, adopt my system, whatever may be his -peculiar character or temperament. Be he miserly or prodigal, rich or -poor, young or old, born beneath the torrid zone or near the poles, he -may travel with me. Among the immense family of men who throng the -earth, there is not one, no, not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span> one (I mean of those who inhabit -rooms), who, after reading this book can refuse his approbation of the -new mode of travelling I introduce into the world.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="II" id="II"></a>II.<br /><br /> -<i>Eulogy of the Journey.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> MIGHT fairly begin the eulogium of my journey by saying it has cost me -nothing. This point merits attention. It will gain for it the praise and -welcome of people of moderate means. And not of these only: there is -another class with whom its success will, on this account, be even more -certain. “And who are they?” you ask. Why, the rich, to be sure. And -then, again, what a comfort the new mode of travelling will be to the -sick; they need not fear bleak winds or change of weather. And what a -thing, too, it will be for cowards; they will be safe from pitfalls or -quagmires. Thousands who hitherto did not dare, others who were not -able, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span> others to whom it never occurred to think of such a thing as -going on a journey, will make up their minds to follow my example. -Surely, the idlest person will not hesitate to set out with me on a -pleasure jaunt which will cost him neither trouble nor money. Come then, -let us start! Follow me, all ye whom the “pangs of despised love” or the -slights of friends keep within doors,—follow me far from the meannesses -and unkindnesses of men. Be ye unhappy, sick, or weary, follow me. Ye -idle ones, arouse ye, one and all. And ye who brood over gloomy projects -of reform and retreat, on account of some infidelity,—amiable -anchorites of an evening’s duration, who renounce the world for your -boudoir,—come, and be led by me to banish these dark thoughts; you lose -a moment’s pleasure without gaining a moment’s wisdom! Deign to -accompany me on my journey. We will jog cheerfully and by easy stages<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span> -along the road of travellers who have seen both Rome and Paris. No -obstacle shall hinder our way; and giving ourselves up gaily to -Imagination, we will follow her whithersoever it may be her good -pleasure to lead us.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="III" id="III"></a>III.<br /><br /> -<i>Laws and Customs.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">H</span>OW many inquisitive people there are in the world! I am sure my reader -wants to know why the journey round my room has lasted forty-two days -rather than forty-three, or any other number. But how am I to tell him -what I do not know myself? All I can say is, that if the work is too -long for him, it is not my fault that it was not shorter. I dismiss all -the pride a traveller may fairly indulge in, and candidly declare I -should have been well contented, for my part, with a single chapter. It -is quite true that I made myself as comfortable as possible in my room; -but still, alas, I was not my own master in the matter of leaving it. -Nay,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> more, I even think that had it not been for the intervention of -certain powerful persons who interested themselves in me, and towards -whom I entertain a lively sense of gratitude, I should have had ample -time for producing a folio volume; so prejudiced in my favor were the -guardians who made me travel round my room.</p> - -<p>And yet, intelligent reader, see how wrong these men were; and -understand clearly, if you can, the argument I am about to put before -you.</p> - -<p>Can there be anything more natural or more just than to draw your sword -upon a man who happens to tread on your toe, who lets slip a bitter word -during a moment’s vexation caused by your own thoughtlessness, or who -has had the misfortune to gain favor in the sight of your lady-love?</p> - -<p>Under such or like circumstances, you betake yourself to a meadow, and -there, like Nicole and the “Bourgeois Gentilhomme,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span>” you try to give the -fourth cut while your adversary parries tierce; and, that vengeance may -be fully satisfied, you present your naked breast to him, thus running -the risk of being killed by your enemy, in order to be avenged.</p> - -<p>It is evident that such a custom is most reasonable. And yet, we -sometimes meet with people who disapprove of so praiseworthy a course. -But what is about of a piece with the rest of the business is, that the -very persons who condemn the course we have described, and who would -have it regarded as a grave error, would judge still more harshly any -one who refused to commit it. More than one unlucky wight has, by -endeavoring to conform to their opinion, lost his reputation and his -livelihood. So that, when people are so unfortunate as to have an affair -of honor to settle, it would not be a bad plan to cast lots to see -whether it shall be arranged accord<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span>ing to law, or according to fashion. -And as law and fashion are at variance, the judges might decide upon -their sentence by the aid of dice,—and probably it is to some such -decision as this that we should have to refer in order to explain how it -came about that my journey lasted just two and forty days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV.<br /><br /> -<i>Latitude and Topography.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>Y room is situated in latitude 48° east, according to the measurement -of Father Beccaria. It lies east and west, and, if you keep very close -to the wall, forms a parallelogram of thirty-six steps round. My journey -will, however, be longer than this; for I shall traverse my room up and -down and across, without rule or plan. I shall even zig-zag about, -following, if needs be, every possible geometrical line. I am no admirer -of people who are such masters of their every step and every idea that -they can say: “To-morrow I shall make three calls, write four letters, -and finish this or that work.” So open is my soul to all sorts of ideas, -tastes, and feel<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span>ings; so greedily does it absorb whatever comes first, -that ... but why should it deny itself the delights that are scattered -along life’s hard path? So few and far between are they, that it would -indeed be senseless not to stop, and even turn aside, to gather such as -are placed within our reach. Of these joys, none, to my thinking, is -more attractive than following the course of one’s fancies as a hunter -follows his game, without pretending to keep to any set route. Hence, -when I travel in my room, I seldom keep to a straight line. From my -table I go towards a picture which is placed in a corner; thence I set -out in an oblique direction for the door; and then, although on starting -I had intended to return to my table, yet, if I chance to fall in with -my arm-chair on the way, I at once, and most unceremoniously, take up my -quarters therein. By the by, what a capital article of furniture an -arm<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span>-chair is, and, above all, how convenient to a thoughtful man. In -long winter evenings it is ofttimes sweet, and always prudent, to -stretch yourself therein, far from the bustle of crowded assemblies. A -good fire, some books and pens; what safeguards these against <i>ennui</i>! -And how pleasant, again, to forget books and pens in order to stir the -fire, while giving one’s self up to some agreeable meditation, or -stringing together a few rhymes for the amusement of friends, as the -hours glide by and fall into eternity, without making their sad passage -felt.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="V" id="V"></a>V.<br /><br /> -<i>The Bed.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">N</span>EXT to my arm-chair, as we go northward, my bed comes into sight. It is -placed at the end of my room, and forms the most agreeable perspective. -It is very pleasantly situated, and the earliest rays of the sun play -upon my curtains. On fine summer days I see them come creeping, as the -sun rises, all along the whitened wall. The elm-trees opposite my -windows divide them into a thousand patterns as they dance upon my bed, -and, reflecting its rose-and-white color, shed a charming tint around. I -hear the confused twitter of the swallows that have taken possession of -my roof, and the warbling of the birds that people the elms.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span> Then do a -thousand smiling fancies fill my soul; and in the whole universe no -being enjoys an awakening so delightful, so peaceful, as mine.</p> - -<p>I confess that I do indeed revel in these sweet moments, and prolong as -far as I can the pleasure it gives me to meditate in the comfortable -warmth of my bed. What scene can adapt itself so well to the -imagination, and awaken such delicious ideas, as the couch on which my -fancy floats me into the forgetfulness of self! Here it is that the -mother, intoxicated with joy at the birth of a son, forgets her pangs. -Hither it is that fantastic pleasures, the fruit of fancy or of hope, -come to agitate us. In a word, it is here that during one half of a -life-time we forget the annoyances of the other half.</p> - -<p>But what a host of thoughts, some agreeable, some sad, throng my brain -at once,—strange minglings of terrible and delicious pictures!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span></p> - -<p>A bed sees us born, and sees us die. It is the ever changing scene upon -which the human race play by turns interesting dramas, laughable farces, -and fearful tragedies. It is a cradle decked with flowers. A throne of -love. A sepulchre.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI.<br /><br /> -<i>For Metaphysicians.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HIS chapter is for metaphysicians, and for metaphysicians only. It will -throw a great light upon man’s nature. It is the prism with which to -analyze and decompose the human faculties, by separating the animal -force from the pure rays of intellect.</p> - -<p>It would be impossible for me to explain how I came to burn my fingers -at the very onset of my journey without expounding to my reader my -system of the <i>Soul and the Animal</i>.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> And besides, this metaphysical -discovery has so great an influ<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span>ence on my thoughts and actions, that it -would be very difficult to understand this book if I did not begin by -giving the key to its meaning.</p> - -<p>Various observations have enabled me to perceive that man is made up of -a soul and an animal. These two beings are quite distinct, but they are -so dovetailed one into the other, or upon the other, that the soul must, -if we would make the distinction between them, possess a certain -superiority over the animal.</p> - -<p>I have it from an old professor (and this is as long ago as I can -remember), that Plato used to call matter the <small>OTHER</small>. This is all very -well; but I prefer giving this name <i>par excellence</i> to the animal which -is joined to our soul. This substance it is which is really the <small>OTHER</small>, -and which plays such strange tricks upon us. It is easy enough to see, -in a sort of general way, that man is twofold. But this, they say, is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span> -because he is made up of soul and body; and they accuse the body of I -don’t know how many things, and very inconsistently, seeing that it can -neither feel nor think. It is upon the animal that the blame should -fall; upon that sensitive being, which, while it is perfectly distinct -from the soul, is a real individual, enjoying a separate existence, with -its own tastes, inclinations, and will, and which only ranks higher than -other animals, because it is better educated than they, and is provided -with more perfect organs.</p> - -<p>Ladies and gentlemen! Be as proud of your intellect as you please, but -be very suspicious of the <small>OTHER</small>, especially when you are together.</p> - -<p>I have experimented I know not how oft, upon the union of these two -heterogeneous creatures. I have, for instance, clearly ascertained that -the soul can make herself obeyed by the animal, and that, by way of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span> -retaliation, the animal makes the soul act contrary to its own -inclination. The one, as a rule, has the legislative, the other the -executive power, but these two are often at variance. The great business -of a man of genius is to train his animal well, in order that it may go -alone, while the soul, delivered from this troublesome companion, can -raise herself to the skies.</p> - -<p>But this requires illustration. When, sir, you are reading a book, and -an agreeable idea suddenly enters your imagination, your soul attaches -herself to the new idea at once, and forgets the book, while your eyes -follow mechanically the words and lines. You get through the page -without understanding it, and without remembering what you have read. -Now this is because your soul, having ordered her companion to read to -her, gave no warning of the short absence she contemplated, so that the -<small>OTHER</small> went on reading what the soul no longer attended to.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII.<br /><br /> -<i>The Soul.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>S not this clear to you? Let us illustrate it still farther.</p> - -<p>One day last summer at an appointed hour, I was wending my way to court. -I had been sketching all day, and my soul, choosing to meditate upon -painting, left the duty of taking me to the king’s palace to the animal.</p> - -<p>How sublime, thought my soul, is the painter’s art! Happy is he who is -touched by the aspect of nature, and does not depend upon his pictures -for a livelihood; who does not paint solely as a pastime, but struck -with the majesty of a beautiful form, and the wonderful way in which the -light with its thousand tints plays upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> human face, strives to -imitate in his works the wonderful effects of nature! Happy, too, is the -painter who is led by love of landscape into solitary paths, and who can -make his canvas breathe the feeling of sadness with which he is inspired -by a gloomy wood or a desert plain. His productions imitate and -reproduce nature. He creates new seas and dark caverns into which the -sun has never peered. At his command, coppices of evergreens spring into -life, and the blue of heaven is reflected on his pictures. He darkens -the air, and we hear the roar of the storm. At another time he presents -to the eye of the wondering beholder the delightful plains of ancient -Sicily: startled nymphs flee the pursuit of a satyr through the bending -reeds; temples of stately architecture raise their grand fronts above -the sacred forest that surrounds them. Imagination loses itself among -the still paths of this ideal country.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span> Bluish backgrounds blend with -the sky, and the whole landscape, reproduced in the waters of a tranquil -river, forms a scene that no tongue can describe.</p> - -<p>While my soul was thus reflecting, the <i>other</i> went its way, Heaven -knows whither! Instead of going to court, according to orders, it took -such a turn to the left, that my soul just caught it up at Madame de -Hautcastel’s door, full half a mile from the Palais Royal!</p> - -<p>Now I leave the reader to fancy what might have been the consequence had -the truant visited so beautiful a lady alone.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII.<br /><br /> -<i>The Animal.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>F it is both useful and agreeable to have a soul so disengaged from -matter that we can let it travel alone whenever we please, this has also -its disadvantages. Through this, for instance, I got the burn I spoke of -a few chapters back.</p> - -<p>I generally leave my animal to prepare my breakfast. Its care it is to -slice and toast my bread. My coffee it makes admirably, and helps itself -thereto without my soul’s concerning herself in the transaction. But -this is a very rare and nice performance to execute; for though it is -easy enough while busied in a mechanical operation, to think of -something quite different, it is extremely difficult, so to speak, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> -watch one’s self-work, or, if I express myself systematically, to employ -one’s soul to examine the animal’s progress, and to watch its work -without taking part in it. This is the most extraordinary metaphysical -feat a man can execute.</p> - -<p>I had rested my tongs on the embers to toast my bread, and some little -time afterwards, while my soul was travelling, a burning stick fell on -the hearth: my poor animal seized the tongs, and I burnt my fingers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX.<br /><br /> -<i>Philosophy</i>.</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> HOPE I have sufficiently developed my ideas in the foregoing chapters -to furnish you, good reader, with matter for thought, and to enable you -to make discoveries along the brilliant career before you. You cannot be -other than highly satisfied with yourself if you succeed in the long run -in making your soul travel alone. The pleasure afforded by this power -will amply counterbalance any inconvenience that may arise from it. What -more flattering delight is there than the being able thus to expand -one’s existence, to occupy at once earth and heaven, to double, so to -speak, one’s being? Is it not man’s eternal, insatiable desire to -augment his strength and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> his faculties, to be where he is not, to -recall the past, and live in the future? He would fain command armies, -preside over learned societies, and be the idol of the fair. And, if he -attain to all this, then he regrets the tranquillity of a rural life, -and envies the shepherd’s cot. His plans, his hopes, are constantly -foiled by the ills that flesh is heir to. He can find happiness nowhere. -A quarter of an hour’s journey with me will show him the way to it.</p> - -<p>Ah, why does he not leave to the <small>OTHER</small> those carking cares and that -tormenting ambition. Come, my poor friend! Make but an effort to burst -from thy prison, and from the height of heaven, whither I am about to -lead thee, from the midst of the celestial shades, from the empyrean -itself, behold thy <i>animal</i> run along the road to fortune and honor. See -with what gravity it walks among men. The crowd falls back with respect, -and believe me, none will remark<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span> that it is alone. The people among -whom it walks care very little whether it has a soul or not, whether it -thinks or not. A thousand sentimental women will fall desperately in -love with it without discovering the defect. It may even raise itself -without thy soul’s help to the highest favor and fortune. Nay, I should -not be astonished if, on thy return from the empyrean, thy soul, on -getting home, were to find itself in the <i>animal</i> of a noble lord.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="X" id="X"></a>X.<br /><br /> -<i>The Portrait.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">B</span>UT you must not let yourself think that instead of keeping my promise -to describe my journey round my room, I am beating the bush to see how I -can evade the difficulty. This would be a great mistake on your part. -For our journey is really going on; and while my soul, falling back on -her own resources, was in the last chapter threading the mazy paths of -metaphysics, I had so placed myself in my arm-chair, that its front legs -being raised about two inches from the floor, I was able, by balancing -myself from left to right, to make way by degrees, and at last, almost -without knowing it, to get close to the wall, for this is how I travel -when not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span> pressed for time. When there, my hand possessed itself by a -mere mechanical effort, of the portrait of Madame de Hautcastel; and the -<small>OTHER</small> amused itself with removing the dust which covered it. This -occupation produced a feeling of quiet pleasure, and the pleasure was -conveyed to my soul, lost though it was in the vast plains of heaven. -For it is well to observe that when the mind is thus travelling in -space, it still keeps linked to the senses by a secret and subtle chain; -so that, without being distracted from its occupations, it can -participate in the peaceful joys of the <small>OTHER</small>. But should this pleasure -reach a certain pitch, or should the soul be struck by some unexpected -vision, it forthwith descends swift as lightning, and resumes its place.</p> - -<p>And that is just what happened to me while dusting the picture. Whilst -the cloth removed the dust, and brought to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span> light those flaxen curls and -the wreaths of roses that crowned them, my soul, from the sun, whither -she had transported herself, felt a slight thrill of pleasure, and -partook sympathetically of the joy of my heart. This joy became less -indistinct and more lively, when, by a single sweep, the beautiful -forehead of that charming face was revealed. My soul was on the point of -leaving the skies in order to enjoy the spectacle. But had she been in -the Elysian Fields, had she been engaged in a seraphic concert, she -could not have stayed a single second longer when her companion, glowing -with the work, seized a proffered sponge, and passed it at once over the -eyebrows and the eyes, over the nose, over that mouth, ah heavens!—my -heart beats at the thought—over the chin and neck! It was the work of -an instant. The whole face seemed suddenly recalled into existence. My -soul precipitated herself like a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span> falling star from the sky. She found -the <small>OTHER</small> in a state of ecstasy, which she herself increased by sharing -it. This strange and unexpected position caused all thought of time and -space to vanish from my mind. I lived for a moment in the past, and, -contrary to the order of nature, I grew young again. Yes, before me -stands that adored one; ’tis she, her very self! She smiles on me, she -will speak and own her love. That glance!... come, let me press thee to -my heart, O, my loved one, my other self! Partake with me this -intoxicating bliss! The moment was short, but ravishing. Cool reason -soon reasserted her sway, and in the twinkling of an eye I had grown a -whole year older. My heart grew icy cold, and I found myself on a level -with the crowd of heedless ones who throng the earth.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XI" id="XI"></a>XI.<br /><br /> -<i>Rose and White.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">B</span>UT we must not anticipate events. My hurry to communicate to the reader -my system of the soul and animal caused me to abandon the description of -my bed earlier than I ought to have done. When I have completed this -description, I will continue my journey where I interrupted it in the -last chapter. But let me pray you to bear in mind that we left one half -of my <i>ego</i> four steps from my bureau, close to the wall, and holding -the portrait of Madame de Hautcastel.</p> - -<p>In speaking of my bed, I forgot to recommend every man to have, if -possible, a bed with rose and white furniture. There can be no doubt -that colors so far affect us as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span> to make us cheerful or sad, according -to their hues. Now, rose and white are two colors that are consecrated -to pleasure. Nature in bestowing them upon the rose has given her the -crown of Flora’s realm. And when the sky would announce to the world a -fine day, it paints the clouds at sunrise with this charming tint.</p> - -<p>One day we were with some difficulty climbing a steep pathway. The -amiable Rosalie, whose agility had given her wings, was far in front. We -could not overtake her. All on a sudden, having reached the top of a -hillock, she turned toward us to take breath, and smiled at our -slowness. Never, perhaps, did the two colors whose praise I proclaim so -triumph. Her burning cheeks, her coral lips, her alabaster neck, were -thrown into relief by the verdure around, and entranced us all. We could -not but pause and gaze upon her. I will not speak of her blue eyes, or -of the glance<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span> she cast upon us, because this would be going from the -subject, and because I dwell upon these memories as little as possible. -Let it suffice that I have given the best illustration conceivable of -the superiority of these two colors over all others, and of their -influence upon the happiness of man.</p> - -<p>Here will I stop for to-day. Of what subject can I treat which would not -now be insipid? What idea is not effaced by <i>this</i> idea? I do not even -know when I shall be able to resume my work. If I go on with it at all, -and if the reader desire to see its termination, let him betake himself -to the angel who distributes thoughts, and beg him to cease to mingle -with the disconnected thoughts he showers upon me at every moment the -image of that hillock.</p> - -<p>If this precaution is not taken, my journey will be a failure.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XII" id="XII"></a>XII.<br /><br /> -<i>The Hillock.</i></h2> - -<p class="astc">. . . . . . . .</p> -<p class="astc">. . . . . . . .</p> -<p class="astc">. . . . . . . .</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/i_036.jpg" width="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></p> - -<p class="astc">. . . . . . . .</p> -<p class="astc">. . . . . . . .</p> -<p class="astc">. . . . . . . .</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XIII" id="XIII"></a>XIII.<br /><br /> -<i>A Halt.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>Y efforts are useless. I must sojourn here awhile, whether I will or -not. The “Halt!” is irresistible.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XIV" id="XIV"></a>XIV.<br /><br /> -<i>Joannetti.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> REMARKED that I was singularly fond of meditating when influenced by -the agreeable warmth of my bed; and that its agreeable color added not a -little to the pleasure I experienced.</p> - -<p>That I may be provided with this enjoyment, my servant is directed to -enter my room half an hour before my time for rising. I hear him moving -about my room with a light step, and stealthily managing his -preparations. This noise just suffices to convey to me the pleasant -knowledge that I am slumbering,—a delicate pleasure this, unknown to -most men. You are just awake enough to know you are not entirely so, and -to make a dreamy calculation that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span> the hour for business and worry is -still in the sand-glass of time. Gradually my man grows noisier; it is -so hard for him to restrain himself, and he knows too that the fatal -hour draws near. He looks at my watch, and jingles the seals as a -warning. But I turn a deaf ear to him. There is no imaginable cheat I do -not put upon the poor fellow to lengthen the blissful moment. I give him -a hundred preliminary orders. He knows that these orders, given somewhat -peevishly, are mere excuses for my staying in bed without seeming to -wish to do so. But this he affects not to see through, and I am truly -thankful to him.</p> - -<p>At last, when I have exhausted all my resources, he advances to the -middle of the room, and with folded arms, plants himself there in a -perfectly immovable position. It must be admitted that it would be -impossible to show disapproval of my idleness with greater judgment and -address. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> never resist this tacit invitation, but, stretching out my -arms to show I understand him, get up at once.</p> - -<p>If the reader will reflect upon the behavior of my servant, he will -convince himself that in certain delicate matters of this kind, -simplicity and good sense are much better than the sharpest wit. I dare -assert that the most studied discourse on the impropriety of sloth would -not make me spring so readily from my bed as the silent reproach of -Monsieur Joannetti.</p> - -<p>This Monsieur Joannetti is a thoroughly honest fellow, and at the same -time just the man for such a traveller as I. He is accustomed to the -frequent journeys of my soul, and never laughs at the inconsistencies of -the <small>OTHER</small>. He even directs it occasionally when it is alone, so that one -might say it is then conducted by two souls. When it is dressing, for -instance, he will warn it by a gesture that it is on the point of -put<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span>ting on its stockings the wrong way, or its coat before its -waistcoat.</p> - -<p>Many a time has my soul been amused at seeing poor Joannetti running -after this foolish creature under the arches of the citadel, to remind -it of a forgotten hat or handkerchief. One day, I must confess, had it -not been for this faithful servant, who caught it up just at the bottom -of the staircase, the silly creature would have presented itself at -court without a sword, as boldly as if it had been the chief -gentleman-usher, bearing the august rod.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XV" id="XV"></a>XV.<br /><br /> -<i>A Difficulty.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“C</span>OME, Joannetti,” I said, “hang up this picture.” He had helped to -clean it, and had no more notion than the man in the moon what had -produced our chapter on the portrait. He it was, who, of his own accord, -held out the wet sponge, and who, through that seemingly unimportant -act, caused my soul to travel a hundred millions of leagues in a moment -of time. Instead of restoring it to its place, he held it to examine it -in his turn. A difficulty, a problem, gave him an inquisitive air, which -I did not fail to observe.</p> - -<p>“Well, and what fault do you find with that portrait?” said I.</p> - -<p>“O, none at all, sir.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“But come now, you have some remark to make, I know.”</p> - -<p>He placed it upright on one of the wings of my bureau, and then drawing -back a little, “I wish, sir,” he said, “that you would explain how it is -that in whatever part of the room one may be, this portrait always -watches you. In the morning, when I am making your bed, the face turns -towards me; and if I move toward the window, it still looks at me, and -follows me with its eyes as I go about.”</p> - -<p>“So that, Joannetti,” said I, “if my room were full of people, that -beautiful lady would eye every one, on all sides, at once.”</p> - -<p>“Just so, sir.”</p> - -<p>“She would smile on every comer and goer, just as she would on me?”</p> - -<p>Joannetti gave no further answer. I stretched myself in my easy-chair, -and, hanging down my head, gave myself up to the most serious -meditations. What a ray<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span> of light fell upon me! Alack, poor lover! While -thou pinest away, far from thy mistress, at whose side another perhaps, -has already replaced thee; whilst thou fixest thy longing eyes on her -portrait, imagining that at least in picture, thou art the sole being -she deigns to regard,—the perfidious image, as faithless as the -original, bestows its glances on all around, and smiles on every one -alike!</p> - -<p>And in this behold a moral resemblance between certain portraits and -their originals, which no philosopher, no painter, no observer, had -before remarked.</p> - -<p>I go on from discovery to discovery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XVI" id="XVI"></a><br /> -<img src="images/i_045.jpg" width="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /> -<br />XVI.<br /><br /> -<i>Solution.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">J</span>OANNETTI remained in the attitude I have described, awaiting the -explanation he had asked of me. I withdrew my head from the folds of my -travelling dress, into which I had thrust it that I might meditate more -at my ease; and after a moment’s silence, to enable me to collect my -thoughts after the reflections I had just made, I said, turning my -arm-chair toward him,—</p> - -<p>“Do you not see that as a picture is a plane surface, the rays of light -proceeding from each point on that surface ...?”</p> - -<p>At that explanation, Joannetti stretched<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span> his eyes to their very widest, -while he kept his mouth half open. These two movements of the human face -express, according to the famous Le Brun, the highest pitch of -astonishment. It was, without doubt, my <i>animal</i>, that had undertaken -this dissertation, while my soul was well aware that Joannetti knew -nothing whatever about plane surfaces and rays of light. The prodigious -dilatation of his eyelids caused me to draw back. I ensconced my head in -the collar of my travelling coat, and this so effectively that I -well-nigh succeeded in altogether hiding it. I determined to dine where -I was. The morning was far advanced, and another step in my room would -have delayed my dinner until night-fall. I let myself slip to the edge -of my chair, and putting both feet on the mantel-piece, patiently -awaited my meal. This was a most comfortable attitude; indeed, it would -be difficult to find another possessing so many<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> advantages, and so well -adapted to the inevitable sojourns of a long voyage.</p> - -<p>At such moments, Rose, my faithful dog, never fails to come and pull at -the skirts of my travelling dress that I may take her up. She finds a -very convenient ready-made bed at the angle formed by the two parts of -my body. A V admirably represents my position. Rose jumps to her post if -I do not take her up quickly enough to please her, and I often find her -there without knowing how she has come. My hands fall into a position -which minister to her well-being, and this, either through a sympathy -existing between this good-natured creature and myself, or through the -merest chance. But no, I do not believe in that miserable doctrine of -<i>chance</i>,—in that unmeaning word! I would rather believe in animal -magnetism.</p> - -<p>There is such reality in the relations which exist between these two -animals,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> that when out of sheer distraction, I put my two feet on the -mantel-piece and have no thought at all about a <i>halt</i>, dinner-time not -being near, Rose, observing this movement, shows by a slight wag of her -tail the pleasure she enjoys. Reserve keeps her in her place. The -<i>other</i> perceives this and is gratified by it, though quite unable to -reason upon its cause. And thus a mute dialogue is established between -them, a pleasing interchange of sensations which could not be attributed -to simple chance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XVII" id="XVII"></a>XVII.<br /><br /> -<i>Rose.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">D</span>O not reproach me for the prolixity with which I narrate the details of -my journey. This is the wont of travellers. When one sets out for the -ascent of Mont Blanc, or to visit the yawning tomb of Empedocles, the -minutest particulars are carefully described. The number of persons who -formed the party, the number of mules, the quality of the food, the -excellent appetite of the travellers,—everything, to the very stumbling -of the quadrupeds, is carefully noted down for the instruction of the -sedentary world.</p> - -<p>Upon this principle, I resolved to speak of my dog Rose,—an amiable -creature for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span> whom I entertain sincere regard,—and to devote a whole -chapter to her.</p> - -<p>We have lived together for six years, and there has never been any -coolness between us, and if ever any little disputes have arisen, the -fault has been chiefly on my side, and Rose has always made the first -advances towards reconciliation.</p> - -<p>In the evening, if she has been scolded she withdraws sadly and without -a murmur. The next morning at daybreak, she stands near my bed in a -respectful attitude, and at her master’s slightest movement, at the -first sign of his being awake, she makes her presence known by rapidly -tapping my little table with her tail.</p> - -<p>And why should I refuse my affection to this good-natured creature that -has never ceased to love me ever since we have lived together? My memory -would not enable me to enumerate all the people who have interested -themselves in me but to forget<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> me. I have had some few friends, several -lady-loves, a host of acquaintances; and now I am to all these people as -if I had never lived; they have forgotten my very name.</p> - -<p>And yet what protestations they made, what offers of assistance! Their -purse was at my disposal, and they begged me to depend upon their -eternal and entire friendship!</p> - -<p>Poor Rose, who has made me no promises, renders me the greatest service -that can be bestowed upon humanity, for she has always loved her master, -and loves him still. And this is why I do not hesitate to say that she -shares with my other friends the affection I feel towards them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XVIII" id="XVIII"></a>XVIII.<br /><br /> -<i>Reserve.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>E left Joannetti standing motionless before me, in an attitude of -astonishment, awaiting the conclusion of the sublime explanation I had -begun.</p> - -<p>When he saw me bury my head in my dressing-gown, and thus end my -dissertation, he did not doubt for a moment that I had stopped short for -lack of resources, and that he had fairly overcome me by the knotty -question he had plied me with.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the superiority he had hereby gained over me, he felt no -movement of pride, and did not seek to profit by his advantage. After a -moment’s silence, he took the picture, put it back in its place, and -withdrew softly on tip-toe. He felt<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span> that his presence was a sort of -humiliation to me, and his delicacy of feeling led him thus to retire -unobserved. His behavior on this occasion interested me greatly, and -gave him a higher place than ever in my affections. And he will have -too, without doubt, a place in the heart of my readers. If there be one -among them who will refuse it him after reading the next chapter, such a -one must surely have a heart of stone.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XIX" id="XIX"></a>XIX.<br /><br /> -<i>A Tear.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“G</span>OOD Heavens!” said I to him one day, “three times have I told you to -buy me a brush. What a head the fellow has!” He answered not a word; nor -had he the evening before made any reply to a like expostulation. “This -is very odd,” I thought to myself, “he is generally so very particular.”</p> - -<p>“Well, go and get a duster to wipe my shoes with,” I said angrily. While -he was on his way, I regretted that I had spoken so sharply, and my -anger entirely subsided when I saw how carefully he tried to remove the -dust from my shoes without touching my stockings. “What,” I said to -myself, “are there then men who brush<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span> others’ shoes for <i>money</i>!” This -word <i>money</i> came upon me like a flash of lightning. I suddenly -remembered that for a long time my servant had not had any money from -me.</p> - -<p>“Joannetti,” said I, drawing away my foot, “have you any change?”</p> - -<p>A smile of justification lit up his face at the question.</p> - -<p>“No, sir; for the last week I have not possessed a penny. I have spent -all I had for your little purchases.”</p> - -<p>“And the brush? I suppose that is why ...?”</p> - -<p>He still smiled. Now, he might very well have said, “No, sir; I am not -the empty-headed ass you would make out your faithful servant to be. Pay -me the one pound two shillings and sixpence halfpenny you owe me, and -then I’ll buy you your brush.” But no, he bore this ill treatment rather -than cause his master to blush<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span> at his unjust anger. And may Heaven -bless him! Philosophers, Christians! have you read this?</p> - -<p>“Come, Joannetti,” said I, “buy me the brush.”</p> - -<p>“But, sir, will you go like that, with one shoe clean, and the other -dirty?”</p> - -<p>“Go, go!” I replied, “never mind about the dust, never mind that.”</p> - -<p>He went out. I took the duster, and daintily wiped my left shoe, on -which a tear of repentance had fallen.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XX" id="XX"></a>XX.<br /><br /> -<i>Albert and Charlotte.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE walls of my room are hung with engravings and pictures, which adorn -it greatly. I should much like to submit them to the reader’s -inspection, that they might amuse him along the road we have to traverse -before we reach my bureau. But it is as impossible to describe a picture -well, as to paint one from a description.</p> - -<p>What an emotion he would feel in contemplating the first drawing that -presents itself! He would see the unhappy Charlotte,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> slowly, and with -a trembling hand, wiping Albert’s pistols. Dark forebodings, and all the -agony of hopeless, inconsolable love, are imprinted on her features, -while<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span> the cold-hearted Albert, surrounded by bags of law papers and -various old documents, turns with an air of indifference towards his -friend to bid him good-by. Many a time have I been tempted to break the -glass that covers this engraving, that I might tear Albert away from the -table, rend him to pieces, and trample him under foot. But this would -not do away with the Alberts. There will always be sadly too many of -them in the world. What sensitive man is there who has not such a one -near him, who receives the overflowings of his soul, the gentle emotions -of his heart, and the flights of his imagination just as the rock -receives the waves of the sea? Happy is he who finds a friend whose -heart and mind harmonize with his own; a friend who adheres to him by -likeness of tastes, feeling, and knowledge; a friend who is not the prey -of ambition or greediness, who prefers the shade of a tree to the pomp -of a court! Happy is he who has a friend!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXI" id="XXI"></a><br /> -<img src="images/i_059.jpg" width="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /><br /> -XXI.<br /><br /> -<i>A Friend.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> HAD a friend. Death took him from me. He was snatched away at the -beginning of his career, at the moment when his friendship had become a -pressing need to my heart. We supported one another in the hard toil of -war. We had but one pipe between us. We drank out of the same cup. We -slept beneath the same tent. And, amid our sad trials, the spot where we -lived together became to us a new father-land. I had seen him exposed to -all the perils of a disastrous war. Death seemed to spare us to each -other. His<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span> deadly missives were exhausted around my friend a thousand -times over without reaching him; but this was but to make his loss more -painful to me. The tumult of war, and the enthusiasm which possesses the -soul at the sight of danger might have prevented his sighs from piercing -my heart, while his death would have been useful to his country, and -damaging to the enemy. Had he died thus, I should have mourned him less. -But to lose him amid the joys of our winter-quarters; to see him die at -the moment when he seemed full of health, and when our intimacy was -rendered closer by rest and tranquillity,—ah, this was a blow from -which I can never recover!</p> - -<p>But his memory lives in my heart, and there alone. He is forgotten by -those who surrounded him, and who have replaced him. And this makes his -loss the more sad to me.</p> - -<p>Nature, in like manner indifferent to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span> fate of individuals, dons her -green spring robe, and decks herself in all her beauty near the cemetery -where he rests. The trees cover themselves with foliage, and intertwine -their branches; the birds warble under the leafy sprays; the insects hum -among the blossoms: everything breathes joy in this abode of death.</p> - -<p>And in the evening, when the moon shines in the sky, and I am meditating -in this sad place, I hear the grasshopper, hidden in the grass that -covers the silent grave of my friend, merrily pursuing his unwearied -song. The unobserved destruction of human beings, as well as all their -misfortunes, are counted for nothing in the grand total of events.</p> - -<p>The death of an affectionate man who breathes his last surrounded by his -afflicted friends, and that of a butterfly killed in a flower’s cup by -the chill air of morning, are but two similar epochs in the course of -na<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span>ture. Man is but a phantom, a shadow, a mere vapor that melts into -the air.</p> - -<p>But day-break begins to whiten the sky. The gloomy thoughts that -troubled me vanish with the darkness, and hope awakens again in my -heart. No! He who thus suffuses the east with light, has not made it to -shine upon my eyes only to plunge me into the night of annihilation. He -who has spread out that vast horizon, who raised those lofty mountains -whose icy tops the sun is even now gilding, is also He who made my heart -to beat, and my mind to think.</p> - -<p>No! My friend is not annihilated. Whatever may be the barrier that -separates us, I shall see him again. My hopes are based on no mere -syllogism. The flight of an insect suffices to persuade me. And often -the prospect of the surrounding country, the perfume of the air, and an -in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span>describable charm which is spread around me, so raise my thoughts, -that an invincible proof of immortality forces itself upon my soul, and -fills it to the full.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXII" id="XXII"></a>XXII.<br /><br /> -<i>Jenny.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE chapter I have just written had often presented itself to my pen, -but I had as often rejected it. I had promised myself that I would only -allow the cheerful phase of my soul to show itself in this book. But -this project, like many others, I was forced to abandon. I hope the -sensitive reader will pardon me for having asked his tears; and if any -one thinks I should have omitted this chapter, he can tear it from his -copy, or even throw the whole book on the fire.</p> - -<p>Enough for me, dear Jenny, that thy heart approves it, thou best and -best-beloved of women, best and best-beloved of sisters. To thee I -dedicate my work. If<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> it please thee, it will please all gentle and -delicate hearts. And if thou wilt pardon the follies into which, albeit -against my will, I sometimes fall, I will brave all the critics of the -universe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXIII" id="XXIII"></a>XXIII.<br /><br /> -<i>The Picture Gallery.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">O</span>NE word only upon our next engraving.</p> - -<p>It represents the family of the unfortunate Ugolino, dying of hunger. -Around him are his sons. One of them lies motionless at his feet. The -rest stretch their enfeebled arms towards him, asking for bread; while -the wretched father, leaning against a pillar of his prison, his eyes -fixed and haggard, his countenance immovable, dies a double death, and -suffers all that human nature can endure.</p> - -<p>And there is the brave Chevalier d’Assas, dying, by an effort of courage -and heroism unknown in our days, under a hundred bayonets.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span></p> - -<p>And thou who weepest under the palm-trees, poor negro woman! thou, whom -some barbarous fellow has betrayed and deserted, nay, worse, whom he has -had the brutality to sell as a vile slave, notwithstanding thy love and -devotion, notwithstanding the pledge of affection thou hast borne at thy -breast,—I will not pass before thine image without rendering to thee -the homage due to thy tenderness and thy sorrows.</p> - -<p>Let us pause a moment before the other picture. It is a young -shepherdess tending her flock alone on the heights of the Alps. She sits -on an old willow trunk, bleached by many winters. Her feet are covered -by the broad leaves of a tuft of <i>cacalia</i>, whose lilac blossoms bloom -above her head. Lavender, wild thyme, the anemone, centaury, and flowers -which are cultivated with care in our hot-houses and gardens, and which -grow in all their native<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span> beauty on the Alps, form the gay carpet on -which her sheep wander.</p> - -<p>Lovely shepherdess! tell me where is the lovely spot thou callest thy -home. From what far-off sheepfold didst thou set out at daybreak this -morning? Could I not go thither and live with thee?</p> - -<p>But alas, the sweet tranquillity thou enjoyest will soon vanish! The -demon of war, not content with desolating cities, will ere long carry -anxiety and alarm to thy solitary retreat. Even now I see the soldiers -advancing: they climb height after height, as they march upward towards -the clouds. The cannons’ roar is heard high above the thunder-clap.</p> - -<p>Fly, O shepherdess! Urge on thy flock! Hide thee in the farthest caves, -for no longer is repose to be found on this sad earth!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXIV" id="XXIV"></a>XXIV.<br /><br /> -<i>Painting and Music.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> DO not know how it is, but of late my chapters have always ended in a -mournful strain. In vain do I begin by fixing my eyes on some agreeable -object; in vain do I embark when all is calm: a sudden gale soon drifts -me away. To put an end to an agitation which deprives me of the mastery -of my ideas, and to quiet the beating of a heart too much disturbed by -so many touching images, I see no remedy but a dissertation. Yes, thus -will I steel my heart.</p> - -<p>And the dissertation shall be about painting, for I cannot at this -moment expatiate upon any other subject. I cannot altogether descend -from the point I just<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span> now reached. Besides, painting is to me what -Uncle Toby’s hobby-horse was to him.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>I would say a few words, by the way, upon the question of preëminence -between the charming arts of painting and music. I would cast my grain -into the balance, were it but a grain of sand, a mere atom.</p> - -<p>It is urged in favor of the painter, that he leaves his works behind -him; that his pictures outlive him, and immortalize his memory.</p> - -<p>In reply to this we are reminded that musical composers also leave us -their operas and oratorios.</p> - -<p>But music is subject to fashion, and painting is not. The musical -passages that deeply affected our forefathers seem<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span> simply ridiculous to -the amateurs of our own day; and they are placed in absurd farces to -furnish laughter for the nephews of those whom they once made to weep.</p> - -<p>Raphael’s pictures will enchant our descendants as greatly as they did -our forefathers.</p> - -<p>This is my grain of sand.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXV" id="XXV"></a>XXV.<br /><br /> -<i>An Objection.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“B</span>UT what,” said Madame de Hautcastel to me one day,—“what if the music -of Cherubini or Cimarosa differs from that of their predecessors? What -care I if the music of the past make me laugh, so long as that of the -present day touch me by its charms? Is it at all essential to my -happiness that my pleasures should resemble those of my -great-grandmother? Why talk to me of painting, an art which is only -enjoyed by a very small class of persons, while music enchants every -living creature?”</p> - -<p>I hardly know at this moment how one could reply to this observation, -which I did not foresee when I began my chapter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span></p> - -<p>Had I foreseen it, perhaps I should not have undertaken that -dissertation. And pray do not imagine that you discover in this -<i>objection</i> the artifice of a musician, for upon my honor I am none, -Heaven be my witness, and all those who have heard me play the violin!</p> - -<p>But, even supposing the merits of the two arts to be equal, we must not -be too hasty in concluding that the merits of the <i>disciples</i> of -Painting and Music are therefore balanced. We see children play the -harpsichord as if they were <i>maestri</i>, but no one has ever been a good -painter at twelve years old. Painting, besides taste and feeling, -requires an amount of thoughtfulness that musicians can dispense with. -Any day may you hear men who are well nigh destitute of head and heart, -bring out from a violin or harp the most ravishing sounds.</p> - -<p>The human <small>ANIMAL</small> may be taught to play the harpsichord, and when it has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span> -learned of a good master, the soul can travel at her ease while sounds -with which she does not concern herself are mechanically produced by the -fingers. But the simplest thing in the world cannot be painted without -the aid of all the faculties of the soul.</p> - -<p>If, however, any one should take it into his head to ply me with a -distinction between the composition and the performance of music, I -confess that he would give me some little difficulty. Ah, well! were all -writers of essays quite candid they would all conclude as I am doing. -When one enters upon the examination of a question, a dogmatic tone is -generally assumed, because there has been a secret decision beforehand, -just as I, notwithstanding my hypocritical impartiality, had decided in -favor of painting. But discussion awakens objections, and everything -ends with doubt.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXVI" id="XXVI"></a>XXVI.<br /><br /> -<i>Raphael.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">N</span>OW that I am more tranquil, I will endeavor to speak calmly of the two -portraits that follow the picture of the shepherdess of the Alps.</p> - -<p>Raphael! Who but thyself could paint thy portrait; who but thyself would -have dared attempt it? Thy open countenance, beaming with feeling and -intellect, proclaims thy character and thy genius.</p> - -<p>To gratify thy shade, I have placed beside thee the portrait of thy -mistress, whom the men of all generations will hold answerable for the -loss of the sublime works of which art has been deprived by thy -premature death.</p> - -<p>When I examine the portrait of Raphael,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> I feel myself penetrated by an -almost religious respect for that great man, who, in the flower of his -age, excelled the ancients, and whose pictures are at once the -admiration and the despair of modern artists. My soul, in admiring it, -is moved with indignation against that Italian who preferred her love to -her lover, and who extinguished at her bosom that heavenly flame, that -divine genius.</p> - -<p>Unhappy one! Knewest thou not that Raphael had announced a picture -superior even to that of the <i>Transfiguration</i>? Didst thou not know that -thine arms encircled the favorite of nature, the father of enthusiasm, a -sublime genius ... a divinity?</p> - -<p>While my soul makes these observations, her companion, whose eyes are -attentively fixed upon the lovely face of that fatal beauty, feels quite -ready to forgive her the death of Raphael.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span></p> - -<p>In vain my soul upbraids this extravagant weakness; she is not listened -to at all. On such occasions a strange dialogue arises between the two, -which terminates too often in favor of the bad principles, and of which -I reserve a sample for another chapter.</p> - -<p>And if, by the way, my soul had not at that moment abruptly closed the -inspection of the gallery, if she had given the <small>OTHER</small> time to -contemplate the rounded and graceful features of the beautiful Roman -lady, my intellect would have miserably lost its supremacy.</p> - -<p>And if, at that critical moment I had suddenly obtained the favor -bestowed upon the fortunate Pygmalion, without having the least spark of -the genius which makes me pardon Raphael his errors, it is just possible -that I should have succumbed as he did.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXVII" id="XXVII"></a>XXVII.<br /><br /> -<i>A Perfect Picture.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>Y engravings, and the paintings of which I have spoken, fade away into -nothing at the first glance bestowed upon the next picture. The immortal -works of Raphael and Correggio, and of the whole Italian school, are not -to be compared to it. Hence it is that when I accord to an amateur the -pleasure of travelling with me, I always keep this until the last as a -special luxury, and ever since I first exhibited this sublime picture to -connoisseurs and to ignorant, to men of the world, to artists, to women, -to children, to animals even, I have always found the spectators, -whoever they might be, show, each in his own way, signs of pleasure and -surprise, so admirably is nature rendered therein.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span></p> - -<p>And what picture could be presented to you, gentlemen; what spectacle, -ladies, could be placed before your eyes more certain of gaining your -approval than the faithful portraiture of yourselves? The picture of -which I speak is a mirror, and no one has as yet ventured to criticise -it. It is to all who look on it a perfect picture, in depreciation of -which not a word can be said.</p> - -<p>You will at once admit that it should be regarded as one of the wonders -of the world.</p> - -<p>I will pass over in silence the pleasure felt by the natural philosopher -in meditating upon the strange phenomena presented by light as it -reproduces upon that polished surface all the objects of nature. A -mirror offers to the sedentary traveller a thousand interesting -reflections, a thousand observations which render it at once a useful -and precious article.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span></p> - -<p>Ye whom Love has held or still holds under his sway, learn that it is -before a mirror that he sharpens his darts, and contemplates his -cruelties. There it is that he plans his manœuvres, studies his tactics, -and prepares himself for the war he wishes to declare. There he -practices his killing glances and little affectations, and sly poutings, -just as a player practices, with himself for spectator, before appearing -in public.</p> - -<p>A mirror, being always impartial and true, brings before the eyes of the -beholder the roses of youth and the wrinkles of age, without calumny and -without flattery. It alone among the councilors of the great, invariably -tells them the truth.</p> - -<p>It was this recommendation that made me desire the invention of a moral -mirror, in which all men might see themselves, with their virtues and -their vices. I even thought of offering a prize to some academy for this -discovery, when riper reflec<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span>tion proved to me that such an invention -would be useless.</p> - -<p>Alas! how rare it is for ugliness to recognize itself and break the -mirror! In vain are looking-glasses multiplied around us which reflect -light and truth with geometrical exactness. As soon as the rays reach -our vision and paint us as we are, self-love slips its deceitful prism -between us and our image, and presents a divinity to us.</p> - -<p>And of all the prisms that have existed since the first that came from -the hands of the immortal Newton, none has possessed so powerful a -refractive force, or produced such pleasing and lively colors, as the -prism of self-love.</p> - -<p>Now, seeing that ordinary looking-glasses record the truth in vain, and -that they cannot make men see their own imperfections, every one being -satisfied with his face, what would a moral mirror avail?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span> Few people -would look at it, and no one would recognize himself. None save -philosophers would spend their time in examining themselves,—I even -have my doubts about the philosophers.</p> - -<p>Taking the mirror as we find it, I hope no one will blame me for ranking -it above all the pictures of the Italian school.</p> - -<p>Ladies, whose taste cannot be faulty, and whose opinion should decide -the question, generally upon entering a room let their first glance fall -upon this picture.</p> - -<p>A thousand times have I seen ladies, aye, and gallants, too, forget at a -ball their lovers and their mistresses, the dancing, and all the -pleasures of the fête, to contemplate with evident complaisance this -enchanting picture, and honoring it even, from time to time, in the -midst of the liveliest quadrille, with a look.</p> - -<p>Who then can dispute the rank that I accord to it among the masterpieces -of the art of Apelles?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXVIII" id="XXVIII"></a>XXVIII.<br /><br /> -<i>The Upset Carriage.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> HAD at last nearly reached my bureau. So close was I, that had I -stretched out my arm I could have touched the corner nearest to me. But -at this very moment I was on the verge of seeing the fruit of all my -labors destroyed, and of losing my life. I should pass over in silence -the accident that happened to me, for fear of discouraging other -travellers, were it not that it is so difficult to upset such a -post-chaise as I employ, that it must be allowed that one must be -uncommonly unlucky—as unlucky, indeed, as it is my lot to be—to be -exposed to a like danger.</p> - -<p>There I was, stretched at full length upon the ground, completely upset, -and it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span> was done so quickly, so unexpectedly, that I should have been -almost tempted to question the cause of my abject position, had not a -singing in my ears and a sharp pain in my left shoulder too plainly -demonstrated it.</p> - -<p>This was again the <small>OTHER</small>, who had played a trick upon me.</p> - -<p>Startled by the voice of a poor man who suddenly asked alms at my door, -and by the voice of Rose, my other half suddenly turned the arm-chair -sharply round, before my soul had time to warn it that a piece of brick, -which served as a drag, was gone. The jerk was so violent that my -post-chaise was quite thrown from its centre of gravity, and turned over -upon me.</p> - -<p>This was, I must own, one of the occasions upon which I had most to -complain of my soul. For instead of being vexed at herself for having -been absent, and scolding her companion for its hurry, she<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span> so far -forgot herself as to give way to the most animal resentment, and to -insult the poor fellow cruelly.</p> - -<p>“Idle rascal,” she said, “go and work.” (An execrable apostrophe this, -the invention of miserly, heartless Mammon.)</p> - -<p>“Sir,” replied the man, hoping to soften my heart, “I come from -Chambéry.”</p> - -<p>“So much the worse for you.”</p> - -<p>“I am James. You saw me when you were in the country. I used to drive -the sheep into the fields.”</p> - -<p>“And what do you do here?” My soul began to regret the harshness of my -first words; I almost think she regretted them a moment before they were -uttered. In like manner, when one meets in the road a rut or puddle, one -sees it, but has not time to avoid it.</p> - -<p>Rose finished the work of bringing me to good sense and repentance. She -had recognized Jem, who had often shared his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span> crust with her, and she -testified by her caresses, her remembrance and gratitude.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Joannetti, who had gathered together what was left of my -dinner, his own share, gave it at once to Jem.</p> - -<p>Poor Joannetti!</p> - -<p>Thus it is that in my journey I get lessons of philosophy and humanity -from my servant and my dog.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXIX" id="XXIX"></a>XXIX.<br /><br /> -<i>Misfortune.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">B</span>EFORE proceeding farther, I wish to remove a suspicion which may have -crossed the minds of my readers.</p> - -<p>I would not for all the world be suspected of having undertaken this -journey just because I did not know how to spend my time, and was in a -manner compelled thereto by circumstances. I here affirm, and swear by -all that is dear to me, that I projected it long before the event took -place which deprived me of my liberty for forty-two days. This forced -retirement only served as an opportunity for setting out sooner than I -had intended.</p> - -<p>This gratuitous protestation will, I know, appear suspicious in the eyes -of some.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span> But those who are so ready to suspect are just the persons who -will not read this book. They have enough to do at home and at their -friends’, plenty of other business to attend to. And good, honest folk -will believe me.</p> - -<p>Still, I freely admit that I should have preferred another season for my -journey, and that I should have chosen for its execution Lent rather -than the Carnival. The philosophical reflections, however, that have -come to me from above have greatly aided me in supporting the loss of -those pleasures which Turin offers at this noisy and exciting time.</p> - -<p>It is certain, I have thought to myself, that the walls of my chamber -are not so magnificently decorated as those of a ballroom. The silence -of my cottage is far less agreeable than the pleasing sounds of music -and dancing. But among the brilliant personages one meets in those -fes<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span>tive scenes, there are certainly some who are more sick at heart -than I am.</p> - -<p>And why should I picture to myself those who are more happily -circumstanced than it is my lot to be, while the world swarms with those -who are worse off? Instead of transporting myself in fancy to that -sumptuous dancing-hall, where so many beauties are eclipsed by the young -Eugénie, I need only pause a moment in one of the streets, that lead -thither, if I would learn how happy is my fate.</p> - -<p>For, under the porticos of those magnificent apartments, lie a crowd of -wretched people, half-naked, and ready to die from cold and misery. What -a spectacle is here! Would that this page of my book were known -throughout the universe! Would that every one knew that in this opulent -city a host of wretched beings sleep, without covering, in the coldest -winter nights, and with no pillow but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span> corner-stone of a street, or -the steps of a palace.</p> - -<p>Here, again, is a group of children, crouching together for protection -from the deadly cold; and here a trembling woman, who has no voice left -to complain with. The passers-by come and go without being touched by a -spectacle with which they are so familiar. The noise of carriages, the -shouts of intemperance, the ravishing sounds of music, mingle not -unfrequently with the wails of those unhappy creatures, and fill the ear -with doleful discord.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXX" id="XXX"></a>XXX.<br /><br /> -<i>Charity.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>ERE any one to pass a hasty judgment upon a city, taking my last -chapter as a criterion, he would err greatly. I have spoken of the poor -we meet with, of their pitiful lamentations, and of the indifference -with which many regard them. But I have said nothing of the multitude of -charitable persons who sleep while others seek amusement, and who rise -at dawn, unobserved and unostentatiously, to succor the unfortunate.</p> - -<p>This aspect of city life must not be passed by in silence. I will write -it on the reverse of the page I was anxious everybody should read.</p> - -<p>After having divided their good things<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span> with their brethren, after -having poured balm into hearts chafed by sorrow, you may see them enter -the churches, while wearied vice sleeps upon eider-down, to offer up -their prayers to God, and to thank Him for his mercies. The light of a -solitary lamp still struggles in the sanctuary with the daylight; but -they are already prostrate before the altar. And the Almighty, angered -by the hard-hearted selfishness of men, witholds his threatening hand.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXI" id="XXXI"></a>XXXI.<br /><br /> -<i>Inventory.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> COULD not help saying a word in my journey about those poor creatures, -for the thought of them has often come across me on my way, and turned -the current of my reflections. Sometimes, struck with the difference -between their case and my own, I have suddenly stopped my -travelling-carriage, and thought my chamber extravagantly embellished! -What superfluous luxury! Six chairs, two tables, a bureau, and a -looking-glass! What vain display! My bed above all things, my rose and -white bed, with its two mattresses, seemed to rival the magnificence and -effeminacy of Asiatic monarchs.</p> - -<p>These meditations made me indifferent<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span> to the pleasures that had been -forbidden me. And, as I went on from one reflection to another, my fit -of philosophy became so serious that I could have seen a ball going on -in the next room, and heard the sound of violins and flutes without -stirring. I could have heard Marchesini’s melodious voice, that voice -which has so often transported me, yes, I could have listened to it -without being moved. Nay, more, I could have gazed upon the most -beauteous woman in Turin, upon Eugénie herself, adorned from head to -foot by the hands of Mademoiselle Rapoux,<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> without emotion. But, of -this last, I must confess myself not quite sure.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXII" id="XXXII"></a>XXXII.<br /><br /> -<i>Misanthropy.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">B</span>UT, gentlemen, allow me to ask a question. Do you enjoy balls and plays -as much as you used to do? As for me, I avow that for some time past -crowded assemblies have inspired me with a kind of terror. When in their -midst, I am assailed by an ominous dream. In vain I try to shake it off; -like the dream of <i>Athalie</i>, it constantly returns. Perhaps this is -because the soul, overwhelmed at the present moment by dark fancies and -painful pictures, sees nothing but sadness around it, just as a -disordered stomach turns the most wholesome food into poison. However -this may be, my dream is as follows. When I am at one of these fêtes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> -among a crowd of kind, good-natured men, who dance and sing, who weep at -tragedies, and are full of frankness and cordiality, I say to myself:—</p> - -<p>“If suddenly a white bear, a philosopher, a tiger, or some other animal -of this kind were to enter, and ascending to the orchestra, were to -shout out furiously: ‘Wretched beings! Listen to the truth that comes -from my lips! You are oppressed! You are the slaves of tyrants! You are -wretched and heart-sick! Awake from your lethargy!</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Musicians, break your instruments about your heads, and let each one -of you arm himself with a poniard. Think no more about holidays and -rejoicings. Climb into the boxes, and stab their occupants, one and all. -And let the women steep their timid hands in blood.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Quit this room, for you are free! Tear your king from his throne, and -your God from his sanctuary.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">{97}</a></span>’</p> - -<p>“Well, and how many of these charming men will obey this tiger’s voice. -How many of them thought, perhaps, of such deeds before they entered? -Who can tell? Was there no dancing in Paris five years ago?”</p> - -<p>Joannetti! shut the door and windows! I do not wish to see the light! -Let no one enter my room. Put my sword within reach. Go out yourself, -and keep away from me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">{98}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXIII" id="XXXIII"></a>XXXIII.<br /><br /> -<i>Consolation.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">N</span>O, no! Stay, Joannetti, my good fellow! And you too, Rose, you who -guess what are my sorrows, and soften them by your caresses, come!</p> - -<p>V forms the resting-place.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">{99}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXIV" id="XXXIV"></a>XXXIV.<br /><br /> -<i>Correspondence.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE upset of my post-chaise has rendered the reader the service of -shortening my journey by a good dozen chapters, for, upon getting up, I -found myself close to my bureau, and saw that I had no time left for any -observations upon a number of engravings and pictures which had yet to -be surveyed, and which might have lengthened my excursions into the -realm of painting.</p> - -<p>Leaving to the right the portraits of Raphael and his mistress, the -Chevalier d’Assas and the Shepherdess of the Alps, and taking the left, -the side on which the window is situated, my bureau comes into view. It -is the first and the most promi<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">{100}</a></span>nent object the traveller’s eyes light -upon, taking the route I have indicated.</p> - -<p>It is surmounted by a few shelves that serve as a book-case, and the -whole is terminated by a bust which completes the pyramid, and -contributes more than any other object to the adornment of this region.</p> - -<p>Upon opening the first drawer to the left, we find an inkstand, paper of -all kinds, pens ready mended, and sealing-wax; all which set the most -indolent person longing to write.</p> - -<p>I am sure, dear Jenny, that if you chanced to open this drawer, you -would reply to the letter I wrote you a year ago.</p> - -<p>In the opposite drawer lies a confused heap of materials for a touching -history of the prisoner of Pignerol,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> which, my dear friends, you will -ere long read.</p> - -<p>Between these two drawers is a recess<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">{101}</a></span> into which I throw whatever -letters I receive. All that have reached me during the last ten years -are there. The oldest of them are arranged according to date in several -packets; the new ones lie pell-mell. Besides these, I have several -dating from my early boyhood.</p> - -<p>How great a pleasure it is to behold again through the medium of these -letters the interesting scenes of our early years, to be once again -transported into those happy days that we shall see no more!</p> - -<p>How full is my heart, and how deeply tinged with sadness is its joy, as -my eyes wander over those words traced by one who is gone forever! That -handwriting is his, and it was his heart that guided his hand. It was to -me that he addressed this letter, and this letter is all that is left of -him!</p> - -<p>When I put my hand into this recess, I seldom leave the spot for the -whole day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">{102}</a></span> In like manner, a traveller will pass rapidly through whole -provinces of Italy, making a few hurried and trivial observations on the -way, and upon reaching Rome will take up his abode there for months.</p> - -<p>This is the richest vein in the mine I am exploring. How changed I find -my ideas and sentiments, and how altered do my friends appear when I -examine them as they were in days gone by, and as they are now! In these -mirrors of the past I see them in mortal agitation about plans which no -longer disturb them.</p> - -<p>Here I find an event announced which we evidently looked upon as a great -misfortune; but the end of the letter is wanting, and the circumstance -is so entirely forgotten that I cannot now make out what the matter was -which so concerned us. We were possessed by a thousand prejudices. We -knew nothing of the world, and of men. But then, how warm was our -intercourse!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">{103}</a></span> How intimate our friendship! How unbounded our confidence!</p> - -<p>In our ignorance there was bliss. But now,—ah! all is now changed. We -have been compelled, as others, to read the human heart; and truth, -falling like a bomb into the midst of us, has forever destroyed the -enchanted palace of illusion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">{104}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXV" id="XXXV"></a><br /> -<img src="images/i_104.jpg" width="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /><br /> -XXXV.<br /><br /> -<i>The Withered Rose.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>F the subject were worth the trouble, I could readily write a chapter -upon that dry rose. It is a flower of last year’s carnival. I gathered -it myself in the Valentino.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> And in the evening, an hour before the -ball was to begin, I bore it, full of hope, and agreeably excited, to -Madame Hautcastel, for her acceptance. She took it, and without looking -at it or me, placed it upon her toilette-table. And how could she have -given <i>me</i> any of her attention? She was engaged in looking at herself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">{105}</a></span> -There she stood before a large mirror; her hair was ornamented for a -fête, and the decorations of her dress were undergoing their final -arrangement. She was so fully occupied, her attention was so totally -absorbed by the ribbons, gauzes, and all sorts of finery that lay in -heaps before her, that I did not get a look or any sign of recognition. -There was nothing for me but resignation. I held out humbly in my hand a -number of pins arranged in order. But her pincushion being more within -reach, she took them from her pincushion, and when I brought my hand -nearer, she took them from my hand, quite indifferently, and in taking -them up she would feel about for them with the tips of her fingers, -without taking her eyes from the glass, lest she should lose sight of -herself.</p> - -<p>For some time I held behind her a second mirror that she might judge the -better how her dress became her, and as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">{106}</a></span> her face reflected itself from -one glass to another, I saw a prospective of coquettes, no one of whom -paid me the least attention. In a word, I must confess that my rose and -I cut a very poor figure.</p> - -<p>At last I lost all patience, and unable longer to control the vexation -that preyed upon me, I put down the looking-glass I had been holding, -and went out angrily without taking leave.</p> - -<p>“O! you are going?” she said, turning so as to see her figure in -profile. I made no answer, but I listened some time at the door to see -what effect my abrupt departure would have.</p> - -<p>“Do you not see,” she said to her maid, after a moment’s silence, “that -this caraco, particularly the lower part, is much too large at the -waist, and will want pinning?”</p> - -<p>Why and wherefore that rose is upon my shelf, I shall certainly not -explain, for, as I said before, a withered rose does not deserve a -chapter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">{107}</a></span></p> - -<p>And pray observe, ladies, that I make no reflection upon the adventure -with the rose. I do not say whether Madame de Hautcastel did well or -otherwise in preferring her dress to me, or whether I had any right to a -better reception.</p> - -<p>I take special care to deduce therefrom no general conclusions about the -reality, the strength, and the duration of the affection of ladies for -their friends. I am content to cast this chapter (since it is one) into -the world with the rest of my journey, without addressing it to any one, -and without recommending it to any one.</p> - -<p>I will only add, gentlemen, a word of counsel. Impress well upon your -minds this fact, that your mistress is no longer yours on the day of a -ball.</p> - -<p>As soon as dressing begins, a lover is no more thought of than a husband -would be; and the ball takes the place of a lover.</p> - -<p>Every one knows how little a husband<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">{108}</a></span> gains by enforcing his love. Take -your trouble, then, patiently, cheerfully.</p> - -<p>And, my dear sir, do not deceive yourself; if a lady welcome you at a -ball, it is not as a lover that you are received, for you are a -husband—but as a part of the ball; and you are therefore but a fraction -of her new conquest. You are the decimal of a lover. Or, it may be, you -dance well, and so give éclat to her graces. After all, perhaps, the -most flattering way in which you can regard her kind welcome is to -consider that she hopes by treating as her cavalier a man of parts like -yourself, to excite the jealousy of her companions. Were it not for that -she would not notice you at all.</p> - -<p>It amounts then to this. You must resign yourself to your fate, and wait -until the husband’s <i>rôle</i> is played. I know those who would be glad to -get off at so cheap a rate.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">{109}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXVI" id="XXXVI"></a>XXXVI.<br /><br /> -<i>The Library.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> PROMISED to give a dialogue between my soul and the <small>OTHER</small>. But there -are some chapters which elude me, as it were, or rather, there are -others which flow from my pen <i>nolens volens</i>, and derange my plans. -Among these is one about my library; and I will make it as short as I -can. Our forty-two days will soon be ended; and even were it not so, a -similar period would not suffice to complete the description of the rich -country in which I travel so pleasantly.</p> - -<p>My library, then, is composed of novels, if I must make the confession; -of novels and a few choice poets.</p> - -<p>As if I had not troubles enough of my<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">{110}</a></span> own, I share those of a thousand -imaginary personages, and I feel them as acutely as my own. How many -tears have I shed for that poor Clarissa,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> and for Charlotte’s<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> -lover!</p> - -<p>But if I go out of my way in search of unreal afflictions, I find in -return, such virtue, kindness, and disinterestedness in this imaginary -world as I have never yet found united in the real world around me. I -meet with a woman after my heart’s desire, free from whim, lightness, -and affectation. I say nothing about beauty; this I can leave to my -imagination, and picture her faultlessly beautiful. And then, closing -the book, which no longer keeps pace with my ideas, I take the fair one -by the hand, and we travel together over a country a thousand times more -delightful than Eden itself. What painter could represent the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">{111}</a></span> fairy -land in which I have placed the goddess of my heart? What poet could -ever describe the lively and manifold sensations I experience in those -enchanted regions?</p> - -<p>How often have I cursed that Cleveland,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> who is always embarking upon -new troubles which he might very well avoid! I cannot endure that book -with its long list of calamities. But if I open it by way of -distraction, I cannot help devouring it to the end.</p> - -<p>For how could I leave that poor man among the Abaquis? What would become -of him in the hands of those savages? Still less dare I leave him in his -attempt to escape from captivity.</p> - -<p>Indeed, I so enter into his sorrows, I am so interested in him and in -his unfortunate family, that the sudden appearance of the ferocious -Ruintons makes my hair stand on end. When I read that passage a cold<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">{112}</a></span> -perspiration covers me, and my fright is as lively and real as if I was -going to be roasted and eaten by the monsters myself.</p> - -<p>When I have had enough of tears and love, I turn to some poet, and set -out again for a new world.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">{113}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXVII" id="XXXVII"></a>XXXVII.<br /><br /> -<i>Another World.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">F</span>ROM the Argonautic expedition to the Assembly of Notables; from the -bottom of the nethermost pit to the furthest fixed star beyond the Milky -Way; to the confines of the Universe; to the gates of chaos; thus far -extends the vast field over the length and breadth of which I leisurely -roam. I lack nor time nor space. Thither, conducted by Homer, by Milton, -by Virgil, by Ossian, I transport my existence.</p> - -<p>All the events that have taken place between these two epochs; all the -countries, all the worlds, all the beings that have existed between -these two boundaries,—all are mine, all as lawfully belong to me as -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">{114}</a></span> ships that entered the Piræus belonged to a certain Athenian.</p> - -<p>Above all the rest do I love the poets who carry me back to the remotest -antiquity. The death of the ambitious Agamemnon, the madness of Orestes, -and the tragical history of the heaven-persecuted family of the Atrides, -inspire me with a terror that all the events of modern times could not -excite in my breast.</p> - -<p>Behold the fatal urn which contains the ashes of Orestes! Who would not -shudder at the sight? Electra, unhappy sister! be comforted, for it is -Orestes himself who bears the urn, and the ashes are those of his -enemies.</p> - -<p>No longer are their banks like those of Xanthus or the Scamander. No -longer do we visit plains such as those of Hesperia or Arcadia. Where -are now the isles of Lemnos and Crete? Where the famous labyrinth? Where -is the rock that forlorn<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">{115}</a></span> Ariadne washed with her tears? Theseus is seen -no more; Hercules is gone forever. The men, aye, and the heroes of our -day are but pigmies.</p> - -<p>When I would visit a scene full of enthusiasm, and put forth all the -strength of my imagination, I cling boldly to the flowing robe of the -sublime blind poet of Albion at the moment when he soars heavenward, and -dares approach the throne of the Eternal. What muse was able to sustain -him in a flight so lofty that no man before him ever ventured to raise -his eyes so high? From heaven’s dazzling pavement which avaricious -Mammon looked down upon with envious eyes, I pass, horror-stricken, to -the vast caverns of Satan’s sojourn. I take my place at the infernal -council, mingle with the host of rebellious spirits, and listen to their -discourse.</p> - -<p>But here I must confess a weakness for which I have often reproached -myself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">{116}</a></span></p> - -<p>I cannot help taking a certain interest in Satan, thus hurled headlong -from heaven. (I am speaking, of course, of <i>Milton’s</i> Satan.) While I -blame the obstinacy of the rebel angel, the firmness he shows in the -midst of his exceeding great misery, and the grandness of his courage, -inspire me, against my will, with admiration. Although not ignorant of -the woe resulting from the direful enterprise that led him to force the -gate of hell and to trouble the home of our first parents, I cannot for -a moment, do what I will, wish he may perish in the confusion of chaos -on his way. I even think I could willingly help him, did not shame -withhold me. I follow his every movement, and take as much pleasure in -travelling with him as if I were in very good company. In vain I -consider that after all he is a devil on his way to the ruin of the -human race, that he is a thorough democrat not after the manner of those -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">{117}</a></span> Athens, but of Paris. All this does not cure me of my prejudice in -his favor.</p> - -<p>How vast was his project! How great the boldness displayed in its -execution!</p> - -<p>When the thrice-threefold gates of hell fly open before him, and the -dark, boundless ocean discloses itself in all its horror at his feet, -with undaunted eye he surveys the realm of chaos, and then, opening his -sail-broad wings, precipitates himself into the abyss.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - -<p>To me this passage is one of the noblest efforts of imagination, and one -of the most splendid journeys ever made, next to <i>the journey round my -room</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">{118}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXVIII" id="XXXVIII"></a>XXXVIII.<br /><br /> -<i>The Bust.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> SHOULD never end if I tried to describe a thousandth part of the -strange events I meet with when I travel in my library. The voyages of -Cook and the observations of his fellow-travellers Banks and Solander -are nothing compared with my adventures in this one district. Indeed, I -think I could spend my life there in a kind of rapture, were it not for -the bust I have already mentioned, upon which my eyes and thoughts -always fix themselves at last, whatever may be the position of my soul. -And when my soul is violently agitated, or a prey to despair, a glance -at this bust suffices to restore the troubled being to its natural -state. It sounds the chord upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">{119}</a></span> which I keep in tune the harmonies, and -correct the discords of the sensations and perceptions of which my being -is made up. How striking the likeness! Those are the features nature -gave to the best of men. O, that the sculptor had been able to bring to -view his noble soul, his genius, his character! But what am I -attempting! Is it here that his praise should be recorded? Do I address -myself to the men that surround me? Ah! what concern is it of theirs?</p> - -<p>I am contented to bend before thy image, O best of fathers! Alas, that -this should be all that is left me of thee and of my father-land! Thou -quittedst the earth when crime was about to invade it; and so heavy are -the ills that oppress thy family, that we are constrained to regard thy -loss as a blessing. Many would have been the evils a longer life would -have brought upon thee! And dost thou, O my father,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">{120}</a></span> dost thou, in thine -abode of bliss, know the lot of thy family! Knowest thou that thy -children are exiled from the country thou hast served with so much zeal -and integrity for sixty years?</p> - -<p>Dost thou know that they are forbidden to visit thy grave? But tyranny -has not been able to deprive them of the most precious part of thy -heritage, the record of thy virtues, and the force of thine example. In -the midst of the torrent of crime which has borne their father-land and -their patrimony to ruin, they have steadfastly remained united in the -path marked out for them by thee. And when it shall be given them to -prostrate themselves once more beside thy tomb, thou shalt see in them -thine obedient children.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">{121}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXIX" id="XXXIX"></a>XXXIX.<br /><br /> -<i>A Dialogue.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> PROMISED a dialogue, and I will keep my word.</p> - -<p>It was daybreak. The rays of the sun were gilding the summit of Mount -Viso, and the tops of the highest hills on the island beneath our feet. -My soul was already awake. This early awakening may have been the effect -of those night visions which often excite in her a fatiguing and useless -agitation: or perhaps the carnival, then drawing to a close, was the -secret cause; for this season of pleasure and folly influences the human -organization much as do the phases of the moon and the conjunction of -certain planets. However this may be, my soul was awake, and wide awake, -when she shook off the bands of sleep.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">{122}</a></span></p> - -<p>For some time she had shared, though confusedly, the sensations of the -<small>OTHER</small>: but she was still encumbered by the swathes of night and sleep; -and these swathes seemed to her transformed into gauze and fine linen -and Indian lawn. My poor soul was, as it were, enwrapped in all this -paraphernalia, and the god of sleep, that he might hold her still more -firmly under his sway, added to these bonds disheveled tresses of flaxen -hair, ribbon bows, and pearl necklaces. Really it was pitiful to see her -struggle in these toils.</p> - -<p>The agitation of the nobler part of myself communicated itself to the -<small>OTHER</small>; and the latter, in its turn, reacted powerfully upon my soul.</p> - -<p>I worked myself, at last, into a state which it would be hard to -describe, while my soul, either sagaciously or by chance, hit upon a way -of escaping from the gauzes by which it was being suffocated. I know<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">{123}</a></span> -not whether she discovered an outlet, or whether, which is a more -natural conclusion, it occurred to her to raise them: at all events, she -found a means of egress from the labyrinth. The tresses of disheveled -hair were still there; but they were now rather help than hindrance; my -soul seized them, as a drowning man clutches the sedge on a river’s -bank, but the pearl necklace broke in the act, and the unstrung pearls -rolled on the sofa, and from the sofa to Madame Hautcastel’s floor (for -my soul, by an eccentricity for which it would be difficult to give a -reason, fancied she was at that lady’s house); then a great bunch of -violets fell to the ground, and my soul, which then awoke, returned -home, bringing with her common sense and reality. She strongly -disapproved, as you will readily imagine, of all that had passed in her -absence; and here it is that the dialogue begins which forms the subject -of this chapter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">{124}</a></span></p> - -<p>Never had my soul been so ungraciously received. The complaints she -thought fit to make at this critical moment fully sufficed to stir up -domestic strife; a revolt, a formal insurrection followed.</p> - -<p>“What!” said my soul, “is it thus that during my absence, instead of -restoring your strength by quiet sleep that you may be better able to do -my bidding, you have the insolence (the expressing was rather strong) to -give yourself up to transports which my authority has not sanctioned!”</p> - -<p>Little accustomed to this haughty tone, the <small>OTHER</small> angrily answered:—</p> - -<p>“Really, madame” (this madame was meant to remove from the discussion -anything like familiarity), “really, this affectation of virtuous -decorum is highly becoming to you! Is it not to the sallies of your -imagination, and to your extravagant ideas, that I owe what in me -displeases you? What right have you to go<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">{125}</a></span> on those pleasant excursions -so often, without taking me with you? Have I ever complained about your -attending the meetings in the Empyrean or in the Elysian fields, your -conversations with the celestial intelligences, your profound -speculations (a little raillery here, you see), your castles in the air, -and your transcendental systems? And have I not a right, when you leave -me in this way, to enjoy the blessings bestowed upon me by Nature, and -the pleasures she places before me?”</p> - -<p>My soul, surprised at so much vivacity and eloquence, did not know how -to reply. In order to settle the dispute amicably, she endeavored to -veil with the semblance of good-nature the reproaches that had escaped -her. But, that she might not seem to take the first steps towards -reconciliation, she affected a formal tone. “<i>Madame</i>,” she said, with -assumed cordiality.... If the reader thought<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">{126}</a></span> the word misplaced when -addressed to my soul, what will he say of it now, if he call to mind the -cause of the quarrel? But my soul did not feel the extreme absurdity of -this mode of expression, so much does passion obscure the intellect! -“Madame,” she said, “nothing, be assured, would give me so much pleasure -as to see you enjoy those pleasures of which your nature is susceptible, -if even I did not participate in them, were it not that such pleasures -are harmful to you, injuriously affecting the harmony which....” Here my -soul was rudely interrupted, “No, no, I am not the dupe of your -pretended kindness. The sojourn we are compelled to make together in -this room in which we travel; the wound which I received, which still -bleeds, and which nearly destroyed me,—is not all this the fruit of -your overweening conceit and your barbarous prejudices? My comfort, my -very existence, is counted as nothing when your<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">{127}</a></span> passions sway you: and -then, forsooth, you pretend that you take an interest in my welfare, and -that your insults spring from friendship.”</p> - -<p>My soul saw very well that the part she was playing on this occasion was -no flattering one. She began, too, to perceive that the warmth of the -dispute had put the cause of it out of sight. Profiting from this -circumstance, she caused a further distraction by saying to Joannetti, -who at that moment entered the room, “Make some coffee!” The noise of -the cups attracted all the rebel’s attention, who forthwith forgot -everything else. In like manner we show children a toy to make them -forget the unwholesome fruit for which they beg and stamp.</p> - -<p>While the water was being heated, I insensibly fell asleep. I enjoyed -that delightful sensation about which I have already entertained my -readers, and which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">{128}</a></span> you experience when you feel yourself to be dozing. -The agreeable rattling Joannetti made with the coffee-pot reëchoed in my -brain, and set all my sensitive nerves vibrating, just as a single -harp-string when struck will make the octaves resound.</p> - -<p>At last I saw as it were, a shadow pass before me. I opened my eyes, and -there stood Joannetti. Ah, what an aroma! How agreeable a surprise! -Coffee! Cream! A pyramid of dry toast! Good reader, come, breakfast with -me!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">{129}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XL" id="XL"></a>XL.<br /><br /> -<i>Imagination.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>HAT a wealth of delights has kind Nature given to those who can enjoy -them. Who can count the innumerable phases they assume in different -individuals, and at different periods of life! The confused remembrance -of the pleasures of my boyhood sends a thrill through my heart. Shall I -attempt to paint the joys of the youth whose soul glows with all the -warmth of love, at an age when interest, ambition, hatred, and all the -base passions that degrade and torment humanity are unknown to him, even -by name?</p> - -<p>During this age, too short, alas! the sun shines with a brightness it -never displays in after-life; the air is then purer, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">{130}</a></span> streams -clearer and fresher, and nature has aspects, and the woods have paths, -which in our riper age we never find again. O, what perfumes those -flowers breathe! How delicious are those fruits! With what colors is the -morning sky adorned! Men are all good, generous, kind-hearted; and women -all lovely and faithful. On all sides we meet with cordiality, -frankness, and unselfishness. Nature presents to us nothing but flowers, -virtues, and pleasures.</p> - -<p>The excitement of love, and the anticipation of happiness, do they not -fill our hearts to the brim with emotions no less lively and various?</p> - -<p>The sight of nature and its contemplation, whether we regard it as a -whole, or examine its details, opens to our reason an immense field of -enjoyments. Soon the imagination, brooding over this sea of pleasures, -increases their number and intensity. The various sensations so unite<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">{131}</a></span> -and blend as to form new ones. Dreams of glory mingle with the -palpitations of love. Benevolence moves hand in hand with self-esteem. -Melancholy, from time to time, throws over us her solemn livery, and -changes our tears to joy. Thus the perceptions of the mind, the feelings -of the heart, the very remembrance of sensations, are inexhaustible -sources of pleasure and comfort to man. No wonder, then, that the noise -Joannetti made with the coffee-pot, and the unexpected appearance of a -cup of cream, should have impressed me so vividly and so agreeably.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">{132}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XLI" id="XLI"></a>XLI.<br /><br /> -<i>The Travelling-coat.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> PUT on my travelling-coat, after having examined it with a complacent -eye; and forthwith resolved to write a chapter <i>ad hoc</i>, that I might -make it known to the reader.</p> - -<p>The form and usefulness of these garments being pretty generally known, -I will treat specially of their influence upon the minds of travellers.</p> - -<p>My winter travelling-coat is made of the warmest and softest stuff I -could meet with. It envelops me entirely from head to foot, and when I -am in my arm-chair, with my hands in my pockets, I am very like the -statue of Vishnu one sees in the pagodas of India.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">{133}</a></span></p> - -<p>You may, if you will, tax me with prejudice when I assert the influence -a traveller’s costume exercises upon its wearer. At any rate I can -confidently affirm with regard to this matter, that it would appear to -me as ridiculous to take a single step of my journey round my room in -uniform, with my sword at my side, as it would to go forth into the -world in my dressing-gown. Were I to find myself in full military dress, -not only should I be unable to proceed with my journey, but I really -believe I should not be able to read what I have written about my -travels, still less to understand it.</p> - -<p>Does this surprise you? Do we not every day meet with people who fancy -they are ill because they are unshaven, or because some one has thought -they have looked poorly, and told them so? Dress has such influence upon -men’s minds that there are valetudinarians who think them<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">{134}</a></span>selves in -better health than usual when they have on a new coat and well-powdered -wig. They deceive the public and themselves by their nicety about dress, -until one finds some fine morning they have died in full fig, and their -death startles everybody.</p> - -<p>And in the class of men among whom I live, how many there are who, -finding themselves clothed in uniform, firmly believe they are officers, -until the unexpected appearance of the enemy shows them their mistake. -And more than this, if it be the king’s good pleasure to allow one of -them to add to his coat a certain trimming, he straightway believes -himself to be a general, and the whole army gives him the title without -any notion of making fun of him! So great an influence has a coat upon -the human imagination!</p> - -<p>The following illustration will show still further the truth of my -assertion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">{135}</a></span></p> - -<p>It sometimes happened that they forgot to inform the Count de —— some -days beforehand of the approach of his turn to mount guard. Early one -morning, on the very day on which this duty fell to the Count, a -corporal awoke him, and announced the disagreeable news. But the idea of -getting up there and then, putting on his gaiters, and turning out -without having thought about it the evening before, so disturbed him -that he preferred reporting himself sick and staying at home all day. So -he put on his dressing-gown, and sent away his barber. This made him -look pale and ill, and frightened his wife and family. He really <i>did</i> -feel a little poorly.</p> - -<p>He told every one he was not very well, partly for the sake of -appearances, and partly because he positively believed himself to be -indisposed. Gradually the influence of the dressing-gown began to work.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">{136}</a></span> -The slops he was obliged to take upset his stomach. His relations and -friends sent to ask after him. He was soon quite ill enough to take to -his bed.</p> - -<p>In the evening Dr. Ranson<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> found his pulse hard and feverish, and -ordered him to be bled next day.</p> - -<p>If the campaign had lasted a month longer, the sick man’s case would -have been past cure.</p> - -<p>Now, who can doubt about the influence of travelling-coats upon -travellers, if he reflect that poor Count de —— thought more than once -that he was about to perform a journey to the other world for having -inopportunely donned his dressing-gown in this?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">{137}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XLII" id="XLII"></a><br /> -<img src="images/i_137.jpg" width="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /><br /> -XLII.<br /><br /> -<i>Aspasia’s Buskin.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> WAS sitting near my fire after dinner, enveloped in my “habit de -voyage,” and freely abandoning myself to its influence: the hour for -starting was, I knew, drawing nigh; but the fumes generated by digestion -rose to my brain, and so obstructed the channels along which thoughts -glide on their way from the senses, that all communication between them -was intercepted. And as my senses no longer transmitted any idea to my -brain, the latter, in its turn, could no longer emit<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">{138}</a></span> any of that -electric fluid with which the ingenious Doctor Valli resuscitates dead -frogs.</p> - -<p>After reading this preamble, you will easily understand why my head fell -on my chest, and why the muscles of the thumb and forefinger of my right -hand, being no longer excited by the electric fluid, became so relaxed -that a volume of the works of the Marquis Caraccioli, which I was -holding tightly between these two fingers, imperceptibly eluded my -grasp, and fell upon the hearth.</p> - -<p>I had just had some callers, and my conversation with the persons who -had left the room had turned upon the death of Dr. Cigna, an eminent -physician then lately deceased. He was a learned and hard-working man, a -good naturalist, and a famous botanist. My thoughts were occupied with -the merits of this skillful man. “And yet,” I said to myself, “were it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">{139}</a></span> -possible for me to evoke the spirits of those whom he has, perhaps, -dismissed to the other world, who knows but that his reputation might -suffer some diminution?”</p> - -<p>I travelled insensibly to a dissertation on medicine and the progress it -has made since the time of Hippocrates. I asked myself whether the -famous personages of antiquity who died in their beds, as Pericles, -Plato, the celebrated Aspasia, and Hippocrates, died, after the manner -of ordinary mortals, of some putrid or inflammatory fever; and whether -they were bled, and crammed with specifics.</p> - -<p>To say why these four personages came into my mind rather than any -others, is out of my power; for who can give reasons for what he dreams? -All that I can say is that my soul summoned the doctor of Cos, the -doctor of Turin, and the famous statesman who did such great things, and -committed such grave faults.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140">{140}</a></span></p> - -<p>But as to his graceful friend, I humbly own that it was the <small>OTHER</small> who -beckoned her to come. Still, however, when I think of the interview, I -am tempted to feel some little pride, for it is evident that in this -dream the balance in favor of reason was as four to one. Pretty fair -this, methinks, for a lieutenant.</p> - -<p>However this may be, whilst giving myself up to the reflections I have -described, my eyes closed, and I fell fast asleep. But upon shutting my -eyes, the image of the personages of whom I had been thinking, remained -painted upon that delicate canvas we call memory; and these images, -mingling in my brain with the idea of the evocation of the dead, it was -not long before I saw advancing in procession Hippocrates, Plato, -Pericles, Aspasia, and Doctor Cigna in his bob-wig.</p> - -<p>I saw them all seat themselves in chairs ranged around the fire. -Pericles alone remained standing to read the newspapers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141">{141}</a></span></p> - -<p>“If the discoveries of which you speak were true,” said Hippocrates to -the doctor, “and had they been as useful to the healing art as you -affirm, I should have seen the number of those who daily descend to the -gloomy realm of Pluto decrease; but the ratio of its inhabitants, -according to the registers of Minos which I have myself verified, -remains still the same as formerly.”</p> - -<p>Doctor Cigna turned to me and said: “You have without doubt heard these -discoveries spoken of. You know that Harvey discovered the circulation -of the blood; that the immortal Spallanzani explained the process of -digestion, the mechanism of which is now well understood;” and he -entered upon a long detail of all the discoveries connected with physic, -and of the host of remedies for which we are indebted to chemistry: in -short, he delivered an academical discourse in favor of modern -medicine.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142">{142}</a></span></p> - -<p>“But am I to believe,” I replied, “that these great men were ignorant of -all you have been telling them, and that their souls, having shuffled -off this mortal coil, still meet with any obscurities in nature?”</p> - -<p>“Ah! how great is your error!” exclaimed the <i>proto-physician</i><a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> of -the Peloponnesus. The mysteries of nature are as closely hidden from the -dead as from the living. Of one thing we who linger on the banks of the -Styx are certain, that He who created all things alone knows the great -secret which men vainly strive to solve. “And,” added he, turning to the -doctor, “do be persuaded by me to divest yourself of what still clings -to you of the party-spirit you have brought with you from the sojourn of -mortals. And since, seeing that Charon daily ferries over in his boat as -many shades as heretofore, the labors of a thousand generations and all -the discov<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143">{143}</a></span>eries men have made have not been able to prolong their -existence, let us not uselessly weary ourselves in defending an art -which, among the dead, cannot even profit its practitioners.”</p> - -<p>Thus, to my great amazement, spoke the famous Hippocrates.</p> - -<p>Doctor Cigna smiled; and as spirits can neither withstand evidence, nor -silence truth, he not only agreed with Hippocrates, but, blushing after -the manner of disembodied intelligences, he protested that he had -himself always had his doubts.</p> - -<p>Pericles, who had drawn near the window, heaved a deep sigh, the cause -of which I divined. He was reading a number of the “Moniteur,” which -announced the decadence of the arts and sciences. He saw illustrious -scholars desert their sublime conceptions to invent new crimes, and -shuddered at hearing a rabble herd compare themselves with the heroes -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144">{144}</a></span> generous Greece; and this, forsooth, because they put to death, -without shame or remorse, venerable old men, women, and children, and -coolly perpetrated the blackest and most useless crimes.</p> - -<p>Plato, who had listened to our conversation without joining in it, and -seeing it brought to a sudden and unexpected close, thus spoke: “I can -readily understand that the discoveries great men have made in the -various branches of natural science do not forward the art of medicine, -which can never change the course of nature, except at the cost of life. -But this will certainly not be so with the researches that have been -made in the study of politics. Locke’s inquiries into the nature of the -human understanding, the invention of printing, the accumulated -observations drawn from history, the number of excellent books which -have spread sound information even among the lower orders,—so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145">{145}</a></span> many -wonders must have contributed to make men better, and the happy republic -I conceived, which the age in which I lived caused me to regard as an -impracticable dream, no doubt now exists upon the earth?” At this -question the honest doctor cast down his eyes, and only answered by -tears. In wiping them with his pocket-handkerchief, he involuntarily -moved his wig on one side, so that a part of his face was hidden by it. -“Ye gods!” exclaimed Aspasia, with a scream, “how strange a sight! And -is it a discovery of one of your great men that has led you to the idea -of turning another man’s skull into a head-dress?”</p> - -<p>Aspasia, from whom our philosophical dissertations had elicited nothing -but gapes, had taken up a magazine of fashions which lay on the -chimney-piece, the leaves of which she had been turning over for some -time when the doctor’s wig made<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146">{146}</a></span> her utter this exclamation. Finding the -narrow, ricketty seat upon which she was sitting uncomfortable, she had, -without the least ceremony, placed her two bare legs, which were adorned -with bandelets, on the straw-bottomed chair between her and me, and -rested her elbow upon the broad shoulders of Plato.</p> - -<p>“It is no skull,” said the doctor, addressing her, and taking off his -wig, which he threw on the fire, “it is a wig, madam; and I know not why -I did not cast this ridiculous ornament into the flames of Tartarus when -first I came among you. But absurdities and prejudices adhere so closely -to our miserable nature that they even follow us sometimes beyond the -grave.” I took singular pleasure in seeing the doctor thus abjure his -physic and his wig at the same moment.</p> - -<p>“I assure you,” said Aspasia, “that most of the head-dresses represented -in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147">{147}</a></span> pages I have been turning over deserve the same fate as yours, -so very extravagant are they.”</p> - -<p>The fair Athenian amused herself vastly in looking over the engravings, -and was very reasonably surprised by the variety and oddity of modern -contrivances. One figure, especially struck her. It was that of a young -lady with a really elegant head-dress which Aspasia only thought -somewhat too high. But the piece of gauze that covered the neck was so -very full you could scarcely see half her face. Aspasia, not knowing -that these extraordinary developments were produced by starch, could not -help showing a surprise which would have been redoubled (but inversely), -had the gauze been transparent.</p> - -<p>“But do explain,” she said, “why women of the present day seem to wear -dresses to hide rather than to clothe them. They scarcely allow their -faces to be seen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148">{148}</a></span> those faces by which alone their sex is to be -guessed, so strangely are their bodies disfigured by the eccentric folds -of their garments. Among all the figures represented in these pages, I -do not find one with the neck, arms, and legs bare. How is it your young -warriors are not tempted to put an end to such a fashion? It would -appear,” she added, “that the virtue of the women of this age, which -they parade in all their articles of dress, greatly surpasses that of my -contemporaries.”</p> - -<p>As she ended these words, Aspasia turned her eyes on me as if to ask a -reply. I pretended not to notice this, and in order to give myself an -absent air, took up the tongs and pushed away among the embers the -shreds of the doctor’s wig which had escaped the flames. Observing -presently afterwards that one of the bandelets which clasped Aspasia’s -buskin had come undone,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149">{149}</a></span> “Permit me,” said I, “charming lady,”—and -eagerly stooping, stretched out my hands towards the chair on which I -had fancied I saw those legs about which even great philosophers went -into ecstacies.</p> - -<p>I am persuaded that at this moment I was very near genuine somnambulism, -so real was the movement of which I speak. But Rose, who happened to be -sleeping in the chair, thought the movement was meant for her, and -jumping nimbly into my arms, she drove back into Hades the famous shades -my travelling-coat had summoned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150">{150}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="Liberty" id="Liberty"></a><i>Liberty.</i></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">D</span>ELIGHTFUL realm of Imagination, which the benevolent Being has bestowed -upon man to console him for the disappointments he meets with in real -life.</p> - -<p>This day, certain persons on whom I am dependent affect to restore me to -liberty. As if they had ever deprived me of it! As if it were in their -power to snatch it from me for a single moment, and to hinder me from -traversing, at my own good pleasure, the vast space that ever lies open -before me! They have forbidden me to go at large in a city, a mere -speck, and have left open to me the whole universe, in which immensity -and eternity obey me.</p> - -<p>I am now free, then; or rather, I must enter again into bondage. The -yoke of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151">{151}</a></span> office is again to weigh me down, and every step I take must -conform with the exigencies of politeness and duty. Fortunate shall I be -if some capricious goddess do not again make me forget both, and if I -escape from this new and dangerous captivity.</p> - -<p>O why did they not allow me to finish my captivity! Was it as a -punishment that I was exiled to my chamber, to that delightful country -in which abound all the riches and enjoyments of the world? As well -might they consign a mouse to a granary.</p> - -<p>Still, never did I more clearly perceive that I am double than I do now. -Whilst I regret my imaginary joys, I feel myself consoled. I am borne -along by an unseen power which tells me I need the pure air, and the -light of heaven, and that solitude is like death. Once more I don my -customary garb; my door opens; I wander under<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152">{152}</a></span> the spacious porticos of -the Strada della Po; a thousand agreeable visions float before my eyes. -Yes, there is that mansion, that door, that staircase! I thrill with -expectation.</p> - -<p>In like manner the act of slicing a lemon gives you a foretaste that -makes your mouth water.</p> - -<p>Poor <small>ANIMAL</small>! Take care!</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Bête</i> is not translatable here. The English word <i>animal</i> -is hardly nearer than <i>beast</i>. <i>Bête</i> is a milder word than <i>beast</i>, and -when used metaphorically, implies silliness rather than brutality. In -some cases our <i>creature</i> would translate it, <i>Pauvre bête!</i> <i>Poor -creature!</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Vide <i>Werther</i>, chapter xxviii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The reader will probably have been reminded of the -“Sentimental Journey” before reaching this proof of our author’s -acquaintance with the writings of Sterne. -</p> - -<p class="rt">H. A.<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> A fashionable milliner of the time.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> This work was not published.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> The botanical garden of Turin.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Richardson’s <i>Clarissa Harlowe</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Goethe’s <i>Werther</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> <i>Cleveland</i>, by the Abbé Prévost.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Some freedom of translation is, perhaps, pardonable -here. Our author, depending, it would seem, upon his -memory, gives Satan wings large enough “to cover a -whole army.” It was “the extended wings” of the gates -of hell, not of Satan, that Milton describes as wide -enough to admit a “bannered host.” <i>Paradise Lost</i>, ii. -885. -</p> - -<p class="rt">H. A.<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> A popular Turin physician when the <i>Voyage</i> was written.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a> -<a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> -A title known at the Sardinian court.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Journey Round My Room, by Xavier de Maistre - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNEY ROUND MY ROOM *** - -***** This file should be named 62519-h.htm or 62519-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/5/1/62519/ - -Produced by Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -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. - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ee370ed..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_001.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_001.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 78cd80e..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_001.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_036.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_036.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 55010b0..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_036.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_045.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_045.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 19fc838..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_045.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_059.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_059.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a4b5e99..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_059.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_104.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_104.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ae4e513..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_104.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_137.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_137.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5a9dc4f..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_137.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_half_title-a.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_half_title-a.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 984827e..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_half_title-a.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_half_title-b.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_half_title-b.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a23d804..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_half_title-b.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_iii.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_iii.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1c2144b..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_iii.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62519-h/images/i_title.jpg b/old/62519-h/images/i_title.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f015f8f..0000000 --- a/old/62519-h/images/i_title.jpg +++ /dev/null |
