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+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
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+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #67480 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67480)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Graham's Magazine, Vol. XX, No. 6,
-June 1842, 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. XX, No. 6, June 1842
-
-Author: Various
-
-Editor: George Rex Graham
-
-Release Date: February 23, 2022 [eBook #67480]
-
-Language: English
-
-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
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XX,
-NO. 6, JUNE 1842 ***
-
- GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.
- Vol. XX. June, 1842 No. 6.
-
-
- Contents
-
- Fiction, Literature and Articles
-
- The Wire Suspension Bridge
- The Science of Kissing!!
- Harry Cavendish
- Miss Thompson
- Russian Revenge
- Mrs. Ware’s Poems
- Love and Pique
- The Two Dukes
- Review of New Books
-
- Poetry and Fashion
-
- Farewell
- The Pewee
- The Return Home
- Olden Deities
- Perditi
- The Heavenly Vision
- Sights From My Window—Alice
- The Absent Wife
- Song
- Fashion Plate
-
- Transcriber’s Notes can be found at the end of this eBook.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration:
-W. Croome, del., Engraved by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Smillie
-NEW SUSPENSION BRIDGE AT FAIRMOUNT
-Philadelphia.
-Drawn and Engraved expressly for Graham’s Magazine.]
-
-
-
-
- GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.
-
- Vol. XX. PHILADELPHIA: JUNE, 1842. No. 6.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE WIRE SUSPENSION BRIDGE.
-
-
-This elegant structure is thrown across the Schuylkill, on the site once
-occupied by an airy and graceful wooden erection, for years the pride of
-our city, and celebrated as being the longest bridge of a single arch in
-the known world. The boldness of the architect in thus spanning a river
-three hundred and fifty feet wide, was the theme of universal
-admiration. Few will forget Fanny Kemble’s poetic comparison, when she
-said the bridge looked like a white scarf flung across the water. The
-destruction of this favorite fabric, by fire, in the fall of 1838, was
-regarded as an irreparable loss.
-
-The conflagration presented a grand picture. The flames were first seen
-towards the western entrance of the bridge, and in a very few minutes
-the whole fabric was a mass of fire. The wind was down the stream, and
-catching the flames as they broke from the flooring of the bridge, it
-swept them far away under, until a fiery cataract, reaching from shore
-to shore, seemed pouring horizontally down the river. By this time
-spectators began to throng around, and before the bridge fell, thousands
-lined the adjacent shores and covered the side of the overhanging hill,
-looking down on the scene below, as from the seats in an amphitheatre.
-
-This splendid sight continued for some time, the gazers looking on in a
-rapt silence, until suddenly a low murmur, followed by an involuntary
-shiver, ran through the crowd, as the bridge, with a graceful curtesy,
-descended a few feet, hesitated, and then, with a gentle, swan-like
-motion, sank, like a dream, down on the waters. But the moment the
-fabric touched the wave, a simmering, hissing sound was heard, while ten
-thousand sparkles shot up into the air and sailed away to leeward. The
-fire still, however, burned fiercely in the upper works, which had not
-reached the water; while volumes of smoke rolled down the river,
-blending the earth, the wave, and the sky into one dark, indistinct
-mass, so that the burning timbers, occasionally detached from the
-bridge, and borne along by the current, seemed, almost without the aid
-of fancy, to be lurid stars floating through the firmament. The moon,
-which was just rising, and which occasionally burst through the dense
-veil of smoke, appeared almost side by side with these wild meteors, and
-added to the illusion. The effect was picturesque; at times even
-sublime.
-
-More than two years elapsed before the bridge was replaced by the
-present elegant structure, whose airiness and grace more than reconcile
-us to the loss of its predecessor.
-
-This new fabric is, we believe, the finest, if not the only, specimen of
-its kind in the United States. The plan is simple. Two square towers of
-solid granite, thirty-two feet in height, are built on either abutment.
-Over each of these towers, on iron rollers, pass five wire cables, each
-cable being composed of two hundred and sixty strands, each strand being
-an eighth or an inch thick. The length of each cable is six hundred and
-fifty feet. These cables are secured, on each shore, in pits, distant
-from the towers one hundred feet, and continuing under ground fifty feet
-further, to a point where they are securely fastened at the depth of
-thirty feet. These pits are built over so as to exclude the rain, but
-not the air; and the cables, being painted, are thus preserved from
-rust. The cables, in stretching from tower to tower, form a curve, the
-lowest point of which is at the centre of the bridge. The causeway is of
-wood, and hangs, by smaller wire cables, from these larger ones. The
-width of the bridge is twenty-seven feet, and its length, from abutment
-to abutment, three hundred and forty-three feet. The strength of the
-bridge has been tested by a weight of seventy tons. The structure is
-painted white throughout, and has already won the name of the most
-graceful bridge in the country.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration:
-
-Painted by Sir T. Lawrence, Eng’d by H.S. Sadd, N.Y.
-_The Proffered Kiss._
-_Engraved Expressly for Graham’s Magazine._]
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE SCIENCE OF KISSING!!
-
-
- THE AFTER-DINNER TALK OF JEREMY SHORT, ESQ.
-
-
-What glorious times, Oliver, the old Turks must have, sitting, on a
-sultry day like this, listening to the cool plashing of their fountains,
-and smoking their chiboques—egad!—until they fall asleep, and dream of
-dark-eyed Houris smiling on them, amid the fragrant groves and by the
-cool rivers of a Musselman Paradise. What a pity we were not born in
-Turkey, you a Bashaw of three tails, and I the Sultaun of Stamboul! How
-we would have stroked our beards—and smoked our pipes—and given praise
-to the prophet as we drank our sherbert, spiced, you know, with a _very_
-little of the _aqua vitæ_, that comfort of comforts to the inner man! We
-could then have dressed like gentlemen, and not gone about, as we do
-now, breeched, coated, and swaddled in broadcloth, like a couple of
-Egyptian mummies. Just imagine yourself in a dashing Turkish dress, with
-a turban on your head, and a scimitar all studded with diamonds at your
-side, with which—the scimitar I mean—you are wont to slice off the
-heads of infidels as I slice off the top of this pyramid of
-ice-cream—help yourself, for it’s delicious! I think I see us now,
-charging at the head of our spahis against the rascally Russians,
-driving their half starved soldier slaves like chaff before a
-whirl-wind, and carrying our horse-tails and shouting “Il Allah!” into
-the very tents of their chieftains. What magnificent fellows we would
-have made! Ah!—my dear boy—you and I are out of our element. Take my
-word for it, a Turk is your finest gentleman, your true philosopher, the
-only man that understands how to live. He keeps better horses, wears
-richer clothes, walks with a nobler mien, smokes more luxuriously,
-drinks more seductive coffee, and kisses his wife or ladye-love with
-better grace, than any man or set of men, except you and I, “under the
-broad canopy of heaven” as the town-meeting orators have it. And let me
-tell you this last accomplishment—this kissing gracefully, “_secundum
-artem_”—is a point of education most impiously neglected amongst us.
-Kissing is a science by itself. Let us draw up to the window where we
-can drink in the perfume of the garden, and while you whiff away at your
-meerschaum, I will prove the truth of my assertion. One has a knack for
-talking after dinner—I suppose it is because good steaks and madeira
-lubricate the tongue.
-
-We are born to kiss and be kissed. It comes natural to us, as marriage
-does to a woman. Why, sir, I can remember kissing the female babies when
-I was yet in my cradle, and my friend Sir Thomas Lawrence did himself
-the honor to paint me at my favorite pursuit, as you know by that
-exquisite picture in my library. The very first day I went to school I
-kissed all the sweet little angels there. I wasn’t fairly out of my
-alphabet, when I used to wait behind a pump, for my sweetheart to come
-out of school, and as soon as I saw her I made a point of kissing her
-just to see how prettily she blushed. As I grew older I loved to steal
-in, some summer evening, on her, and kiss her asleep on the sofa—or, if
-she was awake, and the old folks were by, I’d wait till they both got
-nodding, and then kiss her all the sweeter for the slyness of the thing.
-Ah! such stolen draughts are delicious. I wouldn’t give a sous to kiss a
-girl in company, and I always hated Copenhagen, Pawns, and your other
-kissing plays, as I hope I hate the devil. They had a shocking custom
-when I was young, that everybody at a wedding should kiss the bride,
-just as they all drank, in the same free and easy way, out of the one
-big china punch-bowl; but the practice always hurt my sensibilities, and
-I avoided weddings as I would avoid a ghost, a bailiff, or any other
-fright. No—no—get your little charmer up into a corner by
-yourselves—watch when everybody’s back is turned—then slip your arm
-around her waist, and kiss her with a long sweet kiss, as if you were a
-bee sucking honey from a flower. Nor can one kiss every girl. I’d as
-lief take ipecacuanha as kiss some of your sharp-chinned,
-icicle-mouthed, lignum-vitæ-faced spinsters—why one couldn’t get the
-taste of the bitters out of his mouth for a week! I go in for your rosy,
-pouting lips, that seem to challenge everybody so saucily—egad! when we
-kiss such at our leisure, we think we’re in a seventh heaven. I once
-lived on such a kiss for forty-eight hours, for it took the taste for
-commoner food out of my mouth “intirely,” as poor Power used to say. Oh!
-how I loved the wide, dark entries one finds in old mansions, where one
-could catch these saucy little fairies, and, before they were well aware
-of your presence, kiss them so deliciously. There’s kissing for you! Or,
-to go upon a sleigh ride, and when all, save you and your partner, are
-busy chatting—while the merry ringing of the bells and the whizzing
-motion of the vehicle cause your spirits to dance for very joy—to make
-believe that you wish to arrange the buffalo, or pull her shawl up
-closer around her, and then slyly stealing your face into her bonnet to
-kiss her for an instant of ecstasy, while she blushes to the very
-temples, lest others may catch you at your sport. And then, on a summer
-eve, to row out upon the bosom of a moonlit lake, and while one of the
-ladies sings and all the rest listen, to snatch a chance and laughingly
-kiss the pretty girl at your side, all unnoticed except by her. Or to
-sit beside a charmer on a sofa, before a cozy fire on a bitter winter
-night, and fill up the pauses of the conversation, you know, by drawing
-her to you and kissing her. But more than all,—when you have won a
-blushing confession of love from her you have long and tremblingly
-worshipped with all a boy’s devotion,—is the rapture of the kiss which
-you press holily to her brow, while her warm heart flutters against your
-side, and every pulse in your body thrills with an ecstasy that has no
-rival in after life. Ah! sir, that kiss is The Kiss. It is worth all the
-rest.
-
-Next to being born a Turk I should choose to have been born an
-Englishman in the days of Harry the Eighth. Do you remember how Erasmus
-tells us, in one of his letters, that all the pretty women in London ran
-up to him and kissed him whenever they met? That’s what I call being in
-clover. I don’t wonder people long for the good old times, for, if all
-their fashions were like this, commend me to the days of the bluff
-monarch, when
-
- “thus paused on the time,
- With jolly ways in those brave old days,
- When the world was in its prime.”
-
-Did you ever attend a children’s party, and see the little dears play
-Copenhagen? The boys seem to have an instinctive knack at kissing their
-partners, who always show the same modest repugnance—for modesty is
-inborn in every woman—aye! and flings a glory about her like the halo
-around a Madonna’s head. The very instant one of the young scapegraces
-gets into the ring, he looks slyly all around it, and there be sure is
-one little face that blushes scarlet, and one little heart that beats
-faster, for well the owner knows that she is in peril. How fast her
-hands slide to and fro along the rope, and directly the imprisoned
-youngster makes a dash at her hand, and, missing it, turns away amid the
-uproarious laughter and clapping of hands of the rest, and essays
-perchance a feint to tap some other little hand, all the while, however,
-keeping one corner of his eye fixed on the blushing damsel who has
-foiled him. And lo! all at once—like an eagle shooting from the
-skies—he darts upon it. And now begins the struggle. What a
-shouting—and merry laughing—what cries of encouragement from the
-lookers on—what a diving under the rope, and over the rope, and among
-the chairs, mingled with whoopings from the boys, ensues, until the
-victim has escaped, or else been caught by her pursuer. Sometimes she
-submits quietly to the forfeit, but at other times she will fight like a
-young tiger. Then, indeed, comes “the tug of war.” If she covers her
-face in her hands, and is a sturdy little piece beside, young Master
-Harry will have to give up the game, and be the laughing stock of the
-boys, or else set all chivalry at defiance and tear away those pretty
-hands by force. Many a time, you old curmudgeon, have I laughed until
-the tears ran out of my eyes to see a young scoundrel, scarcely
-breeched, kissing an unwilling favorite. How sturdily he sticks up to
-her, one hand around her neck, and the other, perhaps, fast hold of her
-chin; while she, with face averted, and a frown upon her tiny brow, is
-all the while pushing him desperately away. But the young rascal knows
-that he is the strongest, and with him might makes right. With eagerness
-in every line of his face, he slips his arm around her waist, and, after
-sundry repulses, wins the kiss at last. And then what a mighty gentleman
-he thinks he is! In just such a scene has my old friend Lawrence taken
-me off, in that picture, of The Proffered Kiss, in my library, egad!
-
-It is a great grief to me that so few understand how to kiss gracefully.
-Kissing is an accomplishment, I may be allowed to remark, that should
-form a part of every gentleman’s education. A man that is too bashful to
-kiss a lady when all is agreeable, as Mrs. Malaprop would say, is a poor
-good-for-nought, a lost sinner, without hope of mercy! He will never
-have the courage to pop the question—mark my words—and will remain a
-bachelor to his dying day, unless some lady kindly takes him in hand and
-asks him to have her, as my friend Mrs. Desperate did. The women have a
-sly way of doing these things, even if, like a spinster I once knew,
-they have to ask a man flatly whether his intentions are serious or not;
-and they are very apt to do this as soon as the kissing becomes a
-business on your part. But to return to the _modus operandi_ of a kiss.
-Delicacy in this intellectual amusement is the chief thing. Don’t—by
-the bones of Johannes Secundus!—don’t bungle the matter by a five
-minutes torture, like a cat playing with a mouse. Kiss a girl
-deliberately, sir—sensible all the time of the great duty you are
-performing—but remember also that a kiss, to be enjoyed in its full
-flavor, should be taken fresh, like champaigne just from the flask. Ah!
-then you get it in all its airy and _spirituelle_ raciness. If you wish
-a sentimental kiss—and after all they are perhaps the spicier—steal
-your arm around her waist, take her hand softly in your own, and then,
-tenderly drawing her towards you, kiss her as you might imagine a zephyr
-to do it! I never exactly timed the manœuvre with a stop-watch, but I’ve
-no doubt the affair might be managed very handsomely in ten seconds. The
-exact point where a lady should be kissed may be determined by the
-intersection of two imaginary lines, one drawn perpendicularly down the
-centre of the face, and the other passing at right angles through the
-line of the mouth. Two such old codgers as you and I may talk of these
-things without indiscretion; and, it is but doing our duty by the world,
-to give others the benefits of our experience. Some of these days, when
-I get leisure, I shall write a book called “Kissing Made Easy.” The
-title—don’t you think?—will make it sell.
-
-Kissing, however, has its evils, for the world, you know, is made up of
-sweet and sour. One often gets into a way of kissing a pretty girl by
-way of a flirtation, and ends by tumbling head over ears into love with
-her. This is taking the disease in its most virulent form; but—thank
-the stars!—it is most apt to attend on cases where the gentleman has
-not been used to kissing. I would recommend, as a general rule, that
-every one should be inoculated to the matter, for, depend upon it, this
-is the only way to save them from a desperate and perhaps fatal attack.
-I once knew a fine fellow—talented, rich, in a profession—whose only
-fault, indeed, was that he had never kissed anybody but his sister. He
-had the most holy horror of a man who could so insult the dignity of the
-sex as to kiss a lady—and, I verily believe, the sight of such a thing,
-in his younger days, would have thrown him into a fit. At length he fell
-in love; and as sweet a creature was Blanche Merrion as ever trod
-greensward, or sang from very gaiety of heart on the morning air. Day
-after day her lover watched her from afar, as a worshipper would watch
-the countenance of a saint; but months passed by and still he dared not
-lift his eyes to her face, when her own were shining on him from their
-calm, holy depths. Other suitors appeared, and if Blanche had fancied
-them, she would have been lost forever to Howard, through his own
-timidity; but happily none of them touched her heart, and she went on
-her way “in maiden meditation fancy free.” Often, in her own gay style
-of raillery, would she torment poor Howard about his bashfulness; and
-during these moments, I verily believe, he would gladly have exchanged
-his situation for that of any heretic that ever roasted in an
-inquisitorial fire. A twelvemonth passed by, and yet Howard could not
-muster courage to express his devotion, and if, perchance, his eyes
-sometimes revealed his tale, the confession faded from them as soon as
-the liquid ones of Blanche were turned upon him. If ever one suffered,
-he suffered from his love. He worshipped his divinity in awe-struck
-humility, scarcely deeming she would deign to see his adoration. He
-might have said with Helena,
-
- “thus, Indian-like,
- Religious in mine error, I adore
- The sun, that looks upon his worshipper,
- But knows of him no more.”
-
-At length a friend of Howard asked him to wait on him as a groomsman,
-and who should be his partner but Blanche! Now, of all places for
-kissing, commend me to a wedding. The groom kisses the bride—and the
-groomsmen kiss the bridemaids—and each one of the company kisses his
-partner, or if any one is destitute of the article he makes a dumb show
-of kissing somebody behind the door. But the groomsmen have the cream of
-the business, for it’s one of the perquisites of their office that they
-should kiss their partners, as a sort of recompense for shawling them,
-and chaperoning them, and paying them those thousand little attentions
-which are so exquisite to a lady, and which a gentleman can only pay,
-especially if the lady is grateful, at some peril to his peace of mind.
-Ah! sir, a bridemaid is a bachelor’s worst foe—one plays with edge
-tools when he waits at a wedding—and though you may dance with an angel
-or flirt with a Houri, I’d never—heaven bless you—recommend you to
-wait on a girl unless you were ready to marry. Seeing other folks
-married is infectious, and, before you know it, you’ll find yourself
-engaged. It was a lucky chance for Howard when he was asked to wait on
-Blanche, for I would stake my life that nothing else could have cured
-him of his bashfulness. Nor even then would he have succeeded but for an
-accident. One lovely afternoon—it was a country wedding—he happened to
-pass by a little sort of summer-house in a secluded spot in the grounds
-attached to the mansion, and who should he see within but Blanche,
-asleep on a garden sofa. I wish I could paint her to you as she then
-appeared. One arm was thrown negligently back over her head, while the
-other fell towards the floor, holding the book she had been reading. Her
-long, soft eye-lashes were drooped on her cheek. Her golden curls fell,
-like a shower of sunbeams scattered through the forest leaves on a
-secluded stream, around her brow and down her neck; and one fair tress,
-stealing across her face and nestling in her bosom, waved in her breath,
-and rose and fell with the gentle heaving of that spotless bust. A
-slight color was on her cheek, and her lips were parted in a smile, the
-smallest space imaginable disclosing the pure teeth beneath, seeming
-like a line of pearl set betwixt rubies, or a speck of snow within a
-budding rose. Howard would have retreated, but he could not, and so he
-stood gazing on her entranced, until, forgetting everything in that
-sight, he stole towards her, and falling on his knees, hung a moment
-enraptured over her. As he thus knelt, his eyes glanced an instant on
-the book. It was the poems of Campbell, and open at a passage which he
-had the evening before commended. Blanche had pencilled one verse which
-he had declared especially beautiful. His heart leapt into his mouth.
-His eyes stole again to that lovely countenance, and instinctively he
-bent down and pressed his lips softly to those of Blanche. Slight,
-however, as was the kiss, it broke her slumber, and she started up; but
-when her eyes met those of Howard the crimson blood rushed over her
-face, and brow, and down even to her bosom, while the lover stood, even
-more abashed, rooted to the spot. Poor fellow! He would have given the
-world if he could have recalled that moment’s indiscretion. He stammered
-out something for an apology, he knew not what, yet without daring to
-lift his eyes to her face. She made no reply. A minute of silence
-passed. Could he have offended past forgiveness? He was desperate with
-agony and terror at the thought—and, in that very desperation, resolved
-to face the worst, and looked up. The bosom of Blanche heaved violently,
-her eyes were downcast, her cheek was changing from pale to red and from
-red to pale. All her usual gaiety had disappeared, and she stood
-embarrassed and confused, yet without any marks of displeasure, such as
-the lover had looked for, on her countenance. A sudden light flashed on
-him, a sudden boldness took possession of him. He lifted the hand of
-Blanche—that tiny hand which now trembled in his grasp—and said,
-
-“Blanche! dear Blanche! if you forgive me, be still more merciful, and
-give me a right to offend thus again. I love you, oh! how deeply and
-fervently!—I have loved you with an untiring devotion for years. Will
-you, dearest, be mine?” and in a torrent of burning eloquence—for the
-long pent-up emotions of years had now found vent—he poured forth the
-whole history of his love, its doubts and fears, its sensitiveness, its
-adoration, its final hope. And did Blanche turn away? No—you needn’t
-smile so meaningly, you old villain—she sank sobbing on her lover’s
-shoulder, who, when at length she was soothed, was as good as his word,
-and sinned by a second kiss. It turned out that Blanche had loved him
-all along, and it was only his bashfulness that had blinded him, else by
-a thousand little tokens he might have seen what, in other ways, it
-would have been unmaidenly for her to reveal. Now, sir, months of mutual
-sorrow might have been saved to both Blanche and her lover, if he had
-only possessed a little more assurance—he would have possessed that
-assurance if he had been less finical—if he had been less finical he
-would not have been shocked at kissing a pretty girl. Isn’t that
-demonstrated like a problem in the sixth book?
-
-I might multiply instances, egad, for fifty years of experience _will_
-store one’s memory with facts, and by the aid of them I could reel off
-arguments for this accomplishment faster than a rocket whizzes into the
-sky. _Kissing_, sir—but there goes the supper bell, and I see your
-meerschaum’s out. We will rejoin the ladies, and after taking our Mocha,
-set the young folks to dancing, while you and I accompany them on the
-shovel and tongs!—Ta-ra-la-ra!
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- FAREWELL.
-
-
- BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.
-
-
- Farewell! as the bee round the blossom
- Doth murmur drowsily,
- So murmureth round my bosom
- The memory of thee;
- Lingering, it seems to go,
- When the wind more full doth flow,
- Waving the flower to and fro,
- But still returneth, Marian!
- My hope no longer burneth,
- Which did so fiercely burn,
- My joy to sorrow turneth,
- Although loath, loath to turn,—
- I would forget—
- And yet—and yet
- My heart to thee still yearneth, Marian!
-
- Fair as a single star thou shinest,
- And white as lilies are
- The slender hands wherewith thou twinest
- Thy heavy auburn hair;
- Thou art to me
- A memory
- Of all that is divinest:
- Thou art so fair and tall,
- Thy looks so queenly are,
- Thy very shadow on the wall,
- Thy step upon the stair,
- The thought that thou art nigh,
- The chance look of thine eye
- Are more to me than all, Marian,
- And will be till I die!
-
- As the last quiver of a bell
- Doth fade into the air,
- With a subsiding swell
- That dies we know not where,
- So my hope melted and was gone:
- I raised mine eyes to bless the star
- That shared its light with me so far
- Below its silver throne,
- And gloom and chilling vacancy
- Were all was left to me,
- In the dark, bleak night I was alone!
- Alone in the blessed Earth, Marian,
- For what were all to me—
- Its love, and light, and mirth, Marian,
- If I were not with thee?
-
- My heart will not forget thee
- More than the moaning brine
- Forgets the moon when she is set;
- The gush when first I met thee
- That thrilled my brain like wine,
- Doth thrill as madly yet;
- My heart cannot forget thee,
- Though it may droop and pine,
- Too deeply it had set thee
- In every love of mine;
- No new moon ever cometh,
- No flower ever bloometh,
- No twilight ever gloometh
- But I’m more only thine.
- Oh look not on me, Marian,
- Thine eyes are wild and deep,
- And they have won me, Marian,
- From peacefulness and sleep;
- The sunlight doth not sun me,
- The meek moonshine doth shun me,
- All sweetest voices stun me,—
- There is no rest
- Within my breast
- And I can only weep, Marian!
-
- As a landbird far at sea
- Doth wander through the sleet
- And drooping downward wearily
- Finds no rest for her feet,
- So wandereth my memory
- O’er the years when we did meet:
- I used to say that everything
- Partook a share of thee,
- That not a little bird could sing,
- Or green leaf flutter on a tree,
- That nothing could be beautiful
- Save part of thee were there,
- That from thy soul so clear and full
- All bright and blessed things did cull
- The charm to make them fair;
- And now I know
- That it was so,
- Thy spirit through the earth doth flow
- And face me whereso’er I go,—
- What right hath perfectness to give
- Such weary weight of wo
- Unto the soul which cannot live
- On anything more low?
- Oh leave me, leave me, Marian,
- There’s no fair thing I see
- But doth deceive me, Marian,
- Into sad dreams of thee!
-
- A cold snake gnaws my heart
- And crushes round my brain,
- And I should glory but to part
- So bitterly again,
- Feeling the slow tears start
- And fall in fiery rain:
- There’s a wide ring round the moon,
- The ghost-like clouds glide by,
- And I hear the sad winds croon
- A dirge to the lowering sky;
- There’s nothing soft or mild
- In the pale moon’s sickly light,
- But all looks strange and wild
- Through the dim, foreboding night:
- I think thou must be dead
- In some dark and lonely place,
- With candles at thy head,
- And a pall above thee spread
- To hide thy dead, cold face;
- But I can see thee underneath
- So pale, and still, and fair,
- Thine eyes closed smoothly and a wreath
- Of flowers in thy hair;
- I never saw thy face so clear
- When thou wast with the living,
- As now beneath the pall, so drear,
- And stiff, and unforgiving;
- I cannot flee thee, Marian,
- I cannot turn away,
- Mine eyes must see thee, Marian,
- Through salt tears night and day.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE PEWEE.
-
-
- BY DILL A. SMITH.
-
-
- In hedges where the wild brier-rose,
- Woos to its breast the sweets of June;
- When soft the balmy south-wind blows,
- The Pewee trills its simple tune.
- And when on glade and upland hill
- Shines out the sultrier July’s sun;
- And forest shade and bubbling rill
- The red-bird’s shriller notes have won,
-
- Oh then along the dull road side—
- (As if the deepening gloom to cheer)
- The Pewee loves to wander wide—
- There still its airy lay you hear.
- Or now, when more familiar grown,
- It seeks the busier haunts of men;
- And to the welcome barn roof flown,
- Renews its joyous song again.
-
- And thus throughout the livelong day,
- (Tho’ showery pearl-drops damp its wings;
- And heedless who may pass its way,)
- The modest Pewee sits and sings.
- Bird of the heart—meek Virtue’s child!
- Emblem of sweet simplicity;
- An thou’d’st a pleasant hour have whiled,
- Go list the Pewee’s minstrelsy!
-
- The eagle’s wing it may not boast,
- Nor yet his plume of golden sheen;
- But not in garb of regal cost
- Are Virtue’s children always seen.
- Ah, no, sweet bird! in lowly guise
- Her fairest child is oftenest met;
- And seldom knows thy cloudless skies,
- Or path with flowers so richly set.
-
- When summer buds are bright and gay
- I fly the city’s dull confines,
- And love to sport the hours away
- By sedgy streams and leafy shrines.
- Nor least among the happy sounds
- Which then salute my raptur’d ear,
- I hail, from hedge and meadow grounds,
- The Pewee, with its song so clear.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- HARRY CAVENDISH.
-
-
- BY THE AUTHOR OF “CRUISING IN THE LAST WAR,” “THE REEFER OF ’76,” ETC.
- ETC.
-
-
- ELLEN NEVILLE.
-
-When I recovered my senses, after the events narrated in the last
-chapter, I found that I was lying in the cabin of the schooner on board
-which I had been serving, while a group composed of the three surgeons
-and several officers of the expedition stood around me. As I opened my
-eyes and glanced around, scarce conscious as yet of the objects that met
-my gaze, one of the medical men bent over me and said that my safety
-depended on my quiet. Gradually I imbibed the full meaning of his words,
-and called to mind the events immediately preceding my fall; but, in
-spite of his charge, I felt an uncontrollable desire to learn the extent
-of my injury. In a low whisper—so low indeed that I was startled at its
-faintness—I asked if I was seriously wounded and whether we had
-conquered. But he smiled as he replied,
-
-“Not now, at least not in full, for your weakness forbids it. But the
-danger is over. The ball has been extracted. Quiet is all you now
-require.”
-
-“But,” said I again, “how of our expedition? Have we conquered?”
-
-“We have, but not a word more now. To-morrow you shall hear all.
-Gentlemen,” he continued, turning to the group, “we had best withdraw
-now that our friend is past the crisis. He needs repose.”
-
-I felt the wisdom of this advice, for my brain was already whirling from
-the attempt to control my thoughts, even for the mere purpose of asking
-the questions necessary to satisfy my curiosity; so when the group left
-the cabin I sank back on my couch, and closing my eyes with a sense of
-relief, soon lost all recollection in a deep sleep, the effect, no
-doubt, of the opiate which had been administered to me.
-
-When I awoke, the morning breeze was blowing freshly through the cabin,
-bringing with it the odors of thousands of aromatic plants from the
-shores of the neighboring islands, and as it wantoned across my
-forehead, dallying with my hair and imparting a delicious coolness to
-the skin, I felt an invigorating, pleasurable sensation—a sensation of
-the most exquisite delight—such as no one can imagine who has not felt
-the cool breath of morning after an illness in the close cabin of a
-small schooner.
-
-My curiosity to hear the events of the combat that occurred after my
-fall, would not suffer me to rest, and I gave my attendants no peace
-until I had learnt the whole.
-
-It will be recollected that when I sank to the deck in a state of
-insensibility, we were engaged in a warm contest with the piratical hulk
-which had been moored across the mouth of the outlet from the lagoon.
-The fight was maintained for some time on board of the enemy, and at
-first with varying success; but the daring of our men at last overcame
-the desperate resistance of the pirates, and the enemy were either
-driven below, cut down, or forced overboard. This outwork, as it were,
-having thus been carried, we pushed on to the settlement itself, for the
-other vessels moored in the lagoon were by this time deserted, the
-pirates having retreated to a fortification on the shore, where their
-whole force could act together, and where they had entrenched
-themselves, as they vainly imagined, in an impregnable position. But our
-brave fellows were not intimidated. Flushed with success, and burning to
-revenge those of their comrades who had already fallen, they cried out
-to be led against the desperadoes. Accordingly, under cover of the guns
-of our little fleet, the men were landed, and, while a brisk fire was
-kept up from the vessels, the assault was made. At first the pirates
-stood manfully to their posts, pouring in a deadly and unremitting fire
-on the assailants. In vain did the officers lead on their men three
-several times to the assault, for three several times were they driven
-back by the rattling fire of the now desperate pirates. To increase the
-peril of their situation, no sign of their companions in the rear had as
-yet appeared. The ruffians were already cheering in anticipation of a
-speedy victory, and our men, although still burning for vengeance, were
-beginning to lose all hope of victory, when the long expected rocket,
-announcing the arrival of the other party, shot up from the dense
-thicket in the rear of the fort, and instantaneously a crashing volley
-burst from the same quarter, followed by a long, loud cheer in which was
-recognised the battle shout of our comrades. The sounds shivered to the
-very hearts of our almost dispirited men, and added new energy to their
-souls and fresh vigor to their arms. Again they demanded to be led to
-the assault, and, with fixed bayonets, following their leader, they
-dashed up to the very embrasures of the fort. Then began a slaughter so
-terrific that the oldest veterans assured me they had never witnessed
-the like. Through an impervious veil of smoke, amid plunging balls and
-rattling grape shot, our gallant fellows swept over the plain, through
-the ditch, up the embankment, and into the very heart of the
-fortification. At the mouths of their guns they met the pirates, bearing
-them bodily backwards at the point of the bayonet. But if the onslaught
-was determined the resistance was desperate. Every step we advanced was
-over the dead bodies of the foeman. Throwing away their muskets, they
-betook themselves to their pikes and cutlasses, and though forced to
-retreat by our overwhelming numbers, retreating sullenly, like a lion at
-bay, they marked their path with the blood of the assailants. Meanwhile
-the detachment of our troops in the rear, finding the defences in that
-quarter weaker than those in front, soon carried the entrenchments, and
-driving before it as well the immediate defenders of the walls, as the
-desperadoes who had hurried to reinforce them, it advanced with loud
-cheers to meet us in the centre of the fortification. Hemmed in thus on
-every side, the pirates saw that further resistance was useless, and
-were seized with a sudden panic. Some threw down their arms and cried
-for quarter, others cast themselves in despair on our bayonets, while a
-few, managing to escape by cutting their way through a part of our line,
-took to the swamps in the rear of the fort, whither they defied pursuit.
-In less than an hour from the first assault, not a pirate was left at
-large within the precincts of the settlement. The huts were given to the
-flames, and the hulk at the outlet of the lagoon scuttled and sunk. The
-other vessels were manned by our own forces and carried away as
-trophies. Thus was destroyed one of the most noted piratical haunts
-since the days of the Bucaneers.
-
-We learned from the prisoners that the approach of the expedition had
-been detected while it was yet an hour’s sail from the settlement, and
-that preparations had instantly been made for our repulse. Had we not
-been under a misapprehension as to the strength of these desperadoes,
-and thus been induced to take with us more than double the force we
-should otherwise have employed, their efforts would no doubt have been
-successful, since the almost impregnable nature of their defences
-enabled them to withstand the assault of a force four times the number
-of their own. It was only the opportune arrival of our comrades, and the
-surprise which they effected in their quarter of attack, that gave us
-the victory after all. As it was, our loss was terrible. We had
-extirpated this curse of society, but at what a price!
-
-The wound which I had received was at first thought to be mortal, but
-after the extraction of the ball my case assumed a more favorable
-aspect. The crisis of my fate was looked for with anxiety by my comrades
-in arms. My return to consciousness found them, as I have described,
-watching that event at my bedside.
-
-Our voyage was soon completed, and we entered the port of —— amid the
-salvos of the batteries and the merry peals of the various convent
-bells. The governor came off to our fleet, almost before we had dropped
-our anchors, and bestowed rewards on the spot on those of his troops who
-had peculiarly distinguished themselves. He came at once to my cot, and
-would have carried me home to the government-house, but Mr. Neville, the
-uncle of the fair girl whom I had saved from the desperadoes, having
-attended his excellency on board, insisted that I should accept the
-hospitalities of his home.
-
-“Well,” said his excellency, with a meaning smile, “I must give him up,
-for, as you say, mine is but a bachelor establishment, and hired nurses,
-however good, do not equal those who are actuated by gratitude. But I
-must insist that my own physician shall attend him.”
-
-I was still too weak to take any part in this controversy, and although
-I made at first a feeble objection to trespassing on Mr. Neville’s
-kindness, he only smiled in reply, and I found myself, in less than an
-hour, borne to his residence, without having an opportunity to
-expostulate.
-
-What a relief it is, when suffering with illness, to be transported from
-a close, dirty cabin to a large room and tidy accommodations! How
-soothing to a sick man are those thousand little conveniencies and
-delicacies which only the hand of woman can supply, and from which the
-sufferer on shipboard is debarred! The well-aired bed linen; the clean
-and tidy apartment; the flowers placed on the stand opposite the bed;
-the green jalousies left half open to admit the cooling breeze; the
-delicious rose-water sprinkled around the room, and giving it an
-aromatic fragrance; and the orange, or tamarind, or other delicacy ever
-ready within reach to cool the fevered mouth, and remind you of the
-ceaseless care which thus anticipates your every want. All these, and
-even more, attested the kindness of my host’s family. Yet everything was
-done in so unobtrusive a manner that, for a long while, I was ignorant
-to whom I was indebted for this care. I saw no one but the nurse, the
-physician, and Mr. and Mrs. Neville. But I could not help fancying that
-there were others who sometimes visited my sick chamber, although as yet
-I had never been able to detect them, except by the fresh flowers which
-they left every morning as evidences of their presence. More than once,
-on suddenly awaking from sleep, I fancied I heard a light footstep
-retreating behind my bed, and once I distinguished the tone of a low
-sweet voice which sounded on my ear, tired as it was of the grating
-accents of the nurse, like music from Paradise. Often, too, I heard,
-through the half open blinds that concealed the entrance to a
-neighboring room, the sounds of a harp accompanied by a female voice;
-and, at such times, keeping my eyes closed lest I should be thought
-awake and the singer thus be induced to stop, I have listened until my
-soul seemed fairly “lapped into Elysium.” The memory of that ample
-apartment, with its spotless curtains and counterpanes, and the wind
-blowing freshly through its open jalousies, is as vivid in my memory
-to-day as it was in the hour when I lay there, listening to what seemed
-the seraphic music of that unseen performer. I hear yet that voice, so
-soft and yet so silvery, now rising clear as the note of a lark, and now
-sinking into a melody as liquid as that of flowing water, yet ever, in
-all its variations, sweet, and full, and enrapturing. Such a voice I
-used to dream of in childhood as belonging to the angels in heaven. Our
-dreams are not always wrong!
-
-At length I was sufficiently recruited in strength to be able to sit up,
-and I shall ever remember the delicious emotions of the hour when I
-first took a seat by the casement and looked out into the garden, then
-fragrant with the dew of the early morning. I saw the blue sky smiling
-overhead, I heard the low plashing of a fountain in front of my window,
-I inhaled the delicate perfume wafted to me by the refreshing breeze,
-and as I sat there my soul ran over, as it were, with its exceeding
-gladness, and I almost joined my voice, from very ecstasy, with that of
-the birds who hopped from twig to twig, carolling their morning songs.
-As I sat thus looking out, I heard a light footstep on the gravel walk
-without, and directly the light, airy form of a young girl emerged from
-a secluded walk of the garden, full in my view. As she came opposite my
-window she looked up as if inadvertently, for, catching my eye, she
-blushed deeply and cast her gaze on the ground. In a moment, however,
-she recovered herself, and advanced in the direction she had been
-pursuing. The first glance at the face had revealed to me the
-countenance of her I had been instrumental in rescuing from the pirates.
-My apartment, like all those on the island, was on the ground floor, and
-when Miss Neville appeared she was already within a few feet of me. I
-rose and bowed, and noticing that she held a bunch of newly gathered
-flowers in her hands, I said,
-
-“It is your taste, then, Miss Neville, which has filled the vase in my
-room every morning with its flowers. You cannot know how thankful I am.
-Ah! would that all knew with what delight a sick person gazes on
-flowers!”
-
-She blushed again, and extending the bouquet to me, said with something
-of gaiety,
-
-“I little thought you would be up to-day, much less at so early an hour,
-or perhaps I might not have gathered your flowers. Since you can gaze on
-them from your window they will be less attractive to you when severed,
-like these, from their parent stem.”
-
-“No—never,” I answered warmly, “indeed your undeserved kindness, and
-that of your uncle and aunt, I can never forget.”
-
-She looked at me in silence with her large, full eye a moment ere she
-replied, and I could see that they grew humid as she gazed. Her voice,
-too, softened and sank almost to a whisper when at length she spoke.
-
-“Undeserved kindness! And can we ever forget,” she said, “what we owe to
-you?”
-
-The words, as well as the gentle tone of reproof in which they were
-spoken, embarrassed me for a moment, and my eyes fell beneath her gaze.
-As if unwilling further to trust her emotions, she turned hastily away
-as she finished. When I looked up she was gone.
-
-We met daily after this. The _ennui_ of a convalescent made me look
-forward to the time she spent with me as if it constituted my whole day.
-Certainly the room seemed less cheerful after her departure. Often would
-I read while she sat sewing. At other times we indulged in conversation,
-and I found Miss Neville’s information on general subjects so extensive
-as sometimes to put me to the blush. She had read not only the best
-authors of our own language, but also those of France, and her remarks
-proved that she had thought while she read. She was a passionate admirer
-of music, and herself a finished performer. For all that was beautiful
-in nature she had an eye and soul. There was a dash of gaiety in her
-disposition, although, perhaps, her general character was sedate, and
-late events had if anything increased its prominent trait. Her tendency
-to a gentle melancholy—if I may use the phrase—was perceptible in her
-choice of favorite songs. More than once, when listening to the simple
-ballads she delighted to sing, have I caught the tears rolling down my
-cheeks, so unconsciously had I been subdued by the pathos of her voice
-and song.
-
-In a few days I was sufficiently convalescent to leave my room, and
-thenceforth I established myself in the one from which I had heard the
-mysterious music. This apartment proved to be a sort of boudoir
-appropriated to the use of Miss Neville, and it was her performance on
-the harp that I had heard during my sickness. Hers too had been the
-figure which I had seen once or twice flitting out of sight on my
-awaking from a fevered sleep.
-
-It is a dangerous thing when two young persons, of different sexes, are
-thrown together in daily intercourse, especially when one, from his very
-situation, is forced to depend on the other for the amusement of hours
-that would otherwise hang heavily on him. The peril is increased when
-either party is bound to the other by any real or fancied ties of
-gratitude. But during the first delicious fortnight of convalescence I
-was unconscious of this danger, and without taking any thought of the
-future I gave myself wholly up to the enjoyment of the hour. For Miss
-Neville I soon came to entertain a warm sentiment of regard, yet my
-feelings for her were of a far different nature from those I entertained
-for Annette. I did not, however, stop to analyze them, for I saw, or
-thought I saw, that the pleasure I felt in Ellen’s society was mutual,
-and I inquired no further. Alas! it never entered into my thoughts to
-ask whether, while I contented myself with friendship, she might not be
-yielding to a warmer sentiment. Had I been more vain perhaps this
-thought might have occurred to me. But I never imagined—blind fool that
-I was—that this constant intercourse betwixt us could endanger the
-peace of either. If I could, I would have coined my heart’s blood sooner
-than have won the love which I could not return. Yet such was my
-destiny. My eyes were opened at length to the consequences of my
-indiscretion.
-
-We had been conversing one day of the expected arrival of the Arrow, and
-I had spoken enthusiastically of my profession, and, perhaps, expressed
-some restlessness at the inactive life I was leading, when I noticed
-that Ellen sighed, looked more closely at her work, and remained silent
-for some time. At length she raised her eyes, however, and said,
-
-“How can you explain the passion which a sea-man entertains for his
-ship? One would think that your hearts indulged in no other sentiment
-than this engrossing one.”
-
-“You wrong us, indeed, Ellen,” I said, “for no one has a warmer heart
-than the sailor. But we have shared so many dangers with our ship, and
-it has been to us so long almost our only world, that we learn to
-entertain a sort of passion for it, which, I confess, seems a miracle to
-others, but which to us is perfectly natural. I love the old Arrow with
-a sentiment approaching to monomania, and yet I have many and dear
-friends whom I love none the less for this passion.”
-
-I saw that her bosom heaved quicker than usual at these words, and she
-plied her needle with increased velocity. Had I looked more narrowly, I
-might have seen the color faintly coming and going in her cheek, and
-almost heard her heart beating in the audible silence. But I still was
-blind to the cause of this emotion. By some unaccountable impulse I was
-led to speak of a subject which I had always avoided, though not
-intentionally—my early intimacy with Annette, and her subsequent rescue
-from the brig. Secure, as I thought, of the sympathy of my listener, and
-carried away by my engrossing love for Annette, I dwelt on her story for
-some time, totally unconscious of the effect my words were producing on
-Ellen. My infatuation on that morning seems now incredible. As I became
-more earnest with my subject, I noticed still less the growing agitation
-of my listener, and it was not until I was in the midst of a sentence in
-which I paused for words to express the loveliness of Annette’s
-character, that I saw that Ellen was in tears. She was bending low over
-her work so as to conceal her agitation from my eye, but as I hesitated
-in my glowing description, a bright tear-drop fell on her lap. The truth
-broke on me like a flash of lightning. I saw it all as clear as by a
-noonday sun, and I wondered at my former blindness. I was stung to the
-heart by what I had just been saying, for what agony it must have
-inflicted on my hearer! I felt my situation to be deeply embarrassing,
-and broke short off in my sentence. After a moment, however, feeling
-that silence was more oppressive than anything else, I made a desperate
-effort and said,
-
-“Ellen!”
-
-It was a single word, and one which I had addressed to her a hundred
-times before; but perhaps there was something in the tone in which I
-spoke it, that revealed what was passing in my mind, for, as she heard
-her name, the poor girl burst into a flood of tears, and covering her
-face with her hands she rushed from the room. She felt that her secret
-was disclosed. She loved one whose heart was given to another.
-
-That day I saw her no more. But her agony of mind could not have been
-greater than my own. There is no feeling more acute to a sensitive mind
-than the consciousness that we are beloved by one whom we esteem, but
-whose affection it is impossible for us to requite. Oh! the bitter
-torture to reflect that by this inability to return another’s love, we
-are inflicting on them the sharpest of all disappointments, and perhaps
-embittering their life. Point me out a being who is callous to such a
-feeling, and I will point you out a wretch who is unworthy of the name
-of man. He who can triumph in the petty vanity of being loved by one for
-whom he entertains no return of affection, is worse than a fop or a
-fool—he is a scoundrel of the worst stamp. He deserves that his home
-should be uncheered by a WOMAN’S smiles, that his dying hour should be a
-stranger to her tender care. God knows! to her we are indebted for all
-the richest blessings and holiest emotions of our life. While we
-remember that we drank in our life from a mother’s breast—that we owed
-that life a thousand times afterwards to a mother’s care—that the love
-of a sister or the deeper affection of a wife has cheered us through
-many a dark hour of despair, we can never join that flippant school
-which makes light of a woman’s truth, or follow those impious revilers
-who would sneer at a woman’s love. The green sod grows to-day over many
-a lovely, fragile being, who might still have been living but for the
-perfidy of our sex. There is no fiction in the oft-told story of a
-broken heart. It is, perhaps, a consumption that finally destroys the
-victim, but alas! the barb that infused the poison first into the frame
-was—a hopeless love. How many fair faces have paled, how many hearts
-have grown cold, how many seraphic forms have passed, like angel
-visitants, from the earth, and few have known the secret of the blight
-that so mysteriously and suddenly withered them away. Alas! there is
-scarcely a village churchyard in the land, in which some broken hearted
-one does not sleep all forgotten in her lonely bed. The grave is a
-melancholy home; but it has hope for the distressed: there, at least,
-the weary are at rest.
-
-It is years since I have visited the grave of Ellen, and I never think
-of her fate without tears coming into my eyes.
-
-I said I saw her no more that day. When I descended to the breakfast
-table on the following morning, I looked around, and, not beholding her,
-was on the point of inquiring if she was ill; but, at the instant, the
-door opened and one of my old mess-mates appeared, announcing to me that
-the Arrow was in the offing, where she awaited me—he having been
-despatched with a boat to bring me on board. As I had been expecting her
-arrival for several days, there was little preparation necessary before
-I was ready to set forth. My traps had been already despatched when I
-stood in the hall to take leave of the family. My thoughts, at this
-moment, recurred again to Ellen, and I was, a second time, on the point
-of asking for her, when she appeared. I noticed that she looked pale,
-and I thought seemed as if she had been weeping. Her aunt said,
-
-“I knew Ellen had a violent headache, but when I found that you were
-going, Mr. Cavendish, I thought she could come down for a last adieu.”
-
-I bowed, and taking Miss Neville’s hand raised it to my lips. None there
-were acquainted with our secret but ourselves, yet I felt as if every
-eye was on me, and from the nervous trembling of Ellen’s fingers, I knew
-that her agitation was greater than my own.
-
-“God bless you, dear Miss Neville,” I said, and, in spite of my efforts,
-my voice quivered, “and may your days be long and happy.”
-
-As I dropped her hand, I raised my eyes a moment to her face. That look
-of mute thankfulness, and yet of mournful sorrow, I never shall forget.
-I felt that she saw and appreciated my situation, and that even thus her
-love was made evident. If I had doubted, her words would have relieved
-me.
-
-“Farewell!” she said, in a voice so low that no one heard it but myself.
-“I do not blame you. God be with you!”
-
-The tears gushed to her eyes, and my own heart was full to overflowing.
-I hastily waved my hand—for I had already taken leave of the
-rest—sprang into the carriage, rode in silence to the quay, and
-throwing myself into the stern sheets of the barge, sat, wrapt in my own
-emotions and without speaking a word, until we reached the ship. That
-night I early sought my hammock; and there prayed long and earnestly for
-Ellen.
-
-The memory of that long past time crowds on me to-night, and I feel it
-would be a relief to me to disburden my full heart of its feelings. I
-will finish this melancholy story.
-
-It was a short six months after my departure from Mr. Neville’s
-hospitable mansion, when we came to anchor again in the port, with a
-couple of rich prizes, which we had taken a short time before, in the
-Gulf Stream. The first intelligence I heard, on landing, was that Miss
-Neville was said to be dying of a consumption. Need I say that a pang of
-keenest agony shot through my heart? A something whispered to me that I
-was the cause, at least partially, of all this. With a faltering tongue
-I inquired the particulars. They were soon told. I subsequently learned
-more, and shall conceal nothing.
-
-From the day when I left ——, the health of Ellen had begun gradually
-to droop. At first her friends noticed only that she was less gay than
-usual, and once or twice they alluded jestingly to me as the secret of
-her loss of spirits. But when the expression of agony, which at such
-times would flit across her face, was noticed, her friends ceased their
-allusions. Meanwhile her health began sensibly to be affected. She ate
-little. She slept in fitful dozes. No amusement could drive away the
-settled depression which seemed to brood upon her spirits. Her friends
-resorted to everything to divert her mind, but all was in vain. With a
-sad, sweet smile, she shook her head at their efforts, as if she felt
-that they could do nothing to reach her malady.
-
-At length she caught a slight cold. She was of a northern constitution,
-and when this cold was followed by a permanent cough, her friends
-trembled lest it foreboded the presence of that disease, which annually
-sweeps off its thousands of the beautiful and gay. Nor were they long in
-doubt. Their worst fears were realised. Consumption had fixed its iron
-clutch on her heart, and was already tugging at its life-strings. The
-worm was gnawing at the core of the flower, and the next rough blast
-would sweep it from the stalk. As day by day passed, she drew nearer to
-the grave. Her eye grew sunken, but an unnatural lustre gleamed from its
-depths—the hectic flush blazed on her cheek—and that dry hacking
-cough, which so tortures the consumptive, while it snaps chord after
-chord of life, hourly grew worse.
-
-At an early period of Ellen’s illness, Mrs. Neville, who had been to the
-orphan girl a second mother, divined the secret of her niece’s malady.
-She did not, however, urge her confidence on her charge, but Ellen soon
-saw that her aunt knew all. There was a meaning in her studied avoidance
-of my name, which could not be mistaken. Ellen’s heart was won by this
-delicacy, until, one day, she revealed everything. Mrs. Neville pressed
-her to her bosom at the close of the confession, and, though nothing was
-said, Ellen felt that the heart of her second mother bled for her.
-
-As death drew nearer, Ellen’s thoughts became gradually freed from this
-world. But she had still one earthly desire—she wished to see me before
-she died. Only to Mrs. Neville, however, was this desire confided, and
-even then without any expectation that it could be gratified. When,
-however, the Arrow stopped so opportunely in ——, her petitions became
-so urgent, that Mrs. Neville sent for me. With a sad heart I obeyed her
-summons.
-
-“The dear girl,” she said, when she met me in the ante-room, “would not
-be denied, and, indeed, I had not the heart to refuse her. Oh! Mr.
-Cavendish, you will find her sadly changed. These are fearful trials
-which God, in his good providence, has called us to undergo,” and tears
-choked her further utterance. I was scarcely less affected.
-
-It would be a fruitless task in me to attempt to describe my emotions on
-entering the chamber of the dying girl. I have no recollection of the
-furniture of the room, save that it was distinguished by the exquisite
-neatness and taste which always characterized Ellen. My eyes rested only
-on one object—the sufferer herself.
-
-She was reclining on a couch, her head propped up with pillows, and her
-right hand lying listlessly on the snowy counterpane. How transparent
-that hand seemed, with the blue veins so distinctly seen through the
-skin that you could almost mark the pulsation of the blood beneath. But
-it was her countenance which most startled me. When I last saw her—save
-at that one parting interview—her mild blue orbs smiled with a
-sunniness that spoke the joy of a young and happy heart. Now the wild
-hectic of consumption blazed on her cheek, and her eyes had a brilliancy
-and lustre that were not of earth. Then, her rich golden tresses floated
-in wavy curls across her shoulders—now, that beautiful hair was
-gathered up under the close-fitting cap which she wore. Then her face
-was bright with the glow of health—alas! now it was pale and
-attenuated. But in place of her faded loveliness had come a more
-glorious beauty; and the glad smile of old had given way to one of
-seraphic sweetness. When she extended her wan hand toward me, and spoke
-in that unrivalled voice which, though feeble, was like the symphony of
-an Æolian harp, it seemed, to my excited fancy, as if an angel from
-heaven had welcomed me to her side.
-
-“This is a sad meeting,” she said; for my emotions, at the sight of her
-changed aspect, would not permit me to speak—“but why grieve? It is all
-for the best. It might seem unmaidenly to some,” she continued, with a
-partial hesitation, while, if possible, a brighter glow deepened on her
-cheek, “for me thus to send for you; but I trust we know each other’s
-hearts, and this is no time to bow to the formalities of life. I feel
-that I am dying.”
-
-“Say not so, dear Ellen,” I gasped, while my frame shook with agony at
-the ruin I had brought about—“oh! say not so. You will yet recover. God
-has many happy years in store for you.”
-
-“No, no,” she said touchingly, “this world is not for me; I am but a
-poor bruised reed—it were better I were cast aside. But weep not, for
-oh! I meant not to upbraid you. No, never, even in my first agony, have
-I blamed _you_—and it was to tell you this that I prayed I might
-survive. Yes! dearest—for it cannot be wrong now to confess my love—I
-would not that you should suppose I condemned you even in thought. You
-saved my life—and I loved you before I knew it myself. You weep—I know
-you do not despise me—had we met under better auspices, the result
-might have been—” here her voice choked with emotion—“might have been
-different.” I could only press her hand. “Oh! this is bliss,” she
-murmured, after a pause. “But it was not so to be,” she added, in a
-moment, with a saddened tone, which cut me to the heart. “I should love
-to see her of whom you speak—she is very beautiful, is she not? In
-heaven the angels are all beautiful.” Her mind wandered. “I have heard
-their music for days, and every day it is clearer and lovelier. Hear!”
-and with her finger raised, her eye fixed on the air, and a rapt smile
-on her radiant countenance, she remained a moment silent.
-
-Tears fell from us like rain. But by and bye, her wandering senses
-returned; and a look of unutterable wo passed over her face. Oh! how my
-heart bled. I know not what I said; I only know that I strove to soothe
-the dying moments of that sweet saint, so suffering, yet so forgiving. A
-look of happiness once more lightened up her face, and, with a sweet
-smile, she talked of happiness and heaven. As we thus communed, our
-hearts were melted. Gradually her voice assumed a different tone,
-becoming sweeter and more liquid at every word, while her eyes shone no
-longer with that fitful lustre, but beamed on me the full effulgence of
-her soul once more.
-
-“Raise me up,” she said. I passed my arm around her, and gently lifted
-her up. Her head reposed on my shoulder, while her hand was still
-clasped in mine. She turned her blue eyes on me with a seraphic
-expression, such as only the sainted soul in its parting moment can
-embody, and whispered—
-
-“Oh! to die thus is sweet! Henry, dear Henry—God bless you! In heaven
-there is no sorrow,” and then, in incoherent sentences, she murmured of
-bright faces, and strange music, and glorious visions that were in the
-air. The dying musician said that he then knew more of God and nature
-than he ever knew before, and it may be, that, as the soul leaves the
-body, we are gifted with a power to see things of which no mortal here
-can tell. Who knows? In our dying hour we shall learn.
-
-The grave of Ellen is now forgotten by all, save me. The grass has grown
-over it for long years. But often, in the still watches of the night, I
-think I hear a celestial voice whispering in my ear; and sometimes, in
-my dreams, I behold a face looking, as it were, from amid the stars: and
-that face, all glorious in light, is as the face of that sainted girl. I
-cannot believe that the dead return no more.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE RETURN HOME.
-
-
- BY GEORGE P. MORRIS.
-
-
- I’m with you once again, my friends—
- No more my footsteps roam—
- Where it began my journey ends,
- Amid the scenes of home.
- No other clime has skies so blue,
- Or streams so broad and clear,
- And earth no hearts so warm and true,
- As those that meet me here.
-
- Since last, with spirits wild and free,
- I pressed my native strand,
- I’ve wandered many miles at sea,
- And many miles on land;
- I’ve seen all nations of the earth,
- Of every hue and tongue,
- Which taught me how to prize the worth
- Of that from whence I sprung.
-
- In distant countries when I heard
- The music of my own,
- Oh how my echoing heart was stirred!—
- It bounded at the tone!
- But when a brother’s hand I grasp’d
- Beneath a foreign sky,
- With joy convulsively I gasp’d,
- Like one about to die.
-
- My native land, I come to you
- With blessings and with prayer,
- Where man is brave, and woman true,
- And free as mountain air.
- Long may our flag in triumph wave,
- Against the world combined,
- And friends a welcome, foes a grave,
- On land and ocean find.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- MISS THOMPSON.
-
-
- A TALE OF A VILLAGE INN.
-
-
- BY MRS. A. M. F. ANNAN.
-
-
-It may be out of keeping with our subject to apply the homely epithet of
-a “fish out of water” to Mr. Bromwell Sutton in the rural village of
-G——, but as no periphrasis suggests itself which would express his
-position as well, we must fain eschew elegance for the occasion, and let
-it stand. It was a sultry afternoon, in the middle of summer, when he
-arrived at the Eagle Inn, and after changing his dress, stepped to the
-door to see what could be seen. He looked up the street, and down and
-across, and not a living thing was visible besides himself, except a few
-sheep dozing in the market-house, and two or three cows silently
-ruminating in the shade of the town hall, both of which edifices were
-near at hand. Then having decided that there was nothing in the
-architectural aspect of the straggling village worth a second look, he
-concentred his scrutiny upon himself.
-
-The result of his investigation stood thus:—that he was a very charming
-young man, was Mr. Bromwell Sutton. He had a slender, well formed
-figure, which was encased in a fresh suit of the finest texture and most
-unexceptionable make. His features were regular, and of that
-accommodating order which allows the spectator to assign them any
-character he may choose. His complexion was fair and clear, his teeth
-were very white and his eyes very blue. His hair was dark, daintily
-glossed and perfumed with oil, and of a length, which, on so warm a day,
-would have made a silver arrow or a gilded bodkin a judicious
-application; and he had two elongated tufts on his upper lip, and a
-round one on his chin corresponding to the space between them. He wore a
-Panama hat of the most extensive circumference, and carried a pair of
-white gloves, either to be drawn on his hands or slapped on his knees,
-whichever circumstances might require; and the corner of a hem-stitched
-handkerchief of transparent cambrick stuck out of his pocket.
-
-A handbill pasted on the sign-post next caught his eye, and, though it
-was a favorite saying with him that he “never read,” to be understood of
-course, not that he never _had_ read, but that he knew enough already;
-he so far conquered his disdain of literature as to step forward and
-ascertain its purport. This, set forth in the interesting typographical
-variety which veteran advertisers so well comprehend, of large and small
-Romans, and Italics leaning some to the right and some to the left, and
-some standing perpendicular, was as follows:
-
-“Mr. Azariah Chowders, celebrated throughout the Union for his eloquent,
-entertaining and instructive discourses on miscellaneous subjects,
-proposes delivering a lecture on the evening of the present instant, in
-the town hall of G——. The theme selected is, the Genius of the
-American People, one, which, from its intrinsic importance, requires no
-comment,” &c. &c.
-
-He was interrupted by the rattle of a distant vehicle, and looking up
-the street, saw a chaise approaching which contained a single
-“individual,” as he mentally pronounced him. He drove a fine horse, and
-drew him up before the door of the inn. The chaise was a plain, common
-looking concern, full of travel-worn trunks and boxes, and its occupant
-was dressed in a light summer suit, rather neat, but entirely too coarse
-for gentility.
-
-“It’s only a Yankee pedlar,” said Mr. Sutton to the landlord who was
-coming out, and entirely careless of being overheard by the stranger;
-and he walked up to his chamber, where he awakened a diminutive poodle,
-his travelling companion, from the siesta with which it was recruiting
-after its journey, and occupied himself in cracking his handkerchief at
-it, until an additional stir in the house indicated the approach of
-tea-time. He then came down, carrying Cupidon, for so was the animal
-appellated; and found in the bar-room a young gentleman, a law-student,
-to whom he had delivered a letter on his arrival, and who was a boarder
-in the house. The other stranger had, meanwhile, entered the room, and
-was cooling himself at an open window, with his short curling hair
-pushed back from a forehead remarkable in its whiteness and intellectual
-development, and crowning a face of strikingly handsome lineaments and
-prepossessing expression.
-
-“How do you contrive to exist in this stupid place?” asked our dandy of
-his new acquaintance, whose name was Wallis; “they say there are some
-genteel people about,—have you any pretty girls among them to flirt
-with?”
-
-“We have some pretty young ladies, but don’t use them for that purpose
-exactly,” replied Wallis; “we admire them, and wait on them and try to
-please them, and then, when we can afford it, we marry them, if they
-don’t object.”
-
-“Have you seen anything of a lady vagabondising in this region,—a Miss
-Valeria North?”
-
-“Miss Valeria North, the fashionable heiress of B——? the niece of the
-celebrated Judge North? what should she be doing here?”
-
-“Oh, I don’t know,—it’s beginning to be genteel for people to get tired
-of society, and to go hunting up out-of-the-way places that one knows
-nothing about except from the maps; I heard in the railroad cars that
-she was making a tour along the river here, and was in hopes that I
-might fall in with her. What do you know of her?”
-
-“I heard a great deal about her at Saratoga last summer, where I
-happened to stop for a few days. Every body was talking about her
-beauty, talents and accomplishments, and in particular about her plain
-and simple manners, so singular in an heiress and a belle. The young
-men, mostly, seemed to have been afraid of her; regarding her as a
-female Caligula who would have rejoiced in the power of decapitating all
-the silliness, stupidity and puppyism in the world with one stroke of
-her wit.”
-
-“Indeed!” said Sutton, with a weak laugh that proved him not to
-apprehend what he was laughing at; “I hope she’ll soon come along; I’m
-prepared for a dead set at her. Girls of two or three hundred thousands
-are worth that trouble; it’s a much pleasanter way to get pocket money
-than to be playing the dutiful son for it.”
-
-Wallis elevated his eyebrows, but made no other reply.
-
-“That, I suppose, is one of your village beauties,—that one walking in
-the garden with the pink dress on and the black apron,” resumed Sutton.
-
-“No; she is a stranger boarding here,—a Miss Thompson.”
-
-“Miss Thompson!—it might as well be Miss Blank for all the idea that
-conveys. Who, or what is she?”
-
-“She does not say;—there is the name in the register beside
-you,—‘_Mrs. Thompson and daughter_’—so she entered it. She and her
-mother stopped here a week or two ago, on account of the lady’s health.”
-
-“Thompsons!—they oughtn’t to be found at out-of-the-way places; all the
-genteel Thompsons that I ever heard of go to springs and places of
-decided fashion; it is absolutely necessary, that they may not be
-confounded with the mere Thompsons,—the ten thousand of the name. But
-that is a pretty looking girl,—and rather ladyish.”
-
-“She is a lady—a well-bred, sensible girl, as ever I met with, and very
-highly educated.”
-
-They were interrupted by the bell for tea, and, on entering the
-eating-room, they found the young lady in the pink dress at the table,
-with an elderly, delicate looking woman (Mrs. Thompson, of course,)
-beside her. Mr. Sutton advanced to the place immediately opposite to
-her, and a nearer view suggested that she might be one of the genteel
-Thompsons after all. She was a spirited looking girl, rather under the
-middle height, with a clear and brilliant, though not very fair
-complexion; large black eyes, surmounted by wide and distinctly marked
-eyebrows, and a broad, smooth forehead; a nose, (that most _difficult_
-of features, if we may judge by the innumerable failures,) a nose
-beautifully straight in its outline and with the most delicately cut
-nostrils possible; and the most charmingly curved lips, and the whitest
-teeth in the world. Having made these discoveries, Mr. Sutton decided
-that if her station should forbid his admiring her, he would not allow
-it to prevent her from admiring him. To afford her the benefit of this
-privilege, it was necessary that he should first attract her notice, for
-she had bestowed but a single glance at him on his entrance, as had her
-mother, the latter drawing up her eyelids as if she had been very
-near-sighted; and to affect this, he called, in a peremptory voice to
-the servant attending,
-
-“Waiter, I wish you would give my dog something to eat.”
-
-“Your dog, sir?—where is it?” asked the colored man, looking around the
-room, and then giving a loud whistle to call the invisible animal forth.
-
-“Here,” replied Sutton, sharply; “or you may bring me a plate and I’ll
-feed him myself;” and he pointed to the miniature specimen, lying like a
-little lump of floss-silk, on his foot.
-
-“That! I-I-I—he! he! ha! ha!” exclaimed the waiter, attempting at first
-to restrain himself, and then bursting into a chuckling laugh; “is
-it—really—a dog, sir?—a live dog!”
-
-Cupidon, as if outraged by the suspicion, hereupon sprang into the
-middle of the room, barking at the height of his feeble voice, and
-showing his tiny white teeth, while his wicked little eyes sparkled with
-anger. The cachinnations of the amused and astonished servant increased
-at every bark, and drew a laugh from Wallis, and a smile from each of
-the ladies. Sutton with difficulty silenced his favorite, and finding
-that the desired impression of his consequence had not been made, he
-proceeded to another essay. “Waiter,” he slowly enunciated, with a look
-of disgust at the steel implement in his hand; “have you no silver
-forks?”
-
-“Sir?” said the attendant with a puzzled expression.
-
-“Any silver forks?” he repeated emphatically.
-
-“No, sir; we don’t keep the article.”
-
-“Then you should not put fish on the table; they ought properly to be
-inseparable,” he returned, magisterially, and rising from his seat, he
-approached the stranger of the chaise, who had quietly placed himself
-some distance below them, and asked, “Have you any such things as silver
-forks among your commodities?—I believe that persons in your vocation
-sometimes deal in articles of that description.”
-
-The stranger looked up in surprise, and, after scanning him from head to
-foot, a frown which was gathering on his face gave way to a look of
-humorous complacency—“I am sorry I can’t accommodate you, sir,” said
-he; “but I might probably suggest a substitute;—how would a tea-spoon
-do?”
-
-He returned to his seat, rather dubious about the smiles he detected,
-and, as a third effort, addressed himself, somewhat in the following
-manner, to Wallis, whose interlocutions are unnecessary. “How far did
-you say it was to the Sutton Mills?—only four miles, isn’t it? I shall
-have to apply to you to show me the way. I have a curiosity to see them,
-as they are one of my father’s favorite hobbies. I often laugh at him
-for christening them with his own name. Calling a villa, a fashionable
-country seat, after one’s self, is well enough, but mills or
-manufactories—it is rather out of taste. Is the fourth finished yet? I
-believe it is to be the finest of all; indeed, it seems to me a little
-injudicious in the old gentleman to have invested so much in a country
-property—there are at least half a dozen farms, are there not? but I
-suppose he was afraid to trust his funds to stocks, and he has already
-more real estate in the city than he can well attend to. However, if he
-had handed over the amount to me, I think I could have disposed of it
-with a much better grace. He did offer me a title to them, some time
-ago, but it was on condition that I should come here and manage them
-myself, but I begged to be excused, and it was only on agreement that I
-should have a hundred per cent. of the revenue this year, that I
-consented to undergo the trouble of visiting them, or the sacrifice,
-rather—there are so many delightful places to go to in the summer,” and
-so forth.
-
-Having, from these indirect explanations, made a clear case that his
-society was entitled to a welcome from the best Thompson in the world,
-and to that with thanks, if his fair neighbor was only a crockery
-Thompson, he arose and returned to the front of the house. The village
-had, by this time, awakened from its nap, and the larger proportion of
-its inhabitants were bending their steps to the town hall. Numerous well
-appointed carriages were also coming in from the surrounding
-neighborhood, whose passengers were all bound to the same point. “Where
-are all these people going?” asked Sutton.
-
-“To the lecture announced in that handbill,” replied Wallis—and Miss
-Thompson presenting herself at the door, ready bonnetted, he walked with
-her in a neighborly sort of a way across the street. After a while the
-throng ceased, and from some impatient expressions of the loungers about
-the tavern, Sutton ascertained that the lecturer had not yet appeared.
-
-“Why, that man I mistook for a Yankee pedlar must be he, I should
-judge,” said he to the landlord.
-
-“Who?—where?” said a young man, who had not heard the last clause.
-
-“That tall fellow, in the garden, there, drest in the brown-holland
-pantaloons and Kentucky jean coat.”
-
-“Indeed!—I thought he was to stop at the other house;” and he hastened
-down the street, while Sutton, finding that every body was going to the
-hall, strolled there also.
-
-Meanwhile, the stranger in the coarse jeans was enjoying himself in a
-saunter through the quiet and pretty garden of the inn, which was so
-hedged and enclosed as to admit of no view of the street, when a
-consequential personage presented himself, and saluting him stiffly,
-introduced himself as “Mr. Smith, the proprietor of the G—— Hotel.”
-
-“I am happy to make your acquaintance, sir,” said the young stranger,
-courteously.
-
-“I have taken the liberty to call, sir, and inform you that the audience
-has been waiting for some time. It is full fifteen minutes past the time
-announced in the handbills;” pulling one from his pocket—“I felt a
-reluctance to intrude, but, putting the best construction upon your
-conduct, in not informing me of your arrival, after I had been at the
-pains to prepare for you, I presumed it proceeded from a mistake; you
-are at the opposition establishment.”
-
-“There certainly is a mistake,” interrupted the stranger.
-
-“Very well, very well, sir, as an entire stranger you can be excused,”
-hastily proceeded Mr. Smith; “but there is no time to talk about it
-now—we can settle it after a while. Be good enough to hurry over; the
-people are getting impatient. You will have a large audience, sir; they
-were afraid they would be disappointed, which would have been a bad
-business, as we very seldom have lecturers from a distance. It was lucky
-that you happened to be found out by one of my boarders, for some of the
-gentlemen were talking about dispersing, and if that had occurred, we
-would all have been up in arms against you;—we are pretty fiery, some
-of us!”
-
-“Then you would not be willing to wait another evening?”
-
-“To wait! certainly not; I hope you have no such idea!—let me beg you
-to hurry, sir!”
-
-“Well, but—”
-
-“My dear sir!—let me insist—you have announced a very interesting
-subject—‘The Genius of the American People;’ the very thing for our
-audience—American through and through—very patriotic!”
-
-“Very well, sir—I’ll try to do my best—let me change my dress a
-little, and I’ll attend you.”
-
-To the surprise of the inmates of the Eagle, excepting, indeed, Mr.
-Sutton, who paid a mental tribute to his own sagacity—in a few minutes
-their fellow lodger entered and mounted the rostrum. A figure as
-graceful and commanding would have struck the fastidious assemblage of a
-fashionable city lecture-room. He showed some embarrassment after
-casting his eyes over the really large audience, but a round of applause
-gave him time to collect himself, and he commenced a modest preface,
-stating that he had not had time to arrange his ideas on the subject
-proposed, in such a form as he could have wished, yet as it was one that
-ought to be familiar to all good citizens, he hoped he should not
-entirely fail.
-
-We regret that our space will not permit us to edify our readers with
-the critique on his performance which duly appeared in the village
-newspaper. Suffice it, that after an elaborate eulogium on his fine
-person, captivating voice, and expressive gestures; his sparkling wit,
-elevated imagination, and extensive reading, he was pronounced _ex
-cathedrâ_, “a patriot, a scholar and a gentleman.”
-
-The next morning, when they met in the breakfast room, Miss Thompson and
-Wallis were fluent in commendation of the lecture. “I was most agreeably
-disappointed,” said the lady; “having been prepared for nothing more
-than the flippant inanities we usually hear from itinerant lecturers.
-This gentleman is an orator—one that would draw crowds among the most
-intellectual communities in the country. The subject was so hackneyed,
-that to announce it appeared ridiculous; but he treated it like a
-statesman, and made it really imposing by evidences of original thought
-and profound information.”
-
-She was interrupted by the object of her remarks entering the room—and
-after he had taken his seat at the table, she turned and remarked to
-him, with respectful complaisance, “you had a large and very attentive
-auditory last night, sir.”
-
-The stranger bowed and returned, “I was surprised to find an assemblage
-so numerous and respectable, and had every reason to be flattered by
-their reception.”
-
-“I have no doubt you entertained them exceedingly,” interposed Sutton;
-“you did very well, very well, indeed; for a plain country audience,
-nothing could have suited them better. I suppose you consider yourself
-as having made quite a speculation; at fifty cents a head the receipts
-must have been considerable.”
-
-Miss Thompson glanced at him with a look of irritation, which, however,
-changed to one of merriment at the comic stare of the itinerant, his
-only answer.
-
-Just then there was a bustle in the entry, and the landlord was heard
-saying in a tone of expostulation—“The gentleman is at his breakfast,
-sir; have a little patience, and, no doubt, he will satisfy you
-afterwards. The other boarders are all at the table, and it would only
-cause a confusion.”
-
-“So much the better,” returned a stentorian voice; “let me in, sir, or
-you shall be exposed for harboring a swindler;” and a formidable-looking
-person, large of size and exceeding fierce of countenance, entered. He
-was accompanied by Mr. Smith of the rival house, who designated the
-lecturer, and striding up to him, he exclaimed, in a strong Connecticut
-accent, “So, sir! you are the gentleman that entertained this community
-last evening with a lecture on the ‘Genius of the American People;’ you
-are Azariah Chowders, are you?”
-
-“I sir?—by no means! I rejoice in quite a different appellation.”
-
-“No sir,—I myself am Azariah Chowders, and I hereby pronounce you an
-impudent imposter. I demand to know, sir, how you could dare to avail
-yourself of my name and well-earned reputation to deliver a spurious
-lecture and rob the pockets of a large audience?”
-
-“From several reasons, sir. In the first place, to relieve the
-solicitude of that gentleman, Mr. Smith.”
-
-“That shall not serve you! your flagitious conduct,—”
-
-“Pray hear me out, sir! secondly, as he assured me a number of persons
-would be disappointed if they should not hear a lecture—common
-philanthropy—”
-
-“A benevolent youth, upon my word!” laughed Mr. Chowders in derision;
-“I’ll not listen.”
-
-“Then for my third and last reason,—how could I resist such a capital
-opportunity for showing off? A gentleman of your aspiring disposition
-should not be too severe upon the ambition of others. I had no fame of
-my own to procure me a welcome, and as there was no claimant for
-yours,—”
-
-“Young man, you had better confess the truth at once! you could not
-resist the temptation of pocketing the dollars which you know would be
-collected on my credit. I shall have redress, sir—there are such things
-as indictments for swindling.”
-
-“My good sir! you certainly would not menace me with anything so
-terrific! remember how much labor I have taken off your hand,—the
-exertion of your brain and lungs, besides securing for you every cent of
-the admittance fees. Landlord, oblige me by bringing here the
-handkerchief which I requested you last night to deposit in your desk.”
-
-The host of the Eagle complied with alacrity, and the young stranger
-unrolling his handkerchief, displayed a collection of notes and silver,
-particularly inviting in these hard times. The sight of it mollified the
-assailant at once. “Here, sir,” said the other, “you have the emoluments
-of the lecture just as they were placed in my hands by the gentleman
-beside you, Mr. Smith. My worthy host will be my voucher that I have not
-seen it since; and I think I may be equally confident that it has lost
-nothing by being in his possession. I beg pardon if I have incommoded
-you by presuming to supply your place; but I hope your friend, Mr.
-Smith, will do me the justice of attributing it in part to his mistake
-and solicitations.”
-
-“Willingly,” said Mr. Smith; “and in explanation of my share of the
-business, it originated from a remark made by that gentleman,” nodding
-towards Mr. Sutton.
-
-Mr. Chowder, with some accession of graciousness, remarked that an
-accident to his carriage had caused the delay on his part, and he
-condescended to add, that it was well enough some one had been found to
-entertain the company in his stead.
-
-“You are lenient, sir,” said the offender, “and, in return, I give you
-my word that I shall never again attempt to win a laurel leaf in your
-name. The audience shall be undeceived, and all the opprobrium of my
-presuming to represent your oratorical abilities shall rest on myself.
-At present, I have no other security to offer than my name, which,
-however, I hope will prevent similar mistakes for the future,” and he
-glanced at Sutton; “it is Norman Oakley, and my occupation is that of an
-artist,—a painter,” and the visiters retired.
-
-“Rather a ferocious gentleman, that Mr. Azariah Chowders,” said Wallis
-who, with Miss Thompson had witnessed the scene, much to their
-amusement.
-
-“Quite,” returned the painter, resuming his natural manner; “though I
-had prepared myself for a much stronger demonstration of it;—perhaps,
-because I felt that I deserved it. He could not have been more surprised
-at finding himself counterfeited than I was on presenting myself in your
-lecture-room. I had expected to meet with some little literary society,
-or association for mutual improvement, such as are common in your
-villages, and assented to the importunity of the committee-man without
-explaining the mistake, in expectation that I might have some diversion
-of my own from it. When I found an assemblage of the whole community, I
-felt inclined, through respect for them, to make an explanation and
-withdraw; but, on second thought, concluded that as I had gone so far, I
-might as well remain and do my best to afford them a little
-entertainment.”
-
-“Why, that brown-holland chap seemed to think he would elevate himself a
-peg by letting us know that he is a painter;—I should like to know how
-much more elegant it is to stroll about painting than peddling or
-lecturing,” said Mr. Sutton to Wallis, when they had left the table;
-“but that Miss Thompson is an astonishingly handsome girl; what a
-complexion she has!—what eyes and what teeth!—what a sensation she
-would make in society—that is, if she had a fortune and somebody to
-show her off!”
-
-“You had better offer her yours, and engage in the service yourself,”
-said Wallis.
-
-“Money for money,—‘like loves like;’ it is a generally received opinion
-among _us_ that a good-looking fellow, fashionable and well connected,
-is an equivalent for a woman with fifty thousand dollars any day. If he
-has a fortune, she should be worth dollar for dollar besides. I don’t
-know what this Miss Thompson is, so I believe I’ll wait till Valeria
-North comes along.”
-
-“Valeria North! why, my dear fellow, she would annihilate you!” returned
-Wallis, and he thought to himself, “this is the most ridiculous
-jackanapes I have ever met with; if I must be bored with his
-acquaintance, I’ll have a little fun with him;” and he added in a
-significant tone, “I thought there was some sort of magnetism by which
-you people of fashion found each other out. Is it possible you have not
-seen into Miss Thompson yet? Between ourselves she is as great an
-heiress as Miss North.”
-
-“You don’t say so!—well, she looks as if she deserved to be. Come,
-Wallis, introduce me, and Miss North may go to the dickens.”
-
-“I am sorry I can’t oblige you; but as I have merely talked to Miss
-Thompson, myself, as a fellow-boarder, I am not privileged to introduce
-a stranger.”
-
-“No matter, we men of the world can manage such things. They are in that
-room, aren’t they? and by good luck Cupidon has sneaked in. I’ll go
-after him.”
-
-“I beg pardon, ladies, if I intrude,” said he bowing; “but my dog—”
-
-“Not at all, sir, this is the common parlor of the house,” returned Mrs.
-Thompson, quietly, and scarcely looking up from her work.
-
-Thus happily possessed of the freedom of the room, Mr. Sutton turned
-over some books on a table, and at length remarked, when he had caught
-the eye of Miss Thompson, “These country villages are monstrously
-tiresome to persons accustomed to a city life.”
-
-“Are they?” said she, and looked again on her book.
-
-“They say that Saratoga is unusually thronged this year,” he resumed
-after a pause; “I had the pleasure of meeting with a young lady of your
-name there last summer;—indeed, I had quite a flirtation with her;
-perhaps she was a relation of yours—the daughter of old General
-Thompson of Virginia.”
-
-“Not in the least,” said the young lady.
-
-“Judge Thompson, of one of the New England states, was there, at the
-same time, with his daughters. Very elegant girls all of them,—quite
-belles. They are of a different family,—perhaps of yours?”
-
-“No sir, they are not,” returned Miss Thompson, impatiently giving her
-reticule a swing, which raised Cupidon off his feet, that important
-character having laid siege to the tassels.
-
-“_Laissez aller_, Cupidon! a thorough-bred Parisian animal, Miss,—he
-does not understand a word of English. He was a keepsake from a
-particular friend of mine, Baron Mont Tonnére. You may have met with the
-baron; he was quite a lion among our _élite_? By the by, a Miss Thompson
-came very near being the baroness,—she was one of the Thomas Thompsons
-of New York.”
-
-No reply.
-
-“One of the best families in the country,—the same as the B. B.
-Thompsons of Philadelphia, the Brown Thompsons of Charleston, and the
-Thoroughgood Thompsons of Boston.”
-
-“You seem quite _au fait_ to the Thompsons;” said the elder lady; and
-turning to her daughter, they resumed a conversation, which he had
-interrupted, about the lecture and the lecturer, Miss Thompson
-expressing a wish to see some of his productions, and her confidence
-that a person of his evidently cultivated taste must possess merit as a
-painter. Mr. Sutton, as is common with vain people, drawing his
-conclusions from his own practice, presumed, of course, that all their
-fine talking was specially aimed at his favor, and when the younger
-lady, in return for his occasional interpositions, gave him a disdainful
-glance of her full black eyes, he admired her art in displaying their
-brilliancy.
-
-The garden of the inn commanded one of the loveliest views among the
-finest river scenery in our country, an exquisite combination of glassy
-water, little green islets, hills of every variety of form, and
-mountains, rising one behind another till their outlines grew almost
-imperceptible in the distance. This, in the light of a magnificent
-sunset caught the eye of the young painter from a little summer-house in
-which he had been reading, and he hastened to his room for his
-portfolio. On his return he commenced sketching with such intentness
-that he did not perceive that Miss Thompson had taken possession of his
-former post, until she addressed him with the remark, “You have a most
-admirable subject for your pencil before you, sir.”
-
-“Beautiful, beautiful!” returned he, warmly; “I never have beheld
-anything in this order of scenery to surpass it, though, indeed, this
-glorious river presents, in its whole course, a panorama of views so
-varied and each so perfect, that it is difficult to decide upon any one
-as claiming the strongest admiration. I have been tracing it for several
-months, my store of sketches accumulating every day, and the larger
-number of them such as would require the hand of a master to do them
-justice. I sometimes almost despair, and feel inclined to abandon my art
-from the difficulties I find in attempting not to disgrace my
-subjects,—such as these for instance,—they may be familiar to you.”
-
-He laid before her several sketches, and, observing, with evident
-pleasure, her expression of admiration he continued,—“This and this I
-have finished in oil, if it will afford you any amusement, I shall bring
-them down.”
-
-She assented with thanks and the pictures were produced. She scanned
-them over and over again, as if not new to connoisseurship, and when she
-turned her eyes to the painter from his work, they sparkled with delight
-that brought a flush to his face. “There is a view which you cannot yet
-have found;” said she, “one but a few minutes walk from here. I would
-rather see it on canvass, if executed in the spirit of these, than any
-Claude I have ever heard of!—when you have seen it I am confident you
-will undertake it. Will you let me point it out to you?”
-
-The painter cast upon her one of those quick, searching looks that
-belong to the profession, and was so struck with the intellectual beauty
-of her glowing and earnest face, that he forgot to reply.
-
-“In this gorgeous sunset it must be magnificent beyond imagination,” she
-continued, catching up a bonnet beside her; “if we hurry we shall yet
-have time to see it. Will you go now?” He merely bowed, without any
-common-places about “the pleasure” or the “happiness,” and laying down
-his portfolio, he closed the door of the edifice to secure his property,
-and set off beside her.
-
-“Well, what did you think of Miss Thompson?” asked Wallis of Mr. Sutton
-the next morning.
-
-“She has splendid black eyes, and how well she knows it too! but she is
-quite too shy,—I couldn’t draw her out.”
-
-“She was talking fast enough to Mr. Oakley, last evening,—I saw them
-walking together.”
-
-“Did you!” exclaimed Sutton, in surprise.
-
-“Yes, and if you don’t take care, he’ll spoil your flirtation before you
-get it rightly underweigh. He is as handsome a fellow as ever I saw, and
-as gentlemanlike.”
-
-Sutton glanced down at himself. “Oh, I don’t mind such things;” said he
-magnanimously; “indeed, I should rather give her credit for encouraging
-the young man. It is fashionable now to patronise such people. I intend
-to give him something to do myself, particularly as it will gratify the
-young lady. She expressed a wish yesterday to see some of his work, and
-I promised her to employ him on myself. Do you paint portraits, Mr.
-O-Oakton?—that I believe is the province of country artists;” he added
-to the painter who had presented himself.
-
-“Sometimes I do,—when I find a face worth painting.”
-
-“Of course, of course;—I have just been saying that I intend to get you
-to take mine. It may be of some service in getting you into business
-here. I hope you will not bore me by making me sit often. When can you
-begin?”
-
-“Any time,—now if you choose,—it won’t require long to take _you_ off.
-I have my portfolio at hand, and can do it at once. Take this seat.”
-
-“My father,” pursued the dandy; “is noted as a patron of the fine arts.
-He, however, seldom employs young artists, as they don’t yield him the
-worth of his money. He says that after a painter gets up to a hundred
-dollars a head for portraits, or for a square yard of other things, he
-thinks he may trust him, as his productions may then be supposed to be
-good. He had the ceilings of his drawing-rooms frescoed by Monachisi,
-which was very expensive, and, besides, he has employed several other of
-the popular artists;” giving an enumeration which, in accuracy, scarcely
-fell short of that by the erudite hero of Fielding—“Ammyconni, Paul
-Varnish, Cannibal Scratchi, and Hogarthi.”
-
-“Please to shut your mouth, sir;” said the Painter.
-
-“Now, don’t make a fright of me;” resumed Mr. Sutton; “try your best,
-and I may, very probably, give you another job. How would you like to
-paint Miss Thompson for me?—when she gets over her shyness I’ll propose
-it to her, if you succeed in this. She is a confounded pretty girl,
-don’t you think so?—quite as handsome as some of the portraits in the
-Book of Beauty,”—
-
-“Keep your mouth shut, if you please.”
-
-The picture proposed by Miss Thompson was commenced, and whether it was
-from the excellence of the subject, or the eloquence of her suggestions,
-the painter exerted upon it his best ability. Their mutual interest in
-it was a bond of acquaintance which strengthened as the work proceeded,
-and every day developed some new qualities in each, which could not have
-failed to endow their intercourse with attraction. He was a noble young
-man, altogether,—full of talent, generous feelings and high-toned
-principles; and of a buoyant, mirthful spirit and powers of adapting
-himself to circumstances so rarely found with lofty intellect and so
-delightful when they accompany it. His fair companion was not less
-richly endowed by nature and education, but it was only by those who
-could appreciate the stronger points of her character that she would
-have been equally admired. These perpetually exhibiting themselves in an
-ardent enjoyment of every thing beautiful in thought, sentiment or the
-external world, and in an intrepid scorn of any thing like vanity,
-selfishness or insincerity, gave her manners a cast that among the
-conventional world would have denounced her as “odd,” yet there was a
-grace in her energy, that, to those who understood her, made it an
-additional charm. In short, they might have had a multiplicity of
-excuses, if they had chosen to fall in love with each other, but of this
-there were no indications. They walked together with perfect freedom,
-entirely careless or unconscious of remark; and they talked together,
-appearing pleased if they agreed in opinions, or if they differed,
-opposing each other with equal firmness and politeness. Their deportment
-was without coquetry on her part and without gallantry on his. All they
-knew of each other was that he was a painter and a very gifted one, and
-that she was a very fascinating Miss Thompson.
-
-Meanwhile, Mr. Sutton’s flirtation with, or rather at our heroine, for
-he had it all to himself, was in active progress. He made himself
-intolerable by the airs and graces he assumed, to recommend himself to
-her favor. He never tied his cravat, nor wrapped a _papillote_ without a
-design upon her heart. He followed her about the garden, paying the most
-vapid compliments, or, intruding into the parlor, while she and her
-mother were reading, amused them with “easie sighs which men do breathe
-in love.” She attempted at first to repel him with witty sarcasms, but
-that, as Wallis remarked, “was like Queen Christina shooting at a
-fly—his apprehension was so small it could scarcely be hit.” She darted
-contempt at him from her bright black eyes, and curled her lip in the
-most unequivocal fashion, but that only made her look prettier, and he
-could see no deeper. She essayed a plain rebuff, but he thought it a
-capital joke. It never entered his head that Mr. Bromwell Sutton could
-be any thing but irresistible to a Miss Thompson. To get rid of him, she
-at last found entirely out of the question, and wearied of her efforts,
-she concluded to let him take his own course. This passiveness seemed to
-him so encouraging, that one day he was on the point of making a
-declaration and was only prevented by the dinner-bell.
-
-Towards the artist he continued his patronizing condescension, with a
-not unfrequent interlude of actual incivility, which, to the surprise
-even of Miss Thompson, that gentleman passed over with unresisting
-composure. On the present occasion the latter variation predominated,
-and after they had left the table, Miss Thompson remarked “I wonder Mr.
-Oakley, at your patience in submitting to the impertinences of that
-popinjay!”
-
-“You would not have me challenge him?” said the painter.
-
-“That would be rather too heroic,—your position is as defenceless as my
-own. These “gentlemen’s sons!”—if I were a man, there is no reproach I
-should dread, more than being called one of them!”
-
-“Rather a sweeping condemnation,” said the artist, smiling; “but I think
-I have prepared a revenge that will reach the specimen before us;” and
-having perceived the subject of their remarks approaching from the
-summer-house, he called to him, “Will you step here, for a moment, Mr.
-Sutton?”
-
-“I can’t—I haven’t time;” said Sutton, hurrying on, and they both
-noticed in him marks of much perturbation.
-
-“Your portrait is finished, and I wish you to see it;” persisted Oakley.
-
-His portrait was too closely connected with himself, not to have
-influenced him under any circumstances, and, accordingly, he stopped
-while the painter left the room for it, calling, as he did so, “Mr.
-Wallis—landlord—gentlemen,—I wish to have your opinion of Mr.
-Sutton’s portrait; oblige me by coming into the parlor.”
-
-They complied and the picture, which was of a miniature size, was placed
-in the proper light. Miss Thompson gave it a single glance, and burst
-into an apparently irrepressible laugh. Mrs. Thompson, regarding her
-with much surprise, drew up her eyes, and stooped forward to examine it,
-and then, though she gave her daughter and the artist a deprecating
-look, she also turned away to conceal a smile. Wallis turned first to
-the picture, then to Sutton, and then to Cupidon, and made no effort to
-restrain his mirth, in which he was joined by the party of spectators
-who had accompanied him. Every one perceived that it was a correct
-likeness of Sutton in features, while the expression was strikingly that
-of the little poodle. The dandy himself could not fail to recognize it,
-and looked around him, pale with wrath and mortification, bestowing the
-fiercest of his looks on Miss Thompson.
-
-“You don’t tell me what you think of my performance, Mr. Sutton,” said
-Oakley, with much gravity.
-
-“I’ll not bear your insults, sir!” exclaimed Sutton at length; “I’ll not
-tolerate your libellous insolence!—what do you mean, sir?—what do you
-mean?”
-
-“Insults! I’ll leave it to this company if I have not succeeded
-admirably! it reflects you as a mirror!”
-
-“I’ll not put up with it! I’ll not pay you a cent; I’ll leave it on your
-hands, and we’ll see who’ll have the best of the joke!”
-
-“Do sir!” said the artist; “it will be then my property, and I can do
-what I please with it! I’ll put it up in some exhibition labelled with
-your name!”
-
-“Your station protects you sir!” he resumed; “if you were not beneath my
-vengeance, you should answer for this, but a gentleman can, with honor,
-only demand satisfaction of his equals,—therefore you are safe!
-Landlord,” he added with an assumption of dignified composure; “make out
-my bill; I’ll go instantly to the other house;—you must be taught that
-a gentleman cannot patronize an establishment where he is liable to be
-insulted by any scrub that frequents it!” and again looking daggers at
-Miss Thompson, who had not ceased laughing, he left the room.
-
-In truth, had it not been for the almost insupportable ridicule that
-accompanied it, Mr. Sutton would have rejoiced in the excuse to leave
-the house, from a discovery that he had just made. After dinner, while
-in quest of Miss Thompson, who was at that time in conversation with
-Oakley, he had strolled into the summer-house, and found a letter on the
-floor. It was without direction, and though closed, not sealed, and more
-through blindness than curiosity he opened it. To his dismay it
-commenced thus:
-
- “_My dear, dear Miss North_—How can I give you any idea of the
- gratitude I feel for the last and greatest of your many
- kindnesses; you have made me so happy that I have not words to
- express myself, and not only me, but my dear mother, who says
- that you have done her more good than could have been effected
- by a whole college of physicians, for her health, at the
- prospect of a pleasant home, and freedom from incessant mental
- labour, begins already to come back again. We have given up our
- school, and are preparing to act upon the arrangements you have
- made for us. I have received a delightfully kind letter from
- your uncle,—he begs me to consider him as _mine_; in which he
- says he will come for us very soon, and requests me to enclose
- any communication for you to him. He speaks flatteringly of the
- satisfaction our company will give him while you are on your
- travels beyond the Atlantic. He little knows how impossible it
- will be to supply _your_ place!” etc. etc.
-
-Sutton read no more. It was signed L. Thompson, and that was sufficient.
-He unconsciously thrust the letter into his pocket, and hurried to the
-house. How was he to back out?—it now struck him that less importance
-could be attached to his actions by others than himself, and he grew
-nervous at the thought of how he had committed himself:—that he had
-paid the most unequivocal attentions to—a schoolmistress! The artist’s
-triumph indeed relieved him on that score, but a new sting was planted,
-and a more miserable dandy was, perhaps, not that day in existence, than
-Bromwell Sutton when he applied for lodgings at the G—— Hotel.
-
-“Our work is finished at last!” said the painter, a few days after this
-happy riddance, bringing down the piece, which had afforded them so much
-enjoyment, for the inspection of Miss Thompson. She was gathering up
-some books from the parlor tables with a thoughtful and pensive
-countenance.
-
-“Then I must take a ‘last lingering look’ at it,” returned she; “I may
-never see it nor its original again.”
-
-Oakley looked at her anxious and inquiringly, and she continued, “We
-leave here to-day; an unexpected letter reached us this morning, urging
-us to be ready at any hour.”
-
-“And what am I to do without you?” asked the artist, in a very natural
-and love-like way, and he followed the question with a short oration,
-unnecessary to repeat. But before he had finished it, a carriage stopped
-at the door, and in half a minute an elderly gentleman presented himself
-in the entry.
-
-“My uncle!” exclaimed Miss Thompson, running forward to conceal her
-confusion, and the old gentleman, after kissing her heartily, said
-quickly, “Are you ready, my dear? Where’s your mamma? I hope you have
-your trunks packed, as I have hardly a minute to allow you. I have
-urgent business awaiting me at home, and have only been able to fulfil
-my engagement to come for you, by travelling with all the speed
-possible. Quick—tell your mother, and put on your things.”
-
-To the disappointment of her suitor, she ran up stairs, while the old
-gentleman busied himself in seeing the trunks secured behind the
-carriage. But immediately, with her mother, she came down, fully
-equipped, and while the old lady was shaking hands with the uncle, she
-had an opportunity to give him a single look, which one was sufficient:
-“Good bye, Mr. Wallis,” said she holding out her hand in passing him,
-“we have been such good friends, that I feel very sorry to part with
-you.”
-
-“Where shall I find you?” asked Oakley, in a low voice. She slipped a
-card into his hand as he assisted her into the carriage, and was driven
-away. He looked at the card. “Valeria North, B——,” he exclaimed; “Is
-it possible!”
-
-“Yes—didn’t you know that before?” said Wallis, “and that old gentleman
-is the celebrated jurist Judge North. When Sutton finds it out, he’ll be
-more fretted than he was at the portrait. She is a charming girl, isn’t
-she? I recognized her the minute she arrived, having had a glimpse of
-her before she left the Springs last summer, but as she seemed to wish
-to be quiet, and to escape attention, it was not my business to blab.
-I’ll go up to Smith’s and have some fun with Sutton.” He walked up
-street, and the artist commenced preparations for an immediate
-departure.
-
-“Why Sutton,” said Wallis, when he reached the room of that personage;
-“what possessed you to fly off, the other day, with such terrible frowns
-at the pretty girl you had been courting so long? It was outrageous, and
-what is the worst, you can’t have a chance to make it up,—she left town
-to-day, for good.”
-
-“Did she?—a pleasant journey to her!” said Sutton, brightening up
-astonishingly.
-
-“What!—she jilted you, did she?”
-
-“She! I found her out in good time for that!—though if it had not been
-for a lucky accident, I might have got myself into a confounded scrape;
-it would have been a fine mess, if I had been deceived into proposing to
-a schoolmistress!”
-
-“Schoolmistress!—what do you mean?”
-
-“Why, look here—you were a pretty sap to suppose her an heiress, and to
-make me believe it:—read this—I found it by chance, and, somehow, it
-got into my pocket.”
-
-He handed the letter to Wallis, who, after looking over it, remarked, “I
-see nothing to the contrary in that. I suppose it came enclosed in an
-envelope from her uncle. Can it be possible that you presumed she had
-written instead of received it! ha! ha!”
-
-The mystified dandy gave him a stare.
-
-“And you never suspected that it was Miss North whose acquaintance you
-cut so cavalierly! It was, positively;—she gave her card to Mr. Oakley
-before she went away.”
-
-“I don’t believe it!—why would she call herself Thompson?”
-
-“She didn’t call herself Thompson—that was inferred to be her name, as
-it was her mother’s. I recollect very well of hearing at Saratoga that
-the old lady had had two husbands. The last was a Mr. Thompson. What an
-opportunity you have lost of making one of the greatest matches in the
-country!”
-
-“It was all the fault of that rascally painter,” said Sutton, in much
-vexation; “I had commenced declaring myself the very day he excited me
-by his abominable caricature, and if it had not been for that I would
-have had an explanation.”
-
-“I would make him repent it, if I were you—I’d challenge him.”
-
-“But, you know that’s out of the question—a gentleman degrades himself
-by challenging an inferior,” and he walked up and down the room in great
-agitation.
-
-“And then about that letter—does she know you found it?”
-
-“No, no—I’m perfectly safe there—you won’t tell, will you? After all,
-it is not yet too late to make it up. I can go after her to B——; she
-will, no doubt, take it as a compliment to be followed, and, you know,
-it will be in my favor that I was so devoted before I knew who she was,
-won’t it? You might be of great service to me, my dear fellow,” he
-added, thinking to prevent Wallis from informing on him by making him
-his ally; “you have been in my confidence and knew how much I was
-smitten with her. She is, perhaps, offended by my desertion, and if you
-would go along, as she has a particular regard for you, you might help
-to effect a reconciliation. If you’ll go, I’ll pay your expenses.”
-
-Wallis, who had no objection to take a trip and see the end of the
-comedy, on such easy terms, replied, “Anything to oblige you, if you can
-wait two or three weeks. I have particular business on hands now, but
-when I am through with it, I’ll go with pleasure.”
-
-Sutton was obliged to submit to the delay, and in due time they arrived
-at B——. After arranging their dress, they sallied out to make inquiry
-about Miss North, when an acquaintance of Sutton encountered them, and
-stopped them for a talk. While they stood in the street, an elegantly
-dressed young man passed them, and looking back, in a familiar voice
-saluted Wallis. It was Oakley. “How do you do, Mr. Sutton—happy to see
-you,” said he, turning towards them, and saluting Sutton with a very low
-bow. The dandy returned a nod, and the painter having ascertained their
-lodgings, proceeded on his way.
-
-“What a remarkably fine looking fellow that is,” said Sutton’s
-acquaintance; “I should have been pleased if you had introduced me.”
-
-“Oh he is not such an acquaintance as one introduces—I have merely
-patronized him a little as a strolling painter.”
-
-“Norman Oakley!—are you not under a mistake? He is the son of one of
-the wealthiest gentlemen in New England—a very highly gifted young
-man—a finished orator—a fine amateur painter—in every respect an
-admirable and enviable fellow. By the by, it is said there is a recent
-engagement between him and our belle _par excellence_, Miss North. She
-has been travelling through different parts of the country, preparatory
-to making a tour in Europe, and, this summer, they met accidentally
-somewhere and fell in love, quite ignorant of anything relating to each
-other but mutual personal attractions—so the story goes. They are to be
-married shortly, so that the lady may have the pleasure of a legal
-protector for her Atlantic trip.”
-
-Sutton could bear no more, and, excusing himself, he hurried back to the
-hotel at such a rate that Wallis, finding it difficult to keep up with
-him, strolled off in another direction. When they met again the
-disappointed lover was prepared for a retreat homeward.
-
-“Come, Sutton, that would be outrageous!” said Wallis; “you ought to
-have a settlement with Oakley, now that you find he is fully on a level
-with yourself!”
-
-“I wouldn’t dirty my fingers with him—I wouldn’t let the mynx know that
-I thought her worth fighting about; for they would be sure to attribute
-it to that, instead of to the picture. I am off, forthwith. Do you go
-back to G——?”
-
-“Yes, in a few days—but, the fact is, I met Oakley again, after you had
-left me, and got an invitation to the wedding. He said he would take me
-to see Miss North this evening if I wished it, but I declined, on the
-plea that I would be only in the way. But he said there was a charming
-little girl there, Miss Thompson—a relative of Valeria’s step-father,
-who would appropriate my company, if I pleased. From his remarking that
-she is to remain with the judge after the departure of his niece, I
-presumed her to be the writer of the letter in your possession.
-_Apropos_ of that letter—he questioned me as to whether you had found
-it, and hinted that Miss North intended it for your hands, knowing the
-effect it would have on you, from your aversion to poverty, low caste,
-&c., that she even tore off the date to mislead you the more
-easily—hand it here till we see if that is true.”
-
-Sutton deigned no reply, and before Wallis was ready for his evening
-visit, he had travelled the first fifty miles of his journey homeward.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- OLDEN DEITIES.
-
-
- Open thy gate, oh, Past!—
-
- A mighty train
- Comes sweeping onward from its spectral clime,
- August and king-like! Lo! from out the Main
- One rears aloft a port and brows sublime,
- Yet faded much with tearful wo and time;
- And one with lightnings quivering in his hand,
- And eye that speaks the thunder of command,
- Walks steadfastly, and, seeming as in ire,
- He lists attentively a harper, who,
- Bending above the bright chords of a lyre,
- Tells how neglect from certain era grew
- In mortal breasts t’wards the Olympian Sire.
- I hail ye Gods! Your reign, though haply brief,
- Showed that poor man at least had _some_ belief.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- RUSSIAN REVENGE.
-
-
- TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.
-
-
- BY ESTHER WETHERALD.
-
-
-A tragical occurrence, which, from its singular and romantic
-circumstances, would lead one to believe that the men of northern Russia
-are as susceptible of the tender passion, and as revengeful when
-disappointed, as those of more southern climes, recently caused a great
-sensation at Novogorod.
-
-Instead of giving a cold recital of facts, we will place before the
-reader the depositions of those concerned; thus making him acquainted
-with the details of the crime, and also with the judicial forms of that
-country in criminal cases. There, all is decided from the depositions
-without pleading. These we are about to lay before you are remarkable
-for their simplicity and precision, having been taken by a man of
-uncommon ability, Mr. Polechko, Captain Isprawnik of the District,
-Oustiaje. He is an old officer of dragoons, but having lost a limb in
-the battle of Smolensk, he entered into the civil service, and has since
-acquired a handsome fortune.
-
- Report addressed to M. Polechko, Captain Isprawnik, of
- the District of Oustiaje, by Mikita Muranow, Mayor of
- the village of Trehmiria.
-
- “On the 20th of April, 1839, Nadiejda Yakovlevna, daughter of
- Yakov Osipovitch, fisherman of Trehmiria, came to my house in
- tears: she was in such great distress that I could only learn
- from her, that an assassination had been committed at the
- village. I went with her to her father’s, and there I found
- extended upon a bed, a man, pale and livid, nearly cold, but
- still breathing. Yakov and his wife were endeavoring to staunch
- the blood which flowed from his wounds. On the floor beside the
- bed were his garments soaked with water. The young girl could
- not attend to my questions, so great was her emotions; but Yakov
- told me that his daughter had gone out before daylight to
- withdraw the sweep-nets which at this season are placed along
- the isles and shores of the Volga. The fisherman himself was
- engaged in spreading nets by the light of a lantern, when he
- heard cries, and recognized the voice of his daughter. He ran
- along the shore, and thought he saw in the dim twilight, a large
- boat passing down the river with all the rapidity of the
- current. A moment afterwards his daughter’s boat approached the
- shore, and in it was a man, whom she had taken from the water in
- a state of insensibility. After having carried him to his cabin,
- he recognized in him, Ivan Semenov, cornet in the regiment of
- the lancers of Archanguelk, who, two years before, had been
- quartered in this village.—This is what I have learned from the
- fisherman.
-
- “Ivan Semenov’s wounds are so numerous and deep, that I can
- scarcely dare to hope he will be alive when you reach this
- place.—Please to bring a physician with you.”
-
- Report of Nicolas Peterowitch Polechko, Captain
- Isprawnik of the District of Oustiaje, to the chancery
- of the Governor of Novogorod.
-
- “I arrived on the night of the 20th of April, at the village of
- Trehmiria, with the physician of the district, M. Frants
- Frantsovitch, Mayor; we found in the cabin of the fisherman,
- Yakov Osipovitch, M. Ivan Prokovitch Semenov, lately a cornet in
- the regiment of Archanguelk. He had received fifteen wounds, but
- the physician assured me they were not mortal, and that he would
- certainly recover. The wounded man told me that his assassins
- were Paul Ivanovitch Hortinja, quarter-master, and Pierre
- Alexiecivitch Tsaryna, soldier in the regiment of the lancers of
- Archanguelk. At the time he was wounded, the Cornet Semenov was
- on his way to Rybinsk, in a boat which belonged to his father,
- and which was loaded with linen.
-
- “I left the physician with the wounded man, and without losing a
- moment, hastened to Rybinsk. There, aided by the police, I
- sought out the assassins, one of whom, the quarter-master,
- Hortinja, was known to me. At the wharf I learned that a boat,
- laden with linen, and having two men on board, arrived that
- morning, the 21st of April; and that the cargo was shortly
- afterwards sold to an Armenian merchant of Astracan. I then
- proceeded to the residence of the buyer, Jerome Smilabej, who
- confessed that he had bought the linen, which was worth 20,000
- roubles, for 10,000—that he had this day paid 4,000 and was to
- pay the other 6,000 on the 1st of May at Astracan. I did not
- place much confidence in what he told me, for I knew this race
- of merchants were liars, and that they encouraged and protected
- crime when they expected to profit by it. Besides, I observed
- considerable embarrassment on his countenance. I then asked him
- where the linen was? He said he had despatched it to Astracan.
-
- “‘Impossible!’ observed I. ‘You bought it this morning, and the
- steamboat does not go until to-morrow.’
-
- “He said he had sent it on in the same boat, having bought it
- with the cargo.
-
- “‘And what rowers did you employ?’ asked I.
-
- “He turned pale, and stammered, ‘I employed the same who brought
- it here.’
-
- “At this reply, I seized him by the collar, threatening to
- conduct him to the police office, when, suddenly, the door of
- the room in which we were, opened, and a man rushed upon me,
- poignard in hand. I recognized Hortinja, and drew my sword to
- parry his blows. I also placed myself between him and the door,
- crying a ‘murderer! an assassin!’ Fortunately for me, the
- Armenian, instead of trying to aid Hortinja, hid himself under
- the bed. The men of the house soon came to my assistance, but it
- was some time before we could disarm and bind the assassin. In
- the struggle he wounded three men besides myself. I bear three
- marks of his steel upon my breast.
-
- “After securing Hortinja, we drew the Armenian from under the
- bed, and he then confessed that the other accomplice was half a
- league from Rybinsk with the boat, waiting for his comrade. I
- immediately sent for some of the police, and Tsaryna was
- arrested without offering any resistance.”
-
-
- INQUIRY.
-
-“In consequence of an order from the Imperial Attorney, I, Nicolas
-Petrovitch Polechko, Captain Isprawnik of the District Oustiaje, went on
-the 26th of the month to the village of Trehmiria, where I proceeded to
-the inquiry in the following order:
-
-“The first person I examined was Ivan Prokovitch Semenov, who declared
-himself to be 28 years of age, son of Prokop Karlovitch Semenov, a
-merchant of Kostroma, who possessed a factory in that neighborhood,
-where he manufactured much linen, which formed the principal part of his
-commerce.
-
-“Semenov entered the military service in 1830, in the regiment of the
-Lancers of Archanguelk. He was appointed cornet of the said regiment in
-1836. He commanded the second division of the third squadron, in which
-Hortinja was quarter-master, and Tsaryna a common soldier. In 1836, the
-division of Cornet Semenov was cantoned in the village of Trehmiria. In
-1837, he handed in his resignation that he might return home to his
-father. On the 12th of November, 1838, Hortinja and Tsaryna came to
-Kostroma, to the house of Prokop Semenov. The former said he had left
-the army, the latter that he had obtained a six months’ leave of
-absence. The Cornet Semenov welcomed them as old comrades. He engaged
-Hortinja in the service of his father, and gave Tsaryna a handsome
-present to enable him to pass the six months amongst his relations.
-Hortinja behaved so well that he gained the confidence of old Semenov,
-who sent him twice in the spring to Rybinsk with linen. After having
-sold the cargo and the boat, he brought back the money with the greatest
-exactness. On the 15th of April, another cargo of linen was ready to go
-to Rybinsk, and this time young Semenov was to go with him to that city,
-and from there make a voyage to Astracan. On the evening before their
-departure Tsaryna arrived, and as he had been a sailor before he entered
-the army, he begged the Cornet Semenov to employ him instead of engaging
-another sailor, telling him that it was time he was on his way to rejoin
-his regiment, which he said was cantoned at Novogorod-la-Grande. Semenov
-consented, and set out next day in the boat with Hortinja, Tsaryna, a
-peasant sailor, and a servant. On the second day the sailor and servant
-were both taken so violently ill with the cholic, that they were obliged
-to leave the boat and remain behind at the village of Bahorka.
-
-“On the 19th, Semenov remarked that Hortinja and Tsaryna had secret
-conferences, and seemed to be concerting something. At night, after
-having in vain tried to sleep, he left the cabin and took a seat on the
-prow of the vessel. He had scarcely done so when he saw a light at some
-distance, and said to his companions, “My friends, we are near
-Trehmiria, and I bet that is old Yakov spreading his nets.” The two men
-did not reply, and Semenov continued “By God, if the old fisherman’s
-nets attracted fishes as well as the eyes of Nadiejda did the lancers of
-Archanguelk, he would be rich in a short time.” Hardly had he spoken
-these words when he was struck in the back with a knife. He tried to
-turn round, but was knocked down by his assassins. He still struggled,
-but was wounded repeatedly. He called for assistance, and thought he
-heard a voice which replied. He was then thrown into the river. This was
-all he remembered, he could not tell how he got into the bark of
-Nadiejda. After the wounded man had given the above deposition, I put to
-him the following questions:
-
-Q. “Have you inflicted military punishment on Hortinja and Tsaryna?”
-
-R. “You know captain, it is impossible to get along in the army without
-making use of the baton; during the year of my command, Hortinja was
-beaten nine or ten times, and Tsaryna from forty to fifty, but I never
-ordered more than a hundred blows of the baton at once; so that the
-officers of the regiment laughed at my moderation, and called me
-scholar, and French officer.”
-
-Q. “Have you not excited the jealousy of some comrade?”
-
-R. “Not that I am aware of.”
-
-Q. “Were you not acquainted with this Nadiejda who saved your life?”
-
-R. “I knew her to be the most beautiful girl of Trehmiria, and of
-irreproachable virtue; my lancers told me this, Hortinja one of the
-first. I could not hope to have her for a mistress—and for a wife.—”
-
-Q. “That is sufficient. Knew you not that Hortinja paid his court to
-her?”
-
-R. “I did not; all the lancers found her beautiful and attractive.”
-
-Q. “Do you suffer much from your wounds?”
-
-R. “No, captain, I feel much better, and hope I shall soon be well; the
-guilty man’s hand struck feebly, therefore I hope he will not be
-punished severely.”
-
-Thus closed the examination of Semenov. I then proceeded to that of the
-quarter-master Hortinja.
-
-Paul Ivanovitch Hortinja was born in 1787 in the city of
-Smolensk—entered the army in 1806 in which he remained thirty-two years
-and a half—was quarter-master 15 years and four months. He has made
-eighteen campaigns, been engaged in forty-nine battles, and a hundred
-and thirty-seven combats—has received the cross of Saint George, and
-five medals. He left the service in the month of October 1838. His
-discharge and certificates give him a very high character.
-
-Q. “What cause had you for disliking Cornet Semenov?”
-
-R. “Not any. I always found him good and kind as a father. I have said
-so to my soldiers. We had no better officer.”
-
-Q. “And what then caused you to commit so abominable a crime?”
-
-R. “O father! (a common expression of the Russian soldier) my crime is
-abominable, but harken, I will tell you every thing. I, an old
-man—having attained my fiftieth year, I loved for the first time—a
-child—this Nadiejda; I loved her as our fathers loved the glorious
-empress Catharine (here he made the sign of the cross.) I was
-quarter-master, and had saved something—she was a poor peasant slave, I
-wished to marry her, and offered to buy her of her master Count
-Strogonof—I was to pay him 500 roubles. Her father consented to it, but
-she refused me disdainfully, without my being able to comprehend why. In
-the mean time Tsaryna came to see me, and said, thou art sorrowful
-comrade, but thou should’st not be so. Nadiejda is the mistress of the
-cornet; she is almost always at the house where he lodges; this is well
-known—thou only appearest to doubt it. My heart died within me at these
-words—my head turned round, but I said nothing, for the Cornet Semenov
-was my officer. I began to watch Nadiejda closely, and I saw that she
-did often go to the house where he lodged. I thought not then of
-revenge. It was at this time that the cornet gave in his resignation,
-and returned to Kostroma. I then saw the tears of Nadiejda. I saw that
-grief undermined her health and tarnished the lustre of her cheek, but I
-loved her still. A year passed thus—I repeated my offer of marriage,
-she refused me again, and this time she told me she loved young Semenov,
-and swore she would never marry any one.
-
-“At this time Tsaryna became my friend and confidant; he represented the
-cornet as the seducer of this young girl, and I resolved to avenge her.
-I obtained my discharge—he, his leave of absence, and we went to
-Kostroma.
-
-“The kind reception the cornet gave us, joined to his confidence and
-frankness, disarmed me, and I determined to abandon my criminal project.
-Things were in this state, when young Semenov resolved to go to
-Astracan. Tsaryna requested that he might fill the place of the second
-sailor, and his request was complied with. The evening before our
-departure he spoke to me of our old project—I was angry—he praised the
-beauty of Nadiejda—spoke to me of her misfortune—of my shame; I said
-nothing, but God only knows what infernal tortures my poor heart
-sustained; (here he paused a moment in great emotion) we set out; on the
-second day of our navigation, the first sailor and the servant were
-taken sick, but as truly as I pray God to save my soul and pardon my
-crime, I am ignorant of the cause of their malady. I advised the cornet
-to employ another sailor, but he thought it unnecessary, for the
-navigation was easy and the current rapid.
-
-“Tsaryna was constantly speaking to me of Nadiejda; when we came in
-sight of the village of Trehmiria I was moved, troubled, and when the
-cornet spoke of her I was no longer master of myself, I drew my knife
-and struck him.”
-
-Q. “Did you strike him once, or several times?”
-
-R. “I do not know, I had lost my reason.”
-
-Q. “Did Tsaryna aid you to commit the crime?”
-
-R. “I cannot tell, I only remember that he cried out. Some one is
-coming! a bark, a bark!”
-
-Q. “And what did you do then?”
-
-R. “I was furious, desperate, distracted. When the day dawned, I saw the
-shores, the river, but I saw neither the cornet, nor the village of
-Trehmiria. I wished to throw myself into the water, but had not
-sufficient energy, and suffered myself to be persuaded to live, and seek
-my safety in flight.”
-
-Q. “When you arrived at Rybinsk, how did you manage to sell your cargo
-so quickly?”
-
-R. “I knew Jerome Smilabej, and to him I confided my crime. He consented
-to save us, provided we abandoned the cargo to him, and he promised to
-arrange every thing for us, and conduct us to a place of safety.”
-
-Q. “Why didst thou attack me?”
-
-R. “I had promised the Armenian in case of unforeseen danger to defend
-his life as my own. The moment of danger had come, and I fulfilled my
-promise.”
-
-Q. “Thou sayest that Tsaryna urged thee to commit crime, and aided thee
-to execute it—that the Armenian protected criminals, and appropriated
-to himself wealth which did not belong to him?”
-
-R. “I neither denounce nor accuse any one. I have spoken the truth. I
-seek not to deny my crime nor to cast the consequences upon others. I am
-a great criminal!”
-
-
- EXAMINATION OF PIERRE ALEXIECIVITCH TSARYNA, SON OF A CITIZEN OF
- KOSTROMA.
-
-He is thirty-two years of age; entered the military service in 1828 as a
-recruit in the lancers of Archanguelk. He denies any participation in
-the crime.
-
-Q. “Yet you were the first to tell the quarter-master Hortinja that a
-great intimacy existed between the Cornet Semenov and the girl
-Nadiejda.”
-
-R. “I was joking when I said Semenov and Nadiejda were too intimate. The
-quarter-master was wicked as the devil; he pounded our very bones with
-the baton. I revenged myself by contradicting his ridiculous passion for
-a girl young enough to be his grand-daughter.”
-
-Q. “Why did you rejoin Hortinja at Kostroma?”
-
-R. “I met him there by chance.”
-
-Q. “And why did you choose to return at the time that Semenov was going
-to Rybinsk?”
-
-R. “In order to save my money.”
-
-Q. “Why did you give to the servant of Semenov, and to the first sailor,
-a poison, which produced cholic and vomiting?”
-
-R. “They were very fond of brandy—they were like a cask without bottom;
-to play them a trick I put snuff into the liquor: is it my fault they
-have such delicate stomachs?”
-
-Q. “Why did you provoke Hortinja to assassinate the cornet?”
-
-R. “I did not. The quarter-master is subject to visions, he dreams so
-many other things, that he may have dreamed that also.”
-
-Q. “Why, then, did you not defend him?”
-
-R. “The cornet was in citizen’s dress, the quarter-master in uniform,
-and I am a soldier.”
-
-Q. “What do you mean by that?”
-
-R. “That the soldier must respect the uniform more than the citizen’s
-dress.”
-
-Q. “Why did you throw the cornet into the water?”
-
-R. “To save him from the fury of the quarter-master. I also saw a boat
-coming towards us.”
-
-Q. “Why did you apprize Hortinja of its coming?”
-
-R. “From joy that I could save the cornet.”
-
-Q. “And why did you not denounce the crime of Hortinja when you arrived
-at Rybinsk?”
-
-R. “Because I am a soldier, and he is a quarter-master.”
-
-All my questions, all my expedients, the bastinado included, drew no
-other confession from him. Confronted with Hortinja, he replied to his
-indignation by sneers; in the presence of soldiers who had heard his
-provocations he denied them: only at the sight of Nadiejda did he turn
-pale, grind his teeth, and reply nothing, absolutely nothing!
-
-
- DEPOSITION OF NADIEJDA YAKOVLEVNA.
-
-Nadiejda Yakovlevna is twenty-one years of age. She confessed frankly
-that she had loved, and still loved passionately the cornet Semenov, but
-assured me that no intimacy had existed between them, and that the
-cornet was even ignorant of the passion he had inspired. She said the
-soldier Tsaryna had paid his court to her, and not being able to obtain
-her love had sworn to her that he would revenge himself upon the one who
-had obtained it. At first his suspicions rested on Hortinja, and he said
-he would soon get rid of the old rascal. Some time after he came to her
-and said, “Harken, Nadiejda! be mine, or I swear by St. Nicholas thou
-shalt witness the death of Semenov.” She cared little for his threats,
-knowing him to be a coward. About this time the cornet left Trehmiria.
-Tsaryna renewed his declarations, but still without success. Before
-setting out for Kostroma, he said, “The old one will do what I have
-threatened; before I return I will be revenged, I swear it by St.
-Nicholas.” She had never heard Hortinja threaten the life of the cornet;
-he was sad and melancholy—he even wept, but he was a man incapable of
-committing a crime unless provoked to it.
-
-This is her account of the night in which she saved the cornet:
-
-“I had a presentiment which oppressed my heart; before I lay down I
-found a cat upon my bed. A bad sign! As soon as I fell asleep I had
-horrible dreams. I awoke and cried out, ‘Wo to me!’ My father then
-ordered me to go upon the Volga and draw away the nets; there I heard
-cries, and thought I recognised the voice of Semenov. It was more than a
-year since I had seen him, and I knew him in spite of the obscurity. I
-rowed towards his boat, and as I neared it, I heard the splash of a body
-thrown into the water. Fortunately, I was close by and succeeded in
-drawing him out of the river. It was Semenov.”
-
-The inquiry was completed by a few other declarations of less
-consequence.
-
-The Armenian merchant tried to excuse himself, and said that he
-endeavored to save the two men in order that they might have time for
-repentance. In other things he confirmed what Hortinja had said.
-
-The fisherman Yakov gave an account of the manner in which Tsaryna had
-threatened him, because he would not give him his daughter.
-
-The inquiry terminated on the thirteenth of May, and the depositions
-were on the same day laid before the criminal tribunal of Novogorod by
-the captain Isprawnik.
-
-On the twenty-ninth of May the tribunal pronounced the decree which
-condemns:
-
-Paul Ivanovitch Hortinja to perpetual banishment in Siberia, and ten
-years labor in the mines.
-
-Jerome Smilabej, Armenian merchant, to one year and six days
-imprisonment, a fine of one thousand rubles, and the costs.
-
-Pierre A. Tsaryna, being a soldier, was sent before the military
-tribunal.
-
-On the fourth of June, the military tribunal of the first corps of the
-army, assembled at Novogorod, condemned Pierre A. Tsaryna to pass three
-times through the rods of a squadron, and afterwards to be transported
-to Siberia, where he must labor in the mines for the rest of his life.
-
-These decrees have been submitted to the emperor, and confirmed by him
-with this change: Hortinja is perpetually banished, but will not be
-obliged to labor in the mines.
-
-On the third of June, the decree was executed on Pierre A. Tsaryna, who
-was so severely beaten that there is little hope of his recovery; he has
-been taken to the hospital of Novogorod.
-
-L’Abeille du Nord, a Russian journal of St. Petersburg, reached us at
-the same time with the letter of our correspondent. It gives an account
-of this affair, and also adds that the emperor has deigned to decorate
-the girl Nadiejda with a medal of gold on the ribbon of Saint Waldimir.
-
-The Cornet Semenov married Nadiejda Yakovlevna as soon as the trial was
-concluded.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- PERDITI.
-
-
- PART SECOND.
-
-
-BY WM. WALLACE, ESQ., AUTHOR OF “BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE,” “MARCHES FOR THE
- DEAD,” ETC., ETC.
-
-
- AMERICAN BATTLE SHIP.
-
- I.
-
- Out on the sounding sea,
- With a flag of stars and a row of steel,
- ’Mid the tempest scowl and the battle peal—
- The great ship of the free!
-
- Away from her moorings—away o’er the wave—
- How proudly she bears the glad hearts of the brave!
- In the sun-burst of morning, the darkness of night,
- Like a goddess she strives with the gales:
- Behold her alone in her glorious might,
- With her banners of beauty and streamers of light,
- Like a condor when out on his terrible flight,
- Where the breath of the tempest prevails.
- Hark, hark! ’tis her thunder! her flags are all out,
- And the lightning’s the wreath she will wear;
- Now it shines on her mast—now ’tis hurried about,
- ’Mid the ring of the sword and the rapturous shout,
- By the breath of the sulphury air.
-
- Why thus is she wrapt in the black-curling smoke?
- Why thus have her thunders tumultuously broke
- O’er the halls of the dark-rolling wave?
- Why thus have her star-crested flags been unfurl’d
- Like the wings of some god from the sky to the world?
- She battles abroad for the brave!
-
- Proud hope of our land! we have given thy form
- To the lord of the breeze and the god of the storm;
- We have hung from the top of the high soaring mast
- A broad sheet of stripes with the bird
- Who cradles his wing in the home of the blast,
- When the cloud-troops are angrily hurrying past,
- And the voice of the thunder is heard:
- We have wet thy scarred decks with the hallowèd blood
- Of those who have battled for us on the flood,
- And blessed thee with hearts, which the freemen alone
- Can possess, when we saw thee sit firm on thy throne
- Of the dark-rolling waters.
-
- Go forth, gallant one!—
- Go forth in thy glory and pomp o’er the main,
- And burst with the might of thy sure-pointed gun
- The palace, the cell and the tyrannous chain.
- The breezes shall kiss thee: the stars shall illume
- Thy pathway when dangers are there,
- And around thee the laurels of triumph shall bloom,
- Like the plumage of angels abroad on the gloom
- Of the battle’s tempestuous air.
- Aye! the great god of freedom who holds in his hand
- This universe blazing around,
- Who walks on the billows which hear his command,
- And straight in deep quiet are found:
- Aye! he who has yoked, in the ether afar,
- The lightning-maned steeds of the storm to his car,
- Shall guide thee all safe o’er the foam,
- And at last, by the torch of his bright beacon-star,
- Restore thee once more to thy home!
-
- II.
-
- But such! ah! such is not my theme—
- Illumined by a grosser fire
- Than that which some will truly deem
- Befitting well the patriot’s lyre.
- And yet how could I pass thee by—
- Thou of the fearless soul and eye?—
- Thou who hast watched my boyhood’s hours
- Amid thy sacred rocks and rills,
- Where liberty with glory towers
- Unshaken on her thousand hills!
-
- Genius of freedom! let me stand
- With thee upon my native land;
- Still let me hear thy thunder-voice
- Bid every child of thine rejoice;
- Still let me see on yonder mast
- The banner of the heart unfurl’d—
- The playmate of the ocean-blast,
- The hope or terror of the world.
- And when the minstrel’s form is cold,
- His brightest meed of praise shall be,
- As o’er his grave yon starry fold
- By wind and tempest is unroll’d,
- “Freedom! thy minstrel sang of thee!”
-
- ——
-
- ’Tis dark around! yet darker still
- Within that melancholy clime,
- Where tireless, sleepless vulture-ill
- Sits blackly brooding over crime;
- The tempest has a deeper moan;
- The night-wind has a wilder tone;
- The thunder glares his troubled eye
- Amid the hollows of the sky;
- And sheeted lightnings swiftly stream
- From yonder cloud’s tremendous rack,
- And then with swifter stride they seem
- In pallid horror hurrying back.
-
- Groans in the dark tide of the air:
- Groans in the withered space around:
- Groans in the tempest’s sickly glare:
- Groans struggling under ground!
- And look! Lo! blacker clouds are swelling
- Around the thunder’s opened dwelling,
- Which with a Vulcan-torch illumes
- This realm of everlasting glooms;
- Set in the distance—see it stand
- Above that melancholy land—
- Wild, gloomy, solitary, grand!
- Heckla of spirits—placed afar,
- The lamp of ghastly heath and rill,
- As if like some malignant star
- ’Twould make them all more ghastly still.
-
- ROSANI.
-
- “Fit time!”—he cried with quivering brow,
- Tale such as mine was uttered now;
- When all the elements are stirred
- To hear a spirit’s fearful word.
- Let lightnings flash—let thunders roll,
- What terrors have they for the soul
- That flees the golden eye of day,
- And hates its beams e’en more than they!
- I’ve revell’d in their light before
- In many a sea, on many a shore—
- On many a rock—on many a deck—
- Yes! challenged them amid the wreck—
- When they and the remorseless sea
- Seem’d smiling on my agony.
-
- Yet! have I loved a milder glow
- Than yonder lurid fires bestow:
- There was a moment! glorious time!
- When I, amid my native bow’rs,
- Unmoved by care—unsoiled by crime—
- Would watch the sunshine beam for hours;
- It glowed of my own self a part,
- For all was sunshine in the heart,
- Which seemed an angel who had left,
- He knew not how, the stainless blue,
- And smiled, so long of light bereft,
- To find an angel wandering, too.
-
- But when I saw the bannered storm—
- Like giant rousing from his sleep—
- Uplift o’er heaven his awful form,
- And from the thunder-chamber sweep
- To his dread bridal with the flame
- Before their altar of the cloud,
- While all his minstrel-tempests came
- Around the shrine, in terror bowed,—
- I’ve smiled with other smile than this,
- For then, I, leaping from the sod,
- Saw, in their rude but meaning bliss,
- The wondrous glory of a God:—
- Yes! e’en when others quailed to see
- The red volcano light our clime,
- I’ve joyed, for in its ministry
- I only saw a torch sublime,
- Lighting with its tremendous glare
- The glorious pages of His book,
- Which men might read if they would dare
- Upon those awful leaves to look.
-
- Like thee I joyed alone to range
- Amid the beautiful and bright,
- A thing like them of love and light—
- Like thee my spirit had its change.
- The spell was wove! It thundered out
- In many a wild and bitter curse—
- And thenceforth I was hurl’d about
- Hopeless amid the universe.
-
- Long years! oh! how your shadows press
- My brow in very weariness:
- Here! here ye stretch and ever gloom
- Like funeral-foliage of the tomb,
- Whose leaves—the favorites of pain
- Must ever life from sorrow gain.
- Long years! long years! I feel again
- Your star-eyed hopes around me glow
- Bright as the plumage of a train
- Of pilgrim-angels furled below.
-
- We are together: Ila, see
- The light of heaven’s own heraldry—
- And hark!—the evening breeze is here;
- His silver lips no longer mute,—
- He breathes—a minstrel-worshipper—
- An avè from his leafy lute:
- Shall we not join him? Dearest, press
- Thy lip to mine, while, as of old,
- We hear with love’s sweet tenderness
- That glorious vesper music rolled.
- We are together in those bowers
- Glad as the rosy-footed hours
- And all as pure.—I see her now
- A creature less of earth than skies,
- With day’s pure sunshine on her brow
- And heaven’s own midnight in her eyes.
- And thus we trod the path of life,
- Without nor cloud, nor grief, nor strife—
- Like pensile stars whose golden light
- Meets on the sable bridge of night
- And glows with such a wedded beam
- In calm or stormy weather,
- That men when looking upwards deem
- They are but one, for thus they seem,
- So close they shine together.
-
- Ha! whence this change? My Ila! why
- That icy mien and tearful eye?
- No more for me thou cullest the flow’r;—
- No more with me thou seekest the bow’r;—
- No more thy sweet lips press my own;—
- No more thy warm hands link with mine,
- When Daylight, stooping from his throne,
- Has furl’d his wing by evening’s shrine.
-
- She answered not! yet sorrow there
- Has held a bridal with despair,
- And pale her cheek as if with wo
- Which none but she must ever know.
- In vain I questioned—her reply
- A sad reproachfulness of eye,
- So firm yet tender in its look,
- It ever, sorrowing, seemed to say
- “Why torture me!”—I could not brook
- Such gaze, but gladly turned away,
- Leaving my Ila to her mood
- In our old castle’s solitude.
- Days rolled away!—And who art thou
- With princely step and lofty brow?
- What dost thou here within our halls,
- Sir knight! unwelcome to these walls?
- Days roll’d away!—I sought my sire;
- He met me but with glance of ire,
- And freezing mystery of air,
- Which seemed to say—“Ila?—beware!”
- And then he cried, “away! away!
- Mad boy, she weds the knight to-day!”
- I spoke not; slowly round me came
- A wavering sheet of cloud and flame,
- Which seem’d to sear my very brain:
- How long ’twas thus I cannot say,
- Nor when I woke to life again.
- They called me mad: I heard the chain
- Clanking around my limbs, and near
- The hum of voices meet my ear,
- And eyes amid the darkness shone
- So bright, so angry and so lone—
- Methought they were the eyes of those
- Whom men have named their demon-foes,
- Drawing a life from human woes.
- Yes! I was mad, and in my strength
- I spurned the dungeon’s hated ground,
- Hurled from my limbs the chain, at length,
- And thus my birth-right freedom found.
- I saw the glorious stars again—
- Once more I gazed upon the main
- Whose billows e’en in boyhood were
- My playmates, when their crested forms
- Rushed up like ministers of Fear
- Amid their temple of the storms.
- Once more I heard the Ocean’s shock
- Against the castellated rock;
- And saw, oh! gallant, blessed sight!
- My barque along the heaving tide,
- Like lover resting through the night
- Upon the bosom of his bride.
- The sail’s unfurl’d! How free! How brave!
- On! on my vessel, o’er the wave!
- The night-winds kiss thee, as in joy
- To meet once more their ocean-boy.
- Oh! I had loved thee, glorious sea,
- And oft thy waters laved my brow,
- But never have I gazed on thee
- With such a bounding heart as now.
- Roll on! Roll on! thy dark blue foam
- Shall henceforth be to me a home.
- For days I skimmed the ocean blue,
- And deeper still my gladness grew;
- And oft my joy was uttered out
- To heaven in that delirious shout
- Which only he can swell whose life
- Is passed amid the ocean’s strife.
- And others soon around me came;
- And men soon shook before my name.
- What trophies glittered on our deck,
- How foemen sank with many a wreck,
- Let that old ocean’s caverns tell,—
- In sooth our spirits loved them well—
- They lay beneath us like a spell.
-
- A sail! How looks she in the dark?
- “Bravely! She is a royal barque!”
- Give thanks! Hurrah! I ween the wave
- Before the morn shall be her grave!
- Out with the guns!—“Ho, sir! she veers!—
- Again! again! Hurrah! she nears!”
- She came so nigh, that we could see
- The pilot’s lonely ministry.
- Sudden as lightning from its lair
- Fire glowed around her deck;—
- Ha! ship, that rode so proudly there—
- Thou art a very wreck!
- Once more the frowning guns were out;
- Their thunder told in shriek and shout!
- “The barque’s on fire!”—with one wild cry!
- That pierced the very wave and sky,
- Her crew leaped in the tide;
- But as she heavily floated by—
- Oh! God what met my startled eye?
- The chieftain and his bride!
- Yes, he and Ila shrined in flame
- Were wildly calling on my name:—
- At one mad bound I cleared my deck,
- And stood upon that burning wreck:
- Through flame and smoke I fearless flew!
- A moment—I have reached the two!
- I grasped him! and the lurid wave
- Revenged me well—it was his grave.
- I bore her in my arms—the smoke
- And flame in vain around me broke,—
- I felt them curling o’er my brow,
- As fierce they swept from stern to plow;—
- I struggled on!—one effort more—
- I leaped upon my vessel’s side!
- Thank God! the final strife was o’er,
- And I had won my ocean-bride!
- In one dread shock the crackling mast
- Came thundering down beneath the blast:—
- The flaming wreck slow drives away—
- Dim and more dim we marked the ray;
- And now unloosing every sail—
- We feel our vessel, like a steed
- Gladdening to serve his rider’s need,
- Dart out before the gale.
-
- Slowly the thrill of feeling came
- Along my Ila’s pallid frame;
- I marked the rising crimson swell
- Upon the cheek I loved too well,
- And heard, how joyously! the sigh
- Which told me that she could not die,
- At least not then:—she rose at last;
- One piercing look around she cast,
- And shrieked!—her memory, ah! too soon
- Had lighted up those scenes of old,
- When I, beneath far different moon
- Than that which brightly rose aboon,
- My love so passionately told.
- She spake not still; but day by day
- I saw her calmly sink away
- Like some sweet flower or rainbow-form
- Whose life is withered by the storm.
- But when I saw her pallid lips
- Darkling beneath the death-eclipse,
- She waved me to her side and said—
- I cannot speak her words—the dead
- Would stir within their very tomb
- To hear such tale!—Enough! she died,
- And I beheld in that sea-room
- A sister in my ocean-bride.
- Oh! how I blessed the God above,
- That she went down unsoiled by love
- Whose reckless and unholy fire
- Springs from the heart of low desire.
- My sire had framed a cunning tale
- —To shroud his crime, and this the baal!
- He brought her to our castle’s hall—
- Saying she was a homeless child,
- Whom he had found beneath the wall
- In all her orphan-freedom wild.
- Of that she told me, on the day
- She died, thus much I dared to say.
-
- And Ila sleeps within the wave,
- And round her peaceful ocean-tomb
- The pale flowers of the coral-grave
- In all their quiet beauty bloom.
- Sleep on! sleep on in that deep rest—
- Thou of the stainless brow and breast,—
- Oh! holy as the stars that shine
- In all their seraph splendor set,
- Like torches of a templed-shrine
- In midnight’s azure coronet.
- She was avenged! That very hour
- In which the tide received her form,
- The deep-blue sky began to lour
- Beneath the scowling of the storm;
- And soon the thunder, vast and dark,
- Shook his red arm above our barque,
- Whose deck deserted—sails all rent
- And loose around the shivered mast,
- Like reeling clouds were blindly sent
- Before the fury of the blast.
- “The boats! the boats!”
- They’re riding well
- Along that billow’s crested swell.
- “Save! save yourselves,” I sternly cried,
- Undaunted on the plunging deck,
- “I go to seek my ocean-bride,
- But comrades ye must leave the wreck!”
- An instant—they were safe! and I
- Alone stood challenging the sky
- And rolling waves.
- With fearless form
- I dared the spirit of the storm:
- His red lips answered me—the flame
- Leaped burning through my blackened frame!—
- And I was here.—
- “No more! No more!”
- He cried, “that agony was o’er:—
- But this!”
- He darkly gazed around,
- Then quivering sank upon the ground;
- And Lorro on his dread distress
- Gazed sorrowing—mute and motionless.
-
- The tempest with his train has fled,
- And yet no moon hath lit her fire;
- Nought lights the darkness, deep and dread,
- Save that dim-burning Vulcan-pyre.
- With its drear, wavering, ghastly light,
- Still heavier than the heavy night:
- Most terrible!
- The task is done!
- How gladly mounts the trembling soul,
- Like light returning to its sun,
- When Heaven’s own streams of glory roll!
- Joy, spirit! joy! I’ve broke the spell;
- Land of the lost! dread land, farewell.
-
- ——
-
- Soul of that shadowy realm, where Time
- Hath thrown his last-expiring wave,
- When the Immortal glooms sublime
- And terrible above the grave,—
- Dread image o’er whose phantasm we
- Have hung a shroud of mystery,
- And then for countless ages shook
- Before its dark, eternal look.
- Bold scorner of the groan or tear—
- Swaying between the star and storm—
- Thou art a mighty thing of fear,
- Yet glory crowns thy mystic form.
- Vast, potent, melancholy, dim,
- Past ruler of the cherubim,
- And king-like in thy ruin still,
- Thou livest despite of sleepless ill.
- Oh! once all splendid in that time,
- Ere thy great banners were unfurl’d
- Like thunder flashes in the clime
- From which the rebel hosts were hurl’d,
- How art thou fallen—fallen now!—
- The burning seal upon thy brow
- Which towered in its own glory bright—
- A mighty pyramid of light.
- And battling still? Thine essence gleams
- Like the dim flashing of a cloud;
- Oh! how unlike its heavenly beams
- Ere sin that angel-beauty bowed,
- And changed thee to a giant curse
- Breathed through the shuddering universe—
- A deathless, hopeless agony—
- An aching immortality.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE HEAVENLY VISION.
-
-
- BY THOMAS HOLLEY CHIVERS, M. D.
-
-
- If I be sure I am not dreaming now,
- I should not doubt to say it was a dream.
- _Shelley._
-
- I met her in the spring-time of my years,
- When suns set golden in the azure west;
- The sight of her dissolved my heart to tears—
- It seemed she came from heaven to make me blest.
-
- A golden harp was in her snow-white hand,
- And when she touched the strings, so softly prest,
- The music seemed as from some heavenly band,
- As though she came from heaven to make me blest.
-
- Her eyes were of that soft, celestial hue,
- Which heaven puts on when Day is in the west;
- Whose words were soft as drops of evening dew—
- It seemed she came from heaven to make me blest.
-
- Long had we parted—long had she been dead—
- When late one night, when all had gone to rest,
- Her spirit stood before me—near my bed—
- She came from heaven to tell me she was blest.
-
- As some fond dove unto her own mate sings,
- So sang she unto me, in my unrest—
- Who lay beneath the shadow of her wings—
- Of heaven, wherein she told me she was blest.
-
- My spirit had been longing here for years
- To know if that dear creature was at rest;
- When, just as my poor heart lost all its tears,
- She came from heaven to tell me she was blest.
-
- I then grew happy—for with mine own eyes
- I had beheld that being whom my breast
- Had pillowed here for years—fresh from the skies—
- Who came from heaven to tell me she was blest.
-
- I wept no more—from that sad day to this,
- I have been longing for the same sweet rest,
- When my fond soul shall dwell with her in bliss,
- Who came from heaven to tell me she was blest.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- MRS. WARE’S POEMS.[1]
-
-
-Averse, as we have declared ourselves, to any severe criticisms upon the
-productions of female poets, we are constrained, in the case before us,
-to speak with a plainness, savoring less of gallantry than truth. If
-only “_some_ female errors” fell to the lot of Mrs. Katharine Augusta
-Ware, we might, perhaps, “look in her face” and “forget them all;” but
-so many are the faults of which she is guilty, that she must have a face
-as beautiful as Raphael’s Fornarina, to cause us to forget or forgive a
-tithe of the number. The lady, however, is neither beautiful nor
-juvenile; she goes so far in her preface as to confess that she cannot
-plead “_youthful_ diffidence” for her indiscretion in writing and
-publishing a volume of verses. That she is not beautiful, we state on
-positive intelligence. On this score, therefore, her sins of metrical
-commission cannot be pardoned any more than because of her
-juvenility—an excuse which she so magnanimously disclaims.
-
-On the second leaf of Mrs. Ware’s book, which is not really as well as
-figuratively _blank_, we perceive, paraded in capital letters, the words
-“Copyright secured in America.” Now, if the copyright has in fact been
-secured in America; if it has been entered at the office of the District
-Clerk of New York or of any other State, as the law directs, it strikes
-us that the dollar, charged as a fee in such cases, has been absurdly
-and ridiculously thrown away. The proceeding was altogether
-supererogatory. Booksellers are not particularly partial to publishing
-collections of poetry at the best; but that any one of them should be so
-insane as to re-publish a farrago like this, to enter into rivalry and
-competition for such a cause, is an hypothesis which never could have
-been engendered, except in the brain of a rhymster, dizzy with
-self-conceit. From the fact, however, of a copyright having been secured
-in America, we are well assured that the author is an American; even
-this was unnecessary, because Mrs. Katharine Augusta Ware has, in times
-past, written her name to so many patches of poetry, that it is not
-unfamiliar to pains-taking readers, at least on our side of the water.
-She first made herself known to the literary world here as the Editor of
-a monthly magazine, exquisitely christened “The Bower of Taste.” That
-any work, with so Rosa-Matildaish a title, could have existed for a year
-was marvellous; still more marvellous was it, that it survived the
-merciless visitings of the Muse of Mrs. Ware. With the failure of this
-undertaking, her literary biography, brief as the posy of a ring, would
-terminate, were it not for the fact that, during some four years past,
-she has resided in England, and manufactured, to order, occasional
-lyrics for the Liverpool Newspapers. By some fatuity, which she has
-provokingly left unexplained, in a preface written in the worst possible
-taste, she has been impelled to the perpetration of the volume before
-us. But, previous to exemplifications of its component properties, let
-us give the preface entire, by way of showing how very unlike ladies,
-and how very foolishly, feminine bards can behave on paper. If our
-readers of both sexes do not laugh at the following outbreak of egotism
-and vanity, they are less easily amused than we conjecture.
-
------
-
-[1] Power of the Passions and other Poems. By Mrs. Katharine Augusta
-Ware. London: William Pickering, 1842. 1 vol. 12mo. pp. 148
-
-
- COURTEOUS READER,
-
- I should like to write a Preface, if I could.—Such an ample
- field is afforded, for appealing to the sympathy and generosity
- of the “Liberal Public.” Such emphatic words as “youthful
- diffidence,” “consciousness of errors,” “request of friends,”
- “leisure hours,” “relief in solitude,”—all these once attracted
- my delighted attention, and I resolved, if _I_ ever should write
- a book, to present therewith a very sentimental Preface. But
- upon this subject my opinions are changed. Negatively speaking
- of my volume—“youthful diffidence” I cannot plead;
- “consciousness of errors,” I might, which I own I have had time
- to correct. I do not publish at the “request of friends,” for no
- friends, to my knowledge, were ever particularly anxious for
- such an event. Nor for the amusement of my “leisure hours,” for,
- since my remembrance, I never had any. Nor as a “relief in
- solitude,” for I am never alone. And permit me to add, not for
- gold, for my muse will never become a Crœsus. Lastly, not for
- Fame, for light is my regard for her vain breath.
-
- A Preface is an article which I am by no means prepared to
- attempt, being apprehensive that my labors might terminate like
- those of a certain venerable individual, of spelling-book
- celebrity, who, in companionship with his son, and a long-eared
- fellow-traveller, by his anxiety to please everybody, found, to
- his mortification, that he could please nobody. Now, with the
- very moderate desire of pleasing somebody, I have determined to
- write no preface to my book, because I am not prepared to make a
- single fashionable apology for its publication. At the present
- era of book-making, all prefatory introductions seem to be
- disregarded as superfluous by the reading community, except to
- works of deep erudition, or on subjects which may require
- preliminary elucidations from the author. All others are merely
- glanced over like the “programme of an entertainment,” or a
- “bill of the play,” and obtain no further notice. Scarcely one
- reader out of ten has the least interest or curiosity to learn
- what motive induced the author to write the volume, which he has
- either bought or borrowed for his entertainment. He certainly
- has a right to expect it will contain some matter either to
- improve, inform, or amuse the mind. If disappointed, no apology,
- however gracefully made, will effect a change in his opinion;
- and the author may expect to receive the same compliment which a
- certain learned doctor (more famed for candor than politeness)
- once paid to his delinquent pupil, who made an elaborate apology
- for his errors, that he who was good at making “a handsome
- apology, was generally good for nothing else.”
-
- Thine respectfully,
- K. A. W.
-
-Since we have suffered our author to speak for herself, nobody can
-accuse us of unfairness, since that captious gentleman, Nobody, is not
-obliged to think as we do, but can, if he so pleases, pronounce Mrs.
-Katharine Augusta Ware to be the most modest, unassuming, charming
-pilgrim, that ever journeyed to the fountain of Helicon, or toiled up
-the steeps of Parnassus.
-
-We have, in our time, been constrained by our vocation, to spell out a
-good many pieces of bombast; but we can safely say that, in our serious
-belief, no rhetorician was ever better furnished with an illustration
-for that not very rare quality of style, than in the effusion with which
-we begin to be overwhelmed on page one, under the imposing title “The
-Power of the Passions.” We had thought of turning the whole into prose,
-but as we have not the space to spare, and the readers can easily do it
-for themselves, whenever we shall have occasion to cite a passage, we
-content ourselves with a cursory description, and no very acute
-analysis, since the philosophy is quite as incomprehensible as the lines
-are vapid, and the ideas commonplace. _Imprimis_, we are favored with
-the strikingly novel information that there was a time, a good while
-ago, when man stood in God’s own image communing with angels in a bower,
-
- “When first creation dawned upon his view.”
-
-This fair world, we are next agreeably astonished to learn, was given to
-man by high Omnipotence. At this interesting period, Creation owned her
-Lord, and all that moved confessed his reign, and the forest monarch
-bowed down before him, beside the young lamb; (bah!) moreover, birds
-hailed the rising day, and there were flowers and trees and fruits _cum
-multis aliis_ of the sort.
-
- Such was fair Paradise! When Woman smiled,
- All Eden brightened with a richer glow!
- Led by the hand of Deity, she came
- To dwell in kind companionship with man,
- A sharer of his pleasures and his toils,
- Which nature’s genial bosom richly paid:
- Love, joy, and harmony, and peace, were there—
- God saw his glorious work, and it was good.
-
-These lines are cited, because they are the only good ones in the poem,
-and because it occurs to us that we have seen something rather like them
-in the works of a respectable poet of the middle ages—one Milton. In
-the remainder of the effusion, Mrs. Ware is unquestionably original.
-
- Brief hour of human purity and truth!
- Malignant Envy, in the bland disguise
- Of friendship, stole, yea, twined his serpent folds
- Around fair Wisdom’s consecrated Tree.
- “Eat, woman, eat—ye shall _not_ surely die!”
- Thus spake the tempter of mankind. _They ate_—
- A sudden darkness gathered o’er the sky.
- _Wild raged the storm, earth’s firm foundations shook,_
- _While ocean trembled from her deepest cells;_
- _Blue, livid lightnings flashed with lurid glare,_
- _Wreathing in flames the blackened arch of heaven;_
- While the loud thunder’s deep, continuous roar
- Proclaimed, in God’s _own voice_, that Man was _lost_!
-
-The four verses we have italicised are fiercely grand; more terrible
-than any we ever saw, except those by which they are succeeded. After
-the thunder-clap, lions roared, tigers yelled, hyenas cried, wolves
-howled, leviathans drifted ashore, birds of ill omen shrieked, and there
-was a dreadful rumpus in general among beasts, such as are usually to be
-seen in a Zoological Garden. The Arch-Enemy chuckles over this sport,
-rives his chain, and stalks over the globe, taking the precaution,
-however, to veil his hideous form and smile demoniac, (why, we cannot
-well perceive,) and finally speaks. His observations are left to the
-ingenuity of the reader; but he had no sooner “concluded his remarks,”
-than
-
- “Wild spirits filled the air, the earth,
- The sea.”
-
-These we suppose are the Passions, mentioned in the title. Taking them
-as they are introduced, they are the most outrageous set of ill-behaved
-monsters that ever were seen, and are as dissimilar to those polite
-entities, classified under the same names, and said by the Fourrierists
-to be easily subjected to the domination of reason and the affections,
-as can well be imagined. It must be noted, however, that Mrs. Ware is
-more original in the individuals she recommends to our attention as the
-Passions, than she is in her figures of speech.
-
- First, Murder came, his right hand red
- With the pure blood of his young brother’s heart,
- For which his own, in every clime and age,
- Hath deeply paid. “_Cursed art thou!_” said God,
- And set his mark upon the murderer’s brow.
-
-We were not, until now, aware that _Murder_ was a Passion, considering
-it rather as a deed, consequent upon some one of the Passions. Next in
-order comes Remorse, “whose step is followed by Despair.” “Next comes
-Revenge.” And what _Passion_, reader, do you imagine follows next? “’Tis
-War, insatiate War.” Another new Passion. Afterwards “pale Jealousy is
-seen,” in an awful taking because “the treasured ideal of his soul is
-false;” accordingly, he rushes _blindly_ forth, meets his haughty foe,
-and, though he is blind, “their _eyes_ have met,” and
-
- The fierce volcano’s flame
- Ne’er flashed more wildly than his furious glance!
- No more. ’Tis done—the double deed of death.
- The reeking steel, red from his rival’s heart,
- Is quivering now within her heaving breast.
-
-Here is murder in the first degree once more. Now some people may call
-this strong writing; we call it fustian run mad. Next come Riot and
-Folly and Theft and Love and Misery and Guilt, of which we do not
-recognise any one but Love as belonging to the Passions. Just here there
-occurs a passage, which is so clearly applicable to the “divine Fanny
-Elssler,” that, “in the opinion of this court,” an action on the case
-for heavy damages will lie. Although the _danseuse_ alluded to figures
-under no name whatsoever, and is merely described as “Another,” we beg
-leave to put it to the immense jury, consisting of the subscribers to
-this Magazine, what other than the “splendiferous Madam,” above named,
-can possibly be signified? Read the remarkable passage, and record your
-verdicts.
-
- Another, too, in tinselled garb, is near,
- ’Mid scenic splendor, like a thing of light—
- With limbs scarce veiled, and gestures wild and strange,
- She gaily bounds in the lascivious dance,
- Moving as if her element were air,
- And music was the echo of her step.
- Around her bold, unblushing brow are twined
- The deadly nightshade and the curling vine,
- Enwreathed with flowers luxuriant and fair,
- Yet poisonous as the Upas in their breath.
- Her sparkling eye, keen as the basilisk’s,
- Who marks his prey, beams with a flashing light—
- False as the flame which hovers o’er the gulf
- Of dark oblivion—tempting to destroy.
- Mysterious power! men shudder while they gaze—
- Despise, yet own her fascinating spell.
-
- As bursts the “deafening thunder of applause,”
- ’Mid showers of votive wreaths, and _parfum vif_—
- Descending like bright Juno from her cloud,
- With glance erratic round th’ enchanted ring—
- She smiles on all above, and all below,
- With regal condescension, and accepts
- The worthless homage offered at her shrine.
-
-Let not the reader hastily conclude that he has yet ascended with Mrs.
-Katharine A. Ware to the cloud-capped summit of turgidity. In the
-concluding passages of her perfectly ferocious poem, she excels herself.
-A higher Alp of nonsense towers above the smaller Alps we have already
-passed. To change the metaphor, all the former passages are mere
-rattling musket shot, compared to this concentrated, thundering
-discharge of the artillery of bombast:—
-
- Last in the train of human misery,
- Unconscious Madness rushed. The storm that beat
- On his unsheltered head and naked breast,
- Was calm to that which wildly raged within:
- All the dark passions that deform the soul
- By turns usurped departed Reason’s throne.
-
- His rolling eye, red as the meteor’s flash,
- In fierce defiance wildly glanced around;
- While his Herculean frame dilated rose,
- As if exulting in its giant strength!
- Uprooted trees were strewn across his path—
- The remnants of his sanguinary meal,
- Still warm with life, lay quivering at his feet;
- They caught his eye. Not Etna’s wildest roar
- E’er came more deep than his demoniac laugh!
- As rolls the distant thunder on—it ceased.
-
-And we cease; but not altogether. Cry not, oh reader, with king-killing
-Macbeth, “hold, enough!” till we shall have at least ferreted out some
-stanzas worth commendation, in the one hundred and forty “mortal pages,”
-which drag their slow length after “The Power of the Passions”—which
-title, we beg leave to suggest, should be changed to the somewhat
-Hibernian one of “A Power of Passions,” which would be more expressive
-of the number of new ones “making their first appearance on any stage.”
-
-All the gross errors of persons who deem themselves poets, but are
-not—who make verses, to which neither gods, men nor columns can yield
-applause—are displayed, not only in the effusion which we have too
-tenderly handled, but in most of the remaining rubbish of metre, which
-this mistaken lady has raked together and piled up for the diversion of
-the public in England. It is said of those, who make constant efforts to
-utter happy repartees and smart jokes, that it would be a wonder if they
-did not now and then stumble upon a clever hit. The remark may with
-truth be applied to the indefatigable concoctor of rhymes. Desperate
-must be his condition, if, at large intervals, good couplets did not
-slip from his pen. Poor as most of Mrs. Ware’s poems are, stanzas are
-scattered through them which are really beautiful, and have the air of
-being in their present position by mistake. Occasionally, also, when the
-subject is dictated by feeling; when the thoughts well from the heart,
-and are like those which are entertained by the author in common with
-other people of sensibility; when she does not strive to be very fine,
-very grand and very fascinating, her lines run smoothly and gracefully
-along. Take as a favorable example of her versification one stanza, from
-a poem called “Diamond Island,” which, as we are told, is a delightful
-little island, situated in Lake George, and well known to the Northern
-tourists for its picturesque beauty, and the brilliant crystals to be
-found on its shores:—
-
- How sweet to stray along thy flowery shore,
- Where crystals sparkle in the sunny ray;
- While the red boatman plies his silvery oar
- To the wild measure of some rustic lay.
-
-As a specimen of the sometimes able and sometimes slovenly mode in which
-Mrs. Ware poetizes, take the following couplets as an example. In
-describing what scenes are beheld by “The Genius of Græcia,” she finely
-writes:—
-
- “Views the broad Stadium, where the Gymnic art
- Nerved the young arm and energized the heart.”
-
-A little further on, our ears are tortured with—
-
- “Where Scio’s isle blushes with Christian gore,
- And hostile fiends still yell around the shore.”
-
-Well nigh tired of animadversion, let us employ the remainder of this
-article with selections that will be read with satisfaction, and which
-may strike some sympathetic and responsive chords. We need not bestow
-any higher praise upon the following pieces, chosen with care, as by far
-the best in the volume, (though we will venture to assert that the
-author considers them the poorest,) than to remark that we consider them
-worthy of the space they occupy in this magazine.
-
-
- LOSS OF THE FIRST BORN.
-
- “A grief that passeth show.”
-
-
- I saw a pale young mother, bending o’er
- Her first born hope. Its soft blue eyes were closed—
- Not in the balmy dream of downy rest;
- In Death’s embrace the shrouded babe reposed,
- It slept the dreamless sleep that wakes no more!
- A low sigh struggled in her heaving breast,
- But yet she wept not—hers was the deep grief
- The heart in its dark desolation feels;
- Which breathes not in impassioned accents wild,
- But slowly the warm pulse of life congeals:
- A grief, which from the world seeks no relief—
- A mother’s sorrow o’er her first-born child!
-
- She gazed upon it with a steadfast eye,
- Which seemed to say—Oh! would I were with thee.
- As if her every earthly hope were fled
- With that departed cherub. Even he—
- Her young heart’s choice, who breathed a father’s sigh
- Of bitter anguish o’er the unconscious dead—
- Felt not, while weeping by its funeral bier,
- One pang so deep as hers, who shed _no tear_!
-
-
- THE HEBREW MOTHER.
-
- (A PAINTING.)
-
- Bright glowed the sun on Nile’s resplendent tide,
- Reflecting the rich landscape far and wide;
- The verdant hills, with lofty cedars crowned,
- Those heights sublime, where, in stern glory, frowned
- Egypt’s proud battlements, stretched forth on high,
- Like a dark cloud athwart the summer sky!
- But softer shadows claimed a birth-place there;
- The pensile willow, and the lotus fair,
- And flowers of richest bloom, their perfume gave,
- To wreathe the margin of the azure wave.
-
- ’Twas to this calm and beautiful retreat,
- With wildly throbbing heart and trembling feet,
- The Hebrew Mother came. To her sad breast,
- Her youngest hope, a lovely boy, she prest,—
- He whom a tyrant’s voice had doomed to die!
- With anguish-riven soul and tearful eye,
- She looked on his bright cheek and cherub smile,
- Then gently hushed him to repose; and while
- Within his fragile barque she laid him, gazed
- Her last upon the sleeping babe! then raised
- To the Almighty one a fervent prayer,
- Confiding her soul’s treasure to his care:
- Then, as with firmer step she homeward trod,
- With faith renewed, she left him to his God!
-
-
- BLOWING BUBBLES.
-
- It was a lovely picture! A young boy,
- Of scarce five summers, on a terrace stood,
- Which overlooked a region of sweet flowers,
- As fresh and blooming as his own bright cheeks;
- While from a pipe, wiled from his ancient nurse
- With many a kiss, the rosy urchin blew
- Those air-created globes, which, as they soared
- Through the blue space, caught the gay tints of morn.
- Buoyant and bright as youthful hopes they seemed,
- And radiant as those visioned forms of bliss
- That hover in the dreams of innocence.
-
- I watched the rapturous gaze of that young boy,
- And heard his joyous shout, as rising high
- Upon the breeze, those fragile orbs were borne.
- But when they sank, and vanished from his view,
- A cloud of sadness came o’er his fair brow.
-
- This picture read a lesson to my heart.
- Oh—how like these, thought I, are half the hopes
- And pleasures of this life. No sooner do
- They smile upon our view—than they are gone!
-
-
- NEW YEAR WISH.
-
- TO ANNA MARIA, AGED FIVE YEARS.
-
- Dear one, while bending o’er thy couch of rest,
- I’ve looked on thee as thou wert calmly sleeping,
- And wished—Oh! couldst thou ever be as blest
- As now—when haply all thy cause of weeping
- Is, for a truant bird, or faded rose;
- Though these light griefs call forth the ready tear,
- They cast no shadow o’er thy soft repose,
- No trace of care, or sorrow, lingers here.
-
- With rosy cheek, upon the pillow prest,
- To me thou seemest a cherub, pure and fair,
- With thy sweet smile, and gently heaving breast,
- And the bright ringlets of thy clustering hair;
- What shall I wish thee, little one? Smile on
- Through childhood’s morn—through life’s gay spring—
- For oh—too soon will those bright hours be gone!
- In youth time flies upon a silken wing.
-
- May thy young mind, beneath the bland control
- Of education, lasting worth acquire;
- May virtue stamp her signet on thy soul,
- Direct thy steps, and every thought inspire!
- Thy parents’ earliest hope—be it their care
- To guide thee through youth’s path of shade and flowers,
- And teach thee to avoid false pleasure’s snare;
- Be thine—to smile upon their evening hours.
-
-There are some graceful translations from the French; but, besides the
-above, we should find it difficult to quote an original poem, good as a
-whole. We have now and then some spirited lines, and frequently some
-weak ones; but the latter outnumber the former.
-
-Strange as it may seem, the same hand wrote both of the following
-passages—the one, with the exception of its concluding verse, vigorous,
-free, correct—the other, puerile, silly, commonplace.
-
- Sculpture! oh what a triumph o’er the grave
- Hath thy proud Art!—thy powerful hand can save
- From the destroyer’s grasp the noble form,
- As if the spirit dwelt, still thrilling warm,
- In every line and feature of the face;
- The air majestic, and the simple grace
- Of flowing robes, which shade, but not conceal,
- All that the classic chisel would reveal.
- In thy supremacy thou stand’st sublime,
- Bidding defiance to the scythe of time!
-
- The thought of thee is like the breath of morn,
- Which whispers gently through the blooming trees;
- Like music o’er the sparkling waters borne,
- When the blue waves heave in the summer breeze.
-
-We have faithfully performed our unpleasant duty in the foregoing
-criticism. A high standard has been set up by us, and it must be
-defended. Censure is far less agreeable to us than commendation; but the
-last would be wholly valueless, when flowing from our pen, were we
-always to withhold the first. Poetry, to be acceptable, must have higher
-qualities than those which the mere habit and practice of writing
-confers. A man may play very well on the piano and not be a musician; he
-may sketch very well and not be a painter; he may model very well and
-have no just claim to be called a sculptor. The maker of graceful
-stanzas is not a poet; he is at best entitled only to be called a person
-of accomplishments. He is inexcusable when he brings himself prominently
-before the public and claims to be ranked among artists. Women, more
-than men, cultivate their powers of taste. We know many of the sex who
-not only sing and sketch, but write very nice verses. They would,
-however, shrink from publicity with a sensitive dread of ridicule. For
-the sake of a pure literature this apprehension should be kept alive by
-an occasional article, like the one which we have felt ourselves
-impelled to present on the effusions of Mrs. Katharine Augusta Ware.
-
- B.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- LOVE AND PIQUE;
-
-
- OR, SCENES AT A WATERING-PLACE.
-
-
- BY MRS. EMMA C. EMBURY.
-
-
- THE VENTILATOR.
-
-It was one of the most sultry days of an intensely hot summer, the
-thermometer stood at eighty-five in the shade, every thing was parched
-with fervent heat, and, as if to show their powers of endurance, half
-the world, leaving the quiet comfort of luxurious homes, were inhaling
-the close and unhealthful atmosphere of a crowded watering-place. Cecil
-Forrester had mingled with the throng, and, bidding adieu to his
-father’s beautiful country-seat, where the murmur of a rushing stream
-mingled its cool refreshing sound with the whisper of the summer breeze,
-had obtained, for a certain consideration, the privilege of occupying an
-apartment, some eight feet by ten, in the great hotel which stretches
-its huge length along the sands at ——. But Cecil had other motives
-than simple obedience to the dictates of fashion. He was in love, deeply
-and earnestly in love, and the lady on whom he had bestowed his
-affections seemed to him one of those exquisite creatures, equally well
-fitted to be the gem of a ball-room or the ornament of domestic life. He
-had met her in the sequestered village of Norwood, whither he repaired
-every summer to visit a favorite sister, and where the lovely Miss Oriel
-had come to repair the ravages which a winter’s dissipation had made in
-her fresh complexion. They had enjoyed a flirtation of the most
-delightful kind, because it had been purely sentimental, and such is,
-after all, the most agreeable variety of that very common species of
-amusement. Laura Oriel had laid aside all her usual gaiety of apparel,
-her dress was the very perfection of elegant simplicity; her raven hair
-was braided, without a single ringlet, around her well turned head, and,
-in short, nothing could be more attractive than the city belle so
-suddenly transformed into _la jolie paysanne_ of a country village. Many
-a moonlit walk had Cecil Forrester enjoyed with her, many a beautiful
-fancy had been pictured out during their rambles in the summer woods,
-many a noble sentiment had been uttered beneath the deep shadow of the
-rocky cliff, many a delicate thought had been evolved amid the beauty
-and sublimity of nature. The time passed like a dream. The genial
-breezes of flowery June had been exchanged for the fervent heats of
-July, and these had again been forgotten in the more oppressive
-sultriness of August before their happiness was disturbed by a single
-thought of the future. But Miss Oriel was then obliged to accompany her
-mother to ——. It was a most disagreeable necessity, for she did not
-love a crowd, and though her fortune and station in society compelled
-her to appear among the multitude, yet she was only happy in the
-seclusion of domestic life. But duty to her only parent was the ruling
-principle of her existence. Her mother’s wishes had forced her into
-society during the past winter, and now the same irresistible power drew
-her to the turbulent scenes of a fashionable watering-place. Poor thing!
-she was certainly to be pitied, and so thought Cecil Forrester. He was
-upon the point of expressing his ardent admiration, and offering his
-heart and hand to her whose tender friendship had made him bankrupt in
-all that was worthy of her acceptance. But, somehow or other, no
-opportunity occurred for any such explanation. The lady rather avoided
-those delicious walks which, though favorable to the growth of
-affection, might afford chances for an unseasonable declaration. So
-Cecil was only able to inform her of his intention to meet her at ——,
-and contented himself, for the present, with offering her a splendid
-copy of Rogers’ Poems, in which he had inscribed her name in the most
-delicate of Italian writing, and where she found, on further
-examination, the words “To her who will understand me,” written over the
-pretty pastoral poem entitled “The Wish.”
-
- “Mine be a cot beside a hill;
- A beehive’s hum shall soothe mine ear;
- A willowy brook that turns a mill,
- With many a fall shall linger near.
-
- The swallow oft, beneath my thatch,
- Shall twitter from her clay-built nest;
- Oft shall the pilgrim lift the latch,
- To share my meal, a welcome guest.
-
- Around my ivied porch shall spring
- Each fragrant flower that drinks the dew;
- And Lucy, at her wheel, shall sing,
- In russet gown and apron blue.
-
- The village church, amid the trees,
- Where first our marriage vows were given,
- With merry peals shall swell the breeze
- And point, with taper spire, to Heaven.”
-
-It was certainly a most appropriate and delicately expressed choice for
-such a lover of natural beauty and quiet happiness as Miss Laura Oriel.
-
-But to return to ——. Mr. Forrester knew that Miss Oriel was expected
-to arrive there on a certain morning, and, as he had gone down several
-days previous, he was, of course, on the watch for her. Most impassioned
-admirers would have rushed out to welcome the object of their thoughts
-at the very first glimpse of her green veil. But Cecil was no vulgar
-lover, his taste was excessively refined, and for his own sake, no less
-than out of regard to the lady’s feelings, he did not choose to behold
-her in travelling dishabille after a long and dusty ride. He therefore
-contented himself with watching from an upper window her descent from
-the stage coach, and then retired to his apartment until the preparatory
-dinner-bell should summon the _élite_ to the saloon. As I have said
-before, the day was excessively warm, and all the ventilators (which had
-been mercifully placed over each door to prevent suffocation) stood wide
-open, as if the rooms, like their heated occupants, were gasping for
-breath. Cecil, who had a tolerably correct notion of comfort, had loosed
-his boot-straps, unbraced his stays, and flung himself upon the bed to
-indulge a pleasant reverie before he commenced his toilet, when he was
-suddenly recalled to the scenes of actual life by the sound of a
-well-known voice.
-
-The apartments to which Miss Oriel and her mother had been conducted
-(the privilege of selection would be a most unheard-of innovation of the
-rights of hotel-keepers at such a season) happened to be immediately
-opposite to the one already occupied by Mr. Forrester. The ventilators
-of both were open, and, as he heard her voice, he felt a sweet
-satisfaction in the thought, that the soft southern breeze which was
-cooling his brow also fanned the ringlets of his beautiful mistress. But
-really there was no excuse for his listening to her conversation; it was
-most ungentlemanlike, but at the same time, I am sorry to say, most
-natural; and though heartily ashamed of him for so doing, I am obliged
-to confess that he paid the closest attention to every word of their
-discourse.
-
-“How long do you want to stay here, Laura?” said the mother, in that
-wheezing sort of voice which belongs to fat, pursy old ladies when
-over-fatigued.
-
-“That will depend upon circumstances,” was the short and rather crusty
-reply.
-
-“Do you know they charge twelve dollars a week, and every bath is an
-extra expense?”
-
-“What of that? We must risk something in all speculations, and mine is a
-pretty safe venture.”
-
-“I wish we had left Ellen Grey at home.”
-
-“I don’t agree with you; we owe her some return for staying nearly three
-months with her at Norwood, and I cannot bear to be under an obligation
-to such mighty good sort of people, for they never forget it.”
-
-“But her board will be expensive, and I do not see why it would not have
-been as well to invite her to our house in the winter.”
-
-“You don’t seem to understand my plans, Mamma. Ellen Grey is pretty, and
-modest, and sentimental, and all that; she is just the kind of person to
-be very attractive to gentlemen when seen in domestic life, but she is
-too timid to appear well in a place like this. She will scarcely dare to
-raise her eyes in such a crowd, and therefore there can be no rivalry
-between us. Besides, she has a great deal of taste, and her assistance
-at my toilet enables me to dispense with a dressing maid.”
-
-“I cannot see much force in your argument.”
-
-“Perhaps not; what would you say if I tell you I want her as a foil?”
-
-“She is too pretty to serve such a purpose.”
-
-“You are greatly mistaken; any body would look well beside an ugly girl,
-but one must be exceedingly beautiful to bear a comparison with as
-pretty a creature as Ellen Grey. Her delicate complexion, which is
-continually suffused with blushes, her fair hair and blue eyes would
-appear lovelier any where else than they will beside me.”
-
-“Such beauty as yours requires no foil, Laura.”
-
-“I choose to employ one, notwithstanding; I have come here for the
-express purpose of attracting Fitzroy Beauchamp, and I mean to neglect
-nothing, however trifling, to compass my schemes.”
-
-“What will Cecil Forrester say?”
-
-“If I succeed, he may say what he pleases. I mean to play off my present
-lover against the future one; and Cecil will be of use to me by exciting
-the jealousy of Beauchamp.”
-
-“I declare you are too bad, Laura.”
-
-“I only mean to study your interest and my own, Mamma. Cecil Forrester
-was a delightful companion in the country, his enthusiasm was so well
-adapted to the time and place, that it seemed to give charms to the dull
-and stupid village, which it could not otherwise have possessed. I
-certainly played my part to perfection, indeed, I almost began to fancy
-that there was really some feeling in my acting; at any rate he has the
-most implicit faith in my sensibility. How often I have laughed over the
-love-sick youth’s rural wish! I think I see myself as
-
- ‘Lucy at her spinning-wheel,
- In russet gown and apron blue.’”
-
-“I wonder how you kept up the farce so long, Laura; even Ellen thinks
-you a most exemplary sentimentalist.”
-
-“Oh, it was a pleasant mode of getting rid of time; nothing sharpens
-one’s wits like a flirtation with a real lover—I have learned twenty
-new stratagems from my ‘_country practice_.’”
-
-“Are you sure Mr. Beauchamp is rich?”
-
-“He drives blood-horses, sports a tiger in livery, lives at the Astor,
-drinks wine at $8 a bottle, and, what is more, pays his bills.”
-
-“How did you learn this?”
-
-“From very good authority; he is said to have $200,000 in bank stocks
-besides a sugar plantation worth $12,000 per annum, and slaves enough to
-stock a colony; so you see he is a prize worth winning. As for Cecil
-Forrester, I am sorry he is here, but I must manage to turn him over to
-the unsophisticated little rustic for the present. I do not wish to give
-him a downright dismissal, because if I should fail to secure the
-millionaire it would be as well to fall back upon Forrester’s $30,000.
-The game will be a difficult one, but the glory of success will be the
-greater.”
-
-“I hope you will reap some of the spoils of victory, Laura, for our
-legacy is rapidly diminishing, and when it is gone you know there will
-be no further chance.”
-
-“Never fear, Mamma; my stock in trade is very good—beauty, tact, and
-five thousand dollars form a very excellent capital, and I think I can
-afford to speculate rather largely.”
-
-“But more than half of the most essential part of your capital is
-already gone, and you have not as yet succeeded.”
-
-“You forget that I have gained a footing in society by its expenditure;
-leave every thing to me, and if I am not married before next season,
-then write me down a fool.”
-
-Cecil Forrester heard every word of this dialogue. At its commencement
-he had started to his feet, and if any one could have witnessed his
-gestures and contortions he would have been deemed a madman. His face
-flushed and paled, his eyes dilated with anger and flashed with
-contempt, his lip curled in bitter scorn, and narrowly escaped being
-bitten through as he gnashed his teeth in impotent rage; he clenched his
-hands, he tore off the turquoise ring which he had hitherto worn on his
-little finger as a _gage d’amitié_ from the false beauty, and finally,
-after exhausting his angry emotions, he flung himself into a seat, with
-a calm and determined expression of countenance which augured ill for
-some of the schemes of Miss Laura Oriel.
-
-
- THE DINING-ROOM.
-
-Is there any thing more musical to the ear of the time-sick lounger at a
-fashionable watering-place than the dinner-bell? Talk of the melody of
-running streams, the sighing of summer winds, the carol of forest birds!
-they may be all very pleasant sounds in certain moods of the mind, but
-for a music which never fails to please, a sound which never falls
-wearily upon the senses, a voice which is never uttered to a listless
-ear, commend me to that dinner-bell. The dullest face brightens into
-something like intelligence, the most confirmed valetudinarian forgets
-all elegant debility, the most intellectual remember the pressing claims
-of the physical man, and the most refined of women venture to look
-somewhat interested in the vulgar duty of dining. The saloon was crowded
-with company all eager for the summons which was to transform them into
-eating animals.
-
-“Pray why,” said a gentleman who was somewhat famous for puns,
-conundrums and such little witticisms, preferring as it seemed to shoot
-the “rats and mice and such small deer” of literature, because he could
-draw a _long_ rather than a _strong_ bow; “Pray,” said he in that half
-suppressed voice which, like a theatrical aside, is sure to be
-distinctly heard in a crowd, “why is this saloon like the President’s
-levee? do ye give it up? why it is filled with a crowd of _hungry
-expectants_! ha! ha! ha!”
-
-The joke would have been excellent as an after dinner speech, but the
-audacity of uttering an idle jest while so many persons were keenly
-alive to one of the sufferings of frail humanity, was very properly
-punished. No body laughed, and, to his infinite regret, the great Mr.
-—— saw that he had wasted his wit. The first stroke of the second bell
-brought all to their feet, as suddenly as if they had been subjected to
-the power of a galvanic battery. Cecil Forrester, attired with unusual
-care, all the lurking dandyism of his character fully but not
-offensively displayed, had been one of the first in the saloon,
-determined to give Miss Oriel a lesson in indifference. But she did not
-appear, and, as the band struck up a march, the usual signal for
-deploying into the dining-room, he took the hand of his neighbor, who
-happened to be a very pretty woman, and followed the somewhat rapid pace
-of the procession.
-
-The important business of the dinner-table was half finished: the soup,
-the fish, even the joints had disappeared, and the voracity of the
-_élégants_ had given place to fastidiousness as they amused themselves
-with a bit of _ris de veau glacé_ or a _petit pâte de Périgord_, when a
-slight bustle at the door attracted universal attention. A dumpy,
-over-dressed old lady, leaning on the arm of a delicate, fair-haired
-girl, entered with that fussy manner so characteristic of an
-out-of-place feeling, while, immediately following her, with a
-complexion as cool and fresh as marble, if one could only imagine marble
-tinged with the rose-tint of youth and health—a complexion such as
-nothing but a morning bath can give—came the elegant Miss Oriel. There
-was the very perfection of art in her whole appearance. She had chosen
-for her entrance the moment when the fierce appetites of those who eat
-to kill time (and sometimes end by killing themselves) were sufficiently
-appeased to enable them to admire something else beside the reeking
-dishes. Among the heated and flushed beauties who sat around the table,
-with relaxed ringlets and moistened brows, she appeared like some fairy
-of the fountain, some water nymph fresh from her sub-marine grotto,
-diffusing about her a cool and refreshing atmosphere as she moved
-gracefully onward. Her dress was white transparent muslin, which
-displayed rather than veiled the fine form of her arms, while her neck
-and shoulders, actually dazzling in their snowy hue and polish, were
-only shadowed by a single jet-black ringlet, which seemed to have
-accidentally fallen from the clustering mass gathered at the back of her
-head. A pale, pearl-like japonica was her only ornament. As she slowly
-paced the length of the hall to a seat near the head of the table,
-reserved for her by a well-bribed waiter, a murmur of admiration ran
-through the apartment. All eyes were fixed upon her, and she knew better
-than to break the spell of her fascinations by condescending to the
-vulgar taste for eating; (a brace of woodcock had been sent to her room
-only an hour previous.) Mrs. Oriel, who seemed determined to make amends
-for past delay by present haste, sent her plate to be filled and
-re-filled; but her daughter only trifled with some delicate French
-combination of odor and tastelessness, and finished the meal by a morsel
-of _Charlotte au russe_ and Vanilla cream. A glass of iced _eau sacré_
-was her only beverage, and she was thus enabled to retain her cool fresh
-tint even in the heated atmosphere so redolent of spices, and gravies,
-and vinous distillations.
-
-It was not until just before quitting the table that Miss Oriel allowed
-herself to see any one in the room. She raised her large soft eyes
-languidly and beheld, what she had for some time known, that her young
-friend Ellen was familiarly chatting with Cecil Forrester. A graceful
-bend of her fair neck and a most lovely smile marked her consciousness
-of his presence, while Cecil, with a polite but rather careless bow
-continued his conversation with Miss Grey; being incited to show her
-peculiar attention by his consciousness that she, as well as himself,
-was designed to be the tool of the selfish beauty. Miss Oriel was too
-well schooled to exhibit any surprise at his cool manner, and as her
-principal object was to attract the attention of Mr. Beauchamp, she gave
-herself no further thought about the matter at that time.
-
-Mr. Fitzroy Beauchamp, by a kind of “_gramerye_” which some ignorant
-people might call _impudence_, had early established himself at the head
-of the table, and assumed the manners of a host upon all occasions. He
-was in fact that most admired, and courted, and flattered of men—the
-Beau (_par excellence_) of a watering-place. Reader, if you have ever
-seen such a person in such circumstances you will be able to imagine his
-appearance, for he was only one of a rather numerous tribe of ephemera,
-who appear every summer and waste their little lives in some fashionable
-resort, whence they vanish with the first northeast wind, and if they do
-not die, at least evaporate in something like empty air. Mr. Fitzroy
-Beauchamp (he was very proud of his name, and was known to have refused
-to dance in the same cotillion with Miss Phebe Pipkin, until his refined
-taste was soothed by the intelligence that she was the heiress of half a
-million) was rather diminutive in size, with a remarkably trim figure,
-and very small feet. He had flaxen hair, elaborately curled, which no
-one would have suspected to be a wig; and he wore the softest and
-silkiest of whiskers, which nobody dreamed were an appendage of the self
-same wig, ingeniously contrived to clasp with springs beneath his chin.
-His cheek had that delicate peach bloom which rarely outlasts extreme
-youth, and, in this case, certainly owed much of its richness to a
-judicious touch of the hare’s foot. His hands were very white and loaded
-with rings, the gifts, as he asserted, of various fair ladies; so that
-he might be said to have the history of his conquests at his fingers’
-ends. He wore a black dress coat lined with white silk, snow-white
-inexpressibles, embroidered silk stockings, and pumps diminutive enough
-to have served for a lady’s slippers. Mr. Fitzroy Beauchamp was what
-ladies call “a love of a man,” and he was duly grateful for their
-partiality. To conceal the ravages of time (alas! he had already
-numbered half a century) and to decorate himself in the most pleasing
-manner he considered a compliment due to the fair sex, while the proper
-display of his wealth and luxury was a duty he owed to himself.
-
-He had been wonderfully attracted by the grace and beauty of Miss Oriel.
-Absorbed in admiration of her easy and modest self-possession, he forgot
-to ask his former favorite, the pretty and _spirituelle_ Mrs. Dale, to
-take wine with him, and the lady was quick-sighted enough to discover,
-and wise enough to smile at the discovery that henceforth her reign over
-the tilbury was at an end. She was quite right. Soon after dinner Mr.
-Beauchamp solicited from Cecil Forrester the honor of an introduction to
-Miss Oriel, and though Cecil would have been ready to fight a duel with
-a fellow who should thus have presumed after a three days’ acquaintance,
-had the lady been one whom he really respected, yet he now cordially
-acquiesced in the wishes of both parties, and with a degree of
-magnanimity quite surprising to Laura, afforded her exactly the
-opportunity she had desired. About twenty minutes before sunset—the
-hour Mr. Beauchamp usually selected for his daily drive—Miss Oriel was
-handed into the elegant vehicle, and they drove off, leaving several
-gentlemen in ecstasies at her beauty as she playfully kissed her hand to
-her dear old fat Mamma, who had bustled out with “my sweet Laura’s
-cashmere, lest the evening air should injure her delicate health.” Her
-fears were quite unnecessary. Mr. Beauchamp never drove his horses more
-than three miles at a time, and had no fancy for hardening his white
-hands by curbing their impetuosity. He was seldom absent more than half
-an hour, as his ambition was fully gratified by being envied as he drove
-off, or dashed up to the door with the best horses before his carriage
-and the most admired woman at his side.
-
-
- THE PIAZZA.
-
-Two weeks passed away, during which time Miss Oriel had shown her skill
-in female tactics by managing to secure the attentions of Mr. Beauchamp,
-while she had transferred Cecil to Ellen Grey until she should be able
-to decide upon his future fate. One evening, Cecil, who had long known
-and admired Mrs. Dale, invited her to walk with him on the piazza, that
-they might witness the effect of moonlight upon the distant sea.
-
-“I am indebted to Miss Grey’s headache for this invitation,” said Mrs.
-Dale, laughing, as she took his arm; “had she been in the saloon my eyes
-would never have been thus favored with a moonlight scene.”
-
-Forrester entered a disclaimer against the lady’s assertion, and a
-playful conversation ensued, when Mrs. Dale, suddenly changing the
-topic, said:
-
-“Pray tell me, Mr. Forrester, if Mr. Beauchamp is so immensely rich?”
-
-“I really cannot take it upon me to determine that delicate question,
-Madam,” was the reply, “but, as a firm believer in the doctrine of
-_compensations_, I am bound to suppose he must be very wealthy.”
-
-“Not understanding your premises I cannot clearly comprehend your
-deductions,” said Mrs. Dale playfully.
-
-“Why, Providence always bestows something to compensate for great
-deficiencies, and as Mr. Beauchamp cannot boast either mental or
-physical gifts, I take it for granted that he must have money.”
-
-“Really, Mr. Forrester, I did not think you were so ill-natured. I am
-sure Mr. Beauchamp has the prettiest hands and feet in the world, and
-his ardent admiration of the ladies proves him to possess a good heart.”
-
-“To your last argument I can offer no opposition, Madam,” was the
-gallant reply; “but as to his hands and feet, I can only say that it is
-not the first time that ladies have been driven to extremities in their
-search for his good qualities.”
-
-“Well, I suppose,” responded Mrs. Dale, laughing heartily, “that I must
-allow your wit to atone for your severity, but how long is it since you
-turned satirist?”
-
-“Ever since I made the discovery which all the experience of others
-cannot teach us—that ‘all is not gold which glitters.’ I have almost
-come to the conclusion that nature, like an over-careful house-wife,
-hides her true gold and silver in least suspected places.”
-
-“In that case Dame Nature might be in the predicament of a queer old
-lady I once knew who hid her rich plate under the rafters in the garret,
-and when she wanted it upon occasion of a dinner-party, was obliged to
-borrow of a neighbor because she had forgotten where she had deposited
-her treasure.”
-
-“I believe if we want to find a really virtuous and true-hearted woman
-we must look elsewhere than among the beautiful,” said Forrester
-bitterly.
-
-“Fie! fie! if I had the slightest claim to beauty I should banish you
-from my presence for that ungallant speech.”
-
-“You ought rather to consider it a compliment, for there is not another
-woman here to whom I would have uttered it, or who would have understood
-me, perhaps, if I had.”
-
-“Ah! now you flatter my intellect at the expense of my person, and no
-woman ever relished such a compliment. But to return to your assertion;
-how can you venture to despise the allurements of beauty after feasting
-daily on such a banquet of loveliness as Miss Oriel offers to our eyes.
-I look at her, woman as I am, with delight, for I never saw so fresh, so
-pure, so marble-like a complexion.”
-
-“Your comparison is more correct than you imagine, Madam; her beauty is
-indeed like that of the marble statue, carved by a right cunning and
-skilful hand, but wanting the Promethean touch of soul.”
-
-“While Ellen Grey is the delicate alabaster vase, beautifully and finely
-wrought, and with all its exquisite loveliness brought out in rich
-relief by the lamp which lights it from within; is it not thus you would
-have continued the comparison?” said Mrs. Dale mischievously.
-
-“Your illustration is a beautiful one, and perfectly true,” was the
-reply; “Ellen Grey is full of gentle and womanly feeling.”
-
-“Perhaps you are prejudiced against Miss Oriel, Mr. Forrester; can it be
-possible that there is no soul shining in those soft dark eyes?”
-
-“There is mental power enough, if that were all, but there is no
-soul—no heart; the lofty impulses of pure intellect, the tender
-affections of feminine nature never yet lighted up those eyes or
-suffused that marble brow with the blush of genuine feeling.”
-
-“Well, as you have known the lady longer than I have, it would be idle
-to dispute your assertions; indeed, I must confess, when I watch her
-sweet, unruffled look and manner, I am irresistibly reminded of the old
-Norse legend of the Snow-Woman—so dazzlingly beautiful, so fatally
-cold.”
-
-“Yet I have seen her under circumstances which would have given you a
-very different impression of her. Imagine that beautiful woman attired
-in the simplest manner, all fashionable airs laid aside, and apparently
-the very creature of romantic feeling; imagine such perfection of
-loveliness, with eyes of softness and voice all tenderness, apparently
-yielding up her whole soul to the sweet impressions of nature, amid the
-loveliest scenery that even our beautiful land can produce; imagine the
-effect of such beauty seen beneath the soft light of the summer moon, or
-gazed upon in the silent sanctuary of the forest glades, or mingling its
-fascinating influence with the lovely sights and sounds which charm the
-senses in the sunset dell, when the voice of the singing rivulet makes
-music on its way.”
-
-“Upon my word, Mr. Forrester, you are almost a poet; you must be in
-love.”
-
-“Perhaps I am, but Miss Oriel is not the object.”
-
-“How could you resist the fascinations you so enthusiastically
-describe?”
-
-“Why, to tell the truth, I narrowly escaped the fate of the silly moth;
-I came very near singeing my wings in the blaze of her beauty, but I
-soon discovered that she possessed none but personal attractions. To be
-sure we had quite a sentimental flirtation, and I remember many very
-fine sentiments which she uttered, but I early found how thin and poor
-was the soil in which they had taken root. You know the most luxuriant
-growth of wild flowers is always to be found in a morass—or perhaps a
-more graphic illustration of my meaning might be found in the fact that
-the pestilential Maremma, whose atmosphere is so fatal to life, displays
-the richest and most gorgeous array of Flora’s favorites. Laura Oriel
-might be loved for a week or two, but any man with common sense would
-soon see through her false character. For my own part, I confess that I
-amused myself with her very pleasantly during the early part of the
-summer. Indeed, I believe she fancied I was really caught in her snares,
-and no doubt considers that ‘Cecil Forrester’s $30,000 will do very well
-to fall back upon in case nothing better offer.’”
-
-“Hark!” exclaimed Mrs. Dale, as a slight sound, like a half-suppressed
-exclamation, struck upon their ears, “I really believe some one has been
-listening to our conversation.”
-
-“When we first came out here,” said Forrester coolly, “I saw a lady take
-her seat within the recess of yonder window; she dropped the drapery of
-the curtain behind her, so as not to be observed from within, and she
-has been sitting in the deep shadow flung by this heavy column. She has
-heard every word we said; at least she has heard all I said, because I
-purposely deferred my most severe remarks until we passed within
-ear-shot.”
-
-“For Heaven’s sake, what do you mean? you seem agitated; who was the
-lady?” asked Mrs. Dale.
-
-“Do you not imagine? It was Miss Oriel.”
-
-“Oh, Mr. Forrester, how could you do so? and to make me a party in such
-cruelty too;” exclaimed the lady, much vexed.
-
-“Now that there are really no listeners, dear Madam, I will tell you the
-whole story, and you shall decide whether I am so very wrong; at all
-events I have had my revenge.”
-
-And Cecil Forrester related to his warm-hearted friend the story of his
-love and its sudden extinction, not omitting a single word of the
-dialogue which he had overheard between the mother and daughter.
-
-When they re-entered the saloon Miss Oriel had disappeared, but if Cecil
-could have known the tumult of her feelings he would, perhaps, have
-regretted his own vindictiveness. All the little feeling which she
-possessed, all that she had of heart, was bestowed on Cecil Forrester.
-She did not know how much she had valued him until she compared him with
-the object of her present pursuit; and, interested, selfish and
-ambitious as she was, she half determined to turn from the allurements
-of wealth if she could win back Cecil to his allegiance. To be thus
-outwitted, made the plaything of his idle hours, foiled at her own
-weapons, was a bitter mortification, and this, coupled as it was with a
-sense of unrequited tenderness, aroused her almost to madness. The cold,
-proud beauty shed tears of vexation and regret. She almost hated Cecil,
-and yet she was conscious that the most bitter drop, in the cup which
-had thus been returned to her own lips, was the assurance that he had
-never loved her. His quotation of her own remark about his fortune
-convinced her that he had overheard her plans, and she was now
-stimulated by pride to urge their speedy fulfilment.
-
-
- THE LAST SCENE.
-
-“Have you heard the news, Mr. Forrester?” exclaimed Mrs. Dale, as, two
-days after the confidential disclosure of the piazza, he entered the
-saloon; “Ah, I see by your look of innocent surprise, you are still in
-blissful ignorance.”
-
-“What has happened?” asked Cecil carelessly, “any thing which serves to
-break the monotony of a seaside existence must be a blessing.”
-
-“I do not know whether you will think it so,” said the lady laughing,
-“Miss Oriel has eloped with Mr. Beauchamp.”
-
-“I am glad of it—from my very soul I rejoice at it,” exclaimed Cecil
-Forrester, while a dark, vindictive smile gave a most disagreeable
-expression to his usually fine face.
-
-“Why, how strangely you look at me,” replied Mrs. Dale, “what is the
-matter?”
-
-“Nothing—nothing—when did it all happen?”
-
-“Did you not see her go out with him to ride last evening? Well, it
-seems Mr. Beauchamp’s servant had been privately despatched to the city
-with their baggage, and instead of returning the lovers rode directly to
-the next town and were married.”
-
-“Why did they give themselves so much trouble? If Beauchamp had asked
-the old woman she would have dropped a curtsy and thanked him for the
-offer.”
-
-“There is the mystery of the whole affair; Mrs. Oriel pretends to be
-very indignant, but it is easy to see she is secretly pleased. Miss
-Oriel has written a letter to Miss Grey in which she entreats her to
-‘break the tidings tenderly to poor Mamma;’ excuses herself on the plea
-of irresistible affection; talks of Mr. Beauchamp’s ardor and her fear
-of maternal opposition, and finishes by requesting Ellen to ‘allow his
-favorite Mrs. Dale to acquaint Mr. Forrester with her regret at having
-been the cause of disappointment and sorrow to him.’”
-
-“What the devil does she mean by that?”
-
-“Why to make Ellen jealous of me and distrustful of you, and thus
-disappoint both your love and revenge,” said Mrs. Dale.
-
-“She shall not attain her ends,” exclaimed Forrester impetuously, “I
-will tell Ellen the whole story. I am glad she is actually married to
-Beauchamp, and I know the reason he did not want to ask her mother; he
-was afraid of inconvenient inquiries.”
-
-“What do you know about him?”
-
-“Only this morning I met here a person who knows him well. His history
-is soon told. He was originally bred a tailor, but, having a soul above
-buttons, he cut the shop, and has since been hanging on the skirts of
-society in a manner very different from that intended by his honest old
-father. His bank stock and sugar plantation may exist in the regions of
-the moon, where all things which unaccountably disappear from earth are
-said to be collected, his negroes are still on the coast of Guinea, and
-he really lives by his wits. A run of luck at the gaming-table or a
-lucky bet on the race-course enables him every now and then to pay old
-debts, and live for a time like a gentleman until his funds are
-exhausted, when he again betakes himself to his vocation.”
-
-“Can this be possible?”
-
-“There is no doubt of it; he is a mere adventurer, and as Miss Oriel is
-something very similar, they are ‘matched as well as paired.’”
-
-Cecil Forrester afforded another proof of the truth of the poet’s line,
-
- “Full many a heart is caught in the rebound.”
-
-The following winter saw him the happy husband of Ellen Grey; while all
-trace of Mr. and Mrs. Beauchamp was lost to their view. About two years
-later, when business had compelled Mr. Forrester to visit one of our
-southern cities, he strolled into the theatre to get rid of an idle
-evening, and as he gazed with listless curiosity on the gorgeous
-spectacle of Indian life which occupied the stage, he was suddenly
-struck with a familiar tone in the voice and a familiar expression in
-the countenance of the stately queen of the Zenana. He looked again, the
-resemblance seemed to grow upon him; he went round to the stage box, and
-in that near proximity to the actress all doubt vanished. He looked upon
-the still resplendent beauty of Laura Oriel.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- SIGHTS FROM MY WINDOW—ALICE.
-
-
- BY RUFUS W. GRISWOLD.
-
-
- I sit beside my window,
- And see the crowds go by,
- With joy on every countenance,
- And hope in every eye,
- And hear their blended voices,
- In many a shout and song,
- Borne by the spring’s soft breezes
- Through all the streets along.
-
- And peering through a lattice
- Of a humble cottage near,
- I see a face of beauty,
- Adown which glides a tear,—
- A rose amid her tresses
- Tells that she would be gay,
- But a thought of some deep sorrow
- Drives every smile away.
-
- She whom I see there weeping,
- Few save myself do know,—
- A flower in blooming blighted
- By blasts of keenest wo.
- She has a soul so gentle,
- That as a harp it seems,
- Which the light airs wake to music
- Like that we hear in dreams.
-
- A common fate is that poor girl’s,
- Which many yet must share,—
- In the crowd how little know they
- What griefs its members bear!
- One year ago a radiance
- Like sunlight round her played,
- Heart felt, eyes spoke of gladness,—
- She was not then betrayed.
-
- There was one of gentle manners,
- Who e’er met her with a smile,
- And a voice so full of kindness,
- That she could not deem it guile,
- And her trusting heart she gave him,—
- She could give to him no more,—
- Oh! daughter of the poor man,
- Soon thy dream of bliss was o’er!
-
- ’Twere vain to tell the story
- Of fear, hope, and joyous passion;
- She forgot her father’s station,
- He forsook the halls of fashion;
- She loved him well—he knew it,—
- ’Twas a pleasing interlude,
- Fitting to enjoy more keenly
- Scenes the poor might ne’er intrude.
-
- Hark! the sound of music swelling!—
- Now the crowd are rushing by,
- Horses prancing, banners flying,
- Shouts ascending to the sky!—
- There’s a sea of life beneath me,
- And _his_ form is there,—
- For his fearful sin who spurns him?
- On his brow what sign of care?
-
- I see _her_ now—she trembles—
- There is phrensy in her eye;
- Her blanchéd lip is quivering;
- There is no good angel nigh;—
- She falls,—the deep-toned bugle
- Breaks on the quiet air;
- Look to the calm blue heaven—
- That sound—her soul—are there!
-
- In the cavalcade she saw him,
- In his plumes and armor drest,
- And more closely to her bosom
- His treasured gifts she prest;
- Her eye met his—’twas finished—
- Not a word by tongue was spoken;
- A cold glance—a look of passion—
- And her heart was broken!
-
- How common are such histories,
- In the cottage and the hall;
- From prison bars how many eyes
- Look on life’s carnival!
- The joys we seek are phantoms
- That fade ere closed the hand
- In the dark reached forth to grasp them,
- But the brain receives their brand.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE TWO DUKES.
-
-
- BY ANN S. STEPHENS.
-
-
- (Concluded from page 245.)
-
-The duke saw his wife, and at first seemed willing to avoid her, but
-after moving forward a step or two, he turned back, took her hand in his
-with an energy that startled her, and pressing his lips to it, turned
-away and hurried on with the guard still surrounding him.
-
-The duchess stood gazing after him, filled with strange apprehension.
-The force with which he had wrung her hand was still painful, and there
-was an expression in his face which made her heart sink with sad
-forebodings. What had befallen him? Where was her daughter—and why did
-he, who so seldom forgot the etiquette of his high station, take leave
-of her thus, when only going forth for a morning? As the gentle and yet
-proud lady stood pondering these things in her mind, the old counsellor,
-whom we have mentioned, returned slowly up the corridor, and approaching
-her with touching reverence, told her all. She thanked him, tried to
-smile as she extended her hand—but in the effort her strength gave way,
-and she fell pale and helpless on the stone floor. The old man lifted
-her in his arms, and carrying her to the Lady Jane Seymour’s room,
-placed her on the bed, and bathed her temples with water, which he laved
-from a silver basin with his hand, till at last he went forth in despair
-to call assistance, for she lay upon the glowing counterpane pale and
-still, like a draped statue reposing in the purple gloom which filled
-the chamber; and for many long hours the lady who had always seemed so
-quiet, proud, and almost void of feeling, remained as one dead.
-
-It was half an hour before Lady Jane was informed of her mother’s
-condition. She was still in her father’s closet, with her hand locked in
-that of Lord Dudley, and her large troubled eyes bent earnestly upon
-him, as he spoke to her in a voice so deep, so earnest and impassioned,
-that every tone thrilled through her heart with a power that made it
-tremble.
-
-“Do not look at me thus. In the name of heaven, speak to me, Jane. I
-have not done this; it is no fault of mine. Do I not love you?—ay, and
-will forever! I will follow my father, beseech him, kneel to him if
-needs be, and put an end to this dreadful contest; but speak to me
-first—my own—my dearest—say that you will struggle for power to aid
-me that—nay, Jane, nay, do not shrink from me; one kiss—one look, to
-prove you love me as before, and I will go at once. All will terminate
-well—God bless you!”
-
-As the young man finished his hurried speech, he lifted the young girl
-from his bosom, where she had fallen in utter abandonment to her
-tenderness and grief, pressed her forehead with his lips again and
-again—then folding her to his heart once more, he carried her to the
-chair her father had just occupied, and placing her within it, was about
-to leave the room. Lady Jane put back the long ringlets that had fallen
-over her face with both hands, and looked after him through the tears
-that almost blinded her. Then rising to her feet, she tottered toward
-him with outstretched arms, and when he turned for a last look, sprang
-forward and wound them almost convulsively round his neck. It was but
-the paroxysm of a moment, for scarcely did she feel his clasp together
-about her, when she drew gently back, checked the tears that gushed into
-her eyes afresh, and spoke breathlessly, as one whose very heart was
-ebbing with the words, as they came laden with pain to her lips—
-
-“It is in vain, Dudley, all in vain. There have been words and deeds,
-this day, between your father and mine, which must separate us forever.
-Farewell!”
-
-He would have expostulated, have soothed her with hopes which had no
-foundation in his own mind, for his thoughts were in confusion, and his
-heart seemed ready to break with contending feelings; but as he spoke,
-her slender fingers wreathed themselves convulsively around his hand,
-her face was uplifted to his for a moment, and she glided swiftly
-through the door and along the corridor to the chamber where her mother
-was lying, and left him standing bewildered and in pain, as if a
-guardian spirit had been frightened from its brooding place in his
-heart.
-
- * * * * *
-
-In an apartment belonging to that portion of the tower occupied by the
-sovereigns of England sat a pale, slender boy reading. The room was
-furnished in a style of magnificence, befitting one of high rank and of
-habits more elegant and studious than were usual to the court of Henry
-the Eighth during his reign. The books which it contained were richly
-bound, and some of them encrusted with jewels; all had clasps either of
-silver or of gold, and a portion were entirely filled with manuscript in
-the hand-writing of the late King Henry.
-
-Tall windows cut deep into the massive walls in one side of the room
-filled it with light. The massive stone sills were cushioned with
-velvet, and upon the cushions, musical instruments of the most precious
-wood and inlaid with gold, had been flung down, as if their owner had
-become weary of one amusement only to seek another. The boy arose from
-his easy leathern chair, and moving toward the window, ran his fingers
-thoughtfully over the strings of a lute that lay on the cushion, gazing
-idly through the glass at a court below, as he was thus occupied. After
-a moment he sauntered back to the chair, took up the volume of
-manuscript which he had left open on a small and curiously carved table
-standing near the window, and sinking once more to his seat he began to
-read again, but the book seemed to fatigue him at last, so allowing it
-to sink, still open, to his lap, the youth gradually sank to a fit of
-abstracted musing, and sat with his head resting on his hand, and his
-large eyes fixed dreamily on the face of a great ebony clock which stood
-opposite the window, its burnished face glittering through a whole bower
-of carved wood, and its huge pendulum swaying to and fro with a dull,
-sleepy motion, well calculated to continue the state of languid
-thoughtfulness into which the youth had fallen.
-
-As King Edward the Sixth—for the boy was no less a personage—sat
-musing, thus languid from ill health, and rendered somewhat more sad
-than usual from the manuscript and book which he had been reading, a
-page entered, and before he had time to speak, Lord Dudley, son of the
-reigning protector, followed him into the room. The young nobleman
-looked pale and much agitated, and Edward himself seemed a little
-startled by his abrupt entrance, for he was so little accustomed to
-being consulted on matters regarding the welfare of his kingdom, that
-any person thus nearly connected with the Lord Protector became an
-object of nervous dread to him; for such persons seldom interrupted his
-retirement except to counsel some change of residence, or dictate
-regarding his personal habits, which to a person naturally shy, and
-rendered sensitive by illness, was always a subject to be dreaded, but
-never opposed. It was therefore with something of dismay in his pale
-features, that Edward received his visiter.
-
-Dudley advanced close to the king’s chair, and sinking to one knee,
-pressed his lips reverently to the slender hand which the royal youth
-extended with habitual courtsey, though a languid and deprecatory smile,
-rather than one of welcome, stole over his lip.
-
-“My lord,” he said in a voice low and almost femininely sweet, “I am not
-well to-day, but if your good father recommends that we remove to
-Windsor, let the household be prepared; he is the best judge, though in
-his strong health and great energy he does sometimes tax our weakness a
-thought too far with these sudden removals.”
-
-Edward motioned the young nobleman to arise as he spoke, and when he
-still retained a kneeling posture, looked in his face with something of
-astonishment.
-
-“My liege,” said Dudley in a respectful and low voice, “I did not come
-from my father. Alas, since he became Duke of Northumberland and
-Protector of this realm, there has been little of confidence between us.
-I have come to you, my liege, on a subject dear as my own life, one
-which I dare not again intrude upon him, though every feeling of
-friendship and honor should make him listen to my prayer.”
-
-“Of what speak you?” said Edward apprehensively, while his large eyes
-wandered from the young nobleman’s face to other objects in the room, as
-if he would gladly have avoided any subject of interest, “of whom speak
-you—and of what?”
-
-“I would speak, my liege, of the duke, your highness’ uncle, of his
-suffering wife and daughter, who now lie with him, prisoned within these
-very walls; I would claim that justice and clemency at your hands, which
-I have sought and knelt for in vain, at the feet of my own father.”
-
-The king sank back into his chair, and passed his pale hand across his
-forehead, as if the subject were not only a painful one but not entirely
-comprehended in its full import.
-
-“We know,” he said at length, “that our uncle has been found or thought
-guilty of many evil practices against the good people of our realm, and
-that our present able protector has seen it best to imprison him for a
-season; but we did not know that our noble aunt and sweet cousin Jane
-were the companions of his captivity. Pray, can you inform us, my good
-lord, how this all happened? Of what wrong has our sweet playmate and
-cousin been accused, that she too must be drawn from her home? His Grace
-of Northumberland forgets that the same blood which fills the veins of
-his king fills hers also; pray explain, my lord. We have no power to
-sift all the evil practices of our government, but even his grace, your
-father, must be careful how he deals with one of our mother’s house.”
-
-The feeble youth became animated with a spirit which surprised Lord
-Dudley, as he uttered these words. A bright flush spread over his
-cheeks, and his eyes sparkled with the excitement which sprang both from
-disease and a resentful feeling, perhaps the most violent that ever
-visited his gentle heart. Naturally kind and most affectionate in his
-nature, he had always clung with fondness to those members of his family
-connected with his mother, and, since her birth, the Lady Jane had been
-his especial favorite. It therefore aroused all the strong feelings of
-royal pride in his heart to hear that a creature so pure and delicate
-had been, through an abuse of power, made the inmate of a prison. Nor
-was he better reconciled to the fact when Dudley informed him that it
-was through her own affectionate desire to mitigate the confinement of
-her persecuted parent that she had abandoned all to follow him. The
-youthful monarch was touched by an act of devotion such as his own heart
-would have prompted, and he questioned Lord Dudley regarding the
-arbitrary power by which the fallen protector had been imprisoned, with
-a degree of energy, and an evident determination to know the exact
-position of affairs, which astonished as much as it pleased the anxious
-nobleman.
-
-Lord Dudley’s was a difficult and painful explanation. It was scarcely
-possible to place the proceedings against the Duke of Somerset in a
-favorable light before the young king, without in some degree exposing
-the conduct of his own parent to condemnation. Still he had entered the
-presence of his sovereign with a firm resolve to explain all, and throw
-himself and his hopes on the generosity of a mere boy, and an invalid,
-who had ever been completely controlled by his guardians, those
-guardians the very men whom he was called upon to brave. It was with
-faint hopes, that Dudley undertook this last appeal, when all other
-efforts to assist his friends failed, and when he had done speaking,
-when he saw the feeble youth lying back in his chair, pale and exhausted
-from the emotions which his narrative had excited, he felt almost
-condemned, that any motive could have induced him to disturb the repose
-of a being so fragile and sensitive.
-
-“My liege, my kind, gracious master,” said the young man, starting to
-his feet as the overpowered monarch sank back to his chair, faint, pale,
-and with his golden lashes quivering upon his thin cheeks as they closed
-his eyes; “my gracious king, forgive me that I have thus intruded—that
-for any reason I have disturbed a repose which should be sacred to the
-whole nation; but the persecution of a being so fair—so good—one whom
-I have long looked upon as my future wife—who is now suffering and in
-prison”—
-
-Dudley broke off abruptly, for all at once the hectic color rushed back
-into the king’s face, and his languid blue eyes kindled with the
-brilliancy of a spirit, for the first time, thoroughly aroused.
-
-“Were we indeed a king,” he said, “a true, free king as our father was,
-and not the invalid child which men see in us, these things could not
-happen. No man would dare to enter the councils of a nation and cast
-their leaders into prison without the sanction, nay, command of his
-monarch. But, alas! there is not in the kingdom a being more completely
-held in thrall than ourself! Until now, we were scarcely made aware of
-the persecution which has been so ruthlessly urged against our
-uncle—but it shall not be! The new duke, thy father, must not thus
-abuse the authority with which the council, rather than ourself, has
-invested him!”
-
-Edward arose, excited to some degree of strength by the indignation of
-his generous heart, and walked up and down the room once or twice, as if
-to tranquilize his spirit, then seating himself once more, he requested
-Lord Dudley to explain the cause and all the particulars of Somerset’s
-arrest.
-
-It was a difficult task which the young monarch imposed on his visiter;
-for Dudley loved his father, and it was impossible to enter into the
-desired explanation without, in some degree, implicating him; but a
-sense of justice, and that true love which brought him to Edward’s
-presence, urged him to obedience, and while he so guarded each word as
-to cast as little blame as possible on his own parent, he pleaded the
-cause of his friends with a degree of enthusiasm that aroused all the
-love of justice and family affection, which were strong and
-predominating qualities in the heart of the youthful monarch.
-
-Edward sat perfectly still, shading his eyes with his small, thin hand,
-till Dudley had finished speaking; and even for several moments after,
-he remained motionless, and as if lost in thought. At last, he allowed
-the hand to drop from his eyes, and looked up.
-
-“My lord,” he said, in a firm, clear voice, “you have acted rightly and
-well in laying this subject before us. Our reign may be a brief one, but
-it shall be marked, at least, by one act of justice. Come hither again
-after nightfall. Meantime we will consider the subject and decide what
-can best be done.”
-
-Dudley bent his knee reverently, kissed the pale hand extended toward
-him, and left the presence. As his fine, healthy form disappeared
-through the door, and the vigorous footfall of youth and firm health
-sounded back from the corridor, Edward looked after him, smiled very
-sadly, and sinking down to his chair, exhausted with the scene,
-murmured:
-
-“How well he is! how full of life and hope! and I—” He covered his face
-with both hands, and tears trickled through his fingers, till they fell
-like rain amid the sables that lined his robe. “And yet,” he added at
-last, removing his hands and wiping away the tears, while a brighter
-expression stole over his face, “and yet I have the power to make him
-happy—and Jane, my sweet cousin. Let me act while I have yet strength!”
-
-Edward arose once more, unlocked a miniature cabinet which stood upon
-the table, and taking out a small golden flask, drank off its contents.
-The potion seemed to compose and strengthen him; a color came to his
-lips, and his eyes had within them that strange, glittering fire which
-springs from artificial excitement. A small branch of twisted ebony,
-hung with a cluster of tiny bells, lay upon the table. The king took it
-up, and rang the bells till the apartment seemed haunted in every nook
-and corner with a gush of fairy music. As the sound died away, the door
-was opened, and a page presented himself, evidently much astonished at
-the energy with which his summons had been rung.
-
-“Go to the lieutenant of the tower,” said Edward, promptly, as the page
-advanced to receive his orders. “Tell him that the king desires his
-presence without delay.”
-
-The boy disappeared instantly; and when his companions in the ante-room
-crowded near to know why it was that a sound so full and bold had
-summoned him, in place of the faint, silvery tinkle which usually came
-from the king’s apartment, he put on a look of profound mystery, and,
-after describing the change which had come upon his royal master, gave
-it as his decided opinion, that something very tremendous and
-extraordinary was about to happen, but what the event might be he was
-not at liberty to inform them. This much he would, perhaps, venture to
-say. The lieutenant of the tower would soon be ordered to present
-himself before the king, and after that something might transpire to
-surprise them all. With these profound sayings, the boy departed from
-the ante-room, putting on his plumed cap with an important air, and
-placing a finger to his saucy red lips, in token of secrecy, as he
-looked back in passing through the door.
-
-After an absence of half an hour, the page returned, following the
-lieutenant of the tower, for whom he ceremoniously held the door opening
-to King Edward’s chamber. The lieutenant passed in to the royal
-apartment, while his young escort closed the door after him, dexterously
-managing to leave it unlatched, and sufficiently ajar to command, for
-himself, a view of all that was passing within, while he stood toying
-with his cap, and, as his companions supposed, retaining his station
-merely to be within hearing of the king’s bell.
-
-So little had Edward mingled in the affairs of his nation, that, for the
-first time in his life, he addressed an officer of his kingdom in the
-man who stood before him, who stood lost in astonishment at a summons so
-strange and unexpected.
-
-Though a little restrained and shy in his manner, from almost constant
-illness and seclusion, there was a degree of quiet dignity about the
-young king’s bearing as he extended his hand to raise the lieutenant
-from his kneeling posture, that well became his station and his royal
-nature.
-
-“We have sent to command your presence, sir lieutenant, somewhat against
-our usual habit; having been informed, to-day, that our uncle, the Duke
-of Somerset, with the gentle ladies of his household, have been placed
-prisoners under your care. Our desire is, that they be discharged the
-tower, at once, and sent, with all due honor in our own royal barge, to
-the duke’s palace on the Strand. You are commanded to see to this;
-retaining only, in pledge, the solemn word of our uncle, that he present
-himself before us, his king, in three days, to be confronted with his
-accusers, and to answer the charges brought against him.”
-
-Edward slightly waved his hand, when he finished speaking, as if he
-deemed farther conversation or ceremony unnecessary; and, after thus
-quietly expressing his wishes, desired to be alone.
-
-The lieutenant was a shrewd man, who held his station under favor of
-Northumberland, and who had been taught, like most of his fellow
-subjects, to regard the king as a mere shadow in his own realm. He was
-taken by surprise—so completely deprived of all presence of mind, by a
-command totally unexpected, and most important in its nature, that for a
-moment he stood gazing hard upon the floor, completely at a loss how to
-act, or what to say. At last, he cast a furtive look on the young
-monarch, who stood tranquilly regarding him, but instantly turning his
-eyes away, again bowed almost to the ground, and said, in a soft,
-deprecating voice, that he would mention the king’s desire to the Lord
-Protector forthwith, and that he would, doubtless, sign the order
-necessary for a release of the noble prisoner.
-
-A fire, like that in the eye of an angry falcon, shot into the large,
-blue orbs which Edward fixed upon his officer. A streak of crimson
-flashed across his forehead; his slight figure was drawn proudly up,
-and, as his velvet robe, with its heavy facings of sables, fell back and
-swept the floor, there was a majesty in his look which well became a son
-of Henry the Eighth. After regarding the confused lieutenant a second,
-with a glance, which made that personage more desirous to leave the room
-than he had even been to enter it, the young monarch turned away,
-saying, in the same calm and tranquil tone in which his first command
-had been given—
-
-“The King of England will write his own orders—wait.”
-
-Seating himself by the table, Edward took up a pen, and though his
-fingers trembled with weakness upon the parchment, wrote and signed an
-order for his uncle’s release, the first and last legal document that
-his own free will ever originated. After it was written, he took up a
-small agate cup, perforated in the side, and after shaking a quantity of
-gold dust over the damp ink, he folded the parchment and held it toward
-the still irresolute lieutenant. There was something in the manner with
-which all this was done; so quiet, so firm and full of dignity, that, in
-spite of himself, the officer was awed by a feeling of respect which
-could not be resisted. Bending his knee, he reverently took the
-parchment, pressed his lips to the hand which extended it, and left the
-presence, irresolute how to act, and yet deprived of sufficient courage
-to resist the command of his sovereign.
-
-As the page ran forward to open a door which led from the ante-room to a
-corridor, through which the lieutenant was obliged to pass, he saw, at
-the farther extremity, the Duke of Northumberland, now Lord Protector,
-moving toward the king’s apartments, followed by some half dozen
-retainers whom he left near the entrance, while he advanced to meet the
-lieutenant with a look of surprise and displeasure at seeing him there.
-The page observed that when the duke and his officer met, they conversed
-earnestly and with considerable animation together, but in low voices,
-and all the time looking suspiciously around to be certain that no
-person was within hearing. They were thus engaged for more than ten
-minutes, while the restless page stood, with the door in his hand,
-regarding them through a crevice thus conveniently created to gratify
-his curiosity.
-
-“Now,” said he, muttering to himself as he softly swung back the door a
-little to increase his opportunity of survey—“now, if I could but steal
-through without making these rusty hinges sound an alarm, it would be
-rare pastime to creep along the wall and hear what treason those lofty
-old fellows are plotting. It is no light matter, I’ll warrant—see, how
-the tall old duke clutches his fingers and bends his dark forehead over
-his eyes till one can scarcely see them, beneath the hoary brows—see,
-his lips are pressing hard upon each other like a vice—now is his turn
-to speak—nay, if I were master lieutenant now, beshrew me! but I should
-get away from that beautiful old gentleman without waiting to say ‘by
-your leave!’ There he stands, looking the king a thousand times more
-than my young master yonder, and I doubt not berating that poor
-lieutenant, as if he were a hound. See, how slowly, and with what a
-manner he lifts that right hand, holding the finger up, and shaking it
-before the poor lieutenant as if it were the blade of a dagger. Beshrew
-me! but I must learn more of this game—the corridor is half in shadow,
-and they can but kick me out, like a troublesome dog, if I am
-discovered—so be quiet, latch and hinge, if you can, for once.”
-
-As the boy half muttered, half thought these words, he gently pushed
-back the door, and was about forcing himself through the opening, but a
-noise, created by the rusty hinges, was not the only means of betraying
-his attempt. A space large enough to admit his body also served to fling
-a line of light far into the dim corridor, which startled the two
-persons he was regarding more than a noise could have done. They both
-turned and looked keenly toward the door. The duke uttered a brief
-sentence and moved on, waving his hand imperatively to the lieutenant.
-He also went down the passage, and passing the group of attendants in a
-hurried manner, disappeared through a door at the opposite extremity,
-through which the duke had entered the corridor.
-
-Meantime the page, finding himself in danger of detection, had escaped
-to his post near the king’s chamber. When Northumberland approached, he
-arose from the bench on which he had flung himself, looked up from
-beneath the feathers of his cap, with a sleepy yawn, and moved forward
-to announce the Lord Protector, rubbing his eyes as he went, and
-laughing with silent mischief beneath the concealment of his drooping
-plumes. As the duke passed him at the door, he paused an instant and
-fixed a keen glance on his face, which the boy returned by taking off
-his cap, and bending his curly head almost to the ground, while, with
-the most frank and cheerful of all voices, he prayed for long life to
-the noble Lord Protector.
-
-If Northumberland had any suspicion of the boy at first, it was half
-disarmed by that clear voice and the handsome face sparkling with
-intelligence lifted to his. There was something mischievous and yet
-affectionate and pleasing in it, which brought a smile to his own face
-as, with careless munificence, he flung a piece of gold into the boy’s
-cap and entered the king’s chamber.
-
-The page was not so much elated by the gift but that he would have been
-at his old trick of listening once more; but after advancing a pace into
-the chamber, Northumberland turned back, looked at the urchin with a
-half smile, and closed the door himself.
-
-A laugh from his companions, who witnessed his defeat from another end
-of the room, sent a flood of crimson over the boy’s face, but shaking
-his curls with an air of good-natured bravado, he gave the golden coin a
-triumphant toss, which sent it flashing like a star up into the sunshine
-which poured through a neighboring window, and catching it in his hand
-again, sprang forward and joined the laugh merrily as the most gleeful
-among them. Instantly, the noisy troop were silenced by a sharp
-bell-tone from the king’s chamber.
-
-“Hush!” said the page, balancing the coin on his finger and eyeing it
-with a roguish look as he bent his head to listen. “That was the crusty
-old duke! such fellows hate an honest laugh as King Harry did holy
-water! they would keep us cooped up here like a flock of pigeons without
-the privilege of a coo. Hark! again, I must keep quiet till the old one
-is away, and then we will try a game of chuck farthing in the corridor,
-if we can get this shiner changed into half crowns and farthings.” So,
-grasping his fingers over the gold, the page nodded to his companions,
-leaving them half terrified by the thoughts that their merriment had
-reached—not the king, he was too good and lenient to chide them for
-harmless mirth—but the stern duke, whom they all feared beyond measure.
-The page looked back upon them, as he entered the chamber, tried to
-smile and seem courageous, though he was half frightened out of his
-wits—and the next instant stood in the presence of his sovereign, with
-his bright, black eyes—half concealed by their long lashes—bent to the
-floor, and a brilliant red burning through the ringlets that fell over
-his cheek. He seemed the very picture of a living and healthy Cupid in
-disgrace.
-
-“What noise was it that reached us but now from the ante-room?” said the
-Lord Protector, sternly, as the boy appeared before him. “Is it with
-this rudeness and riot you surround the chamber of our invalid king?
-Begone, sirrah! strip off the royal livery at once and return to your
-mother, if you have one.”
-
-The boy lifted his face to that of the stern duke and his cheek dimpled
-even while it turned white with fear, a smile was so natural to it. But
-when the last cruel words were spoken, the long lashes drooped over his
-eyes again and grew heavy with moisture. He turned away from the face
-frowning upon him, and, kneeling at the king’s feet, lifted his
-eyes—now full of tears—to those of his master and said,
-
-“I have no mother.”
-
-Edward’s kind heart was deeply touched by the sadness with which this
-was said. He was but a youth himself, and forgetful of his dignity and
-of all but the sweet, pleading face lifted to his, he laid his thin hand
-upon the curls which fell back from it, and would have kissed the
-forehead, but an exclamation from Northumberland warned him of the
-impropriety. Still the page had seen the impulse and the generous tears
-which filled the mild eyes of his master. His young heart swelled with
-grateful affection, and, burying his head in Edward’s robe, he sobbed
-aloud.
-
-“Poor boy! he is an orphan like ourself. You will not send him hence, my
-lord duke,” said the young king, turning his face with an anxious and
-almost pleading look upon his guardian. “The offence was not heavy; and
-see how penitent he is.”
-
-“The offence not heavy, my liege?” replied the duke harshly, “have I not
-given orders that no sound shall disturb your highness’ repose, and
-notwithstanding this, am I not distracted almost in my first private
-audience by the riotous mirth of this urchin and his mates?”
-
-“Nay, we have ourself somewhat to blame in this—having little cause for
-merriment in our own heart, and pining here day after day—for, alas!
-kings have no companions—it has sometimes been a comfort to hear the
-merry laugh of these thoughtless boys—to know that cheerfulness is not
-shut out from our presence forever. That health and laughter—which is
-its music—is yet a thing of earth; though, alas! a blessing which we
-may witness, but never enjoy. Shut out the sunshine which smiles through
-these windows, the stars which at night time glimmer through that narrow
-line of glass, and which we have learned to read when pain has made our
-couch sleepless, till they have become as old friends; break yon lute,
-whose music is to this faint heart like the voice of a good child to its
-parent, and, above all, send away the cheerful voices which sometimes
-fill the next room, and you have wrested from the King of England the
-only fragment of his inheritance that was ever his.”
-
-The page looked up as his master was speaking, the tears were checked in
-his eyes, and he knelt breathlessly, as one who listened to the voice of
-an angel. The proud Northumberland turned his eyes from the pale,
-spiritual face of his royal ward, and bent them on the floor. There was
-a look of patient suffering in those features which touched his better
-nature; something in the sad, broken-hearted feelings which filled that
-voice, which found a passage to his soul, even through the selfishness
-and ambition that encased it. Other thoughts, too, were busy in his
-mind. He had a point to carry with the young monarch—a difficult and
-doubtful one. His animosity against the page only arose from resentment,
-excited by his conversation with the lieutenant, and some faint
-suspicion that he had played the listener while that conversation was
-held. A moment’s reflection convinced him that to have heard any part of
-his conference, from the distance at which he had caught a glimpse of
-the boy in the corridor, was impossible; so, resolving to make his
-concession the means of obtaining a much greater one from the king,
-Northumberland determined to seem won to mercy by sympathy and regard
-for his ward.
-
-While these thoughts were passing through the mind of that crafty man,
-Edward remained in his chair, supporting his head with one hand, while
-the other still lay caressingly, and half buried amid the bright
-ringlets of the kneeling culprit, who gathered the royal robe between
-his small hands, and kissed the glowing velvet with grateful eagerness,
-while his bright face was again deluged with tears—such tears as can
-only know their birth in a warm, wayward, and affectionate nature.
-
-“Forgive the pain my zeal in behalf of a health so precarious has
-occasioned,” said the duke, advancing graciously to the king, while his
-face relapsed into one of those bland smiles which sometimes beamed like
-magic over his proud features. “Heaven forbid that anything which is
-dear to your highness, however faulty, should be condemned by one whose
-first aim is to render his king happy! Let the boy go at once! Far be it
-from me to desire his chastisement. Go, sirrah,” he added, taking hold
-of the boy’s arm and lifting him from his knees, but still giving to the
-action and words a tone of good-natured encouragement, “go to the
-ante-room; here is another piece of gold to repay the fright we have
-given you.”
-
-The page stood up; his checks flushed once more beneath the tears that
-stained them. He looked upon the proffered gold, and, with a motion of
-the head, betraying both pride and boyish petulance, seemed about to
-refuse it, but a glance from his master, and something in the duke’s eye
-which awed him, checked the resentful impulse, and taking the gold, with
-half muttered thanks, he knelt once more at Edward’s feet, kissed the
-hand which was kindly extended, and bursting into tears again, left the
-chamber.
-
-The moment he reached the ante-room, our page flung himself on a bench,
-and burying his face in the tapestry that cushioned it, sobbed aloud.
-His companions gathered about him in dismay, anxious to learn the cause
-of his tears; but it was a long time before he would reply to their
-questions. At last he started up, dashed the two pieces of gold on the
-stone floor till they rang again, and told his friends to take them
-up—fling them into the court below—toss them for farthings—do
-anything with them—but protested that he would never touch them again.
-After this ebullition of boyish wrath, he gave a glowing description of
-the tyranny which had been practised upon him by the duke; of the
-goodness of his royal master; and of the great danger which had
-threatened them all. Whereupon, they jointly and severally entered into
-a contract never to laugh again during the whole course of their
-lives—a resolution they persisted in keeping for a full half hour, when
-our young hero set them all into convulsions by a most ludicrous
-imitation of the protector’s manner as he took leave of the lieutenant.
-When this new burst of merriment died away, the group of youngsters
-stood for a while frightened by their own boldness, and expecting each
-moment to hear another summons to the royal chamber; but instead of the
-sound they feared, came another which overwhelmed them with surprise. It
-was the voice of their royal master, louder than any one had ever heard
-it before, and powerful with strong feeling. The duke’s voice was also
-heard, sometimes stern and almost disrespectfully harsh, again soothing
-and persuasive, with something of that cajolery in its tone which one
-might expect from the hired nurse of a wayward child.
-
-While these unusual sounds were continued in the king’s apartment, the
-pages gradually drew nearer to the door, till they could command some
-broken sentences of what was passing within. At length the king’s voice
-grew fainter and less distinct. Northumberland now and then uttered a
-brief sentence, and his heavy footsteps were plainly heard as he strode
-up and down the room. At last a sharp ringing of the bells sent the
-listeners to a distant part of the room, where they stood gazing in each
-other’s faces, uncertain whether they ought to obey the summons or not.
-Their doubts were speedily relieved, for the door was flung open and the
-Duke of Northumberland appeared, looking pale and much agitated. He
-beckoned with his hand, and the page that we have mentioned so often
-entered the chamber. He found the king lying back in his chair, faint
-and pale as death; his lips were perfectly bloodless, and though he
-seemed insensible, the silken vest worn beneath his robe was agitated by
-the quick and terrible beating of the heart it covered.
-
-With instinctive affection, the page untied the silken fastenings of his
-master’s dress, and exposing the delicate neck and chest, which heaved
-and throbbed as if the heart were forcing a passage through, he
-commenced chafing it with his hands, till the agitation became less
-painful and apparent.
-
-At length, Edward unclosed his eyes and drawing his doublet together
-with a trembling hand, tried to sit up. Northumberland advanced and
-seemed about to address him, but he shrank back with a nervous shudder.
-After a moment, he got up again and would have spoken, but his lips only
-trembled; he had no strength to utter a word. Northumberland walked to a
-window, where he stood some time with his arms folded, gazing gloomily
-through the thick glass. Still the page knelt by his master, chafing his
-hands, and folding the robe over his feet with that kind assiduity which
-bespoke an affectionate nature.
-
-At length Edward spoke, and the duke turned eagerly from the window,
-evidently relieved by this proof that his late attack would not be
-immediately fatal.
-
-“My lord,” said the king, faintly, “you see how impossible it is that
-this subject can be discussed farther. I beseech your grace, have my
-wishes obeyed, both regarding your son and all the parties concerned.”
-
-Again Northumberland’s brow darkened, and he seemed about to
-expostulate, but Edward looked him gravely in the face and added,
-
-“It _must_ be so, my lord duke, or England will not brook the
-imprisonment of a protector who, with all his faults, knew how to
-respect the rights of his king.”
-
-The color forsook Northumberland’s face, but still he frowned and looked
-unyielding. Edward arose feebly from his chair, and leaning upon the
-shoulder of his page, moved toward an inner bed-chamber. The duke saw by
-this movement that all hope of further conference was cut off, and
-feeling himself baffled and forced to act against his wishes by a mere
-youth, he once more forgot his usual crafty composure and the respect
-due to his sovereign.
-
-“My liege,” he said, almost imperatively, “this is requiring too much; I
-cannot grant it.”
-
-Edward turned so as to face the angry noble, and while still supported
-by the page, answered mildly, but with the same steady will as before,
-
-“My Lord of Northumberland,” he said, “either our uncle, the Duke of
-Somerset, returns to his palace to-morrow as we have directed, or on the
-next day he goes there Lord Protector of England.”
-
-With a slight wave of the hand, and with his features contracted with
-the pain which his effort to speak occasioned, Edward turned away and
-passed into his bedchamber without waiting for a reply, which, in truth,
-Northumberland was unable to give, so completely was he astounded by
-what had already been said.
-
-The page would have called other assistance when Edward reached his
-bedchamber, but the invalid prevented him, and after having the points
-of his dress untied, lay down upon the bed, faint and exhausted. The boy
-moved about him with that soft, gentle tread so grateful in the chamber
-of an invalid. He smoothed the pillows, drew the counterpane of embossed
-velvet over the recumbent monarch, and, taking some scented woods from a
-closet, flung them into a brasier that stood in the fire-place, and
-nursed the flame beneath till the chamber was filled with a soft, drowsy
-atmosphere, grateful to the sense, and almost certain to produce
-tranquil sleep. Then he would steal once more to the bed, pull back the
-voluminous curtains, and bend over the pale form resting there till his
-dimpled cheek, so damask and healthy, almost touched that of the
-monarch, and the wreath of his bright curls fell amid the damp masses of
-hair which swept over the pillow, in a contrast that was lovely and yet
-painful to behold. When satisfied that his master was asleep, the boy
-stole softly from the chamber, as had always been his habit, to await
-the time of his waking in the next room. He started with surprise on
-seeing it still occupied by the Duke of Northumberland, who stood before
-the window gazing sternly into the court below, and evidently lost in a
-train of most unpleasant thoughts. When the boy entered he started
-impatiently, and, clearing the frown from his face with an effort,
-crossed the room.
-
-“Tell your master,” he said, addressing the page, “tell your master that
-his wishes shall be obeyed—say that all shall be in readiness by eight
-this evening;” and with these words Northumberland left the royal
-apartments.
-
-Either the protector’s voice aroused Edward, or he had not slept, for
-scarcely was the door closed when his voice summoned the page to his
-bedside. When the duke’s message was repeated to him, a smile of
-satisfaction settled on his face, and he sank into a tranquil slumber.
-After awhile those usually quiet apartments were full of bustle and
-preparation. Attendants passed in and out; pages were seen running to
-and fro with mysterious faces. More than one laden wherry untied its
-contents at the tower stairs, and everything bespoke the approach of
-some uncommon event.
-
- * * * * *
-
-One little month had scarcely passed when the Duke of Somerset, bereft
-of wealth and station, sat in a gloomy prison room of the tower,
-expecting each moment to be dragged forth to trial, and, perhaps, an
-ignominious death. It was a large room, but so dimly lighted that
-persons sitting together looked sallow and careworn in the dusky
-atmosphere that filled it. The very sunbeams forced themselves
-sluggishly through the high window, as if rusted by the masses of old
-iron which blocked their passage, and were lost, long before they
-reached the floor, in a web of ragged and dusty cobwebs, which covered
-the ceiling like mouldering tapestry, moth-eaten and turning to dust
-where it hung. There, on the gloomy floor of this desolate place, sat
-the prisoner, striving to read by the unhealthy light, which was only
-sufficient to make the effort a painful one. He lifted his eyes to the
-grating with an impatient exclamation, and, flinging his book on the
-floor, began pacing up and down the stone flags. Instantly a figure
-started forward from an inner room and lifted the book; while the sweet,
-pale face of Lady Jane Seymour was raised for a moment to that of her
-suffering parent, as he moved rapidly up and down the room. She laid the
-book once more upon the flags, and exerted all her frail strength to
-move the chair her father had occupied to a station nearer the window.
-This done, she again lifted the ponderous volume with her two fair
-hands, smoothed out the dark letter page which had been doubled in the
-fall, and bearing it to the duke, besought him to sit down, while she
-read aloud to him.
-
-Somerset paused a moment in his walk, impelled by the persuasive but sad
-tones of his child; but confinement had made him irritable; so,
-extricating his disordered cloak from the slight grasp which she had
-fixed upon it, he pushed the book from him with a violence which sent it
-crashing to the floor again, and resumed his restless occupation. The
-book had fallen upon the flags, with its broad leaves downward, and
-crushed beneath the heavy binding, that, with the ringing of the heavy
-clasps, as they struck the stones, brought another person into the room,
-but so changed, so thin, and broken-hearted in appearance, that few
-persons who had seen the dignified, proud, and lovely Duchess of
-Somerset, in her high estate, could have recognised her as she stood
-within the sickly atmosphere of her husband’s dungeon.
-
-The gentle lady moved across the room, her rich, but now soiled,
-vestments sweeping the dusty floor as she passed; while her daughter was
-patiently occupied in smoothing the pages which had been injured in
-their fall, and in brushing away the dust which they had gathered, she
-approached her husband, placed a hand upon his arm, and looked with a
-sad smile into his face.
-
-“The apartment within is less gloomy than this,” she said; “come and sit
-with us; you, who never failed to share the sunshine of life with us,
-should not thus brood alone, now that sorrow has befallen us. Come!”
-
-Somerset turned abruptly from his noble wife, and to conceal the
-emotions her sweet, patient manner had awakened, rather than from
-continued moodiness of spirit, he still paced up and down the darkest
-part of his dungeon, with all the appearance of continued irritation,
-for he was ashamed of the tears which, in spite of himself, sprang to
-his eyes on witnessing his gentle and yet proud wife so fallen and so
-patient in her ruin.
-
-The duchess was rendered quick-sighted by affection, and, speaking in a
-low voice to her daughter, the two left the fallen man to the liberty of
-grief. The room which they entered was scarcely superior to the other,
-but more light was admitted to it; and where is the spot so dark, or so
-full of discomfort, that a loving and intelligent woman cannot give some
-domestic charm to it? When the unfortunate lady and her still more
-unfortunate child left their palace home, and besought permission to
-share the confinement of a husband and a father, they had been permitted
-to bring a few objects of comfort to cheer the desolation which
-surrounded him. Several leathern chairs, and a stool or two, cushioned
-and embroidered by the fair beings who selected them for that reason,
-stood within the room. Lady Jane had swept and garnished the stone floor
-with her own delicate hands, all unused as they had been to such menial
-service. A rude table was there, a few favorite books lay upon it, and a
-lute, the companion of many a happy, childhood hour, was now taken up by
-that gentle girl, that its sweet tones might soothe the moody spirit of
-the proud man, who seemed scarcely conscious of her effort to
-tranquilize him.
-
-Lady Jane knew that it but mocks a broken spirit to see anything it
-loves over-cheerful; so her strain, though not gloomy, was touching, and
-a sad one, so sad that her father, as he walked in the adjoining room,
-forgot the selfishness of his sorrow and wept like a child, that two
-creatures so gently nurtured should thus inhabit a prison, and, for his
-sake, exert their broken spirits to render it cheerful. After a while he
-entered the apartment where they were, and going up to the duchess he
-bent down and kissed her, while his right hand rested on the head of the
-young girl sitting at her feet. Lady Jane lifted her grateful eyes to
-his face and smiled. When her father kissed her forehead also fondly,
-and with the affection of former times, a swarm of kindly feelings
-sprang to her heart; her light fingers touched the lute again, and a
-gush of music, not gay, and yet scarcely sad, filled the dungeon room.
-It was a home song, such as they had loved in better days, and it awoke
-many pleasant memories; so, amid all their sorrows, these three
-persecuted beings sat together in domestic companionship, almost happy.
-If chains were upon them, their love of each other twisted a few golden
-links amid the iron which no human power could wrest away.
-
-The memories which the song awakened gradually led the conversation to
-brighter themes, and for awhile the inmates of that dungeon almost
-forgot their present condition. They talked of former days, and, as they
-talked, an expression amounting almost to a smile rose to the face of
-the father. The sunshine, too, seemed to partake of their joy, streaming
-in more gaily through the narrow window, and playing, like a wilful but
-merry child fitfully across the floor; while a bird—a wanderer from
-green fields far away—pausing a moment outside the casement, poured
-forth such a gush of music that it thrilled the inmost hearts of the
-listeners with joy. Could the duke have seen them then how would he have
-envied them.
-
-But, as the day wore on, their thoughts once more were brought back to
-the full consciousness of their present situation, and again a shadow
-came over the souls of the members of that little family, typical of the
-sunshine which but just before had been shining so merrily through the
-casement, but which now had vanished, leaving the dungeon room dark and
-forbidding.
-
-The gloom of coming night at last gathered thickly in the dungeon,
-rendering it still more cold, desolate and prison-like. The duke still
-retained his sombre mood and gazed gloomily on the stone flags at his
-feet, while his patient wife sat by his side, her hand resting in his,
-and her sweet, low voice now and then whispering words of endearment,
-such as her proud and modest nature had considered too bold at any time
-save when the beloved one was in affliction, or in any place except that
-miserable dungeon room. Hers was the love of a true and delicate nature.
-And, like the flame of a lamp which, scarcely seen amid the glare of
-sunshine, grows brighter and more vivid when surrounded by darkness, it
-seemed the only faithful or bright possession left to the fallen man.
-Nay, there was yet another, scarcely less wretched than himself, or less
-clinging and affectionate than the woman who would have comforted him.
-That gentle girl, still tireless in her wish to please, crouched at his
-feet, and the soft notes of her lute stole up tremblingly and thrilled
-amid the darkness which shrouded them all. She felt that her father’s
-thoughts were far from her, that the melody which sprang from her weary
-fingers was all unheeded, and yet she played on, glad that in the
-darkness she could weep without being seen. So, as her hand wandered
-over the strings, tears streamed down her pale cheeks, unchecked, and
-fell upon it till the fingers were damp as if they had been laved in a
-fountain. Sometimes a sob would escape with the tears, but then came a
-gush of wilder music and the voice of her sorrow was concealed by it.
-
-The wife still wound her fingers lovingly in the prisoner’s hand,
-grieved that no answering clasp was given back, and yet chiding herself
-for selfishness that she could expect to be thought of at such a time.
-The daughter wept on, and still coined her tears into music. But the
-husband and father had become almost unconscious of these efforts; he
-was like a caged lion indignant with his keepers, and with his heart
-full of the forest where he had once prowled a king. At last there was a
-sound of feet mustering at the prison door. It was about the hour when
-their evening meal might be expected. The little group looked listlessly
-up when the bolts were withdrawn, and the glare of a torch fell bright
-and crimson through the door. Somerset started to his feet, while the
-duchess withdrew her hand, and resuming her usual air of gentle dignity
-moved back a pace, where she stood pale and composed, ready to receive
-the lieutenant who, for the first time, entered their dungeon in person.
-
-“My lord duke,” said the lieutenant, addressing his prisoner with some
-embarrassment, but throwing into his voice and manner that respectful
-homage which the fallen protector had scarcely hoped to witness again;
-“my lord duke, I am sorry to intrude on your privacy, or to interrupt
-the music with which this gentle lady soothes your prison hours, but I
-have orders for your removal to another room.”
-
-“To another room!” exclaimed the duchess, while her cheek blanched
-whiter and her voice was changed with apprehension, “and we, his
-daughter Lady Jane and myself, surely, surely, we go also!”
-
-“Not yet, noble lady; the protector has ordered it otherwise; but I
-beseech you take it not to heart, the separation will be a brief one,”
-said the lieutenant, bending before the terrified duchess as he spoke.
-“Nay, sweet lady, do not weep,” he continued, turning to Lady Jane, who
-had dropped her lute to the floor, and stood directly in the light, with
-her hands clasped firmly together and her tearful face exposed; “it
-pains me to witness such sorrow for a cause so groundless. It is but a
-change of apartments! A short time and you will doubtless receive the
-Lord Protector’s sanction to cheer the noble duke’s apartments once
-more; meantime, my orders are imperative! My lord duke, I trust that you
-will not be displeased with the change. Permit me to lead the way!”
-
-“I will be ready to attend you in a moment,” replied the duke, “but
-first grant me a moment’s privacy. As my return is uncertain, I would
-take leave of the duchess and my child without so many witnesses!”
-
-The lieutenant bowed, and withdrawing from the dungeon, closed the door.
-Then all the strong affections of his nature rushed back upon the
-wretched duke, for he believed that they were separating him from his
-family forever. He tried to speak, but could not; a rush of feelings,
-that had weighed down his heart to apathy before, choked his utterance;
-a silent embrace and the clinging arms of his wife were forced from his
-neck; another embrace, a blessing on his child, and before they could
-cry out or strive to detain him, the door swung to with a sharp crash,
-the light disappeared, and those suffering and helpless creatures were
-left alone.
-
-“Mother!” That word arose amid the darkness faint and broken with tears.
-
-“My child, we are alone!” replied a second voice, made strong by the
-agony of parting.
-
-“No, not alone, mother, God is with us!” And, as she spoke, that noble
-girl stretched forth her hands and groped the way to her mother in the
-darkness. As she passed the lute, which still remained on the floor, her
-garments brushed the strings and a tone of music stole through the
-room—a pleasant tone—and it seemed that an angel had answered to those
-trustful words.
-
-The duchess, who had sunk down in agony of heart, began to weep when she
-heard the sound, and so, in that dark and lonesome prison room, those
-two helpless beings clung together and comforted each other.
-
-An hour went by, and once more a sound of heavy feet was heard outside
-their dungeon. The bolts shot back and a flood of light revealed the
-duchess sitting in the chair left vacant by her husband. Kneeling upon
-the floor, and half lying in her mother’s lap, was the Lady Jane; her
-face had been buried in the vestments of her parent, and she had been
-praying, but, as the door opened, her head was thrown back and a joyful
-expression filled the soft brown eyes turned eagerly upon the entrance.
-It was crowded with people, and an exclamation of pleasant surprise
-burst from the duchess and her daughter when two females entered the
-dungeon, each with a heavy bundle under her arm. In the foremost Lady
-Jane recognised her old nurse, and the other had long been chief
-tyring-woman to the duchess. Never were human beings so welcome, never
-two beings “so happy without knowing why,” as these old warm-hearted
-women.
-
-“There,” said the nurse, holding the Lady Jane in her arms, and kissing
-her fondly between the words; “there, I say, you with the crusty face,
-roll in the coffer—that will do!” she added, as one of the men brought
-in a good sized coffer, which the duchess recognised as her own.
-
-“Now,” continued the old woman, still with her arms around her
-astonished foster-child, “place that mirror on the table; softly, man,
-softly, you are not wielding your iron bolts now, and that silver frame
-is easily bruised if you knock the fillagree work about after that
-fashion!—there, set it down, for a bungler as you are; place the lamp
-in front; be careful, knave, you are treading on my lady’s lute—pick it
-up!” The man pushed the lute aside with his foot, and set the lamp down
-without regard to the old woman’s order.
-
-“So, you cannot pick up the lute which a noble lady has fingered,
-forsooth! Wait a few days, and we shall see you creeping on your knees
-for the honor, instead of standing there with a look as stubborn as your
-own iron bars. Go, bring in the case of essence bottles, if that does
-not prove too heavy a task, and then take yourself off, for a clumsy
-cur; a pretty serving-man you would make, I trow!”
-
-The man, on whom the old woman’s eloquence was exercised, seemed very
-willing to obey her last command. He brought in the case which she had
-desired, and, placing it on the table, left the dungeon and was about to
-lock the door, but just as he was closing it a clear cheerful voice was
-heard in conversation with him. After a moment’s delay, the half-closed
-door was swung open again to admit a handsome boy in the king’s livery,
-who carried a casket under his arm.
-
-“That was well thought of, my pretty page,” said the nurse, approaching
-to take the casket, “but who has found courage to break the new
-protector’s seal? If it was you, boy, I only hope that handsome head may
-be firm on your shoulders six weeks hence. I would as soon have touched
-a red-hot coal as the bit of wax sticking to the smallest cabinet in the
-palace, and I saw all my lady’s jewels counted and locked up weeks ago.”
-
-As she spoke, the old nurse allowed the Lady Jane to escape from her
-embrace, while she advanced to the page, and would have taken the casket
-from under his arm, but he stepped aside, with a roguish toss of the
-head, and dropping on his knee before the young lady, placed the casket
-in her hand. Bewildered, and as one in a dream, she gazed first upon the
-casket, then, wonderingly, on the handsome boy at her feet.
-
-“What means this?” she said at last, looking doubtfully toward the
-duchess, who sat gazing upon the scene with equal wonder. “Our crest is
-upon the lid, but underneath are the royal arms of England.”
-
-The duchess arose, and, taking the casket from her daughter’s hand,
-touched a spring. The lid flew open, and, with an exclamation of
-surprise, the ladies saw, not their own jewels, but a magnificent suite
-of diamonds which had once belonged to Jane Seymour, the Queen of Henry
-the Eighth; a young creature who had perished in giving birth to the
-present king—fortunate, perhaps, in being taken from her earthly state
-before she had learned how terrible a thing it was to “outlive her
-husband’s liking.”
-
-“What means this—whence came the jewels?” exclaimed both ladies at
-once, turning their eyes from the gems that flashed and glowed in the
-lamplight, to the boy who had risen from his knees, and, with his plumed
-cap, was brushing away the dust which his vestments had caught from the
-floor.
-
-“They were entrusted to me by my royal master, the king,” replied the
-boy, who paused in his occupation and gazed upon the casket, as he
-spoke, fascinated by the rich hues that played and quivered about it. “I
-was bade to deliver them to the Lady Jane Seymour—to say that the king
-desired that she would mingle them with the adornments of her fair
-person before she placed herself under the escort of the lieutenant, who
-will be here anon to bring farther orders from the Lord Protector.”
-
-Before the astonished ladies could question him farther, he had obeyed
-some signal given him from the door, and left the dungeon.
-
-It was in vain the noble duchess questioned the nurse and the
-tyring-woman. They were too much elated to gratify the anxiety of their
-mistress, even if they had not been as much mystified as herself. All
-they could say was, that a messenger had been sent from the Duke of
-Northumberland with orders to convey them to the tower; that they were
-commanded to take from the wardrobe, in the palace, every thing
-necessary for the toilet of their ladies. Though scarcely half an hour
-was allowed them for a choice, they had filled a coffer, and, with a few
-things hastily collected, were hurried into a barge and so to the
-dungeon of their mistress, scarcely realizing how it had all been
-brought about.
-
-This unsatisfactory information only served to increase the excitement
-already produced in the minds of the prisoners; while their attendants
-were busily searching for keys, and smoothing the rich vestments that
-had been somewhat roughly crowded into the coffer, they looked on as
-people in a dream. The glare of lights which filled every gloomy angle
-of their dungeon; the velvet robes flung in glossy robes over the armed
-chair; the jewels, twinkling and flashing like a cluster of stars, on
-the table—all seemed like enchantment, and they looked on with a
-strange emotion of hope mingled with foreboding and almost with
-affright. Still there was something in all that had transpired,
-calculated to encourage more than to depress. So after a few brief words
-of consultation, the mother and daughter sat down and permitted the two
-women to adorn their persons without farther question. The duchess was
-speedily arrayed. In spite of her fears, a ray of hope had been
-awakened, and her face, before so pale and care-worn, became almost
-happy in its expression, save that a color, far more vivid than was
-natural to her cheek, betrayed the anxious fears that struggled against
-the more hopeful feeling that had sprung to life in her heart. She stood
-by as they wreathed the diamond tiara amid the tresses of her daughter’s
-hair, and, with her own fair hand, put back two or three of the brown
-curls where they fell over the young cheek, which gradually became warm
-and damask from the influence of anticipations which she could not
-entirely control, and yet which she trembled to encourage. How beautiful
-she looked in her robe of glowing velvet, with the tiara which had once
-adorned a queen, shedding its starry brightness amid her hair and over
-that pure forehead. Her neck, always beautiful, now gleamed out with
-more pearly whiteness beneath the string of brilliants that shed a rich
-light upon it; and, as the old nurse busied herself with the point lace
-which draped her rounded arms, she looked up to her mother, and a sweet,
-natural smile came faintly over her face. The mother did not smile, but
-a brighter expression lighted up her eyes, and the two looked almost
-happy making their strange toilet in a dungeon. The nurse had taken that
-little hand, which trembled in her clasp with conflicting emotions, and
-after pressing her lips upon the rosy palm, was drawing on the snowy
-glove with its embroidery of seed pearls, when there was a sound at the
-door, as of some person knocking against it with his knuckles, and,
-after a moment, the lieutenant of the tower once more presented himself.
-When the duchess advanced eagerly toward him, demanding a reason for all
-that had transpired, he answered with the calm politeness which usually
-marked his demeanor, that the Lord Protector had given orders that they
-should be removed to another room.
-
-“But, tell me,” said the lady, almost beside herself with anxiety, “tell
-me, is it to the duke—is it to my husband you conduct us?”
-
-A smile stole up to the lieutenant’s face. It might be one of irony
-aroused by the keen anxiety which she displayed: it might be a sign of
-admiration for the two beings that could look so lovely amid the gloom
-of a dungeon; but they could not read its meaning, and he would give no
-other reply to their question.
-
-The Lady Jane began to tremble, but she placed her arm within that of
-the duchess, and was supported from the dungeon. Her heart died within
-her bosom as she found herself in a long, damp passage, surrounded by
-strange faces, and going, she could scarcely dream where. She looked in
-her mother’s face; it had become very pale again, and the arm on which
-she leaned shook beneath the weight of hers. All at once, she felt that
-the train of her dress had been lifted from the floor. She looked round,
-and there was that handsome little page grasping the folds of velvet in
-his small hand, while his bright face was lifted smilingly to hers. He
-seemed to comprehend and pity the anxiety betrayed by the troubled
-expression of her face, for drawing close to her side, he whispered—
-
-“Have no fear, sweet lady, there is nothing of harm to dread.”
-
-“Sirrah, fall back to your place,” said the lieutenant, looking sternly
-over his shoulder.
-
-The boy shrank back, but not till his words had brought comfort to the
-heart of Lady Jane, and were whispered in the ear of her mother.
-
-On they went, through dark passages and gloomy chambers;—the flambeau
-carried by their guard, crimsoning the walls as they passed on, and
-their shadows changing, and seeming to dance in fantastic groups around
-them as the lights were tossed upwards and flared in the chill currents
-of air that drew down the corridors. At last, they entered a large room,
-lighted up and surrounded by a range of cushioned benches, from which
-some half dozen pages arose with great show of respect as the party
-entered. The lieutenant and his officers remained standing at the
-entrance to the room, while two of the pages ran forward to an opposite
-door, which they held open as if the ladies were expected to pass
-through. The duchess turned her eyes on the lieutenant, uncertain how to
-act; he bent his head, and drawing respectfully back, answered her
-appeal in a low voice.
-
-“Lady,” he said, “my charge ends here; pass on to the next room, where
-the king awaits you.”
-
-The duchess started as she heard this, and grasping the hand which
-rested on her arm, whispered—
-
-“Courage, my child, all will be well!”
-
-Though taken by surprise, the noble lady had been so long accustomed to
-courts that, in crossing the ante-chamber, she resumed the quiet and
-dignified manner which anxiety had previously disturbed, but the quick
-feelings of youth could not be so readily controlled, and when the
-duchess presented herself in King Edward’s apartments, the young
-creature leaning on her arm was pale as death beneath all the warm glow
-of her jewels, and trembled visibly with suppressed agitation. The
-duchess cast a quick glance over the room. Her husband was there, not in
-his prison garments but robed as became his station, and by his side
-stood the Duke of Northumberland—though her heart leaped at the sight,
-she remained to all appearance composed and ready to sustain the dignity
-of her noble house before the man who had been its bitter enemy. Lady
-Jane also looked up, and recognised her father, with a thrill of joy
-such as she had seldom known before, but instantly the happy glow died
-from her face, and almost gasping for breath she clung to the duchess
-for support. She had seen another face, that made her heart tremble as
-she gazed—a face which had haunted her soul with a memory which would
-not be shaken off, but which in darkness and in sorrow had clung there
-as “the scent of roses hangs forever around the vase which once
-preserved them.” It was the face of Lord Dudley—the son of her father’s
-enemy. The man whom she had loved with all the truth and fervency of a
-pure and most affectionate heart, but from whom she was separated
-forever. Was it strange that her cheek and lips grew white or that those
-heavy lashes drooped sorrowfully beneath the look with which he regarded
-her? a look which made her heart turn faint with the memories which
-crowded upon it. She could not meet that glance again. Her father, the
-highborn and persecuted, was there, and yet that one look had made her
-almost forgetful of his wrongs.
-
-Before these thoughts could fairly pass through her mind, and while the
-duchess hesitated at the door that she might have time to gain something
-of composure, the duke of Northumberland arose from his seat with that
-air of graceful and proud courtesy which no man could adopt with so much
-ease, and crossing the room, gave his hand to the duchess, inquired
-kindly after her health, and requested permission to lead her before the
-king, who sat in his large easy chair looking almost healthful, and made
-quite happy in the newly aroused power of conferring happiness upon
-others. Edward stood up to receive the duchess, and when she would have
-knelt, he took her hand in his and pressed it affectionately to his
-lips.
-
-“His Grace of Northumberland will bear witness for us,” he said, “how
-ignorant we have been of all that you have suffered, and how deeply the
-knowledge grieved us when it did come. For our sake let all be
-forgotten; if any power is left to our feeble state, these persecutions
-shall not happen again.”
-
-The lady, thus kindly addressed, made a grateful reply, which was
-somewhat restrained by the presence of Northumberland. He must have
-heard all that was passing, though his face wore the same bland and
-tranquil smile with which he had first approached her.
-
-After pressing his lips once more to the fair hand in his, Edward turned
-to the Lady Jane, a smile broke over his pale face, and those large
-eyes, usually so regretful and sad in their expression, now sparkled
-with pleasant feelings.
-
-“And our sweet cousin,” he said, looking down upon her lovely face as
-she sank to his knees, “methinks the prison fare has added to a beauty
-which was bright enough before. Nay, fair one, if you must do us homage,
-another hand must raise you.”
-
-As he spoke, Edward had extended his hand as if to raise the young girl
-from his feet, but instead of this he laid it among the rich tresses of
-her hair, where it rested pale and caressingly lighted up by his own
-princely gift of jewels, and sinking to his seat again he bent forward
-and addressed the wondering girl in a low and earnest voice, smiling as
-he spoke, and faintly blushing as he saw that his words made the warm
-color deepen and glow in the cheek that had a moment before looked so
-cold and pale.
-
-“Nay, do not rise yet,” he said, checking the modest impulse which
-prompted the bewildered girl to seek the shelter of her mother’s side,
-and as he spoke, Edward lifted his eyes from the drooping lashes that
-began to quiver upon the now red, now pallid cheeks, and looked
-expressively toward Lord Dudley, still keeping his hand upon the young
-creature’s head. He felt her start and tremble beneath his touch as Lord
-Dudley came eagerly forward, and though she did not look up, he knew by
-the trembling of her red lip and the rosy flood that deluged her face
-and neck, that the music of that familiar footstep had reached her
-heart.
-
-Dudley returned the young monarch’s smile, as his hand was removed from
-its beautiful resting place, with a look of gratitude, and bending down
-he whispered a few words to the Lady Jane as he raised her from the
-king’s feet. She cast one timid glance on his face; it was eloquent with
-happiness, so eloquent that her eyes sought the floor again.
-
-The king looked toward the ante-room and gave a signal with his hand. It
-was obeyed by our favorite page, who glided across the room and softly
-opened a door leading to the royal oratory. There, within the gleam of a
-silver sconce which flooded the little room as with a stream of
-moonlight, stood the king’s chaplain, in his sacerdotal robes, and with
-a book open in his hand. Upon the marble step at his feet lay two
-cushions of purple velvet fringed and starred with silver. Lord Dudley
-led his trembling charge forward, and they knelt down upon these
-cushions, while King Edward and all within the outer room stood up. A
-moment, and the deep solemn tones of the chaplain, as he read the
-marriage ceremony, filled the two apartments. The sweet face of Lady
-Jane was uplifted, and the pure light fell upon it, as she made her
-response in a voice rendered low by intense feeling—another response,
-louder and more firmly uttered—a benediction—and then Lord Dudley led
-his bride from the oratory.
-
-“Your blessing, my father,” murmured the half happy, half terrified
-young creature, as she knelt with her lord at Somerset’s feet.
-
-The Duke of Somerset bent down, kissed the beautiful forehead so
-bewitchingly uplifted, and gave the blessing which made his child happy.
-The duchess smiled, and wept amid her smiles.
-
-“Ah, Jane,” she murmured, fondly putting back the ringlets her own hand
-had arranged, “ah, Jane, we little thought this evening would end so
-happily.”
-
-The king stood by, and turned away to conceal the pleasant tears which
-filled his eyes.
-
-“One thing more,” he said, “and our slumber will be sweet to-night;” as
-he spoke, the royal youth advanced to “The two Dukes,” where they stood
-side by side, and linking their hands together, placed his own upon
-them.
-
-“Be friends,” he said, “the kingdom has need of you both.”
-
-Edward felt their hands beneath his clasped together, and was satisfied.
-He was young, full of generous impulses, and believed that two ambitious
-men toiling for the same object _could_ be friends.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE ABSENT WIFE.
-
-
- BY ROBERT MORRIS.
-
-
- At twilight’s soft and gentle hour
- When shadows o’er the dull earth creep,
- And nature feels the soothing power
- Of coming night and balmy sleep—
- When the tired laborer hastens home
- His wife and little ones to kiss,
- And the young beauty anxiously
- Awaits love’s hour of dream-like bliss—
- When nest-ward hie both bird and bee,
- My fondest thought is still for thee!
-
- Again at midnight’s solemn hour,
- When eyes are closed and lips are still,
- And Silence, like a spirit’s form,
- Rests sweetly on each vale and hill,
- When Love and Grief sit side by side
- Around some sinking sufferer’s bed,
- Or Crime in shadow seeks to hide
- A form to every virtue dead,—
- E’en then in dreams thy form I see,
- Or waking fondly turn to thee!
-
- At rosy morn, when like a gleam
- From some far brighter sphere than ours,
- The sunlight with its golden sheen
- Awakes the world and tints the flowers—
- When birds their tuneful numbers raise
- And chant a welcome to the dawn,
- When Nature lifts her voice in praise,
- And day, creation-like, is born—
- Then, when are hymns from land and sea,
- I bow to Heaven and think of thee!
-
- My lonely room—my quiet hours,
- No hand to press—no voice to cheer,
- No form to meet in Pleasure’s bowers,
- No song to melt the soul to tears—
- No welcome home with looks of joy,
- No gentle song to tell of love,
- No day-dreams of our cherished boy,
- No child-like eyes to point above—
- No hand to soothe the ruffled brow,
- Alas! how much I miss thee now!
-
- Pity the wretch, who, doomed to roam
- From day to day this lower sphere,
- Unloved by any—loving none,
- Still wasting on from year to year,
- As lonely as some twinkling orb
- That trembles in the distant sky,
- A watcher mid the hosts of night
- With none to share its company—
- Unloved while living, and when dead,
- With none a heart-wrung tear to shed!
-
- Alas! how cold and desolate
- The path of such a one must be,
- How dim his hopes—how sad his fate,
- How cheerless his lone destiny!
- No eye to mark each changing look,
- No lip his fever’d brain to press;
- No gentle one in whisper low,
- With kindly words his ear to bless,—
- To point his thoughts from earth to sky,
- And paint some bright Futurity!
-
- Why do we live? Affections—ties
- That well and form within the breast,
- That intertwine our sympathies
- With hopes and joys that make us blest—
- These point the panting spirit up
- To milder realms beyond the skies,
- And whisper to the trembling soul
- New bliss awaits in paradise!
- Oh! what were life with love away,
- Where earth its bound—its limit clay!
-
- Then soon return, fond one, return,
- Thy greeting shall be kind and true,
- Love’s lamp again shall brightly burn,
- And life its purest joys renew!
- Oh! absence, like the clouds that throw
- Thick shadows o’er the summer sky,
- But, passing, leave a brighter glow,
- A deeper, purer blue on high:
- So now I wait the passing gloom,
- That light again may gladden home!
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- SONG.
-
-
- Oh! sing unto my soul, my love,
- That all-entrancing lay,
- Such as the seraphim above
- Are singing far away—
- It comes as some familiar strain
- Once heard in heaven, now heard again.
-
- For sure—as olden sages tell—
- We are not all of earth:
- The soul, by some mysterious spell,
- Has glimpses of its birth;
- And memories of things divine
- Thrill o’er me at that voice of thine.
-
- They come as half-forgotten dreams
- From that eternal land,
- The sounds of its celestial streams,
- The shores of silver sand,
- The angel faces in the air—
- Oh! sing, and waft my spirit there!
-
- A. A. I.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.
-
-
- _Zanoni, a Novel. By the Author of “Pelham,” “Rienzi,” &c. Two
- Volumes. Harper & Brothers._
-
-A few years ago, in the first volume of “The Monthly Chronicle,” a tale,
-or rather the fragment of one, appeared, professedly from the pen of
-Bulwer. But the story defied critical as well as common sense to
-understand it. It opened abruptly and closed abruptly. It had, properly
-speaking, neither beginning nor end. It was incomprehensible. By general
-consent, “Zicci” was regarded as a freak of the author—its only merit
-was the novelty of having no merit at all. After being the jest of the
-reviewers for years, this story has been completed, and now lies before
-us, under the altered name of “Zanoni.”
-
-The idea of the novel is borrowed from the dreams of the old
-Rosicrucians, and of the predecessors of that sect as far back as the
-Chaldeans. These visionaries imagined that man, by a rigid practice of
-virtue and the sublimation of every earthly feeling, could attain to a
-perfect comprehension of the most hidden secrets of nature—could hold
-communion with, and exercise control over, the unseen powers of the
-air—and could even preserve human life to an indefinite extent, by
-acquiring the means by which it might be perpetually renovated. The
-story opens at Naples, towards the close of the last century. The hero
-is a noble Chaldean, who, having attained to the knowledge of this last
-secret of his sect while yet in the prime of youthful manhood, wears now
-the same aspect as when he gazed on the stars from his home in Assyria,
-before the temple had been built on Mount Zion—before the Greeks had
-fought at Marathon—before the builders of the pyramids had died. To an
-imaginative mind, such a character possesses peculiar charms. He comes
-before us with all the solemnity of the past, making vivid to us the
-great deeds of buried ages. He has seen the army of Alexander on the
-Indus. He was in Egypt when Antony’s fleet set sail for Actium. He
-remembers when Demosthenes thundered for the crown, when Cæsar fell in
-the Senate House, when Rome was sacked by Attila. For three thousand
-years he has gazed on mankind with a face as unchanging as that of the
-weird Sphinx of the desert. For ninety generations, he has survived war,
-and pestilence, and the slow decay of the system,—a being mysterious in
-his subtle power, wonderful in his awful and majestic beauty. This
-exemption from death he has won by the subjugation of every feeling and
-passion to the mastery of a PURE INTELLECT. But still retaining his
-_youth_, he retains the capacity to _love_; and though, for such a lapse
-of ages, he has withstood temptation, he is destined at last to yield to
-it. He meets with and loves a beautiful Italian girl. He thus endangers
-his earthly immortality; for the moment he yields to earthly passion,
-however pure, his intellect becomes clouded, and he loses the prophetic
-faculty as well as others of his high attributes. Conscious of this, and
-knowing that he will bring peril and sorrow around the path of Viola by
-linking her fate with his, he struggles long against his passion, and
-even after yielding to it, endeavors to avert from her head the dangers
-which, as consequences of his conduct, thicken around her. In this
-Titanic conflict betwixt the intellect and the heart—in the alternation
-of the aspirations of the one and the agonizing throes of the other,
-lies the _burden_—as the old writers would call it—of the novel.
-
-The idea, as thus stated, is simply grand. It has a unity that
-overpowers us. Had the author contented himself with merely developing
-this idea, omitting every thing which had no necessary bearing on the
-_dénouement_, he would have produced an almost faultless story. But he
-has, in a great measure, failed in carrying out his conception. He has
-weakened the effect by diverging from the _burden_ of the story. As the
-novel has been circulated in various cheap forms throughout the country,
-we shall take it for granted that our readers have perused the book.
-This will save us the necessity of recapitulating the plot as the basis
-of our remarks.
-
-The plot is grossly defective in several important particulars. Many
-even of the leading incidents have no bearing on the _dénouement_. The
-compact betwixt Zanoni and the Evil Eye, at Venice, is of this
-character. The author’s original intention was to make the condition
-exacted from the husband play a prominent part at the crisis; but he
-subsequently changed his mind, and brought about the _dénouement_ by
-other means, forgetting, however, to rewrite this scene, so as to adapt
-it to the altered aspect of the story. The Evil Eye, when he comes to
-assert his rights, is cavalierly dismissed, in a very inartistical
-manner. It would have contributed far more to the unity of effect of
-which we have spoken, if the author had pursued his original design, and
-made the condition exacted from Zanoni, the sacrifice of his own life,
-when, at any future period, he should wish again to preserve the life of
-Viola. By following out this plan, Bulwer would have been saved the
-necessity of introducing the sanguinary scenes of the French Revolution;
-and the crisis would have been brought about in a far more natural
-manner than it is at present. The introduction of Robespierre and his
-associates is _forced_; it renders involved an otherwise simple and
-effective plot. We are astonished that an adept in Art, such as Bulwer
-professes to be, should have committed a blunder for which, if he had
-been a schoolboy, he should have been soundly whipped. If he intended to
-enlist and keep up the interest of his readers in his two chief
-characters, why has he distracted the attention by the introduction of
-The Reign of Terror, that most real of tragedies, whose horrors exceed
-anything that romance can imagine, whose thrilling story stops the
-pulsation of the heart for anything less terrible? The mind should have
-been left undistracted to contemplate the stern, Doric self-sacrifice of
-Zanoni! The author should not have sacrificed the unity of effect for
-the dying struggles of Robespierre, or any other human butcher in the
-blood-bespattered shambles of Paris. We can see what misled Bulwer. Not
-satisfied with the grandeur of his original conception of the
-_dénouement_, he sought to increase the interest by the clap-trap effect
-of rapidly shifting the perilous incidents in which all the chief actors
-are involved. This is a trick he has learned behind the foot-lights, and
-not in the study of the great old masters.
-
-There are numerous minor errors in the plot. Glyndon’s _liaison_ with
-Floretta does not advance the story, and the only part she plays in
-evolving the crisis, is the betrayal of Viola at Paris. If the plot had
-been handled properly, there would have been no necessity for her agency
-here. But the desire to paint mere sensual love, in this character,
-induced Bulwer to patch her into the tale. He has been persuaded, from
-the same reason, to introduce other unimportant characters we might
-name. In short, his motley array of personages reminds us of Burke’s
-graphic picture of Chatham’s last piebald ministry, where he compares it
-to a piece of mosaic, “here a bit of black stone and there a bit of
-white,” and humorously depicts the consternation of men, who had been
-all their lives libelling each other, on finding themselves “pigging
-together in the same truckle-bed.” In like manner the robber figures in
-the scene. So do Mervale and that worthy shrew his wife. These are all
-gross faults; for the necessity of preserving that oneness and
-entireness of effect, of which we have spoken so much, exists in
-peculiar force in a highly imaginative work like this. The introduction
-of supernal agents is, at all times, a dangerous experiment; and, when
-they are introduced, the illusion is to be kept up at every sacrifice.
-This can scarcely be done where the reader listens on one page to the
-converse of immortal powers, and on the next to the wrangling of a
-cross, sleepy wife with a drunken husband—when we are hurried from the
-lofty aspirations of Menjour and Zanoni, to the silly love toying
-betwixt Glyndon and Floretta. This brings us to another error in the
-author—an error which lies at the very bottom of all his errors.
-
-The subject is unfit for prose. It properly belongs to the drama. The
-true province of the imagination is poetry, and although this divine
-faculty may stoop to prose, it can never truly shine but in the
-celestial garments of the muse. We do not deny the impossibility of
-treating an ideal theme in prose—we only assert the superior advantages
-which poetry affords for the same object. Transitions may be tolerated
-in the drama which should be anathematized in prose. But, above all,
-poetry would favor the preservation of the illusion to which we have
-already referred. The _tone_ of a story such as Zanoni is, could be
-better preserved in poetry. The idea of the tale is inexpressibly grand,
-and might have been worked out with terrible effect. The struggle in
-Zanoni’s mind betwixt his love for Viola and his longing for an earthly
-immortality would have produced, if evolved by a master hand, a tragedy
-equal to Manfred, Faust, we had almost said Prometheus.
-
-But we have said enough under this head. Let us look at the characters.
-
-Of Zanoni we have already spoken. His character belongs to a lofty
-region of the ideal. The conception of Pisani, also, is highly
-imaginative. He comes in, at the opening of the tale, with the same
-effect with which a fine overture precedes an opera. He prepares the
-mind, by his unearthly music, for the mysteries that are to follow. His
-barbican, his solitary life, his dreams of wild figures and wilder music
-in the air, entitle him to a high rank in the ideal. What a grand
-thought is that which represents him at the theatre, mechanically
-performing his part, while all the time his soul is thinking of his
-beloved opera, so that often, unconsciously to himself, he bursts out
-into its weird and startling music!
-
-Viola, the impersonation of the purest love, unalloyed by any sensual
-feeling—Glyndon, the weak, vacillating, yet aspiring man—and Menjour,
-the embodiment of mere intellect, apart from any influence of the heart,
-good or bad, are well drawn characters—_of their kind_. Their fault is
-that they have no individuality. All Bulwer’s personages partake of this
-error. There is not, in his numerous novels, a single personage whom we
-can look back on as on a real individual. Falstaff and Nicol Jarvie are
-so life-like that it seems as if we had drunk canary with the one, at
-the Boar’s Head, and “had a crack” with the other, on the causeway of
-Glasgow. Bulwer’s characters have none of this personal identity—they
-are only embodiments of certain passions or peculiarities. His actors
-are like the knights of Spencer, mere stalking horses for particular
-vices or virtues—or, like a wigmaker’s block, the representative in
-turn of the heads of all his customers. Every personage in Zanoni,
-without, as we remember, a _single_ exception, is thus ticketed for a
-particular vice or virtue, like passengers in a railroad car. Now, we do
-not object to the introduction of these personages if they are necessary
-to the plot; but, for heaven’s sake, Mr. Bulwer, give us something more
-than mere automatons! Don’t ask us in to a second Mrs. Jarley’s
-wax-works!
-
-We have spoken, in terms of high praise, of the character of Zanoni. We
-have, however, said that the theme was more adapted for poetry than
-prose. Having chosen prose, the author has erred in calling his book A
-NOVEL. Let us be understood. Feeble as is the province of prose to do
-justice to so ideal a character as Zanoni, we do not base our present
-objection to the book on that ground. It is one of the inalienable
-rights of man to show his ignorance, to make a blunder, or in any other
-way to play the fool. This is not the question now. The work before us
-purports to be a novel, and nothing but a novel. It might have been
-named a romance, a mystery, or the Lord knows what! But it is put forth
-as a novel, under the _imprimatur_ of the writer of “Art in Fiction,” of
-the man who sets up to be the high priest of the synagogue! Is it such?
-
-A novel, in the true acceptation of the name, is a picture of real life.
-The plot may be involved, but it must not transcend probability. The
-agencies introduced must belong to real life. Such were Gil Blas and Tom
-Jones, confessedly the two best novels extant. Whether the title was
-properly applied, in the inception, is not the question. Usage and
-common sense have affixed a definite meaning to the word. When authors
-cease to paint real life they cease to write novels. The tales may be
-very good of their kind, but they are no more novels than a sirloin is a
-mutton chop, or than Bulwer is the artist he pretends to be. Judged by
-this standard, Zanoni is not a novel. There are pictures of real life in
-it; but to paint society, _as it is_, was only collateral to the chief
-aim of the work.
-
-We say nothing of the moral of the story; for all that is truly noble in
-Bulwer’s imaginary doctrines of the Rosicrucians is stolen from the pure
-precepts of our holy religion.
-
-The English of the author is neither better nor worse than in his former
-novels. His language was always inflated, often bombastic. He
-personifies as desperately as ever. His allegories are as plentiful as
-Sancho Panza’s proverbs, or as an old maid’s ailings. The same straining
-after effect, the same attempts at fine writing which were such glaring
-defects in his former novels, are here perceptible. Through every line,
-the author looks out, eager, like Snug the joiner, to tell you he is
-there.
-
-There are many fine thoughts, nevertheless, in these volumes; and, on
-the whole, the book is a valuable addition to our imaginative
-literature.
-
-If we have dwelt longer on the faults than on the merits of “Zanoni,” it
-is because the latter are more apparent to the popular eye. We have
-dealt out, however, even-handed justice to the book, since the province
-of a critic is not that of the state advocate, who argues only on one
-side, but rather that of the judge who sums up the case, and of the jury
-who are sworn “a true verdict to give according to the evidence.” With
-this remark, we leave “Zanoni” to its fate.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Poets and Poetry of America, with an Historical
- Introduction. By Rufus Willmot Griswold. One vol. Carey & Hart:
- Philadelphia._
-
-This is the best collection of the American Poets that has yet been
-made, whether we consider its completeness, its size, or the judgment
-displayed in its selections. The volume is issued in a style
-commensurate with its literary worth. The paper, type and printing are
-unexceptionable. Messrs. Carey & Hart have, in “The Poets and Poetry of
-America,” published the finest volume of the season.
-
-The editor begins his selections of American Poets with Frenau,
-prefacing them, however, with an historical introduction evincing
-considerable research. In this introduction he shows that, prior to the
-revolution, the pretenders to the muse in the colonies scarcely rose to
-the level of versifiers. From Frenau downwards, the chain is kept up to
-the youngest poet of the day. About eighty-eight authors are embraced in
-the body of the work. To the selections from each author is prefixed a
-short but clear biography. The editor has not always been guided, in
-making his selections, by the relative merit of the various authors,
-but, in cases where the writers have published editions of their poems,
-he has been less copious in his extracts, than when the poet has left
-his works to take care of themselves. Thus we have the whole of Dana’s
-“Buccanier,” of Whittier’s “Mogg Magone,” of Sprague’s “Curiosity,” and
-of Drake’s “Culprit Fay.” Most of C. Fenno Hoffman’s songs are also
-included in the collection. But Pierpoint’s “Airs of Palestine,” are
-excluded, as are the longer and best poems of Willis. At the end of the
-volume is an appendix, in which about fifty writers, whom the editor has
-not thought worthy of a place in the body of his book, figure under the
-name of “Various Authors.” Such is the plan of the work. A word, in
-detail, on its merits.
-
-We have said that this volume is superior to any former collection of
-the American Poets, whether we regard its size, its completeness, or the
-taste displayed in the selections. This is our _general_ opinion of the
-book. We do not, however, _always_ coincide with the judgment of the
-editor. There are several writers in the Appendix who have as good
-claims to appear in the body of the work, as others who figure largely
-in the latter more honorable station. There are many mere versifiers
-included in the selection who should have been excluded, or else others
-who have been left out should have been admitted. Perhaps the author,
-without being aware of it himself, has unduly favored the writers of New
-England. Instances of all these faults will be noticed by the reader,
-and we need not further allude to them.
-
-The editor has scarcely done justice to some of our younger poets,
-either in his estimate of their genius, or in his selections from their
-poems. A glaring instance of this is the case of Lowell, a young poet,
-to whom others than ourselves have assigned a genius of the highest
-rank. We would have been better pleased to have seen a more liberal
-notice of his poems. We know that, with the exception of “Rosaline,”
-better selections might have been made from his works. A few years
-hence, Mr. Griswold himself will be amazed that he assigned no more
-space to Lowell than to M’Lellan, Tuckerman, and others of “Οι Πολλοι.”
-Holmes is another instance of the injustice done an author by the
-editor’s selections. The author of “Old Ironsides” has written better
-poems than that, all about the old man, of whom
-
- “My grandmamma has said—
- Poor old lady! she is dead
- Long ago—
- That he had a Roman nose,
- And his cheek was like a rose
- In the snow.”
-
-And again,
-
- “I know it is a sin
- For me to sit and grin
- At him here,
- But the old three-cornered hat,
- And the breeches—and all that,
- Are so queer!”
-
-Little more can be said in the way of criticism, unless we should follow
-up these remarks by further examples in detail. For this we have no
-inclination, since, after all, the book, as a whole, is one of high
-merit; and, from the very nature of the work, it is impossible for an
-editor to produce a faultless volume. A thorough analysis of the book
-might induce many, whose minds are not comprehensive, to think it a bad,
-instead of what it really is, a good work.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Two Admirals, a Tale, by the Author of “The Pilot,” “Red
- Rover,” &c., &c. Two Vols. Lea & Blanchard: Philadelphia._
-
-Mr. Cooper, in the book before us, has re-asserted his right to the rank
-of the first living American novelist. The “Two Admirals” is not
-inferior to the best of his works. The scenes are described with that
-graphic force for which our author is distinguished above all writers of
-sea-tales. The two combats betwixt Sir Gervaise Oakes and the French
-fleet are told with unusual power. But there is nothing like character
-in the tale, and the plot is shamefully commonplace. Mr. Cooper seems to
-be aware of his want of ability to write a story, or paint a character,
-and he therefore wisely expends his whole strength on particular
-incidents and scenes. In his line he is without a rival here or in
-Europe.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Poetical Works of John Sterling. First American Edition.
- One vol. Herman Hooker: Philadelphia._
-
-Every man of taste will rejoice at this collected edition of the poems
-of Sterling, the “Archæus” of Blackwood. To Rufus W. Griswold, the
-editor, and Herman Hooker, the publisher, the American public is
-indebted for this edition of the works of one of the most pure,
-delicate, fanciful, and idiomatic, of the poets of the present day.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Essays for Summer Hours. By Charles Lanman. Second Edition.
- Boston: Hilliard, Grey & Co. London: Wiley & Putnam._
-
-These essays are distinguished by grace, sweetness, and graphic force of
-language. The author is a devout lover of nature in all her moods, but
-especially in her more quiet aspects. He has produced a book which will
-be no discredit to him.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Tecumseh, or the West thirty years since. A Poem. By Geo. H.
- Colton. Wiley & Putnam: New York & London. Moore & Wiley:
- Philadelphia._
-
-This book is an elegant specimen of American typography. Of the merits
-of the poem we shall not speak until July, when we trust to have leisure
-and space for the task.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: three ladies and a gentleman dressed in latest fashions]
-
- * * * * *
-
-Transcriber’s Notes:
-
-Table of Contents has been added for reader convenience. Archaic
-spellings and hyphenation have been retained. Obvious punctuation and
-typesetting errors have been corrected without note.
-
-A cover was created for this eBook and is placed in the public domain.
-[End of _Graham’s Magazine, Vol. XX, No. 6, June 1842_, George R.
-Graham, Editor]
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XX, NO.
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-<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Graham's Magazine, Vol. XX, No. 6, June 1842, by Various</p>
-<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>
-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Graham's Magazine, Vol. XX, No. 6, June 1842</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Various</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Editor: George Rex Graham</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 23, 2022 [eBook #67480]</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
- <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Mardi Desjardins &amp; the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net, from page images generously made available by The Internet Archive</p>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XX, NO. 6, JUNE 1842 ***</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. XX.</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;June, 1842 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No. 6.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:0.5em;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='#wire'>The Wire Suspension Bridge</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#kiss'>The Science of Kissing!!</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#harry'>Harry Cavendish</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#miss'>Miss Thompson</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#russ'>Russian Revenge</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#ware'>Mrs. Ware’s Poems</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#love'>Love and Pique</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#two'>The Two Dukes</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#rev'>Review of New Books</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 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='#fare'>Farewell</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#pewe'>The Pewee</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#home'>The Return Home</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#olden'>Olden Deities</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#perd'>Perditi</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#visi'>The Heavenly Vision</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#sigh'>Sights From My Window—Alice</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#wife'>The Absent Wife</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#song'>Song</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#fash'>Fashion Plate</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></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='view of a suspension bridge with various boats in the water' id='iid-0001' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span style='font-size:smaller'>W. Croome, del. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Engraved by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch &amp; Smillie</span><br/></p> <br/>NEW SUSPENSION BRIDGE AT FAIRMOUNT<br/> <p class='caption'><span style='font-size:smaller'>Philadelphia.</span><br/></p> <br/>Drawn and <p class='caption'>Engraved expressly for Graham’s Magazine.</p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='pbk'/>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;font-size:1.9em;font-weight:bold;'>GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk101'/>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:1.1em;font-weight:bold;'><span class='sc'>Vol. XX.</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PHILADELPHIA: JUNE, 1842. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class='sc'>No. 6.</span></p>
-
-<hr class='tbk102'/>
-
-<div><h1 class='nobreak'><a id='wire'></a>THE WIRE SUSPENSION BRIDGE.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This elegant structure is thrown across the
-Schuylkill, on the site once occupied by an airy and
-graceful wooden erection, for years the pride of our
-city, and celebrated as being the longest bridge of a
-single arch in the known world. The boldness of
-the architect in thus spanning a river three hundred
-and fifty feet wide, was the theme of universal admiration.
-Few will forget Fanny Kemble’s poetic
-comparison, when she said the bridge looked like a
-white scarf flung across the water. The destruction
-of this favorite fabric, by fire, in the fall of 1838,
-was regarded as an irreparable loss.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The conflagration presented a grand picture. The
-flames were first seen towards the western entrance
-of the bridge, and in a very few minutes the whole
-fabric was a mass of fire. The wind was down the
-stream, and catching the flames as they broke from
-the flooring of the bridge, it swept them far away
-under, until a fiery cataract, reaching from shore to
-shore, seemed pouring horizontally down the river.
-By this time spectators began to throng around, and
-before the bridge fell, thousands lined the adjacent
-shores and covered the side of the overhanging hill,
-looking down on the scene below, as from the seats
-in an amphitheatre.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This splendid sight continued for some time, the
-gazers looking on in a rapt silence, until suddenly a
-low murmur, followed by an involuntary shiver, ran
-through the crowd, as the bridge, with a graceful
-curtesy, descended a few feet, hesitated, and then,
-with a gentle, swan-like motion, sank, like a dream,
-down on the waters. But the moment the fabric
-touched the wave, a simmering, hissing sound was
-heard, while ten thousand sparkles shot up into the
-air and sailed away to leeward. The fire still, however,
-burned fiercely in the upper works, which had
-not reached the water; while volumes of smoke
-rolled down the river, blending the earth, the wave,
-and the sky into one dark, indistinct mass, so that
-the burning timbers, occasionally detached from the
-bridge, and borne along by the current, seemed,
-almost without the aid of fancy, to be lurid stars
-floating through the firmament. The moon, which
-was just rising, and which occasionally burst through
-the dense veil of smoke, appeared almost side by
-side with these wild meteors, and added to the illusion.
-The effect was picturesque; at times even
-sublime.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>More than two years elapsed before the bridge
-was replaced by the present elegant structure, whose
-airiness and grace more than reconcile us to the loss
-of its predecessor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This new fabric is, we believe, the finest, if not
-the only, specimen of its kind in the United States.
-The plan is simple. Two square towers of solid
-granite, thirty-two feet in height, are built on either
-abutment. Over each of these towers, on iron rollers,
-pass five wire cables, each cable being composed of
-two hundred and sixty strands, each strand being an
-eighth or an inch thick. The length of each cable is
-six hundred and fifty feet. These cables are secured,
-on each shore, in pits, distant from the towers one
-hundred feet, and continuing under ground fifty feet
-further, to a point where they are securely fastened
-at the depth of thirty feet. These pits are built over
-so as to exclude the rain, but not the air; and the
-cables, being painted, are thus preserved from rust.
-The cables, in stretching from tower to tower, form
-a curve, the lowest point of which is at the centre
-of the bridge. The causeway is of wood, and
-hangs, by smaller wire cables, from these larger
-ones. The width of the bridge is twenty-seven feet,
-and its length, from abutment to abutment, three
-hundred and forty-three feet. The strength of the
-bridge has been tested by a weight of seventy tons.
-The structure is painted white throughout, and has
-already won the name of the most graceful bridge in
-the country.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk103'/>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i004.jpg' alt='a boy and girl embrace' id='iid-0002' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span style='font-size:smaller'>Painted by Sir T. Lawrence &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eng’d by H.S. Sadd, N.Y.</span><br/></p> <br/><span class='it'>The Proffered Kiss.</span><br/> <p class='caption'><span class='it'>Engraved Expressly for Graham’s Magazine.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk104'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='kiss'></a>THE SCIENCE OF KISSING!!</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>THE AFTER-DINNER TALK OF JEREMY SHORT, ESQ.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>What glorious times, Oliver, the old Turks must
-have, sitting, on a sultry day like this, listening to
-the cool plashing of their fountains, and smoking
-their chiboques—egad!—until they fall asleep, and
-dream of dark-eyed Houris smiling on them, amid
-the fragrant groves and by the cool rivers of a Musselman
-Paradise. What a pity we were not born
-in Turkey, you a Bashaw of three tails, and I the
-Sultaun of Stamboul! How we would have stroked
-our beards—and smoked our pipes—and given praise
-to the prophet as we drank our sherbert, spiced, you
-know, with a <span class='it'>very</span> little of the <span class='it'>aqua vitæ</span>, that comfort
-of comforts to the inner man! We could then
-have dressed like gentlemen, and not gone about,
-as we do now, breeched, coated, and swaddled in
-broadcloth, like a couple of Egyptian mummies.
-Just imagine yourself in a dashing Turkish dress,
-with a turban on your head, and a scimitar all studded
-with diamonds at your side, with which—the
-scimitar I mean—you are wont to slice off the heads
-of infidels as I slice off the top of this pyramid
-of ice-cream—help yourself, for it’s delicious! I
-think I see us now, charging at the head of our
-spahis against the rascally Russians, driving their
-half starved soldier slaves like chaff before a whirl-wind,
-and carrying our horse-tails and shouting
-“Il Allah!” into the very tents of their chieftains.
-What magnificent fellows we would have made!
-Ah!—my dear boy—you and I are out of our element.
-Take my word for it, a Turk is your finest
-gentleman, your true philosopher, the only man that
-understands how to live. He keeps better horses,
-wears richer clothes, walks with a nobler mien,
-smokes more luxuriously, drinks more seductive
-coffee, and kisses his wife or ladye-love with better
-grace, than any man or set of men, except you and
-I, “under the broad canopy of heaven” as the town-meeting
-orators have it. And let me tell you this
-last accomplishment—this kissing gracefully, “<span class='it'>secundum artem</span>”—is
-a point of education most impiously
-neglected amongst us. Kissing is a science
-by itself. Let us draw up to the window where we
-can drink in the perfume of the garden, and while
-you whiff away at your meerschaum, I will prove
-the truth of my assertion. One has a knack for
-talking after dinner—I suppose it is because good
-steaks and madeira lubricate the tongue.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We are born to kiss and be kissed. It comes natural
-to us, as marriage does to a woman. Why,
-sir, I can remember kissing the female babies when
-I was yet in my cradle, and my friend Sir Thomas
-Lawrence did himself the honor to paint me at my
-favorite pursuit, as you know by that exquisite picture
-in my library. The very first day I went to
-school I kissed all the sweet little angels there. I
-wasn’t fairly out of my alphabet, when I used to
-wait behind a pump, for my sweetheart to come out
-of school, and as soon as I saw her I made a point
-of kissing her just to see how prettily she blushed.
-As I grew older I loved to steal in, some summer
-evening, on her, and kiss her asleep on the sofa—or,
-if she was awake, and the old folks were by, I’d
-wait till they both got nodding, and then kiss her all
-the sweeter for the slyness of the thing. Ah! such
-stolen draughts are delicious. I wouldn’t give a sous
-to kiss a girl in company, and I always hated Copenhagen,
-Pawns, and your other kissing plays, as I
-hope I hate the devil. They had a shocking custom
-when I was young, that everybody at a wedding
-should kiss the bride, just as they all drank, in the
-same free and easy way, out of the one big china
-punch-bowl; but the practice always hurt my sensibilities,
-and I avoided weddings as I would avoid a
-ghost, a bailiff, or any other fright. No—no—get
-your little charmer up into a corner by yourselves—watch
-when everybody’s back is turned—then slip
-your arm around her waist, and kiss her with a long
-sweet kiss, as if you were a bee sucking honey from
-a flower. Nor can one kiss every girl. I’d as lief
-take ipecacuanha as kiss some of your sharp-chinned,
-icicle-mouthed, lignum-vitæ-faced spinsters—why
-one couldn’t get the taste of the bitters out of
-his mouth for a week! I go in for your rosy, pouting
-lips, that seem to challenge everybody so saucily—egad!
-when we kiss such at our leisure, we think
-we’re in a seventh heaven. I once lived on such a
-kiss for forty-eight hours, for it took the taste for
-commoner food out of my mouth “intirely,” as poor
-Power used to say. Oh! how I loved the wide,
-dark entries one finds in old mansions, where one
-could catch these saucy little fairies, and, before
-they were well aware of your presence, kiss them
-so deliciously. There’s kissing for you! Or, to go
-upon a sleigh ride, and when all, save you and your
-partner, are busy chatting—while the merry ringing
-of the bells and the whizzing motion of the
-vehicle cause your spirits to dance for very joy—to
-make believe that you wish to arrange the buffalo,
-or pull her shawl up closer around her, and then
-slyly stealing your face into her bonnet to kiss her
-for an instant of ecstasy, while she blushes to the
-very temples, lest others may catch you at your
-sport. And then, on a summer eve, to row out upon
-the bosom of a moonlit lake, and while one of the
-ladies sings and all the rest listen, to snatch a chance
-and laughingly kiss the pretty girl at your side, all
-unnoticed except by her. Or to sit beside a charmer
-on a sofa, before a cozy fire on a bitter winter night,
-and fill up the pauses of the conversation, you know,
-by drawing her to you and kissing her. But more
-than all,—when you have won a blushing confession
-of love from her you have long and tremblingly
-worshipped with all a boy’s devotion,—is the rapture
-of the kiss which you press holily to her brow, while
-her warm heart flutters against your side, and every
-pulse in your body thrills with an ecstasy that has no
-rival in after life. Ah! sir, that kiss is <span class='sc'>The Kiss</span>.
-It is worth all the rest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Next to being born a Turk I should choose to have
-been born an Englishman in the days of Harry the
-Eighth. Do you remember how Erasmus tells us,
-in one of his letters, that all the pretty women in
-London ran up to him and kissed him whenever they
-met? That’s what I call being in clover. I don’t
-wonder people long for the good old times, for, if all
-their fashions were like this, commend me to the
-days of the bluff monarch, when</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <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;“thus paused on the time,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With jolly ways in those brave old days,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When the world was in its prime.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Did you ever attend a children’s party, and see
-the little dears play Copenhagen? The boys seem
-to have an instinctive knack at kissing their partners,
-who always show the same modest repugnance—for
-modesty is inborn in every woman—aye! and
-flings a glory about her like the halo around a Madonna’s
-head. The very instant one of the young
-scapegraces gets into the ring, he looks slyly all
-around it, and there be sure is one little face that
-blushes scarlet, and one little heart that beats faster,
-for well the owner knows that she is in peril. How
-fast her hands slide to and fro along the rope, and
-directly the imprisoned youngster makes a dash at
-her hand, and, missing it, turns away amid the uproarious
-laughter and clapping of hands of the rest,
-and essays perchance a feint to tap some other little
-hand, all the while, however, keeping one corner of
-his eye fixed on the blushing damsel who has foiled
-him. And lo! all at once—like an eagle shooting
-from the skies—he darts upon it. And now begins
-the struggle. What a shouting—and merry laughing—what
-cries of encouragement from the lookers
-on—what a diving under the rope, and over the rope,
-and among the chairs, mingled with whoopings from
-the boys, ensues, until the victim has escaped, or
-else been caught by her pursuer. Sometimes she
-submits quietly to the forfeit, but at other times she
-will fight like a young tiger. Then, indeed, comes
-“the tug of war.” If she covers her face in her
-hands, and is a sturdy little piece beside, young Master
-Harry will have to give up the game, and be the
-laughing stock of the boys, or else set all chivalry at
-defiance and tear away those pretty hands by force.
-Many a time, you old curmudgeon, have I laughed
-until the tears ran out of my eyes to see a young
-scoundrel, scarcely breeched, kissing an unwilling
-favorite. How sturdily he sticks up to her, one hand
-around her neck, and the other, perhaps, fast hold of
-her chin; while she, with face averted, and a frown
-upon her tiny brow, is all the while pushing him desperately
-away. But the young rascal knows that he
-is the strongest, and with him might makes right.
-With eagerness in every line of his face, he slips
-his arm around her waist, and, after sundry repulses,
-wins the kiss at last. And then what a mighty gentleman
-he thinks he is! In just such a scene has my
-old friend Lawrence taken me off, in that picture, of
-<span class='sc'>The Proffered Kiss</span>, in my library, egad!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is a great grief to me that so few understand
-how to kiss gracefully. Kissing is an accomplishment,
-I may be allowed to remark, that should form
-a part of every gentleman’s education. A man that
-is too bashful to kiss a lady when all is agreeable,
-as Mrs. Malaprop would say, is a poor good-for-nought,
-a lost sinner, without hope of mercy! He
-will never have the courage to pop the question—mark
-my words—and will remain a bachelor to his
-dying day, unless some lady kindly takes him in
-hand and asks him to have her, as my friend Mrs.
-Desperate did. The women have a sly way of doing
-these things, even if, like a spinster I once knew,
-they have to ask a man flatly whether his intentions
-are serious or not; and they are very apt to do this
-as soon as the kissing becomes a business on your
-part. But to return to the <span class='it'>modus operandi</span> of a kiss.
-Delicacy in this intellectual amusement is the chief
-thing. Don’t—by the bones of Johannes Secundus!—don’t
-bungle the matter by a five minutes torture,
-like a cat playing with a mouse. Kiss a girl deliberately,
-sir—sensible all the time of the great duty
-you are performing—but remember also that a kiss,
-to be enjoyed in its full flavor, should be taken fresh,
-like champaigne just from the flask. Ah! then you
-get it in all its airy and <span class='it'>spirituelle</span> raciness. If you
-wish a sentimental kiss—and after all they are perhaps
-the spicier—steal your arm around her waist,
-take her hand softly in your own, and then, tenderly
-drawing her towards you, kiss her as you might
-imagine a zephyr to do it! I never exactly timed
-the manœuvre with a stop-watch, but I’ve no doubt
-the affair might be managed very handsomely in ten
-seconds. The exact point where a lady should be
-kissed may be determined by the intersection of two
-imaginary lines, one drawn perpendicularly down
-the centre of the face, and the other passing at right
-angles through the line of the mouth. Two such
-old codgers as you and I may talk of these things
-without indiscretion; and, it is but doing our duty by
-the world, to give others the benefits of our experience.
-Some of these days, when I get leisure, I
-shall write a book called “<span class='sc'>Kissing Made Easy</span>.”
-The title—don’t you think?—will make it sell.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Kissing, however, has its evils, for the world, you
-know, is made up of sweet and sour. One often gets
-into a way of kissing a pretty girl by way of a flirtation,
-and ends by tumbling head over ears into love
-with her. This is taking the disease in its most
-virulent form; but—thank the stars!—it is most apt
-to attend on cases where the gentleman has not been
-used to kissing. I would recommend, as a general
-rule, that every one should be inoculated to the matter,
-for, depend upon it, this is the only way to save
-them from a desperate and perhaps fatal attack. I
-once knew a fine fellow—talented, rich, in a profession—whose
-only fault, indeed, was that he had
-never kissed anybody but his sister. He had the
-most holy horror of a man who could so insult the
-dignity of the sex as to kiss a lady—and, I verily believe,
-the sight of such a thing, in his younger days,
-would have thrown him into a fit. At length he fell
-in love; and as sweet a creature was Blanche Merrion
-as ever trod greensward, or sang from very
-gaiety of heart on the morning air. Day after day
-her lover watched her from afar, as a worshipper
-would watch the countenance of a saint; but months
-passed by and still he dared not lift his eyes to her
-face, when her own were shining on him from their
-calm, holy depths. Other suitors appeared, and if
-Blanche had fancied them, she would have been lost
-forever to Howard, through his own timidity; but
-happily none of them touched her heart, and she
-went on her way “in maiden meditation fancy free.”
-Often, in her own gay style of raillery, would she
-torment poor Howard about his bashfulness; and
-during these moments, I verily believe, he would
-gladly have exchanged his situation for that of any
-heretic that ever roasted in an inquisitorial fire. A
-twelvemonth passed by, and yet Howard could not
-muster courage to express his devotion, and if, perchance,
-his eyes sometimes revealed his tale, the
-confession faded from them as soon as the liquid ones
-of Blanche were turned upon him. If ever one suffered,
-he suffered from his love. He worshipped his
-divinity in awe-struck humility, scarcely deeming
-she would deign to see his adoration. He might
-have said with Helena,</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <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;“thus, Indian-like,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Religious in mine error, I adore</p>
-<p class='line0'>The sun, that looks upon his worshipper,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But knows of him no more.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At length a friend of Howard asked him to wait
-on him as a groomsman, and who should be his
-partner but Blanche! Now, of all places for kissing,
-commend me to a wedding. The groom kisses
-the bride—and the groomsmen kiss the bridemaids—and
-each one of the company kisses his partner, or
-if any one is destitute of the article he makes a
-dumb show of kissing somebody behind the door.
-But the groomsmen have the cream of the business,
-for it’s one of the perquisites of their office that
-they should kiss their partners, as a sort of recompense
-for shawling them, and chaperoning them, and
-paying them those thousand little attentions which
-are so exquisite to a lady, and which a gentleman
-can only pay, especially if the lady is grateful, at
-some peril to his peace of mind. Ah! sir, a bridemaid
-is a bachelor’s worst foe—one plays with edge
-tools when he waits at a wedding—and though you
-may dance with an angel or flirt with a Houri, I’d
-never—heaven bless you—recommend you to wait
-on a girl unless you were ready to marry. Seeing
-other folks married is infectious, and, before you
-know it, you’ll find yourself engaged. It was a
-lucky chance for Howard when he was asked to
-wait on Blanche, for I would stake my life that
-nothing else could have cured him of his bashfulness.
-Nor even then would he have succeeded but for an
-accident. One lovely afternoon—it was a country
-wedding—he happened to pass by a little sort of
-summer-house in a secluded spot in the grounds attached
-to the mansion, and who should he see within
-but Blanche, asleep on a garden sofa. I wish I could
-paint her to you as she then appeared. One arm
-was thrown negligently back over her head, while
-the other fell towards the floor, holding the book she
-had been reading. Her long, soft eye-lashes were
-drooped on her cheek. Her golden curls fell, like a
-shower of sunbeams scattered through the forest
-leaves on a secluded stream, around her brow and
-down her neck; and one fair tress, stealing across
-her face and nestling in her bosom, waved in her
-breath, and rose and fell with the gentle heaving of
-that spotless bust. A slight color was on her cheek,
-and her lips were parted in a smile, the smallest
-space imaginable disclosing the pure teeth beneath,
-seeming like a line of pearl set betwixt rubies, or a
-speck of snow within a budding rose. Howard
-would have retreated, but he could not, and so he
-stood gazing on her entranced, until, forgetting
-everything in that sight, he stole towards her, and
-falling on his knees, hung a moment enraptured over
-her. As he thus knelt, his eyes glanced an instant
-on the book. It was the poems of Campbell, and
-open at a passage which he had the evening before
-commended. Blanche had pencilled one verse which
-he had declared especially beautiful. His heart
-leapt into his mouth. His eyes stole again to that
-lovely countenance, and instinctively he bent down
-and pressed his lips softly to those of Blanche.
-Slight, however, as was the kiss, it broke her slumber,
-and she started up; but when her eyes met
-those of Howard the crimson blood rushed over her
-face, and brow, and down even to her bosom, while
-the lover stood, even more abashed, rooted to the
-spot. Poor fellow! He would have given the world
-if he could have recalled that moment’s indiscretion.
-He stammered out something for an apology, he
-knew not what, yet without daring to lift his eyes to
-her face. She made no reply. A minute of silence
-passed. Could he have offended past forgiveness?
-He was desperate with agony and terror at the
-thought—and, in that very desperation, resolved to
-face the worst, and looked up. The bosom of
-Blanche heaved violently, her eyes were downcast,
-her cheek was changing from pale to red and from
-red to pale. All her usual gaiety had disappeared,
-and she stood embarrassed and confused, yet without
-any marks of displeasure, such as the lover had
-looked for, on her countenance. A sudden light
-flashed on him, a sudden boldness took possession
-of him. He lifted the hand of Blanche—that tiny
-hand which now trembled in his grasp—and said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Blanche! dear Blanche! if you forgive me, be
-still more merciful, and give me a right to offend
-thus again. I love you, oh! how deeply and fervently!—I
-have loved you with an untiring devotion
-for years. Will you, dearest, be mine?” and in a
-torrent of burning eloquence—for the long pent-up
-emotions of years had now found vent—he poured
-forth the whole history of his love, its doubts and
-fears, its sensitiveness, its adoration, its final hope.
-And did Blanche turn away? No—you needn’t smile
-so meaningly, you old villain—she sank sobbing on
-her lover’s shoulder, who, when at length she was
-soothed, was as good as his word, and sinned by a
-second kiss. It turned out that Blanche had loved
-him all along, and it was only his bashfulness that
-had blinded him, else by a thousand little tokens he
-might have seen what, in other ways, it would have
-been unmaidenly for her to reveal. Now, sir, months
-of mutual sorrow might have been saved to both
-Blanche and her lover, if he had only possessed a
-little more assurance—he would have possessed that
-assurance if he had been less finical—if he had been
-less finical he would not have been shocked at kissing
-a pretty girl. Isn’t that demonstrated like a problem
-in the sixth book?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I might multiply instances, egad, for fifty years of
-experience <span class='it'>will</span> store one’s memory with facts, and
-by the aid of them I could reel off arguments for this
-accomplishment faster than a rocket whizzes into
-the sky. <span class='it'>Kissing</span>, sir—but there goes the supper bell,
-and I see your meerschaum’s out. We will rejoin
-the ladies, and after taking our Mocha, set the young
-folks to dancing, while you and I accompany them
-on the shovel and tongs!—Ta-ra-la-ra!</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk105'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='fare'></a>FAREWELL.</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 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.</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'>Farewell! as the bee round the blossom</p>
-<p class='line0'>Doth murmur drowsily,</p>
-<p class='line0'>So murmureth round my bosom</p>
-<p class='line0'>The memory of thee;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Lingering, it seems to go,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When the wind more full doth flow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Waving the flower to and fro,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But still returneth, Marian!</p>
-<p class='line0'>My hope no longer burneth,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which did so fiercely burn,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My joy to sorrow turneth,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Although loath, loath to turn,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>I would forget—</p>
-<p class='line0'>And yet—and yet</p>
-<p class='line0'>My heart to thee still yearneth, Marian!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Fair as a single star thou shinest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And white as lilies are</p>
-<p class='line0'>The slender hands wherewith thou twinest</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thy heavy auburn hair;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou art to me</p>
-<p class='line0'>A memory</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of all that is divinest:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou art so fair and tall,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thy looks so queenly are,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thy very shadow on the wall,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thy step upon the stair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The thought that thou art nigh,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The chance look of thine eye</p>
-<p class='line0'>Are more to me than all, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And will be till I die!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>As the last quiver of a bell</p>
-<p class='line0'>Doth fade into the air,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With a subsiding swell</p>
-<p class='line0'>That dies we know not where,</p>
-<p class='line0'>So my hope melted and was gone:</p>
-<p class='line0'>I raised mine eyes to bless the star</p>
-<p class='line0'>That shared its light with me so far</p>
-<p class='line0'>Below its silver throne,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And gloom and chilling vacancy</p>
-<p class='line0'>Were all was left to me,</p>
-<p class='line0'>In the dark, bleak night I was alone!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Alone in the blessed Earth, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>For what were all to me—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Its love, and light, and mirth, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>If I were not with thee?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>My heart will not forget thee</p>
-<p class='line0'>More than the moaning brine</p>
-<p class='line0'>Forgets the moon when she is set;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The gush when first I met thee</p>
-<p class='line0'>That thrilled my brain like wine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Doth thrill as madly yet;</p>
-<p class='line0'>My heart cannot forget thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Though it may droop and pine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Too deeply it had set thee</p>
-<p class='line0'>In every love of mine;</p>
-<p class='line0'>No new moon ever cometh,</p>
-<p class='line0'>No flower ever bloometh,</p>
-<p class='line0'>No twilight ever gloometh</p>
-<p class='line0'>But I’m more only thine.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh look not on me, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thine eyes are wild and deep,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And they have won me, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>From peacefulness and sleep;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The sunlight doth not sun me,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The meek moonshine doth shun me,</p>
-<p class='line0'>All sweetest voices stun me,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>There is no rest</p>
-<p class='line0'>Within my breast</p>
-<p class='line0'>And I can only weep, Marian!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>As a landbird far at sea</p>
-<p class='line0'>Doth wander through the sleet</p>
-<p class='line0'>And drooping downward wearily</p>
-<p class='line0'>Finds no rest for her feet,</p>
-<p class='line0'>So wandereth my memory</p>
-<p class='line0'>O’er the years when we did meet:</p>
-<p class='line0'>I used to say that everything</p>
-<p class='line0'>Partook a share of thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That not a little bird could sing,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Or green leaf flutter on a tree,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That nothing could be beautiful</p>
-<p class='line0'>Save part of thee were there,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That from thy soul so clear and full</p>
-<p class='line0'>All bright and blessed things did cull</p>
-<p class='line0'>The charm to make them fair;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And now I know</p>
-<p class='line0'>That it was so,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thy spirit through the earth doth flow</p>
-<p class='line0'>And face me whereso’er I go,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>What right hath perfectness to give</p>
-<p class='line0'>Such weary weight of wo</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unto the soul which cannot live</p>
-<p class='line0'>On anything more low?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh leave me, leave me, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>There’s no fair thing I see</p>
-<p class='line0'>But doth deceive me, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Into sad dreams of thee!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>A cold snake gnaws my heart</p>
-<p class='line0'>And crushes round my brain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And I should glory but to part</p>
-<p class='line0'>So bitterly again,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Feeling the slow tears start</p>
-<p class='line0'>And fall in fiery rain:</p>
-<p class='line0'>There’s a wide ring round the moon,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The ghost-like clouds glide by,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And I hear the sad winds croon</p>
-<p class='line0'>A dirge to the lowering sky;</p>
-<p class='line0'>There’s nothing soft or mild</p>
-<p class='line0'>In the pale moon’s sickly light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But all looks strange and wild</p>
-<p class='line0'>Through the dim, foreboding night:</p>
-<p class='line0'>I think thou must be dead</p>
-<p class='line0'>In some dark and lonely place,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With candles at thy head,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And a pall above thee spread</p>
-<p class='line0'>To hide thy dead, cold face;</p>
-<p class='line0'>But I can see thee underneath</p>
-<p class='line0'>So pale, and still, and fair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thine eyes closed smoothly and a wreath</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of flowers in thy hair;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I never saw thy face so clear</p>
-<p class='line0'>When thou wast with the living,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As now beneath the pall, so drear,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And stiff, and unforgiving;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I cannot flee thee, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I cannot turn away,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Mine eyes must see thee, Marian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Through salt tears night and day.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk106'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='pewe'></a>THE PEWEE.</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 DILL A. SMITH.</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'>In hedges where the wild brier-rose,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Woos to its breast the sweets of June;</p>
-<p class='line0'>When soft the balmy south-wind blows,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The Pewee trills its simple tune.</p>
-<p class='line0'>And when on glade and upland hill</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Shines out the sultrier July’s sun;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And forest shade and bubbling rill</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The red-bird’s shriller notes have won,</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Oh then along the dull road side⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;(As if the deepening gloom to cheer)</p>
-<p class='line0'>The Pewee loves to wander wide⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;There still its airy lay you hear.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Or now, when more familiar grown,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;It seeks the busier haunts of men;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And to the welcome barn roof flown,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Renews its joyous song again.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And thus throughout the livelong day,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;(Tho’ showery pearl-drops damp its wings;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And heedless who may pass its way,)</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The modest Pewee sits and sings.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bird of the heart—meek Virtue’s child!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Emblem of sweet simplicity;</p>
-<p class='line0'>An thou’d’st a pleasant hour have whiled,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Go list the Pewee’s minstrelsy!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The eagle’s wing it may not boast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Nor yet his plume of golden sheen;</p>
-<p class='line0'>But not in garb of regal cost</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Are Virtue’s children always seen.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ah, no, sweet bird! in lowly guise</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Her fairest child is oftenest met;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And seldom knows thy cloudless skies,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or path with flowers so richly set.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>When summer buds are bright and gay</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I fly the city’s dull confines,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And love to sport the hours away</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;By sedgy streams and leafy shrines.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Nor least among the happy sounds</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which then salute my raptur’d ear,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I hail, from hedge and meadow grounds,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The Pewee, with its song so clear.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk107'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='harry'></a>HARRY CAVENDISH.</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,” “THE REEFER OF ’76,” ETC. ETC.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>ELLEN NEVILLE.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When I recovered my senses, after the events narrated
-in the last chapter, I found that I was lying in
-the cabin of the schooner on board which I had been
-serving, while a group composed of the three surgeons
-and several officers of the expedition stood
-around me. As I opened my eyes and glanced
-around, scarce conscious as yet of the objects that
-met my gaze, one of the medical men bent over me
-and said that my safety depended on my quiet.
-Gradually I imbibed the full meaning of his words,
-and called to mind the events immediately preceding
-my fall; but, in spite of his charge, I felt an uncontrollable
-desire to learn the extent of my injury.
-In a low whisper—so low indeed that I was startled
-at its faintness—I asked if I was seriously wounded
-and whether we had conquered. But he smiled as
-he replied,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Not now, at least not in full, for your weakness
-forbids it. But the danger is over. The ball has
-been extracted. Quiet is all you now require.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“But,” said I again, “how of our expedition?
-Have we conquered?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We have, but not a word more now. To-morrow
-you shall hear all. Gentlemen,” he continued, turning
-to the group, “we had best withdraw now that
-our friend is past the crisis. He needs repose.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I felt the wisdom of this advice, for my brain was
-already whirling from the attempt to control my
-thoughts, even for the mere purpose of asking the
-questions necessary to satisfy my curiosity; so
-when the group left the cabin I sank back on my
-couch, and closing my eyes with a sense of relief,
-soon lost all recollection in a deep sleep, the effect,
-no doubt, of the opiate which had been administered
-to me.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When I awoke, the morning breeze was blowing
-freshly through the cabin, bringing with it the odors
-of thousands of aromatic plants from the shores of
-the neighboring islands, and as it wantoned across
-my forehead, dallying with my hair and imparting a
-delicious coolness to the skin, I felt an invigorating,
-pleasurable sensation—a sensation of the most exquisite
-delight—such as no one can imagine who has
-not felt the cool breath of morning after an illness
-in the close cabin of a small schooner.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>My curiosity to hear the events of the combat
-that occurred after my fall, would not suffer me to
-rest, and I gave my attendants no peace until I had
-learnt the whole.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It will be recollected that when I sank to the deck
-in a state of insensibility, we were engaged in a
-warm contest with the piratical hulk which had been
-moored across the mouth of the outlet from the
-lagoon. The fight was maintained for some time
-on board of the enemy, and at first with varying
-success; but the daring of our men at last overcame
-the desperate resistance of the pirates, and the enemy
-were either driven below, cut down, or forced overboard.
-This outwork, as it were, having thus been
-carried, we pushed on to the settlement itself, for the
-other vessels moored in the lagoon were by this time
-deserted, the pirates having retreated to a fortification
-on the shore, where their whole force could act
-together, and where they had entrenched themselves,
-as they vainly imagined, in an impregnable
-position. But our brave fellows were not intimidated.
-Flushed with success, and burning to revenge
-those of their comrades who had already
-fallen, they cried out to be led against the desperadoes.
-Accordingly, under cover of the guns of our
-little fleet, the men were landed, and, while a brisk
-fire was kept up from the vessels, the assault was
-made. At first the pirates stood manfully to their
-posts, pouring in a deadly and unremitting fire on
-the assailants. In vain did the officers lead on their
-men three several times to the assault, for three
-several times were they driven back by the rattling
-fire of the now desperate pirates. To increase the
-peril of their situation, no sign of their companions
-in the rear had as yet appeared. The ruffians were
-already cheering in anticipation of a speedy victory,
-and our men, although still burning for vengeance,
-were beginning to lose all hope of victory, when the
-long expected rocket, announcing the arrival of the
-other party, shot up from the dense thicket in the
-rear of the fort, and instantaneously a crashing volley
-burst from the same quarter, followed by a long,
-loud cheer in which was recognised the battle shout
-of our comrades. The sounds shivered to the very
-hearts of our almost dispirited men, and added new
-energy to their souls and fresh vigor to their arms.
-Again they demanded to be led to the assault, and,
-with fixed bayonets, following their leader, they
-dashed up to the very embrasures of the fort. Then
-began a slaughter so terrific that the oldest veterans
-assured me they had never witnessed the like.
-Through an impervious veil of smoke, amid plunging
-balls and rattling grape shot, our gallant fellows
-swept over the plain, through the ditch, up the embankment,
-and into the very heart of the fortification.
-At the mouths of their guns they met the pirates,
-bearing them bodily backwards at the point of the
-bayonet. But if the onslaught was determined the
-resistance was desperate. Every step we advanced
-was over the dead bodies of the foeman. Throwing
-away their muskets, they betook themselves to their
-pikes and cutlasses, and though forced to retreat by
-our overwhelming numbers, retreating sullenly, like
-a lion at bay, they marked their path with the blood
-of the assailants. Meanwhile the detachment of our
-troops in the rear, finding the defences in that quarter
-weaker than those in front, soon carried the entrenchments,
-and driving before it as well the immediate
-defenders of the walls, as the desperadoes who
-had hurried to reinforce them, it advanced with loud
-cheers to meet us in the centre of the fortification.
-Hemmed in thus on every side, the pirates saw that
-further resistance was useless, and were seized with
-a sudden panic. Some threw down their arms and
-cried for quarter, others cast themselves in despair
-on our bayonets, while a few, managing to escape
-by cutting their way through a part of our line, took
-to the swamps in the rear of the fort, whither they
-defied pursuit. In less than an hour from the first
-assault, not a pirate was left at large within the precincts
-of the settlement. The huts were given to
-the flames, and the hulk at the outlet of the lagoon
-scuttled and sunk. The other vessels were manned
-by our own forces and carried away as trophies.
-Thus was destroyed one of the most noted piratical
-haunts since the days of the Bucaneers.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We learned from the prisoners that the approach
-of the expedition had been detected while it was yet
-an hour’s sail from the settlement, and that preparations
-had instantly been made for our repulse.
-Had we not been under a misapprehension as to the
-strength of these desperadoes, and thus been induced
-to take with us more than double the force we should
-otherwise have employed, their efforts would no
-doubt have been successful, since the almost impregnable
-nature of their defences enabled them to withstand
-the assault of a force four times the number of
-their own. It was only the opportune arrival of our
-comrades, and the surprise which they effected in
-their quarter of attack, that gave us the victory after
-all. As it was, our loss was terrible. We had extirpated
-this curse of society, but at what a price!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The wound which I had received was at first
-thought to be mortal, but after the extraction of the
-ball my case assumed a more favorable aspect. The
-crisis of my fate was looked for with anxiety by my
-comrades in arms. My return to consciousness
-found them, as I have described, watching that event
-at my bedside.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Our voyage was soon completed, and we entered
-the port of —— amid the salvos of the batteries and
-the merry peals of the various convent bells. The
-governor came off to our fleet, almost before we had
-dropped our anchors, and bestowed rewards on the
-spot on those of his troops who had peculiarly distinguished
-themselves. He came at once to my cot,
-and would have carried me home to the government-house,
-but Mr. Neville, the uncle of the fair girl
-whom I had saved from the desperadoes, having
-attended his excellency on board, insisted that I
-should accept the hospitalities of his home.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well,” said his excellency, with a meaning
-smile, “I must give him up, for, as you say, mine is
-but a bachelor establishment, and hired nurses, however
-good, do not equal those who are actuated by
-gratitude. But I must insist that my own physician
-shall attend him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I was still too weak to take any part in this controversy,
-and although I made at first a feeble objection
-to trespassing on Mr. Neville’s kindness, he only
-smiled in reply, and I found myself, in less than an
-hour, borne to his residence, without having an opportunity
-to expostulate.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>What a relief it is, when suffering with illness,
-to be transported from a close, dirty cabin to a large
-room and tidy accommodations! How soothing to a
-sick man are those thousand little conveniencies and
-delicacies which only the hand of woman can supply,
-and from which the sufferer on shipboard is debarred!
-The well-aired bed linen; the clean and tidy apartment;
-the flowers placed on the stand opposite the
-bed; the green jalousies left half open to admit the
-cooling breeze; the delicious rose-water sprinkled
-around the room, and giving it an aromatic fragrance;
-and the orange, or tamarind, or other delicacy
-ever ready within reach to cool the fevered
-mouth, and remind you of the ceaseless care which
-thus anticipates your every want. All these, and
-even more, attested the kindness of my host’s family.
-Yet everything was done in so unobtrusive a manner
-that, for a long while, I was ignorant to whom I was
-indebted for this care. I saw no one but the nurse,
-the physician, and Mr. and Mrs. Neville. But I
-could not help fancying that there were others who
-sometimes visited my sick chamber, although as yet
-I had never been able to detect them, except by the
-fresh flowers which they left every morning as evidences
-of their presence. More than once, on suddenly
-awaking from sleep, I fancied I heard a light
-footstep retreating behind my bed, and once I distinguished
-the tone of a low sweet voice which sounded
-on my ear, tired as it was of the grating accents
-of the nurse, like music from Paradise. Often, too,
-I heard, through the half open blinds that concealed
-the entrance to a neighboring room, the sounds of a
-harp accompanied by a female voice; and, at such
-times, keeping my eyes closed lest I should be thought
-awake and the singer thus be induced to stop, I have
-listened until my soul seemed fairly “lapped into
-Elysium.” The memory of that ample apartment,
-with its spotless curtains and counterpanes, and the
-wind blowing freshly through its open jalousies, is
-as vivid in my memory to-day as it was in the hour
-when I lay there, listening to what seemed the
-seraphic music of that unseen performer. I hear
-yet that voice, so soft and yet so silvery, now rising
-clear as the note of a lark, and now sinking into a
-melody as liquid as that of flowing water, yet ever,
-in all its variations, sweet, and full, and enrapturing.
-Such a voice I used to dream of in childhood as belonging
-to the angels in heaven. Our dreams are
-not always wrong!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At length I was sufficiently recruited in strength
-to be able to sit up, and I shall ever remember the
-delicious emotions of the hour when I first took a
-seat by the casement and looked out into the garden,
-then fragrant with the dew of the early morning. I
-saw the blue sky smiling overhead, I heard the low
-plashing of a fountain in front of my window, I inhaled
-the delicate perfume wafted to me by the refreshing
-breeze, and as I sat there my soul ran over,
-as it were, with its exceeding gladness, and I almost
-joined my voice, from very ecstasy, with that of the
-birds who hopped from twig to twig, carolling their
-morning songs. As I sat thus looking out, I heard a
-light footstep on the gravel walk without, and
-directly the light, airy form of a young girl emerged
-from a secluded walk of the garden, full in my view.
-As she came opposite my window she looked up as
-if inadvertently, for, catching my eye, she blushed
-deeply and cast her gaze on the ground. In a moment,
-however, she recovered herself, and advanced
-in the direction she had been pursuing. The first
-glance at the face had revealed to me the countenance
-of her I had been instrumental in rescuing
-from the pirates. My apartment, like all those on
-the island, was on the ground floor, and when Miss
-Neville appeared she was already within a few feet
-of me. I rose and bowed, and noticing that she held
-a bunch of newly gathered flowers in her hands, I
-said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It is your taste, then, Miss Neville, which has
-filled the vase in my room every morning with its
-flowers. You cannot know how thankful I am. Ah!
-would that all knew with what delight a sick person
-gazes on flowers!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She blushed again, and extending the bouquet to
-me, said with something of gaiety,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I little thought you would be up to-day, much
-less at so early an hour, or perhaps I might not have
-gathered your flowers. Since you can gaze on them
-from your window they will be less attractive to you
-when severed, like these, from their parent stem.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No—never,” I answered warmly, “indeed your
-undeserved kindness, and that of your uncle and
-aunt, I can never forget.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She looked at me in silence with her large, full
-eye a moment ere she replied, and I could see that
-they grew humid as she gazed. Her voice, too,
-softened and sank almost to a whisper when at length
-she spoke.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Undeserved kindness! And can we ever forget,”
-she said, “what we owe to you?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The words, as well as the gentle tone of reproof
-in which they were spoken, embarrassed me for a
-moment, and my eyes fell beneath her gaze. As if
-unwilling further to trust her emotions, she turned
-hastily away as she finished. When I looked up she
-was gone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We met daily after this. The <span class='it'>ennui</span> of a convalescent
-made me look forward to the time she spent
-with me as if it constituted my whole day. Certainly
-the room seemed less cheerful after her departure.
-Often would I read while she sat sewing.
-At other times we indulged in conversation, and I
-found Miss Neville’s information on general subjects
-so extensive as sometimes to put me to the blush.
-She had read not only the best authors of our own
-language, but also those of France, and her remarks
-proved that she had thought while she read. She
-was a passionate admirer of music, and herself a
-finished performer. For all that was beautiful in
-nature she had an eye and soul. There was a dash
-of gaiety in her disposition, although, perhaps, her
-general character was sedate, and late events had
-if anything increased its prominent trait. Her tendency
-to a gentle melancholy—if I may use the
-phrase—was perceptible in her choice of favorite
-songs. More than once, when listening to the simple
-ballads she delighted to sing, have I caught the
-tears rolling down my cheeks, so unconsciously had
-I been subdued by the pathos of her voice and
-song.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In a few days I was sufficiently convalescent to
-leave my room, and thenceforth I established myself
-in the one from which I had heard the mysterious
-music. This apartment proved to be a sort of boudoir
-appropriated to the use of Miss Neville, and it was
-her performance on the harp that I had heard during
-my sickness. Hers too had been the figure which I
-had seen once or twice flitting out of sight on my
-awaking from a fevered sleep.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is a dangerous thing when two young persons,
-of different sexes, are thrown together in daily intercourse,
-especially when one, from his very situation,
-is forced to depend on the other for the amusement
-of hours that would otherwise hang heavily on him.
-The peril is increased when either party is bound to
-the other by any real or fancied ties of gratitude.
-But during the first delicious fortnight of convalescence
-I was unconscious of this danger, and without
-taking any thought of the future I gave myself
-wholly up to the enjoyment of the hour. For Miss
-Neville I soon came to entertain a warm sentiment
-of regard, yet my feelings for her were of a far different
-nature from those I entertained for Annette.
-I did not, however, stop to analyze them, for I saw,
-or thought I saw, that the pleasure I felt in Ellen’s
-society was mutual, and I inquired no further. Alas!
-it never entered into my thoughts to ask whether,
-while I contented myself with friendship, she might
-not be yielding to a warmer sentiment. Had I been
-more vain perhaps this thought might have occurred
-to me. But I never imagined—blind fool that I was—that
-this constant intercourse betwixt us could endanger
-the peace of either. If I could, I would
-have coined my heart’s blood sooner than have won
-the love which I could not return. Yet such was
-my destiny. My eyes were opened at length to the
-consequences of my indiscretion.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We had been conversing one day of the expected
-arrival of <span class='sc'>the Arrow</span>, and I had spoken enthusiastically
-of my profession, and, perhaps, expressed
-some restlessness at the inactive life I was leading,
-when I noticed that Ellen sighed, looked more closely
-at her work, and remained silent for some time. At
-length she raised her eyes, however, and said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How can you explain the passion which a sea-man
-entertains for his ship? One would think that
-your hearts indulged in no other sentiment than this
-engrossing one.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You wrong us, indeed, Ellen,” I said, “for no
-one has a warmer heart than the sailor. But we
-have shared so many dangers with our ship, and it
-has been to us so long almost our only world, that
-we learn to entertain a sort of passion for it, which,
-I confess, seems a miracle to others, but which to us
-is perfectly natural. I love the old Arrow with a
-sentiment approaching to monomania, and yet I have
-many and dear friends whom I love none the less for
-this passion.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I saw that her bosom heaved quicker than usual
-at these words, and she plied her needle with increased
-velocity. Had I looked more narrowly, I
-might have seen the color faintly coming and going
-in her cheek, and almost heard her heart beating in
-the audible silence. But I still was blind to the cause
-of this emotion. By some unaccountable impulse I
-was led to speak of a subject which I had always
-avoided, though not intentionally—my early intimacy
-with Annette, and her subsequent rescue from the
-brig. Secure, as I thought, of the sympathy of my
-listener, and carried away by my engrossing love
-for Annette, I dwelt on her story for some time, totally
-unconscious of the effect my words were producing
-on Ellen. My infatuation on that morning seems
-now incredible. As I became more earnest with my
-subject, I noticed still less the growing agitation of
-my listener, and it was not until I was in the midst
-of a sentence in which I paused for words to express
-the loveliness of Annette’s character, that I saw that
-Ellen was in tears. She was bending low over her
-work so as to conceal her agitation from my eye,
-but as I hesitated in my glowing description, a bright
-tear-drop fell on her lap. The truth broke on me
-like a flash of lightning. I saw it all as clear as by
-a noonday sun, and I wondered at my former blindness.
-I was stung to the heart by what I had just
-been saying, for what agony it must have inflicted on
-my hearer! I felt my situation to be deeply embarrassing,
-and broke short off in my sentence. After
-a moment, however, feeling that silence was more
-oppressive than anything else, I made a desperate
-effort and said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ellen!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was a single word, and one which I had addressed
-to her a hundred times before; but perhaps
-there was something in the tone in which I
-spoke it, that revealed what was passing in my mind,
-for, as she heard her name, the poor girl burst into a
-flood of tears, and covering her face with her hands
-she rushed from the room. She felt that her secret
-was disclosed. She loved one whose heart was
-given to another.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>That day I saw her no more. But her agony of
-mind could not have been greater than my own.
-There is no feeling more acute to a sensitive mind
-than the consciousness that we are beloved by one
-whom we esteem, but whose affection it is impossible
-for us to requite. Oh! the bitter torture to reflect
-that by this inability to return another’s love,
-we are inflicting on them the sharpest of all disappointments,
-and perhaps embittering their life.
-Point me out a being who is callous to such a feeling,
-and I will point you out a wretch who is unworthy
-of the name of man. He who can triumph
-in the petty vanity of being loved by one for whom
-he entertains no return of affection, is worse than a
-fop or a fool—he is a scoundrel of the worst stamp.
-He deserves that his home should be uncheered by
-a <span style='font-size:smaller'>WOMAN’S</span> smiles, that his dying hour should be a
-stranger to her tender care. God knows! to her we
-are indebted for all the richest blessings and holiest
-emotions of our life. While we remember that we
-drank in our life from a mother’s breast—that we
-owed that life a thousand times afterwards to a
-mother’s care—that the love of a sister or the deeper
-affection of a wife has cheered us through many a
-dark hour of despair, we can never join that flippant
-school which makes light of a woman’s truth, or
-follow those impious revilers who would sneer at a
-woman’s love. The green sod grows to-day over
-many a lovely, fragile being, who might still have
-been living but for the perfidy of our sex. There is
-no fiction in the oft-told story of a broken heart. It
-is, perhaps, a consumption that finally destroys the
-victim, but alas! the barb that infused the poison
-first into the frame was—a hopeless love. How many
-fair faces have paled, how many hearts have grown
-cold, how many seraphic forms have passed, like
-angel visitants, from the earth, and few have known
-the secret of the blight that so mysteriously and suddenly
-withered them away. Alas! there is scarcely
-a village churchyard in the land, in which some
-broken hearted one does not sleep all forgotten in
-her lonely bed. The grave is a melancholy home;
-but it has hope for the distressed: there, at least, the
-weary are at rest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is years since I have visited the grave of <span class='sc'>Ellen</span>,
-and I never think of her fate without tears coming
-into my eyes.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I said I saw her no more that day. When I descended
-to the breakfast table on the following
-morning, I looked around, and, not beholding her,
-was on the point of inquiring if she was ill; but, at
-the instant, the door opened and one of my old mess-mates
-appeared, announcing to me that <span class='sc'>the Arrow</span>
-was in the offing, where she awaited me—he having
-been despatched with a boat to bring me on board.
-As I had been expecting her arrival for several days,
-there was little preparation necessary before I was
-ready to set forth. My traps had been already despatched
-when I stood in the hall to take leave of the
-family. My thoughts, at this moment, recurred
-again to Ellen, and I was, a second time, on the
-point of asking for her, when she appeared. I noticed
-that she looked pale, and I thought seemed as
-if she had been weeping. Her aunt said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I knew Ellen had a violent headache, but when
-I found that you were going, Mr. Cavendish, I
-thought she could come down for a last adieu.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I bowed, and taking Miss Neville’s hand raised it
-to my lips. None there were acquainted with our
-secret but ourselves, yet I felt as if every eye was
-on me, and from the nervous trembling of Ellen’s
-fingers, I knew that her agitation was greater than
-my own.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“God bless you, dear Miss Neville,” I said, and,
-in spite of my efforts, my voice quivered, “and may
-your days be long and happy.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As I dropped her hand, I raised my eyes a moment
-to her face. That look of mute thankfulness, and
-yet of mournful sorrow, I never shall forget. I felt
-that she saw and appreciated my situation, and that
-even thus her love was made evident. If I had
-doubted, her words would have relieved me.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Farewell!” she said, in a voice so low that no
-one heard it but myself. “I do not blame you. God
-be with you!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The tears gushed to her eyes, and my own heart
-was full to overflowing. I hastily waved my hand—for
-I had already taken leave of the rest—sprang
-into the carriage, rode in silence to the quay, and
-throwing myself into the stern sheets of the barge,
-sat, wrapt in my own emotions and without speaking
-a word, until we reached the ship. That night I
-early sought my hammock; and there prayed long
-and earnestly for Ellen.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The memory of that long past time crowds on me
-to-night, and I feel it would be a relief to me to disburden
-my full heart of its feelings. I will finish
-this melancholy story.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was a short six months after my departure from
-Mr. Neville’s hospitable mansion, when we came
-to anchor again in the port, with a couple of rich
-prizes, which we had taken a short time before, in
-the Gulf Stream. The first intelligence I heard, on
-landing, was that Miss Neville was said to be dying
-of a consumption. Need I say that a pang of keenest
-agony shot through my heart? A something
-whispered to me that I was the cause, at least partially,
-of all this. With a faltering tongue I inquired
-the particulars. They were soon told. I subsequently
-learned more, and shall conceal nothing.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>From the day when I left ——, the health of Ellen
-had begun gradually to droop. At first her friends
-noticed only that she was less gay than usual, and
-once or twice they alluded jestingly to me as the
-secret of her loss of spirits. But when the expression
-of agony, which at such times would flit across
-her face, was noticed, her friends ceased their allusions.
-Meanwhile her health began sensibly to be
-affected. She ate little. She slept in fitful dozes.
-No amusement could drive away the settled depression
-which seemed to brood upon her spirits. Her
-friends resorted to everything to divert her mind, but
-all was in vain. With a sad, sweet smile, she shook
-her head at their efforts, as if she felt that they could
-do nothing to reach her malady.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At length she caught a slight cold. She was of a
-northern constitution, and when this cold was followed
-by a permanent cough, her friends trembled
-lest it foreboded the presence of that disease, which
-annually sweeps off its thousands of the beautiful
-and gay. Nor were they long in doubt. Their
-worst fears were realised. <span class='sc'>Consumption</span> had fixed
-its iron clutch on her heart, and was already tugging
-at its life-strings. The worm was gnawing at the
-core of the flower, and the next rough blast would
-sweep it from the stalk. As day by day passed, she
-drew nearer to the grave. Her eye grew sunken,
-but an unnatural lustre gleamed from its depths—the
-hectic flush blazed on her cheek—and that dry
-hacking cough, which so tortures the consumptive,
-while it snaps chord after chord of life, hourly grew
-worse.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At an early period of Ellen’s illness, Mrs. Neville,
-who had been to the orphan girl a second
-mother, divined the secret of her niece’s malady.
-She did not, however, urge her confidence on her
-charge, but Ellen soon saw that her aunt knew all.
-There was a meaning in her studied avoidance of
-my name, which could not be mistaken. Ellen’s
-heart was won by this delicacy, until, one day, she
-revealed everything. Mrs. Neville pressed her to
-her bosom at the close of the confession, and, though
-nothing was said, Ellen felt that the heart of her second
-mother bled for her.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As death drew nearer, Ellen’s thoughts became
-gradually freed from this world. But she had still
-one earthly desire—she wished to see me before she
-died. Only to Mrs. Neville, however, was this desire
-confided, and even then without any expectation
-that it could be gratified. When, however, <span class='sc'>the Arrow</span>
-stopped so opportunely in ——, her petitions
-became so urgent, that Mrs. Neville sent for me.
-With a sad heart I obeyed her summons.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The dear girl,” she said, when she met me in
-the ante-room, “would not be denied, and, indeed, I
-had not the heart to refuse her. Oh! Mr. Cavendish,
-you will find her sadly changed. These are
-fearful trials which God, in his good providence, has
-called us to undergo,” and tears choked her further
-utterance. I was scarcely less affected.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It would be a fruitless task in me to attempt to
-describe my emotions on entering the chamber of the
-dying girl. I have no recollection of the furniture of
-the room, save that it was distinguished by the exquisite
-neatness and taste which always characterized
-Ellen. My eyes rested only on one object—the
-sufferer herself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She was reclining on a couch, her head propped
-up with pillows, and her right hand lying listlessly
-on the snowy counterpane. How transparent that
-hand seemed, with the blue veins so distinctly seen
-through the skin that you could almost mark the
-pulsation of the blood beneath. But it was her countenance
-which most startled me. When I last saw
-her—save at that one parting interview—her mild
-blue orbs smiled with a sunniness that spoke the joy
-of a young and happy heart. Now the wild hectic
-of consumption blazed on her cheek, and her eyes
-had a brilliancy and lustre that were not of earth.
-Then, her rich golden tresses floated in wavy curls
-across her shoulders—now, that beautiful hair was
-gathered up under the close-fitting cap which she
-wore. Then her face was bright with the glow of
-health—alas! now it was pale and attenuated. But
-in place of her faded loveliness had come a more
-glorious beauty; and the glad smile of old had given
-way to one of seraphic sweetness. When she extended
-her wan hand toward me, and spoke in that
-unrivalled voice which, though feeble, was like the
-symphony of an Æolian harp, it seemed, to my excited
-fancy, as if an angel from heaven had welcomed
-me to her side.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“This is a sad meeting,” she said; for my emotions,
-at the sight of her changed aspect, would not
-permit me to speak—“but why grieve? It is all for
-the best. It might seem unmaidenly to some,” she
-continued, with a partial hesitation, while, if possible,
-a brighter glow deepened on her cheek, “for
-me thus to send for you; but I trust we know each
-other’s hearts, and this is no time to bow to the formalities
-of life. I feel that I am dying.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Say not so, dear Ellen,” I gasped, while my
-frame shook with agony at the ruin I had brought
-about—“oh! say not so. You will yet recover. God
-has many happy years in store for you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, no,” she said touchingly, “this world is not
-for me; I am but a poor bruised reed—it were better
-I were cast aside. But weep not, for oh! I meant
-not to upbraid you. No, never, even in my first
-agony, have I blamed <span class='it'>you</span>—and it was to tell you
-this that I prayed I might survive. Yes! dearest—for
-it cannot be wrong now to confess my love—I would
-not that you should suppose I condemned you even
-in thought. You saved my life—and I loved you before
-I knew it myself. You weep—I know you do
-not despise me—had we met under better auspices,
-the result might have been—” here her voice choked
-with emotion—“might have been different.” I could
-only press her hand. “Oh! this is bliss,” she murmured,
-after a pause. “But it was not so to be,”
-she added, in a moment, with a saddened tone,
-which cut me to the heart. “I should love to see
-her of whom you speak—she is very beautiful, is
-she not? In heaven the angels are all beautiful.”
-Her mind wandered. “I have heard their music
-for days, and every day it is clearer and lovelier.
-Hear!” and with her finger raised, her eye fixed
-on the air, and a rapt smile on her radiant countenance,
-she remained a moment silent.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Tears fell from us like rain. But by and bye, her
-wandering senses returned; and a look of unutterable
-wo passed over her face. Oh! how my heart
-bled. I know not what I said; I only know that I
-strove to soothe the dying moments of that sweet
-saint, so suffering, yet so forgiving. A look of happiness
-once more lightened up her face, and, with a
-sweet smile, she talked of happiness and heaven.
-As we thus communed, our hearts were melted. Gradually
-her voice assumed a different tone, becoming
-sweeter and more liquid at every word, while her
-eyes shone no longer with that fitful lustre, but
-beamed on me the full effulgence of her soul once
-more.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Raise me up,” she said. I passed my arm around
-her, and gently lifted her up. Her head reposed on
-my shoulder, while her hand was still clasped in
-mine. She turned her blue eyes on me with a seraphic
-expression, such as only the sainted soul in its
-parting moment can embody, and whispered—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh! to die thus is sweet! Henry, dear Henry—God
-bless you! In heaven there is no sorrow,” and
-then, in incoherent sentences, she murmured of
-bright faces, and strange music, and glorious visions
-that were in the air. The dying musician said that
-he then knew more of God and nature than he ever
-knew before, and it may be, that, as the soul leaves
-the body, we are gifted with a power to see things
-of which no mortal here can tell. Who knows? In
-our dying hour we shall learn.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The grave of Ellen is now forgotten by all, save
-me. The grass has grown over it for long years.
-But often, in the still watches of the night, I think I
-hear a celestial voice whispering in my ear; and
-sometimes, in my dreams, I behold a face looking, as
-it were, from amid the stars: and that face, all glorious
-in light, is as the face of that sainted girl. I
-cannot believe that the dead return no more.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk108'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='home'></a>THE RETURN HOME.</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'>I’m with you once again, my friends⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No more my footsteps roam⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where it began my journey ends,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Amid the scenes of home.</p>
-<p class='line0'>No other clime has skies so blue,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or streams so broad and clear,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And earth no hearts so warm and true,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;As those that meet me here.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Since last, with spirits wild and free,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I pressed my native strand,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve wandered many miles at sea,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And many miles on land;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve seen all nations of the earth,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of every hue and tongue,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which taught me how to prize the worth</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of that from whence I sprung.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>In distant countries when I heard</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The music of my own,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh how my echoing heart was stirred!⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;It bounded at the tone!</p>
-<p class='line0'>But when a brother’s hand I grasp’d</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Beneath a foreign sky,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With joy convulsively I gasp’d,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like one about to die.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>My native land, I come to you</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With blessings and with prayer,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where man is brave, and woman true,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And free as mountain air.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Long may our flag in triumph wave,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Against the world combined,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And friends a welcome, foes a grave,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;On land and ocean find.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk109'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='miss'></a>MISS THOMPSON.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>A TALE OF A VILLAGE INN.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY MRS. A. M. F. ANNAN.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It may be out of keeping with our subject to apply
-the homely epithet of a “fish out of water” to
-Mr. Bromwell Sutton in the rural village of G⁠——,
-but as no periphrasis suggests itself which would express
-his position as well, we must fain eschew elegance
-for the occasion, and let it stand. It was a sultry
-afternoon, in the middle of summer, when he arrived
-at the Eagle Inn, and after changing his dress, stepped
-to the door to see what could be seen. He looked up
-the street, and down and across, and not a living
-thing was visible besides himself, except a few sheep
-dozing in the market-house, and two or three cows
-silently ruminating in the shade of the town hall,
-both of which edifices were near at hand. Then
-having decided that there was nothing in the architectural
-aspect of the straggling village worth a
-second look, he concentred his scrutiny upon himself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The result of his investigation stood thus:—that
-he was a very charming young man, was Mr. Bromwell
-Sutton. He had a slender, well formed figure,
-which was encased in a fresh suit of the finest texture
-and most unexceptionable make. His features
-were regular, and of that accommodating order
-which allows the spectator to assign them any character
-he may choose. His complexion was fair and
-clear, his teeth were very white and his eyes very
-blue. His hair was dark, daintily glossed and perfumed
-with oil, and of a length, which, on so warm
-a day, would have made a silver arrow or a gilded
-bodkin a judicious application; and he had two
-elongated tufts on his upper lip, and a round one on
-his chin corresponding to the space between them.
-He wore a Panama hat of the most extensive circumference,
-and carried a pair of white gloves,
-either to be drawn on his hands or slapped on his
-knees, whichever circumstances might require; and
-the corner of a hem-stitched handkerchief of transparent
-cambrick stuck out of his pocket.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A handbill pasted on the sign-post next caught his
-eye, and, though it was a favorite saying with him
-that he “never read,” to be understood of course,
-not that he never <span class='it'>had</span> read, but that he knew enough
-already; he so far conquered his disdain of literature
-as to step forward and ascertain its purport. This,
-set forth in the interesting typographical variety
-which veteran advertisers so well comprehend, of
-large and small Romans, and Italics leaning some to
-the right and some to the left, and some standing
-perpendicular, was as follows:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Azariah Chowders, celebrated throughout
-the Union for his eloquent, entertaining and instructive
-discourses on miscellaneous subjects, proposes
-delivering a lecture on the evening of the present
-instant, in the town hall of G⁠——. The theme selected
-is, the Genius of the American People, one,
-which, from its intrinsic importance, requires no
-comment,” &amp;c. &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He was interrupted by the rattle of a distant vehicle,
-and looking up the street, saw a chaise approaching
-which contained a single “individual,”
-as he mentally pronounced him. He drove a fine
-horse, and drew him up before the door of the inn.
-The chaise was a plain, common looking concern,
-full of travel-worn trunks and boxes, and its occupant
-was dressed in a light summer suit, rather neat,
-but entirely too coarse for gentility.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It’s only a Yankee pedlar,” said Mr. Sutton to the
-landlord who was coming out, and entirely careless of
-being overheard by the stranger; and he walked up to
-his chamber, where he awakened a diminutive poodle,
-his travelling companion, from the siesta with which it
-was recruiting after its journey, and occupied himself
-in cracking his handkerchief at it, until an additional
-stir in the house indicated the approach of tea-time.
-He then came down, carrying Cupidon, for so was the
-animal appellated; and found in the bar-room a young
-gentleman, a law-student, to whom he had delivered
-a letter on his arrival, and who was a boarder in the
-house. The other stranger had, meanwhile, entered
-the room, and was cooling himself at an open window,
-with his short curling hair pushed back from a
-forehead remarkable in its whiteness and intellectual
-development, and crowning a face of strikingly
-handsome lineaments and prepossessing expression.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How do you contrive to exist in this stupid
-place?” asked our dandy of his new acquaintance,
-whose name was Wallis; “they say there are some
-genteel people about,—have you any pretty girls
-among them to flirt with?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We have some pretty young ladies, but don’t
-use them for that purpose exactly,” replied Wallis;
-“we admire them, and wait on them and try to
-please them, and then, when we can afford it, we
-marry them, if they don’t object.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Have you seen anything of a lady vagabondising
-in this region,—a Miss Valeria North?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Miss Valeria North, the fashionable heiress of
-B——? the niece of the celebrated Judge North?
-what should she be doing here?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh, I don’t know,—it’s beginning to be genteel
-for people to get tired of society, and to go hunting
-up out-of-the-way places that one knows nothing
-about except from the maps; I heard in the railroad
-cars that she was making a tour along the
-river here, and was in hopes that I might fall in
-with her. What do you know of her?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I heard a great deal about her at Saratoga last
-summer, where I happened to stop for a few days.
-Every body was talking about her beauty, talents
-and accomplishments, and in particular about her
-plain and simple manners, so singular in an heiress
-and a belle. The young men, mostly, seemed to have
-been afraid of her; regarding her as a female Caligula
-who would have rejoiced in the power of decapitating
-all the silliness, stupidity and puppyism in
-the world with one stroke of her wit.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Indeed!” said Sutton, with a weak laugh that
-proved him not to apprehend what he was laughing
-at; “I hope she’ll soon come along; I’m prepared
-for a dead set at her. Girls of two or three hundred
-thousands are worth that trouble; it’s a much pleasanter
-way to get pocket money than to be playing
-the dutiful son for it.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Wallis elevated his eyebrows, but made no other
-reply.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That, I suppose, is one of your village beauties,—that
-one walking in the garden with the pink dress
-on and the black apron,” resumed Sutton.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No; she is a stranger boarding here,—a Miss
-Thompson.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Miss Thompson!—it might as well be Miss Blank
-for all the idea that conveys. Who, or what is
-she?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She does not say;—there is the name in the register
-beside you,—‘<span class='it'>Mrs. Thompson and daughter</span>’—so
-she entered it. She and her mother stopped
-here a week or two ago, on account of the lady’s
-health.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thompsons!—they oughtn’t to be found at out-of-the-way
-places; all the genteel Thompsons that I
-ever heard of go to springs and places of decided
-fashion; it is absolutely necessary, that they may
-not be confounded with the mere Thompsons,—the
-ten thousand of the name. But that is a pretty
-looking girl,—and rather ladyish.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She is a lady—a well-bred, sensible girl, as ever
-I met with, and very highly educated.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>They were interrupted by the bell for tea, and, on
-entering the eating-room, they found the young lady
-in the pink dress at the table, with an elderly, delicate
-looking woman (Mrs. Thompson, of course,)
-beside her. Mr. Sutton advanced to the place immediately
-opposite to her, and a nearer view suggested
-that she might be one of the genteel Thompsons
-after all. She was a spirited looking girl, rather
-under the middle height, with a clear and brilliant,
-though not very fair complexion; large black eyes,
-surmounted by wide and distinctly marked eyebrows,
-and a broad, smooth forehead; a nose, (that
-most <span class='it'>difficult</span> of features, if we may judge by the
-innumerable failures,) a nose beautifully straight in
-its outline and with the most delicately cut nostrils
-possible; and the most charmingly curved lips, and
-the whitest teeth in the world. Having made these
-discoveries, Mr. Sutton decided that if her station
-should forbid his admiring her, he would not allow
-it to prevent her from admiring him. To afford her
-the benefit of this privilege, it was necessary that he
-should first attract her notice, for she had bestowed
-but a single glance at him on his entrance, as had
-her mother, the latter drawing up her eyelids as if
-she had been very near-sighted; and to affect this, he
-called, in a peremptory voice to the servant attending,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Waiter, I wish you would give my dog something
-to eat.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your dog, sir?—where is it?” asked the colored
-man, looking around the room, and then giving a
-loud whistle to call the invisible animal forth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Here,” replied Sutton, sharply; “or you may
-bring me a plate and I’ll feed him myself;” and he
-pointed to the miniature specimen, lying like a little
-lump of floss-silk, on his foot.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That! I-I-I—he! he! ha! ha!” exclaimed the
-waiter, attempting at first to restrain himself, and
-then bursting into a chuckling laugh; “is it—really—a
-dog, sir?—a live dog!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Cupidon, as if outraged by the suspicion, hereupon
-sprang into the middle of the room, barking at
-the height of his feeble voice, and showing his tiny
-white teeth, while his wicked little eyes sparkled
-with anger. The cachinnations of the amused and
-astonished servant increased at every bark, and drew
-a laugh from Wallis, and a smile from each of the
-ladies. Sutton with difficulty silenced his favorite,
-and finding that the desired impression of his consequence
-had not been made, he proceeded to another
-essay. “Waiter,” he slowly enunciated, with a
-look of disgust at the steel implement in his hand;
-“have you no silver forks?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sir?” said the attendant with a puzzled expression.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Any silver forks?” he repeated emphatically.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, sir; we don’t keep the article.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then you should not put fish on the table; they
-ought properly to be inseparable,” he returned, magisterially,
-and rising from his seat, he approached
-the stranger of the chaise, who had quietly placed
-himself some distance below them, and asked,
-“Have you any such things as silver forks among
-your commodities?—I believe that persons in your
-vocation sometimes deal in articles of that description.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The stranger looked up in surprise, and, after scanning
-him from head to foot, a frown which was
-gathering on his face gave way to a look of humorous
-complacency—“I am sorry I can’t accommodate
-you, sir,” said he; “but I might probably suggest a
-substitute;—how would a tea-spoon do?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He returned to his seat, rather dubious about the
-smiles he detected, and, as a third effort, addressed
-himself, somewhat in the following manner, to Wallis,
-whose interlocutions are unnecessary. “How
-far did you say it was to the Sutton Mills?—only
-four miles, isn’t it? I shall have to apply to you to
-show me the way. I have a curiosity to see them, as
-they are one of my father’s favorite hobbies. I often
-laugh at him for christening them with his own
-name. Calling a villa, a fashionable country seat,
-after one’s self, is well enough, but mills or manufactories—it
-is rather out of taste. Is the fourth
-finished yet? I believe it is to be the finest of all;
-indeed, it seems to me a little injudicious in the old
-gentleman to have invested so much in a country
-property—there are at least half a dozen farms, are
-there not? but I suppose he was afraid to trust his
-funds to stocks, and he has already more real estate
-in the city than he can well attend to. However, if
-he had handed over the amount to me, I think I
-could have disposed of it with a much better grace.
-He did offer me a title to them, some time ago, but it
-was on condition that I should come here and manage
-them myself, but I begged to be excused, and it was
-only on agreement that I should have a hundred per
-cent. of the revenue this year, that I consented to
-undergo the trouble of visiting them, or the sacrifice,
-rather—there are so many delightful places to go to
-in the summer,” and so forth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Having, from these indirect explanations, made a
-clear case that his society was entitled to a welcome
-from the best Thompson in the world, and to that
-with thanks, if his fair neighbor was only a crockery
-Thompson, he arose and returned to the front of the
-house. The village had, by this time, awakened
-from its nap, and the larger proportion of its inhabitants
-were bending their steps to the town hall.
-Numerous well appointed carriages were also coming
-in from the surrounding neighborhood, whose
-passengers were all bound to the same point.
-“Where are all these people going?” asked Sutton.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“To the lecture announced in that handbill,” replied
-Wallis—and Miss Thompson presenting herself
-at the door, ready bonnetted, he walked with
-her in a neighborly sort of a way across the street.
-After a while the throng ceased, and from some impatient
-expressions of the loungers about the tavern,
-Sutton ascertained that the lecturer had not yet appeared.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why, that man I mistook for a Yankee pedlar
-must be he, I should judge,” said he to the landlord.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Who?—where?” said a young man, who had not
-heard the last clause.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That tall fellow, in the garden, there, drest in the
-brown-holland pantaloons and Kentucky jean coat.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Indeed!—I thought he was to stop at the other
-house;” and he hastened down the street, while Sutton,
-finding that every body was going to the hall,
-strolled there also.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Meanwhile, the stranger in the coarse jeans was
-enjoying himself in a saunter through the quiet and
-pretty garden of the inn, which was so hedged and
-enclosed as to admit of no view of the street, when
-a consequential personage presented himself, and
-saluting him stiffly, introduced himself as “Mr.
-Smith, the proprietor of the G⁠—— Hotel.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am happy to make your acquaintance, sir,”
-said the young stranger, courteously.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I have taken the liberty to call, sir, and inform
-you that the audience has been waiting for some
-time. It is full fifteen minutes past the time announced
-in the handbills;” pulling one from his
-pocket—“I felt a reluctance to intrude, but, putting
-the best construction upon your conduct, in not informing
-me of your arrival, after I had been at the
-pains to prepare for you, I presumed it proceeded
-from a mistake; you are at the opposition establishment.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There certainly is a mistake,” interrupted the
-stranger.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Very well, very well, sir, as an entire stranger
-you can be excused,” hastily proceeded Mr. Smith;
-“but there is no time to talk about it now—we can
-settle it after a while. Be good enough to hurry over;
-the people are getting impatient. You will have a
-large audience, sir; they were afraid they would be
-disappointed, which would have been a bad business,
-as we very seldom have lecturers from a distance.
-It was lucky that you happened to be found out by
-one of my boarders, for some of the gentlemen were
-talking about dispersing, and if that had occurred,
-we would all have been up in arms against you;—we
-are pretty fiery, some of us!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then you would not be willing to wait another
-evening?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“To wait! certainly not; I hope you have no such
-idea!—let me beg you to hurry, sir!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, but—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My dear sir!—let me insist—you have announced
-a very interesting subject—‘The Genius of the
-American People;’ the very thing for our audience—American
-through and through—very patriotic!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Very well, sir—I’ll try to do my best—let me
-change my dress a little, and I’ll attend you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>To the surprise of the inmates of the Eagle, excepting,
-indeed, Mr. Sutton, who paid a mental tribute
-to his own sagacity—in a few minutes their fellow
-lodger entered and mounted the rostrum. A
-figure as graceful and commanding would have
-struck the fastidious assemblage of a fashionable city
-lecture-room. He showed some embarrassment after
-casting his eyes over the really large audience, but
-a round of applause gave him time to collect himself,
-and he commenced a modest preface, stating
-that he had not had time to arrange his ideas on the
-subject proposed, in such a form as he could have
-wished, yet as it was one that ought to be familiar
-to all good citizens, he hoped he should not entirely
-fail.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We regret that our space will not permit us to
-edify our readers with the critique on his performance
-which duly appeared in the village newspaper.
-Suffice it, that after an elaborate eulogium on his fine
-person, captivating voice, and expressive gestures;
-his sparkling wit, elevated imagination, and extensive
-reading, he was pronounced <span class='it'>ex cathedrâ</span>, “a
-patriot, a scholar and a gentleman.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The next morning, when they met in the breakfast
-room, Miss Thompson and Wallis were fluent in
-commendation of the lecture. “I was most agreeably
-disappointed,” said the lady; “having been
-prepared for nothing more than the flippant inanities
-we usually hear from itinerant lecturers. This gentleman
-is an orator—one that would draw crowds
-among the most intellectual communities in the
-country. The subject was so hackneyed, that to announce
-it appeared ridiculous; but he treated it like
-a statesman, and made it really imposing by evidences
-of original thought and profound information.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She was interrupted by the object of her remarks
-entering the room—and after he had taken his seat
-at the table, she turned and remarked to him, with
-respectful complaisance, “you had a large and very
-attentive auditory last night, sir.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The stranger bowed and returned, “I was surprised
-to find an assemblage so numerous and respectable,
-and had every reason to be flattered by their reception.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I have no doubt you entertained them exceedingly,”
-interposed Sutton; “you did very well, very
-well, indeed; for a plain country audience, nothing
-could have suited them better. I suppose you consider
-yourself as having made quite a speculation;
-at fifty cents a head the receipts must have been considerable.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Miss Thompson glanced at him with a look of irritation,
-which, however, changed to one of merriment
-at the comic stare of the itinerant, his only answer.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Just then there was a bustle in the entry, and the
-landlord was heard saying in a tone of expostulation—“The
-gentleman is at his breakfast, sir; have
-a little patience, and, no doubt, he will satisfy you
-afterwards. The other boarders are all at the table,
-and it would only cause a confusion.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“So much the better,” returned a stentorian voice;
-“let me in, sir, or you shall be exposed for harboring
-a swindler;” and a formidable-looking person, large
-of size and exceeding fierce of countenance, entered.
-He was accompanied by Mr. Smith of the rival
-house, who designated the lecturer, and striding
-up to him, he exclaimed, in a strong Connecticut accent,
-“So, sir! you are the gentleman that entertained
-this community last evening with a lecture on
-the ‘Genius of the American People;’ you are Azariah
-Chowders, are you?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I sir?—by no means! I rejoice in quite a different
-appellation.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No sir,—I myself am Azariah Chowders, and I
-hereby pronounce you an impudent imposter. I demand
-to know, sir, how you could dare to avail yourself
-of my name and well-earned reputation to deliver
-a spurious lecture and rob the pockets of a large
-audience?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“From several reasons, sir. In the first place,
-to relieve the solicitude of that gentleman, Mr.
-Smith.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That shall not serve you! your flagitious conduct,—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pray hear me out, sir! secondly, as he assured
-me a number of persons would be disappointed if they
-should not hear a lecture—common philanthropy—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“A benevolent youth, upon my word!” laughed
-Mr. Chowders in derision; “I’ll not listen.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then for my third and last reason,—how could
-I resist such a capital opportunity for showing off?
-A gentleman of your aspiring disposition should not
-be too severe upon the ambition of others. I had no
-fame of my own to procure me a welcome, and as
-there was no claimant for yours,—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Young man, you had better confess the truth at
-once! you could not resist the temptation of pocketing
-the dollars which you know would be collected
-on my credit. I shall have redress, sir—there are
-such things as indictments for swindling.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My good sir! you certainly would not menace
-me with anything so terrific! remember how much
-labor I have taken off your hand,—the exertion of
-your brain and lungs, besides securing for you every
-cent of the admittance fees. Landlord, oblige me
-by bringing here the handkerchief which I requested
-you last night to deposit in your desk.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The host of the Eagle complied with alacrity, and
-the young stranger unrolling his handkerchief, displayed
-a collection of notes and silver, particularly
-inviting in these hard times. The sight of it mollified
-the assailant at once. “Here, sir,” said the other,
-“you have the emoluments of the lecture just as
-they were placed in my hands by the gentleman beside
-you, Mr. Smith. My worthy host will be my
-voucher that I have not seen it since; and I think I
-may be equally confident that it has lost nothing by
-being in his possession. I beg pardon if I have incommoded
-you by presuming to supply your place;
-but I hope your friend, Mr. Smith, will do me the
-justice of attributing it in part to his mistake and solicitations.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Willingly,” said Mr. Smith; “and in explanation
-of my share of the business, it originated from a
-remark made by that gentleman,” nodding towards
-Mr. Sutton.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Chowder, with some accession of graciousness,
-remarked that an accident to his carriage had
-caused the delay on his part, and he condescended to
-add, that it was well enough some one had been
-found to entertain the company in his stead.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You are lenient, sir,” said the offender, “and, in
-return, I give you my word that I shall never again
-attempt to win a laurel leaf in your name. The
-audience shall be undeceived, and all the opprobrium
-of my presuming to represent your oratorical
-abilities shall rest on myself. At present, I have no
-other security to offer than my name, which, however,
-I hope will prevent similar mistakes for the
-future,” and he glanced at Sutton; “it is Norman
-Oakley, and my occupation is that of an artist,—a
-painter,” and the visiters retired.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Rather a ferocious gentleman, that Mr. Azariah
-Chowders,” said Wallis who, with Miss Thompson
-had witnessed the scene, much to their amusement.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Quite,” returned the painter, resuming his natural
-manner; “though I had prepared myself for a
-much stronger demonstration of it;—perhaps, because
-I felt that I deserved it. He could not have
-been more surprised at finding himself counterfeited
-than I was on presenting myself in your lecture-room.
-I had expected to meet with some little literary
-society, or association for mutual improvement,
-such as are common in your villages, and assented
-to the importunity of the committee-man without explaining
-the mistake, in expectation that I might
-have some diversion of my own from it. When I
-found an assemblage of the whole community, I felt
-inclined, through respect for them, to make an explanation
-and withdraw; but, on second thought, concluded
-that as I had gone so far, I might as well remain
-and do my best to afford them a little entertainment.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why, that brown-holland chap seemed to think
-he would elevate himself a peg by letting us know
-that he is a painter;—I should like to know how
-much more elegant it is to stroll about painting than
-peddling or lecturing,” said Mr. Sutton to Wallis,
-when they had left the table; “but that Miss Thompson
-is an astonishingly handsome girl; what a complexion
-she has!—what eyes and what teeth!—what
-a sensation she would make in society—that is, if
-she had a fortune and somebody to show her off!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You had better offer her yours, and engage in
-the service yourself,” said Wallis.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Money for money,—‘like loves like;’ it is a
-generally received opinion among <span class='it'>us</span> that a good-looking
-fellow, fashionable and well connected, is
-an equivalent for a woman with fifty thousand dollars
-any day. If he has a fortune, she should be
-worth dollar for dollar besides. I don’t know what
-this Miss Thompson is, so I believe I’ll wait till Valeria
-North comes along.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Valeria North! why, my dear fellow, she would
-annihilate you!” returned Wallis, and he thought to
-himself, “this is the most ridiculous jackanapes I
-have ever met with; if I must be bored with his acquaintance,
-I’ll have a little fun with him;” and he
-added in a significant tone, “I thought there was
-some sort of magnetism by which you people of
-fashion found each other out. Is it possible you
-have not seen into Miss Thompson yet? Between
-ourselves she is as great an heiress as Miss North.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You don’t say so!—well, she looks as if she deserved
-to be. Come, Wallis, introduce me, and Miss
-North may go to the dickens.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am sorry I can’t oblige you; but as I have
-merely talked to Miss Thompson, myself, as a fellow-boarder,
-I am not privileged to introduce a
-stranger.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No matter, we men of the world can manage
-such things. They are in that room, aren’t they?
-and by good luck Cupidon has sneaked in. I’ll go
-after him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I beg pardon, ladies, if I intrude,” said he bowing;
-“but my dog⁠—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Not at all, sir, this is the common parlor of the
-house,” returned Mrs. Thompson, quietly, and
-scarcely looking up from her work.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Thus happily possessed of the freedom of the
-room, Mr. Sutton turned over some books on a
-table, and at length remarked, when he had caught
-the eye of Miss Thompson, “These country villages
-are monstrously tiresome to persons accustomed to
-a city life.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Are they?” said she, and looked again on her
-book.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“They say that Saratoga is unusually thronged
-this year,” he resumed after a pause; “I had the
-pleasure of meeting with a young lady of your name
-there last summer;—indeed, I had quite a flirtation
-with her; perhaps she was a relation of yours—the
-daughter of old General Thompson of Virginia.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Not in the least,” said the young lady.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Judge Thompson, of one of the New England
-states, was there, at the same time, with his daughters.
-Very elegant girls all of them,—quite belles.
-They are of a different family,—perhaps of yours?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No sir, they are not,” returned Miss Thompson,
-impatiently giving her reticule a swing, which raised
-Cupidon off his feet, that important character having
-laid siege to the tassels.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Laissez aller</span>, Cupidon! a thorough-bred Parisian
-animal, Miss,—he does not understand a word
-of English. He was a keepsake from a particular
-friend of mine, Baron Mont Tonnére. You may
-have met with the baron; he was quite a lion among
-our <span class='it'>élite</span>? By the by, a Miss Thompson came very
-near being the baroness,—she was one of the Thomas
-Thompsons of New York.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>No reply.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“One of the best families in the country,—the
-same as the B. B. Thompsons of Philadelphia, the
-Brown Thompsons of Charleston, and the Thoroughgood
-Thompsons of Boston.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You seem quite <span class='it'>au fait</span> to the Thompsons;” said
-the elder lady; and turning to her daughter, they
-resumed a conversation, which he had interrupted,
-about the lecture and the lecturer, Miss Thompson
-expressing a wish to see some of his productions, and
-her confidence that a person of his evidently cultivated
-taste must possess merit as a painter. Mr. Sutton,
-as is common with vain people, drawing his conclusions
-from his own practice, presumed, of course,
-that all their fine talking was specially aimed at his
-favor, and when the younger lady, in return for his
-occasional interpositions, gave him a disdainful
-glance of her full black eyes, he admired her art in
-displaying their brilliancy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The garden of the inn commanded one of the loveliest
-views among the finest river scenery in our
-country, an exquisite combination of glassy water,
-little green islets, hills of every variety of form, and
-mountains, rising one behind another till their outlines
-grew almost imperceptible in the distance.
-This, in the light of a magnificent sunset caught the
-eye of the young painter from a little summer-house
-in which he had been reading, and he hastened to
-his room for his portfolio. On his return he commenced
-sketching with such intentness that he did
-not perceive that Miss Thompson had taken possession
-of his former post, until she addressed him with
-the remark, “You have a most admirable subject for
-your pencil before you, sir.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Beautiful, beautiful!” returned he, warmly; “I
-never have beheld anything in this order of scenery
-to surpass it, though, indeed, this glorious river presents,
-in its whole course, a panorama of views so
-varied and each so perfect, that it is difficult to decide
-upon any one as claiming the strongest admiration.
-I have been tracing it for several months, my
-store of sketches accumulating every day, and the
-larger number of them such as would require the
-hand of a master to do them justice. I sometimes
-almost despair, and feel inclined to abandon my art
-from the difficulties I find in attempting not to disgrace
-my subjects,—such as these for instance,—they may
-be familiar to you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He laid before her several sketches, and, observing,
-with evident pleasure, her expression of admiration
-he continued,—“This and this I have finished
-in oil, if it will afford you any amusement, I shall
-bring them down.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She assented with thanks and the pictures were
-produced. She scanned them over and over again,
-as if not new to connoisseurship, and when she
-turned her eyes to the painter from his work, they
-sparkled with delight that brought a flush to his face.
-“There is a view which you cannot yet have found;”
-said she, “one but a few minutes walk from here.
-I would rather see it on canvass, if executed in the
-spirit of these, than any Claude I have ever heard of!—when
-you have seen it I am confident you will undertake
-it. Will you let me point it out to you?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The painter cast upon her one of those quick,
-searching looks that belong to the profession, and
-was so struck with the intellectual beauty of her
-glowing and earnest face, that he forgot to reply.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In this gorgeous sunset it must be magnificent
-beyond imagination,” she continued, catching up a
-bonnet beside her; “if we hurry we shall yet have
-time to see it. Will you go now?” He merely
-bowed, without any common-places about “the
-pleasure” or the “happiness,” and laying down his
-portfolio, he closed the door of the edifice to secure
-his property, and set off beside her.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, what did you think of Miss Thompson?”
-asked Wallis of Mr. Sutton the next morning.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She has splendid black eyes, and how well she
-knows it too! but she is quite too shy,—I couldn’t
-draw her out.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She was talking fast enough to Mr. Oakley, last
-evening,—I saw them walking together.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Did you!” exclaimed Sutton, in surprise.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes, and if you don’t take care, he’ll spoil your
-flirtation before you get it rightly underweigh. He
-is as handsome a fellow as ever I saw, and as gentlemanlike.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sutton glanced down at himself. “Oh, I don’t
-mind such things;” said he magnanimously; “indeed,
-I should rather give her credit for encouraging
-the young man. It is fashionable now to patronise
-such people. I intend to give him something to do
-myself, particularly as it will gratify the young lady.
-She expressed a wish yesterday to see some of his
-work, and I promised her to employ him on myself.
-Do you paint portraits, Mr. O-Oakton?—that I believe
-is the province of country artists;” he added to the
-painter who had presented himself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sometimes I do,—when I find a face worth
-painting.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Of course, of course;—I have just been saying
-that I intend to get you to take mine. It may be of
-some service in getting you into business here. I
-hope you will not bore me by making me sit often.
-When can you begin?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Any time,—now if you choose,—it won’t require
-long to take <span class='it'>you</span> off. I have my portfolio at hand,
-and can do it at once. Take this seat.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My father,” pursued the dandy; “is noted as a
-patron of the fine arts. He, however, seldom employs
-young artists, as they don’t yield him the worth
-of his money. He says that after a painter gets up to
-a hundred dollars a head for portraits, or for a square
-yard of other things, he thinks he may trust him,
-as his productions may then be supposed to be good.
-He had the ceilings of his drawing-rooms frescoed
-by Monachisi, which was very expensive, and, besides,
-he has employed several other of the popular
-artists;” giving an enumeration which, in accuracy,
-scarcely fell short of that by the erudite hero of
-Fielding—“Ammyconni, Paul Varnish, Cannibal
-Scratchi, and Hogarthi.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Please to shut your mouth, sir;” said the Painter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Now, don’t make a fright of me;” resumed Mr.
-Sutton; “try your best, and I may, very probably,
-give you another job. How would you like to paint
-Miss Thompson for me?—when she gets over her
-shyness I’ll propose it to her, if you succeed in this.
-She is a confounded pretty girl, don’t you think so?—quite
-as handsome as some of the portraits in the
-Book of Beauty,”⁠—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Keep your mouth shut, if you please.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The picture proposed by Miss Thompson was
-commenced, and whether it was from the excellence
-of the subject, or the eloquence of her suggestions,
-the painter exerted upon it his best ability. Their
-mutual interest in it was a bond of acquaintance
-which strengthened as the work proceeded, and
-every day developed some new qualities in each,
-which could not have failed to endow their intercourse
-with attraction. He was a noble young man,
-altogether,—full of talent, generous feelings and high-toned
-principles; and of a buoyant, mirthful spirit
-and powers of adapting himself to circumstances so
-rarely found with lofty intellect and so delightful
-when they accompany it. His fair companion was
-not less richly endowed by nature and education,
-but it was only by those who could appreciate the
-stronger points of her character that she would have
-been equally admired. These perpetually exhibiting
-themselves in an ardent enjoyment of every thing
-beautiful in thought, sentiment or the external world,
-and in an intrepid scorn of any thing like vanity,
-selfishness or insincerity, gave her manners a cast
-that among the conventional world would have denounced
-her as “odd,” yet there was a grace in
-her energy, that, to those who understood her, made
-it an additional charm. In short, they might have
-had a multiplicity of excuses, if they had chosen to
-fall in love with each other, but of this there were
-no indications. They walked together with perfect
-freedom, entirely careless or unconscious of remark;
-and they talked together, appearing pleased if they
-agreed in opinions, or if they differed, opposing each
-other with equal firmness and politeness. Their deportment
-was without coquetry on her part and without
-gallantry on his. All they knew of each other
-was that he was a painter and a very gifted one,
-and that she was a very fascinating Miss Thompson.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Meanwhile, Mr. Sutton’s flirtation with, or rather
-at our heroine, for he had it all to himself, was in
-active progress. He made himself intolerable by the
-airs and graces he assumed, to recommend himself
-to her favor. He never tied his cravat, nor wrapped
-a <span class='it'>papillote</span> without a design upon her heart. He
-followed her about the garden, paying the most vapid
-compliments, or, intruding into the parlor, while she
-and her mother were reading, amused them with
-“easie sighs which men do breathe in love.” She
-attempted at first to repel him with witty sarcasms,
-but that, as Wallis remarked, “was like Queen
-Christina shooting at a fly—his apprehension was so
-small it could scarcely be hit.” She darted contempt
-at him from her bright black eyes, and curled her
-lip in the most unequivocal fashion, but that only
-made her look prettier, and he could see no deeper.
-She essayed a plain rebuff, but he thought it a capital
-joke. It never entered his head that Mr. Bromwell
-Sutton could be any thing but irresistible to a
-Miss Thompson. To get rid of him, she at last found
-entirely out of the question, and wearied of her
-efforts, she concluded to let him take his own course.
-This passiveness seemed to him so encouraging, that
-one day he was on the point of making a declaration
-and was only prevented by the dinner-bell.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Towards the artist he continued his patronizing
-condescension, with a not unfrequent interlude of
-actual incivility, which, to the surprise even of Miss
-Thompson, that gentleman passed over with unresisting
-composure. On the present occasion the latter
-variation predominated, and after they had left the
-table, Miss Thompson remarked “I wonder Mr.
-Oakley, at your patience in submitting to the impertinences
-of that popinjay!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You would not have me challenge him?” said
-the painter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That would be rather too heroic,—your position
-is as defenceless as my own. These “gentlemen’s
-sons!”—if I were a man, there is no reproach I
-should dread, more than being called one of them!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Rather a sweeping condemnation,” said the
-artist, smiling; “but I think I have prepared a
-revenge that will reach the specimen before us;”
-and having perceived the subject of their remarks
-approaching from the summer-house, he called to
-him, “Will you step here, for a moment, Mr.
-Sutton?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I can’t—I haven’t time;” said Sutton, hurrying
-on, and they both noticed in him marks of much perturbation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your portrait is finished, and I wish you to see
-it;” persisted Oakley.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>His portrait was too closely connected with himself,
-not to have influenced him under any circumstances,
-and, accordingly, he stopped while the
-painter left the room for it, calling, as he did so,
-“Mr. Wallis—landlord—gentlemen,—I wish to have
-your opinion of Mr. Sutton’s portrait; oblige me by
-coming into the parlor.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>They complied and the picture, which was of a
-miniature size, was placed in the proper light. Miss
-Thompson gave it a single glance, and burst into an
-apparently irrepressible laugh. Mrs. Thompson,
-regarding her with much surprise, drew up her eyes,
-and stooped forward to examine it, and then, though
-she gave her daughter and the artist a deprecating
-look, she also turned away to conceal a smile.
-Wallis turned first to the picture, then to Sutton, and
-then to Cupidon, and made no effort to restrain his
-mirth, in which he was joined by the party of spectators
-who had accompanied him. Every one perceived
-that it was a correct likeness of Sutton in features,
-while the expression was strikingly that of the
-little poodle. The dandy himself could not fail to
-recognize it, and looked around him, pale with wrath
-and mortification, bestowing the fiercest of his looks
-on Miss Thompson.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You don’t tell me what you think of my performance,
-Mr. Sutton,” said Oakley, with much gravity.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I’ll not bear your insults, sir!” exclaimed Sutton
-at length; “I’ll not tolerate your libellous insolence!—what
-do you mean, sir?—what do you mean?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Insults! I’ll leave it to this company if I have not
-succeeded admirably! it reflects you as a mirror!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I’ll not put up with it! I’ll not pay you a cent;
-I’ll leave it on your hands, and we’ll see who’ll have
-the best of the joke!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do sir!” said the artist; “it will be then my
-property, and I can do what I please with it! I’ll put
-it up in some exhibition labelled with your name!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your station protects you sir!” he resumed; “if
-you were not beneath my vengeance, you should
-answer for this, but a gentleman can, with honor,
-only demand satisfaction of his equals,—therefore
-you are safe! Landlord,” he added with an assumption
-of dignified composure; “make out my bill;
-I’ll go instantly to the other house;—you must be
-taught that a gentleman cannot patronize an establishment
-where he is liable to be insulted by any
-scrub that frequents it!” and again looking daggers
-at Miss Thompson, who had not ceased laughing, he
-left the room.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In truth, had it not been for the almost insupportable
-ridicule that accompanied it, Mr. Sutton would
-have rejoiced in the excuse to leave the house, from
-a discovery that he had just made. After dinner,
-while in quest of Miss Thompson, who was at that
-time in conversation with Oakley, he had strolled
-into the summer-house, and found a letter on the
-floor. It was without direction, and though closed,
-not sealed, and more through blindness than curiosity
-he opened it. To his dismay it commenced thus:</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>My dear, dear Miss North</span>—How can I give you
-any idea of the gratitude I feel for the last and greatest
-of your many kindnesses; you have made me so
-happy that I have not words to express myself, and
-not only me, but my dear mother, who says that
-you have done her more good than could have been
-effected by a whole college of physicians, for her
-health, at the prospect of a pleasant home, and freedom
-from incessant mental labour, begins already to
-come back again. We have given up our school,
-and are preparing to act upon the arrangements you
-have made for us. I have received a delightfully
-kind letter from your uncle,—he begs me to consider
-him as <span class='it'>mine</span>; in which he says he will come for us
-very soon, and requests me to enclose any communication
-for you to him. He speaks flatteringly of the
-satisfaction our company will give him while you
-are on your travels beyond the Atlantic. He little
-knows how impossible it will be to supply <span class='it'>your</span>
-place!” etc. etc.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sutton read no more. It was signed L. Thompson,
-and that was sufficient. He unconsciously
-thrust the letter into his pocket, and hurried to the
-house. How was he to back out?—it now struck
-him that less importance could be attached to his
-actions by others than himself, and he grew nervous
-at the thought of how he had committed himself:—that
-he had paid the most unequivocal attentions to—a
-schoolmistress! The artist’s triumph indeed relieved
-him on that score, but a new sting was planted,
-and a more miserable dandy was, perhaps, not
-that day in existence, than Bromwell Sutton when he
-applied for lodgings at the G⁠—— Hotel.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Our work is finished at last!” said the painter, a
-few days after this happy riddance, bringing down
-the piece, which had afforded them so much enjoyment,
-for the inspection of Miss Thompson. She
-was gathering up some books from the parlor tables
-with a thoughtful and pensive countenance.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then I must take a ‘last lingering look’ at it,”
-returned she; “I may never see it nor its original
-again.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Oakley looked at her anxious and inquiringly, and
-she continued, “We leave here to-day; an unexpected
-letter reached us this morning, urging us to
-be ready at any hour.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And what am I to do without you?” asked the
-artist, in a very natural and love-like way, and he
-followed the question with a short oration, unnecessary
-to repeat. But before he had finished it, a carriage
-stopped at the door, and in half a minute an
-elderly gentleman presented himself in the entry.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My uncle!” exclaimed Miss Thompson, running
-forward to conceal her confusion, and the old gentleman,
-after kissing her heartily, said quickly, “Are
-you ready, my dear? Where’s your mamma? I hope
-you have your trunks packed, as I have hardly a
-minute to allow you. I have urgent business awaiting
-me at home, and have only been able to fulfil
-my engagement to come for you, by travelling with
-all the speed possible. Quick—tell your mother,
-and put on your things.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>To the disappointment of her suitor, she ran up
-stairs, while the old gentleman busied himself in
-seeing the trunks secured behind the carriage. But
-immediately, with her mother, she came down, fully
-equipped, and while the old lady was shaking hands
-with the uncle, she had an opportunity to give him
-a single look, which one was sufficient: “Good bye,
-Mr. Wallis,” said she holding out her hand in passing
-him, “we have been such good friends, that I feel
-very sorry to part with you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Where shall I find you?” asked Oakley, in a low
-voice. She slipped a card into his hand as he assisted
-her into the carriage, and was driven away. He
-looked at the card. “<span class='sc'>Valeria North</span>, B⁠——,” he exclaimed;
-“Is it possible!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes—didn’t you know that before?” said Wallis,
-“and that old gentleman is the celebrated jurist Judge
-North. When Sutton finds it out, he’ll be more fretted
-than he was at the portrait. She is a charming
-girl, isn’t she? I recognized her the minute she
-arrived, having had a glimpse of her before she left
-the Springs last summer, but as she seemed to wish
-to be quiet, and to escape attention, it was not my
-business to blab. I’ll go up to Smith’s and have some
-fun with Sutton.” He walked up street, and the
-artist commenced preparations for an immediate departure.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why Sutton,” said Wallis, when he reached the
-room of that personage; “what possessed you to
-fly off, the other day, with such terrible frowns at
-the pretty girl you had been courting so long? It was
-outrageous, and what is the worst, you can’t have a
-chance to make it up,—she left town to-day, for
-good.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Did she?—a pleasant journey to her!” said
-Sutton, brightening up astonishingly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What!—she jilted you, did she?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She! I found her out in good time for that!—though
-if it had not been for a lucky accident, I might
-have got myself into a confounded scrape; it would
-have been a fine mess, if I had been deceived into
-proposing to a schoolmistress!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Schoolmistress!—what do you mean?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why, look here—you were a pretty sap to suppose
-her an heiress, and to make me believe it:—read
-this—I found it by chance, and, somehow, it
-got into my pocket.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He handed the letter to Wallis, who, after looking
-over it, remarked, “I see nothing to the contrary in
-that. I suppose it came enclosed in an envelope
-from her uncle. Can it be possible that you presumed
-she had written instead of received it! ha!
-ha!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The mystified dandy gave him a stare.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And you never suspected that it was Miss North
-whose acquaintance you cut so cavalierly! It was,
-positively;—she gave her card to Mr. Oakley before
-she went away.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I don’t believe it!—why would she call herself
-Thompson?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She didn’t call herself Thompson—that was inferred
-to be her name, as it was her mother’s. I
-recollect very well of hearing at Saratoga that the
-old lady had had two husbands. The last was a
-Mr. Thompson. What an opportunity you have
-lost of making one of the greatest matches in the
-country!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It was all the fault of that rascally painter,” said
-Sutton, in much vexation; “I had commenced declaring
-myself the very day he excited me by his
-abominable caricature, and if it had not been for
-that I would have had an explanation.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I would make him repent it, if I were you—I’d
-challenge him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“But, you know that’s out of the question—a
-gentleman degrades himself by challenging an inferior,”
-and he walked up and down the room in
-great agitation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And then about that letter—does she know you
-found it?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, no—I’m perfectly safe there—you won’t tell,
-will you? After all, it is not yet too late to make it
-up. I can go after her to B——; she will, no
-doubt, take it as a compliment to be followed, and,
-you know, it will be in my favor that I was so devoted
-before I knew who she was, won’t it? You
-might be of great service to me, my dear fellow,” he
-added, thinking to prevent Wallis from informing on
-him by making him his ally; “you have been in my
-confidence and knew how much I was smitten with
-her. She is, perhaps, offended by my desertion, and
-if you would go along, as she has a particular regard
-for you, you might help to effect a reconciliation. If
-you’ll go, I’ll pay your expenses.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Wallis, who had no objection to take a trip and
-see the end of the comedy, on such easy terms, replied,
-“Anything to oblige you, if you can wait two or
-three weeks. I have particular business on hands now,
-but when I am through with it, I’ll go with pleasure.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sutton was obliged to submit to the delay, and in
-due time they arrived at B⁠——. After arranging
-their dress, they sallied out to make inquiry about
-Miss North, when an acquaintance of Sutton encountered
-them, and stopped them for a talk.
-While they stood in the street, an elegantly dressed
-young man passed them, and looking back, in a
-familiar voice saluted Wallis. It was Oakley.
-“How do you do, Mr. Sutton—happy to see you,”
-said he, turning towards them, and saluting Sutton
-with a very low bow. The dandy returned a nod,
-and the painter having ascertained their lodgings,
-proceeded on his way.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What a remarkably fine looking fellow that is,”
-said Sutton’s acquaintance; “I should have been
-pleased if you had introduced me.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh he is not such an acquaintance as one introduces—I
-have merely patronized him a little as a
-strolling painter.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Norman Oakley!—are you not under a mistake?
-He is the son of one of the wealthiest gentlemen
-in New England—a very highly gifted young
-man—a finished orator—a fine amateur painter—in
-every respect an admirable and enviable fellow. By
-the by, it is said there is a recent engagement between
-him and our belle <span class='it'>par excellence</span>, Miss North.
-She has been travelling through different parts of the
-country, preparatory to making a tour in Europe,
-and, this summer, they met accidentally somewhere
-and fell in love, quite ignorant of anything relating
-to each other but mutual personal attractions—so
-the story goes. They are to be married shortly, so
-that the lady may have the pleasure of a legal protector
-for her Atlantic trip.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sutton could bear no more, and, excusing himself,
-he hurried back to the hotel at such a rate that Wallis,
-finding it difficult to keep up with him, strolled off
-in another direction. When they met again the disappointed
-lover was prepared for a retreat homeward.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Come, Sutton, that would be outrageous!” said
-Wallis; “you ought to have a settlement with Oakley,
-now that you find he is fully on a level with
-yourself!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I wouldn’t dirty my fingers with him—I wouldn’t
-let the mynx know that I thought her worth fighting
-about; for they would be sure to attribute it to that,
-instead of to the picture. I am off, forthwith. Do
-you go back to G⁠——?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes, in a few days—but, the fact is, I met Oakley
-again, after you had left me, and got an invitation
-to the wedding. He said he would take me to
-see Miss North this evening if I wished it, but I
-declined, on the plea that I would be only in the
-way. But he said there was a charming little girl
-there, Miss Thompson—a relative of Valeria’s step-father,
-who would appropriate my company, if I
-pleased. From his remarking that she is to remain
-with the judge after the departure of his niece, I
-presumed her to be the writer of the letter in your
-possession. <span class='it'>Apropos</span> of that letter—he questioned
-me as to whether you had found it, and hinted that
-Miss North intended it for your hands, knowing the
-effect it would have on you, from your aversion to
-poverty, low caste, &amp;c., that she even tore off the
-date to mislead you the more easily—hand it here till
-we see if that is true.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sutton deigned no reply, and before Wallis was
-ready for his evening visit, he had travelled the first
-fifty miles of his journey homeward.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk110'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='olden'></a>OLDEN DEITIES.</h1></div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Open thy gate, oh, Past!—</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;A mighty train</p>
-<p class='line0'>Comes sweeping onward from its spectral clime,</p>
-<p class='line0'>August and king-like! Lo! from out the Main</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;One rears aloft a port and brows sublime,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Yet faded much with tearful wo and time;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And one with lightnings quivering in his hand,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And eye that speaks the thunder of command,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Walks steadfastly, and, seeming as in ire,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;He lists attentively a harper, who,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bending above the bright chords of a lyre,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Tells how neglect from certain era grew</p>
-<p class='line0'>In mortal breasts t’wards the Olympian Sire.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I hail ye Gods! Your reign, though haply brief,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Showed that poor man at least had <span class='it'>some</span> belief.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk111'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='russ'></a>RUSSIAN REVENGE.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY ESTHER WETHERALD.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A tragical occurrence, which, from its singular
-and romantic circumstances, would lead one to believe
-that the men of northern Russia are as susceptible
-of the tender passion, and as revengeful
-when disappointed, as those of more southern climes,
-recently caused a great sensation at Novogorod.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Instead of giving a cold recital of facts, we will
-place before the reader the depositions of those concerned;
-thus making him acquainted with the details
-of the crime, and also with the judicial forms of that
-country in criminal cases. There, all is decided
-from the depositions without pleading. These we
-are about to lay before you are remarkable for their
-simplicity and precision, having been taken by a man
-of uncommon ability, Mr. Polechko, Captain Isprawnik
-of the District, Oustiaje. He is an old officer of
-dragoons, but having lost a limb in the battle of
-Smolensk, he entered into the civil service, and has
-since acquired a handsome fortune.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Report addressed to M. Polechko, Captain Isprawnik,
-of the District of Oustiaje, by Mikita Muranow,
-Mayor of the village of Trehmiria.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“On the 20th of April, 1839, Nadiejda Yakovlevna,
-daughter of Yakov Osipovitch, fisherman of Trehmiria,
-came to my house in tears: she was in such
-great distress that I could only learn from her, that
-an assassination had been committed at the village.
-I went with her to her father’s, and there I found extended
-upon a bed, a man, pale and livid, nearly
-cold, but still breathing. Yakov and his wife were
-endeavoring to staunch the blood which flowed from
-his wounds. On the floor beside the bed were his
-garments soaked with water. The young girl could
-not attend to my questions, so great was her emotions;
-but Yakov told me that his daughter had gone
-out before daylight to withdraw the sweep-nets
-which at this season are placed along the isles and
-shores of the Volga. The fisherman himself was
-engaged in spreading nets by the light of a lantern,
-when he heard cries, and recognized the voice of
-his daughter. He ran along the shore, and thought
-he saw in the dim twilight, a large boat passing down
-the river with all the rapidity of the current. A moment
-afterwards his daughter’s boat approached the
-shore, and in it was a man, whom she had taken from
-the water in a state of insensibility. After having
-carried him to his cabin, he recognized in him,
-Ivan Semenov, cornet in the regiment of the lancers
-of Archanguelk, who, two years before, had been
-quartered in this village.—This is what I have learned
-from the fisherman.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ivan Semenov’s wounds are so numerous and
-deep, that I can scarcely dare to hope he will be
-alive when you reach this place.—Please to bring a
-physician with you.”</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Report of Nicolas Peterowitch Polechko, Captain
-Isprawnik of the District of Oustiaje, to the chancery
-of the Governor of Novogorod.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I arrived on the night of the 20th of April, at
-the village of Trehmiria, with the physician of the
-district, M. Frants Frantsovitch, Mayor; we found
-in the cabin of the fisherman, Yakov Osipovitch, M.
-Ivan Prokovitch Semenov, lately a cornet in the
-regiment of Archanguelk. He had received fifteen
-wounds, but the physician assured me they were
-not mortal, and that he would certainly recover.
-The wounded man told me that his assassins were
-Paul Ivanovitch Hortinja, quarter-master, and Pierre
-Alexiecivitch Tsaryna, soldier in the regiment of the
-lancers of Archanguelk. At the time he was
-wounded, the Cornet Semenov was on his way to
-Rybinsk, in a boat which belonged to his father, and
-which was loaded with linen.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I left the physician with the wounded man, and
-without losing a moment, hastened to Rybinsk.
-There, aided by the police, I sought out the assassins,
-one of whom, the quarter-master, Hortinja, was
-known to me. At the wharf I learned that a boat,
-laden with linen, and having two men on board, arrived
-that morning, the 21st of April; and that the
-cargo was shortly afterwards sold to an Armenian
-merchant of Astracan. I then proceeded to the residence
-of the buyer, Jerome Smilabej, who confessed
-that he had bought the linen, which was
-worth 20,000 roubles, for 10,000—that he had this
-day paid 4,000 and was to pay the other 6,000
-on the 1st of May at Astracan. I did not place much
-confidence in what he told me, for I knew this race
-of merchants were liars, and that they encouraged
-and protected crime when they expected to profit by
-it. Besides, I observed considerable embarrassment
-on his countenance. I then asked him where the
-linen was? He said he had despatched it to Astracan.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“ ‘Impossible!’ observed I. ‘You bought it this
-morning, and the steamboat does not go until to-morrow.’</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“He said he had sent it on in the same boat, having
-bought it with the cargo.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“ ‘And what rowers did you employ?’ asked I.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“He turned pale, and stammered, ‘I employed the
-same who brought it here.’</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“At this reply, I seized him by the collar, threatening
-to conduct him to the police office, when, suddenly,
-the door of the room in which we were,
-opened, and a man rushed upon me, poignard in
-hand. I recognized Hortinja, and drew my sword
-to parry his blows. I also placed myself between
-him and the door, crying a ‘murderer! an assassin!’
-Fortunately for me, the Armenian, instead of trying
-to aid Hortinja, hid himself under the bed. The men
-of the house soon came to my assistance, but it was
-some time before we could disarm and bind the assassin.
-In the struggle he wounded three men besides
-myself. I bear three marks of his steel upon
-my breast.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“After securing Hortinja, we drew the Armenian
-from under the bed, and he then confessed that the
-other accomplice was half a league from Rybinsk
-with the boat, waiting for his comrade. I immediately
-sent for some of the police, and Tsaryna was
-arrested without offering any resistance.”</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>INQUIRY.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In consequence of an order from the Imperial
-Attorney, I, Nicolas Petrovitch Polechko, Captain
-Isprawnik of the District Oustiaje, went on the 26th
-of the month to the village of Trehmiria, where I
-proceeded to the inquiry in the following order:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The first person I examined was Ivan Prokovitch
-Semenov, who declared himself to be 28 years
-of age, son of Prokop Karlovitch Semenov, a merchant
-of Kostroma, who possessed a factory in that
-neighborhood, where he manufactured much linen,
-which formed the principal part of his commerce.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Semenov entered the military service in 1830, in
-the regiment of the Lancers of Archanguelk. He
-was appointed cornet of the said regiment in 1836.
-He commanded the second division of the third
-squadron, in which Hortinja was quarter-master,
-and Tsaryna a common soldier. In 1836, the division
-of Cornet Semenov was cantoned in the village
-of Trehmiria. In 1837, he handed in his resignation
-that he might return home to his father. On
-the 12th of November, 1838, Hortinja and Tsaryna
-came to Kostroma, to the house of Prokop Semenov.
-The former said he had left the army, the latter
-that he had obtained a six months’ leave of absence.
-The Cornet Semenov welcomed them as old comrades.
-He engaged Hortinja in the service of his
-father, and gave Tsaryna a handsome present to enable
-him to pass the six months amongst his relations.
-Hortinja behaved so well that he gained the
-confidence of old Semenov, who sent him twice in
-the spring to Rybinsk with linen. After having sold
-the cargo and the boat, he brought back the money
-with the greatest exactness. On the 15th of April,
-another cargo of linen was ready to go to Rybinsk,
-and this time young Semenov was to go with him to
-that city, and from there make a voyage to Astracan.
-On the evening before their departure Tsaryna arrived,
-and as he had been a sailor before he entered
-the army, he begged the Cornet Semenov to employ
-him instead of engaging another sailor, telling him
-that it was time he was on his way to rejoin his regiment,
-which he said was cantoned at Novogorod-la-Grande.
-Semenov consented, and set out next day
-in the boat with Hortinja, Tsaryna, a peasant sailor,
-and a servant. On the second day the sailor and
-servant were both taken so violently ill with the
-cholic, that they were obliged to leave the boat and
-remain behind at the village of Bahorka.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“On the 19th, Semenov remarked that Hortinja and
-Tsaryna had secret conferences, and seemed to be
-concerting something. At night, after having in vain
-tried to sleep, he left the cabin and took a seat on
-the prow of the vessel. He had scarcely done so
-when he saw a light at some distance, and said to
-his companions, “My friends, we are near Trehmiria,
-and I bet that is old Yakov spreading his nets.”
-The two men did not reply, and Semenov continued
-“By God, if the old fisherman’s nets attracted fishes
-as well as the eyes of Nadiejda did the lancers of
-Archanguelk, he would be rich in a short time.”
-Hardly had he spoken these words when he was
-struck in the back with a knife. He tried to turn
-round, but was knocked down by his assassins.
-He still struggled, but was wounded repeatedly.
-He called for assistance, and thought he heard a voice
-which replied. He was then thrown into the river.
-This was all he remembered, he could not tell how
-he got into the bark of Nadiejda. After the wounded
-man had given the above deposition, I put to him the
-following questions:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Have you inflicted military punishment on
-Hortinja and Tsaryna?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “You know captain, it is impossible to get
-along in the army without making use of the baton;
-during the year of my command, Hortinja was beaten
-nine or ten times, and Tsaryna from forty to fifty, but
-I never ordered more than a hundred blows of the
-baton at once; so that the officers of the regiment
-laughed at my moderation, and called me scholar,
-and French officer.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Have you not excited the jealousy of some
-comrade?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “Not that I am aware of.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Were you not acquainted with this Nadiejda
-who saved your life?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I knew her to be the most beautiful girl of
-Trehmiria, and of irreproachable virtue; my lancers
-told me this, Hortinja one of the first. I could not
-hope to have her for a mistress—and for a wife.⁠—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “That is sufficient. Knew you not that Hortinja
-paid his court to her?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I did not; all the lancers found her beautiful
-and attractive.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Do you suffer much from your wounds?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “No, captain, I feel much better, and hope I
-shall soon be well; the guilty man’s hand struck
-feebly, therefore I hope he will not be punished severely.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Thus closed the examination of Semenov. I then
-proceeded to that of the quarter-master Hortinja.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Paul Ivanovitch Hortinja was born in 1787 in the
-city of Smolensk—entered the army in 1806 in which
-he remained thirty-two years and a half—was quarter-master
-15 years and four months. He has made
-eighteen campaigns, been engaged in forty-nine battles,
-and a hundred and thirty-seven combats—has
-received the cross of Saint George, and five medals.
-He left the service in the month of October 1838.
-His discharge and certificates give him a very high
-character.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “What cause had you for disliking Cornet
-Semenov?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “Not any. I always found him good and kind
-as a father. I have said so to my soldiers. We had
-no better officer.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “And what then caused you to commit so
-abominable a crime?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “O father! (a common expression of the Russian
-soldier) my crime is abominable, but harken, I
-will tell you every thing. I, an old man—having
-attained my fiftieth year, I loved for the first time—a
-child—this Nadiejda; I loved her as our fathers
-loved the glorious empress Catharine (here he made
-the sign of the cross.) I was quarter-master, and
-had saved something—she was a poor peasant slave,
-I wished to marry her, and offered to buy her of her
-master Count Strogonof—I was to pay him 500 roubles.
-Her father consented to it, but she refused me
-disdainfully, without my being able to comprehend
-why. In the mean time Tsaryna came to see me, and
-said, thou art sorrowful comrade, but thou should’st
-not be so. Nadiejda is the mistress of the cornet;
-she is almost always at the house where he lodges;
-this is well known—thou only appearest to doubt it.
-My heart died within me at these words—my head
-turned round, but I said nothing, for the Cornet
-Semenov was my officer. I began to watch Nadiejda
-closely, and I saw that she did often go to the house
-where he lodged. I thought not then of revenge.
-It was at this time that the cornet gave in his resignation,
-and returned to Kostroma. I then saw the
-tears of Nadiejda. I saw that grief undermined her
-health and tarnished the lustre of her cheek, but I
-loved her still. A year passed thus—I repeated my
-offer of marriage, she refused me again, and this time
-she told me she loved young Semenov, and swore
-she would never marry any one.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“At this time Tsaryna became my friend and confidant;
-he represented the cornet as the seducer of this
-young girl, and I resolved to avenge her. I obtained
-my discharge—he, his leave of absence, and we went
-to Kostroma.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The kind reception the cornet gave us, joined to
-his confidence and frankness, disarmed me, and I
-determined to abandon my criminal project. Things
-were in this state, when young Semenov resolved to
-go to Astracan. Tsaryna requested that he might
-fill the place of the second sailor, and his request
-was complied with. The evening before our departure
-he spoke to me of our old project—I was angry—he
-praised the beauty of Nadiejda—spoke to me of
-her misfortune—of my shame; I said nothing, but
-God only knows what infernal tortures my poor
-heart sustained; (here he paused a moment in great
-emotion) we set out; on the second day of our navigation,
-the first sailor and the servant were taken
-sick, but as truly as I pray God to save my soul and
-pardon my crime, I am ignorant of the cause of their
-malady. I advised the cornet to employ another
-sailor, but he thought it unnecessary, for the navigation
-was easy and the current rapid.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Tsaryna was constantly speaking to me of Nadiejda;
-when we came in sight of the village of Trehmiria I
-was moved, troubled, and when the cornet spoke of
-her I was no longer master of myself, I drew my
-knife and struck him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Did you strike him once, or several times?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I do not know, I had lost my reason.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Did Tsaryna aid you to commit the crime?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I cannot tell, I only remember that he cried
-out. Some one is coming! a bark, a bark!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “And what did you do then?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I was furious, desperate, distracted. When
-the day dawned, I saw the shores, the river, but I
-saw neither the cornet, nor the village of Trehmiria.
-I wished to throw myself into the water, but had not
-sufficient energy, and suffered myself to be persuaded
-to live, and seek my safety in flight.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “When you arrived at Rybinsk, how did you
-manage to sell your cargo so quickly?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I knew Jerome Smilabej, and to him I confided
-my crime. He consented to save us, provided
-we abandoned the cargo to him, and he promised to
-arrange every thing for us, and conduct us to a place
-of safety.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Why didst thou attack me?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I had promised the Armenian in case of unforeseen
-danger to defend his life as my own. The
-moment of danger had come, and I fulfilled my
-promise.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Thou sayest that Tsaryna urged thee to commit
-crime, and aided thee to execute it—that the
-Armenian protected criminals, and appropriated to
-himself wealth which did not belong to him?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I neither denounce nor accuse any one. I
-have spoken the truth. I seek not to deny my crime
-nor to cast the consequences upon others. I am a
-great criminal!”</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>EXAMINATION OF PIERRE ALEXIECIVITCH TSARYNA, SON OF A CITIZEN OF KOSTROMA.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He is thirty-two years of age; entered the military
-service in 1828 as a recruit in the lancers of Archanguelk.
-He denies any participation in the crime.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Yet you were the first to tell the quarter-master
-Hortinja that a great intimacy existed between
-the Cornet Semenov and the girl Nadiejda.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I was joking when I said Semenov and
-Nadiejda were too intimate. The quarter-master
-was wicked as the devil; he pounded our very
-bones with the baton. I revenged myself by contradicting
-his ridiculous passion for a girl young
-enough to be his grand-daughter.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Why did you rejoin Hortinja at Kostroma?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I met him there by chance.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “And why did you choose to return at the time
-that Semenov was going to Rybinsk?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “In order to save my money.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Why did you give to the servant of Semenov,
-and to the first sailor, a poison, which produced cholic
-and vomiting?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “They were very fond of brandy—they were
-like a cask without bottom; to play them a trick I
-put snuff into the liquor: is it my fault they have
-such delicate stomachs?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Why did you provoke Hortinja to assassinate
-the cornet?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “I did not. The quarter-master is subject to
-visions, he dreams so many other things, that he may
-have dreamed that also.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Why, then, did you not defend him?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “The cornet was in citizen’s dress, the quarter-master
-in uniform, and I am a soldier.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “What do you mean by that?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “That the soldier must respect the uniform
-more than the citizen’s dress.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Why did you throw the cornet into the
-water?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “To save him from the fury of the quarter-master.
-I also saw a boat coming towards us.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “Why did you apprize Hortinja of its coming?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “From joy that I could save the cornet.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Q. “And why did you not denounce the crime of
-Hortinja when you arrived at Rybinsk?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>R. “Because I am a soldier, and he is a quarter-master.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>All my questions, all my expedients, the bastinado
-included, drew no other confession from him.
-Confronted with Hortinja, he replied to his indignation
-by sneers; in the presence of soldiers who had
-heard his provocations he denied them: only at the
-sight of Nadiejda did he turn pale, grind his teeth,
-and reply nothing, absolutely nothing!</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>DEPOSITION OF NADIEJDA YAKOVLEVNA.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nadiejda Yakovlevna is twenty-one years of age.
-She confessed frankly that she had loved, and still
-loved passionately the cornet Semenov, but assured
-me that no intimacy had existed between them, and
-that the cornet was even ignorant of the passion he
-had inspired. She said the soldier Tsaryna had paid
-his court to her, and not being able to obtain her love
-had sworn to her that he would revenge himself upon
-the one who had obtained it. At first his suspicions
-rested on Hortinja, and he said he would soon get
-rid of the old rascal. Some time after he came to her
-and said, “Harken, Nadiejda! be mine, or I swear
-by St. Nicholas thou shalt witness the death of Semenov.”
-She cared little for his threats, knowing
-him to be a coward. About this time the cornet left
-Trehmiria. Tsaryna renewed his declarations, but
-still without success. Before setting out for Kostroma,
-he said, “The old one will do what I have
-threatened; before I return I will be revenged, I
-swear it by St. Nicholas.” She had never heard
-Hortinja threaten the life of the cornet; he was sad
-and melancholy—he even wept, but he was a man incapable
-of committing a crime unless provoked to it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This is her account of the night in which she saved
-the cornet:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I had a presentiment which oppressed my heart;
-before I lay down I found a cat upon my bed. A
-bad sign! As soon as I fell asleep I had horrible
-dreams. I awoke and cried out, ‘Wo to me!’
-My father then ordered me to go upon the Volga and
-draw away the nets; there I heard cries, and thought
-I recognised the voice of Semenov. It was more
-than a year since I had seen him, and I knew him in
-spite of the obscurity. I rowed towards his boat,
-and as I neared it, I heard the splash of a body
-thrown into the water. Fortunately, I was close by
-and succeeded in drawing him out of the river. It
-was Semenov.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The inquiry was completed by a few other declarations
-of less consequence.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The Armenian merchant tried to excuse himself,
-and said that he endeavored to save the two men
-in order that they might have time for repentance.
-In other things he confirmed what Hortinja had said.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The fisherman Yakov gave an account of the manner
-in which Tsaryna had threatened him, because
-he would not give him his daughter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The inquiry terminated on the thirteenth of May,
-and the depositions were on the same day laid before
-the criminal tribunal of Novogorod by the captain
-Isprawnik.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On the twenty-ninth of May the tribunal pronounced
-the decree which condemns:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Paul Ivanovitch Hortinja to perpetual banishment
-in Siberia, and ten years labor in the mines.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Jerome Smilabej, Armenian merchant, to one year
-and six days imprisonment, a fine of one thousand
-rubles, and the costs.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Pierre A. Tsaryna, being a soldier, was sent before
-the military tribunal.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On the fourth of June, the military tribunal of the
-first corps of the army, assembled at Novogorod,
-condemned Pierre A. Tsaryna to pass three times
-through the rods of a squadron, and afterwards to be
-transported to Siberia, where he must labor in the
-mines for the rest of his life.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>These decrees have been submitted to the emperor,
-and confirmed by him with this change: Hortinja
-is perpetually banished, but will not be obliged
-to labor in the mines.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On the third of June, the decree was executed on
-Pierre A. Tsaryna, who was so severely beaten that
-there is little hope of his recovery; he has been
-taken to the hospital of Novogorod.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>L’Abeille du Nord, a Russian journal of St. Petersburg,
-reached us at the same time with the letter of
-our correspondent. It gives an account of this affair,
-and also adds that the emperor has deigned to
-decorate the girl Nadiejda with a medal of gold on
-the ribbon of Saint Waldimir.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The Cornet Semenov married Nadiejda Yakovlevna
-as soon as the trial was concluded.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk112'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='perd'></a>PERDITI.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>PART SECOND.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY WM. WALLACE, ESQ., AUTHOR OF “BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE,” “MARCHES FOR THE DEAD,” ETC., ETC.</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'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;AMERICAN BATTLE SHIP.</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;I.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Out on the sounding sea,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With a flag of stars and a row of steel,</p>
-<p class='line0'>’Mid the tempest scowl and the battle peal⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The great ship of the free!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Away from her moorings—away o’er the wave⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>How proudly she bears the glad hearts of the brave!</p>
-<p class='line0'>In the sun-burst of morning, the darkness of night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like a goddess she strives with the gales:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Behold her alone in her glorious might,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With her banners of beauty and streamers of light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like a condor when out on his terrible flight,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Where the breath of the tempest prevails.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Hark, hark! ’tis her thunder! her flags are all out,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And the lightning’s the wreath she will wear;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Now it shines on her mast—now ’tis hurried about,</p>
-<p class='line0'>’Mid the ring of the sword and the rapturous shout,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;By the breath of the sulphury air.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Why thus is she wrapt in the black-curling smoke?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Why thus have her thunders tumultuously broke</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;O’er the halls of the dark-rolling wave?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Why thus have her star-crested flags been unfurl’d</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like the wings of some god from the sky to the world?</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She battles abroad for the brave!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Proud hope of our land! we have given thy form</p>
-<p class='line0'>To the lord of the breeze and the god of the storm;</p>
-<p class='line0'>We have hung from the top of the high soaring mast</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A broad sheet of stripes with the bird</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who cradles his wing in the home of the blast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When the cloud-troops are angrily hurrying past,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And the voice of the thunder is heard:</p>
-<p class='line0'>We have wet thy scarred decks with the hallowèd blood</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of those who have battled for us on the flood,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And blessed thee with hearts, which the freemen alone</p>
-<p class='line0'>Can possess, when we saw thee sit firm on thy throne</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of the dark-rolling waters.</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;Go forth, gallant one!⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Go forth in thy glory and pomp o’er the main,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And burst with the might of thy sure-pointed gun</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The palace, the cell and the tyrannous chain.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The breezes shall kiss thee: the stars shall illume</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thy pathway when dangers are there,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And around thee the laurels of triumph shall bloom,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like the plumage of angels abroad on the gloom</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of the battle’s tempestuous air.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Aye! the great god of freedom who holds in his hand</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;This universe blazing around,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who walks on the billows which hear his command,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And straight in deep quiet are found:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Aye! he who has yoked, in the ether afar,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The lightning-maned steeds of the storm to his car,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Shall guide thee all safe o’er the foam,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And at last, by the torch of his bright beacon-star,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Restore thee once more to thy home!</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;II.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>But such! ah! such is not my theme⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Illumined by a grosser fire</p>
-<p class='line0'>Than that which some will truly deem</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Befitting well the patriot’s lyre.</p>
-<p class='line0'>And yet how could I pass thee by⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou of the fearless soul and eye?⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou who hast watched my boyhood’s hours</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Amid thy sacred rocks and rills,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where liberty with glory towers</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Unshaken on her thousand hills!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Genius of freedom! let me stand</p>
-<p class='line0'>With thee upon my native land;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Still let me hear thy thunder-voice</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bid every child of thine rejoice;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Still let me see on yonder mast</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The banner of the heart unfurl’d⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>The playmate of the ocean-blast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The hope or terror of the world.</p>
-<p class='line0'>And when the minstrel’s form is cold,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;His brightest meed of praise shall be,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As o’er his grave yon starry fold</p>
-<p class='line0'>By wind and tempest is unroll’d,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;“Freedom! thy minstrel sang of thee!”</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;——</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>’Tis dark around! yet darker still</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Within that melancholy clime,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where tireless, sleepless vulture-ill</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sits blackly brooding over crime;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The tempest has a deeper moan;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The night-wind has a wilder tone;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The thunder glares his troubled eye</p>
-<p class='line0'>Amid the hollows of the sky;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And sheeted lightnings swiftly stream</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From yonder cloud’s tremendous rack,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And then with swifter stride they seem</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In pallid horror hurrying back.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Groans in the dark tide of the air:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Groans in the withered space around:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Groans in the tempest’s sickly glare:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Groans struggling under ground!</p>
-<p class='line0'>And look! Lo! blacker clouds are swelling</p>
-<p class='line0'>Around the thunder’s opened dwelling,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which with a Vulcan-torch illumes</p>
-<p class='line0'>This realm of everlasting glooms;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Set in the distance—see it stand</p>
-<p class='line0'>Above that melancholy land⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Wild, gloomy, solitary, grand!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Heckla of spirits—placed afar,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The lamp of ghastly heath and rill,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As if like some malignant star</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;’Twould make them all more ghastly still.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;ROSANI.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Fit time!”—he cried with quivering brow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Tale such as mine was uttered now;</p>
-<p class='line0'>When all the elements are stirred</p>
-<p class='line0'>To hear a spirit’s fearful word.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Let lightnings flash—let thunders roll,</p>
-<p class='line0'>What terrors have they for the soul</p>
-<p class='line0'>That flees the golden eye of day,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And hates its beams e’en more than they!</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve revell’d in their light before</p>
-<p class='line0'>In many a sea, on many a shore⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>On many a rock—on many a deck⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yes! challenged them amid the wreck⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>When they and the remorseless sea</p>
-<p class='line0'>Seem’d smiling on my agony.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Yet! have I loved a milder glow</p>
-<p class='line0'>Than yonder lurid fires bestow:</p>
-<p class='line0'>There was a moment! glorious time!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When I, amid my native bow’rs,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unmoved by care—unsoiled by crime⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Would watch the sunshine beam for hours;</p>
-<p class='line0'>It glowed of my own self a part,</p>
-<p class='line0'>For all was sunshine in the heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which seemed an angel who had left,</p>
-<p class='line0'>He knew not how, the stainless blue,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And smiled, so long of light bereft,</p>
-<p class='line0'>To find an angel wandering, too.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>But when I saw the bannered storm⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like giant rousing from his sleep⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Uplift o’er heaven his awful form,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And from the thunder-chamber sweep</p>
-<p class='line0'>To his dread bridal with the flame</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Before their altar of the cloud,</p>
-<p class='line0'>While all his minstrel-tempests came</p>
-<p class='line0'>Around the shrine, in terror bowed,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve smiled with other smile than this,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;For then, I, leaping from the sod,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Saw, in their rude but meaning bliss,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The wondrous glory of a God:⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yes! e’en when others quailed to see</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The red volcano light our clime,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve joyed, for in its ministry</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I only saw a torch sublime,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Lighting with its tremendous glare</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The glorious pages of His book,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which men might read if they would dare</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Upon those awful leaves to look.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Like thee I joyed alone to range</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Amid the beautiful and bright,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A thing like them of love and light⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like thee my spirit had its change.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The spell was wove! It thundered out</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In many a wild and bitter curse⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>And thenceforth I was hurl’d about</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Hopeless amid the universe.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Long years! oh! how your shadows press</p>
-<p class='line0'>My brow in very weariness:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Here! here ye stretch and ever gloom</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like funeral-foliage of the tomb,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whose leaves—the favorites of pain</p>
-<p class='line0'>Must ever life from sorrow gain.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Long years! long years! I feel again</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Your star-eyed hopes around me glow</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bright as the plumage of a train</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of pilgrim-angels furled below.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>We are together: Ila, see</p>
-<p class='line0'>The light of heaven’s own heraldry⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>And hark!—the evening breeze is here;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;His silver lips no longer mute,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>He breathes—a minstrel-worshipper⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>An avè from his leafy lute:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Shall we not join him? Dearest, press</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thy lip to mine, while, as of old,</p>
-<p class='line0'>We hear with love’s sweet tenderness</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That glorious vesper music rolled.</p>
-<p class='line0'>We are together in those bowers</p>
-<p class='line0'>Glad as the rosy-footed hours</p>
-<p class='line0'>And all as pure.—I see her now</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A creature less of earth than skies,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With day’s pure sunshine on her brow</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And heaven’s own midnight in her eyes.</p>
-<p class='line0'>And thus we trod the path of life,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Without nor cloud, nor grief, nor strife⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like pensile stars whose golden light</p>
-<p class='line0'>Meets on the sable bridge of night</p>
-<p class='line0'>And glows with such a wedded beam</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In calm or stormy weather,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That men when looking upwards deem</p>
-<p class='line0'>They are but one, for thus they seem,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;So close they shine together.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Ha! whence this change? My Ila! why</p>
-<p class='line0'>That icy mien and tearful eye?</p>
-<p class='line0'>No more for me thou cullest the flow’r;⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>No more with me thou seekest the bow’r;⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>No more thy sweet lips press my own;⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No more thy warm hands link with mine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When Daylight, stooping from his throne,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Has furl’d his wing by evening’s shrine.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>She answered not! yet sorrow there</p>
-<p class='line0'>Has held a bridal with despair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And pale her cheek as if with wo</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which none but she must ever know.</p>
-<p class='line0'>In vain I questioned—her reply</p>
-<p class='line0'>A sad reproachfulness of eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>So firm yet tender in its look,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;It ever, sorrowing, seemed to say</p>
-<p class='line0'>“Why torture me!”—I could not brook</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Such gaze, but gladly turned away,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Leaving my Ila to her mood</p>
-<p class='line0'>In our old castle’s solitude.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Days rolled away!—And who art thou</p>
-<p class='line0'>With princely step and lofty brow?</p>
-<p class='line0'>What dost thou here within our halls,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sir knight! unwelcome to these walls?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Days roll’d away!—I sought my sire;</p>
-<p class='line0'>He met me but with glance of ire,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And freezing mystery of air,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which seemed to say—“Ila?—beware!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>And then he cried, “away! away!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Mad boy, she weds the knight to-day!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>I spoke not; slowly round me came</p>
-<p class='line0'>A wavering sheet of cloud and flame,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which seem’d to sear my very brain:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;How long ’twas thus I cannot say,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Nor when I woke to life again.</p>
-<p class='line0'>They called me mad: I heard the chain</p>
-<p class='line0'>Clanking around my limbs, and near</p>
-<p class='line0'>The hum of voices meet my ear,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And eyes amid the darkness shone</p>
-<p class='line0'>So bright, so angry and so lone⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Methought they were the eyes of those</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whom men have named their demon-foes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Drawing a life from human woes.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yes! I was mad, and in my strength</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I spurned the dungeon’s hated ground,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Hurled from my limbs the chain, at length,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And thus my birth-right freedom found.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I saw the glorious stars again⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Once more I gazed upon the main</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whose billows e’en in boyhood were</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;My playmates, when their crested forms</p>
-<p class='line0'>Rushed up like ministers of Fear</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Amid their temple of the storms.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Once more I heard the Ocean’s shock</p>
-<p class='line0'>Against the castellated rock;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And saw, oh! gallant, blessed sight!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;My barque along the heaving tide,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like lover resting through the night</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Upon the bosom of his bride.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The sail’s unfurl’d! How free! How brave!</p>
-<p class='line0'>On! on my vessel, o’er the wave!</p>
-<p class='line0'>The night-winds kiss thee, as in joy</p>
-<p class='line0'>To meet once more their ocean-boy.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! I had loved thee, glorious sea,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And oft thy waters laved my brow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But never have I gazed on thee</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With such a bounding heart as now.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Roll on! Roll on! thy dark blue foam</p>
-<p class='line0'>Shall henceforth be to me a home.</p>
-<p class='line0'>For days I skimmed the ocean blue,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And deeper still my gladness grew;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And oft my joy was uttered out</p>
-<p class='line0'>To heaven in that delirious shout</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which only he can swell whose life</p>
-<p class='line0'>Is passed amid the ocean’s strife.</p>
-<p class='line0'>And others soon around me came;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And men soon shook before my name.</p>
-<p class='line0'>What trophies glittered on our deck,</p>
-<p class='line0'>How foemen sank with many a wreck,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Let that old ocean’s caverns tell,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>In sooth our spirits loved them well⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>They lay beneath us like a spell.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>A sail! How looks she in the dark?</p>
-<p class='line0'>“Bravely! She is a royal barque!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>Give thanks! Hurrah! I ween the wave</p>
-<p class='line0'>Before the morn shall be her grave!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Out with the guns!—“Ho, sir! she veers!⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Again! again! Hurrah! she nears!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>She came so nigh, that we could see</p>
-<p class='line0'>The pilot’s lonely ministry.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sudden as lightning from its lair</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Fire glowed around her deck;⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ha! ship, that rode so proudly there⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thou art a very wreck!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Once more the frowning guns were out;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Their thunder told in shriek and shout!</p>
-<p class='line0'>“The barque’s on fire!”—with one wild cry!</p>
-<p class='line0'>That pierced the very wave and sky,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Her crew leaped in the tide;</p>
-<p class='line0'>But as she heavily floated by⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! God what met my startled eye?</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The chieftain and his bride!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yes, he and Ila shrined in flame</p>
-<p class='line0'>Were wildly calling on my name:⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>At one mad bound I cleared my deck,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And stood upon that burning wreck:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Through flame and smoke I fearless flew!</p>
-<p class='line0'>A moment—I have reached the two!</p>
-<p class='line0'>I grasped him! and the lurid wave</p>
-<p class='line0'>Revenged me well—it was his grave.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I bore her in my arms—the smoke</p>
-<p class='line0'>And flame in vain around me broke⁠,—</p>
-<p class='line0'>I felt them curling o’er my brow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As fierce they swept from stern to plow;⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>I struggled on!—one effort more⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I leaped upon my vessel’s side!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thank God! the final strife was o’er,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And I had won my ocean-bride!</p>
-<p class='line0'>In one dread shock the crackling mast</p>
-<p class='line0'>Came thundering down beneath the blast:⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>The flaming wreck slow drives away⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Dim and more dim we marked the ray;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And now unloosing every sail⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>We feel our vessel, like a steed</p>
-<p class='line0'>Gladdening to serve his rider’s need,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Dart out before the gale.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Slowly the thrill of feeling came</p>
-<p class='line0'>Along my Ila’s pallid frame;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I marked the rising crimson swell</p>
-<p class='line0'>Upon the cheek I loved too well,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And heard, how joyously! the sigh</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which told me that she could not die,</p>
-<p class='line0'>At least not then:—she rose at last;</p>
-<p class='line0'>One piercing look around she cast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And shrieked!—her memory, ah! too soon</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Had lighted up those scenes of old,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When I, beneath far different moon</p>
-<p class='line0'>Than that which brightly rose aboon,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;My love so passionately told.</p>
-<p class='line0'>She spake not still; but day by day</p>
-<p class='line0'>I saw her calmly sink away</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like some sweet flower or rainbow-form</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whose life is withered by the storm.</p>
-<p class='line0'>But when I saw her pallid lips</p>
-<p class='line0'>Darkling beneath the death-eclipse,</p>
-<p class='line0'>She waved me to her side and said⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>I cannot speak her words—the dead</p>
-<p class='line0'>Would stir within their very tomb</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To hear such tale!—Enough! she died,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And I beheld in that sea-room</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A sister in my ocean-bride.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! how I blessed the God above,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That she went down unsoiled by love</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whose reckless and unholy fire</p>
-<p class='line0'>Springs from the heart of low desire.</p>
-<p class='line0'>My sire had framed a cunning tale</p>
-<p class='line0'>—To shroud his crime, and this the baal!</p>
-<p class='line0'>He brought her to our castle’s hall⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Saying she was a homeless child,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whom he had found beneath the wall</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In all her orphan-freedom wild.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of that she told me, on the day</p>
-<p class='line0'>She died, thus much I dared to say.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And Ila sleeps within the wave,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And round her peaceful ocean-tomb</p>
-<p class='line0'>The pale flowers of the coral-grave</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In all their quiet beauty bloom.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sleep on! sleep on in that deep rest⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou of the stainless brow and breast,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! holy as the stars that shine</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In all their seraph splendor set,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like torches of a templed-shrine</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In midnight’s azure coronet.</p>
-<p class='line0'>She was avenged! That very hour</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In which the tide received her form,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The deep-blue sky began to lour</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Beneath the scowling of the storm;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And soon the thunder, vast and dark,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Shook his red arm above our barque,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whose deck deserted—sails all rent</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And loose around the shivered mast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like reeling clouds were blindly sent</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Before the fury of the blast.</p>
-<p class='line0'>“The boats! the boats!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;They’re riding well</p>
-<p class='line0'>Along that billow’s crested swell.</p>
-<p class='line0'>“Save! save yourselves,” I sternly cried,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Undaunted on the plunging deck,</p>
-<p class='line0'>“I go to seek my ocean-bride,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;But comrades ye must leave the wreck!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>An instant—they were safe! and I</p>
-<p class='line0'>Alone stood challenging the sky</p>
-<p class='line0'>And rolling waves.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;With fearless form</p>
-<p class='line0'>I dared the spirit of the storm:</p>
-<p class='line0'>His red lips answered me—the flame</p>
-<p class='line0'>Leaped burning through my blackened frame!—</p>
-<p class='line0'>And I was here.—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“No more! No more!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>He cried, “that agony was o’er:⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>But this!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;He darkly gazed around,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then quivering sank upon the ground;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And Lorro on his dread distress</p>
-<p class='line0'>Gazed sorrowing—mute and motionless.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The tempest with his train has fled,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And yet no moon hath lit her fire;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Nought lights the darkness, deep and dread,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Save that dim-burning Vulcan-pyre.</p>
-<p class='line0'>With its drear, wavering, ghastly light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Still heavier than the heavy night:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Most terrible!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;The task is done!</p>
-<p class='line0'>How gladly mounts the trembling soul,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like light returning to its sun,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When Heaven’s own streams of glory roll!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Joy, spirit! joy! I’ve broke the spell;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Land of the lost! dread land, farewell.</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;——</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>Soul</span> of that shadowy realm, where Time</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Hath thrown his last-expiring wave,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When the Immortal glooms sublime</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And terrible above the grave,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Dread image o’er whose phantasm we</p>
-<p class='line0'>Have hung a shroud of mystery,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And then for countless ages shook</p>
-<p class='line0'>Before its dark, eternal look.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bold scorner of the groan or tear⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Swaying between the star and storm⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou art a mighty thing of fear,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Yet glory crowns thy mystic form.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Vast, potent, melancholy, dim,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Past ruler of the cherubim,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And king-like in thy ruin still,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou livest despite of sleepless ill.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! once all splendid in that time,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Ere thy great banners were unfurl’d</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like thunder flashes in the clime</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From which the rebel hosts were hurl’d,</p>
-<p class='line0'>How art thou fallen—fallen now!⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>The burning seal upon thy brow</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which towered in its own glory bright⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>A mighty pyramid of light.</p>
-<p class='line0'>And battling still? Thine essence gleams</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like the dim flashing of a cloud;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! how unlike its heavenly beams</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Ere sin that angel-beauty bowed,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And changed thee to a giant curse</p>
-<p class='line0'>Breathed through the shuddering universe⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>A deathless, hopeless agony⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>An aching immortality.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk113'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='visi'></a>THE HEAVENLY VISION.</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 THOMAS HOLLEY CHIVERS, M. D.</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;'>If I be sure I am not dreaming now,</p>
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>I should not doubt to say it was a dream.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:0em;margin-bottom:1em;font-size:0.9em;'><span class='it'>Shelley.</span></p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I met her in the spring-time of my years,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When suns set golden in the azure west;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The sight of her dissolved my heart to tears⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;It seemed she came from heaven to make me blest.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>A golden harp was in her snow-white hand,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And when she touched the strings, so softly prest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The music seemed as from some heavenly band,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;As though she came from heaven to make me blest.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Her eyes were of that soft, celestial hue,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which heaven puts on when Day is in the west;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whose words were soft as drops of evening dew⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;It seemed she came from heaven to make me blest.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Long had we parted—long had she been dead⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When late one night, when all had gone to rest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her spirit stood before me—near my bed⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She came from heaven to tell me she was blest.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>As some fond dove unto her own mate sings,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;So sang she unto me, in my unrest⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who lay beneath the shadow of her wings⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of heaven, wherein she told me she was blest.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>My spirit had been longing here for years</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To know if that dear creature was at rest;</p>
-<p class='line0'>When, just as my poor heart lost all its tears,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She came from heaven to tell me she was blest.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I then grew happy—for with mine own eyes</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I had beheld that being whom my breast</p>
-<p class='line0'>Had pillowed here for years—fresh from the skies⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Who came from heaven to tell me she was blest.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I wept no more—from that sad day to this,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I have been longing for the same sweet rest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When my fond soul shall dwell with her in bliss,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Who came from heaven to tell me she was blest.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk114'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='ware'></a>MRS. WARE’S POEMS.<a id='r1'/><a href='#f1' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[1]</span></sup></a></h1></div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Averse, as we have declared ourselves, to any severe
-criticisms upon the productions of female poets,
-we are constrained, in the case before us, to speak
-with a plainness, savoring less of gallantry than
-truth. If only “<span class='it'>some</span> female errors” fell to the lot
-of Mrs. <span class='sc'>Katharine Augusta Ware</span>, we might,
-perhaps, “look in her face” and “forget them all;”
-but so many are the faults of which she is guilty, that
-she must have a face as beautiful as Raphael’s
-Fornarina, to cause us to forget or forgive a tithe of
-the number. The lady, however, is neither beautiful
-nor juvenile; she goes so far in her preface as to
-confess that she cannot plead “<span class='it'>youthful</span> diffidence”
-for her indiscretion in writing and publishing a volume
-of verses. That she is not beautiful, we state
-on positive intelligence. On this score, therefore,
-her sins of metrical commission cannot be pardoned
-any more than because of her juvenility—an excuse
-which she so magnanimously disclaims.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On the second leaf of Mrs. Ware’s book, which is
-not really as well as figuratively <span class='it'>blank</span>, we perceive,
-paraded in capital letters, the words “<span class='sc'>Copyright
-secured in America</span>.” Now, if the copyright has
-in fact been secured in America; if it has been
-entered at the office of the District Clerk of New
-York or of any other State, as the law directs, it
-strikes us that the dollar, charged as a fee in such
-cases, has been absurdly and ridiculously thrown
-away. The proceeding was altogether supererogatory.
-Booksellers are not particularly partial to
-publishing collections of poetry at the best; but that
-any one of them should be so insane as to re-publish
-a farrago like this, to enter into rivalry and competition
-for such a cause, is an hypothesis which never
-could have been engendered, except in the brain of
-a rhymster, dizzy with self-conceit. From the fact,
-however, of a copyright having been secured in
-America, we are well assured that the author is an
-American; even this was unnecessary, because Mrs.
-<span class='sc'>Katharine Augusta Ware</span> has, in times past,
-written her name to so many patches of poetry, that
-it is not unfamiliar to pains-taking readers, at least
-on our side of the water. She first made herself
-known to the literary world here as the Editor of
-a monthly magazine, exquisitely christened “The
-Bower of Taste.” That any work, with so Rosa-Matildaish
-a title, could have existed for a year was
-marvellous; still more marvellous was it, that it survived
-the merciless visitings of the Muse of Mrs.
-Ware. With the failure of this undertaking, her
-literary biography, brief as the posy of a ring, would
-terminate, were it not for the fact that, during some
-four years past, she has resided in England, and
-manufactured, to order, occasional lyrics for the
-Liverpool Newspapers. By some fatuity, which
-she has provokingly left unexplained, in a preface
-written in the worst possible taste, she has been impelled
-to the perpetration of the volume before us.
-But, previous to exemplifications of its component
-properties, let us give the preface entire, by way of
-showing how very unlike ladies, and how very foolishly,
-feminine bards can behave on paper. If our
-readers of both sexes do not laugh at the following
-outbreak of egotism and vanity, they are less easily
-amused than we conjecture.</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'>Power of the Passions and other Poems. By Mrs.
-Katharine Augusta Ware. London: William Pickering,
-1842. 1 vol. 12mo. pp. 148</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>COURTEOUS READER,</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I should like to write a <span class='sc'>Preface</span>, if I could.—Such
-an ample field is afforded, for appealing to the sympathy
-and generosity of the “Liberal Public.” Such
-emphatic words as “youthful diffidence,” “consciousness
-of errors,” “request of friends,” “leisure
-hours,” “relief in solitude,”—all these once attracted
-my delighted attention, and I resolved, if <span class='it'>I</span> ever
-should write a book, to present therewith a very
-sentimental Preface. But upon this subject my
-opinions are changed. Negatively speaking of
-my volume—“youthful diffidence” I cannot plead;
-“consciousness of errors,” I might, which I own I
-have had time to correct. I do not publish at the
-“request of friends,” for no friends, to my knowledge,
-were ever particularly anxious for such an
-event. Nor for the amusement of my “leisure
-hours,” for, since my remembrance, I never had
-any. Nor as a “relief in solitude,” for I am never
-alone. And permit me to add, not for gold, for my
-muse will never become a Crœsus. Lastly, not for
-Fame, for light is my regard for her vain breath.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A <span class='sc'>Preface</span> is an article which I am by no means
-prepared to attempt, being apprehensive that my
-labors might terminate like those of a certain venerable
-individual, of spelling-book celebrity, who, in
-companionship with his son, and a long-eared fellow-traveller,
-by his anxiety to please everybody, found,
-to his mortification, that he could please nobody.
-Now, with the very moderate desire of pleasing
-somebody, I have determined to write no preface to
-my book, because I am not prepared to make a single
-fashionable apology for its publication. At the
-present era of book-making, all prefatory introductions
-seem to be disregarded as superfluous by the
-reading community, except to works of deep erudition,
-or on subjects which may require preliminary
-elucidations from the author. All others are merely
-glanced over like the “programme of an entertainment,”
-or a “bill of the play,” and obtain no further
-notice. Scarcely one reader out of ten has the least
-interest or curiosity to learn what motive induced the
-author to write the volume, which he has either
-bought or borrowed for his entertainment. He certainly
-has a right to expect it will contain some
-matter either to improve, inform, or amuse the mind.
-If disappointed, no apology, however gracefully
-made, will effect a change in his opinion; and the
-author may expect to receive the same compliment
-which a certain learned doctor (more famed for
-candor than politeness) once paid to his delinquent
-pupil, who made an elaborate apology for his errors,
-that he who was good at making “a handsome
-apology, was generally good for nothing else.”</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:4em;margin-top:0.5em;'>Thine respectfully,</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;'>K. A. W.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Since we have suffered our author to speak for
-herself, nobody can accuse us of unfairness, since
-that captious gentleman, Nobody, is not obliged to
-think as we do, but can, if he so pleases, pronounce
-Mrs. Katharine Augusta Ware to be the most modest,
-unassuming, charming pilgrim, that ever journeyed
-to the fountain of Helicon, or toiled up the steeps of
-Parnassus.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We have, in our time, been constrained by our
-vocation, to spell out a good many pieces of bombast;
-but we can safely say that, in our serious
-belief, no rhetorician was ever better furnished with
-an illustration for that not very rare quality of style,
-than in the effusion with which we begin to be
-overwhelmed on page one, under the imposing title
-“The Power of the Passions.” We had thought
-of turning the whole into prose, but as we have not
-the space to spare, and the readers can easily do it
-for themselves, whenever we shall have occasion to
-cite a passage, we content ourselves with a cursory
-description, and no very acute analysis, since the
-philosophy is quite as incomprehensible as the lines
-are vapid, and the ideas commonplace. <span class='it'>Imprimis</span>,
-we are favored with the strikingly novel information
-that there was a time, a good while ago, when man
-stood in God’s own image communing with angels in
-a bower,</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“When first creation dawned upon his view.”</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>This fair world, we are next agreeably astonished to
-learn, was given to man by high Omnipotence. At
-this interesting period, Creation owned her Lord,
-and all that moved confessed his reign, and the
-forest monarch bowed down before him, beside the
-young lamb; (bah!) moreover, birds hailed the rising
-day, and there were flowers and trees and fruits
-<span class='it'>cum multis aliis</span> of the sort.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Such was fair <span class='sc'>Paradise</span>! When <span class='sc'>Woman</span> smiled,</p>
-<p class='line0'>All <span class='sc'>Eden</span> brightened with a richer glow!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Led by the hand of <span class='sc'>Deity</span>, she came</p>
-<p class='line0'>To dwell in kind companionship with man,</p>
-<p class='line0'>A sharer of his pleasures and his toils,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which nature’s genial bosom richly paid:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Love, joy, and harmony, and peace, were there⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>God saw his glorious work, and it was good.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>These lines are cited, because they are the only
-good ones in the poem, and because it occurs to us
-that we have seen something rather like them in the
-works of a respectable poet of the middle ages—one
-Milton. In the remainder of the effusion, Mrs. Ware
-is unquestionably original.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Brief hour of human purity and truth!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Malignant <span class='sc'>Envy</span>, in the bland disguise</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of friendship, stole, yea, twined his serpent folds</p>
-<p class='line0'>Around fair Wisdom’s consecrated Tree.</p>
-<p class='line0'>“Eat, woman, eat—ye shall <span class='it'>not</span> surely die!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thus spake the tempter of mankind. <span class='it'>They ate</span>⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>A sudden darkness gathered o’er the sky.</p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Wild raged the storm, earth’s firm foundations shook,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>While ocean trembled from her deepest cells;</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Blue, livid lightnings flashed with lurid glare,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Wreathing in flames the blackened arch of heaven;</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>While the loud thunder’s deep, continuous roar</p>
-<p class='line0'>Proclaimed, in <span class='sc'>God’s</span> <span class='it'>own voice</span>, that Man was <span class='it'>lost</span>!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The four verses we have italicised are fiercely
-grand; more terrible than any we ever saw, except
-those by which they are succeeded. After the
-thunder-clap, lions roared, tigers yelled, hyenas
-cried, wolves howled, leviathans drifted ashore, birds
-of ill omen shrieked, and there was a dreadful rumpus
-in general among beasts, such as are usually to
-be seen in a Zoological Garden. The Arch-Enemy
-chuckles over this sport, rives his chain, and stalks
-over the globe, taking the precaution, however, to
-veil his hideous form and smile demoniac, (why, we
-cannot well perceive,) and finally speaks. His observations
-are left to the ingenuity of the reader; but
-he had no sooner “concluded his remarks,” than</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“Wild spirits filled the air, the earth,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The sea.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>These we suppose are the Passions, mentioned in
-the title. Taking them as they are introduced, they
-are the most outrageous set of ill-behaved monsters
-that ever were seen, and are as dissimilar to those
-polite entities, classified under the same names, and
-said by the Fourrierists to be easily subjected to the
-domination of reason and the affections, as can well
-be imagined. It must be noted, however, that Mrs.
-Ware is more original in the individuals she recommends
-to our attention as the Passions, than she is
-in her figures of speech.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;First, <span class='sc'>Murder</span> came, his right hand red</p>
-<p class='line0'>With the pure blood of his young brother’s heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>For which his own, in every clime and age,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Hath deeply paid. “<span class='it'>Cursed art thou!</span>” said <span class='sc'>God</span>,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And set his mark upon the murderer’s brow.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>We were not, until now, aware that <span class='it'>Murder</span> was a
-Passion, considering it rather as a deed, consequent
-upon some one of the Passions. Next in order comes
-Remorse, “whose step is followed by Despair.”
-“Next comes Revenge.” And what <span class='it'>Passion</span>, reader,
-do you imagine follows next? “ ’Tis <span class='sc'>War</span>, insatiate
-<span class='sc'>War</span>.” Another new Passion. Afterwards “pale
-Jealousy is seen,” in an awful taking because “the
-treasured ideal of his soul is false;” accordingly, he
-rushes <span class='it'>blindly</span> forth, meets his haughty foe, and,
-though he is blind, “their <span class='it'>eyes</span> have met,” and</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <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;The fierce volcano’s flame</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ne’er flashed more wildly than his furious glance!</p>
-<p class='line0'>No more. ’Tis done—the double deed of death.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The reeking steel, red from his rival’s heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Is quivering now within her heaving breast.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>Here is murder in the first degree once more. Now
-some people may call this strong writing; we call it
-fustian run mad. Next come Riot and Folly and
-Theft and Love and Misery and Guilt, of which we
-do not recognise any one but Love as belonging to
-the Passions. Just here there occurs a passage,
-which is so clearly applicable to the “divine Fanny
-Elssler,” that, “in the opinion of this court,” an
-action on the case for heavy damages will lie. Although
-the <span class='it'>danseuse</span> alluded to figures under no name
-whatsoever, and is merely described as “Another,”
-we beg leave to put it to the immense jury, consisting
-of the subscribers to this Magazine, what other
-than the “splendiferous Madam,” above named, can
-possibly be signified? Read the remarkable passage,
-and record your verdicts.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='sc'>Another</span>, too, in tinselled garb, is near,</p>
-<p class='line0'>’Mid scenic splendor, like a thing of light⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>With limbs scarce veiled, and gestures wild and strange,</p>
-<p class='line0'>She gaily bounds in the lascivious dance,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Moving as if her element were air,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And music was the echo of her step.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Around her bold, unblushing brow are twined</p>
-<p class='line0'>The deadly nightshade and the curling vine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Enwreathed with flowers luxuriant and fair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yet poisonous as the Upas in their breath.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her sparkling eye, keen as the basilisk’s,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who marks his prey, beams with a flashing light⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>False as the flame which hovers o’er the gulf</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of dark oblivion—tempting to destroy.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Mysterious power! men shudder while they gaze⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Despise, yet own her fascinating spell.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;As bursts the “deafening thunder of applause,”</p>
-<p class='line0'>’Mid showers of votive wreaths, and <span class='it'>parfum vif</span>⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Descending like bright Juno from her cloud,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With glance erratic round th’ enchanted ring⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>She smiles on all above, and all below,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With regal condescension, and accepts</p>
-<p class='line0'>The worthless homage offered at her shrine.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Let not the reader hastily conclude that he has yet
-ascended with Mrs. Katharine A. Ware to the cloud-capped
-summit of turgidity. In the concluding passages
-of her perfectly ferocious poem, she excels
-herself. A higher Alp of nonsense towers above the
-smaller Alps we have already passed. To change
-the metaphor, all the former passages are mere
-rattling musket shot, compared to this concentrated,
-thundering discharge of the artillery of bombast:⁠—</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Last in the train of human misery,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unconscious <span class='sc'>Madness</span> rushed. The storm that beat</p>
-<p class='line0'>On his unsheltered head and naked breast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Was calm to that which wildly raged within:</p>
-<p class='line0'>All the dark passions that deform the soul</p>
-<p class='line0'>By turns usurped departed Reason’s throne.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;His rolling eye, red as the meteor’s flash,</p>
-<p class='line0'>In fierce defiance wildly glanced around;</p>
-<p class='line0'>While his Herculean frame dilated rose,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As if exulting in its giant strength!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Uprooted trees were strewn across his path⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>The remnants of his sanguinary meal,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Still warm with life, lay quivering at his feet;</p>
-<p class='line0'>They caught his eye. Not Etna’s wildest roar</p>
-<p class='line0'>E’er came more deep than his demoniac laugh!</p>
-<p class='line0'>As rolls the distant thunder on—it ceased.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>And we cease; but not altogether. Cry not, oh
-reader, with king-killing Macbeth, “hold, enough!”
-till we shall have at least ferreted out some stanzas
-worth commendation, in the one hundred and forty
-“mortal pages,” which drag their slow length after
-“The Power of the Passions”—which title, we beg
-leave to suggest, should be changed to the somewhat
-Hibernian one of “A Power of Passions,” which
-would be more expressive of the number of new
-ones “making their first appearance on any stage.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>All the gross errors of persons who deem themselves
-poets, but are not—who make verses, to which
-neither gods, men nor columns can yield applause—are
-displayed, not only in the effusion which we
-have too tenderly handled, but in most of the remaining
-rubbish of metre, which this mistaken lady has
-raked together and piled up for the diversion of the
-public in England. It is said of those, who make
-constant efforts to utter happy repartees and smart
-jokes, that it would be a wonder if they did not now
-and then stumble upon a clever hit. The remark
-may with truth be applied to the indefatigable concoctor
-of rhymes. Desperate must be his condition,
-if, at large intervals, good couplets did not slip from
-his pen. Poor as most of Mrs. Ware’s poems are,
-stanzas are scattered through them which are really
-beautiful, and have the air of being in their present
-position by mistake. Occasionally, also, when the
-subject is dictated by feeling; when the thoughts
-well from the heart, and are like those which are
-entertained by the author in common with other
-people of sensibility; when she does not strive to be
-very fine, very grand and very fascinating, her lines
-run smoothly and gracefully along. Take as a favorable
-example of her versification one stanza, from a
-poem called “Diamond Island,” which, as we are
-told, is a delightful little island, situated in Lake
-George, and well known to the Northern tourists for
-its picturesque beauty, and the brilliant crystals to
-be found on its shores:⁠—</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>How sweet to stray along thy flowery shore,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Where crystals sparkle in the sunny ray;</p>
-<p class='line0'>While the red boatman plies his silvery oar</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To the wild measure of some rustic lay.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As a specimen of the sometimes able and sometimes
-slovenly mode in which Mrs. Ware poetizes,
-take the following couplets as an example. In describing
-what scenes are beheld by “The Genius of
-Græcia,” she finely writes:⁠—</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Views the broad Stadium, where the Gymnic art</p>
-<p class='line0'>Nerved the young arm and energized the heart.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>A little further on, our ears are tortured with⁠—</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Where Scio’s isle blushes with Christian gore,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And hostile fiends still yell around the shore.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Well nigh tired of animadversion, let us employ
-the remainder of this article with selections that will
-be read with satisfaction, and which may strike
-some sympathetic and responsive chords. We need
-not bestow any higher praise upon the following
-pieces, chosen with care, as by far the best in the
-volume, (though we will venture to assert that the
-author considers them the poorest,) than to remark
-that we consider them worthy of the space they
-occupy in this magazine.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>LOSS OF THE FIRST BORN.</h2>
-
-<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';fs:0.9em;' -->
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>“A grief that passeth show.”</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I saw a pale young mother, bending o’er</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Her first born hope. Its soft blue eyes were closed⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Not in the balmy dream of downy rest;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In Death’s embrace the shrouded babe reposed,</p>
-<p class='line0'>It slept the dreamless sleep that wakes no more!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A low sigh struggled in her heaving breast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But yet she wept not—hers was the deep grief</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The heart in its dark desolation feels;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which breathes not in impassioned accents wild,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;But slowly the warm pulse of life congeals:</p>
-<p class='line0'>A grief, which from the world seeks no relief⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A mother’s sorrow o’er her first-born child!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>She gazed upon it with a steadfast eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which seemed to say—Oh! would I were with thee.</p>
-<p class='line0'>As if her every earthly hope were fled</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With that departed cherub. Even he⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her young heart’s choice, who breathed a father’s sigh</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of bitter anguish o’er the unconscious dead⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Felt not, while weeping by its funeral bier,</p>
-<p class='line0'>One pang so deep as hers, who shed <span class='it'>no tear</span>!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE HEBREW MOTHER.</h2>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-size:0.9em;'>(A PAINTING.)</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Bright glowed the sun on Nile’s resplendent tide,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Reflecting the rich landscape far and wide;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The verdant hills, with lofty cedars crowned,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Those heights sublime, where, in stern glory, frowned</p>
-<p class='line0'>Egypt’s proud battlements, stretched forth on high,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like a dark cloud athwart the summer sky!</p>
-<p class='line0'>But softer shadows claimed a birth-place there;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The pensile willow, and the lotus fair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And flowers of richest bloom, their perfume gave,</p>
-<p class='line0'>To wreathe the margin of the azure wave.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;’Twas to this calm and beautiful retreat,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With wildly throbbing heart and trembling feet,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The Hebrew Mother came. To her sad breast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her youngest hope, a lovely boy, she prest,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>He whom a tyrant’s voice had doomed to die!</p>
-<p class='line0'>With anguish-riven soul and tearful eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>She looked on his bright cheek and cherub smile,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then gently hushed him to repose; and while</p>
-<p class='line0'>Within his fragile barque she laid him, gazed</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her last upon the sleeping babe! then raised</p>
-<p class='line0'>To the Almighty one a fervent prayer,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Confiding her soul’s treasure to his care:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then, as with firmer step she homeward trod,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With faith renewed, she left him to his God!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>BLOWING BUBBLES.</h2>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>It was a lovely picture! A young boy,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of scarce five summers, on a terrace stood,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which overlooked a region of sweet flowers,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As fresh and blooming as his own bright cheeks;</p>
-<p class='line0'>While from a pipe, wiled from his ancient nurse</p>
-<p class='line0'>With many a kiss, the rosy urchin blew</p>
-<p class='line0'>Those air-created globes, which, as they soared</p>
-<p class='line0'>Through the blue space, caught the gay tints of morn.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Buoyant and bright as youthful hopes they seemed,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And radiant as those visioned forms of bliss</p>
-<p class='line0'>That hover in the dreams of innocence.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I watched the rapturous gaze of that young boy,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And heard his joyous shout, as rising high</p>
-<p class='line0'>Upon the breeze, those fragile orbs were borne.</p>
-<p class='line0'>But when they sank, and vanished from his view,</p>
-<p class='line0'>A cloud of sadness came o’er his fair brow.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>This picture read a lesson to my heart.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh—how like these, thought I, are half the hopes</p>
-<p class='line0'>And pleasures of this life. No sooner do</p>
-<p class='line0'>They smile upon our view—than they are gone!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>NEW YEAR WISH.</h2>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-size:0.9em;'>TO ANNA MARIA, AGED FIVE YEARS.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Dear one, while bending o’er thy couch of rest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I’ve looked on thee as thou wert calmly sleeping,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And wished—Oh! couldst thou ever be as blest</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;As now—when haply all thy cause of weeping</p>
-<p class='line0'>Is, for a truant bird, or faded rose;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Though these light griefs call forth the ready tear,</p>
-<p class='line0'>They cast no shadow o’er thy soft repose,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No trace of care, or sorrow, lingers here.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>With rosy cheek, upon the pillow prest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To me thou seemest a cherub, pure and fair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With thy sweet smile, and gently heaving breast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And the bright ringlets of thy clustering hair;</p>
-<p class='line0'>What shall I wish thee, little one? Smile on</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Through childhood’s morn—through life’s gay spring⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>For oh—too soon will those bright hours be gone!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In youth time flies upon a silken wing.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>May thy young mind, beneath the bland control</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of education, lasting worth acquire;</p>
-<p class='line0'>May virtue stamp her signet on thy soul,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Direct thy steps, and every thought inspire!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thy parents’ earliest hope—be it their care</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To guide thee through youth’s path of shade and flowers,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And teach thee to avoid false pleasure’s snare;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Be thine—to smile upon their evening hours.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>There are some graceful translations from the
-French; but, besides the above, we should find it
-difficult to quote an original poem, good as a whole.
-We have now and then some spirited lines, and frequently
-some weak ones; but the latter outnumber
-the former.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Strange as it may seem, the same hand wrote both
-of the following passages—the one, with the exception
-of its concluding verse, vigorous, free, correct—the
-other, puerile, silly, commonplace.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Sculpture! oh what a triumph o’er the grave</p>
-<p class='line0'>Hath thy proud Art!—thy powerful hand can save</p>
-<p class='line0'>From the destroyer’s grasp the noble form,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As if the spirit dwelt, still thrilling warm,</p>
-<p class='line0'>In every line and feature of the face;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The air majestic, and the simple grace</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of flowing robes, which shade, but not conceal,</p>
-<p class='line0'>All that the classic chisel would reveal.</p>
-<p class='line0'>In thy supremacy thou stand’st sublime,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bidding defiance to the scythe of time!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk115'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The thought of thee is like the breath of morn,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which whispers gently through the blooming trees;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like music o’er the sparkling waters borne,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When the blue waves heave in the summer breeze.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We have faithfully performed our unpleasant duty
-in the foregoing criticism. A high standard has
-been set up by us, and it must be defended. Censure
-is far less agreeable to us than commendation;
-but the last would be wholly valueless, when flowing
-from our pen, were we always to withhold the
-first. Poetry, to be acceptable, must have higher
-qualities than those which the mere habit and practice
-of writing confers. A man may play very well
-on the piano and not be a musician; he may sketch
-very well and not be a painter; he may model very
-well and have no just claim to be called a sculptor.
-The maker of graceful stanzas is not a poet; he is
-at best entitled only to be called a person of accomplishments.
-He is inexcusable when he brings himself
-prominently before the public and claims to be
-ranked among artists. Women, more than men,
-cultivate their powers of taste. We know many of
-the sex who not only sing and sketch, but write very
-nice verses. They would, however, shrink from
-publicity with a sensitive dread of ridicule. For the
-sake of a pure literature this apprehension should be
-kept alive by an occasional article, like the one
-which we have felt ourselves impelled to present on
-the effusions of Mrs. <span class='sc'>Katharine Augusta Ware</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;margin-top:0.5em;'>B.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk116'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='love'></a>LOVE AND PIQUE;</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>OR, SCENES AT A WATERING-PLACE.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY MRS. EMMA C. EMBURY.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE VENTILATOR.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was one of the most sultry days of an intensely
-hot summer, the thermometer stood at eighty-five in
-the shade, every thing was parched with fervent
-heat, and, as if to show their powers of endurance,
-half the world, leaving the quiet comfort of luxurious
-homes, were inhaling the close and unhealthful atmosphere
-of a crowded watering-place. Cecil Forrester
-had mingled with the throng, and, bidding
-adieu to his father’s beautiful country-seat, where
-the murmur of a rushing stream mingled its cool
-refreshing sound with the whisper of the summer
-breeze, had obtained, for a certain consideration,
-the privilege of occupying an apartment, some eight
-feet by ten, in the great hotel which stretches its
-huge length along the sands at ——. But Cecil
-had other motives than simple obedience to the dictates
-of fashion. He was in love, deeply and earnestly
-in love, and the lady on whom he had bestowed
-his affections seemed to him one of those exquisite
-creatures, equally well fitted to be the gem of a ball-room
-or the ornament of domestic life. He had met
-her in the sequestered village of Norwood, whither
-he repaired every summer to visit a favorite sister,
-and where the lovely Miss Oriel had come to repair
-the ravages which a winter’s dissipation had made
-in her fresh complexion. They had enjoyed a flirtation
-of the most delightful kind, because it had been
-purely sentimental, and such is, after all, the most
-agreeable variety of that very common species of
-amusement. Laura Oriel had laid aside all her
-usual gaiety of apparel, her dress was the very perfection
-of elegant simplicity; her raven hair was
-braided, without a single ringlet, around her well
-turned head, and, in short, nothing could be more
-attractive than the city belle so suddenly transformed
-into <span class='it'>la jolie paysanne</span> of a country village. Many a
-moonlit walk had Cecil Forrester enjoyed with her,
-many a beautiful fancy had been pictured out during
-their rambles in the summer woods, many a noble
-sentiment had been uttered beneath the deep shadow
-of the rocky cliff, many a delicate thought had been
-evolved amid the beauty and sublimity of nature.
-The time passed like a dream. The genial breezes
-of flowery June had been exchanged for the fervent
-heats of July, and these had again been forgotten in
-the more oppressive sultriness of August before their
-happiness was disturbed by a single thought of the
-future. But Miss Oriel was then obliged to accompany
-her mother to ——. It was a most disagreeable
-necessity, for she did not love a crowd, and though
-her fortune and station in society compelled her to
-appear among the multitude, yet she was only happy
-in the seclusion of domestic life. But duty to her
-only parent was the ruling principle of her existence.
-Her mother’s wishes had forced her into society
-during the past winter, and now the same irresistible
-power drew her to the turbulent scenes of a fashionable
-watering-place. Poor thing! she was certainly
-to be pitied, and so thought Cecil Forrester. He
-was upon the point of expressing his ardent admiration,
-and offering his heart and hand to her whose
-tender friendship had made him bankrupt in all that
-was worthy of her acceptance. But, somehow or
-other, no opportunity occurred for any such explanation.
-The lady rather avoided those delicious walks
-which, though favorable to the growth of affection,
-might afford chances for an unseasonable declaration.
-So Cecil was only able to inform her of his
-intention to meet her at ——, and contented himself,
-for the present, with offering her a splendid
-copy of Rogers’ Poems, in which he had inscribed
-her name in the most delicate of Italian writing, and
-where she found, on further examination, the words
-“To her who will understand me,” written over the
-pretty pastoral poem entitled “The Wish.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Mine be a cot beside a hill;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A beehive’s hum shall soothe mine ear;</p>
-<p class='line0'>A willowy brook that turns a mill,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With many a fall shall linger near.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The swallow oft, beneath my thatch,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Shall twitter from her clay-built nest;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oft shall the pilgrim lift the latch,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To share my meal, a welcome guest.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Around my ivied porch shall spring</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Each fragrant flower that drinks the dew;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And Lucy, at her wheel, shall sing,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In russet gown and apron blue.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The village church, amid the trees,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Where first our marriage vows were given,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With merry peals shall swell the breeze</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And point, with taper spire, to Heaven.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>It was certainly a most appropriate and delicately
-expressed choice for such a lover of natural beauty
-and quiet happiness as Miss Laura Oriel.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But to return to ——. Mr. Forrester knew that
-Miss Oriel was expected to arrive there on a certain
-morning, and, as he had gone down several days
-previous, he was, of course, on the watch for her.
-Most impassioned admirers would have rushed out
-to welcome the object of their thoughts at the very
-first glimpse of her green veil. But Cecil was no
-vulgar lover, his taste was excessively refined, and
-for his own sake, no less than out of regard to the
-lady’s feelings, he did not choose to behold her in
-travelling dishabille after a long and dusty ride. He
-therefore contented himself with watching from an
-upper window her descent from the stage coach,
-and then retired to his apartment until the preparatory
-dinner-bell should summon the <span class='it'>élite</span> to the
-saloon. As I have said before, the day was excessively
-warm, and all the ventilators (which had been
-mercifully placed over each door to prevent suffocation)
-stood wide open, as if the rooms, like their
-heated occupants, were gasping for breath. Cecil,
-who had a tolerably correct notion of comfort, had
-loosed his boot-straps, unbraced his stays, and flung
-himself upon the bed to indulge a pleasant reverie
-before he commenced his toilet, when he was suddenly
-recalled to the scenes of actual life by the
-sound of a well-known voice.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The apartments to which Miss Oriel and her
-mother had been conducted (the privilege of selection
-would be a most unheard-of innovation of the
-rights of hotel-keepers at such a season) happened
-to be immediately opposite to the one already occupied
-by Mr. Forrester. The ventilators of both were
-open, and, as he heard her voice, he felt a sweet satisfaction
-in the thought, that the soft southern breeze
-which was cooling his brow also fanned the ringlets
-of his beautiful mistress. But really there was no
-excuse for his listening to her conversation; it was
-most ungentlemanlike, but at the same time, I am
-sorry to say, most natural; and though heartily
-ashamed of him for so doing, I am obliged to confess
-that he paid the closest attention to every word of
-their discourse.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How long do you want to stay here, Laura?”
-said the mother, in that wheezing sort of voice which
-belongs to fat, pursy old ladies when over-fatigued.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That will depend upon circumstances,” was the
-short and rather crusty reply.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do you know they charge twelve dollars a week,
-and every bath is an extra expense?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What of that? We must risk something in all
-speculations, and mine is a pretty safe venture.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I wish we had left Ellen Grey at home.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I don’t agree with you; we owe her some return
-for staying nearly three months with her at Norwood,
-and I cannot bear to be under an obligation to
-such mighty good sort of people, for they never forget
-it.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“But her board will be expensive, and I do not
-see why it would not have been as well to invite her
-to our house in the winter.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You don’t seem to understand my plans, Mamma.
-Ellen Grey is pretty, and modest, and sentimental,
-and all that; she is just the kind of person to be very
-attractive to gentlemen when seen in domestic life,
-but she is too timid to appear well in a place like this.
-She will scarcely dare to raise her eyes in such a
-crowd, and therefore there can be no rivalry between
-us. Besides, she has a great deal of taste,
-and her assistance at my toilet enables me to dispense
-with a dressing maid.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I cannot see much force in your argument.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps not; what would you say if I tell you
-I want her as a foil?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She is too pretty to serve such a purpose.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You are greatly mistaken; any body would look
-well beside an ugly girl, but one must be exceedingly
-beautiful to bear a comparison with as pretty a
-creature as Ellen Grey. Her delicate complexion,
-which is continually suffused with blushes, her fair
-hair and blue eyes would appear lovelier any where
-else than they will beside me.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Such beauty as yours requires no foil, Laura.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I choose to employ one, notwithstanding; I have
-come here for the express purpose of attracting
-Fitzroy Beauchamp, and I mean to neglect nothing,
-however trifling, to compass my schemes.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What will Cecil Forrester say?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If I succeed, he may say what he pleases. I
-mean to play off my present lover against the future
-one; and Cecil will be of use to me by exciting the
-jealousy of Beauchamp.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I declare you are too bad, Laura.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I only mean to study your interest and my own,
-Mamma. Cecil Forrester was a delightful companion
-in the country, his enthusiasm was so well
-adapted to the time and place, that it seemed to give
-charms to the dull and stupid village, which it could
-not otherwise have possessed. I certainly played
-my part to perfection, indeed, I almost began to fancy
-that there was really some feeling in my acting; at
-any rate he has the most implicit faith in my sensibility.
-How often I have laughed over the love-sick
-youth’s rural wish! I think I see myself as</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>‘Lucy at her spinning-wheel,</p>
-<p class='line0'>In russet gown and apron blue.’ ”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I wonder how you kept up the farce so long,
-Laura; even Ellen thinks you a most exemplary
-sentimentalist.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh, it was a pleasant mode of getting rid of time;
-nothing sharpens one’s wits like a flirtation with a
-real lover—I have learned twenty new stratagems
-from my ‘<span class='it'>country practice</span>.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Are you sure Mr. Beauchamp is rich?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“He drives blood-horses, sports a tiger in livery,
-lives at the Astor, drinks wine at $8 a bottle, and,
-what is more, pays his bills.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How did you learn this?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“From very good authority; he is said to have
-$200,000 in bank stocks besides a sugar plantation
-worth $12,000 per annum, and slaves enough to stock
-a colony; so you see he is a prize worth winning.
-As for Cecil Forrester, I am sorry he is here, but I
-must manage to turn him over to the unsophisticated
-little rustic for the present. I do not wish to give
-him a downright dismissal, because if I should fail
-to secure the millionaire it would be as well to fall
-back upon Forrester’s $30,000. The game will be a
-difficult one, but the glory of success will be the
-greater.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I hope you will reap some of the spoils of victory,
-Laura, for our legacy is rapidly diminishing, and
-when it is gone you know there will be no further
-chance.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Never fear, Mamma; my stock in trade is very
-good—beauty, tact, and five thousand dollars form a
-very excellent capital, and I think I can afford to
-speculate rather largely.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“But more than half of the most essential part of
-your capital is already gone, and you have not as yet
-succeeded.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You forget that I have gained a footing in society
-by its expenditure; leave every thing to me, and if
-I am not married before next season, then write me
-down a fool.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Cecil Forrester heard every word of this dialogue.
-At its commencement he had started to his feet, and
-if any one could have witnessed his gestures and
-contortions he would have been deemed a madman.
-His face flushed and paled, his eyes dilated with
-anger and flashed with contempt, his lip curled in
-bitter scorn, and narrowly escaped being bitten
-through as he gnashed his teeth in impotent rage;
-he clenched his hands, he tore off the turquoise ring
-which he had hitherto worn on his little finger as a
-<span class='it'>gage d’amitié</span> from the false beauty, and finally, after
-exhausting his angry emotions, he flung himself into
-a seat, with a calm and determined expression of
-countenance which augured ill for some of the
-schemes of Miss Laura Oriel.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE DINING-ROOM.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Is there any thing more musical to the ear of the
-time-sick lounger at a fashionable watering-place
-than the dinner-bell? Talk of the melody of running
-streams, the sighing of summer winds, the carol of
-forest birds! they may be all very pleasant sounds
-in certain moods of the mind, but for a music which
-never fails to please, a sound which never falls
-wearily upon the senses, a voice which is never
-uttered to a listless ear, commend me to that dinner-bell.
-The dullest face brightens into something like
-intelligence, the most confirmed valetudinarian forgets
-all elegant debility, the most intellectual remember
-the pressing claims of the physical man, and the
-most refined of women venture to look somewhat
-interested in the vulgar duty of dining. The saloon
-was crowded with company all eager for the summons
-which was to transform them into eating
-animals.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pray why,” said a gentleman who was somewhat
-famous for puns, conundrums and such little
-witticisms, preferring as it seemed to shoot the “rats
-and mice and such small deer” of literature, because
-he could draw a <span class='it'>long</span> rather than a <span class='it'>strong</span> bow;
-“Pray,” said he in that half suppressed voice which,
-like a theatrical aside, is sure to be distinctly heard
-in a crowd, “why is this saloon like the President’s
-levee? do ye give it up? why it is filled with a
-crowd of <span class='it'>hungry expectants</span>! ha! ha! ha!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The joke would have been excellent as an after
-dinner speech, but the audacity of uttering an idle
-jest while so many persons were keenly alive to one
-of the sufferings of frail humanity, was very properly
-punished. No body laughed, and, to his infinite regret,
-the great Mr. —— saw that he had wasted
-his wit. The first stroke of the second bell brought
-all to their feet, as suddenly as if they had been subjected
-to the power of a galvanic battery. Cecil
-Forrester, attired with unusual care, all the lurking
-dandyism of his character fully but not offensively
-displayed, had been one of the first in the saloon, determined
-to give Miss Oriel a lesson in indifference.
-But she did not appear, and, as the band struck up a
-march, the usual signal for deploying into the dining-room,
-he took the hand of his neighbor, who happened
-to be a very pretty woman, and followed the
-somewhat rapid pace of the procession.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The important business of the dinner-table was
-half finished: the soup, the fish, even the joints had
-disappeared, and the voracity of the <span class='it'>élégants</span> had
-given place to fastidiousness as they amused themselves
-with a bit of <span class='it'>ris de veau glacé</span> or a <span class='it'>petit pâte
-de Périgord</span>, when a slight bustle at the door
-attracted universal attention. A dumpy, over-dressed
-old lady, leaning on the arm of a delicate,
-fair-haired girl, entered with that fussy manner so
-characteristic of an out-of-place feeling, while, immediately
-following her, with a complexion as cool
-and fresh as marble, if one could only imagine marble
-tinged with the rose-tint of youth and health—a
-complexion such as nothing but a morning bath can
-give—came the elegant Miss Oriel. There was the
-very perfection of art in her whole appearance. She
-had chosen for her entrance the moment when the
-fierce appetites of those who eat to kill time (and
-sometimes end by killing themselves) were sufficiently
-appeased to enable them to admire something
-else beside the reeking dishes. Among the heated
-and flushed beauties who sat around the table, with
-relaxed ringlets and moistened brows, she appeared
-like some fairy of the fountain, some water nymph
-fresh from her sub-marine grotto, diffusing about her
-a cool and refreshing atmosphere as she moved
-gracefully onward. Her dress was white transparent
-muslin, which displayed rather than veiled the fine
-form of her arms, while her neck and shoulders,
-actually dazzling in their snowy hue and polish,
-were only shadowed by a single jet-black ringlet,
-which seemed to have accidentally fallen from the
-clustering mass gathered at the back of her head.
-A pale, pearl-like japonica was her only ornament.
-As she slowly paced the length of the hall to a seat
-near the head of the table, reserved for her by a
-well-bribed waiter, a murmur of admiration ran
-through the apartment. All eyes were fixed upon
-her, and she knew better than to break the spell of
-her fascinations by condescending to the vulgar taste
-for eating; (a brace of woodcock had been sent to
-her room only an hour previous.) Mrs. Oriel, who
-seemed determined to make amends for past delay by
-present haste, sent her plate to be filled and re-filled;
-but her daughter only trifled with some delicate
-French combination of odor and tastelessness, and
-finished the meal by a morsel of <span class='it'>Charlotte au russe</span>
-and Vanilla cream. A glass of iced <span class='it'>eau sacré</span> was
-her only beverage, and she was thus enabled to retain
-her cool fresh tint even in the heated atmosphere
-so redolent of spices, and gravies, and vinous distillations.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was not until just before quitting the table that
-Miss Oriel allowed herself to see any one in the
-room. She raised her large soft eyes languidly and
-beheld, what she had for some time known, that her
-young friend Ellen was familiarly chatting with
-Cecil Forrester. A graceful bend of her fair neck
-and a most lovely smile marked her consciousness
-of his presence, while Cecil, with a polite but rather
-careless bow continued his conversation with Miss
-Grey; being incited to show her peculiar attention
-by his consciousness that she, as well as himself,
-was designed to be the tool of the selfish beauty.
-Miss Oriel was too well schooled to exhibit any surprise
-at his cool manner, and as her principal object
-was to attract the attention of Mr. Beauchamp, she
-gave herself no further thought about the matter at
-that time.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Fitzroy Beauchamp, by a kind of “<span class='it'>gramerye</span>”
-which some ignorant people might call <span class='it'>impudence</span>,
-had early established himself at the head of the table,
-and assumed the manners of a host upon all occasions.
-He was in fact that most admired, and
-courted, and flattered of men—the Beau (<span class='it'>par excellence</span>)
-of a watering-place. Reader, if you have
-ever seen such a person in such circumstances you
-will be able to imagine his appearance, for he was
-only one of a rather numerous tribe of ephemera,
-who appear every summer and waste their little
-lives in some fashionable resort, whence they vanish
-with the first northeast wind, and if they do not die,
-at least evaporate in something like empty air. Mr.
-Fitzroy Beauchamp (he was very proud of his name,
-and was known to have refused to dance in the same
-cotillion with Miss Phebe Pipkin, until his refined
-taste was soothed by the intelligence that she was
-the heiress of half a million) was rather diminutive
-in size, with a remarkably trim figure, and very
-small feet. He had flaxen hair, elaborately curled,
-which no one would have suspected to be a wig;
-and he wore the softest and silkiest of whiskers,
-which nobody dreamed were an appendage of the
-self same wig, ingeniously contrived to clasp with
-springs beneath his chin. His cheek had that delicate
-peach bloom which rarely outlasts extreme
-youth, and, in this case, certainly owed much of its
-richness to a judicious touch of the hare’s foot. His
-hands were very white and loaded with rings, the
-gifts, as he asserted, of various fair ladies; so that
-he might be said to have the history of his conquests
-at his fingers’ ends. He wore a black dress coat
-lined with white silk, snow-white inexpressibles,
-embroidered silk stockings, and pumps diminutive
-enough to have served for a lady’s slippers. Mr.
-Fitzroy Beauchamp was what ladies call “a love of
-a man,” and he was duly grateful for their partiality.
-To conceal the ravages of time (alas! he had already
-numbered half a century) and to decorate himself in
-the most pleasing manner he considered a compliment
-due to the fair sex, while the proper display of
-his wealth and luxury was a duty he owed to himself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He had been wonderfully attracted by the grace
-and beauty of Miss Oriel. Absorbed in admiration
-of her easy and modest self-possession, he forgot to
-ask his former favorite, the pretty and <span class='it'>spirituelle</span>
-Mrs. Dale, to take wine with him, and the lady was
-quick-sighted enough to discover, and wise enough
-to smile at the discovery that henceforth her reign
-over the tilbury was at an end. She was quite right.
-Soon after dinner Mr. Beauchamp solicited from
-Cecil Forrester the honor of an introduction to Miss
-Oriel, and though Cecil would have been ready to
-fight a duel with a fellow who should thus have presumed
-after a three days’ acquaintance, had the lady
-been one whom he really respected, yet he now cordially
-acquiesced in the wishes of both parties, and
-with a degree of magnanimity quite surprising to
-Laura, afforded her exactly the opportunity she had
-desired. About twenty minutes before sunset—the
-hour Mr. Beauchamp usually selected for his daily
-drive—Miss Oriel was handed into the elegant vehicle,
-and they drove off, leaving several gentlemen
-in ecstasies at her beauty as she playfully kissed her
-hand to her dear old fat Mamma, who had bustled
-out with “my sweet Laura’s cashmere, lest the
-evening air should injure her delicate health.” Her
-fears were quite unnecessary. Mr. Beauchamp
-never drove his horses more than three miles at a
-time, and had no fancy for hardening his white hands
-by curbing their impetuosity. He was seldom absent
-more than half an hour, as his ambition was fully
-gratified by being envied as he drove off, or dashed
-up to the door with the best horses before his carriage
-and the most admired woman at his side.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE PIAZZA.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Two weeks passed away, during which time
-Miss Oriel had shown her skill in female tactics by
-managing to secure the attentions of Mr. Beauchamp,
-while she had transferred Cecil to Ellen
-Grey until she should be able to decide upon his
-future fate. One evening, Cecil, who had long known
-and admired Mrs. Dale, invited her to walk with him
-on the piazza, that they might witness the effect of
-moonlight upon the distant sea.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am indebted to Miss Grey’s headache for this
-invitation,” said Mrs. Dale, laughing, as she took
-his arm; “had she been in the saloon my eyes would
-never have been thus favored with a moonlight
-scene.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Forrester entered a disclaimer against the lady’s
-assertion, and a playful conversation ensued, when
-Mrs. Dale, suddenly changing the topic, said:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pray tell me, Mr. Forrester, if Mr. Beauchamp
-is so immensely rich?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I really cannot take it upon me to determine that
-delicate question, Madam,” was the reply, “but, as
-a firm believer in the doctrine of <span class='it'>compensations</span>, I
-am bound to suppose he must be very wealthy.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Not understanding your premises I cannot clearly
-comprehend your deductions,” said Mrs. Dale playfully.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why, Providence always bestows something to
-compensate for great deficiencies, and as Mr. Beauchamp
-cannot boast either mental or physical gifts,
-I take it for granted that he must have money.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Really, Mr. Forrester, I did not think you were
-so ill-natured. I am sure Mr. Beauchamp has the
-prettiest hands and feet in the world, and his ardent
-admiration of the ladies proves him to possess a
-good heart.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“To your last argument I can offer no opposition,
-Madam,” was the gallant reply; “but as to his
-hands and feet, I can only say that it is not the first
-time that ladies have been driven to extremities in
-their search for his good qualities.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, I suppose,” responded Mrs. Dale, laughing
-heartily, “that I must allow your wit to atone
-for your severity, but how long is it since you turned
-satirist?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ever since I made the discovery which all the
-experience of others cannot teach us—that ‘all is
-not gold which glitters.’ I have almost come to the
-conclusion that nature, like an over-careful house-wife,
-hides her true gold and silver in least suspected
-places.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In that case Dame Nature might be in the predicament
-of a queer old lady I once knew who hid
-her rich plate under the rafters in the garret, and
-when she wanted it upon occasion of a dinner-party,
-was obliged to borrow of a neighbor because she
-had forgotten where she had deposited her treasure.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I believe if we want to find a really virtuous and
-true-hearted woman we must look elsewhere than
-among the beautiful,” said Forrester bitterly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Fie! fie! if I had the slightest claim to beauty
-I should banish you from my presence for that ungallant
-speech.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You ought rather to consider it a compliment,
-for there is not another woman here to whom I
-would have uttered it, or who would have understood
-me, perhaps, if I had.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ah! now you flatter my intellect at the expense
-of my person, and no woman ever relished such a
-compliment. But to return to your assertion; how
-can you venture to despise the allurements of beauty
-after feasting daily on such a banquet of loveliness
-as Miss Oriel offers to our eyes. I look at her,
-woman as I am, with delight, for I never saw so
-fresh, so pure, so marble-like a complexion.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your comparison is more correct than you imagine,
-Madam; her beauty is indeed like that of the
-marble statue, carved by a right cunning and skilful
-hand, but wanting the Promethean touch of soul.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“While Ellen Grey is the delicate alabaster vase,
-beautifully and finely wrought, and with all its exquisite
-loveliness brought out in rich relief by the
-lamp which lights it from within; is it not thus you
-would have continued the comparison?” said Mrs.
-Dale mischievously.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your illustration is a beautiful one, and perfectly
-true,” was the reply; “Ellen Grey is full of gentle
-and womanly feeling.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps you are prejudiced against Miss Oriel,
-Mr. Forrester; can it be possible that there is no
-soul shining in those soft dark eyes?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There is mental power enough, if that were all,
-but there is no soul—no heart; the lofty impulses of
-pure intellect, the tender affections of feminine nature
-never yet lighted up those eyes or suffused that
-marble brow with the blush of genuine feeling.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, as you have known the lady longer than I
-have, it would be idle to dispute your assertions; indeed,
-I must confess, when I watch her sweet, unruffled
-look and manner, I am irresistibly reminded
-of the old Norse legend of the Snow-Woman—so
-dazzlingly beautiful, so fatally cold.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yet I have seen her under circumstances which
-would have given you a very different impression of
-her. Imagine that beautiful woman attired in the
-simplest manner, all fashionable airs laid aside, and
-apparently the very creature of romantic feeling;
-imagine such perfection of loveliness, with eyes of
-softness and voice all tenderness, apparently yielding
-up her whole soul to the sweet impressions of
-nature, amid the loveliest scenery that even our
-beautiful land can produce; imagine the effect of
-such beauty seen beneath the soft light of the summer
-moon, or gazed upon in the silent sanctuary of
-the forest glades, or mingling its fascinating influence
-with the lovely sights and sounds which charm the
-senses in the sunset dell, when the voice of the singing
-rivulet makes music on its way.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Upon my word, Mr. Forrester, you are almost a
-poet; you must be in love.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps I am, but Miss Oriel is not the object.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How could you resist the fascinations you so enthusiastically
-describe?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why, to tell the truth, I narrowly escaped the
-fate of the silly moth; I came very near singeing my
-wings in the blaze of her beauty, but I soon discovered
-that she possessed none but personal attractions.
-To be sure we had quite a sentimental flirtation,
-and I remember many very fine sentiments
-which she uttered, but I early found how thin and
-poor was the soil in which they had taken root. You
-know the most luxuriant growth of wild flowers is
-always to be found in a morass—or perhaps a more
-graphic illustration of my meaning might be found
-in the fact that the pestilential Maremma, whose
-atmosphere is so fatal to life, displays the richest and
-most gorgeous array of Flora’s favorites. Laura
-Oriel might be loved for a week or two, but any man
-with common sense would soon see through her
-false character. For my own part, I confess that I
-amused myself with her very pleasantly during the
-early part of the summer. Indeed, I believe she
-fancied I was really caught in her snares, and no
-doubt considers that ‘Cecil Forrester’s $30,000 will
-do very well to fall back upon in case nothing better
-offer.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Hark!” exclaimed Mrs. Dale, as a slight sound,
-like a half-suppressed exclamation, struck upon their
-ears, “I really believe some one has been listening
-to our conversation.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“When we first came out here,” said Forrester
-coolly, “I saw a lady take her seat within the recess
-of yonder window; she dropped the drapery of
-the curtain behind her, so as not to be observed from
-within, and she has been sitting in the deep shadow
-flung by this heavy column. She has heard every
-word we said; at least she has heard all I said, because
-I purposely deferred my most severe remarks
-until we passed within ear-shot.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“For Heaven’s sake, what do you mean? you seem
-agitated; who was the lady?” asked Mrs. Dale.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do you not imagine? It was Miss Oriel.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh, Mr. Forrester, how could you do so? and
-to make me a party in such cruelty too;” exclaimed
-the lady, much vexed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Now that there are really no listeners, dear
-Madam, I will tell you the whole story, and you
-shall decide whether I am so very wrong; at all
-events I have had my revenge.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And Cecil Forrester related to his warm-hearted
-friend the story of his love and its sudden extinction,
-not omitting a single word of the dialogue which he
-had overheard between the mother and daughter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When they re-entered the saloon Miss Oriel had
-disappeared, but if Cecil could have known the
-tumult of her feelings he would, perhaps, have regretted
-his own vindictiveness. All the little feeling
-which she possessed, all that she had of heart, was
-bestowed on Cecil Forrester. She did not know
-how much she had valued him until she compared
-him with the object of her present pursuit; and,
-interested, selfish and ambitious as she was, she half
-determined to turn from the allurements of wealth
-if she could win back Cecil to his allegiance. To
-be thus outwitted, made the plaything of his idle
-hours, foiled at her own weapons, was a bitter mortification,
-and this, coupled as it was with a sense
-of unrequited tenderness, aroused her almost to madness.
-The cold, proud beauty shed tears of vexation
-and regret. She almost hated Cecil, and yet she
-was conscious that the most bitter drop, in the cup
-which had thus been returned to her own lips, was
-the assurance that he had never loved her. His
-quotation of her own remark about his fortune convinced
-her that he had overheard her plans, and she
-was now stimulated by pride to urge their speedy
-fulfilment.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE LAST SCENE.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Have you heard the news, Mr. Forrester?” exclaimed
-Mrs. Dale, as, two days after the confidential
-disclosure of the piazza, he entered the
-saloon; “Ah, I see by your look of innocent surprise,
-you are still in blissful ignorance.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What has happened?” asked Cecil carelessly,
-“any thing which serves to break the monotony of
-a seaside existence must be a blessing.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I do not know whether you will think it so,”
-said the lady laughing, “Miss Oriel has eloped with
-Mr. Beauchamp.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am glad of it—from my very soul I rejoice at
-it,” exclaimed Cecil Forrester, while a dark, vindictive
-smile gave a most disagreeable expression to
-his usually fine face.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why, how strangely you look at me,” replied
-Mrs. Dale, “what is the matter?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Nothing—nothing—when did it all happen?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Did you not see her go out with him to ride last
-evening? Well, it seems Mr. Beauchamp’s servant
-had been privately despatched to the city with their
-baggage, and instead of returning the lovers rode
-directly to the next town and were married.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why did they give themselves so much trouble?
-If Beauchamp had asked the old woman she would
-have dropped a curtsy and thanked him for the
-offer.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There is the mystery of the whole affair; Mrs.
-Oriel pretends to be very indignant, but it is easy to
-see she is secretly pleased. Miss Oriel has written
-a letter to Miss Grey in which she entreats her to
-‘break the tidings tenderly to poor Mamma;’ excuses
-herself on the plea of irresistible affection;
-talks of Mr. Beauchamp’s ardor and her fear of maternal
-opposition, and finishes by requesting Ellen to
-‘allow his favorite Mrs. Dale to acquaint Mr. Forrester
-with her regret at having been the cause of
-disappointment and sorrow to him.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What the devil does she mean by that?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why to make Ellen jealous of me and distrustful
-of you, and thus disappoint both your love and
-revenge,” said Mrs. Dale.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She shall not attain her ends,” exclaimed Forrester
-impetuously, “I will tell Ellen the whole
-story. I am glad she is actually married to Beauchamp,
-and I know the reason he did not want to
-ask her mother; he was afraid of inconvenient inquiries.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What do you know about him?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Only this morning I met here a person who
-knows him well. His history is soon told. He was
-originally bred a tailor, but, having a soul above buttons,
-he cut the shop, and has since been hanging on
-the skirts of society in a manner very different from
-that intended by his honest old father. His bank stock
-and sugar plantation may exist in the regions of the
-moon, where all things which unaccountably disappear
-from earth are said to be collected, his
-negroes are still on the coast of Guinea, and he
-really lives by his wits. A run of luck at the gaming-table
-or a lucky bet on the race-course enables him
-every now and then to pay old debts, and live for a
-time like a gentleman until his funds are exhausted,
-when he again betakes himself to his vocation.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Can this be possible?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There is no doubt of it; he is a mere adventurer,
-and as Miss Oriel is something very similar, they
-are ‘matched as well as paired.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Cecil Forrester afforded another proof of the truth
-of the poet’s line,</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Full many a heart is caught in the rebound.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>The following winter saw him the happy husband
-of Ellen Grey; while all trace of Mr. and Mrs.
-Beauchamp was lost to their view. About two
-years later, when business had compelled Mr. Forrester
-to visit one of our southern cities, he strolled
-into the theatre to get rid of an idle evening, and as
-he gazed with listless curiosity on the gorgeous
-spectacle of Indian life which occupied the stage, he
-was suddenly struck with a familiar tone in the voice
-and a familiar expression in the countenance of the
-stately queen of the Zenana. He looked again, the
-resemblance seemed to grow upon him; he went
-round to the stage box, and in that near proximity
-to the actress all doubt vanished. He looked upon
-the still resplendent beauty of Laura Oriel.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk117'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='sigh'></a>SIGHTS FROM MY WINDOW—ALICE.</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 RUFUS W. GRISWOLD.</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 sit beside my window,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And see the crowds go by,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With joy on every countenance,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And hope in every eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And hear their blended voices,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In many a shout and song,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Borne by the spring’s soft breezes</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Through all the streets along.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And peering through a lattice</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of a humble cottage near,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I see a face of beauty,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Adown which glides a tear,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>A rose amid her tresses</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Tells that she would be gay,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But a thought of some deep sorrow</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Drives every smile away.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>She whom I see there weeping,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Few save myself do know,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>A flower in blooming blighted</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;By blasts of keenest wo.</p>
-<p class='line0'>She has a soul so gentle,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That as a harp it seems,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which the light airs wake to music</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like that we hear in dreams.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>A common fate is that poor girl’s,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which many yet must share,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>In the crowd how little know they</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;What griefs its members bear!</p>
-<p class='line0'>One year ago a radiance</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like sunlight round her played,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Heart felt, eyes spoke of gladness,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She was not then betrayed.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>There was one of gentle manners,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Who e’er met her with a smile,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And a voice so full of kindness,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That she could not deem it guile,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And her trusting heart she gave him,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She could give to him no more,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! daughter of the poor man,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Soon thy dream of bliss was o’er!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>’Twere vain to tell the story</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of fear, hope, and joyous passion;</p>
-<p class='line0'>She forgot her father’s station,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;He forsook the halls of fashion;</p>
-<p class='line0'>She loved him well—he knew it,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;’Twas a pleasing interlude,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Fitting to enjoy more keenly</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Scenes the poor might ne’er intrude.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Hark! the sound of music swelling!⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Now the crowd are rushing by,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Horses prancing, banners flying,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Shouts ascending to the sky!⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>There’s a sea of life beneath me,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And <span class='it'>his</span> form is there,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>For his fearful sin who spurns him?</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;On his brow what sign of care?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I see <span class='it'>her</span> now—she trembles⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;There is phrensy in her eye;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her blanchéd lip is quivering;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;There is no good angel nigh;⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>She falls,—the deep-toned bugle</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Breaks on the quiet air;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Look to the calm blue heaven⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That sound—her soul—are there!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>In the cavalcade she saw him,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In his plumes and armor drest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And more closely to her bosom</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;His treasured gifts she prest;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Her eye met his—’twas finished⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Not a word by tongue was spoken;</p>
-<p class='line0'>A cold glance—a look of passion⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And her heart was broken!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>How common are such histories,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In the cottage and the hall;</p>
-<p class='line0'>From prison bars how many eyes</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Look on life’s carnival!</p>
-<p class='line0'>The joys we seek are phantoms</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That fade ere closed the hand</p>
-<p class='line0'>In the dark reached forth to grasp them,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;But the brain receives their brand.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk118'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='two'></a>THE TWO DUKES.</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 ANN S. STEPHENS.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;'>(Concluded from page 245.)</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The duke saw his wife, and at first seemed willing
-to avoid her, but after moving forward a step or two,
-he turned back, took her hand in his with an energy
-that startled her, and pressing his lips to it, turned
-away and hurried on with the guard still surrounding
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The duchess stood gazing after him, filled with
-strange apprehension. The force with which he
-had wrung her hand was still painful, and there was
-an expression in his face which made her heart sink
-with sad forebodings. What had befallen him?
-Where was her daughter—and why did he, who so
-seldom forgot the etiquette of his high station, take
-leave of her thus, when only going forth for a morning?
-As the gentle and yet proud lady stood pondering
-these things in her mind, the old counsellor,
-whom we have mentioned, returned slowly up the
-corridor, and approaching her with touching reverence,
-told her all. She thanked him, tried to smile
-as she extended her hand—but in the effort her
-strength gave way, and she fell pale and helpless on
-the stone floor. The old man lifted her in his arms,
-and carrying her to the Lady Jane Seymour’s room,
-placed her on the bed, and bathed her temples with
-water, which he laved from a silver basin with his
-hand, till at last he went forth in despair to call
-assistance, for she lay upon the glowing counterpane
-pale and still, like a draped statue reposing in the
-purple gloom which filled the chamber; and for
-many long hours the lady who had always seemed
-so quiet, proud, and almost void of feeling, remained
-as one dead.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was half an hour before Lady Jane was informed
-of her mother’s condition. She was still in her
-father’s closet, with her hand locked in that of Lord
-Dudley, and her large troubled eyes bent earnestly
-upon him, as he spoke to her in a voice so deep, so
-earnest and impassioned, that every tone thrilled
-through her heart with a power that made it tremble.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do not look at me thus. In the name of heaven,
-speak to me, Jane. I have not done this; it is no
-fault of mine. Do I not love you?—ay, and will
-forever! I will follow my father, beseech him,
-kneel to him if needs be, and put an end to this
-dreadful contest; but speak to me first—my own—my
-dearest—say that you will struggle for power to
-aid me that—nay, Jane, nay, do not shrink from me;
-one kiss—one look, to prove you love me as before,
-and I will go at once. All will terminate well—God
-bless you!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As the young man finished his hurried speech, he
-lifted the young girl from his bosom, where she had
-fallen in utter abandonment to her tenderness and
-grief, pressed her forehead with his lips again and
-again—then folding her to his heart once more, he
-carried her to the chair her father had just occupied,
-and placing her within it, was about to leave the
-room. Lady Jane put back the long ringlets that
-had fallen over her face with both hands, and looked
-after him through the tears that almost blinded her.
-Then rising to her feet, she tottered toward him with
-outstretched arms, and when he turned for a last
-look, sprang forward and wound them almost convulsively
-round his neck. It was but the paroxysm
-of a moment, for scarcely did she feel his clasp
-together about her, when she drew gently back,
-checked the tears that gushed into her eyes afresh,
-and spoke breathlessly, as one whose very heart
-was ebbing with the words, as they came laden
-with pain to her lips⁠—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It is in vain, Dudley, all in vain. There have been
-words and deeds, this day, between your father and
-mine, which must separate us forever. Farewell!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He would have expostulated, have soothed her
-with hopes which had no foundation in his own
-mind, for his thoughts were in confusion, and his
-heart seemed ready to break with contending feelings;
-but as he spoke, her slender fingers wreathed
-themselves convulsively around his hand, her face
-was uplifted to his for a moment, and she glided
-swiftly through the door and along the corridor to
-the chamber where her mother was lying, and left
-him standing bewildered and in pain, as if a guardian
-spirit had been frightened from its brooding place in
-his heart.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk119'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In an apartment belonging to that portion of the
-tower occupied by the sovereigns of England sat a
-pale, slender boy reading. The room was furnished
-in a style of magnificence, befitting one of high rank
-and of habits more elegant and studious than were
-usual to the court of Henry the Eighth during his
-reign. The books which it contained were richly
-bound, and some of them encrusted with jewels; all
-had clasps either of silver or of gold, and a portion
-were entirely filled with manuscript in the hand-writing
-of the late King Henry.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Tall windows cut deep into the massive walls in
-one side of the room filled it with light. The massive
-stone sills were cushioned with velvet, and
-upon the cushions, musical instruments of the most
-precious wood and inlaid with gold, had been flung
-down, as if their owner had become weary of one
-amusement only to seek another. The boy arose
-from his easy leathern chair, and moving toward the
-window, ran his fingers thoughtfully over the strings
-of a lute that lay on the cushion, gazing idly through
-the glass at a court below, as he was thus occupied.
-After a moment he sauntered back to the chair, took
-up the volume of manuscript which he had left open
-on a small and curiously carved table standing near
-the window, and sinking once more to his seat he
-began to read again, but the book seemed to fatigue
-him at last, so allowing it to sink, still open, to his
-lap, the youth gradually sank to a fit of abstracted
-musing, and sat with his head resting on his hand,
-and his large eyes fixed dreamily on the face of a
-great ebony clock which stood opposite the window,
-its burnished face glittering through a whole bower
-of carved wood, and its huge pendulum swaying to
-and fro with a dull, sleepy motion, well calculated
-to continue the state of languid thoughtfulness into
-which the youth had fallen.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As King Edward the Sixth—for the boy was no less
-a personage—sat musing, thus languid from ill health,
-and rendered somewhat more sad than usual from
-the manuscript and book which he had been reading,
-a page entered, and before he had time to speak,
-Lord Dudley, son of the reigning protector, followed
-him into the room. The young nobleman looked
-pale and much agitated, and Edward himself seemed
-a little startled by his abrupt entrance, for he was so
-little accustomed to being consulted on matters regarding
-the welfare of his kingdom, that any person
-thus nearly connected with the Lord Protector became
-an object of nervous dread to him; for such
-persons seldom interrupted his retirement except to
-counsel some change of residence, or dictate regarding
-his personal habits, which to a person
-naturally shy, and rendered sensitive by illness, was
-always a subject to be dreaded, but never opposed.
-It was therefore with something of dismay in his
-pale features, that Edward received his visiter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Dudley advanced close to the king’s chair, and
-sinking to one knee, pressed his lips reverently to the
-slender hand which the royal youth extended with
-habitual courtsey, though a languid and deprecatory
-smile, rather than one of welcome, stole over his lip.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My lord,” he said in a voice low and almost
-femininely sweet, “I am not well to-day, but if your
-good father recommends that we remove to Windsor,
-let the household be prepared; he is the best
-judge, though in his strong health and great energy
-he does sometimes tax our weakness a thought too
-far with these sudden removals.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Edward motioned the young nobleman to arise as
-he spoke, and when he still retained a kneeling
-posture, looked in his face with something of astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My liege,” said Dudley in a respectful and low
-voice, “I did not come from my father. Alas, since
-he became Duke of Northumberland and Protector
-of this realm, there has been little of confidence
-between us. I have come to you, my liege, on a
-subject dear as my own life, one which I dare not
-again intrude upon him, though every feeling of
-friendship and honor should make him listen to my
-prayer.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Of what speak you?” said Edward apprehensively,
-while his large eyes wandered from the
-young nobleman’s face to other objects in the room,
-as if he would gladly have avoided any subject of
-interest, “of whom speak you—and of what?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I would speak, my liege, of the duke, your highness’
-uncle, of his suffering wife and daughter, who
-now lie with him, prisoned within these very walls;
-I would claim that justice and clemency at your
-hands, which I have sought and knelt for in vain, at
-the feet of my own father.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The king sank back into his chair, and passed his
-pale hand across his forehead, as if the subject were
-not only a painful one but not entirely comprehended
-in its full import.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We know,” he said at length, “that our uncle
-has been found or thought guilty of many evil practices
-against the good people of our realm, and that
-our present able protector has seen it best to imprison
-him for a season; but we did not know that our
-noble aunt and sweet cousin Jane were the companions
-of his captivity. Pray, can you inform us,
-my good lord, how this all happened? Of what wrong
-has our sweet playmate and cousin been accused,
-that she too must be drawn from her home? His
-Grace of Northumberland forgets that the same blood
-which fills the veins of his king fills hers also; pray
-explain, my lord. We have no power to sift all the
-evil practices of our government, but even his grace,
-your father, must be careful how he deals with one
-of our mother’s house.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The feeble youth became animated with a spirit
-which surprised Lord Dudley, as he uttered these
-words. A bright flush spread over his cheeks, and
-his eyes sparkled with the excitement which sprang
-both from disease and a resentful feeling, perhaps the
-most violent that ever visited his gentle heart. Naturally
-kind and most affectionate in his nature, he had
-always clung with fondness to those members of his
-family connected with his mother, and, since her
-birth, the Lady Jane had been his especial favorite.
-It therefore aroused all the strong feelings of royal
-pride in his heart to hear that a creature so pure and
-delicate had been, through an abuse of power, made
-the inmate of a prison. Nor was he better reconciled
-to the fact when Dudley informed him that it was
-through her own affectionate desire to mitigate the
-confinement of her persecuted parent that she had
-abandoned all to follow him. The youthful monarch
-was touched by an act of devotion such as his own
-heart would have prompted, and he questioned Lord
-Dudley regarding the arbitrary power by which the
-fallen protector had been imprisoned, with a degree
-of energy, and an evident determination to know the
-exact position of affairs, which astonished as much
-as it pleased the anxious nobleman.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Lord Dudley’s was a difficult and painful explanation.
-It was scarcely possible to place the proceedings
-against the Duke of Somerset in a favorable
-light before the young king, without in some degree
-exposing the conduct of his own parent to condemnation.
-Still he had entered the presence of his
-sovereign with a firm resolve to explain all, and
-throw himself and his hopes on the generosity of a
-mere boy, and an invalid, who had ever been completely
-controlled by his guardians, those guardians
-the very men whom he was called upon to
-brave. It was with faint hopes, that Dudley undertook
-this last appeal, when all other efforts to assist
-his friends failed, and when he had done speaking,
-when he saw the feeble youth lying back in his
-chair, pale and exhausted from the emotions which
-his narrative had excited, he felt almost condemned,
-that any motive could have induced him to disturb
-the repose of a being so fragile and sensitive.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My liege, my kind, gracious master,” said the
-young man, starting to his feet as the overpowered
-monarch sank back to his chair, faint, pale, and with
-his golden lashes quivering upon his thin cheeks as
-they closed his eyes; “my gracious king, forgive me
-that I have thus intruded—that for any reason I have
-disturbed a repose which should be sacred to the
-whole nation; but the persecution of a being so fair—so
-good—one whom I have long looked upon as my
-future wife—who is now suffering and in prison”⁠—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Dudley broke off abruptly, for all at once the hectic
-color rushed back into the king’s face, and his
-languid blue eyes kindled with the brilliancy of a
-spirit, for the first time, thoroughly aroused.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Were we indeed a king,” he said, “a true, free
-king as our father was, and not the invalid child
-which men see in us, these things could not happen.
-No man would dare to enter the councils of a nation
-and cast their leaders into prison without the sanction,
-nay, command of his monarch. But, alas! there
-is not in the kingdom a being more completely held
-in thrall than ourself! Until now, we were scarcely
-made aware of the persecution which has been so
-ruthlessly urged against our uncle—but it shall not
-be! The new duke, thy father, must not thus abuse
-the authority with which the council, rather than
-ourself, has invested him!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Edward arose, excited to some degree of strength
-by the indignation of his generous heart, and walked
-up and down the room once or twice, as if to tranquilize
-his spirit, then seating himself once more, he
-requested Lord Dudley to explain the cause and all
-the particulars of Somerset’s arrest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was a difficult task which the young monarch
-imposed on his visiter; for Dudley loved his father,
-and it was impossible to enter into the desired explanation
-without, in some degree, implicating him;
-but a sense of justice, and that true love which
-brought him to Edward’s presence, urged him to
-obedience, and while he so guarded each word as to
-cast as little blame as possible on his own parent,
-he pleaded the cause of his friends with a degree of
-enthusiasm that aroused all the love of justice and
-family affection, which were strong and predominating
-qualities in the heart of the youthful monarch.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Edward sat perfectly still, shading his eyes with
-his small, thin hand, till Dudley had finished speaking;
-and even for several moments after, he remained
-motionless, and as if lost in thought. At last, he
-allowed the hand to drop from his eyes, and looked
-up.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My lord,” he said, in a firm, clear voice, “you
-have acted rightly and well in laying this subject before
-us. Our reign may be a brief one, but it shall
-be marked, at least, by one act of justice. Come
-hither again after nightfall. Meantime we will consider
-the subject and decide what can best be
-done.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Dudley bent his knee reverently, kissed the pale
-hand extended toward him, and left the presence.
-As his fine, healthy form disappeared through the
-door, and the vigorous footfall of youth and firm
-health sounded back from the corridor, Edward
-looked after him, smiled very sadly, and sinking
-down to his chair, exhausted with the scene, murmured:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How well he is! how full of life and hope! and
-I—” He covered his face with both hands, and tears
-trickled through his fingers, till they fell like rain
-amid the sables that lined his robe. “And yet,” he
-added at last, removing his hands and wiping away
-the tears, while a brighter expression stole over his
-face, “and yet I have the power to make him happy—and
-Jane, my sweet cousin. Let me act while I
-have yet strength!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Edward arose once more, unlocked a miniature
-cabinet which stood upon the table, and taking out a
-small golden flask, drank off its contents. The potion
-seemed to compose and strengthen him; a color
-came to his lips, and his eyes had within them that
-strange, glittering fire which springs from artificial
-excitement. A small branch of twisted ebony, hung
-with a cluster of tiny bells, lay upon the table. The
-king took it up, and rang the bells till the apartment
-seemed haunted in every nook and corner with a
-gush of fairy music. As the sound died away, the
-door was opened, and a page presented himself, evidently
-much astonished at the energy with which his
-summons had been rung.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Go to the lieutenant of the tower,” said Edward,
-promptly, as the page advanced to receive his orders.
-“Tell him that the king desires his presence without
-delay.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The boy disappeared instantly; and when his companions
-in the ante-room crowded near to know why
-it was that a sound so full and bold had summoned
-him, in place of the faint, silvery tinkle which
-usually came from the king’s apartment, he put on
-a look of profound mystery, and, after describing the
-change which had come upon his royal master, gave
-it as his decided opinion, that something very tremendous
-and extraordinary was about to happen, but
-what the event might be he was not at liberty to inform
-them. This much he would, perhaps, venture
-to say. The lieutenant of the tower would soon be
-ordered to present himself before the king, and after
-that something might transpire to surprise them all.
-With these profound sayings, the boy departed from
-the ante-room, putting on his plumed cap with an
-important air, and placing a finger to his saucy red
-lips, in token of secrecy, as he looked back in passing
-through the door.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>After an absence of half an hour, the page returned,
-following the lieutenant of the tower, for
-whom he ceremoniously held the door opening to
-King Edward’s chamber. The lieutenant passed in
-to the royal apartment, while his young escort closed
-the door after him, dexterously managing to leave it
-unlatched, and sufficiently ajar to command, for himself,
-a view of all that was passing within, while he
-stood toying with his cap, and, as his companions
-supposed, retaining his station merely to be within
-hearing of the king’s bell.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So little had Edward mingled in the affairs of his nation,
-that, for the first time in his life, he addressed an
-officer of his kingdom in the man who stood before
-him, who stood lost in astonishment at a summons
-so strange and unexpected.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Though a little restrained and shy in his manner,
-from almost constant illness and seclusion, there was
-a degree of quiet dignity about the young king’s
-bearing as he extended his hand to raise the lieutenant
-from his kneeling posture, that well became his
-station and his royal nature.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We have sent to command your presence, sir
-lieutenant, somewhat against our usual habit; having
-been informed, to-day, that our uncle, the Duke
-of Somerset, with the gentle ladies of his household,
-have been placed prisoners under your care. Our
-desire is, that they be discharged the tower, at once,
-and sent, with all due honor in our own royal barge,
-to the duke’s palace on the Strand. You are commanded
-to see to this; retaining only, in pledge, the
-solemn word of our uncle, that he present himself
-before us, his king, in three days, to be confronted
-with his accusers, and to answer the charges brought
-against him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Edward slightly waved his hand, when he finished
-speaking, as if he deemed farther conversation or
-ceremony unnecessary; and, after thus quietly expressing
-his wishes, desired to be alone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The lieutenant was a shrewd man, who held his
-station under favor of Northumberland, and who had
-been taught, like most of his fellow subjects, to regard
-the king as a mere shadow in his own realm.
-He was taken by surprise—so completely deprived
-of all presence of mind, by a command totally unexpected,
-and most important in its nature, that for a
-moment he stood gazing hard upon the floor, completely
-at a loss how to act, or what to say. At last,
-he cast a furtive look on the young monarch, who
-stood tranquilly regarding him, but instantly turning
-his eyes away, again bowed almost to the ground,
-and said, in a soft, deprecating voice, that he would
-mention the king’s desire to the Lord Protector forthwith,
-and that he would, doubtless, sign the order
-necessary for a release of the noble prisoner.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A fire, like that in the eye of an angry falcon, shot
-into the large, blue orbs which Edward fixed upon
-his officer. A streak of crimson flashed across his
-forehead; his slight figure was drawn proudly up,
-and, as his velvet robe, with its heavy facings of
-sables, fell back and swept the floor, there was a
-majesty in his look which well became a son of
-Henry the Eighth. After regarding the confused
-lieutenant a second, with a glance, which made that
-personage more desirous to leave the room than he
-had even been to enter it, the young monarch
-turned away, saying, in the same calm and tranquil
-tone in which his first command had been given⁠—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The King of England will write his own orders—wait.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Seating himself by the table, Edward took up a
-pen, and though his fingers trembled with weakness
-upon the parchment, wrote and signed an order for
-his uncle’s release, the first and last legal document
-that his own free will ever originated. After it was
-written, he took up a small agate cup, perforated in
-the side, and after shaking a quantity of gold dust
-over the damp ink, he folded the parchment and held
-it toward the still irresolute lieutenant. There was
-something in the manner with which all this was
-done; so quiet, so firm and full of dignity, that, in
-spite of himself, the officer was awed by a feeling
-of respect which could not be resisted. Bending his
-knee, he reverently took the parchment, pressed his
-lips to the hand which extended it, and left the presence,
-irresolute how to act, and yet deprived of
-sufficient courage to resist the command of his
-sovereign.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As the page ran forward to open a door which led
-from the ante-room to a corridor, through which the
-lieutenant was obliged to pass, he saw, at the farther
-extremity, the Duke of Northumberland, now Lord
-Protector, moving toward the king’s apartments, followed
-by some half dozen retainers whom he left
-near the entrance, while he advanced to meet the
-lieutenant with a look of surprise and displeasure at
-seeing him there. The page observed that when
-the duke and his officer met, they conversed earnestly
-and with considerable animation together, but in
-low voices, and all the time looking suspiciously
-around to be certain that no person was within hearing.
-They were thus engaged for more than ten
-minutes, while the restless page stood, with the door
-in his hand, regarding them through a crevice thus
-conveniently created to gratify his curiosity.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Now,” said he, muttering to himself as he softly
-swung back the door a little to increase his opportunity
-of survey—“now, if I could but steal through
-without making these rusty hinges sound an alarm,
-it would be rare pastime to creep along the wall and
-hear what treason those lofty old fellows are plotting.
-It is no light matter, I’ll warrant—see, how
-the tall old duke clutches his fingers and bends his
-dark forehead over his eyes till one can scarcely see
-them, beneath the hoary brows—see, his lips are
-pressing hard upon each other like a vice—now is
-his turn to speak—nay, if I were master lieutenant
-now, beshrew me! but I should get away from that
-beautiful old gentleman without waiting to say ‘by
-your leave!’ There he stands, looking the king a
-thousand times more than my young master yonder,
-and I doubt not berating that poor lieutenant, as if he
-were a hound. See, how slowly, and with what a
-manner he lifts that right hand, holding the finger up,
-and shaking it before the poor lieutenant as if it were
-the blade of a dagger. Beshrew me! but I must
-learn more of this game—the corridor is half in
-shadow, and they can but kick me out, like a troublesome
-dog, if I am discovered—so be quiet, latch and
-hinge, if you can, for once.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As the boy half muttered, half thought these words,
-he gently pushed back the door, and was about forcing
-himself through the opening, but a noise, created by
-the rusty hinges, was not the only means of betraying
-his attempt. A space large enough to admit his
-body also served to fling a line of light far into the
-dim corridor, which startled the two persons he was
-regarding more than a noise could have done. They
-both turned and looked keenly toward the door. The
-duke uttered a brief sentence and moved on, waving
-his hand imperatively to the lieutenant. He also
-went down the passage, and passing the group of
-attendants in a hurried manner, disappeared through
-a door at the opposite extremity, through which the
-duke had entered the corridor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Meantime the page, finding himself in danger of
-detection, had escaped to his post near the king’s
-chamber. When Northumberland approached, he
-arose from the bench on which he had flung himself,
-looked up from beneath the feathers of his cap, with
-a sleepy yawn, and moved forward to announce the
-Lord Protector, rubbing his eyes as he went, and
-laughing with silent mischief beneath the concealment
-of his drooping plumes. As the duke passed
-him at the door, he paused an instant and fixed a
-keen glance on his face, which the boy returned by
-taking off his cap, and bending his curly head almost
-to the ground, while, with the most frank and cheerful
-of all voices, he prayed for long life to the noble
-Lord Protector.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>If Northumberland had any suspicion of the boy
-at first, it was half disarmed by that clear voice and
-the handsome face sparkling with intelligence lifted
-to his. There was something mischievous and yet
-affectionate and pleasing in it, which brought a smile
-to his own face as, with careless munificence, he flung
-a piece of gold into the boy’s cap and entered the
-king’s chamber.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The page was not so much elated by the gift but
-that he would have been at his old trick of listening
-once more; but after advancing a pace into the chamber,
-Northumberland turned back, looked at the
-urchin with a half smile, and closed the door himself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A laugh from his companions, who witnessed his
-defeat from another end of the room, sent a flood of
-crimson over the boy’s face, but shaking his curls
-with an air of good-natured bravado, he gave the
-golden coin a triumphant toss, which sent it flashing
-like a star up into the sunshine which poured through
-a neighboring window, and catching it in his hand
-again, sprang forward and joined the laugh merrily
-as the most gleeful among them. Instantly, the noisy
-troop were silenced by a sharp bell-tone from the
-king’s chamber.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Hush!” said the page, balancing the coin on his
-finger and eyeing it with a roguish look as he bent
-his head to listen. “That was the crusty old duke!
-such fellows hate an honest laugh as King Harry did
-holy water! they would keep us cooped up here like
-a flock of pigeons without the privilege of a coo.
-Hark! again, I must keep quiet till the old one is
-away, and then we will try a game of chuck farthing
-in the corridor, if we can get this shiner changed
-into half crowns and farthings.” So, grasping his
-fingers over the gold, the page nodded to his companions,
-leaving them half terrified by the thoughts
-that their merriment had reached—not the king, he
-was too good and lenient to chide them for harmless
-mirth—but the stern duke, whom they all feared beyond
-measure. The page looked back upon them,
-as he entered the chamber, tried to smile and seem
-courageous, though he was half frightened out of his
-wits—and the next instant stood in the presence of
-his sovereign, with his bright, black eyes—half concealed
-by their long lashes—bent to the floor, and a
-brilliant red burning through the ringlets that fell
-over his cheek. He seemed the very picture of a
-living and healthy Cupid in disgrace.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What noise was it that reached us but now from
-the ante-room?” said the Lord Protector, sternly, as
-the boy appeared before him. “Is it with this rudeness
-and riot you surround the chamber of our invalid
-king? Begone, sirrah! strip off the royal livery at
-once and return to your mother, if you have one.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The boy lifted his face to that of the stern duke
-and his cheek dimpled even while it turned white
-with fear, a smile was so natural to it. But when
-the last cruel words were spoken, the long lashes
-drooped over his eyes again and grew heavy with
-moisture. He turned away from the face frowning
-upon him, and, kneeling at the king’s feet, lifted his
-eyes—now full of tears—to those of his master and
-said,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I have no mother.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Edward’s kind heart was deeply touched by the
-sadness with which this was said. He was but a
-youth himself, and forgetful of his dignity and of all
-but the sweet, pleading face lifted to his, he laid
-his thin hand upon the curls which fell back from it,
-and would have kissed the forehead, but an exclamation
-from Northumberland warned him of the impropriety.
-Still the page had seen the impulse and
-the generous tears which filled the mild eyes of his
-master. His young heart swelled with grateful
-affection, and, burying his head in Edward’s robe, he
-sobbed aloud.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Poor boy! he is an orphan like ourself. You
-will not send him hence, my lord duke,” said the
-young king, turning his face with an anxious and
-almost pleading look upon his guardian. “The
-offence was not heavy; and see how penitent he is.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The offence not heavy, my liege?” replied the
-duke harshly, “have I not given orders that no
-sound shall disturb your highness’ repose, and notwithstanding
-this, am I not distracted almost in my
-first private audience by the riotous mirth of this
-urchin and his mates?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Nay, we have ourself somewhat to blame in this—having
-little cause for merriment in our own heart,
-and pining here day after day—for, alas! kings have
-no companions—it has sometimes been a comfort to
-hear the merry laugh of these thoughtless boys—to
-know that cheerfulness is not shut out from our presence
-forever. That health and laughter—which is
-its music—is yet a thing of earth; though, alas! a
-blessing which we may witness, but never enjoy.
-Shut out the sunshine which smiles through these
-windows, the stars which at night time glimmer
-through that narrow line of glass, and which we
-have learned to read when pain has made our couch
-sleepless, till they have become as old friends; break
-yon lute, whose music is to this faint heart like the
-voice of a good child to its parent, and, above all,
-send away the cheerful voices which sometimes fill
-the next room, and you have wrested from the King
-of England the only fragment of his inheritance that
-was ever his.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The page looked up as his master was speaking,
-the tears were checked in his eyes, and he knelt
-breathlessly, as one who listened to the voice of an
-angel. The proud Northumberland turned his eyes
-from the pale, spiritual face of his royal ward, and
-bent them on the floor. There was a look of patient
-suffering in those features which touched his better
-nature; something in the sad, broken-hearted feelings
-which filled that voice, which found a passage
-to his soul, even through the selfishness and ambition
-that encased it. Other thoughts, too, were busy
-in his mind. He had a point to carry with the young
-monarch—a difficult and doubtful one. His animosity
-against the page only arose from resentment, excited
-by his conversation with the lieutenant, and some
-faint suspicion that he had played the listener while
-that conversation was held. A moment’s reflection
-convinced him that to have heard any part of his
-conference, from the distance at which he had caught
-a glimpse of the boy in the corridor, was impossible;
-so, resolving to make his concession the means of
-obtaining a much greater one from the king, Northumberland
-determined to seem won to mercy by
-sympathy and regard for his ward.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>While these thoughts were passing through the
-mind of that crafty man, Edward remained in his
-chair, supporting his head with one hand, while the
-other still lay caressingly, and half buried amid the
-bright ringlets of the kneeling culprit, who gathered
-the royal robe between his small hands, and kissed
-the glowing velvet with grateful eagerness, while
-his bright face was again deluged with tears—such
-tears as can only know their birth in a warm, wayward,
-and affectionate nature.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Forgive the pain my zeal in behalf of a health so
-precarious has occasioned,” said the duke, advancing
-graciously to the king, while his face relapsed
-into one of those bland smiles which sometimes
-beamed like magic over his proud features. “Heaven
-forbid that anything which is dear to your highness,
-however faulty, should be condemned by one
-whose first aim is to render his king happy! Let
-the boy go at once! Far be it from me to desire
-his chastisement. Go, sirrah,” he added, taking
-hold of the boy’s arm and lifting him from his knees,
-but still giving to the action and words a tone of good-natured
-encouragement, “go to the ante-room; here
-is another piece of gold to repay the fright we have
-given you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The page stood up; his checks flushed once more
-beneath the tears that stained them. He looked upon
-the proffered gold, and, with a motion of the head,
-betraying both pride and boyish petulance, seemed
-about to refuse it, but a glance from his master, and
-something in the duke’s eye which awed him,
-checked the resentful impulse, and taking the gold,
-with half muttered thanks, he knelt once more at
-Edward’s feet, kissed the hand which was kindly
-extended, and bursting into tears again, left the
-chamber.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The moment he reached the ante-room, our page
-flung himself on a bench, and burying his face in the
-tapestry that cushioned it, sobbed aloud. His companions
-gathered about him in dismay, anxious to
-learn the cause of his tears; but it was a long time
-before he would reply to their questions. At last he
-started up, dashed the two pieces of gold on the
-stone floor till they rang again, and told his friends
-to take them up—fling them into the court below—toss
-them for farthings—do anything with them—but
-protested that he would never touch them again.
-After this ebullition of boyish wrath, he gave a glowing
-description of the tyranny which had been practised
-upon him by the duke; of the goodness of his
-royal master; and of the great danger which had
-threatened them all. Whereupon, they jointly and
-severally entered into a contract never to laugh again
-during the whole course of their lives—a resolution
-they persisted in keeping for a full half hour, when
-our young hero set them all into convulsions by a
-most ludicrous imitation of the protector’s manner as
-he took leave of the lieutenant. When this new
-burst of merriment died away, the group of youngsters
-stood for a while frightened by their own boldness,
-and expecting each moment to hear another
-summons to the royal chamber; but instead of the
-sound they feared, came another which overwhelmed
-them with surprise. It was the voice of their royal
-master, louder than any one had ever heard it before,
-and powerful with strong feeling. The duke’s voice
-was also heard, sometimes stern and almost disrespectfully
-harsh, again soothing and persuasive, with
-something of that cajolery in its tone which one
-might expect from the hired nurse of a wayward
-child.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>While these unusual sounds were continued in the
-king’s apartment, the pages gradually drew nearer
-to the door, till they could command some broken
-sentences of what was passing within. At length
-the king’s voice grew fainter and less distinct.
-Northumberland now and then uttered a brief sentence,
-and his heavy footsteps were plainly heard
-as he strode up and down the room. At last a sharp
-ringing of the bells sent the listeners to a distant
-part of the room, where they stood gazing in each
-other’s faces, uncertain whether they ought to obey
-the summons or not. Their doubts were speedily
-relieved, for the door was flung open and the Duke
-of Northumberland appeared, looking pale and much
-agitated. He beckoned with his hand, and the page
-that we have mentioned so often entered the chamber.
-He found the king lying back in his chair, faint
-and pale as death; his lips were perfectly bloodless,
-and though he seemed insensible, the silken vest
-worn beneath his robe was agitated by the quick and
-terrible beating of the heart it covered.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>With instinctive affection, the page untied the
-silken fastenings of his master’s dress, and exposing
-the delicate neck and chest, which heaved and throbbed
-as if the heart were forcing a passage through,
-he commenced chafing it with his hands, till the agitation
-became less painful and apparent.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At length, Edward unclosed his eyes and drawing
-his doublet together with a trembling hand, tried to
-sit up. Northumberland advanced and seemed about
-to address him, but he shrank back with a nervous
-shudder. After a moment, he got up again and
-would have spoken, but his lips only trembled; he
-had no strength to utter a word. Northumberland
-walked to a window, where he stood some time with
-his arms folded, gazing gloomily through the thick
-glass. Still the page knelt by his master, chafing his
-hands, and folding the robe over his feet with that
-kind assiduity which bespoke an affectionate nature.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At length Edward spoke, and the duke turned
-eagerly from the window, evidently relieved by this
-proof that his late attack would not be immediately
-fatal.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My lord,” said the king, faintly, “you see how
-impossible it is that this subject can be discussed
-farther. I beseech your grace, have my wishes
-obeyed, both regarding your son and all the parties
-concerned.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Again Northumberland’s brow darkened, and he
-seemed about to expostulate, but Edward looked him
-gravely in the face and added,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It <span class='it'>must</span> be so, my lord duke, or England will not
-brook the imprisonment of a protector who, with all
-his faults, knew how to respect the rights of his
-king.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The color forsook Northumberland’s face, but
-still he frowned and looked unyielding. Edward
-arose feebly from his chair, and leaning upon the
-shoulder of his page, moved toward an inner bed-chamber.
-The duke saw by this movement that all
-hope of further conference was cut off, and feeling
-himself baffled and forced to act against his wishes
-by a mere youth, he once more forgot his usual
-crafty composure and the respect due to his
-sovereign.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My liege,” he said, almost imperatively, “this is
-requiring too much; I cannot grant it.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Edward turned so as to face the angry noble, and
-while still supported by the page, answered mildly,
-but with the same steady will as before,</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My Lord of Northumberland,” he said, “either
-our uncle, the Duke of Somerset, returns to his
-palace to-morrow as we have directed, or on the
-next day he goes there Lord Protector of England.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>With a slight wave of the hand, and with his
-features contracted with the pain which his effort
-to speak occasioned, Edward turned away and
-passed into his bedchamber without waiting for a
-reply, which, in truth, Northumberland was unable
-to give, so completely was he astounded by what
-had already been said.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The page would have called other assistance when
-Edward reached his bedchamber, but the invalid prevented
-him, and after having the points of his dress
-untied, lay down upon the bed, faint and exhausted.
-The boy moved about him with that soft, gentle tread
-so grateful in the chamber of an invalid. He
-smoothed the pillows, drew the counterpane of embossed
-velvet over the recumbent monarch, and,
-taking some scented woods from a closet, flung them
-into a brasier that stood in the fire-place, and nursed
-the flame beneath till the chamber was filled with a
-soft, drowsy atmosphere, grateful to the sense, and
-almost certain to produce tranquil sleep. Then he
-would steal once more to the bed, pull back the
-voluminous curtains, and bend over the pale form
-resting there till his dimpled cheek, so damask and
-healthy, almost touched that of the monarch, and the
-wreath of his bright curls fell amid the damp masses
-of hair which swept over the pillow, in a contrast
-that was lovely and yet painful to behold. When
-satisfied that his master was asleep, the boy stole
-softly from the chamber, as had always been his
-habit, to await the time of his waking in the next
-room. He started with surprise on seeing it still
-occupied by the Duke of Northumberland, who stood
-before the window gazing sternly into the court below,
-and evidently lost in a train of most unpleasant
-thoughts. When the boy entered he started impatiently,
-and, clearing the frown from his face with an
-effort, crossed the room.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Tell your master,” he said, addressing the page,
-“tell your master that his wishes shall be obeyed—say
-that all shall be in readiness by eight this evening;”
-and with these words Northumberland left
-the royal apartments.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Either the protector’s voice aroused Edward, or
-he had not slept, for scarcely was the door closed
-when his voice summoned the page to his bedside.
-When the duke’s message was repeated to him, a
-smile of satisfaction settled on his face, and he sank
-into a tranquil slumber. After awhile those usually
-quiet apartments were full of bustle and preparation.
-Attendants passed in and out; pages were seen running
-to and fro with mysterious faces. More than
-one laden wherry untied its contents at the tower
-stairs, and everything bespoke the approach of some
-uncommon event.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk120'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>One little month had scarcely passed when the
-Duke of Somerset, bereft of wealth and station, sat
-in a gloomy prison room of the tower, expecting
-each moment to be dragged forth to trial, and, perhaps,
-an ignominious death. It was a large room,
-but so dimly lighted that persons sitting together
-looked sallow and careworn in the dusky atmosphere
-that filled it. The very sunbeams forced themselves
-sluggishly through the high window, as if rusted by
-the masses of old iron which blocked their passage,
-and were lost, long before they reached the floor, in
-a web of ragged and dusty cobwebs, which covered
-the ceiling like mouldering tapestry, moth-eaten and
-turning to dust where it hung. There, on the gloomy
-floor of this desolate place, sat the prisoner, striving
-to read by the unhealthy light, which was only sufficient
-to make the effort a painful one. He lifted his
-eyes to the grating with an impatient exclamation,
-and, flinging his book on the floor, began pacing up
-and down the stone flags. Instantly a figure started
-forward from an inner room and lifted the book;
-while the sweet, pale face of Lady Jane Seymour
-was raised for a moment to that of her suffering parent,
-as he moved rapidly up and down the room.
-She laid the book once more upon the flags, and
-exerted all her frail strength to move the chair her
-father had occupied to a station nearer the window.
-This done, she again lifted the ponderous volume
-with her two fair hands, smoothed out the dark letter
-page which had been doubled in the fall, and bearing
-it to the duke, besought him to sit down, while she
-read aloud to him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Somerset paused a moment in his walk, impelled
-by the persuasive but sad tones of his child; but
-confinement had made him irritable; so, extricating
-his disordered cloak from the slight grasp which she
-had fixed upon it, he pushed the book from him with
-a violence which sent it crashing to the floor again,
-and resumed his restless occupation. The book had
-fallen upon the flags, with its broad leaves downward,
-and crushed beneath the heavy binding, that,
-with the ringing of the heavy clasps, as they struck
-the stones, brought another person into the room,
-but so changed, so thin, and broken-hearted in appearance,
-that few persons who had seen the dignified,
-proud, and lovely Duchess of Somerset, in her
-high estate, could have recognised her as she stood
-within the sickly atmosphere of her husband’s dungeon.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The gentle lady moved across the room, her rich,
-but now soiled, vestments sweeping the dusty floor
-as she passed; while her daughter was patiently
-occupied in smoothing the pages which had been
-injured in their fall, and in brushing away the dust
-which they had gathered, she approached her husband,
-placed a hand upon his arm, and looked with
-a sad smile into his face.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The apartment within is less gloomy than this,”
-she said; “come and sit with us; you, who never
-failed to share the sunshine of life with us, should
-not thus brood alone, now that sorrow has befallen
-us. Come!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Somerset turned abruptly from his noble wife, and
-to conceal the emotions her sweet, patient manner
-had awakened, rather than from continued moodiness
-of spirit, he still paced up and down the darkest
-part of his dungeon, with all the appearance of continued
-irritation, for he was ashamed of the tears
-which, in spite of himself, sprang to his eyes on
-witnessing his gentle and yet proud wife so fallen
-and so patient in her ruin.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The duchess was rendered quick-sighted by affection,
-and, speaking in a low voice to her daughter,
-the two left the fallen man to the liberty of grief.
-The room which they entered was scarcely superior
-to the other, but more light was admitted to it; and
-where is the spot so dark, or so full of discomfort,
-that a loving and intelligent woman cannot give
-some domestic charm to it? When the unfortunate
-lady and her still more unfortunate child left their
-palace home, and besought permission to share the
-confinement of a husband and a father, they had
-been permitted to bring a few objects of comfort to
-cheer the desolation which surrounded him. Several
-leathern chairs, and a stool or two, cushioned and
-embroidered by the fair beings who selected them
-for that reason, stood within the room. Lady Jane
-had swept and garnished the stone floor with her
-own delicate hands, all unused as they had been to
-such menial service. A rude table was there, a few
-favorite books lay upon it, and a lute, the companion
-of many a happy, childhood hour, was now taken
-up by that gentle girl, that its sweet tones might
-soothe the moody spirit of the proud man, who
-seemed scarcely conscious of her effort to tranquilize
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Lady Jane knew that it but mocks a broken spirit
-to see anything it loves over-cheerful; so her strain,
-though not gloomy, was touching, and a sad one, so
-sad that her father, as he walked in the adjoining
-room, forgot the selfishness of his sorrow and wept
-like a child, that two creatures so gently nurtured
-should thus inhabit a prison, and, for his sake, exert
-their broken spirits to render it cheerful. After a
-while he entered the apartment where they were,
-and going up to the duchess he bent down and kissed
-her, while his right hand rested on the head of the
-young girl sitting at her feet. Lady Jane lifted her
-grateful eyes to his face and smiled. When her
-father kissed her forehead also fondly, and with the
-affection of former times, a swarm of kindly feelings
-sprang to her heart; her light fingers touched the
-lute again, and a gush of music, not gay, and yet
-scarcely sad, filled the dungeon room. It was a
-home song, such as they had loved in better days,
-and it awoke many pleasant memories; so, amid all
-their sorrows, these three persecuted beings sat together
-in domestic companionship, almost happy. If
-chains were upon them, their love of each other
-twisted a few golden links amid the iron which no
-human power could wrest away.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The memories which the song awakened gradually
-led the conversation to brighter themes, and for
-awhile the inmates of that dungeon almost forgot
-their present condition. They talked of former days,
-and, as they talked, an expression amounting almost
-to a smile rose to the face of the father. The sunshine,
-too, seemed to partake of their joy, streaming
-in more gaily through the narrow window, and playing,
-like a wilful but merry child fitfully across the
-floor; while a bird—a wanderer from green fields
-far away—pausing a moment outside the casement,
-poured forth such a gush of music that it thrilled the
-inmost hearts of the listeners with joy. Could the
-duke have seen them then how would he have
-envied them.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But, as the day wore on, their thoughts once more
-were brought back to the full consciousness of their
-present situation, and again a shadow came over the
-souls of the members of that little family, typical
-of the sunshine which but just before had been
-shining so merrily through the casement, but which
-now had vanished, leaving the dungeon room dark
-and forbidding.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The gloom of coming night at last gathered thickly
-in the dungeon, rendering it still more cold, desolate
-and prison-like. The duke still retained his sombre
-mood and gazed gloomily on the stone flags at his
-feet, while his patient wife sat by his side, her hand
-resting in his, and her sweet, low voice now and
-then whispering words of endearment, such as her
-proud and modest nature had considered too bold at
-any time save when the beloved one was in affliction,
-or in any place except that miserable dungeon
-room. Hers was the love of a true and delicate
-nature. And, like the flame of a lamp which, scarcely
-seen amid the glare of sunshine, grows brighter and
-more vivid when surrounded by darkness, it seemed
-the only faithful or bright possession left to the fallen
-man. Nay, there was yet another, scarcely less
-wretched than himself, or less clinging and affectionate
-than the woman who would have comforted
-him. That gentle girl, still tireless in her wish to
-please, crouched at his feet, and the soft notes of her
-lute stole up tremblingly and thrilled amid the darkness
-which shrouded them all. She felt that her
-father’s thoughts were far from her, that the melody
-which sprang from her weary fingers was all unheeded,
-and yet she played on, glad that in the darkness
-she could weep without being seen. So, as her
-hand wandered over the strings, tears streamed
-down her pale cheeks, unchecked, and fell upon it
-till the fingers were damp as if they had been laved
-in a fountain. Sometimes a sob would escape with
-the tears, but then came a gush of wilder music and
-the voice of her sorrow was concealed by it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The wife still wound her fingers lovingly in the
-prisoner’s hand, grieved that no answering clasp was
-given back, and yet chiding herself for selfishness
-that she could expect to be thought of at such a time.
-The daughter wept on, and still coined her tears into
-music. But the husband and father had become
-almost unconscious of these efforts; he was like a
-caged lion indignant with his keepers, and with his
-heart full of the forest where he had once prowled a
-king. At last there was a sound of feet mustering
-at the prison door. It was about the hour when their
-evening meal might be expected. The little group
-looked listlessly up when the bolts were withdrawn,
-and the glare of a torch fell bright and crimson
-through the door. Somerset started to his feet,
-while the duchess withdrew her hand, and resuming
-her usual air of gentle dignity moved back a pace,
-where she stood pale and composed, ready to receive
-the lieutenant who, for the first time, entered their
-dungeon in person.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My lord duke,” said the lieutenant, addressing
-his prisoner with some embarrassment, but throwing
-into his voice and manner that respectful homage
-which the fallen protector had scarcely hoped to
-witness again; “my lord duke, I am sorry to intrude
-on your privacy, or to interrupt the music with
-which this gentle lady soothes your prison hours, but
-I have orders for your removal to another room.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“To another room!” exclaimed the duchess,
-while her cheek blanched whiter and her voice was
-changed with apprehension, “and we, his daughter
-Lady Jane and myself, surely, surely, we go also!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Not yet, noble lady; the protector has ordered
-it otherwise; but I beseech you take it not to heart,
-the separation will be a brief one,” said the lieutenant,
-bending before the terrified duchess as he spoke.
-“Nay, sweet lady, do not weep,” he continued,
-turning to Lady Jane, who had dropped her lute to
-the floor, and stood directly in the light, with her
-hands clasped firmly together and her tearful face
-exposed; “it pains me to witness such sorrow for a
-cause so groundless. It is but a change of apartments!
-A short time and you will doubtless receive
-the Lord Protector’s sanction to cheer the noble
-duke’s apartments once more; meantime, my orders
-are imperative! My lord duke, I trust that you will
-not be displeased with the change. Permit me to
-lead the way!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I will be ready to attend you in a moment,” replied
-the duke, “but first grant me a moment’s privacy.
-As my return is uncertain, I would take leave
-of the duchess and my child without so many witnesses!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The lieutenant bowed, and withdrawing from the
-dungeon, closed the door. Then all the strong affections
-of his nature rushed back upon the wretched
-duke, for he believed that they were separating him
-from his family forever. He tried to speak, but could
-not; a rush of feelings, that had weighed down his
-heart to apathy before, choked his utterance; a silent
-embrace and the clinging arms of his wife were
-forced from his neck; another embrace, a blessing
-on his child, and before they could cry out or strive
-to detain him, the door swung to with a sharp crash,
-the light disappeared, and those suffering and helpless
-creatures were left alone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mother!” That word arose amid the darkness
-faint and broken with tears.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My child, we are alone!” replied a second
-voice, made strong by the agony of parting.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, not alone, mother, God is with us!” And,
-as she spoke, that noble girl stretched forth her
-hands and groped the way to her mother in the darkness.
-As she passed the lute, which still remained
-on the floor, her garments brushed the strings and a
-tone of music stole through the room—a pleasant
-tone—and it seemed that an angel had answered to
-those trustful words.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The duchess, who had sunk down in agony of
-heart, began to weep when she heard the sound, and
-so, in that dark and lonesome prison room, those two
-helpless beings clung together and comforted each
-other.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>An hour went by, and once more a sound of heavy
-feet was heard outside their dungeon. The bolts shot
-back and a flood of light revealed the duchess sitting
-in the chair left vacant by her husband. Kneeling
-upon the floor, and half lying in her mother’s lap,
-was the Lady Jane; her face had been buried in the
-vestments of her parent, and she had been praying,
-but, as the door opened, her head was thrown back
-and a joyful expression filled the soft brown eyes
-turned eagerly upon the entrance. It was crowded
-with people, and an exclamation of pleasant surprise
-burst from the duchess and her daughter when two
-females entered the dungeon, each with a heavy bundle
-under her arm. In the foremost Lady Jane recognised
-her old nurse, and the other had long been
-chief tyring-woman to the duchess. Never were
-human beings so welcome, never two beings “so
-happy without knowing why,” as these old warm-hearted
-women.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There,” said the nurse, holding the Lady Jane
-in her arms, and kissing her fondly between the
-words; “there, I say, you with the crusty face, roll
-in the coffer—that will do!” she added, as one of the
-men brought in a good sized coffer, which the
-duchess recognised as her own.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Now,” continued the old woman, still with her
-arms around her astonished foster-child, “place that
-mirror on the table; softly, man, softly, you are not
-wielding your iron bolts now, and that silver frame
-is easily bruised if you knock the fillagree work
-about after that fashion!—there, set it down, for a
-bungler as you are; place the lamp in front; be
-careful, knave, you are treading on my lady’s lute—pick
-it up!” The man pushed the lute aside with his
-foot, and set the lamp down without regard to the
-old woman’s order.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“So, you cannot pick up the lute which a noble
-lady has fingered, forsooth! Wait a few days, and
-we shall see you creeping on your knees for the
-honor, instead of standing there with a look as stubborn
-as your own iron bars. Go, bring in the case
-of essence bottles, if that does not prove too heavy a
-task, and then take yourself off, for a clumsy cur; a
-pretty serving-man you would make, I trow!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The man, on whom the old woman’s eloquence
-was exercised, seemed very willing to obey her last
-command. He brought in the case which she had
-desired, and, placing it on the table, left the dungeon
-and was about to lock the door, but just as he was
-closing it a clear cheerful voice was heard in conversation
-with him. After a moment’s delay, the
-half-closed door was swung open again to admit a
-handsome boy in the king’s livery, who carried a
-casket under his arm.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That was well thought of, my pretty page,” said
-the nurse, approaching to take the casket, “but who
-has found courage to break the new protector’s seal?
-If it was you, boy, I only hope that handsome head
-may be firm on your shoulders six weeks hence.
-I would as soon have touched a red-hot coal as the
-bit of wax sticking to the smallest cabinet in the
-palace, and I saw all my lady’s jewels counted and
-locked up weeks ago.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As she spoke, the old nurse allowed the Lady
-Jane to escape from her embrace, while she advanced
-to the page, and would have taken the casket
-from under his arm, but he stepped aside, with a
-roguish toss of the head, and dropping on his knee
-before the young lady, placed the casket in her hand.
-Bewildered, and as one in a dream, she gazed first
-upon the casket, then, wonderingly, on the handsome
-boy at her feet.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What means this?” she said at last, looking
-doubtfully toward the duchess, who sat gazing upon
-the scene with equal wonder. “Our crest is upon
-the lid, but underneath are the royal arms of England.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The duchess arose, and, taking the casket from her
-daughter’s hand, touched a spring. The lid flew
-open, and, with an exclamation of surprise, the ladies
-saw, not their own jewels, but a magnificent suite
-of diamonds which had once belonged to Jane Seymour,
-the Queen of Henry the Eighth; a young creature
-who had perished in giving birth to the present
-king—fortunate, perhaps, in being taken from her
-earthly state before she had learned how terrible a
-thing it was to “outlive her husband’s liking.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What means this—whence came the jewels?”
-exclaimed both ladies at once, turning their eyes
-from the gems that flashed and glowed in the lamplight,
-to the boy who had risen from his knees, and,
-with his plumed cap, was brushing away the dust
-which his vestments had caught from the floor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“They were entrusted to me by my royal master,
-the king,” replied the boy, who paused in his occupation
-and gazed upon the casket, as he spoke, fascinated
-by the rich hues that played and quivered
-about it. “I was bade to deliver them to the Lady
-Jane Seymour—to say that the king desired that she
-would mingle them with the adornments of her fair
-person before she placed herself under the escort of
-the lieutenant, who will be here anon to bring farther
-orders from the Lord Protector.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Before the astonished ladies could question him
-farther, he had obeyed some signal given him from
-the door, and left the dungeon.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was in vain the noble duchess questioned the
-nurse and the tyring-woman. They were too much
-elated to gratify the anxiety of their mistress, even if
-they had not been as much mystified as herself. All
-they could say was, that a messenger had been sent
-from the Duke of Northumberland with orders to
-convey them to the tower; that they were commanded
-to take from the wardrobe, in the palace,
-every thing necessary for the toilet of their ladies.
-Though scarcely half an hour was allowed them for
-a choice, they had filled a coffer, and, with a few
-things hastily collected, were hurried into a barge
-and so to the dungeon of their mistress, scarcely
-realizing how it had all been brought about.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This unsatisfactory information only served to
-increase the excitement already produced in the
-minds of the prisoners; while their attendants were
-busily searching for keys, and smoothing the rich
-vestments that had been somewhat roughly crowded
-into the coffer, they looked on as people in a dream.
-The glare of lights which filled every gloomy angle
-of their dungeon; the velvet robes flung in glossy
-robes over the armed chair; the jewels, twinkling and
-flashing like a cluster of stars, on the table—all
-seemed like enchantment, and they looked on with
-a strange emotion of hope mingled with foreboding
-and almost with affright. Still there was something
-in all that had transpired, calculated to encourage
-more than to depress. So after a few brief words
-of consultation, the mother and daughter sat down
-and permitted the two women to adorn their persons
-without farther question. The duchess was speedily
-arrayed. In spite of her fears, a ray of hope had been
-awakened, and her face, before so pale and care-worn,
-became almost happy in its expression, save that a
-color, far more vivid than was natural to her cheek,
-betrayed the anxious fears that struggled against the
-more hopeful feeling that had sprung to life in her
-heart. She stood by as they wreathed the diamond
-tiara amid the tresses of her daughter’s hair, and,
-with her own fair hand, put back two or three of the
-brown curls where they fell over the young cheek,
-which gradually became warm and damask from the
-influence of anticipations which she could not entirely
-control, and yet which she trembled to encourage.
-How beautiful she looked in her robe of
-glowing velvet, with the tiara which had once
-adorned a queen, shedding its starry brightness amid
-her hair and over that pure forehead. Her neck,
-always beautiful, now gleamed out with more pearly
-whiteness beneath the string of brilliants that shed a
-rich light upon it; and, as the old nurse busied herself
-with the point lace which draped her rounded
-arms, she looked up to her mother, and a sweet, natural
-smile came faintly over her face. The mother
-did not smile, but a brighter expression lighted up
-her eyes, and the two looked almost happy making
-their strange toilet in a dungeon. The nurse had
-taken that little hand, which trembled in her clasp
-with conflicting emotions, and after pressing her lips
-upon the rosy palm, was drawing on the snowy
-glove with its embroidery of seed pearls, when there
-was a sound at the door, as of some person knocking
-against it with his knuckles, and, after a moment, the
-lieutenant of the tower once more presented himself.
-When the duchess advanced eagerly toward him,
-demanding a reason for all that had transpired, he
-answered with the calm politeness which usually
-marked his demeanor, that the Lord Protector
-had given orders that they should be removed to another
-room.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“But, tell me,” said the lady, almost beside herself
-with anxiety, “tell me, is it to the duke—is it
-to my husband you conduct us?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A smile stole up to the lieutenant’s face. It might
-be one of irony aroused by the keen anxiety which
-she displayed: it might be a sign of admiration for
-the two beings that could look so lovely amid the
-gloom of a dungeon; but they could not read its
-meaning, and he would give no other reply to their
-question.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The Lady Jane began to tremble, but she placed her
-arm within that of the duchess, and was supported
-from the dungeon. Her heart died within her bosom
-as she found herself in a long, damp passage, surrounded
-by strange faces, and going, she could
-scarcely dream where. She looked in her mother’s
-face; it had become very pale again, and the arm on
-which she leaned shook beneath the weight of hers.
-All at once, she felt that the train of her dress had
-been lifted from the floor. She looked round, and
-there was that handsome little page grasping the
-folds of velvet in his small hand, while his bright
-face was lifted smilingly to hers. He seemed to
-comprehend and pity the anxiety betrayed by the
-troubled expression of her face, for drawing close to
-her side, he whispered⁠—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Have no fear, sweet lady, there is nothing of
-harm to dread.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sirrah, fall back to your place,” said the lieutenant,
-looking sternly over his shoulder.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The boy shrank back, but not till his words had
-brought comfort to the heart of Lady Jane, and were
-whispered in the ear of her mother.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On they went, through dark passages and gloomy
-chambers;—the flambeau carried by their guard,
-crimsoning the walls as they passed on, and their
-shadows changing, and seeming to dance in fantastic
-groups around them as the lights were tossed upwards
-and flared in the chill currents of air that
-drew down the corridors. At last, they entered a
-large room, lighted up and surrounded by a range of
-cushioned benches, from which some half dozen
-pages arose with great show of respect as the party
-entered. The lieutenant and his officers remained
-standing at the entrance to the room, while two of
-the pages ran forward to an opposite door, which
-they held open as if the ladies were expected to pass
-through. The duchess turned her eyes on the lieutenant,
-uncertain how to act; he bent his head, and
-drawing respectfully back, answered her appeal in
-a low voice.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Lady,” he said, “my charge ends here; pass on
-to the next room, where the king awaits you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The duchess started as she heard this, and grasping
-the hand which rested on her arm, whispered⁠—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Courage, my child, all will be well!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Though taken by surprise, the noble lady had been
-so long accustomed to courts that, in crossing the
-ante-chamber, she resumed the quiet and dignified
-manner which anxiety had previously disturbed, but
-the quick feelings of youth could not be so readily
-controlled, and when the duchess presented herself
-in King Edward’s apartments, the young creature
-leaning on her arm was pale as death beneath all
-the warm glow of her jewels, and trembled visibly
-with suppressed agitation. The duchess cast a quick
-glance over the room. Her husband was there, not
-in his prison garments but robed as became his
-station, and by his side stood the Duke of Northumberland—though
-her heart leaped at the sight, she
-remained to all appearance composed and ready to
-sustain the dignity of her noble house before the
-man who had been its bitter enemy. Lady Jane
-also looked up, and recognised her father, with a
-thrill of joy such as she had seldom known before,
-but instantly the happy glow died from her face, and
-almost gasping for breath she clung to the duchess
-for support. She had seen another face, that made
-her heart tremble as she gazed—a face which had
-haunted her soul with a memory which would not
-be shaken off, but which in darkness and in sorrow
-had clung there as “the scent of roses hangs forever
-around the vase which once preserved them.” It
-was the face of Lord Dudley—the son of her father’s
-enemy. The man whom she had loved with all the
-truth and fervency of a pure and most affectionate
-heart, but from whom she was separated forever.
-Was it strange that her cheek and lips grew white or
-that those heavy lashes drooped sorrowfully beneath
-the look with which he regarded her? a look which
-made her heart turn faint with the memories which
-crowded upon it. She could not meet that glance
-again. Her father, the highborn and persecuted,
-was there, and yet that one look had made her
-almost forgetful of his wrongs.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Before these thoughts could fairly pass through
-her mind, and while the duchess hesitated at the door
-that she might have time to gain something of composure,
-the duke of Northumberland arose from
-his seat with that air of graceful and proud courtesy
-which no man could adopt with so much ease, and
-crossing the room, gave his hand to the duchess,
-inquired kindly after her health, and requested permission
-to lead her before the king, who sat in his
-large easy chair looking almost healthful, and made
-quite happy in the newly aroused power of conferring
-happiness upon others. Edward stood up to
-receive the duchess, and when she would have
-knelt, he took her hand in his and pressed it affectionately
-to his lips.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“His Grace of Northumberland will bear witness
-for us,” he said, “how ignorant we have been of
-all that you have suffered, and how deeply the knowledge
-grieved us when it did come. For our sake
-let all be forgotten; if any power is left to our feeble
-state, these persecutions shall not happen again.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The lady, thus kindly addressed, made a grateful reply,
-which was somewhat restrained by the presence
-of Northumberland. He must have heard all that was
-passing, though his face wore the same bland and
-tranquil smile with which he had first approached her.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>After pressing his lips once more to the fair hand
-in his, Edward turned to the Lady Jane, a smile
-broke over his pale face, and those large eyes,
-usually so regretful and sad in their expression,
-now sparkled with pleasant feelings.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And our sweet cousin,” he said, looking down
-upon her lovely face as she sank to his knees, “methinks
-the prison fare has added to a beauty which
-was bright enough before. Nay, fair one, if you
-must do us homage, another hand must raise you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As he spoke, Edward had extended his hand as if
-to raise the young girl from his feet, but instead of
-this he laid it among the rich tresses of her hair,
-where it rested pale and caressingly lighted up by
-his own princely gift of jewels, and sinking to his
-seat again he bent forward and addressed the wondering
-girl in a low and earnest voice, smiling as he
-spoke, and faintly blushing as he saw that his words
-made the warm color deepen and glow in the cheek
-that had a moment before looked so cold and pale.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Nay, do not rise yet,” he said, checking the
-modest impulse which prompted the bewildered girl
-to seek the shelter of her mother’s side, and as he
-spoke, Edward lifted his eyes from the drooping
-lashes that began to quiver upon the now red, now
-pallid cheeks, and looked expressively toward Lord
-Dudley, still keeping his hand upon the young creature’s
-head. He felt her start and tremble beneath
-his touch as Lord Dudley came eagerly forward, and
-though she did not look up, he knew by the trembling
-of her red lip and the rosy flood that deluged her
-face and neck, that the music of that familiar footstep
-had reached her heart.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Dudley returned the young monarch’s smile, as
-his hand was removed from its beautiful resting
-place, with a look of gratitude, and bending down
-he whispered a few words to the Lady Jane as he
-raised her from the king’s feet. She cast one timid
-glance on his face; it was eloquent with happiness,
-so eloquent that her eyes sought the floor again.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The king looked toward the ante-room and gave a
-signal with his hand. It was obeyed by our favorite
-page, who glided across the room and softly opened
-a door leading to the royal oratory. There, within
-the gleam of a silver sconce which flooded the little
-room as with a stream of moonlight, stood the king’s
-chaplain, in his sacerdotal robes, and with a book
-open in his hand. Upon the marble step at his feet
-lay two cushions of purple velvet fringed and starred
-with silver. Lord Dudley led his trembling charge
-forward, and they knelt down upon these cushions,
-while King Edward and all within the outer room
-stood up. A moment, and the deep solemn tones of
-the chaplain, as he read the marriage ceremony,
-filled the two apartments. The sweet face of Lady
-Jane was uplifted, and the pure light fell upon it, as
-she made her response in a voice rendered low by
-intense feeling—another response, louder and more
-firmly uttered—a benediction—and then Lord Dudley
-led his bride from the oratory.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your blessing, my father,” murmured the half
-happy, half terrified young creature, as she knelt
-with her lord at Somerset’s feet.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The Duke of Somerset bent down, kissed the
-beautiful forehead so bewitchingly uplifted, and
-gave the blessing which made his child happy. The
-duchess smiled, and wept amid her smiles.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ah, Jane,” she murmured, fondly putting back
-the ringlets her own hand had arranged, “ah, Jane,
-we little thought this evening would end so happily.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The king stood by, and turned away to conceal the
-pleasant tears which filled his eyes.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“One thing more,” he said, “and our slumber
-will be sweet to-night;” as he spoke, the royal youth
-advanced to “The two Dukes,” where they stood
-side by side, and linking their hands together, placed
-his own upon them.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Be friends,” he said, “the kingdom has need of
-you both.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Edward felt their hands beneath his clasped together,
-and was satisfied. He was young, full of
-generous impulses, and believed that two ambitious
-men toiling for the same object <span class='it'>could</span> be friends.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk121'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='wife'></a>THE ABSENT 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='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>At twilight’s soft and gentle hour</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When shadows o’er the dull earth creep,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And nature feels the soothing power</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of coming night and balmy sleep⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>When the tired laborer hastens home</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;His wife and little ones to kiss,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And the young beauty anxiously</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Awaits love’s hour of dream-like bliss⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>When nest-ward hie both bird and bee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My fondest thought is still for thee!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Again at midnight’s solemn hour,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When eyes are closed and lips are still,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And Silence, like a spirit’s form,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Rests sweetly on each vale and hill,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When Love and Grief sit side by side</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Around some sinking sufferer’s bed,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Or Crime in shadow seeks to hide</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A form to every virtue dead,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>E’en then in dreams thy form I see,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Or waking fondly turn to thee!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>At rosy morn, when like a gleam</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From some far brighter sphere than ours,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The sunlight with its golden sheen</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Awakes the world and tints the flowers⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>When birds their tuneful numbers raise</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And chant a welcome to the dawn,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When Nature lifts her voice in praise,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And day, creation-like, is born⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then, when are hymns from land and sea,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I bow to Heaven and think of thee!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>My lonely room—my quiet hours,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No hand to press—no voice to cheer,</p>
-<p class='line0'>No form to meet in Pleasure’s bowers,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No song to melt the soul to tears⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>No welcome home with looks of joy,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No gentle song to tell of love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>No day-dreams of our cherished boy,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No child-like eyes to point above⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>No hand to soothe the ruffled brow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Alas! how much I miss thee now!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Pity the wretch, who, doomed to roam</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From day to day this lower sphere,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unloved by any—loving none,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Still wasting on from year to year,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As lonely as some twinkling orb</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That trembles in the distant sky,</p>
-<p class='line0'>A watcher mid the hosts of night</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With none to share its company⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unloved while living, and when dead,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With none a heart-wrung tear to shed!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Alas! how cold and desolate</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The path of such a one must be,</p>
-<p class='line0'>How dim his hopes—how sad his fate,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;How cheerless his lone destiny!</p>
-<p class='line0'>No eye to mark each changing look,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No lip his fever’d brain to press;</p>
-<p class='line0'>No gentle one in whisper low,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With kindly words his ear to bless,⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>To point his thoughts from earth to sky,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And paint some bright Futurity!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Why do we live? Affections—ties</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That well and form within the breast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That intertwine our sympathies</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With hopes and joys that make us blest⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>These point the panting spirit up</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To milder realms beyond the skies,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And whisper to the trembling soul</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;New bliss awaits in paradise!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! what were life with love away,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where earth its bound—its limit clay!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Then soon return, fond one, return,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thy greeting shall be kind and true,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Love’s lamp again shall brightly burn,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And life its purest joys renew!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! absence, like the clouds that throw</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thick shadows o’er the summer sky,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But, passing, leave a brighter glow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A deeper, purer blue on high:</p>
-<p class='line0'>So now I wait the passing gloom,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That light again may gladden home!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk122'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='song'></a>SONG.</h1></div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! sing unto my soul, my love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That all-entrancing lay,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Such as the seraphim above</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Are singing far away⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>It comes as some familiar strain</p>
-<p class='line0'>Once heard in heaven, now heard again.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>For sure—as olden sages tell⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We are not all of earth:</p>
-<p class='line0'>The soul, by some mysterious spell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Has glimpses of its birth;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And memories of things divine</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thrill o’er me at that voice of thine.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>They come as half-forgotten dreams</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From that eternal land,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The sounds of its celestial streams,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The shores of silver sand,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The angel faces in the air⁠—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Oh! sing, and waft my spirit 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;A. A. I.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk123'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='rev'></a>REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.</h1></div>
-
-<hr class='tbk124'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Zanoni, a Novel. By the Author of “Pelham,” “Rienzi,”
-&amp;c. Two Volumes. Harper &amp; Brothers.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A few years ago, in the first volume of “The Monthly
-Chronicle,” a tale, or rather the fragment of one, appeared,
-professedly from the pen of Bulwer. But the story defied
-critical as well as common sense to understand it. It
-opened abruptly and closed abruptly. It had, properly
-speaking, neither beginning nor end. It was incomprehensible.
-By general consent, “Zicci” was regarded as a
-freak of the author—its only merit was the novelty of having
-no merit at all. After being the jest of the reviewers
-for years, this story has been completed, and now lies before
-us, under the altered name of “Zanoni.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The idea of the novel is borrowed from the dreams of the
-old Rosicrucians, and of the predecessors of that sect as
-far back as the Chaldeans. These visionaries imagined
-that man, by a rigid practice of virtue and the sublimation
-of every earthly feeling, could attain to a perfect comprehension
-of the most hidden secrets of nature—could hold
-communion with, and exercise control over, the unseen
-powers of the air—and could even preserve human life to
-an indefinite extent, by acquiring the means by which it
-might be perpetually renovated. The story opens at Naples,
-towards the close of the last century. The hero is a
-noble Chaldean, who, having attained to the knowledge of
-this last secret of his sect while yet in the prime of youthful
-manhood, wears now the same aspect as when he gazed
-on the stars from his home in Assyria, before the temple
-had been built on Mount Zion—before the Greeks had
-fought at Marathon—before the builders of the pyramids
-had died. To an imaginative mind, such a character possesses
-peculiar charms. He comes before us with all the
-solemnity of the past, making vivid to us the great deeds of
-buried ages. He has seen the army of Alexander on the
-Indus. He was in Egypt when Antony’s fleet set sail for
-Actium. He remembers when Demosthenes thundered for
-the crown, when Cæsar fell in the Senate House, when
-Rome was sacked by Attila. For three thousand years he
-has gazed on mankind with a face as unchanging as that
-of the weird Sphinx of the desert. For ninety generations,
-he has survived war, and pestilence, and the slow decay
-of the system,—a being mysterious in his subtle power,
-wonderful in his awful and majestic beauty. This exemption
-from death he has won by the subjugation of every
-feeling and passion to the mastery of a <span style='font-size:smaller'>PURE INTELLECT</span>.
-But still retaining his <span class='it'>youth</span>, he retains the capacity to <span class='it'>love</span>;
-and though, for such a lapse of ages, he has withstood
-temptation, he is destined at last to yield to it. He meets
-with and loves a beautiful Italian girl. He thus endangers
-his earthly immortality; for the moment he yields to earthly
-passion, however pure, his intellect becomes clouded, and
-he loses the prophetic faculty as well as others of his high
-attributes. Conscious of this, and knowing that he will
-bring peril and sorrow around the path of Viola by linking
-her fate with his, he struggles long against his passion, and
-even after yielding to it, endeavors to avert from her head
-the dangers which, as consequences of his conduct, thicken
-around her. In this Titanic conflict betwixt the intellect
-and the heart—in the alternation of the aspirations of the
-one and the agonizing throes of the other, lies the <span class='it'>burden</span>—as
-the old writers would call it—of the novel.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The idea, as thus stated, is simply grand. It has a
-unity that overpowers us. Had the author contented himself
-with merely developing this idea, omitting every thing
-which had no necessary bearing on the <span class='it'>dénouement</span>, he
-would have produced an almost faultless story. But he
-has, in a great measure, failed in carrying out his conception.
-He has weakened the effect by diverging from the
-<span class='it'>burden</span> of the story. As the novel has been circulated in
-various cheap forms throughout the country, we shall take
-it for granted that our readers have perused the book. This
-will save us the necessity of recapitulating the plot as the
-basis of our remarks.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The plot is grossly defective in several important particulars.
-Many even of the leading incidents have no
-bearing on the <span class='it'>dénouement</span>. The compact betwixt Zanoni
-and the <span class='sc'>Evil Eye</span>, at Venice, is of this character. The
-author’s original intention was to make the condition exacted
-from the husband play a prominent part at the crisis;
-but he subsequently changed his mind, and brought about
-the <span class='it'>dénouement</span> by other means, forgetting, however, to
-rewrite this scene, so as to adapt it to the altered aspect of
-the story. The <span class='sc'>Evil Eye</span>, when he comes to assert his
-rights, is cavalierly dismissed, in a very inartistical manner.
-It would have contributed far more to the unity of effect of
-which we have spoken, if the author had pursued his original
-design, and made the condition exacted from Zanoni,
-the sacrifice of his own life, when, at any future period, he
-should wish again to preserve the life of Viola. By following
-out this plan, Bulwer would have been saved the necessity
-of introducing the sanguinary scenes of the French
-Revolution; and the crisis would have been brought about
-in a far more natural manner than it is at present. The
-introduction of Robespierre and his associates is <span class='it'>forced</span>;
-it renders involved an otherwise simple and effective plot.
-We are astonished that an adept in Art, such as Bulwer
-professes to be, should have committed a blunder for which,
-if he had been a schoolboy, he should have been soundly
-whipped. If he intended to enlist and keep up the interest
-of his readers in his two chief characters, why has he distracted
-the attention by the introduction of The Reign of
-Terror, that most real of tragedies, whose horrors exceed
-anything that romance can imagine, whose thrilling story
-stops the pulsation of the heart for anything less terrible?
-The mind should have been left undistracted to contemplate
-the stern, Doric self-sacrifice of Zanoni! The author
-should not have sacrificed the unity of effect for the dying
-struggles of Robespierre, or any other human butcher in
-the blood-bespattered shambles of Paris. We can see
-what misled Bulwer. Not satisfied with the grandeur of
-his original conception of the <span class='it'>dénouement</span>, he sought to increase
-the interest by the clap-trap effect of rapidly shifting
-the perilous incidents in which all the chief actors are
-involved. This is a trick he has learned behind the foot-lights,
-and not in the study of the great old masters.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There are numerous minor errors in the plot. Glyndon’s
-<span class='it'>liaison</span> with Floretta does not advance the story, and the
-only part she plays in evolving the crisis, is the betrayal of
-Viola at Paris. If the plot had been handled properly,
-there would have been no necessity for her agency here.
-But the desire to paint mere sensual love, in this character,
-induced Bulwer to patch her into the tale. He has been
-persuaded, from the same reason, to introduce other unimportant
-characters we might name. In short, his motley
-array of personages reminds us of Burke’s graphic picture
-of Chatham’s last piebald ministry, where he compares it
-to a piece of mosaic, “here a bit of black stone and there
-a bit of white,” and humorously depicts the consternation
-of men, who had been all their lives libelling each other,
-on finding themselves “pigging together in the same
-truckle-bed.” In like manner the robber figures in the
-scene. So do Mervale and that worthy shrew his wife.
-These are all gross faults; for the necessity of preserving
-that oneness and entireness of effect, of which we have
-spoken so much, exists in peculiar force in a highly imaginative
-work like this. The introduction of supernal agents
-is, at all times, a dangerous experiment; and, when they
-are introduced, the illusion is to be kept up at every sacrifice.
-This can scarcely be done where the reader listens
-on one page to the converse of immortal powers, and on
-the next to the wrangling of a cross, sleepy wife with a
-drunken husband—when we are hurried from the lofty
-aspirations of Menjour and Zanoni, to the silly love toying
-betwixt Glyndon and Floretta. This brings us to another
-error in the author—an error which lies at the very bottom
-of all his errors.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The subject is unfit for prose. It properly belongs to the
-drama. The true province of the imagination is poetry,
-and although this divine faculty may stoop to prose, it can
-never truly shine but in the celestial garments of the muse.
-We do not deny the impossibility of treating an ideal theme
-in prose—we only assert the superior advantages which
-poetry affords for the same object. Transitions may be
-tolerated in the drama which should be anathematized in
-prose. But, above all, poetry would favor the preservation
-of the illusion to which we have already referred. The
-<span class='it'>tone</span> of a story such as Zanoni is, could be better preserved
-in poetry. The idea of the tale is inexpressibly grand, and
-might have been worked out with terrible effect. The
-struggle in Zanoni’s mind betwixt his love for Viola and
-his longing for an earthly immortality would have produced,
-if evolved by a master hand, a tragedy equal to Manfred,
-Faust, we had almost said Prometheus.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But we have said enough under this head. Let us look
-at the characters.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Of Zanoni we have already spoken. His character belongs
-to a lofty region of the ideal. The conception of
-Pisani, also, is highly imaginative. He comes in, at the
-opening of the tale, with the same effect with which a fine
-overture precedes an opera. He prepares the mind, by his
-unearthly music, for the mysteries that are to follow. His
-barbican, his solitary life, his dreams of wild figures and
-wilder music in the air, entitle him to a high rank in the
-ideal. What a grand thought is that which represents him
-at the theatre, mechanically performing his part, while all
-the time his soul is thinking of his beloved opera, so that
-often, unconsciously to himself, he bursts out into its weird
-and startling music!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Viola, the impersonation of the purest love, unalloyed by
-any sensual feeling—Glyndon, the weak, vacillating, yet
-aspiring man—and Menjour, the embodiment of mere intellect,
-apart from any influence of the heart, good or bad,
-are well drawn characters—<span class='it'>of their kind</span>. Their fault is
-that they have no individuality. All Bulwer’s personages
-partake of this error. There is not, in his numerous novels,
-a single personage whom we can look back on as on a real
-individual. Falstaff and Nicol Jarvie are so life-like that
-it seems as if we had drunk canary with the one, at the
-Boar’s Head, and “had a crack” with the other, on the
-causeway of Glasgow. Bulwer’s characters have none of
-this personal identity—they are only embodiments of certain
-passions or peculiarities. His actors are like the
-knights of Spencer, mere stalking horses for particular
-vices or virtues—or, like a wigmaker’s block, the representative
-in turn of the heads of all his customers. Every
-personage in Zanoni, without, as we remember, a <span class='it'>single</span>
-exception, is thus ticketed for a particular vice or virtue,
-like passengers in a railroad car. Now, we do not object
-to the introduction of these personages if they are
-necessary to the plot; but, for heaven’s sake, Mr. Bulwer,
-give us something more than mere automatons! Don’t
-ask us in to a second Mrs. Jarley’s wax-works!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We have spoken, in terms of high praise, of the character
-of Zanoni. We have, however, said that the theme
-was more adapted for poetry than prose. Having chosen
-prose, the author has erred in calling his book <span style='font-size:smaller'>A NOVEL</span>.
-Let us be understood. Feeble as is the province of prose
-to do justice to so ideal a character as Zanoni, we do not
-base our present objection to the book on that ground. It
-is one of the inalienable rights of man to show his ignorance,
-to make a blunder, or in any other way to play the
-fool. This is not the question now. The work before us
-purports to be a novel, and nothing but a novel. It might
-have been named a romance, a mystery, or the Lord knows
-what! But it is put forth as a novel, under the <span class='it'>imprimatur</span>
-of the writer of “<span class='sc'>Art in Fiction</span>,” of the man who sets up
-to be the high priest of the synagogue! Is it such?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A novel, in the true acceptation of the name, is a picture
-of real life. The plot may be involved, but it must not
-transcend probability. The agencies introduced must belong
-to real life. Such were Gil Blas and Tom Jones,
-confessedly the two best novels extant. Whether the title
-was properly applied, in the inception, is not the question.
-Usage and common sense have affixed a definite meaning
-to the word. When authors cease to paint real life they
-cease to write novels. The tales may be very good of their
-kind, but they are no more novels than a sirloin is a mutton
-chop, or than Bulwer is the artist he pretends to be.
-Judged by this standard, Zanoni is not a novel. There
-are pictures of real life in it; but to paint society, <span class='it'>as it is</span>,
-was only collateral to the chief aim of the work.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We say nothing of the moral of the story; for all that is
-truly noble in Bulwer’s imaginary doctrines of the Rosicrucians
-is stolen from the pure precepts of our holy religion.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The English of the author is neither better nor worse
-than in his former novels. His language was always inflated,
-often bombastic. He personifies as desperately as ever.
-His allegories are as plentiful as Sancho Panza’s proverbs,
-or as an old maid’s ailings. The same straining after effect,
-the same attempts at fine writing which were such glaring
-defects in his former novels, are here perceptible. Through
-every line, the author looks out, eager, like Snug the joiner,
-to tell you he is there.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There are many fine thoughts, nevertheless, in these volumes;
-and, on the whole, the book is a valuable addition
-to our imaginative literature.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>If we have dwelt longer on the faults than on the merits
-of “Zanoni,” it is because the latter are more apparent to
-the popular eye. We have dealt out, however, even-handed
-justice to the book, since the province of a critic is
-not that of the state advocate, who argues only on one
-side, but rather that of the judge who sums up the case,
-and of the jury who are sworn “a true verdict to give
-according to the evidence.” With this remark, we leave
-“Zanoni” to its fate.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk125'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Poets and Poetry of America, with an Historical Introduction.
-By Rufus Willmot Griswold. One vol. Carey
-&amp; Hart: Philadelphia.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This is the best collection of the American Poets that
-has yet been made, whether we consider its completeness,
-its size, or the judgment displayed in its selections. The
-volume is issued in a style commensurate with its literary
-worth. The paper, type and printing are unexceptionable.
-Messrs. Carey &amp; Hart have, in “The Poets and Poetry of
-America,” published the finest volume of the season.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The editor begins his selections of American Poets with
-Frenau, prefacing them, however, with an historical introduction
-evincing considerable research. In this introduction
-he shows that, prior to the revolution, the pretenders to the
-muse in the colonies scarcely rose to the level of versifiers.
-From Frenau downwards, the chain is kept up to the
-youngest poet of the day. About eighty-eight authors are
-embraced in the body of the work. To the selections from
-each author is prefixed a short but clear biography. The
-editor has not always been guided, in making his selections,
-by the relative merit of the various authors, but, in
-cases where the writers have published editions of their
-poems, he has been less copious in his extracts, than when
-the poet has left his works to take care of themselves.
-Thus we have the whole of Dana’s “Buccanier,” of Whittier’s
-“Mogg Magone,” of Sprague’s “Curiosity,” and of
-Drake’s “Culprit Fay.” Most of C. Fenno Hoffman’s songs
-are also included in the collection. But Pierpoint’s “Airs
-of Palestine,” are excluded, as are the longer and best
-poems of Willis. At the end of the volume is an appendix, in
-which about fifty writers, whom the editor has not thought
-worthy of a place in the body of his book, figure under the
-name of “Various Authors.” Such is the plan of the work.
-A word, in detail, on its merits.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We have said that this volume is superior to any former
-collection of the American Poets, whether we regard its
-size, its completeness, or the taste displayed in the selections.
-This is our <span class='it'>general</span> opinion of the book. We do
-not, however, <span class='it'>always</span> coincide with the judgment of the
-editor. There are several writers in the Appendix who
-have as good claims to appear in the body of the work, as
-others who figure largely in the latter more honorable station.
-There are many mere versifiers included in the selection
-who should have been excluded, or else others who have
-been left out should have been admitted. Perhaps the
-author, without being aware of it himself, has unduly
-favored the writers of New England. Instances of all
-these faults will be noticed by the reader, and we need not
-further allude to them.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The editor has scarcely done justice to some of our
-younger poets, either in his estimate of their genius, or in
-his selections from their poems. A glaring instance of this
-is the case of <span class='sc'>Lowell</span>, a young poet, to whom others than
-ourselves have assigned a genius of the highest rank. We
-would have been better pleased to have seen a more liberal
-notice of his poems. We know that, with the exception of
-“Rosaline,” better selections might have been made from
-his works. A few years hence, Mr. Griswold himself will
-be amazed that he assigned no more space to <span class='sc'>Lowell</span>
-than to M’Lellan, Tuckerman, and others of “Οι Πολλοι.”
-Holmes is another instance of the injustice done an author
-by the editor’s selections. The author of “Old Ironsides”
-has written better poems than that, all about the old man,
-of whom</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“My grandmamma has said—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Poor old lady! she is dead</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Long ago—</p>
-<p class='line0'>That he had a Roman nose,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And his cheek was like a rose</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;In the snow.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>And again,</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“I know it is a sin</p>
-<p class='line0'>For me to sit and grin</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;At him here,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But the old three-cornered hat,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And the breeches—and all that,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Are so queer!”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Little more can be said in the way of criticism, unless
-we should follow up these remarks by further examples in
-detail. For this we have no inclination, since, after all,
-the book, as a whole, is one of high merit; and, from the
-very nature of the work, it is impossible for an editor to
-produce a faultless volume. A thorough analysis of the
-book might induce many, whose minds are not comprehensive,
-to think it a bad, instead of what it really is, a good
-work.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk126'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Two Admirals, a Tale, by the Author of “The Pilot,”
-“Red Rover,” &amp;c., &amp;c. Two Vols. Lea &amp; Blanchard:
-Philadelphia.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Mr. Cooper</span>, in the book before us, has re-asserted his
-right to the rank of the first living American novelist. The
-“Two Admirals” is not inferior to the best of his works.
-The scenes are described with that graphic force for which
-our author is distinguished above all writers of sea-tales.
-The two combats betwixt Sir Gervaise Oakes and the
-French fleet are told with unusual power. But there is
-nothing like character in the tale, and the plot is shamefully
-commonplace. Mr. Cooper seems to be aware of his
-want of ability to write a story, or paint a character, and
-he therefore wisely expends his whole strength on particular
-incidents and scenes. In his line he is without a rival
-here or in Europe.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk127'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Poetical Works of John Sterling. First American
-Edition. One vol. Herman Hooker: Philadelphia.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Every man of taste will rejoice at this collected edition
-of the poems of Sterling, the “Archæus” of Blackwood.
-To Rufus W. Griswold, the editor, and Herman Hooker,
-the publisher, the American public is indebted for this
-edition of the works of one of the most pure, delicate,
-fanciful, and idiomatic, of the poets of the present day.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk128'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Essays for Summer Hours. By Charles Lanman. Second
-Edition. Boston: Hilliard, Grey &amp; Co. London: Wiley
-&amp; Putnam.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>These essays are distinguished by grace, sweetness, and
-graphic force of language. The author is a devout lover of
-nature in all her moods, but especially in her more quiet
-aspects. He has produced a book which will be no discredit
-to him.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk129'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Tecumseh, or the West thirty years since. A Poem. By
-Geo. H. Colton. Wiley &amp; Putnam: New York &amp; London.
-Moore &amp; Wiley: Philadelphia.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This book is an elegant specimen of American typography.
-Of the merits of the poem we shall not speak until
-July, when we trust to have leisure and space for the task.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk130'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><a id='fash'></a></p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i126.jpg' alt='three ladies and a gentleman dressed in latest fashion' id='iid-0003' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk131'/>
-
-<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 hyphenation have been retained. Obvious
-punctuation and typesetting errors have been corrected
-without note.</p>
-
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-
-<p class='noindent'>A cover was created for this eBook and is placed in the
-public domain.</p>
-<p class='noindent'>[End of <span class='it'>Graham’s Magazine, Vol. XX, No. 6, June 1842</span>, George R. Graham, Editor]</p>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, VOL. XX, NO. 6, JUNE 1842 ***</div>
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