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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..6a1bd18 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62808 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62808) diff --git a/old/62808-0.txt b/old/62808-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 12e9b84..0000000 --- a/old/62808-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2161 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, -Science, and Art, No. 741, March 9, 1878, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 741, March 9, 1878 - -Author: Various - -Editor: William Chambers - Robert Chambers - -Release Date: August 1, 2020 [EBook #62808] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF *** - - - - -Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL - -OF - -POPULAR - -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. - -Fourth Series - -CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS. - -NO. 741. SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 1878. PRICE 1½_d._] - - - - -IN THE GLOAMING. - - -To us Northerners few expressions convey such a sense of peace and -beauty as this of ‘in the gloaming.’ The twilight hour has had its -singers and idealisers ever since poetry found a voice and made -itself a power over men; and so long as human nature is as it is -now—impressionable, yearning, influenced by the mystery of nature and -the sacredness of beauty—so long will the tenderness of the gloaming -find its answering echo in the soul, and the sweet influences of the -hour be repeated in the depth of the emotions and the purity of the -thoughts. - -Between the light and the dark—or as we have it in our dear old local -tongue, ‘’twixt the gloamin’ an’ the mirk’—what a world of precious -memories and holy suggestions lies enshrined! The French _entre -chien et loup_ (between dog and wolf) is a poor equivalent for our -‘gloaming;’ and going farther south the thing is as absent as the -expression. To be sure the sweet Ave Maria of the evening is to the -pious Catholic all that the twilight is to us; when the church bells -ring out the hour for prayer, and the sign that the day’s work is done, -and the hurrying crowd stands for a moment hushed, with uplifted hands -and reverent faces raised to heaven, each man bareheaded as he says -his prayer, calling on Madonna to help him and his. But in the fervid -countries which lie in the sunshine from winter to autumn and from dawn -to dark, there is no gloaming as we have it. The sun goes down in a -cloudless glory of burnished gold or blazing red, of sullen purple or -of pearly opalescence; and then comes darkness swift and sudden as the -overflowing of a tidal river; but of the soft gray luminous twilight—of -that lingering after-glow of sky and air which we Northerners know and -love—there is not a trace. Just as with the people themselves it is -brilliant youth and glorious maturity, but for the most part an old age -without dignity or charm. Nothing is so rare in southern climates as to -see an old woman with that noble yet tender majesty, that gloaming of -the mind and body, which makes so many among us as beautiful in their -own way at seventy as they were at twenty. They fade as suddenly as -their twilight; and the splendour of the day dies into the blackness of -the night with scarce a trace of that calm, soft, peaceful period when -it is still light enough for active life and loving duties, after the -fervour of the noon has gone and before the dead dark has come. - -The gloaming is the hour for some of the dearest circumstances of life; -when heart grows nearer to heart, and there seems to be almost another -sense granted for the perception of spiritual things. It is the hour -when young lovers wander through the green lanes between the hawthorn -and the clematis, while the nightingale sings in the high elm-tree, and -the white moths flit by like winged ghosts or float like snow-flakes in -the dusk. Or if it is in the winter-time, they sit in the bay of the -window half hidden by the curtains, half revealed by the dying light, -as is their own love. They have no need of speech. Nature and the -gloaming are the voices between them which whisper in sigh and o’ercome -all that the one longs to tell and the other yearns to hear; and the -silence of their lips is the truest eloquence of their hearts. In the -full blaze of daylight that silence would be oppressive or chilling. -It would tell either too much or not enough; but in the twilight, -when speech would be intrusive and commonplace, the mute influences -of the hour are the best expressions of the soul. In meadow and wood -and garden the scents of flowers and sprouting leaves, of moss and -ferns and bark and bud, are more fragrant now than in the freshness of -even the early dawn—that childhood of the day! They too come like the -voices of Nature, telling softly secrets which the day cannot reveal. -Everything is dreamy, indeterminate, and full of possibilities not -yet realised. The moon is only a disc of unsubstantial vapour hanging -softly in the sky, where the sunset tones still linger; the stars are -faint uncertain points scarcely visible through the quivering chromatic -haze; but gradually all this mystery will sharpen into the confessed -beauty of the night, when the pale pure splendour of the moon, the -glorious brightness of the stars, will take the place of the gloaming. -As yet it is all softened colour and chastened tenderness; all silence -yet eloquence; and the young lovers wandering by the scented hedgerows, -or sitting in the bay of the window—they in the soft glow of the -twilight, while the ruddy firelight floods the rest of the room—are in -that perfect harmony with the circumstances round them of which the -other name is happiness. Yes, the gloaming is the hour of love, as -which of us does not know who has ever loved at all! Look back over -the lapse of years, and see now what you saw then. You are walking on -that broad path up the lone fell-side. The young bracken is sending -out its rich scents, mixed with the odour of thyme and the sweetness -of the golden gorse; the swallows are wheeling for their last rapid -flights; the homing rooks are straggling wearily to the elms; the lark -is singing faintly in his descent; and the honey-laden bees fly heavily -to their hives. Do you not remember the thoughts, the emotions which -made life for you at that moment a heavenly poem such as an angel might -have written? Do you not remember the love which swelled your heart, -and lifted it up from earth to the very footstool of God? Never can -you forget the exquisite delight, the unfathomable revelations of that -hour! It was in the gloaming when you told your love and knew that you -were beloved, when the rack and the pain of doubt were finally set -to rest, and the joy of certainty was established! That hour shaped -your life for weal—alas! sometimes for woe to follow after! But in -all the woe of the loss, you have the imperishable weal of the gain, -and are richer by the love that you gave as well as by that which you -received—by the memories that will never die, and the emotions which -you can never forget! - -The gloaming is the children’s hour, when mamma sings sweet songs, -or plays for them brisk and lively music, to which they dance like -shadowy sprites in and out from the dusk to the light. Or what is still -dearer, she gathers them all close about her, the elder ones touching -her knees, clinging to her shoulders, while the little one of all is in -her arms half asleep in a cloud of fairy dreams of vague delight, as -its curly head rests on her bosom, and the sweet soft voice lulls its -senses into a state of enchantment, to which no opiate of after-time -gives aught that is like. Then she tells them stirring tales of bold -knights and lovely ladies, and how faith and courage conquered all the -dangers that beset them, and brought them to good issues through evil -paths. Or in a lower voice, she speaks to them of the great God in -heaven, who through all His supreme might and majesty, can condescend -even to the wants of a little child; and she tells them of the sinless -angels; and of that dear Lord who came on the earth to save weak men -from the consequences of their own wilful wickedness. She speaks to -them of His purity, His love, His tenderness, and of the pattern left -us in His life, by which we may all walk if we will. And to the end of -their lives they remember those lessons of the quiet gloaming. One may -go out into wild lands and live there with graceless men and Godless -companions; but in the midst of all the evil which surrounds him, the -mother’s words spoken when he was a little lad at her knee, come back -like cool rains in the parching drought; and the crust of carelessness -and something worse breaks from his soul as memory leads him back into -what was the truest and holiest Church of his youth. Or the girl—she -who now sits with her big blue eyes fixed on her mother, shining with -pitying tears for the sorrows of the divine Son of Man, for the trials -of suffering saint and heroic martyr—when she is thrown into the great -world of fashion and dissipation to become a ‘leader of society,’ -surrounded by temptations of all kinds—she too will remember this hour, -and all that she learned and felt at her mother’s side. She will turn -back to the holy lessons of piety and humility, of modesty and honour, -taught her then by one who fulfilled those lessons in her own life; and -she will be strengthened to meet her dangers from the memory of those -pure defences. The mother’s influence never wholly dies; and never is -that influence more powerfully exerted, its traces more deeply engraved -than in the gloaming, when the sweet, sad Bible stories are told in a -low and loving voice, till the whole heart is stirred, and the deepest -recesses of spiritual consciousness are reached. - -The gloaming is the hour of the highest thoughts of which we may be -capable; the hour when the poet sings his song in his own heart before -he has written down the words on paper; when the painter sees his -picture completed by the divine artistry of the imagination before he -has set his palette or sketched in the outline; when the unformed and -chaotic thought long floating in the brain, clears itself from the -mists and takes definite shape, soon to become embodied in creation. -The youth dreams of that splendid achievement which is to win the great -game of fortune; he sees himself going up for his degree in advance of -the rest, cheered by his companions, congratulated by the ‘dons’ as he -comes out Double-first, or the Senior Wrangler of his year. Or he is -pleading before the judge at a very early stage in his legal career, -and winning the most important cause of the term—winning it by sheer -hard work and strength of brain—with ‘silk’ and perhaps the woolsack to -follow. Or he is in the House arguing for humanity against statecraft, -for justice against oppression, for truth against falsehood, and -carrying the majority with him—making men’s hearts to burn within them -by reason of his eloquence, his daring, and the intrinsic justice of -his cause, for the first time indubitably proved by him. Or he has -written his book, and wakes to find himself famous, the world lifting -its cap to him in recognition of his success, and the critics united -in praise, with not a surly note of blame in all the pack. Or he has -painted his heroic picture—his art of the highest, his theme the most -heroic—and the Royal Academy opens its doors with a clang to let him -through. Or he has built his cathedral, and is not ashamed to look -up at the lines of the old Abbey. Or he has invented his new engine, -discovered his new planet, demonstrated the hidden law which so many -suspect and no one has proved. It is the hour for all these grand -dreams of ambition, all these fairy tales of hope; and if impossible at -times to realise, yet they are good for the young mind to entertain; as -it is good for the young athlete to try his strength against superior -forces, and for the young bowman to aim higher than he can strike. - -It is the hour when greatness, yet inchoate and undeveloped, grows -within its husk—the seed-time of future excellence through the -fermentation of thought. There must be intervals of preparation, and -this is one of them. The quiet spell of the gloaming, when the fairest -visions are seen, the boldest wishes framed, the loftiest points -reached—how useful it is if taken as the spring-board for the true -leap—harmful enough if accepted as sufficient in itself; as if the -hope, the wish, the incoherent intention were enough, and realisation -always put off till the morrow, did not count. For there is ever the -danger that day-dreaming should become a habit, and that a man should -be contented with fashioning a thought in his brain without caring to -embody it in deed. But there is always danger of misuse in all things; -and the fear of falling is no bad help towards keeping one’s footing -firm when the path is slippery and the way-marks treacherous. - -The gloaming is the hour for quiet retrospection of the hours that -are past, for fearless onlooking to those which are to come, and for -closer communing with God and one’s own soul. The day is flowing into -the night through the golden gate of the twilight, just as fervid youth -and fragrant womanhood, the strength of manhood and the leader’s power, -are passing through the calm rest of old age into the stillness of -death. In the gloaming, the soul seems to see the right value and the -true shapes of things more clearly than it did when the sun was high, -and the eyes were dazzled with its shine and the blood fevered with -its heat. Then passion was strong, and with passion, self-will, false -aims, false beliefs—and disappointment as the shadow lying behind. If -the power was there to create, to resist, to combat, to subdue, so also -was the bitter smart and the cruel blow. And there was the inevitable -deception of the senses. Then the sunlight fell on the stagnant waters -of the deadly swamp and turned them into lakes of purest gold, which a -wise man would spend his time well to seek and his strength to possess. -Now in the twilight the false shine has faded from the low-lying pools, -and the dank and deadly mists creep up to mark both their place and -quality. If only he had known the truth of things in time! If only he -had not believed that marsh-lands were living lakes of golden waters, -which a man would do well to give his life to gain! - -In the daytime, clouds obscured the sun, so that the impatient and -sore-hearted said in his bitterness that the god had turned his face -from the earth and from him, and that to-morrow’s glory would never -rise. Now in the gloaming the hope of that morrow has already lessened -in anticipation the evil done by the clouds of to-day, and trust and -hope come in the place of sorrow and despair. The worst has been—make -room now for the better. No more false seeming and no more blinding by -the deceived and flattered senses; no more mis-diversion of energy, -and taking for pure and beautiful waters of life deadly morass and -stagnant marsh. The gloaming of life sets a man straight not only with -himself but with things, and gives him a truer knowledge than he ever -had before. He stands full face to the west and looks into the light, -which now he can bear, and which he no longer finds bewildering or -blinding. That time of tumult and passion, of heat and strife, through -which he has passed, how glad he is to leave it all behind him while -waiting, watching for the quiet peace of the night through the tender -softness of the gloaming! How near and yet how far off seem to him the -unfulfilled hopes of the morning, the mistaken endeavour of the noon, -the hard labour and fierce struggle of the day! If he had only known -in time the things which were best for him, how differently he would -have acted—and now: God’s will be done, and God pardon all his sins! He -must take things as they stand, trusting in the unfailing mercy; for if -repentance is good, regret is vain, and the gloaming is for peace, not -strife. - -Slowly the last rays of the sun fade out of the sky, and the lingering -light as slowly follows. The world lies hushed as a tired sleeper, -and the moon and the stars come out as watchers—as signs too of other -worlds and other lives. But the old man sitting pale and peaceful in -the house-porch knows now what he no longer sees; for the gloaming of -his life has passed into the deep stillness of something beyond, as -the day has flowed into the night, and both lie in the hollow of God’s -right hand. - - - - -HELENA, LADY HARROGATE. - - -CHAPTER XIV.—THE SHARING OF THE SPOIL. - -The name of Mr Enoch Wilkins, Solicitor in the High Court of Chancery, -and Attorney-at-law, before, according to the polite legal fiction, -the Queen herself at Westminster, was deeply inscribed, in fat black -engraved characters, on a gleaming brass plate which formed the chief -adornment of the dark-green door of his City office. If this brass -plate really did gleam, as it did, like a piece of burnished gold, its -refulgence was due to unremitting exertions on the part of the office -lad, whose objurgations were frequent as at unholy matutinal hours he -plied the obdurate metal with rotstone, oiled flannels, and chamois -leather. For the atmosphere of St Nicholas Poultney (so named from the -hideous effigy of a begrimed saint, mottled by frost and blackened -by soot, which yet decorated the low-browed doorway of a damp little -church hard by) was not conducive to brilliancy, whether of glass, -brass, or paint, being heavily charged, on the average of days, with -tainted air, foul moisture, and subdivided carbon, with rust, dust, -and mildew. Nevertheless Mr Wilkins, who was a master to be obeyed, -contrived that his plate-glass windows should flash back whatever rays -of light the pitying sun might deign to direct on so dismal a region, -girt in and stifled by a wilderness of courts, lanes, streets, and -yards, and also that door-handles and bell-pulls should be shining and -spotless as a sovereign new-minted, the door-step a slab of unsullied -stone, and passage, staircase, and offices as trim and clean as the -floors of some lavender-scented farmhouse among the cabbage roses of -Cheshire. These praiseworthy results were not attained without labour, -sustained and oft renewed, on the part of Mrs Flanagan, the so-called -laundress, whose washing was effected by the vigorous application -of scrubbing-brush and Bath-brick; of a melancholy window-cleaner -from Eastcheap, whose bread was earned by perpetual acrobatic feats -on narrow sills and outside ledges; and of the office lad already -mentioned, whose main duties, though he called himself a clerk, were -those of keeping the externals of his master’s place of business at the -utmost pitch of polish. - -In very truth, although there was a messenger, fleet of foot and -cunning in threading his way through the labyrinthine intricacies of -the City, always perched on a leather-covered stool in the antechamber, -to supplement the services of the office lad, Mr Wilkins had no clerk. -A great deal of his business was transacted by word of mouth; he -answered his own letters; and when much of the scribe’s work became -requisite, some civic law stationer would send in one or two red-eyed -men in mouldy black, with finger-nails indelibly stained by the ink -that had become their owners’ element, and a sufficient quantity of -draught folio paper would be covered with legal copperplate. - -The outer office was neatness itself, from the bright fire-irons in -the fender to the maps on the wall and the rulers and pewter inkstands -on the desks. And the inner room, where the lawyer himself gave -audience, was almost cheerful, with its well-brushed Turkey carpet, -sound furniture, well-stored book-shelves, and general aspect of -snug comfort. There were those who wondered that Mr Wilkins, whose -reputation did not rank very high in the learned confraternity to which -he belonged, should so pointedly have deviated from the tradition which -almost prescribes dirt and squalor and darkness for the surroundings -of those who live by the law. There were, not very far off, most -respectable firms, the name of whose titled employers was Legion, yet -through whose cobwebbed panes was filtered the feeble light by which -their bewildered clients stumbled among ragged carpets and rickety -furniture to reach the well-known beehive chair. But Mr Wilkins was -a man capable of attending to his own interests, and probably he had -found out what best chimed with the prejudices of those for whose -custom he angled. - -There was nothing in the room itself to shew that it was a lawyer’s -office. It might have been that of a surveyor or a promoter of -companies, for there was nothing on the walls but a set of good maps -and four or five excellent engravings. Not a deed-box, not a safe, -was to be seen, and if there were law-books on the shelves they held -their place unobtrusively amongst other well-bound volumes. Mr Wilkins -sitting in his usual place, with one elbow resting on the table before -him, seemed to be indulging in a reverie of no distasteful character, -to judge by the smile that rested on his coarse mouth as he softly -tapped his front teeth with the mother-of-pearl handle of a penknife, -as though beating time to his thoughts. At last, warned by the striking -of the office clock, the hour-hand of which pointed to eleven, Mr -Wilkins shook off his preoccupation of mind, and rang the hand-bell at -his elbow. - -The office lad, who called himself a clerk, was prompt in answering the -tinkling summons of his employer. - -‘Any one been here yet?’ demanded the lawyer. - -‘Touchwood and Bowser’s articled clerk with notice of new trial in case -of Green (in holy orders) _v._ Gripson—the bill-stealing case, you -know, sir, that the country parson chose to go to a jury about.’ - -‘Ah, yes,’ rejoined Mr Wilkins, again tapping his front teeth with -the pearl-handled knife, while a look of intense amusement overspread -his face. ‘Wants another shot at the enemy, does he, the Rev. James -Green! It was grand to see him in the witness-box, indignantly -insisting on the fact that not one sixpence ever reached him in -return for his promissory-note despatched per post, on the faith of Mr -Gripson’s advertisement and fair words. Then some Mr Jenks, a total -stranger, happens to give valuable consideration, at third or fourth -hand, for the stamped paper with the clergyman’s signature, and, Rev. -Green objecting to cash up, gets a _fi. fa._—a neat contraction of -_fieri facias_, which, as we lawyers know, is a term which directs -an execution to be levied on the goods of a debtor, ha, ha!—has it -backed in Wiltshire, and sells up every bed and chest of drawers in the -vicarage. Mr Green brings an action against Gripson, who is comfortably -out of the way, but retains me. We traverse everything, demur to -everything, put in counter pleas and rebutters, change the venue, and -play Old Gooseberry with the too confiding Green, whose counsel elects -to be nonsuited. Now, like a Briton, he is ready for us again.’ - -Mr Wilkins laughed, and the juvenile clerk re-echoed the laugh. -Sharp practice, such as that so lovingly narrated by the attorney, -apparently for lack of a better audience, was congenial to the mind -of this keen-witted young acolyte of Themis, with whom the proverbial -distinction between Law and Equity seemed to be very clearly defined. - -‘Nobody else called?’ asked Mr Wilkins. - -‘Yes. Stout sporting-looking gent, who said he’d make shift, when I -told him you had stepped out to the Master’s chambers, to come again -to-morrow. Name of Prior,’ returned the youth. - -‘Ah, Nat the bookmaker, wanting to know how near the wind he may sail -without getting into the sweep-net of a criminal indictment,’ said the -lawyer placidly. ‘Nothing else, hey?’ - -‘Only Mr Isaacs of Bowline Court, Thames Street, sent round to say he -would look in between eleven and twelve,’ was the reply. - -‘I’ll see him and any gentleman he may bring with him,’ rejoined Mr -Wilkins, taking up the newspaper, as the office lad retired; but in -five minutes returned, ushering in three gentlemen, whose hooked noses, -full red lips, jet-black hair, and sloe-black eyes gave them a strong -family resemblance. They were old acquaintances doubtless, for the -greeting which they received from Mr Wilkins was a familiar one. - -‘How do, Moss? How goes it, Braham, my buck? You’re all right, Isaacs, -I can see for myself.’ - -Nothing could well be more unlike what, during the regency of the late -King George IV., was called a buck than was Mr Braham, who was simply -a corpulent Jew, ineffably greasy in appearance, and who wore a faded -olive-green greatcoat that might have passed for a medieval gabardine, -and carried an empty blue bag over his left arm. Mr Moss, his junior -by some years, was better dressed, but his raven locks fell upon a -shirt collar of dubious whiteness, and his dingy finger-nails were in -unpleasant contrast with the splendour of the heavy rings he wore, and -of the huge emerald in his satin necktie. The youngest of the three, Mr -Isaacs, a hawk-eyed little man, bejewelled and florid of attire, was by -far in dress and person the least unclean of the three. - -There was a little conversation as to weather and other general topics, -and then Braham the senior of the three Hebrews pulled out a watch -as round and almost as big as a golden turnip, and compared it with -the office clock. ‘Letsh get along,’ he said genially: ‘bushinesh, -bushinesh, my dears, waitsh for no man.’ - -‘You’re right, Uncle Jacob,’ chimed in Mr Moss, who could scarcely -have been, otherwise than figuratively and in oriental fashion, the -nephew of his stout kinsman, but who was certainly a Jew of a much more -modern pattern. He, at anyrate, coquetted with soap and water, and had -discarded the shibboleth in his speech; but it might be doubted whether -the elder Israelite, for all his repellent exterior, was not the better -fellow of the two. - -‘Business by all means,’ cheerily responded Mr Wilkins. ‘We’ve done -it together before to-day, and we’ll do it again, I hope, gentlemen, -for many a day yet to come. It is a very pleasant occasion on which we -now assemble—nothing less, if I may say so, than the dividing of the -profits, the sharing of the spoil.’ - -There was a hearty laugh. - -‘Sharing of the shpoil!’ chuckled elderly but still vigorous Mr Braham. -‘What a boy he ish, thish Wilkinsh, what a boy he ish!’ - -‘And now for it,’ said Mr Wilkins, rustling over a bundle of papers -that lay before him. ‘Here we have it in black and white, worth all -the patter and palaver in the world. These are the baronet’s first -and second letters, the second inclosing an uncommonly stiff cheque. -Here are Captain Denzil’s bills—pretty bits of kites they are, renewed -here and renewed there—and here are our old agreements, notes, and -memoranda, duplicates of which I’ve no doubt are in all your pockets. -Pass them round, Isaacs, and take a good look at them first. You’re an -attorney, you know, and that’s why you’re here, though I don’t believe, -my friend, that you “pull off” a clear five hundred out of the haul.’ - -‘Yesh, yesh, he’sh an attorney, ash Wilkinsh saysh,’ said Mr Braham, -whose laughter was very ready, as that of fat people often is; ‘and sho -we have him here. Shet a thief to catch a’—— - -Here a warning kick or other practical exhortation to caution on the -part of his kinsman appeared to cut short the over-fluency of the bulky -Hebrew, and he became as mute as a mouse, while Mr Isaacs read aloud in -a high shrill voice the contents of Sir Sykes Denzil’s letters and also -a brief summary which Mr Wilkins had prepared. - -There was some discussion, but there really was not room for much. Here -was no compromise, no handing over of so many shillings in the pound. -Sir Sykes Denzil had paid his son’s liabilities without the abatement -of a guinea. Mr Braham was to receive what he called ‘shix thoushand -odd;’ Mr Moss, two thousand eight hundred and seventy-two; four hundred -and thirty were for Mr Isaacs; and the residue was for Enoch Wilkins, -Esquire, gentleman. - -It was a strange sight when the rolls of bank-notes were produced, to -see the actual partition of the Bank of England’s promises to pay, the -vulture beaks bending over the crisp paper, the wary inspection of -water-mark and number and signature, and the stuffing of pocket-books -and cramming of purses and stowing away of what seemed to be regarded -rather as plunder than as lawful gains. Two odd things during this -transaction were to be noticed—first, that Mr Braham, who was -incomparably the shabbiest Jew present, met with deference on every -hand save from irreverent Wilkins; and secondly, that all the Jews -seemed to take up their money grudgingly, like hounds that have chopped -their fox in covert. - -‘Well done, Shir Shykesh!’ exclaimed the heavy Hebrew with the green -gabardine and the blue bag. ‘If they wash all of hish short, there -might be the moneysh, but there wouldn’t be the fun!’ - -‘We’ll drink Sir Sykes’ health, at anyrate,’ briskly put in Mr -Wilkins.—‘Sims!’ and he tinkled the office hand-bell as he spoke, -‘glasses and cork-screw.’ - -It was good amber-hued sherry, none of your modern abominations, but -a real Spanish vintage, long mellowed in its dusty bin, that gurgled -into the glasses under the careful handling of Mr Wilkins. The Hebrews -sipped, appraised—where could be found judges so critical!—and drank. - -‘I’m shorry for the poor young man,’ said Mr Braham, in a sort of -outburst of sentiment, at mention of Captain Denzil’s name. - -‘So that he gets his victuals,’ remarked the Jew attorney curtly, ‘I -don’t see why he’s to be pitied.’ - -‘It _ish_ a shelling out!’ was the mild rejoinder of the stout -Israelite with the blue bag, who seemed to be by far the -softest-hearted of the company. ‘Of courshe, when I thought he would -do me, I didn’t care; but now I remember he didn’t get much, not above -sheven-fifty cash. All the resht wash pictures, wine—not like yoursh, -Wilkinsh—cigars, and opera-tickets.’ - -‘He went through the mill, I suppose,’ said Mr Moss, ‘as others have -done before him, and others will do after him; eh, Uncle Jacob?’ - -‘Eh, eh, grisht to the mill!’ chuckled the stout proprietor of the -empty blue bag; and the quartette of confederates soon separated. - -Mr Wilkins, left alone, purred contentedly as he poured out and tossed -off another glass of the sherry so deservedly lauded, and then, rising -from his chair, took down a Baronetage, bound in pink and gold, and -fluttered over the leaves until his finger rested on the words: -‘Denzil, Sir Sykes; of Carbery Chase, county Devon; of Threepham Lodge, -Yorkshire; Ermine Moat, Durham; and Malpas Wold, Cheshire, succeeded -_his_ father, Sir Harbottle Denzil, August 18—; married, May 18—; -formerly in the army, and attained the rank of Major. Is a magistrate -and deputy-lieutenant for Devonshire. Unsuccessfully contested the -county at the election of 18—.’ - -‘To think,’ said the attorney, stroking the book with his fleshy -hand, ‘how much one can read between the lines of these plausible -announcements, almost as blandly eulogistic as the inscriptions which -chronicle on their tombstones fond wives, faultless husbands, and -parents worthy to be immortalised by Plutarch! How trippingly the -name of that needy old reprobate Sir Harbottle rolls off the tongue. -He to be described as of Threepham and Malpas! Say, rather, of any -foreign lodging or foreign jail, of the Isle of Man while it was yet a -sanctuary for the debtor, of the Rules of the King’s Bench. But Carbery -is very genuine anyhow.’ - -Mr Wilkins paused for a moment, and then mused: ‘I could spoil your -little game, Sir Sykes—spoil it in a moment, and compel you to exchange -your D. L.’s uniform of scarlet and gold for—never mind what! So long -as the goose lays the golden eggs, it would not be the part of a wise -man to twist her neck.’ Having said which, Mr Wilkins brushed his coat, -drew on his gloves, and taking up his hat, sallied out. ‘Taxing office; -back in an hour,’ he said to the office lad as he went out. ‘If I am -detained, you need not wait for me after two o’clock.’ - -‘Ten to four, he don’t shew up,’ said the youth, who was accustomed to -the professional figments which served to beguile credulous clients, -but who congratulated himself at the prospect of a speedy release from -duty. ‘If the governor doesn’t put in an appearance by 1.30, I’ll make -myself scarce, or my name is not Sims!’ - -Meanwhile, Mr Wilkins made his way through the jostling crowd that -roared and seethed among the busy streets of the City, until he reached -an office, resplendent with plate-glass and French-polished mahogany, -in Cornhill, on the door of which was inscribed, ‘Bales and Beales, -Stock and Share Brokers.’ - -There were a good many customers in the outer office, a few of whom -were quiet men of business, while the others, nearly half of whom were -anxious-eyed ladies who had reached middle life, seemed flushed and ill -at ease as they perused and reperused the written and printed memoranda -with which they all seemed to be provided, and glanced impatiently at -the ornamental clock on its gilded bracket. The lawyer, as an _habitué_ -of the place, sent in his name, and gained speedy admittance to the -inner den, where Mr Bales himself, tall, thin, and with a thatch of -bushy eyebrows projecting in pent-house fashion over his steady blue -eyes, held out a cool white hand to be grasped by the hot red hand of -Mr Wilkins. - -The head of the firm of Bales and Beales was pre-eminently a cool man, -and nothing could be in stronger contrast than was his unimpassioned -bearing and the flutter and flurry of his customers. - -‘How about my Turks?’ unceremoniously demanded Mr Wilkins. ‘Of course I -know they’re down again—confound them!’ - -‘The fall continues. They have receded, let me see, two and -seven-eighths since this morning,’ returned the broker, pointing to -the official bulletin in its frame on the wall beside him. ‘Probably -they are falling as we speak, for the Bourses of Paris, Amsterdam, and -Vienna opened heavily.’ - -‘Well, you _are_ a Job’s comforter, Bales,’ said the lawyer, wiping -his heated brow. ‘Will this sort of thing go on, hey? Shall I sell, or -stick to my colours like a Briton? Can’t you give a fellow your advice?’ - -‘I never advise,’ answered Mr Bales, with his cold smile. ‘Life would -be a burden to me if I did. I prefer to lay the facts before those who -do me the favour to come to me, leaving to their unbiassed judgment the -course to pursue. Here are some Stock Exchange telegrams, part of which -you will see presently, no doubt, in the evening papers. They help to -explain the rush on the part of the public to sell out.’ - -The attorney took the half-dozen square pieces of hastily printed -paper, yet damp from the press, some of them, which Mr Bales -courteously proffered him, and at a glance mastered their contents. - -‘Can rascally fabrications like this,’ asked the attorney, in a glow of -something like honest indignation, ‘impose upon the veriest gull in -Christendom?’ - -‘Ah!’ answered the unmoved Mr Bales, scrutinising the despatch which -his irate client held between his finger and thumb, ‘you mean the -rumour about the sale of the six Turkish ironclads to the Russian -government? Popular credulity, my dear sir, would swallow more than -that. You have overlooked the other telegram, which mentions that -Adamapoulos and Nikopolos, the Greek bankers of Galata, have declined -to advance to the Porte at twenty per cent. the wherewithal to meet the -next coupon of the Debt. That report has more weight with business-men -than the nautical one. Will you give me instructions to sell?’ - -‘No; but to buy!’ rapped out Mr Wilkins, with suddenness. ‘There must -come a reaction soon. I’ll take another ten thousand of the Imperial -Ottomans. I know what you would say, Bales,’ he added irritably: ‘the -cash I left on deposit won’t cover the margin. Here’—and he produced -the bank-notes that had fallen to his share in the division of that -day—‘are funds, and to spare.’ - -As the lawyer quitted the stock-broker’s office he muttered between -his set teeth: ‘I stand to win; but at anyrate I know of back-play of -a safer sort. Sir Sykes Denzil of Carbery, you are a sponge well worth -the squeezing!’ - - - - -SENSATIONAL REPORTING. - - -Scarcely a week passes in which the newspaper press is not the medium -of attracting the attention of the public to a _cause célèbre_ of -one kind or another. Crimes of brutal violence, of gross immorality, -of wholesale fraud, have been so terribly prevalent of late, that we -might almost believe that civilisation and crime are going hand in -hand; certainly the horrors of the latter go a considerable way towards -neutralising the blessings of the former, and cause us to pause in our -self-congratulation upon the progress and enlightenment of the age in -which we live. At but too frequent intervals some villain is held up -before the public, and becomes, so to speak, fashionable for the period -over which his trial extends. - -Every class of society provides its recruits now and again for the -ranks of the infamous, and no matter to which stratum the criminal -belongs, one newspaper or another is sure to be ready to report—with -a minuteness which could not be more detailed if it were inspired -by personal animosity—every stage and incident of his crime, and if -procurable and sufficiently sensational, to supply an epitome of his -antecedent career. - -When the influence of the press is properly taken into consideration, -the responsibility of writing for it is a very serious one. To many -thousands even in great centres of human life like London, Liverpool, -Glasgow, or Edinburgh, the daily paper is almost the sole intellectual -food sought for and within reach; and when we further consider the -immense circulation of some of our newspapers, nearly approaching a -quarter of a million a day, and when we think that each copy becomes -the centre of an ever-increasing circle of information, we may -reasonably assert that the penny paper, once held in contempt, is -one of the most potent agents for good or evil which our generation -possesses; and in proportion to the influence which it exerts, is the -necessity of that influence being exerted in a right direction. So far -as regards politics, theology, and social problems, each paper may -legitimately represent a particular party or sect, and inculcate its -particular views; but upon certain broad principles of morality, and -as far as regards general rules for the inculcation and protection of -public morals, there ought to be no difference of opinion at all. - -Without question, the newspapers of our day are animated by a laudable -desire to act for the moral as well as material welfare of the people, -and we could not accuse any one of them of voluntarily inserting matter -having a tendency subversive to morality; but as to what is and what -is not calculated to taint the public mind, the opinion of the press -seems to be very undecided. Particularly is this the case with regard -to the record of crime, which it is part of their duty to publish. -It is unquestionably advisable that the public should be informed of -every crime that is discovered; but the scope of the information to be -given becomes a matter for careful consideration, and upon which some -difference of opinion may reasonably be expected to exist. - -What, it may be asked, is the object of a public report of the trial -of a criminal? Presumably that by the knowledge of what has occurred -the public may be on their guard against similar crimes, and that the -story of detection and punishment may act as a deterrent; the first -of these objects applying more particularly to what we may call the -respectable classes, and the latter to the criminal, vicious, or -viciously disposed. The story of crime should legitimately produce -in the public mind a sense of indignation against the criminal, of -pity for the victim, of personal caution; the criminal should not be -considered a sort of social scapegoat, and the indignation should not -be Pharisaical, but should have its origin in an abhorrence of the -crime rather than of the criminal. To the viciously inclined the story -of detected crime should be a warning and a deterrent, both on the -score of fear of detection as also upon higher moral considerations. -The history of crime or of a criminal career is invariably pitiable -enough; but it is possible in some instances to invest it with a -spurious interest, and even a sort of meretricious brilliance which is -calculated to work an immense amount of harm among a certain class of -people. - -The principal object of a newspaper report nowadays would seem to be to -present the public with an exciting and dramatic narrative, rather than -a calm, unimpassioned statement of facts; to write, in short, rather -for their amusement than information. Undoubtedly few things increase -the sale of a newspaper more than a graphic account of heart-rending -‘Scenes in Court,’ and the demeanour, for instance, of ladies who have -been accommodated with seats on the bench! a style of reporting which -seems to us to be little short of a breach of trust, inasmuch as it is -pandering to that which it ought to suppress. - -It may be said that in criminal cases it is well that the public should -have the fullest possible details of the proceedings, so that they may -follow them closely, and perhaps aid in the administration of justice; -but as public comment upon cases _still under trial_ is not recognised, -the value of full reports is nullified so far as this consideration is -concerned. But if a judge, a man of eminent experience in human nature, -learned in the law, and accustomed to the consideration of every -variety of evidence; and twelve jurymen, well meaning, unprejudiced, of -business habits and unimpassioned judgment, cannot be trusted to decide -a case upon its merits, surely it would be unreasonable to suppose that -the outside public could do better, reading as they do simply in print -the words which may have had their significance increased immeasurably -in either direction by the tone in which they were uttered, by the -bearing of the speaker, and the voluntary or involuntary gestures which -may have accompanied them. - -When we read detailed accounts of the appearance of prisoners, verbatim -reports of their most insignificant utterances; when we are given -details of their meals; when we are told that one prisoner is dressed -with scrupulous care, and that the affection existing between two other -prisoners was very apparent to those in court; when we have a picture -of the judge passing sentence amidst sobbing women; when piquant -details of past careers are dragged to light, and the various amiable -or vicious points commented upon, although having absolutely no bearing -whatever upon the case under consideration—then we cannot avoid the -conclusion that the main object of all the report is to sell the paper. -It would be impossible to give the public such information regarding -the demeanour and tone of witnesses or prisoners as to enable them to -form a really just and reliable idea; while it is quite possible and -a very frequent practice to be just graphic enough to make the public -fancy that they are in a position not only to criticise and speculate, -but to dogmatise, and even to protest vehemently against the verdict -of a jury and the sentence of a judge, deliberately given after a long -and careful inquiry, in which the prisoner had the benefit of counsel -learned in every intricacy and subtlety of the law. The practice of -giving detailed descriptions of the personal appearance and social -habits of criminals, which are now acknowledged features of newspaper -reporting, has a tendency to invest the prisoners with something of a -meretricious glory, which ought to be condemned by all properly minded -people. - -If crime has been committed, it is surely injurious to the public -morals to write or publish anything calculated to elicit misplaced -sympathy, and it is a poor trade to pander to morbid curiosity. If -people fairly appreciated not only the wickedness and horror of -crime, but its almost invariable meanness, pettiness, and misery, its -feverish restlessness, its ever-haunting dread of detection—crime would -be robbed of much of its semi-heroic character, and would cease to -prove so attractive a bait to those who gloat over its every detail. -It is common to speak of ‘great’ criminals as distinguished from the -vulgar herd; but there is never anything great in crime. Graphic pens -pandering to vulgar curiosity may produce a passing interest of even -absorbing intensity; the crime and the criminal may form a nine days’ -wonder; but the end comes; and as soon as the convict dress is donned, -the erstwhile man is degraded into a mere automaton, a mere numeral, -and is utterly dead to the outside world; while if the scaffold should -be his destined finale, the only thing which survives the wretched -criminal is his infamy. - -Sensational reporting pays, for papers with a reputation for ‘Special’ -descriptions are at a premium whenever there is a _cause célèbre_ -before the public; but it is eminently prejudicial to public morality. -The remedy rests solely with the proprietors, on whom lies also the -responsibility of purveying garbage to an unhappily large section of -readers; but until public opinion forces upon them the fact that they -are deliberately lowering themselves to the level of the vendors of -‘Penny Dreadful’ literature, sensational reporting of criminal trials -is likely to flourish, inoculating the public mind with an unwholesome -craving for details which should be banished from the pale of -discussion among people with any pretensions to refinement, good taste, -or common decency. - - - - -THE BONE-CAVE INSCRIPTION. - - -The pleasant town of Q——, among its other attractions, possesses a -bone-cave. The cave, situated in a little valley close by the sea, had -not long been discovered to contain bones before it was invaded by an -army of geologists, who dug deep holes in the floor, and unearthed the -remains of prehistoric fires, of ancient knives and needles, and of -even a man’s jaw buried in stalagmite. And every year the fashionable -people of Q—— made an excursion into the windings of the cavern, under -the guidance of gnome-like guides with torches. - -Within a certain period of its modern history, the Q—— bone-cave, -like the sacred caves of India, had a high-priest, an exponent of -its mysteries. He did not, however, dwell in its recesses, but in a -smart villa overlooking Q—— Bay. He was a local celebrity, and the -most active member of a committee appointed to examine the cavern. The -cavern was his hobby, and as it was of tolerably uniform temperature, -there was no time of year when he did not take delight in exploring -its mysteries. Every fresh discovery was a joy to Mr Grope; and though -a sceptical few laughed at him, and even called some of his flint -knives in question, his researches had thrown much light on geology and -archæology. One thing alone was wanting—he had found no dates in the -cave. There were dates and inscriptions in caves belonging to other -places, and he did not like Q—— to be behind them. - -Prefacing, for the benefit of the reader, that stalac_tite_ is the -substance that hangs to the roof of caverns, like icicles, and -stalag_mite_ the substance that has fallen to the floor, a concretion -of carbonate of lime—we proceed with the story. One day, as Mr Grope -was examining a wall in one of the passages, he thought he detected a -weakness in the rock, and working at it with his great hammer he found -that it speedily crumbled away. Soon he had made a hole through which -he was able to pass, and presently he stood in a small apartment full -of large stalagmitic blocks, and with a very moderate amount of water -dripping from the roof. As he flashed his lantern about, his keen eye -caught sight of artificial markings on the smooth surface of one of -the blocks. His heart leaped within him. Here of a certainty was at -last an inscription which, composed of several well-formed letters -carved on the block but interrupted by breaks, ran as follows: - - F . . ll . . . to . . . Nor. - Capt T . . ck - r . . m 20 Br - 15 . . 71 k . . to ret - -Mr Grope carefully copied the interesting record into his note-book. -He looked about for more inscriptions, but this was apparently the -only one; however, there might be other unexplored caverns beyond. At -present he must devote himself to deciphering these letters. He had a -clue in the date 1571, for though there was a break between the ‘15’ -and the ‘71,’ it was only caused by a slight inequality in the block. - -That evening, in the seclusion of his study, he devoted himself with -ardour to the inscription. He did not doubt that it was intended for -abbreviated Latin. In the sixteenth century every one who could write -knew Latin, and wrote Latin too when he or she wished to be succinct. -There were, it is true, only scraps of words on which to proceed, but -this circumstance did but occasion a pleasing exercise of Mr Grope’s -ingenuity. The conquest would have been too easy had the words been -given at length. The very uncertainty had in it that excitement which -is dear to the hearts of all true antiquaries. - -Before he thoroughly set to his task, Mr Grope balanced in his mind -whether he should treat the inscription as private or political. He -inclined to the political aspect. If it were private, nothing could -be made of it, and it was unlikely that a gentleman should carve his -personal remarks in the depths of a subterranean cave. No doubt the -letters referred to public matters. For a moment Mr Grope could not -recollect who reigned in England in 1571; for though he took a great -interest in history, he was somewhat oblivious about dates. Soon, -however, a vision of Queen Elizabeth in ruff and farthingale rose -before him, and then he attacked the first line in good earnest. - - F . . ll . . . to . . . Nor. - -Now it seemed clear as noonday that Nor was the first syllable of a -proper name, or at least the name of a place; for Mr Grope remembered -that in the sixteenth century it was not the custom to begin every noun -with a capital letter, as it was in the eighteenth. Could it refer to -Norwich? Norwich was a long way from Q——; but the gentleman in the cave -might have been mixed up in a conspiracy which embraced the capture of -several towns. Mr Grope took down Mr Froude’s _History of England_, -and turned over the pages referring to Elizabeth’s reign in search of -names beginning with Nor. Then a great light broke upon him, and he -wondered that he had not remembered his history better. The name of -Norfolk occurred several times in connection with what Mr Froude calls -the ‘Ridolfi Plot,’ and the ‘Ridolfi Plot’ was going on in 1571. The -course of his investigation seemed to flow almost too smoothly now. He -soon found that the first line ran: ‘Fallete tollite Norfolk’ (Betray -and take Norfolk); whence it was evident that the man in the cave had -played false to all parties, and after engaging in the conspiracy, -had leagued with some fellow-conspirators to betray their chief, the -unhappy Duke who preceded Mary of Scotland to the scaffold instead of -sharing her throne. ‘Betray and take Norfolk!’ It was not good Latin -certainly, but good enough for an inscription where there were so many -breaks, which imagination could fill up with the elegances of language; -and the morality was characteristic of the sixteenth century. - -The second line of the inscription puzzled Mr Grope more. - - Capt T . . ck - -The two words composing it were carved in larger letters, and stood -by themselves, as if specially important. ‘Capt’ of course meant -_caput_, a head, and might hint at the approaching loss of Norfolk’s -own; but the ‘T . . ck’ puzzled Mr Grope sorely, and was evidently -another cognomen. It puzzled him so much that he resolved to finish the -remainder of the inscription - - r . . m 20 Br - -first, and see if _it_ threw any light on the subject. - -The ‘20’ evidently indicated the day of the month; but to what month -could ‘r . . m’ refer? Could it mean _rosarum mensis_—the month of -roses? Might not a poetical conspirator thus paraphrase the month of -June? Norfolk certainly was not beheaded till June 1572; but it was -possible that a fellow-plotter might have decided on betraying him a -full year before that date. ‘Br’ perhaps stood for _brevi_, by way of -urging that the deed should be accomplished summarily; and 1571 spoke -for itself. The ‘k’ which followed might be either a small or a capital -‘k,’ but Mr Grope concluded that it was the initial of another proper -name; and he had soon persuaded himself that the sentence ‘K .. to ret’ -ran: ‘K—— tollite retinete,’ and was intended as an injunction to take -and retain K——. Who or what K—— was did not much signify, since there -was no doubt about Norfolk. - -It was the second line which continued to puzzle Mr Grope. He brooded -over it when he went to bed, and could not sleep because of it; but in -the small-hours of the morning, that season of daring inspirations, -it flashed across him that ‘Capt T..ck’ meant neither more nor less -than ‘Caput Turci,’ a Turk’s head. ‘The man may have written _k_ for -_i_ by inadvertence. But why should a Turk’s head be written about in -the cave near Q——?’ It struck Mr Grope that the battle of Lepanto had -been fought in 1571, and that the conspirator might be alluding to -an invasion of England which was to take place, when the Turk’s head -should be figuratively cut off. On the following morning, a Dictionary -of Dates accompanied the ham and toast on Mr Grope’s breakfast-table; -and he ascertained that the battle of Lepanto had been fought in -October, whereas he had decided that the inscription was written in -June, and that it had something to do with English refugees and the -Turkish fleet. This interpretation certainly gave a wider and more -European interest to the writing in the Q—— bone-cave. But on further -consideration, it seemed to Mr Grope that he would hardly be able to -maintain it in printed controversy with the learned. The Turk’s head -was pitchforked with so much abruptness among the directions to secure -Norfolk and K——, that unless it were supposed to be a watchword among -the conspirators, it seemed impossible to dovetail it in. - -The antiquary did not go out that morning; he retired to his study -and reflected on the difficulties of the Turk’s head. At last another -light came in upon him, reminding him that there were many inns in the -country with the sign of the Saracen’s Head, relics of the medieval -time when the Saracens were the bugbears of Europe. Very likely there -had been inns called the Turk’s Head in the sixteenth century, when -Europe was always in terror of the Turks, and Mr Grope even fancied -that he remembered seeing one with that sign in a village in the east -of England. Looked at in this new light, the meaning of the inscription -appeared to be: ‘Betray and take Norfolk at the “Turk’s Head” inn, on -the 20th of June 1571, with all possible haste. Take and retain K——.’ - -Writing this out at full length, Mr Grope read it over with fond pride. -He had thoughts of sending a letter on the subject to that scientific -paper the _Minerva_ at once, but prudence intervened, and he determined -that he would first consult Sir H—— T——, the great archæologist, whom -he had helped to lionise at Q——. It would be as well to say, when he -wrote to the _Minerva_, that his friend Sir H—— T—— agreed with him as -to the solution of the mystery; and he accordingly despatched a full -account of the matter to the great man. That evening Mr Grope dined -out, and could not refrain from imparting his triumph to a select -circle of his acquaintances. Mr Grope was generally admitted to be -the most intellectual resident at Q——. If a strange fish was caught -in the bay, a strange fossil found in a quarry, or a coin dug up in -a field, it was always referred to Mr Grope; and there were only one -or two people who ever presumed to smile at his conclusions. And now -when Mr Grope dilated on the conspirator and the inscription in the -newly-found cavern, addressing in his drawling tones the small audience -in the drawing-room after dinner—for he had kept the sensation for the -benefit of the ladies—no one arose to dispute his explanation. The -conspirator’s mention of the month of roses was especially attractive -and convincing. - -But it came to pass that Sir H—— T—— was not quite convinced. That -savant thought it not impossible that the inscription might have -something to do with the Ridolfi Plot, as the date was 1571; but as to -the rest he differed from Mr Grope, courteously but decidedly. He did -not believe in the Latin, and especially in Mr Grope’s Latin. He did -not believe in the poetic paraphrase of June. He had read a good deal -of sixteenth-century correspondence, and had never found a conspirator -or any one else who spoke of June as the month of roses. ‘Nor’ might -stand for Norfolk, though such was not Sir H—— T——’s opinion. Did Mr -Grope think that the inscription was either partly or wholly written in -cipher? - -To say that Mr Grope was not disappointed, would not be adhering to -the truth. He had arranged the matter in his mind, and had foreseen -a triumphant career for his inscription among the archæologists and -historians. It seemed impossible that Sir H—— could doubt such -inevitable conclusions. The whole thing, as Mr Grope made it out, -had fitted together like a Chinese puzzle. Yes, he almost resolved -to persevere in his own view. To hold a controversy with Sir H—— T—— -might make him nearly as great a man as Sir H—— himself. But he felt -in his heart that no one would side with the Turk’s Head and the month -of roses when Sir H—— was against them. Mr Grope was convinced of the -truth of his own interpretation; but he would collect another possible -meaning or two, and while pronouncing in favour of the first, submit -the others to the learned public. After all, the idea of a cipher -opened out a pleasing vista of conjecture. Much conjecture there must -of course be, when conspirators would write in disjointed fragments. In -the Ridolfi Plot he possessed at least a basis of operations. - -It so happened that our antiquarian friend had some acquaintance with -a gentleman who was now searching the archives at Simancas for facts -to confirm a favourite theory, and who had on one occasion dined with -him at Q——; and to him Mr Grope now conceived the happy thought of -writing, with a request that he would send him a few of the ciphers -used by Philip II. and his correspondents. In due time he received -the keys of five or six ciphers, inclosed in a courteous note. The -historian himself had sympathy with Mr Grope’s efforts in the cause of -archæological science, and had besides, a lively recollection of Mr -Grope’s ’47 port. - -And now Mr Grope spent a long morning in his study with the ciphers -before him, labouring to make them fit in with the inscription. If -cipher really had been used, it seemed probable that English would have -been used also. On this assumption, therefore, he proceeded; but the -first few keys which he applied unlocked nothing but sheer nonsense. -The next especially attracted Mr Grope, inasmuch as the historian told -him that it had been used by Mary Queen of Scots. He had reserved it -as his last hope; and on further investigation he found that in this -cipher, London was termed Norway, and thus written plainly without -further disguise. With regard to words which were not proper names, the -fifth and sixth letters from the one intended _were used alternately_. -When Mr Grope applied this key to the inscription, he came to the -conclusion that it suited it admirably, with the exception of that -unfortunate second line, which had puzzled him so much before. He -really thought, that as those two words ‘Capt T..ck,’ were written in -larger letters than the others, and conspicuously placed by themselves, -they might be actually put down as a watchword; Why not, after all, -‘Caput Turci?’ The rest of the inscription he transposed as follows: - - h..rr yu Lon - w . . . s 20 g w - 1571 p yu wky. - -The sequence of letters was not kept up in the second ‘yu,’ the fifth -being used where the sixth ought to be; but as the word was apparently -the second person plural, Mr Grope thought it probable that the -conspirator would not be particular in his counting where so small a -word was concerned. It is convenient in such matters to allow for a -little negligence. In its new aspect Mr Grope saw the inscription thus: - - hurry you Londonwards - with speed twenty great wagons - 1571. pay you weekly. - -Mr Grope’s head now absolutely ached with his efforts, and he drew his -hand down his long gray beard with a feeling of relief as he leaned -back in his chair. He nevertheless believed that this last labour -was in a measure thrown away, and that the first solution was the -right one. Still there was an air of probability about that ‘pay you -weekly,’ a matter-of-fact air such as he remembered to have observed -when reading a printed volume of _Domestic State Papers_; and it would -sound well to have tried five ciphers on the inscription and found -a possible solution at last. That same day Mr Grope wrote at length -to the _Minerva_, describing his discovery of the new cavern and the -inscription, and giving his two explanations. For himself, he said, -he believed in the Latin version, though he was aware that he had the -disadvantage of differing from his learned friend Sir H—— T——. In -deference to that gentleman’s opinion, he had compared the writing with -many ciphers in use in the sixteenth century, and now submitted the -result to the attention of the scientific world. - -The learned were only too willing to discuss it, and several letters -on the subject appeared in the next number of the _Minerva_. One -gentleman approved the deciphered version; others proposed solutions -of their own, much more absurd than any which Mr Grope had thought of. -Next week a letter from Sir H—— T—— himself was printed, in which he -expressed his opinion in favour of Mr Grope’s second explanation. Mr -Grope and his new cavern had become famous. The intellectual world at -Q—— itself was greatly impressed with the erudition of his researches. -Fashion and science ran into each other a good deal at Q——; and there -were some needlessly pretty toilets among the party of friends whom -Mr Grope conducted to visit the muddy recesses of his new cavern. -There was also a geologist, but he rather despised the inscription as -being too recent, and talked chiefly about eyeless fish. The young -ladies, knowing little of either the Duke of Norfolk or the eyeless -fish, explored the gloomy recesses, and filled them with the sounds of -laughter and fun. Only one young lady observed to her companions: ‘I -shouldn’t wonder if Mr Grope is wrong after all.’ - -A few days later the antiquary met at an evening party, the son of -an old inhabitant of Q——, who had been dead for some years, but whom -Mr Grope had formerly known. He had known the son too, who was now a -Fellow of his college. He was a little blunt, bullet-headed man, and -when presently the subject of the Q—— bone-cave came up, he said what -he thought without any preface. - -‘I fancy, Mr Grope, you’re wrong about that inscription after all. I -suppose you never heard my father speak of old Truck the smuggler?’ - -‘No; I did not,’ said Mr Grope, concealing his feelings, which were not -of the most comfortable description. - -‘Old Truck the smuggling captain,’ continued the little man, ‘used that -cave pretty freely. That was before the geologists had appropriated -it, and the barrier was put up. I should not wonder if he sometimes -wrote hints to his friends on the walls.’ - -‘But I should not imagine that your father knew any one who lived in -1571,’ said Mr Grope. - -‘Ah! but is the 1571 a date at all? That’s the question,’ said the -Fellow. ‘My father took an interest in that old sinner, and saw -something of Truck in his last days in the cottage. The sea has -encroached now and washed most of it away. And Truck left him his -curiosities—stuffed birds and china, and his old order-books and -log-books. I’ll look them out. I would lay a wager that he wrote that -inscription.’ - -‘It will take very strong evidence to make that believed,’ said Mr -Grope. Nevertheless he felt uneasy, and heartily wished that the -Fellow had not happened to take the matter up. Meanwhile the Fellow -searched for Truck’s relics, which were now in the possession of his -brother; and the next morning saw him in Mr Grope’s study together with -an antique volume, not bound in ‘brass and wild boar’s hide,’ but in -dilapidated leather, with a musty-fusty odour half a century old. With -a sinking heart, Mr Grope felt, when first he looked at it, that the -historical grandeur of his inscription was about to fall to the ground. - -‘This was Truck’s note-book,’ said the Fellow. ‘Look here, Mr Grope.’ -And there, on the first page, written in a manner which implied that -the paper had been rather greasy from the first, were the words ‘Capt -Truck.’ - -‘And the cave at Q—— is mentioned pretty often among his -hieroglyphics,’ said the ruthless Fellow, turning over the dirty pages. -‘“Directions to be left in the Q—— cave.” I expect there are others -there besides the inscription you found. Look here; don’t you think -this must be the identical one?’ And he pointed to some lines which -ran obliquely across a page: ‘Directions left for Scroggs. Follow to -Normandy. Rum 20, brandy 15, 71 kegs to return.’ - -Mr Grope stood stricken to the soul, but not a muscle of his face -moved. He silently compared this newest discovery with the copy he had -made in his note-book, in the first flush of his hopes. - -There was no denying that this was the true solution of the mystery, -and that the Ridolfi Plot was nowhere. It was singular that neither -he himself, nor Sir H—— T——, nor the other gentlemen who had written -on the subject, had thought of the possibility of the man in the cave -using straightforward English. At least Mr Grope erred in good company; -but still he felt that he should have to bear most of the ridicule, as -the originator of the historical theory, and the investigator who had -attacked the smuggler’s prosaic inscription with five ciphers used by -queens and princes in the sixteenth century. However, he was determined -not to shew his chagrin, and even asked the Fellow to dine with him -that evening. - -Mr Grope wrote honourably to the _Minerva_ to explain the true state of -the case. He acknowledged that further research proved both himself and -his friend Sir H—— T—— to be mistaken on the subject of the writing in -the cave at Q——. Then he mentioned Truck and the smugglers, and gave -the new interpretation, not without a groan as he wrote ‘rum’ where -formerly he had written ‘_rosarum mensis_.’ He also communicated with -Sir H—— on the subject, and Sir H—— dryly replied that he wondered -the writing should look as if it were three hundred years old, when -it was really only sixty or seventy. No more was said about it in the -_Minerva_. And as to the Q—— people, of course they politely refrained -from letting Mr Grope see that they laughed at him, all except a -bluff old personage who exclaimed: ‘So your conspirator against Queen -Elizabeth turned out to be an old smuggler after all!’ - -The wounds of Mr Grope’s vanity began to heal in time. They smarted -somewhat when the course of winter lectures at the Q—— Athenæum was -opened, for he had intended to hold forth triumphantly on the bone-cave -and the historical inscription. And they bled afresh in the following -spring when the annual fashionable pilgrimage to the cave took place. -Still the high-priest has not deserted the temple, for Mr Grope is not -easily put down; and he often repairs to his old subterranean haunts -and picks up bones and flint implements. But the entrance to the new -cavern containing the inscription has been mysteriously filled up -again; and the gnome who is the nominal custodian of the cave whispers -to a subordinate official of the Q—— Athenæum: ‘’Twas Mr Grope, he -closed it ’imself, I’ll warrant. You see, he couldn’t abide it, after -that there mistake of ’is that they laughed at so. Smugglers ’iding -there; and Mr Grope, he takes the writin’ for summut to do with grand -folks that lived three ’undred year ago!’ - -Poor Mr Grope! That was all that came of the inscription in the Q—— -bone-cave. - - - - -THE ‘HEARTS OF OAK’ SOCIETY. - - -One of the oldest and perhaps the largest of the Friendly Societies for -the benefit of the operative classes, is the ‘Hearts of Oak,’ which -at the present time numbers over eighty thousand members, and has a -reserve fund of nearly a quarter of a million. Such extraordinarily -large proportions has this society of late years assumed, and so -widespread is its influence and usefulness, that we feel sure a short -account of its origin and working system will not be without interest, -and maybe profit to the reader. - -Thirty-five years ago—in 1842—the ‘Hearts of Oak Benefit Society’ was -started at the _Bird-in-Hand_ Tavern, Long Acre, London. Of its history -for the next twenty years little can be said, save that, although its -progress was not anything remarkable, it worked steadily and honestly -at the object it had in view, and thus firmly established itself, if -it did not produce any extraordinary success. In 1863 the number of -members had reached eight thousand, a circumstance which rendered a -removal to more commodious premises necessary; and these were purchased -freehold in Greek Street, Soho. Notwithstanding, however, this -increase of business the amount transacted was not considered by the -promoters of the society in satisfactory proportion to the justifiable -expectations of such an undertaking, the total number of members having -in 1865 only reached ten thousand, and this was attributed to the -result of bad administration on the part of the existing management. -A change was made in consequence; when the present form of government -was inaugurated, which had at once the beneficial effect of materially -increasing the society’s business. So perceptible and rapid indeed -was the progress of the ‘Hearts of Oak’ after this event, that in the -year 1874 another removal had to be undertaken; and for this purpose, -noble premises in Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, W., were bought and -adapted at a cost of twenty thousand pounds, and have since served for -all the business requirements of the society. - -Having said so much for the history of the ‘Hearts of Oak,’ let us now -briefly turn to the main features and working of the system pursued by -this huge benefit society. - -The predominating principle upon which the system acts seems to -be a complete reliance upon actual merits and on them alone. As a -consequence, a total absence of all external show and attraction -will be found in the administration of the society. It clings to the -term ‘society’ in opposition to ‘club’ with a most jealous tenacity, -although we confess to seeing very little difference between the -strictly lexical significance of the two words. Mr Marshall, the -able secretary to the society, is of a different opinion, however, -and holds that the associations which are respectively bound up with -each term differ considerably; a club being generally looked upon as -a meeting for social purposes, held as a rule at a public-house. ‘It -involves,’ he goes on to say, ‘the glass, the pipe, the song, and -other incidents of what is called good-fellowship; and also in many -cases regalia, processions, dinners, suppers, and other devices for -wasting money and weaning men from their homes and their families.’ -Whether such ‘incidents’ are the associations attached alone to a club -or not, it is not necessary here to determine, it being sufficient -to know that at all events the ‘Hearts of Oak’ does not rely upon -any of these things—although it is common to think that only by such -inducements and attractions can the working classes be brought into -habits and ways of thrift and saving—and in so doing, the society is -a standing contradiction to all such opinions. It has never had to -resort to any such extraneous aid. It does not make use of either -public-houses or lodges; it indulges in no dinners or suppers, no -regalia or processions, no pipe, glass, or song; it employs no agents, -canvassers, or collectors; and it spends no money in commission nor yet -in advertisements, generally so indispensable an aid to institutions -of all kinds. Notwithstanding all this, the ‘Hearts of Oak’ has of -late years admitted more new members than the increase shewn by the -Odd-fellows, who possess lodges and branches in every part of the -civilised world. - -As already stated, the society now numbers more than eighty thousand -members, and these are formed into divisions of one thousand each; and -each of these divisions holds a meeting at the society’s house once -every month for the transaction of business, &c. Every candidate for -membership must earn not less than twenty-two shillings per week, and -his age must not be more than thirty-six; while before election he -has of course to satisfy the committee upon certain points relating -to himself and (if married) his wife, and has finally to be generally -approved of by them. There are certain trades and occupations which -are considered dangerous and injurious by the society, and persons -belonging thereto are therefore held ineligible for membership. Each -member has to pay on entrance a fee of two shillings and sixpence if -under thirty-two years of age; and three shillings and sixpence if over -that age and under thirty-six, the highest limit for admittance. The -periodical contributions amount to about nine shillings and sixpence -each member per quarter; this sum having been found, however, rather -more than the total average payment for the last six years. The -separate items consist of two and twopence a month to the society’s -stock; and at each quarterly meeting an equal proportion of the claims -met by the society during the preceding quarter on account of the -various benefits (not including sickness) it has during that period -conferred. In fact, each quarter every member is required to clear -the books of all demands. After having belonged to the society for -twelve calendar months, a member who up to that time has paid all his -contributions, can by the payment of an additional fee of two shillings -and sixpence, become what is termed a _free member_, such members -having the right to participate in all the benefits which the society -affords. - -The benefits offered by the ‘Hearts of Oak’ are: (1) Sick-pay at the -rate of eighteen shillings a week to _free members_ for twenty-six -weeks; and should the illness continue beyond that period, half that -amount for a further twenty-six weeks; after which the sick member -becomes entitled to relief from further contributions, and to a pension -payable at a rate in accordance with the length of his membership. -_Non-free_ members participate in this benefit, but of course on a -smaller scale, which, however, is very liberal. (2) Funeral benefits; -being the allowance of a sum of ten pounds on the death of a _free -member’s_ wife, and double that amount to the survivors of a free -member upon his death. Certain proportionate rates are granted on the -death of a _non-free_ member, half such rates being allowed in the -event of such a member’s wife dying. (3) Lying-in benefit; which is -the grant of a sum of thirty shillings on the confinement of a _free -member’s_ wife; the marriage and birth certificates, duly signed, -requiring of course to be produced on such occasions. And (4) Loss -by fire; being a compensation allowance of not more than fifteen -pounds in the case of any _free member’s_ tools or implements of trade -getting destroyed or damaged by fire. There are besides these some -miscellaneous benefits to which _free members_ are entitled, such as -allowances for imprisonment for debt contracted under circumstances -that are in a sense justifiable, or allowances to help towards -defraying the cost of a substitute to _free members_ who are drawn and -liable to serve in the militia. - -These benefits seem to anticipate the chief emergencies that may happen -in the course of one’s life, as well as providing for the expenses -always attendant upon death; and the allowances made in respect of them -are, it must be admitted, very liberal, and are doubtless the means of -causing so many poor persons to save in this simple manner against the -occurrence of such untoward incidents. - -The success of the ‘Hearts of Oak’ is largely due, however, to other -causes. Principally, we think, it may be attributed to the great -economy in its management; as, for instance, it saves a large sum by -the fact of its not being what is commonly known as a ‘collecting -society.’ On the contrary, the members bring or send their money quite -of their own accord; the consequence being that, while the managerial -expenses of some collecting societies vary from 25 to 70 per cent. on -the annual income, the expenses of the ‘Hearts of Oak’ amount only to -3¾ or 4 per cent. - -Another favourable point in the system pursued by this society is, that -all members pay alike. Technically of course this must be considered -unscientific, but in the aggregate the system is found to pay; just as -the same charge for a telegram whether it be to Aberdeen or to the next -street is also unscientific, but practically answers well. The great -argument in favour of the system seems to be the fact that it promotes -business—and what more is wanted? Our large insurance companies -report about one thousand policies as good work for one year; whereas -the ‘Hearts of Oak’ on its system reports over sixteen thousand new -members during the same period. On some such system as this it were not -impossible, we think, for the whole life-insurance business of the city -of London to be done by one well-conducted office; in which case the -insured would certainly derive one great benefit—namely, that of having -to pay very much less, perhaps only one-half of the usual premium. - -Another counterpoise to the disadvantage of charging all members alike -is, that a lying-in benefit of thirty shillings—as already shewn—is -allowed. To young men this has a great attraction; and the result is -that the average age of joining the society is only twenty-seven. -So rapid indeed has been the growth of the ‘Hearts of Oak,’ that an -average age of the whole society, which ten years ago was nearly -thirty-four years, is now only about thirty-three years. - -One other circumstance which we fancy may have something to do with -the success of the society is worth mentioning—it is the business-like -manner in which the system adopted is carried out. Perfect discipline -among the members is maintained, and a strict adherence to the rules -that have been made enforced. Every infraction of a rule is promptly -visited by the imposition of a fine on the offending member; and -so stringent is the society in this respect, that the amount which -annually accrues under this head is very large. In the accounts of the -‘Hearts of Oak’ for 1876 we notice that this item reaches the large -sum of L.6949, 13s. 6d.; which not only served to defray the year’s -expenses of the society (namely, L.5819, 9s. 7d.), but left a balance -of L.1130, 3s. 11d. It can hardly be considered as exactly any merit -of the society that it is thus able to pay its expenses; yet there -stands the fact, whatever we may think of it. It is only fair, however, -to state that the greater part of this large amount arises from a -fine of ninepence imposed upon members who fail to clear the books -by their quarterly night. This is levied more as a sort of interest -for a month’s longer use of the money; and it is a striking instance -of innate want of thrift on the part of the working classes, that so -many are willing to pay ninepence for the use of ten shillings for -the month, rather than arrange to be prompt in their payments. The -revenue derived from this fine alone is about four thousand pounds a -year. It is a curious fact too, that of the total number of members -on the books at any one time, it is always found that just one-third -will not pay at the quarter, and have therefore to be fined. In thus -deferring their payments, these members are the means of allowing both -the monthly and quarterly payments being reserved entirely for the -purposes of the benefits already enumerated, and for profit; under -which head the surplus now amounts to forty thousand pounds per annum; -in point of fact, the cost of management has always been paid for by -these miscellaneous receipts. This substantial advantage is probably -caused unwittingly on the members’ part, but it is not the less felt or -beneficial for all that. - -Having briefly pointed out the main features and benefits of the -‘Hearts of Oak,’ it only remains for us to add one word as to the -great usefulness of such societies. Notwithstanding the great success -of the Post-office savings-banks and such other banks as are intended -for the deposit of small sums, it is our belief that they are not so -conducive to permanent saving and thrift among the poorer classes as -may be supposed. The number of deposits in the postal banks in any -one year is no doubt very great; but on the other hand, the number -of withdrawals is also great; and from this fact we infer that the -larger part of the sums placed there is more for the sake of temporary -safety than with any view of permanent saving. Hence then the great -usefulness of societies which yield ultimate benefits for present -contributions. As already pointed out, the difficulty of persuading -the poorer classes to save in this manner is by no means great; and -once, therefore, a working man has become a member of such a society, -he knows he must pay regularly; which when he becomes accustomed to it, -he only feels as a natural duty, like the house-rent he has to pay, -or any other such tax. A further advantage of societies too is, that -his contributions cannot be regained, except indeed at a considerable -loss; but in the savings-banks it is always at his own discretion to -draw out his deposits; a discretion often not very wisely used. In -this comparison, however, it is by no means our wish to suggest the -slightest disparagement of savings-banks, which in their way are most -useful to all who are really anxious to lay by. We have only desired to -shew more forcibly the benefits of societies like the ‘Hearts of Oak,’ -that thereby those whom it may concern may be induced—if they have not -already done so—to become members. - - - - -THE DALESFOLK. - - -Before the spinning-jenny and the steam-engine revolutionised our -manner of living, there existed among the hills and dales of the Lake -countries a little community which had its own peculiar manners, laws, -and customs, and which was something unique in its way, for it seemed -to be a kind of republic existing in the midst of a great empire. The -people were what are now called peasant proprietors, but in Cumberland -and Westmoreland they have always been named ‘statesmen.’ A few of -these ancient land-owners still exist, and their tenure of the land -which they possess is not feudal but allodial, in so far as that they -acquired their estates at a very remote period, either by establishing -themselves on unoccupied lands like the ‘settlers’ in Australia or -America, or by conquering previous possessors. Several of these -statesmen possess estates which have descended uninterruptedly in -their families since the time of Richard II., and always as ‘customary -freeholds;’ while one family, the Holmes of Mardale, have inherited -their land in unbroken succession since the year 1060, when a certain -John Holme came from Norway and settled in the district. - -When James II. came to the throne he set up a claim to all those small -estates, on the plea that the statesmen were merely tenants of the -crown. But his claim was met by the sturdy Dalesfolk in a manner which -he little expected. They met to the number of two thousand, at a place -called Ratten Heath, and publicly declared that ‘they had won their -lands by the sword, and by the sword they would keep them.’ - -Owing to the smallness of the estates, there was not sufficient -employment in farm-work at all times for a statesman and his family, -and carding, spinning, and weaving formed the employment for the winter -months. The men carded, and the women spun the wool yielded by the -previous clipping. Nearly every household had its weaving-shop, where -one or two looms were kept, and many of the men were able to weave the -cloth which served for their own wear and that of their families. The -linsey-woolsey dresses worn by the women were homespun, and they also -manufactured linen for domestic purposes. - -The process of preparing the cloth was a curious one, and deserves -mention. After a web of woollen cloth was turned out of the loom, it -was taken to the ‘beck’ or stream and soaked in the water; then it was -placed on a flat stone called the ‘battling-stone’ and well pounded -with a wooden mallet. This primitive operation served instead of the -elaborate processes through which woollen cloth now passes at the -fuller’s mill. - -The costume of the Dalesmen was rather picturesque, being composed of -homespun fleeces of white or black, with occasionally a mixture of the -two colours to save the expense of dyeing. This homely material, which -is still made in some parts of Scotland and Ireland, has lately become -fashionable, and is pronounced to be superior for country wear to the -most finished products of our steam-looms. The coats were ornamented -with brass buttons, as were also the waistcoats, which were made open -in front to shew a frilled shirt-breast. Knee-breeches were the fashion -for centuries, and these were worn without braces, which are quite -a modern invention. Those used on Sundays or holidays had a knot of -ribbon and four or five bright buttons at the knee, and those who could -afford it had them made of buckskin. Their stockings, which were of -course a conspicuous part of their dress, were also made from their own -wool, the colour being either blue or gray. Clogs were their ordinary -‘shoon,’ but when dressed in holiday costume they had low shoes -fastened with buckles, which were often of silver. - -At the present day this picturesque costume is nearly obsolete, but -some of the old Dalesmen still adhere to the fashion of their youth. -About five or six years ago a few of them happened to meet at Grasmere -Fair and stood chatting together for some time without noticing what -many other persons were remarking, namely, that all of them were -dressed in the old costume. When they did notice it they all agreed -that it was a somewhat singular coincidence, and a proper occasion -for a friendly glass in honour of ‘auld lang syne.’ They were the -connecting link between the old times and the new, and would probably -be the last of the Dalesfolk to wear the costume of the bygone age. - -The dress of the Daleswomen was not less primitive than that of the -men. They wore homespun linsey-woolsey petticoats and gowns, a blue -linen apron completing their attire. The statesman’s daughter who first -communicated to her native place a knowledge of the glories of printed -calico is said to have created a great sensation, and was more than -a nine days’ wonder. The clogs worn by the women were pointed at the -toes and were clasped with brass instead of iron. Their bonnets were -made of pasteboard covered with black silk, and in shape resembled a -coal-scuttle, with the front projecting about a foot beyond the face of -the wearer. - -The houses of the Dalesfolk were not of the most comfortable kind, and -were similar to those which exist at the present day in many of the -southern counties of England. Badly constructed with rough-hewn stones, -and joined with clay instead of mortar, they did not always shelter -the inmates from the ‘cauld blast;’ while it was no uncommon thing for -the roofs to be in such a state that when a snow-storm took place in -the night, people in bed would often find several inches of snow on -their bed-clothes the next morning. The wood used in the construction -of the houses was oak; doors, floors, and window-frames being all -of that sturdy material. The beams were made of whole trees roughly -squared, while the smaller rafters and joists were split. Most of these -old buildings had a porch before the outer door, the latter being of -massive oak, two planks thick, and fastened together with wooden pegs -(for the carpenters in those days used very few nails), which were put -in parallel rows about three or four inches apart and left projecting -about three-quarters of an inch on the outside. About six hundred -of these pegs were used in its construction, and the making of them -occupied as much time as it would take to make a dozen doors in our -busier times. A degree of sanctity was, however, attached to a door by -these simple folk, and certain charms to be used only at the threshold -are remembered even now in the Dales. - -In dwellings of the usual size there were not more than three rooms -on the ground floor, namely the living-apartment, the dairy, and the -parlour, the last being generally used as the bedroom of the master and -mistress. In some cases there was an out-kitchen, but not in all. - -Long after the use of coal and fire-grates became general throughout -England these people still continued to burn peat and wood upon the -open hearth, and it was not until half the present century had elapsed -that, railway communication making coal cheaper, and the increased -value of labour making peat dearer, coal finally triumphed and open -fire-places gave place to grates. The old chimneys had no flues, and -were very wide at the bottom, gradually contracting towards the top, -and in these chimneys hams, legs of beef, flitches of bacon, and whole -carcases of mutton were hung up to dry for winter consumption. - -The food of the Dalesmen was confined almost wholly to the simple -products of their own farms. They consumed a large portion of -animal food, and as sheep and cattle were in the best condition for -slaughtering in autumn, it was then that the Dalesfolk stocked their -wide chimneys with a supply of meat for the winter and spring. Tea, -coffee, and wheaten bread were very little known in the Dales; oatcake -(Anglicè), or ‘haver-bread’ as it was termed, being used. The people -brewed their own beer and drank it at nearly every meal. Such, with -milk, butter, and cheese, was the food of these honest folk, and they -seemed to have thriven well on it. When tea, coffee, and sugar came -into general use, an old Dalesman remarked that he wondered ‘what t’ -warl’ wod cum tew after a bit when fowk nooadays couldn’t git their -breakfast without hevvin stuff fra baith East and West Indies.’ - -Until the middle of last century the roads of the two counties were in -a wretched state; and instead of wheeled carriages, pack-horses and in -some cases sledges were used for conveying things from one place to -another. There is an old man now living in Grasmere whose grandmother -could remember the present church bells being brought thither by -sledges along the old road over the top of White Moss, then the main -road between Ambleside and Grasmere. A man and his wife often rode to -market together on the same horse, the woman sitting behind on what -was called a pillion. But the Dalesfolk were not very particular as to -their turn-out, for a piece of turf dried and cut into the proper shape -often served them as a saddle. Other saddles were pads of straw; and -on market-days, after business was over, such of the farmers as were -convivially disposed stayed on at the public-house or inn, holding a -‘crack’ and drinking till a late hour; and while a spree of this kind -was going on, it often happened that the poor hungry horses would break -loose and eat up all the straw pads, thus leaving their owners to ride -home bareback! - -The Dalesfolk were rather superstitious; and there is an old story in -the local records about the way in which the first lime was introduced -to the district. It was carried on the back of a horse, and as they -neared Borrowdale a thunder-storm came on, and the lime in the sack -began to smoke. Thinking the sack was on fire, the man in charge went -and filled his hat with water from a ditch, and threw it into the sack. -As this made things worse, he grew terribly alarmed, and thinking the -Evil One had something to do with it, he pitched the lime into the -ditch, and leaping on to the horse, galloped home as fast as he could -go. - -Ploughing was attended with hard labour to those employed, and it -required at least three men and three horses to work one plough. The -horses were yoked one before another, and it was as much as one man -could do to drive them. A second man held the plough-beam down, to -prevent the plough from slipping out of the earth; while it was the -work of a third to guide the whole concern, this part of the business -requiring the most skill. Sometimes a fourth man was employed with -pick and spade to turn up the places missed by the plough. Very little -skill or labour was expended in the making of the implement, and it was -nothing unusual for a tree growing in the morning to be cut down during -the day, and made into a plough, with which a good stroke of work was -done before night. - -These good people worked much harder than their descendants of the -present day. Their hours of labour were much longer, and much of -what they did by hand is now done by machinery. Though ignorant and -unrefined, they were honest and hospitable, and possessed a great deal -of sound shrewd common-sense. In those days many of them followed -several handicrafts, for the division of labour was not such as it is -now; and a remarkable instance of this diversified ability is to be -found in the life of the man who was the parish priest of Wordsworth’s -poem, _The Excursion_. This worthy man—whose history we have slightly -alluded to in an article in this _Journal_ on the Lake Country—was the -son of a poor statesman, and was the youngest of twelve. At the age of -seventeen he became a village schoolmaster, and a little later both -minister and schoolmaster. Before and after school-hours he laboured -at manual occupation, rising between three and four in the summer, -and working in the fields with the scythe or sickle. He ploughed, he -planted, tended sheep, or clipped and salved, all for hire; wrote his -own sermons, and did his duty at chapel twice on Sundays. In all these -labours he excelled. In winter-time he occupied himself in reading, -writing his own sermons, spinning, and making his own clothes and those -of his family, knitting and mending his own stockings, and making his -own shoes, the leather of which was of his own tanning. In his walks he -never neglected to gather and bring home the wool from the hedges. He -was also the physician and lawyer of his parishioners; drew up their -wills, conveyances, bonds, &c., wrote all their letters, and settled -their accounts, and often went to market with sheep or wool for the -farmers. - -He married a respectable maid-servant, who brought him forty pounds; -and shortly afterwards he became curate of Seathwaite, where he -lived and officiated for sixty-seven years. We are told that when -his family wanted cloth, he often took the spinning-wheel into the -school-room, where he also kept a cradle—of course of his own making. -Not unfrequently the wheel, the cradle, and the scholars all claiming -his attention at the same moment, taxed the ingenuity of this wonderful -man to keep them all going. To all these attainments Mr Walker—or -‘Wonderful Walker,’ as he was called—also added a knowledge of fossils -and plants, and a ‘habit’ of observing the stars and winds. In summer -he also collected various insects, and by his entertaining descriptions -of them amused and instructed his children. After a long and extremely -useful, nay we might say heroic life, which extended over nearly -the whole of the last century (he having been born in 1709), this -remarkable Dalesman died on the 25th of June 1802, in the ninety-third -year of his age. In the course of his life he had, besides bringing up -and settling in life a family of twelve children, amassed the sum of -two thousand pounds, the result of marvellous industry and self-denial. - -The chapel where this celebrated man entered upon his sacred duties was -the smallest in the Dales, the poet Wordsworth, Mr Walker’s biographer, -describing it as scarcely larger than many of the fragments of rock -lying near it. Most of these small chapelries were presided over by -‘readers,’ men who generally exercised the trades of clogger, tailor, -and butter-print maker, in order to eke out their small stipend. The -livings were not worth more than two or three pounds a year, and the -ministers were dependent upon the voluntary contributions of their -parishioners. Their stipends, beside the small money-payment mentioned -above, comprised ‘clothes yearly and whittlegate.’ The former meant -one suit of clothes, two pairs of shoes, and one pair of clogs; and -the latter, two or three weeks’ victuals at each house according to -the ability of the inhabitants, which was settled among themselves; so -that the minister could ‘go his course’ as regularly as the sun, and -complete it annually. Few houses having more than one or two knives, -he was obliged to carry his own knife or ‘whittle.’ He marched from -house to house, and as master of the flock, had the elbow-chair at the -table-head. Some remarkable scenes were often the result of this droll -arrangement, and many good stories are current with reference to it. -A story is told in Whythburn of a minister who had but two sermons, -which he preached in turn. The walls of the chapel were at that time -unplastered, and the sermons were usually placed in a hole in the -wall behind the pulpit. On Sunday, before the service began, some wag -pushed the sermons so far into the hole that they could not be got out -with the hand. When the time for the sermon had arrived, the minister -tried in vain to get them out. He then turned to the congregation and -said that he could touch them with his forefinger, but couldn’t get -his thumb in to grasp them. ‘But however,’ said he, ‘I will read you a -chapter of Job instead, and that’s worth both of them put together!’ - -There was a curious custom at one time in the Dales of holding market -at the church. Meat and all kinds of things were displayed at the -church doors, and it often happened that people would make their -bargains first and hang their goods over the backs of their seats. -Though such practices have long been discontinued, there are still -people living who have heard the clerk give out in the churchyard -the advertisements of the several sales which were to be held in the -neighbourhood. One good custom there was, however, which might be often -practised now with advantage in small towns and villages, namely, that -of the churchwardens going round the village during divine service and -driving all the loungers into church. - -The Dalesfolk had their sports too, the chief of which was the one -for which Cumberland and Westmoreland have ever been famous, namely -wrestling. They were also keen hunters; and until quite a recent period -a few couples of hounds were kept in every dale, and when the presence -of a fox was betrayed by a missing lamb or a decimated hen-roost, all -the dogs and nearly all the men in the parish entered in pursuit of the -depredator, and were seldom balked by their victim. - -Some songs that were in vogue in the Dales a hundred years ago are -still sung, chiefly at fairs by itinerant ballad-mongers. Some of the -tunes are very antique, as for instance, _St Dunstan’s Hunt’s Up_, -mentioned by Sir Walter Scott as lost and forgotten, but which is still -played on the fiddle every Christmas-eve. The festivals held from time -to time in the Dales were such as were very common in all parts of -‘Merrie England’ when our forefathers worked hard, and money was much -scarcer than it is now. That they worked harder on the whole is a thing -which admits of two opinions; but one thing is certain, namely, that -their work was of a steady, careful, easy-going kind, whilst now it -is all bustle and drive, in the endeavour to cram into a few fleeting -hours as much as they could do in a whole week. Such as we find the -world, however, we must put up with it, content, like them, to keep -pegging away, and meeting the storms and buffetings of life with the -same courageous spirit which enabled them to add their mite towards the -honour, glory, and welfare of our common country. - - - - -A SPRING MORNING. - - - When sparrows in the brightening sun - Chirped blithe of summer half-begun - And sure to prosper—over-bold - With rifled stores of crocus gold— - When lilacs fresh with morning rain - Tapped laughing at my window pane, - And soft with coming warmth and good - Mild breezes shook the leafy wood: - - Then, ere the first delight was spent, - Adown the sunny slope I went, - Until the narrowing path across, - Soft shadows flickered on the moss - Of beechen buds that burst their sheath, - And twining tendrils, while beneath, - Where twisted roots made hollows meet, - Grew budding primrose at my feet. - - There all the riddles of a life - Which vexes me with aimless strife; - The broken thoughts, that not with pain - Nor patience ere will meet again, - Were laid aside, nay, seemed to drop - As, when loud jarring voices stop, - The waves of silence rise, and spread, - And meet in circles overhead. - - How life might grow I seemed to guess; - Life knowing no uneasy stress - Of partial increase; strong in growth, - Yet ever perfect, dawning truth - Which swayed each hour that took its flight - An added empiry of light, - That neither cloud nor mist might stay, - Slow brightening to the perfect day. - - Though autumn hours will come again, - And leafless branches drip with rain - On sodden moss, yet having seen, - I keep my faith: each spring-tide green— - When drooping life puts off its gloom, - And burned roots bear scented bloom— - With tender prophecy makes sure - My heart to labour and endure. - - * * * * * - -Printed and Published by W. & R. 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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: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 741, March 9, 1878 - -Author: Various - -Editor: William Chambers - Robert Chambers - -Release Date: August 1, 2020 [EBook #62808] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF *** - - - - -Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>{145}</span></p> - -<h1>CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL<br /> -OF<br /> -POPULAR<br /> -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART.</h1> - - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<p class='center'> - -<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> - -<a href="#IN_THE_GLOAMING">IN THE GLOAMING.</a><br /> -<a href="#HELENA_LADY_HARROGATE">HELENA, LADY HARROGATE.</a><br /> -<a href="#SENSATIONAL_REPORTING">SENSATIONAL REPORTING.</a><br /> -<a href="#THE_BONE-CAVE_INSCRIPTION">THE BONE-CAVE INSCRIPTION.</a><br /> -<a href="#THE_HEARTS_OF_OAK_SOCIETY">THE ‘HEARTS OF OAK’ SOCIETY.</a><br /> -<a href="#THE_DALESFOLK">THE DALESFOLK.</a><br /> -<a href="#A_SPRING_MORNING">A SPRING MORNING.</a><br /> - -<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> - -</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/header.png" width="600" height="294" alt="Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art. Fourth Series. Conducted by William and Robert Chambers." /> -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> -<div class="center"> -<div class="header"> -<p class="floatl"><span class="smcap">No. 741.</span></p> -<p class="floatr"><span class="smcap">Price</span> 1½<em>d.</em></p> -<p class="floatc">SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 1878.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="full" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="IN_THE_GLOAMING">IN THE GLOAMING.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">To</span> us Northerners few expressions convey such a -sense of peace and beauty as this of ‘in the gloaming.’ -The twilight hour has had its singers and -idealisers ever since poetry found a voice and -made itself a power over men; and so long as -human nature is as it is now—impressionable, -yearning, influenced by the mystery of nature and -the sacredness of beauty—so long will the tenderness -of the gloaming find its answering echo in the -soul, and the sweet influences of the hour be -repeated in the depth of the emotions and the -purity of the thoughts.</p> - -<p>Between the light and the dark—or as we have -it in our dear old local tongue, ‘’twixt the gloamin’ -an’ the mirk’—what a world of precious memories -and holy suggestions lies enshrined! The French -<i>entre chien et loup</i> (between dog and wolf) is a -poor equivalent for our ‘gloaming;’ and going -farther south the thing is as absent as the -expression. To be sure the sweet Ave Maria -of the evening is to the pious Catholic all that -the twilight is to us; when the church bells ring -out the hour for prayer, and the sign that the -day’s work is done, and the hurrying crowd stands -for a moment hushed, with uplifted hands and -reverent faces raised to heaven, each man bareheaded -as he says his prayer, calling on Madonna -to help him and his. But in the fervid countries -which lie in the sunshine from winter to autumn -and from dawn to dark, there is no gloaming as -we have it. The sun goes down in a cloudless -glory of burnished gold or blazing red, of sullen -purple or of pearly opalescence; and then comes -darkness swift and sudden as the overflowing of -a tidal river; but of the soft gray luminous twilight—of -that lingering after-glow of sky and air -which we Northerners know and love—there is not -a trace. Just as with the people themselves it is -brilliant youth and glorious maturity, but for the -most part an old age without dignity or charm. -Nothing is so rare in southern climates as to see -an old woman with that noble yet tender majesty, -that gloaming of the mind and body, which makes -so many among us as beautiful in their own way -at seventy as they were at twenty. They fade -as suddenly as their twilight; and the splendour -of the day dies into the blackness of the night -with scarce a trace of that calm, soft, peaceful -period when it is still light enough for active life -and loving duties, after the fervour of the noon -has gone and before the dead dark has come.</p> - -<p>The gloaming is the hour for some of the dearest -circumstances of life; when heart grows nearer to -heart, and there seems to be almost another sense -granted for the perception of spiritual things. It -is the hour when young lovers wander through -the green lanes between the hawthorn and the -clematis, while the nightingale sings in the high -elm-tree, and the white moths flit by like winged -ghosts or float like snow-flakes in the dusk. Or -if it is in the winter-time, they sit in the bay of -the window half hidden by the curtains, half revealed -by the dying light, as is their own love. -They have no need of speech. Nature and the -gloaming are the voices between them which -whisper in sigh and o’ercome all that the one -longs to tell and the other yearns to hear; and the -silence of their lips is the truest eloquence of their -hearts. In the full blaze of daylight that silence -would be oppressive or chilling. It would tell -either too much or not enough; but in the twilight, -when speech would be intrusive and commonplace, -the mute influences of the hour are the best -expressions of the soul. In meadow and wood -and garden the scents of flowers and sprouting -leaves, of moss and ferns and bark and bud, are -more fragrant now than in the freshness of even -the early dawn—that childhood of the day! They -too come like the voices of Nature, telling softly -secrets which the day cannot reveal. Everything -is dreamy, indeterminate, and full of possibilities -not yet realised. The moon is only a disc of -unsubstantial vapour hanging softly in the sky, -where the sunset tones still linger; the stars are -faint uncertain points scarcely visible through the -quivering chromatic haze; but gradually all this -mystery will sharpen into the confessed beauty -of the night, when the pale pure splendour of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>{146}</span> -moon, the glorious brightness of the stars, will -take the place of the gloaming. As yet it is -all softened colour and chastened tenderness; all -silence yet eloquence; and the young lovers wandering -by the scented hedgerows, or sitting in the -bay of the window—they in the soft glow of the -twilight, while the ruddy firelight floods the rest -of the room—are in that perfect harmony with -the circumstances round them of which the other -name is happiness. Yes, the gloaming is the hour -of love, as which of us does not know who has -ever loved at all! Look back over the lapse of -years, and see now what you saw then. You are -walking on that broad path up the lone fell-side. -The young bracken is sending out its rich scents, -mixed with the odour of thyme and the sweetness -of the golden gorse; the swallows are wheeling -for their last rapid flights; the homing rooks -are straggling wearily to the elms; the lark -is singing faintly in his descent; and the honey-laden -bees fly heavily to their hives. Do you not -remember the thoughts, the emotions which made -life for you at that moment a heavenly poem such -as an angel might have written? Do you not remember -the love which swelled your heart, and -lifted it up from earth to the very footstool of -God? Never can you forget the exquisite delight, -the unfathomable revelations of that hour! It -was in the gloaming when you told your love and -knew that you were beloved, when the rack and -the pain of doubt were finally set to rest, and the -joy of certainty was established! That hour shaped -your life for weal—alas! sometimes for woe to -follow after! But in all the woe of the loss, you -have the imperishable weal of the gain, and are -richer by the love that you gave as well as by that -which you received—by the memories that will -never die, and the emotions which you can never -forget!</p> - -<p>The gloaming is the children’s hour, when -mamma sings sweet songs, or plays for them brisk -and lively music, to which they dance like shadowy -sprites in and out from the dusk to the light. Or -what is still dearer, she gathers them all close -about her, the elder ones touching her knees, -clinging to her shoulders, while the little one of -all is in her arms half asleep in a cloud of fairy -dreams of vague delight, as its curly head rests on -her bosom, and the sweet soft voice lulls its senses -into a state of enchantment, to which no opiate of -after-time gives aught that is like. Then she tells -them stirring tales of bold knights and lovely -ladies, and how faith and courage conquered all -the dangers that beset them, and brought them -to good issues through evil paths. Or in a lower -voice, she speaks to them of the great God in -heaven, who through all His supreme might and -majesty, can condescend even to the wants of -a little child; and she tells them of the sinless -angels; and of that dear Lord who came on the -earth to save weak men from the consequences of -their own wilful wickedness. She speaks to them -of His purity, His love, His tenderness, and of the -pattern left us in His life, by which we may all -walk if we will. And to the end of their lives -they remember those lessons of the quiet gloaming. -One may go out into wild lands and live there with -graceless men and Godless companions; but in the -midst of all the evil which surrounds him, the -mother’s words spoken when he was a little lad at -her knee, come back like cool rains in the parching -drought; and the crust of carelessness and something -worse breaks from his soul as memory leads -him back into what was the truest and holiest -Church of his youth. Or the girl—she who now -sits with her big blue eyes fixed on her mother, -shining with pitying tears for the sorrows of the -divine Son of Man, for the trials of suffering -saint and heroic martyr—when she is thrown -into the great world of fashion and dissipation to -become a ‘leader of society,’ surrounded by temptations -of all kinds—she too will remember this -hour, and all that she learned and felt at her -mother’s side. She will turn back to the holy -lessons of piety and humility, of modesty and -honour, taught her then by one who fulfilled those -lessons in her own life; and she will be strengthened -to meet her dangers from the memory of -those pure defences. The mother’s influence never -wholly dies; and never is that influence more -powerfully exerted, its traces more deeply engraved -than in the gloaming, when the sweet, sad -Bible stories are told in a low and loving voice, -till the whole heart is stirred, and the deepest -recesses of spiritual consciousness are reached.</p> - -<p>The gloaming is the hour of the highest thoughts -of which we may be capable; the hour when the -poet sings his song in his own heart before he -has written down the words on paper; when the -painter sees his picture completed by the divine -artistry of the imagination before he has set his -palette or sketched in the outline; when the unformed -and chaotic thought long floating in the -brain, clears itself from the mists and takes definite -shape, soon to become embodied in creation. The -youth dreams of that splendid achievement which -is to win the great game of fortune; he sees himself -going up for his degree in advance of the rest, -cheered by his companions, congratulated by the -‘dons’ as he comes out Double-first, or the Senior -Wrangler of his year. Or he is pleading before -the judge at a very early stage in his legal career, -and winning the most important cause of the term—winning -it by sheer hard work and strength of -brain—with ‘silk’ and perhaps the woolsack to -follow. Or he is in the House arguing for -humanity against statecraft, for justice against -oppression, for truth against falsehood, and carrying -the majority with him—making men’s hearts -to burn within them by reason of his eloquence, -his daring, and the intrinsic justice of his cause, -for the first time indubitably proved by him. -Or he has written his book, and wakes to find -himself famous, the world lifting its cap to him -in recognition of his success, and the critics united -in praise, with not a surly note of blame in all -the pack. Or he has painted his heroic picture—his -art of the highest, his theme the most heroic—and -the Royal Academy opens its doors with a -clang to let him through. Or he has built his -cathedral, and is not ashamed to look up at the -lines of the old Abbey. Or he has invented his -new engine, discovered his new planet, demonstrated -the hidden law which so many suspect and -no one has proved. It is the hour for all these -grand dreams of ambition, all these fairy tales of -hope; and if impossible at times to realise, yet -they are good for the young mind to entertain; -as it is good for the young athlete to try his -strength against superior forces, and for the young -bowman to aim higher than he can strike.</p> - -<p>It is the hour when greatness, yet inchoate and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>{147}</span> -undeveloped, grows within its husk—the seed-time -of future excellence through the fermentation -of thought. There must be intervals of preparation, -and this is one of them. The quiet spell of -the gloaming, when the fairest visions are seen, -the boldest wishes framed, the loftiest points -reached—how useful it is if taken as the spring-board -for the true leap—harmful enough if -accepted as sufficient in itself; as if the hope, the -wish, the incoherent intention were enough, and -realisation always put off till the morrow, did not -count. For there is ever the danger that day-dreaming -should become a habit, and that a man -should be contented with fashioning a thought in -his brain without caring to embody it in deed. -But there is always danger of misuse in all things; -and the fear of falling is no bad help towards -keeping one’s footing firm when the path is -slippery and the way-marks treacherous.</p> - -<p>The gloaming is the hour for quiet retrospection -of the hours that are past, for fearless onlooking to -those which are to come, and for closer communing -with God and one’s own soul. The day is flowing -into the night through the golden gate of the twilight, -just as fervid youth and fragrant womanhood, -the strength of manhood and the leader’s power, -are passing through the calm rest of old age into -the stillness of death. In the gloaming, the soul -seems to see the right value and the true shapes -of things more clearly than it did when the sun -was high, and the eyes were dazzled with its shine -and the blood fevered with its heat. Then passion -was strong, and with passion, self-will, false aims, -false beliefs—and disappointment as the shadow -lying behind. If the power was there to create, -to resist, to combat, to subdue, so also was the -bitter smart and the cruel blow. And there was -the inevitable deception of the senses. Then the -sunlight fell on the stagnant waters of the deadly -swamp and turned them into lakes of purest gold, -which a wise man would spend his time well to -seek and his strength to possess. Now in the -twilight the false shine has faded from the low-lying -pools, and the dank and deadly mists creep -up to mark both their place and quality. If only -he had known the truth of things in time! If -only he had not believed that marsh-lands were -living lakes of golden waters, which a man would -do well to give his life to gain!</p> - -<p>In the daytime, clouds obscured the sun, so that -the impatient and sore-hearted said in his bitterness -that the god had turned his face from the -earth and from him, and that to-morrow’s glory -would never rise. Now in the gloaming the hope -of that morrow has already lessened in anticipation -the evil done by the clouds of to-day, and trust -and hope come in the place of sorrow and despair. -The worst has been—make room now for the better. -No more false seeming and no more blinding by -the deceived and flattered senses; no more mis-diversion -of energy, and taking for pure and beautiful -waters of life deadly morass and stagnant -marsh. The gloaming of life sets a man straight -not only with himself but with things, and gives -him a truer knowledge than he ever had before. -He stands full face to the west and looks into -the light, which now he can bear, and which he no -longer finds bewildering or blinding. That time -of tumult and passion, of heat and strife, through -which he has passed, how glad he is to leave it all -behind him while waiting, watching for the quiet -peace of the night through the tender softness of -the gloaming! How near and yet how far off -seem to him the unfulfilled hopes of the morning, -the mistaken endeavour of the noon, the hard -labour and fierce struggle of the day! If he had -only known in time the things which were best for -him, how differently he would have acted—and -now: God’s will be done, and God pardon all his -sins! He must take things as they stand, trusting -in the unfailing mercy; for if repentance is good, -regret is vain, and the gloaming is for peace, not -strife.</p> - -<p>Slowly the last rays of the sun fade out of the -sky, and the lingering light as slowly follows. -The world lies hushed as a tired sleeper, and the -moon and the stars come out as watchers—as signs -too of other worlds and other lives. But the old -man sitting pale and peaceful in the house-porch -knows now what he no longer sees; for the gloaming -of his life has passed into the deep stillness of -something beyond, as the day has flowed into the -night, and both lie in the hollow of God’s right hand.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="HELENA_LADY_HARROGATE">HELENA, LADY HARROGATE.</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>CHAPTER XIV.—THE SHARING OF THE SPOIL.</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> name of Mr Enoch Wilkins, Solicitor in the -High Court of Chancery, and Attorney-at-law, -before, according to the polite legal fiction, the -Queen herself at Westminster, was deeply inscribed, -in fat black engraved characters, on a -gleaming brass plate which formed the chief adornment -of the dark-green door of his City office. If -this brass plate really did gleam, as it did, like a -piece of burnished gold, its refulgence was due to -unremitting exertions on the part of the office lad, -whose objurgations were frequent as at unholy -matutinal hours he plied the obdurate metal with -rotstone, oiled flannels, and chamois leather. For -the atmosphere of St Nicholas Poultney (so named -from the hideous effigy of a begrimed saint, mottled -by frost and blackened by soot, which yet -decorated the low-browed doorway of a damp little -church hard by) was not conducive to brilliancy, -whether of glass, brass, or paint, being heavily -charged, on the average of days, with tainted air, -foul moisture, and subdivided carbon, with rust, -dust, and mildew. Nevertheless Mr Wilkins, who -was a master to be obeyed, contrived that his plate-glass -windows should flash back whatever rays of -light the pitying sun might deign to direct on so -dismal a region, girt in and stifled by a wilderness -of courts, lanes, streets, and yards, and also that -door-handles and bell-pulls should be shining and -spotless as a sovereign new-minted, the door-step a -slab of unsullied stone, and passage, staircase, and -offices as trim and clean as the floors of some -lavender-scented farmhouse among the cabbage -roses of Cheshire. These praiseworthy results -were not attained without labour, sustained and -oft renewed, on the part of Mrs Flanagan, the so-called -laundress, whose washing was effected by -the vigorous application of scrubbing-brush and -Bath-brick; of a melancholy window-cleaner from -Eastcheap, whose bread was earned by perpetual -acrobatic feats on narrow sills and outside ledges; -and of the office lad already mentioned, whose -main duties, though he called himself a clerk, were -those of keeping the externals of his master’s place -of business at the utmost pitch of polish.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>{148}</span></p> - -<p>In very truth, although there was a messenger, -fleet of foot and cunning in threading his way -through the labyrinthine intricacies of the City, -always perched on a leather-covered stool in the -antechamber, to supplement the services of the -office lad, Mr Wilkins had no clerk. A great deal -of his business was transacted by word of mouth; -he answered his own letters; and when much of -the scribe’s work became requisite, some civic law -stationer would send in one or two red-eyed men -in mouldy black, with finger-nails indelibly stained -by the ink that had become their owners’ element, -and a sufficient quantity of draught folio paper -would be covered with legal copperplate.</p> - -<p>The outer office was neatness itself, from the -bright fire-irons in the fender to the maps on the -wall and the rulers and pewter inkstands on the -desks. And the inner room, where the lawyer -himself gave audience, was almost cheerful, with -its well-brushed Turkey carpet, sound furniture, -well-stored book-shelves, and general aspect of snug -comfort. There were those who wondered that Mr -Wilkins, whose reputation did not rank very high -in the learned confraternity to which he belonged, -should so pointedly have deviated from the tradition -which almost prescribes dirt and squalor and -darkness for the surroundings of those who live -by the law. There were, not very far off, most -respectable firms, the name of whose titled employers -was Legion, yet through whose cobwebbed -panes was filtered the feeble light by which their -bewildered clients stumbled among ragged carpets -and rickety furniture to reach the well-known beehive -chair. But Mr Wilkins was a man capable of -attending to his own interests, and probably he -had found out what best chimed with the prejudices -of those for whose custom he angled.</p> - -<p>There was nothing in the room itself to shew -that it was a lawyer’s office. It might have been -that of a surveyor or a promoter of companies, for -there was nothing on the walls but a set of good -maps and four or five excellent engravings. Not -a deed-box, not a safe, was to be seen, and if there -were law-books on the shelves they held their place -unobtrusively amongst other well-bound volumes. -Mr Wilkins sitting in his usual place, with one -elbow resting on the table before him, seemed to -be indulging in a reverie of no distasteful character, -to judge by the smile that rested on his coarse -mouth as he softly tapped his front teeth with the -mother-of-pearl handle of a penknife, as though -beating time to his thoughts. At last, warned by -the striking of the office clock, the hour-hand of -which pointed to eleven, Mr Wilkins shook off his -preoccupation of mind, and rang the hand-bell at -his elbow.</p> - -<p>The office lad, who called himself a clerk, was -prompt in answering the tinkling summons of his -employer.</p> - -<p>‘Any one been here yet?’ demanded the lawyer.</p> - -<p>‘Touchwood and Bowser’s articled clerk with -notice of new trial in case of Green (in holy -orders) <i>v.</i> Gripson—the bill-stealing case, you -know, sir, that the country parson chose to go to -a jury about.’</p> - -<p>‘Ah, yes,’ rejoined Mr Wilkins, again tapping -his front teeth with the pearl-handled knife, -while a look of intense amusement overspread his -face. ‘Wants another shot at the enemy, does he, -the Rev. James Green! It was grand to see -him in the witness-box, indignantly insisting on -the fact that not one sixpence ever reached him in -return for his promissory-note despatched per -post, on the faith of Mr Gripson’s advertisement -and fair words. Then some Mr Jenks, a total -stranger, happens to give valuable consideration, -at third or fourth hand, for the stamped paper -with the clergyman’s signature, and, Rev. Green -objecting to cash up, gets a <i>fi. fa.</i>—a neat contraction -of <i>fieri facias</i>, which, as we lawyers know, -is a term which directs an execution to be levied -on the goods of a debtor, ha, ha!—has it backed in -Wiltshire, and sells up every bed and chest of -drawers in the vicarage. Mr Green brings an -action against Gripson, who is comfortably out of -the way, but retains me. We traverse everything, -demur to everything, put in counter pleas and -rebutters, change the venue, and play Old Gooseberry -with the too confiding Green, whose counsel -elects to be nonsuited. Now, like a Briton, he is -ready for us again.’</p> - -<p>Mr Wilkins laughed, and the juvenile clerk -re-echoed the laugh. Sharp practice, such as that -so lovingly narrated by the attorney, apparently -for lack of a better audience, was congenial to the -mind of this keen-witted young acolyte of Themis, -with whom the proverbial distinction between -Law and Equity seemed to be very clearly defined.</p> - -<p>‘Nobody else called?’ asked Mr Wilkins.</p> - -<p>‘Yes. Stout sporting-looking gent, who said -he’d make shift, when I told him you had stepped -out to the Master’s chambers, to come again to-morrow. -Name of Prior,’ returned the youth.</p> - -<p>‘Ah, Nat the bookmaker, wanting to know how -near the wind he may sail without getting into -the sweep-net of a criminal indictment,’ said the -lawyer placidly. ‘Nothing else, hey?’</p> - -<p>‘Only Mr Isaacs of Bowline Court, Thames -Street, sent round to say he would look in -between eleven and twelve,’ was the reply.</p> - -<p>‘I’ll see him and any gentleman he may bring -with him,’ rejoined Mr Wilkins, taking up the -newspaper, as the office lad retired; but in five -minutes returned, ushering in three gentlemen, -whose hooked noses, full red lips, jet-black hair, -and sloe-black eyes gave them a strong family -resemblance. They were old acquaintances doubtless, -for the greeting which they received from Mr -Wilkins was a familiar one.</p> - -<p>‘How do, Moss? How goes it, Braham, my -buck? You’re all right, Isaacs, I can see for -myself.’</p> - -<p>Nothing could well be more unlike what, during -the regency of the late King George IV., was -called a buck than was Mr Braham, who was -simply a corpulent Jew, ineffably greasy in appearance, -and who wore a faded olive-green greatcoat -that might have passed for a medieval gabardine, -and carried an empty blue bag over his left arm. -Mr Moss, his junior by some years, was better -dressed, but his raven locks fell upon a shirt collar -of dubious whiteness, and his dingy finger-nails -were in unpleasant contrast with the splendour -of the heavy rings he wore, and of the huge -emerald in his satin necktie. The youngest of -the three, Mr Isaacs, a hawk-eyed little man, -bejewelled and florid of attire, was by far in dress -and person the least unclean of the three.</p> - -<p>There was a little conversation as to weather -and other general topics, and then Braham the -senior of the three Hebrews pulled out a watch -as round and almost as big as a golden turnip,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>{149}</span> -and compared it with the office clock. ‘Letsh get -along,’ he said genially: ‘bushinesh, bushinesh, -my dears, waitsh for no man.’</p> - -<p>‘You’re right, Uncle Jacob,’ chimed in Mr -Moss, who could scarcely have been, otherwise -than figuratively and in oriental fashion, the -nephew of his stout kinsman, but who was -certainly a Jew of a much more modern pattern. -He, at anyrate, coquetted with soap and water, -and had discarded the shibboleth in his speech; -but it might be doubted whether the elder Israelite, -for all his repellent exterior, was not the better -fellow of the two.</p> - -<p>‘Business by all means,’ cheerily responded Mr -Wilkins. ‘We’ve done it together before to-day, -and we’ll do it again, I hope, gentlemen, for many -a day yet to come. It is a very pleasant occasion -on which we now assemble—nothing less, if I may -say so, than the dividing of the profits, the sharing -of the spoil.’</p> - -<p>There was a hearty laugh.</p> - -<p>‘Sharing of the shpoil!’ chuckled elderly but -still vigorous Mr Braham. ‘What a boy he ish, -thish Wilkinsh, what a boy he ish!’</p> - -<p>‘And now for it,’ said Mr Wilkins, rustling over -a bundle of papers that lay before him. ‘Here -we have it in black and white, worth all the -patter and palaver in the world. These are the -baronet’s first and second letters, the second inclosing -an uncommonly stiff cheque. Here are -Captain Denzil’s bills—pretty bits of kites they -are, renewed here and renewed there—and here -are our old agreements, notes, and memoranda, -duplicates of which I’ve no doubt are in all your -pockets. Pass them round, Isaacs, and take a -good look at them first. You’re an attorney, you -know, and that’s why you’re here, though I don’t -believe, my friend, that you “pull off” a clear five -hundred out of the haul.’</p> - -<p>‘Yesh, yesh, he’sh an attorney, ash Wilkinsh -saysh,’ said Mr Braham, whose laughter was very -ready, as that of fat people often is; ‘and sho -we have him here. Shet a thief to catch a’——</p> - -<p>Here a warning kick or other practical exhortation -to caution on the part of his kinsman appeared -to cut short the over-fluency of the bulky Hebrew, -and he became as mute as a mouse, while Mr -Isaacs read aloud in a high shrill voice the contents -of Sir Sykes Denzil’s letters and also a brief -summary which Mr Wilkins had prepared.</p> - -<p>There was some discussion, but there really was -not room for much. Here was no compromise, no -handing over of so many shillings in the pound. -Sir Sykes Denzil had paid his son’s liabilities -without the abatement of a guinea. Mr Braham -was to receive what he called ‘shix thoushand -odd;’ Mr Moss, two thousand eight hundred and -seventy-two; four hundred and thirty were for -Mr Isaacs; and the residue was for Enoch Wilkins, -Esquire, gentleman.</p> - -<p>It was a strange sight when the rolls of bank-notes -were produced, to see the actual partition -of the Bank of England’s promises to pay, the -vulture beaks bending over the crisp paper, the -wary inspection of water-mark and number and -signature, and the stuffing of pocket-books and -cramming of purses and stowing away of what -seemed to be regarded rather as plunder than -as lawful gains. Two odd things during this -transaction were to be noticed—first, that Mr -Braham, who was incomparably the shabbiest Jew -present, met with deference on every hand save -from irreverent Wilkins; and secondly, that all -the Jews seemed to take up their money grudgingly, -like hounds that have chopped their fox in -covert.</p> - -<p>‘Well done, Shir Shykesh!’ exclaimed the heavy -Hebrew with the green gabardine and the blue -bag. ‘If they wash all of hish short, there might -be the moneysh, but there wouldn’t be the fun!’</p> - -<p>‘We’ll drink Sir Sykes’ health, at anyrate,’ -briskly put in Mr Wilkins.—‘Sims!’ and he -tinkled the office hand-bell as he spoke, ‘glasses -and cork-screw.’</p> - -<p>It was good amber-hued sherry, none of your -modern abominations, but a real Spanish vintage, -long mellowed in its dusty bin, that gurgled into -the glasses under the careful handling of Mr -Wilkins. The Hebrews sipped, appraised—where -could be found judges so critical!—and drank.</p> - -<p>‘I’m shorry for the poor young man,’ said Mr -Braham, in a sort of outburst of sentiment, at -mention of Captain Denzil’s name.</p> - -<p>‘So that he gets his victuals,’ remarked the Jew -attorney curtly, ‘I don’t see why he’s to be pitied.’</p> - -<p>‘It <i>ish</i> a shelling out!’ was the mild rejoinder -of the stout Israelite with the blue bag, who -seemed to be by far the softest-hearted of the -company. ‘Of courshe, when I thought he would -do me, I didn’t care; but now I remember he -didn’t get much, not above sheven-fifty cash. All -the resht wash pictures, wine—not like yoursh, -Wilkinsh—cigars, and opera-tickets.’</p> - -<p>‘He went through the mill, I suppose,’ said Mr -Moss, ‘as others have done before him, and others -will do after him; eh, Uncle Jacob?’</p> - -<p>‘Eh, eh, grisht to the mill!’ chuckled the stout -proprietor of the empty blue bag; and the quartette -of confederates soon separated.</p> - -<p>Mr Wilkins, left alone, purred contentedly as he -poured out and tossed off another glass of the -sherry so deservedly lauded, and then, rising from -his chair, took down a Baronetage, bound in pink -and gold, and fluttered over the leaves until his -finger rested on the words: ‘Denzil, Sir Sykes; of -Carbery Chase, county Devon; of Threepham -Lodge, Yorkshire; Ermine Moat, Durham; and -Malpas Wold, Cheshire, succeeded <i>his</i> father, Sir -Harbottle Denzil, August 18—; married, May -18—; formerly in the army, and attained the rank -of Major. Is a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant -for Devonshire. Unsuccessfully contested the -county at the election of 18—.’</p> - -<p>‘To think,’ said the attorney, stroking the book -with his fleshy hand, ‘how much one can read -between the lines of these plausible announcements, -almost as blandly eulogistic as the inscriptions -which chronicle on their tombstones fond -wives, faultless husbands, and parents worthy to -be immortalised by Plutarch! How trippingly the -name of that needy old reprobate Sir Harbottle -rolls off the tongue. He to be described as of -Threepham and Malpas! Say, rather, of any -foreign lodging or foreign jail, of the Isle of Man -while it was yet a sanctuary for the debtor, of the -Rules of the King’s Bench. But Carbery is very -genuine anyhow.’</p> - -<p>Mr Wilkins paused for a moment, and then -mused: ‘I could spoil your little game, Sir Sykes—spoil -it in a moment, and compel you to exchange -your D. L.’s uniform of scarlet and gold for—never -mind what! So long as the goose lays the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>{150}</span> -golden eggs, it would not be the part of a wise -man to twist her neck.’ Having said which, Mr -Wilkins brushed his coat, drew on his gloves, -and taking up his hat, sallied out. ‘Taxing -office; back in an hour,’ he said to the office lad -as he went out. ‘If I am detained, you need not -wait for me after two o’clock.’</p> - -<p>‘Ten to four, he don’t shew up,’ said the youth, -who was accustomed to the professional figments -which served to beguile credulous clients, but who -congratulated himself at the prospect of a speedy -release from duty. ‘If the governor doesn’t put -in an appearance by 1.30, I’ll make myself scarce, -or my name is not Sims!’</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Mr Wilkins made his way through -the jostling crowd that roared and seethed among -the busy streets of the City, until he reached an -office, resplendent with plate-glass and French-polished -mahogany, in Cornhill, on the door of -which was inscribed, ‘Bales and Beales, Stock and -Share Brokers.’</p> - -<p>There were a good many customers in the outer -office, a few of whom were quiet men of business, -while the others, nearly half of whom were -anxious-eyed ladies who had reached middle life, -seemed flushed and ill at ease as they perused and -reperused the written and printed memoranda -with which they all seemed to be provided, and -glanced impatiently at the ornamental clock on -its gilded bracket. The lawyer, as an <i>habitué</i> of -the place, sent in his name, and gained speedy -admittance to the inner den, where Mr Bales -himself, tall, thin, and with a thatch of bushy -eyebrows projecting in pent-house fashion over his -steady blue eyes, held out a cool white hand to be -grasped by the hot red hand of Mr Wilkins.</p> - -<p>The head of the firm of Bales and Beales was -pre-eminently a cool man, and nothing could be -in stronger contrast than was his unimpassioned -bearing and the flutter and flurry of his customers.</p> - -<p>‘How about my Turks?’ unceremoniously demanded -Mr Wilkins. ‘Of course I know they’re -down again—confound them!’</p> - -<p>‘The fall continues. They have receded, let -me see, two and seven-eighths since this morning,’ -returned the broker, pointing to the official -bulletin in its frame on the wall beside him. -‘Probably they are falling as we speak, for the -Bourses of Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna opened -heavily.’</p> - -<p>‘Well, you <i>are</i> a Job’s comforter, Bales,’ said -the lawyer, wiping his heated brow. ‘Will this -sort of thing go on, hey? Shall I sell, or stick -to my colours like a Briton? Can’t you give a -fellow your advice?’</p> - -<p>‘I never advise,’ answered Mr Bales, with his -cold smile. ‘Life would be a burden to me if I -did. I prefer to lay the facts before those who do -me the favour to come to me, leaving to their -unbiassed judgment the course to pursue. Here -are some Stock Exchange telegrams, part of which -you will see presently, no doubt, in the evening -papers. They help to explain the rush on the -part of the public to sell out.’</p> - -<p>The attorney took the half-dozen square pieces -of hastily printed paper, yet damp from the -press, some of them, which Mr Bales courteously -proffered him, and at a glance mastered their -contents.</p> - -<p>‘Can rascally fabrications like this,’ asked the -attorney, in a glow of something like honest -indignation, ‘impose upon the veriest gull in -Christendom?’</p> - -<p>‘Ah!’ answered the unmoved Mr Bales, scrutinising -the despatch which his irate client held -between his finger and thumb, ‘you mean the -rumour about the sale of the six Turkish ironclads -to the Russian government? Popular credulity, -my dear sir, would swallow more than that. You -have overlooked the other telegram, which mentions -that Adamapoulos and Nikopolos, the Greek -bankers of Galata, have declined to advance to -the Porte at twenty per cent. the wherewithal to -meet the next coupon of the Debt. That report -has more weight with business-men than the -nautical one. Will you give me instructions to -sell?’</p> - -<p>‘No; but to buy!’ rapped out Mr Wilkins, with -suddenness. ‘There must come a reaction soon. -I’ll take another ten thousand of the Imperial -Ottomans. I know what you would say, Bales,’ -he added irritably: ‘the cash I left on deposit -won’t cover the margin. Here’—and he produced -the bank-notes that had fallen to his share in the -division of that day—‘are funds, and to spare.’</p> - -<p>As the lawyer quitted the stock-broker’s office -he muttered between his set teeth: ‘I stand to -win; but at anyrate I know of back-play of a safer -sort. Sir Sykes Denzil of Carbery, you are a -sponge well worth the squeezing!’</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="SENSATIONAL_REPORTING">SENSATIONAL REPORTING.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Scarcely</span> a week passes in which the newspaper -press is not the medium of attracting the attention -of the public to a <i>cause célèbre</i> of one kind or -another. Crimes of brutal violence, of gross immorality, -of wholesale fraud, have been so terribly -prevalent of late, that we might almost believe -that civilisation and crime are going hand in hand; -certainly the horrors of the latter go a considerable -way towards neutralising the blessings of the -former, and cause us to pause in our self-congratulation -upon the progress and enlightenment of the -age in which we live. At but too frequent intervals -some villain is held up before the public, and -becomes, so to speak, fashionable for the period -over which his trial extends.</p> - -<p>Every class of society provides its recruits now -and again for the ranks of the infamous, and no -matter to which stratum the criminal belongs, -one newspaper or another is sure to be ready to -report—with a minuteness which could not be -more detailed if it were inspired by personal -animosity—every stage and incident of his crime, -and if procurable and sufficiently sensational, to -supply an epitome of his antecedent career.</p> - -<p>When the influence of the press is properly taken -into consideration, the responsibility of writing -for it is a very serious one. To many thousands -even in great centres of human life like London, -Liverpool, Glasgow, or Edinburgh, the daily paper -is almost the sole intellectual food sought for -and within reach; and when we further consider -the immense circulation of some of our newspapers, -nearly approaching a quarter of a million -a day, and when we think that each copy becomes -the centre of an ever-increasing circle of information, -we may reasonably assert that the penny -paper, once held in contempt, is one of the most -potent agents for good or evil which our generation -possesses; and in proportion to the influence<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>{151}</span> -which it exerts, is the necessity of that -influence being exerted in a right direction. So -far as regards politics, theology, and social problems, -each paper may legitimately represent a -particular party or sect, and inculcate its particular -views; but upon certain broad principles -of morality, and as far as regards general rules for -the inculcation and protection of public morals, -there ought to be no difference of opinion at all.</p> - -<p>Without question, the newspapers of our day are -animated by a laudable desire to act for the moral -as well as material welfare of the people, and we -could not accuse any one of them of voluntarily -inserting matter having a tendency subversive to -morality; but as to what is and what is not calculated -to taint the public mind, the opinion of the -press seems to be very undecided. Particularly -is this the case with regard to the record of -crime, which it is part of their duty to publish. -It is unquestionably advisable that the public -should be informed of every crime that is discovered; -but the scope of the information to be -given becomes a matter for careful consideration, -and upon which some difference of opinion may -reasonably be expected to exist.</p> - -<p>What, it may be asked, is the object of a -public report of the trial of a criminal? Presumably -that by the knowledge of what has -occurred the public may be on their guard -against similar crimes, and that the story of -detection and punishment may act as a deterrent; -the first of these objects applying more -particularly to what we may call the respectable -classes, and the latter to the criminal, vicious, or -viciously disposed. The story of crime should -legitimately produce in the public mind a sense of -indignation against the criminal, of pity for the -victim, of personal caution; the criminal should -not be considered a sort of social scapegoat, and -the indignation should not be Pharisaical, but -should have its origin in an abhorrence of the -crime rather than of the criminal. To the -viciously inclined the story of detected crime -should be a warning and a deterrent, both on the -score of fear of detection as also upon higher moral -considerations. The history of crime or of a -criminal career is invariably pitiable enough; but -it is possible in some instances to invest it with a -spurious interest, and even a sort of meretricious -brilliance which is calculated to work an immense -amount of harm among a certain class of people.</p> - -<p>The principal object of a newspaper report -nowadays would seem to be to present the public -with an exciting and dramatic narrative, rather -than a calm, unimpassioned statement of facts; to -write, in short, rather for their amusement than -information. Undoubtedly few things increase the -sale of a newspaper more than a graphic account of -heart-rending ‘Scenes in Court,’ and the demeanour, -for instance, of ladies who have been accommodated -with seats on the bench! a style of reporting -which seems to us to be little short of a breach -of trust, inasmuch as it is pandering to that which -it ought to suppress.</p> - -<p>It may be said that in criminal cases it is -well that the public should have the fullest possible -details of the proceedings, so that they -may follow them closely, and perhaps aid in the -administration of justice; but as public comment -upon cases <i>still under trial</i> is not recognised, the -value of full reports is nullified so far as this consideration -is concerned. But if a judge, a man -of eminent experience in human nature, learned -in the law, and accustomed to the consideration -of every variety of evidence; and twelve jurymen, -well meaning, unprejudiced, of business habits -and unimpassioned judgment, cannot be trusted -to decide a case upon its merits, surely it would -be unreasonable to suppose that the outside public -could do better, reading as they do simply -in print the words which may have had their -significance increased immeasurably in either -direction by the tone in which they were uttered, -by the bearing of the speaker, and the voluntary or -involuntary gestures which may have accompanied -them.</p> - -<p>When we read detailed accounts of the appearance -of prisoners, verbatim reports of their most -insignificant utterances; when we are given details -of their meals; when we are told that one prisoner -is dressed with scrupulous care, and that the -affection existing between two other prisoners was -very apparent to those in court; when we have a -picture of the judge passing sentence amidst -sobbing women; when piquant details of past -careers are dragged to light, and the various amiable -or vicious points commented upon, although -having absolutely no bearing whatever upon the -case under consideration—then we cannot avoid -the conclusion that the main object of all the report -is to sell the paper. It would be impossible to -give the public such information regarding the -demeanour and tone of witnesses or prisoners -as to enable them to form a really just and -reliable idea; while it is quite possible and a very -frequent practice to be just graphic enough to -make the public fancy that they are in a position -not only to criticise and speculate, but to dogmatise, -and even to protest vehemently against the -verdict of a jury and the sentence of a judge, -deliberately given after a long and careful inquiry, -in which the prisoner had the benefit of counsel -learned in every intricacy and subtlety of the law. -The practice of giving detailed descriptions of the -personal appearance and social habits of criminals, -which are now acknowledged features of newspaper -reporting, has a tendency to invest the -prisoners with something of a meretricious glory, -which ought to be condemned by all properly -minded people.</p> - -<p>If crime has been committed, it is surely injurious -to the public morals to write or publish anything -calculated to elicit misplaced sympathy, and -it is a poor trade to pander to morbid curiosity. -If people fairly appreciated not only the wickedness -and horror of crime, but its almost invariable -meanness, pettiness, and misery, its feverish restlessness, -its ever-haunting dread of detection—crime -would be robbed of much of its semi-heroic -character, and would cease to prove so attractive -a bait to those who gloat over its every detail. -It is common to speak of ‘great’ criminals as -distinguished from the vulgar herd; but there is -never anything great in crime. Graphic pens -pandering to vulgar curiosity may produce a -passing interest of even absorbing intensity; the -crime and the criminal may form a nine days’ -wonder; but the end comes; and as soon as the -convict dress is donned, the erstwhile man is -degraded into a mere automaton, a mere numeral, -and is utterly dead to the outside world; while if -the scaffold should be his destined finale, the only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>{152}</span> -thing which survives the wretched criminal is his -infamy.</p> - -<p>Sensational reporting pays, for papers with a -reputation for ‘Special’ descriptions are at a premium -whenever there is a <i>cause célèbre</i> before the -public; but it is eminently prejudicial to public -morality. The remedy rests solely with the proprietors, -on whom lies also the responsibility of -purveying garbage to an unhappily large section -of readers; but until public opinion forces upon -them the fact that they are deliberately lowering -themselves to the level of the vendors of ‘Penny -Dreadful’ literature, sensational reporting of criminal -trials is likely to flourish, inoculating the -public mind with an unwholesome craving for -details which should be banished from the pale of -discussion among people with any pretensions to -refinement, good taste, or common decency.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_BONE-CAVE_INSCRIPTION">THE BONE-CAVE INSCRIPTION.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> pleasant town of Q——, among its other -attractions, possesses a bone-cave. The cave, -situated in a little valley close by the sea, had not -long been discovered to contain bones before it -was invaded by an army of geologists, who dug -deep holes in the floor, and unearthed the remains -of prehistoric fires, of ancient knives and needles, -and of even a man’s jaw buried in stalagmite. And -every year the fashionable people of Q—— made -an excursion into the windings of the cavern, under -the guidance of gnome-like guides with torches.</p> - -<p>Within a certain period of its modern history, -the Q—— bone-cave, like the sacred caves of -India, had a high-priest, an exponent of its -mysteries. He did not, however, dwell in its -recesses, but in a smart villa overlooking Q—— -Bay. He was a local celebrity, and the most -active member of a committee appointed to examine -the cavern. The cavern was his hobby, -and as it was of tolerably uniform temperature, -there was no time of year when he did not take -delight in exploring its mysteries. Every fresh -discovery was a joy to Mr Grope; and though a -sceptical few laughed at him, and even called some -of his flint knives in question, his researches had -thrown much light on geology and archæology. -One thing alone was wanting—he had found no -dates in the cave. There were dates and inscriptions -in caves belonging to other places, and he did -not like Q—— to be behind them.</p> - -<p>Prefacing, for the benefit of the reader, that -stalac<i>tite</i> is the substance that hangs to the roof of -caverns, like icicles, and stalag<i>mite</i> the substance -that has fallen to the floor, a concretion of carbonate -of lime—we proceed with the story. One -day, as Mr Grope was examining a wall in one of -the passages, he thought he detected a weakness in -the rock, and working at it with his great hammer -he found that it speedily crumbled away. Soon -he had made a hole through which he was able to -pass, and presently he stood in a small apartment -full of large stalagmitic blocks, and with a very -moderate amount of water dripping from the roof. -As he flashed his lantern about, his keen eye -caught sight of artificial markings on the smooth -surface of one of the blocks. His heart leaped -within him. Here of a certainty was at last an -inscription which, composed of several well-formed -letters carved on the block but interrupted -by breaks, ran as follows:</p> - -<p class="center"> -F . . ll . . . to . . . Nor.<br /> - Capt T . . ck<br /> - r . . m 20 Br<br /> - 15 . . 71 k . . to ret -</p> - -<p>Mr Grope carefully copied the interesting record -into his note-book. He looked about for more -inscriptions, but this was apparently the only -one; however, there might be other unexplored -caverns beyond. At present he must devote -himself to deciphering these letters. He had -a clue in the date 1571, for though there was a -break between the ‘15’ and the ‘71,’ it was only -caused by a slight inequality in the block.</p> - -<p>That evening, in the seclusion of his study, he -devoted himself with ardour to the inscription. -He did not doubt that it was intended for abbreviated -Latin. In the sixteenth century every one -who could write knew Latin, and wrote Latin too -when he or she wished to be succinct. There were, -it is true, only scraps of words on which to proceed, -but this circumstance did but occasion a -pleasing exercise of Mr Grope’s ingenuity. The -conquest would have been too easy had the words -been given at length. The very uncertainty had -in it that excitement which is dear to the hearts of -all true antiquaries.</p> - -<p>Before he thoroughly set to his task, Mr Grope -balanced in his mind whether he should treat the -inscription as private or political. He inclined to -the political aspect. If it were private, nothing -could be made of it, and it was unlikely that a -gentleman should carve his personal remarks in -the depths of a subterranean cave. No doubt the -letters referred to public matters. For a moment -Mr Grope could not recollect who reigned in -England in 1571; for though he took a great -interest in history, he was somewhat oblivious -about dates. Soon, however, a vision of Queen -Elizabeth in ruff and farthingale rose before him, -and then he attacked the first line in good earnest.</p> - -<p class="center"> -F . . ll . . . to . . . Nor.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Now it seemed clear as noonday that Nor was -the first syllable of a proper name, or at least -the name of a place; for Mr Grope remembered -that in the sixteenth century it was -not the custom to begin every noun with a -capital letter, as it was in the eighteenth. -Could it refer to Norwich? Norwich was a long -way from Q——; but the gentleman in the cave -might have been mixed up in a conspiracy which -embraced the capture of several towns. Mr -Grope took down Mr Froude’s <i>History of England</i>, -and turned over the pages referring to Elizabeth’s -reign in search of names beginning with Nor. -Then a great light broke upon him, and he wondered -that he had not remembered his history -better. The name of Norfolk occurred several -times in connection with what Mr Froude calls the -‘Ridolfi Plot,’ and the ‘Ridolfi Plot’ was going on -in 1571. The course of his investigation seemed -to flow almost too smoothly now. He soon found -that the first line ran: ‘Fallete tollite Norfolk’ -(Betray and take Norfolk); whence it was evident<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>{153}</span> -that the man in the cave had played false to -all parties, and after engaging in the conspiracy, -had leagued with some fellow-conspirators to betray -their chief, the unhappy Duke who preceded Mary -of Scotland to the scaffold instead of sharing her -throne. ‘Betray and take Norfolk!’ It was not -good Latin certainly, but good enough for an -inscription where there were so many breaks, -which imagination could fill up with the elegances -of language; and the morality was characteristic of -the sixteenth century.</p> - -<p>The second line of the inscription puzzled Mr -Grope more.</p> - -<p class="center"> -Capt T . . ck -</p> - -<p>The two words composing it were carved in -larger letters, and stood by themselves, as if -specially important. ‘Capt’ of course meant -<i>caput</i>, a head, and might hint at the approaching -loss of Norfolk’s own; but the ‘T . . ck’ puzzled -Mr Grope sorely, and was evidently another -cognomen. It puzzled him so much that he -resolved to finish the remainder of the inscription</p> - -<p class="center"> -r . . m 20 Br -</p> - -<p>first, and see if <i>it</i> threw any light on the subject.</p> - -<p>The ‘20’ evidently indicated the day of the -month; but to what month could ‘r . . m’ refer? -Could it mean <i>rosarum mensis</i>—the month of -roses? Might not a poetical conspirator thus -paraphrase the month of June? Norfolk certainly -was not beheaded till June 1572; but it was possible -that a fellow-plotter might have decided on -betraying him a full year before that date. ‘Br’ -perhaps stood for <i>brevi</i>, by way of urging that the -deed should be accomplished summarily; and -1571 spoke for itself. The ‘k’ which followed -might be either a small or a capital ‘k,’ but Mr -Grope concluded that it was the initial of another -proper name; and he had soon persuaded himself -that the sentence ‘K .. to ret’ ran: ‘K—— tollite -retinete,’ and was intended as an injunction to -take and retain K——. Who or what K—— was -did not much signify, since there was no doubt -about Norfolk.</p> - -<p>It was the second line which continued to puzzle -Mr Grope. He brooded over it when he went to -bed, and could not sleep because of it; but in the -small-hours of the morning, that season of daring -inspirations, it flashed across him that ‘Capt -T..ck’ meant neither more nor less than ‘Caput -Turci,’ a Turk’s head. ‘The man may have -written <i>k</i> for <i>i</i> by inadvertence. But why -should a Turk’s head be written about in the -cave near Q——?’ It struck Mr Grope that -the battle of Lepanto had been fought in 1571, -and that the conspirator might be alluding to -an invasion of England which was to take -place, when the Turk’s head should be figuratively -cut off. On the following morning, a Dictionary -of Dates accompanied the ham and toast -on Mr Grope’s breakfast-table; and he ascertained -that the battle of Lepanto had been fought in -October, whereas he had decided that the inscription -was written in June, and that it had something -to do with English refugees and the Turkish -fleet. This interpretation certainly gave a wider -and more European interest to the writing in the -Q—— bone-cave. But on further consideration, it -seemed to Mr Grope that he would hardly be able -to maintain it in printed controversy with the -learned. The Turk’s head was pitchforked with so -much abruptness among the directions to secure -Norfolk and K——, that unless it were supposed -to be a watchword among the conspirators, it -seemed impossible to dovetail it in.</p> - -<p>The antiquary did not go out that morning; he -retired to his study and reflected on the difficulties -of the Turk’s head. At last another light came -in upon him, reminding him that there were -many inns in the country with the sign of the -Saracen’s Head, relics of the medieval time when -the Saracens were the bugbears of Europe. Very -likely there had been inns called the Turk’s Head -in the sixteenth century, when Europe was always -in terror of the Turks, and Mr Grope even fancied -that he remembered seeing one with that sign -in a village in the east of England. Looked at in -this new light, the meaning of the inscription -appeared to be: ‘Betray and take Norfolk at the -“Turk’s Head” inn, on the 20th of June 1571, -with all possible haste. Take and retain K——.’</p> - -<p>Writing this out at full length, Mr Grope read -it over with fond pride. He had thoughts of -sending a letter on the subject to that scientific -paper the <i>Minerva</i> at once, but prudence intervened, -and he determined that he would first -consult Sir H—— T——, the great archæologist, -whom he had helped to lionise at Q——. -It would be as well to say, when he wrote to -the <i>Minerva</i>, that his friend Sir H—— T—— -agreed with him as to the solution of the mystery; -and he accordingly despatched a full account -of the matter to the great man. That evening -Mr Grope dined out, and could not refrain -from imparting his triumph to a select circle of -his acquaintances. Mr Grope was generally -admitted to be the most intellectual resident at -Q——. If a strange fish was caught in the bay, a -strange fossil found in a quarry, or a coin dug up -in a field, it was always referred to Mr Grope; -and there were only one or two people who ever -presumed to smile at his conclusions. And now -when Mr Grope dilated on the conspirator and the -inscription in the newly-found cavern, addressing -in his drawling tones the small audience in the -drawing-room after dinner—for he had kept the -sensation for the benefit of the ladies—no one -arose to dispute his explanation. The conspirator’s -mention of the month of roses was especially -attractive and convincing.</p> - -<p>But it came to pass that Sir H—— T—— was -not quite convinced. That savant thought it not -impossible that the inscription might have something -to do with the Ridolfi Plot, as the date was -1571; but as to the rest he differed from Mr -Grope, courteously but decidedly. He did not -believe in the Latin, and especially in Mr Grope’s -Latin. He did not believe in the poetic paraphrase -of June. He had read a good deal of -sixteenth-century correspondence, and had never -found a conspirator or any one else who spoke of -June as the month of roses. ‘Nor’ might stand -for Norfolk, though such was not Sir H—— -T——’s opinion. Did Mr Grope think that the -inscription was either partly or wholly written in -cipher?</p> - -<p>To say that Mr Grope was not disappointed, -would not be adhering to the truth. He had -arranged the matter in his mind, and had foreseen -a triumphant career for his inscription among the -archæologists and historians. It seemed impossible<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>{154}</span> -that Sir H—— could doubt such inevitable -conclusions. The whole thing, as Mr Grope -made it out, had fitted together like a Chinese -puzzle. Yes, he almost resolved to persevere in his -own view. To hold a controversy with Sir H—— -T—— might make him nearly as great a man as -Sir H—— himself. But he felt in his heart that -no one would side with the Turk’s Head and the -month of roses when Sir H—— was against them. -Mr Grope was convinced of the truth of his own -interpretation; but he would collect another possible -meaning or two, and while pronouncing in -favour of the first, submit the others to the learned -public. After all, the idea of a cipher opened out -a pleasing vista of conjecture. Much conjecture -there must of course be, when conspirators would -write in disjointed fragments. In the Ridolfi Plot -he possessed at least a basis of operations.</p> - -<p>It so happened that our antiquarian friend had -some acquaintance with a gentleman who was now -searching the archives at Simancas for facts to -confirm a favourite theory, and who had on one -occasion dined with him at Q——; and to him -Mr Grope now conceived the happy thought of -writing, with a request that he would send him -a few of the ciphers used by Philip II. and his -correspondents. In due time he received the keys -of five or six ciphers, inclosed in a courteous note. -The historian himself had sympathy with Mr -Grope’s efforts in the cause of archæological -science, and had besides, a lively recollection of -Mr Grope’s ’47 port.</p> - -<p>And now Mr Grope spent a long morning in -his study with the ciphers before him, labouring -to make them fit in with the inscription. -If cipher really had been used, it seemed probable -that English would have been used also. -On this assumption, therefore, he proceeded; -but the first few keys which he applied unlocked -nothing but sheer nonsense. The next -especially attracted Mr Grope, inasmuch as the -historian told him that it had been used by Mary -Queen of Scots. He had reserved it as his last -hope; and on further investigation he found that -in this cipher, London was termed Norway, and -thus written plainly without further disguise. -With regard to words which were not proper -names, the fifth and sixth letters from the one -intended <i>were used alternately</i>. When Mr Grope -applied this key to the inscription, he came to the -conclusion that it suited it admirably, with the -exception of that unfortunate second line, which -had puzzled him so much before. He really -thought, that as those two words ‘Capt T..ck,’ -were written in larger letters than the others, -and conspicuously placed by themselves, they -might be actually put down as a watchword; -Why not, after all, ‘Caput Turci?’ The rest of -the inscription he transposed as follows:</p> - -<p class="center"> -h..rr yu Lon<br /> -w . . . s 20 g w<br /> -1571 p yu wky.<br /> -</p> - -<p>The sequence of letters was not kept up in the -second ‘yu,’ the fifth being used where the sixth -ought to be; but as the word was apparently the -second person plural, Mr Grope thought it probable -that the conspirator would not be particular in his -counting where so small a word was concerned. -It is convenient in such matters to allow for a -little negligence. In its new aspect Mr Grope -saw the inscription thus:</p> - -<p class="center"> -hurry you Londonwards<br /> -with speed twenty great wagons<br /> -1571. pay you weekly.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Mr Grope’s head now absolutely ached with -his efforts, and he drew his hand down his long -gray beard with a feeling of relief as he leaned -back in his chair. He nevertheless believed that -this last labour was in a measure thrown away, -and that the first solution was the right one. -Still there was an air of probability about that -‘pay you weekly,’ a matter-of-fact air such as he -remembered to have observed when reading a -printed volume of <i>Domestic State Papers</i>; and it -would sound well to have tried five ciphers on -the inscription and found a possible solution at -last. That same day Mr Grope wrote at length -to the <i>Minerva</i>, describing his discovery of the -new cavern and the inscription, and giving his -two explanations. For himself, he said, he believed -in the Latin version, though he was aware that -he had the disadvantage of differing from his -learned friend Sir H—— T——. In deference -to that gentleman’s opinion, he had compared the -writing with many ciphers in use in the sixteenth -century, and now submitted the result to the -attention of the scientific world.</p> - -<p>The learned were only too willing to discuss it, -and several letters on the subject appeared in the -next number of the <i>Minerva</i>. One gentleman -approved the deciphered version; others proposed -solutions of their own, much more absurd than -any which Mr Grope had thought of. Next -week a letter from Sir H—— T—— himself was -printed, in which he expressed his opinion in -favour of Mr Grope’s second explanation. Mr -Grope and his new cavern had become famous. -The intellectual world at Q—— itself was greatly -impressed with the erudition of his researches. -Fashion and science ran into each other a good -deal at Q——; and there were some needlessly -pretty toilets among the party of friends whom -Mr Grope conducted to visit the muddy recesses -of his new cavern. There was also a geologist, -but he rather despised the inscription as being -too recent, and talked chiefly about eyeless fish. -The young ladies, knowing little of either the -Duke of Norfolk or the eyeless fish, explored -the gloomy recesses, and filled them with the -sounds of laughter and fun. Only one young lady -observed to her companions: ‘I shouldn’t wonder -if Mr Grope is wrong after all.’</p> - -<p>A few days later the antiquary met at an evening -party, the son of an old inhabitant of Q——, -who had been dead for some years, but whom Mr -Grope had formerly known. He had known the -son too, who was now a Fellow of his college. -He was a little blunt, bullet-headed man, and -when presently the subject of the Q—— bone-cave -came up, he said what he thought without -any preface.</p> - -<p>‘I fancy, Mr Grope, you’re wrong about that -inscription after all. I suppose you never heard -my father speak of old Truck the smuggler?’</p> - -<p>‘No; I did not,’ said Mr Grope, concealing his -feelings, which were not of the most comfortable -description.</p> - -<p>‘Old Truck the smuggling captain,’ continued -the little man, ‘used that cave pretty freely.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>{155}</span> -That was before the geologists had appropriated -it, and the barrier was put up. I should not -wonder if he sometimes wrote hints to his friends -on the walls.’</p> - -<p>‘But I should not imagine that your father -knew any one who lived in 1571,’ said Mr Grope.</p> - -<p>‘Ah! but is the 1571 a date at all? That’s the -question,’ said the Fellow. ‘My father took an -interest in that old sinner, and saw something -of Truck in his last days in the cottage. The -sea has encroached now and washed most of it -away. And Truck left him his curiosities—stuffed -birds and china, and his old order-books and log-books. -I’ll look them out. I would lay a wager -that he wrote that inscription.’</p> - -<p>‘It will take very strong evidence to make that -believed,’ said Mr Grope. Nevertheless he felt -uneasy, and heartily wished that the Fellow had -not happened to take the matter up. Meanwhile -the Fellow searched for Truck’s relics, which were -now in the possession of his brother; and the -next morning saw him in Mr Grope’s study -together with an antique volume, not bound in -‘brass and wild boar’s hide,’ but in dilapidated -leather, with a musty-fusty odour half a century -old. With a sinking heart, Mr Grope felt, when -first he looked at it, that the historical grandeur -of his inscription was about to fall to the ground.</p> - -<p>‘This was Truck’s note-book,’ said the Fellow. -‘Look here, Mr Grope.’ And there, on the first -page, written in a manner which implied that the -paper had been rather greasy from the first, were -the words ‘Capt Truck.’</p> - -<p>‘And the cave at Q—— is mentioned pretty -often among his hieroglyphics,’ said the ruthless -Fellow, turning over the dirty pages. ‘“Directions -to be left in the Q—— cave.” I expect there are -others there besides the inscription you found. -Look here; don’t you think this must be the -identical one?’ And he pointed to some lines -which ran obliquely across a page: ‘Directions -left for Scroggs. Follow to Normandy. Rum 20, -brandy 15, 71 kegs to return.’</p> - -<p>Mr Grope stood stricken to the soul, but not a -muscle of his face moved. He silently compared -this newest discovery with the copy he had made -in his note-book, in the first flush of his hopes.</p> - -<p>There was no denying that this was the true -solution of the mystery, and that the Ridolfi Plot -was nowhere. It was singular that neither he -himself, nor Sir H—— T——, nor the other -gentlemen who had written on the subject, had -thought of the possibility of the man in the cave -using straightforward English. At least Mr Grope -erred in good company; but still he felt that he -should have to bear most of the ridicule, as the -originator of the historical theory, and the investigator -who had attacked the smuggler’s prosaic -inscription with five ciphers used by queens and -princes in the sixteenth century. However, he -was determined not to shew his chagrin, and even -asked the Fellow to dine with him that evening.</p> - -<p>Mr Grope wrote honourably to the <i>Minerva</i> to -explain the true state of the case. He acknowledged -that further research proved both himself and his -friend Sir H—— T—— to be mistaken on the -subject of the writing in the cave at Q——. Then -he mentioned Truck and the smugglers, and gave -the new interpretation, not without a groan as he -wrote ‘rum’ where formerly he had written ‘<i>rosarum -mensis</i>.’ He also communicated with Sir H—— -on the subject, and Sir H—— dryly replied that -he wondered the writing should look as if it were -three hundred years old, when it was really only -sixty or seventy. No more was said about it in -the <i>Minerva</i>. And as to the Q—— people, of -course they politely refrained from letting Mr -Grope see that they laughed at him, all except a -bluff old personage who exclaimed: ‘So your conspirator -against Queen Elizabeth turned out to be -an old smuggler after all!’</p> - -<p>The wounds of Mr Grope’s vanity began to -heal in time. They smarted somewhat when -the course of winter lectures at the Q—— Athenæum -was opened, for he had intended to hold -forth triumphantly on the bone-cave and the historical -inscription. And they bled afresh in the -following spring when the annual fashionable pilgrimage -to the cave took place. Still the high-priest -has not deserted the temple, for Mr Grope -is not easily put down; and he often repairs to -his old subterranean haunts and picks up bones -and flint implements. But the entrance to the -new cavern containing the inscription has been -mysteriously filled up again; and the gnome who -is the nominal custodian of the cave whispers to -a subordinate official of the Q—— Athenæum: -‘’Twas Mr Grope, he closed it ’imself, I’ll warrant. -You see, he couldn’t abide it, after that there -mistake of ’is that they laughed at so. Smugglers -’iding there; and Mr Grope, he takes the writin’ -for summut to do with grand folks that lived three -’undred year ago!’</p> - -<p>Poor Mr Grope! That was all that came of the -inscription in the Q—— bone-cave.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_HEARTS_OF_OAK_SOCIETY">THE ‘HEARTS OF OAK’ SOCIETY.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">One</span> of the oldest and perhaps the largest of the -Friendly Societies for the benefit of the operative -classes, is the ‘Hearts of Oak,’ which at the present -time numbers over eighty thousand members, and -has a reserve fund of nearly a quarter of a million. -Such extraordinarily large proportions has this -society of late years assumed, and so widespread is -its influence and usefulness, that we feel sure a -short account of its origin and working system -will not be without interest, and maybe profit to -the reader.</p> - -<p>Thirty-five years ago—in 1842—the ‘Hearts of -Oak Benefit Society’ was started at the <i>Bird-in-Hand</i> -Tavern, Long Acre, London. Of its history -for the next twenty years little can be said, save -that, although its progress was not anything -remarkable, it worked steadily and honestly at the -object it had in view, and thus firmly established -itself, if it did not produce any extraordinary -success. In 1863 the number of members had -reached eight thousand, a circumstance which -rendered a removal to more commodious premises -necessary; and these were purchased freehold in -Greek Street, Soho. Notwithstanding, however, -this increase of business the amount transacted was -not considered by the promoters of the society in -satisfactory proportion to the justifiable expectations -of such an undertaking, the total number -of members having in 1865 only reached ten -thousand, and this was attributed to the result of -bad administration on the part of the existing -management. A change was made in consequence; -when the present form of government was inaugurated, -which had at once the beneficial effect of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>{156}</span> -materially increasing the society’s business. So -perceptible and rapid indeed was the progress of -the ‘Hearts of Oak’ after this event, that in the -year 1874 another removal had to be undertaken; -and for this purpose, noble premises in Charlotte -Street, Fitzroy Square, W., were bought and -adapted at a cost of twenty thousand pounds, and -have since served for all the business requirements -of the society.</p> - -<p>Having said so much for the history of the -‘Hearts of Oak,’ let us now briefly turn to the -main features and working of the system pursued -by this huge benefit society.</p> - -<p>The predominating principle upon which the -system acts seems to be a complete reliance upon -actual merits and on them alone. As a consequence, -a total absence of all external show and -attraction will be found in the administration of -the society. It clings to the term ‘society’ in -opposition to ‘club’ with a most jealous tenacity, -although we confess to seeing very little difference -between the strictly lexical significance of the two -words. Mr Marshall, the able secretary to the -society, is of a different opinion, however, and -holds that the associations which are respectively -bound up with each term differ considerably; a -club being generally looked upon as a meeting for -social purposes, held as a rule at a public-house. -‘It involves,’ he goes on to say, ‘the glass, the -pipe, the song, and other incidents of what is -called good-fellowship; and also in many cases -regalia, processions, dinners, suppers, and other -devices for wasting money and weaning men from -their homes and their families.’ Whether such -‘incidents’ are the associations attached alone to a -club or not, it is not necessary here to determine, it -being sufficient to know that at all events the -‘Hearts of Oak’ does not rely upon any of these -things—although it is common to think that only -by such inducements and attractions can the -working classes be brought into habits and ways -of thrift and saving—and in so doing, the society is -a standing contradiction to all such opinions. It -has never had to resort to any such extraneous aid. -It does not make use of either public-houses or -lodges; it indulges in no dinners or suppers, no -regalia or processions, no pipe, glass, or song; it -employs no agents, canvassers, or collectors; and -it spends no money in commission nor yet in -advertisements, generally so indispensable an aid -to institutions of all kinds. Notwithstanding all -this, the ‘Hearts of Oak’ has of late years admitted -more new members than the increase shewn by -the Odd-fellows, who possess lodges and branches -in every part of the civilised world.</p> - -<p>As already stated, the society now numbers more -than eighty thousand members, and these are -formed into divisions of one thousand each; and -each of these divisions holds a meeting at the -society’s house once every month for the transaction -of business, &c. Every candidate for membership -must earn not less than twenty-two shillings -per week, and his age must not be more than -thirty-six; while before election he has of course -to satisfy the committee upon certain points relating -to himself and (if married) his wife, and has -finally to be generally approved of by them. -There are certain trades and occupations which are -considered dangerous and injurious by the society, -and persons belonging thereto are therefore held -ineligible for membership. Each member has to -pay on entrance a fee of two shillings and sixpence -if under thirty-two years of age; and three shillings -and sixpence if over that age and under thirty-six, -the highest limit for admittance. The periodical -contributions amount to about nine shillings -and sixpence each member per quarter; this -sum having been found, however, rather more -than the total average payment for the last six -years. The separate items consist of two and -twopence a month to the society’s stock; and at -each quarterly meeting an equal proportion of the -claims met by the society during the preceding -quarter on account of the various benefits (not -including sickness) it has during that period conferred. -In fact, each quarter every member is -required to clear the books of all demands. After -having belonged to the society for twelve calendar -months, a member who up to that time has paid -all his contributions, can by the payment of an -additional fee of two shillings and sixpence, become -what is termed a <i>free member</i>, such members -having the right to participate in all the benefits -which the society affords.</p> - -<p>The benefits offered by the ‘Hearts of Oak’ are: -(1) Sick-pay at the rate of eighteen shillings a -week to <i>free members</i> for twenty-six weeks; and -should the illness continue beyond that period, -half that amount for a further twenty-six weeks; -after which the sick member becomes entitled to -relief from further contributions, and to a pension -payable at a rate in accordance with the length of -his membership. <i>Non-free</i> members participate in -this benefit, but of course on a smaller scale, which, -however, is very liberal. (2) Funeral benefits; being -the allowance of a sum of ten pounds on the death -of a <i>free member’s</i> wife, and double that amount -to the survivors of a free member upon his death. -Certain proportionate rates are granted on the -death of a <i>non-free</i> member, half such rates being -allowed in the event of such a member’s wife -dying. (3) Lying-in benefit; which is the grant -of a sum of thirty shillings on the confinement -of a <i>free member’s</i> wife; the marriage and -birth certificates, duly signed, requiring of course -to be produced on such occasions. And (4) Loss -by fire; being a compensation allowance of not -more than fifteen pounds in the case of any <i>free -member’s</i> tools or implements of trade getting -destroyed or damaged by fire. There are besides -these some miscellaneous benefits to which <i>free -members</i> are entitled, such as allowances for imprisonment -for debt contracted under circumstances -that are in a sense justifiable, or allowances to help -towards defraying the cost of a substitute to <i>free -members</i> who are drawn and liable to serve in the -militia.</p> - -<p>These benefits seem to anticipate the chief -emergencies that may happen in the course of -one’s life, as well as providing for the expenses -always attendant upon death; and the allowances -made in respect of them are, it must be admitted, -very liberal, and are doubtless the means of causing -so many poor persons to save in this simple -manner against the occurrence of such untoward -incidents.</p> - -<p>The success of the ‘Hearts of Oak’ is largely -due, however, to other causes. Principally, we -think, it may be attributed to the great economy -in its management; as, for instance, it saves a -large sum by the fact of its not being what is -commonly known as a ‘collecting society.’ On<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>{157}</span> -the contrary, the members bring or send their -money quite of their own accord; the consequence -being that, while the managerial expenses of some -collecting societies vary from 25 to 70 per cent. on -the annual income, the expenses of the ‘Hearts of -Oak’ amount only to 3¾ or 4 per cent.</p> - -<p>Another favourable point in the system pursued -by this society is, that all members pay alike. -Technically of course this must be considered -unscientific, but in the aggregate the system is -found to pay; just as the same charge for a telegram -whether it be to Aberdeen or to the next -street is also unscientific, but practically answers -well. The great argument in favour of the system -seems to be the fact that it promotes business—and -what more is wanted? Our large insurance -companies report about one thousand policies as -good work for one year; whereas the ‘Hearts of -Oak’ on its system reports over sixteen thousand -new members during the same period. On some -such system as this it were not impossible, we think, -for the whole life-insurance business of the city of -London to be done by one well-conducted office; in -which case the insured would certainly derive one -great benefit—namely, that of having to pay very -much less, perhaps only one-half of the usual -premium.</p> - -<p>Another counterpoise to the disadvantage of -charging all members alike is, that a lying-in -benefit of thirty shillings—as already shewn—is -allowed. To young men this has a great attraction; -and the result is that the average age of -joining the society is only twenty-seven. So rapid -indeed has been the growth of the ‘Hearts of -Oak,’ that an average age of the whole society, -which ten years ago was nearly thirty-four years, -is now only about thirty-three years.</p> - -<p>One other circumstance which we fancy may -have something to do with the success of the -society is worth mentioning—it is the business-like -manner in which the system adopted is carried -out. Perfect discipline among the members is maintained, -and a strict adherence to the rules that have -been made enforced. Every infraction of a rule is -promptly visited by the imposition of a fine on the -offending member; and so stringent is the society -in this respect, that the amount which annually -accrues under this head is very large. In the -accounts of the ‘Hearts of Oak’ for 1876 we notice -that this item reaches the large sum of L.6949, 13s. -6d.; which not only served to defray the year’s expenses -of the society (namely, L.5819, 9s. 7d.), but -left a balance of L.1130, 3s. 11d. It can hardly be -considered as exactly any merit of the society that -it is thus able to pay its expenses; yet there stands -the fact, whatever we may think of it. It is only -fair, however, to state that the greater part of this -large amount arises from a fine of ninepence imposed -upon members who fail to clear the books -by their quarterly night. This is levied more as a -sort of interest for a month’s longer use of the -money; and it is a striking instance of innate -want of thrift on the part of the working classes, -that so many are willing to pay ninepence for the -use of ten shillings for the month, rather than -arrange to be prompt in their payments. The -revenue derived from this fine alone is about four -thousand pounds a year. It is a curious fact too, -that of the total number of members on the books -at any one time, it is always found that just one-third -will not pay at the quarter, and have therefore -to be fined. In thus deferring their payments, -these members are the means of allowing both the -monthly and quarterly payments being reserved -entirely for the purposes of the benefits already -enumerated, and for profit; under which head the -surplus now amounts to forty thousand pounds per -annum; in point of fact, the cost of management -has always been paid for by these miscellaneous -receipts. This substantial advantage is probably -caused unwittingly on the members’ part, but it is -not the less felt or beneficial for all that.</p> - -<p>Having briefly pointed out the main features -and benefits of the ‘Hearts of Oak,’ it only remains -for us to add one word as to the great usefulness -of such societies. Notwithstanding the great success -of the Post-office savings-banks and such -other banks as are intended for the deposit of small -sums, it is our belief that they are not so conducive -to permanent saving and thrift among the poorer -classes as may be supposed. The number of -deposits in the postal banks in any one year is -no doubt very great; but on the other hand, the -number of withdrawals is also great; and from -this fact we infer that the larger part of the sums -placed there is more for the sake of temporary -safety than with any view of permanent saving. -Hence then the great usefulness of societies which -yield ultimate benefits for present contributions. As -already pointed out, the difficulty of persuading -the poorer classes to save in this manner is by no -means great; and once, therefore, a working man -has become a member of such a society, he knows -he must pay regularly; which when he becomes -accustomed to it, he only feels as a natural duty, -like the house-rent he has to pay, or any other such -tax. A further advantage of societies too is, that -his contributions cannot be regained, except indeed -at a considerable loss; but in the savings-banks -it is always at his own discretion to draw out his -deposits; a discretion often not very wisely used. -In this comparison, however, it is by no means -our wish to suggest the slightest disparagement of -savings-banks, which in their way are most useful -to all who are really anxious to lay by. We have -only desired to shew more forcibly the benefits of -societies like the ‘Hearts of Oak,’ that thereby those -whom it may concern may be induced—if they have -not already done so—to become members.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_DALESFOLK">THE DALESFOLK.</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Before</span> the spinning-jenny and the steam-engine -revolutionised our manner of living, there existed -among the hills and dales of the Lake countries -a little community which had its own peculiar -manners, laws, and customs, and which was something -unique in its way, for it seemed to be a -kind of republic existing in the midst of a great -empire. The people were what are now called -peasant proprietors, but in Cumberland and Westmoreland -they have always been named ‘statesmen.’ -A few of these ancient land-owners still -exist, and their tenure of the land which they possess -is not feudal but allodial, in so far as that they -acquired their estates at a very remote period, either -by establishing themselves on unoccupied lands -like the ‘settlers’ in Australia or America, or by -conquering previous possessors. Several of these -statesmen possess estates which have descended<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>{158}</span> -uninterruptedly in their families since the time of -Richard II., and always as ‘customary freeholds;’ -while one family, the Holmes of Mardale, have -inherited their land in unbroken succession since -the year 1060, when a certain John Holme came -from Norway and settled in the district.</p> - -<p>When James II. came to the throne he set up a -claim to all those small estates, on the plea that -the statesmen were merely tenants of the crown. -But his claim was met by the sturdy Dalesfolk in -a manner which he little expected. They met to -the number of two thousand, at a place called -Ratten Heath, and publicly declared that ‘they -had won their lands by the sword, and by the -sword they would keep them.’</p> - -<p>Owing to the smallness of the estates, there was -not sufficient employment in farm-work at all -times for a statesman and his family, and carding, -spinning, and weaving formed the employment for -the winter months. The men carded, and the -women spun the wool yielded by the previous -clipping. Nearly every household had its weaving-shop, -where one or two looms were kept, and -many of the men were able to weave the cloth -which served for their own wear and that of their -families. The linsey-woolsey dresses worn by the -women were homespun, and they also manufactured -linen for domestic purposes.</p> - -<p>The process of preparing the cloth was a curious -one, and deserves mention. After a web of woollen -cloth was turned out of the loom, it was taken to -the ‘beck’ or stream and soaked in the water; then -it was placed on a flat stone called the ‘battling-stone’ -and well pounded with a wooden mallet. -This primitive operation served instead of the -elaborate processes through which woollen cloth -now passes at the fuller’s mill.</p> - -<p>The costume of the Dalesmen was rather picturesque, -being composed of homespun fleeces of -white or black, with occasionally a mixture of the -two colours to save the expense of dyeing. This -homely material, which is still made in some parts -of Scotland and Ireland, has lately become fashionable, -and is pronounced to be superior for country -wear to the most finished products of our steam-looms. -The coats were ornamented with brass -buttons, as were also the waistcoats, which were -made open in front to shew a frilled shirt-breast. -Knee-breeches were the fashion for centuries, -and these were worn without braces, which are -quite a modern invention. Those used on Sundays -or holidays had a knot of ribbon and four or five -bright buttons at the knee, and those who could -afford it had them made of buckskin. Their -stockings, which were of course a conspicuous -part of their dress, were also made from their own -wool, the colour being either blue or gray. Clogs -were their ordinary ‘shoon,’ but when dressed in -holiday costume they had low shoes fastened with -buckles, which were often of silver.</p> - -<p>At the present day this picturesque costume is -nearly obsolete, but some of the old Dalesmen still -adhere to the fashion of their youth. About five -or six years ago a few of them happened to meet -at Grasmere Fair and stood chatting together for -some time without noticing what many other -persons were remarking, namely, that all of them -were dressed in the old costume. When they did -notice it they all agreed that it was a somewhat -singular coincidence, and a proper occasion for a -friendly glass in honour of ‘auld lang syne.’ -They were the connecting link between the old -times and the new, and would probably be the -last of the Dalesfolk to wear the costume of the -bygone age.</p> - -<p>The dress of the Daleswomen was not less -primitive than that of the men. They wore -homespun linsey-woolsey petticoats and gowns, -a blue linen apron completing their attire. The -statesman’s daughter who first communicated to -her native place a knowledge of the glories of -printed calico is said to have created a great sensation, -and was more than a nine days’ wonder. The -clogs worn by the women were pointed at the toes -and were clasped with brass instead of iron. Their -bonnets were made of pasteboard covered with -black silk, and in shape resembled a coal-scuttle, -with the front projecting about a foot beyond the -face of the wearer.</p> - -<p>The houses of the Dalesfolk were not of the -most comfortable kind, and were similar to those -which exist at the present day in many of the -southern counties of England. Badly constructed -with rough-hewn stones, and joined with clay -instead of mortar, they did not always shelter the -inmates from the ‘cauld blast;’ while it was no -uncommon thing for the roofs to be in such a state -that when a snow-storm took place in the night, -people in bed would often find several inches of -snow on their bed-clothes the next morning. The -wood used in the construction of the houses was -oak; doors, floors, and window-frames being all of -that sturdy material. The beams were made of -whole trees roughly squared, while the smaller -rafters and joists were split. Most of these old -buildings had a porch before the outer door, the -latter being of massive oak, two planks thick, and -fastened together with wooden pegs (for the carpenters -in those days used very few nails), which -were put in parallel rows about three or four -inches apart and left projecting about three-quarters -of an inch on the outside. About six hundred -of these pegs were used in its construction, and -the making of them occupied as much time as it -would take to make a dozen doors in our busier -times. A degree of sanctity was, however, -attached to a door by these simple folk, and certain -charms to be used only at the threshold -are remembered even now in the Dales.</p> - -<p>In dwellings of the usual size there were not -more than three rooms on the ground floor, namely -the living-apartment, the dairy, and the parlour, -the last being generally used as the bedroom of -the master and mistress. In some cases there was -an out-kitchen, but not in all.</p> - -<p>Long after the use of coal and fire-grates became -general throughout England these people still continued -to burn peat and wood upon the open -hearth, and it was not until half the present -century had elapsed that, railway communication -making coal cheaper, and the increased value of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>{159}</span> -labour making peat dearer, coal finally triumphed -and open fire-places gave place to grates. The old -chimneys had no flues, and were very wide at the -bottom, gradually contracting towards the top, and -in these chimneys hams, legs of beef, flitches of -bacon, and whole carcases of mutton were hung up -to dry for winter consumption.</p> - -<p>The food of the Dalesmen was confined almost -wholly to the simple products of their own farms. -They consumed a large portion of animal food, and -as sheep and cattle were in the best condition for -slaughtering in autumn, it was then that the Dalesfolk -stocked their wide chimneys with a supply -of meat for the winter and spring. Tea, coffee, -and wheaten bread were very little known in the -Dales; oatcake (Anglicè), or ‘haver-bread’ as it -was termed, being used. The people brewed their -own beer and drank it at nearly every meal. Such, -with milk, butter, and cheese, was the food of these -honest folk, and they seemed to have thriven -well on it. When tea, coffee, and sugar came into -general use, an old Dalesman remarked that he -wondered ‘what t’ warl’ wod cum tew after a bit -when fowk nooadays couldn’t git their breakfast -without hevvin stuff fra baith East and West -Indies.’</p> - -<p>Until the middle of last century the roads of -the two counties were in a wretched state; and -instead of wheeled carriages, pack-horses and in -some cases sledges were used for conveying things -from one place to another. There is an old -man now living in Grasmere whose grandmother -could remember the present church bells being -brought thither by sledges along the old road over -the top of White Moss, then the main road -between Ambleside and Grasmere. A man and -his wife often rode to market together on the -same horse, the woman sitting behind on what -was called a pillion. But the Dalesfolk were not -very particular as to their turn-out, for a piece -of turf dried and cut into the proper shape often -served them as a saddle. Other saddles were pads -of straw; and on market-days, after business was -over, such of the farmers as were convivially -disposed stayed on at the public-house or inn, -holding a ‘crack’ and drinking till a late hour; -and while a spree of this kind was going on, it -often happened that the poor hungry horses would -break loose and eat up all the straw pads, thus -leaving their owners to ride home bareback!</p> - -<p>The Dalesfolk were rather superstitious; and -there is an old story in the local records about the -way in which the first lime was introduced to the -district. It was carried on the back of a horse, -and as they neared Borrowdale a thunder-storm -came on, and the lime in the sack began to smoke. -Thinking the sack was on fire, the man in charge -went and filled his hat with water from a ditch, -and threw it into the sack. As this made things -worse, he grew terribly alarmed, and thinking the -Evil One had something to do with it, he pitched -the lime into the ditch, and leaping on to the horse, -galloped home as fast as he could go.</p> - -<p>Ploughing was attended with hard labour to -those employed, and it required at least three men -and three horses to work one plough. The horses -were yoked one before another, and it was as -much as one man could do to drive them. A -second man held the plough-beam down, to prevent -the plough from slipping out of the earth; -while it was the work of a third to guide the -whole concern, this part of the business requiring -the most skill. Sometimes a fourth man was -employed with pick and spade to turn up the -places missed by the plough. Very little skill -or labour was expended in the making of the -implement, and it was nothing unusual for a tree -growing in the morning to be cut down during -the day, and made into a plough, with which a -good stroke of work was done before night.</p> - -<p>These good people worked much harder than -their descendants of the present day. Their hours -of labour were much longer, and much of what -they did by hand is now done by machinery. -Though ignorant and unrefined, they were honest -and hospitable, and possessed a great deal of -sound shrewd common-sense. In those days many -of them followed several handicrafts, for the -division of labour was not such as it is now; -and a remarkable instance of this diversified -ability is to be found in the life of the man who -was the parish priest of Wordsworth’s poem, <i>The -Excursion</i>. This worthy man—whose history we -have slightly alluded to in an article in this -<i>Journal</i> on the Lake Country—was the son of a -poor statesman, and was the youngest of twelve. -At the age of seventeen he became a village -schoolmaster, and a little later both minister and -schoolmaster. Before and after school-hours he -laboured at manual occupation, rising between -three and four in the summer, and working in -the fields with the scythe or sickle. He ploughed, -he planted, tended sheep, or clipped and salved, -all for hire; wrote his own sermons, and did -his duty at chapel twice on Sundays. In all -these labours he excelled. In winter-time he -occupied himself in reading, writing his own -sermons, spinning, and making his own clothes -and those of his family, knitting and mending -his own stockings, and making his own shoes, the -leather of which was of his own tanning. In his -walks he never neglected to gather and bring -home the wool from the hedges. He was also -the physician and lawyer of his parishioners; drew -up their wills, conveyances, bonds, &c., wrote all -their letters, and settled their accounts, and often -went to market with sheep or wool for the -farmers.</p> - -<p>He married a respectable maid-servant, who -brought him forty pounds; and shortly afterwards -he became curate of Seathwaite, where he lived and -officiated for sixty-seven years. We are told that -when his family wanted cloth, he often took the -spinning-wheel into the school-room, where he -also kept a cradle—of course of his own making. -Not unfrequently the wheel, the cradle, and the -scholars all claiming his attention at the same -moment, taxed the ingenuity of this wonderful -man to keep them all going. To all these attainments -Mr Walker—or ‘Wonderful Walker,’ as he -was called—also added a knowledge of fossils and -plants, and a ‘habit’ of observing the stars and -winds. In summer he also collected various -insects, and by his entertaining descriptions of -them amused and instructed his children. After -a long and extremely useful, nay we might say -heroic life, which extended over nearly the whole -of the last century (he having been born in 1709), -this remarkable Dalesman died on the 25th of -June 1802, in the ninety-third year of his age. -In the course of his life he had, besides bringing -up and settling in life a family of twelve children,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>{160}</span> -amassed the sum of two thousand pounds, the -result of marvellous industry and self-denial.</p> - -<p>The chapel where this celebrated man entered -upon his sacred duties was the smallest in the Dales, -the poet Wordsworth, Mr Walker’s biographer, -describing it as scarcely larger than many of the -fragments of rock lying near it. Most of these -small chapelries were presided over by ‘readers,’ -men who generally exercised the trades of clogger, -tailor, and butter-print maker, in order to eke out -their small stipend. The livings were not worth -more than two or three pounds a year, and the -ministers were dependent upon the voluntary contributions -of their parishioners. Their stipends, -beside the small money-payment mentioned above, -comprised ‘clothes yearly and whittlegate.’ The -former meant one suit of clothes, two pairs of -shoes, and one pair of clogs; and the latter, two or -three weeks’ victuals at each house according to the -ability of the inhabitants, which was settled among -themselves; so that the minister could ‘go his -course’ as regularly as the sun, and complete it -annually. Few houses having more than one or -two knives, he was obliged to carry his own knife -or ‘whittle.’ He marched from house to house, -and as master of the flock, had the elbow-chair at -the table-head. Some remarkable scenes were often -the result of this droll arrangement, and many -good stories are current with reference to it. A -story is told in Whythburn of a minister who had -but two sermons, which he preached in turn. -The walls of the chapel were at that time unplastered, -and the sermons were usually placed in a -hole in the wall behind the pulpit. On Sunday, -before the service began, some wag pushed the -sermons so far into the hole that they could not be -got out with the hand. When the time for the -sermon had arrived, the minister tried in vain to -get them out. He then turned to the congregation -and said that he could touch them with his forefinger, -but couldn’t get his thumb in to grasp them. -‘But however,’ said he, ‘I will read you a chapter -of Job instead, and that’s worth both of them put -together!’</p> - -<p>There was a curious custom at one time in the -Dales of holding market at the church. Meat -and all kinds of things were displayed at the -church doors, and it often happened that people -would make their bargains first and hang their -goods over the backs of their seats. Though such -practices have long been discontinued, there are -still people living who have heard the clerk give -out in the churchyard the advertisements of the -several sales which were to be held in the neighbourhood. -One good custom there was, however, -which might be often practised now with advantage -in small towns and villages, namely, that of -the churchwardens going round the village during -divine service and driving all the loungers into -church.</p> - -<p>The Dalesfolk had their sports too, the chief of -which was the one for which Cumberland and -Westmoreland have ever been famous, namely -wrestling. They were also keen hunters; and -until quite a recent period a few couples of hounds -were kept in every dale, and when the presence of -a fox was betrayed by a missing lamb or a -decimated hen-roost, all the dogs and nearly all -the men in the parish entered in pursuit of the -depredator, and were seldom balked by their -victim.</p> - -<p>Some songs that were in vogue in the Dales a -hundred years ago are still sung, chiefly at fairs -by itinerant ballad-mongers. Some of the tunes -are very antique, as for instance, <i>St Dunstan’s -Hunt’s Up</i>, mentioned by Sir Walter Scott as lost -and forgotten, but which is still played on the -fiddle every Christmas-eve. The festivals held -from time to time in the Dales were such as were -very common in all parts of ‘Merrie England’ -when our forefathers worked hard, and money -was much scarcer than it is now. That they -worked harder on the whole is a thing which -admits of two opinions; but one thing is certain, -namely, that their work was of a steady, careful, -easy-going kind, whilst now it is all bustle and -drive, in the endeavour to cram into a few fleeting -hours as much as they could do in a whole week. -Such as we find the world, however, we must put -up with it, content, like them, to keep pegging -away, and meeting the storms and buffetings of -life with the same courageous spirit which enabled -them to add their mite towards the honour, glory, -and welfare of our common country.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="A_SPRING_MORNING">A SPRING MORNING.</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0"><span class="smcap">When</span> sparrows in the brightening sun</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Chirped blithe of summer half-begun</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And sure to prosper—over-bold</div> - <div class="verse indent0">With rifled stores of crocus gold—</div> - <div class="verse indent0">When lilacs fresh with morning rain</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Tapped laughing at my window pane,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And soft with coming warmth and good</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Mild breezes shook the leafy wood:</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Then, ere the first delight was spent,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Adown the sunny slope I went,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Until the narrowing path across,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Soft shadows flickered on the moss</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Of beechen buds that burst their sheath,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And twining tendrils, while beneath,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Where twisted roots made hollows meet,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Grew budding primrose at my feet.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">There all the riddles of a life</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Which vexes me with aimless strife;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The broken thoughts, that not with pain</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Nor patience ere will meet again,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Were laid aside, nay, seemed to drop</div> - <div class="verse indent0">As, when loud jarring voices stop,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The waves of silence rise, and spread,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And meet in circles overhead.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">How life might grow I seemed to guess;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Life knowing no uneasy stress</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Of partial increase; strong in growth,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Yet ever perfect, dawning truth</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Which swayed each hour that took its flight</div> - <div class="verse indent0">An added empiry of light,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">That neither cloud nor mist might stay,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Slow brightening to the perfect day.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Though autumn hours will come again,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And leafless branches drip with rain</div> - <div class="verse indent0">On sodden moss, yet having seen,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I keep my faith: each spring-tide green—</div> - <div class="verse indent0">When drooping life puts off its gloom,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And burned roots bear scented bloom—</div> - <div class="verse indent0">With tender prophecy makes sure</div> - <div class="verse indent0">My heart to labour and endure.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center">Printed and Published by <span class="smcap">W. & R. Chambers</span>, 47 Paternoster -Row, <span class="smcap">London</span>, and 339 High Street, <span class="smcap">Edinburgh</span>.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center"><i>All Rights Reserved.</i></p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Journal of Popular -Literature, Science, and Art,, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF *** - -***** This file should be named 62808-h.htm or 62808-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/8/0/62808/ - -Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - -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. 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