summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
-rw-r--r--.gitattributes4
-rw-r--r--LICENSE.txt11
-rw-r--r--README.md2
-rw-r--r--old/65156-0.txt5611
-rw-r--r--old/65156-0.zipbin123378 -> 0 bytes
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h.zipbin1990328 -> 0 bytes
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h/65156-h.htm7440
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h/images/cover.jpgbin227731 -> 0 bytes
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h/images/crypto.jpgbin247502 -> 0 bytes
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h/images/i001.jpgbin216275 -> 0 bytes
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h/images/i002.jpgbin408743 -> 0 bytes
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h/images/i089.jpgbin277541 -> 0 bytes
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h/images/i090.jpgbin294768 -> 0 bytes
-rw-r--r--old/65156-h/images/i109.jpgbin257266 -> 0 bytes
14 files changed, 17 insertions, 13051 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7b82bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+*.txt text eol=lf
+*.htm text eol=lf
+*.html text eol=lf
+*.md text eol=lf
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5176258
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #65156 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65156)
diff --git a/old/65156-0.txt b/old/65156-0.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index b9a7dbc..0000000
--- a/old/65156-0.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5611 +0,0 @@
-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Graham's Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 2, August
-1841, by Various
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: Graham's Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 2, August 1841
-
-Author: Various
-
-Editor: George R. Graham
-
-Release Date: April 25, 2021 [eBook #65156]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-Produced by: Mardi Desjardins & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada
- team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net from page images generously
- made available by the Internet Archive (https://archive.org)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XIX, NO.
-2, AUGUST 1841 ***
- GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.
- Vol. XIX. August, 1841. No. 2.
-
-
- Contents
-
- Fiction, Literature and Articles
-
- The Penitent Son
- The Colloquy of Monos and Una
- The Assault
- The Neglected Wife
- The Puritan Son
- Auzella
- School-Boy Recollections
- The Reefer of ’76
- A Day at Niagara
- Willis Gaylord Clark
- Sports and Pastimes—Angling
- Review of New Books
- Secret Writing
-
- Poetry, Music and Fashion
-
- My Mother’s Bible
- “I Know That Thou Wilt Sorrow!”
- Sonnet
- O, Say, Do I Na’ Lo’e Ye Lassie
- Thoughts In Spring
- The Withered Rose
- Major Dade’s Command
- The Widow
- Farewell! If Ever Fondest Prayer
- Latest Fashions, August 1941
-
- Transcriber’s Notes can be found at the end of this eBook.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: _Painted by Prentis_ _Engraved by J. Sartain._
-
-_The Penitent Son._
-
-_Engraved Expressly for Graham’s Magazine_]
-
-[Illustration: embossed lace work by F. QUARRE]
-
- * * * * *
-
- GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.
-
- Vol. XIX. PHILADELPHIA: AUGUST, 1841. No. 2.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE PENITENT SON.
-
-
-“Father, only look at him—do but hear him!” said the soft, entreating
-voice of the daughter, as she looked up imploringly into her parent’s
-face, while the sobs of the penitent son shook his frame with agony.
-
-James Vernon was the only son of two doating parents, and the heir of a
-splendid fortune. Gratified in his every wish, and left almost without
-restraint, he had grown up that most fatal of all things, a spoiled
-child; and had it not been for a naturally frank and generous
-disposition, he would have been ruined by indulgence even in his
-boyhood. When, however, at fifteen, he left home for college, he still
-possessed the elements of a noble character, and had he then been
-entrusted to a careful tutor, he might have been saved years of folly
-and subsequent misery. But, thrown among the hundreds of youth of his
-own age who thronged the institution whither he was sent, with no one to
-guide him aright, and habits of wilfulness, contracted at home, to urge
-him on wherever whim might lead him, he soon fell into the temptations
-incident to a large college, and, without intending evil so much as
-seeking for amusement, became notorious for his frolics, idleness, and
-even dissipation. He had not been at the university a year before his
-name was regarded as that of the worst member of his class. His progress
-in study was deficient, and his expenses great. His doating father at
-first overlooked his son’s irregularities, thinking they would soon wear
-off; but when term after term elapsed, and there was no appearance of
-reformation, he expostulated strongly, almost sternly, with his child.
-For a time James was moved, and almost shook off his unworthy
-companions. But the effort to cut loose from them altogether required
-more energy than he was capable of, and as no reformation can be lasting
-when only half complete, he soon relapsed into his old habits, and,
-before the term was up, was as notorious as ever for being the leader in
-every mischievous or even disreputable action. This could not last. More
-than once he had been warned by the faculty, and weekly—almost
-daily—did his friends, by letter, expostulate with him. Frank, generous
-and good-intentioned, he constantly determined to amend his conduct; but
-his very open-heartedness, by rendering him incapable of resisting
-temptation, prevented every lasting effort at reformation. Each failure
-likewise placed him more and more in the power of his gay companions.
-The result is easily told. In his second year, he was detected in a
-flagrant violation of the college rules, and, as expostulation had been
-used again and again in vain, he was expelled from the university. The
-blow fell like a thunderbolt on his parents. His father was a rigidly
-correct, and withal a proud man, and, in proportion to the affection
-with which he regarded his son, was the conviction of the disgrace thus
-brought upon his name. In the first emotions of his anger, he almost
-vowed never to look on the face of his son again. But the prayers of the
-fond mother at length prevailed; he relented, and James was once more
-received under the paternal roof.
-
-It must not be supposed that the youth was callous to his disgrace. He
-felt it acutely, and the more acutely because, as every good principle
-was not yet eradicated from his heart, he was conscious that he deserved
-his degradation. He saw, too, how deeply injured were the feelings of
-his parents; and he determined to thoroughly reform. He kept his word.
-For the year that he remained under the paternal roof, he seemed another
-being. But, in a fatal hour, his father yielded to his solicitations to
-allow him to study a profession, and he was accordingly sent to
-Philadelphia, to commence a course of lectures at the celebrated
-university of that city. Who might not have foretold the result? Almost
-imperceptibly, and, to a disposition like his, unavoidably, he was
-seduced back into his old courses, and, before the winter was over, he
-became once more celebrated as one of the most idle and dissipated
-students of his class. The arrival of a few of his old companions in
-college, to begin their studies for a profession, completed his ruin. He
-plunged into every extravagance. His allowance, liberal as it was, fell
-far short of his expenses. His bills soon accumulated to a fearful
-amount. Dreading to acquaint his parent with their extent, and in order
-to relieve himself from their load, he did what hitherto he had
-shunned—he resorted to the gaming table. For a while he was successful,
-for he had always been accounted a skilful player, and believing he now
-had a resource for every emergency, he plunged still deeper into
-extravagance of every character. But suddenly his luck failed him. He
-lost. Again he essayed to retrieve his fortune—again he was
-unsuccessful. His bills had meantime accumulated to a fearful amount;
-and knowing that he had no hope for succor from his parent, he made a
-desperate attempt to retrieve his losses. It was in vain. Not only did
-he fail to retrieve his luck, but he went forth a ruined man, having
-involved himself even still deeper. For a while he was frantic with
-despair. As a last resort, he determined on applying to his mother, well
-knowing that she would look with more leniency on him than his sterner
-father would. He waited breathlessly for an answer. It came, directed in
-his father’s handwriting. He opened the epistle with a trembling hand,
-and beating heart, and read as follows:
-
- “Sir,
-
- Your letter found your mother on a sick bed, unable to
- receive any intelligence, and, as we knew from whom the packet
- came, I opened it. Its contents will account for the style of
- this epistle. You are no longer a son of mine. Two years ago,
- when you brought the disgrace on your name of having been
- expelled ignominiously from college, I almost vowed never to
- acknowledge you as a son of mine. I relented, however, and took
- you again into favor. I see now how useless it was. Again you
- have brought shame on my gray hairs; and I now make the
- determination to disown you wholly. Enclosed is a thousand
- dollars, for I will not send you penniless on the world. Let me
- never again hear from you. Change your name, since you will
- dishonor the one I bear, and remember that your own folly has
- cut loose every tie betwixt you and
-
- George L. Vernon.”
-
-The letter fell from the hands of the young man as he ceased reading,
-and for some moments, without uttering a word, he gazed on it as it lay
-on the floor at his feet. In that minute how his whole past life rushed
-through his memory! He thought of his infancy; his early childhood; the
-rooms where he played; his little sister; his mother; the servants;
-every old familiar place and thing, all now shut out to him forever. Had
-he deserved to be treated with such harshness? His passion blinded him
-as he said:
-
-“No! I have not deserved it. I will be under no obligations to one who
-can thus heartlessly cast me off. He disowns me—does he? Let it be.
-Never will I sue for a favor again at any of their hands. From this day
-forth they shall be to me as the dead.”
-
-Shall we follow him through his career of subsequent desperation and
-eventual profligacy, or shall we at once draw to a close?
-
-More than a year had passed since Vernon had been disowned by his
-parent, and he was now an outcast, and almost penniless. In all that
-time he had heard nothing of home. He had seen, in the interval, every
-variety of life. The gaming table had been his principal resort, for
-after having, with the remittance made to him by his father, discharged
-his debts of honor, he had so little left that he saw no other resource
-from starvation. The vicissitudes of a gambler’s life are well known;
-the inevitable result—poverty—is ever the same. By the time a
-twelvemonth had elapsed, Vernon was almost penniless.
-
-With only a few dollars in his pocket, he one night entered a low gaming
-house, and for some time betted without either loss or gain. At length,
-however, he lost. He threw down another stake, and that too was swept up
-by the banker. His last dollar was in his hand, ready to be put up, when
-he paused, and the question flashed across his mind, what if he should
-lose again? Never before had he been so near to utter poverty. He had
-even no place where he might lodge that night, and, save that dollar, he
-owned nothing in the wide world but the garments he wore. He paused, and
-turned away.
-
-“The cards pass,” said the banker. “You do not bet this time,
-sir?—another chance, and you retrieve your loss.”
-
-Still the young man hesitated. The banker lost.
-
-“The cards pass,” said the banker again; “you see you would have won,
-sir. How much do you put up now?”
-
-The young man glanced fiercely at the speaker, hesitated an instant, and
-half turned away again; but the temptation to try his luck once more was
-too great, and hastily throwing down his dollar, he grasped the cards
-convulsively.
-
-“Twenty!” said the banker, flinging his cards with a smile on the table.
-“Sir, you have lost.”
-
-The young man stared wildly at the hoary villain, and then grinding his
-teeth together fiercely, with ill-concealed despair, he pushed the piece
-towards his tempter, cast a stern defying glance around the room at the
-curious spectators of the scene, and strode from the apartment.
-
-“Humph!” said the banker, “I’ll bet it’s his last dollar—who takes me
-up? No one, eh! Then, gentlemen, proceed.”
-
-No sooner had the young man reached the street than he paused, and
-looking up at the gay windows of the room he had left, he shook his
-clenched hand fiercely at them, and exclaimed—
-
-“Curses on ye for the ruin ye have brought upon me!—ay! ten thousand
-curses on ye and your hoary owners!” and then the recollection of his
-poverty seeming to cross his mind in another guise, he added, less
-passionately, “My God! not a cent have they left me, even to buy a
-night’s shelter. Oh! that I had never left my father’s house!”
-
-For hours he wandered up and down the streets, now inflamed to madness
-by his despair, now melting at the recollection of the happy days he had
-once enjoyed under his father’s roof. Morning still found him a
-wanderer. Pale, dejected and spirit-broken, he entered, at early dawn,
-an obscure coffee-house, just as the sleepy menials were opening the
-shutters, and sitting moodily down, picked up the morning paper. The
-first paragraph that his eye lit upon was as follows:
-
- “Died, on the 5th inst., after a lingering illness, which she
- bore with Christian meekness and fortitude, Elizabeth, wife of
- George L. Vernon.”
-
-The paper dropped from his grasp. For an instant all power of speech
-left him. Then rushed across his mind the recollection of a thousand
-things which that mother had done for her erring boy. And she had
-died—died without forgiving him! Oh! at that moment, he would have
-given worlds to have recalled her to life, in order that he might kneel
-at her feet and solicit her pardon.
-
-“I will arise,” at length he said, in the language of scripture, “and go
-unto my father. I will sue for permission to behold her face in death;
-surely that they will not deny me.”
-
-And he arose. Completely changed in spirit, that erring son, after
-nearly a day’s travel, arrived at his native village. He had parted with
-every available thing to obtain funds for the journey, and reached his
-father’s house just before night, penniless. He knocked hastily at the
-door, not giving himself time to notice that the house bore no signs of
-mourning. The old housekeeper, who happened to be crossing the hall at
-the time the servant admitted him, could scarcely repress a scream of
-surprise at seeing her young master.
-
-“For God’s sake,” gasped the penitent, “Mrs. Irwin, lead me to my
-mother; let me see her before the grave closes over her forever.”
-
-The almost incoherent words and eager, impassioned gestures of the
-penitent for a moment bewildered the good woman.
-
-“Your mother! Mr. James—she is not dead; but you have seen the
-newspapers’ mistake, then?”
-
-“Not dead!” exclaimed he, falling on his knees; “then I thank thee, oh!
-my Creator, that I can yet sue for her forgiveness.”
-
-“Come, then, my dear boy,” said the old housekeeper, bursting into
-tears, “and let me take you in to your parents. Oh! I have prayed for
-this hour night and day, and I knew that it would come;” and while the
-tears fell thick and fast down her aged cheeks, she led the now passive
-penitent across the hall, opened the door of the drawing-room, and
-ushered in the returning prodigal.
-
-One glance around that well-remembered room was sufficient for the young
-man. His mother sat in her easy chair, wrapped in a large shawl, and
-bearing evident traces of a late illness; his sister was at her piano,
-playing one of the old airs which he had heard a thousand times from
-her; and his silver-haired father sat betwixt the mother and daughter,
-engaged in his usual occupation of reading. Yet, oh! how care-worn were
-the faces of all! And this was the work of that prodigal son. As he saw
-it all, a gush of old feelings swept across the penitent’s soul, and
-falling on his knees, he buried his face in his hands, and sobbed aloud
-in his remorse.
-
-“My boy!—come to my arms,” said the mother, almost hysterically,
-awarding her forgiveness almost before it was solicited.
-
-Not so the father. Rising with a frown from his chair, he was about to
-advance on the intruder, when the daughter, rushing towards him, lifted
-her beseeching eyes to her parent’s, and said,
-
-“Father, only look at him—do but hear him!”
-
-For a moment the conflict in that father’s bosom almost shook his frame
-with emotion. At first he turned away, refusing to see his boy; but in
-every line of his agitated face might be seen the struggle betwixt
-affection for his son and his sense of injury. Nature at length
-triumphed; he suffered himself to be led towards the penitent, and the
-next moment the members of the re-united family were sobbing alternately
-in each other’s arms.
-
- R.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- MY MOTHER’S BIBLE.
-
-
- BY GEORGE P. MORRIS.
-
-
- This book is all that’s left me now!—
- Tears will unbidden start—
- With faltering lip and throbbing brow,
- I press it to my heart.
- For many generations passed,
- Here is our family tree;
- My mother’s hands this Bible clasped—
- She, dying, gave it me.
-
- Ah! well do I remember those
- Whose names these records bear:
- Who round the hearth-stone used to close,
- After the evening prayer,
- And speak of what these pages said,
- In terms my heart would thrill!—
- Though they are with the silent dead,
- Here are they living still!
-
- My father read this holy book
- To brothers, sisters dear—
- How calm was my poor mother’s look,
- Who leaned God’s word to hear!
- Her angel face—I see it yet!
- What thronging memories come!
- Again that little group is met
- Within the halls of home!
-
- Thou truest friend man ever knew,
- Thy constancy I’ve tried;
- When all were false, I found thee true,
- My counsellor and guide.
- The mines of earth no treasures give
- That could this volume buy;
- In teaching me the way to live,
- It taught me how to die.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE COLLOQUY OF MONOS AND UNA.
-
-
- BY EDGAR A. POE.
-
-
-Una. “Born again?”
-
-Monos. Yes, fairest and best beloved Una, “born again.” These were the
-words upon whose mystical meaning I had so long pondered, rejecting the
-explanations of the priesthood, until Death himself resolved for me the
-secret.
-
-Una. Death!
-
-Monos. How strangely, sweet Una, you echo my words! I observe, too, a
-vacillation in your step—a joyous inquietude in your eyes. You are
-confused and oppressed by the majestic novelty of the Life Eternal. Yes,
-it was of Death I spoke. And here how singularly sounds that word which
-of old was wont to bring terror to all hearts—throwing a mildew upon
-all pleasures!
-
-Una. Ah, Death, the spectre which sate at all feasts! How often, Monos,
-did we lose ourselves in speculations upon its nature! How mysteriously
-did it act as a check to human bliss—saying unto it “thus far, and no
-farther!” That earnest mutual love, my own Monos, which burned within
-our bosoms—how vainly did we flatter ourselves, feeling happy in its
-first upspringing, that our happiness would strengthen with its
-strength! Alas! as it grew, so grew in our hearts the dread of that evil
-hour which was hurrying to separate us forever! Thus, in time, it became
-painful to love. Hate would have been mercy then.
-
-Monos. Speak not here of these griefs, dear Una—mine, mine forever now!
-
-Una. But the memory of past sorrow—is it not present joy? I have much
-to say yet of the things which have been. Above all, I burn to know the
-incidents of your own passage through the dark Valley and Shadow.
-
-Monos. And when did the radiant Una ask anything of her Monos in vain? I
-will be minute in relating all—but at what point shall the weird
-narrative begin?
-
-Una. At what point?
-
-Monos. You have said.
-
-Una. Monos, I comprehend you. In Death we have both learned the
-propensity of man to define the indefinable. I will not say, then,
-commence with the moment of life’s cessation—but commence with that
-sad, sad instant when, the fever having abandoned you, you sank into a
-breathless and motionless torpor, and I pressed down your pallid eyelids
-with the passionate fingers of love.
-
-Monos. One word first, my Una, in regard to man’s general condition at
-this epoch. You will remember that one or two of the wise among our
-forefathers—wise in fact, although not in the world’s esteem—had
-ventured to doubt the propriety of the term “improvement,” as applied to
-the progress of our civilization. There were periods in each of the five
-or six centuries immediately preceding our dissolution, when arose some
-vigorous intellect, boldly contending for those principles whose truth
-appears now, to our disenfranchised reason, so utterly
-obvious—principles which should have taught our race to submit to the
-guidance of the natural laws, rather than attempt their control. At long
-intervals some master-minds appeared, looking upon each advance in
-practical science as a retro-gradation in the true utility. Occasionally
-the poetic intellect—that intellect which we now feel to have been the
-most exalted of all—since those truths which to us were of the most
-enduring importance could only be reached by that _analogy_ which speaks
-in proof-tones to the imagination alone, and to the unaided reason bears
-no weight—occasionally did this poetic intellect proceed a step farther
-in the evolving of the vague idea of the philosophic, and find in the
-mystic parable that tells of the tree of knowledge, and of its forbidden
-fruit, death-producing, a distinct intimation that knowledge was not
-meet for man in the infant condition of his soul. And these men—the
-poets—living and perishing amid the scorn of the “utilitarians”—of
-rough pedants, who arrogated to themselves a title which could have been
-properly applied only to the scorned—these men, the poets, pondered
-piningly, yet not unwisely, upon the ancient days when our wants were
-not more simple than our enjoyments were keen—days when _mirth_ was a
-word unknown, so solemnly deep-toned was happiness—holy, august and
-blissful days, when blue rivers ran undammed, between hills unhewn, into
-far forest solitudes, primæval, odorous, and unexplored.
-
-Yet these noble exceptions from the general misrule served but to
-strengthen it by opposition. Alas! we had fallen upon the most evil of
-all our evil days. The great “movement”—that was the cant term—went
-on:—a diseased commotion, moral and physical. Art—the Arts—arose
-supreme, and, once enthroned, cast chains upon the intellect which had
-elevated them to power. Man, because he could not but acknowledge the
-majesty of Nature, fell into childish exultation at his acquired and
-still-increasing dominion over her elements. Even while he stalked a god
-in his own fancy, an infantine imbecility came over him. As might be
-supposed from the origin of his disorder, he grew infected with system,
-and with abstraction. He enwrapped himself in generalities. Among other
-odd ideas, those of universal equality gained ground; and in the face of
-analogy and of God—in despite of the loud warning voice of the laws of
-_gradation_ so visibly pervading all things in Earth and Heaven—wild
-attempts at an omni-prevalent Democracy were made. Yet this evil sprang
-necessarily from the leading evil, Knowledge. Man could not both know
-and succumb. Meantime huge smoking cities arose, innumerable. Green
-leaves shrank before the hot breath of furnaces. The fair face of Nature
-was deformed as with the ravages of some loathsome disease. And
-methinks, sweet Una, even our slumbering sense of the forced and of the
-far-fetched might have arrested us here. But now it appears that we had
-worked out our own destruction in the perversion of our _taste_, or
-rather in the blind neglect of its culture in the schools. For, in
-truth, it was at this crisis that taste alone—that faculty which,
-holding a middle position between the pure intellect and the moral
-sense, could never safely have been disregarded—it was now that taste
-alone could have led us gently back to Beauty, to Nature, and to Life.
-But alas for the pure contemplative spirit and majestic intuition of
-Plato! Alas for the μουσικη which he justly regarded as an
-all-sufficient education for the soul! Alas for him and for it!—since
-both were most desperately needed when both were most entirely forgotten
-or despised.[1]
-
-Pascal, a philosopher whom we both love, has said, how truly!—“_que
-tout notre raisonnement se rèduit à céder au sentiment_;” and it is not
-impossible that the sentiment of the natural, had time permitted it,
-would have regained its old ascendancy over the harsh mathematical
-reason of the schools. But this thing was not to be. Prematurely induced
-by intemperance of knowledge, the old age of the world drew on. This the
-mass of mankind saw not, or, living lustily although unhappily, affected
-not to see. But, for myself, the Earth’s records had taught me to look
-for widest ruin as the price of highest civilization. I had imbibed a
-prescience of our Fate from comparison of China the simple and enduring,
-with Assyria the architect, with Egypt the astrologer, with Nubia, more
-crafty than either, the turbulent mother of all Arts. In history[2] of
-these regions I met with a ray from the Future. The individual
-artificialities of the three latter were local diseases of the Earth,
-and in their individual overthrows we had seen local remedies applied;
-but for the infected world at large I could anticipate no regeneration
-save in death. That man, as a race, should not become extinct, I saw
-that he must be “_born again_.”
-
-And now it was, fairest and dearest, that we busied our souls, daily, in
-dreams. Now it was that, in twilight, we discoursed of the days to come,
-when the Art-scarred surface of the Earth, having undergone that
-purification[3] which alone could efface its rectangular obscenities,
-should clothe itself anew in the verdure and the mountain-slopes and the
-smiling waters of Paradise, and be rendered at length a fit
-dwelling-place for man:—for man the Death-purged—for man to whose now
-exalted intellect there should be poison in knowledge no more—for the
-redeemed, regenerated, blissful, and now immortal, but still for the
-_material_, man.
-
-Una. Well do I remember these conversations, dear Monos; but the epoch
-of the fiery overthrow was not so near at hand as we believed, and as
-the corruption you indicate did surely warrant us in believing. Men
-lived; and died individually. You yourself sickened, and passed into the
-grave; and thither your constant Una speedily followed you. And though
-the century which has since elapsed, and whose conclusion brings us thus
-together once more, tortured our slumbering senses with no impatience of
-duration, yet, my Monos, it was a century still.
-
-Monos. Say, rather, a point in the vague infinity. Unquestionably, it
-was in the Earth’s dotage that I died. Wearied at heart with anxieties
-which had their origin in the general turmoil and decay, I succumbed to
-the fierce fever. After some few days of pain, and many of dreamy
-delirium replete with ecstasy, the manifestations of which you mistook
-for pain, while I longed but was impotent to undeceive you—after some
-days there came upon me, as you have said, a breathless and motionless
-torpor; and this was termed _Death_ by those who stood around me. Words
-are vague things. My condition did not deprive me of sentience. It
-appeared to me not greatly dissimilar to the extreme quiescence of him
-who, having slumbered long and profoundly, lying motionless and fully
-prostrate in a midsummer noon, begins to steal slowly back into
-consciousness, through the mere sufficiency of his sleep, and without
-being awakened by external disturbances. I breathed no longer. The
-pulses were still. The heart had ceased to beat. Volition had not
-departed but was powerless. The senses were unusually active, although
-eccentrically so—assuming often each other’s functions at random. The
-taste and the smell were inextricably confounded, and became one
-sentiment, abnormal and intense. The rose-water with which your
-tenderness had moistened my lips to the last, affected me with sweet
-fancies of flowers—fantastic flowers, far more lovely than any of the
-old Earth, but whose prototypes we have here blooming around us. The
-eyelids, transparent and bloodless, offered no complete impediment to
-vision. As volition was in abeyance, the balls could not roll in their
-sockets—but all objects within the range of the visual hemisphere were
-seen with more or less distinctness; the rays which fell upon the
-external retina, or into the corner of the eye, producing a more vivid
-effect than those which struck the front or interior surface. Yet, in
-the former instance, this effect was so far anomalous that I appreciated
-it only as _sound_—sound sweet or discordant as the matters presenting
-themselves at my side were light or dark in shade—curved or angular in
-outline. The hearing, at the same time, although excited in degree, was
-not irregular in action—estimating real sounds with an extravagance of
-precision, not less than of sensibility. Touch had undergone a
-modification more peculiar. Its impressions were tardily received, but
-pertinaciously retained, and resulted always in the highest physical
-pleasure. Thus the pressure of your sweet fingers upon my eyelids, at
-first only recognised through vision, at length, long after their
-removal, filled my whole being with a sensual delight immeasurable. I
-say with a sensual delight. _All_ my perceptions were purely sensual.
-The materials furnished the passive brain by the senses were not in the
-least degree wrought into shape by the deceased understanding. Of pain
-there was some little; of pleasure there was much; but of moral pain or
-pleasure none at all. Thus your wild sobs floated into my ear with all
-their mournful cadences, and were appreciated in their every variation
-of sad tone; but they were soft musical sounds and no more; they
-conveyed to the extinct reason no intimation of the sorrows which gave
-them birth; while the large and constant tears which fell upon my face,
-telling the bystanders of a heart which broke, thrilled every fibre of
-my frame with ecstasy alone. And this was in truth the _Death_ of which
-these bystanders spoke reverently, in low whispers—you, sweet Una,
-gaspingly, with loud cries.
-
-They attired me for the coffin—three or four dark figures which flitted
-busily to and fro. As these crossed the direct line of my vision they
-affected me as _forms_; but upon passing to my side their images
-impressed me with the idea of shrieks, groans, and other dismal
-expressions of terror, of horror, or of wo. You alone, habited in a
-white robe, passed in all directions musically about me.
-
-The day waned; and, as its light faded away, I became possessed by a
-vague uneasiness—an anxiety such as the sleeper feels when sad real
-sounds fall continuously within his ear—low distant bell-tones, solemn,
-at long but equal intervals, and commingling with melancholy dreams.
-Night arrived; and with its shadows a heavy discomfort. It oppressed my
-limbs with the oppression of some dull weight, and was palpable. There
-was also a moaning sound, not unlike the distant reverberation of surf,
-but more continuous, which, beginning with the first twilight, had grown
-in strength with the darkness. Suddenly lights were brought into the
-room, and this reverberation became forthwith interrupted into frequent
-unequal bursts of the same sound, but less dreary and less distinct. The
-ponderous oppression was in a great measure relieved; and, issuing from
-the flame of each lamp, (for there were many,) there flowed unbrokenly
-into my ears a strain of melodious monotone. And when now, dear Una,
-approaching the bed upon which I lay outstretched, you sat gently by my
-side, breathing odor from your sweet lips, and pressing them upon my
-brow, there arose tremulously within my bosom, and mingling with the
-merely physical sensations which circumstances had called forth, a
-something akin to sentiment itself—a feeling that, half appreciating,
-half responded to your earnest love and sorrow; but this feeling took no
-root in the pulseless heart, and seemed indeed rather a shadow than a
-reality, and faded quickly away, first into extreme quiescence, and then
-into a purely sensual pleasure as before.
-
-And now, from the wreck and the chaos of the usual senses, there
-appeared to have arisen within me a sixth, all perfect. In its exercise
-I found a wild delight—yet a delight still physical, inasmuch as the
-understanding had in it no part. Motion in the animal frame had fully
-ceased. No muscle quivered; no nerve thrilled; no artery throbbed. But
-there seemed to have sprung up in the brain, _that_ of which no words
-could convey to the merely human intelligence even an indistinct
-definition. Let me term it a mental pendulous pulsation. It was the
-moral embodiment of man’s abstract idea of _Time_. By the absolute
-equalization of this movement—or of such as this—had the cycles of the
-firmamental orbs themselves, been adjusted. By its aid I measured the
-irregularities of the clock upon the mantel, and of the watches of the
-attendants. Their tickings came sonorously to my ears. The slightest
-deviations from the true proportion—and these deviations were
-omni-prævalent—affected me just as violations of abstract truth were
-wont, on earth, to affect the moral sense. Although no two of the
-time-pieces in the chamber struck the individual seconds accurately
-together, yet I had no difficulty in holding steadily in mind the tones,
-and the respective momentary errors of each. And this—this keen,
-perfect, self-existing sentiment of _duration_—this sentiment existing
-(as man could not possibly have conceived it to exist) independently of
-any succession of events—this idea—this sixth sense, upspringing from
-the ashes of the rest, was the first obvious and certain step of the
-intemporal soul upon the threshold of the temporal Eternity.
-
-It was midnight; and you still sat by my side. All others had departed
-from the chamber of Death. They had deposited me in the coffin. The
-lamps burned flickeringly; for this I knew by the tremulousness of the
-monotonous strains. But, suddenly these strains diminished in
-distinctness and in volume. Finally they ceased. The perfume in my
-nostrils died away. Forms affected my vision no longer. The oppression
-of the Darkness uplifted itself from my bosom. A dull shock like that of
-electricity pervaded my frame, and was followed by total loss of the
-idea of contact. All of what man has termed sense was merged in the sole
-consciousness of entity, and in the one abiding sentiment of duration.
-The mortal body had been at length stricken with the hand of the deadly
-_Decay_.
-
-Yet had not all of sentience departed; for the consciousness and the
-sentiment remaining supplied some of its functions by a lethargic
-intuition. I appreciated the direful change now in operation upon the
-flesh, and, as the dreamer is sometimes aware of the bodily presence of
-one who leans over him, so, sweet Una, I still dully felt that you sat
-by my side. So, too, when the noon of the second day came, I was not
-unconscious of those movements which displaced you from my side, which
-confined me within the coffin, which deposited me within the hearse,
-which bore me to the grave, which lowered me within it, which heaped
-heavily the mould upon me, and thus left me in blackness and corruption
-to my sad slumbers with the worm.
-
-And here, in the prison-house, which has few secrets to disclose, there
-rolled away days and weeks and solemn months, and the soul watched
-narrowly each second as it flew, and, without effort, took record of its
-flight—without effort and without object. Meantime the worm, with its
-convulsive motion, writhed untorturing and unheeded about me.
-
-A year passed. The consciousness of _being_ had grown hourly more
-indistinct, and that of mere _locality_ had, in great measure, usurped
-its position. The idea of entity was becoming merged in that of _place_.
-The narrow space immediately surrounding what had been the body, was now
-growing to be the body itself. At length, as often happens to the
-sleeper (by sleep and its world alone is _Death_ imaged)—at length, as
-sometimes happened on Earth to the deep slumberer, when some flitting
-light half startled him into awaking, yet left him half enveloped in
-dreams—so to me, in the strict embrace of the _Shadow_, came _that_
-light which alone might have had power to startle—the light of enduring
-_Love_. Men toiled at the grave in which I lay darkling. They upthrew
-the damp earth. Upon my mouldering bones there descended the coffin of
-Una.
-
-And now again all was void. That nebulous light had been extinguished.
-That feeble thrill had vibrated itself into quiescence. Many lustra had
-supervened. Dust had returned to dust. The worm had food no more. The
-sense of being had at length utterly departed, and there reigned in its
-stead—instead of all things—dominant and perpetual—the autocrats
-_Place_ and _Time_. For _that_ which _was not_—for that which had no
-form—for that which had no thought—for that which had no
-sentience—for that which was soulless, yet of which matter formed no
-portion—for all this nothingness, yet for all this immortality, the
-grave was still a home, and the corrosive hours, co-mates.
-
------
-
-[1] “It will be hard to discover a better [method of education] than
-that which the experience of so many ages has already discovered; and
-this may be summed up as consisting in gymnastics for the body, and
-_music_ for the soul.”—Repub. lib. 2. “For this reason is a musical
-education most essential; since it causes Rhythm and Harmony to
-penetrate most intimately into the soul, taking the strongest hold upon
-it, filling it with _beauty_ and making the man
-_beautiful-minded_. . . . . . He will praise and admire _the beautiful_;
-will receive it with joy into his soul, will feed upon it, and
-_assimilate his own condition with it_.”—Ibid, lib. 3. Music (μουσικη)
-had, however, among the Athenians, a far more comprehensive
-signification than with us. It included not only the harmonies of time
-and of tune, but the poetic diction, sentiment and creation, each in its
-widest sense. The study of _music_ was with them, in fact, the general
-cultivation of the taste—of that which recognizes the beautiful—in
-contra-distinction from reason, which deals only with the true.
-
-[2] “History” from ιστορειν, to contemplate.
-
-[3] The word “_purification_” seems here to be used with reference to
-its root in the Greek πυρ, fire.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- “I KNOW THAT THOU WILT SORROW!”
-
-
- BY MRS. R. S. NICHOLS.
-
-
- I know that thou wilt sorrow, when first I pass from earth,
- And at thy pale and quivering lip shall gleam no sign of mirth,
- For grief shall sit upon thy brow, in sad, unseemly guise,
- And tears, e’en though thou art a man, shall well up to thine eyes.
-
- For each young plant, each speaking flower, and old familiar place
- Will seem to gaze with sadness, up to thine averted face;
- And when, perchance, another hand my own sweet chords shall sweep,
- Thou’lt list to those remembered tones, and turn aside and weep!
-
- And when another’s thoughtless voice, shall breathe to thee my name,
- And whisper that the sound was linked with an undying fame,
- No pride shall mantle o’er thy cheek, nor darkle in thine eye,
- For idle words breathed of the dead, should pass as idly by.
-
- Thou’lt miss my step at even, when thou drawest near thy home,
- When gleam the ever-sleepless stars, from yon eternal dome;
- And thou wilt sit and gaze at them, nor shall thou gaze unmoved,
- For, oh! thou’lt think, that I too well their startling beauty loved!
-
- Thou’lt miss me, and will seek to claim the tempest of thy soul,
- For passions all untamed as those, shall bend to thy control;
- And grief, that erst sat on thy brow, thou’lt spurn from out thy
- heart,
- And with each old remembrancer most willingly will part.
-
- When my dim-remembered features shall pass from memory,
- When the music of my name, shall wake no answering melody,
- Thou wilt turn thee to another, and she will be to thee,
- E’en all that I have ever been,—all I could hope to be!
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE ASSAULT.
-
-
- BY J. H. DANA.
-
-
-It was the last morning of the assault. The sun had risen heavily across
-the eastern highlands, flinging his slant beams upon the embattled
-armies of the cross, and disclosing, as the mists rolled upwards from
-the valley, mangonel, and tower, and battering-ram, and serried troops
-of warriors, drawn up in array before Jerusalem,—and now as the shout
-“to the Holy City,” swelled out upon the air, and the priests, in
-sacerdotal robes, lifted up their chaunt again, the whole vast mass, as
-if by a simultaneous impulse, moved forward from their stations, and
-with lance, and shield, and banner, and shouts of triumph, and clashing
-of arms, marched on to the assault. All Europe was up. Prince and
-subject; noble and serf; layman and monk; the rich and the poor; the
-proud and the humble; old, young, and middle aged; stalwart men and
-feeble women; the knight in his armor, and the boor in his capote,—the
-bishop with his crozier, and the friar in his cowl; the halt, the deaf,
-the blind; all ranks and conditions of life swelled the gigantic host,
-which, gathering new accessions to its numbers in every land it
-traversed, had rolled on with threatening aspect over Palestine,
-carrying terror and desolation to the Saracens, until at length the
-mighty army was now arrayed before Jerusalem, burning to achieve the
-redemption of the sepulchre. Yes! Europe was there in arms, moved as one
-man, by one spirit. From hill and dale; from city and hamlet; from the
-castle of the noble and the cottage of the boor; from cloister, and
-forge, and plough, the sons of the church had gathered at her summons,
-fired with a lofty determination to avenge an insulted faith, and
-scourge back to the fastnesses from whence they came the sacrilegious
-followers of the crescent. There was the bluff Englishman, the
-fair-haired German, the tall gaunt Scot, the gay cavalier from Provence,
-the dark eyed son of Italy, and the wild and uncouth child of that green
-“Erin,” of the ocean, lying on the utmost verge of civilization, and
-known only by vague rumor as the habitation of man. Ay! all these were
-there—there, with spear, and sword, and cross-bow—there, in glittering
-casque, and homely jerkin—there, on proudly caparisoned steeds, or
-marching with soiled buskin humbly on foot. Soldiers of every garb,
-tongue, and nation; men who had been enemies but were now friends;
-warriors, who had hitherto lived only for rapine, joined in that wild
-shout, and with an enthusiasm they had never felt before, swept on the
-second time to the assault—and ever as they marched, in solid phalanx
-or open column, Frank, or Saxon, or Italian, they swelled out the cry,
-“Ho! soldiers of the cross—on to the Holy City!”
-
-And now the battle was joined. Foremost of all, in his lofty tower,
-stood Godfrey of Bouillon, cheering on the attack, and directing his
-unerring shafts against every one who appeared upon the walls;—while
-beneath and around him, plying mangonel and battering-ram, or showering
-arrows on the foe, pressed on the humbler soldiers of the cross—ay!
-pressed on, although the missiles of the Saracens poured down like rain,
-and melted lead, and scalding water, and fire itself, fell thick and
-fast upon the hosts of the assailants. And still on they pressed, and
-though the ground was strewed with the dying, and every moment some new
-assailant fell, the gallant line of the Crusaders never swerved, but as
-fast as one went down another filled his place; and as the long hours of
-the morning passed away, and the Saracens maintained their walls,
-fighting with the desperation of men who were contending for their
-homes, the fearless assailers kept pressing on to the attack, determined
-to succeed in the assault or leave their bones to bleach before the
-walls. One universal enthusiasm pervaded the whole host. Old and young;
-peaceful monks and timid women; the sick, the halt, the dumb, came forth
-from the camp, bringing weapons for those who had spent their missiles,
-carrying water for the parched combatants, or cheering the dying in
-their last moments of mortal agony. And higher and higher mounted the
-sun, and sultry and more sultry grew the air, yet still the Saracens
-made good their walls, and when the exhausted soldiers were almost
-fainting from the fatigues of the day, the beseiged made one more
-desperate rally, and, collecting all their strength for a last effort,
-they bore down upon the soldiers of the cross, and drove them, with
-terrific slaughter, from the walls. Back—back—back they fled, in wild
-dismay. In vain their leaders attempted to rally the worn-out soldiers;
-they themselves could scarcely support their frames, exhausted by their
-heavy armor and the stifling heat of noonday. Further effort was
-hopeless. The despair was general. A wild shout of exultation rung out
-from the walls, as the Saracens seized the image of a cross, spat upon
-it, and cast it, with insulting gestures, into the ditch. The taunt
-stung the assailants to the heart. At that instant a shining horseman,
-clad in armor brighter than the day, and waving on high a sword that
-shone with the brilliancy of the sun seven times brightened, was seen
-upon the Mount of Olives, beckoning to the discomposed assailants, and
-pointing onwards to the Holy Sepulchre; and as one after another of the
-wearied crusaders beheld the blessed vision, sighs, groans, and tears
-burst from the assembled thousands, and clashing their arms deliriously
-aloft, and waving their banners wildly to and fro upon the air, they
-cried out, “Ho! soldiers of the cross—on to the Holy City!”
-
-And on they swept. Horse and foot; archer and man-at-arms; wounded and
-unhurt; noble and retainer; Frank, Gaul, and German; the Saxon, and
-Tuscan; the old, the young, the middle aged; leader and follower; proud
-and humble; free and bond;—on—on—on they pressed, as if a whirlwind
-had sent them reeling upon the foe, bearing every thing down before
-them, plying cross-bow and mangonel, hurling huge stones that crushed
-the foe like glass, and heaving battering-rams that shook the walls as
-if an earthquake was rolling by. Ay! on they pressed, for did not the
-archangel wave them to the onset? The foe shrank back amazed. Outwork,
-and door-post, and palisade could offer no resistance to the enthusiasm
-of the Christians. Vain were the wildest efforts of the infidels to stay
-the progress of the assailing hosts; vain were their adjurations to the
-prophet, their impious prayers for help, their insulting prostrations
-before high heaven. The hurricane that levels cities was not more
-desolating than the onslaught of the Christians. They dashed across the
-plain, they drove in the outposts, they crossed the ditch itself; and
-now the tower of Godfrey reached the walls—the bridge was let down—a
-rush was made, and a knight sprang on the battlements. Another and
-another followed—the Saracens stood palsied—Godfrey, Baldwin, Bouillon
-rushed in—down went the sacrilegious infidels who opposed them—a wild
-conflict, beyond what the battle had yet seen, took place around the
-standard of the crescent; and lo! with a shout that men shall remember
-till the day of judgment, the impious ensign is hurled from the
-battlements, and the cross—the cross of Christ—floats wild and free
-above the towers of Jerusalem. Then rose up the acclamations of
-thousands—then pealed the triumphal chaunts of priests—then quailed
-the Saracen with fear in the remotest dens of that vast city. The day
-was won. The cross was avenged. Tancred and Robert of Normandy heard the
-triumphal shout, and burst open the furthermost gates with sudden
-energy; while Raimond of Toulouse scaled the walls upon the other side
-at the outcry, and shook the cross to the wind beyond the Holy
-Sepulchre. Down went the Saracens in street and lane, and open field, or
-wherever these unholy revilers of the church attempted to make their
-stand. From house to house, and street to street, the indignant
-conquerors pursued the foe, until the thoroughfares were filled with
-blood, and the infidels lay slaughtered in heaps on every hand; and
-wherever the Christians followed up the flying wretches, in mansion or
-in mosque, they kept in memory the insult to the cross which they had
-witnessed but the hour before, and keeping it in memory, their arms
-never tired, nor their weapons slackened. It was a day over which for
-ages the Saracen women wept. The mosque of Omar floated with gore; the
-streets were slippery with blood; not a nook or corner gave safety to
-one of that accursed race; and when, at length, the Saracens rushed in
-wild despair to the temple of Soliman, even there the avenging
-Christians sought them out, and a thousand, ay! ten times a thousand
-impious revilers slaked the earth with their gore. And when the work was
-done, and that fearful insult was avenged; when the conquering army had
-time to think of the mighty deed they had achieved; when they remembered
-that within the walls where they now were the Savior had been buried, a
-gush of holy tenderness swept over their souls,—old and young, noble
-and peasant, men, women, and children,—and with tears in their eyes,
-they cast aside their weapons, took off their sandals, and, rushing to
-the Holy Sepulchre, kissed the consecrated pavement, and washed the
-altar with their tears. And when twilight darkened over the city, the
-vespers of holy men went up to heaven, for the first time after the
-lapse of centuries, instead of the accursed Mezzuin’s call. Night came
-down at length, and silence hung over the walls. The shrieks of the
-wounded; the groans of the dying; the crackling of burning habitations,
-and the impious revilings of the infidels had ceased: while not a sound
-broke the profound hush of midnight, except the faint gurgling of the
-brook of Kedron, and the low whispers of the night wind among the
-palaces of Jerusalem. And a thousand stars looked brilliantly down from
-the calm blue sky, as if the angels, whose thrones they are, were
-shouting hallelujahs that the last day of the Saracen had passed.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- SONNET.
-
-
- BY PARK BENJAMIN.
-
-
- Loved of my soul! I seek in vain for thee.
- Why from my sight art thou, sweet star, away?
- Heaven is not fair without thy tender ray,
- And all things robed in shadow seem to be.
- The evening wind has lost its melody:
- Hushed are the chords on every bending bough;
- The waters have no voice of music now,
- And silence, dove-like, broods upon the sea.
- Is there no light, indeed—no joyous sound
- When Beauty dwelt with Song, and Nature cast
- Treasures of Summer happiness around?
- Oh, yes! unchanged the verdant prospect lies—
- The present is as lovely as the past—
- It only lacks the lustre of thine eyes.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE NEGLECTED WIFE.
-
-
- BY ROBERT MORRIS.
-
-
- “Oh! there were hours
- When I could hang forever on his eye,
- And Time, who stole with silent swiftness by,
- Strew’d, as he hurried on, his path with flowers.”
-
-
-The relations of life abound with solemn warnings and touching
-incidents. Scarcely a community exists, however small, the history of
-which is not replete with scenes that, if delineated by the pen of a
-master spirit, and embellished with a few of the golden rays of fancy,
-would not seem fraught with romance. Nay, there is scarcely a family of
-any extent that has not stories in its private chronicles, “lights and
-shadows,” joys and sorrows, full of interest, and calculated, when
-suitably embellished and elaborated, to “point a moral or adorn a tale.”
-We “live, move and breathe” in a world of mystery. The shadows which
-veil a single year—nay, a single day—from the eye of poor mortality,
-may to some be charged with death and desolation, while to others they
-may serve to shut out the glorious light of hope and happiness and
-prosperity. The incident which to-day gladdens the heart and kindles the
-expectation, may to-morrow prove but as the lightning’s flash, that
-foreruns the bolt of the destroyer. Thus we know not what is best for
-us, and while seeking to deserve the due of virtue and integrity, we
-should check our own hearts when envying the apparent success of
-another, and murmuring at what, to our imperfect vision, may appear an
-unequal distribution of the blessings of Providence.
-
-Such was the tone of reflection in which I indulged a few evenings
-since, on returning from a visit to a friend—a friend whose career of
-honor and ambition had, but a year or two before, excited a feeling in
-the mind somewhat akin to envy. But let me not anticipate.
-
-Laura Milnor, at the age of sixteen, was one of the loveliest of her
-sex. Her beauty was girlish and buoyant, and made up of such elements as
-youth and hope and innocence and joy. Her laugh thrilled upon the ear
-like the clear voice of a glad child; her step was elastic and aerial,
-and although as mirthful and happy as one who had never known a thought
-of grief or a dream of sorrow, she was one of the most susceptible of
-her sex, and was melted to tears almost as readily as she was excited to
-mirth. Blue eyes, auburn hair, and a voice full of music—she was too
-sensitive for the heartlessness of this world, and thus it was the fear
-of those who knew her character thoroughly, and were well acquainted
-with human nature in the aggregate, that she would be won too readily,
-and possibly waste the sweetness of her pure and guileless heart upon an
-unworthy object. Not so, however. At seventeen, she was the “bright,
-particular star” of her immediate circle, with groups of admirers, of
-various grades of merit and pretension, but with an avowed, preferred
-and envied suitor. He had a rival, it is true, and a formidable one;
-because, to a considerable fortune he added a sincerity of devotion and
-an assiduity of attention that seldom fail to make an impression upon
-the heart of woman, however obdurate. But the preferred suitor, Morton
-Markley, was a cousin, and had been preferred, to a slight degree, from
-earliest boyhood. His opportunities for pressing his suit, moreover,
-were of the best kind; he was a favorite with the family generally, and
-these influences were potent in determining Laura as to a choice. Nay,
-the avowal of preference was scarcely determined upon by her. It was
-rather made by the household circle, and regarded as a thing of course,
-than elicited from the artless girl in some quiet and impassioned moment
-of mutual confidence. At times, too, she felt something like a doubt—a
-doubt as to the _reality_ of her attachment to her cousin. She knew—she
-_felt_ that she esteemed him. He possessed many noble qualities. His
-habits were of the kind that her mother approved in an especial manner.
-He was not only strictly moral, but temperate from his earliest youth—a
-zealot in the cause, indeed—and withal thoroughly devoted to business.
-True, he was somewhat stiff and formal in his manners, possessed little
-or no imagination, had no taste for poetry or pathos, and was somewhat
-cold in his general character. In most of these particulars he afforded
-a broad contrast to his rival, George St. Clair, a free, dashing,
-thoughtless creature, all impulse and enthusiasm, with a flashing genius
-and a heart of fire. But all these qualities were moderated and subdued
-in the presence of Laura Milnor. She had achieved a conquest over his
-heart, and he yielded to her every wish, and even often anticipated her
-thoughts. But he saw her seldom, comparatively speaking, and although
-the impression he made at such times was decided, it was but momentary.
-Laura would occasionally hesitate, especially when she found the image
-of St. Clair rising up in her memory, and she discovered herself
-analysing his traits of disposition and manner, and contrasting them
-with those of her cousin. But she blushed when she detected the current
-of her thoughts, and turned away from the subject as from one that she
-ought not to contemplate. St. Clair, moreover, was a ripe scholar for
-his years, perfectly familiar with the poetry of the classics, and with
-modern literature. His practice was to mark the exquisite passages in
-his favorite authors, and thus, while indicating his own sentiments and
-tone of mind, to appeal, as it were, to the calm and reflecting spirit
-of Laura. How often did she find herself unconsciously meditating upon
-these gems of thought—these eloquent and impassioned pourings out of
-the souls of the gifted! How frequently did the brief but expressive
-notes touch a chord in her own breast, and speak in a still, but deep
-voice to her own spirit! It was on such occasions that she trembled lest
-she had mistaken the feeling that animated her with regard to her
-cousin. But then he was so good, so calm, so attentive! They had grown
-up side by side! Her mother, her brother, her elder sister, all
-respected him so much—he was so amiable, and his prospect in life was
-so excellent! No—it was impossible. There could not be any mistake as
-to the nature of her feelings, and she would consent and name the day.
-
-The day _was_ named, and the bridal took place. The party was large,
-gay, delightful. I shall never forget that wedding night. It was one of
-the happiest of my existence—a joyous epoch in memory’s waste, which
-shines with no common glory as the mind wanders back and lingers above
-the regretted past. Laura, so charming before, seemed to excel all her
-former brightness and beauty. Sweet seventeen—the loveliest of the
-lovely, glittering in gems and satin, with her blue eyes brightened with
-a double lustre by the excitement of the moment, her auburn hair waving
-like a flood of moonbeams upon her white shoulders: approving relations
-and friends around! That indeed seemed a happy moment—the happiest of
-her life. But _was_ it so? Her affianced also looked remarkably well. He
-had thrown off his gravity of manner, his dignity of deportment, and
-joined the jest and laugh as if the world to him also had assumed its
-sunniest smile. But I need not describe the etceteras of the wedding. At
-twelve o’clock, Mr. and Mrs. Markley were taken in charge by the usual
-number of select and officiating friends, and driven to their own home,
-a neat but elegantly furnished establishment, No. 47 —— Row.
-
-I was absent from the city two years. On my return, one of my first
-visits was to the house of my old friend Markley. It was a delightful
-evening in the month of May, 1836. The weather for the preceding week
-had been wet and disagreeable, so that the change and a bright moon had
-won hundreds from their dwellings to enjoy the cool evening breeze, and
-gaze once more into the windows of the stores. I inquired for Mr.
-Markley. He was not in. For Mrs. Markley. Her parlor door was thrown
-open, and Laura stood before me—but how changed! She was paler,
-thinner, and, to my eye, lovelier than ever. The delicate cast of
-thought had given an intellectual aspect to her features. The ruddy
-glow, the buoyant, springy motion of girlhood, were no longer there;
-but, in the one case, the ripeness of the peach had been succeeded by
-the soft tints of the rose, and in the other, the gazelle-like bound had
-mellowed and melted into the more graceful and majestic movement of the
-perfect woman. Her reception was frank and cordial. My visit seemed a
-relief to her. She had “been alone for more than an hour, and had wanted
-so much to take a stroll. Her spirits had been checked for the week past
-by the gloomy weather, and _now_, when they seemed anxious to spring
-away, as if on new-born wings, she was compelled, like a bird in a cage,
-to remain within doors. Oh, these abominable meetings! This dreadful
-political excitement! These detestable societies! Would you believe it,
-Mr. Markley has not been home a single evening for these two weeks! He
-has become a violent politician, and is a member of several literary and
-philanthropic societies. These occupy four-fifths of his time, and
-although he is one of the very best husbands in the world, kind, gentle
-and affectionate when here, I do not see him except at meal times, three
-hours in a fortnight. And here I sit, ‘moping’ away my young hours,
-thinking all sorts of melancholy things, indulging sometimes in the
-wildest of fancies, and not unfrequently—although I am almost ashamed
-to confess it—killing the time and giving vent to my moody temper in a
-fit of crying! It is of no use to complain to Morton. He is perfectly
-mad upon the subject of politics, and fancies, dear soul, that he is
-building up for himself an enviable reputation.”
-
-“Indeed!”
-
-“Yes, indeed! Until the death of my first-born I bore it very well, for
-the little innocent engaged my attention in a thousand ways, and the
-time passed smoothly enough. But since that painful event—nearly a year
-ago—the time has hung heavily indeed. I don’t know what I should do but
-for our old friend St. Clair. He calls frequently, and serves no little
-to chase away the gloom of these lonely hours. You remember St. Clair!”
-
-“Certainly. I have not met him since the night of your wedding, and
-then, poor fellow, he endeavored to _look_ and _act_ his best, but he
-made a sorry failure of it. Has he married yet?”
-
-“Oh, no! He tells me he will never marry, but of course the hour of
-temptation and trial is yet to come. He has changed very little within
-the last three years, and although not so gay and reckless as formerly,
-his spirits are still excellent. Mr. Markley prizes him very highly, and
-frequently consigns me to his care for a stroll, while he hurries off to
-some political club or abominable meeting. Can you furnish me with any
-remedy for the sort of infatuation I have described in the case of
-Morton? I am really provoked at him at times, and have ventured to
-remonstrate more than once, but never with a good effect either upon his
-temper or his conduct. Oh! how frequently have the lines of the poet
-risen to my memory during the tedious hours of waiting and of watching!
-
- ——‘May slighted woman turn,
- And, as a vine the oak hath shaken off,
- Bend lightly to her tendencies again?
- Oh, no! by all her loveliness, by all
- That makes life poetry and beauty, no!
- Make her a slave; steal from her rosy cheek
- By needless jealousies; let the last star
- Leave her a watcher by your couch of pain;
- Wrong her by petulance, suspicion, all
- That makes her cup a bitterness—yet give
- One evidence of love, and earth has not
- An emblem of devotedness like hers.
- But, oh! estrange her once, it boots now how,
- By wrong or silence, anything that tells
- A change has come upon your tenderness—
- And there is not a high thing out of heaven
- Her pride o’ermastereth not.’
-
-I ridiculed them when they were first pointed out to me by St. Clair,
-but sad experience has taught me better.”
-
-Such, in brief, was the nature of the conversation of the night. I
-remained until a late hour, exceedingly anxious to see my old friend,
-but the clock struck eleven, and he had not returned. Wandering
-homeward, a crowd of strange thoughts pressed upon my brain. Can he love
-this gentle being? I asked. And then his whole course through life came
-to my recollection, and I dismissed every doubt. He does love her to the
-extent of his ability. Then why neglect her? Why permit melancholy to
-prey upon her gentle spirit? Why subject her to the fascinations of such
-a man as St. Clair?—temptations at which both would shrink with horror
-at first, but which, sooner or later, with such a being, such hearts,
-such sympathy of soul and of taste, must establish a bond very like that
-of love! The subject was a painful one, and I dismissed it, unwilling to
-probe it to the bottom.
-
-I visited Laura repeatedly during the subsequent six months. I became
-deeply interested in her position, and more than once ventured to hint,
-jestingly, to her husband the duty of watching with a vigilant eye over
-so precious and delicate a flower. He appeared perfectly insensible to
-all insinuations upon the subject, and with unbounded confidence in, and
-as much attachment for Laura as his nature was capable of feeling, he
-became more and more wedded to his dream of political ambition and
-popular applause. He was a member of most of the societies that were in
-any degree connected with philanthropy, and of all on the political side
-to which he was attached; and thus, night after night, week after week,
-and month after month, he absented himself from the society of his wife.
-
-But why prolong the story? Hour after hour, the conviction grew stronger
-in the mind of Laura that she had mistaken the sentiments of her
-husband. He had, she now believed, never loved her. He had either
-deceived her or been himself deceived. It was clear that he shunned her
-society, and although kind and obliging, this course was attributed
-rather to his tone of mind and moral principle than to a warmer and
-fonder emotion of his heart. She too had been mistaken. At least she
-thought so. The feeling that had induced her to become his wife was not
-love; not that deep and absorbing passion, that flame and fire of the
-soul, that she now could feel and appreciate. He was her cousin; she had
-known him long; he had ever been kind to her; her parents had urged her
-marriage, and she had been misled! But, alas! how had he deserted her!
-How had she been neglected! How cold had he become! How indifferent!
-What a contrast to St. Clair!—St. Clair, who even now would lay down
-his life for her; who even now _sought_ her society, and was never so
-happy as when basking in her smile! Her heart thrilled, her brain
-throbbed, and her mind almost maddened as these wild thoughts forced
-themselves upon her. I say forced themselves, for she repelled them
-again and again, as fiends that would destroy her quiet, sap her
-principles, and render her an object of scorn even to herself. But night
-after night, and her husband was still abroad. At first she saw him
-depart with pride upon her lip and anguish in her heart. Then sullenness
-followed, and indifference came after. Then a feeling of pleasure
-tingled in her breast as the door closed behind him, and a still
-stronger sensation was experienced as the well known step of St. Clair
-was heard upon the pavement below her window. But why trace the progress
-of the weak, the erring human heart? Why linger over the guilt-ward
-progress of that neglected wife? Why harrow the soul with her struggles
-between duty on the one hand and infatuation on the other? Why point to
-her fall, as, step by step, she was hurried to the brink of ruin? Why
-detail the subtle sophistry of a gifted spirit—one, too, who had
-persuaded himself that he really loved with a pure and undying flame?
-Why recount his many appeals to fly to some other land, some distant
-shore, where the scorn of the heartless world could not point at and
-exult over another victim? Why picture the secret and agonizing thoughts
-of the wretched beauty; the sorrow that at moments fastened upon her
-soul, when some heart-touching expression fell from the lips of her
-husband, and she was recalled by a look or a phrase to her early dream
-of home and love and happiness?
-
-It was late in the month of September, that, rambling down Spruce
-street, my attention was attracted by an unusual stir and confusion in
-the front parlor of my friend Markley’s dwelling. Lights were passing to
-and fro with great rapidity, and ever and anon a shriek, as of one in
-mortal agony, broke upon the night. I hurried forward, rapidly ascended
-the stairs, and what a scene of horror was before me! The slight, yet
-beautiful form of Laura Markley lay upon the sofa, her hair dishevelled,
-her clothes in disorder, and her features pale and cold in the solemn
-aspect of death! It was almost midnight; her husband had been sent for,
-but had not yet arrived. Miserable being! Blind and misguided fool! He
-came in a few minutes after, and for weeks and weeks was little better
-than a maniac. The following brief note, the last ever penned by Laura,
-told the dreadful story:
-
-“Forgive me, Charles! forgive me, if I have wronged you! I can endure it
-no longer. Night after night have you neglected me for the last two
-years, until my mind, maddened by doubt, despair, and a thousand
-fiendish phantoms, has ventured to pause and contemplate a deed of
-guilt! There is, I verily believe, another being on the face of the
-earth who loves me, and I—I—my hand trembles and my brain reels—I am
-yet yours, and in honor. But I fear I could not live, be neglected, and
-continue so. Forgive me, heaven!—forgive me, my husband, and pray for
-me.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-She had taken poison!
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE PURITAN SON.
-
-
-BY THE AUTHOR OF “THE BROTHERS,” “CROMWELL,” “RINGWOOD THE ROVER,” ETC.
-
-
-In the West Riding of Yorkshire, not many miles removed from the line of
-the great North Road, singularly and somewhat romantically situated on a
-vast rocky hill, projecting sternly and abruptly into the lovely valley
-of the Nid, stands the old borough town of Knaresborough. As you
-approach it from the south, the aspect it presents is singularly wild
-and picturesque. A long line of steep limestone crags, running from east
-to west, limits the view in front; the river, deep, black and sullen,
-wheeling along below their base in many a turbid ripple, until it skirts
-their western cape, a huge and perpendicular crag of shaley limestone,
-crowned by the massy relics of an old Norman keep, rifted and gray, and
-overrun with immemorial ivy, but still majestic in their hoary grandeur.
-Beneath the shelter of this formidable keep—which, in its day, before
-the levelling force of gunpowder had reduced warfare to a mere matter of
-scientific calculation, had been deemed quite impregnable—the
-straggling country town climbs the hill-side from the stream’s level,
-where the road is carried over a narrow, high-backed bridge of stone, in
-one long zigzag street, so perilously slippery and steep that the most
-daring riders dismount from their surest horses, whether ascending or
-descending, until, the summit gained, it expands into a neat borough,
-with market-place, and hostelries, and banks, and churches, all
-overlooked, however, and commanded by the old castle; and, in its turn,
-overlooking and commanding the wide range of hilly country of which it
-occupies the extreme and highest promontory.
-
-Such is the picture it presents to the traveller of the present day, and
-singularly beautiful is that picture! The huge gray ruins and the
-stained limestone precipices, relieved and set off by the deep emerald
-verdure of the wide pastures in the valley, and the dark foliage of the
-hanging woods which skirt the margin of the river; the stream itself
-here dark and deep and silent, and there flashing like silver in the
-sunlight, and brawling noisily about the base of the great castle-rock;
-and, more than all, the life and animated bustle of the modern town,
-contrasted with the dim memories and solemn silence of those old towers,
-which frown upon the noisy thoroughfares of men, most like a grim and
-ghastly skeleton, glaring down from the gothic niche of some cathedral
-church upon the merry sports of thoughtless childhood. Far different was
-the scene which Knaresborough presented toward the middle of the
-seventeenth century, Some few weeks later than the fatal field of
-Marston, whereon, untimely sacrificed and vainly, by the mad rashness of
-Prince Rupert, the flower of England’s loyal chivalry lay weltering in
-their gore, for one who neither prized their faith nor sorrowed at their
-fall.
-
-Those ruins, shapeless now, and undistinguished from the gray crags
-around them, were then a proud and lordly castle; that huge and rifted
-pile, that frowns above the lesser fragments, was the square dungeon
-keep, with battlemented turrets at each aerial angle, and bartizans for
-shot of arquebuss and musquetoon, and embrasures for heaviest ordnance;
-while round it swept the massy flankers, with thirteen strong round
-towers, well garnished with the lighter cannon of the day, sakers and
-culverins and falcons; and without these, still in concentric circles,
-half moon and counterscarp and ravelin, glacis and rock-hewn moat—a
-mighty fortress for the king, whose banner, hoisted there by the
-fugitives from that disastrous field, still waved defiance to his
-foemen.
-
-It was a bright October morning with which we have to do; the sun was
-pouring a broad flood of light over the fertile vale, with its green
-meadowland, its hanging woods, its ruddy cornfields, and its bright
-river; over the town and castle, crowded, this with fierce steel-clad
-veterans, mustered beneath the royal standard, that with the yeomanry
-and burghers, like their more regular comrades, in arms for church and
-king against the leaguering hosts of Cromwell; over the camp, the lines,
-the outposts of the Puritans, which hemmed the destined town about with,
-as it were, a wall of iron. Upon the heights, just to the eastward of
-the town, the fierce, enthusiastic Lilburne had fixed his quarters, and
-hoisted the broad red cross of the parliament, and thence, on every
-side, had drawn his lines about the borough; the bridge and the high
-road, on the south side, were kept by a brigade of pikes and two strong
-bands of horse arquebusiers; the meadows and the vale were swept by four
-full regiments of the far-famed invincibles, the ironsides of Cromwell;
-the woods were filled with sharp-shooters, the roads blocked up with
-mounds and trenches, and all the north side of the town exposed to a
-tremendous fire from fifty wide-mouthed cannon, which, covered from the
-castle guns by a projecting hillock, battered the dwellings of the
-hapless burghers without remorse or respite. Nor were the besieged
-passive in the mean time, or fearful. Bright sheets of flame would leap
-out, ever and anon, from the dark castle embrasures, and clouds of
-snow-white smoke would swathe the giant keep in their dense vapory
-shroud, and with a roar that told the awful tale of civil warfare even
-to the distant walls of York, the heavy shot would plunge into the
-serried columns of the leaguers, thinning their ranks indeed, and
-shaking for a moment their array, but daunting not their fiery courage,
-nor damping their enthusiastic zeal. And now, with the long roll of
-drums and the soul-stirring flourish of the horn and bugle, from this
-point or from that of the beleaguered town, the cavaliers would sally
-out on their besiegers. Now by some ford of the swift river, neglected
-because thought impassable, a little troop of gentlemen, superbly
-mounted on high blooded chargers, fluttering with lace and waving with
-tall plumes and blue embroidered scarfs, would dash upon some picquet of
-the Puritans, and drive them back, scattered and broken and cut down, to
-the main body; and then, forced to retreat in turn, would fall back foot
-by foot, firing their petronels and musquetoons from every hedge and
-coppice, and charging again and again on their pursuers from every spot
-of vantage, till they had gained the river; then they would wheel, throw
-in one shattering volley, swim through the eddying waters, and raise
-their gallant cheer, “God for King Charles!” in safety. Now it would be
-a steadier and sterner effort; a heavy column would rush out, pikemen
-and musqueteers and horse in one dense body, bearing the outposts in at
-the pike’s point, carrying some redoubt, and then deploying in its
-front, until their pioneers and axemen should spike its guns, fill up
-its ditches, and level its defences to the ground. Incessant were alarms
-and panics, sallies and feints and false attacks on the one hand; and,
-on the other, strict watches, stout resistance, guarded and sure
-approaches, for Lilburne knew right well the quality of his own
-troops—the nature of the force opposed to him. He had experienced often
-in the field the fiery and resistless charges of the impetuous
-cavaliers; he knew that in the stoutest veterans of the Parliament, none
-could be found who, for a single dash, could cope with the high-born and
-chivalrous adherents of the King; but he knew also that undisciplined
-and fiery gentlemen, how gallant and how desperate soever, would not
-endure the tedium of protracted operations, the dull monotony of a long
-siege, where passive opposition only can be offered, the lack of wine
-and the appliances of mirth, the scarcity of food, the daily sufferings,
-the daily waste, the daily growing anguish. He knew, and acted on this
-knowledge. Vastly superior in his numbers, he cared not for the loss of
-a picquet; he shook not at the defeat of an outpost, the destruction of
-a redoubt, or the success of a sally. If evening saw the line of his
-circumvallation broken, the morning sun beheld his working parties on
-the ground repairing the defences, protected by so powerful masses that
-any sally must be fruitless to annoy them, and evening found the lines
-again complete, but stronger, nearer, closer than before. Nor was this
-all. With his strong cavalry, he kept the country round in constant
-terror and excitement; he cut off every convoy, before it well had left
-the place from which it started; he surprised every stronghold of the
-cavaliers, at miles away from his scene of operations; he took and
-garrisoned the loyal house of Ripley; he battered Spofforth Castle, the
-old, time-honored dwelling of the Percies; he quelled the risings of the
-Langdales, the Vavasours, the Slingsbys and the Stourtons. He indeed
-bridled the bold valor of the West Riding, as he had boasted that he
-would—bridled it with a curb of iron!
-
-Yet Knaresborough still held out!—castle and town held out, though worn
-and wasted with fatigue and famine. Hastily had the brave defenders
-thrown themselves into that stronghold, scantily victualled as it was,
-expecting succors from without, as it were, every hour, and prepared
-desperately to endure the utmost before submission to their hated foes.
-Hastily, rashly had they suffered themselves to be hemmed in, without a
-hope except to die, and desperately had they borne up against the
-tortures which had rewarded that hot rashness. And now the moment had
-arrived. For three whole days, the castle and the town had had no food
-at all! All stores had, many days since, been exhausted; the very grass
-that grew upon the ramparts had been all gathered, all consumed! The
-beasts of burthen, the domestic animals, the very vermin, had been
-sought eagerly for food—had been devoured greedily—till no more could
-be found at all in that most miserable town. There was not one house but
-had lost some of its inmates, by that most lingering, most terrible of
-deaths, mere famine!—and it was on the youngest, the fairest, the
-loveliest, the most beloved, that the dread doom fell first. The streets
-were heaped with carcasses, for now the living lacked the strength, the
-energy, to bury their own dead! Thrice had the burghers risen against
-the castle, to force its commandant, by surrendering to the Puritans, to
-free them from that lamentable durance; and thrice had the gray-headed
-cavalier, who held that last stronghold for an unthankful monarch—while
-the tears streamed hot and heavy down his emaciated cheeks, and his
-heart throbbed as if it would burst his bosom, for very pity—ordered
-the castle guns to play with grape upon the famished wretches, whose
-despair would have forced him from his duty. Three times, repulsed from
-the castle by their friends, had that most hapless populace rushed out
-to the besieger’s camp, throwing themselves upon the mercy of their
-foes, and hoping so to force their way into the open country, and three
-times, at pike’s point, had they been driven back into that town of
-sepulchres and charnel houses.
-
-It was the third day that no particle of food, except some scraps of
-leather, roasted or sodden into soup, had passed the lips of any of the
-garrison, on which a sad deputation of the townsmen waited for the
-fourth time upon the captain of the castle. They came not now in
-turbulence, hoping to _force_ submission, but tearfully and on their
-bended knees, to beg that stern old veteran, as they deemed him, that
-for the love of God, by all his hopes of Heaven, he would have mercy
-_not_ on them, they said, “for we are men, and can endure the utmost,
-but for our wives, our perishing wives and children!”
-
-“My friends,” he answered, “I feel for you—God is my judge I do!—and
-here, here is my witness that none hath heavier cause to feel than I
-have,” and as he spoke, he opened the door of an inner chamber, and
-showed to those worn deputies the corpse of a fair, light-haired youth,
-stretched on a pallet bed, emaciated beyond all conception—yea!
-literally wasted to the bones! “Look there!” he said, “look there! Six
-little days ago that famished, cold, dead carcass was the most fair, the
-sprightliest, the bravest, the best, the noblest boy in all wide
-England! You see him, as he lies there—_my_ boy, my glorious boy!—oh,
-God! last pledge of my lost angel, who, dying, left him to my paternal
-care, which here is proved forever! Gentlemen, ye are answered; when my
-King’s orders reach me to yield up this hold, then will I yield it
-up—’till then, please God, I shall maintain it; and so long as my
-trusty fellows have boots, and sword belts, and buff jerkins, we shall
-not lack a meal. So, my friends, fare ye well.”
-
-To this there was no answer; from this lay no appeal. They went away, as
-they had come, despairing; they betook themselves to their inhospitable
-homes, to their wan, starving families, and sat them down beside their
-fireless hearths, to pray for resignation, and for death to put an end
-to tortures which were fast becoming too terrible to bear. So the bright
-hours of daylight rolled over them unheeded, and the dark night came
-on—that season of repose and quiet, season of respite from all cares,
-relief from every wo—yet brought it no repose, no respite to the
-mourners of that city! The groans of manly agony, blent with the
-wailings of expiring infancy, and the faint sobs of women, suppressing
-their own agonies lest they should rend the hearts of others, went up
-that livelong night to Heaven; and there were humble prayers breathed
-out from penitent Christian bosoms; and there were wild, impatient,
-fierce ejaculations, which those who uttered them _called_ prayer; and
-there were desperate blasphemies and curses, such as fiends howl out
-against the throne of grace, too fearful to be written!
-
-In a low chamber of a lonely dwelling, close to the outposts of the
-enemy—looking down, indeed, upon the glacis and the dry moat of the
-town—there sat an aged man, shivering above the last expiring embers of
-his last brand—it was the last small fragment of the door, that dying
-brand! All else, the floor, the furniture, the casements, had been
-consumed already. Upon the hearth, beside the embers, there stood a mug
-of water, and a large dish, covered with thrice gnawed bones, part of a
-horse’s ribs, clean picked and broken, so as to reach the marrow. He was
-a tall and stately figure, was that aged man, and he had been strong,
-sinewy and vigorous even in his old age; but now his form was bent and
-all his limbs contracted; the skin, yellow as parchment, was drawn tight
-across his withered brow; his nose was terribly, unnaturally sharpened,
-like the nose of a corpse; his eye was dim and lustreless; his ashy lips
-were glued together with a thin frothy slaver. Yet he had fought that
-morning in a fierce skirmish, which had well-nigh brought in a drove of
-cattle, and had been only driven back by a charge of the ironsides, a
-troop of which, commanded, too, by his own son, had fallen upon their
-flank, and borne them back into the town when confident of victory and
-full of high anticipation.
-
-His corslet and buff coat were not yet laid aside; his plumed hat was
-cast listlessly beside him on the ground, but his blue baldric still
-sustained his rapier, spotted with many blood gouts, and, in the buff
-belt round his waist, his pistols, with the hammers down and the pans
-black with smoke, showed that he had not removed them since he had
-thrust them back into his girdle, just fired in the heat of action.
-There he sat, with his hands clenched and his teeth hard set, _silent_,
-yet cursing in his heart that recreant son, whom he had never
-forgiven—no! never for one moment’s space!—that he had joined the
-Parliament against the King, and on whose head he now invoked the direst
-of calamities, that, by his too successful charge, he had cut off the
-last relief from that sad starving city.
-
-Suddenly a faint sound fell on his ear, as of one clambering up the
-glacis. The old man listened, acutely, breathlessly, as though life were
-dependant on his sense of hearing!—again it came, clearer and louder,
-_nearer_ than before. Sword in hand, on the instant the veteran sprang
-to the narrow casement which overlooked the moat and glacis, and there,
-scarce three feet from the window, in the steel cap and corslet, the
-scarlet cassock and unshapely boots of Cromwell’s Ironsides, stood a
-tall, slender figure. The moon, which was dimly wading through the
-uncertain clouds, feebly defined the outlines of his form, and half
-revealed, as the old man fancied, the shapes and weapons of a score or
-two of his fanatical companions in the dark hollow of the moat below
-him.
-
-“Treason—to arms—ho! treason!”—shouted the wretched father, at the
-utmost pitch of his querulous attenuated voice; but ere he had well
-syllabled the words, a faint and well-remembered sound responded to his
-high pitched clamor.
-
-“Hist!—Father,”—it said—“Father—it is I—I have brought hither food
-and wine, at great risk of my life—approach, quick! quick! and take
-them; I will return to-morrow and crave thy blessing!”
-
-“Out on thee! Dog and traitor—die in thy treason, and thy gifts perish
-with thee!—Ho! treason! to arms! treason!”
-
-And now the cry reached wakeful ears, and was again repeated and
-again—“Ho! treason! to arms! treason!”—and lights were seen flashing
-along the ramparts, and trumpets were blown through the streets, and
-sentinels were heard continually challenging, and hasty footsteps, and
-the clash of arms, drew nearer every moment; and still that aged man,
-implacable, and steeled against his son by bitter hate, shouted, “to
-arms! to arms!” and called the hue and cry that way with frantic energy.
-
-“I will not be so balked—thou wilt repent this, father,” said the young
-man, advancing nearer.
-
-“Pray God I live to see thee hanged; I will repent this never!—approach
-me not, or I will rob the hangman of his due, and with mine own hand
-slay thee!”
-
-“Thou wilt not, father,” replied the other, as he laid his hand on the
-casement, and reaching into the chamber, set down upon the floor a small
-rush basket, and a tall flask of wine,—“thou wilt not, father—seeing
-that I have risked my life to bring thee meat and wine. I knew not, till
-to-day, that thou wert in this lamentable town!”
-
-At first the old man listened, and seemed even somewhat mollified, but
-as his son alluded to the situation of the town, all his old rage
-returned, and with the words, “die dog!” he lunged full at his heart
-with his drawn rapier—the blow took effect, full on the polished
-corslet, and glanced off, inflicting a deep wound on his left arm, and
-hurling him to the ground.
-
-“Ha! have I slain thee?—Ha! so perish all the enemies of good king
-Charles!”
-
-“Praised be God,” replied the Puritan, “praised be God, _that_ sin is
-spared to thee—farewell!”
-
-“Ho! guard—this way,” shouted the veteran, now more incensed than ever,
-“ho! guard—this way!”
-
-And with their arquebusses lowered, and their slow-matches lighted, a
-party of the night-watch rushed in from the street—the ruthless father
-pointed them to the figure of his flying son, and a quick volley
-followed—another—and another!—and all along the ramparts, from every
-battlement and crenelle, the sharp, clear flashes of the random
-musquetry streamed out into the midnight darkness—and the loud rattle
-of the shots startled the sentinels of Lilburne on their posts, and set
-the outposts and picquets on the alert throughout the whole of the
-beleaguering hosts.
-
-Escaping from the random volleys, the young man hurried to his quarters;
-but ere he reached them, he was met by the grand rounds, interrogated,
-seized, dragged to head-quarters, tried for communicating with the enemy
-by a drum-head court-martial, and sentenced to be hanged upon the
-morrow, between the glacis and the lines—before two hours had passed.
-Meantime the old man _fed_—_coolly fed_ on the meat, and quaffed the
-wine his child—his betrayed child—had brought to him—then mocked the
-throne of mercy with a prayer, and lay down, and slept soundly—while
-that same child, watched in a military dungeon, and prayed for mercy to
-his soul, which must be with its God, to-morrow.
-
-The morrow dawned, and the accursed gallows stood there erect between
-the glacis and the lines—and the death-drums were beating through the
-camp—and the Parliamentarians mustered to punishment parade, with their
-war weapons trailed, and their grim visages suffused with more than
-their accustomed gloom.
-
-The fearful tale was known—at once, almost instinctively it was
-revealed—all means were taken, and all methods tried to preserve the
-victim son—threats of retaliation—proffers of
-terms—entreaties—ransom—bribes—but all were tried in vain.
-
-In the full blaze of noon, before the besieged town, before the
-besieging army, before men, angels, God—the son died on the gallows
-tree, victim of filial piety—martyr to military discipline—and the old
-ruthless man, who had consigned his own child to that fearful doom,
-looked on, and strove to smile, and would have braved it out even to the
-end—but the offended majesty of nature stood forth in its dread
-might!—the fierce revulsion of conflicting passions conquered the
-wretched clay!—with the sneer on his lip, and the bold evil words upon
-his tongue—he staggered—fell!—they lifted him, but he was dead.
-
-That night, a courier with a white flag paused at the outposts of the
-Roundheads. It was a messenger from Charles, licensing his commander to
-surrender his good and faithful town of Knaresborough—and the next day
-the garrison marched out with colors flying and drums beating, and all
-the honors of war granted them,—and filed in their superb array beneath
-the gibbet and the corpse of him who died a felon’s death, for succoring
-a father at his need!—Ho! the morality of warfare! The glory of the
-victor!
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- O, SAY, DO I NA’ LO’E YE LASSIE.
-
-
- O, say, do I na’ lo’e ye, lassie?
- O, say, do I na’ lo’e ye well?
- Aye! mair than tongue can utter, lassie,
- Or mair than tender looks can tell.
- Ye’re i’ my dreams by night, my lassie,
- An’ ye are i’ my thoughts by day,
- An’ ye’re the beacon star, my lassie.
- That guides me through life’s troubled way.
-
- I lo’e ye for those tresses, lassie,
- That i’ bright jetty masses flow;
- I lo’e ye for that bosom, lassie,
- As white an’ fair as driven snow;
- I lo’e ye for those cheeks, my lassie,
- O’ sweetest tinge o’ rosy hue;
- An’ O, I lo’e ye, dearest lassie,
- For those twa cannie e’en o’ blue.
-
- I lo’e ye for that form, my lassie,
- Like to the deer’s, sae fit’ o’ grace;
- I lo’e ye for that smile, my lassie,
- That plays across thy charming face.
- But what I lo’e still more, my lassie,
- Is that which is worth mair to gain:
- It is the bonnie min’, my lassie,
- Which i’ gude truth ye ca’ your ain.
-
- S.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- AUZELLA.
-
-
- A LEGEND OF THE HARTZ MOUNTAINS.
-
-
-“Absolution, father, for breath is fleeting fast,” cried the dying man,
-in a scarce audible voice. As the monk approached the bed, the sick man
-started from his pillow, and, with clenched hands and straining eyes,
-uttered, in a low, sepulchral tone, “Avaunt! avaunt, thou damning fiend!
-thine hour is not yet come. Oh, mercy! mercy!” His bosom heaved
-convulsively, the dew of agony gathered thick upon his brow, and, with a
-beseeching look, he pointed to the crucifix on the wall.
-
-“Confession alone can save you, my son. While there is yet time, relieve
-your bosom of its load of sin, and seek for pardon.”
-
-“_Too late!_ oh, lost forever! The hour approaches; come near.” Drawing
-from under his pillow a parchment, he placed it in the hands of the
-monk. “My confession, father; _now_, now, sign me with the cross.”
-Uttering a wild cry of anguish, the dying man, with desperate energy,
-flung himself towards the monk, and attempted to grasp the symbol of
-salvation. . . . . . A vivid, lurid gleam, followed by an astounding
-crash, mingled with horrid yells and piercing screams! When the monk was
-found by a lay brother, he still breathed, but unconscious of external
-objects, from which state he never recovered; the bed was empty, and the
-bedclothes lay in wild disorder, as if torn by a mighty struggle. In the
-hand of the prostrate monk was found a manuscript:
-
-
- THE CONFESSION OF THE LOST.
-
-Upon the confines of the Hartz Mountains, in a lowly hut, I first saw
-the light. My mother yielded up her life in giving me birth, and the
-nourishment of a pet goat sustained the feeble spark of infancy. My
-remaining parent proved, though rough and uncultivated, a kind nurse.
-The hours of childhood were passed in assisting my father in collecting
-dried wood for burning charcoal, and oft, as I penetrated through the
-tangled forest, would I stand and gaze upon the clear blue flame that
-night after night arose from one of the highest peaks, and though an
-ague would creep over me at the recollection of some of the tales of
-horror that clothed those mountains in such fearful dread, still an
-unconquerable desire to witness their midnight orgies grew with my
-growth and strengthened with my strength.
-
-About two hundred feet from the base of the loftiest of that extended
-chain of mountains, jutted out a perpendicular rock. Upon the summit
-stood the castle of Rudolfo, whose weather-beaten battlements had for
-ages frowned defiance upon the plain below. Dark hints and mysterious
-whispers surrounded that isolated spot with gloom and fear; no footsteps
-ever approached its portals after sundown, and an Ave Maria was
-silently, though fervently breathed, when the benighted hunter or weary
-traveller caught a glimpse of the solitary light that was ever seen in
-one of the casements of the castle.
-
-Count Rudolph was a man of valor; his arm was held invincible in the
-battle field; but of a temperament morose and savage, his vassals
-quailed beneath the glance of his bright gray eye, and trembled when the
-sound of his loud clear voice rang through the vaulted halls. Among the
-dependants that sat at his board below the salt, or rallied around his
-banner, were hearts that thirsted to bury their daggers in his blood;
-but the mantle of superstitious mystery so completely enveloped him,
-that the hand, however daring, shrunk from the murderous deed.
-
-The iron-bound features of Count Rudolph never relaxed, save when his
-looks rested upon his daughter. Then would the contracted brow expand,
-and those eyes so formidable emit a ray of feeling. He seldom smiled,
-but the effect was startling; a meteor, dazzling by its brightness, to
-render the darkness more visible. And that daughter was a glorious
-creature! The tall, graceful form, the dark hazel eyes, commanded the
-allegiance of all that looked upon her. To her father her features bore
-a strong resemblance, but moulded in the most perfect female softness.
-
-The lady Auzella was seldom seen beyond the boundaries of the castle,
-but the report of her wondrous beauty had spread far over Germany, and
-many a valiant knight had sued in vain for her fair hand,
-notwithstanding the vague and strange reports that were ever afloat
-about Count Rudolph and his unhallowed deeds.
-
-It was my twentieth birthday. The hours of labor were exchanged for
-hunting, a pastime of which I was most fond. So intent was I in chasing
-the chamois and hungry wolves that infest those regions, I thought not
-of the departure of day, until warned by the declining sun shedding its
-golden rays through the “forest’s thickening gloom.” An unconquerable
-feeling of dread at being thus benighted, caused me to hasten my
-footsteps towards my humble cot. With a steady eye and nervous limbs, I
-bounded over the impetuous stream that rolls down the mountain side, and
-springing from crag to crag, I emerged from the dense shadow of trees,
-and stood upon a platform of rock overgrown with moss and stunted oak.
-
-Involuntarily I lingered to gaze upon the scene before me. The whole
-country glowed with the effulgence of the setting sun, whilst the
-amphitheatre of hills that bounded the horizon was clothed in gorgeous
-purple. On the right stood the castle, its turrets and towers catching
-the lingering sunbeams, bringing them out in bold relief from the mass
-of frowning mountains that formed the back ground. The only sound that
-broke upon the ear was the incessant roar of the cataract. Whilst thus I
-stood entranced, a strain of music suddenly burst through the air, so
-wild, so melodious, that it seemed an echo from the spheres. Amazed, I
-listened breathlessly; again the same sweet notes were borne upon the
-gentle gales. I turned, when lo! beside the rushing torrent sat a
-female; her long tresses were floating upon the breeze, and revealed the
-features of the Lady Auzella! Ere the melting strains were ended that
-had held bound my soul, shrieking, affrighted, she fled towards me. With
-horror I beheld a huge bear spring from the overhanging crag, and stand
-within a foot of his prey. In one moment I took a sure and deadly
-aim—fired—the monster rolled head-long down the rapid stream; the next
-instant the fainting form of Auzella reposed within my arms! My fate was
-sealed; the past, the future, all, all were forgotten. We met again and
-again; I loved, ardently, madly, and was beloved! Yes! the high-born,
-haughty damsel loved the humble youth.
-
-We lived in the spring-time of love; the cold, bleak winds of autumn had
-not yet chilled our hearts, when, with the impassioned fervor of
-affection, I besought the gentle Auzella to fly with me to other lands,
-where with my sword I would carve for myself a name worthy for her to
-share. Silently she listened, then raising her head from my bosom, fixed
-her expressive eyes upon me, and whispered, as soft as a zephyr’s sigh—
-
-“Hast thou dear Carl, resolution to win fame and wealth, and, with my
-father’s consent, this hand?”
-
-“Try me, beloved, and thou wilt find no braggart in thy lover.”
-
-“Then, by thy vows of love, ere ‘yon moon fills her horn,’ pluck from
-the mountain’s blazing pile a firebrand; bear it with all speed to my
-father’s feet, and by that token fearlessly claim the hand of Auzella!”
-
-She ceased, and fled from me. In that brief space a new existence burst
-upon my senses. The voice of love had pointed out the way to the
-possession of _gold_ and the hand of her whom I adored; but how? To
-league myself with devils! A cold shudder crept over me; within my
-breast raged a fearful struggle. It passed away, and, with the purpose
-of my soul determined, I awoke from the _dream_ of life to the reality
-of existence.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Strange, that man should shrink in after years from lifting the veil
-that has shadowed crimes recklessly committed in youth. Does he scorn
-and bid defiance to the eyes of Omnipotence, and tremble at the opinions
-of his fellow worms? How incongruous, but alas! how true!
-
-Although years have rolled past—and time, as it has flown onward, has
-hurried with them into the vast abyss of eternity, pleasures, sins and
-sorrows—the events of that _fearful_ night, that fatal hour, are
-concentrated in one burning spot within my brain.
-
-Like king Midas, the cravings of discontent proved my destruction.
-Destruction! aye, one endless chain of wretchedness, perpetuated through
-life, with no oblivion in the _grave_.
-
- * * * * *
-
-With desperate energy I braved the lightning’s lurid gleam, and heeded
-not the tempest that raged around me. As I bent my footsteps towards the
-ever-burning flame, sounds, as if from the abyss of Hades, burst upon my
-ear. I stood palsied with horror, and as a bright flash burst through
-the gloom, shrieks and wild laughter rang through the air, and revealed
-my presence! “Ah! standest thou there to mock me, thou fiend, thou
-devil? Hurl not reason _yet_ from its tottering throne! Begone!”
-
-The hour was past, the trophy _gained_, my bride _won_; but an _oath_
-was taken that is engraved upon my heart with a firebrand, and ever
-thrills my frame with anguish—with never-ceasing torture!
-
-How shall I unravel the tangled thread of my after life? Shall I dwell
-upon the hour that called Auzella _mine_?—the joy I felt as I clasped
-my beautiful, my adored _wife_ to my heart, notwithstanding the dark
-flash from Count Rudolph’s eyes? A brief state of happiness was mine—an
-oasis in the wilderness of life.
-
-I _now_ had gold unbounded. We left the frowning castle for the gay
-metropolis. The mountain boy was no longer the shy boor, but the wealthy
-_noble_ and the crafty man.
-
-Once launched upon the ocean of dissipation, I trimmed my sails to catch
-the breeze of pleasure, and thought not of the whirlpools that
-surrounded me; when, one night, in the midst of a gay revel, whilst the
-sparkling cup and the merry jest passed freely round the festive board,
-a touch of _fire_, a whisper which penetrated my very soul, reminded me
-of my _oath_—that _fearful oath_! Then fled the scene of enchantment,
-the faces of beauty, the chrystal lights, and the music, breathing its
-soft strains through the fragrant air; and, in the mind’s eye, the
-burning mountain, the horrid yells of demoniacal laughter, were beheld
-with frightful distinctness.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Murder my friend!_—the companion of my midnight revels, the sharer of
-my pleasures—_never!_ But thine oath! Ah! then did I feel the serpent’s
-sting; his envenomed coil compressed every fibre of my defenceless body;
-no escape from his toils. I had voluntarily _sold myself_ to the demon
-of the burning mountain!
-
-Out upon it! why quakes this feeble frame as the hour approaches when I
-shall “throw off this mortal coil?” Can tortures be greater than what I
-do and _ever will_ suffer? Why not snap asunder the cord at once?
-
-But the deed was _done_, and _then_ deeper did I plunge into the vortex
-of vice, for the slight barrier of conscience was broken down, and I
-moved through the gazing crowd an envied man. Ah, ah, envied! How little
-dreamed the gaping fools of the livid spot _within_. But, amidst the
-volcano that was consuming me, burned one pure flame—the shrine on
-which it was kindled was still unpolluted—my love for Auzella. She was
-my day-star, my dream of all that was pure. Her smile would chase the
-demon from my breast, and lull me into forgetfulness.
-
-But the cup of misery that I had tasted was not yet drained. Jealousy
-mingled with its bitter dregs, and poisoned my blood and shot through
-every vein.
-
-Suddenly there appeared among us a youth of striking mien and of great
-beauty, though of a wild and singular aspect. He was ever with Auzella!
-I chased from my breast the dark thoughts that would sometimes enter.
-With the madness of despair, I bore her to the gloomy castle where dwelt
-her father. She murmured not at thus being torn from scenes of festive
-mirth to hours of dreary sadness; her eyes still sparkled with their
-wonted fire. We visited the spot where first I dared breathe my aspiring
-hopes, and as I folded her to my breast again, I told her how dear she
-still was to me.
-
-Count Rudolph had become more morose, and seldom went beyond the castle
-walls. He seemed to take no pleasure in the presence of his child, and
-when I encountered the glance of his eye fixed upon me, a strange,
-undefinable sensation would creep over me: a vague recollection of
-scenes gone by. Thus passed four long, weary weeks. For me were no
-dreams of the future, no surveying of the past; all, all was a chaos of
-guilt and dread.
-
-Twice, in the still hour of midnight, did I miss Auzella from my side.
-At first I heeded it not, but as thought pressed upon thought, my brain
-became maddened; horrible suspicions crept over me. Grasping my pistols,
-I fled from the castle, and, without one definite object, I strode
-hastily towards _that_ fatal spot. The same wild yells met my ear, and,
-by the clear blue flame, I beheld a scene of sickening horror!—while I
-think upon it, my brain becomes frenzied—but I must relieve the
-tortures of this breast by tracing my sum of misery.
-
-Aye! I beheld a motley group sitting around the fire, who, with shouts
-of laughter and demoniacal gestures, were tearing asunder a human frame,
-a fresh victim! There was a pause, when a voice arose upon the stillness
-that sent my blood curdling to my heart; I looked, and saw _my wife_,
-and by her side that stranger youth! Slowly I moved my hand towards my
-pistol, and, setting my teeth, grasped it firmly. Another voice rang
-through the air, and there sat Count Rudolph, the demon of the burning
-mountain; well did I remember, by that light, those unhallowed eyes and
-_that smile_. The glance was but momentary, for revenge was heaving my
-bosom almost to bursting. There sat the only object on earth that was
-dear to me; for _her_ I had bartered my _soul_, and there she was, in
-seeming fellowship with devils. Ages of misery were crowded in that
-moment. She turned, and smiled upon the beardless boy. Nature could
-endure no longer—I fired! Loud yells and horrid imprecations mingled
-with the thunder’s roar; one fierce scream was borne upon the blast,
-and, from the spot where sat Auzella, up rose a _vulture_! For a moment
-she hovered near me; I saw the crimson blood stream from its breast, and
-casting a look upon me, (which, by day and night, haunts the deepest
-spot in memory’s waste,) flapped her broad wings, and was soon lost in
-the impenetrable gloom.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Darkness fell upon me; reason was lost amid the breakers of despair. A
-wreck, deserted by Hope, within my heart is the torch of anguish,
-kindled at the funeral pile of Vice.
-
- E.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THOUGHTS IN SPRING.
-
-
- BY HENRY B. HIRST.
-
-
- It is the spring time. Varied flowers are sending
- Their new-born odors on the sighing breeze,
- The sun its brightness from the sky is lending,
- Flinging its kisses to the budding trees,
- And Nature, lovely Nature fair doth seem,
- As the creation of a poet’s dream.
-
- The robin’s mellow strain in wild notes gushes
- From the snow blossoms of the apple tree;
- The cat-bird’s scolding from the leafy bushes,
- The wren’s low music thrilling comes to me,
- Seeming the hymns of Nature freely given,
- As stainless offerings of its praise to Heaven.
-
- Earth is a sea of verdure. Blossoms springing
- All gem-like dewy from the velvet sod,
- Like whispered melody their perfume flinging,
- Earth’s altar’d incense rising up to God,—
- Whose word I read in there as in his book,
- When e’er their beauties meet my eager look.
-
- Thro’ laughing verdure silvery is straying,
- Reflecting, mirror-like, the pure calm sky,
- A babbling stream, o’er rock and lichen playing,
- Sweet as the softness of a loved one’s sigh—
- Floating along with harmony as rife
- As pass the hours in some bright day of life.
-
- The river far away is calmly stealing,
- Thro’ its green banks all glittering with light,
- Like beaming fancies in the poet’s feeling,
- Who worships ever all that’s fair and bright;
- Creating images that living start
- Warm from the gushings of his burning heart.
-
- Yes! this is spring time, mild and glorious spring,
- When earth is like a paradise, and gay
- With birds, and buds, and flowers, and everything,
- Whose beauties serve to gild awhile life’s clay.
- Bidding hearts revel in enjoyment wild,
- Making one happy even as a child.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- SCHOOL-BOY RECOLLECTIONS.
-
-
- A FROLIC AMONG THE LAWYERS.—A SCENE FROM LIFE.
-
-
- BY T. W. THOMAS, AUTHOR OF “HOWARD PINCKNEY,” ETC.
-
-
-I was born in New Orleans. I had very bad health there in my early
-childhood, and “My Aunt Betsey,” of whom I have before spoken, took a
-voyage by sea from Baltimore to the “crescent city,” for the purpose of
-returning with me to a climate which the physicians had said would
-strengthen my constitution.
-
-She brought me up with the greatest kindness, or rather, I should say
-she kept me comparatively feeble by her over-care of my health. When I
-was about fourteen years of age, my father brought my mother and my
-little sister Virginia on from New Orleans to see me. My meeting with my
-kind mother I shall never forget. She held me at arms’ length for an
-instant, to see if she could recognise, in the chubby, healthy boy
-before her, the puny, sickly child with whom she had parted with such
-fond regret on board the Carolina, but a few years before; and when, in
-memory and in heart, she recognized each lineament, she clasped me to
-her bosom with a wild hysteric joy which compensated her, more than
-compensated her, she said, for all the agony which our separation had
-caused her. I loved my mother devotedly, yet I wondered at the emotion
-which she exhibited at our meeting, and, child though I was, a sense of
-unworthiness came over me, possibly because my affections could not
-sound the depths of hers.
-
-My father’s recognition was kinder than I had expected, from what I
-remembered of our parting in New Orleans. He felt prouder of me than at
-our parting, I presume, from my improved health and looks, and this made
-him feel that my being tied to the apron strings of my good old aunt
-would not improve my manliness. A gentleman whom he had met at a dinner
-party, who was the principal of an academy, a kind of miniature college,
-some thirty miles from Baltimore, had impressed my father, by his
-disquisitions, with a profound respect for such a mode of education.
-
-“William,” said my father, in speaking on the subject to Mr. Stetson,
-“will be better there than here among the women; he’ll be a baby forever
-here. No, I must make a man of him. I shall take him next week with me,
-and leave him in the charge of Mr. Sears.” My mother insisted upon it
-that I should stay awhile longer, that she might enjoy my society, and
-that my sister and myself might become attached to each other ere they
-returned to New Orleans. But my father said, “No, my dear; you know it
-was always agreed between us that you should bring up Virginia as you
-pleased, and that I would bring up William as I pleased.”
-
-“Let us take him, then, back to New Orleans,” exclaimed my mother; “he
-is healthy enough now.”
-
-“But he would not be healthy long there, my dear. No, I have made
-inquiry: Mr. Sears is an admirable man, and under his care, which I am
-satisfied will be paternal, William will improve in mind, and learn to
-be a man—will you not, William?”
-
-I could only cling to my mother without reply.
-
-“There,” exclaimed my father, exultingly, “you see the effect of his
-education thus far.”
-
-“The effect of his education thus far!” retorted my aunt Betsey, who did
-not relish my father’s remark; “he has been taught to say his prayers,
-and to love his parents and tell the truth. You see the effects in him
-now,” and she pointed to me, seated on a stool by my mother.
-
-All this made no impression upon my father. He was resolved that I
-should go to Belle Air, the county town, situated twenty-five miles from
-Baltimore, where the school was, the next week, and he so expressed
-himself decidedly.
-
-The condemned criminal, who counts the hours that speed to his
-execution, scarcely feels more horror at the rush of time than did I.
-One appalling _now_ seemed to possess me. I was deeply sensitive, and
-the dread of my loneliness away from all I loved, and the fear of the
-ridicule and tyranny of the oldsters, haunted me so that I could not
-sleep, and I have lain awake all night, picturing to myself what would
-be the misery of my situation at Belle Air. In fact, when the day
-arrived, I bade my mother, aunt Betsey and my little sister Virginia
-farewell with scarcely a consciousness, and was placed in the gig by my
-father as the stunned criminal is assisted into the fatal cart.
-
-This over-sensitiveness—what a curse it is! I lay no claims to genius,
-and yet I have often thought it hard that I should have the quality
-which makes the “fatal gift” so dangerous, and not the gift. My little
-sister Virginia, who had been my playmate for weeks, cried bitterly when
-I left her. I dwelt upon her swimming eye with mine, tearless and stony
-as death. The waters of bitterness had gathered around my heart, but had
-not yet found an outlet from their icy thrall, ’neath which they flowed
-dark and deep.
-
-Belle Air, at the time I write of, was a little village of some
-twenty-five or more houses, six of which were taverns. It was and is a
-county town, and court was regularly held there, to which the Baltimore
-lawyers used to flock in crowds; and many mad pranks have I known them
-play there for their own amusement, if not for the edification of the
-pupils of Mr. Sears.
-
-My father drew up at Mr. Kenny’s tavern, and as it was about twelve when
-we arrived, and the pupils were dismissed to dinner, he sent his card to
-the principal, who in a few minutes made his appearance. Talk of a lover
-watching the movements and having impressed upon his memory the image of
-her whom he loveth!—the schoolboy has a much more vivid recollection of
-his teacher. Mr. Sears was a tall, stout man, with broad stooping
-shoulders, he carried a large cane, and his step was as decided as ever
-was Doctor Busby’s, who would not take his hat off when the king visited
-his school, for the reason, as he told his majesty afterwards, that if
-his scholars thought that there was a greater man in the kingdom than
-himself, he never could control them. The face of Mr. Sears resembled
-much the likeness of Alexander Hamilton, though his features were more
-contracted, and his forehead had nothing like the expansion of the great
-statesman; yet it projected very similarly at the brows. He welcomed my
-father to the village with great courtesy, and me to his pupilage with
-greater dignity. He dined with my father, with me by his side, and every
-now and then he would pat me on the head and ask me a question. I
-stammered out monosyllabic answers, when the gentleman would address
-himself again to his plate with renewed gusto.
-
-Mr. Sears recommended my father to board me at the house of a Mr. Hall,
-who had formerly been the sheriff of the county, and whose wife and
-daughters, he said, were very fine women. He repented, he said, when he
-first took charge of the academy, that there was not some general place
-attached to it where the pupils could board in common, but after
-reflection had taught him that to board them about among the
-towns-people would be as well. He remarked that I was one of his
-smallest pupils, but that he could look on me _in loco parentis_, and
-doubted not that he could make a man of me.
-
-After dinner he escorted my father, leading me by the hand, down to the
-academy, which was on the outskirts of the town, at the other end of it
-from Mr. Kenny’s. The buzz, which the usher had not the power to control
-in the absence of Mr. Sears, hushed instantly in his presence, and as he
-entered with my father, the pupils all arose, and remained standing
-until he ordered them to be seated. Giving my father a seat, and placing
-me in the one which he designed for me in the school, Mr. Sears called
-several of his most proficient scholars in the different classes, from
-Homer down to the elements of English, and examined them. When a boy
-blundered, he darted at him a look which made him shake in his shoes,
-and when another boy gave a correct answer and took his fellow’s place,
-and glanced up for Mr. Sears’ smile, it was a picture which my friend
-Beard, of Cincinnati, would delight to draw. The blunderer looked like
-one caught in the act of sheep-stealing, while the successful pupil took
-his place with an air that would have marked one of Napoleon’s doubtful
-soldiers, when the Emperor had witnessed an act of daring on his part.
-As for Mr. Sears, he thought Napoleon a common creature to himself. To
-kill men, he used to say, was much more easy than to instruct them, he
-felt himself to be like one of the philosophers of old in his academy;
-and he considered Doctor Parr and Doctor Busby, who boasted that they
-had whipped every distinguished man in the country, much greater than he
-of Pharsalia or he of Austerlitz.
-
-When the rehearsal of several classes had given my father a due
-impression of Mr. Sears’ great gifts as an instructor, and of his
-scholars’ proficiency, he took my father to Mr. Hall’s, to introduce us
-to my future host.
-
-We found the family seated in the long room in which their boarders
-dined. To Mr. Sears they paid the most profound respect. Well they
-might, for without his recommendation they would have been without
-boarders. Hall was a tall, good humored, careless man. His wife was
-older than himself, tall too, but full of energy. He had two daughters,
-Harriet and Jane. Harriet was a quick, active, lively girl, and withal
-pretty, while Jane was lolling and lazy in her motions, and without
-either good looks or prettiness. The matter of my boarding was soon
-arranged, and it had become time for my father to depart. All this while
-the variety and excitement of the scene had somewhat relieved my
-feelings, but when my father bade me be a good boy and drove off, I felt
-as if the “last link” was indeed broken, and though I made every effort,
-from a sense of shame, to repress my tears, it was in vain, and they
-broke forth the wilder from their previous restraint. Harriet Hall came
-up instantly to comfort me. She took a seat beside me at the open window
-at which I was looking out after my father, and with a sweet voice,
-whose tones are in my memory yet, she told me not to grieve because I
-was from my friends; that I should soon see them again, and that she
-would think I feared they would not be kind to me if I showed so much
-sorrow. This last remark touched me, and while I was drying my eyes, one
-of the larger boys, a youth of eighteen or twenty, came up to the
-window—for the academy by this time had been dismissed for the
-evening—and said,
-
-“Ah, Miss Harriet, is this another baby who is crying for home?”
-
-In an instant my eyes were dried. I cast one glance at the speaker—he
-was a tall, slim, reckless looking fellow, named Prettyman—and from
-that day to this I have neither forgotten it, nor, I fear, forgiven him.
-
-In the night, when we retired to our rooms, I found that my bed was in a
-room with two others, Prettyman and a country bumpkin, by the name of
-Muzzy. As usual on going to bed, I kneeled down to say my prayers,
-putting my hands up in the attitude of supplication. I had scarcely
-uttered to myself the first words, “Our Father,” but to the ear that
-heareth all things, when Prettyman exclaimed—
-
-“He’s praying! ‘By the Apostle Paul!’ as Richard the Third says, that’s
-against rules. Suppose we cob him, Muzzy?” Muzzy laughed, and got into
-bed; and I am ashamed to say that I arose with the prayer dying away
-from my thoughts, and indignation and shame usurping them, and sneaked
-into bed, where I said my prayers in silence, and wept myself in silence
-to sleep. In the morning, with a heavy heart, and none but the kind
-Harriet to comfort me, I betook myself to the academy.
-
-Parents little know what a sensitive child suffers at a public school. I
-verily believe that these schools engender often more treachery,
-falsehood and cruelty than exists in West India slavery; I was about
-saying even in the brains of an abolitionist. Most tenderly nurtured,
-under the care of an affectionate old aunt, who was always fixing my
-clothes to keep me warm, coddling up something nice to pamper me with,
-watching all my outgoings and incomings, and seeing that everything
-around me conduced to my convenience and comfort, the contrast was
-indeed great when I appeared at the Belle Air academy, one of the
-smallest boys there, and subjected to the taunts and buffetings of every
-larger boy than myself in the institution. My father little knew what
-agony it cost me to be made a man of.
-
-I am not certain that the good produced by such academies is equal to
-their evils. I remember well for two or three nights after Prettyman
-laughed at me, that I crept into bed to say my prayers, and, at last,
-under his ridicule—for he practised his gift on me every night—I not
-only neglected to say them, but began to feel angry towards my aunt that
-she had ever learned them to me, as they brought so much contempt upon
-me. Yet, such is the power of conscience, at that tender age, that, when
-I awoke in the morning of the first night that I had not prayed, I felt
-myself guilty and unworthy, and went into the garden and wept aloud,
-tears of sincere contrition.
-
-Too often, in public schools, the first thing a youth learns from his
-elders, is to laugh at parental authority, and to exhibit to the
-ridicule of his fellows the letter of advice which his parent or
-guardian feels it his duty to write to him, taking care, with a jest
-upon them, to pocket the money they send, with an air of incipient
-profligacy which, any one may see, will soon not only be rank but
-prurient—such a moral contagion should be avoided, and, I therefore am
-inclined to think that the Catholic mode of tuition, where some one of
-the teachers is with the scholars, not only by day but by night, is
-preferable. And, in fact, any one who has witnessed the respectful
-familiarity they teach their pupils to feel and act towards them, and
-the kindness with which they return it, cannot but be impressed with the
-truth of my remark.
-
-There were nearly one hundred pupils at Belle Air, at the period of
-which I write, and the only assistant Mr. Sears had, was a gaunt fellow
-named Dogberry. Like his illustrious namesake in Shakspeare, from whom I
-believe he was a legitimate descendant, he might truly have been
-“_written down an ass_.”
-
-The boys invented all sorts of annoyances to torture Dogberry withal. A
-favorite one was, when Mr. Sears was in the city, which was at periods
-not unfrequent, for them to assemble in the school before Dogberry came,
-and setting one by the door to give notice when the usher was within a
-few feet of it, to begin as soon as he appeared in sight, to shout, as
-with one voice—first _Dog_, and then, after a pause, by way of a
-chorus, _berry_.
-
-As soon as notice was given by the watcher, he leaped to his seat, and
-every tongue was silent, and every eye upon the book before it. The rage
-of Dogberry knew no bounds on these occasions. He did not like to tell
-the principal, for the circumstance would have proved not only his want
-of authority over the boys, but the contempt in which they held him.
-
-A trick which Prettyman played him, nearly caused his death, and,
-luckily for the delinquent, he was never discovered. Dogberry was very
-penurious, and he saved two-thirds of his salary; as it was not large,
-he had, of course, to live humbly. He dined at Halls and took breakfast
-and supper in his lodgings, if he ever took them, and the quality of the
-dinner of which he made himself the receptacle, caused it to be doubted.
-His lodgings were the _dormant_ story of a log cabin, to which he had
-entrance by a rough flight of stairs without the house and against its
-side. Under the stairs there was a large mud-hole, and Prettyman
-contrived one gusty night to pull them down, with the intention of
-calling the usher in the tone of Mr. Sears, for he was a good mimic, and
-causing him to fall in the mud. Unluckily, the usher heard the racket
-without, and not dreaming it was the fall of the stairs, he leaped from
-his bed, and hurried out to see what it was. He fell on them, and though
-no bones were broken, he was laid up for several weeks. The wind always
-had the credit of the affair, and Prettyman won great applause for his
-speedy assistance and sympathy with Dogberry, whom he visited constantly
-during his confinement.
-
-The night of the adjournment of court, the lawyers, and even the judges,
-had what they called a regular frolic. Mr. Sears was in Baltimore, and
-the scholars were easily induced to join in it—in fact they wanted no
-inducement. About twelve o’clock at night we were aroused from our beds
-by a most awful yelling for the ex-sheriff. “Hall, Hall,” was the
-cry—soon the door was opened, and the trampling of feet was heard—in a
-minute the frolickers ascended the stairs, and one of the judges, with a
-blanket wrapped round him, like an Indian, with his face painted, and a
-red handkerchief tied round his head, and with red slippers on, entered
-our room, with a candle in one hand and a bottle in the other; and,
-after making us drink all round, bade us get up. We were nothing loath.
-On descending into the dining-room, lo! there were the whole bar,
-dressed off in the most fantastic style, and some of them scarcely
-dressed at all. They were mad with fun and wine. The ex-sheriff brought
-forth his liquors, and was placed on his own table as a culprit, and
-tried and found guilty of not having been, as in duty bound, one of the
-originators of the frolic. He was, therefore, fined glasses round for
-the company, and ordered by the judges to pay it at Richardson’s bar. To
-Richardson’s the order was given to repair. Accordingly, without they
-formed a line, Indian file. Two large black women carried a light in
-each hand beside the first judge, and two smaller black women carried a
-light in the right hand beside the next one. The lawyers followed, each
-with a light in his hand, and the procession closed with the scholars,
-who each also bore a light. I, being smallest, brought up the rear.
-There was neither man nor boy who was not more or less inebriated, and
-the wildest pranks were played.
-
-When we reached Dogberry’s domicile, one of the boys proposed to have
-him out with us. The question was put by one of the judges and carried
-by acclamation unanimously. It was further resolved, that a deputation
-of three, each bearing a bottle of different liquor, should be appointed
-to wait on him, with the request that he would visit the Pawnee tribe,
-from the far west, drink some fire-water with them, and smoke the pipe
-of peace.
-
-Prettyman, whose recklessness knew no bounds, and who, as I suppose,
-wished to involve me in difficulty, moved that the smallest and tallest
-person in the council be of that deputation. There happened to be a
-quantity of logs, which had been gathered there for the purpose of
-building a log house. Mr. Patterson (I use here a fictitious name) was
-at this time the great lawyer of Maryland. He was dressed in a splendid
-Indian costume, which a western client had given him, and he had painted
-himself with care and taste. He was a fine looking man, and stretching
-out his hand, he exclaimed:
-
-“Brothers, be seated; but not on the prostrate forms of the forest,
-which the ruthless white man has felled to make unto himself a
-habitation. Like the big warrior Tecumseh, in council with the great
-white chief Harrison, we will sit upon the lap of our mother the
-earth—upon her breast we will sleep—the Pawnee has no roof but the
-blue sky, where dwelleth the Great Spirit—and he looks up to the
-shining stars, and they look down upon him—and they count the leaves of
-the forest and know the might of the Pawnees.”
-
-Every one, by this time, had taken a seat upon the ground, and all were
-silent. As the lights flashed o’er the group, they formed as grotesque a
-scene as I have ever witnessed.
-
-“Brothers,” he continued, “those eyes of the Great Spirit,” pointing
-upwards to the stars, “behold the rushing river, and they say to our
-fathers, who are in the happy hunting grounds of the blest, that, like
-it, is the might of the Pawnee when he rushes to battle. The white men
-are dogs—their carcasses drift in the tide—they are cast out on the
-shore, and the prairie-wolf fattens on them.
-
-“Brothers—the eyes of the Great Spirit behold the prairies and the
-forest, where the breath of the wintry wind bears the red fire through
-them—where the prairie-wolf flies, and the fire flies faster. Brothers,
-the white man is the prairie-wolf, and the Pawnee is the fire.
-
-“Brothers—when the forked fire from the right arm of the Great Spirit
-smites the mountain’s brow, the eagle soars upwards to his home in the
-clouds, but the snake crawls over the bare rock in the blast, and hides
-in the clefts and in the hollows and holes. Behold! the forked fire
-strikes the rock and scatters it as the big warrior would throw pebbles
-from his hand, and the soaring eagle darts from the clouds and the
-death-rattle of the snake is heard, and he hisses no more.
-
-“Brothers—the Pawnee is the eagle, the bird of the Great Spirit, and
-the white man is the crawling snake that the Great Spirit hates.
-
-“Brothers—the shining eyes of the Great Spirit sees all these things,
-and tells them to our fathers, who are in the happy hunting ground of
-the blest, and they say that some day, wrapped in the clouds, they will
-come and see us, for our land is like theirs.”
-
-This was said with so much eloquence, by the distinguished lawyer, that
-there was the silence of nearly a minute when he concluded. In the
-company was a lawyer named Short, who, strange to say, was just six feet
-three inches and a half high, and he had a client—which is stranger
-still—named Long, who was but five feet high.
-
-“Who has precedence, Judge Willard?” called out somebody in the crowd,
-breaking in upon the business of the occasion, as upon such occasions
-business always will be broken in upon—“who has precedence, Long or
-Short?”
-
-“Long,” exclaimed the judge, “of course. It is a settled rule in law,
-that you must take as much land as is called for in the deed—therefore
-Long takes precedence of Short. May be, Short has a remedy in equity;
-but this court has nothing to do with that—so you have the _long_ and
-the _short_ of the matter.”
-
-“Judge,” cried out the ex-sheriff, “we must go to Richardson’s—you know
-it is my treat.”
-
-“The Pawnee—the eagle of his race,”—exclaimed Patterson, “the prophet
-of his tribe; he who is more than warrior—whose tongue is clothed with
-the Great Spirit’s thunder—who can speak with the eloquence of the
-spring air when it whispers amidst the leaves and makes the flowers open
-and give forth their sweets—he, the Charming Serpent, that hath a
-tongue forked with persuasion—he, even he, will go in to the white man,
-and invite him to come forth and taste the fire-water, and smoke the
-pipe of peace with the Pawnee. Then, if he comes not forth when the
-charming serpent takes him by the hand, and bids him, the Pawnees shall
-smoke him out like a fox, and his blazing habitation shall make night
-pale, and there shall be no resting place for his foot, and children and
-squaws shall whip him into the forest, and set the dogs upon his trail,
-and he shall be hunted from hill to hill, from river to river, from
-prairie to prairie, from forest to forest, till, like the frightened
-deer, he rushes, panting, into the great lakes, and the waters rise over
-him, and cover him from the Pawnees’ scorn.”
-
-This was received with acclamation. Mr. Patterson played the Indian so
-well, that he drew me one of the closest to him, in the charmed circle
-that surrounded him. His eye flashed, his lips quivered with fiery
-ardor, though at the mimic scene. I was so lost in admiration of him,
-that I placed myself beside him without knowing it. He saw the effect he
-had produced upon me, and was evidently gratified. Taking me by the
-hand, he said:
-
-“Warriors and braves, give unto me the brand, that the Charming Serpent
-may light the steps of the boy to the hiding-place of the pale-face. He
-shall listen to the eloquence of the Charming Serpent when he takes the
-white man by the hand—he shall learn how to move alike the heart of the
-pale-face and the red man.
-
-“Brothers—the Charming Serpent to-night,” said he, handing me the
-candle, and placing himself in an oratorial attitude, while every man
-lifted up his candle so that it shone full upon him,—“Brothers, the
-Charming Serpent to-night could speak unto the four winds that are now
-howling in the desolate Pawnee paths of the wilderness, and make them
-sink into a low moan, and sigh themselves to silence, were he to tell
-them of the many of his tribe who are now lying mangled, unburied, and
-cold, beneath the shadow of the rocky mountains—victims of the white
-man’s vengeance.
-
-“Brothers: O! that the Great Spirit would give the Charming Serpent his
-voice of thunder—then would he stand upon the highest peak of the
-Alleghanies, with the forked lightning in his red right hand, and tell a
-listening and heart-struck world the wrong of his race. And, when all of
-every tribe of every people had come crouching in the valleys, and had
-filled up the gorges of the hills, then would the Charming Serpent hurl
-vengeance on the oppressor. But come,” said he, taking the candle in one
-hand, and myself by the other, “the Pawnee talks like a squaw. The
-Charming Serpent will speak with the pale-face, and lead him forth from
-his wigwam to the great council fire.”
-
-Accordingly, the Charming Serpent took me by the hand, and led me up the
-stairs. His steps were steady, and it was evident that his libations had
-excited his brain, and, instead of weakening him, given him strength.
-
-“What’s your name?” said he to me kindly.
-
-“William Russel, sir.”
-
-“Do you know me, my little fellow?”
-
-“Yes, sir, you’re Mr. Patterson, the great lawyer.”
-
-“Ah, ah! they call me a great lawyer, do they! What else do they say?”
-
-“That you’re the greatest orator in the country,” I replied—for what I
-had drank made me bold too.
-
-“They do—I know they do, my little fellow—I believe, in fact, that I
-could have stood up in the Areopagus of old, in favor of human rights,
-and faced the best of them. Yes, sir, I too could have ‘fulmined over
-Greece.’ But we are not Grecians now—we are Pawnees.”
-
-“Stop, stop, Mr. Pawnee,” called out some one from the crowd, “Short was
-to go, he is the tallest man.”
-
-“The tallest man,” re-echoed Mr. Patterson, speaking in his natural
-tone. “The judge, sir, has already decided that by just legal
-construction, Short is short, no matter how long he is; and, if he
-claims to be long, sir, I can just inform him that Lord Bacon says ‘that
-tall men are like tall houses, the upper story is the worst furnished.’”
-Here, every eye was turned on Short, and there was a shout of laughter.
-
-“If,” continued Mr. Patterson—and it was evident his potations were
-doing their work—“if it be true—I’ll just say this to you, sirs.
-Doctor Watts was a very small man; and, I repeat it for the benefit of
-all small men—
-
- ‘Had I the height to reach the pole
- Or meet the ocean with my span,
- I would be measured by my soul—
- The mind’s the standard of the man.’
-
-“There, gentlemen of the jury; if that be true, I opine that the tallest
-man in the crowd is now addressing you. But, I forget. I am a Pawnee.
-
-“Brothers: The tall grass of the prairies is swept by the fire, while
-the flint endureth the hot flames of the stake. The loftiest trees of
-the forest snap like a reed in the whirlwind, and the bird that builds
-there leaves her eggs unhatched. The highest peak of the mountain is
-always the bleakest and barest—in the valley are the sweet waters and
-the pleasant. Damn it,” said he, speaking in his proper person, for he
-began to forget his personation, “why do we value the gem—
-
- ‘Ask why God made the gem so small,
- And why so huge the granite?
- Because he meant mankind should set
- The higher value on it.’
-
-“That’s Burns—an illustrious name, gentlemen. When I was minister
-abroad, I stood beside the peasant poet’s grave, and thanked God that he
-had given me the faculties to appreciate him. Suppose that he had been
-born in this land of ours, sirs; all we who think ourselves lights in
-law and statesmanship, would have seen our stars paled—paled, sirs, as
-the fire of the prairie grows dim, when the eye of the Great Spirit
-looks forth from the eastern gates—damn it, that’s Ossian and not
-Pawnee—upon it in its fierceness.
-
- ‘Thou, the bright eye of the universe,
- That openest over all, and unto all
- Art a delight—thou shinest not on my soul.’
-
-“That’s Byron—I knew him well—handsome fellow. ‘Thou shinest not on my
-soul’—no, but thou shinest on the prairie.”
-
-“The usher—Dogberry—let’s have Dogberry,” called out several of the
-students.
-
-“Ha!” exclaimed Mr. Patterson; “Dogberry, ha! He’s Goldsmith’s village
-teacher, that caused the wonder
-
- ‘That one small head could carry all he knew.’
-
-Dogberry—Dogberry—but that sounds Shakspearian. ‘Reading and writing
-comes by Nature.’ That’s certainly not his sentiments; were they, he
-should throw away the usher’s rod and betake himself to something else;
-for if these things come by nature, then is Dogberry’s occupation gone.
-Yes, he had better betake himself to the constableship. Come, my little
-friend—come, son of the Pawnee, and we will arouse the pale face.”
-
-Stepping by the side of Mr. Patterson, we ascended to the little
-platform in front of Dogberry’s door, at which we rapped three times
-distinctly. “Who’s there?” cried out a voice from within. Dogberry must
-of course have been awake for at least half an hour.
-
-“Pale face,” said the Pawnee chief, “thou hast not followed the example
-of the great chief of the pale faces; the string of thy latch is pulled
-in. Upon my word, this is certainly the attic story,” he continued in a
-low voice.
-
-“I am not very well to-night, gentlemen, unless your business is
-pressing.”
-
-“Pressing! Pale face, the Pawnees have lit their council fire, and
-invite thee to drink with them the fire-water and smoke the pipe of
-peace.”
-
-“Thank you, gentlemen, I never drink,” responded Dogberry, in an
-impatient tone.
-
-“Never drink! Pale face, thou liest! Who made the fire-water, and gave
-it to my people, but thee and thine? Lo! before it, though they once
-covered the land, they have melted away like snow beneath the sun.”
-
-“I belong to the temperance society,” cried out Dogberry from within.
-
-“Dogberry,” exclaimed Patterson—whose patience, like that of the crowd
-below, who were calling for the usher as if they were at a town meeting,
-and expected him to speak, was becoming exhausted—“Dogberry, compel me
-not, as your great namesake would say, to commit either ‘perjury’ or
-‘burglary,’ and break your door open. You remember in Marmion, Dogberry,
-that the chief, speaking of the insult which had been put upon him,
-said,
-
- ‘I’ll right such wrongs where’er they’re given,
- Though in the very court of Heaven.’
-
-Now I will not say that I would make you drink wherever the old chief
-would ‘right his wrongs,’ but this I will say, that wherever I, Burbage
-Patterson, get drunk, I think you can come forth and take a stirrup cup
-with him; he leaves for the Supreme Court to-morrow.”
-
-“Mr. Patterson,” said Dogberry, coming towards the door, “your character
-can stand it—it can stand anything—mine can’t.”
-
-“There’s truth in that,” said Mr. Patterson aside to me. “Gentlemen, let
-us leave the pedagogue to his reflections; and now it occurs to me that
-we had better not uncage him, for, boys, he would be a witness against
-you; more, witness, judge, jury and executioner—by the by, clear
-against law. Were I in your place, I would appeal, and for every stripe
-he gives you, should the judgment be reversed, do you give him two.”
-
-Here a sprightly fellow, one of the scholars, named Morris, from Long
-Green, ran up the steps and said to Mr. Patterson,
-
-“Do, sir, have him out, for if we get him into the frolic too, we are as
-safe, sir, as if we were all in our beds. He has seen us all through
-some infernal crack or other.”
-
-“Ah,” exclaimed Mr. Patterson, in a low tone to Morris, “he has been
-playing Cowper, has he—looking from the loopholes of retreat, seeing
-the Babel and not feeling the stir?”
-
-“Yes sir, but he’ll make a stir about it to-morrow.”
-
-“He shall come forth, then,” said Mr. Patterson; “Dogberry, open the
-door; they speak of removing Sears, and why don’t you come forth and
-greet your friends? We have an idea of getting the appointment for you.”
-
-This flattery took instant effect, for we heard Dogberry bustling to the
-door, and in a moment it was opened about half way, and the usher put
-his head out, and said, but with the evident wish that his invitation
-would be refused, “Will you come in sir? Why, William Russell!” to me,
-in surprise.
-
-“Pale face, this is a youthful brave, whom I want the pale face to teach
-the arts of his race. Behold! I am the Charming Serpent. Come forth and
-taste of the fire-water.”
-
-As Mr. Patterson spoke, he took Dogberry by the hand, and pulled him on
-to the platform. The usher was greeted with loud acclamations and
-laughter by the crowd. He, however, did not relish it, and was
-frightened out of his wits. He really looked the personification of a
-caricature. His head was covered with an old flannel nightcap,
-notwithstanding it was warm weather, and his trousers were held up by
-his hips, while his suspenders dangled about his knees. On his right leg
-he had an old boot, and on his left foot an old shoe, and was without
-coat or vest. As Mr. Patterson held up the light, so that the crowd
-below could see him, there was such a yelling as had not been heard on
-the spot since those whose characters the crowd were assuming had left
-it.
-
-Dogberry hastily withdrew into his room, but followed by Mr. Patterson
-and myself, each bearing a light. When we entered, the crowd rushed up
-the steps.
-
-“For God’s sake, sir, for the sake of my character and situation, don’t
-let them come in here.”
-
-“They shall not, if you will promise to drink with me. Pale face, speak,
-will you drink with the Pawnee?”
-
-“Yes sir,” said Dogberry, faintly.
-
-The Charming Serpent here went to the door, and said,
-
-“Brothers, the Charming Serpent would hold a private talk with the chief
-of the pale faces. Ere long, he will be with you. Let the Big Bull (one
-of the lawyers was named Bull, and he was very humorous,) pass round the
-fire-water and the calumet, and by that time the Charming Serpent will
-come forth. Brothers, give unto the Charming Serpent some of the
-fire-water, that he may work his spells.”
-
-A dozen handed up bottles of different wines and liquors. The Charming
-Serpent gave Dogberry the candles to hold, took a bottle of Champaigne,
-and handed me another. Then shutting the door, he said,
-
-“This is the fire-water that hath no evil in it. It courses through the
-veins like a silvery lake through the prairie, where the wild grass
-waves green and placid, and it makes the heart merry like the merriment
-of birds in the spring-time, and not with the fierce fires of the dark
-lake, like the strong fire-water, that glows red as the living coal.
-Brothers, we will drink.”
-
-Dogberry’s apartment was indeed an humble one. Only in the centre of it
-could you stand upright. Over our heads were the rafters and bare
-shingles, formed exactly in the shape of the capital letter A inverted,
-or rather V. Opposite the door was a little window of four panes of
-glass, and under it, or rather beside it, in the corner, was a little
-bedstead, with a straw mattrass upon it. A small table, with a tumbler
-and broken pitcher, and candle in a tin candlestick on it, stood
-opposite the bed. A board, nailed across from rafter to rafter, held a
-few books, and beside it, on nails, were several articles of clothing.
-There were besides in the apartment two chairs, and a wooden chest in
-the corner, by the door.
-
-“Come, drink, my old boy,” exclaimed Patterson.
-
-“Thank you, Mr. Patterson, your character can stand it, I tell you, but
-mine can’t.”
-
-“Friend of my soul, this goblet sip,” reiterated Patterson, offering
-Dogberry the glass.
-
-“Thank you, Mr. Patterson, I would not choose any,” said he.
-
-“You can’t but choose, Dogberry; there is no alternative. Do you
-remember what the poet beautifully says of the Roman daughter, who
-sustained her imprisoned father from her own breast?—
-
- ‘Drink, drink and live, old man; Heaven’s realm holds no such tide.’
-
-Do you remember it? I bid you drink, then, and I say to you, Hebe nor
-Ganymede ever offered to the immortals purer wine than that. Drink!
-here’s to you, Dogberry, and to your speedy promotion,” and Mr.
-Patterson swallowed every drop in the glass, and re-filling it, handed
-it to the usher.
-
-Without much hesitation, he drank it. He now filled me up a glass nearly
-full, and I followed the example of my preceptor, he the while looking
-at me with astonishment.
-
-“How do you like the letter, Mr. Dogberry?” asked Mr. Patterson of the
-pedagogue.
-
-“What letter, sir? Mr. Patterson, I must say this is a strange
-proceeding. I don’t know, sir, to what you allude.”
-
-“Don’t know to what I allude! Why, the letter wishing to know if you
-would take the academy at the same price at which Sears now holds it.”
-
-“Sir, I have received no such letter. I certainly, sir, would, if it was
-thought that I was—”
-
-“Was competent. Merit is always modest; you’re the most competent of the
-two, sir—take some.”
-
-So saying, Mr. Patterson filled up the tumbler, and Dogberry swallowed
-the compliment and the wine together, and fixed his eye on the rafters
-with an exulting look. While he was so gazing, the lawyer filled his
-glass, and observed, “Come, drink, and let me open this other bottle; I
-want a glass myself.” Down went the wine, and, with a smack of his lips,
-Dogberry handed the glass to Mr. Patterson.
-
-“Capital, ain’t it, eh?”
-
-“Capital,” re-echoed Dogberry. The wine and his supposed honors had
-aroused the brain of the pedagogue in a manner which seemed to awake him
-to a new existence. While Mr. Patterson was striking the top from the
-other bottle, Dogberry handed me the candle which he held—the other he
-had put in his candlestick, taking out his own when he first drank—and
-lifting the tumbler, he stood ready.
-
-Again he quaffed a bumper. The effect of his potations on him was
-electrical. He had a long face, with a snipe-like nose, which was
-subjected to a nervous twitching whenever its owner was excited. It now
-danced about, seemingly, all over his face, while his naturally
-cadaverous countenance, under the excitement, turned to a glowing red,
-and his small ferret eyes looked both dignified and dancing, merry and
-important. “So,” exclaimed he, “I am to be principal of the academy; ha,
-ha, ha! oh, Lord! William Russell, I would reprove you on the spot, but
-that you are in such distinguished company.”
-
-Whether Dogberry meant only Mr. Patterson, or included himself, I do not
-know, but as he spoke he arose, and paced his humble apartment with a
-proud tread, forgetting what a figure he cut, with his suspenders
-dangling about his knees and his nightcap on, and forgetting also that
-his attic was not high enough to admit his head to be carried at its
-present altitude. The consequence was that he struck it against one of
-the rafters, with a violence that threatened injury to the rafter, if
-not to the head. He stooped down to rub the affected part, when Mr.
-Patterson said to him,
-
-“‘Pro-di-gi-ous,’ as Dominie Sampson, one of you, said, ain’t it? Come,
-we’ll finish this bottle, and then go forth. The scholars are all
-rejoiced at your promotion, and are all assembled without to do you
-honor. They have made complete saturnalia of it. They marvel now why you
-treat them with so much reserve.”
-
-“Gad, I’ll do it,” exclaimed Dogberry, taking the tumbler and swallowing
-the contents.
-
-“Just put your blanket around you,” said Patterson to him. “Let your
-nightcap remain; it becomes you.”
-
-“No, it don’t indeed, though, eh?”
-
-“It does, ’pon honor. That’s it. Now, pale face, come forth; the
-eloquence of the Charming Serpent has prevailed.”
-
-So speaking, Mr. Patterson opened the door, and we stepped on to the
-platform.
-
-The scene without was grotesque in the extreme. In front of us, I
-suppose to the number of an hundred persons, were the frolickers,
-composed of lawyers, students and town’s-people, all seated in a circle,
-while Mr. Patterson’s client from the West, dressed in costume, was
-giving the Pawnee war dance. This client was a rough uneducated man, but
-full of originality and whim. Mr. Patterson had gained a suit for him,
-in which the title to an estate in the neighborhood was involved, worth
-upwards of sixty thousand dollars. The whole bar had believed that the
-suit could not be sustained by Patterson, but his luminous mind had
-detected the clue through the labyrinths of litigation, where they saw
-nothing but confusion and defeat. His client was overjoyed at the
-result, as every one had croaked defeat to him. He gave Mr. Patterson
-fifteen thousand dollars, five more than he had promised, and besides
-had made him a present of the splendid Indian dress in which, as a bit
-of fun, before the frolic commenced, he had decked himself, under the
-supervision of his client, who acted as his costumer, and afterwards
-dressed himself in the same way. The client had a great many Indian
-dresses with him, which he had collected with great care, and on this
-occasion he threw open his trunks, and supplied nearly the whole bar.
-
-The name of Mr. Patterson’s client was Blackwood, and the admiration
-which he excited seemed to give him no little pleasure. Most of the
-lawyers in the circle had something Indian on them, while the boys, who
-could not appear in costume, and were determined to appear wild, had
-turned their jackets wrong side out, and swapped with each other, the
-big ones with the little, so that one wore his neighbor’s jacket, the
-waist of which came up under his arms, and exhibited the back of his
-vest, while the other wore a coat the hip buttons of which were at his
-knees.
-
-On the outskirts of this motley assembly could be seen, here and there,
-a negro, who might be said at once to contribute to the darkness that
-surrounded the scene and to reflect light upon it, for their black skins
-were as ebon as night, while their broad grins certainly had something
-luminous about them, as their white teeth shone forth.
-
-We stood about a minute admiring the dance, when it was concluded, and
-some one espied us, and pointed us out to the rest. We, or rather I
-should say Dogberry, was greeted with three times three. I have never
-seen, for the size of the assembly, such an uproarious outbreak of
-bacchanalian merriment. After the cheers were given, many of the boys
-threw themselves on the grass and rolled over and over, shouting as they
-rolled. Others jerked their fellows’ hats off, and hurled them in air.
-Prettyman stood with his arms folded, as if he did not know what to make
-of it, and then deliberately spreading his blanket on the ground, as
-deliberately took a seat in the centre of it, as if determined to
-maintain the full possession of his faculties, and, like an amateur at a
-play, enjoy the scene. Morris held his sides, stooped down his head, and
-glanced sideways cunningly at Dogberry, throwing his head back every now
-and then with a sudden jerk, while loud explosive bursts of laughter,
-from his very heart, echoed through the village above every other sound.
-
-“A speech from Dogberry!” exclaimed Prettyman.
-
-“Ay, a speech!” shouted Morris, “a speech!”
-
-“No, gentlemen, not now,” exclaimed Richardson, the proprietor of one of
-the hotels; “I sent down to my house an hour ago, and have had a
-collation served. Mr. Patterson, and gentlemen and students all, I
-invite you to partake with me.”
-
-“Silence!” called out Mr. Patterson. All were silent. “Students of the
-Belle Air Academy and citizens generally, I have the honor to announce
-to you that my friend, Mr. Dogberry, is about to supersede Mr. Sears. We
-must form a procession and place him in our midst, the post of honor,
-and then to mine host’s.” So speaking, Mr. Patterson descended, followed
-by Dogberry and myself. The students gave their candles to the negroes
-to hold, joined their hands, and danced round Dogberry with the wildest
-glee, while he received it all in drunken dignity.
-
-When I have seen since, in Chapman’s floating theatre, or in a barn or
-shed, some lubberly, drunken son of the sock and buskin enact Macbeth,
-with the witches about him, I have recalled this scene, and thought that
-the boys looked like the witches and Dogberry like the Thane, when the
-witches greet him:
-
- ‘All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!’
-
-The procession was at length formed. Surrounded by the boys, who rent
-the air with shouts, with his nightcap on his head and his blanket
-around him, with one boot and one shoe, Dogberry, following immediately
-after the judges, proceeded with them to Richardson’s hotel. Whenever
-there was the silence of a minute or two, some boy or other would ask
-Dogberry not to remember on the morrow that he saw them out that night.
-
-“No, boys, no, certainly not; this thing, I understand, is done in honor
-of me. I shan’t take Sears in even as an assistant. Boys, he has not
-used me well.”
-
-We arrived at Richardson’s as well as we could, having business on both
-sides of the street. His dining-room was a very large one, and he had a
-very fine collation set out, with plenty of wines and other liquors.
-Judge Willard took the head of the table and Judge Nolan the foot.
-Dogberry was to the right of Judge Willard and Mr. Patterson to the
-left. He made me sit beside him. The eating was soon despatched, and it
-silenced us all a little, while it laid the groundwork for standing
-another supply of wine, which was soon sparkling in our glasses, and we
-were now all more excited than ever. It was amusing to see the merry
-faces of my schoolmates twinkling about among the crowd, trying to catch
-and comprehend whatever was said by the lawyers, particularly those that
-were distinguished.
-
-Songs were sung, sentiments given, and Indian talks held by the
-quantity. Dogberry looked the while first at the boys and then at the
-lawyers and then at himself, not knowing whether or not the scene before
-him was a reality or a dream. The great respect which the boys showed
-him, and Patterson’s making an occasional remark to him, seemed at last
-not only fully to impress him with the reality, but also with a full, if
-not a sober conviction of his own importance.
-
-“A song!—a song!” was shouted by a dozen of the larger students; “a
-song from Morris. Give us ‘Down with the pedagogue Sears.’ Hurrah for
-old Dogberry—Dogberry forever.”
-
-“No,” cried out others, “a speech from Mr. Patterson—no, from the
-Pawnee. You’re fineable for not speaking in character.”
-
-Here Prettyman took Mr. Patterson courteously by the hand, and said
-something to him in a whisper.
-
-“Ah ha!” exclaimed Mr. Patterson, “so shall it be; I like Morris. Come,
-my good fellow, sing us the song you wrote; come, Dogberry’s star is now
-in the ascendant. ‘Down with the pedagogue Sears’—let’s have it.”
-
-Nothing loth, Morris was placed on the table, while the students
-gathered round him, ready to join the chorus. Taking a preparatory glass
-of wine, while Mr. Patterson rapped on the table by way of commanding
-silence, Morris placed himself in an attitude and sang the following
-song, which he had written on some rebellious occasion or other:
-
- SONG.
-
- You may talk of the study of imperial power,
- And tell how their subjects must fawn, cringe and cower,
- And offer the incense of tears;
- But I tell you at once, that there’s none can compare
- With the tyrant that rules o’er the lads of Belle Air,
- So down with the pedagogue Sears.
- (Chorus,) Down, down,
- Down with the pedagogue Sears.
-
- The serf has his Sunday—the negroes tell o’er
- Their Christmas, the Fourth, aye, and many days more,
- When they feel themselves any man’s peers;
- But we’re tasked night and day by the line and the rule,
- And Sunday’s no Sunday, for there’s Sunday school,
- So down with the pedagogue Sears.
- (Chorus,) Down, down, &c.
-
- So here’s to the lad who can talk to his lass,
- And here’s to the lad who can take down his glass,
- And is only a lad in his years:
- Who can stand up and act a bold part like a man,
- And do just whatever another man can,
- So down with the pedagogue Sears.
- (Chorus,) Down, down,
- Down with the pedagogue Sears—
-
-“Hip, hip, hurrah—once more,” shouted Morris. “Now then”—
-
- Down, down,
- So down with the pedagogue Sears.
-
-While the whole room was in uproarious chorusing, who should enter but
-Sears himself. He looked round with stern dignity and surprise, at first
-uncertain on whom to fix his indignation, when his eye lit on Dogberry,
-who, the most elated and inebriated of all, was flourishing his nightcap
-over his head, and shouting, at the top of his voice,
-
- “Down with the pedagogue Sears.”
-
-As soon as Sears caught a view of Dogberry, he advanced towards him, as
-if determined to inflict personal chastisement on the usher. At first
-Dogberry prepared again to vociferate the chorus, but when he caught the
-eye of Sears, his voice failed him, and he moved hastily towards Mr.
-Patterson, who slapped him on the shoulder, and cried out,
-
-“Dogberry, be true to yourself.”
-
-“I am true to myself. Yes, my old boy, old Sears, you’re no longer head
-devil at Belle Air Academy. You’re no devil at all, or if you are, old
-boy, you’re a poor devil, and be d—d to you.”
-
-“You’re a drunken outcast, sir,” exclaimed Sears. “Never let me see your
-face again; I dismiss you from my service,” and so speaking, he took a
-note book from his pocket, and began hastily to take down the names of
-the students. The Big Bull saw this, and caught it from his hand.
-
-“Sir, sir,” exclaimed Sears, enraged, “my vocation, and not any respect
-I bear you, prevents my infliction of personal chastisement upon you.
-Boys, young gentlemen, leave instantly for your respective boarding
-houses.”
-
-During this, Patterson was clapping Dogberry on the shoulder, evidently
-endeavoring to inspire him with courage.
-
-“Tell him yourself,” I overheard Dogberry say.
-
-“No, no,” replied Patterson, “it is your place.”
-
-“Well, then, I’ll tell you at once, Sears, you’re no longer principal of
-this academy; you’re dished. Mr. Patterson, sir, will tell you so.”
-
-“Mr. Patterson!” exclaimed Sears, now for the first time recognizing, in
-the semblance of the Indian chief, the distinguished lawyer and
-statesman. “Sir, I am more than astonished.”
-
-“Sir,” rejoined Patterson, drawing himself up with dignity, “I am a
-Pawnee brave; more, a red man eloquent or a pale face eloquent, as it
-pleases me; but, sir, under all circumstances, I respect your craft and
-calling. What more dignified than such? A poor, unfriended boy, I was
-taken by the hand by an humble teacher of a country school, and here I
-stand, let me say sir, high in the councils of a great people. Peace to
-old Playfair’s ashes. The old philosopher, like Porson, loved his cups,
-and, like Parr, loved his pipe; but, sir, he was a ripe scholar and a
-noble spirit, and I have so said, sir, in the humble monument which I am
-proud, sir, I was enabled, through the education he gave me, to build
-over him.
-
- ‘After life’s fitful fever, he sleeps well.’
-
-Yes, as some one says, he was ‘my friend before I had flatterers.’ How
-proud he was of me! I remember well catching his eye in making my first
-speech, and the approving nod he gave me had more gratification to me
-than the approbation of bench, bar and audience. Glorious old Playfair!
-Mr. Sears, you were his pupil too. Many a time have I heard him speak of
-you; he said, of all his pupils, you were the one to wear his mantle.
-And, sir, that was the highest compliment he could pay you—the highest,
-Mr. Speaker, for he esteemed himself of the class of the philosophers,
-the teachers of youth. Sir, Mr. Sears, I propose to you that in
-testimony of our life-long respect for him, we drink to his memory.”
-
-This was said so eloquently, and withal so naturally, that Sears,
-forgetful of his whereabouts, took the glass which Mr. Patterson offered
-him, and drank its contents reverently to the memory of his old teacher.
-
-“Sir,” resumed Patterson, “how glorious is your vocation! But tell me,
-do you subscribe to the sentiment of Don Juan?—
-
- ‘Oh ye! who teach the ingenuous youth of nations,
- Holland, France, England, Germany or Spain,
- I pray ye flog them upon all occasions—
- It mends their morals—never mind the pain.’”
-
-The appropriate quotation caused a thrill to run through the assembled
-students, while they cast ominous looks at each other. For the life of
-him, Sears could not resist a smile.
-
-At this Mr. Patterson glanced at us with a quiet meaning, and turning to
-Mr. Sears, he continued: “The elder Adams taught school—he whose
-eloquence Jefferson has so loudly lauded—the man who was for liberty or
-death, and so expressed himself in that beautiful letter to his wife. Do
-you not remember that passage, sir, where he speaks of the Fourth being
-greeted thereafter with bonfires and illuminations? His son, Johnny Q.,
-taught school. My dark-eyed friend Webster, who is now figuring so
-gloriously in the halls of Congress and in the Supreme Court, taught
-school. Judge Rowan, of Kentucky, a master spirit too, taught school.
-Who was that
-
- ‘Who passed the flaming bounds of time and space,
- The living throne, the sapphire blaze,
- Where angels tremble as they gaze:
- Who saw, but, blasted with excess of light,
- Closed his eyes in endless night’—
-
-Who was he? Milton, the glorious, the sublime—who, in his aspirations
-for human liberty, prayed to that great spirit who, as he himself says,
-“sends forth the fire from his altar to touch and purify the lips of
-whom he pleaseth”—Milton, the schoolmaster.
-
- ‘If fallen in evil days on evil tongues,
- Milton appealed to the avenger, Time:
- If Time, the avenger, execrates his wrongs,
- And if the word ‘Miltonic’ mean ‘sublime,’
- He deigned not to belie his soul in songs,
- Nor turn his very talent to a crime;
- He did not loathe the sire to laud the son,
- But closed the tyrant-hater he begun.
-
- ‘Thinkest thou, could he—the blind old man—arise,
- Like Samuel, from the grave, to freeze once more
- The blood of monarchs with his prophecies,
- Or be alive again—again, all hoar
- With time and trials, and those helpless eyes
- And heartless daughters, worn, and pale, and poor—’
-
-Would he not be proud of his vocation, when he reflected how many great
-spirits had followed his example? The schoolmaster is indeed abroad. Mr.
-Sears, let us drink the health of the blind old man eloquent.”
-
-“Thank you, thank you, Mr. Patterson, but before my scholars, under the
-circumstances, it would be setting a bad example, when existing
-circumstances prove they need a good one. Sir, it was thought that I
-should not return from Baltimore until to-morrow, and this advantage has
-been taken of my absence. But, Mr. Patterson, when such distinguished
-gentlemen as yourself set the example, I know not what to say.”
-
-“Forgive them, sir, forgive them,” said Patterson, in his blandest tone.
-
-“Let them repair to their homes, then, instantly. Mr. Patterson, your
-eloquent conversation had made me forget myself; I don’t wonder they
-should have forgotten themselves. Let them depart.”
-
-“There, boys,” exclaimed Mr. Patterson, “I have a greater opinion of my
-oratorical powers than ever. Be ye all dismissed until I again appear as
-a Pawnee brave, which I fear will be a long time, for ’tis not every day
-that such men as my western client are picked up. But, Mr. Sears, what
-do you say about Dogberry? He must be where he was; to-morrow must but
-type yesterday. Dogberry, how is Verges?”
-
-“I don’t know him,” said Dogberry, doggedly.
-
-“Why, sir, he is the associate of your namesake in Shakspeare’s immortal
-page. Let this play to-night, Mr. Sears, be like that in which
-Dogberry’s namesake appeared—let it be ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’”
-
-Sears smiled, and nodded his head approvingly.
-
-“Then be the court adjourned,” exclaimed Mr. Patterson. “Dogberry, you
-and my friend Sears are still together, and you must remember in the
-premises what your namesake said to Verges, ‘An’ two men ride of a
-horse, one man must ride behind.’”
-
-Giving three cheers for Mr. Patterson, we boys departed, and the next
-day found us betimes in the academy, where mum was the word between all
-parties.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE WITHERED ROSE.
-
-
- BY ALEX. A. IRVINE.
-
-
- Thou pale withered flower, oh! once thou wert fair,
- But now ev’ry leaf has been nipped by a blight—
- Dost thou pine for the bosom, its fragrance to share,
- Whence I won thee, sweet nestler, at parting one night?
-
- How beauteous thy head, as it modestly stoop’d
- Its blushes to hide in her bosom of snow—
- How sweetly above thee her fair tresses droop’d—
- How pure was the heart beating stilly below!
-
- Oh! sweet was her smile as the first blush of Eve,
- And soft was her voice as the low summer wind,
- When she gave thee away, half reluctant to leave,
- Like an angel from heaven sent down to mankind.
-
- I have cherished thee since as if never to part,
- Thou remindest me so of that fair girl away;—
- But, ah! can I banish the blight from thy heart,
- Or save thee from withering day after day?
-
- And thus, oh! how often, the ones we love best,
- Drop away from our sides like the roses in June—
- But why should we weep? since they pass to their rest,
- And if parted awhile, we shall follow them soon.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE REEFER OF ’76.
-
-
- BY THE AUTHOR OF “CRUISING IN THE LAST WAR.”
-
-
- CUTTING OUT.
-
-We had now been several months at sea, and, although our stores had been
-more than once replenished from the prizes we had taken, our provisions
-began to grow scarce. The skipper accordingly announced his intention of
-going into port. We bore up, therefore, for Charleston, that being the
-most convenient harbor.
-
-My emotions on approaching the place where Beatrice resided, I shall not
-attempt to describe. A full year had passed since we had parted, and in
-all that time I had heard of her but once. Might she not now be married
-to another? The proverbial fickleness of her sex; the known opposition
-of her family to my suit; her uncertainty whether I still continued to
-care for her, or whether even I was yet alive; and a thousand other
-reasons why she might be unfaithful to me, rose up before me to torture
-me with doubts. But most of all, I reflected on our different situations
-in society. She was rich, courted, allied to rank—I was poor, unknown,
-and a rebel officer. Many a night as I lay in my solitary hammock, or
-trod my silent watch on deck, the fear that I might find Beatrice the
-wife of another, filled my soul with agony. And yet could I doubt her
-faith?
-
-At length we entered Charleston harbor, and with a gentle breeze floated
-up towards the town. It was a moonless night, but the sky above was
-spangled with a thousand stars, and the low outline of the city before
-us glittered with myriads of lamps. The wind just ruffled the glassy
-surface of the bay, fanning us, as it swept by, with a delicious
-coolness. Here and there, on either shore, a light from a solitary house
-flickered through the darkness, while occasionally a sheet of summer
-lightning would play along the western firmament, where a low belt of
-clouds skirted the horizon, and hung like a veil above the city.
-Everything reminded me of the night when I had sailed up this same
-harbor with Beatrice. What had I not witnessed since then! The
-shipwreck, the battle, the hurricane, fire and sword, danger in every
-shape, almost death itself—I had endured them all. During that period
-where had been Beatrice? A few hours would determine.
-
-With a beating heart, the next morning I sought the residence of
-Beatrice’s uncle. How my brain swam and my knees tottered when I came in
-sight of the mansion which contained the form of her whom I loved! I had
-understood that the family, except one or two of the ladies of it, was
-out of town, and I burned with impatience to ascertain whether Beatrice
-was among the absentees. Yet my heart failed me when I came in sight of
-the residence of her uncle. I recollected the terms on which I had
-parted with Mr. Rochester, and I scarcely thought myself allowable in
-intruding on his hospitality in any shape. But, then, how else could I
-obtain an interview with Beatrice? Again and again I approached the
-door, and again and again I changed my mind and retired; but at length
-remembering that my conduct was attracting attention, and unable longer
-to endure my suspense, I advanced boldly to the portal, and knocked at
-the hall door. It was answered by a strange porter. With a fluttering
-heart I inquired for Miss Derwent. I felt relieved from a load of fear
-when informed that she was in town, and hastily thrusting my card into
-the man’s hand, I followed him eagerly into the drawing-room. He
-disappeared, and I was alone.
-
-Who can forget his emotions, when, after a long separation from the
-object of his love, he finds himself under the same roof with his
-mistress, awaiting her appearance? How he pictures to himself the joy
-with which the announcement of his arrival, especially if unexpected,
-will be received! He fancies every look that will be exchanged and every
-word that will be said at the moment of meeting. As the moments elapse,
-he imagines, however short the time may be, that the appearance of his
-mistress is unavoidably delayed, and a hundred fears arise, vague,
-unfounded, and but half believed, that perhaps her affection has grown
-lukewarm. Each successive instant of suspense increases his doubts until
-they amount almost to agony; and as a light footfall—oh! how well
-remembered!—breaks upon his ear, he almost dreads to meet her whom but
-an hour before he would have given worlds to behold. So was it now with
-myself. As minute after minute elapsed, and still Beatrice did not
-appear, my fears amounted almost to madness; and when at length I heard
-her light tread approaching, my heart began to beat so violently that I
-thought I should have fainted. Anxious to resolve my doubts, by
-observing her demeanor before I should be seen myself, I sprang into the
-recess of a window. As I did so, the door opened and Beatrice entered
-hurriedly, looking, if possible, more beautiful than ever. Her cheek was
-flushed, her step was quick and eager, and her eyes shone with a joy
-that could not be affected. She advanced several steps into the room,
-when, perceiving no one, she gazed inquiringly around, with a look, I
-thought, of disappointment. I moved from the recess. She turned quickly
-around at the noise, blushed over brow, neck and bosom, and, with a
-faint cry of joy, sprang forward, and was locked the next instant in my
-arms.
-
-“Beatrice—my own, my beautiful!”
-
-“Harry—_dear_ Harry!” were our mutual exclamations, and then, locked in
-each other’s embrace, for a moment we forgot in our rapture to speak.
-
-At length we awoke from this trance of delight, and found leisure for
-rational conversation. Sitting side by side on the sofa, with our hands
-locked together, and our eyes looking as it were into each other’s
-souls, we recounted our mutual histories since our separation. With mine
-the reader is already acquainted. That of Beatrice was naturally less
-chequered, but yet it was not without interest.
-
-I have said that an alliance had been projected between Beatrice and her
-cousin, and that Mr. Rochester had placed his whole soul on the
-consummation of this project. The consciousness of my interest in the
-heart of Beatrice had induced their conduct towards myself, under the
-hope that if once separated from her, I would be eventually forgotten by
-Miss Derwent. Time, however, proved how false had been this hope.
-Instead of prospering in his suit from my absence, every day only seemed
-to make the success of her cousin more problematical. In vain her uncle
-persuaded; in vain he expostulated; in vain he lavished all his scorn on
-me as a beggar and a rebel—Beatrice continued unmoved; now defending me
-from every imputation, and now with tears giving up the contest,
-although unconvinced. The letter she received from me, by acquainting
-her with my projected cruise, prepared her for the long silence on my
-part which had ensued; and although reports, no doubt originating with
-her persecutors, were circulated respecting my arrival in port, and the
-disreputable life I was said to lead, she remained faithful to me amid
-it all. Oh! what is like woman’s love? Amid sorrow and joy; in sunshine
-or storm; whether distant or near; in every varied circumstance of life,
-it is the solace of our existence, the green spot amid the arid deserts
-of the world. Nothing can change it—nothing can dim its brightness.
-Even injury fails to break down the love of woman. You may neglect, you
-may abuse her, if you will; but still, with a devotion not of this
-earth, she clings to you, cheering you in distress, smiling on you in
-joy, and amply repaid if she only win in return one kind word, one look
-of approval. Thank God! that, fallen as we are, there is left to us that
-link of our diviner nature—the pure, deep, unchanging love of woman.
-
-With what joy did I hear that Beatrice was still mine, wholly mine, and
-how ardently did I press her to my bosom, invoking her again and again
-to repeat the blessed words which assured me of her love! Hours passed
-away as if they had been minutes. And when at length I rose to depart,
-and, imprinting another kiss on her but half averted lips, took my leave
-with a promise to return again the ensuing morning, my astonishment
-passed all bounds to learn that noon had long since passed, and that the
-evening was almost at hand.
-
-During the short time that we remained in port, I was daily with
-Beatrice, and when we parted she pledged herself to be mine at the end
-of another year, come what might. My heart, I will admit, reproached me
-afterwards for winning this promise from her, and inducing her to give
-up wealth and luxury for the bare comforts an officer’s pay could
-afford; and yet her love was such a priceless gem, and she looked up to
-me with such unreserved devotedness, that I could not regret a vow which
-ensured me the right to protect her from the cold tempests of the world.
-Besides, we were both young and full of hope, and I trusted some
-fortunate event might occur which would yet allow us to be united with
-the concurrence of her friends.
-
-“Uncle is suspected and watched by the colonial authorities,” said
-Beatrice, as we parted, “and I fear me that he is linked in with some of
-those who have designs against the state. I tremble to think what might
-be his fate if detected in any conspiracy to restore the king’s
-authority.”
-
-“Fear not, dearest,” I replied, “I will interest Col. Moultrie in his
-favor, and besides, your uncle must see the danger of any such attempt
-at present.”
-
-“And yet I have fearful forebodings.”
-
-“Cheer up, sweet one, he has nothing to dread. But now I must go. God
-bless you, Beatrice!” and I kissed her fervently.
-
-She murmured something half inaudibly, returned my parting embrace with
-a sigh, and, while a tear stood in her eye, waved a final adieu with her
-kerchief. In an hour the schooner had sailed.
-
-We had been at sea but a few days, having run down the Bahamas in that
-time, when we spoke a French merchantman, and obtained from him the
-intelligence that an English ship, with a valuable cargo and a large
-amount of specie, was then lying at the port of ——, in one of the
-smaller islands. She was well armed, however, and carried the crew of a
-letter of marque. But the skipper instantly determined on attempting her
-capture. Accordingly, we bore up for the island within an hour after we
-had spoken the merchantman, and having a favorable breeze to second our
-wishes, we made the low headlands of the place of our destination just
-as the sun sank behind them into the western ocean. Not wishing to be
-detected, we hauled off until evening, spending the intervening time in
-preparing for the adventure.
-
-The night was fortunately dark. There was no moon, and a thick veil of
-vapors overhead effectually shrouded the stars from sight. The seaboard
-was lined with dusky clouds; the ocean heaved in gentle undulations; and
-a light breeze murmured by, with a low soft music in its tone, like the
-whisper of a young girl to her lover. As the twilight deepened, the
-shadowy outlines of the distant land became more and more indistinct,
-until at length they were merged in the obscurity of the whole western
-firmament. No sound was heard over the vast expanse as we resumed our
-course, and silently stretched up towards the island.
-
-It was nearly midnight when we reached the mouth of the harbor. All
-within was still. The town lay along the edge of the water,
-distinguishable by its long line of flickering lamps; while a dark mass
-on the left of the harbor betrayed the position of the battery guarding
-the port. One or two small coasting vessels were moored at the quay,
-and, a few cables’ length out in the harbor, rode at anchor the
-merchantman. He was in part protected by the guns of the fort; but other
-means of defence had not been forgotten, for his nettings were triced
-up, and he swung at his anchor as if springs were on his cables. A
-solitary lantern hung at his mast-head, throwing a faint radiance around
-the otherwise shadowy ship. Not a sound arose from his decks.
-Occasionally a low murmur would float down from the far-off town, or the
-cry of a sentry at the fort would rise solemnly on the still night air;
-but except these faint sounds, at long intervals apart, a deep, unbroken
-silence buried the whole landscape in repose.
-
-“Pipe away the boats’ crews,” said the skipper, when, everything having
-been planned, we had steered our craft under the shadow of the huge
-cape, and now lay to in our quiet nook, hidden from observation.
-
-The boatswain issued his summons almost in a whisper, and the men
-answered with unusual promptness. In a few minutes the boats were
-manned, and we were waiting with muffled oars for the signal. We
-lingered only a moment to receive the last orders of the captain, when,
-with a whispered “give way,” the gallant fellows bent to the oars, and
-we shot from the schooner’s side. In a few moments she was lost in the
-gloom. I watched her through the gathering night, as spar after spar
-faded into the obscurity, until at length nothing could be seen of her
-exquisite proportions but a dark and shapeless mass of shadow; and at
-length, when I turned my eyes in her direction again, after having had
-my attention for a moment called away, even the slight outline of her
-form had disappeared, and nothing but the gloomy seaboard met my eye.
-
-The night was now so dark that we could scarcely see a fathom before us;
-but, guided by an old salt who had been brought up on the island, and
-knew the harbor as accurately as a scholar knows his horn book, we
-boldly kept on our course. As we swept around the headland, we perceived
-that the town, so lately alive with lights, was now buried in a profound
-darkness. The solitary lantern, however, still burned at the fore-peak
-of the Englishman, like a star hanging alone in the firmament, to guide
-us on our way. Every eye was fixed on it as we rapidly but noiselessly
-swept up towards the merchantman. The fort was buried in gloom. The
-other vessels in the harbor lay hidden in the palpable obscurity ahead.
-No sound was heard, no object was seen, as we moved on in our noiseless
-course. At length the huge hull of the merchantman began to be
-indistinctly visible upon our starboard bow, and, lying on our oars for
-a moment, we held a short, eager consultation on our future course. It
-was soon, however, terminated. As yet we had remained undiscovered, and
-as the slightest accident might betray us, not a moment was to be lost
-if we would surprise the foe. It had been arranged that I should dash
-into the larboard side of the Englishman, while the two other boats
-should attack him simultaneously on his starboard bow and quarter; and
-accordingly, as my companions sheered off, I gave a whispered order to
-my men to pull their best, and the next instant we were shooting with
-the rapidity of an arrow right on to the foe.
-
-The instant preceding the attack is always a thrilling one. You know not
-but that in a few minutes you may be in eternity, and as yet you are not
-carried away with that reckless enthusiasm which, in the heat of the
-contest, makes you insensible to every thing but the struggle. On the
-present occasion I felt as I had never felt before. The odds against us
-were fearful, for the ship was admirably defended, and we had every
-reason to believe that her crew outnumbered our own. As I looked around
-on my men, I saw more than one hardy veteran cast an uneasy glance at
-the foe. But it was no time now to pause. We had scarcely pulled a dozen
-strokes, and were yet some distance from the ship, when the sentry from
-her quarter cried out, “Boat ahoy!” and then perceiving that we still
-advanced, he fired his piece and gave the alarm. I saw the moment for
-action had come. Disguise was now useless. Instantaneously I forgot the
-feelings which had just been passing through my mind, and, like a
-war-horse starting at a trumpet, I sprang up in the stern sheets, and
-waving my sword aloft, shouted,
-
-“Give way, my lads—give way, and lay us aboard the rascals—with a
-will, boys—pull!”
-
-As if fired with an enthusiasm which nothing might resist, my gallant
-fellows sprang to their oars with renewed vigor at my words, until the
-oaken blades almost snapped beneath their brawny arms; and we were
-already within a few fathoms of the ship’s quarter when a volley from
-the merchantman hit the stroke-oarsman in front of me, and he fell dead
-across the thwart. The boat staggered in her course. I could hear our
-companions surging but a short distance behind, and I burned to be the
-first to mount the enemy’s deck.
-
-“On—on!” I shouted; “pull for your lives, my lads—pull, pull!”
-
-A thundering cheer burst from the brave veterans, as they bent with even
-redoubled power to their task, and with a few gigantic strokes sent us
-shooting upon the quarters of the foe. Waving my sword above my head, I
-sprang at once up the ship’s side, calling on my crew to follow me. They
-needed not the invocation. The boat had scarcely touched the vessel
-before every man, cutlass in hand, was clambering over the side of the
-foe; and in an instant, with one simultaneous spring, old and young,
-officer and men, we tumbled in upon the enemy. And like men they met us.
-It was no child’s play—that conflict! Fearfully outnumbering us,
-apprised of and ready for our onset, fighting on their own decks too,
-and knowing that succor was at hand from the fort even in case of
-defeat, the crew of the Englishman met our attack with an unbroken
-front, giving back blow for blow and shout for shout. Short, wild and
-terrific was the conflict. Conscious of the vicinity of the other boats,
-the enemy wished to overcome us before we could be succored; while we
-struggled as desperately to maintain our footing until aid should
-arrive. But our efforts were in vain. Pressing on to us in dense,
-overpowering numbers, and hemming us in on every quarter but that by
-which we had boarded the ship, they seemed determined to drive us into
-the ocean pell-mell, or slaughter us outright. No quarter was asked or
-given. Man after man fell around me in the vain attempt to maintain our
-footing. Already I had received two cutlass wounds myself. Our ranks
-were fearfully thinned. Yet still I cheered on my men, determined rather
-to die at bay than surrender or retreat. But all seemed in vain. Several
-men had already fallen before my arm, and the deck was slippery with the
-blood of friend and foe; yet the enemy did not appear to lessen in
-numbers. As fast as one man fell, another filled his place. Despair took
-possession of us. I saw nothing before us but a glorious death, and I
-determined that it should be one long after to be talked of by my
-countrymen. All this, however, had passed almost in a minute. Suddenly I
-heard a cheer on the starboard bow of the enemy, and as it rose clear
-and shrill over all the din of the conflict, I recognised the Fireflies
-clambering over the ship’s side in that direction.
-
-“Huzza! the day’s our own!” I shouted, in the revulsion of feeling.
-“Come on, my lads, and let us hew the scoundrels to the chine!” and,
-with another wild huzza, I dashed like a madman upon the cutlasses of
-the foe. My men followed me with the fury of a whirlwind. Wild,
-terrible, overpowering was that charge; fierce, desperate and relentless
-was the resistance. The scene that ensued eternity will not eradicate
-from my memory. Hand to hand and foot to foot we fought, each man
-striving with his opponent, conscious that life or death depended on the
-issue: while swords clashed, pistols exploded, shouts rent the air, and
-blood flowed on every hand as if it had been water. Now the foe yielded,
-and now we retired in turn. Swaying to and fro, striking around
-pell-mell, thrusting, parrying, hewing, wrestling in the death-grip, or
-hurling the fallen from our path, now clearing our way by main force,
-and now breaking the enemy’s front by a deceptive retreat, we succeeded
-at length in driving the foe back in a broken mass on their assailants
-from the bow. Then they rallied, and, with the fury of tigers at bay,
-returned to the charge. If ever men fought like demons, they did. As
-they grew more and more desperate, they fairly howled with rage. Their
-curses were terrific. God help me from ever witnessing such a sight
-again! I saw that it only needed another vigorous charge to complete
-their defeat, and rallying my little band around me once more, though
-every man of them was wounded, we dashed on to the foe, determined to
-cut our way through to our friends, or drive the enemy down the
-hatchway.
-
-“Once more, my boys, once more—huzza for liberty!—on!”
-
-“Come on, ye rebel knaves!” growled the leader of the British, and
-striking at me with his cutlass, to challenge me to single combat, he
-roared, “Take that, ye hell-hound.” One of my men sprang to my aid.
-
-“Back—back!” I shouted, “leave him to me.”
-
-“Ay, God’s curse be on you—” but his words were lost in the clash of
-the conflict. For a moment I thought he was more than my match, but his
-very rage overreached itself, and failing to guard himself sufficiently,
-he exposed his person, and the next instant my sword passed through his
-body. He fell backwards without a groan. His men saw him fall, and a
-score of weapons were pointed at me.
-
-“Down with him—hew him to the ground,” roared the British.
-
-“Hurrah for Parker!—beat back the villains!” thundered my own men, and
-the contest, which had paused during the combat between the fallen chief
-and myself, now raged with redoubled frenzy, the whole fury of the enemy
-being directed against myself. I remember shouts, curses, and groans,
-the clash of cutlasses and the roar of fire-arms, and then comes a faint
-memory of a sharp pain in my side, succeeded by a reeling in my brain,
-and a sensation of staggering, as if about to fall. After that all is
-blank.
-
-When I recovered my senses, I was lying on the quarter deck, while the
-cool night breeze swept deliciously over my fevered brow, and my ears
-were soothed with the gentle ripple of the waters as the ship moved on
-her course. A solitary star, struggling through a rent in the clouds
-overhead, shone calmly down on me. I turned uneasily around.
-
-“How are you, Parker?” said the voice of the lieutenant, approaching me.
-“We are nearing the schooner rapidly, when you’ll have your wound
-attended to—I bandaged it as well as I could.”
-
-“Thank you,” I said, faintly. “But have you really brought off the
-prize?”
-
-“Ay, ay,” said he, laughing, “we got off, although they hailed cannon
-balls around us like sugar-plums at a carnival in Rome. Never before did
-I run such a gauntlet. But the sleepy fellows did not get properly awake
-until we had made sail—had they opened their fire at once, they might
-have sent us to Davy Jones’ locker in a trice.”
-
-“And the enemy’s crew?”
-
-“All snug below hatches, every mother’s son of them. They fought like
-devils, and came within an ace of beating us. But, faith, yonder is the
-old schooner. Ship, ahoy!”
-
-We were soon aboard. My wound proved a serious, though not a dangerous
-one, and for several weeks I was confined to my hammock.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- A DAY AT NIAGARA.
-
-
- BY MRS. E. C. STEDMAN.
-
-
-“Well, here’s an evil of rail-road travelling that I never thought of
-before!” screamed a bright girl, with pouting, rosy lips and a dimpled
-chin, at the risque of spoiling as sweet a voice as ever warbled “Away
-with Melancholy,” on a May morning; addressing her words to our good
-cousin, who had taken upon himself the responsible charge of escorting a
-party of ladies, (among whom were the fair speaker, his sister, and my
-fortunate self,) to see the great ‘lion’ of this western world.
-
-“You say that we are within five miles of Niagara, yet I cannot hear its
-voice for the eternal gabble, gabble of this locomotive. Why, all my
-dreams have been associated with the geographic recollections of
-childhood, which invariably said, ‘The roar of the cataract may be heard
-distinctly at the distance of fifteen or twenty miles.’”
-
-“You forget,” replied her brother, “that it is when those wise
-assurances were written, which make the eyes of the school-girl stand
-out ‘as visibly as letters on a sign,’ that this rapid, noisy mode of
-travelling was unthought of: wait a little, my sweet sis., till we reach
-the point of our destination, and Niagara’s thundering bass will sound
-all the mightier, for bursting suddenly upon your ear.”
-
-While these remarks were passing, we were nearing the end of our
-journey; and on reaching the depot, our party was among the foremost to
-leave the puffing, snorting, “black poney” behind, as we turned our
-faces towards the hotel. But neither my fair cousin nor myself seemed
-_astounded_ at the noise of the cataract; much to the surprise of her
-brother. The truth was, that in this particular of _sound_ our “loud
-expectations” exceeded the reality; though it may as well be remembered
-here as elsewhere, that before leaving Niagara, our ears _were_ “filled
-with hearing,” no less than were our “eyes satisfied with seeing.” The
-sun was first hiding his face behind the golden curtain of a July
-evening, and tea already sending its grateful fragrance from the ample
-board, as we reached “The Cataract House;” so it was agreed that we
-should refresh ourselves with a dish of the green beverage, before
-sallying out for a peep at the Falls:—furthermore, that until then, no
-one of our party should approach a certain window which commanded a view
-of the rapids, upon the penalty of our good-natured cousin’s
-displeasure; and as we had one and all promised obedience to his wishes,
-each poised herself on the tip-toe of curiosity, long enough to swallow
-a boiling draught, at the expense of sore, though not _disabled_
-tongues, for some days thereafter. We were, however, too unmerciful to
-allow our gallant the comforts of his cigar after tea; but by sundry
-hints, in the form of bonnets and shawls, compelled his politeness to
-yield to our impatience for the evening ramble. Our footsteps were first
-directed to the bridge which extends over the boiling, angry rapids, to
-Goat Island. Even here, it would seem that as much of the awful, the
-sublime, and the beautiful, had met together, as human eyes could endure
-to look upon! As we leaned over the railing of the bridge, (holding on
-instinctively with convulsive grasp,) and surveyed the yawning
-whirlpools beneath, encompassed by the ever-restless foam, I, for one,
-thought I had never seen any thing terrific before! But from the
-imperfect view of the falls, which the gathering shades of twilight and
-the American side gave us that evening, my “first impressions” were
-those of bitter disappointment. “And is this the end of all my vast
-imaginings?” said I, in haste to myself, but breathed it not aloud; for,
-indeed, even then and there, the scene was grand and imposing: so I held
-my peace, resolving to await the morning beams, for its rainbow crown,
-and retire to my pillow _opinionless_, touching the glories of the grand
-cataract.
-
-The sun looked down upon us the next morning without the shadow of a
-cloud between, and preparations commenced at an early hour, for a day at
-Niagara. Much to our delight, we found a familiar party of ladies and
-gentlemen, at a sister hotel, who had arrived during the night, and
-would join us in the pleasures of the day. As it happened that the
-gentlemen of said party outnumbered the ladies, the _fair_
-responsibilities of our obliging cousin (who had performed the part of
-“beau-general” much to the credit of his gallantry) were _fairly_
-divided with the other beaux, and all things being arranged, each lady
-could boast of her own protector. I know of nothing that quickens the
-pleasing excitement of these excursions more than an unexpected recruit
-of acquaintances and friends. Never was there a gayer or happier little
-company than left the “Cataract House” that shadowless summer morning,
-to cross the green waters of Niagara river for the Canada side. Oh! how
-those bright faces come up before me now, as if among the vivid
-recollections of yesterday! There was the brilliant Mrs. —— with her
-raven curls, matchless form, and “dangerous eyes of jet,” ever and anon
-returning a dazzling smile for the involuntary gaze of admiration. And
-what coquette by _nature_ ever learned, until she had been the happy
-wife and mother _more_ than two years, to confine her favorable glances
-to _one_ beloved object. Albeit the beautiful Mrs. —— is “a jewel of a
-wife,” though I heard her adoring husband confess that very day, that
-she “caught” him “with her eyes!” There, too, in striking contrast, was
-the gentle wife of our happy cousin, with her hazel “eyes, like shaded
-water;” the carnation of modesty on her cheeks, and “the ornament of a
-meek and quiet spirit” beaming on her brow. And then the fair Miss ——,
-only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. ——, from New York, who were exposing,
-for the first time, their fragile flower of sixteen summers, whose
-delicate complexion, and lily hands, needed none to affirm that “the
-winds of heaven never visited her too roughly;” but whose chief
-attraction seemed in some way connected with the appellation of
-“heiress!” So no doubt thought a whiskered “fortune-hunter,” who, by
-dint of bows and smiles, had contrived to insinuate himself into the
-good graces of our party, and played the devoted to Miss ——, after the
-most approved fashion. To say nothing of the pretty sister of our
-cousin, with her tiny feet—“the lightest and gentlest that ever from
-the heath-flower brushed the dew!” Nor of the radiant and fascinating
-belle of ——, who had already commenced a flirtation with the rich
-southerner, who was her chosen _knight_ for the day. Nor of other
-laughing eyes and mirth-stirring spirits that made up the party. But,
-alas! the shadow of death falls ever upon life’s retrospect picture. Of
-one individual, whose gallantry, good sense and extraordinary musical
-powers, rendered him a favorite of the fair, on that occasion, may it
-now be said, “the places that knew him shall know him no more.” In early
-manhood, and in a stranger’s grave, sleeps he whose active step, whose
-buoyant spirits, whose melody of song and sparkling wit concealed from
-us the insatiate disease, whose slow, sure worm had even then fastened
-upon his vitals. Consumption sent him to the balmy south, there to find
-a resting place ’mid orange groves and perpetual-blooming flowers. Peace
-be with the ashes of the early, the gifted dead.
-
-No sooner was our little barge on the centre of the rapid tide, and the
-eye glanced upward and round about, than a scene of magnificence and
-glory burst upon us, which it had “never entered into the heart to
-conceive!” Many have attempted to describe it; but if the ablest pen of
-the most ready writer hath failed to embrace half its wondrous beauties,
-let not this humble pen dare to desecrate what for sublimity and
-loveliness is verily _indescribable_! To us it seemed that “the
-fountains of the deep were again broken up”—as if old _Ocean_ was
-pouring forth his deep green floods into that awful abyss, so wide, so
-vast, so terrible was their rush to the brink—so mighty and resistless
-their plunge into the boiling chasm! There hung the rainbow, with God’s
-promise in its hues of beauty—
-
- “That arch, where angel-forms might lean,
- And view the wonders of the mighty scene!”
-
-On reaching the Canada side, our first “post of observation” was Table
-Rock. The picture it presents—who shall paint it? The most striking
-feature of the whole is the vast _quantity_ of water which pours
-unceasing and unspent, and its consequent deeply emerald hue as it
-passes the rocks, before breaking in its fall to the pure, amber-shaded
-foam, which sends up an eternal incense of spray to Heaven. Another
-feature of beauty which arrested our attention was the meeting of the
-floods at the termination of the “Horse-shoe Fall,” where an angle of
-the rocks causes a continual _embrace of the waters_. The eye could
-scarce weary in viewing this _one_ beauty of the scene; but before the
-mighty _whole_, awe-struck, the heart could only bow in silent adoration
-to that Great Being who made it all, for “the spirit of God moved on the
-face of the waters!” We next ascended the craggy steep to a
-wide-extended plain above, where are placed the barracks of the
-“Forty-third regiment of Her Majesty’s troops.” Fortunately for us, the
-day was one of regular review, and the whole regiment was out on duty.
-As we reached the brow of the hill, where, on the one side, was Niagara
-in all its glory, and on the other an extensive military display of red
-coats and arms of steel flashing in the sunlight, I thought that Nature
-and Art needed no embellishment from the pen of Fancy—“’Twas like
-enchantment all!” While in the full enjoyment of this glorious scene,
-her Majesty’s well-disciplined band played the familiar air of “God save
-the Queen!” as to _us_ it was never played before, and my heart vibrated
-with as much joy as it ever felt at the sound of our national air, “Hail
-Columbia!”
-
-Our party returned to the hotel at sunset, all uniting in the opinion
-that it is impossible to anticipate too much of enjoyment at Niagara, so
-far as it respects the marvellous and beautiful in nature, and only
-regretting that we could not pass a month, instead of a day, with its
-scenes around us. A few hours, previous to our departure the following
-morning, were spent in exploring Goat Island, so far as our limited time
-would allow. ’Tis in sooth a “fairy isle,” lashed day and night by the
-untiring rapids, and affording various and beautiful views of the great
-cataract it divides. The luxuriant foliage of its majestic trees
-shelters the admirer of the scenes around from the noonday heat, and the
-odors from its garden of flowers regale his senses the while.
-
-We bade a reluctant adieu to Niagara, calling to mind all the
-imaginations that the heart had devised—all the descriptions we had
-heard from others’ lips—but with the words of “the Queen of the East”
-on our own, “_The half was not told me_.”
-
-By way of concluding this imperfect sketch, we add some few lines, which
-were written in despite of a resolution most religiously _made_ against
-such a presumptive measure; for, somehow or other, the humblest, as well
-as the loftiest pen, will attempt in numbers to express the _un_numbered
-thoughts and “strange, which crowd into the brain” at Niagara. And while
-this prince of cataracts flows on, its terrific beauties will be still
-the oft-told but unspent theme of the “spirit-stirring muse.”
-
- NIAGARA.
-
- “How dreadful is this place!” for God is here!
- His name is graven on th’ eternal rocks,
- As with an iron pen and diamond’s point:
- While their unceasing floods his voice proclaim,
- Oft as their thunder shakes the distant hills.
- O! if the forest-trees, which have grown old
- In viewing all the wonders of this scene,
- Do tremble still, and cast to earth their leaves—
- Familiar as they are with things sublime—
- Shall not the timid stranger here unloose
- His sandals, ere he treads on “holy ground,”
- And bow in humble worship to his God?
-
- For unto such as do approach with awe
- This bright creation of th’ Immortal Mind,
- Methinks there comes, amid the deafening roar
- Of “many waters,” yet “a still, small voice,”
- Which saith, “Ye children of the dust, fear not—
- Know that this God, this awful God, is _yours_!”
- Yes, here have wrath and peace together met—
- Justice and Mercy sweetly have embraced;
- For, o’er the terrors of the angry floods,
- The bow of promise and of beauty hangs:
- When in the sunbeams, with its matchless hues,
- Or as a silver arch on evening’s brow,
- Saying, “God’s works are marvellous and great,
- But ah! when understood, his name is Love.”
-
- Cedar Brook, Plainfield, N. J.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- MAJOR DADE’S COMMAND.
-
-
- A requiem for the gallant dead?
- A dirge for those who died,
- With banner streaming overhead,
- Unsoiled, unterrified!
- A gallant but devoted band,
- They fell, unyielding, sword in hand.
-
- They hear not now the Indian yell,
- Nor cannon’s angry roar;
- The clash of arms, or ’larum bell,
- Shall startle them no more!
- Unlike and severed were their homes—
- One sepulchre contains their bones.
-
- The spangled banner that has led
- So oft to victory,
- Its stars undimmed, above their bed,
- Unfolded to the sky,
- When in the unconquered hearts below,
- The tide of life had ceased to flow.
-
- No sculptured imagery on high,
- Reveals their lonely grave.
- No epitaph can passer spy,
- To tell where rest the brave!
- Such may become the gilded tomb,
- But not the stern old forest’s gloom.
-
- Like streamers, to the passing breeze,
- The unshorn grass waves here;
- As silent mourners, blighted trees,
- Or monuments appear;
- The glad, wild birds their requiem sing,
- And flowers around their incense fling.
-
- The smile that struggles in the eye,
- When withered is the heart,
- Reminding us of hopes gone by,
- No joy, but gloom impart;
- So nature loses all its bloom,
- And beauty round the loved one’s tomb.
-
- Though wild and distant is the spot,
- Where their bleached bones are laid,
- More hallowed ground is honored not
- By widow, sire, or maid:
- And fame shall shield from vulgar tread,
- The ashes of the valiant dead.
-
- And though around their lowly tomb,
- No kin or friends are found,
- Who weep the blight of manhood’s bloom
- On valor’s sacred ground;
- Yet loving hearts are chill with woe,
- And eyes are dim with sorrow’s flow.
-
- As to some venerated shrine,
- Whose lights have ceased to hum,
- Shall pilgrims here, in after time,
- Their wand’ring footsteps turn,
- And view in Fancy’s magic glass,
- The scene of death before them pass.
-
- Perchance, upon the spot they fell,
- Some monument may then
- Its lofty column rear to tell
- The gratitude of men;
- The noble dead! they need it not;
- Their valor consecrates the spot.
-
- Conrad.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE WIDOW.
-
-
- There sits a mourner, solitary now
- With downcast eyes, and pale dejected brow.
- Cold is the pillow where she laid her head,
- When last they sat beneath their favorite shade—
- Hushed is the voice, which ever to her own
- Answered in tones of tenderness alone.
-
- Stilled are the merry notes of childish glee,
- And she is left—of all that family!
- She looks abroad—and sees no welcome smile,
- No cheerful sounds her weary hours beguile,
- She looks within—and all is mute despair,
- She looks to Heaven—oh! joy! her all is there.
-
- M. S. B. D.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK.
-
-
-Since our last number went to press, we have been called upon to mourn
-the death of Willis Gaylord Clark, one of the contributors to this
-Magazine, and a poet of unusual sweetness, elegance, melody and pathos.
-He died, in his thirty-second year, of pulmonary consumption. He had
-more than once been almost prostrated by this fell disease, but his
-constitution had rallied against its attacks, and he, as well as his
-friends, entertained hopes of his recovery; but about two months before
-his death, the disease apparently returned with renewed violence, and,
-after sinking gradually beneath its power, Mr. Clark’s life terminated
-on Sunday, the 13th of June, 1841.
-
-As a man, Mr. Clark was universally esteemed. His warm heart, frank
-nature, and social qualities endeared him to all his friends, and he has
-left a blank in the little circle which he was wont to grace. To the
-last he enjoyed the society of his friends. He breathed to them the wish
-that no venomous tongue should be suffered to insult his fame when he
-was dead, and thus rob his orphan boy of his father’s only heritage—his
-name. God knows, the heart that could entertain aught evil towards the
-departed deserves not the companionship or sympathy of mankind. The
-dying moments of Mr. Clark were filled with the memory of his lost
-wife—to whom he has written some of the sweetest verses in the
-language—and his parting request was that he should be buried by her
-side, at the same hour of the day at which she was interred. Need we say
-his request was religiously fulfilled?
-
-The closing days of the poet are finely drawn in the following lines,
-for which we are indebted to Robert Morris, Esq., another of our valued
-contributors, and one of the circle of Mr. Clark’s friends. They need no
-eulogy at our hands. They will commend themselves to all who loved the
-departed, or admire true poetry.
-
- A DEATH SCENE IN THE CHAMBER OF A POET.
-
- Come hither, friend! My voice grows thin and weak—
- My limbs are feeble, and I feel that Death
- Will soon achieve his conquest. Look not sad!
- The being best beloved has gone before—
- Why should _I_ tarry here? An angel form
- Beckons me on. Amid my morning dreams,
- I hear _her_ voice and see her starry eyes!
- That voice so full of woman tenderness;
- Those eyes that mirrored an unsullied soul!
- Then look not sad! My peace is made with God,
- And in the hope, which is the dawn of Heaven—
- The Christian’s hope—I will a little hence
- On my mysterious journey. Soon—how soon!—
- The truth will break upon me! The dim stars,
- Which now, this mellow night, like sands of gold,
- Glitter amid the distance—it may be
- That I may pass their confines on my course;
- That peopled worlds may greet my spirit’s gaze!
- Look, gentle friend, how brightly do they shine!
- How like to living things! How beautiful!
- How more than wonderful the mighty hand
- That placed them there, all radiant with light!
-
- Oh, God! in whose high presence soon my soul
- Will stand uncovered, what a worm am I
- Amid thy wonders vast and infinite!
- And yet I feel th’ immortal burns within—
- The quenchless light of an eternal soul!
- Yes! as the frame decays; as this frail dust
- Sinks to its native earth, the spirit’s wings
- Unfold, and all within seems eager for the flight!
-
- My voice is almost lost. Friend!—faithful friend,
- Long tried and well beloved—before I leave
- This summer scene of earth, yon fields and flowers—
- Alas! like youth and life, they soon will fade—
- I have a boon to crave. My boy, my only boy,
- Will soon be fatherless! Forgive this tear;
- It is among the last.
-
- Hither, my child!
-
- There lives his mother’s image—her soft eyes,
- So large and full and dove-like; her brown hair,
- So rich and silken, and her cheek of rose!
- Oh! what a fate was hers! But yesterday,
- All youth and hope and beauty; and to-day,
- A banquet for the cold and creeping worm!
- But far above the grave her spirit dwells,
- Among the white-robed circles of the blest:
- In that bright clime where Faith and Fancy soar,
- And Love and Hope and Joy walk hand in hand.
-
- But to the boon.
- I would not, when my dust
- Lies still and cold, leave bitter memories.
- I would not leave a wound in any breast,
- But fain with all the world would die in peace,
- Forgiving all, and asking all forgiveness.
- The only legacy that I may leave
- My idol boy, is a weak dream of fame:
- A phantom that has cheated me of life,
- And fails me now, I fear, before the grave.
- And yet, how that wild dream, tempting and bright,
- Has spanned my youthful life, as does the bow
- The summer storm! And now, e’en while I gaze.
- And feel the mortal passing slowly off,
- How dust still clings to dust, and a desire
- Burns at my breast, that justice may be done
- My memory!—that he, in after time—
- (Poor child, how little recks he of this scene!—)
- May speak his father’s name with love and pride.
-
- * * * * * * * * * *
-
- A hand—a friendly hand!—mine eyes grow dim—
-
- His pale lip quivered, and the hectic tinge
- Passed from his hollow cheeks. And see, he sleeps!
- Alas! ’tis Death’s unchangeable repose—
- The spirit of the poet soars to God!
-
-
-Mr. Clark possessed poetic talents of no ordinary merit. He belonged to
-the school of Goldsmith and Pope, rather than to that of Byron or
-Coleridge. He was more remarkable for sweetness than passion, for melody
-than force, for fancy than imagination. The rank to which he belonged
-was not the highest, but in that rank he occupied one of the foremost
-stations. He was distinguished for his grace and euphony. Few men have
-written so elegantly as Mr. Clark; no man has excelled him in the melody
-of numbers. He obviously devoted the greatest attention to the
-composition of poetry, and no piece left his hand until it had received
-its utmost polish. There was a deep abiding sense of religion in his
-compositions which commend them to every heart. He was indeed almost the
-first poet to render the poetry of religion attractive; for Young,
-Cowper, Wordsworth, and even Milton, too often fail in this. But Mr.
-Clark was always successful, breathing, as he did, aspirations after a
-higher and better state of being, and emulating, if that were possible,
-the rapt enthusiasm of the Hebrew poet, when dreaming of the “better
-land”—that land to which he has now followed his long-wept wife. Yes!
-he has gone—
-
- “Gone to his Heavenly Father’s rest!
- The flowers of Eden round him blowing,
- And on his ear the murmur blest
- Of Siloa’s waters softly flowing!—
- Beneath that Tree of Life which gives
- To all the earth its healing leaves!
- In the white robe of angels clad,
- And wandering by that sacred river,
- Whose streams of loveliness make glad
- The city of our God forever!”
-
-Why should we mourn his loss? This is no home for the weary spirit.
-Earth has nothing to satisfy the immortal mind; but, with a reach after
-higher and holier things, it struggles to be away, satisfied only when
-roaming free through the wide expanse of Eternity.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- FAREWELL! IF EVER FONDEST PRAYER,
-
-
- A BALLAD—WRITTEN BY LORD BYRON.
-
- MUSIC COMPOSED BY
- J. DODSLEY HUMPHREYS.
-
- _Philadelphia_: John F. Nunns, _184 Chesnut Street_.
-
-[Illustration: musical score]
-
- Farewell if ever fondest prayer for others’ weal availed on high,
- Mine will not all be lost in air,
- But waft, but waft thy name beyond the sky.
- ’Twere vain to speak, to weep, to sigh,
- Oh more than
-
-[Illustration: musical score continued]
-
- tears of blood can tell,
- When wrung from guilt’s expiring eye,
- Are in that word farewell.
- Are in that word farewell, farewell,
- When wrung from guilt’s expiring eye,
- Are in that word, are in that word farewell.
-
- These lips are mute, these eyes are dry,
- But in my breast and in my brain,
- Awake the pangs that pass not by,
- The thought, the thought that ne’er shall sleep again.
- My soul nor deigns nor dares complain,
- Though grief and passion there rebel,
- I only know we lov’d in vain.
- I only feel farewell,
- I only feel farewell, farewell,
- I only know I loved in vain,
- I only feel, I only feel farewell.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- Sports and Pastimes.
-
-
- ANGLING.
-
-The prevailing attributes and domestic economy of fishes may be
-described as exactly the reverse of those of birds. These gay and airy
-creatures possess the power of surveying distinctly, at a glance, an
-immeasurable extent of horizon; their acute perception of sound
-appreciates all intonations, and their glad voices are exquisitely
-skilled in their production. Though their bills are hard, and their
-bodies closely covered by down and feathers, they are by no means
-deficient in the sense of touch. They enjoy all the delights of conjugal
-and parental affection, and perform their incumbent duties with
-devotedness and courage. They cherish and defend their offspring, and
-will sometimes even die in their defence; and of all the wonderful
-labors of instinctive art, none is so beautiful as the formation of
-their mossy dwellings. With what deep and continuous affection does the
-female brood over her cherished treasures!—how unwearied is the gallant
-male in his tender assiduities, and with what melodious love does he
-outpour that rich and varied song by which he seeks to soothe her
-sedentary task!
-
- “Over his own sweet voice the stock-dove broods!”
-
-But close at hand, on that umbrageous bough, sits the fond partner of
-his joys and sorrows, so that it is in no spirit of selfish solitary
-musing that he ever murmurs, by woodland stream and shadow-haunted
-brook, “a music sweeter than their own.” The slender winged and glossy
-plumaged swallow, which skims the verdure of the new-mown meadow, or
-dimples the surface of the breezeless lake—the ponderous but
-giant-pinioned eagle, winging his way from distant isles, o’er waters
-glittering with redundant life—the proud, far-sighted falcon, which,
-launching from some hoar cliff or lightning-scathed peak,
-
- “Doth dally with the wind, and scorn the sun,”—
-
-the wild and fearful lapwing, with graceful crest and dark dilated eye,
-are each and all enslaved for many a long-enduring season by this love
-of offspring, and toil in its support from dewy morning until latest
-eve.
-
-But it is far otherwise with our voiceless dwellers in the deep, who
-exhibit but few attachments, are conversant with no interchanging
-language, and cherish no warm affections. Constructing no dwellings,
-they merely shelter themselves from danger among the cavernous rocks of
-the ocean, in the silent depths of lakes, or beneath the murky shade of
-the overhanging banks of rivers; and the cravings of hunger alone seem
-to exercise a frequent or influential action over their monotonous
-movements. We must not, however, conceive that the life of fishes is not
-one of enjoyment, for we know that the Great Creator “careth for all his
-creatures;” and it ought perhaps rather to be said that we cannot
-appreciate the nature of their feelings, than that they are in any way
-fore-doomed to a negation of pleasure. Assuredly, however, the hand of
-nature has been most prodigal in bestowing on their external aspect
-every variety of adornment. Their special forms are infinite, their
-proportions often most elegant, their colors lively and diversified—and
-nothing seems wanting, either in their shape or structure, to excite the
-unfeigned admiration of mankind. Indeed, it almost appears as if this
-prodigality of beauty was intended solely for such an end. The
-brightness of metallic splendor, the sparkling brilliancy of precious
-gems, the milder effulgence of the hues of flowers, all combine to
-signalize fishes as among the most beautiful objects of creation. When
-newly withdrawn from their native element, or still gliding submerged
-amid its liquid coolness, their colors, fixed or iridescent, are seen
-mingling in spots, or bands, or broader flashes—always elegant and
-symmetrical, sometimes richly contrasted, sometimes gradually softened
-into each other, and in all cases harmonizing with a chaste fulness of
-effect which Titian and Rubens might envy, but could never equal. For
-what reason, then, it has been asked, has all this adornment been
-bestowed on creatures which can scarcely perceive each other amid the
-dim perpetual twilight of the deep? Shakspeare has already said that
-there are “more things in _heaven_ and _earth_ than are dreamt of in our
-philosophy;” and we fear it is no answer to the foregoing question to
-add, that the same observation applies with even greater truth to the
-“_waters beneath the earth_.”
-
-
- NUTRITION AND GROWTH OF FISHES.
-
-The nutritive functions of fishes follow the same order of progression
-as those of the other classes of the vertebrated kingdom. They seize,
-and in some measure divide, their food with their teeth; they digest it
-in the stomach, from whence it passes into the intestinal canal, where
-it receives a supply of bile from the liver, and frequently a liquid
-similar to that of the pancreas; the nutritive juices, absorbed by
-vessels analogous to lacteals, and probably taken up in part also
-directly by the veins, are mingled with the venous blood which is
-flowing towards the heart, from whence it is pushed to the branchiæ, in
-which, coming in contact with the water, it is converted into arterial
-blood, and then proceeds to the nourishment of the whole body.
-
-Fishes are in general extremely voracious, and the rule of “eat or be
-eaten,” applies to them with unusual force. They are almost constantly
-engaged either in the active pursuit or patient waiting for their
-prey—their degree of power in its capture depending, of course, on the
-dimensions of the mouth and throat, and the strength of the teeth and
-jaws. If the teeth are sharp and curved, they are capable of seizing and
-securing either a large and fleshy bait, or the slenderest and most
-agile animal; if these parts are broad and strong, they are able to
-bruise the hardest aliment; if they are feeble or almost wanting, they
-are only serviceable in procuring some inert or unresisting prey. Fishes
-indeed, in most instances, show but little choice in the selection of
-their food, and their digestive powers are so strong and rapid as
-speedily to dissolve all animal substances. They greedily swallow other
-fishes, notwithstanding the sharp spines or bony ridges with which they
-may be armed; they attack and devour crabs and shell-fish, gulping them
-entire, without the least regard to the feelings of their families; they
-do not object occasionally to swallow the young even of their own
-species, and the more powerful kinds carry their warfare into other
-kingdoms of nature, and revel on rats, reptiles and young ducklings, to
-say nothing, gentle reader, of the ferocious shark, which not seldom
-makes a meal even of the lord of the creation. A particular friend of
-ours has his right leg in the West Indies, in consequence of an act of
-aggression alike unpleasant and uncalled for, and which a
-Christian-minded pedestrian finds it easier to forgive than forget. The
-species which live chiefly on vegetables are few in number, almost all
-fishes preferring pork to green peas.
-
-The growth of these creatures depends greatly on the nature and amount
-of food, different individuals of the same species exhibiting a large
-disparity in their dimensions. They grow less rapidly in small ponds or
-shallow streams, than in large lakes and deep rivers. We once kept a
-minnow, little more than half an inch long, in a small glass vessel for
-a period of two years, during which time there was no perceptible
-increase in its dimensions. Had it continued in its native stream,
-subjected to the fattening influence of a continuous flow of water, and
-a consequent increase in the quantity and variety of its natural food,
-its cubic dimensions would probably have been twenty times greater; yet
-it must have attained, long prior to the lapse of a couple of years, to
-the usual period of the adult state. The growth itself seems to
-continue, under favorable circumstances, for a length of time, and we
-can scarcely set bounds to, certainly we know not with precision, the
-utmost range of the specific size of fishes. Salmon sometimes attain a
-weight of eighty pounds and upwards, and the giant pike of
-Kaiserslautern is alleged to have measured nineteen feet, and to have
-weighed 350 pounds. No doubt, an incorrect allegation does not in any
-way increase the actual size of fishes, and few people now-a-days can
-take exact cognizance of what was done at Mannheim in the year 1497;
-but, even in these degenerate days, amid our own translucent waters, and
-among species in no way remarkable for their ordinary dimensions, we
-ever and anon meet with ancient individuals which vastly exceed the
-usual weight and measure of their kind. But, in spite of this, let no
-angler, whether in the bloom of early youth, the power of matured
-manhood, or with the silver locks of “hoar antiquity” above his wrinkled
-brow, ever induce within himself, or express to others, the belief that,
-at all times and places, he is perpetually catching enormous trouts in
-vast numbers, because we happen to know that this is not the case. We
-don’t insist upon any one weighing every fish he captures, but we insist
-that no one, after jerking out a few pair, will maintain next morning,
-or even that very night, that he has had a most toilsome but very
-glorious day, and has killed five dozen and four of the finest trouts
-the human eye ever gazed upon. “All men are liars”—and several
-anglers—is a proposition the exact import of which depends much on the
-mode of construction.
-
-
- THE MUSCULAR MOVEMENTS OF FISHES.
-
-The vertebral column, composed of numerous articulations, united by
-cartilages which permit of certain movements, curves with great facility
-from side to side; but the vertical motion is much more restricted,
-chiefly in consequence of the projection of the upper and under spiny
-processes of the vertebræ. The great organ of movement in all fishes is
-the tail. The muscles, by which it is brought into play, extend in
-lengthened masses on either side of the vertebral column. The body,
-being supported chiefly by the swimming bladder, (which, however, is
-absent in several species), is propelled forward by the rapid flexure of
-the extremity acting laterally upon the resistance offered by the water.
-Generally speaking, neither the pectoral nor the ventral fins are of any
-material use during swift progressive motion; they rather serve to
-balance the body, or to aid its gentler movements while in a state of
-comparative repose. In _flying fishes_, as they are called, the pectoral
-fins are of such great length and expansion as to support these
-creatures in the air; and the strength of muscular action might probably
-suffice even for a longer flight, but for the necessity of constant
-moisture for the purposes of respiration. The drying of the gills in an
-individual of this class is attended by results analogous to those
-produced in the case of a land animal; and a flying fish is obliged to
-descend to respire, in like manner as a swimming quadruped, or disguised
-mammiferous animal, as we may term a whale, is under the necessity of
-ascending for the same purpose.
-
-The heads of fishes exercise but a slight movement independent of the
-rest of the body, but the jaws, opercular bones, branchial arches, and
-other parts, are very free in their motions. The muscles, like those of
-other vertebrated animals, are composed of fleshy fibres more or less
-colored, and of tendonous fibres of a white or silvery aspect. With the
-exception, however, of certain spinal muscles, which are sometimes of a
-deep red, the flesh of fishes is much paler than that of quadrupeds, and
-still more so than that of birds. In several species it is even entirely
-white.
-
-
- THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SENSES OF FISHES.
-
-As fishes respire through the intervention of water alone, that is, as
-they can scarcely avail themselves, in rendering their blood _arterial_,
-of anything more than the small portion of oxygen contained in the air
-which is suspended in the water, their blood is necessarily cold, and
-the general energy and activity of their senses are by no means so great
-as those of quadrupeds and birds. Their brain also, though of similar
-composition, is proportionally much smaller, whether as compared with
-the total size of the body, with the mass of nerves which proceed from
-it, or with the cavity of the cranium in which it is contained. In the
-turbot (_Gadus lota_) for example, the weight of the brain to that of
-the spinal marrow is ascertained to be as 8 to 12, and to that of the
-whole body as 1 to 720; and it has been ascertained that the brain of a
-pike, weighed in proportion to the whole body, is as 1 to 1305. Now, in
-many small birds, the brain, viewed in relation to the rest of the body,
-is equal to a twentieth part. In the generality of fishes, the spinal
-cord extends along the whole of the caudal vertebræ, and it is thus that
-it preponderates over the brain; but the fishing frog, or sea devil
-(_Lophius piscatorius_), the moon fish (_Lampris guttatus_), and a few
-others, form exceptions to this rule, the spinal marrow disappearing
-before it reaches the eighth vertebra. The brain of fishes by no means
-fills up the cavity of the cranium; and the interval between the _pia
-mater_, which envelopes the brain itself, and the _dura mater_, which
-lines the interior of the skull, is occupied only by a loose
-cellulosity, frequently impregnated by an oil, or sometimes, as in the
-sturgeon and thunny, by a more compact fatty matter. It has also been
-remarked that this void between the cranium and the brain is much less
-in young subjects than in adults; from which it may be inferred that the
-brain does not increase in an equal proportion with the rest of the
-body. Cuvier, in fact, has found its dimensions nearly the same in
-different individuals—of the same species—of which the general size of
-one was double that of the other.
-
-Although we should be sorry to lower the subjects of our present
-observation in the estimation of society, we think it undeniable that,
-of all vertebrated animals, fishes exhibit the smallest apparent
-symptoms of refined sensibility. Having no elastic air to act upon, they
-are necessarily mute, or nearly so, and all the sweet sensations which
-the delightful faculty of voice has called into being among the higher
-tribes, are to them unknown. Their glazed, immovable eyes, their fixed
-and bony faces, admit of no playful range in their physiognomical
-expression, of no variation connected with emotion. Their ears,
-surrounded on every side by the bones of the cranium, destitute of
-external conch, without any internal cochlea, and composed merely of
-certain sacks and membranous canals, scarcely suffice for the perception
-of the loudest sounds. Yet they will sink affrighted into the darksome
-depths of lakes, beneath the banks of rivers, or in oceans blue
-profound, when the “sky lowers and mutters thunder,” and with elemental
-fierceness the sheeted lightning flashes broad and bright above their
-liquid dwellings.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.
-
-
- _The Quacks of Helicon: A Satire. By_ L. A. Wilmer.
- _Philadelphia: Printed by J. W. Macclefield._
-
-A satire, professedly such, at the present day, and especially by an
-American writer, is a welcome novelty, indeed. We have really done very
-little in the line upon this side of the Atlantic—nothing, certainly,
-of importance—Trumbull’s clumsy poem and Halleck’s “Croakers” to the
-contrary notwithstanding. Some things we have produced, to be sure,
-which were excellent in the way of burlesque, without intending a
-syllable that was not utterly solemn and serious. Odes, ballads, songs,
-sonnets, epics, and epigrams, possessed of this unintentional
-excellence, we could have no difficulty in designating by the dozen;
-but, in the matter of directly-meant and genuine satire, it cannot be
-denied that we are sadly deficient. Although, as a literary people,
-however, we are not exactly Archilocuses—although we have no
-pretensions to the ηχεηντες ιαμβοι—although, in short, we are no
-satirists ourselves, there can be no question that we answer
-sufficiently well as subjects for satire.
-
-We repeat, that we are glad to see this book of Mr. Wilmer’s; first,
-because it is something new under the sun; secondly, because, in many
-respects, it is well executed; and, thirdly, because, in the universal
-corruption and rigmarole amid which we gasp for breath, it is really a
-pleasant thing to get even one accidental whiff of the unadulterated air
-of _truth_.
-
-The “Quacks of Helicon,” as a poem and otherwise, has many defects, and
-these we shall have no scruple in pointing out—although Mr. Wilmer is a
-personal friend of our own;[4] and we are happy and proud to say so—but
-it has also many remarkable merits—merits which it will be quite
-useless for those aggrieved by the satire—quite useless for any
-_clique_, or set of _cliques_, to attempt to frown down, or to affect
-not to see, or to feel, or to understand.
-
------
-
-[4] Of Mr. Poe’s.
-
-Its prevalent blemishes are referrible chiefly to the leading sin of
-_imitation_. Had the work been composed professedly in paraphrase of the
-whole manner of the sarcastic epistles of the times of Dryden and Pope,
-we should have pronounced it the most ingenious and truthful thing of
-the kind upon record. So close is the copy, that it extends to the most
-trivial points—for example to the old forms of punctuation. The turns
-of phraseology, the tricks of rhythm, the arrangement of the paragraphs,
-the general conduct of the satire—everything—all—are Dryden’s. We
-cannot deny, it is true, that the satiric model of the days in question
-is insusceptible of improvement, and that the modern author who deviates
-therefrom, must necessarily sacrifice something of merit at the shrine
-of originality. Neither can we shut our eyes to the fact, that the
-imitation, in the present case, has conveyed, in full spirit, the higher
-qualities, as well as, in rigid letter, the minor elegances and general
-peculiarities of the author of “Absalom and Achitophel.” We have here
-the bold, vigorous, and sonorous verse, the biting sarcasm, the pungent
-epigrammatism, the unscrupulous directness, as of old. Yet it will not
-do to forget that Mr. Wilmer has been _shown how_ to accomplish these
-things. He is thus only entitled to the praise of a close observer, and
-of a thoughtful and skilful copyist. The images are, to be sure, his
-own. They are neither Pope’s, nor Dryden’s, nor Rochester’s, nor
-Churchill’s—but they are moulded in the identical mould used by these
-satirists.
-
-This servility of imitation has seduced our author into errors which his
-better sense should have avoided. He sometimes mistakes intention; at
-other times he copies faults, confounding them with beauties. In the
-opening of the poem, for example, we find the lines—
-
- Against usurpers, Olney, I declare
- A righteous, just, and patriotic war.
-
-The rhymes _war_ and _declare_ are here adopted from Pope, who employs
-them frequently; but it should have been remembered that the modern
-relative pronunciation of the two words differs materially from the
-relative pronunciation of the era of the “Dunciad.”
-
-We are also sure that the gross obscenity, the filth—we can use no
-gentler name—which disgraces the “Quacks of Helicon,” cannot be the
-result of innate impurity in the mind of the writer. It is but a part of
-the slavish and indiscriminating imitation of the Swift and Rochester
-school. It has done the book an irreparable injury, both in a moral and
-pecuniary view, without effecting anything whatever on the score of
-sarcasm, vigor or wit. “Let what is to be said, be said plainly.” True;
-but let nothing vulgar be _ever_ said, or conceived.
-
-In asserting that this satire, even in its mannerism, has imbued itself
-with the full spirit of the polish and of the pungency of Dryden, we
-have already awarded it high praise. But there remains to be mentioned
-the far loftier merit of speaking fearlessly the truth, at an epoch when
-truth is out of fashion, and under circumstances of social position
-which would have deterred almost any man in our community from a similar
-Quixotism. For the publication of the “Quacks of Helicon,”—a poem which
-brings under review, by name, most of our prominent _literati_, and
-treats them, generally, as they deserve (what treatment could be more
-bitter?)—for the publication of this attack, Mr. Wilmer, whose
-subsistence lies in his pen, has little to look for—apart from the
-silent respect of those at once honest and timid—but the most malignant
-open or covert persecution. For this reason, and because it is the truth
-which he has spoken, do we say to him from the bottom of our hearts,
-“God speed!”
-
-We repeat it:—_it is_ the truth which he has spoken, and who shall
-contradict us? He has said unscrupulously what every reasonable man
-among us has long known to be “as true as the Pentateuch”—that, as a
-literary people, we are one vast perambulating humbug. He has asserted
-that we are _clique_-ridden, and who does not smile at the obvious
-truism of that assertion? He maintains that chicanery is, with us, a far
-surer road than talent to distinction in letters. Who gainsays this? The
-corrupt nature of our ordinary criticism has become notorious. Its
-powers have been prostrated by its own arm. The intercourse between
-critic and publisher, as it now almost universally stands, is comprised
-either in the paying and pocketing of black mail, as the price of a
-simple forbearance, or in a direct system of petty and contemptible
-bribery, properly so called—a system even more injurious than the
-former to the true interests of the public, and more degrading to the
-buyers and sellers of good opinion, on account of the more positive
-character of the service here rendered for the consideration received.
-We laugh at the idea of any denial of our assertions upon this topic;
-they are infamously true. In the charge of general corruption there are
-undoubtedly many noble exceptions to be made. There are, indeed, some
-very few editors, who, maintaining an entire independence, will receive
-no books from publishers at all, or who receive them with a perfect
-understanding, on the part of these latter, that an unbiassed _critique_
-will be given. But these cases are insufficient to have much effect on
-the popular mistrust: a mistrust heightened by late exposure of the
-machinations of _coteries_ in New York—_coteries_ which, at the bidding
-of leading booksellers, manufacture, as required from time to time, a
-pseudo-public opinion by wholesale, for the benefit of any little hanger
-on of the party, or pettifogging protector of the firm.
-
-We speak of these things in the bitterness of scorn. It is unnecessary
-to cite instances, where one is found in almost every issue of a book.
-It is needless to call to mind the desperate case of Fay—a case where
-the pertinacity of the effort to gull—where the obviousness of the
-attempt at forestalling a judgment—where the wofully over-done
-be-Mirrorment of that man-of-straw, together with the pitiable platitude
-of his production, proved a dose somewhat too potent for even the
-well-prepared stomach of the mob. We say it is supererogatory to dwell
-upon “Norman Leslie,” or other by-gone follies, when we have, before our
-eyes, hourly instances of the machinations in question. To so great an
-extent of methodical assurance has the _system_ of puffery arrived, that
-publishers, of late, have made no scruple of keeping on hand an
-assortment of commendatory notices, prepared by their men of all work,
-and of sending these notices around to the multitudinous papers within
-their influence, done up within the fly-leaves of the book. The
-grossness of these base attempts, however, has not escaped indignant
-rebuke from the more honorable portion of the press; and we hail these
-symptoms of restiveness under the yoke of unprincipled ignorance and
-quackery (strong only in combination) as the harbinger of a better era
-for the interests of real merit, and of the national literature as a
-whole.
-
-It has become, indeed the plain duty of each individual connected with
-our periodicals, heartily to give whatever influence he possesses, to
-the good cause of integrity and the truth. The results thus attainable
-will be found worthy his closest attention and best efforts. We shall
-thus frown down all conspiracies to foist inanity upon the public
-consideration at the obvious expense of every man of talent who is not a
-member of a _clique_ in power. We may even arrive, in time, at that
-desirable point from which a distinct view of our men of letters may be
-obtained, and their respective pretensions adjusted, by the standard of
-a rigorous and self-sustaining criticism alone. That their several
-positions are as yet properly settled; that the posts which a vast
-number of them now hold are maintained by any better tenure than that of
-the chicanery upon which we have commented, will be asserted by none but
-the ignorant, or the parties who have best right to feel an interest in
-the “good old condition of things.” No two matters can be more radically
-different than the reputation of some of our prominent _litterateurs_,
-as gathered from the mouths of the people, (who glean it from the
-paragraphs of the papers,) and the same reputation as deduced from the
-private estimate of intelligent and educated men. We do not advance this
-fact as a new discovery. Its truth, on the contrary, is the subject, and
-has long been so, of every-day witticism and mirth.
-
-Why not? Surely there can be few things more ridiculous than the general
-character and assumptions of the ordinary critical notices of new books!
-An editor, sometimes without the shadow of the commonest
-attainment—often without brains, always without time—does not scruple
-to give the world to understand that he is in the _daily_ habit of
-critically reading and deciding upon a flood of publications one tenth
-of whose title-pages he may possibly have turned over, three fourths of
-whose contents would be Hebrew to his most desperate efforts at
-comprehension, and whose entire mass and amount, as might be
-mathematically demonstrated, would be sufficient to occupy, in the most
-cursory perusal, the attention of some ten or twenty readers for a
-month! What he wants in plausibility, however, he makes up in
-obsequiousness; what he lacks in time he supplies in temper. He is the
-most easily pleased man in the world. He admires everything, from the
-big Dictionary of Noah Webster to the last diamond edition of Tom Thumb.
-Indeed his sole difficulty is in finding tongue to express his delight.
-Every pamphlet is a miracle—every book in boards is an epoch in
-letters. His phrases, therefore, get bigger and bigger every day, and,
-if it were not for talking Cockney, we might call him a “regular swell.”
-
-Yet in the attempt at getting definite information in regard to any one
-portion of our literature, the merely general reader, or the foreigner,
-will turn in vain from the lighter to the heavier journals. But it is
-not our intention here to dwell upon the radical, antique, and
-systematized rigmarole of our Quarterlies. The articles here are
-anonymous. Who writes?—who causes to be written? Who but an ass will
-put faith in tirades which _may_ be the result of personal hostility, or
-in panegyrics which nine times out of ten may be laid, directly or
-indirectly, to the charge of the author himself? It is in the favor of
-these saturnine pamphlets that they contain, now and then, a good essay
-_de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis_, which may be looked into, without
-decided somnolent consequences, at any period not immediately subsequent
-to dinner. But it is useless to expect criticism from periodicals called
-“Reviews” from never reviewing. Besides, all men know, or should know,
-that these books are sadly given to verbiage. It is a part of their
-nature, a condition of their being, a point of their faith. A veteran
-reviewer loves the safety of generalities, and is therefore rarely
-particular. “Words, words, words” are the secret of his strength. He has
-one or two ideas of his own, and is both wary and fussy in giving them
-out. His wit lies with his truth, in a well, and there is always a world
-of trouble in getting it up. He is a sworn enemy to all things simple
-and direct. He gives no ear to the advice of the giant
-Moulineau—“_Belier, mon ami, commencez au commencement._” He either
-jumps at once into the middle of his subject, or breaks in at a back
-door, or sidles up to it with the gait of a crab. No other mode of
-approach has an air of sufficient profundity. When fairly into it,
-however, he becomes dazzled with the scintillations of his own wisdom,
-and is seldom able to see his way out. Tired of laughing at his antics,
-or frightened at seeing him flounder, the reader at length shuts him up,
-with the book. “What song the Syrens sang,” says Sir Thomas Browne, “or
-what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, though
-puzzling questions, are not beyond _all_ conjecture”—but it would
-puzzle Sir Thomas, backed by Achilles and all the Syrens in Heathendom,
-to say, in nine cases out of ten, _what is the object_ of a
-thorough-going Quarterly Reviewer.
-
-Should the opinions promulgated by our press at large be taken, in their
-wonderful aggregate, as an evidence of what American literature
-absolutely is, (and it may be said that, in general, they are really so
-taken,) we shall find ourselves the most enviable set of people upon the
-face of the earth. Our fine writers are legion. Our very atmosphere is
-redolent of genius; and we, the nation, are a huge, well-contented
-chameleon, grown pursy by inhaling it. We are _teretes et
-rotundi_—enwrapped in excellence. All our poets are Miltons, neither
-mute nor inglorious; all our poetesses are “American Hemanses;” nor will
-it do to deny that all our novelists are great Knowns or great Unknowns,
-and that every body who writes, in every possible and impossible
-department, is the admirable Crichton, or at least the admirable
-Crichton’s ghost. We are thus in a glorious condition, and will remain
-so until forced to disgorge our ethereal honors. In truth, there is some
-danger that the jealousy of the Old World will interfere. It cannot long
-submit to that outrageous monopoly of “all the decency and all the
-talent” in which the gentlemen of the press give such undoubted
-assurance of our being so busily engaged.
-
-But we feel angry with ourselves for the jesting tone of our
-observations upon this topic. The prevalence of the spirit of puffery is
-a subject far less for merriment than for disgust. Its truckling, yet
-dogmatical character—its bold, unsustained, yet self-sufficient and
-wholesale laudation—is becoming, more and more, an insult to the common
-sense of the community. Trivial as it essentially is, it has yet been
-made the instrument of the grossest abuse in the elevation of
-imbecility, to the manifest injury, to the utter ruin, of true merit. Is
-there any man of good feeling and of ordinary understanding—is there
-one single individual among all our readers—who does not feel a thrill
-of bitter indignation, apart from any sentiment of mirth, as he calls to
-mind instance after instance of the purest, of the most unadulterated
-quackery in letters, which has risen to a high post in the apparent
-popular estimation, and which still maintains it, by the sole means of a
-blustering arrogance, or of a busy wriggling conceit, or of the most
-barefaced plagiarism, or even through the simple immensity of its
-assumptions—assumptions not only unopposed by the press at large, but
-absolutely supported in proportion to the vociferous clamor with which
-they are made—in exact accordance with their utter baselessness and
-untenability? We should have no trouble in pointing out, to-day, some
-twenty or thirty so-called literary personages, who, if not idiots, as
-we half think them, or if not hardened to all sense of shame by a long
-course of disingenuousness, will now blush, in the perusal of these
-words, through consciousness of the shadowy nature of that purchased
-pedestal upon which they stand—will now tremble in thinking of the
-feebleness of the breath which will be adequate to the blowing it from
-beneath their feet. With the help of a hearty good will, even _we_ may
-yet tumble them down.
-
-So firm, through a long endurance, has been the hold taken upon the
-popular mind (at least so far as we may consider the popular mind
-reflected in ephemeral letters) by the laudatory system which we have
-deprecated, that what is, in its own essence, a vice, has become endowed
-with the appearance, and met with the reception of a virtue. Antiquity,
-as usual, has lent a certain degree of speciousness even to the absurd.
-So continuously have we puffed, that we have at length come to think
-puffing the duty, and plain speaking the dereliction. What we began in
-gross error, we persist in through habit. Having adopted, in the earlier
-days of our literature, the untenable idea that this literature, as a
-whole, could be advanced by an indiscriminate approbation bestowed on
-its every effort—having adopted this idea, we say, without attention to
-the obvious fact that praise of all was bitter although negative censure
-to the few alone deserving, and that the only result of the system, in
-the fostering way, would be the fostering of folly—we now continue our
-vile practices through the supineness of custom, even while, in our
-national self-conceit, we repudiate that necessity for patronage and
-protection in which originated our conduct. In a word, the press
-throughout the country has not been ashamed to make head against the
-very few bold attempts at independence which have, from time to time,
-been made in the face of the reigning order of things. And if, in one,
-or perhaps two, insulated cases, the spirit of severe truth, sustained
-by an unconquerable will, was not to be so put down, then, forthwith,
-were private chicaneries set in motion; then was had resort, on the part
-of those who considered themselves injured by the severity of criticism,
-(and who were so, if the just contempt of every ingenuous man is
-injury,) resort to arts of the most virulent indignity, to untraceable
-slanders, to ruthless assassination in the dark. We say these things
-were done, while the press in general looked on, and, with a full
-understanding of the wrong perpetrated, spoke not against the wrong. The
-idea had absolutely gone abroad—had grown up little by little into
-toleration—that attacks however just, upon a literary reputation
-however obtained, however untenable, were well retaliated by the basest
-and most unfounded traduction of personal fame. But is this an age—is
-this a day—in which it can be necessary even to advert to such
-considerations as that the book of the author is the property of the
-public, and that the issue of the book is the throwing down of the
-gauntlet to the reviewer—to the reviewer whose duty is the plainest;
-the duty not even of approbation, or of censure, or of silence, at his
-own will, but at the sway of those sentiments and of those opinions
-which are derived from the author himself, through the medium of his
-written and published words? True criticism is the reflection of the
-thing criticised upon the spirit of the critic.
-
-But _à nos moutons_—to the “Quacks of Helicon.” This satire has many
-faults besides those upon which we have commented. The tide, for
-example, is not sufficiently distinctive, although otherwise good. It
-does not confine the subject to _American_ quacks, while the work does.
-The two concluding lines enfeeble instead of strengthening the _finale_,
-which would have been exceedingly pungent without them. The individual
-portions of the thesis are strung together too much at random—a natural
-sequence is not always preserved—so that although the lights of the
-picture are often forcible, the whole has what, in artistical parlance,
-is termed an accidental and spotty appearance. In truth, the parts of
-the poem have evidently been composed each by each, as separate themes,
-and afterwards fitted into the general satire, in the best manner
-possible.
-
-But a more reprehensible sin than any or than all of these is yet to be
-mentioned—the sin of indiscriminate censure. Even here Mr. Wilmer has
-erred through imitation. He has held in view the sweeping denunciations
-of the Dunciad, and of the later (abortive) satire of Byron. No one in
-his senses can deny the justice of the general charges of corruption in
-regard to which we have just spoken from the text of our author. But are
-there _no_ exceptions? We should indeed blush if there were not. And is
-there _no_ hope? Time will show. We cannot do everything in a day—_Non
-se gano Zamora en un ora_. Again, it cannot be gainsaid that the greater
-number of those who hold high places in our poetical literature are
-absolute nincompoops—fellows alike innocent of reason and of rhyme. But
-neither are we _all_ brainless, nor is the devil himself so black as he
-is painted. Mr. Wilmer must read the chapter in Rabelais’ _Gargantua_,
-“_de ce qu’ est signifié par les couleurs blanc et bleu_”—for there is
-_some_ difference after all. It will not do in a civilized land to run
-a-muck like a Malay. Mr. Morris _has_ written good songs. Mr. Bryant is
-not _all_ a fool. Mr. Willis is not _quite_ an ass. Mr. Longfellow
-_will_ steal, but perhaps he cannot help it, (for we have heard of such
-things,) and then it must not be denied that _nil tetigit quod non
-ornavit_.
-
-The fact is that our author, in the rank exuberance of his zeal, seems
-to think as little of discrimination as the Bishop of Autun[5] did of
-the Bible. Poetical “things in general” are the windmills at which he
-spurs his rozinante. He as often tilts at what is true as at what is
-false; and thus his lines are like the mirrors of the temples of Smirna,
-which represent the fairest images as deformed. But the talent, the
-fearlessness, and especially the _design_ of this book, will suffice to
-save it even from that dreadful damnation of “silent contempt” to which
-editors throughout the country, if we are not very much mistaken, will
-endeavor, one and all, to consign it.
-
------
-
-[5] Talleyrand.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Biography and Poetical Remains of the late Margaret Miller
- Davidson. By_ Washington Irving. _Philadelphia: Lea and
- Blanchard._
-
-The name of Lucretia Davidson is familiar to all readers of Poetry.
-Dying at the early age of seventeen, she has been rendered famous not
-less, and certainly not more, by her own precocious genius than by three
-memorable biographies—one by President Morse, of the American Society
-of Arts, another by Miss Sedgwick, and a third by Robert Southey. Mr.
-Irving had formed an acquaintance with some of her relatives, and thus,
-while, in Europe, took great interest in all that was said or written of
-his young countrywoman. Upon his return to America, he called upon Mrs.
-Davidson, and then, in 1833, first saw the subject of the memoir now
-before us—a fairy-like child of eleven. Three years afterwards he met
-with her again, and then found her in delicate health. Three years
-having again elapsed, the MSS. which form the basis of the present
-volume, were placed in his hands by Mrs. Davidson, as all that remained
-of her daughter.
-
-Few books have interested us more profoundly. Yet the interest does not
-appertain solely to Margaret. “In fact the narrative,” says Mr. Irving,
-“will be found almost as illustrative of the character of the mother as
-of the child; they were singularly identified in taste, feeling, and
-pursuits; tenderly entwined together by maternal and filial affection,
-they reflected an inexpressibly touching grace and interest upon each
-other by this holy relationship, and, to my mind it would be marring one
-of the most beautiful and affecting groups in modern literature, to
-sunder them.” In these words the biographer conveys no more than a just
-idea of the exquisite loveliness of the picture here presented to view.
-
-The MSS. handed Mr. Irving, have been suffered, in great measure, to
-tell their own thrilling tale. There has been no injudicious attempt at
-mere authorship. The compiler has confined himself to chronological
-arrangement of his memoranda, and to such simple and natural comments as
-serve to bind rather than to illustrate where no illustration was
-needed. These memoranda consist of relations by Mrs. Davidson of the
-infantine peculiarities of her daughter, and of her habits and general
-thoughts in more matured life, intermingled with letters from the young
-poetess to intimate friends. There is also a letter from the bereaved
-mother to Miss Sedgwick, detailing the last moments of the child—a
-letter so full of all potent nature, so full of minute beauty and truth
-and pathos, that to read it without tears would be to prove one’s self
-less than human.
-
-The “Poetical Remains” of this young creature, who perished (of
-consumption) in her sixteenth year, occupy about two hundred pages of a
-somewhat closely printed octavo. The longest poem is called “Lenore,”
-and consists of some two thousand lines, varying in metre from the
-ordinary octo-syllabic, to the four-footed, or twelve-syllabled iambic.
-The story, which is a romantic love-tale, not ill-conceived in its
-incidents, is told with a skill which might put more practised bards to
-the blush, and with occasional bursts of the truest poetic fire. But
-although as indicative of her future power, it is the most important, as
-it is the longest of her productions, yet as a whole it is not equal to
-some of her shorter compositions. It was written not long before her
-death, at the age of fifteen, and (as we glean from the biography) after
-patient reflection, with much care, and with a high resolve to do
-something for fame. As the work of so mere a child, it is unquestionably
-wonderful. Its _length_, viewed in connection with its keeping, its
-unity, its adaptation, and completeness, will impress the metaphysician
-most forcibly, when surveying the capacities of its author. Powers are
-here brought into play which are the last to be matured. For fancy we
-might have looked, and for the lower evidences of skill in a perfect
-versification and the like, but hardly for what we see in Lenore.
-
-Yet remarkable as this production is, from the pen of a girl of fifteen,
-it is by no means so incomprehensible as are some of the shorter pieces.
-We have known instances—rarely, to be sure—but still we have known
-instances when finer poems in every respect than Lenore have been
-written by children of as immature age—but we look around us in vain
-for anything composed at eight years, which can bear comparison with the
-lines subjoined—
-
- “TO MAMMA.
-
- “Farewell, dear mother, for a while
- I must resign thy plaintive smile;
- May angels watch thy couch of wo,
- And joys unceasing round thee flow.
-
- “May the almighty Father spread
- His sheltering wings above thy head.
- It is not long that we must part,
- Then cheer thy downcast drooping heart.
-
- “Remember, oh! remember me,
- Unceasing is my love for thee!
- When death shall sever earthly ties,
- When thy loved form all senseless lies,
-
- “Oh! that my form with thine could flee,
- And roam through wide eternity;
- Could tread with thee the courts of heaven,
- And count the brilliant stars of even.”
-
-Nor are these stanzas, written at ten, in any degree less remarkable—
-
- “MY NATIVE LAKE.
-
- “Thy verdant banks, thy lucid stream,
- Lit by the sun’s resplendent beam,
- Reflect each bending tree so light
- Upon thy bounding bosom bright.
- Could I but see thee once again,
- My own, my beautiful Champlain!
-
- “The little isles that deck thy breast,
- And calmly on thy bosom rest,
- How often, in my childish glee,
- I’ve sported round them, bright and free!
- Could I but see thee once again,
- My own, my beautiful Champlain!
-
- “How oft I’ve watch’d the fresh’ning shower
- Bending the summer tree and flower,
- And felt my little heart beat high
- As the bright rainbow graced the sky.
- Could I but see thee once again,
- My own, my beautiful Champlain!
-
- “And shall I never see thee more,
- My native lake, my much-loved shore
- And must I bid a long adieu,
- My dear, my infant home, to you?
- Shall I not see thee once again,
- My own, my beautiful Champlain?”
-
-In the way of criticism upon these extraordinary compositions, Mr.
-Irving has attempted little, and, in general, he seems more affected by
-the loveliness and the purity of the child than even by the genius she
-has evinced—however highly he may have estimated this latter. In
-respect, however, to a poem entitled “My Sister Lucretia,”—he thus
-speaks—“We have said that the example of her sister Lucretia was
-incessantly before her, and no better proof can be given of it than in
-the following lines, which breathe the heavenly aspirations of her pure
-young spirit, _in strains to us quite unearthly. We may have read poetry
-more_ _artificially perfect in its structure, but never any more truly
-divine in its inspiration._” The nature of inspiration is
-disputable—and we will not pretend to assert that Mr. Irving is in the
-wrong. His words, however, in their hyperbole, do wrong to his subject,
-and would be hyperbole still, if applied to the most exalted poets of
-all time.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Incidents of Travel in Central America, etc. By_ John L.
- Stephens. _Two Volumes. New York: Harper and Brothers._
-
-Mr. Stephens’ former book, “Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petrea,
-and Palestine,” was everywhere well received, and gained him high
-reputation—reputation not altogether well deserved. No one can deny his
-personal merits as a traveller, his enthusiasm, boldness, acuteness,
-courage in danger, and perseverance under difficulty. His manner of
-narration is also exceedingly pleasing; frank, unembarrassed and direct,
-without pretension or attempt at effect. But neither were his
-reflections characterised by profundity, nor had he that degree of
-education which would have enabled him to travel, with benefit to
-himself or to others, through regions involving so much of historical
-importance as Egypt, and especially as Arabia Petrea. Through a
-deficiency of previous information in regard to the moot points of this
-classical ground, he suffered many things to pass unexamined, whose
-examination would have thrown light upon history, and lustre upon his
-own name. Our remarks here apply more particularly to the southern
-regions of Arabia. In regard to Arabia Petrea, he committed some errors
-of magnitude. Before entering upon his travels, he had been much
-interested in Keith’s book upon the literal fulfilment of the Biblical
-Prophecies. In this work the predictions of Isaiah, respecting the
-ancient Idumea, are especially insisted upon, and the sentence, “_None
-shall pass through thee forever and ever_,” quoted as a remarkable
-instance of literal fulfilment. Dr. Keith states roundly that all
-attempts at passing through Idumea have actually failed, and expresses
-his belief that such will always be the case. Mr. Stephens resolved to
-test this point, and congratulates himself and his readers upon the
-success of his attempt at traversing the disputed region from one end to
-the other. The truth is, however, that Arabia Petrea, through which he
-unquestionably did pass, _is not at all the Idumea alluded to in the
-prophecies_, this latter lying much farther to the eastward. The
-traveller had contented himself with the usual understanding upon this
-subject. In the matter of the prophecy, both he and Dr. Keith might have
-spared themselves much trouble by an examination of the Biblical text in
-the original, before founding a question upon it. In an article on this
-head, which appeared in the New York Review, we pointed out an obvious
-mistranslation in the Hebrew words of the prediction—a mistranslation
-which proves Mr. Stephens to have thrown away his courage and labor. The
-passage in Isaiah 34, 10, which is rendered in our bibles by the
-sentence, “And none shall pass through thee forever and ever,” runs in
-the original Hebrew thus—
-
- _Lenetsach metsachim ein over bah._
-
-Literally—_Lenetsach_, for an eternity; _metsachim_, of eternities;
-_ein_, not; _over_, moving about; _bah_, in it. For an eternity of
-eternities (there shall) not (be any one) moving about in it. The
-literal meaning of _bah_ is “in it,” and not “through it.” The
-participle _over_, refers to one moving to and fro, or up and down, and
-is the same phrase which is rendered “current,” as an epithet applied to
-money, in Genesis, 23, 16. The prophet only intends to say that there
-shall be no marks of life in the land, no living being there, no one
-moving up and down in it. A similar mistranslation exists in regard to
-the prophecy in Ezekiel, 35, 7, where death is threatened (according to
-the usual construction) to any traveller who shall _pass through_. The
-words are
-
- _Venathati eth har Seir leshimmamah ushemmamah, vehichrati
- mimmennu over vasal_—
-
-Literally, “And I will give the mountain Seir for a desolation and a
-desolation, and I will cut off from it him that goeth and him that
-returneth.” By “him that goeth and him that returneth,” reference is had
-to the passers to and fro, to the inhabitants. The prophet speaks only
-of the general abandonment and desolation of the land.
-
-We are not prepared to say that misunderstandings of this character will
-be found in the present “Incidents of Travel.” Of Central America, and
-her antiquities, Mr. Stephens may know, and no doubt does know, as much
-as the most learned antiquarian. Here all is darkness. We have not yet
-received from the Messieurs Harper a copy of the book, and can only
-speak of its merits from general report, and from the cursory perusal
-which has been afforded us by the politeness of a friend. The work is
-certainly a magnificent one—perhaps the most interesting book of travel
-ever published. An idea has gone abroad that the narrative is confined
-to descriptions and drawings of Palenque; but this is very far from the
-case. Mr. S. explored no less than six ruined cities. The “incidents,”
-moreover, are numerous, and highly amusing. The traveller visited these
-regions at a momentous time; during the civil war, in which Carrera and
-Morazan were participants. He encountered many dangers, and his
-hair-breadth escapes are particularly exciting.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Marrying Man. A Novel. By the Author of_ “Cousin Geoffrey.”
- _Two Volumes. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard._
-
-This novel is _inscribed_ to Theodore Hook, who, we are given to
-understand in the preface, was the _chaperon_ of “Cousin Geoffrey,” and
-“The Old Bachelor,”—two books of which we indistinctly remember to have
-heard. The “Marrying Man” is not badly written, and will answer
-sufficiently well for the ordinary patrons of the circulating library.
-Better books might have been re-published, no doubt; but this, we
-presume, will sell, and thus serve its purpose.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Poems and Prose Writings of Sumner Lincoln Fairfield. Two
- Volumes. Vol. the First. Philadelphia. Printed for the
- Proprietor._
-
-This is a large octavo, embracing, we believe, the principal poems of
-Mr. Fairfield, if not all of them, and to be followed by a collection of
-his prose writings. His prose, so far as we have had an opportunity of
-judging, is scarcely worth reading. His poems have, in many respects,
-merit—in some respects, merit of a high order. His themes are often
-well selected, lofty, and giving evidence of the true spirit. But their
-execution is always disfigured by a miserable verbiage—words meaning
-nothing, although sounding like sense, like the nonsense verses of Du
-Bartas.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Moneyed Man. By_ Horace Smith. _Two Volumes. Philadelphia:
- Lea and Blanchard._
-
-This is a good book, and well worth the re-publication. The story is
-skilfully constructed, and conveys an excellent moral. Horace Smith is
-one of the authors of the “Rejected Addresses.” He is, perhaps, the most
-erudite of all the English novelists, and unquestionably one of the best
-in every respect. His style is peculiarly good.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Science of Government. Founded on Natural Law. By_ Clinton
- Roosevelt. _New York: Dean and Trevett. Philadelphia: Drew and
- Scammel._
-
-Will _any_ one be kind enough to tell us who is Mr. Clinton Roosevelt?
-We wish to know, of course. Mr. Roosevelt has published a little book.
-It consists of a hundred little pages. Ten of these pages would make one
-of our own. But a clever man may do a great thing in a small way, and
-Mr. Roosevelt is unquestionably a clever man. For this we have his own
-word, and who should know all about it better than he? Hear him!—
-
-“Learned men have long contended that it was impossible for any human
-intellect to grasp what has been here attempted;—that a Cyclopædia only
-could embrace in one view all the arts and sciences which minister to
-man’s necessity and happiness—and _that_ they give but little credit
-for, as a Cyclopædia is a mere arbitary [we follow Mr. R.’s spelling as
-in duty bound] alphabetical arrangement. _We_ [Mr. Roosevelt is a _we_]
-would not say we have done even what we have without much toil and
-sacrifice. It has cost the best ten years of the writer’s life to settle
-its great principles, and give it form and substance. The great
-interests of man were in a state of chaos, and this science [Mr.
-Roosevelt’s] is to harmonise them, and run side by side with true
-religion so far as that is meant ‘to feed the hungry, clothe the naked,
-and make on earth peace and good will to man.’”
-
-Ah!—we begin to breathe freely once more. We _had_ thought that the
-world and all in it (this hot weather) were going to the
-dogs,—“proceeding to the canines,” as Bilberry has it—but here is Mr.
-Roosevelt, and we feel more assured. We entrench ourselves in security
-behind his little book. “A larger work,” says he, “would have been more
-imposing in appearance, but the truth is, large works and long speeches
-are rarely made by men of powerful thought.” Never was anything more
-true. “As to boasting,” he continues, very continuously, “the writer is
-well aware that it is the worst policy imaginable.” In this opinion we
-do not so entirely acquiesce. “The little man”—says he—the reader will
-perceive that we are so rapt in admiration of Mr. Roosevelt that we
-quote him at random—“The little man may say this book was not done
-_secundum artem_—not nicely or critically.” He must be a _very_ little
-man indeed, who would say so. _We_ think he has done it _quite_ nicely.
-“My tone”—we here go on with Mr. Roosevelt—“may seem not strictly
-according to _bien science_.” Oh, yes is it, Mr. Roosevelt; don’t
-distress yourself now—it is, we assure you, very strictly according to
-_bien science_, (good heavens!) and to every thing else.
-
-“These remarks,” he observes, “are made that none may lightly damn the
-work.” Of course; any one who should damn it lightly should be damned
-himself. “But liberal criticism [ah! that is the thing,] will be
-accepted as a favor, [the smallest favors thankfully accepted] and
-writers who may undertake the task will confer an obligation by
-directing a copy of their articles to the author, at New York, from
-England, France or Germany, or any part of our own country where this
-work may reach.” Certainly; no critic could do less—no liberal critic.
-We shall send Mr. Roosevelt a copy of our criticism from Philadelphia,
-and we would do the same thing if we were living at Timbuctoo.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Life and Literary Remains of L. E. L. By_ Laman Blanchard. _2
- vols. Lea and Blanchard._
-
-This work contains the most authentic biography of the lamented L. E. L.
-yet issued from the press, together with a collection of her posthumous
-pieces, and several lighter effusions already published. The volumes
-possess uncommon interest. The detail of her every-day life, the picture
-of her gaiety and sweetness, and the criticisms on her genius, will
-commend it to all who have loved, in other days, the poetry of this
-sweet writer. Nor will the details of her melancholy death prove of less
-interest. After fully examining all the evidence relating to this
-tragedy, the author arrives at the conclusion that her death was
-natural, and instigated neither by her own sorrows nor by the jealousy
-of others. The conduct of her husband seems, in every respect, to have
-been without censure.
-
-Of the genius of Miss Landon it is almost unnecessary to speak. Without
-the elegance of Mrs. Hemans, she had considerable grace; with a fine
-ear, she was often careless in her rhythm; possessing a fancy exuberant
-and glowing, she showered her metaphors too indiscriminately around her.
-But few equalled her—if we may so speak—in the _passionate purity_ of
-her verse. Affection breathed through every line she wrote. Perhaps
-there was a mannerism, certainly an affectation, in her constant
-reference to love, and blighted love especially; but even this error was
-made seductive by the never-ceasing variety which she contrived to throw
-around her theme, and the sweetness, richness, and enthusiasm of her
-song. Her great faults were a want of method, and a careless, rapid
-habit of composition. From first to last, she was emphatically an
-“_improvisatrice_.” She wrote from whim rather than from plan, and
-consequently was often trite, and always careless. These observations
-will apply, we think, equally to her prose. Her “Ethell Churchill” may
-be taken as a specimen, and the best specimen, of her style in romance
-writing. It would be almost invidious to name any one of her long poems
-as the finest. In her shorter pieces she is often more successful than
-in more extended flights; and some of her most carelessly written
-stanzas glitter most with the dew of Castaly. Without fear of
-contradiction, we may say that she has left no living female poet to
-compete with her in fame, unless Mrs. Norton may be said to be her
-rival; and even with Mrs. Norton, so different are the two writers, no
-parallel can be drawn. Let us be contented with placing Hemans, Landon
-and Norton together in one glorious trio—the sweetest, brightest,
-loftiest of the female poets of the present generation.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Lectures on the Sphere and Character of Woman, and Other
- Subjects. By_ George W. Burnap, _Pastor of the First Independent
- Church of Baltimore. Philadelphia: Kay and Co._
-
-These lectures are designed as a _pendant_ to a course delivered to the
-Young Men of Baltimore, last winter, by Mr. Burnap. From the “Sphere and
-Duties” of Woman the author has excluded all allusion to her physical
-education and her political rights—regarding the first as a topic for
-the physician, the last for the jurist. Perhaps this subdivision is
-injudicious. At all events, from what we here know of Mr. Burnap, we
-should have been pleased to have his subject extended to Woman in all
-her relations.
-
-The volume appears to us not only well written, but forcibly original in
-many of its views and illustrations. A passage, at page 50, in which the
-lecturer suggests the idea of an instinctive reverence in which each sex
-holds the other, is not only new, but embodies a truth of important
-result. Mr. B. justly styles the feeling a human religion. Its moral
-effects are unquestionably great. The deterioration of every community
-which isolates the sexes, or prevents their free intercommunication, is
-here traced to a distinct and sufficient cause.
-
-These lectures are handsomely printed and bound, and would form an
-appropriate present to any lady.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Lady of Refinement in Manners, Morals and Religion. By_
- Mrs. Sandford, _Author of “Woman in her Social and Domestic
- Character.” James Loring: Boston._
-
-Mrs. Sandford is the wife of an English clergyman, and has given
-frequent evidences of her capacity. Her former work, “Woman in her
-Social and Domestic Character,” was well received in her own country.
-Whether it has been re-published here we cannot say. “The Lady of
-Refinement” is well written, and appears to be carefully matured in its
-opinions.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- SECRET WRITING.
-
-
-Our remarks on this head, in the July number, have excited much
-interest. The subject is unquestionably one of importance, when we
-regard cryptography as an exercise for the analytical faculties. In this
-view, men of the finest abilities have given it much of their attention;
-and the invention of a perfect cipher was a point to which Lord
-Chancellor Bacon devoted many months;—devoted them in vain, for the
-cryptograph which he has thought worthy a place in his _De Augmentis_,
-is one which can be solved.
-
-Just as we were going to press with the last sheet of this number, we
-received the following letter from F. W. Thomas, Esq., (of Washington,)
-the well-known author of “Clinton Bradshawe,” “Howard Pinckney,” &c. &c.
-
- My Dear Sir:—The enclosed cryptograph is from a friend of mine
- (Dr. Frailey,) who thinks he can puzzle you. If you decipher it,
- then are you a magician, for he has used, as I think, the
- greatest art in making it.
-
- Your friend,
- F. W. Thomas.
-
-[Illustration: image of cryptograph, transcription given below]
-
- £ 7i A itagi niinbiiit thitvuiaib9g h auehbiifb ivgiht itau %
- gvuiitiif 4 t$bt2ihtbo £iiiiadb9 iignit£d i2 ta5ta whbo
- ttbibtiii†it9 A iti if X hti 4 ithtt % i ‡ bnniathubii iSt b
- eaovuhoSu vtt7diboif * iti nihd6Xht na3ig an choo$ht n‡tnvotigg2
- iibtvo$if b Eaovu£avg iinoh†$h7 niau iti vtheiigbo iit6 A itagi
- t7iitig h fifvti iti gvugidviti bubodbub9 A tiiiiaditiavg nbttg
- iStavi fvuhiiu £thnhiti niiiit8 † bni 4 iiiu£$i ht d£bo evodbiSa
- ‡ nbiivihiti uavtib£g ibei —it dbuvo$if ia niafvti uvgtvnvobi
- buai9g uii iti £giSv9 i2 gvuiiti A uu iiubisg ibg tai —it
- iStavi tbvgi iti itiui A i2 intiuiiibo taovutg an dvaihfh¶
- iavitbog ¶f a ititvghbgight ittauh$h7g ht t7eiigb9bo £iiitavigi.
-
- Transcriber’s Note: In this transcription of the cryptograph,
- the % character has been substituted for a small right pointing
- hand character since depending on the device used and fonts
- available in the device used to view the cryptograph, the hand
- character may not display.
-
-This cipher is printed precisely as we received it, with the exception
-that we have substituted, for convenience sake, in some instances,
-characters that we have in the office, for others that we have not. Of
-course, as these characters are substituted _throughout_, the
-cryptograph is not affected.
-
-By return of mail we sent the solution to Mr. Thomas; but as the cipher
-is an exceedingly ingenious one, we forbear publishing its translation
-here, and prefer testing the ability of our readers to solve it. _We
-will give a year’s subscription to the Magazine, and also a year’s
-subscription to the Saturday Evening Post, to any person, or rather to
-the first person who shall read us this riddle._ We have no expectation
-that it will be read; and, therefore, should the month pass without an
-answer forthcoming, we will furnish the key to the cipher, and again
-offer a year’s subscription to the Magazine, to any person who shall
-solve it _with the key_.
-
-Lest the tenor of our observations on Cryptography should be
-misunderstood, and especially lest the nature of our challenge should be
-misconceived, we take occasion to refer to our Review of Mr. Walsh’s
-“Sketches of Conspicuous Living Characters of France,” published in the
-April number of the Magazine. M. Berryer, the French Minister, is there
-said to have displayed the highest ingenuity in the solution of a cipher
-addressed by the Duchess of Berri to the legitimists of Paris, but of
-which she had neglected to furnish the key. Berryer discovered this to
-be the phrase “Le gouvernement provisoire.” Beneath this sentence the
-alphabet had been placed, letter for letter; and thus when _a_ was
-intended _l_ was written, when _b_ was meant _e_ was substituted, and so
-on throughout. This species of cryptograph is justly considered very
-difficult. We remarked, however, that we would engage to read any one
-_of the kind_; and to this limit our correspondents must confine
-themselves. To be sure, we said, in our last number, that “human
-ingenuity could not construct a cipher which human ingenuity could not
-resolve”—but then we do not propose, just now, to make ourselves
-individually the test of “human ingenuity” in general. We do not propose
-to solve _all_ ciphers. Whether we can or cannot do this is a question
-for another day—a day when we have more leisure than at present we have
-any hope of enjoying. The most simple cryptograph requires, in its
-solution, labor, patience, and much time. We therefore abide by the
-limits of our cartel. It is true that in attempting the perusal of Dr.
-Frailey’s we have exceeded these limits by very much; but we were
-seduced into the endeavor to read it by the decided manner in which an
-opinion was expressed that we could not.
-
-E. St. J. will observe that his cipher includes _every_ letter of the
-natural alphabet. Then (admitting it to be a cipher of the kind
-proposed) his key-phrase must contain every letter of the natural
-alphabet. In such case no letter of the phrase can stand _for more than
-one_ of the alphabet, and the whole would be nothing more than a simple
-cipher, where the natural characters are represented, invariably and
-respectively, by arbitrary ones. But in this supposition there could be
-no such words as _ll_, &c.—words seen in the cryptograph. _Therefore_,
-his cipher is _not_ within the limits prescribed—Q. E. D. We do not say
-that we _cannot_ solve it, but that we will not make the attempt. This
-for the obvious reasons above assigned.
-
-P. S. We have just received the annexed letter from Mr. Thomas,
-enclosing one from Dr. Frailey:
-
- Washington, July 6th, 1841.
-
- My Dear Sir,
-
- This morning I received yours of yesterday, deciphering the
- “cryptograph” which I sent you last week, from my friend, Doctor
- Frailey. You request that I would obtain the Doctor’s
- acknowledgment of your solution. I have just received the
- enclosed from him.
-
- Doctor Frailey had heard me speak of your having deciphered a
- letter which our mutual friend, Dow, wrote upon a challenge from
- you last year, at my lodgings in your city, when Aaron Burr’s
- correspondence in cipher was the subject of our conversation.
- You laughed at what you termed Burr’s shallow artifice, and said
- you could decipher any such cryptography easily. To test you on
- the spot, Dow withdrew to the corner of the room, and wrote a
- letter in cipher, which you solved in a much shorter time than
- it took him to indite it.
-
- As Doctor Frailey seemed to doubt your skill to the extent of my
- belief in it, when your article on “Secret Writing” appeared in
- the last number of your Magazine, I showed it to him. After
- reading it, he remarked that he thought he could puzzle you, and
- the next day he handed me the cryptograph which I transmitted to
- you. He did not tell me the key. The uncommon nature of his
- article, of which I gave you not the slightest hint, made me
- express to you my strong doubts of your ability to make the
- solution. I confess that your solution, so speedily and
- correctly made, surprised me. I congratulate myself that I do
- not live in an age when the black art is believed in, for,
- innocent as I am of all knowledge of cryptography, I should be
- arrested as an accessory before the fact, and, though I escaped,
- it is certain that you would have to die the death, and, alas! I
- fear upon my testimony.
-
- Your friend,
- F. W. Thomas.
- Edgar A. Poe, Esq.
-
-
- Washington, July 6th, 1841.
-
- Dear Sir,
-
- It gives me pleasure to state that the reading, by Mr. Poe, of
- the cryptograph which I gave you a few days since for
- transmission to him, is correct. I am the more astonished at
- this since—— [We omit the remainder of the letter, since it
- enters into details which would give our readers some clue to
- the cipher.]
-
- As ever, yours, &c.,
- Chas. S. Frailey.
- F. W. Thomas, Esq.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: LATEST FASHIONS, AUGUST 1841. FOR GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.]
-
- * * * * *
-
-Transcriber’s Notes:
-
-Table of Contents has been added for reader convenience. Archaic
-spellings and inconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained. Obvious
-punctuation and typesetting errors have been corrected without note.
-
-[End of _Graham’s Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 2, August 1841_, George R.
-Graham, Editor]
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XIX, NO. 2,
-AUGUST 1841 ***
-
-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
-be renamed.
-
-Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
-law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
-so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the
-United States without permission and without paying copyright
-royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
-of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
-concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
-and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
-the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
-of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
-copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
-easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
-of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
-Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may
-do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
-by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
-license, especially commercial redistribution.
-
-START: FULL LICENSE
-
-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
-
-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
-Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
-www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
-Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-
-1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
-(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
-destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your
-possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
-Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
-by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
-person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph
-1.E.8.
-
-1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
-paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this
-agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
-
-1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the
-Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
-of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual
-works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
-States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
-United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
-claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
-displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
-all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
-that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting
-free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm
-works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
-Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily
-comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
-same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when
-you share it without charge with others.
-
-1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
-what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
-in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
-check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
-agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
-distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
-other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no
-representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
-country other than the United States.
-
-1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
-
-1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
-immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear
-prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work
-on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the
-phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed,
-performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
-
- This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
- most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the
- United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
- you are located before using this eBook.
-
-1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is
-derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
-contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
-copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
-the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
-redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
-either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
-obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm
-trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-
-1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
-additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
-will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works
-posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
-beginning of this work.
-
-1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
-
-1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm License.
-
-1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
-any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
-to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format
-other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official
-version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website
-(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
-to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
-of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain
-Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the
-full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
-
-1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-
-1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-provided that:
-
-* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
- the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
- you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
- to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has
- agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
- Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
- within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
- legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
- payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
- Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
- Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
- Literary Archive Foundation."
-
-* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
- you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
- does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
- License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
- copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
- all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm
- works.
-
-* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
- any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
- electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
- receipt of the work.
-
-* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
- distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than
-are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
-from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
-the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
-forth in Section 3 below.
-
-1.F.
-
-1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
-works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
-Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
-contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
-or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
-intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
-other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
-cannot be read by your equipment.
-
-1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
-fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
-DAMAGE.
-
-1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
-written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
-with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
-with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
-lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
-or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
-opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
-the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
-without further opportunities to fix the problem.
-
-1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO
-OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
-LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
-
-1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
-damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
-violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
-agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
-limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
-unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
-remaining provisions.
-
-1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in
-accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
-production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
-including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
-the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
-or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or
-additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any
-Defect you cause.
-
-Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
-computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
-exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
-from people in all walks of life.
-
-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
-remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future
-generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
-Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
-www.gutenberg.org
-
-Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation
-
-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
-Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
-number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
-U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
-
-The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
-Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
-to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website
-and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
-
-Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without
-widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
-freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
-array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
-status with the IRS.
-
-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
-States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
-with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
-DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular
-state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
-approach us with offers to donate.
-
-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
-outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
-
-Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
-methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
-donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-
-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be
-freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
-distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of
-volunteer support.
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
-editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
-the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
-necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
-edition.
-
-Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
-facility: www.gutenberg.org
-
-This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/old/65156-0.zip b/old/65156-0.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 81f8781..0000000
--- a/old/65156-0.zip
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ
diff --git a/old/65156-h.zip b/old/65156-h.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 6b697cd..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h.zip
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ
diff --git a/old/65156-h/65156-h.htm b/old/65156-h/65156-h.htm
deleted file mode 100644
index 7fa83bc..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h/65156-h.htm
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7440 +0,0 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
- "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
-<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
- <head>
- <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />
- <title>Graham's Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 2, August 1841</title>
- <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg"/>
- <meta name="cover" content="images/cover.jpg" />
- <meta name="DC.Title" content="Graham's Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 2, August 1841"/>
- <meta name="DC.Creator" content="George Rex Graham"/>
- <meta name="DC.Language" content="en"/>
- <meta name="DC.Created" content="1841"/>
- <meta name="Pubdate" content="1841"/>
- <meta name="DC.Subject" content="periodical, magazine, mixed fiction/nonfiction, poetry, literature, book reviews"/>
- <meta name="Tags" content="periodical, magazine, mixed fiction/nonfiction, poetry, literature, book reviews"/>
- <meta name="generator" content="fpgen 4.63a"/>
- <style type="text/css">
- body { margin-left:8%;margin-right:10%; }
- .it { font-style:italic; }
- .bold { font-weight:bold; }
- .sc { font-variant:small-caps; }
- p { text-indent:0; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em;
- text-align: justify; }
- div.lgp { }
-
- div.lgp p {
- text-align:left; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;
- }
-
- .poetry-container {
- display:block; text-align:left; margin-left:2em;
- }
-
- .stanza-inner {
- display:inline-block;
- }
-
- .stanza-outer {
- page-break-inside: avoid;
- }
-
- .stanza-inner .line0 {
- display:inline-block;
- }
- .stanza-outer .line0 {
- display:block;
- }
-
- h1 {
- text-align:center;
- font-weight:normal;
- page-break-before: always;
- font-size:1.2em; margin:2em auto 1em auto
- }
-
- h2 {
- text-align:center;
- font-weight:normal;
- font-size:1.1em;
- margin:1em auto 0.5em auto;
- }
-
- hr.tbk100{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk101{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk102{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:0.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk103{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90%; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:1.3em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk104{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk105{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk106{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk107{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk108{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk109{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk110{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:30%; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:center; margin-left:35%; margin-right:35% }
- hr.tbk111{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk112{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk113{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk114{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:30%; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:center; margin-left:35%; margin-right:35% }
- hr.tbk115{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:30%; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:center; margin-left:35%; margin-right:35% }
- hr.tbk116{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:30%; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:center; margin-left:35%; margin-right:35% }
- hr.tbk117{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:30%; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:center; margin-left:35%; margin-right:35% }
- hr.tbk118{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk119{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk120{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk121{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk122{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk123{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk124{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk125{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk126{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk127{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk128{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk129{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:30%; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:35%; margin-right:35% }
- hr.tbk130{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk131{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk132{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk133{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk134{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk135{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk136{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk137{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk138{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:10%; margin-top:1.5em; margin-bottom:1.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:45%; margin-right:45% }
- hr.tbk139{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk140{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.tbk141{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:90%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; margin-left:5%; margin-right:5% }
- hr.footnotemark {
- border:none;
- border-bottom:1px solid silver;
- width:10%;
- margin:1em auto 1em 0;
- page-break-after: avoid;
- }
- .figcenter {
- text-align:center;
- margin:1em auto;
- page-break-inside: avoid;
- }
-
- div.blockquote { margin:1em 2em; text-align:justify; }
- p.caption { text-align:center; margin:0 auto; width:100%; }
- p.credit { text-align:right; margin:0 auto; width: 100%; }
-
- .footnote td p.pindent:first-child { text-indent: 0; }
- .footnote { margin:0 4em 0 0; }
- .footnoteid { width: 3em; }
- .nobreak { page-break-before: avoid; }
- p.line { text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; }
- div.lgp p.line0 { text-indent:-3em; margin:0 auto 0 3em; }
- table { page-break-inside: avoid; }
- table.center { margin:0.5em auto; border-collapse: collapse; padding:3px; }
- table.flushleft { margin:0.5em 0em; border-collapse: collapse; padding:3px; }
- table.left { margin:0.5em 1.2em; border-collapse: collapse; padding:3px; }
- .tab1c1 { }
- .tab1c2 { }
- .tab2c1 { }
- .tab2c2 { }
- .tab1c1-col2 { border-right: 0px solid black; }
- .tab2c1-col2 { border-right: 0px solid black; }
- .tdStyle0 {
- padding: 0px 5px; text-align:center; vertical-align:top;
- }
- .tdStyle1 {
- padding: 0px 5px; text-align:left; vertical-align:top;padding-left:29px; text-indent:-24px;
- }
- .tdStyle2 {
- padding: 0px 5px; text-align:left; vertical-align:top;
- }
- .pindent { margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-indent:1.5em; }
- .noindent { margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-indent:0; }
- .hang { padding-left:1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em; }
- .dramaline { margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent: 0em; padding-left: 2.4em }
- .dramaline-cont { margin-top: .8em; margin-bottom: 0; text-indent: 0em; padding-left: 2.4em }
- .dramastart { min-height: 1px; }
- .verse-align { visibility:hidden; }
- .verse-align-inline { position:absolute; text-indent:0; }
- .verse-align-noindent { visibility:hidden; margin-left:1.2em; }
- .literal-container { text-align:center; margin:0 0; }
- .literal { display:inline-block; text-align:left; }
- </style>
- <style type="text/css">
- h1 { font-size: 1.3em; font-weight:bold;}
- .pindent {margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0em;}
- .poetry-container { margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em }
- </style>
- </head>
- <body>
-
-<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Graham's Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 2, August 1841, by Various</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
-are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
-country where you are located before using this eBook.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Graham's Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 2, August 1841</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Various</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Editor: George R. Graham</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 25, 2021 [eBook #65156]</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Mardi Desjardins & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net from page images generously made available by the Internet Archive (https://archive.org)</div>
-
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XIX, NO. 2, AUGUST 1841 ***</div>
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0000' style='width:50%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;font-size:1.9em;font-weight:bold;'>GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;font-size:1.2em;font-weight:bold;'><span class='sc'>Vol. XIX.</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;August, 1841. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No. 2.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;margin-bottom:1em;font-size:1.2em;font-weight:bold;'>Contents</p>
-
-<table id='tab1' summary='' class='center'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' style='width: 25em;'/>
-<col span='1' style='width: 1em;'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tab1c1-col2 tdStyle0' colspan='2'><span class='bold'><span style='font-size:larger'>Fiction, Literature and Articles</span></span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#pen'>The Penitent Son</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#coll'>The Colloquy of Monos and Una</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#ass'>The Assault</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#neg'>The Neglected Wife</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#pur'>The Puritan Son</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#auz'>Auzella</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#sch'>School-Boy Recollections</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#reef'>The Reefer of ’76</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#nia'>A Day at Niagara</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#wil'>Willis Gaylord Clark</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#spor'>Sports and Pastimes—Angling</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#new'>Review of New Books</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#sec'>Secret Writing</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<table id='tab2' summary='' class='center'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' style='width: 25em;'/>
-<col span='1' style='width: 1em;'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle0' colspan='2'><span class='bold'><span style='font-size:larger'>Poetry, Music and Fashion</span></span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#bib'>My Mother’s Bible</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#sorr'>“I Know That Thou Wilt Sorrow!”</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#sonn'>Sonnet</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#doi'>O, Say, Do I Na’ Lo’e Ye Lassie</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#tho'>Thoughts In Spring</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#wit'>The Withered Rose</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#maj'>Major Dade’s Command</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#wid'>The Widow</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#fare'>Farewell! If Ever Fondest Prayer</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#fash'>Latest Fashions, August 1941</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;'><a href='#notes'>Transcriber’s Notes</a> can be found at the end of this eBook.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk100'/>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i001.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0001' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span style='font-size:smaller'><span class='it'>Painted by Prentis</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class='it'>Engraved by J. Sartain.</span></span><br/></p> <br/><span class='it'>The Penitent Son.</span><br/> <br/><span class='it'>Engraved Expressly for Graham’s Magazine</span>
-</div>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i002.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0002' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span style='font-size:smaller'>F. QUARRE</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk101'/>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;font-size:1.9em;font-weight:bold;'>GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk102'/>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:1.2em;font-weight:bold;'><span class='sc'>Vol.</span> XIX. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PHILADELPHIA: AUGUST, 1841. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class='sc'>No. 2.</span></p>
-
-<hr class='tbk103'/>
-
-<div><h1 class='nobreak'><a id='pen'></a>THE PENITENT SON.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Father, only look at him—do but hear him!”
-said the soft, entreating voice of the daughter, as she
-looked up imploringly into her parent’s face, while the
-sobs of the penitent son shook his frame with agony.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>James Vernon was the only son of two doating parents,
-and the heir of a splendid fortune. Gratified
-in his every wish, and left almost without restraint,
-he had grown up that most fatal of all things, a
-spoiled child; and had it not been for a naturally
-frank and generous disposition, he would have been
-ruined by indulgence even in his boyhood. When,
-however, at fifteen, he left home for college, he still
-possessed the elements of a noble character, and had
-he then been entrusted to a careful tutor, he might
-have been saved years of folly and subsequent misery.
-But, thrown among the hundreds of youth of
-his own age who thronged the institution whither he
-was sent, with no one to guide him aright, and habits
-of wilfulness, contracted at home, to urge him on
-wherever whim might lead him, he soon fell into the
-temptations incident to a large college, and, without
-intending evil so much as seeking for amusement,
-became notorious for his frolics, idleness, and even
-dissipation. He had not been at the university a
-year before his name was regarded as that of the
-worst member of his class. His progress in study
-was deficient, and his expenses great. His doating
-father at first overlooked his son’s irregularities,
-thinking they would soon wear off; but when term
-after term elapsed, and there was no appearance of
-reformation, he expostulated strongly, almost sternly,
-with his child. For a time James was moved,
-and almost shook off his unworthy companions. But
-the effort to cut loose from them altogether required
-more energy than he was capable of, and as no reformation
-can be lasting when only half complete,
-he soon relapsed into his old habits, and, before the
-term was up, was as notorious as ever for being the
-leader in every mischievous or even disreputable
-action. This could not last. More than once he
-had been warned by the faculty, and weekly—almost
-daily—did his friends, by letter, expostulate with
-him. Frank, generous and good-intentioned, he constantly
-determined to amend his conduct; but his
-very open-heartedness, by rendering him incapable
-of resisting temptation, prevented every lasting effort
-at reformation. Each failure likewise placed
-him more and more in the power of his gay companions.
-The result is easily told. In his second
-year, he was detected in a flagrant violation of the
-college rules, and, as expostulation had been used
-again and again in vain, he was expelled from the
-university. The blow fell like a thunderbolt on his
-parents. His father was a rigidly correct, and
-withal a proud man, and, in proportion to the affection
-with which he regarded his son, was the conviction
-of the disgrace thus brought upon his name. In
-the first emotions of his anger, he almost vowed
-never to look on the face of his son again. But the
-prayers of the fond mother at length prevailed; he
-relented, and James was once more received under
-the paternal roof.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It must not be supposed that the youth was callous
-to his disgrace. He felt it acutely, and the more
-acutely because, as every good principle was not yet
-eradicated from his heart, he was conscious that he
-deserved his degradation. He saw, too, how deeply
-injured were the feelings of his parents; and he determined
-to thoroughly reform. He kept his word.
-For the year that he remained under the paternal
-roof, he seemed another being. But, in a fatal hour,
-his father yielded to his solicitations to allow him to
-study a profession, and he was accordingly sent to
-Philadelphia, to commence a course of lectures at the
-celebrated university of that city. Who might not
-have foretold the result? Almost imperceptibly,
-and, to a disposition like his, unavoidably, he was
-seduced back into his old courses, and, before the
-winter was over, he became once more celebrated as
-one of the most idle and dissipated students of his
-class. The arrival of a few of his old companions in
-college, to begin their studies for a profession, completed
-his ruin. He plunged into every extravagance.
-His allowance, liberal as it was, fell far short of his
-expenses. His bills soon accumulated to a fearful
-amount. Dreading to acquaint his parent with their
-extent, and in order to relieve himself from their
-load, he did what hitherto he had shunned—he resorted
-to the gaming table. For a while he was successful,
-for he had always been accounted a skilful
-player, and believing he now had a resource for every
-emergency, he plunged still deeper into extravagance
-of every character. But suddenly his luck failed
-him. He lost. Again he essayed to retrieve his fortune—again
-he was unsuccessful. His bills had
-meantime accumulated to a fearful amount; and
-knowing that he had no hope for succor from his parent,
-he made a desperate attempt to retrieve his
-losses. It was in vain. Not only did he fail to retrieve
-his luck, but he went forth a ruined man,
-having involved himself even still deeper. For a
-while he was frantic with despair. As a last resort,
-he determined on applying to his mother, well knowing
-that she would look with more leniency on him
-than his sterner father would. He waited breathlessly
-for an answer. It came, directed in his father’s
-handwriting. He opened the epistle with a trembling
-hand, and beating heart, and read as follows:</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='sc'>Sir</span>,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Your letter found your mother on a sick bed,
-unable to receive any intelligence, and, as we knew
-from whom the packet came, I opened it. Its contents
-will account for the style of this epistle. You
-are no longer a son of mine. Two years ago, when
-you brought the disgrace on your name of having
-been expelled ignominiously from college, I almost
-vowed never to acknowledge you as a son of mine.
-I relented, however, and took you again into favor.
-I see now how useless it was. Again you have
-brought shame on my gray hairs; and I now make
-the determination to disown you wholly. Enclosed
-is a thousand dollars, for I will not send you penniless
-on the world. Let me never again hear from
-you. Change your name, since you will dishonor the
-one I bear, and remember that your own folly has
-cut loose every tie betwixt you and</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:3em;'><span class='sc'>George L. Vernon</span>.”</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The letter fell from the hands of the young man as
-he ceased reading, and for some moments, without
-uttering a word, he gazed on it as it lay on the floor
-at his feet. In that minute how his whole past life
-rushed through his memory! He thought of his infancy;
-his early childhood; the rooms where he
-played; his little sister; his mother; the servants;
-every old familiar place and thing, all now shut out
-to him forever. Had he deserved to be treated with
-such harshness? His passion blinded him as he said:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No! I have not deserved it. I will be under no
-obligations to one who can thus heartlessly cast me
-off. He disowns me—does he? Let it be. Never
-will I sue for a favor again at any of their hands.
-From this day forth they shall be to me as the dead.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Shall we follow him through his career of subsequent
-desperation and eventual profligacy, or shall
-we at once draw to a close?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>More than a year had passed since Vernon had
-been disowned by his parent, and he was now an
-outcast, and almost penniless. In all that time he
-had heard nothing of home. He had seen, in the interval,
-every variety of life. The gaming table had
-been his principal resort, for after having, with the
-remittance made to him by his father, discharged his
-debts of honor, he had so little left that he saw no
-other resource from starvation. The vicissitudes of
-a gambler’s life are well known; the inevitable result—poverty—is
-ever the same. By the time a
-twelvemonth had elapsed, Vernon was almost penniless.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>With only a few dollars in his pocket, he one night
-entered a low gaming house, and for some time
-betted without either loss or gain. At length, however,
-he lost. He threw down another stake, and
-that too was swept up by the banker. His last dollar
-was in his hand, ready to be put up, when he
-paused, and the question flashed across his mind,
-what if he should lose again? Never before had he
-been so near to utter poverty. He had even no place
-where he might lodge that night, and, save that dollar,
-he owned nothing in the wide world but the garments
-he wore. He paused, and turned away.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The cards pass,” said the banker. “You do not
-bet this time, sir?—another chance, and you retrieve
-your loss.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Still the young man hesitated. The banker lost.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The cards pass,” said the banker again; “you
-see you would have won, sir. How much do you
-put up now?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The young man glanced fiercely at the speaker,
-hesitated an instant, and half turned away again;
-but the temptation to try his luck once more was too
-great, and hastily throwing down his dollar, he
-grasped the cards convulsively.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Twenty!” said the banker, flinging his cards
-with a smile on the table. “Sir, you have lost.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The young man stared wildly at the hoary villain,
-and then grinding his teeth together fiercely, with
-ill-concealed despair, he pushed the piece towards
-his tempter, cast a stern defying glance around the
-room at the curious spectators of the scene, and
-strode from the apartment.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Humph!” said the banker, “I’ll bet it’s his last
-dollar—who takes me up? No one, eh! Then,
-gentlemen, proceed.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>No sooner had the young man reached the street
-than he paused, and looking up at the gay windows
-of the room he had left, he shook his clenched hand
-fiercely at them, and exclaimed—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Curses on ye for the ruin ye have brought upon
-me!—ay! ten thousand curses on ye and your
-hoary owners!” and then the recollection of his
-poverty seeming to cross his mind in another guise,
-he added, less passionately, “My God! not a cent
-have they left me, even to buy a night’s shelter. Oh!
-that I had never left my father’s house!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>For hours he wandered up and down the streets,
-now inflamed to madness by his despair, now melting
-at the recollection of the happy days he had once
-enjoyed under his father’s roof. Morning still found
-him a wanderer. Pale, dejected and spirit-broken,
-he entered, at early dawn, an obscure coffee-house,
-just as the sleepy menials were opening the shutters,
-and sitting moodily down, picked up the morning
-paper. The first paragraph that his eye lit upon
-was as follows:</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Died, on the 5th inst., after a lingering illness,
-which she bore with Christian meekness and fortitude,
-<span class='sc'>Elizabeth</span>, wife of <span class='sc'>George L. Vernon</span>.”</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The paper dropped from his grasp. For an instant
-all power of speech left him. Then rushed across
-his mind the recollection of a thousand things which
-that mother had done for her erring boy. And she
-had died—died without forgiving him! Oh! at
-that moment, he would have given worlds to have
-recalled her to life, in order that he might kneel at
-her feet and solicit her pardon.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I will arise,” at length he said, in the language
-of scripture, “and go unto my father. I will sue for
-permission to behold her face in death; surely that
-they will not deny me.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And he arose. Completely changed in spirit, that
-erring son, after nearly a day’s travel, arrived at his
-native village. He had parted with every available
-thing to obtain funds for the journey, and reached
-his father’s house just before night, penniless. He
-knocked hastily at the door, not giving himself time
-to notice that the house bore no signs of mourning.
-The old housekeeper, who happened to be crossing
-the hall at the time the servant admitted him, could
-scarcely repress a scream of surprise at seeing her
-young master.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“For God’s sake,” gasped the penitent, “Mrs.
-Irwin, lead me to my mother; let me see her before
-the grave closes over her forever.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The almost incoherent words and eager, impassioned
-gestures of the penitent for a moment bewildered
-the good woman.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your mother! Mr. James—she is not dead; but
-you have seen the newspapers’ mistake, then?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Not dead!” exclaimed he, falling on his knees;
-“then I thank thee, oh! my Creator, that I can yet
-sue for her forgiveness.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Come, then, my dear boy,” said the old housekeeper,
-bursting into tears, “and let me take you
-in to your parents. Oh! I have prayed for this hour
-night and day, and I knew that it would come;” and
-while the tears fell thick and fast down her aged
-cheeks, she led the now passive penitent across the
-hall, opened the door of the drawing-room, and
-ushered in the returning prodigal.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>One glance around that well-remembered room
-was sufficient for the young man. His mother sat in
-her easy chair, wrapped in a large shawl, and bearing
-evident traces of a late illness; his sister was at
-her piano, playing one of the old airs which he had
-heard a thousand times from her; and his silver-haired
-father sat betwixt the mother and daughter,
-engaged in his usual occupation of reading. Yet,
-oh! how care-worn were the faces of all! And this
-was the work of that prodigal son. As he saw it all,
-a gush of old feelings swept across the penitent’s
-soul, and falling on his knees, he buried his face in
-his hands, and sobbed aloud in his remorse.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My boy!—come to my arms,” said the mother,
-almost hysterically, awarding her forgiveness almost
-before it was solicited.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Not so the father. Rising with a frown from his
-chair, he was about to advance on the intruder, when
-the daughter, rushing towards him, lifted her beseeching
-eyes to her parent’s, and said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Father, only look at him—do but hear him!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>For a moment the conflict in that father’s bosom
-almost shook his frame with emotion. At first he
-turned away, refusing to see his boy; but in every
-line of his agitated face might be seen the struggle
-betwixt affection for his son and his sense of injury.
-Nature at length triumphed; he suffered himself to
-be led towards the penitent, and the next moment
-the members of the re-united family were sobbing
-alternately in each other’s arms.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:3em;'>R.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk104'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='bib'></a>MY MOTHER’S BIBLE.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY GEORGE P. MORRIS.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>This book is all that’s left me now!—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Tears will unbidden start—</p>
-<p class='line0'>With faltering lip and throbbing brow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I press it to my heart.</p>
-<p class='line0'>For many generations passed,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Here is our family tree;</p>
-<p class='line0'>My mother’s hands this Bible clasped—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She, dying, gave it me.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Ah! well do I remember those</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Whose names these records bear:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who round the hearth-stone used to close,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;After the evening prayer,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And speak of what these pages said,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In terms my heart would thrill!—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Though they are with the silent dead,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Here are they living still!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>My father read this holy book</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To brothers, sisters dear—</p>
-<p class='line0'>How calm was my poor mother’s look,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Who leaned God’s word to hear!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her angel face—I see it yet!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;What thronging memories come!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Again that little group is met</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Within the halls of home!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Thou truest friend man ever knew,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thy constancy I’ve tried;</p>
-<p class='line0'>When all were false, I found thee true,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;My counsellor and guide.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The mines of earth no treasures give</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That could this volume buy;</p>
-<p class='line0'>In teaching me the way to live,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;It taught me how to die.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk105'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='coll'></a>THE COLLOQUY OF MONOS AND UNA.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY EDGAR A. POE.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Una.</span> “Born again?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Monos.</span> Yes, fairest and best beloved Una, “born
-again.” These were the words upon whose mystical
-meaning I had so long pondered, rejecting the
-explanations of the priesthood, until Death himself
-resolved for me the secret.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Una.</span> Death!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Monos.</span> How strangely, sweet Una, you echo my
-words! I observe, too, a vacillation in your step—a
-joyous inquietude in your eyes. You are confused
-and oppressed by the majestic novelty of the Life
-Eternal. Yes, it was of Death I spoke. And here
-how singularly sounds that word which of old was
-wont to bring terror to all hearts—throwing a mildew
-upon all pleasures!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Una.</span> Ah, Death, the spectre which sate at all
-feasts! How often, Monos, did we lose ourselves
-in speculations upon its nature! How mysteriously
-did it act as a check to human bliss—saying unto it
-“thus far, and no farther!” That earnest mutual
-love, my own Monos, which burned within our bosoms—how
-vainly did we flatter ourselves, feeling
-happy in its first upspringing, that our happiness
-would strengthen with its strength! Alas! as it
-grew, so grew in our hearts the dread of that evil
-hour which was hurrying to separate us forever!
-Thus, in time, it became painful to love. Hate
-would have been mercy then.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Monos.</span> Speak not here of these griefs, dear
-Una—mine, mine forever now!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Una.</span> But the memory of past sorrow—is it not
-present joy? I have much to say yet of the things
-which have been. Above all, I burn to know the incidents
-of your own passage through the dark Valley
-and Shadow.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Monos.</span> And when did the radiant Una ask anything
-of her Monos in vain? I will be minute in relating
-all—but at what point shall the weird narrative
-begin?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Una.</span> At what point?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Monos.</span> You have said.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Una.</span> Monos, I comprehend you. In Death we
-have both learned the propensity of man to define
-the indefinable. I will not say, then, commence
-with the moment of life’s cessation—but commence
-with that sad, sad instant when, the fever having
-abandoned you, you sank into a breathless and motionless
-torpor, and I pressed down your pallid eyelids
-with the passionate fingers of love.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Monos.</span> One word first, my Una, in regard to
-man’s general condition at this epoch. You will remember
-that one or two of the wise among our forefathers—wise
-in fact, although not in the world’s
-esteem—had ventured to doubt the propriety of the
-term “improvement,” as applied to the progress of
-our civilization. There were periods in each of the
-five or six centuries immediately preceding our dissolution,
-when arose some vigorous intellect, boldly
-contending for those principles whose truth appears
-now, to our disenfranchised reason, so utterly obvious—principles
-which should have taught our race
-to submit to the guidance of the natural laws, rather
-than attempt their control. At long intervals some
-master-minds appeared, looking upon each advance
-in practical science as a retro-gradation in the true
-utility. Occasionally the poetic intellect—that intellect
-which we now feel to have been the most exalted
-of all—since those truths which to us were of
-the most enduring importance could only be reached
-by that <span class='it'>analogy</span> which speaks in proof-tones to the
-imagination alone, and to the unaided reason bears
-no weight—occasionally did this poetic intellect
-proceed a step farther in the evolving of the vague
-idea of the philosophic, and find in the mystic
-parable that tells of the tree of knowledge, and of its
-forbidden fruit, death-producing, a distinct intimation
-that knowledge was not meet for man in the infant
-condition of his soul. And these men—the poets—living
-and perishing amid the scorn of the “utilitarians”—of
-rough pedants, who arrogated to themselves
-a title which could have been properly applied
-only to the scorned—these men, the poets,
-pondered piningly, yet not unwisely, upon the ancient
-days when our wants were not more simple
-than our enjoyments were keen—days when <span class='it'>mirth</span>
-was a word unknown, so solemnly deep-toned was
-happiness—holy, august and blissful days, when
-blue rivers ran undammed, between hills unhewn,
-into far forest solitudes, primæval, odorous, and unexplored.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Yet these noble exceptions from the general misrule
-served but to strengthen it by opposition. Alas!
-we had fallen upon the most evil of all our evil days.
-The great “movement”—that was the cant term—went
-on:—a diseased commotion, moral and physical.
-Art—the Arts—arose supreme, and, once enthroned,
-cast chains upon the intellect which had elevated
-them to power. Man, because he could not but
-acknowledge the majesty of Nature, fell into childish
-exultation at his acquired and still-increasing dominion
-over her elements. Even while he stalked a
-god in his own fancy, an infantine imbecility came
-over him. As might be supposed from the origin of
-his disorder, he grew infected with system, and with
-abstraction. He enwrapped himself in generalities.
-Among other odd ideas, those of universal equality
-gained ground; and in the face of analogy and of
-God—in despite of the loud warning voice of the
-laws of <span class='it'>gradation</span> so visibly pervading all things in
-Earth and Heaven—wild attempts at an omni-prevalent
-Democracy were made. Yet this evil sprang
-necessarily from the leading evil, Knowledge. Man
-could not both know and succumb. Meantime huge
-smoking cities arose, innumerable. Green leaves
-shrank before the hot breath of furnaces. The fair
-face of Nature was deformed as with the ravages of
-some loathsome disease. And methinks, sweet Una,
-even our slumbering sense of the forced and of the
-far-fetched might have arrested us here. But now it
-appears that we had worked out our own destruction
-in the perversion of our <span class='it'>taste</span>, or rather in the blind
-neglect of its culture in the schools. For, in truth,
-it was at this crisis that taste alone—that faculty
-which, holding a middle position between the pure
-intellect and the moral sense, could never safely
-have been disregarded—it was now that taste alone
-could have led us gently back to Beauty, to Nature,
-and to Life. But alas for the pure contemplative
-spirit and majestic intuition of Plato! Alas for the
-μουσικη which he justly regarded as an all-sufficient
-education for the soul! Alas for him and for it!—since
-both were most desperately needed when both
-were most entirely forgotten or despised.<a id='r1'/><a href='#f1' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[1]</span></sup></a></p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Pascal, a philosopher whom we both love, has
-said, how truly!—“<span class='it'>que tout notre raisonnement se
-rèduit à céder au sentiment</span>;” and it is not impossible
-that the sentiment of the natural, had time permitted
-it, would have regained its old ascendancy
-over the harsh mathematical reason of the schools.
-But this thing was not to be. Prematurely induced
-by intemperance of knowledge, the old age of the
-world drew on. This the mass of mankind saw not,
-or, living lustily although unhappily, affected not to
-see. But, for myself, the Earth’s records had taught
-me to look for widest ruin as the price of highest
-civilization. I had imbibed a prescience of our Fate
-from comparison of China the simple and enduring,
-with Assyria the architect, with Egypt the astrologer,
-with Nubia, more crafty than either, the turbulent
-mother of all Arts. In history<a id='r2'/><a href='#f2' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[2]</span></sup></a> of these regions
-I met with a ray from the Future. The individual
-artificialities of the three latter were local diseases
-of the Earth, and in their individual overthrows we
-had seen local remedies applied; but for the infected
-world at large I could anticipate no regeneration
-save in death. That man, as a race, should not become
-extinct, I saw that he must be “<span class='it'>born again</span>.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now it was, fairest and dearest, that we
-busied our souls, daily, in dreams. Now it was that,
-in twilight, we discoursed of the days to come, when
-the Art-scarred surface of the Earth, having undergone
-that purification<a id='r3'/><a href='#f3' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[3]</span></sup></a> which alone could efface its
-rectangular obscenities, should clothe itself anew in
-the verdure and the mountain-slopes and the smiling
-waters of Paradise, and be rendered at length a fit
-dwelling-place for man:—for man the Death-purged—for
-man to whose now exalted intellect
-there should be poison in knowledge no more—for
-the redeemed, regenerated, blissful, and now immortal,
-but still for the <span class='it'>material</span>, man.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Una.</span> Well do I remember these conversations,
-dear Monos; but the epoch of the fiery overthrow
-was not so near at hand as we believed, and as the
-corruption you indicate did surely warrant us in believing.
-Men lived; and died individually. You
-yourself sickened, and passed into the grave; and
-thither your constant Una speedily followed you.
-And though the century which has since elapsed, and
-whose conclusion brings us thus together once more,
-tortured our slumbering senses with no impatience
-of duration, yet, my Monos, it was a century
-still.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Monos.</span> Say, rather, a point in the vague infinity.
-Unquestionably, it was in the Earth’s dotage that I
-died. Wearied at heart with anxieties which had
-their origin in the general turmoil and decay, I succumbed
-to the fierce fever. After some few days of
-pain, and many of dreamy delirium replete with
-ecstasy, the manifestations of which you mistook for
-pain, while I longed but was impotent to undeceive
-you—after some days there came upon me, as you
-have said, a breathless and motionless torpor; and
-this was termed <span class='it'>Death</span> by those who stood around
-me. Words are vague things. My condition did
-not deprive me of sentience. It appeared to me not
-greatly dissimilar to the extreme quiescence of him
-who, having slumbered long and profoundly, lying
-motionless and fully prostrate in a midsummer noon,
-begins to steal slowly back into consciousness,
-through the mere sufficiency of his sleep, and without
-being awakened by external disturbances. I
-breathed no longer. The pulses were still. The
-heart had ceased to beat. Volition had not departed
-but was powerless. The senses were unusually active,
-although eccentrically so—assuming often
-each other’s functions at random. The taste and the
-smell were inextricably confounded, and became one
-sentiment, abnormal and intense. The rose-water
-with which your tenderness had moistened my lips
-to the last, affected me with sweet fancies of flowers—fantastic
-flowers, far more lovely than any of
-the old Earth, but whose prototypes we have here
-blooming around us. The eyelids, transparent and
-bloodless, offered no complete impediment to vision.
-As volition was in abeyance, the balls could not roll
-in their sockets—but all objects within the range of
-the visual hemisphere were seen with more or less
-distinctness; the rays which fell upon the external
-retina, or into the corner of the eye, producing a
-more vivid effect than those which struck the front
-or interior surface. Yet, in the former instance, this
-effect was so far anomalous that I appreciated it
-only as <span class='it'>sound</span>—sound sweet or discordant as the
-matters presenting themselves at my side were light
-or dark in shade—curved or angular in outline.
-The hearing, at the same time, although excited in
-degree, was not irregular in action—estimating real
-sounds with an extravagance of precision, not less
-than of sensibility. Touch had undergone a modification
-more peculiar. Its impressions were tardily
-received, but pertinaciously retained, and resulted
-always in the highest physical pleasure. Thus the
-pressure of your sweet fingers upon my eyelids, at
-first only recognised through vision, at length, long
-after their removal, filled my whole being with a
-sensual delight immeasurable. I say with a sensual
-delight. <span class='it'>All</span> my perceptions were purely sensual.
-The materials furnished the passive brain by the
-senses were not in the least degree wrought into
-shape by the deceased understanding. Of pain there
-was some little; of pleasure there was much; but of
-moral pain or pleasure none at all. Thus your wild
-sobs floated into my ear with all their mournful cadences,
-and were appreciated in their every variation
-of sad tone; but they were soft musical sounds and
-no more; they conveyed to the extinct reason no intimation
-of the sorrows which gave them birth;
-while the large and constant tears which fell upon
-my face, telling the bystanders of a heart which
-broke, thrilled every fibre of my frame with ecstasy
-alone. And this was in truth the <span class='it'>Death</span> of which
-these bystanders spoke reverently, in low whispers—you,
-sweet Una, gaspingly, with loud cries.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>They attired me for the coffin—three or four dark
-figures which flitted busily to and fro. As these
-crossed the direct line of my vision they affected me
-as <span class='it'>forms</span>; but upon passing to my side their images
-impressed me with the idea of shrieks, groans, and
-other dismal expressions of terror, of horror, or of
-wo. You alone, habited in a white robe, passed in
-all directions musically about me.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The day waned; and, as its light faded away, I
-became possessed by a vague uneasiness—an anxiety
-such as the sleeper feels when sad real sounds fall
-continuously within his ear—low distant bell-tones,
-solemn, at long but equal intervals, and commingling
-with melancholy dreams. Night arrived; and with
-its shadows a heavy discomfort. It oppressed my
-limbs with the oppression of some dull weight, and
-was palpable. There was also a moaning sound, not
-unlike the distant reverberation of surf, but more
-continuous, which, beginning with the first twilight,
-had grown in strength with the darkness. Suddenly
-lights were brought into the room, and this reverberation
-became forthwith interrupted into frequent
-unequal bursts of the same sound, but less dreary
-and less distinct. The ponderous oppression was in
-a great measure relieved; and, issuing from the flame
-of each lamp, (for there were many,) there flowed
-unbrokenly into my ears a strain of melodious monotone.
-And when now, dear Una, approaching the
-bed upon which I lay outstretched, you sat gently by
-my side, breathing odor from your sweet lips, and
-pressing them upon my brow, there arose tremulously
-within my bosom, and mingling with the merely
-physical sensations which circumstances had called
-forth, a something akin to sentiment itself—a feeling
-that, half appreciating, half responded to your
-earnest love and sorrow; but this feeling took no
-root in the pulseless heart, and seemed indeed rather
-a shadow than a reality, and faded quickly away,
-first into extreme quiescence, and then into a purely
-sensual pleasure as before.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now, from the wreck and the chaos of the
-usual senses, there appeared to have arisen within
-me a sixth, all perfect. In its exercise I found a
-wild delight—yet a delight still physical, inasmuch
-as the understanding had in it no part. Motion in
-the animal frame had fully ceased. No muscle
-quivered; no nerve thrilled; no artery throbbed.
-But there seemed to have sprung up in the brain,
-<span class='it'>that</span> of which no words could convey to the merely
-human intelligence even an indistinct definition.
-Let me term it a mental pendulous pulsation. It
-was the moral embodiment of man’s abstract idea of
-<span class='it'>Time</span>. By the absolute equalization of this movement—or
-of such as this—had the cycles of the firmamental
-orbs themselves, been adjusted. By its
-aid I measured the irregularities of the clock upon
-the mantel, and of the watches of the attendants.
-Their tickings came sonorously to my ears. The
-slightest deviations from the true proportion—and
-these deviations were omni-prævalent—affected me
-just as violations of abstract truth were wont, on
-earth, to affect the moral sense. Although no two
-of the time-pieces in the chamber struck the individual
-seconds accurately together, yet I had no difficulty
-in holding steadily in mind the tones, and the
-respective momentary errors of each. And this—this
-keen, perfect, self-existing sentiment of <span class='it'>duration</span>—this
-sentiment existing (as man could not possibly
-have conceived it to exist) independently of
-any succession of events—this idea—this sixth
-sense, upspringing from the ashes of the rest, was
-the first obvious and certain step of the intemporal
-soul upon the threshold of the temporal Eternity.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was midnight; and you still sat by my side.
-All others had departed from the chamber of Death.
-They had deposited me in the coffin. The lamps
-burned flickeringly; for this I knew by the tremulousness
-of the monotonous strains. But, suddenly
-these strains diminished in distinctness and in volume.
-Finally they ceased. The perfume in my nostrils
-died away. Forms affected my vision no longer.
-The oppression of the Darkness uplifted itself
-from my bosom. A dull shock like that of electricity
-pervaded my frame, and was followed by total loss
-of the idea of contact. All of what man has termed
-sense was merged in the sole consciousness of entity,
-and in the one abiding sentiment of duration. The
-mortal body had been at length stricken with the
-hand of the deadly <span class='it'>Decay</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Yet had not all of sentience departed; for the
-consciousness and the sentiment remaining supplied
-some of its functions by a lethargic intuition. I appreciated
-the direful change now in operation upon
-the flesh, and, as the dreamer is sometimes aware of
-the bodily presence of one who leans over him, so,
-sweet Una, I still dully felt that you sat by my side.
-So, too, when the noon of the second day came, I
-was not unconscious of those movements which displaced
-you from my side, which confined me within
-the coffin, which deposited me within the hearse,
-which bore me to the grave, which lowered me within
-it, which heaped heavily the mould upon me, and
-thus left me in blackness and corruption to my sad
-slumbers with the worm.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And here, in the prison-house, which has few secrets
-to disclose, there rolled away days and weeks
-and solemn months, and the soul watched narrowly
-each second as it flew, and, without effort, took
-record of its flight—without effort and without object.
-Meantime the worm, with its convulsive motion,
-writhed untorturing and unheeded about me.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A year passed. The consciousness of <span class='it'>being</span> had
-grown hourly more indistinct, and that of mere <span class='it'>locality</span>
-had, in great measure, usurped its position. The
-idea of entity was becoming merged in that of <span class='it'>place</span>.
-The narrow space immediately surrounding what
-had been the body, was now growing to be the body
-itself. At length, as often happens to the sleeper
-(by sleep and its world alone is <span class='it'>Death</span> imaged)—at
-length, as sometimes happened on Earth to the deep
-slumberer, when some flitting light half startled him
-into awaking, yet left him half enveloped in dreams—so
-to me, in the strict embrace of the <span class='it'>Shadow</span>, came
-<span class='it'>that</span> light which alone might have had power to
-startle—the light of enduring <span class='it'>Love</span>. Men toiled at
-the grave in which I lay darkling. They upthrew
-the damp earth. Upon my mouldering bones there
-descended the coffin of Una.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now again all was void. That nebulous light
-had been extinguished. That feeble thrill had vibrated
-itself into quiescence. Many lustra had supervened.
-Dust had returned to dust. The worm
-had food no more. The sense of being had at length
-utterly departed, and there reigned in its stead—instead
-of all things—dominant and perpetual—the
-autocrats <span class='it'>Place</span> and <span class='it'>Time</span>. For <span class='it'>that</span> which <span class='it'>was not</span>—for
-that which had no form—for that which had no
-thought—for that which had no sentience—for that
-which was soulless, yet of which matter formed no
-portion—for all this nothingness, yet for all this immortality,
-the grave was still a home, and the corrosive
-hours, co-mates.</p>
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_1'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f1'><a href='#r1'>[1]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It will be hard to discover a better [method of education]
-than that which the experience of so many ages has
-already discovered; and this may be summed up as consisting
-in gymnastics for the body, and <span class='it'>music</span> for the soul.”—Repub.
-lib. 2. “For this reason is a musical education
-most essential; since it causes Rhythm and Harmony to
-penetrate most intimately into the soul, taking the strongest
-hold upon it, filling it with <span class='it'>beauty</span> and making the man
-<span class='it'>beautiful-minded</span>.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. He will praise and admire <span class='it'>the
-beautiful</span>; will receive it with joy into his soul, will feed
-upon it, and <span class='it'>assimilate his own condition with it</span>.”—Ibid,
-lib. 3. Music (μουσικη) had, however, among the Athenians,
-a far more comprehensive signification than with us.
-It included not only the harmonies of time and of tune, but
-the poetic diction, sentiment and creation, each in its widest
-sense. The study of <span class='it'>music</span> was with them, in fact, the general
-cultivation of the taste—of that which recognizes the
-beautiful—in contra-distinction from reason, which deals
-only with the true.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_2'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f2'><a href='#r2'>[2]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“History” from ιστορειν, to contemplate.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_3'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f3'><a href='#r3'>[3]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The word “<span class='it'>purification</span>” seems here to be used with
-reference to its root in the Greek πυρ, fire.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk106'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='sorr'></a>“I KNOW THAT THOU WILT SORROW!”</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY MRS. R. S. NICHOLS.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I know that thou wilt sorrow, when first I pass from earth,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And at thy pale and quivering lip shall gleam no sign of mirth,</p>
-<p class='line0'>For grief shall sit upon thy brow, in sad, unseemly guise,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And tears, e’en though thou art a man, shall well up to thine eyes.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>For each young plant, each speaking flower, and old familiar place</p>
-<p class='line0'>Will seem to gaze with sadness, up to thine averted face;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And when, perchance, another hand my own sweet chords shall sweep,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou’lt list to those remembered tones, and turn aside and weep!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And when another’s thoughtless voice, shall breathe to thee my name,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And whisper that the sound was linked with an undying fame,</p>
-<p class='line0'>No pride shall mantle o’er thy cheek, nor darkle in thine eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>For idle words breathed of the dead, should pass as idly by.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Thou’lt miss my step at even, when thou drawest near thy home,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When gleam the ever-sleepless stars, from yon eternal dome;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And thou wilt sit and gaze at them, nor shall thou gaze unmoved,</p>
-<p class='line0'>For, oh! thou’lt think, that I too well their startling beauty loved!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Thou’lt miss me, and will seek to claim the tempest of thy soul,</p>
-<p class='line0'>For passions all untamed as those, shall bend to thy control;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And grief, that erst sat on thy brow, thou’lt spurn from out thy heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And with each old remembrancer most willingly will part.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>When my dim-remembered features shall pass from memory,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When the music of my name, shall wake no answering melody,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou wilt turn thee to another, and she will be to thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>E’en all that I have ever been,—all I could hope to be!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk107'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='ass'></a>THE ASSAULT.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY J. H. DANA.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was the last morning of the assault. The sun
-had risen heavily across the eastern highlands, flinging
-his slant beams upon the embattled armies of the
-cross, and disclosing, as the mists rolled upwards
-from the valley, mangonel, and tower, and battering-ram,
-and serried troops of warriors, drawn up in array
-before Jerusalem,—and now as the shout “to the
-Holy City,” swelled out upon the air, and the priests,
-in sacerdotal robes, lifted up their chaunt again, the
-whole vast mass, as if by a simultaneous impulse,
-moved forward from their stations, and with lance,
-and shield, and banner, and shouts of triumph, and
-clashing of arms, marched on to the assault. All
-Europe was up. Prince and subject; noble and serf;
-layman and monk; the rich and the poor; the proud
-and the humble; old, young, and middle aged; stalwart
-men and feeble women; the knight in his armor,
-and the boor in his capote,—the bishop with his
-crozier, and the friar in his cowl; the halt, the deaf,
-the blind; all ranks and conditions of life swelled
-the gigantic host, which, gathering new accessions
-to its numbers in every land it traversed, had rolled
-on with threatening aspect over Palestine, carrying
-terror and desolation to the Saracens, until at length
-the mighty army was now arrayed before Jerusalem,
-burning to achieve the redemption of the sepulchre.
-Yes! Europe was there in arms, moved as one man,
-by one spirit. From hill and dale; from city and
-hamlet; from the castle of the noble and the cottage
-of the boor; from cloister, and forge, and plough, the
-sons of the church had gathered at her summons,
-fired with a lofty determination to avenge an insulted
-faith, and scourge back to the fastnesses from
-whence they came the sacrilegious followers of the
-crescent. There was the bluff Englishman, the fair-haired
-German, the tall gaunt Scot, the gay cavalier
-from Provence, the dark eyed son of Italy, and the
-wild and uncouth child of that green “Erin,” of the
-ocean, lying on the utmost verge of civilization, and
-known only by vague rumor as the habitation of
-man. Ay! all these were there—there, with spear,
-and sword, and cross-bow—there, in glittering
-casque, and homely jerkin—there, on proudly caparisoned
-steeds, or marching with soiled buskin humbly
-on foot. Soldiers of every garb, tongue, and
-nation; men who had been enemies but were now
-friends; warriors, who had hitherto lived only
-for rapine, joined in that wild shout, and with an
-enthusiasm they had never felt before, swept on the
-second time to the assault—and ever as they
-marched, in solid phalanx or open column, Frank,
-or Saxon, or Italian, they swelled out the cry, “Ho!
-soldiers of the cross—on to the Holy City!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now the battle was joined. Foremost of all,
-in his lofty tower, stood Godfrey of Bouillon, cheering
-on the attack, and directing his unerring shafts
-against every one who appeared upon the walls;—while
-beneath and around him, plying mangonel and
-battering-ram, or showering arrows on the foe,
-pressed on the humbler soldiers of the cross—ay!
-pressed on, although the missiles of the Saracens
-poured down like rain, and melted lead, and scalding
-water, and fire itself, fell thick and fast upon the
-hosts of the assailants. And still on they pressed,
-and though the ground was strewed with the dying,
-and every moment some new assailant fell, the gallant
-line of the Crusaders never swerved, but as fast
-as one went down another filled his place; and as
-the long hours of the morning passed away, and the
-Saracens maintained their walls, fighting with the
-desperation of men who were contending for their
-homes, the fearless assailers kept pressing on to the
-attack, determined to succeed in the assault or leave
-their bones to bleach before the walls. One universal
-enthusiasm pervaded the whole host. Old and
-young; peaceful monks and timid women; the sick,
-the halt, the dumb, came forth from the camp,
-bringing weapons for those who had spent their
-missiles, carrying water for the parched combatants,
-or cheering the dying in their last moments of mortal
-agony. And higher and higher mounted the sun,
-and sultry and more sultry grew the air, yet still the
-Saracens made good their walls, and when the exhausted
-soldiers were almost fainting from the fatigues
-of the day, the beseiged made one more
-desperate rally, and, collecting all their strength for
-a last effort, they bore down upon the soldiers of the
-cross, and drove them, with terrific slaughter, from
-the walls. Back—back—back they fled, in wild
-dismay. In vain their leaders attempted to rally the
-worn-out soldiers; they themselves could scarcely
-support their frames, exhausted by their heavy armor
-and the stifling heat of noonday. Further effort
-was hopeless. The despair was general. A wild
-shout of exultation rung out from the walls, as the
-Saracens seized the image of a cross, spat upon it,
-and cast it, with insulting gestures, into the ditch.
-The taunt stung the assailants to the heart. At that
-instant a shining horseman, clad in armor brighter
-than the day, and waving on high a sword that shone
-with the brilliancy of the sun seven times brightened,
-was seen upon the Mount of Olives, beckoning to the
-discomposed assailants, and pointing onwards to the
-Holy Sepulchre; and as one after another of the
-wearied crusaders beheld the blessed vision, sighs,
-groans, and tears burst from the assembled thousands,
-and clashing their arms deliriously aloft, and waving
-their banners wildly to and fro upon the air, they
-cried out, “Ho! soldiers of the cross—on to the
-Holy City!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And on they swept. Horse and foot; archer and
-man-at-arms; wounded and unhurt; noble and retainer;
-Frank, Gaul, and German; the Saxon, and
-Tuscan; the old, the young, the middle aged; leader
-and follower; proud and humble; free and bond;—on—on—on
-they pressed, as if a whirlwind had
-sent them reeling upon the foe, bearing every thing
-down before them, plying cross-bow and mangonel,
-hurling huge stones that crushed the foe like glass,
-and heaving battering-rams that shook the walls as if
-an earthquake was rolling by. Ay! on they pressed,
-for did not the archangel wave them to the onset?
-The foe shrank back amazed. Outwork, and door-post,
-and palisade could offer no resistance to the
-enthusiasm of the Christians. Vain were the wildest
-efforts of the infidels to stay the progress of the assailing
-hosts; vain were their adjurations to the
-prophet, their impious prayers for help, their insulting
-prostrations before high heaven. The hurricane
-that levels cities was not more desolating than the
-onslaught of the Christians. They dashed across the
-plain, they drove in the outposts, they crossed the
-ditch itself; and now the tower of Godfrey reached
-the walls—the bridge was let down—a rush was
-made, and a knight sprang on the battlements. Another
-and another followed—the Saracens stood
-palsied—Godfrey, Baldwin, Bouillon rushed in—down
-went the sacrilegious infidels who opposed
-them—a wild conflict, beyond what the battle had
-yet seen, took place around the standard of the
-crescent; and lo! with a shout that men shall remember
-till the day of judgment, the impious ensign
-is hurled from the battlements, and the cross—the
-cross of Christ—floats wild and free above the
-towers of Jerusalem. Then rose up the acclamations
-of thousands—then pealed the triumphal chaunts of
-priests—then quailed the Saracen with fear in the
-remotest dens of that vast city. The day was won.
-The cross was avenged. Tancred and Robert of
-Normandy heard the triumphal shout, and burst open
-the furthermost gates with sudden energy; while
-Raimond of Toulouse scaled the walls upon the
-other side at the outcry, and shook the cross to the
-wind beyond the Holy Sepulchre. Down went the
-Saracens in street and lane, and open field, or
-wherever these unholy revilers of the church attempted
-to make their stand. From house to house, and
-street to street, the indignant conquerors pursued
-the foe, until the thoroughfares were filled with
-blood, and the infidels lay slaughtered in heaps on
-every hand; and wherever the Christians followed
-up the flying wretches, in mansion or in mosque,
-they kept in memory the insult to the cross which
-they had witnessed but the hour before, and keeping
-it in memory, their arms never tired, nor their
-weapons slackened. It was a day over which for
-ages the Saracen women wept. The mosque of
-Omar floated with gore; the streets were slippery
-with blood; not a nook or corner gave safety to one
-of that accursed race; and when, at length, the Saracens
-rushed in wild despair to the temple of Soliman,
-even there the avenging Christians sought them
-out, and a thousand, ay! ten times a thousand impious
-revilers slaked the earth with their gore.
-And when the work was done, and that fearful insult
-was avenged; when the conquering army had time
-to think of the mighty deed they had achieved;
-when they remembered that within the walls where
-they now were the Savior had been buried, a gush of
-holy tenderness swept over their souls,—old and
-young, noble and peasant, men, women, and children,—and
-with tears in their eyes, they cast aside
-their weapons, took off their sandals, and, rushing to
-the Holy Sepulchre, kissed the consecrated pavement,
-and washed the altar with their tears. And
-when twilight darkened over the city, the vespers of
-holy men went up to heaven, for the first time after
-the lapse of centuries, instead of the accursed Mezzuin’s
-call. Night came down at length, and silence
-hung over the walls. The shrieks of the wounded;
-the groans of the dying; the crackling of burning
-habitations, and the impious revilings of the infidels
-had ceased: while not a sound broke the profound
-hush of midnight, except the faint gurgling of the
-brook of Kedron, and the low whispers of the night
-wind among the palaces of Jerusalem. And a thousand
-stars looked brilliantly down from the calm
-blue sky, as if the angels, whose thrones they are,
-were shouting hallelujahs that the last day of the
-Saracen had passed.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk108'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='sonn'></a>SONNET.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY PARK BENJAMIN.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Loved of my soul! I seek in vain for thee.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Why from my sight art thou, sweet star, away?</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Heaven is not fair without thy tender ray,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And all things robed in shadow seem to be.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The evening wind has lost its melody:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Hushed are the chords on every bending bough;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The waters have no voice of music now,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And silence, dove-like, broods upon the sea.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Is there no light, indeed—no joyous sound</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When Beauty dwelt with Song, and Nature cast</p>
-<p class='line0'>Treasures of Summer happiness around?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh, yes! unchanged the verdant prospect lies—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The present is as lovely as the past—</p>
-<p class='line0'>It only lacks the lustre of thine eyes.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk109'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='neg'></a>THE NEGLECTED WIFE.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY ROBERT MORRIS.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';fs:0.9em;' -->
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“Oh! there were hours</p>
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>When I could hang forever on his eye,</p>
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>And Time, who stole with silent swiftness by,</p>
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>Strew’d, as he hurried on, his path with flowers.”</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>The relations of life abound with solemn warnings
-and touching incidents. Scarcely a community exists,
-however small, the history of which is not replete
-with scenes that, if delineated by the pen of a
-master spirit, and embellished with a few of the
-golden rays of fancy, would not seem fraught with
-romance. Nay, there is scarcely a family of any extent
-that has not stories in its private chronicles,
-“lights and shadows,” joys and sorrows, full of interest,
-and calculated, when suitably embellished and
-elaborated, to “point a moral or adorn a tale.” We
-“live, move and breathe” in a world of mystery.
-The shadows which veil a single year—nay, a single
-day—from the eye of poor mortality, may to some
-be charged with death and desolation, while to others
-they may serve to shut out the glorious light of hope
-and happiness and prosperity. The incident which
-to-day gladdens the heart and kindles the expectation,
-may to-morrow prove but as the lightning’s
-flash, that foreruns the bolt of the destroyer. Thus
-we know not what is best for us, and while seeking
-to deserve the due of virtue and integrity, we should
-check our own hearts when envying the apparent
-success of another, and murmuring at what, to our
-imperfect vision, may appear an unequal distribution
-of the blessings of Providence.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Such was the tone of reflection in which I indulged
-a few evenings since, on returning from a
-visit to a friend—a friend whose career of honor and
-ambition had, but a year or two before, excited a
-feeling in the mind somewhat akin to envy. But let
-me not anticipate.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Laura Milnor, at the age of sixteen, was one of
-the loveliest of her sex. Her beauty was girlish
-and buoyant, and made up of such elements as youth
-and hope and innocence and joy. Her laugh thrilled
-upon the ear like the clear voice of a glad child; her
-step was elastic and aerial, and although as mirthful
-and happy as one who had never known a thought
-of grief or a dream of sorrow, she was one of the
-most susceptible of her sex, and was melted to tears
-almost as readily as she was excited to mirth. Blue
-eyes, auburn hair, and a voice full of music—she
-was too sensitive for the heartlessness of this world,
-and thus it was the fear of those who knew her character
-thoroughly, and were well acquainted with
-human nature in the aggregate, that she would be
-won too readily, and possibly waste the sweetness
-of her pure and guileless heart upon an unworthy object.
-Not so, however. At seventeen, she was the
-“bright, particular star” of her immediate circle,
-with groups of admirers, of various grades of merit
-and pretension, but with an avowed, preferred and
-envied suitor. He had a rival, it is true, and a formidable
-one; because, to a considerable fortune he
-added a sincerity of devotion and an assiduity of attention
-that seldom fail to make an impression upon
-the heart of woman, however obdurate. But the
-preferred suitor, Morton Markley, was a cousin, and
-had been preferred, to a slight degree, from earliest
-boyhood. His opportunities for pressing his
-suit, moreover, were of the best kind; he was a favorite
-with the family generally, and these influences
-were potent in determining Laura as to a choice.
-Nay, the avowal of preference was scarcely determined
-upon by her. It was rather made by the
-household circle, and regarded as a thing of
-course, than elicited from the artless girl in some
-quiet and impassioned moment of mutual confidence.
-At times, too, she felt something like a doubt—a
-doubt as to the <span class='it'>reality</span> of her attachment to her
-cousin. She knew—she <span class='it'>felt</span> that she esteemed him.
-He possessed many noble qualities. His habits were
-of the kind that her mother approved in an especial
-manner. He was not only strictly moral, but temperate
-from his earliest youth—a zealot in the cause,
-indeed—and withal thoroughly devoted to business.
-True, he was somewhat stiff and formal in his manners,
-possessed little or no imagination, had no taste
-for poetry or pathos, and was somewhat cold in his
-general character. In most of these particulars he
-afforded a broad contrast to his rival, George St.
-Clair, a free, dashing, thoughtless creature, all impulse
-and enthusiasm, with a flashing genius and a
-heart of fire. But all these qualities were moderated
-and subdued in the presence of Laura Milnor. She
-had achieved a conquest over his heart, and he yielded
-to her every wish, and even often anticipated her
-thoughts. But he saw her seldom, comparatively
-speaking, and although the impression he made at
-such times was decided, it was but momentary.
-Laura would occasionally hesitate, especially when
-she found the image of St. Clair rising up in her
-memory, and she discovered herself analysing his
-traits of disposition and manner, and contrasting
-them with those of her cousin. But she blushed
-when she detected the current of her thoughts, and
-turned away from the subject as from one that she
-ought not to contemplate. St. Clair, moreover, was
-a ripe scholar for his years, perfectly familiar with
-the poetry of the classics, and with modern literature.
-His practice was to mark the exquisite
-passages in his favorite authors, and thus, while
-indicating his own sentiments and tone of mind,
-to appeal, as it were, to the calm and reflecting
-spirit of Laura. How often did she find herself unconsciously
-meditating upon these gems of thought—these
-eloquent and impassioned pourings out of the
-souls of the gifted! How frequently did the brief
-but expressive notes touch a chord in her own breast,
-and speak in a still, but deep voice to her own spirit!
-It was on such occasions that she trembled lest she
-had mistaken the feeling that animated her with regard
-to her cousin. But then he was so good, so
-calm, so attentive! They had grown up side by
-side! Her mother, her brother, her elder sister, all
-respected him so much—he was so amiable, and his
-prospect in life was so excellent! No—it was impossible.
-There could not be any mistake as to the
-nature of her feelings, and she would consent and
-name the day.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The day <span class='it'>was</span> named, and the bridal took place.
-The party was large, gay, delightful. I shall never
-forget that wedding night. It was one of the happiest
-of my existence—a joyous epoch in memory’s
-waste, which shines with no common glory as the
-mind wanders back and lingers above the regretted
-past. Laura, so charming before, seemed to excel
-all her former brightness and beauty. Sweet seventeen—the
-loveliest of the lovely, glittering in gems
-and satin, with her blue eyes brightened with a
-double lustre by the excitement of the moment, her
-auburn hair waving like a flood of moonbeams upon
-her white shoulders: approving relations and friends
-around! That indeed seemed a happy moment—the
-happiest of her life. But <span class='it'>was</span> it so? Her affianced
-also looked remarkably well. He had
-thrown off his gravity of manner, his dignity of deportment,
-and joined the jest and laugh as if the
-world to him also had assumed its sunniest smile.
-But I need not describe the etceteras of the wedding.
-At twelve o’clock, Mr. and Mrs. Markley were
-taken in charge by the usual number of select and
-officiating friends, and driven to their own home, a
-neat but elegantly furnished establishment, No. 47
-—— Row.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I was absent from the city two years. On my return,
-one of my first visits was to the house of my
-old friend Markley. It was a delightful evening in
-the month of May, 1836. The weather for the preceding
-week had been wet and disagreeable, so that
-the change and a bright moon had won hundreds
-from their dwellings to enjoy the cool evening
-breeze, and gaze once more into the windows of the
-stores. I inquired for Mr. Markley. He was not
-in. For Mrs. Markley. Her parlor door was thrown
-open, and Laura stood before me—but how changed!
-She was paler, thinner, and, to my eye, lovelier than
-ever. The delicate cast of thought had given an intellectual
-aspect to her features. The ruddy glow,
-the buoyant, springy motion of girlhood, were no
-longer there; but, in the one case, the ripeness of
-the peach had been succeeded by the soft tints of the
-rose, and in the other, the gazelle-like bound had
-mellowed and melted into the more graceful and majestic
-movement of the perfect woman. Her reception
-was frank and cordial. My visit seemed a relief
-to her. She had “been alone for more than an
-hour, and had wanted so much to take a stroll. Her
-spirits had been checked for the week past by the
-gloomy weather, and <span class='it'>now</span>, when they seemed anxious
-to spring away, as if on new-born wings, she was
-compelled, like a bird in a cage, to remain within
-doors. Oh, these abominable meetings! This
-dreadful political excitement! These detestable societies!
-Would you believe it, Mr. Markley has
-not been home a single evening for these two weeks!
-He has become a violent politician, and is a member
-of several literary and philanthropic societies. These
-occupy four-fifths of his time, and although he is one
-of the very best husbands in the world, kind, gentle
-and affectionate when here, I do not see him except
-at meal times, three hours in a fortnight. And here
-I sit, ‘moping’ away my young hours, thinking all
-sorts of melancholy things, indulging sometimes in
-the wildest of fancies, and not unfrequently—although
-I am almost ashamed to confess it—killing
-the time and giving vent to my moody temper in a
-fit of crying! It is of no use to complain to Morton.
-He is perfectly mad upon the subject of politics, and
-fancies, dear soul, that he is building up for himself
-an enviable reputation.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Indeed!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes, indeed! Until the death of my first-born I
-bore it very well, for the little innocent engaged my
-attention in a thousand ways, and the time passed
-smoothly enough. But since that painful event—nearly
-a year ago—the time has hung heavily indeed.
-I don’t know what I should do but for our old
-friend St. Clair. He calls frequently, and serves no
-little to chase away the gloom of these lonely hours.
-You remember St. Clair!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Certainly. I have not met him since the night
-of your wedding, and then, poor fellow, he endeavored
-to <span class='it'>look</span> and <span class='it'>act</span> his best, but he made a sorry failure
-of it. Has he married yet?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh, no! He tells me he will never marry, but
-of course the hour of temptation and trial is yet to
-come. He has changed very little within the last
-three years, and although not so gay and reckless as
-formerly, his spirits are still excellent. Mr. Markley
-prizes him very highly, and frequently consigns
-me to his care for a stroll, while he hurries off to
-some political club or abominable meeting. Can
-you furnish me with any remedy for the sort of infatuation
-I have described in the case of Morton? I
-am really provoked at him at times, and have ventured
-to remonstrate more than once, but never with
-a good effect either upon his temper or his conduct.
-Oh! how frequently have the lines of the poet risen
-to my memory during the tedious hours of waiting
-and of watching!</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;——‘May slighted woman turn,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And, as a vine the oak hath shaken off,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bend lightly to her tendencies again?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh, no! by all her loveliness, by all</p>
-<p class='line0'>That makes life poetry and beauty, no!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Make her a slave; steal from her rosy cheek</p>
-<p class='line0'>By needless jealousies; let the last star</p>
-<p class='line0'>Leave her a watcher by your couch of pain;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Wrong her by petulance, suspicion, all</p>
-<p class='line0'>That makes her cup a bitterness—yet give</p>
-<p class='line0'>One evidence of love, and earth has not</p>
-<p class='line0'>An emblem of devotedness like hers.</p>
-<p class='line0'>But, oh! estrange her once, it boots now how,</p>
-<p class='line0'>By wrong or silence, anything that tells</p>
-<p class='line0'>A change has come upon your tenderness—</p>
-<p class='line0'>And there is not a high thing out of heaven</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her pride o’ermastereth not.’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>I ridiculed them when they were first pointed out to me
-by St. Clair, but sad experience has taught me better.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Such, in brief, was the nature of the conversation
-of the night. I remained until a late hour, exceedingly
-anxious to see my old friend, but the clock
-struck eleven, and he had not returned. Wandering
-homeward, a crowd of strange thoughts pressed
-upon my brain. Can he love this gentle being? I
-asked. And then his whole course through life came
-to my recollection, and I dismissed every doubt.
-He does love her to the extent of his ability. Then
-why neglect her? Why permit melancholy to prey
-upon her gentle spirit? Why subject her to the
-fascinations of such a man as St. Clair?—temptations
-at which both would shrink with horror at first,
-but which, sooner or later, with such a being, such
-hearts, such sympathy of soul and of taste, must establish
-a bond very like that of love! The subject
-was a painful one, and I dismissed it, unwilling to
-probe it to the bottom.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I visited Laura repeatedly during the subsequent
-six months. I became deeply interested in her position,
-and more than once ventured to hint, jestingly,
-to her husband the duty of watching with a vigilant
-eye over so precious and delicate a flower. He appeared
-perfectly insensible to all insinuations upon
-the subject, and with unbounded confidence in, and
-as much attachment for Laura as his nature was capable
-of feeling, he became more and more wedded to
-his dream of political ambition and popular applause.
-He was a member of most of the societies that
-were in any degree connected with philanthropy, and
-of all on the political side to which he was attached;
-and thus, night after night, week after week, and
-month after month, he absented himself from the society
-of his wife.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But why prolong the story? Hour after hour, the
-conviction grew stronger in the mind of Laura that
-she had mistaken the sentiments of her husband. He
-had, she now believed, never loved her. He had
-either deceived her or been himself deceived. It
-was clear that he shunned her society, and although
-kind and obliging, this course was attributed rather
-to his tone of mind and moral principle than to a
-warmer and fonder emotion of his heart. She too
-had been mistaken. At least she thought so. The
-feeling that had induced her to become his wife was
-not love; not that deep and absorbing passion, that
-flame and fire of the soul, that she now could feel and
-appreciate. He was her cousin; she had known him
-long; he had ever been kind to her; her parents had
-urged her marriage, and she had been misled! But,
-alas! how had he deserted her! How had she been
-neglected! How cold had he become! How indifferent!
-What a contrast to St. Clair!—St. Clair,
-who even now would lay down his life for her; who
-even now <span class='it'>sought</span> her society, and was never so happy
-as when basking in her smile! Her heart thrilled,
-her brain throbbed, and her mind almost maddened
-as these wild thoughts forced themselves upon her.
-I say forced themselves, for she repelled them again
-and again, as fiends that would destroy her quiet, sap
-her principles, and render her an object of scorn even
-to herself. But night after night, and her husband
-was still abroad. At first she saw him depart with
-pride upon her lip and anguish in her heart. Then
-sullenness followed, and indifference came after.
-Then a feeling of pleasure tingled in her breast as
-the door closed behind him, and a still stronger sensation
-was experienced as the well known step of
-St. Clair was heard upon the pavement below her
-window. But why trace the progress of the weak,
-the erring human heart? Why linger over the guilt-ward
-progress of that neglected wife? Why harrow
-the soul with her struggles between duty on the one
-hand and infatuation on the other? Why point to
-her fall, as, step by step, she was hurried to the
-brink of ruin? Why detail the subtle sophistry of a
-gifted spirit—one, too, who had persuaded himself
-that he really loved with a pure and undying flame?
-Why recount his many appeals to fly to some other
-land, some distant shore, where the scorn of the
-heartless world could not point at and exult over another
-victim? Why picture the secret and agonizing
-thoughts of the wretched beauty; the sorrow
-that at moments fastened upon her soul, when some
-heart-touching expression fell from the lips of her husband,
-and she was recalled by a look or a phrase to
-her early dream of home and love and happiness?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was late in the month of September, that, rambling
-down Spruce street, my attention was attracted
-by an unusual stir and confusion in the front parlor
-of my friend Markley’s dwelling. Lights were passing
-to and fro with great rapidity, and ever and anon
-a shriek, as of one in mortal agony, broke upon the
-night. I hurried forward, rapidly ascended the
-stairs, and what a scene of horror was before me!
-The slight, yet beautiful form of Laura Markley lay
-upon the sofa, her hair dishevelled, her clothes in
-disorder, and her features pale and cold in the solemn
-aspect of death! It was almost midnight;
-her husband had been sent for, but had not yet arrived.
-Miserable being! Blind and misguided fool!
-He came in a few minutes after, and for weeks and
-weeks was little better than a maniac. The following
-brief note, the last ever penned by Laura, told
-the dreadful story:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Forgive me, Charles! forgive me, if I have
-wronged you! I can endure it no longer. Night after
-night have you neglected me for the last two years,
-until my mind, maddened by doubt, despair, and
-a thousand fiendish phantoms, has ventured to pause
-and contemplate a deed of guilt! There is, I verily
-believe, another being on the face of the earth who
-loves me, and I—I—my hand trembles and my
-brain reels—I am yet yours, and in honor. But I
-fear I could not live, be neglected, and continue so.
-Forgive me, heaven!—forgive me, my husband, and
-pray for me.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk110'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She had taken poison!</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk111'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='pur'></a>THE PURITAN SON.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY THE AUTHOR OF “THE BROTHERS,” “CROMWELL,” “RINGWOOD THE ROVER,” ETC.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the West Riding of Yorkshire, not many miles
-removed from the line of the great North Road, singularly
-and somewhat romantically situated on a
-vast rocky hill, projecting sternly and abruptly into
-the lovely valley of the Nid, stands the old borough
-town of Knaresborough. As you approach it from
-the south, the aspect it presents is singularly wild
-and picturesque. A long line of steep limestone
-crags, running from east to west, limits the view in
-front; the river, deep, black and sullen, wheeling
-along below their base in many a turbid ripple, until
-it skirts their western cape, a huge and perpendicular
-crag of shaley limestone, crowned by the massy
-relics of an old Norman keep, rifted and gray, and
-overrun with immemorial ivy, but still majestic in
-their hoary grandeur. Beneath the shelter of this
-formidable keep—which, in its day, before the levelling
-force of gunpowder had reduced warfare to a
-mere matter of scientific calculation, had been deemed
-quite impregnable—the straggling country town
-climbs the hill-side from the stream’s level, where
-the road is carried over a narrow, high-backed bridge
-of stone, in one long zigzag street, so perilously slippery
-and steep that the most daring riders dismount
-from their surest horses, whether ascending or descending,
-until, the summit gained, it expands into a
-neat borough, with market-place, and hostelries, and
-banks, and churches, all overlooked, however, and
-commanded by the old castle; and, in its turn, overlooking
-and commanding the wide range of hilly
-country of which it occupies the extreme and highest
-promontory.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Such is the picture it presents to the traveller of
-the present day, and singularly beautiful is that picture!
-The huge gray ruins and the stained limestone
-precipices, relieved and set off by the deep emerald
-verdure of the wide pastures in the valley, and the
-dark foliage of the hanging woods which skirt the
-margin of the river; the stream itself here dark and
-deep and silent, and there flashing like silver in the
-sunlight, and brawling noisily about the base of the
-great castle-rock; and, more than all, the life and
-animated bustle of the modern town, contrasted with
-the dim memories and solemn silence of those old
-towers, which frown upon the noisy thoroughfares of
-men, most like a grim and ghastly skeleton, glaring
-down from the gothic niche of some cathedral church
-upon the merry sports of thoughtless childhood. Far
-different was the scene which Knaresborough presented
-toward the middle of the seventeenth century,
-Some few weeks later than the fatal field of Marston,
-whereon, untimely sacrificed and vainly, by the mad
-rashness of Prince Rupert, the flower of England’s
-loyal chivalry lay weltering in their gore, for one who
-neither prized their faith nor sorrowed at their fall.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Those ruins, shapeless now, and undistinguished
-from the gray crags around them, were then a proud
-and lordly castle; that huge and rifted pile, that
-frowns above the lesser fragments, was the square
-dungeon keep, with battlemented turrets at each
-aerial angle, and bartizans for shot of arquebuss and
-musquetoon, and embrasures for heaviest ordnance;
-while round it swept the massy flankers, with thirteen
-strong round towers, well garnished with the
-lighter cannon of the day, sakers and culverins and
-falcons; and without these, still in concentric circles,
-half moon and counterscarp and ravelin, glacis
-and rock-hewn moat—a mighty fortress for the king,
-whose banner, hoisted there by the fugitives from
-that disastrous field, still waved defiance to his
-foemen.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was a bright October morning with which we
-have to do; the sun was pouring a broad flood of
-light over the fertile vale, with its green meadowland,
-its hanging woods, its ruddy cornfields, and its
-bright river; over the town and castle, crowded, this
-with fierce steel-clad veterans, mustered beneath the
-royal standard, that with the yeomanry and burghers,
-like their more regular comrades, in arms for church
-and king against the leaguering hosts of Cromwell;
-over the camp, the lines, the outposts of the Puritans,
-which hemmed the destined town about with, as it
-were, a wall of iron. Upon the heights, just to the
-eastward of the town, the fierce, enthusiastic Lilburne
-had fixed his quarters, and hoisted the broad
-red cross of the parliament, and thence, on every
-side, had drawn his lines about the borough; the
-bridge and the high road, on the south side, were
-kept by a brigade of pikes and two strong bands of
-horse arquebusiers; the meadows and the vale were
-swept by four full regiments of the far-famed invincibles,
-the ironsides of Cromwell; the woods were
-filled with sharp-shooters, the roads blocked up with
-mounds and trenches, and all the north side of the
-town exposed to a tremendous fire from fifty wide-mouthed
-cannon, which, covered from the castle
-guns by a projecting hillock, battered the dwellings
-of the hapless burghers without remorse or respite.
-Nor were the besieged passive in the mean time, or
-fearful. Bright sheets of flame would leap out, ever
-and anon, from the dark castle embrasures, and clouds
-of snow-white smoke would swathe the giant keep in
-their dense vapory shroud, and with a roar that told
-the awful tale of civil warfare even to the distant
-walls of York, the heavy shot would plunge into the
-serried columns of the leaguers, thinning their ranks
-indeed, and shaking for a moment their array, but
-daunting not their fiery courage, nor damping their
-enthusiastic zeal. And now, with the long roll of
-drums and the soul-stirring flourish of the horn and
-bugle, from this point or from that of the beleaguered
-town, the cavaliers would sally out on their besiegers.
-Now by some ford of the swift river, neglected because
-thought impassable, a little troop of gentlemen,
-superbly mounted on high blooded chargers,
-fluttering with lace and waving with tall plumes and
-blue embroidered scarfs, would dash upon some
-picquet of the Puritans, and drive them back, scattered
-and broken and cut down, to the main body; and
-then, forced to retreat in turn, would fall back foot
-by foot, firing their petronels and musquetoons from
-every hedge and coppice, and charging again and
-again on their pursuers from every spot of vantage,
-till they had gained the river; then they would
-wheel, throw in one shattering volley, swim through
-the eddying waters, and raise their gallant cheer,
-“God for King Charles!” in safety. Now it would
-be a steadier and sterner effort; a heavy column
-would rush out, pikemen and musqueteers and horse
-in one dense body, bearing the outposts in at the
-pike’s point, carrying some redoubt, and then deploying
-in its front, until their pioneers and axemen
-should spike its guns, fill up its ditches, and level its
-defences to the ground. Incessant were alarms and
-panics, sallies and feints and false attacks on the
-one hand; and, on the other, strict watches, stout
-resistance, guarded and sure approaches, for Lilburne
-knew right well the quality of his own troops—the
-nature of the force opposed to him. He had experienced
-often in the field the fiery and resistless
-charges of the impetuous cavaliers; he knew that in
-the stoutest veterans of the Parliament, none could
-be found who, for a single dash, could cope with the
-high-born and chivalrous adherents of the King; but
-he knew also that undisciplined and fiery gentlemen,
-how gallant and how desperate soever, would not endure
-the tedium of protracted operations, the dull
-monotony of a long siege, where passive opposition
-only can be offered, the lack of wine and the appliances
-of mirth, the scarcity of food, the daily sufferings,
-the daily waste, the daily growing anguish.
-He knew, and acted on this knowledge. Vastly superior
-in his numbers, he cared not for the loss of a
-picquet; he shook not at the defeat of an outpost, the
-destruction of a redoubt, or the success of a sally.
-If evening saw the line of his circumvallation broken,
-the morning sun beheld his working parties on the
-ground repairing the defences, protected by so powerful
-masses that any sally must be fruitless to annoy
-them, and evening found the lines again complete,
-but stronger, nearer, closer than before. Nor
-was this all. With his strong cavalry, he kept the
-country round in constant terror and excitement; he
-cut off every convoy, before it well had left the place
-from which it started; he surprised every stronghold
-of the cavaliers, at miles away from his scene of operations;
-he took and garrisoned the loyal house of
-Ripley; he battered Spofforth Castle, the old, time-honored
-dwelling of the Percies; he quelled the
-risings of the Langdales, the Vavasours, the Slingsbys
-and the Stourtons. He indeed bridled the bold
-valor of the West Riding, as he had boasted that he
-would—bridled it with a curb of iron!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Yet Knaresborough still held out!—castle and
-town held out, though worn and wasted with fatigue
-and famine. Hastily had the brave defenders thrown
-themselves into that stronghold, scantily victualled
-as it was, expecting succors from without, as it were,
-every hour, and prepared desperately to endure the
-utmost before submission to their hated foes. Hastily,
-rashly had they suffered themselves to be hemmed
-in, without a hope except to die, and desperately
-had they borne up against the tortures which had rewarded
-that hot rashness. And now the moment had
-arrived. For three whole days, the castle and the
-town had had no food at all! All stores had, many
-days since, been exhausted; the very grass that
-grew upon the ramparts had been all gathered, all
-consumed! The beasts of burthen, the domestic animals,
-the very vermin, had been sought eagerly for
-food—had been devoured greedily—till no more
-could be found at all in that most miserable town.
-There was not one house but had lost some of its inmates,
-by that most lingering, most terrible of
-deaths, mere famine!—and it was on the youngest,
-the fairest, the loveliest, the most beloved, that the
-dread doom fell first. The streets were heaped with
-carcasses, for now the living lacked the strength, the
-energy, to bury their own dead! Thrice had the
-burghers risen against the castle, to force its commandant,
-by surrendering to the Puritans, to free
-them from that lamentable durance; and thrice had
-the gray-headed cavalier, who held that last stronghold
-for an unthankful monarch—while the tears
-streamed hot and heavy down his emaciated cheeks,
-and his heart throbbed as if it would burst his bosom,
-for very pity—ordered the castle guns to play with
-grape upon the famished wretches, whose despair
-would have forced him from his duty. Three times,
-repulsed from the castle by their friends, had that
-most hapless populace rushed out to the besieger’s
-camp, throwing themselves upon the mercy of their
-foes, and hoping so to force their way into the open
-country, and three times, at pike’s point, had they
-been driven back into that town of sepulchres and
-charnel houses.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was the third day that no particle of food, except
-some scraps of leather, roasted or sodden into
-soup, had passed the lips of any of the garrison, on
-which a sad deputation of the townsmen waited for
-the fourth time upon the captain of the castle. They
-came not now in turbulence, hoping to <span class='it'>force</span> submission,
-but tearfully and on their bended knees, to beg
-that stern old veteran, as they deemed him, that for
-the love of God, by all his hopes of Heaven, he would
-have mercy <span class='it'>not</span> on them, they said, “for we are men,
-and can endure the utmost, but for our wives, our
-perishing wives and children!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My friends,” he answered, “I feel for you—God
-is my judge I do!—and here, here is my witness
-that none hath heavier cause to feel than I
-have,” and as he spoke, he opened the door of an inner
-chamber, and showed to those worn deputies the
-corpse of a fair, light-haired youth, stretched on a
-pallet bed, emaciated beyond all conception—yea!
-literally wasted to the bones! “Look there!” he
-said, “look there! Six little days ago that famished,
-cold, dead carcass was the most fair, the sprightliest,
-the bravest, the best, the noblest boy in all
-wide England! You see him, as he lies there—<span class='it'>my</span>
-boy, my glorious boy!—oh, God! last pledge of my
-lost angel, who, dying, left him to my paternal care,
-which here is proved forever! Gentlemen, ye are
-answered; when my King’s orders reach me to yield
-up this hold, then will I yield it up—’till then,
-please God, I shall maintain it; and so long as my
-trusty fellows have boots, and sword belts, and buff
-jerkins, we shall not lack a meal. So, my friends,
-fare ye well.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>To this there was no answer; from this lay no appeal.
-They went away, as they had come, despairing;
-they betook themselves to their inhospitable
-homes, to their wan, starving families, and sat them
-down beside their fireless hearths, to pray for resignation,
-and for death to put an end to tortures which
-were fast becoming too terrible to bear. So the
-bright hours of daylight rolled over them unheeded,
-and the dark night came on—that season of repose
-and quiet, season of respite from all cares, relief
-from every wo—yet brought it no repose, no respite
-to the mourners of that city! The groans of manly
-agony, blent with the wailings of expiring infancy,
-and the faint sobs of women, suppressing their own
-agonies lest they should rend the hearts of others,
-went up that livelong night to Heaven; and there
-were humble prayers breathed out from penitent
-Christian bosoms; and there were wild, impatient,
-fierce ejaculations, which those who uttered them
-<span class='it'>called</span> prayer; and there were desperate blasphemies
-and curses, such as fiends howl out against the throne
-of grace, too fearful to be written!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In a low chamber of a lonely dwelling, close to the
-outposts of the enemy—looking down, indeed, upon
-the glacis and the dry moat of the town—there sat
-an aged man, shivering above the last expiring embers
-of his last brand—it was the last small fragment
-of the door, that dying brand! All else, the
-floor, the furniture, the casements, had been consumed
-already. Upon the hearth, beside the embers,
-there stood a mug of water, and a large dish, covered
-with thrice gnawed bones, part of a horse’s ribs,
-clean picked and broken, so as to reach the marrow.
-He was a tall and stately figure, was that aged man,
-and he had been strong, sinewy and vigorous even in
-his old age; but now his form was bent and all his
-limbs contracted; the skin, yellow as parchment,
-was drawn tight across his withered brow; his nose
-was terribly, unnaturally sharpened, like the nose of
-a corpse; his eye was dim and lustreless; his ashy
-lips were glued together with a thin frothy slaver.
-Yet he had fought that morning in a fierce skirmish,
-which had well-nigh brought in a drove of cattle,
-and had been only driven back by a charge of the
-ironsides, a troop of which, commanded, too, by his
-own son, had fallen upon their flank, and borne them
-back into the town when confident of victory and full
-of high anticipation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>His corslet and buff coat were not yet laid aside;
-his plumed hat was cast listlessly beside him on the
-ground, but his blue baldric still sustained his rapier,
-spotted with many blood gouts, and, in the buff belt
-round his waist, his pistols, with the hammers down
-and the pans black with smoke, showed that he had
-not removed them since he had thrust them back into
-his girdle, just fired in the heat of action. There he
-sat, with his hands clenched and his teeth hard set,
-<span class='it'>silent</span>, yet cursing in his heart that recreant son,
-whom he had never forgiven—no! never for one moment’s
-space!—that he had joined the Parliament
-against the King, and on whose head he now invoked
-the direst of calamities, that, by his too successful
-charge, he had cut off the last relief from that sad
-starving city.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Suddenly a faint sound fell on his ear, as of one
-clambering up the glacis. The old man listened,
-acutely, breathlessly, as though life were dependant
-on his sense of hearing!—again it came, clearer and
-louder, <span class='it'>nearer</span> than before. Sword in hand, on the
-instant the veteran sprang to the narrow casement
-which overlooked the moat and glacis, and there,
-scarce three feet from the window, in the steel cap
-and corslet, the scarlet cassock and unshapely boots
-of Cromwell’s Ironsides, stood a tall, slender figure.
-The moon, which was dimly wading through the uncertain
-clouds, feebly defined the outlines of his form,
-and half revealed, as the old man fancied, the shapes
-and weapons of a score or two of his fanatical companions
-in the dark hollow of the moat below him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Treason—to arms—ho! treason!”—shouted
-the wretched father, at the utmost pitch of his querulous
-attenuated voice; but ere he had well syllabled
-the words, a faint and well-remembered sound
-responded to his high pitched clamor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Hist!—Father,”—it said—“Father—it is I—I
-have brought hither food and wine, at great risk of
-my life—approach, quick! quick! and take them;
-I will return to-morrow and crave thy blessing!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Out on thee! Dog and traitor—die in thy treason,
-and thy gifts perish with thee!—Ho! treason!
-to arms! treason!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now the cry reached wakeful ears, and was
-again repeated and again—“Ho! treason! to arms!
-treason!”—and lights were seen flashing along the
-ramparts, and trumpets were blown through the
-streets, and sentinels were heard continually challenging,
-and hasty footsteps, and the clash of arms,
-drew nearer every moment; and still that aged man,
-implacable, and steeled against his son by bitter
-hate, shouted, “to arms! to arms!” and called the
-hue and cry that way with frantic energy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I will not be so balked—thou wilt repent this,
-father,” said the young man, advancing nearer.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pray God I live to see thee hanged; I will repent
-this never!—approach me not, or I will rob the
-hangman of his due, and with mine own hand slay
-thee!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thou wilt not, father,” replied the other, as he
-laid his hand on the casement, and reaching into the
-chamber, set down upon the floor a small rush basket,
-and a tall flask of wine,—“thou wilt not, father—seeing
-that I have risked my life to bring thee meat
-and wine. I knew not, till to-day, that thou wert in
-this lamentable town!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At first the old man listened, and seemed even
-somewhat mollified, but as his son alluded to the situation
-of the town, all his old rage returned, and with
-the words, “die dog!” he lunged full at his heart
-with his drawn rapier—the blow took effect, full on
-the polished corslet, and glanced off, inflicting a
-deep wound on his left arm, and hurling him to the
-ground.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ha! have I slain thee?—Ha! so perish all the
-enemies of good king Charles!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Praised be God,” replied the Puritan, “praised
-be God, <span class='it'>that</span> sin is spared to thee—farewell!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ho! guard—this way,” shouted the veteran,
-now more incensed than ever, “ho! guard—this
-way!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And with their arquebusses lowered, and their
-slow-matches lighted, a party of the night-watch
-rushed in from the street—the ruthless father pointed
-them to the figure of his flying son, and a quick
-volley followed—another—and another!—and all
-along the ramparts, from every battlement and
-crenelle, the sharp, clear flashes of the random musquetry
-streamed out into the midnight darkness—and
-the loud rattle of the shots startled the sentinels
-of Lilburne on their posts, and set the outposts and
-picquets on the alert throughout the whole of the beleaguering
-hosts.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Escaping from the random volleys, the young man
-hurried to his quarters; but ere he reached them, he
-was met by the grand rounds, interrogated, seized,
-dragged to head-quarters, tried for communicating
-with the enemy by a drum-head court-martial, and
-sentenced to be hanged upon the morrow, between the
-glacis and the lines—before two hours had passed.
-Meantime the old man <span class='it'>fed</span>—<span class='it'>coolly fed</span> on the meat,
-and quaffed the wine his child—his betrayed child—had
-brought to him—then mocked the throne of
-mercy with a prayer, and lay down, and slept soundly—while
-that same child, watched in a military
-dungeon, and prayed for mercy to his soul, which
-must be with its God, to-morrow.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The morrow dawned, and the accursed gallows
-stood there erect between the glacis and the lines—and
-the death-drums were beating through the
-camp—and the Parliamentarians mustered to punishment
-parade, with their war weapons trailed,
-and their grim visages suffused with more than their
-accustomed gloom.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The fearful tale was known—at once, almost instinctively
-it was revealed—all means were taken,
-and all methods tried to preserve the victim son—threats
-of retaliation—proffers of terms—entreaties—ransom—bribes—but
-all were tried in vain.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the full blaze of noon, before the besieged town,
-before the besieging army, before men, angels, God—the
-son died on the gallows tree, victim of filial
-piety—martyr to military discipline—and the old
-ruthless man, who had consigned his own child to
-that fearful doom, looked on, and strove to smile,
-and would have braved it out even to the end—but
-the offended majesty of nature stood forth in its
-dread might!—the fierce revulsion of conflicting
-passions conquered the wretched clay!—with the
-sneer on his lip, and the bold evil words upon his
-tongue—he staggered—fell!—they lifted him, but
-he was dead.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>That night, a courier with a white flag paused at
-the outposts of the Roundheads. It was a messenger
-from Charles, licensing his commander to surrender
-his good and faithful town of Knaresborough—and
-the next day the garrison marched out with colors
-flying and drums beating, and all the honors of war
-granted them,—and filed in their superb array beneath
-the gibbet and the corpse of him who died a
-felon’s death, for succoring a father at his need!—Ho!
-the morality of warfare! The glory of the
-victor!</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk112'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='doi'></a>O, SAY, DO I NA’ LO’E YE LASSIE.</h1></div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>O, say, do I na’ lo’e ye, lassie?</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;O, say, do I na’ lo’e ye well?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Aye! mair than tongue can utter, lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or mair than tender looks can tell.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ye’re i’ my dreams by night, my lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;An’ ye are i’ my thoughts by day,</p>
-<p class='line0'>An’ ye’re the beacon star, my lassie.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That guides me through life’s troubled way.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I lo’e ye for those tresses, lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That i’ bright jetty masses flow;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I lo’e ye for that bosom, lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;As white an’ fair as driven snow;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I lo’e ye for those cheeks, my lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;O’ sweetest tinge o’ rosy hue;</p>
-<p class='line0'>An’ O, I lo’e ye, dearest lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;For those twa cannie e’en o’ blue.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I lo’e ye for that form, my lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like to the deer’s, sae fit’ o’ grace;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I lo’e ye for that smile, my lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That plays across thy charming face.</p>
-<p class='line0'>But what I lo’e still more, my lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Is that which is worth mair to gain:</p>
-<p class='line0'>It is the bonnie min’, my lassie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which i’ gude truth ye ca’ your ain.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;S.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk113'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='auz'></a>AUZELLA.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>A LEGEND OF THE HARTZ MOUNTAINS.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Absolution, father, for breath is fleeting fast,”
-cried the dying man, in a scarce audible voice. As
-the monk approached the bed, the sick man started
-from his pillow, and, with clenched hands and straining
-eyes, uttered, in a low, sepulchral tone, “Avaunt!
-avaunt, thou damning fiend! thine hour is not yet
-come. Oh, mercy! mercy!” His bosom heaved
-convulsively, the dew of agony gathered thick upon
-his brow, and, with a beseeching look, he pointed to
-the crucifix on the wall.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Confession alone can save you, my son. While
-there is yet time, relieve your bosom of its load of
-sin, and seek for pardon.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Too late!</span> oh, lost forever! The hour approaches;
-come near.” Drawing from under his pillow a
-parchment, he placed it in the hands of the monk.
-“My confession, father; <span class='it'>now</span>, now, sign me with
-the cross.” Uttering a wild cry of anguish, the dying
-man, with desperate energy, flung himself towards
-the monk, and attempted to grasp the symbol of salvation.
-.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. A vivid, lurid gleam, followed by an
-astounding crash, mingled with horrid yells and
-piercing screams! When the monk was found by a
-lay brother, he still breathed, but unconscious of external
-objects, from which state he never recovered;
-the bed was empty, and the bedclothes lay in wild
-disorder, as if torn by a mighty struggle. In the
-hand of the prostrate monk was found a manuscript:</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE CONFESSION OF THE LOST.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Upon the confines of the Hartz Mountains, in a
-lowly hut, I first saw the light. My mother yielded
-up her life in giving me birth, and the nourishment
-of a pet goat sustained the feeble spark of infancy.
-My remaining parent proved, though rough and uncultivated,
-a kind nurse. The hours of childhood
-were passed in assisting my father in collecting dried
-wood for burning charcoal, and oft, as I penetrated
-through the tangled forest, would I stand and gaze
-upon the clear blue flame that night after night arose
-from one of the highest peaks, and though an ague
-would creep over me at the recollection of some of
-the tales of horror that clothed those mountains in
-such fearful dread, still an unconquerable desire to
-witness their midnight orgies grew with my growth
-and strengthened with my strength.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>About two hundred feet from the base of the loftiest
-of that extended chain of mountains, jutted out a perpendicular
-rock. Upon the summit stood the castle
-of Rudolfo, whose weather-beaten battlements had
-for ages frowned defiance upon the plain below.
-Dark hints and mysterious whispers surrounded that
-isolated spot with gloom and fear; no footsteps ever
-approached its portals after sundown, and an Ave
-Maria was silently, though fervently breathed, when
-the benighted hunter or weary traveller caught a
-glimpse of the solitary light that was ever seen in one
-of the casements of the castle.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Count Rudolph was a man of valor; his arm was
-held invincible in the battle field; but of a temperament
-morose and savage, his vassals quailed beneath
-the glance of his bright gray eye, and trembled when
-the sound of his loud clear voice rang through the
-vaulted halls. Among the dependants that sat at his
-board below the salt, or rallied around his banner,
-were hearts that thirsted to bury their daggers in his
-blood; but the mantle of superstitious mystery so
-completely enveloped him, that the hand, however
-daring, shrunk from the murderous deed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The iron-bound features of Count Rudolph never
-relaxed, save when his looks rested upon his daughter.
-Then would the contracted brow expand, and
-those eyes so formidable emit a ray of feeling. He
-seldom smiled, but the effect was startling; a meteor,
-dazzling by its brightness, to render the darkness
-more visible. And that daughter was a glorious creature!
-The tall, graceful form, the dark hazel eyes,
-commanded the allegiance of all that looked upon her.
-To her father her features bore a strong resemblance,
-but moulded in the most perfect female softness.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The lady Auzella was seldom seen beyond the
-boundaries of the castle, but the report of her wondrous
-beauty had spread far over Germany, and many
-a valiant knight had sued in vain for her fair hand,
-notwithstanding the vague and strange reports that
-were ever afloat about Count Rudolph and his unhallowed
-deeds.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was my twentieth birthday. The hours of labor
-were exchanged for hunting, a pastime of which I
-was most fond. So intent was I in chasing the chamois
-and hungry wolves that infest those regions, I
-thought not of the departure of day, until warned by
-the declining sun shedding its golden rays through
-the “forest’s thickening gloom.” An unconquerable
-feeling of dread at being thus benighted, caused me
-to hasten my footsteps towards my humble cot.
-With a steady eye and nervous limbs, I bounded over
-the impetuous stream that rolls down the mountain
-side, and springing from crag to crag, I emerged from
-the dense shadow of trees, and stood upon a platform
-of rock overgrown with moss and stunted oak.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Involuntarily I lingered to gaze upon the scene before
-me. The whole country glowed with the effulgence
-of the setting sun, whilst the amphitheatre of
-hills that bounded the horizon was clothed in gorgeous
-purple. On the right stood the castle, its turrets
-and towers catching the lingering sunbeams,
-bringing them out in bold relief from the mass of
-frowning mountains that formed the back ground.
-The only sound that broke upon the ear was the incessant
-roar of the cataract. Whilst thus I stood
-entranced, a strain of music suddenly burst through
-the air, so wild, so melodious, that it seemed an echo
-from the spheres. Amazed, I listened breathlessly;
-again the same sweet notes were borne upon the gentle
-gales. I turned, when lo! beside the rushing
-torrent sat a female; her long tresses were floating
-upon the breeze, and revealed the features of the
-Lady Auzella! Ere the melting strains were ended
-that had held bound my soul, shrieking, affrighted,
-she fled towards me. With horror I beheld a huge
-bear spring from the overhanging crag, and stand
-within a foot of his prey. In one moment I took a
-sure and deadly aim—fired—the monster rolled head-long
-down the rapid stream; the next instant the
-fainting form of Auzella reposed within my arms!
-My fate was sealed; the past, the future, all, all
-were forgotten. We met again and again; I loved,
-ardently, madly, and was beloved! Yes! the high-born,
-haughty damsel loved the humble youth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We lived in the spring-time of love; the cold, bleak
-winds of autumn had not yet chilled our hearts, when,
-with the impassioned fervor of affection, I besought
-the gentle Auzella to fly with me to other lands, where
-with my sword I would carve for myself a name worthy
-for her to share. Silently she listened, then
-raising her head from my bosom, fixed her expressive
-eyes upon me, and whispered, as soft as a
-zephyr’s sigh—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Hast thou dear Carl, resolution to win fame and
-wealth, and, with my father’s consent, this hand?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Try me, beloved, and thou wilt find no braggart
-in thy lover.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then, by thy vows of love, ere ‘yon moon fills
-her horn,’ pluck from the mountain’s blazing pile a
-firebrand; bear it with all speed to my father’s feet,
-and by that token fearlessly claim the hand of Auzella!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She ceased, and fled from me. In that brief space
-a new existence burst upon my senses. The voice of
-love had pointed out the way to the possession of
-<span class='it'>gold</span> and the hand of her whom I adored; but how?
-To league myself with devils! A cold shudder crept
-over me; within my breast raged a fearful struggle.
-It passed away, and, with the purpose of my
-soul determined, I awoke from the <span class='it'>dream</span> of life to
-the reality of existence.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk114'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Strange, that man should shrink in after years from
-lifting the veil that has shadowed crimes recklessly
-committed in youth. Does he scorn and bid defiance
-to the eyes of Omnipotence, and tremble at the
-opinions of his fellow worms? How incongruous, but
-alas! how true!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Although years have rolled past—and time, as it
-has flown onward, has hurried with them into the vast
-abyss of eternity, pleasures, sins and sorrows—the
-events of that <span class='it'>fearful</span> night, that fatal hour, are concentrated
-in one burning spot within my brain.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Like king Midas, the cravings of discontent proved
-my destruction. Destruction! aye, one endless chain
-of wretchedness, perpetuated through life, with no
-oblivion in the <span class='it'>grave</span>.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk115'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>With desperate energy I braved the lightning’s
-lurid gleam, and heeded not the tempest that raged
-around me. As I bent my footsteps towards the
-ever-burning flame, sounds, as if from the abyss of
-Hades, burst upon my ear. I stood palsied with horror,
-and as a bright flash burst through the gloom,
-shrieks and wild laughter rang through the air, and
-revealed my presence! “Ah! standest thou there
-to mock me, thou fiend, thou devil? Hurl not reason
-<span class='it'>yet</span> from its tottering throne! Begone!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The hour was past, the trophy <span class='it'>gained</span>, my bride
-<span class='it'>won</span>; but an <span class='it'>oath</span> was taken that is engraved upon
-my heart with a firebrand, and ever thrills my frame
-with anguish—with never-ceasing torture!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>How shall I unravel the tangled thread of my after
-life? Shall I dwell upon the hour that called Auzella
-<span class='it'>mine</span>?—the joy I felt as I clasped my beautiful,
-my adored <span class='it'>wife</span> to my heart, notwithstanding the
-dark flash from Count Rudolph’s eyes? A brief state
-of happiness was mine—an oasis in the wilderness
-of life.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I <span class='it'>now</span> had gold unbounded. We left the frowning
-castle for the gay metropolis. The mountain boy
-was no longer the shy boor, but the wealthy <span class='it'>noble</span>
-and the crafty man.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Once launched upon the ocean of dissipation, I
-trimmed my sails to catch the breeze of pleasure, and
-thought not of the whirlpools that surrounded me;
-when, one night, in the midst of a gay revel, whilst
-the sparkling cup and the merry jest passed freely
-round the festive board, a touch of <span class='it'>fire</span>, a whisper
-which penetrated my very soul, reminded me of my
-<span class='it'>oath</span>—that <span class='it'>fearful oath</span>! Then fled the scene of
-enchantment, the faces of beauty, the chrystal lights,
-and the music, breathing its soft strains through the
-fragrant air; and, in the mind’s eye, the burning
-mountain, the horrid yells of demoniacal laughter,
-were beheld with frightful distinctness.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk116'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='it'>Murder my friend!</span>—the companion of my midnight
-revels, the sharer of my pleasures—<span class='it'>never!</span>
-But thine oath! Ah! then did I feel the serpent’s
-sting; his envenomed coil compressed every fibre of
-my defenceless body; no escape from his toils. I
-had voluntarily <span class='it'>sold myself</span> to the demon of the burning
-mountain!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Out upon it! why quakes this feeble frame as the
-hour approaches when I shall “throw off this mortal
-coil?” Can tortures be greater than what I do and
-<span class='it'>ever will</span> suffer? Why not snap asunder the cord at
-once?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But the deed was <span class='it'>done</span>, and <span class='it'>then</span> deeper did I
-plunge into the vortex of vice, for the slight barrier of
-conscience was broken down, and I moved through
-the gazing crowd an envied man. Ah, ah, envied!
-How little dreamed the gaping fools of the livid spot
-<span class='it'>within</span>. But, amidst the volcano that was consuming
-me, burned one pure flame—the shrine on which it
-was kindled was still unpolluted—my love for
-Auzella. She was my day-star, my dream of all that
-was pure. Her smile would chase the demon from
-my breast, and lull me into forgetfulness.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But the cup of misery that I had tasted was not yet
-drained. Jealousy mingled with its bitter dregs, and
-poisoned my blood and shot through every vein.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Suddenly there appeared among us a youth of
-striking mien and of great beauty, though of a wild
-and singular aspect. He was ever with Auzella! I
-chased from my breast the dark thoughts that would
-sometimes enter. With the madness of despair, I
-bore her to the gloomy castle where dwelt her father.
-She murmured not at thus being torn from scenes of
-festive mirth to hours of dreary sadness; her eyes
-still sparkled with their wonted fire. We visited the
-spot where first I dared breathe my aspiring hopes,
-and as I folded her to my breast again, I told her
-how dear she still was to me.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Count Rudolph had become more morose, and seldom
-went beyond the castle walls. He seemed to
-take no pleasure in the presence of his child, and
-when I encountered the glance of his eye fixed upon
-me, a strange, undefinable sensation would creep over
-me: a vague recollection of scenes gone by. Thus
-passed four long, weary weeks. For me were no
-dreams of the future, no surveying of the past; all,
-all was a chaos of guilt and dread.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Twice, in the still hour of midnight, did I miss Auzella
-from my side. At first I heeded it not, but as
-thought pressed upon thought, my brain became maddened;
-horrible suspicions crept over me. Grasping
-my pistols, I fled from the castle, and, without one
-definite object, I strode hastily towards <span class='it'>that</span> fatal
-spot. The same wild yells met my ear, and, by the
-clear blue flame, I beheld a scene of sickening horror!—while
-I think upon it, my brain becomes frenzied—but
-I must relieve the tortures of this breast
-by tracing my sum of misery.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Aye! I beheld a motley group sitting around the
-fire, who, with shouts of laughter and demoniacal
-gestures, were tearing asunder a human frame, a
-fresh victim! There was a pause, when a voice
-arose upon the stillness that sent my blood curdling
-to my heart; I looked, and saw <span class='it'>my wife</span>, and by her
-side that stranger youth! Slowly I moved my hand
-towards my pistol, and, setting my teeth, grasped it
-firmly. Another voice rang through the air, and
-there sat Count Rudolph, the demon of the burning
-mountain; well did I remember, by that light, those
-unhallowed eyes and <span class='it'>that smile</span>. The glance was but
-momentary, for revenge was heaving my bosom almost
-to bursting. There sat the only object on earth
-that was dear to me; for <span class='it'>her</span> I had bartered my <span class='it'>soul</span>,
-and there she was, in seeming fellowship with devils.
-Ages of misery were crowded in that moment. She
-turned, and smiled upon the beardless boy. Nature
-could endure no longer—I fired! Loud yells and
-horrid imprecations mingled with the thunder’s roar;
-one fierce scream was borne upon the blast, and, from
-the spot where sat Auzella, up rose a <span class='it'>vulture</span>! For
-a moment she hovered near me; I saw the crimson
-blood stream from its breast, and casting a look upon
-me, (which, by day and night, haunts the deepest
-spot in memory’s waste,) flapped her broad wings,
-and was soon lost in the impenetrable gloom.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk117'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Darkness fell upon me; reason was lost amid the
-breakers of despair. A wreck, deserted by Hope,
-within my heart is the torch of anguish, kindled at
-the funeral pile of <span class='sc'>Vice</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:3em;margin-top:0.5em;'>E.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk118'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='tho'></a>THOUGHTS IN SPRING.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY HENRY B. HIRST.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>It is the spring time. Varied flowers are sending</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Their new-born odors on the sighing breeze,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The sun its brightness from the sky is lending,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Flinging its kisses to the budding trees,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And Nature, lovely Nature fair doth seem,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As the creation of a poet’s dream.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The robin’s mellow strain in wild notes gushes</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From the snow blossoms of the apple tree;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The cat-bird’s scolding from the leafy bushes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The wren’s low music thrilling comes to me,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Seeming the hymns of Nature freely given,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As stainless offerings of its praise to Heaven.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Earth is a sea of verdure. Blossoms springing</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;All gem-like dewy from the velvet sod,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like whispered melody their perfume flinging,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Earth’s altar’d incense rising up to God,—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whose word I read in there as in his book,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When e’er their beauties meet my eager look.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Thro’ laughing verdure silvery is straying,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Reflecting, mirror-like, the pure calm sky,</p>
-<p class='line0'>A babbling stream, o’er rock and lichen playing,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sweet as the softness of a loved one’s sigh—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Floating along with harmony as rife</p>
-<p class='line0'>As pass the hours in some bright day of life.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The river far away is calmly stealing,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thro’ its green banks all glittering with light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like beaming fancies in the poet’s feeling,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Who worships ever all that’s fair and bright;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Creating images that living start</p>
-<p class='line0'>Warm from the gushings of his burning heart.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Yes! this is spring time, mild and glorious spring,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When earth is like a paradise, and gay</p>
-<p class='line0'>With birds, and buds, and flowers, and everything,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Whose beauties serve to gild awhile life’s clay.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bidding hearts revel in enjoyment wild,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Making one happy even as a child.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk119'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='sch'></a>SCHOOL-BOY RECOLLECTIONS.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>A FROLIC AMONG THE LAWYERS.—A SCENE FROM LIFE.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY T. W. THOMAS, AUTHOR OF “HOWARD PINCKNEY,” ETC.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I was born in New Orleans. I had very bad health
-there in my early childhood, and “My Aunt Betsey,”
-of whom I have before spoken, took a voyage by sea
-from Baltimore to the “crescent city,” for the purpose
-of returning with me to a climate which the physicians
-had said would strengthen my constitution.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She brought me up with the greatest kindness, or
-rather, I should say she kept me comparatively feeble
-by her over-care of my health. When I was about
-fourteen years of age, my father brought my mother
-and my little sister Virginia on from New Orleans to
-see me. My meeting with my kind mother I shall
-never forget. She held me at arms’ length for an instant,
-to see if she could recognise, in the chubby,
-healthy boy before her, the puny, sickly child with
-whom she had parted with such fond regret on board
-the Carolina, but a few years before; and when, in
-memory and in heart, she recognized each lineament,
-she clasped me to her bosom with a wild hysteric joy
-which compensated her, more than compensated her,
-she said, for all the agony which our separation had
-caused her. I loved my mother devotedly, yet I wondered
-at the emotion which she exhibited at our meeting,
-and, child though I was, a sense of unworthiness
-came over me, possibly because my affections could
-not sound the depths of hers.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>My father’s recognition was kinder than I had expected,
-from what I remembered of our parting in
-New Orleans. He felt prouder of me than at our parting,
-I presume, from my improved health and looks,
-and this made him feel that my being tied to the
-apron strings of my good old aunt would not improve
-my manliness. A gentleman whom he had met at a
-dinner party, who was the principal of an academy, a
-kind of miniature college, some thirty miles from
-Baltimore, had impressed my father, by his disquisitions,
-with a profound respect for such a mode of education.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“William,” said my father, in speaking on the
-subject to Mr. Stetson, “will be better there than
-here among the women; he’ll be a baby forever here.
-No, I must make a man of him. I shall take him
-next week with me, and leave him in the charge of
-Mr. Sears.” My mother insisted upon it that I should
-stay awhile longer, that she might enjoy my society,
-and that my sister and myself might become attached
-to each other ere they returned to New Orleans. But
-my father said, “No, my dear; you know it was always
-agreed between us that you should bring up Virginia
-as you pleased, and that I would bring up William
-as I pleased.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Let us take him, then, back to New Orleans,” exclaimed
-my mother; “he is healthy enough now.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“But he would not be healthy long there, my dear.
-No, I have made inquiry: Mr. Sears is an admirable
-man, and under his care, which I am satisfied will be
-paternal, William will improve in mind, and learn to
-be a man—will you not, William?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I could only cling to my mother without reply.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There,” exclaimed my father, exultingly, “you
-see the effect of his education thus far.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The effect of his education thus far!” retorted
-my aunt Betsey, who did not relish my father’s remark;
-“he has been taught to say his prayers, and
-to love his parents and tell the truth. You see the effects
-in him now,” and she pointed to me, seated on a
-stool by my mother.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>All this made no impression upon my father. He
-was resolved that I should go to Belle Air, the county
-town, situated twenty-five miles from Baltimore,
-where the school was, the next week, and he so expressed
-himself decidedly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The condemned criminal, who counts the hours
-that speed to his execution, scarcely feels more horror
-at the rush of time than did I. One appalling
-<span class='it'>now</span> seemed to possess me. I was deeply sensitive,
-and the dread of my loneliness away from all I loved,
-and the fear of the ridicule and tyranny of the oldsters,
-haunted me so that I could not sleep, and I have lain
-awake all night, picturing to myself what would be
-the misery of my situation at Belle Air. In fact,
-when the day arrived, I bade my mother, aunt Betsey
-and my little sister Virginia farewell with scarcely a
-consciousness, and was placed in the gig by my father
-as the stunned criminal is assisted into the fatal cart.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This over-sensitiveness—what a curse it is! I
-lay no claims to genius, and yet I have often thought
-it hard that I should have the quality which makes
-the “fatal gift” so dangerous, and not the gift. My
-little sister Virginia, who had been my playmate for
-weeks, cried bitterly when I left her. I dwelt upon
-her swimming eye with mine, tearless and stony as
-death. The waters of bitterness had gathered around
-my heart, but had not yet found an outlet from their
-icy thrall, ’neath which they flowed dark and deep.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Belle Air, at the time I write of, was a little village
-of some twenty-five or more houses, six of which
-were taverns. It was and is a county town, and court
-was regularly held there, to which the Baltimore
-lawyers used to flock in crowds; and many mad
-pranks have I known them play there for their own
-amusement, if not for the edification of the pupils of
-Mr. Sears.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>My father drew up at Mr. Kenny’s tavern, and as it
-was about twelve when we arrived, and the pupils
-were dismissed to dinner, he sent his card to the principal,
-who in a few minutes made his appearance.
-Talk of a lover watching the movements and having
-impressed upon his memory the image of her whom
-he loveth!—the schoolboy has a much more vivid recollection
-of his teacher. Mr. Sears was a tall, stout
-man, with broad stooping shoulders, he carried a
-large cane, and his step was as decided as ever was
-Doctor Busby’s, who would not take his hat off when
-the king visited his school, for the reason, as he told
-his majesty afterwards, that if his scholars thought
-that there was a greater man in the kingdom than
-himself, he never could control them. The face of
-Mr. Sears resembled much the likeness of Alexander
-Hamilton, though his features were more contracted,
-and his forehead had nothing like the expansion of the
-great statesman; yet it projected very similarly at
-the brows. He welcomed my father to the village
-with great courtesy, and me to his pupilage with
-greater dignity. He dined with my father, with me
-by his side, and every now and then he would pat me
-on the head and ask me a question. I stammered out
-monosyllabic answers, when the gentleman would address
-himself again to his plate with renewed gusto.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Sears recommended my father to board me at
-the house of a Mr. Hall, who had formerly been the
-sheriff of the county, and whose wife and daughters,
-he said, were very fine women. He repented, he said,
-when he first took charge of the academy, that there
-was not some general place attached to it where the
-pupils could board in common, but after reflection
-had taught him that to board them about among the
-towns-people would be as well. He remarked that I
-was one of his smallest pupils, but that he could look
-on me <span class='it'>in loco parentis</span>, and doubted not that he could
-make a man of me.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>After dinner he escorted my father, leading me by
-the hand, down to the academy, which was on the
-outskirts of the town, at the other end of it from Mr.
-Kenny’s. The buzz, which the usher had not the
-power to control in the absence of Mr. Sears, hushed
-instantly in his presence, and as he entered with my
-father, the pupils all arose, and remained standing
-until he ordered them to be seated. Giving my father
-a seat, and placing me in the one which he designed
-for me in the school, Mr. Sears called several of his
-most proficient scholars in the different classes, from
-Homer down to the elements of English, and examined
-them. When a boy blundered, he darted at
-him a look which made him shake in his shoes, and
-when another boy gave a correct answer and took
-his fellow’s place, and glanced up for Mr. Sears’
-smile, it was a picture which my friend Beard, of
-Cincinnati, would delight to draw. The blunderer
-looked like one caught in the act of sheep-stealing,
-while the successful pupil took his place with an air
-that would have marked one of Napoleon’s doubtful
-soldiers, when the Emperor had witnessed an act of
-daring on his part. As for Mr. Sears, he thought Napoleon
-a common creature to himself. To kill men,
-he used to say, was much more easy than to instruct
-them, he felt himself to be like one of the philosophers
-of old in his academy; and he considered Doctor
-Parr and Doctor Busby, who boasted that they had
-whipped every distinguished man in the country, much
-greater than he of Pharsalia or he of Austerlitz.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When the rehearsal of several classes had given
-my father a due impression of Mr. Sears’ great gifts
-as an instructor, and of his scholars’ proficiency, he
-took my father to Mr. Hall’s, to introduce us to my
-future host.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We found the family seated in the long room in
-which their boarders dined. To Mr. Sears they paid
-the most profound respect. Well they might, for
-without his recommendation they would have been
-without boarders. Hall was a tall, good humored,
-careless man. His wife was older than himself, tall
-too, but full of energy. He had two daughters, Harriet
-and Jane. Harriet was a quick, active, lively
-girl, and withal pretty, while Jane was lolling and
-lazy in her motions, and without either good looks or
-prettiness. The matter of my boarding was soon arranged,
-and it had become time for my father to depart.
-All this while the variety and excitement of
-the scene had somewhat relieved my feelings, but
-when my father bade me be a good boy and drove off,
-I felt as if the “last link” was indeed broken, and
-though I made every effort, from a sense of shame,
-to repress my tears, it was in vain, and they broke
-forth the wilder from their previous restraint. Harriet
-Hall came up instantly to comfort me. She took
-a seat beside me at the open window at which I was
-looking out after my father, and with a sweet voice,
-whose tones are in my memory yet, she told me not
-to grieve because I was from my friends; that I
-should soon see them again, and that she would think
-I feared they would not be kind to me if I showed so
-much sorrow. This last remark touched me, and
-while I was drying my eyes, one of the larger boys,
-a youth of eighteen or twenty, came up to the window—for
-the academy by this time had been dismissed
-for the evening—and said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ah, Miss Harriet, is this another baby who is
-crying for home?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In an instant my eyes were dried. I cast one
-glance at the speaker—he was a tall, slim, reckless
-looking fellow, named Prettyman—and from that
-day to this I have neither forgotten it, nor, I fear,
-forgiven him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the night, when we retired to our rooms, I found
-that my bed was in a room with two others, Prettyman
-and a country bumpkin, by the name of Muzzy.
-As usual on going to bed, I kneeled down to say my
-prayers, putting my hands up in the attitude of supplication.
-I had scarcely uttered to myself the first
-words, “Our Father,” but to the ear that heareth all
-things, when Prettyman exclaimed—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“He’s praying! ‘By the Apostle Paul!’ as Richard
-the Third says, that’s against rules. Suppose we cob
-him, Muzzy?” Muzzy laughed, and got into bed;
-and I am ashamed to say that I arose with the
-prayer dying away from my thoughts, and indignation
-and shame usurping them, and sneaked into bed,
-where I said my prayers in silence, and wept myself
-in silence to sleep. In the morning, with a heavy
-heart, and none but the kind Harriet to comfort me,
-I betook myself to the academy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Parents little know what a sensitive child suffers
-at a public school. I verily believe that these schools
-engender often more treachery, falsehood and cruelty
-than exists in West India slavery; I was about
-saying even in the brains of an abolitionist. Most
-tenderly nurtured, under the care of an affectionate
-old aunt, who was always fixing my clothes to keep
-me warm, coddling up something nice to pamper me
-with, watching all my outgoings and incomings, and
-seeing that everything around me conduced to my
-convenience and comfort, the contrast was indeed
-great when I appeared at the Belle Air academy, one
-of the smallest boys there, and subjected to the
-taunts and buffetings of every larger boy than myself
-in the institution. My father little knew what agony
-it cost me to be made a man of.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I am not certain that the good produced by such
-academies is equal to their evils. I remember well
-for two or three nights after Prettyman laughed at
-me, that I crept into bed to say my prayers, and, at
-last, under his ridicule—for he practised his gift on
-me every night—I not only neglected to say them,
-but began to feel angry towards my aunt that she
-had ever learned them to me, as they brought so
-much contempt upon me. Yet, such is the power of
-conscience, at that tender age, that, when I awoke in
-the morning of the first night that I had not prayed,
-I felt myself guilty and unworthy, and went into the
-garden and wept aloud, tears of sincere contrition.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Too often, in public schools, the first thing a youth
-learns from his elders, is to laugh at parental authority,
-and to exhibit to the ridicule of his fellows
-the letter of advice which his parent or guardian
-feels it his duty to write to him, taking care, with a
-jest upon them, to pocket the money they send, with
-an air of incipient profligacy which, any one may see,
-will soon not only be rank but prurient—such a
-moral contagion should be avoided, and, I therefore
-am inclined to think that the Catholic mode of tuition,
-where some one of the teachers is with the
-scholars, not only by day but by night, is preferable.
-And, in fact, any one who has witnessed the respectful
-familiarity they teach their pupils to feel and act
-towards them, and the kindness with which they return
-it, cannot but be impressed with the truth of my
-remark.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There were nearly one hundred pupils at Belle Air,
-at the period of which I write, and the only assistant
-Mr. Sears had, was a gaunt fellow named Dogberry.
-Like his illustrious namesake in Shakspeare, from
-whom I believe he was a legitimate descendant, he
-might truly have been “<span class='it'>written down an ass</span>.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The boys invented all sorts of annoyances to torture
-Dogberry withal. A favorite one was, when
-Mr. Sears was in the city, which was at periods not
-unfrequent, for them to assemble in the school before
-Dogberry came, and setting one by the door to give
-notice when the usher was within a few feet of it, to
-begin as soon as he appeared in sight, to shout, as
-with one voice—first <span class='it'>Dog</span>, and then, after a pause,
-by way of a chorus, <span class='it'>berry</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As soon as notice was given by the watcher, he
-leaped to his seat, and every tongue was silent, and
-every eye upon the book before it. The rage of Dogberry
-knew no bounds on these occasions. He did
-not like to tell the principal, for the circumstance
-would have proved not only his want of authority
-over the boys, but the contempt in which they held
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A trick which Prettyman played him, nearly
-caused his death, and, luckily for the delinquent, he
-was never discovered. Dogberry was very penurious,
-and he saved two-thirds of his salary; as it was not
-large, he had, of course, to live humbly. He dined at
-Halls and took breakfast and supper in his lodgings,
-if he ever took them, and the quality of the dinner of
-which he made himself the receptacle, caused it to
-be doubted. His lodgings were the <span class='it'>dormant</span> story
-of a log cabin, to which he had entrance by a rough
-flight of stairs without the house and against its side.
-Under the stairs there was a large mud-hole, and
-Prettyman contrived one gusty night to pull them
-down, with the intention of calling the usher in the
-tone of Mr. Sears, for he was a good mimic, and
-causing him to fall in the mud. Unluckily, the usher
-heard the racket without, and not dreaming it was
-the fall of the stairs, he leaped from his bed, and hurried
-out to see what it was. He fell on them, and
-though no bones were broken, he was laid up for
-several weeks. The wind always had the credit of
-the affair, and Prettyman won great applause for his
-speedy assistance and sympathy with Dogberry,
-whom he visited constantly during his confinement.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The night of the adjournment of court, the lawyers,
-and even the judges, had what they called a
-regular frolic. Mr. Sears was in Baltimore, and the
-scholars were easily induced to join in it—in fact
-they wanted no inducement. About twelve o’clock
-at night we were aroused from our beds by a most
-awful yelling for the ex-sheriff. “Hall, Hall,” was
-the cry—soon the door was opened, and the trampling
-of feet was heard—in a minute the frolickers
-ascended the stairs, and one of the judges, with a
-blanket wrapped round him, like an Indian, with
-his face painted, and a red handkerchief tied round
-his head, and with red slippers on, entered our room,
-with a candle in one hand and a bottle in the other;
-and, after making us drink all round, bade us get up.
-We were nothing loath. On descending into the
-dining-room, lo! there were the whole bar, dressed
-off in the most fantastic style, and some of them
-scarcely dressed at all. They were mad with fun
-and wine. The ex-sheriff brought forth his liquors,
-and was placed on his own table as a culprit, and
-tried and found guilty of not having been, as in duty
-bound, one of the originators of the frolic. He was,
-therefore, fined glasses round for the company, and
-ordered by the judges to pay it at Richardson’s bar.
-To Richardson’s the order was given to repair. Accordingly,
-without they formed a line, Indian file.
-Two large black women carried a light in each hand
-beside the first judge, and two smaller black women
-carried a light in the right hand beside the next one.
-The lawyers followed, each with a light in his hand,
-and the procession closed with the scholars, who
-each also bore a light. I, being smallest, brought up
-the rear. There was neither man nor boy who was
-not more or less inebriated, and the wildest pranks
-were played.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When we reached Dogberry’s domicile, one of the
-boys proposed to have him out with us. The question
-was put by one of the judges and carried by acclamation
-unanimously. It was further resolved,
-that a deputation of three, each bearing a bottle of
-different liquor, should be appointed to wait on him,
-with the request that he would visit the Pawnee
-tribe, from the far west, drink some fire-water with
-them, and smoke the pipe of peace.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Prettyman, whose recklessness knew no bounds,
-and who, as I suppose, wished to involve me in difficulty,
-moved that the smallest and tallest person in
-the council be of that deputation. There happened
-to be a quantity of logs, which had been gathered
-there for the purpose of building a log house. Mr.
-Patterson (I use here a fictitious name) was at this
-time the great lawyer of Maryland. He was dressed
-in a splendid Indian costume, which a western client
-had given him, and he had painted himself with
-care and taste. He was a fine looking man, and
-stretching out his hand, he exclaimed:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers, be seated; but not on the prostrate
-forms of the forest, which the ruthless white man has
-felled to make unto himself a habitation. Like the
-big warrior Tecumseh, in council with the great
-white chief Harrison, we will sit upon the lap of our
-mother the earth—upon her breast we will sleep—the
-Pawnee has no roof but the blue sky, where
-dwelleth the Great Spirit—and he looks up to the
-shining stars, and they look down upon him—and
-they count the leaves of the forest and know the
-might of the Pawnees.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Every one, by this time, had taken a seat upon the
-ground, and all were silent. As the lights flashed
-o’er the group, they formed as grotesque a scene as I
-have ever witnessed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers,” he continued, “those eyes of the
-Great Spirit,” pointing upwards to the stars, “behold
-the rushing river, and they say to our fathers,
-who are in the happy hunting grounds of the blest,
-that, like it, is the might of the Pawnee when he
-rushes to battle. The white men are dogs—their
-carcasses drift in the tide—they are cast out on the
-shore, and the prairie-wolf fattens on them.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers—the eyes of the Great Spirit behold
-the prairies and the forest, where the breath of
-the wintry wind bears the red fire through them—where
-the prairie-wolf flies, and the fire flies faster.
-Brothers, the white man is the prairie-wolf, and the
-Pawnee is the fire.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers—when the forked fire from the right
-arm of the Great Spirit smites the mountain’s brow,
-the eagle soars upwards to his home in the clouds,
-but the snake crawls over the bare rock in the blast,
-and hides in the clefts and in the hollows and holes.
-Behold! the forked fire strikes the rock and scatters
-it as the big warrior would throw pebbles from his
-hand, and the soaring eagle darts from the clouds
-and the death-rattle of the snake is heard, and he
-hisses no more.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers—the Pawnee is the eagle, the bird of
-the Great Spirit, and the white man is the crawling
-snake that the Great Spirit hates.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers—the shining eyes of the Great Spirit
-sees all these things, and tells them to our fathers,
-who are in the happy hunting ground of the blest,
-and they say that some day, wrapped in the clouds,
-they will come and see us, for our land is like
-theirs.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This was said with so much eloquence, by the distinguished
-lawyer, that there was the silence of
-nearly a minute when he concluded. In the company
-was a lawyer named Short, who, strange to say,
-was just six feet three inches and a half high, and he
-had a client—which is stranger still—named Long,
-who was but five feet high.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Who has precedence, Judge Willard?” called out
-somebody in the crowd, breaking in upon the business
-of the occasion, as upon such occasions business
-always will be broken in upon—“who has precedence,
-Long or Short?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Long,” exclaimed the judge,
-“of course. It is a settled rule in law, that you
-must take as much land as is called for in the deed—therefore
-Long takes precedence of Short. May be,
-Short has a remedy in equity; but this court has nothing
-to do with that—so you have the <span class='it'>long</span> and
-the <span class='it'>short</span> of the matter.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Judge,” cried out the ex-sheriff, “we must go to
-Richardson’s—you know it is my treat.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The Pawnee—the eagle of his race,”—exclaimed
-Patterson, “the prophet of his tribe; he who is
-more than warrior—whose tongue is clothed with the
-Great Spirit’s thunder—who can speak with the eloquence
-of the spring air when it whispers amidst
-the leaves and makes the flowers open and give forth
-their sweets—he, the Charming Serpent, that hath a
-tongue forked with persuasion—he, even he, will
-go in to the white man, and invite him to come forth
-and taste the fire-water, and smoke the pipe of peace
-with the Pawnee. Then, if he comes not forth when
-the charming serpent takes him by the hand, and
-bids him, the Pawnees shall smoke him out like a
-fox, and his blazing habitation shall make night
-pale, and there shall be no resting place for his foot,
-and children and squaws shall whip him into the
-forest, and set the dogs upon his trail, and he shall
-be hunted from hill to hill, from river to river, from
-prairie to prairie, from forest to forest, till, like the
-frightened deer, he rushes, panting, into the great
-lakes, and the waters rise over him, and cover him
-from the Pawnees’ scorn.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This was received with acclamation. Mr. Patterson
-played the Indian so well, that he drew me one
-of the closest to him, in the charmed circle that surrounded
-him. His eye flashed, his lips quivered with
-fiery ardor, though at the mimic scene. I was so
-lost in admiration of him, that I placed myself beside
-him without knowing it. He saw the effect he
-had produced upon me, and was evidently gratified.
-Taking me by the hand, he said:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Warriors and braves, give unto me the brand,
-that the Charming Serpent may light the steps of the
-boy to the hiding-place of the pale-face. He shall
-listen to the eloquence of the Charming Serpent when
-he takes the white man by the hand—he shall learn
-how to move alike the heart of the pale-face and the
-red man.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers—the Charming Serpent to-night,” said
-he, handing me the candle, and placing himself in an
-oratorial attitude, while every man lifted up his candle
-so that it shone full upon him,—“Brothers, the
-Charming Serpent to-night could speak unto the four
-winds that are now howling in the desolate Pawnee
-paths of the wilderness, and make them sink into a
-low moan, and sigh themselves to silence, were he
-to tell them of the many of his tribe who are now
-lying mangled, unburied, and cold, beneath the
-shadow of the rocky mountains—victims of the
-white man’s vengeance.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers: O! that the Great Spirit would give the
-Charming Serpent his voice of thunder—then would
-he stand upon the highest peak of the Alleghanies,
-with the forked lightning in his red right hand, and
-tell a listening and heart-struck world the wrong of
-his race. And, when all of every tribe of every people
-had come crouching in the valleys, and had filled
-up the gorges of the hills, then would the Charming
-Serpent hurl vengeance on the oppressor. But come,”
-said he, taking the candle in one hand, and myself
-by the other, “the Pawnee talks like a squaw. The
-Charming Serpent will speak with the pale-face, and
-lead him forth from his wigwam to the great council
-fire.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Accordingly, the Charming Serpent took me by
-the hand, and led me up the stairs. His steps were
-steady, and it was evident that his libations had excited
-his brain, and, instead of weakening him, given
-him strength.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What’s your name?” said he to me kindly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“William Russel, sir.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do you know me, my little fellow?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes, sir, you’re Mr. Patterson, the great lawyer.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ah, ah! they call me a great lawyer, do they!
-What else do they say?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That you’re the greatest orator in the country,”
-I replied—for what I had drank made me bold too.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“They do—I know they do, my little fellow—I
-believe, in fact, that I could have stood up in the
-Areopagus of old, in favor of human rights, and faced
-the best of them. Yes, sir, I too could have ‘fulmined
-over Greece.’ But we are not Grecians now—we
-are Pawnees.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Stop, stop, Mr. Pawnee,” called out some one
-from the crowd, “Short was to go, he is the tallest
-man.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The tallest man,” re-echoed Mr. Patterson, speaking
-in his natural tone. “The judge, sir, has already
-decided that by just legal construction, Short is
-short, no matter how long he is; and, if he claims to
-be long, sir, I can just inform him that Lord Bacon
-says ‘that tall men are like tall houses, the upper
-story is the worst furnished.’ ” Here, every eye was
-turned on Short, and there was a shout of laughter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If,” continued Mr. Patterson—and it was evident
-his potations were doing their work—“if it be true—I’ll
-just say this to you, sirs. Doctor Watts was a
-very small man; and, I repeat it for the benefit of all
-small men—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘Had I the height to reach the pole</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or meet the ocean with my span,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I would be measured by my soul—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The mind’s the standard of the man.’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There, gentlemen of the jury; if that be true, I
-opine that the tallest man in the crowd is now addressing
-you. But, I forget. I am a Pawnee.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers: The tall grass of the prairies is swept
-by the fire, while the flint endureth the hot flames of
-the stake. The loftiest trees of the forest snap like
-a reed in the whirlwind, and the bird that builds
-there leaves her eggs unhatched. The highest peak
-of the mountain is always the bleakest and barest—in
-the valley are the sweet waters and the pleasant.
-Damn it,” said he, speaking in his proper person, for
-he began to forget his personation, “why do we value
-the gem—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘Ask why God made the gem so small,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And why so huge the granite?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Because he meant mankind should set</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The higher value on it.’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That’s Burns—an illustrious name, gentlemen.
-When I was minister abroad, I stood beside the peasant
-poet’s grave, and thanked God that he had given
-me the faculties to appreciate him. Suppose that he
-had been born in this land of ours, sirs; all we who
-think ourselves lights in law and statesmanship,
-would have seen our stars paled—paled, sirs, as the
-fire of the prairie grows dim, when the eye of the
-Great Spirit looks forth from the eastern gates—damn
-it, that’s Ossian and not Pawnee—upon it in
-its fierceness.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘Thou, the bright eye of the universe,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That openest over all, and unto all</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Art a delight—thou shinest not on my soul.’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That’s Byron—I knew him well—handsome
-fellow. ‘Thou shinest not on my soul’—no, but
-thou shinest on the prairie.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The usher—Dogberry—let’s have Dogberry,”
-called out several of the students.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ha!” exclaimed Mr. Patterson; “Dogberry,
-ha! He’s Goldsmith’s village teacher, that caused
-the wonder</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘That one small head could carry all he knew.’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>Dogberry—Dogberry—but that sounds Shakspearian.
-‘Reading and writing comes by Nature.’ That’s certainly
-not his sentiments; were they, he should
-throw away the usher’s rod and betake himself to
-something else; for if these things come by nature,
-then is Dogberry’s occupation gone. Yes, he had
-better betake himself to the constableship. Come,
-my little friend—come, son of the Pawnee, and we
-will arouse the pale face.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Stepping by the side of Mr. Patterson, we ascended
-to the little platform in front of Dogberry’s door,
-at which we rapped three times distinctly. “Who’s
-there?” cried out a voice from within. Dogberry
-must of course have been awake for at least half an
-hour.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pale face,” said the Pawnee chief, “thou hast
-not followed the example of the great chief of the
-pale faces; the string of thy latch is pulled in. Upon
-my word, this is certainly the attic story,” he continued
-in a low voice.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am not very well to-night, gentlemen, unless
-your business is pressing.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pressing! Pale face, the Pawnees have lit their
-council fire, and invite thee to drink with them the
-fire-water and smoke the pipe of peace.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thank you, gentlemen, I never drink,” responded
-Dogberry, in an impatient tone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Never drink! Pale face, thou liest! Who made
-the fire-water, and gave it to my people, but thee and
-thine? Lo! before it, though they once covered the
-land, they have melted away like snow beneath the
-sun.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I belong to the temperance society,” cried out
-Dogberry from within.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Dogberry,” exclaimed Patterson—whose patience,
-like that of the crowd below, who were calling
-for the usher as if they were at a town meeting, and
-expected him to speak, was becoming exhausted—“Dogberry,
-compel me not, as your great namesake
-would say, to commit either ‘perjury’ or ‘burglary,’
-and break your door open. You remember in Marmion,
-Dogberry, that the chief, speaking of the insult
-which had been put upon him, said,</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘I’ll right such wrongs where’er they’re given,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Though in the very court of Heaven.’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>Now I will not say that I would make you drink
-wherever the old chief would ‘right his wrongs,’ but
-this I will say, that wherever I, Burbage Patterson,
-get drunk, I think you can come forth and take a
-stirrup cup with him; he leaves for the Supreme
-Court to-morrow.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Patterson,” said Dogberry, coming towards
-the door, “your character can stand it—it can stand
-anything—mine can’t.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There’s truth in that,” said Mr. Patterson aside
-to me. “Gentlemen, let us leave the pedagogue to
-his reflections; and now it occurs to me that we had
-better not uncage him, for, boys, he would be a witness
-against you; more, witness, judge, jury and executioner—by
-the by, clear against law. Were I
-in your place, I would appeal, and for every stripe
-he gives you, should the judgment be reversed, do
-you give him two.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Here a sprightly fellow, one of the scholars, named
-Morris, from Long Green, ran up the steps and said
-to Mr. Patterson,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do, sir, have him out, for if we get him into the
-frolic too, we are as safe, sir, as if we were all in our
-beds. He has seen us all through some infernal
-crack or other.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ah,” exclaimed Mr. Patterson, in a low tone to
-Morris, “he has been playing Cowper, has he—looking
-from the loopholes of retreat, seeing the
-Babel and not feeling the stir?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes sir, but he’ll make a stir about it to-morrow.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“He shall come forth, then,” said Mr. Patterson;
-“Dogberry, open the door; they speak of removing
-Sears, and why don’t you come forth and greet your
-friends? We have an idea of getting the appointment
-for you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This flattery took instant effect, for we heard Dogberry
-bustling to the door, and in a moment it was
-opened about half way, and the usher put his head
-out, and said, but with the evident wish that his invitation
-would be refused, “Will you come in sir?
-Why, William Russell!” to me, in surprise.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pale face, this is a youthful brave, whom I
-want the pale face to teach the arts of his race. Behold!
-I am the Charming Serpent. Come forth and
-taste of the fire-water.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As Mr. Patterson spoke, he took Dogberry by the
-hand, and pulled him on to the platform. The usher
-was greeted with loud acclamations and laughter by
-the crowd. He, however, did not relish it, and was
-frightened out of his wits. He really looked the personification
-of a caricature. His head was covered
-with an old flannel nightcap, notwithstanding it was
-warm weather, and his trousers were held up by his
-hips, while his suspenders dangled about his knees.
-On his right leg he had an old boot, and on his left
-foot an old shoe, and was without coat or vest. As
-Mr. Patterson held up the light, so that the crowd
-below could see him, there was such a yelling as
-had not been heard on the spot since those whose
-characters the crowd were assuming had left it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Dogberry hastily withdrew into his room, but followed
-by Mr. Patterson and myself, each bearing a
-light. When we entered, the crowd rushed up the
-steps.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“For God’s sake, sir, for the sake of my character
-and situation, don’t let them come in here.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“They shall not, if you will promise to drink with
-me. Pale face, speak, will you drink with the
-Pawnee?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes sir,” said Dogberry, faintly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The Charming Serpent here went to the door, and
-said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Brothers, the Charming Serpent would hold a
-private talk with the chief of the pale faces. Ere long,
-he will be with you. Let the Big Bull (one of the
-lawyers was named Bull, and he was very humorous,)
-pass round the fire-water and the calumet, and by
-that time the Charming Serpent will come forth.
-Brothers, give unto the Charming Serpent some of
-the fire-water, that he may work his spells.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A dozen handed up bottles of different wines and
-liquors. The Charming Serpent gave Dogberry the
-candles to hold, took a bottle of Champaigne, and
-handed me another. Then shutting the door, he
-said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“This is the fire-water that hath no evil in it. It
-courses through the veins like a silvery lake through
-the prairie, where the wild grass waves green and
-placid, and it makes the heart merry like the merriment
-of birds in the spring-time, and not with the
-fierce fires of the dark lake, like the strong fire-water,
-that glows red as the living coal. Brothers, we will
-drink.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Dogberry’s apartment was indeed an humble one.
-Only in the centre of it could you stand upright.
-Over our heads were the rafters and bare shingles,
-formed exactly in the shape of the capital letter A
-inverted, or rather V. Opposite the door was a little
-window of four panes of glass, and under it, or rather
-beside it, in the corner, was a little bedstead, with a
-straw mattrass upon it. A small table, with a tumbler
-and broken pitcher, and candle in a tin candlestick
-on it, stood opposite the bed. A board, nailed
-across from rafter to rafter, held a few books, and
-beside it, on nails, were several articles of clothing.
-There were besides in the apartment two chairs, and
-a wooden chest in the corner, by the door.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Come, drink, my old boy,” exclaimed Patterson.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thank you, Mr. Patterson, your character can
-stand it, I tell you, but mine can’t.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Friend of my soul, this goblet sip,” reiterated
-Patterson, offering Dogberry the glass.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thank you, Mr. Patterson, I would not choose
-any,” said he.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You can’t but choose, Dogberry; there is no alternative.
-Do you remember what the poet beautifully
-says of the Roman daughter, who sustained her
-imprisoned father from her own breast?—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘Drink, drink and live, old man; Heaven’s realm holds no such tide.’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>Do you remember it? I bid you drink, then, and I
-say to you, Hebe nor Ganymede ever offered to the
-immortals purer wine than that. Drink! here’s to
-you, Dogberry, and to your speedy promotion,” and
-Mr. Patterson swallowed every drop in the glass, and
-re-filling it, handed it to the usher.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Without much hesitation, he drank it. He now
-filled me up a glass nearly full, and I followed the
-example of my preceptor, he the while looking at me
-with astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How do you like the letter, Mr. Dogberry?”
-asked Mr. Patterson of the pedagogue.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What letter, sir? Mr. Patterson, I must say this
-is a strange proceeding. I don’t know, sir, to what
-you allude.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Don’t know to what I allude! Why, the letter
-wishing to know if you would take the academy at
-the same price at which Sears now holds it.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sir, I have received no such letter. I certainly,
-sir, would, if it was thought that I was—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Was competent. Merit is always modest; you’re
-the most competent of the two, sir—take some.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So saying, Mr. Patterson filled up the tumbler, and
-Dogberry swallowed the compliment and the wine
-together, and fixed his eye on the rafters with an exulting
-look. While he was so gazing, the lawyer
-filled his glass, and observed, “Come, drink, and let
-me open this other bottle; I want a glass myself.”
-Down went the wine, and, with a smack of his lips,
-Dogberry handed the glass to Mr. Patterson.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Capital, ain’t it, eh?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Capital,” re-echoed Dogberry. The wine and his
-supposed honors had aroused the brain of the pedagogue
-in a manner which seemed to awake him to a
-new existence. While Mr. Patterson was striking
-the top from the other bottle, Dogberry handed me
-the candle which he held—the other he had put in
-his candlestick, taking out his own when he first
-drank—and lifting the tumbler, he stood ready.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Again he quaffed a bumper. The effect of his potations
-on him was electrical. He had a long face,
-with a snipe-like nose, which was subjected to a nervous
-twitching whenever its owner was excited. It
-now danced about, seemingly, all over his face, while
-his naturally cadaverous countenance, under the excitement,
-turned to a glowing red, and his small ferret
-eyes looked both dignified and dancing, merry and
-important. “So,” exclaimed he, “I am to be principal
-of the academy; ha, ha, ha! oh, Lord! William
-Russell, I would reprove you on the spot, but
-that you are in such distinguished company.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Whether Dogberry meant only Mr. Patterson, or
-included himself, I do not know, but as he spoke he
-arose, and paced his humble apartment with a proud
-tread, forgetting what a figure he cut, with his suspenders
-dangling about his knees and his nightcap on,
-and forgetting also that his attic was not high enough
-to admit his head to be carried at its present altitude.
-The consequence was that he struck it against one of
-the rafters, with a violence that threatened injury to
-the rafter, if not to the head. He stooped down to
-rub the affected part, when Mr. Patterson said to him,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“ ‘Pro-di-gi-ous,’ as Dominie Sampson, one of you,
-said, ain’t it? Come, we’ll finish this bottle, and
-then go forth. The scholars are all rejoiced at your
-promotion, and are all assembled without to do you
-honor. They have made complete saturnalia of it.
-They marvel now why you treat them with so much
-reserve.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Gad, I’ll do it,” exclaimed Dogberry, taking the
-tumbler and swallowing the contents.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Just put your blanket around you,” said Patterson
-to him. “Let your nightcap remain; it becomes
-you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, it don’t indeed, though, eh?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It does, ’pon honor. That’s it. Now, pale face,
-come forth; the eloquence of the Charming Serpent
-has prevailed.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So speaking, Mr. Patterson opened the door, and
-we stepped on to the platform.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The scene without was grotesque in the extreme.
-In front of us, I suppose to the number of an hundred
-persons, were the frolickers, composed of lawyers,
-students and town’s-people, all seated in a circle,
-while Mr. Patterson’s client from the West, dressed
-in costume, was giving the Pawnee war dance. This
-client was a rough uneducated man, but full of originality
-and whim. Mr. Patterson had gained a suit
-for him, in which the title to an estate in the neighborhood
-was involved, worth upwards of sixty thousand
-dollars. The whole bar had believed that the
-suit could not be sustained by Patterson, but his luminous
-mind had detected the clue through the labyrinths
-of litigation, where they saw nothing but confusion
-and defeat. His client was overjoyed at the
-result, as every one had croaked defeat to him. He
-gave Mr. Patterson fifteen thousand dollars, five
-more than he had promised, and besides had made
-him a present of the splendid Indian dress in which,
-as a bit of fun, before the frolic commenced, he had
-decked himself, under the supervision of his client,
-who acted as his costumer, and afterwards dressed
-himself in the same way. The client had a great
-many Indian dresses with him, which he had collected
-with great care, and on this occasion he threw
-open his trunks, and supplied nearly the whole bar.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The name of Mr. Patterson’s client was Blackwood,
-and the admiration which he excited seemed
-to give him no little pleasure. Most of the lawyers
-in the circle had something Indian on them, while
-the boys, who could not appear in costume, and were
-determined to appear wild, had turned their jackets
-wrong side out, and swapped with each other, the
-big ones with the little, so that one wore his neighbor’s
-jacket, the waist of which came up under his
-arms, and exhibited the back of his vest, while the
-other wore a coat the hip buttons of which were at
-his knees.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On the outskirts of this motley assembly could be
-seen, here and there, a negro, who might be said at
-once to contribute to the darkness that surrounded
-the scene and to reflect light upon it, for their black
-skins were as ebon as night, while their broad grins
-certainly had something luminous about them, as
-their white teeth shone forth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We stood about a minute admiring the dance, when
-it was concluded, and some one espied us, and pointed
-us out to the rest. We, or rather I should say
-Dogberry, was greeted with three times three. I
-have never seen, for the size of the assembly, such an
-uproarious outbreak of bacchanalian merriment.
-After the cheers were given, many of the boys threw
-themselves on the grass and rolled over and over,
-shouting as they rolled. Others jerked their fellows’
-hats off, and hurled them in air. Prettyman stood
-with his arms folded, as if he did not know what to
-make of it, and then deliberately spreading his blanket
-on the ground, as deliberately took a seat in the
-centre of it, as if determined to maintain the full possession
-of his faculties, and, like an amateur at a
-play, enjoy the scene. Morris held his sides, stooped
-down his head, and glanced sideways cunningly at
-Dogberry, throwing his head back every now and
-then with a sudden jerk, while loud explosive bursts
-of laughter, from his very heart, echoed through the
-village above every other sound.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“A speech from Dogberry!” exclaimed Prettyman.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ay, a speech!” shouted Morris, “a speech!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, gentlemen, not now,” exclaimed Richardson,
-the proprietor of one of the hotels; “I sent down to
-my house an hour ago, and have had a collation
-served. Mr. Patterson, and gentlemen and students
-all, I invite you to partake with me.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Silence!” called out Mr. Patterson. All were
-silent. “Students of the Belle Air Academy and
-citizens generally, I have the honor to announce to
-you that my friend, Mr. Dogberry, is about to supersede
-Mr. Sears. We must form a procession and
-place him in our midst, the post of honor, and then
-to mine host’s.” So speaking, Mr. Patterson descended,
-followed by Dogberry and myself. The students
-gave their candles to the negroes to hold, joined their
-hands, and danced round Dogberry with the wildest
-glee, while he received it all in drunken dignity.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When I have seen since, in Chapman’s floating
-theatre, or in a barn or shed, some lubberly, drunken
-son of the sock and buskin enact Macbeth, with the
-witches about him, I have recalled this scene, and
-thought that the boys looked like the witches and
-Dogberry like the Thane, when the witches greet
-him:</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>The procession was at length formed. Surrounded
-by the boys, who rent the air with shouts, with his
-nightcap on his head and his blanket around him,
-with one boot and one shoe, Dogberry, following immediately
-after the judges, proceeded with them to
-Richardson’s hotel. Whenever there was the silence
-of a minute or two, some boy or other would ask Dogberry
-not to remember on the morrow that he saw
-them out that night.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, boys, no, certainly not; this thing, I understand,
-is done in honor of me. I shan’t take Sears in
-even as an assistant. Boys, he has not used me
-well.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We arrived at Richardson’s as well as we could,
-having business on both sides of the street. His
-dining-room was a very large one, and he had a very
-fine collation set out, with plenty of wines and other
-liquors. Judge Willard took the head of the table
-and Judge Nolan the foot. Dogberry was to the right
-of Judge Willard and Mr. Patterson to the left. He
-made me sit beside him. The eating was soon despatched,
-and it silenced us all a little, while it laid
-the groundwork for standing another supply of wine,
-which was soon sparkling in our glasses, and we
-were now all more excited than ever. It was amusing
-to see the merry faces of my schoolmates twinkling
-about among the crowd, trying to catch and comprehend
-whatever was said by the lawyers, particularly
-those that were distinguished.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Songs were sung, sentiments given, and Indian
-talks held by the quantity. Dogberry looked the
-while first at the boys and then at the lawyers and
-then at himself, not knowing whether or not the
-scene before him was a reality or a dream. The
-great respect which the boys showed him, and Patterson’s
-making an occasional remark to him, seemed
-at last not only fully to impress him with the reality,
-but also with a full, if not a sober conviction of his
-own importance.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“A song!—a song!” was shouted by a dozen of
-the larger students; “a song from Morris. Give us
-‘Down with the pedagogue Sears.’ Hurrah for old
-Dogberry—Dogberry forever.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No,” cried out others, “a speech from Mr. Patterson—no,
-from the Pawnee. You’re fineable for
-not speaking in character.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Here Prettyman took Mr. Patterson courteously
-by the hand, and said something to him in a whisper.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ah ha!” exclaimed Mr. Patterson, “so shall it
-be; I like Morris. Come, my good fellow, sing us
-the song you wrote; come, Dogberry’s star is now in
-the ascendant. ‘Down with the pedagogue Sears’—let’s
-have it.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nothing loth, Morris was placed on the table,
-while the students gathered round him, ready to join
-the chorus. Taking a preparatory glass of wine,
-while Mr. Patterson rapped on the table by way of
-commanding silence, Morris placed himself in an attitude
-and sang the following song, which he had
-written on some rebellious occasion or other:</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;SONG.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>You may talk of the study of imperial power,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And tell how their subjects must fawn, cringe and cower,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;And offer the incense of tears;</p>
-<p class='line0'>But I tell you at once, that there’s none can compare</p>
-<p class='line0'>With the tyrant that rules o’er the lads of Belle Air,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;So down with the pedagogue Sears.</p>
-<p class='line0'>(Chorus,) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Down, down,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Down with the pedagogue Sears.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The serf has his Sunday—the negroes tell o’er</p>
-<p class='line0'>Their Christmas, the Fourth, aye, and many days more,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;When they feel themselves any man’s peers;</p>
-<p class='line0'>But we’re tasked night and day by the line and the rule,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And Sunday’s no Sunday, for there’s Sunday school,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;So down with the pedagogue Sears.</p>
-<p class='line0'>(Chorus,) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Down, down, &amp;c.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>So here’s to the lad who can talk to his lass,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And here’s to the lad who can take down his glass,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;And is only a lad in his years:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who can stand up and act a bold part like a man,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And do just whatever another man can,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;So down with the pedagogue Sears.</p>
-<p class='line0'>(Chorus,) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Down, down,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Down with the pedagogue Sears—</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Hip, hip, hurrah—once more,” shouted Morris.
-“Now then”—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Down, down,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;So down with the pedagogue Sears.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>While the whole room was in uproarious chorusing,
-who should enter but Sears himself. He looked
-round with stern dignity and surprise, at first uncertain
-on whom to fix his indignation, when his eye lit
-on Dogberry, who, the most elated and inebriated of
-all, was flourishing his nightcap over his head, and
-shouting, at the top of his voice,</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Down with the pedagogue Sears.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>As soon as Sears caught a view of Dogberry, he advanced
-towards him, as if determined to inflict personal
-chastisement on the usher. At first Dogberry
-prepared again to vociferate the chorus, but when he
-caught the eye of Sears, his voice failed him, and he
-moved hastily towards Mr. Patterson, who slapped
-him on the shoulder, and cried out,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Dogberry, be true to yourself.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am true to myself. Yes, my old boy, old Sears,
-you’re no longer head devil at Belle Air Academy.
-You’re no devil at all, or if you are, old boy, you’re
-a poor devil, and be d—d to you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You’re a drunken outcast, sir,” exclaimed Sears.
-“Never let me see your face again; I dismiss you
-from my service,” and so speaking, he took a note
-book from his pocket, and began hastily to take
-down the names of the students. The Big Bull saw
-this, and caught it from his hand.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sir, sir,” exclaimed Sears, enraged, “my vocation,
-and not any respect I bear you, prevents my infliction
-of personal chastisement upon you. Boys,
-young gentlemen, leave instantly for your respective
-boarding houses.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>During this, Patterson was clapping Dogberry on
-the shoulder, evidently endeavoring to inspire him
-with courage.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Tell him yourself,” I overheard Dogberry say.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, no,” replied Patterson, “it is your place.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, then, I’ll tell you at once, Sears, you’re no
-longer principal of this academy; you’re dished.
-Mr. Patterson, sir, will tell you so.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Patterson!” exclaimed Sears, now for the
-first time recognizing, in the semblance of the Indian
-chief, the distinguished lawyer and statesman. “Sir,
-I am more than astonished.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sir,” rejoined Patterson, drawing himself up with
-dignity, “I am a Pawnee brave; more, a red man
-eloquent or a pale face eloquent, as it pleases me;
-but, sir, under all circumstances, I respect your craft
-and calling. What more dignified than such? A
-poor, unfriended boy, I was taken by the hand by
-an humble teacher of a country school, and here I
-stand, let me say sir, high in the councils of a great
-people. Peace to old Playfair’s ashes. The old
-philosopher, like Porson, loved his cups, and, like
-Parr, loved his pipe; but, sir, he was a ripe scholar
-and a noble spirit, and I have so said, sir, in the
-humble monument which I am proud, sir, I was enabled,
-through the education he gave me, to build over
-him.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘After life’s fitful fever, he sleeps well.’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>Yes, as some one says, he was ‘my friend before I
-had flatterers.’ How proud he was of me! I remember
-well catching his eye in making my first
-speech, and the approving nod he gave me had more
-gratification to me than the approbation of bench,
-bar and audience. Glorious old Playfair! Mr.
-Sears, you were his pupil too. Many a time have I
-heard him speak of you; he said, of all his pupils,
-you were the one to wear his mantle. And, sir, that
-was the highest compliment he could pay you—the
-highest, Mr. Speaker, for he esteemed himself of the
-class of the philosophers, the teachers of youth. Sir,
-Mr. Sears, I propose to you that in testimony of our
-life-long respect for him, we drink to his memory.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This was said so eloquently, and withal so naturally,
-that Sears, forgetful of his whereabouts, took
-the glass which Mr. Patterson offered him, and drank
-its contents reverently to the memory of his old
-teacher.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sir,” resumed Patterson, “how glorious is your
-vocation! But tell me, do you subscribe to the sentiment
-of Don Juan?—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘Oh ye! who teach the ingenuous youth of nations,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Holland, France, England, Germany or Spain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I pray ye flog them upon all occasions—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;It mends their morals—never mind the pain.’ ”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>The appropriate quotation caused a thrill to run
-through the assembled students, while they cast
-ominous looks at each other. For the life of him,
-Sears could not resist a smile.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At this Mr. Patterson glanced at us with a quiet
-meaning, and turning to Mr. Sears, he continued:
-“The elder Adams taught school—he whose eloquence
-Jefferson has so loudly lauded—the man who
-was for liberty or death, and so expressed himself in
-that beautiful letter to his wife. Do you not remember
-that passage, sir, where he speaks of the Fourth
-being greeted thereafter with bonfires and illuminations?
-His son, Johnny Q., taught school. My
-dark-eyed friend Webster, who is now figuring so
-gloriously in the halls of Congress and in the Supreme
-Court, taught school. Judge Rowan, of Kentucky,
-a master spirit too, taught school. Who was
-that</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘Who passed the flaming bounds of time and space,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The living throne, the sapphire blaze,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where angels tremble as they gaze:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who saw, but, blasted with excess of light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Closed his eyes in endless night’—</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>Who was he? Milton, the glorious, the sublime—who,
-in his aspirations for human liberty, prayed to
-that great spirit who, as he himself says, “sends
-forth the fire from his altar to touch and purify the
-lips of whom he pleaseth”—Milton, the schoolmaster.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘If fallen in evil days on evil tongues,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Milton appealed to the avenger, Time:</p>
-<p class='line0'>If Time, the avenger, execrates his wrongs,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And if the word ‘Miltonic’ mean ‘sublime,’</p>
-<p class='line0'>He deigned not to belie his soul in songs,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Nor turn his very talent to a crime;</p>
-<p class='line0'>He did not loathe the sire to laud the son,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But closed the tyrant-hater he begun.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘Thinkest thou, could he—the blind old man—arise,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like Samuel, from the grave, to freeze once more</p>
-<p class='line0'>The blood of monarchs with his prophecies,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or be alive again—again, all hoar</p>
-<p class='line0'>With time and trials, and those helpless eyes</p>
-<p class='line0'>And heartless daughters, worn, and pale, and poor—’</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>Would he not be proud of his vocation, when he reflected
-how many great spirits had followed his example?
-The schoolmaster is indeed abroad. Mr.
-Sears, let us drink the health of the blind old man
-eloquent.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thank you, thank you, Mr. Patterson, but before
-my scholars, under the circumstances, it would be
-setting a bad example, when existing circumstances
-prove they need a good one. Sir, it was thought that
-I should not return from Baltimore until to-morrow,
-and this advantage has been taken of my absence.
-But, Mr. Patterson, when such distinguished gentlemen
-as yourself set the example, I know not what to
-say.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Forgive them, sir, forgive them,” said Patterson,
-in his blandest tone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Let them repair to their homes, then, instantly.
-Mr. Patterson, your eloquent conversation had made
-me forget myself; I don’t wonder they should have
-forgotten themselves. Let them depart.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There, boys,” exclaimed Mr. Patterson, “I have
-a greater opinion of my oratorical powers than ever.
-Be ye all dismissed until I again appear as a Pawnee
-brave, which I fear will be a long time, for ’tis
-not every day that such men as my western client
-are picked up. But, Mr. Sears, what do you say
-about Dogberry? He must be where he was; to-morrow
-must but type yesterday. Dogberry, how is
-Verges?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know him,” said Dogberry, doggedly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why, sir, he is the associate of your namesake
-in Shakspeare’s immortal page. Let this play to-night,
-Mr. Sears, be like that in which Dogberry’s
-namesake appeared—let it be ‘Much Ado About
-Nothing.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sears smiled, and nodded his head approvingly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then be the court adjourned,” exclaimed Mr.
-Patterson. “Dogberry, you and my friend Sears are
-still together, and you must remember in the premises
-what your namesake said to Verges, ‘An’ two
-men ride of a horse, one man must ride behind.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Giving three cheers for Mr. Patterson, we boys departed,
-and the next day found us betimes in the
-academy, where mum was the word between all
-parties.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk120'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='wit'></a>THE WITHERED ROSE.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY ALEX. A. IRVINE.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Thou pale withered flower, oh! once thou wert fair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;But now ev’ry leaf has been nipped by a blight—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Dost thou pine for the bosom, its fragrance to share,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Whence I won thee, sweet nestler, at parting one night?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>How beauteous thy head, as it modestly stoop’d</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Its blushes to hide in her bosom of snow—</p>
-<p class='line0'>How sweetly above thee her fair tresses droop’d—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;How pure was the heart beating stilly below!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! sweet was her smile as the first blush of Eve,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And soft was her voice as the low summer wind,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When she gave thee away, half reluctant to leave,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like an angel from heaven sent down to mankind.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I have cherished thee since as if never to part,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thou remindest me so of that fair girl away;—</p>
-<p class='line0'>But, ah! can I banish the blight from thy heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or save thee from withering day after day?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And thus, oh! how often, the ones we love best,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Drop away from our sides like the roses in June—</p>
-<p class='line0'>But why should we weep? since they pass to their rest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And if parted awhile, we shall follow them soon.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk121'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='reef'></a>THE REEFER OF ’76.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY THE AUTHOR OF “CRUISING IN THE LAST WAR.”</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>CUTTING OUT.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We had now been several months at sea, and, although
-our stores had been more than once replenished
-from the prizes we had taken, our provisions
-began to grow scarce. The skipper accordingly announced
-his intention of going into port. We bore
-up, therefore, for Charleston, that being the most
-convenient harbor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>My emotions on approaching the place where
-Beatrice resided, I shall not attempt to describe. A
-full year had passed since we had parted, and in all
-that time I had heard of her but once. Might she
-not now be married to another? The proverbial
-fickleness of her sex; the known opposition of her
-family to my suit; her uncertainty whether I still
-continued to care for her, or whether even I was yet
-alive; and a thousand other reasons why she might
-be unfaithful to me, rose up before me to torture me
-with doubts. But most of all, I reflected on our different
-situations in society. She was rich, courted,
-allied to rank—I was poor, unknown, and a rebel
-officer. Many a night as I lay in my solitary hammock,
-or trod my silent watch on deck, the fear that
-I might find Beatrice the wife of another, filled my
-soul with agony. And yet could I doubt her faith?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At length we entered Charleston harbor, and with
-a gentle breeze floated up towards the town. It was
-a moonless night, but the sky above was spangled
-with a thousand stars, and the low outline of the
-city before us glittered with myriads of lamps. The
-wind just ruffled the glassy surface of the bay, fanning
-us, as it swept by, with a delicious coolness.
-Here and there, on either shore, a light from a solitary
-house flickered through the darkness, while occasionally
-a sheet of summer lightning would play
-along the western firmament, where a low belt of
-clouds skirted the horizon, and hung like a veil
-above the city. Everything reminded me of the
-night when I had sailed up this same harbor with
-Beatrice. What had I not witnessed since then!
-The shipwreck, the battle, the hurricane, fire and
-sword, danger in every shape, almost death itself—I
-had endured them all. During that period where
-had been Beatrice? A few hours would determine.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>With a beating heart, the next morning I sought
-the residence of Beatrice’s uncle. How my brain
-swam and my knees tottered when I came in sight of
-the mansion which contained the form of her whom
-I loved! I had understood that the family, except
-one or two of the ladies of it, was out of town, and
-I burned with impatience to ascertain whether Beatrice
-was among the absentees. Yet my heart failed
-me when I came in sight of the residence of her
-uncle. I recollected the terms on which I had parted
-with Mr. Rochester, and I scarcely thought myself
-allowable in intruding on his hospitality in any
-shape. But, then, how else could I obtain an interview
-with Beatrice? Again and again I approached
-the door, and again and again I changed my mind
-and retired; but at length remembering that my
-conduct was attracting attention, and unable longer
-to endure my suspense, I advanced boldly to the portal,
-and knocked at the hall door. It was answered
-by a strange porter. With a fluttering heart I inquired
-for Miss Derwent. I felt relieved from a load
-of fear when informed that she was in town, and
-hastily thrusting my card into the man’s hand, I followed
-him eagerly into the drawing-room. He disappeared,
-and I was alone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Who can forget his emotions, when, after a long
-separation from the object of his love, he finds himself
-under the same roof with his mistress, awaiting
-her appearance? How he pictures to himself the
-joy with which the announcement of his arrival, especially
-if unexpected, will be received! He fancies
-every look that will be exchanged and every
-word that will be said at the moment of meeting.
-As the moments elapse, he imagines, however short
-the time may be, that the appearance of his mistress
-is unavoidably delayed, and a hundred fears arise,
-vague, unfounded, and but half believed, that perhaps
-her affection has grown lukewarm. Each successive
-instant of suspense increases his doubts until they
-amount almost to agony; and as a light footfall—oh!
-how well remembered!—breaks upon his ear,
-he almost dreads to meet her whom but an hour before
-he would have given worlds to behold. So was
-it now with myself. As minute after minute elapsed,
-and still Beatrice did not appear, my fears amounted
-almost to madness; and when at length I heard her
-light tread approaching, my heart began to beat so
-violently that I thought I should have fainted.
-Anxious to resolve my doubts, by observing her demeanor
-before I should be seen myself, I sprang into
-the recess of a window. As I did so, the door opened
-and Beatrice entered hurriedly, looking, if possible,
-more beautiful than ever. Her cheek was
-flushed, her step was quick and eager, and her eyes
-shone with a joy that could not be affected. She advanced
-several steps into the room, when, perceiving
-no one, she gazed inquiringly around, with a look, I
-thought, of disappointment. I moved from the recess.
-She turned quickly around at the noise, blushed
-over brow, neck and bosom, and, with a faint cry
-of joy, sprang forward, and was locked the next instant
-in my arms.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Beatrice—my own, my beautiful!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Harry—<span class='it'>dear</span> Harry!” were our mutual exclamations,
-and then, locked in each other’s embrace,
-for a moment we forgot in our rapture to speak.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At length we awoke from this trance of delight,
-and found leisure for rational conversation. Sitting
-side by side on the sofa, with our hands locked together,
-and our eyes looking as it were into each
-other’s souls, we recounted our mutual histories since
-our separation. With mine the reader is already
-acquainted. That of Beatrice was naturally less
-chequered, but yet it was not without interest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I have said that an alliance had been projected between
-Beatrice and her cousin, and that Mr. Rochester
-had placed his whole soul on the consummation
-of this project. The consciousness of my interest in
-the heart of Beatrice had induced their conduct towards
-myself, under the hope that if once separated
-from her, I would be eventually forgotten by Miss
-Derwent. Time, however, proved how false had
-been this hope. Instead of prospering in his suit
-from my absence, every day only seemed to make
-the success of her cousin more problematical. In
-vain her uncle persuaded; in vain he expostulated;
-in vain he lavished all his scorn on me as a beggar
-and a rebel—Beatrice continued unmoved; now defending
-me from every imputation, and now with
-tears giving up the contest, although unconvinced.
-The letter she received from me, by acquainting her
-with my projected cruise, prepared her for the long
-silence on my part which had ensued; and although
-reports, no doubt originating with her persecutors,
-were circulated respecting my arrival in port, and
-the disreputable life I was said to lead, she remained
-faithful to me amid it all. Oh! what is like woman’s
-love? Amid sorrow and joy; in sunshine or
-storm; whether distant or near; in every varied circumstance
-of life, it is the solace of our existence,
-the green spot amid the arid deserts of the world.
-Nothing can change it—nothing can dim its brightness.
-Even injury fails to break down the love of
-woman. You may neglect, you may abuse her, if
-you will; but still, with a devotion not of this earth,
-she clings to you, cheering you in distress, smiling
-on you in joy, and amply repaid if she only win in
-return one kind word, one look of approval. Thank
-God! that, fallen as we are, there is left to us that
-link of our diviner nature—the pure, deep, unchanging
-love of woman.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>With what joy did I hear that Beatrice was still
-mine, wholly mine, and how ardently did I press her
-to my bosom, invoking her again and again to repeat
-the blessed words which assured me of her love!
-Hours passed away as if they had been minutes.
-And when at length I rose to depart, and, imprinting
-another kiss on her but half averted lips, took my
-leave with a promise to return again the ensuing
-morning, my astonishment passed all bounds to learn
-that noon had long since passed, and that the evening
-was almost at hand.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>During the short time that we remained in port,
-I was daily with Beatrice, and when we parted she
-pledged herself to be mine at the end of another
-year, come what might. My heart, I will admit,
-reproached me afterwards for winning this promise
-from her, and inducing her to give up wealth and
-luxury for the bare comforts an officer’s pay could
-afford; and yet her love was such a priceless gem,
-and she looked up to me with such unreserved devotedness,
-that I could not regret a vow which ensured
-me the right to protect her from the cold tempests
-of the world. Besides, we were both young and full
-of hope, and I trusted some fortunate event might
-occur which would yet allow us to be united with
-the concurrence of her friends.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Uncle is suspected and watched by the colonial
-authorities,” said Beatrice, as we parted, “and I
-fear me that he is linked in with some of those who
-have designs against the state. I tremble to think
-what might be his fate if detected in any conspiracy
-to restore the king’s authority.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Fear not, dearest,” I replied, “I will interest
-Col. Moultrie in his favor, and besides, your uncle
-must see the danger of any such attempt at present.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And yet I have fearful forebodings.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Cheer up, sweet one, he has nothing to dread. But
-now I must go. God bless you, Beatrice!” and I
-kissed her fervently.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She murmured something half inaudibly, returned
-my parting embrace with a sigh, and, while a tear
-stood in her eye, waved a final adieu with her kerchief.
-In an hour the schooner had sailed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We had been at sea but a few days, having run
-down the Bahamas in that time, when we spoke a
-French merchantman, and obtained from him the intelligence
-that an English ship, with a valuable cargo
-and a large amount of specie, was then lying at
-the port of ——, in one of the smaller islands.
-She was well armed, however, and carried the crew
-of a letter of marque. But the skipper instantly determined
-on attempting her capture. Accordingly,
-we bore up for the island within an hour after we
-had spoken the merchantman, and having a favorable
-breeze to second our wishes, we made the low
-headlands of the place of our destination just as the
-sun sank behind them into the western ocean. Not
-wishing to be detected, we hauled off until evening,
-spending the intervening time in preparing for the
-adventure.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The night was fortunately dark. There was no
-moon, and a thick veil of vapors overhead effectually
-shrouded the stars from sight. The seaboard was
-lined with dusky clouds; the ocean heaved in gentle
-undulations; and a light breeze murmured by, with a
-low soft music in its tone, like the whisper of a
-young girl to her lover. As the twilight deepened,
-the shadowy outlines of the distant land became
-more and more indistinct, until at length they were
-merged in the obscurity of the whole western firmament.
-No sound was heard over the vast expanse as
-we resumed our course, and silently stretched up towards
-the island.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was nearly midnight when we reached the
-mouth of the harbor. All within was still. The
-town lay along the edge of the water, distinguishable
-by its long line of flickering lamps; while a dark
-mass on the left of the harbor betrayed the position
-of the battery guarding the port. One or two small
-coasting vessels were moored at the quay, and, a few
-cables’ length out in the harbor, rode at anchor the
-merchantman. He was in part protected by the
-guns of the fort; but other means of defence had not
-been forgotten, for his nettings were triced up, and
-he swung at his anchor as if springs were on his
-cables. A solitary lantern hung at his mast-head,
-throwing a faint radiance around the otherwise shadowy
-ship. Not a sound arose from his decks. Occasionally
-a low murmur would float down from the
-far-off town, or the cry of a sentry at the fort would
-rise solemnly on the still night air; but except these
-faint sounds, at long intervals apart, a deep, unbroken
-silence buried the whole landscape in repose.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pipe away the boats’ crews,” said the skipper,
-when, everything having been planned, we had steered
-our craft under the shadow of the huge cape, and
-now lay to in our quiet nook, hidden from observation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The boatswain issued his summons almost in a
-whisper, and the men answered with unusual promptness.
-In a few minutes the boats were manned, and
-we were waiting with muffled oars for the signal.
-We lingered only a moment to receive the last orders
-of the captain, when, with a whispered “give way,”
-the gallant fellows bent to the oars, and we shot
-from the schooner’s side. In a few moments she
-was lost in the gloom. I watched her through the
-gathering night, as spar after spar faded into the obscurity,
-until at length nothing could be seen of her
-exquisite proportions but a dark and shapeless mass
-of shadow; and at length, when I turned my eyes in
-her direction again, after having had my attention
-for a moment called away, even the slight outline of
-her form had disappeared, and nothing but the
-gloomy seaboard met my eye.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The night was now so dark that we could scarcely
-see a fathom before us; but, guided by an old salt
-who had been brought up on the island, and knew the
-harbor as accurately as a scholar knows his horn
-book, we boldly kept on our course. As we swept
-around the headland, we perceived that the town, so
-lately alive with lights, was now buried in a profound
-darkness. The solitary lantern, however, still
-burned at the fore-peak of the Englishman, like a
-star hanging alone in the firmament, to guide us on
-our way. Every eye was fixed on it as we rapidly
-but noiselessly swept up towards the merchantman.
-The fort was buried in gloom. The other vessels in
-the harbor lay hidden in the palpable obscurity
-ahead. No sound was heard, no object was seen, as
-we moved on in our noiseless course. At length the
-huge hull of the merchantman began to be indistinctly
-visible upon our starboard bow, and, lying on our
-oars for a moment, we held a short, eager consultation
-on our future course. It was soon, however,
-terminated. As yet we had remained undiscovered,
-and as the slightest accident might betray us, not a
-moment was to be lost if we would surprise the foe.
-It had been arranged that I should dash into the
-larboard side of the Englishman, while the two
-other boats should attack him simultaneously on his
-starboard bow and quarter; and accordingly, as my
-companions sheered off, I gave a whispered order to
-my men to pull their best, and the next instant we
-were shooting with the rapidity of an arrow right on
-to the foe.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The instant preceding the attack is always a thrilling
-one. You know not but that in a few minutes
-you may be in eternity, and as yet you are not carried
-away with that reckless enthusiasm which, in
-the heat of the contest, makes you insensible to
-every thing but the struggle. On the present occasion
-I felt as I had never felt before. The odds
-against us were fearful, for the ship was admirably
-defended, and we had every reason to believe that
-her crew outnumbered our own. As I looked around
-on my men, I saw more than one hardy veteran cast
-an uneasy glance at the foe. But it was no time
-now to pause. We had scarcely pulled a dozen
-strokes, and were yet some distance from the ship,
-when the sentry from her quarter cried out, “Boat
-ahoy!” and then perceiving that we still advanced,
-he fired his piece and gave the alarm. I saw the
-moment for action had come. Disguise was now
-useless. Instantaneously I forgot the feelings which
-had just been passing through my mind, and, like a
-war-horse starting at a trumpet, I sprang up in the
-stern sheets, and waving my sword aloft, shouted,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Give way, my lads—give way, and lay us
-aboard the rascals—with a will, boys—pull!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As if fired with an enthusiasm which nothing
-might resist, my gallant fellows sprang to their oars
-with renewed vigor at my words, until the oaken
-blades almost snapped beneath their brawny arms;
-and we were already within a few fathoms of the
-ship’s quarter when a volley from the merchantman
-hit the stroke-oarsman in front of me, and he fell
-dead across the thwart. The boat staggered in her
-course. I could hear our companions surging but a
-short distance behind, and I burned to be the first to
-mount the enemy’s deck.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“On—on!” I shouted; “pull for your lives, my
-lads—pull, pull!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A thundering cheer burst from the brave veterans,
-as they bent with even redoubled power to their task,
-and with a few gigantic strokes sent us shooting upon
-the quarters of the foe. Waving my sword above
-my head, I sprang at once up the ship’s side, calling
-on my crew to follow me. They needed not the invocation.
-The boat had scarcely touched the vessel
-before every man, cutlass in hand, was clambering
-over the side of the foe; and in an instant, with one
-simultaneous spring, old and young, officer and men,
-we tumbled in upon the enemy. And like men they
-met us. It was no child’s play—that conflict!
-Fearfully outnumbering us, apprised of and ready for
-our onset, fighting on their own decks too, and knowing
-that succor was at hand from the fort even in
-case of defeat, the crew of the Englishman met our
-attack with an unbroken front, giving back blow for
-blow and shout for shout. Short, wild and terrific
-was the conflict. Conscious of the vicinity of the
-other boats, the enemy wished to overcome us before
-we could be succored; while we struggled as
-desperately to maintain our footing until aid should
-arrive. But our efforts were in vain. Pressing on
-to us in dense, overpowering numbers, and hemming
-us in on every quarter but that by which we had
-boarded the ship, they seemed determined to drive
-us into the ocean pell-mell, or slaughter us outright.
-No quarter was asked or given. Man after man fell
-around me in the vain attempt to maintain our footing.
-Already I had received two cutlass wounds
-myself. Our ranks were fearfully thinned. Yet still
-I cheered on my men, determined rather to die at
-bay than surrender or retreat. But all seemed in
-vain. Several men had already fallen before
-my arm, and the deck was slippery with the blood
-of friend and foe; yet the enemy did not appear to
-lessen in numbers. As fast as one man fell, another
-filled his place. Despair took possession of us. I
-saw nothing before us but a glorious death, and I determined
-that it should be one long after to be talked
-of by my countrymen. All this, however, had passed
-almost in a minute. Suddenly I heard a cheer on
-the starboard bow of the enemy, and as it rose clear
-and shrill over all the din of the conflict, I recognised
-the Fireflies clambering over the ship’s side
-in that direction.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Huzza! the day’s our own!” I shouted, in the
-revulsion of feeling. “Come on, my lads, and let
-us hew the scoundrels to the chine!” and, with another
-wild huzza, I dashed like a madman upon the
-cutlasses of the foe. My men followed me with the
-fury of a whirlwind. Wild, terrible, overpowering
-was that charge; fierce, desperate and relentless
-was the resistance. The scene that ensued eternity
-will not eradicate from my memory. Hand to hand
-and foot to foot we fought, each man striving with
-his opponent, conscious that life or death depended
-on the issue: while swords clashed, pistols exploded,
-shouts rent the air, and blood flowed on every hand
-as if it had been water. Now the foe yielded, and
-now we retired in turn. Swaying to and fro, striking
-around pell-mell, thrusting, parrying, hewing, wrestling
-in the death-grip, or hurling the fallen from our
-path, now clearing our way by main force, and now
-breaking the enemy’s front by a deceptive retreat,
-we succeeded at length in driving the foe back in a
-broken mass on their assailants from the bow. Then
-they rallied, and, with the fury of tigers at bay, returned
-to the charge. If ever men fought like demons,
-they did. As they grew more and more desperate,
-they fairly howled with rage. Their curses
-were terrific. God help me from ever witnessing
-such a sight again! I saw that it only needed another
-vigorous charge to complete their defeat, and
-rallying my little band around me once more, though
-every man of them was wounded, we dashed on to
-the foe, determined to cut our way through to our
-friends, or drive the enemy down the hatchway.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Once more, my boys, once more—huzza for
-liberty!—on!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Come on, ye rebel knaves!” growled the leader
-of the British, and striking at me with his cutlass, to
-challenge me to single combat, he roared, “Take
-that, ye hell-hound.” One of my men sprang to my
-aid.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Back—back!” I shouted, “leave him to me.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ay, God’s curse be on you—” but his words
-were lost in the clash of the conflict. For a moment
-I thought he was more than my match, but his very
-rage overreached itself, and failing to guard himself
-sufficiently, he exposed his person, and the next instant
-my sword passed through his body. He fell backwards
-without a groan. His men saw him fall, and
-a score of weapons were pointed at me.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Down with him—hew him to the ground,” roared
-the British.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Hurrah for Parker!—beat back the villains!”
-thundered my own men, and the contest, which had
-paused during the combat between the fallen chief
-and myself, now raged with redoubled frenzy, the
-whole fury of the enemy being directed against myself.
-I remember shouts, curses, and groans, the
-clash of cutlasses and the roar of fire-arms, and then
-comes a faint memory of a sharp pain in my side,
-succeeded by a reeling in my brain, and a sensation
-of staggering, as if about to fall. After that all is
-blank.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When I recovered my senses, I was lying on the
-quarter deck, while the cool night breeze swept deliciously
-over my fevered brow, and my ears were
-soothed with the gentle ripple of the waters as the
-ship moved on her course. A solitary star, struggling
-through a rent in the clouds overhead, shone
-calmly down on me. I turned uneasily around.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How are you, Parker?” said the voice of the
-lieutenant, approaching me. “We are nearing the
-schooner rapidly, when you’ll have your wound attended
-to—I bandaged it as well as I could.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thank you,” I said, faintly. “But have you
-really brought off the prize?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ay, ay,” said he, laughing, “we got off, although
-they hailed cannon balls around us like sugar-plums
-at a carnival in Rome. Never before did I
-run such a gauntlet. But the sleepy fellows did not
-get properly awake until we had made sail—had
-they opened their fire at once, they might have sent
-us to Davy Jones’ locker in a trice.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And the enemy’s crew?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“All snug below hatches, every mother’s son of
-them. They fought like devils, and came within an
-ace of beating us. But, faith, yonder is the old
-schooner. Ship, ahoy!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We were soon aboard. My wound proved a serious,
-though not a dangerous one, and for several
-weeks I was confined to my hammock.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk122'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='nia'></a>A DAY AT NIAGARA.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY MRS. E. C. STEDMAN.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, here’s an evil of rail-road travelling that
-I never thought of before!” screamed a bright girl,
-with pouting, rosy lips and a dimpled chin, at the
-risque of spoiling as sweet a voice as ever warbled
-“Away with Melancholy,” on a May morning; addressing
-her words to our good cousin, who had taken
-upon himself the responsible charge of escorting a
-party of ladies, (among whom were the fair speaker,
-his sister, and my fortunate self,) to see the great
-‘lion’ of this western world.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You say that we are within five miles of Niagara,
-yet I cannot hear its voice for the eternal
-gabble, gabble of this locomotive. Why, all my
-dreams have been associated with the geographic
-recollections of childhood, which invariably said,
-‘The roar of the cataract may be heard distinctly at
-the distance of fifteen or twenty miles.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You forget,” replied her brother, “that it is
-when those wise assurances were written, which
-make the eyes of the school-girl stand out ‘as visibly
-as letters on a sign,’ that this rapid, noisy mode
-of travelling was unthought of: wait a little, my
-sweet sis., till we reach the point of our destination,
-and Niagara’s thundering bass will sound all the
-mightier, for bursting suddenly upon your ear.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>While these remarks were passing, we were nearing
-the end of our journey; and on reaching the
-depot, our party was among the foremost to leave
-the puffing, snorting, “black poney” behind, as we
-turned our faces towards the hotel. But neither my
-fair cousin nor myself seemed <span class='it'>astounded</span> at the noise
-of the cataract; much to the surprise of her brother.
-The truth was, that in this particular of <span class='it'>sound</span> our
-“loud expectations” exceeded the reality; though it
-may as well be remembered here as elsewhere, that
-before leaving Niagara, our ears <span class='it'>were</span> “filled with
-hearing,” no less than were our “eyes satisfied with
-seeing.” The sun was first hiding his face behind
-the golden curtain of a July evening, and tea already
-sending its grateful fragrance from the ample board,
-as we reached “The Cataract House;” so it was
-agreed that we should refresh ourselves with a dish
-of the green beverage, before sallying out for a peep
-at the Falls:—furthermore, that until then, no one
-of our party should approach a certain window which
-commanded a view of the rapids, upon the penalty
-of our good-natured cousin’s displeasure; and as we
-had one and all promised obedience to his wishes,
-each poised herself on the tip-toe of curiosity, long
-enough to swallow a boiling draught, at the expense
-of sore, though not <span class='it'>disabled</span> tongues, for some days
-thereafter. We were, however, too unmerciful to
-allow our gallant the comforts of his cigar after tea;
-but by sundry hints, in the form of bonnets and
-shawls, compelled his politeness to yield to our impatience
-for the evening ramble. Our footsteps were
-first directed to the bridge which extends over the
-boiling, angry rapids, to Goat Island. Even here, it
-would seem that as much of the awful, the sublime,
-and the beautiful, had met together, as human eyes
-could endure to look upon! As we leaned over the
-railing of the bridge, (holding on instinctively with
-convulsive grasp,) and surveyed the yawning whirlpools
-beneath, encompassed by the ever-restless
-foam, I, for one, thought I had never seen any thing
-terrific before! But from the imperfect view of the
-falls, which the gathering shades of twilight and the
-American side gave us that evening, my “first impressions”
-were those of bitter disappointment. “And
-is this the end of all my vast imaginings?” said I,
-in haste to myself, but breathed it not aloud; for,
-indeed, even then and there, the scene was grand and
-imposing: so I held my peace, resolving to await
-the morning beams, for its rainbow crown, and retire
-to my pillow <span class='it'>opinionless</span>, touching the glories of the
-grand cataract.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The sun looked down upon us the next morning
-without the shadow of a cloud between, and preparations
-commenced at an early hour, for a day at
-Niagara. Much to our delight, we found a familiar
-party of ladies and gentlemen, at a sister hotel, who
-had arrived during the night, and would join us in the
-pleasures of the day. As it happened that the gentlemen
-of said party outnumbered the ladies, the <span class='it'>fair</span>
-responsibilities of our obliging cousin (who had performed
-the part of “beau-general” much to the credit
-of his gallantry) were <span class='it'>fairly</span> divided with the other
-beaux, and all things being arranged, each lady could
-boast of her own protector. I know of nothing that
-quickens the pleasing excitement of these excursions
-more than an unexpected recruit of acquaintances
-and friends. Never was there a gayer or happier
-little company than left the “Cataract House” that
-shadowless summer morning, to cross the green
-waters of Niagara river for the Canada side. Oh!
-how those bright faces come up before me now, as
-if among the vivid recollections of yesterday! There
-was the brilliant Mrs. —— with her raven curls,
-matchless form, and “dangerous eyes of jet,” ever
-and anon returning a dazzling smile for the involuntary
-gaze of admiration. And what coquette by <span class='it'>nature</span>
-ever learned, until she had been the happy wife
-and mother <span class='it'>more</span> than two years, to confine her favorable
-glances to <span class='it'>one</span> beloved object. Albeit the
-beautiful Mrs. —— is “a jewel of a wife,” though
-I heard her adoring husband confess that very day,
-that she “caught” him “with her eyes!” There,
-too, in striking contrast, was the gentle wife of our
-happy cousin, with her hazel “eyes, like shaded
-water;” the carnation of modesty on her cheeks, and
-“the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit” beaming
-on her brow. And then the fair Miss ——, only
-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. ——, from New York, who
-were exposing, for the first time, their fragile flower
-of sixteen summers, whose delicate complexion, and
-lily hands, needed none to affirm that “the winds of
-heaven never visited her too roughly;” but whose
-chief attraction seemed in some way connected with
-the appellation of “heiress!” So no doubt thought
-a whiskered “fortune-hunter,” who, by dint of bows
-and smiles, had contrived to insinuate himself into
-the good graces of our party, and played the devoted
-to Miss ——, after the most approved fashion. To
-say nothing of the pretty sister of our cousin, with
-her tiny feet—“the lightest and gentlest that ever
-from the heath-flower brushed the dew!” Nor of
-the radiant and fascinating belle of ——, who had
-already commenced a flirtation with the rich southerner,
-who was her chosen <span class='it'>knight</span> for the day. Nor
-of other laughing eyes and mirth-stirring spirits that
-made up the party. But, alas! the shadow of death
-falls ever upon life’s retrospect picture. Of one individual,
-whose gallantry, good sense and extraordinary
-musical powers, rendered him a favorite of the
-fair, on that occasion, may it now be said, “the
-places that knew him shall know him no more.” In
-early manhood, and in a stranger’s grave, sleeps he
-whose active step, whose buoyant spirits, whose
-melody of song and sparkling wit concealed from us
-the insatiate disease, whose slow, sure worm had
-even then fastened upon his vitals. Consumption sent
-him to the balmy south, there to find a resting place
-’mid orange groves and perpetual-blooming flowers.
-Peace be with the ashes of the early, the gifted
-dead.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>No sooner was our little barge on the centre of the
-rapid tide, and the eye glanced upward and round
-about, than a scene of magnificence and glory burst
-upon us, which it had “never entered into the heart
-to conceive!” Many have attempted to describe it;
-but if the ablest pen of the most ready writer hath
-failed to embrace half its wondrous beauties, let not
-this humble pen dare to desecrate what for sublimity
-and loveliness is verily <span class='it'>indescribable</span>! To us it
-seemed that “the fountains of the deep were again
-broken up”—as if old <span class='it'>Ocean</span> was pouring forth his
-deep green floods into that awful abyss, so wide, so
-vast, so terrible was their rush to the brink—so
-mighty and resistless their plunge into the boiling
-chasm! There hung the rainbow, with God’s promise
-in its hues of beauty—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“That arch, where angel-forms might lean,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And view the wonders of the mighty scene!”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>On reaching the Canada side, our first “post of observation”
-was Table Rock. The picture it presents—who
-shall paint it? The most striking feature
-of the whole is the vast <span class='it'>quantity</span> of water which
-pours unceasing and unspent, and its consequent
-deeply emerald hue as it passes the rocks, before
-breaking in its fall to the pure, amber-shaded foam,
-which sends up an eternal incense of spray to
-Heaven. Another feature of beauty which arrested
-our attention was the meeting of the floods at the
-termination of the “Horse-shoe Fall,” where an angle
-of the rocks causes a continual <span class='it'>embrace of the
-waters</span>. The eye could scarce weary in viewing this
-<span class='it'>one</span> beauty of the scene; but before the mighty
-<span class='it'>whole</span>, awe-struck, the heart could only bow in silent
-adoration to that Great Being who made it all, for
-“the spirit of <span class='sc'>God</span> moved on the face of the waters!”
-We next ascended the craggy steep to a wide-extended
-plain above, where are placed the barracks of
-the “Forty-third regiment of Her Majesty’s troops.”
-Fortunately for us, the day was one of regular review,
-and the whole regiment was out on duty. As
-we reached the brow of the hill, where, on the one
-side, was Niagara in all its glory, and on the other
-an extensive military display of red coats and arms
-of steel flashing in the sunlight, I thought that Nature
-and Art needed no embellishment from the pen
-of Fancy—“ ’Twas like enchantment all!” While
-in the full enjoyment of this glorious scene, her Majesty’s
-well-disciplined band played the familiar air
-of “God save the Queen!” as to <span class='it'>us</span> it was never
-played before, and my heart vibrated with as much
-joy as it ever felt at the sound of our national air,
-“Hail Columbia!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Our party returned to the hotel at sunset, all
-uniting in the opinion that it is impossible to anticipate
-too much of enjoyment at Niagara, so far as it
-respects the marvellous and beautiful in nature, and
-only regretting that we could not pass a month, instead
-of a day, with its scenes around us. A few
-hours, previous to our departure the following morning,
-were spent in exploring Goat Island, so far as
-our limited time would allow. ’Tis in sooth a “fairy
-isle,” lashed day and night by the untiring rapids,
-and affording various and beautiful views of the great
-cataract it divides. The luxuriant foliage of its majestic
-trees shelters the admirer of the scenes around
-from the noonday heat, and the odors from its garden
-of flowers regale his senses the while.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We bade a reluctant adieu to Niagara, calling to
-mind all the imaginations that the heart had devised—all
-the descriptions we had heard from
-others’ lips—but with the words of “the Queen of
-the East” on our own, “<span class='it'>The half was not told
-me</span>.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>By way of concluding this imperfect sketch, we
-add some few lines, which were written in despite of
-a resolution most religiously <span class='it'>made</span> against such a
-presumptive measure; for, somehow or other, the
-humblest, as well as the loftiest pen, will attempt in
-numbers to express the <span class='it'>un</span>numbered thoughts and
-“strange, which crowd into the brain” at Niagara.
-And while this prince of cataracts flows on, its terrific
-beauties will be still the oft-told but unspent
-theme of the “spirit-stirring muse.”</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;NIAGARA.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“How dreadful is this place!” for <span class='sc'>God</span> is here!</p>
-<p class='line0'>His name is graven on th’ eternal rocks,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As with an iron pen and diamond’s point:</p>
-<p class='line0'>While their unceasing floods his voice proclaim,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oft as their thunder shakes the distant hills.</p>
-<p class='line0'>O! if the forest-trees, which have grown old</p>
-<p class='line0'>In viewing all the wonders of this scene,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Do tremble still, and cast to earth their leaves—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Familiar as they are with things sublime—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Shall not the timid stranger here unloose</p>
-<p class='line0'>His sandals, ere he treads on “holy ground,”</p>
-<p class='line0'>And bow in humble worship to his God?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>For unto such as do approach with awe</p>
-<p class='line0'>This bright creation of th’ Immortal Mind,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Methinks there comes, amid the deafening roar</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of “many waters,” yet “a still, small voice,”</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which saith, “Ye children of the dust, fear not—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Know that this God, this awful God, is <span class='it'>yours</span>!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yes, here have wrath and peace together met—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Justice and Mercy sweetly have embraced;</p>
-<p class='line0'>For, o’er the terrors of the angry floods,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The bow of promise and of beauty hangs:</p>
-<p class='line0'>When in the sunbeams, with its matchless hues,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Or as a silver arch on evening’s brow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Saying, “God’s works are marvellous and great,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But ah! when understood, his name is <span class='sc'>Love</span>.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span style='font-size:smaller'><span class='sc'>Cedar Brook, Plainfield, N. J.</span></span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk123'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='maj'></a>MAJOR DADE’S COMMAND.</h1></div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>A requiem for the gallant dead?</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A dirge for those who died,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With banner streaming overhead,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Unsoiled, unterrified!</p>
-<p class='line0'>A gallant but devoted band,</p>
-<p class='line0'>They fell, unyielding, sword in hand.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>They hear not now the Indian yell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Nor cannon’s angry roar;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The clash of arms, or ’larum bell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Shall startle them no more!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unlike and severed were their homes—</p>
-<p class='line0'>One sepulchre contains their bones.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The spangled banner that has led</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;So oft to victory,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Its stars undimmed, above their bed,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Unfolded to the sky,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When in the unconquered hearts below,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The tide of life had ceased to flow.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>No sculptured imagery on high,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Reveals their lonely grave.</p>
-<p class='line0'>No epitaph can passer spy,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To tell where rest the brave!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Such may become the gilded tomb,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But not the stern old forest’s gloom.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Like streamers, to the passing breeze,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The unshorn grass waves here;</p>
-<p class='line0'>As silent mourners, blighted trees,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or monuments appear;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The glad, wild birds their requiem sing,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And flowers around their incense fling.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The smile that struggles in the eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When withered is the heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Reminding us of hopes gone by,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No joy, but gloom impart;</p>
-<p class='line0'>So nature loses all its bloom,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And beauty round the loved one’s tomb.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Though wild and distant is the spot,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Where their bleached bones are laid,</p>
-<p class='line0'>More hallowed ground is honored not</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;By widow, sire, or maid:</p>
-<p class='line0'>And fame shall shield from vulgar tread,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The ashes of the valiant dead.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And though around their lowly tomb,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No kin or friends are found,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who weep the blight of manhood’s bloom</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;On valor’s sacred ground;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yet loving hearts are chill with woe,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And eyes are dim with sorrow’s flow.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>As to some venerated shrine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Whose lights have ceased to hum,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Shall pilgrims here, in after time,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Their wand’ring footsteps turn,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And view in Fancy’s magic glass,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The scene of death before them pass.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Perchance, upon the spot they fell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Some monument may then</p>
-<p class='line0'>Its lofty column rear to tell</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The gratitude of men;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The noble dead! they need it not;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Their valor consecrates the spot.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;<span class='sc'>Conrad.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk124'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='wid'></a>THE WIDOW.</h1></div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>There sits a mourner, solitary now</p>
-<p class='line0'>With downcast eyes, and pale dejected brow.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Cold is the pillow where she laid her head,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When last they sat beneath their favorite shade—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Hushed is the voice, which ever to her own</p>
-<p class='line0'>Answered in tones of tenderness alone.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Stilled are the merry notes of childish glee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And she is left—of all that family!</p>
-<p class='line0'>She looks abroad—and sees no welcome smile,</p>
-<p class='line0'>No cheerful sounds her weary hours beguile,</p>
-<p class='line0'>She looks within—and all is mute despair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>She looks to Heaven—oh! joy! her all is there.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;M. S. B. D.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk125'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='wil'></a>WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Since our last number went to press, we have been called
-upon to mourn the death of <span class='sc'>Willis Gaylord Clark</span>, one
-of the contributors to this Magazine, and a poet of unusual
-sweetness, elegance, melody and pathos. He died, in his
-thirty-second year, of pulmonary consumption. He had
-more than once been almost prostrated by this fell disease,
-but his constitution had rallied against its attacks, and he,
-as well as his friends, entertained hopes of his recovery; but
-about two months before his death, the disease apparently
-returned with renewed violence, and, after sinking gradually
-beneath its power, Mr. Clark’s life terminated on Sunday,
-the 13th of June, 1841.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As a man, Mr. Clark was universally esteemed. His
-warm heart, frank nature, and social qualities endeared him
-to all his friends, and he has left a blank in the little circle
-which he was wont to grace. To the last he enjoyed the
-society of his friends. He breathed to them the wish that
-no venomous tongue should be suffered to insult his fame
-when he was dead, and thus rob his orphan boy of his
-father’s only heritage—his name. God knows, the heart
-that could entertain aught evil towards the departed deserves
-not the companionship or sympathy of mankind. The
-dying moments of Mr. Clark were filled with the memory of
-his lost wife—to whom he has written some of the sweetest
-verses in the language—and his parting request was that
-he should be buried by her side, at the same hour of the day
-at which she was interred. Need we say his request was
-religiously fulfilled?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The closing days of the poet are finely drawn in the following
-lines, for which we are indebted to Robert Morris,
-Esq., another of our valued contributors, and one of the
-circle of Mr. Clark’s friends. They need no eulogy at our
-hands. They will commend themselves to all who loved the
-departed, or admire true poetry.</p>
-
-<div class='dramastart'><!----></div>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>&ensp;A DEATH SCENE IN THE CHAMBER OF A POET.</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>Come hither, friend! My voice grows thin and weak—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My limbs are feeble, and I feel that Death</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Will soon achieve his conquest. Look not sad!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The being best beloved has gone before—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Why should <span class='it'>I</span> tarry here? An angel form</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Beckons me on. Amid my morning dreams,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>I hear <span class='it'>her</span> voice and see her starry eyes!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That voice so full of woman tenderness;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Those eyes that mirrored an unsullied soul!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Then look not sad! My peace is made with God,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And in the hope, which is the dawn of Heaven—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The Christian’s hope—I will a little hence</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>On my mysterious journey. Soon—how soon!—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The truth will break upon me! The dim stars,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Which now, this mellow night, like sands of gold,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Glitter amid the distance—it may be</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That I may pass their confines on my course;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That peopled worlds may greet my spirit’s gaze!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Look, gentle friend, how brightly do they shine!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>How like to living things! How beautiful!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>How more than wonderful the mighty hand</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That placed them there, all radiant with light!</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>&ensp;&ensp;Oh, God! in whose high presence soon my soul</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Will stand uncovered, what a worm am I</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Amid thy wonders vast and infinite!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;And yet I feel th’ immortal burns within—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;The quenchless light of an eternal soul!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Yes! as the frame decays; as this frail dust</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Sinks to its native earth, the spirit’s wings</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Unfold, and all within seems eager for the flight!</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>My voice is almost lost. Friend!—faithful friend,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Long tried and well beloved—before I leave</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>This summer scene of earth, yon fields and flowers—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Alas! like youth and life, they soon will fade—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>I have a boon to crave. My boy, my only boy,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Will soon be fatherless! Forgive this tear;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>It is among the last.</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Hither, my child!</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>There lives his mother’s image—her soft eyes,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>So large and full and dove-like; her brown hair,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>So rich and silken, and her cheek of rose!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Oh! what a fate was hers! But yesterday,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>All youth and hope and beauty; and to-day,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A banquet for the cold and creeping worm!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>But far above the grave her spirit dwells,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Among the white-robed circles of the blest:</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>In that bright clime where Faith and Fancy soar,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And Love and Hope and Joy walk hand in hand.</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>But to the boon.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;I would not, when my dust</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Lies still and cold, leave bitter memories.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>I would not leave a wound in any breast,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>But fain with all the world would die in peace,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Forgiving all, and asking all forgiveness.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The only legacy that I may leave</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My idol boy, is a weak dream of fame:</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A phantom that has cheated me of life,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And fails me now, I fear, before the grave.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And yet, how that wild dream, tempting and bright,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Has spanned my youthful life, as does the bow</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The summer storm! And now, e’en while I gaze.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And feel the mortal passing slowly off,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>How dust still clings to dust, and a desire</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Burns at my breast, that justice may be done</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My memory!—that he, in after time—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>(Poor child, how little recks he of this scene!—)</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>May speak his father’s name with love and pride.</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; *</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>A hand—a friendly hand!—mine eyes grow dim—</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>&ensp;&ensp;His pale lip quivered, and the hectic tinge</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Passed from his hollow cheeks. And see, he sleeps!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Alas! ’tis Death’s unchangeable repose—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;The spirit of the poet soars to God!</p>
-
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Clark possessed poetic talents of no ordinary merit.
-He belonged to the school of Goldsmith and Pope, rather
-than to that of Byron or Coleridge. He was more remarkable
-for sweetness than passion, for melody than force, for
-fancy than imagination. The rank to which he belonged
-was not the highest, but in that rank he occupied one of the
-foremost stations. He was distinguished for his grace and
-euphony. Few men have written so elegantly as Mr. Clark;
-no man has excelled him in the melody of numbers. He
-obviously devoted the greatest attention to the composition
-of poetry, and no piece left his hand until it had received its
-utmost polish. There was a deep abiding sense of religion
-in his compositions which commend them to every heart.
-He was indeed almost the first poet to render the poetry of
-religion attractive; for Young, Cowper, Wordsworth, and
-even Milton, too often fail in this. But Mr. Clark was always
-successful, breathing, as he did, aspirations after a
-higher and better state of being, and emulating, if that were
-possible, the rapt enthusiasm of the Hebrew poet, when
-dreaming of the “better land”—that land to which he has
-now followed his long-wept wife. Yes! he has gone—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Gone to his Heavenly Father’s rest!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The flowers of Eden round him blowing,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And on his ear the murmur blest</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of Siloa’s waters softly flowing!—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Beneath that Tree of Life which gives</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To all the earth its healing leaves!</p>
-<p class='line0'>In the white robe of angels clad,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And wandering by that sacred river,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whose streams of loveliness make glad</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The city of our God forever!”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Why should we mourn his loss? This is no home for the
-weary spirit. Earth has nothing to satisfy the immortal
-mind; but, with a reach after higher and holier things, it
-struggles to be away, satisfied only when roaming free
-through the wide expanse of Eternity.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk126'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='fare'></a>FAREWELL! IF EVER FONDEST PRAYER,</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>A BALLAD—WRITTEN BY LORD BYRON.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>MUSIC COMPOSED BY</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>J. DODSLEY HUMPHREYS.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'><span class='it'>Philadelphia</span>: <span class='sc'>John F. Nunns</span>, <span class='it'>184 Chesnut Street</span>.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i089.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0003' style='width:75%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Farewell if ever fondest prayer for others’ weal availed on high,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Mine will not all be lost in air,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But waft, but waft thy name beyond the sky.</p>
-<p class='line0'>’Twere vain to speak, to weep, to sigh,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh more than</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i090.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0004' style='width:75%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>tears of blood can tell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When wrung from guilt’s expiring eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Are in that word farewell.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Are in that word farewell, farewell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When wrung from guilt’s expiring eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Are in that word, are in that word farewell.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>These lips are mute, these eyes are dry,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;But in my breast and in my brain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Awake the pangs that pass not by,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The thought, the thought that ne’er shall sleep again.</p>
-<p class='line0'>My soul nor deigns nor dares complain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Though grief and passion there rebel,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I only know we lov’d in vain.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I only feel farewell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I only feel farewell, farewell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I only know I loved in vain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I only feel, I only feel farewell.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk127'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='spor'></a>Sports and Pastimes.</h1></div>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'><span class='bold'>ANGLING.</span></h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The prevailing attributes and domestic economy of fishes
-may be described as exactly the reverse of those of birds.
-These gay and airy creatures possess the power of surveying
-distinctly, at a glance, an immeasurable extent of horizon;
-their acute perception of sound appreciates all intonations,
-and their glad voices are exquisitely skilled in their
-production. Though their bills are hard, and their bodies
-closely covered by down and feathers, they are by no means
-deficient in the sense of touch. They enjoy all the delights
-of conjugal and parental affection, and perform their incumbent
-duties with devotedness and courage. They cherish
-and defend their offspring, and will sometimes even die in
-their defence; and of all the wonderful labors of instinctive
-art, none is so beautiful as the formation of their mossy
-dwellings. With what deep and continuous affection does
-the female brood over her cherished treasures!—how unwearied
-is the gallant male in his tender assiduities, and
-with what melodious love does he outpour that rich and varied
-song by which he seeks to soothe her sedentary task!</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Over his own sweet voice the stock-dove broods!”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>But close at hand, on that umbrageous bough, sits the fond
-partner of his joys and sorrows, so that it is in no spirit of
-selfish solitary musing that he ever murmurs, by woodland
-stream and shadow-haunted brook, “a music sweeter than
-their own.” The slender winged and glossy plumaged
-swallow, which skims the verdure of the new-mown meadow,
-or dimples the surface of the breezeless lake—the ponderous
-but giant-pinioned eagle, winging his way from distant
-isles, o’er waters glittering with redundant life—the proud,
-far-sighted falcon, which, launching from some hoar cliff or
-lightning-scathed peak,</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Doth dally with the wind, and scorn the sun,”—</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>the wild and fearful lapwing, with graceful crest and dark
-dilated eye, are each and all enslaved for many a long-enduring
-season by this love of offspring, and toil in its support
-from dewy morning until latest eve.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But it is far otherwise with our voiceless dwellers in the
-deep, who exhibit but few attachments, are conversant with
-no interchanging language, and cherish no warm affections.
-Constructing no dwellings, they merely shelter themselves
-from danger among the cavernous rocks of the ocean, in the
-silent depths of lakes, or beneath the murky shade of the
-overhanging banks of rivers; and the cravings of hunger
-alone seem to exercise a frequent or influential action over
-their monotonous movements. We must not, however, conceive
-that the life of fishes is not one of enjoyment, for we
-know that the Great Creator “careth for all his creatures;”
-and it ought perhaps rather to be said that we cannot appreciate
-the nature of their feelings, than that they are in any
-way fore-doomed to a negation of pleasure. Assuredly,
-however, the hand of nature has been most prodigal in bestowing
-on their external aspect every variety of adornment.
-Their special forms are infinite, their proportions often most
-elegant, their colors lively and diversified—and nothing
-seems wanting, either in their shape or structure, to excite
-the unfeigned admiration of mankind. Indeed, it almost appears
-as if this prodigality of beauty was intended solely for
-such an end. The brightness of metallic splendor, the sparkling
-brilliancy of precious gems, the milder effulgence of the
-hues of flowers, all combine to signalize fishes as among the
-most beautiful objects of creation. When newly withdrawn
-from their native element, or still gliding submerged amid
-its liquid coolness, their colors, fixed or iridescent, are seen
-mingling in spots, or bands, or broader flashes—always elegant
-and symmetrical, sometimes richly contrasted, sometimes
-gradually softened into each other, and in all cases
-harmonizing with a chaste fulness of effect which Titian and
-Rubens might envy, but could never equal. For what reason,
-then, it has been asked, has all this adornment been
-bestowed on creatures which can scarcely perceive each
-other amid the dim perpetual twilight of the deep? Shakspeare
-has already said that there are “more things in <span class='it'>heaven</span>
-and <span class='it'>earth</span> than are dreamt of in our philosophy;” and we
-fear it is no answer to the foregoing question to add, that
-the same observation applies with even greater truth to the
-“<span class='it'>waters beneath the earth</span>.”</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>NUTRITION AND GROWTH OF FISHES.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The nutritive functions of fishes follow the same order of
-progression as those of the other classes of the vertebrated
-kingdom. They seize, and in some measure divide, their
-food with their teeth; they digest it in the stomach, from
-whence it passes into the intestinal canal, where it receives
-a supply of bile from the liver, and frequently a liquid similar
-to that of the pancreas; the nutritive juices, absorbed by
-vessels analogous to lacteals, and probably taken up in part
-also directly by the veins, are mingled with the venous
-blood which is flowing towards the heart, from whence it is
-pushed to the branchiæ, in which, coming in contact with
-the water, it is converted into arterial blood, and then proceeds
-to the nourishment of the whole body.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Fishes are in general extremely voracious, and the rule of
-“eat or be eaten,” applies to them with unusual force.
-They are almost constantly engaged either in the active pursuit
-or patient waiting for their prey—their degree of power
-in its capture depending, of course, on the dimensions of
-the mouth and throat, and the strength of the teeth and jaws.
-If the teeth are sharp and curved, they are capable of seizing
-and securing either a large and fleshy bait, or the slenderest
-and most agile animal; if these parts are broad and strong,
-they are able to bruise the hardest aliment; if they are feeble
-or almost wanting, they are only serviceable in procuring
-some inert or unresisting prey. Fishes indeed, in most instances,
-show but little choice in the selection of their food,
-and their digestive powers are so strong and rapid as speedily
-to dissolve all animal substances. They greedily swallow
-other fishes, notwithstanding the sharp spines or bony
-ridges with which they may be armed; they attack and devour
-crabs and shell-fish, gulping them entire, without the
-least regard to the feelings of their families; they do not object
-occasionally to swallow the young even of their own
-species, and the more powerful kinds carry their warfare
-into other kingdoms of nature, and revel on rats, reptiles and
-young ducklings, to say nothing, gentle reader, of the ferocious
-shark, which not seldom makes a meal even of the
-lord of the creation. A particular friend of ours has his
-right leg in the West Indies, in consequence of an act of aggression
-alike unpleasant and uncalled for, and which a
-Christian-minded pedestrian finds it easier to forgive than
-forget. The species which live chiefly on vegetables are
-few in number, almost all fishes preferring pork to green
-peas.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The growth of these creatures depends greatly on the nature
-and amount of food, different individuals of the same
-species exhibiting a large disparity in their dimensions.
-They grow less rapidly in small ponds or shallow streams,
-than in large lakes and deep rivers. We once kept a minnow,
-little more than half an inch long, in a small glass vessel
-for a period of two years, during which time there was
-no perceptible increase in its dimensions. Had it continued
-in its native stream, subjected to the fattening influence of
-a continuous flow of water, and a consequent increase in
-the quantity and variety of its natural food, its cubic dimensions
-would probably have been twenty times greater; yet
-it must have attained, long prior to the lapse of a couple of
-years, to the usual period of the adult state. The growth itself
-seems to continue, under favorable circumstances, for a
-length of time, and we can scarcely set bounds to, certainly
-we know not with precision, the utmost range of the specific
-size of fishes. Salmon sometimes attain a weight of eighty
-pounds and upwards, and the giant pike of Kaiserslautern is
-alleged to have measured nineteen feet, and to have weighed
-350 pounds. No doubt, an incorrect allegation does not in
-any way increase the actual size of fishes, and few people
-now-a-days can take exact cognizance of what was done at
-Mannheim in the year 1497; but, even in these degenerate
-days, amid our own translucent waters, and among species
-in no way remarkable for their ordinary dimensions, we ever
-and anon meet with ancient individuals which vastly exceed
-the usual weight and measure of their kind. But, in spite
-of this, let no angler, whether in the bloom of early youth,
-the power of matured manhood, or with the silver locks of
-“hoar antiquity” above his wrinkled brow, ever induce
-within himself, or express to others, the belief that, at all
-times and places, he is perpetually catching enormous trouts
-in vast numbers, because we happen to know that this is not
-the case. We don’t insist upon any one weighing every
-fish he captures, but we insist that no one, after jerking out
-a few pair, will maintain next morning, or even that very
-night, that he has had a most toilsome but very glorious day,
-and has killed five dozen and four of the finest trouts the
-human eye ever gazed upon. “All men are liars”—and
-several anglers—is a proposition the exact import of which
-depends much on the mode of construction.</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE MUSCULAR MOVEMENTS OF FISHES.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The vertebral column, composed of numerous articulations,
-united by cartilages which permit of certain movements,
-curves with great facility from side to side; but the
-vertical motion is much more restricted, chiefly in consequence
-of the projection of the upper and under spiny processes
-of the vertebræ. The great organ of movement in all
-fishes is the tail. The muscles, by which it is brought into
-play, extend in lengthened masses on either side of the vertebral
-column. The body, being supported chiefly by the
-swimming bladder, (which, however, is absent in several
-species), is propelled forward by the rapid flexure of the extremity
-acting laterally upon the resistance offered by the
-water. Generally speaking, neither the pectoral nor the
-ventral fins are of any material use during swift progressive
-motion; they rather serve to balance the body, or to aid its
-gentler movements while in a state of comparative repose.
-In <span class='it'>flying fishes</span>, as they are called, the pectoral fins are of
-such great length and expansion as to support these creatures
-in the air; and the strength of muscular action might
-probably suffice even for a longer flight, but for the necessity
-of constant moisture for the purposes of respiration. The
-drying of the gills in an individual of this class is attended
-by results analogous to those produced in the case of a land
-animal; and a flying fish is obliged to descend to respire, in
-like manner as a swimming quadruped, or disguised mammiferous
-animal, as we may term a whale, is under the necessity
-of ascending for the same purpose.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The heads of fishes exercise but a slight movement independent
-of the rest of the body, but the jaws, opercular
-bones, branchial arches, and other parts, are very free in
-their motions. The muscles, like those of other vertebrated
-animals, are composed of fleshy fibres more or less colored,
-and of tendonous fibres of a white or silvery aspect. With
-the exception, however, of certain spinal muscles, which
-are sometimes of a deep red, the flesh of fishes is much
-paler than that of quadrupeds, and still more so than that of
-birds. In several species it is even entirely white.</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SENSES OF FISHES.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As fishes respire through the intervention of water alone,
-that is, as they can scarcely avail themselves, in rendering
-their blood <span class='it'>arterial</span>, of anything more than the small portion
-of oxygen contained in the air which is suspended in
-the water, their blood is necessarily cold, and the general
-energy and activity of their senses are by no means so great
-as those of quadrupeds and birds. Their brain also, though
-of similar composition, is proportionally much smaller,
-whether as compared with the total size of the body, with
-the mass of nerves which proceed from it, or with the cavity
-of the cranium in which it is contained. In the turbot
-(<span class='it'>Gadus lota</span>) for example, the weight of the brain to that of
-the spinal marrow is ascertained to be as 8 to 12, and to that
-of the whole body as 1 to 720; and it has been ascertained
-that the brain of a pike, weighed in proportion to the whole
-body, is as 1 to 1305. Now, in many small birds, the brain,
-viewed in relation to the rest of the body, is equal to a twentieth
-part. In the generality of fishes, the spinal cord extends
-along the whole of the caudal vertebræ, and it is thus
-that it preponderates over the brain; but the fishing frog, or
-sea devil (<span class='it'>Lophius piscatorius</span>), the moon fish (<span class='it'>Lampris
-guttatus</span>), and a few others, form exceptions to this rule,
-the spinal marrow disappearing before it reaches the eighth
-vertebra. The brain of fishes by no means fills up the cavity
-of the cranium; and the interval between the <span class='it'>pia mater</span>,
-which envelopes the brain itself, and the <span class='it'>dura mater</span>, which
-lines the interior of the skull, is occupied only by a loose
-cellulosity, frequently impregnated by an oil, or sometimes,
-as in the sturgeon and thunny, by a more compact fatty matter.
-It has also been remarked that this void between the
-cranium and the brain is much less in young subjects than
-in adults; from which it may be inferred that the brain does
-not increase in an equal proportion with the rest of the body.
-Cuvier, in fact, has found its dimensions nearly the same in
-different individuals—of the same species—of which the
-general size of one was double that of the other.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Although we should be sorry to lower the subjects of our
-present observation in the estimation of society, we think it
-undeniable that, of all vertebrated animals, fishes exhibit
-the smallest apparent symptoms of refined sensibility.
-Having no elastic air to act upon, they are necessarily mute,
-or nearly so, and all the sweet sensations which the delightful
-faculty of voice has called into being among the higher
-tribes, are to them unknown. Their glazed, immovable
-eyes, their fixed and bony faces, admit of no playful range
-in their physiognomical expression, of no variation connected
-with emotion. Their ears, surrounded on every side by
-the bones of the cranium, destitute of external conch, without
-any internal cochlea, and composed merely of certain
-sacks and membranous canals, scarcely suffice for the perception
-of the loudest sounds. Yet they will sink affrighted
-into the darksome depths of lakes, beneath the banks of
-rivers, or in oceans blue profound, when the “sky lowers
-and mutters thunder,” and with elemental fierceness the
-sheeted lightning flashes broad and bright above their liquid
-dwellings.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk128'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='new'></a>REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.</h1></div>
-
-<hr class='tbk129'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Quacks of Helicon: A Satire. By</span> <span class='sc'>L. A. Wilmer</span>.
-<span class='it'>Philadelphia: Printed by J. W. Macclefield.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A satire, professedly such, at the present day, and especially
-by an American writer, is a welcome novelty, indeed.
-We have really done very little in the line upon this side of
-the Atlantic—nothing, certainly, of importance—Trumbull’s
-clumsy poem and Halleck’s “Croakers” to the contrary
-notwithstanding. Some things we have produced, to
-be sure, which were excellent in the way of burlesque,
-without intending a syllable that was not utterly solemn and
-serious. Odes, ballads, songs, sonnets, epics, and epigrams,
-possessed of this unintentional excellence, we could have no
-difficulty in designating by the dozen; but, in the matter of
-directly-meant and genuine satire, it cannot be denied that
-we are sadly deficient. Although, as a literary people, however,
-we are not exactly Archilocuses—although we have
-no pretensions to the ηχεηντες ιαμβοι—although, in short, we
-are no satirists ourselves, there can be no question that we
-answer sufficiently well as subjects for satire.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We repeat, that we are glad to see this book of Mr. Wilmer’s;
-first, because it is something new under the sun;
-secondly, because, in many respects, it is well executed;
-and, thirdly, because, in the universal corruption and rigmarole
-amid which we gasp for breath, it is really a pleasant
-thing to get even one accidental whiff of the unadulterated
-air of <span class='it'>truth</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The “Quacks of Helicon,” as a poem and otherwise, has
-many defects, and these we shall have no scruple in pointing
-out—although Mr. Wilmer is a personal friend of our
-own;<a id='r4'/><a href='#f4' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[4]</span></sup></a> and we are happy and proud to say so—but it has also
-many remarkable merits—merits which it will be quite
-useless for those aggrieved by the satire—quite useless for
-any <span class='it'>clique</span>, or set of <span class='it'>cliques</span>, to attempt to frown down, or
-to affect not to see, or to feel, or to understand.</p>
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_4'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f4'><a href='#r4'>[4]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Of Mr. Poe’s.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Its prevalent blemishes are referrible chiefly to the leading
-sin of <span class='it'>imitation</span>. Had the work been composed professedly
-in paraphrase of the whole manner of the sarcastic
-epistles of the times of Dryden and Pope, we should have
-pronounced it the most ingenious and truthful thing of the
-kind upon record. So close is the copy, that it extends to
-the most trivial points—for example to the old forms of
-punctuation. The turns of phraseology, the tricks of rhythm,
-the arrangement of the paragraphs, the general conduct of
-the satire—everything—all—are Dryden’s. We cannot
-deny, it is true, that the satiric model of the days in question
-is insusceptible of improvement, and that the modern
-author who deviates therefrom, must necessarily sacrifice
-something of merit at the shrine of originality. Neither can
-we shut our eyes to the fact, that the imitation, in the present
-case, has conveyed, in full spirit, the higher qualities, as
-well as, in rigid letter, the minor elegances and general
-peculiarities of the author of “Absalom and Achitophel.”
-We have here the bold, vigorous, and sonorous verse, the
-biting sarcasm, the pungent epigrammatism, the unscrupulous
-directness, as of old. Yet it will not do to forget that
-Mr. Wilmer has been <span class='it'>shown how</span> to accomplish these things.
-He is thus only entitled to the praise of a close observer, and
-of a thoughtful and skilful copyist. The images are, to be
-sure, his own. They are neither Pope’s, nor Dryden’s, nor
-Rochester’s, nor Churchill’s—but they are moulded in the
-identical mould used by these satirists.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This servility of imitation has seduced our author into
-errors which his better sense should have avoided. He sometimes
-mistakes intention; at other times he copies faults,
-confounding them with beauties. In the opening of the
-poem, for example, we find the lines—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Against usurpers, Olney, I declare</p>
-<p class='line0'>A righteous, just, and patriotic war.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>The rhymes <span class='it'>war</span> and <span class='it'>declare</span> are here adopted from Pope,
-who employs them frequently; but it should have been remembered
-that the modern relative pronunciation of the two
-words differs materially from the relative pronunciation of
-the era of the “Dunciad.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We are also sure that the gross obscenity, the filth—we
-can use no gentler name—which disgraces the “Quacks of
-Helicon,” cannot be the result of innate impurity in the
-mind of the writer. It is but a part of the slavish and indiscriminating
-imitation of the Swift and Rochester school. It
-has done the book an irreparable injury, both in a moral and
-pecuniary view, without effecting anything whatever on the
-score of sarcasm, vigor or wit. “Let what is to be said, be
-said plainly.” True; but let nothing vulgar be <span class='it'>ever</span> said,
-or conceived.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In asserting that this satire, even in its mannerism, has
-imbued itself with the full spirit of the polish and of the
-pungency of Dryden, we have already awarded it high
-praise. But there remains to be mentioned the far loftier
-merit of speaking fearlessly the truth, at an epoch when
-truth is out of fashion, and under circumstances of social
-position which would have deterred almost any man in our
-community from a similar Quixotism. For the publication
-of the “Quacks of Helicon,”—a poem which brings under
-review, by name, most of our prominent <span class='it'>literati</span>, and treats
-them, generally, as they deserve (what treatment could be
-more bitter?)—for the publication of this attack, Mr. Wilmer,
-whose subsistence lies in his pen, has little to look for—apart
-from the silent respect of those at once honest and
-timid—but the most malignant open or covert persecution.
-For this reason, and because it is the truth which he has
-spoken, do we say to him from the bottom of our hearts,
-“God speed!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We repeat it:—<span class='it'>it is</span> the truth which he has spoken, and
-who shall contradict us? He has said unscrupulously what
-every reasonable man among us has long known to be “as
-true as the Pentateuch”—that, as a literary people, we are
-one vast perambulating humbug. He has asserted that we
-are <span class='it'>clique</span>-ridden, and who does not smile at the obvious
-truism of that assertion? He maintains that chicanery is,
-with us, a far surer road than talent to distinction in letters.
-Who gainsays this? The corrupt nature of our ordinary
-criticism has become notorious. Its powers have been
-prostrated by its own arm. The intercourse between critic
-and publisher, as it now almost universally stands, is comprised
-either in the paying and pocketing of black mail, as
-the price of a simple forbearance, or in a direct system of
-petty and contemptible bribery, properly so called—a system
-even more injurious than the former to the true interests
-of the public, and more degrading to the buyers and sellers
-of good opinion, on account of the more positive character
-of the service here rendered for the consideration received.
-We laugh at the idea of any denial of our assertions upon
-this topic; they are infamously true. In the charge of general
-corruption there are undoubtedly many noble exceptions
-to be made. There are, indeed, some very few editors, who,
-maintaining an entire independence, will receive no books
-from publishers at all, or who receive them with a perfect
-understanding, on the part of these latter, that an unbiassed
-<span class='it'>critique</span> will be given. But these cases are insufficient to
-have much effect on the popular mistrust: a mistrust
-heightened by late exposure of the machinations of <span class='it'>coteries</span>
-in New York—<span class='it'>coteries</span> which, at the bidding of leading
-booksellers, manufacture, as required from time to time, a
-pseudo-public opinion by wholesale, for the benefit of any
-little hanger on of the party, or pettifogging protector of the
-firm.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We speak of these things in the bitterness of scorn. It is
-unnecessary to cite instances, where one is found in almost
-every issue of a book. It is needless to call to mind the
-desperate case of Fay—a case where the pertinacity of the
-effort to gull—where the obviousness of the attempt at forestalling
-a judgment—where the wofully over-done be-Mirrorment
-of that man-of-straw, together with the pitiable
-platitude of his production, proved a dose somewhat too
-potent for even the well-prepared stomach of the mob. We
-say it is supererogatory to dwell upon “Norman Leslie,”
-or other by-gone follies, when we have, before our eyes,
-hourly instances of the machinations in question. To so
-great an extent of methodical assurance has the <span class='it'>system</span> of
-puffery arrived, that publishers, of late, have made no scruple
-of keeping on hand an assortment of commendatory notices,
-prepared by their men of all work, and of sending
-these notices around to the multitudinous papers within
-their influence, done up within the fly-leaves of the book.
-The grossness of these base attempts, however, has not
-escaped indignant rebuke from the more honorable portion
-of the press; and we hail these symptoms of restiveness
-under the yoke of unprincipled ignorance and quackery
-(strong only in combination) as the harbinger of a better era
-for the interests of real merit, and of the national literature
-as a whole.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It has become, indeed the plain duty of each individual
-connected with our periodicals, heartily to give whatever
-influence he possesses, to the good cause of integrity and the
-truth. The results thus attainable will be found worthy his
-closest attention and best efforts. We shall thus frown
-down all conspiracies to foist inanity upon the public consideration
-at the obvious expense of every man of talent who
-is not a member of a <span class='it'>clique</span> in power. We may even arrive,
-in time, at that desirable point from which a distinct view of
-our men of letters may be obtained, and their respective
-pretensions adjusted, by the standard of a rigorous and self-sustaining
-criticism alone. That their several positions are
-as yet properly settled; that the posts which a vast number
-of them now hold are maintained by any better tenure than
-that of the chicanery upon which we have commented, will
-be asserted by none but the ignorant, or the parties who have
-best right to feel an interest in the “good old condition of
-things.” No two matters can be more radically different
-than the reputation of some of our prominent <span class='it'>litterateurs</span>,
-as gathered from the mouths of the people, (who glean it
-from the paragraphs of the papers,) and the same reputation
-as deduced from the private estimate of intelligent and educated
-men. We do not advance this fact as a new discovery.
-Its truth, on the contrary, is the subject, and has long been
-so, of every-day witticism and mirth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Why not? Surely there can be few things more ridiculous
-than the general character and assumptions of the ordinary
-critical notices of new books! An editor, sometimes
-without the shadow of the commonest attainment—often
-without brains, always without time—does not scruple to
-give the world to understand that he is in the <span class='it'>daily</span> habit of
-critically reading and deciding upon a flood of publications
-one tenth of whose title-pages he may possibly have
-turned over, three fourths of whose contents would be Hebrew
-to his most desperate efforts at comprehension, and
-whose entire mass and amount, as might be mathematically
-demonstrated, would be sufficient to occupy, in the most
-cursory perusal, the attention of some ten or twenty readers
-for a month! What he wants in plausibility, however, he
-makes up in obsequiousness; what he lacks in time he supplies
-in temper. He is the most easily pleased man in the
-world. He admires everything, from the big Dictionary
-of Noah Webster to the last diamond edition of Tom
-Thumb. Indeed his sole difficulty is in finding tongue to express
-his delight. Every pamphlet is a miracle—every
-book in boards is an epoch in letters. His phrases, therefore,
-get bigger and bigger every day, and, if it were not for
-talking Cockney, we might call him a “regular swell.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Yet in the attempt at getting definite information in regard
-to any one portion of our literature, the merely general
-reader, or the foreigner, will turn in vain from the lighter to
-the heavier journals. But it is not our intention here to
-dwell upon the radical, antique, and systematized rigmarole
-of our Quarterlies. The articles here are anonymous.
-Who writes?—who causes to be written? Who but an ass
-will put faith in tirades which <span class='it'>may</span> be the result of personal
-hostility, or in panegyrics which nine times out of ten may
-be laid, directly or indirectly, to the charge of the author
-himself? It is in the favor of these saturnine pamphlets
-that they contain, now and then, a good essay <span class='it'>de omnibus
-rebus et quibusdam aliis</span>, which may be looked into, without
-decided somnolent consequences, at any period not immediately
-subsequent to dinner. But it is useless to expect
-criticism from periodicals called “Reviews” from never reviewing.
-Besides, all men know, or should know, that these
-books are sadly given to verbiage. It is a part of their nature,
-a condition of their being, a point of their faith. A
-veteran reviewer loves the safety of generalities, and is
-therefore rarely particular. “Words, words, words” are
-the secret of his strength. He has one or two ideas of his
-own, and is both wary and fussy in giving them out. His
-wit lies with his truth, in a well, and there is always a world
-of trouble in getting it up. He is a sworn enemy to all
-things simple and direct. He gives no ear to the advice of
-the giant Moulineau—“<span class='it'>Belier, mon ami, commencez au
-commencement.</span>” He either jumps at once into the middle
-of his subject, or breaks in at a back door, or sidles up to it
-with the gait of a crab. No other mode of approach has an
-air of sufficient profundity. When fairly into it, however,
-he becomes dazzled with the scintillations of his own wisdom,
-and is seldom able to see his way out. Tired of laughing
-at his antics, or frightened at seeing him flounder, the
-reader at length shuts him up, with the book. “What song
-the Syrens sang,” says Sir Thomas Browne, “or what name
-Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women,
-though puzzling questions, are not beyond <span class='it'>all</span> conjecture”—but
-it would puzzle Sir Thomas, backed by Achilles and all
-the Syrens in Heathendom, to say, in nine cases out of ten,
-<span class='it'>what is the object</span> of a thorough-going Quarterly Reviewer.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Should the opinions promulgated by our press at large be
-taken, in their wonderful aggregate, as an evidence of what
-American literature absolutely is, (and it may be said that,
-in general, they are really so taken,) we shall find ourselves
-the most enviable set of people upon the face of the earth.
-Our fine writers are legion. Our very atmosphere is redolent
-of genius; and we, the nation, are a huge, well-contented
-chameleon, grown pursy by inhaling it. We are <span class='it'>teretes
-et rotundi</span>—enwrapped in excellence. All our poets are
-Miltons, neither mute nor inglorious; all our poetesses are
-“American Hemanses;” nor will it do to deny that all our
-novelists are great Knowns or great Unknowns, and that
-every body who writes, in every possible and impossible department,
-is the admirable Crichton, or at least the admirable
-Crichton’s ghost. We are thus in a glorious condition,
-and will remain so until forced to disgorge our ethereal
-honors. In truth, there is some danger that the jealousy of
-the Old World will interfere. It cannot long submit to that
-outrageous monopoly of “all the decency and all the talent”
-in which the gentlemen of the press give such undoubted
-assurance of our being so busily engaged.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But we feel angry with ourselves for the jesting tone of
-our observations upon this topic. The prevalence of the
-spirit of puffery is a subject far less for merriment than for
-disgust. Its truckling, yet dogmatical character—its bold,
-unsustained, yet self-sufficient and wholesale laudation—is
-becoming, more and more, an insult to the common sense of
-the community. Trivial as it essentially is, it has yet been
-made the instrument of the grossest abuse in the elevation
-of imbecility, to the manifest injury, to the utter ruin, of true
-merit. Is there any man of good feeling and of ordinary understanding—is
-there one single individual among all our
-readers—who does not feel a thrill of bitter indignation,
-apart from any sentiment of mirth, as he calls to mind instance
-after instance of the purest, of the most unadulterated
-quackery in letters, which has risen to a high post in the apparent
-popular estimation, and which still maintains it, by
-the sole means of a blustering arrogance, or of a busy wriggling
-conceit, or of the most barefaced plagiarism, or even
-through the simple immensity of its assumptions—assumptions
-not only unopposed by the press at large, but absolutely
-supported in proportion to the vociferous clamor with
-which they are made—in exact accordance with their utter
-baselessness and untenability? We should have no trouble
-in pointing out, to-day, some twenty or thirty so-called literary
-personages, who, if not idiots, as we half think them,
-or if not hardened to all sense of shame by a long course of
-disingenuousness, will now blush, in the perusal of these
-words, through consciousness of the shadowy nature of that
-purchased pedestal upon which they stand—will now tremble
-in thinking of the feebleness of the breath which will be
-adequate to the blowing it from beneath their feet. With the
-help of a hearty good will, even <span class='it'>we</span> may yet tumble them
-down.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So firm, through a long endurance, has been the hold
-taken upon the popular mind (at least so far as we may
-consider the popular mind reflected in ephemeral letters)
-by the laudatory system which we have deprecated, that
-what is, in its own essence, a vice, has become endowed
-with the appearance, and met with the reception of a
-virtue. Antiquity, as usual, has lent a certain degree of
-speciousness even to the absurd. So continuously have
-we puffed, that we have at length come to think puffing the
-duty, and plain speaking the dereliction. What we began
-in gross error, we persist in through habit. Having adopted,
-in the earlier days of our literature, the untenable idea
-that this literature, as a whole, could be advanced by an indiscriminate
-approbation bestowed on its every effort—having
-adopted this idea, we say, without attention to the
-obvious fact that praise of all was bitter although negative
-censure to the few alone deserving, and that the only result
-of the system, in the fostering way, would be the fostering
-of folly—we now continue our vile practices through the
-supineness of custom, even while, in our national self-conceit,
-we repudiate that necessity for patronage and protection
-in which originated our conduct. In a word, the press
-throughout the country has not been ashamed to make head
-against the very few bold attempts at independence which
-have, from time to time, been made in the face of the reigning
-order of things. And if, in one, or perhaps two, insulated
-cases, the spirit of severe truth, sustained by an unconquerable
-will, was not to be so put down, then, forthwith, were
-private chicaneries set in motion; then was had resort, on
-the part of those who considered themselves injured by the
-severity of criticism, (and who were so, if the just contempt
-of every ingenuous man is injury,) resort to arts of the most
-virulent indignity, to untraceable slanders, to ruthless assassination
-in the dark. We say these things were done, while
-the press in general looked on, and, with a full understanding
-of the wrong perpetrated, spoke not against the wrong.
-The idea had absolutely gone abroad—had grown up little
-by little into toleration—that attacks however just, upon a
-literary reputation however obtained, however untenable,
-were well retaliated by the basest and most unfounded traduction
-of personal fame. But is this an age—is this a
-day—in which it can be necessary even to advert to such
-considerations as that the book of the author is the property
-of the public, and that the issue of the book is the throwing
-down of the gauntlet to the reviewer—to the reviewer
-whose duty is the plainest; the duty not even of approbation,
-or of censure, or of silence, at his own will, but at the
-sway of those sentiments and of those opinions which are
-derived from the author himself, through the medium of his
-written and published words? True criticism is the reflection
-of the thing criticised upon the spirit of the critic.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But <span class='it'>à nos moutons</span>—to the “Quacks of Helicon.” This
-satire has many faults besides those upon which we have
-commented. The tide, for example, is not sufficiently distinctive,
-although otherwise good. It does not confine the
-subject to <span class='it'>American</span> quacks, while the work does. The two
-concluding lines enfeeble instead of strengthening the <span class='it'>finale</span>,
-which would have been exceedingly pungent without them.
-The individual portions of the thesis are strung together too
-much at random—a natural sequence is not always preserved—so
-that although the lights of the picture are often
-forcible, the whole has what, in artistical parlance, is termed
-an accidental and spotty appearance. In truth, the parts of
-the poem have evidently been composed each by each, as
-separate themes, and afterwards fitted into the general satire,
-in the best manner possible.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But a more reprehensible sin than any or than all of these
-is yet to be mentioned—the sin of indiscriminate censure.
-Even here Mr. Wilmer has erred through imitation. He
-has held in view the sweeping denunciations of the Dunciad,
-and of the later (abortive) satire of Byron. No one in his
-senses can deny the justice of the general charges of corruption
-in regard to which we have just spoken from the
-text of our author. But are there <span class='it'>no</span> exceptions? We
-should indeed blush if there were not. And is there <span class='it'>no</span>
-hope? Time will show. We cannot do everything in a
-day—<span class='it'>Non se gano Zamora en un ora</span>. Again, it cannot
-be gainsaid that the greater number of those who hold high
-places in our poetical literature are absolute nincompoops—fellows
-alike innocent of reason and of rhyme. But neither
-are we <span class='it'>all</span> brainless, nor is the devil himself so black as he
-is painted. Mr. Wilmer must read the chapter in Rabelais’
-<span class='it'>Gargantua</span>, “<span class='it'>de ce qu’ est signifié par les couleurs blanc
-et bleu</span>”—for there is <span class='it'>some</span> difference after all. It will not
-do in a civilized land to run a-muck like a Malay. Mr.
-Morris <span class='it'>has</span> written good songs. Mr. Bryant is not <span class='it'>all</span> a fool.
-Mr. Willis is not <span class='it'>quite</span> an ass. Mr. Longfellow <span class='it'>will</span> steal,
-but perhaps he cannot help it, (for we have heard of such
-things,) and then it must not be denied that <span class='it'>nil tetigit quod
-non ornavit</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The fact is that our author, in the rank exuberance of his
-zeal, seems to think as little of discrimination as the Bishop
-of Autun<a id='r5'/><a href='#f5' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[5]</span></sup></a> did of the Bible. Poetical “things in general” are
-the windmills at which he spurs his rozinante. He as often
-tilts at what is true as at what is false; and thus his lines
-are like the mirrors of the temples of Smirna, which represent
-the fairest images as deformed. But the talent, the
-fearlessness, and especially the <span class='it'>design</span> of this book, will suffice
-to save it even from that dreadful damnation of “silent
-contempt” to which editors throughout the country, if we
-are not very much mistaken, will endeavor, one and all, to
-consign it.</p>
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_5'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f5'><a href='#r5'>[5]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Talleyrand.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk130'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Biography and Poetical Remains of the late Margaret
-Miller Davidson. By</span> <span class='sc'>Washington Irving</span>. <span class='it'>Philadelphia:
-Lea and Blanchard.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The name of Lucretia Davidson is familiar to all readers
-of Poetry. Dying at the early age of seventeen, she has been
-rendered famous not less, and certainly not more, by her
-own precocious genius than by three memorable biographies—one
-by President Morse, of the American Society of
-Arts, another by Miss Sedgwick, and a third by Robert
-Southey. Mr. Irving had formed an acquaintance with some
-of her relatives, and thus, while, in Europe, took great interest
-in all that was said or written of his young countrywoman.
-Upon his return to America, he called upon Mrs.
-Davidson, and then, in 1833, first saw the subject of the
-memoir now before us—a fairy-like child of eleven. Three
-years afterwards he met with her again, and then found her
-in delicate health. Three years having again elapsed, the
-MSS. which form the basis of the present volume, were
-placed in his hands by Mrs. Davidson, as all that remained
-of her daughter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Few books have interested us more profoundly. Yet the
-interest does not appertain solely to Margaret. “In fact the
-narrative,” says Mr. Irving, “will be found almost as illustrative
-of the character of the mother as of the child; they
-were singularly identified in taste, feeling, and pursuits;
-tenderly entwined together by maternal and filial affection,
-they reflected an inexpressibly touching grace and interest
-upon each other by this holy relationship, and, to my mind
-it would be marring one of the most beautiful and affecting
-groups in modern literature, to sunder them.” In these
-words the biographer conveys no more than a just idea of
-the exquisite loveliness of the picture here presented to
-view.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The MSS. handed Mr. Irving, have been suffered, in great
-measure, to tell their own thrilling tale. There has been no
-injudicious attempt at mere authorship. The compiler has
-confined himself to chronological arrangement of his memoranda,
-and to such simple and natural comments as serve to
-bind rather than to illustrate where no illustration was
-needed. These memoranda consist of relations by Mrs. Davidson
-of the infantine peculiarities of her daughter, and of
-her habits and general thoughts in more matured life, intermingled
-with letters from the young poetess to intimate
-friends. There is also a letter from the bereaved mother to
-Miss Sedgwick, detailing the last moments of the child—a
-letter so full of all potent nature, so full of minute beauty
-and truth and pathos, that to read it without tears would be to
-prove one’s self less than human.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The “Poetical Remains” of this young creature, who
-perished (of consumption) in her sixteenth year, occupy
-about two hundred pages of a somewhat closely printed
-octavo. The longest poem is called “Lenore,” and consists
-of some two thousand lines, varying in metre from the ordinary
-octo-syllabic, to the four-footed, or twelve-syllabled
-iambic. The story, which is a romantic love-tale, not ill-conceived
-in its incidents, is told with a skill which might
-put more practised bards to the blush, and with occasional
-bursts of the truest poetic fire. But although as indicative
-of her future power, it is the most important, as it is the
-longest of her productions, yet as a whole it is not equal to
-some of her shorter compositions. It was written not long
-before her death, at the age of fifteen, and (as we glean from
-the biography) after patient reflection, with much care, and
-with a high resolve to do something for fame. As the work
-of so mere a child, it is unquestionably wonderful. Its
-<span class='it'>length</span>, viewed in connection with its keeping, its unity, its
-adaptation, and completeness, will impress the metaphysician
-most forcibly, when surveying the capacities of its
-author. Powers are here brought into play which are the
-last to be matured. For fancy we might have looked, and
-for the lower evidences of skill in a perfect versification and
-the like, but hardly for what we see in Lenore.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Yet remarkable as this production is, from the pen of a
-girl of fifteen, it is by no means so incomprehensible as are
-some of the shorter pieces. We have known instances—rarely,
-to be sure—but still we have known instances when
-finer poems in every respect than Lenore have been written
-by children of as immature age—but we look around us in
-vain for anything composed at eight years, which can bear
-comparison with the lines subjoined—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“TO MAMMA.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Farewell, dear mother, for a while</p>
-<p class='line0'>I must resign thy plaintive smile;</p>
-<p class='line0'>May angels watch thy couch of wo,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And joys unceasing round thee flow.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“May the almighty Father spread</p>
-<p class='line0'>His sheltering wings above thy head.</p>
-<p class='line0'>It is not long that we must part,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then cheer thy downcast drooping heart.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Remember, oh! remember me,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unceasing is my love for thee!</p>
-<p class='line0'>When death shall sever earthly ties,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When thy loved form all senseless lies,</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Oh! that my form with thine could flee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And roam through wide eternity;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Could tread with thee the courts of heaven,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And count the brilliant stars of even.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nor are these stanzas, written at ten, in any degree less
-remarkable—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“MY NATIVE LAKE.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Thy verdant banks, thy lucid stream,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Lit by the sun’s resplendent beam,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Reflect each bending tree so light</p>
-<p class='line0'>Upon thy bounding bosom bright.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Could I but see thee once again,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My own, my beautiful Champlain!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“The little isles that deck thy breast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And calmly on thy bosom rest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>How often, in my childish glee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve sported round them, bright and free!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Could I but see thee once again,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My own, my beautiful Champlain!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“How oft I’ve watch’d the fresh’ning shower</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bending the summer tree and flower,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And felt my little heart beat high</p>
-<p class='line0'>As the bright rainbow graced the sky.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Could I but see thee once again,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My own, my beautiful Champlain!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“And shall I never see thee more,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My native lake, my much-loved shore</p>
-<p class='line0'>And must I bid a long adieu,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My dear, my infant home, to you?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Shall I not see thee once again,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My own, my beautiful Champlain?”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the way of criticism upon these extraordinary compositions,
-Mr. Irving has attempted little, and, in general, he
-seems more affected by the loveliness and the purity of the
-child than even by the genius she has evinced—however
-highly he may have estimated this latter. In respect, however,
-to a poem entitled “My Sister Lucretia,”—he thus
-speaks—“We have said that the example of her sister Lucretia
-was incessantly before her, and no better proof can
-be given of it than in the following lines, which breathe the
-heavenly aspirations of her pure young spirit, <span class='it'>in strains to
-us quite unearthly. We may have read poetry more</span>
-<span class='it'>artificially perfect in its structure, but never any more
-truly divine in its inspiration.</span>” The nature of inspiration
-is disputable—and we will not pretend to assert that Mr.
-Irving is in the wrong. His words, however, in their hyperbole,
-do wrong to his subject, and would be hyperbole still,
-if applied to the most exalted poets of all time.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk131'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Incidents of Travel in Central America, etc. By</span> <span class='sc'>John
-L. Stephens</span>. <span class='it'>Two Volumes. New York: Harper and
-Brothers.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Stephens’ former book, “Incidents of Travel in Egypt,
-Arabia Petrea, and Palestine,” was everywhere well received,
-and gained him high reputation—reputation not
-altogether well deserved. No one can deny his personal
-merits as a traveller, his enthusiasm, boldness, acuteness,
-courage in danger, and perseverance under difficulty. His
-manner of narration is also exceedingly pleasing; frank,
-unembarrassed and direct, without pretension or attempt at
-effect. But neither were his reflections characterised by
-profundity, nor had he that degree of education which
-would have enabled him to travel, with benefit to himself or
-to others, through regions involving so much of historical
-importance as Egypt, and especially as Arabia Petrea.
-Through a deficiency of previous information in regard to
-the moot points of this classical ground, he suffered many
-things to pass unexamined, whose examination would have
-thrown light upon history, and lustre upon his own name.
-Our remarks here apply more particularly to the southern
-regions of Arabia. In regard to Arabia Petrea, he committed
-some errors of magnitude. Before entering upon his
-travels, he had been much interested in Keith’s book upon
-the literal fulfilment of the Biblical Prophecies. In this
-work the predictions of Isaiah, respecting the ancient Idumea,
-are especially insisted upon, and the sentence, “<span class='it'>None
-shall pass through thee forever and ever</span>,” quoted as a
-remarkable instance of literal fulfilment. Dr. Keith states
-roundly that all attempts at passing through Idumea have actually
-failed, and expresses his belief that such will always
-be the case. Mr. Stephens resolved to test this point, and
-congratulates himself and his readers upon the success of
-his attempt at traversing the disputed region from one end
-to the other. The truth is, however, that Arabia Petrea,
-through which he unquestionably did pass, <span class='it'>is not at all the
-Idumea alluded to in the prophecies</span>, this latter lying much
-farther to the eastward. The traveller had contented himself
-with the usual understanding upon this subject. In the
-matter of the prophecy, both he and Dr. Keith might have
-spared themselves much trouble by an examination of the
-Biblical text in the original, before founding a question upon
-it. In an article on this head, which appeared in the New
-York Review, we pointed out an obvious mistranslation in
-the Hebrew words of the prediction—a mistranslation
-which proves Mr. Stephens to have thrown away his courage
-and labor. The passage in Isaiah 34, 10, which is rendered
-in our bibles by the sentence, “And none shall pass
-through thee forever and ever,” runs in the original Hebrew
-thus—</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='it'>Lenetsach metsachim ein over bah.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>Literally—<span class='it'>Lenetsach</span>, for an eternity; <span class='it'>metsachim</span>, of eternities;
-<span class='it'>ein</span>, not; <span class='it'>over</span>, moving about; <span class='it'>bah</span>, in it. For an
-eternity of eternities (there shall) not (be any one) moving
-about in it. The literal meaning of <span class='it'>bah</span> is “in it,” and not
-“through it.” The participle <span class='it'>over</span>, refers to one moving to
-and fro, or up and down, and is the same phrase which is
-rendered “current,” as an epithet applied to money, in Genesis,
-23, 16. The prophet only intends to say that there
-shall be no marks of life in the land, no living being there,
-no one moving up and down in it. A similar mistranslation
-exists in regard to the prophecy in Ezekiel, 35, 7, where
-death is threatened (according to the usual construction) to
-any traveller who shall <span class='it'>pass through</span>. The words are</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='it'>Venathati eth har Seir leshimmamah ushemmamah,
-vehichrati mimmennu over vasal</span>—</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>Literally, “And I will give the mountain Seir for a desolation
-and a desolation, and I will cut off from it him that
-goeth and him that returneth.” By “him that goeth and him
-that returneth,” reference is had to the passers to and fro,
-to the inhabitants. The prophet speaks only of the general
-abandonment and desolation of the land.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We are not prepared to say that misunderstandings of this
-character will be found in the present “Incidents of Travel.”
-Of Central America, and her antiquities, Mr. Stephens may
-know, and no doubt does know, as much as the most learned
-antiquarian. Here all is darkness. We have not yet received
-from the Messieurs Harper a copy of the book, and
-can only speak of its merits from general report, and from
-the cursory perusal which has been afforded us by the politeness
-of a friend. The work is certainly a magnificent
-one—perhaps the most interesting book of travel ever published.
-An idea has gone abroad that the narrative is confined
-to descriptions and drawings of Palenque; but this is
-very far from the case. Mr. S. explored no less than six
-ruined cities. The “incidents,” moreover, are numerous,
-and highly amusing. The traveller visited these regions at
-a momentous time; during the civil war, in which Carrera
-and Morazan were participants. He encountered many
-dangers, and his hair-breadth escapes are particularly exciting.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk132'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Marrying Man. A Novel. By the Author of</span> “<span class='sc'>Cousin
-Geoffrey</span>.” <span class='it'>Two Volumes. Philadelphia: Lea and
-Blanchard.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This novel is <span class='it'>inscribed</span> to Theodore Hook, who, we are
-given to understand in the preface, was the <span class='it'>chaperon</span> of
-“Cousin Geoffrey,” and “The Old Bachelor,”—two books
-of which we indistinctly remember to have heard. The
-“Marrying Man” is not badly written, and will answer sufficiently
-well for the ordinary patrons of the circulating
-library. Better books might have been re-published, no
-doubt; but this, we presume, will sell, and thus serve its
-purpose.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk133'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Poems and Prose Writings of Sumner Lincoln Fairfield.
-Two Volumes. Vol. the First. Philadelphia.
-Printed for the Proprietor.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This is a large octavo, embracing, we believe, the principal
-poems of Mr. Fairfield, if not all of them, and to be followed
-by a collection of his prose writings. His prose, so
-far as we have had an opportunity of judging, is scarcely
-worth reading. His poems have, in many respects, merit—in
-some respects, merit of a high order. His themes are
-often well selected, lofty, and giving evidence of the true
-spirit. But their execution is always disfigured by a miserable
-verbiage—words meaning nothing, although sounding
-like sense, like the nonsense verses of Du Bartas.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk134'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Moneyed Man. By</span> <span class='sc'>Horace Smith.</span> <span class='it'>Two Volumes.
-Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This is a good book, and well worth the re-publication.
-The story is skilfully constructed, and conveys an excellent
-moral. Horace Smith is one of the authors of the “Rejected
-Addresses.” He is, perhaps, the most erudite of all the
-English novelists, and unquestionably one of the best in
-every respect. His style is peculiarly good.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk135'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Science of Government. Founded on Natural Law.
-By</span> <span class='sc'>Clinton Roosevelt</span>. <span class='it'>New York: Dean and Trevett.
-Philadelphia: Drew and Scammel.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Will <span class='it'>any</span> one be kind enough to tell us who is Mr. Clinton
-Roosevelt? We wish to know, of course. Mr. Roosevelt
-has published a little book. It consists of a hundred little
-pages. Ten of these pages would make one of our own.
-But a clever man may do a great thing in a small way, and
-Mr. Roosevelt is unquestionably a clever man. For this we
-have his own word, and who should know all about it better
-than he? Hear him!—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Learned men have long contended that it was impossible
-for any human intellect to grasp what has been here attempted;—that
-a Cyclopædia only could embrace in one
-view all the arts and sciences which minister to man’s necessity
-and happiness—and <span class='it'>that</span> they give but little credit
-for, as a Cyclopædia is a mere arbitary [we follow Mr. R.’s
-spelling as in duty bound] alphabetical arrangement. <span class='it'>We</span>
-[Mr. Roosevelt is a <span class='it'>we</span>] would not say we have done even
-what we have without much toil and sacrifice. It has cost
-the best ten years of the writer’s life to settle its great principles,
-and give it form and substance. The great interests
-of man were in a state of chaos, and this science [Mr. Roosevelt’s]
-is to harmonise them, and run side by side with true
-religion so far as that is meant ‘to feed the hungry, clothe
-the naked, and make on earth peace and good will to
-man.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Ah!—we begin to breathe freely once more. We <span class='it'>had</span>
-thought that the world and all in it (this hot weather) were
-going to the dogs,—“proceeding to the canines,” as Bilberry
-has it—but here is Mr. Roosevelt, and we feel more assured.
-We entrench ourselves in security behind his little book.
-“A larger work,” says he, “would have been more imposing
-in appearance, but the truth is, large works and long
-speeches are rarely made by men of powerful thought.”
-Never was anything more true. “As to boasting,” he continues,
-very continuously, “the writer is well aware that it
-is the worst policy imaginable.” In this opinion we do not
-so entirely acquiesce. “The little man”—says he—the
-reader will perceive that we are so rapt in admiration of Mr.
-Roosevelt that we quote him at random—“The little man
-may say this book was not done <span class='it'>secundum artem</span>—not
-nicely or critically.” He must be a <span class='it'>very</span> little man indeed,
-who would say so. <span class='it'>We</span> think he has done it <span class='it'>quite</span> nicely.
-“My tone”—we here go on with Mr. Roosevelt—“may
-seem not strictly according to <span class='it'>bien science</span>.” Oh, yes is it,
-Mr. Roosevelt; don’t distress yourself now—it is, we assure
-you, very strictly according to <span class='it'>bien science</span>, (good heavens!)
-and to every thing else.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“These remarks,” he observes, “are made that none may
-lightly damn the work.” Of course; any one who should
-damn it lightly should be damned himself. “But liberal
-criticism [ah! that is the thing,] will be accepted as a
-favor, [the smallest favors thankfully accepted] and
-writers who may undertake the task will confer an obligation
-by directing a copy of their articles to the author, at
-New York, from England, France or Germany, or any part
-of our own country where this work may reach.” Certainly;
-no critic could do less—no liberal critic. We shall
-send Mr. Roosevelt a copy of our criticism from Philadelphia,
-and we would do the same thing if we were living at
-Timbuctoo.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk136'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Life and Literary Remains of L. E. L. By</span> <span class='sc'>Laman
-Blanchard.</span> <span class='it'>2 vols. Lea and Blanchard.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This work contains the most authentic biography of the
-lamented L. E. L. yet issued from the press, together with a
-collection of her posthumous pieces, and several lighter effusions
-already published. The volumes possess uncommon
-interest. The detail of her every-day life, the picture of
-her gaiety and sweetness, and the criticisms on her genius,
-will commend it to all who have loved, in other days, the
-poetry of this sweet writer. Nor will the details of her
-melancholy death prove of less interest. After fully examining
-all the evidence relating to this tragedy, the author
-arrives at the conclusion that her death was natural, and instigated
-neither by her own sorrows nor by the jealousy of
-others. The conduct of her husband seems, in every respect,
-to have been without censure.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Of the genius of Miss Landon it is almost unnecessary to
-speak. Without the elegance of Mrs. Hemans, she had considerable
-grace; with a fine ear, she was often careless in
-her rhythm; possessing a fancy exuberant and glowing, she
-showered her metaphors too indiscriminately around her.
-But few equalled her—if we may so speak—in the <span class='it'>passionate
-purity</span> of her verse. Affection breathed through
-every line she wrote. Perhaps there was a mannerism, certainly
-an affectation, in her constant reference to love, and
-blighted love especially; but even this error was made seductive
-by the never-ceasing variety which she contrived to
-throw around her theme, and the sweetness, richness, and enthusiasm
-of her song. Her great faults were a want of
-method, and a careless, rapid habit of composition. From
-first to last, she was emphatically an “<span class='it'>improvisatrice</span>.”
-She wrote from whim rather than from plan, and consequently
-was often trite, and always careless. These observations
-will apply, we think, equally to her prose. Her
-“Ethell Churchill” may be taken as a specimen, and the
-best specimen, of her style in romance writing. It would
-be almost invidious to name any one of her long poems as
-the finest. In her shorter pieces she is often more successful
-than in more extended flights; and some of her most
-carelessly written stanzas glitter most with the dew of Castaly.
-Without fear of contradiction, we may say that she
-has left no living female poet to compete with her in fame,
-unless Mrs. Norton may be said to be her rival; and even
-with Mrs. Norton, so different are the two writers, no parallel
-can be drawn. Let us be contented with placing Hemans,
-Landon and Norton together in one glorious trio—the sweetest,
-brightest, loftiest of the female poets of the present generation.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk137'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Lectures on the Sphere and Character of Woman, and
-Other Subjects. By</span> <span class='sc'>George W. Burnap</span>, <span class='it'>Pastor of the
-First Independent Church of Baltimore. Philadelphia:
-Kay and Co.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>These lectures are designed as a <span class='it'>pendant</span> to a course delivered
-to the Young Men of Baltimore, last winter, by Mr.
-Burnap. From the “Sphere and Duties” of Woman the author
-has excluded all allusion to her physical education and
-her political rights—regarding the first as a topic for the
-physician, the last for the jurist. Perhaps this subdivision
-is injudicious. At all events, from what we here know of
-Mr. Burnap, we should have been pleased to have his subject
-extended to Woman in all her relations.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The volume appears to us not only well written, but forcibly
-original in many of its views and illustrations. A passage,
-at page 50, in which the lecturer suggests the idea of
-an instinctive reverence in which each sex holds the other,
-is not only new, but embodies a truth of important result.
-Mr. B. justly styles the feeling a human religion. Its moral
-effects are unquestionably great. The deterioration of every
-community which isolates the sexes, or prevents their free
-intercommunication, is here traced to a distinct and sufficient
-cause.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>These lectures are handsomely printed and bound, and
-would form an appropriate present to any lady.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk138'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Lady of Refinement in Manners, Morals and Religion.
-By</span> <span class='sc'>Mrs. Sandford</span>, <span class='it'>Author of “Woman in her
-Social and Domestic Character.” James Loring:
-Boston.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mrs. Sandford is the wife of an English clergyman, and
-has given frequent evidences of her capacity. Her former
-work, “Woman in her Social and Domestic Character,”
-was well received in her own country. Whether it has
-been re-published here we cannot say. “The Lady of Refinement”
-is well written, and appears to be carefully matured
-in its opinions.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk139'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='sec'></a>SECRET WRITING.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Our remarks on this head, in the July number, have excited
-much interest. The subject is unquestionably one of
-importance, when we regard cryptography as an exercise for
-the analytical faculties. In this view, men of the finest abilities
-have given it much of their attention; and the invention
-of a perfect cipher was a point to which Lord Chancellor
-Bacon devoted many months;—devoted them in vain,
-for the cryptograph which he has thought worthy a place
-in his <span class='it'>De Augmentis</span>, is one which can be solved.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Just as we were going to press with the last sheet of this
-number, we received the following letter from F. W. Thomas,
-Esq., (of Washington,) the well-known author of “Clinton
-Bradshawe,” “Howard Pinckney,” &amp;c. &amp;c.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>My Dear Sir</span>:—The enclosed cryptograph is from a
-friend of mine (Dr. Frailey,) who thinks he can puzzle you.
-If you decipher it, then are you a magician, for he has used,
-as I think, the greatest art in making it.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:5em;'>Your friend,</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;'><span class='sc'>F. W. Thomas</span>.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/crypto.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0005' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This cipher is printed precisely as we received it, with
-the exception that we have substituted, for convenience sake,
-in some instances, characters that we have in the office, for
-others that we have not. Of course, as these characters are
-substituted <span class='it'>throughout</span>, the cryptograph is not affected.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>By return of mail we sent the solution to Mr. Thomas; but
-as the cipher is an exceedingly ingenious one, we forbear
-publishing its translation here, and prefer testing the ability
-of our readers to solve it. <span class='it'>We will give a year’s subscription
-to the Magazine, and also a year’s subscription to
-the Saturday Evening Post, to any person, or rather to
-the first person who shall read us this riddle.</span> We have
-no expectation that it will be read; and, therefore, should
-the month pass without an answer forthcoming, we will
-furnish the key to the cipher, and again offer a year’s subscription
-to the Magazine, to any person who shall solve it
-<span class='it'>with the key</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Lest the tenor of our observations on Cryptography should
-be misunderstood, and especially lest the nature of our challenge
-should be misconceived, we take occasion to refer to
-our Review of Mr. Walsh’s “Sketches of Conspicuous
-Living Characters of France,” published in the April number
-of the Magazine. M. Berryer, the French Minister, is
-there said to have displayed the highest ingenuity in the solution
-of a cipher addressed by the Duchess of Berri to the
-legitimists of Paris, but of which she had neglected to furnish
-the key. Berryer discovered this to be the phrase “Le
-gouvernement provisoire.” Beneath this sentence the alphabet
-had been placed, letter for letter; and thus when <span class='it'>a</span>
-was intended <span class='it'>l</span> was written, when <span class='it'>b</span> was meant <span class='it'>e</span> was substituted,
-and so on throughout. This species of cryptograph
-is justly considered very difficult. We remarked, however,
-that we would engage to read any one <span class='it'>of the kind</span>; and to
-this limit our correspondents must confine themselves. To
-be sure, we said, in our last number, that “human ingenuity
-could not construct a cipher which human ingenuity could
-not resolve”—but then we do not propose, just now, to
-make ourselves individually the test of “human ingenuity”
-in general. We do not propose to solve <span class='it'>all</span> ciphers.
-Whether we can or cannot do this is a question for another
-day—a day when we have more leisure than at present we
-have any hope of enjoying. The most simple cryptograph
-requires, in its solution, labor, patience, and much time.
-We therefore abide by the limits of our cartel. It is true
-that in attempting the perusal of Dr. Frailey’s we have exceeded
-these limits by very much; but we were seduced
-into the endeavor to read it by the decided manner in which
-an opinion was expressed that we could not.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>E. St. J. will observe that his cipher includes <span class='it'>every</span> letter
-of the natural alphabet. Then (admitting it to be a cipher
-of the kind proposed) his key-phrase must contain every
-letter of the natural alphabet. In such case no letter of the
-phrase can stand <span class='it'>for more than one</span> of the alphabet, and the
-whole would be nothing more than a simple cipher, where
-the natural characters are represented, invariably and respectively,
-by arbitrary ones. But in this supposition there
-could be no such words as <span class='it'>ll</span>, &amp;c.—words seen in the cryptograph.
-<span class='it'>Therefore</span>, his cipher is <span class='it'>not</span> within the limits
-prescribed—Q. E. D. We do not say that we <span class='it'>cannot</span> solve
-it, but that we will not make the attempt. This for the obvious
-reasons above assigned.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>P. S. We have just received the annexed letter from Mr.
-Thomas, enclosing one from Dr. Frailey:</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:1em;'><span class='sc'>Washington</span>, July 6th, 1841.</p>
-
-<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>My Dear Sir</span>,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This morning I received yours of yesterday, deciphering
-the “cryptograph” which I sent you last week, from my
-friend, Doctor Frailey. You request that I would obtain the
-Doctor’s acknowledgment of your solution. I have just received
-the enclosed from him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Doctor Frailey had heard me speak of your having deciphered
-a letter which our mutual friend, Dow, wrote upon
-a challenge from you last year, at my lodgings in your city,
-when Aaron Burr’s correspondence in cipher was the subject
-of our conversation. You laughed at what you termed
-Burr’s shallow artifice, and said you could decipher any
-such cryptography easily. To test you on the spot, Dow
-withdrew to the corner of the room, and wrote a letter in
-cipher, which you solved in a much shorter time than it
-took him to indite it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As Doctor Frailey seemed to doubt your skill to the extent
-of my belief in it, when your article on “Secret Writing”
-appeared in the last number of your Magazine, I showed it
-to him. After reading it, he remarked that he thought he
-could puzzle you, and the next day he handed me the cryptograph
-which I transmitted to you. He did not tell me the
-key. The uncommon nature of his article, of which I gave
-you not the slightest hint, made me express to you my strong
-doubts of your ability to make the solution. I confess that
-your solution, so speedily and correctly made, surprised me.
-I congratulate myself that I do not live in an age when the
-black art is believed in, for, innocent as I am of all knowledge
-of cryptography, I should be arrested as an accessory
-before the fact, and, though I escaped, it is certain that you
-would have to die the death, and, alas! I fear upon my testimony.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:5em;'>Your friend,</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;'><span class='sc'>F. W. Thomas</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:left;margin-left:1.5em;margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:2em;'>Edgar A. Poe, Esq.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:1em;'><span class='sc'>Washington</span>, July 6th, 1841.</p>
-
-<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Dear Sir</span>,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It gives me pleasure to state that the reading, by Mr. Poe,
-of the cryptograph which I gave you a few days since for
-transmission to him, is correct. I am the more astonished
-at this since—— [We omit the remainder of the letter,
-since it enters into details which would give our readers
-some clue to the cipher.]</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:4em;'>As ever, yours, &amp;c.,</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;'><span class='sc'>Chas. S. Frailey</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:left;margin-left:1.5em;margin-top:0.5em;'>F. W. Thomas, Esq.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk140'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><a id='fash'></a></p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i109.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0006' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'>LATEST FASHIONS, AUGUST 1841. FOR GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.</p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk141'/>
-
-<p class='line' style='margin-top:2em;font-size:1.1em;font-weight:bold;'><a id='notes'></a>Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
-
-<p class='noindent'>Table of Contents has been added for reader convenience.
-Archaic spellings and inconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained.
-Obvious punctuation and typesetting errors have been corrected
-without note.</p>
-
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-
-<p class='noindent'>[End of <span class='it'>Graham’s Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 2, August 1841</span>, George R. Graham, Editor]</p>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XIX, NO. 2, AUGUST 1841 ***</div>
-<div style='text-align:left'>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Updated editions will replace the previous one&#8212;the old editions will
-be renamed.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
-law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
-so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
-States without permission and without paying copyright
-royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
-of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG&#8482;
-concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
-and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
-the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
-of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
-copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
-easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
-of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
-Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may
-do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
-by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
-license, especially commercial redistribution.
-</div>
-
-<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br />
-<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br />
-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span>
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-To protect the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting the free
-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase &#8220;Project
-Gutenberg&#8221;), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; License available with this file or online at
-www.gutenberg.org/license.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
-(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
-destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in your
-possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
-by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
-or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.B. &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is a registered trademark. It may only be
-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
-paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works if you follow the terms of this
-agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (&#8220;the
-Foundation&#8221; or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
-of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works. Nearly all the individual
-works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
-States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
-United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
-claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
-displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
-all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
-that you will support the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting
-free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; name associated with the work. You can easily
-comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
-same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License when
-you share it without charge with others.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
-what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
-in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
-check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
-agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
-distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
-other Project Gutenberg&#8482; work. The Foundation makes no
-representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
-country other than the United States.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
-immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License must appear
-prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work (any work
-on which the phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; appears, or with which the
-phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is associated) is accessed, displayed,
-performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
-</div>
-
-<blockquote>
- <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
- This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
- other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
- are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
- of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
- </div>
-</blockquote>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is
-derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
-contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
-copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
-the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
-redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase &#8220;Project
-Gutenberg&#8221; associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
-either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
-obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is posted
-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
-additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
-will be linked to the Project Gutenberg&#8482; License for all works
-posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
-beginning of this work.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg&#8482;.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; License.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
-any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
-to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work in a format
-other than &#8220;Plain Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other format used in the official
-version posted on the official Project Gutenberg&#8482; website
-(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
-to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
-of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original &#8220;Plain
-Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other form. Any alternate format must include the
-full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg&#8482; works
-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
-provided that:
-</div>
-
-<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'>
- <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
- &bull; You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
- the use of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works calculated using the method
- you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
- to the owner of the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, but he has
- agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
- Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
- within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
- legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
- payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
- Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
- Section 4, &#8220;Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
- Literary Archive Foundation.&#8221;
- </div>
-
- <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
- &bull; You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
- you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
- does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
- License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
- copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
- all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
- works.
- </div>
-
- <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
- &bull; You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
- any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
- electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
- receipt of the work.
- </div>
-
- <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
- &bull; You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
- distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works.
- </div>
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work or group of works on different terms than
-are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
-from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
-the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
-forth in Section 3 below.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
-works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
-contain &#8220;Defects,&#8221; such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
-or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
-intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
-other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
-cannot be read by your equipment.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the &#8220;Right
-of Replacement or Refund&#8221; described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
-fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
-DAMAGE.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
-written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
-with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
-with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
-lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
-or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
-opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
-the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
-without further opportunities to fix the problem.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you &#8216;AS-IS&#8217;, WITH NO
-OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
-LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
-damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
-violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
-agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
-limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
-unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
-remaining provisions.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
-providing copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in
-accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
-production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
-including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
-the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
-or any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, (b) alteration, modification, or
-additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, and (c) any
-Defect you cause.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; is synonymous with the free distribution of
-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
-computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
-exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
-from people in all walks of life.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg&#8482;&#8217;s
-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg&#8482; collection will
-remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg&#8482; and future
-generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
-Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
-Revenue Service. The Foundation&#8217;s EIN or federal tax identification
-number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
-U.S. federal laws and your state&#8217;s laws.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-The Foundation&#8217;s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
-Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
-to date contact information can be found at the Foundation&#8217;s website
-and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
-public support and donations to carry out its mission of
-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
-freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
-array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
-status with the IRS.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
-States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
-with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
-DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
-visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
-approach us with offers to donate.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
-outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
-methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
-donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; concept of a library of electronic works that could be
-freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
-distributed Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks with only a loose network of
-volunteer support.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks are often created from several printed
-editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
-the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
-necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
-edition.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
-facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This website includes information about Project Gutenberg&#8482;,
-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
-</div>
-
-</div>
-
-</body>
-</html>
diff --git a/old/65156-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/65156-h/images/cover.jpg
deleted file mode 100644
index b34b1b6..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h/images/cover.jpg
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ
diff --git a/old/65156-h/images/crypto.jpg b/old/65156-h/images/crypto.jpg
deleted file mode 100644
index aed7249..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h/images/crypto.jpg
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ
diff --git a/old/65156-h/images/i001.jpg b/old/65156-h/images/i001.jpg
deleted file mode 100644
index 8050c0b..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h/images/i001.jpg
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ
diff --git a/old/65156-h/images/i002.jpg b/old/65156-h/images/i002.jpg
deleted file mode 100644
index ff289fa..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h/images/i002.jpg
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ
diff --git a/old/65156-h/images/i089.jpg b/old/65156-h/images/i089.jpg
deleted file mode 100644
index 250fbd2..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h/images/i089.jpg
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ
diff --git a/old/65156-h/images/i090.jpg b/old/65156-h/images/i090.jpg
deleted file mode 100644
index a7a7dfd..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h/images/i090.jpg
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ
diff --git a/old/65156-h/images/i109.jpg b/old/65156-h/images/i109.jpg
deleted file mode 100644
index 8d62080..0000000
--- a/old/65156-h/images/i109.jpg
+++ /dev/null
Binary files differ