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L/ J C-
C&\7
%
THE
COBNHILL MAGAZINE,
VOL. XIII.
^7^ rlifit ofpvblithing TVaiitlafioiM of Artii^a in thit iltigaxint it rettrvecl,']
^
1 THE
1
1
f
COKNHILL
M A G AZ I S^ E.
VOL. XIII.
JANUARY TO JUKE, 1866.
LONDON:
SMITH, ELDER & CO., 65, CORNHILL.
186G.
itUiiun
COOTENTS OF VOLUME XOl
Wi^xs AND Dauoutebs. An Evkbx-day Stors,
Chapter LX, BageiHaialey'8C(»ife8siDii(wittiaNotebjr theEditur) 1
Ap.-'^iau.u.e:. BjAVilHe CoUins.
Chapter
XI.
xn.
xm.
XIV.
XV.
Chapter I.
Book thb Foubib-
LoTO and Law
continaed.
81
A Scandal at the StatioQ „ - 89
An Old Han'B Heart .„ 90
Miss Gwilt*8 DiBiy._ tU
The Wedding Day „- 91«
Book tub Fitth.
Miss GwUc's Diary..
Chapter
Chapter
U.
m.
I.
II.
m.
(oMtiHtied) _
The Diary Continued __
The Dioij Broken oS
.... S39
... 439
.„ 443
... 4G1
.,.. 573
(conlinued)
Book the IaAMt.
At tho Terminns. 5D7
In tbe Honse 602
Tbo Purple Flask 683
'J'!!^ Clavebisos. Bj
Chapter
I.
II.
lU.
IV.
V,
VI.
VII.
VII [.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
Xlli.
XIV.
flt
XV.
Efilooub.
L News from Norfolk „ 7 tS
II. Midwinter ._ 713
By Anthony Trollope.
Julia Braliazon 129
Harry ClaTCring chooses his Profession 185
I^rd Ongsr 145
Flimonce BnrUrn _ 257
Lady Ongar's Itetnm 26fi
liov. Samnel Saul - 274
Some Scenes in tho Life of a Coimtcsu SSS
Tbe Honse in Onslow Creiswiit 394
Too Prudent by Half 402
Florence Burton at tbo Iteetory C13
Sir Hugh and bis Brother Archie E21
Lady Ongsr takes I'oasession S3^
A Visitor ealla at Ongar Park (141
Connt PaterofE and his Sister 647
An Evening in Bolton Street ». 6G0
Vi CONTESTS.
Amorican Humour ..,_ - -,..._...„._.— „_ S8
Andent FcQians and Peniaa Litcratuni 121
Arnold (Uattliew):— My CountiTinMi ^ 133
Tho Study of Celtic Literature. Piirts I— UI. ....232, 463, 538
AuBtralio, A I*tlcr from a Conrict (in) to a Brother in England iS3
Amtralian's (An) Impressions of England 110
Biukct, Eccentricities in a __ 3 1.5
Bourbon, Cetlierinc dc 213
Cameron, Captain : lu CaptLvil y C33
Canal, A Visit to the Suci. OVilh Map) 3G3
Catherine do Bourbon.. „ _ 213
Cattle Plagne, Notes on tho 297
Celtic Literature, the Study of. By Matthew Arnold. Parts I— HI S82, 4G9, 538
Ceremonies of the Jewish Kcligion sai
Christmas, Thoughts in Italy about IG
Ciodcrolia.... 721
CouTicl's (A) Letter from Australia to a Brother iu Eujjlanil 499
Conntijmco (My), By Matthew Arnold ., 153
Culture, tho Modern Doctrine of 434
I>ante, Re-discovery of his Benmns at Eavcnna C65
Deadly Sins, The Old Poets on tho Seven C24
Eccentricities in a Basket 345
England, An Australian's Impressions of 1 10
Esther. No. IT 228
Exhibition, The National Portrait .,„. 743
Ecnians and Fenian Literature, The Aneicot 131
Firelight, Told in the ._ - 484
Funeral (Tho Second) of Napoloon. By Micliacl Augclo Titmarxh 48
Geneva, Modem - .'. 409
German Life (A) before the Peace of 1815 675
Greek Qnarnntinc, (My) Experience in a 173
nouses. Old - 611
HamouT, American... 23
Impressions of England, An Auatmlian'a ., no
In Captivity. By Captain Cameron _. C39
Information, Superior „ _ 4,^0
Italy, Thoughts (iu) about Christmas , 16
Jacques in the Forest _„ „ „ 3(i7
Jewish Bcligion, The Ceremonies of the 221
Jews' Wailing-Placc, Jeruaakm „ .,...„. 210
CONTENTS. Tii
Tmso
lADgtuge and Thongbt - - S67
Letter bxaa ft CoDTict ia Anatnlia to b Brother in England 469
Literalnre, The Stndy of Celtic. By Matthew Arnold. Parts I— HI „...282, 4C9, S38
Ancient Fenian - - 121
Uichael Angdo Titmanh : The Second Funeral of Napoleon, 1ij 49
Uodem Uoctrioc of Cnltnro - 43-1
Modem Genera 409
Mj Conntrj-men. By Matthcv Arnold 133
Najnicoi], Tbc Second Fnneral of. By Michael Angcto Titninnh 48
Kuional Portrait Eshibition „ 743
>'oU3 on the Cattle Flngne 297
Oldllonaca ^ 611
Old Poeta (The) on the Seven Deadly Sins „ „. 624
rortroit Exhibition, The National 743
Qnaroutine, (My) Experience ina Greek 173
Recollections of Waterloo by a SnndTing Veteran 44
Jt«-disco«ry of Dante's liemsioa at Ravenna 665
RehgtoD, The Ceretnonies of the Jewish 221
Socond Fimcnil of Napoleon. By MiiU.iel Angclo Titm.irali .„. 48
Seven Deadly Sins, The Old ToeU on tlie 624
Sleeping Beauty in llic Wood 5SC
Strange Story ., , .„. 017
Stndy (The) of Celtic Literature. By Matthew Arnold. I'arla I.— III. 2S2, 409, 538
Suti Canal, A Visit to the. (With Map) ' 363
Superior Information , 430
Titniar*h, Michael Angclo : The Second Fuaeml of Napoleon, by 48
Thonght and language 667
Thonghrs in Italy about Christmas 16
To Esther. So. II. ..,. 228
Told in the Firelight 484
Visit (A) to the Suez Canal. (With Map) 363
Wailing-Plaee, The Jems', at Jerusalem 210
Waterloo, Recollections (of) by a Snrviving Veteran 44
Wood, The Sleeping Beauty in the 556
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
ra FACC PJtRE
Tub Last Tcrmsq ..„ 1
A Cliebt fob Mb. Pkdgipi -. 81
"A rum FECKLEHB tuisg, TOTrmiiso aimsu likt, — " 12!>
The Esv of iiiii ELOrt:iiEST 18-1
Mr. Sali. PBorosBS .._ 227
pATH'-i Asi) Son aic
A F2iK(Di.T Talk 3S5
The Soi- lo CEKUKiiUfl - „. 43'J
Wab xot tub FniCK n» uer IIakd ? 5ia
fobce avd cukhisq... „ .,... 673
"Did he kot dkak false witmrsh aoaiksi ugb?" 641
Ore too many _ _ _ »„__..- 6S3
TUE
CORNHILL MAGAZINE.
.lAXUARY, 1866.
'■■ "y^
\
CIlATTEIl IJf.
OGEK IiaO n great deal to Uiink ol
an lie turoixl wxa.y from looJiiog
after tbo ennisge as long fta it oouJd
bo s«fln. TliQ day before, be bad
l*eliered Uiat Moll/ bad oomo to
ri^wall tbesymptomaof hifgrowinj;
lore for ber, — symptoms which be
thought iuid bcfl9 so {wlvot, — «8
diigu»tii>g iiiconMiincy to tlui fpeon-
Btant Cynlbia ; tliat sbe had felt
ihat AD ntttichn-.rat wbioli could be
J^ to foon transfuned lo «ii<itbi.-r w.ns
^ ni>t woilb buTing; und tliiit cIh: hnd
[ desired Xa mark all this by h«r
^ ^ I ohaogcd trcntmvnt of htm, nnd aa lo
1^. c* J jjjp -J jg jjj^ jmj g„( (jjig morning
I iipr old ftwcet, frnnk manner bad
[<-tura«d — in tbvir lad iotcrrien', at
any •nx*\. He puzried hinuelf bard
lo God oat what could hare distrcst«d licr nl breakfast-time. Ho
•Tca wrat so fiir «■ lo aak Bofjioaon wbctlivr Uise Gibson had r«c<-ivvd
any lelltn* that maraing ; and when lie heard that A\e had bad
Im tiird to b(>rk-Te that the letter was in nme way the caiiBc of
Iter siWToir, So U\x vi good. Tboy were frienda again ofler tbdr im-
jilL — xii. 73. I.
4
/
a
WIVES AND DADGUTEUS.
•pokra difl'erenoe; but lliut waa not cuougli fur Kogor. lie fdt ererj
day more and mere certain Llmt i-ha, nnJ she alone, eoulil matcc litui
Iinj>|iy. He bad Ml tliis, luiil Iiiid [iiLiily given up all Iioih*, ivliile liU
futlifi hud bccii urgiug iipvn him ihv my courec he inont diMirrd to tnkc.
No need for " trying " to love Iier, be aaid lo biniaclf, — ihnt woa alrcudy
done. And jet lie was very jealom on ber behalf. TV'aa tliat love worth/
of her which bad ones been gircn to Cjatliia 7 Was not this ftOuir too
miicli ft iiicolciiig Diiiniciy of the last? Again juBt on tJie point of leaviug
EiigUnd for n cuusiclct-ablc time I If lie fullowtd her now to hi-r own
botac, — in the teiy drawing-room where he had once offered to Cyntlila I
And tlien by a Rtniig resolTe he determined on this course. Tliejr wera
friends now, and lie kiased the rose tliat was her pledge of friendship. If
he went to Africa, be tan aomo deadly chances; ho knew be««r what ihey
were now tlina he had doni: vilii-n he went before. Until his rctarn be
woutd not even attempt to win more of bcr love than be abcady had.
But (iiu-e snfc home iigaiii, no weak fiindes as to what miglit or might not
Lu tier nntwrr hIiouM prevent his running all cbancea to gain the wainaa
who watt to bim the one who erxcelled all. Ilia was not the poor vanity
that thinks moro of tba poiwibli} niorti(i(»ttion of a refn^il than of tba
precious Jewel of a bride that may be won, Souiebow or onotlicr, plena*
God to stnd him buck eafe, be woald put hia fute to the touch. And till
ihcn he would be pntient. IIo wm no longer a boy to rush at the coveted
object; he was a man capable of judging and abiding.
Molly »»mt hw father, a.i soon air nhe conld find him, to the Ilall ; and
then iwte down lo llie old hfe in the home drawing-room, where alio
tiiiiscd Cynibia's bright pr«enco nt evory torn. Mrs. Cibaon was in
ratlier a qneiuloua mooil, which fastened itself upon th« injury of j
Cynthia's Utter bi'ing nddreascd to Molly, and not lo herself, I
" Conaidering all the trouble I had with her IrouEs^au, I think abe
wight hare written to me."
" But she did — her first leUor was to you, tnamTna," said Molly, her rtol
thoughts still intent upon tJie Ifnll — upon the aick child — npoa Roger,
and his begging for tiic llower.
" Yes, just a first letter, three pages long, with an account of her
croBslng; while to you ihc cnu write about fashiona, and liow the
bu&net^are worn in Pnno, and all i^orCfi of intareming thinga. But poor
mother! mnn never expeet confidential Iirtters, ] have found that out."
' ' You may nee my letter, mammii," said Molly, " tJieru is leally nothing
in it."
" And to think ofhcr writing, and crossing to you who don't value it,
while my poor heart ia yearning aitur my lost child I Beally Ule is
somewhat hard lo bear at times."
Then there was a ailencu — for a while.
" Do lell me ftomcthing nhotit your vi«it, Molly. Is Roger very heart-
broken? Do«i lic talk much about Cynthiaf"
" No. He does aot mention her oftvn j hardly erer, I think."
I
WIVES AND DAUGHTERa
" 1 never Uiouglit hv had niucli Itding. U he bad luu]^ ho would not
itn Iti her go m> t^nly."
" I don'l He how h« could help it. When he cutne lo too her tOcr
hit Rluin, ah« wiu nlrcaiiy c»^iigrd to Mr. IlenclenKMi — tie hod coiu*
dtwB ihat T«T7 day," uUl Molly, niili perhaps more h«at than the ocen-
MH mjuired.
" My poor h«ad I " aid Mn, Gibaoc, jmltiog l»r band* up to her
had. " One may we yoaVe been rtop^ung wiih people of robuit health,
aad — exctwc my Myiog it, Moliy, of your frienda — of nnrrtincd habit*,
yovVe got w talk ia m loud a toIm. But do remember my bead, Molly.
60 Bogn- law quite fbigotten CymliJa, han ho? Oh 1 vthat incotwinnt
cnatarcs idcd arv I He will be falling iii love wJUi khqq grondcn next,
Bftirk my words ! They arc making a pet and n lion of Itini, ond he's
{art the kind of weak young man to have liis bead turned by it all ; aad
t« pnpove to somv fine lady of r.ink, who would no mgre think of mnrry-
ing hiiB than of marryiug her footmaa."
"I dofl't ihiiik it ia liki-ly," atil'l Mtilly, atoutly. " Hoger tf too
ttnaible &r anything of the kind."
"That'a jun ibe &ult 1 nlwaya found vritb him ; Ben«ibl« and
fioU-boned I Now, tbat'i a kiud of chDiacttr which may ho very
tWaable, but which rovnltn iiir. Oivn ]iig warmth of liciin, L'vcn with a
linle of that cxiiBvaganee of fccliiif! wh'ruh niiale^idt tlic judgmi-nt, and
f"»Aaftt into romiineo. Poor Ur. Kirlcpatrick I That wm jutt liia
tiantStr. I used to tell him that his lore for mc was (|ntio ronisutiu.
I lUok I bare told you about hia walking &ve inilca in ttio rain to get me
a amffin onoa when I wan ill T "
"Tcsr'Mid Molly. "It was very kiitd ofbim.'*
" So inpTUdcnt, toot Jut>t what one of your Kusible, cold-hearted,
Bpfae* people woTild never have tbotight of doing. Willi his cough
mdalL"
"I hope be didn't aulTer for it?" ropUed Molly, an;tiou> at any
. I« keep off* the subject of the Uiinileys, upoa wbich abe aad lior rtep-
alwaya dtaifrecd, and 011 whtob aho found it difltcnlt to keep b«r
"Tea, indeed, he did! I don't think he ever got orer the cold he
UB^ that day. I winh you hud known him, Molly. I aoiiietiam
vender what would have happened if you hod been my real daughter,
and Cynthia d«-ar pnpa'a, and Mr. Kirk[Mirick iiiid your own dear mother
b^ aU lived. People talk n guod deal about natural nfRnitie*. It would
have Iwm a (jueetion fur a [ihi1u)>ojihcr." She hegan to think on the
■Bpc«riliilitica abc bad Huggvnled.
_ ** I wotxier how the poor lilUe bny iaf" tnid Molly, ofler a pause,
^^^Wung out her tbougliL
^^F ** Poor little child 1 When one thinks how little his prolonged exist-
W met la la be doBired, one feela tlwt hia ileatb would be a boon."
^^^ ** MltPT""* ' wbat do yoti mean V Baked jlotlr, niucb iihocked. '*^7Vy
1.^ IZ —
wives AID pircirraB.
tvtry ooe eara tor hit Hie m tbe iDcat prwioiii l&liif 1 Too bare never
■ecB lum 1 lie » ibe Ueiutat, nrwtett liule feOoir thai can W I Wlut
dd
jmi:
'I riKmU here tboo^ii tbai die aqnire voold lisre dewvd • brUcr-
horn htit tban tba affifring of a semnt« — wiUi all Ua idea* about
dcKenl, and blood, and tana\y. Aod I sboold bare thoagbt tbat it vaa a
little Btart^jfiag to Bogtr — wbo most natttiallj bare kokcd upoa bimadf
■a bu bnlber'a brir— to tail a liuie iaieflopmg ebiJd, lulf Frcncb, balf
Engltib, atef^ing into Lis ■boea 1 "
" Yon doa't know bov fiuid tbcjr an of bun, — die upon looks opon
bim as the apple of bis eyo."
" II0II7 ! Molly ! pray dcoi't let mc bear jmx vang nicb mlgar
MpKinona. Wbtn nball I t«acb 7»u tme refixKtBent — Uut rtfineme&t
wbkb ooDBista in oercr ercn tUinUii^ a migar, oomnionplic* Ibtng?
ProTcrba and idioma are norcr used by people of educatioii. ' Apple of
bl> ejc ! ' I am roJly sboeked."
" Well, mamina, I'm vrry wiry; but after all. wlut I nonled to say
a» itioDgly u 1 could nas, that tbe equire lor«a the lilUc boy m miKl) a*
Ilia owo cbild ; nnd ibat llcger — ob I wbat a shame 10 Hank ibnt Roger
" And she Etoppcd aaddcnly ahort, as if&be were chcJied.
" I doa't wonder at yonr indignatiot], my dear ! " nid Mm. Gibsoo :
" It >■ jiuc wliat I abuuld bave ftrlt at your nge. But one leama tbe
bateoeM of baman n.'tture ^Titb advnnciog year*. 1 wjis »-roc£, though, to
iindccrivEi you «o early — btil depend upon it, tbo tliouglit I alluded to
bfia croHKd Itoger llnniley'i miitd !"
" All •oris of ihongbts eross one's mind — it dcpcnda tipoa trbeUter
one givea them liarbom- and encoaragement," said Molly,
" My dear, If you must have tho lui wcrd, don't let it be a truism.
Btil let us talk od some more intertsling tubjpcl. I »Jii.'d Cynttbia to buy
mo a Hilk gown in Paris, and I raid 1 wotilil rtnd lii-r word tvhat colour I
llxvd upon — I thiiik dark blue U tli« most ifconilng to my coitipUxion ;
*bat doyoii miy?"
Molly ngrced, sooner than (sVe tlio trouble of tbinldng about tbe
tiling At aIL; she wasf'^r too full of licr Hilent review of nil the tiiiil)
iu Koger'a cliaracler ubicH bud liilcly come miikT licr notice, and that
gnre tbe lie direct to bcr stepmother's euppoaiti^n. Just tb«n tlivy beard
Mr. Gibaon's step (lowti&tnii'B. Dut It was some lime before be made bis
entrance into the room where lliey wtrc eiltio^.
" How is little Koger 1 " said Molly, Mgerly.
" Bu^jiniiiog with sctrlel fever, I'm atraid. It's well you U-ft when yoa
dill, Mully. You've in:-ver bud it. Wo must stop up all iatercoiuw witb
tbe Hall for a time. If there's one illness J dread, it is this."
" Bm you go nnd come back to n^, pnpa."
" Yc». Uul I ulwnys t»kc plvnly of prccntilions, irowever, no need
to tnllc About risks lliaL liu iu the wuy of one's duly. It is unnecesiary
riakl llint we must avoid,"'
WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. S
•< yvm lit) li«T« U bully 1 " ukcd Molly.
** I on't ivll. I sltall do my but Ibc the wee liidilie.**
WhuDtfTtr Ur. Gilson't fcdinga ircrc touched, be was bi4 to recur lo
ilw Lu^oage of hi* youtli. y\o]ly knew nov t1iat )>e «u noch iatcrMted
k die one.
For ■onu} daja there wna iinminml dangt-r to the lltUc hoy ; for aome
vedcs tbera was a more chrooia ferm of illness to coQKnd with ; but
wbcn iIm tnmiediste danger vu oTcr and the mna daily interest was
pai<, HMy bcgu lo nalixe that, fiom the strict ^uaruitiiic bor liabcr
cndcntiy ibougbt it eec(«nry to («(ablish tH>twceQ tlie two hoiuva, ihe
«m Bot Itkvly to ate Koger Again before Iiis dcpoitun: for Africa. Oh I if
iht tkOd bbt toado more of the uncared-for duys tb%l aho bad pass&d wiib
his at tb« Kali I Worse ihaa oncared for ; days on which she hod avoided
Ust I refused to coarvmi freely with him; given him pain by her cluiage
itf nanner; for (he haul rciad in hia «y<^ board in bi« voice, that he bad
been patplcxed and palne<1, and norr her imngitiaUon dwelt on and
■nffetatad tlio expnanoo of Itxa tones and looks.
Oaa «venl»g alt«r dinner, Iwr fallicr said, —
" Aa lli« coontry-peoplu my, IVe done a stroke of work to-day.
D/for Uamley and I have laid our heads together, and wo have made a
fXm by which Mn. Osborne and ber boy wlU leave the llntl,"
** What did Isay tbc Dthcrday.MoUy?" said Hrs. Gibson, interruptiDg,
and giriag Molly a UxA of cxtrema int^-lUgmce.
*■ And go into lodjpnja at Jennings' farm ; not ibiir litmdred yards
(roBi the Park-lield gate," cootuiucd Mr. Gibson. "Tho aquire and hia
dai)gliur-tn<1aw have got to be much belter frieoda over tbc litile fellow's
rid(*bed; and I think be sees now how impossible it would be for the
ootlier to leave Iter cbiJd, ftud go and bo happy in Franco, which baa been
the notion running in bu head all tliia lime. To buy Iter off, in fact.
ButUuit one night, when I was very uncertain wliethcr I could bring him
thrtmgh, tbcy took lo ciyiof^ toji«t]ier, and condoling with eneh other ; and
it waa joK like kiring down n cnruin that had hci-n between tli«m ; liny
have been rathu- fricndstlmn otlicnvitce^-cTsiocc. Still Roger" — (Molly's
,... .. L . ... .^ wnrm and her eyes aoft and bright ; it was such a pleasure to
' l:v) — " and I both agree that his mother knows much better how
■ the boy than liia grandfuther doM. I sHppMO that was the
I tiling nhe get (cvoi that banl-beortetl mulrvss or hen. She
trUittly has been well liaincd in the maDagifmcut of children. And it
her impntiont, and annoyed, and unluppy, when she sees the
I giving ilic child QDta and ale, and all aoiia of alUy Indulgences, and
ipuiltiig him in every pcsiillc way. Yet she's & coward, and dc^veti't
tpenk «at htrr mind. Now by t>eing in lodgings, and having her own
servanl*— i^cc pntUy rooma they are, too ; wa went lo see tbvui, and Mrs.
FmiaiDga promises tu altetid well to Mrs. Osborne Ilamlcy, and ia very
koBoutvd, and on that sort of thing — not ten minutea' walk &om the
IIbQ, loo, so tlitu die and tbe Itltio chop may canly go baekwardi and
A
W!VCS ASD DAUGHTKliS.
forwards ns otita ns th(;y likr, and yet tlio inay keep th« control over Irr
child'a (]i*cii)1ina and diet. In sHort, I tliink I'vu dom a f[Ood day'ii
work," he coDtinued, Ktreicliing hioisclf a lilile ; und tbcn with a shok«
lousing liimaeU^ and uuiking rotdj- to go out ngain, to vcc a p«itivut vtlio
tiud sent ibt him ia his absence.
" A gond day's vcorl; I " he rei>ralcd to liitnaplf oa be ran dowosUirs.
" I Jua't know when I bar« been so luppy 1 " For he had not lold
Mollj- nil tluit had pitEied belweeti him nnd Bogrr. Kogor h>d begun
a ffwli subject of conYfi-Hitliun just us Mr. GJlison was biwUining avray
from iho Hull, after completing tlu) now nrrnngemcnt for AIm6e and her
child.
"You knoir that I net oil next Tacsdaj', Mr. Gibson, dun't yon?" ttid
Hcger, a little abmpUy,
" To be Mire. I hope you'll be u iiicco»sfuI in all yoar aciontjiic
ctJGcti as yoii were the last tinw?, and haTo no urrowi nwaitingyon when
jou omrie biick."
*'Th»rik you. V«9. 1 hope bo. Yon don't think (litre's any danger
cf inni-cliaa now, do j-on ? "
" Nol If the discaso wcro to vprrnd through the household, I tliink
yrtf should hnv« had Mtnc signs of it before now. One is never sure,
renn-mher, with ic;irli-t fever."
Hoger VIM silent for a minute or Uvo. " Sliould you ho afraiil," lio
said nl length, " of epeing mu at your hoiiso? "
"Thiink you; hut I iIiiiiIe I noukl mthcr decline the pleasure of
your society thero nl pre««nt. It*« only Uir«« wc«ki or « month sini^v
iho ctiild hpgan. Bt-iudw, I HhuU be over here again bvfoie you gn.
I'm nlways on my guard nguiost symptoms of drojwy. I have known it
Bupcrvcne."
"Thdn 1 shall not see Molly again I" said Koiger, in a tone and with a
look of grrat dissppointment.
Mr. GibxoQ tiirued his kewi, obaorvaiit ♦yes wpon tli« young man,
and looked at him in as |>ctietrnLiag a manner as If he had been
thinning with an unknown illnow. Then the doctor and the Hither com -
pressed his lips and gave venc to a long intelligent whistle. "Whew 1"
Baid he.
Itogtr's bronxed checks took a Jeeper elmdc.
"You will take a messago to her from me, won't jou? A nKssngn of
C«rcwcl] ? " he pleaded.
" Not r. I'm not going to he n nie«Mge-oarTi«r between any young
mnn and young won).Mi. I'll tell my womeokind I lorbade you to come
near the house, nnd Ihat you*re sorry to go oway without bidding good-by.
That's all 1 shall say."
" But you do not disapprove 7 — I see you guess wliy. Oh I Mr. Gibncm,
Jut ^kk to ni« nno word of what must be ia your heart, though y{m nrs
pntcoding not to undentand why I would give worlds to see Molly again
before I go."
I
VIXVSS AMD DAUOUTBUa. 7
**}<; iit'»r l>i>}-I" luitl SCr. Gibeon, ncrc affMlcd Uian lif liktJ to
Aaw, uid tilling bk haai oa Roger's shoulder. TliiM) liH {itillctl liiiiuw-lf
1^), Dad (niilgniTCily oucQgli, —
" Mini!, iliiliy k uot Cjnihiii. If thn were to caro for jou, she i« ii«t
coe who could ti-iuisrcr tier love lo itie nvxt coinvr."
" T«ti tuiAQ tivt » tcadU; HA I lave ijnitc," rcpUt-d Roger. "I only
whh )'Ou eotild kunir wiint a difli'H&t feeling ihu U to my bnvi^i Iov«,
farCjathW
"I wua'l lliiiiViitg of j-ou wIkh I »pokc; but, bowcrcr, aa I iniglit
Isn i«aMiDlien.'<i aJlerwartU iliat jrou vcre n«i a mcMlel of consiancy, Wt
n brar what you luivc lo nay for youreelf."
'* Nu much. I flid lovo Cj-ittJii» x«ry mucb. Hot manacn mid her
Umy be«ri[cti«d mt ; but hor l«ltera,-~sliort, liumiyl IdterM,— loine-
fiao rimwiog tbst abo rvally Iiada't tnkrn the u-uuble to read inioe
Umagb, — I eutnot tell ;ou Uio pain th«y gftve me I Turelve monlha'
■alimil*i, in f[c«iueiit danger of oavH Ufa — face to fiice with denib — tomo-
tiae* tS"* * '^■> '■''^'^ uiatij' jr«ars' experience. Still I longed tur tlw
wfacB I diuuld ntQ li«r sweet face ogain, and bear her speak. Then
the letter at tbe Cape ) — and etlll I boped. But you know bow I found
btf, vbi-n I wrtit to luire lb<t intcrriuw nbicb 1 tnutt-d might end in tlie
nwvaJ ot our rvlniioos, — engaged to Mr. Heudenton. 1 sat* ber walking
«ilh tilm in ynur ganlcn, coquetting wiib him about a flower, just as eliC
■ad t4 do -K-ilh mc I can 9e« lb« piljiag look Id A£oI1;'ii ejres as ebo
vUdwd me; 1 can aee it now. And I could beat m;-self fur being inch a
Ubd &ul as to Wbat miut alic think of me? bow eIio inuat dcipiie
ac, cboodng th« f/iluc Dncna."
"Come,«onie 1 Cjrmbtn isn't so Iwl aailiat. She's a rery fascinatiuj,
bnltj ctvalure,"
** 1 know I t knov 1 I nil! never allow anj' on« to efty a word against
kcr. If I called bcr the falae Duciea it was bccauao I wanted (o expraa
mj aeni* of tliu diSweuM between li«r nod H»Uy aa etrongly as I eonldl.
Ton mmt allow for a tovo-'s cxa@gcr:ttion. Besides, all I nanit'd to
mj waa, — Do jrou think, lliat Mully, alUr kkIo^ and knowing tliab I bad
hnred a j^erson «o infctior to hcrecir, could crcr be brought lo listt-n
to toet"
** t don't know. I can't tell. And eren if I could, I iroaid not. Only
it U'l any vomfoit to yon, I may lay wluit nty expi^rii'nn) luu taught niP.
Women are ([uwr, uurenaoning crcatitrc*, and aiv jimt as likely aa not to
love a man who ha> becu tlircwing away liia alTecliou."
** Thank you, itir I " siid Uoger, inteiTupUng him. "I aee you mean
to ^ve me cimuragtsnenl. And I bad reaolvol nerer to give Uvlly
a bint «f what I Mt till I rvluraed, — and then to try and win bvr by
erery mBini in my power. I tletennioed not lo repeal the former nceiic
in tite farriict place, — in your dtawing-rovm, — liowevcr I might b« lotnpled.
And pehupa, after all, 6b« avoided me when nlie was hero bwi."
** Kow, Hc^r, I'ro lisioned to you long enough. If you're nothing
fcAi
a*
.
belter to tlo with jciir lime than to lall: lihonl my dnugbler, I fcare,
Wlipn you come bticli it will ht lime (riiwigli to e:iQutre Itow far your
fuiber would approre or »tich an cngtigoment."
" He hiniBelf ur^ it upon iii« ifac oilier isy — but then ! vas in
^CTpair — I thciiglil it was too late."
" And whnt mean* you nre likely to have of mftintainiog a wift, — I
iilwnj'fi tliuiiglit llint point wni pnssetl too lightly over vrlii-u you formed
your hurried engngpinent to Cyutliia. I'm not mercenary, — Mo!ly haa
some money independently of me, — that she by the way knows nothing
of,— not niiic}i;^and I can allow her soaiettiing. But all thcBe tbinaa
must he led liU your rL-tura." HIH
" Then yon sanciion my atfaclimtut 7 " "^
"I don't know wlint you mtnu by sanctioning il. I can't help it, I
BOppoes I««ing oac'i daughter is a necessary evil. Still " — seeing llie (Ji»-
np pointed expression on Koger'afnce — "ilia hut fair toyou toB«y I'dralher
give my child, — my only child, rcmcmbor ! — to you, tliiin to any man in
the world I "
"Thank yon 1 " siid Roger, ahnking Imndawtlh Mr. Gibson, almost
ngninat tbc will of tltc latter. " And Z may ace her, juet once, befora
Igo?"
"Decidedly not. Therp. I come in aa doctor as veil as fullicr.
Nol"
"But ytiu will t.iko a riGwage, at any rate 7 "
" To my wife atid to licr coiijoially. I will not scpArnlc them. I will
not in the slightest way be a go-between."
" Very well," aaid Roger. " Tell them both as strongly a« you cnti
how I rcgi'Ct your prohibition. I eee I must nubmit. Bui if I don't come
hack, I'll hnuni yoii for having been to crud."
"Come, I like that. Give mc a wise mnn of solcnoo in loTC I Ko ona
beats him ia folly. Good-by."
" Gcod-by. You will see Holly this afternoon I "
" To be unt. And you will aoe your father. But I don't hcarc sudi
[lortcntuus Mgha at the thought."
Mr. Gibson gave Ilogcr's uiDwagc to his wife imd lo Molly that evening
at dinner. It iros but whul the liiltvr had expvctcd, after all hei- father
had said of the very grtat danger of infection ; but now that Iilt cxjwelaliua
c.imcin ihc alijipe cf a fiHiddccifiion, it took aw.ijherapix'tite. She sub-
mitted in silence; but her obs<>r^■.'lnt father noticed that ftilec this apecch
of bis, slicouly played with the food on her phile, and concealed a good
deal, of it under Iitr knife and fork.
"Lover rrrms fiilht-r I " tiioiigbl he, half widly. "Lover winis."
And hti, loo, bt^ciiiK! indifTercnt to all that remained of his dinner. Hit.
Gibson puttered on ; and nobody listened.
The day of Koger'a dcpartiiro came. Alolly tried hard to forget It in work-
ing awny at a cushion ehc was preparing as a present lo Cyniliia ; p<:op!« did
worstcd-woik in lliosfl day*. One, tiro, throe. Oue, two, ibree, four, fi?c,
VnVES AND DAircUTKHS.
BX,«nm; xll irmng. tlwvastliinVinjof Bomi>UiiDgcl*e, nnd hadtoonpiol:
n. It wu a niur daj, loo{ nod Mre. Gibron, wlio had pluntic<l to go out
and jmytamt calls, hod le «Ujr indMn. Thui modo h«r restl«« and fidgoty,
Slic kvpl gtung backwarOa and fwdrards to dilTcraiit windows tn the dniw-
tBf-rpam to IfKik at llie H-eutlier, as iftiit imagined lliot wldlc it laincd at
nt window, it ougtil tw Ene weallior nt another. >' Mollj — oome here !
•bo ia tlMt man vntppcd up in a cloak, — i\vn, — near llie Park ivaII, under
^ bMcli'trtc — lie hw bc«D there tliia Lsir-kour aitd norc, never utirriDg',
and looklog at Uiia Iioiisv all llie lime I I think it's very Biispicioui."
Molly IiMked, and io wi Inttatit rrcogalicd Roger nuder oil his wraps,
Ucr 6m iDstinet vaa to dmw b««]f. The Diuct Io come fornardi, and
«y — " ^\'hy, maaiina, Ii'b Koger llsnilf^ I Look now — ho'n kixctng liia
hand; bo'a wisliing lu good-by in tli« only wny he can ! " And she
lB^JCJ(id#d to hii Nigii ; hut she whs n«t sura if Im perceived her nodeit
^niet t»OTem«i)i, Tor Mrs. Ciiliion l>ceitii:i: imnie<llnlu!j m demontinuivc
Hat Moll/ Gmcii.-d that her eagt-r fwludi pautominiio laotivns niuat abwrb
■U his aticntioo,
"I call this 90 aticnttre of liini," itaid Mrs. Gibson, In the niidiit of a
Tolle^ of luattM of her band. " licallj it is quite romantic. I( remiuds
IBS at fermvr dajTs — but he will be too late ! I niuxt ncnd him uway ; it
ti faalf-paat twdre I" And cli« took out her watch and lield it up,
tapjitag it with her fore-fltigc.-, and occupying the Tery ci^nlre of the
wtsdow. Mcllv vfJth\ only peep here nnd there, dodging now up, now
JowD, now on tliia bide, now on that ol' the perpetuallj-moTing arms.
She Coaded she saw ROiuetbing of a corresponding movement on Koget's
jvt. At leogth he wont aniiy, ilowly, slowly, and oftvii looking back, in
ilo of tho tnpi>cd watch. ^In, Gibson at lust retreated, and Alolly
ijr moTrd intii livr [Jacc to rcc Lis fignra onec more before tlii; turn
t/tbe road Lid it from bcr view, lie, too, know where the Inst glimpse of
Mr. Gibson's house wna to bo obtained, and cnee more ho turned, and his
whita handkerchief flrated in ihu air, Molly wavud licrs high up, with
CBgor bnging that il sliould be Ktn. And then, he wxa gone ! nnd Molly
nninHd to Ikh- woi»l(d-work, happy, glowing, i«d, content, and thinking
to liRsetr bow sweet it iVlewhibipl
Mticn ^e came to a sense of the present, Mm. Gibnori was Kiying, —
** Cpea my word, tbongb Roger Hamley has never been a great
{■Toarim of mine, this Utlte attention of bis baa romindvd mc very forcibly
of aTvry charming young man — a coujNranf, m the French would call him
— Llnicnftnl Harpei^— you murt have heard ni« speak of him, Molly t"
" 1 think 1 liavc I " wid Molly, absently.
"Wdl, yoH remcmU-r how devoted he was to mo when I ww nt
Jin. DuneombeX my first atuntion, and 1 only wventccn. And when
the rf— '•''*i" '-rirty was ordered Io nnolhtr town, poor Mr, IIari»er caiuo
tad (1 '^ the schoolroom window for nearly nn hour, and I know
it w«» liis ilii:ii tiial the land played ' The girl 1 left behind mc.' w!n-n
Lhc7 tnarahcd onl thv next ilny. Poor Mr. Hnrpcr I It was before I
1—5
^
Hi
10
^'IVES AND UAi;GHTElt&
linrw d.-ar Mr. Kirki«lrkk ! Dear mc ITcrw oft«n my poor henrt hu
lind to blcod in iHia life of mioc ! not but whut ilciir papa ia a verj worihy
niftn, *ncl maknt mc very hippy. II« voiild spoil me, indct^l, if I would
Jet him. Still in-- U not aa rioli as Sir. lleD'lerMn."
Tliat Iiuit Bciitcnce coni.iinctl iKc genu of Mnf. Gibson's present
grieTanoo. Having maprieij Cynllii-i, ns hot motli(*r pi.it ii — tnlcing endit
to herseir M if die liml hui) the principal part in the achi«T«mmt— «l)e now
bceasM a Uttl« covioiu of licr datij|ht«r'i gooJ fartune in being tho wiru
of ft young, handiomp, rioh, and moderately f&sliionable man, who lived
in London. She nalvi-ljr cxprcucd Her ii.-«lin^s on this subject to her
htnhand one daj wtirn tih<- wan roally not fv«ling quiic well, nnd vhnv
ooowquently her aiui<ivHiii:<n were much more pmenC to her mind (Imn
her Buuron of Liippinexs.
" It is such It pity I " snid she, " that I was born when I wiu. I kTiouM
to luiTc liked to belong to this gcncrmion."
"■nuit'a 8omclime» my own fwling," snid lie. " So mnny new vi«wii
Mfm to be iiju-iied in iwieiice, that I slintild like, if it were poMiblc, to lifo
till their reality was nscertuiiivd, luid one saw wlint they lu-d to. But 1
di>n'l suppoBe that's your nswon, nny dear, for wishing to be twenty or
thirty years younger."
" No, indeed. And I did not put tt in tbnt hnrd unplcaunt way ; [
only said I should like to belong to (his generation. To tell the truth, I
wiw thinking of Cyntliin. Without Yaitity, I believe I was as pretty aa slie
is — whcD I was n girl, I mean ; I had not her dark cye-lAtlum, but then my
nose was straightcr. And noir look at the diffuenee ! I have to live in s
little country town with three servnni*, ond no carriage; and she with her
inferior good looks will live in Suwex Pl;io<*, and keep a man and a broiighnm,
uiid I don't know what. Hut the fat;t is, In lliis getiemtion there are aa
many more rich young men than there were when 1 was a girl."
" Oh, oh 1 BO that's your naRcn, ia it, my dear. If you had been yonng
now you might have married aomcbody ai well offa* Walter? "
" Yen I " «aid she. " I think that was my idea. Of wiurao I BhoulJ
have liked htm to be you. I nlwnys think if you had gone to the bur
you might have •neeecdcd belter, and lived in London, Um. I don'l lliink
Cynihia cares much where *he lives, yel yon ace ii has come to her."
•' What has— London 7 "
"Oh, you dear, fiiceltotis man. Now thnt'a jiiat the thing to havtt
ca|.lifai.ed a jury. I don't Iwlievc Walter wjli ever be so clever aayou
ate. Yet ho can take Cynthia to Paria, and abroad, and everywhere, 1
only hope .ill this indulgence won't develope the fiiuli.! in Cynthia's
charocli^r. It's a week nim:" we heard from her, and I did write so par-
ticuUrly to ask her fur the autumn fiuthioim before I bought my neur
bonnet. But riches are a great snare."
" Ba thiiakful ycu are spared temptation, my dc*r.*'
"No, I'm not. Evi-iT? body likes to be tempted. And, after all, it*»
Tcry ea.<iy to resist temp tatioa, if one winbes."
I
WIVFS ASI> PAUfltlTERS.
11
"I lioD't find It to tstsy," suii] hvr liiisbnnd.
*'Bere*a tD«<iicine Utt yon, maiuniii," ni<i MoDj, entering irith a letter
: Dp in her lianJ. " A U-tter from Cj-nthin."
* Oh, you dmr little iDcasen^er of good news \ Tbara naa one of lli«
deJliea in Mangnall's <|iiF«tiona wbow ofilce it wua to bring
Hwn. Tb« l«ttn- is dal«d from Cftlaia. They're ooming liome I Stui's
faM^il ne « bImwI aii<l u boiinul t Tbe dirat crcaliirv ! Alvjya tliink-
ng of Mben bofofe liers^lf: good forUinfi cniinot ipoil h«r, ThvyVo
« tealght kA of ihoir holiday I Their house U not imite rinAy ; ibcjr'ru
SMHig herei Oh, now, Mr. Gibeon, we miut have the new dinner
WPhea at Wniu's I've *«t my luurt on no Inng t ' Home ' Cj-nthin eolh
ihia braM- I'b eure il has been « Itonio tu Iter, poor duliDg I I doubt
tftbeit it nocher man in tba world M'ho woald bare tr««tcd hia stop-
teghttt like dear papa I And, Moll/, you roust h.ive n new gown."
"Oone, oomal Seiucmbcr I belong to (he la&t gcn^^vCion," tnid
MLGttwn.
"And Cyiuhi« will not notice what I wear," naiil Molly, bright wUh
'ftaam at the thought o( Kclcg her agnin.
*Nd1 but Waller will. He hoa uioU n quiulc eye for dr^Ki, and I
lUak I lival papa ; if he ia a good atepliiUior, I'm a gorvl aicjimoiher,
ad I could not be«r to tee my Molly shnbhy, and not looking lier beat.
Ibm bare a new gown toa It won't ilo lu hxik aa it* wc bad sotbing
*%U Ike dreeKfl which wo wore at tb« wedding 1"
Bm Moll/ Mood againit the new gown for herself, nnd nrgcd that if
[■(^lUaand Waller were to come to vitiit them nfVn, ibey li:i!l btittcr we
tbey rcnlJy were, in dre&s, habile, and appointmunts. \Vhtu
Xr. GibMBbad left the room, Mrs. UibEon noflly reproaclifd Molly for
krobetinacy.
"Tou migbt hare allowed me to beg for a new gown for you, Molly,
*Aan you knew liow mnch I ailmired that ligureil Biik at Brown's the
other day. And now, of oourvc, 1 can't be so sclluli as to get it for
nyeell^ aiid yo*i to hare notiiing. Yuu should b-iirn to understand (ha
wiihea of olhrr people. Still, on tlic whole, yuit are a dear, aweet girl,
ml 1 only wiih — well, I know what 1 wiali; only dear papA do's not
like it to be talked i^mU And now yovcr mo up ck«e, and let me go to
riwp, and dream about my dear Cynlhia and my new shawl I "
llxas the stofj- ia b«ilcen off, and ii «ui never be finished. Wbnt proinistd
to be tlM crowning work of & life ii a Tnrinorial of dealb. A low daya
looter, and it would haTc been a tritimpliul calumn, crowned with n cnpital
«f i«Ul Icarc* and flAwer*: Tiowit ix anotheraert of oolumn — one of ihoM
«d wUH pUlaia which eland broken in ihe cliarcbjrnrd.
WIVES AVD DACGllTEnS.
Dtil if tliC worlc is not quite complete, Htllc rMnains tu br added to it,
snd that little has b«cTi djalinctly Mflcctcd into our mindiu Wc kaow tliat
lEoger Ilamloy will marry Molly, and tlmt is wlint we nrc most eonceroed
about. Iiidocti, there was little dae to tell. liid the writer lived, ahc
would Imre ecnt her hero baek to Arrica forthwith ; and thcM sdentiSo
partB of Africa are a long wnj jrom ITamley; imd there is not miidt to
dioose between a long distance and a long lime. How nun; hoars are
lliero in tw«nty-fciur wlien you arc all alone in a dMCrt place, n tlioruaad
inile.1 from the ]inp[>incta which might be jimn to take — if you were then
to tiike it 7 How inaoy, when from tlie tourers of the Topin^mbojcur heart
flieB back ten times a day, ]ike a carrier-pigeon, to the one only aouroe of
future good for you, and ten timca a day retumi with ita meaMi^ wi-
(Ii-livftrod ? Itnny more than are couiiUkJ on ihn ojilwidiir. So Roger found.
Tlie days were wci-lcs tliat separated him fjom ih*^ time when Molly gxrs
liim a certain little tlower, and months from the time which divorced btin
from Cynthia, whom he hnd begun to doubt bi-foro he knew for certain that
nhc was ncrer much north hoping for. And if niich wcro his days, what ma
the slow proc<'f5ion of actual weeks and months in thow remote nnd solitary
plnces? Tliey were like years of a alay-ai*hoine lifp, with liberty and
Iciauie to ecc tiiat nobody wob coiirlin); Molly meanwhile. The o&ect of
(his was, that long beforo tho term of his engagement was ended ail that
Cynthia had hecn to him was disparted from Roger's mind, and all that
Molly vraf and might be to him lillpd it fiill.
lie returned ; hut when he saw Molly again ho rpmembered that to
Iicr the time of bis absence might not have aecined bo long, and was
oppressed with the old dread that g!io wowld tliink him fickle. Thci^re
this young gentleman, ao set) f- reliant and to luciil in icieaU6c matters,
found it diflicult after all to tell Moily how much he hoped ebc loved him;
and might hare btttndered if he had not thought of iM^inning by showing
her the flower that was plucked from the noaegay. How chiirmingly that
Bc^tie would have bfcti rfrnwn, hnd Mrs. Gaskcll lived to depict it, wa can
only imagine: llial it u'otiW have beni charming— especially in what
Molly did, aod looked, and sjiid — wc know.
Roger and Molly ars married ; nnd if one of tlicm is happier tlian tJic
other, it is Molly. Her husband has no need to dm.w upon thci little
forlune which is to go to poor Osbonic's boy, tvv be becomes profeesor at
some gtval scientiBc institution, and wins his way in the world hand-
Bonicly. 'Jlic squire is almost aa happy in this marriage as his son. If
any one sttflers for it, it is Mr. Gibson. But he takes a partner, so as lo
get a chance of running tip to London to Ktay with Slolly for a. few dnvs
now and then, and "to get a litllorest from i In*. Gibson." Oi'what vtns'lo
faa{]>en to Cynthia after hex marriage the niilhor was not heard to eay much,
and, indeed, it doea not seem thtit anything needs to be nddud. One liltlu
anecdote, however, was to!d of her by Mrs. Gankel!, which is very chanic-
terislic. Ona day. when Cynthia nnd her husband were on a vijit to
JIamlcy, Mr. Ucadurson learned fur the fir^t lime, through an innocent
WIVES AST) DAVCnTER!?.
18
I
I
nsnal mmH: of Mr. fiibann'a, ihat the Gimaus traviillcr, Hogcr Uaialty,
■at kaowa to Uie fjitiiilj-. CyDthU had ncrer liappenetl to nHiiciua iL
Utiw wH that ltU]6 tnudcnt, loo, irooldhave been di-ecribed I
B«t it uitttleu to apQcrulnte ufon wlint would have been done hy llio
dilMto atmag bind which an create no more Moll/ Gihsona — no more
BogCT Hamlcy^ W« hare repcateil, in lliU brief note, all thjit is known
U hvT duigos for th« stoiy, vhich woald have buc-n completed in
atUwf obapter. Tlicre la not bo mucli to regret, then, w fur at thii novel
« eooeemed ; iiu)«ad, the regntu of tliono who knew her are Itiss for Llic
lav of tb* ooreliilt thin of the womnn — one of the kindest and wiaesl of
Imt time. Bui jrd, for her own miVc as a novelist alone, her nntdmeljr
&»ih ts a. maUer for dwp Kgmt. It U e1«ar in this novel of Tfit'e* aitd
PttagkUrt, In tha «quisit« lirile storj- thai prpccdetl il, Cotitin PhiHis,
ad in Sylria'$ Lorert, that Sirs. GatkcU had williin theM firo ycora
Kvicd Qpoa a new career with »11 thu fr«*hDU8 of youth, and with a mind
^icb VDcaicil to have pat oflT its clajr and to have been bom again. But
An " pat off its chij " nnst be taken in a vctj naTTcur cense. All uindf
■r« tiaclm«il more or less with the " muddy vestore " in wliich tiiey ure
Kntaswd ; but few minds crcr showed Icsa of base csrth than Mrs.
CTad lira It v-ai so nt nl] timei; but lately even the original alight
tinctun Kcaied to diuippear. Wlulc you read any one of the last iJiree
Iwka we have aamed, you (cv\ younelf caught out offinabMniaable wicked
vntl'l, oawling with jeltislincss and recking with base putsions, into one
mhav there la much weakness, many mistakes, suffcringB long and bilter,
Uit wbcfc it ia possibI« for people to lire calm and wlioleaomo lives ; and,
«i«t IB more, you feel that this h at k^avt nt real n vicrld as the other.
Tlic kinilljr (pirit wliicb think.i nn ill loolcs out uf her pages inadial« ; and
«hllc we read tlicm, wc breathe tlie purer intetligenee wbieb prefers to
AnA with emotion* and poaiiMts which hnve a living root in minds
wUhio the pale of ealvaticFn, and not with ibccc which rot without it.
Tliu efttht ia nior« especially dudarcd in Cousin PhUtia and Wins
«aj Uiauffhttrt — their iiutlwr'a laltat woiks; they seem to filiow ibat for
bar tli« eod of fife was not descent amongBt the clods of (he valley, but
•oent iiuo the pnrtT air of the beaveo-aapiring hills.
Wt ar« snyiDg nothing now of the miTcly intellectual qunlitiea diaplnyed
ta ihoM Ulcr works. Twenty yeara to come, that may be thnught the more
important cinntion of ihe liro ; in the pretience of her grave we cannot
thbfc ao; bat jt is irtic, all iheaouic, tlL-tLas mere works of ait and ob«er-
mtoa, IbcM lator novels of Mm Caakell's are among Iho Cnctl of our time.
Tbstv la a scene in Cousin PhillU — wLero Ilolnian, making hny with bis
•ei^ ends the day with a pKihn — tvhicb is not excelled as a picture in all
Bodcm ft«tioQ ; ^nd llie nmo may be said of that chapter of this last
Ocry in wliich Ilogrr smokes a pipe with the Squire after the quorrvl
«itb Oriiomo. There U little lit either of thc«e seencs, or in n wore of
mIkts whkb ineeeed ench other tike gema in a cabinet, which the ordinary
24
WIVES AND DAUGnTKIlS.
Dord-Bukcr could "Bcue." There is no "niBitrial" ibr It'a in ha!?-
SrdOBU) farming nion unging Iijiuds in n field, or « dUeoBtentod old
gc^nclvtnnn cmcking tobncco wiili liis son. Still I«m cnuld lie ami) himself
of llio Tiiini-riirs of a liulv girl ecnt to be happy iti a line liuusc full of
iin<: penpli! ; but it is just in such tilings tui lluae thnt Irue genius npp<.>an
brighlesl acil most unaf|iroae!iutilG. It is ihe Bame wiih the pcnt'iugct
in Mr>. GuskcH'e noiks. C^nlliia ia «ac of tbo most dilEcuU chninetcra
wliicii liiiv« ever Iwou BllcnipU'd iu our time. P(?rffCt art nlwnj's obscures
Uie difTiciiUin it ovcicoinm; utid it is not till wc- try to fullo^ir ilie pro-
^Mssca hy ■wliich suoh a (hnrocter as the Tito of Jtomela U created, for
instance, llial we htt^'m lo undersland what .1 niarvelloiis piece of worV it
is. To be 8urc, Cynthia wna not eo diflkult, nnr ia it nearly so great it
Crvalion us tbat 8|i]endTd achi<?reinGnt of art and ihinigbt — of the mmi
Itrr, of tlic profciii ndtrst thought, But she also belongs to the ItlnJ of
churiiL'tvni vvliich wrc oniicciwd only ia mlnda lurgc, cleiir, harmonioiw und
just, and wliidi con be povlrayed fullj' and without flaw onlyhy hands
obtdient lo tlic finest motions of the mind. Viewed in ihis light, Cyntliia
is a more iinportnnt pieco of vork i/ven thnn Mol!)', ddicatvly as sjio I*
diBtvii, and true? nnd hnrmouious as that picture is idito. And whit kA
have aid of Cynthia niny he siiid with vquui truth of Odhotiie Uamlc-y,
The inn! dclinciilion of a ohnracter Hkfi that is as fine n test of art aa tlie
|wiuiing fif u fuot or a liand, which aUo seems so easy, And ia which per-
feetion i» most rare. Id this caw the work is perfect. Mrs. Oostcell haa
drawn a ik'xvn cbaructt^rx more striking thnn Osborne Kincc shq mvto
iitiri/ liiirlon, but not one uliich ph«u» more oxquUitc fi[ii«h.
Anoth^tr thing wc may h« permitted to notice, because it has a grcnt
and general significance. It may be true that this is not exactly lh«
place for crilicism, but since Vi'c are wiiting of Osbome Kamley, va
cannot ri'sibt iKiiiitiiig nut .'i pecnliiir inrtnnco nf thti nibllor concep-
tioijii wliich underlie all rcully connidcndilc works. Here arc Osborne
and ]{(^cr, Iwo mcti wiio, is every purtieulor that can be edscd for
description^ nrc totally diHerent crvaturex. Roily and mind thoy art
qiiiCc unlike. They have dilFtrent tnstca ; they lake difli-rcnt wayn :
they Mv (11(11 of two »orts which, in the society senap, nercr "know"
each olhei'; and yet, never did brotherly blood run more mnnifi-*l than
in the veins of tliose two. To make that manifest without allowing lL«
cBbrt lo poep out fur a single moment, would be a triumph of art j but it
is a "touch beyond tJtc reach of art" to make llK'ir llkenesi in iinlike*
nfja w naUiral a thing that wo no more wonder about it than wc wonder
at seeii^g the fruit and ihu bloom on tlie same bramble : wc have always
Been them there tc^ethcr in bkckSicrry acoson, and do not wonder nbout
it nor think abaut it at nil. Inferior writeiii, cuen some writera who arc
highTy ncoounled, would have revelled in the "conlra«f," pcmuaded that
tilt y wf-rc doing n, fine HQalomiciil dranjatJc thJng by bringing it out at eTcry
opportmiity. To the uulLor of Wives and Dmtghltrs this wirt of aQutomj
I
1
WIVES AND DAUGHTERS.
13
m mere dielocntioii. Sb« began hy bnTing the people of her story bom in
tie usnst vay, and not built up like the Frankenstein monster; and tlius
wba Squire Hutnley took a wife, it was then provided that his two boys
ihoold be as naturally one and diverse as the fruit and the bloom on the
bnuiible. " It god without Bpeaking." These difference* are prt'cisely
what might have been expected from the union of Squire Hamlcy with
the towD-bied, refined, delicate-minded woman whom be married; nnd
tbeafiecUon of the young men, their kinil-ncss (to use the word in its old
and new meaninga at once) is nothing but a reproduction of those im-
palpable threads of lore which bound the equally direrse father and
mother in bondi fiutct than the ties of blood.
But we will not permit ourselves to write any more in this rein. It
ii nnncctnary to demonstrate to those who know what is and what is not
tnie literature that Mra. Goskell was gifted with some of the choicest
&cnUiea bestowed upon mankind ; that these grew into greater strengtli
and ripened into greater beauty in the decline of her days ; and that ehe
has gifted US with tome of the truest, purest works of fiction in the lan-
guage. And she was herself what her works show her to have been — a
wise, good womnn. — [Ed. C. M.]
IG
SS^houghts in ,3(tnta ubotit Chrislmns.
What U t!ic meaning of our KnglUh Cliristmaa? wLcucc cornea tliis
ri^joicing (Kroiigli th« Innd? whj do u-c fn-cl Cliristmos to be different
fruni all oilier ne^oni of ihe yenr ? what makes it fleem so truly Kcrthem,
TiaUoiml, »nd homely, ihitt we coniiDt bear to kccjp the fnaat upoa a Sovdgn
ehcTe 7 Tliese qucBlions grow upon mo sa I stood one Advent oflpmoon
bcticnlh the Domu of Fiortncc. A prk-at was thunOerrng from llic pJilpit
ngwniit French scepticism, and «.xulling the iniraute of ihu lacAriiatiou.
Through Hie wbole dim cliurch blaied altir candles. Ciowda of men
and women knelt or eat nhout the iirchcs, murmuring iheir prajere of
juvpnmtjon for tlia f(.*aiiviil. At tlie door were pi-iiliirs, selling little booln,
in which were printed all the ortlci's for ChnsJmas-tiile, with tilories of
fit. Felix and St, Catherine, whose ilevotion to tlto infitnt Christ had
ivronght tJifiti weul, and promises iif the reniisaion of four purgntorinl
centuries to thoeie who zeiduualy obaetved tlie service of the church at
this most holy time. I knew that the people of Fioreiice wore preparing
for Chrintmas in tlicir own tray. But it was not onr Cbristmat. It
Imppened that outsid* the ehurth the climnie eccmcd o» wintry as oar
own — £nowsioruis, nnd iee, and wind, and chilliDg lng^iiggeMting Northern
cold. But na the palncca of Florence lacked oiir cutiil'ortiible fires, and
the greetings of friends lucked our Ijearty handshakes and loud good
•nUlie*, 80 iherfl Menied to be a want of feeling in their Christmas
Beirictts and customs. Again I iisked mjsetf, " What do we ucaa Ly
Cbrigtmaa 1 "
The same thought pursued nie aa I Jrove ncrrot^s the hills to Rome:
1>y Sienna, vnM., and browa, and uuiuliabiTcd among its cnrth-hcaps ; by
CliiuKi, with its city of ■ dead and unknown people ; through the chestnut
forests of the Apennines; by Orvieto's rock, Viterbo'a founiains, and tlio
cnk-growH eolitud^'s of the Gimininn heights, fr^-m which one eega the
broai! lake of Bolseiia nnd (he Roman plain. Brilliiuit sunliglit, like tliat
of a day in late Stplembur, ahoue upon Ihu luuddcape, and I [bought — Can
this be Christmas 7 Are they bringing mistletoe and holly on the country
carls into the towns in far-off" England ? la it clear anil frosty there, wiiH
the tramp of heel* upon the flag, or tnowing silently, or loggy with a
round red sun, and crio of warning at the cornels of the streets f I reached
liomo on Chris tmaa-Gvei in time to hear midnight sen'icca in the Siatine
Clmiiel and St. Juhn Liitoran, to breathe the dual cf decayed GhrinG>s, to
wonder id doting cinlinnUbcgrimt'l with snuff, ;iH(ll to n-!ieut ilie ope'n-
mouthed bad taste of my countrymen who niado a mockery of llicsv paby-
Btricken ceremonies. Ninccardinuls going to tliwp, nine trsin-bearera talking
I
J
TnOL'OUTS W ITALr JLBOUl CnSTSTUAS.
17
^on^i tvatiy h^ge, Landsomc Switsers in tlie dreen dcrincd hy Michncl
Aagvlo, aamm iuliKr*i b ehair mj^'d clF bjr gildiKl niluogn, ibe intolc&e«
And oigcntM* ct puljrglot touristic plenty of wax-candles dripping on
[Mop)c*( bcadi, Mid & cuntiuuul nnsnl drone proceeding froni the gilded
ea^, oat »rvrliicb wen- cniiglit at imen-al> Llii<«« vrords, and thcM onljr, —
** Secotz saculonini, Aini-n." Such wcf « dtii ingn-dientx of the odebntcd
intiac KiTtcc. The cliapel bbzcd witlt light, nnd Tcry strange did
Uidiacl Angclo'a " Lost Judgtncut," Sibyls, and Prophvln, appear npon the
not acd wall above iVu niotlt-y ncd uRincaning crond. Hvxt morning
1 jnl oa ay dretft-clotbes nud white lii;, and impaired with multitude! of
Ca($:i>liiD«n smilorly dressed, sad of Engliahwomcn in black craj^— the
nf;aIittoa costutno — to St. Peter's. It waa a glorious and cloudless
nomiop; vunbeame •trefuui^ in columns from the eoutbcra window^
&Uing OQ the XMt vpxce full of HiMicrt and u mingled nines of every
kittd c/ people. Up ihc nnv« stood double files of the PontiScal guard.
Ucsli *ud nunii mixed with (lie Swits cuinutiers nnd hnlbcrds, Con-
tidmi otiwdod round the aacred imngcit, and e8{:(>cially round ihn loe of
St. rcler. laavnuuiy mothers Itfl tlK-ir annOdlcd babiea uptol^tmit.
Talcu of Cftrdiaali, vitb the iomriable red umbrellas, hung about sidc-
ehtfitli uil ■scriatui. Purpk-manlled mtnuignori, like emperor butter-
Km, BctXtA iloirn the nuJn from eunlighi into iliadoir. MoTcmcul,
cpjopr, and the <lir of expcctatii>n, made the cimrch alive. We shoncd
mrimiDMBt to the gtiiird, were admitteil within their raaka, and so]L>iiinIy
valknl u}> totraid the domo- Thcro, under it> bnnd coucppj, stood the
atttr glilimng utth jnld and candlcB. 'i'fae choir was catpelied and himg
nth Ksrirt. Tko mngniScent tliroDCS rose ready fox the Pope : guanls of
iMBOor, wldicra, attitch^ and the ^lite of tb« residents and vuitora
ia Boom, were scattered in groups picturesquely varied by eccletdastios
of aO onlera and dcgrere. At ten u niirring took pliicc near the
gTMl wmI door. It opi^ned, and ne saw the proccaaion of the Pope and
Us esfdinala. Before hiin marched the singers and the blowers oT the
■hvr tnonpets, niakbg the moat liquid melody. Then came hia Cap of
llBatettMtev, and three tiaras; then a oooipatiy of uiitrt'd bishops; next
thi canJinals b KarU-t; and la«t, nluft beneath a canopy, upon the
ifaoBldk-ra of men, and daokod by the myBtic faiis, advanced the Pope
LiiBteli^ ffirayinj; to and fro like a Llama, or an Aitcc king. Still tho
tmmpeU blew ninsl mlvcrty, and still the people knelt; and B4 he
rym m kovlt luid hfid his blcMiDg. ThftQ he took his Mute and received
luDBncn. After this the chotr b<>gan to aing a mass of Palcatiina'a, and
Ae drocons rubvd the Pope. Manrelloas putting on and taking 08"
(f rola atid liaraa and milra cnsncd, during uhicli there was much
tewie^ and praying and burning of inccnMr. At hist when he had
xncbcd liie Ii4i'<'Bt "l^^gu o( sacrificial sftnctity, he procccdt'd to tho attar,
sailvd CD by eardinala and bishopa. >InTing c>etucd it car«ftilly, lie took
t higher ihrnov and divnU'd himself of part of lib robes. Then the mass
ttst 00 In mmnl, till (he moment of coaaccntioa, trhcn it paused, tho
18
THOUGHTS IS rtALT ABOUT CIIRiSTMAS,
I
Pope OMC«nJcd from lut tUrotur, pnaaccl dovrn tlie olioir, «nd readied
ftltu-. Every one knell ; the uliriU bell tinkled ; the silver Irumpels blew;
lliu air biu-ame sick nntl heavy with incense*, ho llial nan and cAndldight
HYrooncd iu au atr»(«[)licrQ of odorous cIciid-wrcBlti*. 'Dio vrholo diTirdi
tivmblsd, hosriDa thti ftntnge eubllo iiiu^io vibrate in the domfi, nodi
■Gciitg tlic Pope witli liin own Iianili lift Clinil'it body froin tliv ullu anil
jir*a.-ne it to tlio pcojilo. An old pariah priost, pilgrim from Borae valley
€if the AiMjuuini^, who knelt beside iitc, ciit'd and quivered with exceu
of HdomtioQ. The grcAt tombs nrouiid, the ociiliitut'ed Mtint4nncl ungcls, _
tlic domo, iho vuluriKiB of light and incense and imAimiliar mdixly, th« I
'hicriircliy miniHinuii, the wliitu uiid cenlral ll};iire of the Pope, tho iiiiilti-
lude — mndc up nu overpowering efl'tct, Wliat followed was intensely dull.
My miml again went back tg England, and I thought of ChrbtmaB servicet
beginning in idl village chorchcs nnd all ciLthcdrnla throughout tho land —
tlivir old rnmiliiir hymn, thdr iiiitiioni of Itiitiilol, ihoir tritffi yrt revcrvnd
it'rmonit. How Jtiri-rent thw two sceu«3 are — ChristTiina in Rome, Christ*
jQoa in Englanii — Italy and the North — tho spirit of Latin and the spirit
of Tratooic Christianity. ■
Wiiat, then, coattitiitca the tOBCsco of our ChrifiCmas as diflereaL fraic '
tluit of more SoutJtern nations f In llidr origin lhi>y nra the utmc. The
Mablu of Bfthkheni, the slar-lt^d kingH, cli« shcplii-rd*, iinJ the angsU— all
tho beautiful slory, in fact, which St. Luke alone of the Evangelist! bil
prMerved for ui— are whit tho whole Clirislian world owee to the religiota
fi:oliog of tho Ilcbrcivn. 'llic first nnd tccocid chaptcra of St. Luke va
moat inipoptaiit in the hiatory of Christian mylholugy and nrt. They fcti
far from containing ilic whole of what wo mean by ChriHtmuii ; but llis
religious poetry vrbich gather* round that acoaon luust be aought upoa their
pnges. Angela, wer since tho captivity, had continued to play a most
iinportant jwrt in the viiiions of the Hebrew prophets, and in the live* of
llieir great men. W« know not what n-minincfinct^s of old Egyptiim dvitiui,
vbiEalnngc tJiadnws of the winged be.ixiH ofPcnia, (liltH through their
dreania. In the desert, or under the boundlt^a sky of Babylon, these
thajtes becamo as distinct as tho precise outlines of Oriental scenery.
They iacamutiJ the vivid thoughts nnd intense longingti of l3ie prophets,
who gradually came to give them human forma and tillo. \Ve Iicur of
Ihtin by nnrue, as K-rvanta and uttt-ndiints upon God, as guardians of
nntions, and piilroDS of grc.it na^n. To the Ilchrfw mind the whole
liuacen world wa) full of spirits, active, strong, nnd swift of flight, of
various aspect, and with power of spei-ch. It is hard to imagino what the
Jeviah disciples and the early Grcik and Roman cnnvnrta thought of then
gri-nt beings. To us, the liit^rarchlea of Dionynuiit, th« dogmas of l}i«
Church, the poetry of Danle and Milton, and the funns of art, have mad*
them quite familiar. Northern nntions hnvc appropriated tho Angels, and
invested them with allribules nlit-n to their Oriental origin. They fly
through OUT pino-fore^ls, and thu gloom of doud or atorin ; they i!dc upon
onr dnnging belli, and gather in swift equmlroos among Ihe nrohea of
1
TllUL'GUTS XX ITAI-Y ABODT CJIlllSnUa
19
inlfi Wflwx liicrn ntakin}; llglit in the CATcraooa di-plli of
ma or mtvui-lKMijiii never cnmo, atid umittcrin^ to tlie
ouodtd M- the wruj ; tlivjr biar al«lt ihv ctnsen of di« tnau ; tlii!jr aag
in tlie uU»etos of choriatem, and lire ia Aniloa or poetry soul mtuic ; oiir
ekanslHs b«ftf tlirir tumn ; we ml] our diiidrin) hj Uii;ir titlu ; trc )of«
tlica* M cor giarJijib*, aiid llii: irholc uii&veti trorld is nuule a liuiua to na
hf Ikcir inM^MJ prewtWQ. All thtte \iuug» nns Ute growth of tiine and
ti« vnric of ntee> whote artutio imiginatJoQ u more powcrfu] thiui that of
At '' ' Tel lliu nc}i U-gac; of ronuinctf is l>ouiid up iu th« secoitd
dtt, I-ukc ; nnd it U to him tv« tiiutt gir« thauks vrhco at
- I ! '-r t}i« >li«(>l)erd* and tha angeU ia EnglUli wordi
|i«ttUUJuL uia:( lij (jwti Grcvk.
Tb« aiu:«U in the BUbl« of Iktblehein, tha kings who «an)o l>om the
far Eovt, aod the i)ilf>mg sheplmds, arc tbe gift of Hebrew Je^eud, nod
cf Um Umk physiciaa, Luke, to ChrUtntnk. llow tlieae atrnnge iind
forgnoQi inctdeiitfl nSt'ct tnodrra fancy, remains for us to Dxamiae; at
pncBt ve miut aak> what did tbu Haiixaaa give Iu Christ luas? 'Xho
caMioiu of (be C}iri«tian n-ligi«n, like ererything that belong* to the
mdm wuchl, bavo nothing pom and simple in ihvir nature. 'Uiey are
llta (iwth of long i^c«, aud o( widrJy difl'treiit siystviiis, parts of which
W** b«Ma fuMd i»lo ooc living whole. In tiiu respect th«j rcwnibk our
^^«^c, cut blood, c<ir litemutv, and our tnudi-a of thought wnd feeling.
We Bad CliiutuiBit; in one m-hm: irhnlly vriginul ; iu (mother nccur, wboUf
II 1|MH 1 ef old III r.i both lenKSf tmlrersal and connopcilitan.
TttftMuan elccDctr . -unaa ua remnrkable ioitanee of ihb ac<)uiiu-
tin power of Cbriatiiuiitf. Tlw nhibratioa of th« Audral tflkee placs nt
At at&e tim* u iluit of iho |t:ig:in Knittrnatia ; and from lliu old uueUmiu
■f ikal buUiIajr, Cbiixtiii3s ul'^oiliL-d much Unit wiu cooaiatvtil uiih ihe
(|inl of tbv orvr Tcltjicn. Krery one know* that during iho MturuuUa
tk* vbola world fri«joy«d, in thought at leaat* a perfect freedom. Men wlio
iaA goam to bnd aa ahirns row iheir own iniialara. From tliu enjattuta
sd dtsmal aualcu cng<« tlioy wmt forth to rarablc in the itrceta aad
iiMi. IJbrrtf of kpoch vuN given tliem, nnd thiy mi|fht latirizu tliOdt*
titM of tbclr loidl. lo which on blhct duys ihey had to miuintvr. iioiuv
•■ 1^ d«j, b/ a itrai^e wout of logic, which we mi^l almost call a
|fwpUPH of blind conad'nce, srgaljvnl the phUosopliic dictiini that
ttftri^P* wen by law cf naltirc aluret, and acknowWdlged thd higher
jftftSJrJe of alMolule (.'•lunliiy. The cnltirunlia Uood out from the whole
as a {>rut«it in bvour of nnircnoJ brotlierhood, ntid the right thai all
than aldi* l'^ (-njoy life kiUr their own faahioo, wilhin the boooda
that natuife bat anlgticd them. We du not know bow fur the Stoic acbool,
>!iidi «iw to BtTcng ill Itciitic, and Itad eo m-iny poinLi of ccniaci with
iW CbraCiaat, hikl ccnTircu-d iU own ihcurifi nf c'liuliiy v-iih ihin old
f^vm af th» talurualia. But it ia oerlaiu that the fcUnwslup of humau
Usai, aod tlio &«« abartdoniuent of claaa prert^ivc^ bccanii: a part tf
CWttlaat limush llit habit of tho satiiniBlis. We are pmctiuug a Ktinati
I0UGHT8 IN ITALY ABOUT CIlRlSTMJ
virluc to thU dny ivlicn nt CIiTiatflias-tiiiie our lumJ is libeiiil, and wc tlilnli
it wrong llinl tlip ponnwi wn-tch nhould fait to frol llie pleasure nf the dny.
Of course Chmtianity inspired the frct-doiu of tlic Kiturnalia witli ft]
higher meaning. The mystery of the Incdrnntion, or the dcilication
human nature, put nn vnd to ulavpry tlirougli h.11 the year, as well as i
tliifl aingl« duy. WImt lint] boen ii kjjid of airuIcBs licence b«can
moBt ennobling principle by whioli men nro oxnitcd la a Htnla of
respect and mutual reverence. But in tlic BimimiiliB wiis found,
mDd«i an easy aymbol v! unwlfiah enjoyment. The peculiar Ii-ec-1
•yiiiputhy we [iraclUo on tiint day nmy ba traced without exaggeration
tlie Itom.-in R-srivnl.
The eady Itoman Christians prohably kept Chmtmas with no
ceremonies. Ctiri»t was as yet too closu to lliem. He had not bccon
itic glorious cr<:aturu of tUi:ir f^ncy, but was purtly an hiittoric being
jiiirlly coiifuMil in their iniaginalion with itminisceuccfi of pagan deitie
As the Good Sliejilicrd, nnd as OrphciiH, we find him piiiuted in
Catoo<jmb8 i and those who thought of Ilim as God, loved to dwcl] uj
His rii«n grealmw more than on the idyll of Hta birlli. To ihfm HM
t^itry upon earth seemed less a subject of rcjoidng titan His opi-iiin^
tho heavens ; iliey RiifiTed, and looked forward to a future ]iiip[iine»(]
ihey would not seem lo make this -world pcrnmncnt by sharing its gladJ^
ncM with the hcathoni. Theirs in truth ivas n re1ig;ion of hope and
patience, not of trinmphaal recoUeciion or of present joyfulneas.
The Northern convcrls of the early church added mej-e to the ptvulis
dinraclCTof our Christ mas. Wlio ciin lell what pagan rites were half sane
tificil by llicir association with thai Bcjmon, or how much of our cheer-
fuIncM belonged to iieatheu orgirs, and the banquets of grim wnrUka
godif Certainly nothing strikes one more in reading Scandinarinn
poetry, than the odd mixture of pagan and Chrisiian icntimenls which it
prcsit^iita. For tbough the mlsuonnnee of the CEiui-ch did all they could
lo iveun AKay ihc minds of men from their old Ruperaiiiitins ; yet, wifdA
thaa iheir modvm followers, tlity saw lliht some tliiu^ might remain^
untouched, and that even the great outlines of the Christian liiitli mi^ht
be iidopted to tht; liablw of tbo people whom they ntodied to conviTC^
Thus, on tbo ere band, they destroyed the old tciikplM one by oiic^'
and called the Idola by the name of devils, and Btiovv to obliterate lli«
eonga which sang great deeds of bloody goda and hc-roci, while, on tbt
other, they taught ilia Krjrihern si'a-kiugs that Jesus was n Prince sur-
roundtd by twelve diikea, who conquered all tht; world. Besides, ihfj
left the days of the week to tlic-ir old patrons. Of course tiic iningination
of the people pieserved more of heathendom tlion even such init^ionatiL's
coiiM approve, inixhig up ihc deeds of the Christlian sfliiiM with old heroic
legonds, BCt'ing BmlilBr's beauty in Chnst, nnd iho strength of Thor in
Sampson ; nitribnliug ningie lo St. John, Mweariug, as of old, bloody ontln
in Uvd's name, over the gildt-d boar'a>head, burning the yule-log^, and
cutting sacred boughs to grace their new-buiU churchon. The wnga of
I
J
TUOUCUTS IN ITALY- AUOCT CHHISTJtAS.
21
dicin «nil suiidlI nf lio'y In^'lB, and inipnrBlitioua tf^vcreiif-p for ihe tuftw,
txC^itB 1" trll uf^n tbc i>c«jilv ; und toon tlie cclio of tLelr «iU rvligioQ only
MeUed Dpno the «at ul inlcnritk, ntlneliing it«cir to lima of mere ihan
jtj. Cliriittmas wns one of these timesj And the <>i<l ruilh throw
cdcbrAtion a fhotnsiic light. MnnjrcuatAfusof llie gcninl jvignn
laed ; ihty awnrnl Itaiiulcss when ilio «cn<« of joy wai ChrUiiiiii.
Dmul'a niallelce graced ihc chiuch porcbea of Eaglomi and of Krunct%
■od » blood lingerad on its licmm. CliriKtiunit (hii* boeuna a lime or
fiStMonliiury niplt>iy. Tlic pro|iI« lured U am coimccltng iLeir old Jifo
with the [K'w religion, prrha|)a uucviisciuunlyi though every one miglit
M tbM Chrartinu wits no cominoa Christian fuist. On its ere, strange
voodera faq)[cn«d : llic thorn that sprang nt Glastonbury from tiic Mcrcd
tnwa nlu^ Joeei>h brought with him from Polcaiine, ^vhen Avaion wa«
•tilt as tsland, MoiBoaied on tlmt dny. The Conibli mincra secnied to heiir
tWe KMiod oF »!!(.'''*? 1^™ arise fium inbntvrgcd ohiiTclitj Iry tlio nhore, and
otbm sod Ibat bells, beneath llic groand where villngea had bMti, chimed
jtuif on that ore. Ko ertl xhiag had power, as JMarcellua in tfaviltt
Ddb CB, and tbc bird of dawntiig crowed the whole night through. One
iu(^l Binltiplj' fblk'lofQ abont the Banctity of ChriittTniis, but enough hax
bm Hid Ki liiow ibit round it lingort>d long tlie h-jjeudnry spirit of old
MOfl^D. It IB not to Jaws, or Greekn, or liomuus ihat we one our anoient
Ouiilnuut &neie*, but to thoni luilf-hcalhcn nnceilors who lovingly looked
\mA Iff Odln't <Uys, and htli) tlie old while they ombrnccd (he new.
Let OS inuigioe Clirirtmaa L>ay in a niodinrvn! town of Northern Kng-
latit, The caihnlral boB been pnrLly built. It* iiuve and 1ranBi-]Jtd ate
tkc work of Korman architects, but the choir rcukains for more graceful
fa«Bcx* and more diiUuI hand*. The old city is full of onfUmen
aamblfd to comptele the churcb. Some tui?Q come as a reltgloun duly,
t« v»rk f ff their tule of dins by bodily Jabonr. Some arc animated by a
ini ct art — eiin{>I« men, who might hare rivalled with itie Ureekj in
t^m nf luore cultiralion. Other*, ogntn, are well-known corTGre, biought
kr hir« from dialnnt towns and countrica beyond the Bca. But lo-d«y,
lai for setne daynpast, tlio xound of hacinier and chisel has been Kileni
ta the eboir. >lonks have bu»tlcd tdiout the nave, dressing it up nith
beay-bcmglta and btuhca of yew, and preparing a lUge for the (acred
aby Ibay to* geiag to Rtiiibit on the feast lUy. C^rt»tiuaa ia not like
Cbniaa Christi, and now the n:iarket-[iUce Htaodti ioohee deep in mow, bo
^T iIm mifnclca mRsI he enacted beneath a roof inetead of in the open air.
And what r^o*^ "^ ni^iropriale na llio cathedral, where ]>oor people may
Ian wanatb and ihtlier whilst they see lt« show T Beaidot, the gloo«y
cU cbttrcb, with it* windows darkened by tlio fulling mow, lenda Iticif to
eiadl^&ght riFcct» t!i.il will enhance tlic 8[ilendoar of Uic scene. Every-
lUcf b ready. The inceoM of morning maw yet lir^ws round tba
^HT. Iht voice of tbu friar who lold tlie people from llie pulint tlie
gMj of CliriflV binh. has lianily ceasti to echo. Time lias jual been
BT«n fix » uiid-Oay dinner, and for the ■bepberds and farm luda lo troop
>UGUTd IN IT
CUItlSTU
in from tlie oountry-nde. The moaka are T«*dj at tbe woodeu stage
draw it« ourtain, and all l)ie niiv« ia full of cjiger faces. There you
tee ilie ■itiilh luid carpenter, the butcher's wife, die country pri€S^ and
brown Kniuui^can monk. lIun^r«d«of workmen, iThoM hume tUe cath<
dral far tlie time is made, arc alsa her«>, and you may know the artuta 1>^
their tliouglilful forvlicads and keen cyvs. Thnt youog monk caireL
Madoaiift and her Sen nboTe tbe koulhern porch. Hcsidc him stand*
lli« innttrr Tnaxon, whoM strong arniH have hewn gigantic imagisi
propliL-bi nnd Kpostlea lor iho piimack'S outtiide the cliuir ; aad tbe lictlv
BitB with cunning eyes between the two is hs who cuts such quaint het>-
goblina Inr the gargoyles, lie hi« a vein of Haiirc in him, and bia humour
OTcrflovTS into iho stone. Many and iiutny ■> grim bcitst and kideoua hod
has he hidden amooj; viuu loavui and trellis wc^rk upon tha porches.
TboK who know him well urv lulli to iiri^t;r hirn, for ft-ir llii-ir sons and
MM* MOB ihoukl laugh at them for ever caricatured in eoltd ttonc. Hnrk I
Ihera totmdi the bell. The curtain is drawn, and tho vandlfs blaze brightly
round thf! wooden alage. WW ia this tirat ecena 7 We have God in
Heaven, droaaed lihe a Pope with triple oroM-n, and utt>endedbyhiaeourtof
BDgel*. They sing and tuu up ceuxers till he lifts hut ha&d and ipeaka.
In a long Latin epeecli, ho uufolda the ordvr of creation, and hta will
concerning man. At the ond of it, up U'iip* an ugly buRbnn, in goat-akia,
with tain*' horns Uj)OU hin Ii^J- Suiiiu children begin to ory, but lite
older people Iatigh,for this ia the devil, thti clown and comic «hantct«i, wh«
talka their couimon tongue, and Ims no reverence before the very throne of
Heaven. Ho nsks Itavc to plague men, and rcceivca it; then, witli many
a curious caper, he goes down to Hell bcnejith the (tag*. The angeb
ung and tosa thdr ccnscra ojt beforo, and th{! linit scene cIcM(>it to a sound
ol' t>r(!aiis. The next ia dull ; it icpi\»i.-nts the I'liU, tltt mviik» hurry over
it <iuJckly, iix a tc-dious but necessary preluds lo tho birth of Chriiit. That
is the true Clirintinas part of tlic ceremony, nod il is undcmtood that llie _
best ftotora and mo«t b«flutifttl i.rt»c» arc to bo rcaerved for it. TIm m
builders of thf choir iit pnrticid»r, nre iiiier-ost«d in tlie coming aoeaefl,
eincQ one of their number hiu lieeu choacn fur hit) h^dsomc face and
tenor voic«, to uug ihe migel's pnrt.
Ho is n young fellow of nineteen, but Iiia biard ia not yet grown, nnd
long b^ liangi down upon his shoulders. A chorister of the cathedral, his
younger hrolhiT will net the Virgin M:iry. Ai hist the curtain ia drawn.
We ace a cot luge -room, dimly lighted by n lump, and Mary ttpinoitig
near her bediide. She Hingn a counlr)- air, and goca on working, till a
ruRtling noliic is heard, mure liyht is thrown upcn the Hlnge,»nd aglorioua
creature, In while raiment, with broad golden winga, apjHUirtt. Ho bears
a lily, und crien : — "Ave M.iria, flriitia Ploim I" She does not anawcr,
but »tnnda cotifiiBcd, wilti down- dropped eyes mid timid mien. Gabri«)
nttt from lh« ground and comforts Iter, and siogs uloud bis message of
glad tidings. Th«n Mary gathers conrag^^, mid kneeling in her turn
thanks God ; and wbra tliv angd nnd his radianoe dieuppcuis, she
I
I
I
TnOTiGUTs Hi halt about cbkistmas.
93
of the Magnificat, clcatly anJ urnplj- iu tlit darkened room.
And eilrer Rotindt tliin iiymn tlirongli tho gr^at cliiiivh. 'Hie
vnMen 1en<*1, and diiUrcn ore biiiilipd as by a InlULiy. Bui aainc of the
Uwb Kid preaticc-Wli) b«giu (u lliink it rather ilull. Titey are not torr/
«Wb ih* ttf^t Bccne ofctiB with a (litcp-ruld aiid a Utile camp-6rc.
DxKUuljilila DeatinftH Jekic from tlic fold, and Ave or kix common
tJifn are &ttitif[ round the blasiog wood. . One uitglit £iacj- they
bd ctopped fltnuglit iVoni Ui« clmrcli fluor to tli« stage, u naturnl
do they looli' Badded, Uiiry call LbeinKlvea bjr oommoD aainva — Culin
IgA Tom LLe-a-bed, and tumble Dick. BXany a r«iind Lii)(;h wakes
i» lh« diarcb, whra tbrM; shcphridi g«t up, and hold debate
t atolcm abcop. Tom Lic-a-bcd has DOtbiDg (o remark but ibat
%t fa »«ry rteqij', and does not wnm ii> go in ecarch of it to-nighi;
Oelin cut! jokee, aiid Uirows out alirevd niinptcivnA tbot Dick knows
UMillilrift gf the matter ; but Dick is oiy, und k(.'«{i« iLcm off the scent,
h a Anr of bis arid«a reveal to the audience that he is thv roal tlitef
thcj are tliiis talkinic, aleoue fatla upon the alicpherds. Soft muiic
fivn t^ daoreh organ brcaihci^ and Hv?y appear to fall asleep.
The lUge is now (jiiil« daik, and for a (vw momenta the aisloa echo
oaljr to tb« dvutg iselody. ^Vhen behold, a ray of light is seen, and
i^lredoor gtwn around the stage ft-om unseen candles, and in the gtorj-
Gabriel a]V(»nn upoa a bi^httr platform made to look like cloudx. 'Hia
AepLeiii Wake iu confusion, ttriviug to shelter Uicir eyes fiom thia
Bswvntsd brilliancy. But tiabrit:! wavnt bi« lily, spreada his great gold
wlaga, and lids good dxcr wiih clurion votw. Tho shopberda Cill to
Vvnbipr <um1 suddooly round Gabrii-I there gatbt-ia a choir of uDgcls,
and a song of "Gloria in Bxcelus" to the Bound of a d<>i.-p oignn U
htuA tu off. From distant ajska il swells, and sccnia la conic ftura
Throogh a long rca&nant fugue th« glory tUo<^ and as it ctn^eo
oonplex condosion, the Ughts tlio out, the angels dimppear, snd
Oabrid bdes into tlio darkness. Still Ibv ibvphcrds knee), nutJcally
jfcanfTwg a cArol half In Latin, half in Ki^lUh, which begins " In dulci
JoIiQd." TIis people know it well, and when the chorus rises with
■ Ubi sunt gaudin ? " its wild melody is caught by voices up and down
ibe nave, lliis ao^ie nudcea doep iinprenioii upon many ke:krts ; for
tlie bcanty of Gabriel ta rare, and fuw who ace him in hia angel's dresi^
«««Id k&nw him for the lad who daily caitcs his lilies and broad water
fl^ about the julljirs of the choir. To tltat simple audience he inler-
pKta hraven, and litlle children will aee him in their dreams. Dark
winiM- aigbts and awful fon-sts will be trodden by hia feet, madt nuiKical
by hU mdodiona voice, and parlvd by Ihc rustUng of his wuigs. The
ymtli hitaaelT may return to-morrow to the workman's blouxe and chiwl.
Mil hi* mnnory lives in many minds and may funib a p.irl of Chtintnias
lo the Ikaty of men oa yet unbuni. Tlie ntxl diawing of the curtain
Aaitt Hi tie stable of llotbleli<-m crowned by its star. There kneels
JCoT, aod Joav]>h Ifnna ti{iun his ttaif. The ox and oa are close at
24
THODOHTS IS ITALY ABOUT CDItlSTlIAS,
hand, ami J«iiis lies in jevrelled ro'bce on straw willaa the mnngcr. Tn
riglit and left bow the shepherds wonhii'pinj; in dumb shoir, while Takes
Bnm behind chnut a sok'nin hjinn. In ibo midst at the melody is hcnrd
a flourish or trunipcls, nnd hir.nl'J:* »t<>p upon tlio ilngP, followed hy ihe
tlirco crowned knij;a, 'Ihi-'y linve come fjom tltc (ta Eiint, kd hy the flUr.
The !K)ng ecuex, whilo driiiiiR luid fifca aod truinpcU pla^ k titalely tnarrh.
The liinga pass hy, and do obeisance one by ono. Eoch gives soine costly
gift; each dofls liis crown nnd lcav«* i[ nt thr .Saviotir'i f^-et. Then tlioy
rotiru to n dislaiico and worKhip in iiileiice like ihe tJiephfrd*. Agiua
the augel'a Houg iit licord, aud trhilv it dJ«« away, tho curtain doacK, and
the lights arc put out.
Tho pky 3B over, and CYcning Ilhs como. Tho people must go from
iTic wami chuich into lh« tivzea snow, aud crunch their homeward way
bc-iii^alh Old moon. But In their minds tiicy carry a tense of light and
mitsic nnd unearthly lovcliticu. Not n scenti of this day'< pngcanl will
bs loBt. It grows within them and createa the poetry of Chrittniat.
Nor must wo foiget the ncul^tors who lislcn to the play. "Wo Bpoke
of tbcm minutely, because these ntyatcriea Euik deep into their cvula
and found a wiiy inio their Oiirviugs on the ejuhcJnil walk The
morik who made Madonit hy the suutUem porch will reinetnher Gabriel,
and placfl him Ixnjiing low in lordly saltitatioti by her ride. The painted
glass of the cliajjier iKiuse will glow with fieiy chcirs of angels learned
by hcnrl tlint night. Aud who doua not know the jiiockJiig dcvila and
quaint satyrs timt the humorom sculptor will enrvc amcng hisfruitMand
dowcTB? Some of tho niiBcrerea of the elnlla slill bear r«i^traits of tlio
•hcpliord thief, nnd of the os and n^ who blinked so blindly when
tho king* by torchlight brought their dazzling gifts. Truly ihoso old
tuimde-plays and llie iiarved iirork of ciintjing hands thut they iunpircd
are wurtii to ua more tbau all the deliciite crentious cf Italian pencils. ,
Our homi'ly Northern churchca still retain for (lii; chiM who reads their 1
boMSia and their sculpiurod fronts more Chriatmnfl poetry than vrc can
find in Fra Angelico'a devoiitneas, or the liveliness of Giotto. Not that
Southern nrtials have done Uffthiog for our Chmlmns. Ciuabue'n
gigantic nngeJs nt Assisi, and llie radiant aerapiu of Kaiihiiel or of j
Signorelli, were scui by Miiton in his Italian jt>iiriiey. He gazed ia I
RotoikIi churchi?a on graci'ful nativities, into which Angelico and Crcdi
threw their einiplei souls. How much llicy tingi'd his Ikncy we cannot
say. But what wc know of heavenly hierarchical we later men have
l«ani«d from Milton ; nnd what he saw he spoke, nnd n-hat hf spoke in
•ounding verso lives for us now and sways our reason, aud conlroLi our
Anc}', and makca an art cf high theology.
Thus have wn alleinpteil rudely to rerall a scene of meditevat Chridt-
maa. To underHtand the domestic liahtls of that age ia not so easy,
though one can fnney }i»w the barons in th^^ir IialU held ChriAtmas with
thebonr'ti lie;id nnd the j>Etcr and the groat yule-log. On the daia xat
loi'd and lady, waited on by knight and u^uirc and page ; but down the
TnOUOItTS IS
25
blig ImH fettsuij yeomen nml liiiidg nad men-at-ann-i. Liltio rcmatns to
03 of dioae &iy^ nnii nv hnve outworn their jolUiy. Ii U really from the
Ktitsbcthan pc^ta thnC OQr kuk cf old-fiubioDcd festivity axwea. They
Irrad M ibe ?ad of one agv and tlie bcginDtng cf nriotlicr. Though bom
to nmtgante the new en, they bclongn] hy right of As»ocint!on and
(fnpathy ta tiM period that wns flwting liist away. Thia enabled them
U irpliunt tlio poetry vf pam and present. Old oostcms and old sutea
oTlcdug, when tboy ore nbfiut to pcrUh, pats into tho realm ofitcL For
Bt is like a flower, nhich coiuuramntes the pinnt nnd ends ita growth,
wbtk it translates ita nature into lorelmeaH. Tlim DniKc anrl Orca^a
MubrilMd iBodi»faI theology in works <<f imp^rishjiblo bfniiCy, and
GBiJcqiMra uu] hia fvllowx nindc immottal tho lifo and manners that wt^re
decaying ia their own time. Men do not reflect upon their niude of
; fUJ they arc pusing Cram ctiA ttatc to nncther, ani! the eonscious-
cS art ioipliea a beginning of new tilings. Let one who wishes to
appr«ciat« tb* idc«l of an En^Ii«!i Clinatmaa r«a<i Shnkapenro'a tang,
" Vilicra icicles Imng by tho wall ; " nnd if ho know« tome old grey
gnagc, &r from the high roail, iunong pimlun-H, with n river floTnn^ aear,
and cairing rools in elm trees by the garden-wall, let him plneo Dick
Bad Joan and Marian there. Wc hare heard no much of penni»neni, and
barooi of beef, and yulc-loga, and b^iy, and roacmary, and holly-botighs
ml npoa the hill-nde, nod crab-npp!ea bobbing in the waauit bowl, and
BBsqurs and ranmmers, atul dancers on tho ms)te«, thnt wc nved not here
a Chri«tnias-«ve in oldon timf«. Rtit one chHrnclfj-iitic of tliR
ElizalKth may be tiienlioncd : ihut is, its love of mn-iic. Fugiittd
malodiea mag by voicca without inatTunienta wore much in vogoe. Wu
oall them madrigaU, and ihotr hnlf-mc-rry, hall'*nip1*iiicli«]y lantuc, yot
mill the time when England had her gift of art, when alio needed not to
of Marenzio nnd rak-elrin.-i, when licr Wilii}r?s and lir-r Morland.t
t W Dovlaads won the praise of ^hak^care and the court. Wc hear
ibe edho of tboM aoog*, and in some towni at ChrietiniU or the N«w Year
bU ni«drigal« ttiD (ound in pmiitG of nriann mid of Plijltia and tho
Bomtry life. What are called naita »re hut tt [kmh- travest)' of ih(««
iDg £liz.iT)elhan enrclt. Wc turn in cur beda half-pitj-ing, half-
by hanth voices that (juavcr aenaeleas ditties in the fog, or
laaclKSB fiddle* playing popular ain without proprioty or interest. It ia
a asange mtxlare of incongmouj elemenla which the Elizabethan age
prwcfit*. We see il afar olT, like the meeting of a hundred Btrcamn tliat
gn>v into a rivr. W« are failing on the flnod long after it has shmnk
, ungle tide, nnd the 1>anks are dull ami tame, nnd ilie all-absorbing
ia before us. Vet sometimes we hear a munnur of the distaut
nnd Chrifltmas is a day on which the many waters of the sge
it Elirabetl) sound clearest
Tha af© which followed wm not poetical. The Pnritana reslraincd
fadirily and art, and hated tiiu«ic. Yet from this period auiida out the
tifam of Niluiti, wiillcn when ho was a youlh, but bearing promtso of bis
n*. Mil.— Ko. 73. SI.
flO
TUOUGH'rS i» ITALY ABOUT CHRISTMAS.
liter niiiiO. At c-d« time, w ire rend it, wc sevu t« b« iooking on
pietitni lijr Kmic tilil llulinn artifit. Dnl no [ticturo eaii give Milton^
aituJe or tuako tbo *' buaa of Iiravcu's (lec]> organ blow." Hens he hhioIk
n«iT aaKointioDs, iiud reveal* Ike r««lni of pottry whiob ii rvuninnl ft
Uter titnn to travene. Milloo (bit the true ecnlunent of Norllien
{StrUtiniu when lio o{)atttl bis poein widi lli« " winter n-iH" in (]*fuiice
ef biatorioftl prolwbillty, anil irhnt tho Frencit call " liwul cnlnnrint;.''
Notlting bIidwi Itow wlioUy wv jwople of tlio North Ii4ve a[>[>ropriKlwi
diristnuis, ind dimJc U s Gr«atur« of our ovrn imagitiatioa, more lliMn tliii
dwelling on ttlndu knd niowt, nnd bitter frottn, to atimn (Vnm lh« frngrtinl
oigbu of I'nlfRtine. But Miiioa'^ hymn u like a iiym|)1iony, entbraoinji
naay (boughU and perioik of varying melodj. Th« mtiiric of ibc venijiliiiii
bring* to bia mind ibe age of gold, and that eu^gesta ibe judgment and
the redemption of Ibo vorld. Sntjn'i king<)oni laila, tbe false goiia go
Ti»\h, Apollo leave* his tokVj throne, attd all the dim Phsnician And
E^ptiun d<>ki(», wlili thaw ihni dn*Mo fjnoy fn1>lrd, ttvp awnr like
gboBU into tlie darknefls. Wlut u nwel) c>r«lannjr vouiid ii in tliOM^ Him !
It reminds ua of tlie tmoc of Pan, wbieb went abroad upon the walen
«liMi Cliriiit died, and all iho nlterancw of Gtxl «ii ourtli, feignvd la
I>t-I|i1itnn ■lirinea, or tntiv spc-kcn on Ibe sacred bills, wrre miiti; fi>r ever.
Adc^r Millon came tlie ago vrhlch, of til oth^r*, is the pKwiest
in oiir histoi;. Wi> cannnt find mucli novt*lly of InteroKt iwlded to
Cbritlniaa al tlita timb Bnl tlten ia one pieoc of pwti^ tliat wume-
liow or aiMtlwr teems to belimg to iht' reign of Anse and of the (iectrgni,
— tlie poetry of bell*. Great ciric c^irjinnitloni leigned in thme 6ny»,
cliUfv-liwAl-duMift lyrAiinlx<-d iin<t vrvrv rich, and mnny a goodly cbinto
of Iwlls they bting in old cliurch-MeepIini. Li>l tts go inio the B({U»re
room of tin: betfry. where the clock ticks all dity, and the long rope* harg
dimpling down with fur upon their l^mp for ringvr'a Itauda, above tbe
■ockeocL for rio^'era' feci. There we may read long ttiU DTglldtuI uamni,
recording; mountiiinous bob-majoTA, rung a cniiury »gn, wlih Hprtial piaifie
le him wli» |>iil1ird lliu tenor-bell, year after yrer, until be died, and Uft
it lo bU aon. The an of boll-rjnging fa tm/onad, and reqiiirea a tong
aitprcniiwvbip. Er«n novr, in aomc old dtica, the rin^'rrF fbi-in a guiti
anH myatiTj'. Suppoue It to be (Tliriatniaa-eve, in the ymr mi. It
ninr n qiuarler before tireire, nnd tlie oi-xton ku unlocked lie dinrcli
|iil««,anil mt the U-Ifry do&r *JAr. Candica are IfgM«d io tbe room ab»vd
md jug* of tn.-«>r stnnd reiuly fiir Ihn ringen. Up tliey htnlla one bjr onj
and Iwtea to tiit> (icJiiiiga i/f tlir rltrfc Ihnt tell the pa«ii!i;! m>nui<v. At biat
it givea a olkJc i nnd now Utey (linw off ooat and wnutcoal, strap tfc
RirdlM llgliinr Tonnd the walat, and radt Iiotili hu mpp to nndlni
'firalrat'* ' \r«, and fofth acroas the tileut city go lite clamot^tj
chioH*. '■ rockn nnd rceU, and Cat nwny lhi> nii'li' )• ilarL
Pamp liirlmleiil WutwiiiJ*, t-ualiing fmm tbit ' Ii
iIhi Inland vall^'yi, nlrh tlto anund, and ton it '.- -i- . :. , a ..r
^imta and aufltcliM 1o walcfaera (kr away, upon bleak mootlaiMU and ilw
A
rnouGHTs IS
lnvngf woodjr lills. le tJiere not iioincthing dim and ulrangfi lit llio
ihM^l nf tbww I'ight id«ii meeting in the h<-nrt of n greet vitj* iu the
UtfnnrMGy-rooED, to itJra might j* dCMiiHi llmr, »liii]l »nitoiiDoe lo liHtening
ten wSa, milus away, tlic bidli of a new dav, miU itlt to dancers,
aatntn, Kiideiitji, )iltN'|)4tr>t, and porlmps to <iying iiion, thiit Clirixt is bora?
I(t tlii> aiHodmion sitflicc I'ur t)i« time. And of cur cwn Chmtniiu
Hsne)) ku been mid and §iiiig by Itcltvr voices, thnt w« may learo il tu
ribfafiagi tnd the mnnoncB cf those who read ilie liTeBidetal««of Diokcm,
mianhMffyin tlicJr homcK. Thf many ckaientawhidi wu Iwve miclca-
mnd )« reenlJ, mi* nil of them In the ChriBtnms of the prpitent, jvirliy,
a>dant)t, and«r the ^nn of vngiie aiid obwin-e PMnitimt'tit, partly m time-
ImmuvI nantiuBcctioos, partly as & purtiou of our own life. But iboro
kontTiew of poetry which we enjoy nior« fully than any prpvimua ^«.
TWnmKiic. Music u of nil tli(! nrla the yoiiniri-ir. and of aJl con free
Imttf moBt rfadily from aymbolit. A iine picco of tnnxic morca bcfun lu
Ifla I Itrin; piMioci, which nenl* no fcirni or colour, no Interjiroiing
HHriuiom, (o coQYoy its strong luit indiMina niKititicnncv. Ivnch niiiR
limt fadt hii Knil rvvoiliid to him, and oniibleil to netima n out of
Uiflj in obedience to the chaageful acmnd. In this muTinL-r nil oiir
CUbUH thought* and emotionn hara 1>e«n gathered up for ub by Uaadcl
10 lu dnmn of the Metiiah. To Knglishmeu it is almoat as weli known
•ad HMHBry m Iha Biblo. But only odd who baa heard i<i piixloral
•fMe perforuMt yi-ar iiAor ymr fVom childhood in thu hushc-d cuihiidrnl,
tiMn ptndanC laiiiin or ■coiioi-i iii-'iko the gloont of uUle and choir iiid
■lyMtiucB li«lf iiit«lligibt«, can invcHt lhi> tnu»ic with long oanetntion*
tf He«nulat«d awe. To hii mind it brings a. toetie at nddnight of hills,
«W ia ike starlight of thu East, with whliti Hocke scjillered on the down.
Til* breath of winda iliat come and go, the hlcittitsg of lli« slipoji, witli i:ow
Bid ihra B tiiikluig bell, and now and tlicri the vniuo ofao awakened thrp-
bsd, ii al] that bnraka the deep n^posc. OrcrhcodshimmcrUie bright alani,
ad hw lo Weat Hm tho moon, nut pilo and liclcly (he drcnToa) oa in our
Vonb, tut golden, full, and hathiug distant lowera and toll aiirial palms
villi OoikIs of light. Hdtih is a child'a viuoii, begotten by tho mutic of
Ifce ■yDiphony, and wh«n h« waki>s from tranca nt its Ion ailrer close, thu
^rk auhvdral eoema glowing with a tlioiimnd angd facet, and all the sir
h trennlotM with atigi;! wlnj^a. Then follow the aolilnry trM'i voice and
tht awift chroma.
Here li't me cJoai! my Chri«tiiiaii reircrieH. 1 have tried to set down
laiBeof the vnrioaB dements whidi age oncragehae nddoil to maku up our
Sortliem fMitiral, An Italtiin or a Spaniaid, looking bnckward uji the
rrrrr of Time, would ace oilivt laiidninrkf ; but lUI who coll thenutilvca by
Ike great CbHsllan mitne would find ili« fountain of their fixiling in llie
nmt mhich binda Chriatcndom into unity, and lualte* tli« world odo
imtfivfaoen<
a_ji
^nifrtciiit ^umoui;.
Tbe doK Itlood-ivlnliniuliip ivliich exists bcl«-«en ounctves aod
Axatema pooplc haa [ii<oduc«<l « curiona pluy of inooiuistent KcnLimt
liefoie the lal« war tliero waa a tendoauy nmong^t inrniy, and (wpue
tunongst the mc«l cdticAtcd AnM-rioins, to take aiich pride iu their
nection vitlj tlic tnoth<!r< country na uiu coDaittcnt with n strong kiwc of
tlieir own superior meriu. Still wh«ii n man hiisi iit-vtir had a. chance of
qnamlUug except with hU brotlicr, tlie resuiliug fiimily fvud Ja apt to be
bitter ; and when his only foundation Tor boasting has been dcrircd from
thrashing tic aanic brother, th« feud is likely to he long reiiii< in beted.
Wa nec»l not ini«ir« how far thft fceUng* mtcrtainod towarda ua haVB
1*0011 modiliod by certain laic disputes. For the present there is Tin-
datibtodly a sorcscM wliicli gives ilio lepulbivo loixca at Iciist a raomcntarjr
niipfiriority to the attmctiv«. Ameiioana are more apt to boaat of thcJr
having developed a rlialinct national character than nf foruung s branch
of tlie " Au>;lo-^.ixon" mce. And pulling aside lite aiiimuaity ivhich
such a pciiiimpnt may eovcr, vte entunit ikmUt that it rxpreBSoii on llio
whole a wiser and manlier view. Wiicri a mitic>i> is paaing ont of tiw
hobbledehoy stage, it iliould became iad«p«Qdoat in thought aa we]] na
in political arrangotnents. Moreover, although the nncleiia upoa whi^
the Anterican nation was formt-d \va.i of g^cauiitu Engliah stiifT, lui immenm
quantity of foreign miitcrial hna gntiinrcd round it, which will materially
modify its ultimate comjioMtion. Ociinans and Irish have pourod in by
the hundred thoiiaund. Ntw York is eaid to inoludv the third Gcmiaa
city population in the world ; and must eimtain inoi-o Trithniea than aar
pliM^e alter Duhtlii. In the far West tiiere arc Tilliigcit vrhvre, to jitdfie
from the Ungunpp, Iho trfivcllcr might tJincj himself on the Ixuiha of tlie
Khine or thu Datuibc; and ihci-e nvc many towns where the German
clement eccuis to diopnlc thcpredoniiuanccnf the Aml^rican. The curious
thing in, indeed, not that the population Blionld have « hotei«g« neons
an appearance, but that it nliouKI tend no rapidly to conform to the well-
known American type. A generation ot two, at most, aoents to suffice to
atreteh the (ni [>lAcid German and to sober the excitable IriBhmnn intA
the lean, eager, and Bclf-r»lnuned Yankco; and to initiate the new
comera into all the myttteries of caucuaea, plnlforma, ncwspnpcrs, ftec-
schools, and the whale machinery of American social lile. Distinct,
however, OS tbc American breed has become, the couatiy ia atill in eome
renpect;* a province of Kngland. Wo cannot apeak here of similarity in
laws, religion, politics, tind a fjw oilier triUca. But the idcniiiy of
language is itMlf one great bond of union. Englnnt) and America r\va
t
£TtJC(l be mmay porposea by lines or ilcniiLrciiliuu as broad and m
ieefu ili« Atlaotio; but in b iilcrar/ j>oinl nf ricvr they are abtohitely
ncnuiJODa. The United Suites take their literatura from ua as uarc-
umiDjras wc used lo taie our cf>ltun from them, and (Ibi' tlie parallel
ii mi!udd2y not quite cooipietc) vriiliout pnying for it. Tbcy are in
ihtiR^KCt our luhjccts as much as when they wotm our eolooica. Tlio
ialdlfctaal empire of Mr. Mill, or Mr. Cuj-lylc, or Mr. Tennyaon, extends
onr Uasnchoaetta aa distinctly as over Aliddlcfios. Travclliag on aii
Aaxricaii niibMod, you liavc one advuntage to cucnpenRate for a alow
nio of progttti combined ivitli invrcaacd danger tu your neck : ite»»-
tu7» diculate throtigh Lho train, bringing trays full of bcofis. Yi>u
Cod amngat tbera George Eliot's lost vork, or the laat thing in
KBatioa Dovcls as certainly aa you would on ooe of Mcstirs. £iuitii
«i Sea's book-Etalls. Nuw York is not more de^endont ujiuii I'liria
ftr CaluffDt than it is upon Kogbnd Tor books. I'Uv navtapajicri
tiuttail against ua fill their coliunna froni our majjasincs. Kot^rprUing
firaa Rpublisli eycrytliicg of value su stiyu us it appears in England.
Atamcana indeecl boast tlutt tliey lutve diocov^rcd tlie merits of eonno
rf nir autiiora before we had recagnixed tkem ouraelvee. Collected
tHnitai oT tho writinits of Macaulay. o( Procd, and of otlicr autliois, tvera
fathm^it out in Amcnca ; and cdu<:iib!d AmcricnnK are to tlic lull aa
■■iiir witb our writers as wc can liu uureclrea. Wu bave, il Li truu,
MtiT^ a cortsia quantity of lUEcbango in kind ; but up to tlio prctient
tite this bas Cormti but an iaoon«<lvTablc sut-ulT. Tbu uiodiocriiy vhicii
tiMDMtimM nUribut4Al tu deiaocratio institutions, but wiiicb niuy iiiuro
WMuibly be put down to the exceptional social eondition of a young
onut^, ta as marked in literature ai iit oilier deportments of lile. It
eobaiai to be seen wtietlier the convuUioD which has stirred tbo couutry
lo ttt JbundaliooB, ma/ produce aucb nu outburxt of literary unur^y in
Aacrice, as our own great struggle appears to buvc produced in l^ogland
It iIk b^ianiag of tiie century. For the present, however, there oro no
iidicilMoa of any writer fitted to tako his place umongst lliD inti^llcctUMl
i^tkn fif tk« world in acicnco, philosopliy, or pacliy. Theodore Puikcr,
tuavM, Havtbomc, Longftdlow, and sevtiral other names of rarii>UM
■ail aiight be ucotioncd; but, although men of ability, none of ibi^ni
on be said to have paasftd out of tha second rank. They have not struck
<M any new paths of thought; they hare been imitators mthcr tlinu
faricn ; they hive all shown a cciUin iiicompktcuva* indiC4iting aa
■tteititt iiMtt«J7 of their subJocU— it almost cecau as if to a young
iHbT grown-up men had immature miada — and tJieir efiorta rou'tad lU
Wb«r of ulrvmcly clerei: ettayt by undergraduates, tluut of the tltorongli
viAaiflhed work of well-trained tlilul^eis. " Thu Uiiitc-d Stntea," lu one
rf itwir moat original wrilcrn .-aya, " I'utniali the gr«at*.-at market for inld-
ketnal grvtn fruit of all places ia the world. Die demand for intu'Ilectuat
hboor is BO icnomioui, and t}ia market so far from ntk;e, that young biluut
llai* to Uk like unripe ga««)bcjri« — get plucked lo make a &oI of.
so
AMERICAN IIUMOUB.
TliinV of ft conntrj' nhich bu^m £0,000 copies of the ' Proverbial Philo-
vaphjr,' wliil« ttie aiiilior'ii admiring oounlrj-mea linre b«vn buying 13,000 1
llvvr can one )«t bit fritit baog in Ibe eun until it g«la taWj ripe, wbile
Ihcra Rre 80,000 each bungiy mouths ready ea Bwallow it nnd proclaim il«
prniicB 1 CoRseqiwnlly, llicre norcr was such n colloction of crude (lippini
And balf-growQ wind&Us u oiir nstim lit«ntare displajs atnong iti
fruiU."
There an: not watiling certain aymptocns of bettor tbingF. Wilhont
touchin; nponan^ other BUbj«ct, wc propose to notice on* diilinetly original
product of the Americttn mind. Vf* eiwii better «stim«t» ita rnlue bereaAsr.
At pi-esent, Iioirever, VB may urame that Amoricaa bumour bai a flarovr
pccuiinr to itMlf. It BRwOt of tba noil. It i> an indigraoiw borne frowth.
fitke tbe native wine* of a country-, it La* an aromn of ita own, aai » not
nifld« up loimilntfltlM Champagnes orBur^indies uf a different oJimitp. And
if ttaqnaUlieahare not yetbeen fully developed, there ia hopoUiat wiihcara-
ful cultirnlion, itmaybebronghttofutnret^xccltcQW* It ia perhapa natnrnl
thnt thtt particular literary product ^lioitld be tbe firal to >how the enpaoiliM
of i)m country, llvro U >omo roonon for tho nnfllo)^ often drawn betvrocn
llioyoulli ofa people and the yoQtb of an indiridual ; and a yoooft man ndoo
(hows an adniimble hnmoar before lie lias dereloped oorrMpendinff fHCullira
in other direction*. To take one striking Mtample — Mr. DicVens ili«play«d
nil tlie peculiar charact«rtsUc« of hia humotir, if, Inderal, he did not giro
tbe moat perfect exninple of it, in PichPiek, uimoul ha first publication,
nnd written at a Tery early a^e. No man can have the xtock of thought
which is neceawry for phikao^Jjicnl ot BcieoUlic o.tc*lIenoe, iior even the
ilmik a( experience nnd observation of life wbieh ii neer>nary for a rfnlly
gral norelist, until he has grown out ofhis flnt youth, lie can acaroely,
in apiu of K>nio innnarkable examples to the contraTy, bar* enriohed hit
imai;Tniition ralBcirnily to bo a ^tent fwi-t, Ilui it i* oanntiily pneribla
)hT ktra to ehow hfai aonas of humour. To nooount fur thia, it would ba
oaceMHry, if it were de^irnblA, to ex|Jain what we mean by hnii
taak which we may at once decline aa bopel««ily iniprniiicahte.
[■rofoDnd pvycliologiiti waA eriiicj wbo hare tried their kurnla at a daftot-
tlen, bave aignally broken down. W« knew, mdomi, Umt, \m\vm our
national boast ia ill-fitunded (a ntppoaittnn not to Im eiitenaiiml for ■
moment), Immnir is aomHhii:^ for wbicb E»};]i»hni«n are pre-cmiiieiilly
diiititijni^ed, and In whlnh Ftvncfamen aro eo defteient tlmt ibe/ lurv«
ftTMt fo borrow our name for it. Itabrlais and JtlnU^ra nnd Voltxiro nnd
<mo or two othor wHien have cvHninly lome fiienliy v. 'i i.* nakf-d
•>ye, MroQgly resentin it; but when we look at th> i .. a gond
I«lr of Ciijfliali glaM«t, wo am that it Un'l the geniiitie artlole. Aa for
GennaiM, It niwd not b« mid that ihey ar« al<nni u s^nntivn to hummir
a* ao many apple dnmplinga. Tba ani||faal opciultim which, oa aauHutna
<"' ■'tjiipwed, mi^hl gfl ft »i of nSoolcIiaiatt,
K' >\way upon a CiennaT) r lUranan b«ar,or
lioiott-gniwn lobaocfr, sc«o to aot lu eAxtmil prophylactica. Trying a jok*
i
i
AVeiUCAK utnuouB.
Gcnnnn U liJietlcliiing a rliinocrrcMimlli a tlrn«',ornth(T
*. Wardi-U'B lilt bey in the i-iU; Vfiu mny (wsoiblj- send a
nffkant kts •urHue, but joa don't penelmto ihn oiiUiilo layer. 'Stiny
Vt,Hktntt, ma amumblc pi'cpla, aa is •ufliiriciitly di-monBr.rnicd hy their
likaf fhaaort in tliat <lr«iirit<«t of comia fipHodicAU, Kiaiiilcrinlahch — a
|nfaiiiW) wliioli ts to Chttrivari wlmt BaTsrian bwr i* to clitinipagtio.
"mehnixa, tbougli (-xqabitvly witty, docs not often slioif that Icndcr-
OM ot rtvling vhicb, combined with wii (if wo may innke a dAgmalie
MRriiiin aboat liro unknown lliingn), rnvoitrs tlie development of hninnnr.
AGtniMB has (end«rn«a« enough and to spare, but is apt to be di^Scimt
in tk« quick play of intellect which produc^a wit. Our best English
^^rariili liBTO pmcDlcd the bapjjy oonihi nation where the feelingx are
tf dw right diirtanoe from lhi> intellect, fm thnt tho nparlcii itriick out by
»it fall iii*tiiiitly upou uur imitimenl. Or, perhaps, a Frenchman pantwa
M«|tudEJy ovt-r the aaiociuled ideas to got the roll meaning out of them ;
■daOvrnmn dweJU uptm th<-m ton long nnd too hciTtly. Whai^'er iho
fUbiOfiby of wit and huuKHir may hv, ihity ilcpntl to some pxteot upon
iNMriag rraetnblance^ and contrast« winch li<T upon tfa« mirfncc and irtll
lUt bar a luborioan exam inn tion. Everybody iV-ele that Sydney Smith
ludtan fiXf]aiailely huntdurous remark, vrhm he «iid tliat it wnt> to hot
tte bt eonld taku off hli fl»h and nit in hi« booM ; and that Chnrlet
Uali mi mare profeundly humoiiroit* In tlip " DEwcrlntinn ttjhtin Rnnicl-
(V* fo take, for example, ««(.> iwntencc : " !^ec him" ftlio kicking
1^} "ia (lie dish, hifi Muond cradle, how nk^ek he lieth t WntilO'at
An biva thSa innoc«ni grow np to the groMTipm and indooility which
te olttni uccomptiny nMlnrcr Bwin«hood ?" The toQch nbont tlie recund
tndlt Ed inimitable; hut if a proKnio monMDr ithould ineist upon
nlydnf the cjiprcsiioaB — upon dotermining the di-grec of rcwmblancc
htt^MU tt piff*' dish and hi* orndlfi, or upon deU-rmining the exiict
HBrng to ba attributed to Sydney Sniith'a melaphor of aiitin;i in your
l«Mi iIm whola bmnly of the corapariaunn would (vnpornte. You might
m «*1I t»y to nalyao the flavour of roast-pig Uy di«<(ctJng liim with
kMrriag-knife.
lUt power ofentehinK supcrficinl rc«cmfa1iino(«l>y A niyfttnonn intel-
llNBal inatiDct ia as likely (a« w(^ bnvv licftiro remnrk*^} tn esint in s
jrean^nian as in on ohl onr. It in cvrn more likely to be found -nhcre
t^ poreepli»e facwIllM ore atin fresh and vigorous, before vro have selited
ion into fl proswia way of looking at thitigs ; bftfore otir minds have
•ifin«) wkI rtur intellectual epidermis hccomo thickened by the wcni'
of Iir«. It ia tnw that thow happily conBtitutfld men, who ret.iin
imprambllily, will ac(|uirc a richer humour as ihoir ntindi bt^ninu
Iteid by new idcu. The Immour of Hamlet or of Jacquw wmikl bo
wwUMliwhU in ft vofy yming man. But the peculiar cast of humour by
•lidi any man will be hcrral^er dinlin[[iiish</d Im gi-neirally dinplaycd lu
mwpiaiotuly ia hiH youth as at u Intel- )iei'iod.
It is a Turr dilKcult luak to find the ppiihvt which ought to make
AMEGICAN
tlic pevuliatlties uf Amcricui liuiiiour iuUilt^ibI« U>
already uuderaiand nil ihat can Lu sjid to tliom. No on« can put iido
words dm dilTereace betwi^en tiie hcent of a rose and □ wjiUllower. A
■inglo experiment will dw awrc Iban any qiianiity of explanation. And,
tlierefure, wbtrn wc nltempl to seinu M^mc uf tliu muin cliiirnutvristics of
American huniuur, wc nrc only lr)i»g by vciy intjfltctunl inuin» to tmcU
wliat liny oau inny Icarii Itir bintvr from live minutca' study of the BujtoiB
I'njtai. A wliulm Mire^tii of American humour haa lately been tumi-d
upon utj, Ariana4 Watd, liie Orphcut C. Ktrr Papers, the Letiert »f
Major Downin-j, nnd various oOilt fiiM-tiiiUx pl-t for in niic^s, hiirc nuidt
thuir apiK-anmce uti tlii» wdc of iIil- Alluiitic. As a rule, nolhing ia more
diillcult tliun for ono antioo to Liiigli lit tliu jukes wbk'li iiiniiiw unothcr.
A great pltilbsopliiT uKL'd [o luugli till tlie tears ran down liis cheeks al
the nghc of two spiJciD figtiiing ; oui' inability to perceive Llie joke raaft
ponibly, be a pioof of our dulooM, not of his childialinesa. KagU«liin«n
and Yankees are, however, to fur of one family as. to appreciate each
other's humotir, iiiome of the papers w« Ii^vc uitntioned oonlatn very
Kinnll jckus ; but English railway traveilers certainly btiy them and
chucklt! over tliein. Their humoiir only difTcra ftoni oui> as anoUier
npccivs of tlji< antiie (;cnu». And thcri^fore wt may npprociaie it duIE-
uicatly ta see liow tbis vuriciy in coiinectL^d with certain other national
peculiariUM. U la not w unlilce lu tu be plnixtd oiitfiide our sphere of
cn(tciMn,,nnd yut it a unlike enough lo euggi-xt the ncccasily of aoino
(.'Xpliinaiioii.
There is a contrast hotwecn dilTtiiisnt Auiciicun writers which often
(Strikes us. The Unitud Stall's »re, us wo know, the land which ia or
ought to be bouiiilwl.on iho EmI by the Atlantic Ocean, on (he West by
the eelting sun, on tho Norlh by tlic norora horcalis, and on tint iiouth
ty the D;iy of Judgment. The language of tliL'ir orators not imfrequently
corrcapt^nda to the mn^ailude of llii; iiiitloual idea< There linTC been
many succeason to tho iuimitsble Elijah Fogra'm. Hia well-known bursts
of eloquence atv, like aiany pf Mr. DJekcns's iuiitations, a good d«il more
lively tlinii reality, but they atiiko the true note. Tlic aubject of liia
cloijueuce waa " verdant us ai* ih« inouutnlns of our country, liright
end tlowing aa are our mlaL-ral licks, uonpilul by withering convention-
alities aa artJ out- broad and boiuidlesd prcar«t% Rough be oiay be, ao
air our bars ; wild he may be, so nir our bulfaiers ; but he ia the cliild of
naliir' and tlic child of frct-doni, and hia boastful auflwer to the de^pot and
the tyrant is, thai his bright home is in the acitiii' sun."
Wo gould quote nttUiing from llic origirinls so good na the imitation.
It ia n klad t>f jwrlablu sonp, an ounce of which diluted with water would
pKiduce a gulhm of Fourth of July omiion. The originals gcnundly make
their "tall talk" dull aa well aa bombasiic. The commit of which we
havo spoken is that between the maniifncttircra and the consumers i>f thta
eloquence. The goiiuitie YatikL-c is* the iaciiraaiion of shrewd common
ficnao. It luuntH ttninge thnt he nliuuld be tnkcn In by ihia " wind h:ig"
A
ikitot eniory. Ono would as soon t^poci n t}nt-(iah to rise ftt a taloxm
itj. Be hat BUch a keen eye for b fact, that mie would expect biin to
i(M nert flumincrjr. The cxpUnalton is, perliapa, aiinplv. Ererv hiit
Aatri persun first trie* Co lt« eloquent I>y piling up Sig words, and to
leKndiltr ty employing !>lrong oiifa. lie lias read enough to undbrslaiid
■fupedftlun expression}, and h'u taalt U not polulied eoougli ta bcc
tlrai^ tliem. We Me soniclliing or tlic mine kind whvtiuver an EngtUh
pamy-a-lincr triea to he impreasivc. But it is nlaa chorACtemtic of
liw Antericau tliat this bombAst not opiy cxhis lidc by sido witU a
I«cafiv]y dry humour, but gnidunlly passt^s into it. Tiie iK>rpotn>tor
(f UOcubcIous absurdities gr«(Iu:dly begins to iniuiiifacturc llicin coa*
leicady and of malice prcpi-BEo. He tiUka in 'Krulcs vein and winks At
lui •> if bo Eaw the joke liinscll'. Tlic mere btinconibe of oruloni passcH
into titt qitkint ftxaggcratioDs charncteriatic of tbe Western Stales, who
dtxrib« thmutelves as half hatw, half alligator, with a djah of the failli-
^tttlie. Tk« most outfageous bombast of the irnr proctrcdci from tJiu
MariiMu Panoa Brownlow, \rlio Enid, if vtn rcincmb<^ right, that h<3
jnpOKd, if necessary, to fight the " Scceali " till hcil fruxe, nnd tlivui to
fi^ tlMtn on lh« ice, The strong touch of piofimity which is hem
okmctcriitically introduced, produces another dtsiiact fomi of ex»gg<r^Iltt^l
hsgwge. It it coiDtDoa, capeoially in tlic South- ncnturn States, to iiievt
ftofk irbo seem to have made a study of ih« art of profiitio £w<>nriug.
tkrf [&wnt new and curious onths. They eyslciuiitically intorliird crcry
Mletwe with a choice ccUcctloa of peculiar epithetii. They absolutely
ovuieUe into explocivns of iicw-racigleil oulhii, going oS* like some ntivc-l
ffaaa of fireworks. It it obviously jtnpusitiljle to quote any appropriate
qiKfawiM of thin ltingiiag«.
Tlia use of vi'iy big wordsi, either Ecrioualy, or sa a more or leea con-
•QMMly absurd piece of cxlmra^anfc, ia net the ii:ally cliuractcn^lic p^rt
oTAtaenean humour. Tlicre are, indeed, two ivays of producing a comio
(Act which may be oonidtlered as the invcrKC of each olltcr. An nbsurd
ovtntateuicnt or an absunl nndcrstntcmrnt mny be equally eflbctivo.
UiMn FaLatalT tcUs Bavdolj^Ii lliat hiH liicu is an " everlasting bonfire
lijlil; " that ho has " Mvcd hiiu u ihuusaad uiarks in linkft and lorchu,
mlkbg in tlio night b«twixt tavern and tavern," ho givos u good tpeciiDou
of the fitat. A weiUmown Amcricun example is Ihu osMcrtion of the
Uiaunippl captain, thai hia boat oould float wherever tho ground waa a
GkIb damp. To illustrate the tcci'iid, we might quote ihc American, who
Ud managfd to quote something in liia native country to parall>rl all the
•tvuien of Europe. At Inst, ho was asked whether he liiwl not just
cmwd the Alpa. " W«ll," be replied, " I guess I pawed some rialu'
pound." The philoeoiAy of the two mtthodB la pnhaps tlie •ame ; but
llw Mcond is the oomiooner amotig«t the geniuuo AtucriHcan humouilsta.
Tr'h«n Artemoa Ward describes liia courtebip, ho bi-gins by iuforujing his
Mond lhft( aha wu A gaacUe : whioli, h* tcmiiikg, " I thought was putty
a— 5
i
84 ^^^ AMERICAN UUUOUR.
fine." ITe goes oo, " I xiith tlinr vat winrlcra to my soul, •<> tliat yon
could see bori« of mj* fuclin'e. Tbvrc'a Qiv eiiuugh ia hvrc to bil« all the
Cftnihwf nml tiiniipn in tho ncig}iboiiiboa<l , Vesoovius and tJie crilUt
ain't a drcum^lancc I " To all whicli, the lady replies, »ita aome more
nKetupla at eloquence on tie approved mndctis " You My tiiv Btrat« out
vbnx jou are drivln' at. If ymi mean geltiii' l)itcIi<H), I'm in ! " 'i'liia
may hv taken mtnii illuetrntioti of the nature of the reiil ]Mi>uUr Iiujnonr.
It U toa cnniiidcrable extent a protesC byalirciwil common eenee agninat tl»
bombast wliicli ia so prevaleat, but wliicli doca not quite lucceed in
pasring itself off* for ttenuino- >Vli«n a man, nnttinilly ii<\i[«, is bcI down
to hear omlon upoiit noiiu^iio, lio U lometime^ BufGciently awed to accept
it for geQuiri«, — lie fee]a tiiat he ia not entitled to bo ]l critic ; but liis
natire aenae i>nabIeB him to hnvu oecaRinnal glimpuw of iu ubniirdtty, and
h« expreseeH bitiiaelf in rath<^^ cosirM but very tertc condemnation.
Tile OTiginttl rourcc of Amerifon humour is, therefore, to bu looked
for in inch men as FronVltn. 11 a was the iDoiLrnatioa of Ibat popular
wisdom wbicb generates pioTcrbs and fablce. His philosophy never aoarv
above a rather low IeT«?l [ it ink<>» tho form of \-ery rary maxtmi; — of tba
great fomily to which l>t-1')[ig tha axioms nlwut a penny tavvd. being a
iwnny got, and th« advuiita^^a gained by beioft early to bed and early to
rise, A chnrnoterisiic story ia the one which hit UM to console Jefluraon '
for the alterations made in the druA i>£ iho Dcelaruiion of Independence.
A friimd of hi* had put up aa » sign, a nentiy painted hat, with tho
inacripiion, " John Brown, hatter, mnkea and repira hata for ready
money." One acqunintnncc suggested tlmt thg hnt wna not wiintcd, aa
the inicriplion explained his trade. A xncoiid obttervcd Unit the ronark
about n-udy monfy wna imprudent; a thii'd, that as erury linltev made ■
and repaired hale, the word* alter hatter might be left out and nothing I
aub«tilu[«d; and n fourth, lliat t-very one knew he was a hAtl^, cir would
Bcc tho ^uita in the windunr; so that liit: in!<tirip(ion was i-educed tu " Jcba
Brown," MomI: don't be too stmsiliTo to your fiuyids' ailviee. The
same Tein of humour appears in the innumernblc aixTcdotes about
llr. Lincoln, who ia the exact iilustnitJon of tho gr«at stratum of
American society wliicb forma iJie real slri'ngth of tlio nniion, but Ja vpry
feebly mpreseoled by its newapajx-ra and j>uIiiIci.inN. It is enougli to
allude lo one or two of Mr. I.incoln'B well-known eayingi. There it Iha
one illustrating the diiliciilty of joining t^c North and South ; about the
architect who raid that he could build a bridge to the infernal regions, on
vrliieh his friend n-marked ihiit he had " some doubts iibnnt the abutment
on the ' other aide.' " There is hie answer to aome one w iio Tefjuesttul him
lo inltrfurff nbont anmu lri£ing detail, telling liow the eapt^tin of a flaltioat
wn* «.nk<nl by a fiithrr lo stop in th<- miildl* of a dangerous n^id, that his
little boy might pick up an ajiple which he liod dropped overboard ; or
there is lh« last hint w>iich hi' gave about reconstmctinn in rcfurwico to
the BCTT state governmeat iu Louisiana, that it ia better to batch your
AUF.KtCAX IIUUOUB.
«fp|]Mn to break thorn. Tiie M>IngB rigbtly or wnitgly aUribnteJ to
lljit,Tilh tlie inTAmble connncncctiiont, "1 kntitr » in.tn dnu-n West,"
miftU be detcriWl lu hair-bskefl prtneihs. IT 1)107 ^''■'<-' <■ '■"''* '"^'^
enppaned, oad hod n rallirr vri^er nppliciilion, Ui«)- iniglit c-nsily bu«onio
pRiTciln] ftntl wDuU oinliitn s ^iliiltuioplijr roty supeiior to Mr. Tuppr'fl.
T^t}* tx«tlIi:iiUy represent tlie [KCiitiitr national humour, us, inileed, many
•f ikcm vere no doiibi aajiingi nt Urge upon aoaiety, tn vihicU Mr. Lincoln
Nllmed to act M q>oaM>i'. The pullticxl tune nliicli they iiiilicnti! \ii\b
upmtitti ih&t remiiMl* ua inucit more of Eitclish toulinient llmn would
be BfiffTwl fratn tliQ tft tittm-atictn of the otliuiiil orgnns. Thcr« ia tli«
MBu WvKig ccntrJnpt fi>r liiimtittg, im<I Tut "hijiliriiluiin " scnlimcni ; tlic
■W VTong pmcltcal sense and dialiki! for rite di'diiration of kfty ilMhart
prinri]>Ift. Tlie liiimour 'at, it la lru«, » good dcJiI titter; ii at, jkuIiiijh,
ikcaur, aadit U c«iUinl^' cilcn more ]inifmii;. To represent tliu tj-|>iuil
pnditcvof t]i«couun<Mlity, w«iniul (iret laka a pocil scliil Kn^lisii nitil'llu-
daMl'ijrilan. Let tiini liv luViiI in fiimmer nai frozen in winlcr till Uc
hu (Ml lifl iiiporriuouK fat nnd liU fresh conip1cxii>n ; lie uiU tlion bnvo
IH Open incii or two in heigiii nnil inllior Ion in girlli — rspeciMlly round
A* niu. Sappnst; tiini to linrc r^Uinvd in the prucfwa & good dcul uf hi«
iufinritjr with lb« Bililc, Iml tu h»«e lost hoiik' of liitt reopecL fur it ; he
nuw \an ibrguttMi liis trAiliiioiial rvvereiice for liie Chiircli and ilie l[oti!t(>
clLuit, and )uir« l>oci) picacbod at hy •' vrindb.igs" of home grcwtli lilt
lifii beginning to Be« titrough a good many of ilinr trick*. Ilia naiuml
ibmiDMi Uas beon increased, but lie lias become more rtscrrcd, more
•miut«, and not quite k> gODd-tt-iiijwri'd. And fitnth-. In; mutt Imro
BBow nvy d(.-cid«il]y M tho coiir]a<.>iiii (:i1>uut wliicli wi; will iioi argue)
iht be M, on tiic wliolu, OM of lliu fi»<jet fcJlowd on caitli, atid tiie cvtitn-,
or in l)ie y4iiki-4 f>hm»<>, thfl " liub " of the oiviliswil world. Ilo will glvu
^^Hifet|q>!i<''-Tiiunii wjlh n tuinf;I(^ nir of alircwdnpss, ecir-rLnlrniiit, nnd coni-
P^^^l^l end llicy will be liti^d Mith »n occn^ionol lialf-oonsuioiu il.'isli
ofutr«Tiiganc«. Tbe rtmlt will Uo illuslnitvil \iy a ahurt notice of one or
tnol'tlic iMte IminouroiiB writings.
ArHwui4 M'ard in, »i the wbole, tlie best spMimfn of the liiEt cnp of
lnaiiMiri«u. He, it t< tnio, ovi-» ouriiclliing to bit aystmn of s|«.'llini;,
*lni& » a small enoujli firm uf wtl. ']'lier«' i»n*t viiry naicli fuu in
wnfi§g ** bm««4lli," or in putting "goakin" for joking. Ecovnirio
^bDIi^ is OB nfcctMay in tlic higtota Pitptn ni it n in Ihtrtu, \wcnUBa it
)•« granini: ntlemiii lo givo tlic dialect of Uic country. Evory buniouriit
■MrwMnly loaM a gml d4?al, bj Dot being able to i-^prt^cnt t)iv peculiar
aval drawl, wlitch Mtma 10 corrMtpoad to Uic inontnL altitude of ibe
ifoLer. Many of tb* mott excellent i.ijings in nil conreniation won't keep.
D^rired of the niiinnfr, nnd of tlie driiiu.itic dialogue wbich expluina
Ifacm at ibe lime, ibty become Htupid ; llwy cannot retiiin their hriUiiineif
taadxTttato. The apelling which represenlB the original [iroiinneiaiion
>ithrrofoT« a f^r expedient; but the nrbiriory blandcn, iiuili oa <iU4>ti"S
" Hamlet's Soliloquy,*' "2B ur tiol 2 Q " — iiroMfnjtljr uniueaniiig. Tfa«re
are, hovrever, bcltL-r tliings Uiaii UiU in Artei-ius, luid in iiu vlstt U> tli«
Moraiotu ho h-M cvvn Ttrtiliircd to spell concctlj. IIU humoitr lias (be
genuine Viiukt'c cast, alllioiigli it does iiol ooniain very brilliiiiit 3]>eciiiiens.
Hb ooljr occasiomilly 1^Tilt3 on puliticd tufica, wliicli are the ntapla of
mnHt or hi* iiiiluuora mid rivals. W'q amj quale one or two bite from bh
visil to tlie Blyi-nion*, iis examples of his stylo. In ptuuiog through
Kuvada hu remarks, " yliooting isn't as popiiUr in Nevadft a* i: onca wn*.
A lew years since tbey used to hare ' dead man ibr brciikAtst' " (a pbyrul
Caliibrniaa plirfise) "every moriiiug. A rcrorinvd dcajterado told lae
t)i»t he suppoBcl liQ hiid killed iticn enough to Btock n gruvi^yaid.
' A fteUiig ol' remorse,' lie said, ' xouietimes comcn over uie! But I'm an
altered iitan notv, 1 hain't kii!t:d a iiiiin ft>r ovar tivo weeks. Whnt'Il ycr
poison yourself with 7' he added, dealing u resonant blow ou the bar,"
Tills is followed by a *tory of a notorious doeperado, whose practice itwaa
to call f>r liquor, nad, il' nny one declined joining him, " to comoieaco
shooting." At last, wii a mtusal of gome utrjingiT, hu drew hiit rex'olver
tmd excliijtned, '' Goud (lod, munt I klH n miin every linic I come to
Caraoii 7 " with whiob pathetic worda, " of sorrotv rather than of angw,"
he C red and ktllud his man. "The citizens," lioivev<.Tr thought this r
trifle too much nnd nliot tlic miirdertr down nith rifluN, 'J'his is tho
Iciud of story which the natiaior lelis with inipeTiiiruble gravify of eoun-
tciiauce, plenscd if you Inugh, and doubly pleased if you are credti!uii>
rt'ougli to be iiwed. He deseribcs Murmonimn with tho sitine kind of
hmiiuiiroiLs eiilmiic!^. In bin Iiiin^iiiary visit to Biighuin Totirg, wimu lln
Iiropliet aaj'S in jin.-^wtr (o a qiiL-aiiun, " ' I liev i-ij;hly wivi'S, Mister Ward.
1 sertinly nm married,' 'How do yuii like it as far as y\iii hcv g»t?'
ged I." In hia real visit he seems to have taken mueh the auiue point of
^iekv. " Brighani Young," hv saya, " is n man of great luiitural ability.
If yoii nsk me how pious Lo ia, I treat it as a conundnim, and give it
Mp." But he speaks civilly of the Mormons, who arc fond of balls, ahowsi,
and theatres. The plays have to be modified, as one of the Mormons left
a rcpresentalioQ of the Latty of Lyoni together with hia twenty-four
wives, becaii^^c he wouldn't Ece a phiy where n man made such a
cutacd Sata over one womnn. Pcrhnpa Iiid beat story, as one illuslra-
live of the worst aide of Yankee sliie^vdneas, relates to a converGatton
which he profesics to hiivc heard in a Now Knglund utore to the follovrin;;
^ tflMt :—
^^^ •* Say, BiO, wot you done wiih that air gorril marc of journ ?■"
^^H ".Sold her," s.iid SVilliam, wiili a smile of eatisJaclion.
^H "Wot'dyottgitr"
^^H " Huiid'd an* fifty dollars, cash dcoivn,"
^^P "Howl Ihmd'd an' £(ly foi that lucfcin' spaviu' critter 7 \\
t JOB sell her to 7 "
I "Sold bw to mother I"
ST
••ffct?" exeliiiiiic<d brDtlin* Ko. I, "did yon really i^Il ihat IkUii*
ipnift'J OTiter to inoilitT J W'lAl, you air * nlireivd oiio ! "
BomuiroaB titcrmurc ia Anioncn, as well ea ever/ other ktad of
litatUBK, ha> teen of lulc chiefly dvvoU'il lo iIjc war »s tlic one grettt
fcp< of ialCfvnt, Wt taay rcimirk, by llti; wiiy, tlint a very anfiiir criti-
daa hu hma auuit by aom« vrritcrc, ytiit> tarn to fnnoy tliat wu stopped
ill joLb^ dtniiig ibe Ciimean nar; that Punch, wliilvL it ]iuneA, n^rer
mak R kit ftt Lord Aberdeen, or that Gilmy iicvor caricaturt'U Pitt
n the ntTQiutioBwy wariL Th« Aitutricans, it vriu said, joked about
Ibc wu became their hfiirta were sot iii !t. ThU is simply ahturd.
fi^lly « wroogly, tiivj cCTlaiiily gavu tvcxy \>ro»{ of being nbsorbvd
B iIm «u io an nlmo^t incrcdibla extent. That was, boiviTer, no
nMoD "ahy they ailiould ftbaodon llic uso of their trCQcImnt and somctiuics
aAa grim ntyle of hunionr. When some one ropioaclKid Prosideiit
lixah fw hia jokea during »ume of tlie wor*t purl nC ihe war, hu n-pliwl,
ft*l int for euch a rehucaltuu be cuulU not haru buruc the weif;ht of
•snly. Ills btst very touobiug inaugural nea^uign gi^'^ "^ doubt, the
•Ml prerailing colour of his miud, vrhich vrns an olmcet pathetic nielan-
^J\ aod, iu(k«d, it may be cbs(;tved tli^t iii<:n with n vary ftiong tcnuc
U hniur aro ftt4[aeully imdiiied to meluncliuly iutervidi). ^Ve don't
'"IP*" that the occasional fuccUoiiuKss of tlie American people vraa
Ai ceonquencc of any 6ucli necessity for rulief, btit it was CRrlainly aa
n«]atBt)e with tlio deepest sentiment. The genej-al tone of tliought,
Ikq^ DAt tLe method of BXproaaiou, aiay be Jairly tmAgincd by talcing
iM«f tli« vrerage Eoglislifflea, who, as an EngliBhnuin, condemned ihu
iw hartily ; tbonglit it ira* noDKiue to fight to force men into brotherly
ludsos; considered ihii AbuliiiontMi to bo humbugs, and the United
JMn l« h« riiiiuing into hofek'SM bankruptcy. Sncli a man, trancplantvd
b a MfficiaBt time, would absoib the popuUr prejudices of Ida new soil.
Uiwoold adoptas bUndly a. difl'c:T«.nt »ct of nsitionsl com tnon places. Ho
ndil iiMcndbly Bubstilutu a fhnuticul belief in nn idol ctilted tbc Union
foa Mitf ia old England ; lie would hnte humbug ond ngitnton and
•nmpt joba bcanlly, and aureasooatle phibntJiropy more lienrtily still.
Tie hatred whieb Knglisbmen felt for "red tApo" id the Crimean war, snd
IW Mtilliiipt wbieb ihcj (some of th«m at least) have exprce«d lor ni^gor-
«in1up[«rB during t)>e Jamaica troubles, nuiy repre«i-nt the feelings of
^t gmsine Yankee populaliiin lowanla grees-baeka and shoddy ariato-
netes on tli« one hand, and the irrepreseible negro on the oiber. ^Xe
tie wished boontly to si-e the nifiser free, hated hint as the cansc of the
tnobtca, and as our English Or ** Anglo-Saxon " breed always haton an
Ulna net. The battery of the hnmouristit is gpnernlly dirockd to pby
^w iLcae obnoxious objectB. The prcrvDlent -view of the nigger is cxccl-
'•iJy ptt by Arlemtia Ward. *' Feller loiierxcns, the Afrikfln may be our
Anther . , . ., but the AfriVan isn't our sifter and oiir wife and our uncle.
lU im't antral of onr btotbcrt and all our fiut wile's rclationa. He ia&'t
p
gg -^^^ AMERICAN llUUOUa.
our grand&ther luttl our grttAt-graiuiratlier, and oiii* ount ia tii« cooDtrji
Scaceiy; aad yet mimcna persona would hure ub tliink «i . . . . Bi
we've got llie Afrikan, or ruther he's got us, and now wot lir wc
do about ic? Jle'n & orful iiooeance. P'rafw he ifa'i to bLnM
P*ntpt he WHA 'Creat^'l lor sum wiec jxirpintii, like tliQ mniiilM and Hci
ni)gbii' nun ; tint it's niity liaid to nee it." Tlic rcokless Govornin
fXpvndJturc ig tok-rnbly ntiriicd tn llio OrphaiM C. Kerr Paper$; wW
liowcri!)', orn, uk u mie, vcjy poor. 'J'lie author goes to sea the tri
giin, hiiiiilar ui iJiR&e used at the IteToUiiion, only that it wiu painted
iiislciid of bhiP, and huil n Inrgi'r ttmdi-hi>lo. Being point4>d at a Inrget
CO yaniii wlT, the target i* imt hit, and no b:i!l vaw be found. Afior gre«t
surpriav auiiKl>oiiy \vo\u iiitu ihv uioulh and «Wrx'ce that the b^U has not
gone out ax all. " The inventor Hiid lliii wutild happnn snmotinini^
eape(Utttly if you didn't put n brick over tho touch-hde wht-n you firrf
^0 gun." Tho GoTtmiiimt ordcrB forty pm« on th« Bpot, at 200,000
dollnra a jijuei.-. This i« rnihcr n pfindfrdiui wttpinjit st wiiticiim, bat i^
otimigli to indicntti the nnltire oC a good deal iif popitiar incoldouMftaa
Another ndc of the negro queetion is touched upon in Ward^ vHl U
liiclinicind id^er the uege.
" My brottier, I eed to a cullerd pnrson, air you awarn ihut youVn bii
'mancipiitod ? Do you rcidlzu liow glorifnis il i* in bo iVmi ? ivU in«, in]
di-iir brother, do<-s it nut rccrn like Bomo i1ie.-ini, or do you rcilite the grea
fact in nil it's lovin' and lioly magnitood 7 ''
"lie aaid he would lake aotme gin,"
Another bit iatbctaneT«in illuatrotntbe feeling; iiwardiitlic Soiithei
whim. Artcmits roinarks : — ■> Thr-ro is raty a ^cox deal of Union aonV
ineiit in this ciiy — I we it on evVy hnnd. I met a man to-day, who wiid;
* Wliy, wo've bia fightiu' agin tho old Aug ! Lor' blca ni*, how eiag'lar 1'
He thpn borrered five dollars of me and bust into a lluod cf t^ars." And
the gf^noral verdii-t oil ttic wnr iti eumnied up an lullovra, at the end of a
conv«T8ation with a " prowd and hawty Sitthenpr." i
" Toung man, ndoo. You youihem fellows ii probbly my brothpn,'
though you'vo occnaionally had a cuEsed (I'lcirr wny of ehowin' it 1 h'a
ov)-r now. L4.-t'it nil givr? in nnd innki! n I'liuniry on tliin conlin«t)t thak
6linll give alt Europe the cramp in (li« atuinmuck every time lliity look'
at ut. Adoo, adoo 1 And a* I am through, Tit Jike^vive any adoo to j-ou,
gentle reader, merely remarlcing, that the star-spanglocl banner ia wavin'
round loose ngin, and that thcri; don't ;>L'cni to be itnything lite matter wilh
tho Goddem of Liberty licyond a alight cold " i
Willi which chmacteriatic touch of Mr. Ward's we mast !ea.re himJ
Though not very brilliant, he fairly rcprt-scnts the average popular eenla4
ment. A much higher represenUliveof the]vjliticnl feeling of the Krtintry
is to be found in Mr. Lowell, aailior of the Jiiyhio PnjMTS. The Gnt
series of those pojjere, which rc-lltcte the Bi-riwilion produced in the NortliA
by the Mexican war, and the atuiexntion of Texas, was to nnany people th«
EBICAK HUMOtlH.
ftff nrfUtion «r Afn<^ri(«n tmmonr. Ahlionsh tliey would tetjuire A
enngi«iitNr]r to tnnhh ihe Frrglinh renitcr fuMy to undentand tbeir ullu-
tiMu, Aat brillmnt hila, <>ndo!W(l in lan^ta^ eqiinlly qunlnt iinil cauetie,
im^nnri many nniuyfiiainled with Amwicflu poliiio*. Sni-h nxt-rm m
tiii fixa itipK on the mcnutry. alllionpli llie n?a(!cr might liavn ii«vct lit-nrd
ti Gfatnl Jacl:«c<n'l Mtrrr, in wln'cli tlic cxprMgifn nliouL "jirtu of
bndeoi " cociiM, nor 4-v«-ii hxve known wito Uic iiimoiis Gi-nertil waa, and
MiSf loB wIiQ w«r« Cans and Cnllionn : —
Hie raaia <ia]ih' ta hlHiiir anil vm Uj nn mfflm,
TbM> llic rmxin I want to (jirpai) Fretiluin's aroe i
II pau all ihe eunuiirpd an us in idliiv.
An" fi"olii»« nnr \tntrr's orig'iinl lilco.
So John C Calbau», ocs hc;—
Tb«t^ n plain, lati Can
Aa lliat ioiii« one'tt nn aaa,
Ii'a ei cltor m the 9un Is at nmvrt. ta hf.
Il ai Tet^ dangeroDi tiling lo atlnnpt to rcpost n aiiocdHful hlL Tlie
mnber i4 worlta is small in wliich the second pari la not Inferior lo tlia
bK, iDd for ibc wmph" rwann thHt tlift first ia (*pnei-ali_r uponlancwi*, iiiiil
iknand done to otdfr. And n-c cannot lioneady my that >lr. Lowdl'a
pMMl|pMr to US to be an exci>[iti(Mi to thu riil«. Tlicre a», however,
MDongu ihem, aamfi linn a< ri^n'>i!t and pointed aa lie rrer wr»l<', and
AefpnuB a good example of linmoor riaing nearly to llie pilcli of
|Btaa They are an ahrewd and ncy u the beat of the floating stories
ci Xtaite wit. Bttt (hey nre direclttl liy the Iionoarable indit^noiiiiti
vUA jiMtifm aatire j ii« lays on itie vliip vidoupily, but on^ {hnlu which
wtii ifaacrTC whipping. Kuglislim^n will nAlnmlly think him tniatnkcn in
of hia judgnicnl.i of locn and thir^», but tliey vU] nul deny that liia
csillibit rnd pruuaon and ii( a dignified kind. Allhniij^li. tberuriiii-,
iImj have tlie frnuine American llarotir, llicy bnTC not tliat liiiTdiK^W) and
c^ fevlinK vhich sometime r«p^I* ua in American iloriM,
prove tlmt nn Amcricnn of rpal cnltivaiinn can be large-TninilBd
wliiUt rmiainin;; tbrrouglily Aniencan. Wc ^uotc one or
l))OU);b it doea tlirm litile ju8lic« to lake ll»-in apart from the
tWexL Hm, for example, u a bit talccn at random from a poem on the
n'hcn TOW rlgbtc vai cur wron;. Juhn,
Von diiln'l ttn^ for fiux —
Briiaxnyi nri(li>n(-i>r(n>p, John,
Ww t^ood 'nousli Inw tor iit.
Ok VmIb B., ta h«, "1 i^dcm,
Tboaith phftic** gr^oi," mm lie,
"It du«Hi'i Tuttcr. Ihat l)ia( lie can rHoller
Pttveriptiona N)pi'd 'J. 11,'
Put ap hy jou or me."
r* lake ihii niproly aa tm cxumpln ot the atyte. It ia booiely utd
bat aometinies liilla into tUe i^( that ii r9q.uir«a to Im Mad twiM
^
f/vtT Wvic il» raeaiiiiig U exactly aeuusl. To tnko n FpccinK'n of »i
fuwugo in nUiuli l!bo humour is almost overpowfied by llie jimsmuh, wej
<iai>tc ibo laxi two vctks uf iliu last paper, vrhich allailc-s to tliu cinuuvi-
patiODproclAniniion iipon wtiich Uncnin hadm Iutt vontiircd: —
An' <»me mnt will, I Uiiolc it'* gmtiJ
Ali«'» gut hh will ct lull bliKiui-JoitiHM'l
III li-inl-lliLmGS till it'll fland
The stinia of bi-iti' iti deadly canic*t;
Thtt'ii wnt wc want — ive wnnt In kunw
Tlic folka OQ our siile ticz the Iravcry
1(1 li'lkvc iM haril, cumo ivuil, ciiiiio wot,
In Vrccdorn «x Jeff, dcea iu Slavvrj*.
Bi>t the two forcM fo<it to foot,
Aa' C'vur^v mj»n bnaws wbo'll lie wimiL-r,
liVli'wo faitii in Gu'l licx unj' njuL
'I'hM got* down dccjicr tliiia liJs dinner.
77if» *i will In; fnlt /njtn ptile tii |iolr,
Willioiit uo need of iiroclxmalian,
I'jinh'* biltKuit CDuntry'* ipil hiT kiiul.
Au' ri«ou up (ulh's Grc<st Xtilbu]
Much American Imniour eonsiAti of naying high-flown P!tpp«Bion«1
by tringiug tbem down abruptly to tlie bent of jilaiii fuels: at in the I
ciuc of the niggers uud nbolition ; but lu tLat ciiac n]iow:i, mush tlint
is rciilly uot;lc h d\>1 to suffvT along with its imhatioa; and hence iomal
of the cynical hnnlit^ss oJ" which wc Iiaro spofcon. Ja tlic luat vcrai'^l
Mr. Lowell takes a different niethcil, iim! miikt-Bihe reiilly noble nmbiiion,!
nhiuh lii'S at the botiuin uf uiormotiH pilcH of homhasl and buncombe in
llie Auicricna mind, come out the mora vigOToiuIy for beiag put iaXO*
humely language.
There in one more charactmstic of Auiericnn humour which w-umurtj
noUce^tliis r>tmiliitr lue of Bcriplurn! limguBge. In certnin cnaea this it
pL-rlKclly lutural and hnnuleos. An "uneducated man luixi-x tip Hcripturs
and coiiiiuon life luoro fiequenUy in proportion to hia bflicf in Hcrlpturo.
Mnny of tho slorlcE which eecm riBky to us would he imprcatiivo to tlic
originnl Apcitkcn, A ceitaia Jlr, Lorenzo Daw pivaehed a sermon on
tho test from St. Paul, " I can do oU thing*," " No, Paul," he «aid,
"you aro wrong fi>r once. I'll het you five dollars you can't," and he
hiid down a five-dollar bill on tho de^. llo contlaued to rond, " through
Jesus Chmt owr Lo^3." " Ah ! Paul," hu wiid, *' that's a very diffprcnt
thing ; tlie bet's oft." This duddcdiy bi'iits iiny aDetdote wt- aver hiiani
of Mr. Spui-goou ; but there was foriutirly o i-!tce cf prench«r« ia tlie
Uiiiti'd Stateit in whose mouths Buch a saying would seem to be very
natural. There wiis n wcU-kiiown r<:tui' Cnrtwright, n Methodist preacher
in Tennijflsce, who has published certain " ftkctchts nnd ccc^ntricitieji.'^
The stylo of this gentleman's olocjiiencc may be judged of from tlie
following. A certain major "flow into a desperate rage, ttnd said ii
he thonghl I uould light liiui a duel he would ckillvugo uie.
' iTyou clisllecge me, I will acc«pt it,'
" ' Well, fir' aaiil he, ' I Jo tlarc you to mortal combat.'
"•Very well, I'll SgU you ; nod, wr,' mi I, 'accwdiiig to tbe luwB
<i iMxmr 1 cuppoae it is m/ right tu choose llie weaponii witli wbleh w«
ntiil«fatr*
"•CutAialy/midlic.
"'Well,' said I. ' tUea we vrill Mep orvr into tliia lot ai>rl get a couple
iTntaatoUkS. I lliiuk I cah llaialt you witL uDc'
"But oh 1 wbst a rage lie gol into. lie ulvricliwl hU fiats and looked
fctfcuce. Sud be, ' li* I tliou^lil I could whip yoti, I wuulJ mniiu yrju
in ■ ttoucDt.'
"'¥«, yes, mujor,* said I; 'but, thuilc tiod I you can't whip mc ;
bd ilun'l you nttciupt to nliikc tue ; fur, if you do, and ibc devil gtlu out
rf yoQ into me, 1 aliall give you tbe worst whipping yon ever got in all
jvu liJe ! ' and then walked olT and Wl Lim."
This vigorous ponoa wjm KtiJ, on itnutbcr ocuuion, to huve bvld a
piduu icrryniai) untlvr waivr tilt ho wduU prouiisv tu say tb« Lord's
foja. He allerivanJa Iwcaiau inticuutc with Ouaural Juckeoa, ou nn
temaoa certainly «iedit»ble iu some re«pecu to both. The Goncrul cume
oncrcBing lo tbu church where Lo was alrc-udy prcuchiag. An otliciuiia
ha^OHin of the Gvncrol'f waLkd lata to tukc ooaiv nottev of his nmvul.
*I bit," liQ ta)», "a tluah of indignation come out nil ovvr iiic, auJ
fui}cacly spcakiog uut audibly, I snid, ' Who m General Jackson 7 if he
ia'tgtt hif wul coavertcd, God will (Unm him as quick as he would a
fioioc* atgro.' " Whereupon the pix-jtchffr and thv Gcaeral became in-
Haaic fneiuis. This rough pioachci- in thu bal^sutllcd districts was no
dsttbt Bait«d to hit ttock. Amung&t the iudtc civill/ed Nuw Englmid
anilatiaii, the mixture of sacred and praruuo huA bet:n duu Co Purilan
HMUtMoit Bii^ i^'U aunives to some extent to iho prifi^eiit tiuio. W'iicru
VSy «lw b sufficiently educated tu rt-aJ tbc Uible, and the BiblQ i& th<i
fiat book that erery ooc rtudo, a .gruit many of its phmscx nro tur<; to past
hlo ooounou UN. Our modern plan of treating the Bible reBpeetfully by
BRJaUf keeping it out of the way of common life, u a piece of refincnient
iMOOipteheiudblc (o tuinds which linvu not bcon Bimic so seuaitivc ty
tdnoation. Wc would rather not decidi:) which prautici- shows iDost buLivf,
iboi^li it U plain vhicli ahows luosl ruvcreucv. llie un of scriptural
pbmM TiJA, however, in America come down to poopto who aro tattle in
tif haUt of reading the Bible wtlh much fititb or willi much ic7[H:ct.
"Hw coaieqtieua: ia, that b good many modern Auicricun witticisuii
cotataly strike an Engliahman as pi-ofane. There is tho one, whidi
t*ojb(idy kuowB, wbkfa itooimla tlio trapper's prayer when he waa in
hnga from a grisly bear. We mention it ns a curioiu example of tlio
ftsv in which a etoiy passes from one people to asotticr, and by being
■aooninodated to diCcrcul »ccncry taki.-9 a diilVrcut humourous tinge. Mr.
CvIyIl ia lh« Lift of rredtrick, rclatts the unecilole in an earlier — we
4S
AUERICAN ntlMOUR.
cannot toy wIiL-tlicr it is th« original — fumi, wlici'c a Priifn'dii Grnoml
implores tlic ilivina fariitii: upon the PriiiwiaR nrrnf in thd nppi-o.tcliing
bnillu, Slid, if tli.tl caiitiDl be ^miitixl, iniploron, nl l<^it, the divine
neulrtlit^. Ill dia Aniunoan vcniun, Um prufiiaity ii noiiicwliat lieiglit-
cned by the way in whicH the srglit cf n tarnation big bear-fighl seems to
be thrown in as An iniiii cement tovrnrda grarttiag tlic prayer. This
Acciuatioa Iiim beca brougUc agaioHt Mr. Lotvellj aa, fur oxeTn[>le, in regard
to Che wcll-Icncwti vems — •
Puion Watm Mt ho ntrvr hoerJ in H* Wo
That ibo Apottlcs riSKcd out in, tticir aimllcr-tail OMili
An' umii^licd routiil iu front tif a drum and a ltfc>
To gel wiaxv on 'cm afflec or fiujiiQ ou 'eia lotm ;
lint Jr.hn 1*.
Hobliiaon ha
Sm (hof didn't know aKrything il'>w& in JnilM,
Tt ia iiiipi>3i>ibli; to proiivuiiuo poiritiveij on eacb a point, because tho
eflbot (il«piiila BO tnucb upon our conventional mode of showing rmpect.
We tnay, howerer, stty, ibnt if the writer ia to be judRcd by hia inlcntion,
Mr. Lowell mit*t lio fully acquittctl; lie tisea the moat vijjoroua illaitra-
lions ibiil come to band, witlidiit very carefully asking whi-re they com»
from ; but be dotct gives us nliat can be fairly cnlltid gmtnitoutt
profanity.
Most of the humour nf which we hnve quoted examples, Is what mij
be dJIed " applied humour." It ia the rc&ull of fibrewd, und for the most
part, half-educftled minds, acting iiiwn inultent of every-diiy interert^
amongst which, cf course, politics occupy a promi nenr. pjut in Ami'i-Ioa.
Wc (bould, in order to complete the subject, laVo notice of the para
humour ; of humour, thnt is, which exiita only fi>r it's own imko, and
which EuiTCcIy ariacB until there baa grown up a clasa ^rilh tsatc for
literary leisure, and which goes ihroiigh inlullectual cxerciups for the lovo
of them. Budi, for example, arc Charles Lamb's exquiFito Es»iyi», uhcue
existence is stifficicnt to juntif}' thomjclvcs. Wo read them not to Icnm,
but for ihe pleaBore of the extjniiKiie Ktyln and grocet^il piny of thought.
Of tJiia kind of humour, it may be euppoBed that we filmli meet ivith few
exnmplM in America, from their love of the pniciicftl, and from the
smtller Dumber of finished 8chot.ir«. A man doesn't begin to writs pure
humour or Latin TerKS till lie hu time on hiii lituid^ Arti-m^is Ward
can only he clamed one degno abovft th« wnx-flgure (how-men whom he
peraooates. lie is not enough of nn intdlc^ctunl hting to conic up to the
character we require. Wnsliington Irving and Jlr. Hawlhorue sliowed
aorne very deltonle humour, but it was fcnrcely original tmough lo bo dis-
tincUy AmeriOAn. It remindLd 119 not di.-^lATilly of European moiiiis, Wc
can, however, mention one writer who has sliown a vzry dislhiciirc and
thoroughly national humour; Ve mean T^r. Holmes. He sbowa the
peculiar ahrewdnesB «f hii ecnnttjmcti, but «pplied to more refinwl
AUEKICAN HUMOmt. 48
objects of dionght. He is oilen quaint, but is never guiltj of trans^easing
tbe bomids of reallj good taste. It ia, however, unfiiir to nttempt a sum-
mirj of his merits Bt the end of an article, and we will, therefore, oon-
dude our qaotationa hy a ahoii specimen taken &om bia most amusing
bwA, The Avtocrat of the Breakfast-tabU :—
" Oar brains are seventy-year clocks ; the angel of life winds them up
caee for all, then closes the case, and gives the key into tbe hand of the
ufd of resnrrection.
"Tic-tac, tio-tac, go the wheels of thought; our will canoot atop
tban; they cannot stop themselves; sleep oannot still them; madaeai
taHf makes tliem go fiister ; death alone can break into the case, and
■itiog the erer-Bwing^ng pendulum, which we call the heart, silence at
kdthe clicking of the terrible escapement we have carried so long beneath
tor vriokled foreheads I
"If we could only get at them as we lie on onr pillows, and coont the
disd beats of thought after thought, and image after image jsrring
Ibimgh the overtired organ. Will nobody block these wheels, uncouple
tbtt pinion, cut the string that holds these weights, blow up the infernal
madiiDe with gonpowder 7 .... If anybody would only contrive Boroe
kiad rf a lever that we could thrust in among the works of this horrid
nloBiton and check them, or alter their rate of going, what would the
»orid give for the discovery ? "
'From half s dime to a dime, according to the style of the place and
■be quality of the liquor," said the young fellow whom they call John.
" Yon speak trivially, but not unwisely," I said.
4i
^fcolleqfioiis of\ Jilatcijtoo bti a ^urutuitijg Oetenit.
I vxu rctootabcr. tbc m<>rutDj; «f iha 1 8tli. The heAr^ rain duiin;; lint '\
nitrlkt liEitl chilU'il t1iQ iiir, ilic dark clottilt ovi'rliuiiil c^iKt a gloom upou tbo
fiuIJ, and iiluigctlicrdi); iiLiirnin;^ vas iinueiually cIicciIms lor the month of
June. But I pei-eoivod no reilectioa of tHat gloom up™ the fucc* of our
meu, and aa column after coluuin wf tlie French caiiie in sigbt, tbey maio-
taiucd tln! *iim(! uadiiuuWd (wpoct. For my own port, I t'vlt nuxioiu) — but
not wlitjJiy -on my own acccunl. I had b&cn pretty well uftworietl u> the
allien of ))ciwdcr uti the castcTn cou&t of Spain; tiul 1 had a 1iroili«r, quite
« young fellow, who never had wom a red coal wntil two dnys fcclyr*.
Tliifl ywiilli, bfing appointed to my own corps, I Lad emuggled nway to
join tlic rt-gimcnt in place ol' tliu dcp6t. I did it nitliout Icwc, and lli«
net 'was n ni±h oni» ; but I thought it might perhaps be tho making of
Iiiiu il' he could kce a ILiUe aprvicc. I now dupWcd my iiisliiifaa. Tlie
lad appeai'cd so unuvrred tLal I fcurwl Iio luight di«gnic» bimstlf, aud
bring ruin upon me too. If bt; run ofT tho fK-UI, what nculd follow ? I
ebudtlcrcd iit tlic thought. IK' tvould be Mit;n»it>E«d (vi- hie oa a cuwanL'
and a dcBcrUj, wliile I should bo tried by court-martial, and perha
dismisMd tlie serviciG tbi- the breach of diicIpliDC I had conituitted.
"Oh, K., tlii) is fcoriull " euid my hopeful protvgi^', as the ehota
kcjfnn tn tvll, " Did you kx poor fail? And tbprt-'s IjlIwJ I
And 1 don't BfC , he muat bo gone ttwl wcaJiall all eooti be knocked
over at this rate 1 " I called llio 8L-rg(>»at of rij company (poor felloir,
lie was numbered with the dt-ad cro nightfall.) " Sorgeiint ," said I,
" you BCG my brotlicr ; he is quite a hoy, utiuiiud to tcrricc. I catnist
him to you ; don't let lum ont of your sight a moment during the dny. If
I oliculd full, and lio surviTcs tno, hand ovvr my walch aud purae to
lin»; but mind nnAl keep your (syo upon him."
Ab it drew lowiirds mid-day, the heat became oppicEsive, and it vrat
truly juiicful to walcJi oiir brave troop» bearing up agniust it under the
pondurous accoiitrements of tho&c days. But none Buccumbed to the
beat, nnd our gallant fellows lianilkJ brown Cess (a weajjon that weighed
fourteen pounda) with as good a wilt us the luclcy chnpa of ihfl pce&ent day
do the Enfield or lh« Whitworlh.
Wc had now riiniLiucd Kltilionary Homc Iioutb, drawn up in square,
our ranks as yet not mattrialiy thinned, when n huge column of the
enemy, btriu-ing down all before it, opened so murderous a fire upon im,
that oni corps lust half its men. Wc retired to anothL-r position, where
wa re-rormed square — n small square now, and in this atlitudi.', on the
de&nsive, we continued until tlic isHue of tUc great tight was virtuidly
decided.
1
jniO(tiLE<;noy8 ov watbbloo by l^ulmmi vetkras.
Tl(M onlj' wbo have cxpoiuinccd wLnt it Is to be kept io aa uttiliido
rf ikA«n Ihcw how it triis ihc pniicnce of the soliiier. Oiir niDa woro
ttejly ihJPrting for n chnrgc, but neccwity forbad it. It wna not oa
aach our esposare to the fl» «r miixkeriy or grape-Bbot tbat induced ilii«
ha^ag to prod ibe cnfoij ; but it waa tlis ohnrgea, or rather the attcnipled
ebMg«,arilie eawlry which prcvoked the feoJing. Agnin 8n<I again camo
If dit eninBivrs, but it vas ao go. The horses liked not those shining
bifoeetf, «k1 tba bajooctc never tHncfacd; ec, with bitti-r imprccatJon»,
ikqr were comjtclleil to turn nil. Mxny a briiro cuirassier ma brought to
fa greoad nhil« tlitis retrnelng )ii.<i step*, otir inen bitring orders to fire nt
tbt hones u thej- reli-eated.
It wu just nfler one nf tbesG cliargcs, during n Tew miniitM* respite,
t^ I locked around mo to aco who vms gone, or mtlicr who wiu ]e{t,
aha to »y dismay J cmild nAwhcro Ji«cm my brotlior. " Wli«rc waj
&» (ngeatit under whosw cliarge I h«il jibcod him 7" '■ IIo was down,"
lU; toM me. " And my Iwlher ? " " Uc Iiait Idl the fielJ." " Left the
Ud I " exdftinied I in agony. " It's nil right," iv|ilied a brother oUiccr ;
"kmM wounded' — notbadlj; •«■, here ia hia shako." And mrc enough,
m ■naUBing the tlutko, I found it 1o b« hia < nnd, what was more satit-
hoorffi ball bail nnai^ed the peak and dam-igcd th': front ; raorcoTei",
thfioBdewu stained with blood.
Il mxj sepm ■Irang«>, but tho ^ift])l of that bloorl nJTordiHl me intense
itlid^ eapcciallj when I heard ihitt tJic wound iras noway dangerous. Tlie
iffMbension Uk4 eelf-reproach undtr which I had been labouring since
Ai iuma all left tne, and 1 eommeiiced forthwith congratulating myself
qn my own temerity, and to frame congmtulitiona for my brother if I
AnU live to meet him.
To ii> it ae«ined the day w«a going dead againM \i». To be sure, we
mU ace but a Kclion of l!ic- lic-ld ; but if tlint presented n tamplo of tlia
^4 tbcre wa« but one oouolusioii to nrrive at, tbat we were outnnmbcrod
sd aropower^ by the enemy.
Bill the day was wparing away. In a few liniiTS tbfl sun would aet,
■1 if vlctoiy were denied us there utu) cunifort in ilie l)ioti^-bt tliat
bkaon woul'l, at uiy rate for a space, termiiiale tUu cvin)>at. Doubt
mi (fMcaJitlicn [vrernilcj anengiit ni : the night's campaign wns, in<le«d,
iiftmuog to \t discuaecd, when a sliifi* oiTiccr was descried galloping up
iMnudt oa. He was ovidootly the bMrer cfan important cotnmnnication.
mm VM it 7 That tlie antiy wiut routod t That immediate retreat was
wJered i Listm. " The body of the French army was in full retreat—
«■ wer« to follow titi tlie enemy t "
Il would take an abler pen ihim mine to oourey a notion of the effect
lUi tiilcUj{*en«c produced. The cnthuaiasm of our n>en sought Tent in
Amti. Aod with all speed we commenced carrying out the welcoma order.
Siota uf all aortj) and siies were slill Bytng about um, anil in quitting tlio
gmisd wberti we hnd passed as mitny wenry hours, I reoeived a wound
b Ut* koee t n raacally riHt-ball b^il lo<I^' •! and Mtuclt fant between tbo
I
tmnU boB«, puMing me oompletol^r hon de combat, 'i'hia vm reolljr too
bwl, being dUablod just as ibc Ix-st fun was coming; but il was viin lu
gnimbte, fttiil truly glad was I to be Itfie'l on to tLo buck vf a slmy bono
which ihsj* cstigbt Aud brought nie. Dt'cliiimg miy escort, 1 eel out
•loae, telling my oomrAdw I diotilil make my w»y unawisted to tha
rear, if not to BruBscls. I soon, however, bec/i;iie piuiirnlly imnre of
my error ; for when well out of reath of help, the poor hnite that vRrried
me Maggered and fell, hiiYiag, 1 concludo, rttcciTed some wound which
hjid Fscflped dMedion.
My plight was now * mtt^ ons. Hy kuw was growing Btiflf, and
swcIJing f^MrfuHJ. Pvin ninl wvukncsi wvro increasing overy iiioui«nt,
and I Cp!t 1 must aoon lie down amongnt ihc dying itiid tlio dvad. !>ull,
cm 1 limped, drnggiog after me tJie Mifleniog limb. I IrAnt upon my
•word, bill it bent ben^itth my weight, mid I rcMlv^d, if I could, to change
it for one that would bclu-r ^upjwrt me. A few paces off by rhv boily of
a Frcni:]! ofEccr, nwfully niiingk-<i by a roaiid thoi which hiul tuuck htm
in tlic bowclii. As 1 glanced nt hlu cinntnnnnco, it soeniw) fiuilc calm.
and beyond the jallur on the tiliockH thttre whs little in the iVaiiirus to
dmraclcrize his prvseiil bluuiber lu ihu til«cp of dcnlh, or to indicAlC
preceding agony. No fueling of Roliclttide was il whioli brought me to tka
aide of thia poor fellow. I was uttmcicd by his awoid, a cavalry one with
a Btcel scabhnrd — the vwy thing I wntitod. To thia 1 thought to b«Ip
uiy»i>)f, and with what strengih I couli! Kiiinmoii, I proci-udt^d to dilach tho
covclcd wibn!. While so engaged, il »cenic!'l lo luc llmt the body iii»T«d.
Surely it waa fancy. IJut ihe iiead had moved ; and conccivt^ my bonvr
when the tje* I hnd sugtpmed fiiM closed in death, opened feebly, mid not
mine My fuigcrs inetinc lively let too.tc their hold. Uuncivcd aod
n»Ji»nn'd, I smniiiiered out an apology—" MiUe punitnu — mal bits$i nt
deeirnin qua I'tpet" when tlio frt-nchninii. vith that nuiivo poliivn««a
which not «v«n approaching death could rontrain, tried to titiile, aad
gasped jUBt audibly, " Dt grd», moniiew, prentt (one/" lli« all was nt
my service. No furilier usohad he fur Hword or augbt (jlne now. Hia
acooutremeDts were an evidvnt incitnibrHuve to him, au I cased hi* utock,
unbuttoned his coni, and uuh'wkcd li'ii wnitt-bell'. llu K-emcd reliev«d,
and M I WM taking leave of him, he lukcd whettier 1 could give him
nnytliing (o drink. Luckily I htid a flask of brandy, (So raising liii
head, I put it to his lip». He drank it off and slrovi; to ihauk inc. Ue
then oloaed bis oyra and uiiittcivd umielliing I could ncit catcii, whilu I
gently replaced his lieod upon iu druary pillow. I then row, feeling much
wtddMicd by this afllcting incident, and as I stole onv liut look at ihc
expiring soldier, th« llj)* wcro still in uiulion, though whuthvr with the
words of prayer or of men grutiludu to me, 1 could not tell.
Leaning on the Frenuiinian'a aword, 1 began onoo more to croep
' towards the rear ; but liunt and exhaittUed, I aooB broke down in tlie
RtMmpt, and as 1 Iny down amongBt the tall rye-gross, 1 l»«^aa to iltink
my end wiu drawing mwr. I may have l:iiu thus hnlf an hour, wh«a I
BECOLLECnONS OP WATEBI^O BY A SUBVIVINO VETERAN. 47
bfard the (ramp of cavalry approacbiDg die spot where I lay hidden in
rlK herbage. Wax I then to be trodden to death 7 The Uiought was
Iiorrible. On and on they came. It must soon be all over with me. I
molrod, sooner than submit to such a death, to make one more efibrt.
Awordingly, I took off my cap, and placing it on the point of my sword,
wsred il to and fro as best I could. Providentially, the waving cap
Ulractcd notice. The gallant fellows (it was a squadron of the — th
Dragoons) made way for me, and gently raising me on to the back of one
of their horses, consigned me to the care of two troopers who conveyed
ne nfely to the rear. It was late in the aflernoon of the following day
before the cartload of wounded of whom I formed one reached Brussels;
nd uooDgat the first that welcomed me on my arrival was my wounded
fenther. Hia head was bandaged so plentiruUy that a Tmk might have
(Bvied him bis head-dress. His delight at seeing me, if anything exceeded
■be at meeting him. I asked him what he thought of the army. He
aid it was a fin« service, but he had bad enough of it ; and from that
hj forth, as it hsppeued, be never served again. He still lives, a hale
oUbsq of seventy. Hia forehead has an ugly soar, but it has paid him
iutVf, and I have never beard him grumble at the mark.
It look the surgeon just six weeks to extract the ball from my knee —
■X weeks of desperate suffering. Soon after this, my wound healed up,
nd I was on my teet once more. Ily way of blood-money, Govenimeut
pod me down 500^ This I handed over to my agent, but he, poor man,
gut somehow into difficulties, cut his throat, and I lost alt.
After fire-and' thirty years of active service, I became a mart3nr to the
psiiu and acbes which my campaigning had induced, and I found myself
compelled finally to hy aside my sword. Verging on fourscore, I still
htn ptrengih to limp along, eupported by a crutch on either side. I
bop^, ere long, to be summoned to the liind of peace ; meanwhile, may I
be thankful that I live to tell the tale of Waterloo.
4$
Cnr MICHAEL ASOELO TITMARSn.)
[Mr. TiucsEiur once more appe&n in the pages oT the ComltiU Mngazin
Wc WG about to give our rcaden some skctclio oDut, which Imvci indce
bWR primed before, but that trns when he wna writing for a gcnoratic
so astoninliinglyilttll aa to sea no merit in Barn/ L'iniloa; wKilc tvc in tin
diiya wonder sometimca wliclhtT pvon Tlmck' raj- liimgelf war eiirpnsae
Ihat little book, lo woDdcrfiil ly vignroiw ami krvn. But hv wrote ma
tilings thai tliat •*«* neglected, oud were soon altogcllier forgottwii.
of thtin was "The Second Fijkzbal of Napoleon," of wliiob probal
not one in ten tliousiind of tlio rciiclcrs of liU Mogaiine ever hear
And yot it wnn pu Wished in diic form nnd in rtccont dtiodceimo,
Mr. IJngh CimningTiain, a bcokiitlivr wliosu shop tvns nt lie coiiier
St. Mortiti'it Plucv : ha who ;ilno Tirst [jiibliHiicd tliu Pares Shelch Bwh.
wns illuairntt^l with aoiue woodouls nf no great merit, iind thcmtn
nildcd ilic famous " Chronicle of the Dmni," — which the " Icnduig; M)^>
finm " lind nil rcfuwd to print. And n* t}io Able cd!toiii of the lime
rejected the ballad, so llie intelligent jnihlic of the tinift refuiii>d to read
the nccuuHt df ihe Secokd I-Ysehal of Nai-oleon, though it hnd all the
allurement of being writlen at the time nnd in the pr^si^nce of tlic event
it commcmorntcM. Tht (rrnlleninn who sencia ns ihf oiiginal MS., from
which wo rijiriiit iIk- long- forgot ten nnrrative, *ays : —
" The ' Letters on the Scjeond Funpriil ' wero a fuiluro. I hnd the
plcienre of editing the tiny Tohinie ibr Mr, Thackeray, and pnw it through
Ihe preM. And, nfter n whilff, on the dismal tidings from llie publisher
that iht? lillh- cflTort nimlt- no irnprc5sion on llie jiuhlic, Mr. Thaokerny
wrote to me from F«ria a prelly liltle ftolc corninencJng ; — ' So your [loor
Titmnr^ has made another fiseco. How are we to taku ihi* great stupid
puhlic by the ears ? Never mind ; 1 tliinli I have something which will
Rurpriae Ihem yet. , . .' Thia was evidently an allusion to yonili/ Faa-f
wliicli he h-d begun at that time."]
I.— ON TIIE DISINTEHRrENT OF HAFOLEON AT ST. HELENA.
>It Di-AR, — It is no cofy task in this world to rlintinguinh between what b
grent in it, ond what is mean ; nnd many .lud many is the puzzle that I
haT« had in readiojt History (or the work» of fiction which go by that
OMne), to know whether I shotild laud up lo tlic iiltiw, and rndi'UTour. to
the Lest of my nnnll capahi lilies, to imitate the reniarknMe character
about whom I wns reading, or whether I should fling aaide the book and
THE SECOKD FUNERAL 0¥ NATOLSOK. i9
AelMnof it,M things aJtngctlier haae, unworthy, laughable, nod get a
w^cra*gaiiw of billianj^, or n pipe of tobacco, or ttic report of tlic
1m(UMc id Ibo Hoose, or any qiIict cniplaymcnt wliich. would Wtc the
■bdbastalcef em^TAGiu^itnthcr than pwtcr it vrit)i avAia tct of dales
vA^ to actions vlitcli are in th*nni«Ivps not vrcrtlj n. Gg, or wiQi a parcel
timma of pcciple wlioui it on do vuv tw cnrlltly good tu remcmbLr.
liiiii>orc lluin probablt?, my love, that you are acquainted wiUi what
JiaBed Gredtu) and Boiubd liiatoiy, chictly rrom peroaisg, in very early
rn^ tkv little tlic«p»kin-boimd voluniM of the iiigcnions Dr. Colduaitbi
ad ban Uevo iudebted lor jour knowledge of our Knghxli iiniiuls ta a
■baqacnt uudy or iho mum voIuniinouB worka of lluniu ami Siiiifllbtl.
IW Cm ami iLe laat-n;ttued nulburs, ile&r Mis^ Smiili, have imtten
m^ an adminbla hialorj-,^ — that of the Ecvurcud Dr. Primrose, Vicar of
Walufdd, mi tliat cf Mr. liobert Ijrnaibk-, of Bromblc UaU— in bolb of
iiidivarka you will find true ttnil itiKtniviivc pictures of huninn iifo
ad »bkli ymi nmy iilwnya think over will) itdvanUigc. But k-C loe
^Kin you against pulling any considerable triut ia the other worki of
iWe utbora, which yicie placed in your handa at scliool and aflerwards,
■alotvUch you were taught to bcliuvc. Mudcru hiAlcriana, for the moat
|Vt,%Bra v(-ry little, and, secondly, only ti^ll a little of wbat tliey know.
Aita tliose Greeks and lioniaas whom you have iciid of in " shttep-
4a^' «ctw you to know rvnliy what tlioae monsters ware, yon would blush
tOom at T«d aa a holiyhuuk, and put don-n the biiitory book In :i fury.
Jby of our Euglish worlLtua u-u no butter. You ars iLot in u situnlioa
Hkaew the real chsitaclers of any one of them. They appear b*foro you
ia ilwir public capociticst but ihu iiidivi duals ycu ktiow not. Suppose,
fa iaataace, your tnamma lud purchafed her tea in thi: Dorough from a
fBvn living thore by the name of Greenaerc: suppose you had bitea
aicd out to dinner, and the gentleman of tho hoiise had suid : " Kol
Jim^ml a glan of cbampagiio fur Mimk Smith;" — Courvoisicr would
KTVcd yoo jnal aa any otht-r fnotmiin would ; you would never have
tliat tbcrv waa anything cxtraordiiiury in thuiw individuals, but
■mU have ibougbt of them only in their respective public characl«n of
Ctoeer an<l Footman. This, Madam, ia JCiatory, in which a man always
^poaja dealing with the world in liumpron, or his luccd livery, but which
W> not ibe power or tlio leitun.', or, [lerliHpN, is t«o high and mighty to
ondooood to follow and »tudy him in bin privacy. Ah, my dear, when
Vg and Utile men come to be meofured rightly, and great and Btnall
xdou lo be weighed properly, and people to be stripped of their royal
ttbm, b<ggar«' rage, generals' uniforms, seC'dy out-at-cl bowed coats, and
IW Iik«— or the oontiary, niy, when houIh cume to be atrippt-d of their
■kted (leociring bodies, and turuvd out otaik nukid oa thfy were befuro
ibjT w«tc bora — what a strange alortling Nght kIihJI wg so*.', und what a
fnoy figure ahal! some of us cut I Funcy how wc aliall see Pi id<-, wiih his
Sl)lli-«loCbaa and pndding polled off', nnd dwindled down to ii forked
■iUl I Fancy aorno Angvliu Virtue, whose white T&iment i^ suddenly
no
THB SECOND FVKEIUL OP NAPOLEOX.
wUifced ttrrr ha htai, iliawut; lu dattu teci and ft tail ! Fjnojr
Hmniiiiy, Ksaei of it* sad load vt oairee and want aod boctb, walking up
to llie very higfaeit plaeo of all, imd blaahiog as b« ttkat it ! Fxacjr, —
but ire muat net Abct mek ■ totae <it all, which woald be an oaliago on
public dcccDcy. Should we b« hdt better dura <mr ndghboim? Kof.
eertahilj. And m w« exa'l be virtnona, let tu be decenL £1g-lcan«»
are a yery deceat, beconin; wear, and have been oov io Eubioa Jbr (onr
tbotnand y«vs. And an, my d«ar, Jl'isutrj u written on fig-leavo. Would
jOD bare aiiTdnig^ ftirthcr T 0 Se I
Tea, lOTir tb«iuuid jeora ago, that fammis ti«« waaplantsd. At tHair
vtfj fnt lie, oar first panntB nade for it, asd there it ia still tbe gitat
Humbug Plant, atrctchiog ita wide aim^ and ahaltcnng bcncatli its Icavcat
ae broad and given eg erer, all llie g^twMtioiia of awn. Tlioa, my dear,
ooqDett<a of ^our Ctactnatii^ aex. oorer their persoDs wiili Ciggay^ fiiBtaati-
oUIy arranged, and call tli«ir naaqocndinp, taodsaty. Cowards % thent-
aahrca oiu fiereeiy aa 'salvage men,' and make us believe that tfaejr are
warrloni. Foda look tctj folemajj out from ihp dnfk of ibc liavca^ and
Vc fimcy in the gloom thnt tb^y are eng^t. And many a man aMa a gnut
wreath ahoat his fate and stnita abroad n hero, wHom claim* wo would
aH of UB IaD|h at, oouJd wc Init zcnore tbe cmameat and m« baa anaf
aholl bsT«.
And aocb— (excuse mj aomonizin^)— aach is ibe onnatitniioa of
Bumkind, tlint men bn-p a> it were ottered into a eompaet amon^ tfaen-
mArta to parmw ihe %-1eaf afstmi a rontnmct, and to ory dowii nil wbo
oppwe it. Utaabng' tbcy will bare. Ilambnga tfaemtrlTea, ihrj will
napect humtrnp*. Tln-ir daily Tirtnnla of life most be M>a»nrd wiik
bmnbiip. Cerutin tbingn are tlierc in the wnrld that ihry will not allow
to be call«d by their right names, and will insist opon onr adnicinfg
vh«ili«T we will or no. Woe be to the man who woatd aulvr too f.iT imo
tbe rrcesacsof that mnjittilioenl temple where our Goddeaa b cnalirintd,
peep thiwufrh the Tt»t rmbroid^red curtnina indiacrwtly, paactnto the
BBCTCt of secreta, and expose the Gammon of Ganraions I And as yon
tniut not peer too eanonsly within, so neither mart yon remain BCorarnlly
wtbout. TIuinbn?-woTiihippera, lit m conic into >Mir groat lampta rapK
hriy and decently; tike our wata, and settle our clothes dectmtlj; opoi
our boohs, and f^ tbmafrh the rerrice with d«<:mt gravity ; Itaton, and be
decently affectod by tlio e;cpoutioiiR cf the decent primt of Ihc plnee; and
if by chance some elragglin^ Yngnlifiid, lollcring in the Enn»hinc out of
doora, dnrM to Uugh or to sin^, and disturb the luuietitiM dtilneu of the
fthhAil ; — qnick ! a couple of bi^ beadles raah out and belabour tlie
wretob, and his yells make nnr dcvotioni nor« c«mfortabIe-
Sume mn^iRcenl reli^ov* ceremonies of this nuturo an at praant
biking place in France ; and thinkiiij; that you might perhapn whilo away
ann« Umg winter evening with aa nceonnt of iticm, I linvc compiled dtc
fcUowinp page* far your nse. Nvwsptipers have been filled, for Rome dnya
pnfl, Willi details reading the Sunt Uvlcoa cxpedinon, many pumphlete
I
I
I
\
THB SBCaKD FUNEUAI. OF NAP^HM
51
kit hen pibluii«dT mea goaJboal crying liiUv boobs- uid broad^tecta
Bti lilli rani or thmm pAiticuIus : and frutii titan leurca snd valtudile
irnmmi* Ut« CoUowing pagn nra chtcflj> oomiulod:
VeouM begin at the bqgiiuiiag, prignisitig, ia the Snt plac«, tliAi
Mmhu Guizot, irlitra Freoeb arnhngador at London, wait«d upon Luril
Afamon with a roqiu-fil Uial th« body ot th» EinpcKv NajM!«on aIiouU
Itfno) uj> to the Fiescli nation, in order th^t it might find' a final rest^
^(■ylaM ilk Freocb earth. To Uiu demand th* Engli^ GovcmnMiit gara
tiwdjr mntt : DOT was thnre- auj- partioulu' explosioD of •oniimonc npao
wkr ■■!«, only Mma prctfy cordiul ncftrcamns of mutual good-will.
Qiiaa v«rc arot out to St. ili^Mia tliut Uie oorpoc Abonld bo duuotcrr«d
mdi» time wbea tlic Fr^icli Gxpedition Lad airived iu Miarch of it, ajtd
id oTvry xc«p»c;t and «Ueot4Dn should be paid to tliooe who Cfttno to carry
hck to tlieir wontry tJu boc^ of tlio ramuns detd warrior and itotr«ro%ni
Ibia mittcr btang aimiged. m very fev words (as in Eiiglaiid upon
^paiat*M tbc UndabU fiuJiIcin), Ibo Snatix ChsKmbcn hepta to deisfts
ifaa pine* in wliicli thoy iboultl btary liic Iwily wtion tL«jr got it ;
■^■mberiew pampliicls and ncmpApen oQlof doors jui&tni in tbo taik.
fln»pMpIe tb«re were who had fought and con(|uored imd been btataa
vAlk^reat Napoleon, and loved hiio and his invmory. Mon/mcce-wem
ikav riio, bociuiw of hu great gi:aitu> and taIdiit, l«lt «xG««v'd/ proud
■ ifatr own particular ponoBR, and olniDoured fur die rstum of tli«ir bcro.
iad if iberc irns aoaw lew individuals in litis great* hot-licad«d, ^dJan^
•nblime, absurd French natioDi'who had tskcn a oool rinr of the
t Enprror'a character; if, pcrlwpa, such men an Louis I'liilippa, and
McBnititr A. Thtcra, MiDiatcr and Vt^ioiy, and Moudcur Fraafots Guixot,
Dqatrand ExeeUum^. had, from interost or convietiitn, o|iiaoiii; at aII
J^hfiiig irom tlto«e of the majority ; why, Hney knew nliat waa viLjit, ;iiid
h^ tiudt opinioD.* to U»nna^v«s, coming inJb a tolarably good grace and
flngfaig ft f«w bandfiila of ioocaM apon. dia altar of th* popular idol.
b tbe aiKoccding debala, Uiao, various opntooA were given wiUi
tliv jinec tb be aeleotcd far th« Emperor d sopuliura. •' Somo
ta.y an tiKx|iient anonyaiona CapLiin iti tlie Nary who liai
ferkton aa Itinerary /n>in- T'Mhn to St. l/eltna, " llml ihc coffiit nliould b«
*yiiftd under the bronxa tokvn from llie ctwnijr by tliv Fnuub army —
rtlie Column of tlm Rinoc Veiidfitn& Tlio idea wasa&iv ono. lliU
OHHt gloti'^uo raoQuntcnt that ivu ov^ tnixod iii a cnnqu«Tor*s
Xbifl colnnin hua been melted out of fam|,>n caauon. These samo
, h»T<; furrownd die braomaof oar brnxca with nobloei«Btri«a ; and
li» Bietol conqnercd by tba aotdier fintt, by tliu artist aJWwarda — has
yi— III to b« imprinted on its fnnit tl» own defeat and our glury. Napoleon
iHglil tlvp in peace nndef thi« asdaaiowt trophy. But, would hi* asbos
a ah^tor auf&Mfilly vast beneath thin- pedestal ? And hi.i puiuant
doMuaaiing Fans, bcama nitli sufEiucal gruadour oa this place:
I tba w1m«1i of carriagei and the Oml of pawen^rfi would profane
Iha tekBfaal aaooli^of the not in traatpliag on tbe soil ao near hia head."
5_a
59
TUB 6B00SD TUKBRAL OP WAPOLEOT
Too mu^t not take this description, doaresl Amelia, " at the foot of the
letter," ju the French plirasc it, btil you will heie liave a maaterlj expoii-
tioa of the nrgttme&ta &t and Dgatnst the burial of the Eaiperor under the
Column «f tlic Plnce Vcudflnie. The idea was a line uno, granleJ; bnt,
likp iill i>i}ier iili-iut, it vut opun U> olijcctioiis. You must not fnncy thai
tlic <unnon, or rather the cannon-balls, were in the hnbit of furrowing tUt
boMnna of French braves, or any other braves, viiih. cicatrices : on, tha
contrary, it is « known fiict that cuia«n-balU mako wotindB, and nti
dca(rici<8 (whiclt, my tienr, nre wounds partJully henlerl) ; nny, that a man
genemlly ilicx after rcceiviug one such pmjeciile ua his client, much ratire
arter having hie bo«om furpowed by a score of tb«Di. Ni>, my love ; no
bosom, however heroic, can stand tiuch applications, and the author only
means that the Frtmch toldicrs faced the cannon and took ihcm. Nor, my
love, must you supponH that tho column was mdtcd ; it wim the cannon
was mt'Ited, not the column ; but such phrases are often usihI by orator*
v-hcn they mah. to give a parUuuIar Torco and eniphaaio to their opinionn,
W^eli, again, although Napoleon might have slept in peace under this
audaciouB trophy, how could he do eu and carriiigcs go rattling by all
night, and people with great iron heels to their boots pas« datt^uig over
the stones? Not indeed could it be cxj)ectt;d titat a man wboss reputft-
tion Btrclchi-» from the Pyramids to the Kremlin, should find a column ofi,
which Ifae base is only five-and-twi^nty feet equnri', a shelter va&t cnongli
for his bones. Id a word, then, although the proposal to bury Napoleon
nn(Ie.r iho column wu ingenious, it was found sot to suit ; whereupon
aomebody clifo proposed the Madelaine.
"It was propoeed," says the before-qiioted author wiili his lutul
felicity, " to consecrate the Madelaino to hlH exiled manes" — that ia, to htt
bones when they were not in exile any longer. " lie ought to have, it
was said, a (cmplc entire. His glory lilia the \Torld. His hones could
tot coulain themselves in the ixiffia of a man — in the tomb of a king 1" _
In this cHMe what was Mary Magdalen to do 7 "This propoKition, I an I
happy lo say, was rejected, and a new one — that of tlie Pre«ident of tho
Council — adopted. Napoleon and hin bravca ought not to qiut each
other. Under the immense gildt;d domn; uf the lavalidea he Mould find
a sanctuary worthy cf himself. A dome imitates the vault of heaven, and
that vault nlone " (meaning of course the other vault) " should dominats
abo'e hie head. Ilia old mutilated Guard lihaU watch around him : tha
last vcterati, as he has shed liia blood in his combats, shall break his hsC
sigh n«ar his tomb, and all theae tomhs Bhnll aleop under the tattered
standards that have been won from all the nntione of Europe."
The original words are "scus lea lamheaux crlbl^ des drapeaux
cucillis chez toules les uationsi" in English, " under Lh« riddled mgeof the
flags that have been culled or plucked" (like toses or biillercups) " in all
the naiioRs," Sweet, innocent flowers of victory 1 there they are, my d€ar,
Rire enouf^h, and a pretty considerable horCut aiccv$ may any man cxaniina
who chaosi's to walk to the Invalidcs. The blU'ial-placc being thus agreed
I
I
I
o^ Ae erpedilion wn< prwpared, k:A on the 7ll] July tlie llelle I'oule
fnplK ui compaii; with /« Frnvrile corvittte, niiitlH TouIod hurbour.
A oople of st«iuncra, the Trident und llic Ocean, escorted the eliipB as far
u GilnlUr, and there left them lo pursue their voyngc.
Ibetwo ahips quitt^^tl llic harbour in lite sight of a vast coacuursp of
ft^ tad in tbo nii<Ut «f n g^r^-nt mariag of cautions. Previous to
^ Jifwturc of tJte litlU FouU, iht! Bishop of Fi^jics went on board, and
pfe lo ihf ceoolapli, in which th« Hmpcror'it tcmiiiiiK were lo l>c deposited,
b cpiteopd beoedielion. NapoWn'a old frionda and follower*, the two
Butnndi, Gcnrgaad, nmanuel Lsa Cajscs, "companions in exile, or sanx
cf tlw OOBipVUOn^ in l-juIc of the prisDncr of the in/dm( Hudagn," aayi a
Fraarh writer, were pas>i>ng(?n: on board the frignte. Mnrcliand, DeniSj
Picml, Nonrei, his old und Riithful Krvants, were tikcwi«c in the vcsaol.
Il vu wmnmnded by hi« Koj-al Ilighnvn Franoi-t Furdiujind Philip
Lnii Miirie d'Orleans, Prince de iroiuTillK^, r young jiriace two<niid-
IWMT jtJirs of a,:^, irho vu ftlnrndy disiinguiahed in tlie eervice of hia
vmixy and king.
Ob tfae 8tli of Octol>er, aftvr a voya^ of Hix-and-aixty days, the BetU
fWr airivcd in Junca Tuwn harbour, and «n its arrival, un ca its
J^MMC from France, a great liring of guna loolc place, l-'irsl, the
Aalr Prencli brig-of-nar bognn roariug out a saKilatlon to the frigutc;
ite (b» Dolphin English jchooncr gave her one-oud- twenty giina ; thi^n the
fi|pt* rrtumed the complimeal of the Dolphin itcbooner; then she blazed
on«-and-ln'CDty guns mote, as a mark of particiUar politeness tu
— which kimliics* Ibo Ibrta ucknowlc-dgcd l)y similar dutonations.
ncM Unle compllmenui concluded on both side*, Lieuu>uant Middle-
am and aide-de-camp of the Clovemor of St. Helena, came on 1x>ard
^nocli frigate, and brought hifi father's best respects to liia Koyal
Tlie Governor was nt home ill, and forced to keep his room ;
bad mado hix boiuu.' at Jiiiik;>i Town ready forCiiplain Juinvillc luid
Im Kihe, and b«gge<] ihiit Utay would make iiae of it during their stay.
On the 9tfa, H. K. !!■ the Prince of Juinvillo put on bin full uniform
mA landed, in oonipnuy with Gem-rals Bertrand and Gourgaud, Mtissra.
imCtaea, Mardiand, M. Coqucrcau, the chuphuu of tlic vjcpcdition, and
ILd* Sobon Chabot, who acted as chief mourner. All the gnrriton waa
BsAcr amu lo receive tlie illuetrious Prince and the other itiembers of tha
lition — who forthwith xepaired to Plantation Jlouac, and bad a con-
ilh the Covernor regarding iJioir mitaion.
On the 10th, lltli, ISlli, these conferences coolinui-d : the crewa of
nhipa were permitted to come on shore nnd see the tomb of
ftifrtraod, Gourgaud, Laa C^ues wandered about thu island and
miidtcd ibc qtota to which thry hud been partial in (he lifetime of tho
tiDpet«r,
Thfi l&th October was fixed on for tbc day of tlie exhumation: that
five-and-twcnty ycm, the Emperor NapclcoD &rst Mt his foot npoa
i.m«niii,
TfTB SBCOKD Ptm^RAt. OP KATOtSOK.
On (lie day previous all iliin^s iiad been mode ready: liie
nrfHtia »ml ornnnients brought froui Frimce, ai»<5 the aitiulea
Uie oporaljoo yrvie carried to the Tulky of iho Tomb.
'i'ho Pjjeniliiins ooitimoiiBi'd »t midnigliL Thv wvll-kncvn fripndfl of
Knpokon iK'fnn.- nunu-d, nn<J mnie ci^cr Bttcnilants of his, llic cbnplius
and hi" 'aoolyti:^, the doctAr of the Jitlie Poirte, tlic oapUins of th« Frendi
thipH, find Cnptuin Al«xaDd<>r of the EtiyliiciTB, thoXngliili Conuiitauoner,
nttratlwl liie diamlvrment. Hia Raynl [I'tgUnrtnVnaix de JoiorillcicottU
ti<it he jirc^ent because thft irorkinin) were andcr Engh«h coiiitusnd.
Tlir men workvd for iiinr hours in«M>Kiiiitly, viln-u ai lungUi th« corA
iru ruiirely renmved from tiic ruuh, all ihc honzoiiiAl atnta of nuisoiiiy
detnolidhc-d, snd tho large elab which coTM-ed tho ptaoe whore th« stoiu
sarcophngiis lay. removud by a cmac. T\im oaUrr ralGa of atone wn
periect, and could icnrcly be anid to be Qnmp.
" As KOOD na the Abb£ Coi^iicrcuu hud roctli'd ihe prnyers, the eoffia
vnsrcmnved viiUi the grcntest care, »iid carried by ilw engineer •col^nsp
barehtadeil, iuto a tent that had been prejiflitd fur ibe |>urpoee. After tb«
Tvli^cus Cpreinoiiit.>«, the iiiQ<:r cpflins were opened. Hie outeriODBt coffia
■wtis slightly injured : then csinc one of Icud, which was ia (rood con-
dition, nnd onclotiitd two olhQr» — one of tin mid one nf wood. Tho kat
coflin Viu lined inside with vrhite s»tin, which, huTing become dL'tudiad
by th-i i.S'cct of lime, hitd fidk-n iipim ihe body and eaveli>ped it like a
■nindiiig-ehwt, and h«d bewiiw "ligliily nttnehyd to it.
" It ia diffindt to dcsciibi; with whiit anxiety and emotiiin tliose who
■were piesent wnited for the rnnment which wns to expose to ihcm all tint
dralli had ]el\ of Napoleon. Notwithittiindtiig thii iiingu!.tr ttnta of pre-
servation of tlie tomb and c(>(Ene, we uvuld scurcdy hopo to fiiid anything-
hut Rimo mituthapi^n ri>m!iinB of tha leiist periihuble part of the swhust
toirvJdence the identity of the body. But when TtoctorOtiilliinl niiMed the
sheet of »»itin, an indescribable feeling of snrprise nad nlFeettoQ WM
expretn^d by tlie spi-ctiilors, msny of wliom btirst into tenrs. The
'Emperor vtar, himwirbeforu their (sya 1 The fnitureti of the fecc, though
changed, were perfectly recdgnized: iho hsiids extn-Tuely hrantiCul ;
bis well-known coEtumc had Eutfcred but little, and ihe colours were caitily
'dutbgnifihcd. TIio attitude iticlf was full of oise, and but for the
fH^ents of ihc mtin lining whieh covered, ns with a tine gnitae, eeveral
{nits of the uniform, we ini^ht hnve birliev*^ we atill saw Nnpolcon btfMC
vx lying oa Lin bet] of statu. Gcnend Berlinnd and AI. Murchand, wbo
WTn both prRwnt at the interment, qaiclcly pointed out ilie difPerent
HTlicles which ench liad dfipoaitcd in i^.u roflin, and reinained in the picose
position in whieb lhi>y had prwimiiily described them to bo.
"The two inner coffins. wtTC rarirfully closed agnin ; the old leuden
coSui WHS slTfiigly bEocked up with weJgcs of wood, and both were once
more Gotdered up \ritb the moat minute precnuiiou, UDrh<r the direction
of Dr. Guillard. These different operations being termiDnted, llie ebony
ttTcophagus was closed as well tu its oak case. On d«tiv«riug ihe ki^ ^f
i
TOE EKCOND ri;K£ItAI, OP NAPOLBOK.
55
taboQ/ ^^eoplukgua to CmiiiI ilc Chabot, tlic King's Cummbstonej',
I AJtr-xaotkr tlvvlai^d to Iiiiu, ia Uic uauic «!* thv Gownmr, llwt this
aftvB^t)^>^>^ t^' nwrul n-ntaiiia ni tbo Emperor Nkpaloon, was coa-
alml M At lIh] dittpaiU of tiit* I'xeucb GoviTDiuent, trom that day and
bm M mooMuiL at nhkli it ahoulJ lurivc ut tli« [>l;iae of eoiharkatioOi
M«^ wiiicli it VM about to be t-vut under llio oi^tai* of GvncraJ
Mdl—org. '11m3 Kii^'ft Comuiisiuuiiei* iqiiitd lliut bu wiui clivgod !>/ Iii«
fiMKnuiv«nt, and iti iU name, to accept ttie coE&a from the haudu of ths
Intoli Bothotiitcs, and thut lie and tbu other pcrficna compoaiog the
iaaacli. auat.fjtx w«rc ivMly to IoUmt it to Jaiuc« 'lowii, wli«tc the Pnaae
niibt, superior camimndant of the i^ptxlition, would lie n-miy to
il Ami QODdocl it CD board Lia ifi^ate. A cat dmwn by four
declwd wiib ftnercsl emblems, liad b«Qa pnpnrcd before the
irrind of lltc ncpedition, U) rcovive the colBitt aa wtU as n puli, and
d liw ctha suilftblti )rappii>gd u( luouniiog. WUvii thv wircophaguit
Mt^btccd OD ilto car, the Khoiu vas covered with a mngnlficGQ,t imperial
■oik liruughi (rota Patit, the four coiucra of nhidi were borne hjr
Gtavmk Bi^rtraud and Gourgaud, Ba»n Lr> Casoa and 31. Mnrdiund. At
Uffaat thrae o'clock the funetal car began to iik>t«, precediiU b/ a
r bvariti); tli« crew, and !•}- the Abbe Co(iuer«au. M. do Chubvt
cliid* mourner. Ail the utitliorilicd of the island, all the prin-
iuhabitonUi and the ttUoIg of tlic g&rriouu, followed in proce^iioii
6vMthe Luinb [o tlie (juay. But with the {-xccption cf lEie ortiilcrjmen
mu^mry to lead the borwB, and occasionally support tho car when
Awmlini. tfume steep parCa of the wny, ihc plucw utaicit lh« cttHn nctc
—nil tilt the l?'rcDch misiiioa. Gcnvnd Middlfmorf, dthougli iu a wcitlc
ABritf health, persiaLed in fuliowin); the whole wtiy on fuut, ui^i'ihcr wiLh
Sniiiil Churchill, clu«f of thu vlaO* in Judia, who bad Arrived only two
llnibre froin Boiohay. I'he imiuoaiie weight of the cof&no, and the
I of tho road, rvodcmd the utiuoat ixulJuIqch uvccMory ihrougU-
nt Ihe whole distance. CoIoelcI Ttulawncy cutuitiiiudcd in pt-rson the
nail detachniinit of artilletymea who conducted tlie car, and, liuuikato
b grcKt carv, not the alighteot accident took pl.ic<. From Uiu tuonicnt of
i^wiure to the arrix'nl at tlii; ijuay, Lhu cannutm of the Ibrlii and 'llie
AUt Fauie fired minute-gun^ Al'iei an huurV uurch tlic rain •:(-:i9(.-d fur
A« fti¥t time since 'dte oonunaacemcnt of the operationa, and on arriving in
4|ftA cf the town ire lutind a brilliant alty and beuutitul Wi-ailicr. Ftouj
AKBamiag the three Fiencb Tcaecla of war had M«amcd the ueiial signs
I nouming : their yardi axwed and th«ir (iitgn Icwered. Two French
iCQ, Jiount Amis and Indiea, which liud been in the roiida jor
tn duj^ had ptit thcin»dT«8 nnder the Prince's orders, ami followed
fahng the eenmtony ail thv niaoixuvrvs of Uiu Bdle I'oule, The forta of
Ik town, and the buuau of the cuuaul>, hod ohio thcix Hogn hul^mast higli.
" On nrrirtng at the cntnace of tlio toun, lIio troepx of ihi^ gitrrison
■d the mililix formed in two linw oa for a^ tlic extn-mity uf the '{uay.
A^TTflrTffi 10 tiiu order for xnouniiag prescribed fw the Ko^lJAh oi-uiy, the
3
56
THE SECOND FUNERAI. OP SAl'OLEON.
men liad their arms revtrspJ iind the officers hact crape on tlicir nrms, with
their eworda nrersed. All tho icliAbltntiU had been kept avrny from Hit
line of Diard), but they Jiiied the icrracen coniti:anding the town, snil the
Btrccts were occupied only by the trou|i8, the Slst KegiQicat being on th«
nglit mid tlic mililia on the left. The eortil'j^e advane^l xlowly botnten
two Ti^nVa of soldiers to the Hound of u ruucral mnrcli, while the cannoni
of the fuiU were fired, na well aa from llic B<IU PvuU and tiie Jiolfihii,
the echoes hcin^ r«pL^iU.-(l » thoiisiuid liraes by the rocks above Junta
Town. After Iwu houm' march the cotlige slopped at the end of the quay,
Trlicrc the Prince dc Joinvillc bad slntlcned bimsuir Ht the henH of ihe
(^Soersof the three Frt-nch sJiipnof war. The gTeatest odJciEil honount hxd
been rendered by the Eitglish .iTitlkoritiee to the mcmorj- of the Emperor —
thonoet Htriking tG^timonialH of respect had mnrWil tlin adieu giren by
8l. nHcnji to his eofiiii ; and from thin moinL'ut the mortal reiiiainii of the
Emperor wer(j about to bt-loitg to France. When the funeral-car stopped,
the Prince de Joiniiille advBECed nlone, and in presence of ail nround,
who stood vnth their heads ticcDTcrcd, received, in n solemn manner, the
hupcrinl coHin from lb& b^nds of Gonoral Middlomoro. llii lloyii
HighueKS then thiinkuO the Governor, in the iiiuiie of Kiance, for all ibe
tcstimoniuls of sympnlliy nnd rcnpcct with which the authorities and iidia-
birnnts of St. Helena 3ind surrounded the memorable ceremonial. A cutter
hnd been expressly prepared to receive the colfin. Duria^ ttc cmbark-
•tion, which tlic Prince directed hiiniielf, the bonda plnyed funeral airs,
and nil ilie boat* ivcre stationed round with their oara iihipped. The
moment the sarcopliai^us touched the cutter, a magiiilicent royal &ag,
wliieh the ludicKol' JittncH Toum had embroidered tor the occasion, wu
unfurled, and Uie JklU Pmk imnicdiatdy Bquared her tnasis and unfuried
her e&lonrs, All the manoiavrcs of the frignte were immedialcly tollowcd
by the other vewels. Our mourning liad ccasiod » itli the exile of Napoleon,
nnd the French oavn! divi&ion dreaaed itflelf out in all >'^ fiaiLal ornaments
to rcceivB ihu imperiid cciffin under the French flaj. 'ibe uircophagos
was covered in tlie culler with the imperial mantle. The Trince de Join-
Yille placed hiniself at the rudder, Cuinm.imlutit Guyct at the huiid of the
boat; Generals Uertrmid aaJ Gourgaud, Bavon do Las Ca!(e*i, M. Msr-
cbaod, and the Ahbi^ Coqncroau occupied the name p]:ia:s as during the
mu^. CouTit Chnbot and Commandant Uemoux vrere astern, a little ia
advaneo of the Prince. As soon as ibc culter had pn«hud ofl" frnm the qtiay,
thelijitlcricsHidirrt fired Jtwalutr of tvrcnly-oncgiiu.% and our nhips returned
the luilute wilh nil iheir artillery. Two other siilulcs were Jirod during
the passage i'tum iIk; quay to the frigate, llic cutter advancing very bIowIv,
nnd surrounded by the other boats. At half-past si?E o'clock it rcnchcd
tihe JitUii Pottlt, nil ijie men liein|r nn the ynrds with their hula in their
hands. The Prince had imrf urrnngcd on the deck n cltupel, decked willi
flags and trophies of atras, the altar being placed at the foot of the mizen-
niRit. The coffin, carried hy our lailorit, paMcd betwwn two nnkt of
«fliocr9 with drnwn jwords, and was placed on tlie quarter-deck. The «bso-
THE ^KOdW) VDNERAl OP NAFOLKOV. 57
htica «« pronooacod by the Abb6 Coqnereau tli(> Ktimc crcnLa^. Next
hf,Uti3t o'clodc, a Bolcmn maaa was celebrated on (he Ocick, in presence
iTlbf A«at and pnrt of the crcw« of Uic ships. Hid Kcijal Ffighncss etood
tt ifae fcot of the cuf&n. The cannon of llie Ftworite and 0«jfe fired
wmrfuns during: tliia cErcmony, which ttrminattd by n soJtiuu aV.Mc».
Ma; and the Prince dt,- Joiaville, tho genilemcn tif ih<T mistiun, the
iftm, aad the prcmier% m-tUrts <it iho sliij), sprinlcled holy vaU-t nn the
oMbL At eleven, all the «eRrni6Dies of the church ncro sccomplialied,
il A* baBoan don? lo s Mvorcign bad been paid to the mortal Ttmains of
KfolHin. ITic coffin vav^ carefully lowered between deckn, and piacoi) in
A»(I^»U« itfdtnU which liad been prrpniwl at Tottlon for il« reception.
At Ail Bianieat, th« vetwls fired it la»i xaltite with all their artillery, and
lb bjgalc took ta her flags, keeping up only her fl^tg at Ihc item, and the
VfpA itxadard at the ntainttipgallant-mast. Oa Sunday, the 18th, at
^1 in the niomizig, the Bdte Poule quitted St. lIcK-na with lier preciotis
^^t OS board,
"During tho whole limu that the miwion remained at James Town,
4a beat uader^tanding iievL-r c»iM'd to txlni lielween the ]>opuIntion of lh«
tImA and tlic French. The Prince de Joinville and his cumpnioni inet
n iB quarters and at all times with tlio greatest good-will and the
ttvaot tcetimonials of sympathy. The authorities nnd the inhabitants
OH have felt, no doubt, great regret at aeeitig taken away fi-om their
akai the coiEn that had rendered it ao celebrated ; htit they repn't^
tMr Maagt with a courtesy that doce henoiir t» the fntnknesB of their
daaeu-T."
tL— CtN IIIK VOVAGK FROM ST. HELENA TO PABIS.
Ox the 1 Stli October the French frigate <iiiitted tho island with ita prcctoua
tedeA on board.
Hu Kojal Highneaa the Cxptain acknowledged cordially the kindness
h4 aflcntion which he and his crt:w liad received front the English
luWilie* and the inhabitonis of the IijUnd of Si. Meleua; nny, promised
a ponoa to an old soldier who had been for many ycimi the guardian
tf Aa Imperial tomb, nnd went i:o fiir n« to take into eonaidvrntiou the
]diliao of ■ certain lodging-honie ke^-pt'r, who prayed for a cdiupensatien
W the loiB whicli the rctnoval of thu Emperor's body would oocation to
W. And idihou^ii it was not to be expected that tho great French nation
A«dd longo iu natuial dcnre of rccoTfrin^ the rctnaiiiB of a hero
t^tmt to it fur the Hake of the individual interest of thu Inndlady in
fMMjoo, it niiut have been lunisfactorr to her to tind that the pcculinrity
flf her ptwtioo was so delicately appreciated by IIk' nugmt I'rincc wltu
(OMtuniilcd the cspedilion, and carrind away with liim antmir (timi'tium
■■ ilm half of the genteel iudepeuflence which ahe derived from the
■fcMJmi of bar hotcL In a word, polilene*« and friendship cotdd not be
■obd fartber. The Prince's realm and tlie landUdy'a were bound
1
06
Ttm BlDCOliU JTUNKKJU. OF KAPULEON.
iDgMber l>y lliv cIoMst tiw of unit/- U. Tbiui-s vaa Minittl«r o
lli& greut patroti of die Engluli ullUiico. At Louiloa M. Uulxot van Uik
wonLy ropratulauva uf iLo FtcdgIi good-witl towai-iiA ttie BiJtuii pti>pJe^
and tiut remark fnqueDlly niad«> by our orHl>irs M jiublic dinncn, that
" Fnnoo and EngUntl, whilu unitviJ, iiii^'lil ihtfy liie world," vrait cuiuuJercd
w likely to bvld guud Ivx uuuiy years to cunie, — llie uuwti iLal is. Aa tat
defying tUe world, tbat vas odtlier ttere nor Uiere ; nor di<l Hngli^
politicians ever dieam of doing nny such thins,. except petlu4» at tlie
tcotb it^ftM of port «t TrctiniAAoii't Turcrn.
Littlo, licnnrerei-, clid Ura. Corttatt, tli« Sttiul Helena inudlady, littlg <^'
bia KoynJ iligUnoai Prioco Fcixlitiaiul Philip M.irio du duiiivillc luiuw
, what waa going on in Eiirupe nil tliis time (nliL'a 1 aay in ilurope, I mean
in Turkfj, Syria, and Egypt); Low duudi, in fuct, were gaitu.-ring upon
irbat yoii call tho political lioriion ; and how tcmpMta wccc lioiiig that
waro to lilow to jileoca our Anglo-Ualltc icinple of frteudHhip. Oh, but
is tad to iliiiik ititit a «iigle wicki>J olil Tuik aliould be the >in«aDS
Betting our two Ctiristjnti nations by the cara 1
Yeb, niy love, ihix diarvputablc! olil man had been tor tome lime part
tlie object of thv diiiutcrestL-d uUcniion of thu grutt sovvn-iguc of Europs.
Tho EmiM-ror Nioulax (a uiorni clmraciar, tliougb fbUowing die G
stipontilii'ii, :inil ndcu'etl for Iiia mildtic^ aud benevolence of dispoai
the Kin[)t;ror Kvrdinand, the King of Pnit^.i, and our own gracious
bad taken such jiixt oiTcQee at his conduct mid diaobedicacs towarda
yvung aud iutcrtvtiiig eoToreign, whuae autliouty Jio bod disiegarded,
U'hoae fleet he bud lcidt)np[K'il, w)iv$o fair province)! ho had pcuaccd upon,
that iliry dctcrniinid l<i emu; to llic iiid of Abdid Mtdjid the First,
Euiptror (■( ihc Turks, and bring his rebeilioua vnasal to roaion. In thU
pnijevt the Fi-eneh DaUvn was invited to join, but they relused tho invita*
tion, saying, tliat it vnta mfotwary fur the luuiutiuauicc ol' thu balaoce af
pon'«r in Ii!uT<3p(> that his Highness Mehcmet Aii should keep pofacaHOS
of wLal by hook or by crook he had gotten, and that ihey ivould havu no
hand in iajoring htm. liut why continue thin argamcnt, wUiub yoit liar*
raad in Iho iivwtpapers for many months paxt? Ten, my dear, auat
koov as well as I, that the balauctt af power in Euivpe ci>uld not poaubly
be uaintained in any suuh wnj ; and thougl), to be sure, for the Lu(
Gdeen yearx, tht.' progrc^a of ttiv old robhor has not made niucb diScreocc
to 11S in ihc Lvi^lihvuihood of ItLuevll Sjuaru, and the baillc of Xexib did
not is ilu! h-iii>i ufTuut our taxes, our houif.e, our itiatitutiiuifl, or ths prioB
of hiitchcr'i* moat, jet there b £o knowing what mighc have hiipiwned had
Mvhvmct All hceti allowed to remain <iuit:tiy tm lie wun : and the balance
of powLT in Europe might have twcn — tJio deuce knows whero.
Uere, then, in a nutshdl, you have tho whole mattci' in diapulc. WliiJa
ICtl Cocbclt aud the Prince de Joinviilc were innoccally interchanging
eoaiplime.ntn at Suint JIcTena,— bang I bang I GiQiniodon- A'apier uaa
poiu^ing brosd»idM into Tyre luid Sidon j our giillLint uuvy iras storming
breaches and routing ariniea ; CoJouol Hodges had seised upon tha gntso
I
I
THE SECOHd fWWbbAL OP KAPftLRoST
ttaiai vC Jbnliiin Paebn ; oikI tlio powder-nui^Kiae ai Saint Jolm of
AnriaabkwD ti[i aky-liigtt, witli righteco huniircd Ef^plian >ol(]ien la
amqnn m\%h it. The French raid that Tor Aaglait had oohierixl mU
llw MB'WMMi, atul no doubt betkvcd thai the poor lullows iit Aero \nm
bAdtoaouui,
6 Btut have be«a particular); tiiiplvuimt to i high-minded naiioa
iit ike Frencb — at ibe vcr^' moniLiit when tli« Egyptian xffiiir nod ibe
Uaee U Eutt*pe had bv«fl settled ia this ftbni[tt w»y — to End out all of
Mmiimi that the Faslut of ]-!gypt waa thuir dcoiert &ieDd and oilj. They
U Hftnd in the perMm of ihrir Irii-nd ; nnd though, snaug thm Ui«
OfttE wna utdcd, and the tertUory out of )ti;i hand, th<rjr could not hnpe
MgiM k tack for him, or to aid him in aiij aubataatial way, }'«t MoiMicur*
Biia dcbemunvd} juat u* a nuii'k of puLitcneu to the Potilia, to ligbt
(D EaropH for loallntaiitig him, — all Kumpe, Kngtand inuludud. H« vaa
htt DO KW-, and an innaense nnjorily of ilu- natioa wcot with him. He
edhd fcr a ntillion of coldins, and would hare bad tkc-m too, had not
tk Eag been agauut dm proJ«ot and delayed the coBipldtou of it at
laklbr a dnui.
WihaM! gnnl £Hrop«ui <)t«i>uli-it Cu|)tiuii JoinvUlQ rcOL'ivvd a noUlics-
bMsUe litr wiiA at aea od board hia lii^ato, as wc fiud by tho official
mtmi which haa b««Q publivhed of hia nitadotL
"Jsae daya after ijuiiTing Saint Ilt-Iena," suya that dooumeut, " Uie
npriiljau Icll in wilb a chip coming Troin Europe, and iviia tliusnuule
Kfukited niih tl>« wnflikc rumuuri ibcn iiiloat, by which n eolitaion
oh ihn £ngU*h suirttte was rt-odcred poenible. The Prince de JoJnville
Moefialcl; naKtubled the cfSccn of the B^lc Pouie, to delibenUe on an
i>ai so unexpected and important.
"* The coaooil of irxr liuving vxpiaasd ils opinion tluit it vnia oeccf-
■ry al alt eretttt to pn-pare for an cacrgctic ddenec, preparationa woe
Mil loplaee in battery all ttie gunii that the frigiitc could bring to brar
^iad the racmy. lite provisional cabins that hoid been littvd up in the
hMHj ware denoliahed, the pnrtiiioiis romovrd, luid, with all the elegnnt
teuttm uf ibe cabins, Hung into Uic utm. The Priiico dc tlaicTiUv nui
4t£nt * to (3c«cutc liimai'lf,' and th« frigate aoL'n found itaulf armed with
a a aigbt moce gant.
" Thai pnit of the iJiip wbtrc these «a^a* had pivviotwly been, want
ty the name of Lac«dc:mnn : oT^tyUiii^ Jusuiiuua being baniahcd to
make way Jbr what was ukYuI.
"Indeed, all ptnuns who wcic on bcatd ngnc in saying tliat Mun-
tegnrar the ftiiAx de Joiji«i!ie most voriliily aDquiiled hiniadf of llie
p<ni and honourable mtaeion which bud b««i confided to him. .AH
•firm not only ihat llie comrosmhuit vf liie criMdilioa did everything at
Sl lli-tmn which as a I'Knclniinn he was bound tu ilo in oidtiT ihikt iho
■^■fau «f the Empcior should i««t.-ive all tttc honours due to ih«;m, bat
■mwnf that he aeccnipliKlied his miswon wiili all tlic locawired
aJmnity, all the jjiuus and sorerc dignity, that the son ef the Kiaporoc
60
THE SECOND FUNERAL OP NAPOLKON.
liiiDself -wouM have n!ioi.T]i upon «. like occasion. Tlje cominandant Ktd
aleo coBiprehcndtd tJint iliu irmaiuB of tlie Kuipcror must never fait into
tbp h»!i(ii> of the stranger, nnd being himself rleoided rather to oak tiu
«.liip ihiin to give up his precious deposit, lie hnd inspired every one aboofe
liiui villi the SHiiie enerjretic reeolmion that he Iind 1iim>df tnJcfrn ' ajaintt
an extreme evtntuittit i/.' "
MoiueigDcur, mj' tli-ar, itt nnWy one of the fiueat yeung futlowa it ii
possible to ace. A tall, broad -cheated, t^lim-wnisted, browti-faced, dark-
L'yed }'oUDg prince, vith a great beard (and otlier [nartinl qiinlilics nO
doubt) beyond Lis yenn. As he strode into the Clmpel of tbc Invalidi
on Tuc'sdnj' nt ilie bond of hii men, he mndo no Miinll iiiiprp««iin, I can
'tell you, wpon tlie ladies ansembliHl to witncea tlie ccreuionj'. Nor
the crew of the Belle Peule leas agreeable to look at than (heir commnndM
A more clean, Bmart, active, well-limbed set of lads never " did dance
upon the deck cf tlic fiimcd DtUe PmtU in the dujE of her memorabl
CCimlKil wilh Iho Savrj/ ArtUnisa. " These five hundred wfiiloTV," Miyii
Freuch newspaper, BpcakiiiR of tlieni in tlie pioper French way, " nwoR
ia band, in tlio severe costume of beard-ohip {la severe lenv« dtt $ordy
HBDed pToiid of the mixsiiiu that they had jii«t accompli tihed, llieir bl
jldieta, their red cniA-uls, the luritid-dowti collars of blue ishirtK cdgci
with while, al/o-rf. ■nH their resolme appearance and marliid air, gave
IHvourablu siwciiiieii crf the i>Tescnt elate of our marine — a tuariii«
which BO much Slight be expected npd from which so litlle Iiaa beei
required." — -Le Cfrnmierre : 16th Decemlier,
There tln-y wire, Rure enough ; a cutlans upon one hip, n pistol on tb
other — a gallant Bet of joung men indeed, I doubt, to be mire, nhetlv
the tfvl're temie tin bord ri'quircs that the $e»ninn should be alway
furni*Iied vilh these ferocious weapons, vhicK iu sundi^ niarilioi'
inantenvrc'E, such as going tfi sleep in your liiininioelc for inutiince, or twink-
ling abinujicle, or lulling a iiinrlintpike, or Xet^lJiaidiug n tnnintcpg&llaat
(all naval operations, my dear, n-liieh ony seafaring ncveliiit will cxpbis
to you) — 1 doubt, I ray. whether tliese weapons nre attca^s wnm by
failoTB, and have heard that they are commonly, and very sciinibly too,
IcuikL-d lip until they are uiiiited. Tiiho .'inotlier example: auppoae artil-
lerymen were ince.iaaiilly coBipcIkd to walk nbont wilh a pyramiil of
twonty-four-pound ahot ia one pocket, a lighted fuse and a few barrels of
gunpowder in the other — theso objects would, an you may imagine, greatir
inconvenience the iirtilkTyman in his peaceful stale.
The rew«paper writer i« therefore most litely mistaken in saying that
the wamen were in the Ktetre tcaiie (fri loiti, or by " borcl" meaning
**ahordoj}4 " — whifih oporaiion Ihey were not, in n harmless clnirfli, hung
round with veU-et and Wax-eanillen, and filled with Indien, aureiv colled
upon lo pLrfurm. Nor indii-d can it be rcasonobly anpposed that the
picked men of the crack frigate of ihe French iia»7 are u " good epecimon "
of the rest of the French marine, any mnre thiin a cuiraased colossus at
iLo gate of the Horw Guards can bo considered a fair sample of tL© British
TBK SECOND FUNEKAl. OP KAFOI£ON. 61
putol, hovfCTer, hud no doulit their
iho latter not Joadtd, and I heur that
daltBcli Indlts are quiU in rapiiiivn with these chanuing loupn-de-mer.
LM the warlike aocoutremciits ihca pusi. It vrra DcccssnTy, perhaps,
letfiiblbe Piiri»ianii with awe, hdJ lltori;lnrc lh« crew was nrmeii in tliia
fitntilBhion: but vihy (JiouliJ the Cjiptain begin to sYniggcr its well as
lian? and wtij did the Prince <i« Joiavillc lug cut svvunl and piMoi •«
■it^f ur why, if he tlionght fit to mak« prRpiirationx, shvuld the oDicial
pmnih hng oftheai aA^rwards aa proo& of his extraordinary courage?
Eere ta ihe eaa«. The Kngliah Government makes him » preuiMit of
lb booea of Napoleon : English workmen work Ibr tiinK houra witJiout
tUUBf, ami dig the coffin out of the ground : the Euglish Ccmnitssioavi
bail vrer the Iccy of the box to the French representative, IMcinaieur
Ckbot: English hones carry the funeral-car down lo the sca-ahore,
ttaspanicd hy the English Gorernor, who has actually l«ft his bed to
^ft ta the procession and lo ilo the t'rpnch nation honour.
AArr recviving nud acknowledging these politcnncca, the French
Cifttdn tatcB hia charge on hoard, and the first tiling wc afterwords hear
tf Ua » tlie detenu! nation ' qn'il a su fuirt pasftr ' into all his crew, to
Mkn^ ihaa yield op the body of the Etii}>er>jrau:r mains de FdlranQcr —
isiPih hands of the foreigniT. My dt-iir Moiiseigneur, is not thiA jusr
^jmtf Suppoeo " the foreigner " hud wanted the coOin, could he not
tsH bipt Uf Why show this untalled-for valour, this catraordinary
liini^ at ainking? Sink or blow yourself up aa much sa you pleasi.',
htyw Boyal Uighnees must tec that the gcutocl thing would huTc been
H vait until you were a«kcd to do so, before you ofri.^iii3i\l gocul-nnlurL-d.
kaM people, who— heaven help tlieui ! — have nev(!r»]iuwu ilieinsdveaiil.
ll ■Undcrwisly inclined towards you. A man kiioeks up hin cabini*
fasBoih, throws hia tablen and chaira overboard, runs guni into the port-
U% end calls le quartirr du bord «u txistaient era chavibrcf, Lace-
^MMu Lace^sFtnon I Thf^re is a provinct-, 0 Prince, in your royal
llWa tlominions, a fruitful parent of heroes in ils tun^, which would
iMgirao B much better oicknaniG to your quarticr du burdi you should
ln« nllad it Gaacooy.
Sooner than >iiike we*l] all «x-pi-cr
On iMiard of the. B»ll-e Pos-le,
Soch fanfare nnadtiig is very well on lh« p^irt of Tom Dibdiii, but a
)fnm of your Koral llighne&s'a " pioua and severe dignity " should have
Uo aboTc il> If you cotenoinL-d nn idea that war wns imminent, would
k nat hare been far better to have made your prcpamlions in qiiiirt, and
*ba yoQ found the war-mmonr blown over, to have said nothing about
<W yoo intended to do? Fio upon »uch cheap LncodnriitoniaTiism I
IWrs is DO poliroon in the world but ean brag about what he wrmld have
hat; however, to do your Royal HighnesH'a n8tii>n justice, they brag and
This nuiMive, my dear Miu Smith, at yon will have remarked, ia
3
9i 'ins SECOND FUNEOAl. UF NAFOLSOX.
not a simple Uilo imrrFlr. but » aceompniiied by mnny mornl nul pni
Temarka wliicli rurm its oliicfTKlue in tbeirmer'a cym at t«mitl, itnd
&bov« aecoant of iIm ti^nm 'L»e»6iimaa on btMinl tli« JitlU I'vtUt h
(loubln-bnmtllrd nonlitj, ul coaowiTo. Tlo«id« jiui iy reprcbending
French prt^eRsity towanla bra^giadocio, it proves Ttry utrotig]; u
which I ftm tlie only BtsUiflniaii in Europe who hw slrcoigly inuatoJ.
tbt' Parit Sl»tcli Boot (oiw oopj-, 1 beliifve, U atiU ta b« kid it
pqbliobcra)— in tlie J^'ia Slvtcli Boot it 'mu itatcd Hat the Fi
haU K$. Thfy luuc us, iny d^-nr, pForouadly and da^ierKldy,
there nerer waa such a lioUotr bumbo^ in the world u tiia
alliance. Mun get n ctinrJictcr for pntnotiun in Fnucc mnvlj* by bftti
England. Directly tliry ^n into Blroog oppoMlion (wherc^ yoii
people arc itlnnya mora paLriolio tLaii on llie tuinialcrlxl lidc), iJioji
to Uic pcnple, nsd hftve Uidr hold on tlie pi^oplu by lioting Engl,
eotmnon with tlivni. Why ? U is a long story, itnd ibv Iiainid vaa^.
accounted for by niwiy r^asors, both pcIiticKl and aooiaL Ajiy Uiim:
d^l hundivd yean this ilUnill has beifii going un, miid has been
niitted oa tL« I'lcocli side imm fntlivi Xa wo. Ou tho Frcacl) stdt.-,,
ours : v'c hay« lutd no, ur fuv, duftiuiii la compIuQ (tl^ iw in
make x» vn^ry; but you »ce iJiiit b> dinoius such A parivd ot' lion
demand a «oiinderabl« number of pBgeii, and lor tho prtscBt w«
•TOtd the eKLnuoalion of die queelion.
But tUciy h&tc UH, that is thu Iviig and sbtJt-t of it, uud yoa wc bov
thin hstrtd has vxpLudird just sow, not u[M)ti n Murious aaiiae of difimow,
but ti{ion »n argiiimcnt ; £jr what is tbc Puslui oT Eg^'pt to ua or Uieiu but
a niirrv abotniol opiQii>n7 For die Boma reaaon the Litllcnbdiuu in
Lilliput ahlionvd the Uigtfndiant ; and. 1 beg you to iviuaj'k iiuu hia iitojal
liigbncta Friacc Ferdinaad Sdary, upon liuarins that iliib arg[utuaiLma fai
tb< coiirs4 of debate between ua, Blroightwuy tlung hie fiiraitura ovei^
board and expressed a preftrrance for aioluug hii ship rathtr th.-ia yieldii^
it Iv lliv eUiwjrr. Nothing cniac of ihii wtoli ol' lii», to bt sure; but tin
intonlu'Q ill orurytlun^. Unlucky cir^uiustAnctta dunitil him the powt^
but hu had the will.
'Well, tii-yf-nd this diaappointinent, tlie Prince d« JoinviUs hud uotbiag
to conipkiti of during the voyage, wbidi tcrminuiud hiippily hy th« arrival
of the litlU Povle at Cherbourg, on the SOtli o( Nuvcmbcr, at Gvc o'clock
in the mominp. A tvtegmpli made the gixd nows known at Pvis^ when
the Miniater of the Iiitrrlor, Tanne^uy-Duchatc] (you will read (be tuuna^
Sladaci, in the old Auglo-Freuch ^vur»}, hud already made "imnwrnw
frepamtiona " for receiving ttie body of Napoluon.
The enirj- wu« fixed for the loih oTNoTfiniber.
On the Qih of ^Dvcinlit-r uc Clii>rbourg lli« body vas- transferred ftoa
the Bff^t fuuU fcifttK (0 iJie Xvnnattdie Htdtner, On nliich oecaaiuu.
the mnyor of Chttrbuurg Jcpoaitcd, in the iianiu of hii Iowa, a guld laim-'l
braneh npcn the ccitin— which was snlutt'd by the forts and dikt-s of iho
place with tint mouSiiND olks I Tlierc wna a inat for the iuhubitanta.
TUB SECOND FUMERAL OF N.iPOI-EOS. 68
Tim vtma on bmrd ihr etenmcr n BplcndUl receptacle for llie coflin:
*■» Mtplfr with twelve pillara and a dome to «nTcr it ftitta tU-! wel and
MJam, tDTToanded wilh Tciret hangingK am] nlvcr friagn. At tbe
bMJ ■• • gold crficB, at tl:e foot n ^d lump : qi1i«t lump* were kqic
oMWlfbtimiDg- within, nnd vases frf' burning incense wera bui^ aronnd.
Airiar, bung wiibTcIrctond lilvi-r, wkh st llic miKen-mnai of the v««»»1,
mifiwr tUvtr <iigk» al eacfi cvratr of lh< attar." It ynu a ooinpliinect at
M le Napeleoa aad — excuse nie for i^iug lo, but to tho fliciB an — to
&^lraa mi lo God Ainiight;.
Threr Kwtnew, the NarmnndU, Uio VHeee, and tfce C*wm'<r, ft>rra«d
fie etjwdhion from C'hcrlxiiirg to Ilavr^, a( whicli pliic^ the^ arrived m
BC nning of tl» 9tii cif Norcmbrr, aad nlicTt; tlic VelocM was rcpUocd
If Ao Si^tu OMuner, having in low one of the atato-ooantors, which was
tiCmlir (cdnie at the moment wlicn the body wwi tnml^rred into one
rfdie Te»*4« b«longin^ to th« Seiit^,
Till' cxjff^ition pnmx.l Havre tlie mute night, and cnnie to anchor at
TM Jr la Hii}'c oa the Srinp, thrw Ics^iMt bt^ow RuQcn.
Hero the next imrtring (lOih), it wax mnt )jf thn flotilla nf it<>nm-
tom of tlie tapper Sttine, consisting of the three Doradts, }ht thro»
fiAi^lIie Eiietipien, (ho Van'tien, tin- Par!»i(itn«,Ani the Zamjia, 'Xhe
M^fc Jrinvllle,aud the pei-sonn of the i--xpeditiiin, cmhnrkc'L imme-
AMh- ie ibc flotilla, which arriYcd the same da; at Koncn.
ia Roiivn tahitcs weni firvd, Th«> Nationnl Cunrd on both md«9 of the
ii>«[«id militate Iwiwunt tn the bod^ ; and over the midclle of the
■faacni-briil^ ii magtiiliccnt cenotaph wm crrotcd, decorated with
ft^ ftaer*, violet barging^, and the imperial nmn. Bvfciro tho cenotaph
dtez^Iition nioppcd, and the nbiKrluNon was piven hy the archbishop
"H the clergy. Aflw a eonple nf houm* i«taj-, the expt-dition proceeded
khatde TArche. On the Utb it reached Vernon, on the 12cb Maateiy
n fte ISlb tliiiDooB-aur- Seine.
* KvOTywhwe," »j*s tha olliciiil acconnt from whidi llifl fthnm? pnrti-
cdni ore borrowed, " the nothoritics. the Nntionnl Guard, and the peopitt
4kM lo tbe p*Mag« of the flotilla, dcwiroDs to render the houoms doe to
tt gkify. which is the glory of France. In sn-ing iln hi-ro reiurti, the
Mum Hmed to have found ita FalUdiuin a<,*niu, — the Htinicd ivlka of
^flUvy.
Al Inigtii, OQ the 14th, tbc coffin was triimferred from the Zhrade
■■ner on txanl tbc iaiperial rc«*i:l arrived frcin Puri*. In the evening,
tW iinp4>rial T«Krl arrived at Coarbevoie, wliidi waa tbe last stage of
ft* Jwnney,
Hvn it wa* tlint H. tiuiMt went to examine thu vessel, and wnH very
»Bly flirng into the S*-ine, as report go<-«, by the paLriutA aaseintded
^n. It IK now l/ins on the rtver, nnar the Invaliilce, Amidst Ui« driftiBg
■K, (rhtiheT tilt! people (if Paris are Hocking out to si.>e it.
Thi> vnecl ia of a very ckjnat antiqiie form, and L can ^ve yon on
A< TLaSKS no better id?a of it tliun by refjuesting you to fancy an
SECOSD FCIfEKAL OF NAFOLKOH.
imtncTiu wLotty, or wliicli llie atern has been cnt straight off, and i>a
which a tempi*! «n .■iiepa has been tlevated. At llio figure-head i»
ftO inunsnu gold eagle, and Bt ihu stem is a, Iiltlv t«miGC, filled nitli
erer^rwiu uuL a profiuicn of Itaimum. Upon ]k:i](?suU along lb« udct
of ths VC8»1 arc lri|H}d» in whicli inceiiite vrm bumeil, and uncla>
avath tijvm iirc gurhiidtt of flower* called here "immortuts." Four caglea
Buniiouut the temple, and a great scroll or gmlnnd, held in Llieir bcakc,
nuTounds it. It la bung with velvet anJ gold ; Tour guld caryaudd
lupport the entry of it; nnd in th« midn, upon u Ui^ pluUbrm hung
nicli velvet, aud liraring die imperial iirm», s-tood the coflin. A HtcumlxMt,
OBrrying two hundred luutdciaus playing funereal luarclics mid tuililary
•]rtnphouit's, preceded this mn^ilicent vi»9i!l to Courbevuie, where &
fuacrral Icmpli: was erected, luid " a etaliic of Nvtru Datnc du GrLcc^
before which tb« seamen of the 3eUe Poult inclined thciaseJTea, in order
to tlinnk ber for having granted them a noble and glorious Tojngo."
Early on the morning of (be l&th December, antidat clouda of incense,
and tliuiidor of cunnoii, iind iniiuiiicrabli) Hhotila of pM)ple, ihu coffin waa
traoari.-rrcil from the barge, and carried by the seamen or the Belle Pm\»
to tlie EmporiaE Caf,
And now hiiving conducted our hero alinnrt to the gates of Pans, I
mum toll you wiiat preparations were made in ihe capilal to receive him.
Ten daya heforc the arrival of the body, aa you walked across tha
Depuliea' Bridge, or ever tho Esplanade of the luvalides, you mit on \lia
britlgQ eight, on IJie iflplannde diirty-two, mysterious boxes erected,
whtrein a coiipli: nf Bcore iifscnlplers were at work night and dny.
In the midille of the lavalid Avenue, there used to aland, on a kind of
shabby fountain or pump, a bust of Lafayette, crowned wicli soiiie dirty
Vrcnthi of " immot-t&ls," and looking down nt tho little: satrrAmlct which
occauonally dribbled below bini. The sjiot of ground wnii now clejir, and
I^&yett« and the puoip had been coiuti^ned to some cellar, to make way
for the mighty procession that was to pass over the place of their habitation.
Strange coincidence I If I had been Mr. Victor Hugo, my dear, or a
pcwt of any note, 1 would, in a Ivw hour^, hare nmdc an impromptu con-
eeming that Lalayctte-crowned pump, and coiiijiared its lot tinw to tho
fortune of il8 patron some fif^y years back. From him then itutued, ad
from hi* fountain now, a lecblc dribble of pure words; then, as now, somO
taint circle «t' disciples WL-rv willing to admire him. Ctrtainly iti the midst
of the war and alona without, this pur« fount of c!o(juuiics went drib-
bling, dribbhng on, till of a sudden the revolutionary workmen knocked
down Htatue and fonntain, and the gorgeous impeiial cavalcade trampled
over Khv upot where they Btood-
As for the Champs Klyiui'GS, there was no end to tbe preparations : the
first day you naw a couple of hundred nciiffifl dings ereclml nt intcrvala
between ihe haiidsome gilded gas-inmpa that at present ornament tliat
greQue ; next day, all these scaffoldings were filled with brick and mortar.
i
TWB SECOND FUNERAL Off KAPOLEON.
65
haatly, over the bricks and mnrtar rose pcdimcntB of slotaea, legs of
mt, lap of gmldemes, legs and bodies or goddesiKiA, legs, bodieR, and
hob or giCMldesaa. Ficully, oa iltv 13t!i December, ^cildcAsea cuniplcto.
Ob At 14tb, tbcyircre pAinted tnnrhic-col«rtr; nnd tbe bwemeDta of wcod
■I MlTu tM wliich tiiej stood vere made to rmemblfl the HBme cosily
HNriftL Tli« fuaercal ixrat were ready to receive Ui<i friuikiacciue and
pMinn oiloura whicli wore to bam in theiu. A vnet number of white
Hhwu stretched down the nvcnur, oitch bearing a bronze bitckler on
lUch was written, in gold letter*, ttne of the victorieit «f t!io Emperor, and
ach decorated with enonnooii imperial flaga. On thene cnluinns golden
tifki were placed; and tlie ncwfpapcn did not £ul to remark ihti inge-
ttnti poMtidii in wliieh the ruyiil blidi luid lifen nut : fur while those en
it ri|lit-hand side of the way had their hrada turned towards the proces-
■M^M if to watch ita coming, tliose on the left were looking exactly tlie
ttixv wa^, aa if to regard ita progren. Do not fkncy I an] joking: thi*
ptitt VB> gravely itnd cinphuticatly urged ia itinny ntynspujicra ; and I 4o
biiinv no luorlal Frenchman Cfver thought it onvihing hut iiublime.
Do not interrupt me, aweet MIm Sniiih, I feel that you are angry,
t CW SM fi'om bcrc the pouting cjf your lipa, and know what you
■n |ifaig to tay. You are going to say, " I will read no more of this
lb. ritfunb ; there ia no siiljcct, however Bol«nD, but he Ireata it with
£p|aat irrerercnw, and no character, iiowcvcr grmt, at wlium he doi?8
Mnecr."
Ab) my dear ! you are young nc-w and rnthiuriaatio ; and your Titmat-Hh
• old, very old, huI, nnd grey-headed. 1 have seen s poor mollii^r buy a
U^tnoy wreath at iJie gate of Montmartrc burying-groimd, and go with
Ktelwr little child's grave, and hang it thereover tho little hnmhlu Uone;
>d if ever you saw m* scorn the rnfaii ofli-ring i*f the ijoor iihabby crea-
1 will give you Iwive to Ve aa angry as you will. They Bay that en
jnaage of Napoleon's coffin down the Seine, old soldieis and country-
pCDjik walked niilcs' from iheir villages just to catch a Mghl of the boat
vkiefc carried his body, nnd lo kneel down on the ihore and pray for him.
God (brbid tliat we should tjuarrel with such prayers and sorrow, or ques-
tiMi tbeir siocerily. Something great and good niuft have hecu iu thia
■n, sometlung loving and kindly, that ha* ki^pt his nnmQ bo cht^rished in
iIn poptilar memory, and gained hitn Kiieh lasting rercnmcc and ntTi-ciiou,
Dttt, Madam, one may re«pcct the dead without ft-eling awe-BtrickfU at
tin piomes at the bearw; and 1 nee no reaaon why one should sympathiie
with t3ie train of mutes and undertakers, however deep may be thvlr
aooniing. Look, I pray you, nt tho maaner in which the French iiatioa
has performed Napoleon's funeral. Time out of mind, nations Itave raised,
te iMnory of their hcroe*, august mausolcnnis, grand pyramids, ^leadid
■atOM of gold or marble, lacriltcing whatever ihvy had that waa most
and nn, or thai was mott bunnliful in art, as tekcns of thrtr
aikd lev* for the dead person. What a fine exanipln «f tliis sort of
acrifioo is that (recorded in a book of which Simplicity is the great cha-
TDi. Sll.— NO. 7^. i.
«fi
THE BEGOEiiD FUNHRAL OF NAFOLKON.
nratarialMr) of the poor ironuu wlio bmnght li«r pot «r precious ointment—
her all, ud Uid itsttiM(£H'Li>ri]ieOt)ji'cCwb)eli, upon earth, die monlonl
■nd re»peut«d. *• EcontvitibdH unci calculators " thcrt were even in Ant
i»y» who ({Tiarrellcii vith the mniin«r in vhicfi (ho poi<r woman laviaiMd
Ki mnch " capitul j "* but you will remtmljw liow nobly anil ^teionriy As i
HicriEicG vfM uppreciukd, anJ Ituw the G«onooiiats were put to sltaDM^
With regard (o tJic fiint^rnl ccremany tliat liiu juat t>i>c^ pOTfonned lien^ \
it is *uid thai a TantoUH public pcnomigc nni 8tat<«raaD, Monttfiir Thwn '
iaJDod, (ipok« triti) ibo bitti^cst inijif^fttinn of tlic g>«enil Myl« of the pre*
pMWioiis, and of chi*ir Emntii and taWry cbantct«r. lie iroaM hxtv liad i '
pomp as magnificent, h« Miid, aa tlmt ol' Rome at tlte triiimpli of Auretiaa :
h« would hare decoratL'd ihc bridgra and arcnuct tlmmgh wliidi the pro*!
ccHton VIM topioB, with tli«catitlicat mniblcsatid tbeRni-»t woricavf arr^aad
bav« bad them to reamiii tbcrc for «T«r as monumimte of the great fuaenLl
Tbe eeoQUiui»ts aad calcuiatora might here interpose with a great '
of reann (Ibr, iudccd, tieie was no reason 'fthy anniioa sboold impoTendi|
itwlf to do hanonr to ihv metaw^ of nn imiividnn) for whom, nflcr all, ft]
ca&fW'l but a qualified cnlhusiiuni): but it Min-ly might have omplojed tlitl
Urga mm voted fur tliu purjww more iriacly and ^•.•acrowly, and reconlvij
iB mpect for Niifiolr^ou by koiiii! worlliy uiid h«ting mc-moriul, rHihcr Uiaa]
have erectei! yonder thousand vain heaps of liiisc!, painl, and plaater, tl
a» nli'Cftdy ernckinp; and cniiyiWing in tlir frort, at three daj*3 old.
Sciirucly t>ii<; of the Klatuex, indeed, descrvea to last n month ; fonic at«|
odiooa ()islorlio;i8 and curicaturcn, nhicb dctct xhould haro been allowed i
lo fltand for a momptit. On the verj duy of the fHi; the wind "was J
dnking llie cnnrns pcdLKluls, and the HiTmy wtrnd-worlc had Vgno toj
gaps and give way. At a little di»t«ncp, to be sure, jpu could not wc
ancka, and pedi«tal« and atnluesi lookrd like marble. At some distnnM !
you coiUd not tell but that the uTcaths and cnglcs were ffold cni1'r«idcry,j
nnd not gill imjilt— the greitt tricolonr flag* dnmn^lc, and nt.tfetripwi calico. 1
One would think ihat thpsc shim splendoui* bi-ioliem-d sham respnt,]
if one had not known thnt the nninc of Napoleon in htld in real reverence,]
mtd obwTved somewbnt of i)i« dmnictrr of the nation. Kent fcelingn (her]
JiaTC, hot tliey distort thrm by tsiigg«ra(ion ; real coajTigp, which they]
wndw ludicrous by intok-niWc br»|.'^docie; atid 1 think the nbovBl
ofiiual account of the Prince da Joinvillc'K proctedingii, of the manne
in whidi tlic Emperor's rrmaius have been tn-atcd in tlteir voyage to lh«
cnpiul, and ni' t!io propriiions made to receive him in it, will give, my
dear MIs-H Sniiili, wnne means of undetBtanding thu social and mora! coB-
ilitrut of ihu wortliy people of Prance.
Ut.— ON THE FUNEKAL CEKKMONY.
SniLL I tell yon, my dear, that wIjcb Fmn^oi* w^ke me at a vci^- car ^
hoar on this eventful morning, while the fcwn Bbirs wero still glittering
TOK SECOND hUtiERAL OV SAFOLCOIT.
67
a luU-maofi, w ahiirp u « ruor, beaaiing in Ibt fiva^ sk/,
[aad ■ wiefcad ovnh wind blowing, lliAt blew thi; Mogtl out oFcneVtingan
»1 Iran J^oor leg u yvn put il out u( bvd ;— rluill I tell you, my dear,
I otit «|)«A FtnagmM ealUd mi), mhI loid, " Vlit v«t' cul«, Mi>nsiviir Tiio-
p, bavM-ls, tieas, il eil louC rluiuil,'' I lielt inj^M^f, ilU^r Unbiliiii« dip
I M braak&Ai, M comforlatle under Uu-m btsukvU uiil a innckimnali, llmt
l^il UmK m fjornvr-oT-iin-liour tka tnxn in EitrofQ couid t»y whethor
would or would Dot be prcAC&i ai tliv burkl of tbu Etiii<cror
M, my dear, Uio eold, Ibne vmn kdoHict reamn Tor doubting.
Oil fbe Frmcti uuico, or did ibey not, inteod to ofilir up soai« of uit
ft^Wi4«^rt)i« inipcria! fFT«r«? And winv t)i« i^ntt^to be concluded
'^9tammmar«7 hwunid in tb« ovwgrpB]«>nt tlial I.ord Onmviili; had
L^ajMcfaid oirouUn to all tliv Eu^litli resident io Paris, begging tli«u to
iMk tk^f bftm»3. Tlie FraKli joamalB .nnnonnoed this new?, and numuil
oAwstsbly of ibe &lv intnidi-d Tor us. llnA Lotd (iranrillu itrrittca ?
Oaanljr not ta a*. Or lind h« writli.'n to nil rxefpt tut ? And km I
Hi wt^fr— <li6 doomrd cue ?— ti> be unzed din-utv I iJioirvd nty fti'*-' in
)Wd>Aii Kl;t)^f«, and torn in picctii by I'rcnch I'lilriotimi lo the fiaDtic
MamiilltnMf Depend on It, Aladam, tlmt liigii and low
a nm aij cm 'I'uraday wcr« not ntlogrtlicr at tliclr eiwe, .i!iJ ili.'it llie
tame iMi CD KDoll trpnior. And be sure of tlii», that at his Mijesty
I. - ".• toot Ilid niglilcajt nfT bia roj'al brad tlvit raoniln^, lie
»i ^,..y thai be miftlil, at niitbl, put it on in naftty.
Well, aa my companioo and I catno ont of doon, beioj* bounj kit t)io
Ovtb nf 'l>v Im-alidcH, T^it wliicli » Drpnly bad kiit-lly funiixhod tie wilb
iikHa, wv tarn llir very praUkit ugbl of ibc wbolc d.*y, ocid I can't rdiotii
6«B iDcntU-iiiot; it to tny dear ti.'nder-limirted Min Smith.
la die rain* Iioiur w1mt« 1 lire (but about Gve stories nearer ibc
fMBvl), lud^ca as £(u;li^ liinrily, cootiating of — I, A groat-grnnduiotkcr,
alBif, iAndicaw old lady of •CTenty, ilie vny br«i-di*)wd and nntott
rfl bdr in r:uu. 2. A ^nd&ih^ and jiraTiiImoibcr, tolerably ywing to
k, S, A daqglitBr. And 4. IVo little j!wnl-graiid, or grniid
ikairEii, i..«L mar be of tin- agi- of ilirw and oup, and belong to a bod and
^■lahuir wlio an; in India. The gmndrutlitT, who ia na pnmd of bis wife
- -.f tbirty yraia ago wlirn be married, and puya her complimMiia
-. ]•:« or lliftM in a day, and wben be lea^ bcr into n room hoTt^
■MiA ttt tbo i>«naiia aneaiblcd, and uya in bia hMrt, " Here, geotleinon
iHta ia my wife — abow me meh another woman in England." — ihia genlle-
■n hod hired a room on Ihc Cbanipi Elyafea^ lor be would not liavc liU
' :b cold by vxpoting )ifr to thv btdi-onivs in tbe opw air.
tS xrn I ounc to tbe nreet, I found lii« Cunily aaaembled ia tbe follow-
im orier of nwidi : —
Km 1, i}i>; gml-siwduMtW nalldos daiati]/ aloqg, tngprnioi b/ Ko. 9,
brr ci«niliUn|litar.
—^ A IMTK nnjlns ih. * Jtmkir, wbn km wiuid asleep : and a liase bulct
i—i
68 THE SECUKD FUSERAL OF KAPOLKON.
ocoitauunf; Ma(«i>ans, ImKiM of milk, pBral* of iufiBit** food, ewUig.
tllmitj iiajiLiiui, B child'* <Mr>l, and a link hone belonging to No.
■eniw.
■— - A Krvant beaiing 9 baakel of coniliincots.
-^ No. Z. grand TsiiliiT, npiik nrnl ?tpitn, clean Hbarcd, hut broelii'd, wliitc bnrll*
■ktii glovri, tiHnibuo cane, brown grrAt-coAl, iralking n* upright aixl
solemn as tnay br, having hit Ituly on bia mm.
No. 4 Knior, with inotllcd logs knd & UTtan costump, who wu frUfciii(
■Ifont bvtncca Lii i^ruiJpiipA'B Icg>, who licanLtj ni>.)icd him at liomc
"Mj dear," hia face seemed to siiy lo Iiim laity, "I iliiiik you migb
liavc left ttio little things in Uic nuniury, fur we tliall luire to aquccn
through & terrible crowd in the Champa Klys^es."
The laJy was going out fi>r a day's plcosiuc, and her fiico was full
care : fJio had to look first n£Wr h«7 oM mMhiT who van walking abc*4
lliin after No. 4 junior with the nurse — he might fiilt iiilo all aoru
tiuiger, wulie up, cry, culob cold, su»« might slip dowa, or heaveo Imm
what. ThpQ she had to look hor husbnjid in tJiu fuce, who hitd gone tomd
expense nnd been vc kind for her wike, ami make thM geiiik-mnn bdicn
slic was thoroughly huppy ; nad, fiitnlly, tJie had to kcc-p no eye npol
No. ■! seDior, who, as Hiie was perfectly certain, vas about in two luinui
to he lost for erer or trampled to piece* in the crowd.
ThcM cvenlH took plitcu in a qiiic-t liitb .itreet loading into the dunn'
Tyyuies, tlie entry of which we hatl almost rrachfid by iliis time. IT*
four detAchmeot* above de«cribed, which had been etrsfgUng n little la
tti«ir puwig« down tlie titreet, ck»i-d up at the end of it, and stood fur
a moment huddled logolher. No. 3, Miss X — , began speaking to her
compnniou the great-grandniother.
" Hunb, my dear," said that old lady, looking round alarmed at her
daughter. *'Sp«ii: French." And ihe straightway begnn ncrronaly to
make a speech whtcli she supposed to bo in that language, Imt which wai
a< much like French aj< Iroquois. The whole eecrei was out : you could
road it in the grnn(imi>thL'r"a fne*, who was doing all nhc could to keep
from crying, ami Icoktil aa frightened as che iliuvd to look. The two
elder ladies had settled beiiTeen them that there waa guing to bo n gvnaal
English Hlaiighier that day, and had brmight tho children with them, so
that they iiiigbl all be murdered in company.
God bless you, O women, moist-ej<'d an<l kndcr-hcwted I la tboat
gentle silly leara of yours there is aomcihing touches one, Ik* tlwy nov«r
BO foolish, I don't think there were mniiy such natural drops shed cbu
day as those uhich jnst made their apptaran^n in the gmndmolher's eyrt,
and (hen went hack Again as if they had been iwhanied of themaelvefl^
while Ihc good Indy and her little troop waiktd acroaa ihc rcud. Think
how happy «hc will he when night cornea, and there ban been no nmrder
of Engtixh, niid iho brood is all nestled under her wings sound asleep, and
Khe is lyin^ awake, thanking God that the day nnd its plensurea and pains
are over. Whilrt we were considering these things, tlio grandJl»iher had
suddenly elevated No. i aeaior upon hia left shoulder, and I raw the
LL OP KAPOtEOM.
I lult of thai vouDg gentleman, and the bamboo caae whieb bad b«e&
IiimHiiiiiiI to Lim, hi^li over the hands of the crowd on the opponte Bide
Ifagajb wbicb tbc yiuiy nwrtd.
Ua ibis little proCccaou b;k>l {mbbJ iwaj — you ms^ laugli at it, but
iif» af word aod conscience. Miss Sinitb, I nw ngibing in the coune of
AiAjwhkli afiectcd me more — after ibis little proceHion bad paaicd
wif, tbt other CUDC, Kcompinicd by (pia-bonging, tbg-waring, inccnce-
hnlng, tnunpeta pealing, druniH roUmg, snd at tbe cldsp, reodved by
lU loige of aix buudred olidnntent, aweotly modululcd to the tooea of
ttm iMre of fiddl«r& Tben you savr hone and fool, joclc-boota aad
boniin, coirasa and biiyoovt, mitiotiol guitrd and line, inamhala and
pnli aU ovor gold, amait aides-de-camp galloping About liko mad,
oJU^ ia tbe tuidst cf all, riding on bis golden buckler, Solomon in nil
hbilagy forsooth — lupciial C«sar with his cronn over b'la head, luureU
■l^ndarda waving about bis gorgeous cbariot, and a million of pouplc
Ulpg oa in wander and awe.
Ua Majesty tbe Eoipnor and King reclined ort bis «bi«Id, with his
Uil a liitlc vlevated. Hi« M;ijc»t/'i skull u voluminous, bU Ibrehtud
^nti ad large We remarkd ihut hi» loiperial Majesty's brow was of
tydfarisb colour, wtiicb appearance was aI&o visible about tlic orbits of
^1^ He kc[it bU eyt:lida canatitnLly closed, by which wc bud the
iHWtiiiiitji of obMrrtng that tlio upper lids were gai-nisbed willi eye-
^im. YeATS and cliuiale liure ofTectcd upon the fiiov of Uiia great
■Mcr^ only a trillins alteration; wc may lay, iiiiict'd, tliat. Time baa
Mdicd bis Imperial and Uoyal Majesty with the lightest feather in bia
■n|. In tbe nose of tbe Conqueror of AusterlUz wc remarbed rery
Mt alieniUoD : il is of tbe beautiful shape nhicl) wc xcmcmbcr it pos-
ibhI frre-and- luri-tiiy yi-nrs since, ere unfortuiiale clrcumalaneea indaoed
Uai lo leave us fur a wliilc. The nostril and the lube of the noaa appear
Bi have nndcrgeno some alight ultemtion, but in exnminiDg a belored
tiiset tlw eye of affection la perhnpa too critical. Vive fKinpereiir.' the
Mfar of Majvago is among us again. His lips are thinner, perhaps,
tea ihcy wora httans 1 bow wluLa bis teeth niv I you can J lut sec tlirec
<f ikon prcaalng his under lip ; and pray rvmurk the fuinisi of liis checks
Mtkf ntund coolour of hiacbin. Ob, those bejuitifu! while hands! mnny
tlbit kaTC they patted tli« cliMtk of poor Josephine, and jthiyed with tbo
Mnk ringlsAa di her bair. She is dead uovt and cold, poor creature ; and
■ ai* Bortrnse and bold Eugi-ne, ** liiun whom t>ie world uvver aaw a
(Bnicr knigbt," as was said of King Arthur's Sir l^aticclut. ^VImt a day
«4nU it b]iTe beva for tlioae tltree could they but have lived until now,
■dan their hero rtturuiiig 1 Wlieie'a Ke)- 1 Ilii wife »ib looking out
h« H. Flabaut'a window yonder, but the hravertcftht; brnvc is da with
W. Slurnl too IS absent : boneet Joaehim loves the Enijieror uc lu-nrt,
**3 rr|«tits lliat he was not at TVaterloo : who knows but thai at tlifl
'■^ U tbe haudsouo awoMsumn those stubborn EngUah ' canaille '
70 TUB SECOND FUNERAL OF MAPOLEOH.
would bare giTen way? A hug, Sire^ ■"• y^^ liuow, tho great
klaves— State •ffaira of eolWOqitMiM — bia Mnjastj ih« King of Naples ig
detainer) no doubt. When w« Iiikl luw tlie King, liowevar, aiid hU High> |
Dc-M the Prince of Elcliinj^en, thej- luuked to li»re a» good liviiUh on vncr
Um^ hod in thfir Utm, and we bMird each of them calmlji' csUing out j
"J^ire .' " as thcj" Imrc doiin in miaibcrk-ss buttln befiirt*.
b it poaubU 7 cou tiic Emperor Ibrgvl f Wc don't like to break it lo !
him, buL ha* ha forgotlcn all about the farna at Pizzu, and the f>ardes of I
Uie Obnerraiory ? Vee, tinljr : dieie he lies on hia golden »bicU, nevet \
■tirrinf;, nerer so mnch as litting his ^^t-lidt, or opening his lipj anj* iriikr, <
O vanitas puniUUitM .' Hvre vt our Sovenngn ia all his glory, and thej'J
filed a tliuusjuid guni at Chtsrbourg and never nokc him !
lIowcTur, we are niSvaueing niatlera by nereral honra, and you mvfi
give just aa much credence *» you pleau to tbs nabjfMRcd rMiinrfes coa-i
cemiog lh<i PraceHtion, seeing that yotir humble scrranl could not poMibl/' I
be prCMDt at it, being bound for the church elsewhere.
Programnief, hovevar, have been publithnd of the aOair, and your]
Ttvid ihncy will not fail to give life to them, and the vfaole magnif
tnia will fou before yan.
Fancy ihon, ihiit ihe gm» ar» i'lT&i nt Neuiily: Iho bwly landed a* |
daybreak Titjoi the funereal barge, and iritnbtVrred to llie cur; and &acy
tho enr, a hugv JuggeniaHt of a machine, rolling on ftur nliecb of oa]
antique tdiape, wliiuh fitipport<d a bam-mcnt adorned nilh golden e«glc9,l
banners, laurcle, and vdret hnngln^.i. Above iha haoginga stand twslT
golden btntuea uith mitred anus supportini; a linge sUield, on which tliaj
coffin l»y. On the coffia was Uic iin]«nnl crown, corrred with vialrtl
Tt^vet crtp^ and iho whole vnst ntachine was drawn by horses Ju aupdrlrj
houmngs, led hy lalcla in Uia imperial livery.
Fanuy at the bead of the proceuion first of idl —
The Gwidarmcrin eif the Stiae, wilh tbcir tmiDpcls aad Colonel.
Tbe Muiiid{inlGiianl (liur«), will] lluiir tminpeui, tfandwil, aod CaloMt
Two tquiulruiu of tlio 7ih Lauirini, with Colonol. staadnid, and lBiui&
The Comnuuiilaitt uf I'uris anj liia SIjUT.
A tAttnlioB i>l Infantry of tfa* t.inv, witA thuir Rag, Mipjien, dn]Di>, niqn
and OJoncl.
Tlia MaD!i:ipal Guard (font), with flag, ibwn^ and Cokaicj.
The StfiDcr-pDinperT, with dittcL
Then piccaie tn jouruU' luorc 9.[)<ut(lraiia of Ijuicen luul CnltaBtUn. Thft
General of [ho DivUina. imil his SmlT) alloBiunofeU arsuemplajtilst
Fans, aiiJ iinntljichpil j Iho Mililnrv SdiwI uE Sidul Cjr, itio PoIvtcchiUO
8di«ol,(hc School «fliieBtB(-U(ijor; and the PrtrfcMom iidiI SlafTuf ulIi,
Go on inuidiaiu);; more bailalioaa uf Infnntrr, c.f ArCillMy, rcmiuuiiet
'Gn^noorv, sqcadnas of CuirsMiers, diuo tti lIu Canlr?. id the Staki'
Giianl, and Ibe tint and sixodiI ienians of ditto.
FRne}r n (uirriH|^, contAJning tJic Cbbplain of the St. H«I«iiii csijwilitios, t!i«
only cleric »I i;*Til]*man llmt fwrmcl a pirt u( Uio pi'wccfaion.
Fflury ;oii hear ihc fiuicTCul rantii-, and tbcn fpin in your mlnd'a eye —
inio ■
laS SECOND fUXEBAL OP SAFOLEOX. 71
Tia E»uwa*> CuAMUS. (hoi U, N«palcai's ovn u&Uc uul bridls (wbcn
Tint Con»l> npon a vhitc hone. The uildlc (wbicb Iim been kept ever
iince in the Garde Mcnblo or the Croum) is oT amuuih t«Ivpi, tat^
bnUtnd in gidd; the lii}lBt«n and hotwiDiip ftre of the «ami> rich mptcrul.
Oo (ham voD remark the «ltribut«« <>f Wtv, C'lmmFivc, Scicocc. nail AA
Tbc biia Olid atim^ti an stlt«r-BU( cbnotd. Ofv Ihc ttimip«, twa e^o*
«t(C|ilactdatlbe tiiue<iIllieMa(iii«; Uie hun« ww coTrrcd Kith aviolcc
cnpe onlndikTcd witb so^dm bW
ATlcr UtU. cuiie more Soldlen. Gcncnl Ofllocn, Snb-061«cr*, Harahala, ud
•rhM wM Mtd to h« iho pntticat right ikoMt of the vbt>l#, the bMMK
ei (iMeishtT^iic DcfHrttnfeBU of tntMc TbcM are duo ta Itie Janealiaa
tif U. TUBta.ud nwv tu hAvn bvon koccmipuicd bj hdctatci frav
(Bcb OcpuUimL But the Gnimimuit very wbelf mbcruBlcd ibb and
•one otlicr jirriircU at Monaieur TliitT*, nuil oa far a fodcnuioo, mj' dear,
A ka* hftn triftt. Next mmM—
m* Rofal Righnou tha Princ* da JeiarlllB.
The 800 Mikffs of tli« Brtle PnJm MMrhiag ia donMo fllei gb «wk ddt of
THE C.VB.
[fliMh ! (he Muvnau ciuwd Ifaiilti ** it piiM«, uid only tocM fair vwkk
oj Fi'rr VEm/ifrtmr. Shining golden in the (roitj mn—witli huadreda of
diOBMDja of c]r«i epon i[, from bonaet and howetepe, frins baloooicai bladlt
parple, and tricolor, fram top« of l<«flc« trtci^ firoin bdiind lone Ibea of
glittering bnjmiKli niidcr prhnknci and beankin cap*, htm behind tha Um
nd ihc National OoMid a^ijL, pashing. atragglieg. baaiinc, paatiiig,
eager, tfae htads of on eDoniwiu* mnltitpda smidninp out to Beft
«ad fbUow it, unidtt long nveniief of fiolamni and «latnu
(kanoDg whits, <rF •t«iulanE*)suiboir-coIcKind,of foldeo
cflgln, of pale (iuictcbI anat, of diiicluTttinic odtmr*
■nidit iatge volnmM of p]t«b-tilack nnelie,
THB GREAT IHPEKIAI. CHARIOT
lOLL* XAJxrriCAi.i.T on.
The corda ef Qi* paU an beld \,j two ftlonhab, an Adanml. and Gaunl
Btiiraad i «lio arc follawcd hv—
The PnfcctB vt lilt' tH'iuc and fulitc, jtc
TIm Uajon of r»m, &c,
Tbe Sf«nb<n of tbc Old Guard, &c.
A ^qa»ii*m of Light I>mj;iK>n«, ftc
liauteaul-GoKTBl S<liMndw, fto.
Ume taTalrj. inorc inCuilir, noic anillrrf, nan; c^-srfbodT ; and u the
liiuaaiiini pMaoi, tJic liar bi^ the >i«tIonaI Qiiard fonninji line no cadi
tida of tba nmA fall in and U<Uom it, nntll it arriTut at IM Church oT ttiu
InraUdea, whera the laU honotm on to be pnid to it.
AnoDg ili« comiiBii^' aoH-inblctl iiudv-r t})i: dome of llial edifice, tfa«
ubMTVcr would Dut {xrliaps bAve remarked « gcntlctona of Xht
• bf Uiduutl ADgiilu Titmarsb, wLa nevertlidtvi wsa tliere. Bat aa,
■JTiteu Mini SduiJi, ilie iltacripliona ia thu letter, from tite wcrda in
pfl &, Uac 3 — ike parli/ mcvid — up to tlie words paid to it, tn lh«
Im fcriod, liavc punHljp ciumwted irooa yotir obedient serTanLs (auay,
ad Bee Ovm Lia fieraoiiiit vbBCTralioa (fvr no bc-ing i^n airth, except a
Miy|iii TfywlWi can bo iu two placca at oncL-), imrmit me cow to oou-
■BBicue to yoQ what Uitlc ciiviimatiuiCL's fell iiij(li:r my own particuUr
litw t-D tlw dajr of Um ISili of Di-ovii>b«r.
73
THE 6EC0KD FUNEHAL OF SAPOI.EOS.
As we rame out, the air bvcL tlie buildingn roimd about wero ling«d villi
purple, and the clear sharp Imlf-nitioR before -mcntbiK-d was still to tlic
iky, whan i( Keenitd to be liDgttriug na- if it would culirh a p«cp of the
oommracnnGDt of tliu famous proci-Ksiou. 'the Arc dc Ti'iuni]>hs wu
shiaing in ti keen Trusty suushiuv, aud luokiiig ns civiiii nnd ruoy ns if il '
had jnwl madf its toiletie. The canvas or pasteboard image of Napol
ol" which oniy ihe gilded logs had btcn erected tlic night previouSy wasi
vi8i1>Ie, body, htAd, crown, ecoptre and all, And mndu an imposing show. '
Long gilt banners were fbunting about, with thu imperinl cipher uid^
eagle, nnd the nanieE of the hnttliui nad victoriro glitlcnng in gold. Tbe'
long avenues of the Champa Elys^ea liiid been covered with aand for ihA'
cnnY«]iiejice of the great procession that waH to ti'anip across it that ia.j.
Hundreds of peojilo wcro inarching t« aad fro, laughiuj;, cliatteriag, i
singing, geeliculntlng ax happy Frenchmen do. There ia do p1(?HKiat«f
Mght than ii Fretidi crowd on the alert for a fwtiva!, and nothing mote
catching than their goM-hamour. Aa for the notiiin which hat beea ;
forward by agma gf tlie opposition nevTHpaptri (hat the popalace w«ie oal
this occasion uouaually solemn or scatiinentitl, it would be paying a baid]
eompUmcnl lo thu nitlural gaiety of the nutiun, ti> my that it wax, on Huti
morning at h^ast of the l&th af Dt^^cember, nlTccci-d in any ntiuh absurd'
way. Ititicrunt merchrints weru shouting out Kiittily thi-ir commodities <
aegars and brandy, and the wruthcr was m bitter cold, that they could noti
ttil to find plunCy of customera. Carptnturs and workmen vore atill'
making a huge tanging and clattering among the Bheds whicli Wflre built
for the acconiraodation of the viaiiora. Some of thtse slicdn were hung
with black, ewcIi as one eees before <;liureheii iu fuueraJs j seme wcr«
Fobcd in violet, in coinphment to tlie Emperor whose mourning they
put on. MoKlof them had fine tricolour hanging!^ ^ih appropriate in-
scriptions to thu glory of tlie French arnis.
All along ihe Chumps Elynces were urns of plaster -of-Paria desljned.]
to contain funereal incense and flames : cohimus decorated with liugs
flags of blue, red, and white, embroidered with shining crownti, eagles, and '
N'a in gilt paper, and statues of plaster reprcaeming Nyinphu, Triumphs,
Victorieir, or ntlier li:ma!e pLrsomiges, paintod in oil gn as to rcprt»cot I
marble. Real rmirble could luivu had no better clTect, and tlie appearance J
of the wliole was lively and ptctnresque in ths «xtr«me. On each piUarl
was a buckler of the colour of bronze, bearing the namo and diit« of
bailie in gilt letters : you had to walk through a uiilc-long avt-ntie of.1
these gWious rrmininccnces, tuHing of Kjiotf where, in the gr^at imperial |
dnyg, throats had been Ttctonoualy cut.
As wc paescd down the avenue, several troops of soldiers mot ua : ths]
giirrlf'muni-cipale A chrval, in brass heLmeta and shining jack-boots, noble-1
looking mtn, large, on large horseo, the pick of tlic old nnny, nn I have
heard, and armed for the speciid occupittion of peace-keeping: not tJM
mcrst glorioiiK. but tliebest]>urt of tlit-xoldier'sdnty, as I fancy. Then came
a regiment of CamUut^cra, one of lufunlry — little, alcrt^ brown-faced, good-
Tax SBOOND FUlfEllAL OF NAPOLEON. 73
kzoMiimi nten, llivir bunl at didr hewl plajrii^ eoimding marebes. Xheau
we foUowvd b;^ ■ rcgimcat »r detnchnieDl uf tliu Municipal* on foot — two
m lltfv« ittdiM bJlttr Utui l)i« men of tfae Lia«, luid coaepicuoua for ibeir
MMmaaodducipUae. B/^snJ-bycAmeasqimdronortiuufdngoiuisorthft
KadoDBl UuttnlB : Uicj- bk wrcrcd with straps, booklet, ajgiiilkicei., anil
aataoebe-boxtB, uiil otiule tmdw their tricolour cockVplunii* n eliow
wriBdgilJy warlike 'Jlie point which c}ti<:% Htruck m« on beholding theM
aSatMrj awti of tLc ^utiuoal Guiud juk] thv Linv, wu the adrainbto
ia whi(^ thuy buro m cold tbat seemed to inc a> slinrp m the
In the UiuaioD retreat, through whkb cold ilit; troops were
Buttlug nithonl trembling and in the utmost cli<«ifulue«s oud good-
kanMmr. An aide-de-camp gitllopt'd priMt in whilu puitAloooe. By
Wt«iu t it made m* abuddcr to look ac liiui.
With tliiH profound reOtction, wo tanmd au-ay to the right toirarda
Aa bwygic;;- bridge (where wv met a debichmrnt of young ni«n of the
Eodu im I'Eut Major, finc-Iookiag iada, but sadly tli^gured by the
wing of stays or l>«lt«, that make llie vraiiiti of the French ditudica of
\ acM «b«in] tenuity), and speedily passed into the avt;iiue of Htatuvs
k«ani( up to tJto Invatida. All these w«r« Btatu<« «f warrion from
y^tj tn QiarK-magiiv, modelltd in clay for the nonce, and placed bent to
WUk ike corp«c of tic greateit warrittr of all. Paadog tbeae, we had to
vaA Id a iiiUc door at the back of the Inralidee, where ina a crowd cf
peaoBa plunged ia the dnepesl tnouming, and puahiog for places tn tba
dafMfJ wiiltin.
Hm! chapd a apocioDi and of tto grant architoctumi pntlcnsion^ but
wn on thia occasioa gocgvotuly decorated la honour of the gruat person
1b wbsa* b«dy it was about to give «h«lt«r.
Wo had arrived at fiine : iho oereninny was not to begin, tlicy said,
Un two : we Iiud five hours before tu to see alt that from our places coidd
bcBMB.
Wii aaw that lh« roof, ap to the fint lines of architecture, wan hnng
*{lh fiotti ; beyond tliis with block. We nw K.'b, eagles, bees, hurtJ
n^Aka, and other such im|M3-i»l cniblcnis, adorning every nook and
of tbc edifice. Bttircen thi? archea, on eadi «de of the aisle, were
trophiH, on whicli weiu writli'ii tlto nanieii of aome of Napoleon's
(fenenlaand of ihnr priitcipa! deeds of arma — and not tbdr deeds of anna
ti. I '. 'r>ut their coats of armi loo. 0 otars and gnnen I but tliia
W L What was Nej'a paterna! ccat, prythcc, or honrat Juirol's
qoanrringn, or the venerable ewulchuia of King Joai^im's bttier, t)te
(■BkerjwrT
Yoa and I. dftar Miw Smith, know the exact vahjo of heraldic beor-
bi' ' ' iliongh iha greatest plensutc of all is to ael ISlw a
f- . J . ^iire. nay a uterit, to Ae one — to cwnc of an old
Much, to bore an boooninble [ledigrec, (« be abl« to my tbiU ccQlnHea
1^ t .... ...1 ... t.;^,} gi.|,tit. tjiocd, and to ux transinilted the same. Thvru
iliiy : [lie man who quoationn it ia envious, or a coanw
DA
74
TBB SECONS FUHiCfUL W SUSOhEOS.
•{•\Vfr^. Bdl able to perceiTe th« ^iflwmcc bcliruun Iiigh brecdii ^
low. On* has in tlio samo vxy heard a ann brag iliat he did not know thi;
diflcn-nn; betvrccD winca, oot I19— give him a good glua of port ant] be
would plLcU aU joMT olAKt to ttie deaoe. My iovc, nwn ofteft brag about
their own dulness in thie way.
la llio inalter of g<TiUenicn, dvmocrata cry, " Psba ! Girc aa odq tfi
Nature's gentlemen, nil d hang your aristocrats." And so indcod NaOna!
docs make •vme genUemeii— u few iient and there. But Asl taakcs moL
Good bitlh, that ie, good baiidaoaM trcU-Jbrmed fathcn Mid luoLWrs, dm»
cleanly nuTeLty-mnidK, good meats, gooil phyiicians, good •duration, Anr '
cnna, ploa»nnt t-asy Lobils of iiJc, nnd luxurirs not too great or ennrattn;,
bat only refining — 11 course of thcac goJng on lor a few gencratiooK an
the beat gemlemfu-u inkers in the worEd, and beat Nature hollcmr.
If, KspQctcd Madiiin, you say that tkero is Eoinctbiiig Irttier thaa
gentility in ihis wickwil w<irlJ, and dial luoitfvty nail pcrai'iiHl worth mcI
Biori: rnlualjlc than all the pnliteacxi iind lii|;li breeding tlud erer woral
rcd-h«ieled pumps, knights' tpar», ot Iloby's tioota, Tlimarsh for oiw t*
Barer going 10 say you tiay. If you even go so Jar aa to say tliat lb*
Tery cxiatcDcc of ihia miptu'-gpntecl sodi-iy antoag i», from the slaviih
rcgpset ilint we pny to it, from (Jie dHflttrdly niiinner in whivli we attctapt
to imitaLe ita ain and ape iia vic<?!i, goei far In di-ftU-ny honeaty nf inter-
oounc, to luake us mrnnly nahaoied of our luituial ulTiMtions and boiMStt*
horniiea aangt-a, and bo doei a grent deal mate barm than it ia poauble it-1
na do good hy its t^^uiiiplc — pcrhupo, Madrtm, ymi Hpc.'d( with una
WC of rcaaon. FoLalo myaeif, 1 can't help teeing thnt ihf. tulip joadcr
has the beat place in th« garden, and iIir nio«t Kunsliine^ and tha most
wnler, and tho btxt tciidiiii; — nnd not liking hini over vrdl. Uut I :
can't help acknowledging tlmt Namre has given him a much finer drc«i
than cTor 1 can hope to luivc, and of this, qC l^ast, muat give htm the
Or aay, wu are no niiiny cocks and lions, my dear {aans arriire pensA),
with our croiis protiy full, our pluinca pretty itlcck, dccpot picking here
nnd there in the siraw-jard, and toli-rablo uing rocMing iu Iho bam »
yonder on the lerraoe, in the sun, waikii Pcncouk, ximtching liia jhw
neck, eriucaling every now and iheu ia (lie moxt jicrt fiuJiionablo
and Ihuinting his greut supercilious dan^Hfiod taiL Don't Jetua be IMJ
angry, my dear, wJih the usKkivt, haughty, inauleut cr<Bture, because
de^uaea u*. Southing is ihere about Peacock that wc don't poesoMw^i
Strain your neck ever ao, you cim't make it ax long nr n;' blue as his
cock your tail as much n-t you please, and it will ntvcr bo Imlf so fine to
look at. But the ntoM absurd, disgitaling, contomptible sight: in the world
would you and 1 he, leaving the hain-door fur my lady's flower garden,
loraaking our nituiul »tiiTdy walk for the puacock'a gcntcci riiJtcty alridc,
utd adopting ibe wjucak ol his voice in the pkoo of our gallant loaiy
oock-a- doodle-dooi ng.
Do 70a take the allegory ? I lore to spenk in auoh, and the nbore
TUX SSCOiiT> VVHBVtAL OP »APOLKOM.
75
bave beeo pruMnlMl lu my mind whUa sitting ofipOBile a gimcncb
■bT-arau and coruact thai arc painieJ iu llie laralidoi Charck, ud
VtmtrtUtitf Ma^ain, what i»ied bave Iheff of coaU-or*arins ami
■et% mad vkIcIimI imiUitii'tu of oM exploded ariaUximUc grwfawB
tka.|b<y luul HDBg out oC the enuntr^ — wtdt tba heads ot' tli« oivncn In
ihsB jomctiiiics, Ibr iuJccd the^ wtn not particular — x soorQ of ;cu«
IdWv P Wliut liUfinijM, rurswlb, Lad ihe^r lo be medJlitig with gmtitilf
sad apiBg its wajr^ who had eournge, merit, daring, gcniuit noiiui-
tiao^ and s prid* vi llivir own lo ittpport, it' proud iitey wei-o iiiclin«d
t» b*F A. clever young maa (wita nu act of higli fiunily liiuuelf,
httf Ittd bmn bnid up gvnwdly at Eton and tlio univvnitr) — yoixn^
Ur. Geocpe Cunning, at Uic outumGaceuient of the French Kcvolutton,
M(cn^ at " KoJiuuI the Ju>i, with ribbons in liis ahou," And the dandica
«bi titco noie boultlva, v«lt'd tho ssmnin monstrons killing. It was a
joia^ my dta; iToUiiy of a Jnekojr, or uf a ully tmurt inrvctiu, not
taaaing thesodoty into wbioh his tuck hud caut liini (Goi help bim 1 in
iMryaan^ tbe; taiiglit bim wlui tfa«y irere !), and docying ia bis silly
lion liiut siinplkity was Indicrou-i and fiuhioo nM|>octab)«. Sk,
r, lAy yvnnt are gone, am) wbere arc tJiocbuckks i Exlinet, defniict,
fiota tli« invrocaUs paal ofTllio Iom of all £un>|ie I
Buv futnl to tba parvtBU, tluoaghout bitimy, has been Ibia raiMtct
tr dMdbucUna. Vlliere, for iastaooe, would Uie Empire of Napolatia
bn been, If Key and Lmiwa had anna: sported such a tiling as a ooat-
iJsmia, and had oaly wrilteo ibpir simple Bamn an their shidda, nfler
lie ^UiciD of Dfluix's scutcheon yonder ? — tlio buld r«^blicsa who kti
im ecuwning charge at Marengo, aad aesl the best blood of the iJoly
Hniin £i»[iini U> tbo nglii-aboat, belbre the wrotehed iiuHlM-gotteB
iMperwl heraldry was bom, thai woa Id prove so disaatrooa to the fotlinr
id iL tl has almiyi boon lo. They won't anmlgsmato; A eonntry moat
te ivrsFBed bjr tba oni' ]>rindpi>! or the other. But givr, in a n^public,
■a ariateetacy eter bu lillla abanoc^ and il vrorlca and plots and smaks and
bilUai and fiN-cn ilaeU into pboe, aud you IiikI dcmoiTncy out of iaor*.
h (t good ibal the anstociacy should so triumph ? — that U a <)iK.<.ti'ia that
f*a taay wtUic acoordu>g to yottr ourn wtion* and tasto : aud p«ruiit mo
ta asy, I du nut can twopence how yoa settle it. Large books luive been
written opon liie Buhjod ia a rarioty of loogna^e*, and coniiag to a
laii^y (xf (Minulusiona. Gn-at cbitMinOD aro ibore ia oar eounCry, frnm
Lend Loadouilf [t-y diiwn to Mr. Vinocnt, tMch ia bis dt^i^w moiutaiiuDg
^ difcrBai npjiii'jo. 13ut Imrv, ta die laaller of Napoleon, is n MitipJe
S^i ha fijusdM) a great, |torious, stronir, pctont n-piiblir, ablo to capo
mik (he best ariatnancia in tlie world, and [xihaps lo b«at titan all ;
ts^raTota bis i^piibUs into a ibonarchy, and surrotmdi kia meoanhy
^th vital ha aalla ■hstooruiic iiK-iitutionn; and yo^i kD»w what buooBM*
itf hua. The people osLmngei), tlM ariMocmcy luihitas (nhca did tboy
•rex pardoa 41m vrbo vu not of thstnaelves?) — the inporial fiibdc
n
TUB SECOND FUNERAL OF NAPOLEON.
toiabUa l" iht; grouDd. If it Icacbvs nuihiug else, tn; dear, it tcndies i
K grwt poiut of policy — D&mely, to stick by one's porly.
While UiesQ ihouglite (oiiil BUiiiJry oilmi* ivlative lo tlic liorrible cold
of tlic pluCL', the in(ciiBL- dulncss of dduy, the etiiiiidity vf luuving a wariii
bed and & hrenkfiut in order ti> witncita a proceHsion tluit i.t miick better
perrvniimd ai a tbejitre)— while these ihouj^lita were pa»>sing iu tbe mind,
the cliurch began to lill apace, and you taw tbat tbc liour of llic cemmoaj
was drawing near.
ImpntnU, ciimv twin witli liglitt^d istaves, and fwt fire to at letut ten Oiou-
taad of Wfts-cu&d]«) that vr«re hanging in brilliant chandeliers in rariouf
parts of l!ie cliii])ol. Curlains vrere dropped over the upper -window
tliese iliumiuatioua vrcic cdTictod, aad thu churcb was Ictb only lo'
fiinereal light of the epetTDnccti. To tlio right wiis lUa dam?, round ths
cavity of whidi (parkling liiiiipa were set, that dt-sigtied the tHiApe of it
briiliaally ugitimt the diirkiiesA, In the midst, and vrhere ihc idtur uwi
to stand, rose the cnlafal(|iic. And why nut? '\Vko is God here but
Napoleon ? and in him the eccptics Jiiivc already ceased to believe ; btit
the peopl« docs still eomcwluL He nnd Louis XIV. divide th« worship of
the place bc>tw(.'en tliem.
As for thi; cabifalqui:, the best that I can say for it is tliat it is really ■
noble and impMing-looking edilic*, with tali jiiLlars supporting a grand
dome, with inBuraera'blc esc ulch conn, nWindiinl!. niid alluaioDa miliury and
fuacroftl. A great eagle of course tops the whole: tripods butniag
■pjiiu of wine Hiand round this kJnd of dead-man's tlirone, and aa we lav
it (by peering over tlie heads of our neighbours in the Crout rank), it looked,
io the miilsl of the bluek concave, mid unnkr the effect of half-a-tbonsind
flashing croas-lights, piopeilj' granil and Uill, The cfTi-ct of the wliolo
cluijiel, howevei- (to epe.ik the jarguu of the painliiig-room), wna fpoilcd
by being cut up ; there were loo many objecis fur the eye to rtst npon ;
the ten thousand wax cniidlee, for instoncr, in tJieir numberless twinkling
chiLudeiiers, tlie raw traiifrhaul colour* of the i»!W banneri;, wre.ttlis, beea,
N.'s, and {;tlier cniblcms dotting tJie place all over, and iuccswintly puzzling,
or rather bothering the beholder.
High oTerhead, in a Mirt of mint, with llio glare of tiieir origiiial
colours worn down by duct and tiiiir, hung long rows of dim ghostly,
looking standards, captured in oM diiys from the cncnty. They were, I'
thought, t]ie best and most solemn pan of the show.
To suppose that the people were bound to be solemn during tlie ceie-
mony is to exact from iheni aoiiii'lhing quite needless and iinnatural. The
Tcry fact cf a squeeze diaaijiatea all Bolemnity. One grenl crowd i» always,
aa I ima^ne, pretty much like anotlicr. In the cotirso of the lust finr
jesra I have seen three : that attending the con«intion of our profont
BOTSreigu, that which went to aec CourToiaier hanged, and this whicli wil-
DCMod tlie Napoleun ccrtiijony. 'Jlie pyjple so a«scml)!<'d for lioura
together are jocular rather than soleDin, seeking to pass away the weary
time with lh« best amuaomenta thai will olTrr. There wast, to be sure, in
TUB SECOND FUN£itAL OF NAPOLEON.
77
iB Ae foeoes abcnre alludiMl to, just one monimt — one futrlicular momcnl
— vImiIIm itDtverwl people I'celt a nitack and in for that second serious.
lot except Jbr tlal seeund uf lime, I decUr« I aw no tvrioutinu^s
WWjaad that of ennui. The church btgnn to fill wiili pcnwnngm of
•0 mb and conditioQ&. yirsC, opposite our seats oaTn« a company of litt
(mdiRa of the NVliooal Guard, who presently, al. the word of commaad,
pf iWit muitkcU liovm againat hcncheA luid wainscoU, until the arrival of
lkt{Rnenioo. For eercn lioiira thvse nion fnrmiyl t)iu object of the niOHt
■Don vlicitudc of all the Indian and gruilemt^n nc-titetl on our Iwnch^s :
ikij began 10 Btamp ilicir feet, for the eoid wna atrocioiiFi, nmi we were
torn where we aate. Some of them fell to blowing their lingers; one
amded a kind of daBce,mich se one tees often here in cold weather — ihe
ndn-idoal jiimparepest4)dl]r npononu 1p^, and Iciclte out the other violent!}',
Bcmwliile his lundK nre llnpping ncmii* hix ch^st. Some fellows opened
tkttr cariOuche-boxcH, and from iheiti drew vntiiblca of viuious kindii.
T« on't think how anxioiu we were to know the (jiiiiliiirc of thn iuimc>.
'Tim, re groe qui manga unc cui«se dc Tolaillel " — " U a liti jumbon>
ofai-li." "I fthotild like Mine, too," growls en ERgli«hi»»n, "for I
bfa'ta monel of lireakfast," and so on. Thia is the way, my dear, that
itMNapoIeou buried.
Ki you ever see a chicken eacnpe from clown in a pantomime, and
kipfter into tine pit, or amongst the fiddlers? and have you not Been the
<biAt of enthiuia»tic lau;>hUir that th^ wondroua incident occaeicn;?
Vchad otir cliirVrn, iT hur..- : thpni nevtr wnit a pihlic crowd wiihmit
«». A poor uiiluiDj, v.^riMii in a greasy pliitd cloak, with a battered
ne-oolcuroil pliish bonnet, wai seen talcing her place among the ttalia
«Dotl»d to tlio grandi'*!!. '* Voj-ez done rAnp:!Biiii>,"'iiaid everybody, and it,
Mi loo true. Vou could Kwt-ar (hat the wretch wart an ICnglinhwoniau — a
tasnel waa never made or worn eo in any other country. Half -an -hour's
Uiehtfiil amiucnient did this lady give ua all. She wns whisked from
«t le Mat by tlic hviititri, and at tvcry change of place woke a peal of
hq^ltr. 1 was glad, however, at the end of the day to see the old pink
ktOMt OTCr a very comfortable seat, which eomchcdy had not claimed
■i the had kept.
Are DC* iheae remarkable incidents ? Tlie next wonder we saw waa
lW amval of a set of tollering old Invnlidn, who took their places und«T
• villi dnwn fabraa. Thfn came a superb dnim-mnjor, a hnndiome
■illng good -hutnouret] giant of a man, his brcechca astonishingly ^mbroi-
^t*i with gilver lace. Him a dojcn httSc drummer-boys foilowwl —
"llw little darlingat " all ih« ladiea cried out in a breath : they were
«1*b1 jiTflttj little fcllown, and came and stood close under ua : the huge
dnm-nujor imilod ovirr hiit little rrd-capped flock, and for many houn in
ibemoa perfect conlcmmetit twiddled his moustachea and played willi
«!»« tMvla of hi« cane,
Sow the company began to arrive thicker and thicker. A whole corcy
'^ CmatiUen-d'Etat came in^ la bltio oonta, embroidered with blue ailk :
7B
SBCOKD FUNfiO&I. Of SXeOUSOS.
Atu eaiufl ft croivd cf lawyers in loqncs and cape, «m«nff whoiii
sundry' vonernWc Jmlgi-e in tKtirU-i, pvirjili' vclmt, nati ermine — x kioA tf\
Bajuot cmliimc. L«iok ibi:n; 1 then- in the Turkish AuihamiH<ir in Kit
red CNp, turning hid aolviun brcwu Aic6 ibotit and looking pTctcnulurtUf
wise. Tbe Daputica walk in iuabodj. Guizot ieaM rliere: lie pimudhj
just now in full Dittiinterial cottiitntx Prcstmtty little Tliien Mtmleil,
hack: wlint a dfi.iT, broad, ihitrpej<4 fitc« lli« I'llov liiu, mlli hn
Imir cut ilnwn »;i ilrniiin* 1 A servant jiaiwt, piisliini; tlir<>4lgh the <
a filittbtt)- wbi^vl- chair, ll haa juft brotigbt old Motn^ey, tlic Oorrr
the lnvalidn, the hoiK>st old mnn uhu dcrendvd Piiris »o stoatljr in ISllal
He fiiB tuxn vciy ill, and is wnm dnwn nimost b}* infimiitic-s : but ia liU
Uinmu he wu« pprpetimlly aiking, *' Doetor, uliiill I live till the 1 StK ? G'm i
roe till llien, and I die coDtentcd." One can't help believing xiua tbe oU I
man's wiah ia honest, liovrrvcr one may doubt tbe pipty of anolbcr iJ)a»-|
trioiu Mnmbal, who otive Ciirtit^d a catidlu bitfuri.' Churlcs X. ill ft ]iroc»-J
aion. iiiid Uiut hten th'tn nicTTuni; to Neuillj 1o kned and jmy at tbe I'o
of Knyioleen*) coffin. He might }inrc mid his priiyen at honic, to beavKil
biic ddn'i let us oA. too inucU ; th:tt kind ot rewrre ia not a FrvncbiDanV]
clATactetistia.
Bang — bflsg ! At about balf-pABt tvroa doU Gound of ouinoosdiiig i
heard wicliout the cburcli, and rigniiU took place betweon tlie Com-)
ninndant uf tb>> Inrnlidn, of the Nniiotutl Guards, and tbe big dnitn-mnjor, '_
Looking la then troQpn (the fuC Natiomda wera aliuffliiig into line ognin) I
llie two Coninaadnnla utiered, m nearly aa I ccuiJ catoh tliem, the foI-|
lowing worda —
"Hai:«um11i-«I'!"'
At oBce all the National bajroncta wete on t1i« preaenl, and the aabra]
of tbe old Invalids Qp. Tbe big dram-major looked rouod nL thecbiHrao, 1
who b<.'gsa very slowly tuid aoltnuily on their drama, Uiili-dnb-dub — ^r
dub-dub — (wiiiit two botwecn eiicli) — riib'duh-iliib, and a great pMCS-]
eion of pricntA t:aniv down fioiii tlie altar.
Fint, there naa a lull haadsonic oroM-boarcr, bearing a long goUl
crtBa, of which the front wax ttumed towards hiti grace ihf> Arolibiflfaop. j
Tlicn came a double row of about sixteen iiiccn^o baya, dreaaeil in whitt
■iir]dioe«: tha linit boy, .ibotit six ycntu old, thu lust with wbinker* anlj
of iJie lirighi of tn;iti. Then fullowod a regiiuetit of prii^sla in blaoltj
lippola Bad wLite gowua : tliey Lad black Iiooils, like the inocm when sbf
19 at her Ibird quarter, wherewith thorn.* wlio wero bald (many were, amL]
&t too) oovered tliemsclvi-g. AU tlif rcwmul men ht,-Id their heada
■eekly down, and nfieoted to be Teading in. tht^^ir brfTinrien.
AlleT Ibe IVinU came aomn Bixbops of tlie iieighlvuring dtstrioU, ia
purple, with croneea aparklii^ on their opi»copa] bosoaift,
llien came, after mom prieEtt;, a Mot of men whom I boTC ncrer Men
before — n l;ind of ghostly her»l(?s, ycniiig niid bcindBomo men, aomc of
cliein in u'lff utborda of black and ailver, iHeir eyes to the ground, their
iuuHii) placed at right angles with ibeir cbesu.
mS SECOND 7USERAL OF IfAPOLIHtK. 79
naaone two gcDlIvmt^ brxring remarkable bill eandit>Hli«lLf, iriih
rmiittl eorrespoodti^ Bin;. One ytiu burning Iniglitlj, liut ilie wind
lihl chtrUrrd lihenine) Imd blown out tlw othtr, which neveitlielcM
Ifpt u plitee in the i>rocpuioii — I w«vnd<>r«d to mywlf wheiher tha
irmqd },-vntlcmaa who carried tlie «xlinguii)b«<j cnndle, telt dit^mtcd,
fanflAd, monifiM— {MrrToct)^ comciotis that Iha erca ofninm' tliouuands
i/pMple were bcDt npnn that bil of rvfmctory wax. 1iVv all of □■
1hM«I it with in1«uiBe inttroiit.
Isoilin' crcoA-bearcr, behind whom came a geatlamaii carryiaq an
■rtrnwal lik« a budrooiu cuadksticlc.
Ub Graodi-'Ur Monspigtieur AlFre, Archliisliop of Paris : he was in
kkfc nd white, his rytx were cast to the earth, his hnnds were together
• hgtil a^glc* from hia dieat : tat his hnndia vert liknk glov«s, and o& the
ttikglcna tpnrkl*d ih« Mered e^iiuojial — what do I tajf — iirchinpiscc^l
■If. Od his bead wu the inilrr. U is nuliko the godly carooei that
l^nni vj»n tiie coadi-panelt of onr own Hiffht UeTerend llench. Tii«
iicLbshop's mitre may be about a yard liigh : furmed witliin probably
'cooKcntvd putvfcoMrd, it i« tc-ithout covered by n >ort of rrB^crvd (ilk
*(iU>anil ulrer. On the two peaks nt the lop of the mitre aru two
fWfilie BjNtn^led taa&clB, that itiiik nnd twinkle abuut in a wry ngrecable
IfiQwigiienr stood opposite to im far «>nie I Jraf?, when I liail the opiwr-
4BIj(oDD<e tlio nbore reniiirkabU- phenoiuvnii. lie atootl oppoftik ne
ttMBc tlma, koejiifig bta eyes steadily on ttiL> ground, hi< h-nnds before
lii.a Mnall clerical train fullowing after. Why didn't tliey move? There
■■ l&e Nnljofial Guard keeping on prcocnting anuB, tlie little dnimnici-n
frii|«n nib-dub<diib— Tub-dub-<lul>— in the ntme steady, slow wny, and
tt Proc£»ion dctct nored aa indt. 'Xiierc was evidently, to use an
i*giiil pliraM>, ■ hiidi Bomcwhore.
^Kmttr a/at pritat, nho hutUs Up to the dritm-miijcrr.]
F<a print — " laioM-Yotw."
LiUia dnmvtff — Rub-diib-dnh — rub-dub -diib^nib-dub-dub, &c-
Drmm-major — " Qu\«t-ce done ? "
fid pwittt -" 1'aiaez-Totu, vt>n% di*-jtt ; co it'cai poit le corps. 11 u'lirrl-
ftm jmn jinTir une henrv."
Thg tittk- druiui were iasUntly hiuhed, thd proowsion turned to
iV tiftia abniii, and widketl back to iho aliar ngsjo, tine blown-out candle
l3tt had hvi'n on ilie near aide of na brlbi-e wua now on tL« off side, ihv
I^nm) Ouanla set down ttiatr mu'lceta and hfgan nL Llioir saodwichea
"{■b. We hod to wait an hour and a liulf at least befvre tlie great pro-
■aiwiam»etL The guna without went on booming all the while at
iuraU, and m wc heard each, the andianca gave a kiad of " ahdhah .' "
«di u you bear when tlie rockria go up nt VauxboU.
At hat the real I'roecs^ioa came.
TlHn dM dnuiB began to beat ta formerly, the Nationals to get
"tdtraitBi^ (he clei:g3-inen weru svnt for nod went, and prrKcUy — yea
80 THE SECOND FUNERAL OF NAPOLEON.
there waa the tall cross-bearer at the head of the proceflsion, and tb^
canie back !
They chanted something in a veak, snuffling, lagnbrious manner, to
the melancholy bmy of a serpent.
Crash ! however. Mr. Habeneck and the fiddlers in the organ-loft
pealed out a wild shrill march, which stopped the reverend gentlemen^
and ID the midst of this music —
And of a great trampling of feet and clattering,
And of a great crowd of Grenerals and Officers in fine clothes,
With the Prince de Joinville marching quickly at the head of the
procession.
And while everybody's heart was thumping as hard as possible,
Napoleoh's coFn» passed.
It was done in an instant. A box covered with a great red cross— •
dingy-looking crown lying on the top of it — Seamen on one side and
Invalids on the other — they had passed in an instant and were up the
aisle.
A faint snuffling sound, as before, was heard from the officiating priests,
but we knew of nothing more. It is said that old Louis Philippe waa
standing at the catafalque, whither the Prince de Joinville advanced and
said, " Sire, I bring you the body of the Emperor Napoleon."
Louis Philippe answered, " I receive it in the name of France." Ber-
trand put on the body the most glorious victorious sword that ever bos
been forged since the apt descendants of the firrt murderer learned bow
to hammer steel ; and the coffin was placed in the temple prepared for it.
The nix hundred siDgera and the fiddlers now commenced the playing
and singing of a piece cf music ; and a part of the crew of the BtlU
Pottle skipped into the places that had been kept for them under us, and
listened to the music, chewing tobacco. While the actors and fiddlen
were going on, most of the spirits-of-wine lamps on altars went out.
When wc arrived in the open air we passed through the court of the
InvalidcB, where thousands of people had been assembled, but where the
benches were now quite bare. Then we came on to the terrace before
the place : the old ttoldiers were firing off the great guns, which made a
dreadful stunning noise, and frightened some of us, who did not care to
pass before the cannon and be knocked down even by the wadding. The
guns were fired in honour of the King, who was going home by a back
door. AH the forty thousand people who covered the great stands before
the Hotel hnd gone awiiy too. The Imperial Barge had been dragged up
the river, and wns lying lonely along the Qiuiy, examined by some few
sliivering people on the shore.
It was five o'clock when we reached home : the stars were alitning
keenly out of the frosty sky, and Francois told me that dinner waa juat
ready.
Id this manner, my dear Miss Smith, the great Napoleon was buried.
FarewelL
81
JlrmndnI^
Boos TOE FOUBTB.
CHAPTEK XI.
LoTB AHo Lav.
■ili::^^
D
V'^
iv
mm
N ibe morning of Monday, the
twenty-ejgbtli of July, Miaa
Gwilt— onoo more on tbo watch
fur AJIna end Keelle— reached
her cuet»auuy poet of obftcrra-
lioQ in tbe park, hy ihe usiul
rounilabouC way.
She wu« a liitlo surprised to
ftad Netlic slone &t tbe place
of moetiog. She -kos more
(Briou&ly sstoaisbeil, when the
terd/ Allnn made bis iijjpeor-
once ten ininut«B later, tu scu
bim ntounling tho side of tUa
deJ, will B Ittrgo volume iindtr
IiiB arin, and to hear him sny,
as an apology for bein^ lute,
that " he bad muddled away bis
time in burning for the Books ;
and lliat lie lind only fuitoJ ont:,
^^^^^ after all, which seemed in tli«
^^fe*^ '^~y^^^^i^3^^^ "-^^^~ least likely to repay eilber
'■ *^i'_,/ - ~-:'"~~' ■■ -^v^>., Ncelie orhiaiiclf for th«tiouh!«
cf looking into it.'"
Vi HJM Gwilt liad waited lon^ cuougb in the parki od the previous
ISuarday, to hear liic loTcn' parting word.* on llmt occasion, slie would
ftne bem at no lots to explain tlie niysc«ry of llie volume under AUau's
i m^ asd abo would have understood tbe apolo^ which be now oUtxcd
' tKing late, as readily lu Noelle herself.
TIare i» a certain exceptional occanicn in life — the occaaon of
inrf^gf — on wbid) even girls in thoir teona Bometirucs become capable
ifmw9 or tcM Iiyklericaliy) of looking at conaequanoe*. At the farewell
>t dT tbe inlcrview on Salurdiiyi Neclie'a mind hnd ouddenly pre-
xm. — xo. 73. 0,
;.>*
82 ARMADALE.
cipitatcd itself into the luturu ; and she had utterly conroimded Allan
by inquiring whether the contemplated elopement was an o&ence punish-
able by the Law 7 Her memory satisfied her that she had certainly read
somewhere, at some former period, in some hook or other (possibly a
noTel), of nn elopement with a dreadrul end — of a bride dragged home in
hysterics — and of a biidegroom sentenced to languish in prison, with all
his beautiful hair cut olT, by Act of Parliament, close to his head. Sup-
posing she could bring herself to consent to the elopement at all — which
slie positively declined to promise — slio must first insist on discovering
whether there was any fear of the police being concerned in her marriage
Ba well OS the parson and the clerk. Allan being a man, ought to know ;
and to Allan she looked for information — with this preliminary assurance
to assist hira in laying down the law, that eho would die of a broken
heart a thousand times over, rather than bo the iuooccnt mean? of seuding
htm to languish in prison, and of cutting bis hair off, bj Act of
Parliament, close to his head. " It's no laughing matter," said I^celie
resolutely, in conclusion ; " I decline irven to think of our marriage, till
my mind is mode easy first on the subject of the Law."
" But I don't know anything about the law, not even as much as you
do," said Allan. " Hang the law ! I don't mind my head being cropped.
Let's risk it."
" Eisk it ? " repeated Neclie, indignantly. " Have yon no con-
sideration for me? I won't risk it t Where then'i a will, there's a way.
Wo must find out the law for ourselves."
" With all my heart," said AUan. •' How T "
" Out of bookn, to be sure I There most be qaantitiei of infennatioa
in that enormous library of yours at the great hoose. If you rwUy love
mo, yoa won't mind going over the backs of a few thousand books, for
my sake 1 "
" I'll go over the backs of ten thousand I " cried Allan, Wimily.
" Would yon mind telling me what I'm to look for? "
" For ' Law,' to be sure I When it eays ' Law ' on the back, open it,
and look inside for Marriage — read every word of 1^— nad then come here
and explain it to me. What 7 you don't think your heed is to be trusted
to do such a simple thing as that?"
" I'm certain it isn't," said Allan. " Can't you lielp me? "
" Of course I can, if you can't manage without me I Law may be
hard, but it can't be harder than music ; and I must, and will, satisfy my
mind. Bring mo all the books you can find, on Monday morning — in a
wheelbarrow, if there are a good many of thetn, and if you can't manage
it in any other way."
The result of this conversation was Allan's appearance in the park^
with a volume of Blackatone's Commentaries under his arm, on the &tal
Monday morning, when Blisa tiwilt's written engagement of marriage waa
placed in Midwinter's hands. Here again, in this, as in all other human
instances, the widely discordant elements of the grotesque and the terrible
AItMADAI.E. 83
¥ere forced together hy that subtle law of contrast which is one of the
lawi of mortal life> Amid nil the thickening complicationa now impending
orer ihdr heads — with the shadow of meditated murder stealing towards
eneofthem already, from the lurking-place that hid Miss Gwilt — the two
atdoni, unconscious of the future, with the book between them ; and
ipplicd themselves to the itudy of the law of marriage, with a grave
tesoiutioo to understatid it, which, in two such students, was nothing less
iban a burloaque in itself 1
"Find the place," said Neelie, as Boon as tliey were comfortably
Blililiahed. " We must manage this, by what they call a division of
l^DT. Yoo shall read — and I'll take notes."
^e produced forthwith a smart little pocket-book and pencil, and
opened the book in the middle, where there was a blank page on the right
load and the left. At the top of the right-hand pnge, she wrote the word,
Good. At the top of the left-hand page, she wrote the word. Bad.
"'Good' means where the law is on our side," she explained^ "and
'Bid' means where the law is against us. We will have ' Good ' and
'Bid' opposite each other, all down the two pages; and when we get to
ibe bottom, we'll add them up, and act accordingly. They say girla have
10 heads for business. Haven't they ! Don't look at me — look at
Biadutooe, and begin."
"Would yoa mind giving me a kiss first 7" asked Allan.
"Iihould mind it very much. In our serious situation, when wo
Wa both got to exert our intellects, I wonder you can ask for such
a thing!"
"That's why I asked for it," said the unblushing Allan. " I feci aa if
11 Bonld clear my head,"
"Ob, if it would clear your head, that's quite another thing 1 I must
c-w your head, of course, at any sacrifice. Only one, mind," she
*liiip*red coquettiahly ; " and pray be careful of Blackstone, or you'll
W the place."
There was a pause in the coiivera.-ition. Blackstone and the pocket-
Iwi both rolled on the ground togetJier,
"If [bta happens again," aaid Neelie, picking up the pocket-book, with
Weyes and her complexion at their brightest and best, " I shall sit with
"■J back to you for the rest of the morning. Will you go on ? "
Allu found his piacp for the second time, and fell headlong into the
'•"ttomleas abyss of the English Law.
"Page two-hundred-and-cighty," he began. "I<aw of husband and
*ili!. Here's a bit I don't understand, to begin with : — ' It may bo
''■fned generally, that the law considers marriage in the light of a
Strict.' What does that mean 7 I thought a contract was the sort of
^g a builder »gns, when he promises to have the workmen out of the
''™« in a given time, and when the time comes (as my poor mother used
•""y) the workmen never go."
5—1
84 ARMADALE.
" Is tliero uothiiig about Love 7 " asked Neelie. " Look a little lower
down."
" Kot a word. He slicks to liis conroundcd ' Contrnct,* all the wajr
through."
" Then he's a brute 1 Go on to soDiething else tbat'a more in oar way."
" Here's a bit that's more in our way : — ' Incnpacities. If any persona
under legal incapacities come together, it is a meretricious, and not a
matrimonial union.' (Blackstone's a good one at long words, isn't he? I
wonder what he means by meretricious 7) 'The first of these 1^^
disabilities is a prior marriage, and having another husb.tnd or wife
living • "
" Stop I " said Neelie. " I must make a note of that." She gravely made
her first entry on the page headed "Good," as- follows: — "I have no
husband, and Allan has no wife. We arc both entirely unmarried at the
present time,"
" All right, 80 far," remarked Allan, looking over her shoulder.
" Go on," said Neelie. "What next 7 "
"'The next diBability,'" proceeded Allan, '" is want of age. The
age for consent to matrimony is, fourteen in males, and twelve in females.'
Come I " cried Allan cheerfully, " Blackatone begins early enough at
any rate ! "
Neelie was too business-like to make any other remark, on her ude,
than the necessary remark in the pocket-book. She made another entry
under the head of " Good :" — " I am old enough to consent, and so is
Allan too. Go on," resumed Neelie, looking over the reader's shoulder.
" Never mind all that prosing of Blackstone's, about the husband being
of years of discretion, and the wife under twelve. Abominable wretch 1
the wife under twelve ! Skip to the third incapacity, if there is one."
" The third incapacity," Allan went on, " is want of reason."
Neelie immediately made a third entry on the side of " Good : **
" Allan and I are both perfectly reasonable — skip to the next page,"
Allan skipped, " A fourth incapacity is in respect of proximity of
relationship."
A fourth entry followed instantly on the cheering side of the pocket-
book : — "He loves mo and I love him — without our being in the alighteit
degree related to each other. Any more?" asked Neelie, tapping her
chin impatiently with the end of the pencil,
" Plenty more," rejoined Allan ; " all in hieroglyphics. Look here :
' Marriage Acts, 4 Geo. iv. c, 76, and C and 7 Will. iv. c, 85 (?).' Blaok-
Blone's intellect seems to be wandering here. Shall we take another skip,
and see if he picks himself up again on the next page,"
" Wait a little," said Neelie ; " what's that I see in the middle ? " She
read for a minute in silence, over Allan's shoulder, and suddenly clasped
her hands in despair. " I knew I was right I " she exclaimed. *' Oh,
heavens, here it ia I "
" Where 7 " asked Allan. " I see oothing about languiahiiig id prifcai,
AltMADALE. SS
nd cropping a fellow's hair close to his head, unless it's in the hicro-
gljphica. Is ' 4 Geo. iv.' short for ' Lock him up 7 ' and does ' c. 85 (q) '
neu, ' Send for the hair-cutter 7 ' "
" Pray be Berions," remonstrated Neelie. " We nre both sitting on a
ToIcaDO. There I " she said, pointing to the place. " Bead it I If any-
tiing am bring yoQ to a proper sense of our situation, that will."
Ailiin cleared his throat, and Neelie held the point of her pencil ready
ni (lie depressing side of the account — otherwise the " Bad " page of the
jncket-book,
'"And as it is the policy of our law,' Allan began, ' to prevent the
mmage of persons under the age of twenty-one, without the consent of
jarents and guardians ' "• (Neelie made her first entry on the side of
"Bid." " I am only seventeen next birthday', and circumstances forbid
wlo confide my attachment to papa") " 'it is provided that in the
ax of the publication of banns of a person under twenty-oue, not being
1 widower or widow, who are deemed emancipated ' " (Neelie made
Mother entry on the depressing aide. " Allan is not a widower, and I
m not a widow ; consequently, we arc neither of UB emancipated,")
"'if the parent or guardian openly signifies his dissent at the time the
binnj are published ' " (" which papa would be certain to do ")
"'rach publication shall be void.' I'll take breath here, if youll allow
w," said Allan. " Blackstone might put it in shorter sentences, I
ttink, if he can't put it in fewer words. Gbeer up, Neelie I there must
be other ways of marrying, besides this roundabout way, that ends in a
hblication and a Void. Infernal gibberish I I could write better
English myself."
"We are not at the end of it yet," said Neelie. "The Void is
notking to what is to come."
" Whatever it is," rejoined Allan, " we'll treat it like a dose of physic
~we'll take it at once, and be done with it." He went on reading : —
"'Aod no licence to marry without banns sball be granted, unless oath
■lull be first made by one of the parties that he or she believes that there
a no impediment of kindred or alliance ' — well, I can take my oath of that
*uh a tafe conscience 1 What next 7 ' And one of the said parties must,
for the space of fifteen days immediately preceding such licence, have had
liit or her usual place of abode witbin the pariah or chapelry within which
inch marriage ia to be solemnized I ' Chapelry I I'd live fifteen days in a
■^-kennel with the greatest pleasure. I say, Neelie, all this seems like
pkin uiling enough. What arc you shaking your head about? Go on,
•^d 1 (hall see 7 Oil, all right ; I'll go on. Here we are — ' And where
""w of the said parties, not being a widower or widow, shall be under the
*P of twenty-one years, oath must first be made that the consent of the
pwson or persons whore consent ia required, has been obtained , or that
ihert is no person having authorily to give such consent. The consent
"^uinsl by this Act is that of the fiither ' " At tlioae last formidable
■ords Allan caine to a full atop. " The consent of the father," ho
86 ARMADALE.
rcpoatoJ, with all needful ecrloiisneaa of look and manner. "I couldn't
exactly swear to that, could I ? "
Neelie answered in expressive silence. She handed him the pocket-
book, with the final entry completed, on the side of " Bad," in these
terms — " Our marriage is impossible, unless Allan commits perjury."
The lovers looked at each other across the insuperable obstBcIe of
Blackstone, in speechless dismay.
"Shut up the book," said Neelie, resignedly. "I have no doubt iro
should find the police, and the prison, and the faair-cutting — all punisli-
mcnts for perjury, exactly as I told you ! — if we looked at the next page.
But we needn't trouble ourselvcB to look ; we have found out quite
enough already. It's all over with us. I must go to school on Saturday,
and you must manage to forget nie as soon as you can. Perhaps we may
meet in after-life, and you may be a widower and I may be a widow, and
the cruel law may consider us emancipated, when it's too late to be of the
Rlightest use. By that time no doubt I shall be old and ugly, and you
will naturally have ceased to care about mo, and it will all end in the
grave, and tiie sooner the better. Good-by," concluded Neelie, rising
mournfully, with the tears in her eyes. " It's only prolonging our misery
to stop here, unlofs — unless you have anything to propose ? "
" I've got something to propose," cried the headlong Allan. " It's an
entirely neiv idea. Would you mind trj'ing the blacksmith at Gretna
Green?"
"No earthly con a deration," answered Neelie indignantly, "would
induce me to be married by a blacksmith 1 "
" Don't be offended," pleaded Allan ; " I meant it for the best. Lot-i
of people in our situation have tried the blacksmith, and found him quite
as good aa a clergyman, and a most amiable man, I believe, into the
bargain. Never mind ! We must try anotlier string to our bow."
" We haven't got another to try," said Neelie,
" Take my word for it," persisted Allan stoutly, " there must be wayi
and means of circumventing Black.stonc (without perjury), if wo only
knew of them. It's a matter of law, and we must consult somebody in
the profc^ion. I daresay it's a risk. But nothing venture, nothing have.
What do you say to young Pedgift? He's a thorough good fellow.
I'm sure we could trust young Pedgift to keep our secret."
" Not for worlds ! " exclaimed Neelio. " You may be willing to trust
yonr secrets to tlie rulgar little wretch, I won't kivc him trusted with
mine. I hate him. No !" she continued, with a mounting colour and
n ptremptory stamp of her foot on the grass. " I positively forbid you
to take any of the Thorpe- A mhrosc pwple into your confidence. They
would instantly suspect vie, and it would be all over the place in n
moment. My attachment may be an unhappy one," remarked Neelie,
with her handkerchief to her eyes, "and papa may nip it in the bud, but
I won't have it profaned by the town-gossip I "
" Hnab I hash 1 " said Allan. '* I won't say a word at Thorpe- AmbroMi
ABUACALE. 67
I inm't indeed ! " He paused, and connidered for a moment. *' There's
mother way ! " he burst out, brigliteniog up on the instant. " W^eVe got
the whole -week before us. Til tell you what I'll do, PJl go to London ! "
There was a sudden rustling — heard neither by one nor the other —
uwmg the trees behind them that screened MJss GwUt. One more of
Ibe Acuities in her way (the difficulty of getting Allan to London), now
ptBiniaed to be removed by an act of Allan's own will.
" To London ? " repeated Neclie, looking up in astoniahment.
"To Ixindon!" reiterated Allan. "That's far enough away from
Tlxirpe- Ambrose, surely ? Wait a minute, and don't forget that this in
I question of law. Very well, I know some lawyers in Loudon who
Bnuged all my business for me when I first came in for this property ;
Aey ire just the men to consult. And if they decline to be mixed up in
i^ there's their head clerk, who is one of the best fellows I ever met wtli
in my life. I asked him to go yachting with mc, I remember ; and
thmgh he couldn't go, he said he felt the obligation all the same. That's
ft* man to help us. Blackstone's a mere infant to lum. Don't say it's
lUoTd; don't Bay it's exactly like me. Do pray hear me out. I
tti't breathe your name or your father's. I'll describe you as ' a
^g lady to whom I am devotedly attached.' And if my friend the
dak asks where you live, I'll say the north of Scotland, or the west of
Iidind, or the Channel Islands, or anywhere else you like, ily friend
^ deik is a total stranger to Thorpe-Ambrose and everybody in it
(vhich is one recommendation) ; and in five minutes' time, he'd put me
Dp to what to do (which is another). If you only knew him I He's one
rf those extraordinary men wlio appear once or tmce in a century— the
wtt of man who won't allow you to make a mistake if you try. All I
hire got to say to him (putting it short) is, 'My dear fellow, I want to be
priiately married, without perjury.' All he has got to say to me (putting
it ihort) is, ' You must do 3o-aud-So, and So-and-So ; and you must be
onfal to avoid Tliis, That, and The other. I have nothing in the world
to do but to follow his directions; and you have nothing in the world to
do but what the bride always docs when the bridegroom is ready and
'siting 1" His arm stole round Neelie's waist, and his lips pointed
the moral of the List sentence with that inarticulate eloijuenee which is
* uniformly succeasful in persuading a woman against her will.
AH Neelie's meditated objections dwindled, in spite of her, to one
fehlfl little question. "Suppose I allow you to go, Allan?" she
'hiipered, toying nervously willi the stud in the bosom of his shirt,
" Shall you be very long away ? "
"I'll be off to-day," paid Allan, "by the eleven o'clock train. And
ril be back to-morrow, if I and my friend the clerk can settle it all in
^e- If not, by Wednesday at latest."
"You'll write to me every day?" pleaded Neclie, clinging a little
'^Mer to him. " I shall siok under tliu sucpcnso, il" you don't promise
"Write to me every day."
88 AUMADALE.
Allan promiflerl totTTiu> twiceadiv, trelie likcJ-^Ioitcr-wriling, irlnctl
was Bucli aB effort lo ollict men, waa no effort to htm.'
"And niimi, ivli:it(?vpr those people may my to you in I^Ddon,'
procwiVil Kcelip, " I indiBt ca jour coming back (or me. I poailirct
ilccliae to ran away, uhIcim yim pi«iiiiMi to feUjii mo.'*
Allan promised for Iba ficcond time, on hi^ sacred word of honour,
nl die full compuM of his voice. Hut Ncelio wna not tnlisficd crcn
She reverted lo fimt principles, ard insisled on knowing wlielhinr Al
was qtiite sure liu loved bcr. Alinn called lieaven to witneaa how bi
ho vrax; ami gol another quotlion dirtclly for hia piiius. Could
Bolomnlj declflro that ha would never regret lAking Neeliu away fi
hom«7 Allan called heaven to witnesa again, louder ihftn otct. All
00 purpose I Th« rnvoncns female appetite far tender pMtestationa
hungered fnr mow. *' I know whitt will hnppen one of these iayt^
peiaiated NiuIIe. " You will see some other giil who is prettier tluta
am ; and ycm nill wish you had married her instend of Mo ! "
As Allan opened hia lipa for n final outburst of aaseveration,
stnbic-clock at the great house wan faintly nudibic in the dlatvi
striking the hour. Neelie started gttiltily. It was breakfast-time U
cottage — in otl)cr words, time to take leave. At the last momeDt
heart wont back to lior father ; and her head nanlt on Allan's bosom
she tried to ei\j, Good-by. " Papa, has al^rays been so kind to id(J
Allan," the Khi^pered, holding hiui back trcmulouely when he turned
to leave ber. " It seenis eo guilty and m heartless to go away front bin
and bo marriud tn oi-crct. 01), do, do think bcfarc you really go ta
London ; is there no yvny of making him a little kinder and jiuter ■
yott/" The question was useless; the major's resolutoly uiifavouniM
roccptioa of Allan's letter rose in Nellie's memory, iind unswercd ha
us thu words pjissed her lips, With a pirl'a impuluven ess, sh« piuhoq
Allan away bffore h« could .^eak, and signed to him impatiently togd
The conflict of contending emotious, which ehe had moctei-ed thus fa
burst ita ivay outward in epite of her after he had waved his hand fil
th« last lime, and had diiiappeared in the depth.i of ihti dell. WliM
she tiuned from the place, on her side, her Iong-i«strnined tear* kXl frec^
the
dirama|
at laat, and made the lonely way back to the cottage
proqicct that Ncelie had seen fov many a long day pnat.
As she hurried homewarit, ihc leaves parted behind her, and Mitij
Gwilt stepped softly into the open space. She «tood there in tnumpli
tall, beautiful, and resolute. Her lovely colour brightened while »bi
watched Ncelie's retreating tigiire liastening lightly away from her ortj
the grass.
" Cry, yoM little fool I " she 8«J, with her quiet clear tones, aod liq
steady smile of contempt. "Cry as you hiun never cried yet! 1"
have seen the last of ycoir svreetlicart."
ABHASALB. 89
CHAPTER Xn.
A SCAKDAL AT THE StATIOS.
Ashmt later, the kniHA^y at Miss Gwilt's lodgings was lost in astooisli-
nmt, and the clamorous tongaes of the cliildren were in a state of
imgoremable revolt. " Unforeaeen circumatinces " had suddenly obliged
Ibe tenant of the first fioor to terminate the occupation of her apartments,
ud to go to London that dny by the eleven o'clock train.
"Please to have a fly at the door, at half-past ten," said Miss Gwilt,
n [he amazed landlady followed her upstairs. " And excuse me, you
goad creatnre, if I beg and pray not to be disturbed till the Hy comes."
Once inude her room, she locked the door, and then opened her
nidug-desk. " Xow for my letter to the major I " ahe said. " How
•MI word it 7"
A moment's consideration apparently decided her. Searching through
bcr collection of pens, she carefully selected the worst that could be found,
ud b^nn the letter by writing the date of the day on a soiled sheet oi
iK^piiper, in crooked clumsy characters, which ended in a blot made
porposely with the feather of the pen. Pausing, sometimes to think n
liltle, sometimes to make another blot, she completed the letter in these
"Hos" Sm, — It is on my conscience to tell yon souietbing, which I
lliink yon ought to know. You ought to know of the goings-on of Missi
T«ir daughter, with young Mister Armadale. I wish you to make sure, and
*E>at is more, I advise yoa to be quick about it, if nhe is going the way
joa want her to go, when she takes her morning walk before breakfast.
1 Kom to moke mischief, where there is true love on both aides. But I
don't think tlie young man means truly by Miss. What I me.in ia, I
ilunk Miss only has his fancy. Another person, who shall be nameless
belwixt us, has his true heart. Please to pardon my not putting my
'■UK; I am only an humble person, and it might get mc into trouble.
Tiia is all at present, dear sir, from yours,
" A Well- Wisher."
"There ! " said Miss Gwilt, as she folded the letter up. " If I had
l*en a professed novelist, I could hardly have written more natur.iHy in
(lie character of a sen-ant than that ! " She wrote the necessary address
to Major Milroy ; looked admiringly for the last time at the coarse and
diuniy writing which her own delicate hand had produced ; and rose to
pwt the letter herself, before she entered next on tho serious busincsfl of
[«king up. " Curious 1 " she thought, when the letter had been posted,
»nd she was back again making her travelling preparations in her own
'ooin J "here I am, running headlong into a frightful risk — and I never
Wi in better spirits in my life I "
90 AltUADALE.
Tlie boxofl were reaily wheu the fly was at the door, and Mim Gwilt
'n-aa equipped (as becomingly aa usual) in her neat travelling costume.
Tlie thick veil, which she was accustomed to wear in Londonj appeared
on her country straw-bonnet for the 6r8t time. " One meets such rude
men occasionally in the railway," she said to the landlady. " And though
I dress quietly, my hair is so very remarkable." She was a little [Hiler
than usual ; bfit she had never been so sweet-tempered and engaging, so
gracefully cordial and friendly, as now, when the moment of departure
had come. The simple people of the house were quite moved at taking
leave of her. She insistal on shaking hands with the landlord — oa
speaking to him in her prettiest way, and suunlng him in her brightest
smiles. " Come ! " she said to the landlady, " you have been so kind,
you have been so like a mother to me, you must give me a kiss at
parting." She embraced the children all together in the lump, with a
mixture of humour and tenderness delightful to see, and loft a shilling
among them to buy a cake. " If I was only rich enough to make it a
sovereign," she whiBpercd to the mother, " how glad I should be I " The
awkward lad who ran on errands stood wmting at the fly-door. He was
clumsy, he was frowsy, he lind a gaping mouth and a turn-up nose —
but the ineradicable female delight in being charming, accepted him, for
all that, in the character of a Inst chance. " You dear dingy John I " alie
said kindly at the carriage door. " I am so poor 1 have only Btxpeitee to
give you — with my very best wishes. Take my advice, John — grow
to be a fine man, and find yourself a nice sweetheart I Thank you a
thousand times I " She gave him a friendly little pat on the cheek with
two of her gloved fingers, and smiled, and nodded, and got into the fly.
" Armadale next I " sho said to herself as the carriage drove off.
Allan's anxiety not to miss the train had brought liim to the station
in better time than URial. After t.iking hia ticket and putting hia
portmanteau tinder the porter's charge, he was pacing the platform
and thinking of Neclie — when he heard the rustling of a lady's dress
behind him, and turning round to look, found himself face to face with
Miss Gwilt.
There wa.i no escaping her this time. The station wnW was on his
right hand, and the line was on hia left; a tunnel was behind him,
and Miss Gwilt was in front, inquiring in her sweetest tones whether
Mr. Armadale vraa going to London,
Allnn coloured scarlet with vexation and surprise. There he was",
obviously waiting for the train ; and tliere was his portmanteau close by,
■with his name on it, already labelled for London ! What answer but the
true one could he make after that 7 Could he let the train go without
Iiim, and lose the precious hours so vitally important to Neelie and him-
self? Impossible I Allan helplessly confirmed the printed Btatement on
hia portmanteau, and heartily wished himself at the oUier end of the vorld
■a he Boid the words.
AIOiADALE. 91
" How Tery (brtunale ! " rejoined Miss Gwilt. " I am going to Londoa
hn. Uight I ask jou, Mr. Armadale (as you seem to be quite alone), to
he my escort on the journey J "
Alkn looked at the little aBsembly of travellers, and tmvellers' friends,
ecJIected on the platform, near the booking-office door. They were all
IWpe-Ambrote people. He was probably known by sight, and Miss
Gwik was probably known by sight, to erery one of them. In sheer
dcqwration, hesitating more awkwardly than erer, he produced his cigar-
cue. "I shonld be delighted," he »aid, with an embarrassment which
i» ilmost an insult under the circumstances. " But I — I'm what the
pecfle who get sick orer a cigar, call a slare to smoking."
"I delight in smoking 1 " said Miss Gwilt, with undiminished vivacity
mi good humour. " It'e one of the privil^es of the men which I have
ilways envied. Tm airaid, Mr. Armadale, you mi^ think I am forcing
njKlf on you. It certainly looks like it. The real truth is, I want par-
tiesliriy to say a word to yoa in private about Mr. Midwinter."
He tnun came up at the same moment. Setting Midwinter out of the
qneition, the common decencies of politeness left Allan no alternative but
tumbmit. After having been the cause of her leaving her situation at
lUjor Hilroy's, after having pointedly avoided her only a few days nnce
n the high-road, to have declined going to London in the same carri^e
vith Miss Gwilt would have been an act of downright brutality which it
ni limply impossible to commiL " Damn ber ! " said Allan, internally,
H be handed hie travelling companion into an empty carriage, officiondy
plued at his disposal, before all the people at the elation, by the guard.
"Ton ihan't be distnrbed, nir," the man whispered confidentially, with a
irnile, and a touch of his hat. Allan could have knocked him down with
Ihe Qtmoflt pleasure. *' Stop I " he said, from the window. " I don't want
tile carriage—" It was useless ; tlie guard was out of hearing ; the
vhiitle blew, and the train started for London.
The select assembly of travellcirs' friends, left behind on the platform,
tngregated in a circle on the epot, with the station-master in the
wntre.
The station-master— otherwise, Mr. Mack — was a popular character in
tl« neighbourhood. He possessed two social qualifications which invari-
^^J impress the average Engliah mind — he was nn old soldier, and ho
"* a man of few words. The conclave on the platform insisted on taking
I'M opinion, before it committed itself pfwitivcly to an opinion of its own.
A Wiak fire of remarks exploded, as a matter of courso, on all sides ; but
"ftiybody's view of the subject ended interrogatively, in a question aimed
P^nt-blank at the station-master's ears.
" She's got him, hasn't she ? " " She'll come back ' Mrs. Armadale,'
"m't she?" "He'd better have stuck to Miss Milroy, hadn't he?"
"Mia Milroy stuck to him. She paid him a visit at the great house,
*^'t iheT" "Nothing of the sort; it's a shame to take the girl's
^'wwtcr away. She mob cniight in ft (hunderstorm close by *, Vifl ifM
92 AfiUADALE.
obliged to give her slielter ; and slic's never been near the phice since.
Miaa Gwilt's been there, if you like, irith no tLunderstorm to force her
in; and Misa Girilt's off with him to London in a carriage all to them-
selvea, eh, Mr. Mack 7 " " Ah, be's a soft one, that Armadale ! with all
hia money, to take up with a red-haind woman, a good eight or nine years
older than he la I She's thirty if she's a day. That's what I Fay, Mr. Mack.
What do you say ? " " Older or younger, she'll rule the roast at Thorpe-
Ambrose; and I say, for the sake of the place, and for the sake of trade,
let's make the best of it; and Mr. Mack, as a man of tho world, eees it is
the same light ns I do, don't you, sir? "
" Gentlemen," sud the station-master, witli his abrupt military accent,
and his impenetrable military manner, "she's a devilish fine woman.
And, when I was Mr. Armadale's age, it's my opinion, if her fancy bad
laid that way, she might have married Me."
With that expression of opinion the station-maater wheeled to the right,
and intrenched himself impregnably in the stronghold of his own office.
Tho citizens of Thorpe-Ambrose looked at the closed door, and
gravely shook their heads. Mr. Mack bad disappointed them. No
opinion which openly recognizes the frailty nf human nature, is ever
8 popidar opinion with mankind. " It's na good as saying that any of tis
might have married her, if mj« had been Mr. Armadale's age I " Such waa
the general impres^nn on the minds of the conclave, when the meeting had
been adjourned, and tho members were leaving the station.
The last of tlie party tn go was a slow old gentleman, with a habit of
deliberately looking about him. Pausing at the door, this observant
peraoD stared up the platform, and down the platform, and discovered in
the latter direction, standing behind an angle of the wall, an elderly man
in black, who had escaped the notice of ever)-body up to that time.
" Why, bless my soul ! " said the old gentleman, advancing inquisitively by
a step at a time, " it can't be Mr, Bashwood ! "
It wn> Mr. Basliwood — Air. Bashwood, whose constitutional curiosity
had taken him privately to tlie station, bent on solving the mystery of
Allan's sudden joui-ncy to Loudon — l^Ir. Bashwood who had seen and
heard, behind Lis angle in the wall, what everybody else had seen and
beard, and who appeared to have been imprcGsed by it in no ordinary way.
lie stood stifBy against the wall, like a man petrified, witli one hand pressed
on hia bare head, and the other holding his hat — he stood, with a dull fluah
on his face, and a dull stare in his eyes, looking straight into the black
depths of tbo tunnel outside the station, as if the train to London had
disappeared in it but the moment before.
" la your head bad J " asked tlio old g(?ntlcman. " Take my advice.
Go home and lie down."
Mr. Bashwood listened mechanically, with his usual attention, and
snawered mechanically, with his usual politeness.
" Yes, ur," he said, in » low lost tone, like a man between dreaming
"Hang ; " Fll go homo imd lie down.**
ARAIADALE, 98
"Tliat'a right," rejoined the oIJ gentleman, making for tic door.
" And take n pill, Jlr. Basliwood — take a pill."
Fiye minutes later, the porter charged witU the business of locking up
die (Cition, found Mr. Basbwood, still standing bareheaded against the
*all,oQd still looking straight into the black depths of the tunnel, as if tha
tnin to London hnd dis-ippearcd in it but a moment since.
" Come, sir ! " said the porter. " I must lock up. Are you out of
wu ? Anything wrong with your in^de 7 Try a drop of gin-and-bitlera."
"Tea," said Mr. Bosbwood, answering the porter exactly as h« had
innrered the old gentleman ; " I'll try a drop of gin-and-bitters."
The porter took lijm by the arm, and led him out. " You'll get
ittliere," said the man, pointing confidentially to a public-house ; "and
yon'll get it good."
" I shall get it there," echoed Mr. Basbwood, still mechanically r«-
peuing vhat was said to him ; " and I shall get it good."
Uii will Bcemed to be paralysed ; bia actions depended absolutely on
vlut other people told him to do. He took a few steps in the direction
cif the public-house — ^hesitated ; staggered — and caught at the pillar of one
of the itation lamps near him.
The porter followed, and took bim by the arm once more.
" Why, youVe been drinking already I " exclaimed the man, with a
n^eoly-quickened interest in Mr. Bashwood's case. "What was it?
fl«r!"
Mr. Baahwood, in his low lost tones, echoed the lost word.
It was close on the porter's dinner-time. But when the lower orders
"f ihe English people believe they have discovered an intoxicated man,
tlicii sympathy with htm is boundless. The porter let his dinner take Itn
chance, and carefully assisted Mr, Baahwood to reach the public-liouse.
"Gin-and-bitters will put you on your legs again," whispered this
^Uoarilan setter-right of the alcoholic disasters of mankind.
If Mr. Baahwood bad really been intoxicated, the effect of the porter's
(^edy would have been marvellous indeed. Almost as eoon as the gloss
*« emptied, the stimulant did its work. The long-weakeued nervous
^Mem of the deputy -steward, prostrated for the moment by the sliock that
M fsllen on it, rallied again like a weary horse under the spur. The
<itillfltuli on his cheeks, the dull stare in his eyes, disappeared eimul-
*''*«isly. After a momentary effort, be recovcreil meniorj- enough of
'Hat bad passed to thank the porter, and to oak whether he would take
•Mnetliing himself. The worthy creature instantly accepted a dose of his
*»ti remedy — in the capacity of a preventive — and went home to dinner
"only those men can go home who are phyaically warmed by gin-and-
l-iUeis, and morally elevated by the performance of a good action.
Still itrangely abstracted (but conscious now of the w.iy by which he
''"')' Mr. Baahwood left the public-house a few minutes later, in his turn.
'« talked on mechanically, in his dreary black garments, moving like «
"ton the white surface of the sun-brightened road, aa Midwintet Wi
94
JtRMADALE.
nibe
rpennn
Been Ikim m^ve is tli« earl; d«js nC TliArpo-Aiiibrivw wliim tboy h»A fint
met. ArnTcd at the point wIktc he hnil tfl choose between the way ttist
Jed into the towD, nnd tlic wny tliAt led to t)ie ^i'«ftt h«q8«, b« flt<>]t|>ed,
inmjiKble ct Aee'Mng, and cnrolMU), apparaitly, even or making the iuiein|it.
" I'll be rerengerl on her I " ho whiaperpd to himself, rtill absorbed En bU
jealout frcnxy of rago againBt the wt>maD who hod docciTod h!tn. " Fll be
reveng^ on her," he r<^peated in louder tones, " if I spend ererjr hairpeniif i
I'ro got ! "
Some womm (if tho dtaordcrly aort, pAiwinf; on thoir way to lh«
heard him. " Ah, yon old bnile," tlipy called out, with ih* tn^sLmrtlcal]
licence of their class ; " whatever she did, »Jie served you right I "
The coarEen«Gs of thevoicoiiKtartlcd biTn,vhelherheconiprel)eiidpd the
vords or not. lie alirnnk nway from more interruption and more icmilt^H
into the qtiietCT road that lod to the gnul houflo, M
At a solitary place by the wayside, he stopped and Mt down. Ht
took off his hut, and lifted hii youthftil y/ig a little from hia bald old bead,
nnd tried de«pcrnlply to get beyond the one inmnivoiibl* conviction which
lay on hh mitid like lend — the conviction that Miw Owilt had been pur>
|x>Qely deceiving him from the lirBt. It wil3 usolesa. No efiort wonld free
him from that one dominant imprpwion, and from the one answering; idea
tliat it bad evoked — the idvn of revenge. Ke got up again, and put on hia
but, and walked rapidly forward a little way — then turned without fcnow-fl
ing why, and alowly walked back af»ain. " If [ liad only drcRsiiI it litile
nnflrter ! " Miid the pnM- wrclc.h, helplowly, " If I had only betij n Utile
bolder with her, she might have overlook«H] my being nn old mnn 1 " The
angry flt returned on him. He clenched hin clammy trembling hands, and _
Bhook them fiercely in the empty air. "I'll be rcveng<^d on h<ir," hcfl
reiterated. " Til be revenged on hor, if I upend every hall^ienny I've
^t t " It was terribly auggeative of the hold ahe had taken on hitn, tliat
hia vindictive npiiae of injury could not, get far enongli awny from h«r tn
rcAcli the man whom he believed to bo hia rival, even yet. In bis ngOf
M in hia Iovp, he wa« nbpiorbed, body and soul, by Miea GwilE.
In a moment more, the naine of running wheels approachiDg flvm
behind startled Urn. He turned, nnd Igoked round. Thvn wai Mr.
l*edgi(V the elder, rapidly overtaking him in the gig, jnirt ni Mr. Pedgift
had overlokea him once already, on tliat Ibrincr occuLUon when be bod
listened nnder the window at t3i« grent bouse, and when the lnwy«r had
bhintly cliargi.'d biin witli fiding a cnrlosity abtnit Miss Gwilt I
In nn inalant, tlic incvilablc nsaociution of ideas hurst on bis mind.
The opinion of Miss Gwilt, nhici) he had heard tlie lawyer express toi
Allan, at parting, hashed back into hia memory, side by aide ni(b
Mt. Pedgift's sarcastic approv*] of anything in the way of inq^iiry which
Mk own enrinwty might .Tttempl. "I may be even with her yet," hs
thought, ''if Mr. Pedgift will help me !— Stop, airl" he called oot
desppratcly as the gtg came up with hitn. *" If pleaac, sir, I want to Iptal:
tojon,"
I
I
^
ARMADALE. SS
Pedgift Senior slftckened the paco of his ia«t-trotting niHre, without
jralliog up. " Come to the office in half-an-hour," he said. " I'm bn^
DOW," Withont -waiting for an answer, without noticing Mr. Bashwood's bow,
be gtre the mare the rein Again, and was out of ught in another minute.
Mr. Bashwood sat down once more in a shady place by tho rimdside.
He ippeared to be incapable of feeling any slight but the one unpacdonable
■light put upon him by Miss Gwilt. He not only declined to resent, he
eren node the best of Mr. Pedgift's unccremonioua treatment of him.
" Half-an-honr," he said, resignedly. " Time enough to compose myself;
tnd I want time. Very kind of Mr. Pedgift, though he mightn't have
mesntit."
The sense of oppression on his head forced him once i^^n to remove his
'lilt. He Bat with it on his lap, deep in thought ; his face bent low, and the
nTering fingers of one hand drumming absently on the crown of the hat.
irUr. Pedgifl the elder, seeing him as he sat now, coitld only have looked
■ little beyond him into the future, the monotonously-drumming hand of the
depn^-steward might hfiTe beea strong enough, feeble as it was, to stop
llie livyer by the roadside. It was the 'wom, weary, miserable old hand
of 1 Worn, weary, misemble old man — but it was, for all that (to use tho
tngnage of Mr. Fedgift's own parting prediction to AUnu), the hand that
w DOW destined to " let the light in on Miss Gwilt."
CHAPTER xnr.
Ah Old Mah's Heart.
PnwniAL to the moment, when the half hour's interval had expired,
Mr. Bashwood was announced nt the office, as waiting to see Mr. Pedgift
lij special appointment.
The lawyer looked up from his papers with an air of annoyance : he
M totally forgotten the meeting by the roadside. " See what he wants,"
*udPedgifl Senior to Pedgift Junior, working in the same room with him.
"And, if it's nothing of importance, put it off to some other time."
Pedgift Junior swiftly disappeared, and swiftly returned.
" Well ? " asked the father.
" Well," answered the son, " ho is rather more shaky and unintelligible
tba Turtial. I can make nothing out of him, except that he persists in
"satiag to see yon. My own idea," pursued PedgitV Junior, with his
^nal sardonic gravity, "is, that he is going to have a fit, and that he
*«he» to acknowledge your uniform kindness to him, by obliging you
*ilii a private view of the whole proceeding."
Pedgift Senior habitually matched everybody — his son included — ■
*itli their own weapons. " Be good enough to remember, Augnstua," he
rejoined, " that My Room is not a Court of Law, A bad joke is not
inTMiably followed by ' roars of Uughter ' hire. Let Mr. Bashwood
conw in."
96
J\RMAt)ALIX
Mr. BusimnoJ whk introiliieo^, nnd P^tlgiH Jimior vriiluli-ev. "Yon
muslii't blwd liirn, sir," wliinpercil tlie incoirigiblfl jriter, ns lie pawod ilia
buck of fiis faUi«r'i chair. " Uol-iv«tcr bottleB lo the solea of hi*
nnd a tnusutrd planter on llie pit of his stonuioh — itisl's tlio
trentment."
"Sit ilotvn, Bail) wood,'' anid Peilgift Senior, wlicn llicy w«ra nloM
" And don't furgel tlint time's mon^y. Oul wllli it, \vl:9t«vei it is, at ibo
qiuckcst pDssilik rate, nnd in tlii; fcwcttt powlljle words."
Tlici^u preliminnry directions, bluolly but not at oil vnkiDdljr tpoleiii
ratlin increased than dimiaiRlicd the pniiiful agitation uttder vliicli
Rlr. Boshwood was sinTcring. He stamin(^re<l more holplcfulj*, he trenh
Med tnote cotitliiuouxly ih.in itmial, ns he made Lis jiicle speecli of thank^
and added li'u apulngiud nt the end fur intruding on liis patron in husiucM
hours.
" Evci-ybody in the pkcc, Mr. Pc'dgift, «!r, Unoivs your time il
valuabic. Oh, dgnr, job I oli, donr, yc» I nioftt valuable, most valualjle
Kxouu nie, air, I'm coming out with it. Ycnir goodness — or taUier j'
btisineas — no, jour goodneea gave me half-no-hour to wait — nnd 1 baT«'
thought of what I hwl to tj\y, and prcpiircd it, and put it nhort," Hiiv,
got A» far a« tliat, hi: stopped nilU a pained, bewildered look. Hi
put it away in ]iis tnemorj', nnd now, when tht time caroe, ho vri
confused Ui find ii. And there w.ia Mr. I'^Igift mutely waiting; liia &oe
and manner alike cxpressivo of tliat eilont ecnse oi the value of hia own
time, which every iiatiL'nt who has visited a great doctor, every client wlio
hua consulted a hwyer in large pruclice, knowa so well. " Have yoa
hcanl the news, sir 1 " stammored AEr. Bnshwood, ahifling Lis ground ifl
despair, and letting the tippemost idea in bis mind eacajK! him, ainplf
bcuauec it was the one idea in liim that was ready to come out,
*' Does it CMirem mr f " linked Pedzift Senior, mcreik'SHly brief, and
mercilewly Btridght in coming to the pDint.
' " It eoiiccras a laily, "ir, — no, not a lady — n young man I ought ta
aay, in whom you used to feel some interest. Oh, Mr, Pedgift, sir, whal
do you think ! Mr. Annadalc nnd 'M'lSi Gnilt linvo gone up to Londoa
together to-dny — alone, sir — alone iu a cniringe rwcTved for their two
selves. Do you think hc'a going to many hcr7 Do jou really thinly
like the rest of them, lie's going to marr)' her ? "
He pQt the question with a sudden (lush in hit fiice, and a auddi
energy in hin manner. Hi.■^ atnau of the vnlue of thu lawyer's time, h!i
conviction of tho greatnesa of the lawyer's! condescension, hia eonstitatioiial'
Fliynesa and limidiry — all yielded together to his one overwhelming interert
in lieanng Mr. Pcdgid's auewer. He was loud for the GxiA time in hia life,
In putting the question.
"After my experience of Mr. Armadale," said the lawyer, instantly
hardening in look and manner, " I believe him to be infatuated enough loi
marry Miss Owilt a dozen times over, if SILss Gwilt chose to atk him.
Yoar news dot-Fo't Biirprisc mc in the leaet, BaahwooJ. I'm Eony fiw
AltMASALR. 97
him, I can honesLlj' say that, though he has set my advice at defiance.
And Fm more sorry Bttll," he coDtinued, Boftening ngain as hie mind
reverted fo his interriew with Neelie tinder the Irees of the park ; " I'm
more sony atill for another person who shall be nameless. Bat what have I
lodowith all this? andwliat on earth is the matter with you 7" he resumed,
Doticiog for the first time the abject misery in Mr. Bashwood's manner,
the blank despair in Mr. Basbwood's face, which his answer had produced.
"Are yon ill? Is there something behind the curtain that you're afraid
b> bring oat 7 I don't understand it. Have you come here — here in my
printe nx)m, in business hours — with nothing to tell me but that young
Aniudale has been fool enongh to ruin fais prospects for life? Why, I
finmw it bU weeks since, and what is more, I as good ns told him so at
tie last conTersation I had with him in the great house."
At those last words, Mr. Baahwood suddenly rallied. The lawyer's
juang reference to the great house had led him back in a moment to the
pnipoat that he had in Tiew.
"That's it, sir I " he stud eagerly ; " that's wliat I wanted to speak to
you about ; that's what Tve been preparing in my mind. Mr. Pcdgifl,
ni, the last time you were at the great house, when you came away in
joar gig, you — ^you overtook me on the drive."
"I daresay I did," remark^ Pedgift, resignedly. " My msre happens
to be ■ trifle quicker on her legs than yon are on yours, Bashwood. Go
on, go on. We sliall come in time, I suppose, to what you are driving at."
" Ton stopped, and spoke to me, sir," proceeded Mr. Bashwood, adyan-
Mg more and more eagerly to his end. " Tou said you suspected me of
feeling some curiosity about Miss Gwilt, and you told me (I remember
the exact words, air) — you told me to gratiiy my curiosity by all means,
for you didn't object to it,"
Pedgiil Senior begnn for the first time to look interested in hearing
more.
" I remember something of the sort," he replied ; " and I also remember
lliiiking it rather remarkable that you should happen — we won't put it in
My more offensive way — to be exactly under Mr. Armadale's open window
*hile I nas talking to him. It might have been accident of course ; but
it looked rather more like curiosity. I could only judge by appearances,"
mnclnded Pedgift, pointing his sarcasm with a pinch of snuff; "and
•ppetranceg, Bashwood, were decidedly against you."
"I don't deny it, air. I only mentioned the circumi^tance because I
^i'lied to acknowledge that 1 was curious, and am curious about Miss
G«ilt."
"Why?" asked Pedgift Senior, seeing something under the surface
io Mr. Basbwood's face and manner, but utterly in the dark thus far as
'o what that something might be.
^ere was silence for a moment. The moment passed, Mr. Bnsliwood
^^ the refuge usually taken by nervous unready men, placed in his
^reonBtsnces, when they are nt a loss for an answer. He simply reitersiited
98 ARMADALC.
the assertion that fao bad jujit made, " I fed Bomfl curioaity, eir," he said,
with n strange mixture of dc^ednen and timidity, " about HiH
Gwilt."
There was another moment of nlence. In spite of his practised
acutencsB and knowledge of the world, the lawyer was more poszled than
ever. The case of Mr. Bashwood presented the one human riddle of all
others, which he was least qualified to solve. Though year aAer yetiT
witnesKs, in thousands and thousands of cases, the remorseless disinheriting
of nearest and dearest relations, the unnatural breaking-up of sacred
family ties, tlio deplorable sercnince of old and firm fHendships, dii«
entirely to tho intense self- absorption wbioh the sexual pasrion can
prodiice when it enters the heart of an old man, the association of lova
with infirmity and grey hairs arouses, nerertheless, all the world over,
no other idea than the idea of extravagant improbability or extmvagant
absurdity in the general mind. If the interview now taking plsoe in
Mr. Pedgifl's consulting-room had tnken place at his dinner-table instead,
when wine had opened his mind to humorous influences, it is possible
that he might, by thu time, have susitoctcd the truth. But, in hii
business hours, Pedgift Senior was in the habit of investigating men'a
molivcB Bcriously from the business point of view ; and he was on that
very account simply incapable of conceiving any improbability so startling,
any absurdity so enormous, as the absurdity and improbability of Mr,
Bashwood'a being in love.
Some men in the lawyer's position would have tried (o force their
way to enlightenment by obstinately repeating the unanswered question.
Fedgill Senior wisely postponed the question until he had moved the
conversation on another step. " Well," he resumed, "let us say you feel
a curiosity about Miss Gwilt. What next ? "
The pnlms of Mr. Bnshwood's hands bognn to moisten under the
influence of his agitation, as they had moistened in the pnst days when he
liad told the story of his domestic sorrows to Midwinter at the great
house. Once more he rolled his handkerchief into n ball, and dabbed
it BoAty to and fro from one hand to the other.
" May I ask if I am right, sir," ho began, " in believing that yon
have a very unfaTOurahlo opinion of Miss Gwilt 7 You are quite con-
vinced, I think "
" My good fellow," interrupted Pcdgift Senior, " why need you be in
any doubt about it 7 You were under Mr. Armadale's open window all
the while I was talkirg to him ; and your earv, I presume, wore not
absolutely tJmt."
Mr. Bashwood showed no sense of the interruption. The little sting
of the lawyer's enrcaem was lo^t in the nobler pain that wrung him from
the wound inflicted by Miss Gwilt.
" You are quite convinced, I think, sir," he resumed, " that there are
circumstances in this lady's past life, which would be highly diacredit-
nble to her if they wera diKOT«r«d at the pment time 7 "
AltHADALE. 99
"Tbc nindoTT wns open at the grent house, Bnahivooii; and your
cut, I presume, vera not absolutely shut."
Still impenetrable to the sting, Mr. Bashwood persisted more obsti-
Mtd^ than ever.
" Unless I am greatly mistaken," ho said, "yonr long experience in
rich things baa even smggeated to you, sir, that Miss Gwilt might turn
oU to be known to the police 7 "
Fedgift Senior's patience gave way. "Tou have been over ten
ndmites in this room," he broke out ; " can you, or can you not, tell me in
]iua English vhat you want 7 "
In plain Engli^ — vith the passion that had tranBibrmed him, the
pMBon which (in Miss Gwilt's own words) had mode a man of him,
boning in bis haggard cheeks — Mr. Bashwood met the challenge, and
&ced the lawyer (as the worried abeep faces the d<^) on his own ground.
"Iwish to say, sir," he answered, " that your opinion in this matter
i) my opinion too, I believe there is something wrong in Miss Gwilt'a
put life, which ahe keeps concealed from everybody — and I want to be
the nun who knows it."
Pedgift Senior saw his chance, and instantly reverted to the question
Ihit he had postponed. " Why 7 " be asked for the second time.
For the second time, Mr. Bashwood hedtated. Gould he acknowledge
that he had been mad enough to love her, and mean enough to be a spy
it her 7 Could he say, She has deceived me from the first, and she bos
^MBtted me now lier object is served. After robbing me of my happiness,
rebbing me of my honour, robbing me of my last hope left in life, she has
gene from me for ever, and left me nothing but my old man's longing, slow
■nd riy, and strong and cliangeless, for revenge. Revenge that I may
hiiTe, if I can poison her success by drugging her frailties into the public
«EW. Revenge that I will buy (for what is gold or what ia life to me 7)
*ith the last farthing of my hoarded money and the last drop of my
■tignant blood. Could he say that to the man who sat waiting for his
■niwer? No : he could only crush it down and be silent.
The lawyer's expression began to harden once more.
"One of us must speak out," he said; "and, as you evidently
*Dn't, I will. I can only account for this extraordinary an.^iety of yours
to make yourself acquainted with Miss Gwilt's secrets, in one of two
*»ji. Your motive is either an excessively mean one (no offence,
Buhwood, I am only putting the case), or an excessively generous one.
After my experience of your honest cliarncter and your creditable
wndnct, it is only your due that I should absolve yon at once of the
"wan motive. I believe you are as incapable as I am — I can say no
"lore — of turning to mercenary account any discoveries you might make
to Miss Gwilt's prejudice in Miss Gwilt's past life. Shall I go on any
^iirtherT or would you prefer, on second thoughts, opening your mind
ffankjy to me of your own accord 7 "
" I ihonld prefer not interrupting you, sir," swd Mr. Bashwood.
100 AKMAPALE.
" Ab yoH please," piustied PcJgift Senior. " Having absolved you of
the meitn motive, I come to the generous motive next. It is possible that
Tou are an unuBually grateful man ; and it is certain that Mr. Armadale
lias been remarkably kind to you. After employing you under Mr.
Midwinter, in the steward's office, he lias had ronfidenGe enough in yaar
Lonesty and your capacity, now his friend has left him, to put his
business entirely and unreservedly in your hands. It's not in m^
experience of human nature — but it may be possible nevertheless — th.it
you are so gralefiitly sensible of that confidence, and so gratefully
interested in your employer's welfare, that you can't see liim, ia bis
friendless position, going straight to his own disgrace and ruin, without
making an effort to save him. To put it in two words. Is it your
idea that Mr. Armadale might be prevented from marryiog Miss Gwilt,
if he could be informed in time of her real character ? And do yoa
wish to be the man who opens Lis eyes to the truth 7 If that is
the case "
He stopped in astonishment. Acting under some uncontrollable
impulse, Mr. Bashwood had started to his lt;ct. He stood, with his
withered face lit up by a ituddeii irradiation from within, which made him
look younger than his age by a good twenty years — he stood, gasping for
breath enough to speak, and gesticulated cntreatingly at the lawyer with
both hands.
"Say it again, sir 1" ho burst out eagerly; recovering his breath,
before Pcdgift Senior had recovered his surprise. " The question about
Mr. Armadale, sir 1 — only onoc more I — only once more, Mr. Fedgift,
please ! "
With his practised obEervatlon closely and distrustfully at work on
Mr. Bashwood's face, Pedgifl Senior motioned to him to sit down again,
and put the question for the second time.
"Do I think," said Mt. Bashwood, repeating the sense, but not the
words of the question, " that Mr. Armadale might be parted from Miss
Gwilt, if she could be shown to him as she really is ? Yes, sir I And do
I wish to be the man who does it? Yes, sir 1 yes, air ! 1 yes, sir ! ! ! "
"It's rather strnnge," remarked the lawyer, looking at him more and
more distrustfully, "that you should be bo violently agitated, sim[dj
because my question happens to have hit tlie mark."
The question happened to have hit a mark which Pedgift little dreamed
of. It had released Mr. Bashwood's mind in an instant, from the dead
pressure of his one dominant idea of revenge, and had shown him a
purpose to be achieved by the discovery of Miss Gwill's secrets, which liad
never occurred to him till that moment. The marriage which he had
blindly regarded as inevitable, was a marriage that might be stopped
•^not in Allan's interests, but in his own — and the woman whom
he believed that he had lost, might yet, in spite of circumstances,
be A woman won 1 His brnin whirled as he thought of it His own
roused resolatioo almost danntod him, by its terrible incongruity with
ABMADALE. IQl
ill the fiuuiliar liabits of his mind, and all the customary proceedings
of his life.
Finding liis last remark unanswered, Pedgift Senior considered & little,
belbn; he said anything more.
"One thing is clear," reaaoned the lawyer with himself. "His true
motive in ihia matter, is a motive which he is afraid to avow. My ques-
ticQ eridently offered him a chance of misleading me, and he has accepted
it on the spot. That's enough for me. If I vaa Mr. Armadale's lawyer,
iBe inyAery might be worth investigating. As things are, it's no inte-
mt of mine to hmit Mr. Bashwood from one lie to another, till I run
bim to earth at last. I have nothing whatever to do with it ; and I shall
fcsTE him free to follow his own roundabout courses, in his own round-
il»at way." Having arrived at that conclusion, Pedgift Senior pushed
back his chair, and rose briskly to terminate the interview.
"Don't be alarmed, Baahwood," he began. "The subject of our
WDvereation is a subject exhausted, so far as I am concerned. I have
«ily ■ few last words to say, and it's a habit of mine, as you know, to
Bj my last words on my legs. Whatever else I may bo in Ae dark
•boat, I have made one discovery, at any rate. I have found out what you
nally want with me — at last I You want me to help you,"
"If you would be eo very, very kind, sir?" stammered Mr. Bashwood.
"If yon would only give me the great advantage of your opinion and
khice ?
"Wait a bit, Bashwood. Wo will separate those two things if you
pkaee. A lawyer may offer an opinion like any other man ; but when a
iiner gives his advice — by the Lord Harry, sir, it's Prolessional ! You're
Welcome to my opinion in this matter; I have disguised it from nobody.
I bflievc there have been events in Miss Gwilt's career, which (if tliey
<^iiM be di»:overed) would even make Mr. Armadale, infatuated as he is,
*fraid to marry her — Eupposing, of course, that he really is going to many
*iv; for though the appearances are in favour of it bo far, it is only an
*wanption after all. As to the mode of proceeding by which the blots on
tliis woman's character might or might not be brought to light in time
—the may be married by licence in a fortnight if she likes — that is a
branch of the question on which 1 positively decline to enter. It implies
"pttting in my character as a lawyer, and giving you, what I decline
patively to give you, my professional advice,"
" Oh, sir, don't say that 1 " pleaded Mr. Bashwood, " Don't deny me
^t great favour, the inestimable advantage of your advice ! I have such
» poor head, Mr. Pedgift ! I am bo old and so slow, air, and I get so
■^y startled and worried when I'm tlirown out of my ordinary ways,
"1 qnite natural you should be a little impatient with me for taking up
jMtt time — I know 1;hat time is money, to a clever man like you. Would
1^ eicuK me — would you please excuse me, if I venture to say that I
"^■n ttTed a little something, a few pounds, sir ; and being quite lonely,
^ nobody dependent on me, I'm sure I may spend my savings as I please ? "
102 AUMADALE.
Blind to every consideration but the ouc couwderation of propitiating
Mr. Pedgift, he took otit a dingy, ragged old pocket-book, and tried, with
trembling fingers, to open it on the lawyer's tabic.
" Put your pocket-book back directly," said Pedgift Senior. •' Richer
men than you have tried that ailment ^vith rac, and have found that then
in Buch a thing (off the stage) as a lawyer who is not to be bribed, I will
have nothing to do with the case, under existing oiroumstances. If yon
want to know why, I heg to inform you that Miss Gwilt ceased to
be profession ally intcrc<iting to me on the day when I cesaed to bo
Mr. Armadale's iawj-cr. I may have other reasons beudes, which I don't
tliink it necessary to mention. Tlie reason already f^vea ia explicit*
enough. Go your own way, and take your reapongibility on your own
aliaulders. You maif venture within reach of Miaa Gwilt'a claws, and
come out again without being scratched. Time will show. In the mean-
while, I wish you good-morning — and I own, to my shame, that I never
knew till to-day what a hero you were."
This time, Mr. Bashwood lett the sting. Without another word of
ozpostulation or entreaty, without oven saying " Good-morning " on his
side, he walked to the door, opened it softly, and lefl the room.
The parting look in hia fece, and the sudden silence that had fallen on
him, were not lost on Pedgift Senior. " Bashwood will end badly," said
the lawyer, shuffling his papers, and returning impenetrably to his inters
ruplcd work.
The change in Mr. Bashwood's face and manner to something dogged
and self-contained, was go atartlingly uncharacteristic of hiin, that it even
forced itself on the notice of Pedgift Junior and the clerks, as he pawed
through the outer office. Accustomed to make the old man their butt,
they took a boisterously comio view of the marked alteration in bim.
Deaf to the mercileu raillery with which he waa asKiiled on all sides, he
stopped opposite young Pedgift ; and looking him attentively in the face,
said, in a quiet absent manner, like a man thinking aloud, " I wonder
whether t/ou would help me 7 "
" Open an account instantly," said Pedgift Junior to the clerks, *' ia
the name of Mr. Bashwood. Place a chair for Mr. Bashwood, with a foot-
stool close by, in case he wants it. Supply me with a quire of extra double-
wove satin paper, and a gross of picked quills to take notes of Mr. Bash-
wood's case ; and inform my lather instantly that I am going to leave
him and set up in business for myself, on the strength of &Er. Bosh-
wood's patronage. Take a scat, air, pray take a seat, and express your
feelings freely."
Still impenetrably deaf to the raillery of which he was the object,
Mr. Bashwood waited until Pedgift Junior had exhausted himself, and then
turned quietly away.
" I ought to have known better," he said, in the same abuent manner M
bcfOTe. " Uc is hia father's eon all over — he would make game of nM
ABUADALE. 108
on my dwthbed." He paused a moment at the door, mechaoically brusliing
Ilia Ikat vith hia hand, and went out into the street.
The bright sunshiiie dazzled his eyea, the passing vehiales and foot-
[UKngers startled and be^vUdered faim. He Bhranlc into a by-street, and -
put hia hand over hia eyes. " Td better go home," he thought, " and shut
D^Kir up, and think about it in my owa room."
His lodging was in a small house, in the poor quarter of the town.
Ht let himself in with his key, and stole softly upstairs. The one little
room he poeacesed met him cruelly, look round it where he might, with
nleot memorials of Miss GwUt. On the chimney-piece were the flowers she
bd pvea him at various times, all withered long since, and all prexerred
(0 a little china pedestal, protected by a glass shade. On the wall hung
itretched colonred print of a woman, which he had caused to be nicely
ihacd and glazed, because there was a look in it that reminded him of
1h Due. In his clumsy old mahogany writing-desk were the few
kuti, brief and peremptory, which she had written to him at the time
vhen be was watching and listening meanly at Thorpe- Ambroso to please
Iff. And when, turning his back on these, he sat down wearily on his
K4-bedstesd — there, hanging otct one end of it, was the gaudy cravat
of bine Eatin, which he had bought because she had told him she liked
titight coloun, and which he had never yet had the courage to wear, though
b lad taken it out morning ailer morning with the resolution to put it
ml Habitually quiet in hia actions, habitually restrained in his lan-
p^tj he now seized the cravat as if it was a living thing that could tee],
ud fliug it to the other end of the room with an oath.
The time passed ; and still, though hia resolution to stand between
^ Gwiit and her marriage remained unbroken, he was as far as ever
irm discovering the means which might lead him to his end. The more
Ik tbught and thought of it, the darker and the darker his course in the
Auare looked to him.
' He rose again, as wearily as he had sat down, and went to his cup-
boud. " I'm feverish and thirsty," he said j " a cup of tea may help
"■e." He opened his canister, and measured out hia small .illowance of
Iti, less carefully than usual. " Even my own hands won't serve me
Msy ! " he thought, as he scraped together the few grains of tea that he
W ipilt, and put thero carefully back in the canister.
In that fine summer weather, the one fire in the house was the kitchen-
^t Uo went downMairs for the boiling water, with his teapot in his
Wd.
Kobody but the landlady was in the kitchen. She was one of the
Buy English matrons whose path through this world is a patli of thorns ;
I'd who take a dismal pleasure, whenever the opportunity is afforded
<Wi, in inspecting the scratched and bleeding feet of other people iu
■ like condition with tliemselvee. Her one vice was of the lighter sort —
^ Ties of cariosity ; and among the many counterbalancing virtues she
F^wtsKd, was the virtue of greatly respecting Mr. Bashwood, as a lodger
104 AltMADALE.
Tvhose reut was regularly puid, and wliosc ways wcro always quiet and
civil from oiie year's end to anotlier.
" What did yoa please to want, sir ? " asked the landlady. " Boiling
water, is it ? Did you ever know the water boil, Mr. Baahwood, wbea
you wanted it ? Did you ever see a sulkier fire than that 7 I'll put a
stick or two in, if you'll wait a little, and give me tLe chance. Dear,
dear mc, you'll excuse my mentioning it, sir, but liow poorly you do look
to-day ! "
The strain on Mr, Basfawood's mind was beginning to tell. Some*
tiling of tlie helplessness which he had shown at the station, appeared
again ia Lis face and manner as he put his teapot on the kitchen-table,
and sat down.
" I'm Id trouble, ma'am," he said quietly ; " and I find trouble gets
haider to bear than it iised to be."
" Ah, you may well Bay that I " groaned the landlady, " Fm readj for
the undertaker, Mr. Bashwood, when mi/ time comes, whatever you maj
be. You're too lonely, sir. When you're in trouble it's some heljK—
though not much — to shift a share of it off on another person's shoulders.
If your good lady had only been alive now, sir, what a comfort you would
have found her, wouldn't you ? "
A momentary spasm of pain passed across Mr. Basliwood's face. The
hindlady had ignorantly recalled him to the misfortunes of his married lift,
lie had been long since forced to quiet her curiosity about his family
affairs, by telling her that he was a widower, and that his domestic circum-
stances had not been happy ones ; but he had taken her no further into
his confidence than this. The sad stoiy which he had related to Mid-
winter, of his drunken wife who had ended her miserable life in a lunatic
asylum, was a story which he Iiad shrunk from confiding to the talka-
tive woman, who would have confided it in her turn to cveiy one elaeain
the house.
" What I always say to my husband, when he's low, sir," pursued the
landlady, intent on the kettle, " is, ' Wliat would you do now, Sam, with-
out Me 7 * When his temper don't get the better of him (it will boil
directly, Mr. Bashwood), he says, ' Elizabeth, I could do nothing.' Wbca
his temper does get the better of him, ho says, ' I should try the public-
house, missus ; and I'll try it now.' Ah, I've got my troubles I A man
with grown-up sons and daughters, tippling in a public-house I I don't
call to mind, Mr. Bashwood, whetlier you ever had any sons and daugh-
ters? And yet, now I think of it, I seem to fancy you said yes, you bad.
Daughters, sir, weren't they? — and, ah, dear I dear! to bo aurel all dead."
" I had one daughter, ma'am," said Mr. Bashwood, patiently — " Only
cnc, who died before she was a year old."
" Only one I " repeated tho eympathinng landlady. " It's aa near
boiling aa it ever will be, sir; give me the teapot. Only one I Ah, it
comes heavier (don't it 7) when it's an only child? You said it wm an
only child, I think, didn't you, air 7 "
AUUADAI.B. 105
For a moment, Mr, Basliwooil looked at tlio woman with vacant eyes,
aud without attempting to answer her. After ignorant]/ recalling the
memory of the wife who Lad disgraced him, she was now, as ignoraotly,
ibroQg him back on the miserable remembrance of the son who had
mined and dcaerted him. For the first time, since he had told his story
U Midwinter, nt their introductory interview in the great house, his
niod reverted once more to the bitter disappointment and disaster of the
puL Again, he thought of the bygone days, when he hud become
Kcurily for his son, and when that son's dishonesty had forced him to sell
einything lie possessed, to pay the forfeit that was exacted when the
iiriatirns due. " I have a son, ma'am," }ie said, becoming conscious that
dx Uitdlady was looking at liim in mute and melancholy surprise. " I
U my best to help him forward in the world, and he has behaved very
bidly to me."
"Did he now?" rejoined the landlady, with an appearance of the
potest interest. " Behaved badly to you — almost broke your heart,
Ut be 7 Ah, it will come home to him, sooner or later. Don't you
te! Honour your father and mother, wasn't put on Moses's tables of
>tne for nothing, Mr. Bashwood, Whore may he be, and what is he
4^ LOW, sir ? "
The question was in cfiect almost the same as the question which
^winter bad put when the circumstances liad been described to him.
AtUr. Bashwood had answered it on the former occafflon, so (in nearly
iIk ame words) he answered it now.
"Uy son is in Jjondon, ma'am, for all I know to the contrary. He
lai employed, when I last heard of him, in no very creditable way, at the
P- «e Inquiry Office "
M those words, lie suddenly checked himself. His face flushed, his
tjcs brightened ; he pushed away the cup which had just been filled fur
W, ud rose from his seat. The landlady started back a step. There
*i> Kmething in her lodger's face that she had never neen in it before.
"I hope I've not offended you, sir," said the woman, recovering her
■^-possession, and looking a little too ready to take offence on her side,
HamomeDt'B notice.
"Far from it, ma'am, far from it ! " he rejoined in a strangely eager,
™med way. " I have just remembered something — something very im-
portut. I must go upstairs — it' s a letter, a letter, a letter. I'll come back
""oy tea, ma'am. I beg your pardon, I'm much obliged to yon, you've
''Wi very kind — I'll say good-by, if you'll allow me, for the present." To
tie ludUdy's amazement, he cordially shook hands with her, and made
it tbe door, leaving tea and teapot to take care of themselves.
Tbe moment he reached his own room, he locked himself in. For a
''■lie while he stood holding by the chimney-piece, waiting to recover liis
"'^. The moment he could move again, he opened his writing-Jesk
» the Ubie. " That for you, Mr. Pedgift and Hon ! " he said, with a
nif of his fingers as ho sat down. " I've got a son too I "
VOL. XIU,— KO. 73. &•
loe
lADALB.
'
11)vi-c WM • kooc^ at the door — a Iciicok, soft, conuderaLe, and ««-
fidi-utinl. The aaxiotu landlady wUbed to know wheihcr Mr. BAsttwood
vn m, Mad "biggii lo iniimato for the eecond time, that aiia
ti'ustcd ■lio bad given biiti no olftince.
" No 1 HO I " ha cjklled tliTc*iig]] tJio door. *' I'm quite well — Fi
wilting, mn'iiin, I'm U'riliiig — pttSM Co vxcuao inc. 8liu'a « good
woman; ahe'B aa cxo.-llt.nt woiiibji," h« tlioiight whcii llio land
liad retired. " I'll muk« h«r a little presc-nt. Uy maiTa bo usi
I miglit narer have thought of it but for her. Oil, if mj Iwy
M tlie qS!c« atiU 1 OIi, if 1 caa oa\j writo a k'ttcr that will mako
pity mo I "
Ilti took up LiH pcD, mid eiiI lliinkiiig anxiotmly, llilnking long,
lie toudivd ihft paper. Slowly, wilU miuiy patiuit puuMa to think «d
lltinlc ngain, and ivitii more than ordinnry enrc ta make bis intib
legible, lie U'oced tlieec linCT : —
"My bSMi. Jamkh, — You wiJI bo Mirpriticd, I aiu aA lid, to sra my banj
wnling. Tray doo't euppMii I uin going to ask you for mone;, cv t
mproitcli you for having sold uo out of hotiec and hoioc when you foriuH
yonr nccuriiy, and I liad to pay. I nm willing;, nnd anxioiw, 10 let bygoni
be bygonoa, and to forgot tlic post.
" It la in your power (if jou are allU at thu Privatu Inquiry Offio»)M
do me a g^cai scrvico. I am ia aorc anxiety aud uoublr, on tbc aubjcei t
a person in wbom I am inlt-retileii. The petvi^a is a lady. PicBK W
make gaiuu of lue for tonJesung lliin, if yoa can h«lp it. Jt yon kae*
wEiut 1 am now buUViiug, J think you would bo mor^i iaclia«d lo pity dtt
io make game ofme.
" I would enter into psniculurs, only I know your quick temper,
1 fear exhauating y&iir patience. I'oj'hnj-*, it may b« t'uviigh to lay, iW
J have rtiaion lo bi>li«V6 tli« l^idy'a put lile lias not been n very cnditakl
one, and that I aoi iuti^eated — mora iiitcresU'd than worda can lell— H
finding out what licr life has really be«n, and in making the diMomf
within II furinigbt from the preaciU time.
"ThoKgli I know very liulo about the wnyH of l^u^lucsa in anctf^l
like youia, I uun undcitilund tliut, wiihcnit iirtt having tb« lady 'a fvtaQi'
flddrcM, nolliiiig can bv doDu to help me. Unfortuaatcly, I am aol
ac<)uaisted witli her present addreu. 1 cnly know thai aha went to W^
lo-day, Bouoinpauicd by n gentleman, in whose employment I now m
and wliu (iid 1 UlicTc)nill h« likely to write to me for money befora maBf
daye moi-e are over liii htod.
" Is this circtmmtnncc of a nnlurc to hi^Ip u» 7 I Tentare in aaj '
bocantc I count already, my ik-ar boy, on your kind asuBtanoe •"
advice. Don't let money auiiid between uh — I have fnvod aliltl<BMi>*
tktng, and it ia all freely at your diMpoMil. Piay, piay wril« to ns 19
return of post ! If you will only try your bout to end tho drcftdful *■
peosc uuder w1)ic1i I am now mlTerinj;, you will a.tonc for nil itia g^'
AUMADALE. 107
ud duappoiDtmeot you caused mo in times tli»t are past, and you -will
nutiar w obligation thiit lie will never forget, on,
" Your afiectionato Father,
"Fjclix Baahwood."
Afler waiting a little, to dry bii eyea, Mr. Baahwood added tlie duto
and address, and directed the letter to hia son, at " The Private Inquiry
Office, Shadyside Place, IjoadoQ." That done, he went outat once, and
poded bis letter with his own hands. It was then Monday ; and, if the
iwrar waa Bent by return of poit, the answer would bo received on
Wednesday morning.
Tbe interval day, the Tuesday, was passed by Mr. Boshwood in the
tiewud'i office at the great house. He had a double motive for absorbing
liimitlf as deeply as might be in tha various occupations connected with
t))e management of the estate. In the first place, employment helped him
loccntrol the devouring impatience with which he looked for the coming
cf tin next day. In the second place, the more forward he was with the
buiiiMs of the office, tha mora {roe he would be to join his son in London,
vidiout attracting auspioiou to himself by openly neglecting the interests
^sced under hia charge.
Towards the Tuesday afternoon, vagoc rumoors of something wrong
U llie cottage, found their way (through Mf^or Milroy's servants) to the
Kmnts at the great house, and attempted inefivctually through this
kia channel to engage the attention of Mr. Bashwood, impenetrably
tied oa other things. The major and Miss Keelie had been shut up
l^lhar in mysterious conference i and Miea Neclie's appearance after the
dote of the interview, plainly showed that she had been crying. This
W happened on tha Monday afternoon ; and on the next day (that
pKttDt Tuesday) the major had startled the household by announcing
liriefly that his daughter wanted a change to the air of the lea-side, and
Hat he proposed taking her himself, by the next train, to Lowestoft. The
Ivo bad gone away together, both very serious and silent, but both,
■pparently, very good friends, for all that. Opinions at the great house
utributed this domestic revolution to the reports current on the subject
"t Albn and Misa Gwilt. Opinions at tbe cottage rejected that solution
or (he difficulty, oa practical grounds. Miss Neelie had remained inacces-
bbly ihut up in her own room, ftom the Monday afternoon to tbe Tuesday
■UTung when her father took her away. The major, during the same
uiwal, had not been out«do the door, and had spoken to nobody. And '
Un. Slilroy, at the first attempt of her new attendant to inform her of
the prevailing scandal in the town, had seoled the servant's lips by flying
isio oofl of her terrible passions, the instant Misa Gwilt's name was men-
lioBed. Something must have happened, of course, to take Major Milroy
ud his daughter so suddenly from home — but that something was cer-
iVDly Dot Mr. Armadale's scandalous elopement, in broad daylight, with
Mill Gwilt.
6— a
lOB
AlUIADATX
TliQ ii^iRooii pftRWi], mid tliL> cvcniutj jxisstd, and ao other «t
ha|){ienad but ihc purely piivato and [>crsonivl cveal wliicb bad taktaj
place at tlio colUigp, Nolliing ouciirreil {foe nothing in llic nature of'
things coutcl occur) to di.<»ipate tiic deliiflioo on wliicb SIibs Gwill Iiail .
cuuutcd — the diluBiwa ivliieli all Thorpe- Am bro«c now shared witJi ^
Mr. Bashwood, that sbe Itnd gone |)riviitely la LnnduA witb Albm, in lfa«
clianjcter <if Allans Auure wifu.
On tlio WcHnesdny morning, ttie postman, entering iho Etreel in wlick
Mr, fijwliwood lived, was c:icountere(l by Mr. Basliwood himself, BOcngrT
ti) knnw if tiiuie vius a ktiet (at him, tiubl Uc h».i coni« out vritbouthii
hnl. There teat a kttur for him — tJio letter Pint lie longed for rroni hit
viigaboud son.
These were tlic terms, in which Boshwood th« younger aaswered hit
f!ilber*9 supplication for hdf — after having previously luined LU btlic'l
ptoapccta for life : —
" Shfti1r«idc PIum, Tnrndtty. .Taly W.
" Mr HEAR Dab, — We have (ome litlle practice ia dealing with mysteri*
ftt this ofKce; but the mystery of your letter buala mc altogether. Are
you speculating on the interesting hidden fnultics of some chonaiog
woninn ? Or, after your cxppriotice of mntrimony, arc ycu ncttially goinj
to give lue a stepmother at this lime of day 7 Whiclierer it is, njiOD By,
liA> your letter intercuts ni«.
" I am not jolciny, mind, — though the tomptalion is not an easy one loj
rcsiet. On tbn coutnury, I have givLO you n quarlL-r of an hour of Vf'
vuluublu tiniu Alrnuly. The place you date from sounded somehow
Jiliiiiiiar Vo me. I rifurrcd batk to the memorandum book, and found iW
I was sent down to Tliorpc- Ambrose to muke private inquiries net rCj '
long once. My eDii>lcyer was a lively old Irnly, who was too ely to ^re ulj
her right name and addrL>ss. Ae a raatur cif connsc, wc set lo work
once, nnil futiml «ut x*ho tho was. Her onmo is Mrs. Oldciahav — and "
you think of tier for my sttpmotber, I strongly recommend yaa to 1^1**^
again before you make licr Mxs. Bashwood. ■
■' ]f it ia not Mrs. Older&hatv, then nil I can du, so far, is to tell y<^^
how you may find out the unknown lady's address. Como lo tomi yoa*"'
self, as Boon as you get the letter you expect from the gentleman who U*"
gone nway with Iier ([ hope he is not a handsome young man, for yo**'
saki;) i and call here. 3 will send sointbody lo help you in watching t*-**
hotel or lodging; and if he communicntee with the lady, or the lady wi**
him, you may consider her address diacovwred fjom that nioniont. Otx*^
let me identify her, and know where tJie is, — and you ahall sou all h»**^
charming little seereta ns plainly as ycm see the paper on vhicJi j***
nffcctiounte son is now writiiif^ to you
"A word more about the terms. lain .ts willing as you arc U- "***
friends again; hut, though I own you wero out of pocket by me on*'''*
I cap't afford lo be out of pocket hy you. It must be understood tJ«**
J
ABMADALS. 109
yon ire ncswerablo for all the expenses of the inquiry. We may have to
employ ■ome of the tromec attached to this office, if your Iiidy is too widc-
ivake, or too nice-looking, to -be dealt with by a man. There will be
cib-hiie, and postage-stamps — admissions to public amusements, if she is
inclined that iniy — shillings for pew-openers, if ahe is serious, and takes
our people into churches to hear popular preachers, and so on. My own
TTofemonal services you shall have gratis ; but I can't lose by you as well .
Only remember that — and yon shall have your way. Bygones shall be
iTgooea, and we will forget the past.
" Tour affcclionato Son,
"James Bashwcmdd."
In the ecstasy of eeeing help placed at last within his reach, the father
put the son's atrocious letter to his lips. " My good boy I " he murmured
loderly. " My dear, good boy I "
He put the letter down, and fell into a new train of thought. The
Hxt question to face was the serious question of time. Mr. Pedgiil had
tcJi] liim Miss Gwilt might be married in a fortnight. One day of the
iorteeD had passed already, and another was passing. He beat his hand
iiBfBtieiitly on the table at his side, wondering bow soon the want of
Bcney would force Allan to write to him from London. " To-morrow ? "
lie td^ed himself. " Or next day 7 "
The morrow passed ; and nothing happened. The next day came —
>od the letter arrived 1 It was on business, as he had anticipated ; it asked
6^ money, as be had anticipated — and there, at the end of it, in n post-
•cript, waa the address added, concluding with the ivorda, " You may count
on my staying here till further notice."
He gave one deep gnsp of relief; and instantly busied himself — though
^t were nearly two hours to spare before the train started for London
-in packing hia bag. The last thing he put in was his blue satin cravat.
"She lifces bright colours," he said, " and she may see me in it yet 1 "
110
3ln ^ustrtalinii's ^mgWRjiions of (I^iijltiiid.
it IB nlwnvB {ntereating and often very mefut to Kngli»1i rea3cM to 1*«r
tJic opiniona of intelligent forcigncra witli reganl to tltcir countiy unJ
tlidr society; (tad perhcips the first impi'cuions of an AQsiralinn c«IoRi">
after tti'ftiitj'-five j'cara' nb^nce from Britaic, may be worth a litile slini-
tjon. TlioM who, like myacif, have left a prcvincja! part of the motJia-
ei^uiitiy wImjh very young, aoJ hnvo grown ui> nt ihc anltpodvl, mart
liftve as few pn^concrtviid iden* nTjmit Englaiiil a-t ntiy fwr^jgner. Our
knowledge lias boen LillteHft dei-ived from booka and ncwapapera, or fWo
coiirereatio'iii nith now-comcrs or friends vlio have bc«n on a virit to
I^ngliuid, and is necessarily rcry incomplete ; but at tlic aamc time IN
are of the. «]d Btoek, bom in Britain, and with a Iotr and reverence fa'H
gi'eat^ than any Anifiiniu cjiii jiojsibly have. N» Bpirlt of rlvnlty of
abtagonisni Uu> over ailsL-ii In uny of ih^ Auslraliau colouica to prtTWl
ns from taking the kindliest view of tho motlier-country. Attliougl) our
pditicnE institutions nrc difTcri-nt, mid our soein) distinctions lets marked)
we are still emphatically English; and it will talcc Bevcral gonentiaiit
huftrro wc can have a distinct national character of our own.
It miiy Ix; K^kcd whut tlicro cnii be to strike us as new or itrsage '^
we are no English in chaincter ? The cliiirocti^r may he tlio same, lint llw
circumslanc'CB are bo diflcicnl under vhich we Iiave grown up, ibiC*
cnnnot help being swrprised at much tbat wo nee and h«iiif. In oureaf^
ire liave an enorinuuH tnrrjtory (iparscly pcopk-il by an agricultnnlp
paatoral, and mining population, witli here and tlicre a town or ciljf I>iil'
on tlie eea-Qoast for the bsJco of imports and exports, and here nnil there a
township close to a gold field or n copper mine ; and in tlie odi« 03*4
you have a snaull eoontry dotted over with large nnd populous towW
conneoted togetlier by a network of railways, and crowded «ith indiatrioo*
workmen. With ua wo oaty produce the raw mnteriuJ, and nil cur eff*^
are direcl«d towards producing it with the jiiiiallest Rmount of kbonr-
TVith you all invention is on the stretch to make us much out of the r»*
material u possible, by labour and by machinery. In England all h^
IB private property, and is in Cvw handi*. In Australia .1 great proporti'"'
of tbo land in unappropriated, ontt held by Government in trust for ***
people; and tliose portions of it which are sold are in many Iiundu, aO°
oAcn transfeired. In England you. huve vnormono wealth side hyaiJcwi'" ■
groat want. In Aurtralta labour and the reward* of lubonr are m**'* I
equally divided. With you ilie sufirage is limited, witli ua it is all 1'"
uiuTciiul. Heroyouhavoa Stale church (ijiid many Diawctetw; in Auatntl'^'*
or at least in tlint prt of AuKtraUa in which I h.iTe grown op, there *'
a
AM AtreTftALUN'S 1MPRK8SI0NS OF ENGLAND. Ill
» endowment vfaaterer giren by the State to anj religious denomination.
Oar climate it bot and dry, with no winter snowa and no summer rains ;
OUT regetation is difiercnt, oar landscape aceneiy is different. So that,
I tbinV, it iniiBt be acknowledged that however English in character ajid
Ming « colonist may be, he is likely to see much that will strike him aa
ten when hs visits England virtaally for the first time in hia life.
Aod the first thing that strikes him forcibly is the taagnitude of the
tnms and cities, especially the enormons extent and population of Ijondon
—not the first day or the second, but afler living in it for a week or two,
nd Meing the miles of streets closely built and crowded with people in
fTcfy direction. He, accastomed to think a great deal about the carriage
tf goods and about road difficulties, can scarcely conceive bow anch masses
of people can possibly obtain their daily supplies of food and fuel, even by
tbe bewildering number of railways that radiate from the great metropolis.
H< lees little signs of manufactures, and he wonders how theso millions
tu get 0 living. Do they live off each other, or off the country in
|awnl ? Do foreigners, colonists, and provincials all flock to London to
be fleeced, that the city population may be supported 7 He feels as if
Saglud must be small indeed, to necessitate men to leave the healthful,
bray country, to crowd into the streets and courts and alleys of London,
MuMhester, Birmingtiam, and Glaagow. The contrast between the wealth
ml the poverty of England strikes him with a strange feeling of awe
tIks he compares the hideous slums of London with the miles of streets
B which no one can live on an income of less than a thousand, two
tlwuand, five thousand pounds n year^ or when, "in the season," he
twtrMta the splendid equipages, the beautiful horses, the liveried aer-
not], the pcrreclly appointed equestrians, the idle gentlemen, and the
tindiome and elegantly-dressed ladies in Hyde Park, with the ragged
bc^ars whom he meets at every street-corner. And yet, painful aa this
i<, how pleasant to an Australian home on a visit is London and London
sxiety. For the first time in his life he is nt leisure to see everything and
to enjoy everything; and for the first time in his life he finds other people
Tbo ire as idle as himself, and with whom he can visit or travel, or merely
•tnnter sbout London. It is only in London that one can find company
in idleness or pleasure-seeking. In all the great manufacturing towns life
i<i»buBy and rather more anxious than it is in Australia or the United
Stitei J and in small provincial towns there is too much exclusiveness for
Autralians to penetrate into society islicn on a short visit.
The great beauty of the English landscape, its uuduUtions, its soft-
>««, its wonderful variety of mountain, wood, and shore, impresses most
^ourably a visitor from our far south land. Its perpetual verdure
wntmsts with our pastures scorched up for many summer months. The
*<qnuito changes in the tints of the foliage of your Ibvest-treeB — lirom those
^ ipring, when the young leaves are " some very red, and some a glad
light green," as your oldest descriptive poet expresses it, to the luxuri.int
P*^tTj of summer, and then to the mellow and russet tints of autumn—
112 AN AUSTRALIAH'S DIPBESSIONS OF ENGT^ASD.
are always full of interest to eyes long accustomed to erergreen trees,
almost all of one genua, with long narrow pointed leaves. We have,
nevertheless, many very handsome trees, and I tliink the first im-
pression we have of your English trees is, that they are very amall
compared with ours ; and if we land, as I did, in the end of winter, the
leaflcasnesa is painfully cheerless. They also strike ua as different from
ours in having been planted and cared for by the hand of man, for onr
forest-trees do not slioot up straight to the light, or throw out their
branches symmetrically, as yours do; but as we watch &e devolopment of
the first bud into the tender leaf and the full foliage and the autumn
decay, these varieties socm to compensate for the months in which there is
not a leaf on the trees. The variety of foliage, too, in the beech, the
oak, the elm, the ash, the pine, the birch, the chestnut, the lime, and the
various firs and pines, makes us desire that we could add aa many
varieties to our gum-trees and wattles, and our stringy-bark fiireats.
Although no country of equal extent baa such a variety of natural
scenery as Great Britain, had she trusted merely to her indigcnoua trees,
the landscape of to-day would hare much leas beauty, and the gardens
would have shown a very different list of fruit-trees. We Australians have
imported and cultivated, with even greater success than in Europe, the
vine, the orange, the peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, apple and pear, the
fig, the almond, the olive, the loquat, the mulberr}', and the cherry-tree,
and under certain favouring conditions, we can grow the strawberry, the
raspberry, and the English currant ; so that though nature gives ns scarcely
one edible fruit in all the vast island of Australia, it is the very paradise
of fruit through the cultivation of what we can import. And I hope that
we shall add your forest-trees to ours with as much success.
To our eyes, accustomed to great stretches of plain and great ranges of
hills, the undulations, the valleys, the small mountain ranges, the narrow
belts of trees planted for shelter, or by way of ornament, the green hedge-
rows interspersed with occasional trees, the beauty of the numerous
rivers and of their banks, the great extent of sea-shore, with all the
Tarioua aspects of the coast — sandy, shingly, or rocky, and often green to
the water's edge, give us constant and great enjoyment. Above all
things, we admire your rivers, your lakes, and your mountain streams.
Even the recent exceptionally hot and dry summer is moist compared
to what I have been accustomed to ; and it is n curious coincidence
that the List Australian summer has been the longest and the driest
known for very many years. Engaged in a perpetual warfare with
the dryness of our climate, with a long summer, frequently rainless for
many months together even in our most favoured districts, and in the
interior sometimes rainless for eighteen months at a time, and with our
WHter-courses often quite dried up in summer, and our rivers frequently
lost in sandy plains before reaching the sen, we turn to your perenni^
streams witli an admiration you can scarcely understand. In all land-
acnpes, whether on canvaa or in nature, we prefer those where tlien ii
AH AUSTRALIAS'8 IMPKESSIONS OF ENGLAND. 113
fresh wster to be Eecu. The Bense of utility intensiGes the sense of
But, on the other hand, the careful cultivation of Britain, the utiliza-
tion of erery little bit of land (even the narrow ridgea on the sideB of the
nilvajB), the rarity of commons or waste land, gives us a painfiil impres-
rioD. We feel cribbed and cabined and confined. Colonial children rarely
like England; they do not like every place to be private property not to be
(repassed over. There ia no donbt that the concentration of all the
landed property in the kingdom into few hands, appears a much greater
ctU to those who have grown np in auch a country as Australia than to
thoK who have all their lives seen nothing else. Although I am not so
nnch of a Radical aa to soggest a division of property, I must say that I
tliisk every facility should be given to the transfer of land, and that
loffle step ahonld be taken to prevent the inheritance of colossal fortunes.
In DO country should there be any limit placed to what a man may
Kqoirc by industry and abstinence, but aa to what he may inherit, I think
1 line may be drawn. Ja it really for the benefit of a country, or for the
fud of the individual, that a fortune of two or three milUons should be
left to one man, or even to two or three 7
hi your England an agricultural labourer, working from the earliest
dij^ ithen he is worth uxpence a week to frighten the crows, till he ia
vomont at sixty, earns in all his life about 800/., or at the utmost, 1,000/.
Ilii is the money-worth of his life's work. There are proprietors and
miUioDnaires who have as much as that for every day of their lives without
doing anything in the world for it, or, at least, without needing to do any-
ducg. No doubt, under such a system, England has groivn up a very
great country ; science and art and invention and literature have all been
fncoQragcd, bnt the question arises, would it .not have been a greater
wnntry and a happier country if there had not been such an enormous
%«rity of conditions 7
This state of things cannot but strike a colonist more forcibly than it
rtrikes a foreigner, for most Europeans have grown up under a similar
fJHem, and in many old countries the contrast between the two ends of
■wiety ia as marked as in England, The wealth of England is certainly
» surprising thing to any stranger ; but I believe that continental visitors
lie most impressed with the great numbers and great importance of tho
"lidille chiss, — those with incomes of between five hundred and fifteen hun-
dred a year, while we arc most surprised fit the large landed proprietors and
tie cotnmercial roillionnaires. The middle class, and especially the " upper
middle" class, ia a most valuable element in the population ; all the more so
^*OiDK it is a fluctuating element, a class which it is comparatively easy
•o rise to or to fall from. There are very few Landed estates of that value
10 England, and that small number is on the decrease, so that the income I
ffA of is derived generally from business or from stock or funded property,
^hicti is easily transferred. When sucli an income comes to be divided
(BiODggt a man's family, they must cither work to supplement it, or fall
6— B
lU
AK AUSTRALIAN'S lifPnP.SSrONS OP EKQLAKD.
in social poaition and IH (tlliRra ri»p. If it !h dorivcil from a nl
life, and unless tho faititlv have a bdsii
ccurac It >to[>i vritli n man
n ulnry «f their own they mnst Ml. This is and will be ihv position nf
»I1 our iippwT cinasea in Australia, for tLough there is no Iiindiance »
making wills la nny way, iK^itbcr law nor cattom fnroiirs tlic rights tf
primogenilUTo oiiIimt for Iniid 6r for peraonnl property, nitd land is u
Msily trnnsfcrred na Bank ntock. Vt'c are likely to luivc few larje
ibrtuncs and tnany moderate onts, and it is to be hop«d ttiat lb« labouring
claiics Kill, in the earlier thyA of lliv colonin, become habituated tv
ft sUndaTil of comfort that tlicy will not willingly fnll from. I sbonii
be aorry to #oe tho working man and hi* litmily worno fed, worse clothed,
or worse lodged ihiin Ke is at preac^nt in Anxtralia, nnd I slionld hnpo HnA
tlio ofipcriuDitic* of rieiog from luB claas will continue to be aa Ireqaeol
ru now, nni be a penrtanetit ifpur to k<gititn.ite ambition — not one cbane^
in ten thouKind, but eonicthing n grttit deal more attainable than HtMb
It in the high rate of profits rather than the hiph rate of wa^a thai tat
been auoh a boon to the working claasei in our conntry, (or nil savingl
could be easily inrealed in land or ia builOinR Bocieties, ao at to prodcd
from ten to twenty per cent,; bo that the Inducement in tavo was miidi
greater than here, where savings-banks' iuti-rcst is -very small, nnd wk'
co-operation is still bat injp<;rf«:lly undcntood. The thing that osi
IIS is how working people in Britain enn bring up a fnmlly anj
anything for oh! nge, and there ia no doulit that to do U they in
practise a minute economy that ia most creditable to thom.
TVith us, all our ingenuity is directed to the economy of labour ; wi
you, though you ccrtaioly do multiply your handa marvellously by tin
omployment of machinery in mamifrictories, in all yrur mml pursuits
efTorls of the farmer are directed toward5 thn economy of land. To this
he is larish of labour and of capital. Perhaps in no country in the wo:
is there so gTE^nt an extent of Innd cultivated with m few hands emplo;
in it as in the colony vf Boutfa Anatralia, which is the granary of thi
south land. There are four «eresmnd«r tillagefor M-cry man, woman, m
chiid in the colony — and not a sixth part u( the male populalion engagi
in it; TOdking about ono adult male for righty acica of land. The crop
are whjit would be called very sJiort, but it ia better for ug to ham h«
crops than to beatow double Inlwnur nn thcra; and with iho re*pii)
machine to take our wheat off the ground, with cheap land, and wil
a niarliet for our suqilus grnin in the adjoining colonies, the Jiinnor fini
that an aTcrogv crop of fourteen bvihels per acre pays him very well.
By-nnd-hy as the world advance.*, and our ])npiilntion JBcrcaBes, w
munt change onrlaclica, and beatciw more careful cultivation on our Iaih
particulai-ly as, tliough wa liavo great extent of territory, we Tiafff
limil.iiiona m to arable land. In the vast interior of Austr.ilia then
tracts which may focd flockn and herds, with, on the whole, tolen
Rueccaa, but which can nerer be available for agi-icultun?, for there ia
ctrtainty of rains. In some seasons tho irof^cal ndns from the
AN AUSTEAIIAN'S MPBESBIONS OP tSOLASD. 115
ntend so fur south, and ia some seasons the winter roins from the
Scndiern Ocean extend so fer north, but in many years Central Australia
buno rain at all.
The qnaotity of enclosed land under pasture in England strikes on
Amtndian as enormona, and prores to him, without any reference to
lUtiitics, that a very large proportion of the grain supplied for feeding
the people most come from abroad. It ia right and natural that it
dunld be K>. If England is the workshop of the world, if there are
mnn&ctnred for other nations those articles of utility, comfort, and
hEtuiy which they cannot as well fabricate for themselves, it is a natural
eonaequence that these work-peoplo ahotdd draw their food from foreign
Mmtries. Britain has a population far beyond what she can feed, let
ha strain all the resources of scientific agriculture to the utmost. To
UK then appears eometbing perilous in the position. I do not say that
vij alann is well groimded, but it is natural for an inhabitant of a great
Ibsd-exporting country to feel no. Observing the intense anxiety felt by
the inhabitants of the Midland counties about the supplies of coal, and
httiing the calculations that are often made as to how long it will hold
oat at the present enormous rate of conmimption, I could not help con-
dnding that upon this hinged, in an enormous degree, the present pre-
eminence of Bril«n, end that a very large number of the superabundant
|>0{i(iktion are in &ct living upon t1iis coal, and on what can be made of
it Science may probably discover a new beat-generator before the coal
ttvorked out, but it is not likely that tlie new parent of force will be
n exclunvely English as its coal-mines. It may be one in which our
Anstralian inferiority is not so marked, and consequently make us more
i»Ttmrably situated for manufactures than we are now. This may not
eome till long after our day, but I am so much accustomed to look forward
B few generations for the future of our own colony, that the old habit clingg
to me ; and wherever I turn I sec bo many instances of the economy of
land, 10 many proofs of its enormous money-value, so much care taken of
it, ud of all that can be supposed to increase its productive powers, that
it ii impossible for me to overlook that greatest of all distinctions between
the new country and the old.
Perhaps nothing on the surface of society strikes a colonist more than
the nmnber of old people whom he meets. In travelling about in varimis
wj«, in public gatherings for any purpose, and in general visiting society,
iht number of grey heads is remarkable. It is not because England, as
TOmpnred with Australia, is more conducive to longevity (though I bulievc
th« will be found to be the case, in a great measure, when our colonies arc
old enough to draw the comparison fairly), but because our colonies as a
mle were BCtlled and reinforced by young people, and thirty yoars is
too short a period for our old people to appear numerous.
And the next thing that strikes a stranger like myself, who goes a good
^1 ihout, and viaits both his own friends and relatives and colonial
friendi' friends, is the cstmordinary varieties of society he meets with in
116
AH AUSTBALUK^ lUtRKSSIONS Ol" KKQLAND.
Knglnnd. I Huak on the vIkU tliat lliia b tlto most remarkable
in Englnii<]. I ^o nr-l^pcak of bueini^ai lire, I hcli^vp lliiit U the aunedf
ov«r Ui« world; n mpicliant m London mil/ do more Iiii.-oiuut but lii
contluctJs it oa Uiq siime principle a» ono ia Sjdcvy, or PAris, or N«(
York. Shoph<Gpiiig v» llio ttnmi! tliio^ here m at tlie onlipodM. ati^ th
liMrneil professions n re ccmduclrii nftcr tlio tamo Oiihion; but I apeak fl
the (juiiiy life, tlie social life, tlie life wliicli mon nnJ women Itad logctli^
and wliich women lead by tht-miwlvw, luiil wlitre we see the clianictei^
llie Inslea, nnd the hobbiui tliat do not wai« out ia the Bhop, the office
or the fectory. i
The Gxtt-nt of this vnrioly in rarely seen Iiy forcigncn^ or by AincricM
travcllcn. An a rule, those who aro able to write book* cii Engliiujjl
Lara nlrcnt^y attained Eomo celebrity, and in virtue? vt ihiK, th^y go from
one circle where people of liicrury orncitntificrniinciicciiAsndnte tuanotl
of tlie umo ■ort, and very rarely meet with the avoragQ cammonji
Englishm.in t-r Englishwoman, who nercrihelcs* U a niosi important
in the connlry. They perhaps seglecl to dicsciibc tiuch of them
do sra ; they nnluriLlly wiiih to notu only what i« disLiiigiiished
uncommon, und tlielr book gniKS in piipiiiiK-y while it hiacn a Utile in
abitolulo fideliiy. Then, agAin, n clertr writer is apt to be lioni2«d, and
treated mCi apparently frank hospitality, but yet with real reserve.
Bui thou^ n cotdutt of long Btanding, 1 have not bcca long eno'
awny to linre no home in England, and my relationx havn not foi]go
mc, to that I have them to visit ; and wc mako a jiractice of visitiitg ou:
fiicndit' fricndu, and will go ft gfjod de.il out of our way to take a porci-l,
or a mewiage, cr a full, true, :iiid pariicubr nccunnt of friends long settled
ill Aui^tralia, with chUdreii growing up tiboiit thotn, to the loring reluUTa
whom thoy ltd in tho old couatry. All the reserve which \* snid to b||
ti nntionnl chnmcteri^tic (though I mimt ray I linvL- seen none of it,) melu
away Uko *now in Kun*ht»c beforo xuch nii iiitio duct ion. ^'q get to tlie
lieart of the family at once. They wixh un to ti«« as much rs thej' am
bIiow 113 of their daily lifu-, that wu may carry back iu> faithful s picture aa
we bring; nnd cvvn their lixcd conviction that cvcrj'thing is, and miiBt ht,
h(;tler in Kngliind than in Aiutrnlia, makes them more frank.
You enter onu circle, and ycu nro in the heart of that Inrgu world
known na tlie religions Arorld. Yon aee il in the hookn on the table, you
hear il in tijo coarorsntioD ; and (he vidilars ami the (.Tgagcments of tl^
fniniiy nte all of one cIoju, {
Yon i-nier anollifr, jiikI you are in the Rcieniiiiu world. Papa's .iporc
houra are duvoted to the pcoaecution of tome brand) of flcienoc, or Home
invention wliicli U dearer to him than liii doily work. Some port, oAeo
n very hirge part, of his (amily synipalhizea with hitn and works with him ;
and he sitrrotindf himtiflf with thoeo books nnd men who are congenial
to his researcli?^.
J
You go to nnottivr, nnd find a nnmhcr of people living for society-
town going oat four or live nights a n«ek, beades doing u good deal iu
AN AUSTRALIAN'S IIU'KESSIONS OP ENGLAND. 117
ibe way of luncheon-pnrties and flowor-sliow (etea, and, as a general rule,
gnbg ever)'where to see and to be eeon ; and in tlie country, unable to
eiist without the aid of picnics, water parties, croquet parties, and
Tokoteer reviewa.
You may next, througli a letter of introduction, drop into the very
heart of all sorta of philanthropic nioyements, and there you meet with a
nriety of people each with hia or her panacea for the existing evils of
ndety. One says, Educate the people ; nnother, Wash them and give them
decent homes ; another says, Give votes to the people, and raise them bo
tlut they will educate and provide for tJiemscIves. One works for chil-
dren, another labours in prisons, a third visits workhouses. Here we sec
> man spending his life, or all of it that he can spare Jrom the earning of
liii own living, in the education of poor children on a principle of his
own; there a woman giving all her life to the reformatio-i of juvenile
crimiiuli, and another to the relief and assistance of distressed govcmcssea.
The more this class of workers do, the more they appear to disclose that
dkJi to be done ; and one feels doubtful whether such great evils can be
tomhated altogether by the noble efforts of so active a body of volunteers,
ud whether a little Government legislation would not enable them to
»ork with more benefit to the world. But if anything could tempt me to
muia in England, it is that I, too, might aid a little in such work.
The class I speak of now is most antagonistio to that passed last under
reriew; they entertain a great mutual contempt of each other. The
niety girls and the society gentlemen despise the active philanthropists
u being ill-dressed, atrong-minded, and most jatiguing ; they are sure
lliJt they have dreadful quarrels amongst themselveB, and that the women
w, or are to be, aU old maids. The philanthropists, on the other hand,
despise the objectlras, frivolous existence, pity the restlessness, and cannot
trentce the prcttiness of the fluttering butterflies. And yet they are very
pTfCty: their dress costs them more thought than anything else in the
*Drld, and certainly costs their p.irents a great deal of money; but it is
[■retty after all. If they quarrel omong themselves, which I have no doubt
'hey do as much na the strong-minded ladies do, it is a matter of less
concern to the world in general, and so it is not heard of.
Your next visit may be to quiet people, who are a world to themselvea.
1i'ou Ke there simple domestic life, and hoar nothing about gay parties, or
idtnce, or politics, or progress, or woman's rights, or religious movements
in nhalbvcr direction. You would scarcely think that any public event*
look place at all ; for though Paterfamilias reads the newspaper, he never
l»lks of it. Mamma looks after her servantB, who give her a good deal of
trouble ; the girls do fancy-work, have each a friend — the sweetest girl in
the world — and arc very glad to play a game of croquet with any one ;
md the young men arc far more tirt'some than the girl^, inasmuch ns a
lack of ideas in them is more intoloTablc in the sex which has had the
greater adfantagea.
Again, yon may meet with n circle of people who are devoted to art,
118 AN AUSTRAtIAS'8 IMPRESSIONS OP ENOLASD.
who are great admirers of some kinds of poetry, sn<3 who have trarellcd a
great deal. In such a circle an Australian fuels his deficiencies rery much.
He has do picture-galleries at home ; he docs not know what to admire or
how to express his admiration, and often makes distressing hlunders in the
opinion he gives. Though he may have taken long hush rides, and made
narrow escapes from death by thirst or Btarvation, he has not travelled in
their sense of the word, for he has not seen any antiquities, or stood on any
world-renowned heiglit to view a claBsical land.
Again, your next acquaintance may be among that intelligent
public for whom authors write their books, and to whom discoverers
and inventors address themselves ; not the average Englishman, hut one
for above him ; the man whom superficial thinkers call commonplace,
but in reality the man who keeps commonplace people from stifling
everything that is new and original. lie does not himself write or invent,
but his apprehension is quick, Iijp judgment calm and clear, and the
opinions which Smith, Brown, and Jones would never .^dopt from bookx,
partly because they do not read them and partly because they cannot
understand them, they are often forced to accept, bccauBo a sensible man
like Robinson ofiera them in a palatable form, and in quantities which
they can swallow and digest at once. Such men as Robinson (good men
of buaincas, who provide for their families, and do a little charitable work
unostontatioufily) never come before the public in any way, so that we
cannot ascertain how numerous they are in Britain. We can only guess
that they are on the increase, by observing that a new idea makes more rapid
way now than formerly. Tlie author of a book or an essny, who tries to
jiopularizo ideas, cither of hia oivn or of some greater mind, by writing as
clearly and as brilliantly as possible, and introducing familiar illustrations,
in hopes of reacliing Smith, Brown, Jonea, and Robinson by it, fancies
when his opinion is received, his diseovery accepted, or his suggestions
adopted, that he has reached them all ; whereas he has only convinced
Robinson, and through him he influences the others. Those who write
are apt to magnify their office, and have great facilities for doing soj but,
for my part, I feel we cannot be grateful enough, and England cannot be
grateful enough, to the intelligent reader. AVe need him cveryn'here;
in town he is valuable, but in provincial society he is invaluable. It
is flnppoaed that the essence of provincialism ia the exaggerated idea
people have of their own importance, and the intense interest they take
in their neiglilwurs' affairs, and thatyou can escape these things in a city;
but the provincial mind can be provincial even in London, and only
exchanges) its curiosity about the events of the village or tlio neighbour-
hood for curiosity as to the affaini of its own sot, which to that class of
minds is the world. Tlic domestic arrangements, the love affairs, and the
money matters of other people, can be as interesting in London as al
Land's End. An engafjement entered into or broken off, or a last will
and teHtament, perhaps, furnishes a topic of conversation for n longer timo
in the country, but it can be dwelt upon very oufliciently anywfaert. I
AH AUSTRALIAN'S IMPRESSIONS OP ENflLAWD. 119
med to fency that we, in Anstralia, thought too much about money, and
made it too mach oar object of existence, but I believe conversatioQ runs
more on money in England than irith us. The manner in which young
people speak of unearned money — of what may be left by relations, or
vlut msy be gained by an adrantageous marriage, and not of what can
be tamed by indoBtry, or saved by economy, strikes me painfully. There
ti I ladly worldly tone in the manner in which the sacred subjects of
death and marriage are discuaeed. In a new country, like ours, girls very
nrdj hare any money, and yotmg men are generally the architects of
dxii own fbrtunes ; marriage takes place at an earlier age, and need not
be R) very carefhlly weighed beforehand as it must be in England. We
litre here and there an old maid, but the mass of onr women are wires
nd mothers, and too full of domestic duties, either to hare the high
ohiTitioB or the desire fbr a wider field, which we see so general among
niddle-clajts educated Englishwomen.
Bat I hare not space to enumerate all the rarions phases which
Kfliab society offers. There is the political world, where one really hears
^t parties, and diriMons, and patronage, and Government influence.
Tliere Is the literary world, where one would fancy people were only bom
for the purpose of reading books, and where there is as much interest felt
in the afiairs of the set, as in the prorinces one sees taken in those of the
pnih. There is the sporting world, which comes out strong in converea-
tioa at certain times of the year. There is the agricultural world, the
UDD&ctoring world, with its one employer, and its thousands of opera-
tim lliere are Englishmen, whose business and associations are with
fcreign countries, and there are foreigners whoso business is all with
Eogliih.
In each of the circles which I mention, a colonist feda the limitation
of hii Block of general information. Hia own life is varioua, but its rcry
wriety prevents him from carrying out any branch to the perfection
'hich he sees in England. Although he may observe, read, nnd reflect a
pxd deal, he has not had cither the leisure or the opportunities to enable
kini to cope with those who have made one thing the study of their lives.
Bat if we can appreciate and admire the ihoroughnefs of the leaders of
English intellect in all its departments, we may get some credit with them
fcr our quick though superficial intelligence, and our adaptability to
wwmstancea. The definite daily work, for inst^mce, which our colonial
"omen have to do, if it prevents them from being devoted to iileratiirc, to
*t, or to philanthropy, brings out an amount of common sense and
wnadetalion for others wiiich is too apt to bo wanting among the many
llioosMids in England who have no taste strong enough to become a
pnisuit, and who on leaving school find that there ia nothing for them to
^'■- 1 certainly think that the position of the larger proportion of un-
'^"ned women in the United Kingdom is n moat unenviable one, and
'•ould submit for many generationa to the discomfort of having a short
* i'i'r fit dnnn-dtic servunt.t in Australia, rather than take froui our
120
AS AUSTBALIAN'S Iiri'REBSIOKS OF BNGf-^AKD.
Tni<lJU--c]:iss woivieii rliclr pi'OKiit niuliifiiiiolu occupations, until nin
otli«r QT liLtlci carvat ia of>uit(rd to tliein.
One consequence of our liigh wages is, that we do not see najfrhen
the exqui&iloiiiilfllt aoJ coniplclcacaa in oiu* domestic arrangemenLs xkd
you liavu in KugUnil. Wc hnvc some very Landsome and weJl-funii*i«J
liousrs in Aiistralin, Liit it it tlio littlu dcUilx, i)io IJttlu conirvniflDot*, thl
mnny arrnngL-mcnls ninJc UinL liiu fiiiiuiy hIkiuIiI he ttuveJ aay nvoidabll
trouble or nnticynnwi llmt must strongly imprt^Es a colonisL 1 think il fe
very likely that wc in Auslmlia will have a tnato for aumptuouB itunitan
and appoinlniouts and cquipogci, hut I do not thiol; vrc can cvci con* i^
to the old couiilrj- In lh« UiiIq dctaiU wUidi give compldtcoess. I'roi
our wealthy cltiw not hdng a permanent class, we iu-n never liktly to han
Itu! o]d-cst«hIiabed ma^^iiificeiioe, the coUectioiu of picturu handed duff
front father to Bon, and added to by eJich generalioQ, the ancestnl med
the hcnulifully-kcpt pleasure- gr dud da ; so that, to Ecc thesa ihingiv **
young Aiixtraliarin must visit Kuropo, and, iu llm viiut, lot twhope tbi
Hmy will liiii-n somewhat beyond pleasing llic cyi:.
[, gathering my ideas of England btllicrto almcM excluatirely Aes
books, bnvG hud to ruclily nnd modify inniiy of lliem on closer kaovrl(<JBa
I do not see, Coi instance, that Eiij;laQd is iillud by tuft-buotcn u>
maCcli-innkeri, by worldly parents and calculating children. There i
a good deal moro regard paid to appearances and to position, and, ti
think, A more conc<mtrated love of money hero than in the colonic; b^
1 believe tiiese things arc rather on the n'ane than on tho increase. Th
real goodness of Englaiid i» not to be seen iu a superficittl glance itmuj
what is colled cocitLy, but iii tho homes of the people. I am mtiificdlU
English soct'ety is sound at tlit; core, and that it is neither heartiest Ml
altogether conventional.
li'rom the liberal manner in which ihe opinions and customs of ot!*'!
naliona arc now coneidercJ, nod from the grout patience with wliicliti
have of>i,-ii been listened to when lulktug about tlie nflaira of ao ob«catfl|
and distant colony, I am conviaceJ tJiat Englnnd in losing her
choracter, and that, to quote Chaucer ogain, "gladly will ^ic I
gladly tL'Bch." This openness of character will, in time, root
Ltialiuniil jealotivics, and it will etill niorc endear the old country totlie
outalioots who are already sufficiently di^sed to be proud of i^
descent.
121
S%^ ^nrifitit 4^iiia»s mi ^^ttiaii ^Hsuiaie,
HiTUEitTO there has been but little interest taken in Celtic history. Late
ercnti, hoirerer, h&re excited a certain d^ee of curioaty about a very
nioote period of the Celtic history of the sister island. Who are the
Folans? has been in almost every mouth. Who the Fenians are it ia
Dot easy to define : who the Fenians icere any Irish scholar can easily
txplain. They were a number of tribes or men kept as a standing army,
<f military caste, solely for purposes of war in Celtic Ireland about a
tonpie of centuries before the conversion of that country to Christianity.
We must begin at the beginning. Respectable Irish history, com-
menciag with the S'ann Tosach of Genesis, usually starts with the account
rf the coming of the daughters of Adam to Ireland, with tin exactness of
dcliil interesting, but hardly credible. We, however, cannot even go so
brback as Noah ; time and space forbid. The ancient history of Ireland
dnides conveniently enough into four great periods. The first of these
Qtends from no one knows what time to the Christian era, and includes
the invasions and occupations of tlie country by the Firbolgs, Nemedians,
Tauba De Danann, whoever they were, devils or Dmids, and lastly
Uilesians ; all which are mythical, but Btimding on a basis of facts very
hird to get at now. The second period is less mythical, and, embracing
men and things of which we have historical knowledge in addition to
legendary accounts and local mementoes, stretches from the beginning of the
Clirisiian era until the conversion of the country to Christianity — from the
fint to the fifth century. This might justly be termed the heroic or
romantic period of Ilibemo-Celtic history. In it Conn of the Hundred
BattlM, and Kiall of the Nine Hostages, lived and fought ; in it flourished
Finn Mac Cumhaiil, Of^ar, and Ossian, the heroes of Irisli romance.
The next, or the Christian period — from the fifth to the ninth century —
»»ithat in which religion and learning flourished : then Ireland obtained
W moct noble name, Iitmla Sanctorum. From the ninth century the
^n made continual attacks on the country ; they pillaged the colleges
ffl clmrches, burnt the housep, killed the inmates, and (as they said
•liatiselves) drowned the books (in the rivers). As in Englnnd, they gained,
•fdror 3 short time held, undisputed sovereignty in the country : often van-
TUislied, they were never completely extirpated, A colony of them remained
m Dublin, governed by a prince of their own, somewhat in the same manner
utbcir compatriots had held Northumberland. At the end of this period
'« Norman flood that had deluged England overflowed into Ireland, and
"ibtntrged " the leavings of the Danes," — the last remnants of Celtic civi-
liatioD and religion. Thus ends the ancient history of Ireland.
122 THE ATICIEHT FENIANS ABD FENIAN LITEIlATUfiE.
Tliciv nn* tli'-n ftmr periods : llie mjlliie. (■jlending to the
cr<i; the heroic, fioiti the begintim^ of Chribtiauity until the o<
of tbe country to Cimatiflnity — four centuries; the Clinstinn, rrooi the
conventon of the caiintr^ unlil ihv beginiiing of tlio Daiush incuraioM—
three cetiturtca; Bod the dnrlt or Ditnish period, whid cxlccdcd to the
NennimoT Enj^lish invasion in llio twiilfth century — llircR eoaturies. fVo
can Dovr see nlivrLnbuut^ ret; ure. We Ii»ve only lo do with the lierae^
or, IIS it is wiRCtSmee called, the Feniaa period of Itiih hislonr.
Thero have beon many derivwioni given for the nnme fVaaa, fnm
which the English form, Fcninnn, is rneily deduced; but the oolyoM
wliicli Koms to iifl ie> ho worthy of a nomrni.'x «on«idorftticn i> that
which derives tho n»me Finna from Fifwin, or Finn, the nniiiB of ihwr
niMt celebmtcd chic-n»ia. The word Fiona, nad tJie EngUali Feniia
from iw gwiitivc, means neither morB nor less thnn " Finn's men," er "ita
jieojilff of Fion." Thin Finn is ilio same whom Macpheraon hsa dnlilM^
Fingu], and ivhoia the nirvilqin Irish C4ili Fian Mac Cool. In attdaii
vritingi be is styled Finn Mnc Ciiinhiiini ufber Iiih Iklher, Ciimhili
(_pr. Coob). The name Finna. or Feninns, ivon ^ron, as ivo tiare tul
before, by ancii-nl Tvril«ni to & niimb<>r of the Celtic tribes of Inland
which w^ro |>cnti:inently kqit on military sfrricc, and had in retima
ctrtnin itllovaiii.^ of the public lands, and aama [rFouhar privileges, li'tj
were the mihtnry cnste, no to Ep<!!i1c, at ono time in C«ltio Itvlacd. 1%*
chieAainihip of them serins to have been hereditary in cerliiin lunilitli
and by tho names of those fitmilic* thoy wei-c usually denonuMMd.
Those of C^mnatight, for insUitioR, wort! ciillwl tha Ctnnn of Mtm*
There seeniB to hare hcnn a tribe or body of thrm attached to s^
provincial kin^nloin. 'Il^e chief of those at Tara hod th(^ command of illi
and he himself nas under th^ immediate ordera of the monarch. Ttiii
fonolionary, cftcu called the King of the Foniana, hitd great infiucnH,
and Bometimeii thwarted and even Tcsiuled the rnyal power vt et i)mtt>
The Fenians of Tara nnd those of Oonnnitf^lit ni»ke tlie greatest tifpiTelB
history ; of those of Ulalcr and Mun«l«T, (here in compmntirety Bul*
recorded. In the institution c( the Fenians, we have iho same phflfr
incnon which presents itedf to us in almost every conimnniiy in the trite
Stat*. Some tribes, or Ricnib<-rs of tribes, dpvolo themselves to war, tti
take or receive front the rest, support nnd honour, and have nom)aa^
developed into a pure caiitc, (is in Indin. This did not take pi*"
in Ireland. Like other gienl military orders of history, (he Pnetoiim
Guards and the JanioaaticM, tliey bct^nme too potverftil for the lOf^
fluthcrily, and were in oon«cqnenc« crushed by it on the first favei
(•pport unity. A rivalry •■xirting betwwn two divisions of the
body, and Ijilit-n advnntAgo of by the ruler, eflbcted ita deatruelti
Celda Ireliind wna saved from the curse of a mititAry caste. The
of Balti/mou — n book compiJed about 1391 — mentions (Ossiani*'
voh v. J). 210) Cutnhnll as hejid of tiic Fwiiana circa A.O. 190.
Cunihull, father of the great Finn, n-Qs slain by oce of th«
THE AKCIEST FENIANS AND FENIAN MTERATDBE. 123
Moma, or Connanght Fenians, wlience arose nn undying hatred and
CMitiaoal rivalry between them and the Glann of Baiygue, to which
Cutnball belonged, Finn waa chief of the Feninns in the reign of Corniac
the Great. Ha seems to hare brought the organization lo its greatest
jierfection, and be was able by his commanding taleniB at least to smother
up the elements of diacord during his life. The contention between the
two great clanns broke out again after his death, and ultimately caused
the destruotioD of the force. Of Finn, Pinkerton says, in Lis Inquiry
into the Eittoiy of Scotland (Oasianic Soc. vol. t. p. 210), that " he
seems to have been a man of great talenta for the age, and of celebrity in -
arms. Ilia formation of a regular standing army, in which all Irish
Msconnts agree, seems to have been a mde imitation of the Roman legions
ia Britain. The Idea, thotigh simple enough, shows prudence, for such a
force alone could hare coped with the Romans had they invaded Ireland."
Keating, the historian, gets very solemn over Finn and liis Feninns. He
saja : — " From this FJonn, the established militia of the kingdom wci-e
called l^iana Eirionn; and if it should be asserted, cither through
ignorance or prejudice, that there were no such standing body of troops
in the island aa those trained bands, to evince the contrary, let it be
considered that this part of history is supported by evidence not to be
opposed. In some records, which treat of the old militia of Ireland, it is
asserted that they were a body of men so strong, and so tall of stature,
as is really incredible; for it is certain, though they were a brave anil
nndannted number of troops, yet the size of their persons did not exceed
the common proportion of those times. Tlieir business waa to guard the
country against foreign or domestic enemies, to support the right and
succession of their kings, and to be ready at the shortest natico, upon any
mrprise or emergency of the State. They were to w.itch the sea-coasts,
and to have a strict eye upon the creeks and havens of the island, Icat
any pirates should be lurking there, to plunder the country, and infest
the inhabitants ; and they were established for the same purpose as a
standing body of forces are kept up in any nation — to defend it from inva-
pioD, to support the right and prerogatives of the crown, and to secure the
liberty and property of the people." What more could Keating have
given them to do 7
We must, however, return to Finn. lie married one diuighter of
King Cormac after he had failed to get another, Grainnd, who clojied wlien
she heard of his intentions towards lier. One of the best of the Celtic
romances is the Elopement of Grainn^ mth Dermuid. This Dermuid w.is
a young and good-looking young officer of the Fenians, for whom tho
princess took a sudden fancy when she found out that Finn was coming
to ask her in marriage in his old age, of which, however, more hereafter.
Finn is the great hero of thia period. At the present day he gets the
credit of making or using almost every great natural curiosity in tho
whole land. It is said that he made the Giant's Causeway as a highway
to Scotland. His profile is to be seen on many mountain outlines. lie
124 THE ANCIKKT FENIANS AND FENIAN LITEBATUBE.
Iiftji iiicreascd in bIec anil ]iliy»iciil importance every cciilurjf tiatt
d^'ath, wliilst h'n intfilluctual grcjitiicas lias t>e('n forgotten. From bein
an ordinary morUl with an exlraordinnrjr bialn, lie Ima developed, to tlic
inug! notions oftlie people, into » giant — a mere pliyaicol mDnBtrosity, ud
(>iow arc the nighty lalleni) — into n bugbear fur naughty children. Tbenj
is hardly a hill-si(]e in IrcUml thiit docs not prcscrri; u logt-nd of him.-
Of nil Iiiihmca he is tlic beat knovm lo tourisla — thoy meet him crcij*
■where. Kinn, ltowpvi>r, pcndied nt hist — ns ev«i llie ]nnt»ic must dn.
He wne t redclitronsly sltviii on llie Iiaiik of ihe rivtr Boync, wlifO
uiuutncd and unintended. The following U the notice of bia death in t^
great AnnaU &/ Ireland by the Four Masters : —
" Age of Christ, 283, the sixteenth year of Cairbi-o; — Finn, gnm dam of
Bniagne, full by AlcliWch, eon of Duibdrennn, and thf* bohb of UirgiWDii
uf the Limigbui Teainhvadi (Tara) at AtlfBrea, upon the Boion, of wlHch '
it nas said, —
Fmn vrns killed— U was with duti,
'\>'itli a 1 anion iiiUl' viutiud :
AiiAleadi, son of Dnihlidrc-jinTi, cut nlT
Tbi! li>iiiul uf the ion of Mouhuuiuu (i.e.
PSmi).
Were it not that CmoIIu!- (ouk rct'engct
It vroiitd hnrc lircti a, victorjr ovcrnllUi '
cm* baMlcs ;
'Hii! Uin!c wrrc cat off by him,
Sxiiltlng oTor Die roj-al ckuniiKm."
This King Ciurbru,Hiriiamed"of the Liflejr," vvns n s>'n imd & nicccstOT
Corniac above mecti«iidd. Ifo, iiftcr Finn's donth, diabnndcd and outlaireJ
the Clann of Bnisgnv, hitbeito the raoit powerful divieion of tho Feniuu,
Aud tliut to which Lhc cotninaiidcrs bad belonged, retnuQio^ in Iiia servki
llie Chnn of MornB, the Feniana of Cennaught. Thus exiled, they roptiirel'
to the dominioca of the King of Miinster, Mogh:i-Corb, who vrii V
grandson of Finu. lla espoused their cnuse and retainod them in
service, contntty to tbo ordurs of liia ewpreaie king, the monarch. Tli'
brought on n nnr, mid a. bloody buttle wna Ringlit at Gaura betvreen
monarclt nnd the ICing of Munater, in wliich l!ic monarch lost !ii« life
tli'.t band of n imin wboni be had driven into exile, and tlie two gT«M
clnniin of thv Fciiiuna slaughtered each other almost lo extermination.
IVlience the very nest entry in l!io Aniiali is : —
" Aj^e of Christ, 234 ; — After Cairbre LilTe.-ichair ('of the Liffoy') h
bcca acvcnCccn yeans iti the eovcrcignly of Irehind, be fell in the battle
Gabhm-Aiuhlu ('Gaum') by the bnnd of Semcon, Bon of Ccarb, (one) of
the Fothartn: Fi-orcorb ('Mogba-Corb'), the sou of Carniiic CasC^ng
ol Muiistcr who nianied Finn's diiugbtcr'), having brought tiic Fiaaa wA
hiin, ugiiiiiKt the king, tn defund LcalJi-Mhogtia ('llie soutlicm half of
Jrcliiiid ') against him."
Thiu ends the history of the Fian» or Fctiian*, and thus the monordi
died, not, however, until be bad alain in single cambrU Owgvit their com*
inander. The It^cndi still existing about the Funiuns and their great
chiff are nuniberlow. It it Hftid that tlicre were in timen of p&ico ti
baltaliona of tliem, which coubl be iiicrraicd to seven when the D'
rities of war required, ea«h batUJioa numbcriag tlireo thousand uieOj
11
THE ANCIENT FENIANS AND FBNIAN LITIiUATDKE. 125
Keating says, that before a man was eurollcd, he Iiud to subscribe to
sevei^ articles, ctirioua enough in all conscience : — " The first, that when
he tnas dispoBed to many, he should not follow the mercenary custom of
bmsting upon a portion with a wife ; but, without regard to her fortune,
W ihoold choose a woman for her virtue, her courtesy, and good manners;
tlie Kcond, that he should never offer violence to a woman, or attempt to
nTish her ; the third, that he would be charitable and relieve the poor wlio
imiti meat and drink, as far as his abilities would permit ; and the fourth,
lliU be would not torn his back or refuse ta fight with nine men of any
i&a nation that set upon him, and offered to fight with him." It is surely
K wonder that the modem Irish are so pugnacious and bo fond of a row,
■btn their ancestors were willing to fight against such odds rather than
WM B good shindy. We must, however, go back to the Fiana. Keating
ajB that there were several rules to be observed in the admission of
remuts to the Fenian ranks. The parents must give up all right to
Rrenge or compensation for the candidate's death, a very necessary regu-
luion in a state of society when the punishment for a death was either
KTenge or eric. He roust be able to compose verses. He must be expert
villi his weapons, and he was exposed to a very good test — he had to
defend himself from the javelins of nine soldiers thrown nt him at once.
He ma obliged to run through a wood pursued by some of the Fenians,
ID order to test his ileetness and agility. He must be able to bold his
veqion without shaking ; if bis hand shook he was rejected. He must
hio swift and so light of foot as not to break a rotten stick by treading
upon it ; and, hardest of all to do, he must be able, without stopping
or lessening his speed, to draw a thorn out of his foot. We would
reiy touch like to see the crowd who call themselves by the ancient name
if Fenians trying these testa ; very few of them, indeed, would paa<) muster.
Many people now hear for the first time of the emblem called " the sun-
burst of Erin." The innocent original for this now treasonable device,
ns Finn Mac Cumhaill's standard.
In addition to tho legends still existing amongst the peoplo there is
a great mass of MS. in the great libraries of Ireland taken up with
the exploits of Finn and the Fenians. O'Gurry, in his analysis of
existing Celtic MSS. (Lectures on the MS. Materials of Irish History),
makes a division of them into five principal classes, viz. : the Annals ;
the Books of Genealt^ies and Pedigrees ; the Historic Tales ; the Imagi-
nitive Tales and Poems, and the Ecclesiastical Writings. The fourth of
these divisiotu, the Imaginative Tales and Poems, are mainly about the
Fenian period, and have for their subject Finn and the Fenian heroes.
Whence they are often called Fenian Tales and Poems, and still oflencr
Ftnian Tales and Ossianic Poems. O'Ciirry says, " The purely imagi-
catire literature of the ancient Gaedhila still existing in MSS. which have
bwn banded down to us in safety, may be divided into distinct cla^aiK,
some of which are compositions yet more ancient than the others. Tho
earliest of all — if we rt^ard merely the authors to whom they are attributed
126 THE AXCIEKT FENIANS AKl) FENIAN UTEaATUllE.
■ — arc tim puoma or metrical tiilcs culled tlio Fuaian Foetud, many of
which are altribiilcd to Olsia (Ossiaii) aad Foi'gtu, th« sons of Finn Mac
Cumhaill, Boiuc ol' them to Finn hinisulf, and some to hia couaiu Caoilto.
After thcac tuny be placed the prose recitals, probably Toaaded on BimiUr
pociRs now lost, but probably hIso tberasclvca compositions of aa early a
date; I mean tliose stones coniiuoDly called Fenian Tided. Finally, after
the Fenian poenis and tales, in point of date, we find a great number of
roiiianlic li'gcnds and talys, both in proso and Torse, many of which wcra
ccjtaiwly composed at a very remote period, bnt of which tlio various d^ea
of composition cxlcud down almost to our own times. And it ia within
my own memory that in Clare, and throughout Munater, the iuventioa
iiiid recital of such romantic tales continue to afford a favouritu delight to
tlie still Gacdliilic-speaking people." He ooniiiderB the MS. tides of later ■
llian the twcldh century, of comparatively little value. Ue divides the
more ancient into four classes ; the first, comprising those ascribed
directly to the Fenian chiefx, Finn, Oisin, Fergua and Caoilte; the second,
eonai^ting of tracts made up of articles in piose and verso, ascribed to
some 0110 of the same personages, but related by a aeeoud person ; the
third, containing miscelhineous puenis, descriptive of pasHagca in the Ufa
of Film and his warriors, but not ascribed to any author ; and the fourth,
consisting of certain talcs in a romantic style relating to tho same. To
Finn are ascribed live existing poems, to Oisiu but two, which can bo
tiacud so far back as the twellth century, to Fergus " the eloi]uent," one,
;iiid to Caoiltc one. To the second class belongs tho " Dialogue of the
Ancient Slen," via:, Oisin and C:ioiltc, who, the legend states, outlived tho
ri'st of the Fenian chiefs, imd even conversed with St. Patrick, and related
to hlin the exploits of the Fenians. The third class are oAen called
" Ossianic," sinco the legend gives them as conversations between Ossian
and St. Putrick about the Fenians. As a specimen of these poems, we
give a few stanzas from the opening of the well-known " Lamentation of
Oiain after the Fenians," (Ossianic Soc. vol. iii. p. 230.)
AIo!! ! O I'ioon of the Foniniis nnrl of tlic
llORtB I
0 Oscar of the fi^lit. iii.v snn 1
Are }'G living, or in vrlint land,
Whilst Ui.sin is without ui'tiou it
■trpngtli ?
Alas I I am a nithcrcil nlil niaii,
JjickiHg food, drink, anil sleep ;
SiifriTin^ the o]iiircssii>c cif I'ntrick niiil
liix rliTJcs,
la [litiful want anil gloom.
Aliis ! it i« a jiitcons tiilc,
Tliut I am now hidilen from the Fcnidns:
I>i>tciiiri^ to tlic (Iron'fiy noiso of a bell,
1 grieve DOW, awl rejoice not.
AI.TS ! O tril* of the mighty battlcN
Hrcnt was your love of valoar odco :
Whiiiicr it) jour righcTul natoro gone.
That yc <:&rc ndt whether it bo well with
Oisin ?
Aliis 1 ikjirowlul ii my end,
Since I luii'c loat niy strength and vigonr ;
VVttliDUt the chase, without music by inc,
^Vhi1Et I niuiic on the licanty vt the tnco.
Aliis ! whitlicr go the men that viitb
mighty,
'Mint thi'v come not to snceonr nie f
<) Oscar, uf the shurp bloiles of victOIVi
(,'»mD and nlKiiw tby father from this
lua'lagu.
Oisin then goes on to bewail his h iid late, living on tho [ntiful dote of
THE ANCIEKT FEKIAN8 AMD EENIAH LITEHATURK. 137
Patrick and his clergy, and compares his present wocrul plight with his
former conditioa as a Fenian chief. Tliu last claea of Fenian literature
Rcc^Dized by Professor O'Curry is the Fcoian tales. One of the most
relebnited of these is the one before mentioned, the Elopement of Dermuid
udGiaioQJ. Finn, in his old age, vrants a wife, and ia recommended
the king's daughter, the princess Grainne, but not being on good terms
vilh King Cormao, ia afraid that h» would get a refusal if he made a per-
Knal application, bo he sends two of Lis fricnda to tu^ Curmac. Cormac
hu 00 objection ; but as Grainn6 had upset all previous arrangements of
■he tame kind, and Cormac had got the blame, he would have nothing to
ia in the matter, but told them to apply to tiie priucess herself. She told
\h king her father, " If he be n fitting son-in-law for theo, why should
Ik not be a fitting husband and mute for me?" Finn and his retinuo
ccmc to Tara, and are right royally received. A splendid banquet ia laid
mt, at which the princess herself is present : getting a certain Druid
Imiile her, she finds out from him the purpose of the visit and the names
ef the principal Fenians at the banquet (Ossianic Soc. vol. iii. p. 49).
"Tbere sat there a Druid and a skilful man of knowledge of the people of
TviBn before Grainne, the daughter of Cormac, that is, Daire ' of the
IMms,' son of Moma ; and it was not long before there arose gentle
blkiag and mntual discourse between himself and Grainnd, Then Daire
■roH and stood before Grainne, and sang her the songs and the verses
iiid the sweet poems of her lathers and of her anceators ; and then Groinnd
■poke and aaked the Druid, — ' What is the thing or matter wherefore
Tionn ia come to this place to-night 1 '
" ' If thou knowest not that," said the Druid, ' it is no wonder that I
bow it not.'
" ' I deure to learn it of thee,' said Grainne.
" ' Well then,' quoth the Druid, ' it is to ask thee aa wife and mato
ibai Fionn ia come to this place to-night.'
" ' It is a great marvel to me,' sold Grainn^, ' that it is not for Oiain
ibt Fionn aaks me ; for it were fitter to give me such as lie than a man
llut it older than my father.'
" ' Say not that,' said the Druid, ' for if Fionn were to hear thee, he
lunuelf would not have thee, neither would Oiain dare to take tiiee.'
" ' Tell me now,' said Grainn^, ' who is that warrior at the right
Moulder of Oisin the son of Fionn 7 '
"'Yonder,' said the Druid, 'is GoU Mac Moma, the active, the
»ulike.'
'■ ' Who ia that warrior at the shoulder of Goll ? ' said Grainn^.
" ' Oscar the son of Oisin,' said the Druid.
" ' Who is that graceful-le^ed man at the shoulder of Oscar ? ' said
Grainni.
'" Caoiltd Mac Konain,' said the Druid.
" ' What haughty, impetuous warrior is tliat yonder at the nhouldcr of
C»>ilte?'eaid Grainnd.
128 THE ANCIENT FENIANS AND FENIAN LrfEBATlIBE.
" 'Theuon of Lughaidh of tlio miglity liand, and that man is Bislvr'e Bon
to Fionn Mac Cumhaill,' sjiid the Druid.
" ' Who is that Bwcet- worded man with the dimple, upon whom is the
curling dark-black hair, and [who has] the two ruddy, berry-red checks,
upon the left hand of Oisin the son of Fionn 1 '
" ' That man is Diarmuid, the grandson of Duibhue, the white-toothed,
of the lightsome countenance : that is, the best lover of women and of
utaidona that is in the whole world.'
The princess then sent for her own "jewelled, golden-chased goblet,"
and as was the custom, sent it round wilb Iter handmaiden to whomsoever
of the guests she chose specially to honour. Slie did not send it to
Dermuid and some others of the younger warriors, but sent it to Finn,
to her father, and to the rest. Gradually these sank into a profound
slumber, for the cup had been of course drugged. She then made her
case known to the yoimg warriors, but from fear of Finn's revenge they
refused to assiet her. She then went to the extremity of laying geasa, or
bonds of honour, upon Dermuid, that he should relievo her ; and from this,
according to the Celtic laws of honour, there was no escape. All the rest
itdvtsed him to go with her. She left the palace by a wicket-gate, to
meet bim outside the town, lie went over the palisade.
" After that Diarmuid arose and stood, and stretched forth hia active
warrior hand over his broad weapons, and took leave and farewell of
Oisin and of the chiefs of the Fenians; and not bigger is a smooth
crimson whortleberry than was each tear that Diarmuid shed from his
eyes at parting with his people. Diarmuid went to the top of the fort,
and j)Ut the shafts of his two javcHns under him, and rose .with an airy,
very light, exceeding high bird-like leap, until he attained the brcadtli
of hia two soles of the bcaulifui grass-green earth on the plain without,
and there Grainnc met him. Then Diarmuid Eix>kc, and what he said wais:
' I trow, 0 Grainn6, that this is an evil course upon which thou art come :
for it were better ibr thee to have Fionn Mao Cumhaill for lover than
myself, seeing that I know not what nook, or corner, or remote part of
Erin I can take thee to now. Betum again to the town, and Fionn will
never learn what thou hast done.' ' It is certain that I will not go back,'
said Grainnc, ' and that I will not part from thee until death part me from
thee.' ' Then go forward, 0 Grainnc,' said Diarmuid."
Dermuid, thus carried olT noleiia volens, falls in desperate love with
the brave woman, and the two set out, pursued by Finn and her father ;
and their adventures through Ireland, bunted by the two old gentlemen,
and assisted by the young officers of the Fenians, forma the plot of thia
old Celtic romance. The reader must excuse onr wandering from histoty
into romance, even though it is concerned with the Celts in the thinl
century.
THE
CORNHILL MAGAZINE.
FEBRUARY, 186G.
S^hQ (Elauiirinfifl.
,v
chatter i,
Julia Brabazok.
HE gotdetis of Clnvcring Turk
were reniflvcd some tiiree hun-
dred yards from ttic large,
square, Bombw-Iaoking Slona
in.Lti'.lrui wliiili ivaH ih(i cuiin-
i[_i-i]uii.ii' -1 Sir Hugh CI«-
i^'i.j^^ -fc"£':^ vering, tho clovenih b&roDct
of thnt niirao ; nnd in thcae
gardccui, wliich lind but little
of beauLy toreconimenil tJiem,
I will inlroduco my rcadem to
two of lli« pcrsouftgcii wiih
whom I wisli to ninkc them
iicquuatcd iu tho following
! irj'. It vaa now lht> cnul
i' August, and the portcmx,
' i^A, nnd biu of lawn wc-rc
dry, duligured, and almost
ugly, fr&m Ibo ciTects of a
long drought, lii gardens to
which car« and labour nru
given abundsntl/, flower-btdn
will b« pretty, and grass will
let tl)H ncutlicr bo wliat it may ; but care nnd labc>ur w«re
hK KBBttly bestowed oa tho Clnvering Gurdcnn, nnd erorything was
;iliov. adiutf Iiarali, and dry. Over the bunit lurf towardi a gnic
'^c*
180
TUK CLAVICKINGS.
Cdto
tbnt led to tliQ houee, a ]ady vaa wnlking, and by Iicr ude then vntl
$, gonllomiin.
" You nro going in, ifccn, SIIm Brataron," said the gcntlcmwi, Bn<I if
Yrnn rciy nianil<:st from hi* tone thnt lie ii)tf:iidc(I io cohtcj* tome deep
rcproacli in liia words. M
" Of courea I am gtiing in," BAid tlie lady. '* You asked tne to wnnil
with you, and I refuse]. Yon hnvc now waylaid me, and thcrcfona I
iixsil Mcnpc,— xinlewi 1 iiin prcvoiittd by riolcnce." As she spoleshe stood
atiU lor a moment, nnd luokvd into hla fjicc vritli a umile whicli •ccincd to
indicalG that if such violence were used, wittin ratioDsl bounds, she woi
not feci herself driven to groat anger.
But lliough she might be inclined lo be plnyHil, he viu hy no ni'
in that mood. " And tvliy did ynu refui« nic when I asked you? " said bs.
" For two leasoiia, fiart!/ because I Lhouglit it better to avoid Uijr
cODvereatinu witli you."
"That 13 civil to an old friend."
" But chiefly," and now aa ah« apoke An drew hertclf up,
dismitised the smile from hi-r face, and allowed her eyes to Ml upon
ground; "but chiolly because 1 thought that Lord Ongar would
that I Should not ronm nlonG about Clavpring Park with any yo!
geutlcmsn while I nm duwa hi-rc ; and that he might specially object
tny lonmiiig witli you, wcru In- lo know thnt you and I wefe— old
Bnce.1. New I have been very frank, Mr. Clarering, and I think that
that ought to be enough,"
" You ar<^ fttraid of him already, then ? "
"I nm afraid of oflVnding any one whom I lore, and especially any
Oao to whom I owe any duty."
"Enough ! indeed it is not. From what you know of me do yoa
think it likely that that will be enough ? " He woe now stnnding in from '
of her, between her and the gnte, and ehe mnde no effort to I«vo him, *fl
"And wimt is it you want 7 I gui)[>0Ee you do not maao lo fight
Lord Ongiu", tind that if you did you would not come lo roe."
" Fight hitn I No ; 1 luve no quarrel with hitn. Fighting him wnmld
do no good,"
" None in the least ; otid he would not Cght if yon were to ask liim ;
and you could notiuk him without being false to me"
" I ahoold iiiive iiad an ejinniiilc lor that, at any rate."
" That's nonsense, Jlr. Clavering. My &!sehood, if yon should choose
to cbU nic false, is of a very different nature, and is p.irdounblo by
laws known iti the world."
" Y'ou are a jilt, — that is all."
*' Come, Harry, don't use hard words," nnd slic put licr trnnd kindly
upon hiii arm. " Look nt mc, such as I am, and at yourself, and then say
whether anythirg but misery coiild come of n match between you a:
mc. Our ages by th<! regiater are tlie same, hut I am ten years older ih,
you by the world. I have two hundred a year, and I owe at this W'
<
I
•e
11
THE CtAVERIKGS. 181
nx hundred pounds. You luive, perliai>8, double as much, and would
lose half of ihat if you married. You are aQ ualier ut a suhool."
" No, madam, I am not an uslicr at a school."
" Wdl, well, you know I don't mean to make you angry."
"At the present moment, I am a schoolmastci-, and if I remained so, I
uigut ioirly look forward to a liberal income. Jiut I am going to give
Out up."
"You will not be more fit for matrimony because yoti are going to
gire up your profession. Now Lord Oiigar has — heaven knowB what ; —
perhaps sixty thousand a year."
" In all my life I never heard sitcli cfirontery, — such barefaced shame-
lea wcrldlincu."
" Why should I not love a man with a hu-gc ijiconie 7 "
" He is old euongh to be your lather."
"He is thirty-six, and 1 am twenty -four."
"Thirty-six!"
" There is the Peerage for you to look at. But, my dear Harry, do
yon not know that you are perplexing me and yourself too, for nothing 7
I was ibol enough when I came here from Nice, after paps'a death, to let
yon tsJk nonsense to me for a month or two."
" Did you or did you not swear that you loved me 7 "
" Ob, Mr. Claveriog, I did not imagine that your strength would hava
CBodeacended to take such advantage over the weakness of a woman. I
Rmember no oaths of any kind, and what foolish assertions I may have
made, I am not going to repeat. It must have become manifest to you
during these two years that all that was 8 romance. If it be a pleasure to
yon to look back to it, of that pleasure I cannot deprive yuu. Perhaps I
ako may sometimes look back. But I shall never spcuk of tlmt time
■gain; and you, if you are as noble as I lake you to be, will not speak of
it either. 1 know you would not wish to injure nic."
" I would wish to save you from the misery you are biinging on
ymiseU;"
" In that you must allow me to look after myself. I^rd Ongar cer-
Isinly wants a wife, and I intend to be true to him, — and useful."
" How about love ? "
" And to love him, sir. Do you think Uiat no man can win a woman's
loTS, unleia he is filled to tlie brim with poetry, and has a neck like Lord
Byron, and is handsome like your worship? You are verj' handsome,
Ilan^-, and you, too, should go into the market and make tlie best of
yuinelf. '\Vhy should you not leara to love some nice girl that has
BKmey to assist you 7 "
"Julia I"
" No, sir ; I will not be called Julia. If you do, I will be insulted,
uti lo«ve you instantly. I may call you Harry, as being so much
younger, — though we were bom in the mmc month, and as a MTt of cousin.
But 1 sliall never do that after to-day."
7—3
" You. hare coorage enough, then, lo tell me (hat yoa have
used mc 7 "
" CcrtaiDl; I liave. Why, what a fool you. woulil have si« b« !
nt me, and t«li me whethn* I rid tit lo bo tho wilb or auch a one as you.
Bj the time you are entering the worM, I rfwll be nn old womso, snd
hUikll hare lived my lift Even if 1 were fit to bo yoiir mate wli«n wc
nm living licrc logetlii-r, ara I fit, nfYer uhat I have done and teen
during ihc Inst two years 1 Do yoa think it would rcnlly do nny good to
any one if I w<-TO to jilt, as yuu oill it, Lord Chignr, mid t«-]l them all, —
your ecudiii, Sir Hugh, «iid niy giitter, and your (iit]i(T, — that I was going
to keep myself up, and luarcy y^u wht-n you \ver« ready for me ? "
" You tweon to aoy that the evil is done."
"No, indeed. At tho present nioracDt I ow« ux hoodred pound
and 1 don't know %vhcrc to turn for it, » that my hushnnd nuAy not b«'
dunned for my dt-blii as 8oon as he. haa niai'ned me. Wlmt a wife I
ahould hftvu l>ccn for you ; — should 1 not 7 " ■
" I eouid pay the eix hundred [wundB fur you with money llmt I 1mv«^
Barned myself, tlioujjh you do cull me mi uhIkt ; and perhaps would uk
fewer questions nlwut it tUaa Lord On^T will do with all Lin ihoiifwids."
*'Uenr Hairy, I beg yuur pardon nbont the usher. Of course, 1
kuow Uiut you arc a fellow of your college, and that St. Cutlibert's, wW«
you teach ihe boyw, ia one of the grandest scIiooIh in England ; and I hope
yoii'il bo a biahop ; nay, — I tlilnk yon will, if yon make up your mind
to try for It."
" I hwve given up all idea of going into the church."
" 'Ihen you'll be a judge. I linow you'll be great nnd distir
and that you'll do il till yourself. You are distinguifihed alr^'iuiy,
could only know how infinik-ly 1 ulionld prefer your lot to min«]
Ilariy, I envy you ! I do envy jon I You havo got th« hnll nt your feet,
iind till) world before you, and cnn win everything for youiwlf."
" But nething is anything without your Jove." ■
" Psha 1 Lovsj indeed. Whnt could I do (or you but min youl i
Yon know it an well as 1 do ; but yon are wlfish cnongh to wisli to con-
tinue a romance which would be nbHoUitely destructive lo mc, though for
a while it might Hlfonl a pleusint relaxaiJon to your grnTor Elndiea,
Harry, you can choote in the world. Tou have divinity, and law, imd
literature, and nrl. And if debaiTed from love now by the exigencies of
labour, you will be as fit for love in ten years' time as you uro at prvMnL"
*' But I do lovo now."
" Be a mail, then, and keep it to your>ii-]f. Love ia not to be
miutcr. You cati chooee, as I say ; but 1 huvc hod no choice, — no cbolo
but to bo married well, or to go eut like a anuff of a enndlo. I don't
the snnlFof a candle, and, ihcri-forc, I am going to be married well.'
"And that sufliceaT"
"It muift miffice. And why »honld it not suftioe? You nnj veir'
uncivil, cousin, nnd very unlike tho i-cst of the world, ETcrybody com-
^our mind
J
THE CtAYEBINQS. 133
pliments me on mj marriage. Lord Ongar is cot only rich, but lie is a
taan of iaahion, scd a man of talent."
" Are 70U fond of race-bones y ovirself 7 "
" Very fond of them."
" And of that kind of life 7 "
" V«Ty fond of it. I mean to be fond of everytliing that Lord Ongar
likea. I know that I can't change him, and, therdbre, I ihall not try."
" You are right there, Miss Brabazon."
" Yon mean to be imper^eot, sir; but I will not take it so. This ifl
to be our last meeting in prirate, and I won't acknowledge that I am
ininlted. But it most be over now, Harry ; and here I hare been pacing
nnuidaod round the garden with you, in spite of my refusal just now. It
mart not be repeated, or things will be said which I do not mean to have
erer said of me. Good-by, Harry."
"Good-by, Julia."
" Well, for that once let it pass. And remember this ; I have told
yon all my hopes, and my one trouble. I have been thus open with you
because 1 thought it might serve to make you -look at things in « right
lighL I trust to your honour as a geoUeman to repeat nothing that I have
Mid to yon."
" I am not given to repeat such things as those."
** Tm sure you are not. And I hope you will not misunderstand the
^arit in which they have been qioken. I shall never regret what I have
tdd yoa now, if it tends to make you perceive that we must both regard
oar past acquaintance as a romonce, which must, from the stem necessity
cf things, be treated as a dream which we have dreamt, or a poem which
»e have read."
" You can treat it as you please."
" God bless you, Harry; and I will always hope fur your welfare, and
hear of your success with joy. Will you come up and shoot with them on
Thursday 7 "
" What, with Hugh 7 No; Hugh and I do not hit it off tt^ether. If I
ibot at Clavering I should have to do it as a sort of head-keeper. It's a
bigher position, I know, than that of an usher, but it doesn't suit me."
" Oh, Harry 1 that is bo cruel 1 But you will come up to the house.
Lord Ongar will be there on the thirty-first ; the day after to-morrow,
you know,"
" I must decline even that temptation. I never go into the house
when Hugh is tliere, except about twice a year on solemn invitation — ^just
to prevent there being a Ikmily quarrel."
" Good-by, tlien," and she offered him her hand.
« Good-by, if it must be so."
" I don't know whether you mean to grace my marriage 7 "
" Certainly not. I shall be away from Clavering, so that the marriage
bells may not wotmd my ears. For the matter of that, I shall be at the
■cfaool."
184
TBa n..WBniK<38.
I
sliall mat mme litiy in Inwi
I
I itiey ■
rcringj
.^
'ring
Bra-
I tlie
bom
their ■
'^
" Moat probably
diffcicul, CTcn if I bIiouU «icc«d in getting up to Lonrfon. If yon eret
coine to ffv ]hm'Mne liure, I may chance to meet j-oii in the house. tJul
you will not do tliut oricti, tho plnce is so dull nnd uaatimctivc."
*' It Ja dio dearest oltl prirk,"
" Ycpu won't car* mucli for oW iinrlcs na hoAy Ongar."
"Yon don't know Trliat I ra*y emre about as Liwly Ortyar; but as
Jllift Bi-iihiia;(in I will now my good-by for thn Isit time." Then ihey
puled, nnJ tlic lady returned to tlic great housi*, while Harry ClaTcrinj
niftd* )i!4 -wny nerow tho pnric towfiii!* the r.-ctorr.
Threo yraw bwfore tliis jeeue in llie gardens at Clarering PaHc,
Bnbuzou hnd died nt Ni«e, leaving one unm&rried daughter, tlie lady
whom the I'ender has jnst been intradiici'd. One other dsughler he hoj,'
who woe then already niiirried to Sir Hugh Cliivcriiig, and Lady Olarenng
WM ihfl licrmione of wh«m miMition hjia alroiidy been made. Lord Bra-
bazoD, whose peeisge had descended to him in a direct line from tlie
times of the Plnntngt-ncts^ v-as otic of thosc^ unforttinntc nobles of wbom
England is htirdcnf^ed with hut f/^, who have no raeana (.'fjiml to their
rank. He liud niiirried lute in life, and had died without a male heir.
The title which had come from tho Planlafrenets waa now Isp««d j
when the Inst lord died, about funr hundred a y«ar vrm divided between
hill Iwo daughtcra. The tridpr h;ul already matlo nn excellent mntoh, as
Togard*^ fortune, in marrying Sir Iltigh OlaTering; and the yonngcr was
now about to make n much more ipiendid match in lier aliinnce with I-cird
Ongsr. or thorn I do not know thot it ia nccouary to tay much nn
at present.
And of Harry Clavcring it rcrhap* may not he nccewar/ to say roocli
in tlie way of description, The attentive reader will have alrcadj- gatlicrtd
nearly all that ehould be known of him before he mskee himoelf kni
by Itin own de«da, Hv wmt the only non of the Itovercnd Henry Clarerin^i
reetor of Clavering, unele of tlie prestent Sir Hugh Clavering, and brolhtr
of the last Sir Hugh. The Rercrend Henry Clavering, and Mrs. ClaTirinff
his wiff, and his two dnughlem, Mary and Fanny Clnrering, Urtd nlwaya
at Clavcring Keetory, on the ouiNkirte or Clavering Park, at n full mite's
distance from the hoiiHu. The church ittooii in the park, about midway
between th« two reaidenCM. When I have n.imed one wore CUr«rifig^,H
Captain Clavcring, Captain .Arehibnid Ctavering, Sir llugh'a brothw, anjf
when I ahall have raid nlao th;il; bolJi Sir Hugh and Capttdn ClaTertng
were men fond of plcaanrc and fond of m(^^[:!y, 1 Bhnll hftvc said all that I
need now say about the Clavcring family at large.
JuUu Bruboxon had indulged in eomc remiaiaccncc of tho romance
ber past poetic life when she talked of coiTKinkhip between her and Uarr^
Clayerlng. Her sister was the wife of Hniry Clavtriiig's first conidn,
between hpr and Harry there was ro relatioiwhip whntCTCr. When ol
Lord Bmbanon had died at Nice she had come to Claveriiig Park, and
THE CLAVERINGS. 135
treated some astonishment among those who knew Sir Hugh by making
good her footiog in his entabliahmcnt. He was not the man to take up a
vife'a dster, and make his house her home, out of charity or from domestic
lore. Lady Chivering, who had been a handsome woman and fashionable
witbal, DO doubt may hare had some influence ; but Sir Hugh was a man
much prone to follow his own courses. It must be presumed that Julia
Brabazon had made herself agreeable in the house, and probably also
useful. She had been taken to London through two seasons, and had
there held up her head among the bravest. And she hod been taken
■broad, — for Sir Hugh did not love Clarering Park, except during aijc
wedts of partridge shooting ; and she had been at Newmarket with them,
•nd at the hotise of a certain fast hunting duke with whom Sir Hugh was
mtimate ; and at Brighton witli her sister, when it suited Sir Hugh to
remain alone at the duke's ; and then again up in London, where ahe
finally arranged matters with Lord Ongar. It was acknowledged by all
the friends of the two &mi]iea, and indeed I may say of the three fiuniliea
DOW — among the Brabazon people, and the Clavering people, and the
Cinuton people, — Lord Ongar's family name Vaa Courton, — that Julia
Brabazon had been very clever. Of her and Harry Clavering together
no one had ever said a word. If any words had been spoken between her
ud Hermione on the subject, the two sisters had been discreet enough to
manage that they should go no further. In those short months of Julia's
romance Sir Hugh had been away from Clavering, and Hermione had
been much occupied in giving birth to an heir. Julia had now lived
part her one short spell of poetry, had written her one sonnet, and was
prefored for the business of the world.
chapter il
Habey Claverino Chooses hib Psofessiok.
HiRRT Claverikq might not be nn usher, hut, nevertheless, lie was home
Ibr the holidays. And who can say where the usher ends and the Bchool-
iDMter begins? lie, perhaps, may properly be called an usher, who is
hired by a private schoolmaster to assist himself in his private occupation,
vfapreas Harry Clavering had been selected by a public body out o( a
hundred candidates, with much real or pretended reference to certificates
of qnalification. He was certainly not an uslier, as lie was paid three
haodred a year for his work, — which is quite beyond the mark of ushers.
So much was certain ; but yet the word stuck in liis throat and made him
nncomfortable. He did not like to reflect that ho was home for the holidays.
But he had determined that lie would never come home for the holi-
days again. At Christmas he would leave the school at wliich he had
Won his appointment with so much trouble, and go into an open pro-
fcision. Indeed he had chosen his profession, and his mode of entering it.
lie would becom« a civil engineer, and perhaps a Und surveyor, and with
136
THE CLAT^UlNGd.
this view he would enter liiniself u a pupl in the great liouso of BeJlby
nnd Burton. The Iprnis «iven had bwn im\&\. Uo wu to [wy a premimn
of five hundrcii pounds and joia Mr. UurWn, wko w« Mitled in ihe town
«f Strattoii, for twelvo montlii befcre he pUtod hiuiaeir io Mr. B«ilby'a
effice in London. Slrutlon w« lew llinn twenty miles from CUvctHng.
It was a comfort to biin to think thut he couW pay this five hundrwd
pound* out of hi* own enmingn, without troubling his fjuhw. It was
a coralbrt, «vcn lliougb be had earned that money by " uaheriog " for tlw
last two yean.
'When hie left Julia. Brabnzon in tbe garden, Ilorry Cto-Tcring did not
go at once home to liiu rectory, bat sauDttircd out all alone into the fuk,
intending to indulge in reminisci^ncoa uf ht!i pnat romance. It wan nil
wvr, that idea of hnving Jiiliu Bruhnzun fur hia lore; and now lie bad lo
oik biioKir whether he intended to be mAde p^rmanontly miserable by
ber worldly fuUciuess, or whether be would borrow sometliing of bcT
worldly wiadom, and ngrce with bimiclf lo look buck on what wm past aa
a plwearablu nxciu-in^-nt in liia boyhood. Of ooorae we all know that
renlty permnnfnt niiicry waa in truth out of the question. Nature had not
made him phyiucully or ui&ntally so poor a creature a« lo bo incapabla of
B cure. But on thm oecaaion bo decided on permanent misery. Thpre
vtiix about bin liout, — about his nottuil anatomical butirt, wUb its internal
nrraagctu«nt of valve* and blood- v<!Me]N, — a h<:nvy drugging f<-el tbaC
klmoiit amount<'d to corjwreal pain, and which he dojcribed to himiwlf aa
B|;ooy, Why should this ridi, debaudied, dieniputabl^ lord have the power
of Inking the cup fium bis lip, the one morsel of bread which he coveted
fVom his mouth, bis one ingot of trcnsurc out of bis coCTi-r 7 Fight bin I
No, be knew be could not light Lord Ongor. The world was against ne\
an arraugement. And in truth Harry Clavui-ing bad so mudi contempt fbf
Lord Ongar, that be bad no wish to light so poor a creature. The raa;
had had dolirium tremens, nnd vraa a worn-cut miserable object So ak'
least Harry Cbivering wuit oEiIy loo rcndy to believe. Ht- did not care
muub for Lord Ongar in tb« matter, liis anger won against bcr; — that
abe should have deserted him for a miserable creature, who bad uuthing
to back him but wealth and rank I
There was wretchedness in every viow of the matter. H* loved
no well, iiud yet be could do nothing I He could tale no step to'
BKving bcr or asaititing luuiaelf. The marilii^u licIU would ring witbin
month from the present time, and liis own father would go lo the cliureb
nnd marry ibcm. Unluas Lord Ongar were to die before ibtn by God'x
hand, there could benoescapi-, — nnd of such escape llnrry C'laveriiighadiio
tboughi. He felt a weaiy, dragging fior&tiess at bin heart, and told himaelf
that hfi must be niiserablu for ever, — not so miserable but what be would
work, but w wrctidied that the world could luve fur him no tatinfaction.
^Vliut could ho do 7 What thing could be achi<;vc so that «1ib sb
bnow tliat ho did not let ber go from hicn without more thought than
poor vorda bad expieued? Ue was perfectly aware tbal in tboir cei
i
r
i
il
St
uuung
ed b«^
ilhin^'
TOZ CLAVERmOS.
TCrmlion At \m1 Iiatl tlic btst of the argumoil, — tL»t ]i<r hod talked
alaiut like n boy, -while hIiu liad talked t)uite liki: it nomsu. S3>« lud
trMied him de baut en has with all (lint eupcriority vthicli youth and
licauly giTc to a yoODg uonian over n very jouog man. What could bo
■lo r Before b« r«tunicd l« tbe iecU>iy, lie had nmdc up bie itiind wliaE
lit wDold do, and on tlio Ibllowing momiitg Julia Brabiucun received hy
ihfl bao^ of her maid llic following note : —
• I tliink I understood all tlut you K»id t« rae yealerday. At auy rate,
I radontatitl tbat yon bave one trouble lefl, and that X hnve the im-nns of
cmwjit." la th« first draft of bis letter he mvid sometltiiig nboui iisbt;riiig,
\nl liat hv omilted ancmArds. *' You iiiny be aHsurcd tlml the enclc>3«d
iiall m^ own, and thai it ia entirely at my ovn di^jiosn!. Yuu may nlw
ItqtiiWaureof good faith oa tLc {)ut of the leader. — II. C" Aud in thia
ItDtr In eneloMd a ebcqite for «ix hundred pounds. It vaa the money
«Ucfa be had Mved aiac« he touk ]ii.s ili^uc, uiid had bci^n inicoded fur
Kmbs. Beilbjud Burtou. But be vould vait another two years,— con<
liUDng to do hi* uabering: for her sake. "What did it uiallet to a luuu who
■art^ under auy circoaurtaDcis, he permanently uuAcrablo ?
Sir Hiigb was not yet at ClarerJng. }le vma to conic wiili Lord Ongjtr
wlbeereofthcpartiidgc-KhoDtiiig. Tbc two aifitcrs, lliorelore, liiul tlieliounc
aU to thctn<elv0<- At about twelve they «At down to brcakJast together
IB a little iiiiatairi clianibi-r adjoining Lady duvvring's own room, Julia
Btabasoil at that tiu« having Iicr lovur'a gvucrvus Ictlcr in hvr pocket.
Sbe knew that it was as improper as it was gccerouB, and that, moreover, il
VMTerjr dangerous. Tlicrv was do knowing what might be tlie result of
nth a letter ebonld Lord On^r even know tliut sUc hnd received it. She
na not alMoiut«ly angry with Harry, but had, to lierndf, twenty ttDi(^scnlliL>d
iim a iboluili, indiKreet, dcAr geaeroim buy. But vrh.it was nhc to do with
AaclMqaeT As to that, she had hurdly ns yet made up her mind when
Aa joined her aiiiter on the morning in (jut-stion. Ercn to Ilcrcuionc ehc
fid sot dare to tell the fact that such a letter biid b^-en received by her.
fiat in truth )ver debts were a great torment to her; and yet how
tiiing they were when compared witlt the wealth of the m;in who wa.i tn
hecoe Iter husband ia six weeks I Ix-t her marry him, and not pay
tlna, and be probably wotJd nevt-r W tho winer. They would get them-
Hlttt paid aloioBt witboot hia knowledge, perhaps altogether without hia
btvinj; of ibem. But yet idie feared him, knowing him to be gruedy
tboot money ; aud, to give her aiicli merit as wa» due to her, she felt llie
■ of gmag to her husband vith debts on her shoulder. She bad
in ikomand pounds of ber own ; but the very seltlement which gave her
ftBOhIc dower, and which made the niarriago so briUiant, made ever ^i«
mil turn in its entirety to her lord. She hud been wrong not to t^-U tb«
barerof ber trouble when he had brought the paper for her to sign;
hx die bad not told liini. If Sir Hugh CUvciing had been licr own
hnkv there would have been no difliculiy, but he was only lier
twtbci-to'law, and she fuared to speuk to bim. Uei tislt-r, however,
7-5
I8d
TF!B CtiAVEniHaS.
, kaev tlint (lien! wore dobt*, imd on llint siilijeet die wta not disM li
upealc t» ilcrmioiie.
"Hertny," mid she, " wlitit am I to io about thi< meney tliat I owe?
I got A bill from Colelugh's lliis niorniiig."
" Just because he knows you're going to ha niarritd ; that's all."
" But how «m I (o pay him 7"
" Tako no aolicu of it till next fpHng. I don't know wbat else yofl
eon do. Toa'll be ean to hnre monty whra yen c&mc b&ck (rom tb«
OontiBMit."
" You couldn't lend it me ; could jou?"
*' Wlio ? I ? Did you ever liiiow uic Iiiivc any rauncy in liaStl sia4
I Traa mnrrird ? I liuvt; the nnmc of «» nllowancp, but it ia nlwnys
before it comfa to me, ami I am nhvnya In debt."
" WouW Hugh— let me have JtT'*
*' What, give it you ?
*' WclJ, it wouldn't te to very mncli for him. I never tuked Iiito fo
ft pound yet."
" I think 1i« would sny Komctliiug you wouldn't like if jou were to a/Sn
him ; but, ofccunw, you can try it if you plcns(\"
" Th«n whnl n.m I to do ? "
" I/«rd Ongar alioulil tare let you ttep your own Cirlun«. It
have been nothing to him."
" Hugh diiUi'l let yon Ic^ep your own fortune."
" But Ihc money which will hp nothing to Lord Ongar was a
deal to Hugli. Tou'r« going to have nxty thousand a year, whila
hove t(>do with seven or eight. Dexidfji, I hadn't been out in London,
aud it wasn't liki;Iy I should o\v« mucli in iKice. lie did oak mc, nai
thero W!i8 (HMHi'lhiiig."
*' Wliat run I to do, ID-rmyT" M
" Write and nsk Lord Oag.ir to let you hnvc what you want oat o^
your own money. "Write to-dny, so that he may gi;t your letter before
)ie cotneft."
•*0h, dear! oh, dear! I never vrrote a word to him yet, and to,
with asking him for money I "
" I don't think lie can be Rtigry with you for that."
« I shouldn't know what to wiy. Wmilil you write it (or me, and
me «ce how it looks ? "
TbJi I^dy Cliivcring did; und Lad nhc rcfuBod to do it, I think
poor Harry Claveriog's cheijiie would havK Iwen tucd. As it wa«, Lady
Claveriiig wrote the letter to " My dear Lord Ongar," and it waa copie
and HJgnod by " Ymirn most aflbctiocatt'Iy, Julia Brabnxon." The vl
tif this was ilie receipt ef n cheque for a thou-iaiid pounds in a very pt
note from Lord Ongar, which the lord brought with him to ClaTeric
and ariit up to Julia ns lie wn« drcwing for diuner. It was an cxtrtmC
GOnilbrlablc arrangement, and Julia was very glad of the money, — fbdii
it to bo a portion of that which wait hi-r own. And Harry's cheque
TUB CLAVEIilNGS.
189
nbmioil to lilai on llie day of its rcwipt. " Of course I cannot
it. And of courw yc-u ahoiiW not linrc sent it." Tlieee words were
irritteo on llic iDorscI of pupcr in wlitJi the mvxtvy wus nrturned. But
Vim Bnib«on bad tora the Bignature oif the ciixiiu-, so that it migbt bo
Bfr, whortau Hurry CUvprin^ hnd tuken no precatition with it whatever.
But then Hurry Clitverin^ liud not lived tivo yeiirs in London.
During tlic lioun that lliu cheque woe avray from him, Harry li.id
toU hli fiitber thnt pcrhnpii^ even yet, tic might chnnge Lis ptirpase aa lo
to Mcvtmi. Beilby and Btirtnti. He did not know, lie snid, but he
ttiD in donbt. TWj had sprang from some chaac< question wIjicH
bail 3ak«d, and wliich had se'emed to demand an answer,
irering grenHy disliked the scheme of lifi; which hia eon Iiad made.
Harry's life hidierto had been piYvoporoiin and very crcditablo. Ho had
fow early to Cambridge, and at twenty-two hiul become a fdluw of hia
caDfge. This f«Uowihip h« coald lioid for five or six years wicliout goin^
itfo orders. It would th^a lead to a living, and would in the meantime
dbrd a livelihood. But, beyond thU, FTarrj', with an energy which he
ccRaialy bad not inherited from hi* falh^r, had become a achoolmast«r,
and tt» alrrady a rich man. He h.i<I done more tlian welt, and there
ma a gnttt probability that between tlicni they might be able to buy the
MB prcsPBlalion lo Clavoring, when the titne should cod^g Id whiuh Sir
H^gh ahotild determine on nelling it. Thnt Sir Hugh should give Uie
fan^y living to bin comin was never thought probable by any of tho
family at tb« rectory; but he might perbxpa part with it ttnder Buoh
drcoDiRtsncea oo ftvourable terms. For all thcao rcaaoDS the father waa
*ay anxioUR that hii son ndioiild follow out the conrao for which be bud
bn iat£nded ; but that W, being unenergetic and having hitherto done
hdc for bis aoo, should dictate to a young man who htul been energetic,
■rfwho had done much for bimself, was out of the question. Harry,
IboeRiTC, was to be tho arbiter of his own fate. But whca l[arry
nettred back the cheque from Julia Urabozon, then lie again returned to
Va r«olotioa respecting M^njrs. Beilby and Burton, and took the first
ifiportanity oftelliag bis father that emch waa the case.
Aft«r brcakfaat lie followed his liither into Ills study, and there, sitting
ia two eaay-chair« oppoelic to each other, they lit cnch a cigar. Sucb
*M iLt iwcTcnd gentlcman'fl cwitom in the nflcmoon, and suob alao in
Iks mnnii^. I do not know whntlier tlie smoking of four or five cigars
itSfy by tlie parson of a p-Ai'uii may aow-a-day bo coaaidcr«d ns a vice in
Ke, but if 10, it waa the only vice witli wliieh Mr. Clnvering could be
dmi^. lie was a kind, aoft-hcartcd, gracioo* mani tender to his wife,
trtora be ever regarded a* tho angel of hia house, indnlgenl to his
intebtcis, whom he iJciIizixl, eVi-r patient with hia purisbionei's, and
uakSi^lhaagh not widely .iwidce, — to the rcaponsibililit^ uf his ctlling,
The world liad been loo comforublc for him, and alxo too narrow; so that
!m had iRink into hUnieasL The world hnd given liim mudi to cat and
drinl, but ]t had jiTco him littlo to do, and tbiu he had grtidually fajlva
uo
THE aAT£mN08.
^
away from h!a oarly ptirposcs, till liiii rnergy hanlly sufficed lor tlie doiof '
of thatliltlc His living gave liiin cighl Uiindrc<J a year; Iub wiA^'s
f»Ttunc nearly <i«ubkd that, llo had mnrricci enrly, and had got hu
living early, and bad been very prosjwroui. But he wim not a happy
tnoo. He knew llint Iiu liud put otT tliu day of action till iLc {lovrcr offl
action haA pnsjn.'d nwiiy from him. Hia libnu^- waa well funiished, but he "
rarely rend mucli vUk llian novels and poetry; and of late yeara the
rendii^ even of poetry had given xrny to tbe reading of navcli. Tilt J
within ten years of llie hour ut wliich I tpeak, he liad been a luuaiiDgS
parson, — not hunting loudly, l>ut fvllowing liia spvrt »n it ia followed by
taoderato Bportamcn, Thi-a there had como a new bishop, and tbe new
bia}]op had aent for him, — nay, linully hail come to him, and had lectured
bim with blatant nulKonty. " My lord," said the pnrson of Ciurvring,
plucking up BDmelliIng of his ^aat energy, as the colour rose to hit fuou,
*' I think you are wrong in this, I think you arc specially wcong to inter-fl
fere with inc in thia wny on your first coming among iis. Yoti fool it to bfl
your duty, no doubt; but lu me it aeoms that you mintaltt your duty.
But, as the matter is one simply of my own pieaaure, I abali give it up."
At\& that Mr. Clavering hunted do more, and never spoke a good word to
■ny one of tlie bishop of his diocese. For myacU^ I think it na welt that]
elergynieu should not hunt; but had I been the parson of Clavcrin(^
ohould, under those circuiuBlanccs, have hunted double,
Mr, Clnrering hunted no more, and probably stnoked a greatvr number
of cigars in couaequeoee. He hud an iucre.'Uii-d amount of time at hia
disposal, but did not, therefore, give more time Lo his duticM. Alas I whalj
lime did he give to liis duties? He kept a moat energetic curate, ivhc
he jilIoHed to do almoet what he would wiib the pariah. Every-ilayl
i«r\-ice8 he did prohibit, declaring that he would noi luivo tJie pariJi
church made ridiculoud ; but in other respoets big cumto was the pastor-
Once every Sundny be read the service, and once every Sunday he
preiiehu!!, and he rcfliJod in bin par^inngo ten montha every year. IIu
vrifo and dmightera went luiioiig the poor.^and he smoked cigara io hJi
library. Though not yet fifty, he wa^ becoming fnt and idle, — unwilliag^H
IO walk, and not caring tnucb even for auch riding oa the biabop had Itft *
to him. And, to make matters worse, — far worse, be knew all this of
himself, and undcnitood it thoroughly. "I ece a better [>alh, and knew
how good it ia, but I follow ever the wonio." He woa saying tliat to
himwlf daJy, and was eayiug it always without hope. ■
And hia wife had given hira up. She had given him up, not with
disdainful rejection, nor with contempt in her eye, or ceniiure ui her voice,
not with diminution of love or of outwan! respect. She had ^vcn him
up OS a man ahiiudong hia alteiiipl:* to make hia favourite dog take thtt
water. He would lain that the dog lie luvea sliould dash into the stream
oa other dogs will do, It in, to hia thinking, a noble instincl in a dog.
But hia dog drctds the water. As, however, he has learned to love (ha
beast, be puts up with thin minchotice, and never ditnnia of
baaiahjpg J
THE CLAVERIKaS. 141
poor PoQto from his hearth because of this fiiilure. And bo it was with
lira. ClaTering and her husband at the rectory. He understood it all.
He knew that he was bo far rejected ; and he acknowledged to himself the
neceantj for such rejection.
"It is a very Bcrioxts thing to decide upon," he said, vhen his son
had spoken to him.
" Yea ; it is serious, — about as serious a thing as a man can tliiuk of;
but a man cannot put it off on that account. If I mean to moke such a
flange in m; plana, the sooner I do it the bettor."
" But jesterday you were in another mind."
" No, &ther, not io another mind. I did not tell you then, nor can I
tell yon all now. I bad thought that I should want my money for another
purpose for a year or two ; but that I have abandoned."
" Is the purpose a secret, Harry f "
" It is a secret, because it concerns another person."
" Ton were going to lend your money to some one ? "
"I must keep it a secret, though you know I seldom have any secrets
Ixem yon. That idea, however, is abandoned, and I mean to go over to
Stntton to-morrow, and tell Mr. Burton that I shall be there al\er
(^uistmas. I must be at St. Cuthbert's on Tuesday."
Then they both sat silent for a while, ulently blowing out their clouds
of nnoke. The son had said all that he cared to say, and would have
viihed that there might then be an end of it ; bat he knew that his father
hod much on his mind, and would fain express, if he could express it with-
out too much trouble, or without too evident a need of self-reproach, his own
thoughts on the subject. " You have mode up your mind, then, altogether
that you do not like the church as a profession," he said at last.
" I think I have, father."
" And on what grounds ? The grounds which recommend it to you are
Tcty strong. Your education has adapted you for it. Your success in
it is already ensured by your fellowship. In a great degree you have
at«red it as a profession aheady, by taking a fellowship. Whut you are
duog is not choosing a line in life, but changing one already chosen. You
ve making of yourself a rolUng stone."
"A stone ^ould roll till it has come to the spot that suits it."
" Why not give up the school if it irks you 7 "
' And become a Cambridge Don, and practise deportment among the
undergraduates."
" I don't see that you need do that. You need not even live at Cam-
bridge. Take a church in London. You would be sure to get one by
htJding up your band. If that, with your fellowship, is not sufficient, I
will give you what more you want."
" No, lather — no. By God's blessing I will never ask you for a pound.
I can hold my fellowship for four years longer without orders, and in four
fean' time I think I can earn my bread."
"I don't doubt that, Harry."
143
TUB CLAVKRINGS.
" Tlipn why slifiuld I not follow luy wiiOiea in flJfi maltw! Tlio trotlt
is, I do not fi:«I nijsoirqiialiflod to be a good clorgyman."
" It in mil that joii liare ^onhu, i« it ? "
" I nii^ht iiavo tlieui if I camo to tibli tnucli nbout it, — m I must do
if I t<Kilc orders. And I do not wiali to be crippled in doing wlwi X think
lawfttl by conventional rules. A ri;buI!ious clcrgyinnn i*. I ihink, a torry
abject. It scuiDB to tno tiiat be it n bird Ixtuling lii* ovra ti«it. Now, I
knf>w [ sbcuM ben rpbellimw clergyman."
" 111 our diurch iKc life of a. clergyman ja aa tbc life of any otTict
gentleman, — witliin very broad limits."
" Then why did Bisbop Proudio interfere with your hitnUng? "
" Limits may be very broitd, Harry, and yet cxcludv hunting. Biafa«J>
Proudiu wiia vulgar and intrumvo, bucIi being the nninre of hia wile, who
inntrnuta him ; but if you were in oidcni I should be very sony to sot you
take to hunting.''
'■ It stems to me that a clergyiniin hn.t notliing lo do in li(<! unfpM be is
nlA'.iya preaching and tciicbing. Looknt Situl,"— Mr. Saul triuLhccurutijof
ClaT^ring — "lie is ftlwaysi preaching and leaching. He is doing tho best he
ctn ; unJ what a life of it he hxa. He lias literally thrown off all worldly
ciirea, — und couBequently everybody laughs nt him, nnd nobody lores hini.
1 don't believe a belter man brratho*, but I dhoiildn't liko his ttfo.'*
At this point tliert' wan ancitliCT {iiium;, which lasted till the ctgam had
eorac to an end. Then, m he threw tlie titump into tho fire, Mr. Clavftring
■poke agiiin. " The truth is, Harry, that you hflTC had, all your lif^ a
bad example before you."
" No, futlier."
" Tcis my pon ; — ItE me speak on lo llie end, and llien you can *ay
what you plen9«. In ine you have had a bud bxnmple on one aide, and
now, in poor Saul, you have a had example on tlio other aido. Can you
6ncy no life between tbc two, which would fit your phyacal nature which
in larger than hi«, nnd your mental Avnuitt which ara higher than mtOfe?
Tw, they »re-, Harry. It is my duty to say thia, but it would bi! unseemly
that there tJiould be any controversy between us on liic subjuct."
"If you choose to stop nic in that wny "
" I do chooite lo rtop you in that way. As for Saul, it [« imponiblo
that you should become aueh a man na he. It is not that he mortifica hia
Ilnxh,but tliat hnhat no flesh to mortify. Ue is unconscious of the flavour
iif veiiiBoii, or the ecciil of roBee, or tlie beauty of women. lie is an «i-
eeptionnl gpecimon of a man, and you need no more fear, than you diould
venture to hope, that you could become such at he is."
At tliia point tbfly were intcrriiplod by the entrance of Fanny Clnvcriits,
who caine to say llmt Mr. Saul was in llio drawing-room. "What do«i
be want, Fanny 1 " Tliij quefltion Mr, Clavcring nakod half in n whisper,
but with something cf comic hnniour in hi* face, nn though pcu-lly afnud
that Mr, San! Nlioiild hear it, nod partly intending to convoy a wish that
ho might e«ape Mr. Saul, if it woic poaaiblc.
I
THE CLAVERINGS. 143
"It'fl about tlio iron cTinrcli, papa. He snys it a come, — or part of it
has come, — and he wants you to go out to Cumberly Green about
the site."
" I thought that was all settled."
" He says not." '
" What does it matter ivhere it is 7 He can put it anywliere he likes
on the Green. However, I had better go to him." So Mr. Clavering
went. Cumberly Green was a hamlet iu the pariah of Clavering, three
miles distant from the church, the people of which had got into a wicked
habit of going to a diBsenting chapel near to them. By Mr. Saul's energy,
but chiefly out of Mr. Clavering's purse, an iron chapel had been pur-
chased for a hundred and fiiij pounds, and Mr. Snul proposed to add to
his owB duties the pleasing occupation of walking to Cumberly Green
every Sunday morning before breakfast, and every Wednesday evening
after dinner, to perform a service and bring back to the true flock as many
of the erring sheep of Cumberly Green as he might be able to catch.
Towards the purchase of this iron cliurch Mr. Clavering had at first given
a hundred pounds. Sir Hugh, in answer to the fifth application, had
very ungraciously, through his steward, bestowed ten pounds. Among the
fermers one pound nine and eightpence had been collected. Mr. Saul
had given two pounds ; Mrs. Clavering gave five pounds ; the girls
gave ten shillings each; Henry Clavering gave five pounds; — and then the
parson made up the remainder. But Mr. Saul had journeyed thrice
painfully to Bristol, making the bargain for the church, going and coming
Mch time by third-class, and he had written all the letters ; but Mrs.
Clavering had paid the postage, and she and the girls between them were
Biaking the covering for the little altar.
" Is it all settled, Harry ? " said Fanny, stopping with her brother, and
hanging over hia chair. She was a pretty, gay-apiritcd girl, with bright
eyes and dark brown hair, which full in two curls behind her cars.
" He has said nothing to unsettle it."
" I know it makes him very unhappy."
" No, Fanny, not very unhappy. He would rather that I slionld go
into the church, bnt that is about all."
"I think you are quite right."
" And Maty thinks I am quite wrong."
" Mary thinks so, of course. So sJionId I too, periiaps, if I were
engaged to a clergyman. That's the old story of the fox who had lost
his tail."
" And yoiu* tail isn't gone yel ? "
"No, my tail isn't gone yet. Mary thinks that no life is like a
eltrpj-man's life. But, Harry, though mamma h.TSn't s-iid so, I'm sure she
thinks you are right. She won't say so as long as it may seem to interfere
with anything papa may choose to say ; but I'm sure she's glad in her
heart."
" And I am glad in my heart, Fanny, And as I'm the person most
144
Till; CLAVEBINOa.
BoniM^nud, I (.uppoM tlint's tli^ moEt tnat«rial tiling." Then iltoy fol-
lowed tlietr faiUcr into llie (Irnwing^rootn.
" Couldn'l you diivc Mrs.^Jiuveriu^' cvt-r in tlic I'oii)' uluiir, and Ktllu
it between you," mid Mr. Cluvering to his curate. Mi'. Saul looked dift-
appoiatcd. In tlic first ^Ihcc, Lc Imlcd driving the pony, which w^ a ■
rapid-footed little itMxt, that Imd n will of litK awn ; iLud in the: next pUcit,
hu thought the rector ought to visit lh« «^K>t on suoh an occjuuon. " Oc
ilra. Cljivering will drive you," aaid the rcclor, rcmeiuberini; Mr. SauTa
Dbjecti<-a to the pony. Still Mr. Sunt looked unhappy. Mr. Saul wu
very tull snd very thin, witli ft tall thiu heaA, and wcnk eyes, and ■
lAarp, n'cll-«ut noEi:, imd, so to «Ay, no lipa^ nuil very whit« toclh, with no
beard, mid » well-cut cliln. ilis fuce ivob so iLiin that his clieckbonea
obtruded tliemsolves unpteasiQtIy, lie wore a. long rusty btwck coat, and
« high rusty blaclt wRintcoat, nnd trousers that W(rc brown with dirty
roadit nnd general ill-usagf. Nevertheless, it never occttrrcd to nay one
Uiut Mr. Suul did uot iuuk like a geutleuiau, not even to himself, to wbom
no ideas whatuver on thut Kubjcct ever prexentwl tliumeelvL-a. Uut tliat be
was a gentleman I think he knuw well enough, and was able to cniry liim-
lelr before Sir Hugh and hia wife with quite as much ease ns he could do
in tho rcKlory. Once or twice he bad dined at the great house; but hady
Clrkverlng liud declared him to bo a bore, and Sir Hugh had called him
"that CDOflt ofTensivo of all uniiiiatii, » cluritvil pi*ig-" It had therefore
hcen decided thiit he waa not tu l>e oalted to tlic great house any more.
Jt niaj be 09 well to &Cate herc^ as elsewhere, that Mr. Clavcring very
Tnriily went to his ni?pbew's t^ble. On certain occa&ioRB he did do to, to
tli;it liifro might be no recognized qiinrrcl between liim and Sir Hu{;li ;
but such viKitu wtjrii few iiiul liir between.
After a few more words front Mr. Siitd, nnd a glance trom Lis wife's
eye, Mr. Clnvering consented lo go to Cumbetly Green, though there
waa nothing he liked so little as a morning spent with his cuntte. When
lie hail fltarted, Ilnrry told hia mother aUo of liia final decision. I ah*Il
go to Strsillon to-morrow and settlo it all."
" And what iws paiHi say 7 " uiikvtl the mother.
" Just what he LiiH naid hefure. It u not bo much that lie wlalios me
to be a clerg^'uian, as tliat be doea not wiali me lo h.TVc lost nil tny tine up
lo thiB."
" It is mor« than tliut, I tliiok, llarry," eaiJ his elder fisUiz, a tail girl,
leas pretty than h«?r sister, iippnrantly Il-m care/iil of her prcltine*;^, very
(\iilct, or, an BOtnc isnid, dcmurej but known to be good as gold by oil wIm
knew her well.
" 1 doiihl it," said Ilany, atoutly, " But, lioncver that may be, a man
must chcoae fur hinL»elf."
" We nil thouglit you had chonen," said Mary.
■- If it is settled," said the mother, " I suppose we diall do no good bjr
oppoMiig it."
" Would you wikIi to oppose it, mamma 7 " aai J Hurry.
I
TOE CLAV£RINGS. 145
" Xo, my dear. I think you ehoutd judge for yourself."
" You aee I could hare no scope in the church for that sort of ambition
vhich would aatiafy me. Look at such men as Locke, and Stephenson,
ind Brassey. They are the men who seem to me to do moat in the world.
They were all self-educated, but surely a man can't have a worse chance
beoaoae he haa learned eomethiog. Look at old Beilby with a seat in
Parliament, and a property worth two or three hundred thousand
pounds I When he waa my age he had nothing but his weekly wages."
" I don't know whether Mr. Beilby is a yeiy happy man or a very
good man," said Mary.
" I don't know, either," said Harry ; " but I do know that he has
iLrown a single arch over a wider span of water than ever was done
before, and that ought to make him happy." Afler saying this in a tone
of high authority, befitting hia dignity as a fellow of his coll^, Harry
Clarering went out, leaving his mother and sisters to discuss the subject
vhich to two of them was all-important As to Mary, she had hopes of
lier own, vested in the clerical concerns of a neighbouring parish.
chapter hl
Lord Ohoas.
Oi the next morning Horry Clsvcring rode over to Stratton, thinking
anch of bis misery as he went. It was all very well for him, in the
pretence of his own family to talk of his profesuon as the one subject
*bich was to him of any importance ; but he knew very well himself that
Ik WIS only beguiling thorn in doing so. Tbis question of a profession
na, after all, but dead leaves to him, — to hiiu who had a canker at
it'a heart, a perpetual tborn in his bosom, a mistery within him which
no profession could mitigate 1 Those dear ones at home guessed nothing of
tliis, and he would take care that they should guess notliiug. Why should
tiiey liave the pain of knowing that he had been made wretched for ever
bjr blighted hopes? His mother, indeed, had suspected something. in
ibcHe sweet days of his roaming with Julia through the park. She had
once or twice said a word to warn liim. But of the very trutli of his deep
toTc.-i-so he told himself, — she had been happily ignorant. Let her be
i^Qbront. Why should he make his mother unhappy 7 As these thoughts
[4Md through his mind, I think that he revelled in his wretchedness, and
nude much to himself of his misery. He sucked in hia sorrow greedily,
ud was Bomewliat proud to have had occasion to break his heart. But
not the h-Bs, because he was thus early blighted, would he struggle for
tuccesB in the world. He would show her that, as liis wife, slic might have
W a worthier position than Lord Ongar could give licr. He, too, might
proliably rise the quicker in tlie world, oa now he would have no impedl-
sient of wife or family. Then, as he rode along, bo composed a sonnet,
filling to liis case. Ihc strength and rhyrhm r.f which th-ptned lo Hm,
Kit on horM'back, to he nlniOKt iierfecl. Unfortunately, vilcn hi
buck At Cliireriiig, nni] »nt tn hid room with the pen ia hU LaSi), tbc toni
of lie wot(!b had eai^apod him.
He found Hr. Durioii At home, nnd was not Ion; in oondudinf^ tiit
bviineiw. Mowrn. Bcilby and Burton were net only dri! engineers, bat
were Iai;il surveyors alio, and land valaera on a great scale. Thoy were"
oiuployed iiiach by QoTcmmeat tipon public buUdiogB, and if not architect*
thcmseht ft, were Biippoaed to know nil that «rehit*cla uliould do and sltould
not do. In tlif purclidsi; of gn-ut propcriit* Mr. Burton's opinion WM
euppoBcd to }'^, wr to have been, as good ns any in llie kingdom, 4n<I
thtreforc there was very tnucli to he leoroed in the offire nt Strattoa.
Bat Mr. Burton was not a rich man like his portDor, Mr. Bcilby, oor m
ORibttlonii man. He hud ncv<T soared Parliamcntwardit, had never speou-
ht«d, had never invented, and npver been pre-at. He had been tlie father
of a verj' large tataily, all of whonx were doing as well in the world, mi,
Bome of iJieni perhaps hfller, thnn their falliiT. Indeed, ihore wore many
who said that Mr. Burtoa would havu bi'cn a nchcr man if he had not
juinod liimwlf in pnrlnwjhip with Hr, Eoilby. Mr. Bciihy h*d the
repulntion ol' Kn:iUoiviiijr more thnn his nhare whererer he went.
Wht'ii llio bneiness pnrt of the arrangement was Ciuehed Mr. Bnrloa
talked to lii% future pupil about lodgings, and went out with him into the
town to louk for ro^nn.t. The (Id man found that nniTy Clavcring was
ittti)«r nice in tliia respect, ond in hia own mind formed an idea that Uiii
B«w hegitiner might have born a more luispioiouR pupil, had he not almdy
l»-coine a fellow of a college Indeed, Harry talked to him quite ns thongH
Ihey two were on an equality together; and, bcfors they had parted,
Mr. Burton was not Euro that Ilnriy did not pntronixe htra. Ite aafcfd
tho young man, however, to join them at tlieJr early dinner, and lh<Ml
introducerl him to Mr*. Burton, nnd lo their youngest datightrr, the only
child who wnn !itill living with them. " All my other glrli are marred,
Mr. Clttvcriiig ; »nd all of iheai mnrricd tn men connected with my «wn
profeaaion." The colour came slightly to I'loKince Burton'a dieeks aa she
heard her fachtr'a woidfl, and Harry jmkcd himself whether the old mm
fXiiectcd ihnt he nlinuld go through the imme ordeni ; but Mr. Borlon
himself was qitito tinnwaro that he had ftnid niiything wrong, and then
went on to si)c.ilt of tht- ouccm-ws of hij eons. *' But Ihej" began early,
Mr. Clavwing ; nnd worted hard, — very hard indeed," He wax & good,
kindly, gamilous old man ; Init Harry began to donbl wliethcr he woo'
lairn much nt Stralton. It waa, however, loo late to think of that noWi
and i-verything was fi.xed.
Harry, when he locjkcd nt Flcrcnce Burton, at once declared lo bin;
that tibo wna plain. Anything more unlike .Tulia Braliasron nercrjippt:
in the guise of a young lady. Jiilin was tall, with a high brow, a glori
complexion, n no5v uf finely modelled ae lUougli a (trccifln sculptor K
cut il^ a aniall mouih, but lovely in ita curves, and a chin that
I
THR CLAVKinXGS. 147
mil made perKict the f^mmctry of Iilt face. Ilur neck ivus long, hut
graceful 08 a swan's, her bust whs full, nnd her wliole figuro like that of a
gocl<li.«9. Addled to this, when he had first known her, had been all the
charm of youth. When she had returned to Clavoring the other day, tho
■ffianced bride of Lord Ongar, he had Lardly known whether to admire or
to deplore the aettled air of eBtahlisbed womanhood which she had assumed.
HcT large eyes had alw.iys lacked something of rapid glancing sparkling
brightness. They had been glorioas eyea to him, and in tliose early days
Le had not known that they lacked aught ; btit he liad perceived, or
perhaps fancied, that now, in her present condition they were oflen cold,
and EOTnetimen almost cruel. Nevertheless he was ready to swear that she
¥» perfect in her beauty.
Poor Florence Burton was short of gtature, was brown, meagre, and
poor-looking. So said Harry Clavering to himself. Iler small hand,
though soft, lacked that wondrous charm of touch winch Julia's possessed.
Her hiee was sliort, and her forehead, though it was bi-oad and open, had
none of that feminine command which Julia's look conveyed. That
Florence's eyes were very bright, — bright and soft as well, he allowed ;
»nd her dark brown hair was very glossy ; but she was, on the whole, a
■Kcac-looking little thing. He could not, as he said to himself on his
rpturn home, avoid the comparison, as she waa tho firat girl he had seen
ncce he had parted from Julia Brabazon.
"1 hope you'll find yotirself comfortable nt Stratton, sir," said old
Mil. Burton.
" Hiank you," said Harry, " but I want very little myself in that way.
Anything docs for mo."
" One young gentlcm;in we had took a bedrnoin at Sirs. Pott's, and did
Tcry iiicely without any second room at all. " Don't you icmembcr,
.Vr, B. ; it w.-is young Granger."
" Toiing Granger had a very short allowance," said Jlr. Burton. " IIo
lilted ujion fifty poimds a year all the time he was hero."
" And I don't think Scarneas had more when he began," said
Mr«, Burton. " Mr. f^ciimess married one of my girls, Mr. Clavering,
when ho started him»^tf at Liverpool. lie h.is pnlty nigh all llio
Liverpool docks under him now. I have heard him siiy that butcher's
meat did not cost him four shillings a week all lite lime he was here. I've
always thonglit Pfratlfn one of the rcasonahlest places anywhere ibr a
vounjr man to do for hiinjcif in."
" I don't know, my dear," Ktid the husband, " that Mr. Chivering will
care vcrj- much for that."
" r<ihap« not, 'Mr. B. ; but I do like to see young men c.ireful about
t!;fir ^I'ndingf. Wliat's the uw of pjicndiug a shilling when sixpenco
T.'ill d-j as well; nnd sixpence saved when a man has nothing but hini-
•Cif, iK'C'.'nics pounds and pounds by the time he has a family abnut
kini."
D'.iring all this time Mies Burton eaid little or nothing, and Hurry
148
THB CLAVKUINGS.
1
I
ClKvoniig l)iniiii;ir dttl not My mncli. He could not express tmy ini
cf rivniliiig Mr. KcsiracMB owmoniy in the ftrticl* of biitclw*'* meat, ttot
could lie promise to coutvnt himsi-U'wirh GiangcJ'N wViUtry lieJruom. But
as lie rotic homo lie nlinoet began to fear tiial lie had made a iiiiatakc.
He WM not wc-ilded to the joj-a of hia colli*ge hall, or the college oommoa
rooDi. He did not like the narroiTDcss of colK-gc UiV. But he doubted
whvllier llic dituigo from tliat to the oit - rcpcntud hospitalitia of
Mrs. Barton might not be too inucli for him. Seiirtiesa'^ ttnir sliillinga'-
worlli of butcher's mt-iit hud ulrcaily imidi; Iiiui half eick of his new ptti-
l«»sioD, and though Strallon might be the " reiisonublcst plBce anywhere
for a young man," he could not look fonvard to liring tliere for a year
with much dvlight. As Ibr Miss Burton, it might be quite na well thftt
ab« via plain, &8 he wiitbed for Done of ili« delights whidi beaut; ufibithi
to young men.
On hia return home, however, he made qo complaint of Stratum. He
was too strong-willed to own thjit lie had been in any way wrong, and
when caily in the foUowing week lie atartcd for St. Culhhert's, ho was
able to itppak with cheerful hope of his new proApccts. If iiliimittoly he
thoiild find lifn in Stratton to hu unendui'.iblt\ he would cut ihnt part of
hia career ithort, uud cuutrivc to get up to Louduu at au earlier time than
he hod intended.
On the Sift of August Lord Ongar mid Sir Hugh Clavering Kttched
Cl&vcrtng Vaxk, nnd, as has been aln-ady told, a pretty little note wa» at
once Bent up lo Miu Brabfizon in hf r licdrouin. When she mcC Lord
Ongar io the drawing -iconi, about aii hour allerwiirds, tihc hud instructed
herwSf tlint it woicM he best to tiny nothini; of the nc>te ; but she eould
not rofiMin fioni a word. " I am imn-li obliged, my lord, by your kisdneai
and gviicronity," tilie snid, us tihu gitve hiin her hand. lie merely bowed
and smiled, anil niuiteri^d something ns tohia hopiog that he might always
find it aa easy to f^iktily her. lie vviifl a liitlii man, on whoiw bdialf it
cei'ktinly iippenrcd Ihnt the Peornge must hnro told a lalsohood ; it seeoKd
to ut least to those who Judgvd vf hii y^irs from his appearance. The
Peerage «aid that he wua thirty-ai.^, and that, no doubt, was in truth liis
age, but any one would have declared him to be Ion year* older. Thi»
look was productd chiefly by the effect of an eJuborately dreased j«t j
black wig which ho wore. What misfortune had made him bald >o corljf S
— il' lo be laid mrly in life bu a inisfortano,^^! caunot say; but iMi
ha<l loot tiie hiilr frcm the crown of liix liend, and had preferred wiggeiy
lo bnldnc&a. No doubt an effort was made to liido the wiggiabnesa of bin
wigs, but what efi^ect in that directiou tvas ever made mccMsfully 1 llo
was, moreover, weak, thiu, and physiwHy poor, and lud» no doubt,
incrensod this weukntiw und poornefis by hard living. Though other*
thoitglil him old, time had gone swiftly with hini, and lie etiU thought
himself a young ninn. He hunted, though he could not ride. He shot,
though lie could not walk. And, unfortun.alcly, he drank, though be
hud no cnf acity for dnuking 1 ILis Jrienda at iaat lutd Uiugbt litm lei
I
THE CLAVERISGS.
bdiere iIikI his only cliancc of saTmg liimitelf liiy in marriago, itnil ttipre-
Ibf* be I»«d *ng»ge4 himscif to Julia Brabajtoii, puroWisiEs !ier nt the
price of a brilliant seltlement. If Lord Ongar should die bcforo her,
Ongsr Poric was to bo here fur life, with tlioiiKiods a year to ninincain it.
Courton Ofulle, the great family §eat, would of cour.ic go to the Leir ; hut
Ongar Park nwi suppooed to hn llic most dcliglitful sm.ill couiiCrj-tiOAt
uj'wiMrc within thirty miles of L<^nd<?n. It luy onion}; iho .Surrey hills,
■ttl all the tiorld had he^d of ilie clinmii of Ongar Psrk. If Julia wn-e
Wiarrire hsr lord, Ongar I^k waa Co he Itont ; nnd ihcy who inw iheni
Ik together hud hut litlln doubt ihnt xhtt would ccma to the cnjojiocnt
ihtc daiue in hvr aeltltmeiit. Lady Cl«vmng hnd bwn cltvec in
inaagiDg the match; nnd Sir Hugh, though ho might hnvc been
■mrilling to give his u»ter-in-law money out of hit own pocket, hud por-
fcnaed his. duty aa a IirolIii;r-in-law in ioulting to her future wcHiirc.
Jtilia BrabozoD had no doubt that alio woa doing wcM. Poor Harry
ChrciiDg I She had loved him in the days of her loinana*. 8hc, too,
lad written bor aonncte. But ihe had gronn oU i-nrlicr iu Ilk: than he
bddonp, aiid hail taught herself that romance cuiiUI iiol bo nllotved lo a
vcnut in b«r positino. Sh« woa highly born, tliti daughter of a peer,
i^AmI monej, ud ercn without n hoinu to which she hnd any claim.
Of conmi abe had acceptijd Lord Ongar, but she lifid not put out her
had to lake all these good thiags without reviving tho-t ehc would do her
tef lo bvr future lord. The duty would ba doubtless disngrccabloj but
^ would do it with all the more dilif^onco on that accAunl.
September passed by, hecfttombs of pfirtridge* were Elaughlorcd, aad
&» day of the wedding drew nigh. It waH pretty to sco Lord Ongnr nml
Ibe RtT-satist^ctioa which he ciijcyi-J ol Una time. The world was
Woming j'oung with him again, and he thought ihnt bo mthcr ]ik«d
ibc rcfpcctahility of hiH present mode of life, lie gave hlmseirhul acuoly
•Uovaii«C9 of wine, oiid no allowance of nnything stronger than wine, uud
Ad Bot dulike his lempcrnncc. Them wna about him at all hours an
■ir which KcoKd to say, " Tlicre; J told you nil that 1 coukt do it
M loon as ih«re waj any necessity.'' And in these hnleyon days ho
emitd tboot for an hour without his pony, and he liked the gentle cour-
koiM hwlioage which was bctowod iipou his courtship, and ho liked
alio Julia's beauty. Her conduct lo hint was perfect. She was never
pen, Devcr cxigeant, never romantic, and ucrcr humble. She never
btftd him, and yet was fllway^ ready to bo with him when he wished iL
WBi never exalted ; aud yet Nhe bore her high place as became a
tiobly boru and ackuowledged to bo beautiful.
**I (Udara you have iiuite made n lover of liim," said T^ndy Clavcruig
■ister. When a ihoughtofthcnintch had (Irat ariaea in Sir Hugh's
hoaae. Lady Clsvering luul been esj^r iu praise of Lord Ongar,
or eager in pratsu nilht.'r of the position which tht; future Lady Oogst
miglit bold; but nnce tlie prizo harl been iwcnrccl, lincc it hud h(<com«
nlkin that Julia was ta be the greater woiiiau of the two, ah« had harped
ISO
lUK C'LAVK tuxes.
sometitnea on tlic oilier Mring. Aa a sisttnr she had etrivea for a ^ater'a
vclfiiic, Ijul u a w&ntaa alio could not koop livrtoir Iroia cootiMu-iMo*
wiii<;ti might tcnil tii ulioiv that after all, wvH us Julia was doiiig, fib« uus
iiol (loiijg bell^T lliau licx cider EiElcr hiid (Imic* Hcriaionc had married
Biinply s bnronrt. »i:d sol tho TJchcitt or th« most amiable amoa^banxwU;
bui kIiv 1)U(I iiiunii-d h riuii viiiulile in age and vrealdi, wiUt wlium aajr
girl might hiwu liccu in Icvu-. .She liad not aulil bersolT to bo llie niino,
or nol to b« the nurse, na it might luni out, of a worn-oitt di;baudid. She
woulJ have hinted nuthing of this, perha[i<i hare Ihoughl notliiag of this,
liad net Juliii and Lcrd Ongar walked together throngli the CUvcriog
groves as though they were two j^oung peo{iJe. She oived it as a duly to
her aiatci' to jvoiot out that Lord Ongor could not ho a romantic yoiug
person, and ought not to be encouraged to play that part.
" I doik't !kni>w that I Uavo made auyihing of liim," anawered Julia.
"I mppc-w lie's much liko other men whan they're goiag to be mar-
ried." Julia quite uadorslood the itlcas th-at werp pausing tlirough hei
eister'a mind, and did not fiM-l them to bu unuutiirul.
" What I mean if, tliAt ho has come out «o stroag in the liomeo Iia«,
which wc hardly cxjiixted, you know. We shall hare liiuj imdcr your
bedroom window with a, guitar like Doa <iiiovauiUi"
" I liojtu »ol, becousG it's bo cold. 1 don't think it Ilkpty, sa he swma
fond of guinjj; to bed early."
"And it'd tho hont thing for him," 6aid Wdy CUveriag, boooqaing
Ecrious and cariifutly benevolt-ut. " Id tjuitv a wonder ivliat good boim
mid ijuicl living have dt>oo for him iu so short a lime. I wa» olMerring
him as he walked yosierduy, and ha put bis feet to the ground na firuty
aJmoHf as Hugh docs."
" Did he indeed 7 1 hope he won't ha70 the hitbit of p uttuig ]t«
hand down lirnily u Ilugh does sometimes,"
"As iar that," said Lady Clavcring, with s little Lreuior, "I don't
tliiiik there's much diiTerence between tbcui. They all say that when
Lord Ongar means a thing he due^ mean it."
" I think a vn&n ought to have a. way of h is own."
" Aiid a womoa alsoj don't you, iny dear? But, ns I wits saying, if
Lord OngU' will cuutiaue to lake care of hiiusclf he may bocome ^uita
a diflerent tnan. Hugh says that he driuk« next to nothing now, and
though he eomelimea lighca a dj^ar in the Kmoking-room at niglit, ha
hardly ever 8tiioka» it. You tauat do what you can to keep liiiu frota
tobacco. I hiip]>en to know thut Sir Charles l*odiiy uaid that ao many
cigars wcic worft; for him cvt-n tJtun brandy,"
Ail rhifl Julia bore with jui ev*n temper. She was dctvnuiavd to b«r
evfiyihing till her lime should come. Indeed she had made b«ndf
understand that tlie faeai-ing of eucli tbingH u these was a pnrt of llw
price which hIio was to be called upon to pay. It was aot pkanatfor
liLT to hear what Sir Charles Poddy had said .-iljout the tobaeeo and
brandy of the man i4iu was jiiat going to marry. Sfan would eoonrr have
I
I
i
I
I
I
A
THE CLAVEniNGS. 131
hcsrtl ot his riding sixty miles a day, or (Lmciug all night, as she might
have heard had she been contented to take Horry Glavering. But siie
hod made her selection with her eyes open, and wtia not di.-<posGd to
qoarrcl with her bargain, became iJiat whicli she hnd bought wa& no
better than the article which she had known it to be when she was making
her purchase. Nor was she even angry with her sinter. " I will do the
best I can, Henny ; you may be sure of that. But there are some things
vhich it is uaelees to talk about,"
" But it was as well you should know what Sir Charles said."
" I Imow quite enough of what he says, Hermy, — quite as much, I
daresay, as you do. But, never mind. If Lord Ongar has given np
moking, I quite agree with you that it's a good thing. I wish they'd all
gire it up, for I hate the smell of it. Hugh has got worae and worse.
He never cares about changing his clothes now."
" I'll tell you what it is," said Sir Hugh to his wife that night ;
" nzty tboosand a year ia a very fine income, but Julia will find she has
caught a Tartar."
" I suppose he'll hardly live long ; will he 7 "
" I don't know or care when he lives or when he dies ; but, by
hesTca, he ia the most overbeariDg fellow I ever had in the houm with
me. I wouldn't stand him here for another fortnight, — not even to make
her all safe."
" It will soon be over. They'll be gone on Thursday."
" What do you think of his having the impudence to tell Cunlifie," — '
Conlifie was the head keeper; — "before my face, that he didn't know
loytluDg about pheasants I ' Wei), my lord, I think we've got a few
about the place,' said CunliSe. ' Very few,' said Ongar, with a sneer.
Now, if I haven't a better head of game here than he has at Courton, I'll
eat him. But the impudence of his saying that before me ! "
" Did you make him any answer 7 "
" ' There's about enough to suit me,' I said. Then he skulked away,
knocked off his pins. I shouldn't like to bo his wife ; 1 can tell
JoUa that."
" Julia is very clever," said the sister.
The day of the marriage came, and everything at Clavertug was done
with niuafa splendour. Four bridesmaids came down from London on the
|veceding day ; two were already staying in the houso, and the two
coBsios came as two more from the rectory. Julia Brabazon had never
been really intimate with Mary and Fanny Glavering, but she had known
them well enough to moke it odd if she did not a»k them to come to her
wedding and to late a part in the ceremony. And, moreover, she had
thought of Harry and her liltio romance of other days. Harry, perhapc,
might be glad to know that she had shown this courtesy to his sisters.
Harry, she knew, would be away at his school. Though she had asked
him whether he inrant to citme to her wedding, she had been better
pleased that be should he absent. She had not many regrets hcnifdf, but
ISfi
THB CtAVERTNfia,
U piMMd "btt to tliink that he ahauld have ihem. So Titary and Fanni
GtaYeiing were naked lo attend her at the slur. Mary and Fannjr would
both have preferred to dcclin^j but thnr mother li.id told th?ni that tlieyj
could not do eo. "It would maVi.* ill-feeling," mid itn. Clavt-ring; "widj
thjit i» wliftt your pnpn {larticulurl}' wiahes lo avoid."
" Wh(,-n you nay papa partioulnrly wialies anything, mamma, yoa
slwnyM ini-im that you wiaU it particularly youtaelf," ntd Fanny. " Bq(
if it must be done, it must ; and then I iJinll know haw to behave wheafl
Maiy'fttime comes."
The bells wcco rung lustily all Ihc morning, and all the parish vu
there, round about the church, to see. There was no rword of a lord
ever tiaviog been married in Clavering church before ; and now tliui lord j_
waa going to marry my ladyV sister. It wa« all ono as though she we»fl
B ClavpTtng hcriiclf. Rut ilitre w:i!t no ecstntJc joy in llic jmrisli. Then
verc 1u be uo bonfires, and no eating nud ilriiiklng at Sir Hugh's cxpeitae,
— no comforts provided for any of the poor by Lady Ciaveriag en that
Bpucial occasion. Indeed, there was never niucU of such kindneaaet
hvtwcen the lord of the soil nud his dependants. A ocitain stipolatol
dole waa given at ChriBtmat for cools and blankets ; but even for thaf^
there was generally annie wrangle between the rector and the Bteward.^
" If there's to h^ nil this row nboiit it," the rector had «iid to the steward,
" I'll never link fur it again." " I wIhH my uncle would only be as good
OS hit word," Sir Hugh had said, when the rector's speech was repeated
to him. Tlierefore, there was not much of real rejoicing in the parbh on
tliia occasion, though the bells were rung loudly, and though llic people,
young and old, did cluster rouml the churchyard to ecc the lord lead Ua
bride nut uf the church. "A puir feckless Uiing, tottering along like,—
not half the makings of a man. A stout Iuhs like ttlie could a'raast btow
him away wi' a puff of her nionlh." That waa the Terdict which an old
farnLLT's wife I'Dd^^jd upon him, and tliiit verdict was made good by tha
gcnoml opinion of the parish.
But though the lord might be only hall* a man, Julia Brabaion walked
out from the chiuch every inch a countess. Whatever price she might
have paid, abu hail nt any rato got the thing which she had intended to
buy< And as she stepped into the chariot which carried her away to
the railway station on her way to Dover, she told herself that she had
done right. Slie had chosen her profeawon, aa Harry Claverlng hid
chown hia ; and having eo far succeeded, she would do bar beat to make
her success perfect. Mi?rcenary ! ttf cour«o she had been mercenary.
Were not all men and women mercenary upon whota deYoIvcd the
neecMdty of earning tbeir bread 7
Then there was a great breaVlast at the part, — for the cjrutlity.^HuiS
the rector on this occasion sobmittcd himself to bccoiac the guest of tht
rephcw whom he thoroughly diaJiked.
iovl
oldfl
thai
1S8
IPIg flfuKntrgm^n.
Aboct a year ngo, the Saturday Review published an article which gave me,
u its articles often do give me, much food for reflection. The article waa
ibout the unjust estimate which, says the Saturday Review, I form of my
CDDiitrymen, and about the indecency of talking of " British PhilistineB," It
ippeara that I assume the truth of the transcendental syxtem of philosophy,
md then lecture my wiser countrymen because they will not join me in
ncogniEing aa eternal truths a set of platitudes which maybe proved to bo
iilse. " Now there is in England a school of philosophy which thoroughly
onderetands, and, on theoretical grounds, deliberately rejects, the philo-
Hphical tlieory wliich Mr. Arnold accuses the English nation of neglecting ;
«A the practical efforts of the English people, especially their practical
efforts in the way of criticism, are for the most part strictly in accordance
with the principles of that philosophy."
I do not quite know what to say about the transcendental system of
{Jiikisophy, for I am a mere dabbler in these great matters, and to grasp
ud bold a iiystem of philosophy is a feat much beyond my strength ; but
I certainly did talk about British Philistines, and to call people Fhilistinea
vbeo they are doing just what the wisest men in the country have settled
to be quite right, does seem unreasonable, not to siiy indecent. Being
mlly the most teachable man alive, I could not help making, after I had
read the article in the Saturdai/Revietu, a serious return, as the French say,
u^n mysL'If ; and I resolved never to call my countrymen Philistines again
till I had thought more about it, and could be quite sure I waa not com-
taiiling an indecency.
I was very much fortified in this good nsohition by something else
»Lich happened about the Fame time. Every one knows that the heart of
lie English nation is its middle class ; there had been a good deal of talk,
a fear ago, about the education of this clasa, and I, among others, had
imagined it was not good, and that the middle ciii^ suffered by its not
being better. But Mr. Bazley, the Member for Manchester, who is a
kind of representative of this class, made a Rpeech last year at Manchester,
ihe middle-class metropolis, which shook me a good deal. " During tho
lut few months," said Mr. Bazley, " there had been a cry that middle-
clua educatiun ought to receive more attention. He confessed hiiuscif
Ttry much surprised by the clamour that was raised. He did not
Itiiilt tlial class need excite the sympathy either of the leginluture or the
jiibUc." Much to the fcame effect spoke Mr. Miall, another middle-class
iwier, in tlic Nonconformist : "Middle-clans education seems to be the
Aroiiritc topic of the hour, and we must confess to a feeling of shaine
VOL. Mil.— MO. 74. Q
I
tLc iii>i»«Tne wliifh i.1 being nllertil on llio siibj*
thought frwin wb;it is eaid, lliU tbi« st-ctlon of the comninntlj-, which \iM
done evei-yihing else eo well, — which has nstoniBhcd iho wodd hy it*
tnctgy, t^utcrprisc, and Hlf-iGliuiicc, whicli ja conliutiully ulriluDg «iik
new pnths of in<iu«ty nnd nihdumg the fwcot ct ratiirc, — cannoJ, frmu
tWHio niysterioua reason, get their cliildreii properly educated." Still inoro
etroDg vfere tbu woinJa of the Uaify JVew-j (I love tu rargo idl Iho evidence
in bUck and wMla befbia hlw, tbuugb it tmda bi my owu dtBcomfiturc)
nbout Uiu thiiider Mmut &f lu wore luakiiig : " All llie world knows that
the great niiOclIo oliisa cf this country siippUcs tiie mind, the will, and tbo
jjower for all the grwat and gcc4 thingn thiit have to be done, nnd it is not
likely that tlinl cln** iliould surrvndcr ita porrun uad piivilrgev in the one
CMO of the training of its own children. How the ideii of such a Khenie
can lutva occitrred to 8aybciiy,]iow itcan linvc been tninginod that pArenb
and schoolmiuterg in ihc^ moi^t tiiOopondcnt, and active, nnd enlif^leiud
clan of Engli^th Huct«ty, how it can Imvu been siippoBcd that tliQ ofau*
which has done all the great ibings (hat h»vv bovn done in all depart-
meiiiH, will beg tbc liovernuient to send ioiipcDtcrB tliroiigh ita school*^
when it CAD )l«df cocDmand whaicvci' ndvaniiigcs exUl, might eecin unin-
t^Uigiblo bnt for two of tbre» con»idoralion«." Thoc eonsidrralions do
not tnuclt Diiater jtuC now ; but il li cltiir Low pvifuully Mr. Bail^'i
ptnnd VFiia IV otsnd such tui it Ijccumua a nprctentative tnaa llkv )Ir. _
Dozlcy to luak?, and how well tho DiUj/ I'dejniph might any of thsfl
•pcceh : " It was at once grand, genial, national, and distinct; " and the
Morning Slor cf the spcitk^r ; " IIv talked to hii conftit u^nl) ai
AIiiacheBtei' f«op1ti like to bu talked tu, in tho hiiigitago of cleiir, manly
intelligent!, which pencti'iitL-it t)jr(iii{;li Mophiiiniii ignores cominaufJaoei,
and giv(!a io eciivcnlionut illusions their Into valoo. His spe«eb waa
thoroughly iiialinct with that earnest good semte which tliaractcriata
MaDcheflt«r, nnd which, indeed, may be fjurly aet duwn us thv goacnl
characteriRtic of England nnd Englishmen everywhere."
Of cDurati if rhilistinism ia cbaracteristio of the British nalioD jrat
now, il muht in n spwial way be chai-actcri*lic d (ho rep?w»ntativ« jaot
of the British nation, the iiHit by which t1i« British nation b what it ii^
itnd doc) all it* best things, the luiOilIe c!aa>. And the ncwvpspcn, wbt
have to many more inuina ibun J of knowing the truth, and who ban
tliat trotichnnt authoritative otyli; fur en muniiii ailing it which makes M
great nn iinprcBsioii, Riy that tho Uriiisb middle cliw* id cliaractorizn^, not
by P]iili»linLim, but by enlightcnnKiit; by a piutsiun ll>r penetrating
through Eophisui;, ign&riiig cDiumxniplocca, aud giving to cODVcalJCVal
illtiaions their true v»liiv. Et'Jdvntly it is nonseDBe, aa the DuUi/ Nttn
Bik)'*, to lliiiik ihiit tliia gri-»t middle class whicli EiipplicA the mind,
the will, nrul the power for all tbi; gri'Dt iind gimd tilings th«t have
to be diinn, nhnuld want its Rcboob, the riiirsfiriiii of its iidtnirablo inlftUI-
gence, mciidk'd with. It may *a«ly lu imn^ined that all this, coming «fl
llie top of the SuUirdag Itrn'nf't rebwlio of mo for Indecpncy, was onongfa
I
i
MY COUKTRTHEM". 155
b> set mc meilitatiDg ; and after a long and painful sclf-cxainiuation, I saw
ikit I hod bcca making a great mislaku. I had beun breaking one of my
Dvn cardinal rules : the rulo to keep aloof from practice, and to conHae
mjiclf to tlic bIow and obscure work of trying to understand things, to see
tlicm as they are. So I waa suiTering deservedly in being taunted with
hawking about my nostrums of State schools for a class much too wise to
Taut them, and of an Academy for people who have on inimitable atyle
ilready. To be sure I had said that schools ought to be things of local,
Dot State, institution and management, and that we ought not to have an
Academy; but that makes no difference. I had been meddling with
pactice, proposing this and that, saying how it might be if we hod esta-
t)Iished this or that. I saw what danger I had been running in thus
intiudiog into a sphere where I have no business, and I resolved to
offend in this way ho more. Henceforward let Mr. Kinglakc belabour the
French as he will, let him describe as many tight merciless lips as he
likes ; henceforward let Educational Homes stretch themselves out in Th9
Tima to the crack of doom, let Lord Fortescue bewitch tho middle ckas
«ilh crer new blandishments, let any number of Mansion House meetings
propound any number of patchwork schemes to avoid iacing the real
difficulty ; I am dumb. I let reibrming and iostltutiag alone ; I meddle
vith my neighbour's practice no nmro. He that ia unjust, let him be unjust
Sitl, and he ichich is JUthy, let him be jilthy still, and he that is righteous,
kf Alia be righteous still, and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
This I Bay as a sincere penitent ; but I do not see that tliere is any
bnn in my still trying to know and understand things, if I keep humbly
Ui that, and do not meddle with greater matters, which are out of my reach.
S(i having once got into my head this notion of Britiah Philistinism and
of the wont of clear and largo intelligence in our middle class, I do not
(oiuider myself bound at once to put away and cnisli such a notion, as
people are told to do with their religious doubts ; nor, when the Saturday
Ba-iew tells me that no nation in the world is so logical as the English
ution, and the Morning Star, that our grand national characteristic is a
clear intelligence which penetrates through sophisms, ignores commonplaces,
ud givea to conventional illusions their true value, do I feel myself com-
feiltd to receive these propositions with absolute submijjsion as articles of
bich, transcending reason ; indeed, this would be trauacendcntalism, which
Ibe Saturday Review condemns. Canvass them, then, as mere matters of
ifiecolation, I may ; and having lately had occasion to travel on the Conti-
sent Ibr many months, during which I was thrown in company with a
Rteat variety of people, I remembered what Burns says of the profitablc-
Dcss of trying to see ourselves as others see un, and I kept on the watch
for anything to confirm or contradict my old notion, in which, without
absolately giving it up, I had begun certainty to be much shaken and
■Caggcred.
I must say tliat the foreign ojiinion ubciiit uii is not at all like that of
the Saturday Review and tlie Atorning Star, I know how madly the
8-2
jfT oouinmtc*.
dwt AiataMoTAragBeffaioQcaancfcrbadtdrit*; Teslj take il fer
i^tt il t« vnitb, and M & ootuributioo to cur mdj of the BaUcT ia
^oertioa. Bal I ^ R«Dy tUal: t&M ibe •teiren <f ««- peal «idj«
dMi^ MniCXI DH^ M Itl BHMi MH CBCDKB bolll IgR^ HHB MtB BBV fV-
■ii)XMtwtOT of lite jcnSf WMn Dow nIviM tM BotMB of
, illi liti ■ tfae poBcT ^ HiaiMcn^ tmIm tlie ae»»ff^r» 9»fc
witli iu Toioc, Bad ia Aavt goreim the CBUiitty, — t do thmt, I m^, ike
■^Miitii of tka gicak eiHa veoU bo lalaaDded tf tfccj «siiU
(SR^HTi V a ibnuiMf tracs tinfl coQ&tfT cv wrir idascbr won
"ft H not K) modi tlul wc diiiike Eogtsad,*' * Prtmbn oAeU, tIA da
giaotM laa vi a* aaboo, nid to me tU otber ^17, "m tkal ve Onk
fittle cf her." Ihe CUapw Gaiati, perhapa die dwrf ue^niw of G«-
laMj.tialiBAiiliatlii MMiaii iiiii flilli ii laailiimriaiiT.Ttiifiiii.
ly MffilBy 1MB, Ai ft* amici oT Um Itaftiy OaaaJngBttl pows. Thi
■wrilv «w « Gennan ofieer, bat dm a Pnwiin. SpwVing of tlic fifaa
nXMrjr «7«*en Ml«««d b^ the Sa^enr Nidboba, lAoie peaiiiM wm la
tan ui soluen Mlo pcneatlj OfiliBM ■aonmy and oenlnatn^ taw vSb
Ae free pbj- left to the iaffiridaal •ol£er m tlie Frradi sjirinB : *> b
«OMeq«aee of their fmrcly mwitiiriril ttvaiii^" u.j% llua «nt<r. ■ Aa
1*"—^— . IB q»te of Aor ipleiidid uounge, vereia ibe CriiDeaB warcoe-
Manlljr beatcB fajr the n«ocli, oay, decided^ beaten eeea h/ IW
oarf ffcc rwd*."* Hardlf a Geraaa nenfaper
cbaagc* in Earope hot k wilt add, after its raaxrks c<i the pnUblepafi^
«r Fnaoe in lbi» or that eml : " Ei^bad wQI pntMbl; b«1c« a Aan,
but what Hngtand tbiaka is erf' bo impcitaDefc" I brieve Um GcfB^
aaw^i^cn BtaM kc^a pbxaaa of that kiad nmwjped, Ibejr «ae i( aa
«Am. Raaoe tieor retygwdfrienj joMBow, bcttat boaeai«nr"dtsr
fantfy ee penetralng ibraogfa sopkians,'* aaJ » 00, ii not held in aniA
aoart erteen then than in Gvraamf. Om of the gcarot and aMtt
■wdgala of Ftvadi ueoapapeia — a aewapi^Nr, too, oar very good ftitnd,
UkeFiaaeebcnMlC into the baigain—bnpks Tt hTrlj. Trkni 11 ji^lwafj
«f tbe pnpeaed Cholen CoBttitnea in tbe Ea«t wa» AevBoatfatBdatke
water, ia tcma which, tboogh kaa no^ ihaa the "gnat fbel" of te
Atarilv JEmw, wera itill &r &vm flattcrii^. " Let m tpeak to iBoe
Es^fah Ae eedjr hngaap ib»f cu eoaiprebead. Ea^and live* ftir lar
trade; Cbolea intempu mde; there&ce it b ftr Gagtetd'a iumnm la
jeia in pcwirtiooi againM Cbolen."
Cnrapiiawpta cf thie aoct an diifileaaisg to Toaenber, ilinji Iraiii^ ta
npeat; but UMtr abandanee itnfcca theaaentioa; aad then tba bMf
iinnnaai'iwMBM af ibaae at whom Aey ata aimed, their mam«ttm^u.%m^
baUe anlf mriBftctlon, Mrikes the atioiiiaa too. and makes mi ia(|ttUtna
mind qnita eagv to m« its wsj eleaz^ in tb» ^iparal ^Hne of eras
pnrpoma. For nerer, snrdjr, waa then aocb a game «f ■
• Ja, wSm ne dn Eagliadaa aad Titkcra
MY COUNTBYMES. 167
played. It cfinie to its height wlien Lord Palmerston died the other day.
Lord PalmeratoQ was Eagland ; " the best type of our age and country,"
The Timet well called him ; he was " a great representatire man, empha-
tically the English Minister ; " the interpreter of the wlahes of that great
middle class of this country which supplies the mind, the will, and the
power requisite for al[ the great and good things that have to be done, and
therefore " acknowledged by a whole people as their beat impersonation."
Uonaeor Thiers says of Pitt, that though he used and abused the strength
of England, she was the second country in the world at the time of his
death, and the first eight years afterwards. That was after Waterloo and
the triompha of Wellington, And that era of primacy and triumphs Lord
Palmerston, say the English newspapers, has carried on to this hour,
" What Wellington was as a soldier, that was Palmerston as a etateaman,"
When I read these words in some foreign city or other, I could not help
robbing my eyes and asking myself if I was dreaming. Why, taking
Lord Palmerston'a career from 1830 (when he first became Foreign Secre-
tMy) to his death, there cannot be a shadow of doubt, for any one with
eyes aad ears in his head, that he found England the first Power in the
world's estimation, and that he leaves her the third, after France and the
United States. I am no politician ; I mean no disparagement at all to Lord
Pahnenton, to whose talents and qualities I hope I can do justice ; and
indeed it is not Lord Palmerston's policy, or any Minister's policy, that
ii in qaestion here, it is the policy of all of us, it is the policy of
England ; for in a government gui:^ as ours is at present, it is only,
M we are so often reminded, by interpreting public opinion, by being
'' llie best type of his age and country," that a Minister governs ; and
Lord Palmerston's greatness lay precisely in our all " acknowledging
liim as our best impersonation." Well, then, to this our logic, our
practical efforts in the way of criticism, our clear manly intelligence
penetrating through sophisms and ignoring commonplaces, and above
all, our redoubtable phalsnx possessing thcso advantages in the highest
degree, our great middle class, which makes Parliament, and which
Fnpplies the mind, the will, and the power requisite for all the great
and good things that have to be done, have brought us ; to the
third place in the world's eetimation, instead of the first. He who dis-
U'lievcs it, let him go round to every embassy in Europe and ask if it
is not true.
The foreigners, indeed, are in no doubt as to the real authors of the
r'.licy of modem England ; they know that ours is no longer a policy of
Pius and aristocracieB, disposing of every movement of the hoodwinked
nation to whom they dictate it ; they know that our policy is now dictated by
the strong middle part of England, — Eugland happy, as Mr. Lowe, quoting
Aristotle, says, in having her middle part strong and her extremes weak ;
and that, though wc arc administered by one of our weak cxti'emes, the
aristocracy, these managers administer us, as a weak extreme naturally
moat, with a nervoua attention to the wishes of the strong middle port,
UB
MT COUHTKVMGX.
I
vrlioao agitntR ltir>y tre. It nnti not ibe txistoeraef vliuh ni»d<i~
Crttnenn war; it wnn llie stron; middle pnrt — tho caoalimendcs. It ma
the etron^ middle part which showered fthunc! fuM llircnU on Germany Torfl
mishandling Deumart ; and when Oennanj' grnfflj- antwered, Comt and ™
ttop us, iilapped iu pockets, nnd vowu>l tUnt it lnvl n<:rcr hnd tbc slightest
notion of pushing nmllora no far na tbifl. It was like stroog middle part
vhich, Ijy Ihe voice of lui laTOuritc ncwspapimi, kept llircntcntng Gcnnanf,
After she had fli)ap]>«d her fingtrs At na, with b fiitnrrt chnntisemoDt front
Fmnco, jiwt a" a smurting school-hrty rtirc:itenii hin Imllr wiih k drubbing
to come from some big boy ia the bnclcgroimd. Ir. ytim tlic ntmng middle
part, Rpmking Ihrmigh Th(< uxme newspaper*, which was f^ijl of eoldnoM^
nlighlA, nnd nerniniiH Toi* tho American Fedentlfl during their late Btmggle;
and as booq as they had anoceodQi), discovered that it had always willed
tliem wvll, and that nothing wns so much to be d«sirwl as that tho Unit«d
States, nnd wv, Hhoixld be \ha liiatcst friend:! possible. Bconc pcoplo will
sny that the arisloerocy was nn equal ofTcnilor in this rcfpeet : very likely;
but the hehiLviotiFof tlict srnxig middle pnrt malcoa more impression tbaa
the belmvicur uf n wejik t'Xtreme ; nnd the more eo, l)«c«i]»e frtim tho
Buddie elam, their fcilcws in niiniborless w^ys, Uie Amerionns expcctod
■ynpalhy, while from the nrislocracy tlicy expected none. And, in
gCDcm], the lliulu wicii which foroigncrs reproach us is tbe OMtters
nnmed, — rash engagement, intempftrntu threatening, uadignified retreat,
ill-timed cordiality, — arc noL tlia fanlM of an aristocracy, by nature in
BUch concerns prudent, reticent, dignified, eonntive oa tbfl p<MBt of
honour ; they are rniher the fHiilts of a rich middle clan,— testy, absolute^
iU-acqnaintcd with foreign mutters, a littlo ignoble, rcry dull to pcroMTC
when it ix mating iti(flf riilicnlou*.
I know the iinKWiT one gets at heme when one raj's tbnt Kogland is
Dot very highly conwden-d jiiBt now en the Continent. There ia finit of
all the envy to occonnt for it, — that of course; and then our cloftr intel-
Ilgeooe is making a. radical change in our way of di^aling with the
OonlmeDt; tho old, bfld, ariRtocraticftl policy of incessnnliy inter nicddUag
witli the nflhirs nf th« Continent,— this it lit getting rid of; it is learing
the luineniblc fwieiguvrs to tliciiiw.'lvt.-', to thoir warn, dvspotisuu, bo-
rejiueraoy, and hatred of free, pronptroua England. A few ineonrenienoM
mny arise bclbrc the tninsilion from our old policy to ottr new is fairly
accomplished, and we quite leave off the habit of middling wliore oar
own interests arc not at emkc. We may ha exposed to a little mortalica-
tiun in the paM«ge, but our clenr intelligence will discern any occutuo
where otir interfita.are really nt ittakc. Then we ahnll come forward and
prove ovraelvei as strong as ovpr ; and the foreign ur*. in spllo of tboir
envy, know it. But what strikes me so much in all which these
foreigners say is, (hat it is jnnt this elonr intelligence of ours that tbty
appeitr nt the present moment to hold cheap. Eogliabmon are often fl
hoard complninins of tho little gratitude foreign nHtions dir-w them for
iLeip fgrmpatliy, their good-will. The reason is, lliiit the foroignew
il
MY COUNTHYMKN. 169
tliiiik tbat an Engl lali man's good-will to a foreign cause, or dislilic to it,
ii never grounded in a perception of ils real merits and bearings, but ia
lome cbance circumatance. They eny the Engliabmaa never, in these
cawR, really contpTebenda the situation, and so they can never feel him
t4> be in living sjrmpatby with them. I have got into much trouble for
calling my countrymen Philistinea, and all through these remarka J am
determined never to use that word ; bnt I wonder if there can be anything
offendve in calling one's countryman a young man from the country, I
hope not ; and if not, I should say, for tlie benefit of those who have seen
Mr. John Parry's amusing entertninment, that Engbind and Englishmen,
holding forth on aomo great crisiB in a foreign country, — Poland, say,
or Italy, — are apt to have on foreigners very much the effect of the
jonng man from the country who talks to the nursemaid ai^r slic baa
npset the perambulator. There is a terrible crisis, and the discourse of
the young man from the country, excellent in itself, ia felt not to touch
the crisis vitally. Nevertheless, on he goes; the perambulator lies a
vreck, the child screams, the ntuvemaid wrings her hands, the old gentle-
man atorms, the policeman gesticulates, the crowd thickens ; still, that
astonishing young man talks on, serenely unconscious that he ia not at
the ofntie oi^the utuation.
Happening to be much thrown with certain foreigners, who criticised
England in this sort of way, I used often to think what a short and
tcady way one of our hard-bitting English newspapers would take with
these icomeis, if they fell into its hands. But being myself a mere
Mker for truth, with nothing trenchant or authoritative about me, I
could do no more than look shocked nnd begin to ask questions. " What 1 "
1 said, "yon hold the England of to-day cheap, and declare that we
du not comprcbend Uie situation ; yet you rate the England of 1815
to high, and call our fathers and grandfatbera the foremost people
iu Europe. Did tbey comprehend the situation better than we 7 " " Yea,"
roplied my foreign friends, "the situation ns thoy hod it, a great deal
bfitcr. Tbeir time was a time for energy, and they succeeded in it
{•('rfectly. Our time is a time for intelligence, and you are not succeeding
ia it at alL"
Tliough I could not hear without a shudder this insult to the eamost
good sense wliicb, as the Morning Star says, may be fairly set down na
the general characteristic of England and Englishmen evcrj'where, yet I
priL'ked up my ears when my companions talked of energy, and England's
Ruccc^s in a time for energy, because I have always had a nolion myself
lliat energy— energj- with honesty — is England's great force ; n greater force
to her, even, than licr talent for penetrating through sophisms nnd ignoring
CT'OimnnplaceB ; so I begged my acquaintances to explain a little more
fully to ma what lliey meant. " Nothing can be clearer," they answered.
" Your Times was telling you tlic other day, with the enlichtenment it so
often shows at present, that instead of being proud of Waterloo and tlie
^^at war which was closed ]>y it, it rrnlly Feuincd as if ynu ought ratbor
160
MT COaNTRTMES.
to foel ciiibarrn«!CtI nt iho roeoIUrtion «f tliem, Binoo tlia policy for whicli
they w«T« foiighl is grown obiioletc; tlic workl lia» lukm a mm wbkb
WM not Loi-4 CiiJtleitagb's, and to look back on ttiis groat To»y wnt ji
to luuk bnck npon ns endl«N8 account of bhio<l niiil Iroonurc wasted. Nov,
tliat is not so at all. What France hiuJ in Ikt JienH, from the ConTCntion,
' lailliful to tb« ptincif'lcit of the uavnclgnty of tlie people, wbich will not
permit tbtini to ncknniv U'llg'i anywhere tbe inMitutions iniliiating against
it,' to Nnpolmn^ willi \»* 'iiniiictiiK! picjccts for aseuring to Fraace l]]«
empire of the world,' — what elie lutd in lier hwnl, along with roimy
better and sounder notions declined to bapjiier fortune, vat mpremaqi.
Slic bad olwHV* n virion of a sort of ftdcTation of tli« StnlM of £aro|)«
wnili-r ili(! piiiiincy of Franco. Now to this the world, wliose progress no
doiilit li^a in tlte direction of more concert and cctninvn purpoM among
nations, bnt tbosc nations frco, BelC'impclU'diand living each its own lifo, vat _
not moring. Wbocvcr knocks to piccca a acbctne of tbis sort docs ibc world a ■
■errice. In atitit|«ity, Itoninti empirp liail a iroborao of tbis sort, and mudi
more. The barbarians knoikt-d it to piccti! — Iiononrlotlie barbarians. In tl:e
middle agss Frederick tlic Second liud a aclicnic of this Bort. The Papacy
>nopk«| it to piccea — ^honour to the Piipacy. In onr own ccntmyv Franco
bad II scheme of this wrt. Your latbeni knockwt it lo pieces— honour to
yoor fiithcrs. They wtre just the people to Jo it. 'I'ht-y hud a vigorous
lower claw, a vigorous middle claw, itnd a vigorous arisloerney. The lower
cIsBB worked and fought, the niiilJle cinss found the money, and tbe aria-'fl
iocracy wicliied tlie wboie. This aristocracy was bigb-spiritod, reticent,
jinn, deapiaiug frothy decIaTnation. It h.id all the i|ualitii's useful for its
taak and liinc; Lord Grcnville's worda, aa early na 1793 : ' Hiigliuid will
novor consent thfit Kmnce shnll nrrogatu tlio power of annulling at her
plewure, and «ndcr the prptence of a pretended natural right, the political'
lyrtcm of Europe; ' these few worda, with their lofty vtrengt]], contain, na
one mny say, the prophecy of future buccpsb : you lienr thn very voice of;
an aristociJicy &landiiig on sure ground, and with llio ttnra in iia fiiToor.
"Well, yon nuccccdcd, and in IRIS, after Waterloo, you -were tlio fint
power In Europe. 'Tliese people have a wcref,' wo all Raid ; 'thfy
liavo ditcerncd the way the world waa going, and thci-cfuic they hare
prevailed; while, on the Other band, the "stars in thdr coaraca Tonght
against Siatrn." ' We held you in the greatcft rcspecl ; wo tried to copy
your conati lutional government ; we rtad your writers. 'After tJiiB
peM*>,' aaya Geoi:ge Sand, ' the literature of Great Britnia crossed th«
atraila, and came to rcica amongit as.' It ri^ii^ed in Byron and Scott,
Voices of tlio great uriwlocniliwi! »--pint which had jiiBt won the victory'
Scott cxpres!>ing itH rubuaC, genial ciinH-rvati»Tn, holdiug by a iboiuaad'
xoots to the past ; Byron its defiant force and iadomitable pride.
" We believed in you for a good while ; but gradually il began totUwo
npoD ua that the era for which yoci bad line) the jecrct was over, and that
a new era, fur which you had not the secret, was b>c*ginning, Tbe work
of Ibe old em was to prevent the formation of n second Koman cm
I
UY COUNTRYMEN.
ai lo inninLun a store of frw, ricli, r,irioiii aationni livra Tor ihi.' future
Id vrotk wiUi and bring k> haruxouy. "Vhis was a ^vork oi* fitnf, of energy :
il «u a work for an aristocraticnl powur, ni'nco, hh yon yoaraell ars always
njing, atiatocrnciGa, poor io idc^i, are itch in energy. Yoti were a grvat
amtocf3;)cal power, and did il. But then cauic ua (.t4 wiLli aootlier worlc,
airork oTwludi it in tli< great glnry of tliu l-'ronch KeyoludoQ(|iardoa %a
lor saving ao, ve know it makea somi' of your countrymen angry to hear
i^) poMionately to have embraced the i^ka: th« work of making Immim
i&f bantpered by a past wUicli it baa outgrown, natural and nUional. Tliis
ba work of intelligence, and in inCdligenco an aristocratic power, oa you
ksBV, does oot Eo mtidi ehiue. Accurdiugly, since lh« world hiu been
ttmSiy mcrriog this way. you sucni to liuvu loal your eeciel, and we .-iru
padualljT cowing to bcliiivc in yoo. You will ay, perhaps, tliot Englaad
is no longer an xriatocratjeal power, 1>iil a niiddlu-olasA pown-, wieM«Hl by
la industrial middle ctnan, a& the Guglund uf your fiithtTs was wielded by
a territorial taUtoctney. This may be so; and indeed, as llic style, car-
nage, and pt^icy of England have of lato years been by no mcnns llioso of
a arialocraticaj power, it proljably its so. But whatever ckaa dictates it,
jeor eOBtie, allow us (o say, haa not of late years been intelligent ; lias
■Ql, at any rale-, been suoceesful. And dqicnd upon il, a nation vrho liaa
lU aMvet of Iter era, who discerns which wny tho world is going, is buo-
teHflil, kccpe naiag. Can you yoursL-tveii, wjtli all your powers of self-
misbction, su[:f»08C (liat the Ciimvnn wiir nii^od you, or that your Indian
mtiay raiiad you, or tliat your attitude in the Italian war raiiiciil you,
Mjaar ptufunnancea at tlie beginning of the century raised you? Surely
jmt oasaoC You hi-ld your own, if you will ; yoa allowed tenacity ;
Ton Mved yoursclren from diiuster; but you did not mise yourselves,
M DOC aclvonce one jot. Can you, on the otlier hand, su|ipoi«c that
joor attitude in tlic Oauish bii^ineua. In Iho Aniericun busiacss, has
■ot lowered you ? Yon arc losing tlic instinct which tells pcopli^ how
Ibe worU is going ; you arc bogiuning to make tuistakcs ; you ore
hSbag oot of the front rank. The era of aristocracies is orer ; nations
^ -Hum now siaod or fall by the intelligcnco of their middlo class and
^^|fa people. The people with you is still an embryo ; no one can yet
^fie ny what it will come to. Y'ou U-an, tlien-ibre, with your whole
vn^tt upon iho intelligcuco of your middle chus. And iatclIigeDcc, in
tlie true senae of tho word, your middle claw hn« abaoluiely none."
I was aghast 1 thought of thi* grctit clasfi, eveiy morning and cvciuog
nnollod for its clear, manly inlclligonce by a hundred Tigorous and
iafloeiitial writers; aitd though the line enthusiasm of thtse writers had
Jvaya sc«med to mo to be carrying tltcin a little too far, and 1 had even
bwo guilty of the iiidt-cency of now ami then calling my cciuitrjmen
rijiltaiiiiei, ilieso ftireign critics struck luc aa passing all bounds, and
quite out-IIerodiog Ilcivd. Forlunauly 1 had just received fi-oni Kngland
a copy of Jlr. Lo¥rc*s powerful aitd much-admired Bpcedi against Reform.
1 look it out of my i»ekct. "Now,"* said I lo my cuvious, carj^ing
8— »
fcre^en, "jiut Iirt«i to me. Ton nythat the oariy yonnofthiacpal
wen a liuc for «R<in!7i "'^ ""^ ^*^ '"^^ ^ ihtm ; jron way that the laiC
thirtj- or forty y«iT» have l>wn n time fi>r intcltigfli»CT*, and we hare doDo
ill in llicm. Mr. Lowe nhall aimiro* yon. Hen ia bu rvadin; of oar laife
thirty or fsrty y«T»' hiflory, ai mad« by our mid4il6-claBB Parliament, w
lio Milln it ; by a Parliament, llierefore, filled by the miinl and will of tbia
great class whose rule yon dispara^. &Cr. Lowe Hiys : ■ The strrot Honaoa
of Comtnon? that have Kite tines llii> Rvfumi Hill bavn pciibrmcd lucploita
unrivalled, not m<;rcly in the six Miittirie* during which rarliainent bM
existed, but ia the whole histCTy o( representative nawMbliM.* He nysf
*Look at the noble work, the heroio worV which the Home of OominaiH
haa pcifemied within tlieee thirty-five ytmrs. It has gone through and
TCTised every institnlinn of the poiintiy ; ie hfta neanncd our trftd«, oar
c«1oni«, our 1aw\ snd our Tnnrici[ml {nfttitnlioni ; evciy^iag thfit was
complained of, crcrythin^ Uint had grotvn dtHtasteliil, tiu bvcn toachcd
with Huocent and modemtinn by the nmendioj hand. Atid to aach ft point
hnre thtm anicndinrnti been carried, that when gvntlrmeQ come to arj^e
thin <[ueftion, and do ftl! tn their jvow^ to ^t np a |>r«oti«al grievaBe«,
they fail in miggcaling even one,' Ttiere is what Mr. Lowe anys. Too tee
wc Iwve nolhing Ipft to desire, abiwlcitcly nothing. As Mr. Lowe hinueir
niys ; ' With all thi« centinued peflw, contentment, hnprinww, *nd pw-
spciity, — England in its prcwnt state of develnpmenc and civilization,—*
the mighty fnVirio of English prftspcrity, — what can we wont iBorof
Evidently nothing : lh<tr«fi>m to propose ' for England to malc« a eiop In
tie direction of dirmocmcy is the strnnijest nnd wildeail proposition wer
broached by m«n.' People talk of AmcTica. ' In Americ-v the wortiog
classes arc ihc maslcra; does anybody doTiht timt?' And eompaie,
Jfe. lyowc mmns, Enplsnd, ns the middle class in ninVin^ her, with
America, a« ihft working pltiwes aro mtLkirg her. How entirely miwt
the compariwn turn to iho advantage of the English middle clua* I Then,
finally, ns to the fip;tire we cnt in the eyes of the world, our gntndeur and
our finiire, here is a crowning sentence, worthy of Ixjrd Mncaolay him-
»eir, whose style Mr. Lowe cnlhonatticnlly admires : ' The dealiuy of
England h in the jj-pur heari of Fiiglftn'i .' '"
Mr. Bright had not then made hi> firnoui speech abont lh« wirfiadt
of (ho Tories, btit, if he had, I should ocrtiunly have added thai oar
middle class, by ihesa unrivalled exploits of theirs, hud not only nuMd
tlioir country to an unprecedented height of greatness, but had also
aavcd our foolish nnd obxtntctive arisleerney from b^ng emptied into the
Thames.
As it WHS, however, what Ihad urgi-d, or mtlier what I had borrowed
from Mr, Lowe, Bcwncd to mc exceedingly forrihl*', nnd I looked anxiously
for its efTccl on my hearers. They did not appe^ir so iimch disconcerted
fls T had hoped. "Undonbfcdiy," they said, " [lie coming of your iniiMlc
clasx to power was a nntnral, ntlutnry event, to be blemed, not itnat|ietn»-
tiiwl. Aristooneies cannot deal with n time lor inteUigenc« ; Uicii sense
I
I
I
inr coimmviimr.
Ii fur fwla, not id«ift«. The wothX of iJi'oji ja tli# pniMibli>, the Ailare ; the
irvtlil of nrintocntcica is tha CflUiblisIifil, lIil' [iitst, which lina itwtla their
bKtroe and which they hop4) Id prolong. Nft doubt J<nt middle cIbmi
fctind a great deal oT commfreiiil and eodal husineM WdiUiig to be Aoa»,
*liich y«tir nristocntic goT«niiiimits hud K-ft nndonft, nml hnil no tnlcnts
fcr doing. Their talents were for oihw tifiiM nnd twfcs ; fcr curbing tlx!
pnr«r of tho Crorrn whrn other cIbbsm were too InconaideTmbic to do it;
far managing (if one eornponwi thorn with other ftrirtocnwiea) their afisira
■od th«{r d^pendnntfl wlih vigour, pnidenn.-, and moderation, dnring tho
ftadal and pntriarchal ttta^ of socirty; Ibr wtcldin.f^ the Airco of their
cnntry agMOst (breigo power* with entrgir, firmnwn, nnd dignity. But
tbn cmie the modern spirit, the modem lim« : thu notion, os we sny, or
■aUag- liiinutn liAi morn Midiral and rntional ; or, at j-our philc^ophers
■jr, argflCting tfaegreatnt happincw for the greatest number. Have yott
maaBtiei, mm joq snoceedlDg:, in this hour of the many, as your arialo-
oiey ■nM/'cded in the hoar of ibe few ? Von My you are ; you point
Id *th« noble work, the lieroi« norV which ihi IIoiim nf Commons hns
flhimed within these last thirty-fire years; cvcrytbiofr that was com-
fUncd ofj everything that had ^wn diBta»t[>fuI, hv been tottohed with
■KPMi and Tnodrration by tho amcDdini; hand.' Allow iis lo ftet clnp-
bvp on one side : we are not nt one of yonr public moetiiigB, What in
dn modem problem 7 to tnake human life, ihe life of society, nil through,
■on mtaral and rational ; to hare the grcnteat pomble number of onc'a
MlisQ happy. Here in the standard by which vte are to try ouTsalves and
m* laoiher now, ai nnlional grandeur, in ihc old regal nnd arititocTatical
eaBKfrtioo of il, was lb« atandard form«rly. Every nation must have
wished lo be England in 181&, tried by tlie old stiindnni : must we all
nb to be England in 1666, tried hy the new elatidard 1 Vour nri^ttocrncy,
jm HJ, it aa qikndid, as fortunitte, as enviable m erer: very likely;
hot all ths world cannot be aristocracy. What do you nuke oi' llie
•MSB of yoQr society, of tU vut middle and lower portion ? Ar« we
to tarj jrod your oommon people ; ts our common peopk to wish lo
Ange pfauM with yoiin; are we to uy ibnt you, mere than we, have
Ao modem aeeret here ? Without insisting too niu<!h on the atories
*f niMry and dcgmdation which nre perpetually reaching us, we will
■f ilm no one cao mix with a great crowd in your country, no one
■ji wbHc with Ilia eyes and ears o|i«n ihrotigh the poor quArlcra of your
krp towna, and not feel thnt your oummun people, as il luceta one's eyes,
bal pK^nt more raw, to say the very leojit, Icnenviable-ioiC'lting, furlhir
leBoved fr«m civilized and liumanc life, than the oommon people nlmost
nywbere. Vftil, then, yon aro hot a succota, according to the modoi'n
Msdard, wiih your eoinmon people. Arc you a auccoss with your middb
lUmt They botre tbv power now ; what linvc they made oi' ihcnuelvot 7
what aorl of a lifi: >* iheiraf A life more natural, mor« mtionol, fuller of
WpfitnaM, more enviable, tliorefora, than the lite <if tlio middle claiisea
m Uic Continent ? Yea, you will nay, bccauso thv Kngliiih raiddlo claaa ie
164
wy COUKTIITMF.K.
t]ic most industrious ond ihe richeiit. But it ia jiirt Wro thai .
great deal too few, «nil so ileceivt- jmiraelvM. Wlial brmgi about, or
Tathei' Ictida to bring aUbut, n Dutural, nttloiial lir<-^ tAtufying the modarn
Bj^irit ? Tlii* : the growlli of n l»>vc cf iiwiiistry, tnuJe, and veolth ; the
growth of A love of ilio tliingi of tic mind ; and the growth of a lore of
bwutiful tbii!g3. Tlier« are body, intclltgcnc«', snd K>\tt all Inkra core of.
Of thcae three radon of iDodeni \i(e, your iniddlu dnss bu tio notion
of any but one, ihc fiivt. Tln'ir Irivti of indiiMry, trade, aitd weallli,
i« ccrtnioly [irctdlgiouB ; and their example haa done na a great d«ai
of good ; we, too, ore beginning to get this lore, and ve wanted
it. Ilut wliat notioa have ihry of anylhiog clso? Do bat look at
them, Iwk at lh<-ir livw. St-iiie r.f uh know jtiir middle dan vtty
well ; a greut deal belter Ihan your own upper class in EOniral knoira
them. Your middle cinu is cdncAted, to begin nith, in tlie worst m1»o<^
of your country, niifl our midilte g1.'18s ia educated in tlie beil of oars.
What bccMDica uftheiu after thut ? The lincncss and cnpadty of a tnan'a
Bpirit tx diown by his enjoynienls; your middle c1h«i* hns nn «ijoyin«nt
in ilH buttini%t«, vrc admit, and gct.^ on well in bwiuesit and makva niotit^y;-
but beyond that? Drugged wilb buaincis, your middle claKi acema
to ha\e its sense blunled for niiy ttimuliiH besides, except rvligioti;
it has a religion, narrow, uninlcllifTcnt, repui»ivc. All sincere religion
docit aomcthing fur the sjiirit, raiaos u man out of Uto bondage of htf
merely besllnl part, and saveH him ; but the religion of your middle eiass
is lh« very lowc*t ibi-m of imdlipentitil life wbith ooo can imagine as
wring. What oilier cnjoymonta Imvo iliey ? ITie newspapers, a jort or
eating mid drinkinj: which are not io our tasic, n literature of books
nlmoal entirely religiona or ttemi -religious, books utterly nnt-ea<lttbl« by
an educated claas nny whei«, but which your middle class vonnumm, they
Bay, by the hundred thousand i and in their evenings, for a great treat, a
Icctiiri.- on leetoLilizni or nunnerioK. Cnn any life ho imagined mor«
bideoiiB, more dismal, more unenviiible? Compare it ivlih lliv life of our
tuiddli; chiss iis yon havo seen it on the Ufaine this summiT, or at Lau-
annnc, or Zurich. The world of enjoyment, so hbcralixing aotl civilisinff
belongs to the middle cIhsscn there, ae well as the world of btiaine^t ; ih«
vbolo world is theirs, thry possrss Uri'; in England the highest clasa.
seems to have the monopoly of the world of cnjoynienl, the middle cliwa
enjoys it«elf, as your ShBltsjKwro would any, in huggci-muggcr, and
possesses life only by reading in the newspapers, which it does devoutly,
the doings of great people. Well llicu, we do not at all nont to be as jMir
iniJdle clnw; we wnnt to le.nrn from it to do business and togetrlch,
and tliis we are Uaruinp a great deal fnster than you think ; but we do
not, like your middle clnsi, Bx our consummation here : we have a notion
©fa whole wortrl besides not dreamed of in your middle etuat's philosophy ;
go they, too, liki- your comnitm peo])le, eeem to uh no success. They may
be the mastera of the modern time with you, but ihey are not solving iu
DToblem. They cannot see the way the world is going, and tlio
I
10 futnrafl
UY COUNTilVMKN.
dew not belong to litem. Tiilk of the present •late of (Icvelopiiittil aixl
ctTilizAtion of England, ineikning Knglnnd ns llicj rcprMent il tu tis !
Why, tli« caf»tJil, praaung danger of England, is tli6 burbariion of her
miildle clads ; tLe civilisation of her middle cLua i» England')! cJipiUil,
jtftning want,"
*• Well, but," (aid I, fllill catching xt Mr. Lowe'» powerful lielii, " the
Parliament oC tlib cLua kaa pciiunucd cxjjloilD witiviilleJ not niurciy in
tlie six centuries during vrliich I'uHianittit has cxialed, but in the whole
hktatj of rejn-eaentalirc asMiulilies. The 4.'xp!o!td nrc there: all Hie
t«ioma «• kavc made in the lodt fivc-and-tbJrt/ yean."
"Let ludistingiiifiii," repUvil tiicenviouilbrvigtipre, " let u? diBtinguiab.
Vt BBiuol tJiTcc poTrem — did we not? — which go to upriaid [liat lotional
hflmanc life tthich ii tho aim of modem society : the love of vcallli, tb«
□r iiiivUigence, the love of beauty. Your iiiiddlo citiss, we sgret'd,
the CrBt ; its couimei'cial legislntion, accordingly*, Uoa been rery g9oH,
sad in advance of that of forvign cniinlrieM. Kol tlmt freo-U'ado was really
bmiglit about Uy your middle class ; it was brought about, aa imporlanl
R^bmu alnays arc, by two or three great men. itowcver, let your
i^ddle ctiuA, whicti Imd tlic acnse in ancopt (vee Iradc, liavc ilit- credit of
U, But this only brings iin ii certain way. The li'f^islnlitin of yonr
kK^lIc class in all ibatgoes to give human life more intelligence und bcanty,
ii ao belter than was to be expected from its own want of Imtlt. It in
Motking to SAy that its Icginlulion la tlicuc rcxpocts in lui imprDvamcnt
nptm what you hud before ; that is not the qiii>siion; you arc holding up
«a sdiicvementM lu absolutely sdinimble, iia tinrivalled, aa a model to us.
Too may bavo dono^for you — much for relij^ious toleration, noci^tl int-
invcmeDt, public inRtruction, tnuuicipnl r^-forin, law reform ; but the
J'^ncli Rerolulion and its consetpienccs liuve done, upon the Conliiivat, a
giMt Hr-a] marc. Siifh a itpcclaele aa your Iri^h Church EstablUihrocnt
joo cannot find in France or Germany. Your Irish land-question yo«
kanlly dare lo face, — Steia settled ai titrealening a land-qucelion in
Prtxaa, Of ihe schools for yt'ur middle t'lai^* wo Imvo already spoken ;
vkile tlK«e tcbooh are what they are, while tbe nchoola for your poor
are mainlainifl ill tbe cxpeniive, unjust, irrational wny they an>, England
ii full o( CTidownients and fauiidationa, capable by tlienisch-cs, if properly
spiilied, of putting yoor public cducntioa on a touch belter fooling. In
Peum and Germany all umilar fuiKlii ar« thus employed, Itaving been
brao^tt oodpr public rejipon»ibIe management ; in Eugland they arc loit
to pcirato irrespoasiblc msnagetnenl, and nre, in nine ensrx out of ten,
Msled. You talk of municipal rerurm; and cities and tlie manner of life
in tbcni boTc, for the modem buj&ncM of ]>roa)oting a more raliouat antl
InaiMl* 1U« in tlie great body of the coinraunily, incalculable importance.
Do joa cuppOM we should tolerate in France, Germany, Swilzerhiiid,
Italy, your London «t>rpomtii>n and London vcntrieii, and London as they
Innkc it? In jour pruvinciiU town* you. «3u lN;tti.'r; but even there, do the
Bluucipalities flhow a tenth purl either of llic intelligence or ilie care tvr
I
166 ^^^ sfT cocsthtmkh,
the fliwla, n* wc hare Inid iTiem dcwn, of modem locieir, lli.i
mtiRicipatitia rfioir ? Ywir middlc-clitas man tliiaks it tlio hi^)i«it pilcH
of fkv«]opnK>nl mil] civilixntion when liis IiHIert nrc curried twelve time*
u cluy fnau ItWnglt^n to C«in)>ervrc1 1, tmA from Camlxm'^ll fo Islington,
and if nulway-triiicm i-ud to and fro bctwota (lieui ever)' <]U3rter of u
hour. Ho lliinlitt it it noiliing tlint tlte tniim only carry him froin «o
illi1>crsl. diemul lifo ot Iflington (o nn illlttcral, dismil lifv at Cnmbcnvcll;
and llic letters only tell htm that mich in tlic life there. A Swiss barghcr
talus Iltaven knows bow nmny hours to go from Berne to Genera, and bis
trolDsanrcry fvir; this ia nn extreme oa the oilier Rtlo; bnt coupon
ibA life tlic 8wisit hiughor Rtnlx or Irnvrs nt HcTni! or Grapm with tlie life
of the iiiiddle class in your KngliKh towiin. Or elae you think to oorer
ernythiiig hy snying : 'We arc free t wo sre freo! Our newipopen ean
My wlint \\if.y like I' Frcei^om, liVe Industiy, i» a ttry good liorsa lo rids
— but to ride somewhere. Tmi seem lo lliink that you have only get to
get on the back of ymir horso Freedom, or rour horse InduMry, and te ride
nwny a& hard as you can, to bo sure of coming to tlic right deetination.
If your newspapers c.^n any whnt ihey lik<>, you think you nm nm of m
heing well advised. Tint oomeii of your inaptitude for idena, and aptilnite
it>rc)np-trap; ycu con never see Uiclwo aides of a queation; never perceire
ihnt every human stnte of thingit, even a goi>d onp, Ima its incniiTOiiieDces.
Wc ean see the convt-nienccs of your stntc well enniigli; nnd tlic iacon-
Tcniencea of ours, of newspapers not free, and prefeets owr-bairyj nod
thcie are plenty uf ill who proclaim them. Yoa ragcrly repeat after ua
all wc say thot redounds to your own honour and glory ; hut yon never
follow oiir example younielvcs. Tou are full of neutvuess lo p«ra'ivc the
ill influence of our prefects on iia ; hut if any one says (o you, in your
turn, 'Tlio Enf^liah system ofa great landed ariHlocraey keeps your lown-
clan a Icwer clan« for er?r, and tnnterialisea and nlgarites your whole
middle clnss,' you ataru vacantly ot the apcaktr, you ninoot even lake
in his ideas ; you can only blurt forth, in reply, somo clap-trap or other
about a 'system of such tried and tested efficiency as no other cotintry
yrM ever hnppy cncngh to pomeas since the world was a world,' "
I Jiavi> olmci-verl iu my travvtn, that most yoimg gfiilleraen of our
highest claw pn throiigli Europe, from Onlais to Constant i nop !c, with one
aentence on their li^is, and ene idea tn their minds, which Baffieaii, ■
apparently, to c?itplain all that they «ee lo them : Ford^ers don't trwcA.
No doubt, thought I to myself, my friciuls have fallen in witli eoiae dis-
tinguished y<^im^ nritoits of tliis soi t, and had tlii^r fc^inga woumled by
them ; hence their innconr againtt our aristocracy. And ns to our middle
elasi:, fordfinfrR li!n<> no notion how mticl) this e\t\vn, wiih na, coataiiw [ ■
how m»ny Ki^iid'S nnri gradations in it there are, and how little what is
saiii Af one pckrt of it nill apply to another. Somelhint; of llitt sort I ooold
not hdp iirj-'irig aioud. " Vou do nol know," 1 Mid, "that tlten is
broken olf, o^ viie may say, from the top o{ our middle cUaa, a targe frag-
ment, which n<ceirc the beat education tho coautry can give, lh« aame
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cdDCalion as our flrirtoe»aoy; wliich is pcrfwlly inMIigpnt nil J wliidi
tajoft life prrfrcdj-. Thew DMai do tlio main pan of our inltlk-otanl
mfc, wril« all our b«i ueiyBpajiCTs ; and olerercr peopln, I aaaim yon,
iKwntben to be found."
" Oerar enough," was tlie Answf p, "brU iKey Bhow not muoJi IntolH-
gfOW, tB lli« true eeaw ©f tlie vrcrj, — not mvich iiitel%ertcc of llic wav
Uh worW in going. Wb«tli«r it is that they must try to liit yoar current
pobtM opinion, -whicb is not inlelligrat ; whether it ia lh«t, having been,
■ ytm ^y, brought up with ynwr nri*toen«y, lliey haTo been too mucli
ixfloenced by it, hnvc Inki^, linll' in90Ti«ibly, an amlnoracy't nmlM-iiil
ttttuUrd, and do not bcli«Tc in 'ukuf ; cmrttitn It is that tbcir intcltigeiifr
hM no nrdour, no plitu, l«iula th«m nowhi^K; it is indTuctun). Your
intdlMl U at this moment, to an almost unexampled d«<gr«c, tvitlioiit
toflorace on th« intellect of Europe,"
Vliilc lliiK WRH being ciiid, I noticed an Italian, wlio wu one of otir
fuxy, rumbling vith hi» pocki-t-book, from whence ho pn««ntly produowl
• umber of gtty newspnpcr ilipft, which I could ecc were En^lisli. " Now
jat tbtm to tne for a moment," be cried, "and I will nhow you what
■aka tu my, on the Continent, tliat you Ent^linh have no Kn^ for ]ogic,
fer idflu, and that ymir praine and Mime, liaving no substAHiinl foandatton,
ira worth rery lillk'. Yoti wmemhcr the ffimmii French pamphlet before
•V war bcgnn in 1859: SajM^eoH lh« Tliird and Itali;. The pnmpliEet
ifpoaled, in lIiR French way, to vewoD and lii-st prindple-t; the iipHhot of
il vat thin: 'The trealica which Viind governroentJi wo«td l>e invarinhlc
•Miy if the world was immovable. A pnwer wliioh fthnuld intrench itaeif
Mind Uvgtiea in order to resist modificaLions demanded by general
fafin^ would have donbtlcaa on her aide an ucquired right, but oho would
1m« igihut her moral right and iiniveraal tonccienoc' Ton Rnglioh, on
Ae ether band, took your it-ind on things lu they were ; ' If treaties are
Bade,* «aid your Titw, ' they must be respected. Tear one, and all are
viite iwpcr.' Very well ; this ifl n policy, at any nle, an nriatocratical
pliey ; tnucli may be «i(l for It. Thr. Timts w«« full rf cojirj;nipt for the
Tknicli pwnphWt, an eesay, its it callcHi it, * conveying tlic dniini!- of an
igiMar expmned in the bngnage of an acndemiciBn.' It said : * No one
KcaMomcd to the pi^y commenlK with which liberty notices pnssing hts-
Hry, caa resd such a production without complnr_pney that he dorrt not live
ta tlie cotmtry which produces it. To soe the heavy apparntaa of an eoay
Vmogfal ont to soItq a question on whicb men have Gorresponcled and
ItOccd aad Fj>ecnlaled in the funds, and aelod in llie mof;t pmetical manspr
fOwiNr for a month p8"t, ia as stningc ns if wc beheld some spectral
review,' and so on. Still very well ; ihcre is the strong pntcticnl mnn
4ii]ilslii(^ thwrirs and reveries. ' The Bentimont or rnpft is just now
L Araueoing to ho exceedingly troublesome, li ie to a considerable extent
I ta tnr days a Kierary revivnl/ Tlint is all t" the same effect. Then
■ MBit a Micfi in our afTairs, and fonime seem^'d ni if Hhc was going to
I livii, M abe often does give, the anti-th«orists a triumph. < The liatian
168
MY cousmrMEN.
(
plot,* ci-itil 7'Ae Tillies, ' lias luileil. Tlte Einpercr nnd hid EimLlUrs
knew not the taornl strcna;th wliicli U still lelk in ttie oaiighteoed een-
munitics of Europe. To the iitianimouii xml iinlignaot i-cprobatlon of
EDgliBb opinion Is due the raiUirc vf tlic impvilal plots. While silence
and Tear ruign ovlt^ whore ahroitil, tho oyc« and aunt of the Continent arc
turned cnnuminlly t« these IiLandii. Kiigikh opialun htialiL-en crc<:l4:d into
a kind of ArtfojMigufl.' Our liUsioeA^ went forwa.nl a^in, and your
English opinion grevr very stern indeed. ' Sardinia,' said The Tiatt, m
* h told Tery pliiiiil/ that she hwt deserted the course by wlucb alone sh« '
couLd liopc otthf^r to be linppy or grrat, iind aliandoned hitrsulf to th«
guldnncL* of futAl deiiniions, which are hiring her on to deslruclioii. Uy
oaltivating tlie aria of peace she wonid hnvc bc«n eolTing, in the only
poasbli^ way, the ditHeult [irublum of Itiih.in indupandenoe. She has been
tAiigbl by Fmacc to loolc iiintcuJ to iho aciuisition of fresh territory by
WAr und winciuflst Slio haa now been told with perfect trutli hy the
warning voico of the nriliiih I*»rli3iixcnt that she has not a monieul to low
ill t«u-iiaiii^ her atepii, if indeed hcr peniccucc be not too late.' Wtdlf
ta make a long story Bbort, wc did not retrace our steps ; we went on, as ■
you know; we Buecccdc?d ; and now let u» moke a jump from tlic spring
to tho autuniii. llcic is your unanimous £ngtish optaion, hero if yonr
Areopngus, hero is your Times, in October: ' It is very irregular ^Sar-
diniii'n coarse), it is contrary to all diplomatic forms. Ftaucia the Second
cnn Aiovr a (houaand text* of intcrnnlional law against iL Yes ; but
there arc extremitit'^ l>ey<iijd jill taw, nml tlicrc are laws which existed
b«(bre er«n aocicty nun formed. TlnDro are laws which arc implanted in
our niilute, anil whioh funti pirt uf the hum.in mind," and so on. Why,
hvreyuu hitre entirely buxi;d ihu couijkuj and come round from tlie aristO"
oratioal programme to the programme of the Frtaidi paniphl«t, ' the dreams
of an agitator in t!ic lungungc of the rhetorician ! ' And you approved
not only our present but our past, and kindly took oil' your Uui t^
reprubation iiwuinl in Fi-brusry. ' How gre.U a cliange bus been effected
by the niM-iy courageous policy of Sardinia 1 The liinincsa «ud boldneaa
which have raised luily from dcgrailutiati form tlie cuilm-ing chamctor of
a ten yi^axfl' policy. King Victor Einmauuel and his aagncious counietlor
have achieved succcn by romembering lliat fortune favours the bold.'
There you may see why the mind of France intluences itiu CoutineDt so
muuli and the inind of Knglund so little. France has intelligence enough
to poi'ceive the ideas that are moving, or are likely to mwe, tlie world;
■ttc bclicvca in them, slicks to them, and shapes her course to suit tfacm.
You neither perceive them nor believe in them, but you piny with thtm
like Counters, t-iking tbeni up and liL/ing thi^m down at randum, and fol- ■
lowiijg really eonie turn of your iinagiuntion, some guit of liking or dis-
I
liking. When I heard some of your countrj-men complaining of Italy nod
her ingratitude for English synipaihy, 1 mado, to explain it, ilic collection
of those extracts and of a good ni.'uiy more. They are all at your service ;
I have some here from l\ui iSatnrday BevicK, which you will tind exactly
MY COfSTBTMIW.
1G»
fiilfow nut wiili iliosc from The Times." "No, tlmnV jon." I answered,
** T\e TiMf) IB mdiigh. My relations wiih Uic Sutariiai/ Hevieto nre rallrar
tig!it-sticuli«d, sn jcu say here, already ; make me a part/ to none of
yeur quurcls willi tUcm."
AAcr this nt^r original tormeDtor once moretooltnpliisjMinibte. " You
IM now wlmt [ tnuuit," ho hliJ, " by saying that you did better iu Oie uM
tine, in thu day of arutoernoiu. An ariBtfl<;nicy lias no iil<iiB, but it haA a
jnliey. — to reul cluui^. la this policy it Wlioveit, it iticks to it ; when
it u bentvn in it, it hoUls its tongue, Thii is rcsp<:vt:iblu, itt any rate.
Bu* yotir grwit niuldlo cImd, «s you cal 1 it, your present goveruing power,
hariiif iiu policy, except tluit of doiug a roaring tntdu, docs not know
who* to be nt in great nffairtt, — blowahoi and cold by turns, — miikea ilcclf
ridictiloaa ia abort. It ■wa* a good nrialocralicol policy to hare b«I[ie(l
AMkria in the It^ilUn war ; it wn» « gocd aristocnitical policy to bam
bliptd the Souib in tbe American nsr. The da^x of anNlocmlicnl policy
are orer tor you; witli your new tniddlc-clasH public opininii you cut, in
Ittly, UlO figure onr friend hero brut jiiat *)inwn yon ; irL Ariici-iea you
mid right and Ud, yoii gfit up n luon^lcr mcuioi-ial to deprecate ilie
litrtlwr effuBioa of blood; you lamcut over tlte abricl->twiit of civil liberty
\ij people engaged in a struggle Ibr lill' and difJiib, and meaning to win ;
»d when ibcy turn n deaf uir to you ami win, you tuiy, ' Gh, now let u»
I* one grmt united Anglo-Saxon fimiiy and nstonisli ibc world.' Tbiit
ii jwi of a piece witli your threatening Germany with tlic Emperor of llie
Fitnch. Do yot) not sec that all iKctc blumlcn dispose tbo Amei-ioana,
*to arc very ihrewd, and wbo have been eucceediog at i.Ci>adily an you
bvc been fiullng, to nnswar ; ' Wc Larc got tlic load, no tbnnks to you,
ndw* tataa. to astoniah the world witlmnt you.' Unlesi you change,
vbIhb juar caiddle diun groin more iitldligciiC, you will tell upoa tbo
mrid l«n and !c«!i. nnd end by beiiif; a second Holland. Wc do not hold
Jtn ebenp for saying you will wasli your hands of all concerns but yoin*
•va, that you do not care a rush for influence in Europe -, though tliia
*nit«iK« of your Lord Bolingbroke in true: ' The opinion of mimkind, whic}k
it fame aAer dtaih, is superior strength and power in life.' We hold
JOB chmp b«auM you eliow fc few aignu, txcopt in tho one duiuirlmvut
of iaduatry, of anderstanding your titnu luid its tendencies, and of
nhibitlng a modem life wLicb nball be a signal itiicceuis. And the rcaotiou
b the rtrorgcr, bcenuw, ofler 1815, we believed in you a« now-a-d«ys we
m ooraing to believe In America. You bad won tho last game, and we
llMagbt yem bad your Litud full of trumps, and were going to win Llio
AexL. Now lh« game baa begun to be played, and v.'e bnve nn inkling of
wliat your cards are; we tJirewdly suspect you have sciircely^ any trumps
■t alL"
I aiB no arguet, u is well known, "and every puny whipster gets my
ncord." So, instead of making bad worse by a Iniuii nunwiir, I held my
tragtiCi consoling myself wiUi tba thought that thew f^r^gnent get
bom Uf, at any rale, plenty of Itolanda for niiy stray Oliver they may
vrcov^mwnt.
Intro tbtt luck lo giro us, I hiiTc nncc inrditaled a gcnl cltnX on
WHS then Biid, but I cnunol pmfbss to be yd qiiito cimr nhcitt it.
CTCT, nil due dcijuotions ntdt A^r enry, cxnggtrniicn, nnd InjuMioe, eoonfli
Bliwk by mc of ihc-K rcmnrkii wi Mir Irtsie, criticism, nnd lore of nilclli-
gence, to determine me to go on iryinj (Inking care, of co«rw>, lo Mutr
elcar of indecency) to Vcp my rniud fjxctl <in lliccc, inHrnd of Ringing
honniubt to oiir nctuul male of development nnd eirilinttitkn. Th« eld
recipe, to think n little more kod bnslk- a little ien, twm&l (o me still
tb« bert r«cipo (A folloT-, So I lakn comfort wb«n I find tbe (7nTnftn»
reprnncliing iii« vrilli hAring no influriice; for 1 know whnt influeau
tnranH,— o pnHr> pmctical propomla, ac4ion; biuI T uiy to myFcif; " Eren
Itipprwe I cotild prt some followpn, imd aswinb]* theDi, brimming with
fllTcctif'nnte mthu'iiMnii in « commiticc-room at some ion ; what on
tMlh thould I Kiy lo tbcm ? wliat rceohitiona could I propoM ? I coold
only propose the old Socratic pommcinplnoe, ITntni! tb^ivl/; and how lilmlt
they would all lock nt tlint 1" No ! to inquire, perhapd too curion»Iy,
■what that proflCTit »lnt« of Kn^lisb development and civilisation »», which
■ooording to Mr. Lowe is ho pprfrct that to give votM to the working claw
ia atnrk madnc^; and, on tb« other hand, to h« Inn s>Rgiiin« about the
divine and saving cffi-et oT n rote on its poasoffiot tlian my frionda in ih«
coiBmittcc-room nt tlic "Spotted Dog," — that la my ineriiable portion.
To bring thing* under tbe light of pne's intelligenen, to bp« how ch«y look
there, to acciiBlom oneself (imply w regntd tho MiirylfboneV«try, or th«
Edocationat Home, or the Irisb CbiiTcK Establishtnont, or our nilwny
mflflBgement, or our r>ivorc« Court, or our gin-pnlitem open on Sunday
nnd the Oryntnl Palace rhut, aa nbaurditini — that ia, 1 nm mm, inrnlnnble
eaereise for u« ju^t nt pwtsonf. lM nli ppraist in it who can, und ateadily
act their desires on introducing, with timv, n littlo more aoul and tpiriC
into iho too, too solid fledh of Kngli»h jociety.
I hav(- n friend who is rery ranguine, in apilc of tlio diumi) croakiligi
of tlirae fbn-ignrra, about the turn thisga are eren now taking sinongit ua.
*' Brc&n and ignoble as onr middle claw looks," h« saya, " it haa this oapitnl
Tirtue, it has serionsness. With frivolily, criltured or iincnilured, von cam
do nothing; but wiiK wricunm-AB llicro ia alwayu hope. Then, too, the
prcacnt l>cnt of the wnrld lownrds aninsing itoelf, ao pcriloiui lo Ibo higb»t
claw, ia cumtire and good for our middle ctttss. A piano in a qnaLer'i
drKwing-room is a st<p fir Kim to more hnmnne lifi); nay, perhnpa.
even the penny gnfT of tlio poor En«-T.ftuduncr i« a tiUrp frr him to mr-rs
limnanc life; it in — wlwt t-xamplc sliall we ehoosf 7 — it ia Slrathmon, Irt
«9 Bay, — it is the ono-potind-oleven-nnd-aixponny gaff of the young
gentleman af the clubs and the ycnmg Indies of Delgraria, that is fiir
(bcm but a step in tbc primrose path to the l^vc^lastt^g bonfire. Bealdcf^
•ay whnt you like of tlie idealeKsneas of nnatooniolaa, tlifl vnlgnrilj of
our middle clai?, the immaturity of our lower, nnd the poor diance
which a hnppy typ«i of nifdom life haa holwoen Ihem, consider this :
or all that irnke* lift lihcnd and liiimitne, — of light, of ideos, of cullurt',
i
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HIT COUNTRYMES. 171
—pretj man in cTCrj class of society who hna a dush of genius in him
is the boon friend. By hi« bringing up, by his habits, by his interest,
be may be thoir enemy ; by the primitiTo, nnaltcrabte complexion of his
Mturo, he ia their friend. Therefore, the movement' of the modem spirit
will be more and more felt among ua, it 7111 spread, it will prevail.
Nay," this enthnuast oflen continues, getting excited as he goes on, " T!ie
Times itself, which so stirs some people's indignation — ^what is The Times but
t gigantic Sancho Panza, to borrow a phrase of yonr friend Heine; — a
gigantic Sancho Panza, following by an attraction he cannot re«st that
poor, mad, scorned, suffering, sublime enthusiast, the modern spirit ;
following it, indeed, with constant grumbling, expostulation, and oppo-
sition, with airs of protection, of compaaaion&te superiority, with an
tDceflBBDt byplay of nods, shrugs, and winks addressed to the spec-
tators } foUowing it, in short, with all the incurable recalcitrancy of a
lower nature, but still following it?" When my friend talka thus, I
always shake my head, and say that this sounds very like the transcen-
dentalism which has already brought me into so many scrapes.
I have another friend again (and I am grown bo cowed by all the
rebuke my original speculations have drawn upon me that I find myself
more and more filling the part of a mere listener), who calls himself
Anglo-Saxon rather than English, and this ia what he says : " We are a
small country," he says, " and our middle class has, as you say, not much
gift for anything but making money. Our freedom and wealth have given
OS a great start, our capital will give us for a long time an advantage ;
but as other countries grow better-govenied and richer, we must neces-
sarily sink to the position to which our size and our want of any eminent
gift for telling upon the world spiritually, doom ua. Bat look at America;
it is the same race ; whether wc are first or they, Anglo-Saxonism
triumphs. You used to say that they had all the Philistinism of the
English middle class from which they spring, and a great many faults of
their own besides. But you noticed, too, that, blindly as they seemed
following in general the star of their god Bimcombe, they showed, at
the same time, a fueling for ideas, a vivacity and play of mind,
which our middle class has not, and which comes to the Americans,
probably, from their democratic life, with its ardent hope, its forward
stride, its gaze fixed on the future. Well, since these great events
have lately come to purge and form them, how is this intelligence of
theirs developing itsoif? Now they arc manifesting a quick sense to
sec how the world ia really going, and a sure faith, indispensable to
all nations that are to l>e great, that greatness is only to bo reached by
Bfjing that way and no other? And then, if you talk of culture, look at
the culture their middle, and even their working class is getting, as
compared with the culture ours arc getting. The trash which circulates
by the hundred thousand among our middle cla.s3 has no readers in
America ; our rubbish ia for home-consumption ; all our best books,
books which arc read here only by the small educated class, arc in
172 MT COUNTRTMICN.
Americfi the books of tlie groat reading public So over there tLey will
F.dvance spiritually ns well na inatprinlly ; and if our race at last flowers
to modern life there, and not Iiere, does It so much matter?" So aays mj
friend, who is, aa I premised, a devotee of Anglo- Saxon ism ; I, who share
liis pious frenzy but imperfectly, do not feel quite satisfied with these
plana of vicarious greatness, aiid have a longing for this old and great
country of ours to be altvays great in herself, not only in her prcgeny.
So I keep looking at her, and thinking of her, and as often as I consider
how history is a scries of waves, coming gradually to a head and then
breaking, and that, as the successive waves come up, one nation is seen at
the top of this wave, and then another of the next, I twV myself, counting
all the waves which have come up with England on the top of them :
When tlie great wave which is now nionnting has come up, will she be at
the top of il7 lila niliil, nee me quarentem vana moraiur.
Yet, wo etmi^ her; bat she,
The weary Titan, with dcnf
Eais, and laboDiMlimm'd eyn,
Kogsrding neither to right
Kor left, goes posaivcl/ hy.
Staggering on to her goal ;
Bearing, on ahooldcn immense,
Atlant^an, the load,
Wcllnigh not to be borne,
Of tlio too vsit orb of her fate
ifATTIIEW ARNOLD. .
178
jaTji (FxprrieiiM m a f&ml ^uvp\iu\i.
IIaviks occasion during the past Hummer Vr go from one of the Turkish
bJanda «f Uic Mi-ditcn-ancan over to EuitFiican teira-firina, I was obliged
lo go to Syra, die cntrepfit of tlie Levant, lo tnkv piusngc in tho Aiuttrinn
Uc^'b »lcai]iei' ; t)ut ea tlie Clioterti piiiiic atiii i]ie restrlciiumi Inirl on tlio
Rcutun from nil Turkish ports liad virtually stopped rcgukr couiniunica-
ikm witli Orwk porU, I wu obllgi^l lu bonow tlie yoclit of an Knglieh
bicnd irlio happened to he viaiting uh iit tlie tiiii^. Oiir inland had hnd
no can of Cholera, and indtjed had never been viaited by it; its general
hcatthfulncss wai all that co\M be d^'slrcd by the iudbI exacting Banrd of
Il<^lb, nnd as, roarcover, we were fi'ttifted with EugUith, Turkijli, Mid
Greek HOs of health, I anticipated nt the worst a detention «f four or five
days prcrioiu to bcJng permitted to land.
We had a clinrming run of thirty odd hoiirs, vi'ith jtinl wind pnongli
to make a landim&n love ihf? sen, and stfihtiiig Syiii ia the morniiig, stood
dirMiiy in for the port. Hnlf a mile off tho nvclo-licad wo met a nuin-of-
war'aboat, llie Greek blue and wliite «lrii>eji flying out from lh« iturn, and
rvceired n raoat perempWry iraming to go no nGan»-, foarfully i^oulcd
from a HiTe diatancQ ; and en leartiing llial wo n-ero from a Turkish port,
llic officer ordered as off to Di-los for eleven daye' quarantine, declining
vna CO look at our liJU of healtii or htar any protest or txplanationa.
Those vrbo have hcen at Syra rosy remember to the weit of that port,
ud about tea miles away, a low, tare, and rocky isliuid, which few pcopl«
ever vuit, nnd uu which only two or three herdsmen lire. On eloftnr
itupcctiun one litida lluit what Fccnicd to bo oni; it) reaMy two inlandc, the
larger called aometiiBM Rh«n^<, nnd iwmetinies tho greater Delos, the smaller
t&a tme Delo*, site of the famous temple of Apollo. In a bay on the
amtli-emateni aide of the foi-iner, the S^^l/'h (1 um suflicicntly ioexuct iu
JcAalt M 1 have occasionnlly to pnsH tlirou^h Syr:L, and don't caro to have
ny identity diccovcicd,) caat atiolior, and the Mcnllcil hixtiroLlo being
otily an imtignificAnt colleclioo of liuta, built of rctigb board*, I ejected to
peilbnn quarantine on bc«rd, even at the coat of delMDiog the >Sjf^
lodger than her owner had caJculaled. In fnot the bar<;, dry, cvtn burnt
look of the island, without a thnih, a tpiing, or a living thing on it except
a few guaniianl and vonie hicklcaa pu&ic'ogeni of nn Knf^lish steamer which
had preceded us by a fvw dayii, gave snmiU hope of being able to pass
•Itven dayt of idleness eodurably, in the heat of midaumuier, where the
vin is as fervent oa on thcKUth aide of a Grei;k IiiJuDd. The steiimer w»
fivu Alexandria, with over t\ro hundred pastcngera on hoard, mostly
fijriolr* and ulhtr GiCfks living from the Cholera, then in the beginning
(
MY EXPEltlKNCB IN A OUC£K QUAII.VN-XINE.
of iia fury lit tlinl city ; tlicrtfore they woro moat nAturally put iiiio qi«-
nnlme. I^cir term xttis futirlccii da^s, I lulicrc, orvrliicli ncnrly a Ufxk
had paiMed witlioat nny nyinptams of si^'knes of any kind. We were ncnr
eooagli to linti ncivia to licr en »Lill ilitya itnd hear tlic complainta of the
cmplain reared al- tynipatbotic ears ia good broad Englitli, And witncM by
eye and cue ttio fucts 1 am nbout to imrratit, whidi I chiilkngu iho moil
[citrioTic :>iiil rticiidaciouB uihubitant ofSyni to coutnidict.
TBa cnptnin of the itciiiner having, like myself, only ciilculftt«d on a
few day»' oh»erratio]], had provided liimiiclf with sufEciont sLurcd for llie
time lor liia Haw cah'm pas&euKcrf, tho gioul bulk of those on bourd being
deck pusBpngers, who provide themnflvcs wiih fwurl Cut the royagp. TbeM
bad bccu cxlMi'iutcd sodii urt^r their nrriral at iiuarauliDe ; and thecaptaia,
praying in vun for snppEiea from the nuthoriUcs of Syra, began to fanuifc
bii (hip's BUpplies ; for it vita imposaiblf^, as he KaJd, to me the poor p«^le
slorrc. £iit these auppUva, uliuiiJont for hi» proper cnd>, would go but a
littlo way ill fvcdiiig that hun^y luultiludc, and were threalcniMl with
cxhaiuiioti Iwforc thu luwcujicoplc should awaken iLeir Chrisiiauiij from
its Bleep cf, I imagine, about 8or«nlC'6ii ceatories. Tb« captain appcalod m
in vain to tlnni lo cavo thtir coiinLryiiieii from otiirvutioii. Tlivy were
not bound, ihcy Niid, Ic provide tbod fi^r puopiu Ikcaum they found tbeut
in (|unrantirii.'. So ilic captain gave out all his atoi-ee, little by little,
and idioulcd acrosa to mc to know if I Iiad any to spare. The Sj/lfk
carried a ci«w trf tvriJvo m<ai, and wo natiLrally had two or three
faaireU of haid bread and Halt h&;( HLowed away fur etu^egeaeitt ; and
though what wo could givu them, with propar n;gard to our own aeoda,
could bo liltio moro than a, few hours' r«spit« from starvation, it vas
impoasiblu to vritliliold it.
The cnpLiun wa^^ an iucoiiiute protest, a deck- walking improcoLion on
Ihe uiimjrly auttiorilica of Syra, The jH-'uplo in his Klup wito not his own
countrymen, but (iK-eku; he wanunJiri' no obligation to provide a motithfiil
for one of thetn ; lh«y had no money to buy, and he had no authority to
buy Jbr ihem except from hisotvn funda — lohavedoRenhiGhh«inu«tfaav«
been a itotnau prince or an Kngliiiii bimkcr, So lie vrrote, and betfgod, uhI
protisHU'd. He wroW lo iho Knglisli cnrmul, Mr. I.loyd, and Mr. Uoyd
Bturmcd at tht noniarcK and deiiiaich by tiirun in vain. The Syrioies woald
nots«i)d,anddio consul could not — aarealtttlfl&rtheoapudua^GTOW'; and
provLuomi vac not only not sappliud by Ihu board of health, but permis'
nion to carry ihcin oiT vtnn denied thoso ivho would liave taken ihew— w
great ivoB the panic at the ideaof eoramuiiicilinn with the ship. Mr. Lloyd
nucceeded now and then in sending a small mtpply by the guanttt-coata,
nnd they bought now and then a kid of the h>erdaincu on tiie " clean " part
of Llie iMlaiid, at unorbitaut rates. But they, too, finally refused to coa-
inuiiicate ; and then tliu cuplaia wrote to the consul — I saw the letter aft«r^
wanls — "for three days my men have !>iu) no bread, and two of tlivia
hnve gone raving mad."' Auiongttt the cabi n-paunigent was a French-
woman, ]>ri!giiaiit and ncnr her coniiuetiient ; fiT ht-i- tlic cajilain b^cd
UT EXPEBIEJtCE IN A GKEEK QUARASTIXK. 17S
for a doctor or DUrae in vain — none would venture ; and when the time
was come the poor mother had only ihc kindly care of the captain nnd
her fellow-poasengera, among whom was no woman or person competent
to cnrc tor her. Fortunately, Hlie posted through her trial safely.
lu the meanwhile, Mr. Lloyd kept up his proteata and remoastrancoa
to |>eopIe nud government — protested against the inhumanity and tho
iil^ality of the whole thing — begged for relief to deaf eara : " Better,"
they wid, " that a few should suffer, than that forty thousand should incur
the peril of Cholera. To allow people to carry provisions to the island
was to run daoger of communication with contagion." The only reply of
my significance that Mr. Lloyd got was a threat of burning his houEC over
hia head if he persisted in attempting to bring Cholera into Syra.
We, knowing nothing of this little turmoil, lay quietly under the
intense sun waiting the lapse of time. The Greeks on the steamer might
ftarve, but we were perhaps thankful that they were only Greeks; u-e
ibould wear through well enough, and then be free. Mr. Lloyd finally
wrote to Athens ; the govcmmont at Athens ordered an examination ;
and then the demos, under compulsion, voted meagre aupplics to their
Wished countrymen.
But our fates were merciless. A few days, very few, before the steamer's
tune had expired, a ship arrived from Alexandria which actually had
the Cholera on board I Twenty or more bad died and were throivn over-
board on the voyage, aa we afterwards learned, and several more were sick.
As she came into the quarantine anclioring-ground and cast anchor, she
digged some distance, and seemed in a fair way to drifl against the armed
catterivhich waa doing Auty s\a giiarda-cosla and capo-ffitardiano. The
iirave fellow — (I hope he wasn't a sailor) — ran out hia guns, and prepared
to »nk the ship and all on board, lest she should come into contact with
him. Th.it scene is one I shall never forget and hardly ever forgive :
t;,ehiiddhU passengers driven on deck by the pestilence and heat, and
doubtless, already in a frenzy of fear from the perils within, found them-
•tdveamet on the threshold of deliverance from their awful fellow- voyager
hj the oi>cn mouths of Greek carronades. Women shrieked and men
Ixiwled with fright; all prayed, supplicating the gods and the captain;
the iptarda-costa people were in a worse panic, if possible, — shouted
orders and counter -orders, ran out a giui and ran it in again, threatened,
prayod and curtted, as though doom was on them. This horror of the
Cholera seemed to have become r maJness in the Greek mind. Our aailors
gave the wretchea the benefit of much good and strong English, which I
tear was sadly waated, and would have been equally so had it been equally
pood Greek ; but 1 noticed that our jrnnrrffVint) was stricken with fear at tho
l«re idea of the vicinity of the infected ship. Wh.it the extent of the con-
ta«non wa»s we knew not of course ; but the hurrying and trepidation of the
people on board, and in tlic boat which came alongside, made it evident
tliut something unusual was going on. The boat lay far off, and tho officers
shouted very loudly ; a;id we heard afterwards from the qn.irantine-bojit
tS A GIIGBK QUARAKTIHB.
tlint there wvtv Ivur or five tliwl or ChoI«ra oa bowl, wbom tliey
lo GCDil OR Ntiorc to be burittl. but tUia WM refused u dangcioua I thea^
b« permittecl to sink (Utrm in the scu — llii* was sUll lou to be alloimil.
Tbey begged for arloctor— do one uoiiltl go : guardiani even would aw go
on board, Jor nny conipriu&ttcQ, uud iLfj- ruweJ nwjiy, Icnving hw to Tier
fntf. Wc ihcrlly Aflcr icoeived nn intimntion Lliul by renRoa of tbia new
iiiTlrnl, all sliipn in quarauiiiic at tliut tinm munt Btny fnurteen dajrs uion 1
My own wrAtb nt Greek inhitnunity lind been already so Urgply excited
tbat I could get no angrier at tbi« new tyranny — in fact, t thought more of
tlvc steBnicr onil its already bali-»tarvcd and, «vcn, ia «onj« cm*, dying
pco[>k', iliim of inyw'lf; nnd if I had hud the pestilence in the hallow of my
liunil, I nhoiiiii, I (vin^ linvc visited 8yra as Kgypt Dcver hdj rinitcd. Bat
the most aj^ling thought vr»» of tliat luckloaa e1i>[> with DeAth holding
nrvel on her, and L\w living hound lo liic dead.
Ifcrc WBK thunliip of tliuanciuiit uiaritier, in tcoth—iuicliored oidyibM
with anchors almost uaelees on that Iram|uil tea, lt« fiery Hun iiboro, uul
tJie gta«.y water below, nud nothiug lo brciik that nwful QioiioUniy but Um
incrcilets quarantinc-bont eoming lo iirIc Atid refuse. We «oald ma tin
[icople oil tho »lnii galhcrr on thu fur^Ciitib and in ilia rigging, looking
lo the laud, \vljich, browu nnd dry t\a it was, waa to ihcta * rcAigc
Tho second and llio lliini day came, ami ilio dLwl inultiplivd, until ten or
a. dozen corpHca wcrn on hoard. Hlill no phyniuiun, tiu landing, no burud _
ovDn; nnd the pEague- stricken ship and its dying cnrgo lay iiiill under tli« H
Anguit Min. The third day the crew received [jermission lo put the
bodiea overboard, litd wilh topva, that tlmy might not drift away and
carfy to some accursed Gi-eek coiiimunity the plague it mcritvd. •! may
be ui)ju»t, but those dny» Itnve mndo m« detest nnd ablit^r llic very nania
of Sjra and iia people. We anw the dend lowered overbofttd, one by ona,.
and with glasses could ace them Hooting alougiiide, horrible to lu'glit and
fimcj.
I am only dealing vviib fads,— fiicts which wUl be confirmed by tba
tentiiuoiiy vt ninny who piuwil thoee broiling August; duya in that qoaraa*
tino. No pliy^ieiaii eould be found in Syra who had humanity vnougb
t(i hi'iir ilm cry of that suffering company, or Teiiture on the plagoe-
Biricltcn ftliip. They did iinolly get permisuLoa to bury tbc dead, all
but one mother and child, who drifted \vofv, nnd wns cast on sooa
un}inown shant, or fed tha GrhtA ; and Hnally a Danisli physician catne, a
Volunteer from — 1 regret to say 1 know not where, nor even do I knowhia
n.inie. 1 did not lliiiitc theii to eii:ibh; iiiy«elf to rend>?r him the boooUT
he dcscr\-cs ; nnd ficially lL« sick vvcro landud. Tbi;rc liad been t
hundred nnd forty pncsengors on boanl when the ship left Alcxnndria, end
tli«:rc vfum over a huiidccd rthvti nlii: cnnic to ([imrantinc — the untouched
remaining on board until ihey were attached in thtir turn, and wore
carried uohoic to die. Their proviHioiia, too, wcr« failing, nnd at last
atarvation came to help the |ie«lilitncv.
I sought distraction apd paacimo Amongst lli« aailors, of
I
of trboni J
HT EXPEIUEKCE IN A CREEK qDADAXTING.
177
Vmo }ad ttttmctod toy sIknUon dur!ii;t tic run orvr. Oiit; of tbcni T
joAged to bam Amcricon si Ont «igiil, the inca.rnaiioii of "go-fl-hciid "
lad nenrooB mcrgr. I had vecn liiin ai lliv wbt-cl the 6nt day out, a« I
at kA taking toy friiit after d)Dti«r, aod Icinptud him U> aflitbility by n
koge iJ»ee of melon, wbich he ate without evc^r taking liiit aya fur morn
Abb an fnif'^ti'* from the course of the yaclil. The aexc liay they ncru
ipplaj tlMt br«ka the mI«dc« ; vrlieii, nbruptly luraing round to iu«, li«
idnd if I wasa freemaaon. Ileviu^ani] cvidt^ntl/did net uadenland how
one txiuJd treat a sailor with courtoy or kindifcs without aoaie such molire
m that mystic brolb«rbood it supposed to fumixh. He wor« a black wide-
■wake crowded doMe down lo hia cyet, ^vEitcii luoVod sliurii tiut fmni iiuder
MiLJ. cl«ar-draws eyebrowt. Ilia nose viai proaituenl, poiutod, and atriught,
ami bi» mooth fall of decision ; lip> cli:n?>prtwcd, and vliin small and
HighfTy retreuint;. He carried his head hubilunlly aJItllc forward, as if
Mtlbe look-out, and n-tnindi-d mc in his etistmhfe more of a dipper than
H^lbiag I mtm saw iu d«ih. He was ticituni, however, mid itbM>lutdy
jiAbbI lo talk ofliimseir. The olhvr, who rcspoadod to th« tiamc of Hill,
via eoilainlj one of the best oiianiploi ni tliv Fiiglioh uiibr 1 hiiVL- tivoc
laaTj rfhrnr, thick-act, with lar^' bruin and full beard, a I'rank blua
<y«, anJan oflT-linnd manner familiar to all who permitted it, but resp^ct-
M U Ifee highott degree, and Rppaking the EDgliiL of a man nho lixd
had aaae education, la the iirsC days of our impriwDmcnt he had
cl foe not a linle by oQcring to lend me Kome old DiimbcTB of
and maguincs^ written oci the tnnrgiiiH of which I fuund wtiic
prmtnwiit*! and with ttouio bit* of drawing. ] am not going to
wriiA lii« Biory, and ihall not repeat wtial L It-aTued of a hie ruined by
an nnaon troll u bio spirit of advcnliirc and uiunipirovGd opjtortiiniliea; I
bns only to do with him bow m he wov« hitn»c)f into the wob of our
^oarantino life.
It waa frnm Bill that I learned what 1 firat kuew of Aleck ; that ho
«aa,M I had suppcwe^I, an American, had been in the ConfL-duralir nervier-,
nd had oven sonred ob (be Alaiaiaa. After tindiog out no much, t tried
lui to make him talk about himaolf, but in vain, llo won respectful.
Wil iMt «ommunicacivo on any siib^ttctr and leant xo oti Ijiniielf. Itut iho
MW ntciKtoent of the Choleraiihjp and ila h»rruni tu4i>lc a certain diifc-
IfM*, I certainly felt more like getting n<<ar tny fellow-men, and they, and
fl^Mlally Aleck, w«Te more obUrioua of the difference bvtWL-cs iliem and
kc The imoicdiate cause of the breaking of the ico was Ut« «ght of a
pew woman itatKliag on i!k> poop of tbo Cholera-Rbip a* ahe drill«d
tomuda ua from hei anchorage, before a ilight canttfrly air, that brought
th* woQiaa'a voic* down to us in lappHcationa which we could £lY>in time
M tiflH partially distinguiib, and which were for bread, briud, bread ! We
toaU ace Otbcn oo board climhiag on the bulwarks, ttaading oa the poop
w fortoutU, aeeordiDg to the end of (ho «!iip which driftud iicArnt uh ;
L bn we coald hear do other rotcc, tliough we doubted nut that many were
I jaiMd with ben. Bcaide her wc uw, Inter, anotlKr finaalc figure, whom,
I VOL. xiu.— 10. 74. 9.
178
MY EXPEHIENCE IN A GKEEK QUAKAKTINE.
i
by UieudoftiieglaaB, 1 b^ered I coold tnako out to be ber daughter,
latter made no soand Utst we could b«ir, but «Lt. mutely or stood witb
arm arotiKd tLc olbmr, vrbilc cvlt uid uioa m heard tliiit hcnrtrcndi
cry, " Ptonvf.' pfoma'.' (bread I brcwl ! )" At moMt tliat day we were
t^th«r on iho forecMtle, botUw friends ikrangli our common pily. Wa
proposed to our Utcifum ffuanitaao 1o send some bread on board the altip^
bat he absolitlcly reruscd to lend himself to any nich nak of eeolagion^
and forbade any Bicempt to communicate tHtber vrlOi the aliip cr the that^
vrhcr« the sick were; and to tcU the truth, it waa uot pleamit to conten-
plale ihe chnricca of bciag pnt in quanuttina fo7 an additicHUil indcfinita
term, for having, cren in a kindly work, como in real or lancied contact
with tha diaeaMi. But a» the nnlhontj of the fjvanlieno wu absolute,
irt could do nothing in tba matter openly, though it waa decerminw)
eouadl by ue tfaice to do aomething in some way, if relief was
brought Boon.
Ftcnn the Jbrccsstle next morning wc saw in the early light tKe
two baplca creftturcc in tlie eame pontion. Bill, looking over into iho
water thoughtfully, asked if there were many Eharka in thoae waiera. !■■
replied that I had never seen but one, inquiring why be lukcd. " Why," *
Baid he, " I think I could get aome grub over to thosu women, if joii
could iDBDago the tpianliano." " It isn't much of a swim," I replied, " but
w to canjing the prog, you will find that more diiEcult.'' " Well," moA
be, <* I have carried a pretty good load in the water before now, and can
float enough to keep thoee women from starving. I lived in the Sandwidk
Islands once, and though I don't stimd nut of tho wat«r Itko a Kanaka, I
haro carried my clolhea on my head many u mile williout wetting tfaem,
and a few pounda of bread won't aink me." Uera hJH eye twinkled aa d
he had a story to tell, and I waited for it. '* I commanded a lorcKa inns-
port during the loft war in Chinn," he bcgnn, ntlcr a moment, " and one
day, while rrc were in Cnnton, I won walking through one of the itrcela
with my mntv, nn EngllEhman, and we iitopped to look in a joss-hotise.
There wiia n joss there of pure nilrer, about fourteen inches high, and £
made up my mind to have him. TVe two were ihe only Kuropeana oa
board, and the first dark stormy nif;ht we took the beat and went ashors
well armed. The j<^s-hou8c hitd no guard but the pricats, and the nighfe'
-WM lio bad tliiit we broke the door down and got in without the oatjideia
knowing it, uud carried the joBHoITeswiy enough ; but the neat day wv had
row enough to p.ny for it. Every vessel in the river wassearclied, md tf I
had had him on board, he would have b^co found, and we should have
caught it, for the c-Sicem were in csniest ahout it, and tlm Cluncso ia a fury.
I knew tliK-n! wenJd be the d — 1 to pay in the morning, ao I put a cord
around hia neck, and went down and hung him lo the lower pintle of the
rudder, and left him there till the hue-andw^ was over, and then broOi^t
it up. Jt weighed forty-two pounds. I (hink I could do more in this
case than tlico." " Do it then," latd 1 1 " I'll help you all I can : but wo
won't let the captain or any of the men know of it I " " Ob, I'll put that
I
vr
GRGRIt QTTABAKTINK.
all rtglO," Bud Al«ck ; " Joiws his Uie first watch to-night, and I'll chaiig4
villi biiB, ami « for the ^anliauo, he's ■ sleojiy cusi, arid I rvckcu wnu't
ptt hiaudr Ibe iroubte to kot oq deck aAcr bo turns In — he never has,
any way ; and if yoa'd like to keep wntch with infl, tir. I tliink we oas
■aiuge it" " But, Bill," 1 adilcd, " look out lur ihc i/tuirda-cotta : if they
Ma anytliiiig iii ihc «at«r moring b«t«Mo the veaMls, they'll fire at it, ccr-
Idaly." " Thai woo't trouble me," i«pti«d the imperturbable tar. " I have
ma tbe blodude ia thvAaerioan war thirteen tuafla,aa(l hod bigger balla
Oan lliat feUow can throw, tvhizKing about my head, and fired bjr bMlor
tunneni tbu ih^j' hare got aboartl tticro. Wby, sir, we. nu itlmostt iaio
«lM«f their Uoniton one night, and hnd eight 15-iacli tibot fired nt m
ntfaoat betng hit, and iii all die tliirtt-eit tri]« ia and out, we nvrer were
Ul but once — aiul then the ball uoJjr (<>ok off tlic bend of the look-out
Anl w we anaagod it that Bill tLould swim ofT to the ship as aooo
I H '*ns dark, uid tnuting to iortune !<> get the pronuou abewxl witli-
tf rtWiiiTi jr. we were to bang overboard a light for liioi toswiin back to.
^HiKt ahtp resiioda me," aoid Bill, atler a loug paiur, "of a trip I
le in an Engiiali ship to Scni.<^. We went up the rirer to load,
I wUb wG lay tlicrc walLing for cargo to oome down, we bad one uT the
jtllow fcren break out ou the ahip I r*«r aurr. The first man
■iff m taken with it died in tliree hours, xad that day two wore wen
fiHa khI died before dark, and in tkrco duys wc lost all but aeTen of the
ocir one aftw the othcr~not one waa sick more than aix boun — and then
the mate waa taken aok. The flr»t thing I knew of it waa that be nid
■o ae, * BtU, gitc me » good glats of grog, luul fill my pipe ; 1 want one
good asMdce and a diink bt^fore I die.' ' Uh, nonseofie,' mys I, 'you are
■o WOK likely to dio than 1 am.' ' I know very well I hare got it,' aaid
he ; ' and when I am deid bury me deep enough ao that the land cntba
an't dig me up.' Sure enough he died that afteniooD, and we took him
before night and bnriod him la a good deep grare. In two days
dicie were only the capUun and I alive on the chip. And there we
fa^ ten day* till wc heard tliat aii KngHoh man-of-war was ofT the motith
of the riTcr, and tl>e cajitnio sent a nattve boat down to uk him to wnd
op Dca to work the ahip out of the rirer. The man-af-war tent word
ihit they wouldn't send mco up the riTer, but if w« oould work her down
wilb nalttaa, they wtiuld gire us men to gvt the ahip home to £ngluid, and
ao we got ooi, bnt a deuce of a tiaic we bad of it gelling down. I uppOM
tfacy f<d on that »lup pretty much att I did tlioac tco days."
All day long we beard at intervnhi tliot pitiful cry, " Bread I Bread t "
ftbtly BTming over the water. It waa more tolerable than the day
bitee^ becanae we knew tliat rdi>^f woaid ^o with nightfall. And so, tA
thm dark came, we made up a puckvt of lionl btcml will] a liulo cold meat
aad * bottle of wine, and binding it »ecurdy between Bill'a ahoulden,
•od with a pointed stick an top of it, in caae, as he aoid, " a sfaaric ahotdd
«sat to taktt the png from hini," Ik slipped down into the water, Mri{^>ed
180
Ur EXPKIUKNCE IS A GREEK QCAHAXTIXE.
to his drawers, nnd struck otit for tlii; OiolcTn-shtp no quietly ihab you migi
liavQ thoug1)t it n little HcKao] of guitrd-fiili.
We KLi on the forecastle watching and watting. I aaid nothing, and
'where tw<i »re lAgetber aiul oni- inll not Ulk, tho Qthci eoiaetiniea will.
Alocic fiaally broke Ktloncti with — " Women too mighty curions things. I'll
hvt that old one doii'l loiiuh a Tiir>iithfiil till t'olfarT hA:t vab-n, and I don't
Wliori! Bh« would have madv half the fuss siie did if sht: liud been alone. In
lh* bcgiDBing of Ihn Awerican war I belonged lo a regiment of uiminlwl
liflemen, and we were aciit into Eastern Teonceace, where there waa a good
deal of biiBh-whncking about that time. W« were jiickoicd on« day in a
Irni! about two mile* long acroM country, and I wn* on the extreme ML
J took my eoddlu oiT, l]o]ati.-rB und all. luid Iiuag it uu ii hraacH of n poacli*
tree, and my carbine on ajiotlier. W'(? knvw theruwen.* no Yankees Qeor,
and M I was kind o' off guard, cnting pcacTiw. By-nnd-by 1 «aw a youn];
woman coming down to where I was, on horsobnck. She wanted to know if
there weie many ofthe boya near, and if tht^y would buy some milk cf her
ifelK! took it down to them. 1 (aid I thought they would, and took a,binit
a quart mysflf; and ax the hutln't iniicli more, I emptiijd tliv water onl of
my canteen and took the rest. Kny» ttho, ' If you'll conic ap to Ihc hooas
ycindor, IVa got something better than that: you may have some good
peach brandy — some of your fello^rs might liki- a little.' I caid Td go, And
Bh« says, ' Vou needn't taku your Niddlc or cnrbiiie, it's juxt n step, and
thi>y nro aafc enough here — there'a nobody uteut.' So I mounted bare-
buck, and she led the way. WLcu we pa»od tho bars where aho cnme
in, fthc «iy», ' You ride on a step, and I'll gfit down and jiut up tho bars.'
1 wrrit cm, and as dia came up behind, she itayii pricily itliarp, ' Ride a
litllu fiiBtcr, if you plea»e.' 1 looked round and &lie hud a roTolv«r poioled
straight at my head, and 1 saw that s)ie knew how to use it. I had Ie41
evcr^'thiug bdiLnd mc like » fool, aad hud to giro in and obey onlnv.
'That'* th« hauie, if you plea^' she eays, and showed me a home in
the edge of tLe woods a quarter of a mile away. We got there, and
alie told me to get down and cat ■omcthing, for she was going to give
me a long rido — into the Yankee lines, about twenty mile* away. Her
father i^iiinc out and abuaed me like a thief, and told nic that be wa.i golos
to hure me sent into the Fedi;ral lines to be hung. It seems he hitd had
a son hung the week before by some of tlie Confederates, and was going to
liave his revenge out of mc. I ate pretty well, for I thought I might need
it before I got any more, and then tho old fellow bngnn to eune mc and
abuse me like anything. He tiiid liciTotikl slioot me on llicsprjtif itwasnt
that hcd rather hiive me hung; and instead cf giving mc my own horse,
he took the worst one he had in his stables, and they put me on that with
my feet tied together imdcr his belly. Laakily they didn't tie my hands,
for they thought I hnd no arms, and couldn't help myself; but I always
carried a Riiiidl revolver in my skirt brisiini. Tho girl kept too aharp
wtitch oil inv for nte to ooe it. She never turned her reroIyiT from me, and
2 knew that the fiist suspicious move 1 made I wna a dead man. We
I
I
I
I
WeweiiB ■
MT ESPEHIE.VCE IS A fiREKff QUARSSTI?
181
about ten tuilex iothiiway, vtbea aij' uhl oiow-tmit gsivo out and wotilda't
go aity Tunher. Stw vooldn't trust me afuot, iind so hnil to give up licr
«wn horse, but afae kept th« bridle in her own bunds, and wftUced ahcocl
•Ml ooe ejr« mrned. back on mt>, and the revolver cocked with her finger
ao the trigger, no tJtat 1 ncvur luid a chuacc to put my liaud in loy bosoai.
W* fianitf came to a epriog, and slie asked mu if I want.<;il Ui drtuk : I
didu't fed mucJj Ukc drinking, but I said yes, and so she let tnis diivrn. I
put toy bead down to tbo WAt«r, and at tito same time put my hand down
irtkere the revolver was, and pullvd it forward wlieic I could put my hand
on it fiiailj: but slio vrtu on the watch and I cuuldn't pull il out. I
mf ■>— * again, and iho first time she was oIF her gnard a Itttie, I fired and
broke tbe arm site held the pistol in. ' Now/ says I, ' it's my turn : you'll
plcaao ^t cm tltnt ham and v«'U go back. She didn't tliucli or uy a
vord, bat gut on the hon^, and I Uud licr li^s lut tlit^y had rainci, and vvq
nut bawk to tliu house. Thv old man ha hi^rd ua cuiiic up (w the dou'r
aad looleed oat of the window, Ua turned as pale ob a sheet aai ran for
hia Tide. I knew what lie was at\er, and pushed the door in before he was
leadaL Says I, ' You uiuy put that nhooting'iron down and c»aiQ witli iti«.'
B« wm'l ns brave as the girl, but it was no use to rcdsl, and ho kiiuw it ;
M he a«De along. About hull-way back we met some of our fullows who
iai aaaacd lue, and come out to look toe up. Tht-y took th^m both, and
^—," he paused a tnoment, and lowering hia tune, addisd, " I don't know
«iatth«y did with tliiMO, but I know d well what they wvuld Iinvc
doae with me." I replied after a pause, ''I sujipuea they liiuigi'd thum
bodi t " Aleck nodded hia head witliout looking up, and SKCincd anxious
to drop the subject.
" liul," said 1, rather tliitposed w work the vi>iii of conimuDicatirfness,
hot not ooxioiu to liear any is'ire ettcfi advi-uturcs, " 1 thought you had
b«9t in the Coofrdente navy ?" *'l was," said Aleck. " 1 was with
fti«^ri*» everywhere be w«a( ; 1 was in the navfd brigade and blockade*
nuiiDg, and on the Atabama all tli« while he commanded hor." "fiat
not when she aank, I sup|>ose 7 " I rejoined. " H'ttl, I wa«, and wan
picked up with lum by the DtahavatL" " It was a pretty aharp ii^Iit,
isssn't it," I sngguaiDgly usfcod. *' It via* that," replied Aleck, but ha
didn't care nboot tnlarging. "I supiwso it was the eleveu-inch slielis
ikat did li«i busio«*s7 " " Oh, no," naid he, ooiaing to m kind of ooofca-
■ioial, " wo never bad any eliance ; we had no gunners to compare with the
Jitanage'f. Our ganaen liicd by routine, and when llicy had the gun
Iiiadtd, find it off blind. I'hcy never ciiangcd the ohvatiun of their guns
all tli« fight, and the Kearmgi wan woikiug up to usnU the while, taking
sdvonlaga of uvery (irac sb« was hid by suioko to work a httlc nearer,
and tlien her gunners took aim for everj- shot." " Then it isn't truu iliot
tha Maifoma tried to board tho Ktarsagt ? " " No, sir ,- slie did hi-r bvaC
to gci sway frvm her from the time the &ght couimeaced : w« knew
well that if we got in rungo of her Dahlgreii howitzers she would aiuk
tatu i«n uiuutatf.'' " Uiit," 1 aaked, ''dun't you believe that SeiDinea
182
M7 BXPEUIEXCf IN A OUBEE QUABAHTINB.
Boppoaed he voald whip Uw Kcaraiuje whca he Trent out to 6ghl berl"
"No: he «Aa bullied into ic, and took good care to Imro nil iui vajiu1>ies
OD sliore, and had a Ulc-pi»ervcT on ttuiougli tbc figbt. I nw him put it
on* and I ibouebt if it vru n-ioc ia biu it iroolda't b« iooliali in me, and
1 puE one oil loo. Wfaoi Setnmn aaw tlint tbc sltip wm g(»ng down, be
told lu all to ttvrim who could, and wan one of the firft to jump into tfae
iraler, aod ire ail made for Uiu DetrhcM»d. I via a long way ahead of
Semnies, and whea 1 came up to the JJeerhoancTi bonl ihey a«kcd me if
I WM Scaamca before tbc; voubl toko mc in. 1 said I nasDH, aiid then
llmyaskod tncwluit 1 was an ibe AtiAtpn'i. Said I, 'No mailer what 1 wu
en the Atabcmut, I Khali be a dead trnui mouii if you don't lake roe in.'
Tbey Aaked tne again if I was an uQiccr or a suaiiixn, and wouldn't take
me in until I told them that [ was an officer." ** Bat," said I, '' did Uk^
octoaUy rdii*c to pick up common seamen, nad leave them to drown t "
" Thny did fbdt," rrplicl he wrathfully, an>l prcbAbiy not »ery correctly;
"and aa •pon aa they had Svmiiie]( on Ln^rd tliey made trnclix aa &u aa
Hoef knew ]h>w, and left everjbudy dae lo drown or be [>ick«(i up by the
Keartagt."
" Time lo shuw the light, I reckon," said Aleck, uAer his cballUkm liad
Bubfiiilod, and proceeded to put over th« bonn tli« ligbt flgr«cd on. Jut
hour afUr Bill hod started on bis voyage we heard bis whisilc Anm beloir
the ferechains, and hearing bitu a line bronght him in cautiously. H«
slipped down to change his clothing and add to it^ and then came ttp ta
render an account of lus duiugs. He liail, hh 1i« nniicipnto), ibond fDon
difficrulty ia geiting on board the aliip than iu getting to it. He hud lound
tha poor wummi on iho (]U»rtL>r.di;L'k — all oider and sbipkeeptng aban-
doned, aud no look-out anyvrhcrc. The passcngen were alccfung on
dcdE or sitting around it, moaning and wce[»ng. He dared not call to
tlie women for fear of diHturbing tbc ^laitiiani, and of ittlrnctiag tbe
attention of the other poeacngers to whom his small supply would hava
been but K mouthful. He »wam round and round looking for a loose
rope's-end in vain, and fiiiiilly did wli.it wc shuidd bnvc nupposed certun
lo load tc hia discovery — climbed np the cable and over tbe bows, throw-
iDg over his eboulden t^ie tiist garment be tbund on the disonlerly deck,
and aiowly wallced llic. whule l^gth of the ship : irlieu, having deposited
the provitdons at tbe side of the uuforlunalo oneG, mgaifyiag that they
wvi* to infonu no one and keep them to themselves, ns well as his few
words of'lireck would Ivt him, be dropped overboard by a line from the
quarter, and k'living them in mme and motion leas wonder, came back at
quietly as be tiad gone. Bill couldn't resist the templalioa next iDcening
of waving a big white cloth at tbe KJiip, a Nignal which attracted the
iainediaie attention and suspiciun of our wutehAil guaniiano, who, with
an efiervcsGi'ucc of uicIcm Greek, d^-livered Jiia miod on the subject of
ccnttutnacia .■md u^ntmuiiieation, at wliich we all laughed: wc felt aurrJV
that uiirDiiig ihaii fjr many dnya post.
Ia tactf though w« saw for serenO days more the boat going back aad
I
I
UT EXFEBIENCE IN A GBEEE QUARANTINE. 188
forwards from the ship to the shore, aud knew that they Trent to bury tlie
liead, could see them buried even with our glasses, wo cevcr felt go
oppressed by the horror of it since BiU'a chivalric swim. We fini&lied
vjtboat other incident our appointed two weeks, and had soon the satis-
faction of knowing that public clamour had obliged Sym to recognize the
claims of humanity, and send food to the starring.
We had to undergo a five days' " observation" behind tlio Lglithouse
island off the port, in company with the English steamer, which was, more-
over, threatened with a third fortnight; which she escaped only by the
energetic remonstrances of the British consul, backed up by the Legation
at Athens, who persuaded the central government to send orders to Syra
that the steamer should be admitted to pratique. A Greek man-of-war waa
accordingly sent from the Fireus to Syra with a commission to ascertain
the truth of the complaints of Mr. Lloyd, and finding them well-founded,
ordered the admittance of the steamer to pratique ; but so great waa the
terror of tbe population and the timidity of the commisBion, that the latter
ceded to the threats of a revolution, and compromised on admitting the
paiaengeia to the lazaretto of Syra and sending the ship away. If all
thcM things are not recorded in the chronicles of that city, they are in
the Bundi of many who were martyrs to the inhuman cowardice of Syra,
and irbo will bear me testimony that every occurrence of which public
notgiiitioa could be taken in the above narrative is strictly true. As fi>r
the yami, I tell them, as nearly as I can remember, as they were told
D^ and — ^beliere them.
ir (it wiW in|j«W#
K.ok tilt lunil^
fontiniif. I »tlW**"
itig Arni!wiale ^ w»
squired nothing *"«*
,_. !_to Imvo Tborp*-
- for London, «lo« »
^jiirtagi with V»,
t\\ liie pt-opiG in the
Thew was a full aMesA-
Italcntiw finaU «»tailH>
np liard at us, and iB
y drawing tlieJr OT™
iiibraM — or llie town-
dale and Mi» Gwilt.
-hour after vro l«ft ifc*
oful to himl)l»»i A*
Id ciiil of the joorn^
phiiuly. LitUe by littte
uplay no c«riowiy*b<«*
,1 on the subject of ^"*m
■nmtty ihit now offerci^
harping va thi* atrinff
:a a gcntlciaaa is booad
1IIJ eituiitian, I dure not tnwt
jiiiything to memory. Befijn
I go (0 b<^, I must writ« nj
ciiHoiaary record of iho eve
of the day.
" So fnr, the turn oT ItUikJ
nij* f:iV(iiir (it WiM lonj
Wivi'u it luoJc tbc lurn !) I
likely to oontinuv. I m<
ID lurcing Amiadalv -^ I
bmtA required nothiuj; thot
of forcing!— lo Iwive TliofjA-l
Arabrafto for Li>ii<ioo, oIoim iaj
tli« tuan carriage ^Ui
before a11 the people in
ilation. TWrc wwafuJlAltand-
iinc«ofclKkl«rs in small scanda!^
nil ttariog haid at lu, and
evidentlj dmviog thdr 01
ixmcliisions. Either I knew notblng of Thorpe-Ambrose — or ii«> town-
gOBnp ia busy enough by this liine ^iib Mr. Amiftdalc and Miss Gwilt.
i had aome dilliculty with Uiiii fm- llit? fivsl Itulf-bour atlvr wo led tbe
aMlon. The g:iurd (delightful man ! I fi^lt m grauiful to liim !) had «liu*
ufl up together in ejtp«lati«n of half-a-urowil M tlia eud of tlie journey
Armadale was Hnspicioiix of ini-, nni he nhowcd it pliiinly. Little by little
I Uunod my wild beast — partly by taking core to display no cuno«!ty about
hU journey to town, and partly by iciie resting bini on ilie subject of hi
frieiid Midwinter ; dwulUag enpccially on th« opportunity that now ofl^rol
ilaelf for n rnMnciliHliun brtwwn tbeni. I kept harping on this Btring
till 1 set his tongue going, and mnde him amiisemeaaagentJeman iubnimii
ASaUDAlA
385
to 3o urben lio lias the lionour of acbxtiag x laJy oo a long railvrty
'- What little miod ho hos irjis full, nf course, of his ovrn ajHtira aiiil
Mbs Uilroy'f. No words can expren tlie clunisiuess he ehovreil in Cryiog
to lAlk mbodt himntlf, vtlhoiit taking Tnt> into his conRdcnc* or mcntioniRg
Mim Milroy's nsme. He won going Ui Loniloii, hv gravdy informed me,
oa A matter of iii<)e»crib«ble ictc-reBt to him. It wna a M;cn-t for tb«
pment, but \te hoped to tell it me Boon ; it had made a great diSereacc
alrcttdj in tJm w»y in which he looked at thv slundurn spoken cf him
in Thorpe-Ambrose ; he nns too happy to cbtg wlial t}ie auandiil-mong^n
Hud of him now, and he ahould ioou stop their iiiouthn hy appearing in a
new cbancter that would surprise them aU. So he bhiodered oa, willi tba
firm pcnnjaiiion that he waa kM|iing mo (^uite in the darlc. It was iiard
not to huigh, nfhcn 1 thought of my aiitmymoii^ ktCer on itn way to tho
aiajor ; bnt I managed to control myself— Tliouph, 1 mtist own, with *nme
difictilty. Aa tho time wore on, I hi?gan to feeX a leirilile excilenieiil :
die potitioB wu, I think, a little too much for mc. There 1 viut. oloao
tritli him, miking in the most innoeenl. atuy, fumiliar niiititiDr, am! having
tt in my mind all the time, to brueh his life out of my war, when t}ie
noment comes, as I mi^it brush u ulain ofTtny guwn. It ma^lo jay biood
leap, and my cheelis Hiioh. I cauglit inyKelf hiughing once or twice nuidi
Unin than 1 ought — and long belbre we got to Lcndnii I liiought it
danmble to put my Ikce to hiding by pulling down my vial.
" Here was no difficulty, on reaching the Icrminus, in pettinp him to
wm* in the eah with nic to Ihr hotel where Midwinter ie «nying. Ho
»M all eaeomras toW rBconcilnd with his dcur friend — principally, I have
■0 doubt, hccauae he wanta the dear Ericud to lend a hdpiug huiiU to th«
depemenL The real difliouliy lay, of course, with Midwinter. My sudden
jKmey to London had allowed me no opportunity of writing to combat
Ku suiierslitious conviction that he and Iuk farmer fiiciid aiv bt^tlor apart-
I ihoufilil it wiu to leave Armad.ile in the cab at tli« door, and to go Into
lie botvl by myself to pave tho way for him.
Fortunately, Midwinter hail nut gone out. His delight at aeeitig mo
nme diya sooner than he had hoped, had something infectious in it, I sup-
pose. Pooh ! ] may own the truth to my dwn diary 1 There wm a
noment when / forgot everything in the ivorld but our two selvea aa
cooipletely as ho did, I fdt oa if I was back in my 'teens— until I
rvmembend the lout in tlic cab at the door. And tlieii I wu Hve-and-
Aoty again in an tnalanC.
" Elia face altered when he heard who was below, and what it was I
wanlGd of him— ho looked, not imgiy but diEtrosed. Uo yielded, huw-
ncr, befen; long, not to my rcjisniui, for I gave him none, but to my
sitTiMtifia. Hi* old fondnua for his fVicmd might posmbly have had wme
diar« is pemuuling him againut his will^but my own opinion la tlmL
W aricd eutincly undvr the inlluence of his fondiiew fur Me.
I waited in the nlling-room while he w«nt down to the door; go I
botwwQ
other ftgaiu. Uut, oh, tko difforoncK bctwocici ih« two tiioii when tk*
ititerral hod |ttss«l, aiid tUry usmc ufiaCwn lo^lhtrr sod juuied me. Tl>ejr
were boU) agitated, but id such difi«rent ways 1 Th« batcful Annadut»,
K) loud and red and oluniBy ; tlie dear, Loreable Midwiut«r, so ]Md« tod
tjuict, viU) Bucli II ^uUcims in hii voice -nhun lie tpcfkc, «nd suob tendu*
nc^ in bis «^'i!3 «VAry titni- limy turned my way. Armadale civerlooked nw
■M completely an if 1 had not bevn in the rooin. Jla referred to mo over uid
«vt^ a^axa iii Ibe o('nr«rMtioa ; A« conulastly looked tt mg to «cc what I
ibotight, while I rat in my comer sitcntly watching tliein ; he wunted to go
wiib mc und sec mc eafc to my lodgiagS) ui J Bpsre mu idl trouble witli thfl
cabman and ttie luggago. When I thuilEed him and dccUaed, Annsdale
loolced unaflectedly relieved st the prospect of ledag my back turned,
and of hArias his friend all to bimsclf, I IcEl hiui, with lii» awkwacd
«Ibom hair orer tlie tabW, xcniwUiig a letter (no doubt to Miw Milioy},
and ahouUng to the waiter tliaL lie ^ranted a hud at tlie hotel. I bid cal-
culated OQ hii staying as a matter of coarse whero he found his friend
stAying^. It was plpiisaDt to find my anticipations realiiod, and to know
that 1 barv as gootl ai got him now under my own eye.
" AfU-T promisiD^ to let Midwinter know where he could aee me to-
morrow, I went away in the cab to hunt for lodg'ingB by myself,
** With Kiroc difficulty I hs.va euececded ia getting an endurable dttiDg-
room and Wdroom in this house, where the people arc perfect atrangon lo
mc- Having jmid n week's rent in adrancc (for I Bottuolly preferred dia-
priiMiig with u n>fii>rcflce), I find myKcli' with vxacLly thrt^u shillings and
uinepence Wk in my purse. It ia im|fa».sible in ask Midwinter for moncyi
aftvT ho hiH iilriHudy |»iid Itlrs. Oliieretmw's note of hand. 1 must bomw
Mtneiliiiig t<»OK>rrow on my watch and chain at llie pawnbrok^'s. Eooo^
to k«ep me going fl>r a f»rtnight i« all, and more than all, that I waot. La
tbiC time, or in leas than that time, Midwinter will Itare married oii.-.
^Juiff 29?A. Ttaet o'clock. — Early in the morning 1 sent a line to
Midwinter, telling him that he would find me htn at thiea this afleroooa.
That done, 1 devolvd tlio morning to two errands of uiy own. Ono »
hanlly worcli mi^lioniag — it wua only to nusc money on my watch and
cliain. 1 got more tliiui I expected; and moro (cvun aupposiDg 1 bay
mywalf one or two little thingi in the way of cheap Hummer drtu) tlun
I am nt all likely to spend before lie wedding-day.
" The othtr errand wa» of a far more eunom kind. It led me into
an attorney's ofQco.
" J was well aware last night (though I wns too weary to put it down
in my disr^'J, tlint I could not poisibly uc Midwinter tliis morning — in
the position he now ccciipJiM towards ni«^without at leant appearing to
take him into my conlideaou, on tbe-eubjcct of mynif and my circum-
HtanccB. Excepting one neceasary consideration which I mtut bo careful
not to overlook, there is not the Icaat difficulty in my drawing on my
I
AB^IADALE. 187
inTendon, and telling him any etoiy I please — ^for thiM far I have told
DO story to anybody. Midwinter went away to London before it was
poniUe to approach the sabject. As to the Milroys (haviog provided
them with the customary reference), I could fortunately keep them at
arm's length on all qoestions relating purely to myselil And lastly, when
I effected my reconciliation with Armadale on the drive in front of
the house, he was fool enough to be too generous to let me defend
my character. When I had expressed my regret fiwr having lost my
temper and threatened Miss Milroy, and when I had accepted faisassurance
that my pupil had never done or meant to do me any injury, he was too
maguanimoua to hear a word on the subject of my private affairs. Thus,
I am quite unfettered by tmy former assertions of my own ; and I may
tell any story I please — with the one drawback hinted at already in
the shape of a restraint. Whatever I may invent in the way of pure
fiction, I must preserve the character in which I have appeared at
Thorpe- Ambrose — for, with the notoriety that is attached to my other name,
I have no other choice but to marry Midwinter in my maiden name as
'llissGwilt.'
" This was the consideration that took me into the lawyer's office.
I felt that I must inform myself, before I saw Midwinter later in the day,
of any awkward consequences that may follow the marriage of a widow,
if she conceals her widow's name.
** Knowing of no other profesaionnl person whom I could trust, I went
boldly to the lawyer who hnd my interests in his charge, at that terrible
past time in my life, which I have mote reason than ever to shrink from
thinking of now. He was astonished, and, as I could plainly detect, by
DO means pleased to see me. I had hardly opened my lips, before he said
he hoped I was not consulting him again (with a strong emphasis on the
word) on my own account. I took the hint, and put the question I had
come to ask, ia the interests of that accommodating personage on such
oct^sions — an absent friend. The lawyer evidently saw through it at
once ; but he was sharp enough to turn my ' friend ' to good account on
his (idc. He said ho would answer the question as a matter of courtesy
Inwards a lady represented by myself; but he must moke it a condition
tbat this consultation of him by depnty should go no further.
"I accepted his terms — for I really respected the clever manner in
which he contrived to keep me at arm's length without vioLattng the laws
of good breeding. In two minutes I heard what he hod to say, mastered
it in my own mind, and went out.
" Short as it was, the cousoltation told me everything I wanted to
know. I risk nothing by marrying Midwinter in uiy maiden iustcnd of
my widow's name. The marriage is a good marriage in this way : — that
it can only bo set aside if my husband finds out the imposture, and takes
proceedings to invalidate our marriage in my lifetime. That is the
lawyer's answer in the lawyer's own words. It relieves me at once — in
tliia direction at any rate — of all apprehension about the future. The
166
ABHADALE.
tolj inposhiro my hnilMHd will ever di«coTer — iind tlion only if ba
iutppens to be on die >pot — is the imposture Lhat ptiu me id tbe plaee,
and gives mc the iocoaic, of Arniulalu's widow ; aod, by tlntbtiiac^ I shall
titve inrnlidat^d my own mnrringg for ever.
" Ualf-patt two ! Midwinter will be berc itt lialf an fiour. I most go
and a«k my gkas hcrw 1 look. I must rouM luy iavention, and nuke up
my little tlomestio ratminoQ. Am 1 rming nervotix aliout itt SomtHhii^
Hutiern ill tlio [ilifce where my iicart uaed tu be. At firu ftud tkitty, mo 1
tiad after euch a lite as mine I
I
Sis Qclock. — He kos just g9BC> Tlie day for our mams^ ia ■ day
determined cu alnuidy.
" I have tried to rcDt, aiid rocnvcr myacll'. I can't rest. I Iiatc
come bock to tlicse leaves. There is much to bo written in them aiiKv
Midwinter baa betn here, tli»t conct^rtm me nearly.
" Let ine lii^io wiUt >^liiit I li.itu taoiX, to rcini^mbLT, uod ■» be tli€
sooner done with it — let me begin with the paltry ctring ol' liibehoodi I
told him about my fuiiiily troubles.
" What can be lie secret of this m-in's hold on mc? How » it ttat
Ite altiTS m<! ta that 1 harilly know mygulf ag»iu 1 I wa* ]il:c mjmM
in the iixilwiiy cnrringe ycsti-nlay witli Aniiad&lv. ll was surdy frightftt
lii bu iiiiltiiig to llm living mail, through the wliolc of that li^ng journey,
with tbti knowU-dgu In me all tin; while lliiit I iiiejuit to i^c hi> widow^ ■
itiid yet I was only KKited and favored. Uoiir nficr hour I never iihrunk ™
cncv from 9i]i<-ak>ng to Armadale— but the fint tnunpeiy laiimfaood 1 told
JUjdwiuter, turned jue cold when I kiw that he bdicvcd il ! I fdt a
dreadful hyat(.>rical choking in the thmat wlum hn entreated lue not to
x«vca] juy troubJca. And once— I am horrified when I think ofii — once,
when be said, ' If T eotild love you more dcnriy, I should love you men
dearly, now,' I was wJtliia a hair's breidlh of luniitig tniilur to mycelf.
I WW oa the yviy iiuinl of tr_)ing nut to him, ' Lita I all Ijwi ! I'm »
fiviid in hiimoD eltope I Klnrry tbe wretchedest creature tlLat prowli tkfl
■trvote, and you will marry a better woman than me I* Yu ! the seeing
his eyes niointcn, ihv hcariug his voice tremble whil« I wna decutviug Llm,
shook Die in th:it way. 1 liuveecou huiidsom^r men by hiittdrwds, uIovcKr
men by hundreds. What can this man have roused in me 1 U it Love?
J ihvujjht I had lorcd, never to lore nguin. Doca a Avoman not lore^
when Uic roan's haniness to her drive* her to drown lieraclf? AmoD
drove rite to tliut lust despair iu duyii gone by. Did all my mtncry at that
lime come from something which was not Love ? Have I lived to be
ilv« and thirty, and am I only feeling, now, what Lore rvally ia 7 — now,
when it is too latu 1 Ridiculous ! Ite^idiH, wliut i» the uae o( oaking I
What do I know aboat it? What docs any woman over know? Hie
more wc tliinlc of it, the moro wo deceive ourselves. I winb I hod beea
bom an anij»al. Ikly beniity might have been of some use to me tlMO—
ic might bare got mc a good master.
I
Fn« Ia a wbolv p*ge of rny dkiry Sllcd ; nnd notliinj^ nrttten yet
ihal. in of llii; nlightttC USe to me ! My miserable mmJe-up ninry must be
told over iigaia h«re, wliil* the incidents «to fre*h in my memory — or
am 1 to rrfer to it con^steatty on aftOT-cconons when I may be
to npcak nfit ngnin ?
" Tbcie WM nolbing ttfw in wlmi I told )ii in : it vaa ilio cnmnionplnee
rahbi«Ii of the clrciilncinj^ liliraric*. A de;iil fiitlicr ; a loit, fortune;
Togalmni] brotlifrs. whom I droti:) ever scHnf; Again ; r bedridden mother
dependent on my exertion:^-^— Nn I I can't u-rlte it down I I )iati> my-
adf. I dcapiite inyt«If, when 1 remember that fnf believed it bvoiiiw I snid
it — tbat Af vax distressed by it, becanso it was my Ktory I I will faoe tlie
chances of contmdicting myself— 1 vtill risk dincoviry and ruin — anything
nUwr tban dwell «o that contemptible deception of him n mnment longer.
"My liea came to an end at last. And then h« lalked to vik oI
tumself, and of bis pn»pccts. Oh, vrbat a relief it wna to turn tu that, at
ihe lime ! What a rulii-f it in to coniu to it now !
"He liu Aiccepied the olTer about whicli he wrote to mentThorpe-
AmbroM ; and be is now engaged &s occasional foreig[a coneepondent to
At new newspaper. Ilis fint dntinitiion ih Xnplwt. I wish it luul hofii
nne ot^cr plaix, for I Iiavc certain paat aatoviationii witb NapWit which
I tat net at all anxious to renew. It has been arranged that be is to leave
Cftgland not later than the eleventh of next month. By that time, therc-
fcre, I, who am to go with Mm, miiNl go with him an Uta wife.
"Tl»trre i« not the tlightvst difEcnlty about tlie marringe. All tliia
fait of it ift ao enay, that I begin to dread an accident. 1'he proposaJ to
keep iho thin|i ftlrietly private — whicli it might luivc cmhamitwd int' to
malfr rmnrn frum liiia. Marrying me in hia own uiunn — the niium
lilt be ba* kept conoealod from every Itvia;; creature but myeetf and
Ur. Brook— it is til interest tlmt not it eonl who knows him should ba
|vcaent at the ceremony ; lu) friend Annudalu Wit of all. Ue hiu been
• mdc in I>»ndon already. When another week has passed, he proposes
10 get (lie Licence, and to bo married in the cliurch belonging to the
llriih in which lh« hotel ia ntontcd. Theic are the only n<!C<s*ary
fctatalilka I had but to say ' Ye» ' (he told me), and to feel no fiirtlier
■BXJety alwat the future. Leaid 'Yes,' with ujuh a devouring un^cicty
tbont the future, that 1 waa afraid hu would see iL What minutes thg
next few mlnalcs were, when lie wliisperod deUclouH words to me, while
1 hid niy &ce on hia breiut 1
"I r«eoveT«d myielf first, and led him back to the mbjeot of
AnudaJe ; havinip my own reaaona foi wanting to know what they said
to Mcli other, after I had left them yenterday^
"The manner in vhicli Midwinter replied, siliowcd me that he wan
yWing under the restraint of roBpeoting a confidenco placed in hlro by
his friend. Long belbre ho had <bD<<, I detected what the confidence was.
Armadale liad been coiiauJliRg him (exactly a» I antiutpatcJ) on the
MfeJMt ot the elopement. Although ho appears to have rcmontlrated
190
AKMAUALE.
ngsiBit Uking the girl Mcrellj avrar from bee home, Atidwiotcr
}iavc lUlt BOnie delicacy ubout s|)eflking ctronf^y ; remcmbcrii^ (widely
diirorcnt aa tin GircamEtnncc& arc) ilut he was contempkliog a print*
mamago Kintrif. I gntlicrcd, nt nay rate, that b* had produced T*iy
little vflact by whitt lift had wiid ; and thai Anaadaltt bad olntady carried
out Ilia sbaurd uit«otioD of GonaultiDg Uie li««d-d«rk ia the o£oe of his
LondoD lawyiiB.
" Uariag got w far aa (])!.■<, llidwtntcr put Uio qucBt'ion vrbicli I felt
araat eotne toona er later. lie aaked if I o1>j«eted to our cngngtiiMiiit ^
being tnenlioncd b the ttricteat accresy to hia friend. ■
** ' 1 will answer,' he nljJ, ' for Allau'a rcspoctiag soy ooofidcDoe llial
I place ID liim. And I nill ttndrrinki-, when tliu ume cooim, so to ok
loy m&ntace orer him as to prerenC hia being pre*ent nt \ho marriage^
and diwoToiag (what he must never know] that toy name ti tbn naac am
hia own. It would help me,' he went on, ' to apesiii more strongly aboot
the object that has brought him to London, if I can ragoltc the fraokntta
with which he ha* apokru of hiH piivnto afiaint to mo, by the aaoae fttak-
a*n on my aids.'
" I had no choioe but to urivo thd necessary penuii»ioD, and I gave ib
It 19 of the ulmoat importance to me to know what pourse ^Injor Miltoy
tjikcs with hiB daughter and Armadale, ailvr receiving my anooyraMB
letter ; and, unl««> I invite Armndals's confidicncc in «orac way, I sm
nearly certain to be Vept in tlie dark. Let him once be trusted with tbt
kaowJodgffi that I am to I>o MitWiater's wift! ; and ivhiit hd tells bis frieod
about his love^iTikir, lio will ttll me.
" When it Imil bct-n undrrrslotHl between m th»t Arniadsle waa to be
Ink^B into our ocnfidt^nco, we bf.gan to tallc abnut ourtvlvoa again. How
tho time Jle^ 1 Wliat a sweet encfaantnient tt was to forget cvcx^tbing in
hia arnifi ! How he loves mo I — oli, poor fallow, how he lovett me !
" I have promised to meet him to-momw morning in tlie Regent'*
Park. The less he is acra hero the better. The people in this house ore
atrangeis to me certainly — bat it may he wiic to conault appearances, as
if I was atill at Tliorpe-Arnbmw, and not lo jjrodiice the impresiiou, «v«b
on their niindn, tliat Miilwinter ia engaged to me. If any after- inqnitua
an> made, when I hitrc run my ^irand risk, the testimony or my Londcs
landlady might be tfstiinnny wortli hiiring^.
'* That wretched old Bashwood I Writing of Thorpe-Ambrose re-
minds me of him. What will he say when the- town-goaip tellfl him
dial Armadale has taken mo to London, in a carriage leserrcd for
■dvei? It reoliy is too abiurd in a rooa of Boabwood'e age and appeaww-
to presume to be in lore J
I
a fain
- our- M
uancfrfl
•' Jutjf SOIh. News at last I Armadnle hat heard Irom Nisa MifaOf.
My anonjmonJi letter has prodnced ttn nRecu Tlie girl is remored ftmn
^orpe-AmbrosG already ; and the whole project of the elopement is
blown to the winds nt onoe and for ever. This van the sobstaaea of
^
ARMADALE. 191
vfaat MidwiDter had to tell mc, irlieii I met him in the Park. I aflfected
to be excessiTely DBtonishcd, and to feel the necessary feminine longing to
know all the particulars. ' Not that I expect to hare my cnriomty ntis-
Sed,* I added, ' for Mr. Annadnlc and I arc little better than mere
acquaintances, after all.'
" ' You are far more than a mere acquaintance in Allan's eyes,' said
Midwinter. ' ' IlaTing your permisdon to trust him, I have already told
him how near and dear yon are to me.'
" Hearing this, I thought it desirable, before I put any questions aboat
Miss Milroy, to attend to my own interests first, and to find out what
effect the annoancemcnt of my coming marriage had produced on Armadale.
It was possible that he might be Btill suspicious of me, and that the inqoiriea
he made in London, at Mrs. Milroy's instigation, might be still hanging oa
his mind.
" ' Did Mr, Armadale seem surprised,' I asked, ' when you told him
of our engagement, and when you said it was to be kept a secret from
everybody ? '
" 'He seemed greatly surprised,' said Midwinter, 'to hear that we
were going to be married. At! he said when I told him it must be kept
a secret was, that he supposed there were family reasons on your side for
making the marriage a private one.'
" ' What did you say,' I inquired, ' when he made that remark 1 '
•* ' I said the family reasons were on my side,' answered Midwinter.
' And I thought it right to add — considering that Allan had allowed him-
self to be misled by the ignorant distrust of you at Thorpe- Ambrose —
that you liad confided to me the whole of your sad family story, and that
you had amply justified your unwillingness, under any ordinary circum-
itances, to speak of your private affairs.'
(" I breathed freely again. lie had said just what was wanted, just
in the right way.)
" ' Thank you,' I said, ' for putting mc right in your friend's estimation.
Doea he wish to see me ? ' I added, by way of getting back to the other
luhjiKt of Miss Milroy and the elopement.
'"Tie is longing to see you,' returned Midwinter. 'Ho is in great
distreits, poor fellow — distrcsa which I have done my best to soothe, but
which I believe would yield far more readily to a woman's ^mpathy than
to mine.'
"' Where is he now?' I asked.
" He was at the hotel ; and to the hotel I instantly proposed that wc
ihould go. It is a busy, crowded place ; and (with my veil down) I
have less fear of compromising myself there than at my quiet lodgings,
Bciidcs, it ia vitally important to me to know what Armadale does next,
under this tot^ change of circumstances, — for I must so control hia pro-
ceedings a* to get him away from England if I can. We took a cab :
such was my eagerness to f^rtapstbize with the heart-brokeu lorer, that
wc to(^ a cab I
" AnytlttDg so ridjcnioos as Armadulc'B bdiarlonr unJor Uw doable
shock ot' dUcnvcTtng that hiit yoiiog ImJy hns bt'Cit Uluo KV^y from biitt,
mid tliai I uin tu Ite raftrried to Mldirinter, I never befure wUne«ed in all
iny rxpericQco. Tv say tli&t lie was Iik« a diild u a libol on all vliildren
who are tidt liom idiotM. He oongrntulntcd me on my oomiug marriage,
mid cxccntvd the liiikiKnti) wretch who had written the UDoaymous !cU«r,
littia thJuking that \k wns H[i««king of one and the onme pcnorf in vac and
tlie laine brL-aih. Now lie submiBaively acknowiedgt^d diat Major Milroy
liad his rights na a fachcr, and now he rcriled ihe major lus having no
finding fur anycliing but hie mwhunicK and htit cluck. At ono moment he
titMit4^ lip, witli the tears in his eym, and declart-d that liix ' darl ing Neelie '
was on ORgcl on earth. At another hi; sit down milkily, and tJiotight that
a girl of her gpirit might liavi; run awny on the spot and joined bim ia
London. Afl^r a good Imlf-hour cf this nliaurd exhibition, I mtcceeded
in i^nictinf; him ; and then a Tow worda of tender inquiry produced wliat
I bill! «xjwvMly come to lli« hoCel to w«! — Mi» Milroy'n letlrr.
" It was tmttogcously long and niiubiJng and conlitsvd — in tthortf the
letter of a fool. I had t6 wade tbroagh plenty of Tt%ar eentimcnt oncl
lamentation, and to lots ttroi} and patience OTcr maufllia outburau ct
cdTecltuu, and nuuacoua kiucs enclosed in circles of ink. However, I
contrived to cxtnict the information [ wnnk-d at latit ; mid hen^ it ia : —
" T\ia iitujoT, on receipt of my aiiunymuiii* warning, ap]K-ani to have
sent at oncis for his daughter, and to have aliawn her the letter. ' Tott
know w>iat a hard life I l«vl with yonr mother ; don't make it tiorder
still, N'eetie, by deceiving mc' That waa ail the poor old gt^atlcman said.
I always did bke t)ie major; and, though he wai afraid to Khow it, I
kiiaw he always liked me. lliit appeal to liis daughter (if her account of
it is to he b«Iiovcd) cut her to (he heart. She burst out cijing (let bee
alone for crying at the right moment !), and confeised eretything.
" After giving her time to recover herself (if he had given her a good
box on lite cara it would liave Lpen more to the purpose !) the major
Gcems to liarc put certain qnciitiutja, and to have become convinced (as t
waa convinced myself) that his daiightere heart, or fitacy, or wliatover
Ehe calls it, mati really and truly set on Armadale. The discovery
evidently distressed as well as surpriM^i him. He iippcani to haro hesi-
tated, and to hav- maintained hisovrn unfavourable opinion of Mitu N'cclia'i
iover fur twnie iiiilit time. But his daughter's tears and entreaties (»
like thew(Mkne.<« iif the dear old gentleman I) ehook liim at loil. Though
he 6rnily refused to allow of any m.trringt! ungHgement at prusont, he cod-
Bi-ntcd to overtook the clandcstmc meetings in the park, and to put
Armadale's fitness to become his aon-in-Ianr to the t«st, on onHain
cotiditions.
" These cunditiuns arp) that for the next six months to come, all
coin mimient ion is to be broken off, both peraonally and by writing, ba-
twceu Armadale and Miss Milroy. That spaec of time is to be occajacd
by the yoimg gcotlcmon as he himself thinks best, and by the yonag lady
ABMADALE. 193
in eonipletiDg ber evocation at school. If, when the six moQtha bare
pasted, they are both still of the same mind, and if Armadale's conduct
in tbe interval baa been such as to improve tlie major's opinion of him,
be will bo allowed to present himself in the character of Miss Milroy'a
suitor — and, in six months more, if all goes well, the marriage may take
place.
" I duclare I could kiss the dear old major, if I waa only within reach
cf Iiim 1 If I had been at his elbow, an^ had dictated the conditions
myself, I could hare asked for nothing better than this. Six months of
tuCal sei>arution between Armadale and Miss Milroy I In half that time
— with all communication cut off between the two — it must go liard with
r.ie indeed if I don't find myself dressed in the necessary mourning, and
publicly recognized as Armadale's widow.
" But I am forgettiDg the girl's letter. She gives her father's reasons
fur making hiu conditions, in her father's own words. The major seems
to hxrv. spoken so seusibly and so feelingly that he lefb hia daughter no
decent altematire — and he leaves Armadalo uo decent olternatire — but to
submit. As well as I can remember it, he seems to have expressed
himself to AIiss Neelie in these, or nearly in these terms : —
" ' Don't think I am behaving cruelly to you, my dear — I am merely
asiiDg yon to put Mr. Armadale to the proof. It is not only right, it ja
absolutely necessary, that you should hold no communication with him for
tome time lo come ; and I will show you why. In the first place, if you
go to school, the necesBttry rules in such places — neccBsory for the soke
of the other girls — would not permit yon to see Mr. Armadale, or lo
.'ittiiie letters from him ; and, if yon are to become mistresa of Thoipc-
Aiiibrose, to scliool you must go, for you would be ashamed, and I sliould
he ashamed, if you occupied the posllion of a lady of station, without
L.';ving the accomplishments which all ladies of station arc expected to
jiossefs. In the second place, I want to sec whether Air. Armadale will
continue to think of you aa he thinks now, witliout being encouraged in
Ilia attiiclimcnt by seeing you, or reminded of it by hearing from you. If
I am wrong in thinking him flighty and unreliable ; and if your opinion
rf him is the right one, this is nut putting the young man to an unfair
Xtft — true love survives much longer sL'parations than a separation of six
ornths. And when tliat time is over, and welt over; and when I havo
Lad him iinder my own eye for another six inontlis, and have learnt to
think as highly of him aa you do — even tlien, my dear, aflcr all that
ti-rrible <Ielay, yuu will still be a married woman before you arc eighteen.
Think of this, Neelie ; and sliow that you love mc and trust me, by
accepting my projmsal. I will hold no coniniuii lent ion with Mr. Arma-
d.iJe inyulf. I will leave it lo you to write and tell hitn what has been
ilLcidtd on. Ho may write back one letter, and one only, to acquaint you
Kith his decisiun. After that, fur the sake of your reputation, nothing
muTC is to be said, and nothing more in to Ix; done, and the matter is to
be kept strictly private until the si.^ mouths' interval is at an end.'
VOL. xiil. — so. 71. 10.
in
JtRiiADALE.
I
I
" To Uii6 cfii;ct the tDajoc spvk*. His bebmoor to lliat litti
m girl lian jiroduccd n •U-oiigor imprHnoo oo hm than siijthing obe in tie
IcttLT. U btts act mc tbitikJiig (mc, vf ull tJiv peof>l« in ihu world !) oCM
vhtt tbcy caU ' a monl difficulty.' Wc on ptrpctuallj told tliot Uiere ^
am too no powiblc coniicetioD botween virtue and vio«. Cou ihvre not!
Hero ia MiLJor Milroy doing e.t.ictly iTbat an excellent latbcr, ai uace kind
and prudent, uilcdiouate and liriu, would do uiuior tlie oircumvtutcci —
and bjf tliat very course oT'tvnduct, he haa now emooth«d th« way fiw me,
OB ODtDpktcIy lu if t« had beca tbo (^osca accomplice of tliat nbomtttable
crcsLura, Mi^ Gwilt. Ouly tliink of my rcuuoniiij in this wiiy ] But I
BID in such good spiriu, I can do xnyihing to-daj. I iare tiot loofced w
biigbt and t« young a« 1 look cow, for montbs patt !
"To rvturu ti> tiiL- li'ttrr, Tor tliu but tini^— it U so oxoeasively dolt
•od Ktitjnd tlial I rvoUy can't help Wiinduriiig away froiii it into refloctioDS
of my own, aa a iii«ro mVief.
"AfWr folenmJy announciug tliat she nteant to sacrifice ht-reoir to
ber belored liither'B vrieboa (liie brasoa assoraiics of bcr scUtng up br
■ martyr after what has ha]>peiiad, exceeds anything I ewt heard or
read of!), Miss Neelio next mcDlionird t^iat the major proposed ukisg
Iter to tlic seaside foT cbaago of air, during the fow days that w«rc still t«
elapae bcAira eliu wunt tn scbool. Armadale was to send Ids answur by
return of pont, and Lu addreaa her, trader cover to her latJicr, at Lowcatoft.
With tliis, luui with a last outburst of tonder protestation, crammed
crookedly iotc a. comer of the page, ilic letter ended. (N. B. — ^Tho majoi'i
objsct ia taking hvr to the tcnudo is pkiu cnougb. Ho at ill privsldy
diatrUKts Animilnle, and he ia wisely dctcriiitued to pri'vcnl any mora
dandeatinc uieecinga iii the ]iark, before tlie girl » utfviy dixpoacd of ib
achool.)
" When I bad dooe with tbt? letter — T had requeued permiaDOti le
luid ports of it whicli I particulurly admired, for ihc aecoad and tfatld
lime 1 — we all consulted togctticr in n friendly way about what Armadale
wa« to do.
"He was fool caougli, at the outset, to protest against submitting to]
Usjor Milroy'a conditions. He declared, with his odioua red faee li
the picture of brute health, tliat he ahould nerer aurrive a six montbl^
separation from his beloved Nellie. Midwinter (aa may easily be imagined)
ai'emed a liitli! atihamed of him, nnd joined mo in bringing tim to fait
aenaes. We showed liim what would have bt-ca plniu enough to anybody
but a booby, tbat there was no honourable, or even decent, aIt«ntatiT»
lefl but to follow the example of submission aot by the yoiin; lady. * VTait
— «a.i yoa will have her fiw yotir wift," was what I said. • Wait — odI
you will force tbc major to tdter bts unjnst ojiinion of you,' tnu what
Midwinter added. With two clever people hammering common sense into
his head at that rate, it is ncedl<«t to any that hia head gave way, and he
mbmitted.
" Ilavit:^ decided him to accept the major'a coudJlions (I wus oarefUl
i
AItMADAI£. 195
to mm lum, befiire he wrote to Miss Milroy, ^at my engagement to
Uidwmter frss to be kept as strictly secret from her as from everybody
else), tbe next question we had to settle related to his future proceecEngs.
I was ready irith the neoessary arguments to stop him, if he bad proposed
Tetaming to Thorpe-Ambrose. But he proposed nothing of the sort. On
ihe oontrar}', he declared, of his own accord, that nothing would induce
3iim to go back. The place and the people were associated with ereiy-
thing that was hateful to htm. There would be no Miss Miln^ now to
neet him in the park, and no Midwinter to keep him company in the
solitary bouse. ' I'd ratlier break stones on the road,' was the sensible
and cheerfril way in which he put it, ' than go back to Thorpe-Ambrose.'
'* The first suggestion after this came from Midwinter. The aly old
clergyman who gave Mrs. Oldersbaw and me so much trouble, has it
seems been ill ; but has been latterly reported better. ' Why not go to
SomerBetahire,' said Midwinter ; * and see your good friend, and my good
friend, Mr. Brock ? '
" Armadale caught at the proposal readily enough. He longed, in
the first place, to see ' dear old Brock,' and he longed, in the second place,
to see his yacbt. After staying a few days more in London with Mid-
winter, he would gladly go to Somersetshire. But what after that ?
" Seeing my opportunity, / came to the rescue this time. ' You hare
got a yacht, Mr. Armadale,' I said ; ' and you know that Midwinter is
going to Italy. When yon are tired of Somersetshire, why not make a
Toyage to the Mediterranean, and meet yonr friend, and your friend's wife,
at Naples 7 ' ' ■
" I made the alluidon to ' his friend's wife,' with the most becoming
modesty and confusioQ. Armadale was enchanted. I had hit on the best
of all ways of occupying the weary time. He started up, and ^vrung my
band in quite an ecstasy of gratitude. How I do hate people who can only
expiesH their feelings by hurting other people's hands !
" Midwinter was as pleased with my proposal as Armadale ; but he
tiw difficulties in the way of carrying it out. He considered the yacht
too small for a cruise to the Mediterranean, and he thought it desirable
to hire a larger Tesscl. His friend thought otherwise. I left them
aiguing the question. It was quite enough for me to have made fiure, in
the first place, tliat Armadale will not return to Thorpe-Ambrose ; and to
have decided him, in the second place, on going abroad. He may go how
he likes. I should prefer the small yacht myself — for there seems to be
a chance that the small yacht might do lue the inestimable service of
drowning him. ....
" Five o'clock. — The excitement of feeling that I liad got Armadale's
future movcmcntu completely under my own control, made mc so restless,
when I returned to my lodgings, that I was obliged to go out again, and
do something. A new interest to occupy me being what I wanted, I went
to Pimlico to hare it out with Mother Oldershaw.
10— a
186
AllHADALE.
" I mlkfld — ami made up my mJacI, on tlic vaj, Uut I would b«gio bj ]
^{lUUTdliBg wilh liCT. One of my notes of hand being puid nlivxdy, tioi \
^lidu'iiitL-r tiring willing to p.ty ihe other two when iliej fall duv, my ,
prcKUt potsitioii vtilii Die old wrelcli is m ind«p«odent A on« aa I could
desire. I always get the bcUer of lier when it comes to a downright
Wule lictvrcca us, and liiid her wuudvrruily uivU and obliging the monient
1 Imvc madu Her fufi tlint mine is llie atrongt.'st will of the two. In my
pTCMQt aiiUHliuii, she mlglit be of use lo mc in various vrny*, if I cuuld
wcure her ossistauce, without tnuiing her vriilk sccrcla which 1 am. now
jnonj itmn ever delernun<fil lu Veep to mj-jelf. Tlial van my itlt-a as I
Vnlkuil to Pimlicn. U pti:tiiiig Mui.hcr Oliltirehaw's nen-es, in tiie first
place, and tliea twisting her round my liitlu finger, in llic serond,
l>romisc-d mc, as 1 thought, au iiiWrcoting acoux«tion for the rest at
tlie iil^cmoon.
" When I got to Pluilico, a surprise was in store (or me. The hooH
was Sihut up^not only on Mm. Oldcislmw'j side, but oi» Doclor Uown-
wnrd'e hh well. A [latlkiL'lc wnit on ihu sUop-dcujr ; and a man wu
Laoging about on tlie wAtch, who might liavu been an onlinary idler
Certainly, but who looked, to my mind, like a pulicumon iu dit^uiae. h
** Knowing the r'uks the doctor runs ia his particular form of practioe, I
I suspected at once ihut sonictbiog K.'1'iouB liad happoiifd, and that even
cunning Mrs, Oldemhaw waa CouipromiwJ thi* time. Without flopping,
or making any inquiry, iheicforc, I called the first cab that pattied xiw, and
dtovc to the poxt-office to which I had detircd my Isltcra to be ibrwu^id
if any cnittu for uie rifti-r I Wti. my Thorpe- Ambrose lodging.
"On iiiiiuiry n ktU'r waa produced for 'Mis* Gwilt.' It waj
Mother 01iU<r«haw's handwriting, and it told me (as I hsd suppoM^)^
tltot the doctor had got into a serioiu difficulty —that she was bttrMlf
moat unfortunutcly mixed up in ttic nititter^ — and that tbey wore both Itt
biding for the present. The ]iittt.-r ended niili same eiilTicicntly venoiBCiu
Bcntencea about my conduct at Thorpe- Ambrose, and with a warning that
J have not heard the hw of Mrs. Old<.Tshftw yei. Jt relieved mu to find
lier writing in this way— for she would hare been civil nnd cringing if dK
bad had any auc^iviou of what I hare really got in y'law, I burnt tba
letter as soon as the candles came up, Attd tliere, for the prciont, is an cad
of the connection hctwecu Mother Jercbcl and me, I roust dvitll myovnt
dirty work now — and J ehul! be all the si&r, p<:rhapii,fo[ trtisting oobcdy'a
bsiids to do it but my own. |
"J
" Juli/ SlsL- — MoK useful information for mc. I met Midwinter s$aiit
in the Park (on the pretext that my reputation might sufTer, if he called
too often at my lodgings) ; and beard the last n«ws of Armadale, since
I left thfi hotel ytslenlay.
"After he had written to MLss Mi I roy, Midwinter took tlie opportn-
&ity of speaking to bim about the nec'asnry business arraogemeots daring
his absence from the great house. It was decided Uiat the servants should
ARMADALE. 197
be put on board imgeB, and that Mr. Basliwood should be lefl in clmi^.
(Somehow, I don't like this reappearance of Mr. Bashwood in connection
vith mypreeent interests, but there is no belp for it.) The next question
—the question of money — was settled at once bj Armadale himself. All
his available ready-money (a large rutii) is to be lodged by Afr. Bashwood
in Cotitta'H Bank, and to be there deposited in Armadale's name. This, he
said, would save him the worry of any further letter -writing to hia
steward, and would enable him to get what he wanted, when he went
abroad, at a moment's notice. The plan thus proposed being certainly
the simplest and the safest, was adopted with Itlidtvinter'a full concurrence ;
and here the bnsincss discus^on would have ended, if the everlaating
Mr. Bashwood had not turned up again in the conversation, and prolonged
it in an entirely new direction.
" On reflection, it seems to have struck Midwinter that the whole
responsibility at Thorpe- Ambrose ought not to rest on Mr. Boahwood's
■boulders. Without in the least distrusting him, Midwinter felt, never-
theless, that he ought to have somebody net over him, to apply to, in case
of emergency. Armadale made no objection to this; he only asked, in his
helpless way, who the person was to be 7
" The answer was not an easy one to arrive at. Either of the two
■oUcitora at Thorpe- Ambrose might have been employed — but Armadale
was on bad terms with both of them. Any reconciliation with such n
kitter enemy as the elder lawyer, Mr, Darch, was out of the question ;
and reinstating Mr. I'edgifl In his former position, implied a tacit sanction
on Arm-idale's part, of the lawyer's abominable conduct towards me, which
was scarcely consistent with the respect and regard that ho felt for a
lady who Avas soon to bo his friend's wife. After some further discussion,
Slidwinler hit on a new suggestion which appeared to meet the difficulty,
lie proposed that Armadale should write to a respectable solicitor at
Norwich, slating his position in general terms, and requesting that
^ntleman to take charge of his affairs, and to act as Mr. Bashwood s
advisor and superintendent when occasion required. Norwich being
vithin an cosy railway ride of Thorpe- Ambrose, Armadale saw no
objection to the proposal, and promised to write to the Norwich lawyer.
Fearing that he might make some mistake, if he wrote without assistance,
JUdwinter had drawn him out a draft of the necessary letter, and
Armadale was now engaged in copying tlie draft, and also in writing to
Mr. Bashwood to lodge tlie money immediately in Coutts'a Bank.
*' These details are so dry and uninteresting in themselves, that I
liFfiitatt;d at first about putting them down in my diary. But a little
reflifCtion has convinced me that they are too important to be passed over.
L'Xfkcd at from my point of view, rhey meim this — that Armadale's own
act is now cntling him off from all communication with Tliorpe- Ambrose,
evtn by letter. Ife ta as good as dead, already, to everybody he havea
Mii'nd him. The causes wliich have led to such a result as that, are causes
which certainly claim the best place I can give tliem in these pages.
198
AKUAOALE.
" AvffuM 1st, — \othing to noord, btit tliat I liavo liad & loag qoie
1hi]>P7 dty with Midvinter. He hired a carria^ and tve drore t<>
Hichaiond, and dined tbere. After tc-daj'a ejcpericnce, il is imponibl«
to dcociro luywU'any looger. Come vbat may of it, I lore faiin.
'* I hare ftllen into low spirits sinc« ho left bm. A peisuasioB ha*
taken poSMMioa of mj mind, lliuc the nnootJi and pnxperoua conrac of
my affiiin siace I hava bcea in London, in too amooth iwd proaporoua to
last. Tliere is sooietbing opprening me to-nigbt, which is mote than ib»
oppression of the beary London air.
" AuffKil 2ml. TTtrt* o'clock. — My prraratiments, like other people's
liAYfr deoctwd in« often eiiougli— but I am almofit afraid tlial my pt
Bentiment of laat night wna rrally proplielio, for once in a way.
" I went ai^cr brealiltut to a niiUiner'ii in tliin neif[]ibour)ioo<I to onlt^]
a few chcnp Gumnner thingn, and thcnso to Alirlwint«r's hotot to arr
whh hiiu for another day in the cotiritry. I drove to ibe millioer'a and
to the hobi-l, and pArt of thv way hack. Then, feeliog disguatcd witk^
the horrid close Btnell of the ca.b (somebody had been snioking in it, '.
Buppoae), I got out to walk the rest of the way. Before I had be«n ii
iainut«a oa tny fcetj I discovoiod that I mtw) being followod by a straog
mait.
" Tbta trmy mean notliing but iluit on idle fellow Iim bi-ea atntck by '
my figure, nnd ray appearance giintrnlly. My &oe oould hove mad* a^
impreawon on him — for it was hiddem as usual fay my veil. Whetliar b*
flawed in* (in a cab of coiuec) Jrom tbe milUnei's, or from tho hotel, I
cannot say. Nor iim I i^uito certain whether ha did or did not iraek SM
to this door. I only know tliut I lout nght of him before t ^(A back^
Thcru in no help for il but to wait till events enlighten me. li tbcto is
anything serious in what has happened, I shall soon diicover U. ^1
" FilH o'clock. — It U aerioue. Ten minutes since, I waj in my bed-
room, which communicateB with the sitting-rootn. I was just coming oat,,
when I heard a etrnn;^ voice on tho landing outside — :> wonion'fl voicew
The nt'St inetAHt tlie sitting-room doov w.ia Buddenty opened; tkie>|
woman's voice Raiii, * Are tlieae the aparttnerita you hare got to let?'-^J
and though the landlady, behind her, answered, ' No ) h^bcr up, ma'aai'l
the woman came on straight to my bed-ronm, aa if she had not heard. I*
had juHt time to shim tho door In her tiicc before ahc saw me. Th*
oecemury explansticnn nnd apologies folloivrd between the Inndl^y and
the aU'WDger in tho titilng-rocim — and tlieu I was Ivft alone again.
" I have no timo to wnte more. It is plain that somebody liaa an
interest in trying lo identify me, and tJiat, but for my own qnickneM, the
stnmge woman would liavc accomplished tliis abject by taking me by
aorprisc. She aod the man who followed me in the street an:, i Ku{icct,ia
league together ; and thero is probably somebody ia the hadcgromid
whose interesta tUey are serving, la Blothcr Oldcrahnw attacking me in
il
AKUADALE. 199
the dark ? or who else can it be ? No motter who it is ; my present
utoation la too critical to be trifled vitb. I mmt get away from this
bouse to-night, and leave no trace behind me by which I can be followed
to another place.
" AvguMt 3rd. — Gary Street, Tottenham Cmtrt Jtoad, — I got away hut
night (aAer writing an excuse to Midwinter, in which ' my invalid
mother ' flgared as the all-sufficient cause of my disappearance) ; and I
hare found refuge here. It has cost me some money ; but my object is
attained 1 Xobody can possibly have traced me from All Saints' Terrace
u this address.
" After paying my landlady the necessary forfeit for leaving her
without notice, I arranged with her son that he should take my boxes in
a cab to the cloak-room at the nearest railway station, and send me the
ticket in a letter, to wait my application for it at the post-office. While
he went his way in one cab, I went mine in another, with a few things
for the night in my little hand-bag. I drove straight to the milliner'a
■hop— which I hod observed, when I was there yesterday, had a back
entrance into a mews, for the apprentices to go in and out by. I went
in. at once, leaving the cab waiting for me at the door. 'A man is
feUowing me,' I said ; < and I want to get rid of him. Here is mj cab-
tire ; wait ten minutes before yon give it to the driver, and let me out at
oDca by the bock way 1 In a moment I was out in the mews — in
another, I was in the next street — in a third, I hailed a pacing omnibos,
md was a free woman again.
" Having now out off all communication between me and my last
lodgings, the next precaution (in case Midwinter or Armadale are
Hatched) is to cut off all communication, for some days to come at least,
between me and the hotel. I have written to Midwinter — making my
supposititious mother once more the excuse — to »aj that I am tied to my
nursing duties, and tliat wo must communicate by MTiting only for the
present. Doubtful as I still am of who my hidden enemy really is, I can
do no more to defend myself than I have done now.
'- August ith. — The two friends at the hotel have both written to me.
Midwinter cxprewea his regret at our separation, in the tenderest terms.
Armadale writes an entreaty for help under very awkward circumstances.
A letter from Major Milroy has been forwarded to him from the great
honi>e, and he encloses it in his letter to mc.
'• Having left the seaside, and placed his daughter safely at the school
originally choaen for her (in the neighbourhood of Ely), thu major appears
to Ijave returned to Thorpe- Ambrose at the close of last week ; to have
lieard then, for the first time, the reports about Armadale and me ; and
to have written instantly to Armadale to tell him so.
" The letter is stem and short. Major Milroy dismisses the report aa
unworthy of credit, because it is impossible for him to believe in such an
200
ABMADALE.
act of ' coM-bloodeii trencliory,' as tho scatidit) woiiW irnpl}', if (he soudal
wers t.ruo. !!« itimjily writer to vara ATiiiinloIe tlint, if txs is not mors
cari'ful in liia »gtiuiia fur ili« future, lio must reoign all i^rcttuiBioiis to MUs
Milroy'ahBnd. ' tndiliiir cxpt'ct, nor wieli for, on anBW«r to this' (tlie letter
i^ncU), 'lor I dirairc tu receive do tncm p rot rata tiona in wordi. Bjryour
rondiict, ttnti ^^ your conduct alone, I shall judge you nx tini« goc« on.
Let mt; nliio niJd, that I positively forbid jou to coiuiidcr ihix li^tiur nn Hti
excuse I'ur viuliiiiiig llio terms egrcod on betwceoi os, by writing ngoiii to
my daughter. You have no nci'd to justify yourself in her cy*a — for I
furtunatdy removed licr from Tliorjie-AinbrxMC bi^fbrc thin ubominaUe
i-k-jwrt lind time (o reach b«r ; and I tJiall iaikt good ciirc, for h«r eok^
tlijit »lie is not agilatpd and UDsettied by bearing it where she i« now.'
" Arinndnk's pcliiion to mo, under these circumatancea, entreata (an X
am llic innocent cnusn of the new nttoek on hi« character), that 1 »iU
HHriU! to tliu major to absolve bim of nil indiscretion in the miUter, and to
nny tb«t he could not, In cooinion politeness, do otberwiao titau iiccompaajr
Die to I<i>ndon. I tbrgive the inipiidcnce of btK r8(|awt, in coniuderatioa
of the tiL-vrs thnt he aindn ine. It is ccrttitiily another circumabtDcc in tny
liivour, that Ebe ficondnl at Thorpe- Ambrose is not to be allo^v^d to tt»eh
5!ias Milroy'a cars. With her temper (if tihc did bear ii) sbe might do
EOQiotliiug doKpcr»tc in tho vay of clainiing litr lover, and might comiiro-
mi»e mo ferinnitly. As fur my own course wiili ArnmdiiLf, it \« eaty
enough. 1 fchall <iuiet him by promising to write to Major Milroy ; and I
shiill Imke tho liburly,in iiiyown privalu InttirestH, of not keeping tny word.
"Nothing in thi; least suspicioiiji hjw hnj>pciied tu-day. Wlioerer my
enemies iixc, lliey huve lost me, and between thi* and the time when I
leave ICnglnnd they ihail not liiid me aguin. I have been to the poat-oAiee,
iitid have got the IJckot for my lu^giigc, cneloacd to mc in a letter from AH
Saints' TerrBC as I direct*^. Thu hi^gngit itself I sliall still Iear« at Ilia
eloiik-mom, until I see the way btrforv mu more clcjirly than 1 see it now.
I
" AuQviit bth. — Two Icltcn sgain from the hotel. MiJwintftr wri(«s tv
remind mc, in tlio prettiest poasible manner, that lie 'will harts lived loog
enough in the [wrisli by to-morrovr to bo able to get our marriago licence^
and ihnt he proposirs ajiplyiug fur it in the nsmil wny at Doctors' Commons
Xow, if I Am ever to euy it, in Ihe ttmc to any No. I can't say Na
There \* the plain truth — and there is an end of it I
"Armada.le'A Iittter is a letter of fareweU. He thanka mo Ibr mj
kindness in consenting to write to tho major, and bids me good>by till
M,-e meet again at Naples He has kiinit frout hix friend that thcK ore
private rcJiBon» which wilt oblige hlin to forbid himself the pleasure of
being present at our tnarringe. Under these circumstnticc«, there is
iiutliing to kf»p him in London. lie has made all his businen amitgo-
mcuLi ; he gets to Somersetshire by to-nlgbi'i txiun; and, after stsyin^
some time with Mr. lirock, ho will roA for tha Meditenwiean from tlie
Bristol Channel (in Rpite of Midivinler's objections) iu his own yaohL
AUMADALE. 201
" The loiter escIowB a jeweller's box, wifli a ring in it — Annadale'a
preaenL to me on my marriage. It ia a ruby — but radier a small one, and
set in the ^orst possible taste, lie would have given Miss Milroy a ring
irorth ten times the money, if it had been htr marriage preeent. There is
no more hatelul creature, in my opinion, than a miserly young man. I
wonder whether hia trumpery little yacht will drown him?
" I am 60 excited and fluttered, I hardly know what I am writing.
Not that I shrink from what is coming — I only fuel aa if I was being
hurried on faster than I quite lilce to go. At this rate, if nothing happens,
Uidwinter will have married me, by the end of the week. And then I
"Avffittt 6th. — If anything could startle me now, I should feel startled
by the news that baa reached me to-dny.
" On his return to the hotel this morning, after getting the Marriage
Licence, Midwinter found a telegram waiting for him. It contained an
urgent message from Armadale, announcing that Mr. Brock had had a
relapse, and that uU hope of his recovery was pronounced by the doctors
to be at an end. By the dying man's own desire, Midwinter was sum-
moned to take leave of him, and was entreated by Armadale not to loso
■ moment in starting for the rectory by the first train.
" The hurried letter which tella me this, tells me also that, by the time
I receive it, Midwinter will be on his way to the west. He promises to
write at greater length, after he has seen Mr, Brock, by to-night's post.
" This news has an interest for me, which Midwinter little suspects.
There is but one human creature, besides myself, who knows tlie secret of
his birth and hia name — and that one, ia the old man who now lies waiting
for him at the point of death. Wliat will they say to each other at the
list moment 7 Will some chance word foke them back to the time when
I was in Mrs. Annadale'a service at Madeim ? Will they speak of Me ?
" Avjust 7(A.^The promised letter has just reached me. No parting
words liave been exchanged between tlicm — it was all over before Mid-
iriiiter reached Somersetshire. Armadale met him at the rectory gate
vith the news that Mr. Brock was dead.
" I try to struggle agiunst it, but, coming afler the strange complica-
tion of circumstances that haa been closing round me for weeks past, there
is K(>nif;thing in this latest event of all that shakes my nerves. But one
Lttt chance of detection stood in my way when I opened my diary yes-
terday. When I open it to-day, that chance is removed by Mr. Brock's
il(.-itih. It means something ; 1 wish I knew what.
'■ The funeral is to be on Saturday morning. Midwinter will attend it
a* well as Armadale. But he proposes returning to London first ; and lie
writes word that he will call to-night, in the hope of seeing me on his
iviiv from the station to the hotel. Even if there was any risk in it, I
iliould Bcc him, as things are now. But there is no risk if he comes hero
from the station, instead of coming from the hotel.
ao3
ARMADALE.
" Five o'clock.- — I mu not misuiken in belicriag that mj nerres vne
fl.n uDfltrang. Trillat tluU ivonld not hove ooK me a Moonil ikougfat «t
otliw tiin«i, weigh hniTily oa mj mind now.
" Two ItotirB uDce, in dnpur of kaowing bov to get tlirongh t}i« dtjf
I bethongltt tnys^lf nf Ili« milliiuir who i> mAkint; mjr mmmer dre«L I
}ia(1 inltmdeJ to irn and trr it on ycsWnlnj—hut it dipped out of mjr
mciDory, in the cxcitcmrat of hcnriog about ^^^. Brock. Ho I w«Dt Uiis
nAomoon, cngi-r to tin nnytliing thnt might hetp roe to got rid of n^MlC
I h»Te retiu-iied, fi.-L-ltng more iinmay nnd more dqn-eaned than I felt when
I wOTit ont — for 1 bnvo como bnok, rearing that I may ym have reason to
re[>eiit not having led my imfiaistivd drms on t}ie miilitier's liands.
"Nothing happened to mc, ihU ttnic, io tlie street. It ynu only in
the tryiiig-on Toom dint my suapiciotw were roased ; and, there, it certainly
did cron my mind iital the attempt to discoTt-r me, wliich I defeated at
A}1 Saints' Terrace, waa not given up ytt, (ind thnt some of the shopwomCB
had be?a tampered with, if ncit th« inistra«« ImrMlf.
" Can I giTc myself nnyttiing in the shape of a reoaoa lor this iinpw-
sion 7 Let m« thiolc a little.
"I certainly notic»l two things w1ti<h were out of the ordinary
rcutinCf uudiu- the cimuniatsuces, Jn th« first place, there weru twicv aa
mnny wom«n es were needed in ths tr}nug-on room. Thia hwked
suspicious — nnd yot, I might hare accouDtn! for it in more ways than one.
Is it net tlie slack time now 7 and don't t know ky exp«rieoe« tlint I an
the sort of woman about whom other women are always spiteAilly curioos t
I thought again, in the second place, that one of the aaeiatantB penialad
rather oddly in keeping mo turned in a particular direction, with my ftos
towards tlie glased iind curtained do(ir that hd into the work-room. But,
nfber all, nbe gave n reason, when I asked for it. She atdd tlie light fell
better on me that way — and, when I looked round, there was thi> window
to prove her rigfit. Still, these iridcs produced such jm eflVcl on inc, at
the time, that I ptirposely found fault with the drets, bo an ro hare sa
excuse for trying it on agnin, belbre I told them where I lived, and had it
eccit home. Pai-c fnncv, I dsre my. Pure fonoy, perhaps, at the prciient
mompnc. I don't eiirt — I sliii!! act on inatinet (as they "K^)) "I'd give vp'
the drpst. In plainer words stilt, I won't go back.
1
" 3tMni(f6t. — Midwinter came to see me as he proiniaed. An hour
has pasted aince we aai J g«oJ-iiight ; and here I still sit, with my pen ia
my h.'ind, thinking of hlin. No words of mino can de«cnbe what ha*
jiaKsed between tts. The end of it is alt I can writa in these pages— -and
the end of it is, that he lias ahidcen my resolution. For the first time
since I mv the etmy wny to Armadale's life at Thorpe- A mbroee, I leel as
if tlie man whom I have dociued in my own thonghtx, had a chaoce of
escaping me.
** Is it my love for Midwinter that has altered me ? Or is it Aii lore
for ma that haa token posaession, not only of all I wish to ^e hint, but of
ARMADALK, 208
all I wisli to Iceep from him as ^rell 7 I feel as if I had lost myBclf — lost
itxjaei£, I meui, in Aim-— all through tlie evening. He vbb in great agita-
tion aboat irbat bad happened in SomeiseEahire — and he made me feel a»
disheartened and as wretched aboat it as he did. Though he nerer con-
fessed it in words, I know that Mr. Brock's death has Etartled him as an
ill-omen for onr moiriage — I know it, becaiise I feel Mr. Brock's death as
an ill-omen too. The Bnperatition — Au superstition — took so strong a
hold on me, that when we grew calmer, and he spoke of the future — when
he told me that he must either break his engagement with his new-
employers, or go abroad, as he is pledged to go, on Monday next — I
actually shrank at the thought of our marriage following close on
Mr. Brock's funeral ; I actually said to him, in the impulse of the
moment, ' Go, and begin your new life alone I go, and leave me here to
wait for happier times.'
" He took me in his arms. He sighed, and kissed me with an angelic
tenderness. Ho said — oh, so eofUy and so eadly I — ' I have no life now,
apart from you.' As those words passed his lips, the thought seemed to
rise in my mind like an echo, ' Why not live out all the days that are left
to me, happy and harmless in a love like this 1 ' I can't explain it— I
can't realize it. That was the thought in me at the time ; and that is
the thought in me still. I ece my own hand while I write the words —
and I ask myself whether it is really the hand of Lydia Gwilt !
" Armadale — —
" No I I will never write, I will never think of Annadale again.
" Yea 1 Let me write once more — let me think once more of him^
because it quiets me to know that he is going away, and tliat the sea will
have parted us before I am married. His old home is home to him no
longer, now that the loss of his mother has been followed by the loss of
his best and earliest fHend. When the funeral is over, ho baa decided to
sail the same day for the foreign seas. We may, or we may not, meet at
Naples. Shall I be an altered woman, if we do? I wonder I I wonder f
" A<iffust 8tk. — A line from Midwinter. He has gone back to Somer-
letehire to be in rcadinoBs for the funeral to-morrow ; and he will return-
here (after bidding Armadale good-by) to-morrow evening.
" The last forms and ceremonies preliminary to our marriage have been
complied witli. I am to be bis wife, on Monday next. The hour must
not be later than half-past ten — which will give us just time, when the
lervicc is over, to get from tlie church door to tho railway, and to start on
oar journey to Naples the same day.
" To-day — Satiu-doy — Sunday 1 I am not afraid of the time ; tlie
time will pass. I am not afraid of myself, if I con only keep all thoughu
but one out of my mind. I love him t Day and night, till Monday
ccime!«, I will think of nothing but that. I love him I
"Four o'c/oci'.— Other thoughts are forctd into my mind in spite of
AltMADAIX
riie. HIv BUBpiaon* of _viaicnl:ijr wii-e no mere f«ncj»; tlic millini;r 7ia$
been tampered Ytitli. My fully in ffins '^""^'^ '" ''^i" l»o*i*c 1>*« '"^1 to my
being iraced liciw, I aiti absolutely cprlnin that 1 uprer gave the woman
my mUrea^i — and yet my new gonrti voa teat Iiome to me at two o'clock
lo-djiy 1
" A man broiiglit it with tlie bill, and a. civil m*sangc to say ihat, as I
hiul not caIIciI 111 the appointed time to try it on Bgniii, the dicas bud been
finiithcd and sent to inp. He cniigbt inn in tbn p-uKiige ; I had no <ioice but
topny tltc bill, and dismiHiibJm. Any olhtr puiceedin^.aa events linreBorr
turned out, would have bt-«n pure folly. The meKcngcr {not die man who
fiiUdWi'il ni,.! in the street, but anctiivr spy sent to look at me beyond all
(li.uibt) wiiuKl have dccloted he knew nothing about it, if I bid ppokni to
him. Th« iiiilliii^r would tell roe to my fncc, if I went to her, iLat I had
giT«n her my adilrpM. TIic one nscful lliJug to il(» now, ia to set my wits
to work in llii? inlcivsts of my own «l^cll^iIy, and to slop Put of tlie false
poHitidu it) wliidi my Dwn rnitlinvsa has placed nie^if I con.
" Stvm d'cloek. — 3Iy epirita have risen again, I boliuvi' I am in &
Me way of extricating myself already.
'■ 1 linve just conic bai-k frcm a long round in a cab. Fii-at, to tlie
clouk-rooni of ili« (i>«at Western, lo get the luggage whicli I miiii ilicrft
irom All Saiuts' Terrace. Next, (o the cloak-roou of the South £aalent,
to IcnvG my Inggtigo (InU-IU'd in M iilwiti Icr'ii name), to wait for me tiil tbe
alnrcin]; of the tidal train on Monday. NcJtt, lo the Genenil Post Office^
lo ]Kwt u iHler lo Midwinter at llie rectory, which be will receive to-
moriow morning. Liislly, buck .^|Jain to thia hoiwe — from which I thaU
move no tnoro till Monday couivs.
*' My letter to Midwinter wiU, I have little doubt, lead to hit sccoudin^
(t|niie innocently) the prccautiona tliat I am l-ikin^ lor my own rafcty.
The ohortaeas of the time at our dii^poaal, on Munduy, will obiigv him to
pay his bill ut the hoti'l nnct lo remove liii ltigy;age, befora the marriage
ceremony tnkeH pbce. All 1 ank liiiu 1u ti» bryoiid tlita, is to take the
luggage bimtelf to the SSuth Koatcm (bo aa to make any inquirien uselcn
which may addreu ihcm^elves to ibo aervanta at the ]iotel)^4nd, that
done, to meet me at the church door, instead of calling for me here. The
T»it ctuiccnis nobody hut mywlf. When Sunday night or Monday
morning comeii, it will be hard indeed — freed as J am now from all
encumbrances — if 1 can't give the people who arc watching vat the alip
for the ffecoiid time.
" It »evius ni-udless enough to have written to Midwinter to-day, when
lifl is coming back to me to-morrow niglit. But it waa impo«Biblc to aafc,
what I hove been obliged to ask of him, without making my lalse lamily
circiimidancei once more the exeucc ; and hnvine; this to do — I muaC own
tlie truth— I M-rote to him becaiiiu-, allttr what I iuflcred on tba lltt
CGCOsioD, I can never ngnin deceive him to liis face.
I
I
ARMADALE. 205
" Avfftut 0th. — Two o'clock. — I rose early thU morning, more depressed
in spirita than usual. Tbe re-beginning of one's life, at the re-beginning
of every day, haa always been somctliing weary and bopeleaa to me for
years post. I dreamt too all through the night — not of Midwinter and
of my married life, aa I had hoped to dream — but of the wretched con-
spiracy to diacover mo, by which I have been driven from one place to
another, like a hunted animal. Notliing in the shape of a new revelation
enlightened me in my sleep. All I could gaees, dreaming, was what I
hod guessed waking, that Mother 0 Id e rah aw is the enemy who is
attacking me in the dark. Except old Bashwood (whom it would bo
ridiculous to think of in such a serious matter as this), who else but
Sfother Oldershaw can have au object to serve by interfering with my
proceedings at the present time?
" A[y restless night has, however, produced one satisfactory result. It
L«s led to my winning the good graces of the servant here, and securing
all the assistance she can give me when tlie time comes for making my
escape.
" The girl noticed this morning that I looked pale and anxious. I
took her into my confidence, to the extent of telling her tbnt I was
privately engaged to be married, and tliat I had enemies who were trying
to part me from my sweetheart. This instantly roused her sympathy — ■
and a present of a ten-shilling piece fur her kind services to mc did the
resL In the intervals of her house-work she has been with me nearly
ifae whole morning ; and I have found out, among other things, that her
sweetheart is a private soldier in the Guards, and that she expects to see
him to-morrow. I have got money enough left, little as it is, to turn the
htad of any Private in the British army — and, if the person appointL'd to
watch me to-morrow is a man, I think it just possible that he may find
his attention disagreeably diverted from Miss Gwilt in the course of
the evening.
" When Midwinter came here last from the railway, he came at half-
past eight, ilow am I to get through the weary, weary hours between
this and the evening? I think I shall darken my bedroom, and drink
the blessing of oblivion from my bottle of Drops.
" Eleven o'clock. — Wc have parted for the last time before the day
com(!S that makes us man and wile.
'■ lie has letl mo, as ho left me before, with an absorbing subject of
interest to think of in his .ibsencc. I noticed a change in him the moment
he entered the room. When he told iiic of the funeral, and of his parting
with Annadolc on board the yacht, though he s|)oke with feelings deeply
nioved, lie spoke with a mastery over himsulf which is new to me in my
experience of him. It was the same wlien uur talk turned next on our
own hopes and prospects. lie wn.s plainly disappointed when he found
that my family embarrassments wouid prevent our meeting to-morrow, and
]>lainly nncaiy at the prospect of leaving mc to find ray way by myself
I
I
00 Uondaj to tb« cLurcli. But tJiet« vna a c«ctkia bopefalnete and
eomposaro of niaDuer uuderl^ing it all, which prodiioed ao Etnng an
itnprvnion oq me tLat 1 mu obliged to notice it. ' Yoa kncm wfart odd
fiuuioi take poneaslon of mo soBMiiton,' I uid. 'Shall I t<Jl y<m Utc
Imcy that ha* taken poanesion of nui now ? I can't b«lp tliinldDg ihat
eomeduDg has happcacd mncc nc lost sair cadi other, iducb jroa bsv»
ti«t t&ld mo j'ct.'
•'•Swnctbing £a4 KxppeDeJ,* lie antvered. 'And It is aometbing'
which jou QUgbt to know.' _
*■ With tlioee words he took out bia pockct-book, sad produced tvo I
irrlttea papt;ni from it. One lie looked at and put back. 'I'hc oibcr be
placod on tbc tabic before in«. Keeping hi« band on it for n uoincnl, he
Bpokc agnin.
'' * Beforo I tell you nliat llii« is, and how it cmue into my posseasion,'
ho SAid, ' I must own aomtftbing that I havi> concualed from )'ou. It ia no
noie serious coofeasion than the confession of my own weak»e».*
'- Hv llicn acknowledged to tuc, tbnt tlic renewal of hic fiiendahip whfa
Armadala had boen eloudod, tbrougli tlic wholu {icriod of tbcir iutercoune
in London, "by bis own superstitious miagivinj^A. On every occasion vbcD
tlioy were alone together, the terrible words of his &dier*B death-bed leVs,
:iiid tlie terrible coofirniation of them in tbe wamlngs of tbe Dream, wert
present to bis uiad. Puy al^r day, tbeconvictlciu that (atttl coiUKquenow
to Armadale would coma of the renuwal of their friendaMp, and of ray abate
ill acootnpli^Liog it, bud grown stronger und ctroogcr in its iutlucncc orcr
him. He had obeyed the Eummoua wbicheailedbim to the rector's bcdjdde,
with tbe &rm intention of confiding bin previaiona of coming trouble to
Mr. Brock ; und ho bad been doubly eoniirmod in bis supetvtilioii, when he
found that DgaiH bad ^htrcd tbe liuuse before bim, and had parted them,
in this world, for ever. Ue bud u-aTcIlcd bock to be pnmeat at tbc faneral,
with a secret eesse of relief at tlio prospect of being parted from Annadale,
and with a aecrel rosoluiion to niatLC tliv aftLi-mceling agreed oo between
us three at Naples, a meeting ihat shoold nsicr tako place. With that _
puTjwse iu bis lioarl, he hod gone up alone to tbe room prejaved lor him, |
on bb arrival at ibi^ I'cetory, and bad opened a lettvr which be found
wailing for bim on the lable. Tho loiter had only that da^y been db-
coTered^-d rapped and lost^ttndcr tbc bt-d ou which Mr. Drock bad died.
It woa in tbc lector ti IianJwnting ihraugbout ; and the pcraon to whan
it was addrciucd, wua Midwinter hiniKlf.
"Hiiving toll! me tbiB, nearly ia tlie wonU in which I Iiavc written
it, he iiiled bie band Irom the written paper that lay on tbe tabic
between tut.
" ' Bead it,' ho suid ; ' and you will not need, to be lold that mj miad
is at peace again, nod tliat I took AUan'a bond at parting, with a heart
tliat was worthier of Allan'n love.'
" I riiad the letter. Tbeie was uo superattlioa to be oou^ucrod ia ng
mind ; tbore wure no old feelings of gratitude towards Amiadale| to ba
{
I
1
f
ARlfADAUL 207
roused io my beart — and yet, the effect which the letter had had oa
Midwinter, waa, I firmly believe, more thaa matched by the effect that the
letter now produced on Me.
" It was Tain to ask him to leave it, and to let me read it again (eb I
wished) when I waa left by myself. He is determined not to let it out of
his own ■ Tponeeaoa ; he is determined to keep it mde by side with that
other paper which I had seen him take out of his pocket-book, and which
contains the written nairatiTe of Armadale's Dream. All I coald do
was to ask his leave to copy it ; and this he granted readily. I wrote the
copy in his presence ; and i now place it here ia my diary, to mark a day
which ia one of the memorable days of my life.
" Boscombe Sectoij, Angnst Slid.
*• Mt deab MlDWDfTEB, — For the first time since lie b^inning of my
illness, I found strength enough yesterday to look over mj letters. One
among them is a letter &om Allan, which has been lying unopened on
my table for ten days past. He writes to me in great; cUstress, to say that
there has been disaeosion between you, and that you have lefb him. If
you still remember what passed between us, when yon first opened your
heart to me in the Isle of Man, you will be at no loss to understand how
I have thought over Hue miserable news, through the night that has
now passed, and yon will not be surprised to hear that I have roused
mysdf this morning to make the effort of writing to you. Although I
am lar from despairing of myself, I dare not, at my age, trust too con-
fidently to my prospects of reoovery. While the time is still my own,
I must employ it for Allan's sake and for yours.
" I want no e^tplanation of the circumstances which have parted you
from your friend. K my estimate of your character is not fouoded on
an entire delusion, the one iofluence which can have led to your estrange-
ment from Allan, is the iniluence of that evil spirit of Superstition, which
I have once already cast out of your heart — which X will once again
conquer, please God, if I have strength enough to make mj pen speak my
mind to you in this letter.
" It is no part of my denigii to combat the belief which I know you to
hold, that mortal creatures may be tlie objects of supematural inteircntion
in their pilgrimage through this world. Speaking as a reasonable man,
I own that I cannot prove you to be wrong. Speaking as a believer in
the Bible, I am bound to go farther, and to admit that you possess a
higher than any human warrant for the faith that ia in you. The one
object wliich I have it at heart to attain, is to induce you to free yourself
frtim the paralysing fatalism of the heathen and the savage, and to look at
the mysteries that perplex, and the portents that daunt you, from tlie
Christian's point of view. If I can succeed in this, I shall clear your
mind of the gluutly doubts that now oppress it, and I shall re-unite you
to your friend, never to be parted from him again.
" I liave no means of iceing and questioning you. I can only send
208
AUMAUAJ.B.
tliUIcICa:^ to Allun t« be forwartle^, ir lio knoire, or cia dtscortr, jour
prc!<c!it oddKS. I'laccd iii lliti pOMtion toward* you, I am bound to
nssatac ull thtii caa bv osaunied in yuur tlcvour. I will takv it for granted
that nmcchin; hiu happened to joa or to AUqii, wbicli to jouf mind
Iiiut not otiiy confirmed the fittalist caavlctioa in whlcli your (ktber dM,
but l»!t iiddvd a n«iv and tcrnblo meaning to the warning vliicb he stnt
you in liis deatb-tjed letter,
"On tliifl common ground I meet yon. On lliia conimoD groaod I
iipp«iil to your higher niitnrc and your b«tter sense.
"PreRerTS jour present conviction i\tM the cirenU whicli hare Uap-
pencd (be tliej what ihcy mny) arc nut to bo reconciled wibli ordinuj
mortal coiiicidonct.'* im<i ordinary inorUiI Inw«; and viewr year own
poBtlion liy tlie 1'e.st tind deaiii^t li^Iil that your auperstiuon can throw on
it. Wliut are yuu? You are a lictploaa infttnimenl iu the liand* of
Fate. Vol] nre doomed, beyond all liuinnn capiicity of resistance, to brii^
misery nnd destruction bliudlbld on a man to ^rhom you have liarmleaaljr
und gratofiilly united youiwlf in ihv tiomU of a brotlivr'* lovo. All that
b mornlly lirmcxL in your vf it I mid morally purest in your iwEnratioos,
aTnDa nothing i^iainst tlio hcn.-ditary impiil»oa of you towjirda evil, caused
by B crimo wliieh your fuiheroonsmittod before yoti were liom. In wbai
(lo<« thiit Iwlief etid ? It eoda in the dirlcneM in which ynu are now lost;
in tlic net r-coiitradi ■fit ions in which yon sr« now hflwildered — in the atub-
born drs|mir by whii^h a man proranes hia own kouI, and lowers Itirasetf
to the level of tlie trutcd tliat peri»li.
" Look ap, my poor fluHering tirothor — look tip, my haTd1y-trI«d, IB7
wc'll-lovcd friend, higlicT tlian !hia I Meet the doiibm that now wuatlyoa
liviii the l)!eflsed vantngc-gi^wiid of Oliriatian courage and Christian hope;
inid your heart will turn again to Allan, mid your mind will be at peAO&
Happen wliat may, God ia all-roerciful, Gud in ull-tvi>o ; natuiial or
snperaatural, it h.ippcna through liim. The mystery of Evil that per-
plexes our feeble minds, tlio sorrow and the sufltriag ihnt torture u« la
tiiis liltlc lifi', leave tbo odc great truth un&hakoa that the destiny of maft
is in iIm) liaTiilt of his Cruntor, and thut God'H Mi^wc^d Son died to maleo
us wiirthJpr of it. Nothing thiit is done in umiuesiioning submission to
the wjadom of the Almighty, is done wrong. No evil ox i its, out of wlii«li,
in obedience to His laws, Good may not come. Bo truo to wliiil Chritt
tellft you is true. Encourage in youranlf, be the circnnistauces what they
may, all ihiit i% loving, nil that is gratefii], nil thnt is patient, all that is
forgiving, towards your ftdlow-niim. And humbly and trustfuliy leave th«
r»t lo the God wlio mAdc yoti, tind to the Saviour who loved you betttr
tiiim bis own life.
" Tiiia is the faith in whicli 1 have lived, \iy the Divine help and
morcy, from my youth upward. I a«k you earnestly, I ask you con-
fidently, to mnk'i it your faith too. It is the mainspring of nil th« good
1 JjtLve evL-r dune, of all thv happincra I have ever known ; it )ight«iui u*y
dtti'kncs^ it sustains my hope; it comforts and quiets mo, lying hen. la
I
I
ABMADALE. 20'J
live or dio, I Icdow not which. Let it sustain, comfort, and cullgliteu 7011.
U will http you in your sorest need, as it has helped mu in mine. It will
show you another purpose ia the eventB which brought you and Alkn
toother thau the purpo!<e which your guilty father foresaw. Sti-ange
things, I do not deny it, have happened to you already. Stranger things
still may happen before long, which I may not live to see. Kenieniber,
if that time comes, that I died firmly disbelieving in your influence over
Allan being other than an inHuenco for good. The gruat sacrifice of tho
Atonement — I say it reverently — has its mortal reflections, even in ttiis
world. If danger ever threatenii Allan, you, whose father took his father's
life — You, and no other, may be the man whom the providence of God
Iia» appointed to save him.
" Come to me, if I live. Go back to the friend wholoves you, whether
I live or die. — Yonra alTuctionatcIy to the last,
" Decuius BltOCK."
" ' You, and no otlicr, may he the man whom the providence of God has
appointed to save him 1'
" Tliosc arc the worda which have shaken mo to the soul. Those are
tlic words which make me feel as if the dead man had left his grave, and
had put his hand on the place ia my heart where my terrible secret liea
hidden from every living creature but myself. One pait of the letter has
come true already. The danger that it foresees, tlireatens Armadale at
thin moment — and threatens him from Me !
" If the favouring circumstances which have driveu me thus far, drive
me on to the end ; and if that old man's lost earthly conviction is pro-
j.hctic of the truth, Armadale will escape mc, do what I may. And Mid-
wiiittT will bu the victim who is sacrificed to save his life.
" It is horrible 1 it is impossible ! it shall never be I At the thinking
of it only, my hand trembles, and my heart sinks. I bless the trembling
tliat unnerves me 1 I bla'is the sinking that turns me faint I I bless those
words in the letter which have revived the i-elenting thoughts that first
came to me two days since 1 Is it hard, now that events are taking me,
smoothly and safely, nearer and nearer to the End — is it hard to conquer
the temptation to go on ? No ! If there is only a chance of harm coming
to Midwinter, the dread of that chance is enough to decide mc^-enough
to strengthen me to conquer the temptation, for his soke. I have never
loved him yet, never, never, never as I lore him now I
" Svnddi/, Auffust lOth. — The eve of my wedding-day I I close and
lock this book, never to write in it, never to open it again.
*' I have wan the great victory ; I have trampled my own wickedness
under foot. I am innocent; I am happy again. My love! my angel I
when to-morrow gives me to you, I will not have a thought in my heart
which is not four thought, as well as mine 1 "
viji.. x:ij --\:i. 71. 11.
210
I.
Shahp claali tlio hoofs on marbles worn,
In Zion's ruiu-pavcn street :
Spare our tired horeoa' floundering feet ;
Light down, snd troad the ways forlorn,
Wliere all seems canker'd with disease:
If there be hounes tainted still
With scurf and scale of human il!,
They needs must crumble down lifee tlicsc.
And leprous men beside the way,
On whom the ancient curse is laid,
Crouclt featureless in cruel day,
And dumb and darkling sigu for aid.
Cast down your alms, and hasten on,
Foot-deep in Salem's festering dust,
Past close-bnrr'd liovpls, which encnist
ThoHe walls, once marble, rose and white,
Which Herod built, or Solomon.
Go down with yonder abject few,
In caflan green or dim white yeil,
Who hiury by to raise aneiy
Their feeble voice of endlesa wai|.
Before Moriah's stones of might.
Scant beards are torn, old eyelida stream
With many a aad, unhelpful tear ;
Alan's weeping and earth's ruin seem
To find their common centre here.
And scarcely more hath lime's decay
Channell'd the storm-worn course on high.
Than kissing lips have worn away
The giant under-masonry.
THE JEWS' WAIUNG-PLACK, JEBUSALEM: 311
II.
Tlie Wise King Btood on Zlon ri<Ige,
Wjtii purpkd pricBts and chiers in mall j
Where Ttraple-warda liia casteni bridge
Aerial, nxissivc, spanned the rale.
Ujy and night hia awful eyes
UiizL'd into all mysteries;
Night and day hia voice was heard
Toiietiing man, and beast, and bird,
And all growing tilings that be,
Towering great, or subtly amall ; .
From the red-arm'd cedar-tree
To the hyssop on the wall.
Did it vex Iiis heait to know.
How tliat mean sad herb would grow
From each vast and poUahcd aiiuiire
His high word had order' J there?
It aprings austere and pale and faint ;
No dancing showers, like fairies' fwt.
Bring fenthcr'd fern, and wallflower sweet,
And ivy-nets and mosses quaint.
That cheer decay in Nortliern lands ;
Here spiny weeds grow harxh and grey.
Even as they grew, that paschal day,
AVheu thfy were pluck'd by mocking handM,
To crown the Victim led awny ....
There mourn the sons whose sires bade skiy.
III.
Well, wo are modern niins too,
With back-turn'd looks to woefiJ when ;
Ytjt can be keen as hoimds at view,
For toil, or sport, or strife of men.
Griiif cannot crush wliilo strength ii [•:{l.
O city of all sorrows, we
Forget our transient piiiiis in thee !
Seeing much abides, though more be reft.
The fountains of our eyes are dry
With change and labour, all the years;
Yet this we care not to deny.
That, be they slied by girls or boys.
For love, or pniti, or broken toys.
Even idle tears are abTays tears.
S12 THE JEWS' WAIUHG-PLACE, JSBU8ALRU,
Vi'hy bliould our vrayward souls refuao
To sever scorn from s^mpalliy ?
One cannot weep witli wailing Jewa ;
They howl, aa tooililesa wolves mny cry j
I'liey cliuttcr like the autumn crone ;
£acb Etandfl, himself a prophecy,
And moana Iiis psalm, its hope unknown,
While tlic salt drops flow on in vain ;
Ah uie, poor slaves whom none will buy,
S;id thralls whom none will own I
Tears wo have none; with awe and aigha
MVq ftwl that these mad mourners' woo
Strikes hard on one deep sounding chord :
That tlio bright Temple lieth low
Where, in the ancient centuries,
Men saw the great Light of the Lord.
Where oyen of flesh in latter days
Btiheld the Saviour come and go, — •
A wide world's Light of softer rays.
• • • • •
What hope ? the helpless thought intrudes :
— Pass the near podteru : mount and ride
Where Hinnoin's vultures wheel and feaat.
Stand, and look north and south, and east
Down silent Kcdroii's populous side ;
Tliere rest — for furlongs, thick and wide.
In shallow soil, or rock-hewn cell—
The multitudes, the multitudes.
And there is peace for Israel.
It. St. J. T.
flia
djath^rine &^ ^oui[6am
Tbahcs to the moltitudo of French memoirs, and to onr Englkh lore of
"goadp, undistUled bic^raphy," we are \erj familiar with the lives, as
well as the ncandals, of many mediferol and modern Frenchwomen. We
know the stories about Agnea Sorel and the good she did, and the virtaoua
indignation of the monks of Jumifegea ; the paffiion of Henry the Fourth
for Gabrielle d'Estrees, and others ; the daily transacting of public busi-
neas by Lonia the Fourteenth with " la Tielle f<ie," as St. Simon calls her,
by his aide ; as well aa the more creditable lives of Madame de Longue-
Tille and Madame de Sable, and the political and social careers of Madame
Roland and Madame B^camier, Among such women Catherine de
Bourbon, the fondly-loved uster of Henry the Great, has no place ; her
Dame will not be found mixed with any scandal, though she lived at the
court of Heuiy of Navarre, " louvoyant entre lea amours de son frere, et
]es pretentions et lea galaiiteries dos jcunes seigneors de son parti,"
Madame d'Armaill^ has lately made her the aabject of a charming
"^de historique," although, in truth, her name scarcely figures in
history, for she was a remarkable example of how great and how good
may be the influence of a woman who is content to perform the duties of
tliat station in which God hsB placed her. She neither Bought activity nor
notoriety. Brought up a Calvinist, she encouraged if she did not inspire
in Henry the principles that bore fruit in the edict of Nantes ; and before
die died, she gained a victoiy over the Pope himself by obtaining hia
Kcognition of her marriage, while she was still a heretic,
Catherine de Bourbon was one of the two siuriving children of
Aotoine de Bourbon and the celebrated Jennno d'AIbret, Queen of
Kavarre. Two elder children had died, one because a chilly nurse kept
it too hot, and another because a careless one played at boll with it; and
«hen another sou arrived, Jeanne's father reaoivcd to rear him in his
own way, and accordingly, "«i tost qu'il fflt n^, et lui frottoit les l^vres
d'une gouBse d'ail, et lui fiiisoit succer une goutte de vin." Catherine
vas bom the year after Elizabeth became Queen of England ; and it
Van perhaps fortunate for these children aud for France, that they were
soon left in the care of a mother Ikr more capable of fulfilling the duties of
tdacation than their other parent. Though Antoinc do Bourbon was said
to be " d'une belle et rare vcrtu," in matters of religion he had earned for
liimself the title of " I'eschangeur," and changes of religion iu those times
Were changes of politics and principles. Four years after his death his widow
ftirmally and finally left the Koman Catholic Church, and she soon showed
herself an uncompromising Calvinist, " d'une bienvcillance perturbatrico "
I
2U CATHSKUiB DB BOUBBON.
for the nlratiou of tli« people o( Hjnrii, whom she fotbade to cek-braU! ibc
mass, wliiiu she p rocii-iUtl to cuiifiscatv eccL^Iantical prapcny, aod to destrajr
>fucn»l itDiigi.-a and altAm.
It wu only to be 4!xpcQtc-(l that bI>c would iivau bring on henelf ibe
•'Utility of licr Catiiolie rdntires and ndghboara ; and the first dangiv
llmt tiu-viituiiud Uulti C^tUeriuu came Uooi a plot, crgonixvd between tJic
Uiiko of Giiise aud Philip tliu S<-coml of ^iwiii, for Buiziiig Ji^»ii»!,
putting htri- into tltu hcmdt of tliF; liniuisitigtt, im^l«orilng Hlt cliildttui,
find diviJiitg NnvniTD betwixt FMiiee and Spain. A itmoge aeddent
dofriited t)i4;lr plans. A measenger benmg detpatcbes fVoni GiuM tV
Fhllip fell 111 on tlie ro»d, and tbu Qocd Sdiuariton irbo cam« to bis nUat
vaa a sorviiiit of tba (JiR'L'ti uf Spitiii, who whs dispensing tlm ctinr)tl«a of
fairnnixtnaa. Ho Tcmnrcd Iiim to hh own lodging, wlittc the sick moni
putllj in BQlf-glorification, and partly to rcpny kiudaooa «ith eooSik-nCe, _
innntlDni^ hia omploypM, nnd xhoWL-d tho li!iinii lie was carrying, lie I
wiw broW|i;Iit to the iircaence of tlic Quocn of Sjutin, to whom bo told Ma
titk, and she, to snre hor coiuin from no iQrr'Mv n fiitc, w»nK'<I ihe French
ttnihasiador, niid wrute to the King itnd Quecn^Muthirr of t'nince. The
nmbaa^ador, knowing how little likely Cnthcritiu iJo Modicio would be to
disturb lier own rolnliong with Spiiiii for Uie salto of tho liberty of a l»ro-
tLMtanl Queen of Namito, contrived to send word secrttly to Jeanne of
her dliugcr; nnd the plot, onoo discovcct-d, ft-ll tci the ground,
Jeanne was now occupied with the cduoattoti of her dangbtvr, iiid ■
Uuvtton ii woA lit tli6 broadest sonsc of the word. Wh«n she tiiAile out
IkWAOhemc for this purpone, she Wpnii, n* n few jenrs later eho b^^an ao'l
dndod her nill, hy ttrging on all to whom sho could nppeiil, tho ohocdiiig
miitallo ftluids mid altendajitt Jbr In;]; child — '- dix fcmmcs doni la vie _
entifrre set an excmplc " — while she plated thd eonlrol of het int«lloehuI I
cultar« in the lianda of tlie celthralcd scliojar, Theodore Bi-m. Cntherinu
wtL4 tu Icaru Gteek, L&lin, nnd ll4:l'rcw, as priuccsse* in our diiy learn
Latin and French and Uerman. She hjtd teachere for history and pMiry,
which probably involfed the learning Vrrnch, na her tnotlier-Ioiigtte wai
the B^amiiis, which hw hrother Henry talk«d cren wlica fitti Iiiken OB a
boy to BvQ the King of France. Then sIia was to bu duly tanght
CiilviiiisiR, tlioiigli iJie was allowed to dant^c liie " toIuis nnd cormiiiealc*"
of Italy, and " Icj) [wvntiea d'Eepagne j " and Iter mother wotmd tip with
the hojw ihtit she would be "soumifie aux fpmnnn vi'^rliiuusM qui ronl
diHger xe* pna AU milieu dc tant d't^cuuib.'' HhoaU and ((iiicksuida were
nrit likely to be wantihg. ami among ollior earta for CAtheriiu;*a hnp|)incs*,
htr lUntiier Apent time nnd flioiighc iit building and decorating Cattle ^
Itesiat, near Pan, as a retrimt for her from the gaietica or pettiuesa of her fl
court.
Tho year 157:!, Catlicrinc'a tliirlecnlb year, was a sudty Crvntnil one
t<» lutr. In Fyltrnary slio left I'aii with bei- mother for Purin, and fur tlio
fimt time found Iierswlf surmuntled by tho uplerwluur of niyulty. QuJiitit
uitist bavo bten her owu npi-carauco. 8li« wn.*, if not beamifiil, tc7
I
^
CATilEUINE D£ BOUttBOK. 21S
kttMedte, tliotlgli deliCBte-looking nnd slightly lame, nnd ehe Wore a dress
'' eodp^e k la mode Huguenot," which in the Midst of the magnificence of
the attendants of Catherine de Medicis must have louked aa ritiangc aa
that of a ladj who should appear at court now-a-days with neither
cHitoIlnfl nor fiilse hair. These brilliant scenes had nut lost their noreltj
when ahe was left by her mother's death to contemplate them elone. This
«telit oceoifed in Jane. On the eighteentli of August was celebrated the
unit'illit^ ttitirriflge of her brother, now King of Navarre, with Margdret
of TuloiB} on the tWedty-third of that same month began the massacre
tof St. Bartholomew, when the heartless Catherine de Medicis let the
jonbg qtieeti take leave of her, and go to possible death, saying to bne
who runonstfvted, " 8'il plait ii Dieu, elle n'aura point de mal." During
that iiigltt a company of archers fetched Henry of Navarre from his bed,
and brought hiin and the Prince de Cond6 to the presence of the King df
FnUice. " II Icur montra Qti moncean dc corps morts, et avec d'faorribles
menaces, sans youloir ^coater leur raisons, il leur dit, ' Li mort oti la
messe/ lis choisirent plfttost le dernier quo le premier: ila abjurfereot le
CalTlniJnte." >¥^liethet Henry then abjured for his sister, too, is not
deitrly told, but she was almost immediately after formally absolved from
her heresy by the Cardinal de Bourbon, her uncle. Child as she was,
die was prubctbly stupefied by the hideous scenes around her. Macrin,
her tutor, was murdered, as well aa teligny, who had come with her and
her mother from Pan, and her friends, the wives of Teligny nnd Coligny,
had only escaped with difficulty into exile. For the three fuiidwing yesrt
Oitherine lived in what was to all intents and purposes impiisanment ! lo
elcwe was the surveillance over hef, And indeed over Henry too, for they
were not allowed to meet except in the presence of others, But, in 1576,
when Charles the Nintli died, she must have begun to discover lier own
importance, for his succeseur, directly afti-r ascending the throne, ofiered
to marry her. The queen-rootlier, however, did her best to frustrole hia
intentions, for she represented her aa ill-made and dwarfish, while she
took care Henry the Third eliould not sec her, and kept her by every
means in her j»ower in the background. This retirement was evidently
accepted by Catherine witli satisfaction : it relieved her from the aight of
dissipation and intrigue, which were us ofTenaivc to her principles oa
fbieign to her nature; but her brother plurgud into the midst of the
pleasurea of the court, as well from oiijoynient of them as from feeling
like others have done before and since, tliat the beet security Iny in
floating along the surface- Btriam, leaving the world in ignorance of hu
talents and his principles, if not in doubt whether he had any.
In Febrnary, 1576, Henry threw off the mask and escaped, and was
non in a pontion to demand the rc]ea<jc of his sister; and Catherine,
Wended by Bully, and Madame dc Signonville, the friend her mother had
npecially bequeathed to her, joined him at Ncrac, in Guicnne. She was
tistcen and he was twenty-two, and their friends and followers were not
ouch older, but iheii court tlioiigh gay was correct. Sully danced, and
SI«
OATHEBENE OE BOUBBOK.
I
Catherine taiighb Iiim new steps jn privutA to be jMrlbnued a ireek
before the king ; Turcnnc (father of Ihu Marshal) pud her inicll«cttu]
homage, ani sa^s, " Madanio et moy parlinns ocmvcnt cnsmililv ; cll« m«
diBftit fttmilkrcmcat Bcs concupliotiK, ct moj \vs ii)icctiie»." Un wai M
brilliant aa Momay wiu s^-rloiiii and Holid, l>iil Morjiay was a |)Striardt
mnongsb Uiem at ueveii-and'lwciity. Ho had I iceit doomed by Lis family
to oa <ocIe^aati<al life, but iiad embraced llie di>clria«a and prineiplM of
the CalvinifU ; and wliile he set ihem all an cxamjilo \>y Ina traly
religiooa life, lio diligently fanned the Protturtant tondcnciw of the {»-iiMe«!i..
But thin RtAlo of thin)^ wan inlorniptt'd >>; n Oaring slop of Cntiierine da
UediciH, who, ftellng rho iniporUuiw of MLiching Henry W her party,
first projwsud A iuarriag« between Cuth«iiac imd llie preaumptirc h«ir to
the l^'nnch throne, and when that was refused, declared ber intuntiou of
paying n vinit to Nfrao licraell^ carrying vrith her attemlantu ua little
likely to aasiat in her ostensible object of reconciling Henry to his queen
as was the volatile Margaret herself.
The result of theairivnl urihi; ijucen was a great change in thaeatcrior
oT the life of the coart. Margaret and Ciitberine Mcm to have agreed to
diSer on Sundays and holidays, Margaret hearing mnss at a picturcaqite
cliapul in th« doptK* of a wood. And Cadwrine " sitting und«r " a Calriiust
divioo in the town ; and llic r«st of ihetr lime tl)cy joined in all the
fantastic gaiety then iu voguo — ballis iiToinvniiUdS uti horseback, or ia
Utters of cloth of gold. Margaret seemed 1o tind it quite pleasajat to be
good, for she wrote long after : " Noua aviona conveiaaUoiis et pUiiii
faonncstcM, ct ina cour dc Ni;rac en 157'J d-lait ai belle ot «i plaiamte qw.
Oona n'eDviioutt pas cello de Fmnee, y ayant Madame In IMooevse d«
IfavarreL, ma amur." The little court, however, wnasoon diipcrstxl, IIcoi;
to *' U guerre des amoureux," Miirgarct back to tlic Louvre, and Catberint
to Pau, where she totik on lieneir, al twenty, the dulics of governor and
lioulDnont-gcncral of Boitm. She lind pns.teil through an ordeal alnce sbq
had left it lost, and gained many an ftxpcricnc« ; perhnp^, aa vraa said
of her brother— ■
Sonrent I'lnforliint aiuc loU cet afccMaire. H
—and the early Im» of Lor mother mid her oonsequcait sojourn at tie
court of Catherine ilo A[adici» had beer asr-fiil in utrcngthening lier
character, giving her courage, and fixing iu Iier mind ilio religious pria-
dpies she hud inherited. Slie had conformed for a time tv tfav Catkolis
Church, and lat+ir, had openly left it, nnd now looked forward to realizing
her mother's with to prDtcslantiso Hearn. It was iit this momont Pliitip
the Second made pi-oposals to Henry for her hand, clFering, if accepted,
to ol>tnin from tlic Pcpc n divorce for him from Margaret of V;4l(>i»— a
■omcwhctt strange article in a mnrringe contract; hia CatWrint- refused
him, avowedly on religitms grounds. Two yeare Liter another suitor
appeared in tho person of the Duke of Snvoy ; the Duke of Lorraina
oflered her liia hand; iho Uukc of Wirlomburg was propowd ; and
Elirabetli of Eiigljind expressed a liopo ahc would look (krounbl/ eo
irafl
I
J&m«a Siiurt of Scotland. But for one rcMon or snotlier, Henrjr or
Ouheritic rejected all these propoiials.
In 1S84, MATg&ret of Valcis joined the League, nnil went opcoly to
w vitb Henry, wliu ihe knew ooold witli ditScoIty anptwrt n contest
Mgutat Iter and Utt: Guisei. CRtherine, with the help of her friend and
fmner tntor, Theodore Bcza, ]>awncd her JQw«k to supply Inm witli the
tataoM of canying on tluj war, w!ii(;h liutrd nliovo two years; her Indies
fuUowed her example. And when alio appealed lu tiitt inmiicip&Iity of Pau
fcr fiftMHi thoonnd nowofl, and they rofosed it, the rownipcoplft mib-
•crlbed (or her eixtcea thoumnd. The stniggle waa ended by Henry's
Tietory at Courlmi in 1587, a.ud ho hiuCcncd in triunipli to Beam, car-
rying with him the Lncnty-tno flugx lie hnd tnken in the boCtlff, and
•oeompanicd by hia couhIh tlic Count dc Suiibodr, who was to exerciw;
for uany years after m lujlmppy nn influenoc over CnthcriooB lifo.
The character of the Count de Soi»ons is one not wortli attempting
to analyze : he can hardly be eaid to have had either chomcter or prin-
ciples, or evM to have been actaaL««I hy anything more than Ihv impulses
of the boor, and to have followed whichever impulse was iDost nttructive
ftf ttie moDMOt, — " all thtn^ by Lum^ and nothing long.^ He wna a
juhiog warrior, lighting, it niatlored little to him if it were for Henry of
Praooe or Henry of Navarre; a Protestant (chough [JTohably, lu an
imeA Italian priut said of hia Indian converts, "con iiiullc Cose del
diavolo "), he received Catherine de Medicia aa his gueat. Tlio orgies of
Kograt and Rlnndy cxcit«d curiosity ta much as tliey outraged decency;
liii gallanlrit!* at ooort, and hia exploits at war, were on every one's lips.
Aad thts was the auilor Honiy approved for his sister. They had been
pl^feilowa in childhood and ct^mjionions in youth, and now, with hi^r
bother's wish and consent, Catherine pron\ise4i Iihn her hard. 'Whether
lU Count de SoiMonx w.is as sincere in his prot^jitnllons of atluclimcnt
hCatliennc waa In the love ehe gave him, may fairly ho doubtctl. It U
olmr that Henry soon regretted whut he hud done, and quite clear that
De SoJsnona gave him ample cnusi' to do no. Even before Ijc went bnck
t«kia allcgiaocd to th« King of France, Henry announced lliis dvfcclion
lo his aistar in a lelter he aent by a mes-teiiger who carried a comma-
aiaiion from Jomca of Scotland ; but Ctttherinc received the moannger
«aOy, talked aboal tlie rigotir* of Pio Scotdi climate, and hoped and
bifUd in ber lover, with whom she corresponded nccretly by means of
SM cf her ladies.
When, in 1589, Henry became, "tt par droit de con^tu it par droit
rit HHsaiicc," King of France, be conetitiilvd Catherine regent of N'avarre
■ «tU u«f BJam; and she devoted herself to the internal adminiitrntion
tfdw kingdom, correapooding daily with her niiDisters on points of detail,
IbJ often retired tn that " CHtcau Cbcii " her mother so long before pro-
*iM lor her. Her life was pracofnl, — employed on the dulios immediately
avronnding ber ; bni she kept a watchful eyoonwlint was paraing beyond;
•4 while Hvmj'a " white pliune ehone " on the CcM of ITT7, alio took aa
11-5
opportnnily of rnaliing iin ntlAck on Spiun to ii»ist Ant'niio P«r«, whie
wua a U8cr»l divc-riion in liar brolltft'ft fiiTonr. S«it!dr.'nljr her own tmn*
quillily WW liitcmipted m a way nlw little etpcctod. 8hc li«d kept up a
coiTr*f>(>bi}«ice willi tlic Count ilc SoiM(.nii wUh the assiiiUnee cf MUtlHiue
lie Grtnimofit jind Miuiiiiue Je i'aiigais, wlto vri-re nwxre how litlle il ccmli
he ngrwaUo to Ikt bmllier, and die IrlurttJ tiieui FuUjr : for wrlmlflvor
knowkd^ of lifc sh* Ijftd gained during Iwr rcaidence at the Louvre, she
hftd ltd learnt to suspect. Both these Itidlca placed bcr fitbc, to gnitiQr
pauiona nnd carry on intrigues of their offn.
The «>«Dt appeared itt Pnu, liaving Itfll Ihfl attdj on ft fdtoc CJtettte,
um) imploring lier to Mipvo in tliis proof of lii« Hcrttton anil couSfTit t«
an intmodistc lUArrUg^. succfiedod no fiir AS to oVttnin fi'om h^v a wrtlt«it
pnnnice, witnoBcJ by Miidnnio da Qrninmont. Thuogli lie did not know
of tlifi pmnilac till lonp aftw, Henry irta fiui'i'tt with the oouut Ejr goins
to I^U, and wilh.hia sitiKT (br tcceiviilg Iiim. De Sois^nw, loo, was no
kniger a popular hero, and the littlu public of B^n WM i>xclt«l ■«:tiKM
him, luwl the princew learnt at last liow many were lh« (wa she had
in her own hou.>»«iit.IJ. Thciunndn of slorlw were cirenluted about
tii« imejvit^w, some, clianictcrisdn of the ngc, KiyUi^ IImI tbii cotTliI
liad tiK'U Ulc inruinftl arts of th« Medina to bewitcli t]i« prinerss;
hat Cuiherinc iiad lite conrago and foitwaranoe not to dencnil
lo the " noblit art of »cIf-ju*tificatioD," exotpt in m fur oS to mtJI* a
toiKlting and dignified letter or rpinonRtrance to hor brother when he Wl
BOiit M. du PangvfiM to mtcki tlic count, nnd M. de Rivignaa to iidbrni her
(he \tia a priaonvr in her own castle. It ia laid tluit Ilcniy bIioI tear* as
he read tbo leUeis : tcnn, ire tnay hope, partly or self-repraacli that he
had allontd intri^nea to nirround and coinproitiise his aisler, hj iilvias
ear lo tlic cnid uic-beartng of Madame do P;i«g««. H» bad alrea>Iy
reproved M.i^bine Jc Grainmoiit, writing to her, " Je n'ousse pas feiu6
ccta du roiis, h qui jc He diray que ce in«4 ; que loatcs pcrsonms ipri
tonilront broaillor tna aoeur avoo raoy, jn «« leiir pnhlonneny jnnisiiu"
But if Oaihcriue wilh able to deprecate hia irmilt t/imirilii hcrvctf^ Itie
Count de Soitaona wiui not, and was, apparently, al no pnictj to do ao^ Am
eoon as he wna at liberly, he andaciotialf presented himseir K-fore Hony,
and took ibc first opportuiiity of kicMbg the Baron dc Paugeta down-
Etlaird in the king'd house. Wc cannot Wond<4- at Henry's seeking aitothef
ntiitch lijr litH sister, but it Ja diftioilt to excuM tlia course he took ud
libligL-d tiully to tnlsL", cxcciit by snpp^wmg lie w<« incapable of compre-
hending h«t constBUoy, or that he really was swayed aJtemarelj b^ hifl lore
for her and the necea^iy he fdt for breaking off llie marriago : when bn
was with lier, h« cc«:t«d and threatened ; when abo wiu absent, he sent
Sully to deci-irc her into nHbmiasiun. The count msanwhile (wntied
rcflolTod to show binuM'lf thoroughly unworthy of her, and iu 1895, He
(Mibuatoly draerled Uenr^, and carried away hia troop of men on the
«te of Ihe I»iit1« of Fonlaino-lVaiifawo- In relating thw eventa of the
tMttl« to CutJiwinc, Henry merely aliiided t« this irt-nchcry hj ajins,
J
CATllERUtE £)E fiOL'RDU^. 819
"Ccax qoi ne b'j sout pas trouTi^s y doiTent nroir bicn dii regret."
TbU long, itrangG loTe-slory had been drawn out over eight yeam, and it
was cleat it would only be concluded by Catliurinc's marriage with auotliw
of Ikcr many Buiton, and bo it was ended sooii after this j but we bars
brought tlie history of hur life to this dato in order that by showing what
wan hiti conduct to her brotlier as King of Franco, and to her people, aa
Bhe conaideTcd the whole Catvinist body, during those game years, it may
be seen how seir-sicrificing she was, and how unflinching iu the peb-
fonnonce of her duty to both.
Tbete can be no question that ihe was sure of Henry's sympathy in
ill her ende&rours to obtain concesaions for the CalrinistB, for whaterer
creed Henry professed, he was always in principles Frotestnnt, and Iti prac-
tice tolersnt. Probably he would not have buen n Cutliolic had there been
for bim any altcmatire but to be a Culvinist ; but in the latter half of the
sixteenth century there were no aitematires, na there seemed to be Iti the
c&rly part of it, when men hoped to secure reform witliin the church by
protesting. By the time Gnthcriiie had begim to " reason on tl)e rules of her
duty," slie could only " begin her care to observe them " l)y adhering to the
GeDuTB church, which was the rival church in France ; and great credit is
Sue to Catherine that, when she did so, she avoided making herself the
he«d of 8 rival party in the country. When Catholic France was trinmph-
ing in Henry's rectmtation, she openly received the saernment and
gathered round her a crowd of lending Protestants to what we should now
eail " pmyer-meetings " in the Lotivre. The Cardinal de Gondi (he who
said that he would not /aire le de'vot because he did not feel sure he
could keep tt up,) remontttrated with Henry on his permitting such prac-
tices; Catherine was called fiom the pulpit, the French Jezebel; the
people were set to complain that bIic g;ive food to the starving on fast
dsjs ; and she conld not cross the galleries of the Louvre without seeing
Innilting pasquinades affixed to the walla. Shu bore all this in silence, for
Ae was quietly labouring to bring about a reconciliation between the
dmrches, and for two years she toiled to procure for the Calvinists a
recognition of their rights as French subjects, and Ilenty began to feel
that some such concessions only could save him from a new rcligiona War.
In 1598, he promulgated, at Nantes, the celebrated edict which secured to
France the enlightened and industrious population that a century later
in revocation scattered over England, Holland, and Westphalia.
And now Catlierine would have returned to end her life in peace at
Beam, to which she clung as her home. " Faitca nios recommandations Ik
SKA cabinet et h mon allec," she bad written not long before to tlie
viceroy at Pan, but Henry ordered otherwise ; she was to bo married,
■ad to the Catholic l>ukc do Bar, aon of the Duko of Loixaine. " La
urar da roi de France 6tnit soumiKc, mais la fille Calviniste de Jeanne
d'AJbret dcmeurn independante," and so independent, that when aha was
ittdneed to ngn the marriage-contract, Henry had to declare, as he put the
pen in btr band, that ho used no constraint, " ni audit niariage ni fi Otr«
I
CaUiolifjue." SIic raid, Jiowovur. tliat «1ip wouW receive instracUom ift
llic orthodcx Tfiicli, and nccordingl/, being iHi »lie ^JT in bod nod lUtcnod
to two divinpa in turn till nine wa* tired. CalholJc find Cnlrinwt clra^
pppowil tin? rtmrriage mtliout elTeol.
Al five o'clock on a January moroing, in 1599, nwiiy, hiving umt for
hill natnrnl brother the Archbisliop of Itoiuw, and «uninioneiJ tlie Duke de
Bar and bis father, fished Catherine frorn licr itpaitmsnta to the ball
wb«Te tlieee gticsts wore fts«cnil>k>d, nnd adtlre&aing the nrchbishop said,
" Mon frtrc, j« di'^ir« i]tie vniis fwHiex Imit actiiellemcnt Icdit mariogc dt
mn nccTir et M. Ic Due do Bitr." The prelate murmarcd eomctbing abcut
the canon*. " Ma pr^sraco net phis rjiio toiitoH los Aolcntnir^ ordimiintt, frt
Rion cahinct, rcmpli do tant dcpcraonncsdc quality, est un lit^imcr^et asws
public pour cela," WflB Henry'o rejoinder. " Apris qnoy le juittrre iitd»«-
vcsquo n'eut pfiB !a force de rnsister," and th« cereniony w«s performed.
The first ycnr of tliiH marriage, we am see from ('athcrino's If ttera, waii
very b»ppy; but her hnaband. Catholic aa ho was, -was soon made to foel
keenly his false position, for it was in no sonse even n le^al miirri.i^. In
the Unt year of tlig ecvgiitccotb century there vtm a soIcidd jubilee at
Romo, and he presented himeelf there to obtjiin pontifical ahsohiticn, nnd
if |ios»ible iliedispcnaationneedfiiltoallonamarna^e within the prc^ibitcd
dcgreM. Clo.rnont tho Kighlh vraii Icniont, said nC tint he would go hinwclf
and try Jind convert Csitherine, l)iit deputed (oma very learned and T«ry
eliXjucnt llKologians to uadcrtako th« ta«k, advisiiig tlic duko at the same
limn lu rcmo7C fk'om bis wifu any very Pi-otestant attendants; hut Ann4
de Kolian was prcHcnt throwghout tJiwc incQcctua! conferences, and sJie was
iLo BUunchcJit of Cnlvinista. Henry became in-itiitc«l at Catherine's reustiug
thonc arguments. "Sine," iwid shi-, "ilaveulent (]uc jw croye quo notra
□lire est damn^." Ili-nry himod aeidt! to tlic duke and said with tcan
in hia eyca, " C'en est nwea, mon frJro ; je renonce h. la domptcr, c'«»t 4 tom
d'y eieaycr." But of her hnnbitnd'a cfTorta Catherine had alrwidy said, "11
moditen peine ai'ec tant d'fimourcu»c« paroU-s, (jun touto liciiru j'lu Im
ycux pli-inu tie brmes, mais pourlant bien re»olue do rivre t't mourir cfi
la craiatu d« Ditu." She becnma very ill in 1603: never robust, nwty
long' drawn-out anxieties had worn away her conetiluti&n, and afae Buffend
irom protracted headacht;)), sometimes lasting fourteen mnntht at a time. Is
December of that year, nine Cordluals and four councillon, appmnied bv
thu I' ope ta consider the (question oflhe niurriiif;!), agreed tA a form crdbuen-
Baliou which his Holiness, worked on by Umry and the Duke of Lonaiae, m
appealed to cntrcatingly hy Catherine Unvli, at Inst acccnlcJ to her. I
" Croyez, mon roy," she aaid lo Henry, " tjuo jo suia la plus hcuroiwe tt Is
plus contente femoie qui vive ;*' but it wm too late for ease of mind to re-
store her to health, and aho was rapidly fading away, sometimes catdiinr
at the dcIusivB hopu held out by a new doctor, eometimp* lancTing-sHe
gained rtrongth by drinking ivator froni her nntiro mounlains in B*am,
listening to the prayer* of her C;dviniat attendantu, and letting her busbasd
oSfX prayers for her to the Virgin — and so ahe died in February, 1604.
I
aai
SCh{ ^tri(mmUi ojf thit Jfeictsh ll£li;g!«tt.
UoNTESQuiED has written, in hiB Esprit da Lois, that "a religion burdened
with many ceremonies attaches man to it more strongly than a religion
which haa but few, from a natural propensity to things in which we are
continually employed," and to the many ceremonies attached to the obner-
fance of the Jewish religion may be ascribed in s great meaanre that
■tead&at adherence to the faith which bo pre-eminently characterizes the
Hebrew nation.
But what is the origin of the Jewish religion, and what were the
diidiigaishing features which separated it iirom the religions of the whole
world ? Abraham is recognized as the father and progenitor of the
nation ; but those peculiar rites and ceremonies which are the substantial
portion of the faith were instituted by Moses, who may be r^^arded as the
finnder of the principlea of the Jewish religion as now recognized.
Moses was brought up and educated as an Egyptian priest : hence the
iafluence he possessed at the court of Pharaoh; he did not eren follow the
then principles of the Israelitiah faith — as we find years after his marriage
with Zipporah he hod not initiated his first-born into the Abmhomio
covenant. The religion of the Egyptians consisted of symbolical worship.
In the earliest periods they had no idea of the nature of the supreme Power,
hit used to pay adoration to the sun and stars. The sun lights the earth
sod gives warmth and nourishment to all things. Again,the Egyptians, bf ing
•n agricultural nation, observed that the annual renewal of the productions
of the earth and the natural features of the country were indicated by the
ri&ing and setting of certain stars : for instance, the annual overflow of the
Kile was indicated by the appearance of a very beautifiil star towards the
source of the river, which seemed to warn them against being token by
SQTprisc, as a dog by barking gives notice of approaching danger : hence
they called this star the " Siriua," or " Dog Star." In the same manner
tie stars which appeared when the river began to overflow were called the
"Stan of Aquarius ; " stars of the " Taurus or Bull," those under which
it was necessary to plough the earth with oxen ; stars of the " Cancer or
Crab," those which appeared when the sun, having reached the bounds of
(he tropic, returned backwards and sideways like a crab ; stars of the
"Leo or Lion," those which .appeared when the lions, drawn by thint
from the desert, appeared on the banks of the Nile ; stars of the " Libra
or Balance," when the days and nights, being of equal length, maintain
an equilibrium ; stars of the " Scorpio or Scorpion," those which appeared
when certain winds brought a burning vapour like the poison of the
Morpion; and ao on through the various signs of the Zodiac, and the various
TIIE CERSUOSIIiS OP
JKfflSH REXIOlOX.
ni^bturicua fi^una nliich idualify Hie ttur^ cm tlic celestial gltrbc
tltaa were th^ir grc^t wni-iicra, lhJ ilioir " «igti» for Miifiout, for duyii,
f«ua; " and as, accor<Iing to the Kgyiiilaii beliui*, tliej were coiii<xaiitl/
Wntchiog cTcr (licir ilottiuy nnJ wiimlng liicm of coming «v«utd, eu in
proeoss of lime t1i(-^ wcro ri^gm-dcd aa deities and vorelitpped. lu Uta
ouurM oftTenu, liuwcvvr, llii: pcoplr, wlio knew nt ivlmt tiuic of die ;cara
ll:u iiatuia! fimltire* vf llio conntry woald occur from ispcricnce of prior"
j't-am, omiittd to rcgulule thcso pertoda hy obscrvulion of t)ic i^ius, nnd to
foi^ot the motive vihicli lod to lite adoi^lion of t^utc nigus. The ntnd$
lfallaw«d tlint th^ Ajnibol*, itixtead of tlic tigm \liey were intended ta
demote, were iTon]ii|)pcd, and invested with tho ottribtilea uT the BUrftj,
They pray«il to llio buli for n pknttfiil Ikurvctt— to the scotpion not La
jKiur oat hii risnnm npon nntiiu*. Th^y revered Uie cnil>, the mm, iba
t'liir, mill iliL' »i'i|)i-[it U9 ipila-, whidi oiigliMlly only scrrtMl lu tJiu qrnil
of the Tnribua oidirmUont of ci'cntion.
'ilie religion which Slows Arst tsught,nml tlien difiarcut to all religiont
in existence, waa the abolition of all symbolical woi-iliip, and tltc adcHtion
of a Deity whioh oonstitulud all ihJitgA Thvro vntu only okk Mieb fenmtf
whoK nmne waa Jehovah, and shouM 1)« worship^wd without vniblema.
To cootinimlly imjircw the l*melil«5 witli Uio wondrra G<id hai
vorlicd tor tlivTti, MovicK ordoinetl that all l])^ niimclvt which ucekimd
diirinj; Uieir vrandcring^ Iii. the desert aliould ha i>t:ir\ivluiil]y ctlirbraU'd
throughout their gcner^ilions. I' earful thiittiiey might fotg«t the c<mmiu)d-
nirata whidi had been given them, he adopted signs to continually imprc**
thcac conunAlidiBCnlA upon Uicir rvcoUcotion, aad framed certain doctrioei
for thnr aocsal and dnmettic ro^nlatton, tliat tliey might bo kept distinct
ftota iliQ oonlaniiiintion of aun'oiiTidi tig niitionti, mid by thcae means esta-
blish tiienaelros its n di»tinat peopk on the faoo of the cnrtlj, TIkm
lestivnlf, rigns, »nd doctrineH. thvn, are the snlMtance of the Juvritii religion,
and are particniarly dceciibrd in the JcYrieh Liwa.
Ilie Iitwa of ibo Jews are the wiitttn and the oral laws, wrrcqwodi^
vtiih tho ter arripla and the Mc oon fa-ipta of tlie Koglish lavr. Th« M
written law conaiste of the comraimdntcnts written in tlie Bibhj given by ^
Mowa tn llie children of Iwnul, and (li« urul law of eitpla&ationt Ihftrcpf
and rules of guidance ordainvd by Mosv» ami taught by him to the
Snnhediim^ orjrrcat ecuatv of the iiHtion. 'i'lic oral luw is containol in
eeilnin books callei the ifMnn, thi' CtVi'i'im, and tJio Talmud. Tht
Mtslma wan ori;;inally ciclirered by iraditioti in Khort &cnt49>oes and
aphorinnii ; this was ftfterwarda written vrith certain comments aad expo-
sitiimt, which together fbntivd th« GHiiiini, which means "tbu oompl*-
inctit,'' bucauM the Iaw h tbvte iully i-.\i<lained. The Klisliita ia the texti
iht! Geinara tlie comment. The Toimud conipTiKot both tlitae works,
with the opiniona of tlie rarious rabbia and ductors propounded and
decided.
The mnrt protl>itnd Tcn^nitioa ii; piiid (o the written laws of Hoam-
Thc Iai:iclili:e were thiia commanded, in Dctitoroooaif : " And thoa aliall
I
TUB- dUlEMONlES OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOH, B23
bind them for a sign upon thine liand, and they s)inll be as frontlets
between Ihine eye§; and tliou ahalt write them upon the poata of thy
home, tad oil tlij gates." This conimandiuent is followed literally : four
fectirtns from the Pentateuch arc wiittt;n on parchment and enclosed in s
Htnall leather citae, called the phylacteries, which are bound round tlio
left arm by a lentbern thong, and a leather case is bound round tlie
head, Eimilarly,' for frontlets. The phylactery U placed on the left arm,
neitf tbc heart, as a ttikea that the heart and soul should be devoted to the
strrice of the Supreme ; and the phylactery for the forehead ia placed just
where the hair begins to grci\r on tlmt part of the head which is opposite
the br^n, to show that the imagination and the whole of the senses which
arc there seated, should be deroted to the service of the Most High. Tlie
I'hyl.actcries arc laid on in the motning, immediately on rising, to show
that the Israelite's first thought should be of his Afakcr. The sections
from the law arc in like manner written on pArchment, and rolled up in
cylindrical tubes, which arc nailed to the poata of every house and the
door-post of erery room, in obedience to the commandment before referred
to, in order that the Israelite might never enter a room, without being
reminded by these tubes of his duty to God and to man. Again, as
another guarantee that the commandments should not be forgotten, the
chiMrch of Israel are commanded to wear fringes on the borders of their
garments (Numbers xv. 87 — 40). This garment is in the sliape of two
i>|uare brcast-cluths, juined together by two straps, one being placed as
a eorer on tlie breast, the other on the back, and the fringes are hid up
in the comer in a curious manner. Four worsted threads arc drawn
through an eyelet-hole, and a double knot made ; one of tljc threads is then
knotted round the other seven times, and then another double knot is
made; the fiaine thread ia then wound nine times round the others, then
tk'ven times, and then thirteen times, between which respectively, there
are double knots madu in the same manner as the previous one. This
fringe ia symbolical : the five double knota are in rumcmbmnce of the
five books of SIoscs ; the ten single knots, in remembrance of the ten com-
mandments; the seven knotted twists, that the Subbath should be kept on
the seventh day ; the nine twists, as a memorial of the nine months of
pregnancy ; the eleven twists, in recollection of the eleven stars which
reverenced Joseph in liia dream ; the thirteen knota, in remembrance of
thirteen attributes of ccuipassion in the Almighty enumerated by the
Kiges, called the *' Shelosli Es-wy Jliddoth ;" the seven, nine, eleven, and
thirteen knots together represent the forty days tliat Moses was on the
■uount to receive the ten commandments. There are knots made at the end
of each thread to keep them from untwisting, lest thereby the whole of
the numerical types might be unravelled. Thus, whether at iiomc or
abroad, the Jew ia continmiUy reminded of the precepts of his religion,
that if in an unguarded moment he should be tempted to commit any evil
lie may look on the fringes of his garments, and recollect tho command-
nentg be is bound to obey.
THE CKllE5IONrE9 OF THE JEWISH VCEUOJOV.
Tlio Jew ia very puliculur to alBtnia from piirUking of tboM
«tic)i apo <'niiniomlo(l in ihc PenUtCTitli in uncIiMin. The nielhod of
killing- caitle i* pccuHnr, ttnr] in only perionn«d hj i»er*»ns wlio have
Undergone »n examination liefon: tli« cbicr rabbi, aad reee)T«d a lieeoc*
or certiiicJite of due qimliBcation. Tbe ox or other quadruped is aeonred,
and the windpipe cot througb with a very eluirp-edged long knife; no
kind of pn'Wiire of tlii; knifo nn tlic tbront ia allowed more than what {4
nccejHnry. The )i]>[>i>r end of the knife ia first put (o tlie throni, it ia then
puah«d over to the lower part of tlie btodo, tb« knife is then drawn back
again nnd tht-n forwards ; no stoppngc must occur duritig tlic operation ;
niiil if there iippcam to ha,yc been thu ttlightest notch in the «dge of tbo
knife, tb« flc«h of the beast cAnnol be oaten.
Theae ceremoniea appear to the uninitiated very unneccfoar}- and pro-
babl/ ridicalous, but like many otbera are capable of expIauatioD foundiHl
on good BHBse. Tho laraoHten uru c»iittnun1l/ fof1>iddu) to ont lh« blood
of an animal, " lor in tlie blood in ihu lil«." If iJie bcoet were struck on
tlic head, the blood, instead of flowing out, would stagnate in tbe t«iu,
nrd t?oald never be entirely drawn out. There is no method of killing
which so totally re.morcs the blood from the meat. If a notcli were in
the blado of the knife, iho cut would not be clvan ; the notcli would caon
a thriU tc past tlirottgh ttic Iienst, and consequently repel the blood agun ■
through the vdcM ; ottd in fi^ar th&t tbe blood might not be entirely drawn
oul, the tiesh iti forbidden.
Matrimonial unioas arc cBcctcd by the introdncLiun of muliial fr!end«. a
A Jew in only nllownd to intominrry with one of Jiia own religion ; and in ~
CBJie he may 1)(> unacquainted witli any Jewish lady Ruitable to bia taati',
he nieuliotia hid dvsiro (vi mnrriugu lo vumc fncnd, who inEtitules inquiries
on his behalf for a miitable connection, and proeuri>» both parties an intro-
duction to rach other, gcnerdly through the medium of n mutual ac>iuaint-
ancc. The courCaltip ordinarily lusla but a fvw tiiuuthit. On the day
njipointeLl for tho celebration of tho nuptial.i, the brido nnd bridegroom
arc coiiductcd to the place nppoint«l for tho ceremony, where they arc
stationed under ft canopy Rupporlcd by long poles- The bride and bride-
groom both drink out of a glass of wine, over which a Kanciifioatton hat
been pTonouaccd by tbe pricdt ; and tlio bridegroom, putting a ring on ihe
brido's finger, repents; "Behold, tliuu art boli'Othed unlo ne with this
ling, according to the rite* of Kosvs and Israel." Soma blesaioga are tfam
aaid, nsd the bride nnd bridegroom again drink of the vine, after whlok
the empty winv-glam is laid on the ground, and tlie hrJdegrooiQ stamps on
and brtakft ic. Various reowna liavc been nAsigned for tliis ccrcn»ny,
one of which is to remind the married couple that they are only like brttlle
ware mode of earth, gloiwy without and rough within ; but n. more likirly
in Icrp relation is to remind them of death, to whose power frail mortals
must yield, sooner or laler. The ceremony being ever, all proicnt err
out " MoKcl Touv," that is, " May it Uim out hnypily."
Thus we see that all the previous certtnoniet ore mcrdy trmbolicali
I
THE CEKEUONIKS OF THE JEWISH BELIGIOV. 225
vliilst the gnat featnre of Jadatam conaiiita in the total absence of all
sjinbolical wort^p.
When an braelite ia dying, the loBt prayer he utters is the grand
protestaUon of his ^th that there ia but one God. A person is always
left to watch the corpse from the time of death to the day of interment, to
guard it from all sorts of vermin, because that godly likeness, which was
giTen to man at hia creation, disappears after his dissolution ; and for that
reason no Termin fear men after their death. When a near relative dies,
the members of bis immediate family rend their garments about a hand's
breadth, and the rent ia not sewn up again. They also sit on the ground,
and monzn for seven days ; and for the space of thirty days from the time
of the death, the male relatives do not shave. The (erm of thirty days is
talcen from Deuteronomy xxxiv. 8.
The Jewish sages, in order to prevent the infringement or violation of
any laws, have established a fence round them, by which anything which
might possibly lead to the infringement of the law is itself interdicted.
For example, the Jews are forbidden to kindle a fire on the Sabbath-day ;
as a fence they are forbidden by the sages to touch the fire when kindledt
OT to lift a candlestick with a lighted candle in it, or even to blotc out a
candle, or extinguisli a fire when kindled. The reason of the command'
ment to the Israelites not to kindle a fire on the Sabbath-day, has been
explained in this way; When the children of Israel were wandering in the
wilderness, the only method they had of kindling a fire was by rubbing
two pieces of wood together until a flame was produced. This was a
work requiring great exertion, and on account of being a. labour, waa
forbidden on the Sabbath. But the sages forbid any such libernl construc-
tion, and follow the commandments literally, bo that on account of the
prohibition to light a fire on the Sabbath, no Jew smokes a cigar or pipe
on that day. Some of the very strict Hebrews carry their religious
formalities to :in excess. They believe that carrying a handkerchief loose
in the pocket, or a superfluous pin in the clothes, is carrying a bnrdun, a
work that should not be done on the Snbhalh-day. But if tlicy pin the
handkerchief to the pocket, or tie it round the waist like a girdle, there is
then no h-irm, as it may be consideryd a part of the garments. They will
not gather any fruit from a tree on the Sabbath, although for their own
immediate eating. But if they can get at the fruit with their teeth, they
may lite off as much as tlicy wish. They will not meddle with any tool,
nnr write nor sign their names on the Sabbath, nor ride on horseback,
nor go by water, nor play on a musical instrument, nor bathe, nor tear,
nor break anything, not even a hair, for which reason a very strict Jew
will not suffer hia hair to be combed on the Sabbath.
In the present day, however, many of these rules are unobserved.
^e principles of the Jewish faith arc not impressed on the rising
fipncmtion with the same strictness as in former years, and many of the
ilrict rules are looked upon with ridicule, because their meaning is not
explained, or, if explained, the reasons arc not satisfactoiy to the inquiring
226
Ttlt C£ftBUONlEa OF Ttlfe JEWISH BEUGION.
I
I
*pitit of ihe i»f. It is iftUiiu tlia kiKWMIge of iLs -vrittr of tliU «Ttkt«
that Jewiali young mtn hare over find om* ogiiin imiitEiwl ihc rvMOn for
tOMtrxiDg certain rt-ligioiis oetcniodlei; but there lire frw ivho can gl?e «
fcllUlliclory cxplanttiou, niid tlw niwwM rWumed ia, " four feUier, yoat
grmtlGitlier, unit }roi)r great gmodfiitlicr obserfcd tlicse etUloms, tltcreford
jrou tnlist do tlic kitiio." TljtB U nd Mitlinalion suitable lo nn int«lltj*eBt
mind in the prvscnt <lar. It Uttte cf ihc grmtest tcsW nrthopliiloAtpliitinl
mind vrlien it lltinks for ilgcir. Tlit> re«ull i) that ^oimg nivn do ihink r«r
Uicmsclrcfl; aud tltcw ciutoiba appearii^ iiuiiitelligibltr, ore ofivti unoli-
turvcd. Jcvrbilt youtlia are sent to the uiitvemtKs, nnd receive n classical
education, wliilM tliey are ignottint oniiercry i>rincip1fs of llitir religion:
not one is a ]iun^ri>d over ntuU the Talmttd, kIutw thcK- euftomg and
ucn-inoniLii nro i!Xpk(int.-d ; and tliuugh nil (tie [myere nro nvitnl tii
llubrcv, n Jcwisli youlli vlio can nai liis T^l^inaijuo or MoI»&rv*s plajs
nt eiglit, \f1io citn tmualato bin Homer, and knows liia hatin grwittnar by
bpart, cannot dpcliiit a Hcbi-cir tioiin, or coajiigalc a Hebrew verb.
Then: have bccn many ii)&xims kid down by the eagca which dtp not
UDiverailly rec«vv<d. Som« oT tbe nncient Jvwi^h lilcmluro in tlie prMcnl
day npiieara rntbi* ntiigulur. In tJic Hagodn, or l*.a«iover acrrice, llii-nj i*
a curitiiist specinifcii oflogio. liabbi Jose asks, " WL^nee art thou anilio-
rJK^l (o aaacri tlint in tjJTt the Efrypiiana were afllicled wilh ten plnpui,
nhilat on llic bordt.'ia cf the Ik-d S4.-a tlivy were (luiilten with SAy
ptagUH 7" " Bocattso In Egypt the tuftgiciana aaid lo Plinrnoli, • Tbh U ■
ihe filfftr or God;' but nt Uic Red Soti It aayx, ' And Inrad saw tbe
tnigttty hand wherewith the lA'rd fanoln th« EgjptiiiiiB." If by tlic Ji>tyrr
oiity they receired ten plagiK'K, ihoy must of caurse (f) huTe tecelvii] fifty
by the liand, as it cviitaiiia Cvv fiugcrn." (.7) This Rrguiiicnt is tiot titiilc
60 jvalpnbla aa nn axiom of EneltJ, Here in a npceimcn of logic Hot lo b»
fmiiid in Whntfly. Th<: Jewa tlunk It in«ri(orioii« to tnako tliroe meals
ou Ihe &ibbnth-dny, because in l^xuJus xti. Si>, it iiay*, "^Vnd Mows
•aid, Kilt thiit to-iiittj, fur to-daff ia the Sabbalh of Uie Lord; to-iiay je
Mllall not fin<] it in the lield." In this hcataxce the irord diiy in men*
tioiivd tlir«e tiuiee ; hence the i-abbin« infer it ia uicritoriooB to Ui/lke thtec
nicnig en the Sabbath,
or the mnny bcliefa which aru current in the lletwew nation, bill not
^rtflfttil hy thate in tehe>»( min^i tkert it cm tparii Af tnlijjktetmtrnl, we ttiil
select a Xl'w fw ilhimration.
All dreams coin; to jiasfl according (u the intcrpn-tnlioD tfiat b made
of thi-ni I'y the jwrson to whom thoy are revealed^ conw^nently, drenni*
should only be told to friends (what a fcicune to rt-alixe m a/avoKnAk
iulei-j>rukr ofdivauist) Ati appitrition has power to hecontt visible and
lo injure any particular person who may happen to tc by biniiwlr in iIhj
dark. If Iwo pcraona be togcllier, nn upj^u-ition rany become vuibk> but
cannot hurt vUhcr, but il' llncc pcraona be togctiier, uo ai)paritt<'n cnu ha
visible; iT, however, Uu'ro hu ona caiullt? :ilijjht, it it a iuiieguanl a^liul
nil evil siurit!!. Whiit an apparilicu cunai^ls of, and why it eliould injure
THE CEEESIONIES OP THE JEWKU IIEUGIOX. 227
any one, does not appear. Evil Kpiiits leat on all heaps of nibbisb, and,
therefore^ it is dangeroiu to tread on all eucb. Tbere is also a buUef in
witches and (heir powor to injure any one who fHngs iiway the tops of
green turnipti or carrots without untying them. Some of the Jews wear
a sort of charm about them consisting of a Fn'W cabalistic words written on
parchment by a rabbi. There arc numerous other fipiritunl beliefs not
tunght by the religion of Moses, and evidently the result of ignorance and
its natural offspring, superstition, which arc generally credited amongst
the Jews of Poland and Germany, but the superior education and enlightcu-
ment of the English Jew teaches him the folly of supcrstttion. Formerly,
when a man was mariied he used, at the marriage ceremony, to walk
round his intended wife three times to see if she really wore tlie right
woman he proposed to take as a wife, because of the deceit practised on
Jacob by Laban, who fiist married his son-in-Lny to hia eldest daughter,
Leali, under the afisurance that it was hia daughter liachel ; but such
ceremonies are no lunger in existence, the English Jew uniting with hia
religion a spirit of enlightenment and liberalism. The present Jewish
belief is vastly difiei'ent to the religion taught the Israelites by Moses ;
there have been many innovations through contact with the many nations
ainongftt whom the Jews sojourned, and many of the beliefs of those nations
have been imbibed and are now recognized principles of Judaism. The
Iielief in the angels and archangels " Gabriel," " Michael," and " Ariel,"
was not taught by Moses, but, together with the Jewisli months, Nisan,
Adar, Tar, Ac, came from Babylon. The immoitulily of the soul was
unknown to the Hebrews until their intercourse with the Assyrians. Tlic
" Urim and Thummim " of the breastplate of the high-priest, the serpent
)nadu by Moses and exhibited to the people, the brazen sea of the Temple
lipon twelve brazen oxen, the cherubim of the ark, and numerous symbols
ot' the ancient Jewish worchip, are all derived from the .ancient Egyptians',
and were comprised in the mysteries of their religion, which Moses learnt
as an Egyptian priest, and then taught the children of Israel in the
wilderness.
IVhat was the Jewish religion at the time the Israelites wore slaves in
Egypt ? There ivere no festiviils to obrforvo until tliey wandered in tho
ivilJeriie."fl, and Jlusca orJaineil those festivals should bo kept as a lasting
memorial. There were no probibitidns against any particular kinds of
fjoils. Tliere wcio none of the cerenmiiiea and laws wliieh Moses after-
iiaids instituted. In what did their religion differ from the Egyptians',
that the Isiaelites Were always a distinct race? Simply in the absence of
fpnholkal worship. In other respects their religion was the same as the
Epj'ptiaiia' J and it was only a corrected form of their religion that Aloscs
aflenvarJs taught the Israelites, which he himself had learned as an Egyp-
ti.iii priest, Eut from lite religion Muses taught, sprung ueorly all tho
religious of tlic tivilizL\l world.
''6 (Estlt^r.
K.-. ir.
« Do j-ou remember line story I irroto you in 1860, when I camo b»clc from^
Romo 7 * To compliun was a conftuliitioii, vrbvii it wii> to you I compliiiiicii.
I waa lonely enough and ill-mppcinlcJ, and yd I Ii«vi; been more unbAppyj
«nce. Then I thought tlint at Iwisd you wei^c Iinppy, but Inter they uiid it
WM nut NO, niid bitterness nnil regret orerpowereil me tor a lim^i
tliis wa.1 alter I liiul written to yon.
" 1 Bcarccily retnt^mber what I said now, it is so long ago, but I Icnoi
every word 1i:h1r meaning sim-c yoii wert- Iosl-c it, and the Either I wroti
to, the Ksihcr whose Iningc wos for ever before me, Bccmcd mine somctiiDc
Ihough wo were ftr ctot puruO. I have often thuught lliat tho Ecthar
I ]ovcd loved IDC tbough ihi; otht-r one iiinrried HullxirL Pcrhnps yoa
tvero only hor scmbltiRCc, and iJio was waiting for mc elsewlicre in a
diflerent fomi. Rut the fiunUIar face witb the sallaw checks atuI dark
Itrovni, and ail the auddcn light in it, cornea before ma aa I write creo
now, I have Mon it a thoumnd thousand times since we [tsTted by tlic
TiinitA; do you rcuiumbL-r when the bell ivns ringing fur matiod? Only
af ycwnj liare gimo by the lines have finled n litlle, llie cyea look dwp luid
tender, but tlicj hnvc loHt their colour; though 1 know how t!ie ligbtt
fiTifl the auiiles Mill come and still go, I cannot see them so plainly. T^ie _
woman berfelf I can conjure across the ycnrs and tho diat.tnoe, but thftl
face does not slurt clear-set befnrc me a» in tliosc days when 1 ouly lived
to fallow your footGtcps, to loiter luiiuiig the uIiadowH in your way* aod
the mmshinc throngli whicti yon Koemed to move; to drink in the nrvct
tones of your vdJee, to watch you when you sal at your window, when
you lingered in the Bilent Italian gardens, or moved with a gentle footfall
along echoing gullcriec, with dim golden pictures, and hartaoniea of
glowing colour all about you.
" What sea-miles and Und-miW, M-hnt flying yean and lagging he
what sorruws and joys lio belweun iw — and )cy* «tparate more surely lltnal
Kirrows do. People scale prJwin w<ilU, tliey wado tUroiigh rivers, thcj
climb over arid moiinlains, to rejoin those wliont they love, but tba
Ixirrioni of bappincwi and coiilunt, who has surmotinted tliem?
" I say Ibia, and yet success Lns bseu mioo since I saw yQUi Many gooal
things have come to mc for which I did not greatly care, but though the
Bpriitg tides and bright summers and the bitter winter winds and autumnal
roisls were fulcd to part us year after year, yet it also seemed destined
TO ESTHER. 229
tliat I should love yon faithfully through all — that even ibrgctfulnesa
should Dot prcrent it, that (liBappointment should not embitter, that iodif-
terence should not chill. What I have borne from you I could not bare
endured from any other. Once, long before I knew you, a woman Hpoke
to me hastily, and I left her, and could not forgive her for years, and
sometimes I ask myaelf is my ill-luck a judgment upon me.
*' I who was so impatient once and hard of heart, make no merit of my
long affection for you, Esther: it was simply fate, and I could not resist it.
ChoDging, unchanging, faithful, unfaithful, who can account for his expe-
riences 7 Does mistrust bring about of itself that which it imagines 7 is
nerything there that we fancy we see in people? OAen I think that fallen
as we are, and weaiy and soiled by the wayside dust and mud, and the
many carea of life, some gleani of the divine radiuncc is ours still, and to
iboae who love us best it is given to sco it. That the sweetness and good-
ness and brightness we had fancied are no fancies, but truth. True though
clouds and darkness come between ua, and the mortal parts cannot always
apprehend the divine.
" Iiove is blind ; indifference sees more clearly people say, and I
wonder if this can be tme ; for my part I think it is the other way. I
have sometimes asked about you from one and from another, and people
have spoken of you as if you were to me only what they are, what I am to
them, or they to you. I seem to be writing riddles and ringing the changes
upon the words which you will not see. Whether you see them or not
what does it matter, you would not underslnnd their meaning, their
■oiTowful fidelity, nor do I wish that you should.
" For, as I hare said, years have passed, other thoughts and ties and
interests have come to me ; I am somcttmes even vexed and wearied by
my own unchanging nature, and I am tired of the very things from whidi
I cannot tear myself away. I don't think I care for you now, though
I still love the woman who jilted me years ago upon the Pincio. It
might be that seeing you again all the old tender emotion of feeling
would rerivo towards you. It might be that you would wound me a
second time by destroying my dreams, my ideal remembrance ; very sad,
vciy sweet, very womanly and trustfiU laj remembrance is. I ^ould
imagine you must have hardened — improved as people call it — since then,
and been moulded into some different person. Six years spent with
Balbert must have altered you, I think, and marred the sweet imperfec-
tions of your nature. At any rate you are as far removed from me as
if poor llalbcrt were alive still to torment yon.
" This morning at Luchon my courier brought me a letter which inter-
ested me oddly enough, and brought back all the old fancies and associa-
tiona. It came from my counu's wife, I^ady Mary, There were but a
few lines, but your name was written thrice in it, and like an old lialf-
remcmbercd tunc, all the way riding along the rough road I have been
haunted by a refrain — ' Meet Esther again, shall it be, can it be? ' — fitting
to a aort of rhythm, which is sing-eonging in my head at this instant
280
Til li&TUER.
"For want of n oompanton to ^wnlc to, 1 ItnTa written this noaecnsc >l
length. I cniinot talk to my courier cxccjit to Hwdai- nt llic road*. Thtj
iwrrowed and roiighcncJ na vn gol iuto Spoiu, alter wo had crotwd o
bridge with a blitclc riror niRhing tmnenlli it. iligli np in ttio tnoantainf,
Hie villages perched like onglcB" laiii ; tlie ■trwim* were dajdiing orer the
Toeka in rite cIcAa below. This ia nvt a goldai und vuu-[^itt-d laml lilt
tlto counlry yra liavo bum uied to. Italy socnia like aummer ns I lliink oT
it, and tin* In like .-iiitiimn to nic. Tite colours have eooibre tints ; \Ufse M
nm slrungu browni and ^eUowa, ^ed grcoiia with deep blue alrftdt* in ■
lliom. Slonea roll from tbe petbwiiy and lidl crasliiiig into the mrioM
faolow. No nutdj loftd lo the rHIagcs wlioro lUe puo]'lu live fur m Urvtimc,
filing their Und, vcAving thdr clothca, (landing their ontllu ; nukny of litem
noror coming down into ihn \A\kj all ihejr lives long, aaflicing lo tlwm-
n:lrc« tuid t^nring the world at Llioir lect. So mj guides have tottl w« at
lenA, mid it v/na their Uutdneas lo know "
on
:da^
look^
ogi^
All tliia Imd b«cn ^vritlcn on tlio rftil of a balcony to tbo jangling
oT s churcli bell and the tyinpntliecii! droning of a guitar with ono^'
note. It was played by a doltful^boking suldiec in tjghl rcgiincnta!
utliag tipnght on n chair on tbc landing-place, and never raoring
tnuiole, wlule the Hies buzzed about his bead. A motionless coropusioa
aat near listening to tbc mci'ody. Presently, in the midst of liia vritin^
GooHry Smith, who biid ttonrcvly livoded tlia guitar or tho bdl, mili
beard a great clmttcring ntiil commotioa in the slrtct bc-Iow, and
iog over the rail, he saw a croivd of liuk- gipij t(hiIJr«n swarmiag
front of the licuni;. 'I'licy vvettb trying to climb up into iLc lialeony,
gdting on ono nnotlici-'a 1mck», clapping tlieir liaiida, Boreaniing aoA
bockoning to hiiu : — " Mosjmo | Momoo ! — tit sou — aliens (lon« I " with an
viiticuriL^^tiog gealnrc. "Tit ttcu — 'ions d(iiic — vile, .Votioo!" and llitM
bruvrii iiicen griiim-d hciieulh lliuir JitlloMijorUh-boktng turbans— yelIoiv«l
peen, Ecnrkt liandkerchiefa ; and nil ihe brown bare Icgx went cipering.
Tho nai-row street wns crowded with pcopla bun'ying lo tho call of l^
clmrcb h<il\. Women canio out of Ihs low dD<Hrway« of ihcir lioon^
luljuNtin^; \.\w\i nmritillax. Kunina trij)i>ed by with tlie duenna. Doa
Ba&ilio strudu ])jist with thippiug skirts, {xtiituni iinu-liko cocktd hat, oottcut.
tiinbivUu und all. Smith looked at tliumall from over hU b&l«oiiy, liJco I
u box &l the o[«;ni. At the other end of the place — I'iaua do la
tucic<n in name wos—the Frcnoli Conaul, leaaiug otlt his eagle,
Ble>i[iiiy Binoliiiig a cigar and watching Ihe dun oh -goers fgiss by. Strum,!
tunity, sirum tunity — tunity alrum, wuiit the- guilar, and pruBcmly — nltl
liku i| btano at the play — the light darkened, tiio pooplo looked up at the
ifky, and \hvni came an artificial c3ap of thunder froni tlio hill-loo ovor the
town, with a euddcii Htonu of hail and lightning, Jtoeiun f£i oft vam-
pering wiih Iiur duonna. So did tlio prieetB ; the young uivn with their
bright red aipi, lounging at the coruL-r of the sUeet; tlio old man with Kia
donkey; and the IittJi> grinning b^gaT-chiUltca.
TO ESTUiai. 231
Smith tliouglit lie too should like to sgg the inside of the cliurcli, which
teemed to be looked upon as n Eufe reftigc, fyr everybody iippcnred to be
raefaing in ita direction. lie had not very far to go : up a. short street, and
aloug the Plaza, and then crossing a little wooikn drawbridge, Smith found
liimaelf at the church door. He stooped and went in through a low
Moorish 'looking arch, and descended a short flight of black marble stcpu
whicli led down into the aisle.
It seemed quite dark at first, except that the tapers were Haring at
the altar, where three unprepossessing-looking pricata were officiating.
By de^;rees Smith found that he was standing in a beautiful old
Templar church, with arches, with red silk hangings, and a chequered
marble floor, and a dark carved gallery from which some heads were
peeping. The women were sitting and squatting on the floor with their
shoes neatly ranged at their sides and their babies dandling in their arms.
The men were behind, nearer the door; and in tho front row of oil,
pinning, showing their teeth, and plucking at his legs as he went by,
Smith disGOTered the little company of persecuting boys and girls, pre-
tending to bnry their fHcen in their hands when he looked at them sternly,
ud peeping at him through their wiry little lingers with shining
malicious eyes,
Tlie service came to an end ; the storm passed away. Smith left the
dnrch with the children swarming at his heels, and found his guide wait-
ing with the horses ready harnessed. They had no time to lose the man
■dd — the bill was paid. Smith sprang into the saddle, Hung a handful of
halfpence to the Aloorish little bandits, and rode off as hard as he could
go along the rough bridle-path.
It was very late before he got back, lie dined by himself about ten
o'clock, with a tired, short-sleeved waiter to attend upon him, and then ho
fttut and sat undtr the trees on the Cours, listening to the music and
i:jing to make up his mind. Should he go to Bigorre ? Yes ; no ; un
[«! ; beaucoup ; pas du tout. He clianged hie plans over and over again.
About midnight, when the music and the lights were still alive, the ppopio
dill drinking their coffee and lemonade in tlie soft starlit night, and
chatting and humming all round about, Smith determined at last that
he would stay for a day or two longer, and then go to Tarbcs and on to
Marseilles and to Italy. Having mode out this scheme, he calkxl a
Toimrier with a whip and jack-boots who happened to be passing, and
■iked him if lie was engaged and what was his fare to St. Beitrand.
foaith Iiad n fancy to F>ee the old place, which lies on tlio road to Tarhea.
It also lies on the road to Bigorre, but Smith thought that he did not
tcmembcr this. The guide was a Bigorre man and anxious to get there,
lie was willing enough to go to St. Bertrand. After that he should liko
to get home he said. Hia horses wanted a rest. Smith came to a com-
promise with him at last. Tho tired horses were to ttike him to St.
Bettrand, and then they were to make further arrangements.
Two roods cross the country which divides Luclion from Bigorre
983
TO ESTHEn.
One nma direct in noble unduUttoaa over hilt-toi* and nounbuo
It goes bureling orcr tlift groit Col d'Aspio, Trotn vlience ^ou may ux Ui«^
world liUe n M.-.n, tuxMiig and heaving at your feet, and trciubling Willi the
ligtit u]K>ii a tlicitiieiiid liills ; and tlicti il runs donn kad plunges into
dci-p valley*, where the air is acoulod wJili piau-wood.
Tlw olher rosd winds by the plain and foUovrs the course of a flowti
riTtT, jinst Yillitg«8 tun-docked and viuc-wrcnthcd, but cilcnt uid dr«
in their wliilcneM. A sad-fitxd woninn lool» from hot cotlAgo-door ; ftl
diirk-hendvd boy conici fikimoiiug over thu Htunus with Iiis niikcd feet, tail
holds up hia hand for ldin»; a travtUer, Tolling on a h«ip by the
road-Kidp, nodt bin hmd in token of w«ary fcllowshtp. At last, aayou still
follow ilic roiktl ill the vnllcy, with (lie low range on cither aide, yoa
suddenly rcfloh a great hill wltli tho towers of n Btrong city rising from
i(.<i suioiuit. It domiimlM the Innd-wnvts, which si-«ni flowing down
from the mouutaios and the groat ilitt nur»L« which Bttctcb avmy to
the aca. M
Smith choee the flat rotid to rvtum |iy, wishltig, lui I h.ire enidl, to tee^
St. BcrtrAnd : ho bud croMvd iliv inountiiin before, in the course of hi*
travels, lio WL-nt ruUiiig along tbrough tlio fresh morning wr, with bii
head full of old sights imd Uioughts — very iar away, IwDbcrings and
iiiuc>» which bo had ioiagincid safely burit^ intheCnmpagnaormotildcniig
away with the relics of bis old Italian sight-scclng times. Aloiig iIm
lunlis of the river, crosuog and rccnneiag niAny tiniea from ouc side to
anothfv, tliroiiph [>l(iini« ami Himiiy villages, thty htul conic nl Inst to
Si. Bortnind, ih»; city on llie hilJ. Tlio drircr, % jurly follow, hissed and
cursed an th*; liorsts went etumblts^ up Uic itoep ascent, straimr^ and
slipping in the blazing sun over bleached while Ktoiics. There wcje four
bony hon!ck, omamcuied with bells and loadu-d with heavy bam(:n, Sniidi
r^cliiii'd nt his ease among the fusty curiiioos of the caniogi; ; lus oowier
clung iiervoiioly to the narrow niiling on tha box; Pierre, the drin
cracked bin long whip, muttered horrible oaths hetwccn his tocth,
choked, elirieked, with hideous jerka and soonds. Everything sooms to |
whiter and brighter as they moant. They reach the tcwa at last:
is an utter ■il«nc« and look of abnudcnment; llowers aie hanging orcr the
walls mid gnblcs mid jiostrrn gutes. Thry pass fonntniDs of ntarblo,
t»aeinrnUi, nud turruW and balconies, all white, blazing, deserted, vii
gcrnniumi hanging and flowiTing. They pOM tind«r aa archway \ti
eurviiigii and emblazon nieiita throwing deep shadows, by strange gabli
mid ciinien and tunt-ts, u|i a liinta.>(tio Mrect. U was like a goblin at
BO drenry, eilcat, deserted, with euch strange conoviu and omanttnlai
every comer.
The hotel was empty, too : cd« deniiuv, soar visage come t« t}ie doer
to receive tlicm. Ves, iherc was food prepared; the horses could b« pat
up in the stables. A Imnum voice sccnied to break the fJichnntment, ftfl
I tJiink until then Smith had almost cxpt-ctcd lo find a oloeping prinoo?
upon a bed, a king, a queen, a court, all dreaming and dozing iundc tkis
d
TO ESTHER. 288
soaent palace ; for the inn bad been a palace, at some time or other
perhaps inhabited by the ancient Biahops of St. Bertmnd, or by some of
the nobles whose eacatcheona still hang on the gatea of the city. There
were two tables, both laid and spread in readiness, in the solemn old
dining-room, with ita white punted panels and carved chimney. Smith
was amused to see a Murray lying on the white cloth nearest the window.
Eren here, in this fon;Dtten end of the world, the wandering tribes of
Britain had hoisted the national standard and liastened to secure the best
place at the feast. There were three plates, three forks, three knives.
Smith, dimly pursuing his morning fancy, and bewitched by the unreality
utd silence of all about him, thought that this was the place in which ho
ihonid like to meet Esther again — if he was ever to meet her. Here, in
(his white blinding silence, she might come like on apparition out of his
dreams — come up the steep mediaeval street, post the fountain — with her
long dress, — how well he remembered it, — rippling over the atones, her
ilim Btrught figure standing in relief against the blazing sky. . . .
" Cutlets — yes ; and a chicken ; and a bottle of St. Julien." . . , This was
to the waiting- woman, who asked him what he would like.
Geoffry walked out into the garden to wait until his cutlets should
be ready, and he found an unkept wilderness, tangled and sweet with
utumnal roses, and a carved stone terrace or loggia, facing a great
bontiftil landscape. As he leaned against the marble parapet. Smith,
who still thought he was only admiring the view, imagined Esther walking
up the street, coming nearer and nearer, approaching along the tangled
vilk through the rose-trees, and standing beside him at last on the terrace.
It was a fancy, nothing more ; it was not even n presentiment ; all the
bcautij\il world below shimmered and melted into greater and greater
loveliness ; an insect went ilying and buzzing over the parapet and out
bto the clear atmosphere ; a rose fell to pieces, and as the Jeaves tumbled
to the ground one or two floated upon the yellow time-worn ledge against
«liich Smith was leaning. No, lie would not go to Bigorre ; he said
to himseir lie would turn his horses' heads or travel on beyond Bigorre,
to some other mountain — to the Luz or St. Sauveur, or farther still, to
Etnx Bonnes, in the heart of the Pyrenees. He pulled out his letter and
nad it again ; this was all it said, in Lady Mary's cramped little hand : — ■
B. de Bigorre,
I*u» Geoftht — Some one has seen you somewhere in the Pyrenees; will you not
^i Bigorre on your war, and come and fjicnd a few dnya with ns ? It would
(b«r my bosbiind up to e«c youj his cough is troublcsuma still, though he is greatly
txttcr tbao when wo left the rectory. There are one or two nieo peojitc in the place.
I Mn nre yon would si*nd a fiw pleasant dnys. Wo have the three Vulliamcys,
Ur. uul Mrs. Pcntou, and OIgn Ilalbert;— tliat poor Mrs. Ilnlbert, too, is with them;
Bn fhildi«u make great frienils with ours. Mrs. Uidbcrt tells us she knows you.
Slw \* very much altered and shnken by her husband's death, though one cannot but
fwl that it must bo more a shoek thnn a Sdirow to her, poor woman. The Pentons
■ad Un. Ilalbert are at the hotel. She ssj-S tbcy find it comfortahlo. I know yon
likt being independent best, otherwise we have a nice little room for yon, and shoald
TOL. XIII. — HO. 74. 12.
«u
TU KtiTlII^
mueh prefer btvlng jou trich lu nlitto yaa tiny. Tho chiidniii uv amruliiftg, rh
] cx|>(<ct luf iM(cr Lucy tojuio uiian lew Unj^ iJo txy un\ Cuiuc, and gii* walll
f^ut; del vf iilciuurc,
Alletlionateljr youK,
UuiT SimiL
P.S.— I Uinll Bcn.ll Oii« la BL Juucs'it Place on ihc cliance that tt laaj be forwaiiJc4
tuick a^Ain lo joa with your otbcr Suttun.
Smith rend the letter and tore it up sbiieuilj, and thnw it on tfat
gr«uad. ] lo woaM not go to B'tgoirc ; he was post llic ag« dT scntuneat f
hu would nevur iiinrry ; lie did nut want to we E«thcr ngnJii nnd destRy''
Lin iTinuiibnincc of licr, or miikc a foul uf himself [>crliups, and bo bonad
to X woman hardened by raiaforlune, hy long contact ivith worldly mlndf,
"by devotion to tin unwortliy object. Uow could sbc prefer Il&lbert to
me? Smith lliought, with an Bttvneod self-coasciouene^a. Ksther wtu a
clover woman: iliu had thought ftir heTself; iibe Deeded a ct'itnio intellcc-
tiid calibre orcompaaionahip. IlidScrt cultivoted Iila whirOcn^; Mt beat
mpivntioos w€ic after Lady X and Y and Z and their tca-parCica; ani
llii-ii SiiiUh wimderud avrny fnjin {vjor UaJI)crt, who wm gono iinw, to Um
lovely night I)L-forc him.
It WAS not K> much tlic view na lh« bcantiru) fires which were ligliti
it tip. It colour wnit like music — ^if one could write it down, Jiud |:
for good — iho gleaniR of »u<lili-n sweetness, tlic inoJulation, tiic gnal
bunting symphonitn of light thrilling from a million notes at aaca tola
rne gri';it triiimpUil harmony: if tlic jxififion of lorHinviw^I know no
lieltt:r wonl — ^whtcli Kcma alt about us at tiiues, could be writtca doini,
one would need words that sliould clmnge and dnopen and xwulen with
the rcadei'a mood,^and alilft for ever Into conibinatloiia torely and jet
more lovely.
Smith was looking still ;vitb a heart fiill of gratiluJo and adiuinitioD,'
when he heard a step upcii tha gmTcl walk. He turned round to aec whs
wu con'iing. Won tliii an enchanti-d city he had come lo f A tidl altm
figure nf H woman in bbck robes advaucfd iilong the gr^ivcl walk and
Cninu to the uvi'.rhiingtng terrace where lie was slaading. Alaa I it was no
enchantment. The gsnii bad not brought his princcES on thdr wings, ll
Vint no one he hsd cyit seni beforo—no Gallow (ace witli the ywiret brighl
Jock in it; it was ciily u haudsoUKa-Iooking young wonum, one of lli«^|
lliouaamU lliure are iu the world, with pcoch-rcd cheeks and brighi kci-a
i-yv*, wli'.' glunocd at hiui siupidouiily- Tvio gre«t black IbaUters nae
liaaging fn-tn ti«r hfit; hor long rilk gown rippled in tha sunshine ftnl:
her hiack silk cloak was fastened round her neck by a mlv^rr cU^.
It Wfu) a vlTv eluirniiug npparition, Bmith thougiit, tltuugh it was nek'
the one he had ho]M.d ibr — iIkta wm nothing graciaus about lliis wcU<
grown young lady. TkiH was no Esther— lliin was not a woman wlp
would cItnnuA her mind a dosen tini<N) a ^tny, who would be w«ak and
foolish and tMistAil ahvaya. LJcuflrj' was half repellinl, lialf attrsctrd hy
tilt keen Jfivniiintd face, the finn- moulded linea. lie might not have
I
I
^
XO ESTUEIL 235
tliought twice aboQt liei at SDother time ; but in tliia golden Eolitudo and
Garden of Eden it almost seemed aa if a companion was wanted. He had
been contented enough until novf with a shadowy friend of his own
csorcising. The lady in black, aAer looking at tlie view for a second,
turned round and walked away again as deliberately as she had come,
and he presently followed her example for want of Gomethtng better to do.
The hillfl were still melting, roses were flushing and scenting the air,
insects floating as before ; but Smith, whose train of thought had been
disturbed, turned his back upon all their lorehness aud strolled into the
liouae to aiik if his breakfast was ready,
Frim-fitce, who was busy at a great carved cupboard, seemed amazed
at the question. " You have not seen the cathedral yet : traveliera always
go over the cathedral before the dejt&ner. Wo have had to catch and kill the
fowl," Id an aggrieved tone. " Encore vingt minutes n'est-cc pas, Auguate 1 "
■hrieka the woman suddenly, without budging from her place.
" Vingt minutes," repeats a deep voice from somewhere or other behiuil
the great cupboard, and there was no more to be said on the subject.
Smith spent the twenty minutes during which his chicken was grilling
and hia potatoes frizzling, in a great lolly cathedral. It stands on the very
summit of the hill, high above the town and the surrounding plains ; wide
flights lead to the great entrance, the walls and roof are bore, but of
hewitifal and generous proportions : lofty arches vault high overhead.
The Bunaliine, which seems weird and goblin in the city, falls here with a
more aolemn light : alout gleams flit across the marble pavement as the
great door swings on its hinges and footfalls echo in the distance. Sniitli
seemed to recognize the j>kcc somehow — it looked familiar : the rough
beautiful arches, the vastuess, the dest^rtion ; no priests, no one praying,
no glimmer of shrines and candles ; only space, silence, light from the
Is^e window, only a solemn figure of an abbot lying upon hia marble bed
»itb a date of three huadi-ed years ago.
Smith remembered dreaming of such a pluce in his old homo years oud
yean bt:fore, when ho was a boy, and had never even heard Esther's
name. The abbot on his marble bed seemed familiar, the placid face, the
jaticnt hands, the dog crouching at his feet. A great gleam of sun from
a. window overhead streaked aud lighted the marble, timith sat down on
the Btfp of the tomb and looked up at the great window, A white
pigeon with a beautiful breast shining ia the sun was sitting upon the mul-
liua. It sat for a time, and then it flew away with a sudden rush across
Uie violet blue sky. Smith did not move, but waited in a tranquil, gentle
fruue of mind, like that of a person who is dreaming bcautiHil dreams, nor
had waited very long when he seemed to be conscious of people approach-
iog, voices and footatepa coming nearer and nearer, until at last they were
Kniewhere close at hand, and ho overheard the following uninteresting
conversation between two voices.
" \Vhy don't thuy do it up with chintz if they are so poor T diintz
co«ts next to notliing, I am sure that lily of tlic valley and ribbon
n—%
2Sft
TO ESTHER.
paucrn in my dresbg-ioom 6oem» tis if St nerd' would wear ont. T th
Hiying to Iludann onl/ the otliiT d>iy, ' Ttaill/, HudsoDi I think wliil;: we
arc away you must get »oni« new ccwrs for my drciaing-room.' "
Hero n iweoQtl rnicc iiitcriuplcd viith — "CharlM, do you renientior
Rny allution lo St. Berirand in Jtiauaon's Lives of the IStsinta? I nawl
the l»olc T*ry enrcfully, but I ciinnot fci'I qiiito certnio."
To wliicli llie first volcu n'j«incd — "Wliy, 01g«, I Ao W0DJ«r ycu
don't reiDombcr. I lliiuk Chark-a lins n very bud nicinor^* indeed. And
so have T ; hut ^ou rrod ta inticli.''
CIviHot now siwVe. " Here, Mirn, look at litis a-bm — a-interating
mciiiimuit. — lo U)9 riglit) Mini, to tho tight. You aT« wttlking away
from it."
" Dear me, Cliarlcs I what a Jroll creature. Uo puts mc ia mind of
Uncle John."
" I cauncl lielp thinking," Cliarlwt luiiil iinprewirclj', " iL&t lhi» is tli«
plncc Lady Kidderminster wsa dccwribing at A:cmiaitter Koujv. J an
almost eoDvineod of it."
" Why Oon'L you a»k hm?" said llie Olga voice ; upon which Smltli
iicitrd Clinrlcs saying rapidly and speaking hi« words all in a etriag as it
were —
"Lady-KldilerminBier-a-fti?-beauconp-frappco-par-nno-CntJiedralc-
daaa-les-PyrfJin^cs. Est-ce-xpi'cllo-a-pnsw-pw-ici ? ... I am butc — J — n
begjcur pHriJfin, — I Ii.id not pitrceiTod— '"nnd a Stout coswqueQtial-lotiL-
inggeiitl^iiiitn, wiio wjisin the niidiltcofhintunlunot;, stumbled orcr Smith's
mnhrella, while !;mith, hull' amused, half proToked , rose tram his scat and
(ccmcil to the speaker (o ctaorge suddeaty, I'ed beard and all, Trom iba
lomh. Siira gave n little sereatn, Qlga looked araused.
" 1 tnist I hare not xenously itijiircd — a-lim ! — anytliing," saiil the
gentleman ; " we vrcrg ejtamiiiing this — n — relic, and h.id not obaervcd — ^
Smith niado a little bow, and another to the beautiful apptirition on the
t«rrace, whom he recogniied. Next to her was standing anothor very
haudsontc youngiBh lady, stout, fair, and grandly dressed, who graciously
jicknowledgnLl hi* grootinj^, while Olg.t uligbtly tossed her head, as wa* her
■way when Am rhought liorwlf piilicularly irresiitihlB. Behind Uieni the
cur« wflB wniting — a sad, htavy-foaturtil man, lu thick country ahoeai
■whose shjibliy gown fl.ipptd against Iiia legs as he walked wlili tiia head
ivoarily bent. He only shrugged his shoulders al the many qucstioiy
which were put to him. Such ns, Why didn't tlioy put in ituiucd gtax
windows? wasn't it very cold in wititLT? wa.'t he sure he dida't remember
Lady Kidderminster ? Leading the wayt he ojiencd a side door, through
which -Smith s.iw a beautilul old ctoistvrr with a range of violet hills gleam-
ing through tJio archoa. It was unexpected, likv u delightful surprise, and
gare htm a sudden thrill of pleasure.
" What a delightful place you have here," he said to the guide. " 1
think I should like lo stay allogcthcr."
" Not nwny jiL'^iplu care lo pnsa by this way now," aaid the CUT^. "U
I
I
TO ESTHER. 237
ia out of the road ; ihey do not like to bring tlitlr horsea up (Le steep
ascent Yea, it io a pretty point de vue. I come here of on cveiiiiig
sometimes."
" Extremely bo," said Jlira. " Olga, do you know I nm so tired? I
am convinced that I want bracing. I wish we had gone to Brighton
in£tead of coming to this hot place. — Charles, do you think the 'dijeftner*
is ready ? I am quite exhausted," &be went on, in the same breath.
" Would ces dames care to see the vestments 7 " the curate asked, a
little wistfully, seeing them prepare to go.
" Oh'U-merci, we are rather pressed for time," Charles was beginning,
when Smith saw that the man looked disappointed, and said be should
Kke to see thorn. Olga, as they called her, shook out her draperies, and
told Charles they might as well go through with the farce, and Mira
meekly towered alter her husband and sister. These are odious people,
poor Smith thought. The ladies arc handsome enough, but they are like
About's description of his two heroines: "L'une ^tait une statue, I'autre
une poupce." This statue seemed always complacently contemplating ita
own pedestal. In the sacriatie there were only one or two I'elics and
Testmenta to be seen, and a large book open upon a desk.
" People sometimes," said the cur^, humbly shuffling and looking
&jly up, " inscribe their names in this book, with some slight donation
tcwards the repairs of the church."
" I thought as much," said Olga, while Charles pompously produced
liis purse and b^aii fumbling about. Smith was touched by the wistful
Icoks of the guide. This church was his child, his companion, and it was
starving for want of food. He wrote his name — " Mr. Geoffry Smith " —
and put down a napoleon on the book, where the last entry was three
mouths old, of two franca which some one had contributed. The others
opened their eyes as they saw what had happened. The curb's gratitude
and delight amply repaid Geoffry, who Iiad more napoleons to spend than
lie could well get through. The pompous gentleman now advanced, and in
a large, aristocratic hand inscribed, — "Mr. and Mrs. Penton, ofPenton;"
" Miss llalbcrt." And at the same time Mr. Penton glanced at the nams
DTer his own, and suddenly gleamed into life, in that way which is peculiar
to ptople who suddenly recognize a desirable acquaintance.
"Mr. Smith, I have often heard your name. You knew my poor
IrolLer-in-law, Frank Halbert, I believe. — Mrs. Penton — Miss Ilalbert. —
A moat curious and fortunate chance — hm-a ! — falling in with one
another in this out-of-the-way portion of the globe. Perhaps we may
fce travelling in the same direction 1 we are on our way to Bigorre, where
wc rejoin our sister-in-law, Mrs, Frank Ilalbort."
fiooffry felt as if it was the finger of Fate interfering, lie followed
tliL'tn mechauically out into the street.
" How hot the sun strikes upon one's liead. Do you dislike it? — I
*1<J," said Mis. Penton, graciously, as they walkud back to the hotel
tistthcr. . . .
nnswn-fl.m lilv to ilm pronlnns
ttni ttcKtt whidi Imvo liatintcl nntl vcxcJ ihcir joatli. I« it m
UM if Boiiio questicns word novtrr Ui !« lumvrerod, Rome iloulitn ncrcr to b»
M'lvcil. Right and vtrr-ng 6ticm 1o ebaiigc nnd lik-nil its lllo goes on, an do
tlie alt«mnti) lioiiri 6f liglit and dnrkneu. Pevhapi iome folitB knew riglit
from wrong nlivnyaanJatall limes. But there are others w«aV mid inncft-
Biatcnt, who seem t« liie onlj* lo regret. They ask thcmsclvca with dmaaj, .
looltiiig bncfc nt the [laBt— SViw that mo niywlf f Could that hare hecn
mc? That person going about with the hani ami angry hcurt : that
person uttviiDg cruel and wnfiirgiving wtrnls ; tlint person thinkinj
thnuglitii that my bouI abhon? Poor Esther I Oitcn and oflea or his
her own ghnst lta<] ccnne t« haunt her, aa it hnd bauiitci] Stnilli — soine-
lim^q in n girliiili gtils?, tf^tidtr, impetiimi*, unworn nnd iinMiled, nai
uiarnrtcl by thu nnycido wi!.ir. ilii' thorns Knd the dnitt of ViSf, At other
times — ai she c^uld remember hcncif nt one timn cf Iivr lilv — fbotidi, _
infiiliiati^d, ninJ, and btind — oh, how blind ! lier tlrvnm did not last very ■
Inng ; she awoke lYoni it soon. It was not much of a story. 8he WM ■
woman MOW. She was a girl when she fir«t kn«w her htubnud, and anotlipr
who shp once thought would have bi-pn her husband. Hhe h»l bat to
choose httwttn them. Tliat wns all her story ; and she took in hef hnnil
and then put nway the lenden casket wilh tlia tmiure iuBid«, whtlo ■bo
kept llie gliltering Hilvcr nnil gold for hvr portion.
Bi>tro Qh!K h« that ehndoiTs kits ;
8oine liikT* lint n ihitio'a'a ItUai.
Poor EslhtT ! hw irlmJowfl aeon fled, parted, dccpcbcd into night;
and long sad years nuccecdcd one nnotlicr ! trouble and pain and hard-
ne.s« of heart, and bitter, litter pangs of rci^retj TeniorBe of paniotuiio
cdort af\vt right, aftw pwiec, and cn»pl ftiilnrcm ntid hiimili^liooB. Ko
one ovur knew iht life that Kj-ttror HhHxtI Ipd ftir tho mi jean oTter ill*
tnnrricd. Once in an agt>ny of grivf luid hiimilinti«n shs rscapcd to hcr
Btfpmothcr with her little girl. Lady Ftmny pilicd hf^r, gnT« hu- aonie
liinclicon, talked good pcn.se. Old Colonel OlHrar aneercd, as was Iiix
woy, nnd lotd hU dauf;htcr to go homft in n cab. Ha coold Dot adriao
her ronmining wUh liim, nnd, in xhort, it was iinposdblQ,
" You niiirriciJ Frunk with your cyesppcn," hcEoid. " Ton Inie v vetl
pnniiRh what you wei-e about when yoti threw orur thtit poor fellow Smith,
ajt if he had bpcu nn old nhoc ; and now you murt m;ikt' the bett of what
yon have. I am not goin^ to have a scandal in the Dtniily, and a danrhter
without a husband coiutniitly about Hm house. I'll talk to IlaJbvrt and
ftvL- if mailers can't l)C mended ; hut you wilt be Jisgraci^ if ynti Irarc
him, and you are in a rery good poRJlion as you are. Injured wiftv
patient endurance — that siort of thing — nothing could ho hotter." M
Enther, with rttmly i-jea iiml ciuircring Hpa, tiovily turned away aa
her 6thcr npoke. Lady Fanny, ht-r stepmother, Wn» iho kindest of tlic
two, and talked to her aboiit her oliildren'B werfjiif^, aad Mid »h« wonW
diivc her buck ia her broughjim. I'oor E^tha- danwl, (ick at ko«rt;
I
I
J
TO ESTHKn. 2S9
she tliougbt that if it were not Tor her Jncic and lier Prissa slie would go
nway and nerer come bock egnia. Ah, what a life it was; what r weary
dtiluaion, eren for the happiest — even for those who obtained their heart's
desire ! Site had a great burst of cryii^, and then she was better and
said meekly, Yes, nhe would go liomo, and devote hei-self to her little ones,
and try to bear witli Frank. And she mnde a vow that she would com-
plain DO more, »»ce tliis was all thiit came to her when she told her
Iroublefl to those who might have been a little sorry. Esther kept her
TOW. Was it her good angel that prompted her to make it? Ilalbcrt fell,
out hunting, and was brought home senstlesa only a few days al^r, and
Esther nursed him tenderly and faithfully: when he moaned, she forgave
and for^t every pain he had ever inflicted upon her, every cruel word or
doubt or BU-spicion. He never rallied ; and the doctors looked graver and
graTeff until at last Frank Halbcrt died, holding his wife's hand in his.
The few first weeks of their married life, these last sad days of pain
and Hufiering, Eeemed to her all that she had lefl to lier ; nil the terrihlo
time between she blotted out and forgot as best she could, for she would
dnleb her children suddenly in her amis when sickening memories over-
powered her, and so lurget and forgive at once. For kooic time Esthur
was shocked, shaken, nervous, starting at every word and every sound,
bnt by degrees she gained strengtli and new courage. Wlien she came to
Bigorre she was looking better than she had done for years ; and no
wonder : her life was peaceful now, and silent ; cruel sneers and utterances
Iwl paSBi-d out of it. The indignities, all tlie miseries of her post years,
were over for ever ; only their best blessiDgii, Juck and Prinsa, remained
10 her ; and she prayed ivith all her tender mother's heart that they might
grow up different from either of their parents, good and strong and
wise and upright — unlike her, unJiko their father.
The Pcntons, who were good-natured people in ihcir way, had asked
her to come ; and Esliier, who was too luxy to sny no, had agreed, and was
grateful to them for persuading her to accompany them. She liked the
place. The bells sounding nt all the hours with tlieir sudden musical
cadence, the cheery stir, the cavulcndes aniving from the mountains, the
haracsses jingling, the country-folks passing and repassing, the convents
tinkling, Carmes close at hand, Curmchtes a little farther down Iho
rtreet, — the streams, the prclty shudy walks among the hills, the pastoral
Valley where the goats and the cattle were browsing ; — it was nil bright
nnd sunshine and charming. Little Piissa in hor big sun-boniict, and Jack
helping to push the pcrauibulator, went up every morning to the Salut,
along a road widi shady trees growing on either side, which led to soiuq
UiUs in tl)c mountain. One day the children came home in much excite-
ment, to say they had seen a horse in a chequed cotton dveasing-gown, and
"ith two pnir of trowscrs on. But their greatest delight of alt was the
i^panianl of Digorrc with his pack. Esther scon grew horribly tired of seeing
him parading about in a dress something between a brigand nnd a circus-
rider, but I'rissa and Jack never wearied, and the dream of their outgoing
240
TO BSTIIBn.
ttnd ineeming woa to ncct him. IVtssa's otiter dnnm of jMribct happi
WM drinking tea on lie leri-acc at tbc Ch&k-t vrilh litlli: Gvoffrj- nnd Lucy
And Lena Smith, whore they nil worthippcd die Spaniard together, and
lull] vae another sturiM itbout the Tuniiy horse and tJie liltle [ug tluit Cried
to cat out of Lena'H horul. Tlielr one troublo waa that Modonoiwlte
nonchon mnde them tell thdr adventtiros in French. At nil events thejr
could lavffh in English, und slie neri-r found it out. Lady Mary would
c<»ov «ttl nuiltng while the tea was going «n, and nod bcr kind cap-
ribboni at them aU. She vas a portly and good-bumourad pcnton vho
did rootiflh things somctinips, and wu Ibnd of intcrreiing and trying to
ntAlca people hnppy her own way. She hnd L-ikm a fiincy to Esther, and
one day — ingi'niuus L-idy Miir)- — *hu Kaid lo lit^rwlf, " I am rare this
woiild dtf for pwr CcofiVy : he cngbt to marry. Thia ia the Tury thing.
Dear roc, I wish he would corae here Tor a day or two," and she went bnek
into her room and actually wrote to him to come.
The two Uidi«t went lo the Mrvice of the Cannes that evening. It was
llio fashion lu gu and listen ior the voice of one of ihe itiatiloi. There was
a huntle of couipiiny rastling in : smart people were coining up throogh
the dnrlccnlng atreel«; old French IhcHim protected by their little nuiidi,
arriving witli their "heurea" in lltelr hnnds ; lights glcanicd in tlm
windows here and there, nnd in tliu chttjic! of the convent a bbxe of wax
and wick, and anilldal tlowcrs, nnd tiiuniphanl mnxie. It was a lovely
Yoioe, thrilling beyond the oihers, pathetic with b«»uiirui tonus of subdued
passionate expression. The Caruie who s.'uig to them ww r baadaoaM
young man, very pnlc, with a bliiclc crisp brard : his bead oTeriookod all
tho others aa they came uiid weul with tlicir llaming Itipera in mystic
progreEaions. Was it sometliiug in the man's voioe, aome pathetic cndvuce
which recalled other tones to which Esther had liateaed onoe in her life,
and thnt of late years she bad scarcely dared lo reuember? Was it
chance, waa it fiite, was it some strange pteaenliuitnE of hid approach,
whidi inadc Kischcr begin to tiiink of Bcmc, and of the days when she
lirst km-w Gcoffry, and of the uine before; she m.irricd? Art slie thought
of old days nhe seemed to see SniJiIi's kind blue eya looking at her, and
to hear his voice soiuiding through the muaic. How oficn she hod lunged
to set) him — how well she remembered him — tlie inio hoarl, tl)« good
ftiend of her youth.
Eaihcr's heart stirred with Tcincmhrances of things Jar for away from
die convent anil its prayers and fuxtiiigs and pcnancca. Ponauoe and
fahting^i and vigila — suoh tilings fJiuuld be her portion, she tliought, by
rights ; and it was with a pang of ahnmo, of remorse, of bitter r^rct, and of
frL-»h remorse for the pang itself, that she rose from her knees — tlm sorricu
over, the music silent, and ivax-li^hla extinguished — and came out into
the njglil with lii;r (i'iuid- As they were walking up liit atr«et Lady Mary
Euid quietly and uiiconinJouitty itiough, though Esther started guiltily and
asked hireulf if she had been speaking her thought* aloud —
"Mrs. Ualbcrt, did you ever meet my husbauJ'a cousin, Jvff Smilli?
I
I
(
A
TO ESTHER. 241
I heitr ho is in the Pyrenees ; I am writing to him to come and stay with
1U, he is auch a good fellow."
Esther, if she had learnt nothing else since the old Bomon days, had
learnt at least to control herself and to apeak quietly and indifferently,
though her eyes suddenly filled with tears and there came a strange
choking in her throat. Her companions noticed nothing as Mrs. Holb^
said, " Yes, she had known him at Kome, but that she had not seen him
for years."
" Ah, then, you must renew your acquaintance," Lady Mary said ;
adding, abruptly, " Do you know, I hear n Carmelite is going to moke
ber profesuon next week : we must go. These things are horrible, and
yet they fascinate me somehow."
" What a touching voice that was," said Esther. " It afiected me
quite curiously." To which Lady Mary replied, —
" I remember that man last year : he has not had time to emaciate him-
self to a mummy. He sat next me at the lable-d'hfite, and we all remarked
him for being so handsome and pleasant, and for the quantities of cham-
pngne he drank. There was a little quiet dark man, his companion.
They used to go out riding together, and ait listening to the music at the
Thermes. There was a ball there one night, and I remember seeing the
young fellow dancing with a beautiful Russian princess."
" Well?" said Esther, listening and not listening.
" Well, one day he didn't come to dinner, and the little dark man sot
next me nlonc. I asked alter my neighbour ; heard he had left the place,
bat Marguerite — you know the handsome chamber-maid — told me, under
breath, tli.it Jean had been dcisired to take the handsome gentleman's
portmanteau down on a truck to the convent of the Cannes ; a monk Iiad
received it at the garden door, and tlutt was all she knew. I am sure I
recognized my friend to-night. He looked as if he knew me when he
cauic round with the purse."
" Poor thing," said Mrs, Ilolbert, sighing. Esther came home to the
Lotel, flushed, with shining eyes, looking like site used to look ten
years ago. She found Mrs. Pentoa asleep in the dtting-ioom, resting her
portly person upon the sofa. Olga w.is nodding solemnly over a dubious
French novel. Mr. Penton was taking a nap behind his Galignani — the
limp was low. It all looked inexpressibly dull and commonplace after
the glimpses of other lives which she had hod that night. She seemed
lifter! above herself somehow by the strains of solemn music, by
nemorics of tcndercst love and hopeless separation, by dreams of what
Diight have been, what had been before now, of the devoliun which
bad triumphed over all the natural longings and aspirations of life.
Could it bo th/it tliese placid people were of the same race and make
u herself and others of whom slie liad heard 7 Esther crept away to the
Toorii where her children were sleeping in their little cots with faithful
old Spicer stitching by the light of a candle. As the mother knelt
down by the girl's little bed, a great burst of silent tears seemed
12—5
219
TO HSTiiRlt.
to n-1ii;vo tier heiiri, and iln rri^ iumI crii-Oi tlw tcanrvl^ darad Itll
liciMlfwIiy.
Hare you ercr teen a pictun) painted in. black an<l tn golil 7 Bluck-
ro1>»l uintfi, St. Dominie nnd oihc», on a golifpn gloi^, nra tlie only
iaBtuiccs I can cnl! to mind, rxcrpt nn Iintinn pninlcr'ti f«ncy oC n gol<)*i)-
liainid woniBii in hn yellow ilaiueiKk rolx", witli * myMcrioil* binok I»acfc-
grouml Wliinil lit-r. She liad a look (if my hcrcHne, lliongb Either
Ilnlbert is tin ugly vronuin, and iho |>icturt ia th« Ilkenen of one of titow
bfiftittiful fair-haired Vcu'etUns whoeo bmutjr (while (ippplo arc utill MjiDf
that bmiity fndei amy nnd ptriiiltm) ii our^ nitvr nil tlie ceiiluric*, aiuL
litui been ihv mtinificciLt gifl of Tiiian nnO liix cotn|>i-ci's, wlio fint discrmnl
it, to the unknown gencnitiona itint vera yet to be bom an<i to ndmire.
Ax one Uitiki nt tin? tender fhce, it aMnia alirci even now, and one woDdem
if tliore is light nnyivhcro for tKe yellow lady. Cnn tho »p* into chat
gluoia of pniitt moru cl^nrly than into Iho longgnlloiy whwvihe prapl«
arc pacing and the painters arc vrorking at their comIb?- — or ia the ih
blind tw tKc re«t of us? Po«a «hn gnicd uncfltiMHous of all that nnrmunila
herf Does she foncy hrrwlf only minute pariiclea of oil and yellow
ooliro and coIi>iirtng innlttr, never gUffaing tlial kbe is ft kImIc, b«aatiiilt
Willi Rontinu'Ut, alive with feeling luii) hannony T M
I daiesay slic is blind like the real of na, ns Esther wan Uiat Friday in ■
July wh«n Jio camo hwrryins through the midday sunshine, wilh her lilllo
mn acampcring beside her, hilling hia huod from the burning rnya ntnong
tlie long ruhb of hisr bhck widow's drcn.
At Bigorre, in the Pyrtncea, there it one lilllc apol xhert the win's
ny« nero lo bum with iutenser lintt — a yHlun- Idtne of light amid
blitck and luddt^ nhnde. It is a Utile J'locs U'ltdtng to the Thurnrs.
Tn it M black marhlo fi>nnt!Lin ftt^w^t, with n olear limpid atrcfun, and a
Hcrionii inhTiptioii still n-itilcrs gr.ico for benefits rcccired to tlie nynpfe
of the heiiling wnlers. Arched gate* with marble comcr-fttonen, window»
closed and shnllered, form thrc>i> lideR of the little ftf]iiflr^ ; on tlin (bnrtti ■
thfre n a (inrdcn behind an iron railing, whore t.ill Imllyhocks nwl tbeif f
hottdq, rjiliil[iiu flower ami gpent ihe air, niid great l<eda of nargotrlltt
and aad autiiiniial jlonmra lend to th« |]ight of blaok nuirble HVf* itt
front of the home.
Eiither, hurrying along, did not tUijt to Tpok n- to notice,
iraa loo busy shicKIing and helping little blindi^l Jack to akarry :
the bnming do*ert, aa ho called it. They renchcd tlic aliady atnM
at loat. Juck emerged from hie moiWa akirtc, and E»llier atopfwd,
hcMlnted, and looked back acroa the place froin whidi they hoj
jnwt com^. The «iin wns hlindiTi^ nnd bnming, givat daxxling patebcij
wi-fo in her eyes, and yet It w.ts absiu-d ; but ahe oould
help lliinking that she had ticen some one as r\)c crossed : a fignro tbabj
rito ei'cmod to ranrmUr seeing — i-nlhcr to have seen, coming down tbo
Wflck marble ntips uf the hoase in the gnnlcn — afigni'C under an umbn-lh^
tej« i«
n«t
hajl
tbabl
tho'
A
irhich put her in mind of mmc one ^e ha,i known. It was absurd: it
waa ■ fiinejr, an imagiaation ; it came to Intr from the fooliBli thongliti sho
had iiidalgcd in of late. And yet she looked to make aure that such was
the case ; nad, turning her head, she just saw in the dititaDCG a man dressed
in white, as people dren in the Pyrenees, walking under a big umbrella
doira the opposite strett, which leads to the Baths. Esther smiled at
hcT own fancies. An umbrtilla I why should not an umbrelln awnkcu
associattotu T
" Come along, mamma," Riid Jack, who had seen nothing but the folds
of his mother's dre», and who was nut haunted by DssuciationH as yet.
" Come along, mamma ; don't stop and tliink."
Esther took Jack's little outstretched paw into her long slim fingers,
but as she walked along the shady side of the street — past the Moorn^i
nhop-fronts arclied with black marble, with old women gosuping in the
interiors, and while Jack stared at the pnsaers-by, at a monk plodding by
vith sandalled feet, at a bath-woman balancing an enormous machine mi
lier head, or longed ns he gnzed at the beautiful pcnclic-s and knitted wool-
work piled on the shop ledges, Esther went dreaming back to ten years
before, wishing, na grown-up people wish, not for the good things spread
before titcm, but for those of years long gone by — for the fruit long since
«aten, or rotten, or planted in the gi-ound.
"Mummy, there's the Spaniard. Oh I look at his Ipgs," said Jack,
"they are uU over ribbons." And Esther, to plense him, Hmlled and
glanced at a bandy-Ic^cd mountebank disposing of bairns to two
credulous Britons.
" Wliv, tlicre'a uncle Pen ton come b;ick," Jack cried in great excite-
ment; "he is buying muflfetees. Mammy, come and see wh.it he luia
got," cried Jnck, trying to tug away bis hand.
" Not now, dear," said Esther. The slim fingers closed upon Jack's
little hand with too lirui n groisp fur him to escape, and he trudges ou
IK'ffurce.
I'hcy had almost reached the hotel vhere they lived 1)y this time.
Tlic great clock-tower round which it is built servca as a landmark nitd
U-acuo. The place w.is all alive — jangling and jingling ; voices calling to
line another, people poaung and repassing along the wooden g.-tllerics,
bnT»c8 cinniping in tlic court-yard. A riding-jiarty had just arrived ;
jellow, pink, red-cap]*d serving-women were hurrying about, showing
^ests to th<iir chambers or escorting them across the road to the depeii*
dencics of the house.
As Kitther and her little Iwy were walking along tlie wooden gallery
which led to her rooms, they met MoEters, Mrs. Penton's maid, who
told tfacm witli a sniff that her mistress was in the drawing-room.
" Was Mrs. Pcnton tired after her journey last night ? " Estlier asked.
" I was sorry not to be at liomc to receive her, but I did not expect yon
till to-day."
" No wonder she's exliaaatcd," said Maet«« i " not a cup of tea have
244
1-0 £;^Tli£».
ad
i
we 'ad since we ]efi on Tueaday-week. Tliu/ wanted iiie to t»ku sumo
tbdr siroppy tliinga. t ahaii'l be sorry to arc Ilcalon Tlucc agnin, I kuuw."
Mutcra mm cvidiMitly muck put out, und Ext)t<ir Imn-iud oa to tiic
•illing-rouiii, where k!ii! found Mrii. Pviituii lyinjj doitn us asiul, and
Olj^i in A aUitc of vxclttiiiii^iit, ullcriitg ihu fr-attivni in her hat.
"Uowd'ye do, dear?" said Mis. Peiiton. " We are couw lockn^in.'
" Wo have had a laoit interesting ^xcumon," caid Oljja, cvmuig up
kiss hur aitter-iii-liiw. " I wiiJi yuu h;id circd to leave iho cliitdn;n,
Ssther. You might bavo visited tlii> Lnc d'Oo, aiul thai mint remarkable
niin, St. Bturt^nl dc Coiniiiiugi». la Jainiaon'a fjvet of "
" W"e mot ttuch a nice pcrton," iotcmiplvd Mrs. Pi-ntwn. " Hv came to
Bigurie with u« in aaotfaer carriage, tint by t!ie aaw. roiid. Ele kuons yon,
Esther, aui! he and Olga iiisdc greut friends. 'I'hey got oa cii|H(iilly ovur
the cnthcdrnl, aiid he kindly fctclied the Klurr.iy for um. W« had left Ik
en ihv iiihle in the mUt-ii-maitgtr, and vicni Tudly nlhiid wu haJ loat II"
AiiJ Mrs. Pcntuu nuubJud vn lui' u. whuie ImU bvur, uucouodvua that no
one was liiitcniDg to her.
Estlicr bud turned quickly to Olga, and asked who tltia was who
knew her.
"Oh, I dati»iiy you doD't nHnwnber tbe nauie," uid 0%o, nubcr
consciously. '' Smith- — ^Mr. Sinitik ol' Garatciii. lie toltl mc be lialj
known you nt Hume, hcfore he cantc into his property."
" Did he aay that ? " Maid Kstbcr, Hushing n littlo.
" Or before yen uiarriwl, 1 really duu't remenibcr," vaiJ Olgn. " Wo(
had a grtat deal of couveriatioiij and persuaded Iiiin to ooiiic back taj
Bigovre."
" U'a M hot nt tvrulve o'clock," Mra. Peutcu mi9 going on; **iiuj'
paratola ar« quitt.< iiisuflicient. Are you fond cf extreme hcnt, Evtltcr!
Charles miya that Lady KiddLTiniuatcr, tuminer utiJ ivintcr, nlways c;irn<-» ,
a fan in her pocket. They arc very couvetiietit ivLvn lliL-y duuhk uj', iiudj
l:,ke litw "
" What aort of lyoking jwi'soa is Mr. Smith ? " Eatlier nskvd^ with •]
Utile t'D'orl.
"DisiinguiiliieJ-loekmg, certainly : a long red beard, not very tall, htll
broadly built, and a very pleamnt gentlemanlike monucr, Yoii slialttefl^
bicii nt the tablv-d'hotc to-day ; he promi^ to join us, la &ct," said
Oign, " he propused it luiuielf," ■
"I heard hioi," said Mi«. Pviitou, placidly. " Olga, I think yoa baTe|
Biado knother coni^ueat. 1 i-emcmber " ice
Poor Esther could not wait any longer to liesr Mrs. I'enton'a ivtoiuis-
ecQceSf ot Olga'a seU'-congrutuIutioiui ; she vre&t a^vay quickly with Jack
to her own room, and got her littlo Friua into her Up, and made her pat
her two soft arms round her neck and love her. " Mamma, why are yoa
crying?" »«id Jaelc ; "we ara both quite vrcil, and wc have b«eu vtirygood
indeed, lately. jM:iibime Bouehon says 1 am her ppity man. I ahaa't
tuaiTjr her thonyh. 1 »hnll marry Lena when I'm a man."
TO ESTHER, 245
Esther dress«d for dinner in her black gauzo gown, and followed
the others to her U8ual place at the long, crowded table. Her luuids were
cold, and she clasped ihem together, reminding herself by a gentle
pressure that she must be quiet and composed, and give no sign that she
remembered the past. She no longer wore her widow's cap, only a littlo
piece of lace in her huir, in which good old Spicer took a pride as slie
pinned up the thick braids. Her grey eyes were looking up and down a
little frightened and anxiously : but there was no one she had ever seen
before, and she sat down with a sigh of relief; only in another minute,
somehow, there was a littlo stir, and Olga said, — "Esther, would you
make room," and popped down beside her; and then Esther, looking up,
ciw that her ^ster-in-law was signing to some one to come into the seat
next beyond lier. Some one in this case means the particular person, and
there he was. Esther hud been nervous and excited, but she was sud-
denly quite herself again. As Smith took his place, he bent forward, and
his eyes met Esther's, and he put out his hand. Is it my old Esther J ho
thought, witli a thrill of secret delight at meeting her at last ; while
Esther, as she put out her slim fingers, said to herself. Is this my old
IHend 7 and she looked wistfully to see whether she could read his kind,
loyal heart, stamped in his face as of yore. They were both quile young
people again for five minutes, and Olga attributed the laughter and high
spirits of her neighbour to the charms of her own conversation. Esther
■aid not one word, did not cat, did not drink, but was in a sort of dream.
Ader dinner they all got up, and went and stoo<l in one of the wooden
galleries, watching the lilac and gold as it rippled over the mountains, the
Ikdat, tho Pic du Midi. And so this was all, and the long-looked- for
DicL'tiijg was over. Esther thought it was so simple, so natural, she could
liarilly believe that this w.os what hIio had hoped for and dre.ided so long.
Tlitre was Smith, scarcely changed, — a little altered in manner pcrhnps,
with a beard which improved liini, but that was all. All the littlo tricks
of voice and of manner, bo limiiliar once, were there ; it was himself. She
was glad, and yet it was not all gladness. Why did lie not come up to
liii old friend? IVhy did he not notico or spe.ik to her? Why did he
seem so indifferent? Why did he talk so much lo the others, so little to
litr ! Esther was confused, disappointed, and grieved. And yet it was no
wtpndcr. She thought she of all people hail least right to expect much
from hitn. She was leaning over the side of the gallery, Olga stood next
to her in h^r while dress, with tho light of the sunset in lier raven black
hair, and Smith was leaning .against one of the wooden pillars, and talk-
ing to Olga. Ho glanced from the raven black hair to the gentle
btnt head beyond. But he went on talking to Olga. Esther felt a httlu
lonely, a little deserted. She was uat-d to tho feeling, but she sighed, and
turned away with a little impatient morcnicnt from the beautiful lilac
glow. A noisy, welcome couifiirt was in store for liur. With a bnrst of
ditldish noise and laughter, Priaaa and Jacky came ruzihiiig up the gallery,
and jumped upon her with their little eager aruia wide open.
•
"Come for n nalk, n little, litth: sli«rt vnXk, [4c«m, tnanira;.'
J«k. Ami ICithcr l%i»c<l him, ftn4 raiJ yo, if lie Would IvteU lier Ual
and li<;r glorca, and lier khavrl.
As (the WBS going, Smith cnme up Iicnitating, and nud, not luoking her
Ml in the Tacc, —
" t Ii:u1 n iticningT! fi-oi:i mj roiiiit), 1o lixg ynii (n Uii<k in tiMfre lliii
<!VOiiing. MiSH llnlhrrt Iim kinilly promiitnl tc ocRtiir." And Ksllicr nkc,
looking up wiili a reproachful glanoe be tlwttglii, aniwored verjr <]itiL>!l/
»ln: wouM try to come »ft«r her wtlV, IJe watclicJ her u slie walked
niray down tlic long gallery irith licr cliiMrcn olinctnj; to bcr side ; and
nil l\\v Niinsct lights and Bliadovrn liilliri!; nj^m tlium 9« llwj wcut. " Wlmt
a prC'Lty picture it itinUcs," lie srilil lo Mis Kiillicrt.
' Tm «> glnd yon iMiiIt Eathcr nicc-tookinff," mid Olga. " It i« not
C'V^yVody who dote. Slinll wc talco ft stroll lowardi ttia mime, Mr.
Siiiiili? . . .
EHt1)^r Iind no hcnrt ii>r llic inUMc nn<l compAny, and wftnder«d »vty
into a cdiiiitry roiul. All llie flelrlE of lirfind Indian -Odrn kaiiM wvrc
glowing Rs llm tlireo pfUMi^d along: low hriglil Rtrvnka Liy bi-joad llie
we«r*ni plniOB, mid a still crening breeze cnmo hhwing and fpenlly
Ktiiring (he flat prcvn leaves. Jacky and Prism wt-rc I'linltcrinf; to one
onollicr. Either could net s^oak vciy mitcli ; Kcr boarl wm too full.
Was sho {jiml — w:i» ulio wut? Wlinl liad flic <'xpi'clcd ? Wirn iltia iho
ncoLing ebo li;id Iiiokcd fnr ."j) long ? " He tniglil li:ivc nivikcii oim weird oT
kitidnoM, lie might lisro wid jomtlhing more thiin thai tiwro Unw doyua
d«? or coiir&e lie was intlilTercttt — how coidd it lie otlicrwiup .' Imt lio
might havcihninnicd a litlto inlciCEt," poor EMher tlrought t "only a very
littte would liavo salijifipd me."
It waa ^tittc daik uTun »1^ii reaclioti T.ady Mnry'ti, after Mcing brr
cMldrcn lo WJ. OIg«, nii-l Mr. IV-ntun, nnd Smith «•<*«! lluif ftlrrady,
and Lady Lucy was siugiitg, when Estluir cnnin into ih© giwit Iwrc durk
room. The young lady was singing n littlo French noni* in Uw dimoao, m
with A pathclic, picitsant hino, — " Si tw wiPni*.'* its nnm« wan. 8h* pire
it will) i.-lK'irniing expre&uoQ, nnd wlun shu had fiiuiti<-d, ttiey weiv kI)
nllt'iit f<jr a inomcRt or two. unlll Laly Ttlnry ht£tm lo buMk cbout and to
|iour out [he ten.
"Take this lo Mr*. TtiiM«if, GeoflVy," sho mid, "and tell Ikt about
my aclidinu for to-morrow, aad pcrsuAdc tuT to come."
Smith In-otight the lea as he was l>id,
"We all want to go over lo Giipiic, if you will come loo," 1i« aaiJ,
Mo loukod duwa kindly at Lcr m ho ep<^>kc, and ihu poor roolii&
wwnian fliishcd up with plcamire as slit- agitrpd to join ihMii. Sim wa«
fiorry nllirwaids when bIic, nnd Olgo, ftud Mr. Pcnion walki?*! hene
togMliisr through tho dark slrtcti.
"I wonder whtither Mr. Smith mranx lo jrrin sll our esreamoiu," «rid
Mus nalberU " I juat mvnlionwl my wish to «co Grip]», nnd he jiunfied
at it diwclly."
I
I
I
TO ESTHER. 247
But Geth«r felt n cbill Mmehow rs Mr. Pcnton ansn-ercd,^-
" C«TtaitilT, I — * — remarked it, Olga ; you-a nre not — perhaps aware
that yoa hATe attractions — to a — no common degree. Mr. Smith has
Mttainly — a — discovered them."
Poor Esther ! it seemed hanl to meet her old friend at lust, only to
Bce how little he remembered her ; and yet she thought all ia as it should
he ; and with my Jacky and my Prissa to love, I am not to be pitied.
Btill, there was a strange ache in her heart next morning, when they nil
assembled after the early breakfast: abe could not feel cheery and
unconscious like Lady Hary, or conscious and flattered like Olga. The
diildren in their clean cotton frocks were in raptures, and bo far Esther
waa happy.
The road to Grippe is along a beautiful mos^y valtey, with a dashing
ttream foaming over the pebbles, .and little farms and homesteads dotting
the smooth green slopes. Olga and Smith were on horseback; Penton
vas also bumping mDJestically along upon a huge bay horse ; Esther and
lady Slary, and the Smith children and her own, were packed away into
a big carriage with Mdlle. Bonchon, and little CieofTry Smith on the box.
The children were in a state of friskiness which seriously alarmed the two
mammas. They seemed to have nt least a dozen little legs a-piece.
Their screams of laughter reached the equoetrians, who were keeping up
a somewhat solemn conversation upon the bcnutJea of nature, and the
cnltivation of Indian com : GoofTry wondered what all the fun might be,
Dad Olga remarked that the children were very noiny, and that Esther
certainly spoilt little Jack.
"Ijady Kidderminster strongly advises his being sent to a preparatory
school," said Penton, with a jog between each word ; wliile Smith looked
lip at the blue sky, tlien down into the green valley, nnd forgot all about
ihom, trj'ing to catch the tones of the woman he had loved.
The chalet was a little rough unfinished place at the foot of tlic Pic ;
the horsfs were put up, aad the excursionists got down ; they ail drank
milk in clfan wooden bowls, crowded round tho wood firo, and peeped at
the rough workmen and shepherds who were playing canla in the next
compartment — room it could not be called, for tho walls were only made
cf bars of wood at a ccrt.iin distance from each othtr. The children's
delight nt seeing all over tho house nt once was unbounded. Jacky
Flip])ed his hand between the wooden bara, and insisted on shaking hands
nith a great rough road-maker in a sheepskin, who smiled kindly at tho
little fellow's advances.
Lady Mary was very much disappointed nnd perplexed to ace tho
ms}[ result of her kindly schemes. It was unbelievable that GeofTry
should prefer that great, uninteresting, self-conscious Miss Ilalbcrt, to lier
gentle and tender little widow, and yet it was only too evident. \V'hat
conid be the reason of it? Sho looked from one to ihc other. Esther was
sitting by the fire on a low wooden stool. She seemed .1 litlle sad, n
little drooping. The children were laugliing about her as usual ; and she
•
vfaa liulJing )ig «-oodon bowl full of milk, frcm whtcli they upped
vthvn llivy fi iRclineJ. Tl)u firuligUl jusi ciuglit llm golden tints
ill Iicr bruwu, tliick Iiair; hw bat was ou tins Gvoi at lier f«t ; link
I'riswi — lile htr, and not like licr — was peeping over hw shouldor.
It was II pretty picture : ihc flntnc, llic rougli imd quuint iiinjplicity ■
of lli« pliicp, xccmcd to give it n sort nf idyllic gritce. As for Smith,
111! ntis KUiiiding at the pan^rlew windoiva looking out xt tlic rien:
nil Lite light wua etivaniiiig ihiongli hiH red beard. It waa a fitruiglit
iiiiii well-stt figure, Lady M*ry thought; ho looked well aUo to lalco
ctirc of himself and of bcr poor ^tle Estlwr, too. He ivbs ■
nlisti-3cl<rd — evidontlj' ihitiking of wonioiliiDg bctidcs Ihc gntvn valicji
mill [msliiros — could it, could it he that odious alToctcd woniui Miick
up ill nil attitude in the middle of the room nho was tlio object of
hie drcaniB?
An odd jumble of post, preM^t, and future was nuiaiiig through
GcofTiy'ii mind, ns Im looked out of tliu hole in the vHi, oad fpectilnlcd
u])on whnt was going to happen to him li«ro In this groen paslurc-liiud by
the itldc of tli« cool watf^ii. Were lltcy wulcri of crnnforL^was happiness
hie own at last 7 sonacwliat sadly ho thought to him^lf Uiab it yru not
now what it would have been ton years ago. He could look at the
hnppicet futuri} with cjlmntna. Il did not duulc and tninspoit him ta it
would have done in former times — ho was older, mom indifi'vn?nt ! ho had
8e(q) HO many things ceaitu and fintih, »o many faiioits chniige, he had
awukeued from eo nmuy vivid dri'amB, that now pcrliajia ha whs Etill
(iicaming ; lift had only become n light sleep, ns it were, from which ho
ofWn Htanud aad seemed to awaken. Even EBther .... what did it all
mean ? did he love her Icfs now thitt ho had seen her, and found hvx
unchanged, flweel*;r if po^blc — and lie could not help thiclciug it — not
indlfTeTent? Wonid the cliurm vuiiinh witti the difficulties, as the beauty
of a iundMApc «nd3 where the Hut and proiporoui plnins bogia. Me did
not think so— he thought »o— he luved hei'^he miHtru)!iti>d livr; he talked
tu Olga, and yel he could not keep hia eyea fioiu following l^silicr lu die
came and weni. All she said, all she did, si^^mcd to him like some Hort
of niuMC wliich moditlulus and chnngL-s from one Larmonioua thing tu
aaotlmr. A. nvlvmii Herealty, a suntimcut of wurdlus* uuottoa was here,
and withal, the tondur waywardiieu and gentle woni.tntiiitN8 which bad
alwayfl Hccmed to be: part of her. She was cot handsome dow, any more
than she had ever been — tlic plain lines — tha heavy hair — the diMq)-Mt
eyes were the same— tho same at those eyes Smith could remciDbcr
iu lEoiEian gaidens, in piiLocus with long echoing gallericf, looking at him
tlirvugh imploring Cuam on tlie Pincian Ilill. They had hnuutvd him lor H
seven yems since liGiirst caught ilie trick of watching to see them brighteti.
Now, they bri^litcned when the two liltio dark-hoaded uhildtca camv
runuiug to Ikt kneL>. Ilaphael coiild IJnd no subject that pleased hiiu
bt-tlcr. Smith was no linphad, hut he, too, thought tliat among nil the
beautiful pictur&d of daily life tlierc l$ no eonibiaalioD so tuuplr, M
I
I
I
1
TO ESTUEH. 249
toucLiag as iliat of children who are clinging about their mother. And
these pictures are to be Been everywhere and in every climG and place ;
no galleries are needed, no price need he paid; the background ia of end-
less variety, the eun shines, and the mother's face brightens, and all owr
tlie world, perhaps, the children come runniug iuto her arms. "WTiitc
arms or dasky, bangled or braceleted, or scarred with labour, they open,
and the little ones, clasped within loving walls, fuel they are safe.
Quite oblivious of some observation of ^liss Ilalbert's, Smith suddenly
Idt his window and walked across to the fire, and warmed his hands, and
said some little word to Esther, who was still sitting on her low seat. She
vaa hurt and annoyed by his strange constraint and distance of manner.
She answered coldly, and got up by 8 sudden impulse, and walked away
to where Lady Slary was standing cutting bread-and-butter for the
children. " Decidedly," thought the elder lady, " things are going wrong.
I will ask GcofFrj to-night what he thinks of my widow." " I am a fool
for my pains," GeofFry thought, standing by the fire, " and she is only a
hard-heartud flirt after all."
He was sulky and out of temper all the way back. In vain did Olga
ransack her brain, and produce all her choicest platitudes for his entertain-
ment. In vain Pcnton recalled hia genteelest reminiscences. Smith
answered civilly, it ia true, but briefly and oonstrainedlj'. He was a fool
to have come, to have fancied that such devotion as liia could be appru-
ciated or understood by a woman who had shown herself once already
fiiitLless, fickle, unworthy. Smith forgot, in his odd humility and mis-
trust of himself, that he, too, had held back, made no advance, kept aloof,
and waited to be summoned.
Gcoffry had the good habit of rising early, and setting out for long
walks across the hills before the great heat came to scorch up all activity.
The water seemed to sparkle more brightly than later in the day. The
flowers glistened with fresli dew. Opal morning lights, with refractions
tif loveliest colour, painted hills and brooks, the water-plants, the fields
where the women were working already, and the slippery mountain-sides
where the pine-trees grew, and the flocks and goats with their tinkling
btlls were grazing. It was a charming medley of pastoral sights and scent
and frt-sh air : shadows trumhling and quivering, birds fluttering, green
tlirilting with colour, the clear-cut ridges of the hills, clear waters
bubbling among reeds and creeping plants and hanging furns, among
which beautiful dragun-ilics were darting. Smith had been up to the top
of the Bedat, and was coming down into civilized life again, when he
uopp«d for an instant to look at the bubbling brook which was rushing
along its Bclf-niadc ravine, some four or five feet below the winding path ;
« field lay beyond it, and further stil!, skirting the side of a hill, the pretty
iinic-trcc walk which leads to tho baths in the mountain. Smith, who had
hetn tliinktng matters over as he stumbled down the steep pathway, and
settling that it was too late — she did not care lor liini — he had ceased caring
for her — best go, and leave things as they wore — suddenly came upon a
flSO
TO ESTrirn.
^raup which louclieil an^ intcreeled him, nutl in»I» liirn WDiuk-r whiHTin*,
afitt all, pni'IcncG snd good iniMO nciv nlwnys the wi^-Kt ami ihu musC
I>ni(lcnt or ihingB. lu lira iiiiddl« of th« Mrenin wme tlionsuid yoan age. n
grt-iit rock liflf] rolt«] rlovrn from the licigliu nlK>vc, nnd nitik into th« l>nl
of th« stTcnm, vilh Ihc WAtvr ninhing ami txilitilin); nil rouiicl It, itnd tlie
wnlct-Jiittai flofltinj BTiiong the TippliM. . . . Pcrclied on the took, like the
nuiiul «r llm Rlresni. w»* Esther, wilh Jncky aad Prissa clinging cIom to
her, aikI ntldcing loii; rocda and vatcr-lniTea into her h%ir. llie rirerUia
nuhed awtkj, twi^Hni" nnd twirliitjj nnd <iJm)tf)eKriii(> into ^TT«ti. Tlio
Ic>are3 and irat«T-pIauli xfTajed wiih the ripplvs, the children nTijrjl«d on
thoir narrow perch, while Eiillicr, ivith n lio^k In her hand, nod b grot
green tiiiilin'llii, looked bright, nud kinil, nnd happy.
"Cousin JefT, coiiftin Jc-fFI" cried little Jack, in imitation ufllic littk
Sinithn, "come i«to tho rteanior, there'i lota of room." M
*' How d'ye do? " wild hor mother, kIiII bright, and ktr»d, and h^tTX' ■
" How d'vB do, Mrs. Uiidine?" said Riaith, hrig^htening and coming to
the wator'e edge.
Afl Smith walked back (o hia bTeakrnAt, he lllonght to hlinM^r— "If
nhfl would but giro me odo littla sign that aht: likvd me, I think — 1 tlitnk
I could not lidp cpcakin^."
And I^ad)- Mary, who fiad lier tittle tatk out wilh her oonnii after
brcakfatt, diKOvcred, 1o her j;;rcat eurprlte, llint whni (the lind thought of
as a vngiio jroMibitily (some diiy, very fur off, vas not impossibis, aid
might bo ncnr lit hnnd after alt. Hhc did not say mnch to Smith, and ho
did »ot giien how muah ahe kt^cw of nil that wnn pewsingin h!fl minJ.
" He will ):o away, he ulll never come fonrard ttoleta Enthor me«ta liiia
half way," the »'!dor Udy thought to hvrKlf, as he left the room ; and alu
longed lo upwik to Esther, htit bIio eould not sumniDn courage, titoiigb<
oppurlnnily was not wanlingr.
They \nrc standing in the balcony of tho chl^lot that T«ry ftAvmoim,
Watching tliP jM-nple go by ; fir« one child went away, thwi another, nnd
tA Inl Lndy Stary and Esther were left aloae. " I,ai>k at lliat imm of
DJien dragging the groat trunk* of tlia Ippm," said I^y Miiry; •'how
pictiire«fjue the peount people arc in their niount.Tin di'et* 1 " ■
" The men look so well in their le'rtts," KethiT wtd ; " what m fii»-
looking young foilow tlint is who in lo-tdiitg th* cirt. How nuclt prctli*r
and inon: picttircMiuo tlu; blue mid red caps nre than our diimney-pot
Imts. There is Mr. Sintlli cro-t*tiis the irtrocl— lie would lodt Tvty wcU ia
n *Ayl, with bialong red bonnJ."
" Ccrtniiily lie would," Mid Iiaily Rlnry ; arxl then alio suddetilf
added, " E»t!ier, would yon *Io me a favour ? 'J"hoy hnvc Ikoh talking
of going to itie fuir at T^trbpa lo-morrow, I aliall be otiligid to sl;iy at
home wilh my huslxiiid and I.ney. Would you bring UeofTry a birtt,
and give it to hhn, nnd nnico Mm wnir it 7 1 know toU will if i
nsk yoti."
"A r«d, Of A blue me t " toiJ Ei4hor, imiling.
\
TO ESTH&n. ^l
" Tlic nicpst yoa eon get," snid Lady Mary. " Tlmnlc you very much
indeed."
Lody KiddcTininster, who must haTC employed her time irell while
*he was Id the PyrenccB, " had been very mneh struck by TarbeB," Mr.
Penton declared. *' It ia pleasantly Bituated," Murray says, " on the
dent Adcur, in the midrt of a ferlile plain in fiill view of the Pyrenees,
Pnblic walks contribute to the public health and recreation. The market-
people, in their Tarioua contumeH, arc worth seeing."
Geoffry Smith received a short note from Mrs, Penton two morningn
liter the Grippe expedition. It ran as follows ;^
Deir Mr. Sutm, — Hr, Fcnton is niEiking an excorsion to Tarbcs to-dny. We Rtart
■t t«o, so ttmt wc mar not miss our ]uach. as it ia not safe to tmst to chnnco for it,
mi ire should be much pleased for yoa to join ns after, but In case of rain we should
gin it Dp. Cnfortnnatelj', there appears no chance of anTihing so reflvBhing.
Sinccrclj' jojov,
Mir A FehioK.
To vhich Smith, Vrho was mther bewildered, briefly onmrered that he
riioiild be delighted to join them at the station At two. The BUition woa
all slirc with conntry folks, in their quaint pretty dreBt>c3, berets, red
ca[a, brown hood)i, nnd snonded gay-coloured kerchiefs, and red cloaks
like Indies' opera-cloaks. The faces underneath nil these bright trappings
wtre snd enough, with brown wistful eyes, nnd pinched, worn checks.
Rnskin has written of mountain gloom und moantnin glory, and in truth
th« dwellers nmong the hills iccni to us, who live upon the plain, sad and
KDiewhat opprcs«cil.
Smith looked here nnd there for his party) and discovered at last,
rather to hia difimay, Olga, her sister nnd her brother-in-law, sitting on
s bench together. Then Esther liad not come after all ; ho felt inclined
to escape nnd go back to the town, but Olga caught sight of him too,
wi'i gmcioualy beckoned.
"Mrs. Hnlbcrt is not coming, I am nfraid?" gaid Smith, shaking
limi'ls wilh them.
"Esther, do you mean?" nnked Mrs. Ponton. "She w.i3 hire a
ttiiniite ago. Jacky took her to look nt a pig. — Wnn it a pig or a goat,
OlgaT I didn't notice."
Jlrs. Ponton's nn'ivc remnrts gave Smith n little trouble wimetimra,
Mill lie could not nlw.tys suppress a faint smile. Fortimatuly Esther came
"p at lliin moment, and it was not pcrcoivi'd.
Esther nt one time had not meant to come, but she could not rojiist
'be children's entreaties, or tnist thtm to the Pontons alone. She was
WMry nnd dispirited ; she had passed n wakt'ful, feverish night. How or
v.lien fir where it began, she did not know, but she was conscious now
'list in her heart of hearts nlie li.id looked to meet GeofTiy again some day
:iiil li'ired nnd Ix^lievcd tli:it lie woidd be uncli.tns-od. But slic now saw
ifiat it w;ia nnt bo — he liked her only as he liked other pi-ople, with that
kiinlly ho!irt of liis --no Ihou^ht of what had l)ocn, occurred tu hijn. He
asa
TO ESTRRR.
might be a fribiid, a pleaeaot aoqaointauoe, but iJio fKcnd of otd, ne
Vvrez aspiia. IIow fooluh she hail bc«n, how uiiwuituuiljr, Iiow Ibrvar^
£ren M cin^'ADcl-twcnty Estber coold blush like a girl to think bow ah«
luid thought 01' Gcoffiy. She nliow heart sbould Ira her chtldn.-a'« onljr ;
«ho yrho had n-jcctcd lii» uScctioa when it might bare been ben ; ihe
who bad b«8n faithlsM aad wlBBb mid remonerid so long — she wu gkd
almoet to soflVr now, ^e was no ongr^ nod vexed with herself! In flititfe
shv thought she -would tt^ to bo bi»v« and more umpto: abe wonld )dtd
her dfirliiigs and live for them ; and perhaps ioino day it might bo in ber
povrer to do itonietliing for }iim — to do him some service— «tid wben tfaey
MTrc -vviy old people, she would tell hiiu perliujis liow truly she had been
liJA fHt!iid all her life.
The Run vas Miusiiig and buraing Dp eTerylhing. The It&ia atopped
at a bridge, and llivy ull ^gl down from their carringcs, nod s«t off
valkiiig tawatdfi the murkt^c. St^ueAl:, chatter, jingle of bellK, Ecreanuag
of babies, pigs And piga and pigs, prvtty grey oxeo, with carta yoked to
their horns, priect^, a crowd AMcmliled round an old womob with a sort
of tri]K>d, upon wliich yi^u placed your ibot fur ber to bluclcc^D and
suinrtui y vur nhoua ; utuiitillua, grecu and >vd umbreUai, rows of patient-
looltiiig wumiiii, with snd eycfl, hulding tlii-ir wyres in their handa, aeragsy
fowls, small little pears, a cnbhogc, jtcrhaps brouglit (Kim over tba
mountain, a few putatoct in o shabby bnakct; — the scarcity and barrcn-
UL'wi ttiuck ^miili vt-ry nully. Kktlier visa tjuilu afluclctl ; abu ma
emptying bt-r punsc and putUng Uttle pieces right and led into ihc small
thill hands of the children. They pnaeed one stall wliore a more ptot-
pcrouN •looking couple — coinmor^ants from Toulous«>^wore dispodnff of
piltrs of bluo and r<-d Pyrcncan caps. Estber sloppi-d and called Jack to
ber, and tried a little nd berri on liio dark curly head, and kimcd her l)tll«
HOD an elic did ao. She had not scou Smith, who was do«e behind her
with Olga, who smiled at the pretty picture. Misa llalbert, soon after
Icmving ihe railwiiy iMiiriugi^, hud eoiiipIttint.-d of riLtiguc, and taken poor
Gcofliy finnly but gi-iilly by tlie arm, with n grasp which it was
impouibl<> to elude. E«tb«r scarcely noticed lliciii i sho wulkcd on with.
her children as usual, and ber motherly heart waa midtiog ovtat tltu
WAD babies, whoso own mothers found it so Iiard n struggle to
them. They were lying in the vegetablo-baakuta on the grouad, din^ i
to their molben* backs, and stnnng with their dark n»und eyes. Some
of tlie moat flouriabing among tbem had little etnart caps, with artiBcial
flowera, tied uuder their china. Afkr buying Jack's birtt, Mrs, Hall
Etctned to bcsitatc, and tlicu making up ber mind ilie aiked lor anotbt
•orncwbnt larger, which she paid for, and then turned to Smith with be
old bright look iiud gavu it him, saying, —
" 1 think you would look very well iu a Icrcf, Mr. Smith— ^n't yc
like n blue one beat 7 "
Smith wor« bia iiw( all day; but Olgn the incvit.iblo held him, and
woidd not let liiiii go. Estlicr ibougbt it n. Utile hard, only she waa
TO ESTUEB. 253
dotennioed not to think about it. They wandered for hours through
the bare burning streets. There seemed to be no shade : the brooks
iparkled, bright blazing flowers grew in gardens, the houses were close-
ihuttered, scarcely any one was to be seen ; little bright-plumaged birds
came and drank at the streams, and flew away stirring the dust. The
duldren got tired and cross, and weary ; the elders' spiritfl sank. Some
one, standing at a doorway, told them of a park, which sounded shady
and refreshing, and where they thought they would wait for their train.
The road lay along a white lane with a white wall on either side, and
dusty poplars planted at regular intervals. Esther tried to cheer the
children, and to tell them stories as well as she could in the clouds
of dust. Mrs. Penton clung to her husband, Olga hung heavily upon
Geoffry'a aching arm. " He might come and help me with the children."
Edlier thought he would have done so once. They reached the gates of the
perk at last. It was like utter desolation enclosed behind iron railings — so
il seemed, at least, to the poor mother : ragged shrubs, burning sun, weeds
md rank grass growing along the neglected gravel walks. There Avas a
grat whits mnseum or observatory in the middle to which all these gravel
pWhi converged; and there was — yes, at last — there was a gloomy- looking
clump of laurel and fir trees, where she thought she might perhaps fia '
Mme shade for Jack and for Prissa. As she reached the place, it was alt
ibe could do not to burst out crying, she was so tired, so troubled, and
ererj minute the dull aching at her heart seemed to grow worse and worse.
Poor Esther ! The others came up and asked her if she would not like to
sec the view from the observatoiy ; but she shook her head, and said she
*a» tired, and should stay where she was, and they all went away and left
licr. One French lady went by in her slippers, with a faded Indian scarf,
ind an old Leghorn hat, discoursing as she went to some neglectcd-
looking children, —
" i^vez-vuua, ma fille, que vous faites des grimaces ; cc n'est pas
joli, mon enfant, il faut vous surveiller, mon Heltne. Les grimaces ne aa
fcnt pas dans la bonne soci^tc, Le pare est vaste," . . . she continued,
dunging the subject; her voice dwindled away into the arid, burning
distance, and the desolation seemed greater than ever. .... It seeinod
to Esther as if hours and hours had passed since the others had left her.
" I have some good news for you," said Smith, cheerfully, appearing
from behind the laurels. " Mrs. Halbert, we have only just time to catch
the train. Come, Jack, I'm going to be your horse ; get up on my back,"
sad GeoiTry set olT running with the delighted Jack, just as Olga appeared
in search of him.
Esther and Prissa set off running too, and the Pentons followed as best
lliey could.
The little station was again all alive and crowded by peasants and
cooatrywomcn, Spanish bandits vuth their packs, three English tourists
>a knickerbockers. Smith met them with Jack capering at his side, and
**inging by his new friend's hnnd,- -
U64
TO fiSTHKK.
" I liAva tiiLoji tlic litikvU," lie niJ. " Tlunk goodocffi, wc liavo dune^
irilb 'I'arlH-*. Wluit u beauljr hols ii is."
"I mn surpriKx]," Peatuo remurked, "thai Lady Kidtknuinste
idiould Imvv kiul auuli » high ofinioo oT tli« — ft — ^pU««, tilie
lai\y nivntionud ui iui)j>Litli«ntre of wkicli { eon gain no infonnatioa."
" Oil, dcJtr 1 we stiall novor f^et tu in time for bliQ (nble-d'b6le^" fainl^ '
giwpcd iln. I'vnton, siiiVing into a sent, " and the dioaer will bti over."
The beocbcs vien Rill, and Uicgr wera all obliged to diapanra here and
llierc OS H\ey could find plaora. Esther pcrdicd bcreulJ' tipoa a p«duDg-
ctisc, vilh iitllo PriMA half asloup oii licr knuc. What a drniiy day aba
b»d spent — filte gave a stgli of ruUefto tliink it vraj owr.
" iiaTB yott room horo for Jack!" »id GtvUVy, coiuing up. "ih
Wkiu't own 1)0 ij tiri'd," .... ■
'' Come, lay kou," sauI £stber, puttiog liur arm round the boy, aaJ^
pitUii^ biu uji bvntds lit-r. " Yuu liiive bLi.-a vtrry goud to Jack, Mr.
!»uitb," site uiid, witli ati upward look of her dear nyoL
tiniilh looked at Imr.
" It wwmt very ctrong«," ho laid, iviih a muldui ouutloa, ** bo
yuu aijiiu liku tltit. I Koniotiuifls woitder wliethvr it is indeed you
iiic, or (juito difTutunt |>«oplv.''
** I thought,' said ICsiliur, "yoQ hiid fdr^iMtia tltiu wo had ever
frk-ud», Mr. Sitiiili."
'' I tiivugbt i/o» liud fvrgottea it," said Smith, vuy uowly. Tb«
viim a jiir In his voice — tinira was a misl before her eyta. Sbn was ttr
vuxrd, over-doDc. Poor I^ollier suddciily burst into tears.
" iiy dear, tny dwr, dc^'t cry," sud Smith. " Wlicit cau I ay to
bog your pordoa I you should ha»e knowa me belter — you . . ."
" I ouinat uitdrnluud about that amphitheatre," said Mr. PeulOB,
coming up. " Murr.iy, you non, does not al!ud« to it,"'
" Why ddti't yuu go and .uk tbu man at the ttckot-otHoeT " nid
auUiorilaUrcIy, and Pcntoiip rallicr bewiidend, oboyad.
" I was a littlti ofmid of you," aiid Smith, " uUen I first saw you. T'
tiied to k«:p away, but I could not help myaelf, aiid cauie. I idioald
huv« gone to ihti end of tho world if you hwi bb«ii thuv. I buvo never
cliiingi'd-' iLuvur I'orgutUin. I lova you us 1 hjive alwavB lovi-d you. Dm^
luiJitir, suy souivtiiiiig to mo ; put niu oiii of this horrible suajien*^— " fl
" WhAt a tearful crowd; ho\r it doej cniA cno," said Mrs. Pcntou,
suddenly ai^cariiig. '' Con you tell mc -where Charles has hiddvn bitu-
fMI tia put )»y cau-dc-Cvlcj^ ia his pockvt, tuid rvolly ia ihii
crowd . . . ."
Kbilivr umid not answer. Elie was bending over Prima, and tn-ie
tt> hiilu bor It-tira. Smith poljti-ly pcinltid out the tickot-offioo
Mrs. Peutoa, and tbeu, with great gravity, lumvd bis bock upon
hidy, and took EsLlier'e hand, and uiid yicli jiis kind voice, " Dvar Esthe
ouce jou luod uot to bo nfraid of i«Uing me wliut you thought. Wool
yuu speak to nic fiow ? Indi-ed I am ibc saute as I was tbnt,"
i^nlOB,
SmitlJ
TO ££TUER. ^S
*' And I am not the aamc 1 " said Eutlior aiiuling, witl] licr eivcct fooo
Mill wet with tears ; and with a tender Esther-like Impulse tJio took liur
children'ii two little hands and put them into GoolTrj-'a broad palm.
Geoflry understood her, though ho did not know all she meant.
llie Fcntons joined them again, and the train camo up, und thu others
weatil; sank into their places, but Mrs. Kalbcrt's fatigue waa gone. All
lUo way back neither Smith nor Esther spoke one word to each other.
The sun ^vas setting : all the land woa streaming with light ; the stars wcru
b»giiiuiug to shine behind the hilla when they got back to Bigorre.
"Will you come for a walk?" said Smith, as ho left Esther at tho
ioot uf the inn ; and in the evening lie came for her ; and, though Olga
lucked puzzled and not over-pleased, Esther put on her hat, and said, —
"I am ready, Mr. Smith." And they went out together without any
explioation.
They went up the pretty lime-tree walk which leads to tho baths of
the Ixilut. People were sitting in the dark on the benches talking in low
creniDg whispers. Priests were taking their recreation, and pacing up
in<] down in groups. Prom the valley below came an occasional tinklo
(S pals' bells, a fresh smell of wild thyme, a quizzing of crickets. The
Taia was moving over the hill-side, the lights twinkled from the houses in
ibe town ; and Smith and Estlier talked and talked, counting over tlie fears,
tiie doubts, and tho perplezitiea of the lost few days. Now, for the first
time, Esther felt a comfort and security which had never been hers before,
—Wit even in the first early days of her marriage ; not since the time
wk-n she bade Smith farewell on the Piucio. It seemed to her now as if
ill care for the future, all bewilderment and uncertainty, were over. Hero
vu the faithful friend once more ready to do battle for her with the
dillicultice of life : ready to shield, and to serve, and encourage to de-
ciJu, — to tell her wliat was right ; and poor Esther had long felt that
to her decision was like a great piiin and impoanibility. But here was
Smith to advise, and it seemed to her as if tieublea and difUcullies
became hke strong places now that ho was there. Ilia niiinner of looking
tt life was unlike tliat of tlie people among whom slie had been living :
he teemed to see things from a different level, and yet !ihe felt ns if he
mil; eaw clearly, anil that everything he said was right and true, Somo
{•cvjile seem by intuition to see only truth and right; others must uceilrf
*crk it out by failing and sorrow. They realize truth by the pain of
irhat is false, honour through dishonour, right by wronga repented of
with hitter pangs. And Estlier had long felt that tliia was her fate. She
diii not realize all that the undcratood later, — only she felt it somehow;
■lie drilled into a peaceful calm, and, thankful, she sccuicd suddenly and
ui!.\wares to be glidirjg through still waltra after the leiiipeiit.
When t^he awoke in the morning fhu knew that lie was near at hand ;
'he heard hia kind voice, and Uie child len "a prattle down in the coiut-
jar<J briow. LaU.T in the day ho would come up to see her, and they
liilkwl over old days, and the new days seemed to shine wiih a sudden
266 TO ESTHER,
gleam now that he IincI come into them ; tho dull boars went moresyntHj,
the Bky seemed brigliter ; evening came full of sweet tones, mystcrioua
lights, and pence and perfume ; people paesing hj seemed strolling, too,
in a golden beatitude. They, too, Esther fancied, surely must IM the
nwectnuBS and depth of the twilight. The morning canto with a bright
Hash, not dawning with a great weight of pain and listlessness as before.
In the hot blaze of the mid-day sun Geoffry wmild come into the shaded
room where the women were sitting at work by the window-
It was, indeed, to him liiic a memory of old times, to be sitting with
Esther at nn open window, with the shadows of the orange-trees lying
on the Jloor where the shade of the awning did not reach. Jack liked
playing with Uie shadows, putting liis little leg out into the sunshine,
and pulling it back, to try and cheat the light and carry some away;
but Piissa (her grown-up name was to be Priscilla) liked best sitting
quietly on her mother's knee, and, as it were, stnriiig at tho stories she
told her with great round eyes. The story broke off abruptly when
Smith came in, and another talc began. It seemed like a dream to poor
Geoffry to find hiinaelf sitting there, with Esther, at an open window,
with the souuda and the sunahine without, sonnds of horses at the water,
of the water i-uuhing, of voices calling to each other, of sudden bursts of
belts from the steeples cf Bagueres de Bigorre. It seemed to him
aInioBt as if all the years were not, and he was his old self again. Can yoa
fancy what it was to him aflcr bis long waiting, long resignation, long
hopclesmess, to find himself suddenly in port, as it were, with his wish
there before him and almost within his grasp. Death, indifference,
distance, other men and women, years, forgetfulncss, chance, and human
frailty, had all bt'cn between tht-m and divided them, and now all these
things surmounted, like a miracle these two seemed to be brought together
again, only divided by a remembrance.
Some things eeom po familiar, so natural, that tliough they befall ua
only once or twice in a lifetime perhaps, yet while they last they Bcem
almost eternal, and as if they had been and would bo lor aver. They
suit us, and harmonize and fonn jMirt of ourselves and of our nature, and
so far in tiuth lliey are eternal if we ourselves are eternal, with our
sympathy and hopes and faithful love.
/
ORNHILL MAGAZINE.
RLVIiCH, 1866.
SChc (l!.hm;riiii!E.
chapteh iv,
Flobbsce Buhtox.
M\ T WHS now Climtniaa time at
II Sti-alton, or TAilicr OiiiBtmai
■ time wa« near ac band ; not the
I ChristmaK next after tlic nutumn
of Lord Ongw'ii ninn-iag«, bnl
the follo\TJng ChrlMimait, and
Uan-}' Ckvctring Uad liuiiilied bia
itudk-K in Mr. Burlon's olHce.
H« fhtlcml hlnucir thnC bv
bad not been idle trhile he
iraa there, and vaa now libttut
to commence lii« moro advitaced
Rtngo cf pii|iiing«, uudur tlia
great iU. Beilby in London,
with hcpcs whieti vcrc EtiU
good, if tliey were not «o iiuig-
uiCccut lis they oQCQ liad beua.
When he lit>t wiw Mr. Burton
in his cliice, and btltcld tliu
dtuly [>ig«on-Lolt« irilh du«ty
papern, mid mught tbo first
gliuipac of things as ihey really
^^ were in the woi-kih<:>p uf Iliat
mnn of busineiw, h« hnd, to
kj the inilfa, btta d^B:tuted. And iln. Burton's e«rly dinner, and
BorcoM BimoHJi " (iliiiti &«" wid plain WBjri, had dimsonwrtcd liira.
nc UL — MO. 7». IS,
256
THE CLAVEMNGS.
ail
I
On ihnt dnj ho hnil Tcpciit«d of bis intenlioD with regard to StnutoD ; but
he hud ciirrit^d out liU purpose lika ft nun, uiii dow lie rejoiced gnatly
tluit h« JiaJ Jcoe eo. He rejoiced grcfttlj, tUongli lus hopes weiw tKunc-
what Bcbiired, and his viws «f life leas grand tUan they had beco. lie
was 1o Blurt for ClBvcring carlj* on t]ie following morning, intending tu
npvad hin ChnctniM nt homiR, and we will gee him and listen to him as be j
budo fiiirvoll Co one of the nemberH of Mr. Burton's fantiljr. If
He u-iM sitting in a email back parlour In Mr. Burton's Louse, and on
the table of lie loom there was biiming a mtiglG candle. It was a dull,
dingy, brown room, fiimith«d with haraebau^coTerBd chairs, an oU
borachnir sofa, and lieavy ruftty curtains. I don't know that thare was
the Tooni any attempt at ornament, as certainly Lhenj wu so evidence
vcaUh. It vita now about svvvn o'clock in thu evening, aai tea wat over
in Mnt. Burton's cttablialiTncnt. Harry CLavering had bad bia tea, and
bad cntea his hot muffin, nt the further ride horn the Grc of tlie bmily
tabic, ivbil« PlorcDce bad poured out the tea, and Mra. Burton had aat by
tbo fini on one side with u hiui>lkvrclii«'f ovor her lap, and Mr, Burton had
been comfortiiblu with hU Hrtn-cLair azA hin nlippiTS on the oilier aide.
Wlirn tea was over, Harry had made his parting speech to Mrs, BnitoB,
and that lady had kis»cd him. and bade God blcas him. " TU ace yon bt
ft nioincnt before you go, in my office, Uarry," Mi. Button had aid.
Then Harry liml gone dowjiiituirs, and xoiiie one else had gone baldly widi
biiii, ami they tiro were eiltiug together in the dingy brown room. Afier
that 1 need hardly t«Il my rndor what had become of Uarry Clavcriog'*
perpetual Lfe^nduriog heart's tnUory.
IIo and Floreacc were aittiug on the old lior.u-hatr aoia, sad FkvAoe'e
hand waft in bia. " .My darling," he said, " how am I ta fire Sar tba cext
two yeare ? "
" You mean five years, Harry,"
" No ; I nttan two, — that is two, unless I can mnkG tbe time less. I
btJicvv you'd Ll- belter pleased to think it was ten."
" Much hotter plcaM>d to tliitik tt waa Un than to hsve no neb hope
at a]I. Of courae we sliall see each ether. It's tiot an tboo^ yoa were
geiog to New Zealand."
** I almost wish I wero. One would agree then ts to the oeeeKty of
this cursed delay."
" lUrrj-, Harry ! "
" It is accurseiL Th« prud»nr'e of the world in these Utter days
te ne lo be more abominable iluia iill its otlicr iniiputtcs."
" But, Uarry, we should have no iBconie."
"Income is a word that I bate."
"Novr yoa arc getting on to yoor high horse, and you knerw I alway*
go out of the way when you hfgiii lo pniiico on that beast. Aa for me, I
don't want to leare papa's house where I'm sure of my bread nnd bolter,
till I'm fure of it ia another."
" Ton say that, Florence, on purpoM to torment me."
THE CXAVSaiNCa.
850
" Titer Itanj, So j-ou tliink 1 wanl to tcrraent yon oo your last nigJit 7
Tbe truUt », 1 Jorc tou k ircU chut 1 c«a a^onl (o be pmicnit lor ytm."
" 1 hate patience, and »l«my« did. Pumow » on* cf tie iront Twci I
knoiT. It's nlmoBt as bad as htunilitj. Yeu'l! tell me you're 'umble cexu
If ^oqII ooty xAi tliat you're oonteut&^l, y«u'U describe yourself ns ane of
tb« lowest of God's cmUiucB."
" I don't know alout being 'umblc, bm I am cantented. Ar« oot you
coatenled with in«^ air J *'
" Hoi — b«csnue yon're not la a Iiurry to bo nMirried."
^ " What » goo«e yoa v«. Uu ymi know- Pm sot sure tbnt if you really
^^Hkk person, and are quite coiifideiit about bitii, — aa I un ^f you, — tlk«l
^Inng Id look forward to being married ia not the btn [utrt of tt all. I
nfpOM yoo'll like to get my letters aow, but I don't know that yoa'il care
Ebc tbem much vrhi'n we'vi' biL'cii itiaQ and wifu for ten yeaiB."
"But ooe can't live upon IcLtvnf."
" I shall expect you to livo upon mine, and to gro^v &t on Umib.
Tloe; — I hojird pajui's stop on the stairiL He said you wtin to go to
}bm. G«od-by, Harry ; — de.tre.^t Uniry 1 Wltat a bWsaed wind it nod
dRtlew you here,"
'fltop n moment ;—Hibout your grtting to ClnTcring. I shall come
fi^yaa oa E«iatcr-cv«."
**0b, do; — why ^oold you have so mucli trouble and expense?"
" I tell you I shall cocne for you, — uulcs, indued, you declini; to tniYel
taktae."
" It will b« ao bice ! And ttien I shall be sure to Iiavo yon with me
t^ £nt moment I s«e them. I shall ilunk it very nwful when I first
atet yottr fiitbcr."
" lie's the most good-natorcd man, I shoald eay, in EngUnd.*'
" Bat ho'U think mc » plain. You did at first, you know. But ho
*n*t b# uncivil mougli to tell ine ho, nit you did. Aud Ulary is to be
Auiied in Easier wock 7 Ob, dear, oh, dou ; I aluill be ho sliy among
AtmalL"
** Tou sLy ! I never saw you atiy in tny lile. I don't suppose yoa
■WB ev«r really put out yet."
" But I niii»t rcnliy put you out, beoiuse papa is waiting for you.
IW, dear, dvanxt tlarry. Though I am no jnticnt I nhtiU count tlie
i>*K«till yoa oomc for mc. Dearest ilury I " Then she boro with him,
l*k prened her close to bis bosom, and kissed her lips, luid ber fore-
■■^ and her gloaq* hair. When he was gooc she sat down aJone for a
*■ Btfaiiilv on ihe old sofii, and liuggod herself in her happiness, '\\niat
*uppy wind tluit Ikiid been ivh'icli hail blown aueh a loTcr aa that for her
■"Slauoal
" I think he's a good yonng man " said M.r$. Burton, aa aooo aa she
**'WA wiUi her old liuabaQd upstairs.
" Yei, bc*a n good youi^ toun. He means riMy wcU.**
"UmLcU not idle; iahc?"
13— »
260
THE CtAVHWNOS.
"Sn — no; he'* not iille. Ami lio'iiverj- clever ;^ioa elever, Fm afiai
But I ihink bc'U do well, tliougli it may tske Iiim some time to settle."
" It MCmi «> natttral hu Uking to Flo; doeni't it? They're all lakeu
one wlicn tliey woul nwaj*, niid limy've all iJone very well. l>cary lue;
lioir sud tlio hoiue will be yrlieu Flo liiu gont."
" Yes, — it'll make ■ dilFerenee that way. But what then ? I woaUn't
wish lo keep one of 'em at bome for that reason."
" No, indtxid. I tlunk Td fed wUamed of myself to Iiare a daughter
not married, or not in tlm way to l>e married ftforo slic'n ihirly. 1 couIAi't ,
bear to thinlc thst no young man slioiild titke a fnncy to a girl of mine.
Bat Flo'i not twenty yet, and Cnrrj-, who was the oldest to go, wuiu'l
four-nnd- twenty when Scarneffl took her." Thereupon the old lady put
bet bandkeTcbicftD tio comer of her oycs, and wept gently.
" Flo isn't gone yet," naid Mr. Burton.
" But I Iio^h:-, B,, it'« not to bi^ a long engagmiRit. I don't like long
cng&{;cmont». It ain't gcod,— not for the girl; it aiu't^ indeed."
" We w«rp engaged for BOTen years."
" People ucren't so much in a hurry tlire at anything; tut I ain't
Kire it was vtry good for me. And thougli we weren't juat married, i»i»
were liring next door and saw each other. What'll eome to Flo if
to he here and he's to he up iu Lomiou, pleasuring hiouclf 7 "
"Flo muiA bear it as other girls do/' said the father, as be got tip
hi* cliiiir.
"I lliiuk he's a good young m.in; I tliink he is,'* Hiid the ntotW.
'• But don't stJind out for too much for 'em to begin upon. What tnatten 7
Scic if itcy were to he a little short you could help 'em." To racha
raggcstiou a* this Mr. Burton l1)oiig)it it aa nell to make no ansreri
but with pcindt^aua steps descended to his office;
" Well, Harry," aaid Mr. Burton, " bo you're to be off in tlie mornbg ! "
*' Yea, air ; I shall breakfast at home to-morrow."
* Ah, — when I was your age I always tu*d to mntc an early start
Tliree hours bdoro breakfast never does any hurt. But it ahonldn't be
more tlian tliat. The wind gets into the stomach."' Harry liad no rcmnrfc
lo make on l!ii.s, aud waited, iliwL-fon;, till Mr. Burton went on. "And
you'll be np in London by the 1 0th of next month ? "
"Tes, »ir ; I intend to bo at Mr. Beilby'ii office on the lllh."
" That's right. Never lose a day. In losing a iliiy now, you don't lose
what yoii might cam now in a day, hut what you niiclit be cvoing when
you're at your bo»l. A young man iitiowld always remember that. You
can't dirpcnsc with a round in the ladder going up. You only nake your
time Bt the toji so much the Bhotter."
"I hope you'll find that I'm alt right, sir. I don't mean to
bo idle."
** Pray don't. Of course, yon know, I apeak to you very difFereotly
hma what I rJiouId do if you were simply going away from my office.
Wliltlaha]l have to give Florence will be very little, — that is.
I
I
m
TU£ CLAVERIKOS. 261
Tadrdjr liiile. Sh« shnll hxvs a Luudrcd a year, when Ae marrips, till I
die; ftnd after my death and her mother's the will slmte with thculbtra.
Hat a I)tindiT<l a year will bo nothiug to yttu."
<* Won't it, wr? I think a very great deal of a ImndreJ a jenr, I'm
to haw a buadreJ and i\Hy fioiu liiti (liljccj siid I ihtfulil be rcatly 1o
marry on that to-mozrovi."
** Too coalilu't live on mch an income, — unlesi you wer« to niter joiir
habits very raoch."
" But I vrill alter them."
" Wo bIibU kc. You arc so placed that by raajr^iug you would lo»t
t eMUidcmblfi income ; and I would ndriM; you to |»ut oft' thinking of it
fur tbit next two y^am."
** My belief w, that Milling down would be th« best thing la the irorld
to moke m« work."
•' We'll try wljat a yew will do. So Florence is to go to your father's
Ume »t Evtcr ? "
" Yes, Kir ; she. Ims been good enough to ]>rotni«u to come, if you Iiave
u otgectioii."
"It is quite as well thnt they should know hor early. I only hop
ticy Bill lik« her as well us wc like you. Now I'll say gODd-Di);lit, — and
|Bail4)y.'* Then Harry went, and walking up and down iho High Street
rfSuttoii, t)iou)^ht of all that ho had done during tlie past year.
On hifl arrirot at Strattou that idea of perpetual misery arising from
itsil afTc^tioD wu itill strong wtt!iin his breoit. Ik had givuu all lii>«
to a falsB womaD who had betrayed him. He Im^l riiiked all his
fannnc oa one caat of tlie die, and, f;ambIeT-like, luid Inat everything.
On the day of Julia'a juaiTiage La had alint himself np at the school, —
luckily it woa a holiday, — aad had flattered himself tliat lie bad gone
ttntigh some hours of intcnso agony. No doubt he did suil'cx soiiiewhat,
Utin troth ho had loved tho woman ; but such Euffcrings are seldom
IvjMunI, and with him they had been aa enay uf cure as with most others.
X Ultle moro than a year bad passed, and now ho wa« already engaged
IS mother woman. Aa ho tbongUl of this he did not by any moam
acetM himself of riK-onxt»ncy or of weakness of hmrt. It appeared tabira
tm llie uost natuml thing in the world tliat ho should love Florence
BonotL In thoae old days he had never aeen Flotenco, and Imd hardly
Ihnglit aeriously of what qualities a man really wnnts in a vit'i.: As he
vtIM up and down tho hill of Slntton Siroctwilh tho kiM of tho dmr,
omlt>t, oflbctionute girl aUll wiu-m npou his lijis, he told hiniietf tbat n
Xniage with such a one as Julia iJrabnsou would have been altog<;thvr
bd to bis ebnnoe of happiness.
And tilings luul occurred and rumours had renched bimuhicli assisted
^nucb in adopting this view of tho subject. It was known to all tho
OneiiBgt, — and e\-vn to nil ollien who cared about Buch lliingx, — that
I^d ud Lady Ongar were not happy together, and it had heeo nircady
*U ikat Lady Ongar had miscoiiduct^d herself. There was n
THE CLATBRTSGS.
c«rt»tD count whose Dane bad oomo to be minf^ed vltb hcra
Kay that wax, to u; the lenrt of U, very unibTliuute. Sir
C1«T«ring had dcdued, in Mrs. Clavering'B heann;, thoagfa Itnt littl«
disposed in general to make man; r^reliuions to any of llie fkmlljr at
tlta Tcctiir)-, " lIuU 1i£ did not intend to lak« bis sister-in-Ian's part, Sbe
had made ber own bed, and ehe must lie upon it 8bc had knovn wbat
Lord Ongar was before she bad married bim, and iIk fault was h«r own."
So macli Sir Ilugb bad laid, and, in rajing it, bad dono all tbst m bim
lay to damn liia ufit^r-iu-lan'ii fiiir fame. Hany Clararing, tittle as lie
bad lircrd ui tlie vrorld during tbc Inst twelrc uonlha, acill Itnew that
•anw people told a diftVront storr. The cnri U>a and hia vrife bad iMt
been in England tunco l1ii>ir marriage ;— to tbat them nimoura had been
filtered to tbcm at home llirough n feniga medium. Donng most of
their time ikey had hfxm in Icalj', and now, as Harrj 1:n<!W, ih«y wen at
Florence He bad heard that Lord Ongar had declared liu intention
of Buiug for a divorce ; but that be auppoeed to be erroneous, as the two
were atill living under the same roof. Then be henrd tiiat Lord Ongar
was ill; and nhinficrH were apruad al^rtxid darkly and doublinglr, at
Ibou^^h great miafertunM were appTehend«l.
Harry ooold not tail to tell bimecir that had Julia become liii wt^
NK tJie hod once prooiiacd, these vrhiapcra and this darkncca would hnnilj
have coniu to gnM. But not on tliut account did he new n)gn>t that htr
early tow» had not been kept. Liring at Riratton, lie had taught hinuelf
to tlunk much of tli» quiet domeeticitiea of life, and to beticvc thai
Florence Barton whk fitter to be his wife tbim Julia Brabazon. Ue
told hinuelf timL he had dune wuU to lind this out, and that he lind beoi
wiite 10 act upon it. ilia wiodom had in truth consiBled in bta capad^
to fcel that Florence was u nice girl, clei-er, well-minded, high-prinrapUd,
and full of i^irit,— and in lolling in love with her ns a const^juence. All
hia r^nrd fur Uie quiet dommticldia hod come from hi>« love, and had
had no ahare in producing iu Florence was bright-eyod. No eyes wexc
cr«-r brighter, either ia tears of in laughter. And when ho came to look at
her welt ho fi>und tlint be Iiad been an idiot to think her plain. " Hi<n
are things tlutt grow to hi^.tuty lu you loolc at tbcm, — to csqaiaito beauty;
aod you are one of tliem," lie had said to ber. " And there an men,"
she bad onvwered, " who grow to flaUcery aa you listen to them, — to
impudi^nt flattery t w^d you ace one of them." " I thought yoa plain tbe
fir*l day I saw you. Tliat's not flattery." " Tea, air, it ia ; and you
meau it lor flaltcry. But allcr all, Ilorry, it comea only to iltia, ilut you
want to tt'U metliatyuu hum learned to lore inc." He repeated all ihn to
hlinni.-ira3 he walked up and down Stivitton, and declared to lumjMjf that
she waa reiy lovely. It bad been given to him to aKcitaia thif, and
be was rather proud of himself. Hut be was a little diffident about hia
(atiuix. Uc thought that, perhaps, liia father tniglit &eo Fkireitce aa be
himself had firxt u»ti licr, and niiglit nut bare disoommeat enoagh to
aitcertuiit his mi^tjike as he had done. But Flanmcewas not going to
«
I
A
THE CLAVERINGS. 263
Clavering at once, and he voold be able to giro beforehand his omt
acoonnt of her. He had not been home since his engagement had been a
thing settled ; bnt his position with regurd to Florence had been declared
bj letter, and hie mother had written to the young lady asking her to come
to Clayering.
When Uany got home all the &mily received Tiim with congratula-
doDS. " I am so glad to think that yon should marry early," his mother
said to him in a whisper. " But I am nut married yet, mother," ho
answered.
" Do show me a lock of her hair," said Fanny, lav^hing. " Its
twice prettier hair than yoora, though she doesn't think half so much
ibout it as you do," said her brother, pinching Fanny's arm. " But
yoo'll show me a lock, won't yon," said Fanny.
** I'm so glad she's to be here at my marriage," sud Mary, *' because
(ben Edward ^viU know her. Vm so glad that he will see her." " Edward
will have other fiah to fry, and won't care much about her," said Harry.
" It seems you're going to do the regular thing," said his father,
"Uke all the good apprentices. Many your master's daughter, and then
became Lord Mayor of London." This was not the view io which it had
fiwed Harry to r^ard his engagement All the other "young men"
that bad gone to Mr. Burton's had married Mr. Burton's daughters, — or,
at least, enough had done so to justify the Stratton assertion that all had
. AUoi into the same trap. The Burtons, with their five girls, were
■ippaaed in Stratton to have managed their afiairs very well, and some-
tbiog of these hints had reached Harry's ears. He would have preferred
that the thing should not have been miide so common, but he was not fool
oiough to make himself really unhappy ou that head. " I don't know
much about becoming Lord Mayor," he replied. " That promotion
doesn*t lie exactly in our line." " But marrying your master's daughter
does, it ieems," said the Hector. Harry thought that this as coming from
W &tber was almost ill-natured, and therefore dropped the conversation.
" Tm sure wc shall like her," said Fanny.
" I think that I shall like Harry's choice," said Mrs. Clavering.
" I do hope Edward will like her," said Mary.
" Mary," said her sister, " I do wish you were once married. When
jou are, you'il btgin to have a aelf of your own again. Kow you're no
bttter than an unconscious echo."
" Wait for your own turn, my dear," said the mother.
Harry had reached home on a Saturday, and the following Klonday
*ai Christmas-day. Lady Clavering, lie was told, was at home at the
puk, and Sir Hugh had been there lately. No one from the house except
1^ lervants were seen at church either ou the Sunday or on Christmas--
<i»y. " But that shows nothing," said tlie liector, speaking in anger, '• He
▼ny rarely does come, and when he does, it would bo better lliat he
tbould be away. 1 think that he likes to insult me by misconducting
hiiOKlf. They sny that she is not well, and I can easily beheve that itU
S64
TIi£ CLAVEKDiaS.
Ibia about her aialer makes her unhappj. If I were you 1 would go op
And call. Your mothor waa tbcrv t.hc oilier ilay, but did not Bee tbecn. I
tljitik yoii'U find tliut hti's away, hmiUiig »omc«htrf. I fia>v llie grooi
going off with three Lorvcn oa Sati<lAy uftvrnooii. U« alwaj's saada t3i<
by ths cliurcli gaic jii*l a* we're coming out."
Su Hurry weitt u]i to the hoiiBc, and found Lady Clavering at haae.
Silo VTM lookiiig ciid and careworn, but she wm glad to sec hiro. H;
was the only one of tlie ri>ctory fiituily who bad bvfa liked at tli« great
hoit&c &incu Sir Hugh'i mnrriugi', oud Lv, had lie cured to do »v, vroulJ
havo bcc^n inndo welcome there. But, as he had once said to Sir Hugh's
Bisler-in-law, if lie ehol tho Claverinfi; game, be would be expected to dotu
in tbe guise of a head g.'kniclic«pcr, and ho did not cbcosc to play that part.
It would not Hult bLm to drink 8ir Hugh's diiri.-t, and be hiddt^u to ring tbe
bcil^ Mid to be abked li> ntep ititu the stable for this or tbuu He waa a
]«llow of hia college, a-ud quite aa big a m^in, he thought, as Sir Hugh. Ha
would not l)e a hanger-on at the park, and, to l«U ilie truth, be diidi
his coufiin t^uito as niueh oe his father did. But there had erint Lven a KtrC
uf frtundship, — nay, oecasinnally ahnust a uo[i(id«Dc«, between him aad Laii]r
Ularering, and he believed tliat by her he vtom really liked.
Lady Clari^ring hud heard ef bis engagement, ami of course congratu-
lated him. " Wlio told you ? " he aaked,— " was it lay luotlicr ? "
"No; I have not ncea your mother I don't know whcu. 1 think
wnamy maid told me. Tliongh we Bomcbow don't eoo much of you all at
rectory, our ecrrants ate do doubt moregiaeioua with the reclory lerrantc
I'm sure sho must be nice, Harry, or you would not have chotca her, 1
hope fthe has get Eome money."
" Yes, I think she ia iiiije. Shu is coming hero at Easter."
" Ah, we ehiJl be aw.sy iheuj you know ; ntid nbcut the money 7 "
*' She will have a Httic, but veiy lililu ; — a huadreil a year."
"Ob, Hariy, is not that rash of you-' Younger brothers tJiuuld al«ay>
get money. You're the same as a yoiuiger broUicr, you know."
" My idea ia to earn my own bread. It's not vury aristcuratic^ b
nf\er all, there are a grt^at many more in the same boat with me."
" Of course you will eirii your bread, but having a wife with inone'
would not hinder thnl. A girl is not the woniv beeuu-tc aho can bri
»oiiie help. However, I'm hutb 1 hope you'U be happy."
" What I meant was that I think it best when iho raonoy oomcs froi
the husband."
"I'msnret ought to agree with you.bccaune wo never h;»d any." Then
tlicre was a pau»v. " I suppose youve Leaid about Lord Ou^jar," she uid.
" I iiave heai'd that he is very ill."
*' Wry ill. I believe there wiu no hope whca wc heard lasl; b
Julia never writes now."
" I'm sorry llisil it is to bud as ibitt," said Hari^*, nut widt kaowi
what viae to say.
" As regards Juliiir I do not know whettier it may cot be for the best.
lu-
4
I
THE CLATEBINGS. 265
It seems to be K cmel ttdvg to say, hut of course I cannot bnt tbink most
of her. Ton baTe heard, perhaps, that they hare not been happy 7 "
"Yes; I had heard that."
" Of coarse ; and what is the use of pretending anything with you !
Tott know what people have said of her."
" I have never believed it."
" Tou always loved her, Harry. Oh, dear, I remember how unhappy
that made me once, and I was ho a&aid that Hugh woold suspect it. She
woaM never have done for you ; — would she, Harry ? "
" She did a great deal better for herself," said Hariy.
" If you mean that ironically, you shouldn't say it now. If he dies,
she will be well off, of course, and people will in time forget what has been
■aid, — thatoB, if she will live quietly. The worst of it is that she fears
nothing."
" But you speak m though you thought she had been — been — "
" I think she was probably impradent, but I believe nothing worse than
^t. But who can say what is absolutely wrong, and what only impru-
dmt 7 I think she was too proud to go really astray. And tlieu with such
■urn as that, bo difficult and so ill-tempered ! Sir Hugh thiukii "
Bot at that moment the door was opened and Sir Hugh came in.
" What does Sir Hugh think ? " said he.
" "We were speaking of Lord Ongar," said Harry, sitting up and shaking
innds with his cousin.
"Then, Harry, you were speaking on a subject that I would rather
not have discussed in this house. Do you understand that, Hermione ?
1 will have no talking about Lord Ongar or his wife. We know very
Utile, and what we hear is simply uncomfortable. Will you dine here
to-day, Harry ? "
" Thank you, no ; I have only just come home."
" And I am just going away. That ia, I go to-morrow, I cannot
ttnad this place. I think it the dullest neighbourhood in all England, and
ilie moat gloomy house I ever saw. Hermione likes it,"
To thifl last assertion Lady Clavering expressed no assent; nor did slie
venture to contradict him.
ciiaptek v,
Lady Okoab's Eeturs.
Birr Sir Hugh did not get away from Clavering Park on the next morning
as he had intended. There came to him that same afternoon a message by
telegraph, to say that Lord Ongar was dead. He had died at Florence on
the afternoon of Chriatmaa-day, and Lady Ongar had expressed her inten-
tion of coming at once to England,
" Why the devil doesn't she stay where she is ? " said Sir Hugh, to
his wifi;. " People would forget her there, and in twelve months time the
row would be all over,"
I
26$ THE CLAVCDINGS,
" Perluipa Rhe does not wont to be Airgidlcn," mid Ladj CWreruig.
" Then f^ nbonld want it. I cion't caie vlictitcr she bu been, paity
or not. Wltcn % woman gets her name into soch a Jtieos u iZiat, ake
nliuuld kocp in the bKckgroDnd."
" 1 think you are unjurt to lier, Hngli."
" Of connc )'ou do. Yen don't suppcM ih&t I expect siijtliiiig cite.
Bat if j<ya Bii.-&n to Icll mc tlial tlnrc vovli lure hota ull tiu< roK^ if tlie
lind btcn ticceotly pruilent, I Icll you that you're mistaken.^ H
" Only tlitnk wh.it a man Iio was." ^
" Slic knew tliat vh«n she took hitn, and should bsTe bomv iritlt him
while h« lasted. A wotnan isn't to inva suvca thoautnd a year for
nothing."
*'Bul you furgt^t liial not a ayilafcJe has been pivved against her, oi
been attcinpted to be proved, ^hc has never lefl him, and now sbeiMB
been with him in his Inst momenta. I dnn'l think jon AUght to bo the
Srst to turn against hor."
" If aba would nsnutn abroad, I would do Uie beet I ootUd for bcr.
Shfi ehooHx to return home ; nud a» I think abe's vtocg, I won't hare kv
here ; — ihat'a all. Ton don't auppoae that I go about the world noataiiig
Ii«r ? "
" 1 think you niiflit do scunvlhing to CgJil her battle for bur."
" I vrlU do notliing, — unless ebu takrs my iidvice and remajna abroad
Vou must write to hei now, and you will tell tier what I lay. ll't an
inTcmul bore, Lis dying at this mometit ; but I siipptue people won%
expect that I'm to shut myself Up"
For one day only did thu iwronct ahnthitoedf up,and on tbefoUowng
be went wUitlicr he had befure intended.
Lady Clavtrlng tlioi^gUt it proper to write a line lo tlic rwrtory,
informing the family there that Lord Ongar waa no more. Thbi (he
did in a note to Mrs. ClATU'iiif;; and when it was recGired, there came
over the (aae» of them aiJ that lii^briuuit Icok, which is, aa a natter of
course, .'utftuined by dooorouj peopk* when tidings come of ilie death c^ m
say one who has tucn known to tbuoi, even ia thu most dnttatnt way. I
With the exception of Ilniry, all the rectory Clavcringa had been iatr»-
dnccd to Lord Ongar, und were now bound to express aotnething ^
npproactiing to aorr«w. Will any one dare to call this hypocri^T ■
If it be 80 called, who in the world is not a hypocrite 1 Where ia
the nian or woman who luu not a apeuinJ face for sorrow before company f
'rh» man or woniun who lias no such face, would at oaec be acenaed of
heartica impropriety.
" It ia very sad," aaid Mm. Clareiiog ; " only think, It ia iMd little M
inore tliun a year sinoe you married tlioui [ "
" And twelve hucH inoiiLli.t at they have been for her I " said tht
:or, thoking bia h^ad. His liice waa Tory lugubxiouti, lor though as
paraoD he was essentially a kindly, caay uiau, to wlioui liuiubi^ was
odious, and who dealt little in the austcrlttva of clencal dcaunciaiion, aCill
I
I
THB CLATEBU103, ^^^ S87
[lad liis lace of pulpjt sorrow for tli« sins of tlie people,— irlat I may
> eaU hift clericftl ktw^ of gentle coDdeciusti(>a,—«itd could tiHin-Toro
BIB a nlenm look, and a little eaddened mocica of tiia bead, with moro
! tbao people who arc not often called upon for ench adion.
"Poor woimm I" taii Fanny, thiukiog of the "wonua's Hurried
BOirown, and l»er vKrly widowhood.
" Poor mao," ukl Uary, tliadderin; u she tliooght «r the huBband'a
" I ttopc," said tUny, almost senteotiau&ly, " (lut do one in lliia liouM
will caatkom htr upon euch incro iiunours as bavo been beard."
" Wby tlioukl >ay otw io this botuc eondomn her," mid Uio Bector,
*" even if there were more than mmottra ? My dears, judfc not, Icat yc
be jo^BBcL Ab r^ardB her, we are bonnd by close ties not to spcftlc iU of
kv — or ercn to tbink Ul, usleas we cannot avoid it. An far as I knuw,
wc hare not even any n»uoa for tbinking ill." Tlit:a be ircnt out, cLaugcd
the tone of his eouatenancn among the rvctory atablcs, and lit his cigar.
TlircA days after that a aooond ncAe was brouj^t down from tha
jnat house to tlie tedory, and tbts was &cm Lady Clavorlng to Hairy.
*'DMr Harry," ran llie no£«, — " Could you find time to come up to me
lliia nomiiif; ? Sir Ua^h has gone to North Priory. — Ew yours, II. C."
flMy, of ooursr, went, and tm he wnnt, he wondered how Sir Iliigb coold
hm had tlve heart to go to North Priory nt such a ciomciil. NorUi
tnorj waB a hunting soat eoinc tliirty miles from Cluveriu^, Ltlouging to
a great noblrmuD with whom Sir Hugh much consortml. Uanj waa
grierctl that hia cousin bad not resisted the tcnipUitLoa of goinf; at such
I tine, but be was quick enough to perceive that Lady ClaTcriog iilludod
to llie akaeiice of ber lord as a reason why Ilarry mi^ht pay his vhtit to
the bouse with satisfaction.
" I'm ao mud) obliged to you fur coming," said Lady Clavering. " I
viDl Io know if you con do aomething for me " As ahu spoVe, she had a
paper in her hand which be immediately perceired to be a letter &ota Ilaly.
"Fll do anything I can, of oonrEe, Lady Ciavering."
" Bat I musi IcU you, that I hardty know whether I ought Io nak you.
tm doing wlrnt would make Hugh viay angry. But he is so unreaaonablc,
ndio cruel about Julia. He cuiuU-inDs ht-r vimply iK'i^iuse, iia he sjtys,
lh«e ia no smoke without tine. That is nub a cruel thing Io say about a
aoBian ;— is it not ? "
Harry thought that it was a cruel (Ling, but aa he did not wish to
lyiak «rU of Sir Hngh before Lady Clarorii^, he held hia longLui.
" Wluai we gut the firat newa by tekgraph, JuUa aaid that she intended
l»Goate home at once. Hugh thinks that ohc abould remain uLruad lor
Mae time, and iodKd I am not sura but that would be besL At any
■■>• ha made uto write lo her, and ndnM her Io stuy. lie dednred that
if the came at onco ho would do nothing for her. The truth is, he doea
not want to have her here, for Lf site were again in the bouse ):e would
'xva to lalu h«r fart, if ill-aatarad tbinga were said."
i
068
TUE CLAVEBINGS.
" That's oowordljr," nniil Hnxry, Ktoaiiy.
" Don't My ttiKt, Harry, liU you havo heard it All. If h«
thoto UiingR, lie i* right not to wiah to meddle. He in vitry h:ud, lad
always It^linvcH «Yil. But he is nal a cowftrd. If the wtsrc lierci living
with him as my mter, li« vroulil tnko licr part, whaJcrer lie might himtdt'
tliinlc."
'^ B»t Trliy ohoiild bo think ill of his own fiiatcr-in-Iavr ? I hare nercr
thought ill ofliGr."
" Tou loTcd her, onJ he never did ; — though I thint he liked her loo
in his v/ay. But thttl't whnt h« told me to do, Asd I did it. I wrote to <
lier, advising hi?r to rcmaia at Kloriincit till ihi^; wnmi weather vomef,
saying thnt an nlw could not speciidly w\«}i to be in London lor the aauoti.
I thought she would be more oomfartahle there than hero; — and then
I added that Hugh also ndvised her to slay. Of course I did not ny that
he would not liavo her hurc, — but that was bis iJireat.''
" Shu i» not likely to press beraelf where xho is not wanted."
" No,-— and ebe will not forget her runic iind her money ;^far that
mast now be hers. Julia can be quite as bnrti uud os stubborn as ho can.
Rut I did 'Write as I say, nnd I think tliut if she had got my letter bsfare
Hhe bad wriltcu hcisclf, eiiu would perhaps hnvc stayed. Hut here Is ■
letter from her, declaring: tJiat slie will eomc at onci^. Slio will bo stsiting
almcitt as noon aa my letter gets there, and I am sure she will not alter W
purpuiw now."
" I tlou t BOO why she sliould not come ifabe likes it,"
" Only tbiit )die niigbl hi: morm comlbrtable there. But read wlntshe
pays. You ticed not read the first port. Not that there ia any secret;
but it iit about him and his last niomeiiUi, And it would only p-^in you."
Hairy longed to read the whole, but be did as be woi bid, and btgn
the letter at the spot which Litdy Cliivering marbed for hicn with her
finger. " I have to start on the (bird, and as I dial! stay nowhere cxc^ ;
to sEeep at Turin and Paris, I thjill be home by tlie eighth ; — I think on ■
tlio ovMiing of the eighth. I shall bring only my own maid, and one of '^
his men who (lefiirefl to come hack with me. I wish to have apartments
taken for me in London. I suppose Hugh will do a* macb as this
forme?"
" I am quite nir« Hugh won't," said Lady Clarcring, who was
w.itching his eye as ho r»ul.
Hairy s.iid nothing, but went on reading. ** I shall only want two
silling-roomB and two bedrooms, — one for myeelf and one Ibr Clara, and
should like to have them aomewhero near PicenidiUy, — in CUrgea Sti«et,
or iibout then.'. You can write me a line, or send mc a message to U>e
H^lel Bristol, at Pari«. If anything ihils, ho that I should not hear, I
sliall go to the Palace Hotel ; ami, in that case, should telegraph ft»
Irom Paris."
" Is tiiut ail I'm to read T " Harry asltpd.
" Tou can go on and sec what she says as lo her reason for comiag.'
I
THB CLA.VEBINGS.
2&9
So Uarry went on teAding. *< I have sutl'ered oiuch, and of couzse I luionr
that I tnu*t iiulTer more ; but 1 am deit.-nniitcil thni I will fitao the wont
of it at oDoe. It has been Iiinlcd to eub tbat nii nlteinpt will be made to
interfere vr ith tlie MUl«Rient " " WLo con hnvt hintcJ that ? " tuJd
Harry. Lady Chtrmng siuipctml who might have done so, but she ninda
BO answer. " I can hardly think it poniblc; but, if it ie done, 1 wUl not
la OKlt of the way. I have done my duty nn bcxt I could, and bnvc duuo
jt luder circiLtnauoces that I may trulj- Miy vtltv c«rril:>li> ;— snd [ will go
OB ioiog it. No «n« shall tay that 1 aui uabuinvd to aliow my fuCG and
ctaim my own. You will ha surprised when you se* me, I liave nged
w uiDeb ; "
" Yon Deed not go on," said Lady Clivwing. '* The rest is about
aothing tbat mgntllea."
Theo Harry refolded the letter and gfi^e it buck to Lib companion.
" Sir ilugli is gone, and tlivruloru I could not altow liitn thiit iti time
uytliitig ; but if I WLTc to do so, Uc would simply do nulUin^, uiid
go to the hotel ia Londos. Now that would be uulund; — would
itDotr-
•■Very unkind,! think."
"U would seem ao cold to her on her retura."
* Very oold. Will you not go and meet her 7 '*
Lady Clavciing bimhod as she aoavreied. Though Sir Hu^i was a
Ipa&t to bia wife, aud known to bo sudi, and though abe knew that thi^
■as known, slie had ncvnr eaid that it was bo to any of the Ckverings ;
b«it DOW abe wu drirea to <«nf«a& it. " He wouid not lot tnc gv, Harry.
I amid not go without li'lling him, and if 1 told him be woulJ forbid it"
" And ahu is to be uU alouo la LoodoD, witliout any friend 7 "
** I ■haU go to her a* noon lu he will l«t me. I doa't think ho will
lOrUd my going to ber, pcrhiips ixfttr a day or two ; but I know he would
M let OS go on purpotio to racol her."
" It doe* aeein hard."
" But about the nportmentA, Harry? I thought that perhaiM you would
Ml about them. jMUii nil that hna passed I o&uld not have nuked you,
only that now, as jou aro engtigud yourself, ii is nearly the same as tJiougli
JOB were married. I would ask Archibald, only then there would be a
hs botwMQ Archibald and Hugh ; and loinehow 1 look on you more as
>btother<in-law than I do Archibald."
" la Archie iu London ? "
" Hia address is at hia club, but 1 diin?a!iy he ia at North Priory alao.
^ any rate, I shall aay nothing to him."
" I wa> thioking be might havo met her."
** Jutia never likcil him. And, iuduod, I don't think sho will cant to
*'Qek about being met. She won ninuyn imiepcndciit in that way, and
*wld go over the world alane better than many rata. But couldn't you
f^iB ap and manage about the apartmenu? A woman coining home oa a
*^^t — sod ia her poaition, — feels an hotel to be K> public."
270
TB£ CXATERHv'GB.
" I vfUl wee nbont lli« «iwrttBCTit«."
" I knew yoa would. And tlier« will bu tlm« tor yon ta send to me^ ,
BO thstltsH write to Paris; — ^wiU ttcrc not? Thstv is toon tkn •
ircA, yoa know."
Rut Henry did not vriiit to go to London on thii buaioesi unmeJialdy.
He hsd node up Ilia mind tlutt he vrotiM not onlv take tli« roona^
that he would fliso meot Lady Ongur nt the (Mtion. !lv Mud notbug
tliis lo TyAiJjr Clavemg, as, pcrhnp»s slic migkt not apjirovt ; but moh
ytaa Ilia iutoati^n. Ho wm wron^ no dintbL A man in m&h euM _
^onld do what )t« is iult«tl to do, snd do no more. But be repeaUed to M
himself the txciiSK that Lady Claveriiig had made, — aanifilj-, tbu b« wm
■IfCiidy the tame sa s married man, and Ihal, ihCTpfOTW, do harm could
come of bin courlesy to his eouain's wifi-'s BinkT, Bui he did Dot wish Id
make two jounKrya to London, nor did he dtaire to be away for a full
wc«k out of hig hoIl(tny!f. Lady ClaTeriD^ conld act pivsa littn to go at
once, «nd, therefore, it waa ntttled aa he proywiBed. She would write lo I
Paris iinmodiat«ly, and he would g^i up to London afttT three or fofli'
dliys. *• If wo only knew of any aijartroenta, wc could write," said Lady
CHaverinff. "You could not know that ibcy were comfortable," oaiil.
Harry ; " and yon will find tbnt I will do it in plenty of time." Tbeoi
he took his Umvi^t ; hut. Lady Clavcring h^d atili one oilier word to aiy to
him. " You had bettor not say anything about oil thia at th« rtMtoiy;
had yon ? " Harry, witliont oonudmng much Hbo«t it, udd tbat ha
would not mentiun it.
Th<'n ht- went away and walked again nboxit tbe park, fliinking <4 i>
all. lie h.id not awn htr Biacc he had walked round llie park, in Im
misery, nfl«r parting with her in the gardoo. How moch bad happened
since then ! She tuid been married in her glory, had bKome a eon&teo^
and then a widow, and was now rtrlumiiig with » tamiahcd name, almort
repudiated by thci»e w)in had been her dearest frienda ; bnt with ladt
and fortune at her command, — and again n free woman. H« cotUd not
but think what might hare buca bis chance wero it not for Ktorcoct ;
Burton ! Rut much had happened to liim abo. He hitd almost prriabtf '
b) his misery ; — bo be told bimself ;— bnt had once more " tricked hi*
beam*," — that was bis expreasioD to himaeir, — and waa now " flajuin^i in
tlie tbrebead " of a glorions lore. And eren if there had been no sncli
IcTG, would a widowed countuw with a damaged name bare anit«d kit
ambition, )titnj>]y bocauaQ idiu had tlia ricli dower of the poor wretch to
vbom ahe bad sold herstdf ? No, indeed. Thcru could be nii qaeatioii of '
renewed vows between tliem now ; — thi^re ooold have been no sudt qiis»-
lion even had ihoro boon no "glorious love," wbieh hadaccrned ld bim
almost aa bis nonnnl privilege in right of bia pupiUffe in Mr. Burton's
office. No; — there could bo, tlicrc could have bc«it, nothing bow
b«>nvcpn him and ihe widowed Counten of Oi^r. Kut, m 1 1 iiIiiIim^ be
likod the idi^ft of meeting her in London. Ho felt some Uiumph in tba
thought that be should be the first to tottcb her band on her tcturo afhsr
THE CLAVERIXG&
271
■n that ibs lud mSWcd. He would be very coarteotii to bcr, and voold
ipan DO tnmblv ibat would ^vo her any ease. As fer h«r rnomt, he
woaU ace to crciythin^ of which lie could think thai might a<Iil to her
eomJort i and a wuib crept upon him, aolaritctl, tlia*. ehc might be ccu-
adofu of what he bad done for her.
Would she be aware, be wontieml, that lie was engaged I Ladjr
dairvriag bad known it for the lA«t three laonthR, and would probablr
ni«n(ioned the (nrcumstsnce in « letter. But pcrJiapH not. Tbo
he knew, had not been good comspondcots ; and he ainicat wikKoI
that she might not kuow it. " I ahotild not eurc to be tnlking to bcr
about Florence," be said to hira»cir.
it wnA vcTj itrRiigc tliat they should come to meet in mcL a wny,
after all that bad posad between them in fonuer dayi. Would it occur
to ber tliat he iras the only man iJie bad orcr lorod 7 — for, of course, aa
be Vftil knew, she had nerer loved her btntband. Or would she now be
IDO oUoua to erer^hiog but the outer world to think :it all of such a
■bjac* 1 Sho bod said that Ac ^1aa ageil, and he coulJ wkII believe iL
lleB be pieturad her to bimself in her weeds, worn, sad, thin, but atiU
ftmd and Iiaadsome. Uc had told Florenoe of hiM early lore (or tbc
WOMn whom Lonl Ongtu- bad married, and had deicribed wtCit mptur«
Uf joy tiiat that early ponitm bad eome to aotbin^. Now be would have
IB IcU Florenoe of thia meeting ; nnd be thought of the comparison ba
mnld nudce between Iter bright younj^ charma and the afaipwreckad
imtaSj of the widow. On the whole, be was proud that be had been
fltVftr^ Jar the commianvo, ns be liked to think of hiiii*e)f as one to
wbom tbings happened which were out of tbe ordlmuy coiina. Hia nnly
•ttjeciioo to Florence waa llmt obe bad come to biui so mudi in the
erdbuiry coorw.
" 1 mppoae the tmib is you are tired of our diilncff ," nid his fatbur
to bim, wbcn be declared his purpoae of going up to Londco, and, ia
nnrer to certain questiona that vem asked blm, bad hesitated to tell bia
biaoew.
** Adeed, it ia not so,^' aaid ITnny, enmestly ; " but I baro a comuit-
iloa to exacute for a certain person, and 1 cannot explain what it is."
" AaotLer acoret ;— eh, Harry ? ''
•* I am very aorry,— but it ia a secret. It is not one of my own aeek-
ing; ibat is all I can say." His mother and sisters also a^kcd bim a
ipastioa or two ; but when be l>ecamc myiterious, tbcy did not peracvcrc.
"Ofcemse it is something about Flareace." said Faimy. " I'll be boimd
W b foiog to meet hvr. What will you bet me, Harry, you don't go to
the pUy with Florenea before yoa come homo 7 " To ihia Ucnry deigned
k) anawer ; and afW lhs.t no mora qaestiDns were adied.
He vent up to London and took noma io Bolton Street There was
tpnity freib-looking light drawing-rootn, nr, indut^d, two drawing-room*,
and a amall dining-room, and a kuge bed-rootn looking orcr upon the
tan of aome (rcat noblemaD'a garden. Aa Harry stood at tba window it
TUB CLATEBINGS.
secin«d K> odd to him that lie should be therv. And Lit vrw 1)(titj aScntt
eTer>-thiDg in tbe dumber, seeing that all things wera oleon uid well
crdcrcO. Wns the womAn of the houwi »urc of her cook T Sum ; of
cvuniuidiv vt:uisiirp. Had not uld Lady Dlmdafi* lived there for two/««n,
iiud HAlmdy cvtT VIM ho porliculftr about ber victnaJa oa Lad^ Dimihfi
" And would Lndy Ongar lioep li«r own cjurtngo ? " Ax u this Hnrry
could Kty'notliing. Then cnme tit* i]aestioii of price, and Hury fotind fab
oomiaioaion vary difficult. Tbv buia luiktci seemed to bo ta«mcm.
** Scree guineas n wmk at tfa&t time of the year I " Lady DimdaJThad
slwa/B paid aeren guineas. " But that iras in the seaaoo," BOggeated
Jhu-ry, To this the woman replied that it vrta Iho MftSOD Him,
Harry fek lliul he did not like to drive a bargain for the Coantev, who
iruuld proLwbly core very little what she paid, and tbercTore usvuited.
But a guincfl a day for lodgings did aeem a great deal of money. He
waa prepared to marry and oommencc housekeeping upon a leas atun tot
all his expenses. However, b« had done hi* commiMion, had writleo to
Lxdy Cbvericg', and had tdigiaphed to Pari*. He had almoM bn>]
hinii^i'lf Ui vtrili: to Lad/ Ongar, hut when dte awmeat came he abi
He hod sent the telegram as from U. Clavering. She might think
it came from Hugh if alie pleased.
Ho was uiuibli^ not to attend speciully to bis dress when be vaA
to mcL-t her at tlio Victoria Suiliuu. He told hiiuwlf that be was tn
am, — but still he weot. on lieing an ass. J)uTiRg the whole aftemooD Iw
could do nothing but tliink of wliat ha had in hand. He was to uO
Florauce ererything^ but 1i:id Florrnce known the nctu.il mate of hit
ntiud, I doubt whether she would hcivc been aatiafied with hira. Thi
train was due at 8 p.m. lie diQcd at the Oxford and Catobridgc Club M
Bt.Y, and tliciL went to his lodgings to take one lost took at his outer nuiL
Tlic evening was very line, but he went down to the tlatioa in a e$b,
bitcauiM; he would not meet Ludy Ung&r in soiled boots. He told himself
again tlmt he was mi lua; and then trii-d to ooosata bintaclf by tlitnking
tliat Buch an occoBioEi ait this Kcldom happened oneo to any mao, — could
hardly happen more tboa once to any man. He had lured a airriage for her,
not thinking it fit that LjwJy Ongar should bo token to her new home in a
cab ; and wheu he wa* at iho Ktwion, halt' an hour before the proper lime,
■wasTcry fitlgcty because it luwl not come. Ten minulot bclbre eight be
might liitve bucn soon Btondiog at the enu-anco lo the station looking out
nnxiounly for the Ychicls. The man was there, of course, io time, Inu
Hun-y made hituivlf augry becaiuv bo could not get ilie catriage so placed
lliitt Libily Ongar might be sure of slepjiing iiiiti it without leaving tJio
plotivrra. Punctually to the nionicnt the coming tmin aimounccd iuetf
by its whislie, and Harry Clnvering f.dt liiniHi'If to be in a Hutlcr.
The train came up along the philfunn, aud Ilai-zy stood (here vucpecUnr
to sec Julia Brabason'e head projected itom tho first window that (aui;bt
his eye. It wan of Julia Bnibazon's head, and not of Lady Ongmr'*, that
be vss tliitiking. Uut lie snw no sign of her preaeoce while the caniagw
I
i
THB CXATKRINOS.
273
were c«iaing to n sUtnd-itill, and the plfllform wu oa%'ered with pas-
wtager* before Ivo dixcorered her vhom hi vnx seeking. At lost fac
eooaoatcrcd in the croird u man in livery, und Amnd from him that he
«H Laiiy Ongnr'a Bcrvnnt. " I hnv* come to meot I^dy Ongnr," said
Harry, "and have got a carriage for her." Then the nemuit feuiid hix
BuatnBs, and UaiT>- offered hl» haad to a tall womaa in black. She wore
aUbcIc straw lint with a vcJIj but ihc veil whh so thick tlint liarry could
not at all Bt^ her face.
" In that Mr. Ciavcriii;7" (aid Bh(>.
*' Yea," »aid Harry, "it is I, Tour mater asked me to take roonia for
and aa I wna in town I thou|;;ht I luiglit as well meet you to see ir
-wasted a&ythin;;. Cun i get the luggage? "
"Tbaitk yoQ; — the man will do ihiii. ITe knows where the tbinga
**I ordered n carriagB; — shall I show him where it is? Perhaps
yga will let me take yon to it 7 They are so stupid here. Tliey would
me bring it np,"
^It will do very well I'm sure. It's very kind cf you. Tlie rooms
I BoltoQ Street, I have the number here. Oh 1 tliank you." Dut
not Lake hit arm. So ho led the way, and slond at thi! door
! die get into the carriage with her maid. " I'd hptter shnw the mjin
■Wq you are now." Tliia he did, and afterwards shook hands with her
tbaagh the carriage window. This was all he eiiw of her, and the words
lUcb have been repeated were all that were spakco. Of her face he liod
bM eanght a glimpse.
Aa he went home to hi» Indgitig* he wa» conncions that tlie intervipw
lad not been satis&ctory. He could not eny what wvxc he wantod, but
he felt that there was something amiss. He consoled himnplf, howcvrr,
ky reminding himaelf that Florcaco Burton was the girl whom lie had
ttally loved, and not Julia Bmbnzon. Lady On;;ar had given him no
Mrication to come and sr'C bor, and therefore he determined that he would
RbDnbeme on the following day witliout going nuar Bolton Btrect. lie
bd pictured to himaelf beforehand the sort of deseription he would give
taLady Clavering of her sister ; but, seeing; how thing* had turned out,
I* aaie uj> his mind that he would say noUiing of the meeting. Indeed,
ht woold not go rp to the great hoiiee at all. He had done hody
Qaivriog's commission ,^-«t some little trouble and expense to himaelf,
«id tboro should be an end of it. Lady Ongar would not mentioa tliiiC
A« had nea him. ITe doubted, indeed, whether slio would rciiicmher
•fcctn she had seen. Kor nny good that he had done, or for any AL-ntl-
McBt that there had been, his cousin Hughes butler might as well have
gOM 10 the train. In this mood ho returned home, cotiitoling himsolf
*>ili Iho fitofsB of thinga which bad given him Florcace Burtoa instead of
^nla Bnhazon for n wife.
Tot. nil. — BO. 75.
14.
274
TDE CLAVKttlNGS.
idiag
JLhV
CILUTKR Vr.
The Bbt. SisnrEL Saul.
DoBixa iran^r's absence ia Loadoo, u circutnftance had occurred at th»
rectory which had lurpriBcd some of then snd umoycd othcts a good,
deal. Mr. Saoi, the eiiiiit«, hod tnnde nn oRcr to Fnnnjr. The R«ctnf
ood Fanny declared tbcmsdves to lie both surprised and annoyed. That
the Ucctor was in truth troubled by the tliiag was very evideat. Abs,
Clavenog mid that Ae had nlmoBt mspectod it, — that >h« was at any rate
not mirprieud ; as to the uOi-r lEaidJ^ of course she was sorry that it HbovM
?mve been made, ns it c«uld uot suit Fanny to accept it. Mary mm mt'
priMd, aa she hsd thought Mr. Saul to bo wholly intent on other Uitngt ;
but she could not see any reason why llic oH'or nliould be regarded n» bdiig
OD hit purt unreasoRsblff.
" How ciui you fwy so, raaminH ? " Such had been Fttnny'a iodlpiaBt
exclamation when Mrs. Clavering liad hintt.'d that Mr. Saul's proceoding
had been expected by her.
" Simply bccsuan I saw that he liked you, my dear. Men under
cirenmsliuioes liave difiVmot ways of nliowing tlivir liking."
Fitnny, who had seen uU of Mary'& Inve-oJIur from the heginning
the «od, and who had watched the Itererend Edward Fieldisg in all Lia
vety conspicuous maaoniTn^, would not agree to this. Hdwnrd FteUing
from the £nt mooitnt of his inlLmatc iwqnaiiitsnoo with Mary iai
left no doubt of hia intentionfl on the mind of any one. He luid lalM
to Mary and walked with Mmy whenever he was allowed or foo^ it
possible to do ao. When driTco to talk tu Funny, ho had ulwaja tallMd
about Mary. ITc had btieu n lovar of tha good, old, ploinspoken stamp,
about whom there had been no mistake From the first moment of fait
coming much about Clnv^rlng n<.'ctory tho only question had been obnl
his iaoome. " I don't thiuk Mr. S.iul eretr mid a word to ne ezBej*
about the poor people and the church tervlcc^," raid Fanny. " That WM
merely his way," mid Mr*. CInvoring. "Then he must be a goose," said
Fanny. " 1 am very torry if I have made hJni onluqipy, but he had no
business to oome to me in that way."
** I suppose I slinll have to look for another curate," aoid the Rodor.
But thL4 wna said in privutc lo lii< wife.
" 1 don't see that at all," inid Mrs. ClavciiDg. '■ With many men it
would be eo ; but I think you will find thac h» will take an answer, and
that there will be an end of it."'
fanny, ptthapB, had a right to be indignant, for certainly Mr. Saul hid
f^mn her no i&ir uaming of his intention. Mary hud for GOme months
feesi intent rftlhcr on Mr. Fielding's diurdi muttcm tlian oil thoao going
on m liiT own pnrJHh, snd therefore there had been notliisg aiogolar ia the
fact iluit Mr. Saul hod said more on such matlen to Fanny than to hci
sister. Fanny was eager and actiTC, and as Mr. Saiil was Tory tmgtr and
THE CLA.YESDXG8. 275
TCry active, it was natoral that they ehould Iiave lud some intereetB in
common. Bnt there had been no private walkiags, and no talkiogs that
could properly be called private. There vraa a certain book which Fanny
kq>t, containiag the names of all the poor people in the parish, to which
Mr. Sattt had acccBB equally with herself; but its contents were of a most
prosaic nature, and when she had sat over it in the rectory drawing-room,
with Mr. Saul by her dde, striving to extract more than twelve pennies
out of charity shillings, she had never thought that it would lead to
a declaration of love.
He had never called her Fanny in bis life, — not up to the moment
when she declined the honour of becoming Mrs. Saul. The offer itself
was made in this wise. She had been at the house of old Widow Tubb,
half-way between Cumberly Green and the little village of Clavering,
■trivii^ to make that rheumatic old woman believe that she had not
been dieated by a general conspiracy of the parish in the matter of
a distribution of coal, when, just as she was about to leave the cottage,
Mr. Saul came up. It was then past four, and the evening was becoming
daik, and there was, moreover, a slight drizzle of rain. It was not a
tempting evening for a walk of a mile and a balf through a very dirty
liDe ; but Fanny Claveriiig did not care much for such things, and was
jnst stepping out into the mud and moisture, with her dress well looped
1^ when Mr. Saul accosted her.
" Tm a&aid you'll be very wet. Miss Clavering."
" That will be better than going without my cup of tea, Mr. Saul,
lAich I should have to do if I stayed auy longer with Mrs. Tubb. And
I have got an umbrella."
" But it is so dark and dirty," said he.
" I'm used to that, as you ought to know,"
" Yes ; I do know it," aaid he, walking on with her. " I do know
that nothing ever turns you away from the good work."
There was something in the tone of his voice which Fanny did not
like. He had never complimented her before. They had been very
innate and bad often scolded each other. Fauny would accuse Itim
of exacting too much from the people, and he would retort upon her
that she coddled them. Fanny would often decline to obey him, and
^ would make angry hints as to his clerical authority. In this way
Ibej hod worked together pleasantly, without any of the awkwardness
"liicli on other terms would have arisen between a young man and it
youog woman. But now that he began to praise her with some pecu-
^ intention of meaning in his tone, she was confounded. She had
"^0 no immediate answer to him, but walked on rapidly through the
'oud nai ilnsh.
"You are very constant," said he; "I have not been two years
at CUvering without findiog that out." It was becoming worse and worse.
'twas not BO much his words which provoked her as the tone in which
'Qf? tttre uttered. And yet she had not the slightest idea of what vrM
14—3
276
TIIK CLAVERINGS.
I
coming. If, lliaroughly admiring htrr devotion and mifUken u to ber
ckuacWr, h« went to ask li«r lo )jei:ome a Prot«!>taiit nun, or mggvsl to
liiiT tli«t she eLouJtl Ivave lt«r Li^me and go ^i^ nurse into « lioepttul, tbca
thero would have occuTred the sort oflblly of which she believed himMbft
CRpkble. or tile- folly which he now commiltcil, nlic had not believed him
i« be capAble.
It hfld come on to ni!n bard, and she held lier tunbretla low OTer lier
lioad. IIo also was walking with an open umbrella in bis liattd, so Hud
llipy wore not very close to each otbcr. Fanny, iw she iteppcd on impf^
tuoualy, put bcr foot into tbe depth of a pool, ond itplaabcd bcnclT
tboroughly.
" Oh dear, oli denr," wild she ; " this ii voiy diiagreeabie."
"MisB ClaverinR," eiuil h«, "I have Iiecn looking for an opportunity to
•peak to yon, nnd 1 do not know when I may lind another «o suitable a*
tbix." She still Iwlicvvd that some proposition waa to be made to her
which wouJtl bu disogicenble, and perhaps iiopcitiaeal,^but it nercr
ouciimid to hcT tliat Mr. Snul was in want of a wife.
" Doewi't it rain loo hard for talking? " she tiaid.
" As 1 hare b^un I must go on with it now," he replied, nuain^ bia
voice a Uttlo, as though it were ncGc>ftuiry that he aiiould du so to make bcr
bear him through the rain and darkness. She moved a little fiiribvT awiy
from him with tinthinlting irritation ; bnt Htill he went on with bis por-
pos6. " Miss Clavering, I kaow that I am iU-n«t«l to pky the port vt >
lover; — very ill suited." Then she gave a start imd agiuii aplasbcd htotlf
eadly. " I liavo nover rent) bow it is doQO in books, and have not aUowd
my imagination fodiveli much on such thin^."
" Mr. Saul, don't go on j pray don't." Kow tht did understand wbt
was coming.
" Yes, Mi(« Clavorin^, I nitut go on now ; but not on that aooooat
would I pppfis you to give mo an answer to-day. I have It'amcd to lofO
yon, and if you con love me in retuni, \ will take you by the liaad, and
you shall be my -wife. I have found thut in you which I have been unabla
not lo love,— not to covet that I may bind it to myself as my own for erer.
WiU you think of this, and give nie an answer when you have comiidend
it fully 7 "
He biid not xpoken ;illog(.-ther amiss, and Fanny, though ahe m
very angry willi him, was conecious of thie. The time he bad chcsea
might not be conaddercd RuibiMc for a declaration of lore, nor the
plate; hut having chosen them, he had, perbJlp^ mode the best of ihem.
There had been oo bedlation in bis voic«, and his words bod be«Q pei-
f«ctly audible. ■
"Oh, Mr. Saul, of courwi I can nasnre you at once," said Fumy.
"There need not be nny consideration. 1 really bare never tbougbt
• " Fftnny, who knew bur own mind on the matter thorou^ly,
wua hardly able to e:^ri;sa hcntclf plainly and without incivility. As
Mon as that phrase " of counc " had pnssed her lips, she Mt that it
I
THE CUlVSlUNGa.
277
eLouIt] not L&vo beea epvlivn. Tbcru vtiui no need tijal ihe elioutd
iosult him by teiling hint that such a propuoltum fruin liim could hare
bat cnc answer.
•' No, Miss CUvftTing; I know you liavenevertijoiigUt ofit, aadtlicrc^
lore it would be well tlut jvm should taku t'imi;. I Imve not been able lo
iuak« luauifeet to yo\i by litUu ugns, u mca da wbo arc Icsa awkward, all
iha lov« that I hvre A-lt for you. Indcod, could 1 hiivc dono eo, 1 should
adtl luTu hesitated till I had OtorougKly resolved that I luight be betinr
• wifo tlinn without one ; uxi bad reeolved also, us far as tUat
bo possible fur aw, tluit you also would be belter with a buBbitnd."
" Ur. Saul, really iliat tJiouM be fur mc to think of."
•• And for mo alao. Can any man offer to nijurry « woman, — lo
bioA a woman for life to ccrUuo duties, and to to close nn oblig;aion
without thinking wlicthcr auch bonds would b« good {ui Jirr tut wvlt
■s lor himsolf 7 Of courttu you must think Ihi youmelf; — nnd so have
I thoOj^ht for yon. You nbould think for younclt^ and you should think
■lio for mc"
Fanny was quite aware that as ro^arded herself, tlie matter wna onn
which n^quircd no laore thinking. Hr. tjaul was not a man with wliajii
iht could bring hersell' to be in love. She had her own ideas aa to what
. loveable in men, and the eager curate, splsahing through the rain by
■side, by no oicana came uj) to her etandard of excollcace. She waa
Dtuly awuro that hu bnJ alcogcthcrr mislakon her character, and
gjren her cr>.'dit fur more abnegation of tho world than sha pretended to
poaMU, or wait desirous of poaacssing. Ponuy Clavmng was in no hurry
to get married. I do not know that ahe bad even made up her roind that
■tnMgn would be a gowl thing foi- her; hut she had an untroubled coa-
vietion that if alic did amtTy, her husband iihciiiid have a. honse and nn
income. She had no reliance on lirr own puwi-r of living on « potato,
nd wttli ono new dreaa crery y«ar. A comfortable Lome, with nio:, com-
fartable things around her, eaae In money matters, and elegance in life, were
diarma with which she hod not quarrctlcd, and, though ahc did not wish
tblwhaardHpon Mr. Saul onuccount of hi* mistAW,iih^did feiil that in making
bia propoaitioQ he had blundered. Becauw Klie cho«e to do lier duty as a
(iriab dergyuum's daughter, he thought hlmnfilf entitled to regard her an
itmtie, who would be willing to resign everything to become the wile of
A clergyman, who waa aotive, indeed, but wtio had not out; ftliilling of
i>MnKi beyond his curacy. " Mr. Saul," she aaid, " I can assure you I
Htd lake no time fur further thinking. It cannot be w you would
Wit."
" Ferhapa I have been abrupt. Indeed, I feol that it is so, though I
^ cot know bow to avoid it."
"It would have made no diflerenM. Indeed, indeed, Mr. Saul,
'"NUag of that kind could have made a differenoe."
" Will yon grant me this ; — that 1 may speak to you again on the same
*Hm after aU months .' "
THB CTiAVSW
pn^l
" It emDot dc any good."
" It will do lhi« good ; — tltat for ao mnch time jron will hnre had the
idea Wfurc you." Panny thought that alie would Imro Mr. Saul himMlf
before bsr, and that that irould be enongh. Mr. Saul, with his nuty
dotbw «ad hti thick, dirty nhoea, ond his wcnk, blinkictg cjren, and kia
mind always eet upon the on« winh of hia tire, could not bo auda
to prwOTt himxif to her in the guiso of a JoTor. H* wm one oT thoae
men of whom women become v«tj Ibod wi^ llie fondnmn of rrieod-
ehip, but IVota whom yoong wonton afiem to be lu &r removed in tfas
way of tore aa though they 1)eloii({;ed to Rome other species. " I will
Bot pTtes you furtfaer," said be, " as I gattar by your tone Hat it
diatrcaaa yon."
'* I am ao lonT- if I dlstrea* you, but really, Mr. Saul, I coiikl gir*
yo«, — I n«vcT could give you any otbfrr answer."'
Then they walked on ailently through tliu rain, — tilentl^, witboot a
nng;lo word, — for more tliau halT a niilc, till they reached tho rwbry
gate. ITere it wna rcrcfwiry that thfy should, At atiy rate, f^teak to aadi
Other, and for thv last thrr>c hundred yards Fanny had been trying M
ind tbe words which would he soitable. But he wa» the first to bnik
the fulcFnoc. " Good-nighl, Uiat CIsvwnng," h« «aid, sbopjiing and
out hia hand.
" Good-night, Mr. Saul."
" I hope ihat there may be ao dificrcscc in our heating to each etbtr,
becstuo uf what I hare to-day aaid to you 1 "
" Not on my part ; — that ia, if yott will forget it," ,
" No, MisB Clavering ; I ab&ll not &rget it. If it had bcoa r ibqy
be forgattpn, I should not haTO xpokeu. I oertatoly aball not Ibrgat Hi'
" You know what I mean, Mr. Saul,"
" i ahftll not Tor^t it exen in the wny that yon mean. But i/SH
think yon need not fear tnc, because you know tliaC t Ioi« yon. I lUdt
I can promiK that you need nut vithdrsw yourself from me, bocatne cf
vhat has pa«cd. But you will t^^ll your fiither and your mother, and of
courae will be guided by tliem. And now, good-nighL" Then he we«^
mod til* maa Batcni»bed ot linJiog that he had h:id much the be&t of it ia
hia manner of speaking and condncting hinueE She hiul reftu«<I bis
Tei7 curtly, and he had boroc it well. lie had not btvn abaihed, nor had
Ic become Milky, nor hnd he tried to melt her by mention of hta owa
miMry. In truth ho had done it very well, — only that be should ban
known better tlinn to ntake aiiy such attemftt at nil.
Mr. Saul had been right in one thing. Of couriw xhe t^ld her motltar,
snd of course her mother told her father. Before diuner that evvntng tbi
wlioitt afliiir wob being dtbatcd in the family coneUve. They bQ agned
that Fanny had hnd no alternative but to rtject the propoution at onee.
That, indeed, wan ho ihorouglily taken for granted, that the point waa not
ditouMed. But there came to be a difference between iba fiertor andf
Fanny on one ude, and Mrs. Clareriug and Mary on the otlwr. '* 0\
I
i
THE CLAVERmOS. 279
my word," said the Rector, " I think it was veiy impertinait." Fanny
iTould not have liked to use that word herself, bitt she loved her &ther
lor using IL
" I do not see that," said Mrs. Clavering. " He could not know what
Fnnny's views in life might be. Curates very ol\en marry oat of &c
bouses of the clei^ymen with whom they are placed, and I do not see why
Sir. Saul should be debarred from the privilege of trying."
" If he had got to like Fanny what else was he to do 7 " said Mary.
" Oh, Mary, don't talk such nonsense," said Fanny. " Got to like !
People shouldn't get to like people unless there's acme reason for it."
" What on earth did he intend to live on ? " demanded the Rector.
" Edward had nothing to live on, when you first allowed him to come
here," said Mary.
" But £dward had prospects, and Saul, as far as I know, has none.
He had given no one the slightest notice. If the man in the moon had
come to Fanny I don't suppose she would have been more surprised."
" Not half so mach, papa."
Then it was that Mrs. Clavering had declared that she was not
surprised, — that she had suspected it, and had almost made Fanny angry
by saying so. When Harry came back two days afterwards, the family
news was imparted to him, and he immediately ranged himself on his
fiuher's side. " Upon my word I think that he ought to be forbidden
the house," said Harry. " He has forgotten himself in making such a
proposition."
" That's nonsense, Harry," said his mother. " If he con be com-
fortable coming here, there can be no reason why he should be uncom-
fortable. It would be an injustice to him to ask him to go, and a great
trouble to your iiither to find another curate that would suit him flo well."
There could be no doubt whatever as to the latter proposition, and there-
fore it was quietly argued that Mr. Saul's fault, if there had been a fault,
ibould he condoned. On the next day he came to the rectory, and they
were all astonislicd at the case with which lie bore himself. It was not
that he atTL'Ctcd any special freedom of manner, or that he altogether
avoided any change in his mode of speaking to them. A slight blush
came upon his aullow lace as he first spoke to ilrs. Clavering, and he
hardly did more than say a single word to Fanny. But he carried liim-
H-If as though conscious of what he liad dont', but iu no degree asliamcd
of the doing it. The Hector's manner to him was stiff and formal; — seeing
which Mrs. Clavering sjioke to him gently, and with a smile. " I saw you
Were a little hard on him, and therefore I triixl to make up for it," said
she afierwards. " You were quite right," said the husband. " You always
arc. But I wish he had not made such a fool of himseli'. It will never
ht the same thing witli him again." Harry hardly spoke to Mr. Saul the
first time he met him, all of which Mr. Saul understood perfectly.
" Clavering," he said to Harry, a day or two after tliis, " I hope there
is to }>Q no difference between you and me."
260 THE CLA.V£]UNGS.
" Difference ! T don't know wliat you niciiB by difference.'*
" Wc wen: guud friends, and I hcpu Uiai vc nrc lo remain bo. Ka
doubt you Icnow what hon ukcn filitca l>elween me and your sUtcr.**
" Oh, jea ; — I have been told, of coutt*."
" Vn>*l 1 mean )«, that I bopc you ore not going to quarrel with me
on tUat accounl T Wbcit I did, in it ti€l what you would liavc done m my
pufiitLon? — unly you wuuld liave duac it succcuTuIly ?"
" I ihinlE a fellow should have some iiiEwnic, yuu Icnow."
*' Can you say that you nould iiuvv waited fur income before you spoke
of marriaKC? "
" [ tbi»k it might have been belter Lbatyou should have gone to my
bther."
*■ It may bo that that ia the rutu in such tlilnga, but if so I do not
know it. Would Av have liked that belter ? •*
" WcU ;— I can't »ay."
" You are engaged ? Did you go to ihu young lady's family first ? "
" I ciui't say I did ; but I tluuk I hod given them some ground to
expect it. I fancy th^ all knew what 1 wai about. But it'a over oow,
and I don't inow that we need nay anything mone about it."
" Certainly not. Nothing can be said that -ivould be of any UM ; bW
I do not ihinli 1 imvo done anything that you sliotdd resent."
•' Eeaenl is n sUong word. I don't resent it, or, at a»iy rate, I won't;
and tiiere may bo on end of it." After tl>is, Harry wa* more gracioa
will) Mr. tiaul, having an idea tlial the cunitc had madu some
apology for what ho had done. But tliut, 1 funcy, >vas by no
Mr. Saul's vifw of tlto casa. Had ha oQtred to many the daughter of
tbc Archbitihop of CaultThury, instead of the daughter of the Kect^i of
'Ol.ivcriiig, be would not have imagined that his doing >a ueeded u
apology.
The day after his return from London Lady Clavering stnt for Uaaj
up to the houac, " So you saw my sister in London ! " ahe said.
" Ye*," naid Harry blushing; "as I was in town, I thought that I
might as wvll meet £icr. But, as you said, Lody Ongar is able to do
without much aawaianoe «l' that kind. I only just aiw her."
" Julia took it so khidly of you; but she scema surjirised that jutt
did sot come to her the following day. She thought you would lun
called."
" Oh, dear, no. I fancied tliut ahc would be too tired and too bw^ to
wish to see any mere acrjuaintance."
" Ah, Harry, I see that slie has angered yoci," aaid T.ady Clareriog ;
" otherwise you would not (alk about mere auquatutauco,"
" Not in the least. Angered me 1 How could she anger mc ? What
I meant was (hat at &uch a lime she would probably wish to see no one
but people on busine&s, — nnleis it was Bome one near to her, like yourMlT
or Hugh."
" llugh will not go Co her."
THE CLATEBOraS. 281
" Bat you will do bo ; will you oot ? "
" Before long I will. You don't seem to usderettuid, Harry, — and,
perhaps, it would be odd if you did, — that I can't run up to town and
back as I please. I ought not to tell you this, I dare say, but one feela
as though one wanted to talk to some one about one's affairs. At the
present moment, I have not the money to go,^-eTen if there were no
other reoaon." These last words she said almost in a whisper, and then
she looked up into the young man's iace, to see what he thought of the
communication she had made him.
" Oh, money 1 " he said. " Yoa could soon get money. But 1 hope
it won't be long before you go."
On the next morning but one a letter came by the post for him firom
I^y Ongar. When he saw the handwriting, which he knew, his heart
was at once in his mouth, and he hesitated to open his letter at the
break&st-tablc. He did open it and read it, bat, in truth, he hardly
understood it or digested it till he had taken it away with him up to bis
swn room. The letter, which was very short, was as follows : — '
DtAB ¥ltlEflD,
I PELT yonT kindncsa in coming to me at the station EO much ! — die more,
ptriupfl, becaiue others, who owed me more kindness, hare paid me less. Don't
nppoae that I allnde to poor Eennione, for, in tnith, I have no intention to complain
at ber. I thought, peihaps, joa wonld have come to see me befon yoa left London ;
tat I suppose you were hurried. I hear from Clavering that jou are to bo up about
jwir new profession in a day or two. Pray come and see me before you haTe been
amy days in London. I ehall hare so mnch to say to yon 1 The rooms yoa haro
tiken are CTCrything that I wanted, and I am so grateful 1
Yours CTcr,
J.O.
When Harry had read and had digested this, he became iiware that
he was again fluttered. " Poor creature ! " he said to himself ; " it is sad
to think how much she is in want of a friend."
^^ ^tuitp 4 CeWk %i\mim.
PART I.
Tee Bummor l>ofbr« last I spent eomo weeks at Llftndachio, oa the W«Ui
aoa«(. The bact lodging-liuusn nt Lliuidiiiloo look eastward, tovinU
Tdrcrpool; anil from that Saxon lure mnuim are tncesrauitly uBtuD^
oroning tlie baj, ud<I Uiking peonconipn of thv beach and the lo^ui|-
bomea. Guarded by iha Great and Little Ormc's Head, and aliTc whb
tLe Surao iavaden hota Lircrpool, the eutcta baj u on attractive puiat
of inlVTWt, and nun; viriton to Llandmlno never «ont«Bipltt« anything
else. Bat, patting ande the oham of the Lirc;i'|ioDl steamboats, perivp
the view, on tbit side, a little diasatisGes on« attar a while ; the horiaoB
w&nu myisteij, the sea wants beaulj, tlits coa«t wanu verdure, and lus
a too bars auflt«renea aad aridity. At lut osti turns round and looli
w«twiu<d. Ererythinff ia ebangod. Orcr the month of ibe CoDwaj nri
ibi sands is tba eternal wilneM nnd mild U^tof the west; tbe lowEv
of the mplio Anglesey, nnd the pr«cipit«a> Pcaunaenniawr, und tbe ftmi
groap of Camedd Llewolyn and Cancdd David and tbdr brelhrro £aliD|
away, hill behind luU, iii an serial haxu, make the liomoa : betwetn tta
fixit of Ponmatntnawr and tiie bending co^tt a{ Anglcnoy, tb« an, *
si1vi.'r Ktream, disajipearB one knows not whitlicr. On lliiii itide, TTalet,—
WuLes, nhcrG ibe pa^t sltU lives, where every place lias ittt traditioo, emy
name its poetry, and where ibu people, lb« genuinQ people, Mill kaom
tliia past, thia tradition, lliis poetry, and lircs with it, and cUnga to il;
while, atns, tho proupcront Saxcu on the othtir ltd'-, thv invader bom
tJrorpool aiid Rirkenhe^ul, hu long ago forgotten liis. And (be pnv
monlory where Lbndudno stands ia the very centre of Lbls tradition ; tt ti
Creuddyn, Uie blooili/ eily, where every atooe baa its story ; thcrc^ oppoail*
its decaying rival, Conway Giatle, is Bi^anwy, not decaying bttt long aanac
utierly decayi^d, some eruoibUug foundations on a cr^g-top and noduag
more ; — Diganwj-, wlicrc Ma«l-gwyn shut up Elpliin, nnd wlierr Taliwia
came to free him. Below, in a fuld of tlie hill, is Llaa-rhoa, tlie diurdi
of the marsh, whore the laaie Mael-gwyn, a Briu*h prince of real hiKtorj,
a bold and licentious cliicf, the original, it is said, of Arthur's Lancelot,
shnt himself up in the church to avoid the Yellow Plague, and peeped out
through a hole in the door, and tavr tho monster and died. Behind
among the woods, is G1od<daeth, the place o/ftastiiiy, where tlio bar^ were
entertained; and fui-thcr away, up tho valley of the Conway towards
Ll^nrwst, in llic Lake of CeirionydJ ami Talii>sin'g grare. Or, again*
looking seawards nnd Angletey-wardit, you have Pcn-mon, Seiriora isle
and priorj", where Mad-gwyn li« buried ; yoo hare tbe SantU of
i
A
Tira STUD I OF CELTIC T-TTSRATUTtE.
r
I
LantitUUion wai Ujt Hel^, Btlig't ilonn'on, a mnnsion undcrr tho warei,
a KA-bnried paUoe ind realm. Jfae ibat Jiimoia ; lue tat SigtUct UUut.
As I walked up voA down, last August yvai, loolung at llio via.\ts.
«s tite; wuhed thu Sigcian land -n-hicb bna novcr had ita Homer, aod
Uataoing with curinutj to tlie alnmgr', iiufuniiliiu- Rptwch of it^ «ld
fowmor i' objcare desMndant^ bathing people, vcgetAMc-scllcrs, and
dankej bojo, nl>o were al! about tne, — saddraly I heard, through the
Mremi of nukDOwn Welsh, wordx, not En£:IUIi, indeed, but iitill familiar.
TIkj ouim fiom a Francb nancry-miud, witli some cliildivti. Pm-
IntkiXj igDorant of ha Tclntiflnahip, thin Gntili«k Celt niov«d among h«i-
Britiab ooudos, apcaking her pnlilo neo-Latin tongiw, and full of com-
pMnooate costempt, probably, fur the Wckh borbariaDs and their jai^n.
Wliat a revolutioQ vae hptv I How had tiie star of thia djiughttr nf
Gooier waxed, while the star of these Cymiy, hia bodi, had waned ! What
■ difiiercaco of fortune in the two, aincc th« dajs when, spesIuDg the Bame
hsgnage, ih^ ]e(t their coinman dwelling-plaoc in lh« htart ef Aiia;
unce tli« Qmmeriaus of the Euxine caui'e ia upon thetr weatern klnonien,
the BOOS of the giant Galatea; since the usters, GauI and Britain, «ut the
rnktlvtoG in (heir fomta, and saw the vciming uf CicsaT ! Blanc, rouge,
ffCAvr, champ, ^li*e, wn^Mur, — theao words, by which the Uallo-Homan
Cab DOW nan»M white, and red, and roclc, and Geld, and church, and lord,are
ta jiart of the speech of his true anceatora, the}- ars woids be has karat;
hu noce he IcaroC them they have had a world-wide saeeew, and we all
Mach them tc our children, and armius ip^nkiiig thvm have domioeered
■ vctsTj aiy of that Gcnnaay by whicli the BritiWi C«U was broken,
aA in the bain of these armien, Snxos auxilinritw, a humbled coatingent,
hare been fain lo follow ; — the poor WeUhman Hiill mvs, in lh« genuine
liqgiie of his onceetorH, Jiryi, JM^, ctb'j, maet, Hon, i^ryUrytlct ; but his
land ia a prorioce, and his hiMury petty, and lii« Stuon mibduen scout
hia speech as on ohalaole to cirilization ; and the eclia of all ita kindred
IB other landj in growing every dny fitintrr nnd more fc«b!o; (i^e in
Oonwall, gMDg in Brittany and the Sc»lrh Ilighlanda, going, too, in
Inlakd; — and there, Bhoro all, the badge of the buatvu taae, tho propet^
of the vanquixbed.
But die Celtic genltta was jnst then preparinft. in Llandcdtio, lo hare
ila hoiir of reriyaL Workmen were bnsy in putting up a large tnnt-likc
wooden boilding, which attractdl the eye of every new-comer, and which
aiy little lioya believed (tlieir vinh, no doubt, being father to their belief,)
t» be n circus. It turned out, however, to be no cJreua for Cflstor and
Polinx, bat a t«nipl« for Apollo and the Muik*. It was the phuc
where (he £iitcddfi<d, or Bardic CongrcM of Wales, wu about to be hftUI ;
ft »aeti»g which haa for ila object (1 cjuoto tho words of its protnotera)
* tb* diflVision of useful knowledge, the eliciting of natire laleat, and the
abtriabbg. of love of home and honourable feme by the culliration of
poetiy, naaie, and art." Ikly Uiilc hoyn KvTe disappointed ; but I, whose
timjm ase over, I, who have a profeuiooal iotorest ia poetry, aad
THB STUDY OF CKLTTC UTKHArOBE.
wliO( oIm, baiiug all oufi-eidedaeM atiJ oppn:^oii, wisLi noUung better
than thut Ui« Celtic geniim slioutd be ublc to show iisvlt'to tba world uid
to make its voice beard, wu deligbied. I took my tidiot, atul wuted
itnpfLticntly for the duy of opening. The day came, on anloitnaaM
one; siorim ol' wiud, douiia uf diut, Hii »cigr^, dirty Kca. The Skxow
wlio arrived ky tlio Liverpool stvamers looked luiocnible ; erea the
Welsh who arrivtid by land, — wiieiber they were di&coinp(»ed by tfaa bail
moming, or by the luonsiroua aod crushing tax which the London and
Korth- Western Railwiiy CompAny levies on uU whom it transports acrass
thtiKo four miles ot uiarghy ]ienin«ulii iKitwccti Conway and Llandttdao,-—
did MUt louk happy. First rru went to the Gomedd, or prelimiaary ooQ-
gnes for coaferring the degree of bard. The Gotwdd was h«ld in tba
open air, at the winJy oonicr of a atrcut, and l)iv momiag vrm nob lairour*
able to upcQ-air lolvmtiitivtt. The Wvloh, too, ehan.-, it svvma to mc, with
their Saxon inradt-ni, an inaptitudu for show and spectacle Show and
Bpectncle ni'o belter managed hy the Latin race, and those whom it boa
moulded ; lh« Welsh, like an, are a littln nwlcward .ind reaourccless ia tha
organizulioii of a It'sliTttl. Tht presiding geiiiua of tlie mystic circle, ia
our hideous iiiaeUeulh century cuatuma r<4ieved only by a grueu «Gac(
the niiid drowning his voice and the dtut jxtwdering livs wlii«kurB, looked
thoroughly wretched; no did iha unpirnnls for bardie honours; and I
be)icv(>, aOer about an hour of il, wi.* all of ti9, sb we stood shivering rousd
the Kicred slones, began half to wish lor the Druid'a sacrificial knife to
end our suderin^s. But the Druid's knife ia gone firoju ha haada; so m
■ought tlie Bhtiiier uf tho EislciiiillHl building.
The Bight imdde waa not lively. The preniduut and hi) sapponen
mustered strong on the platform. On the door the one or two froot
beacbea were pretty well liUed, but their occupania were for llie iiiotrt part
Saxons, who cauie there iroui curiouly, not J'rom outhmtioam ; and all the
middle and back benches, where should hava kein tliu tniu cnthuaiaaU, —
the Wulsh people,— were nearly emjity. The [Jresidcnt, I am sure, showed
aniilioDol spirit which was atimirnble. He addressed lu boxooi id our
own languHgv, and aiUed uit " cbi> Kngliah brancli of the deaeendaDti cf
the ancient Urilous." We receiveil the compliment willi the iinjuuBuve
dulness which is tha choraclerislic of ournHtnro; and the lively Celtic
nature, which should have made up lur the dulnem of ours, was aboeot.
A lady who tsat by mc, and whu was the wife, I I'ouud, of a distinguished
bard «n cho plnitorm, told me, with emotion in her look and Toiee^ ho*
dear were thcM aolemnitiea to tlie heart of her people, bow deep wa* tlie
interctit whieh waa aroused by them. I behcve her, but etiU the wholtt
l>erform]Luce, on that parLiculiir ruuruiug, was incuriibiy lifultaB, TIn
rvutalion of the prize compositions bugiin : piuoes uf vursc and prose in
the Welsh language, an cs^y on punctuality being, if 1 remcmb«r right,
one of them ; a poem oii the march, of Ilavelock, another. Tliia went ou
for fiume time. Theu Dr. Vaughau, — the well-known Noncoulbrmiot
aiiuister, a Webhmon, and a goud patriot, — addnwsed ua ia English, ills
^
THE STLTIT OF CELTIC UTERATtJKZ.
S8d
«peec1) vm a |i«w«riul odc. mkI he eucccoded, I confcAe, in eeiuling a fiunt
|}ihll through our front benclicH ; but it wsr the old familiar thrill wUich
«c hxrc all of xui fctt a thoumnd tiinm in Soxon cliapcls and meeLing-
liRUa, «nd hftd noUiitig bardio about it. I sti-ppcd out, uai in Lba street
I flune ataosB tat aoi]naintance Iraib from Loiwioa and the purliiunpnlniy
Ktaon. In n moment the spell of the Celtic getiiua wan forgotten, tlta
Philiftininn of our ^>axoa nature madct ildcif fdt; nnd my friend nnd I
walked up and down by the Toarint? wstcb, talking not of ovatcjiniid bards,
and triads ood englyns, but of the scwng^ qucttion, and tLe glories of our
kwal wIf-govemmQnt, and tbv myistcrious [KTrtVctiona of the Molropolitan
Board of Works.
1 bclicTG it M admitted, crcn by tlie ndmircn of EiHt^ddfodit in general,
that this pjirlicular Ei«tHdfod wia not a fiiicc«s«. Llniidndnn, it in imid,
vuDOt ilic rigiit place for it. Htld in Conway Custle, m a ft-w yraum
ago it wa», and its Bpectalors, — an enthuBiastic multttudo, — filling l!ie gmnd
Tuioi I can omaRine il a moBt iinpreasiTe and interesting aiglit, even to
;er labouring under tho terrible disndvanlagc of being ignorant of
die Welali langttsge. But even eetin as I saw it M T,Iu.niIudtio, it had
tlw power to aet odc thinking. An Eiateddlbd ia, no doubt, a kind of
Olympic mcotiDg ; and iliBt tbw cntnnioii people of WjiIw riioitld caro for
mcb 8 tLing, kIiowh nometliiiij^ Greek in ihem, aomclliing xpLritml, some-
tamano, aomvlliing (I am a&aid ona must add) wbicli in tli<; Engliah
ion people ia not to 'be found. This line «f reflection bos been
ed by the accomplished Binbop of St. David's, nnd by llio Satrirdat/
it is jiiAt, it in fruitful, and tiioitc wIid purnurd it merit our be»t
danka. But, from p#«utiar circumaiancics, lli« Llaiicluduo nit-trting was,
mI bsTC said, Bucli as not at all to suggest ideas of Oly inpia, and of a tnulti*
tada tenohed by th« divine fiamo, and liaa^ng on tlie lipa of Pindar. It
iwher aoggesled tkc triumph vi' tlie [vosuic, practical Saxon, and the
Ifprokdiing extinction of an enlhn&uum which he derides aa fitctitious, a
Ulcralure whicli he diaduns as traeli, a language wliicli be detentg as a
Goiaaoor.
I muHt sny I quile ahiure tlic opinion of my brother Saxons as to the
jnr^if^X inoonTcnience of perpetuating Uie apeaking of Welsh. Ii. may
CMae a momeiit'tt ditlreta to one's imagination when one bean tliat the
btt ComiMh feasant who ^oke tlie old tongue of Cornwall ia dead ; but,
ijdDubt, Cornwall ia llic l)cttur for adopting EngUsIi, for beconiing more
\lj tmt with tlic rc«t of the country. The fiuuoii of all the
itanta of these islantls into one boraogcncous, Kn(;lisi]-*praking
wbole, tJie breaking down of barriers bclwccn un, the ewa.Ilowing up of
wpvata prorincJal nationalities, ia a consutnmatioii to wliicli the natural
eoone of things irTesislibly tends ; it is a necessity of what ia called
Bodccn ciTilixaticn, and modem civilixation Ia n real, legitimslc force;
lb» ckaogo must come, and it* :iJX!oniplti<!iment U a mere afloir of time.
The sooner the WcIaIi language dieappcars as an instrument of tliu
practical, jwUtical, lodal life of Wales, Uiu better; the better for England,
286
TBE STUDV Off CELTIC UTBRATUltE.
tliii boiler fer Wdes itself. TrKlen uid touristo <lo cxcoUcot senioe by
pushing tlie En^ih wodgo further niuj Airthvr ioto tlw heart of the
priadpolicjr ; goTenuiu.-nt, hj bumneniig il lianler iiiiJ harder into the
cfentcutary schooU. Nor, perhaps, can oa« hav« much aytapathy with
the literary cultivation of Welsh aa aa mstxvaoeot of Uvuig literature;
and ia ihia nap«ct Eiaieddlbds cacoun^ I think, a fanlaotJc aiut
mischicf-warking ddnsion. For alt nricnu pnrpMcs io modem Utoalan
(and trifling- purpOM-s in it who wuuld care to ciicoara^?) the language
of a Welshioaa is and inuat be EBgUah ; if an Kititwidfod author ha* '
anjthing to siy aboTit jranctuality or about ttie tnnrcb of Havelock, be
had much better aay it in English ; or rather, pcrlinp?. what ho has t« asf
on thmo rabjeets nuy as irell be said in WcJih, but the ruotnent be has
anything of real impoitauce to say, anything the world will ih« least can
to hear, he must speak English. Dik-tt^iutism might ptiuibly do mash
harm heiv, might mislead and waste and bring to nought a gemtilM
talent. For all modem purpoaea, I repeat. Id ub all aa soon as posaible be
one people ; let thd ^Vebhioan speak English, Mti, if be is ao autbo^ .
him write Eogliifa.
So far, I go along with the Htream of my brother Saxons ; bat
1 imagine, 1 part company with them. They will have nolhiugto do
the Welsh language snd bleiatiu« on any terms; th(>y would gladly
a dean swcvp of it from the fucv of tim earth. I, on. certain tennv, widi
to make a gnM deal more of it thaa is made now ; and 1 regard thi
Welsh literature, — or rather, dropping the dietinctloQ between WiihJi aat
Lriah, GncU and tymri*, let me sny Oi.-l^c liturature, — aa an object tl
very great intwxmt. My brottu-r Saxons have, as is well k
terrible way with llieoi uf wantijig to improrc croiything but tbi
off the faco of t)i« earth ; I have no such pasnion for finding nothi
myself ererywhere ; I like variety to v:^!»l iincl to nliow itself to
I would not for the wurld hovo the lincatnentd of the Celtic geaius
But I know my brutliL-r SaxouK, I know their slrengtb, and J know thil
the Celtic geiiiun will luake uutliing tS trying to set up barriers agatad
them in the world of fact nnd brute force, of trying to hold its own i^utnit
them as a political and social coanlcr-powei', aa tlie son! of u
Dutionaliiy. To mc there is somctliinf; mouruful (and at this
when one sofs wtiat h going on in Irelaiiil, liow well may one aay so I)
in hearing a Welt^ian or an Irinbman moke prtrtenniona, — oatural pre-
tensioiu, 1 admit, but how hoplosaly vain ! — to such a rival cclf-esta^ab-
ment ; tliere is sumetliing moui-ufu! ia hearing .in Englislimaa scout them.
Sirciiglh I alas, it i:i nut i<trciigth, strength in the miilcrial world, which is
wanting to us >iaxona ; we have plenty of strength for uwallowing up and
absorbing as tnuch as we choose ; there ia nothing to hinder us from
«^<Tit^ tbe last poor maierial remaina of thnt Celtic pnwer whivb Obc«
^ras everywhere, but li.is long since, in the raceofcivilixalion, fallen out aC
sight. We may tliiuuten tlium with extinction if wc will, and may almoat
Bay in so thrcaicning them. like Cicaar in threatening with death lh4 tribot*
TBS BTDSY Of CELTIC LITERATURE.
287
Uct«Ilus, who cicsed the trtaamy Ooon ftgaioct him : " And wlwn I
Uire&ten this, jroung man, lo threaten it is mam Lraubk* to me than to do
it." It is not in the outward and riublo varlil or mntcrial life, tbat tlie
Celtic genius vf Vr'ales or InJuid cui aI ihia daj- hope to ccmat fi^r mucli ;
it is in llic inwsnt worid of tJiooght and uieooe. What it has been, v\m
it ItoM doui:, let it uk us to nttcad lo that, ns a loaUer of etieuco uud
Uttory ; not to what it will be or will do, aa a iitatter of tnoiicrn
It oinaot count appredalilj now a* k material power ; but,
if it can get itaelf thoroughly known lui on object of ocienco, It
ai^ count &r a good deal,— lar taaiv than we tfoxons, most of us, imagine,
— BB a ^iritna] povrcr.
Tbo bent of our time b towards Rcience, towards tnowing thiogs aa
thaj sre; so the Celt's claimfi loworda having bit geniua and itx works
tuiiy Ireatad, as objects of scientific invcatigatioo, the Saxon iMtn hvdly
n^eetwbso tlMM daiuui nm urgdd nnipiy on thpir own niGrits, and are not
up vrith extraneous prctcnaioiia irhidi jeopardize them. What the
mU tiM tdena <Us «r^«Hi, the Boienoe of oripoB, — a sciaiu
rhicb i* at tlic bottom of all real knowledge of the actual world, and
dndi is ercry day growing in interest and importance, — is Tcry iucom-
witbcut a thorou^^ critical acc«)Unt of tliu Cdts, and their gvnhis,
, and )it«ratare. Thixsdence has atillgnnt pntgrcsa taniak«,Lut
made vveu within the zoooUection of those of ns who ore in
middle lifo, has already afieoted our common notions about the Coltic
mea; and tliis cban^ too, <ows how Bcicnctj, the knowing things as
tbqr are, voAy even hare aalntsry prdctit^l const^qiunccs. I nnwnber
wbn i was young I was taught to think of Celt iim i^paruted by an im-
(aoablc gulf ixooi Teuton ; lay liiih«r, iu poiticuinr, wna never wcaiy oi
oODtnadng them ; he IcsiBtt^d much oflvuer on the eepoiation between lu
■ad ibem than on the aeparatian between ua and any other race iu die
wodd ; iu tlie aaae way Lord Lyndburst, in words long famuuB, callvd
dw Iiiob, " aliens in speech, in religion, in blood." 'lliis naturally created
s profoood Bcase of eatraogcmeut; it doubled tlic cslrnDgcmcnt which
^liticol and religions diffcrcncea already made between ni and the Iriiib :
ll^SMmad to tnaka this atiangemcnl immense, incurable, fatal. It begot
• Mnnge relsctaoce, as any cne may sec by reading the pre£>ce to the
pat Ivxt-book for Wel^h poetry, tlio Mgvyrian Arckaoio<fi/, pnbiidted at
dw faegintiing of this century, to fiulJier, — nay, allow, — cvcai among tjuiut,
ftaptahh people like the Wtilsb, the publication of iho documents of lh>or
tocientUteraturo,t[i« uonunenis of the Cymric genius; such was the lenss
of Rpubjon, tbo aeasc of tnoompatibility, ofindicBl antagonism, nakiag it
won dangerous to na to let such oppotitos to oiuaslres hare ajieeeh nud
Hlanace. Certainly the Jew,— tlie Jew of ancient times, at lenity ■ihen
Mmed a tliouaand degrees nearer than the Celt to utt. Purltaoisai badso
Mnmilstcd Bible ideaaand phrnMologj' ; namoH like Ebcnexor, and notion*
like that of hewing Agsg in pieces, aune so natural to us, that the tente of
tfioiiy bciweso tit« Teutonic and the Hubrcw nature was quite KtroDg ;
ssa
THE STOUT OF CELTIC UTERATCRG.
n'a bora
itiata h«fl
aewof nfl
^abeorlHfl
a sxmiy, middlo-clftM Anglo-Saxoo ranch more Imag^nod liimsolf Ebud*i
cousin Uum Otsian'a. Butnieauwhile, tlieprfjn>Antanil (tfrikingitJeAsof tliQ'
tllanolagpstaaboDt tli0 true n&tural grouping of t)i« humsn ne«, the cioetria«
of a great Indo-Kuropean uniir, cotupruiog liindooH, PenianH, Gneki,
Z^alioB, Cells, Teutons, SlaTODione, oa tli« one hand, and, on the other
band, oCa Sumitic unity and of a Mongolian unity, s«paTa[«d hy profound
distinguishing marks from tlie InJo-Kuropcan unity and frotn one auothar,
\m elowly acqniriag conauteDoy and popukrizing iutlf. So strong UHi
real cmild the cense of sympatliy or antipatliy, grotuided upon real identiqr
or dirersity id mcc, grow ia mea of culture, that wc read of a g«naine
Teuton, — Wilhelin Ton Humboldt, — finding, cTcn in the sphere of roli^oii,
tliat Hpliere where tlie might of Semitism has been so OTerpowering, tha
food which mo&t truly 8uit«d bis spirit in the prgduclioDs not of the alien
Semitic genius, but of the gonius of Greece or Indiji, tho Teuton's bora
Itinirfblk of the eonunon Indo-Kuropean family. "Towards Scmitiiu
felt himself," we read, "far less drawn; " he had the oonsaotiaoew
certain anUjmLhy in th« depths of his naturt> to tliid, and to its
ing, tyrannous, terrorist religion," iu to the opener, more flexible lodo-
Europjtn genius, this religion appeared- " The mere workings of llic
old man in him I *' Semitism will readily reply ; and though ooa eu
hardly admit tliis short and OAsy method of settling the matter, it muit
be ownrtcl that llumboldt's is an cxtrt^nm case i^f Indo-Europennisn,
uarfijl iw leiting ub ace what may be the power of race and priraitiTG
eoDBtitution, but not likely, in the spiritual sptiere, to hare many ootn-
panion cases equalliug it. 8till, oren in this sphere, the tcndcn^ it in
Humboldt's direction ; tliC iac>d«Tn spirit tends more and more to establi^
a Hpniw of nntivQ diversity between our European bent and the Semitic
bent, and to etiminale, even in our religion, certain elements as partly
and excewively Si'mitie, and thpreforo, in riglit, not eombinablc with ov
European nature, not asHimikble by it. This tundency is now qoiU
Tivible eren among ourselves, and even, as I huve tmd, witliia the grot
^here of the Semitic genius, the sphere of religion ; and for its just)fi<*-
tion this tendency appeals to scivnce, the science of origins ; it appeab 10
this science as teaching ue which way our natural affinities and icptilaioH
lie. It appeals to this science, and in part it cornea I'rom it; it is, in «a»-
Biileniblc part, su indirect practical result from it. In ilie sphere of potiiics,
too, there has, in tlic same wny, appc^arL'il an indirect prsctical result fron
tliis science ; the senae of anlipatliy lo die Irisli people, nf radical ealrange*
tncnt irom them, has visibly abait^d amongst all tlie better part of ni;
tlie remorse for past ill-tr«atnient of them, the wisli to mnke amends, to
do them justice, to fairly unite, if posable, in ono people witl] them, has
▼isiWy increased ; hardly a book on IrtJnnd is nnw published, hardly a
debate on Irebnd now passes in Parliament, without this appeariDg.
FanoilUl as the notion may at first seem, I am inclined to think that the
znareh n( science,— science inaUiing tliat thcrc^ iti no such original chasm
between the Celt and the Saxon n* we once popularly imagined, that tiiey
i
TUB STfDY OP CELTIC LITEHATUIIE.
990
mtvi vrbut Loril Ljnillitirst uallcil litvn\ olieiis in llvod frum iis,
they are ottr l>toth«ni la tlic ^fixt Indo-Knropcan funiily,— Iua 1iii4
* aliare, an appreciable sliare, in prKxludiig i\\'\% cliaiigeJ sCat« of feeling.
No doubt, Uie release frotnalwin and i>lnj^lc>tl)e tcjutcorfiim pomcaidon,
Goltd aecuritv, and ovcnThelining power; no doubt tb[^i>, allowing iind
cooouraging bamane feelings to Hprin^ tip in tu<, have d»nc mucb; iio
doobl B itate of frar and danger, Irduud in hoBtilv conflict wilh. uh, our
outon violently diaturbvil, niiglit, vrbilc it druve back all hutunnfl feeliaga,
owke alsu the old iensc of uU<-r eatmngfiQfnl revive. NvvvTthclex), lo
lM|g u such ft maiignnnt revolution of erecitB daet not actually come
, ID toBg tbe new seme of kiasliip and kindliness lives, vrorlu, and
I otreagth; and the longer it so Ufca and woika, tlie more it inakeH
any nch malignnnt rarolution irujirubable. And tliia new, reconciilng
Mue baa, I tuiy, tt« roots in scivnco.
However, on l!ii-t>c indirect beucTitv of Kciuncc wo xanA not lay too
nvcb slreaa. Only tliis muet be allowed ; it ia cloar thiil there aru now
in opctration two influences, belli fuvourabte to a more attentirc and
iaipoftta! study of Cclliam ihan it Las yet ever iccfiivod from ua. Onij
U, tbe Hrengibemng id ua of tlie fteling of Indo-KuropeuniBm ; tbe othoi-,
iho alreogtbcning in ua of the ecicatiilc senac ^ifcrally. Tlio iirst brenks
down barriera between uti and llie Celt, rclnxeji thn cmtrangoment between
m; tlie second begrts t}ic de^re to know lii^ citve tburouglily. and to be
]ial lo iL This is u vciy dlfferuut luitttur from tbc political ond eouiU
C«lliK.nlioii of wliieb ecrlain erjihiifiiasls dream; but it ii imt to be
ilapis(.>d by any one to whom the Celtic genius is dear; nnd it i.i
|<Miblc, wbile tbe otlier ia not.
To know tlic Celtic case tbcrcmglity. one must know tlw Celtic people ;
md to know iban, one muet know thuc by whigh n people best cxpreaa
Ibeaittlvca, — tll^i^ literature. Few of us bave any notion wbat a mans
of Cdttu bioraluro i)t n:;nl]y yet extant and acceiuible. One cousuuitly
fiodB eren wry accoaiplitiUed people, wbo f;vticy tbat the remans of Weljtii
■ad liub literature are as inconsidcrubly by iheii* volume, m, in their
ujilidoti, tliey ore by ttic-ir intrlnKic merit; that tbciie rcniains consisl of a
frt prune mvriee, in grful P'Ut borrowed from tbe Ittcrnturc of iwtions
IMi dvilized than the WeJHli or Iriali niitiou, and of i<oiuq unintelligible
(GCliy. Aa to WcM> litcraliirei llicy liave lieard, perliapn, of tlm Black
«f Catrmartkttt, or of the Hed liaok ef Jfcr^mt, and tliey imagine
1 me or two fiunuua manuscript bcolo like tlienu contain the whole
■i^Uat. They huve no notion that, in re-tl truth, tv ^uok tbc woida of ono
lit no fiicnd to the bigli picleuitinns of Welsh literature, but choir
{brmidabla impugncr, Mr. Nnsh ; — "Ilia Myvyiian manu.'tcripts
,BOW deposited io tbe Britb^b Museum, amount to 47 volumca of
r, of variouB aizc*, containing about 4,700 piecea of poetr^', in 1G,000
t<ta, beaidea about 2,000 englynion or epigrammalic Etatu-os. There
*>* dn in tlie same collection, 53 voluincii of prow*, in about 15,300
^*ge^ contsiniug a great many curious documents on v-iriou! subjeciu.
TCL. Xlll.-'llO. 75. lfi>
fl90
Tnn bTL'DT C'F CKLTIO UlEftATVKC
Bealdci Uieae, wliicli were purclinscd of tla* widow of Ute celcbnttetl'
J«a«lk ti« •dilor of the Myeifriiin ArcKtr-iftuj^, there are a Tasi ai
of c(iIIe«l>oii8 of Wt'lsli iuiimiM:ri|)U in Lon<)oD, an-l in lie libraries of A«
gentry of ilic principnlity." The Mgtgriaa Archa-jtoyg here epokcn *f
liy Mr. Nft')), I hxva nlruaily tncniioned: he ealla its «4litor, Otrm Jorus,
ct>lcbr»l«i] ; he U nut w fiul«t>mcc 1 lint that he claims a word, to psMing,
Item I* [trofKnir of (locliy- Hi woh a Di-iiUghshirc peuoiil, bom btAm
tJie roiddle of ili6 Itut otnlni^*, in Uiai val.- of My vyr, which hw giwn ita
nnnie to 111* ■reli«»tFgy. From his ehildhood he Itm) that punioa tar tlw
old IreHsuraei of hia owiutry's literatim.-, which id this day, u i bBT«
Bud, in the vcmmoo jMwpV of Wnliw in m rcnuu-kahle ; these treanim
were uuiirint«d, scattered, diJlicult of acceM, jenloualy guarded. " Hon.
thaa onco," ny* Edward Lhuyd, who in his Arehetohgm tirih
brought out by liini in 1707, would gladly hftve giron llicm to tli«
" more than onc« I had a prcmiee from tijo owner, anil thw proniit
anenrards reivnctol nt tint iiiMi|Ziitioti of eartain {)«f«o»«, pn>iiJo-poli-
Udani, ai 1 think, rathor lIiHu men of letirr»." Su Owen Joiieit wtmt it|
a y«utig man cf niuel«cn, to London, anJ gnt OTriployiiieiit it) a tiirric
•hop (n Tliuniw StroH j for foity yearn, wilh n siiiglc object in view, ba"
workwl nt hrit hiisincM ;*nTiil ai the vw\ of that liiiio hia objrct \ria WM.
He had riicii in hi* empkyment till the bnuiK-es liml become hti dwdi
and he was now a man of tonsiiWablc? niL-aiM ; but thoco menna bad htm
Sought by him for onu puriKine onlv, the parpom vf hU lile, the diMK *i
hill yuuth, — liiD giving ppvruiuence afiJ jxiU icily tn the maMipMcf kit
naiionnl lili^ratuie. Gradually he got in:iiiiiHcripi aiwy nianiiseript tim-
Hcribod, mid at laxt, iu ItjOl, he jtiiuti)' wilh two fHc-nds brought i
throe inrg« rolumit, prinlpd in double columns, his Myi'i/riau Arehatlti
of ]VaUs. llic book is full of imperfection!, it prt-sentod iis^If to
which could not jiulgp of ii« ini]iortar)ce, atid it brought upon its MtW,
in hia lifL-iiaip, iiidti! nltnck tliitn honour. He dietl not long nfterward^
Bhd now h« lies buried in A1I-)mIIow« Church, ia Loiidwi, with his tenb
turned townrdfl the caar, aw-iy from the green rale of Clwyt) and tHtmi
mountains of his iiattre Wales; but hU book ia the gTvat repertory of di^|
lilemlurv of hia natico, the gouiparali*o stndy of huiguogea Atid liKratonS
gains every day tnoro folluwetn, nnd no one of llit-no lullowera, at home or
nbrond, loticIiR} \Vel«Ii literature without ]»yiog liontdge to tlie DenbJ^
shire peairtol's immc; if the hflrdi' glory und hia own arc ttill mHlter eC
moment to iiirii, — ti qnid tarnUm moiialia lanffuitt, — he tnny bt! saticflG^
Kren the iinnlcd alock vl' early M'ekh litcnturc iti, therefore, CM'
ridei-able, and the mannacript stock of it ih very great iodevd. Of IriA
Itlctnttire, (ho stock, printed cod manuscnpt, ia truly rut; the wari
«f c,it:iloguini; and describing this has been admirably |-«Tlbrt»ed hy
Riiiilher reiti;irkiiK>l>3 man, who died only tlie ulher day, Mr, Ki^tenc O'Curry.
Ohiicnre •x'nligrr of u despised litcnittire, he descrvefl aome weigh ti«r Toka
to praise liini than tlio roice of an unlearned bcllelrielio trillvr IJkii nie ;
he beJoDgs to tlio race of the gisuu in littrrary reecarcli and industry,
ript tnm-
ht oitt i^M
apnbltl^
i
A
THE STUDY OF CELTIC LITERATURE. 291
race now almost extinct. 'Without a literary Educniion, and impeded too,
it appe.'in, by mach (rouble of mind and infii-mity of body, he has accom-
plished Buch a thorough worh of classification and description for the
chaotie mass of Irish literature, that the student haa now half hia labour
saved, and needs only to use hia materials as Eugene O'Curry h-inds them
to him. It was as i» professor in the Catholic Univeraity in Dublin that
O'Curry gave the lectures in which he haa done the student this service';
it is touching to find that these lectures, a spltndid tribute of devotion to
tiie Celtic cause, had no hearer more attentive, more sympatliizing, than a
man, hinmelf, too, the champion of a cause more interesting than prosperous,
— one of those causes which please noble spirits, but do not ])lease Dtatiny,
which have Cato's adherence, but not Heaven's, — Dr. Newinaii. Eugene
O'Curry, in these lectures of his, taking as his standard the quarto page of
Dr. O'Donovan's edition of the Annals of the Four Masters (and this printed
monttment of one branch of Irish literature occupies by itself, let me say in
|assing, seven large quarto volumes, containing 4,215 jKiges of closely
printed mutter), Eugene O'Curry aays, that the great vellum manuscript
books belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and to the Koyal Irish
Academy, — books with f^isclnating titles, the Book of the Dun Cow, tlic
Book of Leinstcr, the liook of Ballj/mote, the Speckled Book, tlie Sook of
Lecain, the Yellow Boob of Lecain, — have, between them, matter enough
to fiil 1 1 ,400 of these jingea ; the other vollum manuscripts in the library
of Trinity College, Dubhn, have matter enough to fill 8,200 pages more ;
and the paper manuscripts of Trinity College, and the Hoyal Irish
Academy together, would fill, he says, 30,000 sucli pages more. The
ancient laws of Ireland, the so-called Brehon laws, wliicli a commission is
no'.v publishin;:, were not yet complutely transcribed when O'Curry wrote ;
h'lt what had even then been transcribed was sufficient, he pays, to fill
nearly 8,000 of Dr. O'Donovan's pngcu. Here are, at any rate, malerJala
I'liouph with a vengeance. These materials fall, of course, into several
ilivi=ions. The most literary of these divisioiis, tho Tales, consisting of
iliftoric Talcs and Imiigiit'itive Tales, distributes the contents of its Jlis-
tm-k J'ales as follows: — Battles, voyages, weges, tragedies, cow-spoils,
ci-urtships, adventures, land-cxptdition;-, .sea-espediiions, banquets, i-lope-
innts, loves, lake-irniptionM, colonizations, vii^ionx. Of what a treasure-
"uuse of rcBoiircus for the history of Celtic life and the Celtic genius docs
■liat bare list, even by itself, call up the imago ! The Annals of the Four
MiitUrs p'ive " the yearH of Ibuiidations and destrutliona of churches and
t"tkn, the obiluaries of remarkable persons, tlic itiaugurationa of kings,
ilie lattk-s of chiefs, the contests of duns, the .igea of bards, abbots,
l'islLO])s, &c."" Through other divisions of this mass of materials, — tho
^■■'"•U (,f pedigrees and geiicalugies, the marlyrologies and festologies, such
Mtlie Ft'lirJ of At'ifus (he Cuhke, the topographical tracla, such as the
^'natenchas, — we touch " the most ancient traditions of the Irish, tradi-
'■ons which were committed to writing at a period when the ancient
• Dr. O'Conor iu liis Calaloijue eftlie Sloue iVi'i'. (ijuutcU by O'Cum),
16—^
S99
TKE STUDY OP USLTIC LlTEtUrCABi
nost
iba-fl
UkxhM
uutoma of tlie people were unbroken," We loucli " tJie earljr bistoijr o( _
Irelnnd, civi] nnd ccclcaiiisLicul." We get " the origin and btatory of ilX'B
CAunt^M monnnicnu of Ir^laod, of the mined church and tower, die
Miillittircrl croiu, ihe holy well, and the commemorative luune of almost
every towitland anil pnriah ill the wttolc island." Wc get, in aliort, " i
moat detailed Jufonnation upon alinost e^'vry part of nncitnt Gaelic lifs, :
vaat quantity of yaUmlile dut^ils of life anil maiiricrh."*
And tlicn, bcsidvii, to our knowledge of llie Cattic genius, Mr, Norrial
brouglit ua from Cornwall, M. de la Villeinarqa^ from Brittany, oontriba-?
tioDS, intii^ificani indeed in quantity, if one coinpam tbcm wttfa tbe taaa
of tbc Irisb materiikls extant, but far fiom iniigniticant in valae.
We want to know what all tbis nuiss of docmnvntu really t«IIa os
about the Celt, But the mode uf dealing with tlit:9c*docuntcnta, and vich
tlta whole question of Celtic anliijuity, lias litllierto been moftt unatii-^
lactory. Thoae who hare dealt witli them, liavc gone to work, in gcncnl^fl
either aawanu C\-ll- lovers or as wai'ui Cell-haters, and not as disiulcrestei
5ludent« of an important uinttur of science. Oai* i»ulj eeeina to set out
with the delcrmination to 6nd cvvrj-tliing in Culti^m and ita rctnaina; tke
olh<.-r, wiih the di^tcnni nation to find nothing in them. A umplc MCfcff
for truth ha* ii liaid time of il between the two. An illusLralion or i
inukt: ckar what I mean, Fiiiit let us take the CcU-Jovcis, who,
tliey engiigo one's synipatliica more Ihati the Cell-halcrs, yet, imumu
M aucrtion is more dangerous ihun dtnial, show their wcakneaMi in a
more signal way. A very learned roan, the Rev. Kilward Dnvios, publiibci
in the early piirt of ihia centtiry two iiiipoiliiiit books on Cvltic aatitjoilj'.
'Jhc second of tlieno hooka, 'fiit Afythmlijfji/ nmt Sites of the lintish DnaJi,
ciintftinfi, wjlli much olhtr interesting matter, the diurming ataiy ot
Taliesin. Biyiint'a book on mythology waa then in rogue, and Bryant, ia]
the fdiitastical manner socomincu in thosi; dayi, found in Greek inylkoh
vthiii ho callvd an nrkila idolaUy, p<jiiitjng to Nouh's deluge and the n4.^
l>iiviM, wishing to give dignity to his Celtic mythology, determines to
find the arkitc idclntry there too, and the style in whidi hu proceed* V>
do thia aSvi-ds a good ^cimen of lh« extmragnnce which baa c*iaei
Celtic autitjuity lo be luyked upon with » much BUspicion. The etoiy rf
Tiilieaiu begins ilms :^ I
" In former times lliere was a man of tioblv descent in Peullyn. Hb
name wna Tegi<l Voei, aud hia jiulernid eiktate wui in the niiJdte of lU
Lake of Tegid, and his tvilci was called Ceridwen."
Notliing cuuld well be «iuipler ; but what Uavies fuida la this uicj^
opening of ToUeain's stoi-y, is piodigioud ; —
" Let us take a brief view of tbe proprietor of iliia c«tat«. Ttj^ '
V&bcl — bald tcrtnitj/ — prcacntB itself at once to our liuicy. The pninter
would find no ombarrnsament in sketching tbe portrait of liiia »si^
vciierahli! pt'rsoungc, wlioac crown ia porily stripped of it* hoary hooooM'
Bat of all the gfidsof nntitiuily, none could with propriety ail ibr iti*
• O'Cany.
OP CELTIC UTKBATtrnE.
plflttm uevpting Satdrn, ili« acIcnowlcdgGcl rcprcflCDtAlive of Noah, nn j
tb» huduml of Rliva, wliich na» but iincTh<:r ii;iine for Ceres, the geaiiu
oftlicarii."
An<l Ccrci, thegeiuni of the tirk, iaof eoiinw found in Cendwen, "tho
Briii»h Cfifs, tlw wkile god«ii!s,i who inlmtes m inlo ilie ikicpest myBtcriea
of the >tkit« aup«ntitioQ."
Sovr Uie aiory of Taltesin, as il prpcwils, oxhibiis Ceridw^n as a gor-
eenas; and • sorceress, like a godduw, bclongn to ibe norM of the snpor-
Mlund ; but, beyond thU, Uic tlory itielf doea not miggwit one particle of
Rlationship bvtwcvn Caridwen anil Cerot. All chg rest comei out of
DaTira's fiincy, aud is cstablisliod hy Teaaonin; ur the Ibrcc of tliat abooG
" bald •erenity."
Il IB DoC diflicuU for tlic other aidot the Celt-haters, to get a triumph
over flodi advcrurica as theie. Perhaps I ouglit to aak pnrdoii vf Mr. Naah,
vhom Talittin A i« luij^iostible to read without poBt and instruction, for
clauing him aniong tlis Cvlt-halem ; ht.t dcreruiined acepticitun about
Wdsb antiquity tfeeine to ni«, bovir«TOr,lu bctrnya ptcconccived hostility,
a blu taken beibrehnnd, ns UDmi«takal)Ie aa Mr. Diivits's prepoflscsiioiu.
But Mr. Nash u often rcry hap[iy in dcnitilishing, for rwilly the Celt-
*ert •eem often to try to lay theiiiw.h-w open, and to invite demoHlion.
all of hia notJona about an arkiic idoliitry ariO a Helio-demonic woraliip,
Iwanl DaricH given Iliis tninuLtlion of aa old Welsh poem, entitled Tht
'wugj/rie o/ lAttitd the Grtat : —
"A aoog of dark import was coinpuncil hy the dtslingtiishcJ Ogdcad,
tabled on iho day of tlic moon, and went in open procosioa. On
dl^ of Hats ibey alloCled wrath to their adveranrlfs ; on ihc dny of
iJjoy enjoyed their full pomp ; on tlio day of Jo\-e ihey were
4tKrcr«d from lh« lictestwJ usurpers ; on the day of Venus, the day of the
influx, ihey avrain in the blood of men;* on thv iJiiy of the Sun there
nibk' fire ships Aud 5vc Iiiitidicd of those v-Jio iiinkv suppliuntion :
i, Britfaoi I O um vf Uie conipncted wood, the shoek overtalcoH mo ;
allend on AOonni, on llie aren of Fwmpfii."
lookH H<:lio-da.'monic enough, undoubtedly; vapcciiklly wheu Caviea
ptata O Britki, Itrithoif in Hebrew characters, m being "'vestiges of
(lend liymna in the Pbaniciaa Jnn^ungc." Biu then oomca Mr. Nash,
nd taya that the poem is a rai(Idle-.'i(;o com position, Aviih nothing Uelio-
4moaic about it; that ic i» meant to ridicule; the monks; and that
Q Britki, Brithm! in a mere piece of unintelligible jargon in mockery ol
lU elianlB used by the monks at prayers ; and he gires this counier-tians-
yiaa of iho jxiain : —
"They make hortli songs; llifly n&lu eight numbers. On Monday
tfci|will be prying about On Tuesdjiy ihcy H«pniate. angry with their
■ditnarieo. Oa Wednesday lliey drink, enjoying Uiemsclvcs ostcnta-
■ioilily. On Thureday tliey are in Ibe choir j thi-ir poverty is dtRagrea-
•Ue. Friday i» n d.'iy of abumlinco, the men mv «wimming in pleasuros.*
* Om*, when SaturiLiy ilioal'I come, sonittliing is warning In the manu^crpi.
894
TITB STUDY OV CELTIC UTERATUHE.
Oti Riitidii^-, c^rUtiil^-, fiv-e li-gions nod Oto Imm^reih of tlicm, llicy pra;
ihey iiiaktt cxcIuiiijiUuijh : 0 Britiii, Brilhoi I Like wood-cuckoOB in am
ibey will be, cvei^ ono of iha idiots banging on tho grouin!."
Aa one reada Air. Niuii's cxplanodoa and tmuUtian niter Edw:
Daviea's, one fceU Utat it it«»il of tho I}r«ad dAj'light of con)inoit-»«as«
been Bii'ldcnly tiliivi over tho Punnfifric on Lltidd iht Qnat, anil oii« is
gpileful to Tilr. Noeli.
, Or, flgaiD, irhtn aflftlhcr CoU-l<irw, Mr. llcthcrt, h,i» hcwildcred
vitb bis fancies, » uncritical an EdwnrJ Datim's; «iUi his ttoo-Prujdi
hia Mitliriao hcrwy, liw Crisl-celi, or man-god of (lie inyBleries i •:
above all, liifl apG of thA sanctutiry, "signifying tkc meicuriol [>riBcip1(^
lliat Mrange and unr^plainpd diiigrace of paganism,'' Mr. Nnsli ooioct
our assiaUtiKO, «nd ia moet rolVe»}iii>Kljr ratiaiwl. To confine oumetT'
ta thfl ope uf lliG univtiiury only. Kir. IKiliert cniulruuU hia inonst«r,
be whom br my* " great Ktnciity, (ogtdlier nilli louL crintr, deception,
trcAckery, ii nacrihed, — ont of ibiir lines of old \^'ol»k i«flry, of n-htdi ha
uJopU the fallowing Lntiii.lation : —
" Witboiit the np^, witliri\il llie ftall of ilia cow, vrithnui tbc miindtine
rampart, (he irorld will become desolate, not requiving the eutJcoo* Id
convene Oic appoiuted dance orer ilie {;r(M:ii."
One is not rery clear wHut all tliiv mcuas, but it has, tX nny Tatr, ^
^«i»n Kir Hliciut it, w)iich preparps one for tl)o dtivobpment of ila finl<
nsmul per«oniige>, tlio Ajie, into the mystical itjie of tho fariclu^ry,
cow, too,— saj'B anothor fonjtms C<lt-levvr, Dr. Uiven,lhe Icarocd author
lh< W'tlsh Vktionars, — the oow (licn/vn) i* llie cow of iransmig ration j ibA'
tbia aIm toun(l« notural enevgli. Jlut Mr. Na<b, who has a keen ere
the piecing which Avqucnily happena in ihosut old fragments, has obtervi
that jitjil here, where the ape of the Manclunry .tnil the cov of iranxmigrS''
tiun ninkfl their appe.iranfe, there Eeoms to come a chuirr of iiiTij^ir^
popular E^yings ; nnd he ut otice remembers on adage prw^rved with tka
ward Acn/on in it, nhero, us hd jii»lly sayO) " llie cow of IranEmigraiina
entinot vfry wfll have plnco." Thin ailngo, rendci'cd literally ia BngliA,
ia : — " WhoM owiu the old oow, let him go at her mil ;" and (he mesDlsg
of it, a9 a popular saying, ia clenr and HQii>le «uough. With thisdat^
I^Ir. Jiofih (>xuuiiiins tliu nho1o pntsagL', etigg£«ta thai fttb fppft, " wiUieal
the ape," with whioli Mr. lU-ibvrt bqjini, in truth belong le san>ct}itig
going before and ia Co be trantlatcd aomt^nhnt i^iS'sTenlly \ and, in (biNl,
th.-^t whut we rc-ntly have hero is niiiiply iboun three odagca ou aftti
aDotlier: — " The tirst shaie ia the full one. i'olilencsi U natural, lays iIm
npe. Wilhoiit tho cow-siall there would be no dnag-heap," And o«<
uin liiinily doubt [hat Mr. N'aj>h a i\\iM rt^ht.
Even friuads «f llio Cell, who are pfrfiiotly iiicapihli: of extmragano
of tliia Mtrt, la)I too often into s loose mode of uriiici!^ CAr^ccruing hi
iiud the decuwcDtt of his hi»tor}', which \» uuwiiMiiflory in juull', and alK>4
givcB an advantage to his many cncnites. Une of the best and
dflighlful Irirnds hp lian cvi.^r had, — M. du to ViUein.at<]ii(-, — ]i^ goeq cl«
(
THE STUDY OF CELTIC I.ITEHATUBE. 393
enongli that oflta the alleged antiquity of hia documents cannot be proved,
that it can be even disproved, and that lie must rely on other Bupporta
than ihia to establish what he wants; yet one finda him saying : '' I open
the colleclion of Welsh bnrds from the sixth to tho tenth century.
Talie&ia, ono of the oldest of them," . , . and so on. But his adrersaries
deny that ive have really any such thing aa a " collection of Welah hards
froD3 the Bixth to the tenth century," or that a "Taliesin, ons of the
oldest of them," exists to be quoted i[t defence of any thesis. Sharon
Turner, again, whose Vindication of the Ancient British Potms waa
prompted, it seems to me, by a critical instinct st bottom sound, is weak
and uncritical in details like this : " Tlie strange poem of Taliesin, called
tho Spoils of Aimwn, impliea the existence (in the sixth century, he
means) of mythological talea about Arthur ; and the freq\ient allusion of
the old Welsh bards to the persons and incidents which wo find in the
Mabinogion, are further proofs that there must have been such stories in
circulation amongst the Welsh." But the critic has to show, .igainst hia
adversaries, that the Spoih of Anmvn is a real poem of the sixth century,
with a real sixth-century poet called Taliesin for its author, before he can
use it to prove what Sharon Tamer there wishes to prove ; and, in like
manner, the high antiquity of persons and incidenta that arc found in the
muiuscripls of the Mabinogion, — manuscripts written, like the fan^oue
Red Book of Hergest, in the library of Jesus College at Oxford, in the
fenrteenth and dHeenth centuries, — is not proved by allusions of the oid
Welsh bards, until (which is just the question at issue) the pieces contain-
ing these allusions arc proved themselves to possess a very high antiquity.
In the present state of the question as to the early Welsh literature, this
sort of reasoning is inconcluatve and bewildering, and merely carries ua
round in .1 circle. Again, it is worse than inconclusive reasoning, it
thows KO uncritical a spirit that it begets grave mistrust, when Mr.
Williams ab Ithei, employed by the M.iflter of the Roils to edit the lirut
J Tywyaoglon, tho "Chronicle of the Princes," says in his introduction,
ia many respects so useful and interesting: "Wo may add, on the
suthority of a scrupulously faithful antiquary, .nnd one that was deeply
versed in the traditions of hia order — the late lolo Morganwg — that King
Arthur in his institutes of the l^ound Table introduced the age of the
»orld for events which occurred before Christ, and the year of Christ's
Wtivity for ait subsequent events." Now, putting out of question lolo
Mo^anwg's character aa an antiquary, it is obvious that no one, not
Grimm himself, can stand in that way as " authority " for King Arthur's
Wing thus regulated chronol^^y by his institutes of the Round Tabic,
"revcn fur there ever having bei'u any puch institutes at all. And finally,
pMlly as I respect and admire Mr. Eugene O'Curry, unquestionable
"* i) the wgacity, the moderation, which he in general unites with his
'"imense Icar.iing, I must aay that he, too, like his brother Celt-lovera,
^oistimcs lays himself ihrngerously open. For instance, tlie Koyal Irish
'Vcndciny possesses in ita Museum a relic of the greatest value, the
S9S
THE STfDT OF CELTIC LITERATUBR
I
I
DcmhnacK Airgid, n Lwin ni.iDu<cript of ll'.c foiir gospel*. Tho ouMr
box c«ntniiii»g lliia tnaniucript is of thu 14lh century, bul tho mimuacript
itwir, saj-3 O'Curry (:in<l no man is botli>r ablo lo judgu) U cerloiuly «f
the 6th. That is nil very \7ell. " But," O'Curry then goca on, " I believe
no n«*on)ibIe doubt can (txiat that the Domhnaek Air^id u-iu aotually
•anctiliecl by llie huiil of onr gr&it Apcstle." One lins a tliriU of excite^
meiit nt rcctriving this awuTuuce from such a rnnn lu Eiigtrnc O'Carry;
one believes tliat ho is realty goiDg to ron&e it dear that St. Pnlrick iii
acttiully Hancttfy tlic Domhnach Aiiyid nith bis own handu ; ami one
rcmla on : — '' Aa St. Pstrick, says «d aocicAt Ufii of St. Mac Carlbuna
preserved by Culgnn in bio Acta Sanctorum Hibermir, was on bis way
(K>m llic north, and coming to ihe placo now calleU Clogher, he via
carried over a stream by bis strong man, Uighop Mac Carthaina, who,
vhile bearing tlie Saint, gronned aloud, exclaiming : ' Ugh 1 Ugh ! '
'"Upon my good word,* said tbo Saint, * it tns act usual with yoit
to mako tbst noise.'
"'I am DOW ol3 nnd tnrinn,* mid RiKhap Mac Cai'lhainD, 'and all
my early compantODs in ini--<aion-ivork you have scllk-d dowu in their i
re)<poctiTC churcheii, wlitio I nin still on my travels.' a
" ' Found a churcli then,' aaid tiie Sniut, ' that shall not be too near lU ^
(ibnt is to bis omi Church of Armngli) for faiuiliarily, nor too fin fno:
us for intercourse.' M
" And tlju miint then IcH Bishop Mac C;iithaian tbcrv, at Clogfaer, ud 1
bratotrcd the Domhnach Airffid upon him, which had been gives toPalrid;
from lieavoii, when bo ivns on the sea, coming to Erin."
Th« legend is full of poetry, fiiU of humonr; and one can quite appre-
date, after rc:Klitig it, the tact wliich g)Lvo 8t. Patrick such aprod^gimu
Rucccss in orguuLziiig tlic primitive church in Iielind; the new bidiopt
** not too near ua for familiarity, nor too far from us Ibr intercoarse," iss
maatcipiece. But how can Eugeuc O'Carry liare imagined that it tal:i«
no more than a legend like that, to prove that Ihe jiai licular ni^kouicxift
BOW in the Musoum of llie Royal Irish Academy was once in St, Palnck's
pocVet?
I insist upon extravagances like thcnc, not la order to throw ridicule
upon thu Celt-lovers, — on the contrary, 1 fet'l a great dwt of sympslliT
with lliL-iii, — but, rather, to make it ckar what an immense ndvuiUge lb>
Celt-haters, llie negative bIcIc, havu in Iho controversy about Ctlls
unliijuily ; how much a clear-Leaded *ceplic, like Mr. Nosh, way uttetff
demoli&ht and, in demolishing, give himtelf the appearance of having ««>
an entire victory. But an etitiro victory ho liax, .is I will next proceed D)
ebovr, by no uicuns won.
MATTHEW ARXOUX
i
297
Sioi^n Dtt th^ (![attl4 piaflu^.
Iktelligest foreigners have observed of us as a nation tliat though we
fail to carry out our precautionary ami remedial measures with that
admirable and timely precision which ia so easy to a despotic govemmeut,
we attempt a greater number of things, and tliat if we accomplish them
less perfectly, we do, in a fashion, educate ourselves in the process.
When our education is complete, we shall, of course, undertake more
feats, and perform them better, than any other people. Meanwhile, It
may not be amiaa to consider how we have dealt with the Cattle Plague
which now devastates our land ; and though we have not any cure to
propose which is the result of our actual experience, it may yet be that
by a careful summary of all the views which have been unfolded, and all
the propositions that have been ventilated, by pushing them to their
logical conclusions, and making that which all sermon -writers know as
the "third head, or practical application," something definite and useful
may be evolved, if not for the animals, at least for ourEelves. Of remedies
10 called there have been scores announced and sold ; but of those abso-
lotely efficacious, so far as is known, not one. Inoculation — the only
tiling which, short of death, was recommended by old Australian cattle-
holders — has been very little tried here, probably because those who
advised it admitted that "it caused the tail to swell enormously;" and
u we alt made up our minds, in the first instance, that every beast
ittacked must die, we were desirous not needlessly to disfigure him, lest
inspectors might challenge the carcase, and people refuse to buy and eat
of it. The few large owners of the high-bred short-horns (almost price-
less in value) divided their herds into small lots, which were domiciled in
different sheds far from the high roads. Each lot had ita separate herds-
man, whose duty it was to attend exclusively to his own animals, and on
no account to approach the others, or to go beyond the boundaries of
the farm, or to hold intei-course with other herdsmen, cattle-dealers, or
drovers. Any stock sold, as sheep, pigs, &c., were invariably driven
into the public road before changing hands; and no animals of any kind
were bought or allowed to be domiciled in the farm, whether from infected
districts or not. So far these expedients seem to have answered perfectly
»cll. The small farmers and cowkeepers daubed the noses of their beasts
with tar, and hung around their necks little bags of camphor or strings of
onions, which it is to be supposed would act more as a species of charm
than according to any rational theory. In a general way, these men
attempted little more ; and having done this, they awaited tlic result,
Kime with confidence, some with fear. As might hare been antlcl^ttid,
lb— &
S98
NOTES OX THR CATTLK rr.ACUC
they irere limvj flufTciYtn. Wlicn the dUcasc nricc ooinmencod it r|aidc1y
emptied Ihc sheds nnd fielda, and a week ■wm often wifficicnt to liiin a
prosperous cowkeoper into a rained man. Wlion the oows were viribly
afTeclcd M>inc gnro them salt, others chahbrale wntcrs and quinine; kmoq
hdminisLcivd cpiutn ftnd caittor-oil, oihcn tiivpmime nnd gin; tnma
•olphiir and whisVy, nthrrs minenil a<-\'\* atid crcowito; aome riilibed
th«m nnd gart ihcm ginger, ptlmr* fomented Ilu'in and gnre them gIobuI<a;
some kept them wnrm, some kept them cold ; but nil wtn witdni>«s, tenvr,
atui cciirtiMion, or blind coti&dcncc und litud dlninny. Pfothing acciai to
have brer dono ah nny rcocig«i«d principle nf raediwil pmcticL MiM
BurdMt Coutlfi lon-d lirr (lock not wisel/, htit loo well; for w iniiir!i
Whiiiky Mr«9 admiiiiricrud that ftereml died, iwt of tho di«;aie, hot rf
delirium tremeHt. The tcotdfaJ pnpera have not yet thoiiglit Rt to impioTe
that occaaion ; and wc innkc ihu Alliance comptuiy a prcocnt of the vugr
ig(^tii:>n, find inritc ihcni tn supply the i>mi«ion. The nctton of the
Executive' Beoras to have bwti, in llie llnit iristancf, co!iftn<'d to threo
tneasurrn. The Privy Council w.ia snmmrmcd to dvlibcmic, n Uoyal Com-
mission was uillt^d into oxixteneo, and the Arcbhixhop of CnnterhiiTy tnu
ordered to corapfise n prayer. The tcsultxof the cogitations of the XjarAth
Council were coininiinicatcd lo the c^EpCvtnnt world \>y Mr. ITclpa. T1i<h
pompriwd n list fl' w^Jiryfiil iind oni-ruiw pi-^eiinl.icnn to bo obR'rved t^iwmnb
thj^Jiviu);, nnd I'fmfinr inniirnt-ruhlt; and mmirnrnld lilies tobcperfbnned ta
eooncctioii with the funetat obse(]ni(?9, which no one hm yet, ao far as ordi-
nary observulion exteads, attemplpd to carry out in their Integrity. As for
thcanimii!)! acttially nfTt'ctcd, tlioac in the tirst rflpwl my Lords dootnnlal
once — for llnrri ilien- wn« no Iu»po ; all endeavours were to be direct*! la
one final d«ed, i.e. lo knock the cre3.ture or the liead. Sinlta hip ml
thigh, slay and spare not, wan the ndvice of the Gorcmmont, and lb*
praatioe of the inspectors and veterinary surgeons in llio flnt pnnio of lib«
, pingiie. Another notfibto suggeation wna tliat all pc-rsons attendit^ d&-
ea*fd enttic nhonkl wear a safety droM. It i« not ni^edliil to dcccribo tlut
Qi-eis as olahui-atdy a* Mr. Help was compelled to do ; it wjll be sulSoiciiC
toiaj that [Im muu so ccjuippod vrould in all cssentiul particiilan, sad
certainly in nppeamnce, resemble the diver at the PolyKchnic. Ho m*i
not to see or tend healiliy beasts, nor lo wandi;r &hinil the roads, nor to
touch or aseocintc wiib hti own kind until he hod got out of his taftty
drees, immersed it in disinfectant lluid, and treated hts own head, eyt4^
earn, and xioh parbi of liin person an had been ncceuuij ily exposed in ibe
same severe maaiier; and om tho dicss was to be worn orvt the usual
clothes, the laller weru likewiia to be taken off and fnmignted. b tl
nlw:iya well Co economise Irotiblo, and tlic necessity for Ihe hut preoantiiKt
might well have, been obvinted by ihe Biniple plan of the man getting ia
a:>d put of Ilia safety clothes in ihe dress with which nature hnx nn>vidcJ
hiiQ, Some people thought that by jracHring the skin welt vrilh oi],
abMrptioQ and exhnhition would bo in a great di^ce checked, and iofee-
tion thus presented ; but it b clearly belter lo tibke adrantage of a mat
1
NOTliS ON XUli CATIXB I'CAOUB. 399
lUtunl Iiiiv than to provide uguiitgl its ojMjrAlSon. Mnn U tin absorbing
will exhaling aiiiniiil ; ami by tliii perpctiuil wiuking und ■itliiriition it wns
[ifriwps intcndeiJ by t!ic Autlic.-ittoa t)iat h« »hotil(l be trnEwformcd into ft
living and numng diuufe#tant, giving otT rumcs of cbluritio g»>i in all
diiectionB ; in feet, a kind ot highly-chargod vessel, nr " ht-nd-ccntrc " of
bealth.
The fuiK-r^ tiw* ware too iiumQront to deinll. Th« onitnali were to
be buried vbcr« llicj' dt«d, aiid in quick-tiiav, with nil their belongings,
except the Iiorns.iDd booft. Tbia was niijiplncci! Icniciiny, for ibo horns,
kooG^ anil tail are things well kiionn tu hi; lypicul ami inggestira of tba
cmbodimcBl of oril, ond tbcra]'<^r« ou.Qbt, Dinve tbtu nnvlbing cl«c, to bara
fcvm buried aw3.y out of eight, 'ibe ilru[it>!ngs »f thn unformnnifi deoemwd
irore onlvrcil tu l>o utrtfutly inU'rreil wli«r>: thcry were dropped, nlong wilb
iho p:tc« of turf vhicli ihf.y bud detilcd, by meant e-i an intlnitiicnt
vtuoh, as dcscribetl, wnuid be a kind of oross factnccii n *' spud " iind a
long jr-ii¥y-»[ioon. When liiia had bwn thoroughly and cxbantlively
d4l>o ID evbty field, mch grass ns was bold and ilUndviacd to grow thereon,
w to he fontiatly burned. Tlia 'itiickci't plan wnnkl have. he(>ti, no (toiibt,
to hard ii»wii Ibe accuncsl tpol «rith nIi, but in tbe htury of invitif!*,
tbta idea decs not Bceni to linv« occurred l« any one. 'l'hefM> recomtnon-
(latiuna were eTencusUy greatly modified, and indGcd veXG never carriod
out irith any kind of acouscy or unanimity. Otliervriae it wontd Lava
b«ea a siu^il-ir, and yet a miggMtiTA Kpedaclo, to md the lsindf«ape dott«d
OTCT and our r.(ir tietds jKranibuiatcd by [be Kmibru ant) csrrivom figum
»f tba mva who, cind in their •nfeiy drf**, and npud or jipoon in hand,
■outd lintictiily purauB tlieir odonterouii mid cDdl»s laik. Tli^rd unns a
cry at one tinw, lliat Itorsca, chickens, pigs, and sheep wero Iiabl« to llia
diftordor, hnt ihia gradually died out. It i*, howi'ver, prvUy cerlain that
iLwp imbibe and carry abiiil the iofcctioii iu tliuir wool; and it v/aa
|)^Dpolcd that all doga diould be lied up Icat tlioyKhotild beeomo mediums
of coningiun. Iliia would have n-udered neoemary an enormoua addition
to tfa« itad* of »lKplierda and drovere, mucc, m is wvll known, a mnn and
bii (log can ooliect and drivB more sheep than tweniy nieii wiihout a dng.
A flc<^ of slteop driven by a score of men iliNguised in tbo safety drns,
mNlId KaTo been wmiibing to m«, bt^idu looking like beiug tboroughly
in eamen. Sh«<^p am iiotorioiitly ntupid oreBtures, but a little child wrh
nnt long air-cv lerrilled to dcalh by iKc t-ijiht of a surpliced clerini'nmii,
tod to ho punutd by Euch droTcn might diivc even aheop into inBaniiy.
Anathet idtia ventilated, wm to bui-n boufirefi, 1ft off cn^ei-t and fire-
work«, nnd make mucb Mnoku i il Ha* lepoitcd lliat by ihCM is«Nns tho
obolcra l<ad gn-nOy abated at Toulon, MarBeilles, &C., ncting chiefly, it
•as tupf'OM'd, by dir^irliug tlui uiinds cif llio iurvivoTs; and DMUming
Ikat tbc oholcra aitd tlio rii)d«r[>«»t ars ald(« ju%nicnlR, wi>al would
ntnoT* one would remove the otb«r. Thin was a bold adoption of payoho-
legical tbempeuitcs, ind be inch might woll be commended lor Ita inge-
UBitj. !l tiae often been ntitorltd that agrieultnriitta, by the fet«« <^
sort
KOTES OX THB CATTLE PLAOUB.
muQijijittoo, not only »c<]uiro the bovine Rft^) ^t eonlnet the bovitM caM
of rhouglit; Ihercrore ««di man woiiM Ixf comp^-teDt lo inveDt diversiRns
lor his own Luistn. If nny (ilioiiltl bo nt fa.ult, or -viaibly iiioompetuil to
hi» tftsk, til* pliihntliropiaU who improvise recrcaiion for the •* p«l-lain1»''
t)i die Home Offieo ought to be ma<lo to amnt him. Wlmt has been
ioutid to amiue the ui'iada of ihc goalj, coitld harilly fiul to niTord Mlutvr
distrnction to tlie sheep. Up lo tins poiot no ciirL-s hml b««n effaeud,
liArdl^ hny even attcniptctl ; there was intliscriminnte nluught^r on k1] bidcf,
M> thnl it wcis computed ihni moi-e were kilkd bj order of ihc iaipcotor*,
thuu renll^ pcrlHltccl of iinlual plagium, ibe deaths from lung-discsn bang
ufieti miMnkeii for llie olher. Owing; to conflicting circumstances, the
Arohbiabcp bad tiot yet oompoEed hia prny er, and niDiijr people eslM
loudly for a clay of farting and humili;ition lo be appointed. One irriter
oxproesed himself iq the papers ns foUowi : — " Liko the potato di«caae, m
atitfnctory reason, humanly KpoiLkiiijr. has been (ivMifriie<l kc to tlio catut
of thin Cvnihle cTiIaniJty. It iti^»t, I think, be referred to a htglier power,
and should bo regarded as a severe vi>ittttioR from God." Thcro nW
about iliiH viuw oiif nioril, Ihnt while we were nil free lo look upon
it as n Divine juJ(.-meiii, wc were all equally frco to determine as ta
the person or ihinps who hA<\ caiiscd it; and e'jnally sure to ascribe ittft
those most obnoxioiu lo oiuKelvei*. Thus one man imputed it to slavery,
another to (he coanimption of nnJetit spirits, a third to Mbhuth-brciknif,
aJburth to free-trade, a lifih to our persecution of llie Pupi-, n sixth to
oar flirtation with tlifl same. Omngciam, FenianiKm. Ji>hn Btight, Miy-
nooth, and Earl Kuaaell — nil have had iheir turn, while the munj orthodox
of the Bishopa detected in it tlw jii*t pHniwhrncut of the nation whictr
produced CoIcdso, and of the Privy Council which refused to pxcoinmiuii-
ciate him. Another ivriter cwnetl that to nppoint a fast nnd day of hami-
lini inji mjghi be in the iibstrBct, and per se, highly dejurable, only he wat
" afniid (hat it might be et-iscd upon aa a Iciud of holidsy, wtd lluM
become lo very niiuiy an oceasion fur sin." By ihia lime uot one, but
many dajs of fasting ntid htmiiliittion had come to be inevitably at
Jwmt for the poor ; ihc holding of cattle-mai-keia w.is in variotis
prohihiit'd by the authorities (though unfortunalely thia wna not
tinaDimously), the sl)iught«r was immcnao both of eound and unsoand
benBta; and, to be cnudld, u good deal more of the llt-Bh of the latter hai
been eaten than [unplo aii; at nil aware of.* There was ia tnany plictt
quite fl glut of h^cf in the market, bnt though ihv wholcialo price m*
t3)e aamo or lower llinn in 1861, the butchers with cynical ehaxneleenaB
continu<»l to raiao ihcir demands to starvation point.
At length the praj-er of hi« Grnoo of Canterhury was pabtbli<d.
Suggeaticne, advice, and coiiimentiries respecting it had boon ali«a(t;r
largely poured fvrth ou the nubject; Bome had predicted for It all sorts of
one-Htdeihirss nnd doffcta, others had cjuestioaed the luwfitlneaa of it, but tbo
* Udo bvticrult'iit iniin die) inilecil iranifunti liiiuieU mta a omjdu m^t, anil
voluntarily eonniinrd di(«nwii meat, wiilioui any evil tStnu, le U tttJed.
NOTliS OK TUE CATTLK riJl.GUa
SOI
Ifiaal unkindneaa was dealt by thoM wlio undertook to (ienoribc the painful
difficultieii aod prcnacted laWurs wliidi atUrnd^d iis birtlj, the riit.hl«a
criKlUea of tlie surgeons accoucheurt, the rough dandling of the niiraFs,
and liie Hufferinga of the august and reverent pnrcnt condemned lo ttUui
in the bacliground, mid heboid in silent ajiDii^ llio mutilation of his
ef&priog. f Qicigucn Icnrncd not vritliout a ci^rtaiii cvinpafaion that orta
.ArctibiHliop is fim onlered by tlio Qitacn to prepare a prayer on n giyen
Ailtjcv:! J this done, he is required lo aubnitt it Jbr B,pprDral to the Lord*
pf Uio Privy Council : tlww g^'nilomen, we «r« told, otHniaonly make noma
^eration in it, RulHciviit Ht lca«[ to maintain thoir right to a1u<r whnt Iliey
tyldue. It baa been «aid iJiat a member of tha Privy Oaiincil many yean
qigo, anxious lo reassure the minds of those who fcsovd " nich Puseyita
jhcnwnae as the independence of the Cburcli," remarked that " no ona
^ho bad CTcr bttii present at a meeting of J'rivy Council and aoun tho
JAnhbUhop stand wniting while the lay monibiti'a of tho Council vrcra
ffeading and altering hia prayer, would ever agniti Uilk nltoul that." Tlie
Vnyar, after being duly operated on, is s^nt aa it were bleeding from all'
dti wounds to the Queen'* printer, nml is llieni:u despatched to the pnrocliitil
ftkr^i who are ordered to read it aloud in their rcspuctivti churclies, ami
,'Tnd it is ncoordingly. Certainly it seems at first sight strange that, having
llaiipoititcd an Archbishop, and given him a subject for pi-aycr, we yet
^laanot trust liim to compose a fitting form without correction; and no
]di>abt there arn those who deem the ungodly creatures and lax theulogisns
'to be fonnd in ihr» Priiy Council wholly unlit cither to suggest or criticise
b Rscfa tnsltvi's> But as y«t our i^^DpIi^ prefer to be in bondage lo t)iu
i^Slaie nllier llian to the Bishops, and we like, though indirectly, to havo
IjlDBH Biy as to what wo will pray fur, and how wc will do it.
iTlw poor ismicrs cnug'ht it on all hands. In a paroxyrivn of [<'rror
Md lor aoy pric>e they could get, they consigned to the butcher ihi^ir
Wasts, (at and kan alike. On tlie first they hod do proRt, and on the last
(a oootiderablo loss; they paid foes to magist rates' clcrlci and others lor
..Mrmlta to travel, to the inspector who timt inrpectvd chvir cows and then
Mndemocd thtni, to tho man who killed them, and to the ftllnw who
bttried thcin. One slaughterman was mid to have realized GOOf. in ibreu
[liKiiilltt. The mcnibera of tlie Cattle Plnguo Commission sat with great
indtMlry on what people irrevcrmtly l^Tmod adJIi^d «ggii, and no one vras
Ifeoad lo admire the result; of their hutching. The public was diaappointcd
"to obaerre that aa to tbo oiigia of the dtseass, ns well as to the modo of
'lealine with it, tbeao gentlemeo were et^uxlly divided, and us regarded
Maedy or cnralive treatment, they did not, at all cveuU in their first report,
fm diacusa it< Tho labours of tho commtisionen arc only now brginnin;;
to aequirtt their real vidue in popular estiiaution. Cni]iiostionNbly, had
*dttir Bomewhat timid reconimcndations been at once carried out, a very
'dtOvteol staie of things might have be<-u anticipated. On one point they
I *ftr« very stwiiuoiiis namely, en the signal iiyusiice of the order which
'tnotiircd sot only that beasis dying tuid dead should be slaugtilered and
L
KOTEfi ON TItE CATTLE VlJiQVB.
iutenratl, but that alLvliteli were nitaclici], br eve's KippoaeJ Lo b« ntuc^t^ji
■Itoald ht, n-illioiit M\y kind or compmsiitinii to lti« fai-uior, at tmea
kooaksi] oit the homl l>>' insprctunt. wIki, uvwiy Appointed, aad buiniDg la
diclingni)^ lI)«mMilr«s, Lad u^en very itxty viowg r«*pcctiag iKs ptviwt
tjmpti^mi of genuine linderpcsl. That, in the lint instance, doctriimint
ill {Xilitic-itl economy flhoitld on principle object to mmlmrso tlio fitnncr fe(
»iici) cf liis atock ax [wrisheil of diAcasp, wns In bo ^xpr'c.tl^d ; tbtir thrwj
liiif proTetl itwir lo bo kh i-xpi-iiMtu und Hbort*N!)jbtfd one, liiu it was hI
Any rate Irgical and coimUleiit, But wbvn awu, auffei-inj; alnMily lo
largB extent, were orderod to saorifica llieir properly solely for tba pnbliq^
good, and were refused liberty lo ua« their ekill in tlte cndcavoDr to ravf
Uio roiuuaiit of tbvir slocV, it woiild b« difficult to jmngina » C4»e ii)
wbicli «C'mj»ei)Bati<iii for the ceding of riglit* ovrc ]}ro[iuT(y would biiTl
bevn niore wiwly Kud jiitttly nccordtil. Gowriiineal tlid iiula»4 accept tlif
pvin«ipla aa Uid down by the commisston^rs, but vere mora ihaa
UMinlly unhappy in their npi>1icaiion of it. Like an Irishmnn of all-work
who daita oD' to cany out the first senlcncucr on ai:d«r nitbout tanyiuf f
lu beiu- th« conclutioii, tliv Lord* of Lbs Privy Conncil n'(;ru actlT* U *
precisuJjr the oppi^nltA diivcliou uf the one ialeiittcd, and )ta»tvna], Dc(le
order coupc'iis-iiion, but lo sUy tho Klntightei', Ic*t oompcniatioa tbculd
becniue inevitable. And thim was »Uni[>e(l out, not the Pluguv, butth^
chunco of cxtinguialung it. It hud hvcn (irlginally ordered that all ioteiui
aDiinals ^tyiiig or siliiin woro lo be interred tlicn and thnro on the spot, lod
thus ro our knowkilge it ]ia[>pcned that out of nix cons belotiging to CDI
unn, and which died on a Saturday night, Kve wci« buiivd on the Suody
morning im thu midat of n crowded ili^ttict, and surroundtul by bawo,
3'ards, and courlH, EwanniDg with wcmieu and children. Thi» pictc «f
hasty legislation liad to be nimiilled, along witli ono or two other xmf*^-
ticable oiderg. ]n levtiriil towns the uiilkiiien, envious of the luptiior
<<pporlvnitie8 of ihe buldwr, iiuld lucdio^'S ul whidi thvy agreed nait.oi*-
to raisu tbo price of mtilc, and Eiuiultautoubly to diniiniBh the eizft ot'th«ir
ueRBurw, and though tJiu niallcr woa not openly disciuKil, there ta littb
doubt that xnuny cf thorn did, in their own ptind^, propudc, KcendilO^
uarry a reooluiioii lo have a. nioi'e fri'i|tutut ivcouti^i io fiiture to liaf
which is popularly known a« the ''tew wiih thu iron tuil." On lb"
niTtnca the cotvkuc'i>ars biul juKticu on th«ir side, hut jit waa of n kioil iftU*
■pparenl tlian real, for this rviuon: — in nine cawa o^l cf ten the coV
keeper whiwc unimula cui4glit the disenw lost, not one-third or one-h»il' •''^
bis ttuuk, but every hnad that tiu po)>KcKged. Ilia tradu wa^ simply goCi
and hi! Lid no milk, either gn'>di or bivJ, with which u> supply hit cut*
lomers, und tlidrelbrti could not be itlfcuti'd by llic increHStsI price of lb<
commodity. Those who couliuucd to tup]>iy miU: wet^ gcnrroJly tho
vlitm stock had allogetlicr cccapi?d iiifecliw}. It was ihey who KaftJ
thfi proHc*, and iltuugh ihcy had a perfect tooral and Icg^ xi^Ui |o do lo, i>
vniiLd be a injataka for any onu to siipposa that by {^ying Ihe cxtr* prio
exacted, he was thereby reimburaing the "poor men nbo had lost ibftf
i
A
NOTES ON THE CATTLE I'LAOUB. 803
cattle." It vu Eimply a mode by which those wlio had been exception-
able fortufiata refilized ia solid cash the benefit of their good luck.
Meanwhile, though the prayer was duly aaid, the plague vfna not
stayed. "'WeVe gotten t' cattle pleagiie an' it's naw use a praying to
kep it fro' oor shores ; it 'iid be moor likely if we wera to pray to kep it
oot of oor pariah," said one despairing rustic to another after service on
Sunday. It was believed, and there ia much reason and evidence to
support the assertion, that the Government inspectors were themselves the
moat aolive in difseminating the disease, that they went from herd to
herd and farm to form, carrying about with them in their clothes and
on their person the infection, that they adopted little or no kind of
precaution, and that in some cases the horse they rode, being first tied
up ID one stable and then another, was a fertile source of infection when-
ever it approached sound cattle. " If I see one of these Government
chapa on my farm I'll shoot him if I hang for it to-morrow," exclaimed one
farmer in the extremity of hia wrath and terror. It must lie borne in
mind that these gentlemen, be^idej their fixed salaries, received their
travelling expenses, and were thereby stimulated into unnatural activity,
lod a Urge mnjority imagined tjiat the more they slew, and the greater
the quantity of ground they crossed, the greater their merit and vigilance.
Perhaps if yte had in the first instance besought Qod for what ws should
Hand the most grievously in need of ultimately, we should have prayed
Him to infuse, —
A. spirit of courage into the Queen's Ministers, so that they should not
eontioue to behave as if the penalty for failure would l>e the loss of their
heads instead of the loss of their places ;
A spirit of unanimity into the commissioners, so that they might
neither confound the dull nor anger the wise by reason of the opposite
nature of their suggestions ;
A spirit of decency into the butchers, so that they might resist the
temptation for turning a national calamity into an occasion for wholesale
nibbery ;
A i^irit of moderation into the inspectors, so that they might neither
infect nor slay more than should be necessary to earn their salaries and
mm;
And laslly to send,
A spirit of patience into all men who should be required to have
<I(alingB with the above-mentioned persons in whatever capacity.
Meanwhile the authorities on the Continent dealt with the scourge
in B widely difTerent manner, and with a success which will be hereafter
sUuded to.
Before the old year was out it began to be nimourcJ that the rinder-
ptitwaaiiot the rinderpest at all, but malignant smallpox, for which it
fas reasonable to believe that vaccination was the true and specific
remedy. Several eminent authorities were ioclined to adopt ihb theory,
ud a number of aanguins spirits unhesitaano'ly proclaimed their coo-
8M
NOTES ON TUK CATTLE PrvAOtTE.
version. AFt. Tolltftnnclie rongnanimottilj' devotee) a |>ortioa of bis slotlc
{•.yr the purpose of experimctit, and there waa a uqitctuI nuh for vKodne
bintler, wliicli commodity conaeqiicntly kwb to a pivmitiiD. Tboao »lw
BOughl ic wimi from on« institittion to anvtber, frani the National Vaccint
Socie^ lo thQ Small Pox Ilccpital, from pilkr to post, from mm Joc4tr
to iho otlicr, with miiiU xucm^&i. The vi-ry hospital authorities deefiBtd
to furnish vficciiic lor cnttle, fcii^etrul of the fact that one oow propal;^
ruccimito-i would afri>rd vaccina matter for tvreaXf other operation!
witliiii three days. A numlic^r of unprinciplvil scmindrvls iiniDedialvIjr
ailverliscd ta truu vaccine na nbominable cotiijmund of irrttoat ira^
whioh when iotrodncc^J into the iiysi«m did imdonhtcdly produce a (jaite
uu>k-H eruptioD, sufficient only to add to the wretched anima]'a diMOCBfort,
nnd iil«o lu destroy fiiilli in tlie so-calied remedy. Meanwhile, for onoe,
£nglitih people began lo wish that tlioy hnd bwii treated evea as the Iriih
arei aod that the cnUghtcQcl despotism which then forbade the itnparti-
lion of cattle, and whicli, hiid it beta more enlightened stilJ, would hart
furbidden tho iaiportntLoii of Fenians likewise, had been alito ezercnctl
with rcganl t'l thin counlry. In vAin the leading: dnba and societies, live
Ceutral I'armora, the Hoyal A pri cultural, and th« SmithGeld Cliib, be-
MUght the Executive for nuiiouroN, tint ordy inisiediat* and stringent, but
whtdi should be vwtjwhere ulike ccmputDoi-y. Alaa I not even from tb«
Vatican could tlie non potnimus be uttennl with a more plaintive obatinHy
thua from the English couiidl-chiuuber. With n aingiiUr pu-tilhiDimiir,
Govcrmiiotit pen*iiiU-'d in declining its proper rcuponsibiiity, and eufi«*l
the burden of aut)iority to be takfn up oi- eiiKt off at will by thoae on
whom it ought ncrcr to have beeu forced. Thu powers given lo tlic
aourts of quarter neaaions as regards tran^t, the atoppnin of tnifli«, Jtt-,
were entirely optional, and no sort of imaniraiiy in nciion reHUllcd. In
tome pl.-mcs fails mid niaiketa were pi-ohihited, iu others not, lite inofl-
porated inarki-t- towns wcro in all casiv a law unto themitelves ; nnd Levi'
market wna contiiiutd loog after all surrouiidinj; faiis nert? closed, asd
became nnturnlly a hGnd-c«iitrc of infection. In ether caacs, towns, villageii
itiiJ eveu farms, being, as it. were, border t0WD«, or lying within tvo
quai-ler-6C»ftionti diatricts, had the aJvanlagu of being subject to two stO
of conflicting regulatiotia ; nnd a man might start with aotnc bcMStti
ftirnished with a clt-na bill of health nnd evi-ty requitciie permit, and
witliin a couple of mik-.t, or even a coupio of liunJrtd ywrds, find himselT
wberp he could neither drive llicm further nor drive them bach, sell tltein,
pasture them, mir sla«glilcr tliem." Cnll.Ic might be driven along the high-
* A vcr^ viilualilo Imtl, from tlic t^iivliniicd WArkby hMd. wu mido timo qt^
ilespntclipil into Bcnvioktiliiro ; tliv C-iiftorirk itntiLiti-mnslcr, bowtver, wfnsti lo boA
It furthtf iLnn Ncwciutlo, and ivhcn it orrivcd tlicrv, uinthor kc of rrsulKUons vcn
in ((ircc, and n new certifluate wiu requinto. I'bo Nurili-Kiuieni Company dedteed
tOQvmcy it uuiib, onlcat Inoramienof sulittaatiNi iKwiticn, living within so mi^
milrH.ctinldnrlirj-U) il« licnlllt. TIio fanneri wen; fomd, hut unodicr hitth occonr^.
They tnmt huva known the cwiUore intim»loly for the npnec of ti>cntv-cicbl tkrt.
Mid Iba hull nai, in every tenKV tbc w(ird,a rcc«Dt itix]iui!DlMicc. It wu cqully
I
1
NOTES ON T^E CATTLE PLAGUE. Wff
road to m nilwDy sbttion, Init not to a bu!t:tici*B sliop, nor fVotn one fitrm
toftoother; offal »nd maiitirc might bo rarted here, but nottlicrc; nnd
an invinbl« lioo on tho public road nas the bonadnry on otic ride of
vliicb ibc owner might drive bu ehccp at pleasure, en ihc other lie >s-ould
be luble to s heary fiii«. It was entirely optional with the railwoy com*
^nies to diMnfcct ihcir cattle-trucki or ollicrwiac; and the utter Iktuitjr
of each Kgnlatlcoj u Gorcromcnt Imd ventured to put forth may bo
nettared by this, that wheruu n rcepcctiible riirin(>r, giving liia proper
addrCM, and furniiilinl with n licence for \m own district, might be sum-
marily stopped 90 soon an he vvcratep£wl hii bouudnty, there waa up to
tho wcond week in Fehnmry nothing which could possibly prevent a
petftct stranger from driviDg his cattle all over ilic country. A rural
! ]wlic«mao might indeed arreot him, but it would be at hia peril ; be
night aho Mk him quwilii^ns, ofiually tho alr.ingcr might lawfully rcliise
to answer tbcm. The jnsticea vfere iiicewjintly occupii;d in mnking new
orders viitliout repeating the old ones, until eotno conviction difloloaed the
bet tliat the two were id conflict. On an nvemge, freeh instructions were
tSBoed cnce a week. Tho clcrlu lo the inugistratcB and ravtncra were
etDployed, how vninly they best know, in trying to iintleratand or reconcile
tlinn. Drorert were brought up iind fine<l in nomionl Hums, bcciiiinc it
was evident that ihey bad acted in on ignoinnoe which their bciit efiortn
could not dispel. No two bcI« of mngistnitefl i-tsued the snmc ordera, no
two ittRpectora gave the mine adviuu ; no one could sTiow the boundnry
Uses ; and, iu gcncroJ, the justice* could never agree tui to what their own
orderfl rneaut, or how thoy were to be ciinied out. If Gcivcmmunt had
tried to bring iiboiU n state of lIiIiigH in which conw-iilment of dtseitse,
UVBiion of the law, end every kind of subterfuge, should appear to the
ilock-holder aa bis only chance of self- preservation, nothing better calcu-
taled Jar that purpose could have been devised than the present eystem.
Belbre January wns out it wiw clunr llio theory of annll-pox was
no longer tenable. Several of the vacciaated calves and heifera which
Mr. Tollemaclie had caused to bo exposed to infcctioa had died of nndcr-
peil; nad Profesaor M'Cali, of Glasgow, reported to the Lancet that he
Ind vaccinated sncceisfully an unitnal which hnd paaaed through an attack
of the plagae. Tbiai of course, indlcalci the ubsoucc cither vf identity
or antagonitm between cow-jwx and riuderpert or plague. Hiilierto
ilhad be«a supposed that sbccp, though they could convey infection in
tbeir ileccc, were not liable [hems«lveA to take the disease. Itut in
OMteaa to •fA'I for tame of ilo riiA fticndii uE Catlvrick. iiact tliey djil not liva uriilila
Uu limit* laid dmm. The nilnny naiboriiJej Iwioogtit of the atuadaat to v&«fLic tlw
twne-box, ami take )i!s htiU with him ; hut thin rcqnrtt was stntdilj rcfiasci), and iba
nit Aspositiaa of Taimu was too pliiinlj' evident for anr ofncial io vcniorQ to cvirt
Un In pcnoa 6a fiir ten ilaj-s th« anhuid Ui-url hi the InirM-box triamphanClj-. doni;
«flfa tbeatuadantwheadnilijilercil to its mtntsi at the cad of which lime ttic Com-
pmy, nrged pnhably by despair, ap'nrd trt coiivnjr it to its ilcitinaliun, where, in tho
(Ink lasianec, ibe oirnei rcfawit tn receive It, oa account of its long ilclentLon in a
dMtM BOCniowly plaguo-ttriekon.
m
inrraBw
FcWtwry, 1 865, Inspector D«y rpporled llml n lirge uiiinl>er of ehrcp en
a &rin in YorkfJiire were deu) or d^ing of t1i« )iLigit«. In ibe dm ibirv
wrcki of February iho drullt* niiortwl an nigisi 1 1,0(W per mreok, rq>J«-
'leniing A lc>» rf (omrthing lik« 3UO,l>00/. ; Urn country gcnllemen grev
'fpriciiK, ani] farnicm wvre in d«sfuiir. Mfnnwiiile ihe i^asu* had bom
EtatniJi-d out in France nnd Pniada Vy tlw udopUoa of xirinjicnt uifMiin*
— doling of ihft pottt, alrict fKolfttinn, iiiul ilaiigliter of all beasts eillier
in&cled or irhicK liml b«cii cxpowt} to in&ctktn, nccompanitd in all uua
Lj)y TtiU comj^ii^'Uioa to lli« pwuct*. Tlie «>>mo tiling; wMilonc m nclgiiim:
Vltliich CCTliiiiity prorcH Umt a striotly emi^imiiotia) GovumiiiM)! can, if it
\b (iLspoBcil, deal MtiaTocimily with thia ealnmily. TIic tnul anonat
' 0xpcndr«l in coinpcnMlJAn dUi not oxcC9<l 13,0001. Tor (he ttin» ociuntrJM.
^i^btra va* a good i3t>Ml of «v;<h(iii hikI iiTfguIniity ptikcti>«J in ibu tmrjini
of iti»c.i0C'(l L'Mrciiws. TliB n^nliiliou vriia thnl llit:y tJiouUl be planJ
l}n(lcr at Icnst live Ibut rf i^^ntli ; occaeinnitlly, thevefbrp, it happotted thil
ihcy were put into a holo two ScH m deplh, nnd n lililv conkul mouiJ,
not {[iiile llirco iltt bigb, ivas {>ilcd orcr thvni. "J'liiWQ gmre* bocanw^ ttf
course, ccntrcn cl' inlvetidii. I1ia ivn-tdK-d fliiinmlji HDflfantl inatiy ibiap
of i3ivei^ physicians. A iTriit-r in tliv LaNcet propoacd lli-it Tttriulen
Bifttter iVom llic Small-J'oic llotpilal ulioiild bo used inet&Til cif v|^5e
iipli for vaocinnlion. 'r\w ncclclncei of onioni not having ftatvi
(uHicicntly powerful, a bcncToletit nnbbmnn (Lmrd lieigh) reeoranifflM
(he iiitern»l adiTiinistcaiion of i\ liniiiioil pulp conipoeed of eiiioaf,
gnrlic, iilialot, uiMifmlidu, ami B^n^cr ; mid it is probable tkat ihi
^ninxiug niultntas of the meaa tvould of it(i.-lf inspire ibo agnonlinnl
Riiftd with ihilh in ita bealing virlnL>. 'l']if ttum iit>l:ind eu£ of all
was deait by Mini!^lr^8, ivliit, ivliin cliurgod in rartiamciit with bating
c()nEpinion«ly fuilcl in llicir Oiitj uitb regiml to ibo plugoa, IvkDy
dceIuiT<l that more ibun tliey bad dune, no niortiil man ooiikl iiave acanai<-
pliihcd, on account of the wietchedty liacVtvart) HntK o( public opjntot^
a vlntomeiit whitli, if tine, prorts ciibi-r llml no an n much wore Muptd
people tlian we commonly Biipi«5a tuiselve* to be, or ilini her Kujf-ur's
atlvisvra arc rcinAvkublc fgr a. degree of modt^ly, ulf-diJKdcnce, aiu3
poverty of ipirit, nrhich some wctdd cstt'oin admir»bl« in ttoiiit:ii, but
teems slightly tml of pUce among EnglUh Icgi&talora and tialusmen. Up
to (Ilia lima the duties of ^islin;, ]>rajei', and hiuuilialinn havo besn
prelty tveiily dividi'il. Tbo Prcplo bavo f4Sted, the Cl«ffgy havo prnjed,
and the Mitii>ter» have bumiliuteil themeelvBa, nnd boen bnniiltatvd bjr
others. But nt ln«t — when ihtj itrticic is ^vrillon — wo havo rvaaon la
hope far such energetia meJwnrM OS arc hnt adctiUtcd to ovftwcfna iba
difiiBtrr.
807
Jaiiquefi in ihe ^^na^^
"Vs thtnlciDg ahe'U no rise for an hour yet." The obserratioa wna made
by a very Btrong-mintled man — one keenly nlivo to the value of truth in
the matter to which hia words related. It ivas made to an idle man
keenly interested in that very matter. It was not hia own wife, or my wife,
or any one'a wife, or indeed anything female of which he spoke. The idle
man had made the most strenuous exertions — bad indeed put forth a
su&tained power of which hc hud no idea, and waa at that moment sick
even unto death ; hia heart heat so that every great throb banged through
bis brain — his body heaved, hia eyes swam — hot scalding drops ran down
hia brow, sweltered over hia eyes, eank into the thirsty folds of his
garments. Exhausted, panting, he lay extended on the sward, biting
in racuoiia pain a piece of bulrush, and staring with wide eyeballs at
some object straight before him. It waa a hot day early in October
— the 6iin wore just the elighteat mautle of ganzy clouda, and waa all
the warmer by reason of the screen. Its diffused white light cast broadly
through the sheen, flooded a vast hmdscapc in which there waa moro
water than hmd to be seen — bhie-gray water set in every variety of
form among the broad expanse of brown moor, which rolled away on
ihii right to a hazy cloiidland where sea and sky blended together, and
on ihe left and cvcrywlicro else inland rose in wave-like folds higher
and higher till it lapped the base of a shore of mountains eearaed with
raTiuea and whitened by water- course a. There waa a grand uience afar.
But close to the ear there was a gentle music made by a combination
•J brceze-bcriic gnatc, buzzing daddylonglegs, and agitated heather-
hellg which swayed beneath the balmy wind. Now and then a hoarse
croak overhead called attention to a black object which flew in graceless
"lues through the sky, and down on the ridges below ua the chuckling
F*bb!e of tlic cock-grouse provoked an uneasy grunt from the great gillie
belbrii Die. There were two of us — one a long, thin-legged man, with red
liait, grey eyes, red whiskern, blue cheeks, red hands, and purple brow.
^a his head was a grf;y cap pulled down over hia flapping cars, a grey
tliooting coat of many pockets jmllcd up on hia shoulders covered the
gteat bands of muscle which held his bones in their iron grasp — a duak)--
wlmied knickerbocker distended wide apart by his brawny Ifga lapped
"cross the atout worsted stockings which crept up from hia brogues over
'■' liillock of calf. Prone on his face he lay amid the surging heather,
''ijRpjiug glass neatly fixed on a tnw.sock with the end ready to hia eye,
iiiiil one brawny hand placed backwards on the shoulder of his companion.
Wficlhcr that person haa sinew or ham he does not know. lie does
308
JACQUES W THE FOREST.
Vnow, bowflver, tint, if b« bad, the^r were not of modi uae to him, Tor tie
ga^ied uid puficd like an orenroikeil steun-engtne. Ab to his atUre, it
vaa simply elegant, though it was not of a kind adapted for tlie atrects of
• fashiottt^le city. Why should it be I lie and his oomradc were intcot
on murder, tli«rc, od tlie faill-ude, aa ready tor a d«cd of blood as i\>it
fileiuchikoff of whom Mr. Kinglake wrii«s In bit beautiful poein called
tiic Critncia War. A doublf-batTelJed rifle ky atrip* of ila corer bencaih
the carcase of the puffing carl on the lefl, with its tiib<!9 pcint«d in a Bdb
wilb the teleacope of tlie gatmt red man — but evirr and anon aa the ft
essayed to raise bis bca<l (torn the gnnt-hnuntcd hcaibcr, ibc Kaout^
m&a [NvaKKl it down again, and in a husky whitper, cnulloiu and guilt-
like, Haid. " Uisht— not yet ! not yet ! "
Wc were both togctUei* under eircumstancu of n painful Duture.
Tho night before I bad gone lo deep^I am the ninn witli ibrt gun—
with the full and fell intent of oommitting the crimp, to the accua fi
whidi I liaTC broi^bt you. My dreams vicre light nnd bo was my
alevp, nnd before I bad woU forgotlon, &t it suemed to me. the tentenca
of llic novel which Bwam before my eye* ere I blew out ray caodk,
m rad-bcnr(3r^d man by my bedside Unabed a light acrou my fme anJ
woke me up to conscioaaneu. " It'a time, major, for ye to be atirrui*, tke
oaptaio'a at breakfast." Thor« wcro iho zinc renovator filled with water,
ahining like a moon under the tnysk of tbo candle, on itio dark carpet;
the grcnstd brogui's be^de the chair on which ivere dcpontod tlic strata of
gnrmenu to be worn on that doy, ihe ju^ of shaving water, and a narrow,
pillar-like bar of light, □iiu'king the division uf the shulters, and jiiatifyicg
llie adoK-nitioas of tic grisly Angii^ " llajig iliat la»t hamper of dant'*
Or could it bo the KoUtxiy Uliatiun of toilily 7 Or might it be the pipo
which wound up n course of cigars? Any way there was a iliglift
fcverdoRi in tlie blood and on the tongtie. But whiob 1 aplaali I alutbl
and aliitier t apongie and spring water I atarap, and jiulT and rub I and in
nil the glories of the nude A[)oUo nibea(«na the va^xjum of the creaiog
fly nwny, and the rjiap of the razor over the unwonted stubble Itft by iW
overtliiuw of Crimean and Indian crops of beard by Horce Guard regula-
tions ofTcra lb« last eacrificc to the gmccannd to comfort. The almtieta arv
thrown opeHj up gtxMi iho window ; a crowd of r«l-wiaga in t]« holly-irw
ire boiding cowiioil (in to thuir procetdinga for the day; already a llcck
of wood-gu«itJ are pouting through the corafit^ld onlsiidv the garden ; and ■
the roolis in the grove are taking easy flights, to ascertain if the mtaning
be w«ll-aired enough for their breakfast -gaining forayi*. A riotous rabbit
ii frisking on tlio t:ma!l lawn, which dtscends in a slope to ih« brawling
Btrcam, I'ringcd with bouMcnt and dwarf shrubs — terror of far-castta^
BDgEcr«. In the whirling pools one ciui ntx the rise of iho brown troat and
tbo bold runs of the impetuous aalmon na ho ni»hc» onwards and npwardt
from the looii below. At tlie porch, already ei^uipped with ponderoos deer- ■
fciJdlt, ftiands the rf»aggy Hii^hland pony. Detiidc him is the keen-eytd
gillie, Hoiy Irriiutj with hts brace «f mongrel-looking greyhouada in Ite
, qnirenng ood vrliiinpcring in the cold. All else u tbroudcd m a
Vfliite, sheet- like cloud. liut tlicr* nre monnljiin* all nrnunil ; for oiii' rfcnr
lillle lotlgn— (O ParcjiitiAr c( ^[ont■yI>l■lllly, Iioiv cna you auk xucli itifei'nal
xvnxa — noJ get Uivm 7) — our (!»u' liltlu lodge is silimlcd ia Uie uidtt of
SuiithlMig]>!pe, by l!i« niilc ot HiitiUfiiiifiig, with Torriebaccagli on cno aide
and Drnincanagen on ihe otlier, »o thai the ini&t likta ilic locality, and lica
tiMTU on a £iir resUlig -ground till lata in tlic day iit limfts. It is nut fur
Jrom our bed-room to the diuing-room — a circutiiKtance move valimble and
appreciated nt nigbt tbaa ia the early morning ; uud bo ere liaif im hour
liu cUpMd iho person who hAH been spoken of id w-atcd nl the boar^, which
i»itIU illuminal<-<l hy r^iii'Ile.'*, aiiiI in su.Tveying, in comprehensive view, a
^Ja^ of kipper silmon, each ecoiioa vrrupped in niiowy )iaper, Juat
^^Bvowced St the edges, and Bpeckk'd with fisb fiit — a diah of Loch
w^ttm ; R (liali of iuyhed grouse ; a amolcing glory of red-deer lentijon
CuUops ; an expcusc of ponclied «ggB spread i>rcr tlic red ham, as enow-
Rmtli* lio on lh« moor hillocks ; jam and marmaliidc in enatnelled
eolumna ; ewers of milk nod crcnm ; maunda of vurioiis cake, sauccx. and
kmid } A loch of porriJgfi, ntid n monnlAin of toast; a hisaing urn, n»d «
Rowing fount of Ip.i. 'flic captain has gone off— a Innk, aleepleu, lean,
•OMpirator of a tnaii, tu the innnner burn — oarly albot ever, and Iut« (o
btd, always to be marked in his \vay*9 by a grey ftima of tobacca-emoke
— « very Stroaiboli of smokers; kilt-wearing, light-bunueted, scar-
h^td. " Off-an'-awuy a gude half hour with Mc Alietcr io GlenJunabea,*'
i^{illio Wlls me. *' I'm voady now." "Skroi^k ! fiK-»-«.'" Tlint in my
fctwIsD, ta I strike my light at tlic linll-Ooor, and tnkc my first mornhfitl
<f iWLMvcnly aiuro, slighlly flavoured with Havaonah. 'Iho " pony Jane"
vibtui she viewH thobullc of tlie grand man who approaches; the dtig«
*Uiiper, the gillie girns me tlio complimetita of the early morning. Then
*tlt OORics the mnn with sandwidiOf;, (lie "mien's dinners," ns thoy are
^tJ ; a bottle of cold tvn, a Rank of something more exciting and less
^^letorar. — The capncioiu game-bag swallows them all up. llic pony
•ins giK-a a txemendous humph and gnint of disgust as the portwn alluded
'^leis "a It^-np," and ia depoaitt-d in the saddle. The red man Kliuuldcrs
llw madatosh-guaTdcd rille, lights his pipe, ond itcpe on ahead with that
*•*?! light-toed, hec-lless step which has tiWen llieiso mountain men up
*"*■>} a BDiokc-wreothed hill slope, and um never be stoppod but by
"* loftden or iron mfsacnger which cnrriea his epcci^Lt biilet. Tlie
^ie tad the dogi follow, and dcwo the gravelled arenuc we troop on
^Iie sun has just climbed — I would write clamhe an I dnrcd —
■P tic sidu of n groy barrier which ban Jenced in the darkness all niglil
"'B^iaail ho ia ttow sending out his i«o»u to eciiKh for tb« mounlain-
l>t»->righi llirough the coluiim* of cloud which have lain over tlie
**iity» anil atnttis, the glens and the corries. 'Tit n lovely siglit to
■H thcM €Vcr-gtowiog iilands rise in sharp outlines, fioiu Ihe obscure, and
tfn»i Into oruige-tinged tuidulationa rctom the cold set of the morning t
t ronsar.
m
But w<! prcM cm — ourpo«tirnl ■«iiim«iUcvapomte in bitd maidi
tho tiard tiigli-iosd 8d<1 in ihe lrMn[i uf llie ptmj's lioofB aa be
■Iter Uio sUtnart elalttcr* niUt hia lardfl of B«ali, [Hpe-Anoking, aoi
alitfcriog on lib cold mddle. No nord is ^kva. It is too eoM far
tMlktng even for (hose vbo walk, and tlic equnMrinn is li>st in ccnsid^ng
bow it is llml llir ton CHit ii<lmini»tt-r such <:xc««^ing |>!tin tc all llic hoif
corporfltgi iiiitlu' lh9 iiifluoncc* i>( ilvficient ctrcalnilon. At werj lurn Id
ifar while road vhich ninda «n uhI up wid dowii nml siilewufs oter
ilbude by umi, juist burn, nnd orer Mnun, the c6ge» or the momiliiiM
''iHbiefa (Drroand ua vnrj in ; Impv an<] hiio. Ui« light grows so Mrvng it bM
that jVn^tw'f crifpnd cnrla light Uf> hia bonnel-llnpt hke tbe fiaiRe«f
s cotidlti flicking Iroca uoOer an exlingntsher. I'lirre b« plctd* nn, hmd-
backed, rouod-abouUcred, nanxjw-inualed, Itau-bippcd, light- le^|[t:4, cM
in Saxon-cat itiooting-mitt and vMt, Mtd kni«k«Tbockw, in Ui^UnJ
hooe Jmd tboon, hcMriiig ib« nntrrjirucif-i.-aKtt] riflt- on bis shoiildvrs. irkilM
flio gillie vrilh tb« diigs alraiuiug vo tb« Icajali, keeps ifUp beudt iun
«nd «xch*t)gc* horrid couvtnc in Hoodfl of low guttural Gontic, ii>t«r>
mitieat villi piilTi of mnoke from aucicnl cully pi[i«9. And n nc truf
^oBg lh«fc coiiiva from a TaTine twar nt liatnl a eouud honner thai
navKr-endiiig; cry of tlit> waiera which ittsh in unseen d«plliii utvmrii
arn, and a rarcn scvnling dcatli within the irciD tubes calb lo hh wife
below, and cln{M the deep l(tid«n hill-fide with his heavy wing CiU hir
maio joina him, win'ti Uioy itMe higher and higV-r, and tuke their way lo
Mm carri« ia frunt of us. it is a fiix-mile tramp ahmg the hnrd-liigh nnid.
TIk eon ai il climbs from rlflgo lu rid^ loan ita Bttvnglh in ihe Uptt
the culd clotidfl. It Itgiitena up range upon range of riiggvd nwk lill
from thit high level of the mad \xa luok on either side and behnld »'
IniUQltattus aea of granio: and slati: fixed t'lir cvi.>r in nqgry orH4 anl
orerhanginji ridgea above tlie rullKy uf purple licathrr and greca inanh.
A biU«r wind sweeps over thGin, but spmds iU tnqc in yaio ou all m*0
my miserable legs niid on Brahan and Oscar, nlio cringe behind tlu^
giUie's Itga, Tbu Gxr. of sncthcr vesuvian tnu only nn incident in lbi#
journey of an Iiour luul a half. At InH liio roail turning abruptly ore
ihe ravine, iiKninitd more nK^pIy and pierced the moor, which teftpiog iO^
with a fiing« of huailier receded in Urvvrn folds higher and higher lill iP^
rrJi< UmI the bane uf ihe lirst rocky tthoni vlivnco the deei' forett svnvv
ruuml to meet the rays of'ilic morning ann.
Angus hiilted — loak l^in telescope from thv corer, and looking rota^'
kr a stone tc prop liis back agaiust, lay down with bia legs stretched out,
and hii elbow rvsLins tni vnc kiice to tup|x>rt the glaas, with which he
proceeded lo nmlc« a delibomtft nirv*-y of the hill-side. Whui a tl«aeifu'
that was — with what a rapturona soiijili I ilirew mygelf down en th«
bentber ; for the Bti>ftdy, li>ng atiido of tlivse hill-men ii trying to
unnocustamed h-gs. Kiich tuwock seems to rise ngainHt Ihe feet, and evety
healbpr-covcred hump throws out its arms to impede the labouring nnkle;
the hill-side, which from l)ie diituuico seemed an ea^ alopc, grows inl
JACQUES IN THE FOREST. 311
steep luDg-tesling ascent, tlic water-courws swell into streams, the very
stonts live and move under liis uncertain steps. " Whew I how hot it
is ! " " Ye'd better not make a nine in the Ibreat," quoth the red man.
Ugh 1 ugh ! ugh ! rings out a sharp sultry cough. The red man looks
ruuud with an nir of pity and deapnir which aays plainly, "If you do that
again, we may aa well turn back." Joy then at the hult and the repose.
For a time I hear nothing but the bumping of my own heart. Then I
hecwine aware of tlie fact that I am very high up ; and the lodge is glisten-
ing like a anow-drop in the Irees far below. Next I perceive that Angus
has removed his eye from the telescope, and is looking at me without
atying a word. "Did you see anything?" A nod. "What is it?"
"It's a good peeat enotigh. It's a goot stag, and three lieends. But
thee're a Jong way. And it's a difficult staJtk, I'm thinkin'." "Let me
see them." "Do you see ta pig white ataan by ta green B]»t, just imter
ti cnim over ta burn ? There it is — a leetle more to ta left 7 " " / see
il." "Well, ta Blag is lying down under ta staan, and the hcends is
landing up below him feeding." I look, I stare, I squint ; use right eye,
Ml eye, both eyes, O, Lynceus, aid mo I " I can't see anything, Angus."
"ilnh, air, yer not lookin' in ta rcet dareckshun at all ; it's a huudret
jarts to ta left of la cairn." Steady, sedulous sweeping of ihe whole area.
At last " I see three reddish specks below the white rock." " Thai's ta
htends." " And 1 see now a big dark speck close to the corrie," " Tat'a
ta sing," ' " ilow do you know 7 " "I see his horna ; it's a goot peest."
I ilioulJ have liked very much to have then and thei-o denounced Angus
M a tayer of the thing that was not, but controlled the impulse. Tlicn
rame another pause. "It's a vara difiicuit corrie to get till with the
*«id in this airt," quoth Angus. And then to my indignation he
Rwod up, " What the deuce are you at 7 Why, they'll be off ! " " lleck,
""■jor, they're two mile away, and the pcests have not got spying-glasses."
Ai^us picked a piece of the fluffy woo! of his coat, held it between his
finger!", let it go and watched it as it floated away to leeward. " We
°"isl just chance it, major. The wind is vara bad for us ; it's a long, long
stafit," There was a click, chck, click as Angus put up his telescope, put
'' iiilo the case, looked all round, and then to my intense surprise, wiifiout
* Word, turned down the hill and proceeded with long bounding steps to
'"te the direction from which wc had come, A rest at full length, despite
•tie gnats, on a natural bed of heather gives a false feeling of strength to
"It inexperienced southerner. There is also great case at first in a descent,
"'"1 «o I, the major, striding grandly from tuft to tuft, splashing into soft
I'Wj, lighting agilely on boulders, for some time imagined tliiit going down
™1 Whs a pleasiint unfatiguing operation, in which the master was as good
•"Ilia man. But no one ever saw such a hill. The more one went down
" flic more it lengthened on and on, and when the ridge which seemed to
''^und the descent by a wide plain of moor was reached, lo ! it was but a
Vantage ground for a fresh humilior. The heather became contrary and
pugnaciooB, the boulders grew unsteady and uncertain ; an unaccount-
sia
JACQUE6 ra TRG FOREST.
ablfi tendency lo itlrppiDg And sttiiiiLling fnrwnrdii and bickiTftrda,
aHevAja, be-gan to niaiiiii.'flt iueK, and nt last iberc was a qu»'criiig
of ilia knc«, and a sert of Bhock to th< biain nhicb modo the tya
dance at every etep. It was uiUi a sensation of much relief 1 b«lwld
Aagits Iialt ones more, heard tlio click of the telescope, llirew myttit
duwn on tbe lurl' whilst he rcconDoitn.'<i, and watched bim Burv«yi:
ground, and nov and then picking a plec* of fltiiT from liis j
IctUag it llcot down tb« wind. Tbcy wore there jct, he »id, the stag
aow standing up, and one of the hinds was near him [ the otiier* too
inriaiblr, and altbongli wc bad come a long way from our original h:ilting>
plncc, our courtu had been oblitjue, so tliat we wcro now more directly
beneath ihem. '' We must just sts&k them up ta burn," ijuoth Angiu. On
our right a brook which came down the biil now in twiit runs timid god-
glomerate rocks and slabs c>f sinic, cow in fiills which made tnuste in the
morniDg atr, then in dtcp Ireiieli-IIke etraiika inurkt^J by bright green
verdure, fonucd a series of poold, wLich were Joined one to aaother by
tiny cmeudc-s. Angus turned osido, and putting up hi^ ghuH, made for
tlie bordi.'r uf llic burn, iij> ivhich he ascended, indificrcnt to the dioke «f
fltoui?, uiona, or \iater for his steps. I followed ; it was well enough, or
bad enough aa long us we tvnlked. But on reaching n wnll-Iike barrier of
niatc, orcr wHch the burn leaped in a lirisk Ibnuiing full, Angns took a
long lotik with the ginss. " We must creep now ; keep close, and gel as near
to me as yuu ci\n, sir/' In half an hour more, I had reaaon to undentaiid
the full tt-rror of the cur^t; on the serpent — " On ihy b«l]y shall thou gO)"
a dreadful .judgment truly ! — my kneea were Idled with the ^horp ends eC
burut liealbcr, my anna up to the elbows were buried in black ptat, new
and then the htirn had lilcrnlly made a bed of mo and run orer my
bauk, mid all thi« time Angus, \ciib uue strong hand kept mc close up
111 him, vvhilat the whole cf my expciieiice of tlie world waa limited to*
remarkably close view cf the cui-ious workmanship exliibitcd by tbe •tat
(if his breeks. Many a rent made by some eavieus Onsca of a thom
rock, had been llio subject of cuimiui;^ reperatioa and clever buodiwoi^
butalUr awhile the contemplation ofEucli e^tcellenco became mouot<HMiu-
Thcre waa no help for it, however. At every movement to gel away Anga«
wna alert. " Keep ^own, wr, keep down 1 bhu'Il see ye. Keep as cli
yu can by mo." Why did I ever come out to sJioot dttr 1 Why
made the »poi-t of this lungless, iiou-einewcd Cell ? "I must stop, riff
<iuile blown." " Ah, well 1 an yc must, yo must. But I'm thinking they'll-
not be li>ng slaying in that corrio. And il'aagrand peeA indeed, all oal."
So on again. W^hat odd thiuga coiiio into my head, oa I was plustUDtf
the sent of Aitgua'a liousers! 1 thought of GHm thu first time I saw
her in Nenna. 1 thought of crouching in a uJt mareh off Yetiikale,
from n pack of raecally Co&sack» ; fin aecent of a flight of «tc]» (torn vaa
of tlie rA>nd(in Dock wine-caves also come into my head, ao did a
eluiiibcr up the Jaidin de Glace. A grand fcene in Timwr tht Torfir*
— the watcr-pipca bursting in my clumibei's after a tlinw, a btnrau tB
JACQtTES Vi TIIK POREST. 519
the CrimMO tKiiclics, aod a tcnii-tiuiniacal jumble of all things iacoa-
gruoufl, beld in eolulioQ by a violent p«rspiralioQ ; a bumping pultse,
and lcg« whicK felt nngiii>th(.''l to mnrrowy mtinves, completed my ncu-
•■LioiM. What jo; wheu Angus dri^w ft long tifflin^ breath, iiod with
pne great wriggle, lay ilal and eUll, with lib head raised jiut aa iniii
above the h«arh«r, iimid & gathering o( email etonea by the atile cf tho
bum. " They're all there," be whiipred just before. " They're all
.lying town. The stag's about 120 yord» off", but thcrc't a peest of a
Uad betweea us." Aiid then, keeping liia IiiiuU on my head, he drew
ne aoftly up bedde him, and painted witL his eyea and chin through the
htaibcr. I loolcod, but the scaldiEig tears nf pcnpiration tun iuto n)y
^nea, and all I mvr wu a coujilc of vrniery riiour)s duDciag in die sky.
Bf^e aUg has bis hoit:i» just above the red etaan, uud you can nee tho tips
Vwe beend'a eata moving baclcwnrda and Ibrwiudi above thnc grc&n lull
m bvDt of toy finger. The other hccndii an down beyond ihc alag I " At
Int the vwt titeared away from my eight, and I bchu!d two witluTcd
bnaclMt, russet-red and grey, close by the atone. As I looked tbey niaved,
tbi my hcaiti whtob bad bcc-a buiopisg bdbre, corac to ntlcntioa with n
\mg, sod ihcD £r«d a volley of musketry. " What a head ! Givu ma
& lifle ! " " And il'a a fine head lodced ; hut yo maala't touch ibe liQa
JO— ihft'U b< risin' py-iu»d-py."
And thus it is lliat I iirrive at tlie opening wordx of lliiii Hiight aketcli.
F« after a long culTcriLiice iii which 1 endured all the a^jvules vf midgu
nd gnat — worie:, ua Mr. Gould will teJI you, than the moBquito of the
Em— and Uie still greater torture of bt:Ing obliged to rcmoui perlectly
■■ill vndu Uiem, Angus arrived at tlic dread conoluiion that I must
tadoie still more till it pleased the ereature to rise. Now, the provoking
tU^noa tbis, that whereas if L wore a freo ngcnt I would have gone away
l^t instant nad Hed (rom the gauxy cloud of persecutors which enveloped
Ov; tlte stag, iiuitc as much vexitl hjr thccn, and being quite a voluntary
^^t, lay there, tliough he oould have gone away in a moment if he
W n listed. Perhaps he was a philosopher, and reasoned on the
^■elicy of watte of ]K>wcr in going to soat^ other place where he would
he ju| u badly «B'. Ho wo waited logtrllicr — I watched the lllckiiig of his
•mg tan, and the laperings of his horos till the liejither MViui^d lo grow
Imo tbe laadjBcapei and horns, ear^ and henther all blended iuto a brown
Wy ^tatiea. I oannot tell how long thin histcd^-but my thoughts were
^■ikkiiiig &r away, and ns my eye wandered too, mflic slowly from oqo
^Mhill-ude lo the olhi;!', and idly scanned the wavelike ridges, I thought
rf IIh time wbcn the nilciit gladea and valleys were peoplecl by thouKtoda
"^ Mdwart kemca, uod wbea the lowing of cattle leaped from hillook to
iiiOMk. Tboy ore all gone now. Notliiug rcuiaJns of tliem in ilieir
(^a famd but the atone-hcaps which mark the mina of tlieir uaoonth
d*tUii)ga, And it is well fcrr tli^-ui. Tn for lands they became freemen,
■odate tlieir bread in peace. 'I'htrir diildren are the ntirritig, tterling,
'UviDg denizens of proripuroua cities aud the lerdd of great doaiaina
toIm mi.— xo. 75. 16
IK
JACQUES IN THE F0HK6T.
)i«ld ill fse aiiiiple fhim nature. From Stmthbiakie end Olcnbonkli
in Um dafs nov not much ntorc thiin a eenturj old, two thotmad thnc^
hundred men, uUb clajtiiore And target, md a leir mSHrrnblc finloeb^
follovrtd the drunken, oursiny, dicing, red-no»ed, aimggeriog Lord Hoddie,
of llitddio, 10 be out down and diet down, utid doiwrUd iind tnoBporlcd.
Over all that rxpan^e k Kcarcti-'n-nrrnnl backeil bj ft nddxuoofie
only to-dnv bare foutid Aagtu, the captain, myMlf, th« ^i« with
poay, tlm fulIcB nl th« lodge, mid eome four or lire families of Miilk«n,
krcpcnr, and l)te like. Haddie'a race has long since died out, and hit
tiU« cerre* to grace llie roll of Rnnim which Iblloir the Kiiithera honoun .
of a Biotca duke. But the MiicIlsddieK of GIpu nnd Stntth lwv# ^{wtBiiJ
orer Canadft, Kavr Zmknd, Amtraliit — the iai& of the bm, and.
broad Innds of lii« Fox WeM. Tfeoy will not have onr convjcCa,
will not hare the nboriginofl ; and lost in democratic whirls of indepe
MiT-eatitfying existonco, th<iy h*T« no rf«rx«t for titlw. No donbt, tki-y
arc better and happivr far th;iii ihey iroithl have been liad Uieir nnostcn
neror dured the Rpn. IjcI «b hope so, at all erent*.
But what ia to bs the end of the Uighlands of Scotland ? I dtfll
niean to inciuii-e if Cape Wmth he likely to niigratc or not. Nor i»
llicK nny reason to bcliero in a great geographical ehangv, or in a Mw-
cliieoiiiftii gculiigiud convu!.<io)i. But I am mnch miUakcn if theral
some doily cataclysm going on in those pleasant places which lie
the Mineh and Uie Gennnn Ocean from wusi Lo cast, and from PertkiliJn
and Argyleahin: to C^tbniias and Sutherland from noulh to north. It ti
&U a game of mnmmon AgAls^t mankind, of sport and ah«ep, of talBioe.
grottw, and veniion, ngainsL Llie iLborigincs. Once on a time a gnu
Scotchman, Sir William Duiibu.r, with that ftrvid eueT:py in buU-m^iit
which distingTiishfM nil Celts eoniJenmed, instead of Oseiio or Erse^ M
uae thu ubi><:uru ntid inflc^jint Latin -Norman-Soxon called Englitfa, i"
proposing the health of the chunuan of ll^e ITuiinon'a Bay f^mfUBf-
expresMd n fervent wiah that llic said rhaii-mnn " might lung live to be
what he orer bad been " — (what was it ? what could it ho ?) — " the /a*"
of the abori^jtft of liudKOu's Biiy." Tlie poor Ilighlaadcni nbar^iul
want a father rery iMidly, and may, for all I Bce, continoe to want to*!
but it IB evident they are losing the gume at home. A short time ag^ *
galhmt g«Dtlein:m, int^rr^^ted in a liighlimd regiment, expnned liil*''^
pi-iBc and regret to an old man of the mountains reapecting the puaaSf if
rrcrnita for liia Mrpa in places once fiunoui for fecundity. "Ah,"**"'
Hiiathctombie^" quoth the ancient, "ye sec it'a just tho change ia l^
naiuTfl of the beaut. If yc go up Glengarry and OleDgwicl, and too^
by Sirathciurn, yeHl find i^cruiia at many na ever, but they Itate all p*
boms on their heads." 'J'hei-c itt iio uw, wc nrc told, in a maudlin sefld-
nicntnlism on lliese matters. Races aa brave as the old Collio popuhtioi*
of ilie Higbinnils hare died out thns. Kroigration is the Roognin^
remedy of the miserable Sangnidos of the new Achool of polHl'*'
medicine-men, who can't deal with a full pulse and charged dreuli>»0
I
Mcept by TMoatwe to depletion. Not n Joiiljt about it, bnt Sftwoey
Beam's great-gnadson who u running fur ^ Hcnator&Iiip in Iowa, or
Glenraiti'e gra&daon wlio i« n mcTubcr of council ta Quccoslanii, la mucli
belter off than il' he were living in Eetl!i>d hiimnrjiti(-a in ttie finest
neoery in the irarld, or vrcrc Icudins dhuiiiowa.'UK.'Iii to the sack of Tul-
lochgorum. So far of the man hiuiHoIf. But as to the nation frotn
which he aune, what? AOniit that it was not good for Sawney Boan
to be forced to eat hunuo mutton or bMf, whatever tlic pachydermtitous
moat may have been — conaeda that it wan wrong in Glennun to have
A ieud wilfa Strath crombic — wo atill must feel that Sawiivy Bean anil
Gl«aruin would hare been mnro effective and forcible fighturs against lie
greftt Gaul or Samuel of the U.S. than the large&t flock of sheep and the
beat bend now to be found Bouth of Joha of Groat's. And ea — heri! 1 feU
my elbow ntidged, nnd turning my head townrdii Angus eaw tlial hia eyea
were fixed right befuie him and turned slightly upimrds, whilat the rifle
was alid gently tlirougb the heather to my right huud. I luokud fonritrd
•nd tbcro — atanding upright, with horns slightly throivn back, ears erect,
dlUled Doiitril soiihsg upwards, foro legn act stiilly together and huge body
iwn on the miuuuve bannchci r<!Ady for a bound, whtUt the hinda
,ped and grunted In die heath'Cr^atood the object of nl! tny toib.
* Aim low I " whisi^red Angus, as I unstopped (he hammer. How llio buad
ra the rifle barrel roee and fcIJ, now bounding as it aeetned into tlie air,
now sinking bdow the whitieb ILoe beneath the Btog^ shoulders! Aud
bow long Uie second «ccm.ed crc the thin smoke clinging to the heather
ffu swept back on my fuce I My eyes wero blinded with the hmvy
Aropa which rolled off my brow* and as I started to my feet I caught
U tbrocigb a driving rain thu forniif of the deer bounding, leaping, flying
ever up the bill. A deep dtnpitir chill<rcl ih<? thrubbinga of my heart.
"Ttb misaed after nil I" '■ Missed 1'' ctuoth Angu*, who waa ruaniag
toward the little hiilouk on wltich tlie stag hitd been ulanding. " An*
if ye call that miaiing, I'd leek to see ye lutting. I heiud the bullet
Urike Iiiin, on' be'n not fur oil'.'' In onotlK'T minute I stood over the
dying slag, Angus stripping off lu» cc«i and baring hit brawny arm,
Ud hii knife in the grass, uud staudiag across "ta pecst," hEUidcd me
> gujglc of Gleiidivnt. "An* iolcet 'twas a goot shot. An' it's a fino
pNO, petter than I tlioet. It 'ill bo nearer eighteen than sefTcuteen
llooF. An' a royal heed too."
Uarrah for deer-slaUting ! Htirrab for llie forest 1
And yet I tvii like a cowardly niieaking murderer as I lunibercJ
down ihe hill-Bde, whilst by my hceht puffed the pony carrying tlw dead
itrt which kqit nodding bis head at every atep, and sl:iring at me with
hit dull, wide ojwn eye. "An' inttTt "iwaa a goot nhot," said Angiia,
l^in. " An' I always feci a* plcnscd as if 1 had five pound when a teer
k killed so w«el as that." It was all the man had a care or thought for.
I would bare given much more not to have killed it at all.
16— »
81G
a
n
u
g
L
A
SI
ai
II
UE time waa nino o'clock la
ilio nioiniog. The place w»
:t privnta room in on« of tlw
flil-fitaliioiicd inns, nbicL rtilt
Tciiiitiii oil tlic Borough ddc of
the TlianiEa. Tho duio iriis
iMcndny, tbc lUh of AVigaKt.
And ths person v:i» Mr. Baah>
wpoil, vtlio liaJ tnivcllcd lo
I^udon on a Bummona (nmi
liis Don, and had taken up hia
abode At Oi« inn, oa tlie pre*
\iot»i day.
I^i- hail never yet looleilBD -
pitiably old and helpleaa u bO'
lookcdnow. TliqfereruidchUI
of alltmnling hope ncd dcipuri
hnd drifd and ivithcred and
w.islcd him. The angles of liii
ligwre Imdsharpontd. Tbeont-
Hne of his face had slirunk. Bit
djvss pointed (Ii>o iui!lftaelx>lj
cliungein liim, wilh a meroiUit-,
and slioulting emphasis. Never, even in hisyouth, lind he worn sudt <
as he voTi now. Witii tb« desp(^rivt« resolution to kavo no e}ifincfl
of producing an impresiiion on MiiHGwilt, lie had cast aside his dreary bbdl
ganncnla ; ho had gtcu niuBtoroil the courage to wear hia bluo satis crsTsb
Hiaccnt wew a riding co»t of light groy. lie hod ordircd it, with ariitdictin
Buhtlrty of piirposv, to be niadu on the pattern of » conl thai he had MCa
Allan wear. His waistcoat was nltice^ his troiuers were of tho giyM*
aninnicr [lutKrn, in the hirg«8C check. Ilia wig wui oilvd and BCtnMd,
and bninlicd round, on either Ktd», to hide the wrinkle* oit bis leaiploi'
He was an olgect to laugh at — he wjta an object to weep OTcr. Hii
eaemie*, if ■% cnatute so tvretchcd iKiuld have bad enemieH, voald lave
a
a
V
e
I.
n
A
BI
BI
11
DIG
■>■ *■
C' ■
"V
*.
ARMADALE.
S17
ktKtttt him, on •cuing liiro in hi* new Sm: Ilje frienJa — IhkI nny of
'I'iilxWD left — woiiM itnxv Imvo Ii*w itiMircstiod if thoy liad looked
I iQ bis oofiiii, tliAU ir Oic^' had lonkcd «t him m he wan now.
iiHwatly raulcsx, he pacod thc> room from diul (o end. Now be looked
M liU wMch ; now hv looked oat of window ; now ha looked st the vell-
fiinahcd breftk&at-tnble — oIwdti wilti lh« mino wistful uncuy Inquiry
Is lii» eytB. The vrailer caoiiag in, witli (he tirn of hoiling wMi^r, vna
tiinmoi for the fifiictb tioic in the one torni of words whidi tlw
laiwfiito ctflnluro MOincd to tc cap«b!« of ottering lliiit nwruing,—
" Mt »3a ia coming to breakbut. My son i« Tcry particular. I want
ntrytfiiDg of ibo beat — hot thinj^, and cold things — and ten luid coflcc—
ud kH tin ntt of it, wiiilor ; nil Uic n-iA of it." Kor the liftieiK time, he
Mir tvileral«d ihoac anxious words. For the fiftieth lime, the iropcoe-
biUe wwlcr Uul jusL returned his 0B« pacifying oanwer, — " All right,
«; you may leave ii 1o me" — when the sound of leiuirely foot«iopi
*« licord on the (lain ; the door opcacd ; and the long-expected son
Muntetvd indolently into the room, with a neat little blacb-lMthcr bag in
his bad.
"Well (lone, old gentlcnum I " said Dashwood the jouoger, surveying
^iilitlwr's drcaa with a smile ofBardunic enconrsgemeut. ■' You're ready
to "bt mnn'ied to Mm Gvilt nt a ntomeuca notice ! "
Tlie &th«r took the son's hand, and tried to echo the aoa's laugh.
" Tou have such good vpriu, Jcinmy," Im Knid, using the name in its
lilniliar form, as he bad b«en aconstimed to ose it, in hnppter ihiys.
" Toa alwayi lad good rpirita, my dear, froiu & ebild. Come and tit
itmn; I've ordered you a nice breakfast. Ererything of (he betitl
VTciytliing of tli« beet I What a relief it is to ace you ! Oh, dear, drar,
*That a relief it is to wo you." He tilopp«<d mtd sat down at tho lablc—
bis face lltislwd with the ctton to control the impatience that waa
damttring him. " Tell uie about her ! " he burst out, giring up tho
«flbn with a sudden self- abamlonm rat. " E shall die, Jvmniy, if I wait
tor it any longer. Tell mc I tell me ! tell me I "
" One thing at a time,** said Basbwood the youn^, perfectly tuunoved
by hta faihfr'M impatience. " We'll try the breakfast first, and come to
the laJy aAerwards 7 Gently dots it, old gcDtlcmao— gently do«> it ! "
lie pal his leaihur bag on » eliair, and ne down o[^ioMle to his father,
eonpoaod, and smiling, and bninnuflg a little tune.
No ordinary obaemttioo, applying the ordinary rules of aealyns,
would have detected the ehnracter of Baahwood the yoimger iti hi§ Giov.
His youihlhl look, aided by his light hair, and hia plump l>eardleS8
cfaecbi ; his easy manner, and hia ever rcndy smile ; his eyes whioli met
BBshrinklfigly the eyes erf erery one whom he addressed, all combined to
mite th' ''II of him a fiivourablu impressioD in tho general mind.
Ko eye i -.i charaeler, but sueli lui eye as beloDgB to one person,
peTlia[cs in (vn ihoufond, could Imvc pcuctnxtcd ihc smooth ly-dccepliro
mitUex pr tbii man, and have soon him for what he really wiu — tho rile
creature whom thn Titer netA of Society luu &shioD^ for iu own naa.
There he Rat — the ConfidentUl Spy of modeni times, vrhoM busncH it
ateadil; calarging, who«c Privnlt lDquit>- OtEoes (ire Bieodily mi t&e
locrram. There h« ut — ths necettsarjr Detective attendant on the pro-
grew of oor luCionnl civilixatioii ; a mnn who wan in tliia inatuioe at leut|*
the legitiaata ttnd intelligible prodoct of the vocation that employed him ;
a maa profeuioDally ready oQ the merest siiepicion (if th« merest suspidca
paid hioo) to jiet under our hvdt, and to look through gimlet-bolea ia oltr
(ioorH ; K mna wIlo would have been uxelem to bia cmphiyen if h« eonU
huvc frit a touch of human ajmpatliy ia his fiulier'a preseaco ; oad wIm
would have dcsoivodly forfeited hia mliiAtion, if, under nny circuinstnneHi
wliuCevcr, hu liaJ hoen jHintoiially acceuuble tc & iwtue of pity or * acax
of abaine.
"Genlly does it, old -geDtlemnn," he repeated, lifting the covers froai
the dishcH, nod luoking uitdcr them one after the other all jouod tht
Ubie. " Gently doM it 1"
" Dod'l be angry with me, Jemmy," pleaded hJa ftdier. " Try, if job
cnn, to think how anxioua I must be. I got your Ivllcr as long ago W
yesterday morning. I have hnd to travel all the way from Tborpf-
Ambroac, — I hitvc luid lo gel through tiiQ drcndful long trx'enitig, and
ihe druiidful long night — with your letter telling me lliRt you had found
out who she ik, sad telling mo noiliiag more. Suspense ia very baid to
bear, Jemmy, wh«a you oointi to my sge. What was it prevented you«
ray dear, from crmiog to me when I got horu yesterday evening t "
" A little dioQcr at Kiuhaioud," Niid liuah wood the yoimger. *' Giv<9
me 8omo ten."
Mr. Banhwoud tried to coni]>!y with the request; but the hand witte
which he lilled the tcApot trembled so unmanageably tliat the (ca
tbe ctip and 8ltt.'3iiii'd out on the doth. " I'm very sony ; 1 can't
trembling when I'm unxioun," said the old iniiu,iis his son took the
out of bin hiuid. "I'm afraid you bear me malice, Jcmroy, for wfaits-
tiapponod when T was Inst in tovn. I own I waa obstioaie nad tm"
reasonable aUoui going back to Thorpe-Ambrose. I'm more acDsible
now. You wi?re quite right in taking it ail on yoursi^lf, as toon as
I i^iowdd yoiL the vt-ilcd lady, when we saw her comu out of the hotel;
and you were quite right to send me back Uic stuoe day io my busineaa in
the ateward'a oflico at the Ureat Ilouse." ITe watched the effect of ikess
concessionB on bia son, and ventured doubtfully on another enlnyity, " If
you won't toll mc anything else just yet,"' he »id, faintly, " Tvill you tell
tnc how you found her out ? Do, Jemmy,— do I "
BathwDod the younger looked up fvoni bin plate. " I'll tell you thatt"
he Boid. "The rvckoning np of 3[iss Gwilt has cost mere money and
taken more time than I expected : and the sooner we ceuie to a MtttlemCBt
about it, the sooner wo shall got to whM you waat to know."
"Without a word of expostulation, the fnther laid his dii^;y old pocket>
book nnd bis [nine on the tiibic before tbc eon. Baahwood the younger
J
ARUADALB. 819
Iool!«d )D*o tlM potM ! fibaerr<>d, yriHi a (wntemptooiu deration of the
cjcbiows, (liat it held no more i}].*)!! .1 KvTcr«igit and some ititT«r ; ukI
rdurueti it iaUct. Tli« pookvt-book, on bnng opened ii(!Xt, ptovnc] to
eootaia four five-pouod notes. Baabwood iha young'r trKmUVrrod tbroe
of iho notca to liis own keeping ; utd banded the pocket-ljook haok lo liia
Atb«r, with H bow «xprtMir9 of mock gTKtitude, »nd nrw^Uo raipect.
" A tiiounnil tliniikt,'' he luiid. " Some cl' It is Jbr th« p«opIe at our
tiffioe, aad tbe balance ia for uiyaelf. One of the fcnr stupid things, my deai-
tir,lbftt I have done in lli« courso ofmjr life, wan to ivrito von wonl whea
f«a fini coosulkd me, thitt you inigl>t have my senricoA grali*. Aa you
•Wk I hasten to repair the error. An hour or two at odd tiniea, I wiu
nady vnough to give yoii. Rut this buftinees lias taken days, and las got
is the way of otlier ji>bs. 1 told you I coiiIiJn't hn out of pocket by yoa
—I put it in my letter, m plain u «roriI» could say it."
"Yen, yes, Jemmy. I dou't camplaio, my dear, I don't com])!arn.
Kerer mind die money — Icll me how you fimnd bor out."
" BeeJdes,'' pnrsaed SaAwood tho younj^cr, j%roci>edinf; impenetrably
nil hij jiutiticsUon of fainuelf, "I have given you Uie benefit of my
Ofenenco— I'r« done it ebenp^ U irotild Luvo coat duublu tlie moiicy, if
laether man had taken tliia in hand. Another man would haf-o kvyt n
nttii on Kfr. Armadslo as well sa Mi» Gwilt, I have saYod you tluil
apKlM. Tea are certain that )fr. Armadale is bent on msrryin^ her.
Tvy good. In tltat case, while we hare cur eye on htr, wo have, for all
"bM purpOHca, got our eye on him. Know where the lady ia, aud you
b>ow that the gcnllomau cun't be fur of)'."
^'Qalla Ime, Jeuniyi But hovwnsit Mia Gwilt osme to give yoa
• much Uoublc t "
•* She's a dcviliili clerer woman," aatil Bft«liHOo<1 the younger ; *' that's
"^"r it yiM, 81>Q gate us the slip at n loilliner'a aliop. 5\'e made it all
'ight with the uiUloer, aitd speculalrKl on the chance or hor coming baek
*^ try on a gown she had ordered. The clerervat women lose the use of
™*ir wits ia nine cmca out of ten, where lltere'a a new dn*a in the caie —
^^ mva IkliAt Gwilt was rssli enough to go back. That was all w«
^Anteil. On* of tlie women JVom our office helped to try on her new
W^t and put ber in the right position lo be seen by one of our men
Wiind the door. Us instantly *ui>pecteil who she wa«, on the etren^ of
^^ ba bad been (old of iivr — Ibr vhu's a famous womnn in her way. Of
Tqinc, we didn't trii»t to that. Wo trneed ht-r to hw new address ; and
%tgDt a man ft'om Scotland Vnrdi who wm orrlniii to know ber, if our
ovb nan's idea was the right one. The man from Scotland Yard turned
htiUiAvr'a lad for the oecasioii, and took her gown home. He saw her in
Ipa— fir, nnil identified her in mi iiifetaiit. You're in luck, I can tell you.
Owilt'l A pnblie character. If we had had a less notorious woman
to dsa) with, the might tiave cost us weeks cf inquiry, and ynu might have
Iwl to pay hundreds of pounda. A day did it in Miss Gwill's cMOg
Ud another day put the whole etory of lier life, iu black and white,
I
into my liandn. Tlicpe it w J)t the present momcnl, oU geotlenuD, In
blnck bog."
Ba»iiwood the fiithcr made utroight for llio bag with eager eyes, axii
outatreCched hand. Budmood rlio ncm took a little key out ot hu WMstocMt
pocJtet — winked — ebook bit Ii«a*3 — and put the koy back ofrain,
"I hnr'n't dono brenkrast yel," he said. "Gtntly dvea It, my d«ir
sir — gi'nlly doe* iL"
" 1 can't wAitI '' ericd the eld man, utrugg'ling vainly to preurTc liii
sidf-ooalrol. " It's piwl nine ! Ii'i a Ibi-lnif^^it to-day, siuce die irtait to
LoDdon with Mr. Armadulu ! Sbc may bo momod to liim ia a fortnight!
Sb« rany bt? married to liim iLis morning I I cun't wnit 1 I can't wait I"
''There's no knowing whitt you caq di) tiJI you try," rtjoiiicd
Baskwood the younger. "Try; and yeu'U find you ean wait. WbMX
him Wcame of your curiouly ? " he went cm, feeding the fife iiigentooalj
witii H Btk'k at n time. " Why don't you a&k ma wknt I m«ui by calling
MiM CJwiil n public clmractcr? Why don't you wnndpr how 1 came to l^
my hand on ibe story of her \i(c, in bhck and white? If you'll sit down
agiun, rU tell you. If you vrcm'i, I sball confine myself to my brcakfiwt.''
Ml*- Biuihwoad Btgb«d heavily, nnd went back to bis chair.
" I wish yoa were not »o foud of your joke, Jemmy," ho said; "I
vi«h, my Hmi", yon wore not i^uite lo fond oryour joke."
"JoVaJ" repeated his eon. " It would be serious enough in Home
|)«ople'a «yet)| I can tell you. Miss Gwilt baa been tried for her liJv; and
tha papers in that bluck bag aro the lawyer's inslriictionB for tho Deffncc.
Do you call that ii joke?"
Tho Talbcr si.irted to bia feet, and looked straight acroas the table at
the aon with n smile of cxullation that was terrible to aeo.
" She's been tried for her life I " he buret out, with a deep ga«p oT
MtiaflutiOQ. <■ She's bi'on tried for lier life I" He brokft into n low
prctoged laugh, nnd anapijcd li'is fingcnt cxultingty. " Aha-ha'
Something to frighten Mr. Armadale in that ! "
Scoundrel as be was, the son wa» daunted by tho rxflouon of peal^
pauiou which burst on him in those words.
" Don't oxciii* yniirwlf," he Mid, with a sullen nipprtsaon of ll«
mocking manner lu wliicli be had spoken thus fer.
Mr. Bashwood tat down again, and poMcd his handkcrchiH* orer bts
forehead. " No, " he said, nodding and smiling nt bis son. "No, ho-
bo utoitament, an you aay — I am wait now, Jemmy ; I can wait n«w."
Ho waited with immovrihio patience. At intervals, to nodded, aod
smiled, and whiiipered lo himxrti', " Something to frightm Mr. A;
in that / " But hfl made no further attempt, by word, iot*k, or ai
liurry his sou,
liuahwood tho younger Daisbed bis breakfast slowly, out of nan
hm-vado; lit a cigar, with tlic utmost ddibor;itiou ; looked at h'a failier,
niid, seeing him still as iiniiiovably patient as ever, openod the black bag
nt last, and spread iJkc pajwm on the tabic.
low
dip
" How will yen Jiare it ? " bo oskoJ. " Long w iJiort? T have pjt
h«T whole life here. The comhspI who defended lier at liie trinl was
inatrucU-d lo batainUT iiard xt the BjTnpatliics wf Uie jury : lie weat liead
over cats into the miseries of her jnut caropr, and thoclc«d everybody in
eourt ia the moat workinniilike mnnner. Shnll I take t!ie ume line t
Do yoti want to know all About her, from llic time wbm she waa iu thvtl
frocks and frilled troimn? or do you prefer galting on iit once ta her
first appcaraocc ai n jH-isoncr iii the dock ? "
" I want to know all about her," laid his lather eagerlj-. " TTjc
Torsl, and the best — the ■n-orst, paiticiilarly. Don't uparu my feelings,
Jcmray — whatcvisr you do, doa't iparo my feelings I Cau't I look at the
papcn myself ? "
" No, you can't. Tliey vrould bu nil Greek and Hebrew to you.
Thsnlt your etara that you hare got a ahai-p aon, who can take Die pith
oat ot these papers, and gixc it a mnack of the right llavour in sM!ning it
tfh There are not ten men iu Engluiid who could tcU you this wouiati'n
mrjr aa I can tell it. It's a gift, oUi geQifeman, of the sort thnt ix givpn
1o itry Sen people — and il lodges hero."
H4 lapped his forohead miartly, and Inrncfl to the fir^t pago of tlic
■unaaczipt before him, with an iinconocaled tiiiiriiph iit ihtj pnwpKt of
fxhibiting his owa clereraeas, which wa« tlie firat expression of a geuuiuD
fetSag of any sort t!iat had escaped him yot.
"Miss Gwilt's ttory begins,"" anid BasIiwocKl the younger, "in the
■aarket-place at Thcrpe-Ambroae. One 3a.y, snmetluDg like a. qnnrter of
^oealury ago, a traTellUig quack -doctor, who dealt in j^rrfumcTy aa vrell
■■DHdiciiKB, csmo to tJie Iowa, with his cnrt, and exhibited, as a liviug
Omple of the exoellence of bin waHhea and hur-oils nnd so on, a pretty
Kltl« girl, wilh a beautifiil CBmplexicn and wonderful hnir. Ilia Dame
*>*Olilpr«baw. He bad a vile, who helped hint in the peifumery pait
*f fcis business, and who carried it on by herself nf\cr his death. Shu has
^^n in the world of late years ; nnd she is identical with thnt sly old
''^y who eoipJoyed me profcaaiunally a short time since. Aa for the
l'*^ Bltle girl, you know who elic was as well m 1 do. Whil? the
V^di was baraogiuDg ihc mob, and KLuwbg them ihu child'ii hair, a
)'*Wg lady, driring through Clio luurket-plucv, slopped her carriage to
^X*t what it was all nbout ; mv the tiltle girt ; nnd took u violeut fancy
** ber on tlie spot. The y«ung Udy was the diuughtcr of Mr. Blanchard,
*"l»Mpe-Aiubrc8c. She went home, and inti're»ted her father in tlie
W of the innocent lilUa victim of tlie (juack doctor. The same evening,
'^OUetabaws were sent for to tlie great house, and were qunstioned.
"*fy dtctarcd tbcmsclves to bo her uncle and aunt — a lie, of eoune t. —
•nJ ibojr were quite willing to let her attend iho village achool, while
*^ey ninycd at ITiorpe-Anibrow, when tJic proposal was mado to thorn,
The new Bmngement wn* carrieii out the next day. And the day afWr
thit, tba Oldenhjtwa bad disappeared, and had left the little girl on the
16— i
r
I
I
I
M
TtartaA
8fi8 AKMADALIC
Bqoire's bands ! Sbe evidently hadn't )m*w«n»l m th^y expvA*i in tlie
oipacity of nn advertinnmit — and tliiit vm the •rtny they took df pro-
Tiding for hor for life. There m tlie iirat set oT itio piny for you I CInr
enough, no far, iiin'l it ? "
*' Clear enough, Jemniy, to clever people. But Vta old and alow. I
don't undcnitand one thinju. Wliosc child wna she ? "
"A Tory B^neibie (question. Sony lo infunn yon Uint nobody csn
answer it — Miis Owilt herself included. These Instructions tbat Tm
rtftmng to lire founded, of course, on her own «t«temenl8, ta&ti by
her .iltomey. All (the could rt-member, on being qui?MtioD«], wan, tlitt
aho ynut bcutcn and half itarvcd, toinewhere in the counti^, by a wmwa
who took in children nt nurse. The woman luid a card ■"■■ilh her, sutiiij
thiLt her name va* Lydia Gwilt, and got a yearly oUowancc for Inking
care of her (paid through .-i, Inwycr), till nhe wag oight yoan old. At thst
tlms, the allowane* <tt()p]>od; the lawyer had no expIanatioD to
nobody Oftmc t« look after her ; nobody wrote. Tlio Olderaham
her, nnd thought ihe might nnawer to exhibit; nud iho woman patted,
with her for a triHc to the 01d(M«hawn ; and the Oldenthaws parted with
her for good nnd nil to the Blanobarda, That's the story of her birth,
parentage, and education ! She may be the daughter of a Duke, or tlie
daughter of n costcrmonKer. The circnautucoa tnny be highly lonmntifi,
or utterly ootninonplaci!. Fnney anything you lik»— there's twthing to
stop you. When you've had your fancy oat, any the woid, aad I'll totB
over the leaves snd go on."
" Please lo go on. Jemmy — pleaae to go on."
" The next gUnipae of Mias Gwilt," rcaiuucd Bashwood the younger,
turning over the pnpers, " is a glimpse at a fiuniiy mystery. The desettcil
child was in luclt'a 'way at Inst. She bad token the &ncy of an amiablv
young I&dy with a rich father, and abe wiu petted and made mudi of at-
the grent house, in the character of Misa Bl.'uichard's la.<ti new playthii^.
Not long flilerwarda Mr. Blonchnrd nsd his daughter wciit nbrtod, and.
took the girl wlih them In iJie capacity of Mim Hiaiichard'a little maid.
When thoy canto hack, the daughter had tniirrieil, lUid become » widow,
in the interval ; and the pretty little maid, instead of returning with them
to Til orpi!- Ambrose, turns up suildcnly, nil alone, as a pupil stn school
in Francu. Tlit^rc nhc wiw, nt a firat-rnte ostAhlishnicnt, with her main-
tenance and education ai'cured until she iiinrried iind settled in liSe, on thift ^
understanding, — that «hc never returned lo England. Those wen oUj^^H
fArticulars she could be prevailed on to give the lawyer who drot^H^
liiesH inHtructionH. Sh« declinetl to tny what had happened abroad ; she
declined even, after all the yeara that had panKd, to mention her nustr^'i
married nnme. It's <{uite clear, of course, that nhe wiu in possosHon oT
Bome family secret; nnd that the Blnnchaids paid for her schooling on the
C<»ntinent to keep her out of the wa.y. And it's equally pUio that she
would nerer have kept her secret as elie did, if she had not Ho>ca her wiy lo
IntdiogonitforhcrovmndTautage atsome future time. . A dwer wonMii,
} told yoii ulreacljr t A dovllUli clever womui, who hasn't be*a
knoclicd ibotit in the world, and seen the ups iind downa of life abroad
and at bomc f<>r uoiliiog."
" Tea, yes, Jemmy ; quite true. Itov lang did she rIo]"), pleasf^ at
the school in Fraoco? "
BAHhwood tho youDgor rcfv-rrcd to the pspors.
" She Moppetl at the Frencli ichool," be; r«p}it<d, " till she was seven-
tMD. Al that time, •omttliing happened at the school which I 6nd mildly
dnorit>Gd io tbeAc pnpers at ' somelhing unplooaant.' TIir plain fuct was,
ihal ihe mnsc-masler ulCaclied to the establiflhrneni till in love with Miw
Gwilt, Ho was a »«8pectable middlo-aged man, with a wile and iiiUiily —
ind finding the ciroamiianccft cntir4<Iy i)oj>^I(.-ss, hu ccok u pistol, nnd
lukly aasuniog tJiat he hnd braina iu his head, iricd to blow them out.
The d«^ctofB saved hia life, but not his reaaoa — he etidctl, whore he hnd
btttcr hare begun, in an nsylum. MissGwilt's btauty luiviiig been ai the
lollom of the acaodnl, it was «f courao impostible — though aho wu provml
tokava b««n och^rwiite (jiiite binmclcm in tlio matler — >ror licr lo I'linjiiQ
ittlietchool miliar what lutd happened. Iler ' frii^nil!) ' (the I!knch.tr<l«)
*m ocmmunioated wiih. And her friL'Tuls Irunsferrcd h«r to onolhcr
kbool ; at Dnia»ela, ihU time. What arc you yightng about ? wh.it'«
Wwg DOW 7 ■'
"I ain't hidp fuuliiig n little for t}ie poor munc-master, Jemmy.
Gomi."
"Accordiiig to her own account vf U, dad, Hiss Gwill nccms to have
Ut Iu him too. She tool: a soriooi turn ; and woe ' convortod ' (at they
^ n) by the lady who had cliarfte of hct id the interval lieforu she w(-nt
»£nifi«cU. 'ITie pi-icst at the Belginn nchool appears lo have been a
■■a of some discretion, and to hnvit Mccn tlmt thu girl's letiAibililiea wet's
B*tttng inio a dangtrruiialy rsciL<.-d elittv. JJctuiv lie could quiet her dowa,
**fcll ill, and was enccecded by another prieet, who was a fiiiiutic. You
*ill andcTStand the sort of interest ho t«ok in the girl, and ihe way in
Vaidtt b« worked on her fe«ling>, when I tell you that she anuouuued it aa
"W dwawon, aJWr liaving been nenrty two ywtrs «t iho Mhool, to end her
^yi in a con%'cnt ! You may well Marti ' Minit Gwilt, in the character
*" ■ Ntui, la th« M>rt of fv-maiv phenomenon you don't ofUin set nyes on.
WwiJeu are quetr orcnlurei."
"Did she gv i»t<» the convent ? "' aaked Mr. Bashwoml. " Did tJiey
M Iht go in, ao fritndlcsB and so young, with nobody to adviee her for
"The BInncharda were consulted, as a maltcv cf form," puraoed
Biiiiwood tlM yooDger. " 7'Afy liJid no objection to Iiit chuttjog herself
"P in a coRVCOt, aa you may well imagine. Tlie iileasante-it letter ihcy
('vk^ bvra liCTi I'll answer for it, was che letter in which f^e ool^mnly
McteNnof thorn iu lliis world for ever. The people at the convent
*ire aa caretbl aa usual not to commit themsclvci. Tboir rules wouhln't
tlUv hit to take the veil IJII tlio had tried the life for a year 6rat, and
9S4 AKMADALK
tlien, ir die !ia^ nny doubl, for another jrear afler thnt. Site tried lite life
fcr tho fiwt ymr, aooci-dinglj^nd doubted. She tritd it for the G»ond
j-pnr — nut! wan wise cnoiigli, tij that timo, to give it up without flirllicr
hc-sitntion. Htr [wailtoa was rather wi awlcwrd ouc when she focni
hiTni'if at liberty again. The siBtt-r* iit tin- convfnl had lt>KL ih'^r intereit
in her ; the niistrcs at the nchool declined to take her hack as tcnchcr, cm
thff groQud that eho \nu too nice-Iaoking for the place ; tho prirst cum-
sidered her to bu pcuwJseJ by the devil. There waa' nothing for it hut tc
wriU) to l]ii; rilanchards again, anil a»k thoni to etart her in life aa a tratdxTr
of mimic on her own amount. She wrote to her former mislroseitocordingl^.
Her fortoer mi»trcu had evidently douhurd the genuineness of the giri'a
ie«vlution to bo a aun, and had seised thn opportunity offered "by the
fareirel] letter nf three yenrx wnce to cut off all further coDimaaicntlon
between her ex-wailing maid nnd lier^elf. MIm Gwill'a letter -ma returned
by the post-ofliw. She caused inquiries to bo made ; and foand that
ti\i. ntanchard wns dead, and that his danghier had left the grent htniM
for 80iiie place of rcttrcmctit oiikDown. Tiic next thing abc did, upon
this, was lo write to the heir in posseRsion of the alaU', The letter wai
answered by his inliciiors, who were iiistmcted to put tlie law in foi-ccat
the first ntttmpt slie made to extort money from any member of thu family
at Thorpe- Ambrose. Th« hist chance was to get ut the addreaa of tivr
luiatrcEs's pince of retirement. 'ITie family bankct-s, to whom she wrote,
wroto hoclc to nay that they wore in.structed tiot to give the lady's addrem
to any one upplyi'ig for it, without being previously empowered to doao
by tliu htdy h'^rttvU'. That last letter settled the [{iici>tion- — Minn Gwilt
oould do nothing nir.re. With money at her command, nhn might have
gone to England, and iiui'lc thcBlnnoWds ihink twice Wfore they carried
thing* with too high a Iiantt. Not having a halfpenny nt contmnnd, she
wna helplesR. Without money and without friends, you may wander how
slic supported hcraelf whilu the oorreapondcncc wcia going on. She nip-
ported herself by ptnying the pianoforte nt a low cftncert-rooiu in Drus«cli>
The men laid aioge to her, of course, in all dirt-etioTin — but they found her
inscnsihlc na arlamnnt. One of ihfsc n.ject«<l gentlemen wm n Uumian;
ajid he was the means of making her acqiitiintcd with a oountrywoniaa of
his — whose nacnc ia unpronounceable by English IJpa. Tvet us give her
her title, and call her the Baronet. The two wotnen liked each other
id their f\m ititrnducttnn ; .im) a new secne open<jd in Miaa Gwilt'a lile.
Hhe Iwcanie reader and companion to the liaronesa. Everything was right,
everything waa smooth on the surface. Everything was rotten and every-
thing was wrong, under it.'*
" lu wliat way, Jeuimy 7 PIcaae to wait a little, and tell lue in what
way."
"In this way. The Baioneits waa fond of trav«lling, and ilte h>d
a select Ecl of friooda about her, who were iitite of her war of thiuking.
They went from one city on th« Contiuent to another, and wer< neh
cliurming [jcople that they picked up acituaintances everywhere. Tht
Ki^dunUuicM wore invited to the Baroaesa't rMeptions — And cnrd-tablea
Twe iavaria1)ljr a part uf tie Burouc9s'rt fiirnitiire. Do you »m it now ?
crmnit 1 lell you, in the BtrictcflE confidence, ihat cards wcrt not coii-
iieni nnfal on (Iiese Testire ot'caaioni, and tlint the luck, at the end or xhts
moiofF, tarnftd out to he. nlniMt invariably fln ll»! ildc of thfl Baronens and
WlHeiKh. Swindl«r«, all oftlioiii — nnd there isn't a doubc on my mimr,
whatfTfr thfire may be on y<iur«, tliiit Mim GwHt'a tnannem and sppear-
SE« made ber a raluable member of the soaicty in the capiLoity of a decoy.
Btr cnrn siaMment is, that she was innocent of all knowledge of what reuHy
Ttntca ; that aho traa qnito ignomnt of cnrd-pJaying ; that she hadn't
neb t tiling M « T«sp«ctabla friend to turn to in the world ; nnd th»t eho
bnettly like«l tlip Baroness, for the eimple reason that the BiirontM
•Ma hearty good friend to hev from Jintt to last. Believe tliat or not,
u pa pleaae. Per five years she travelled abont nil over i.ho Continent,
liitL tbese card-sbarpcra in high life, and elie mi(;ht have been nmdng
^m at thin mooaent, for anything I know (o iho c^nirnr)-, if the
Btroneas lad not car.ght a Tartar al Naples, in the shapft of a rich
irmtling Engliahman, named Waldron. Aha! that name startles you,
^ itT You've rend the Trial cf thu Ifimona Mr^ Wnldvnn, like Iht!
nrt of ilie world T And you know who Mias Gwilt in now, without my
WtiCgyon?"
lie paused, and looked at hi« father in sudden perplexity. Far from
Mag oTcrwhclmed by the discovery which had juat burst on him,
Kr. BafiwrMyl, after the first natural movemeot of siuprise, faced hin aon
wbiielf.jiMseRsion which was nothing short cf extraordinary undt^r ihu
BK<imelaDct«. There wsh a new brightncst in hia eyes, and a new colour in
U* &ce. If it hnd Iwen possible to coaceivc sudi a thing of a man ia hia
P^on, he aermed to be absolutely encouraged intdeud of dcprcwed by
■liitbebad just heard. " Go on, Jemmy," ho tiiid, quietly ; " I am ono
rfll* few people who didn't read the Tri;U — I only ht.«rd of it."
Still wondorin);: inwardly, Bwhwood the younger iccovcrad himiclli
■M went on.
" Ton always were, and you always will ha, bthlnd the age," he aaid.
"Vbca WQ come to the Trial, I can toll you as much about iCas you need
loov. In the meantime, we muni go baiil: to the BaroneM and Mr.
fl'aldron. For a certain number cf nights the £ugliii)imau let the card-
■hrptra Iiavc it all their own way, — in otlier word*, he paid for iho
privikg* of inakiiig himself agreeable to MihS Gwilt. When ho thought
Whad produced the neceeeary impreasiDn on her, ho exposed the whole
ttofoderacy without mercy. The police interfered; the Baroni«s found
kndf in prison ; and Miss OwUt was put between the two alternatives of
MoCptbigf Mr. Waldron's protection, or b*ing thrown on tho world again.
8ti« was amaringly virluoua, or amazingly cln'cr, which you plejiw. To
Hr. WaUron's aBlonisbment, eho told lam th.it she could fiiee the proapoet
of boing Pirown on the world ; and that be must addresa her honour-
ably or Imve lier for ever. The end of it was what the end always is,
i
326 ARMADAT.K.
when Ute riad U in&tiuUd nnd tbe woman is det«raun«d. To the di^put
of liki &mil/ and fri«ndi, Mr. Waldroo tnidc « rirtuc of Bcoeuitj, nod
autrricd licr."
" How old WM lie? " asked Buhwood Um tiAug oagerlj.
Buhwood die jrounger bunt oiU Unghing, " He wu libout old enoujli,
daddy, to be /our aon, and ricli enough to bav« bunt tbat ptvcioaa pookct-
book of jroon with tlioiwuid-poand note* t Don't bang your liecd. b
WBKi't a bappy marriage, tbougb be UMuao jroiing and ao rich. Thej tind
lkbro*d, and got on woU coongb at first. He toade a new will, of ooart*,
M toon a« Im wai married, and proridcd basdMin*!/ far his wife, tiadv
tbe tender preasuro of lbs boaeyntoon. Bat women wear out, like olW
tbingi^ with liiDrt ; and onQ.tino morning Mr. Waldron wolea op wilb a
doubt in bis mind whctbcr Ite bad nut acted like a fvol. lie waa an ill-
tempered man; bo tma diwonteoted witb hiiuaelf; and of cooraa b« iMtda
hia wile feel it. Having begun by tjuurelling wilb ber, he got on to Mia-
pKtiag her, and became sarngvlj jealnus of avcry malo creaturi; wbii j
ent«r«d the 1)ou!k>. They had no inoumbrancM in ilio shnpo of vbil^^^H
and ibey iiiovod iVoid ono place to unothcr, just oh liiii jealoutjr ineOliV
bim, till tbey mored back to England nt last, sAcr hKiring beva married
oloie on foiir years. Hu }im\ a. lonely old bouse of bis own anwqg iba
Yorlishiro moora, and liitre lie alint bia wile nnd liiinjt-lf up from •my
living er«niur«, except his un'iLQU and bis dogs. Only one result could
come, of course, of treaiiag a higb-spiiitcd young woman in tliat way. It
nay be fate, or it may be cliaucc — but, wliencrer a woman is dcsperabr,
ihorQ is siiro to Iw n man h.'iiidy to lako ailvuntago of it. TUe rnaa in lUi
OMe waa nttber a ' <ki'k h<3rsi?,' .is ttivy say on lbs turf. He was a certaia
Oaptnia Manual, s nalifo of Cuba, and (acoording to liis own account) an
ut-oSicer in tbe SpiiniMh niivj. He had met Mr. Waldron's beautifnl wiJii
on the join-ney back to Kiigland ; had contrived to speak to ber in sniienf
her huKbiind'ii jitalousy ; and bad followed liar to lier place of inipnwtt*
tnent in Itlr. Wwlilron's bouse on ibe niooriL Tlie captiun ia deao^^l
k» a ck'ver, d<;lermined fallow — of the dating piralioil sort — with thftd^^H
of mystery about him that women like " ^^
"She's not the same as otliar women 1 " interposed Mr. Bnshwood,
Buddnniy jnterrii jjI itig his son. "Wd «!ie ?" His roice iailud
biiii, and he 3iop|)ed withniit bringiog tbe (juesuuii to an end.
*'Did s)ie like the captain?" suggested Uaahwood the younger wilb
anotbor ImiRh. " According to her own account of it, ulie adond bin.
At tha snine time her conduct (oa represented by h<tr«eh') waa periecdy
incoccut. Conaidcring how curefully her 1iusI)hihI watclied her Um
statement (incredible m it appears) is probably true, i-'or aix
so, Ihcy oooiined theoiselvea to corTcqionding privately; the
captain (who spoke und wrote English perfectly,) baving contrived?
Riake H gi)-bt?lwi3eu of one cfthc female surraiits in tlie Torkahire houM.
How it might liave ended we nccdo't trouble ounvWui to inquire
Mr. Waldron bimselT brought msttws to a crisis. Wh«tbn b« got wind
ARMADALE.
of tba dud<atiao contvpondciioQ or noi, doen't appear. Bat thin ia
Mrtaio, tbat Im cuae home from a rida ono day, in • fi«reir lvn)|>or than
ittual^-thiit his wife showed him a sample of thai high spiril of htri
wbifih he had nor«r J^ct bMo able Co break — and that it endvtl in bta
Mriking ber aorow Uie Act wiUi liiti riding-whip. Ungsntleiaimly con-
duct, I am aliaid we niiui admit; but to all outwmxl appearance, the
riding-whip produced the molt antoniidiing rMulta, From thai m^tnenl,
iha lady aulimitled aa ahe had nev«ir tubuiittcd before. For a Ibrlnight
•ftanrards, he did what he Uked ; aod sho never tlmartcd him — hv iaid
what he likod; and iltc nercr uttaird a word of protesl. Some men
■igbl haru auspMtviJ ihia euddeii rt-fornkation of hidiug something dau-
gtKnu under th« aurf&ee. Whethor Mr. \Valdron l<ioki--d at it in thm
light, I can't t«Ii ;oii. All lluit is knotrn is. that before the roarlc of tlio
whip was off hia witv's face, he feJI ill, and that in two dajs al\erwards,
he waa a dead man. What do you aay lo ilml ? "
"I ^y he dceerrcil it I " aunrered Mr. Baflhwood, ntrikinj; hh hand
ttsitcdly on the table, aa hia aon pauwd, and loi>licd at him.
" The doctor who attanded the dying man wna not of your way of
thinkijif," remarked Bathwood the younger, drily. "He callinl in two
■tker madMal men, and they all llirea rt>fuMd to certily the death. Tiia
Mttl li^l inreatJgatioD follovud. The erldencc of the docton and Lite
iridcnea of the strranta pointed irreiialibly in oii« and the same direction ;
nd Ut*. Waldron waa comruitltd for trial, oo tlio cliarge of murdei-ing
W buabaod by poiaon. A aulicitor in fimt-rato oritnioal practice niu
MU for front I^ndon, to gut up the prisoner'! defence — and theee ' In-
Rniatiena' took ihi-ir form and shape accordiDgly. What'a tliP iiiBller 7
WW do yoti want now T "
Suddenly rising from hia cliair, Mr. Rntliwood stretched acroex the
Uilt^ and tried to take llie papent from liia rod. " 1 want t« look at
^m," he bunt out eagerly. " 1 want to Bee what tliey My about the
njCain from Cuba, lie waa at the bottom of it. Jemmy — I'll awear he
*u at the butoin of it T'
"Nebody doubted l]uit, who wax in the aeeret of the ease at Ua time,"
njontd bit son. " But nobody coiiJil prore it. Sit down again, <Ltd,
••4 fionpoaa yonrecif. Titere's nothing h«rc about Captain Uanncl biU
ibi iawyer'a private auqiidoDa of him, for the counael to aot on or not,
M ibe oounacl'a diacxction. From fintt to lout, fibo pcraislcd in acneainff
Ibe captain. At the outMt of thc! buaineaa, die volunteered two atatrmcnla
to the lawyer — loth of which he auapcctod to be falw. In llie firat place,
iba declared that alio was innocent of thc crime, lie wnan't surpnasd, of
ent»e, M far ) hia olienia were, as a general rule, in the habit of deceiving
lun in that way. In the aecond place, while admitling ber privala
rwna|wiiiiil>iirii with tli« Cuban eaplaio, ahe declared tliat Iho IttUn on
both Mdea relaUtl eolely to a propoicd elopement, lo which her hosband'a
bubwotu trcatOHtnt had induced her to conaent. The lawyer naturally
uk\ti to BH tbf leiten. < He bu btinil all my lettera, and I liare burnt
ARXtADAIJK.
all lilf,' wal A» tK&y autver he get. It was quit« possible thai
Muniol might bare burnt her leliers, when he hcud there iraa a oo:
ioquot in the houne. But it ires ia her solicitor's cxpttricnoc (as it is
ic n>7 cxpmence too) that when n iromnti i* Tond of & man, in nincty-
niDC caaca out of a hundred, ligfc or no riik, ahe ke«pt hU letter*. Having
lui suapiciom TouMd in this way, the lawyer priratdynkadeeoueiitquino}
about the foreign cnjitain — and found tliat ho was as short of moaej a> a
foreigQ captain could be. At the nme lime, he put aomc rgucstioDs to hit
eli«nt abont h«r expectation! from her d«c«iu«d huaband. Sh« on-
swtTCsi, in high indigiiAtion, that a will had been found among hvr
huahand's ]'<a]>era, privately csocutcd only a fev daya befora Ma dealli,
and leaving hcruonior?, out of alibis immcnra (bitune, than five tboannd
pounds. '\P3S tht^reui older will, tlivn,' says the lawyer, 'which the sew
viU Rvofced?' Ycf, there wa»; a will that he had given into her own
posscndon; n will made when they were first married. 'Leaving kii
widow well provided for ? ' Lenving her just ten times aa much aa the
second will Ij-ft her. ' Had «h* ever mentioned that first will,
revokril, to Ciipiain ^^anud 1 ^ She uw tlie trap net for her— and
*No, u«Ter 1 * ivitJiout an inttunt's he«ilatioo. That reply cooGrmed ifat
lawyer's suspicions. He tried to frighten her hy declaring that her Ufa
might i«y the forfeit of her deceiving him in this matter. With the
uiual obMinacy of women, she remained just aB immovnble aa ever. The
captnin, on his side, behaved in the most cxcmplarj- manner. He
oonfuaecd lo planning the elopement ; ]ie dcclurod that ho hod burnt all
the lady's Utterf na ih«y rewshed hira, out of regard for Iht repntatioii;
he remained in the neighbourhood ; and ha volunteered to nttend before
the magistrates. Nolliiiig was diiicorercd that could lec^aily conOMt him
with thfl crime — or tlint could i>iit hira into court on the day of the Trial,
in anyothcrcapacity than the capacity of a witaeas. I don't bclicre niyaslf
ihat there's any moral doubt (us they call it) that Itlannel knew of thi
which left her inislrcw cf fifry l^«ll^nnd jKrunds ; and that lie was
nnd willing] in virtue of ilmt circumslanco, to mniTy her on Mr. Waldixng^
death. If anybody tempted her lo effect lier own rvleate from her
huabsnd by making hcrulf a widow, the captain must liare bc«a the nue.
And unk'SK «bc coiilriveil, guarded and watched as slic w&<t, to f^ ihe
poison for herseir, liie poiaon njust liavc conic to her in one of the
captain's leltera."
"I don't believe she used it, if it did come to her!" ezsMnwd
Mr. Dashwood. "1 believe it wot tho captain himaclf who poisoned
her hii«b!Lnd! "
BoBhwtiod tlie younger, without noticing the interruption, folded np lfc«
InetruetionB for the Defence, wliioh iiaii now nerved their purpose; put
them baclc in his hag; and produced it printed pnm]>hlet in tJieir plaee.
" Here ia one of the publiiihcd Keporia of the Triiil," he said, " whlcb
you can read at your loifldre, if you like. We needn't wa«t« time now by
going into details. I have told you nlrtuidy bow cleverly ]i«r ooobmI
AMfADAtE.
.Tcd Ilia vay l<>r treating tLc cbar^gc of murdoTt ■• Um crowning
ity of tlie many iliAt bad ulreiidy GiIIcd on ux Innocent woinuii.
be two legal points relied ou for tJie ddV-nce (aA«r tlib prtJiiiiiiiHrj
)w*r«: — First, iitoX ifcere wm n* cvidenco to cflanocl lier with
ion of poisun ; and, fccundly, thiit tli« lULxlicnt Ritnetaes,
[)>v1iilc poeitirclj dcoliuing tluit her hvubnti'd lind diud by poison, difTort;!]
jn their cuiclUBions us to the pnrticulnr drug that had kllkd hitn. Both
goo«I ptNiita, oBtl botli well worked ; but the evidence on the other taiia
ion down everything befora it. TJie prisoaer waa proved to have hud
so has tLaii thra« excellent retuons (oi killing her hiubiind. He had
treated her with Klmont unexampled hArbarity ; he hnd icCt bvt in a will
(narcroked so fiir u >he knev) mintrcu of n forlune on hit tlonth ; and
ilic was by lier ovm confesaion contemphiting an elopement with another
BHUt. Hsviiig Ect ti>rtb llicte motircs, the pri>seculti>Q uext nhowi-d hy
erideaw, which was never once shaken on any single poinl, thnt the onu
pnoR in iho hoaae who could by nny human poRaJbility have adminUtered
the poiwo, was the prisoner at the bur. Wbnt c«iild the judge and jury
de^ vitli Buch evidence before them Ai this ? The verdict was Guilty, lui
ksuKd' of couriie ; and tlie judjiv declared that he a^^ed with it. The
bcule part of tha andience was in hyulcrics ; and the mala p.in waa not
Buch better. Tb« judge subbed, and the Bar ahuddored. She waa
Milaniccd to death in auoh n iceno ns hnd never been previoualy witneascd
a u EttglUh Court of Justice. And the is nlive and hearty nt t)i«
ptMot moment ; free to do any mischief she picaaes, and to poison »l her
**VenUre oonTmicnce, any mao, woman, or child that hiifpcna to stand
in W way. A ucwt interesting wom^in t Keep on good terms ifitb her,
"If dear eir, whatever you do — ior the havr hutt vaid to iier in the plainest
pBiUc Engliah, ' My charming friend, I have no terrors for you /' "
" How w«i nhe pardoned T " aakcd lit. Baahwood breathleaaly. " They
hid toe at tbe lime — but I have forgotten. Was it the Ilome-Socrotary ?
Bit wu^ I respect the flomo-Secrotary I 1 say the Home-Secretary waa
^Wvii^ of his place."
* Qtut« right, old gcntlcnuut I " rejoined Bashweod the yoiing«r. " The
BttnfrSocretnry nna die obedient humble servant of an enljghlen«>d Free
^'*M and he wa« doierving nf his place. la it possible you don't know
Wlbe cheated the gallows f If you don't 1 must tell you. On the
nwugof the Trial, two cr tbrec of the yonng Bnccnnit^nt of Literature
"CM down to two ox three ai.-wBpaper ofEotc, and wrote two or thre«
'xcniending lending sriiclea on the tubjecC of the proceedings in court.
^ bcxt nonting the public caagbt light like tinder ; and the prisoner
*M tried over n^in, before an amateur court of justice, iu tho columns
^fix sewqiopen. All tho people who had no prrsonul experience
'hienr on tlie subject, seized their pens, and rushed (by kind permia-
■■m of the editor) into print. Doctont who had not attended the sick man,
^d trfio bad nof been present at the examinaii^in of the T>ndy, drclarcd
^donu tliat bo bitd died a natitr&l deatlt. Barristers without boaioens,
ARMADALE.
vko hud not h^MA the eTi<!ciiC4>; ntiackod Uia Jniy who had heard .
fudged Hw Jutige, who had mI on tho beDch beibre nme of ibc
bonk Tb« general ptiblin followed tlic lead of Uw bftrriatcta and li
dOOIot^ Rod tlie yoiiti^ BuccsniDra iv)io had set the thing going. Hvtt'
vaa IIm Law tbnt they nil paid to protuct tbrm, actuaJljr doing iu duty in
dmdAil «AniMt I Slibcking I shocking I 'I'ha Britiah Pubtie row lo
prot^il M on« man against the working of ila ova muibiaery ; and tlii
Uome-SixniUry, in » Mnta of detraction, w«et to th« Judge. The Judge
held Arm. He had fuud It waa titm right r«rdkt at tb« lime, taiA he i^
Ml siiil. • But HUppoet," Mj-« iho Hotn^Secrelmy, ' that tlio prrsecotkm
Imd tried eotno other way vf provtikg It&r giulty at th» lri*l than tL« wmj
tbey did try^what would you and the jury have doue ihea 1 ' Of
courac It was (|aile impatniU* 1«t ibo Judge to >aj. This oomioried ikt
Home- Secretary, to tiogin with. And, whoa he got the Jiidge^s eoMNM,
afler thnt, tu hjtving the cotLtlict of medical evidence submitted lo ow
great doutor; auJ «h(^ the one great doctor took the meroiful viev,
afler expressly eUtiog, in the lirst inetanoe, that he knew twlhiog pras.
tically of the mcfilfl of the am.', the Kome-SccrctBry was porfteltjr
aAtisHcJ. The priionct-'a deatii-WBtvant went into Hm waat*.pepttr biskn;
tbe verdict of the Law vas rsTersed by general aochuiiiition ; tad tht
verdict of llie newspapers carried tlie day. But the beet of it is Itf coav.
You know what Imppened vihvn the jiovplfl found themiclTea with iht
pe>t object of ihi'ir trympothy suddenly OMHt loose on their hands' A
general impression prevoikd directly that she waanot quite inimcenticaoag^
after all, to be l«t out of priMn then and tliera 1 Punish bur a liHle—
that was tlio sinU: of (he populiu- feeling — punish her a littJc, Mr. HoiM-
Secretary, on general moral gronnds. A ftinall codtm of genda 1^
medicine, if you love us — aud then we i^ttiil feel perli^'ctly ea^ «a *•
subject ti> the end of our days."
" Dou't joke about it)'" cried his father. <' Uon't, deti't, i»'t,
Jemmy I Did Uie}- try lier again? They couldn't I they don's^l
Nohody can be tried twice over for the same effraec."
*' Pooh 1 pooh ! she eould be tried a secotkd tiiu« for a seeond eADMr'
retorted fiashwoud the youn^ci — "aud tried she was. Luckily fcr lb*
paeificalion of the puhliu oiiiKl, »he hnd ru&lied headlong into rndrtaiT*fl
htn* own gricvsiicGs (ut womt-n wilt), when tdio diacorcred that bar hub*'
liod cut h^r down from a I^acy of Rdy llioii»&nd pounds lo a kgsCf ^
Gve thoitKanil, by a atroLe of }m pen. The day before the Inqntil ■
locked drawer in iix. Waldron'a drcn»ing-roam luble, which cotiiained W
viduatilo jcwtllvry, was dtjuovi-ivd lo hAve been opened and emptied
itiid whirn thii jiriaotier vaa ooniinitb.tl by tho magislrates, the pneiwi
ilcmes vten fuund torn out of Iheir settings, and sewn tip in lirr itsH
The lady considered it a case of justifiable self- coDiprnsai ion. The l"
dcclttfcd it to be a robbery comnuttcd on the executors of lh« dead bup-
The lighter offimce — which had i>een ]taMc*l over, wbea juch a charge s*
luuidcr was brought agiunst her — was just the lliitig to rcTiTO, lo oyt
AnBUDALt:.
331
■ppwrmnoM lu iba tym of tlio public. 'Xliejr bail napped tho eaane of
jiMiuv, la Uw oue of tlie pruonw, at obo trial ; and now all they vnnted
waa to «at itw «oiinKt of jukli«« going nf^in, in ih« casQ of (ho pritoner, al
■ndber 1 Bbu was nmigiKil fur (lio robliCTT', nfU-r having been piirdon«d
far (k* mvdtr. Atid, what ia worv, if lier liratitj and hor miMTortinin
hadn't natla • vtro^g impKanon an Ivor Iniryer, abe wooM not on!^ faaw
had lo nud anolher irul, but would bnTs bad even the fire tliouauid
pooiidl, to vhich «h« wiu cotitM by llic secoixj will, taken awar Irom
bar, «■ a ftloD, b/ lh« Orown^"
" I nofieot bar I*W7tT I I admire )wr lawj*r ! " trzoUintcd Mr.
Bm]ih^«(I. "I vhould iikq to Uik« hit IikwI, ond lell him »<>■"
"IlewoiiMa't thank yon, if you did," ranarliod B«ihwoDd the yoonger.
'*Bi! ia under a comfortable impreaaion tint nobody Itnowa how he nred
Mr*, Wftldron'i legacy for h«r but himaetT,"
"T be^ your pardon. Jnnmy," interposed his father. " But don't oall
bcr Mn. Waldroa. Sjwak of licr, plcoM, bj Iwr naaw w1i«n ahc was
iMMwent and voung, nud a girl at whool. Would yoa mind, for ny sak«,
aJOin^ bar Miu Cwili 7 "
*• Sot I ! Il tnakea no difiVrence to m« what aam* 1 jrir* bar. Bolbw
yoar KmUiDent I let'a get on with the fltcO. Tbia I< wlut tlie lawyer dkd
bcfinr thf soeoud trial came off. Ho told her ahc wonld be finiD4
guilty rt^(ii>i, to A dcAd ccrtAinly. ■ And thi« time,' Im; said, ' the pntdia
wiU lal the law lake Ju oonrtn. Ifuve you got an old Aiend whom
jonoBlnutr' Hhe h.tda't such a thing aa an old friend in the world.
•V - ': ■ ' wiya the lawyer, *yoii nitirt Irmt me. Sign lliia («f«r;
aiii ' lixcculcd a firlitioiui dalr uf iill jour projierty lo myMlf.
Wbea tlie ngblumecotni-s, I diull (ir«lc:ircfully actlle with jonrhusliand'a
cst«valon ; nod 1 shall then re-oonvey tb« money Ui yon, acouring iC
properly (in oaao you erar nmrry again) in your own pooaestitoD. Tho
Cniwn, in other irnnsncliiMin of lliia k!n<}, fpoquontlj vairoa its right of
di>|NitiRg the vaUil'ity of the mile— and if tie Crown i* no bardtr on you
tbia on other people, when you Mtne out of priton you nlll liav« your
fivathaowid pounds lo btj;in tho world with agnin.* — Neatof tha lawyer,
wbcn rit* wu going ■« !>* tned for robhing the exoculon, lo pat her up to
a wfey of robbing tb« Crown, waan't it 7 Hal hnl whitt n worM it i* !"
Tba laai cffbrt ef the eon^ iaroaam pH«ed unhoifdvd by tli* fatlier.
" In ptiaon [ " he aaid to bin»elf. " Oh mc, aOcr all that mtaury, in
fctaui again I "
*' Yea," aaid Bjuliwood the younger, rising and atreMliing himself,
** lkai*« hcin it cntU-d. The verdict was GniUy ; and th« Knt«ace wu
impnaonmcnt for two years. Site acrrvd her time ; and oaoio out, aa w»]l
>a I can ivckon h, about threo yeara iiucc. If you want to know what
•ho dill when ah* roconnd her lilxrir, and how aho want on ftAcrwardSf
I nay be able lo taO yon aomeiliing aboat it — eay, on another oooaaion,
when yoo liavo got an Mtra nul« or two in jour poekot-book. For the
now. There ia'i lh« shadow of a
pnaaat.
you
, you
ARMADALE.
r
r
Ittubt tkat tliis laMuMttiig LJy Una thu double slur on her, of having '
fbnnd guilty of murder, «ad ot baritig sen-ed her term of imprisonment i
theft. Ttirre'a your moDcyavrortb for your money — with the whole of i
wondcrftil knsck nt ctating a ease e!«arly, thrown in for nothing. If yo
have any gralitudQ in you, yon ought lo do tonwlhing hsnilMiiie, oati i
thees dnys, for your eon. But for me, I'll lell you what you would hare
done, old gvnllvmiui. If you cuuld have had your own vny, yoo vroiUd
hnve inarriud M'ub Gwilt."
Mr. Baahwood rose to his feet ; and looked hit un ste*dity in the Ace
'• If I could hare my own way," he niA, " I wonld marry lier now."
Suhwood tlic youiigvr sUitvd bock n tlcp. " AAvt «U I bave toll ]
you 7 " lie aaked, in tlie blankest utonishment.
" AdcT all you have told me."
" With the chance of being poisoned, the first lime you ha[^encd lej
ofiend her?"
" With the chiuicc of bung pMooofd," answtscd Mr. BuLwood, "n
four- and- twenty houm."
The Spy of the PriTato Inquiry Office dropped back into hiscliuri
cowed by his fittlicr'a words and his father's look*.
" Mud I " he nid to himself. " Suurk mad, by jingo ! "
Mr. Biuthwood looked at hid watch, and hurriedly look bis hat r;TOi ».'
rade- table.
" I Hhould like to hcMr the rest of it," he said. " I should like to hnr
every word ycu have to tell mc about her, tA the rery last. But thettiM,
the dreadiUI, giillaping linie, i* getting on. For all I know, thoy aaj In
on their way to bo mtirricd at thin very moraont."
" What nro you going to do 7 " aiked Bnshwood ths yooBger, geUini
between h'u fiilher .iu4 the door."
"I Jim going to the hotel," said the old man, trying to pMahim. "1
am going to see Mr. Armadale."
"What for?"
" To tell liim evetylhing yna have told me." Ue pauoed after miliag
that reply. The terrible tmilc of triumph which had onoe iIccmI;
appeared on his fnce, overspread it again. "Air. Armadale is yeuDSi
Mr. Armnthiic hna all liia life before him," he whi-'>poreJ cuniungly, viih
his trembling lingera clutciiing h.is son's arm. " What doem't fri|)iua
me wit! frighten him ! "
" W-iit a minute," said Buhwood tliu younger. " Are jou as oertiM
ns ever that Mr. Armadale it the man 7 "
" What man 7 "
" The man who is going to marry her."
" Yes I yes ! yts ] Let mo go, Jemmy — let me go."
The Spy set his bnck against the door, and considered fut a :
Mr. ArmadaUu wnei rich. Mr. Atnuidule (if he vea» not stark mad, Im)
might be miiiic to put the right money-value on iolbmiaiion that saved
him from the di«grucc of aiariying Mica Gwilti " It may be a buotlR^
ABlUnAX.B.
833
poond* IB tny pockety if I vork it tnyuir," Oioiigla Bajtlitvoncl th(> yaungcr.
** Ad>1 it mca'i b« ft )i«lf[)eiiDj if [ Icnvc it to 1117 fiillicr." Uc took up
1^ hnl, aod hU katltcr bug. " Can you carry it aU in your own addled
•3d bfad , daddy t " be aaked, 'with his eaaeU impudence of manner. *■ Kot
JOB 1 I'll go with you, and belp yoOi What do yoo tliink of tliac ? "
Tlic &tl)er ihreir htA nrm* ia xa ecatuy rmnd the ton't dccIc. " I can't
bijp it, Jcnuny," bv said, id broken tone*. " You nro bo good to me. Take
tiie olbv twt«, tny dwr — FU manage witliout it — iokv tbv other note."
Tbe BOD tlirew op«o the door with a tloumh ; and inngiumimoaily
tnnted hia bade on the father's ofTered pocket-book. "Hnng it, old
ItaUfiUiaD, Tm not 'joiUi to nierocDAry aa that I " he said, with on appeor-
aoM of the dm^eti leeling. " Put up your pockM-book, and let's be off.
— If I took my respected fArent'a last live-pound oote," he thought to
hitnsei^ oa he led the way downstairs, " how do I know he mightn't «ty
balr«a wImq he wea tbe colour of Mr. Armadnle's money ? — Come along,
dad 1 " be ruamcd. " W«'U take a csh nod oAok the h^py bridegroom
bdne ho ataru for the ehurch I "
They bailed a cab in the etrMt, and started for the hotel which had
beea tbe residence of Midwinter and Allaa during their stay in Lcndou.
Ths ixHloat the door of the Tchtclo hod dcecd, Mr. Buhwood returned lo
die Hibjcct of Min Gwilt.
"Teil me the lest," he said, taking hit ton's hand, and patting it
tisdtriy. " Ix't's go on talking about her all the way to the hotel. Help
■w ihroogh tbe time, Jenuny — help me ibrongh the timo."
Boihwood tbe younger waa in high spirits at ihv protpcct of aeeiog
the eoloar of Kir. Anondalo'i mosey. 11« trifled with ba iitther'a aoxii-tj
lu the rery Lul.
** Lei't ae« if you r«ineml>er what I've told you already," be begoiit
* There's a diancter in the Blory that's dropped out of it without being
Koonated fcr. Come ! can you tell me who it it 7"
Be bad reckoned on finding his father unable to answer the question,
fin Ur. Baaliwood'a niemnry, for anytliing Uial nJatvd to Mini Gwilt,
TO u dear and rvody u bis son 'a. " The foircign tooundrcl who temjited
her, and let her scr««D him at the rick of her own life," ho said, without
•n batant'H IttTUtaliun. " Don't spnik of biin, Jemmy, don't h^csA of him
^tia!"
" I tnual Bpeak of bitn," retorted the other. "Ton want to know what
Ucnme of "hUu GwUt, wlMin she got cut of prison, don't you 1 Veiy
good — Tm in a )>o»ition to t<U you. She becantc Mnt, Alaimd. U'a do
mo staring nt me^ eld gonilcman. 1 know it oSdally. At the lattn
part of butt yntTi a (hraga lady cnmc to our place, with evidence to proie
thai aha bad boea Uwlblly married to Caplaiu Manuel, at a twrmer period
of bi> earoer, whvn be had vitited England fhr tbe first timo. She bad
only lately discovered tliul he had I>e«n in this MOBtry again ; and Kite
iul luooa to b«li<nr« that he bad morried aaoUifir mmu in Sooilasd,
884
ARUADA1.R.
Oar people wm-e empTojed to tiinli« tlic itceeMaty iaqatriM. Coaijinii
cf du»9 alivvrcd itiat the Ejcotcli marriage— if it was s numa^ at all,
not a Hham — hnd talivn flace Juki nbout the Hmv wh^n Min Gwtit was
free womnn Kguin. And a liltlc TurtlitT inTuttigatioa nhowcd \u that
ftc-(K>nd i\r*. Manuel 'wot no Other ihan th« heroina of the fiimoua crimii
trial — whom we didn't know tlien. but vihota we do know bow, to
iJonLJuJ witli your fnauDBtiag friend, Miu Gnilt."
Mr. Bashwood's licnd ntnk on liis brpmit. Ho dispell hii trembUn;
handt fast la mcIi otlit'r, and waited in ailence to hear (h« rest.
" Cheer up I " ptmued lii« toa. " She waa no more the capMin'* wife
than you are — aod what is morv, the c&ptnin liimielf is out of your
now. Ou'C ti^y day ia December latl, hi gare un tlis alip, and was
to the Cootineat, nobody knew where, lie had spent (he whole of |1
second Mrs. Manuel'a live tliousand pounds, in the time thnt had d
(betWMfl two nod three yoar*) iiincG aiic hitd eonic out of prison — and
wonder wok, wticrii he htul got tlie money to psy LIk travelliag cxpeaaeft
It turned mit tliut lie hud got it from the Moond Mrs. Mtmucl bcfself
Slifl bad filled his empty pockcta ; and th(>re she was, waiting eoafidcUlf
in a miaerable Londchti lodging, to lienr from him and join btm aa Moa u
3ic wa* nnfcly M;ltlwi in fortign porta I WUero bad the got the mooej,
juu may aik iinturally enough? Nobody couJd tell nl the time. )Iy
own iioiiuti ia, iiuw, tliat her Ibnucr miittrca luuet hare b«;en BttU liTicg;!
and that she muKt huve turned her knowledge of ^« Blandiardt' baiij
aecret to pn>filabLe aocouut at tost. Thin is mere goeM-Work of oonnc;
btti there's a circttnistanco that ninkn it likely gaeas-work, to my mind.
Bint hnd an elderly fisnmtci friend lo »pply to at the time, who wsc juE
ibe wDioaii to help her in ferreting out her miatrcae't address. Oin you
gaeta the name of the elderly fi'malc friend ? Not you I Mrs. Oldcnlia)'
uf course t "
Nr. Baahwood suddenly Jookftl op. " Why shuuld nhc go back,"^
iisked, "to the woinau who had dcttirtvd her when she waaa duMT"
'■ I cnn't say," rejoined his son, " unlcta riic went back in this intotW
of fa*r own toagntficent head of hair. The priwn-TOiwon, I Beedo'l l*"
y»u, had made vhort work of it with Mi« Qwilt's love-looks, is enT
K.>u8e of the word — and Mre. Oldcrshaw, I beg to add, is the meat aaiool
wxMiiui in England, tu RdKioror-Geneml of the dilapidated headi u)^
focea of the ft'iualt: nex. Put two and two togctlier; and perhaps jot-"^
agree with me, in tlii» case, that ihey make four."
" Veb, jes ; two and two mttkc four," rfp^iated liis Cither, impatieollv-
*' But I want to know aomirUuDg the. Did nhc hur from liirn agnio'
Did he send for her after he had gone awny to forvign parts 7 "
" Thi^ captain 7 Why, what on earth can you be itiinlting off Huh''
lie apcnt ever}- farthing of her money ? and wasn't be loose on the Ow-
liuenl out of her reach 7 She waited to liear from him, I darc«ay, for st'
pcrHiBtcd in bcUcring in him. Bui I'il lay you any wnger you like, ^*
nercr oaw tho sight of Kit handwriting ag»in. Vft did our bert at ^*
ABHADALE. 335
to open iiar eyea — wo lokd her plftlnly tbst he liud n fint vrilt< lirtiig,
nit J that die hadn't the shiulow of ■ olaim on him. She wouldn't beliere i»,
iLoogb v« met her viiii lli« evidence. Obatinnte, d«Tiliali obiitinAlc. I
dwvw/ At pmilcd for months tag«tliar bebro ttio g«vo itp tlic laot hope
ot cm- nebg him ngun."
iSt. Bnahvood lookMl Midc (inickly tsat of iho cab window. ** When
•onld the turn for reAige Dext f " he inid, not lo hb nao, but to hinuelf.
" Vltat, io hcorca'a nune, oonld aha do ? "
** Judgin;^ by my oxpcri^noe of women," remarked Unsliwood the
younger, orerhenring Iilm, " I should my nho probably tritd to drown
IumUT. Bat tlMt'« only gtWM'Work again — it'a nil gucw-worii nt this p«irt
of Iier stojy. You catch me nt the end uf my rridcnce, dad, wliea you
eamfi to Miu Gwilt'a proceediiigs in the eprin^ and suniDier of the pre»tnl
yvnr. Sho might, or ahe might not, hnvc b&cn dcsperfito viiough to al(ftm]>t
Mticide; and alie might, or ahe might cot, bava bvon at tlie Iwttom of
tho*« inquiriea that I mitJe for Mn. Oldersh&w. I durcsay you'll Me her
ihia moming, and perhapa, if you uae your )nfliieiic«, yo<i niwy be nide to
make Iier 6ni6h hw own Blory ii-ratlf."
Mr. BAahwood, mill looking out of the w.h window, avddeoly laid hia
hand vo hia aon'a arm.
" Hush ! bitth I " ba exchumed, in violont Agitnti«o. " Wc hftre got
then at laM- Oh, Jenuny, Heel how my hcnrC lii^tn ! Ihire ia thi hotel.''
*- Bother yo«r heart," said Biuihwood ihc ywuuger. " Wait here while
isake the inqairiea."
" I'll eocoe with you I " cried his lather. " I can't wait I I tell yon, T
tu'l wail I "
'ibej wvnt into the holi^ togetlior, and aakod for " Mr. Afmarlalii."
The answer, aAer Mime little hutitatiun and delay, was that Mr.
Anhadale had gone away *ix dnys since. A second tvnilcr added, that
Mr, Armadale'* friend — Mr. Midwint«r — had only left that morning.
Vkm had Mr. Armadale gone? Somcnhcrc into the ODtutry. Where
l)td Mr. Miciwinter gotui t Nobody knew.
Ur. Baabwood looked at hia aon in apeechleM arid helplrn dismay.
" StuiT and aonsenae 1 " said Biubwood the younger, pushing hia father
Wk Ktnghly into the eab. "He'a mA enough. "Wo ^all find him ut
Itiis Qwilt'e."
Tito oiil man took his aon'a hand and kiascd it. '> Thank yov, my
"law," ba Mid, fraicAiIly. " Thank you for comforting me."
Tko cah was dnrcn next to the eceond lodging Vrbich Mioa Qwill had
^Wupiad, in tho neighbourhood of Tottenham Court Road.
'■ Stop hiT«," niiid Qw Spy, getting out, and ahntting hid fhther into the
Wk "I iMaa to manage this part of the businen myself,"
He knocked at iho houae door. " I have got a note for Miss Cwilt,"
^ mU, walking into the poaaagv, the moment tho door wna opened.
** Sha'e gpmj" ani»«r»d the eurvaot. ** She went awny laal nighu"
tefawood the jQQDger wiuted no more words with tJie aerrant. Uo
386
AILMADALB.
inBUl«d «aee«uig the miatrces. Tho mistrMt confirmed Uie itniiouD.
or MUs Gwilt's dcporUire on tlie prcriou* evening. Where had idie go
to ! The wonuin couldn't nay. How had slie ]eA ? On foot. At w
hoar ? Between nine fl»d ton. What h&d ehe donv wtlii hor luggage T
had no lo^aj^. Hud a gentleman been to see lier on ihe previoua day 7
Not a aoul, gentJo oi' aimplc, hftd oome to th« hooM to see Mi« GwilL
Tliu fKlliGr't lace, pole and wild, wu looking out of the cab vrindow,
OA lliu (ton descended the hoiU£-fite{>8. "Xaa't thv there, Jenioj?
nBk«d JainUj — " Isn't she there ? "
" Hold jrour tan^e," cried the Spy, with the native coarsenoos of hi
naturv misg to the miHiice at ImU " I'm not ti tJie ead of nij in<|uin<
yet."
He CTOsaed tliQ rood, and entered n co&cc-aliop sitiuitcd vxactly oppasle
the honso ho had jast lod.
In the Ikh nearest tJie window two men were fultlng talking tagethrr
anxiously. M
•'Which of you was on daty yesterdny vrening, between nine aai^
ten o'clock ? " asked Bashwood tha youngi^r, suddenly joining thenii and
putting hJB qneMion in a quick peremptory whii^cr.
" I wai, air," said one of the men, anwiUiagly.
"Did yoa lose tif;ht of tho houso? — Teal I ice you did."
" Only for r miiiuio, sir. An infi-'mal blackguar^l of a soldier oom
4
*' That wil] dc," said Basliwood the younger, " 1 know what lie
soldier did, and who sent him to do it. She haa gireo ua ihe slip affh-
You are the griatetit Asa living. Cunsidcr yourself diamisscd." Witb
those wordH, mid with en oath to cmphsuze them, he left the co6««^^'*
and returned to the cub.
"Sho'a gonOl " cried hi« fethcr. "Oh, Jemmy, Jemmy, Fioeiti'i
your face I" He ffll h^tck irtio liiit own corner of the eab, wiUi a &■■<'
w&ilingcry. "They're married,'^ he moaned to himself; hid hands fiihng
hc.>1]>!emly on hia knei-s ; his hat fulling iinregardod from his hcnd. " Sup
them I" he exclaimed, suddenly routing hiiu»«]f, and eulzing liisitoniQ *
rren2y by the collar of the coat.
" Go back to the hotel," ahouted Dashwood the younger, to tb< »b'
mnn. " Hold yout noino I " he added, turning fiercely on hia father. " '
want to think."
The ramieh of Binoothncaa was all off liim by this time. His [esf*'
VM rooBed. Ilia pride — «Ten such a nmn has his pt^de I — was woiU)^^
ttttil* quick. Twice had he matched biii wltx tigainst a woman's ; vi
twice the woman had balHcd him.
Uo got out, oil reaching the hotel for the second time ; and privattlf
tried the ecnranbi witli the ofTcr of money. The result of tlie experiiaw'
aatieSed him that they had, in tliia iostaQcc, really and truly, do iufonMti"'
10 Bull. Aflei' a nioraont's rellcciion, he itopjH.'d, belbni leaving the holW*
to lak the way to tho porlBh churcbr " The chance tnay be worth tiyinft
i
AUUADALE.
937
be Uiouglit to liinuel^ as he gnre the addrc« to tlifi driver. " Faster I " ho
Oftlled out, looking first at his iratch, and then ni lii.-i fiithpr. " Th« mJnuUiS
aro preciooft tbia fnonuDgr ; and Uie olU one is legiotiiiig to give i»."
It wu trtia^ StUl capable of hearing and of tiadcrstiLndlng, Mr. Bub-
wood WM paai ^waking hy tliis time. He dung with both hands to bii
•oa'a grudging arm, and l<it his hcul fjll hclplv^ly i^n hit »ca's averted
■hooJi^er.
The parish diurcli stood back fi'&iii tlii^ ntrect, proti^ck-il by giiti's and
milingB, and furrowndcd by n space of open grcund. Shaking off hii
fiktbrr'a hold, Banfawoud the j-ounger made straight for the vestry. The
<Jerli, putting Avaj the books, nnJ tlic cl^ik's os^atAat, faangisg up n
nirplice, were ibe only persons in the room when h« i^^ntcrod it, nnd askud
leaTe to took at tlic marriage Register Tor llie da/.
The clerit gmvel; opened the book, and Btood aside irom the dvsk on
vliich it Lay.
The day'i regiitcr compriacd three luarringea aoltmniscd that rnoraing
— and the lirvt tvto KignnturvH on tim pag<>, were " Allim AnnmiiUc" ntid
-LydiaGwiitl"
£ven lite Spy — ignorant as ho waa of the truth ; un»uspicioua as Le
«m of the terrible future eonse<]iienceB to which the act of ihnt morning
might lead — evtn the Spy started, Vfhen his eye first fell on the page- It
was dono ! Come what niiglit of it, it was done now. There, in binek
and white, wiw tha rt^isterud oridifnco of the marriage, which was nt once
ttnith in itMif, and a lie in the conclu^on to which it led 1 There —
Ihroagh tiio fatal timilariiy in llie naraea — there, in Midwint*r'« own aig-
nalure, was the pionf to peraiiade everybody that, not Midwinter, but
Allan, waa the husband of Miss Gwilt I
Buifawood tlie younger closed the book ttnd rvlm-ued it to the clerk.
He descended the vvslry elepa \vilh bin handx thniat doggedly into his
jwekeia, and with a Sfrioua ahook inflicted on hla profcavionni lulf-citteem.
The beadle met him under the church wall. He considired for a
■oment wlitithei it was worth while to spend a ahiliiRg in queetionin;; ilic
Ban, and decided in the aflinnativo. If they could be traced and over-
taken, there might be a chance of seeing the colour of Mr. Armadale's
iDoacy, eren yet.
" How long is it," lie asked, " since tlie fint couple married here this
nomiiig, lef^ the church ? "
" Abont an hour," said the beadle.
** How did ihey go away ? "
TIw bcodlc deferred answering that second tjucMion until be had Hrat
pck«t«d his fee. " You won't trace them from hero, air," he Mid, when
Whad got his aliillieg. " They went away on foot."
" And that is all you know abont it t "
" Thar, nr, ia all I know aboul it."
Left by himself, even the Detective of iho Privale Iixiuiry OfGce
paoacd for n mooient before ho returned to his father at Iho gato, He
Tw- XIII.— Ka 75. 17.
888
ABMADALK.
was rousL-cl from bit UeduUon by the fUtlden iippMmicfi, within Um
church caolosuic, of tha drivvr of Utu Cftb.
*' I'm nfmid the old geatlemnn is going to be Isken ill, ftir," Bntd Ibe man.
BuliwooU llie younger frowned aojp-'dy, and walked back to tlia cab.
At he opened the d&or and Jouked io, his &tbcr lc«n«d tcrward and con-
ftoBl«d him, with lips that moved epeechlt«ely, and with a white stilloecs
over all Um rctt of liis faco.
" Sh«'a done us" eaid the Hpy. " Tliej vero raairtwl hwe thia mormng."
The old man'E body awaysd for n moment from one side to the other.
Tho instant altar, bi« cycacloMd, nud btii bead f«ll fornatd towaids lh« fr«nt
sent of tli« «ah. " Drive tn the boapjtal I " oried his son. " H«'s ia a fit.
Tliis ia vfbat comes of jHitting mj-scit'oiil of my wny to plroEC myjalbor"
he mutttireJ, sullenly vai»iug Mr, batliwood'j he*!, and looHrntng hM <m»at.
" A Dice morning's work. Upon my nou), a nic« morning's work ! "
Tlic lio^pilal waa near, nnd tbu buuse-surguon was nt his post.
" Will he come out of it 7 " askt.'d Bn^iwood llie yaaagat rongbly.
" Who are you ? " saikvcl Tb« surgeon sharply, on his side.
"I am his Hon."
"i shouldn't hnvctliought it," rejoined theamsfion, taking th« reatara-
tir«s that v«re handed to him by the ourse, and turninR from lh« boo to the
father wilb oa air of rclluf which howa* at no pains to conceal. "Yes," he
added, uflvr u mitiutv ur two. " Vuur father will conii* out of It, thisiinte."
" Whfia tan ltd l«j iniiVfd awjiy from liere i "
" Ho can be moved from the hoapitnl in on hour or two."
Th« Spy laid a card on llio table. " I'll come linck for liiin or und
for hint,'' bo said. " I sappone 1 can go now, if I lenve my name and
nddresfl ? " With those worfla, he put on hi* bat, and walked out.
" Rv't a bmte I " said the nurse.
" No," eaid iho surgeon quiftly.' " He's a man."
I
I
B«twsim nine and ten o'clock that night, Mr. Rashwood awoko in Iiis
bed St the inn ia the Borough. lie bad slejjt for somo houf^ since be
had been brought back from the hospital ; and his mind and body were A
now slowly rocnvcring together. 5
A light waa buniing on tho bedaide- table, anti a teller hiy on it,
waiting C-jr him till he was awake. It was in his son's hondwrttjqg, and
JtcoQlnioed lho«! words : — ■
" Mr DKAit Dad, — Having seen you eafo out of the hospital, and back at
3'our hotel, 1 ihinlc 1 may fairly claim to have done my duty by you, mi
mny consider myself free to look after my own atTairs. Buaincta will
prevent ma from sL-eing- you to-night; and I dcm't think it at nil Iikuly I
•hnll be in jour ii«ighlji)iirboml lo-morrow morning. My advice to you iii,
to go back to 'riiorpe-Ambrohc, nnd to stick to your employutont in the ,
stPwurdV ofSce. Wherever Mr. Anondalc may be, ho must, sooner or,
later, write to you on business. I twh ray hands of ih« whole mailer,
ARMADALE. 889
mind, w> fitf as I am concerned, from this time foitli. But if you like to
go on with it, mj professional opioioa is (though joii coulda't hinder his
marriage), yoa tusy part him from bia wife.
"Pray take care of yourself.
" Your afiectiouate son,
" Jau£S Bashwood."
The letter dropped from the old man's feeble hands. " I wish Jemmy
could have come to see me to-night," he thought. " But it's very kind of
him to adrise me all the same."
He tamed wearily on the pillow, and read the letter a second time.
" Tea," he said, " there's nothing left for me but to go back. I'm too
poor and too old to hunt after them all by myself." He closed his eyes :
the tears trickled slowly over his wrinkled cheeks. " I've been a trouble
to Jemmy," he mormured, faintly ; " I've been a sad trouble, I'm afraid,
to poor Jemmy 1 " In a minute more bis weakness overpowered him, and
he fell asleep again.
The clock of the neighbouring church struck. It was ten. As the bell
tdled the hoar, &e tidal train — with Midwinter and hie wife among the
passengers — was speeding nearer and nearer to Paris. As the bell tolled
the hour, the watch on board Allan's outward-bound yacht, had sighted
the lighthouse off the Land's End, and had set the course of the vessel for
Uiliant and Finislerre.
THE EMO OF THE POORTH BOOK.
Book the Fifth.
chapter i.
Miss Gwilt's Diaet.
''Kaples, Octobss IOth. — It is two months to-day, since I declared that
I had closed my Diary, never to open it again.
" Why have I broken my resolution 7 Why have I gone back to thii
secret friend of my wretchcdest and wickedest hours? Because I am
more friendless than ever ; because I am more lonely than ever, though
my husband is sitting writing in the next room to me. My misery ia
a woman's misery, and it will speak — here, rather than nowhere ; to my
second self, in this book, if I Lave no one else to hear me.
" How happy I was in tho first days that followed our marriage, and
how happy I made him I Only two months have passed, aad that time is
a bygone time alreedv 1 I try to think of anything I might have said or
17—2
»
340 - ^ AHMADATA
done wrongly, on my eiiiEi; — of tuiytPiing lie ml^lit liave aoM or doaa
wrongly, on hi« — nnd I can rcraembcT nothing nawortliy of my husband,
nothing iinworlliy of ntynelf. I cannot even Uy my finger on ibe Amj
vbea UiQ cbiul Hist rote between nt.
■* I cAuId b<>nr it, if I loved him I«ss d«iirly ttinn I do. I ooald conqncr
tlie misery of om estmngemcnt if he only khowcd the cbnnge ia Lim as
bmUiIly as other mon wotiM show iL
" But this never has happened, never will happen. It U not in hij
nnture to inflict oufTering on othera. Not a bard word, not a hard look,
eacapea him. It ia only at night, when I hcnr him sighing in his tlMp ;
nod someiimes uhen I se« him dre»miiig. In the morning hours, that I koov
how hopelessly I nm losing the love he ouct: fi-!t fur mu. He hidtd, or tries
to hiilo it, in the dny, for my $!ikc. He ia all gentlenes, all kiodoeai—
hut his heart is not on his lipx, whrn he kiasea me now ; hia bond lelb
Tue Qot)iin;i when it touches mine. Dny al^cr day, the hotiTs thiu he giret
to his hnteful writing ^ow lotig^er itiid longer; day aOc-r day, lie bftoanMl
more and more siJcnt, in the hours that lie gives to Me.
"And, with nil iW'tt, there \s nothing tbit I eon complain of— nothin;
nuirltecl unough to justify me in noticing it. Ilia disappoiatnient shriulu
from all open Goafi:saiou ; lua retignntion collecta itfelf by such fino
dfigreea that even my watcIifulnesB fails t'> «vv llio growtli of it. Filly
timcH a day, 1 fid the louging in mc> to throir my nrmx round his ovckt
and £ay, ' For God'a saka, do anything to mo, rathor thaa tT«it mt like
ihial' — and fiAy times a day iJie worJj arc forced Imclc into my hnrt
by the cruel gonsidcratcnesa of his cocduct, which giTcs me no excose ibr
upeiiking llieni. I thouglit I Jind suffered th« charp<;Kt pain that I could
fet^l, when uiy first huabaud laid hia whip iicrnn my (ace, I thought 1
knew tho worst that deepair could do, ou the day when I knew that ths
viiwr villnin, th« meaner villnin still, hnd caet mo oiT. Live nnd kam.
Thoru in sharper pam than I fdt under Waldron's whip; tlier« is bitieter
dc.<ipair than the di^ptiir I knew when Miinuc! deserted me,
" Aiii I too old for him 7 Surely not y«t I Have I lost my beauty ?
Kot a muu paucs mc in the slxcct but his eyes tell mo i am oa handacmi)
na ever.
" Ah, no I no I the secret lies deeper than that ! I hare thought and
thought flboQt it, till a horrible limey hu taken possession of laa. Ho hu
bfon noble and good in his past life, and I have been widred and di^raoed.
Vilio can. tell what a gap that dreadful difTerence may make l»atween n%
nnknown to him and unknown to mo ? It is foUy, it is nmliuss Tiiit
when I Lie awake by him in t)>e Oiirknoss, I ask myself wlietbcf any
UQcouwiouB di»o[osure of tke truth escapes mc in tho dose intimacy that
now unites ua? Is there nn unutterable Somothing loft by the hoirov rf
my past life, which dings invl^iibly to mc itill ? And ii he feeling tlic
influence of it, sensibly, and yet iucompreheatibly to himself? Oh mc I L*
there no purifying power in such love as mine? Ate there plague-spoU
of paet wickcduesa on my heart which no after- repentance can wasb oulf
AltMADALS. 841
"Who coo tcU7 There is tumctliiDg wrong in our married lift — I
can only ooiiie bade to t>int. 'i'here U ictaa iidvcrfiu inllucncc! that oMther
be nor I can tivoe, which ia pATtini; us further imd fuitber from eadi
other, day hy day. Well ! I suppo&e I eball bo liftideniMl In time, Bod
leaiQ to besr iu
"An open cotriago baa just driven by my window, wllh n nictly-
Jr«Med lady in it. She lind her hunlmnd hy hor sidie, and lier ctiildri-a
en tbe aeat opiKwitc. Al tlie luoitietit when I saw brr the was laughing
and talking in high spirits; n apurkling, light-kcni'ted, linppy woman,
Ab, my lady, wbi-n you were a Tew years younger, if you Lad been Icll to
yourseir, and thrown on the world like mc "
** Octoitr 11(A. — The eleveutb day of t1i« monlb wax tbo day (t\n>
aiacc) when wa were married. He aaid nuUuiig .-tl>oiit it to me
we woke, nor I to bim. But I thought I would make it the occaiioD,
at breaklW-timtr, of Uying to win him back.
" J don't lliink I over tock such paius witli my toilette bclbre ; I don't
duak I evvr looki'd bvttcr than I li>oked wbr^ri I wont downBtnirs tliis
tfilfV"tL- Ht; htA br(!iLkfu3ti,-il by hitiiaelfr und I luiiiid a little slip of papor
«*S« lablti with an apoIo;gj- written on it. The post to England, he tatd,
veat out that ilay, and his letter to tlie newspaper must be linisbed. Iu
Iiit plsc«, I would have let filly po»tfi go out, ratbcr than brcakfiut without
bim, 1 weut into bis r»uiii. There be wus, imuieritcil body and soul in
bit hateful wriling t 'Cirn'l you give me n Utile time llm iimniing?' I
Baked. lie got up with a start. 'Certninly, if you wi»h it.' Ho uever
even looked at me oa be snid tlie words. Tbe very sound of liis voice told
me ibst all hia interest was centred iu llie pea that he had just taid down.
'I MC yon ftre occupied,' I suid; 'I don't wisJi it.' Before I hod alosbd
tbo door cm bim Im was back at his d»k. I have often lieiml that llie
vivea oTitutbora have been for the most part unKappy woineu. And tiow
1 know why.
*' I aappoM, at I mid yesterday, I fhuU Ujuii Iu bear it. (What a/u/,
bj tb« by,"! Beaa t* bnvo written yeatci-dsy ! how ashamed I ahonld
be if aaybody saw it but myself !) I hope the trumpeiy newspaper he
wriu* fur Hou't euocn'd I I hope ble rubbifiiiiog letter will be well cut
■J by some other newspaper as Boon as it gcl« into print I
"What am I to do with myself iiU the morning? I tiin'tgo out,— it's
wining. If I opin the piaao, I shall disturb the iiidiiiilrious journalist
irlw ix ecribbling in the nest rooui. Oh dwr ! it was louely enough in
■y lodging at Tborpc-AnibriBii', but bow mitcli lonelier it is hen. Shall
1 rrad 7 No; books don't interest ine; I bate the whole tribe of AUtliora.
I think I idiall look back through these ijages, and Htc ray life over again
when 1 was plotting nntl |danning, and tindijig a new excitement to
occupy mc ia ercry new hour of tlie day.
" Ha roiglii have looked at nie, though bo was bo Iiubj- with Iiis
wriling. llv might Iiarc wid, ' ll«w Mi<*ly you aro dressed this morning 1*
313
He might bav* remembcTEd, — ncrer nrind whtt I
the newRpap«r.
" 7\etht o'c'ocJt. — 1 hav« been Teodiog ood Ihinltuig ; and, dmib to
mv Diary, I hare got Ihrcugh itn lioiir.
" Whnt n time it was,— what a lire it w»s, at Thorj^-Ambroae 1
I wonder I kept mj tonsM. It makea mj heart beat, it makes my 6m
ftush, ©nly to read about it now !
"Tb« rain elill foJU, mid iLe journnlist etill ecribble«. I doa'l mwt
lo think the thoughU of ihat part limo ever again. And yel, ithat d«
CAD I do 7
" SuppcwiDg — I only say suppoang — I felt now, as I fAl
I tlAvellcd to London wiih Armadale ; and nlien I taw my -way
Hft u plainly as I stw tbc mnn bliuself all (Jiroii^h tlit- joiirnry. . , , f
" m go and look oot of windoir. I'll go and count tiie pccjile aa they
paasby.
" A riini?ira] Tio« f^nr by, with tbo ]Mnil«ntfi in their black hooda, and
tbe vrax toi*cli« Rptittoring in the wet, and the little bell ringing, and lh«
prieota droning their monotonoiii chant. A pleaaant sight to meet moil
the window ! I shail go bach to my Diary.
" Siippf*fling I wna not tJie altered woman I am — I only «ay, tapponng
^-how would the Oraiid Rial that I oimc thought of running, look nowt
I liavc luarricd Midwinter in the name that w really hb own. Aod by
doing that, Ihiivetjiken the first of thosL" three stops which were once to Ind
mo, tlirough Armiuiiilc'a lifu, to tlie fortune nnd tlic fltation of Armadale')
widow. No inntter how innoc<<nt my inlenliona might have been on thd
wedding-dny — and they were innocent — this is one of the noaltenbte
matte of the marriage. Well, having taken tlic Qrst slep, then, whether
I woold or no, haw — supposing I meant to takG the cecond etep, which I
don't — how would present circumirtanccs stand towarda me ? Would ihey
warn me to draw bade, I vrondcr? or would they encoursgc me to go oaf
<^It will interest mo to calcuktc tlie chances; and I can euily t<u tht
leaf out, and doBtmy it, if the frospccC looks too enooursging.
" Wc are liriag here (for economy's sake), far away from the expeMir*
English qn.nrlcr, in a snbiirb of the cir.y, on the Porliei ndo. We lure
mudu no (ravelling ac()uniiitancefl among our own comitiy-p*oplo. Onr
poverty 19 against tta ; Bdidwintcr'a shyness ia ngainst us ; and (with tb
■women) my personal appearance is against lu. TIio men from when my
husband gets his iufoTmation for tb^ newspaper, meet him at the caJe, and
never come hcru. I disccamge his bringing any strsngcn to see me;
for, though ycnrj hnvc pnascd Jilncc I waa last nt S'aples, 1 cimnoi be sum
that some of the many people I once knew in thin place may not be liring
■till. The moral of nil this is (as the children's ttory-books Bay), that not
A Aingle witness has eomc to this house who could declare, if any after^
inquiry look place in Englnnd, that Midwinter and I lad been living here
u man and wife. So mueh for present circumstances as they nffcct Mc
ABMA DA IX. 818
* Aimii4Kl« Drat Uas sny unibreacen iCL-i<l«lit kd him to commimi-
cat« vitlt Thorpe- Ambrose 7 Uns lie hrokeii tlic conditions wMah the
mi^^ tnpCBod on him, and asserteil himself in tiia cboisicCor of Miss
Miltey'* jtromiMd htiriMind ainc« I mw him last ?
"Nothing of Uw sort ban taken plnce. No nororoKcn aceident has
■lt«rcd fail potation — hin tempting positicn — towimia m/scir. I knon- nil
that hat happotwd t« him since he i«ft EnglamJ, ttiroi^h lh« Idtcn which
be writoi lo Midwinl«r, nnd nliich Midwinter Hhows to me.
" Hu lias been wrecked, to begin Hitli. Ilia triiniprry liitic yacht bos
aetnnlly trirxl lo ilroim him, nlW a!!, nnd has failed! It Imppcnvd (m
U id winter warned him it tnif^ht hnppon with HORmall aveMel) in asiiddcn
rtortn. They w«rc blown ashore on the coovt of Portugal. Tho yiictit
venl to pieoH^bni tlielivo, and pnppra, Diid no nn, Trarewved, The men
iate httn sent I>ack to Rrivlol, with recoinmendiitions from their master,
vbfldt have alreaJy got them cmploj-ment on board an oulwnrd-botind
rittp. And the miiflter liimariria on hia way here, after Blopjiing ftnu at
Uabon, lad next at Gibraltar, and trying incBcctunlly in both placm to
np|vly liiiM*l( irith another tmwI. His third attempt i* lo hn nuid« nt
Napl€>, wb«n tlieni is an Engliti}) yucht ' laid up,' at ihcty cjill it, to be
had for Bale or hin. Uo Itos li&d no ccco«ioa to write li<;nic aincc Ihc
WT*ok — for he tookaway fromCoutt»*i the whokof the large tiuin of money
ladled there lor him, in circulnr uotn. And he has felt no iiicliniilioii to
back to Eoghuad himself — for, witli Mr. Brack dutd, MiJis Milroy at
I, and Midwinter hero, lie hai not a living creature in whom he in
ted, to woloomo him if he returned. To tec us, nnd to see Uie new
yacht, are tlw ottly two present objects he Iwia in view. Midwialcr hoa
h«eB expectini^ him fi^r a wi-t-Ic post, and h« may w«lk into thin very room
in whicii I am writing, nt thin rery moment, fur all 1 know to the
Moliwy-
*< Tempting eircumKlances, these — with all the nronga I have mflisreil
U hit mother's hiinJ.i nnd nl hia, etill alive in my memory | with Miai
HUroT oonfldently wailing to lake her fAax at the liuad of hia household;
with my dream of living happy and innocent in Midwlnlcr'a lore, diipcUed
fcr eror, and with nothing left io^ita place lo help mo. ogvut myeclf. I
with it wua't raining ; I wish I could go out
"Perhaps, eomclhing may happen to prarcat AmmdAlc from coming
lo Napl«9t ? When lie Inst wrol«, he waa waiting at Gibraltar for an
Cngliih ateamer in the Mediterranean trade to bring him on here. Ife
may get lired of waiting before the steamer cornea, or He may hear of
• yacht al eome other place than this. A little bir>l whii^iers in my eop
that it may ponihly l« the wiieat tiling he crcr did in his lifs, if he
hreaka hii engagement to join us at Naples.
" Shall I Irar out the leaf on which nil tbtoe ihooking ihingi hiTO been
vrilten? No. )Iy Diai^ ia lo nicely bound — It would be poaitivo
haibarity to tear out n leaf. Ltt tno occupy niTicIf harmleeitly with
Mwething else. What shall it bef My dreaaing.«iiBe — 1 will put my
an ^^^ AHMADALE.
draanng-caM tidjr, and poliib up the 6tw liul« thiags in it wludi mj
DilfitrtttDcs haTe euU kfi ia my posscooo.
" I hare almt vp the dreadog^-case agaia. Ttie fint tbing I fooad la
It mu Anuid»]t;'s ab»bbjr pn-scat to ntc od my mairuge — tbo rabbuiliiiig
liiUfl mby ring. Tli«t irritated me to b«(pii with. Tlw ■ccoad ihlDg
that tomed ap wns mj boUle of Dropi. I cauglit mymit measuring ilte
doMa witL my eye, ind okuUling bow amaj of tbeia would l>e enougb
to tmke a liring creature over the border-land betweea fil«ep and death.
Whj I ibould liare locked the dresung-caso to a ftight, bcrore I luul
■juilo uomplctcd my calcuUtion, I don't knoir — but I did lock it. And
Irera 1 nni back ag.iin at my Ti'mry, wiili nolhing, absolutely Dntbtng, to
vritc about, Ob, tlie weaiy day J Uie weary day 1 Will aotbiiig bappca
to excite me a little in Qua horrible place T
Oct<Aer 12lli. — Midwinter'a all-Iaiportant letter to ibo newspaper
dei{iatched bj the pow last night. I waa foolith enough to mppON that
I might be honoured by baviag some of hia spare altcution l>e*towcd oo
mo tO'duy. Nuthittg of llic sort ! lie had a reatlaea uight, after all lus
writing, and got up nitli liia head acldng, aad hia spirit* miserably
depreaeetl. Wkcn he is in tliia tftalc, faia £ivourite rctacdy Lb to return to
Lis old vagabond bsbitj, and go roaming away by himself nobody kaowl
wher& He went through the fono, this motning (IcnowLog I had noriding-
liatiit), of cSeriiig to hire a hltlc broken-kneed brute of a pony for me, u
CDBc I wisht'd to accompany liiui ! I prvfcrred remajning at hone. I
will hare a batidsotne liotao and a handsoQii: babit, or I won't ride at alL
He wont away, withont attempting to persuade nic to change my mm J. I
wouldn't have chnnged it of CQUrse ; but be might have tried to persuade
lue alt the aanic
" I can open the piano, in hla absenoe — ^that is one comfort, .Aod X
am in a £ae humour for playing — thst is another. There is a aoaals oT
Becthoycn's (1 forget the Dumber), whicli alwaya euggcata to me cbc
agony of lost spirits in a place of torment. Come, my fingers and thumb*,
ntid take me among the lost spirits, this monuDg I ■
" October lith. — Our windows louk out on tliu sea. At noon to^y,
m aaw a steamer coming id, with the English flag flying. Miilwmter
has gone to the port, on ihe chanoe that this may bo tho veaoel Iron _
Gibraltar, with Armndalc ou board. ■
" Tivo o'clock. — It ia the vessel from Gibral^r. Armadale has added
one mure to the long Eist of hia blimders — lie hnj ktpt his cogagencnt le
jiiiu us at Nsplcs,
" How will it cud, now ?
» Who knows I "
1
I
(Erffiiirjdtia in n ^asliitt.
'BasKBT" u tho old-fitsbioaed ikaignftlion applied to tfao back compart-
Bant in our numcroiu ibtec-inilu And cix-milo eovhei, Honrl/ plying tlie
two aUgca b«tvi-i-aa tbe large city of A , ita aeaiide ituburb of Z ,
aad tbo borbour town of X ^rllier on. The scene 'a \ayy remote
Irani town, fat in tlie provinces of the North.
Onr liouBeUoIcl being uov Kiusied at Z , while yet bound by
nriMU liee to d«ar old pigtuneque A , it is my own IVvqucnt lot to
Innne the interval boih wayH ; on whi<^ ocooaioiu^ although a railway
ii equally arailabte, I gt-Dcrally by prcfeccDOB tin tlw DOBcIt, with a
finiact partiality for " lliu baaUrt " thereof.
Placed bebiod the carriago, it opcuN cndirays and dor of tlic wbeclo.
Iht froat MCtion is undoubtedly niiicli more select; but against tliU
iBimt be M-t (o the account of the other ^nd, that beside itn door ia
ttitioDed the " boy," who perforuu the duly of conductor as smartly and
UTilly na if he yrat full-grown. For all fadlitiea of exit or entrance, tlita
wiTantagc in obvJMw ; and, bcaidos, the fnr« lies moderately but gontccUy
bctveca lliat of the ariitocratie front and that of the lop — jnacociuibla
b a lady's com lor cnnrentionnl r«uoas. Again, 1 often find in the
bidctt some aoodeseript fellow-pasMngcr of a congenial turn ; and then
«t certain fretinent characieriRtiQ ooot«nt8 of niiieli ialcreiC. And, I
WafeM, I like to hear people's geaiiiue Toices, and see their uatural
geitarei; t« h«u- ttmn make known ihft progrt^M of oropi^ the Rtaie of
natketa, the probablo pricm of oatniea! and potatoea, the actual value of
bl pigs per ntonu It is instructive to take diittnctly into mind what any
Imd old goodi«K will gowip about ; to discover what can pofisibty bruak
ll* latbargic cont«nt of a rural inlelligeiKe, which apparently, if but
tMed onwards, could gapo satisfied Ihr a hundred miles. An odd
■•dley is composed when these mingle with thu well-doing trodeqwople
■ill maag looks and inaignificaot remarks, — with the staid old maids, tikc
f<ri(lt«tio mavtcrs at sominarics, the recovering iarnlids, tho brisk eom-
ttrdal tmTrller*, ilie careful landladies of lodgings, the occMlonal school-
fids, tli« inurofgorernesaeserer separately seen, and the one prorokingly-
AtqiHOt woman (still a problem between housekeeper and proprietor of a
Magle), who make up the average suple of our society in thn coach-
Udut. Of contw all docs go wdl in the bukcl. Its Jrgiil limitation to
«t n^ciiiidiita «i a timo is rnther incoOTenienlly open to ch«ck from a
tif'hiw which fails to regulatu the ndmwuon of children, or to settle
^ many nb this or that age may fairly be compreaaihle in the rooni li>r
a liogle adolt. llowerer partial to cbildren, yet it is difficult to ko^ ealtn
L7— 5
KCCESTIlIClTira IN
amidst th« brittling of atnuige tojs, sad emilo wben atielqr oomfitt mtMl
be banded Mian lo aoodie disorder. Then, there is great Inosenen in ibe
dc6QilioD of paroela — • provokiog vagiuencsn «r iliBtioctioa betveca tund-
iMigi Mid luggage fit l^r tlie boot, 1>«twe«n a pottl« and a luunpcr,—
Iwtween noxgtys that may bo htid, actoal buncbea of vegetabka, and
plosta poaitirely gcowiog in poto. Also it miglit bo rcanonabk to coui-
plAin ct the tiidden frngilily of band-boxM behind one's beeb, and tbe
oblnuled solidity ofciiliuary ntcnnls before oiie*a toec But if tfae Veeooe
louche* an extreme, aeldora is Uiere wanting « eofficieot qaacam of gtwn
"bsjikctecrs" for ita lepranicm.
Improper or tboroQchly ineligible people rarely inlnide into tba
buket. Tbc caso haa ticcurred c( iv person of the htiinbler gradet,
mainly Eubsialiag oo bis property in bathing-macbinGe, whose Ualc of
health diapoBcd him lo prefer tbc hoalict on any winter errand to ot
licm A . He clinaccd to wear in gcaeraJ nn old-fiuhioncd iraterprMf
gre&lcont, and waa olluntise iooflvniire— of dwfifrvnlial manner, quiet la
the lafiC degree ; hut tbc nwiiU was bin being obliged to tnlce the train an
all timiltu- occuions. There ttm, moreover, an indiiolriotia jobbing-
garden^r not long ago in our wmering-plaoe, for wboM abeence lul
nimmcr no other reason haa y<.-t keen allfged tbaa liis mnh procedora
ono mowy day in taking n seat by iIiir compaitment. It was said Ii4
prafMBed to be laboaring under a Revere cold, and iieiemed lo expect or
wiah (b« glaM of Oie end-window kept up, — a (hitig seldom done, unk«
required by ladim. FHiling this, it ta nndentood thnt he sat gloomily
Kooking Bome conreo-flavotimd Apeciltc all the way. It !■ ereo alleged
that ho inuit have come rtraight from work among damp let-k-bcdt^ if
not carrying Uiem nt thi! rery time to town.
Amongat the tcp-paaacngcnt, then: ia one wIimo company wtihin
would outweigh all onr advantagM. A brisk, tboogli heavy man, with
s large purple face, which luckily Htwins to need air ; his dothta nfo^y
of ihe Huno hard-wearing colour, tlinitph with crape on hiahat; and
an evident vulgar ciijo\i«ent of the freedom, the motion, and the ccin-
pany, an may be hejird, when not seen, by the dangling of hta wrinkled
boota over an cnd-Indder to a kind of tunc with the hoiaca. He genemlly
goea np at a traund, whittling. His hnnds make a rbjnk in tm poekeu.
f ie noda to the driver; tlie clerk nt the office knows him; the porten
iaolinc to touch thcii* hntj ; and at any pause in our coarse be nuiy b*
heard otTering such bets, such bid* for a hontp, a dog, a chaiM, or s
cart, tliAt it is jiloin no economical considcistions sway him. Thia Indi
UA to hope lli&t should any whim prompt him lo ride inside, he will inflict
himtcif on the front compHrtment. ITiimnur HMterts ibnt be is a rucooiAiI
broker of wmc sort, in eonnection with our numcrons furmtitra saloa and
hou>e<filLlngs in 7, ; where he hw, it ccemii, built now aliops^ and laid
out groimd for (lie consiniction of a marine rilk to bi« own taste, with
batha, fenatsin, stid plounirc-gardcn in an Orieata,! nlylo ; and is, aocordisg
to our many gouipa, a widowor on the look-out for a froah Biiatt«H le
I
I
riHi
ECCESTRICmEg TIT A BASKET.
317
Ilia hoQCtfadd and motlia- to hi« tamily. Trivinl ta th« chnncfl of hia
corapanicinhip in the b«tkct, » the iisbilJly to be ftTmirvd, of hot
morningB, with the prewoee nf an ffforv^tcctit young haih«r or two
rrtoming to bumnejK in the city ; » cmiple of luwj-er»' clmrk«, or a trio of
•todcatv, irlio, it might be supposed, arc wont rwpcctircly to more about
in tli«« nunmiuAl profoiiion^ liy way of rare variety, tlio bnHk«t hm
beta found the pis-aUcr of an indubitable firet-ctana ira.rellcr. I have
one in my memory nnw— ono who wag hurried up in aa over-driv«n cab
from the railway ataiion, where tlio mail-train hud been inised. His
MrraDt and Iiih gim-coacH and othei- appurtenances irent scrambling up —
cren n brnce of pointcn were hointcd aotnewh'iM'c ; but no room rctriMiued
fer liim in fVont; and he waa lodged jtwt wjtltin otir prooincts. lie was
* moet genlleman!/ penon, witli long It-g^ uliich did not, liowcrcr,
gire the leaat trouble, almost leaving room for an extra fare, ^'ono
of our peculiarittcH seemed to attract hia notice ; lie appe»red uncouctoua
•f ftry Yoice or feature among ub ; indeed, it becume evident that lia saw
miy with one oye, nnd that not uithout tbo }i<r)p of a glass.
Let it not be conc^red, liowcvt-r, tliat no incidmti more exciting ever
ihtill OIU jog-trot course ; the truth in, th«rc nro special contingencies of
X nature to mark out tho bukvt in this view. Lale of aa evening, past
Uic check-box nt the tampikc, t)ic drivfrs will exercinc a power to take
ap Btray waydidp far«, whether plfcadJng or peremptory, who are strangely
apt to be huddled into the convtiLtent bade. Jf a Imvdler of any cIoh,
■es, or age Mcm likdy to require oare in tmnsmisiuon, (lie usual driA uf
an pnntMi is to devolve it on our end of the cowih. Too oOon hnv^
"jmptoms appf'anvl, ere the end, of a condition on iho part of i)i« indi-
^''idunl no tenderly entrusted, each oa niAV bext hn denoted t:y the admift>
^too that I have not myself known it rencli tho pitch of fury, or exactly
Vvsembte medical itccounts of delinnm tirmrns. However, it ia not long
^1(0 nnce thcro was *' Hnoked " one night in tho ofUce, nlong -vfitli our
v<«ipe<!f«b)e liiiln company In Z , an cxconively i^niet tmdetininR-
*ikc peT*tm, nccompaniod by hiH much too eolicitoua wiJe, whose youlh,
^'■ciy cheeks, and threwd prominence in the transaction went far to cover
"S*. Appan-ntly it waa Istigae tliat setiled him at once in llie fiinheat
**flnicr, where, screenwl by lier, he fell aaleep. but, uo sooner wero
^^« dear of the fthop-lights and well upon Iho road, than hu wo}:r up,
~'*— moat dreadAilly woke up. Our solitary lump l>om overhead di»*
^tcaed tliat the wTctch was, beyond all doubt, tip^ I Have for tlio
^vib'l etrcnuons exerttoni:, her «nd(*iinnenia joined to hvr nuthnrily,—
Cthoogli lier previous conduct had been (ibomiiiahly »ly,) thoro is no
•syitig what might hare followed. A" it wa», tho loarfnl oreataro
TdwRiDnlty radravoured to cnnvinOA iia that it waa lits wifo who, of
the two, was Inloxicnlrd. He proceeded to sing to iia u medley of
migs, the most Bneehanalian in chnracter, ia the ehonisoi of which we
were «xpmt«l lo join ; he oatt defiant frowns upon our only protoclor,
poor old Monainir B , a Frv-ncb master ia town, who, wilhtKit
049
accBri'iticmcs ro A baeket.
I
any tffiicl vliaierer, gave the tellow his card. W« all jolntljr had
restrain Uieni hj main force frooi a p«»c»uil *tnigglu ; the nortt result
tbc dofc being a ei]4<l«a d«terraination, on the p4rt «f the JUttercd
uoDstcr, that be miut see u« home. Wbetfaer be meant it jointly or
aercralty, ia iinpoMibla to my; bnt be waa luppil}* divuted from hU
pQfpose bjr bis ^rewd belpinaU.
It has eT«r been itminlaiDud that tliCM unccmtb cliances impart a seat
to ooooh tiavdliof!, bring out a rariety of chnractcr aad shorteo the way
by a stir to tho ihoughu, which are all imavailable within the same liaiitH
to other motks of conrejance. 1 myself iocliiie to tliat Tiew — when tli«
adv«atare ia over.
It waa on a hot and glaring forenoon at Z 'h liviiliest season, on a
market-day, with front nod top both full, s single racaacy alone rem.
in the baalcet, tluit I one? tat in it pre[>arcd to itart for town, but
ihiLt in doing so I traven«d llie teachings of experience. Under
combinatitio of cJrininutBncis, to go by coiich in tliat diiection is a aort of
letnpting of forlimt ; howcTM*, th« more than usual selcctneia of Jour
fellow-patttDgen, [previously iaslalled, had lured me into breaking a rule
which should rather havo ]nxa eoJurcffl by ooDAideration. Orerilowcd by
tha dcmtuid for seats, our interior hud never before, probably, worn an
aspect to rcKrahling th:it of iliu more rwluiclit Kction in front. On
either diile the door, polituly ready to give vray on due occasion) yrt
planted in o\'id(!iit del erm inn lion againtit admitting aught unsuitable, tot
a gcnllcmuu nppiircDtly rqiial to the most trying junoturc ; the one, a
stout commerciiU dignitary from the senport, ;;encrally nndorstood to bs
a consul; the ottier a youugL-r personage, unknown, but etea more un*
doubtedly, by figure, UcmcBDOUr, and accent, helunging to the uppei
griides of lile. A widowed matron oppogite me had the air of " position "
•till less questionable ; while iu the comer b«yoad her tat a finely -dresseil
young lady, of travelled "nceompliiiluncntii,"corrcEpotidlDgeaaeof mantMTt
and Knglidi birtti, all apparent by the style in which she had aeiaed the
oociieion to cuiiversQ with her neighhour, and I at once fmnklj included
myself in the tfte-a-tete. Alreiuly thoy had CJiugbt the preaaitimoal of
evil which seized me at the appearance from the o£]ce of a prompt and-
strident figure — a mark i; l-b oil nd womau — n female with a heap of limp
veil thrown up over au obsulete bonnet, liur driiperie^i pcrpeodiculaTr
her form bony and l«ll, lips thin, nose nelf-iiaacrting, and in her grasp t^
neutral -tin ted uoibrvllii with a huckcd hend. Wu it positively co&ceiT—
able that she 1 — but the sentence failed at her dlie advent, malaise in h«r
imin. Bluckliignp the door-way with an audianUitive uir, bclbrq wfajcb-
the " boy " dwindled, slie paused in eeacning civility to ask, " Will ye tit
yoni, «r, if ye please?" It woa to tlie loftier of our inimovable cava-
liers that e1]c nddrtKcd herself.
*' iltn — ahn^m, I — a — ti," nnd a nonplussed glance of appeal to our
judgifieut was ciist inwiird — " Iteally, I prefer the door, my good woman/
Rt<id, as, wiiJK'Ut yielding the point, he stood up to let her pass.
rBicrnES im a baskrt.
i
Sl^prcMed flonacitig iu to li«r rigblful i>Ucc, wUicIi wunt my side.
" I ne'er saw eic a disoblepgin' uncevil set a' ray days ! " remarked aho j
adding, irbile atUl erect, with a long arm outsiretclicd, " Here, JohnDy,
tay HUB, hand iis op tho bit biirdon.*'
SuaughtwDy a ptirsjiiring Ud, who hud baea hiddra in her rear, tbrnst
rccklcaaly ia over lln: cviiaul'a knucs n bulky moss, out of all qucsiioit
iaadmitfibic ; but it cuina loo Inlc for pretext or tor nppcAl to the coAch-
officc. The OocT closed wilh a bang, and we were rolling ulT to town.
'Ilie " bit bitrdea" was ia form a l>at>k«t,ia bulk aad eriduut vruighl more
like a hamper, in fulQesa of unnoyance aa hud aa the box of Pundorn.
"Whj'i ma'aiM," exclaimed the haughtier of our cliaiiipioD)!, "you
are B&rely not going to keep that biuket iu fteix .' " " 'Deed tiiu 1, oa'
•hat for do' ? " waa tlie answer, as she aettled the Lugtt slructui'c od h«r
I^. "1 h«c paid my money as wccl aa yow, an' if ye had but niitcn up n
bit M I ankit yo, thvrc wad hao bcea less tiiah to get settled ! I'm no' jiut
tc lang-h-g^t thaugh that I'll Uxk.' up ither folk's room, like ttoina I"
It Htis plain she could be more disagreeable still, if meddled with;
lie worthy con*ul inclined to turn tho subject, and by some jocose remark
3mr off the other into wliat might be culW a sUite of aniidd truce. Wo
t tbc iiiiivr cnil hod the worst of it, though <:hit:tly us yet iu a mere bodily
ny, from th(> trenching en our Icgitlmato apace. Worse than mere con*
Ud with that odious piec« of luggage, was the fieiiae aC a ^oiir, «ilHit
oottoe under wliiuh uvae ut un passud 6cuthl«s». A alight iiMthictivv
■BotBofnt of my own was first to draw it out, in the grimly •apologetic
*"ttd«i to " folk's skirls now-a-days, that cotildno be kecpit clear o' ; "
*itli a D)utlcr<'ti *iipplcmcnt, rulVmng to " tbac mciiscicss blauds o' whiit
ca' erftnylin ' " an exlendt.'d " pant bounds o' pitticucu, no* to speak
Wation!" The mauucr was tliat of nuiuv iuhubilaat ofZ , arguing
notsi a local knowl<^dge which it might be uniuif« to despise. ITnplcnHuitci^t
** mU became the woman's audden atleuttua to tlie voice of our sprightly
jooag cotnpunion ia the comer, who pTbft;M>cd herMlT an entire etraagur
I* Our town till that rery morning. Hhn was comparatively ;it hw ease,
• fitt^ diverting ua by lively accoimtf of continental epaa and watering-
quite unlike our own ; while a moat uufritmdly rvcollection of some
waa indicated beyond doubt, in ev^ry gtanco from the twixted-np
***! Tixeoish rtaluifs of cur nuJEance, Mciuiiimc our hilc ndvocate by
""^ door was again the euflfcrvr. He hapjKnixl to move his feet, when
^ ft« alt at oncu peered down in munifehL detection of some weak point.
"Ehey 1 " was her uncoulli cxelamalion, " bauakct, *aid you I My
"•^y 1 I ibiiik J had full a* much richt to fetch in my bit haiidi«kcp, as
1* tad to bring in yrtr dttg ! " By what gilt of nature she ftrrclcd out
^ tTutb, retnaina dubious; but dog it wna, — email, to bo sure, and of
'^'mkaa lovk,— crouched somewhere under tlio owner's seat.
"Dog 7— ah, tnie '." its tuiiMer ccnfcMted, a good deul embarraisej].
" ^Vdl, bat my dog, ma'Miii, s mere toy-tenicr, woe in uobody'i — "
"llaa't a niztlo on? No— nnething o' the sort!" emphatically
8S0
ECCENTRIClTreS W A BASKFT.
r^ortot) Uip orerwkelmtiig -womnn, with an air of alarm wliicli atMcfl to
the intern rmienoe bdind : " Oo, it'a big enough to bile, at any rale, iboe
wnmi daya. Didns y« we the |)A)lj«-notishe3, that it's n heavy fiaef Bat
it'a well to be eeen, I trow, liow .yu iliilnn sccli a front place !"
Tlierc WBs altogcUtirr a vanquished elTcct on our hicklcM tle^tiJer,
cnly le be povtrotl hy tbn npcessuy of checlung the little animal'i irrita-
tion at her behnrioiir.
It now bcgnn to iippwiT that the fcc'i outniRoeos jwclago was madi
tip cf cftrnmodiiirs umisimlly dlBagr^pable in a limited apac?, but we wera
niiled to nuitUiin the Texation by our riritcioiis neighbour on the other!
•ido, where, it was true, ah* eonld better aSbi^ to niak« herself pleaMat,
.She had dashed into nn nnitnated sketch of tamo days recently spent at
Dunkirk, with itn antique diqurtlts and rococo taskK, ta rhv dracrJtcJ
them; npTor m the IcoiSt obsorring the pointed repugnance of thow glanMt
from our biigbi-ar, whose vitage and deniennoiir did not imem to b»re rc-
cnlled tlie flitihtest associiilion to her meniory. About this Etiglivh girf
hfliwif there ■wns, it must lie owned, coBBiderable singularity, TlieM CX'
tensive wiura were remarkable nt Iicr age, for one who referred in no w»;
to any particular couipany that had dharcKl them ; her cirtrenio fianklKaa
van singular, nt teaat in our CAi)tioti» climate ; and thtm there xrsB the
irreflistiblc impression, eren allowing for choice in the colotirs of dtta*
mul didplny of j^wrUety, thnt ith<^ wn» not a Indy, nnr n lady'* maid, not of
the governess order between. Remarkable, loo, wa* ihe effect of ono
main feature in a fnce wliich would otherwise hare been exceedingly
pretty. This was a much too cotiBpicuouB aquiline no»c, not to be rf-
iieved — or rnther, to une the artistic phrase, thrown back from relief— hy
nbnndant ringlets, with the lielp of very fxpre,iNirc eyes.
Pre»H?ntly the preelsp nature of the nuisaneo in the hamper wai in-
fullibly identified, with o sudden fixed diagnsL Stopplng^ short tmii
her graphie necoiint of Punkirk, tbc girl fairly seited iicr offended n»«
with her hntidken-iiicf, and gavo mtifled vent to the ejaculation — " Oh, irbat
n lot of herring I " Dnrliiig it look nt the obrjous cauae, " Oh, if tfcoe'a
one thirg I ahominato more thnn ftnofbflr," hIio added, " I declare it'»
herrings !" Then tiuTiing slmi^ht to the cTilpHt, who as yrt oolygloooi'd
n 5p(cchlMs dtf nncc, ohc rccUlcsaly put the pn-poiilcroua inquiry, "I »yi
nia'nm, have you got uny herringa in yotir basket? "
Ridictilnus nbove cxnp^eraiion an it all vnn, tlie kindled wnlh of d«
grim housewife put awglit like mirth to flight thenceforth.
" What' a ihnt ye ray? Hno I gotten lehnt, qno' she I Nee h^
irna 't? Will ii be iiinir o' rhne fine French gpwgawn, think ye, «''
ftddressing her first diBdainfiil appe*l to the oonsul, "But there's "^
hnwkera here, I fancy, — ibcugh innybe folk's firgeia would whiles Iw I'li*
belter o' n bit gude pJaiii ririjG, if it was but to show, ye ken, men "
Slie was set right, however, with somcwhnt of a. nialidout lelitli! ^
the owner of the lerrier, who repeated Ihe terms of the qnestim •»
distinctly for mistake.
%
BCCEHTHICrnES IN A BASKET. 861
" On, it'a like you'll be better used, sir, nae doubt," snapped she, " at
nnnentanoin' nccan wanderin' ladies I HairrinB, waa 't ? Aye " — and
abe tamed, more confidentially than I liked, to me, " I needna apeer
vbattea-Iike maiimera it is, miss, to ait Bnuff-Bnuffin' at ony decent
penon'a gear in a publio conveyance, for less askin' sic brazen-^ced
quest'ns 1 But, at ony rate, it'a no' just the sort o' company that micht be
ezpeckit to see keep't by ane o' the faim'ly frae SeafortU Cottage " — she
was here eererely referring to my own place of abode — " no' to say, bab-
nabbin' wi', aae crousely ! It makes a heap o' difference, ye ken, miBs,"
pursued ehe, with a deferential indication toward the lady opposite, " when
t person changes their condition in life, let-a-be warldly station. Bat for
my pairt, I need naebody betwixt me an' their harlagan tricks or their
ower^sea gibberiah, I'ae warrant t Hairrins, was 't — an' I wad like
token "
Our matron in crape here gently interposed. "Tou are, surely,"
raid she, in a propitiating way, " Mrs. White from the sea-batha— whom
I ought, I think, to have—"
" B^gin' your pardon, mem — no," waa the emphatic correction. " Miss
Linkater, number five round the comer frae your ain lodge-gates. The
Cornel kent roe fine, worthy man, but he aye minded an acquentance.
It'i nane o' their fiata or their furnished apairtments, but a gude main-
Axrr house, every way well fitted up, though I say 't — wi' a verandy to
»>e paraud', an' new venaishan blinds, an' a comfortable gairden for-
bje^ "
At this attractive description our yonng traveller looked round ; she
kad certainly seen the place, as she informed me aside, having, in fact,
gone down that morning to Z with a view to seaside quarters. " We
found none exactly suitable," she said, " though at this one the ticket
"wntioned a 'garden, which tempted Edward to inquire, while we idled
"Wt the beach — he was quite entrapped into going in, positively forced
*" look through a whole lot of little rooms full of people's things, and
"^uld absolutely scarce escape "
" Lone woman if I be," was pursuing the irate basket-bearer,
*ith a settled gripe of her charge, " an' more reduced in circumstaocea
"'*n forrnerly, Mistress Cornel — was I to be insultit wi' mean-like
'T'P^t'ns about wham I keep't in my pickle quiet hena, or how I cookit
"*? bit meals o' meat, an' whatten pairt o' my house I had to mysel' — an'
""^r let them up, it's hairrins, is 't ! Out upon siccan pantymine
•PeecheB, say I ! "
" Edward could scarce escape," our luckless companion was whisper-
'"?. " from a sort of ogre, as he described it, who seemed in charge of the
P'^ltry, but turned out to be the proprietor or the tenant or something,
■"■'Tering from the back-yard, with an eye upon the garden, and seeming
'° iJTe mysteriously about the Really, I do assure you, ma'am," said
she, aloud, at the further proof of injury, " if you've felt ofiended, 'twas
lointentional ; and, as for the lodgings, we "
8fia
EOCi:XTRIClTIE& IX A BASKET.
"A Trh«a wauf characters, mem, wi' liairy lips," rose the AtiU
BBBatilt llut matched all noiocs of the tboroughfurc outGidc, "gaim rouaj
Ihc touit pittiu' sic queritfl to bonest fi^lk — aacUuug but a pretence, maj-bo
to pick tip the epuiios — aje, l«t tticiii look dotvn oS tlic coucb<up if tbejr
like I Mair fittin' thum to lilre the toun-bull, tralliii' ii dreasul-up nuu
after ihcm, li> gwk and nicker ouiaide oo the sands, like — ■ — "
'* Pray, pray, my good Tvorlhjr creature," entreated tli« colooel's
vriJow, tliaug:h mucb more hopefully Bbaring qiu gluncca tfaroogb thi
madowfl, lu ttio Poet-ofScu and QuRC-rt'ti Theatre were piwsed, ''do, it
leait, I bt!g v( yon, be calm until "
" Oil, ay«, wcai," alio Went en, dropping part ftf ber gall ob Ibe
■riiitfir ; it's true I boQ been ower long used wi' slights an' koS^, do' to
IWB how to coaduflt mysdj* — an' wbiit'd muir, I liopc it's no for navthiag
Aai I attend ro^Iar wi' n spirituiil -minded congr<'gnlJon «n Doctor Blade,
in Pier Strttit, godly man I It's tuiiie o' their lialf-tliay'tens w»' m orgia,
to blind folks' principles to what's proper company. Nor I'm no aa offiaher
frae the nirmy, to come out o't and rap out the oaUia I hoc heard cm Icn
occaaioi). I canna just iJiirb to a grand cottage i' the country, like aomer
when I tuk' douu my bit ticket — kccpiii' a bloatit-likc iutpiddeat giunluer
alwut the place, uh lljey mnyba can afl'oitl wi' a rent ta'«ii oat o" poorer
fulk'a mouths; but I wad like to hvta "
"There, at any rate, ia the coach-olficc nt last!" said llio eoiuuli
joyfully : tliu giriitJfninn with the ti-rrier was already on bia foct, and
g^iHunlly ntood, when he ri;achwi cJio pavvmcnt, to asaiet the fair vtdoir
out beyond danger.
"Ava' wi* aiccan play-actin' geaters a»' apeoohet frse the heathen
GHV yonder I " still rnvod the teroiagaut, filling up the way aa she hoisted
bsr cargo. " But it's ne advantage a' warld- knowledge by llxi hous^klttng
'busincse, that they're uwer keu^peckle to miatak'. My ijotb t Catch du
efferin' to put mysel' tip about the coal-bouse, wi' a wbcC-n scrroota o'
Bital jilayiii' caircls on my draw in'- room t^ble, an' my new Tcii4iiBlun
pu'd up like their ain tbay'ter acrcll, by a Jcicbcl traifickyMjucen ! "
" Thank my atars 1 " exclaimed the Knglinh girl, adjuotiug her ringlcis
ere we cautiously followed, " she's gone. R«ally, though, my dear, ska
fiult«rei) my abilitjee in chut ket hit, evidently mistaking us for some of
the theatrical cumpany here — and so excetleiil oompAny it ia. At kr
llint drexidful basket, gaodness be praised it was not damaged — 1 doa't
tbiuk it baii oozed upon any of us al^er all." But at the door were Ivxi
pnseengeTH from iLu lop, or, I ruthor think, three — perhaps even ao many
aa Jour— who eA'idtrcitiy Rtood to rccdrc her ; one approaching to Ittod
lier out, when ahc had begun tu tell mc, " I ihiuk we sbftU try ^eppafoT
tlio remainder of the season, and if ever yon should hnppcn Alif
Kdiviinl," she broke ofl*, "have I kept yuuwuItiDg? Uood-by, tlieal"
and the nodded to me plcaaantly ; tiicn, with unabated "prirhtJiiwili
tripped out.
Otilsido tb« throng, past the ofTicQ door, as I turned to tLe BtreeU^
I
I
BOCENTRICITIKS IN A BASKKT. S£3
ibe vomaa witJt die In^lcet ; resting il uti a curbiitone fur the moment,
eLe «tDod folluwing wiUi sidcloDg goza tic group c{ travellern, nnd void in
a genci»l way, *' Hairriiw, viiu'l 7 Alia ! nn' if it was e'ca the fare tlmt
a rapectablo penwn hiu) wlij-Ica lo even tUeirsel'a wi' — il'» been Inoit
-wbea BCuuc lulk cam' tu tic gi^yan gUul^ uyr, Jin' f»ia, o' a gude biiirriii',
"be'l fr«li, wiut, or kA, an' couHiia win lilTl — no' to spoak alVr o* the
tliap o' cauld water to cool ilieii- lunguc I Aii' il' / lui<l Ep(;en;d wh»t wiui
ia joo hmw French-lookiD* rcijdyvltt o' lier«," Hbe coocludtd, taking up
her load, " wba kens but it was a Leap waui- nor Ijnurrinii ? Fuu'mi faces
ibr a dukgiiisr, luajrbc, or rb likely cliccim lo drap i' the )iark, if no' a
j>ea an' tbiinm'lcs I Set her up, wi' her an' her liawk-nebbit."
Futthcr invective the Muoourse of busitiest swept from hearing, anhsa
lo llia kaot of lonngiog street- porters and approving boys. All 1 had
•WQ of the ntrang^rt -km their rather genttertiani}' nir, healthy KngHub
oomplaxionjt, aiid face* ccrUiiiily much too hirsute for dnimstic: use ; as
lo Uil dork inucadoca of so prejudiced a cuisor, these dcscrv^e no weight.
Nrrerthieleis, the vivacious manner and attractive expression of l!ie girl
twiaelf, all the more vivid for tliat one exaggerated feature, coatiniied to
Mara ou thought with a curious interest in her destinies, [ ncvur aflei--
irtidfl beheld any of iho party; but it Deemed a culucidence of tome
ipparait point at first sight, when turn liaudbilla struck the eye here and
ibm, itttniog to late performances of a fasliionable Italian conjurvr or
■udtm wimd, wlio had viaJt«d tlie city, his exliibtliona being varitrd by
Ik jtaoo- playing of nn aecompliithtd daughter, whose MBiotanoe in micdry
Aals alto added to the zest of the entcrtainroent. Soon, on the uthcr
hod, Dtwipaper adveiliMuienla tended to lead lancy in a diflereiit truck ;
^tiie private s6ituces of a party of American spiiitualiuta werv anuouuced,
*I Mme of which, from siibsetjueut reports, a latly of E]>ocial m^mcric
*Mi»i,tibilJiy decubostratcd her gilt to a, most imprcAHive degree. In
(Kitker ease did ciKunwtancea allow proof of the conjooture; yet it was
fWiety left to fiircc the belief, that on this occasion our banket ciihvr
fiiel a dislioguinbcd wixardeu, or even coDvoycd tlie person of a
*odrc<u D)«diuia.
Here agreeable to rcmcaiber is another incident of the coache*,
"fjily exemplify ing better the characteristics of tlicir moat social divi-
•"tt- On* bleak day before last Christinas, 1 had mada thu journ^iy by
^ to towD ; finding it, of course, as dull as the weather. Hni in
''* liatry evening I turned to the aiictulomed coach-oflice, and was
*Ppiiig from it to enter the late ccacb for Z ', when a porter
^IJoTtd nte to put the odd qite«tiun, whether my name was "Ilaai-
•5*^" At a reply iu ihc negative, be went off", saying, "Beoaugo I've
jar for her." Tii wich of three other basket paxsLtigcrs who
be oddresnod tlie same inquiry, receiving liiu Kamc answer,
■"ort Uiaa oacc somewhat testily; in every case making llic snme cxpln-
Uliai, in his dull miiiilleclud voice and stolid manner: ull of wliich h:id
ftnflkieally moauloauus effect in the frosty outer ait. Our number w[u>
861
ECCBNTRICITII^ IK A BASKET.
quiclcl;' aukdo up hj tn flddition vhieh in orrlinniy circnmRtenets U
diccrj- ihan otherwise ; thnt of a dragooQ »n<I bin wife, tho one beinf
tail, Kiitl stalwart, witli Rood-faumour appropriate to Iim bulk, tlie
tidy, alert, «n^ shfirp, thon^ «omparmi*ely dumpj-. Scarce bud tli*y
eeated, vlicn ibcre app«nrecl at oiir door the bead of llie man in Kunili
nn owner for bi> pared, urA for tlic finii tiuic llie question was pit,
your name Ramage ? '*
" No," aid the aoldler, iritli fiia prompt cirility ; " my name ain't — ;
Joe Mortimer; if tlial wi!! exut your purpose."
Agnin the rctutan was given, before trittiilrawiDg into tbe diadows^
" Btcause Tt* got a jar for ber."
Obacurely we aiiv bim intercepting those wbo sougfit Uie
befdeging tbe very front-section, on his tiresome quest; till the
article rca)ty acijaircd an inlcrfst aWrc jars in ordinary. When
soldier and bis wife had got their own little porctto adjusted to
mind, an idea aeemod lo (lash iijxrti tbe latter aa she looVed abooi h
" I aay, though, Joe," «hc «aid, " I t<l)i>uldn't irondcr if that *erc jar U
Mr*. Ram-maj*, w'nt liyoa ovev tbft way from u*. I know Ac ini
bein" in town ; a« lier jou la eTp«t*d."
"Ob, in that ca«," eaid he, "wo'd Iwttcr take charge of it,'
mayn't have b«en nblo to reach in time, and can't like just to csrty
this cold night." Accordingly he lapped on n window, and tlift
readily auawercd the summona. "I say, my goodfdiow, my mi
nhc tbinks that 'ere jnr must be for a neighbour of the namo who \tttf«
little '!>accy-shop opposite the barracks. If »o, jiim band it here,
wv*n deliver it sale enough," The man's troubles were at an end bo &r
in the ofEce they would have nothing to do with it, be mid, and il wi
not very plisiaant hanging alioul in the cold ; nevenheless, the trull
it could not be landed in, being too largs for that. " Very well, ih
just get it hitched up ntop," said the dragoon ; *' no fear but we'll ix
an eye to it, — so you may be off home as soon on you please." Aj Iu
went off, every one settled for starting ; it was tliought we had seen
last of him, at all events when he had returned for a mon)«nt to uj it
would be (bund at the right-hand corner, nest the drirer'a box.
Gruff old Mneoii tlie eoachman, whip in hand, came round to conn' ^'■'
paspiengprt), standing upfin tbo stejw lo do bo ; behind him once mtirw »3l
the man, coaxing him for soine favour. Tbis still concerned the jar, f^*
as Mason folded up his list, his crusty temper broke down in r^nrd to ''"
" To Fife wi' you an' your Kamng^-s nn* yer jaiirs, ye've fairly di-svtd m*
deaf wi' tliem I Shut-to tJie door, laddie, — all full intiidc, an' ninu o" '"'
up. At'ncc for a' 1 tell ye, man, heave't np ypmcl', or let it bid*— ''^
bewitched, I think — I dinna believe onybody*!] hae't ! No' anither**™
noo— a' riclit 1 "
He stumped off to mount bis box; the dragoon odltng tnt to ^^
porlcr thnt he tliouglit it lijid been put up long ago, while llio Irf*
nifihcd to mnkc lomc Inst confidential etalemrnt in bii ear, Aa the vltwH
XOCBNTSICITIES IN A BASKET. 355
grated off bduud our trampliDg team, he seemed vainly attempting to toaa
his charge upon the roof, and was left Ibrlora under a lamp, beating his
frosted hands athwart each other.
The natural idea was ih&t we bad left the ill-fated article behind us.
But boys will do for soldiers what they will not for ordinary people, and
the conductor's perch had served to lodge more than its due. " I wasn't
gcing to see a neighbour left in the lurch," said the dragoon.
" And very neighbourly she ia, is Mrs. Ram-mage," hia wife explained,
" though she do live over the way, and rather a odd name to pronounce
— wliich of course, ma'am, that's 'ow we were sure of it."
" Yes, I don't think there's another snch name," agreed he, " even
hereaway, where I should aay there's a lot of odd ones.
f lloflt people am't 'arf so friendly hereabouts," was her cordial enco-
tniuiD on the owner ; " more particularly in regard of clothes-lines or
a waabing-tub, and that — ^w'ich you can't always be expected to carry."
Unfortunately for the subject of their praises, however, our boy felt
nuch incommoded by the jar ; long ere we reached the turnpike, he wns
riiifting from (uie foot to the other, and at length said — " It's ower heavy,
lodger, — let alane the cauldnesa o't, and there's a fare to get out at
Cockhillside — it'll either hae to gang on the tap or be droppit.
From this alternative he was saved by the stoppage he had mentioned,
which relieved us of one companion, allowing the object of their care to
be taken in at the door. There, by our glimmer from the roof, it looked
between the dragoon's knees a shapeless bulk indeed, somewhat like one's
^7 of the jars lodged with Alt Baba.
"Why, Maiy Ann," exclaimed her husband, feeling it carefiiUy,
" it ain't a jar after all — it's a basket."
"A basket? Nonsense, Joe," she said, " the man told you a jar—
^te distinct I I hope it ain't a trick upon us 7 " Turning a frightened
"ce in our direction, " They do Bometimes put babies in baskets and leave
on wi people — and -whaXever should we do, if it was ! Why, I've got four
'^taj own, ma'am, at home ! "
It proved to be neither a mere jar, nor simply a basket, but one of
4«se compounds of both, well known under the name of "greybeard,"
wliich are devoted to the conveyance of U8(]uel>angh or aqna-vitte.
" 0 Joe," cried the dragoon's wife, almost as scared at this discovery
** M her previous thoughts, " this can't be for Mrs. Rammage — whatever
<*uld she do with an 'ole 'ogged of whisky 7 "
'"Tain't a 'ogshead, missus, don't ye see — it's only a greybeard,"
'^BSoDed he, with a positiveness enforced by some uncomfortable feeling ;
' »nd if her son is expected to-morrow, as you said, — why, mayn't rfie
^*tn to have a little company 1 "
" Well, if she do," was the answer, " she's as sly as sly ! I always did
•»y, for a Scotchwoman, Mrs. Ram-mage was not close of her affairs — and
''lope especially when I gave her, no longer ago than yesterday, that nice
^JiA ribbon she admired."
886
ECCE^fTR [CITIES IS A BASKBT.
But our piiUiag-up at lli^ tumpilfo broughl a [txmo to ber
clomrea, wliilc ilic old clieckmnu cuinu whb his lnnU:ni to tick off
&rc8; aad it were vain to gueas wbac mor« might huve been mid of
noigliboitr tiichcrto so t'-Klcemed had tlie inatt«T not been settled by a roieti
111 liuiid.
" Ii tliere no' n, gTcyl>card in the boot ftr as?" it boarscly asked :
*' tlio niiair«S!i wiix tu bring 'i Jowa wi' her, but she didtia via u{> to town.
It'll be diieckit Tamnias liamogo, dowa the l«ui here."
From among n cluster of housefl down (h« ct'oot-road there projected
tavern with illuminaltnl door aud cawjuent, to which the chumaot poioled;
• place doitbtluet frequented frcm the aciglibouring bumcka, but iritb a
sign which had been ultervd oiid nuwly pointed, nx appeared the next dtjr I
passed it. llonetit Joe Marlinivr's tgnornncc IiaJ clierdbre beea hy ao
ni«&ii8 etrnnge, bnt during the brief rcmuindcc of Lia journey in our
company, his f«e!ings st'emed to tmn upon ibis point. " llang it, tbes,
missus I " ho muttered, staking a band on hia thigh after dtdivory of lJi«
wcll-tcDdcd freight, "la think all the ^vhile there wwi anather of tho natnt 1
I'll have gwuni llu're wa'n't — no, uul in the sliiro, uiuch lest at ourvctj
cornur. Il'fl un odd country for iiniuu:*, I must ny. for all oiw kamn,
liir, why— for dl one encs — it may be full of Unmagee 1 " His predooii-
sating emotion was manifestly one of disappoint men I.
" I'd glad, tliough, if you'll belivve me, ma'nm," said the wife, ai tL(
coach iitap[>ed for them, " it aiu't for our Mrs. }iAm-)iiage aAer oil! "
They were scarcely out, when once more a notion struck ilie gooJ
trooper, giving a clearness to his voico at departure : " But wl»t if it''
this son of hen, you know, tliat'a come and took the old King's Head f
Tnln't a cotumon name, ia Bamagcl Is bii iiaai« Thomas, d^e 1^^*'
If so, by Gi-orge "
And with a chciTy iimgh from her in reply, lliey weru lost in iJ*
Christnuu night, amidst lively sounds of the btigW, and the cliaig<>6
guard. For my own part, it was pleasant to believe tlic neightouri)'
Wnda WL-re not any way broken by that jar, and that, at ihe tt*
pccted arrival of Banaag«, junior, the Mortimers really would aid ^
celebrate it; receiring inilead of eoinc half-grudgvd admisaion tliniBgD
circuitous means to an impromptu dririkiug-bout, the epontaneom 0^'
Xiiilmi bcfurchaui] to it auiig ^-np of tea over the nay.
IntoHUch qm-er litiU' CubUavx — noway changed by narration, nve^
half the oddity is lost — will actual life in our grave Jforthcm reyiW" ^
occnaionally thrown, wlicu bomo along by our "basket." A dife***
inlereat luaika the last sample to b« givi-n; for ivhilc ili ia the latest oT*^'
•o that the very worJa are her* set down, liicre wna a aiiaple ftrcet'
nature nbout it, loucliing beyond ordinary. After an absanc« of «*
duration from home at Z , and from those ermnds to old A 1^
once mote reached the city by a long railway jounwy; only in frOfO
time for an afternoon txtfich to the Hvaside town. Sentod again in oj
ftivourii. nook of the good old compartment, which teaUj aeened lnxwiW»
I
ECCESTBICITIES IN A BASKET, 857
lesgnei of slenm iniTEilmg, I wnileil patiDntly for the signal ffom the
E on the wdl-knovfQ steeple ; my only fellow-pnsBcngcr li!l ihen bein^
k quiet middlc-agcd lady, eridently xcuatotued to the place. In suitable
atylc, w* were eongrfttiilnting oiirscIvM on having it all betirean us, for
the dsy bad beea wel, ihe loada wero htui -. tliough on vrhut else tJic con-
vemtioD was to turn, during tho three mileato Z , remtiin^d lignnlly
doabtliil. At the lAst moiDeDt, tttc door woa opened for iiii nccetutioii to
«iir nniabcr, in the shape oC an elderly Utile womnn, with her gown
tuid:cd high aroiiud, the ikirt over hor nrin, nod some df'groc of atiflneaa
ia mounting llie atep. She required additioiml help from the juvenile
ecodiMtOT vrithin, ere her rulilt:d garb was smootliud aad her Wcatb
guned ; but ure wero then rewarded out of a store of spccicli tljiit miiMt
haTO boca cxhaiutleGa. The neatest, pIcBsanleai-eyed, lireli&ti-dimpli-d,
noM apple-cheeked of well-to-do Hitte dfimes, with a mourning dreea that
Ml b«r off as if for cliurch, she turned to ua n face just of the sort to
Mt tbe basket ; and she UUked — 3 thing rnru in the rermuiulnr idiom of
ikt North— aa freely na a brook ninB, as f>airleaaly, with siniiliir unheai-
Utiiig aWodancc and wionitig eiLse. From her prolcit agaJnat the high
Sep* of the conches, Ler ucuipliuut of the wcuther, and acknowledgment
ef rhetunatio, we were cnrried through tEu' mislnkc about a money-order
alihe post-office — which had flustered hi-r enough iu itself — to the cause
M lier being obliged to go down to Z in person, Instead of ranking a
letter scrre the turn. We hiTjinie informed that her youngest sou, John,
mtin an excellent situation tliere, but propanL-d to bvgin hunittcss on his
ovBMGOtint; wherefore ihe meant to lend him the money in qucaUon,
vhich was her own. Straightway were we mode aware that hia fittlier,
^e own good-man, was well able to have done it, but of late had
itidiiwd to be "h&nl; " though he"l{i:-nt fine that he iniigt elncken his
Puift-stringn in the end, when e/ie thought fit to any the word." With
nodi more by the way did ehe acquaint ua, in n manner impoti^blc to feel
iBdioiu, had my mild apioEter companion been tha jnimmest of old maida :
"■mgotber thingH it soemed that the good-uiim, however niggardly dinpogcd
^|*Mnd, was even "overly prideful" about her dreaaing well when she led
^ome; more eapecially if, on 00 llie present occasion, she designed to visit
■By of her good-doiightcrs. Of xhtae oonnecttens — ihe wives, namely, of
*Oa~Ut« worthy couiile had sevcra], all well settled in gooil substiuitliil
bomps, ibough nl some diatance, aa waa to bo expected when young men
''■dig piuli their wny in the world ; and alic hinted confidenlially, that
^ tmUi was, tlicre might soon bi- another in the same case. Now being
*lMed on llie mod ao far, notwitliataudlng the weather and the good-
■tMA aotohets about fitting dresn for euch calls, a notion h:id juai Mruck
'>« to go on the length 0/ X liubonr, where one daughter- iu- law was
•atiblidied ; perhaps the beat-aettlwl of ihcm all, with the most right to
^ particular about things, seeing that Andrew waa in the Custoni-house,
^tAJina a very ri'xpuu.iiblfl slatioo. 8he scouted llie ihoiight of Pheinic
Wog otLerwiso thiui pl«at«d to MO her in any case, a»d liiiii to show her
I
8SB
EccEyraiciTiBs ts a basket.
tlieir uew Iiouae, or the boinu anjrtlung liat ^ad at lfi« stirpriw ; bat tha
cheery Utile body iadulged ooly a lialf-rvmoneful glue in thiu itealifig k
mftrch fin llic old man, although it were to proTO h« itood too tnadi w
eeretnony with davg'hton-ia-law. Her good-dnnghtera ap{Mw«d to b< »
favoured theme; tliey vm «ch u kindly a* IT tJie had found then cot
for hcrscJf ; they took tiVubU abvut her, tbovgli they had coal Ltr aoae ;
thoy vitnti! as dcnr to her, in lact, nod her hosboDd's ocremony od ika
matter was eridwilly atrange to licr mind.
" I KuppoK," »[ud th« quiet iuiddl«-«(^ lady V«mde mc, periiapt
wititout much ilrotigin on tho quettion, " you have do daught«n of ymu
owii?"
'" No, — no, metu," taid eho t^iickly- It womAd to m« tht had viaMJ
at the idea ; but tlio lirdy little woman was of a temper to dwell on no
wasta or rcgitta, aud bhc runhed oa again in new duixnine, attll btanig
a|K>n h«T tnnin topic.
Presently t)ie cnadi slopped to let down Kome faattager
cnralry hnrracks, hail' way to Z , and we were in nght of Uieir
nudn-gattt. The «puiRt little old body nt with her biKh that wi^, hat,
glancing half round, tdjecauicdintlie mldatof her talk; its thread m^
at the moment, uud she looked to tu again rather Tncontly. It atndt M
■flerwordfi thai, oa we passed on, she had atartcd at the manud
iMRiing from tlic parade square — of n measured tramp of men at
t^ praaoing of honwa, nod a sudiik-D trumpet-call. While we roUed ai,
"Ye were aayin' ■omvtliing to mc. mem?" elie inquired ni the tusit
watchlul of her faeanra ; " or may be it would bL- me thai waa tknag *t'
aomo o' my haverin' storica ? Uut I whylca need to b« keep't back U (Be
mark in my clavcn."
"U iKcnis you have been & treydlerT" •niwcTcd 1^ to lead eff "
random from the dliturbing thougfata fint caoeetl, evidently, by ■ imM"
nmc louch. " You haTelieenin London !" I nld, laying iiiest on theMri-
" Hoota ojc, that hue I, mem," was the 8e!f-complac«Dt reply, •i*
■omethiiig of tho previous hoartinoas ; "though yo might ww) ^
wondered, leddiea, at an auld body like me daitntiiig aboat to iT C*
sichu 1 wni ta'cn to ■««, tli« first time I was then, like as 1 had bm
a " But again the lone tumk, as she added, mournfully, " I ■•
hnee there, mem. Ye may hwdly believe il) — but it was when I «**
▼iiltin' my pnir daughter Jano."
All ili« light hxd passed out of her quick ey«, and theeolonrftdedfiw
her ccniplexion, showing Uaos of past troubles; yet ^ lookod itttHj
out (Vom it. \Vc feic constrained lo ask, almost in a whiapcr, "If ^
dead — your duugfalor is dead?"
InBlend of answering onr ques^OB, eho said, « Alliongh it's no* a (to?
that ni liido to have pried into, no, nor Ktwred up by some folka" spUlr*
there'a nac shame in tho whole o't, — nano wha(ev<4-. It gics me «»t W
^>eafc o't whyles, in fit ht^aring. Wotild ye Uka to hear aboot ter? ^
if J« would, I maun begin at (he very bssianing;
BCCBNTBIcrritS IN A n-VSKET.
859
" i^^r~c''*"" Jmi^ ""B^ n beautirul girl, — I'm her moiber, sud majrbe
ly il ; but 1 am Bo' ona lo oloee mj eves RgsiDot my baiia'a
hak», na* m tm the rati of chom, ihoagti they arc n' gade and well doing,
I onu* mj tfaey mn ao' rxtraurdinar' Ixmnj'. But Jaae wu our onljr
il— ghrw, m bonny » Imwa u y* ne«d wuh to w«. Sb« wu a wee, soMlly
tut tiiiof, DO doafit, but ipirjiy frae tlm firtt. IJcr faihcr used lo say eba
Wok wine of btr g(<ocl looks fra me, htil it wtu junt litB dafOng o' uild
tin«, far aaolKMly ebe e'er ba«ked his v/crda ; though in my dfty I watoft
that ill to am.
" Aweili ebe hw) a good (<dicati(in girea her, aa tliey a* bad, for the
fiod-BHm Mid, * Edicjte th^m woeJ, and then they'll b« able to ptub Ifaur
ijri my.' llo'i a w«ll-«d)cat»d mau hiuuel', m ye ken I didiiA intcrftre.
IWn wkn eho wm done vi' her schoolin*, I Rent Iwr m lt:ii-n the dms-
••kiag aad laaniy-mnkini^ ; for I thought ahe wonld make a real neat
kiyVmaid, toayhv to gnng abroad ukI sm the world ; though Iter hth«r
DM wild at nw Jbr Ihiakiag lac^ a thing, for ye ken Jaue was bli
fcTmritn ; he thought BSfbridy wu had bonny as hor, an' oh he wat
frouJ o' ber — [iroud at the kirk, prond when w« took s wftik, nae leaa
pmtd at h» atu bowj-otid, or if ahe ebAiK«d to he in th« nbop when foQc
eatn' in, and il vas itskit who she was adW the Blipt ont o' their ught,
A»«II, wliva she wasui asventeea year aatd, she was invited to a juirty.
Ok, llMty'ra bad thio^, Ihae patrtieB, — never l«t baimtt pang to piiiitics —
tit, it w«ana a bnll, it wna a pnirty at a diTcciit friend's Iiotue, a tanner thnt
IVB kDwr,an elder in our kirk, no lesi,but his houso was near tbeQuecn'a
Wt. Bef-uc that day, Jivne wna a quiet Umic Tor n' bcr looks; Ukin' to
t:«iW in Ui« hoaa» wi' her work, or her Itook, for a great reader ihe waa
f^rbrv : hut aAer tltal niglit, ererything a' die kind went wntng vi* Her.
-At Ihf p&irty, ebe bad met wi' a sodger — no' a common sodg«r, mind, bat
^ — gBaat, and an« o' the comlry, a rcgtni«nt o* the beat-liuned an' the
^^iiiui o' llina — and llac tlic moment ahe set vyce on him, her head wis
fcwied. tic waa no leas bin and food about her too, and ho mw ber hame
Vq the door, di^'itgh w« <lii)ii)i knnw it, anil they bndt) to meet again, nnd a'
%liat tort o' tiling ponul between them. A' tlte while, too, then; waia
viMt Tv^iecUblc young mn, mq to t grocer of oar Acqtuintanoc, tbat had
J'QM doted iipon Jnie, and when they used to pradtee thE>gQlhcr in tli9
^bsJi^clais o Huv congr^tioR, she had gi'cn him iome eneoiimgemcnt,
^ doqbtnA ; 99 whnt did be do Mt the head o't, hut be vraa olF to Americn,
*uiil had mode a hnntle o* money tlitough the tronbles there, and be wrote
%cnic, puir Jad, ibat hv was coming buck to marry lier. We liked him
teal Well iiuT»H;r", and if it \xni\i<-\ htfim ftir tljc nodger, so diil she, I rerily
%*Barc, and would hare tn'en liim. HoweveTf aome time passed, till I
fiand dbL who die wsa kcepbt' uimpany wT, and I put it to Iter. She
HTtr denied it, hnt itni^ht out on' Atk^d leflve- fitr him to como to the
koiofc I Hrinii'd a long tiino to her, ti'l't her how angry her failii-r would
be, an' -he wouldcut lir-lm ; bo I ttimigtit it wuuld be Cu* bfiter
! 1 -It her oin fireside, than gnun ilrnvngiiing tlirongh (be
960
sccEtrrBiciTiBS m a basest.
«treelk Accordingljr lie cam', tl)o sergeant cam* — for »h« woulna It
him oa'd a aodger — a fin« mucklc! t:i11 liaiul«onit»-l'>oking chi«r lie wat,
inual eay, and n (^nd Ulker. He had boco to India, and to Ireland,
irhere not — and he coald dcaeribc about evn^rthtng ye wanted to ken
though whylfs, w)>en he wai vaunting about the armjr and u on, I
bim that aodgen w«r« little betl«r than big targots, drca«»d up in
or blue, an' set upon a horse's biick in jingle till llwjr vtr» knockit ower.
He dtdns like it much, but he wm cyan good-tempered, and be uaed mpt
to aoflwer that the ciumy w<-i« jtut the same. Then I would mj badi ta
liim, ' Oh, we've naelliing ado wi* the enemy — it*a yvn I'm apeakin' to, aa'
at ony late llic eumiy docenn want to take awn' toy ailly bit laeaic then I '
That was Llio wny I Viivp't girdin' at him, in hopes to driire him off; Do'
rorgeltin' itt n lime, to make mention o' tlie young grocer, an' hia tnoceas
in litV. But I couldoa look at Jane's lace without sceiu' bow the an
stood, nn' aonic way or other they managed to make theursel't happy, in
&ct she uid tbe aergeanl likit me particular well. The warst o^t wu,
thAt her Either being throng wit' hit boauien at th« time, and no' iacili
laic in lite evenin', he saw but liule o't, and tbocbt leas. Wae aa 1 U
say this day, that I let the truth he blinkit Jnio him, for I was aye l)0[>(a
to bear o' the rvgimont boln' idiifted.
*'In lac', at limt the orders cam', as I didna fail to hear ; t]>« ingBtat
had to be off to Aideraholl, and glad was I to tvt hit back tun»ed. J ^
a' I could to separate them then ; 1 kequt op tbe lettert he wrote u ho,
and some she wrote to liim, but it was found out, and they were addj<t*'"i
or thry w*re posted, other ways. I ^lokc to her, I'm sure my toogaa ■*
never off her ; but she would not hiteti. Word cam' to me quiMly, M
bow young Sandy Stewart was arrived in Livei^ool, and was Mttlia*k>*
affairs to ooane hamo in a week's time, wi' some grand ower'sea preMOti
for his mother an' our Jane ; and I said nnetliiag o't, thinkin' to lafc' ^
by sarpriac. But that was ItM use titan a', in fac' it wrought thiogt l°*
bead. Uow the sergeant got wind o't, 1 caana tell ; but no' a diy or >**
before youog Stewart wun hame, back cornea my gentleman, and that *^
night Jane told me that he wanted her to marry him. I tcll'd b0, ^
father would never gi'e his consent, nor e'er forgi'e her if she 4^ •
any wxy underhand ; and this the keat very woel bersel'. She bcgge' "
to speak to him, hot I wouldna neddle in it. ■ Mother,' slie says, W<^
claaped her twa Itands tbegecher, *] aniM hae him.* ' Awcll, Jsac, ■■?
woman,' I rays, ' you'll rue it once, but that'll be a* your life. Ye'U 1**^
yoMr faiber'a heart, and bring lii» grey hairs with aorrow to tbe g****".
Thai night the went ou^ and cam' back again about ten o'clodi lo^^
awfu' fliufaed and feverish, but she said naelliing raair, till the d^
morning she tctled me that they had gone belbrc a justice o' the pcsctt*"
had got married.
" Oh, her Alher was an angry man that day, but I got him ifekV
ewer at last. ' John,' 1 says, ' aince the deed ia done, it canna be k^ '•
the best thing now to do ia to get the miiustez aad ha'c them taan>c'
i
BCCESTMCrTIES IN A ItASKET. 861
pro|>«rIf. It'll nnrtr do to lot ths rc«bora see elto hfts dono that i^ilbout
jotir laiTO ; b««Ide«, yo ken, he can claim her by the law at any inonipnt.*
Thftt irigliteiied liitn to the extent, that at hiet, ofWr a tore rci»Ic, lie gi'cJ
in, proTidcd a' sbould be dorK* duly and in order, according to the fear of
OoA, ind t)ie aergeaat liiid« to sign nn agreement befor^hand^being of the
prcJstical peraoaaion liimaet' — if there was any fainiiy, to allow thtir
upbringing under pure Presbyterian orditmnoca, and the shorter catechiBtn
ms to be learned thciu. It would ha'o mflde tlic dourest heart wac to «ce
the good-man when lio thrvip't ithout tlils boforc me to the sergeant, liko
u it bud wme eue to hi» raind, an' couldna be brolifii throiiglk i' the
application; but tht) ncrgennt inatlu no difTicuIty about it. Well, tbcy
were married— properly and beautifully married — and i snt up till day-
break to get finisthi-d y/V the rilk gown I bought her, a cli a nging -coloured
■ilk it vu, and hvr fatlicr gave )mr a good kJst-full, itnd I garo licr routb
o' Rhocta and blanket*, haniR-jipiin dapt^ry, spun in my mother's time, no'
like the common trash yo buy onwodays.
" Then they went to Ncwcasllo, and a yenr arter, I went there to be
vi* her when her first hahy was bom ; he had her two eyes, but oner like
the father otherwise tor my taatCi though a bonny bairn, I visited her in
difercnt place", nnd was' aye greatly attended to myscl', for the aorg^iuit
■id hia frienda apared no trouble, nor they llitjiight tme aicht or ithow
«*er good for tne, I must say ; though I aye withstood (he temptation o'
Mige-pli^in', but I ncednn speak mair against it without experience.
AvcH, &n« London the Ent time I yras thcrc^ Jane cam' down wi' ma
hmd' and her two children, winnome wee things to lia'c by us in the
hooH; and weel micht they draw round the good-maTi'n he.'irt m ihvy did,
^ttnn' thcta their questions and their bits o' pnrnphrasca wi' hit lun earn,
liU jrc would ha'e said he was well-nigh eontcntrd about the icrgoAnt. It
*u when ahc waa witli na this way, that the word cam' frae hpad-
^iwlcn that tlio regiment woe ordered for the Indies, Oh, aim wna whit«
*«w, puir young thing, when wo heard it first. ' Mother,' saya she, a'
** » Dwnient, ' I most go too — vfhercvcr my mnn gota, tlurc must I and
^ baima be.' ' Oh, Jane, Jane,* I «aid, ' if ye gang, I'll never «ce yoii
'OiR'N-umethiDg 'II bcful ye in tliat wild country,' I said, for I fult it in
"•i 'w yc'U die and be bnVy't in the weary «cj» — Oh, Jane, ntay wi' ymir
"HitW tike a good laaiie I ' I says I« her. Nacthing I said could daunt
"** from it ; ahe waa bent upon going. Her fnilio- waa worse agninht her
!**■■; than he had been at her marriage; but wJiat could he do? he bod
"'gi'e way at the l:ist, aa before.
"Awell, ahe went away, and a dull dull house ye may hclicvc they
'^ bohiod them. We had letter* from her at last t then after tJiat,
^mther bat^ was bom to her in the Indicu, and ilie wrote word how
^Xleli ahe hii4 missed mc, for I had been with her at the rest; the fao'
*>■, I eouldna h.i'c \flt the good-man hii 'Inrtc, or cIm, mtjht^, I would
**'• featured ower the aea till her in time. She ti-l't \m no little forbya
tb(«it the plaocfl they were in, both the barracks at Dum-Dum aa they
Tou no.— HO. 75. IS.
soa
fiCCESTEICTTlES IN A BASKET.
ca'd it, and the fort al Cnlcutta, wi' (ba blacic tinnH she had, aod wrruitii
like gentiy at home, aad qneei macbioea to aarj tbem about on men's
«houldcr«, and privAtc quarCen 9* b«r own to bide in, fat tb^sergeAnt ^t a
Stuff ajipoiiitmoat, and moiklo nion ahs «rot« to tell iu ; fast ajre her
Ictten cam' onrer the worda in diiTereDl pairl3 o' them, ' Ob, mother, if
I could only MC yon again 1 ' Aye, puir Ume, that will nevmr lio in tbi«
vrarld- — lur the next ]«ll«r brought news that my bonny Jane waa dead"
Tbc wlul« id)« bad been tiling tliis little story, tb« good voman'*
Toifie naa firm and dJatinot, wiAout a quiver is it ; now ber olor «y« wa*
diamcd, tbe vrioklea deepened toirards it, bcr lips contracted In paitk-
upoa the loot lutter word. It vaa in different tone*, like UKMe oT
other person, that she added ilowly, nodding lier bead to each epith«t ;-
" And the sodger — Jane's man — the sairgeam — the great lenseltai taurget*
as I v«el might ca' him — no' nine months after, ho mu married again.
And the hxiros, my bonny Jane'a threa bairn*, we dimia ken yet wberai
they arc. But wo ha'c written to head-qnaztcra, and juat ooiy i«t me hear
o' the regiment being in England, an' if I had to traivd tb* road on 6t,
rU gang to him and march them off hanie to onr ain hooae, snd
pcnon shall daur to hinder, if my pnir mi«guided Lun« bad but ta'
my advico, she might hn'u liuen in t)ic. land o' the living at thta day,
Ler father, my puir Jolin, woiiUdji lia'e been the man he is. Is be ID, ye
ink, mvm ? No, h«'» no" juet ill — but he's been kind o' dotedways ease*
the news cam'. The doctor eaya, just to keep bin cheery, and we mawn
nye mind there's a aare world abono, and I da my hett- Bat loA
me I " Rhfi cried, Marting up aa th<i conch entered the outskirts of Z
" I had to get out near here, and thi4 is the addrcas wrilteo on a bit paper
— the gude-DMU) wwii pub it down, like na I waa a baim, no' fit to take
care o' mysel' 1 I tcll'd him be should row me up in brooo paper, and
Htick the addresHPfl on my back, like ann o' hia hamess-piecoi 1 N<)i\
1 miun gel out, laddie — I'm by the place, maul "
The boy stopped the coach, ahe heartily bid na both good-day, is
which we cordially responded, while the worthy little dame was kotbA
amidst t!io muddy road, needing no help thb time, howuvor, Ob b«f Wf-
She minified with the thoroughfare sa we rolled on, and we law h**
no tuoxe.
I fit,
] mr J
1
•'AcTTH tsi ! My Iioliifciy ia over t" I cxclainiei], ns T tiirn«(1 my back
frn IttphAoi'i St. Cecilia «l Rolagna, AadI sot my face to-vrnrils Rimiut.
Buc wlio enjoys a lioIiJay liko a relurniKl Sahib aflcr Iiis long nb-u>sco
fiixa bome? Tlte invigorating air of England sccma to lespood to bis
•ItgMcrt moranest, and broathe aronnd him m it wcro a slTang«, dvli-
cioaa tnuaic. An for mp, like a CAreAit «f iciire resolved to sip ei^oymeoit
to the dreg», I bad tamed away firorn the PurBdlw of home to look in on
ihc plaasact wicke«lnes9 Of Horn burg, and hnd crossed tho nwTiirg Rhine cl
Basic before 1 remembered that tho dawn of" Black Monday" was already
nddcniog for me in the cxpcctnnt East. LanaaDnc, muijically Dsmcd
Loannnr, tnd " glorioiui Milnn '* were fttill l>c!i'ro mo. But ihvmi were
fits^flecllng pleasiire5. Bnlngnn, Kimini, Ancona, rapidlj- succeeded f-ach
«thcr, and passed away like passing thoughts. At Brindiri, than which a
more hearcn-forsaken hole is nowhere to be found, the light had vanished
altogether from my face ; but as I stepped on board the IlaliaR sleamer
bound Jbr Ale-Tandria, tlic purpoMi I had formed to make a sapplementar^
botiday of tho trip through Egj'pl, and visit the works in progieu through
Sqcz and Port Saccd, threw a Ia.tt ray of KUcii^iac over my departing
Joyj. Black itlonday nc«d rot be bo hlaok after all.
rfererthtJess, if I coald have forgotten for a moment that my route
Iiy "Eastward Ho!" the crowded deck of tlie sttnmer wouM very
i^Kdily have rnninded inc of the hnnl miilfer-of-lacl. Tlie majority of
the poEScngcrB were returning to a luiid from which they had Had .iboiit
few Rionthe prcviOTWly in abject dread of the Cliolcra. Hero wan tfio
*bolc Alexandrine world submitted to my obserTntion in a microcosm.
Ss<l a Babel of languagcf, eucti a miicellimy of nalionniitifs — cigarette-
fmoking wotnen of bilious compk-xlon and port«ntoni obeuty, and fez*
**Pped mfn, whoae one hope wns cotlcn, and whose one fear cholera,
■^ht be fctudiod to fldvaninge eJs«wherc in tho Levant; bat nowhere
•oiild ihc individual dmract<'ri«tics be found more strikirsty marked.
"o'dd I could ikclch tlicni with the felicity of Dumu, if it it to him
"* are indebted for Ihc fancy that a modern Turk Sn tight frock -eoat and
** (^rmhln nothing «o much lu a bottle of old port., red-scaled I
^•di^ the dock among Uicse molloy group*, an the vcmoI glides over
*• niwoth and tlihiing Adriatic, one i* teniiilod to apcculate on the
**''*»t»nction of an exact Rcale of knavery which aliontti teach liow many
?**« equal one Annenian, how many Armeniana one Malteae, how many
**l|«ae one Gro«k. Alexandria is llio witches'-cauldron in which all
_'**« ooQgeoial demants seeth and fu»c. A bandfut of Kuesiani, some
I
I
GernukTU nnd English, manj French and more Italisiu, are the ingredionin
added by commerce ; Comtaotinoplfl throw* in ft few Torkuli offioiah,
and fin</ Africa h«rflolf supptlies tlio d«fnfin(li or ph^iical lubtmr in the
penionii of handmmQ brawn Antbd, "with legs" (aa Lady DnffGordoD
Bay*) "liko JoKn of Bologna'a Mercury," — swarthy Xiihiam gnntiinj*
from ear lo ear, — and Copts widi features and coinplcxloa which exactly
reproduce their blae-tiat«d progenitors on tlio tncmmy-casM in tlic
British Mtixenni. Mndnmo Otytnpe Audotuinl, who BhoiUd be an
aittliorily on the subject, r.h.iracterif.c3 the Orcek and rtalian nierdianta
aa mlgar and insolent, " sans pareils,' and for a certain knot of the aanie
races she can scarcely find 1an^ing<4 siifficivntly xtrong— '" sanii i«i, nt loi,
Telcurs ct a*wuHin>, qui aost unc dcs pUicH d'Egypte. Ces Grcca, c«9
ItalieDB, Be donnent des oonpa de couteait, se tirenr des coups de revolver,
trfea facilemcnt ct trts fi-^n)nemaicMt. 'Usee taent cntre eux,' dit-oa ;
' tant niieiix I e'en est do moins.'" Still ono must not bo ungrateful.
Tim frL'-Ii date* of Alexandria ileoerfc Mtno acknowh-dgmcnt, and tbo
poli>hcd ro9tc-rL-d ccdumo, miKallcd Pompuy'a Pillar, worthily marks the
Bite of a toroplc which rivaliod in mflgnifiecnoc the Oapitot of'Homc. For
the real, indeed, the glortoua city, whose fonndation was forealiadoweil by
Homer, U so more as sho has been. The psIaCM of Cleopatra have giren
place to the riuinos, the cc/i's-chanlanlt, and the garaing-hDlIs of llie
Levantine. The schools of the dreamy Neo-Platoiiirts hare been sue*
cpoded by tha conn ting- house* of too practical spwulators; nnd on th*
whole it is a relief to exchange Uie tanlaltiing memories and tlic sordjil
realities of »udi a pbicc for the still living romance of Cairo.
Cairo, as every one knows, is atill fssetitially Oriental in appeanuice;
more so than Bcnarca, mucli more so than modern Ltickoow. "Ste
Naplea and die," says the Italian proverb j but it is good, also, to look
down on Cairo from 3u citadel, and live. That citadel waa bnill by
Saladin. The sumptuous monjuc of Oriental aluhaster through which yon
pass, is the burial-place of the rictorioiis Mahomed Ali. Yoa emerge M
upon the ramparts from which the lust of the Mamelulcea leapt for lifir« ^
nnd won. And there yo« puuae. The confused latmuur of n grektcit^y
lying fur below surges up to you from a brown wildcmaas of boildins*
pierced everywhere by countkra minarets, and eiifnLmccl in such peerl^*^^
setting as only the flooded. Nilo and the everlasting Pyramid* can gisT*^-
Itound tliG whole horizon stretches a j>!acid labyrinth of water, amov
«]nat«Tit)g idands of emerald verdure, where broad sails horer h'ke whiL
winged birds, and the columnar date-palm (lonls double, palm and thado
Beyond the Nile, and on tJic «lgc of iho Libyan di-scrt, behold I*^'^
Pyramids J Thero they stand in the grey fcrvoiu' of an Egyptian n«^*^*
austere and solitary wiihio the sphere of their own re-Jigiousncjs. ^^^*
stnod they, already some centuries old, when the Clialdcao sbei*^-'"
Abram, with his t«o-bcautiful Sarai, was driven by fanuue into the laO''
of Egypt.
Of course I vittjtcd the PyramUa, nud, aa usual, tlic Arab cicen?**^'
I
VISIT TO TITIS SUEZ CA5AL.
did their best to d«stroy whute^'ec entliusiBsm the vieJt might liiLve losplrad.
Ad Jruilation of thrc« Engliab chccni roug out rrcni tlie gxng of iiiendi-
cants a« I BCt my foot on tho summit of tho Great I'jramidj and tha
sound had acucely died nway when one of tbeai struck up "Yaukee
Doodle," and a second, to mukv sure of niy uatiotialily, pointed out
Jlspoleon's bmtk-ficld, niiil duclaimed with viru«ion, " Soldatfi, qturante
Ici^clw Totu re^urdi'^nl." In f|>ita of tliiis one a»tuys to look round with
Bomc liulc Kuiftiuiog iiuprcdaivu of avrc, and bubdd — Jcaay Liad's unino
cut on the t«piuoiit stone 'by her servanl I It is iinpoaaible not to Inugh
mad light ik cigar, tliough below you liei tlie Sphinx of Sphinxes, coucliattl
anong ten thousand scpulcbrea, and L^ftide you tho oilier pyramids,
\rhcre the kings of Mtmphia " lie iu glory, every one in his own house."
I I found simpler pluasiii'c, before Icnviug Cairo to carry out my origina\
purpose, at UcIiopoli<, tiie Ann vr Uii of Kzeldel, mid thu BcthiihcRifoh «f
Jereauali- The low itiuund!t of «aith, with the fieltln mid gardeJiN ouin-
pnacd witliiu their Jiiuils, look inaig^iiiticant enough. Yet this is tha
undoubted rate of t)ie great Tempk> of the Snti, lliv high-prlost of whiuh
WOB lktbcr-ia-]aw to JosL'^ph, luid in luti-r tinim tlic teacher of Moees. A
losg aT«nu« of sphinxes which led up to the front of tli« temple, termi-
DUcd in two obeli&ks with gildi-d apices — the gifV, thirty-eight ceuturteji
■pi, of OeirtaseD tho First, tliQ prototype of the Icgondiiry Sesoalris. One
cTlheM obelisks i* stiil creet in it« propir pliico. " It is the oldest known
ia Egypt, and ihcreforu iu the woild — ihi- fiithcr of all that huro arisen
NACc. It vriu nuMd about a century b&tvre the cotniug of Joseph; it
lac looked down on his mamage with Asenalh ; it hug seen tlie growth
tif Itloaea; it is uicotiDncd by lU-iudotus; PIulo nat imtli;r its shadow. Of
•U the obclialcs which sprung iip around it, it alone has kipi its first
podtiooi. One by 000, it ha* scrn it« sous aud brothers depart to great
(Itatinies elsewhere. From thtato gardens came the obelisks of the Latcran,
of the Vatican, and of the Porta dtil Popolo ; and lliiit vcnuruldc j^illar (fur
*o it looks from a distaiicv) Ix now almost the only hiiidiiiark uf the great
■^«l of thg wisdvin of £gypt,"
Nor ore these the only memories connected with the obelisk. Where
'!»« Indian corn now rustics round its base, once bloomed a g:irden of
'^»l«Mn, planted by Cleopatra. Never before her time hud the Bulm of
'. ^ileri passed out of Judita ; but if the '* Serpent of old Kile" conceived a
|^^'%«y, who was Herod that he should say her nay ? Aitcrwards thcss
X^<A«la traT«IIed sotithwarda into Arabia, nitd thus ihc \vliim of Antony's
****tMrnii still lires in tiie luotleru B,i!.H.iin of ^[ecca. Crcn tho lurid halo
f ^^(^fcrrod by moderii war is not wauling to complete the dignity of
k '^liopglis. Sixty-five years ago thcso mounds and (ields were ringing
I ^ ^CL tlie diit of battle : Oilonian horsemen dashing desperately upon tho
[ "'lUsrca nf France, and Klubcr's greiuidicrs charging for the lost Tictory
, ^cir (h>onipd general was de*tined to share.
I Wbilc at Cuiro, I nmuacJ myself, and wai nt the same time better
^^K^pand to ondcntoad what I ehould mc of M. de Leeteps' ludcrtaking,
by iaquiring wliat hlolory had to uy coDceming an/ iioiilRr aH«iBiit to
BDJlc tlio t«-o Ku in pwrt ogci. 'J'lie i<lea or ootuKCtiug tlie watera of
tbc Hed Sien with thoce of the Mcditerranam is by no tueoDs a corclty.
It Higg»ated iuelf area more naturally to Uio despots of ancient times tlion
to iuo<lt!ni eogiaoera. Go lotig as tLo Cajiw ot' Good Hope r«m8UM»l osdis-
ix>vei«d, tlio gold, ivory, ^lea, and peacodcs of ilifl Indlaa aod Amtnait ■
Irado liad hiu'dly any other route to Uic more nortbcro ocDtrcs of civiliza-
tion than u]) the iJ^d S«a. At fint tight, hovcver, an imporUuit diHerecce
i» aoticeablu between the plan of )1. de Ltuseps and tliat of tfau Pharaohs
and Plolumica of old. The latlcr cuiintctcd llic Itcd Sea with the Pdusiac
or BubA«ti« — that in, the inoiit eastern — branch of tbo Nile, tnakiog that
river tiieir paaugu for lUu n«t of the way to lh« Mediterraneaa ; the
uiodera canal i> to ^an thu i4tiimiu in a direct line of its own, frt>m one sea
to th<j other. The aadont canal wa.a known aa the Canal of Hero ; it U
olaa tjomctimcs called the Canal of AninuL'. But the credit of it« exccu-
tion i» due to Rimtae* the Second, the lame monareli whoso a<^ueT«-
tnent< iiiidL-r tito saua ofSetottrU have made that natD« m nnowned.
Its uri|;iut therefore, dates 1,800 yean hd'ore tho ChriMian era. The
ftfitii III which it started from the Niia varied under the diffetvnC vnttfcs
of mtoration cSected by lucceeding princes, but tlic area of Yariatko
Dcems nut to havD extended beyond Bubaslia to the north, and Bdbayaj
i'2 tniko fui'thi'r iwuth. From the ueighhourliuod uf Rithiistis ihu« d«fin^,
the wilier lluued nearly due cast for Sa mika, and ibi-ii curving aomh-
vnrd, rau by the Bitter Lokoi to the Ked Sea. It ia aaid to bavs been
300 feet broad by 40 deep, and jirohably ic met the sea further north than
could now be tlio caw, the laud about Sucx having considerablj risoi
aineo tbo dayi of iho PharanLi. Aru>r a lapKo of eei-en oenturiei, doiing
which n<^cet and the luindy nature vf the aoil had brought dentruetioa
to the chiuinel, I'liaraoh NecLo set hiuself to repair the work of bis gml
predacowor. One and twenty thousand men, neeonlitig to Uerodstu^
paiuhed in making the excavation, and at length the attempt vraa aban-
doned, bvutUBe an oracle hod tvamcd the king thnt he was "laboutias
for the 'barbarian." la b2!} k.c, wbon E^pt keconie a satrapy of Persa,
Durius completed what Keclio hivd begun; andon the " Suex atom" D«i^
Iho embouchure of thu canal, there i« to ha teen nn inacriplion in tlKS
I'trsinn cuncifonii cliaractt-r, which read»— "Daritu the Great King.^""
About 2&0 ti.G., Ptolemy Pliihidclphus re-opened and improvcil tho fce^^Vi
and tho Cnnal of Areinoe di^riveti its title frctii hi* siittrr, i» whose hoBOtB^*'
he founded a town near tlie modern Siux. The work of I'tolcmy a|ipeu^=^
to have been maintained till iho coruniencement of our cm, br Cleopati^^^
after the battle of Actium, talked of irunflpcrting her gnllays to the Rc^^^
Bea, and flying nouthwardi with her Itomaa lover, lo unknoun ho
beyond the power of their conijucror. After thi« the canal nifilred &oni
loug purled of n^gkct, until, in tlie ievenih century, the Cali{jh Omar
lor hiinneir aud hie tuoc(«earK tlic proud title of Aoiecr el MomeiMeo, Pri:
of tho yaitbful, by once more making the vntcra Qow in Uicix n
I
ooane, sod lo acoding tlmcl; supplies of com lo Uie holy cides of Arabia.
Hew iong the pMMgft rctn&inrd opt^n aHer Omar, u dotiblfiil ; tbr ou the one
hand, the exne cnltph who fbtmded Bagdad is said to Imvc purposely stopped
the chnnel for -political noaoiu, and, on the diIu;t, there is a aiory that
English pilgrims cnilrd duwn it in thu ninth century on their tray to tlie
Holy Land. When W. de LiaseiB cummencL-d operations, llie only portion
of tlte okl work that r«niained practicablu — nnd ibat solely for purposes
of irrigation— was a length of ooine twenty -six miles nt lis commenocrncat
new BukoAis. Tiia was called the El Waflee Canal, or Canal uf the
Vallc^i and it served to water the land round Tol-tl-Kabaer, wliiob is
BOW knoirn as the Wadee Estate {Domaiae de C0>iaf1y). AU the rest of
Its ooone was foond to bo choked with sand ; ncvcrthcli'te, at intervals,
■ad wpecully between the Bitter Lakes and Suez, it \vas n&t dilSoult to
ttsM reatigea of the ancient bed.
The tnodcra Ficccb acbemc embraces the following constnicttona : —
1. A msritime canal, 100 miles loag, 189 ftet broa.dj and 26 foci deop,
Gfam Port Saee<] on the Mcditcrrauciin direct to Suez on the Ked Sea.
S. A Evrcct-vratcr cunid, about 60 feet broad by 8 foot deep, whiuli,
starting fiom Zagaxig on tlic Mut^ Canal, flows eastward to Lake Timaah,
and tbvro meets the maritime canal at a right angle half-way .luioas the
latfamtu. It tlicn bends southward and rons in & parallel liuu vrith (lie
maritime canal to Suez. Zagazig being close to BubastiR, and ibo Moea
Ckoal almost Jdcntjcal with the oM Tanttic branch of the Nile, tliia sweet-
water canal is io fact little mere tlian a rcproduotiou of tho ancient canal
of the Pharaohs.
3. Aoo^er sweet-water Mnal, wliicli ta to he an essential feeder of
the prindpal cbaiuiel by bnnging to it, at a point some 10 lullcs cost of
Zo^uig, Ibe w&lcnt of tlie Ifile taken from the main utrcaiii near Cairo
above the apes of tlie De]Ut< This channel is to be made entirely at the
cost /uad under the direction of the Egyptian Government. It was begim
a year ago on the very nystem of furced Inlx^ur which the Faaha had
withdrawn from the Fnnioh, but was uispended in coaiwiiucncc of the
cholera breaking out when but little progress had been nmdc. The
voAa have since been resumed, but I shall not Snd it necesary to my
asythiag more cunceming (his supplementary channel.
The present stato of thu Frctich works mixy be roughly summarised
•a (uHows : — ^Tbo awcct-nater canal ta Cmshed from Ziijiuig to Timsah,
and thence to Suez. The great mai-itime canal Is open, not in it* full
breadth or dvplli, hut in a thin and shallow trench, known as llie Sigole,
Iran Ha tcnainus on tho Med! terraaoan lo its half-wny statiun, lumiilia,
m iMka Timsah, where it meets thu cwuel-water can»l. By uaing, there-
fore, tlw maritime ngolc at the norlhern end of thi: line, and the sweets
water canal at the soutltcm, it is poMible now lo paM from one sea to llio
etlwr, at least in one uf ths country boats. And this is llic ft-at which,
when Grse performed Inst August, brought telegraphic congmtulatioos
from the Fietich Enipcior to M. de Lcsseps, perplexed the English proas,
k
868 A VmiT TO TUB SUIUS CANAI.
and roufifd in thf rtsl of Eurojic a feeling of wliicli the Gcrm&a Kladdera-
dahch wiu pcrliiipa the but exponent, wLeu it dfUiieatviI U. d« LesMpa
triumpliantly dragging a liay boat from betweea tl^e legs of John Bull,
wlio lainly 'bentndts ihc new juncdoQ of tlic ecasUko a ColossoB foiled
ttud furloufi I
I will now dcMcribv, an inleliigibl/ u pcuibW, what 1 nvr uf tlat
workfi — premising tliut 1 liuii brouf;lit to Cairo a lettcar of idtfoducUoiL from
tlto India Office, und waa not a little diaappoi&ttid to find that tlie getitl«-
inau to wliom it Mas addrcucci lutd started for CoDSlantiDople the daj
befon tny arrival at CatiO. Under thcso circumBtaaoet, I ircnt direct to
tlw t^Sae of ilie Coual Coiupnuy, and threw myEolf on tliu tuurlt-iy of tlis
sgcnt. SJgiior Vtruoiii proved to be u gcntlemiiu of Scotch ongin, wlioM
ikuilj had long b««n domiciled in Italy, but he Btill boM the arau tad
Kell-known motto of the Vemons. Nothing could exceed hia oiTiliiy. I
had only to explain ivho I wne, aa^ what I wanted, to be fumiahBd witli •
l«tt«r which Kiiiovod nU dilTtcuhy, and next luoniiug I slaitod on of
expoditioD, accoiupanieil l>y a youug Euglisliitiau, witli whom tbe ibitaaa <
of travel lutd niiid^ mo ac-:{uaiuteil. I wu tctry to Irn-a Cairo. Xa tlte
Consul-General's hospitable rooms I had mvt a IJimoua Euuzn traveller,
whose coaTeraatdon wols as chamiiog an hia dccda had been kdvcntoroBf,
and the evening* at Shcpht>rd'B Hot«l were truly " nocUt cixifuptt dtim^'
Tlic train which runs from Cniro to Alexandria set uh down atBanlu-
el-Afiutl, a town near the eulrancii of the Mot's Ciuuil, fioni which point a
branch line touk us i-3»tward tu Zngozlg, skirting [he MUth bank of the
Much. Nearly thu whole diatancc a cuntinuoua hnc of trees, topped at
intervals by a white sail or the trailing smoke of (l st«amcr, renders tha
Doblc work of the founder of Cairo eauJy dificernible along the whole line
Field aAcr livid of thv most luxuriant cultimtion ntveDts tlie justice wiUi
which this ancient cutting has been etylcd tha Golden Canal ; and t^
nearer vtow, obtained at Zaga^ig, of a etreani loO feet broad, studded with
ialetf, and navigable all the year for Urge boat5, gives the iuiprtaoioB
rather of a river than of a canal.
Zagozig, where the awcet-wator canal begins, ia a dirty lowo, oatd to
contain 30,000 iuhabitunla. Ila rise ia due lisa to the French Canal Com-
pany, which ia here conteul to be slenderly represented, than to the worW-
wido inflaence of the American war. The value of the cotton brought
through the place during the lost year, lor sliipmeni at Alcicandria, has
been entimntcd at l,8OO,OO0^ And to faciUtatG the trauxit of this
enormous production, two new railways are soon to be opened — one ditvct
fa) Cairo, and the otiicr to Mansooro, on the Damietu branch of the Kile.
But ancccssrul places, like fiUflcessful people, ore nvt alwayi U>e iDOstj
agreeable, and the neighbourhuod of 2^gazig has metal more attragMJ
than ita internal eqiudor. Wc were lent ou visiting the ruins of Bubfl^^
Ni'ither horses nor donkeys being procurable, wo started ucrosa country
on foot. There stretched a green sheet of ludi^tn com and yellow-flowering
cotton between us and the dua-coloureJ inoundo of Td Bast, and twice
ana ivice ^
X Ji B I T E R „
^^ AT
^.V
'■'rLfWlBUirfflillJrttiiur. C»ii«]iItr«rlfT"ni Pod fited lo Son. |«rt olllieiiiim.fnnn Port 5moI
M Ltk» Tb«««b,lio*»iliifi"0 10 111* n»«l(;<t[iiinjriin4Ut(»«l»,UlBC»'i»o(»ili*U«»rl(0»«.
I>l.i. TV* SBMi-«*Ut Aeal lUiUbol alsBi Iti *hc)a cuone.
\&— 5
wo
A TlSrr TO THS 8UKZ CANAL.
P
we were tumtd back bjr coiaiog euddcnly upon one of tlie numero
Vftt«r-ooursei which interact tho black soil in erepy dirt-ctioii.
A Twtexjnnae of desuUtion, enclosL-d wJihin a cteu-ly dcflaod circaij
or lofty moanda, u nil tlial Knuums of Bubutla. Koeo-de«p in po
duet ire climbed lliu nbspvlcKt bUlocks tltnt oiicc wore lli« outer r«ta]
of the city. PilvK cif cruiiibliug earili, niaity of tLem corered
tliiolily iritb broken pottory as Monte Testaodo at Some, Uy
beaped togelher, or EepEuntcd by cbasiiis of Ihu inofit varied dei
fltecpaese. Yet ia tb« mi^lsit of ibis cbooa U woa poauble hero nnd
to discern tlio partial conrigurnti&n of ft street, and eveiywbttM nMcettiY^
layurs imprinted on tJiu mure upright innjura o( mould ahowed tlwt ibi
botiM; walla bod been built of tiii^itame crude brick wbicb the luiMlites fooa^
■o difficult (o tuanuracture out of Nile mud, ivithout the Usual toixtun; it
chopped sti'aw. El«:wbere lime and the cleinetiU may bare worked theii
will ia vitrifyuig or pttrilyini^, but here tbcy have pulverised oil tlig
vrurks of tnuu. Duej> In duMy drath li<w tb« metropolis wUch ga'
Solomon Ilia haughtiettt bride j where utooJ the pulsuc which gare
to llie iii£ailt Hadad, the last of hia race, when Joab siuote every mole ii
Edom ; and where Jciobonm fled for shelter oAcr the dangvroua diitinotioif'
cuiifurrvd on him by Abijikb'a proplircy. Xot a living thing is now to
■een within llio oreii from which Shixhiik iMsucd forth, "with twelv*
hundred chariots and !hree-sci>re thv\i9^iiid hoi-ni^men," to capture Jera-
ooleui, and to Kf>oU the Huly Temple of it^ golden abiclda. The
on which wo tUind baa bt;en trodden by Uerodolun, and tjie descrlptioa
bun left of the city is even now tlio beal. guidu to iia ruiuH. The gloiy
BiLbutu centred in the temple and omck< of I'atht, with the " cul'tt heod,^'
■ goddess whose itttribuUsa to aomc exkut onrrespond with iliosQ of Diana'
" The temple," says Ilcrodottts, " stasds in tJiu middle of die city, and i
visible OD all sides as one wnlks round it, for, as tho city Kaj been tn
up by enibaakment, while the temple ho« bc«u left untouched ia i
original oonditton, you look down u[ion it whcrMoevcr you ara." Anj^
juMt aa Uerodotua haj said, we found ourselves looking down oa a bieud
opeu spaoej ivhicb at the first glance proclaims iticlf as the iftc of the
temple. A few gigantic frognioots of sculptured gmnite strewed about
the centre Rtiil tcstil)- to the niagnl&ocDCO tluit has passed away, and to dM
eaoniwas force by nliicb th'^ w«ta orctthrown. The eatire fiioe of a
granite obeluslc in tUia aroa wtu foimd by the French cxpiKUtioa to be
sculptured with sUtk ; portions of ii miuxive cornice and other bugs
fragoients soulptured vrith strange hieroglyphs, ware BmoBg the dibris
which have doubtleia yielded valuable matarial for the histoiT of
Egyptian architecture. " Other temples may luivo been grander, and
may have cost more in the building, but thcr« «-as none so pleasant to tbo
eye" of tho arti&tic and travcUt-d Greek "as lliia of Bubastis." Aod
ccttoioly it is difficult to imiiginc anything more beauliAjl tboa the pidiirv
be draws of a central shrine, towering in holy isolation abore two bnwd
iJngB o( aiiway watvr, and an intermcdiittc arcade of umbrageoiu trees.
A VISIT TO THB SUEZ CAt*AD. 371
Sther Annually, when Posbt Held ber ^reat festnvAt, ftoofced myriailU of
[Mlgriau from ihe uttermost partB oC Egypt. T}ic old Greek estimated
tlie numl>0T Jtl 700,000, without counl-iog children. Dropping dowa the
Nile in Ur^ coinpHDifs, they revelled all the way to Bubasli*, the men
piping and dnnkiiig, luiJ tho irotnoa now froUckiag to tliK claUor of their
^_pwn «Mtan<43, nod novr, tui they unk on voluptuous ctishioaa, singing
^^■Dgi Bofi, Ivvr, and sleepy as that of Pcbgin —
I<o«ac tb« uil, ntt ch« cmr, flout nwu/ duwii,
Fleeting uuil kUJIhk ly (nnvi and town ;
life is no than « li«tl Snatfli, wliile Ihon cniist, lliv rc»t,
Slwj-iDg b;f me I
Our T)un of tbit Nartli, tvbo chains
In reitai ice ths citmnt of young vpins.
And OD reaching their dcstiaatioa, it was a religious duty to give
lh«ittielT«i up to tlio wildrtL orgicJi. Fur lli« godduss of " iba gny
Bubaatiaii grove," however much olic might rKciuhlt; Diana iii other
I ngpedta, ■vna in tmth not
^B On Ktuming to Zagaiig, ne found shelter at a BmciU tavern called
di« '* HAlel des Prsin'aiB," and ns crcning fell, -vrc commenced onr voyage
dvvn ttu Bweet-walor canal. Tt hns bc«n ezpkiacd alove tliat tlic
gtaaral direction of thii cxnal I* the tiamo an ihiit of the old canal of the
Plrinohfl, from vrhiuh tbe ancicjit Tunittu bmnch of the Nile was
Hntimi«d ihrougb Lake Mens^eb to the sea. It ncv mmaimi to be
added that from ZBgaxlg to Ras el Wadee the Company actually moke uie
of the ancient l>»d «f th« M<x» Cunnl, and to that octt^t realise the dream
of Ihfi French aavaus who accomjianied the fiiit Napoleon to Egypt.
Ra> el Wadvo ia at the canlcrn cud of an otuiin, called tho Wadee
<'f Eatate, which coinpri*c« by Inr the luoit ptofitabk portion of M. dfl
I Lenepa' undertaking, and in thin r«spect again does honour to the fore-
\ tijlit of the old c^ipeditloa .' This estate containi nearly 120,000 acres
.' Ot exoellcnt land, and ia tho absoluto property of tho Comjiniiy, having
b««n purchaaed by them from the lalu \1ccrDy for 81,000/. on soma
IoconBon when Saced Paaba wanted money to distribute in largesses at
OMUtantinopte. Within fideon montlis aftor tho oomploiion of tlio
purchaae, the area of oiltivalion had risen from 12,000 to 14, 500 acrea,
and the amount rcaliwd from cotton aion*', not to mention tho vnlue of
the cervali, ro«e to 1SO,000^ SiinultiLncoii^ly the origitial population of
S.OOO had been nearly doubled, and of tbe new cttltiratora S,009 viaKt
wtM BedouinB, whom the fair terms nnd good faith of European civiliza-
dan Imd power to begnilc fnmi their world-old wnya of wandering plJlngo
in tbe dtsori. TUc chief place on tho domain is Tel el Kabeop, where
die wmts of the Company's servants tind tenant* are EutTiciently supplied
by m hotel, three Hohooli, and a handsomo mosque. The town can tbo
Bee Pnftt /m £taHiuemeat il'AgncMltwt <a £gypft, la A I'loatlhit la
Veodi-ffililre, ki 7,
^hvei
n
872 A VISIT TO THE SCE2 CANAl.
boast of &ae gardens, where Among the orange, the pluaUin, the pome-
granatc oiid the luae ot fu^rmcr ownei^s, the Frencli hare InU.-]/ pluited
the mulbciry nljo, iritii a view to the bieeding of BUk-lVDrmi.
SHcDtly, under the splendour of a full moon, we glided all night
through the Land of Goshen. Near Abkasich wc poncd the ruioB of
Pitbom, and about f^ur hours af^envaTclB those of liAmctos, tho two ancieat
traature-citicfl which the Taraclilca built for Fhamoh. Il vox from
BomcBcs tliat tlie lamditea began their cuarcL under Mosea toward* tho
FrouiiHcd Laud ; nnd consequeiitly the hue of the sweut-water cao^l from
this point to Suet: may »ervc to give eonte general indication of the path
along whicli tmrcilcd tho pillar of the oloud hy day, and tho pillu of
fire hy night. The Arab name for the motioda of lUcneavs is Tel-el-
Moakootd, hut tho Biblical dcsigDauoii haa been revived by the FiqdcIl
for the Bmail atotioa ihey have erected here.
Enrly in the morning we arrived at Ismailia, having previously paaied
on CUT tight the fluice-galc at Kephisheh, through which the aweet-water
canal bmnclies eottlh to Suez. Five yuani ago, lemiLilia was aimply part
of the detKit, and Lake Timnidi, on which it ntands, was dry. Ismailia is
now a town of 5,000 inhabiianta, and Timsah a broad ^cct of wat<r.
The Director-General of the Works, and the Chief Enf^tneer, wilh a
nuntcioua rtuff of offlcialn, Iiave their hcad-quorlerv at thia cenlnd
]io«ition ; and the bouse oocupicd by the former, M. Voisiii, i.t a striluDgly
liundaaoic and coininodioua building, situated in a garden, ihe trcea aad
llowci's of which, eonadering thitr ago, arc wonderful. A word, t«o»
must bu aaid for the I/u(d dta Voj/wjeurs, Its exterior would bo no
diacrudit lo any European city, whilo iU interior arraiigcincnta are not
much woi«o tlian those of tho principal hotels in Alexandria. After
brcukfust wc were aiiin^ycd lufind that our hopes of going on to Port Sacod
by the maritime canal were likely to he diaapjioiutcd, becaueo the Egyptiaa
Governor of the lathnius was aUo journeying in ibe same directioii, and
required for himself and bia attendants tho whole of the boiit usually avail*
able for the couveyuiice of firsl-class paas^fng^pra. There seemed no alternative
between losing a day at Tsinailia, or journeying by a very alow boat, crowded
with dirty Arabe. Clearly it was high lime to try wliat Slgoor Vemont's
letter of introduction would do for us, «nd so 1 went with it to M. Voiiin.
That gentleman was courteous even to kindncas, and through hi» iatcrces'
Mioii W4i obtained parmiisiion to proett'd to Port Saeed with the Govcrncr.
■We embarked about four f.m., and this lirnc in a l.irgcr and lar more
comfortable huut than thait which hod bruught ua from Zagazig. The
Governor proved to bo a sUlcly old Turk, unable to speak any longiiage
but his own. AiU-r exchanging witli us, through an interpreter, a few
compliments of truly Oriental hyperbole, ho smoked in silenoo. But
there was also on board a pleasant French gentleman, a M. Tbevenvt, with
whom wc noon made Irieude; he was a CivU Engineer, who, in the pursuit
of bis profeaiuou, had soL<n much of Algeria and Central America, and ha
wnA theu enga^'cd iji nacerlainiDg, from personal inspection, what ladliina
A VJSIT TO TUE SUEZ CASAI*
37«
Hum BHgbt be for the general introduction of steamers upon tbe custu^
dinB'Of botli tlie sweet-watt^r canal and tlie rigoh.
Aa already observed, the Bweet-vfiiter canal diverges Houlliward lo
Sm> at N«[>lit«bcli, about two lai!^ Kfore reacltiog lauiuilia. Tlie
chumti by which it i* couiiuued bt^oiid lemaUia oua and a-half miles
briber cant, to meet ihe uuxitimc rigolc, in culled the Canal de Service.
And })jr reason of the sweet-watiT cunal lying niuet«i^n feet above tlic
Intl of the sea, tliat is, above the level of llie ligole, any danger which
l!u eaatwt of sca-watvr might cause to the freahae&s of Lite aweet- water
cuil, has been miily obviated by the conalrucLion of a couple of locks
M the Canal fie ■Soii'w. Paaaing llii-ougli these look*, which arc large,
uij excMdiogly well built of atono brought from the quarries of Jebcl
Jorffeh, we soon reached a desghtte •looking mansian, built aa a coiintiy
'esdcacc by the Paalia, but already fAlling into disrepair before ho haa
bououred it with a gingle visit. Here we debouched upon tho narrow
HnBu which for the present ia all that appcant of tlic grrut maritiitw
Qfiil. Nominally, tho rtgolo ia seventy-one toet broad at the suriaco of
iW TsUr ; but in soutu placets it kcl-his mtich lera, and at olhera it
opuds to the full breadth of I&1> f;:ct. The depLh throughout in inoig-
nUomt, being barely six feet in any part of its counic.
Il was ihc Bait wave of tho Mediterranean up which we were now
Mtrtocaag, imd on cither tide of us was tbc Aliicaa desert. Tlie tawny
■ud ^Ntfkled in tlie alt«ruoori »uq like gold-duiit, aud, to our left espe-
tislly, it lay heaped — as tliu breath of tho lust storaiy khavistcn hod lell
■t~-i& billowing hillcclca, or dunti of tho most raiilnitic curvature, About
•BMrt we ariived at El Ghizr. The French tiigiiiCKri h.ive nowhere,
*xetpi at Lake Mco2alch, greater dil£cultiea to contend with than at this
point. The high walls of Hand, between which the rigolu now nin. like a
lender thread, ttufllcJently showed how much there wu» yet Lo be dono
"^att tbc oattiiig could he completed in its prc-iH-r d«pth and breadth. It
•HIM) dark, however, to diatinguiah anything bat the gibbct-Iike outline
^tba excavmting (aadiiacs on the loft hank; so, reserving an iusp«>ctioa
^ th* work> for oar letom voyage, wc adjourned to dinner. Oar own
^'ockcrf'coituMtiblea waa inerdy what the hiit<J at Ijimailia had been abia
(0 npfjy, but M. Theveuot'a hnaiper luiglit have been turned out by
■onaum and Uason. He filled our plates with f<Hs''U-f<jie'<praB, opened
^^Bls aAcr bottle of capital ohampogne, nud wa» nearly incoosolablo
°M*tiM h« hod forgotten to piovtdc a finishing cup of coffee. Then thg
'^Oon roM, and looked Wniguly down on us as wc lay about the deck,
'"'okiDg, laughing, aud apiiuiLug travellcra' yams of many a '* fiur-
^XiMria,'' It was not till a lato hour that we Mveiwlly dropped oS'lo
"Mbn where the moGquitotx hod it all theit owu way.
At Bucrise wo w«k4 to find that we liad paascd the station of Kanlara,
M were io the midst of Lake Menial eh. Sliurtly afterwardu we reached
W^-Esh, where wc exchanged our boat towed by mules for a daudy
''tic MMtuvr. A lic«li brc«i« danced OT«r tho surfaca of th4 lake. Lu^
«T4
A YtBrr TO THE &OBZ CANAL.
fiah wer« leftptRlf in fvtaj ripple, and deuw QighU of water -fowl ntstM in
all din.'cUotic through tba air: At tlie mine time there vru toiocthiiig
Btmngc Mnd almost uncannjr in tb« eight «f Uic ■ca-lilcc waste cf water u]
whicli w« wen awee^Hng, and tbo urowy predsion iriiU whiuh tho tin
Ud« of low embonlunent on citLer ude laid out the track beferc ns, like t'
Topffl ofa raoeeoune, fiu as eye could roach. How eliange to reftnt thtt
this waBl« of vraten waa odm kept under control by the rulen of E^jpt,
ondttiatthc truck m&rl«.-il ont by I'rcndi engineers uiaj be hut ailiin
Ibradiadowing of tb« fiiturv, Vfh<n lh« anoieivt chatmebi and ootlfiU taay Im
restored, and the whole of that fertile soil recovered (or the ose of mao I
As yre approached Port Saeed i^Kiat nino A.U., our miuws wen vfr
fended vilh nil the Mghta and aoonda of n bu»y iBxnuG»ctoiy — amefctls
the air, and conl-durt on tlie U}wing-pa.th, ateaiu-^nginea bhuing, wafjcai
rolling, and the iuccwant diulc-clanlc of haumeied iron. Port Saecdii
not mer^y n haven for the disembarkation of all the malerUl and itant
drawn from France ; it alao contains hu'i^ and wcll-oi^anixed eoaUiA-
mtnta necessary for th« construction and rpiuir of all the dradgM u^
other machinery, the roUing-stock and the boats reqiiirvd along tba Me
line of the works.
Like lamaiiin, Port Soced iu entirely n creation of the Coaipusj; »'^i
jast as Iminili.i derives its name from Umul Pasha, the present VionOfi
80 Port Saced doc« honour to thg memory of Sa<cdPas1ia, bis prede«iW'
'J'he town KtJindti on tho long mXgv nf fund which Kqutralcs Lake HnfiniA
froin the sea ; nnd tho eilt excitvatcil at tho mouth of the canal hatbMD
ntilized to give width and elevation to a nto which, in tls satonilcim-
dition, wail bnrt-ly 100 yu.rd» broad and 5 feet above the level of tbe •*■
The cntial, on renchin^ Pert S^wd from the south, is ioteoded tocxf""^
into a large inland harbour in the middle of thv (own, and then roHiniiS
lie normal breadth to pan out to tbo Meditermneaii between tl;e it***
walla of two long piers. Eveutiuiily, therefore, the town it to be bi^M**'
l>>' the c&axl, but at prewnt all tli&t exists of Port Saettd li«», vitl t^'
cxcci*ticn ffa few warcboaaea, on the wcilcm bank. Its further dcn^P*
meat depends altogether upon the completion of the two piers, or si u7
rate of tlio wcsteni pier. The neceaaty for piers orisics from the fid •*
there being a bnr of Kind along tho wholo const, and tUi* bar is n biw
ihnt tho Iriigth wiiidi the walls fo^r the protection of Die ai»iiy<''^
oimnl will h;»ve to extend hefure tliey reach the required depth of 26 ft*
has been estimated at from 3 lo 3 milu. The wntcm pl«r is Ike "^
important bcrause there is a strong current uniformly eettiog dv"*
the cotiM fi'oto west t« cast, Wlieo that is finished, Uio very impMW'
object will hnv(- boi*ii gnUieit of secnring a ulielier behind which raKb**"
be able to uuluul, drcdgtnln work and donble-boUomcd lighters, laden iriu
rubbish from the exoavations inland, to get out to sea, ai>d tJiere dispett °^
tlieir burden. Less progress hoe been made with tlio western pisr tb»
might have been cxpcctod, ooaaderiog it was begun nix yean ago. TM
mode of construction first adopted was that of driring Woodn pita h*"
I
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A VISIT '10 TU£ SVhZ CANAL.
$75
til! eaai, liut«iuqg trwisveno beams to ibe piles, aod finally filling up tbo
tunbcr-ciatc ho formed yritii klocka of rougli uulicwn itoiic, brought from
th« TJlJxgG of MakB, D«ar Alexandriu. But tho aloiiM nrrivcd in nniill
quantities noil at loii|; inlenals, wliile tbeiiijurioiu n.-s»lt8 brdtrLiy lie^Miintt
dftiiy laore ■pparoot. AccordtDgly » uqw plun twd to hv udoptcii. Inn
pil«9 were now aimk ia sixteen fi;t;t of vrnun, in (ho clireetlon lo be taken
bjr the jelty, and upon tlii-tu was built a platform intended to admit of
reaaeU comin.if idoog^d* aiul (li>cliafg!»g curgu. Il tlii^u n.-uiain«d to fill
op witli sunken bIoqw tbu intttrvnl of 1,300 yards between the artitidgd
talaad md ibc broken begianiog of tbc pier; and this ivna tb« work wc
iottnd goiBg on at the time of our vint- Tlio stoiieA employed, Iwwcvor,
were no looger the rough proiluce of On- Mnlin .ninrry, but enoruious
cubiul blocka of artificial dtuuc, aiiiiilar to lliow ivhidi hare been used in
the boildtDg of tlie quay in Dov«r harbour. They an nuiDufu«turod by
il. Doaaaud on tlie spot, the elements of their oouipoailion being Ka-aand
aul hydraulic Ume. l^ic junction with the island will be cSeclcd, pro-
bably, this Hpring, but cvi-n ihvn tliu nuKtcrn yivT vrlll be finished in only
■bout threc-MIii of itn Aill length. The eastern pier has not yet been
commcnocd.
The future poaition of the iiilniul harbotir » mnrVed ont^ und from the
tiuib-wuiti^rn nngle of the naaoeat baain a brunch-omal runs about a
lile ioio Lalu Ucnzaleh. This ia called the Canal of Slieikh Karpootee,
'» ia intended to serve iLe double object of keeping Port Saeed in
llrect ooniniuoic.ttioo with Damicttn, and of pioduuiiig a current fitvour-
kble to the maintenance of dofp water in the hnrbour and at the mouth of
i)B main canal. Wc notici^d noinn f!vv-and -twenty squarc-rifTgcd TcssL-h
tito roudslcad. The shipfnug which entered Port Swt^d in 1^6i U
. at 59,000 tons, iprnid orer 4G7 Teaselti — a trnfHa exceeding ttat of
imietia and lEowtla combined. These 6giirca of couno proro only
Utility of Port Saeed to tho Cinal Compiiny, for nithough, idn« the
an of the rigole with the swc<'t- water caiml at rsninilia, annic amall
ituia of priralffi cnturpriM huve ptiued by water butwueii Port 8ae«d
MKI 8nm, il cannot be suid that Port Saeed has any appreciable traffic
apart frum tho opcnitinns of the Company. I may bore rcnmrk as an
icDportant Gict in tilimuting the proffresfl in»u^e by tho Compimy, and the
■et giren to ocrtain works, tltnt Port 8ai-«d and all the Htaliona on
'Ibe ri^le between it and IsmKilia di>p4-nil for their supply of fresh water
«ntir«iy apon the ew«ot-wat<T canal : the ptmous liquid ta pumped to
them from Ismnilia through Mrthenware pipes, which run up the wntem
'bank of tbo ri^ie. There is also complete tei^raphic cimmunicntian
[ tloD£ tlw) whoit tine both of the rigolo and of the Bwoot-wtiter rauisl.
Wc foqnd rnj iiiir accommodation at the rather primitiye estnblUhment
which docB duty iii betel at Port Saeed, and whatever Httlc defects might
have been DotJOHl ucre eurtainly n<it altributablo to any wnnt of good-
will on the port of our pleasant French landlady, or her rcallj- bconti^
376 A VISIT TO TUE 81TEZ CAItAL.
Ill Ui« aft«ni«o», liaving Riid gi>od-by to th« lioc[^lab]« M. TbvT«iiet^<
we si'l out vn our rbtturn. Oitr ]iluti was lo ilnnc down tlio rigotoas
oa El Ghizr, ilinumljiirk there to t>t)ti tlie works in progress, aad then rido
aoroM the desert to Ismiulia. The length of the rigol« from Port Saocd
to tht) Vicerojr's villu near Isranilia, where it meets the Canal de Servict
from the Bwoet-vrster c^ial, is 4t> miles, and this diitancc may, for
engineering purpofieo, bo divided into thrcti ])ortionB, uwh of which has
geographical features peculiar to itsetj*. The Grst portion embncefl tlie
S4 miles of Lake Muizalchj the sccvod is H iiiil«« long, and demoa iU
dmracteriftlio appearance fifom the BallAh Lakes ; the third oorcn tlw
rciitainiiig 8 iiitlcs, nnd contutus tlie platt^'au of EL Ghizt. A few wonls
of dcuscription will scrvu lo «1low tht- peculiar nuluru of the difGcullies lo
1h) overconm in each part of the route.
Lak« McnzuJch is th<< product partly of numerous cuialt from ti.
Kile, and paitJy of the salt water Howiug iiit« it Irom iJie Medileimtwai
tliroi^h four openings in the eamc irnrrow strip of land on which Port
&ie«id has been founded. TlnMo four openings were once so many di»tiact
□loutbs of [he Nil«, mid what ii now a. baireii lagoon was furmtrly, aa the
ri»dcc ha» already btea iuforiucd, a (citilu plain, uudiir vulttralion in aQ
its breadth, from Djiuiiulta to Puliisiiun. The soil here is a mixture of Nile'
tnud nud McditemiUL-au fiiind. It hnrdunii by exposure to ibe sun, but ia^
water decomposes iuU> minute partioie*, which nrc caught tip and carried
nwiiy by lie stigluest ripple. T!io bonks built of lliiH trvachci-ouB nib-
Gtiuice are no eouner made thau they begin to nictt away under their own
weight. Even at thvir beat thoy (juako tmdor Llio tread of a camel, as if
they rested on water. The channel they ut jircscnt have to pioCect il
only six feet d«ep ; it is not easy, therefore, to prognosticate how tliey
will be made to bear the increased prewure, both exi«rDal and inlenitl,
auiQ to follow upon tlic canal being enlarged to its AiU dimcQSOits. If
all other menus tiiil, M. do Lesscps is said to be prepared to accept the
costly concbision -of sinking block after block of artificial stone, until a
sound boltoui for both btinks ia somi^how fouad or made in the quMniirsi _
This, it inuy be, is only a quextloa of time and coat ; and romemberii^ ■
the difficulties evi-ntuully orercoino by oar own engineers at Chat Mom,
there seems to be no reason fur despairing of fiiccesa. Throughout the
region of Lake Menzaluh the Company's oprratioas appearad to be
advancing with rather exceptional Yigour ; and it is only fiiir to remark
that if the works generally had a somewhat languishing appearance, e«D-
aiderahle ullowancc must be iniidu for the accident of our visit occurriiig
at a time wh^n everything in Kgypt still bore trocea of the recent vi^ta-
tioD of cholera. Tlioro arw few purls of Egypt where the disease ooald
have showed it^df with more pnrnlyEing power than on the Ivthmus, Tbe
lubourcrs all fled, and in Ismnilia alone there were sixty deaths in a Btn^
day. At the lime ul' our visut, ihe number of working dredges scatiend
over the first 1 8 miles uf the chnnnvl, includiag Port Saeed, waa stated
to be thirty-five, but this probably was an cxcewire estimalc, ood Uw
lo
4
I
i
I
J
A VEaT TO THE SUEZ auiAL.
877
f
: Dot all of tlic same size or power. The average moatlily ouU
origiunllj cnipluj-cd was about ITiOOl) cubic f««t for eacb
dndge ; but much better ri.'sulM law been Dbtaiuitcl Iruiii eevi>ral new
Bucbuica reoonll; ioiported Cram Piiittce. Tlie ^ll lliey bring up ia
lURxd into ft row of tracks, stxudiug in a lighter ; when the tnickx nrs
Ml, ibe ligliler in towed under a stcam-crBne od Uie bank ; and tlie truckit,
lifted ono after aaolbcr by the croui;, ar« aude to empty out thuii cooteuta
on the otlier tiida of lUo cmbaukment.
The uccond portion of the routa may be piu^ed over with a slight
otwrvatioQ. The Uallaii Lakea arc a scries of pools, deriving the salt
viter which they contain from their cooneclion with Laks Menzalch.
% loil u) this nvighbourbood is aand and day with large uraliGcatioiLS
^nlphste of lime. Here the muritiuie caim] exisu in its full breadth,
tfwigfa in depth it is slill only a rigole of five Coet. Tbia soil, of coiUBef
■I Ml nearly bo dij&cult tu noik.
At £1 Ghizz tho dilSculti^ aie ouly second in im]x)rliiDc« to thoae of
Ua McDzaleli. T1i« hfly platc-iu of finn Kind mixed vritli cacboaale
of liiM which has here to he traverst-d, ia eight milta long, and iLe totnl
•]iHitity of material, which from first to lost wiU hiivo to by cxcnvaUul,
l>u b««n csQinated at 20,000,000 gf cubic feet. The ngolc as eecn heie
KtDK act In have made much progress sincu it was firat opened in
Sorembcr, 1S62, vritli a br^tdlh of -16 CeH and a depth of a liict. Ic
l«(tk ooly ton months ta obUiin lhi4 riuult, lul thuu M, de Lt^ueps waa
voAinf Willi 18,000 impc&wd i'eUahoeD, whereas for the last two ycara
« has been obliged to fall back on mnchinciy and fiuc hthour, which
"cfc'Uad to hti very Kxptiiisive and iucQicient euhfititutcs. M. Couvrcux,
ikcontnctor, who baa undertokun lo tiuiidi this jKirUon of Uie canal by
OsBaber, 1607, has brought to bear on so mugli of hin task aa im above
wter, an iDgcnioua nppnratua, but m wo arrived on a Sunday we had
■tttba adTaaUigf! of tmiiiig thi3 uiachioc acluully at work. lu appearsnco
'tnicBbiod a drcd^u made U/ work fruiu tW cdj^i^ of tlie bunk inatcnd
■filt 8Ud<«trcani, and iu buckata, instead of groping fgr a aemi-liquid sub-
'^VBM snder water, acrape thcmaelvea full of dry mad aloDg the slope of
"k Look. Stoaiu-]>ower uiorea the mochino on raiU Irom place lo plucu
''qd; the bank, and a zigzag continuation of the railway through four
^ £r« succesiiive levels provides for a constant flow of empty trucks
Vi^ down to tiio dredg« lo b« filled, and full trucka travelling upwanlx
^ iboM their Band beyond tlio outer face of the enibnnkinenL Tb«
"liogthof the macluDca uuw »t work is aoininally catiuialcdat 1 2 dredges
*md by COO traoka.
la this n«ighbotirbood is a aoiaU branch ouuil running eastward, the
^joGt of wbicb ia to ptovida carriags for the tloiw found iu tho adjacent
^tlla. The rigole bore socms lo mark out tha aastora bordur of the fulura
"Hal, u the excaraliooa Iu progress arc all on the wcatern ude. The
"HiMi ftlw is on the wustcra udc. Tho town is much ainuJlcr tboa
or Port Saeod ; ita iuhabitauta being merely tlio engiDeert,
A VlSrr TO THB SVT2 CA^AL.
tnechtwia, sad labourers emploj^d on the cutting, togetber irilb &9
kit Xtu<ifn wl)0 supply thoir niod^it vraata. Th« uHuU )im«()u« auiji
chorcfa, however, nru not wtmtitig, and Uw proUoibaa to olegacce vfaiwi
wc had lUrcodj- noticed nbout isomany of the Smaob lioiuoi on (be iMhmiu
— BTon about th»M j^nftmtily oC a rotigb an^ temporuj ctkanctcr*-
yrtre bxTtUjr lew Apparent here. For instaow, tlie little taverof whan
obtained n cnp of iudiffireiit coEIee, luul tlio ruitio pUian uf it* v
rosloo&i-d with some creeping plant, the foliage «f wliiob, cootnut^d wil
die hftrrcn lirown sand all round, was wagulArljr refreshing to tW eje.
From £1 tiUifrwe took donkeys ta Iptn&ilta. The die lance ia dto
but there U no rond butwotru th<! two statiutiB, oiiljr a track through
desert, maikod ut intcrvnla by the cnreaac or iJivtctoa of a camel tbat
fallen by the •way. On an-Jvicg here, wo wcro glad to rest a dny ut il
ffdttl des Vo^ageurs, hioking idly ncroa* the watan of Lakd TiniEab to the
»o(l blue otitliue of tlic bills uf SufK oti the itoutfaeni horizon. Tha
maritiiDO cannl will pass through Lake Timsab, and the basin of tlie lak«
is intended to b« a graad inland harbour ; but nothing haa yoi b««n dcaa
toivarda tlita tod bayond filling the formerly dry boaia with mucr 6tq feel
dcepr obtained partly from t3io eiilt rigole, and partly by branches fr«m
the twect-iratcT cnnal. In r«cl> E«uth of Ismailia, the maritime oanal is
M yet unhcru. £r«n in the form of ngok, it exiita only nt the Ibn*
twconnected poisla of Toofiaooni, Sempoum, and Sbaloof-el-Temba.
People, therefore, who, as a young Kitsaian lately did, go to look far ifae
&UC2 Canal al Suei, will £nt) there not a tmeo even of ita oomucoccment.
M. de Leweps considered, not uritbont reasun. that the first thing te b*
done iraa ta ciitJibliaL water conunuatcatioD of some kind between his base
of operations on Iho ft[udi«Trriinoiin and the centre of tbc Isthmoi : all kit
efforts linvo iberefom btxa concentralcd on the nortbeta {xHtion of ibs _
line, while the remundcr is compsratircly tmtoucbod. I
The tmet over which tlin w^ulhem purlioo of the canal will b« atnM
is a bri'adlh of H miles, which, fairn n geograpblcal point of vtar, my
bo <lividud info four aectiona ; — flmt, that of L«k>: Timsab, alntcbitg j
Boathward for 1 3 miles Iroiu the Viceroy's villa near Ismailia; next, tbA
of the Bitter Lnki-a, SI mi1c» long; next, the 10 miles about Shakior^l-
Terraba ; and hslly, thi^ region nem- Siiex, which lukcs up the nsauuog
lU miles, and is M-ashed over by tlie waves of the Rod Sea.
In the Timsoh MCtion, and immediately south of the lake, tlianilll>'
small station of Toossoom, so cnlUd in honour of a eon of the late ViM*^-
Here for a distance of 4 miles, the rigole reappears, and tboogh lb* d<f4
is only 5 or ti fcet^ it epuns the full breadth of iho fUture caaal, asal ('>'
Ballah Lakes. Like the chnnnvl there, and the cutting throngh £t Gkiv.
this fine work is entirrly tlit^ produce of the Arab apade and basket : ■*'
ituids, in ltd comparative complcteaese, one more proof of the bosryl^i*
and grcnt discouragement which the Company fata aoaiained Ifoni th*
withdrawal of the forced }abour supplied hy the late Fasha. The soil of
tho TimsnJi Reclion is a cand which, while dry, holds together well enough
A VISIT TO THE SUEZ CATH&L.
879
at OS angle of 60 or C5 drgreea, but iu ooutact witli w-nter cnxmbEes
awajr and admiu of only a very uliglit idopc. Bvaidca Toossaoia, tltia
Mctioa also ineliKka tbe station of Strnpeitm, a name which uppesr» lo
: proxiiiiUy to the sit« of llio 4uici«nt S«Tapmti. 'Ilie diSeuIty to
1* •( SerapAora, tliongli alightiu- in dt^ruc, is of tlic eumc quiilitj
; sJnady described at £1 Ghisr — namely, it high jilaUitu of lirm MtnJI.
excavatiotia hen in progre*} extend north anJ iioiiili of lti<i tintioD
about n mile un<l a. half bollt ways, mi it is hoped that tuwuida Uie uortb
a junclion may aoon lie aflitcted with tho rigolc ut Tao§Boom. Klucli,
luiverer, reuaiim to be done favforo evca this can be accompluihod, fironi
tha peculiar character of iIig woHcs at S^rapfrnm ; the catting hero bns not
reached a iufficienc dcptli to beoii a Iwel with tli« tt>>ttrim ofthe rigolu.
Ttw Bitlfif Lakes were once a jiarL of the I'vd Seu. Thin mobt pro*
bobljr waa their condition wbea the uiiraculoua pnaange of th« Red Sea
ooenmil. But the prophecy of Isaiah, that " the tongue of tlic E^ptlan
fl*a " ahould htt doctroycd, has \<iiig noco beca fulGlIciJ, and now, not only
mn the lak«* wnrered from tiie lie<^(^i.'u by Uio Rind-bjinlc of ShfJnof-cI-
Tcriaba, but they hftre a]tM> lont all ihutr vrnttr by evuporution, aud arc
ia fiKt laket no longer, but mei«Iy the hueins of estinet lakes. Where
llu water ftrmerly exined, ia now n thick sheet of tbe purcal nit,
apaiUiag st>d britUisg ia iriogular unduIutiooB lika a vicf-dt-glaee.
Below th« suit there ix saad reeling cu a atnitum of day. The mantJme
canal ii to travcne the length of the Bittn LiLkee, but no works hare
^ botoi bogun iu tliU Tioiuily, and the ground ia »tiU untouched all
the wajr froio Sarapeam to Sbaloof. The botl of tlio Bitt<tr Lakes h
A6 feet below the low-iide level of the Kvd Sea ; it in probable, Uicrefore,
Ihu the French will have no difiiciilcy in tilling the bneios tn soon ha
ihey caa bring (be water of the Ued Sea acron the barrier at Siinloof.
Jki t]io lait-mcntioned point — a ridge in which sand aud sheila from
Iba Bed Saa aortr largs mataea of pure clay and a vontiderable r|Utinlity
tf Umeatona— tiuat tracea of the Aiture canal arc again disoemible. Two
viles of riialiow exoa\'ation hnve been accompltHh^d, which, boworcr, do
t«l y«e contain any wata. Tha hardneM of the limeBlone givcm riito to
muek difficulty, and a|ipare!nlly it haa bcca found oeceoHary to resott lo
MwUag operationa on a large ecale. A^'hile w« w«r4 at InnaiUa, SCO
Piedmuoteae nioem were daily expected to pan tliroagh, on theii- ivay to
Slitloof, and 200 mora were to follow in a fortniglit. The last, or Suez
McUon oTtfaeeanal, oompriiiea 10 miles of lagoon, visited daily by ths high
tide of the Rad Sea. Tlw principal feature of the ncctiou Is an iiJuud, called
laland, chiefly cum|>o«cxI of very hard liuicftlone. Tha canal ia
II lo oroM this iHland. Rut, a^ I have above intimated, no eomnauea-
■ of the maritime canal is yet lo be seen near Suez.
This being Iht pt«aeot state of tho worka, there wnitd maoif^tly
IitTe iMcn a weary rlda through the dcMrt, with liule to be gamed from
ili if wc had utieiupted to follow the fnturo tounw of ihe ninritimo caonl
■nttbwaidit We detcrniined, therefore, to roynge from Utnailia to Suez
A VISIT TO TBE SUEZ CANAL.
by lll« aweet-water ca&al, stopping by the -Kxy to viiit tJic cxcaratioiu
at Scrapomn ; fur from Has oiidillc of tlic IsUimuE, where wc oovr n-erc,
llio t«o cannis, it will he rcmemh^iftl, run in parnll<d Unca to the R«d
Sea, and ul ^crapeum ttie ditlnno.' hy which l\\i-y arc aepnrated is ItUlt
more tbaa a niilc. Wv fuuQii that upuu tlua poirti«a of our jouruej
CoBipuny Ivid not yet organized aay rt^oi service Sot traveUera;
tile matter wa» soon seltkd by our eagagiag a bust excloaireljr for
own use.
Opening tli« filuice-gat» at Nt'pbislii'b wag a tedious buxtuQffi, and
we bad nUrtcd about hood, the ma niuutwhile bi-at ficrcxrly UirougU our
canvas rooT. The gHtes cnco pusitcd, howercr, and «ur Kouthward conne
to Sui-z fiiirly cuiniiitiical, tlit> air 1)ccaiu« cooler, and tlic rc«t of tlu
vnjn|;6 proTiid dvli^ittfuL FJoating tlirough tLe desert had atill the duum
cf Duvvhy. Oui cnmdit trultud briii):Iy alatig tlio tuwing-jMith, their tall,
ungainly outlino liiiced nlinrply uguiuat the sky, Kiid one of their riden
crooning a inonotonouB ditty that waa not without a alnmbroos ntitabili^
txj ibe BCene. A thin fringe of InAty planicd tam3.riHk adonted utb»
bank, but ctlicmlsc not a Liacc of vegetuhk- life wits to be socu hr taUet.
It was n little cxcitomc^nt to meet, ae vta did twice, oihvr travellers opoB
our silent highway, and Utcre was evcu £vme amuHi^nciit in practically
tcatlog at timua ibo £tct of our boutoicn buitig M a bto lately ignoranluf
Hiiy European language as we were of -Arabic.
At fdur o'clock wc cigbtcd the few bouecs of Toosioom lying Urandcd
in the dcEcrt on our left, and about an hour lat«r we reached the spot
at wLJcli vie hud arraiigi'd lo dixeinbiirk, iu order to proceed od loot
to ScrapcuRi. Here we firuud u atalivit in the siuac »ty\e as (bat of
Kl Ghiar, Imt smaller. The c/it/-de- station JLCNiiiiably ontertaioed us in
hia garden with verinonth and cigarettes, and look [laina to explain to m
the naluie of the Korks under his euperintendeac^. Tbey are Dettainly
inguniouH. The bed of the Hwttt-wiiter ciiiml, as 1 have mentioued beliu^
is nineteen feet nhovc the level of llie sea, and, comscqucntly, of lli« ligole.
AdviintAge has been tulien of thiAcircumjUincc to make ihe prdimisaiy
excavaliuuji at Serapi^nm only of a siilllcient depth to admit of their bein;
jilled from the uvighbouiing sweet-water canal by n chumcL cut for
the purpoie. When that is done dredges are to bo intreduedd, aod to
their uiechanicid iiid ivill bo resigned (he buuneas of eompletJDg the exca*
vatic^nii down lo a depth fortcaponding with the level of the rigolc^ WhcB
tliat deptli hut; been rejiched, tlit^ 8up]jly of wuter frtini the aweet-waler
cunal will ha cut olT, mid a union tfl'ucted between the ngolc at Tooanos
and the b«d prepared for it^ cntmnce at Scrapcinit. In tlie laeautiato
the ailt brought up by the dredger is to be shci into n number of artificial
boaiiu specially cotutruotcd on oae aide «f the growing cliannel. At tbt
prutcnt time some three miles of trench, into vrhich water lias been au]mitl<d,
■re ready fur the application of tlio dredge, lujil sevvml dredgei are shorily
oxpected Iron) Purt Sueed. ]3ut evidently our host would have piefaieJ
ibt muiUBl labour of IbflOO/tltaficen to any quantity of machinery, JnsC
J
A VISIT TO THE StTEZ CANAI,
881
now lie has not more ihria 400 men at work, three-futirtliH of wlioin nro
Arabs and Syrinns, und tUc rcmnindvr Kuropcam of nil wrU, cbiefl/
Grvflt* uid Italian!!, with a very few French.
It WM datk li; tlic time we returned to our boat on tTte nweet-water
anal ; and when we awolce next morning vre were near Suez. We bad
that missed one or tiro points cf interest whicb the sweet-water c»nal ia
its snutbcm i'xtc»»)"n baa lo sliow. For inslnncp, there arc four un-
ftfiUhed lock* at the distanec rGSpcctivHy ef 1(1, 26, -12, nnd 51 mUca
bctow Ni^phiitbeh, vrbicb are e.icb ti> lie built of n kingle mass of nHiriaial
•tone. Tb« material cf the etcnc is uiixtd on the spot Rnd beattn down
by psTiors* rammers until \ayer after Inyer msy have hardened into a
faoiDOgCflCOiis maas. Near tlic Ibirty-third mile there is a small railway,
my ahotit a mile long, running in from tlic wc$twiki<l, anH connecting tbo
canal with tlic important Glonc>(^uarriea of J^bi-1 Jeneffi^b. Lastly, four
Diilca oF the canal beginning Irom tho forty-flf^b rnile irere worthy of
iilwuiiiliiiii as being identical to that extent with the old canal of the
Pliaraohs: the Fmch cnginecn {bund the bed made rrady to their bnndn,
uid had Minply to k-t in ibu water.
Tbe town of Suez baa much cbnngeii daring the last few yeaifl.
Formerly it was a petty coUectioD of Arab hovels, which once a week
wed to be icared from itn [iropriety by nn irmplion of noisy EDgllgbmen
on tbeir vay to or from India. And no otber Europeans were ever Men.
Hon it is an important town, in which the Krenoli pUy quite as prcniincnt
a pari a« the Englith. Then there was no drinking-water except whnC
vaa {lainfully fetched nn camels' bncka from the fountain of El Glinrkudeli
on the other «dc of tbe Fcrds, Now the French canal has brought the
Nile itself to Sukt. In ihe harbour we found three Rtenmers of tbe
Mtatageriea Imjxrialts iuid bnt two of Ibc I'cninKulur nnd OrientJil Com-
fany, th« fomcr in size and power of speed looking nt least tbo e<]ualB of
the latter. By their side lay a transport of the Imperial GoTerninent, wait-
ing lo lake French troops to Cochin China; for Sai^^in, b« it undcrntood,
R«rives all its rciiiforcementa through Kgypt, while not even the crisis
tf tk Indian mutiny has safLced to tempt England's soldiery to the
Orcrlind route. The hotel at Suex \» English, nnd so is the ateam-
Vfedinery belonging to the Pniinstiltr and Oriental Company, btit theso
It H nothing when compnred with th*: Fplcndid dry dock n<^w in
of convtniclion by the Mcssageries Company, at an estimated cost
«f UO.OOO/. Tliis dock, wliich will be ready for uec next summer, is
^lof atone specially imported from France. Its dimensions {44S feet
big by 91 broad, with 23 feet deplb of water when the caiston-gates are
vptned,) will allow the lorgest ship?, whether of war or of mercantile
"Dtiikc, to be admitted for repair. It ia connected with the •horo by a
nilway mnning along an artificial causeway nearly two mile* long, and if,
M sppcars likely, a knding-'juay be nddud, ocean steumcrs will be enabled
'e diaenbatk their pnMrng<'rs and gooi^ without the present troubFesome
ilMMiuulitiii of a smaller steamer. Thus perfectly equipped at one end of
8B«
A TiarX TO Till! SUEZ CAKAt.
i
the line, nud ppopsring Bimilor armngetncDla at Soigen, Uie MM*ageri«*
Company tcemfl anxious to create for France an mrang nn iniermt [a
Eftst«ru wnUrs as the Csiaal Company has already pirun her in ihe Ifthmaa
of Suva. KeilliCT has lie Mowngftriw Company been behind the oilter in
•ndcBTcuritig (o obtain tli*ir cnd» by Bpoiling the Egyptian. The Paehn
btfln titfr whole oxpcnsn of the doeka and ntl th« vorks conn«i7t«<) with it,
but th« ttse of it for half the year is to be veated in tlis French Company.
And TiDrr tvhnt arc the probabilitiea op to llie ultimate tticcces or faihir*
of M. de Lcssopa great schorae ?
Tlie Frmch noune replies that the Company'a ahnref of &00 fnnr^
■re rtill wcrlh 480; and the last English ni-»fSp«pM- I w* eonlaina a
bric>r (rk'grapliie notino of a meeting of cnntnnt^d >])Br«ho]d«R n( PkTi«,
■nd of an nnuruioe then haTing been pven by M. de Iie^rpn that tin
maritime canal thould be definitirely opened to »hip« of all diBienuona
the middle of iheyear 1868, The popnlar Toice in England condem
the author of the project ns an fidveTitiirer, who will hare awindlet] th
■bareholders out of Iheir la« km long before the phy«i«it diOtRiiltifHi of th*
Istlimu* can be overcome; but ia Egypt, whfre pobnlily if. dc Leve
ia better known, he ia crerynhcro rccogoi^fccl iid a sinocre cnthua,
abaoliitely nb(.v<' otiy Hnapicinn of a grovflllinj motive. Wirli rejrnrd
(be natural liifliciilltes of the wJI, 1 would vprlurc (o wiggcit, if there
any falue in the platittide which d«cfare» erery engmecring operatjos f
be merely a qii«sttoD of time and money, that eufficient conmderation b:
pcHtapi hardly bpco f^ren in England to ihe extraordinary adranla;
with which the rnidortolting was commooecd. Tho Kgyptian GoTerameui
■tbacrlbed for more than tiro nitltirna Mcrling of the Company's ste«fc.
Whatever land might appear reiuisite for tlie exccalion of the
was conceded to tlie Compony, and, if ench land belnrgod to
Egyptian Oovernment, no compenuilion wa* to be nsked for it, Al
aneullirated Ii»nd which could be brought nader rulliration by irriga-
tion from the kvcet-water canal was to bclon]^ to ihe Company, an#i
for the first ten years of posacwioa no rent irhatcvcr wna to he paid.',
Tlieii there wna the large and annually increasing profit from Ihe Wadcrfj
Eatate rear Bubnslift. And Anally, Sliced Tasha bad pledged himself d
keep the worka eonetatitly eupplicd rrith 20,000 impreaBcd labourcrt,'
brought from all parts of Kgypt and delivered free of any ejtpcnse to the
Compftny at Zngazi,^. This laxt item was perhaps the most vahinble of
all. Given »n ineshaustihle mpply of lahotlT, end impossibilities in Egypt
Cfww to be ioipoMibilities, aa the Fyriniids alone are enongh to prove.
It is tlio unforcKco withdrawal or en Jani-pi-mciit of these cssenlia) conces-
BODB by the. prtwent Viwrfly, Inmnii Taaha, more than any original mi#-
calcnlntion of the magnitude cf the btsk, which now threatens tie Oooi*
pacy with aerions danger. In the perpcionl rivalry between Fnnce and
ICngland of which Egypt is the scene, Sneed Pa«ha, the Into Viccconde* J
dared himfU'Ifuneqaivocatly the piirtisan of Franee; hb •ncceMor, Isnail"
Pasha, ia uiid to d«votc lim»clf with aa unprq'udiced impartiality to the
a-
id.'l
1
^
Jett of moDey. Poaiibljr, t1ierrft>r^ Itmail P««)i» may hffvc
iaufl^cd thst ttie ftUsfioen wonld bA ni4r« profitnUy employed in
oovcrin^ his owo t^sC priratA eolattn vitli catum itiMi In hDTTOwing
throngb a deceit for the Freiicb. At nny rate, be ntade no dini-
cnlty in yielding to the rq^rfficntnticDa flddroeaod to him hy th^
Soblime Toitc, and not only stopped tte giurantefd ■upplj' of forced
laboar, but furtlier signiBH his int^tion of rcffumiTiK the whole of tha
land e«d«d by hi* predecefflor. Tlie Company onn'goiicnll; protested
a^nit tlds breadi of contract, nmi iitnye hiurA to prove to the Piuliiv
that the pitaaroa put on him from Conflantinoplc origiittlwl only in
the lUty malevolence of Knglaod, and ihat he would ta playing the part
of a political suicide if ho nllo-nrcd the ToHc to interfcro in a qncRtion
flO pndy ^mcstk. But THnnil Pn^hn rt^iMd to be ccmrincei'I, And
M. de Loaepe van ohliged to content Ttimneir with a oompromiK^, hy which
thewhokdiiputeK'tween the Viceroy and theCoinpnry wnstobe referred
Car arbittwtian to the Emperor, in Tirtue of whose awnrc] the Egyptian
Oonmnicnt has to pay the Company a compensation of 8,360,000/.
Iniail Pasha cannot directly «ritdo hi« obligntion lo nbi'^o hy thlit reioilt;
but H la one that he litt]« expect^, and 0>a prolinbility *efm» to be,
that he will teller himself behind tin: furtlier mediation of the Turki*h
»ent, which ofTecta to consider the whole proceeding" as beyond the
icy of tli« SultAn'K lientennnt. Iter^, «Tidi-Titly, nrr the niHtcrtnla
of ao jnbroglio which may evetitually lead tc a couftreuce hctweeu the
Gnat Power* of Euiopo, and in that event, what consideration it likely to
be (pven to ttic interests of a private company of ahareliolders I
la the mcoutime, Erif^land's mistrust of the coamopolitan profL-esiona
ef that same Company haa bwn II. da LeaBeps' opportanity. rtothing
hai tDora helped him to keep up the fla^f^tn;; cnthuHiaam of pntriotio
iliy*KiMa>« than the carefully fostered belief that their pnrsM nre
■iwii tfl not merely against land and tf», btit agaimrt the grainilotM
anhacaity of perBdiota Albion -to boot. And yet (he English ot>jeol)cinfl
Ml haidly ha called groimdleBa. It is the real, even if incorrect,
WieT of all oar capitalists, ongindrrv, and sailors, that the cnormoiifl
«M of makiag and maintaining the «aTtnI, cotnbinod with the fiict
ef Ibe Sed Sea not being snvignlilo lor Rniltsg rhi['D), will suffice
to mder the project, even if accolnpii^Iu■d, a rommcrviii] J^iiliirr, m
tDoipletely minoiK to those concerned aa waa the gmsd Scotch
•ipfdition in the taut cfntiiiy for the colonization of tlie Tslhraua of
birleo. While France, therefore, regards the canal aa a glorious step in
^ gtoertl progreaR of hmnanity, Engtumi has no ityaipalhy h* tfitn f<ir n
bolihla whidi abe is dtuly expecting to me burnt. Kor cnn our nlatennen
'(vgtl tliat this rery ennal figured prominently among the Nnpoleonic
■dtai, and that General Ikinaparte was in actual occupation of ihu Idlimna
•ken be wrote to the Directory, naying — "WIintcYer Knropcnii Power
hiUi^ypt permanently it, in the end, mirtreej of India." And it is no
toficicot answer to such mitigiviogs to appeal 1o the palpably peaceful
894 A VISIT TO THK SUEZ CANAL.
clinmctci- of tlte \\oi\i in progiev. T)i«y siill represent a Freoob coloof
the utility of wbicti to tbe Frenuli Goveronnrnt, in oaw of rrar, woald
in no degree lessenod by the circumstance of its bnving been fbuoded bj'
private cnpitftl with perfectly innocent intcntioiu. If erer again tbe
terrific gamo of war is itartwi behTCcn Franco and Eogtond, Egypt
fnri<(looined to be once more a baule-fi«lil; and this being bo, it is bi
nalur&I that Engliintl bIiouIiI aee vitii disiatitiriictioii licr rival snatdiin
a point of vnntjigc bdoTehand. At the same time t]icro in a powibiltty
lliat tbo mine of tlic point mny be orer-rated. If peact; larts, as it
probabl)" will, nnlll England shall liare leourci] an altcmatirft route tc
lior Eastera poaseuions through Syria and the valley of the Euphratcf,
India may oflbrd to laugh at the dicEom of tlie first Bonnpnrtc. And
cr«a under present circnmstanc^ca, a French occapatioa of Egypt could
have no more oSensive power against Iiidia^-so long as our naval iapr«-
rnftcy remained inlacl in the Indian Ocean and at tho moutli of the Bed
Sea — than it liad in 1798. At the vromt, the arm of England is not
shorlenicd since the days Vfhen Nelson and A!«rcrombie beat the troops of
Finncc hopcUsBly out of Egypt. And if there in a new Jangtr added m
till! proximity of the Zoiiavca and Tiircoe of Algeria, iherg may be some
consolo^cra niao in the thought that the contingent which India would noir
scad up to the fight would be no nioro the peer 6,000 Sepoys led by
Baird, but five times ihat number of SiVhs and Pnnjabcos, men of ihtf
StufT that mndc Ilardiugo and Gough reel doubtfully in the shock
combat at Ferozeshuhur, and that llopa, Grant, and Napier hare sine
carried triumphantly to Pckin.
• • a • •
Quo, Mima, tmdiat "Whnt hast thou to do with Kuropeoa poUtica
There is no forgetting Black. Monday now t The h'ghts ti Suez hav
fadflJ away in darkneds behind mc, and th« good ship is speedia^ soiit!*^
ward under the eliadmv of Monst SiaaJ. It is just a decade i^ since?,
one of a band of eager writers and cadet^ I first paced this starlit d«lc>
or gazed over tHe bulwark into this phosphoreaeent sw. Where are '
all gone, those " old familiar fam» t " The fnic of some is written in i
red battlo-rolli of Delhi and Lucknow, and one, the bu4t and brightest
tlicm all, lilU a lonely grave in the jungle. Yet is there a remnant lift *£<■
give me greeting as scon as 1 step once more on the Indian stnuult aai*l
mean-while there is kindly fi'llowsliip to bo read in many a worn ««■«»-
tenance among thotc now grouped around me — soldiers returning to tlie-if
rcgimvats, and i^viluuu to their districts, oil of tbcm growling out n^r^"
for the dear country left behind them, and all in their secret lietr^
mingling with these regreta a proud anticipation of the work a«iili'*£
them in India.
Qua equal tamper of hcnio hearts,
Msda weak 1)t vim and (uic, Imt atrmg ia will
To itrive, to Kck, to find ami aot La j'iobl 1
■ V -^ t
TOUT Ili2 middle of Junuaiy
HajTy Cinvering went up to
Londou, and ecltlod himscir to
work at Mr. Bdlh^'a offici'. Mr.
Bcilby's oRicc consisted of ibiir
or fire large clionibcra, overlook-
ing tliB river from the bottom of
Adntu Street in the Ad^Iplii, niid
hero Ihirry fuund n Inble for
IiimsL-ir ill Llie nuiic npnrtiiicnt
with ihreeothtT pnpiln. Itwim
ti fine ol(3 room, lofty, and with
large winOowa, omanicnird on
the cmliitg with Iluliiin KCrvll-
woik, nnd a flying goddttu in
■ ho Gontrc. In day* gone by t)i«
houiw hivl hceii ilie liahimtion of
•oine gT«iit rich ntJin, M'ho had
thore i'lijoycd llio nwcH bifex^n
from the river beToio Londtm
hod become the London of iho
[irewnl days, and when no em-
biinkmciit had been acoJcij fcr
the ThaniL'B. Nolliiiig cftuld bo
K^iojint ihnntho lableiuiil teat which he was
to occupy near o window ; but llicrt wa« Kiincthing in cho tone of the other
VOL. xm.— xo. 76. \^.
I
men towards liitnwliich did not quite salisfj liiin. Tliey prulxibly did not
kn^tv tlut lievrse a ft:llow of a oollpgo,uxl trcaird hinialinofil astbejoilglit
haTO done liud be come to tbmi Jin-ct from King's College, In tli« Strand,
ox (com tlic Loudon Univtraity. Dawn ut Strallon, a ccrtaia amoiut of
honour had been p&id to tiim. 'J'liey had known ihorc who lie was, nnd
liail ftll eoine dderence for him. They had nol eUpped him on the hacic,
or [K>ked him in the ribs, or even cslled liiia old Allow, before nmnn Inigtb
of ucqimiotance jiutlfied sucli appellatiou. But up at Mr. Beilby'i, in
tho Adclpbi, one young man, who wns certuiniy h'la jituior in age, and
who did not ccutii at yet (o liuvc attmued uiiy high jKMotion in the Bcience
of cQginvcrinjr, niiinirHtstly iJiniight that }ic vin» acting in a fiieadly and
hvcoiiiiiig yrny by dccluriog t)i« stranger to be » lud of wax on Uie
second day of his upp«aTBticc. Uiu-ry Clavin-ing vas not duinehned to ■
liclittvt; tliiit he won » '* W of wiix," or " a brick," or " ft trump," or " no "
smtdl beer." But he desired that such-coinplimeiitary imd cndearia};
appelkliona nliould be tued (o liim only by tJiose whn had known him
long enough to bo aware that be desetred them. Mr. Joaq^ WuUlker
ct^rtainly vaa not aa yet umong tbia numlier, ■
There wns a man at Mr, Ikilby's, who wm entitled to greet him wUh
c-ndearing terme, and lo be so greeted himnelf, nlthotigh ll»rTy hod tiercr
seen him till he atiendfld for the first lime at tho Adclj^ii. 'iliis wsa
Theodore Burton, hia future brothei^ in-law, who was now the leading loan
in the London hoiuc ; — the Kadlng Minn n* n<g];rd«d busine^ though he
wna not ua yi;L a piultier. It vms luidcmlood tlml this >[r. Buitoa waa
to oonie ill when hia liitliei: wvut out ; and in the meaatiinc he received a
salary of a thousand a yt.'ar as managing elerk. A very linrd^woj-king,
Ktt'adyi iutcUigcnt man was Ur. Theodore Burton, witli a bald head, a
high forehead, aud that look of coni!>lant work about liint which Budi oicn
obi:ua. riarry ChiTtring could not bring hiiDsalf to tato a lilcilij; to him,
because ho woru coltvn glovca und liad no odioua habit uf duistin;^ hid
shoeti with his pocket-handkerchief. Twice Itarry aaw him do tIiU,«n ihu
firet day of their acquaintoDcc, and he regrelled it vxeecdingiy. TIh:
ooltoa gloves too wcni ofTentdvc, an were also the tliiok shoee whicli luul
kwn duelled ; but tiie daatitig va» tlie grejii aia. ,,
And there nan noiucihiug which did not quite pleaae SWT in Hr.
Theodore Burton's manner, though tlie geotleninn hnd manifefl^r^tciidcd
to lie Yi-ry kind to him. Wlio Burton had been *p«akin^ to bint
a minute cr two, it Dtuhcd ocrou Uairy'a mind that he hod cot
hiEOBVlf to marry tlio wliolv BiirlOQ tiunily, and tliat, perhnpo, he iDU5t
lake some mcana to leb timt fnct be known. "Theodore," u )n had so
often heard the younger Mr. ButiOD ealled by loving lipe, E«eiued to clami
him OS Ilia own, called hini Ilarry, and uphruiikd hitn wiih frii.'iidly
warmth for not haTing couic direct to hia, — Mr. Burton 'a, — boiise in Oni>lu)«
Crescent. "Pmy feel yourself at homo there," said Mr. Burton. "1 hope
you'll like my wife. Tou needn't be afraid of being made to be idle if
yon i^KTid your crening* there, for we are all reading peopla Will you
d
THE CLi.VEBGfGS.
S87
CAtne nnd diM Ui-dA]r f " FloranM }\a4 teld iiim l}i«t nbe vms bgrbrotbar
T):coiloni*a fAvouiile sistor. «nd tliat 'iheodoTe aa ■ htmliAni] and a
brMiiCT, and n man, won pcrfct't. But Tliuoduro Ii^d diittud liU }waia with
liit luukdk«Kl)ii?r, and Horry Clavcring wotiM not <liac with liim on that day.
And titea U wu painfully nuuiibit to liim timt «r«ry on« in the olBcc
kaCTT hta (IcBliny witb i'd«Kac« to old Burtvu'a dau)i))l«r. iru li^d Wtia
cute of the Stnuion men, Jiad no niorv than any oilior bad lie gaaa iiniwnthfld
ihiougli tlic BtaUXott Gre. He bod been made to do the regn^Iar thing, as
Grander, 8«amM«, Mnd oOrnn hoA den* It. Screlloa would be safer ground
now, KJ CluTeriDg had taken lli« Uat. That wns tlie feeling on the mntlvr
vrhioh Hovinvd to lidoiig to othen. It vntx iiot that Harry thouRhl in tills
wny of hiB own Kli>reu<!e. He knew wul) enoiif^h whftt ft Itieky I«llow hv
waa to hnTo won such a girl. ITe waawell awHto how widely his Floretioa
dtlTcrtd iW>iii Carry Surasea. Hit denied to hiinaelf iiulignimtly ihnt be had
imy ootiMt of repQOting what hu had don?. Jiiit he did wiali tiiat iherxj
priTBie nmiera might have noiauicd priv^lf, and that all thv men m
Boilby'shad not koowo ofhiaen^a^enient: When W'allik«r, cti the fourth
day of their acquainUnce, »»ked him if it waa all right at Stratton, he
uade itp bis mind tbat bv hated Widlikur, and lliat he would hale WolUker
ta tfafl luMday of hia life. Ho liud duclincd iho first invitation given to
lum by Theodore Hiirtoii ; but lit! cuiild not nItog^h«r avoid hla liitiire
bnthcr-in-law, and h^d agreed to dine with lilm on thin day.
On that Bame afternoon Hany, when ha left Mr, Bi-ill>y'a oilier, wc-nt
direct to Dohon Streot, that he might udl on Lady Onptr. An he went
lUth«r ho b«tli«uj{ht hiniMlf that thuf AFallikert and the like had had no
■Dofa eresta in Ufa aa had beTallen him I Th«y langbed at him about
Flonace Burton, little gaeaBiDg that it had been hia lot to lore, nnd to be
land hy (ueh a out aa Julia Bnibttxon had bees, — raeli a one aa I.^y
Ongar now was. But tbinge Imd gone well vitli him. Julia Brabozou
OOttld have made no nuui happy, but i'lorvaco Burton would be the
■Mcatcvt, duarMt, truoat Utile wife tliut evi;r ninn tiwr uiok tu hin home.
{]« waa tliinking of this, and dutennined to think of it more and mora
ilaily^ aa he knocked at Lady Ongar's door. " Yv» ; her hidyship wa>i at
home," aaid the scrrant whom he had t«en on the railway pUtfurm ; and
in a few moracut*' time hu found hiuieelf in the drawing-room which b^
had eriLicizod aocnrafully when h« was taking it for ita pn>acqit occupant.
lie waa Idl in lite room for fivu or six miuutea, and waa able to niakc
a full uenuil iuvoDlory of iu ooRteiitM. It waa rery difibrent in jta
prwent Ufecv from tlit room which be liad awn not yvt a month ainoe.
8ha had (old him that tb« apartmeuta had beou oil tlint ahc d^-sired ; but
■inn tbco everything had been aitvrod, at leant in appearance A new
piflOO liad been brought in, and tha chioix on tho furniture waa aiirdy
a«w. And the room waa crowded with amtill jbminine bblvngiogs, Indicui-
tiv* of wealth and luxur}-. Ihcru wltu omameaii aliout, and pnl^
ley«,anda thousand kiiickknucka which nonu but tho rich can ponoa,
and wbidt aoao can {iOaae« even among the rieh unleas they can givo
19—1
TTIF CLAVERINCS.
Inste nfi w«U ns rooiii-^ to tlioir iity^utiiiiion. T]ien lie lieonl « ligHt tifp \
tlie door opened, ami Lady OngiU- was ilieie.
He «3tpt-eted to bn tho Mime Rgnru thM lie had uta nn thu rxilMrnir
[ilatlbnn, the Baii>o gloomy dnpery, the name (jtiiet, ahiioxl deatlilika
denicnnoiir, lutj, idioost llie anme veil over hvr fciiturcs; but the LaJy
Ongar whom lie now taw wu as nnlike that Lmiy Ongnr hb she «m
unlike that Julia Drjihaton whom he had known in old days MClaTerinji
Park. She was drcMcd, no doubt, ia kbclc ; nny, no douht, rhe wag
(Iremecl in weed*; but in apitc of llie black and in Hpiie of ihe wveda ihtn
iroo Dolhing ahout her of tlie weariness or of the solemnity of woe. He
Itardly saw that Iter drcn vrtia tnndi! nf crape, or that lung xrhito ptadanta
were banging down from Ihe cap ivliioh sat so iircllily upon faer lietkd.
But it waa her face at which be gnsed. At fint he thought that iiba
could hardly be the tamu woman, the was to his eyes ao much older Uian
sliG had been! And yd as he looked at her, hv found tliat she wiu
OB handsamu aa ever, — more linnd&onie than Hhe bad etei* bei>n before.
There waa a dimity nbont her iiicc and figure tvhicli became her wdl,
and which she carried as tlioiigh she knew henclf to b« in very tnith
a GountEifs. It was n fjcL> ivhich bore well eiich signs of age as ibosa
uliich liod comu upon il. Sha sceint-i] to bi^ a woman fltler Jbr wcosan-
hnml than fur girlhood. Her oyeswere brighUr than ol' yore, and, as
Harry Uiought, larger; nxnl her high forehead and nohlv auunpof coiiDte- >
iianco eecmod fitted for t!io drcsa acd huinJgear wiiicti ulie wore. I
"I hnva been ox|«.'cting yow," eaid she, stepping «p 1o him.
"Ilcrmifine wroto me word tluit you were to coaie up on Monday. TVhy
did you sot come Boc>ner ? '' There wan a stnilo on her fuce as she i^kc,
and a confidence in her tone which almost confounded him.
" I liare liud so many things to do," said he lamely.
"About your new prolcasion. Yw, I can understand that. Aud m
you are eeltlud in London now ? Wliere are you living ; — that ia, if you
are Bctllud yet ? " In answer to tliia, Harry told bcr that ha had taken
lodgings in Ttlnonialjitry 8<jii»re, bhishiug somewhat as he named ao
unfiitliionabic a loviilily. Old Mrs. Burton had recommended hitu toUie
housa iu which lie was located, but ho did not find it neecMuy to J
explain Llmt fact to Jjuly Ongar. *
"1 have to thank you for wliat you did for me," continued she.
" You ran away from tne in nuch a hurry on that night tliat I wa» unabla
to Kjicak to yvu. Jlut to lull lliv truth, ]]arry, I was in no mood Ibea'
to speak to any one. Of course you thought that I lr<«ted you UI." f
" Oh, no," said he.
" Of course you did. If I thought yoa did not, I alwald be angry
with yon titiw. But liad it been to h.vo my life I could not bare helped J
it. Why did not Sir Hugh Ciavcjiiig comt* to meet me? Why did"
not my sistpra hu*band come to me? " To this rpiertion Harry could
make no aniwcr. He wa* still Btandiag with hia hat in his Iwind, aod
BOW turned his face away iVom her and ihodk hit head.
I
1
A
CLAVERINGS.
880
** Sit Aova, Harrj'," nbo laiii, " and let nve tiilk lo y&u like a tiKoi j
— onlcu ^oii are in a Iiurry to go away."
** Oh, no," Kiiii hfl, seating hitiiiwit'.
** Or unless you, loo, are afr^iiil of lae."
" A/miJ of y»u, Lntlj- Ongur ? "
f"Yci^ afmid; hut I doii't nionn you. I San'l hcOipvc lluil yoii arc
enough lo dcaerl a nuniiiii who ivnii oncfi your friend Iwcaitsu iiii>-
forttUK has ovoTtnkcn her, nnd ciiluiiiny has been nt work with her aanie."
*' I hope not," uid he.
"No, Harry; 1 do iiol think it of you. But if Sir Hugh be not
seaward, v-hy did he not come and iiictt ine? Vt'hy hoa hu Icll mt'. to
■and alone, now tliat he could be of service to me? I knew that utoiiKy
*■■ ha god, but I hnvp ncvur ashed hiia for a shilling atid should tiot
kare doau so ts<\\v. Oh, Harry, how ivickod y»u wero about that clieijuel
_ On you remcmher? "
^^^'^ Yt* ; I remember."
^^H* 80 shall I; alu-ays, ninays. If I had taken that money how often
^^Bnld I have heard of it eincel"
" Heard of it? " he iisked. " Do yoii menn from ri" ? "
" Y«i; how cften from yuu 7 Would you h.ivf d1111111.1l mp, and (old
letf it once a "wwk? Upon my word, Harry, I wns told of it inoro
ii»arly cvvry day. Is it not wonderful that men should be so mean? "
It was clear to him now tliat she was talking of her hiiabaud whi> was
icaij, and on that subject ho felt himself st preeont unahlc to speak a
voni. He litilu dreami^d at thwl niomrnt liow openly thv would soon
feak to him of Lord Ongur and uf Lord Ougar's fnulta I
*'0h, how I have wiidied that I had taltoii ytiur money I But never
mind about that now, Harry. Wretched un mitti taunts were, they soon
^Kttuc a smell thing. Hut it has b^^eii cowardly in your counin, Hugh;
Wit not 7 If I had not livod with him as one of his family, tt would
iwt have mntlercd. Pcoplu woulil not have expected it. It was aa though
my own hrollitr had cost me forth,"
*' Lftdy Clavering has been with you ; liai she not ? "
" One*, for half-aa-hcur. She cirac up li>r one day, aud came here
ty henolf, cowering n^ tbvugh she wero afraid of luo. Pour Her my I
^ hna not n good tiuic of it cither. You lords of croution l«>d your
ikvM wd livca when it pIcaacB you to chan^ your bllUng and cociog for
uatttT-of-fact niasleriloni and rule. I dou't blnaiQ Uetmy. I HUppoett
>lie did all ilio could, and I did not uttf^r oac word of p.-proadi of her.
Sot should I lo him. IndL-cd, if he c»i»e now ihu servant would il^-ny
aw to Itim. lie hna inaullcd mc, iuid I idjall rcRicmber the insult."
ItArry Clavering did not cK-jiriy undcrrilaud what it was (hot Lndy
Oi^ar bad denirud of ht-r brot)icr-in-Iaw, — what aid alie hiid required;
aardid be know whether it would be fitting for him to ofTur to act in
Sir Hugh's plac«. Anything that he could do, ho felt liimaclf at ibiit
wwwiawi. willing to do, evcu though the uecessoiy wrvke should demand
t
TtEB CLAVHBlSaS.
some wcrifice greater lliaii prudrneo cuulJ approve. " If 1 liftil tlioaglit
tlisl anj-Uiing wtui n^nted, I should linve oomc to you ecwncr," ttaid he.
" KTrayiliing is vanled, Florry. Krerything U wanted; — except dmt
eheqiic ri>r six huntli'cd ]>otir)'ls which you s«nt tao so |rMebenu*ly,
Did yon evtr think what itiighl liavw hapjifiifd if « rfruin peraon I1.11I
henid of that? Ail tli<] wurlO -A-uuld l»ve dedorod liint you iiad done it
for your own private purposea ; — all the iropid, eciwpt om."
Uanry, aa he heard iLia, fell thut he wiw bludiing. l>id Iddy Ongar
Icaow of his engagement with Florence Burton? Lwty CluvoriDg knew
It, nntl might protuihty have (old the lidings; hut then, again, sho might
itot Latc toKl Uiein. Uarry at this moment wUhod that lie knew bow it
wu. All Ihitt Lmly Ongnr cnid to him would come with sodifisronta
tnennlDg according aa the did, or iliil not know that Tact. But he had no
inind to lell her of the faot himseir. He declaretl to hiui«elf ihiil b« Lo]m4
she knew it, a% it would serve to m:il:e them both more comforlaUfl
together; but he did not tliiiik tlmt it would do for him to brinj; forward
the Rubject, nncle nnd bcelii as it wcro. The prop^r thing w«tild be that
fibe should c-oiigratuLite him, hut ihia she did not do. "I certainly
niouit no ill," he said, in Answer to the la«t words she had npfkeu.
" You havo never ineant ill to mi>, TTarry ; tlicugli yon know yoa hare
abused nic drcitdFtilly before nvvr. I dare^y yott forget llie Lard Dames
you ha.vc called me. You men do forget Huoh l^iii{;a."
" I iPinember calling you one name."
"Dc not repeat it new, if you plcaiic. If I daserred it, it would
■Jmme IDC ; and if I did not, it should shame you.''
"Ko; I will not repent it."
<*Doeii it not seem odd, Hnrry, that you and I should ha titting,
lalking together in this way ? " Slie yia» Icining now towards him, aerOM
the tabu, and ono hand wse raiwd to bcr forehead while hereyw were
Exed iaiontly upon bis. Tixe attitude was one which he f«lt to expren
extreme intimacy. She would not hare aot in thnt way, prening back
bor hair from her brow, with nil nppcaraaco of widowhood banished from
her C«ci', in ihu proxence of any but a dear ami close friend. He did nn-l
tliiuk of lilts, but he felt that it waa ao, uhno«t by ioattact. " I bare
such a talc to tell you," aha said ; " auch a talc ! "
Why ehould she tell it to him 7 Of course he aidced himself tlua
qtivslinn. Tli^n he rpnicmhered that nltc bad so brother, — rcmcmbvnd
also tliiit her brotlK'r-in-Inw bad drscj'tcd her, nnd he declared to liiniaalf
tlial, if ncoesaary, lie would be her brother, " I fvAr that yoa bars not
been happy," eaid he, " sinoe I saw you lart."
" Happy I " die replied. " I have lived such a Iil« nt I did not think
^y maa or womnn coidd ba modo to lire on this iiidu the grare. I will be
honest wilb you, Hurry. Noihtng Imt ihc convicUon that it could not be
fur long, liad isired nie from doeirayiiig mysul^. I koewlliat he must die I"
"Oh, Lady OngBt !"
** Yes, indeed; lltat la tbo oame ho gare me; and beewae I oon-
<
Miik-d lo lake il IVoni liim, fa« treaUxl nic; — 0 hmvens t liow mn I to
Sail words to tell jtai what h« did, and the wny in which he timt^ uie.
A wonuo eouH not tell it to a man. Ilarr)', I h»ve no ftiend tliat I trust
bat jou, but to ytm I cannot tell it. AVLen he found tlint h« lad bcea
wrong in murryiiiK iiiv, tli.it lio 'lid not wniit the thing which ho h&d
tbonght woiild suit him, Umt I naa a drag upoti him rather tliim a
oemfert, — what ixm liiti modo, dci yoa think, of ridding himself of tho
himlniT" Clarerinp nat silent looking at her. Both her hnniiit were
now up to b«r forehead, nod her lurgc eyes vrvrc gazing tit him till lie
limnd hiineelf unable to withdraw his own for a moment from har fnoe.
"Re strove to get another roan to taku inu off liia liJiiids ; and when he
Exind lluit he was Giiling, — h« charged mc with (lie guilt which bo liimsolf
LtI contrived for mc."
'■ F-adj Ongar ! "
" Tee ; yen may well atai'O at m&. You may w«]l Ppcak Lcancly ami
boV like timt. It may be timtcvon you will not believe ine;— but by the
G«d in vliom we bolh bflicTO, I till you nothing but llie Iriith. He
>Umpt«d lli« and he fiiilcd, — and llien he accuacd me of tho crime which
U eoukl not bring me to commit."
"And what then 7"
* TcB ; what then 7 Ilnrry, I had a thing to do, and a life to lire, that
wuU have tried tlic bravest; hut I went through it, I stuclt lo him to
*«lw*I Ho told me bcforo ho Tvaa dying, — before lliat last frljjlitl'ul
3IneB, tlint I wm stnyltig wiUi him for his money. • For yonr money, my
Wd,' I said) ' and for my own name.' And ao it wna. Would it Imvo
Wn wuic in me, aOer all thst 1 had gono through, [« hare glvun up that
ftrvbkli I had Bold myself? I had been very poor, mid l)ail been so
Niottl that poTerty, even such poverty as mine, was a cnrw to me. You
hvw what I gave up becsufo 1 feared that ciinte. Was I to be IbUed at
bftfbecaaae »uch a creature an thtit wanted to shirk out of hiH bargain?
I kaev there were soma Wfho would say I had been false. Hugh Clavcriog
t^ so now, I suppose. But they never should &ny I liad led him to die
line in a foreign land."
" Did he aak you to leave hi m 7 "
" No ; — but be called me that name whlclt no woman abould lienr and
•lay. No woman eliould do so unless she had a purpose «ioh «« mine. He
tmlcd back tho price that bo had paid, and I wua determined to do
aolhing that should m^Mist him in his meanness I And then, Harry, his
lut illne» 1 Oh, Hmrj*, you would pity mo if you could know all ! "
•* It waa his own intcnipemnci} ! "
** lalompeianoe 1 Tt w.ijb brandy,- — sheer brandy. lie brought bunsGlf
to neb A atalo lliat nothing but brandy would kec[) him alive, and in
wkieh bnndy wna sure to kill him; — and It did kill him. TMd yoa erer
iMoref ibe horrors of drink 7''
•* Yes ; I Iwvo heard of mich a slate.'*
•• I bofic yoa may never lire to ece it. It is a tagUt tliat would atlult
^
S92
THE CtAVEimiGfl.
i
by you fur ever. But I srivr i(. niui tenJe.] liiiii throu?}) lIis wbolcip'
tbtfugh I \>&i Wen ]ii" iK-rvuLt. 1 remained with him wlicn Uut man vho
opened the <Joor for yon coiiW no longer endure llie room. I was witli bini
when ihc strong womiin frutu tiie liospitnl, tboiigh Jm coiild ijot un<icritan(I
hilt wordi, nlmMt fuinled at whnt she naw iind bcimj. He wns pniiith^,
Harry. I need wish no farfhcT vpngeaiice on Iiim, even for all liia cradtr,
his ipjiutice, Ills unmanly trua<:lK-r}'. i^ it not feArliil to think tlmt ony
man shcuM Imvo ihu power of tringing himK'lf to such an end Ha tli.it ? "
Horry wjus thinking rather bow fiwirfiil it ww that a looa sJiouId Iiavc
it la hin power to (!rag luiy woman through Buch a Gehenna sa that wliicb
this lord bad cmitL>d. He felt that bad Jtilia nrnbcizon been hin, mi alio
bud once proDiised biui, bu never would bnvo allowed liini^elf to apeak >
hnrsli word lo lier, to liavo looked at her exa^pt with loving eyes. But
she had choacn to join herself to a man who bad tit-nled herwilJi acradly
exceeding ail tb.it hi* imagination could have conceived. "It ij a mcny
that lie hm gone," luid ha at laat.
" It in a mercy fur bulb. Pcibnps yoti can undcrataitd now somcthiag
of my marriod life. And through it all I Imd hut one friend ; — if 1 tniy
cnll bim a friend wbo had come to teniia witli n>y btiHbimd, and vrns lo
have been hi* agent in destroying me. But -when this man understood
fVom mo lliut [ wna not what be bad been taught to tliiuk me, — wbtcb my
huabniid liad told him [ was, — bo relsnleiL"
" May I ask what was iJint man's nnme ? "
*' Hia name is PaterolT. lie b a Pole, but be apcilc* Englixli like an
Engliitliman. la my presence he told Lurd Ougnr that lie wna false and
brutal. Lord Ongiir Innglicd, with that litllc, low, sneering lat^hter
which wan Iiia nearest approach to mrrrinicnt, and told Count PalcrolT
that that waa of course hia game before tne. There, Harry, — I will icU
jou nothing more of it. You will underi-land enouglt to know what I hate
■uHcrcd ; and if you can believe tlia-t I bave not einued -'* ■
"Oh, Lady Ongart" ^
" TVi-ll, I will not doubt jou ngain. But aa far as I can learn you are
nearly alone in your belief. What Hcrmy tliinks I cannot K;lt, but ihc
will eoon como to tliink as liugh may bid her. And I shall cot blame li4r.
TVhat else can olic do, poor creature?" ■
" I am sure she believes no ill of you." f
"I have one advniitagp, Harry, — one advantage over her and aoms
olhciK. I am froc. 'i'be duuns have liiut me eorely during my alarery;
but I am free, and tbe ^rice of my acrvitudc remains, lie bad written
liome,— would you believe that? — while I wrw living with him he bad
writton homo lo «&y that eridenco eliould bv collected for getting rid of
nie. And yet bo would eoinctimes be civil, hoping to cbeal me into
inndvcrtendcs. He would nxk tlint man to dine, and tlicn of a uiddea
would be absent; and during thi« he was otdeiing that cvidcsce aboulj
be collected I Kvidence, indeed I The same setvanls have lived with
me thiough it all. If X could now brii>g fonrard eridence I could make
I
1
J
it all clw on tlic day. But Utcix: Qccds no carit for a woman*) lionour,
tltuugh a uiau maj liare tu giiiird liia kjr ccllu<ctiiig cvtdoiico ! "
" But wbat be did cannul ttijure you."
" Yea, Ihirry, it Iiua injun-d tnc ; il Iius nit but. dc^troyod rue. lluve
not ivports rencUcd evra you ? Speak out likn a. man, und any wLcilicr
tibnotaof" «
" I iuiro licanJ MRivthiug."
" Yw, you have lieai'd soaielliing I If you heard HUmoiliitJg cf your
sister where would ycu be 7 All llio world wauld be a uliada ti> yuu till
yoQ had pulled out Momtbody'it tongue by the roots. Not injured uic!
Jot two years year coiuin Hugh'i house was my Iiome. I met I-ord
Ongxr in hit hoiuc. J vaS niurricd from hia house. lie ia my brotlier-
ia-kw, and it no happens that of all men. he ia the notircit to cm. He
itand« well belore the world, nitJ at this thiic could liavu done nie real
KrTic«. Itow ia it Ibut be did not welcome me lumn; ; — that I um not now
lis bouso wiOi iiiy ti^itr ; ihiit hi> did not meet niu hi thut tlio world
know that I uan ivwiivcd buck among my ovvn pcoplu? Why in it,
Batty, chat I am telling this to you ; — to you, tvho are uothing to in« ;
ay siHter'a husband'* coualn ; a young man, from your poaiiiou net fit to
be niy toafldant ? Why am 1 tL-lling thia to you, Harry ? "
''Uccntisowi? ntcutd tr lends," said he, wondering again m thix moincol
*bclher idm kuuw of his cngngcmcntwith i'loicuca Uurton.
" Yd, vo are old frieuds, and wo liave idwuyi liked encb otbor ; but
]rDU must blow that, ns tlic world judgi;H, I nrii wrong to tvli all thia to
Jo«, 1 should bv wrong, — only tliat tho wofM has uwt uie out, eu tbnt I
■01 no longer boaud lo regard it. I am Lady Ongar, and I hnve my idiarc
of iliat man's money. I'ltey hare given nic up Ongnr Park, hnving aikliH-
fitd thcmserea that it ia min« by riglit, and mutit be mine by Inw. But
i» Lib robb«d id« of every friend I hnd in the world, and y«t you tell inc
I>e haa not injured mv I ''
" Not every friend."
"No, Iliiiry, I will not fm-get you, ihougli I npuke bo olightJugly of
ymjiutiiow. Hut your vanity nctd not be luirt. It Uonly tliu world, —
Mo. Gmndy, you know, that would deny nie »ueli A-iendxbip u yuurii ;
OM my own taste or choice. Mrs. Grundy ^Iwajs diaiios ua CAiiully ihow
lliiqgt -which vt ounielves like bcBl. You iLrc- clover cnongh to iindt-r-
Uood that."
lie sniiicd nud lookiid fooUah, and declared that he only oSered tii*
BMirtnnrr because perlmpfi it might 1>o convenient at (be present tuoiiiont.
What couU be Jo for h<:ii How could lie ehow hia IricDdsbip fur Lcr
Uv at oQcc ?
" You liaro done it, Harry, in Itsleoing to me and glvbg me year
^rmpathy. It is oeldoia that wo wont any grL>nt thing frou our fricndn.
I want Qotliing of lluit kind. Ko unc can hurt nm much further now,
ily money and my rank are Kife; and, iierhnp8,hy degree's, ac([iiaintanc4^
if not friend*, will form themselvca round lue again. At procnt, of
19— a
891
TirF ciJiVBa!;rafc
coufM, 1 see no oac ; Imt Iworaso 1 sec no one, I VMlcd tome om to
■whom I could ipMk. Poor Hermy i« woree than no one. Qood-ljy,
Bartj ; joii look «urpriaed and bowilderwl row, but you will Boon get over
that Dtm'i i« long before I sec you njain."
TTiMi, fctling tttat he wa« bldd«a to go, he mdi&l her good-bjr, and
CHAITER Vnt.
The House in Osstow Crescest.
lUnitr, (IK ho walked nwAj fVam Uio lionfo in Dol'on Stmt, hanlljr knew
w1ieili«r lie was on liifi Iieeln or his licail. Barton had kid him not to
drrx — "We Jwn't give ArvM dinner prties, yon know. ir« nil in thn
fiunily Wfty with us,'' — nud Hnrry, therefore, went direct from Bolton
Street to Onslow Croscent. But, th«ii|;h he manugcd lo keep tlie proper
ooitrso down Pieefi^itly, he wn* in nich eonftudon of mind tliat he hardly .
knew Twhillier he was goiikg. It seemed as tlioitgh n new forhi of life bnd I
been opened to him, and that It had been opened in nich a way ai ahnMi
neoessariiy lo engiilpli liiin. It wm not only lha.t Laily Oogar'a history
waa RO terrible, luid her life ev strange, but that ho hiiuKU' waa called ■
npoo to f-orm a pRit of that history, and to join hiinself in aomo aort to that '
lifa This cotmtcas with her wealth, her rank, her brniity, and bcr bright
intellect Lad colled lum to her, and told blia that he was her only friend.
or couiu! ho had promised hit iHendahip. ]Iow cmild he hare fftil«i to
give such n promise to one whom he hnd loved 90 well 7 But to what mnst
such a promise l^d, or rather to whnt luuat it not liar? led had il not
been for Florence Rurton? She was young, free, and rich. She niRde
no pretence of regret Tor the husband she and Iml, *})«nking of )iiia as
though in truth ebe hardly regarded heraelf aa hia wire. And she was the
Bams Julia whom bo bad torcd, who had lore^ him, who had jil('«d biro,
and in wpct fiir whom ha had once reaolvfvd to lead a wretcVod, lonely
lifii 1 Of conrRii «he iiiu*l opi-ct thnt ho would reaow it all; — iinlefw,
indeed, iiha know of his citgn^eincnt. But ,if she knew it, why had she
not apolccn of it t
And could il he ihat aim l<ad no friends,— thnt Qvorybody bad dewrlvd
ber, that she wus iJl ulonc in the ^Totld t As he thought of it al.
whole tiling Beamed to him to be too terrible for reality. Wliat a t
was that ehe had told bitn ! Ho thouglit of tlie man's innolenee to lbs
wnnjan whom he had married and ewom to love, tlieu of hia craclty, bis
Aeiidinh, Ijrtllish orm-l ly,— and I:wi!y of hia terrible punishment. " I Btuek
to him llirough it ntl," t<lic had mid to him ; and llion he endeavoured lo
picture to liiinielf that b«daidc by which Jtilia firabazon, bis Jalui
Brabnzon, had rt'ro.iined Itnn, when hospital attendants bad been acared
by the horrors tlicy had witnceacd, and the ncrrcs of a airong niao,~-or
a mao piud for such work, bad failed hira I
The (nith of her word Ihrotigli&ut he utTer doubUsl ; au6, indeed, no
msR or wonum who heard- hor could liave douliied. One heam storiEs
lold thnt to oneMlfj the hearer, arc manifcBlIy Talac; and one httn atories
u to the truth or fiUicJiood of wliich one ia in doubt; and ntorics again
which Mem to be panly true aiul iiartly untrue. But one (i!bo heirs thiit
of the tmtii of wliluh no doubt sccnu to be po^iible. Sn it hiuii been with
iht tale which Lad^ Ongnr had told. It had been nil m sh^ had mud ;
ud had Sir Itugh heard it, — even Sir Hugh, who doubled all men and
rfgarded all women aa being foUe bej'ond doubt, — eren he, I thiak^ would
hare believed it.
But bIig had dcscrrcd the aulTeringa which h^d come upon licr. Even
Han-y, whoso heart w»s very tender towards her, owned aa much as tliat.
, She htd Bold herself, as she had said of herself more tlian once. She had
I^Hren heradf to n man whom she regnided not at iJI, even when her heart
HBfeongcd to another, — to a man whom »he must have loathed and dospiaed
when she was putting her hand ialo hiji before tlie Altar. Wtint ecom
hai there been upoTi her Ihcc when iJie B]>oko of the beginning of their
nnTied m>9erie»! Wiih what eloquence of expreaaioa hod she pre-
bouneed him to be vile, worthier, unmanlj' ; a thing from which a
woman most turn with Gfieccldejd contempt! She had now hii name,
hii tsrV, and hi« money, but she was friendless and nione. Harr/
CtaTertng declai'cd to himself tbiit she hiid deserved it, — and, liAving to
dtelarcd, ForgaTo her ail her faulta. She hod sinned, and then hnd lulTcrcd;
tnd, therdbrr, should now be forgiven. If he could do aught to caM her
troubles, he would do it, — as a brolhci' would for n sialcr.
But it would be well that she should know of his engagement. Then
I» thought of the whole interview, nnd felt sure that she mu-it know it.
At any rate ho told hlmeelf that he wiu sure. She could hardl/ Imre
tftken to him tut Hho had done, unlcHS site liad known. When Inet they
had been tog^lhcr, anunterlng round tlic gnrdena ut Cluvcring, he had
ttfauked her for her treachery to h'liu. Now tilie wme to him nlniost opca-
mned, free, full of her cares, swoaiing to him that he wa.^ her only
(licnd! All tlita could mean but one thing, — nnlesa site knew that that
ou ttuDg wai barred by his altered position.
But it gratified him to think that ilia had chosen Viiin for the
npodtary of her tale ; that elic h»d told hvr terrible hiatory to him. 1
fiar that some ffoall part of thia gmlificAtion woii owing to her rank and
Veallh. To be the one friend of a widowed countess, young, rich, and
btautiAil, waa something much out of the common way. Such con6dence
lifted him far above iho 'Wnllikers of the world. That ho wan pleamKl to
be 10 tmitcd by one that wa^ beautiful, wna, I think, no ditigroco to him ;
— althongb I bear in mind hia condition n* a m.in engaged. It might bo
(ItDgoroUfl, but that danger in sudi case it would be Ida duty to ovetoom*.
But In order tliat it might be ovcrccme, it would coitaiuly be well that
Ae ihonld know bi» poflitioii.
J fear he apeculated as he went along as to wliat might km beoa luk
condition in t}ic ■worlil had hv never tcca Florence Burton. Fitat bft
iislccil himsulf, wJiCLiier itiidi^r niiy circumstances, be would bare xtiebied to
iiiiirry n widow, and csjiecinlly a. widow bjr wliom bo had already hern
jilt«d. Ye»; he thougtitlhal he could have forgipun her wen llinr, ifbixown
heart had not cbangpd; but h« did nut Toi^wt to tdl liiniM-Jf xguin how Inckj
it was I'vr him tli»t hie heart vim diimgud. What couutvw in lUe world, l«t
her havo wbnt park slic might, and any imaginuble number of ihousande a
jear, could be &o swtct, bo nice, so good, bo lilting for him ua his owa
tlorcncj Burltvn ? Then ho endeavoured to reflect what liappc-ntd when
a coinniun(^T iniirrii;d tht! widow of a peer. She vji slill uiIIihI, he
bcIiGved, by hi-r old title, uulcsn bbe should choose to abandon it. Any
Httuh arrangcmrnt wns tiow out of the qucHtion; but liu thought that he
VTould prefer tlutt she should hitve been uiUed Mm. Clavcring, If ouch a
slate of things had <onie about. I do not know that he f>iclured tu
himself any necessily, either on her part or on bin, ol" abuudonlng any-
thing clic that came to her from her Into huabund.
At liAlf-fuiAt six, the time nnmed by TliuodorG Burton, he found him-
self nt llic door iu Onslow Crescent, and was at once shown uji into the
dniwing-rouni. ]lo know that Mr. Burton had a fiunily, and he bad
[liciurcd to hiinsL'ir tin untidy, ugly house, with an uuciily, molJivriy
woman going about with a baby in her arms. Such vruuld nuticrally be
the home of a man who dusled his sIioigb with hi9 pocket- handkerctuef.
IiUt to his surprise ho fannd himself in ns pretty n dr^Lwiaj-room aa he
roaivtiibcrcd lo huvc icon ; and seated on a sofa, wiia aluioat ns pretty a
wnmuii as he romcmbcrvd. She was tall and flight, with hir^c? hrown eyos
and weU-defincd eyebrows, with an oval fitco, and the sweeteat, kindett
iiiouih tliat ever graced a woman. Her dark brown huir was i^uite plaint
having been bntBheil umply Bmaalb across the forehead, nud tlicn collected
in a knot behind. CK-se bcsido hor, on a low chuir, eat a littlo Ciir-tuurcd
girl, about sevin yvar« old, who w;i8 going tbrougli some prctonce at
ueedlcwork ; nod kneeling on a higher chair, while she sprawled over the
drawing-room iiiblc, was aaothor girl, some tlircc years younger, who
wan engaged witli a puzi!c-bos.
" Ml'. CUvcriitg," said she, rhin^ ficm her uhuir ; " I am so glad ta
sec you, ihougb I inn tdnioNt migry with yan for not coming to us tMMtier.
I hare heard so much about you ; of course you know IJisl.** Barrr
explained that he bad only been a fuw days in town, nn<i deciarwl that I»e
wnH hnppy Lo kurn ihiit he 1i»d been cumidered woilh talking nbout.
" If yuu were worth ncciptiug yon were worth talking about."
"Perhaps J was neither," said ho.
" Well ; I aiu not going to Hatter you yet. Only oi I think our Flo
is without exceplidn the iiioKt perfect j^irl I ever miw, I don't suppose
thv would be guilty of making a Lad choice. l-^i^yi dear, tliis is
i[r. aavcring."
Ciaiy got up from her choir, and came up to bim. " Unnuna aaya i
ani Lo love you very much," said Cissy, pntling up her faoe to Im kbaed.
I
TUB CLAVBRUICS.
S97
I
''Bat t did not tc!1 j'ou to sty I biul lold >'out" oaiiJ Ura. nnrloa,
"Aud I will love 70U Torjr tuuch," Kiid Hurry, taking hvt up in
Lis artiis.
"But not wniucb iia Annt FJoranoe, — nill yoa?"
'They all kuev it. Il waa clear to hiin tkat L-vvrybody cubiiceted with
die BiintJiia had been told of tltc cngii^ciucal, aad that tliu/ alt epoke of
it o]>ei)Iy, M lli«y did of i»ny olhvr tvcrydny Tittnily occtiiT«nc«. There
wa« not much ruttccncc aUKHig t]i« Burtons. IIu could not but fwl this,
llKftigli DOW, al iLe [irtanut utonieiit, lie vriui dispcKwd la tltink specially
veil of live fanily bcontiae Mrs. Burton and licr fiJiUdren were ao nice.
" And this 10 wiotlwr daughter .' "
"Y«i} uBother future aittee, Mr. Ciafcriiig. But I BUpposa 1 niay
call yoa Uariy ; may I nut i My uiuu: 'u Ct'Cilin. Yes, tliat is
aCsB Pert."
" I'm not ^[iii4 pL-rt," iwid tho liillo soil round boll of a girl from llio
^loir. " I'm Sujihy Burton. Oh ! you laujnx't tittle."
Harry R>uud himadf quite «l houu in tvn luinutcs; and hclbru
.Air. BtutoQ had rotunuxl, had be«n Uikeu upMairs into tlie nursery to faa
ITbeodore Burton Junior in hia crudlc, llit'odort; Burton Junior being
cw yet only *oinc few montha old. "\ow you'vu tictn ua idl," said
Alia. Buituii, "and we'll go duivniitaira and wait fur iiiy hiubaud. I
axiiut let yui iniv a accrvt, tuo, We don't dine till past auvvn; you inay
a^a Well remember that (or the futun>. But ] wonted to huve you for half-
^n-botir to tuysclf hvixc dinner, 10 tLul I uifjlil look at you, and niuke
Xap my mind about Flo't choice. 1 h-j]>v you won't he angry with me i "
*' Aad liuw have you nuide up your uilud t "
*" If you want to find that out, you must get it lliroiigh Flwrcnoc.
'Yvti may be <iiutc tuni I tliall tell her ; and, I »upiJos<!, I may be quite
*we aim will t«U yon. Dwa abe tell you everything '{ "
" I tdl htr cvuijlhing," aaid Uiury, fueling hituMilf, iiowcvi-r, to be a
IittloeonKience BuiUea at the raoinvnl, n» he remembered his iniervtow
«ith Lady Ocgar. Thbp had (.'ccurred thia very day which he certainly
Coald fiul toll her.
"Do;— ilu; nlnuya do ihnt," said Mra. Burton, kiyiug her hand
•Seniuoalcly on his arm. "Thc-re u no wiiy no cciluiu to bind a woman
in you, bout aad B«ul„a9 to ahow her that yoa trust her in crcryihing.
Tkcodcro Ivlli uie eveiythtng. 1 don't tbiuk ihcni'a a drain plaaiiud
Itadcr a ratlway-bauk, but lluil ho ahuws il me in conic way ; aitd I feel
V grateful (or il. It makot me know thai I can never do enoufjh fur
liiat. I hope yuu'It be as gugd (Q FJo, aa be ia to me."
" Wn can't both be {icrfcct, you know."
"Ah. well [ of courw you'll Inugli at me. TlM»dore alwa)'i luu^lia
M me ^' 1 : iin what he calU a high hi>ree. I irond«r whctlicr you
wnm^ ^licii?"
Harry reflected that he never woie cotton glovea. *' I don't think I
THK CLAVEHWOS.
Ria vciy aenaihle^" i^ ho. "I do & grent man; foolisli things, nnd (b«
worst 13, tb&t I Uka di«m."
" 60 do I. I like >o m»ny t<xli»\i tliiiigi 1 *
"Oil, tnaromn I " caiil Cmy.
" I sball hnve tliat (juoted sgaiiwt tne, now, for titc next ox montha,
wlieaever I am preaching wisdom in tbe nunnry. Bat Flomtoe is nenrl/
M sensible m her brollicr."
" Alucb more so ihuii I am."*
" All llio Burlona arc full up I© Ihcir eyes with Rood spnse. Anil what
(I good tiling it is ! \Vin:i ever ht«rd of nny ftf them coniiirg t» ftortow 7
"W^laleTe^ tliey have to lir* on, thi^ nlwaj-s liavo enmigh. Did you erer
kiiow A woman who has (3onc better with her eiuldrcD, or liju known bow
to do better, tlmn Theodore's mother 7 She in the drarest oIO womnn."
Ilarry had heard her called a very clever old woman hy certain pcraonj in
Slcalton, iiti<l ould not but ihink of her matrimonial sncoceaes as hoTj
pnisa wero thas sung by licr ilaagbtor-in-Iaw,
Tliry went on Utlking, while Sophy nt !□ Harry's hip, till there wai
heard cho soiuid of the Vcy in the latch of the fKinl-dooi-, and the manor
of the house was known to be iherc " It'a Tlieodore," mid hi« wife,
jumping up tind going out to meet him. " Tm so gU4 that you Imvt
been here n littlo bL-foro hfuif bocjjuwj now I feci that I know yow. When
ht's lu-re 1 elinn't gft in a word." Thru (ihe went down to her btubuod,
flnd Harry wna loft to apcoulnle how -to very eharmtng a womaa oooM
erer hnve been brought to love a man who cleaned his boots with hU
packet-handkerchief.
There were ?oon Blepii again apon tbe stairs, and Burton Ktnmed
bringing with him iinothfr mnn whom he introduced to tTarry as
ilr. Jones. " 1 didn't know my brother was coming," said. Mrs, BnTtuii,
" but it will be very pleniumt, us of cohtm I slinll wiint yon to know
liim." Harry became a little perplexed. How far might these familjr
nunificatjons be i»upp(«ed to go 7 TVoitM he be wcloomcd, wi one of tli«
liooM^old, to ihe hearth of ftfrs. Jones; anr! if of Mrs. Jones, then of
&ilr& Jones's brother? Hia mental ini^airie.i, however, in thlH di
were soon ended by his finding that Mr. Jonci was a liadieJor,
Jones, it appe.ired, was the editor, or sub-editor, or co-editor, of smni
influenlinl daily newspaper. *' IIo is a night bird, Hiury — ," emd-^
Mrs. Burton, She had fallen into the wi»y of calling him Hnrry at once, fcnl
he could not on thai occasion bring himself to call her Cecilia. He might
bare done so h.id not her huiband been prc^rat, but he was atihamcd 19
do it befoi'o him. " He is a night bird, Harry," wtid &ho, speaking of her
In-other, " and flien nwny nt nine o'clock, th.tt he may go and hooC like an'
owl in some dark city haunt that he ha;. Then, when be is himselT ailecp
at breakfast-time, his hootinjs are being heard round thc'town."
Harry rather liked lIio idea of knoiving nn editor. Editors were, h
thoTight, influential people, who hnd the world very mttch under \lti\t
leet,— being, as he cosc^red, afraid of so men, while other men ar« reiy
I
CIAVltHITOSi
much &ftdA^B||i]|wni- He wji4 glmi cTinirgh to ulitiltc JonM b; the hnn^,
whrn b* mmB'IIu Joiicr was nn e*\\Utr. Bui Jonen, Utougb he Imil lliv
faM Mtd foreb«AtL of k elercr nun, won rery quiet, nnil ««einGd almort
mbmiaaive to his sister nnd brolher-in-Inw.
The dinner w«s pluin, but good, and Ilarrjr sftpr a while b«cstne happy
■nd Mtislied, although lie had c^nie to t}i4 bouae-with xoiufithinf^ almost
like a roHiluLioQ to find tanlt. Men, niid vomrn nlito, <[o frtqtiouily gn
aboQt in such n mood, baring unconscionably from fome nni&ll oircum-
tixatt, prejudged tbc-Ji- aciiuiiiritancee, iind mmle up their mind that tlioir
noqttaintftocea titould be cuiidemiied. Inllitonced in this way, ITnrrj- hail
R»t intended to pas* a pleasant ev«nin(^, ncid ivouI<l hnve ;(cu(l aloof iti^d
been cold, had it been poariblc to him; biit ho fcund ihnt it was not
poaiblc ; and after a little while ho trna IVicndly nnd joyous, and th«
H^hpw vrent olF very well. There vsut iorio wild-fowl, nnd ha wna
H^^Veithljr mirprised as he wnlc]ir:ii ilie inuiital anxM^ty und giiatroiinmic
skill wilb which Burton vrvnt through tho process of preparing the grtiry,
«ith lonoD and pepper, having in iha room n little siivcr-pnt and sn
l^ipwHtiia of fire for the occnaion. lie woulJ as soon have u[pcct«I the
Arehbitlt'jp of Cnnli^ibiiry lumwir to go through such on opemlion in the
dining-room &t I^iiibetli ta the hard- working inan of biuinen wborn be
bad known ia ihc ohnmbeia at the Adolphi.
"Doea by alwaj's do tliat, Mrs. Burton 1 " Iliirry aakfid.
" Always "suid Burton, "when I can get the mulcnals. One docm't
oocMlf about a cold leg of mutton, you know, which t« my usual
wbea we are alone. Thv cbildrvn have it hot in the middle of
ilK day."
" Such A tiling ntvtT happened to him yet, Harry," mid Mrs. Burton.
"Gently witi) thi> popper," Kiid llie oditoy. It was the first word he
ipoken for some time.
** Be good enough to remenber tliat, yourself, when you aro writing
joar article to-night."
"No, none for mi>, Theodore," said Mr« Burton.
" Ci«j ! '■
"I have dined really. If I had rcmembeied that yon were going to
lUipUj your cookery, i would have kept some, of iny onergy, but 1
fHgotiL"
".■\8 a rule," eaid Burton, "1 don't tliink -wcnion nxK^is* flny
diSrr«Dee in flnvoura. I believo wild duck and hnehi<d mutton would he
^■ito the aatne to juy wife if her eyes were blinded. I Hlinuld n>it mind
lUa, if il irere not that tbey arc generally proud of the deficiency. They
tliiak it grand."
" Just as men tb'uik it grand not to know one tunc from nnother," mid
hia wife.
Vbea dinner wo* over, Burton got up fVom his neat " Harry,'* esud
he, •' do yon like gcod win« T •' Marry aaid ihnt lie did. Whatercr womMi
nay tij about wild-fowl, meo never profcsi no indifferenco to gwd wine.
Ttre CLATEnmos.
altliongti ibere is a llieory ubout ihc w<trltl, quite ss inotirroct «a it is
g«Denil, thut Ui«y have given up drinkiDg ii. '*In(1«4?(), I do," uid
llury. ** Tlicn I'll give yaa n bolllb of port," said BurtoD, aud so m^ribg
lie I^ the room.
" I'm very glu(] you Iinrc conic to-diiy," said Jitk^i, with much gnvitjr.
" U« ii«vcr gtv(» Ric any or that when I'm alone with him -, and be oevvr,
liy uiiy mcntifl, lirlngs it ont for company."
" You (ioii't mean to accuse Itim of drioking it alonc^ Tom ? " Buid fata
fliiter, ]&ug)iing.
" I doo'l kiion- when h« driiilcs it; I only kni3W wh«a lie doesn't.**
The wine WM dcc^utcd willi ta iiiHch wire ns had hvtn given lo llio
ooDOoction of llie gntvy, aud iho cIcarnosH of thu dark liquid vras
Bcrutinized wit.!i an cyo that noa full of aiixioiu care, " Now, Ci«sy, wbat
d« you think of ihflt ? She knows a g^aas of good urine when the gala it, u
ireli u you do, Harry ; in npite of her contempt for the duck.**
Ab Uiey Mppcd tJie oU purt Ihcy etit round the diiiing-room lire, and
llarry Clavering waa forced to ovtn to Iiimseif tha! ho had never been
more com for table.
"All," B»ii3 Uurton, aLrctcliing out liiit altpperod foet, "why cao't it
all bv aflvr-dinimi-, iiiaiend of that dreary room at the Adelphi T"
" And a!l old port ? " mud Jcrnca.
" Yea, luid all old port. You ure not such an aM as lo atipposo thai a
man in iiii^'j;<-aiiiig to lilimtcira continuance orplciisiirc suggeeti to hiauelf
■1(0 the evils which nra euppoxcd to oeconipany suoh pleattin;. If I took
much of tlie siutf 1 should get oioss nnil uck, and make a beail of myself;
but then wliat a pity it ia (hiit it ahould ho so."
" You wouldn'l like much of ii, 1 think," said his wft.
" Tlmt is it," said ho. " We are driven to work because work
ncvci" palls on us, whereas pleasure nhvnys doea. What a ironderiUl
schmno it h vihai one loukii at it uU. Ko man can follow pleararc long
couttiiually. ^Vlitn a man atiiros to do so, he luvas his pleasure atoocu
into busiuess, and wutks nt thuL. Come, Hurry, -wa mustn't have auothtr
bulile, as Jonts would go to sleep among the t_)pe." Then liioy all weal
UpBlaii-s tt'gctla-r. Hairy, btforc he went away, was takea agiuu up inlo
the nursory, aud tlicrc kilned the two little girl» iu dieir cots. When be
was outaidu the nursery door, on the top of the oiairs, Mrsu Burton took
lii'ii by the hand. " You'll come to us olicn," aaid she, " and make yoar-
sdf at home here, will you not 7 " Harry couid not but say thai bo would.
Indued lie did eo witliout hesitation, ehuosl witii eagerueas, for Iw hnil
liked her and lind liktd lier house. " Wo tliink of you, yoa know," she
continued, "<[uiie as one of ouiselvos. How could it he otbcnrise whea
Ho is tIiodcur«9t to us of all beyond our own?"
*' It mokes me so Iiapjiy to hear jou say so," Kud ho.
" 'Tlien couic hero and talk about her. I want Theodore to led that
you nrc his hrotlier ; il will bo so iiiiporUint to you in the busiticaa tbitl it
should be so." Afli-r that lic wtrut away, aud as he walked back along
I
I
I
THB CtAVnitlNOS.
PlceaJill/, anJ tlien up ihKtugli tho rc^ivus of St. Giles to Lis Lomu
in iJiuouiKbtiry S^jiuirc, lio c:iti«ri<.il liiniKdr lli:il lltu life of Onslow l^retiCGDt
wag • belter manner of liTc tliiiii tliat wliluli ww likcljr tc prcroil in
Boltoa Street.
Wiieii h« vaa gone his cluu-ncter waa of courae discuued between llie
kmbwid and viik in OmIqw Crescent " Wliut do j-ou tliink of liiDi 7 "
Mid the bmbnad.
" I like lum SD iQUcb I He ia so mucli nicer than yoa told me, — ao
mucK ]>Icnsani«r nnd cnHicr j an<l I liavo no doubt lie ia lu clever, lltougli I
doD't t]ii»lc lie uliows lh»t nt oiici^."
" He is clever uuou^h ; ilivrv'n no dmibt itbout llint."
'* And did you not think ho ivaa pltuisiint 1 "
" Yci ; be WHS plcn^iit here. He is unc of thoxu mcra who get on 1>«»t
wilb wotncQ. You'll inske much nioio of him fur aiYliili! than I shall.
Ut'U gouip with jou uiid sit idling wiUi you for lli« hour togttLtr, il'
jrou'il let biin. Thenj's nolliing wrong about him, and he'd like nothing
better thaa that."
" Tou don't botieve that he's idl« by duposition T Think of nil that he
IiikS done oliuidy.'
" 'i'hitt't; juht what I* moat sgninst liim. He might do very woli witii
tu If he had nnt got thitt vonfouniled feilowiilii|) ; but huvJuj^ got thai, he
thinks Ihu hiu-il work of Hie ii prutty widl over with him."
" I don't suppose he can he bo fculieli ns that, TJieocIore."
" 1 know well what auch men arc, and I know the cvU tliat is done to
them by the cramming they endure. Tiioy Ivjim m.-iny names of thiiigi^ —
high'ioumling tiantei, and l)my come to underittiuul n gr^t doal nbout
words. It is u knowledge tha.t requires do experience uud very little real
thought. IjuI it demaudi much rni'inory ; and when they h»ve loaded
tbemaeltrcs in this way, they think tlmt ihc^y ni-e inntructcd in nil things.
Aft«r all) whnc can t}icy do that is t>f real use to ui.-inki]id? 'What can
they cnwltt?"
** I inppcse ihcy are of uao."
*• I don't know it. A man will tell you, or pretend to tell you, — for
tba diancea are ten to one that be U wrong, — what soit of lingo was spokeu
ia some particulur islaad or proviiico oxx hundred years before Chritt.
What good will that do any one, even if he were right 1 And then M'«
(be c&ct up«n the men iheinaulvM ! At four-and-twcnty a young fellow
imt adiicTCd some wondorful succeM, and ealli hlnucll' by tonio otitJandisb
and concrit«d name — a doublo first, or soniclliing of tlie kind. Then ho
thinks be has completed everything, nnd in too vain to team anything
alUtvards. The IrntU In, thut at twcniy-four no man has done murv than
Acquire the rudiuicrntii of liia education. The system is btul frum bttgin-
ning to cad. All that compctitioa makes false u>d inperfcct growth.
Conw, I'U go lo bed."
What would Uarry have said if he hiul Lcnrd idl din fnim Uitt maa
who duAlvd hta booU with bis handi;crchiel I
THE Cr-AVEJltSCS.
COAFTER DC.
Too Pbuuest by IlALr.
FLoRixci BuRrrox thought berselT the happicM girl in tlw xwrhl. thtm
wiis notliing wanting to the peifcotion of bcr bliM. She oonld pcrcctrv,
tliough eh« never allowed her mind to dw«ll upon tlic fact, thnt tier lover
was superior lu nanj TUtpcutu, to the men whota bor swlen had tanrricd.
Kc woa heller dluctttt-d, Ltttcr lnokisg, in &ct nwre fuU^ a jeivalleiuaa at
iill poiniji than tither ScaTneEs or any of t)ie others. 8he liked lier siiltn*
husbands very well, and in fonncr dnjs, before ITarr; ClaTering h>d come
to Stnttoa, ^c hod nercr taugtit hcr«c!f to think that >h», if tfao married,
would want anjrthii^ difiVownt from that which IVoridence had gircn to
them. She had ncrrr thrown up her hood, or nriii thn^wn up t»er noec^
and told bcTKlf that b)ic wotild demand Mmething better than ibaL But
not the lesa wan aha alive to the knowledge that mnetltiii^ better bad
come in her way, and that that somcrtbiiiK better woa now her own. CHk
wa«v«ry proud of her lover, and, no doubt, in Bonia gently feminine way
Hhowod tliat the wna ao as she made her way about among her friends at
Stratton. Any idea that sh« hersalf wa« better «ducated, better looking,
or more clever than her elder tictars, and that, thwefon?, she was dcanTin^
of a higher order of buahand, had never rnteretl her mind. The BortOM
in London, — Theodore Burton and his wile, — who knew her wcU, andirbo,
of all the family, were lest nble to appreciate her worth, bad long bf«i of
opinion Ihnt ehc deceived some specially faronred lot in life. Tho
qnoation wiih them wouhi be, whether Harry Clavering was good enough
for her.
Evciybody at Stratton knew that sb« waa engaged, and when they
wislied her joy she made no coy deniaU. ITf^r sister* had all been engaged
in the same way, and tbcir marriages had gone off in rcgrilar acijaence to
their ctigsigcments. There had never been any secret witb theoi about
their nflsiiD. On this inaltcr tlie practitx- Ik very rariowi among diSWrrnt
people. Ther« are (!imih«8 who think it almost indelicate to talk about
marriage, as a thing act\ial)y in prospot for any of their own ramiDiraily.
An ordinary aciiHaintancc would ho considered to be imperlincnt id eTcn
hinting at such a thing, althcuKh tho thing wcr« an established feet. The
engaged young bidtet only whinper the news through tho Tery di>pths of
their pink note-paper, and arc Biipposcd to blaah &.« tbey commnQicale the
tidingM by their pens, even in the retirement of their own rooina. But
tbew am olher familips in which there is no Tcatige of snoh mysterr, in
which na tngsg«il couple arc Bpckeo of together aa openly n» ihnugh ihey
vert already bound in some sort of puhljc partnemhip. In ibcw bmilies
the young ladiei talk openly of their lovein, and generally prder that
mibjcot of couvt^rsitlton to any otlicr. Sucli a family.^Mi UlUcmyalerioiii^
^90 open in. their arrangoniml?, was ihat of the Bitrtms nt Stratton. TliO
reserve in tho reserved iiiuiilii.-i is upunlly atoned fvr Vj the niD^giiificeacO
i
I
I
THE CLAVEBIKGS.
408
Tlbe brii^I arriuigenienij, irben the marring ii At lait nolemnbt'd ;
wlicreiis, among tlic other tet, — the people ^TIto Imve no reserTc, — tliv
nstrriage wtifD it ctiiii^n, in citstuiiinrily an affiiir or miicli less oiitwnrt)
ccTcmony. 'TUvy »rt ai.-irriAi) without IjIiibI of trutnput, with very little
|>r«li( to llic confectioner, and do their honey moon, if tliey do it dt all,
iritl) praanie nmplicity.
Florence liad uiatic up her mind that she uauiil Ixj in no Imrry nhniit
it H»rry wits in n liurry; but thnl wnn ii infttt«r of coiir««. Ho waa a
quick •Ifkmded, iinpntk'nt, rt^stku Witig. 8hc was slower, and more
given to cttnaidcration. It would Ix; Ijcttcr that tli^y sboidd wait, crca if
it vera for five or six years. She had no fefli of poverty fat henieir.
Slie hod Wrfi always in a house in which money wna much regarded, and
' mODf^ people who w«r3 of ini.'xpi.'ii>^vu hnbilu. But eiich had not been
his lot, and it whs !ut duly to ihinlt of ilm iikhIi' of life which might miit
liitu. lit would not b« happy as a poor niAn, — without coniforls around
hfn, which would rimply ba comloita to him though thny would he
Inxuriea to her. When lier mother told her, shaking her Iiead nillier
urrowlVillylA sho henrd FloTtfnc« tnlk, that sh^ did not lik« long engsge-
menlA, Florenoo would phitki> her* too, in playful derution, and lull her
notbrr not to be so nigjiJcivtiK. " It ia not you that urc going to marry
him, tuantina/'
" No, my dear ; I know lliat, But long engagenicuta nevor are gowh
And I can't think why young people should want to many things, now,
that thcjr used to do without very well whnr I wna mnrried. Whpn I
went inio housekeeping, we on!y had one girt of fiftspa to do everything;
uul we hadn't u nui-seinaid regular til! Theodore wua bom; and tliisrc
were ifarea before him."
Florence could not say how many maid-aenranta Rarry miglit wlah to
IiATe iuid«r eimikr circumstAnccs, but she was very confident that he
would want much more ntteiidaiii:u than hor futhor and mother had done,
or even than some of her hrotlien .tnd nintcnt. Her father, when he first
tnatried. wotild net hiivo iibjectcd, on rctuming home, to find hia wife in
the kitchen, looking after the progress of iho dinner ; nor e?en would
let brotlier Tlicodore have been made nnhai>py by anoh a circumalance.
But Harry, she knew, would not liko it ; and lh(?refore Harry muat wait.
" U will do him good, mamma,'* *'i'd Florence. "Yon can't think that
I mean to find biult with him ; but I know that he U young in hU ways.
H« Ea one of those men who shoiikl not innrry lill they are tweoty-eighl,
or thereabouts."
** Ycu mean Ihat h« is «n«tfndy T "
"No, — not unsteady. I don't think him a hit untteady; but he will
ha happier singtc for u year or two. Ha hasn't settled down to like hia
Im and loatt when he is tired of his work, .is a mnn-itd man should do,
Po you know tliat I am not aure that a Utile flhtution would not be very
good for him ? "
"Oh, uiydcjirl"
404
THE CLAVEBDIG8.
" It ahoulil be very moilvriile, jwu kiiww."
"But Uicn, aiipposo it wasa't modoruto. I iloa't like l« lee eogi^d
young men going on in tli«t najr. I »u|>poae I'm very oM-£isfauMMd ;
but I lUink wlicn a j-oung mnii it ciig<(go>I, hi ouglit t» rciottinlKr it
and to sltow it. It ouglit lo make Lim n litile wTiotis, and lie fthnuldn't
be going iiliuut like a VuttcrJIy, tluit may do just aa it plcasca in the
iiui»liiQ<;."
l>uriD(; the \)iH!« moiitbs wliidi HniTy reinainwl iu town Wfure tlio
Eoalcr holiduyx he wrolv mure tlian oncv lu FIur«noe, prtnung ber to
ti*tti« an iMr]y dny lor their Diarnagc. TJiese letiera vrcre written, I
llituk, utter certain crcaiaga Bpcnl under favourublc circiimBtanccs la
Ooalow CiCsccnt, wlicn he wa* full &f tho niflribj of donicstic comrotl, ftni
perhiips also owvd Kotin! of their iiisjitratlon to tlie fiicL that l^iuly Oiigiu-
had ktl Lonilun witliout seeing iiiiu. lie haJ called nrfjeatcdly in BoltMt
Strctt, having been specially preEsed (o do m by Lady Ongw, but he
had only once found her at home, and then a thin] pcnioa had been
prutmit. This third person had bcva n lady who vraa itv( introduced to
him, but ha had Icumcd fiotii her speecb Uiai kUo wan a forei^jiicr. On
that oucinion Lady Ongur had iiiade lici'Sclf gracioitfl iind plosanti but
nothing had; parsed which it\tcrcsted him, and, most imrciLSotiablj, he bad
lell liiiuieir to be provoked. When next he vr«nt to Bolton SItmI be
found thai Lady Ongur hod lufi X^ndon. She had gone domi b» Oagar
Park, imU, iia far ox lliu woman nt llic bou%c knew, iutendod to noafai
there till after Easter. Ilarry had some itndufined id«» tluit aha aliould
not bavo taken such n Rtcp without telling him. Uad slie not dccIftT«d
to bim that hu wiw her only friend? When a fri«nd ia going out of
town, k-aving au only lilcnd hehitiJ, thut friend ought to tell lier only
friend what eho in goliij* to da, otbcrwjae such a declaration nf only-friend-
elkip tneiins nothing. Sudi w\s Hurry ClaTcring's TcawDiiig, and baring
BA re&aoncd, he declared to himself that it did m<^n nodiing, &ad was very
pressing to l-Loreuce Burtou to name nn early day. Us had been nith
Cecilia, he told hoi', — lie bad learned to call Mr». Burton Cecilia, in hjft
letters, — and aha (niil« agret^l witli bim thiit iheir income would bo
enough, llewaa to have two-Iaindrcd » yc;u' from Itis Citber, liaTiog
brought himxelf to uliandon that bijjh-lonud rt«oIv>; uhtJi he had made
■ome time since thut be would oerer draw any part of his iaeomc fram
the parcntnl cofTcrti. Ilia father had again ofTei-cd it, and he had accepted
it. Old Mr. Iturton wa» to udd a hundred, and Harry vrw of opinion
that ihey could do yury well. Cecilia thoogbt Uie same, ba mud, and
tlicrcfore Floruice surely would not rcfuw. Uut Florence received, lUrcct
from Ousluw Crt'sctfut, Cecilia's own version of her thoughts, nod did
rufuK. It may be Diirmiecd that ithc would have tufuscd even without
oujatauce from Ociha, for she was a young lady not of a fickle or
changing diipoiiition. So she wrote to Ilarry with nmeb caro, and m
her kllcr had some inHutiicv on the story to be told, the reader atutU md
it, — if the leader so pleases
I
TUK CI>AVE«TNGS.
405
Ijiimr,— Stntlon. Mareh, I86-.
I KKCcivKn j-oo( klt«r lliit mnming, uml «ii«f»cr ii st onw, Vw»ii»e I koow
you will be unpati^nl for nn Mistrcr. Yon are imptlioat nboiit tiiinjF^ — arc yon not ?
But it it*s» kini). 'Wect, dear, t^cnerotn IcIIit. luxt I uetd not Id] yon iimr tlint I
laiT the wri:cT iif it wltli n]I tiir hrnn. I nm cp clml joii like Ccciltn. I tliinlE ebe k
Ibo pcrfcclioD of a w„ronii. And Theinjorii ui awry lot ni k«x! rn Cccilio, though I
know yon don't tliink sn, IwriUKn you dnn't mt fio. 1 nm slwiiys hnppy when I ■.tii iu
Oii>law CtmccrI. 1 should linve been there tliij "piin^, only that n ccrtnui pcnwa who
ctKKMM 10 tLiak Uui liifldiuina os mo uoal:roiiB«r iJioii tlii>»u of any ntlicr ;Kram -rnithca
ac to so dacirlicra. Mnmmn wUhcs mo to [o to Lcnilun aim fui' n week, but I dou'l
vooi to be away from the oM boiua taa murli Ivfutv tbc liuiil tmninit ramcji at latt.
Ant) nrm ahoiil Iha fliiiit pitHJnjf i for I mny tu well nish At it nC oixv. 1 nf«d
tcwdly Mil you thnt no euro for fnttiw or mother shfill mnke mo yin'l off my mam'ngc.
0( conrae I ««c ti-crytbing loyom now- and as tlicy hare njiprovod it, I haic no
tiIUl (o Ibiuk dI them in opfioyition in yvxi. Ami you iiiuet not aupgioM tliftt tlicy
a«kiiM) toxtay. Oij th« cuiuriirr. inuTnTii.i in alirnj's Ir'lHtij; inc that carl}' nurrin^ea
an licit. She hFis sent all the Mrlt nut of t1i« next tint one : and if iinpnileni to ace
that une fly away, tliitt nIic may be iiirt that thrrn is tin lajne nun in the lironl. Yon
BWtlMt (here fore think th^t it Ismrimmai nor U It papft.oBreii^ardE himself j — tliongh
IMpawERC) vrithmc in tMnking tlmC wc oupbt to wait a litttc.
Dear Harry, j-ou muBC act ba aiiK^y> l"*^ 1 'i"! *^^ '''"^ ""^ ou^lit tu ivaiL 'Wn
are, botli of iWiyounj:, and why utioiilil wo l* in ji bniry ? I knovr what yon will
«f, aad of eoune I lure yon the inorB Iiccnuw you. Iotu rue «o well j but I fitucy tliiit
I en be quite happy IT I caa sec yon Iwn or Thnw times in ihr year, nnd hear from
JOB eoBUantly. It i* »o pwl a( you fo write nnth nice letter*, and tho laufr^r thpy
an tfae better I liko Ihctn, Wlistevi^r yoii ]>iit in tliitin, I like them tr> lie fall. 1 kiiuir
lon't writoniixkctcrt myKlf, an<l it nukes me unli^^py. Unlets 1 hate got aauie-
tfcinc npedal to aay, t nni Oumb.
Dot now I hsvr mmiilliinit *pcrial I'* My. In »iiile of nil that yon tell mc uliout
Certlia, I flonui Iliiuk it wimldilo for n.n to venture ii(M(i innnyiiiif jet. I kwiw tlint
7>» an willing fo (uuriflon Mrerylhiiig, Tint T ought not on that aeeonnt to lucqit a
■MTiGc<. I eonid not bear to >cg you ]iiy>T oud un>^<]mfo^labla } and wo should bo vct7
poor in l<ondun naiv-a'daya willi aiicli lui luccane aa we nlioulJ hare. If we ircra
gofng to lire here at StTAllnn ferhnfis wc might maaage, bnC I frcl tiuro tlial U
MiMild be iin|<nideut in IioiiJun. Vihii ou);lit nut tu hu oiiKry witli xnc fur nayins tliia,
fi9r I nm qnlie »i anxioni l« b« with you as you run pne^ibly )<« to ha wiih me t only
I can bMr lo look fonmrtl, and bavc a plenaurQ In ((.-(^liiig thnt till ray happinui ia to
cane. I know I nm "f^lit >ii llii?. Xi<> wHlo mc one lilttc lice to ray that you *rc not
angry with yonr tittle Rirl.
I aball be ijuitu n^iidy for you liy Die 39th. I Rot such a. dear little Dote Aom
Faimy the other Any. Slio enya that ynu iiercr vtriti' Ui tlnin. iiu'I she tnppotira that
t ba*e the advaitiai^e of all your euorgy in thai wny. 1 Imvu lolit her that I da t[et
a good deaL M)r lurolhor wriiM tn nm very >r1d'>i!i. i know ; and I [.-et (ucnty lellera
froei Coeilia for one acrap that Tlietvlore ever 8«ntla mc. l'rrhnp« Romo of these diya
X ^uiX be tlia chief correapondcnt nitlt llic nt^tory. ynuny tolrl me all about the
iliiMie, Kiiri I hare ray own qaite rcaily. I'vabccnlirideiiinaid tcifoun-f myoiTn aietcn,
■olooght Ui know wliai I'm nhoui. I'll never be hridcAninid to anybody ngnlo, after
Faring; bat whom on earth ihall I have fiv myriFlf ? I ttiink ne niu«l wait till Ciiny
•^ Sophy are ready. Ciaay inole me w<ird thai you wet« a darliiii; ntRii. I duii't
luMW bow muoh of that eamo direcllj from Ciuy, or huw mueh fr>im (,'oeilia.
Q^ yiiian yOOi dear, dcarcnt Harry. Lot InI^ bave ons lellor bfrnrt you ctine tn
ftlcb tiie. anil arknowlcdKO iliat 1 nnt right, even if yon »ny tliai I am diMKrccablo.
Of coonc I like to think that you want to ha»c mc j bat, ynu sec, one baa to pny the
ItciKliy o( being citillit<l.— Ever lii9i9 alwaya your o>ra alTcciitmDte
Flobewok BURTOjr.
4M
THH CLAVEtillfGSi
llony Claveriog wfts very nngiy wliuii he got IliU I«lt«r. Th« [trinur]?
caiute of liift angvr was Uie £u:t lliat Flarenoe »1iouUl pretend to know whit
vent bcHur for ]iint tlitia lt« linew Iiimaelf. II' lie was wjllmg lo eiicouutrr
1\(d in Lcndon on leas than fotir liundrcd n year, surely she might ht
contented to trjr the aamc c:iperiniciit. lie did not Ibr a moment nupect
Uiat elie fcurfd for hcrwlf, Imt h« wn» in^jgntint ■wUlj her b«i»ii90 of Iwr
(viiT for liini. Whal nglit liiut ilic lo aceuM Iiiiti of M'lintiii; lo Ui comlcwt-
nblu ? llnil he not for her take oonaented to lie rrry uncotuTortnble at
tlinl old houRe at Stratton f Was be not wilting lo gire up his r«Uowihii>,
aiid ihe socie^ of Lndjr Ongar, and eretj'thing else, for ber sake ? TImI
he not shewn liiiuEclfto be euch a lover na tliorc is not one in a htindivd*
And yH >^hi3 wrotoitnil tol<! hint lliat it uoitldii't do Ibr liim tu be pooraud
unoumfnTUblL- ! After all ilint ho liad dune ia Uie win-ld, after all that be
bud gone through, U Vfould bo odd if, at tliia time of day, he did not know
what wiis gond fcir himBcIfl It wnain that waylfaat he regarded Florence's
pertinacity.
lie was rather imhappy at this period. It Mwined lo bitn that be iiu
tomewfaat klight^d on both aides, — or, if I may t^y m, l«ss thought wf aa
both tidcM tliuu he dvwmrcd. Hud Ltidy OoguT rcnuiincd in town, aa ahe
on^fht to hnvc done, he wotilii have aolnced hintiiclf, and at tlic mmo time
have rereiiged hiiiuelf npnn Floi-encc, by duvoling some uf his Hpmn: boiirs
to that lady. It was Lady Ungar's eudden departure that had nuids bim
IM that he ought to riuib at once inio mnrriiige. Now he had no oonaola*
lion, uxccjjt that uf complaining lo Mrs. Buitoii, ^iid going frequently to
the tliG&tre. To Mrs. Burton he did oomplain agr«iit d«d, pulling her
worsteds und tliroads about ibc while, isitling in idleness nhile aht waa
working, juat as Theodore Burton had prcdioWd that he would do,
" I won't have ycru so idle, Ilsrry," Mrs. Burton uid to him ono dav.
"Tou kno^r you uught to be at your ollico now." It must be sdDuitcil
on behalf of Harry Ciavering, lliat they who Jilted him, cepocUlly wooiet),
were ablo to becomo incimalu with hliu Tcry easily. lie liad comforUbtc,
bouiely ways about hiui, and did not habitually give liiniiielf lurs. lie
bad become quite duintisticated at ihe Burtons' house during tlio In
weeks that be had Iiceii in Lomlon, and knew Ma way lo Onduw Crewrnt
alia'oat too ^vcll. It luuy, peihapa, be hurmiMsl correctly that he would
not have gone there so Jreijucnlly if iAn, Theodore fiurlon had boM an
ugly woman.
" It's all her fntilt," snid he, contiauJng to snip a piece of worated with
a pair of sclsaoi-s as he spoke. " She's too prudent by half."
"Poor Florence 1 "
" You ean't btu know that J ikhoiild work t^jree limes as nmch if Jm
had givi^n me a difli^rent aiinwer, It itatids to reason any man wouM
work under ouch circumiitanceit as that. Net (hat I am idle, I beUcre.
I do as much U3 any other man about the plaL'e."
" I won't have my wonted destroyed all the asuic. Tlieodore nys
ilmt Florence is right."
i
4
TnE CI^VERINGS. 407
" Of course he ctoesj of course he'll say I'm wrong. I won't ask Iier
sgnin, — that's all."
" Oh, Harry I don't say that. You know you'll ask her. You would
to-morrow, if abe were here."
" You don't know me, Cecilia, or you would not say so. 'SYhcn I li.ivo
made up my miQd to a thing, lam generally firm about it. She said
Fomcthing about two years, and I will not say a word to alter thut decision.
If it be altered, it ehall be altered by her."
In the meantime he punished Florence by sending licr no special
Answer to her letter. He wrote to her as usual; but he made no niferenco
to his last proposal, nor to her refusal. She had asked him to tell her that
be was not angry, but he would tell her nothing of the kind. He told her
when and where and how he would meet her, and convey her from Strat-
ton to Clavering ; gave her some account of a play lie had seen ; described
a little dinner-party in Onslow Crescent ; and told her a funny story about
Mr. Wnlhker and the office at the Adelphi. But he said no word, even in
rebuke, as to her decision about their marriage. He iuteoded 'that this
ohould be felt to be severe, and took pleasure in the pain that he would be
giving. Florence, when she received her letter, knew that he was sore,
and imderstood thoroughly the working of his mind. " I will comfort
liim when we are together," she said to herself. "I will make him reason-
able when I see him." It was not the way in which he expected that his
anger would be received.
One day on his rcturu home he found a card on his table which
surprised him very much. It contained a name but no address, but over
the name there was a pencil memorandum, stating that the owner of the
card would call again on his return to London after Easter. The name
on the card was that of Count Pateroff. He remembered the name well
as scon as he saw it, though he had never thought of it since the solitary
occasion on which it had bcon mentioned to him. Count Pateroff was the
man who had been Lord Oogar's friend, and respecting whom Lord
OngEir had brought a false eliarge against his wife. Why should G<iunt
Pateroff call on him ? Wliy was he in England ? Whence hatl he
learned the address in Bloomsbury Square 7 To that last question ho had
no difliculty in finding an answer. Of course he must have heard it
from Lady Ongar. Count Pateroff had now left London ! Had he gone
to Ongar Park 7 Harry Clavering'a mind was instantly filled with
su.<ipicion, and he became jealous in spite of Florence Burton, Could it
he that I-ady Ongar, not yet four months a widow, was receiving at her
house in the country this man with whose name her own had been so
fiitally joined 7 If so, what could he think of such behaviour 7 He was
very angry. He knew that lie was angry, but he did not at all know
that he was jealous. Was he not, by her own declaration to him, her
only friend ; and as such could he entertain such a suspicion without
anger 7 " Her friend ! " he paid to himself. " Not if she has any dealings
whatever with that man after what she has told mc of him;" He
408
TOE CLAVERISGS.
renKmiberod at litst that pcrliapa the count migbt not be st Ongar
but he muM, at anj rale, luTO had K-mc denting vtth l>aily Ongar or be
WQiold ii<vt hare known tlto aildrcM in Bloomabniy Sqnsre. ** t^>l
Psleroff! " he said, n:j*»tiiig lite nnnic, " I nlKniMn"! wondvr if I hare 10
(luarrcl with that Rinn.'' During tiic whole of that niglit lie wm thinking
of Lady Onpar. An n-^rfMi hintself, he knew tliat he had nothing to
offer to haiiy Ongnr but a iTolIxrrl; fricndsMp ; hut, QCTertbeleas, ii waa
aa iojarjr to him thM she shonld be ac^nwnted inlimAtdj with
unmarried inan but himiclf.
On the next da; he was to go to SlntloD, and in ttie morning a !clt
WM bi^nght to hin\ hy the pcMtmim ; a Iftltcr, or rather a very iihort
Guildford was llic pontDurk, and he Inew at onc« tliat it vat from Ladlj
Oogar.
Dear Ma. CtirKiiiHa (the note wid),—
I WA« an antrjr to Iutc IdmloD wllhoot seeing fou ; I lliaO be back by i
end oi April, and «m kocpinK m th» mno noma. Ctma to no, if joa can, oa tbs
«TtniDg of tliB auth, after dinner. Ue at lut bade Hem; to write aad aik ma to go
U} ClB^vnni; for tbo Kul«r weak. Soch a note I I'll cfaow It 70a «rfa«n w« meoU
or oounc I declined. <
Hill I wril* on piifpf** w t<!l ynn tint I hare hcggcd COtcnt Pateroff to ne >ou.
1 bare not aeen faiin. but ! liatv had to write to him abool thkig* that happt-ntd io
Vloianoa. Befeaaeoai«tn England rhirfl; with rrferrncniotbcalUnolLeadI
1 want TOB to baar hfa itorv. At fu a* I hare knoim him he ii a tntth-talUag 1
llioiigli I do not know that 1 am able to tajr much inon ia kta favow.
E>-cr joniB, J. O.
WLcn lie had read tliia ho wua quite an allured roan. See
Put^rcfl'I Of course ha would aec him. What taak could be more fitting'
for a friend than this, of tctiag such a nun under such €ircun»tiuic«a.
Before he IcfV I^adon he wrote n note for Count FaterolT, to be gireo U
|}ie oount bj tlie peciple at the lodgings ahould bo call during Hanyv
absence from London. In tliin he explained that he would t>e at ClavcriDg
fori fortnight, but exprf-Rivd himsolf read^ to come tip to London at a
daj'a noiioe ahotild Count Pflti-rolT be necetnlalcd again to Icare London
before the day scimcd.
Aa be went about hia busineaa that day, and aa he journcypd down
8tnUoo, he cntcrta.ined much kinder ideas about Lady Ongar than
bad prcriously done ainco seeing Count Patcroff's card.
409
IttodfriU (Sciiiiua,
It ie poEsihIti tbut Geneva amy ere long become a sensitire point in
European affdrs. If we aak our readers to intereat themaelvea in her
politics it is because they represent the furthest advance of radicalism,
ud in her condition we can judge of some fruits of " red " government.
Geneva is now, as she has been for centuries, a centre of opposition
to the past. From the time of the Albigensian persecution to the latest
wcialifit plot, sho has welcomed malcontents from neighbouring countries,
and lent a willing ear to their revolutionary doctrines. No other
population in Europe is like the mixed race of Geneva, recruited as it is
at each outbreak of turbulent thought that troubles society.
The chief characteristic of the refugee people that has made GeneTa
its metropolis is its passionate intelligence. Intellectual action that is
eamly roused to practical violence marks the children of men who knew
how to sacrifice country and home to an opinion. Nor is there the
balance of other dispositions usually present in national life, to check the
inherent tendencies of those French, aad Italian, and German, and even
English families who sought in the " Protestant liome " a shelter for their
pohtical or religious discontent.
Such a refugee people is eager to welcome any leader that can
guide its excess of mental energy. "Wo know how Calvin curbed the
free-thinkers tliat flocked to his model republic, and clianged the " Liber-
lines " of the town into Puritan dogmatizers of the etraitcst sort. Tlie
fervour of EouflBenu wna able to rouse his formalist fellow-trades meu
to (tudy of the Control Social. The witty impiety and lu.xury of
Voltaire were clumsily imitated by the richer burghers in the interviila
of priset d'armes and political tempests in a teacup. The ideologues
of the last century found in Geneva an anvil whereon to aharpcn
the weapons which afterwards routed the unprepared and contemptuous
teodalisma.
We but remind our readers of the pet republic of the encyclopedists
that they may imderstand the embarrassnienta of her citizens when 1815
and its restorations arrived. When the tide of French revolution had
receded, they had to begin the world afresh with what remained to them
of a dead past, and a keen sense of their actual destitution in the eyes of
the neighbouring powers. Kevolt from France was a new step for the
Gcnevese who had long leant for support on their great neighbour ; but
they sued oflen and humbly to the allied sovereigns at Bulc for recognition
in the new European family. They had become infected by English ideas
during the Coppct opposition to Napoleon, and began to wish for our
VOL. XIII. — NO. 7G. 20.
HOBERW OINETA.
jnsliiotions, \rUch Iiara proTcd na Jangeroiu to thorn as to otiiw races not
of cur kin.
Of lidr nirw protectors, Alexander ma the nw»t cordial, ami he W
llicir amljitiaa to bt<oomc part of iho Swim Coofederntion. Tlie iol^rost
Inlceti by the Rusdnn Emperor in tlie afTnira of Gmeva seems out of.
proportictn to tlieir appiirent importnnci: ; but lCu»ia hta always con-
c*rnc(l herself with the r«volutionnry ftironghnldn that can wraVen A»
power of her military rivals. Kotwiitiiilanding Alexander's sappoMd:
libcmlimn, wc do uct believe in the diBiDterMtedntes ofbifl iutcrrcrraoe in
Svriaa poll ties.
By ft decjeion of tha Great Powers, Gcnc/n gainod admiaion to tlia
He1v«Ho Lcngiift, notwithatanding the allownble «i]irpici<ui of the <ddi.x
CnntOD*. 8lia in lh<! chii^f tnwn of the confederacy, but bn oontset ha*
largrly injured ihR onoltnt strength of Bwisn patriotlum, for whe baa proved
herwlf more likely to involve her nssocintea in trtttihies, fiirngn and >n(«»-
ttn«, thnn to yi«Id thorn support, moT«I or military.
"Geneva! Gcncvnt Oao would think it was tho fiRh quaHrr of tho
flo1>e ," exfllniniiL'd a woary ain^HiHKuior, when Piolet do KocUemonl, the
Gcti<?vcac envoy, hud nt lengilt wning nttention from tlio diploinntiiDi
nwotublod at Puna and Turin, and gained the r^ognition needed for hia
rvpitblic. Tha more Ikr-iighted of the oilieeiDt diallked the additional
ti-nibory udd<^1 to their eiibiirhi, hnt thdr BwiM eonfedemU^ii insiated oa
a new trontitr that ahouM iccriro their linoB of A(}f«nt:». 6«^rcral parinlie*!
formerly Sardiiiinn and French, woro adtUd lo the now oanion, and a
caufro for fulute trouble wii^ iug^^niounly provided by Sardinia In lha<
guaranteej she required for tlie tultire of her ceded villagea. U ia ingBiB-
cant that Francu objected to a large inoreaM; of (erriiory for Ototr^^^^^
WB« supported by Cngland anil Aunlrin, whiln Rntnia, with d«^^l
fiiendahip, urged the enlargement of the litlh' State. It ia aaid that
when Dumont, the foremost ciiiiron of Geneva, obaervcd to Talleyrand :—
"£h bion, vca» noua nvc2 dmunA lea Catlioliqiies" the Frcneh miniiter
replied, — " Ditos plutiVl i|ue nnua voua avonn donn^ bux Cai}ifj|i*iii«."
When diplomacy had done its work, and providod tor Ejwitaerlaod lbs
doubtful good of g-iiamntecd neutrality, ibcre remained lor Geneva tlM
taak of oroating for bcrtulf n coiistltiitioQ. All tbo doctrinnira oongiv-
gated on iliv uhoim of Luke Leiiian aattitl<.-d in the labour. The pOMi'^
]ncc were docile, tha time propitiona, ^et Lhf «cheme of govermnent
they drew was an acknowledged fuilure. Political perfecttun -would
Boom aotnettmes to be more dangerous than political iiutut /auv. Tht
good lenflB of umt preetica! citizens waa neceseaty to remedy the errors
ef the Oopipot ud GeDernn purista, htit it was not easy always to reooocile
llic rights of man with those of the AIlii<d Powers, just then believed ro
bo divine.
Meantime, with hopeful optiniiam, the chiefs of the new State dedaiwl
that iheir theory of rule contained at least the germs of all deslrabla
improrenent. it was not, perhaps, dUplcasing to wme who wisheil
1
MODERN OESEYA.
411
II(!puM!cKii!8in, tlmttKe Genoese conititulion fil*o coshJnoil the Qtrmt
(if pcrfxciuil rcvoluUcn, Tweiity-iivc yaur*, liowcrtr, t>f itulilical rest
alioweil auch cwKping roforms in a ratlica.! mate, tliat Iho Gcnevcae
libvrals were ntisficd. The Btorros of 18^0 Hivcpt by her miil left hor
•tatiuDary, wIcUkt for gooA or eril, wliil* tlio t«t <>f Europe was shaken
10 lis fbuntlnlionii, Ym, howerer jmrtt a Rpocimwi of r<?pu1jlic«n stioeoae,
Ihc city of GouOTft At tlint time mis bntkw;)^! in mnterinl im]'rm'cmi-nt».
Tboagh it wm conslanlly riaiwri hy tmvcUtn, nmi llic twsort of excellent
Kfiaty, the Mpecc of the [tkc^ was not agreeable in iu golJea itge of
)oliticaI excvllentio. The Bte^mfra whiuli firflt brought viaiCors to tluj
bonkn of tlio tihnna ilisoovered tliuir sijTinlnr. Hlrangera InnJod nmong
bdewrihnblc nmunccs. Tlic Iioubcs of tlio Puritan town turned tlicir
*ont siJcM to tl>c bcatitifitl T^emnn. Tho <^ufty» rik^ hotcU with wliicb
isodem loiimLt arc rnniilinr, roplaca thn hnrrnra of town tlmin*, ilucfcjiit
IWti Scat ions, aiiU the iriirat fi^atares ff a river-port Buliui t>. Tha trnvellcv
ef Ihirtjr yo%n agn Htrnggled with diffienlty from llin ninrsliy landiiii*-
placQ to a city wlivni hu fuunil the pupnliiiioii CTuivJeii iriiliiii vi-iii-niMe
lut obsolete wbIIh. Tho hoiues row to a height only mrpajsed by tboM
«r Um old coiini of Edinburgh. The puroM u wall as tbo prejudteca of
tbe hoase-[)roprii)tDra wcmld hnro EalTorad by the creation of agrornbls
(uburb«. " Tho gradiial profp'eM liaiwii on their antrncdt^ntt " of the ruling
lUen di«I not oontcmptaM l)i« dcvcloptnaus tiC mcdern pro^rciis. Yet it
n dear that the (Jcncveto acquivscej in the action of their Uovernmvnt,
F««er and fewer electors troubled thenitclves to vote when there vm
muioo. Tlie IVanchiBe, which is supposed bo nc-ccswiry to modern man,
Knainod unsought by many of tiie towncpNipie, though it could bo pur-
rimnrfl by payment of two hhillinga and eUvenpence. TI19 lionexolcnt
irutocnita had aliuoHt a right to heliove that no etonii could Htir iJie
^■^kwwy State. They diil not imagine that a youQir member of out! of
HH fiuniliea received into their Hociety had alniidy laid a train fur their
evftrtoro.
Tbe Ufa ofJaniM Fiu:y, RJaco 1830, it the liiatory of Gnnov*. Ho hm
known how to uae foi- bia [xtraonal cnda the passionate reetteMuew of
tbo G«oeT«K character. A cold roc^ption from the m^iiutea "du
IwQI,*' aa ibc upper towa la called, excited him to leave G«ii«va, and seek
•oma mode of vcngconco. He joined Carbonari and otlicr Mcrat aociotie^
and became known u« a writpr in (he Frc-nch prewi. lU wna at the HAt«l
dc Villu of Piiria in 1890, when the fale of France wa« beli^ drter-
BUMd by a Itnot of juurnuli^ta. Silting; round A table, ihey vrero about
U ehooao from their nuinber the chiefa of a pmviaiciuil govonmtent, when
by poioe chance M. Fazy was called away. Itcfbre hia return hia phico
waa filled, and bin chanoe of tigtinng in French peljtiea wna gone. Tho
CMBCnffoiaJ Bystcm of Louis Phili|ipu di<l not suit III. Faay'a violent pr(»
JmU> Uc returned to Gcnura, and from bta arrival dalva ihc dcimorali-
ation of ihti rcpublio. Kven if wo credit him with the patriotism he
aobiJy [nufcMcs, M. Fuxy uuuld not Imvu better served ihim be htui June
20—1
41»
MODKSN GEKEVA*
Uic ciiilo of Fowcrx tliat (IreadeJ llie eucccsa of tho ductriniirfl npubtlc
a (lungcrMts example.
After 1830 a " red " press whs cataUuIicd at GtDCTB, luwl prcwntljr
tlic first outbreak of "red" sjiupalliicn occurTi.-J. A party of Tttlub
advcntiirtrs, K-il by iho uotoriouit GetH'ral liamoriDo, altdinpteJ M nuko
Ornrrn ft liosc fur their oiK-nitidna agaiikst the Sartliiilaa GoveromcDl*
Tltc ctfn<luct vf the mob timt rrittcnuze<I with iJto rcvolutiouary sti^ageri
revealed tbe diwrder tliat bad lieea fomt^U^d in lli« republic Tlio
Qoremrocnt lost picatige, anil Hic blouKi discorcr^ blicir divio« right
to insurrection. Almost nt tbo ciime time a paper wai itaitcd bctriag
the Kgrtlficaut tHi« of L'F.uropt Ccntrole, aad wliicli vbs lh» nvowcd
Organ vl' tlic " L'lUveiBaL liepublicaua.'* They had, under M. i'izj't
giudance, dioson QencvA as thuir tiend-quartur*.
No means ircro left untried to disturb tlio IVclJngit of iIm people, in^
Jealotuy of sect aud doe was fomented until street atcctiiiga and public-
IiouBe dcbnt4>a replaced a Irgiiimatv intcrOMt in the R«prfiiK-DtAtivv Council.
White rndicnUsm lieM aiseiublJcs in tho PJa.ce of the llolanl, only one
thousand and ciglity-ninc citizcui out of four lliousond live hundred ud
forly-iKo paid tho loir tax which gave them the right to rote in tiM
G over unit- lit eleclionn. \Vc need not number the many subjecta at
ingcnioua diacontvnt that were made mm of by tho ngit«ting cli^foe.
Every slep Inkca by tho GoYfrninw:!;, whwlher in paving a street or
protecting Princu Louis Bonnjjiurti;, in the proniidjiitlioa of a Jut, or
ihfl nt-arrnngoment of its FedernI relalions, vaa ntaclc a ground of com-
plaint. The synipniliy of tho Ccuecrvatirca with the Zurich dtaltke to
SlrauB«'s profi-Moniliip iviu conclciiiiicd by th« acopticat mob not kas
thnn thtt dntid made by tie Pi-oi«4t.ints "dit kaut" ngainEt Cathobo
encroitchiiiciit.
Still the GoTemmcnt rcninlutd Bla.bl><, nml the gnod e«iiK of the
Genevoiie long refused to listen to Mnxztiiiiin cloctrincs, or to bo led by
M. Fazy's unvarying eloquence. In 1833 the republic nppcared so well
ord<>n>d thut Ca]itHiii Bii»il Hall cxcbimcd At a public dinner, "that of all
lite countries he hud Rcctt, Gvncvn was iLc only one of which be desired
|o be a citieon." Bdorc 1641, however, the radical leader bad gained
uRioug his adheienta many wdl-incaning dlizcuii, who hardly Inew under
whose ilng ihcy had cnliatedi One who figured in th« rcToIutiooaiy
association known in Gencrese history an "du Trois Mar*," has ainM
Viittcrly dccbri^c?, "In thiit KKWciatioii wo weru all either hogs or getet.
I confess I was amongst ibc gccsc." "Mallicnrcutc Gcdctc," exclaiincd
Sitimondi, who lived to ecu hia doctiinnire ropublic overttimed by tlw
tiTorta of the Trois Mars, " an milieu de la prosii^rll^ lu plus briliante tes
tnfiinta ont n plaisir ecmo los hnines «t ils rccuillcront lc» caJauutes."
The atory of events at Geneva on the 2Znd of November, 1841, is an
instance of the slight spark that nuffico to explode the passions of a mob
when n skilful demngogiic underlaken the rpcrntinu.
Sonte teniporiting K-fonns hud been proposed ia the HeprcMntadn
MODERS OESCT'A.
Conticil, nnd bcloK noon a mob iicrvotulj- palilicul haJ conccti'tl to bour
' tiio deciAon of t}te mica's. Hcgular to luruialily, linwvvL'i', tlio crowd
' dapenc<) to tlurir miJ-ilay dinnur. Brcailiing tiiii^i wiu tlius givea to tlie
tvuncil, Bml iflhey liitd arrived nt any decuion, cvuwliiitciy or rcprosvo
G«Deva migbt have tmuntained tier rof-pectabiljiv na n modem n-piihlJc,
1mt tlio doctrinalm cotild not etop tlicorizing. " Mmiieura," exclniined a
Incniber of lb« Au«mbl^, " noiin eomm^ii cotniue lea Grocn dn bas vmjiire
^ui diocauient eur la giioe efficacc f*iidnnt tuie leu k;irbsrcii ^laimt &
Vim portcB." Thoinob of eigliE or tea tbDUsaou returned along ihc t^ctp
Kreets wMcli Ickd ii[> to the town-luill, wanned by iltiitu^r nnd the 'petit
Uano * dear 1o tlie GenL-vc!*e worVniau. V. Fnzy wna at tlieir hand, and
ihoalvd, •' On voiis leurre, Centvwa ; ron» wrva dupa comme vou» I'4tea
&.-pui« vingt-ctnq oiis. II fuot cjne celto question soi: fiaie aiiJourd'huL
|3a ftiTce eat en vos malna. Di;niatii [^«ut-t-ti% it ne sera pas do mfanc
X'occMioa pordae ii« eo rcliouve pas. !>i dAtis un demi-liciirc ks coniwils
>'otit j)aa vot^ nous nicnteroDB il I& MKixon do Ville."
The rcpresL-mntircs t&fcirtnid of tlirir dungcr, volcd a coDBlilutloiuiT
■BBeBDl>Iy titnt could rntiTy the pcnpli;'' dciiinnda. " Qu'cst-ce (juc In coii-
Hititante ? " atked one of llie diHordcrly iiiBUrgc-nta ivlira the renigtincion vt
llic GoTvriusent v/tta anaouactd. '^ C'est la fi;mjii« du Prdeideat,'' auswcrL-d
■ ft^Ilow blouse, who had probably come from Bome obscure \illiige to strell
(hi.* nuikn of M. Fuxy's mob.
CoDAtitulional ii»«nil>Iiei were tn tina«hroniun, however, iii 1841, and
Ilie mmt (xtn-nic radical icforiiin, ijiclnding uiiiver>iiil suflVogc, did not
■cciirc to M. Yaxy tli« iwHilic^ii lie dmired. " J'aime mn Gencvois," lie
laid lo Iiis friend, Kug«ne Sue, yet he tividently d*.'te«t«d all tbnt gave
Aolidity to the slate he proftssed to wrve. He aimed at levelling (he
burivrfl that separated Geneva from the Kuropean maaaeit. Her religious
Inditioos, her duceacies of lif?, Iier pride of intellect und contempt for
material glitter, he determined lo dcstray. "OnvoiidntUrnin; dcGcn&vcIs
plus petite dcf grnudcs villc9>," said the diftinguiubcd Profi-sncr dv In Hire,
iJorittg the Snt ilruggleo between the old and new society ; '* el pour nioi
|e pref^TC qu'elle leale \a plua gra:idc dcs ]ictitca villcs." Supported by
iBltt turbulent faubourg of St. Gerrni*, AI. Fazy prpptired new weapons of
•ttack against the ri-»ip?clnblc (luvrters of the cily. He finmd t>i4'ni not
only in the petty itguabUea bC tb« townittiilk, but nUo in a<,m^ fvdenil
qoMtiona tliat jmt then agitated Switzerland.
Hie Roman Catholic citizens were irritated by Uio eflbtia of llie elder
Pi«l««ta&t« to check their inHuence. The (arriving politicians of 1815
iemembcrvd Talleyrand'E warning wIiqh thoy ndinitt<^ Savoyard villagca
fo tlicir atato— " Ucsci^-uis dc Gcnirc," liu said, " dfoendavetit leur tcrri*
toirc, *t nc voicnl pas qn'ilg cnelavent Ifrnr religion." M. Faaiy used the
tvndy iiioan* of religious rancour to agitate tlte republic, and knew bow to
blerett thi: mob in nuolt alien <;[ue«tionH as tlie suppreauoa of convents in
llie diftnnt oinlAn of Argovie, or the reiideuce of a Jesuit conmautlj' at
UOSKKM OENBVA.
How Ihr tlic secret nocielies of wbicb M. Vazy was an ncUve mvoi
hurried the FwU-rnl crcntj of IH4C aiirl 1847, il would be bard to jii4g« t
but tliii Swui ditlurbancea Tcrc iho first tln)|«iiribeatorm Ui)ttd(VHiKt«d
Europe in the foUowiui; yvnr. Tlie •IruggU uf ibe Sondcrbund and its
re»uU WTQUt^t speedy niicliicf amoDg ibe »4joiniug popaUttioas, sixl
onrned for SwitsurUud mudi nupioion And dislike from ber ndgbbouiiL
The iNirt iJikeu in ibe diort war of the " Sepamte Ltagu* " bj Ci«n6T> bu
Boau iittervat ior as eirvn now.
We sii[^xwe ibm ftw iGoglUh Itadiuttls would approve the aakm of tlia
Tictorious oaatoD* that were giiilty, iu thtir supprMSton of the rights of Ot^
For«*t Lu^uc, of the grow bullying that tiireign democrats delight in. Ws
cannoc enter into t]ie hialory cf the anii«4 oppoaitioa of tlie mounlaiDeers
to the iQcursious of llie Itodiod frvo corps that straiinod into the iittlierbbi
oi Furst and T«ll from thw town* of the plain. It so happoned tliat lliv
deciding vot« on tb« It^itlmacy of thur Soiiderhuiid was tu be gitcn if
the GcDcvcsc deputies. They aslMd for inttruotioai fr^tn their grand
council. Ic (decided io faroiir of tlie freedom of the Forest cantonK. N«t
day M. Fajsy's paper, tho lUmt <ic Genivt, appanrtd with a deep maamiag
bctfder. fie ucmrokud a inw/tiajf in the 0[<«d cptuui round tbv cliurcfa oi
fit.G(irTUB, "Will you b« ]jtuigi.-ra-oa of tbeKiiigof SatdiaiaT" lie cried*
Tho ungty cxclatuatiuns of tlio mob Hatiafied bini lltnl tho moBHnt for
imurreolion had arrivoO. Itain coming on, be In'oke opcm tlie o^uroli
doon, and from the ckrk's dc»k finishod kit b&raD(;ue. A pmteat agaicst
th« dcci«ioii of Uic Gratid Council was proparcd for Ituisroiaatoa to tho
Federal Vonirt, and Uie faubonrg wan pn-jiartid fur dufunce against say
Govcraoicut iiiterfereuce. Warrautt) for thu arrest of Faay nod two cibera
.were issued by the authorities to M-Hich the leaden of the insurre-ctioa
leAiBed obodii'nco, and barricudcs v/ere quickly erected by tlie St. Gcrraia
nob to ohoclc the pestible entry ot any troops. Aflvr foolish though wtU-
nieant delay, the militia werit ordurLtd to dtwtroy the banrioodea on thf
bridges ; but though a few CouMrviitivc olUccrs led a forlorn hope gallantly
into tholiciti-t nf the faubourg, tlicEukcwarm privatOBdidaot support them*
They fdl iuick muhf a. tmvet^ fire to a litlltt temporary hoapital ananged'
fur Hii wouuded, oil (hu C-ousei-viitive tide of the Khooe. Ttm esecvtin
submitted tolhu laubourg, and next day the Molard was the scene oft
popular meeting, lirel of the kind since Fromcul preaclicd Reform in 1&52.
The sovereign people took M. Fury's yoke upon them, and agrcvd to all
liis cuggeaUons. A new ooDstitutiun was invented on the spot, of which
• DOlablu feature was the oeDtrnlitnlion of power in tho hands of a cUquei
]u 1815 tho Great Powers had objecti.4 to a numei-ous repreaentalion tf
tliv people. It n'maincKl for AI. Fiuy to carry out dietr wiih(«. ]la
catiiblinlicili At Geneva, tlie s) ntciu wliioli, whether Imperial or Rcpuliljcas
ill lido, is cliiDgerotia to freedom. IXo changed Genera into a place oC
Ikolitical rendezvous, and imposed on the city of Calvin a dictator wbosC'
TCiy profcsaeu was lanleitaOM. Wc in England may wonder tlul, wilb
his uodoubti.'d loluBt as n duinagoguo, M. Fasy should have remaiaeii
MODGJtN GKMJCVA.
415
M&tciit«d wiUi Uto liuk fivM of Gcacra wbvn llw pUtforinB cf I^IS
iiiigliL bitvc htxR ttcKesAihlti tti Mm ; but Geneva u not uu uiiuu|ioriuiit
imsiLiou. Cuuiit Newvlrode, wriliog in IH'iJ lo tbe Kuanian Kuvuy iii
l>wiucrlaiiil, dcaitvd Itiin to observe tlini " SwitzerUu<t ia tlio kny cf tUnM
gnst coiuilrim." lu IHiC, Gmicvr w;u tbv key of SwitMrtfuid,
ironi tli« bejul of utHiii-d tbc baaaut &iid eiluontcd moii viio buil ahlctl;
ciTcd l(jr llielr Biixiety for llxu people's giwi, lie umiiI lJ>c luwtt vui]
jvvituaos aa be clioa«. 'llju cveiita at Genttva wen: lliu [irvliuitukry
eiercdse of that KaptiblicuaiBia wliicb boou Kller Mwupt over Europe.
Among its cnrliLtt nicuunM <v<ui lliu aubjugntioo of tlic Fon-st canioiis,
that, until t]i«a, tiad iiroiervtid ibeir ia(lQ[ieudoDce. By Iho new rctioint
]iM;t tliat followed, tbfl Swiss gorerninent vna greatly c«ntr:ilizeci. Ths
Toto of a popukr anctably replaced libo fyutoui by wliiuli, for any iuipor-
la&t FeUerui dneiviuii, a iniijoriCy of lliruu-littti'ilis of Hie ctnitonB wm
Beceoary. PopoW aiucmbiiun arc very mitntigriible by dexterous ngitutora,
■ad IT " univUMl fiepablicoiUfm " dvn»>n<led war, Switecrlaod lias becoiuo
u likely a belligcreuc dm any other State. It is even reported ibst a
niJitory ^irit ia beiog cullivate'l among her dttseiu, whether for purpouea
tt fatoro Guiddc, who can ^ny 7 It Is reioorkuble llml M. I'lucy }m« been
^|HaDM»t ia promoting ibv cliiuigM tluiD endanger Swins neumlity and
B^luArty of Geneva.
M l^v Itrikt yeora of M. Fozy's dictatorship were DOt«d for fulno proniiin
tollw obiMea tluit eupparied htm. To fulfil llieir expoctatiuiia gf liiilu
«orlc «ud iDU«h pay it wns nccnesary to incur reckjfw debt. At the Biiinu
tiiDfl ilia posaiuDs of ttio worltiiig uien weru roiu«d by ftuub huigunge ai
the following ftpocioicn, not diiaTowcd by tbo Radical party : —
" Pro]«tnir«8, voua loiu qui Kouifrcz, stirct vo4 nngi^ voiei le b«ur-
gaoii qui vittnl, avm^ do pied au aip, loujt cuurir xiu ct rouH forger.
I^slitAirM, uux luuiob I Suigues win fvatu'uaKat, muuiwcz-voaa dc
evt4uchu«, et i«noi!-voua prCls I "
Tbt Hikoient furiificatioM, rcgiu'ded aa lacred by tlie Coniorvativca,
Km givcti up to tlic piuks oiid sbuvclt of llio *' roughs," lo whotu th<i
dtmolitioa ma pL'tiuliarl/ Kutisliictory. The Envoy pcnsauli were glad lo
puU down tlic walls ihiit hod kvpt tliuiu at bay ia lliu nneieut timea.
Ih«y did not equally vnluo the froo education ofleiqd to th«m. Whvthor
or not tho fjiult Iity in the (quality uf tlio inKtructlon prnvided for tliunif
the proportion of cliildivii taught and the average of knowledgu uv Iciw
buw tlian in IS-il. Nor have llia vuiioiu (iiiiineiul enterpriiwB of the
Radical goreniuii.-iU beea more suoccuful — buukraptcy oud disgrace have
Ukn upun moat of M. Fazy'a brilliant »chcttt«ii. UId adiair«ra point to
th« matorial iaarcaso of the town, yvi iu deT«lopiii(iDt Itua twcu ia Ifut*
tj hU niiichiuf. Private wealth haa built llie new iiotvU ud ohuraboSi
and a Freuch ccinpany rule* the railway tcrminuB. But lh« canton haa
mnk into debt krgcr in jiroiwrliou tlmu that of Eugland. M. Fuiy Ibund
n balance «f ibur bundtvd th^uoand fi-aucs iu iba Staio ooiSurB. Thenj is
416
UODCRX OENtVA.
now a &A>t of iwcnijr-riTc lutUtoiu, and A ycarljr deEcit of 6re
hundml tltooMibd franc*.
The kingdom of iirolctairca has niiiicd GeiieTa. " Partout oil U
peupio r^ne," innoiuie<.-d SI. Fu^, " on eil Utiouncux et dnsip^." Tliis
ringular theory » realised in nt l^ttaX iu second part. Th« shortest vallc
io niod«an Genera will iwcul to a visitor gronpfl of llit- sorer^igo people
tipdty glonjying lhvnuH.-!vvj. " I'rolcialaat Botue," like the frog Io tlic
Kibl«, luugglei to becoiu« x " petit Paris." It ia & Paris of bluiuef, Ibr
tlie reapectable inhabiuwu prvscrrc at least in form thetr tradiiiona of
d«oency, and eacfacw tUo Naming qiui^i and dusty gnnletis created by tli«
n#w govcriiiiient. ''Calvin ne mrait p:Di," writCH M, Fm^t in iu». FrMi
lie l'Hi»i(nrt tits Grieve, "(^uc k plU9 kiiut« tuondit^ M tiouvc cacLio mss
eclt« npjiarcitce d'^goisme cc do frivolity.*' Nor liave the Geoovmo ** da
baut " learnt yet this lesson. The tduas of M. Faxj have Iwen chitlly
dCTeloped tj the •waniiing Mrangen, Frtnch, German, ind Italian, wli*
fbrnicd iho Ktandiiij; aimy of iliclr dictator. The apjicanuce of Geneva
is improred, it it! true, by tlie levelling uf the fortiiications. It is now a
handiome station for travellera, a eourenient but very cictortionato basaar
at the foot of tlie Alps for strangers to visit and leave. But material
progrcs* will not rentoro tlic atiiirnct«r it i* £isL kwng. Tlie reodesrmis
of Uvd Republit.'ans nnd foreign itavviea will hatdly replace the anei^'nt
ciiy that nan a point of ligltt to ihoeo tliruushout Europe pereccuied for
conscience^ *4lcc.
We in Kiiglaiid, nlio are used to think of Gonevn as diicfiy renurk*
nblc lor its i>uiuliou in rv-ligioos atl'airs, ciay be turpriecd that the uutila-
tiiins of Calvin did not nioi-i; Jiirgcly inlluiiiuo tht- recent reroluliui* is
what was <incc his model ilieocracy. Vt'c net-d not remiud our readers of
the dcgmutiniiL -which b«caii)Q IbruiuliEm uUlt the d^ath of hid miccawr^
Theodore of Bezn, or of the reaction wliiGb made Geuvvu in ilie laet
century a teacher of " tiaturul " religion as underatood by the French.
e))c;«k)pcdiiri». We are muKt of tis fuiuilinf with the eqwibblea of Vollvrs
and KouKseau, -who hoped his niiiive republic would verily liij visions of
■ world, perfect, if "le bun Dieu" did not interfere. Kren when the
Btorm of 1794 und the YkhcIi occujiaiion l}iat faUcwi-cl h.id passed amy,
there yet rtmained some dry bones of Calvin's ecvli.-Atii!>tic3l aj'stem. Oa
the lifdees )<kelcton was eet up a church in l^lb that was wdconied by
tlic Genevese for its traditionary rcxpectabitity. But a spirit of reUgkui
democracy was at work, Io -n-hich the Ocuevcsc Consihtory nflVrMi a fiMMt
re^ataiice. It ivnicd an unfortvnnle Hccrce, which forbade the expranoa
of Eomo of the most impoiuiit Chrixlinn dogmns from the toim pnlpltt.
Several theological btuduals, who were admirers of English Mctbodisnit
immcdiuttdy at-paratcd from the cKtiiblislied Cburch, and a "twival," kd
by Mi-ssicunt Dniinmand and Iliilldiine, took pUoe, which at first was
tinged by iho inyslicism of Modnino Krudoncr, llio cdebntcd Egeria
of t]ie Kimiaii Kinporor. Tlieiv wiis good rtwoia lor protest agnioat
tU« nan-ow eccpticisin of the " Vcuctablo Company of Geiiev.iii Prutors,'*
UODBRN GSSEVA.
4n<] a bee Clmrcli, strong in llie profession of Calvlnist orttiodoxy
gradiully rnnde good itH position, nnd pr«ached sucecBdriJIjr the in-
dividuxliiin which niiiMt nc<:iiin]iany tlid c^rly stagtis of dlsKnl. Tho
IHUD«« vr Gauisefi and M^rle trAubi^iK- arc populiir nmong English
erangdicals ; mid »)aie yeam ago ^tahii, Felix NefT, Pyt, ami tlicir
ftOaw pastora were hcroca ia the niinda of our r.ow Clmrcli entliu-
■kida. Political iiiitipittlii»t tnndo Oie "M&Diier«," oa tho disscnlorn
were calk<1, dista.ili.-ru] to the ficiwvfjtc Connenrntives, unlil they won
for theinselres a power llivt usurped ll»j accptre once vricldud over
Cooltninital Protcotantisin by ihu " VL'tienibk* rompaay." "She vnriniin
ibodt-a of o])itiion which txiat between tiic commimion of Plyiuoutli
BretltrcD nnd the Bicru C)iWini»ai of AI«Un gnthcrcd into tliu present
Effit'te Libre. ThougJi tho organic (liffa'pnce* of the Vteti and Slate
cbardies aro in curious coatraat, they now ivork miicKillily tugclliLT.
Botb keep aloof fnmi thv o[H.TiitiiiiiK of the Radical party, yci it U plain
tliat Uie iiidividuHliftt principle in a rvligioua community corresfondi to
ndkaliata in ]>olitica. It haa beco strictly controlled ia the Prcc church
hy orthodoxy of creed, but the tlieory of equality of grace had con-
liflmlsd indirectly to tbg cmving fur other cquulily ia Itudical Geneva.
In 1846 tha old (.'amliiii.hmcnl wiu dcularcd dt^fuuct by M. t'azy, without
imch opposition from Ita childi-en. In the new Grand Council, of whidi
be WM tire nuut«r, h« said, " Nous void aux chapitrea dc« cuUm. C'cbC
toojonn un sujtt biun dtlicat, et no^u avuiiii vivemtut ragrettii do na
pwToir I'cflacer dv aotrc coastitulion pour I'abanxloaner a la pure et
■iiBpU direction dca liommcs religieux dc tons leu cnltcs." The dictalor
uf Oencva wu right in diicl&inting piety for his aiilesguea. It seemixl
1^ tnocni-iit for a aeparatioa of church and elate ; but in that cncc the
Cfanrah of Home, backed by Ibrvigii gimmntee, must have become tho
ntUng power in ccclc«iai4ical oHiiirn. It won then beginning to command a
Mfong minority that hna since proved a majority of ih« grott jioputatioa
at dw eanlon. A commiiaion appointed by tlie (jiand Couiii'il hautily
InncbL'd all sectarian diHtcuIiicfl. It opened wide tho doors of the n«w
ekureh whi^n it d^clari^d na tho dislinguiKhi^^ " note" of " I'Egliae nationale
Proitttante, qu'cllc so cumpoiie de lous lee Genevoii qui acc6pt«nt lea
CanDCB organiijaea iv ccttc EglxM tvlled ^u'cllea sont injtita^ ct-apris."
Tli« election of ita aulhoriliea, lay and clerical, wai botL-d ou univcrtal
anfivgc. The present Church of Geneva ii probably ilie mosC liberal
i^wciinea of multitudLui«ui tlial Chriittendom baa yet aeeii. Maoli pru-
dence lina been aa yet shown by ila aduiinjstratont, but probably few
KngliaTiff"''' would he pn,-[<ired to accept ila bivadtli, or rotltor abwoce of
dootrinc, aa their example.
Of the eighty-three articles drawn up by the firat Couiatory elecled
Bader Uu> new system, one only is devoted to the profcatioo of any dogma,
tf HMltion of the divino inspiration of the Bible can be called a dogma
wbcD lli« i&tctprctalion uf Scripture ii unfettcrod. Nor ia the chucclt
I tJMM foaiKlnl pQ the popular TOl« boand by iu owq decrees. l'uL>ii«
■ft^ SO—*
UB
MODERN OKHRVA.
imavarv tni^timke it ngtuu Sooinno, aa il la josc now inolining U U
evmn^iclieal ortbodoxj-. It ii a Bocicly far leoobing, uichin urhioh evexf
■lude of belief is admioajble, outl iio union except tliM of temporal
citixviiehip u roqaiicd nrnviig its adhorente. Fni^en nuj bccomtt «i
fowerful A cry in iHc Consistory u it lift* bMO lo tliB Slnto Council, mmL
ve muy be prepuvd lor nil tbat is strai^csi in tlic rtetletiS fop
trained by M. Vaxy. Popular paa»iou baa oot Ueu ba«1y «xei
idigiGUB qutfliiciQs; but if ihey gli&uld bcoome lucfiil as span in theiioQdi
of the Ilaidic&l leader*, ve cannot cspc«i nay other n-sult tlian lb«t tLc
Jooaoly-biiilt Stale Cburch ftliouM 1>« T<^lnc«il by tha organintdi powtr
of Bome. I^Bt year u biiilioi' was coHNecratml by llie Po[k! as auzllisry
in Geucvu, lui if ia rcadiutsa for. the iay vrhcii Calvin's dty sLail reluni
to ita old olit^aiioc. MoneeigneiiT Merniiliod, a native of bia netr
bishopric, is carefully liberal in his praiae of "progreee," u becomes
A sncccaafol man. Fur tli<j TccoiKiuot of Genera aotnu ««itaia Jthm
«a hear that ita Itoman Calliolie population, whioli even dnring til
Freauli oocupaU<m bclurc 18L5 Diijnbi;ri.~d hiut:Iy two tliouoand £re
biiodri:d souls, now niuounta to over forty-tno tboasand, while lh»
Proletlanls of all nrla ouly muster forty thousand of tie tibole popu*
lation of the cablon.
The chaDge in thu relative positions of the Romun and QeaevaB
Cburcliea is M. Fazy'a uiiduubccd woik. lie uactl ProtcBtaotiun to
crush the Korosl cantons, who htui not had tlic advantage of reading
Kugeae Suu's Jui/ ErraiH, and were in 1&4ij tolerant of Jeauita. Bat
whoa ia power M. Foxy pttLcd the Snroyaid and FrCQch peasants, who
formed his poliiiail ihmtvi.', ani onablvd him lo ovorawo the sristocruta
"du haul," and thoiij^h the liadical goTcmment boaated their irrcligiea,
tlioy countcn;uiced the steady ifJvante of Komaiuaai. Xlie Catlwlle
Church is now the enly brualiwater at Genera against utter liceom Gf
zutionalism ; for among oven the theological atudenls are toauy who sbrog
their shoulders at crvcds, and protess no taiih mora suble thAn tii*
8&titim«ntnl iudiTlduiiliKm of Bvrille and Schn^r. Ihej wUL be the
future pruaclicn of Pixitcstaiitiau throughout Kuropc, fox Gonora jh the
chief seminary «f the French Ucfomted churdiea. Are our nndn*
fcmilinr with the cbanniag writings of M. Scherer, the cliief, though nidety
dirci^ent dlficiplo of Vinct of Lausanne 7 Sixteen ycnrs ago he hetd 4
proTuasc'THliip in llie Omtoire at GeneTs, llio centra of ortho<lox CalTinism.
There he cluLointcd the tlioughls wliich carried Individ wtlism not only
into the furms, but into ihu dogmss of theology. His influence is t»»
important ca tDodL>iD I'rDloitanLifan to be hastily cxnmlnal, but wo quote
n ceiilcnix- that ludiutui hovr far this excellent and amiable maa. faaa
dcpartt'd from hia early conviotioni. '* Le Biblidame,*' he dMlarva, " b'ot
pas aeulviuent uiie crrcur thoologique, male nussi et mrtout on Itteu pour
I'Kgliao." M. Sclicrtr has airricd uith bim many mncvrc uiin«la and
WnuMt hearls. Aflti sixteen years of udvnnco in his career, his criticisni
Moms tu become more and luoto dctiniclire, and to nao hui own i^gid^
I
J
UOBEBN QENBVA. 419
"an doute eoccMe & un autre doute comme la vague k la vague." " II y a,"
he writea again, "dans lea ohoaes bumaines une certaine peate qu'ou
ne remonte pas." Sud testimony from one of the most earnest and
caudid unoag the destroyera of the past I Hin words seem of apeoia]
applicatioii to the Geneva which bj many ties, though not by that of
birth, claims him for her own.
The unchecked triumph of M. Fazy which silenced ^e educated and
richer classes at Geneva, and which reduced the Conservative minority in
the Grand Conaeil occasionally to one dlBsentient, was dangerous in its
Gompleteneaa. The seven rulers of the executive were unfettered by any
external authority, for " public opinion " had been efiTeotually muzzled by
an ubiquitoos press, and was checked in any revival by judicious sops, and
even by represiioa worthy of the Stuart Star Chamber. The upper class
withdrew to their country-houses, and to the half-dozen atreeta where
they congregate in the upper town. They looked on silently at the
iruteful and gaady changes going on below, carefully exclui^ng from
their aociety all of opiniona even tinged with Fazyism. They no longer
offered ^e same welcome to the foreigners whom they had once been
pleased to see in their town. They have been blamed for their inertness,
but in truth it is difficult for any but Radical governments to succeed in
any canton while the existing Federal system gives such facility ibr
political intrigue. The good sense and disinterMtedness of a whole class
ti as nothing, when some tavern orator rouses those passions which have
been fostered by the Kadical lenders. They have become, to quote a dis-
lioguished Genevese, M. Ernest Naville, " une flamme obscure qui
d^ore la r6publiqae." M. Fazy has lost influence ; he may fail, as in the
attempt to raise insurrection at Thonon in 1860, on the occasion of the
French annexation, but the evils he has crcnted live afler him, nor is
it easy to see a prosperous issue for the republic while her present con-
stitution e^tiste. Every year Geneva is distracted by elections that
Eeem chielly profitable to a clique of journalists and government agents.
The legislative and executive councils are chosen in alternate years,
BO as to multiply the orgies during which the sovereign people declares
iu will.
A political sketch by M. Ernest Naville of the results in Geneva of
radicalism, contains the following description of an election, that may
interest those who think we in England need violent changes in our system.
" L'ileclion npproche. On rassemble les cerclca de la ville ; on passe de
grtindes revuea dnns lea assembles populaircs : en mGme temps on court lea
campagncfl. On s^me les d*^fiances; on cultive avcc amour tous les genres dc
division. D'un sillon on fait un foss6 : on a'cfforco de le creuscr en abtmo.
On exploite les moindrea incidents ; on fait appcl h tous les int<^rCts, ii toutcs
les passions. Dee afHchcs iocandescentes couvrent lea murs; les journalistes
embouchent leurs plus groaacs trompettes, ct aonnent la chaise du combat.
C'cst olors que ae font de larges plaies au corps social. Alors la religion,
imv6Q de son caractdrc auguate, figure dons leg mouoeuvrcs ^lectornles,
MODERN OBtr&VA.
1
u« qtu ■
ttabro." J
eL pcid aroc u dignito riailiicncc salutaire qu'clle doit exercer stir I»
Aiuva. Ln bulaillo iJIcctoKile r tivre cnfin. On euteiid parler da
fra\i3ie» el de viol«iiccs- Un ])«rii rcitiporte, ct Anas ime prooeoion
trioiuphnlc 1% ni«ili^ Uu |>«upl« e« r^ouit ds e* qiu I'sutre moiti^
du pcfijile a tl'li^ prirec de bcs droits ! Chaqiie aiineo noa elections
recliau(1t;]it lea gcxRicD ilc TaDarcliio p^'liliquc, vt li-bniak-iit Iga baaea
de roidr« so4»ji). Cliaque adq^ nous imaioions tur rantel dea parti)
lc« inleri>u de la patrie.
" C'cttt aiDfii p^ifwnt Iva nijiublt'juca I Si un uiullivur nalioiuil Doua
Arrivait, m nous fiiiiiuioni jmr jx^rdre unc indcpuiKbiucc compromise par aca
Gtutcs, lea tCraogen ditaieut c« que nous dirons aum daoa noa moiaeata de
ciilinc, — ' XI £lait facUc de Iv pnSvoii.' C« aorait Ut I'oroiBOi) fiiaibre qtu
pronniiccmit l'Eu]x>pl^ uux fiiii^-ruiilc* d« Ea vielUa r^pubtiqiw d« Geofrm."
Tliougli tli« upper claaaea stand aloof fixjin tlie uiiavoary
Genevcae poUUcs, on opposition to llie Fnxy synem hns been gnA\
foniicd by ibo middle ranlis, who diritroat bis boneat/ in mouey mattera,
uiid drt-ad hit lorciga TricndB, vliirUier Imperial or Mazsiuiaa ; wbo do not
B<?c with enLifeliiel lull bis confL'reiiees vtiib Priiieu Kii|xilooa and Prioce
GortachakoCT, or liin Iiuiricil jounu-ys to tlie Tuileriea. U would be liaid
to «xeggonLtc the practice of aiumate coercioti and bribory tbal, until IstU
November, secured tlie Faxy goreramest a narrow majority. For aonie
tiuiQ the (ipposiuon were impolontly fuiious, and every roricty of dec-
tioticering cori'upiir.n li:ig bLtii iiHitd in tho model republic that irns to
be tlio Itnt flUiic of tlic *' uiiiTeruftl '* cdilioe. Radical agape* wore held
by llio diiiturb«d executive of Geneva, wliicli by one or two of ita mem-
bers declared to ita drunk«ii admirera, tbat the upper cliua, no longer
(lie docile " vudie it lait '' of tlio workmcu, must disappear. Nolmlli-
Uanding the violent deelamation of tho government, the people began to
0oe thui thty were being cheated and s«Id. "Tbe blind tnslinct of the
people," though certaiuIyTcry bhnd at Geneva, wm rouncd by a sigaiiicant
(iier, that will lidji to Illustrate the nnture of tbe Fazy rule.
'fliis tribune uf the people^ whose private life reqiurea liberal expcn-
diture, had ]«t a flooi' of bi* house for gAmisg purposea. But oU
gaming e»tahli»haients are strictly forbiddrn by Swim liw, and as tbe
" I'ol.iis Fazy " iras built on grouud that a gratetiil people hud ffiveo totbdr
bcuufiictor, the uffeuco w;is uHpeeiidly liiij^ranl. Only tlit ilicuitor'a owuu-
teii;iiiiM could uliitld ilie owner of the " ucrclc dea etrangers." In retmn
a large proportion of the caruiuga from 2'itnte tt quaivnU waa paid to treat
the sovereign mob at election times, and nuiut the return of M. FazyV
olHciuIi. But in August, 1S64, tbe efloris of tlio Roiltcal gorenunant,
not only to keep oflice, bnt to prevent the intrusion ercn of one stnngei
into their council of scvt-n, wxrti at I.i«t uusucceierul 1^ aoy toeaua aitort
of A covp-d^itat. Kvhbery b;id rvcoursu for protecliou to asaossinalua.
It was startling to aee lu I'/ie Times, a titlegram announcing an iosurrvctioa
At Geneva, — intelligent and liberal (Jt-neva, where every wish of an
OBpiriug democracy was gmtilic'l. Thij immrrcetioiD st Ueucva, bowerer,
\
J
UOOSOH GLUiiV.K.
431
I
WQuId not idtcrosc us as inudi as a i-ailwuy uvcidcnt at honi^, if the t^ciiu
dicra liw) no( belrajrt-il a tvttetiiit^-u tlviit co»c\^rn» all the friends of Kiii-d>
pwm pvacc. A< tli'U Euglisli nnd FrcnoU press were nwt pai-ticoloi-ly
MccunUo ill liwir account of the event, it ia. perhaf s, worlli while to likukh
it Gutrwliy, liancwr aiigbtlj*.
Ob Suuday , tLc Slat cf August, ISiil, aii i.-luutiuii bccnruo neceuAiy
lo replace one of Uic ccren cotutiiUra (Tc'tat viho form tlie executive ot
GvMVa. Ui Cltfdl«t V«a«I httd been pntiu>t««l to lk« Fcdural Council at
Iieri:c, and a new fimiDco laiuistrr wim re(juii«d m his rootu. The Radical
forljf proposed il. F«2y. The IndtpcuLloila c-flcred to agre« to any com-
-jntniic »lioit of hit tioniiiuticn, Ijiu the grcnt man wishod to Tfsuute hia
mnjlT'i'"''"" of tli« public accoaiitd- 'i'Uu R^uUcal clitjiiu persisted ia lui
The voles of liic people weie given wiiik talenible calm, nnd rx-xt
BUffntiig the aaiial jury of iwciity-scveii citizens proceeded lo exuuiiiie ih«
(oU. Tbc duly of lhi» jmy ie dimply to ilcclmo the result oi" tli« voting.
TIm tubsoquciit vaLidutiou ur iavaliiiutiDii of ihg elL'ctioii ia supposed to
rtiaain witli the Grand Ckiuuuil, l>ut thuiu ait: iiiuiiy ticnvuiticnt unccr-
tainlicA in the C^cucvodc conatitutloD. As it liappcncd, ecTttitccn of the
tweoty-scvca csjiuiiiiing jury wcic I'uzyists. At bdf-paat ten on Monday
tbe 23!Dtl, a tamoiu iaiucd irora ihg ulcctoiAl building that M. Fazy was
ia a ntajoriiy. The goverumtnt ivaa ia eculaslta. Two of iu niumbcra
unbraced publicly iu a ciill-, aud tliauktd Ilcureji tliat tlicy iivtd in tlie
nuwt pei-fout of republics. Aa liuur ktur, liownvor, it waa announced lo
the lival forced of lliu nndicuLi and IudcpL'iiiieui.s, that the oppogiUon
Goodulatc Chcnuviisrc liai n uiiijority of 327. Tho aptrita of tlto ejtccu-
bvc i^aio revived, wh«n, on a pretext since acknowl^dfi'd futile, the jury,
bwled by n penoiud friend of M. 1'ai.y'i, toolc on iudf to declure the
ctection void. The pan in iho day's noik iJikcu by tliio frioud, M. John
Ferrier, is uolcworihy, if we coupiu it with his leademliip of Lha revolu-
lionary cxj>cditioa to Tliouoa in IHGQ, whra a rout of Uencveau roughs,
anuwd from liio goT«rnincDt orBeaal, atlempted to cxcile the Savoy town
Bgijiut th« French annexation. Uu iluit occubIou, M. rerricr must hava
(iMcrvvd wJl W lliG auihnriiioi, if vtc may judge of the impunity h« has
eijbyed both from Keduriil and caiiloiul justicv.
IininedJaicly on the publiontiou of the aut of Uic gniud buruui, which
was iu fact a c^\tp-tt<Uit, several Kadical agcutd hurried to the faubourg
of St. (Jiervsiii, where nhcady it luid btieii muttered that if Fazy were not
rtturutd, tears of bluod would be alied. The Judcpendaut blvctora hastily
tim«iRblc<! in the phico of tho Muliird. Carrying u-ich them a copy of tli«
clecttiial law, iliey went up to the lowu-hnll lo demand from tlio CoanoU
of State a declaralioa of lh« true result of tho votitig, and tlio majority
fbi Cheoeviinj.
Tbo council exctuied itsolf at Crst, and pleaded that it conld not
intafufO with tJic net of tlm jury. Tho liKleiH-ndi-iiia grew nngry,
snore « good deid, and twatuicd uoUily touiid the rooui, where lha
423 ^^^ MODERN OENBVA,
Undicel cxeeutivo were sitting. Ko violence, except o( boffo^t, wn
used. Il was finally jigrvod by Uie cooncil thai a proclomatwo dutold
b« iwued umply to declare the nsijority f«r Chencvi^rv, and to prombe
that the jury vrliicli liiti! nullilied the electioa should 1>« convoked (of
ranliL-r (U-libcrntion.
Il u St Geneva on indent and nninl ciutom to mnke such n proolana-
tioii public tlirough ilio town, and to nororopany the criers by a prooesnOB
of Uioao oitUDiis iiiloreflt«d in it. To giro (bo act of the gowniiiKOt a
mora solema forev, a erow<l of Independents nccompaniod the ofRciala wlio
ware to annouace it. The &iale Council rflmained fret and tranquil b
thcif cbiviri at tho towu-hall, and the upper town wni in a n.^>o«c so mrn-
plot«, that n touriitt, if^nomiit of Kay liirmoil, tirollsd about il Rpygfam
nnd Mvrratf Sn hniul. TIlc 1 tidtpurti^ii-nta hnd all gone on the walk llut
coot eomo >^{ tbviii »c dear Pcilcctly uiiann<y\ and in cwvfViI order lh«y
paraded tlic princijnl streets in a column, tlmt was mockingly calkd
" I'in&ur recti on en proniennde."
M«aiitiino ii hasty uot« had bvna Kttt by one of the Btato Coundllor*
at the towQ-hall to the laubourg. ltd contenla hare renuuned a mytlFiy,
bnt M. Faxy irsn seen lo come and go between tl)c ncn-spapor offioea and
public placea ol' his ravourite quarter. HIa gflvi.'moicnl had ettabUalied
(no one know* why) a ««cond arsenal in the (nitboiirg. It iraa alloired (0
bo pillngcd of ball tuirtridge ; and c\-ca cannon wnt drawn out, 10 M to
onstnand the bridg«i by which the indoiwnilenta wore niahlj athntncing
into the ICadical ation^liold.
It ia m^iiicQnt that vthWa tlic Indi;peiid9Dl8 wero alartiag on their
pi-ocm«ioii, niid wLilo they were atUl in ordi^rly and penceTul umy, a
ttlfgiam wna sent to Hcitic, uccnaiug thpm of having already token up
nnn* iit thcMolar*!. FnNc witness was thun ingeniously prepared lo ehow
ilint lliey were the nggrewors, and the action that M. Kazy bad planned
vna bofurchund attributed to hts political encmiea.
ThQ nanari nation (I thnc took pkco aflerwards •wem not pcrpttrated by
the matsca of the faiibturg. They looked on igriorantly while some ftrty
men pouted thcuiiwlvci in rcidincs to attack the Independent ooluom.
The fighting did not in any wny rtproscnl even the passions of the
Radicals, but had all the cliaracteriMlcg of a pre-arranged plot, to be
executed by a fi;w hii-ed hravos. Ten or twelve of the oonspiratoia seem
lo ti:ive been enough to chock the Independent prccemion at the first point
of il3 nrrcst. At a given mnmcTit, to ilie fviiiaxoment of the citizens, balls
rattled agni rut tho houses thai oveHocked the serried march of Cbenevi2rc*s
supporters, nnd blood flowed on the pavcniont. The rci'olutioniats who
had fired the volley Btood aside and showed to the stricken column four, or,
aa Boma any, six, camion pointed at them. The guns were heavily charged
"with grapesbot, and we can linrdly OTcr-cstimate the bloodnftetl that waa
iniminent when a byatnndw, with mrc palrioUsro, flung himself before the
aiusale of one, and startled into dciny the fellow whoso hand was raiwsi
10 fir© it llifl seeoQd gun, by on accidtfot, minsJ fire. The awwping
MODERK GENEVA.
^3
der that would probably haTc entailed the destruction of the repuljlic
vas DonwotBrily urerted. Bat, as it wiu, aeveral citutena fell dea^ and
voonded, the procctsion broke, aod iu members lueltod back in fianlio
iodignatico to tfao artciial in tlia uppor tovrn, to Mek for arms to defend
thcmMlros. It icemcd nti it' tliv f^rcriinivsi luul alinctt wiiilu-d to m-
oeoMge their revengeful impulse, ibr th« nrsasal mw loll in cliArgfi only
of two poUoenwn, who were of couriie powarhiM agaiiut tlic wave that
MOged up the narrow strecta of the cid city. The tuoguioe viw iontatitl/
piUagvd, but iIiqk were in it no eartridges. So far tlie Council of State,
ritting in thu iH>ig!il>ourin^ lovrn-hall) liad proYidecl for its owa safety.
Though urgviitly named «f tlio imoiinencu vf i;ivJl wnr, the oxccutira
left the paanooB of the rival partiea to tlicir unrastruiiicd violcnco. Only
laic in the a^moon would tbcy, at tlie insuwce of nii Indepi.-n(lcnt, send
fortW militia, who wero encamped (i>r tlipii' yenrty training atK^ut two
nikliw frciu iliutown. T1il> guvi^rniiivnt hud not eitn an availnbto drum
to Ixat the ^a-aU. Had M. Fuzy [jkaucd a bitllle au Miiguiiiary
that FTenoh troops fiDtn Hex or Aiittccy could alone hare saved tlio
town?
The ladependculs, however, in iJii-ir hour of iriul tliowod a pnlriolisui
which av«ru-d further dangiir. " Ttim-a is eiiuugli bloud sh«(l," said one
of their kaders to the State Counal, wliotn they had nbut up in the town-
hall, "We Vfep ytm ns hostages." The mensurcs taken to roxtor* order
Wvro prompted liy them, but tbe action of the Ibulical exr«iitive, thoiigli
walobed, was leH free. At last the militia arrived, the HWu Ci)uncil
pledged tlieur wordn fur ihe tiisurtiiing of tlio fuubourg, and the Indepen-
denU dispcracd, content (o leave their cauac, and the ponishineat of tlie
Pny Blr«o(-a««MHBt, to the Fedvml nuthoTities.
Tb« MtiBel) at Berne had Ixwn early infurmcd by telegraph of tbe
hnrrtcadoi aod the attitude of tlie faubourg. Before morning, two
Ihoojand Vaudoia marched in to preserve order. The Federal flag lloated
from the hot«l of the comminioucn tent to investigate the niltdr, and
Gtneva was biU<,-d for the time. For six nonlha llio town was ocoupiod
by a considcmblc Federal force, at an expense to ii of lire hundred
thousand fnnca. The lesson would have been severe had it not bei'n
neutralised hy itige&Jous intriga« — U. Fasy, who had arrived from Parti
the day before the election, retreated to French te^rritory afier the orenti of
the SSnd of Augiist. From the frontier town of Gex, he announced Ukot
ha waa keeping wateli on tlio ConHTrntirc rcnotion ; with tlie indifleronoc
of a man who has in keeping many srcrets, and poMsnea Impuuily, hn re-
Aised to answer the eunuiiona of the Federal commiKionvr. Nor wore
the loveiitiwB originatora of the rwip-dVlat, the Kadical jury who deuhii«d
M. Clivnni^'s election void, diaiurbed by the Federal prosecution. It la
■aid that M. Fiucy poaseased papers that aeriouily conpromiicd the Bcmeac
govornmont in the ufiiiir of Thcnon, hence hia nfety and llie indemnity of
Lis &ctioa.
By A l^al erasiioii Uiere woi complcto fsilute of jusliee ia tlie trial
424 UODEltN OB!tCVA.
of the nindnn ifbo tltua ihot down peacefal citiscns lo the opea
strcota. The Federal ouuc, held iu the foUoning Pcccmber, vru a
soUnit fiu-eo. Some iic«pegonu weru tried, not for the criiuo of murOvr
lliAl liftd been cniiiniictccl, but for ihc political offence of iiiipetliag the
executivo in .ia ^tliciiil a;;!, Ailcr a poaijicrous dispky of iiu{>at'tiulil^,
niicl iTith luudi »jx>L>ciLiiyiiig on cvvry tUle, iJio jiriiioncra were ac^uitMti.
The poliiicui pHrtiDs nt Genera were inJiffereut to tho Tvault; jct the
result, in tho ejes of Europe, mejiii8 that in SwitzerlaDd, and partictiUrly
nt Geneva, tiiere cuu be contrived iinpunilj for crimes tliat uuscrupulons
Jeiuagoguea ma}* iiiftigute. There ia no Icgul check on a&jr coarulaua)
tlmt mny bt> planneil. The conBtitiition of the canton providea no punidi'
ment for j>olilical ofi'encca, while the Federal uilbontica arc powerleu to
iiitei fere ia enmiual cases.
'i'^ough conHi^rval'Dtin or nocLioii be hnpoaMble at Getuva, it* eitisBna
>vau]U ill detttrvc llicir I'cputition for tnteUigcuce if they had not attempted
w>mc opposition to tbo " system " thitl Ii.-i* culruiniitod in each an oatmge.
The slate of the repubUc'a Snanco required JDvestigation, " Hands hare
been very free with the Stale chest," a KadicuL oOiciiil puhlicly ndmitted,
in n In.Ce cxuiuinntioa of eome ftuud. Uigh fuDctionaries have been con-
vl'Ctcd of liiibltual stealing. There lioa been » Kjilciaof opcuacoountaaod
extriiordioary budget* by whiuh money diuppcared without rcnwdy.
M. Fiiay'a great work, the levelling of the lorUticatloDa, waaa hc:idiug &tr
all luiuccounted deGcita. " Kxcellence, oit portcroos-aous cette totnme ? "
bocaiiie n formulu iu nny lUniciiIty. " Au niveJIrmeDt," leplied the chief,
and Auell discrepiineive v/ktv levelled.
It had Ions been a smprise to the incrensing pnrty C'f iiidopen(1«»l« thai
flioy could not coinniand a cuBJorily iu the elcclions. It n-(ie felt tliat there
was trickery somewhere. And trickery waa amy by the Itadical clectire
feyiilGiQ. I'ht^' Vttzy organization aliucst dentroycd any power cf choice for
tlie individual elcclvj'. No obedient tvniuila were i-ver led tu tlic poll in
England more despotically thiin the Totcrs at Geneva. The elector tua,
und is obliged Iu vute for liia repres('iitiitirc&, not individually, but iu a
mass. Tliere tire, for iuHlarici', forty-three mi-nibtra of the (ireat CouDCtl
returned by the electoral college of tho citj*. A h*t of names ii prepered
by the chiefs cf tbe rival piitliea. The elector probably never heard
uf some among them, nor carea to inqoint inCe the untccedoats of others
ou tbc list preKented to hijn; but he luuiil accept it, or become aa enemy,
or rc«igi) hii elijcloral ri)^}jt. Tlie li^lii arc arranged iu ingenious coenb;-
lutiions to secure party bucoeae, and witli little regard to the return of
really good represcntutives. So long us pink or blue triurapbi^ « fstctioa
ia content uod tho mob chccra. The people's real wishes are not even
coniultod by the rlTol cliqueo of ncwfpnpor editors nnd pliicc- hunters. I(
has been found by recent investigation, that to aireiigclieii it»elf, the Fazy
jovernmcnt fabricated S,000 votes, the groai uuuibvr of electors bdiig
■bout 12,000.
Meantime, tlio quiet but stem protest made by tlie superior classes at
UODERX GENEVA.
QeaCTft tgaiiMt the aals of their rwlern was vory dociJocl. Without one
excsption, the old Coimervaiivc fiiiuilics of llic tcwn liavc licM alouf from
erta euuAl acquaiaUince ivitb tlic Fnzjr cliquf. Not odc of his collcigiics
hu ever been eeen in % nilon "dii Imui." The Gf:ner.t of tliG Da InRivoi',
tlicDeCnndclIcs. the PcSohwuix-m, c!Uirwt waily be dwtroyed or oimcxol.
It will, fur tlic i<rocnt »t Jc^tt, y-rcservo iia tmilitions, though a French
I»«r«ct gOTWO ill pluf « of M. Faxy, and Monseigncur Merinillui] jireacli
(ma Ihu pulpil of Calvin. Since 1818, the Genereco gwatry liavc enjoytd
s learned leiaurp. To iin Enfflishinun, whiwo iiiniiiK-r of life is diffLTpnt,
liia pedmtrjr of ibeir sacivly i» linlt liOiculoiift, both in iiB short-
cominga «ad it» nuumplioas. It rcidl/ possiriiscs maay mcuibera of
Ktiropeun rcpiiUtioii, nnd is not unlike a schratiCxi: aitd litiTury emigres in
it) rtjvctioB of tliv tisual social frivolities. Il tiff^cUi cxiivinc refinement
«ad cxcluttivism. Jf ite members, in sheer ntoil from tlic intellectual
austerity of its maDnem, wj^li lo nniunc themst^Ivt'S, they go to other
couauics i but fis^p romoiiiB to the " pn'ciiru.t " and ** pi&itTisen" of the
place »» A jilcasurc more valuable from the ahsenca of luiy other. There
is no buDting.iJiootiDg, or othi-r healthy exeruise for nu'ii, iinr] still Iras for
Uio womcnkiDd " du Imtil." Eatorjimiug youths atulk a rare woodcoclc
now And theD with triumph^ or ride in atriuga along a dusty rond. " We
Kliiom vtte open canlagca," observed a boy of twenty. " It is too cold !n
wiiit«r, »nd ibcio ia devr on Rummcr evenings." Yet the Gcneveae htc not
tfi>:nitiiate ; perhap* the bitter north wind that sweppe donii their cold blue
inke keeps tlicir energy alive. The slrenglh of the Gcncvcsc is, howcrei",
Mlher intelleetuiil than phy«ienl. A cojiiiniiiil cxcroiKo of the brain u
ciitlomary even tor young men of large fortune. There is u atandai-d of
peHeclioti uuioog the trAve!i<:d and cosiiiopulitiiii coimoifiwura of Geneva,
m high ihnl enthusiaso] is clierked and art ia stunted for liick of fcnnk And
instinctive nyoipathy. The Gcncvesi: know loo much to feel the inf]iu:nc«
«f art- frb«y ue too omniscient fnr nny pluy of (he imagination, oiid no
eoe ever heard of a Gi'nc-vate poet, ivbeibt-r muto or vucal. Tho iheatrei
•re abandoned to ttntn^-rs And Riuliatlt^ ntid the rare conccrls urc devoted
to Ic.ami-d execution of muaio that belong? chit^fly to (ho distant poitt or to
ihe dim future. Local paiittera are leas trammelled than niuticiani by
Ihcir public, and they can send tlidr pictnrca to otKer cjihibitlons ttian the
liuic anion of Gfnera. The "cold shade" of the nrislocracy of pure
leatou need not prevent their vrotklng for Paris nnd Turin. Twenty
years aj^, the Gcncvcsc conuuiiceurs hoped that they poseesjcd a Ecliot-l
of painling that shnnhl Mill further upreKil the glorioa of their new Atbeas,
Btit llic painters of their school never got much further tlian the rock and
fir-Uee, whioh its fctutder, C&lonie, bnd itntnorlalized. It it true that ihe
KatdcDCe of CaUnie, native as he was of V.-iud, gave some respectability
to the dmwing-maslers of Geneva, though in the higher onlcr ofnrtistB to
uhoQi our Consublc^ and Gaiosboroiighs, nnd Turnt-n belong, bo tAkcs
a low plucw. Cuhime in Kitcr knoirn in Huwia and Germany thnn in
iu%Uud,yvth« u irortliy of sympalby bom the luttioo thi»t fijvt stnitedHii
4*iC
UODKHK GKNEVA.
AIjHitc club. IIesu])|ilW anuntfdtBDuie incuty yoKTsagoereaJiMrttl
uL [trcai'Dt, (or iilwut llml tiiitc t>iu lii^hur Alpd fimt begiw lo 1)6 |
objccUi vf ndniirauoii nllier than oi Mit'ror. lie was tbo firai acjcuraK
ftluilciit of tlic pcrgiuluitl oiiows and liigbar BMtutiliiui lunna. Calaoie b»a
bcLii coDcUiuuul by yrcocU crittcd for atUnaptiDg to intt-rfin't tUa sublimo
:u)iJ BCvrn «apecU of tbe upper roBgea — yet lie rnnilore*) «t lout ooe or Ivo
of tb« iuipit-aaioas Uioy oxcitc. Pcrhii{>« aa artist vadowed vith a jwvrvr
ytit uaktiown, uuty 8uui« day »liotv i» din ijlory of (Late siimitiilii that enn
by their sdmiii:rs uru Iinrdly UiulL-raivod. Though tluitr rendering 1>y
C^nmc viuita pMtr}', lu« ilrawing ie good of tbe sore slopes and nuuooi
luj^uilli'S of Swiag scGueiy. IUa piccui-e of tlie IlaiKle«lL FuUa, ia iIhi Muste
iinUi «( (JencTa, ia wuia^eoas iu its faithful rendorii^ of Alpine aanigo
BOM. Ui8 paintings of Mout Bluio and Monl« Uoaa ticAt tho teadvrlj
kvtn iiuuiniu vitli CniUK-u. Svvend of lils diacipli's hare tgial^hed
tbuiiuvlvva ut U«utrvd, and perpetualu bU favouritv iDbjccte, but lia wm
But a mMter capablu ^f fuandiug a achool. Nor i> tho intvllectual tvpuUte
« pliLce where art cau tbi-ive, except in the penoon of the numorons pio-
fuaaon uf dmwiug utUaoUd by its swiirm» at aobcult and privato tutor*.
The fuw good puiuLcrs nrlio ]uipp«R to reside at Geneva, among w)ioib
nuik first, Von Muydcn, IIuiabcTt, Ca«tiiu, Duval, ond liorDuiig, exbiUi
in tho i'orifl snJonn, aud riHy on fortilgii npprccintion, carel«« of bond
crilicinn. Oui; rcniurlcaliU student of glauer colour and fi>rni pwHea hit
niulcni ut Ueuvva — bin tuiuuiers at Cbatnuuuy, We thiuk ihoDunuof
Lopp6 will ere kng be butter kuown in Kiigloud than it is yvt. 'lltnugh
ve ura uot forgetful of the i>cc«t)tric cSbrU of Mr. Elijah Wallon luid
othcn of our ubiquitous ai-tiil», to mprvn&at in the g\oriafi style popular
ill England, llic sublimity of the highur Alps, wo think M. Lopp6 tathe
IJrnt cou^ieutiouft piiiuttr who has griippled nith their truths. He fan
hud HMviigih uf budy itud L>iR>rgy of will to study for weeks u&ong the
hitjlicr slopes of the jVips. By cfirt-ful aud prolonged labotir, he bas ennght
the real stemtimcnt of tbo gUcior world as it is boiid in. tho rugged yet
TtficouA fall uf thi: icu-iivcnt, and llie iinearihly, d(<athful boiaty of tbs
scnrcdy- trodden nuovr vaJluys. Hu uilinils thu public to eoineof lh« Mti*
•atioiu tliat octi fiLilt in the great worluihops whence Aow th« rivors of
Eurupo, and whera the<6oiI of lli« phuns U prujiarod for tho use of the
living tliinjfs htiluw-. ila avoids the iiiouutain j^Httionunaa which an
outside the limits of art, aod ha has olioseu rtilher to give n.>altcli«
details of niuimiain form. Our readers will reoognizo in this aobrtc^ of
clioice and iiiith, iu the beauty of simple truth, oafi of the best diumctcristios
of t'rcuch ait us opputc-d to ttie gnudy ti-ickury of our English MhocI
of landscape.
It would he (liOicuIt to cjcaggaralo tiic activity of tho Utile republic ia
sdouce if she is dttiuient iu art. tihe haa leudc-rcd tnanj «orvic«« to
society in its practical iin]irovi'nicnts. The first experiment In the t'onl-
luiitiary discipline, v.Iiich liae kicciuc general In Europe, was Iriod hy
hut i the lali»t clTurt to kaaea the nuflviijig causod by war origiuatad at
SIODEBN OENKVA. ^^^^^ 4^7
Ci-ncrn, wlit-n two jvnta aw ilie GreitL Prjwure IiclJ lliere s coiir«reiici!
fvr urgauixibg ucutnti uiubuUuuu uttJ liix-nscd iiiUlc&iy nuracs, antl
ooo by one agreed to the Crvaevam pi-opoaitions. Two hundred and
twenty societies lor benevoleiiL [mr|Kiae.s work willi fuverisL energy in tlie
liltle SlAt«. 'I'liere u iu it uu cu^eruvss fur kuotvleJge unumul divwhcie,
ercn in our time. A fre&h iduu, no matter wlat may be iU [inraataga,
ia Cdugbt ap by tho Cue Wlira cquaJly oj by tJia prafesnui-x "du luuit."
k k aiainiiUted or rcjwtod with a mpidily tluit our Engfuli leiupcr
canool lullow.
Tho CTAditioni tu which lliu older fAmilJca eUU clmg, prevent display
oTtbe wealth wbicii in ubiindunt, and for the tnont part Mifcly invrktod iu
raroigii itock. Tlicrc is pedantic alTbclalioa of coiitvmpt fur ui«re money.
A Ituthschild or a DeaiidviT may eatabliiib tlu-iufitdr^B by th« gntcu vf tho
Uenercn untocmCs wiiJicut welcome ; kings and pmcot, uiileaa in Boine
way diatjiigiiiahcd, ora hnrdJy ruckonoJ iho cqiiitlB of the cbicTs of "la
•oei^; * bat th«y will receive a riuiig writer or a scicutilic oclehrity to
tlwir intimacy'. Nutwiihstnndiog tlic diingixiuublu prktiTiixJciii of Geu4:V(;M
maiiiiLTF, Mii tuiiat rcep«^l the itaad made by the upjicr cUuea agoiiut
llie vnlgrar matcriaiiHni of modcTii fiociuty nnd itu rorioua flunkeyums.
Tbei« are {»uhs in tlic splendours of Londoit and Paris more serious
titan the diabbiacw and aScctatiou of thn GonoreBo *' pGiTac]uet>." " Mou-
iieur," said, in th« IukI c<'iitiiry, tlio uliicf iiiagittnito ai' ihu r«jiublic! to
ibe gorgeous n;prt.-scn[ativu of the Fi-i-iiclt kiug, who udled poinpoooly
for " the people " of hi< K°di " ^e voua donncz pua tufit de puine, tous
BiM gens CQ aont ma Jeiuinv," and ho poiiitud to the littlo inaid who
carried his LiQt«rn. Somvit'hut of this Bioiplidty remains in the usages
" du bant.'' llunlly a pi-ivn(« cnrrijigo U to be met, and certaitdy noiio
that are woU njipoiiiK'd, In lii« otreci* of Genera. Livorti« are nilJoiii
allowed cvt-n in the boii««a uf rich men, and an KngUtJi gntom or footman
in tbc! itri'otJt hu to itand r good deal of insolence from the bleusea wlio
look (in tbc niu*t rcc^wctiible serrants as their inferiors. Ii would also
af'jH-ai ihiit cmjtnient ie as mucli diBpiBcd by Bonic of ihe movkm Puriluos
of tlio cily OS in the daye when thoir anceslora wetg restrictud in thu ampli-
tude of tlicir appnrel mid lite futJiiaa of their frasta. There iaoingular lack
of bi-wity among the Envauls Slid savantee, and ibd e<itikr«n9es and itiffnees
of ibeir loinper mifiht beexpreBsc-dinllieu' forma. Grace is mre in a race
that rabies it so sliflitly, nnd quiet ngUnesa is etiunpod on all things
ttnr oiul old. The w^inuuli rices of women is lest MtoMDod llinn Ibeir
vie Tbe domeatic Inlerests of the bouMJiold, ibe afl'vctionati* aire of nn
English mollier, nerm cnntGm]'ltbIc to lline miniulure Dc Btmlila nnd Du
Ddbudi. No models enn puinten fi&d in tbt- (jcuovcso jopulation. Ko
gkans of pleasant colour greet the «yc ax it Rtmngcr strolls idoitg the
limify <|iiaya and ploistcr nlrccta of M. Fnzy't cn-atton, but of intellect
Iho verj' air fecina ftill. Thi^ beitiiiinil public buildings meet tlie vye M
every corner. Conwn-at<nro, ntbcnicums, muscumii, librarirs, etlabllsb-
etUa Jur i>rotnotiiig ouiaiecicucc, liarit been provided by rich dtiMnf>
4Q8 MODERN GENEVA.
Eray croud of CtiristemJom U reprewDUiiS, frciii ihu gliiicrtng Ciitvk
ohnrcb that ruea tiard by tlie old catbedral, to Uic towcnt of Uic new
Notre Uamo d« Qonijr«. TJie Pre«fnmw»u' Hull has ita Gra«][ oblong 1^
the Uyzantine JeuUli 8)'nag»giic. It is xnid lliat pure ralionitlimi becomes
Boctaruui uud propagundiBt utGcnevft. M«rniouisui,e{iirituaUuu,anii otbor
licalhc^utiutis are not unrepreeeated ia the town th;it liEtens witb npproTsl
li/ iuins to tlie onliodoxj of Merle d'Aubigno aud iLc DBrwjnura of
PcofcMDi: Vogt, 'Xho people nrc proud of th(>ir cclcctieifun. Tboy adeet
to eKtwni Engluiid, lliuiigli nitli well-founded suspicion o{ her diplotsacy.
Ab bofits llio Liitin iniitd, iW-^ liav« civil coutompt Ivr German coufiuioiu.
Tkcy receive Kussiuns, Greeks, and tlio dwellers in McBopoUniia, aa
Solomon might tiarc doae the apes and pooooks of Uic SoutJi. Tbe
Kngli*]i colony lives apart, indifTci'cut to any but tb« politic* cxpoasdcti
in The Times, nnd too constant lo Uielc churd], veil served lu It i* by its
pivMnL L'haplain, to caic for Uiq ecdi;siaaticjil wars of QcD«va. And what
Iwvc we to do, aftgr nil, with tho minll canker of Gonera in tius European
world? Yet it may he, afUr all, ilio "a[jeck in garnered fruit" wlueh
may scrioiuly trouble future diplomacy.
Geneva is u town of only furty llinitBand inlmliitanta. W« sliall not bo
accused of cxnggemiJng it^ intellectual )ii-i;-iMiiii:ence wlicn we remind our
rc:idera thai fioin iti training liavo issued the chiofa of yreaeU I'rotcstoat-
tsm in both extremes of Culvinism and rntionaliBui. Mucb that we onjoy
meet in tJic bc»t French litcintiirc is from Ocuuvcsc wriiwi!, vhoec nation'
alily in losl in tW Pnri« voi'ti-x. We ncvil not uiiiind our Tisul<?r8 of Morlo
d'Aiibl^nc', QauHseit, and Bmigeuor, dear lo ProctMlant Iwics. ToppJi-r
in Ilia Mveei-s. Victishoi*, Jubut and liicir bi'othcrs pethapa originated tlte
quaint hixtorici! of Air. Pifnt and others beloved in our drawing-rooroiL It is
UEcIcsa cnttklogiting nnni'Ut cclcli rated as are tlie Dc la Riv<-a, De Cnndolki.
niid PJctct*; mill ilie be*[ Gcnon-sc wriii.>rs find tiannlatora tu Englaadi
We Iwlieve even Madatnii de Uasjiiiriu's somewhat breathless utterances go
llii'ougli more than oao edition among our tvDtimentnliats of the evan-
gelical school.
In the character of tlie educated cliuu of G«neva i» h«r strvn^h. TIte
preaout Fcdcra.1 pact of SwilKOrliuid may fall to picctb. Thv ancient Ira-
dilii>n of France, tliut lliu Hdvutic cunti>deracy is necosiary on her Icoit
doieudcd frontier, may b« abandoned hy the Emperor, nnd Genera miy be
annoxod, to tlie injury rather than to the nggrandizcraonl of his country;
but afier six centuries of standard -bearing In tlie army of returmers, the
educated Gcncvcsc Diuit net abandon their ]>utt lightly. The little
republic niny linv^c a dtlFicult tusk in avuiding total dtstruction, for
Moalvbiuicu'it enyiti^, " Let hoInnl4,^a font lis iustttuUona (jui font ka
honimes," is evidenced l>y the goucral aUucmont of her citixena, fliooej
constilutioD of 1646. Everything id done, not fur and by iho people, 1
fur nud by a succcMion of cliques, of whom the cluofa do not always seem
perfeolly loyal to their city. The conelltution imposed on Geneva by Ibo
"able cditoia" tniuied in France, is a nett of disputea. Tbe support of
MODERN QENEVA. 420
tlic alien Swiss cantons is not much looked for, in tbe event of frcsli
diiiturbaiices. "Those fools of confederates," exclaims M. Fazy, "aro
behind the age 1 " The liadical demagogue has (rained his followers to
dislike the interference of Berne.
What future remains for the ancient repnblic 7 From the day that
she became a political agent, she has been in danger. Political fever has
exhausted her strength. In her delirium, we find her dreaming with tha
rest of Switzerland of a marine 1 That will, we presume, involve mariae
neutrality and marine guarantees, and even more dangerous diplomacy thaa
that forced on her by the treaties of 1815.
The presence of the notorious Kuastan incendiary Hettzen and his
paper, the Kolokol, still further increases the responubilities of Geneva.
She is a piecfl of tinder ready for a spark. We trust it may not ignite
Europe, OS a lucifer-match may set on fire a timber-yard. Even the Pope,
the last Conservative prince in Europe, has no reason to rejoice in the
advance at Geneva of the Roman Catholic creed. Extreme demoralisation
has accompanied the success of the Ultramontane agents. "Vousalles
voir, " Baid an elderly Savoyard cnri, " k snpposer que nous preniona
Geneve, que le aicge nous aura co&t^ vingt mille ames." Switzerland
might make a gallant defvnce agtunst the open attacks of her neighbours.
She will find it hard to resist the destruction lately introduced by '* red "
theories, when Furst is replaced by Ochsenbein, and Calvin by Fazy.
Yet Switzerland is important to European balance, and Geneva is the weak
point of Switzerland. Ws trust the final blow may not be struck at her
ancient liberties under pretence of " non-intervention, " such as that which
in 1346 betrayed the foreign cantons. " Non-intervention, " said Talley-
rand, " is much the same as intervention I "
jSiijicrio^ ^nformnlion.
I WM OQoo iiiinniBg (V bait for pike in ft itnall liu* ircII-jfockc^I livtrr
Nonl)Rtii[itonjJiirR, and I Imd just laVen ihe bxit-f^li in mj' Ititnd to •tljiial
tliu heckit, when a rricml wtto ooDsidarod mo Icnmed in matter* iif nporling
atnd naliiml history, said stiddcnly — " Pr»;, wriint nrti ihtmv )ttll« hlielc things
lloaling on the ^mtar, ihootlsg ftboiit til circli'j*. the- *txtt nfn «p}it pea, there
by the »ii3o of the ntrcnn ? " H« meant the whirligig, Ofriimg Natatar,
For my own part, 1 hnd not tlic fninlMt notion »l that 1im«, what the
crcntnrf» were caHed. I h»ro or«mrBC Inkcn poJns l« find cml b«<for« ven-
turing to writ< this firticle. But I wns prc-Mcuf^<>) then ; I m-ait tliinkjng
or th« bail, anil vrhcthvr it wiu uny gonl trying that bo)« down by tlio
lililv iTBlcrfall wltcre I hml « ohmly trirt of a run ytaterday ; ami an I only
nnxwriTtl, " Oh, thnie arc littla black thiagB that float oa ibe vmt«r.**
" TJianh ywi ! " biiiI he. It occiirrwi to him, pcrhap*, tJial he had
told mc ns inuoli when lio DjiVeA tlio i^uc«tion. And yot, in my abatraction,
r nadoubt toci^d thallhml fully miti'lit'd him. Tli(^ "littla black thinga"
nra common pnough, nnd I liivl coiiT^yml to him Ihnt llioy wtre no curi-
oaitieB ; but it did not itrike me, til) I h«nrd his latiph, that the oracU had
not apokftn th« expKtiMi words of wiidom, and that my raperior iDformBtioo
must haw appeared to him nothing better than a aham.
Thill, imlr«i1, in a very aimplo oeeiirTonc(>, but I have ean^ht myMtf
telling it often as a. gtiud ule, m tli« fort of thing a man moniioni a£ hii
own ^xp^nso with a fAir conviction that be oun nlTord to do ec, as a Tunny
exception to bis gcnoral acctintcy and information.
People all over the world have certainly n tendency to t^dow some-
body else with the credit for possessing onpprior iolonaation. Very elera
jKopIc arc conBtantly committing tbenisclTea by the pBrfect reltancv lh«y
place upon the opinion op advice cf sorao contemptible quack. A man
who has given his whule henrt, and mow of hi^ life to law, theology, or tli«
duricf, will ollcn go for inlormation on n matter of honettcd or foiraing
to tome new prctendi-r who hnppona to have at command a few spocial and
trcHnieal phnwta. A man or a child may pawt for an adept without mii«b
Jipp«nIi«Bhip. Let him b»«iI hirasdt' pretty loudly, luid he is sure of
litit«nerii. I once made the acqiiaintnnec ofa very gaudy hani>door cook;
he wu in the hnbit of Btmttin.i; and crowing his challengaa all day ; hat i
regret to add that, wh«n at IhM they were answered, when a acighbonring
fowl of small stature burst upon Iiis dunghill, he (led in the meat dijrepo-
tai>lo manner, before the very *ac«» of hia hena. lie luid not a lia'porth of
the pluck bo brngged of. Tiic adopt ttonutinKVi is ntcrling (>noiif;fa, uo doobtk
but frequently he ia nomc little fcol to whom accident haa giv«n a character
for proSciency. One would tliinit that thia Intler pcrwninge omild oaiy
t A
I
I
I
I
SUPEmOR nTFOHMATTON.'
roUin Iibi UMiuIftney Atnong^t |]i« very igBorant nr the rctyloring; »a,
wjiti l)ie iiR»o|iIiiilicatc<!, or in the boKin of hii fninily, TliCH of oourH^
OM might imagine, vculd be content with a autiersUlion, mA Tail (o pcr-
c«Te the fiUlibility ol' llicir guiI. But Iho atranga thing is, thnt wine men
■n m often contented to txvk tluir infontiiilian from the li]M of ignaraitco.
Whttt I mean to My ia this, tii.it not only ja n man who h»» the ormlh
iur beinjr .in ailppt looked upon from nil quarters with a wonrJvtfiil respect,
bat that alao it doca not acom to bo n jiarticularly ilitHcult matter to
AbtaJn ihnt ci^Ht. In tliG Inatanoe which I hnvo given of tho Gyrinui
Naliitoi-y 1 htimtjiy coniJclc-r tliat I nrrcgatod nothing to raywlf : tlio orndo
Jid not bappoo to bo up in that Nubject ; and, braidca, tho nmcio wm
btn/cnd preHWoupied. There would haro howi nothinj; lutliorouH in the
rospenaa but for the expectation of its inrnlliliitiiy. But bow I onjoy
Mcing a thowMigh-pftcwi proicnrfcr floored f Ami, ufler mnlurc coofitk-
niion, 1 think tliat n tucre pnik-iidri' to be n jndgo iu wine ijt tho finwt
ud tbc birat g^mc of nil. Olisoivc with what cxpnmivc Rilenoo ho
•ackn to conrinot! you of hii Rupemr intormntion I }lo ecoma to biiul«r
abont faia knowicd(;«. He covers tlio rWs with Ixtlh hia handa, nnd snilTa
tba arotnA kWti the wine iti enppOK^ to be warm ; hu holds tho at«m
ligbtty betwot>ii hia tingor and thumb, aloplng the glao n Uttlo, nnd tooka
intently upon what he conceiTcs to bo an oily richneaa running down tlic
■idnof lb« glow. Thva, pcrhnpe, ho pronounaM on Uift vi&tags or the
bia, u tbv CUM n>By be. Hit tolla you tlml it in vitry flno wino indeed ;
it unght to be dninlc, howtrvcr. its tht^rc w n good deal of it, he
a, nnd it would b« n sin to let it jsel patti. This, and nil tlto n-tt
of It, whidi we know so well by bcott, h« aaya and does. Aloi! fur hla
auperiur information ; for yoii, siitpecling that be waa aa inipoetor, gart:
him a bottle ont of lh« eAKk of Fumoihing rtlfa*r tawny. A little oirount-
BlatKw once occurred within my own kiiowlrdgr, which In, peihapn, wortli
felting down beii;. Some gentlemen, who were i-itlier a coinmitloi*, or a
hoard, or n meeting, at any rate who had met together very many timt«
en buainrsit, dett-miined, as BUch pcnlli:nicn dc determine, to lotuce their
anxivlioi with a dinner, 'ihiit dinner wan in ho given nt Eomo fir>t-Tat«
botal, eitl er in Mnnchcatcr or Liverpwvl, ! hclicife. Well, aa the dinner
Waa to be dainty and the winca " ourivuit," th« original builnnw oominiltrc
appointed yet another coinmiticu nmo«g*L Ibemitelvi-K, which ithould havti
power lo jboonc Iwo ablp »nd esperivnct-d men given to a laRiiltanty with
Fnmcb diphvi, but, aVoTO and beyond itll, coitnoiiscun in win*. Aa Elt
ai the mere dinner w«nt, I understand that ibey got on tolembly wv]I»
poaaibly their only borinen hero coMiistrd tn apprortng tbe dabomle
earie eenl them hy th« cook ; hut tho wine was a mora aolvma mattor. A
preat reaponBibility n«ted on Ihem. With champagne, of courve. they were
aafr, a» the brand waa a lulBcient gtitde. N»ither did they at uU commit
Ibninaelvvit in ihe nwtter of claret i Lafitte and a heavy price carried them
thmugh. Rut with port wine ihey foimd some difficulty, nnd their opiniona
won divided. It jirew chirk a* they argued and tailed, and lights worn
483
SUPEBTOR ISFORMATIOS.
I
bTCiii|!lit. Tboy viem l«ft alono iu tlii; room st littt vitli port and slinr^
and when ai length ihc time came fur ihtsc sniwriorly-iD funned bciiif*.
tlioe, Ihe elect of the ccmmitt««, to produce lli« port irbidi tbcy had
dicwQD out of ao maiiy sauiplcs, lo ! and belicld 1 it watt brown tberrj. m
Now, I «tin(Kr if I may eay, wtlhcut dUtcspect to the clerpy, llial it it-f
very Miliioni 1 obtain from tlic pulpit tl)« information wtiicli I d^firv.
Tluil iiiforinatioii ought to bo superior, becaun it commonly cotnesfroia
educated gcntlctucB, and u!waj-» from tHoNC who nn: suppoved to IuT«fl
made its Rubj(.4:t tlictr t[>odal study. Sometiiuea it ia snperior; it ii
Letlcr tliiin m\t-» own, I mean; it is aagoodna the pAgn of a book. It it
n c<'n>mo» Mud a hntcfii] fuiilt; ic is a rilly and a i)l«repatablc feaiiion,
vliid) Toviles tlio cli-rgy of tlu-Kv liiiigdoms. With iLo exception perhnpa
of Uic buTi Uicru is do profcuiiioii whose uiumbcta iirc bo veil iafannrd nt
thaw of ills cloricah And yet iiow froqoenily is one n*hainrd of iW
■crnion, and indiieclly of ihc clorpyniaa who preaches il I Very odm hit
superior inrvrniaUon ia taken whoIcMic aa.<\ worti for word from aonobody
elav's printed surmon ; ocouinoaliy li4 only steals the skeleloa and the
thoughts ; aommimcs hu borrows a fricad'a luctibratious, and, in that wayi
Tery poaubly givoa us the benefit of thoughts twi»! stolen. But L am
very iierlouBly afraid thai the meat conimcoi pmcllce ia to coRtrivu by •nine
niciuiH to do without any thoughts at nil. This is n pity and distmsing'
It iH pvek-ntious and unfair, uitd nn nbiiM) of confiJimoc, lor a inaa to dress -m
himitcif up in a ailk gown ami itiitlk wlemuly along an nisle, and alowly upH
•Otoe slepft, conducted by Another man vriih a red collar sod a bluA stick
with gilding at tlte top, when he has gat nothing to cny. The piiblio liara
been mying Uicir prayers, nnd arc qaite coiiteated to let well alone; tlt^
arc rondy U\ leave the church \Tith rcvtrential thonghts and good deeirea;
tliey are not rxorhtlaiil m their tlctiiandit, nciil really don't want to troubia
anybody for anylhiag more. But when tho i-e(^jvni>ible pnrlios ofiex lo
begin again, when they laeitly assure us that there is yet another matter
north Dtiiying lor, and wlicn thia other mnltcr ia ushered in vriih tliav
pomp and promise nienlionrd above, it does seem reaaonablft that tocna
t-fRirl Hhiiiild bo inndu to rise aliOTe ligmimilc, and to present eomeiliiiig
of a. higher chanicter than the most rapid platitudes. And yet there is in
tlie depths a doepor still. However nnnoying il niny bo to have a string
of unRicaoing sentences forced upon you, it is mucli more annoyin^p, and
I thiuk ii-ritnling, to have sonto ridicalous tnii>m recommended to your
understand in g witli as mucIi tirctimstancc and shew as if it were a recent
dittcotery in polaiilcB, or an im|xirtaat mesuigc from Htiavi^n. Worst of all
ia that explanation which scpkB to recommend ilsclf by its coiidevocnnion,
which is supposed to come from a great mind to a TCiy narrow one, which
cbaiitably umpli^cs matters ia order to make them easy. Thus, I OOM
hejixd with my own ears n piccf^ of miperior itiformalion which nudo them
tingle, and surely notliiiig less than tlie reUcencc of good matmcn could
liare saved the ccDgrcgatioa from committing thenaelTes in shouts of
langhter. "As it were » young lion lurking in iccieL," nid thepivechfti
li^
A
SUPERIOR ISFOBMATIOS. 433
"tliat is, my bretlircn," he kinJIy continneil, "a lion in the bloom of
youth." OyegodaT a rosy- checked lion, a blushing Hon! And yet he
never saw the incongruity, but thought in lus heart that he had made
matters clear and comibrtable to onr comprehensions.
Perhaps, as a matter of fact, every one is better informed than his
fallow upon some point, and every one therefore who can speak or write is
cnpable of conveying information. But let us take care that the man to
whom we go ia a sterling man, a genuine professor of the subject on which
wc consult him. No one surely who wished to learn how to milk a cow
would apply to the school-giil who was pasdng through a course of in-
struction, but to the milkmaid herself. Neither would a reaiionable mao
who desired to become acquainted with top-dressing and turnips inqutni
of any other th.^n an experienced farmer. But from these, undoubtedly,
a great deal might be learned. The relative value of a knowledge of the
classics and a knowledge of milking or of agriculture has little to do with
the fact that farmer and classic have each a very conaiderable amount of
knowledge which the other does not possess. The presence of superior
information on one side is as clear as its presence on the other; and no
one, however learned, who will condescend to ask questions, can go
through the world without confessing that he becomes a wiser man almost
eveiy day of his life.
I think we deceive ourselves wretchedly about the amount and value
of our information. General knowledge is exceedingly superficial witli
the mass of " educated people," though they may be, perhaps, the last to
thiuk so. ^V'e take our acquirements too much for granted. Most of us,
p4.'rhaps, know how far Slercury is from the sun ; that the peregrine falcon
changes tlie colour and markmgs of her plumage after the first moult, and
that flint is one of the primitive earths. But should wc be able to endure
one of the groat tests of a thorough soundness ; to answer, ofi"-hand, the
searching, though simple, questions of a child in the easy rudiments of
astronomy, ornithology, or geology? However, men will gild an orna-
ment when tlicy cannot afford a golden one ; and we are all ready enough
to assert ourselves in matters of information : wc don't let the world rato
us at too low on estimate. The best of us tog on a bit of tinsel some-
times. We all do it, — from the man who " crams " his conversation, to
him who is only silent in order that he may appear to know. And really,
:ifier all, there is nothing very alarming in all this. There is ofleu much
less hypocrisy in it than in the conventional " Good morning ; " and if a
man will only refrain from irritating his fellow-creatures, by assuming
their boundless ignorance in the explanation he offers tliem on mattcnt
which are patent to mankind ; if he will avoid, as far as possible, flourishing
his superior information in their faces when they least desire it ; if he will
not profess a profound acquaintance with matters of which he is entirely
ignorant, we shall all jog on very comfortably, t'itlier in our learning or
our ignorance ; for, whatever else we may lack or possos-i, there will at
hast 1)0 the happy presence of that invaluable CDm]i.iuion, good-humour.
VOL. xui. — NO. 7G. 21.
4S4
$he poitmt jpodrinf. sf Cnltmy.
What is at prewwt slyled cullnio must always Iiito o<cist«>1 amoog iin;n iia
a prnctic?, but the idm of it is now Ibr thi? firat timo struggling into definite
diupu a» a dvctrinc. Evun yi-t it hiu not, »o fiir a.i 1 knvw, 1h-<'Ii itrictly
lbrtniilat«d, but tli« liaman int«lli'ct in Eitropu is gradually rpaliziti^lt;
nnd nhcn tliia is done, a striking addition will have becii made (o oar
int<II«lun] notions. It wouM Lc hnnj to OTerrate Ihc iniport4inco of lliia
fnci, fur llie likttllhcod i», tliat new ittm A]>pKir in tlir nicy cfti>ncr llian
ncvf (]oi;lrin(;a duwn upoo men'* niiads. There i« somellitng, too, tcij
peculiar in ihis casf, from tbe circumBtanco that llio idea liiw ouggoted
ioelf gcniTully, and bns had no apontlc. fiocihe's name is llic one most
proinincDtly connected with it ; bwt thiit wis owing to his notnbly pntC'
linng it a* nn :irt, rnllicr than his revi^nling it as a scienci?. A% wu liav«
■aid, this UittcT has not been done even }'c[, nnd, pofsil)lT, h ia ■iiJiJ ioi>
oarly for any Bucecssfiil ntttiupt at il. We can only (kJh ii)bnit« the Ax-
inav, ED to Bpuik. Its ept^cinlily, T conceive, h tliia, that il tirges to a
coneciotia coaiJu4:l cf life in vrhidi gocdnc48 is no Ictn;^ the final object.
A frosh department of behnviour is visibly thrown open, in the otsctA'
iv]iich ihc common virtues arc not sjiecificilly relevant ; n higher broadi of
morula is instituted, in which the fiictors aro not juslire and tmth, bnl a Mt
(jfiirtLstlc sensibilities. The preliminnry cxplanalioD of this ia, (btl ihe
Joctrinc docs not, in the firat inalanee, refu to orert aeti, Init to catpcri-
cDCe of onoiher kind ; until recently, this latter portion of human vxiKt*
cace has bein theoretically overlooked, (hough, of counc, it cuuld nwcr
bo practically ignored. Ethical titflcliiiig hn« nwlricted ittielf to «j)(iuictiij
honewty nnd jeiierosity, but these obligsiiiuiis only bcnr upon our retatioDi
lo our fellow*. Whiit bw* geiteroMty to do with our adininition of a Vixk
of art, or htJiiesty with our thrilla in presenco of a Kunsft ? The duties I»
this interior sphere of our lives arc tooursclvc*, not toothers; nnt] themig-
gestiona offering ns to their nntun^ are «o novel, that intelligible description
is hardly to he r«iiyml. We modems find oureclvca under subtle obl%a-
tiotis to be this and that, instead of the iincieiit and more tangible ones q{,
lo do such and such thing* ; and Ifio only an«ww we get to tliu cjWMtioit
of how (hie am bo fffecied is, by culdire. 3Icre currec(n«Ba of lirlng,
according to this new view, goes only part way ; yea must not only be
good but eapable ; and t!ie laiit, -urorst sb of all Ea iinpotcncy to enjoy I
Tbo mental notion uuderlricg this doctrine of culture, appears to be
this, that our emotional oxporieiice is tlio final fact of lifi.', in vefervace to
which tlic virtutTS and everj-tbing else need only be considered as meant;
aad, further, that we may chictiy tlotermine the chaniotcr of this expt-
I
t
THE MODKRS DOCTRISE OF CULTUBE. 436
ricncG for ourselves by the consciounly controlled use of oar emotions.
To this we irnist add the implied discovery of the important diistinction,
that our expeiience divides into two claesea, the one of vrhich may be
cali>'d transitive, and the other intransitive ; that is to say, in the former
case the behaviour pxpressea itself in overt action, while in ths latter case
the experience is wholly passive. It is to these last-named states of mind
that culture applies ; and it holds the same position in reference to them
that morality does in relation to practical conduct. The intransitive has
always necessarily been a wider and more important sphere of life limn
the transitive, for in the mundane arrangement of things, opportunities
for overt action present themselves very sluggishly and sparsely contrasted
with tliu quick and continuous action of the feelings ; and although in
modern times the world grows busier than of old, civilization progres-
sively multiplying the active opportunities, still the intransitive region
lias extended itself upon a larger scale than the transitive. Our ideas and
feelings are in more striking disproportion to our doings than ever; and
it may bo this fact which has forced upon us the idea of culture as a
doctrine. Religious contemplation used to be the only opening for culture,
in addition to the delight offered by the Fine Arts, but a fresli domain
has been added by modern physical science, its disclosures pressing even
the intellect into this service by the sheer grandeur of our mental con-
ceptions of the world wo find ourselves in. The field of our knowledge,
owing to the revelations of the telescope, the microscope, chemical
analysis, scientific classification, as in the case of geology, and the
increasing stores of information resulting from foreign travel and inter-
national intercourse, is extended fur beyond the possibilities or needs
of the practical conduct. Tho heavens and the earth are opened to
lis, new conHttllations of discoveries ever arising, which startle us with
feelings of surprise and joy, underneath which we have simply to sit
still. Something very nearly akin to this may even now be said
of tl.o way in which we arc afl'tctcd by the spectacle of the wonders
which man himself acliieves by the aid of present scientific appliances.
Our contemplation of modern constructive and manufacturing feats,
.nnd cF the control wo are obtaining over elementary forces, is in
itself an additional means of a more liberal culture, since tho intran-
Eitivc fi'elin^s are now often aroused by it, and that very acutely.
But, perhaps, a still more striking instance of the enUrgenifnt of the
sphere of culture in recent times remains to be noted. Tho ancients, as
it has ol>.?n been remarked, had no school of landscape-painting, and there
are feiv traces among them of anything ans>vering to that intense feeling
which we now call by the name of a love of Nature. It in not to be
supposed, lor wo have prooft to the contrary, tliat the Greeks, for example,
did not feel some emotion at the sight of the quiet sea, or when st.inding
un''.T the arch of the midnight sky ; but there is no evidence whatever
that tliis feeling was cultivated designedly, only for tlie enjoyment of it.
Now, hov.ever, men deliberately make journeys across the world to hear
21— a
436 THE MODEItN DOCTBCfE OF CUt.TUIiC,
tite thunder of ft eotarnati dim) vatcli Uie ahtfUngii of iu iotcntiingli
nunbow* in tha while boriBon of tprnj ; thajr laboriooal)*, and at nak of
penonal mSsty, climb mountuios at mklnight, to amut the uprinng oF the
sun : Talleya, <]b1«, aiui liiJb hftre rival ropulalious. jii^ oa beautiful
wcini?n hnvo, and wotshipporB Bcek tliem from far and near. Tbarft U
•carcoty a hidden brook vhich hua not i\a pilgrim ndorar, or a irtray
flower wilhont come devotee. In these iastn&'CU, it is not kuowlec^-e
vrbich is thd meana of tlie expcrieuoe, but only a, mn of sentnioiia obser-
vation. Tbis way now and agaiu, and vriUi >u«r« or \ao oonplctcneH,
nin into n coutempJation of Che power, wiadom, and goodness diiplajtd,
hut that is not a ncwMory conacqiwiici-.
What vt have hitherto incnttonf>d, may he ducribcd at Dew, addilioMl
departtncnta of culture, arising: out of the &«sh circumxIaDtial arrangv-
inenta of modcra life ; bat litvmturc beta olwoya becai held a chief meana
of culture, tho i©«tJ« and the Riory-tellora everywhere appearing from
the earlint time*. If, however, not a frealt npiiliancu, sllll tho modem
'^cTclcpinont of Utcroturo amousCa to an euorm&ua inorcAM of Ut4
Influotico of tliis old agency. Let iC be borne in mind that all writingi
mid for the mere enjoyment fumisbcd in the reading arc iostrumcntxif
cuhnro, and of no tiac furtlmr ; and, then, let it bo imnginod to u-hat
exteat tliia practice ia earned- in these daya, when every person, bjr tba
gtnend diffusion of the art of reading, is his own atory-tdlur. Hm
printing-prcH hsjs now placed the Book in all Iiaiids, and by means ^ il, fl
LQ tlic recurring pauses of busiuuia, od the bcorth, in the laUway ^
camngi>, aboard the ship, we are ever using our eniotiftnt artificially. A
special criticism is also EU(;gtrs(cd here. In past ttmea, even tba nuMC
poetical romance wm iitidi>r*ti>(yl to havo a body uf fact in it, but now wb _
bsve got to avciwctt Hciion, all pretence of acluaJ reality being wilfully m
iJirown nfidc. Veiy soon it canno^t hut he recognized, even popularly,
that our TQodora genera] literarare, of which the Novel ia becoiuing more
and more the type, ia only a gigantic machinery for the enjoyment of the
feelioga. The reading of fiction Ji not the bigheat Jbrm of cuItorC)
since, owing to thv emotions being mainly artiu»xl by stgbc of peraooal
Tids-tiiiidctt, the fer.IiogH have a tendency to speciAcally ddiac tberaselvM^
and to puitit townnJa action ; but this is now greatly, and incieaain^y,
checked by Hie knuwledgc tlint pure tiction is practised ; and tliua the ■
transitiro feelings may alniofit be said to form intraosUive habita, again ^
widening tlie spbere of culture, although in a lovrcr raago. J^ furtliti
illiwtnilicn of the exKrnsJon of culture aa a jiractice is furnished by ttia
tiver-growiug popularity of music. AlroA^y by the aid of the modefo
pianofortu inalrument, mmtic ia almoat patpotoal and omaiprcaeat But
uU the agt-ncica alluded to may bo cUssed together as csempli^iog ibe
&8t developing habit of relying upon artificial arrasgemeota of oiretttn-
aiancFS fur the cxcrciac of our cxaolionat eapabilitiea. Tliis pcaotioe bM
now readied « point at ivhich it is almost noatter oTneoeaBity thai it abonld
force upon ua a mental conception of culture as a doctiino.
I
THE M0DI5EN DOCTRINE OF CULTUKE. 437
Has culture any danp<-Ta ? Some of tbose who have most clearly
perceived the growing tecdcncj towtirds it, express strange apprehensioos.
The risk of it appears to Ke in a certain reflex bearing it may have upon
our practical lives. When the notion is fully realized that selected aud
artificial arrangements are better for the purposes of emotion than actual
circumstances, will fixedness of principles be observed 7 If goodness
is no longer held to bo an end in itself, but only useful as a means
for securing a result in our experience, may not justice and honour
come to be regarded as rude, provisional rules, only absolutely cbli-
gfltory during the infantage of men, before they had arrived at an
iatelligGnt discretion of expediency 7 May men seek to pick and
choose, to re-arrange and select in the practical as well aa the
ideal life, having reference fdrnply to emotional gratifications 7 WDl
the sense of duty be transformed from the recognition of a positive and
outward obligation into a mere feeling of an inward impulse, without
fixedness, but changing and varying with the mood 7 May not persons
even be tempted designedly to exhaust the varieties of conduct, for the
very purpose of testing the possibilities of experience j each one again
plucking for himself the fatal apple of the dread tree of life, from the old
fascinating curiosity of distinguishing good and evil 7 These arc disturb-
ing questions, and the more so since there seems to bo some evidence
pointing in favour of the more startling answer. Even in religious
matters, where individual conviction has the severest sway, a kind of
laxness of denominational principles is showing itself. In all quarters
the talk is now of " union," and the desire for that appears to be rising
above the claims of distinctive belief; an impatience is evinced that con-
siderations of abstract truth should stand in the way of social intercourse.
Does not, it may be asked, this indicate a dilapidation of the conscience 7
Is it not liktly that vigorous, healthy morality will be exchanged for a
weak and morbid sentimentalism 7 It may be well, however, to remember
that a new doctrine is certain to start fears of this kind, merely by its
being new. Christianity itself, for instance, which was most essentially
a new religious cvlt, must have raised among the believers in the Law
very unsettling questions much akin to these. Some passages of St. Paul's
Epistles set at nought all poMtive prescriptions in favour of an emotional
Elate of mind ; but the new motives, intangible as they might at first
appear, proved themselves I'ully adequate in practice. The reassuring
guarantee, however, is, that the feelings which actuate the practical life
cannot be greatly interfered with by ideal culture ; they will not allow of
much meddling with in an experimental way ; wliile nobody in their
Kiiio wits can doubt that thoy can only be efficiently exercised according
to tlic old-fashioned rules of positive morality, which are thus quite safe
against bdng imagined away. The culture of the intransitive and the
tninsitivi' feelings does not proceed in the same way nor by similar means.
It is a man's own acta, and his personal relationships towards other iudi-
Tiduul:^, which fix and regulate the kttcr; and those doings, to turn out
THK MODEKN DOCTRn«E OF CCITURE,
wdl, Rtuit Im guiJcv] by ilic Mt coDunonpIftCA nilc« of viriu«. Ko doubt
the old choice of wickctlnoa or goodaen will always Ito \tvfaiv s man,
■nd if lie pTvr<;ni illicit gnitJ&CAlioD*, be iiiijr enjc/ iLem 1>j D«gleat-
)np> Tiritift; but Ii« will never be able to Becure tlic delights «f
■irtuc tij- pracli&iDg tIcc. No pooaiblc kind of colttire caa cooAm
fxpcrieiice in tliat vay ; ao that tC » hard to •«« where the actual danger
la to tLTJae.
We fiuw; Hint trea tho doctrinal ltixD«s of the prcwnt diij mny be
«xpIftiIll^d on si>&cifiG grotinds, without considering it an ovaca of l)ie
pemrnai'iii retinriuislinieot of (be love of absuact tnitli, uader the in-
fluence of miadircctcd culture. DcaomLoatioDat cxdusivcneas, with iia '
conBC(]aE<nt twinw of superiority, uwd to bring into play a apocial emotion;
but thnt fcctiiig vrouM seeui Lt> have grown iit»le for the present, and mco
now find an tmotioiul gralificalion in cultivating UDi<Mi. FoHibly the
compiaccncy of this diaiity will in time £ul iilong wiUi ila novelty; md
then men may witlidrnw ogaia iiilo thu cxcIuutodcss of opposing sections
for tho enjoyment of the otlier feeling. But culture pmpor lisa no netCft-
•ary coiinectiQii with tliU cl^iss of emotions at all ; ihi-y are decidedly
traiiiiitive, aud arc governed by different utotivea. Xiiu noticeable ten-
dency toward rttualiim Rolling in of bte ycarais mueh mere clearly oM'
ncctol witli the rei-cnt i«yBteinntic d«vcl<>piiic»c of culture; for much of tbe
feeling it awakens is intnuiutive, though fiome of it is net ; but her*
again, llie mare lapse of time aince the disuse of the jiraciicef now re-
anoied luay have eomotluiig to do with the matter; owing, tl^at i% to tlie
Deoeuily for chaiigs of custom st historic inteirids for the rcinvtgoraliMi
of the emotions. Thia influence «ftbefvclinga on the TtduitudeH at eon*
trorersy, apart from intfllMtna] ncceaaltics, luia'ucvcr been fully iiivx:(u-
gnted. Its clear undersliuiding would, I fi?el aKniitd, explain tbo direetim
of many of our preKnt ecUvitics, rdij^ioue, Gocial, and jKiIilical; nail
wnuld iilxn, it is not improbable, enable uh to prcdiot now diveraiocwcf
oor ciii'rgics. Bnt thia i-au in no way ha j^roperly called cultutn, for H
doe* not admit of couiicioua individual t>Ta<lice; it depcnda oa tho paangt
of Icng porioiis of lime, and the sponliintKJUti iinpuluc of matseg of peopU.
On the whole, therefore, I ttc little fear of (lie preecnt increasing and pro*
gnauitre culture unsettling common mortdity ; tlie two tphvrea are di^
tinct, and never can be more tlian veiy t«'niporariIy and veiy sliglttlj
confused. Ac present, tliii uiny le n iittJe Uii; ciuc, but the belter appre-
hending of culture n^ n dcciriue will bo certain to corroct it; uhUe by
iLo practice of it in the additianal fields of conteniplntion modem tima
arc throwing open, liumon lif« will be greatly «ariclied.
' <^.
439
^rmadiiU.
Book tub Fifth.
^:x-^???:r
J^^
■^i
^i
■k
COAPTEU I.— «w(Hiwrf.
Misa CJwir.T's DiAuy.
;^ >;?^ -P- y^^V CTOBER IGlA. — Two dnjs
niUseil out of my Dinr>- ! I
caa hiiidly tell why, tiiJcM it
is that AviiiaJalo imtntes nic
I'L'.jT^^l \ I bcj'oufl iill t-uduraucc. TJio
mere aiglit of bim takes m.*
lack to TIiorpc-Aiiibrn»e. I
fnncy I niwst hare b*on armid
of wliat 1 iniiilil write ahont
};RiA'fO .'>' Lim, in the couisc cf tliv Iiut
two dnyf, if I inJuIijcd injseir
,^ ' ■■ "^ jjj (]|g iliingurous Jiutur/ of
V opening tlitse pagfs.
"(\ " This ii.iornin5, I am afraid
'. of nolhiiig — and I take up my
- /I p«i) again accordingly.
" It tlierc any limit, I woinler,
to tbe brutish «lupidity of koihv
nwn 1 I thought [ liad dis-
coAcrtd Anntidalc's limit nhfii
I vraa ttii neighbour in Norfolk
— but my later exjiericiice at
Naples aliQivs iii« lli<at I wiia
neog. Ufi ia pcrjiotuiil ly iii and uut of this houne (croMiDg uvor to ut>
Id a boat from the hotel at SimCa Lucia, where he alccps): "od be has
Qxactly two iul)jcGt3 of conversation — the yacht for ule iu thu harbour
bon^ nod MJn Milroy. Yea '. he selects jii: n* lIic cuafiJuutc of his duvoted
attocbraeDt to tlio iiiajor'a daughter I ' It's no ntco to talk to a woman
■boat it ! ' That ii all thti apolo^ ho haa thought it necesaatjr to make
for appealing to my syin^athies— ntjr aympathies ! — oa the luhjecL of ' his
darling Ncclie,' fifly timua a day. Ho ia widvutly penuaJed (if he ihinka
about it at ult) thai 1 liavc fbrgotten, as completely as lie \>sa foi^tien,
all tliat otice po^cd between ua, when I n-aa flrst at Thorpc-Atnbroxe.
Such an utter want of the eommoQcst delicacy asd the commoocat tact, in
441
■.-^.i-lU
i'V ivav of
lit limcli.
:Im- yaolit.
■■'iNjrc) liiM
^:.'l .1 crew.
'. 1 till.' seti,
ynHtoiI (and
' f llie vessi'l
!■ 1 to pivc Ilis
" '■al'iii is most
;!iis was sctcloi.1
'- iicatly-turnml
'' I 'io mailing with
'■ , von will be able
■ ''—u tiijic anil tlu3.'
■ '': ■ v.crli], mijht oth^^r
■' ■ 'ifi'fiii. / think not.
■■ ;'!iiiit!y, tliat Midwinter
■ '■ 'i iiciv yaolit, a rt-Cugc from
\r"nai!ali> i« licro. lie forgfta
"'■ ii ••^.-•■K tun in liis work. Ami
■ ■■.■ • ;;'. t'Urijti.m I aiu !
1 u'stii.l.iy irvvr again.
mrt.-. j\Ikiiviiii(;r in sulIVriiig liom
j:t ?^<ilc of ii, lu make time fur hi6
- r-". Anjry and wilil :ind uii.'iiipn.'acli-
>i?iiTiti.Tniiit(;il tlay,-(at hi,: i1i.-k. I'iuKt
• .>',|ii' t;it;y llic warning, and li'avf off. lint
ii ntill working as hanl as ever, fur Anna-
will my patioiicc l.i-^t .'
ntglit, that Midwinter is taxing liis Iirai]ii
When lie did fall a.^li'i^p, lie war'
talking and grinding his Iretli, IVuni
Kfined at one time tu he dreaming of liis
. t\ .iniing the country with the dancing dug^i. Al
' :i.'k ngftin with Armadale, im[>riscinc 1 all night on
■ arda the early morning hourn, he groiv quieter. 1
wo
AIUrADALt;.
« crcntiitc wlio ia, to nil appearance, firawsseil of a tkia, and not a ItlJe,
sitil vihft dcfs, uotcss my mn dvocivu am, talk, ntiil not hiuy, is rcalljr
qnitc incredible when one comes to lliinit oT it. But it l», for-all thai,
finite true. lie nalttd ni« — lio actiuilly usked me, lant uiglit— bow mauy
hmidrtil* ft year ihc wife of a rich man could Bji^nd on her dresa. ' Don't
put It Ico low,' die idiot .tddcd, with hit intolcniblo grin. ' Ncelic aliall
bo one ef the bc£t-dreMod women in I^ngljuid when I li.iro marriod Iter.'
And this to nte, after haTing hiid him at my feet, und then losing him
•gain through ItliKi Milroy I This tu me, with an Alpaca gown «n, and a
htubond wIimp income must be helped by a. noinpaper I
" [ had hotter not dwell on it an; longer. I bad better think and
write or<oniotliing clic.
" Th« jHcht. A« .1 relief from hearing about Miw Milrojr, I dcchuv
the yacht in the harbour ia quite aa interesting subject to ni« I She (ihe
men cnll a vessel * She ; ' ii:id I FuppoM if tho women look on iotereet in
such tilings, therj would call a rcioel 'He'); she U a beautiful nodd;
and her ' top-aides' (whatever they may be) arc cvpccJAlIy distinguished
hy bring hiitit of mahegany. But, with these mt-riu, alio has the defijet,
on the orlicr liand, of being old — which is n ead drawback — and the crew
«nJ th« sni ling-master hnrc been ' paid otT,' nnd Mmt homo to England—
which \» ndditionatly diHtretsng. Still, if a new crew and a tkew aiuling*
master c;tn be picked up here, such a beautiful creature (with oil her
dmwbachi) in not to bo despiM-d. It might answer to hire her tor a
cruiao, nnd to «ce how she hthaven. (If ohc is of tni/ mind, Iitr beliaTiour
will rather astoniah her new miutcr !) Tbc cruiM will ddermiac what
fnulla ahc has, nnd what icpoin, through iho unlucky circnnix.Uiace of her
ag<-, she reilly *tands in need of. And thtn it will b« time t« edtlc,
whether to buy her outright or not. Sudi i» Arnindnlu's couTeisatioD,
when he u not t^ilkinj; of ' his darling NecUe.' And Midwintvr, who con
ateal no limo from hja newspaper work, far his wife, can staal honn for
hia friend, nnd can ofier them unrewrvedly to my irreastjbla r'nal, the
new yacht.
" I sh.ill wrlis no more, to-day. If ao ladylike a person as I am
could fi'cE a tigerieili tingling all over her to the very IJpa of her Sngvn,
I should fliispecl myaelf of being in that condition at the present momenl.
But, wilh f!iy msnDcrs and itcconiplithtnent^, tlie thing is, of course^ out
of the (lucstion. Wc all know that n hkdy bos no paasonii.
" Ortnlier I7(/i. — A letter for Midwinter this morning, from the slate*
owners — I mean tbc news paper-p^ pie in London — which has act him at
work agaju harder than uvit. A visit at luncheon- time, nnd another
rUit Bt dinner-lime from i^nnadnle. Cutivcraition at InncbooQ ubout tbc
yacht. Conversation at dinner about ^Uas Milroy. I have been hoooortd^
in regnni to that young lady, by an invitation to go with Armadale »•
morrow t<i Ilie Toledo, and help him to buy some pnaenls for tlie befered
obje'.-t. 1 didn't Hy out at liim — I only made so excttse. Can words
AIUIADALE. 441
express the astoDiE^meat I feel at my own patience? No words can
express it.
" Ocloler 18th. — Armadale came to breakfast this morning, by way of
catching Midwinter before be ahuta liimself up over his work.
" Conversation the same as yesterday's conversation at lunch.
Armadale has made his bargain with the agent for hiring the yacht.
The sgent (compas^onating his total ignorance of the language) has
helped him to find an interpreter, but can't help him to find a crew.
The interpreter is civil and willing, but doesn't understand the sea.
Midwinter's assistance is indispensable ; and Midwinter is requested (and
consents !) to work harder than ever, so aa to make time for helping liia
friend. When the crew is found, the merits and defects of the vessel
are to be tried by a crnise to Sicily, with Midwinter on board to give his
opinion. Lastly (in case she should feel lonely), the ladies' cabin is most
obligingly placed at the disposal of Midwinter's wife. All this was settled
at the breakfast-table ; and it ended with one of Armadale's neatly-turned
compliments, addressed to myself: — ' I mean to take Neelie sailing with
me, when we are married. And you have such good taste, you will be able
to teli me everything the ladies' cabin wants between that time and this.'
" If some women bring such men aa this into the world, ought other
women to allow them to live ? It is a matter of opinion. / think not.
" What maddens mo, ia to see, as I do see plainly, that Midwinter
finds in Armadale's company, and in Armadale's new yacht, a refuge from
'lie. He is always in better spirits when Armadale is here. He forgets
me In Armadale almost as completely as he forgets me in his work. And
1 bear it ! What a pattern wife, what an excellent' Christian I am !
" October 10th. — Nothing new. Yesterday over again.
" October 20th. — One piece of news. Midwinter is suffering from
nervous headache ; and is working in spite of it, to make time fur his
Iiuliday vrith his friend.
" October 21st. — Midwinter is worse. Angry and wild and nn.ipproach-
abk', after two bad nights, and two uninterrupted days at his desk. Under
any other circumstances he would take the warning, and leave off. But
Dolhing warns him now. He is still working as hard as ever, for Arma-
(lale'tt sake. How much longer will my patience last ?
" October 22iid, — Signs, histnight, that Midwinter is taxing his br.iiiis
Iwyond what his brains will bear. When he did fall asleep, he was
frightfully rcsllesa ; groaning .ind talking and grinding hia teeth. From
some of the words I htard, he Bi'fiiicd at one time to be dreaming of his
life when he was a boy, roaming the country with the dancing dogs. At
another tlire he was back again with Armadale, imprisoned all night on
uie wrecked shiji. Towards the early morning hours, he grew quieter. I
I
leU aslM-p ; ati«1, wnking nRvr a thcit inberriil, fcitnd n)rt«lf ftloiM. Kj
first glance roiutd •liutvcd itiv a light burning in MidwitiMr** dreaainj;-
rvoDi. I rusu oofUy, nod went tu look ut liun.
'* He WHS seottd in the great ngly old-fiiafaioned chair, niiiob I
ordered to be removed into ihc drcaang-room out of the way, wbeo ve
lirst camv here. Mi* Uciul lay Imcl:, aiul od« of hU Iiaadi hnng liitl««tly
over th« arm of ihe dinir. Th« othpr hnnd was on his lap. I stole a
little nearer, and law that t-xhnUDtioii bail overpowered biin, nbils ho wti
cither reading or wiiling — fi.r there wtre boolu, pens, ink, and paper on
The table belon! hira. W'hM bad be got uj) to do secretly, at that boor of
the monuDg? 1 looked closer at the paper* on ihc tuUc. Tbef wcrsall
nviilly foldud (ax ho uitually Icei^ps them), with one exception — and (hit
CJECi'ptioii, Ijing open on the rest, wan Mr. Brock'it lett*^.
" I looked round at liini I'goin, after oiakiog ibis difooTery, and then
noticed rt>r the first lime another written paper, Ijing under tbo hnnd that
leetcd oit his lap. Then: wu no moving it aviay witliout the ridk of
-WAking him. Part of the open mnnuacripi, liowever, wiu not coTcrod by
Ills blind. I Iiiokcd al il to nee vibat be bad secretly stolen away to itad,
btnidcii .Mr. Iinji;k*s letter — iiud uiade out enough lo t«12 me lliat it was
Ihe Narrauve of Armadale's Urenm.
" That Eecond discorory etnt nic buck at once to my bed — with aomc-
tbing lerioiiA to thitik of.
"Travcliitig ibrough France, on our way to thia place, Midwinter'a
ehytieu was comgUcrtJ for once, by a vi>ry pleasant man — an Inidi doctor
— whom u'e met in the railway carriugn, and who quite inaialcd on bein-
trii'iidly nnd sociable with ua all ibroujjb tlie day'a journey. Finding that
Midwinter vtm devoting hiiiis^>ir to literary piirftuits, our trarcUJog oon-
panion warned hirii iivc \u juism tijo nmny hours logetlier at bis d«ik.
' Tour face t<;!l0 me more tiiua you ihiuk,' tlie doctor said. ' Ifyoa are
ever tempted to overwork your brain, you will feci it wmdct than nwjt
men. When you £nd your nerrea playing you strange tricks, doa't
n«£lcct the wiirning — drop your pen.'
■'AlUfi my la«t night's discovery in ibe dxetsing-rooRi, it luoht atlf
AlidwinturH ucrvca vrvrm bvginuiug already to juttily llic doctor'a ofnnioa
of tbcra. 11' one of the tricks they are pla^nng him, is the trick <^ tor-
nieiitiiig him again with hia old supentitioua terrors, tbvre will be a
cbaii^'e in our live* here before long. I thall wait curiously to see
whetlior ti>u cuuviction that we two are di.-tiim'd lo bring fatal danger
to Armaditir, tjikci [intiteaidoii of Midwinter 'a iiiinil diicv more. If it docS)
1 know what will huppn. lie will not stir a step toward* helping hb
friend to find a crew for the yacht ; and he will certainly rcfuio lo sail
with Armadale, or to let mo mil with bim, on the trial ctuiss. |
" Ocfohrr i3rit. — Mr. Brock's letter liaa, itppnrenlly, not lost its inilneoce
yet. Midwint<.-r is working again to-duy, and ia at anxiou as cr«r for tbe
boUday-time that he ia to paas with his fi-iend.
ABHADALE. 443
" Tieo o'clock. — Armadale here as usual ; eager to know when Mid-
winter will be at his service. No definite answer to be given to the
question }'ct — seeing that it all depends on Midwinter's capacity to
continue at'hia desk. Armadale aat down disappointed — he yawned,
and put his great clumsy hands in his pockets. I took up a book. The
brute didn't understand tliat I wanted to be left alone ; bo began again
on the unendurable subject of Miss Milroy, and of all the fine things she
was to have when be married her. Her own riding horse ; her own
pony-carriage ; her own beautiful little aitting-room upstairs at the
great houw?, and so on. AH that I might have had once, Miss Milroy is
to have now — if I let her.
" Six o'clock, — More of the everlasting Armadale ! Half an hour
unce, Midwinter came in from his writing, giddy and exhausted. I had
been pining all day for a little music, and I knew they were giving Norma
at the theatre here. It struck me that on hour or two at the opera might
do Midwinter good, as well as me ; and I said, ' Wliy not take a box at
the San Carlo to-night 7 ' He answered in a dull, uninterested manner,
that he was not rich enough to take a box. Armadale was present, and
flourislied liia wulI-fiUed purse in hia usual insufierable way, ' Fm rich
enough, old boy, and it comes to the same thing.' With those words, he
took up his hat, and trampled out on his great elephant's feet, to get the
box. I looked after him from the window, as he went down the street.
'Your widow, with her twelve hundred a year,' I thought to myself,
'might take a box at the San Carlo whenever slie pleased, without being
beholden to anybody.' The empty-headed wretch whistled as lie went his
Way to tlie theatre, and tossed his loose silver magnificently to every beggar
who ran allcr him.
• • « *
" Midnight. — I am alone again at last Have I nerve enough to write
(he history of this terrible evening, just as it lias passed ? I have nervo
enough, at any rate, to turn to a new leaf, and try.
chapter ii.
The Diary Coktinued.
" We went to the San Carlo. Armadale's stupidity sliowed iteelf, even in
such a Einijile matter as taking a box. He had confounded an opera with
a play, and had chosen a box close to the stage, with tlie idea ihat one's
clilc-f olijuct at a nnisicat performance is to see the foces of the singers as
plainly as possiblu ! Fortunately for our cars, Bellini's lovely melodies
are, for the moat part, tenderly and delicately accompanied — or the
orchcstia might have deafened us.
" I bat back in the box at first, well out of sight ; for it was impossible
to be euro that Gome of my old frieoda of former days at Naples might
4114
ABMADALK
ROC be (ti the tkcatro. But the svreet music gradnall}' tempted tnc oitt
my aeclaaion. 1 -ma so charmed and interetted that I leaned I'or
without knowing it, and loolred at the ttog«.
"I was mndo awari* of my own impnidcncA, by a Aitcovety which, I
the momimt, Iitvnillj ctitlleit my blood. One of the Diugcn, umoag
ehortui of Dmids, vaa looking iiE me while he mag with, the rut. Uif
head was di^uised in ibe long white h&ir, sad the lower part of bis bee
wsfl complctclj GoT«nd with the flowing white hc<inl| proper to tbc cba-
mcter. Rut the eyes with which he looked at tne were the e^w of thv
fine uiiiti on c&rtli whcmi I hnve moat reason to dread ever aeeiqg agntn—
Dlanuel I fl
"If it hml nut hccn lur my viiii'lling'-botlle, I believe I sliould hare^
Igit my wmns. As it was, I dr«w baok i^aiji iato tbo shudow, Svtn
Artnadfde uoliccd the rudden change in me : he, aa well as MidwiDtO}^
oakcd if I was ill. I eaid 1 felt the heat, but hoped I should be belt^l
presently — nnd then leaned back in the box, itnd tncd to rally my ooorafftfl
I suooeeded to recovering si^ll-poss^&stuii cQDugh to bo nblo to look agua^
at the Bbtgc (without thovrlng myself) the next tinto tlie chorus appeared.
There was the nan again I But to my inttnltc relief, ha iwver lodccd
towarJs our box a Kcoml time. Thin wvlcouw indifference, on his pan,
hr.'lj)cd to sotiify me thiil I had seeu an extraordinary accideulal rvaesf j
blance, and nothing more. I still hold to tbia coneluaon, after haTia
had leisure to think — but my mind would be more completely at ease I
it l», if I lind I4CU the rest of the nuu'a face, withoub the stage f|*ip<'w
that hid it from all invejtiigiitiojt.
" Whoa the curtain fell on the first act, there was a tiresome boUetl
he perfurmed (nccordiog to the nbitnrd Italian cudtom), btfora the 0[
went on. Though I hod got over my first fright, I had been fur too i
ously startled to feel comfortable in the theatre. I dnadixl oU aorta of
iniposdble accidents— ^and when ilidjdwiater and Armadale put the qoestion
to me, I told them I was not well enougb to atoy through the rent of the
perfbraunco.
** At the door of the theatre, Armadale proposed to say good iiiglit-
But Midwinter — evidvatly dieading the evening with m* — asked, htm to
cone back to siipjier, if [ h:id no objection. I said the nooa»iary words
and we ell three retumud together to this house.
" T<-n minutes' <imet in my own room (assisted by a lilllo done
Eau-de-Cologne and water) restored me to myself. I joined the men
the supper-table, They rcccircd my apologies for taking them away frotn
the opera, wirh the cotnplitiu-nCiry luturancii thtit I had not eoxt either of
tliem tbc alight«-9t Kncrifim of hi.^ dwn plt'oaure. Midwialer declared that
lie was loo cumplvtvly worn out to care for anything but tlie two great J
bicniugu, iinallaiRable at the theatre, of quiet and fresh air. Armsdaltj
aaid — witli nn Englishman's cxo^craung pitdo in his onn Htii[Hd[tyf]
wherever a matter of Art is coneumed — that ho couldn't make head orj
tail of the performance. The principal disuppoinlmecl, Le was
!tlia9
UecuA
I
ARUADALB. 445
enough to add, was mine, lor I evidently understood foreign mosic, and
enjoyed it. Ladies generally did. His darliog little Neelie
"I was in no hmnour to be persecuted with his 'Darling Neelie'
after what T had gone through at the theatre. It might hare been the
irritated state of my nerves, or it might have been the Eau-de-Cologne
flying to my head — bat the bare mention of tho girl seemed to set me in
a flame. I tried to turn Armadale's attention in the direction of the supper-
table. He was much obliged, but he had no appetite for more. I offered
him wine next — the wine of the country, which is all that our poverty
allows U3 to place on the table. He was much obliged again. The
foreign wine was very little mor^ to bis taste than the foreign music ; but
be would take some because I asked him ; and he would drink my health
in the old-Jaabioned way — with his beat wishes for the happy time when
we should all meet again at Thorpe-Ambrose, and when there would be a
mistress to welcome me at the great house.
" Was he mad to persist in this way 7 No ; his face answered for him.
He was under the impression that he was making himself particularly
■greeable to me.
" I looked at Midwinter. He might have seen some reason for inter-
fering to change the conversation, if he had looked at me in return. But
he sat ulent in his choir, irritable and overworked, with his eyes on tlie
ground, thinking.
" I got up and went to the window. Still impenetrable to a sense of
his own clumsiness, Armadale followed me. If I had been strong enough
to toss him out of the window into the sea, I Rhoold certainly have done
it at that momenL Not being strong enough, I looked steadily at the
view over the bay, and gave him a hint, the broadest and rudest I could
think of, to go.
" ' A lovely night for a walk,' I said, ' if you are tempted to walk
back to the hotel.'
" I doubt if he heard me. At any rate I produced no sort of e&l'ct on
him. He stood stariDg sentimentally at the moonlight ; and — there is
really no other word to express it — Mew a sigh. I ftlt a presentiment
of what was coming, unless I stopped his mouth by speaking first.
" ' With all your fondness for England,' I said, ' you must own that
we have no such moonlight as tliat at home.'
" He looked at me vacantly, aud blew another sigh.
" ' I wonder whether it's as fine to-night in England as it is here?'
he eaid. ' I wonder whetlier my dear little girl at home is looking at the
moonlight, and thinking of Me 7 '
" I could endure it no longer. I flew out at him at last.
" ' Good heavens, Mr. Armadale ! ' I exclaimed, ' is thcic only one
subject worth mentioning, in the naiTow little world you live in 7 I'm
aick to death of Miss Milroy. Bo pray talk of something else 1 '
" His great broad stupid face coloured up to the roots of Iiis hideous
yellow hair. ' I beg your pardon,' he stammered, with a kind of sulky
446
AliMADALB.
nonn M
DotrV
I
8iir|tri»e. ' I SiAn't suppose ' lie stopped conriiscdJj', And loo!
ftvkiii luo to Mt>]niQt(M'. I uudcrstouil what tKe Jwlc tneaat. ' I didn't'
rujipow mtiv could bn jealous of Mim MUro/ iillcr mnrrying^yoH.'' That
in wliiil liL- voiilil hnre said Iw Midwink-r, if I bid Icil tbctn alona
together in itie Tci^m !
"As it vsa», Miduititvr bud liciird us. Before I could Ipeak ngw
bcfvrc Artnsdniv CDiJd ikdd nuvtber word — iie fiuisbcd hU friend's uncom*
pleLed sentence, iti ■ lone tbiic I now ticard, aud wiLli » look Oial I
Baw, for tlie firal time.
*' ' V«a <li<Jn't suppose, Allan,' be Riid, 'that a ludy'i temper could
bit TO caxilj jtmroktid,'
" Thu first bitter wprd of irony, tbc fir»t bnrd look of contempt, I lad
erer hnd from Mm I And Arinadule tbe cauiut of it 1
"My aKger Middenly led Die. iSvin^biog chiiic in its plncc, vlikli
stcftdicd me in &q iniitRnt, and to«k mo aikntly out of ilie room.
" I sat (Icwti nloiic in llie bcd-rooiii. 1 had a fi^w niinutea of ihoiigUl
TTilh myscli', which I don't choose tc put into words, cvcu in tlieae went
psgOL I got up, and unlocked — never mind wh.xt. 1 vrcnt roond to
M!d»inl«r*» tide of tbe bed, and took — no iiintttir ivbat I took. Tbe liiA ^
tbiag I did, bdurv I lei tbo rooiii, ^va3 to look at uiy watcb. It «M ^
lulf-}ift8t t«ii; Annadalo's usual tiiiio fur leaving ua. I went bnck at oim
and joincil tliii two inca again.
'• 1 nppronched Aroiadnle good-bamotiredly, and said to liim, —
"Hvl On second thoughts, 1 won't put dovra what I said lo tiim — i
or w}inl I did, afti;rward!i. I'm wtk of Artnudidc ! hv titian up at every I
secand word 1 write. 1 slmll \tafa over what buppeiieil in ihi: ooune ofl
tbe Dtfxt hour — the hour between half-pfist ton and h.iir.paiit elei-un — and
take up my story ngnin at tliu tirnt; ivbfn Armudali; had k-ft lis. Can 1
tJl vrbal took p!AC«, us soon ua imr vlsitor'a bade una tumt-d, betwetSi
&1idwiiit(.T aud me in our own room 7 Why not pass orer what liiipp«ii«H,J
in lliat CAGC as well ns in tho other ? Why agitate myaolf by writing
it down ? I don't know 1 "Why do I keep n diary at all? Why did tbe
clever lliiel* tlm other day (in tlie Bngliali ttcwspapen) kei'ji ihe Tciy
thing to coayicl Lim, in tbc shnpc of a rocor<l of every thing ho Mole?
Why are we not purlVctly ruiwouablu in all that wo do? Why am
X not alirays on my guard and nt,'ver iiicouaintcnt with myself, bke a
urickod character in a novel 7 W by ? why f why ?
"I doa't cjire why! I must writu down what huppened botwecal
Tilidwintcr nnd nic to-niglit, bixauH I must. Tbcrc'a a tcnaoo
nobody tan nnswcr — my iclf included.
• • * • •
*' It was hall-pagt «1iivod. Armndnlo bud gono. I liad put on U/f
drcsxlng-gowti, nnd lind ju*t Kit d(^WIl to ari'ange my liair lor the ui^i,
when 1 wan aurprised by a knock iit tbe Uuor — tiad Uid winter <:niac in.
" He was frightfully pale. His eyea looked at me with a terrible
ABUADALB. 4.47
despair in diem. He never answered when I expressed my surprise at
liis coming in so much sooner than usual ; he wouldn't even tell me, when
I asked the question, if he was ill. Pointing peremptorily to the chair
from which I had risen on his entering the room, he told me to sit down
again ; and then after a moment, added these wcrds : — ' 1 have something
serious to say to you.'
" I thought of what T had done— or, no, of what I bad tried to do —
in that interval between half past ten and half past eleven, which I have
left unnoticed in my diiiry — and the deadly sicknesa of terror, wliich I
never felt at the time, came uixin me now. I sat down again, ns I
had been told, without speaking to Midwinter, and without looking
at himi
" He took a turn up and down the room, and then came and stood
over me.
" ' If Allan comes here to-morrow,' he bejan, ' and if you see
him '
" His voice faltered, and lie said no more. There was some dreadful
grief at his hcait that was trying to master him. But tliL-ro arc times
when his will is a will of iron. He took another turn in the room, and
crushed it down. He came back, and stood over mc again.
" ' When Allan comes here to-morrow,' he resumed, ' let him come
into my room, if he wants to see me. I shall tell him that I find it
impossible to finish the work I now have on hand as soon as I had hoped,
and that lie must, therefore, arrange to find a crew for the yacht, without
any a-ssistance on my part. If he comes, in his disappointment, to appeal
to you — give him no hope of my being free in time tu help him, if ho
waits. Encourage him to take the best assistance he can got from strangers,
and to set about manning the yacht without any fuithcr delay. The more
occupation he has to keep him away from this house ; and the loss you
encourage him tu stay here, if he does come, the better I shall be plciiscd.
Don't fill-get that, and don't forget one last direction which I have now to
give yon. When the vessel is ready for sea, and when Allan invites us to
«.il with him, it is my wish that you should positively decline to go. He
will try to make yon change your mind — for I shall, of course, decline, on
my side, to leave you in this strange house and in this foreign country by
yoursell". No matter what he says, let nothing persuade you to alter your
decision. Uefiise, positively and finally I Kefuse. I insist on it, to set
your foot on the new yacht ! '
" lie ended quietly and firmly — with no faltering in Ins voice, and
no signs of hesitation or relenting in his face. The sense of surpriiC which
I might otherwise have felt at the strange words he had addressed to me,
was lost in the sense of relief that they brouglit to my mind. The dread
of tlioie other troitls tliat I had expected to hear from him, left me ns
suddenly a;i it had come. I could look at him, I could speak to him
once more.
" • You may depend,' I answered, ' on my doing exactly what you
4iS
AKlfAUAUU
aow.fl
chl«r nu to do. Uast I ob«j you blindly J Or may [ know yoor i
far dio extnKwdiauy dizeclioDs yoo iiave jmt given to me ? '
" Hid Aoe darkened, and lie aat down on the ether uJa of my
tabic, with a heavy, bopoJe«s mgh.
" ' You may know ih« iwaon/ ha caid, ' tfyoa wi»h 11' H« wutod ■
llulc, aai considered. ' You have a r;ght to know the rcaaoi),' ha
nmmcd, ' for yoa yoiinelT ore coDcerBL-d in iL' He wailed a little
flgnSn, and again went on. ' I can only explain the eininge request I
Lave just made to you, in one way,' h« stud. ■ I raoeC aek you to
recall -what happeutKl iu the next room, b«loru Allan )xSl ua to-
night.'
" Uc looked at me with a stro&ge mixture of exprcasiona in bia laee.
At one moment I tliooglit fae felt pity for me. At another, it Kcsacd mete
like horror of me. I began to feel frightened again ; I waited for lua
wordu in aliened.
" ' I know chut I huTC been working toci liaril lati.'ty,' he went on, *
tliAt my ncrret are ladly ahnkcD. It is possible, iu tbe state 1 am in aow*'
tluit I may have uncousciouaJy miiinterpreted, or distorted, tlie cicdm-
alancea that really took phico. Tou will do mc a faroiu if you vi& m
trat my recollection of what haa hapj>uit(!d hy your own. If my fancy I
lias exaggerated anything, if niy memory is ptaying ra« Jalse aaywlere,
2 entreat you to rtop me, and t«ll me of it.'
"I oommanded myself Ruffidently to ask what the cireamataDeei
vrers to which ha rc&rrcd, and ta what way I was pcreonally cunccrnid
ia than.
" 'You were penooiilly concerned in lliem, iu llii« way,' he answered.
'The circomBtaacea to which I refer, began with your speaking to Allan
about Miu iMilroy, in wbat I tliought, a very inoonfiiderale and very im-
patient maaner. I atn ufraid I itpoko ju>t as petulantly on my lifU eniJ
I b<^ your pardon for what 1 said to you in the irritation of the nwatnt
Tou lell the roam. After a aliort abaence, you came back again, aad
made a pcrfeotiy proper apology to Alios, which he received with Lii
usual kiadnoss, and Hweclnou of tempar. While ihts went oo, you asd
he were both sUmiling by tlie eujiiier-uible; and Allan resumed aome ooa*
vcnKiUou AvhioJi Iiad already ]>aAeed between you about the Ncapolilaci
wine. Uc said be thought he should learn to like it in time, and ha added
loava to take nnoilii-r glius of liio wiais we had on the ubie. Am 1 1^^
•o&rT-
"The wcri^H idiniut died cm my hps ; but I forced the:a out, aad ^
ODawercd liim [hat hti waa right eo Sat. ^
•• < You took the dosk out of Allan 'h hjind,' ho proceeded. * You wi
to him, good-fa umourcdiy, " You know you don't rtally Ukc the wiofc
Ur. Armadale. Lei me innke you aometliing wliich may b« mora >
yotir tnttf. I liiivo a receipt of my own for lemonade. Will you favnnr
me by trying it I ' In those words, you mnde your propoiial to Lib,
aud be accepted it. Did he also aak liuiTe to look on, and lean ho*
[
ASMADALE. 449
the lemonade vrits made 7 and did jou tell Um tltsC he would oalj
confuse yon, and that jou wouJd give him the receipt in irriting, if ha
wanted it ? '
" This time, the words did real)/ die on my lips. I coold only bow
my head, and answer ' Yea ' mutely ia that way. Midwinter went on.
*' * Aliim laughed, and went to the window to look out at the Bay,
and I went with him. After a while, Allan remarked, jocoaely, that
the mere sound of the liquids you were pouring out, made him thirsty.
When he aaid this, I turned round from die window. I approached
you, and said the lemonade took a long time to make. Tou toodwd
me, aa I was walking anay again, nad handed me the tumbler filled
to the brim. At the same time, Allan turned round irom the window ;
and I, in my turn, handed the tumbler to Aim. — Is there any mistake
so£ir7'
" The quick throbbing of my heart almost choked me. I could just
shake my head — I could do no more.
" ' I saw Allan raise tLe tumbler to bia lips. — Did j/ou see it 7 I saw
his Hicc turn white, in an instant. — ^Did you 7 I saw the glaas loll &om
hia band on the floor. I saw him stagger, and caught him before he fell.
Ate these things true ? For God's sake, search your memory, and tell me
— are iheae things true 7 '
" The throbbing at my heart seemed, for one breathless instant, to
stop. The next moment something fiery, something maddening, flew
through mc. I started to my feet, with my temper in a flame, reckleaa
of all consequences, desperate cnoi^h to say anything.
" * Your questioQii arc an insult I Your looks arc an inault I ' I burst
out. ' Ho you think I tried to poison him ? '
" The words rushed out of my lips in spite of me. They were the
hat words under heaven that any woman, in such a situation aa miue,
ought to have spoken. And yet I spoke them !
" lie rose in alann, and gave mc my amelling-bottic. ' Iluah 1 husli 1 *
he Slid. ' You, too, are overwrought — ^you, too, arc over-OxdCcd by all
that has happened to-night. You ore talking wildly and shockingly.
Good God 1 how can you have so utterly misunderstood mc 7 Compose
yourself — pray, coiiipo.'^e yourself,'
" lie might as well have told a wild animal to compose herself.
Having been mad emiugh to my the words, I was mad enough next, to
return to the subject ol' the lemonade, in spite of hia entreutica to mc to
be hilcnt.
" ' I told you what 1 had put in the glass, the moment Aff. Armadale
fainted,' I went on; iiinisitiiif; Airioualy on defending myself, when no
attack was made on me. ' I told you I had taken the ilusk of brandy
which you keep at your liudside, and mixed some of it with the lemonade.
Hew could 1 know that he had a nervous horror of the amell and tasto of
brandy 7 Didn't he t^.-iy to me himself, nhcu he came to his senses, It'i
my fault ; I ought to have warned you to put no btaudy in it 7 Didn't
VOL. XIII. — NO. 76. 22.
4S0
ARMADALE.
))« ranind ytia, ■A«nramls, of ilw timo wli<-n you and he were in th«
of Man together, and wIkii tin.- I)i>cti>r tli<Tc innoccniljr tnade the
mistake nith him that I mjide to-niglit ? '
[" I laid a great Rtress on my ionocence — and with sonic ri
too. Whatcror elw I may be, 1 pride myself on not being a liyjiocriw. I
vrat innocent — eo fkr tks tl^c }>ninily W4U coneemod. I hud put it intc iho
tmuonadi.', in pure i^onnce ui Arnmdale'a nervuiiK prciiliiirily, to dutgaiw
th« last* of — never mind what ! Another of the ihinga I pride niyKlT
Oft i<, that I never wander from my suhjeiit. What Midtvin:«r said next,
ia whjit I ought to be writing about now.]
" He looked at mc lor n n»oment, m il'Iio thought I liad tafcon )cav« of
tny tvnws. TIiuii lie caiue round to my tide ol' tlie table, und stood om
mc again,
" ' If nothing els* will aaiisry you that yon are entirely miainlerprctidg
my niotires,' he tai<], 'and that I liarcn't nn idea of blaming yoK in iba
matter — rea<I this.'
"He took a ]iflp«r from thii bri<iuit-|v>ckrt nf liis cnat, and opivad it
open under my eyca. It was llic Nan-aiivc uf Armadulc's Dream.
" In an inf.iant the whole weight on my mind was lifted off iL I fell
miatreaa of uiyself ngatii — I understood him at laat.
" ' Do you know what this ia 2 ' ha asked. ' Do you remember what
I eaid to you at Thorptj-Ambroiw, aijout AUan'i Drenin? I told yoa,
then, that two out of tht: thrt-e Vi.iioiis had already come true. I idl yon
now, that llie third Viiion Iibb been ftilfiUvd in this houne to-night.'
" He turned over the leaves of the manuscript, and pointed to ifae
liucB thai hfi wiehcd me to read.
*' I rptid thiM.', «ir nearly these words, from the Nsjiativo of the Dream,
aa Midwinter had lukcn it down from .\niiudde'i own l!p8 :^
" ' The darknoia opened for tlie third time, and ahoved me tJie Shadow
of the Man, and the Shadow of the Woman together. The Miui>SbiiJo«
was the ti<;arest ; tlie Woman- Shadow stood back. From where wh« Mood,
I heard a sound like the pouring out of a liquid solely. I siw her toacb
thu Shadow of the Mmi with cuu band, and giro litm a glass with tbc
other. He took the glass, and handed it lo mc. At Lho moment when 1
put it to my lips, a deadly faintneas overcame me. ^Vhen I rvcorcrrd
my senses again, the Shadows had vani«licd, aud ttie Vbioa waa at
an end.*
I
I
" For the nionntit, \ was ns ooinplutcly etiiggcrcd by this extr««rdiiia*]r '
coincidence :di Midwinier bimnell".
" He put one hand on the open Narrative, and laid tlie othiT hcxrlly
on my httii.
"'A'ourdo you undentand my motive in coming lieref he idted.
* 2^ote do you ttee lliat the last hope I had lo ding to, waa tlio hope that
youi mu'moTy of the night's evenia might prove my memory to be wroojr 7
ABHADAIA 451
Now do you Icnow -vVy I won't help Allan 7 Why Z vroa't sail tvith
bira ? Why I rid plotting and lying, and making you plot and lie too, to
keep my best and dearest friend out of the house? '
" ' Have you forgetten Mr. Brock's letter ? ' I aeked.
" He struck hia hand passionately on the open manuscript, ' If
Mr. Brock hod lived to see what we have seen to-night, he would have
felt what I feel, lie would have said what I say ! ' His voice rank
myrteiiously, and his great black eyes glittered at me as he made that
answer. ' Thrice the Shadows of the Vision warned Allan in hiit sleep,'
he went on ; ' and thrice those Shadows have been embodied in the after-
time by You, and by Me ! You, and no other, stood iu the Woman's
place at the pool. I, and no other, stood in the Man's place at the window.
And you and I together, when the last Yision showed the Shadows together,
stand in the Man's place and the Woman's place still ! For this, the
miserable day dawned when you and I first met. For this, your influence
drew me to you, when my better angel warned me to fly the sight of your
face. There is a curse on our lives ! there is a fatality in our footsteps I
Allan's future depends on his separation from us at once and for ever.
Drive him from the place we live in, and the air we breathe. Force him
among atrangers — the wornt and wickedest of them will be more harmless
to him than we are ! Let his yacht sail, though he goes on his knees to
ask us, without You and without Me — and let him know how I loved him
in another world than this, where the wicked cease from troubling and the
wear}' are at rest I '
" Jlis grief conquered him — his voice broke into a sob when he ftpoke
those last words. He took the Narrative of the Dream from the table, and
k'ft me as abruptly as he liad come in.
'• As I h^-ard his door locked between us, my mind went back to what
he had said to me, aljout myself. In remembering ' the miserable day '
when wc first saw each other, and 'the better angel' that had warned him
to ' fly the sight of my face,' I forgot all pise. It doesn't matter what I
lelt. I wouldn't own it, even if I had a friend to speak to. Who cares for
the misery of such a woman .is I am? who believes in it? Besidew, he
spoke under the inlluonco of the mad superstition tliat has got poMcssion
ofliim again. There is every excuse for him — there istio excuse fur me.
If I can't help being fond of him, through it all, I must take the conse-
quences and sutler. I deserve to suffer ; I defierve neither love nor pity
from anybody. — Good heavens, what a fool I am I And how unnatural
all this would he, if it wiis written in a book !
'• It has Ktruck one. I can hear Midwinter still, p,iciiig to and fro in
his room.
" He is tiiinkiiig, I suppose 7 Well ! I can think too. What am I
to do next? I sliidl wait and :>cc. Events take odd turns, nmetimes—
.ind cventrt may justify the fatalism of the amiable man in the next room,
who curves the day when he first saw my face. He may live to curse it
for other reasons than he has noiv. If I am the Woman j>ointcd at in the
2o 2
MB
Drciim, lliei* win be mioUiqf temputioa put in my waj before long-
there wiil be no braiuljr In ArmoUale'ft I«u)uaule H 1 mix it ibr
eeooDd time.
" Oeivttr 2itli. — BiLTvly twelve bouts b«v« ]»»acsl Bince 1 irCDte oi;
yGBterduf's entry — aad that olfaei tem^latioo bas come, txied, umI oou-
quered ue already I
"Thu tints tbero was no *Jt«niiiliTe. Instant «zpociire and rain
atored me in lb* face— I bad uo cboiou but to yueld in my own dolnoa
la {daiiwr words utill, it iraa no aooidental naomlilaacc Lbot ritartl«d na it
tbe tb«stre lost nigbL The clioras-uager at tbe open was 3ilaBiid
himwlT!
"Kot ten Dunutei after Uidwinter bad left tlia titting-TOOia fer hii
study, tlie womati of tbe louie come in with a dirty little tlirco-eonwnd
Dotfl in L>er hBud. Ooc look at tli« writing on the address WM wwnjglh
Ue had recognized lae in the box ; and tlie ballet betweea tbe ocU of ibe
opera liad given bim time to traou inu liotue- I drew that plain coselo*
Hioii in the luooib'ut Hud daptied before I cpcacd tbe luttcr. It ioToriDai
me, in two lines, that be was vraiting in a by-street, leading to tl» bcuh;
nod that, it 1 tailed to make my appeoraoce in t«n miitiitea, be sIibbU
intcrprot wy aburtco as an iovitAiion to him to call at tli« booav.
" What I m-iit tJirotig)) yesterday, must have Ijurdontnl me, I soppoa.
At any i'at«, alW rt^ading ihe i<ilics, 1 tclt more like the woiuaa I onot
.was tlian 1 h;tvv li-lt for tnanlhs past. I put on my bonnet, and want
dowusUiin, and left tin: liuuau as IC nothing hod happened.
" Ue was waiting for me at the oatmncc to the atrect.
" In the iDstunt when wc Blood lace to face, all my wrettj^il UJii wilh
hini come b^ck to mc. I thought ol' my trust limt he had bvtraycd ; I
tlioiight of thu cruvl uiuckury of a ru^rriagu ihut he had practised oa tt»,
when bo kiiuw that lie bad a wife living ; I thought of the time when I
bad feic despair enough at his detHrtioD of m<t to att«mp( my owb Me.
When [ recalled all this, and vhea the comparison bc-twecu Midwinter aoi
tlie mean, miscntblc Tiliaio whom I bad once Lelicrcd in, forced iuelfinto
my uiiud, I knew, for tha fintt tltnt', what a woman feels wboo every atom
of respect hr heraelf baa left her. If lie had perunally insulted me, a:
tbul moment, 1 l>eli6ve I abould bavo aubmittad to it.
" But bo had no idea of tasulliog me, in the mora brutal usauiag of
the word. lie had me at hi» mercy, and hirt way of making ue to^ it
was to behave witli on elaborate mockery of penit^noo and respect, I tet
liirn speakashe plcaaed, without interrupting him, witliout looking at bin
a aecood time, without even allowing my drvGs to touch him, as wc waUwd
tcf^lhurtowiu-dstbe quivtorpartoflfaa b«tcb. I bad aolicod the wntcbcd
nuvtxi of hi* cloihei^ and the gr«edy glittci in bis cytM, in my 6r&l I<.x>k ai
bim. And I knew it would end — as it did end — in a, demaad on me iur
mooey.
"Ywl
I
1
After taking from me tlie laat iailhing I powcKed of my own,
ABU AD ALE,
453
aact the Ust ferthing I could cxiorl Rir him fnna my old raintma, he.
turned oa mo ah nc etootl )'j the lUM^in of tbe «», ami Mked if I oouli
RKWDeilQ it to ittj com-cu-ncu to Iti him bo nranog such a cont M li« t!i<!ii
had on liis hiwk, and camiug Ins inincmblc living asn choniB-sager at ibc
opertl
" My distgu&l, ratfeer than my uidignadoii, reused mn icM rpealcing to
lum at last.
"'Tou wnnt moiipv,' I unid. * SiippoM I am too jioor le give it
to you ? '
" 'In llwl ca»,' I"* »«pl»cd, ' I shall b« foreed UmememW tlul you *re
s treuore ia youriH-lf. And I ahnll bn under the painful neonnty of
prcaang my cliiim tu you ou tlio attention of one of thoie two gGntlvmcn
vbam I mw with you at the operit — the gentleman, of eoiirse, who is now
boDOQird by your prdcrencc, and who livra proriaiuuiiUy in the light of
your emtlca.'
'* J mada him no itnawCT — for I lind no nnnrvr to giv«. Dixptiiing
Ida right to clnim inn frosi anybody, would huve hucn a were wmu of
VOrd*. He knev S3 well as 1 did thnl he bud not the shadow of a daim
oa me. But the mcro iittcni|it to raise it would, us he vwt well aware,
l«ad ncccsftiirily to the cxponiirc of my whole past life.
** Still kcoping silc-noe, I looked out orer the tea. I doti't know why
—except that I instinctively looked an^'where rather Uiun look at liim.
" A Httio gailing boat was approaching the shore. I'he man steering
va5 hiddi-n from tnc by thu mil ; but the boat was ao near that I thought
X rcooguixcd Uk: Sag on the mast. I Igoliod at my watch. Vca ! It vian
JLmmlafe coming over from Santa Lucia, at bis wnja] timc^ to Tint ua in
hi* usual way.
" BcfATO I had put my watch back in my belt, th« mcana of extri-
atisg myself from the frightful poittiun I ivax placed in showed themselves
to mc iu plainly u.i I t<x theia sow.
** I tmned and kd the way to the higher part of the beach, where
some fislang-boats wtrc drawn up which complulely ncrcencd us from the
t-l«w of any one htnding on the sliore b«low. Seeing probably that ] had
a porpoBC of some kind, Manutl followed mc without altering a word.
Aa Mwu as we wcic Bafcly under tUo slicltvr of the boats, I Jorcod myself,
hi my own delvnce, to look at him again.
" ' Wliat sboTtId you say,* 1 asked, ' if I was rich, instead of poor 7
Wluit ahould yoQ say if I oonld afford to ^ve you a hundred pounds t '
** He started. I eaw plainly tliat Im had not expected n mudi n*
tialf tlie stun 1 had mcntioacd. It i* nccdleu tu add that hia tongDQ lied,
whiie hisi tkcv spoke tht.- truth; and that when he n-pliad to na, lb*
answer was, ' Nutliing like enonp^h.'
" ' Suppose,' I went oa, without taking any notice of what he hod said,
* llial I could show you a way of helping younwlf lo twice as muclw—
tliree times as much— fire times as and) lut a hundred pouuda, ore you
iMld flOough to piit out your hand, and take it 1 '
464
3AL«.
*' Tbe greed; glitter came into lils ejt« «aG« mort. Hii roiw droppod
low, in brauliUai expectation of my Den words.
*' • Who is (lie peraon? ' be a»kod. ' And what ia tlie mk?*
" 1 4utnrere<l him nt once, in the plBlncet tennt. I threrr Ai
to Mid, bs I miglil lixru ihrown ft piece of meat to a wild beait vhu wu
punuiag ine.
" * The per«ou is a ricli young Eaglivliaun,' I caid. ' He bas jut
hired llic Tocht cnllud the Dorotticu, iii th« harbour ben ; and he stands
in need of a sailing-master nnd .1 crew. Von were once an ctfficor ia
tbe Spanish navj — you ipeak Englisli atjd Italian perfectly — yoit at*
thoroughly well Boqiuuatc^ tvith ^'uplo and all that bdoogs to it. Tiie
rich young Englithmiui U igiiuraat of the laaguagc ; and tlio interpmer
w}io asMnin him, knovri ncthing of ilie B«a. He Is at liis wiM' cod ibr want
of umIuI b«ip in tliis ttracge plaoe ; he has no tnorv kuowledgo ni' the
world than that child who is digging holo there niib n stick in the und ;
and he cairica ilU his money with him in circular notck So much fbr the
petvon. Alt fbr the riatk, CKtimatc it ibr jounwif.'
" Tlie grwily glitter in his eyes grew brighter and brighter with every
word I Mtid. Ha was plainly ready to face the risk, before I bud doss
speaking.
" ' ^Tien can I see the Englishman ? ' be lukcd eagerly,
" I moved to the acAward end of the fishing>boat, and uw that Arnadtlt
vast at tlinc moment tlionii barking on the iihor«.
*' ' Vuu con see liim now,' I Qnewcred, and pointed to llie place.
" Atlar a long look »t Armadale walking carelciaiy np the alopo of die
beach, Manuel dicw l)ack again under the iilielter of the boat, tie yctiui
a momt-nt, considering some-thing carcrully with himself, and put another
c^ueation to me— in a whisper this time.
" ' When the vancl ia manned,' he uid, ' and tbe Englislinun salb
from Nnplca, how many frivndK «ail wllli him T '
'' ' He lias but two fiienda here,* I replied^' that other gentlcnun
whom yon saw with me at the opera, and mysolf. He will invite ni
lulh to sail Kith him — and tvheu lh« time comet, we sbi^ both refiisc.'
" ' Do yoti nnawiT for that ? '
" ' I onxwer for it positively,'
" FTe walked a few steps away, nnd stood with his face hidden Iron
me, ihinking again. AH 1 could «« wiu, that h« took off lua bat, and
paaacd his handkerchiL'f over his forehead. AM I could hoar was, that be
talked to himself vxciLciUy in bis own language.
" There wns a change in him when be came back. Ilia liicc had t
to a U«id yellow, and his cjc* looked at me with a hideous distrust.
" ' One last question,' he said, nnd suddenly came closer to me.
denly spoke with a marked emphasis on bis next words. ' What i> yar
mtereat in thit T '
" I Htorted bock from him. The question reminded mo tbat I hod SB
interest lu the matter, which was cnliruly unconnected with the inturvci of
I
I
ARUADALE. 465
keejung Manuel and Midwinter apart. Thus far, I fand only remembered
that Midwinter's fatalism had smoothed the way for me, by abandoning
Armadale beforehand to niiy stnuiger who might come forward to help
liim. Thus fiir, the sole object I had kept in view was to protect myself,
by the sacrifice of Armadale, from the exposure that threatened me. I
tell no lies to my Diary. I don't aflect to have felt a moment's con-
EJderation for the interests of Armadale's purse, or the safety of
Armadale's life. I hated him too savagely to care what pitfalls my
tongue might be the means of opening under his feet. But I certainly
did not see (until that last question waa put to me) that, in serving hU
own designs, Manuel might — if he dared go all lengths for the money — ^be
serving my designs too. The one overpowering anxiety to protect myself
from exposure before Midwinter, had (I suppose) filled all my mind, to
the exclusion of everything else.
" Finding that I mode no reply for the moment, Manuel reiterated his
question, putting it in a new form.
'' ' You have cast your Englishman at me,' he said, * like the sop to
Cerberus. Would you have been quite so ready to do that, if you had
not had a motive of your own ? I repeat my question. You have an
interest in this — ^\vhat is it? '
" ' I have two interests,' I answered. ' The interest of forcing you to
rtRpect my position here ; and the interest of ridding myself of the sight
of you, at once and for ever I ' I spoke with a boldness lie had not yet
lieurd from me. The sense that I was making the villain an instrument
in my hands, and forcing him to help my purpose blindly, while he waa
helping his own, roused my spirits, and made me feel like myself again.
" He laughed. ' Strong language, on certun occasions, is a lady's
privilege,' he said. ' You may, or may not, rid yourself of the sight of
me, at once and for ever. We will leave that question to bo settled in the
future. But your other interest in this matter puzzles me. You have told
me all I need know about the Englishman and his yacht, and you have
made no conditions before you opened your Jijjs. Prny, how are you to
Ibrce me, as you siiy, lo resiiect your position here ? '
"'I will tell you how,' I rejoined. 'You shall hear my conditions
lli'st. I insist on your leaving me in five minutes more. I insist on your
never again coming near the house where I live ; and I forbid your attempt-
ing to conimunicate ia any way, cither with me, or with that other
gcnileman whom you saw willi me at the theatre '
" ' And suppose I $ay no ? ' he interposed. ' In that case, what will
ynu di» ? '
" ' la that case,' I answered, ' I shall say two words in private to the
lich yoiuig Englishman — and you will find yourself back again among the
chorus at the Ofwra.'
" ' You arc a bold woman to lake it for granted tliat I have my designs
on the Knglishmau alrcaily, and that I am certain to succeed in them.
How do you know ' ? '
4ffS
A OH AD ALB.
" < I know you,' I tmi. ' And that w cnougb.'
*' Tltiyri'. ttn* n mdmciit'a ulcnce bMween ul He looVwI At ne— ^ud
I looked St him. We imderitood each other.
'* He was the fint to epoak. Th« Tilliuioai maile dtod out of his Stet,
and hit voice dropped sgwn distTUitfiiDy to its lowest tooes-
" ' I nic«^pl your 1enii&,' he mid. ' As to»g m ytmr lip* sre oloned, n^
lipa Hhall be cloiied lofr— except in the erent of mj finding that joa. hara
dtcetrei me ; in vrliich case th« bargsjn is at an eod, and yon will Bee di«
again. I aluill present mTBolf to the EngliKhRuin t»-moTrow, with llic Doeo-
■ny CTwlentiiU* to mnlilixh tne in ha oonfiJence. Tell me hia miiiio? '
" I told it.
■^'Give ue hitaddreea?'
"I guvo it — and tunit^ to leave him. Before I had stepped out of
tbo shcrltcr of tlic l>oat«, I Lizard Lim bi-liind me again.
" * One last word,' he said. ' Accidenis Bometimai ha{)p«n at sea.
Havft yoa interest, enough in the EngHahman — if an accident happeca ia
Lta case — to wish to koow wh4t has bocome of hlia 1 '
" I eto]>]icd, niid onnniderud on my aiile. T hail plititily &iI(Kl to per-
■oadc hitn that I had no necret interest to acrve, in placiag Armadal^t
aionejr, and (aa n probablo conneqnence) Armadale's life, at hia mtnrjr.
Aud it was now i.vjijn[ly cWr tlinc hr wa* cimmngly atlauptio); to anodate
hiiiu«irwith my private ebjecU (whatever tber might be), by opcntl^a
ncana of commiini cation between u> in the fiitura. There could be no
bwlation about bow to anawer liim, under auch circumatuaces aa theae. If
Ac 'aocident' at which he hinted did really happen to Armadale, I alooil
in no ne«d of Mftmid's intcrvimtion to give mc the iDtclligcoctr of it. Ao
taty R<-arch through the obitunry colnnms of the Kngli*]) pap(,-rs would
fed) me tlte newa — with the great additional advantage iKaL tW {npen
na^ht be relied on, in audi a matter ae this, to tell the trutli. 2 tormaUj
ibaektA ManuU, and deelinod to accept his pro|>o«al. ' Huviiig no intanal
in lliL- EDglinliniaD,'' I nid, ' I have no wisli whatever to know wiwt
bccotocs of him.'
" He looked at me for a moment with steady attention, and with an
interest in me which ho hod not »Iiown yet.
" * What the game yoa are playing may be,' he rejoined, spealuBg
slowly and algnificanlly, 'I dini't pretend to know. But I venliire on a
prophvcy u«vertliele»s — jfcv ictVf iri'fi it .' If wo ever meet again, remombcr
I said tliat.' He took off his hat, and bowed to me gravely. ' Go jam
way. madnm. And leave me to go mine ! '
" With tliosc words, he released mo from the sight of bim. I vaitid
a inintjte nloue, to recm'er myself in tlieair— acd tlieu rvturned 1o lbs
buBW.
"The iirst object that met my eras on entering the slttiag-rooin, wia
— Amiiidale hiniM-If I
*' Ho was waiting oe the t^aooc of aecing me, to beg that I would cocMt
my iiitluesce with his friend. I made the needful intjutry as to what be
I
ABlLfAT>AT.TL ^j/J
meant, and found that Midwinter hod spoken u he had warned me be
woiUd speak when he and Armadale next met. He had annoonced that
he was anable to finiah his work for the newspaper as aoon as he bad hoped;
and be had advised Armadale to find a crew tor tbo jacht without waiting
for any aamstance on hia part.
" All that it woa necessary for me to do, on hearing this, waa to perform
tiie promise I had made to Midwinter, when he gave me my directions
how to act in the matter. Armadale's vexation on fmding me resolved not
to interfere, expressed itself in the form of all others that ia most peraonally
ofTendve to me. He declined to believe my reiterated assorances that I
possessed no influence to exert in hia favour. ' If I was married to Neelie,'
be said, *ahe could do anything she liked with me; and I am aure, when
you choose, you can do anything yon like with Midwinter.' If the in&ta-
atcd fool had actually tried to stifle the last faint struggles of remorse and
pity left stirring in my heart, he could have said nothing more fatally to
the purpose than this I I gave bim a look which effectually Eilenccd bim
BO far as I was concerned. Ha went out of the room grumbling and
growling to himself. ' It's all very well to talk about manning the yachL
I don't speak a word of their gibberish here — and the interpreter thinks a
Jifiherman and a aailcr mean the some thing. Hang me if I know what to
do with the vessel, now I have got her I '
" He will probably know by to-morrow. And if he only comes here
as usual, I shall know too I
" October 25tJi, Ten at night. — ^Manuel has got him I
" He has just left us, after staying here more tlian an hour, and talking
the whole time of nothing but bis own wonderful luck in finding the very
help he wanted, at the time when he needed it most.
" At noon to-day, be was on tlic Mole, it seems, with his interpreter,
trying vainly to make himself understood by the vagabond population of
the water-side. Just as he was giving it up in despair, a stranger standing
by (Manuel had followed him, I suppose, to the Mole from liis hotel)
kindly interfered to put things right. Ho eaid, ' I speak your language
and their language, sir. I know Naples well ; and I have been profeb'sion-
ally accustomed to the sea. Can I help you?' The inevitable result
followed. Armadale shifted all his difhculties on to the shoulders of the
polite stranger, in his usual helpless, headlong way. Hia new friend,
however, inRistcd, in the most honourable manner, on complying with the
customary formalities before be would consent to take tlic matter into hia
own hande. He begged leave to wait on Mr. Armadale, with hia
testimonials to character and capacity. The same afternoon he had come
by ajipoiutment to the hotel, with all his papers, and with ' the saddest
Gtory ' of his GulTeringa and privations as ' a political refugee ' that Armadale
lutd ever heard. The interview waa decisive. Manuel left the hotel, com-
missioned to find a crew for the yaclit, and to fill the post of sailing-uuuter
on the trial cruise.
" I Tratebcd Midwinter nnxintuly, while Annnilale wnt tilling uit these
[Witicttliin i aiidMtft»r«-nnK wiit*n 1)« producfttl t)ic iivw niliiig-mMtct't
tCMtimonialM, which li« Itai brought with kim for his friend to aer. ^|
" For the moiDcnt, Midwinter's superstirioua inU^ivings oeemed to b«
»!l lost in his natural anxit-ljr for his fmncL lie exnmiacd the atnuger'x
pnp(!rs — nfl«v hnving IaM mo tliitt th« tonrn-r Amiii<1nltt WM tn ibt linid*
of ftiraug*TB the better ! — with the cIospaI ncrulin^r and ih« most business- ^
like tUstrust. It is needlets to sajr thnt the credentials were aa perfectly H
iv|s;ii]&r nnd sntisfactoty Mcrodvntinla oould be. When Midwinter Iiand4!<)
tlitMo back, hit ooIout rom : he seemed to fral the inconsisU^ncj' of hit
conduct, niid to obscrrc l«r th« firat lim« thnt I vat frwcnt noltciDg jb
' There ia nothing to object ift in the tcstiinomals. Allnn : I am glad you
haTO got tlic hdp you want at IqeI.' That vras all ho said, sX pmrtinf.
Alt soon an Armndnlc's bnck was turned, 1 mw no moro of him. Ue ha* ^
locki>d himnt-lf up ngaiii for iht^ nigh;, in hid own room, V
"There is now — »o far us 1 nm concerned — but one anxiety left.
When the ynclit ia ready for sea, and wli«n I decline To occupy the lady's
cabin, will Slidtvinler hold to his reaolution, and rtfu&c to aail wic^ioutiDct
" Oe-tcber 2Cl7i. — Warnings atrendy of the coming oideal. A letter
from Armadale to Midwinter, which Midwinter has jnxt sent in to me.
Here it is i—
*"DeAR Mm, — I am too biny to come to-day. Get on with your
vrorfc, fcr hfaven's sake! Ihc new sailing-master ia a man of ten
iboawuid. Hi^ h.-L« got nn l^jigliibnum whom ht> knows, to eeiye na mate
on hoani already ; and he i.i jioniti vply certain of getting the crew together
in three or four days' time, t sm dyinf^ for a whiff of the lea, and «o are
you. or you nru tm Kiilmr. The rigging is set up, the stores are coning oa
boanl, and wc isliidl bend the saiia lo-mom'W er nest day. I never was
in sudi spiriia in my life. ICemomber mo to your wife, and tell her Av
will be doing me a favour if she will come at once, and order erviythioj
aJie wants in this lady's cabin. — Yours -iffeclionately, A. A.'
" Under this was written in Midwinter's hand,— ' Heme mber what I
told you. Wi'ito (it wilt break it Co him more gently in that way), an-.l
hog him to accept your spologies, and to excuse you from sailing ob tho
trial cruise.'
" I have written Without a moment's loss of lime. The sooner Maani:!
knows (which hi; is certain lo do through Armndale) thnt the promina not
ro sail in the yacht is performed already, b» far as [ dm oonccmed, the
ji.iftr 1 »!inlt feel.
" Chillier 27(A. — A letter from Armadale, — in an.iwcr to mine. Itc
is full of ceremonious regret af. the loss of my company oti the cnuse;
and he politely hopes that Midwinter may ycl induce me to alter my
mind. Wait a little, Till he findj that Midwinter won't sail wltli him
dillier ! . . . .
ARMADALE. 459
" October SOtk. — NotLiug new to record, until to-daj'. To^aj, the
cbaQge in our lives here has come at last !
" Armadale presented himself this morning, in his noisiest high epirita,
to announce that the yacht was ready for sea, and to ask when Midwinter
would be able to go on board. I told him to make the inquiry himself in
Midwinter's room. Ue left me, with a lost request that I would re-
consider my refusal to sail with him. I answered by a last apology for
persisting in my resolution ; and then took a cliair alone at the window,
to wait the event of the interview in the next room.
" My whole future depended, now, on what passed between Midwinter
and his friend I Everything hud gooe smoothly up to this time. The
one danger to dread was the danger of Midwinter's resolution, or rather
of Midwinter's fatalism, giving way at the lost moment. IS he allowed
himself to be persuaded into accompanying Armadale on the cruise,
Manuel's exasperation against me would hesitate at nothing — ho would
remember that I had answered to him for Armadale's sailing from Naples
ftlone ; and he would be capable of exposing my whole past lite to
Midwinter before the vessel left the port. As I thought of this, and as
the slow minutes followed each other, and nothing reached my eais but the
hum of voices in the next room, my suspense became almost unendurable.
It was vain to try and fix my attention on what was going on in the strecL
I sat looking mechanically out of the window, and seeing nothing.
" Suddenly — I can't say in how long, or how short a time — the hum
of voict-s ceased ; the door opened ; and Armadale showed himself on the
threshold, alone.
" ' I wish you good-by," he said roughly. ' And I hope, when I am
married, my wife may never cause Midwinter the disappointment that
Midwinter's wife has caused me ! '
" He gave me .an angry look, and made me an angry bow — and, turning
iharply, left the room.
" I saw the people in the street again ! I saw the calm sea, and the
masts of the sliipping in the harbour where the yacht lay ! I could
think, I could breathe freely once more ! The words that saved me
frcm Maiincl — the words that might be Armadale's sentence of death —
hiid been spoken. The yacht was to sail without Midwinter, as well as
without 3Ic 1
" My first feeling of exultation was almost maddening. But it was the
feeling of a moment only. My heart sank in me again, when I thought of
Midwinter alone in the next room.
" I went out into the passage to listen, and heard nothing. I tapped
gently at his door, and got no answer. I opened the door, and looked in.
He was sitting at the table, with his face hidden in his hands. I looked
at him in silence — and saw the glistening of the tears, as they trickled
ihruugh hia fingerp.
" 'Leave me,' he naid, without moving his hands. 'I must get over it
by myself.'
m
ARWADAZR.
•* I went bit«lc into the sieting-rcKiitn. Who esa iiaJanlaml vmnea f —
we doii'l vv«a iindiiiiUiKl mmeliret. His «eiiduig m» am^ from bim in
tiiKt numner out me to the tiecrt. I don^t beltere the tnoiit hnrmlras and
natx ^oile vomnn tiling canid have Telt it more acutely than I felt It
Aod this. atUiT what I hare bec-n doing I tliia, after whntlnBi thinkisf of,
tlic mmn«nt before I ««nt into hia roomi Who <axt accoont tot ill
Nobody— I, leafltofulll
'^Ilalf an faonr later, hitidoor opened, and I beard him humring^doWD
tlifi itUur*. I run out «ilh«at waiting to think, and a^ed if 1 nuglrt ga
with him. He neithn- slopped noranswered. I wrat back to th« window,
mi am hira ])«sti, walking ni|ndlj awaj^, with hia back turned on Naplfi
and ifaaaea.
"1 ou undcratand now, that ho tnig^it not bare beard me. At tim
timp, T thought him incxtftisahly nnd hrutnlty unkind to rs^. T put on wif
hoimet, in n (reazy of rage with him ; I Bcnt out for a carriage, and told
the nan to tak« me whttro he liked, lie took in<^, ax he Uxk other
slrangera, lo the Mowam to «ee the tliituea nnd tho picturas. I flounoid
from room lo room, with my face in a llnmc, nod the peo^ lU staling il
me. I came to nywif again. 1 don't know how. I retumod to th^
carriage, and made the man drire mc back in a violent biirry, I dcm't ksow
why. I tossed off my tsioak and boonct, and rnt down onco more at the
window. The nght of the mw conled nic. I forgot Midwinter, and
thought of AniuidaJe nnd his yacht. There wann't a breath of wind;
there wasn't a cloud in the sky — the wide watera of tlic Bay wore a>
amooth lu tlic mirfiicc of a gliits-
" The Bun eank ; the abort twilight cnmc, nod went. I had aome lea,
and sat at the table tliinkinf; and dreaming aver it. When I ronsed tb^mV
Bad went buck to the trindow, the moon waa itp — ^but tho qnit:C sea wai
as qniet aa erer.
*' I was still looking out, wht-n I anw Midwinter in the sCre«t belo*,
coming back. 1 was composed enough by thiilime loicmcmber htsbnbhs,
and to gue.°e tliat be had been trying to reliere the oppreeaoa on liinmiad
by one of bia long solitary walks, \nien I heard him fco into Iiii on
room, ] wiu tco prudent to dintiirb him agnia — J waited Lis (deaawti
where i waa.
" Bclbre long, I heard hi« window opened, and I klw him, frotn mf
window, etcp into the balcony, and aA«r a look at the sea, bold np his hiuid
lo the air. I wu too sitipld, for the moment, to remember that be bad
once been a sailor, a»d to know what tliia meant. lwiuted,aiid woodcrad
what would happen next.
"lie wcnL in again ; and, aJlcr .in inicTTsl, camo out once more, and
hehl up his hatv) as before, to the air. This time, he waited, lenaing^ on
the balcony nul, aod looking out steadily, with all hia attentioa abaorbed
by the KB.
" For a long, long time, he never moved. Then, on a aadden, T ww
him start. The ne:(t moment, he sank on his kntcs, with hii claa^icd
I
I
ASMADALB. 461
liandfi resting on tlie balcony riiil. ' God Almighty bleas and keep you,
Allan I ' he said fervently. ' Good-by for ever 1 '
. " I looked oat to the sea. A soU uteady breeze was blowing, and the
rippled Burfkct: of the water was aparlding in the quiet nioooliglit. I
looked again — and there passed slowly, between me and the track of the
moon, a long black vesael with tall shadowy ghost-like sails, gliding smooth
and noiselesu through the water, like a snake.
" The wind had come &ir, with the night; and Armadale's yooht had
Buled on the trial cruise.
CHAPTER III.
The Duet Bbokek Off.
'^London, November lHh. — I am alone again in the Great City ; alonet
for the first time, since our marriage. Nearly a week since, I started on
my homeward journey ; leaving Midwinter behind me at Turin.
" The days have been so full of events mace the month b^an, and I
have been so harassed, in mind and body both, for the greater part of the
time, that my Diary has been wretchedly neglected. A few notes, written
in auch hurry and confusion that I can hardly understand them myself,
are oil that I possess to remind me of what has happened, since the night
when Armadale's yacht IgU Naples. Let me try if I can set this right,
without more loss of time — let me try if I can recall the circumstances in
their order as they liave followed each other, &om the beginning of tho
mouth.
" On the iliird of November — being then still at Naples — Uidwinter
received a hui-riud letter from Armadale, dated ' Messina.' ' The weather,'
he £aid, ' had been lovtly, and the yacht had made one of the quickest
passages on record. The crew were rather a rough set to look at ; hut
Caj>Caiu Manuul, aud his English mate,' (the latter described as ' the best
of good fallows,') 'managed them admirably.' Afler this proBperoua
beginning, Armadale had arranged, as a mutter of course, to prolong the
cruiiie ; and, at the sailing-muster's suggestion, he had decided to visit some
of the porta in the Adriatic, which the captain had described us full of
tliaracter, and well worth seeing.
" A postscript followed, cx]ilaining that Armadale had written in n
liurry to catch the steamer to Naples, and that lie hod opi3iied his letter
;i^aiu, before sending it off, to add something tltat he had forgotten. Ua
the day before the yacht sailed, he had been at the banker's to get ' a few
hundreds in gold,' aud he believed he hud lefl his cigar-case there. It
Wiis an old friend of his, and he begged that Midwinter would oblige
liiia by endeavouring to recover it, and keeping it for him till they
met again.
I
Ruliatnnct: of ili
"1 tliDUgiit ovvr il curvfully \tli<.-u Mldwioler tuul lell me nlooe
again, after n^nding it. My idea vias then (and t< still) that Manuel Itul
not pcrauaded Armudiili:; lo cruise in » s«a IJkc thu Adriatic, ao much Um
fi'i;t|iicntcd by nhipii than the Miyiit«rmneikn, fur notliin^. The teruM, toe,
in which the trifling Iom nf thn cigar-caie was tneniioned, Ktmck me. m
K-ing gquoUy euggcsllvc «f what was coming. 1 concltid'C^l tliat Armft-
i]n1e's nrcular not^-s liatl not been Iruitafortued into ilio»e * fvw liufxJrudt
IR gold)' tlirougli aiiv (ufelliouglit or busiceea-knowWgc of Wit omt.
Manuel's intliiMice, I suspoctcd, had Wen cxcrtod in this matter alao— *nd
oiicc moTV not vritlioul. reason. At inlrrvnU, ihrougb tiia wak«^ night,
tbtiti; c(ii»idi.-rutious tame buck uguiu and again to ni^ ; und Uoic aJicr
lime theypointjid obaiinately (so lir as my next movementB were oon-
oeraed) in one and ilie mmt! way — the way hack to England.
" How to get iberc, and especially how to got there imaceompAitwd
liy Mtdwintt^r, was inort- lliati 1 liad wit enough to tliicover, thiit night.
1 irivd, and tried, tu meet the dilScully, and fvU aalccp cxhiiu>l«<l towards
the morning, witlioui liaving met it.
" Bonic Iioun l»Lcr, uit wxiri u-s I was drewcd, Midwinter came in, with
news received by titat morning's poai from his employers in London. The
propri'etorB of the newspaper liad received from the editor so Javoomble a
report of his corrcepotidcncc irooi Naples, that they liod dctcnuiofid m
advancing him to n plneu of greater rcNpoDubiliiy and greater ftmolaaiat
lit Turin. H)& iriatructiona were enclosed in tlic loiter ; aud !ie m h
ro^nenled to lose no time in leaving Naples for his nciT po*t, f
"On bearing thiit,! rvlivTcd bin mind, before be could put Uiu ijuestion,
of all nnxicly obout my wiLIingiivu to rumovc. Turin bad Urn gnat
nttriiction, in my eyea, of being on the road to Knglnnd. I a^^urcd hbi
al once tliat I wna ready to travel as iwon be be pleased.
" lie thanked me for euiting myself to his plana, with mom of hit oM
gentlenes and kindness than I had >ven in him for Mine tiinu pHst. The
good news from Armadiile on the iirevioiis day seemed lo Imre roused Mn
n little from the dull despair in which he bad been sunk aince tho aailiag
of the yacht. And now, the prospect of advancement in hja proleaikw,
and, more than that, llic prospect of I«iving the fatal place in wlii«lt the
third Vision of llie Dreum hnd conic true, hnd (»> he owned Iiinself) ■
nrlditioniilly chei-rcd and relieved biin. He aaked, bclere he went away to
iiLike the arriingemcnts for otir journey, whether i expected to hear fixwn
my • family ' in England, and whether he should give inslniciiona for the
Ibrwardiiij^ of my letters with his own to tbu paste rtatiinte nt Turin. 1
instantly thanked him. mid accepted theofler. Hispropoul hod miggested
to me, the monient lie made it, that my fictitioiia ' family circumstanca
might be ttimcfl to fiood account once more, as a reason for anex{i«c(elljr
laminoning iin* from Italy to Kiighnd.
" On the uiatli of the month wa were installed at Taria.
"On thg thirlecDtli, Midwinter^bcimir then very btuy— «riced il
I
ARUADALE. 468
I iroald Bare lum a loas of time by applying for any letters whioh
might have followed ub from Naples. I had been waiting for the oppor-
tunity he DOW offered me; and I determined to anatcb at it, without
allowing myself time to hesitate. There were no letters at the poaU
ratauU for either of us. But, when he put the question on ray return, I
told him that there had been a letter for me, with alarming news from
' home.' My ' mother ' was dangerously ill ; and I waa entreated to lose
no time in hurrying back to England to see her.
" It aeema quite unaccountable — now that I am away from him^but it
is none the less true, that I could not, oven yet, tell him a downright pre-
meditated falsehood, without a sense of shrinking and shame, which other
people would think, and which I think myself, utterly inconsistent with such
a character as mine. Inconsistent or not, I felt it. And what is stranger
— perhaps, I ought to aay, madder — still, if he had persisted in his first
resolution to accompany me himself to England, rather than allow me to
travel nlonc, I firmly believe I should have turned my back on tempta-
tion for the second time, and liave lulled myself to rest once more in
the old dream of living out my life happy and harmless in my husband's
love.
" Am I deceiving myself in this J It doesn't matter — I daresay I am.
Never mind what might have happened. What did happen is the only
thing of any importance now.
" It ended in Midwinter's letting me persuade him that I was old
enough to take care of myself on the journey to England, and that he owed
it to the newspaper people, who had trusted their interests in his hands,
not to leave Turin just as lie was established there. Ha didn't suffer at
taking leave of me aa he Buffered when he saw tlie last of his friend. I
saw that, and set down the anxiety he expressed that I eliould ^vrtte to
him, at its proper value. I have quite got over my weakness for him at
last. No man who really loved me would have put what he owed to a
pick of newspaper people before what he owed to his wife. I hate him
for letting me convince him ! I believe he wiis glad to get rid of me. I
believe he has seen some woman whom lie likes at Turin. Well, let him
lulliiw his new fancy, if he ])leaBes 1 I shall be the widow of Mr. Armadale
el" Thoi-pe-AmbroBC, before long — and what will his likes or dislikes matter
to me then?
" The events on the journey were not worth mentioning, and my
arrival in London (itands recorded already on the top of the new page.
" As for to-day, the one thing of any importance that I have done, since
1 got to the chciip and quiet hotel at which I am now staying, has been to
Kind fur the ]:ui<]lord, and a»k him to help me to a fight of the back numbers
of 7'he Times newspaper, He has politely offered to accompany mo him-
nelf to-morrow morning to some place in the City where all the [lupera are
kept, aa he calls it, in file. Til! to-nionow, then, I must control my
imjiaticncc for news of Armadale as well as I can. And so good-night to
the pretty rcllcction of myself that appears in these pjiges 1
464
ABMADALS.
A'«Em£«r20lJl.<-^Notawor<]«}riu«nij«t,eiiber ia the bbituvy ooL
or in any other ftut o( the fA^. I looked cttreftilljr tbrougfa each muDboF
in mccession, (ktuig from the cUy when AxhumUIc'* letter was written at
Ucuioo, to this pTMoat 20th of the moutli — aad l am ccatoin, whatertit
may iittvc lutpj>cn(>d, ihat oothing i« known in England aa jol. PatJ4>nBeI
Ths Qcwapacer ia to meet me at tli« break&at-table Aery ntonunf till
riuih«r notice — aatl any day dow may »how me wliat 1 nost want to aee.
" ^ovetnier 2lat. — So news again. I wi:«t« to JUidvrintor to-day, to
keep up apptarnnceM.
" ^Vhen tlic lc,-lt«r van done, I Ml ioCo wrvtcliedly low apirita — 1 oan'l
iningvic wliy^ — and fi.-lt Much a longing for a little oompany, that, in despair
of knowing wh«ro else to go, 1 actual!)' went to PIidHcd, on the chance ttial
Mother Olderahaw uiigUt haTO returned to h«r old tjoortcra.
" Th«re were changos sinco I had awn the plaeo daring my former wuy
in London. Doctor Dciwnwittd'sfliileof tliehuiioewaA stillenp^. Battbe
(hop woA buing brightened up for ihc occupation of a auUiaer aod dres»-
□laker. The people', when I went in to inako inquiries, were all atnngen
to Die. They showed, liowcvcr, no hesitation in giving lue Mrtt. Oldcx-
Uiaw's addnatu, when t aftkod for it — from whioh I inter that the Htlle
' diiEcuUy * which forced her to be in hiding in Aogust laat, is at an end,
tf fnr a!i th^ is concerned. As for thu doctor, the peoplo nt the abop
eltlior were, or pret<.-iiilud to be, quite luablo to tell tne what had btMOo*
of l)im.
" I don*t know nholher it was llie sight of the place at Pimlico that
ckened me, or whether it was my own pcrvereity, or what. BiU now
bat I luid got Mn. Oldcrahaw'a addreai, I felt na if tim w&s ibe very lail
person in tlie world that 1 wanted to see. I took a cab, oud told the laas
lu drive to the street she lived io, and then told him to drire back Co
the hotel. I hoidly know what ia the matter with me— unless it ia tliat i
am getting more itnpiiijtrit every hour for infurmution about Armadale,
Whiffl will the fuluix- Iwk a lilUe leu dark, I wonder? 'If>-motToir i*
S-iturday. Will lo-morrow's newspaper lift the veil !
ffovmler 22w<i. — Saturdoj"« ncwtpopcr has lifted the reil I Wonfa
ate vain to cTpreHB the panic of aitoniMhoienc in whicli I write. 1 oerei
once anticipated it — I can't believe it or rcalixo it now it hiis happened.
Tlie winds and wnvov thomxclvm have tumnl my acoompliee* I Th'
^acht lias fdiiridered at sea, mid every »ouI on board has perished I
" llcrc 18 tho sccouitt cut out of lhi« tnomluga acwspopet : —
"'XhajiSTait at Siu — Iiitiplli|^n<?» hMrrschsd (he Bo.tsI Vaeht Sqattdfonsiid
Ihe ifintrcrt, which IcaTva no teasocaUe 6quIa, wc rcf^t to Mjt "f the lutal loM, m
iIht ftrtJi of the preaent numtb, of (be judit J^tdCAm, Hth DTC17 cool on bond. Th«
Torticolon arc as follow . — At iliiylight, gn the monting of the uuh. th« Italian hrfE
Spf/ania, bound from Venice Io Mnrula for orJer*. eucoantered aooio floating otgerti
"A Cafe Sfsnivcato (at Ibe uutlienmiuat tKtmnitjr of Italj) wUdi attnetecl tfcs
«in«alijr of the people of Uie brig. Tlu pcvrioBS day hsd lev onritad I7 one oTIlH
I
I
I
ahmaiialg.
4DS
tmtn ef the ndilai anil r!uIpni[gt'')nm,|ieculliutot1)«MKmtheniieftji, wlildi hat
innwmfcarad for yum. Tlic Sprmma licrMK hailn^ t)««n la ilAiigvr while thi:
' l«ii«il, ibe mftuia aoil <nw iM^cciuili J lliitt tlirj vrciv An iltti tTnet'* of • ivretk,
nail n tuBt wiu laworcil fur ll;c p>ir]"i<c t'f rxniniufpi' llie ul-joria in tlic nntci'. A
iKDc-onp, >0(n« lirokcn >pni». ntiil (rnumcnb of »h«tti;r?i| fUnk were ihc Tirtt (i iilcacw
diKMitttil (if the IciriUf (Um^Uc lliat liuil li>i]>pCTicil. Romr i>f tlii? lichlcr artirlrs nt
lubin (umiliirr. UTrtirhcd «ri'l ■hnltrrcii, nrrc fnuiiil next. Ami. Iditly. n Tiicnif iilu
ti( laelanciiolv interest inrncil up. in the fhnpe of n lirutiLoy, witti u cmktil liHttlc
tlUcliP'l to it. The'-e Inltvr iibjiil*. rtitli the tfVK% nf cnbin.fiimiturp. wct» brought
AD bnml the Sprranra. On ilii- Iiimv the »am« of th» vc«i«l wat painted u fi'llnwi:—
* Dsralhea, B.Y.9.' (iTironiiia It^vnl YacJit S-iiiailmn). The batlle, all lH;ir>)! iiiioirlisd,
nmuiinnl a »lioci of noic-pniicr, im wliich the follLiwinit Unci nrrc liumcdlr inicril in
pencil:— ' (Iff C«ii« SpuTtivciiIo ; LW0(ln>4 0Ul (rum Mftiinn, Nov. 5ib. 4 l-.M.' (bcina
the hour al whiili tlio I'^K nf ilic Ilnlian farii: ahoucrl ibc •tnrm to hiive Ix'pn at Uh
lwi);hl). ' Itiib our br^U are store In bv ilic it&. Tim milder li ^'ti'^, and nu hii<u
rfTani* a Icsl; Mtem wliirh ia mnro tbnn <r« nun cinp. The I^nl hrlp n* all— trn ara
■falUnir. (Sipicil) Ji>hn Milfhendcii, mnii).* t>n rvaobinx Mnr»n!ii,lho cnT>tiiin o(
the bris tniulc bin rtrjwrt lu tJiO I3riti>h luuduI, uuJ Ult tlio ol-jccut ill.xcuvcroit in that
CruUrmiui'a rhari^f. Inii'iiry nt MCMIIia ihowrLl ihnt llir ill-fulcii ixawl hud nrrivnl
ibwi" fmm Nopli'iL At the tilliT (mrt it wai (uiiriauuil lliut iliu Dan/Chea hml I)ceii
hlwl from i!\e ownct'a iiptiil, t-y an KngliEli pptitlpmnn, Mr. Annwlalp, if Thnrp^
AmlmMc, Norfrtlk. '^V■heth^^ Mr. Arrnndnle hnd nnj frknd* on bonrd with bint !m«
not bMn ctfnri? 'liKcovcrcd, Itut lh«re [■) imhappily no il<.iiilil that the ill-fntcJ ffvii-
tlmu) blnuclf inllcJ in the Micht from Nupl««. *iud tUat be wai alao on lioiinl at (ba
TDwri when ilic tcfl McMrtia."
" Such is iTif siory of ilie wreck, ai ilie ncwajuppr IpIU it in ihe
plainr«t iiii'l f-^Wf-st -wtiH*. My heml m in n whirl ; my confwion it so
grrat tlinl 1 lliiiik nf fifty Oiflereiil tilings, in trying to ihiiik of ono, 1
mii»t witit — a (tiiy mnrc nr leu in of nn conicquencc nr>w— I mitst ivnic
till T can facK my new posilion, without feeling bewildered by it.
" Xorimbtr SSit/, Eijhl vt tfi« Morninj. —1 rc^c an hour iigo, nod c&w
ny way cUnrly to lliQ fint Itv]! tltnt 1 uiuiit takv, ander prettnt circum-
WancM.
" It ia of tVe Ulmoet tTn|Mi1nnce in mo tn Itnow whnt in eloitt;* At
Thorpe- Ambrose ; fin<) it ^votilil he t)»' hi-iglit uf rntlitit^tx, u-hil« I am
<|uiia in ibc lUrk in (liii mntlrr, to venture tlu-rc tnycelf. The r<nly oilier
nlicrnntiro ii tn wrile to trimi'h<^ly c-n 1)is fpct for news ; nml the niily
perioti I can write to U — BaaliwiMxl.
" I liavv juit finii)lK-<l the Uuvr. It U ho:)<]c<l ' [uirate aad coaGJeulialt'
and iiigne<l ' Lvdia Amindale.' 'I'herD is nothing in it to comfiromiM m^,
if the old Ibol is mortolly offenilcd by my treatment of him, and if lie spite-
fully show* toy letter to otJ)?T people. Bui I don't beliovc h« will do tliM.
A maD ftt his age forgiven a wotnan nnylhiug. if thi' woman only cuooumgoi
hiiD. I hnrc rrtini.'^tcd him, m n jivntnuA liivour, to keep our oorrc-
apondmet f"T Ihs prrsrnt atiictly privxto. I hare hinted that my
mtnifld life with niy dwi^x-d hutband liiu not be#n a bsppy one ; and
Ibal I f<?cl \hv tiijuilicinutncM vC having married & i/ouutf luitii. In iho
poatiieMpt I go Ihrth^r Btill, and TCntut^ boldly on there comforting word*^ —
VOL. XM. — KO. 7C, %V
46B
ATaiAT>ALfS.
'I can explain, dcftT Mr. BftBhwood, wlwit may haTe eeoaed ftlsB
ileceilful in mjr conilucl towiinJii yon, wbea you girc mc a penoool
opportuaitj,' If ho mis on tbe right aide of tixty I alioiild fed doBbtfal
or rc«iiltii. Rut he in on th<> n-rotig stdo of s'lxly^ and I believe be ttill
give ma my iiersonad opjiortiinity.
" Ten o^chci. — I liarc been ]«cliing over the copy of my marnag/t-
ccrli S<.':iU>, with which I ttxjlc c-iiru lo pruviilu inyiciroii the wvddiDg-iIiiy ;
ntiiJ I hiiYc dt«:uvii>.'il, i« my tni-xpix-ssiMi; iliaiiiny, an ointtacle to my
iipptnnmcu in the clmrnctcr of Annad;ilf'e ividow, which I now «ee for ll*
first Ihue.
"Thi! dca<ripliitn of Midwinter (iiniltr Li3 own iianic) whicli ilie
eertilicate presenta, answH;is in every important pfirlicniar, to what voul'l
hare hoen ihfl description of ArmaduJe of Thorpe- Ainbioae, if I had really
maTiiurl hint. ' Nninc and Sarnaine' — Allan Annndalc * Age ' twenty-
one, initcad nf twenty-two, which might easily pass for a mintAle.
' Condition ' — Bachelor, ' Ilnnk or Profcaaion ' — Gcntlemao. ' BesideDoe
at ihc time of Mnn-inj^o ' — Frant'n Hotel, Dnrlcy- street. ' Fnth«r'« Niunc
and Siirnanae " — Altun Amiadnli'. 'R.-iiilc or Proftwion of Fntlier' —
Gciitlcmnn. Every ptirtiuular (except the year's dilTvruiuc in tlicn-ttro
•P"*) which nnitwera for the onr, answers for llic other. But, nippcsc
when I pividiice my copy of lh« cprtlficate, that some rainldlesonie lawyer
insists en loukiug ct the oiigiiial register.' Midwintor's writing i> «
diffiTent as pc'SKiMg from the writing of his iload friend. The bMoi
in which he hnit wrillen ' Allnn Armndnlo ' in the book, hut not a clmneG
of passing for the hand in which Amindnlc of Thorpe -Ambrose w*
accuitonied to Kign his name.
" Cnn I move lafcly in the matter, with such a jiitMl as I sec bcr«,
open iindtT nij ftiet 7 How can I ibII ? Where can 1 find an «xperi«n«eJ
jiertKin to inform nie? I must ehiit up my diary, and think.
" SgvfR o'docL: — lly pi'o»pcct« havo changed again since I made my
last cntiy. 1 have received a w.%rniiig to be careful in tho future, wkidi
1 fihall not Tipglect ; nnd I have (i bt-ticvo) succeeded in providing mytdf
with the advice ami assistance of which I sland in need.
" After vainly trying to think ft some Letter person to apply to In tin
difficulty which emiiarraased nae, I luudo a virtiia of noeetrity, and wt
forth to Burprisc Mrs. Olderahaw by a viiiit from her darling Lydia ! It
ia aliDMit ncodlcCT to adit that I determined to sound her carefully, ttai
not lo let any spcrcl of importance out of uiy own p'luoraion.
" A «oi)r and eolenin old uiaiJ-itvrvatit aOtuittcd me into the booK-
lA'lien I asked Jbr licr misireiis, I was reminded with the bittercct einphasis,
that I had committed the impropriety of calling on a Sunday. Mr*. Older-
thaw vtas at home, solely in consct^ucncc of being too tmwell to go to
church 1 The uervmit tlionght it vtry nnlikely (hat she would teem*-
I tboiiglil it hijjiily probnbJej on the conlrnry, that she would bononr
4
1
I
ARMADALE.
46T
with an lUltTview in Ucr own intfiviiU, if I wtiit in my nnmo m'Mim
Gwilt,' — aiitl tlio eroDl prortcl th;il I w:i« right. Aftt-r V-ing kept irnitins
Hmx! nkiniitcs 1 vas Eliovrn into the drH^ving-rouin.
" Tht!!* »at motlifr J«el>el, with the air of n womiin nwting on Lho
liigH-rcntd to h«im-n, ilrofweil in n nktw-colonred gtnvn, with groy mittens
on licr ]ianJ:<, a ivverdy »ii»p1c cap on hei- IicaJ, aii<i u rvhime ul'a«naona
oa liiT Up. She turned up tho whitcH of hvr ej-cs devouily at the ugliE
of nif, anJ the first yivida oho said were — ' Oh, LyAia I Lydia I why nre
jroa not at church 1 '
" If 1 hnd bovn Iok nnxiouE, tJic radden pr(>EciilAtioii of Alra. Older-
nhaw, in jin cnlirclr new chn!"act*r, might have amused ine. But I wns
m no liiunouv for laUK'iiigi *U'I i^ny notcs-of-haad being ail [laid), I wcii
undrr no ohiigatinn to rcistmiii my natural rn?(.>doni of Epi>m;h. 'Stuff
and nOEsencf 1 ' I sfiid. 'Put your Sunday fncc in your poclcci, I have
got nomp nfiws for yo«, %\ac<i I Inxt wrote frnm Thorpo-Atnliiosc'
"'i'he iiinl:int I iiicnlidni'd 'Thar[ii;-Ajiibro«^,' thv whites of tho old
hypocrite's cyw ohowc-cl thcinsclvci ngatn, nnJ alii- llolty rcfu«fcl to hcor n
word more Irom me on ihc subject of my pmci-cdingH iti Korfolte. I
insisted — but it waB quite uselcsa. Mother Oldcrahnrr only ahoofc her
bead and groaned, and infomicd me that hi-r c^nnvdion with Ihe pooipn
and vaniiicB of tho world waa nt an eud for e^'cr. 'I have Leon born
agnin, Lydia,' nnld the brucn old u-rvtdi, wiping litr tycs. 'N'oUiing
will induce tnc to return to th« mhjcct of tbnt wickod npocnUlion of
j«itra on tJic folly of n rich yonng uian.'
" After heiuin^ this, I slionlJ hnvo l«ft her on the ^1, bul for otio
conAidcrnticn which delayed mo n moment longer.
" It was ensy to »ee, by this lime, that tlie circumElnncea (whatever
llioy might haro bcci)) which had obliged Mother Oldemliaw to keep in
liiding, on lli« ocensjon tif my fi'rnier visit to London, had been KUllicienlly
■erious to forcL- her into giving up, or njipcnriiig to g^ive up, her old
buiocts. And it was hardly leu plain that ohe hnd tbund it to ]icr
■dvantsgc — everybody in Eoglnnd finds it to thtir ndvnntagti, in annic
way— to crver the onttr sido of her eharacter carefully vilh n aincotli
vantUh of Cant, This was, howevei-, no buKiness of niino ; and I should
have made these reflections outside, instead of inside ihe houac, if my
iutercsla liad not been inrolvcd in putting tlic sincerity of Mother
Oldershaw's reformation to the lP*t— .«> fir n% it affected hor past con-
nection with inyM'If. At thi^ Unie whun nhc Iiad fitted me out for our
mlcfpHic, I K'ni«ml>cri-d signing a cctliiiu Vasincss-docimieat M'hich gave
licr a bandMinie pcciiniury interest in my sneeeas, if I b«eninu Mrs. Arma-
dale of 'niorpe-Anibrosc. The clinnce of turning litis miscliiAvons morsel
ef paper to gnodaecnnnt, in the capacity cf A toiichnt-me, wns too t«ropcing
to b* nnitcd. I aAeit my devout friend's perm ivii ion to say cue but
word, bdbrc I Icfl the house.
" ' Aa yon hnro no further interest in my wicked HjicrtilHtioii at
Thcwpe-AmbroK-,* I saiil, ' perliaiM you will give nw back the wrillea
[nMAI>,M.1!.
^pcr thnt [ nigticd, wlicn you wcie not qiiilc Ricli nn 6xem]tl!iry
u» )'oii nn now .' '
" Tbo slinniclcss oM\ hyjtooTilR iiiiilanllf iliiit ber eyes an<l slmiJdfm].
" ' Doca lltat mean Vm, or No ?' I ukiHl.
" ' On tncral nnd religious froanda, I.yJia,' ntd Mn. 01i]«nluvr, 'it
nirnns NV.'
" ■ On wi<.'t:«i and vorldly gnnadi,' I njainci), * I beg to tlmalt ^cv
fcir »liowing mc your linnil.'
'• Tli««i cduIJ, in(ii.'i-<I, 'So no doubt, new, ubout the ol.j«t kha
rvnlly liitti iii view. She waiild run no meru rides md lonrl no mnra
iDonay — bIic woitM Ictiw ine to win or Iom, Kinslc-li^ncleJ. If I tost, the
vonld not bo coniproin]S(>t1. It I won, eho wculd produce the pnpcr 1 lii4l
Bi)^cd, nnd profit by it willionl remorse In my presRot situation it w»
mere wnste of lime ami wonls to pi-oioiiK tlie tn&tter l>y nny h^Hcm
tvcriminniion on my sidp. I put tlie vnrning avay privntxltr in piy
tncmory for future uw, find got up to go.
"At the moment wlicn I left my cbur, there iru a ahtrp Ae/aMk
fcnicV lit t)i<> «trovt-d«or. Mm. Oldendiavr «vid(>ntJy rcmgniiied it. fill*
tvfKi in fi Yicilntt liurr^' »nd rung the bell. ' I am Ion unvrcll tn are
nuybody,' itlie said, wben llie servant sppear«<l. ' Wait a moment, if you
please,' bUo ndded, lurning ibxrply od m?, vlicn the wornun ha<l \«(tm
to antvrcr the cloor.
" It w;iii smnll, vit^- sinrll, tpilrruliiMX on my p»rt, I know — but iKc
mlislitclion uf tlnviuiing IVIollicr Jfxebel, even in a trifle, \na not tolx
reaiiited. ' I can't wait,' I aaid ; 'you rotnindod mo juxt now thot I on^tt
to be at cliurch.' Ri-forK alte cuuld ansircr, I waa out of the room.
"As 1 put niy foot on the first slair llic Mn-ct-door ■was opened ; mrl
a nuin'fi voici) inquired vlielber Mm. Ohiei'sIiaYr wax at Imme.
" J !n«lflntty recrgniicd tbc voice. Ditctor Downward I
I
4(39
an^ .^tndg of ffdlic ^itfmdire.
TAirr 11.
I SAID ibut a Rociptiu ]ik« Mr. timh, hy dtnioltDliiiig ibe rubbisli of t1i6
Cvllic mitiquam-s, mighl oiicn give Liiiucir tlm Hppciimiico of having won
n coinp9«t« victtirj-, l>ut tl)4t & votnpk-tc victtfi-y Ito IimU, in Irulh, by uo
nieaaKiraii. lit- lius ckaiiil mudi niljbl< unuy, but tlm is no tuch vnry
cult feat, nnd requires mainly coiumou-iK-rm- ; lo lie nure, WcWi nix\m'
ISI« Apt to lOM tlioil' COinmOII-tl'd^-, IrUt Ut lllOIUQllta wlit-n lli«^ urt
in paoetMtiit of it, tbey can (!a itie iDJia|)enHik!e, uvgHlivi; it.irt of oriiidsiii,
lict, indwt], «> briskly or dtvwly ua Jlr. Nusb, but iitill wtll caoiigli.
£-Jward l>iivi«6, tor Ibstaiieo, hns ijuilu i-U-ndy tci;4i ilml t!io iill(4|;u<l rvnutiiis
uf old Wdili literature arc iiut lu be titk<.*n fiT g^niiinv jit^l m llivy
eland: — "Souio petty tiuij tiieaJicftut biiuatrc), wl)0 only cliiiun1i»l it wi
uu old toiig, ba« Ifickril on" (liv iuiy< of ii ^Lxitii lie is discnssing) "Iheao
iifit:»i in u glylc niid uicneurc lul'illy diflVrvtit fram llio jircccdiog wrscs:
' Mny ibc Triuity grant lu not-cy in the day of jiiduniciit : a liborul
donation, qcknI gLiitluuea I ' " Tlierc, fifty yrora keforu' Me. Niuh, it ■
Givaraiice voiy like cuo uf Mr. Kintiru, But tbd difSciiIt lent in tbU
matter is llio ftrnt uf coiwlruclion ; to <lL-l«i'LuiDu wh«E oue Iuib clesirtMl
nway all tliat ii to be clcurcd awny, wbut is tliu aigniScuncc of tbiit
tvliicb in ieii ; Attd hvTv, 1 coiifvMt, I ihink Mr. Nnitb nud bit rcllow-»c«plk-«,
who Hiy Uuii ttuxt lo nuibiiig in hit, und ^ui; tli« ugtiiSeikiice of whatever
la left is next to nutbiiig, diBwiliafy tUe gi.-iiiuiie critic orm luui-e lliui
Edward Daviea nud his brother onthuaia^a, vho bnvc a eoiisc iKkI eoiuc*
tbing firimiiivc, aiigutt, and intorciiting is tlitrr, though (ley tJul to extract
il, di»»ati»fy luni. Tbcrc is ■ vtry edifying riory tuld by O'Curiy of lbs
cfl«ct jiitKiuiTil on Moorv, llio [loM, wbi» biid itndertaicen to writa Uic
bicKijy orinhinil (a task for wliidi be wiis qniie nnflt), by ihc coalempla-
tion of on old Iri»h tnanuacripl. Ulcere had, wilbout knowing anything
abaiil tbuiu, spoken sliglitingly of iliu value to llie liiatorian of Ireland of
the inaicriala uilijrdod by such inanu)>cripls; but, wya O'Curry, — >
"In ihc yvar 183^, during; ono of hi)t luot viulR lo tlic land of bis
lirtli, bo, in coiiip.-iny witb liii oid and ntbtchcd fri^iid Dr. Pctrip,
JaToun-d luc vrilh nn uticxjH^clcd vitiit iil the Koyal Irish Aondriny. I
wiuat lltnt puriod employed un the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, uhI ul
the linic of Iti* vinit happened to have Wfore nio on my denk tliu Soois
vj 2iallyii»!i and A«vjim, 'I'fie SjxdM Hook, Ifn Annali of th« J-'our
Matlfft, nud many oUiu' unctunt bodkn, Ibr bi&torical research nnd
ivftTetKC. 1 bad never before leen Uoorci nud VkVivx a brief introduction
ud cxplniialioa of llic uaturo of my oconiMtion by Dr. Petrii^, and Kcing
470
TUB STUDY Oy CELTIC UTERATIJKE.
ibo fonnidaljle array of no ninnj' ikrlc iind titnc-wom rolumea hy whicli
I WM surroundvil, Ijc luokod k little ili?eoucertvJ, biitnftcr iiw!iUopliiclnKl
-up couruga lo open ilie Jiook of JtallipiioU and atk wiiat it was. Dr.
Potrte and siywlf linen cnttricJ into a ihotl expliuiiidiii of the hisloiy
find clinraclcr of tliu bodkn then preft<.ikt a« well »» of 4in«i«nt Gncdl>elic
clocuDtent* in gcrtcrnl. Moore liHwied witli gri-at utU'iition, ultcrnal«ly
icniining the lix kit mid niyKlf, and thcu vkcJ mc, in a M.Tions loao. if
I UDdvntood llieni, »nd how 1 hncl Icnrntd to do no. Having rarifficd
him upon these poiiilB, he liirnod to Dr. Pvtm and aaid : ' P«tric, tliete
huge t«nieH could oot hare hnn writti-n t>y fuuls cr For any roolish pitrpow.
1 nwtt knew ii»ytl>i"g t>l)Otit thrm before, and I hod nc right to lane
UaderiAktii the Jfhtorii of IreUiml.' "
And from tbnt day Moore, it is enid, lost all lieort (or going on wltli
hi« History of Ireland, and it wne Aiily lliu ini|>oi'tiintty of ibo piibliih«ra
which ioduccd him bo bring out thi; rt-nminiDg volume.
CouUi not have hcen uritlen btj/i>oli, ar for tintj fooihh purpott. That
is, I am ennvinco-d, n Liilo pri^iien linicnt to hare in one's mind nbtn «m
looks at Iri^i doc^iiiienla like the Book cf JJaUgmottj or Wi-lah docuinrols
like the Jifd JtMi' cf JUr^fct. In eoino rivpeuts, nt any r.tto, ihcec doeo-
mcnlH nrc vrhut they clnim to ho, tlicy \\iAA what thry prt-teiid to hold, tbay
touch ihiit primitive wprld of which they profoMlo be the voice. The true
critic i» hf who can d<-u-ct lliispiceioiiH mid gi^niiine pnrt in Ihcni, and
employ ir. for lh>! elucidation ol' tho Ci-lt'it geiiitin niid hi.^lory, and for any
(rtlicr fniitfnl p«rpcFP« lo whioli it cnn bo applied. Merely to peint eiit
Ww mixture of whuc in lat» und npuriouH in tliL'in, is lo touch hut the
fringe* of lli« iiiitlter. lu reliance upon the diecovery of Ibis mbctiireof
vrhfti ii late and tipurious in ilivin, to pouh-pooh ihnii nliogi-ihtn*, to trort
llieni OS a hinp of niblnisli, a niaiw of miJdlt-nge forgc-iits, u to fall inlo
iho'gTOateM pmxiblc crrr>r. Criintcd llmt nil th« inAnuncripIs of Wllth
poetry (to lake tluit hnnich of CVliic liiErntui-e which has \aA, la
Hr. Nuh, the ttbii-ct diaparsgn-), grontcd that all fnidi mnnoKripU
that wn pcfRC."9 are, with the most inwptiificnnl Px»i>lion, not ^Att
than liio Hvelfili century j ginnled thiil ili<.Mwi-lfih and thirteenth tm-
tnricB weiM a time of gicat pc«ticul nclivily in Wnles, a lime wU-a
a mcdiicvu] litcrsture flotirished thcro, as it nourished ia England,
France, and other countries; giuiited that a geat i!en! of what WeNh
enthusiasts havw attrihutod lo tlicir grcwl ti-adillonal i>ovt!( of the eixih
century bcl'inf^ l» this later epoih, — what then? Doca that grt rid
of the grcdt tradiiidiial poets, — the Cynveirdd ov old banls, Ancnrin,
Tiilicin, l-lywort;h Hen, aad Ihoir coniptCT*, — docs that gtt rid of ihs
great pei-tic;il tiadiiion nf the sixth c^iitiiiy aIiogi>tlier ; ifocs it merge the
whdie lilciary anli'jaiiiy of Wah-s in her miiliaivol literary iintiquity, or,
nt least, reduce all oilier thnn this !,» iimigtiilicnnce ? Mr. Nash say»it
does ; all liis efTurtn are directed to show how much of tb« to-called sixth-
cenlury pieces itiuy be resolved into mcdiRV.nl, InrllUi-crnlitry worit t his
grand thtsis is that thac is nothing ptjukiiive and pre-Christian Ja tJtfl
I
I
THE STUDY OF CELTIC UTERATUItE.
471
m
•zUoit W«t)^ lituralurv, uo traces of llie Dniiilniii mA P^^iUm ever/
one aowoiatcs ulth Celtic Ktiliijuity; all tliJM, lie euyn, vra* cxtijigui^iod
bj Pnitliaiw in a.d. 59, mid ru;vuv n--ftt*ciuitQd, " At tliu tiino the
UnbiDpt(Ioa itiid t!ic 'I'aJiuun hiilkj^ wtiv cnmpowil, ito tixdition or
popular i-i.-culluuUoii of l!ie JJruUv or lliu UmiJivnl mytliolit^y cxul(.-J iu
Wale*. The \Veihh bni'ds kuQw of no older myau'.iy, nor of iiiiy iny>ti<i
crwii, unltiio^ni lo tlio rest ofthg Cliiistian wcirlil." Ami Mr, Na*ti com-
phiuts tbat " the old opiniun th»t th« Welsh pomua coiitniu notiws vT Druid
or Pagan supcrstilioruL of a reinora origin " slioutd Btill tiod promulgator! ;
vhat \\c find iit ilicni is only, he my*, whnt was circtilatiiij^ iu Walaa
in llio twollih cei\t«iy, and " ono pwat mi«ialc3 in the?o invosti^niioii^ has
the iiupposiiijj tliJt iho WoUh of ihe twdfth, or «rctn of the sixtli
ilury, ytvrc nlitcr n» tvuH 04 more I'iignii tlian their ni^igliboiin)."
Whj, wli.1t a won<li.-rittI thing is tliisi W« have, in ihc linit pliut,
tlie must ivpiyhiy and explicit lesliiuony — Strobo'a, C^eaiir'a, Lucan's—
that liiis mtx once poxsi-Mcd n special) pioroiinil, iipiritual <jiAc!pliuG, thnt
thc^ were, to uiu Mr. Niish's wonlx, " witur th.ia their noighbours.""
Locin'a words an; miiguliirly clear and nlron^', nnd uKrrc 'well to stnad »9
« Inndin&ric in thU controvc-rcy, in which one i« soniotimcs i^mb.-irmiwed
by hearing auihoriiii^ i)not«d on this sida or cliiit, when one doM not Teel
sum preui«Iy what thi;y o-ty — how much or bovT liitic ; Imcau, adJrc^a,^
lliose liithcrto imdcr the; prcEaiirc oC Kumt.', but now l«il by the lioman
civil vntr to their own dm'icLS, snys :^
" Yo too, yc luarda, who by ytur iirniaca iicrjiolmile tbo iwcmury of the
fallen biavc, wiUioiil liiudiimcu [inuiod forth your strains. And yc, yo
Dmidd, iiuw ihiit the nword wna ruinovc!!, bi^ii once mars your barbario
ritM and weird eolcmtiitt«s. To you &nly i^ given knowledge or ignonutco
(whichever it be) of tho god* «ni! the powers of hcavfii ; your <i welling
ia ia tlic lone heart uf the titoit. From you wo luirn, that thi; hoitrnu of
iniin'ti gho»t l« not the $«n>('li^4» g'^^'^'i ""' 'ho pale n-nUn of thu monaich
boloiv ; in anotlivr worhl his Kpiiit Nurviru* still ;— dcntli, if your lore be
ini*-, i» but tl)tf passage to endnring life."
There is lh« tcsiimoay of nn edueated Koraan, fifty years afVer ChrUr,
t« the Celtic nico bfing then " wiser tlinn their neighbours ;" testimony
all tha iiioTo retn^trkablu becauso ctvilixc-il nnlion«, tlioiK^h very prone to
ascribe to biirlxinjiis people an idt.il purity anil nimiilioiiy vt til% and
inaniicrg, arc liy no means nutiirnlly i;ic)invd to lucribe lo thent high
atljiinniCflt in )ntcll>.-ct(ial and «{)iftiiutl ihings. And now, along with this
t«>tiinony of Luciiu'r, one hw lo c»n-y in mind Ciusar'a remark, dint tho
Druida, partly from a religions tf-TUjilL*. partly from a deaira to di«cip!ini:
iko memory of iheir pupil.*, conimiitcd nothing to wntinj. IVclI, llion
comfit (he cruktiing dcfi-ac of t)io Ccliic rncL> in Briluin, and tlic Itomnn
conquoit; but ihu Celtic race suhttittcd horc »cill,ftnd any one e»a sea that
wliilc the raee subsisted, tho traditions of a diKiplinft atich aa that of
which Lucan hna drawn the picture, ivere net likely lo bfi m> roryRpecdily
" eztiu2uiBli<»l." I1i« withdrawal of the Eomana, the rcaoverod iad«|)«ii<
I
I
Tai£ STUDT OV CELTIC UTKitATORe.
dvncc 'of tlitf Dative tnce hen, lli« Saxoa tarwiou, I)m Blniggla wtlh tbfl
tvixotu, wero jiut tln! ground for ou» of thtae banit o( «itng«llo imUviuI
Ufc anil ftetf-consck'iuiK-sK, ukkli fioil » Toioc in r bunt of pocte wid
poetry. Aoconlingly, to thin tiir.f, bi tlto Mxlli eenUiry, the uniiieinl
Wvkb tnditioo Kliaclioi llie great group of BrltiiJi pcvtm, Talitwn noil hm
^Iow(. Ib till: twrlitlt cculur^ tlurre 'bvgta fw WnUa, along villi xnotbor
Wnt of calionnl Itfo, anr>t)icr burit of foetiy ; aad tiik burst HUraij
in the kUictcr acoM! of llie won] — a buret nkicb kil, (br the fir»t time,
wriltcu tecorJ). It wivt« tli« tcmpU t4 its proiie<>.-««o», u well aa of
ilM^ir, and t]i«Tclui« Mr. Jiiuli uouU to ni.il:<i it ibc rc:tl autbor of iho fl
nbole poetry, (kiu niny ray, of llic sixtb cviiliiryi b> well as it« avia. Nu
JMlbt oiic canuot pioiluct; ibu tex.lt ct tliti pntry of ibu usth CUUCUI7;
no doubt we bave tlib only as lli« [vrclfib aiid aucccB^ing centuriva vnite
it d^nvD i DO duubt tb«y uibccd atid cliaiiged it a grent deal in writing it
down. But, aiiiv9 a coiitiuuoiw ntKain d' teuiiuoiiy diaws th« enduring
(txiUcuoc and iuflucniX' among ihc kindred Cvlta of Wain and Brittany,
fmia Ibv tixlh ct;atury lo ib« inelftb, «f an old tuiiionul liicrnluK, il seeoii
ciTiniu tbut much of lliis must be traoeuble in liic ducunienu of ihc
twellili Miiliiry, and tbo iulereMiQ^ ibiiig ii (o tiacu iu It cjinnot be
iIi'Ditid tliat tiicro li such n continuous stream of lostimony; tbcn i>
Gildus in 1I1R Hixth century. N\»iiiuB in the eigbth, ilio lawn of tlonel in
the IcntI) i in titv dBTcntli, tAx-nty or tiiirly y<»n bvfurv tlii: new literary
i-pocb bcgAD, we hear of Ithys ap Tudor having " brougbt witb bin Aroiu
Brillany, tlio eystcui «f tlio lEuund Tuble, nliiL-li at bonie Lad become
quite furgoilun, atid he rMtori^ it nt it i«, wiib n^nrd to minttrels And
bards, :u ic Itiid but » at Cai;r]>.uii-n[iu[i-C*k, uiid«x ibe Emperor Arthor, in
ibc titnu cf tliv suvi-r^igiity i/f lUv ruc« of tbv C^mry ovvr Uic isktid ol
Uiituiii :iu<l il) adjunttit i»]aud«." Mr. Nunb'd own conmival on tbta u: *'Vic
lictc scv tbv iiilJ'uduvtiuu vf titc Aitlitiri^ii rontanct: from Brittany, prc-
C4-diiig by nearly one gi:Jicr;iiii»i, llit- icvit-til «f idumc &ud poetry to Morlk
Wales," uiid yet be dots not itet^iii tu [frci'ivu wliat u leMimoiiy is btnc
to tlic reality, fuUicna, and miljaisteuui uf tliat jiriiuilive literaluic about _
ubich hv ii to sceplieiil. Tlic-n in the twelfth century leatimony to ihU I
pritiiiliro litcialuic abauhit^-ly Hbouiiilii; one coii ()ul>Io none bt^itcr Ibnu
tlial of Gtraldus du Bani, «i Ciiraldus C'ainbi\-u&iit. aa be ia usually oilkil.
(liruldus ifi an exixllmit auUioiiiy, uiio kiii-w vi>\l wlint Ito was writing
nbotil, uud be tpcalLs of tlm ^Yulsll InitU ami rbai'SodJsls of bis lioie u
biiviug in tUeir poucsMon "aiicitut .iiid iiuth«nti« boolu" ia lb« Vi'tLtk
Ltiiguuge. llic a[i[)ai'aLua uf tecliaicid terms of pocti^', ag;iiu, and the
L-Iaborale poolical oiganizutiun whik;li we SuJ, bi>l]i in Walrs aud Inrlaod,
cxiMiog from llio wry cotnmKnccnmit of llio nieditevol literaiy paiod ia ■
each, and to wbicli no oHier uiediieval litcratuie, so fur as 1 know, abows
at its liiat Uginiiiiig!! KJiyUiio^ nniilnr, JiiJicittK au rely, in tbeae Cellio
ji('Oplv)i, the clu^ii' au<l [jcieidlcal. Uatlilioii of mi oIiltT poetical period <it
gru^it duvtilupiiii;iit, aud sliiioti iireei&tilily cuiiHCk:!^ ilaelf in one's oiiod
with Ui4 cluborule Druidio diiK;i|>iiiie wtiicb CnuAi' ucolioiu.
.tp% tilt) bem viaj to get a liill eense of lli« til^ihed anti([uii)r,
rurmiiig sa it were Ui« buckgn-aiKl to iltose tnodinral dociiinetits, vliicb in
Mr. Nuii'ii oyM jirattjr tmioli in-gin imd uiid with llitTiKH'K-eo, ia to take,
nlmoQt lit raiiilom, .1 paHiumte i'mm xucb a Uilc :ut fiUhteth and Oltetv, ia
tJiu ^a^inoyiot — tiiat clruniiios culk-vtiuri, fur nliidi wu vwc kucU s
debt or grutiti]<!i} to Lndy CiiurWtu* truest (to call ber siill hy the iinnM
kho borv wIk'U nlie hiiliIa lu-r hiippy entry inbu tfic world of kltera),
iiud which eke so tiukiadly suireni to reniuiu out of print. Almctt werj
[Age of tliia tale points to traditions and petxnimgt^ of tin; incut rumota
onliijuily, mid is instinct with tlic very biL-jttli uf t)i« primitive wurltl.
•SeHruii i* iiiailo for Miiboit, tliu non of Modron, who wns t^kca when thrco
nights old from bt-twcvii Lis luolhor nnd lltu wall. The se«kt;Ts go first to
the Oiu<:l of Cilgwri : the Ousel hud lived long ftiiouj;li lo p«ck a eniilb'H
iinvil down to tb« siie of :i nut, but he liaJ nttvur lietird of MHbuii. " But
tbei'e U a race C4' animals who were forcufd before mo, uiul 1 will h« your
giiidu lu them." So tbo OumI giiidi^s them to the Stag ofUedyavre. Tlie
StJ^ bad loeu &a oiik sapling, in the wood where be lived, grow up to be
no P«k with a, hundrod bi-iincbi.-s, nud tb«D slowly decay dowa to u
withvrud ittump, yet hu had nf^rer he.-ird of Jrlnboii. " Kut 1 will bo yotir
guide lo the placi; where tbiTc is an <iniTuaJ which was formed before I
was ;" and hr guidos tbera to the Owl of Cwn Cawlwyd. " "Wbeu lirsl 1
raiue )iUh«T," uiys ibo Owl, " th« widv viilloy you kou was a wooded g)m.
Lid a ruce f>f men came tuid rooted it up. And there grrir a second
VOOdl and tliis wood is ilie third. My wings, are tbey not withvrvd
alamjM?" Yet the Owl, in spile of bis great iig«, Iiad iivvvr ht.iard of
Mabon ; but lie olTiTvd lo be guide '' to wlicro is the oldest aiiimal in ibo
world, and ibe ono lliat has travsllod rrmsl, the Eagle cT Gwern Abwy."
The Eagle was so old, ihut a rock, from ihu top of which bo jircked st the
•tan (.-rory tn'vning, wils now not so muob as n opnii high. Hu knw
nothing of Mabitii ; but tlit^re WM a monster »aJinoii, into whom hi! once
ktruck hJM cliivtj) in Llyu Llyw, who nii((ht, perhaps, telt tlieni something
of biin. Aitd nt Inst tho .Silnion of LEyn L1yw told Uinn of Mabon.
" With every tidu I go .iloiig ih<t river upward*, tiniil I oonia near to
the wolbof GloucL-ttcr, and there huve I fniiud such wtviig lu 1 ocvcr
found clMwhero." And the Sivljnoa took Arthur'u mesnengera on bia
>bouldvis up lo llic wall of the prison in Gluuc^aler, and tbcy dflivercd
Mabon.
Nothing rcnJd better give that Bcnse of primitive and pre-in«di«val
I anli(|uity which Uj Uic observer with any tact for these ihiDgi is, I think,
(ik-nrly percvptiblo ia tlio«B remains, at whatever time tli<-y may have
been written, or l>ett«r srrvc to check loo absoiiite an aetM^ptance of
Mr. Naslt's dicltinc- in noiiii! rM|>i'iH* very *jvltit:iry — "ilint the oomnion
aavutDption uf ifiicli rcnmins of tbe date of tb« sisth centuty, ha* betio
made u]iod rerj' uiutaliafiictnry grounds." It ia true it lias ; it ia true, too,
that, OS he goca on lo Niy, '' wtilcTi who claim fur productions uutually
txistiog only in manuaci-ipta of the twelfth, an origin ia ihu biath oeniury,
■
I
I
TUE 6TUDV OP CELTIC UTKRATUnr,
aro c«l!ptl ujioii lo dtfrnonslnile tluj links of pvkJcnce, litWr mtemiil or
extcraal, nhich bri<];;i.> over this grcut iotorrcDing period of «t It-aiit fire
hundr«d yeauv." Then Mr. NuHti mtiiimica; ^'This exteraAl evidence ti
*](ogctber vrantiitg." Nut itltogi^ilur, lu wv liarc svcn ; tLat asscriion u
ft liille too rtrong. But I niti conlvnt to let it |M9>, bccanvc it is tror,
that urithoul iutemnl cvidtmce in l!iis matter the c-ttomfil ovitVnco would
be of nu momeQ^ But whcu Mr. Nnsh continuca itiriber: "And tha
iat«rual ovId«nco ev«n of tlie »e-catlt4 tiiMono pooms tli«tns«lTe«, u, is
some inslniices nt Iraxt, o[^>oaeil to ibrir chinis to an origin in the vtxiK
century," and k-nvcs tlic mailer iIh-tv, nnd Itaiflica liUcliapler, I snjr timt
i* nn tininiisliiclor)' tum to give to tlic matter, And a Unio nnd impotent
ooii<:Iu»icn lo liis clinpter; t>ecaiiae the cne into rest iny, IhiitAd (juenioti
here in, not id wli^t iiislaiteca tlw inCcmal CTidvuco op^Mca thq olaims of
theas poems to a sixtli-oeiiturjr origin, but in what instniicot it mif-poMs
them, and what ihcuo (ixlli-ccmtn-y remains, tlum csiubn«hf?d, cigiiir^.
So ogaiu witli lb* <mc*tion ns to tlie laytbologicar import of tltcau
poeuu. Mr. Nn«li lecina to nic lo hare dealt vitli tliis, loo, rather In tbe
Kpint of a sturdy cneaiy of tlio Cdta and llieir pralenuona, — often roong'li
ebimerioO, — than in tLo epirit of a disintereated man of Kii>nc«. " We
tind in llic oldest com^ioailioni in tiic Welsh langnage no (rnre*,"* be says,
" of the Dmida, or of a pngnn mjtbclogy." He will not hear of tixn
being, tiir itiitta!ici>, In tlime compmitioCM^ traces of lliu doctrine of the ■
iranfliiiignttion of (khiIh, altribuied to tlie Dniids in snch cleiir wordi by I
Ctcenr. He i» very severe upon a German Bcholnr, long arid favourably
known in lhi« country, who has already fiiriuubnl vnliinblti contri-
butlona to our knowle'lgc of the Celtic race, and of whoee laboara I
tli« innin fiuit l»a», I believe, not yet lieen giren va — Str. Stvyer.
He i.i Tery »everc ujion Illr. Meyt-r, for finding in one of llio
pocins nftcrihcd to Tnlii'dn, "a sncnficiitl hymn addresacd to the god
Pryd, in his character of god of ihc Sun." It is not for me lo pro* _
nounce for or agnioRt this notion of .Mr. Miner's. I lisrve not tlio I
IcDcwlodfw whieli i» reeded in order lo make one's aulTn^ in these
luattera of any Tnliio ; »ij>csl:iiig meroly ns one of iho nnWmed p«b!ie, I
will confcKf thai nllcgory w-tina lo ini-; to pl.ny, in Mr. Meyer's iheorief, i ■
acunMrliat exeiiwive purt; Arihnriind liiaTwtlvs [?)Knigl)laof the Bound
Tabic wgnil)'ing scWy the ycnr niih ila iwelTc raotitlts; Peieiral nnd tlia
iliiler eipiifyitif; vMy steil and iho grindatune ; Stonclicngc anil the GoAf
din pill to purely rakndarisd purposes ; the XiMimyfn, the ifahcihonta,
and tlie limil, finully following the fulc of the Godwlin; all this appean to
me, ! will ccnfi^M, a little premnlnrely grasped, a lidlo nnsiibatanlinl.
But that any eve who knows the wi of modem my tbol<v;ica| {«ionce
towurda aatioiiomical and K>hr my 1 1 in, n «ct which Ima aln-itdy justified
itself in many rcepecis eo vletoriougly, and which is so irrosistibk that _
one can Itardly now look up at the sun wlthont having the feoMtions ef a |
niolh; thai any otio wlio knowa thif, abould fud in the Wel-ih rriualos tK>
Uaeesofmjtholc^, b riuila astounding. 15' by, the heroes ac*d beroiaea of
THE STUDY OP CELTIU LITEHA'n;Ui:.
47S
Cj'mric woilil aro nil in the sky as ^\^M as in Wcluli Hoiy;
Aiiliur U iliu Grent He.ir, his harp is llio c(>n»I<rl)utic[t I.yrn; Ciiuiopirla'i
cbair is Llya Don, Doa'a Court ; the tisvghter of D«a vrna AriAai-c>d, aad
the Nonliura Croira is Caer Ananrcd ; Gu-ydion wjis Don's son, and tlie
Milky Wnj in Cucr Gnydioii. With Onydifn is Math, (he eoij of Ma-
tbonwy, ihi* "nmn of illiiKion mid phntilnwy;" uiul the niomc-nt ono goes
below rlic surface — almcwt lieforc onegowlKlow the am-facc — xll is illuBion
and plmatasy, donUIe-meanio^, nnd fiii^rMcIiitig mytbulogical import, in
tho world which all those perscnngei inlmhit. WHiat nre llio threa liun.
dred rarcna of Oivcn, Jiiid iht nine sorccreasca of I't-redur, and ilie tloga of
Annwn, the W?kh Undo?, and tho biids &f Wliifitmon, wbiMo eong was to
Bw«ct t1i»t wunjoci) Temiiinorl Rpc-ll-bottnd for t'igbly yunra togvtlloi' lixtvii-
ipg to them? Wliat ia llic Avnnc, tho vsl ur-monntur, ol* whom cr^ry
luke-udc in \Vj»Im, iuhI lici* pi-overhinl Bi*('<'cb, and hur immio, to thii cbiy
preserve ibo Iradilion ? AVluii is fiwyn (]i« sun of Nujd, kiii^ of ritlrti*,
Uio rulor of tho Tyhvyth Teg, cr lUmily uf beauty, vho till ihu d»y of
doom lights ou every lirnt Cay of Mny — tho great re:iat of the aim amon^
ihc Celtic pcoplcfl — with Gwythyr for the fnir Cordt-liii, the ijiingbtcr of
Ltnr? Wlmt is tlio woniloi-rul nmrc of 'IVirnyon, vhich on tho night of
evrry first of Mny foaled, n«d iio on« cwr knttvr wlmt lieciiiuo of lh« colt?
Who in the niY^tii: Aravii, thu king of Animii, wbo changed Beniblnnco
for a year with Pwyll, prince of Dyvod, and reigned in hia place? These
are no iiiedin!Viil personngea; ihcy belong to an oIJlt, pflgaii, mythological
world. TliG v<Ty first thing that etiikca out-, in reading tb<^ Mabino^ioji,
is bov ovidDnlly the HK^diiitriil elory-tollcr is pillnging iin and/giiity ol'
vliicli he docs not fiiHy poiwcss the sccn-t; he is Hko n peaaant buliding
hi» but on iho tite of nnlicnrnatMii or Ephcuut; lie huihiM, but what bo
buildn is full of inntori:il» of which he known not ihu hiKtmy, or knows by
a glinimeriitg tmdition merely; — slones " not of llii^ building," liiil of an
oM<r architecture, greater, cunningcr, more ninjcelical. In the Eciediteval
stories of do Lalin or Teutonic p«oplv docs this strike one as in thosa of
t(i(! Wf-'lah. Kilhwch, in tho story nlrcady tjiiotcd *>f JCHfiuxh artii Oltntn,
nrVn \iv\p nt the linnd of Arthtii's warriors; «, Hat of Xhosv ivanion is
given, which filb I knoiv not how many page* of Lady Chnrlolte Cticst'a
book ; thU hit is n perfect treasuro-hourte of mystMiouB niins : —
" Tciibi lien, the eon of Gwynhan — (his domiiinji were swallowtJ up
by tho sea, and lie bimeell' hardly eEcapctl, nnd he cnmc to Arthur, and hin
knife hfl<i ihis pecnliai-ily, that from tho time thnt he came tboro no baft
would eT«T remain ii]^on it, and owing to (his a uckneuicanK- over biin
and he pined nway during the rcniAinder of hia lifo, and of this he diod).
" lJn:*m, Iba «on of Drpmidyd — (when the gnat aroE«< tu the moniing-
with llie »u», I>n m could kc it from Gelli Wio in Cornwall, as fer off ns
FcQ Bbtlhaon in Xortb Britain).
" Kynyr K(.-invarTa»c>— (when h« was told he lad a son bbrii, be nUI
til hi* wife : Daniecl, if thy eon be mine, hio bcitrt will be idways colcli
ijnd tltcre will be no wamilh in his bands).''
47G
THE STt'DY OF CELTIC LITEftATURE.
the eJ^htnvM of lh«
hold
DgBin, la the eJ^htnvM oi lh« nsmlor's
Twrdi-Trwylli aiid bin airange klory I How iiianifc«l iho mixture of knnu n
nod unknown, nhadowy nod clear, of diflercnt Uyera and orden of tradilion
jntnbled togctlier, in tho •1017 of Bnin tUe Blvmcd, n ttcrf whose ptmn-
Agea touch a comparatiTcljr Inle aud hixtoric time. Brnn inrades Ir^nd,
ta avciigc cue of "the Uircu unhappy hluw* of tlilt iabutd." tlw diutjr
Htriktog of Braniren by her hnsbend Mniholvcli, king of Ireland. Rnia
is mortallj' wounded hy a puiwned. dart, and only senm men of Briciin.
" the Ulnnd of tbu Uighty,'' escape, amoog then T&liosin.
"And Uran contnuuid^ them ihnl thvy stiould out oft bis bead.
And take you my head, aniil ho, and bear it cvni uiiio llie White Mount in
London, and bury it there with the face towards France. And a long time
wUI you be upou the road, In Ilarli-cb you will he fa«tiii|:t aeren yean»
the birds of Hliiannoa eincing unto you the while. And all that tiitke the
head uiU be to you an plt-aMint cotnpany m it ever was when on my body.
And St GwbIl-s in Pi-nvro you will be fourscore ymiv, and you iiuiy
remain (Li'r«, and lh« hend with you uocorrupied, until you op«n the
door that looks townrda Aber llenveleu and lowardt Comirall. Aud after
you have opened that door, there you may no longer tarry ; aetihnh ibea
to London to bury the htail, and ^< ntraij^ht forwurd.
"So lliey cut ofT hia head, and thoM »cv<:ii went forw.'U'd therewith.
And Bntnwcn waa tlie eighth vrith then, and they camu to land at Abcr
Alaw in Anglesey, and they mte down to rcM. And Bmnwen kiokcd
tdwords Irchmd and towards the Island of the Mighty, to sec if site could
descry them. ' Aln*,' luud nhf, ' \\<n: ic nic l)inl I wan ever horn ; two
ialnnda h:»'e been deitroyed Ucaiue ol' tne.' Then *l>e uii«t«l a loud
groan, and there 1>i«kc her hcurt. And they niotl* her a four-ndcd
grave, and buried her upon the bmnks of the Alaw.
" Thru they went uu to Hitrl«ch, and sntc down to least and to drink
there ; and th«TC rame three birds and began aioging, and all the songs they
bad ever heard were huriJi ramparcd thereto; and at this feiui they oun*
timjcd tcA-en yeara. I'hua they went to Uwaica ia Pcnvro, and there they
Jbund a liiir und regnl sjiol vTorlwikinji the ocnui, and a tpaciniia hall «u
therein. And tlii-y wi.-nt iiUo tin' Imli, atul two of its doon were open,
but the thiiii dovi' vtun donud, tlml which looked towards Corawoll. 'See
yonder,' said Manawyddan, ' ii the dci»r thai «c may not open,' And
that night ilicy ['e(;aled Uiemaelvt« jind were joyful. And therv tlwy
remained foursccre years, nor did tjiey think they had erer »peitt a lime
more joyous and mirthful. And they were not more weary lluui wben
first Uicy came, neitlicr did tht-y, uiy of tlicm, know the time they Imd
been tht-re. And it was as pleiuant to tUem liaring the h&ul with them
HA if I3ran had been with them liiniMell'
" But one dfty wiid Jlciiyn, the son of Gwyn : ' Evil beiide me if I
do not cpeu the d'»r to know it' that ii> ttw whidi is said concerning it.'
So he opiwed tlit; door aud lookcil towards ConiwuU and Aber Ileoveleu.
And whm tlicy had looked, they were as conKiuua of all tlie erila ikw
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
THE STUnr OK Ca:i/nC lITRRATt-KB.
477
ImuI «vor raitiita«<1, flnd oT all llic rriendf nnd companion* llicr liAtl lost,
and of all th« intMrj tlmt hud ber^lkn tliein, u it' all htid Imppcuvtl in
that very spot ; and wpocially of tli« fats of tlieir lord. And bcauae of
tlicir psrturbaiion, thcj c«ul<i net rwt, bat jourrejed fot-Lli with tl)« head
lowxnla London. And thoy btirtei] ilie hnul in thir Wliit« Mount."
Axttiur aflcrwurds, in )iU pntlc and aclf-ODnlidence, Jiointcrrcd tho
Imd, and ihia was one of •' thu tlii%e uuliappy diaolosurea of ibe island
oTBriuifi."
Tliera i« e%'ideDtlj mixed here, with lliu ntrwcr legend, a Jtlrilvt, m
Ihfl gcolo^iats would mv. of aomciliing far older; and tlio s^wret of Wait*
nod iu gt-nius is n-it ti-uly roacliei! until this delrilat, initc.id of being
ealUd recent bceanao it is found in contact willi whnt is i'ei>Qnl, is di^
aogagod, and i» nindv to l«ll it« own (tory.
Rat when wc >huw liim tilings of ihis luiid in ihc Welsh rcmauii,
Mr. Naili has an nnRnr<^r for lu. "Oh," ho anpi, "all tliJit ix tiieralj' a
tnaelilDery of ne<^romniiceni ^nd nugic, audi ha hai [ivobaMy ticen ]M>t-
■Mted by all pcoplo in all ngva, more or Icaa aimiidantly. Il<tw aimiliir
an the crvationa of the human mind id limeg and places the ino^t reiuoie I
We KC in this ■imilarity only an widmoc of thi: vxistmcr of a camtnoa
•lock of idcn«, vnriflimly dcv^lapcd according to tho formDiivG pH*nirt of
rxlema! cireumjtliinoe!'. Th« iimt<>riiil« of tliMa laW are not iifiiullur to
the Wdnli." And then Mr. NhhIi points out, with much Itamiug; and
ing»niiity, how certain incidents of th«e ules have their eounterport* in
Iriab, in Scandinavian, in Oriental rtmutDce. Uc nays, fairly onoiigh, that
th« aanrtions of Taliutin, in the famous Ilanea 'J'aUetin or lIi»toyy nf
TaJiesiit, that hr. win )i]'L-»ojit with Noali in iho Ark, nt thit 'lowor i>f
Babel, and with AlexaniW of Macedon, "we may ajtcril^e to the [lociic
(iincy of the (.Ihrirtian piiust of the Ihirleenth c«ntury, Vfho brought
Ihis romance into it* preoeiit torui. We mny compare these atalonients of
the unirersal pre«encc of iha wondcr-wo iking ningician with those c^f the
gleeman who rvcitcn the AJiRlo-Saxon mviricnl lale enllttd Iha lyaveller's
Song," No doubt hinds the moM di.^tatit can be ahown to have a ooinraou
property in many marrellous stories. This is one of the most interealing
diaeOTWiea of modern science ; but modem scitncc i«tcqniilly intei'ested in
IcDOwing bow the (;enius of each people hoa diiftTcnliated, so to tpcok, thia
eounioo property of theirs ; in tr&4>kiag ont, in each ease, llint specia]
"Tariety of dewlopmt-ul," wliidi, to use Mr. Nasli's own words, "Ih*
fonoalive prcssuTC of t-?i1crn.-il cjrcumslttnces'' lias occononed ; and net
Ibc lormatiirtt prcnure from without c-uty, but also the Ibrmuttve preiaurc
fnoi within. It ia this which ho wlio dmla with the Wdi>h remains in a
philosophic apitil wants to know. When is the Ibtce, for scientiGa pur-
|iow% of telling ub that oerlain inchlenta by which Welsh poetry has b«eo
■itppoaed'lo indicate nnurTiviDg iriidiiion of tliedoctiine ortraticniigiMKni,
an found in Irish poetry also, when Irish poetry has, like Welsh, iia root*
hi that Cellisin whidt is said to have held this doctrine of trat^niignUtoo
10 strongly? Whcco is creo the great force, for acicotilia puiposea,of
I
I
TUi^ STUDY OF CELTIC UTEtUTl'BB.
prarin^, ir U wrre poauble to prove, Uiat the ezunt retDitiiw of VTcUi
porirjr oontnln not of» ptiua ilecUmtioR of Drnidtcal, pagan, prfr-Cliri«to»a
doctrine, if one luu in tho extant roniikiiu of Breton poetry such texts lui
|]iU from tiK! pn^bny of Gvrenclilan : "lluec tiiiiei mtwt wc uU die,
lielbre we cowie to our final repose? " or bi tbo cry of liie eagles, in the
esaae poem, of fierce tliimt lor Chrioiiiin blood, n cry in which llie poet
CTtdt-ntly gives rent to hii own hnirod ? nince the solubiniy, to ii*e tlat
cvuvcnii'nl I'rcnch word, of Brclvu nod WcUh pt-etry ia fto complete,
ilint the idem of iho one nuiy be almofit certainly BEKumcd not to liare
been vanung to those of ilie otbcr. The qucaUon ic, irbca TalicuQ
tayft, in iho Batllt of iJit Trte», —
" I have been in many siliiipt-ii before I :tttjtiiied a oot^jeninl Ibnn. I
h.irc been ii narrow blade v{ a cword, I have In-cn a drop in the air) ]
bivc bc^Q n ahiaing star, I have been a word in a book, i have be«n a
IkioIc in ibc begiontnj;, 1 have 1>eeD n light in n lantern n year and a half,
1 have bu-u a bridge for piuting over thi«e-acoro rivers ; I Imre jour-
neyed m an eagle, I hxvu boen a boat on tb« son, 1 hiivo been a director
in battle, I have bci-n » sn-cn] in the liaiid, I Ihto been n ahield in S^l,
1 hnrc becii the >ti-in^ of n hnrp; 1 have been cnetianted for d year
in the ffani of wnlcr. Thcic la nothing in which I bare not been. . . ,"
tlio question Js, have tbcao "itnlemenla of the uaivu-ml presence ol
the wend IT' working inngician" not hiog which diiliiigttiiOiet tbcm from
"siniiUr creikliona of ihe huntan miud in ttiu<a ntid placus the moot
retDOto ;" Jibvc tb*-y not an inwardness, a geverity of form, a tolcmtiity of
tone, which indicate! the still reTeTberntingcchoofa profound doctrine and
discipline, siich as ivns Dniidi&m ? Suppose v.e coin^Kiro Taliesin, as Ur.
Nfwh tiiviicn nit, wiili tiie gleem:ui of the Anglo-Saxon TrawUfr's SiHtg.
Tfikc tlic ipecimeu of this song which Hr. Nash himwlf quotes : "Ifam
been wilh the linitlilOH and with iho Estyringi, with iho Uebimra and
with tlic Itiitians nml with tho I'^gypiiana; I have been with the UedM
and with (he PrrainnH and with the Myrginga." It is very well to M
pornJlcl witlt tliis vxtract Tahvsin'i "I carried tbo banner before Ales- ■
oikUt; I wna in Cniinnn wbvn AbKiIom wnj doin; I wu on tbe bone's
crupper of FA'itu\ and Enoch ; I wtut on llie high crovs of Uto merciful Sju
of Ood ; I was the chief overeocv ai llie building of tl« tower of Niraiod ;
I was wuli my King in the iminger of the an; I supported Moses llinw^
the waters of Jordan; I liiive bcvn in tho bnttci-y in the [and of the
Trinity ; it is not known wiiat is the nature of iu meat and its fish." It
is very well to »ay thiit ihcse aAsenioua *'we inny f:iir]y ascribe to tbt
poetic funcy of a C-briitian priest of ihe thirtcealb ccntuiy." Certainly wo
may ; tlie iast ot Tidiesin'a fiFtaertiona more cBpecially ; though one ntut
rtnmrk at Uic name lime Ibiit the WclBhmnn shows much more fro awl
imn^nation than the ADg]o-S:ixon. But Talicsin adils, after his "J wax
in Caimrtn when Absalom was ahiin," " / rnu in the hall i-f Don br/ort
Qwjdivn Kat horn;" he adds, alter "1 was the cliicf ovcrtccr at tbe
building of the lower of Nimrod," "I have beta tUrte thtti rttidtnt n tJi$
I
I
Tjis sryjim os Celtic uteratuuh
479
0^ Arianrod ; " lie adilx, nflcr " I was al tlic crcm witli Mary
jdalrnc," " / obtained Mg tiupiratioa /i-otn the eauUIron of Ctridtfftny
And Gnallj', after ilie meiliicTul IoucIl qI* i)ie vuit Co tiie biittcr)- in the
laod of Uie Trinity, ha goes olT ut score : " I lutvu liecii itibiructcil in lliu
wliole tij»tcm o( ilio iinironxi ; I shall be itU tbi! d»y ct' juiigmont on llie
face of ihc carl h. 1 Iiavc Ijwh in nii uinriiny clmir itbove Ciiur Sidiii, and
tJi« wliiilin^ round witlioiit moli«n bc-dvcca IlifL-e clcmi-uU. I* it not
tJift wonder of tho world tbat cannot be diocovered ?" And so lie ends tlie
poem. But here is tlio CVLiic, the essential part of the pocn : il ia h«io
that tho " formntive prc«niri' " Ivas been really in operntioti ; mid hvro nurvly
in pHganism nud mylltulo^ ciioiigli, irhidi tlie CHrlstian piivst uf lliu lliir-
teentli a<:nttiry cua have hod nothing to do with. It is tinnciuitiJic, uu
doubt, to intcrprft this purl ntt Kdwnrd Dnvieit mid Mr. Hcrlvrt do ; but
it IB imscir.ntific uUo to ^ct ilA of it m ^fr, Na»h doL-t. WiilrM mid ttie
WeUh gcniiifl ai-e net to bo known without thin pait ; and the true crilio
in h« who c'tn beet disengage its real Bignificaiice.
1 eny, theu, whnt wo nont is to tmow the CV-lt nnd his geaiiis ; not tu
exalt him or to ab&sc him, hut to know him. And for this a diain-
tcrrsted, poHiiIve, nnd comtli-ucLive criticism la needed. Nvither his
frieadfl nor his enemies Ikuvu yet given us much of this. His rriends Imve
pivpu Its materials for criticiani, and for thvee we ought lo be grateful ',
Uis cncinii-a hare given iia nvgnliro criticism, and for this, too, up to a
certain point, we inny be grateful ; but the criticism vte really w.nnt npitbcr
of thcni ban yet given u.i. Pliilulogy, that acJence which in our time
ku liatl tn nnny hucceisvjt, hm niit been sbandoued by liur good fortune
in touching the C*'ll ; philoloffy haa brought, almost for the first time in
their lives, the Celt nnd sound criiiciim together. The Celtic grammar of
Zeum, whose death is so grievous a loss to science, oGcn it splondid
«in-ciini'ncif that i»itiprit,di«uieri'iiteil wiiy of tn'iiiing ulijectK of knowli-dgi',
nJiicli is llie best nnd most iitlniciivt: vliiinicCerintii; of (j<:rinaiiy. Zeuita
piwecdi ntither ns ft Celt-lover nor as b Celt-hater; not the slightert
ince of a wish to glorily Toutonism or to abEise CcUioii, appeara in his
hooJc. 'I'lie only tUvire apparent there, ia the dcviro to linow U'la object,
the langii.ige of tho Celtic [x^dplRs, a* it really in. In ihia he ttiuids n» it
model to Celltc students ; and il has been given to him, aa a ivwaid for
bis sound method, to tMtttblish certain points which ara henceforth cardinal
points^ laniinarki, in all the discussion of Celtic matter*, nnd which
no OitC had BO eatahliahed before. People talked tA rniuloin of Celtic
nriliitgs of this or ihiit age ; Zoum has definitely lixcJ the age of what wo
notiially have of fheae wriiings. To take ihe Cymric group of lAiigufiges:
our cailicst Comith document lit a vocabulary of th« bhirleeuth century;
our OJirltrst Breton dooiiment iii a short do«cription of nti estate in a deed
of ilic nintli century ; our eurlicni .Wd»h doentnenlji are Welsh glossca of
tiK eighth century to EutychuiS the ]j;raiiimi»riun, wid Ovid'n ^trt af Zoif,
and the ventea found by Kdward Llniyd in the Jvi^ncvs muniiKcript »t
Ouabridge. The mention of tltia Juvtncus frugment, by the by, suggeata
4S0 lilB S-rUDY OF CliLTlC UTEUATi;BB.
ilie difl«roDeo iliere j* brtirccn a wmai and itn iinmiiiid eriu«*l itiibib
Mr. N'lwh dMtlfl witli thk risgnicDt ; but, in sptw of all bi« grt^ acutcnoM
uid Icarciipg, bsc&tisc hg liiui a biaa, licoraae be doca not bring lo ibcM
nuu[«r9 ihe diunicTf«tc<l spirit tliey nctd, he U capable of gf.'tUng rid,
({iiile imvr)trmiibib]y, uf a parllculni' word in tlia fra^eut vrbivli do«* tici
Miit him ; bb deniiag vith Ibo rsnts is lUi advocft(«4 dwbng, VA •
critic' t. Of this soi-t of Ihing Zhuw is incapalilfl.
'Xlia leit which Zeuu oocd for t-stablisbing the i^c of tbcao dootmenU
IS ft (cicniific ttwt, the tc«t of orthography and c( decI«asioiiiU and
Kynincticsil Iflitn*. TiieM nmltnrt nre far out of my province, bot wbat is
clear, touad, nnd dimple, baa a nntnral attroolion fur ua all, and cna
ieels a plvaaure in rop«atinc; it. It is the grand si^a of ngp, Zeuaa myn,
in WrUitsnd Irith worde, when wliat the grnmniuriana call cbe "deathiuio
ifDuium" bua nut vet txkcn piaoci vrhcntbcrbarpcoutonaitUbarc not ytt
been clumgi^l iiiUi tint, p or t into b t>T it; wlion, for inttanoe, fiap, a<on,
hiM not yc^t btfcoiiii; iifili ; cott, n vrood, coed ; ocet, a harrow, O0ed. litia
ia ft cleAr, Boieolitic l«n to nppi)-, and a leot of which ibe iicouncy can be
veritied ; 1 do not tuy that Znvm was the lirat pt^rson who kaev of thii
teat or applied it, htit [ hij that be iatlic Jirst pcnoa who in dnliug wrtb
Celtic itiAtters hnq invuriiibly pru<^ecdvd by niuina uf thi« niid simihur
Mricantic texts ; ibv first person, therefure, the body of whoae work Iia* n
Kivntitic, Dtiiblc {.liamoter} wd eo be aiaiuls at » uodu to «U Cvliji:
jnijiiirert,
Uis itiHucnco haa a]nady been most happy ; and as I bare vnbiigcd on
a eertain £>iltim in criticinm of Kugcnc O'Cnrry'is — whoae bti«)D«aa^ afUr
all, waD the d«-ftcripiJoa and dauiflcation of malerials miher than criii-
ciein, — let me sliow, by another eucamplv from EugeiK O'Curry, this goud
influence of Zetias upon Celtic studies. Kugcne O'Curry wants to ealabliah
that componitioni of nii older dnic than tlie twe-Ulh century exbied in Irdand
ill (he twi'Kih cr-iitury, imd thus hv proceeds. He tukea o«c of ibe fraH
cjctant Irinh jn;(niiBcriptJ«, tlw Ltabhiir vn h'Uidhrt ; or, Jtoot of the Dim
Cote. 1'hc irumpiler of thia book won, he any^ n certain Madmuiri, ■
ineniber of Uis rcligioui haute of CluainmocnoLi. This he cKabUabva frMi
a paaaage in iJie manuscript itiielt': "ThiH it a. trial of lits jwn here, by
Madmuiri, eon of Ibe eon of Conu na ui'IjulIiI." The date uf Mailnaiii
lie csiablisliM from n piiMftg? in the Anwih of tAt four Mattfrt, under
the year llOfi : "Alnelmuiri, eon of fclic mm of Conn n« tu'Bochi, woa
killed in tlie middle of the grtiat Btone church uf CluuinmiKaoiv, by a
party of rolibtnt" Thiia he gets the date of (be Hook «/ tin Duh Cow.
Thii book contains an ckgj en the death of St. Coluiiib. Kow, tnii
bclore 1 lOG, the hiti{nuigc of ibis el<^ was so old as to reqnira a gloM lo
iiiuko it intelligible, iw It in mcoitipanivd by a glon wrilteu Itvtmvti iba
linei. Iliia gli,«a <|uoCch, for the cxplnnatioa of obsolete words, a number
of more ancient compodiiona; and tliiri« coin pcoit ions, therefure, tnnst, at
the beginning of the twclftJi cvniury, h»vc bwa still in exiatences. Nothing
can be sounder ; every step is proved, and fairly proved, na «w gOM
I
I
I
THE STL"»T OF
431
O'Curry thus nft'onlB n go'A »ji<?citi)eD of Uio fA"0 luodo «f )in>-
liiAag DO Riiicli wniitcJ ia C'ltio rcsciirclica, iind m liiclv |>iacii>rd by
Edward Dutiu xui liu brtthrcn ; and to Tvuiid tiiis ^anc iik«tlic<:l, Zhxm,
liy tltu cxa)»[tk- lie ii<;U in liis uitii tleixiritueiit of jjlilktlugy, lius tualiily
cuiitribuU'il.
Scii-tice's iL-cuiiciUiig i>uwfr, loc, oit wLL-h 1 bave aln^Jy touotivd,
[iltiloliipy, in hvt Cirliic rciuarclieit, ugiiia and again iiliulrato. II«oen
Aud laDgiitigvs hare been abeuidiy joined, nud uuily bus b«cn oftcu
nwiily nwuuicxi at kIji^cs whci-u unu was Ciir, very fur, froiii Imviiijj
yvt ixally iL-uL-itt^J iiiiliy. SciviKt! Wi :ii]J Mill loti^ have to bu ii
dividci' oud a tcpirutiit, brcukiiig nrlilrary aiiU f^imitiil ootiiict.'tiviit|
niid dimicitin^ drL-ntuM ul' il |}t'ctiiiittire uud impoiwiblu unity. iJtUI, Boiencu
— irufi wicuct: — n:cii);iii;ei'a in lliu tioKuiit uf livr k>uI a law of ulliiiuilo
ftuioii, of condliulioii. To rtiwh liii», l-iit \o rcacli it UgitiiiiBti-ly, the
tends. She di.iw», fur innuiuct;, towaids the sumv id«i wliicii tills Iter
L-ltlcr utid divine tislvr, fioeiiy — the idea of tlio aubatiuitiBl unity of nian ;
lliougb eli« drntvs towiu-dfl il by ro-tda of hev oivn. But continiutljf
»li« i< sliuwing m affinity wIil-ii; nu ituiigiiicil xhvra yen* uolaliun.
Wlint *<:)iuul-boy of us liiia uul ruaiiiuij;i.nl bin Gi'vi:li diclivnary iu
inin for a mitiiliiviury iioccnitit uf Uiat old name for llic Fulo[ioiiiu->t, lb«
AjNOM Lawif and wiilu'n tlw liiiiib of Greek iuull* tlieiv u none. Butllw
biojiLiau iiunic Iwr caitli, "apia," uvferyt xvater-ittut^l, meaning first UU
iiitd liien Uiiiii — ibis uaoiL', vliich wo Iind in "nvin," Scaiidinarta, and iw
"«y" fur ialitnd, Aldcme^. not onlv tocpliiin* tbe Ajtioit Land c{ iii>p]nic\es
for UK, but poiutii il>c vrny to n tvbolc norld of r«luli<'nii]ii[<d of wlLidi wo
kiii-w liolliitig. 'iliu Scytbiiinn liicniKlvM Agniu,— obwiiro, fiir-Bepanilvd
Mungoliun pcopluaa tliiry ii»«d (Qa]>j>i.-iir utua, — vlicn>vo find tbat tbiy urn
vuFtiliaUy Teiiionic and Iiido-Kurup«-iin, (licir \ciy name llt« latuc word
M tlie couimou Latin nord " Kutuin," ilie afiichled [xoiiie, v[):it a KiirpriM
iWy give mil And ilic-ii, bclV're we buve i-cc»vcruil fiom ibia surjirise,
w« lt:nrn ibac tlm mmiv uf Ilidr falbu- and ^ikJ, Tnrgiiuv uh, cun-ira ua 1
know nvt liovr iniicli funbt-r inlu litmiliar (;Dni{iaby. Tliiei diviiiily, Shiuinff
tcith ihe Uirge, iLe tii-eck Heiciilta, the Smi, contJiinB in llic Bccond iHUfof
tiis name, tavus, "Rliiuing," a irondn-rul cement to bald limta and nalJcna
togttlicr. 3*»'Hf, "ebiniug," IVcu " tavu," — iu Sansait, asMvlliisSc)'tbiaii,
" to bum" or "tliini'," — n Dh'ui, i/i'is, Hevf, Qii^, Dirti, tiiid 1 know not
liuw ntucb more; nnd Taviti, tbu bri^ltt nnd burnt, firt-, llic pbci.' of fire,
tbu bvurlli, liic MnUc cl' Ihe liuiiily, bcv^'iuca the family itavlf, jtut im our
vtaA Jamily, tbc Latin /ufiiHia, ia fitim ih^meli, tlie tncrcd centre of fira
Tbe Lcarib cuuics to mean boniu. Iluo from hoiiio il ccmics to nican llm
group of hrrncH, the tribe; from ihc tribe iLe entire nntibo; and iu tlii«
Mtue of natiuii or ptoplf, ibc v.oid ajiwarg iu Gutliic, NofM-, OUic, iiud
IVninn, as veil as in Scytliiau ; ibu TUtvthitka, I>cutic]icn, 'J'iii]e«]m-ii, are
tlio men nf onu ihruth, nation, or peoplu; aud of lbi« «itr naaie Gfitnana
{t>i'Ui«, pi-Tlispf, only tbc Kuuiiin tiiin»Iiiti<>ii,muinitig the men of onp ftrrm
or itock. Tbv Cvltio divinity, Tcutalo)^ Ims bis njime fioin Uk Celtic IruUi^
pcopli; ; tavili, Are, iippeuriii^ here io its scooiiilury and dcrlvetl aeoM
peojitt, just na it dot! in its own Scytliiaa langiutg« id Turgilaviu'a second
name, Tarit-pamt, Tevtaro$, lliG pivloctor of rlic (iwple. Anptlii-r C«]tie
diriiiity, lli«: Unm of I.ucmh, fimU Iiin hrmher in llie G.ii*o«i, llic sword,
R^rebciliziag lltu ^jj t>f batlk-a of lL« Tl-uIohIc ScytliLuis. And a(tcr
pliilulcigy lias thus related la ench ether the Celt nml the Teuton, tJie
lakM miotlicr hniU'^h of ihc Idtio-Kuropcnn fiiinily, the ScUvcs, ond abovn
UHth«m lulinvingihc mme tULinc with llifiG^rmnn Siiovi, the »olar [)«)pt«;
the comiiioii giouiid here, too, being tlmt grxud jxiiiit of union, tin san,
firc. So, uinD, \re find Mr. ili-ycr, whose Critic studiva 1 jiut now tnon*
tioned, hnrplng ngnJn and iigniii on tl)o conii(;cl ion cvici in Ktiro{M-, if yon
go back fur cuougli, bctn-ccn Celt and German. 8«, nfU-r all wc haro
heard, and tvnly h^anl, of t)i« dircraity bctiv«en nil thingi Scmitio and all
things Iiida-Kiiru[ii'Bii, llicre in now nil luilinn pliilolc^st at uorlc ujioa
tlio rcliXioUBLip bHvrecii SuiimijiL :iijJ IIdUcw.
Both in BiurJl nnd greut tilings, i>liili)l<>):y, dealing with Celtic iniitl«n,
hiis cxetnplilied this lending of scieacu towards unity. Who lias not
been puzzled by Lltv rclutioos of tliu Scots «vilh Ii<cInnd^tlKtt vetts
el mnjar Scotio, «« Colgan calls it? WIio does not fwl what plco&urc
Zcuaa hr!i)f:i lis when lie eiiggcals that Ga<i, the D^ir.ci Tor the Irisb
t, and Seot, ai-e at bottom llm euine word, botJi having iltcif
igin in a woi-d nit-aning windy atid Tioih Bignit)'ing the violent, ttonaif
people ? AViiD (IvcA nut TloI his utind agrcmbly ck-oivd about our Jricndt
Lhu FftiiatiA, vhcii lie k-iiiiis tliiit tlio root of tlieir name*, fta, " whiio^"
uppc.ir:* til iho liero Flngat; in (iwyEKxld, the Welsh name for Korili
Wales; iu tli« Itomnii Vunodolin; iu Viiiiues in ItntUiiy j iu Vtbiecl
'J'he very afinu- of Ireland, some Kiy, comes from iho famoaii Snnscrit
iiiord yli'//fi. the land (fthc Aryans, or noble men : nhhcugh the wciglitof
ftjiininn seem* lo be in l:\i-oui' of contwcting it rathiT witli aoolli^r
.Sdimcrii word, amm, occidcnial, ihu xrcsteru land or lAv of the w«t.
llut, at nny rate, who lliiit liii» b(K-n brought up lo tliiiik the Celts utter
aliens from iib and our culture, ean c*me witliout -a Bfcirt of sympathy
upon swell word* ns heol (soH, or iitaiit (fuirti) ? or Upon such a aeiitence
as Ibis, '^ Pfrh Duw t/wi /u«,t«r»«" (" Gt"! prepari>il two It-untaiHa")?
Or when Mr. Wliiiley Stt^uu, ono of ihc abltwl adtolai-s runne^l in Zoum's
B^ioul, a born philologist — h« now occupies, alas I a pcMt under tho
Gorsmment of India, instead of a chair of pliilolojty at h»uii', and makes
one think mournfully of ^^oIltcs^^uil■u'a aayiiig, that Imd )w bcvn aa
Eiiglialiniiui he rliculd never hnvc produced bis (treat work, but hove
cntigbt the contagion of praclieal Ul'o, and dovolcd liimwlf (o irhat u
eiiUcd "rising in the world" — vlieii Mr. Whitley Slnkr;!, in liis rdition
of Corvtfiti't Gloifanri;, huld^ up the Ii-ieh word Iriath, tho era, and
maVes ua remark ihiit, ilioii]:1i ilm names Tt-iion, AtitjihilriU, mtd thoic
of corresponding ludiiin and Zend divinitifr, point to the mcaniqg mb,
yet it is only Irifh which ncluully cnj.plit's iht^ vociihiv, hotr delightfully
thtit brings Irebind into the ludo-Eitrapcnn concotl What a wtiolc*
I
I
I
I
THE STUDY OF CELTIC LITEnATORE.
488
soiDQ buffet it gircs to Luitl Lyndliimt'K :i]i<fn;iii»i] (locCrines. To
go 3, liltlii furtlier : of tlie two f{reat Celtiu (JivtBLooci of hngangc,
ihe tiaelic and tlie Cymric, iha GaoUo, say the pliiluiogiBis, i* wore
icblcd lo ihe yoiuigtr, iiioie syntlictic grcmp oi" iangiingca, SniiBcrit,
ljri'«k, ZcuJ, Latin, iiiiU Teulciiic ; iIjo Cymric to llio olJcr, more
iiniilylic X'linniuii group. Of the iiior<] iiyntlielia Aryiin giuiip, iigiiin,
Zviid mill Ti.-iil(ii]ic an:, Iii tlicir tuia, Ivo^ci' «ii<l moiu iiiuilytiu lli.tu
Sauat-rit and Grcdt, more in symiailiy wUh ilia TurJiiiiuii group nnd
with C*]iic. WliaC fjoaaiijiliiiea of afliuily and influence arc here liintcd
ot; what lines of inquiry, worth, exploring, at auy rate, sugguitt thcra-
wltre* to oiiun tuiud. B^ tlio furtiiH uf it« i;uigiuigu a iiittiun ttxprcaseg
iiH Tcry siclf. Our laiij^uitge is llic lotMirst, tlic iiu^wt nniilytic, cf all
European langaagc^. And ivo, then, what rre we 7 whnt is Bnglnad ?
I will not answer, A vast obfWJiire Cyinric basis ivilli a vast i-i»ibla
Tcutouic BUpci'ainicturc ; but I will Bay that ihat uniwcr sonic-Lijueti aug-
gt-stit il«.'!f, nt any raty, — Bomelinics Jtnocts nt our niiiiirti door for ndtniA-
Hon; and wc begin tci cast about nnJ K-u whether it In to he let hi.
But the formt of itH loiiguugc are Dot our only key lo a j^eople ; what
itenys in ils langiui;?Q, its literatm-e, ia the great key, and we mutt get
hack to lileraturo. The litenuure of the Celtic pcnpica has not yet had
ii« i^tuw, and greatly it wontji him. Wc need a Zotins to apply lo Critic
literature, to till itn vexud ijuwtk'ns of dale«, nutln-ntleiiy, and xignifieniice,
Die criticism, the vane mclhod, Ihu (iiMiiiterc.-<tcd ctideavour to gvt at lliu
real fnctA, which Zeuas has ahotvn in douUiig with Celtic language. Soienoo
15 good iu iteclf, and thcrcloTe Celtic Hlcrutiire— Mr. Nash luid ilic Cclt-
hatcr« having tailed to prove it a bubble — Celtic hteraturu is ixitcrotling,
iJiL-rely u* an object of k nuivlcdj^tt. lint it nniiforol'ii and rcduiiklcx our
inEerL-et in Celtic lilcnilure if nc lind that hero, lo», mcicncu cxciciaea Ihe
reconciling, Ihe uniting inilitcncc oi wliich I have laid u much; if wo
find here, more than anywhere cIm', Ir.iceit uf kintihip, and the niont
erscaliul aott of kiiiahiif, itjiiriuial kiii«Jiip, between uu and the Celt,
of which Ko hiid ni-ver drtaiiKil. I stitlo nutbiiiir, ■'uiid can M-ttto
notliing ; 1 huvc not the B£>cciut liuowledgc needed for ttuit. I hav« no
pretension l« do more thiin lo try and awaken iniercst ; to seiie on
hinta, to point out indicutions, which, to any one with a feeling for Iltc-
ratiirr, HUggcst themselves ; to stimuUto olher iniiuireis. I must tiurcly
be witliout iho hi.vi ivhioh hiu ho oDen rendered AVclsh and Iritli students
cxirAvognnt ; why, my very name exprt-wts that pcenltar Sruiiticc- Saxon
mixturo which umkea Ihe typicnl Eugltiihman ; I can huvc no eudu to
BcrvB iu finding in Oillie liternmro inoro than ia iht-re. Whal is there, h
fbr wc the only q^uestjun. Dut this qm-tlioa mtut bo for another time.
MAITUEW AUKOLD.
Old fm-ad. «t last, at kit after ytun otrMXai, lUOog JMin.
Yi>ii lira lilting clostt fcesiie tua onua more La l!ie IIIci:arinE[ liglU of inr flrn.
And tlio Bheen oryour true aad kin4l,v raaa is the same a< vrer sUII.
Tho' deeply alLered, I vresa. IsllalfaM.blaocUsl Uiaa wd mvt, fii<i:i<] \\*tll.
Itri;,'lit, V itb tlic bivUtaoi of^ontb, arc llio eyes rvt nUKrousd tbv moath
'rendftrij grave, not stern, the liuea loll of the vaniilieJ yoalh.
And tbo 8ta(«ly (unn u klij^hlly bt>iit IhnC I kncn- w stnuj^til ami firm.
Like the gnuid m^eatio rocli ihnt U\i;;tis de6ance to 1>eat of »Lorm.
And tIwTi'*v-ea ofc«TO haw wupt o'er your Iteul, oad IvTi ju>( Itcro and then
A light faint attcak of their silvery fmui on th« s«a vt,'od broM-n of your hair.
Uii jxitir Inco tbttl tweeUii'iis ig seltted duviu tlia: oTl is wriui^ o:it by psxia
From dtiturca losa noblo than yoan. &s tho juice is crusltcl anny from the cane.
iioOi <d M*, Will, haw Ivvcd ; «a«li oougbt, iu thu aivuvl b|M-lut; tiio ot hi* life.
For tliu vmldii); joy uf hi!i k'eviA droain, iii tho love iiiil truth uf u viTe.
Vuur ilreuD. at lon&t \m veaiitei, in the deplhi of suul-fuU t'yes.
Aud a teudcr shaJony cahn, tiinl liniis like the dunk of Italian tkioa
iJvcr tlie gnae of h^r movomontf) lijjht; a voice ns soft as Ibo Bigh
Of a wind aiiionj* IStuimier n full -Icavod Irew : ftlie wat vary fclr to dk*.
But I think. Hiich snefttiiusa mm on hor hroiv, mioh pureneai on hei taague.
She una lo\-cd ^viih Ibt^ in.yfitlc iitiianrtnt love tlmt vn Itnoir b death to tba
young.
Will, old fticiid. yoii i-dmcuibor full well the still September mom,
'^^1leIL itie only nouiid was the niitlbig. liko v.-inil, of elclclM imfiliiRt the cm ;
Tliat wu mode fur your dove, her lost cQrth-ncst. under tho li^ht lousa turf.
Whcro the beiidmf; f(taii» ehotild nevor hi Hlitred by llic wind tlut Lad loariKl
on the Rurf.
Sfloa nfi«r thot wc parted. Will ; you "cm Cu the * luoniing laiiil,"
Wlierv N&ture Ajircads a d^Iy feast uf tliu bi-iuitiful uid grand,
WMlu her Rpiiit wntohcd ovnr rAit,aiidkcptllic chorda of y«urlifvw«ll-alrui^
Klxo \iiycv, while nliiur hearts niL' so nld. can ymiiN lie iui frosli aud vouiig?
It in stnuij^'e tliat tin.' bniid uf I'iitir slioiiM iiii-llow la Autama coltn, each ttsce
Of Uwlntnung joy of a fioul-Siiniiiicir, lit by the Sou of a beautiful fiicti.
Yot w« ktiuw tliiit HO it U. aiid iny heart is free from the olijhlest nlurl
Of passion : aiul quii'lly nnw enough E can tliiuk and speak of a girl,
Rich in all iiculpliira-lovclinesa. nitli a forehead smooth and sqnur.
Tlutt gldAWi-A nrg<nt-wiiil« ugoinst the laoss of her nclfuloui lioir.
I
Tor,n nr toe firkmcut.
43;
And n cliocV a* pitio nnd ns pn«ttiiin-fn>n lUt cvi>r tlui iiiiiTl>lf> i«.
Ami u mmlli wIiom canring seemed »11 too Arm Tor ■ lover's fsltriiiig kias.
Wilb llio diinincil oyc-cigbt «f ono who i;r«i>-;a iji n kiiid of spirit-glvoniiiig,
I took II mnrUlo slnluP (o tio n livlii}^ ntnl luvUif; uomnti,
j\j]<l hpt- filill chIid presence, mcioii-liko, ni-ought sach a dcsjicmlc tide in tiij-
brroft
Of F.(ftrmj fire, I dituicd llial Lov« trn* Itit & ii;iino fw unrest.
And it chafed my boiiI ihnt Uip etAUly lip*, wlmin-vvr on iiw »ha smih-J,
Should cMTve to the pltymg. passiotjess srailo wc cost on n irayward clilM.
lliit al loiit I druvil to Kjntiik my iiibid, I loiild JiO'U in I'tlciK^e do im^rcr
Tha tonvnt of bnming wonl.-i, utui I .ipjko bs I iiov^ liml iip.ikoii Wfoiw ;
.\nil alko Hloixi lUtoiiing. pidlid niul i-iiliti. n-illi tlmt dreniny loulc in licr ojraa
Of one who t^^xcs back lo the I^i.it. and its iuaci?a aud mynltiric.i ;
Aliil, wli^u I pau>ed, shi; drvwvpi'il ln'r eye*, tiud tlie few short W'ird« ithe »nitL
Wcro intirmiirrd «(» l«w, E only <-aii|;;ht ihf kdiiiuI of tliP Iiutt one — " l>pail
"Dcod!" f «chocd. "nay, Denth and I»)ro nvu miiidrouUy far npau :
For Poath itself nukj not touch tlic hloma tJiul Love creates on the licorL"
Tbcn ^10 liiid bar linad on my ana, nnd with llio mute soft (^aoo
( tr u iiilrin)^ tjoidnntct^ lyiii^ lilti' i;hai]i! on Uio beautiful ciu-vi^n furo,
Hhb told me (hnt what I coveted nnotlipr Unifi tiiice had giunril.
That toy nccuir nf lore wah lirimtnGil up hiuli, but linra linil boeo dM|iIy'
drained.
SoRietJiing of poverty— ptLTtin ft — flud then th« atrufiylc for dntly WmiI
la « rirtuigei land, nad nt last tJiP new« that bad cru«tiod h^r hup^, he vras deMl;'
And she atood in tlie c:nrlaiitod niiidow, iiitb her face ro pale nnd i<ut^.
Like some enintod Iniy of olduu days, who vets prviud and strong to endure.
Would Ood [bill iiu' luvn hii<l dicil d'twn thtin to Hnmitbtrif; ivhil(<r uod faint<^r.
Ak the lambeiit lire of him wtio ai^nre:i the pictiirclove of painter :
That I never had uHi'rud tb* words of (ire tiinl I «iI'Uy uttci-cd now.
Wlien I cuiight her linaJ in mine, and. prcaaed my lips on its relnc'd «now.
" HrU me." I madly cried. " if yon will, w you let me kneel nnd adnrs
The light iliat t.liall be my Kuiding; star for over and *vennore ! "
Then in a voice on whoso clear full touu not ft Iroee of omotion wbi ftbcd.
" f nevpf can lovo nfi^iii, but if you will, no lo it : " she Mid.
And I caught licr c.U»i> to my pniitln^! heart, and murmured. " Oh. Ixirt, ttv
ever I '■
Awl »h« n«iUior slirwiU from n^r cbiny m me, Un only pmycd mo to l«AVc ht
Jn«t for a little whilo ; she would Urive to do all tho duly of woman :
She knew me well, the said ; trusted nic. railed mo a bmve and true man :
Knew that I Iov«d her; but all woo to Btii^ti^c, so new : and tlio niystic crii
Uf Li£t \v*i upon her now, uid dark t)i4 i'vltirc stood veiled ite his.
And. I loolttd ill vain, in nun. for tha crimson beacon of Lave on her ehock,
Aa B watcher looks with yeaminfceyea for the Kastem moming-atreak.
486
TOLD IW THE FraEtrCHT.
So w« pniteil. but ah my ht*it. villi l oi^lilnure's mtifjlil of loftd
It lay, uid li«itBted nu vitliaut ceaee, bU night, that one nxad " Dead'
Tlia (laja pa^suJ un. ouJ a kind or calm tbat came iuetMul of penco
Broodod, olnuil-blic, 0T(<riny hrairt, nnd lioile iUmtid throbtun^ ombc.
Yet, Bamptiiuo>i. despite, n lonjpng would rise for & lastc of tlis Aery bliss
Of hort u heart, and soul to fkiid, breallied oat in a loaj; lora-hjes ;
A i}Q<Miclilc« desire for UTc and beat, a fmtliotnksi yeorniag, I wc«a.
For a crcntaro of hiimitn w(?akni?ns nnd etron;<th, instead of a Ihtvord Qnpon :
For UiQ delicate b^artli-fire to clicrish and tend, instead of the clear pale star:
For Lhobcnm of the lesser Hglit close hy, inRtcad of Uicgrmlcrafar.
I aakud bcr when cJiould mv liopc bn cr<mnod. and aUc pnyod mo for a jrcar,
AnA hnr vcAet, with a tnittHpd, lunrliMU b(>at, fcU dull npon my ear.
And I knew that slie ssked me for tliat year, that tho waleri of Time miglit |
nwcrp
Letlic-llkc over linr noul, and Jri>wn all pftin in a 'wakdcss eloep,
Sa wc aeltled to purt f^r that one year, oiid I left my nntii-o sfaoM,
Not to soo her agfiln, until I never should part from hnr morp.
But a sha/lrtw full with ihc. last rrthl toiicli of her hand nn niino. iJns!
And a whixper rfing without cease in my car, " Omain Vanitat."
L'udor the sajipbiie aky of tlio land, wUo*o p<ii).i luid tnan-ela of Art
Gleam In a conntioKs tnultitiiiU, I vandnrod with reMleM heart
For Uic rich clear lifrht on tlie myrtle bloom only made my spirit ftiU
Of the yoarmng. Like pnlu, for tbe Sunof Lovc.oathoFIorv-ei-of tbeBeauttfii].
Tha year waa over and pane, at laat, and both of tu bonnd for home,
I anil anotlier— an artidl •friend I hati niailc whilo I fttjiyml at Itaiiie.
A kindly, open-hcarifd man, who was coming home to claim
Tho rifiht to cirelo a finder with poM. i<iid Mend a ufLni« with his nanu:
Ho tohl Ilia Klnry frankly to mo. that, livis hwif^ wnrs ago,
lie nnd his love had met and parted in bitter tears and woe.
luiowinj: nnt wlivn \\\*'y niij^lit roei-t Bpiin. but Ntronj; In the Iot« nnd truth
Tbftt keep the Uowers of the soul so frp*h in the dew and beauty of youtK
Tfaoy tmstcd eaeli other fully, and bo knew ho Khould find h^r the some
In li«art auil lonl, fta the la«t ewevt lime he )iad hearil lier utter hb name.
TOLD IN THE rmELTGm.
487
llud ttrogglod liant on liis vmy in life, lie bad Iiiiggod with ft miser's gmf^
ISiB gold that bmught him , rvprv tiny, oeiiTf r tlic d>'»thlef>.« cK^p
Of liorTir^bAad, aud the teudirnluw ofbor lu^lroits fiiU-prpy eje.
For oTifnaore aiwl tor cvtrraon. it wn« wonderful, qiii>ncli!c!M joy.
And lit' piuTL'd the long deck to (iiirl fro. looking so blest and frond
Ilia liivft oud tnutt. that T titow nut liow 1 utt«rc(I ray tlionuht aloud
VTiih n touch uf c>-nicijnD. that now I tiaak of, old bicud, i\itli pom,
I eaid, " Uow could j-ou bt^ar to lose where yon only tlitnk to gnin ? "
And he itt^jipcd hi» wnllc, mul (jiuod at inc. witli a look ofiKtrfitet eulni.
Like the peace of a bouI tliat is fully timed to llio pitch of the infiaile psnUn
Of 1/OTl'. " I liuvi: llioii^'ht L>f iltal hvivio: aha uitiy be dcul and iK"»v,
Mn-y ho Ijin^ with violets on her broast — God'a holy will bo done —
Or else nha may hnro tlmughl mo dt-iiil. and hav« given hurtelf to nun
Moru worthy Limn I conld be of her; 'twere hard ti slide a moan
For that intcasity of pain, lu tlio buttrt's ckep buak I have read
That Griof iamnra for th« living tost, tlwn pvor it in for the dniul.
But [ drrnd it iiot, I fe^l ai) strong in thi.' infinite love and Inist,
And 1 Itnri^F that Tnid will never h?i my fi;!l hqii^ cnimble to diiHt.
Sb« cannnt eltts biv lont : I Icnon- tbcro'gi a cfinl that Hoeicty ujca
■ft'hen a frivolous girl pJays with a heart as long as Iter fiuiey cboosos.
Thi?n rasm thn pnor phiytlii uk away for i>then> to toy with. iinluKs. indeoi!.
It ho too much broken for that., und carcanot and lakes not the Glighlcstlieotl —
And tfacy call it ' only flirting : ' but ithc it to pnrv and boly and high.
As mucb abovd that unwomanly ehaTac as fi elar in itjs depth of sky.
Ami all of tlie lofty and Lwaiilifnl. ivith h^r innnnRt naliirc, iK blent :
My trcasuTo perhaps mny bo lost to mc, but it cumot bavo thus been, spcat."
I bad noB Iter ohm more, my platue-lovo : abe bad met me wiili no otiior
FftCi'i'TO 01 firo, Ibftn a prl inij^ht givo to tlin Iota of a father or broilter.
Bnt her fiu:o WM nion< »wiiot and wft tlmrt of yore, and I thought. " She has
Icftmcd to forffet
.All other pierforhet bat trtm-lovf, ojitl sho tfUI lovo mo yot."
"Wfl WCTO aiitini! tofjotlior oqo oto nlonc, her hand lay light in mijte —
The ^oiet hand Uiat I neror yet liad starred ^th a loTor ngn.
She was rending aloud n Dtranga uld mug, tlmt Imd picaaed hi^r fimcy mnvh,
^Vh«n Ko heard a fuokitop, ui «FCii«d dcror. tiud elio dr<«- hci hand Irom my
toneb;
Tboo aha liflod her (iUl-tadi«d oyes. luid tntli a cry. that mng
Ai a joy-lidl Tings on * doom'd man's enr, viih a doPT'likv IhniinJ sbo Hjironic.
And aa eagomoaa that qoivcind and bc«t tbiough every doivv in Iter frani«.
To ber homo on hii bsc<iL3t for crcmoTC, and ho kitwd bor, and nanicd bn
Bam«.
v»
TOT.D is TflT. nnnLiGiiT.
Jnct a mnmem Inciter lliiry Mooil. tt>rt!@Uin|j all bat Ibr jiiy
Of a larr nlioao mfinilo nrectnK8«nd Rtmigtb nor tUnt; uor «j>aM ooali tkMfojr.
Tb^n shosbtrtod back &om htn ama, vith the hrh, Inll kmitii^ gtAir,
FlaKblng. biiiinor-Ukp, orrr farr IWe. from her chin In litr broad, fnll brotr,
AndatrsmuloDssircclim^ctpu'Bs tltoli^^htof thcrlouiUessaonof iLc Soatht
S!ione in iha deplhs of the iilurioiu erc-l ani parlud the chiselled OKMtth :
And all the laarUe lnr«1in«t« triu lit with the light of n humna
And pocrionatfi love, until it n^ vtotf^l to the furrat bonuty of woumu.
My beaii sent fortli il d(«|>rrat« ay, as ffonllMS I jnaBed tmm the Atwr,
Like (he last long mil of a nuirincr droiroml in aght t>f tbt iliip and 1h« ab
ThcTti is llio end, nld SAquA. Diiht c\a*ct: I tliink tlutrvc Kiacthuig grand
III ibe Hmi nod full Bod steadfast grusf of a. slraiig-kiut msscukr hand.
Tht! hand nfa man IHtf yoii, Will, it never vill ^i\e tlie slip,
And it comes k> swtct lo the heart lliat Ims lost the joy of a tnic-Ior^'a lip.
But 1 call it tmsting reproach, old imxiil, on Ciod aniL Ilia iu(itul« plan,
W)in gBv« LliG lo\-« of man to wumnn and llui low of wtmnan U> man,
'Whf!) tbii^p iibo huTii l<Mt that blias. or tbo^c to whran that blias la drnit^,
Unmr b1 the holy naiu« of Love, nsd i>ini<Lli(-T, with ectfiffa pride,
'Hie seed of pain, that, if watered woll, mifiht bcmr sneh blessed frnit
Ofpnrc and ttnilcr thought, nnd raakollie ciy of SelfiHlmess mill.-
And Life hiia autitmn nnd wiiilf-r joj-k left yet; nitd I love to seti
Her Lililo fhildivn <lhnt I hnd hoped should be mlii?) around my kneo^
And Ihe ^adni^ns of other lovo I have : for we read ef oue tender and tme maa.
(Like yoii) ivho jptvo lo Ids friend « love "' rnwing the Iov« of TCOmftn."
489
^ fetter from n (Toiifiri in ^luiitnlin k a Urothcr
in (ffitgliiiiii.*
Mr Dear Biiotiii:!!, —
Y»li aiv {iiubtibl}' R)C(lit;tling, or ore nclunlly cngngetl in n
breach of ttic ]uw. I do not know roiir civciini«tfln<!c«, nor the inl)u«nc«ra
to which yon are exposed. Bui I know thai you are in Jiinger, mhI I
llicrefore take up my pfii to set Mnrc you tho future which in nliuost
**i-iainly in itore for you, if yem yitnint in ymir present cowmo. Law-
brralcing is not your prolbwitm, it in not wllh you & liiiw of Irmlipj to
^liicli you have bound youi-sclf with nil im danffcrB, iis worlli tho viak ;
but you have pc-t into a current vhioh nttiy carry you r.n ■hoilii and
quickfliAntls nhkh yon kmitv imt liow lo nvoiil ; nnd thoujjh you ure
cotiiKicuf of its JaugtTS, anJ mh froin tame lo lime thi-ovrii into th« mo«t
dreadful alarm, you aiill, unwillingly yet despcralely, hold on. You
DouM «tca.pe-^jinrti.illy csi-ajn- nt IciwI — Iiut it wwiU n(-ed nii nmouni
of eiH-rsy and itudsioti vhlch you, pei-ha])?, do iiol [wsse^s : btill, you
can scarcely he ranked among the inourablcR, nnd whnt I aiy may not
be wiUitiut im rlTcct : in any cii.>ie it may be ot use to lessen yaui- juficring'i
if not lo ward it off.
Let niR hcqin your olory. I will GomiiK-nGe with your niTesL Tlii*
nill most prolahly hiippen ju*t when yon are doubting whetJier you
should not lly. You will have been wanied — warned, ]>erhnp8, by aomc-
tJiing very trilling — noiliing more thnn Bomething odd in the mnnner of
your e]n|i]oyor, or in the look* or movcmenid of those about you; but
wemecl you will have been. Thi» seems to b< a uniTcrul Uw. And
you will have felt the warning-, ind been nneasv, but jo« will not hav*-
hid deoiaion enoiig-h, or haro nuidc mfficicnt prcp&ntion, to lly initantly,
MRi y«i are Inken. 1 know your iifltur«, and tlio whole history of your
difliciilty. You are not a deliberate pliun3(.Ti;r, who Iihh made up his
mind, to enrich hirnwlf by one griind coup and retire — if you were,
yoD would be in IitiIo| dungor ; you hnvo allowcil ycurmlf in smbcxzlo-
Rienli or forgericx to meet HOtno prMning einerp^ncy, lioping to replace
vluti you fa&vo 1aki-n before you are found out. You arc a poor potteritijt.
bungling nmnlr^ir, and are unprepared what to do nt the moment of
deciiive action, nnd will be ULken. And now you learn for the fintt
time how locirty d(«l» witli Ihueo who oS'end a^ainrt hi-r. You aro
* [it Bt»j 1>o nnocctiMarT lo auto ihu tbii Letter is rnillj tht pmditction of n
(onvici, now in An«tralia. We, of conr», hold oarMtna letpotisible oelUier fbr it»
■laientnU nor ie» Hntimcnti.] — £o,
VOL. UU.— KO. 78. M.
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nrresled, carried svay between two silent mpn — MlsDin a*
— to a [>olice-aiatioii. If in London, where wc will nippoae jimt arrest
La tuke place, 70U ore " cemorcd " ia tL« old fiuDili«r cab. It is a dumat
ride Ai you rido tlirough tlio ittreels, yoa cannot bdp fuQling ibat ibe
vorld u i>:L<»4ng xwa^ fK>ui ^ on.
Airirvd at Uie pollce-slatioa (vre will luppose (be atAtion to he Bow
Street ukI ibe litne night), you aru searched and deprived of your kml«
or anytbing yoa may bare about yoa vitb which yon can do yourwlf or ■
olJier* bodily injury, and led ioto on« of a eci of rooms »iUi a 5xed beneb
on three sidtia of it, aod a door on the fourth. TImr rooms or cells, almost
dark by day, oro quiie bo by otglit. Whether you will b« alona depenla ■
on (bo mitnbtrr and Icind of tdow waiting G^r oxaminalioD. But, as yoo ^
•re a "rwpectablo" man, the policeman in cliarge «f you, belonging, ■•
he will probably do, to the uppri- grodei of thu ai-nrioe, will no doaht
hAV« tho good tatto to ■' treat you sb a gcntktoan," and you will not be
tlirust in among lliu rougbl. 1 myaeir, od each of the dnya I waa at Dow ■
Street, had one, and only one, companion. The lirvt liinu it was a fiul
mnn who wax taken up bcoauftn he wn* drunic un<\ incapiibic, ai^ who
inKuited on taking oflT evnytlung but hia aliirt, iiud lying down ud the
bard boardi. The second wna u gviitleoian who had b«co to unlucky
aa to upect " a can or thing* that lookcil like plan, wad which he after-
warda ondanlood to bu diamouds ; " and ihv third wan a paetmaa — a
hnndDome yoiing fellow, who tried in vain to eliecr IiimwJf by tlie liope
of a nio()entt« nenloncc and n lifo in tlie backwoods of America when if
WHS fiiiialied. Htit: ulioi^ver ni.iy be your inimvdiate companiooB, theae
An terrible hi>ut». Wiihuut, dniuki-n wotnca dragged along the panage
to the celia like Backti of poliHorui— mothiTs, entreating tlial a ine<i^|e
Dioy lie sent to ihcir Lome in aoine intricate alley where their little
children are waiting for thciu ; girla from the streota tming iheir
now restricted powers of bliindishLni^nt to fiat " Sir Kobcrt " to do this or
iJiat tor theni, or telling Turn vr Bill in the next call " to olieer up, for
•be wUl pay hi* fine iW hiui ; " and within, nn iadcsuribitblo tuixtnre of
Jeeiinga arising at oiico frciti drrjid of tlio eceno in wliich you are about
to fipppur, the iliuuglit of ihi' miHi-ry of ihoM lliut luve you, and your
altnoBt oompleto isolstivn from yoiit iricnds ut tho luctncnt when n ntush
hna to be said and done. Tha lint fow hours of your incarceration on, of
conrw, the wont during this ptissc of your story. You fear almoat— «>
long in he in coming — that you may rnit havo the lusistancv of your
Bntioitor ; Iml he comes ut InKt, nud ho does the hciiring buforo the court.
It is a quiet lltilu court— ^It is so at leut at Bow Sireet'-^nd oa ootniag
into it you feci momentarily reticvod. Aud now Mr. SuuUllry, of the
firm of Smallfry und Hunter, or the representative of some other firm of
proaeouting celebrity, drawn a delaik'd and most unwarrantable account of
your delinE]UGncy. Vou stnnd ft(;!iaKt at tho picture of your gnilt as ihcy
paint it However, no one else present seoma to be diBmnycd. Yoit
rescTTO jroui: defence, and you find yon rselT remanded or committed.
I
TO A BitO-rilKR IJ* ENGLAND.
4fll
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Your first exAiiiinntion ^fore the magistrate ovtr, you a» hoy tflkcn
tn p-i«an. If in r^mlon, jrou will hn tnktn inort probsililj' in lli« flrrt
inxance, and nliilc yon arc iimlcr rcini»ii1, to Clfrrki-tiwoll, mid iiCtejviada,i
when fully ccmniillvd, to Ncivgntc, tbovg;h it is poasibJo you may b« tA
K«wgate all along.
Ami now licgin In ikivn on you iTta ImmitiatioriH nnJ reitrictloni ofj
in-ison life. Taken nway from tlio l>olioe-^la^il«l, no lunger in the old*
fumilinr oih, bi)t in n smali dark eoinpartnient of & long benvee-likc
yeiiiule, miidi reiii>Ribling t})B Poa[-OfIic« Tans, yon nro received at the
piinon, not inilttf] n.t n cni)viote<l i»»n, but quite nit a guilty one. Look-
ing hack to my firnt intiftdiiction to Clorkenwoll, I Imve inme dilTiciiUy,
r^nrdlng jtimli thingi m I now (la^ in recognising it itn ncconipiinied by
any linixlnliip or wen Iiumiliation ^vorlh cnring itboiit, nor cnn I nt nil
milize tlio terrible suffmng whieh it nccnsieni'd me, 1 rpmomlidr I funnd
inywir rtinki.ll up in linf witli .a »lninge medii-y nf men, cliivlly fnni the
luwMt ]-ank>, und lliat I was bid to " nglit fic«," nnd bad to lunrcL with
Ilti*m ft* nnc nt* iliGm^-lTCJ^ snd had my cl'rtbcn and enrpoUbn^ iu-nrclifd,
and was liii.-it)y Itickod up in n ci^ll wliicli whs coiuinly n TCJy diffirt-iit
place lo tbu cunifoHnbIc roi^nis to wbidi 1 buJ bcni all iny lite acciiH-
tomis]. lint wlml was llicru in ull lliis? Nolbiiig, tin fur aa I eiin n»w
M(% to cauKe IQB snytbtng more tbnii a feeling of annoyance at iMvlnf^ got
into a nea. The uarilei- of my cell was, I well rcmi-nibcr, ri-udy to
make me as o^mforlable as he could, took iiiy ordera for dinner, and e\'cn
fbnnd me books for amusenient. Tben. if my cell na? not etjnal to my
own library, it was at Icjiat clean nnd qui^t, and hud a good jet of gaa in
ii, and a roomy hammock, and I could sleep, cr ri»ad or write. Truly,
I huro never been in inch gooij, or nt lenxt in at easy, <]iiarlera ainc^
though 1 have been no^r some lime lU my liberty.
Ilut th« world liAfi toon to lose im power, nnd the prison e«]l ita terrom,
Toa will indeed ii«vcr wiflVr in this wny but twicD arterw.-ird», via. oncfl
ithen you firft find yours<.-lf in Ncvrgiile, and ngsin, vrben you ore oon- '
viet*d. You may suffer a good drni on changing yonr prwons, imd aluo
on sming your frit-ndi (or tliu lii-Kt time idler eiinvlction, but only oi] thu
two oocwions I buvc mctitioncd util you miffcr n» on llie firtt night in
priwn.
You dliould make nrmn^menta fur your defence whtFe iindor mnand,
•lid, if nrrvatcd to London, do m> while you nro at Clerhenwtil). This I
adriM becaUM' yoii will never again have audi fncititiet for m.ikinf; ikott).
The mtiictioDS imptsed on you i*vi>n nt Clerkenwel] ni-e not such as
nliould be impuM-d on one who ia in the eye of tlie law re^^rdcdiH^
Itineeuit, aud wh«e whole future welfai-e may depend on the arranje-
nienta be may make At bi« defence, tie ought to be nble to aee bia
fri<:ndii at any reamuiblo hoiu-, and to bare his correspondence secara,
fn.m official or other supervirion. Tbia, I regret to B»y, ia not the eawu
Ite cnn indeed aoe hia solicit«r at any time, but other fncndi) Ur can only
Mc fVoni half-past eleven to one o'clock In llie day, ftod Ida corrMi{M<A-
CDce is all reuL by one of tli« principal ofGctra of (lie iifiaoa : mean-
while, tlie prosecutor Ja left uuiinpfilcd lo nka up or sapprcts evid«tK«,
and place himself in the best jio^siblc ]in>iili<>i). Siill, Clt-rlioiiwcll prewuis
fncilitiei for Arranging }-aur a^airs which jom will not poseu after leaving
it. Yoiii' rricnd.i can talk with yon tlirou^h a iietforatvtt [^ato id your
door, and your conversation i) private. You can moreovei- see them evi-py
day for hnlf nn hour. nv!iid(>s tliid, yrnt can oblnia from the prison
aulhoriliui r\ list of the atlurnien practiAiiig iii llic criminal court, and any
inforniallon itb'Ait ihem you may require. An*l of thii, let mo tdt yon,
you will do well to iivail your««ir if you lave not (as you ought to haxi
dono) iIctL-nnluL-d on your mun loiifr before your arrc-.-A.
Having engaged the U'giil ndviKr nioAt (a your liking, pro«» on the
immediate prepiiration of your vMv, At Clerkcnvrcll, and wIuIe- you nru
Btill under n-ninnd and can we your fricmlH, you cwi force fbiwnrd your
solicitor with much lew difHctilty than whidi you coino to be iindor
alrtoter regulation*, as nt Nuwgnlc ; nnd your trinl, moreover, Khnild,
nnder CHrdinaiy circamatnncos, lie brought ou. ns quickly an pDRsible. Th«
proMculiou has less opportunity lo rake vp evidence, and, for yourselfj
thfi sooner the thing is settled ihe belter. At Clerkenwell too, Bup-
poaiiig th:it you nrc EUrc to ho committed fcir trial, tranffcr your
property. In (hort, complct* your arrangements while you ar« »lil3
under remand.
The prosecution, having brought up nil the evidence they believe
themselves able to find, no more remands are applied for, and yoq are
finally committed, and are £>iid to he no longer inorciy nndcr dtrientioii.
bnt in prison ; and tJie dismnl, hearne-ltke veliiole in which you are
takt-n to and from the police-court, depo«iti« yen at that pine* of tcrribte
nssocintitms — Iv'eivgate, This will be ono of the very painful ppocbs in
your imprison mint. The entnuirce to the ])riN>u, which finnis part of the
old building and ia in the dnng^^n Mylc of bygone days, with ntawivc
burs s.ni >i(ige iron ring« and thick Rttilcil doors, causes a very unplensa&t
scnitttiun when you are lintt inlroduced to it. The inl(.-nor of the prifon
is new and in the light mid airy jrlylc, but the complete siknee — th« Yc»y
word "dlencfl" written in largo cliarauters in Iho centre of tliefjanl
staircase — the long linen of duned doors, tier above tier — fiill perhaps more
heavily on the hinrl tlifin even tlie dungeon entrance. It eccms aa if ywir
prifion wera gradually clocirg armuid you. I have Eeoa nv prison vrhicb
pressed on me so painfully at first sight as Kcngate. Here, after balhtnSi
you End yourself taken, not to any of the compartments op<>uing out en
the light iron gsllcriea ubove you, but to a cell under grcunt). And now
you I'tnlize that yon are in Ntwgatc. IIcw terrible that undcrgrouud ceil
w*3 lo roe in the multitudinous miscmble thoughts it hicughl into my
mind I cannot icLl you. But it is only for a night ; the next day you
aaoend, and are put into a li^ht cell, just such ns you liavo seen in motlei
priaons — a. L-ell about 10 feet by C feet, with a black Hoor, while walll,
a miall table, a corner waahsland, a wiodow of corrugated glan, n luun>
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BR0T1I£H m ENGLAND.
tnocV and bedclothM, plate, spoon, Ac. Tii« U comfortable enough,
except ihnt in consequence of llie wiiiJow liaving a very wniill opeoing,
pne> foolings for some time afict being shut up » tliflt of being suSbeated.
t wtfl) remwinlier that the greatest luxury that could havR bocn afforded
me woiili have been to htivc hat! my door ojn-n. I aei'inntl lo want room
to broiiihe, IliO tame t«eling follows ana in every port of llii« prison,
i u^ tiuite to long fur chiipcil limo, becALisu I gcncnilly stt i)i>ar an
open window.
Aaotlier o1<jcctionitblc f«nttirc lo (ha discipline of Kcwgnio in tb«
obliging a prisoner — who in yirt, oiiwrvo, regnnlcil tH an innocent man
—to palish his flour, Icccp up thv lustre of his bra^ Ixisin, scrub the
tabl«, ami fold up his linmniock kni b'-dclothi-s, nnd nrnitigo the nnAlIe^t
articles of his oell furniture in ooc precisu way. It is no ^o»t h;iri)«liip
indeed, when yon get used to it, but if yon have never dune such work,
and have, besides, n eoro heart — and if, ahovtr all, you iirc bu»y preparing
for yonr trial — it will seem very hard, ^specialty n« nothing short of the
nuat fibtiolnte precision wilt siirtici,-. Aiiolht-r moat objcotionable thing at
thm prison, mid one which ou ninuy ncconnta choiild h« nIterMi, is the place
in which piisiont-rs m-e alone allowed to see their frieuda. Except in some
ape«al cases, vUiliire are placed ' eu maaso ' literally iu rin iron cage, with
ft dotiblt) row of bars, so tlint, being at a distance of some two fe>^'t from tho
prifoner, atiJ all talking tegether, it is powilively mo&t ditlicuU for thoin to
make ihtmsflveji heard. It ia a perfect Babel — an arrnngenient altogether
niMt pniiifnl nnd unseemly. Tbero ii, moreoror, no exuuw for it, aa it
would Iw just aapnay for visitors to swa prisoner through the wire-covered
aperlure in hiii cell door hero, aa it was for them to do eo in Clerkenwell ;
nor nr<i lh<!r« nny objfctiona in the one case which would not hold good
in the other.
It tartmis rnther hnrd, moreover, in the case of a man wltoni the Ian-
Mill regnrds oa innocont, to roilrict the vitits of frienda to throe days
in the week, na Ik the present pracltci;. But, witli the exception of
tlie above puinfiil and rather uiiiviirraiitnbic nrrangenicnts, Newgate i» an
adminblyordercd prison — antodclpriMnofitalcind. The food — 9uppo»ng
the necfissitk-a of ibone at home roquiro you to throw yourself on priaon
die^— is clean, good, nnd wt-ll cooked, and, except for hungiy coujilryiueii,
anffieieiit in quantily. It consirts of stirabout niortiiog and night — the only
■kill^lly made stirabont you will meet with in your pi'ixoa coursw— and
•rap nnd inrat on oltematc days, the soup, iignin, beinj; tho best concocted
of prison KOTips. I should tay thot at Newgale the art of cooking ekilfully
and e<!onoini(sdty i« underslood as it is seurc^ly undcmtood in nny priaoii
wc have. The other hygionic iirrangements, for inind nnd body, are
ef|iinlly creditable. In the way of c.^trciw, medical attendance, religious
adricCr every effort is made to me^'t the wants of the pri«oui>r in hia new
nnd painfnl condition, and mode with judgment. Strict in carrying out ^
•11 the rultM of on« of the Hriotest pri»oii> iu England, tlio wnrdcra yet ^
behave thoroughly well to the rcaJ sufferers with whom tb«'^ otmsA Vn.
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A LETTKR FKOM A COHVfCT IN ADSIUAUA
oOotttOti Vtiu will meet wiih no boJ^ of vrardora wIki can fae cooif
10 tlMu, exc«|)i ai PeuluiiviUe. It iaiiowetonie jeare since 1 left N«irgate,
anil I Iiava paiaed througli icrGrnl prisons in wbioh I enjoyed mnre light
ukI air, luid general comfort, hai I siJll Teuieubcr llie oilicere uf Kcn^aiv
ttitii nspcct auJ gr^tiLuLlti,
So Riach Tor Newgale. The next Uiing is iIm IriaL Ytm Mill not
fiod thu ao terrible «ii iiflair as you perhapa anticipMc. The position
ia trbich yoo wiU be placed, and ^vIuc1l it now wvms to joix muat b« ao
•xquiaitely painful, will at llic tiinu hv n!in«»t loHt liglit of tn Uio importance
of tilt issue. But, on the utlier Iiantl, yuu will fitid much to causa you,
rvy great oiutiety, OTer and above tlio tncrita of tha case. It* ibo coait,
for instance, is prcascd for time, L'illior on nccount of the nuinbi^r of
priioMts to be iritd, or because the jiidgn have to be olT ahnott iiome-
diatvly to the Assizes, you will linvo llic satisfiictioa of learaing that,
unlets yuu chovse tu have your cnsa put off to the nest nssiona, it may
not he posHible (o ohtnin a £ur trial ; or should you he lucky enough
to staiid foz trial when the couit hua no suuh preuure on it, you may
luiu-n lliiit ibo juJge nlio will try you in extremuly "testy," or "pr«-
judiceJ," or ia a "apccial pltuder,"' or is fond of ''culting down" cuai-s,
or ia " fearfully severe," ^c. Uut it cannot be helped, and the beet thing
is lo press on.
£xccpt it be to avuid a noloiiuiuly scvcte judge, iln not allow your
trial to be put *>S a siugle aessioti after your cim ia or can he prepftred.
What vrili be the leading feaiurrs of your trial, when it ia onlled on for
bearing. I cannot tell. All I can furetcil ia that the perjuries of witnesses,
the exfljigeraliona of couom-I, the excluuoa of (:vidtu(;e whicb ought lo
be admitted, (he admission of evidence which onght lo be excluded, the
miscoDBt ruction of nctd llie most ititioccut, the cmixMon of tilings you
dceadod, the singuUr conoluMone «f icdividunl jur^-nien, will be such
as to moke you feel how helpleos you an*, and oaugo ycu to reaigii
your«eIf tu yotu* fate— thankful thut you have an ahlo counsel, cool,
collected, nnd experienced, to light your battle. The trial iticlf will net
torture you much ; it will bring little to lii^Ut Unit is not known — lor
you hare bei'ii alreudy torn lo pieces in your examinsliou belbra lira
mngiatrate. Uut you nitl KulfLr in iJie ttniblc bulf-hour of suspoan
while tho jury are ccnsultiug — *iinl wiien they pronounue you " Guilty."
The fittal blow lian fallen, and wliat else is uuid or dune you ft-at to be
immatcnnl. But your stale «f unconsciouaucsi Intls not lonj; ; yon revive,
and time ipiichly ; and lerrible indeed :iro the iirst liours afterwards.
Ifi tlic journey from, Newgnte to Millbank you will probably for ibo
lii'iit lime iind yoUTicIf iu UDintvrrnptcd intercourfo niih those who an
Bufienng witli you. Aa ilio medo of oonreyance will moat Ulculy ba an
omnibus, you will prob-ihly form pare of a line of piisonen connected by
a chain — a type of tiiu olvfc compuiuonthip you are presently to bold
with them. You shudder at them now; but wlt^n yon actually moot
them during the time the hmidcoSs nr« \MDg filled on previous to your
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kdiovkI, and when, linked bind in hand with thcuii you n<lu itmt alrango
ti<Ia tbrougli LoadoHj you will luvivly fwl towar^lii thcnt as mea moro
or leu good-natoted, who ara in tlio Mmu coniJitbn an ynureelf, In vUiiT
reapccu dint ride to Millbaiilt lit not uuplrasont. Moincntar;r as il U, tbc
pcisaiag out vi ttiti g[>winy ]:)ii4t;it into tLo grMt elnam ot' biitnaa lidi
uad the brood light of day, and the being able to talk freely with oihvr
enotuna of oae'a kind, liu more of plc^uie ihaa of puin. The ekuin «ul
the handcufHt gi-ate liftr»bly on you at first, but by ttiis tiine yea will hun
got pretty jihiiojophicnl.
Airircd at MUlliauk, you will be far n few Iiours pluced widi some
r»tir or live olhon ia a i^ell Ic wait tliv exuAjiiiiitiou of Die warders and
aurgeoD. The examination by t)ie jaltur ix well eitoiigh, but Utat by the
wardant, wliich talcea place wliea you nre atri|>{ied Ait ti&lliiogi ia of tlie
ntort duifualing dosci-iplioii. It need iiut be so, nor ia it perbapd it:itead(.-<l
by HtB autltorilies to be wbaL it is ; but tin) subordinate oflioers of Miii-
baiilc aecm, unlike thou of Newgate, 1o have been clioeen lor tlicir
roughneM and buirittboesi. They ure uuqnestionubly nmottg the lowest,
if tJtey nre not the vvty lowoat, of tlicse of any prison LiirougU which I have
pniecJ. Uiit MillLiiink is altogctbur a rough style df prinan, both in lltu
way of carrying out pruoa dinclplinQ a&d ia tlmt of prison arran^mGiitL
All ia loud, ijidcccnt, rough.* In othar recpcets you will find ilieoliange
to Milltwik grateful to you. Tlic cells — intitiitely tlit: best of any I haro
Men (or even beard of^ with Uio oxci;|>tion of iiiom M Woking, an invalid
■lation) are weloomo Iwyuiui coiici)|Hi()ti for thoir windows alone. Tiieao
are n good t)t2<^, wilh cluar gloss, nnd open, wide, bo that you can wo lite
reul light ot'dny, and frvely bieatbo nnd feL-l the iVcsli nir. How delight*
ful to ine was the lirxt KoiiNtLiDti. aRurdod by tbess wide-oii'iiiug, deir
glnss windows, I cannoL deaa-ibc. An the light sireomi-d down ou lui', Uiid
the nir blew fresh into the eoll, I rcrcUed iu them.
At MillboDk the lilenc ayatcm is enforced, but not vary [ivTft>ctljr^
and you will get (juiie ns niiicli coiivetsalion iitt you nre likely to deoireii^
Thett the d»y is broken by chapel and oxct<is«, and tlio we«k by a
(lay at aohool, anil perli&iw by a visit li-oin a script ure -render or on&
of the diaplaina. Your food is, in the morning, cocoa, with beef (rerj
bardj for dinner, nnd very badly mads gruel for eupper. The materials
■re good, but the cooking bad. The bread is exeeltent, the best you ivill'
get iu prison. The hammocko, whidi are original In structure, vitb a
diviition in the centre, do not appear to bo intended to sleep u) so much
as to exereiiie your powei~s as an aoi'obat, but with core yon may get iaio
them and nluep in otic of lliclr two dlvivons. The chnpcl ts Inige, the
chsptaint popular, nnd the singing tolembly goad. Your c:tei'oisa eoniiiita
of a walk in one of the yar<l«, — vlFicers iu centre, tnen walking round at
inlerTab of five or »x yanl:*, — nnd a turn nt u inany-hnndlGd pump by
whieh water k nused to tlte cella. Beyond llits I have nothing to remark
49fi A LETTER FROM A COSVICT IN AUSTRAUA
of MiUhnnlc, except that tJte •ubordinale olIIcGri, nn iiniitual nnmlier
i)-hon) apficar to be tailors. Are vepeoUlly fund of afTcc-tin^- ■ military
demeanour, and making an ostentalious display of :heir stnvca. How long
yon will Ktay nC Millbaiik is quite unccrtniii. Vou may sui/ l}ier« tlirce
wcckit, or you may lemaiu nin« niOQllis, but protalily nfVer a fuw wmIu
you will be I'emovG^i to PtiUonville.
The journey Jrom Millbank to Pentonvillc, like tliul from Xewg»le Iw
Miltbank, will moat likely be porrorm^d in an onmibus. Yoa vill ratlicr
enjoy the ride. It U pleasanter tlinD the first prison ride ; you arc gHliag
umkI io the Rituation. You will, morcoTcr, hnvc beard a good report of
tlie plncc to wliit^h you ora goinfj, Tho lir*t sight of I*eot«uvillo i»,
not witlis landing, (at from encouraging. Ton see that yoa have loat your
light and air-giving window. But tlie import is correct on the whole.
E»copt as regorda tJie window, y^'Ui- con'iitlon is in every reepoct improved.
The cgIIr, though not so largo ae ihou- of M ill bji tile, are carefully arranged
lor <]ccency and cle&nllneaa, and the pervading spirit of the jn-iwn i.i thslt
of <iiuelness, regularity, and good ecK^e. It is a stria prison, bat all is
done kindly, Bonsibly, and well; and (which is no little matter u> a primner)
vfiii have e.x'iily aocewiblt^ counsel and assistance, aiul such as you feel yoM
can rely on aa coming fi'om poreons experienced and well-judging, and
I
ready to consider your difficulties carefully. At Pentonville yon bare llie I
^^^L mme high [ji-niln of ofliccrs and w&rdcrs as at Newgate, with a longer I
^^V period in which to make their kiadiit>gs folt. As n-^rds the dietary 1
arranoementa. these are conducted with a cnre oiilv eatialled. ns I harit
arrangements, these are conducted with a cnre only ecjnalled, ns I hare
heard, iu one Gorciiimcnt prison — thxit of Portland. Tho contracton ■
am obliged to feiihfiilly fnllil their contracia, and nil ia well eooked. I I
remember on one occasion, when w>ine of the mittton was i-ather yelloir,
uad. suspected of Dot being what it should be, a prifoiier who imit by
trade a butcher was brought down to examine it. He pronounced it of
excelleiit quality throiighout. Thin incident shows the care used. The
ptison itflclf is built wilh a view to ciiE<y luuuiigcnjcnl, and to accustom
tike prisoners to die valiio of cli'aiiliiicts nml prnpriirty. Pentonville is
rsonrded as the represenljuivc of the modi;! prison on the scpnrate ayatein,
nnd it represents the xyBteui m fnithjlilly uni fiiToiiribbly m could be
desired.
Atier liaviog been from nine to twelve months in separate confine-
ment, you leave Pcntouvillc for the "public works," as they are oalled»
and nre attached lo Chatham, PorWiuonlli , Portland, or Dartmoor priaoa;
or, if n confinnctl invidid, you are sent to Woking. Of their rehilive mvrita I
confess myjclf nnablc (o apeak posilircly, for 1 have no means of judging,
«xcepc hy compnTing statements almost nil more or less at variance with
each other. But, as far as I can judge, all tlic first four stations arc pretty
mud) en a pnv— oil about eqvinlly dusngnreablc, and poaaeasiug, if nut the
S3B1P, erjuivalent ndvnntnges mid disadvantnges. I shall thereforo speak
only of Port-^mouili, tlii; station lo whidi I >vna myself sent. The journey
from Pentonville is pcrlormcd hy omnibus to llio South WcKlcro Icr-
I
I
TO A BItOTHER IN HNOlAND.
atlaoi, and llicncc by rail. Liko tho other journoya of ttie kind in
whltA you hnvo uiken pnrt, it is on the whole plaa^nl. There ia one dis-
agrveublv iL-iitiu'c in it, no doubt. You fiud joiireclf standing chained on
the nuiwety iilatfonu in \ha mld^i of tlioae uuchnmed ones nitii yrhom you
tuiire DO part ; but )*nu wilt have ceasfd to earc much about such little
colHiions by this lituo, and if tlio wentlicr is fine, or ludced If it ia nut,
you vrili be fully Ecasiblc of (he plvastiru of breutbiag the (ivth country
sir, and looking ovjr green fields. You are kept ia h airriage devoteil
exclusively to the convfjanue of yoiii- parly, but you am otherwise little
oonstrfliocd 1:1 this transfer of youraeir. Yon IcH the separate eytUcni
behiud you in pfts«ing out of Pviitoiivillc, and tin; oIGcl'l^ who accompany
you trcut yon nf men passed ialo a coiniwrntivc etiitc of frcudom.
Airircd at lli9 "puMio work*"' priion at Forteraoulh, you see that you
hnvo como undpr a eyitteiij, not only clifl(/n>DT. from that to which you have
bftco hitherto Bubjccttd, but directly opposed to it. Evcrytliin^ you have
•oen in '*»fp!initc* " you now find completely rcvcrsoii. ^o two syolfliiiB
onuld bo inorB atriltingly nnifigonisiic. In *' eeparittes," you liave cella
suf&ctcntly roomy, and have light iirid atr, and arc tncou raged and aaaialcd
to torm hriliitfl ol' clcanlincsn and dcooocy ; at tli« Biunc linio you ar«
carvfiilly kept from tho evil iiiflutiice of otiier prisoners, and are brought
into frequent coatact with persons whose influence must be good, — «s that
of the chiiplnin nnd scnpluro -readers. At the "publlo works,"' the opposite
iiystetii is tried. The cells consiit of tiera of iron boxea (^1 can give them
no otlicr name), 7 feet by i feet, and i»tlicr more thnn 6 feet high, or as
nurly M possible the »izo of one compai-tntent of a railway carriage. As
for wiodoirt, rnutiy of the celts havo none, except in the door, nnd <he
bat have only 11 darkened pane of glass about 12 inchcfl by 4 inches.
Rod thetl^ eorntgntcd iron sides are painted a dork diwnjil drab or iron
colour.
Anything more dreadful thou these places when you ara fir^t enclosed
in thom cannnt he ci-incrivcd. Many a man when ^mt shtit up in
them fveU as If he nnuit go out xf hii mind. Chei-r fill -looking places
10 the riJiitnr who sees them through their vpun dvois when the light
slTtoms into them from tlio hall, they we ainiply Iiorrible to the man
who is abut up 10 thent. These constimtu ilie firet evil of " public
works.'' The next is, that even in thcsi.-, bad as thuy are, you nre
not allowed n moment's rest or security. lu "SQ[)arates" it was thought
well to allow time for re;idiiig, thought, prayer. Hen/ not « gioment is
allowed for anythmg but noise and work. Mnttvia are so airanged that
from the riiieing of tlio fin>t hell in ihu morning till you go out to work,
all is hurry, noise, dirt, buatle. In a cell in which you can bsrely turn,
and ia which you haYO crerytking to do in almott perfect darkness, and
whick is so ill provided with vessel* and other ineana of cleatilineBS that
to get through yoiu- ctll -cleaning at all is hke working a Chinese puule,
aod requires the itioit adroit management, you have to work rapidly and
eeaaetenly (svraUowiug your cup of cocoa in sweat and dirt) till ^ati.^^A
4
498 A LLTTER FDOU A CONVICT IN AVBTILVUA
chapel. Then comes a few miontca' rait ; then — 1 ahndder while I write
it— the grand Kramhle for the cloieta. It it impokkibU: la tleaciiha tliin
scene — it is too ahoclung. Chapel a»d the grand Krarablu over, you
go to work in Ihe dockj-ard, and ytm will tind it reallj* hard work.
You do liitle oi' no good. All the priaooera together — let thcrii be nx
huodred — do no mere than fifty regnlar workmeD, who knew iheir bn«-
aeu and bad proper apptianc«9, would do with eaae. Then, again, a
gnat part of tlio work done draa not want doing. Blocka of ivou and
pieoes of timber aro mored badcwarda and Curwards for the mere pnrposu
of giving something to do. Thosa who have lo point oat the day's work
have odeii quite a difScuIly in devising a job. Bat thia ia all one to yea.
Your only care will be, aller you Iiut* been on ihe wwka a ivvr weeks, to
get into OUG of iho caaier pariiea and with one of the better cIoah of
bJEcera. The auboidinate olliwra at Portanioacli are, or were, at leant, iii
my tim«, a very inferitr flans of men as a body, bat Ihi^re were good meii
among them. The pri^nen injurQ each other greatly, fur all intercourae
bctweeD them iit a oomtnuiiiutlton of vlciou* reminiaocncna anil designs,
but with you they will not interfere. Ultey will oven reapect you, if you ■
d«cer\-e it ; and toiue will g.-iiu your rcitpect jn rviunt. After dragging
obeut wood or iron, cloiiiing the ^•ivt ol' vcitt:lis cleaning out dvck^t
^Biding, or expending your unnkillcd labour, and running luurbreaddt
■mpea of loaiug a fin^vr, or leg, i>r arm— fur few cacajw jiiaiming •ooorr
at liter— you return to dinner. Thia Eonnieita cf ploiji builud beef or
mutton, with soinu kind of vogotable, ami, t]K>u<;h mixed up Ingetbor in
Teiy dirty tiua, ia sutlicieut lor lieullh. Y'oii h^ve now iin hour's riMt^
your one quiet hour in the day. Thia ended, comw m few mituitca'
Irfledom in llie yni-d, where the scramble uf ihci moining ia rc-acled in a
leaa violent fcnn ; llien paiiiile, and the wiU'cliing uf tliv pcrton, sad iho
6liafi oH to work.
Th« aftcriiuon'a ivork ^iiideil, yvu are again maiehcd lo tbo priaou, and
after another aeaxching of iho peraon are diaufaaiged to your cell, to change
your amock and hoota fur n jacket iind allocs before going to chapel.
Then cornea another grand parade before the cell doors, then filing off
to chapel, Uien a weary service, in wbicb a weary chaplain praya at>d
prcacbca before weoiy mL>n, with luward grotvliugs and unquiet alunibcn
lor the reauh, Men who have been hard »l work during thu day are iu
no condition, mental or physical, for joining in a holy service.
Aitar cliaiiet yim go tu your cell and yout aiipper of grnel, but
not to rest. The !i;i]f hour allotted for suppn- ended, tiiere ariaea aoch
n Babel of souitda— of warders alioutiiig and sweariiiji, and feel rusliing,
luid brublies eunibbing — thai you begin to think your^ielf iu a Noilb.
country weaving lueloi-y. You may not tukv jiart ia the work every
night, but you will iiftd your turn coiuo pretty ofkeo, aad may bavo
to work va in aNv«ut and tioisc till ten minutes te bed-time, Tbcn at
length you aro hurried to huA, with (carco time to put up your hanuiioclt
(irhicl) .mtut not be touclied befur«), and nre l«fi tlirougb ibe mMM of
BROTHRR XS W
Iho night 10 ecok a ril/'iil ehfip. Il reqiiirea long nse to deep soundly.
All ihrougli the great tier of iron boxm wbicli aervo as cell)), you h«xf
«T«rrtliiiig tbat IB done by your n«igbbmira; and wliat wiLh tbe Boise
vt' the wardert, and rowA in one oi- other part of tjip resonnnt Wildinj^,
your sleep will be broken Ibr mnny weekit ; wbtle you gruw giWiiaUy
Moaible, as tlie momiiig di-uwit on, tlmt you uri! in the midst of % gre
ceMpol. I speak strongly, but wiih tmili.
Such ia the ftyslem of " public works " in Knglaod ; in the day U is
cndksa pamUe, uiid k«t:ping at«p, anJ iniaappUetl iubuur ; nod n( ntglit
broken rest in n moat loul utmoBphcrc. A more iriitntiog ditcipline
I hare nerer aecii put in prnctioe, «nd it was ttsloni«hiug to see how
thoroughly reckless it mode Ilie pL-iaoniuii tiubjoctvd to it : I ncrcr eaw
liny discipliDc slfeot men mors lutravouritbly. The ofltoent iniglit not aoo
it ; the authorittea mi^lit know little or noihing of it, cxoopt a< it gnrs
y'ao occaaioiiuliy lo partial outbreaki ; Lmt J, vrho Jived in the under*
otirrent, uw it olearly. ' lo make thin^ worse, just as I ieit, the mun
were deprived of iheii' Sunday. The reloxaciou of pnradeon this one day
had hitherto been a Kiving point in ihia tuoet wrvtoheJ system. Hitherto
the prisoncn, though surrounded by olHcet^ and kept in a small oircle like
poopls at a fair, could eelocl their companions and even ail duwn on llio
ground by the prison aide nnd rent. But a few 8undnyB before 1 left tli«
prison even this one comfort wns talien mvay, iind tlio "day of rest"
wad divided b«liri;i-n parading liir cbopcl, Editing in chapel, and being
marclied round and. round the yard. Vou luust look forward to a trying
time at publio uorki. And yet, so pleasant ia it to be out of doors
nnil drJiik die A-eah air, that ^int would not willingly go back to ibe
" sopanicc- system " priaoD.
I have apokeii of llie " public-works " aysioui us it will appear to you
or any who have occujiicd a rccpcclnbEe position, fiut, mistake mc not, by
the mnat of prieoiicrs nisny of the ovils of the ayrtvni nrc hardly porccivod,
eveo though insensibly irritalLd by tlicm. The ouo gn'at tiling tiith ihem
is to havu free intercourse with tnch other, and ao long aa ihtty have
this, and can got cncu(>h to cat and obtaia an oecosionol chew of tobaoeo,
other annoyances, ev«n while rh«y irritaC4>, da not tToubht tliem grectly.
Again, yon yourwlf will sHfTir less ^ler a whik-. Tliiiigj will become
more und wore toieiable eveiy day. Tho Ciiine«« puaale of the cell
will bo solved, xind you will actually be able to get a little time to
youneif ; and to the noiue and scolding, and dnrkLiied light, and nightly
odour, you will become ulmoet indilK-rant. Voii will deteriorate. 1 my-
self was sfttifilied that if 1 stayed at Port« month, I ahould lose all power of
Abatnetion, together with all mtnbd linbits of any uso lo me, and that 1
sliookl bocomc aa oompletoly bnibiHxcd as it wan possible for an edncatod,
It-iijpemtft man to be. One thing I ought to add. Tlipre i* every dis-
poaition on the part of the govomor and principal aaaistiints in the phaoa
to act fairly and kindly, nor arc they reaponaible for tbo evils of the pLaoet
They M« there lo carry out a nystem clwrly deAoed^ ■wuVvwA yy«w vi
A IKTTKR PROM A COHTKiT IS AUSTttALK
iiiO'^if)' it. The evils I liavc puintei out belong in part to Hia form
building ndfpleii fjr the prison, in part to the syBtcro itav\(.
And now oue more alagp — Wt-atem Aiistralifl — mid I bovc done. The
lime you will h»ve to aerve in Englaiitl lins, 1 understand, be«n greedy
nnd very injudicioiiBly extended, but if (as I suppose to bo tliu case) you
are a long-eciitecicc nntii, »nd Auatralin in a pi?nnl settlancnt lu your liiuo,
to Australia yon will evt-iituallj oome. He tlmotfiil ihat it is «n. The
pAssage may look alarming, the idea oriieing Dooped up between d(-c\s fi>r
tbreo months wicli the worst of the cI-ism yon see liel'ure yon, may bu abliorrcnt
to yon ; but llie wry voy«g« ilaelf wliich xkiha bo dr^aJlnl will he b«tler
than public wdiIcb. To be oooped up with the cbaractera yon see before you
— oven tlioii(;h )-ou are bo only at nipht — la indocd bad j wor»c, fat worse iu
Home ways than you can have any idoa of la ilioso hours during which
yo\t urc shutdown bt-Iow — hours in which no oiUt«r diirf nhow hij facL—
ibc ntnioipbcn; ia fcr foul tonvcrBatjon » littlt hrll. You then see huraaa
nnliire, not in its hi;!;hfst fomi of di>v*lopino»t, wholly unreslniincd in
word or thought. What the henrt sug^sts is K[«)lii.'ii out without tbatne
or hc«)tnticu. Them ia nc savuKcnou or bmlaUly — nothing of tlio luad ;
hut filthinegs boyond heliel'. 'Tha gfid of lh« profcarinnal thief is not
Snlan, but Btelzcbub ; not the god of hale luid pride, hut of ten-dona
»nd dirt.
In the uliip in which I o«nio out, the bc^hi! on ChristniHH night, a
night of 8Hj>rciii« upioiiriousnoBs, gnve mu a more fearful idea of hell than
any I oould hare ever ccDOcired, and yet all was good-humour anil jollity.
It wofl a dispbiy of unresliaised thought exhibited in uurestrnined Ian-
gUBga. It vas iioniljle. 1 leniemhor a Jn-Ht-claaa thief of the I'rt-ach
Kcliool siiyiiig to 111(1 that coiilil ho have tvpr realised boinj; prcivnl hc
»uoh a eceiiL' it would haro cured him of thieving. A hardened profe**
piouu!, uud by no mcan& nico, evi^u he felt it id be ''liorriblc" Bat
your lift' on bonrd the coni'ict chip i#, wiih tlii» one drawback, ■ stop for-
wanl. Whilo on bosud you are pi-aotically fi-ee. I'ou are shut doivn at
night, bi» ia the dity you arc your own niaaler in the forcpext of the
ship, and cvoi nt night ore undiiWarbed hy offioors. A eoaviol aJiip, from
tlic nioint^t she is out of sight of laud, » practically in the bnnd^ of the
three hundred n>cii ^llo is transporting. Tlicre is h gunrd of pentiicnerd,
it ia true, and precnutiona at-c taken to meet any outbreak, but the power
U with ihc tlirco liundi'ed young able diuperatea, nnd Uiiere are ho uiaii/
tvOTAJBona when ilic puai-d might be taken uuprupsiri-d that the aaftty of
the vossi-l rtally dcjiouik on tlio temper of the men. It is therefore nn
objeut of priniiiry importaiite to avoid any|]iiiig cAlcnlaled to give uii-
nvoessary irritation, ilic gitai ihin^ is to kt-i-p Ihi- roc» contented nnd
carclesK, and this is bent eflocwd by leaving them to therosflves. So left,
allowed to luun^ about and i-cad aud talk and Aoioke (alwiTe deck) aa
they please, and obliged only lo ktup their part vf tlie ship oltan,
and do what ia necoieary jbr h«nlch and oleanlinoa — tbey gire uo
trouble. Easily, v«ry easily uritutcd, they yet desire a laTe:, tjuiet voyage.
eoi
L
fest of them men who hnvc wan a grcnt dcnl of Hfo nnd weil nh\e to
raleutau oons.-qucncejs 'l"*/ *oe no good to be gained ovi-ti by n succcsrftil
MJiare of the vcmcI, and if li-ffc to tlo pretty much ns thoy picntir, will be
as ordi-rly ni ordinnry piwictiffora. The surgeon wlio Iin* cliaigo of thotn
vithiT know* this ihim hi* own fiperiunce, or is carefully wariidil of it,
ani io:ivi-3 the mtn lo thc-iiisvlvvA nccordtngly. How far the knuivltiJi^u
ihat th^-y iiro to receive no r^nditionnl pardotis inoy op^rnlft on long-
Heniniici: mi-ii in fiitiiru r[>yugt!S it is impossible to mv. Hut I nppn-hcni]
it will inalcv little (IifiVrt.'ncc, iia ni'^sC wouU think it beat to wait till lliey
gtft to Ainlralia, nm! o.iMpfi thimco in sonio qtiiPt way. Buf, in nay cam-.,
it must nlwnyn be th« policy of those in chnrgv to allow nil reasonnhlu
liberty on bowil »hip. Tiiia you will find very jrnik'ful. Tiic ordt-r of
things will vnry in mnny dittnils tvcry Biicfi'iMivi.' trip, liiit tiio loailiiig
fi-jiturej will he much t)io B,-inie in all. You wi!l be nttw-ttothcd fi>r thu
voyage, will huw a doiiblo suit tii uiidcr-clotiiin;^, will h-ivc nn idW day
or two of proiwiration, will undergo sundry suri^icitl rxaniinntiont, and x
Mimoii at ch)i|>c'l »pi-ciitlly adnpltKl to the occHnion, utid will be nddrCK««d
hy It diiector vn Ihu iiiiproii-tinvtit ycu may citpcct in your couclitiou, hy
your tran^portatibii to n colony wh^ru th<>re iu plenty ot f^niplnynicnt atid
high wages, and on the special iidvuntii^t-a which will nccrtiv to ymi ns
pritoiicra if you &!« vvcil oonduutcd during thu voyugc. At iiny rMv such na
luldiYiSii unod tohc tnudi-, nndtlicri it wot to iict'rlmn extent tiiir; for tliotigli
only 11 Ysry few priacnent, those, iiamdy, who held hilktsin the ship orwho
a«l«d m iiifortnerj, received any rvmiirion of tL«ir Kot«DC« in ooutcqaniot;
of tlieir good conduot on hourd, tliwy did receivo scnnethlng ooiisidi;rAb!p,
ii.x, iwelrc, ami I'vcii tigliU-cn mouths hiding utruclc from » prohirtion ; but
now ihii is all done awny wiih. Let tbv mii^jcoo who bikes the men out
do hi* host tt) oUuiii r>itii(Minii Ibr diiwnrinjjiiK-n, liu ouii tmly obtnin three
weelw or a motiih.
The oddrcis orci", you niiiroh to the wntfrnidcj whifiict you nru
conveyed by boat op 8U-iiin<.'r to ihp imnKpoii , yoiii- Inli; i;oTii)>.inians on
«horo ohcering lieortilyi and your own felluvrs cheering bnck. Tuld off
OD botird «htp, iho liriit thing your eompitnioni do is to ruah and
clanibtv over thv hnnku, soclcing luMcciutes from whom ilioy huve been
tcnporartly R|inrnli-il, niid the lirat limu' is Inkiru iip in greutingn nnd
i|Qesiioiis, All lire jolly ; singing breok< out from ull sidi,-ji. Thiii lasts
ths lirst day. Next day ilia Ringing C[>Dtinuo«, but in knot* jvM ma you
hc-tr it in n fair. AIUt a fL-w dny^ n centmlixatinn prindptc prL-vni!ts iind
ihe MUginff becoinm limited to public ftrformmee* in the hatchway in iho
evcniiij*. TliiH, :ilti>rnn.iing with tlcp-dunciTig, lui t'xhibilidn whit-h givn
great delight, contiimca for Mimic WLi-ks. Then it partially Iokim ila inte-
r»i, and diea out, and carda take poaacanion of the ship, ntaiutnining their
lucendnm^y to thu clone uf llie voynge. By day there ai'o l^iiit nitempui
oa the port of the scripture- reader tu carry on n achoul, but ttiey conui
tn nothing. The greater port of the day ia divided between cloaning-tlie
bcriba and deckn, wiuhing and cooking, tniokiag acA itsittAxui^. 'VWt«
503 A M-rtTEit FKOM A CONVICT IN AU8TRAU&
vrill l>c » Cvir TigLu. Thcec bt^in «hortl; after Uie mea are put on
Mit ratioiin, aud coaUoua at intoiTftU UiKUghout th« voyage. TU«y
AID •eldom inlerAuvd wiib, it being thought best to let the taen ••ttle
itivir (iiurrelB aiiicrug llicuiBf-ivn ia their own wa/. Tli« nuions ui wiittd
nud good — good poik, good peaae-wup, good " plum-dougli ; " but you will
do wflH to lm7c yoiir»4tlf provided viiUi monoy (wliicb can be Mai la you
u(W }'oii uix! vinburlccil aiid before you boU), and ^ould koap « Bervant.
Vou will liad pivnty able and willing to cater aod cook for you, and do
all llifi jiuiibing iind rough woik, nut] take cnre of your oloihn, for th«
aiikt of the betu-r tabic your ^Rrvicc will affotU litem. Monvy and a
iiiun Hill be the grenteet coinloit to you — do hm forget ihia. It 11111
Hike nn'ny the cbiuf dtscomfaru peouliaD to a voyage of the sort, and
leave you little to do but takv your ease. Avoid nocopljng any ofScc or
" hill«t." A billet ifl very hnrassing, att«ndQd with Bums re^^iuibiliiy
and not a few annoyances ccoincoted with the men, without any adeqimle
cotnpcnsatiou. h was all very well wIipq it vaa rcwnrdctl witb tvrdru
months' remia»ion, but the three or fotir weeks now given are realty
not worth thinking about in Austnilia to a long-sentence man, and wbat-
i-Tor tile awgeon-supcrintcndeat may tell you, he can Rct you do more
You abouJd also get a berth amidships. If yon are not idloUed
, j«u can exobange into one for a few sliillings at the oontmenceineat
< voyage. Yon will find tliin |iart of tlie «hip better for sleeping and
ftw your meals. There is more air, more room, more quiet than in the
other ])Btta of the vessel. You luve every proipect of srriTing at your
dniination safely and even quiokly. The veuuls taken up for this sciricv
are nli firet-class bnau of DOO or 1,000 tons, and are selected earerully.
On the other hand, as the object of the surgecm in charge is not ao much
a swift voyage as a eafc one, yuu wiil esciipu the w«t bertliaand critical
aituatioiiB of crack liners on other stations.
The first you see of the land of your exile is a ratlior low coast>litie,
broken by two rocky iiilaiids, which ritie out of a loii^ l»w reet' of asnd
9nd rock, and usiist in formiug a niodfiately R&fe roQtlHtead. As you
round the norllieminost of tlic^e, ^nd approuch the hind more cloaely, you
see it to be ouvrrvii with a wild heathery acrub, out of which riac here
nnd llicra wild-lool:ing trees, scantily leaved and of no great beauty. The
town of Freemantle, bel'ore which you will anchor, ia not unlike some of
the small iwuriude Wdtenng-plocea in l^igland, and looks pretty and
cheerful. The etone of which the houses are built ia vary whitf*, and the
place looks new nnd Kubatantial. Conspicuous al>ore all riiMa the prisou,
or,aaitiih«recaltcJ, tlic " «utahlinhnLeiit.'' To this you will bocoareyod
iu detachmenta in the courxe of a day or two nftcr anchoring, merely
accompanied by a couple of oflicen, and without purada or ostentation.
Your £iKt impression, on finding younwif within the gates, is a mixed
one. The courtyard is vorj' <iuiui— not unlike that of a large deserted
country inn, and the inspection you undergo before going to the baths is
« ^urct aflitir, conducted without fiisa or nonsense, and only carried just
TO A BnOTOBR IH liNGLAND.
soa
KB fa lu is ticceafarj'. So fur ao good. But the wituiowii of the
bitilJiag btifure yuu, hcian all of a lliick gicjrgluss, imprcse you
unplcnfaiiily. You will, however, lind tbem all light — juat what the}'
dliould he. They'tu-e iienii-triLruparcnt; hiil the Ei^ht does not camo in
dvlbruiMl, A[iU thtir opacity ia uot uioro tiiau i» nttesaary lur tlm 'Blroug
liglit of Iho cliiiiati'. AlWr infipeGti(>a on ciitiiuiGi! you gci to tho hMh
snd now ia ihe time for you to aeciire «ny numey yon iimy h»vft
with you. Bat if you will b« advUttd by m«, you wilt ctth«r get
■oma ono of the warclera whom you have made a friend of durini
the Yoyng^ ta lake charge of ir, or cLie intnisl it to your Bliiji-iei
vuit or ptber profcwiogal whom you ciin lru*t. Fi-oiu the halln, tvhivh
are Rctiubly and conveniently contrivc«l, you pats inta a ^rcat yard
to bcahavMl and liitvc your hair out, hotli which ojieriiljonfl, lot inu lell
yoM, will be irerformcd most tflwlually. Every jmrtiolv of whi»kvr, every
hair of yoiu* LvikI whii^li can be luiide to poax Lhrvii^h & tlat couib, is t»kvii
oO* uiupariDgly. They cut the hnir pretty clono in EiigliiDil, hut wliol
tbcy JctiTc ou theii; is a " Uixtn-innt growth" compared with what thvy
k'lLvo oQ in Auitinlio. It will, howerer, be a mutter of little montont to
you, nod you will nets ihat your position in nil Biibttantial points In iiii-
{>roved tuiuimtvly. Acfinaintod only with th» Eogllfh prisoiu whero you,
muat inarch in closely-dunnrii lini>8 and have an olEcer looking aharpl
aAer you at every cormn-, luiii have doura liero and bar* there, aad where
there are riagiog votcvs of coatnuind on every side of you, you sl-uih n-tl
to be in iviBon at nil. Vou find yourwif confined, indeed, to the yard,
but you BLo no cflicer, except peiliupa oiie at the door, and find that
you can wulk about au<1 talk with your frii^nda at you pl«u»o. So long
M there t* r.n dj^tuiiiance lliero is uo iat^it't-Fence. The officer on
duty is to lite prieouci'a ia Uielr cxcrcisc-yardi what the policviiian is to
the public ftt a lair or flowcr-Mhow. Ho i* thcro for the preservation of
ordur, or to hold the entrance to Moino furitidilvri avenue. The Auilra-
Uki system alma at being aa iHr as possible self-acting. Order la niughl
to bo obtained, not by an incessant display of force, and by making th«
praamoe and power of authonty felt every minute of the day, but by
an appeal to the good sense of the men (faomaclves, ami by calling on a
eerlaiu portion of tbem to naaixt in all those duties where a pud «fficar ia
not aalHiiliy nceeMaiy. These men arc denomiaated conHtablea,and harsa
cartain remia^n lor llieir acrvicca, and are probably really more useful
in kecpUijt tbfl men oonlented and oi-d«rly thsn any officers could be. At
all eveiila tha fyaloni, as &ir as tlie prefler\'atiDn of order and regulaiily
is ceneeined, ia perfectly suoceaa^L N<i I'^glish priivu is half na «
Trom emeules, na, nor as orderly, as the ettablLsliineat ut Freemantl«.
The men, who know their U-ing left in a great mwiaiire to curry out iba
diactpline of the prison thcavelvua dopooda oa Uiere being no call for
a more etriugent syatem, fall into thtir dutitt quietly and logulaily,
and, of thix-e or four hundred meu within or about the priaora, it ia rare
tliat any one i» not in his place. 'Iliia offiira a ^leuaio^ ttn>.\nA to
A LETTER FROM A CONVICT IS AUSTRALIA
iliw English pnlilic-works prlaonn, where the men, ■wbcD not actually at
woilc, ate in a (onitnot *inte of drill iind irrtutinti, nnd where, wtUi
un otlicpr tit every comer, them ii no ftocurity xgniiiit na ^ineaM at anjr
iQumuut. This AiutnUiiui pian of kcvpiog tlit: red mg out ol' njglit will
iifibrcl you a leUef you canuot tmvt cvtiniace. Puaing frora the yard
to your cell, yoii find fresdi caiwc for Nitial'iicticni. In niic, tha cel!« horn
lire liill*: larger Llinii the Imu cn^ca at FurtiinotiUi ; but tlicy nru built
at tione, have a good wiiidovr, are of (;ood height, and nre plut«r<d nnd
vhlifirajthttJ, hnvK a lirm lahh- nad sufticient conYcniepceit, uiid nre
really cljrtrrul, itiiy lillic duim. Wlmt is mure, ynii an iiot ehnt up in
thciii. Voii hnri', when not nt work, full libtrly of <>otry nnd «-grp«.
For iitxnit ten minuli-t at brodkliiHt-ltini', and thi' wiiiie M (linm-r and
ten, you mult bo iu them ; but cvoii tliro thv dogi'fl «ru left oyva. AH
iho roAt of the (hiy «nt of woiliiiig hours you cnn go dovm to tho yard or
stay ill your ctll— us yon [>]cns(-. 'Hic ucvoit are clovud only nt night.
Tbif, iigaia, ia good.
S^iould you be retained nt tlie cittiKliithmont at Kn^emantU', it will
be thtt gr<Ki[i>«l couifoit tu you. Its liuiiinaiaiiig iind quieting effect
on llie minds of tlic in-iBDUurs in luoat marked. It is pDaiibl«, faovr-
Bvn, that you may hare to go up the country, or Jnio the biidi, as
it U called. Should you be sent to a road-parly, j-ou may perhaps
have rcii4on ti> ti^rvt this; but I niyatlf rcgnid lh« bciug attached lo
tt rtvtrl-pnrty, even as a siiu;)Iu hthoiiror, iw bellor tlian anything inside
thi« Willis of a prison. You ni»y liuvu to live in a hot, hut a hut is
by 00 mrana an uiiconifortablc lDii};itig. You anociate with it vret and
dirt nnd the nMuultu r-f not n fvw of ihi.> most aiin&ying varieties of (h4
inwect Iribu, But. if you Mifft-r fmm nny nf ilu'^c, it will be your own
fiiull. A hut if, in lliifl cftitilry, otic of the cli-aa<?st and tno^t pleasaut
hahitaiions you ctin h»vv. The roof, lormccl ol ihu riuh of iliu blaekboj
(griiM-l ri'c), kL'cp« ir cool In 9(ii[iiin<.T and dry in winter, while, if it is
At nil cold, yoiL can nl>vny)! have a glorious linv Yvur hv-d, uindc ot' tlia
same ruthcv. in Kjiriupy mid cUiui, uiul, hy a liltl<> caiv, may be kept
frou from insects during evory fsirkof ilit; year. In two-thirJ» of the
bouiei of the countr>' you nre for many months of the year devoured
with ineci^ts and cannot gut rid of theui, hut in a hut you need haro none.
And tliicii yuu art* only required to do n fair diiy's work In piopoition
to your tttrength ; while out of working houra you ara left lo your-
•ulf oiitiritly, bluing desired only to keep within certain liinitj defiuwl by
the ollioer in cliarge of the party. Homo other lltiic advantJigi-s there
are iii road-parties which you will find out for yourtelt". But I Khould
ml'] that what 1 hnve said of these road-p.irtics does not apply so fuUy
to those close to Freemanllo and Perth. Thcao being mure suburbu
aifiiit-a, and close tmder tli» eye of the colonial puhlio, are di^lays of
prium Tit^ilMNceand seventy. The hot sand and want of shade, nioreover,
make the nork very cppreMive. U is oenuioly better lo bo in iIk
"«frabh>h»ii-nt " Ibsn at one of these parties.
I
I
I
I
TO A BROTUER IN ENGLAKD.
Ba^ altlunigb I Imre thoti^ht it ivetl lo notice tlic rMJ-porlien ao fur,
yoaivillprolnbly be madt; a clufk in tbe cliicT csUttilishtiK'nt. 'She eyatcni
buicg one wbicli ainte nt being ils fiii p.s possible solf-acung, it is tlia
cuxtom to piU every priaoncr lo the work at which he is liVdy to be moat
useful. It )i« ia able aa a clerk to do work lor >Tliii;h Govorutueut must
oiberwifA pay from 80/. to 100/, a J'ear, iia is not employed, as in
Sngland, on Mome itliy.-iicnl iaboui* of vliich he unrlci'stands nothing,
bat be is placed ftt A dealt omongst bcoka and acco^uats. And suoh
will hlmoiit etTtainly hs jow own lut. Tbe establishment at Frce-
mantle being the centre from whicli ail the convict sLationH or dojii'^u
scattered tlirougboat tlic colony rccuire iustmotioLU Hiid itijiplie),
and through which nlino»t cverytiung connected with tlic nervier
iiltimstuly passes^ Afforda ocaupation for ii liirgu sUtfF, nliioli is with
diESoiilty kept up to tbu ueccnary Ktrcagth. This oauwa crury cduoat«d
prisoner to be pounced on by one or other deparimeut as soon as ho
nrrirw. There ia occasionally n, ftUugglc for hid service between diiTereat
depAilincnta. Affiiiu, you may be ecnt as clerk to o&c of tho couairy
establiiihmenu. This vrill bo bLiU belter. TIki ckrkBhips at lhc>)») "depOta,"
as they arc called, are the best positions in the sen-icc, aufficienily good
to compensate for tiicir ono drA^rlaak — the loss of society. This is a
gnat Ices, as tiie uoiety obtainable in the Freomnntle pri.ion, ivhcre there
are some of the best informed and most »^i ei.-Me iiiea of t!ie day, in ri-alty
most enjoyable. But Uiv greater fceedoia and fuperior acconuncduUon
jou will CQJoy at the depQt it lo moat tncn more Ihan aa c^uiraloot. You
can scarcely, however, hope for one of ihtae posts till you hav« b«m at
the eM^lisliment soiac time, as iht-y arc gcnerully applied for somo months
b«forc they fall due. Again, if you tttaku yourself rwvlly iiBeful, yon will
never be »^at to them, for it Js n rule at iho chief eitnlilishtnent never
to Mud away ila be^t uien. You got oo reis-ari there for osefulnou —
none. You might thinlc thai nt leiuit you would got some extra remission,
or tliaL the nutlioiilius itiiglit iiiten^t tlicinselves lo find you a cituaiioti on
your diKh4u-go, N<jthiitg wf (he kind. I believe I do injustice lo no cue
wh«n 1 say that there is not » head of any department ia tk<i ectahlishmi^iit
who would Interest blmitoll'to Hud you a situntion on your discharge. As
for reiwssioik, you jutt get your ordinary stages as you would if you vTero
noMrly tuslna. It t« oliivrwiso at ibc country depdta, but thia is the rulo _
■( the estaulinliment. Beware, therefore, of being too useful. Just do ■
what is re(]uired and notliiag beyond. It i»^ pcrliaptt, the truu theory of
oomfort cvftywliero. I'faced at work for whidi you are tittod, your tiRM
will notr pnu (jtiickly, and, on the whottt, plt'iiAintly. You rise varly, ■
liare regular cmplnymont, good Fooicly, a dirt pliiin and sotnctvhat hard, '
but wheloiomc and stibslanlial, hn.re ton in ploon of gnuO, and rvuMnablo
tinifl fur exerctiuj am) eelf-irnproveniL'nt. The library ia miserably chosen
■ud hodly managed, but you can iind some readable hooka in it.
Tn Aattrnlia a <|uiclin^, iclf-acling, improving •ysteni ia subatituted
for one whose only real result, and whew seeming ohj^ch (^( Wkb (^
i
i!06 A LBTTEB TBOU A COKVICr U( AUSTOAUA
uot know the boU«r spirit b)* wliioh GoT«niinc»t it TMlly tetiuilvd} is,
to un a nlher TDlgBr but veiy exprcasive phnue, to '* eMiibliiJi n nv."
The AtistraJian syslcn] has lo dcnl with laen vlio most spcodU/ ibnn port
of a largo aad rormiduble clasi in the counlty'ft popuUtion, and matk* V>
ptvpare lb«in gradoftlly to act ncniiiiily mid temperately. There tb«
i^csring, keeping down, pomding, drilling, grinding EpMxn will not do.
Here, tlie botui claxs stand in tli« proportioa of fitlljr fire-MrvtilUa of
tlio viitire grown male popiiliiiion, and nru perfectly conHciotu of tbor
power, anil only quiel unti ordurlj IwcniUR tliey nea thera u taothiag
to be gnined by a contttry cotira*. To keep up llio irritatioo- principle,
Lherefore, is out of the r)UQStion. Ar. ^mviiU- iiL PcrUmouth or Port^od
is A mere tritle— an nfltilr of % few liDur» — anil ends wlien it begoo.
But were a scf ious outbreak to occur at Freemantle^ no one oould 1^
\fheru it would end.
TliQ Auslrslinn prison nod its stations bavc their defucta, of coutw. as
hATo ctlicr prisonK Tlie ^Bt«ni is net perfect, and sufPers, as do ill
By«tein«, by fmperfwt working, it haa smoDgiit its offieiola diildiah old _
men, who are kept on because there is no ozotiw Ibr getting rid of them, I
olhiT than there lias bean for years ; and ihcro urc lew blackguards
amongst iu subordinate oHic^rs who are kvpt en bconujiQ they ai-o smart
mm, iiod see that the pots and pans are kept up to the required brigbtnext. ■
But tlie meniigenient is, ou the whoH judicioos, mmI has good tesults,
Ons Axporiment ii being now carried out in Australia wiUi regard to one
particular class orpriftoners^principnlly thcie recommitted for attempting
to escape — wliicli alnn<la in most unhappy contrast with thot part of the
iiystem wiiich I have been describing, It is called the "chain gong."
It was tteterniinoil to atop attempts to escape by terrific punishmeot —
URmely, heavy iions in a separate un<l dark cell for frota Qfly lo a
hundred days, with a diet of water and one pound of bread. The irooa,
wughiog, some of them, iwenty-eigbt pounds, were not to be rcuiored
day or night. Now this piinishmi-ot is really trcmpnduus. Tho uufor-
tunaie runaways come out of their fifty or seventy days' confinement
wesk, sickly, fnininu-slricken ini-n, looking much as jierAons do who
arc in a con^imptiou. In tins stale thi^y arc ninde to work in heary irons
on the roads, and ore kept very sCriclly to very hsrd work. If it bo
aummw lliey havo the no slight nddilioual torture of working, heavily
ironed as th«y are, under n burning sun. But this pDnishment is r«ally
ineffective, Kine-tenths of the atieinp(a to tacnpe are now from tlits very
cbain gang. Klcggintr, the necessity for which tliis punishment was in-
tended lo cbriati.', han been added tu it, and added in rain. The heavy
irons never olFfqr a nicmuit — with them in the bath, with lliein in bed,
witb them painfully at every turn of the bofly, slee^ung or waking — make
tlie noB fo dcEpftntc that tlic poor fellows break, in soino murvellous way,
tho very heaviest ironf, and try continually to get away, nt any risk. The
mcQ who form tliia gang are by no menus the worst iu tiie prison; but
they arc under » mania for running away, and the more hcavUy they iire
TO A J)K0XJ1£U IN £fiOLAND.
607
irDn«i], the more will lli«-)' irjr to get fne. In Uie uiciuil inie, Uie eflVcl
on the poor follows ii ruinous ; 4T«ry dny doe* something towai^a makii^
lliciii bnrd, fierc*, lange^ firtak ih«iii down you uvver cna. And vrhsa
(hey come to lliuir Ubvity, it wil|, ha fuurnl tliat ihcjr li:ive ba^n injtda
very dnnj^roiiK iticn, and •oci«t]r may ati« da/ tliink iliut ho natural and
liiirni)«3 a iliiiig at nn nttimipt to gt-l oiil of [)n»i>iii Ciillccl Ibr a iiuhIhIi-
mcnt somtwitut leuBcvero iIiuti oac lo nlii<jli ihnth ilacll' wtiro k-iiieucy.
llto dxperiment vat iiot^ I b«lievo, UDkindly niutnt; it was thonglit thxt
a very little oi' bucli a punislimmc wotili pr<>du<M the dueiniii olfvct, niid
lliat attmipts to e9c:a|ia would be Moppecl aC onoc; but tlii< did not pror«
to l>« the c»«e, and eQCcesaive Itnkn tT«ra odd^d to the pondeiooe chnin
till it became lite lorritic punishuieut it is. liad in principle, bad
io its reoulta, ita conuauaiioe ia tJis uoro to bu rrgrctt«(l as it ia tbe
otift gTMt blot in an adiniaiati'atioti that Una bewu, od tlia wKole, s«n«ibl<
aud inaDly.
Such ia tlie AiiHti-iilian ayttviii Itistde tlie piisoa. I wi«li i could ajvcak
n* Jaroumbiy of tli« Hyslcin Dul«ids—th<: ayeldiu I'.ti. lo wbicli a man
iMKomea Rubji'ot on iiia obtnining bis ticU»t-ar<leave. It is as bad as it citn
be. Profenedly nirnitig- at tnidciug ihc rL-K-usctl iiinii su eiit-rgelic, reapect-
able, ■ucMcaftit ni«nib«r ofthe community, aadattscliingliim to tli« colony,
ilanrorjralv seems Ibrmed wiiliavifwut'eithvr disabling urdi*gusUiig liiio.
It Is a Hr«l(^ni of disuUlicks. Us first act on bis ^oing out u lo diclulc lltu
fl«ld in wJiivb be is to laboar, and to deprccijitu tbu value of Itiit £<:rrii:«-s.
Uffora he ia Klea§iad h<- must find a master I OeoBsionally, iiid««d, a miin
ia ailowed lo aet up on liia own accotinC, btit bo must preTJousIy aaUsQr
tiM mad&nt inogiHirnlQ tbut liu i.i likvly to be uucuetftTul i aiid tbis
ftjnetioniiry, vhots standing orders are lo give nn fvw independidic tickets
■a poMblti, and who is acldom the man tilled lo be a censor of trades, most
commonly refiises. As a consequence, many of the belt disposed uud ntoat
useful men give tip nil thought of duing anything in iho colony, or even
Muk inlo diaei|iaiion uin\ n:ckh-.sBiii9ti. Two ioilanceit to tbo point have
come tindnr my own notice-. Two men, cno a inou]d«r and the Mlicr a
ghiss-blower, believed there wna a pcud opening for their ruspeutiva triidc^
and wnie mcrchnni.1 thought ao loo, nnd ulToTcd In ttsBtbt llioni with |iliint
and orders. 'l'li« men, having sulhcieut capital to jt.irt, applied ior tickets
on their own hands. The one was refused bccmise tb« mngiilrata ootild
not see bow nich a trade conld iticcced, tbo othsr was rcfuBcd wiilioat
nuMn given. Ill both case* the men weut and spDtit their moii«y ia
dingiiati And so It is ngnin nntl ajinin. Men come out iiitvnding to bo
nbcr and live rvapeclnhly, but are so disguMol with the discouiageuiciits
and obttni<itioni tlint meet them just when tb«y expect a helping hiuid,
that lli«y tUng awiiy all llieir gooil ri'iioluliuns in de«[>«ir, throw down
their monoy on the first public-hoiue table, and apcnd it in a " glorious
nww" wilh their frimda. 'i'lic next disability is cbv coufioing enoli ticket-
man to a pariioular district, out of which be muat not pan without the
authorities being satisfied Unit tbo trnnsTcr applied fair w'lVl wd. Aenrnqp
508 A LETTER PROM A CONVICT IS AUSTRALIA
the balance t>{ labour, anil Uial it u ollierirlse d«iinibl«. Even vthert a
man hiu received h |Mj«ilive engagement rrora ita employer in uiother
diairict, he cannot enter on il iinlil an oril«r far liin transfer ha
hnn obUiin«(], and ttiu wlcloai oosu Jrai than tea days or a ibrlnigiit,
■nd when; the opplicant is at n groat distance fnini hmd-quartere, very
much nioro. Attached to Ihia ngnlation requiring prisoners at la^;e Ut
find moitns ia another highlj iiijarioaa. Ail do not find maaler>, or, at
all events, do not succeed in tite two or three daja allowed ibom for the
IRirpo»; or after th«]r have ioimd a senriee thejr do not alwajs nay in ii ;
ID either ease tbey are sent on pnhhc worli at one of the Goretnment depute.
These dep^ are hranuh convict catablishnieuts in diOerent parts of tlie
c<Jony, ihrotigh which iir<> sent supplies to the variona rond-pani«8. They
nro oontmiuariat or engineer depftta, and are in the charge of one ol' the
Iii^et B\ibordinnte odicers of llie Hcrvico. They have hospitals attached to
them for the reception arpaCiEntB Trom tiie rond-pnrttes, a resident tnagistcat*
siUat them on cnwR of breach of dlxtplioe, and cbey have a radiua ofsoae
twnilj miles. All lliin in very well, and the arraogemeDla are perbapa sa
good aa any that could be mode. They answer ail necevary purpose^
and v-ni'1c well, nut to force men on tlu-ae dcpols, as is done at present,
bccuusc they are for the moment out of employment, it rMlicAlly bad,
TliB road-pnrliM to which UEeniployed licltet-holdem arc attached are in
all re<iM>c[a iinilcr the name regulations as the convict rond-partiusi,
e:ic«pt that ihc men aie not required to work so hard, and that tliey
oecaxioiinliy receive pnsses to Beok for employmunt. To oblige a nan,
tJierc-fcrc, directly he is difiohargcd from service to go straight tu the
depot, and if ho cuniiot by a two days' pat-e which he receive* after btijig
there n day find a freeh employer, la send him on tha ronds, is really lo
senil liini back to prison. This cnnnot be right. Without going into the
question as to whether it is well for a.blc-bodted men to have a workhouse
to reliro to in a country wherp, employt'd or unenipioywl, no one need
stnrve, it cannot be well to force (hem into one The cQcct of\«n ia to
quench any little desire ihey may still have to bo independent. The CkI
that they nro mvro priftononi nt large witliout power of independent aeiioa
is BO pressed on tliein thnl too many of tlicni rcmgn themsclres to tlieit
coniliticn, and prcft.r dcgnidnliou and a lifu without eare or trouble Ig
freedom and ililficuiti'*!*. Onoe sent on depiit, there ara many hundreds
who, except for n monlli or two in llie year, never leave it. The toad-
party, be it understood, offers snme advantages lo a working man which
are not afforded by priviitP service. The klter is a state of freedom, but
there Is hard work, inrcf^ular mcnlR, contemptuous treatment. There are
few jiLices under colonial masters where the tiekct-ofJeave workman is
not ninde to feel hia position. At the rond-pmiy, on the contrary, all ii
rrgnl.'ir, clennly, decent : the work moJcrate, the ofHcer cuuciliniiiig ;
and, above nil, there is the pIoa«Ant parly of old fricnda silting round the
great wood fire in the evening, and talking over uhl times. I know aum
who }arg beeti on these parties for years, and would not Icavu them for
I
TO A BROTIIKR IN ENGLAND,
609
L
nj- at »ice in dio colon/. They g«t a jium occnsMmiilly lo look for work,
but it Ja ou\y utud lo enablv tk«iii to be prcst-nt 'm 9q:iic »p»c of wliich
tbey have had intelligence. There arv itinuy who never intend lo Ivnvn
pcmiaDetiily ull thoj- iird due fi-r ihdr coixliiiutial fTttdon. Aud yd,
ftkiit>«l nil tbcAv are iiteu who surrvudurcd tlivir TrvcUvm ut fimt rcluc-
Inntlj', nnd who could tlud for ihuniMclviui a untiifortjLblc sutuistoiicQ,
There la nu^Ii an ubutiduiicc of Aiiiiill edihlc ivild giiitw, »nd it u so ea^ij
touted or cuugbl, that a maa ocod tivTCr be nt u luas lor {m<1. With
■ dog nml gun he can iitwnvK Iioi?]i hiin>ulf well. TImre is sah for
the fiivh of SOUK.', and li>r tlic *\\an or fwre of evcrythinj thjit riitis.
Again, the wild protlacts of Iho furust, os maiiun, goui, pu!m coltvn,
nnd burl:, nflbrd auoihcr raeiuu by whicli a man free lo iaavi> about
nnd SL-ck tbem may gel n UTiti^. Ag&in, if a tickct-nutn la ever Imid
up, tbo hand of every one of his cioea is open to him. Starvation
in a country liko this is imposBiWe, BXCPi't to tlie niuo who 1l-w his
hnndi Ucd.
Another givat inJstiike of oiir dUaliility By«t«in is tLu not allowing
tbc rvleastd [irisoncr the protoclion of tho law. From llie titue of hid
leaving prison lo that of his rcceivioR bis condiiionnl pardon he is unJrr
arbilrary poww, and for an offtnca of thfl woet IrJvial uutnic may, at tLe
disereltoii ef the fitting magistrate, be Eimteuced lo M-veral ymvs' impri-
sooment. Two men were recently condcniricJ, the one lo five jeara*
itnprisoBDietit for being »iisj>ected of dropping iome tobacco nt a toai-
pnrty, and the other to throe years' imprjaoanieat for boiuj suspocted
of lutving Borae Epiriis iit a rond-piirly, I ray suspected, for the whole
cvid«nc« iu the latter ca»e was ihitt of a gentleuiAo who saw tlie piix>nor
" trnlLing in the ucigiibourhood of tho party.'' On this last point I can
spvuk moet poeitively, cib an intimate frii:nd uf my own kub present during
tlie M>-«)lIed trial, and related the particulars lo mo immediately al^or-
ward«. I do not pny that such jiidgmenla are given frequently, or that tlw
niagislrntfN as a hixly arc. either cruel or unjn&t. Hut such judgmenla
do occur, and tliis creates in tlie mind of the liok«t-of-leaT« holder n
feeling vi insiMnirity. I'ufortunaUly^ too, it seeniE rather n point with
the ■LUthoriti'^3 to preu cu the tickct-holdei this lact of his miut of
Mcuiity in the moat wUl-nwivc way. !jo particular are ihoy in OMertiRg
their irresponsibility and abjioIutiH,m that onu reude notices in the public
prints that Midi and »uch a ticket-of-leare holder linn been " aoat back
lo lli« (Ntul^liihmc-iil (prison) at the r<4o>nmfnfhlion of the resident
mngiclrate,' wirhuiit iiuuition uf any oUVnce.
Again: yon cnntiut nioTc without reporting yourself here and roport-
iog youm.'!!' there, and oblainiug passes, getting passed risded, pflssen
extended, &e. You have a journey of Cive miles lo take, and you must
go perbaps Iweaty to obtain a pass, and a^'sin go tHcnty jniles to report
yourself on your return; — or you irant lo Itavc a town on urgent busi-
tUM, and yon must wait lUl next day bcouise it i* now putt auoiT, nnd
the maginlmtc hus done sitting. In any cute you miul to«a tv&l «. ^'^
■
I
I
no A LETTEH FROM A C0N\*1CT IN AUSTIIAWA
liangiDg altiiut. Oii; co'irl. We may he in a wiidemtM dihI c«c«pe mnn^
ofwli.it Hiitnboltit UTm»"ttie erroni of a long oirtltntton," bntwekavu
nH lopc en«ugh for tbc «l(Ic«t gormiBX'&t iu lh« irorM. Tbo ditoottrag*-
mont whicti Bucli n i^tcni ofl'erA 1o lh« tiekct-liolder mnil Im svideiit.
Bnt th(TC is one circumslanM which may not occiirto j'oa in EogLsod
which makes this «;etcni apociull)' injurivuH h«ro. There is in AiLslrulin,
iude by side with llie ^r«flt bend olau, n em&M frve cIsm. Thiit oinn, fju-
in^ior in notnheni to the c)n.iji beside it, as far s9 the ndult population
id oonvci'Dcd, is infurior alao in energy and iiitulligftice. Hgikh: ttn*et
between the two olaaaesthe billerest hntred. Tlie free cUsa, jealoia of the
snpcriority of ihe bondsmen in all e^tcnciala, yet affects to look down on
it, and withdrtitra wtthin itself, only strikinfc some aide-blow at it through
the press when it ha< an ojiportuiiily. The bond class, on the other
hand, hitc the free, ivhom ihi-y ic;;arJ really and nnafr-deillT as almost
Iwucath their contempt, fur their greater frivitegea. Nu otilbrenk «rcr
will take place — no gen^ml one, at least — for the simple reason t)iat tkers
is nothing 1o nwke it worth while; but Uicy none the lew tiifwenily or
deeply both hnte the oolonial And dcMplse him. It is unrortunale, bm
the Gtivcrniuent, in lo^inlating for tbu prisoner, hara forgot they won
Irgislaling for a colony. They aaw before them only dutigermiit men
to be (foardvd, not m«n Ut be encouraged to Mnbra«« a i>cw life and
fiirni a niMv Rtatc. The uttachin^ exeesaire punishmeaia to slight timln,
hs if diauhnrged priannent were more perfect dian other men : the judg-
mfsaU of private Iribunala; the surpeilhince of the potioe, are lliings wliicli
can nowhere work well. But to form nn idea of the effbct uf tho dts-
abllEty system here, ywt muni siiiti>oftt- nil Ldiidon under lii:kci-of-Ie»T«
law with the exception, wiy, of tlie freemen of the City.
Still you may greatly modify tlin eviln niiiiirnl to tlie {KigttioR, by
tRtitug a jiidiciann line. Lire in the bii»h, titid the erlts of the ■yiilem
will pre^ lightly on yo"- Take up a ^ttint of Innd far back in a SiM}
hurling country, build a comruilnbtr hut on it, try to get a pleaMnI
compantoa and n couple of good Ao^ gtt poi-miMion to carry a gtm, ■
libit the town only when necessary ft>r obtaining huppliei>, have nvMAiI
hnrsc and a good Bpring-cart, and kpep away from every one, nnd y^n
will be practiMtly aa free in your Australian forest-home tLt il" y«ii wew
on the uiilrodJcQ bborcs of the Oronoco, and much more ccmfortable.
Tou will of course choose a Gne country. I should advise you to be near
a good lake You will have no difHcuIty in flnding n upot (o suit yon, as
ycu ooly want a emal] plot of land for a station^ nnd this may be rented, if
not bought, Ibr a nocninal sum anywhere. .T ahould not advise you to ■
fiinn, bnt you inu^t have .tonic land, «» the p^ttsession of wh.ie it calteJ a
"station" will cblaia you a freedom and immunttiea which yon wvnM
not othorwifc have. Having once got what you want, ke^p out of sight
nnd out of mind. Vou miiat, of conne, have money, but that I snppocc
you to have — enough, at least, to do what I hax-c ndrEscd. Much is not
jjMMssry. Tlie forest will supply yoti with meat. Kangaroo, exactly
K
TO A UnOTUED IX £NaLA>'U. SU
like fiim beef ; c^waauni, likcrnlibU; kangnroo-rat, like clitrkcn ; handi-*
tocAc, like p:Lrlridg«; th<«c, with pig«on», parruU, euiu, wiU turtce^'tj
and otlier of your f<>atLei-Gd neighbours, will lenvo little to be desiredi
in tlie vfay of niiitual foixJ, ihoii^li yun mnjr ndil lam<r iWI iC you wi»li.
. Yotir Like will supply you n1>im<]untly with the iiactt fiili, uad ycur
garden with iilmost vvtry kinil df vogclubli; you can ili«ire, anJ of fniiE,
too, if you ooiiUI vriiit for it. As it is, it ivili yield you gf.'i]^^ivs in two
jreaw, nnd houio other fruits in ono. To bo supplied with milk and
batter, you have only to k«op tliroo or ftiur gnats, fttul IT yoit keu^ a smiiU
filggery you cui even indiilgo in pork. Wttli ii goad wIuctloFi of booki, ,
dnd, if yoH arc a smoker, a lupply of good tobacco, what can you wantJ
mora? 8ool«ty, my you? No doubt; unA ninny of the oiher good
iMogii Umt belong' to older countritx; but yuu have here n life whicb U]
not only prnctiully free, but with wkicU you may be well content for n
few ycRi>.
tjuch lA onr prcartut priaon ^stein, and auch are the opportuoiilee and
JKHutioa of the ticket-bolder in Ao&lralia, as tliey have pi-eaented tKem-
Mlvea 10 ne. The prison systmn now in operiitioD in Kn^Innd seoms to
be pArt good, part very biu3. The fccparate system I regard ai most
aae^ — m Uiwtul as any prison syatem could be. The eSuct of being
■Imeit almys nlone, mid brouglit in contoet oniy with good bouke and
good men, leads to rellection anil regret, if not to penitence. I rrnientbor,
w probably does ertry one else, being greutJy amused at the scene in
Daoid Ceppetjield, whero the two arch-seoundrula Litlimer and HlmYi <"''>
repTMentod ns deticribing the happy effuct of the di'tcipliiie of ihu itftpmatc
sysleoi on theiotulvc:!. The dvsciiption is sotncwliat lijghly-colourcd, but
I can (luite coiKH-ivn ihnt such Rcvnce have not only really tukim pken,
but that the [K-nilvnts who may have Hgiired in tliem may liiivc sjioken in
good fuitU. The f^l^uc of mind into which a wan i» brought by the
sepnrale syKteni (nx curried on at Peiitonville — tlio only prison of ihe kind
of which I Iwve hiwl any liMgtIiened experience) is, to say the Icnst, one
of MrtoiiM thought and good reiolvcv. I should not think it would be
•nfileiciilly powerful to support a profviuiutial tiiief ngningt the alliiromenls
of his alil Inide, ereu if he were kept andor this discipline during tli« i
whole term of hie sentence. But the cITcct of this di9ci[)liiie on the nitndJ
is undoubtedly good. For thnt portion of the prixoncn which does sot
oonMsl of profeBsional tliievcs, nnd which comes not from tlic dnnjjeroiin
l>ut from the working chiHCfi, it is all that is required, and the only part
of our »y«u-iu to which they idwuld be subjected.
We baTC no right to throw these nica into a muss of crime nnd comip- ]
lion, whatcTor right wo may hare to punish them physically. Tbi« is rceog-^
nizcd in the American system, which does not nUow them to be even aeen|
by those who might Bubsecjucutly prove an unnoyancc nod injur}', much
less subject Iheni to a close commiwication witli men of the fonkwt conver-
sation. This is an act of justice and economy which may bo well copieil.
The thief who hsa plundered society systematically oil lii,»\M«,KTA w'Vtia
I
A LKTTEll FKOil A COKVICT IS AUSTRALIA.
naLui-al ojiiii encmy^ is indulged bj bting DtsocUted wit1i liU old friends
iiud iiiiti or liie uwn tastes hikI hnbiu. The norking mitn vrliu luu Ik«u
ltd into some one crime, is nado to lire Willi uilicrs who, CORsilcmlfi m
\hiiy muy 1>e to bis personal feelings itbea addressing or tpenking clow
to liiin, are tomxnntly filling }iia mind Willi iiaagea of wliich bo inny
ntivcr rid liimoelt' nil bis life. Betides, it i* nbffurd to talk about nfonn-
itig criminais vrlien yvu nillilroaly corruj.t t\iose wiih itbom lies your
»nl/ chance. For cliotilj's eake tbfse men, at Ic-ast, sliouid bo kept "in
M>p.nrnics," or only uioointe uith each otlicr. Fct proleesioiutl tliioTcii
1 cuDceive the brat s^iteni would be llie u-pnite for a short reateuM,
tianaportnlion for a long one. I seo no U£c in applying two qrctcus lo
any one si-ntcncc. Jf it ia a fint ofipsce, tho Kopariitu plao tnighl, and
1 lliink ifliould, be followed for the n-holc Iwni of imiirisoiimcni. In the
cnsc of a fcccnd oUVnrr, or a long amlvnce, I would tiAUtpoit lUc offender
at oticc, 'Jhcro is no reformation (proper) to be expi-cled from Uans-
purlatioa, nor pciliapa from any otliur aj-atein, but it fiiTCB a chance (o ■
a man tu lake up n luipccublu life nnd to keep'williin the law. But it
is quite u«ctIc4M lo malte men "good" in RcpanteH and thc^a "bad" liy
bringing tlii'iii tdgethvr. An lo llio bmt mode of carrying out traiuH
portalioii, or lltu bist plncv tu tninrpurt criiuiaals to ia fature, it is
not for me to tay; hut ihc hhorter lite lime the men ore together,
nod the Booitfr lhi> LiAtD-poilttl criminal mitrgea into the exile, tlic
bcllcT. The lui-u »Jiou!d, nicrcovi-r, be euit to tome country Vfli«re
tliry can mnke thbuidi-eii a home, and which tlicy may hope eventually
to make prfisperouf. Western Aiulr.ilia would have been an fxccJlniL
place, bad ll not hwn tor the ntiuugc tancy of itiakiag a ayirti'm of pruMB
rcgtibtioDB the \u\v of a propV, iinJ trnnitriiriiii iig a whole couiilry into
a convict eilahlinliuK-nt, and virtually working the- finctt pitrt of tlie
popnlatioti in irou^.
I
THE
COKNHILL I^IAGAZINE.
MAY, IbtiG.
®In| €Iac(i rings.
CUAPTFJt X.
FlX)RKKCB BCR'roX AT THE ReCTOBY.
AKRY CLAVERING went down
to Sti-»ltoi), slept DUG Diglit at
old Mr. Burton'shousL', uii] drove
Florenoa over M Clftrcring, — .
tiventy miJca across tJia coiititry.
— on the following dajr. This
^ ^ , , , . journey together had been looked
'^^^ IbrwanI to witli great delight by
™/-' bottj of them, nnd Florence, in
npile of the snubbing which sho
had received from her lover be-
cntiraof her prudence, wm very
fiy^ ...^5|f^ f happynaisbi-Eaitcd h<rnH.-irtilong-
'■^ - — ^^- .. :il.«'''lrJj/ niije of him in the vehicle which
had been sent oTer from llie rec-
tory, and which li« called a trap.
ii^Leii^MMSB ^^^ " """^ ''"d no yet been ■aid
H^ P-^HH^^HIB between them aa to that enub-
binf;. nor was Ifttrry minded thitt
nuytliing »hould b(3 uid. lla
locitnt to carry on bis m'engo
by being dumb on thitt aubj«et.
But such was not Floicnoo'a in-
tention. She dcairvd not only to have her owu vray in this nutter, but
^Mired nlto that he abould aucQt to lier uTYaugenieuti.
It wus a charniJnj day for such % journey. It irat cold, but not cold
you iiir,— xo. 77, lb.
aoaugh to tnakfi them uacamrortable. Th«rc wm a wind, but not wiad
tauMtgh to Ionu«Dt tbeiu. Once there came un a liulo shower, which Just
«iffio«d tf\ give Barry nn opprliinity of wrapping his ccmpaoiua) vet7
cloieljr, but he had hHrdi/ couiplcMsl the ceremony beJura [)i« necenaitf
for it wu over, 'fhuy bulb agreed that this mode nf tiviT«lltng uaa
infinitely preferable to a journey by railroad, and I my Klfalionld be of |ha
nine niiiiiioa if one could alwaya nuke one's joiintcyf under the aame
circnmatancci. An^ it miint be understood that Hart^, ihotigh oo dotibt
hc! was still taking his rorimge on Florfoce by abstaining fton all allnsioD
lu licr Icltcr, wiM not dispoaed to tnaki; himself otherwiM diMgrwaUo,
He pUyed hia part of lurer veiy well, and Florence wtu supremely
happy.
" Itarry," sh« taid, -vrhcn the journey waa more ihau half completed,
"you never told mo whnt you tliought of my lerter."
"Which letter?" But he kcx-w very tvill which was the I«tt«r in
question.
" My prudi^nt letter,— written in anawtrr to yours ihat mta very
imprudent."
"I thought (here wm nothing more to be said about it."
*' Come, Ilariy, don't let there be any subject between us that we
don't caro to think about and discuss. I know what you meant by not
iinswering rn9. You uionnt to punish me, — did you not, for huvuig an
ojiiiiion diflVienl iVom yourfl ? Is not that true, Harry ? "
" Punish you, — nn; I did not wnnt to puniah you. It was I lliat was
punished, I think."
" But you know I wiia riglit. Wna I not right? "
" I Uiink you were wrong, but I don't wnnt to my tnytliiqg mtftt
nbout it now."
" Ah, hut, Hsny, I want you to talk about it. Is it not eretythlDg lo
me, — everything in this world, — that you and I should agree about thisf
I have uot}iing else to think of but you. I have nothiilg to hop* for but
that I may live to be your wife. My only cure io tlie world is my can
for you 1 Come, Harry, don't be ghim with me."
"I nm not glum."
" Sp'Cak a nice word to me. Ttll me ihat you b«Ucvo me when I say
that it is not of aiynelf I aiu thinking, but of yoiL*'
*' Why can't you let me think for my«ir io this ? "
" Because you have got to think for mo."
"And I think you'd do very well on the income we're got^ If
you'll consent lo marry, this summer, I won't be glum, at you call il, a
iaomi>nt longer."
" No, Harry ; I must not do that. I abguld he ihlae to my duty lo
you if I did."
" Then it's no »iac saj-ing onythmg more about it."
"Look here, llury, if on engitgemuit for tvro yean is Lcdioua to
you *•
THE CLAVER1NG5. 513
>' or course it is tedious. la uot waiting for anythiog always tecUouB 7
Tliere's nothing I hate so much as \raiting."
" But ItstCQ to Die," said she, gravely. " If it is (do tedious, if it is
more than you think you cau bear without being unhappy, I will zcltiase
you from your engagement."
"Florence! "
" Hear me to the cad. It will make no chwge in me ; and then if
you like to come to me again at the end of the two years, you may be
sure of the way in which I shall receive you."
" And what good would that do ? "
" Simply this good, that yoii would not be bound in a manner that
makes you unhappy. If you did not intend that when you asked me to
be your wife Oh, Harry, all I want is to make you happy. That
is all that I cnre for, all that I think about 1 "
Harry swore to her with ton thousand oaths that he would not release
hi!r from any part of her engagement with him, tliat he would give hex
no loophole of escape irom him, that he intended to huld her so iirmly
that it' siie divided herself from him, she should be accounted among
women n paragon of falseness. He was ready, he said, to marry her to-
uionoiv. That was his wish, his idea of what would be best for both of
thcni ; — and after that, if not to-morrow, then on the next day, and so on
till the day should come on which she should consent to becoiue his wife.
He went on also to say that he should continue to torment her on the
subject about once a weak till he had induced her to give way ; and then
he quoted a Latin line to show that a constant dropping of water will
hollow a stone. This wus somewhat at variance with a declaration he
had made to Mis. Burton, in Onslow Crescent, to the effl-ct that he would
never speak to Florence again upon the subject; but tlieu men do
oucauionally ch.ingc their minds, and Harry Clavering was a man who
ullcn changed his.
Florence, as he made the declaration above described, thought that he
l^laycd his part of lover very well, and drew herself a little closer to him
as ivht! thanked him lor his warmth. " Dear Harry, you are so good and
Ko kind, and I do love you so truly I " In this way the journey was
made very pleasantly, and when Florence was driven up t« the rectoty
dour she was quite contented with her coachman.
Harry Claveiing, who is the hero of our storj', will not, I fear, have
hitherto presented himself to the reader as having much of the heroic
ii.iturc in his character. It will, perhaps, be complained of him that he
is fiekic, vain, easily led, and almost as easily led to evil as to good. But
it should be remembered that hitherto he has been rather hardly dealt with
ill these pngcs, and tltat bis faults and weaknesses have been exposed
;il:iiost unfairly. That he had such faults and was subject to such weak-
m.^stis may be believed of him ; but there may be a question whether as
much evil would not bo known of most men, let them be heroes or not be
heroes, if their characters were, so to say, turned inside out before our eyes.
BIG
THE CLAVERISCS.
ItsTTj Clavtring, fellcw of h!i coltfgi?, six feet high, with haodsoine
U)d person, nnd wiiti plenty to ay for himHcIf ou all enHjectM, was ealepinrd
highly and ivgardH much hy those- who Icnuw him, in uptco of those little
fcibles which mnrred his character; ami t ini»i heg (ha reader to lake
the woHd'x opinion nb»ut him, ami not to estimate bim loo meanly tbos
Fftxty in thia hiatory of hin adventmrs.
IT this tale iii«uld ever be read hy any lady who, in the counc of her
MT«ar, has enlered a house nnder cireuni stances Bimilnr Ut thoM which
hitd broHglit Flounce Biirron to ClsTeiinH reciory, she will luidersUnd
how nnxtoiu muit have been that yoiins lady wbco she encountereJ the
w1ioV> Clnvcring liimily ia thn hall. Sh« hud bivn blown about by ihu
wind, anil her cloaks and shawla were heavy on li«r, and her hat na» n
littlu out of iihn[>n, — from tomit fnult on the part of Hnrry, an I believe, —
and »\k felt hcnw-lf to be a dowdy oh ulie appeared among ihnn. What
would tliey think cf Irt, and whtit would they thipk of Harry in that
be had choBen such an one to be liia wife ? Mrs. Clavcring had kianed
her before elie hiid Hcen that lady's face; and Mary and Fanny had
kined h«r 'Man ahe knew which waa which; and then a atoul, cldricnl
gentleman hiMM] hur who, no doubt, " was Mr. Glaveriiig, siiiier.
Afier that, anulhtr dericnl gciitk-uian, very mitirh jounger and very
much Blighter, sliook hands uitli licr. llu might have kixsed her, too^
had he been eo minded, for Fltircncc was li:o confuu-d lo be capable of
molcing any exact reclcnntnj; in the matter. lie might have done K>
^tliat i(, as (ur M Florencfl was concerned. It may be a tjuution
whcthrr Mary Clavering wuuld not have objected; for this clerical gentle-
man waa the liev. Kdward Fielding u-ho waa to bccnno her liUBband in
three daya' time. ,
"{vow, I-Iorcnce," mid Fanny, "corao upMtaiia into mamma'a room
and hnvij sonn! tea, and wi'"ll look at you. Hai-ry, you n«-c«)n't eonio.
You'to had her to yourself for a long lime, nnd can hfive her ngttirt in the
oveuing."
Florence, in thit way, wns taken tipat^irn nnd found bersoif aeatu] by
a fire, while three pairn of hands were taking from her her rhnvrla and hat
nnd elonk, almost before she knew wliero she irax.
"It ia so odd to have you liem," luid Fanny. " IVe have only one
brother, aO| of coarse, we ahnll make rery iniieli of you. Im^t aho
nice, mamma ? "
" I'm «ure she la; very nice. But I sbouldo't have told her so bcJbi-e
her face, if you hadn't a^ked Iho qucfltion."
" That's nonfvnse, mHmma. You mtialn't br^liero laamm* when the
pretetKis to l>c grand and sententious. It's only put on aa a aoti of
company nir, but we don't mean to make company of you."
'■ Pray don't," said Florence.
"Vai eo glad you ar« come jiirt at this time," Mid Maiy. "1 think
BO much of having Harry's fliUire wife at niy wedding. ! wish we were
both going to bo married the same day."
I
I
TUE CLAVEBINGS. 617
"But we are not going to be married for ever so long. Two ycnra
IiGoce has been the shortest time named."
" Don't be sure of that, Florence," eaid Fanny. " We have all of tu
received a special commiitaion from Harry to talk you oat of that heresy ;
have we not, mamma 7 "
" I think you had better not tease Florence about that immediately oa
her arrivai. It's hardly fair." Then, when thoy had drunk their tea,
Florence was taken away to her own room, and before she was allowed to
go downstairs she was intimate with both the girls, and had so far over-
come her awe of Harry's mother as to be able to answer her without
confusion.
" Well, sir, what do you think of her 7 " said Ilariy to hia father, as
soon !is they were alone.
" I have not had time to think much of her yet. She seems to be
very pretty. She -isn't so tall as I thought she would be."
" No; she's not tall," said Harry, in a voice of disappointment.
" I've no doubt we shall like her very much. What money is she to
have 7 "
" A hundred a year while her father lives."
" That's not much."
" Much or little, it made no difference with me. I should never have
thought of marrying a girl for her money. It's a kind of thing that I
hate. I almost wish she was to have nothing."
" I shouldn't refuse it if I were you."
" Of course, I shan't refuse it ; but what I mean is that I never
thought about it when I asked her to have me ; and I shouldn't have been
a bit more likely to ask her if she had ten times as much."
" A fortune with one's wife isn't a bad thing for a jwor man, Harry."
" But a poor man must be pour in more senses than one when lie
looks about to get a fortune in that way."
'■ I suppose you won't marry just yet," said the father. " Including
ever}'thing, you would not have five hundred a year, and that would be
vi-ry clo.io work in London."
" It's not quite decided yet, sir. As fur as I am myself concerned, I
think that people arc a great deal too prudc-ut about money. I believe I
could live as a married man on a hundred a year, if I had no more ; and
as for London, I don't see why London should be nioie expensive thim
any other place. You can get exactly what you want in London, and
make your halfpence go liirther there than anywhere else."
" And your sovereigna go quicker," said the rector.
"All that is wanted," said Harry, "is the will to hve on your income,
and a little firmness in carrying out your plans."
The rector of Claveiing, as he heard all this wisdom fall from his son's
lipa, looked at Harry's expensive clothes, at the ring on hia finger, at the
gold chain on his waistcoat, at the studs in his shirt, and smiled gently.
lie was by uo means so clever a moo as his son, but he knew something
tiUPK «f the iforid, and tboogh not inncTi gtrpn to g<raeral reading,
rend hia aoti'a dmractcr. " A grwt dral et Rtmana and nt Ibrtrtoile aim
fo want«d fof ihitt kiml Af lifr,'* h« ndd. " There tin mm who ua g«
Ihronjh it without siiflVuing, bnL I wonld ntrt ■dritip nny joiiog nura to
commcaoo it in « buny. If I wcr« jrou I tlMuld wait & yoir or fro.
Come, lft'« hiiTc a walk ; thiit ia, if job can (car yanneH awnjr from roar
ladjr-loTft fitr ait lioiir. If there ia not Saul coming up ll>e aveuat t l^dco
yoar Ii»t, Mam', and wc"H p-t ntit the oth*r nsy. He onlj- wants to «e
the girlii ibcput ih<* ■cliool, Imt if he catchM tu h«"Il k«vp m for an hnrr.**
Then Hany ask«:d iiftcr Mr. B.-rai'a lorc'affiura. *' I'tc not henn) noe
■ingle vord about it ainee jon w«it awny," mid ibe nctor. **II amns
to have paaicd off like a dream. Ue and Fatmjr !^ on the aami* a« ever,
and I fuppoee h« knows that he made a fool of himMir." fint in iiii
mnltcr the lechir of CtaYorfng w» miMa'kri). >fr. S«iil did not hy wijr
1UUU13 think that hu hnd made a fool of }iim«-)f.
" He hiK nercr spoken a word to me ance," said Fanny to h«r lirothcr
lliat evmiog ; " that ii, not a word as to what occurred then. Of couisc
it wna very eiubamusing at iint, tboagh I doo'l think be minded it nncb.
He came after a dav or two juat the fsimv ax crcr, and he nimoat made mo
think that hv h«d forgotten it."
*' And he wwn't coofnMd f "
" Not at all- H<? nerer ia. The only dtflbrence Ji that I think
tcolda me more than he iiwd to di>."
"Scold you !'■
" Oh dear, yea; lie iilwars acnidrf mn if he thonght there was any-
Ihing wrong, wpecinlly nbont giving ll,i> cUIdren holiday*. But he dow
it now more than ever."
" And how da you bear It ?"
"In a half-and-half sort of way. 1 langh nt him, and then do as Tin
bid. Tic makca everybody do what he hid« ihftrn at Clni-ering, — extrpt
pnpn, someiimes. But he ecolds him. too. 1 );faTd hitn the other dty in
the library."
*' And (Hd my finhcr liiko it from him ?"
** He did, in a aoit of s way. I don't think papa likes him ; bnt tlten
h« knows, and we all know, that he t* so good. He nevrr spares himself
in anything. He has nclhine hnt hU cnmcy, and wh.it he gives away is
wonderful."
" I hope he won't take to soflditig me," said Harry, |>roiidly.
" Aa you dcn't concem yourself about the pariah, I should say that
you're Haft'. I Biippmw he tliinka tnnmma dnes ererylhing riglil, f<.r he
never fcold* her."
" There ia no tulk of hia going awny."
<' None at at). 1 think wo should all be sorry, became he do«( so
much gwd."
P!«rcnee reij^cd sapreme in llie eslImflUon of itic rectory family all
Ihe evening of her arrival and till after breakfast the next mominp, bsl
I
mo
I
I
THE CLAVERESGS. 619
tlien the bride elect was restored to her natural preeminence. This,
however, Iiistcd only for two days, after ivliich the bride waa taliea away.
The wedding was very nice, and pretty, and comfortable ; and the people
of Cl.-ivering were much better satisfied with it than they had been with
that other marrii^e which has been mentioned as having been celebrated
in Ciavering Church. The rectory family waa generally popular, and
everybody wished well to the daughter who was being given away.
When they were gone there waa a breakfast at the rectory, and speeches
were made with much volubility. On such an occasion the rector was a
great man, and Harry also alionc in conspicuous rivalry with his father.
But Mr. Saul's spirit was not so well tuned to the occasion as that of the
rector or his son, and when he got upon his l^s, and mournfully cxpresEcd
n hope that his friend Mr. Fielding might be enabled to bear the trials of
this life with fortitude, it was felt by them all that the speaking had better
be brought to an end.
" You shouldn't laugh at him, Harry," Fanny said to her brother
afterwards, almost seriously. " One man can do one thing and one
another. You can make a speech better than he can, but I don't think
you could preach bo good a sermon."
" I declare I thinit you're getting fond of him after all," said Harry.
Upon hearing this Fanny turned away with a look of great olTencc. " No
one but n brother," said she, "would say such a thing as that to me,
because I don't like to hear the poor man ridiculed without cause." That
evening, wlien they were alone, Fanny told Florence the whole story about
Air. Saul. " I tell you, you know, because you're like one of ourselves
now. It has never been mentioned to any one out of the family."
Florence declared that the story would be sacred with her.
" I'm siire of that, dear, and therefore I like you to know it. Of course
snch a thing was quite out of the question. The poor fellow has no means
at all. — literally none. And then, independently of that "
" I don't think I should ever bring myself to think of that as the first
thing," said Florence.
" Xo, nor would I. If I really were attached to a man, I tliink I would
tell him so, and agree to wait, either with hope or without it."
"Just so, Fanny."
" But there was nothing of that kind ; and, indeed, he's the nort of
man that no girl would think of being in love with, — isn't he 7 You see
he will hardly take the trouble to diess himself decently."
"I have only si'cn him at a wedding, you know."
" And for him he was quite bright. But you will see plenty of him
if you will go to the schools with me. And indeed he comes here a great
deal, quite as much as he did before that happened. He is so good,
Florence I "
" Poor man ! "
" I can't ill l!u' least make out from his manner whether he has given
up tliinking about it. I auppofe he has. Indeed, of course hx. \ml^
THB CLAVIiBIS
fcecauKc he miut know l}iat it vrouU be of no ^311 of use. Bat be at OM
of tlio«e men of i^'liotn yon aiD oercr su^ writcllier they are hap^ry or not ;
anti yott aerer can Ixi iiuiU; uurc Vrliat may be in Via miad."
"Ho ia not bound to tlie place at all, — iici like your falbvr? "
"Ch, tio," nid Funt)}', thinking ptrhafitt thai Mr. Saul iniglit fiml
liuntdf to ha Iwund to the place, tKctugh not exnctlj with bondB Bimilar
to tliOM wUidi kept lier futkcr ilicri!.
" If li« luund Uimself to W ualiAppy, lie ouuit! go," luid Floreace.
" Oh, jes ; he could g« if he were unhappy," niil Fanny. '* That h,
he could go if lie pleased."
Lady ClaTcriag had come to the wedding ; but no one eUc had been
present from lliu griuit hoiue. Sir Hugh, indeed, was nut at hotue ; hut,
OS the rector Inily oltsrrTtd, he might hnve been nt home if he hod bu
plotwed. "But hu i» a. niiin," Hud ite fuliier to the wn, " who always
docs a rude thing if it be in his power. For myself, 1 care notliing for
htm, aa lie Icnuws. But he thinks fhnt Mary would have Itked to have
seen him as tlie head of t1i<< thmily, and thirclbrc he docs not come. lie
has greater sliill in making liiiiiacU otlioim thun any man 1 ever kuew.
As for her, they say he's leadiug hei' a Ivrriblu life. And he's bccoauog
K> Mingy about money, loo ! "
" I hear tb»t Archie U very heavy od hioa."
" I don't helltivo that he would allow any man to bo Iieavy oo hiiu, as
you call il. .iVrchic liivi means of his own, and I suppose baa oot run
through them yet. If Hugh has advanced him money, you mny be sure
that he has security. As fur Archie, he nil) come to an end very soon,
if what I hear is true. They tell me he is always at Newmarket, and that
he nlwaya !ow?b."
Ilui though Sir Hugh was tlma uneourtcous lo the rector and to the
rector's dniigluer, he won no fiLt prepared to be civU to his coiudn Ilarry,
that he allowed his wife to aiU nil th« rectory family lo dine up at the
house, in honour of Harry's sweetheart. Florouce Burton was specially
invited witlt Lndy Claveriuga swecti-nL Miiik-. Florence, uf courae,
refeiTed the matter to her hoeteas, but it was decided that they should
all accept the invilaiiott. It yrns given, personally, aHat the breakfast, and
il is net always ca»y to decline iiivilncioas no given. It may, I thiak, be
doubted whelliE^r nny man or woman has a right to givo an invitution in
this u'ity, and whether all i:ivilattc>ns so j^iveu shbLtld mn be null und void,
froTLi iho JAct of the unfAir advantage that bus been t^iheu. The man who
fires at n silting bird is known lo be no sportsman. Now, the dinner-
giver who wttehes his guest in an unguiirdcd moment, and hngs Lim when
he has had no clinnce to rise upon bis wing, docs fire at a MttJng bird. In
this inslnnce, however, Lndy CluTcring'a litlJc t^ceclies were mode only to
Mi-s. Clavcring and to Florence. Slie miid nothing perwnnlly to the rector,
and he therefore might h.ive escaped. But his wile i:dlced him over.
" I think yuu should go fur Harry's sake," said Mr«. ClaverJng.
"I don't Bee whnt good it wUI do Harry."
I
I
I
THE CLAVEBINGS. 621
" It will bIiow lliat you approve of the match."
" I don't approve oi disapprove of it. IIu'b bis own muatui-."
" But you do approve, you know, as you countenance it ; and there
cannot possibly be u aweeter girl than Florence Burton. We all like her,
and I'm sure you seem to take to her thoroughly,"
"Take to her ; yes, I tuke to her very well. She'a ladylike, and
though Bhe'a no beauty, she looks pretty, and ia spirited. And 1 daresay
she'a clever."
"And 80 good."
" If she'H good, that's better than all. Only I dou't see wliat they're
to live on."
" But as she U here, you will go with us to the great house 7 "
Mrs. Clavering never asked her husband anything iu vaiu, and the
rector agreed to go. He apologized for this aflerwards to his son by
explaining that he did it as a duty. "It vrill serve for six months," ho
said. " If I did not go there about once in six montlis, there would be
supposed to be a family quarrel, and that would be bad for the parish."
Harry was to remain only a week at Clavering, and the dinner was to
tuke place the evening before he went away. On that morning he walked
all round the park with Florence, — as he Lad before often walked with
Julia, — and took that occasion of giving her a full history of the Clavering
fiimily. " We none of us like niy cousin Hugh," he had said. " But she
is at least harmless, and she means to be good-natured. She is very
unlike her sister, Lady Ongar."
" So I should suppose, from what you hare told me."
" Altogether an inferior being."
" And she has only one child."
"Only one, — a boy now two years old. They s-iy he's anything but
strong,"
" And Sir Hugh has one brother,"
" Yes ; Archie Clnvering, I think Archie is a worse fellow oven than
Hugh. He makes more attempts to be agreeable, but there is something
in liis eye which I always distrust. And then lie is a man who does no
good in the world to anybody."
"He's not married 7"
" No ; he's not mairled, and I dou't suppose he ever will marry. It's
on the cards, Florence, that the future baronet may be " Then she
frowned on him, walked on quickly, and changed the conversation.
CHAPTER XI.
Hm Huan and uis Brothkb Akc"ii!-
TiiHiib was a numerous gathering of Clawringa in the drawing-room of
the Great House when the family from the i-ectory arrived comprising
three generatioiu j for the nurse was in the room holding the l\<e.\i m\uec
te^
THE CI.AV1IBWG8.
nniis. Jrr*. CTnTMing mid Fnnny of warm iBf<p*ct«d llie child nt one*,
tts i)i«y tTcre honml tn dn, vrliile tjfttl^ CUveiiiig wetcoiiKril Flr<iTiic«
BtiH«n, Arcliie ^poVe ft irord or Iwro lo liis tlncl«» Aod Sir H(^b To«ch-
*bM to give one fingnr to hia coii»in Harry by yny of shalcitig lianHi
witK liitn. Then llicr« came k TmUu ^qtiuak from tho inraot, and tticre
WM ft citiud at oncn upon Sir Huji^i'* brow. *' ir«rinlonp-," hs laid, " I
wJBh yon voulJa'i hum Oie child in hen. Ii'ii noi the place fcr him.
]|«'e Always cross, I've said a dozen times 1 vrouldn'l hnvti him down
\wtv just before dinner." Then a sign was mode to the nnrw, and *he
walked off with her btin3cD. It was a poor, ncko;y, oniilluriDgc bairn,
iHil it wa* nil thul T-ady C!a\*cring hi»d, nnd *ho would fiiin hare b«en
«I!iiiTpd to !>1iow it to her reiitllves, in oihrr inolhen are allowwl to do.
" iliif;b,'' said his wile, " »hatl I intrmiuci.- ymi to MiS Burton ? "
Then Sir Kugh came fonrnrd and iliciok lutiidt vv iih hit new gtiest, with
lomc »ort of iipology Tor his ixniisxncsB, while Ilnrrj' stood by, plnwertng
nt liim, with oflVitM in hii ey«. "Uy fnllier in right," he Jmd nud to
liiniN-tf whi.-Ti hiR coiuin ftiil*d to notion Florenev on liop limt ontranoe into
ilie Kiorn ; "he i» iitiiiei-tinrtit as well n« iHMgr<«ihIe. I don'l aire fi-r
qunrre-* in the parish, and ao I ahnll lei him know."
"■ Upon luy word she's a doosed good-looking litile thing," ttSA
Archie, cirning tip lo btm, after hnrinR also shaken hiindi with her t —
'•doo«d gooti-lookisijr, 1 ciU hop."
" I'm glad joii think 911," raid Ilntry, drily.
"Let's eee; where waa it yon picked her apt 1 did hmr, Vtit I
forget."
" I picked her up, as you call it, at .StrBtton, where her fkther Ctw."
"Oh, yes; 1 know. He'a the fellow ihac onaehod you in tout new
btuineBfl, im'l he? By-tbe-by, Harry, I think you're in»dp a men of
it in chniiging ynur Bao. I'd have stuck to my goremor'» nliop if Fd
been yoii, Ymi'd got t}iruug)t till the d — d liig of it, and there't the
living that has alwnys btrlonged to a Clan^riug."
" What wonld your brother have said if I had ndted him to give it
totnel "
('He vronldo't hare giivcn it of course. Nobixly does gire nDytfaing
to nuybcdy iic<n--a-Jit^ s. Livings are a sort of thing thai [teople bny.
But you'd hiiirc gol it under favourable cSrcumslaneea."
"The fact is, Aieht*, Vn not my frtul of the rhwteh, ns 11 pro-
futsicn."
"I should have thought it easy work. Look nt your father. ]{o
kei'pg ft curate and docm't taku any tmuVilo himself, t'pon my word,
if I'd knnnii oa much then as I do now, I'd hare had n shy 6>t it niyaelT
Hugh couliiu't have refused it (o im'."
" But Hugh ain't give it while his uncle hold* it,"
" Tlint would bare been ogoinst me to be sure, and your govenxir's
liff !« pretty nearly a> good a* niin-». I shouldn't have liked waiting ; lO
1 mtppoM it's M w«U as it is."
I
1
I
TIIR CLAVERINGS. 523
*
There may perbnpn have been other reasons why Arcliie Clavering'a
regrets that he did not take holy orders were needless. He had never
succeeded in learning anything that any master had ever attempted to
teach him, although he had shown considerable aptiCnde in picking up
acquirements for which no regular masters arc appointed. He knew the
fathers and mothers, — sires and dams I ought perhaps to say, — and
graudfatliers and grandmothers, and so back for some generations, of all
the horses of note living in his day. He knew also the circumstances of
all races, — what horsea would run at them, and at what agee, what were
the stakes, the periods of running, and the special interests of each aSair,
But not, on that account, should it be thought that the turf had been
profitable to him. Tliat it might became profitable at some future time,
was possible; but Captain Archibald OhLvering had not yet reached the
profitable stage in the career of a betting man, though perhaps he was
beginning to qualify himself for it. He was not bad-looking, though his
face was unprepossesdng to a judge of character. He was slight and well
made, about five feet nine in height, with light brown hair, which had
already left the top of his head bald, with slight whiskers, and a well-
formed moustache. But the pecnliarity of his Jaue was in his eyes. His
eyebrows were light-coloured and very slight, and this was made more
apparent by the skin above the eyes, which wai loose and hung down
over the outside comers of them, giving him a look of cunning which was
disagreeable. He seemed always to be specukting, counting up the odds,
and calculating whether anything could be done with the events then
present before him. And he was always ready to make a' bet, being ever
provided with a book for that purpose. He would take the odds that the
sun did not rise on the morrow, and would either win the bet or wrangle
in the losing of it. He would wrangle, but would do bo noiselessly, never
on such occasions damaging hia cause by a loud voice. He was now
about thirty-three years of age, and was two years younger than the
baronet. Sir Hugh was not a, gambler like his brother, Ijut I do not know
that he was therefore a more estimable man. He was greedy and nnxious
to increase his store, never willing to lose that which he possessed, fond
of pleasure, but very careful of himself in the enjoyment of it, hand-
some, every inch an English gentleman in appearance, and therefore
popular with men and women of his own class who were not near enough
to him to know him well, given to but few words, proud of his name,
and rank, and place, well versed in the business of the world, a match
for most men in money matters, not ignorant, though he rarely opened
a book, selfish, and utterly regardless of the feelings of all tliose with
whom he came in contact. Such were Sir Hugh Clavering, and his
brother the captain.
Sir Hugh took Florence in to dinner, and when the soup had been
eaten made an attempt to talk to her. " How long have you been hers,
Miss Burton 7 "
" Nearly a week," said Florence.
C2i ^^^^ TDK CLA,VJil(IS<i8.
'' All ;— }'ou came to llic veclding ; I «a« aotry 1 cotilda't be Itere.
wenl. efl' rtry wdl, I suppOK T "
" Very well indeed, I tliinlt."
"Tbey'n tiresome things ia general, — wcdJUiss. Dod'i vou iliiiik
■0?"
" Oh dvar, no, — except that lome poreoo one loves ib always being
" You'll bo tbc next person to he ta.kcn nwny yourself, 1 siippoae?"
"I tuii&t be the next peraon at lionic, becuuM 1 am th« i^Mt llint ii
Idl. All aiy aiiinn art married."
"And how maBy we lliero T "
"TTiere. arc five matriod."
•' Good heavona — FiT* I "
"And tliey are all luarited La niuii in llit aame profenion oa Harfy."
" Quite a, lamily oGair," coid Sit- Hugh. llanT', who waa alltiug oq
tliQ otlicr Bido of Florcnco, board thiit, nnd would hare prercn-cd that
Florence should liavu said nothiug about ht-r siilvn. ''li^Hiy, Uarry,"
toiii the bttrvuet, "ifyou will go into partQcrship with your father-in-law
and till your brothera-iu-Jaw you could Btaad Qgoinst ihe world."
" You might add my tour bTothcn," aaid Florence, who law no ahaiaQ
in the lact that they W4ro all engaged in the tame busineai.
" Guod huivcQ ! " exdbumed Sir Hugh, and allcr that be did not my
niuuh luore to i'loreuoe.
I'lio r«ctor liad token Lady Clavcring inio dinn«r, and tbey two did
Rtiin.-igu to carry on bcitnvcn tliL-m bouii; vunversation reqiccUng the pari>li
fliikira. Lady ClaveriDf; was not active among the poor, — nor wiia tI*o
rector hlmsclt^ and pcrliaps neither ortbeni knew how Utile the other did;
but they could talk CUvcriog talk, and the paiGon nus willing to lake for
granted hU neiglibuur'n good will to iniiLe hcnolf ogrccablo. But Mn.
Ctavcriag, who tuit Wtweeu Sir ILiigb and Aidiie, had u very bad time
of it. Sir Hugh epoko t« her once during the dinner, saying that ho hoped
she was aatialicd with h«r daughter's marriage; but cren tlu» he said ia a
tone tiiat seemed to imply that any lucU Butittfaotion muit rat oa
%'pry poor grounds. " Thorviughly jjiiislled," said Mia. Ciaveriiig, drawing
heiHcU up aiid Wkiiig yery unlike the u»ial Mrs. Clavcring of the rectory.
After that there was no further cotrrortntion between her and Sir Hng^
" The worst of him to me is always 'this," thif laid tlial ereoiitg to Iwf
husband, " that lie puts me m> much out of coucut wilh mywlf. If
1 wt'tc with him long I *Iiou.ld begin to find niyaeir the moit disagree-
able woman in England i " ** Then pray don't bo with biin long," Bsid
the rector.
But Archie made coaircrsation throughout ditmer, and added gready
to Mm. ClavciingN troubles by doing so. Tlicre was nothing ia conmoa
bctweeu them, hut slill Archie went on InburicuHly with Im worfc. It
wns a duty wlitch he recogni^ced, and at which he would work liard.
^Vhen lie had uKvd up Mnry'a marriage, a Bubjcct which lie economiaed
I
I
THE CLAVEKINGS. 625
cirufiilly, eo that 1il' brought it down to the roaut saddle of mutton, he
htgiin ui>oii Hurry's match. WJien waa it to be ? 'Where were they to
live? Wfifi there any money 7 What manner of people were the Burtons?
I'crLaiia ho might get over it ? This he whispered very lowly, and it wus
tlic quesltoa next in Bequence to that about the money. When, in answer
to this, Mrs. Clavering with coDsideruble energy declared that anything of
tiiat kind would be a misfortune of which there seemed to be no chance
whatever, he recovered himself as he thought very skilfully. " Oh, yes ;
of course; tliat'a just what I meant ; — a doosed nice girl I think her; — a
dooacd uii^e girl, all round." Archie's questions were very laborious to hia
fellow-iabonrer in his conversation because he never allowed one of them
to [lass without an answer. He always recognized the fact that he was
working hard on behalf of society, and, as he used to say himself, that he
had no iUe.i of pulling all the coach up the hill by his own shoulders.
Whenever therefore he hud m:ide his effort he waited fur his companion's,
looking closely into her face, cunningly driving her on, bo that slie also
should pull her share of the coach. Before dinner was over Mrs.
Ciaveriug found the hill to be very steep, and the coach to be veiy heavy.
" I'll bet you seven to one," said he, — and this was hia parting speech as
Mrs. Clavering rose up at Lady Clavering's nod, — "I'll bet jou seven to one,
lliat ihe whole box and dice of ihem are married before me, — or at any
rate as soon ; and I don't mean to remain single much longer, I can tell
you." The " box and diceof thoni" was supposed to comprise Harry,
Florence, Fanny, and Lady Ongar, of all of whom mention had been
made, and tliat saving clause, — " at any rate as soon," — was cunningly put
in, as it had occurred to Archie that he perhaps might be married on tlie
Biime day as one of those other persons. But Mrs. Clavering was not
cuitipelkd either to accept or reject the bet, as slie was already moving
before the teriiis had been fully explained to her.
L:idy Clavering as she went out of the room stopped a moment behind
Harry's chair and whispered a word to him. "I want to speak to you
beibro you go to-night." Then she passed on.
" Wlmt's that llermione was saying ? " asked Sir Hugh, when he had
alnit (lie door.
" She only told me that she wanted to speak tu me."
" .She has always got some cursed secret," said Sir Hugh. "If there
is anything I hate, it's a secret." Now this Wiia hardly fair, fur Sir Hugh
was a man very secret in his own alTairs, never telling his wife anytliiug
about ihom. Uc kept two banker's accounts so that no banker's clerk
nii<;ht know iiow he stood as regarded ready money, and hardly treated
even his lawyer with confidence.
He did not move from his own chair, so that, after dinner, his uncie
was not next to him. The places left by tlic ladies were not closed up,
and the table won very uncomJbr table.
." I see tlity're going to have another week after this with the Pytch-
Icy," s:iid Sir Hugh to his brother.
I «i^ipe« iittff «{D, — or ten AijraL TMogi lint mj ftulf
y«r.
bant fceie
" I Uitak I ikitll fo dovtt. It's arrcr nay nut trring to
Btm tlw middle oC Manh."
** You're ratluT shcn cT ft>!res are jrcn n«t T " «tid tlie teeter, wi^iaf
an. uu»mpt ta join tke c«nT«Tuti«9,
** npoa Bijr word i doa't know anyUilag ahtnt is," nid Sir Ilojt.
" Tb«tc an foxes at Cisverinj," ibkI Archie, reoonuMeaeiait h^ duly.
" Th« boondi will bo Hen on Satimk^, iinti I'll bet ittcr* to on* I find «
fiw before tirc1v« o'ckielt, or, mj-, baV-pMl twelve,— UiU b, if tbejr'll dnir
jiTinciaally and let mc do u ] like with Ibc pMk. I'll b«l agrnac* ve
lind, and a gaisea wo nin, and a guinea we kill ; that il, vua know, it
they'll rwlly look for a fox."
Tfc* wctor bad been willing lo ftll into a littl* btititing talk (br the
eal:e rf socii-tj, but lie wn not pre[)crrd to go the Ifn^ thai Ajehie
proposed to take him, and thenfbn the snbj»4 dropped.
" At any rat« I chfia't tuy h^re Kfl«r to-merroir,'' Bald Sir Hugh, allll
adflmnlng hlnwdf t* liU brother. " Part the wine, wUI y^ Ilany ; «hii
in, if joDr liitbeT u dnnking aay."
*' No more wine (br m*," tnid-tlie rector, almoft angrily.
" Lilwnly Hall," said Sir Hugh ; " ererybody doea aa thej like abont
tfint I RV'nn to hnre anolhM- bottle of claret. Areliie, ring tha ball, will
jFoaf Ciptain CluTering, tho»g;h he ww IVitthcr ftxsm the bril ilian hii
elder fcrotljcr, got «[> and did ns he wns bid. TIh; ilmret Came, and was dnok
nlniou in lilence. Tbe rector, though he liiul n high opinioa of the cellar
of ihe rrt-at hottw, would take none of ihe new bottle, became he wat
angry. I-Iarry filled hix glan, and attempted to say somc-lhing. Sir Hugh
antweri'd liini bya monooiyltablii, and Archie offimd tolH-t him two tooae
tliat he VM nimiig.
•* I'll go into the drawing-room," tnid the r«elar, getting np.
" All right," iwid Sir Hut;h ; " yon'll fmd coffee there, I darmy.
your iittber given up vrine 7 " he aBked, as soon ai dko ilow was eloaed.
■' Not that 1 know of," sLtd Harry.
" Ho 111^ to take a> good a wlinck uv luiy man I know. The biflic?
hniin't put bis embai]go on that an well a* the hunting, I hope T" To ihit
Hnrr/ made no answer.
** Hc'a in the blues, I tbink," esid Aix^ic. " Ti there anyttung the
ntntlftr with him, Hni-ry !"
" Nothing as far oa I know."
"If I vrvte left al Cbvuring nil the ytnr, wltli nothing to do, as be is, I
think I should dniik s good den! of wine,"^ raid Sir Hugh. " I don't know
what it is,— EonicthmK in the air, I nupposc, — but everybody always a^ctns
to m« lo l» drcntilully dal! iM-tfi. You ftin't taking any wine cither.
Don't >tn|) lu're out of ceremony, yon know, if you wont to go after
Barton." Harry louk liim at his Word, nod went nRer Min
leaving tho brothers together over their dnret.
I
oae
He 1
after 1G« ■
a Burton, I
TUP. CTAVERINC.S. 627
Tlio two brotliprfl rpinainecl drinking their wine, but tliey drank it in
an imcomforlfiblfi flisliion, not saying much to cneh other for the fimt ten
minutes after the other Ciavenngs were gone. Archie was in some degree
afraid of his brother, and never offcrrl to make any bets with him.
Hngh had once put a stop to this altogether. "Archie," he had paid,
" pray understand ilint there is no money to be made out of nic, at any rate
not by you. If you lost money to me, yoii wouldn't think it necessary to
]^ay ; and I certainly fhall lose none to you." The habit of proposing to
liet had become with Areliie so inueh a matter of coume, that he did not
generally intend any real speculation by his offers ; but with his brother
he had dropped even the habit. And he seldom began any conversation
with HngU unless he had some point to gain, — an advance of money to
ask, or some favour to beg in the way of shooting, or the loan of a horse.
On such occasions he would commence the negotiation with Ma usual
diplomacy, not knowing any other mode of expressing his wishes ; but he
was awiire tliat his brother would always detect his manoeuTres, and expose
them before he had got through his first preface ; and, therefore, aa I have
said, he was afraid of Hugh.
" I don't know what's come to my uncle of late," said Hugh, after a
while. " I think I shaSl have to drop thoni at the rectory altogether."
" He never had much to say for himself."
" But he has a mode of expressing himself without speaking, which I
do not choose to put up with at my table. The fact is they are going to
the mischief at the rectory. Ilis eldest girl has just married a curate."
" Fielding has got a living."
" It's Hometliing very small then, and T suppose Fanny will marry thnt
prig they have here. My uncle himself never does any of his own work,
and now IlaiTy is going to make a fool of himself. I used to think he
would fjill Ml his K'^s."
" III; is a clever fellow,"
" Tlipn why is he such a fool as to marry such a girl as this, wiihont
money, good looks, or breeding 7 It's well for you he is sucli a fool, or
else you wouldn't have a chance."
" I don't see that at all," said Archie.
" Juli;i always had a sneaking fondness for Harry, and if he had
waited would liavc taken him noiv. She was very near making a fool of
herself with him once, before Lord Ongar turned up."
To this Archie said nothing, but ho changed colour, and it may
almost be said of him that he blushed. Vi'hy he was afi'ected in so
Biiigular a manner by his brother's words will bo best cxphiincd by n
eliitement of what took place in the back drawing-room n little later in
the evening.
When Harry reached (ho drawing-room he went up to Lady Clavering,
but she Ktid nothing to him then of efpecial notice. She was talking to
Sirs. Clavering while the rector was reading, — or pretending to read, — a
review, and the two girls were chattering together in another part of tha
E28
THE CLAVKWUGS.
ronni. Tlion tlicy ha>l ctifTM!, and aiier awbtle tlio t*ro ottwr men
in froin llieir wine. I^dy Clavctin^ Jid not mbvc at once, but she uel
the Arst opportunilj of doing u, Yvbcii Sir Hugh caiuc up lu Mra. Cbnp-
ing and spoke a. word to htr. A iVw miuuiva nftirr Uiat IlAtry fou
btnwdf doMtcd witb Livdj CUvvrii^, in a, lilllt; tuotn dvlAched from tJi
oth(^n, Uiough the ikior* bctvreen the two were open.
*' Do you know," said Lady Glarcrin^, " llml Sir Hugh liui ukol
Julift to eom« hen ? " Rarty pnused a moment, and tb«n iiokn&w]«d2«d
thM b« did koow it.
" I hope joa did not ndviae li«r to refuse,"
*' I ftdvise b«r I Oh doir, no. She did not ash me anj-tUng
about it"
•' But the hu nfite^. Deu't you think «ho hw beeo rery wrosg ! "
" II u hud to ny," xaid Harry. " You koon 1 thought it very erurl
tltut Uiigh did not receive her iuiuiediatdy on hci return, if I had bccu
him I thould hkve gone to P«rlt to mcit har."
" It'* uo good udktiig of thut uoir, Harry. Hugh ia h«rd, and we all
know that. \\'hc fvcla it meet, do you thiuk ; Julia or I f But u he ku
coin« round, what can she gain by slaudiag oC? Will it not be the beU
thing for her to come here ? "
'* I don't know ihut «he 1ms much to gaiu by it,"
"Harry, — do you know thai we have a pUn?" ''Who is we?"
Uiirry a»keil ; but Blie'W«nt on without noticing bi« ()uo*lion. " i tell
"jou, becaiu« I belivvc you cjiw helj) iia more tliiin ai.y one, if you will.
Oiily for your vngugumcnl wiili Mias Ilurton I should not tueutjon it to
you; ond, but for that, the pUn would, I dnrciuy, be of no use."
" What ij tho jibn!" ft;iid Hurry, very gravely. A vogue ideaof wbjit
the plan mi^ht le Lad ovme aciosa Uuriy's niiud durtiig Lady Clav«riiig^
la it Bp^&ah.
" Would it not bo a ^ood thing if Julia and Archie were to be
miiiried 1 " Sli? auUpd tho (jutelion in a (juick, hotititing voice, lootdag at
Fini ciigerly up into hit fncv, uiid llicn tuniiiig aw^ty hir cyea, iis though
she wtre afraid of the auHwer she might read tlifrc. "Of course 1 know
tluil you were fond of her, buC all that can be nothing now."
" No," Kitid Hcirry, " thnl can be nothing oon.*'
"Then why sliouldn't Archie bnvc her! It would mako us all W
much mure coinfuiiablc logeiher. I told Archie thiil I slioutd tpeklc to
you, bcoauxe 1 know that you have more weight with hix tlian any ofui;
but Hugh doi'sn't know tliMt I niL'an it."
" Doc« Sir Hugh know of the,— tlic plan ?"
" It truf he who proposed it. Arcbiu will be very badly off when hn
hai tetlled with Hugh about all tlieir uioucy dvalingt. Of ooorse Juli»*9
money would Uo K-fl in her own hiuidb j thtri; would be do intention to
int«tf«;rc with ihsiu But tho position would be ao good for him ; and it
woidd, you know, put him on hia logs."
" Yos," MiJ Harry, " it would put him on hia Uge, 1 daresay."
I
I
THE CI-AVEKINQ8. 529
" And why shouliln't it be so 7 She can't live alone by heraelf always.
Of course she never could have really loved Loi-d Ongar."
" Never, I uhoUld think," said Harry.
" And Archie is good-uatured, and good-tempered, and — and — and—
good-looking. Don't you think so 7 I think it would just do for her.
She'd have her own way, for lie's not a bit like Hugh, you know. He'a
not 80 clever as Hugh, but be is much more good-natured. Don't you
think it would be a good arrangement, Harry 7 " Then again she looked
up into his face anxiously.
Nothing in the whole matter surprised him more than her eagerness
in advocating the proposal. 'Why should she desire that her sister
Rliould be sacrificed in this way? But in so thinking of it he forgot
lier own position, and the need that there was to her fur some friend
to be near to her, — for some comfort and aBsistance. She had spoken
truly in saying that the plan bad originated with her husband ; but
since it had been suggested to ]icr, she had not ceased to think of it, and
to wish for it.
" Well, Harry, what do you say 7" she asked.
" I don't see that I have anything to say."
'■ But I know you can help us. When I was with her the last time
sliu declared that you were the only ouo of us she ever wished to see
ngain. She meant to include me then especially, but of course she was
not thinking of Archie. I know you can help us if you will."
"Am I to ask her to marry him 7"
" Xot exactly tliat ; I don't think that would do any good. But you
might persuade her to come here. I think she woiUd come if you advised
hur ; and then, afler a bit, you might s.iy a good word for Archie."
" Upon my word I could not."
"Why not, Harry?"
" Because I know ho would not make hur happy. What good would
Kuch a marriage do her 7 "
" Think uf her position. No one will visit her unless she is first
riccived here, or at any rate unless site comes to us in town. And tlicii
it would be up-hill work. Do you know Lord Ongar liod absolutely
detormined at one time to — to get a divorce 7 "
" And do you believe that shl was guilty 7 "
" I don't say that. No ; why should I believe anything against my
own fislcr when notliiiig is proved. But that makes no difference, if the
world believes it. They Riy now that if he had lived three months longer
she never would have got the money,"
" Then they wiy lies. Who is it saya so 7 A parcel of old women
who delight in liaving some one to run down and backbite. It is all fiJsc,
Lady Cliivering."
" But what does it signify, Harry 7 There she is, and you know how
pfKii'le arc talking. Of course it would be heat for her to marry again ;
and if she would take Arcliie, — Sir Hugh's brother, my brother-in-law.
Pftjliinj further wonM be said. SH« raiplit po »nywhcw
Hster, 1 fuel sure ihst it i% the best ihin; tlio could rk)."
Hnrry's brow bccuni* clouded, aod Uicre wni n look oTanj^r on liiir lace
RB lie BtiiiwcreJ fa^r.
" lad^ ClaTering,** he aai3, " yonr sister will ncrer marry my con<i*l
Areliif. I look lifOti Oiff tMni; ai irajiooniblc."
« Perhftju it It. Hnrry, tlmt rna, — jrou yoHTwlf wwnJd not witii i(."
"Whjbhoitldlwialiii?"
*' He ia your own courin."
"Cottsin indeed I Wlij nliould I trisb it, or why ahoald I not «i«h1
it? Thi-y ore ncitbw of them nnytlung to in«."
" Shp ought not to he snylhiiij^ to you."
" And she is nothing. She may many Archie, if sbe pteuM, for me
1 lliAll not set her ngnintt liicn, Biit^ Lndy Olnrcrin^, you mt^ii as ^velt
Ml him to grt one of t!ii> Man. I don't ihink you can know yuitr oner
when yr>n anppfae ancli a match to tie poswihlo."
"Hermione ! '■ elioul«^l Sir Hugh, — aad the xhcut was uttered ia *
voice that always caiwtJ Lndy Clavering to tremblp.
" I am cominp," she mid, ri«ng from her chfiir. " TVm't set ynane
ngainst it, Harry," and tlitn, vrithottt mailing tn henr Mm Airlher, ihi
obeyed her huHhund*)! BUTnnionB. " WhatUiamiscliief l:e«ps you in lh»r«?
he anid. Tt eecmcd Ihiit things had not been going well in (he Inrgcr nutet,
The rcclor Imd Muck to hi) rcvipw, taking no natioe of Sip Hu^h wh
he entered. " Yoii deem tn lie rory foni of your bock, nil of a hhUco,"
Bir Hugh hftfl Kniil, aflor Standing ntlent on the rug for a few minittnii.
" Ten, 1 nm," eiiiil thf rccior, — " jiist at preserl,'*
" It'» quite nCiv with you, then," lald Sir Hugh, "or elae you're iriy
ranch belied,"
" Hugh," Bat J Mr. Clavcrtng, rising nlowly from hi« chair, " I d«D'lH
often come into my lallier's hoiiae, bnt wh«n I do, I -n-isli to be tmlcd with ™
respect. Ycu are the only peraon in this [lariBh ihal ever oraitu to do w.*"
"Bosh!" siiid Rirlluph.
The two gills Hat cowering in their Mat*, «nel poor Flormce siuit liaw
hegno to entertain nn anGorafoTtahlH idea of her Aihire connexions. Aretm
matic n fiantic attempt to raise some conrcrsatioa with Mrs. Clavering
about the wcnthci-. Mr«. Clarwing, paying no attpntion to Archi« wliat-
ever, looked at lierlmaband \villiT>fwec!iingify("«. " Henry/' rfie said, "tjo
not allow yourself to be nngry ; pniy d« not. What In the Mte?"
"None on earth," he saiij, renirring to his book. "No uw m
earth ; — ajid worse than nouu in showing il."
Then it wna that Sir Hugh hnd mmle a direridon bj CMllihg to hU
wife. " I wiah yon'd stay with ua, and not go off alone with on* pcnwn
in pititiculiir, in thM wtiy." Lady Clarering looked round and iin»«- ^—
dtalely «iw that (hinge were iinplea<>ant. " Arohie," pbe eni*], *' will you fl
ring (br tm? " And Archie did ring. The te» was bronght, and a cnp
mis taken all round, alcnoat in idlenci*.
I
TIIE CLAVEmSG?. fiSl
Iljirry in tlie meantime reinnincd hy liimsclf tLinking of what lie had
heard from i^ady Clavering. Archie Clavering marry Lady Ongar,^
marry his Julhi ! Jt was inipossihle. He could not bring himself CTcn
to think of such an arrangement with equanimity. He was almtist frantic
with anger as he thought of this proposition to restore Liidy Ongar to the
ppsiticn in the world's repnte which riie had a right to claim, by such a
marriiige as that. " She would indeed be disgraced then," wiid Harry to
liimstilf. But he knew that it was impossible. He could see what would
bo the nature of Julia's countenance if Archie should eT(?r get near
enough to her to make hia proposal ! Archie indeed I There was no
one for whom, at that moment, he entertained so thorough h contempt as
he did for his cousin, Archie Clavering.
Let Its hope that he was no dog in the manger ; — that the feelings
which he now entertained for poor Archie would not have been roused
against any other possibte suitor who might have been named as a fitting
husband for Lady Ongar. Lady Ongar could be nothing to him !
Bnt I fear that he was a dog in the manger, and that any marriage
contemplated for Lady Ongar, either by herself or hy others for her,
would have been distasteful to him,- — unnaturally distasteful. He knew
that Lady Ongar could be nothing to him ; and yet, as he came out of
the sniali room into the larger room, there was something Rire about Iiis
licart, and the soreness was occnnioncd by the thought that any nccond
marriage should be thought possible for Lady Ongar. Florence smiled
on him as he went up to iicr, but I doubt whether she would have smiled
had Hhc known all his he.irt.
Soon after that Mrs. Clavcring rose to return home, having swal-
lowed a peace-offering in the shape of a cup of tea. But though the tea
had quieted the storm then on the waters, there was no true peace in the
rector's breast. He phook hands cordially with Lady Clavcring, without
animoKity wilh Archie, and then held out three fingers to the baronet.
The baronet held out one finger. Each nodded at the other, and so they
parted. Harry, who knyw nothing of what had happened, and who was
ulill thinking of L.idy Ongar, busied himself wilh Florence, and they
were sonn out of the hoiisc, walking down tho broad road from the
front door.
'■ I will never enter that liouse again, when I know that Hugh
ClavcTing is in it," .^aid the rector.
" Don't make rash assertions, Henrj-," said hia wife.
" I liopc it is not rash, but I make that ajaertion," he said. " I
will never ag;iin enter that house aa my nephew's gnest. I have borne
a great deal for the sake of peace, but there are things wliich a man
cannot birai'."'
Then, as tln-y walked home, the two girls explained to Hnriy what
Imd occurred in the larger room, while he was talking to Lady Ctavering
in tho smaller one. Hut he said nothing to them of the subject of thai
conversation.
688
THE CLATEBINOS.
CHAJTEK XII.
LaDI OXOIU TAJtKl PuSSKBSIOrf.
I vc wA know that tlioi-e it in Eeglaad a luvre oompWtv gcntlcnnn'a
rnjdi-iice tliiii Ongiir Pxil:, nor cuuld tlicro bo one in boticr repair, at
store fii for imnieJinte liabiiatidu Uiaa vtra that boiuc wliea it came iiii
the bunds of the young widow. I'lie park was not largv, eonuinW
nLuut sixly or acrcntj acrct. But there was a home-farm atuu:h«^d to
pl&cc, which abo n«vr belonged to Lndy Oitgar Tot her life, and n
gnve to the park itselT on app^armce or extent vbic!t it uould oUiorvifa
hare wanted. 'Die Iiouac, n;giiiU«l a.i a nublcman's uuuuiun, was mode-
rate in Rixc, but it was ample Cor the rcquiremenls o( niij ordttwhly
wealth; &mily. 'j^oiiiniag-ruom, library, drawir^-roomj, and br«ak&i^
room, were all laigc and well-iirrangod. The hall Koa kaudaome and
apuciouK, and lti« bed-rooms vrete sufticiviiily unmeroiu to maka an
auvlioneer'a moutli water. But tlie great chnrtii of Ongar Purk lay in the
ground! immedialely round tbu house, which doped dawn from the tenact
before the windows to a fusl-ninniiig stream which was almost hidden,
— hut viM not liiddou, — by the shrubs on ica bank. Tiiough the domaiu
iijcelf was »uia]l, Uic bhrubbcrits and walks were exlen&ive. It was a plans
cuitly to tnuiuiain in its proscat perfect conditioa, but when that was taJd
against it, all waa said ngiuiisi it which its l»tteruit cneiuies could aileg«.
But Liidy Oti^nr, with her Inrgc joIuturr>, and with no ejclenial
expcutfca whatuvur, could ftlToid this delight without ttuprudvncc, every-
thing iu and about thu phcu w.-u her own, and idic might live tbeiu happily,
ovGU in the luce of thu wurid'a Iruwns, if aim could Icuch herself to ftail
hnppinetis in rural luxuries. On her immediate return to Engkad, her
latvycT biid told hti that he fuuud there would be oppoaltioii to her daiia,
and that an attcjLipt would bc ULad« to keop thu houae out vf ber haodt.
Lord Oiignr's pcoplu would, he luid, tfiibc licr to submit to tiiu by im-
mediate acquiescence a» to her income. Itul she luid dccloivrd that she
would not submit, — that lihe wouIJ have hoDse and income and all ; and
ahc liad been Kucce:^ut. " Why should I auiruoder what ia my owuT"
alio had said, luokitjg the luwyer full in the face. The lawyer bad a«l
dared loteU her that her oppoiieiii»,^Lord OiigarMieirs, — had calculated
on her anxiety touvwid cx|ioHure; hut she knew that titut was meant. "I
hiivc nutiiiui; to feiLr fromtl>em," she said, "and mean to claiia wbatU mj
owu by my wltlenii-nt." There liad, ia truth, been no ground fur dbpui-
itig her rijjiit, and the jilace woe given up to her berotc ahe hiid hecu Ihrcs
nioutlia in £cgta»d. Slie at once went down and took posscstaion, and
there she was, alvnc, when her sister waa coaimunicattng to Itarty
Clnvvring her piou about Captain Archie.
aim had never eocu the pUce till she reached it en this oecadon ; nor
had xlie erer seen, nor would she now probably ercr uc, L<ird Oojar'a
huger house, Courioa Cattle- She htid gone abroad wtlh him immediately
I
^
Tire CtATETdSOS.
538
00 tbdr mftrriagc, and now the had returned a widnir fo (altc pnaanston
of Ilia houw. TUno tdio wiiii in po««pwi<in of it all. The furniture in
the rooiiw, thfi book) in tlic easw, tlie gildiid docks and grand mirront
ahont the honso, all th« implem^nto of we^itl)))!- ciro itVinut llii; gardcmi,
the com in the grannrips and Utt rickH in the hay-yan], the horftei in tho
aliiMii, luid tlic cgwj lowing in tLe fields, — Oivy wcro nil licrii. She }uul
perfcnned her jwirt of ihe barj^ain, nnd now ili* price wa« piiid to h«r into
ber handa, When the arrived ahc did not know what was the extent
of li€T rich«a in this world's go«d*; nor, in tmth, had slio at once Ulc
courage to aslt questitiDS on tlie subject. She >nw cowk, and iriu tiild of
hones; and words came to htr grndually of shwp and oxen, of [loultrjr,
pig«. and growing ralvcm. It was m tliowgli a new world had opened itself
before her e^'e^i full of interest, ^nd aa though nil that worlil were her own.
Bhe looked at it, and kn*w thiit it was the price of her biirgiiin, Upon
Uie whole she had been rerj- hick/. fAia had, indoed, faaed throu^di a
sliarp ugony, — on agony vharp nloiost to duith ; but the sgon)r had been
ahert, and the price waa in her hand.
A close carrUge bad met her nb the Btation, and taken her with her
niatd lo iho hon«c. She hnd so nrrangcd that aho liad reachctl the itatioa
after dark, ami even then hail fi>lt that tho cyrs of many were upon her
US ahc wrut out to her carriage, with her fnce covrrcd by a TeU. She
vaa all nlune, and there would be no one at the hoii*c to whom ahe couM
•penk ; — but the knowledge that the carriage wan h^^r own perhaps coni»1(tii)
her. The liousekcepor who received her waa a sloiil, cldcriy, comfortable
body, to whom aho couM [KrhnfM uy a few words beyond thora which
might be Rpoken to an ordinarj- aerrant; but she fimded at ones that the
konaekeeper was cold to hpr, and wlemn in her dcmcanotir. " 1 hope
you have good fires. Mrs. Bdltou." " Ye«, my lady." " I think I will
hare wmc lea; 1 don't want anything cIbc to-nighl." "Vvry well, my
ly." Mm. Button, raaintnining n aolnmu eounienanee. would not c«
d this; and yel Airs. Button looked like a woman who could have
enjoyed a goiMp, Ijid the Indy Ix-en a lady lo her mind. Perhap* Mra.
Button did not like serving a lady an to whom such sad iiToriea were told.
Lady Ongar, aa she ihouglit of thi», drew herself up unconBciouily, and
•ent Mra. Btitf^n away from her.
Th« next morning, after an early breakfast, Lady Ongar went out.
She wna dottrmined that die would work hard ; that she would ttodcr*
atatvd Ihn fann ; that she would know the lahotirora ; that ehe would
oanA ihe poor ; (hat aho would have a aohool ; and, above all, that slie
wo^ild make all the pririlegeB of ownership her own. Was not tho price
ia her band, and would ihe not uae it J ^he frit that it was very good
that Hmething of tho prica bad come to her thua in the shape of land, and
bccTea, and wide, hmvy onlaide gamiturr. l-Vom them sh« would pluck
an intemt which mere money could not Iiajc given her. She was out
early, therefore, that ihe might look round upon Ihe thinga tliat were
ber own.
szi
THK CLAVBRUiOa.
Aiti] lline canie upoii hw > ftviiiig UmI slie woiitit iiuc Ptnptj
Rwect cup ttt «a« dniuglit, lliat obti w«uld Uxlly Mmewb»t witli tbc licb
huiquet that iras Gpread for ber. She bad oiatijr griefs to ovcraoia^
ruucli Eorrow to conquer, perhaps a king period of dewlutioii to Mxougt,
ftud slic would not b« pT«di(;a] ol' her irc«<>iir«e«. As she iwkud «n>iUid
bcr wbUe the walked, altnoil fuiiiTclyf Itdt snm« gardener iks he Kjued iiw
night guen her ibbtighbi und tcU bow ni}' lady woa rcvL-Uiiig in bcr prida
of pcfiscuion, — it appeared to ber that those uovellies in which she vra xo
Itad htrr nvw interest were witliout end. There was not a tree there, ttdt
» ■hrub, not 0. turn iu ili« wslkti, which ibuuld not bttcome b«r friend.
Sht! did nol go fat front iha houic, not eves down to tiiu wntur. Shu was
husbanding bor roAourcea. Hue yet khe loot liersell' wuidtit the {xitlis, uid
triud to find a joy in f*w1iii(c thst alio had done bo. It was all bcr owa.
Il WHS tli« pric« of what sha h.-vl done ; and the price waa ciTea now tpeia^
paid into her Land, — paid willi ciu-r«it coia and of full wngbl.
Aa»lii! Rat down alutic to hi>r brcukrHit, nhu declared to heradf that
tliis aliould he. enough for her, — that ii should Niii*!)' Iii^. Shu ha«l loada
her hargjiin with her eye* op«o, and would not now a«k for thiuga which
hxd not hiN-n HlijiulntKi] iu tliii uonlmct. Slii-. va« alonx, and all the wcriil
wiu Uiruiiig i(i> Lack on her. The rvlulivca of hur latv hiubaud would, w
a iDiittcr of cooNe, bo hor eneniies. Them the had never seen, and that
tliey should spcalc evil of her necmcd ta bo only natural. But h«r oiro
rciutivct nvi'C romovcd from her by a gulf ticftrly cqiudly ntdv. Of
Bimliuxoii coimiuii ^e had iiiiutf nearer th^n the iliiid or fouuh degreeof
uuuiuiibhip, and of tht-ia she had aavcr taken he«d, and ux[it:clei no heed
fi'oni ihvai. ilur wfl of fni'iiiU would n:ttundly luivo been the untc u
her sitter's, and would have liceii iniidr u;> of those shv had known irh«a
iih« wtuoue of Sir liogh'e family. But from ijir H^gli ehu wnsdiTidtd
now as wititiy as frBOi the Ongir people, and, — for any purposca of Kociely,
— from her eiitcr alsa Sir Hugh had allowed bis wilu to iuvtlc hot lo
CliLi-oring, hut to this sho would not vubmit niter Sir Hugh's trealntcnt la
lier «Ji liei- rvluin. Though ahe hnd KulTered much, her vpirit was oo*
broken. &U' Uugb waa, in truth, rcaj/onoible foe her reception ia England.
Und lie coine f'urw-ard hke a broChvi', nil might hare been well. But it
wua too laic now for Bir Hugh Clnveriiig to ri-inudy tiiu evil be had dtnx,
niid he should be luade to undei'stand that Lady Ongar would not b«c«ne
n (uppliaiiL to hiui for lueicy. She waa &triviug to think bow *'nuh alia
was Ui liors«6, how rich in broidiired garinvnia aud iu gold," oa the cat
Military over her hicakfuNl; but h?r mind woidd run off to other ihisj^
cuinbmog itst;[l witii uqucccMitry iniseriea and luelcw indignatioo. Had
she not hor prioc iu htr bond t
Would ahu Mu tlie Htcward that mciiuiugT Ko, — not tliat morning.
Things DUtaide could gu uu for a wiiilu in tliur course aa heretofore. Sixt
luari-d to Bueni ti> lake poueaaion with pride, and then thert was that
conTiciiou that it would be well to husband her leuiurces. So ahc eenl
for Mrf. Rutton, aod iuk«d Ura. Button to wnlk through lite roooia with
I
I
I
THE CLAVEIUSGS. 535
her. Mm. Button catnc, but again declined to accept her lady's condeAceQ-
sion. Eveiy spot about the liouse, every room, closet, and wardrobe, she
was ready to open with zeal ; the furniture she was pre|>ared to describe^
if Lady Ongar would listen to her ; but every word was spoken in a
Bulenin voice, very far removed Irom gossiping. Only once was Mrs.
Button moved to betray any emotion. " That, my lady, was my lord's
niotlier'a room, after my lord died, — my lord's lather that was ; may God
ble^ her." Then Lady Ongar reflected that from her husband she hud
never beard a word either of his iather or his mother. She wished that
elie could seat herself with that woman ia some small upstairs room, and
then ask question after question about the famtiy. But she did not dare
to make the attempt She could not bring herself to explain to Mn.
Button that she had never known anything of the belongings of her own
husband.
When she had sees the upper part of the house, Mrs. Button offered
to convoy her through the kitchens and servants' apartments, but she
declined tliis for the present. She had done enough for the day. So she
dismissed Mrs. Button, and took herself to the library. How oflen had
she heard that books afforded the surest consolation to the desolate. She
would take to reading ; not on this special day, but as the resource for
many days and months, and years to come. But this idea had faded and
liecome faint, before she had. left the gloomy, damp-feeling, chill room,
ill which »Qm% former Lord Ongar had stored the musty volumes which
he had thought fit to purchase. The library gave her no ease, bo she
went out again among the lawns and shrubs. For some time to come her
best resources must be those which she could find outside the house.
Peering about, she made her way behind the stabk's, wliich were
attached to the house, to a farmyard gate, through which the way led to
the head-quarters of the live-stock. She did not go throngh, i)Ut she
looked over the gate, telling herself that those barns and Gliedx, that
wealth of straw-yard, those sleeping pigs and idle dreaming calves, were
all her own. As she did so, her eye fell upon an old labourer, who was
utting claw to her, on a felled tree, under the shelter of a paling, eating
hia dinner. A little girl, some six years old, who had brouglit him his meal
tied up in a handkerchief, was crouching near his feet. They had bolh
setn her before she had seen them, and when she noticed them, were
Blaring at her with all their eyes. She and they were on the same aide of
the farmyard paling, and so she could reach llicni and speak to tliem
without difficulty. There was apparently no other person near enough to
listen, and it occurred to her that she might at any riiEo make a friend of
this old man. His name, he said, was Enoch Gubby, and the girl was his
grandchild. Her name was Patty Gubby. Then Patty got up and had her
head patted by her liidyship and received sixpcnco. They iitilher of them,
however, knew who her ladyship was, and, as far na Lady Ongar cuuld
ascertain without a question too direct to be asked, had never heai'd of
her. Enoch Gubby said he worked for Mr. Giles, the steward, — that was
IB CtAVBfiWOS.
I
for my ]ar^, and ni In* ww oW mid iiiff witli tliMimniiirtn he on
•ighl Khilling* a wfrele. Ke had a duughlpr, tlie molhi-r of Puil^,
worlcrd in the fields, itnd got six shillings n yittk. T.yeryihing abont Um
poor GwWjj-h wcraed to be very wreldied and miHiniblo.
lie could hai-ill^ drag liinwcif about, lie was so bad with tlie rhi
Then rhc thniight tbnt «h« would inAk« one pcnon haj^py, and toM him
ih»t hi* ^^vlg(» ii}innld be mivcd to ten shilling n vcelc. No ttiAtter
whether lie eainwl il or not, or what Mr. Giles might eaj, he should hare
t«n sliiliingB n vetln. Enoch (iiibh^ bowpd, nnd nibbed his hntd, and
iiared, and \riui in truth thanlfiil brcftuiv of (lie ntxpmcc in readjr nMioej ;
bat be bcltcvrd nothing about llic ten thilling«. He did not (vpcciAUr
diubflipvp, but simply fi-lt confident thnt lie undfrstood nothing that wa*
Bdid to him. Tlint kindness was intended, and that tho eixpenoe ma
there, he did understand.
But Enoch GuTihy got hi» wpekly ten .%!ulliIlg^ though Lady Ongar
hardly realised thi; plrafiirv that »hc had cxp^-ctcd from the traniactMn.
Slip JiiMit tlint Bftcrnnrn for Wr. Gil***, tlie alewaid, and told him what
ftlio liiid done. l^Ir. Giles did not n.t nil approTO, and npoke liis ilUap>
proval rery plaiuly, tlion^li lie garnished his rebuke with a great nuay
"my lady's." Tlii? nid mun waa a banger-im about the plac^, and Sir
years had roct^ve^l eight (hillings a iveek, whiuli he h.id not half carno).
"Now he will hnrc Inn, that ii all," said Lndy On^ar. Mr Giles ookaow-
ledged tlint if her ladysliip pleased. Enoch Gubby miut have tot tea
shillings, but diolarcd that the biuiocaa cunld not bo carried on in tluil
way. Evwyboily nhont the jilace would expect on ailditinn, and tbofe
people who ilid earn what ihfry received, would think tbcmsi-lvca onielly
used in being wnrso treated than Enoch Gubhy, who, necnrding to
Mr, Giles, -a-aB by no means tiifl most wortJiy old man in the piiriah.
And na for bis (daughter — oli 1 Mr. Giles could not trust himnelf (o talk
about the dnnghtci' tn her ladyship. B&fcrg ho left her, Lady Ongar was
convinced th:it iho had mndo a inUlako. Not «vvn from chanty will
plcacure come, if chnrity be taken up simply to appi/aw reniorac. ^
Tlie price wnsi in her hnnd. For a forlnight the idea clung to her, that '|
pradtifillysliewonldTenlizetlio joys of possession ; but there was no momeDl
in which she could lell heradf that the joy was hem. Sho wan now mistr«M
of the geogrnphy of the pl.ice. There wai no more losing herself amidst the
(shnibb(.-ric», no thought of etonomiaing her resources. Of Mr. Giles and
hi* doings she still knew very little, but tho doslro of knowing mnch had
fudcd. The ownership of tlic h-iystHcks had become a ibini; tmne lo her,
and ths great cart-horses, as to ercry one tf which sli« had inte»d«d to feel
mi interest, were matlern of IndiflVfrriicc lo her, Shw obserred that sine*
htr (uriTnl n new iiiiiii« in new puini, — her own nonip, — was attached to
the CAfts, and thai Ihe letters were big and glaring. She wished that
this had not been done, or, at any rate, that the letters had been snulkr.
Then slie began to think that it might be well fur her to kt tha &rm to
a tenant; not that she might tints get more money, but bccvtue aho li^t
TIIK CLAVEmSGS. 637
Unit iho fann would be b trouble. The npplea had indeed quickly turned
to asbea between her teeth I
On the first Sunday that slie was at Ongar Park she ivent to the
l)arisli church. She had resolved strongly that she would do this, and
phe did it ; but when the moment for starting cnme, her courage almost
failed her. The church was but a few yards from her own gate, and she
walked there without any attendant. She had, ho^Tever, sent word to the
Boxlou to say that she would be there, and the old man was ready to show
her into the family pew. She wore a thick veil, and was dressed, of
course, in all the deep ceremonious woe of widowhood. As she walked
up tbc centre of the church she thought of her dress, and told herself that
all there would know how it had been between her and her husband.
She w;i3 pretending to mourn for the man to whom she had sold herself ;
for the man who through happy chance had died bo quickly, leaving her
with the price in her hand ! All of course knew that, and all thought
that they knew, moreover, that she had been foully false to her bargain,
and had not earned the price I That, also, she told herself. But she
went through it, and walked out of the cliurcli among the village crowd
with her head on high.
Three days afterwards she wrote to the clergyman, asking him to call
on her. Site h.id come, she said, to live in tlie parish, and hoped to be
able, wiih his assistance, to be of sonio use among the people. She would
hardly know how to act without some counsel from him. The schools
micht he all that waa excellent, but if there was anything required she
hoped he would tell her. On the following morring the clergyman called,
and, wilh many tlinnks for her generosity, listened to her plana, and
accepted her subsidies. But he was a married man, and he said nothing
of his wife, nor during the next week did his wife come to c;ill on her. Sho
was to be lefi desolate by all, because men had told lies of her t
She had the price in her hnnds, but slic felt herself tempted to do as
Judas did, — to go out and hang herself.
VOL. Xltt. — HO. 77. ^^.
Wb hftve ccon h<rv philology carries ua totvar^s id«as of Affinity of mm
which are new im ut. But it is isvidrut that thi« iiiliiiily, wfa it' proved,
can be no vcrjr iMtciit ui&ur, uiilcra it goes beyond the stiigc at which we
huvo hitherto ahuimi it. AiKiiily hijtwc-cn rac«««ill,K> Ut tftrnk, in ibvir
mothtr's wutuh, ooud1« lor witiiething, iutlued, but coiitwl count lur r«ry
inuoli. So long m Celt luul Ttulou are in thvJr ciuhryo niJiiiitfulary
i>lalo, or, at least, no auoh great while out of their cradlv, atill eog^ed m
llicir wanileringa, chants of pince itnd struggle for derdopiDent, so lo&g
M tlioy hav« not yet i^y»tilli2<sl into u>li<l niititint, thuy mny touch aai
mix ill pauing, bdiI y«l vury liitlu ooinc of it. It 14 wbuii ihv imbryo bu
gronii mill oolidifitil itilo n diaCitict niitioii, into llio Gatil or (JcnnuD of
hittory, nh^a tt biu finiklly aoqiiiri^d the churacti»-« which male* th« Qtiul
bf liiHtury vrbul he li, th« (ierman of bistory wbat ha t>r ^*^ contuu siul
tiiixiurv ari:! iinporUjit, uiil may h»ve ft long bain of oSeota ; for Celt au«i
Teuton by thia lime have their tbrnied, narked, national, ine&ecabU
(|uaUtie> to oppose or to commiuiicalc. The contact of the Oerinati of tbt
Contiaent with tJie CVli was ia the pre-hiMoric times, aa4 ibe defiiuM
Gwnian typo, as wrt kiiow it, vias fixvA later, and from th« lime when it
booame tix*^] miit not injliieiiDud by the Celtic type. Hut htrc io our
c>>untry, iu Iwtorio times, loi^ aft«r tiie Celtie onibiyo bad cryslalltacd
iiiio the Celt proper, long aWcr the Oeruanio etnbryu bad cryntalliaad
into UiQ German proper, there wtu an important contacC holweeD the two
ptHipWs ; the 8tixons iiivudtiil tlio Bricooii and avtllec] ih«uu»lv«8 in tha
BritouR* country. Wtrll, tiii*», hiri- wii» n c"ni:ict which one might expect
would leave it* tracui ; if ihv Bukoiih got the up|>cr himd, ns trc all ki»w
t)i«y did, and tnadu our country be Euglund tind ut ha Kegliiih, there miut
yet, one WDuM tliink, be wtme trace of the Snxun having mi'l thv Briton;
1)1 CIV must be eome C*Ili'' vein oi- other r uniting ihttiMghuB. Many p««pls
My there is nothing hi nil of the kind, absolutely nothiiig ; the Stilurday
Jievtcw tri-Ats these mattms of vtlinology witli groat power and I«sniit)g,
and tbo SaUirdefi Review Bays we are "a nation into which a Norman
eli-riKnt, like a innch (•inallirr Orliic vienicnt, w.m m completely nbwibed
ihnt it if t'Ain tu ivek niter Nonunti or C<']tic cleiuenls ta nuy modern
Eiiglisihman." And the Dtlier d:ty »t Zurich I read a long eBany on
KnglibU literature by one of the prolcsioni th«rc, in which tbe writer
c)bstn'e<I, as n i-cmarkntile thtag, tbnt while other countrir* ci>n<ft)ei«(] by
the Gcrman.t.-^Fr&Qce, for instnnot!, and Iialy.^luid ouMiil all Uvimaa
influence frtaa their geiiiua and lit«raliire, llivre were Iwo oountrie^ noC
I
TUE STUDY 01? CELTIC LITERATUBE. 539
origino]!; Germanic, but conquered hy the Germans, England and German
Switzerland, of whicli the g(>niu3 and the literatura were purely and
inimixeUly German; and this he laid down as a position which nobody
ivoiild dream of challenging.
I Edj it in strange thiit this should be so, and we in particular have
reason lor inquiring whether it really is so ; because though, aa I have said,
tVLUiia a matter of ncience the Cttlt has a claim to be known, and we have
ail interest in knowing him, yet tliis interest is wonderfully cnlianced if
we find him to have actually a part in us. The question is to be tried by
external and by internal ovidencc j the language and the physical type of
our race afford certain data for trying it, and other data are afforded by
our literature, geniuK, and spiritual production generally. Data of this
second kind belong to the province of the literary critic ; data of the first
kind to the province of the philologist and of tho physiologist.
The province of the philologist and of the physiologist is not niine ;
but this whole question as to the mixture of Celt with Saxon in us has
been so little explored, people have been so prone to settle it off-hand
according to their prepossessions, that even on the philological and physio-
logical side of it I must say a few words in passing. Surely it must strike
with surprise any one who thinks of it, to find that without any immense
inpouring of a whole people, that by mere expeditions of invaders having
to come over the sea and in no greater numbera tlian the Saxons, so for
us we can make out, actually came, the old occupants of this island, tho
Celtic Britons, should have been completely annihilated, or eveu so
completely absorbed tliat it is vain to seek alter Celtic elements in the
existing English race. Of delilierate wholesale extermination of the
Celtic race, all of them who could not fly to Wales or Scotland, we hear
nothing ; and without some such extermination one would suppose that a
gn.-at mass of them must have remained in the country, their lot the obscure
and, BO to speak, underground lot of a subject race, but yet insensibly
getting mixed with their conquerors, and their blood entering into the com-
position of a new people, in whicli the stock of the conquerors counts for
Rioit, but the stock of the conquered, too, counts for something. How little
the triumph of the conquerors' laws, manners, and language, proves the
extinction of the old race, we may see by looking at France ; Gaul was
latinized in language, mauners, and laws, and yet her people remained
essentially Celtic. The Gerniaiiization of Britain went far deeper than the
Laliuization of France, and not only laws, manners, and language, but the
main current of the blood, became Germanic ; but how, without some
process of radical extirpation, of which, as I say, there is do evidence, can
there have failed to subsist in Britain, as in Gaul, a Celtic current too 7
The indications of this in our language have never yet been thoroughly
searehed out ; the Celtic names of places prove nothing, of course, as
to the point here in qiitxtion; they come from the pre-historlc times,
till! times before the nutioiiti, Germanic or Celtic, had crystallized, and
thi-y are everywhere, as the impetuous Celt was formerly everywhere, —
26— a
MO
Till! STUDY or CELTIC UTUHATCRR.
I
ia llie Alp, tlm Apeiinine*, t)w Cevcnnw, tlie Rliinc, tho Po, as w"
in tljc Tliatnfn, lh« llumber, Cumbcrlami, London. Uut it u i«id tlwl
words of Celtic crigin for lliinga Kiving to do wif.h pvery-day peaeefnt lifiv'
— the life of a tL-ttlccl nation,— woriit like h'ulet (to uilcc *n JDitanco wbick
nil llio world knows) form n much larger boJy in our liuiguagc tbn is
i.'oiiimonly<Ufipafted; itH.ciiid ihat nnuiiibcr ^fDur mcia*!, moat idinnintic,
popular worda — forcxiuiiplc, 6(im, jCW, ifhop, IwatMle, j'atlijt, kilth, m«^,
— nro Celtic Thcso afMHion* rer^iiire tA be circftilly es-'unined, mkI itfl
by no nicaiiH (bllowa ihiit becauw an KiigliKh word is ff>»rd ta Celtic, thert-
(on ^vv get it (ivin tlii'iiGC ; Ixit tbiy have not yet hnd the Dltcutlcn vrhicJi^
at ilhiHtratlng through language this matter of (he stibsiiit^nse anil lotcT'
mingling in our nation of a Celtic part, they merll.
iior hav« the physiological data which illuf(rat« thia matter liad iDiiok'
more aticJilioa fhim hk in Knjjlund. Ittit in France, a phyaician,
Engliah by blood, iltougli a I'^ii-nchinan by home hikI language, Monsi
W. ]■'. Edwards, brother to Monsieur Mi!ne-Ed wards, (he woll-known
zoologidt, published in 1830 a lettei- lo ^lonueur Am«d^ TLierry wilk
this lilk ; Dee Caj-actirts Physhlogiqttta da Sactt Jhmainea contUMt
dttjts ieurt Btipporla nveo riiiMoire. The Iclicr iitiractod great atteoliaa
on the Oiintinfitil ; it fdta noi much more than a hundred page*, "oi
they nrc a hun'lred ptij^oe which well dofl«rv« rending and rv -rcndii^.
UoiiHiettr Thierry in liis Hixtoirt ilet Giniloir lind divided tiie pojiol&lioa
of Gaul inio cerCaiD groupn, uud the object of JMoiuicur Kdirarda was li>
try thin division by physiology. Groiijis of men have, he aaya, tbctr
pbyiicuL type which distinguishes ihcni, na well a& their language; ikft,
trace* of lliia phyiioal Iyp6 ondurc tut tho traces of Innguftge «adun>, aad'
pbytiolngy ia cnahled to veriiy history by them. Aoconlingly, be deter-
mines the phyticol type of each of the two great Celtic ianiiliai, the Gada
nnd the CyiiiH*, wlio nn« wiid to have been diatribmcd in n certain order
ihrougli C'iiul, anil then ho inuds thi.-!<e lypea in the populalioa of Fiance
nt the prciientday, and aov^Bea the alleged originnl ordor of diatribuiioD.
Id doing thin, he niaken excursions into Deighbouriog couulrira wbcru iha
(Saeta and the C^miiii have been, and he dtclarea that in Kagland he &iidi
abniidant tiiictft of the jibyHicul typt- uhicli ho has cstabhsbed aa Hit
Cymric, elill aubKikling in our [loptiiation, and having descended from Ui«
old BritiHb po«et)soT« of our aoil before tlie Saxon oonqunt. Bat if ««
are to believe the current English opinion, aaya Moniueur Edwarda, tlie
stock of these old British possessors ia dean gone. On Ibia opimou be
makes the following comment : —
" In tho territory occupied by the Saxoni>, the Brilona w«re do loDgeF
fill indopvndent nation, nor creii a p<eople with any civil vxistcnoc at all.
I'or history, therefore, they were dead, above all for history aa it waa then
writlen; but ihi^y had not pcrinhed; they siill lived on, and undoubtedly
in Mich nnraboi's as the icniains of n gi-cat nation, in epite of ita diuaten,
niight Ktill bu expectiKJ to kwp. That tbo Itritona were destroyed or ex-
I'clled from Euglaud, properly no cabled, in, aa I Imrc eziid, a popular opbiui
I
THE STUDY OF CELTIC LITERATURE. 541
in tliat country. It is founded on the exaggeration of tlie wri(er8 of his-
tory ; but in tlieso very writers, when we come to loolc closely at what
tliey say, wc find the confession that the remains of this people were re-
(liicei:! to s state of strict servitude. Attached to the soil, tlicy will have
shared in tlint emancipation which during the course of the middle nges
gradually restored to political life the mass of the population in the coun-
tries of Western Europe ; recovering by alow degrees their rights without
rcHuming their name, and rising gradually with the rise of industry, tliey
■will have got spread through all ranks of society. The gradualnesa of this
movement, and the obscurity which enwrapped itu beginningtt, allowed the
contempt of the conqueror and the shame of the conquered to become
fixed feelings ; and so it turns out, that an Englisliman who now thinks
himself spnmg from the Sa.tons or the Normans, ia often in reality the
descendant of the Britons."
So physiology, as well as language, iucomplcte though the application
of their tests to this matter has hitherto been, may lead us to hesitate
bcforv accepting the round assertion that it is vain to pearcli fcr Celtic
eleriK'ntM in any modern EnglisJiinaD, But it is not only by the testa of
physidlngy and hinguiigo that we can try this matter. As there are fur
physioluay phynioal marks, such as the square head of the German, the
round lieud of the Gael, the oval head of the Cymri, wiiich di-teniiiiiu
tlic type of a people, so for criticism there are spiritual marks which
determine the type, and make us speak of the Greek genius, the Teutonic
genius, the Celtic genius, and so on. Here is another test at our service;
and this test, too, has never yet been thoroughly employed. Foreign
critics have indeed occasionally hazarded the idea that in Englisli poetry
there is a Celtic element traceable ; and Mr. Morley, in hia very readable
as well OS vcr)' useful book on the English writers before Chaucer, has a
sentence which struck my attention when I read it, because it e.f presses
an opinion which I, too, have long held. Mr. Morley says : — " The main
current of English literature cannot be disconnected from the lively
Celtic wit in which it has one of its sources. The Celts do not form an
utterly distinct part of our mixed population. Rut for early, frequent,
and various contact with the race that in its ha If- barbarous days invented
Osfian's dialogues with St, PutricW, and that quickened afterwards the
Northmen's blood in France, Germanic England would not have pro-
duced B Shakspcare." But there Mr. Morley leaves the matter. Ho
indicates this Celtic element and inllucncc, but he does not show us, — it
did not come within the scope of his work to show us, — how this influence
has declared itself. Unlike the physiological test, or the linguistic teat,
this literary, spiritual test is one which I may perhaps be allowed to try
my hand at applying. I say that there is a Celtic clement in the Euglish
nature, as well as a Germanic clement, and that this element manitcsta
itself in our apirit and literature. But before I try to point out how it
manifests itself, it may be as well to get a clear notion of what we mean
by a Celtic element, n Germanic element ; what character*, tliat is, deter-
8TT?nT Ot CRLTIC LITnitAl
mine l^ir iis the Celtic geiiiiie, tha Qermnntc gcnioi, oa wo commontj
conixtra the tivo.
Let me rep«3t irfait T hnre cA«n m!<1 of llio cbnnictn-isUcs irhkli|
tnark the Ena)tflli ipirit, lh« Engii.->h gimin*. Tliit epirit, tbii geatu^
judged, to be sure, i-aL]ior from a (Heiid'a tlmn an cneniy'd point of viwr,
yot juigod on tlio Vfliole fnirljr, la clinrucicriied, [ Inve repeiitwHjr hjiJ,
by energy vsilh hi>ntH>/. Tnlift nway uoreio of the cnM^y wlltch comes to
□^ as I believe, in p«rt rroiii Celtic pud Roman wurcei' ; tivtuil of coersy,
■ay ratber tUadinta) ; aad you hnvc the tiermanic gvniiu : itmdintfs wili
honesty. It IB eriJEfiit bow nearly the two characti* millions approach ono
another ; and yet they Icnrc, as ve dialt see, a grtat deal of mom for
dilTcrrnc?. Stendinera witli lioncsty ;; tlie danger for a natioaiil spirit
thus ci^in{io<,fMl is tbo humdrum, tlio plain ami ugly, the ignoblp : in a
word, citis G<tnt!ne, tlie Gnncinheit, iJiiit ciinfc of Gcrniuny, against whi<^
Ooetlie vsji all his life fighting. The cxcellenec of a national spirit thus
composed ia freedom from vrliim, fliglitincas, perrerseiKss ; palieui fidclitjr
to Nature, — in a word, icienct, — leading it at last, thongb slowly, and
not hy tXw itjiisi brilliant yiiad, cut ofihc bondn^ of iho hiimdnim and
Bommon, into ilie beltw life. Tin; univcrwil dind-locl of [il.iinn<-?» and
bomolineas, t^io lack of all beauty and distinction in form and feature, Ibe
slowness and cJumBinen of the laagiisge, the eternal beer, aauMgea, and
bad tobacco, tlie blank commonness rrerywhere, presdia^ at last like a
ifeight on the spirits of the trnrcllcr in Northeni Germany, aod ntakiDg
him impiiticnt to be gone— ibis is the weak side; the industry, the well-
doing, the i>atie«t steady elaboration of thingv, thu idea of science goTcrn-
ing all dL*partmenla of Imnuin activity — this is the strong side ; and
tlirougli tilts side of her gcnins, Germany baa already obtained escdlent
ivBiiIH, and ia dostinnd, we may depend upon it, however her pe^anti^,
her slownes*, her fbnihling, her ineffeclircneifs, Iicr bad goremmeDt, may
at ^mea make ue cry out, to an immcnao dcTt'opment.
For duheis, tht erefptnjj SnTf>n» — says an old Iruh poem, assigning
llie chamcteristics for which diffi'rent rintion) ore celebrated :—
For >pulctie>i anil valotir, tjio Gi'mIc^,
For exctMiTe ivitic, the Raraaiia,
Pot ddlness. tko rrt'pplni; Saxons;
FtiT hesnt; and ntnoroamcss, clio Gaetllill*.
We hftTe Men in what sense, and with what explanation, this charade
tion of ibe German may he nlluwed to stand; now let us come to
beautiful and nmorous Gaudliil. Or rather, let lis Hnd a definition
wkich may suit bot.h branches of the Celtic family, t!ie Cymri av well as i
the Gael. It is clear ihnt special clicuiustanccs may have dcTclopal some
one eide in llio naiionnl chnrnolcr r>f Cymri or Gael, Wolnhman or Irittt-
mnn, so thai the oWrver's notice aIiuII l>e readily caught by llii< side, an<l
yut it Jiiay be inipCBMblc to adopt il its cliaroeterifttic of lIis CV-llic nature
generally. For inslancc, in liis U'sullful i^^eoay on the poetry of the CtJtic
races, M. Rcnan, wirJi hie eyes fixed on the BreloQS and the Welsh, is at
I
, ISBt^^^^
THE STUDY 01' CELTIC LITERATUHE. 643
iviih the timidity, tlic ehyness, tlie delicacy of tlie Celtic nature, lu prefer-
ence for a retired life, its embarrassment at having to deal with the great
world, lie talks of his douce petite race natureUaneni ckretienne, his racejiere
et timide, a Vext^rieur gauche et emhan'oss^. But it is evident that this de-
scription, however noil it may do for the Cymri, will never do for the Gael,
never do for the typical Irishman of Donnybrook fair. Again, M. Renan's
infime delicatesae de sentiment qui caractMse la race Cettigue, how little
that accords with the popular conception of an Irishman who wants to
borrow money I Sentiment is, however, the word which maifa where
the Celtic races really touch and are one ; sentimental, if the Celtic nature
is to be characterized by a single term, is the best term to take. An
organization quick to feel impressions, and feeling them very strongly ; a
lively personality therefore, keenly sensitive to joy and to wrrow ; this is
the main point. If the downs of life too much outnumber the ups, this
temperament, just because it is so quickly and nearly conscioos of all
impreEsions, may no dou))t be seen shy and wounded ; it may be seen in
wistful regret, it may be wen in passionate, penetrating melancholy j hot
its essence is to aspire ardently after life, light, and emotion, to be expansive,
adventurous, and gay. Our word gai;, it is said, is i (self Celtic. It is not
from i/audium, but from the Celtic gair, to laugh ; and the impresBionable
Celt, soon up and soon down, is the move down because it'is so his nature
to be up^to be sociable, hospitable, eloquent, admired, figuring away
brilliantiy. He loves bright coloun, be easily becomes audacious, over-
crowing, full of fanfaronade. The German, say the physiologists, has the
larger volume of intestines (and who that has ever seen a German at a
table-d'hOtc will not readily believe this 7), the Frenchman has the more
developed organs of respiration. That is jtist the c^cpansive, enger Celtic
nature : the head in the air, snuffing and snorting ; a proud look and a
high stitmacli, as the Psalmist snys, but without any such settled savage
temper as the Psalmist seems to impute by those words. For good and
for bad, the Celtic genius is more airy and unsubstantial, goes less near the
ground, than the German. The Celt is often called sensual ; but it is
not BO much the vulgar satisfactions of sunse that attract him ns emotion
and excitement ; he is truly, as I began by saying, sentimental.
Sentimental — abcat/s ready to react figalnst the despotitm of fact : tliat
is the description a great friend of the Celt gives of him ; and it is not a
bad description of the sentimental temperament, it lets us into the secret
of ita dangers and of its habitual want of success. Balance, measure, and
patience, these arc the cttrnal conditions, even Hupjiosing the happiest
temperament to sl:irt with, of high succesa; and balance, measure, and
patience are just what the Celt has ucvlt had, Kvi-n in the world of
spiritual creation, he has neverj in spite of his adiiiirnblc gifts of quick
■ perception and warm emotion, aucceciled perfectly, because he never has
had steadiness, patience, sanity enough to comply with the conditions
tinder which alone can expression be perfectly given to the finest percep-
tiona and emotions. The Greek has the same perceptive, emotional tem>
^44
TUK STUDY or C£LT10 LITBKATURB.
|)<-7ttni(>nt as tlifl Cvit; but ]i« niltU (o iIiM lonipcramont Uio s««)t« at
vKaran ; hence liis ftilmiiablft kuccvm in tUv jilmttic tatA, in which tht^
Celtic gcniuf, with its chafing aguioat Uiti dettpoUoia of fiict, its pcrpcloil
iitraining nfter mere emotion, liu nccompliulied noUiing. \a the comjwn-
tireljr petty &rt of oriiiiiuenlation, in riogi, brooches, crozii'tv, relic-cuo,
and BO on, lie lias done just euouph to sUowIuh (icIic«c;crta&lo, hii hsppj
lemperatupnt ; bat tho gniid ditli unities of {lainling niid sculplarc, the
prolonged dealings of ojirit with matter, hu hnsncvvr hud poltenee for.
Tftke lb« Diofo (fii'itual arts ofmiuio nnd poetry. Atl ilmt emotion alone
can do in muuc the Celt has done ; the very iioul of eitinliun breaibiHi in
tlic Scotch HDil Irinlt uin; but with all this jiowvr of musical lixliug, wliat
hna tlic Cult, bo enger Tor emotion tlial he lias not patienci^ for 8<i«ucv,
rfTcded in music, to he cotnpari^L villi what the less emotional Gunnnn,
Rt<-^Jily ilerclopiuf; hiamusiaJ f^■UiQgwith tlio science of k Sebostinn Bicli
cr a Beethoven, has vfli-ntL'd 7 In poetry, sgxin, pociiy which the C«1t hu«o
pauionat^'Iy, sn no^ily IvveJ; |)oelry vrherv cmutitin counts tor so mndi,
but wlicrv rCttson too, r«tiBon, mea^ur;, sanity, also count for m> much,
the Celt Jiiifl tihown genius, indeed, splendid ^liiis ; but evcji hem hw
fiiulis hnvc clung to him, and hindered him (tqui producing great woH:*,
such tti oih«r nntions wilh a. ^i-iiiuit ftir jHXilry — the Gre4.-ii», «iy, or the
IralifinB — haveiirviluci'd. Tlii- Colt h;Ls ti<;l ptuduced giviit [MM'tiail worl^
iic hiis only produced pweVry with nu air of grealaCM investing ii all, anJ
gomotimes giving, moreover, to short pieces, or to passigea, lincs^ and
snatches of long pieces, singular hcanty nnJ power. And yet hu loved
poelty 80 much ll>;it he grudgwl no piiin» lo it ; but iJic true tut, tlie
orehitti-toniet wliich shajji-s gir:il worlwi such ns llie Ji/nmeMiufn OV llrt
Divine C<m<dij, conies only aficc ii uteady, dc(p-*carchiiig sun-cy, a Ann
««nc«ption of tlie facts of huuiaa life, vrhicli tho Celt hns not pntience fur.
Su he runs off into techuic, where lie employs the iilmo«t elnWnttiun, anil
atlaiua atitouiehiugakill; hut in tlic contents of hia poetry you Liirc unlyao
much iotci-prelation of tha woilil aft the first dash of a (piiclt, strong per-
ocptioD, and tlun luntimfnt, inGnilo seulunent, cin biinic you. Here, too,
Ills wattt of sanity and fleadlattnon kna kept tho Celt tuck fiotu tlM
liigh<-j>t tticctfsa.
If liln rebellion agninit fiict lias thus luracd ilie Celt even !d spiriuul
'Work, liow much more must it have lamed liim in tlie world of biuincw
and iwliiics? The skilful and resolute appliance of uicnnA to end* whicli
ii needed both to make pi-ogrces in laateiial civilization, and ahiu to l«nn
jiowcrful iiL'it4'.t, is jii!<t what ilia Celt has least tuni for. lie is sennuil, as
i hnvc eatil, or at least &cnsuoiiA; loves bright colours, comiuiny, and
plensure ; and here lie is like the Greek and LatJn raac«; but compure
The talent tha Gret-It and Latin (or Lotintzed) liices hnvo ehown ibr
grntifving ihclr stnsis, for procuiing an outwaid life rich, luxnrtooi,
Kpk'iulid, with thii Celt's liiiiuro to reach any material civilixabiou (ound
uiiii Mitinfying, and nut out at elbuwH, [loor, slovenly, and half-bmrbAJUO*.
The Mnsuousnenof tlie Greek mrMJe Sybans and Coriath, the scomoiuieBi
I
I
TIIR STUDY OF CELTIC LlTEllATUItE. 545
of ihe Latin made Home anJ Biuic, tho scnBiiotisncas of iLe Lntiiiized Frtncli-
inan makes Paris ; tlic eeiiHuouaness of the Celt proper has mode Ireland.
Even ill his ideal heroic times, his gay and Gensuous nature cannot carry
him, in llie appliances of his favourite Ufe of sociability and pleasure,
beyond the gross and creeping S.ixon whom be despises ; the regent
Breoa, we are told in tlie Datlie of Moytura of the Fomorxans, became
unpopular becauee " the knives of his people were not greased at his
tabic, nor did their breath smell of ale at the banquet." In its grossiesii
and barbarousness is not that Saxoa, as Saxon as it can be 7 just what
the Latinized Norman, sensuous and sociable like tlie Celt, but with the
talent to make this bent of his serve to a practical embellishment of his
mode ol' living, found so disgusting in the Saxon.
And aa in material cirilization he has been ineffectual, so has the Celt
been ineffectual in politics. This colossal, impetuous, adventurous wan-
derer, the Titan of the early world, who in primitive times fills go large
a place on earth's scene, dwindles and dwindles as history goes on, and
at last is shrunk to what we now see him. For ages ond ages the world
lias been constantly slipping, ever more and more, out of the Celt's
griisp. " They went forth to the war," Ossian says moat truly, " but they
alicaffs fell."
And yet, if one sets about constituting an ideal genius, what a great deal
of the Celt does one find oneself drawn to put into it ! Of an ideal genius
one does not want the elements, any of them, to be in a state of weakness ;
on the contrary, one wants all of them to bo in the highest state of power ;
but with a law of measure, of harmony, presiding over tlie whole. So the
Eensibility of the Colt, if everytliing else were not sacrificed to it, is r
beautiful and admirable force. For sensibility, the power of quick and
strong perception and emotion, is one of tlie very prime constituents of
genius, perhaps its most positive constituent; it is to the soul what good
senses are to the body, the grand natural condition of successful activity.
Sensibility gives genius its materials; one cannot have too much of it, if
one can but keep its master and not be its slave. Do not let us wish that
the Celt had had less sensibility, but that he had been more master of it.
Even ns it is, if his sendbility has been a source of weakness to him, it
lias been a source of power too, and a source of linppiness. Some people
have found iu the Celtic nature and its sensibility the main root out of
which chivalry and romance and the glorification of a feminine ideal spring ;
this is a great question with which I cannot deal here. Let me notice in
passing, however, that there is, in truth, a Celtic air about the extrava-
gance of chivalry, its reaction ogaiaat the despotism of fact, its straining
human nature further than it will stand. But putting all this question of
chivalry and its origin on one side, no doubt the sensibility of tho Celtic
nature, its nervous exaltation, have something feminine in them, and the
Celt is thus peculiarly disposed to feel the spell of the feminine idiosyncrasy,
he has an affinity to it, he is not far from its secret Again, fais sensibility
gives him a peculiarly near and inUmnte feeling of nature and tlb^^
llfi* of TOttatt ; tltn, too, he wwmr is ■ «;m)i9l wnjr mtnclMl bjr dw
secret heforr liirn, ilic wcrd of naiuml beanty citiiI cilurnl imi^c, *ni lo tn
cIrM« to i>, to iiAir-dtvine ii. tn the [iro<iiietk<n4 cf lite Cc-ltic gruinf, tiftlilD;.
[witiapSr i* >o intnwtjng »n tlie evidnices of this pov^r : I Hhftll han
oooBnon to girc Fpn:iincnii of thrm I'T-aml-hr. Tlie nmti neoiibilitj
mitAf ihc Colt* ftill of rcr^wtipc «tnl i:fltJin«ia«in fur £(mi!ii(, IcArain^, aod
the things of the mind ; tf If. a fiimf, /rtrd a mmw — llml is n chanotoisUit
Itroke vf thU gtavtouit uid eiioobling otdour of th^.irf, whivfa do nea
bu era' showti more >tToiigl]r. Kvi-n the pxtntvitgati(.-« and eMtifgvrmitm
vf th<? Bcntimcoliil Celtic futtarc has cflrn soincthmR rotnnotii! aM.l aiino
llrs. *lw>ij| fi, »r>m?rh{nf> whi«h Kim ■ sort of gmttfk of TniWii^-tcxI ^oodt
The VaAi iimliic-ipliiiitMo, nnnrcliiml, and mrbiilrni hy niitiirv, but ont tt
■ffVctiun nnil ntlmimltnn giring hinwclf hotly oiid until tp mnc kadrr,
tbst it not a promising political tomp^-Tainvnt, it ia jost thv oppont« of dM
Angln-SKxon i«mpenin)Pnt, discipliual>lc nnd stexdity obpdi'mt vrilhia
eettein lintila, bnt relainm^ an inaliviiablo yiui of frenk'ni nnd arlf-
d«pendence ; bat it ts a leinpcrsimpiit for which one hsa s kind of sympatlij
Dot%f'ithfltiiDdingt And Tcnr ollirn for the gty dcHtnnt reaction ngatntt lict
of th« lively Celtic nnlurc one hoo more ilinn ftympalh}' ; one forlti, in rpibi
nf tha (!Xtrnviigaiic(>, in spite of good senae dimppi-oviiig, mngwlizod nnd
vxhtUratcd hy it. The GauUhad a rule infliclinga fine on errrj irarnur
who, when h« appeared on parade, was fbtind to aliek out too modi in
ftoiit— to 1>o corpulent. In short. Sncli a rule ia lorolj the iruuUen
article of war crer framed, niid to people to vrhona nnturo haa aaeigned a
largo volume of inieatineB, mutt appeni*, tio doubt, horrible; 1<ul jtt haa
it nol nn nudaciona, i^ arkling, immutcrial manner with it, which lifts one
ont of rcuiino, and acta on«'fl f^iriia in a glow T
All tendencies of human nature nre in tJtemaelre*, ihm, vital and
profiliible i irhen they nre blamed, they arc only to be Manicd mlutivelyt
not abaoluloly. Thia bolda true of thi- Soxon'a pbli>gm aa mil m of the
Celt's mnlimont. Out of ihe steady hiitndtum habit of the creeping
Saxon, aa the Celt calls him,— otit of hia way of goinf; near the ground, —
has come, nodoubi, l'bilii>tinism, Ihnt plautof eaaentinlly i.tenuanio growth,
flourisliing trith ita ^nuinc marks only in tho Germnn fothcrlaDd, Great
Britain and hnr colonies, and the United Stat«a of Anierien ; but vhat a
txtul ofgoorlneMt there is in Pbiltatinism itself I and iliis soul of goodnoNi I,
who nm oflcn aiippoeed to bo Pfailtstiiueiii's mortal enemy merely bemuue I
do not WTft]) it to have thing* .tli its own wny, ch<^rif h na much na Anybody.
Tliii ateady-going habit lends at Inst, iis I linro said, up to nience, op to
the iwmprohcnsion nnd interpretation of the world. With iu Jo (jrwl
Britain, it ia true, it does not seem lo lead ao (!ir na that ; il is in Gvnamay,
where the habit is cuorc unmixed, that it ceu k-ad to sciotice. Here with
US it socras at a certain [niiitt to meet with » conDieting Ibroe^ whi^ cl>ecks
it and prevents its pnsbing on to science; hut before reaching thia point
what ODn<;iui-st) has it not woo ! and all the more, pcrliaps, for irtoppiag
short lit Lhifl poiDl, for spending tl« rxertioua withtn ft bounded field, tli«
i
THE STUDY OP CELTIC LITEKATUHE. 647
field of plain fcnsc, of direct practical utility. How it Las nugmented
llrc comforts and conveniences of life for us ! Doors that open, windoirs
that sliiit, locks that turn, rnzors tliat aiiave, coats that wear, ivatclies
thiit go, and a thousand more Euch good things, are the invention of the
PhiliNtines.
Here, then, if commingling there is in oar race, are two very tinlike
elements to commingle j the steady-going Saxon tcmpersmeiit and the
sentimcntnl Celtic temperament. But before wo go on to try and verify,
in our life and literature, the alleged fact of this commingling, we have yet
another clement to take into account, the Norman element. The critic in
the Saturday Hevitw, whom I have already quoted, says tlint in looking
for traces of Nonnanisni in our national genius, aa in looking for traces of
Celtism in it, wo do but lose our labour ; he aays, indeed, that there went
to the original making of our nation a very great deal more of a NormaD
elenicut than of a Celtic element, but he asserts that both elements have
now BO completely dis:ippeared, that it is vain to look for any trace of
cither of iheni in the modem Englishman. But this sort of assertion I do
not like to admit without trying it a little. I want, therefore, to get sumo
plain notion of the Norman habit and genius, as I have sought to get
Fome plain notion of ibe Saxon and Celtic. Some people will Bay that the
Normans arc Teutonic, and that therefore the distinguishing characters of
the German genius must be thoae of their genius also ; but the matter
cannot be settled in this speedy fashion. No doubt the basis of the
Norman race is Teutonic ; but the governing point in the history of the
Norman race — so far, at least, as we Engli»<h liave to do with it — is not its
Teutonic origin, but its Latin civilization. The French people have, as
I have already remarked, an undoubtedly Celtic basis, yet so decisive ia
its effect upon a nation's habit ami eharncler can be the contact with a
stronger civilization, that Gaul, without changing the ba&is of her blood,
became, for all practical intents and purposes, a Latin country, France
and not Ireland, through the Homnn conquest. Latinism conquered
CeltiNm in her, as it also conquered the Germanism imported by the
Frankish and other invasions ; Ccllism is, however, I need not say, every-
where manifest Btill in llic French nation ; even Geimanisni ia distinctly
traceable in it as any one who attentively compares the French with
other Latin r.ices will pcq. No one can look carefully at the French
troops in Jlonic, anionj^'st the Italian population, and not perceive this
trace of Germanism; I do not mean in the Alsatian eoldiera only, but
in the soldiers of genuine France. But the governing character of
France, as a power in the woild, is Latin ; such was tlio force of
Greek and Koman civilization upon n race whwe whole mass remained
Celtic, and where the Celtic language lingered on, they say, among
the common people, for some five or six centuries ufier the Hotnan
conquest. But the Nominna in Neustria lost their old Teutonic lan-
guage in a wonderfully short time ; when they conquered England
they were already Lntinize<1 ; with them were a number of Frenchmen.
I
hj TAWf ni«n frooi Anjou an<I Pvitoa, bo tlie/ bi'onjlit into England
moie non-Ttnilonic blood, becidtit irliat ihej^ IiacI tlie[usi>lT« gut l>y
inlcmianriage, than i> coniTnonlj- EU]i]>i>M'd ; tlic grcAt ]>oii)l, however, ii^
that by civiIizntloQt]ii«vigoroTurac<>,~wh<!n it Caok pcMX-Ntion lyf Englund,
— wai Liitiii. Tlii'je Nonitatis, vrho in Nt;usLria lu-id Iiml tlioir old Teulontc
toi^e BO rapidly, kept in Kngland ihtii n«w Latin toogue fur tome tliice
cvnhirira. It is eaid to hare l)«i'n Edivard the Ttiird's reif^n before English
cjtinc bo be spoken at court. Vthy this (lifilrcncc? Both in NeUEtria and
in EngLtnJ th« Kornmnsf were x hAiidlul ; but ia Ko.uttria, as Tcntont,
thejr wi>re iti contact wuh a mora ndvanced civilizntinn than lliuir own ;
in Kngl.vul, na Lntins, with n Iei9 ndvoiict-d. The Latiincrd NormuiB
in Englimd hnd the dimibc for fad, w]ii<:h the Celts had not ; nnd t]t« love
of KU'enuousn^sR, cleamees, uad rapidity, llie high Latin cjitri!, whidi
the Saxons hiid doL Thc^' batcj tliQ alowneas and dulncAS of the fl
crtt-ping Saxon ; it ofibnded their cWat, fitrcnuotis tnUnt for afliiirs, aa it
olTandud ihc Ct-U'i quick mi<I ddioutu pi-rccptitm. Thv Normans bud the
Uom&n tiJeut for uOnim, tlio Koiiinii dcciAirencia in enicrgvncii-fi. Thvy
have been called prosaic, but thii ia not a right word for i})cni; they
were neither eenlimen.tal, nori etrictly epoaking, pocliual. They had more
sonso ff>r rhetoric than for put-try, liko thu Roinana; but, like iho Romans,
th^ had tuo high a npirit nut to like a im)Ak intdlectaal btiiniilus of Kimo
kind, and thus they wen; mrrlcd out uf the region of the merely prMoic.
Their fditilc — the bad e.xccss of their characterising quality of etrenuooft-
ueea — was not proaaic Ihilncss. it was harducNi and iosoluncc.
I hav(> been oMignd to fetch n very wide circwit, but nt last I have got
what I wrni to »?ek. I have got si rough, but, 1 hojic, clear notion of
thctiu Uircc AirccA, the Geniiaiiic giniufl, the Celtic gciiiiia, Ihc Nonnoa
genius. The Germanic geniita has steadinesn aa its main bitsis, with eom-
monnesH and humdrum for its defect, fi«Ie1ity to nature for ita exoellenoe.
The Uellic geoiu", scntioicnt Da it« niun basis, with love of benuty, charm,
and spirituality for its «xcolknoe, inofructiialncta and teU'-will fur it*
delect. Tht^ Korman genius, tjilrut for aSain as itji main Weis, with
strenuousicas and clear inpidily for ita excellence, hnrdn<>3e and ituoleooe
tor ita defect. And now to try »ud trace tiiese in the (xiuposile £oglisfa
genius.
To begin vith what is more external. If vi» Are tto wholly Aaglo-
Siixon and Germanic as people auy, how co3i«s it that tho habits and gait
of the Gertuao laaguoge are >o exceedingly uulike oun 7 Why while TUt
Timta talks in this fashion :— '* At noon a long line of carriages extended
A^m Pall Mull to the Peer^* entrance of the Put3(;c of Weetminater," does
th« Cfiloyne Cautle talk in this other fashion : — " Naehdcin die Vorijerei-
Utngen z\i dtrm auf dem GUrzeuich-SiuIe zu Ehran der Abgoordovten 8latt
findeii totU'uden Baiiketui bcnita volUt^dig gctroficn woinilcD waren, flmd
heoto vormiltng anf polixciliche Anordnung die SchUewung summtlleher
Zu^nge 2um Gilrcenidi Stall?" Surety the mental habit of people who
cxprces their Iboughta iu co very diflercnt a auiiiner, the one nipidj tLo
TDK STUDY Olf CKLTIC LITIillATUJiE. 549
other slow, the one plain, the other cmbarrtisaed, the one tmiling, the
other striding, catiuot be essentially the eainc. Tlie English Inngtinge,
Btrange compound as it is, with its want of inflexionE, and with nil the
dilBcuitiea which this want of inflexions brings upon it, has yet made
itHcIf capable of being, in good hands, a buainess-instrumeut as ready,
direct, and clear, as French or Latin. Again: perhaps no nation, aller
the Greeks and Romans, has so clearly felt in what true rhetoric, rhetoric
of the best kind, consists, and reached so high a pitch of excellence in this,
as the English. Our sense for rhetoric has in BOine ways done harm to us
in our cultivation of literature, harm to ua still more, in our cultivation of
science; but in the true sphere of rhetoric, in public speaking, thiu eciisc
has given us orators whom 1 do think we may, without fear of being con-
tradicted and accused of blind national vanity, assert to have inherited the
great Greek and Homan oratorical tradition more than the orators of any
other country. Strafford, Bolingbroke, the two Pitts, Fox — to cite no
Other names — I imagine few would dispute that these call up the notion
of an oratory in kind, in e.^tent, in power, coming nearer than any other
body of modern oratory to the omtury of Greece and Rome. And the
affinity of spirit in our bfst public life and greatest public men to those
of Rome, has o(\en struck observeis, foreign an well as English. Now, not
only have the Germans shown no eminent aptitude for rhutoric such as
the English have shown ; — that was not to be expected, since our public
life has done so much to develope nn aptitude of this kind, and the public
life of the Germans has done so little ; — but they seem in a aingtilar degree
devoid of any aptitude at all for rhetoric. Take a speech from the throne
in Prussia, and compare it with a speech from the throne in England.
Assuredly it is not in speechea from the .throne that Engliah rhetoric or
any rhetoric shows its best side; — they are often cavilled at, often jusily
cavilled at; — no wonder, for this form of composition is beset with very
trying difficulties. Bnt what is to bo remarked is this, — a speech from
the throne falls essentially within the sphere of rhetoric ; it is one's sense
of rhetoric which has to fix its tone and style, so as to keep a certain note
always sounding in it; in an Englisli apeech from the throne, whatever its
faults, this rhetorical note is always struck and kept to ; in a Prussian
ppcech from tho throne, never. An English speech from the throne is
rlietoric ; a Pnissian speech is half talk, — heavy talk, — and half effusion.
This is one instance, it m.iybc said; true, but in one instance of this kind
the presence or the absence of an aptitude for rhetoric is decisively shown.
AVeli, then, why am I not to say that we Englltth get our rhetorical sense
from the Norman element in us, our turn for this strenuous, direct, high-
ppirited talent of oratory, from the influence of the strenuous, direct,
high-spirited Normans 7 Modes of life, institutions, government, and
other such cauHcs, are aufBcient, I shall be told, to account for English
omlory. Modes of life, institutions, govcrnnient, cUmnte, and bo forth
— let me say it once for all — will further or hinder the development of
an ftptitade, but they will, not by tliemielTce create the aptitude en
sso
TIIR STUDY OF CELTIC LITRSATORr-
Iiow
nuti
cx|itaiD it. On tlie othrr hnnd, a profiled balitt mil comptpxiun of Militi
go Ikr 10 determine its modes of life, insttmtiona and goreraoivtit, i
enn to prescribo the iimiu within trliich tlie inltueticiM of c)iinal« '
tell npou it.
Hnwpvpr, it i« nnt my intention, in ihcM rRoailiK, to Iny it Hotrn (1*1
nrtain llint lliio or that lotil ol our powtrk, thorlatmings, bikI tK'havioniM
ia dm lo n CcHIc, GenOBii, or Nonnwi ctcnicnt in ui. To establish tlu> ]
•hmtd seed niucU wldor Umitu, nnd a knonrl('iIgi>, too, far bt^ood wb
I [xiMNi ; all I fuiqxwc ')!* lo point out certain cortcapoodenccB. noi
pcrliitp^, •■tinicicniljr obien-ed and ultendetl lo, \v1iicli ae«Ri to lead towaiJa
oenain ccncluaians. 1'lic following up tlH> inquii^ till Toll jiroof is reael»<^
— or perhaps, nil! disproof, — i« what I wont to raggMt to more corDpebtrt
poTMna. Pt«ini»iiij[; thin, I now go on to n socoad matter, •om«whal uonr
deticat« and inwaixi than that with which I bi-gan. Every one knowt how
wdl the OrcL'k and Latin niixa, with their direct scacc (ur the ri!iibl(^'|
palpAbl* world, Imre aucoeci^cd In tho pliuiic arts. The aheer Gemai]
moca, too, wii3i tlieir honest love of lad, nnd ilmr fttvaiy ptimiit of it,,
their fidelity to nuturcin uliorf, — have atUuui:il » Uigh dcgrt'cornuccrmui
these artJt; fcw peopin will deny iliat Albert Diirer nntl RiiN'nii, for ex-
tiniple, aru to be called maat«ra in painting, and in the high land of ptitrt-
iag. Thu Ct;1tio r»cc«, on the ether hand, hnve shown a lingular inaptl-
tudo for the phiHtic art) ; the abstract, Mrore churacltfr of the Dniidlcal
religion, itn di-nling with tho tyc of llit mind rntlicr than the eye of thai
body, ita having no okbomto icmplts nnd honntinil idoli, all point th!l
way from the l^rsl ; its if«nlinient cannot nallidj- {t«eir, cnniiot even find i
rc*»iag-pla&c for it«ir, in colour and k'tta ; it presMs on to the impdc
tho Idonl. Th« fumi of trees nnd the forest of rocka, not hewn ^mt
and can'cd stnncA, auil- its naptnitions fur aomcthiog not to be bounded ce|
expr«a3«d. With this tendency, lli« Celtic mccs have, as I r«tuarkvd I
fbre, been neccaarily altnoat impotent in tho hrghor branches of the phud^
aria. Ireland, lliut has produced no ni;ifiy powerful spirits, bos produc
no great sciilptora or paintera. Cross into England. TIio fbaptttode ft*J
thu plastic art atrikingly diminishca, lu soon aa ihe Gfrman, not the CtlC
dement, prcpoudorntca in the tacc. And yet in Knglnnd, too, !n
English raep, ihprc U uimething which scemi lo pre^'snt our rcscbing
mastership in the p!;i«ic nrt», as the more unmixed Oermnn rncea haf
reached it. Itcyaolds nnd Turner arc paint«ra of genius, who can donhi^
It? but tako a Europ«nn jury, tho only eumjKt^^nt jury in these eoair*, and
aee if you can get a verdict giriog them tlie rank of ciasl«n^ »a tliit raokj
is g!v«n to ItaphA«l and Corrv^io, or to Albert Durrr and liubesfk^
And observe in \*liat points our Engliah jair succeed, and in what thtf
fall fhort. 'llicy foil shoi-t in archUfctoruce, in the htg1u-.it powvr of
compocition by which painting nceotnpliHhcs the very itlt«rmost which
It JA glvrai to painting to accomplish ; the highest sort of compo^*
tion, tl)6 highest application of the nit cf pniutiug, they cither do
■ttempt, or they RU in it. Their dcf^«t, therefore, ia oa the aide of
THE STtlDT 01' CELTIC LITERATOHB. 551
nrt, of plastic art. And they aueoeed in mngic, in beautj-, in grace, in
espreasing almost the inexpressilile : here is the charm of Reynoids'a
children and Turner's seas ; the impulse to express the iricxpreasible
cnrjies Turner so far, tliat at last it carries him away, and even long
bufoie he is quite carried away, even in works that are justly extolled,
one can see the comer, as the French say, of insanity. The excellence,
therefore, the success, is on the side of spirit. Does not this look as if a
Celtic stream met the main Grerman current in us, and gave it a some-
what different course from that which it takes naturally? we have
Germanism enough in us, enough patient love for fact and matter, to be
led to attempt the plastic arts, and we make much more way in them
than the pure C«ltic races make ; bnt at a certain point our Celtism
comes in, with its love of emotion, sentiment, the inexpressible, and gives
our b«st painters a bias. And the point at which it comes in is just
that critical point where the flowering of art into its perfection com-
niences ; we have plenty of painters who never reach this point at all,
but remain always mere journeymen, in bondage to matter ; but those
who do reach it, instead of going on to the true consummation of the
roasters in painting, are a little overbalanced by soul and feeling, work
too directly for these, and so do not get out of their art all that may bo
got out of it.
The same modification of our Germanism by another force which seems
Celtic, is visible in our religion. Here, too, we may trace a gradation
between Celt, Englishman, and German, the difference which distinguishes
Englishmen from German appearing attributable to a Celtic element in us.
Germany is the land of exef^eais, England is the land of Puritanism.
The religion of Wales is more emotional and sentimental than English
Puritanism ; Romanism has indeed given way to Calvinism among the
Welsh, the one superstition has supplanted the other, but the Celtic sen-
timent which made the Welsh such devout Catholics, remains, and pves
unction to their Methodism : theirs is not tho controversial, rationalistic,
intellectual side of Protestantism, but the devout, emodonal, religious
side. Among the Gcnsans, Protestantism has been carried on into
rationalism and science. The English hold a middle place between the
Germans and the Welsh ; their religion has the exterior forms and appa-
ratus of a rationalism, so far their Germanic nature carries them ; but long
before they get to science, their feeling, their Celtic elemcgt catches them,
and turns their religion all towards piety and unclion. So English Pro-
testantism has the outiiide appearance of an intellectual ^^stcm, and the
inside reality of an emotional system : this gives it its tenacity and force,
for what is held with the ardent attachment of feeling is believed to have
at the same time the BcientiHc proof of reason. The English Puritan,
therefore (and Puritanism is the characteristic form of English Protest-
antism) stands between the German Protestant and the Celtic Methodist ;
his real affinity, indeod, at present, being ratlier with his Welsh kinsman,
if kinsman he may be called, than with his German. ,
663
THK STtlDV OF CKLTiC LITKltATURB.
Souitftimni un« it left in doubt froiu wlieace tie dtcck Aud Umit In
ncrmaiiism in us proceed*, nliciliiT ftoiii n Critic Rotim* or from x N
inun sniiice. Of ibe tnir tlciidy-|,'cing Grrrunii niilure tlic bane i\ a»
tvuMrkvA, H^kl comm^ninrM : titt^.ra mtaam no tnd U> it4 cnpnvitj' f(
p)iiliMi<lu ; ic ]i;u neither thft quick pirrceptiun of llitt Celt (o &uv« it
platiludc, Dor lliu ^t^cnuu^BIK«9 of lliu Nortiiiut ; it in oixly raieod gniduall;
out of it h}- science, but it jags (liTough almoet iuteruiinable plfttitndtt
fint. Tiie Kcgltili nature is not raised to science, but noDietliiiig ia ui,
wLctlier OJlic or Noritmn, seems lo >ct a bound to our advance id {lati-
tude, to tnako vjt eitlicr ahy rif pIiiiUii<)(>, nr iiitpatii,*iit of it I open an
Kngliili rend i II g> book for diildreii, nml I Grid th««c two cbnracterbtic
Mt>ri«« in it, one of tlicm of Kn^tiah growCli, tho oth«r of Gcrmtui. Taltt
ibfi Ktiglitih Rioij" firit : —
" A little b«y nccoiupaniod .I'tb elder si»tGr vliila ahe busted hendf
with tiie Jnbotirs of tbe Inrm, AKlting inc«lions nt evtry st«p, And Icamiiif
th« leBSona of life vriLhuiit bi-ing Kwnrc <>f il.
'"Wliy, dear Jane,' he said, 'do you MHtt«r good grain oo &»
ground ; woulil it not be butler to make good bread of it tlmn lo tbrow it
lo the greiidy cliiclcciib ? '
"'Ju lime,' leptipd Jani*, ' lb(i cliickens xvill gvow big, und cacb
tbeiu will fetch moiu-j lit tliu nini'](i.-t. Oito miixt tliink on the vnH lo
attained vritbout counting Iroublu, nud Imra to wait.*
"Pfweiving ft colt, tvliicb looked ciigrrljr nt him, llio little bfV
out : ' June, why is the colt not in (lie fitlda wiili [be btbourers helping
draw tbo cnrtii?'
"*The coU ia young,' iftplifid June, 'mid by must lift idle till
gfilfi tlie Dccesaory rireugth ; one mum nut nncrilicc llic fature (u
present.' "
The reader will eay that u most meua nnd Iriml itufl*. tltc
English nature in full forc« ; just tucb food u the Pliilirtine would
naturally provide for bis young. Hn will B.-iy be oua sew llie boy M
upon it growing up to be like bin fnther, to be all for biuinen, to dtaptM
ciiltnT>.', to £0 through bis dull d.tyn. and to die without having ever lind.
Tliul nmy b(i ho ; but now take tbe German slory (one of Kmnimaeber'aj
nnd Kce ilie diOcrcnco: —
*' There lived at tho cnurt (if Kinj; lIpTod a iieb man wlio was
king's cbanibLTluIn. Jle dotlied binmirlf in purple nud fine liuen, and
like the king hiniHclf.
" Once a fiitmd of liis youth, ivhom iie had not ecen for many year^'
came from a dietant land to pay Lim a visit. Thcu ibc cbaui1>eTlaiii
inrited all bis fricndn and mnJn a fe^ast in honour of tho stranger.
" Tlio tablex were CDTcriil with choiee food placed on disbea of oold
nnd Eilvcr, nnd lUc Bntst Vrincs «f all kliida. The rich man aoteatlhe
bend of ilic tabic, gltid to do the honours to bit friend wbo was sealed ff
bis right band. So tbey me nnd drunk, and were merry.
" Ulien tlie eti-nuger tuid to the dtauiU-rbin of King Herod : 'BicliM
TUB STUDY OF CKIjTIC MTERATUIiR. 553
and sijiciidour like tliine nre nowlicrd to he found iit my cotintry.' And
Iiu pi-ais^id liis greatness, mid cuUcd Iiini liappy abovt; iill men on cmtli.
" Well, the rich man took an apple from a golden vessel. The apple
was large, und red, and pleuMiit to the eye. Then a.iid lie : ' Behold, this
apple lialli rested on gold, and its form is veiy beautiful.' And lie pro-
tifiited it to tlie Ktranger, the friend of liis youth. The atrauger cut the
apple in tAvo; and behold, in the middle of it there w&a a worm I
" Then the stranger looked at the cliambcrlain ; and the chamberlain
bent his eyes on the ground, and sighed. "
Tlicre it ends. Now I suy, one sees there an abyss of platitude open,
and the German nature eivimming calmly about In it, -which Reeius in
some way or other to have its entry screened off for the English nature.
Tiie English story leads with a direct ia^ue into practical life : a narrow
and dry practical life, certainly, but yet enough to supply a plain motive
for the slory ; the German Blory leads simply nowhere except into
batlivs. Slmll we say that the Norman talent for aifaii-s saves us here,
or the Celtic perceptive instinct? one of them it niiist be, fiiircly. Tlie
Xornian turn seems most germane to the matter here iinmcdiiitely in hand ;
on the other hand, the Celtic turn, or some degree of it, some di'grce of
its (juick perceptive instinct, seems necessary lo account lur the full
dilRrence between the German nature nnd ours. Even in (icrmaiia of
pciiius or taleut the want of quick light tact, of instinciivc perception of
the impropriety or impossibility of certain things, is singularly romaik-
alitc. Ilerr Geninus's prodigious discovery alxiut Handel being an
Englishniiin and Shaksptare a German, the incredible mare's-nest Goethe
ITnds in looking fur the origin of Byron's Man/red — these are things from
which no deliberate care or reflection can save a man, only an instinct
c';in pave him from them, an instinct that they are absurd ; who can
inwgino Charles Lamb making Ilerr Gerviiius's blunder, or Shakspcai-o
making Goethe's? but from the sheer German nature this intuitive tact
Ketnis something so alien, that even genius fails lo give it. And yet just
whiit constitutes special power and genius in a man seems often to be his
blending with the basis of his national temperament, some additional gift
or grace not proper to that temperament ; Shaks]ieare's greatness is thus
in hi.H blending an openness and flexibility of spirit, not Englisli, with the
English basis ; Addison's, in his blending a moderation and delicacy, not
English, with the English baHJs; Burke's, in his blending a largeness of
view and richness of thought, not English, with the English basis. In
Geimany itseUJ in the tame way, the greatness of their great Frederic lies
in his blending a rapidity and clearness, not German, with the German
l)a.«is ; the greatness of Goethe in his blending a love 6f fornt, nobility,
and dignity, — the grand style, — with the German basis. Hut the quiek,
sure, instinctive perception of the incongruous and absurd not even genius
stems to give in Germany ; nt least, I am think of only one German of
gcniuit, I^essing (for Heine was a Jew, and the Jewish temperament is quite
nnolhcr thing from the German), who shows it in on eminent degree.
6U
nrnm
or ckIjTic i.r
i
if wo ftttcnd cloatly (o Ibo leriiis by wliiuli rcrcigHers wck to hit tf
t)i« iiniimtion which -we nod (he tiermans moke upnn them, wt ibkU ^
detect in thcso tema a ilillbrcacc wliieb makes, I think, in ftvour o^fl
the notion I am pmpoiitiriing. NMions in hitting off ooe aaotber't
cbarsctrn ar« apt, wl* all knnwr, to mizv thu unflattering side rather thu
ihti llHtteriiig ; ihe warn of rnAiikind alwxys do this, aiid iui]«cd thoj ntiUj
aw whikt ia nijvU, and not their own, in x dioiiguring light Tbtu rtc tMf-
eelv-n. Tor ioiUnce, popuhirly my *' the phlrgmatic Duttliman" rather than.
*' tlw Knsiblc DuUhinui,^' or " the grimacing Frenchrnso" raUier than "Iht
polilu Frenchman." Thererore neither tre nor llic Uermans ehould exHilj
ncci-pt thcdcKripticm'tttron^CTa girp of u.% hiil it in enough for my pttT^iBM
thut ilrangen, in chnntcterieing us with & Mrtun shade of difFor^nce, dd
8t any rate make it clear that there oppeantbia shade cf ditTerenre, Ihoogh
the ch&mctcr ilecIT, nhich they giro ua both, may be it caricature ntber
than n rnithful pictnre of m. Now it ia to ba noticed that those chorp
cbaerrera, the French^whc hitTc a double Inm for ihnrp obierralion,
tlicy hsTg both the quiet perception of the Celt and the Latja's gift
eioiniug plump n\Ktn ibi; foct, — it i^ lo be noliewl, I nay, llinl lliu Frenc
put A curioiw iliiitinclion in ihrir popnlur, depreciating, we will hope
inndeqiiate.Tvayef hitting off us and the Gprmam, While lliey talk of iLe
"Mfiw allemaode," they talk of the "gauchrrie angWae;" while iheyj
laJk of the " Mlemimd batottrd," they talk of tlio " AngUii OHpftr/i'l
wliilii they rail the German "niai»," they call the EngitahmAU **M/7a«
coii^ie." The difTfreiice between the epithela Jn/owrrf and
exactly gires the difturvnce in character I wiah lo leiiie; ialonrd tnt
heary and dull, ^m^^rv means hamiiervd and embarrassed. Tbia points
to n certain mixture and strife of clDuienti in the Englishman ; to the
clfwliing of a Celtic quickneu of perci^ptinn with a Gcimnnic instinct for
going ateadily along close lo ihe gmimd. The Celt, as we hare mm,
hss not nt all, in »pit« of his quick perception, Ihc Latin talent for dealing
with the fact, derterously managing it and making himaelf maatcr of itj
Latin or Lniiniied penplc hare felt ccntompl fur him on this account, !»»»
treated him us a poor creslurw, jueta« the Oeriuon, who arrivca at
in n dSflVrcnt way from the Latins, but ivho arrivca at it, kaa trratecl him;]
the couplet of Cbiesticn of Troyes about tlio Welsh : —
. . . Qalloif Hont iijia, par nstore,
riim fata qne Mtts cs [Atun —
Is well known, and expressea the genuine verdict of the Latin mmttJ
on ihe Ctills. But the perccpiivo instinct of the Celt fwla and aaticip4t«s|
though lie han that in him U'liidi cuta him off from command of ^h^
world of fact ; he sees nhnt li vrantin^ to him welt enough, hia mere Cje
is not leas 8hBrp,n»y,it is sharper, than the Lnliu'a. He is n quick geaiu3||
oheckmal'-d f^r w;int of rtrennousness or eli« patience. The Gennai
Itns not tlie Latin's sbarp precise glance on tlia world of iaci, an<l dex^
tcrouii behaviour in it ; he fiuablM with it much and l-ng, but his honeslj
and ]>nticiice give liim the rule of it in the long nm — % surer rule, ion
THE STUDY OP CELTIC LITERATUIIE, 555
of us think, tlian the Tjitm gets ; — &till, his behaviour in it is not quick
and dexterous. The Englishman, in bo far as ho is German, — and he
ia mainly German, — proceeds in the Btea(ly-going German fashion; if he
were nil German he would proceed tliua for ever without self- consciousness
or embarrassment ; hut, in so Jar as lie is Celtic, he has snatches of quick
instinct which often make him feel he is fumbling, show him visions of an
easier, more dexterous beliavionr, disconcert him and fill Iiim with mis-
giving. No people, therefore, are so shy, bo self-conscious, so embarrassed
as the English, because two natures are mixed in thetn, and naturea
which pull them such diStTent ways. The Germanic part, indeed,
triumphs in us, we are a Germanic people ; but not so wholly as to
exclude hauntinga of Celtism, which clash with our Germanism, producing,
as I be!ie^■e, our hitmour, neither Gorman nor Celtic, and so affect us
that we strike people as odd and singular, not to be referred to any
known type, and like nothing but ourselves. "Nearly every English-
man," Rays on excellent and by no means unfriendly observer, George
Sand, " Nearly every Englishman, however good-looking he may be,
has always something singular about him which easily comes to seem
comic — a sort of typical awkwardness {gaucherie ti/piqiie) in his looks
vT appearnnce, whicli liardly ever wears out." I say this strangeness
is accounted for by the English nature being mixed as we have seen,
while the Latin nature is all of a piece, and so is the German nature,
and the Celtic nature.
It is impossible to go very fast when the matter with which one has to
deal, besides being new and little explored, is also by its nature so subtle,
eluding one's grasp unless one handles it with all possible delicacy and
care. It is in our poetry that the Celtic part In us has left its trace
cle.nrest, and in our poetry I must follow it before I have done. So much
has had to be said by way of preparation, and of enabling ourselves to lay
the finger, with some certainty, upon what is Celtic and what is not, that
I have reached my limits without accomplishing all I intended, and shall
have to return to the subject yet once more, in order at last to finish
with it.
■
MATTHEW AHXOLl).
I
A KiKP fiiiuliiiiili-cta one Uny (lut iiilo mjr liituJ a m^'itic volumo prvUilj'
letlered and bound in green, saying, " 1 nin so foiiJ of lliia book. It lui
nil ihi: d«ar olJ ruiry laks in ii ; om- nevur lires of tlicm. Do tokc il."
1 curried tbu littli; book avtay witii mc, and »puiil u vvrj pleasant qniet
uv^ning nt lictinc by ilie fin', with H. at tlie uppoaiie coriutr, and otlier old
frirndi, wlium I fi-k I liad somewlinl neglected o( Jate. Jack and tbc
Bi;ansis!k, Vasa in Bcoia, th« gnllant and <iuixotic Giant-kilUr, and
dear(<!4t Cindeiella, wlium we erery on« of ws must have loved, I ahouU
lliiiik i.vcr since wo first kimw her in Icr litlle brown piuarotc : I woo-
dor«(!,as I ultiit iK«m all «p for lh(- nicUi hviwe«^ ttifir gracn board*, whit
it niM iliiit mHdv lliwe ■forir« no frrnEi aud m vivid, \Vliy did tiol tiicy
I'litl lo pi-cM, vunikIi, rsi>lod«, dijDpfM-iir, Uku so many of tlicir conl«'iniK>-
ruri 1^91 and ili^cendjinu f And yut I'ur from being Uirgoiien and |uis«iig
uiivny, it would eceni ai if cncli generation in turn na it cntnc into live
world lochs to be dclighh'il Mill by tiiR lirilliiint ]uig«nnt, ond novor lirea
or w<-ui it'll of it. And on tli4;ii' lude tlie jirinci'i and priuccuen iievvr weia
lo gM)W uny uldtr ; iho casllea and tbc lovely giirdena flourtirh wtUicut
iiCQil of repair or vhiiDWiish, or phimbera or glasivi-s. The priiiceesn'
gowns loo — Him, moon, and Htar-coloiir— do not wear out or pcua out of
laaliioii or require altering. Kvcn the »cv mi •leagued boot* da not npfxiar lo
be ttc worse for wear. Kiintbers of lealisLic stovies for tliildien have pajaed
nwny, Liltl« Henry uud bin Hviult, I'lxir llniiy and Lucy, have ray
nearly given up their littl« artless gliosta and prattle, and ceawd Dialing
their own beds for the inalmction of \czs excellently br«uglit-iip litltn \iojn
and giita, and nptwitlEUnding a very inU-mling article in the Sattard^
Jteview, il miiKt bu owned Umt Harry Sniidfurd and Tommy Mertoo ai*
not familiar playfellows in our uurdorica and scliookooinn, am) have paaad
Bomcwhat out of date. But not so all these centenarians — Prinoo Kiqtwt,
Carabas, Littli? R«d Riding-bood, Bluebciird nnd otli«ft. Tliej seea M
il they would never grow uld. Tiiey pluy with the cliildmi, they aiuiW
tiio ^Idt^^nt, tiicrc Kotnii* no eadlo ihcir fund ofapiritit and perennial yonth.
II., to whum I made litis remark, anid froin tlie o[>pocutc chiinDey-comeri
"No wonder; llm Btories are only bistoriea of real liring p<-raons turned
into fairy princes nnd princttai-s, FnJry Glories are evt-rywliCTO and every-
day. We aro nil prince.-^ luid princesses In dingui*e, or t^ren or wicked
dwarfti. All thmc hintoriu arc the bi.<tark>3 of bumnn n.iturc, which dou
not EMin to cbiuigu very much in a tliousand years or no, «[>d we don't h
gvt tired vf tbo fuiricD becniiae they arc m true to it." H
After tliis little ^uech of 11.'*, w» cp«nt nn unprofitable halT-liour
THE BLEEVISG BEAUTY IS THE WOOD. 557
reviewing our acquaiDtiuice, and cln«Bing them under their real characters
and qualitien. We had dined with I^rd Carabas only the day before and met
Puss in Boots — Beauty and the Beast were also there ; we uncharitably
counted up, I am ushamed to aay, no less than six Bluebeards. Jack and
the Beiinstalk we had met just Btaniog on his climb. A Ked Riding-hood ;
a girl with toads dropping from her mouth : we knew three or four of each.
Cinderellas — alas ! who does not know more than one dear, poor, pretty
Cinderella ; and, as for sleeping Princesses in the woods, how many one
can reckon up 1 Young, old, ugly, pretty, awakening, sleeping still.
" Do you remember Cecilia Lulworth," said H., "and Dorlicote? Poor
Cecilia I " Some lives are couUur de rose, people say ; others seem to
be, if not coultur de rose all through, yet full of bright, beautiful tints,
blues, pinks, little bits of harmonious cheerfulness. Other lives, if not
BO brilliant, nnd seeming more or less grey at times, are very sweet and
gentle in tone, with faint gleams of gold or lilac to brighten them. And
thi'n again others, alas ! are black and hopeless from the beginning.
BebidcB theite, there are some which have always appeared to me aa
if they were of a dark, dull hue ; a dingy, heavy brown, which no
bnppiness, or interest, or bright colour could ever enliven. Blues turn
sickly, roses seem laded, and yellow lilacs look red and ugly upon these
lieavy backgrounds. Poor Cecilia, as II. called her, — hers hod Always
seemed to me one of these latter existences, unutterably dull, common-
place, respectable, stinted, ugly, and useless.
Lulworth Hail, with the great dark park bounded by limestone walls,
with iron gates hero and there, looked like a blot upon the bright and
lovely landscape. The place from a distance, compared with the surround-
iog country, was a blur and a blemish as it were, sad, dient, solitary.
'Jravellers passing by sometimes asked if the place was uninhabited,
and were told, " No, shure — the fam'ly lives thear all the yeaurr round."
Some charitable souls might wonder what life could be like behind those
dull gates. One day a young fellow riding by saw rather n sweet woman's
face gazing for an instant through the bars, and he went on hu way with
a momentary thrill of pity. Need I say that it was poor CeciUa who
looked out vacantly to see who was passing along the liigh-road. She was
surrounded by hideous moreen, oil-cloth, punctuality, narrow-mindedness,
horsehair, and mahc^ny. Loud bells rang at intervals, regular, mono-
tonous. Surly but devoted attendants waited upon her. She was rarely
alone ; her mother did not think it right that a girl in Cecilia's position
should "race" about the grounds unattended; us for going outside the walls
it was not to be thought of. When Cecilia went out with her gloves on,
nnd her goloshes, her mothers companion. Miss Bowley, walked beside her
up and down the dark laurel walk at the back of the house, — up and down,
down and up, up and down. " I think I am getting tired, Maria," Miss
Lulworth would say at last. " If so we had better return to the hall,"
Marin would reply, "although it is before our time." And then they
would walk home in silence, between the iron railings and laurel-boshes.
I
As Cecilia wallccJ erectly hy Hub Bonley'i nde, tbe robk
.f billing over tlieir heails, ibe slogf orcpt sioopiiy along the patli under
the ahadow oC tixe gnus and the wcr(3i ; thrjr bcwd no HmndB cxm{«
tlie cawing of the birdi, nad tba distwit uonototious badting aolao cf tlu
gaidcticr ftnd bis boj digging in tho kiiclitft-guxleii.
Ccdlik, pc«ping into (lie lung ilnib d rawing -toodi on brr rctiini, migbt
[iviliups »«« bvr nioUier, er«ot and dignilied, at ber open tivdk, compouiiga
wriungr orocnng, re-readiog, sn andleos letter to an iDditTereat ooiuin ia
In-laud, with a single caodle and a imall piece of blotting-paper, aod m b
pen-wipor mada of rarvlliDgv, all spravl oui bofore bar. H
** You have com« bonifl earljr, Ci'cU," tuya ih« btdy, witttout looking
up. " Tdu had better muk« the invat of your time, and practise till tbi
draviDg-bdl ringi. Maria will kitidly take up your things." fl
And then in tlie abili twilight Cecilia in» doivn to tlie jangling iuslni-
maul, uitb the worn sillc llalingt. A IWdeil rack it i* g[)c>u wUcb bcr
fiii^era bad been dlAtended CTer qroo she can remember. A great inany
pcuple iliink there ia nothing id the world so good for children aa acoldingi,
whippioga, dark cnpbc«rd«, and dry bread and wnt«r, upon wbioh thef
expect tbeiu tn gmw tip itilu tail, fat, oheerful, ainiabl* mm and women,
and a great maay pooplc think that for grown-up young p«ople the aileooe,
tbo cbilbioM, thft monotony and Kidnees t>f llieir own fading twilight days
is all that ia required, lira. Lulworlb and Maria Dowley hi;r oompantoa,
Cecilia^a late govcratMs were quit« of thin opinion, llioy ihemiciveiy w)mii<
they were little gii'li, had been aUpped, Kiabbfd, locked up in eltwctx,
thnut into bed ut all corlH of boura, ilailcnei] out on iNickboarda, ttt on
higb aluoli (o piny the piano for days together, made to hem frilla Cre or
fix weeks long, and to learn immeiuc piucm of porlr^', hd Unit ihcy had to
tiCop at home all the aiWtiDoo. And tlioagh Mrs, Lu!wui-ih luid gmwu
itji sttipiii, luspidoot, narrow -minded, Boumd, ami orerbearing, an>) iL-kd
niitrritd for an MUbLisliinenl, and Mi» Bowlcy, her goremeaa'a djiughl«r,
hud lur&ed out uervouM, undecided, mdanchcly, und anxtoua, and had
norer married at all, yet they determined to bring tip Cceilia lu they
tbuniselvra had been brought up, und iiincerely thought (bey eonld not dio
bctC4-r. fl
WliKii Mm. Lnlwortii married, hIih aaid to Maria, ■* You mint ooms and '
lire with ine, and hvlp to educate my childron some day, Mariik Pur the
preeent 1 aball not luvo a, hunio oK my own; w« are going to reaidi) with
my iitisband'a annt, Mn. Dormer. She is & vpry wMllhy port*<n, (or
iidvaiiccd ill year*, bhe i^ grcutly nttnoycd with Mr. and Mm. John
Lttlworth'a vagaries, and the baa luked luc and my hufband to take their
T^mxf at IXirlicote Hall." At the end of u-n yeara Mm, Lulwortb wnrte
agua;— "We are now petmaneniiy eatabliahed in our aunt's bouse. L A
hear you are ia want of a tituaiion ; pray come and Kuptuint'^d the S
fiiucatinn of my only child Cecilia (ibe ia nnni^d al^cr her godmothert
Mrs. Dormer), She >■ now nearly ihre« yeara eld, and I Am'I Dut ah*
begins to require aoine diwipiine."
\
THE 6LBEPING BEAUTY IH THE WOOD. 559
Tbia letter was writteo at that same desk twenty-two ycaia before
Ct^cilia began her practising, that aulumn evening. She was twenty-five
years old now, but like a child in inexperience, in ignorance, in placidity ;
u fortunate stolidity and slowness of temperament had eaviid her from
being crushed and nipped in the bud, as it were. She waa not bored
because she had never known any other life. It seenied to her only natural
that all days should be alike, rung in and out by the jangling breakfast,
lunch, dinner, and prayer belts, Mr. Dormer — a little chip of a man —
read prayers suitable for every day in the week ; the servants filed in,
maids first, then the men. Once Cecilia saw one of the maids blush and
look down smiling as she marched out after the others. IMiss Dormer
wondered a little, and thought she would ask Susan why she looked so
strangely, but Susan married the groom soon alter, and went away, and
Cecilia never had an opportunity of speaking to her.
Night after night Mr. Dormer replaced his spectacles with a click, and
pulled up his shirt-collar when the service was ended. I^ight after night
old Mrs. Dormer coughed a little moaning cough. If she spoke, it was
generally to make some little bitter remark. Every night she shook hands
with her nephew and niece, kissed Cecilia's blooming cheek, and patted
out of the room. She was a little woman with starhng eyes. She had
never got over her husband's death. She did not always know when she
moaned. She dressed in black, and lived alone in her turret, where she
had various old-lash ioned occupations — tatting, camphor-boxes to sort, a
re:d old spinning-wheel and distaff among other things, at which Cecilia,
wlicn she was a child, had pricked her fingers trying to make it whirr
us her aunt did. Spinning-wheels have quite gone out, but I know of
one or two old ladii-s who siill use them, Mrs. Dormer would go nowhere,
and would see no one. So at k'ast her niece, the master-cpirit, decluri'd,
and the old lady got to believe it at laut. I don't know bow much the fear
of the obnoxious John and his wife and children may have bad to
do with this arrangement.
^Vben her great-aunt was gone it was Cecilia's turn to gather her
work together at a warning sign from her mother, and walk away through
the long chilly passages lo her slumbers in tlie great green four-post bed.
And flo time passed. Cecilia grew up. She had neither friends nor
lovers. She was not happy nor unhappy. She could read, but she
never cared to open a book. She was quite contented; for she thought
Liilworth Hall the finest place, and its inmates the most important people
in the world. She worked a great deal, embroidering interminable
quilts and braided toilet-covers and fiah-nnpkina. She never thought of
anything but the utterest commonplaces and platitudes. She considered
that being respectable and decorous, and a little pompous and overbearing,
was the duty of every well-brought-up lady and gentleman. To-night
she banged away very placidly at lihodes' air, for the twentieth time
breaking down in the same passage and making the same mistake, until
the dressing-bell rang, and Cecilia, feehng she had done her dnty, then
560
TUB SLBBFING BIUU rr IS TilC WOOD.
'hi3|
cxtii^ixbed hw C3it<ll«, ami went upRtaira ncrou tKe grcnl dilll luU, up
the bare oil-dotb gnllcnr, to bor room.
Most joung womca luve aonie pkasare, trbntevOT tlieir troubles vaj
be, in drctxing, niid prclly uiaketo and beitcU ftnd ribbons and n«cl(bcca. _
Alt uncottKioua lore of arc aad iatuilion lead* iodk of tbum, «ren pUi^|
onev, to iidom ibenwelrpa. Tiie ooloure and riW>on eni!« brigliirn bciglit
raco, cnlivea dull ones, dedc what is alnwly lovcibli'-, or, ni nil rrtnti,^
mA« Ui« moA of wbnt mnurinU tli«rc arc. Eren a in:^jpole, crawi
and (lowered and tatlily ribbcned, i* n plvaaiiig object. And, indeed,
art of doconition scvnis lu niu a chiirniin^ natnrid inetiiicl, and one «hl(
U n^t SMrly cnotigb encaiim^, nnd a gift nliicb every woman nhonlA
trj lo aoitiire. Some girla, Ulce birds, know bow lo wearc, ont of ends of
ngv, of ibtvada and inoroels anA Mmw*, a Iwaiitifiil whole, a irork of nal
geuiaa (or tlieir hn^iitalion. Fiivoliile*, my «oiiir>; waUo of tintr, MJ
ot here,— expense, vnniiy. TIic »trong-miiidcd dowi»gei-3 »1ia);c tlicirbcaJa
at it all — Mrs. Xulworib flnion^ them ; only wby bad Xature [xunte
Cftcilia'a cbcvka of brigbt«Rt pink, instead of bilioiu orange, like
Maria Bowk-y'e? nliy was bcr ha'is all ciiej) and curiy? and were hfl
vhite even leeth, and her dear gr«j eyes, vanity and friroltty too T Ocili
WBi iAt3icr too stout for ber age; abc had not miicli erprcwion in
/ncc. And no wonder. Tbcrc waa not much In he c^pruwire about ifl
Iter poor litlte ■tinted life. She could not go into raptures over tli
innl)cig«Dy aideboard, the carnphinc lamp in tie drewiog-room, the fimr-
poHt lii'dn iiidnoni, tlio kurc]-bu>i}t<)u wiibout, ilin ^[anrikli temple u-iih
yellow gUsa ^iiiidoHii, or tbe wigwam aumuicr-liouie, which vrvn tlit_
alternate boiiodarics of bvr diuly walks.
Ceciliii w:is not ultonod a fire to dress Iiereelf by ; a grim maid,
erer, nttuided, and I snp|>OK« t>hc was siuTouiidfxI, o» people aay, by
coniftiri. 'I'hcre wai a boraeholr wfii, cvwythtng wn« Iftrgi*, solifi, brr>«
ns I have said, glim, and in iLa place. Tbe rooina at Lulwortli Hall Hi
Dot take the impnes of their tnaiate, tlic inuinle whs moulded by
room. There were In CV-cJIia'a no young lady-tike triflea lying here i
there; upon ibe climt rjf dran-i-rs tlien* Miied ii inaliognuy woiU
bqu.ire, witb a key — that wu the only »tleti)]>t tit feminine eVgnnoe — t
liltlo liided chenille, 1 believe, wiis to be wen round tbe clock on ihc
cbi movy- piece, nnd a black oad white chvd( drc«Mng-gown andaasgly
licile pair of iilt;>porii woi'e set out hei'ore the toilet-table. Oti tlie h<^
Cecilia's dinner costume was lying — a rdckly green dre», irimiBed with
Uavk — and a while tlovfer for ber bnir. On the toiIet<tablc an old-
Cisliiotiei] JMspei- terpen t-iieckliico and » net of ameihysts were di«
fer ber to chooxe lioni, id>u iniltcns and o couple of bair-btnceleta.
girl wns quite content, and *lie would go flown gravely lo dinner, snootliic
out bci- liideoua tojigery.
Sirs. Dormer never c«me down before dinner. All day loi^ abe stayed
up in her looin, dozing and trying remedicn, and occaiionally looking oT
old ji-ain»!s and K-tlers ntitil it waa lime lo come duwnstain.
an old-
>. TIB
aootliiifl
TaB SLEBi'ING BEAUTY IX TriR WOOP.
lo lee Cocilia'n prett/ face nt one side of lh« tabic, ivliili; lic-r ucphnw cncvcd,
nud Mrs. Lulworth recounted any of the Blirring etc-niB of idc day. Slto
was used to the lifc^-shc was sixty wlien tlie/ came to her, alie wa» long
{lut dgbt^- Qow — (he lust twvBty year* hod been like a long sleep, witli the
drenm of wlmt happen*! when *Ji« wae alive Rtnl in t-lic worM conlinually
IMaaiDg before her.
VUita lb« Lulworlha first «aino to hn- slie had been in n low nnd
nerrons Btate, only Btipiilaled for ([uiet :tad pr^ci', and lh.it nn one vrtm to
come lo hcT hoiuc of moiuTiing. The John Lulworlhs, a cheery couplf,
bcok* down nt Iho em! of a. month or two, ninl pn-fvmjd giving up all
chance of thc-ir iiunl':; great iulicrltanw to living in such uttor silence
and Mclusion. Upon Cliarles, tho younger brother and his ivifv, the habit
tnd grown, until now anything clw would have b«n toil and ntisciy lo
them. Except the old rector from the village, ihc doctor now aod then,
no other hiimnn ercAture ever crosxed the tiireshold. For Ct'ciliftV sake
Min Bowl^y once yenturcd lo hiot,—
" C«cilin with her expectations hns the wliolc world before her."
*' Maria I " said Mrs. Lulworth severely ; aiiil iJidecd to this fboliet woman
it Meroed as if money would add more to her daughter's hnppincrss tlian tlio
delights, the wonders, the interests, the glamours of youth. Charlen Lul-
vorth, shrivelled, solfiali. dull, worn-out, did not trouble hia head about
Cecilia's happiness, and lut liis wife do u she liked with the giH.
This especial night when Cecilia eame dona in her ugly green drcsa,
it seemed to her ns if soinethiog nausual had heen going on. The old
lady's eyes liwkcd bright and glittering, her father seemed more aniniakd
tban ustud, her mother looked mysterians and put out. It might have
been fancy, but Cedlia thought they nil stopped talking as the came into
the room; but then dinner was announced, nnd her father oflp red Mr«.
Poraicr hia ana immediately, nnd they went into the dining-room.
It must have been fancy. Everything wds as u«uai. "I'hey have put
up a few hurdles in Dalron's field, I see," said Mrs. Lulworth. " Charl«s,
yoa ought to give orders for repairing the lock of the hamcse-room."
*' Jlavc th.'y seen to the punip-liandic?" said Mr. Lulworth.
"1 think itot." And then there was a dead silence.
"Pdntoea,** said Cecilia to the footman. "Mamma, we saw ever so
many aluga in the Isurd walk, Mai-in and I, — didn't we, Maria 7 I ihiok
tlicre are a great many slugs in our place."
Old Mrs. Dormer l«ok«d up wldlc Cceiliu wns apeaking, and suddenly
interrupted her in thn middle of her sentence. "How old arc you, child T"
aha Kid ; " are you seventeen or eighteen?"
"Eighteen 1 aunt Cecilia. I atn live-and-twenty," said Cecilia, staring.
" Good gracious ! is it possible'? " said her fatlier, lurprined.
" Cecil is n woman now," said her mother.
" Kive-and-twenty," wiid thw old lady, (juile eroBsiy, '• I had no idea
time went no fast, She ought to have been married laag ago ; that is, it'
abo nMSi lo marry at alh"
VOL. xiti. — KO. 77. S7.
•nil? sr,EE!'fso BeATTTT w TfH) T?wro.
*> Pt*j, my d«'ir mint, do not [ut mch m1<mu— " Mn. Lnlfrortli IjegtBil
" 1 <kiu't ii)laufl tu iiiarrj," «aid OcUi», pouting un onmgv, nod qtPWj
lunnoveil, aad itlie ilowly onrleJ tbe rind of her maogt in llie frfr. "Il
tkink people are rcrj sliiptd u> nutiiy. Look At poor Jane liiiiwiinlj j
ber biufaarKl btmls her ; Jntics vaw lior."
"S« j-ftu don't intend to mnrry 7 " Boid the old lady, with nn tM\
Inflection in bar Toice. " Ycung ladi«a wers ool to wisely bruugliMip m
tny fiarljr day*," anil ahv gnw m grest tigb. " I vJta rending an old
hi\it ihiB nioi-niog from Tour poor Gitber Charlea — ail about liappiiMi^
»)d ioTe in n cot, aad iko litilc ourl^-bouled boja — Jnck, you know, and
yourself. I Rhould rnth«r liki- to aee Jolin again."
" TVhal, my dtar aunt, after his unparalleled aadxeicy ? I i3uda» tin
tbouglil of Ilia impudent Utter sudcea mj blood boil/' excJumcd Mn
Lulworili.
"UoM ill" euid tbe old Udy. "C'toilia, my dcnr, yoa must kaoir
that your Tiaoic ima difcorered that the eiiuii wm not cut oflT from a
certain property wbich my father Ivll me, and wliicli I broaght to my
busbaad. lie liaa tliorcforc wHttea mo n very fcuMiicw-iikc IttbBw, inj
whiuh ho says ha wixlua fur no alc«i-iitioi) at prcwnt, bni b^^ga ifaat, ia lltM
cvmt of my making my wiU, I ahuuld remember this, nd not ccmpGoM^
luatlera by Itaving il to youraelT, as had beoo my intontiofl. I «ee nodsig
to olfend in the rei]ueit. Your mother thinks diCorenlly."
G«cilin wai n ansMd at bein^ told anything that aba only dartd
sgoio, Hnd opening a nida inouili, popp«^ into it actth m great pitei of
orange that nbo could not njicak for eonic nkiiiiites.
" Ceoilia hm oertaiiiiy ttltain^ y«ua of discrdton,*' enad ber gm*-
aunt ; " ahe does not compiwniae herself by giving any opinien oa :
flbe does not uiider£tuo<l."
KotwithHtanding her outwapd imperturbabiliiy, Ccdita wan
itirrcd and intcrcalcd by this history, and by tke little conTcrauiion
hod preceded it. Uor mothw was ntting upright m ber ehair
netting with Tigorgns action. Her large foot onlatietefacd, bor •tiff hmf
hands working nod Jerking monotonoUAly. Her father wn doriog In tit
ann-chair ; old Mrm. Dormer, too, wa« noddini; in htr eorncf. Ths
inonotonoiia Mints wn siitchiag in the Janiplight. Grey and bhci
■liodowa loomed all rotud bor. The far «Dd of th« room waa quite dack;
the grcjil vurtainn swept from their ancient eomioes. Cecilia, for the fint
time in all hvt life, wondered whether she ahould ever lira all ber liK; to
Ibja cpot, ever go away ? It eeomod impouible, nnnatunl, that •b« ahould
«vei do Eo. Hilent, dull oa it wns, she waa used to it, and did not knew
what wna auiaa
Young Frank Luiworth, tb« lawyer of llio family — Jobs Lolwonh'a^
eldest ma — it via who hnd found it all out. Hi* Ikther wreto ibii niilli
Un. £k>rojer'a pcrmitwvu he propcted coming down in a dny or two
ahow her tho papers, and to explain to her poMonally liow the
Blood. " My son end V' said Jclin Luhvortli, " botb Ad tbat tbia wo
T gr«B»-
• bS3H
in wbiti'S
THE SLUBPIKO DSAUTT IN THE WOOD.
fiG8
fiif more agr««nt>)« to our fwlings, and p«rh&ps to yours, than likving
urs« to the usual jirofeesioniU iiitcrrention, for wc h&rc no denra to
prcM WT claimR for the prtwnt, nnd we only with thiit in the ultimHlc
dinpOMl of your yroii^rty you »houM be nwire licw llio luniler rcnlly
•uuifla. Wb hikvc alwayti bci-n led to stippuw tliat tlie f^lnlo nctiudly iu
qncfttAD hM bven lon^ desiinrd liy you for your grnntl-nkcp, C«cilja
LutKonli. I hear JVom our old friend Dr. Hickii, th«t she is rL-marknbly
pnliy «sd rtry ominblp. Perl)nfi« «ich vague pMuiilnlitlc4 n« b««t
unnieDtiaaed, btil il bu ocenrrerl lo ntc tlint in tlie ev«iit of a inulual
ttndctsUnding »jiiiiiging up bftweeti tlie young full<f>, — my eon anil
your griw(l-ni«c^, — the connGOtiac mii^lit bo flgrvcablu to ii4 all, nnd It-ad (o
M ronevTul of tbst faroily iutcrcourw which hnii been, to my great regret,
aui^)cnd«l for ictnc time pAiiL."
Old Mn. Bonuer, In lior liaiky Itnlian hasdwrlllug, umrprrcl Itvr
ncpltcw's letter by rvturn of port :
"Mr tiKiB Nininw,— 1 mini arknonlMlf^ Iha receipt of yoor e(.utlQ of Uio laifi
iaitAat. Bv nil lucnas iuv itc ju<tt ttxk to pay n> h'a pn))<cM<l vuit, We mo Uirai
tklk 0101 bniiinin* niadCTii st onr Itimn^ vtA jamc Fnuida ran Ih^ iotrodnra) tu lala
nklivN. AUhi)Ui;li ft louts time luu elapKd stoce we hat met. liulLeve nir, my deu
nepbew, not cnmiiiilAil of brgoiia naixAt^cnii, titiii yonn very tmlT kIo-u/d.
"C. DOMtKl."
The letter wta in tbe postniaDs bag nlien old Mrs. Dormer infuruiMl
Mrfl. Clinrlca of wlint abe bad done,
Frank LtilworlJi thotighi that in nil hia lift ho had never bmb anylliing
dinoa], HD ciletit, *o neglected, as DorIicol« Park, vihea bo diovo up
fvw day«t aflpr, through tbo iron gatc« am) along tbo blnclc laurel
wildeTncnt -whLcli 1*^ to iho hoiLw, Tlio laarel hrnncbeB, all unpnined,
untrained, wcri; twisting mTagcIy in and out, irreatbing and int«rlacing
one Bnolhcr, clulcbing tender (liooiinga, wrc*iling with the young ook-
treea and the limeft. lie passed by black and iiombr« arcnues leading to
zaooldy temples, to cmmbling Hummer-housoA ; lie t»vt wliat had oiic«
b««n a flower-gnnJcn, now all nin to seed — wt]il, Rlrnggling, forJom; n
brokm-down bvndi, ii bcaip of liui-dlea lying on tlie groiini), n fit-ld-nionfv
darting iCTMa the road, a d<3solnt« autiiran sun fining upnn all this
nouldering oroamcnt and confuitirn. It K-cmcd more fbrlora and melan-
choly by conUvt, tomchow, ooining as he did out of tlie lovelifKt wuntry
sad natural ivraptncaa into the du'k and tangled wUdomma within the*c
llmeatone walla nf DorlicoLe.
The pamh of Dorlicote-cnm-Rockinglen lot^lca prettier in ihea&tiioiu
tliaQ at arty- other time. A hundred criap tints, jenellcd rays — grey%
browns, purplcn, glinting guldd, and ulvcra, ru«tlo nnd sparkle upon the
braoches of the Diit<treG6, of the hushes and tbiclcefs. Scfi blite mists and
purple tints rest upon the diatant hilla ; scarlet bcri-ies glow auioag the
brown leaves of the hc^gr « ; lovely mUta &11 aa<l vanish suddenly, rcresl-
ini; bright and sw««t ntilutnnal alghtl ; blackberries, stacks of corn, brown
leoTca crisping apoa the turf, gieat pears hanging sweplcoliig in tb« sua
ar^ the ooltage lintel*, cvvrs grating and vbisking their t/>iJx, blue smoke
27—4
564
THE SL£E1'D>'G SEAUT7 IM TUE WOOD.
CTtrling fiona Cbe UU (ana cliimoejm : all is peaceful, pnisperoiu, gol
You cui ace Uw «c» oa clear tlxja ln>m ccrtiuD kudls and hiUockB. .
Oat of all UieM pleawit sighu joong Lolwcrtli came into iha dnaxj
splendour, lie beard no soanda of lite — he saw no one. lIi* ooachnun
Itad opened tli« iron gate. " Tbey donn't l:cep no ooe to moiud the gate,"
■aid llie dnver, " only tradeaiDcn cuornit to Oi'uitse." Eren llio gardeoeF
and Ilia boy were oat of lh« waj; and wlien tliej got s^ht of the house at
tail, mnay of ibe blinds veto down and Bbutters ^ut, and only two ehiio-
nc^'B were BinokiDg. Tbcre waa some one living in the place, howerer, for
a watch-dog who was Ijrios asleep in hit k«DDc! woke up and gave a
heart-rending howl when I'rank got out and rang at the bell.
lie bad to wait ao immense time bcibrc anybody answered, oltliough a
little page in buttons come and atared at him in blank amaaement fnva ou
of the baoGtaent windows, and nercT moved. Hirough tiie same window
FVank could we into the kitchen, and he was anrased when a td>;cpy (at
eook came up beliind tlie little pag« and Languidly boxed his ear^ aad
eeaaed to ordez him off the premiaes.
The butler, who at last answered the door, seemed utterly taken abod:
— nobody had cont'd for months past, and here waa a perfect atningor
tflking out hi* citd, and atking for Mrg. Dormer as if it was the niMl,
natunil tliitig iti tlic world. The undcr-butler was half-aaleop
pantry, and had not heard the door- hell. I'lte p>g« — the very eame w1
caro bad been boxGd^-cnme wondering to the door, and went to ascertain
whether Mi3. nnriiiiT would see the gentleman or aM.
" Wbitt a vault, what A catacomb, what an ugly old i^Ace t " thot^bt
Frank, as he waited. lie heard steps far, far away: then came a loog
ulence, and then a heavy tread >Iowly approaching, and the old bader
bedkonod to him to follow — ihrongh a cobweb-colour roAin, through a
brown room, through a grey room, into a great dim drab drawing-room,
whcro the qH lady wM titling alooe. She had come down her back staira
to receive him ; it was yeiim since alie had left her room before dinner.
KvvR old ladiee luok kindly upon a tall, well-built, good-lookiagi
good-humoured young man. Frank's nose was a little too long, Us
nimith a little toe atmight; but he was a bandjwme young fellow wili
a charming munncr. Only as he came up he was somewhat ^j aad
tindceidrd — ha did not know exactly how to aildic^K tlic uld lady, lids
WAS hia great-aunt. lit! knew nothing whatever alteut her, but she
was very rich ; ebc hud invited him to come, and the had a kind fSM, bo
thought : should he, — ought ho to embrace her— perhaps be ought, and
he mode the slightest pouible movcEneot in this direction, lire. DorakCr,
divining his object, piiahed him weakly away. " How do you do 7 No
cmbracea, thank you. I don't care for kissing at my age. Sit down—
Iherc^ in thnt ohnir npposile — nnd now t&H mo about your &th«r, ud
all the family, and about this ridiculous discovery of yours. I den^
believe a. word of it."
The interview between tlicin wns long and satidfactory on the whole
I
I
The unoon.'cious Cecilia Bn<l Misj Bowleg rcturaed that nflcrnoon from
their uiual Atring, nttil na it happcn<,'<]T Ccnitin nid, "01i,M.irin ! I left my
mitums in the (Irawing-rooin, lut iiiglit. I wilt go ant] fvtch tlicin." Aiii]
litllo thinkJDg of what waa awuitiug Iicr, hlte ilang open t]te door noJ
marched in through tlio anto-room — mushroom hat ami brown voil,
goloetiea atid ilowily gown, ^<i usual. ''WItat b this?" tKouglit youn^
Lulivorth ; " wliy, who would have aiip[>oseJ it wiw such a jirftty girl?"
for tuddenly the figure alopped ahorl, and a lovely fresh liice looked iip ia
uller amnzomcnt out of tlio hideous {Usfpiisc!.
"Thri*, don't Btare, chiW," «aid thd old lady. « Thi« U FrnncU Liil-
worlli, a very intelligent ;oiiDg man, «-1io has got IioM of yoiu fortune
aod ruiii<^ all your chdnccs, my dt^ar. lie waiitfd to oinbracc mv juMt
DOW. Francis, yotk nmy as wt'll salute your couEia instead : Bhe la much
mora of nil age for such com jilini cuts," said Mrs. Dormer, waring her hand.
The iiBpasaivo Cecilia, perfectly bewildered and not in tho least undor-
Kmding, only tamed her great aleepy astonLtlied vy«a upon her cousin,
anil itood perfectly still as ifsho was one of thoso bcauli{\il wax-dolls one
tecs Hliick up to be starod at. If she had been surprised before, utter
con>ccrnnlioR can scarcely convey Iilt stale of mind when young Liihvortli
stepped forward and obeyed her aunt's behest. And, indeed, asli-ongor-
minded person than Cecilia might have been taken nbock, who had comn
into the drawing-room to foloh bor mittciis, and was met in auoh an
astounding fashinii. Frank, hairimighing, half kindly, seeing that Cecilia
t Blood quite still and atarcil at liim, supptui^d it wua expected aad did as
I he wofl told.
I Tha poor girl gave one gasp ofborroi*, and blnnlicd for tho first time,
' I bolieT«, io the courso of her whok ealstejice. Bowley, fixed and oitea-
moathedfrom iho inner room, suddenly ilcJ with a scream, which recalled
I Cecilia to a somte t>( outragoil propriety : for blushing and blinking moro
) deeply, she at last gave three little sobs, and then, O horror 1 burrt into
UanI
" lUghty-trghty ; what a much ado about nothing I " Kiid iho old lady,
loeing lier temper aud feeling not a liltlo guilty, and much alarmed a« to
what her niece Mrs. Lulworth might say were she to come on tlie aom».
" I beg your pardon. I am so very, very sorry," suid ths young man,
qnileDonfasedtind puzzled. "I ought to have known belter. I frighteiied
yoa. I am your coiuiiit you know, and really — pray, pray excuse my
idity," he Raid, looking anxiously into the liur placid faco along which
tears were cooniDg ia two streams, like a child's.
"Such a thing Devcr happened in all my lifo h^oK," uld Cecilia.
*' I know it tH wrong to cry, but «wdly — really "
"I,.fave off crying directly, tniss," said her aunt, testily, " and let ui
have ao more of this nonsense." The old lady dreaded tho mothcr'a
nrrival every instant. Prank, half laughing, but ({uite unlinppy at the
poor girl's disticao, had taken up his hat to go that minute, not knowing
what dse to do.
566
THE CT-EEPTNG BEAUTT IS riTK WOOD.
"Ah 1 yoa'n going," eaya old Mi-s. Donner; "no wonder. CectJl^
j'cxii bare driren your cotuia niray by your nxJODou."
" Fm not rude." M>1)b«d Cccilin. " I can't h»\p cryLng.**
" The girl U a grialcr idiot iImh I tonk her for," «t*it^ lh« old Wy.
" Slio bsa been kept h^ie lucked up, outil ihe has not a siqglo idett leftia
livr ally noddle. No manofBcnse oiuld andurc bet: iov lire aiuiut«i> Yoa
Trisli to lenvc the ptiu;«, I mw, nnil no wonder f "
" t really think," said Frn&lc, '' that under lh« cirauaulancea h » lb*
l)cst thing I cnn do. Ittiss Lnluorth, I nm sure, would v'uh tae to go."
*' Certainly," said Ocilia. " Go stray, pray go away. Ob, how ml\j
lam."
FT«rc vraa a catulroplio I
Tho poor old fitlry was nil puxxlM nud bewildered : bar art« w«ra
powerieu in tbU emergency! Tli« princ«aB bad awakened, but in tnn.
Tlie prince atiU stood hy, dislreaBed and oonounipd, feeling horribly guil^,
and ycl scarcely able to help lauEliiag. Poor Cealia ! her nunt'a rcpmadies
liad cnly bewildered her m»r« end morv; and for ihu first tino in her li&
aha wns bowild^rod, disuompowd, furgotAi! of hoitrt. h Kan tlio hoar of
CAli>theiiici ; but lAit» Lulworcb forgot eirerytfaiii;; iliai might bare been
expecled from n young lady of h«r admimble bringing-np.
Fairy talea are never v«ry long, and tbia on« ought to come to an end.
Tbo prinoeae was awake now, and htt aimplioity and boanty touolied U»
young prini-«, who did not, I think, rcjilly iutcnd to go, tlioo|^ ha lack
up liix liat.
Ccrlftlnly tlic story would not have been worth the telling if Ihoy had
not been married 50«a after, and livod happily all Uie rest of tbi»r livo.
It id not in fiury taks only that thinga full out m one oouM wish, awl
indeed, il. and T. agreed the other night that fairies, allhoogh iavinbl^
had not entirely vanished out of the land.
It is cci'i:iinly like a fair^' tin ii £ form nt ion to eca Cecilia now-a-daya hi
Wr own home with li«r children and Iiuthaiii) about her. Bright, neny,
full of sympathy and interest, Khc arrins to grow prettier ercry minute.
When Frank fi^l in lore with hor nnd proposed, old iin. Donner
iiaiated upon instantly giving tip tltc Dorlicoio Fiirm for the youag
people to live in. 3Ir. and Mrs. Prank Lulworth are ohli^ to lirfl h
London, hut they go thpr« erery (nimm&rwith their children ; nnd for mam
yean hIW her marriago, Cecilia's godmother, who took the opporiuiuiy
of the wedding to break through many of her recluM hahilti, twcd to oonrt
and see her erery day in n nasgnificent yellow chariot.
Some day I may porhapa tell yoa more about tha lairiea and enchatit
ing prinoesses of my acqufiintanc^
I
I
I
m
S^houolit »m\ JCitiigiiajg^.
VvU. hait s century ngo, Dogald Steuart, in his Philosophical Essayn,
r^mkiDg of an act of the Immoa iindcrBtan^ng manifcatod iu lan^ua^e,
calla il « myaUiry yot U> be cxphinvd. Ho wa« quite coDviactid that the
existing c'xi'IaTiatiims wi-re onlirtly wiile of llio inRrk^that the meaning of
A aet)l<L'nc« was neither the iiggreguU uf the moaoiags or tbe sertral parUi
oTspeecb, nor tbo remit or a comparison bt>twcen two of the pacU eoding
in the nffimi&tioa or denial of their agrcctncnt by mcaoa of a verW copula.
But whUc he sppnkn coiitcmpluo'wly of those cxpln.natif>ii«, he givM none
ofbli owQ^ie f^ejiiA to tiilak thct oxplnnnlion i in[)ot»!l>lc. Is it io7 Of
course, io ihitt, lis ui ru<Nit wtltcr iiiiialcie», ve coaie at last to grovind tlint
ire oumot penetrate ; but so far as tb« phcDomenoo can be explained, it i»
ibe purpoae of this paper to aliow that ahice bis time it lias been expbiiueil.
And if tho cxpUnntioo hM not been iccetvcd to as to be built upcu
UDivcmally In works of oOucaUon, it id not ihnt ila truth hiu htS'u or cnn
be Aucceal'iilly qucstioacij, but that, ioaBcnucli aa it would interfere with
and set awdo all Ibut hibt been hitliorlo docnicd fiindainenlal in these
worl!,% there rniwl arise, a.i a prepartilioii for ilie change, an apparcnl
DccCMity for it, vprlngiug from progress in ether dopnrtmcnts of Ictimtng.
Kow, it luny be safely affirmed that there is very vide evidence of
such progicfiti, aud the pagei of this Mngnzinc bear wiLacsH to it. Two
tirticies nwy bo e«p«eially referred to, — ono in thn number for May, 18C2j
which dcKribej aome ciu'ious experiuienta by Dr. Katmiufiul cf Krlangeiii
1» aaci'Ttain the inner lifo of new-born inluiitM; tho oUior in the naiiil>eT
for September, 1860, on "Imluclion anil Dediir^ion," nignwl, Juxtus Von
Liebig. AdoctriDu whldi liiey eubslnnlinle, tlioiif^h they do mil expri^ssly
rof«r to itf miut be menUonc>d as a truth whicli tlicy include, aanely,
wliai has l!ten culled the rcUttvlUj of liumtin knowk-Jgc, in contradistinc-
tion to iMliiidiec knowledge, which la.>t ia given to brutes, nnd (with an
exception li> bo jirew.'utly noUecd) to brutei only; eilhiT with lifv origi-
nnUy, or with the development of their sentetiun-t. Aa to man, the
doctrine of the relativity of his knowleilgo i» ft point on which philosopltcrs
in thin country are nt cmo, however it may hxru to make ila va^ among
th« i)n|iiiilu9upliical inullittiJu ivilh wliosc attongeet prepoBBeaatana it ia at
war. Bay to any ordinary' thinker tlint a man born blind can never know
what light il, and you lay whaJ is at once admitted ; but aay tliut neither
can be know, that ii, be cou»oiou» or nware of ttaikaoM, and you arc tnot
by a atarc of wondering incredulity. What ! not know darkness wlien,
wfatther he opena his eyelids or keepa them nhut, darkneeaia before him
noil Btouod him V That ia prcciaely tlie rcoton that he cnnnol kpOT it —
5M THOUGHl' A3SD TJtSQU&OS.
canoot know the thing ilacli, ihougli tic am clau it witb tbi&gfl whicl
docR knew, snd tallc nlioui il uitli as nmcli rationality as lua dear-seeng
uctgliboiira. For clarkiiess is tlic privation of light ; sai though it Lb his
peculiar position to be nnablo to <>xpmenec tha privation of wlut he
never bad, yet be koovrs tlie relation absttsctly from lli« things WcaoK
he knows cxpcrimcntnll^- other things that stand rclutcd in tlic same way
— nlfiDCe, for example, nn ihc privatipn of sound ; omptjr ffpaeo as the
priva^oQ of that which fiWud Jt or cim Jill it; tcciitlenntu as ihe priratiw
or absence of tceut. Ami tki^, univcraally, iti the nature and oharacter t^
hntnan ksovkdge. Wv know nothing as of itself, but onljr as it atands
out in Eomc relation lo iinotht^r thing; in otiivr wordit, th« htuiuin u&dcr^
standing muat have premisea before it, or it does not act — it is dormant till
appointed or adctjuKtu premises aiisv. In only one particular does the
huniEia crcaturg receive knt'wkdge, in lh« earlj' ftogc of liia existence,
imniodtutcly with tenHBtion, as irrational creatures rIwbj^s receivo it, l^ai
waaaaid above, not at once will) life, yet aa their sensntionH rip<^. Itms
oMertained by the experiments reported in the former of the two pspen
to which allusion has biK-n made, lliat while the new*boTn btbo seeks its
first food instinctively, and lins kiiowli^go of it Inimedintely through the
Cleans of taaU>, yet as to its other ecusntions, ihcrv was no evidence to show
thut any knowledge sccomponicd them. Of man, tlit^, it may be aud that
wlien newly bom, bo hag cvcrj-thing to learn but Ihe perception of hii
lirst food ; and witliout that p^^rceplion he would perish almost aa aoon as
he exi^te.
But Horuo ruimidnblo (lue^tiona arise if wo ndniit this atalemeot If
man's earliest existence is sensalionnl only,1iow does it become intellectual
also 7 And having become intellectust aa well ns eenaaticnal, how is it
thai our liirly-soqiiired knowledge is not separable at will from our sensa-
tions, but has the character and cOcct of being iosttnctiTe, aa perceptian
in irrational creatures ahvnys is? These questions physiology, in its
pTi>jient advanced Mate, ia quite able to solve. Tlie solution ctuinot be
entered upon here, but it amounts to this : that our direct or real iCBsa-
tiona — tliose, to wit, which are prcvduced by outward chueos — byrepclltian
in series, generate from within unreal or ideal ciTccts, and thc«c take place
of tlie real when the latter fall away from the aeries, so Ibnt the real and
the unreal, the substantial and the ideal, now stand forth in contrast, and
the one is known because the other is known. Dnt the act of the und<T-
«tanding whiuh yiuldii tliLs knovrledgo having Tulfilkil its end, needs no
repetition, any more than a syllogiMu needa repetition at full when its
conclusion is establiihed. The real or the ideal sensation then by ila mere
presence brings up the acquired knowledge, and thenceforward nun's
being is iiitellcclual as well as ecnsational ; that is to Kiy, ho now knows
the outward world (listiiictly frnin himself, and in prepared lo acquire bjr
degrees the further knowledge of it whieli awiiii<i the occasions, and these
come in hia way sometimes eo that he cannot escape ihera, sometimes m
that be has to choose bis premises, Eometimes by a chance that fiillB app>-
I
I
TROUGUT AND LASGUAOE: flfi&
reotl; (o him iitcin«, sometlnKJi hj wiUI p<i«ticnl eurmiac, of whicli kind of
Bartniic tliA philoiopliy of PUlo .ifTuri]! t}io inwtt splendid «XAnipIe in Uie
histoiy of liuiiian tliouglit ; aaJ in oiii- day, we bounl tliat they nre some*
timcx nctnincil by sQit^ntlfio proceai, tbat in, by the surmiw of n previously
ducipliiii:d miud, followed and catablisltcd, if eslnbliftlieil, hy Baconian
rci«arcb. ,
Tlint wliKt phyiitolog^ iii lliim nblu to tniuv lo its b«gintuiig in ibe Inio
cxpUmttion wc have ground in two dircclioas to assert : flral, tx-caiiM
miluu man from the beginning obtained hia Icnowlcdgo diffcrentlj from,
brutes, be would not be the only creature capuble of rattonnl Inngnago;
and aacondly, bccnuic, while the knowledge wliii;h u girca with tht girt of
\i(a to other crentarea is at once adi^uate to the vntU of their being, ta
tlint ibfy are never nbic of tlicmselvcs to alter or increiiKc it, the know-
ledge which miin gcta ho gets by degrees, nnd nlwaya under the liut>ility
to error. Wh-it, iiideetl, liii* heeii ihe pmgresn of knowledge up (o llie
prcMnt lime but the cvrteclion of uiiauiidttmtuadiiigti uriiing out of unwor-
nuUsble aasumptionf of pr(?miB?«, k'Hving us in this condition — t}iat how-
ever good may seem our pn-ecnt ground («iid the goodncas i» attested by
the fruit — the practicnl bon4:fiu it yields), yet wc «« never niic that a
future geut^ration will nut nee, under other relalionx than we oce, those
vui-y tliiiigs voiicorniug wliidi wc arc at present nioKt atetircd ? Tliiit ix to
aiMrt, in other wonU, that although, in the proceia of Deduction, or
giving of our knowledge forth or out, wc cannot err with relation to the
premi«ea wc count on having attained, yet in tiie previous proccm of
iMDCCHOKjOr drawing of our knowledge in, we are always liable to ern^r.
Thus fur wc hvk\e led the reader on ground catablialivd by viewa
already opened in the pages of thia Magazine. It remaina to shovr thai die
actual niiniHtry of language to thought aocords with these views, and fii-4t
to aaseit — ^wliat indeed is never denied — that Uaguagc is used for t)ie
two purposes n&mi-d, that is to say, for iNtlMction and for de^iuctwn. Jt is
when used for the JatU-r purpose thai we kIuiII have lo discredit the
existing modes of cxplnaaliun, and to substitute quo that shall adapt itself
to ibv vxigcney.
Wh«n we deduce (tliat it, bring foiUi) wliat we kiww and wish lo be
known, we put paits of speech together in order to make the whole
speech by which it shall be signified. Now tliti knowledge or meaning
we wiaL to convey is one and singular — why, then, in trying to OHivey lE,
do we tiae aa expression made up of parts 7 Not certainly by prcfcrencej
for suppose the metinJng to IkC alri-ady provided with some one indivisible
expreaadon, there m no doubt that llic oue single cxprenion would bo uacJ.
A Roman of old said tMrio when the occasion to say so arose ; on the
occasian arising to an KngUaliman, be puts lliTee parts of ^ech together
and aays / cifn Aunyry. But in the latter case, is not the meaning as much
oneandindiviiiibleasin the other? No, will bu the common answer; for each
|nrt of speech has its ncparatc meaning, and it is by putting these meanings
togetlier tlutt we gel the whole mcaniug. A very little ccnsidcmtion will
•i1— I.
MO
TBOnonT ASD LANCrAGE.
i
■how thnt this cxpluntion cannot Mnnd. It U tme that /, nod tm, Bsd
bungri/, baTfi eadi a aqianite nieftninfc, btil neb word, by lU vny grun-
nutical cbaracler aa a part of apeecb, and not tho irboto speech, foroei u
to vait the result. Lot the tpc«l:pr atop at /, and tiio baaror asks, Well,
wlat alioul I ? Let him atop at / etm, and a sinitar quratioa a paL
And when the whole speech is formed, baa lh«re been, in corrnrpoitdaao;
with the addition of parts, an aildilion of the meaning nr iho parUl
Quits the coDtrarj — the effect baa becD Bubtractton, not additioo. TUl
/ is joiiioil to am, and am to /, the term / hns no mMning vhieh corr»-
■ponda to anjlliing tbat is Itnown or can Iw kiiowu in the whole oonpaa
of nature as oatiire t-xi*t« for tw, iDiutmuch as there is no audi Uiiag ati
ponoa who is not an individual, while /, in Uia ahatntot, ia gnNtil «r
univenal in meanin^t- So am stands lor exiiit«nce abalracled from arajr-
tbiag «xit>litig in particular; an abstraction having nothing oomaponditlg
to it in nature. 'Dicse abstract terms, then, with Ib^ abstract meaninga,
havo no \»]uc in thv dcductin: procoaa but sa premises oat of which
■paeial meaning* sliall nriac, and whtn that meaning ia yielded, tbe
pretniaes cease to have aeparat« meanings. The renaining part of speech,
hungry, aignifieB being Hungry ubBtractcd from every one that httngen;
but iu joining it to /•am, wo take ita atistraot meaning awny; and anr
tlie tliri^e parts of spoecb are one expieeaion w!l1i onf: ineatiing, whoM
partft are eepnrately uicaniuglcas. In point of fact, witb regard to tbis
particulnr example (imd the example u nnythlng but aingular), custmn
baa rendered ns inattentive la thi; meanings of iho ecpaiate portai, so thai
tho English cucprrasion is, to nil intents nni pnrpoaaa, na nacb a word oF ^
four unmeaning syllables as is tbe I.ialin nn«. f
Now, tbo cfivct bera aawiTted as to the junction of the parts of Ape«cfa
in this iDstan«4<, is the effect cnivebsau-t of such JnnctioD. Whcnenr
we put two parta of apeecb together which are fit, as we aay, (o mab
aeitM, this aenee is on«, ond the expree«i«n i« rne : — if you divid<
tbo expression, J' oil do not divide the meaning; meaning haa no partt;
you do but go hnek to the meanings out of which the special meaniag
has Bprnng. If I put together the two parts of f>p<«oh, blaek and hirJ,
to form the one name for the one thing, hiacb no longer ^[diIIm anyihtag
that ia black, and bir^ no longer aignifics any bird ; what waa geneml in tba
meaning of oauli part has flown off; hlack rectricts^irf/to the special toeoiun^
and &in/rcstric[a£rai'iE:^aDd wcbnvoone nnmooftwosyliableaoatJie effect.*
* lltia frtrt nilmils of the fnllontng i11u6tntli»ti : —
T«t Dit two circles rcprcwat IHo obstraet meaninp of two parts nf npcrch. Sa
they are not titled (o mi^ tense, the}' ciu bat stand sldo bf Bi(l(>. ai tc tbe flnt
of plaeing then) i but if tbejr have thnt pntioni AtnMS it will be beoaaae each i
Tiioncnr a»d lanocaoi:.
Bat see Trbat is the consequence of the nndRTiiable (act. If parts of speech
M fiiist u th^ arc put togetlier jk'IJ meaning more and more specinl, nnd
ilifit upecinl mcnning U always one, then n Iodj; diecoiirsp, if iu ptirUt nro
logicilljr AS wvll us grammaiically put togetlifir, will be but ax one wont
lor the one ^vcini abttc of tliouglit aUalncd. hat \ia sec liow tliin applies -
to a syUopsaa ibrraallj ilrnwu oaL £iw^ won is a iro/Aer. Bj out
doctrine tliia propaiitian is oas exprenlon far the one Bpecial meaning
flllAincd from gcoonl piremiac«i onii tbc foUowiag ia another auoli «xpre8-
sion :— f'liw^ ne^Tro is a man. But tho tnomont of uadorttanding tlioso
special ntcatiiiigB relatively is tlic moment of undi-TBtaiKliiig a «liil nioru
■peciitl meaning out of thctn, nnd whnllifr wn e?;prc»i thia result in a third
pix>position or not, the result— thai in Uiq knowledge attained — ^remaltu,
niuDel}', tliut every negro ia a brollier. Obserre liow the effect woiiJd fail
if, after saving, Every msin is a brotlier, w« were to wy, Eeeiy vfffro ig
wooUg-headed, Wull aixl good, vruuld be the obaervation cf our respon-
dent, but what then 7 There ia no result, no one truth included in tho
two, and we leave the froposilions granimatically, as ibey arc logically,
distinct.
Wo have nothing difU;n.'nt in cfficl when, ii«teail of logically rehited
propoaitions, wv put fgtthvr loglcul!/ rijbtecl pnrlsof eLoiplei- grammnduil
characlt-r : for inilturicc, largi ciroUi. Here the two parts yield one
special meaniDg— conoluaioD, if we chooe"- to call it bo— what vnw general
in tbc meaning of each being sunk by tlic mutunl restriction. But now,
Attctqpc to put toguthcr ttptnre and driUa ; and iliisi, in msny ianguagai,
yoQ can <)o efTcciually, a* fur «« grammar in cotic«r»c<l, by making the
iidjeclire sgrw with the aubatunlive in uumber, gondttr, and cmc; but is
Ui«u any logical result 7 The two parts retain their separate meanings,
just as do tbc two propositionfl in the preriotu example
■one of the tiling meant hj tba odicr, and the pustng of tme cirrlo portinll^ over tlie
oUmt k) a> Io cxwte a t\tuce wtiidi tlic^ tioUi LncIuiR, wliite «tut luinniTu of «wh
drola falls awa^ and l< jut, will ^omuipcind to tbo proccM iatondad to be illaitWed.
When, Iioircvur, one oT iho two juirt* lus a prirftiive looatiiBR. «Qcb m v« And
to no, nol, dii, tfn, in, k*^, tli« illiiiilrntion iiiusl be moilirivd n tillli;. Tliu i»n« circk
taut thai go, not partially, bac qnitu over tLc other, >o ai to obliterate it. Still
we |[ct ihii efFcet— a tpedivl nieiiubg out of Iwti prevlotui mcoulngf : for ihu meiininK
obliuratHl, nocrthitlct*, rrKtrifls llist irhirli nblitcrntca it, and m from no imtt bodg
m gel aohody; fruni no nnd thing, ni'lhin-j ; fmin <run ntiH mm, rannnt, fnim (/it and
Jain, Mtjoimt frnm an nnd happy, wihappi): frnm in mid ffIori«U», mytorieiut from
yHmif an<l k*t,/rienillei*.
In the iiulancts hvm i;i*«n llirrc is this pccniiirity, tlint th« pramieM of tlia
aprcul traniiins nro not nrilicn prpiuttt«lf , but arc j^iinud «» aa to ricld at onee tli<
one upreaiion for tlia ow meaning. This may be done vbtn the mcaiiiaff hu to
often otfCBfTpd chat we no Innenr niwd tbe premiaaa huulinit to it ; hot wbrtbor it tw
done or not, the firinciple of inch Junction ncconipantM tvtrj act cf Io|;iAai devvlop-
nent. Fat inttum'^, rr>ni n't and man we f^t the part of irp?Ci?h nt-miani ffoni r/niti
I nnd Sappy, the pail of «|icrrli jniti-kappjn tram U luid jvite-ttappj/, tho part of
sjicccb iM-quitt-lmppg ; nnd fniiii nri-rxoa and U'^ite^appy, [liu compklcd spwch.
I BdI tiva cbiR completed ipnrh bccomu a part of ipcccli if followed ot precvtlcd bj
L ft pari that makcx «]uc witU it.
THOUOI
It kppcaiit cltnr, tli«>, Utal lli« t>ro«css or putting i>Art8 of sp
tr>gcl)icr ill onlcr to rea<^ n meaning is not a proccea in which we
meaiitiig to meaning, 1101 tlic xtry reverse. There b, Lowcvcr, anodicr
wny oraccounliitg for what lake* phtcc, noi ttiis wo kavc to ^SAmino; for
wliich end wc will go b:iek to our lirct example, / am hia^ry. I Wtv, it tc
wid, / in ihc Kubjitct, lianfjiy lh« predicate, and am Ifac copula. Hy using
llicic lu inatramenlii in tltc opci-ation,wc arc enid to institute a ooiupu-iKm
between the sahject and the prgposed predicate, and, nfler due oonndera-
lion, we alGmi their ngroenient by means of tlie copula. If ttiia U a lm«
dofcriplion of tha process, of course ours is erroneous; and lliat it
CKMntiatly diHcrs from curv, in njipiircnt front ihtis tlint by tlic vrry
nature of the aaaertcd proccRs, the parts of ■p<-ech are kept in their
iinfuscd abstract nlate ; and when they join, it ia not to yield somctliiiig
dlfTcrcnt in meaning lo the prcvioiis parU, ns iu cbcWcal conibiuatioa
we get a new xiibsianuc out of tliu combining vk'inentit, hut the junction la
purely mechatiiciil, the pigments rcn»imng precLtely what thoy were.
But heru the ijueirtion ari.-ws — Is a part of speech of no vatue or use
while it remains separate ? 'ITie nnRwer is, that in the I'nrfiirtion of know- .
l«(igc it IB ft incalculable use and valu€, although in the deduction ila tue
is no other Uiun lifix been Hhown, It i« by tlio ««si«tance of («rii» at fim
special— St first fignificant of tho indi-vidunl things, real and unreal, lliat
muko up thii outnard au<l inward worlds in which lor the present we lire,
uuc! mopc, and have our being— it is 'hy thcsG th:il we assembtu and group
the parliciiUr!), mid entertain the rclationn in which thtry stund to each
other abttruelly from the things thcinsch-en, though the tilings auggcat the
ahM factions. On this point wc hare notliing new in doctrine to offer:-—
succinctly wc may btalc that as the busiuesa of deduction is Bpeclalizalioo,
ihat of induction is gencnilizntion, nnd gene rail iiatian always incluilos
abstraction — the abstrnctiiig of what is comuioa to nil the individuals of
tho 8pccic»s genus, or elms, And it may pcrhap* fitartlc some perscni
to ducliu-e tliat tliow abttmctions can never carry «« beyond tlie wcrldi
of fancy und reality from which tlicy spring, nnd to which, when properly
used, lh(>y atwAvi return ; m that any alte^mpt to transcend, by Ihesr
tneuns, our prOK'nt Mpliero of action and of thought must end, if it end
lit all, in an enormous ddusion.
V
7\ V ill :i (I :' 1 t
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J.UVlllUg
LviuiDle plumpness of his
078
JittmntUU.
Book tub Fifth.
CKAPTEH m.— «Bftjiu«/.
The DiAiiT Bbokkn Off.
|IIE (lactor repented Die «ervniit'ii
message ina tonefrliidi bctraycJ
uniDistakable irritation at find-
ing liimseir admitted no farther
thna tlic door.
"'Y«ur miBtrcsa i% not well
cnongh to Bee viaitora ? Give
licr that aird,' sftid the doeCor,
' Olid Kiy r expect her, the next
~^ time 1 Will, to hii vrcU euoiigli to
" if his TQicc liad not told me
[lainly that he Wt in no fmudljr
:iiDOil towards Mrs. Oldcraliaw, I
ItruMiy I should faavo let him
o -without claiming his acquaint-
lice. But, as things vtvie, I f«lt
■in impiilfc to speak to him or
''"^- lo anybody who had a grudge
n^iut Hothn- Jczebt:!. There iv.ii more of my Btnoll Npittfulncss la
thb, I suppose. AajVRy, I slipped downstairs ; and, following lh« doctor
out quietly, OTcrtook him in the Htnct.
** I hail rccogiii!!L<d hi) voice, and I rMOgnlzod his back as I walltcil
Wiind liiiti. Rut when I called Iiiin by liitt name, and whtu he turned
r«uad Willi a atart und confronted mc, I fallowed his example, and started
OD my ade. The doctor's f&oe was transformed into the bee of a perfect
ttaatger t Ilis baldncu bad hidden itself under an artfuUjr gnxzlod wig.
B« bMl allovrod hia whinkcn to grow, and had dy«d them lo malch his
Beir.h«nd of hair. Hideous circular spectacles beMroJe hin nose in place
of tb« neat double eyeglass tliat be used t« carry ia Lis hand ; oad a bisek
neckerchief, BUimounled by inunense shiit-oollara, appeared as the un-
worthy successor of the clerical white oraTat of former tini«i. tfotluag
inod of the man [ oace ka«iv but the comfortable plumpneas of Ui&
nmainod of the v
figure, ftnil ibe oonfidentUI conrteqr and maootliacu of bia manatr
liii vwoc.
" ' Charmed to see jca agab/ nid the ductor, luokmg abcml }iim
a UttU ■OBOualj, and prodacing Iii< cardnidse in a Tety prMipitiU
nanaer. * But my citnr Mim Gwilt, permk tnc to reotily a slight miitaLg
on yaar pat DoMnr DownTrard oTPimUco u dead nnd buried ; and j«ti
will iufiaitelj oblige me if jon will never, «n nny ooniidcnition, mentios
bini again ! *
"I took tlic card Le oflVrcd mc, and JiacoTcred tlut I htwi cowl
RippOMd to bo iipealcing to ' Doctor Lc Uoax, of the Soiuttorium, Fiur-|
weather Vale, lUmpMead I '
" ' Ton Mom to bav« ibnnd it neoeagfiTy,* I «aid, ' lo diange a
many ibinga dnce I Iu«[ anw you 7 Your namo, jour residency
penonal appearance, ? '
" ' And my lirnnck of praeticci* inteqnaed tlic doctor. ' I hm
purchaKd of tlic original pOMCssor (a pcrsoD of fiMble cnlcqn'Ue and no
rcfourcoi) a niuue, a diploma, and a partially Completed aanalorittn far
the reception of Dervoua invalids. We ara open already to tho iiu{>eedai
of a lew priviU^od friends — came and eee xCa, An you walking ror
way 7 Pray tako my arm, and toll mn to what happy chance
indi-btcd (ar tli« p1«aaure of iw«lng you again?*
"I tfrld him the ciroumsiancea exactly as they had Itappcnf
I added (with a riew to making mrc of bis rektiona with hid fonMr
ally at Pimlico) that I had been greatly Borpriaed lo he»r Mn. OUn-
shaw'a door shut on Btioh an old (mnd aa himaulf. Caulioiu as ho
was, the doctor's manoer of receiving my remark nallsfiod me at oaoe
that my giwpiciona of nn tittrangeiucnt iiver« well foondud. lh» WiJ*
vanisliod, and he nettled h\n liidooua qwctaelea irritably oa tha bn^go
of his none.
" ' Pardon me if I learc you to dtaw yonr own concluuottt/ he ttU-
'Tha subject of Mrs. Oldersbaw ia, I rcgrot to say, liir from agntntblef
me under exialing circumatnscca. A biiainuss difGoulty oonoeotcd villi
oar labt partnohthip at Pimlico, entirely without interest for a young isJ
brilliant woman lika yourarlf. Tell raa your ncwsl Havoyou Irfiyoor
aituatton At Thorpe- Anibroso ? Ara you rtoidtng in London? It that
Bnyliiing, profeasionnl or otherwise, that 1 can do for you ? '
" That last qucation vraa a taorc important one than he aappoced.
Before I nnswcred it, 1 felt the neceasity of pai-ling oomfany with boa
nnd of ^citing a little time to think.
" ' You bnvo kindly nuked me, doctor, to pay jon aTiait,' I aaid. 'Ia
your quitt hoiiao nl llauipttend, I may possibly have aamethii^ lo «J
to yoii vtliicti ] onn'l say in this noisy ati^t. Wlicn aro you at biMC
at ih't Sunatoiium 7 Should 1 And yen there later in the day 7 '
"Tke doctor assured me llial he was then on bta way hack, and
begged thai 1 would name my own hour. I said, ' Towanla the aihr-
BOba;' and, pleading an engagement, bailed the first omnibua iimt
iw. ' Don't Cirgct (he nddrora,' said the doctor, u lii! linndtdtno tii. ' I
liare got your mrd,' I ansvrLT«i] — and ao wc piirtcd.
" I rettimed to th<^ hotel, aa<I vimt up into m/ jwm, and tliougU
over it very at ixioudjr.
*<11ie Berions' obMAcIe of tlic ni^ntwa on tbe marriAge rvgiMAr
nill stood in my vay as nnmanjigr'jihly as over. ATI bopti of getting
ftssiataoco Itotq IIm. Oidcishav was at an cdcI. 1 could only regaid her
benci^tbrth siMiix natmy hidden iii tJic dark— the (.■nemy, be^cind all doabt
DOW, who hxd hnd me followed and vrs:<^ed wb«a I waa lut in London.
To wbttt oth«r counsellor could I turn for the advioe which my unlucky
igliunuice of In v nnd 1>a>iE)«aB obliged mc to seek- 1*i-om some one more
expcfiftaecd thno myselfT Could 1 go to the hyrycr whom 1 consulicd
when I wa« nUn lit to marry Midirintcr in my iniudcn ntirnij ? Iwiwsublc !
To aajr nothing >of lita cold rec«]ition nf me whea I had Inst t>«<.ii iiiin, die
advice I vranlfid this (im(>, related (diflg:aiie the faots rb I might) to tho
conmisiion of a Fraud — a fraud of the sort that no prosjieroas Uwyer
would couecEit tc- n»>ist, if he had n clininctcr to lose. Wob there any
other competent J >onu>ii I ct^uld tliicik of? There wu one, and eiie only
— tlie doctor wlm had died at PJmliw, aud had terired agnin at
Hampttcad.
"I knew him to be entirely without serDpIes ; to hare the busiiiesa
experience that 1 1 vautcd myself ; and to be oa cunnin;;, as clever, and as
ritr'«vcing[ a ninn a i could be found in all London. Dnyond tliis, I hod
miwlc two importaa t diacoYeries in connection willi liim that moniing. In
the fint place, kg 1 rm on bad tennu with Mrs. Uldcnhaw, — which would
protect mo flrom all danger or the two leaguing togoiher ngainst me, if I
trusted him. la Vm iccond place, ujcumalanccs still obliged him to
ttMp his identity ea. refuliy dinguiscd, — which gave me a hold over kira
in no reapMt inferio r to any hold that / might give him over me. In
UTcry way he was ihc right man, the only man, fur my purpraQ ; and
yet I Itedilatcd at g otng to him^hesilated ibr a full hour nod more,
without knowing whj 1
**Itwai two o'ck =k bcfora I finally decided on paying the doctor a
vl«it. FTaring, after thi!i, occupied nearly nrtother hoiur in determining to
n liair'a breadth bow i »r 1 ahould take him into my conSdcuoc, I sent for
a eab at last, and set oi T towards three in t]ic oftemoon for llaiupstead.
" I found the SanatC rium with some little difficulty.
" Foirwonlber Yale \ proved to bv a new tieightiourhood, litualpd below
die high ground of Ham petvad, on tlie soulheni »ide. The day viuy over-
oaat, and the place IooIcm I vei)- dreary. 'We approached it by a ninr road
roosing between trt>n, w. hich might onco have been the park-avenue of a
oonntiy bouse. At the cm I wc cnmc upon a wildcmcu of open ground, witli
hair-linished rilJas dotted almut, and a hidfuiut Ittler of boards, whecl-
Bj and building mft ^crinU of nil Borta scattered in every direction.
JMTOWB, «
ADUADAtE.
At one corner of lliis locne of ilnoUtion AooA a grc&t orergrowo Simail
hoxae, jiiaiet*d vriih inb-etAfaiti itacco, snd nuroaaded by a. luked «!•
finiahed gxrdeii, witboat a ihrub or a flower ia it — fnghtAiI to bdiold. On
the open iron gate that led into Ibis enclosure was a ikw brwi plata^ mth
'Saaatoriuin* inscribed oo it in great blade lellcra. Tha bdJ, -wfavn tkc
cabman rang it, pealed lliitHigh lli« empty liouae Iik« a ka«^l ; and tke
ji&Ilid nitiiered old tDanscrrant in black, who answered the door,Iook«d at
if ha had stepped up oat of bis grave to pGribnn that serrice. He let oal
on Die a nodi op damp piaster nad new Tuniiili; and tie let ia witli nw a
chilling drnnght of the damp Norcmbcr ur. I didn't noticA it attiu
time — but writing of it now, I remember that I shiTcrcd as I crotsed tlte
tbreabold. *
" I gave my name to tlie serrant aa 'Mrs. Arniadale,* and was abon
into tbo waiting-room. Tbe rerjr Crc ilMlf ww djing of damp in tlic
grate Tbo only books on the table wore lb« doctor's Works, in sober
drab corers; and tlie only object that onuitneuted the walls was tkc
fon-ign Tliplonia (liaiidrtomely framed and glaied), of whicli the doctor luii
poaseiiBed liintaelf by purchase, along witli the foreign nanie.
"Aflcra moment or two, the proprietor of the Sanatorium eanuin.
and held up his hands in cheerful aitooiibnicnt at the ai(;bt of m«.
" ■] hailti't an idcit who " Mrs. Ajroadale" wait' lif: taid. 'Mydi-ar
liiily, have ijoii changi;d your name, loo? IIow sly of you not to idl me
when we met thia morning! Come into my private enoggery. — I cast
ihink of keeping an old atid denr friend liko you in tLc> patienia' wwlinj-
room.'
" The doctor's pivate snuggciy n-as at (be bock uf the house, looking
r>uL on fields and irccn, doomed but not yet deatro^ ed by tbe baildcr.
Horrible ohjccts in bmss and le.ilhei- «iid glaw, twisted and turned ssiT
ihL'y wera sentient things writhing in agonies of puin, filled up one eod of
tlie room. A great book-caiio with gloss doors cxt<:ndi.d over the whole cf
the cpponitc wuli, iitid exhibited on its Bbclvea long rows of glass jars, ts
nliidi idmpeteu dead creatures of a dull white colour floated in ycUov
lifjuid. Above the ILrcplnco Luujj a colloclioa of pltolographlo pottraib
of men and women, Gndoscil in two largi; frames .lianging side by ride
with a cpaco between tlium. The Icf\ -liiiitd frame iLluslratcd the efTectsoT
nervous Euflenng as seen in the Rice; the right-hand fronio exhibited
tlic ravages of insanity from the snjne point of v^iew ; wfatio tlie space
between was occupied bynn elegant ly-il J umiaated acioU, bearing inacribcd
01) it the liiiic-hunourcd motto, TnivoDtiou is bi'ttcr than Cure.'
'"Here 1 iim, with my galviinic apparatus, a;ad my preserved )peci>
mena, and all the rest of it,' said the doctor, placing mc in a chair by tJM
fireside. 'And there is my System mtilely nddrcning ycu just abort
your hcaJ, under a Ibrm of exposition which I venture to describe as
frankni'itii itsiftlf. This i» no madhoufio, my doiir lady. Lot eth« m«n
treat inaanity, if they like — / slop it ! No patioita iu the house ai yet.
But wo Itvo in an age whcu ncnoud dcraiigGiii cnt (parent of iiinnity)ti
AUMADAtE.
677
stpnilily 00 tic increase; and in due time the suffcrcrj will come. I can
wait aa Ilnrvcy wuitcJ, ns Jcniicx vrnilcd. And now, do put your feet up
on ihfl fender, ami iclt menlKjut yoiirjulf. You are nijirricd, of eourne?
And what n pretty name 1 Acct-pt my best and most }ieartfelt congratu-
latioEiB. YflU liave the two greatest blesmngB that can fall to a woman's
lot; ilie two capital H's, aa I call tliem — Husband nud Home,"
" I interrupted tlio genial flow of the doctor's ooogratulatio&a at the
first opportunity.
" ' I nm morried ; btu tbe circumstances arc by no means nf t}ic crdi-
nary kind,' I saiit tcriotiHly, ' My prea«nt position includca not]« of tlie
blesaingfl that are astiaily supposed to &I1 to a woman's lot. I am alrcadjr
iB a lituAtion of Tcry acrioua difHcuIty — and bdbr^Iong I may bo in a
sitnation of very serioim danger na wclL'
"Tlie doctor drew Ins cliuir a liltlc nearer to me, and full at onc« Into
his old profoMtotuil manner and liis old coniidenlial tone.
** ' If jott wish to consiUt m*,' he said softly, ' you know lliat I have
kept »mo dangerous secrets in oiy time, and you also know that I possess
IwoTaluaMe qunlitie* ns an adviter. I am not cm-'ity shocked; and I can
be iinpltcllly trasted.'
"I bouUitcd even now, at the eltTenlli hour, sitting alone with hitn in
hia own room. It was go atmnge to me to be trusting to anybody but
myself ! And yet . how could I help tnuiting imothcr person, in a diffictilcy
which turnt-ii on a matter of law?
" ' Ju8t na yoti pleaat;, you know,' add«d the doctor. ' 1 never invite
confidenccH. I mcrtly rcccire them.'
" There was no help for it ; I had come tlicre not to hcsiUilc, but to
ijMik. I rinkcd it, and apc>ke.
" ' Tbe mutter on which 1 wi»h lo consult yoM,* I snid, * Is not (as yoO
H«m to think) witJiin your eic]ic-i icnco as a proressioaal man. But I
bcHcvo you may bo of aaeislance to me, If I trust myself to your larger
experience as n man of the world. I warn jau, beforehand, tlint I aholl
certainly mupriw^ ami pdwihly nlanii you hefiirc I hnTO done.'
" With that prciace, I eutered on my story, tdling him what I hod
•etUed to tell him — and no more.
" I made no Bccret, at the outset, of my intention to personate Arma-
dale'a widow ; and I mentioned without rewrre (knowing that tlie doctor
conld go to the olliet* and examine the will lor himself) the handaome
income that would be tcttled on itic in the c^'cnt of my success. Some
of the cireumatnnccs that followed next in succcshod, I thought it desirable
to alter or conceal. I showed him the newspaper account of the loss of
the yacht— but I said nothing about eventa at Napln. I informed him of
tbe exact similarity of thu two names ; leaving him to imogino that it was
accidental. I told him, aa an important element in tbe matter, that my
hosbaod had kept bin real name a profonod secret from everybody but
mystif; but (to prevent any communication between them) I carefully
coocealcd from the doctor what ibv aeaunK-d uauie under which Midwinter
ASUADAtS.
had Jirnt all Ui liic tttily lr«. I ockoowlcd^ tint 1 h»d ]«fk 1117 '
tttod bebtiwl ma oa the Co&litient ; but wlicn ih« doctor pat i
I KOomd bim to coodade — I coalda't wilb «11 my renlotioa tell him posi-
ttr«If ! — Ih&t MiiJwint«r kaeir ct tba ooeUflDpUt«d Fratidl, and Vaat Va
wu ttxyiag ivny {larpiiwly m u not to owcproraiie nin li^ hi! pTwgiei.
TUia dii&cultjr nnouUitt] grcr — or, m I fevi it avw, tbia Immikw mm-
niltijcl, — t reverlctl to mjsclf, and canw bock agaia to the Irtitli. Om
Bft«r aQctb(^r, I mcntioDecl all ibe drenmstaDces coon^tod irith jaj jiri-
Tate marriage, aod witb tli« movvnwiHa of Amadala nxkd 34tiIwiDUr,
wbicb rendered nay disooniy of th« GUm ponoitation (thronjih the cvi-
denc* of other poopW) a dowarigfat iupombilii/. ' So mucli,' I nii
in cnnelasi«n, *Sor the ol-)ect in vien. The n«xt thing ia to tell
pUiiil; of a very acrioui obstacle that Btands in my vrmy'
"The doctor, who had Jittcoad lliua fur vritbout intcrmpling mc,
begged pcrmiaHioQ her* to uj a ftw words on bit nde lM>rare I went on.
*' The ' ftiir vroidfl ' proved to Iw all qaestkono — clever, searching, fiu-
pid«Tu qucstiona, — which 1 waa, however, able to answer with little
or no rcsorvG, for the; related^ in altncnt wery inntanc*, to the circaoi-
■tanccs nndcr which I had been manicd, and to titc ehanoea ibr and
agaitHt ny lawful buihand if he ehoaa to onert bin ctium to me at
fuiuvc lime.
"My replies informed the doctor, in tha lint plaeei thai I
mnrLigcil mnttcni at Thorpo-Ambrow n« to produce a general iinpresaiMi
tlifit ^VtiiukUIq intended to marry lac i in lh« Mcuad place, that my
busbnnd'B cnrly life had not b«en of a kind to exhibit bim ftvoilN
ably In the eyea of the world; In tiio third pUoe, that we had been
married without any uitnaaaes pnrwtit «ho knew ui, nt a largo paaA
church in which two ether couples h^ i:>een mnriied the mmo momh^
to Hay notbiog of iho doicua ca doscoa of olher cooplea (uonfoMng t&
romcmbiADOx) of ntt in tho nindt of tlic oflieiaiing people) who had beat
mjirricil Hincc. WliAn I had put \he doctor in poan^oo of ihera £ic(3 —
and when he had further atcertain^d tliat Midwinter and I bnd gout
abrond uraorig Btrangers tmnjedtately after leaving the church; and that
iho men employed gn boHrd the ytivht in which Armadale had aailt^
from Si>n«TSCt«Kire {before my marriage) were now away in Aip*
Toynging to thu other eitd of tho world — bis conSJenee in mv proipecli)
B!!;cn'e<l itself plainly in hi« liico. * So fnr a» ] can Me,' he nid, 'you
hiihbflTi'I'ii chiim Id you (nftor ^-ou li/i<i-u utepped into tho pUec of the
dead Mr. Amiudnle'A widow) would rest on nothing but hia own bate
asaertion. And that I think yoii may Bnfdy eet at defisttoe. £x<:nM
my nppni-ent distrust of the gcntkiniiii. Rut there might be a iniitaiKltT'
^tandintf between you in tho future, and it in highly (iciirablc to aeoertMi'
''Ibcforehutitl exat^tly uhat he could or could iir>t do under thcwe dreuiu*
alAnces. And now that wc bare done wilh tljcmoin obdacle that latt
In the way of your sucoeiw, let at by ali ineniii conio to Iba obstacle ihal
jwii Bcc next I *
for and
presaienfl
L.. ~
I
A1WADALC
579
" i was wiiltDg enougli to come to it The loan in whivh be gpcltB of
Midwinter, Utougli I myself was rtw|Kiiuihl« f-yr it, Jiirn.-tl on me horribljr,
nod rousad fat Um noroent BOnie «f the old folly of f««litig whtcb I faocied
I liad laid as!wp for ever. 1 riuhed at tlie cbanca of diiinging t1i« auI)Jt.'Ct,
and raeattoncd t)ic (liscrcpmncj in the rc-gixter bt-t*reen tlic Iiand in wliich
MJdviDttr Imi Mgned Uit nimio of Allan Amudal^, anil tho hnnd in n'ii icli
ArmmlKle of Ttiorpe-Ambroee liad been ocautoiiNd to write hiB nnine,
wiUi wi cagcmon wliicb it quite dircrtod tho doctor to see.
' "'Is tbat all?' lie aslteil, to my JnCiiilu Ktirpriw mid relief, irbpn t
bid done. ' My dear ludy, pray sd your mind at eove! If llie lul«
Mr. Amnfidiilc'ii I*wy«r« want » proof of j»ar narria^, they won't g« to
the cburdi-regiKtsr for it, I can [iromtMi ycni I '
"* Whair I exokiiD«d ia aatonialimmit ; 'do you mean to say lliat
the entry ia lbs nfpKn ia not it proof of tny marriage t '
" ' II i3 a ppoafj' eaid the doctor, ' that you Iwyc bwn married to
MDkebody. Btit it is no proof that you iiiwe been married to Mr. Arma-
daloof Thorpe-Aiiihrow. Jack N"o!n;« pr Torn Styles (gscmbi! llio liomeli-
BBBof tlie iUuatratioal) might have got the Liceiioe, and gone to the church
to be married to you undw Mr. Armadalf^'s nnnw; — and the reg^istcr (how
coald it do otlicrwiM 7) must in that citsc have itinooently nsnated the
deoeptioa. 1 aeo I aurpriw ycu. i^Iy dmr madnm, when you ofcccd thJa
interfiling boslBeM you RurpriKcd me-~l iiiny own it now— by Inytng >o
miidi atreas on the curiotiB similarity between The two namea. Yon
mi^ht hav« eiit*>r«<i on the very dating and romantic enterprise in which
you are now vngaged, without nec^mwily marrying yotir present husband.
Any otbar man voald have doao just as wvll, provided he wm wiUing to
talcfl Mr. Armadale'a name fur the purpow.'
" I foh my temper p>ing at this. ' Any otlier man would not hare
dMM jtut as wel!,' I rcjoini^d ioHnntly. ' But for the similarity of iHo
nomea, I ahotild never Imve thoi>ght of tha CDt«tpri»o at nil,'
" The doctor admitted that he had apolcen too hastily, *That pmonal
Ttnref iho aubjcct had, 1 onnTcat, otoiped nie,' ho uiid. ■ However, lee
tta gat back to the matter in liand. In the coniw of what I may term an
ailvtratuiottt medical life, 1 h«vv born brought more than onee iuto «ontn«t
with the gentlemen of tfae kar, and have had upporlunitiea of ob»crving
their procf edin^ !n casta of, let iu iiny, DomcRtie Juririprudence. I am
(loitc sure I am corrt^ct in informinf; ycu th.tt the proof which will bo
Inquired hy Mr, Armridnln's i«pre«eniniive3 will bo the evidenoa of m
witDeMi prvient nt the mHrriagc, who can epcak to the itknllty of tho
Vid* end l>rld.-groo»n from his own personal knowhidgp.'
" ' But t hare already told yon,' I snid, ' that tltere waa no such peiaim
preucnt.'
"'PreeiM^ly,' rejoined tlw doctor. *In that oae, what you now
Wml, he&m yoo can »fely »iir n (clfp in the matter, i« — if yon will
jMirdon m« Uio expr«kion~4 niKly-iiiade witnew, pnaiM»M>d of rare moral
and jwieonat rewuMw, who caa Ik traxt^ to assume ibe neceanry
680
ABIUDALL
cliancl«r, ftsd to make tb« owawmiy Ceclsrttion before
ikcd tbe doctcT,
DM with the Qtmoat
Do 70a ItDOW of any such iwtwia '
back in hia dmir, Rod looking 1
thivwiiig
mnooenoe.
I only know You,' I nJd.
" Tbe doctor Uugbcd softly. ' So tike a woman I ' be remarked, villi
the BWit «xa<porBtiRg good-bumoor. * Hit nomoit ibe ases her object,
A0 daabea at it lioadkmg tbe neaxett way. Ob, tbe aex I tbe acx I *
"* Never mind tbe Bex I' I bickc oat impatieotly. 'I want aaetioui
answer — Yo or No ? '
"Tbo doctor TOK, and waved lita band with great gmvity anil
dignity all round ibc room. ' Yon am ihia Tnst ertabbiihingiit,' ka
bf^a i ' you can possibly nUmate to some extent the imnMsiae atafcc I
have ia tta prosperity and sucoesi. Tour exooUvat natnral aenae will
tctl you that the Principal of tbia Sanatorituo mttal be a mao of tbe neat
nnbltmUbed cliuracter '
" * Wliy vute Bo many worda,* [ aaid, * when one word will do f
Yon iiica.a No I '
" The Principal of the Saoatorinm suddenly relapsed into tbe ofaarMltf
of my oonfidiriitiki friend.
" ' My dear ludy,' he amd, ' it isn't Yen, and it un t No, at » momtDt'a
notice. Give me till to-morrow ailerooun. By lliat tinw, I engage to
be ready to do one of two tilings — either to withdraw myself fran this
bttrineaa at once, or to go into it with you heart nnd soul. Do yoQ ngrev
to that? Very good — wo may ilrop tlm nulyfct iben till to-mormr.^
Where cui 1 cull an you when I have decided what to do f * fl
*' There was no objoction to my trusting him with my addrMa at the
botcl. I had taken cure to prc-ticnt myself tlitrc as 'Mra. Armadale;*
and I hud given Midwinter an addreiw at the neighbouring poet-offioe lo
write to, when be ncBnered my letters. Vfe settled the bour at which
tlie daclor was to coll on mo ; and, tiiat niatler arranged, I rote to go,
TotiikliDg all ofTers of rofrealimont, and alt proposals to show me over the
hoiiKtj. Iliit tnnoolh pcTsiKti-nce in keeping up appearances aft«r wo had
thoroughly understood each oilier, diaguatcd me. 1 got away Iruni him as
■0011 ast 1 could, and c^ime back to my diary nnd my own room.
" We shall bgc bow it ends to-morrow. My own idea is ibal my
confidontjal fvicnd will sny Yen. fl
"Xoventltr 2ith. — The doctor has aaid Ye*, na I supptMicd — but on
'^hUpU whidi 1 never antidpntud. Tlic condition on uluch I have seeiired
lib services amounta to uotliiiig less tbiin ilic pnyment to him, on my*
stepping into the plnee of Armadal<:'itwidow,of half my first year's ioooia?
—in otiicr wordx, six hundred poundx I
"1 protested against this e^ttorlionatc demand in ereiy wny I cotdil
thiuk of. All lo no pnrpost?. The doctor met ine with thu most enga^ag
fninkncM, Nothing, ho said, but the accidental cmbarrajwtnunt of Us
petition nt the present lime would liave induced bim to mix biionlf tiji
ARMADALE.
581
In tne matter at dU. Ua would honestlj confesa that Tie bad ejcliau>ti'^
hU own rcnonrow, nnd th« reMUi:i»» of other person* whom he doaciiljcd
AB Ilia 'hackera,' in the purcJiiM! sliiJ cornjiletion of the SHii.itorium.
Usdcr tbusG ciroiinistanc«e, fux humlrod po\mds in pron|x.-ct u:as nn
objwt to him. For that siim he would run the eeriouB risk of ndviung
and assisting mc. U»l a Jhnhiii^ Icsa would tempt him — and iherc he
left it, willi hii but und fricDdlicat withes, in mjr haads 1
■* It ended in the only way in which it could end. I hsil no choice
but ta accept the tciTiis, and to let the doctor ecttle thinga on the nput its
b« pluacd. Tho nrrangement onci made hctwoim iix, I must do him tho
jiistioc lo ttiy that lie >how«d uo diipoiiilion to h.'t llio graii» grow iindrr
his feet. Ue called hri&kly Tor pen, ink, and paper, aud suggested opciiiiig
the campaign at Thorpo-AmbroMti by to-night's post.
" We ngrtod on a lorm of letter which I wrote, and which he crpied
en the Rpot. I entered into no particulars at starting. I itmply niu^rtcd
that I was the widow of the deceased Mr. Armadale ; that I had been
privately mnrried to him; that I had returned to Eagland on hia aoiling
in th« yacht fVom Naples; and that t begged to enclose a copy of my
t uferriage-certificate, aa a matter of form with which I presumed it was
l^nitomary to comply. The lettiT wiw addressed to 'The rflprpsentnlivw
of tha late Allan Armmlale, V.»q,, TliorpcAmhroM, Norfolk.' And the
doctor liimwit' carried it away, and put it in tho port,
"I am not so excited and to iinpatiant for results aa I expected to be,
novrtbat tho first step ia talcen. The thought of Ididwintcr haunts mc
like a ghotit. I have been imting to him again — aa before:, to beop up
.ippcnrancea. It will be my last letter, I tliink. My courage fee!*
abukvo, my apirita get dopreued, nhea my thoughts go back to Turin. J
un no more capable of facing tlie conaidcralion of Midwinter at this
moment than t was in the bygone lime. The day of reckoning with
him, once distant and doubtful, ia a day thnt may come to ma now, J
knew not how sooa. And here I am, trusting myself blindly (o the
cbaptor of Accidents still !
"Novtmtier 2ith. — Ac two o'clock to-day tho doctor caJlod again hy
app<nnline»t. Ho haa betin to his lawyers (of courao without taking
ibem into our coofideace) to put the casv simply of proving my manioge.
The result conBrma what ho has already told me. The pivot va which
tltv wliiili,' mucbtr will turn, if my claim is disputed, will be the qaeslion
of identity; and it may be noccsanry lor the witness to make his Dccla-
ralion in tho magietrale*' presence before tho week is out.
" In this position of aiTairs, the doctor thinks it important that we
idiouU be within easy reach of each other, and proposes to Bod a quiet
lodging for mo in hia neighbourhood. I nm quilts willing to go anywhere
—for, among the other strange fancies that have got |ios.<ienKion of me, I
have an idea that I nha!! feci more completely lost to Midwinter if I move
out of tlia ociglihourhood to which his letters are addreswd to me. I was
S82
ARMADALE.
airak« and Ihiokini; of bim ngna Iwt nigUt. Thii m?rning I
fimlly dccideil to writu tu him uo i»on>.
" After ttayia^ hiilfas hour, the doctor loft me— having llret ioqiitrvdl
nbether I would like to acooropiuiy him Ui llninpHieail to lock fori
lodgtngB. I inTtirnwd him lh«t I had some btisiocu of mjr own vrliidLl
would kc^p tuo in I»oJaa. Ha in({uiTed what the busiaeM WM. ' YcU]
will M-i',' I said, Mo-iiiorrav or next day.'
" I had a moineul'e itervoiuj tnnubling wbea I was bj myself
My buaiD6is in London, liesiilm hutng a eeTunu hiuinctg in it womui'i
cy», took my miiid Inck to Uiitwirit«T in epite of ntu. Tho pr
of removiug to uy nvw lodging had rumioded me of the nuccnity <
dreMing in my new dnnoter. 'i'lie tiiau had come now for getting
widow's weedf.
" Uy fine proceeding, nfler {vnitiag my boonet on, wa* to provids
myielf with money. I got wliat 1 waai«d to fit me out for the characiv
of ArBkadalo's widvw, by nothing lees thao tlie eole of AnmUak^ oini
pronit to me on my morringv^the ruby ring I It proved to ho a mora
Talimblo jewel than I had suppoaed. I am likely to be i^«rcd uU uoMgr
■ikxieU«8 for some tiiiw to come.
"On IniTiiiK tho jeweller's, I ncnt to tho great mourning ahop in
R^cnt Street. In four and Cwcnty honra (if £ can give them uo more)
tht>y have engaged to dcesa me in my widow'* costume from hund to foot
I had another feverish uomGat when I left the aliop ; and, by nay of
ninhGr excitement on thi« nutating day, I foood a aurpriiie in store for ut
on my return to the lioteh Au elderly gentleman waa nunonnoed to be
w&idng to M« me. I opeaM my fitting-room door — aod thwe waa oU
Builiwood t
" He had gut my JeLler tliat murning, and bad started for London h/S
the next train to anawcr it iti person. I had uxpMtcd a grtat deal bwa
hint, but I had certaitily Dot expected that. It llnliered mei For llM
moniect, I declare it fl&itcrtd nic I M
" I liM* over tlie vrrelcljcd old creature's rapturea a»d nproaohea* aai *
groaiie and te»», and weary long prouags about tlie lonely month* he
bad paned at Thorpe-Ambroee, brooding over my doaertioa of him. H«
vai c|iiita eloquettt at limes — but I dun't want liis eloquence here. It it
needteaa to say thai I put myaelf right with him, and consiUtcd bia fediiy
before ^ naked him fur \\\a newa. What n blMwing n woman's vanity ii
•omolimcs I I abDWt forgot my ri>k> nod reHpoiuibilitiea, in my iinxi«nr
to be charaiiag. For a mitiule or two, I fell a warm Utjlc flatter of
triumph. And it Kxin » triumph — ev<'n vriiU an old roan I la a qoanw
of on hoar, I bad him smirkiag and uiiiling, iiangiog oti my lightest
words in an ecrtaoy, and answering all the qtic<tions 1 imt to him, like
a good little cliild.
" Hero ta hia account of aHiura at Tborpc-Ambroae, aa I
axtracted it from him hie by bit: —
"Jn the fiiet place, the newa of Armadals't draih baa r«aabed Um,
e^,
hiui to (winplctiJv cTerwhelmed her thttt her father has bevn
s reniore her tVoin tlie ikIiodI. Slie n hack at llie coKsgc, and
Uie doctor in in daily ait«Dclancc. Co I [uty Iier 7 Yes ! 1 pilj I]«r
exactly aa much sn *hn once piiic<l nic !
" Id the Tic:it jtlnett, lh« Hlatc of iifTairs lit tlie greiit hoiiK, which T
•xpeoted to find Bome difficulty in compnehendin^, tiirrm out to lie .[tiite
iiitv)ligibl<>, and certainly uct <liicouragiiig m far. Only yesterday, tha
lairycre on Iratli fidea cnmc to on iindcrvtnuding. Ur. Unrch (tlic lamily
■oliator cpf the BlftiichaTdx, nnd Ariiiadnlv'a hhtcr enemy In pn«t timM)
repr«9ciil8 the iulcresta ofBliis DlancTiard, who ia next heir to the vstnto,
and who ha*, it appenr*, bcfn in Lindoii on hti.-nnMR of h<'r own for (tone
lime paal, Till-. Smart, of Norwich (originally *mpl(>yi.tl to overlook
BBthwood 111 tie »leward'ii Qffi<:0), ref rvaeula the deccosud Annadnle. And
tliia in uhiit (he tiro lawyers havo pptlicd between thcni.
" Mr. natch, acting for Miss Blanchin'd, hji* clnimcd the posacasion of
th« eitate and iho light of receiving the roniB at the Christmas nudit, in
Iter name. Mr. Smart, on Iiis std«, hss nclmilted th^t there ia great weight
in the family aolicitor'a nppltaition. He cannot ece hia -way, ns things are
BOW, ta contesting the ^neetion of Armudale'e death, and ho will consent
to ofler no renatanoe to (lie appliciilion, if Mr. Dnrch will coniient, on Iiia
eidc, to AKstinM^ tho n-sponaibtlity of taking pofsctuton in Mim Vlanchard'a
Dam«. This Mr. Darch has already done ; and the cslat« in now viiiuiilly
m MiBS BlanchiinL's pas6«s«on.
" On« Tusult of thi» courne of ppoi^ei'ding will be (hb Bnrfiwood thinks)
to put Mr. Dnrch in the iioMlion of llio pertion who nwlly dtcidca on luy
eltura to the widow** place nnd the widow's money. The income bnnjg
charged on the eNtatc, it must come out of Miu Blnnchard's pocket ; and
tlie qncstioa of paying It would oppcar therefore to be a ({ucstion for Miaa
Blunctmrd'R lawyer. To-niorrow wilt jirohalily decide whether thia vipw
ia ihe right one — for my halter to Armada!i-'s rppnacntaliTCa will haro
been delivered at the groat liouso Uii< morning.
" So much for what old I{a*hwood had to tell me. Haring recovered
my iaflucncc orcr him, and posecaeed myself of all liis inforoution lo
br, tlic next thing (c consider w:ih tiic right uao to tuni hini to in the
future. He was entirely nt iny dinpooAlr for liia place at the stcword'a
O0io« baa been alrcndy token by Miss Blanchard'a mnn ofhuiineaa, and he
pleaded hard to be nllowed to stay and serve my iutarcsta in Hondon.
There would not Imre heen the least daagcr in letting him stay, ft>r I had,
M ft matter of course, left him uniliwarhed in his conviction thnt I really
wn tlie widow of Armudalc of Thorpe- Ambrose. Hut witli the doctor'a
rcaoorce* at my command, 1 wui(«d no nsaiMance of any aort in London ;
and it oenorred to m« that I mig;hl make Bashwood more useful by tending
him back to Norfolk to watch events there in my iulcrcalv.
" Ho looked sorely di'-ippointed (iiiiTing had nn ey« evidently to
paying hi* cotn-t to mc in my widowed condition I) when I told him of
the conoltuloa at vUich I had orriYed. But a few word) «f persiuaion,
ARMADALE.
and ■ modutt bint that he might chcrith liopea ia ihc future !r he i
aid obedienilj' in the preaenl, did >v<»)d«n in recoDcUiiig hjiu lo
n«ee«nly of meeting aiy wiabea. He ukcd b^lpU■»l]r for 'izutrootioai'
when it wm lime Tor him to Icnvc me end tnrd back bjr the (rroni^
tnuD. I oould givo hiu p«««, for I had dk idea u yH of what the Itgal
{Hviple might or might not do. ' Dat nippoae umcthing happov.' ha
pereiated, ' tbnt I don't anderBlanil, what am 1 to do, «o fiut awa/ froa
Ton} ' I could only give him one aniwer. ' Do notliiog,' I Mild. ' \Vh«l-
«T«r it is, hold jour tongue ubout it, and vrite, or cotne up to Loodoa
immediatoLy to conault me.' With those parting directions, an4 with la
nndonUmding that we were to correspond regnlarly, I l«t him kiai mjr
hand, and sent him off to the train.
■'Now that I am alone again) and able to think calmly of the inter-
Tienr between ma aad my elderly admirer, I find myaclf recalling tm
««rlata ohaoge ia old Bashwood'a manner which puzzled m« at the timt^fl
and which puzzles me still.
" Etcd in his first momenta of ngitation at MeiDg me, I thooghl thai
hi« eje* rested on my face with a new kind of inieteat whil* I wu
qieahing to him. Besides this, be dropped a word or two afterwarfl^
in Idling me of his lonely life At Thorpe- Ambioae, which MeaMJ la
imply that he hsd been smttained in hia aolilude by a fe^ng of DonSdoOi
about his future rrlaticna witli me when we next met. If ho bad been a
yoiing«r and a bolder nun (nnd if any such diseoYcry had beea poaaifali),
I should almost have surfcdcd him of having found ont eotuethin- about
Tiiy piul lifu which hud miide him privat^y oonSdent of controlling roe, if
1 shelved any disposlion to decvivo and desert bim again. But radb
an idea as this in oonneclipa with old Basbvrovd it oimplj abend
Perhaps I am over-excIt«d by the Ruspciue and anxiety of my preaeiil
poadlion? Perbapa the merest fancies and suspiciotia are tc
tislray 7 Let this be a* it nay, I haro at any rat« more aeriotia i
than the tubject of old Bashwood to occupy me now. To^monow't
post may loll me whtit Anuadate's repreeeotativea thiiUc of Uie claim o(j
Armndale'a widow.
4
I _IJT
" Jfotmthtr 2Cf/i.— Tlic answer baa arrived thia morning, in the
(tin Biibliwood EUppoaed) of a letter from Mr. Darch. The crabbed fM
lawytr acknowlcdgoe my letter in three lines. Before he takei any ttcp^
or expresses any ojuuion on the subject, he wants evidence of idvnlity u
well a* the evidence of the certilicatu ; and bo ventures to it^ggett that it
may be deeirahle, before we go any further, to refer him to my le^U odvisett.
" Two o'clock. — The doctor colled shortly after twelve to amy that In
hod fottod a lodging for me wiihia twen^ minales' walk of the Sanatoiiao.
lu return for his news, I sliowed him Mr. Datcb'a Utter. H« took it
away at once to his luwjerst and came buck with tho neccoaty Informa-
tion for my guidance:. I bare onswi'red Iklr. T>arob by Modii^ him tbs
addn» of my legal advisers — othcrwiee, the doctor's Uwjers — wilbot*'
■itbonfta
ARMADALI^ 585
iii:iking any coninient od (Jie desire that he has expressed for additional
evidence of the marriage. This is all that can be done to-day. To-
morrow will bring with it events of greater interest — for to-morrow tho
doctor is to make his Declaration before the magistrate, and to-morrow I
am to move to my new lodging in my widow's weeds,
" November 27(A. — Fairtoeatker Yale Villas. — The Declaration has
been made, with all the necessary formalities. And I have taken posses-
sion, in my widow's costume, of my new rooms.
" I ought to be excited by the opening of this new act in the drama,
and by the venturesome part that I am playing in it myself. Strange to
say, I am quiet and depressed. The thought of Midwinter has followed
me to my new abode, and ia pressing on me heavily at this moment. I
have no fear of any accident happening, in the interval that must still
pass before I step publicly into the place of Armadale's widow. But
when that time comes, and when Midwinter finds me (aa sooner or later
find me he must I) figuring in my false character, and settled in the position
that I have usurped— (fien, I ask myself. What will happen 7 The answer
still comes as it first came to me this morning, when I put on my widow's
dcess. Now, as then, the presentiment is fixed in my mind that ho will
kill me. If it was not too late to draw back Absurd I I shall shut
up my journal.
"November 28(fi- — The lawyers have heard from Mr. Daren, and havo
Ecnt him the Declaration by return of post.
" When tho doctor brought me this news, I asked him whether his
lawyers were aware of my present address ; and, finding that he had not
yet mentioned it to them, I begged that he would continue to keep it a
secret for the future. The doctor laughed. ' Are you alhiid of Mr. Darch's
stealing a march on us*, and coming to attack you personally?' he asked,
I accepted the imputation, as the easiest way of making him comply with
my request. ' Yes,' I said, ' I am afraid of Mr. Darch.'
" My spirits have risen since the doctor left me. There is a pleasant
sensation of security in feeling that no strangers arc in possession of my
address. I am easy enough in my mind to-day to notice how wonder-
fully well I look in my widow's weeds, and to make myself agreeable to
the people of the house.
" Midwinter disturbed me a little again last night ; but I have got over
the ghastly delusion which possessed me yesterday. I know better now
than to dread violence from him when he discovers what I have done.
And there is still less fear of his stooping to assert his chiim to a womnn
who has practised on him such a deception as mine. The one serious
trial that I shall be put to when the day of reckoning comes, will be tho
trial of preserving my false character in his presence, I shall be safe in
his loatbing and contempt for me, after that. On the day when I havo
denied him to his face, I shall have seen the last of him for ever.
VOL. xin.— NO. 77. 'i%.
«86
AttUADALB.
" Shall I U alile lo denjr Kim to liu &ce ? ShnQ [ be alila lo Inolc
Itiin arid itptsk to biia an if lie kail ucver been wave to me tlum a Encndl
iJAw ilo I know till Ui« timo enmea ! Was then eret WMh an iobloated
iijul 41 1 BID, to Iw writiug or bim at all, wbeo writing outjr aDOoungai
Bie m ibink or huH ? 1 will make a new taolotitui. From llua time
jbnh bis Dane chall aj>pc*r do more in Hime pogts.
" Mondag, DeotmUr !«(.— -The U*t moolb of lb« w«ni-out old year,
eightoen hundred and fidy-oool If I allowed myadf to look back, wliat
a miserable jrear I should eae .tddeil to all the other tni«erabl« yean iliat
are goue ! Itul I have mad« iny rcsolutioa to look fonranJ oalr, atul I
mean to keep it.
" I h«T« notUing to ncord of iba bat two daja, eicept ihat oa iba
twentj-ninlh I reomabcnd Bonhwoad, and wrota to txAX him of mj new
address. This morutng ilic Uwjreia heard agaiu Eroiti Ut. Dardi. He
ackuowledges tlte receipt of tlw Declaration, but pmtponcs ststiag iho
dcei«ion at whiob ho has arrived until ho has oomniuuicutid with tlie tmst«s
UDdet the late Mr. Blanchard'a will, and has received liis final instructioas
Uota ItU client, Uiss Blanchard. Tlio doctor's lawyers decUrc that tUa
last IvtlBC is a mm d«ric« for gaiuiiig liiiifr~-witii wiuti object they an
of course not id b jweitiaa lo guesa. The doctor himself nys, &cetiQUBljr,
it is the usual lawyer's object of tnaking a long bill. My own idva is
tliHt IStr. Darcb has bis saspidons of aontcthiDg wroog, and that bis pur-
poao ia tiyiog to gain time
• ■ ■ • ■
" T«it^ at niykl.—\ liad wriltbu ak far as that hat wifinishwi
(towards four is tiio aftctDoon) when I was stautled by hearing ■ aib
up (o the door. I went to the window, and got tber« just in tiino to aee old
, Buuhwocd getting out with on iictirity of which 1 sLotild never have aup-
ipoiii-d hiui enpiibla. So little did I unticipatf tlio' tremendous diftoovoty
tJint WHS goiii^ to burft on iiic ia Another miniit«, that 1 turned to ibe
glasa, and wondered what the susceptible old gentleuian wuuld eay to idc
in my widow's cap.
" I'lic inatani. he entcretl llio rcoii), I saw that eome aerioits diawter
bad iutppentM^. Hie eyes were wild, hid wig was awry. Ue approadwd
me with a Bttange miztttro of ngerneu and disoiHy. ' I've dono as yoB
told mc,* he whispered brtatblmsly. ' I'vo bcld my toagne about it, and
cooio Htntiglit lo you! ' He caught nie by the bund boApo 1 oonld epeak,
with a botdueat (|iiiti^ tiew in my exporicnco of tiim? 'Ott, how coo I
break it tu you I ' he bural oul. ' I'm beside mytelf when I think of it I '
" ' When you oan speak,' I said, putting )iiiii into a chair, **p«ak out.
I see in your &ce that you bring luu nt-ws I don't look tax from lliorpa-
Ambrose.'
"Ho put bis Imiid into tho breast- jxtcket rif his coiil, aiid ilrew out a
letter, iiu looked at the luUvr, and looked at rae. 'New-ncw-news jMt
don't look lor,' he Btaromcred ; ' but not from Thorpc-Ambroso
I
I
ARMADALB. 587
" ' Not from Thorpe-Ambrose ! '
" ' No. From tlie sea I '
" The firat dawning of the truth broko on me at tbose words. I
couldn't speak — I could only hold out my hand to him for the letter.
" He Btill Bhrauk from giving it to me. ' I daren't I I daren't 1 ' he
Buid to himself rqcuntly. ' The shock of it might be the death of her.'
" I snatched the letter from him. One glance at the writing on the
address was enough. My hands fell on my lap, with the letter fast held
in them. I Bat petrified, without moving, withoiit speaking, without
hearing a word of what Bashwood was saying to me, and slowly realized
the terrible truth. The man whose widow I had claimed to be, was a
living man to confront me 1 In vain I had mixed the drink at Naples —
in vain I had betrayed him into Manuel's hands. Twice I had set the
deadly snare for him, and twice Armadale had escaped me I
" I came to my sense of outward things again, and found Bashwood oa
his knees at my feet, crying.
" ' You look angry,' he murmured helplessly. ' Are you angry with
me ? Oh, if you only knew what hopes I had when we la^ saw each other,
and how cruelly that letter has dashed them all to the ground I '
" I put the miserable old creature back from me — but very gently,
' Hush I ' I said. ' Don't distress me now. I want composure — I want
to read the letter.'
" He went away submissively to the other end of the room. As
soon as my eye was off him, I heard him eay to himself, with impotent
malignity, ' If the sea had been of my mind, the sea would have drowned
himl'
" One by one, I i^lowly opened the folds of (he letter ; feeling, while
I did so, the strangest incapability of fixing n.y attention on the very lines
that I was burning to read.- But why dwell any longer on sensations
which I can't describe? It will be more to the purpose if I place the
letter itself, for future reference, on this page of my journal.
" Mb. Bashwood, " Kome, Illjria, NoTemW iU\, I89K
" The address I date from will surprise you— and you will be
more surprised still when you hear how it is that I come to write to you
from a port on the Adriatic Sea.
" I have been the victim of a rnacally attempt at robbery and murder.
The robbery has succeeded; and it is only through the mercy of God
that the niuider did not succeed too.
" I hired a yacht rather more than a month ago at Naples; and sailed
(I am glad to think now) without any friend with me, for Mewtina. From
Messina I went for a cruise in the Adriatic. Two days out, we were
caught in a storm. Storms get up in a hurry, and go down in a hurry,
in those parts. The vessel behaved nobly — I declare I feel the tesirs in
my eyes now, when I think of her at the bottom of the sea ! Towards
sunset it bc^an to moderate ; and by midnight, except for n long smooth
0sa
■well, tlie sea W38 as i^UMt aa need bo. I went Wlow, a little tired (bAvl
belped In w-crkiiii; the jaclit wliilc the gslv laaled), na<l fell attlrep la fire
BuauteB. About two hours aflcr, I wns wok« bj'wttM'fhing falling mto
my cabin through n dbm\c of tl)c TPntiUlur in tlie app«r pHrt of tlie ttoor.
I jumped up, and founJ a bit of paper wiib a kcj wrappnl in it, aod mih
vriting on llio inner fi'io, in a hniid whicli it was not vvrf laajr to nmd.
" Up lo ibis iiiii« I buil not bad ike ghost of a iuspicwn ihnt I was
alone ut sea with a gang of murdirrous Tagaboitila (oxe(<p4ing «o« coly)
who would stick at nothing. I had got on rer)- wi>U with m^ suline-
inast«r (iho norst scoundrel of tba lot), and bctlur still irith his Engtiib
n)at«. Tho (LiilArs b^ing all foreigrcM, T bad Tcry Utile to tay lo. They
did their work, ;iiid uo ([uarrda and uothing aajJauaot happnied. If
Mtj'body had tvid ine, bcfure 1 wciit to bed on tbo night alWr the ttotm,
that cbi> sailing- master niul tho crew Kail tlio mnto (whu Iiiu] bven m
better tlmu tiiL- ri'st; of thcin lit nturting) nvru all in a coiiHi>inic7 lo rub
nic ofthu iiioni^)' I hud oi) boned, and thon to drown mi? in mj dwd nmA
afttirwarda, I thuutil have laughed in bis iiice. JuHt rvuierober that; aad
then fancy for youreulf (for Tin EUre I cant tdl jo\i) what I most hart
thought when I opened the paper round the kty, and read irhat I nov
cDp^ (from tho mate's writing) aa Ibllows: —
"'Sia,— Bt4j In forxr bed till jov twir a boat khavc ofT from the •tArtxiari fMt
— or ;oa uc adexlman. Yonr idodo]' isatulea t and iaiivv nilniil«»' timo ifae fatht
wtU bo aeuUl«d( and tho cabln-batcli will bo nailed dawn oa yoa. Dead idod t^ iw
taica — luicl tlie Milit)t^'ninal«t'« noiitm U to Icnvc pmofa nflunt that tha vcosol bai
funnilcrri) wUfi all on bonnl, It tnu hjs doing ta t^KiD with, ntid «• mit* aU in it.
I <:nn*t Hull it in m^ lionrt iu>l to tpvo /on achanco for^our lil«. It'« a bad ehaiM,
bnt I run iln no more 1 nhonlil bn monlcred tnjvcU i( I ildti't sccm to go wiih lbs
roit. The key of yciiir cabin-door is tbrovra batk to j-on, iiuiJe tbU. Don't b«
aliu'Ricd wbcQ 79a Iioiir ihc lijiinincc nbovc I tbiill iId it, and I Bhall bavo tbixt oaih
iu my liattd lui wuU aa lou^;. aud uaa tbu* nliott onu onlf. Wail lUl jtm bear ibi
buLiL wlih ail oC iin ttboTc ntT, and iben priiQ up tbe cablo-liatdi with joor hadt>
Tlio leau'l will Ituat a (|QArt«r uf an Imur nftor the holei arc bond in bar. Slip farts
tbo Kn on (lici part «idf. and kM>p tli<v Tcawl bflwccn yon und tho boaL Ton wQI
Hnd plooCy of loose Inmber, •mn«lied awuv nn porpoac, drifting abuni to boU oa bf>
It'a a duo nifbt utid a amootb ica, nod tbeiv's a cUance thnt n ship in^j pldi joo Ip
while tlicrc'a Ufa left In jou. I can ilo no more — Tuun trnlv, J. 11.'
" Aa I caine lo those Wt words, t heard tho hnmtnering down of tbt
batch over my hpad. T don't auppoao I'm rnora of a coward lluui meat
people— but them was n moment wbuu tb« sweat poured down me like
mill, 1 gilt to he. tay own ttiAn again, bcfoic tho hammering waa doM,
and found myself tliinlcing of somebody very deor to wo in Eogtaod. I
said to myself, ' I'll hare a try for my life, for her sak«, tliough the ehaneea
arc dead against me.'
" I put a IcUt-r from that person I Iinre mentioned into oao of tlia
aloppercd bottles of my drvaeiiig-canc — along wiih the nuitc's wiimin^ 13
cnfio I lived to aea him n^iun. I hung this, nod a tlaslc of whitky, ia >
sling round my neck— nnd, after fint dressing myaelf iu luy coDrunoOf
thought bvlt«rof it, and stripped again, for avrlmniing, to my shirt aa4
I
I
AKIUDALE. 689
drawers. By the time I had done that, the hammerlDg was over, and
there was such a sileoce that I could hear the water bubbling into the
scuttled vesael Bmidshipfl. The Dezt noise was the noise of the boat and
the villains in her (always excepting my iriend the mate) shoving off from
the Htarboard side, I waited for the splash of the oars in the water, and
then got my back under the hatch. The mate bad kept his promise. I
lifted it easily — crept scross the deck, under cover of the bulwarks, on all
fours — and slipped into the sea on the port side. Lots of things were
floating about. I took the first thing I came to — a hencoop— and swam
away witli it about a couple of hundred yards, keeping the yacht between
me and the boat. Uaving got that distance, I was sei2ed with a sbirering
fit, and I stopped (fearing the cramp next) to take a pull at my flask.
When I had closed the flask again, I turned for a moment to look back,
and saw the yacht in the act of sinking. In a minute more there waa
nothing between me and the boat, but the pieces of wreck that had been
purposely thrown out to float. The moon was shining; and, if they had
had a glass in the boat, I believe they might have seen my head, though I
carefully kept the hencoop between me and them.
" As it waa, they laid on their oars ; and I heard loud voices among
tliem disputing. Afler whaE seemed an age to me, I discovered what the
dispute was about. The boat's head was suddenly turned my way.
Some cleverer scoundrel than the rest (the sailing-master, I daresay,) had
evidently persuaded them to row back over the place where tlie yacht had
gone down, and make quite sure that I had gone down with her.
" They were more than half way across the distance that separated ua,
and I bad given myself up for lost, when I heard a cry from one of them,
and saw the boat's progress suddenly checked. In a minute or two more,
the boat's head was turned again ; and they rowed straight away from me
like men rowing for their lives.
" I looked on one side, towards the land, and saw nothing. I looked
on the other, towards the sea, and discovered what the boat's crew had
discovered before mo — a soil in the distance, growing steadily brighter
and bigger in the moonlight the longer I looked at it. In a quarter of an
hour more the vessel was within hail of me, and the crew had got me
on board.
" They were all foreigners, and they quite deafened me by their
jabber. I tried signs, but before I could make them understand me, I
w:is Beized with another shivering fit, and was carried below. The vessel
held on her course, 1 have no doubt, but I was in no condition to know
anything about it. Before morning, I waa in a fever ; and from that time I
can remember nothing clearly till I came to my senses at this place, and
found myself under the care of a Hungarian merchant, (he consignee (as they
call it) of the coasting vessel that bad picked me up. He speaks English
as well or better than 1 do ; and he has treated me with a kindness which
I can find no words to praise. 'When he was a young man he waa in
England himself, learning business, and be saya he has remembrances of
ARUASALfi.
oar country vhich inal:o liU lieart iinunn tov&rdi an Engliiiliniiin. lU
liM OLtcd mc Auk -nilh clulticn, aad baa I«nt mo the uoaey to tntTcl with,
as Boon as tli« doetor nllows me to Mart for hum?. Suppoeini^ I ilon't grt
a reljipie, I sliall be fll to tmrcl in a irwV'a lime ftom this. If I can
catch iho mail at Trieste, aix) stnnd Oic rnligiir, T *>iall Ik huck Rgsin at
Thorpe- Ambrose in a nvek or uia tlnjra st tnoit aOnr yoa gA my letter.
You will agree with mc that it is n terribly long letter. Bui I can*t help
llml. 1 *ecin to )i»tc Iwt my oU knack at pulling thIngB ihort, and
fluisliiag ou the f\ni piigiv Howe\-er, I am near tlio end now — fiir I
hav« nothing Icfl to noDtioii but the rcasoa ythj I nritc about what bu
hnt^pcn«d to mm, imtetid of waiting till 1 get liomc, and telling it all %j
word of mnuili.
" I fliiic/ my head ii etiU muddled by my UlacM. At any rate, it oatf
ittruclc RiG this morning that llierc ift bar«Iy n chance of Komc vtatel bavtag
juiKsed the place where the j-acht foundered, nai baring ]ii<;k«I up tbe tar-
uiturv, Itnd other thinga WTSiched out of her and Ii4t to Hoat. Some fUw
t«poit of my bnicg drowned may, in tliat coso, bare reochoii KngUnd.
If lliift 1i<ut happened (wliich I hope to God may be an unfi>uiidcd fati on
my piirt), go directly to Major Mllroy at tlm eoltngp. Show b!tn ihu
letter — t have written it quite ns niiidi fnv ha eye as ftr yonra — and lh«n
givft liiin the cncloecd note, nnd e»k him if he do<Mu't think the circum-
stascce justify inc in hoping be will send it to Mira Milroy- I can't
explain why I don't writ« illrectJy to the major, or to KUm MiIroy,in«laid
of to you. I cftu only aay there are coostderatioaa t taa bound in honow
to renpocC, which oblige me to act in this roundabout way.
*' I don't Auk you to Miswer this — for I shall be on my way booic,!
hrpc, long twfiire your letter eould reach mo in this out-of-the-way pbce.
Whatever you do, don't lose a moment in going to Major Milpoy. Ro, on
Hccond thoughts, whetlier the Io« of the ja«ht it known in England or not
'* TouM truly,
** Alum Akuao^u^."
" I looked up when T had comp to tlie enil of tlie leltir, and nw, for
the Arat time, Ihnt BiuJmood hail left hia chair, and had placed himself
opposite to me. il» was intently stmlying niy face, with the rnqniriag
e.tprcs£ton of a man who waa trying to read my thoaghu. Hia eyra feD
guiltily when th(y met mine, and he ahmnk away to hU cliaEr. Belicrisg,
M he did, that I was rvally married to Arma'hile, wan he trying to db-
corer whether the new* of Armadale's rescue from the sea waa good news
or bad news, in my entimttion 7 It waa no time then for entering inlo
explnoAtions with lilm. The firrt thing to be done won to cominuDieate
instantly with the doctor. I called Ihtshwood back to mt, and garo lifit
my hand.
'" Vou have dons me a Rcnrlco,' I said, 'which mnkea iu cloaer
IVicnds tlinn ever. T shall my inorc about this, and nbotit other nutten
of some interest to bolli of li*, lutcr in the dAr. I want you now to lood
ARMADALE. fi91
me Mr. Aimadale'e letter (which I pi-omise to bring back) and to Vait
h":re till I return. Will you do that for me, Mr. Baahwood ? '
" He would do anything I asked him, he said. I went into the bed-
room, and put on my bonnet and shawl.
" ' Let me be quite aure of the facts before I leave you,' I resttmed,
when I was ready to go out. ' You have not shown thia letter to anybody
but me ? '
" ' Not n living soul has seen it but our two selves.'
t " ' What have you done with the note enclosed to Miss Milroy 7 '
" He produced it from his pocket. I ran it over rapidly — saw that
there was nothing in it of the slighteBt importance — and put it in the
fire on the spot. That done, I left Bashwood in the sitting-room, and
went to the Sanatorium, with Armadale's letter in my band.
" The doctor bad gone out ; and the servant was unable to ssiy
positively at what time he would be back. I went into his study, and
wrote a line preparing bim for the news I had brought with me, which
I sealed up, with Armadale's letter, in an envelope, to await his return.
That done, I told the servant 1 would call again in ad hour, and left the
place.
" It W.1S useless to go back to my lodgings and speak to Baahwood,
nntil I knew first what the doctor meant to dd. I walked about the
neighbourhood, up and down new streets and crescents and squares,
with a kind of dull, numbed feeling in me, which prevented, hot only
all voluntary exercise of thought, but all sensation of bodily fetigue. I
remembered the same feeling overpowering me, years ago, on the morning
when the people of the prison came to take me into court to be tried for
my life. All that frightful scene came back again to my mind, in the
strangest manner, as if it had been a scene in which some other person
had figured. Once or twice I wondered, in a heavy senseless way, why
th«y had not hanged me !
"When I went back to the Sanatorium, I was informed that the
doctor bad returned half-an-hour since, and that he was in bis own room
ftDxiouely waiting to see me.
" I went into the study, and found him sitting close by the fire, with
his head down, and his bands ou his knees. On the table near him,
besides Armadale's letter and my note, I saw, in the little circle of light
thrown by the reading- lamp, an open railway guide. Was he meditating
flight 1 It was impossible to tell from his face, when he looked up at me,
what he was medit.tting, or how the shock had struck him when he first
discovered that Armadale was a living man.
" ' Take a Beat near the fire,' he said. ' It's very raw and cold to-day.'
" I took a chair in silence. In silence, on his side, the doctor sat
rubbing his knees before the fire.
" ' Have you nothing to say to me 7 ' I asked.
" He rose, and suddenly removed the shade from the readbg-lamp
so that the light fell on my fiice. *
6»2
JkWADAI^
•^'rnimw^hMagmtB^'U^i. • Wlai*« the nutte I '
"'Mj b^ icekdisStSMl 07 eja an htaxjmi bol,* Iiq&L
* TIm wMlh V, I wapfK&e." **
''II KM Ma^t bown both gac £iitbcr mi facUier {rav ArtH
YjuQjr Uapaiteit sal^Kt «Udb wc Uii botb coow IocciImx to dJiew !
•« ' 1 ihiak ■ cap oTUk wooU da jrtm gsod,' reaufced tbs doeior.
** 1 aceeptad hk wiggwtico ; mbI be ocdcnd lbs lea. \\ faOt U wit
MMUac, b« miktd vp and down tb« toooit and I sd bj tbc fiie— «b4 miI
a word paaod batWMB oa 00 aitber nda.
"The tcanrivod ma; asd tbe docurnatietd a diai^ {or ibc bcctcr
in myiux. lIcaiddomK^poaiu to loeat tbeUble,aiMlipakeotttalfaA
■* ' If I bad ten thotHand potukd* at lbs owmtgit,* be began, ■ I
^re the wbola of it nercr u bare eotnproniaod mjtdt ia joar
fpvctiktioa on Hr. Anaad&l«^» dcatb ! *
" lie aaid thoac worda wUb an abrnjitiicai, abnoat wUb ■ t:
wtikb wu itratigcly iiacharact«fiiiljc t/T luj ordinary laaaiicr. Was la
frighlcDAd hiiuMll^ or woa ba irjing to frightea me J I d^terniMd to
make bla czpUn binaaelTal tbe ontact, k fiu-u I vac conccTncd. *W«I
a moment, d^lar,' I cold. ' Do joa bold cm napgoaiblc ibr wbat iaa
b^ipenei]? '
" ' CectaJnly not,' be replied, ttiSly, ' Ndtbcr yon cor ODjbodjr ooaU
ban fortMon wbat \im ba|i{)«e«d. IVben 1 Mf 1 wvnld giro tea tb«Ba«ad
pound* (0 b« out of thia bmbcM, I am bbmuDg nobod/ but mjaeU Aad
wbra 1 tctl >cu next, Ihtit I, for one, wod'I allow Hr. Anoadalci
rcMUTcclion from tlte sea to be the min of nve vithont a fight foT it, I tell
j-oa, my dear madam, one of the plaineal trallu 1 erer told to mu a
woman. In tbc whole coqfm of my lir«. Don't tuppo«e I am iuxi&ratfy
Mpaniing my )Dti>T<>tit« frotn yoiira, in the cornmoii danger that new
tfartstan na bolJi. I simply indicate tlic diflctcnoe ia the risk that m
li«vo re*p«:liv<-]y run. You h»vc not iwnk tbc wkoJe of year reworan
in cslah I lulling it 8:iiiaturiiim ; atid jfoii havo not made u lulws d«c)atwtiMi
bclnrv u ningialmtp. wLicb in piniiiliablc as perjury Ly the law.'
" ) tiik'rni[>tcd biin again. JJta lelliahneu did ni« inorv gucd tban hi*
tm— it roiiBed niy leRijier <'flectuiilly. ' SiippoHt wv Ipt your riak and Rif
Tuk alone, and come to tie point,' I said. * 'Wikat do you mean tff
making a fi^ht for it? I aea a railway guide oii your table. DoM
milking 11 fight fur it, mvan — running nivuy I '
" ' llttii[iir.g uway ? ' r';i>talL-d tlio dt>ctor. ' Yon appnir (o (orgei that
I'vvry IHnhing I have in tlie world is ombiu-kod iu tbis cstubliAbuicnt,'
" ' Vol! fltop hi'TO tlicn ? ' I aiiid,
■" Uiiijuestionably I '
" ' And what do yoa mean to do when Mr. Arrosdale conO (ft
r.ngliLD<l?'
" A Bolitniy fly, tliQ laat of bis race whom Uic winter had apiueil, was
bitxxing feuWy about the d<)cti>r'8 fncu. Jlo caugiil it before be anaWwwJ
nil-, nnd ht-Id it nut across Uic tnbic in lus clot>ctl hand.
ARMADALE, ^^^"^ fi&3
" ' If tliifl fl^'fl name wai Armadale,' lie »i\iJ, ' and if you ImJ got liim
« I have got iijm now, what would tjon do 1 '
" His eyes, fixed uu my Tncc up loHbis time, tiinied Ki^iiilicintly, ix
he cnJrd liU quMtion, to my widow 8 dreii. I, loo, look<:<l nt it when lie
locked. A thrill of the old deadly hatred, and ttiQ old deadly detennitia-
ti<H), ran tbroiigh me again.
" ' I thcnld kill hira,' I said.
" Tile doetor sUirLed to hia feet (with the fly BtUI in liis liand), and
looked at me — a little tvo tbcntrically' — with an cJcprcHioa of the utmost
horror.
" ' Kill him ! ' repeated llie doelor in a paroxysm of virtuous alarm.
'Viokncc — murdcroua \ioleQce — ia My Suiatoriuiu 1 You toko my
hrvntli nway ! '
" I caught liis eye, iifhile he was expressing himself in this elaboistely
indignmit uiunntrr, Bciuliaizing me with a Ecarchbg curiosity which irns,
to »ay the leoai of it, k litlk' «t vanance wilh thu viilwmcnce of hi* Ian-
guage aiid the warmth of hia tone, IIw kught-d uDwwily, whett our eye«
met, and recovered his smoothly couGJuutinl maaoer in thij jostant that
cbipEed }MiwB he apoke again.
*" 1 \ivg a thousand paidona,' he enid. *I ought to have known better
than to take n Indy too Htcrnlly at !icr word. I'tTmit me to remind you,
howcrer, that the circiutwtance* are too ncriouii for .inyttiing in llie natur«
of — let U9 Mjr, no exaggcratioa or a jvkc. Yoa bhall la-ar what I propoao,
withotit further preface.' IJe paused, and resumed hia figurativQ use of
the 3y imprisoned in his hand. ' Here is Mr. Armadale. 1 can let bim
out, or keep him in, justos I please — and ho knows it. I say to him,'
cnntinund tlie doetor, faceliouHly addre«>iing the fly, ' Give nie proper
seourity, Mr. Armtidali', thiil no proceeding of iiny isort nhull he liikt-u
ngainst either this lady or myat-If, and J will let you o« of tlie hollow of
my hand. Hefiise — and be the risk what it may. I will keep you Id.*
Can you doubt, my dear madam, what Mi-. Armadale'* uiawer in, Dooncr
or later, certain to be T Can you doubt," said the doctor, suiting the
action (o the word, and letting the fly jjo, ' that it will end to the tntii-c
Mtisfiiction of uU parties, in this way ? '
" * 1 won't say at pri'sent,' I otiswered, ' whether I doubt or not. Let
me make eurv tliut I unilcratand you Srtt. You propose^ if I nm not
irii«1aken, to shut the doors of this placi! on Mr. Arinailnlv, iind not tu lot
tiitn out again, until he has agreed to the terms which it is uur interest to
impow on him 7 Hay I ask, in that ciisc, how you mean to mak« him
walk into the trap that you have set for him liero? '
"* I propose,' said ihc doctor, with bin hand on the railway guide,
'ascertaining fint, at what tJmo during every vT«ning«f this month tho
tidal tiaiiia from Duvlt and Folkpttone re&ch the London Bridge tei minus.
And I |>i«po*c next, posting a person wliom Mr. Ammdalo knows, and
whom you and I can trii^t, to wwt the arrival of the trnina^ and to m^vt
our man at thu mctncal when he steps out of the railiriiy carriage.''
28— a
ZOi ^^^ ARMAOATA
" * Have jxM tbouglit,* I Inqnircd, ' of win Uie penon b to t>c !'
" * I liavu Uiouglil,' toi-i Uic dncicT, ukiug up Amadale'k letter, '•(
Uin (tfivoD to whota this letter ll iidi1r(ned.'
" TliG answer startled rat. Waa it pOBsible tliat Le moA HaJkrwii
knew on« nnollif r J I jxit ike question imnwdiatelj'.
" ' Until (i>-<}aj', 1 never k> tnach as bcaid cf tLc gcnttpman'a mbm^*
nid tlie [liiclcr. 'I liavc simply purntcd llic inducliru imjoeM o(
rMisonin^, for whicV wo ar« itKloblctI to lb« immorlnl Bacon. How doei
Uiia Tcry important trltcr come into jour paaKSsionl I cnn't insult fott
bj euppoMog it to bav« Vocn (tolen. Conseqtientljr, it has coma to jron
with itu) IcfiTr lUiil liovtHQ of tb« penon to whom it is addreaaed. Coo-
•cqiieiitl^-, tbat pcnon is in ;our confidence. Cooscqtientljr, he U the Gnt
person I think of. You eeo the proc«ai? Vctjgood. Fttnnit ine n ijualtM
or two, on tho suhjoct of )Ir. Bnshwood, befcre ve go on aay furthCT.*
" The dvctor'a qncstioni wrat m Ktnuglit to tho poiut as unial. Uj
Mitwcrs informed him llint Mr. Bsihnood Mood towarda ArmiMtaie ill tlK
lelntioii of ilewaixl — tlint he hiul receired the letter at Thorpe* A tnlnaB
that momiug, aud had brought it ttmight to me by the 6m Intin — tbl
he hiid net aliown it, oi- spoken of it before iMving, to Major Mllror o> ta
uny one clto — that I liad not chlain^ tLia wrrico at hit handa b^ trusliBg
him witli my iwcn-t — that 1 hnd oommnnicated with him in the «ltaract«r
of Armadulc'a widow — that he hnd suppresaed the letter, under ibcH
circumBtancL<a, K>l«1y in ohedieuce (o a general cauti<»i I had gircn hua,
to keep his own counsel If nnjitiing strange happened at Thorp*-Am!'rwn
until he bad fint CDnaulted mc — and lastly, tlint tlic rcasou why lie hail
dc>B« lu ! icld him, in tliL'* matter, wat, that in ihin matter, and iu til
ctbeto, Mr. Dashicood wa* blindly daroted to my intrrtcts.
" At that point in the interrogatory, tlie doctor's eyca hrgdn to look al
in« diatrusl fully, be^iind tho dootora spectacles.
" ' What !s the leciet of thtt blind devotion ot Ur. Ba^wtKid'* to yu«r
iuUmtit' heaalted.
" I heaitateil for a Moment — in pity lo Bnehwood, not in pity to mjtelC
'If you iiiuat know,' I umweruil, ' Mr. Biuhwood is fn tore with me.'
" * Ay ! ay r exclaimed the doctor, with on air of relieC • I bej^ (•
underBtaad now. la be a yowig man t '
<" He u aa old man.'
<*Th« dnelor laid Umwtlf back In hts eltnir, and chuckled toAly.
'Better and better I' lie aaid. ' Here is tho very mnn we wanu ^Vho
•0 fit nfl Mr. Ainuidale'tf steward to rae<.-l 3[r. Annajalo on hia r^tnm to
London. Aud who go capable of inHueticii^ Mr. Bnahwoud in the projier
way aa the chortntog object of Mr. Boehwood's ndtniration ? '
" There could bo no doubt that Ba«hw»od Wft9 th« tnfin lo eerre'tLe
doctor's purpose, and that my inflnenca wna lo bo truMed to make hl«
Bcrre it. The diflicuity was not here — the difGcnlty waa in the nmtn-
twtred ^UGfitioa that I luid put to the doctor n luinuts siiioe. I pat tt M
luin again.
ARMADALE. 695
" ' Suppose Mr. Armadale's Btevard meets his employer at the ter-
luinus,' I Baid. ' May I ask once more how Mr, Armadale is to be persuaded
to come here 7 '
" Don't think me ungallaat,' rejoined the doctor in his gentlest manner,
* if I ask, on mj side, how are men persnaded to do nine-tenths of the
foolish acts of their lives 7 They are persuaded by your charming aex.
The weak side of every man is the woman's side of him. We have only
to discover the woman's side of Mr. Armadale — to tickle him on it gently
— and to lead him our way with a silken string. I observe here,' pursued
the doctor, opening Armadale's letter, ' s reference to a certain young lady,
which looks promising. Where is the note that Mr. Armadale speaks of
as addressed to Miss Milroy?'
"Instead of answering him, I started, in a sadden burst of excitement,
to my feet. The instant he mentioned Miss Milroy's name, all that I had
heard from Bashwood of her illness, and of the cause of it, rushed back
into my memory. I saw the means of decoying Armadale into the Sana-
torium, as plainly as I saw the doctor on the other side of the table,
wondering at the extraordinary change in me. What a luxury it was to
make Miss Milroy serve my interests at last !
" ' Never mind the note,' I said. ' It's burnt, for fear of accidents. I
can tell you all (and more) than the note could have told you. Miss
Milroy cuts the knot ! Miss Milroy ends the difficulty ! She is pri-
vately engaged to him. She has heard the false report of his death ;
and she has been seriously ill at Thorpe -Ambrose ever since. Wheil
Bashwood nieete him at the station, the very first question he is certain
to ask '
" ' I see 1 ' exclaimed the doctor, anticipating mo. ' Mr. Bashwood has
nothing to do but to help the truth with a touch of fiction. When he tells
his master that the false report has reached Miss Milroy, he has only to
add that the shock has affected her head, and that she is here under
medical care. Perfect ! perfect \ Wc shall have him at the Sanatorium
as fast as the fiisteat cab-horse in London can bring him to us. And
mind ! no risk — no necessity for trusting other people. This is not a
madhouse ; this is not a Licensed Establishment — no doctors' certificates
arc necessary hero 1 Ify dear lady, I congratulate you ; I congratulate
myself. Permit me to hand you the railway guide, with my beat compli-
ments to Mr. Bafihwood, and with the page turned down for him, as an
additional attention, at the right place.'
" Remembering how long I had kept Bashwood waiting for me, I took
the book at once, and wished the doctor good evening without further
ceremony. As he politely opened the door for me, he reverted, without
the slightest necessity for doing so, and without a word from me to lead
to if, to the outburst of virtuous alarm which had escaped him at the
earlier part of our interview.
'"I do hope,' he said, 'that you will kindly forget and foi^ve my
extraordinary want of tact and perception when — in short, when I caught
tb« %. I poaitiircly lilti^ ut hit own utiiiiidit^ in putting a litnral f^B*
]>ri-tJiticii oD a lady'i litlle joke ! Violence in My H«natoriam ! ' cxcl
tb« doctor, witli hii ejM ones more fixed attcutivclj en my fuec, * violaei 1
in Uiii cnlightcniM] uioelecntli ccniiuy! Was there ever anyOitn; «aj
ridictitoUB? Do fiutco your clcak before you go out — it i& so cold ni*
T»vil Sliall I (tfcort yon? Shnll I send my KrrantT Ah, yoatnn
alwityaiiKlcpciiiIoot ! nlwaya, if ! may ny so, a boat in younelft Blcy I
call to-morrow iiiDrning, and lieur wlmt you have acttk-d vritb Mr. Boil*
" I mid yea, nud got nvty from litm at last. In a qusrlcr cf sn lionr
more I was back nt ray lodgings, luid voi inruriiic*! by the scrvniit tlMt
' the elderly gpnlloiiinii* w«8 «lill waiting for me.
" I hnv*? not got ihfi liwirt, *r the p&tieaoG — I liardly know wlueh— to
waste maiiy Claris on what pBS»cd bclwi-cn me and BuJiwoutl. It was v
oa»y, so dcgnidingly ca>y, to puU ihc clritig* of th« poor old [nippct la Miy
wxy 1 plfsscd I I uitft iiono oftlic tliirtdulck's nliicb I should huve Iwa
obliged to mcrt i» tli« eate of a younger mou, or of a man leas idiitaaied
with aiJniiraticn for nic. I 1(^11 llic iillusiona to Miaa SJllroy in Arnutdaie'i
kiter, wliich bad nntumlly pizilcd liiiii, to be explained at n juttire titnr-
I nvTcr oven troubled mjrvclf I'D icvcot a plausible reason for wisliing bin
to meet Arriindalo at tlic loroiinUH, nnd to entrap liim by a Btmtsginn into
tLo (loutor'a Sajialorium. All tEiat I found it necessary to ilo nn.t to rcTrr
to wb.it I hail wriitcu to Mr. Bnniiwood, on my urrival in London, an<l t"
wliat 1 luid atlLTwiinlt Aaid Iv biiii, when be ctiiio to answer my Ivtl«r
pcrMmatly al tlic liclci,
"'You know already,' I Enid, ' ttiat my marriage hna ncl hem ft
bap|iy one. Praw yuiir unii conclusions from that — and doa't pT«»
to tell you vhc'ther tho news of Mr. Armadale's rrticue from Lho sea it*
or is not, tlie welcome uema ibat It ougbt lu be to his wife I' That «u
enough to put hia withered old face in a glow, aiid to act bta witlimd
('III hopes growing again. I bad only to add, ' If yon will do what I ailc
you to do, no mutter how iiicoiDiireliciisiblcniid how mysterious my requcM
may necm to be; and il' you will accept my iisjunmc«i( tliat you sbaU ma
no lialc yourself, and that you sliall receive the proper cjcplanatioiu at iha
proper time — yoxi. wIU baro tucb a claim on my gratitude and my rfguA
as no iiiiLiL living bait ever hod yt-tl' I hnd only to say those 'Words, and
to potiii ilii'tii by a 1oi>k and a stolen pn-wiire of his hand ; ntMJ I had hiw
At my feel, blindly eager to obty «ie. If bo could have acen wlyit I
of myself— but tbat doesn't matter : lie saw notbitig.
"Hours have passed since I ecnt him iiwny (pledged to secrecy,
Hfar4 of lits insinictioDS, and provided with his time-table) to th« botJ
iivar the lerniiiius, at which he is to slay till ArmadalQ appcan cot H^
railway pbttfarui. The cxcilL-meat of the earlier part of the eveninff ha*
all worn ofi~; and the dull, numbed sonsntiuii hn^ got me again. Ar« my
energies weaiiug out, 1 wuuder, jiul at ihc timo wbi-u I must want ibem*
had hin
!cy.po»-^
arm:adale. 097
Or is some foreshaiiowing of disaster creeping over mo which I don't yet
understand 7
" I might be in a humour to sit here for some time longer, thinking
thoughts like these, and letting them find their way into words at their
own will and pleasure — if my Diary would only let me. But ray idle
pen has been busy enough to make its way to the end of the volume. 1
liave reached the last morsel of space left on the last page ; and whether
I like it or not, I must close the book this time for good and all, when I
close it to-night.
" Good-by, my old friend and compaaion of many a miserable day 1
Having nothing else to be fond of, I half suspect myself of having been
unreasonably fond of ^ou.
".What a fool I am I "
THE END OF THE FIFTn BOOK.
Book tue Last.
ciiaiter l
At the Terminus.
On the Bight of the second of December, Mr. Bushwood took up his post
of observation at tlie terminus of the South Eastern Kailway for the first
time. It vms an earlier date, by six days, than the date which Allan had
himself fixed for his return. But the doctor, taking counsel of Iiis medical
experience, had considered it just probable that "Mr. Armadale might
be perverse enough, at his enviable age, to recover sooner than his medical
advisers might have anticipated." For caution's sake, therefore, Mr.
Bashwood was instructed to begin watching the arrival of the tidal
trains, on the day after he had received his employer's letter.
From the second to the seventh of December, the steward waited
punctually on the platform, saw the trains come In, and satisfied himself,
evening allcr evening, that the travellers were all strangers to him. From
the second to the seventh of December, Miss Gwilt (to return to the
name under which she is best known in these pages) received his daily
report, sometimes delivered personally, sometimes sent by letter. The
doctor, to whom the reports were communicated, received them in his turn
with unabated confidence in the precautiuns tliat had been adopted, up to
tlic morning of the eighth. On tliat date, the irritaiion of continued sus-
pense had produced a change for the worse in Miss Gwilt's variable
temper, which was perceptible to every one about her, and which, strangely
enough, was reflected by an equally marked cliange in the doctor's manner
598 AmAnxnt
wtKs be aaae U> fay lib «mu1 vi«L Bf ■ eplachlteee so c^trtordiBtry.
tl)kl hi! CDCmiM nigiit 1i>t« mpwtod it of not bdag a coiaeidtBee M
bII, tll<^ roonus^ os vUcb Mtn OwDt kial "Wer |alieoee, pnmd to be ibs
tlie awrntiq Qo winch tbff dwtov lotC ha oooSdoiee fbr the 6nl titoft
"K* OBWB, oT eoaftp," he Mid, ittdgg dawn with » liaiTy
" TTeU ! wril ! "
Mm Gwilt l««k«<] up tl him tnilablj, from hn work.
** Tow nem atnugelj dtprewoJ ifab momiag,' she mad. " What n
jOQ R&aul of oow ?"
^ Tb« impntaHod of l)«iog RfnU, tiadmn,'" •nnweiwl Uie doctor,
■otemnlT-, " is not W) hn^itttatian ttt ca:« mhljr on nn^ iiiui>~«vti) wIkb
he bclw^ to such aa esMiitully peaceful proloHoa as iiuii«. E ks) art
afruid. I Am (:u jou more oomctljr put it in the Gnt inatanec) straagrif
d^fuened. Mjr natttrc is, u 7011 know. natamSj taogiune, and 1 oolf
M9 to-day, what, but for mj habitoat bopcftdnoa, I might have ttta,
ought to hira wea, a wedc nnoe.'*
Mi« Owilt impatioDtlj threw down bcr wotk. "If wotda'
mooejr,*' Av odd, " th« luxury of utking would btt ruber an
laxofy, in your case I "
■* Which I might hare a»B, and on^hl to haT« «evQ," rtitcrated tfce
dooior, wiiboQt taldng the tligbtest notice or th« iBtemiptiDe, " a wal:
Bin». To pal it pluDlj, I feci bj 00 menu so oeriMiD ai I did, i!uf
Mr. Armadolu will eniis#nt, without s atntggle, to ifae teram which it a m*
inumt (and in a miaor degree youn) to impoM on him. Otwrtre! 1
don't qoesiion our entrapping him uxMeMfoIl^ iato tlie Sanaioriom— I
otdy doubt whether he will prore qnita aa man^gMblo u I origiBaO/
asli«tp«ted, when we I^re got him ihcrv. 847," remarks the dotur,
niiiiig bif (7M for tlio first time, and fixing then in Mead/ inquiijoi
Mifts Gwill ; " saj ihai he is bold, «bsliiiate, what 70a plcww ; and dW
he holds out — hulda oat Tor wccha together, for luoniha togetber, ai ■«
in similar aituntionx to hit hare hdd out b«fen> him. What httwif
The rifllt of keeping him Ibrubly in ciincenlmrtit— of anppre«diig hi«, V
I may iw e!tpre« myBelf-^nesreas« at compoiuid intercut, and beaoflini
EnorroouK ! My liouae is, at this moment, rittiiallj ready for padcab.
PalientH nmy present ihemecivcs in a week's lime. Ptiiicnia may eom-
nunicatc with Mr Armsdnlo, or Mr. Ammdtilo may communicate wilk
patients. A note may l)e smugglcil out of the house, itnd miy reaeh Ibt
Commisatoncn in Lnnney. Even in the caicof an nnlicciuwd eetabliib-
ment like mine, tlioac gentlemen — no I those chnnered dMpoU in a kt^
of Iib<-rty — hiire only to apply to ihe Lord Chancellor for an order, and h
enter (by henvena, to enter My Sanntorium ! ) and ttearcb tfac bunw finta
top to bottom at a moment's notice 1 1 don't with to de«pond i I do^
wiah to alarm you ; I don't pretend to say tltat the meana we aiv tatinc to
Hciire cur own aofc-ly are nny other tlian the best meanx at our disptwil
All 1 ask you to d^ is to imagine the Commissioners in the ho'
th«B lo oottceire ibe coiueqni.-nct«. The cooKqucocea 1 " r«peale4'
ARMADALt:. 599
doctor, getting Bternly OQ his feet, and taking up his hat aa if he meant to
leare the room.
" Have you anything more to say ? " asked Miss GwUt.
" Have you any remarfes," rejoined the doctor, " to offer on you*
side ? "
He stood hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at
each other in silence.
Mias Gwilt apoke first.
"I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her
composure.
" I h^ your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear.
" What did you say ? "
" Nothing."
"Nothing?"
" If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Misa Gwilt,
with a hitteriy sarcastic empbasis on the words, " I might he capable of
shocking you by another ' little joke.' "
The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if
he was beginning to recover his good humour again.
" Hard," ho murmured gently, " not to have forgiven me that unlucky
blunder of mine, even yet 1 "
" What else have you to say ? I am waiting for you," said Misa
Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her
work again, as she spoke.
The doctor came behind her, and put his hand ou the back of her
chair.
"I have a question to aak, in the first place," he said; "and a
measure of necessary precaution to suggest in the second. If you will
honour me with your attention, I will put the question first."
" I am listening."
" You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor ; " and
you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to
wear your widow's dress? "
She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on
with her work.
" Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust
to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet,
on his way home."
" And suppose he gets home alive — what then ? "
" Then there is another chance still left."
"What is it, pray?"
" He may die in your Sanatorium."
" Madam ! " remonstrated the doctor in the deep bass which he
reserved for hia outbursts of virtuous indignation. " Wait 1 you spoke
of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer
conrersational tones. " Yea 1 yee I of course. I uuderstand you this time.
Eren Uie IteiJiiq; «rt 'n at Hm mercy of ncddentg -tiveu nudi & SmBMriMB
B8 mine 10 liable to be uirpri^ by UeRtb. Jtui no ! jwt n!" W
UiQ dociOT, conceding tkc qii(»tiuii wt(L (he utmost Iiiifiarl'uiUiy. " Tors
is iLc diapter of iKCi<leat*, 1 lubuil — if you cbooM to trtifil to it. Ului'
I $»y emiiliAtieally, 1/ you clioovc to trim lo it."
There WM anoilier momeDt of silence — ailcnco so proronml tho: :c-
lliing WM Kudibiti iu the room but lli« rapid c/ici of Jklica Gwiit'« noc^
Ihrough her work.
"Goon," sheeaid; '* you harea't done y«t."
"True I" KU1I Hm doctor. "Havii^ put my qaestioi], I bna n
measare of precaution to imprcts ou you uext. You will kc, my Am
iDDdaiD, lliat I aia not disposed to tntsl to ihc diapter of accideola w v}
■Ide. Rdlcctioa has coQTincrd me that you and 1 arc not (locally i^au-
Ing) 90 conveiiti-nUy situated as vc might be, in ciue of emto^geacy. Oh
are, as yvt, ntru in this rapidly-improving ncigbbourliocid. I am twvJj
minutes' walk frwn youj you ar« twenty niiittitm' walk from me. I
Inoiv nctljing of Mr. Arniodnli-'a chamclcr; you kuow it wtU. It tasglt
be noeoeary ^vitally nccceaar}' — to appeal to your ioipcrior knowMe**'
liitn at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we amritUi
taey reach of each other, under the aanw roof 7 Id both our inumM 1
beg to invite you, my dear m&dani, to beoomo lor a Ituitod petM^ at
iiiniAtc of My Sanatorium."
Alisa Givtit's npid ncc-dlu euddenly stopped. "I undentaod T0il|"lfcf
taid again, ns ([ui^tly na before.
" I beg your p.-irdnn," said llie doctor, with oiiotlicr attack of dta&M
and wilb liix bmid onco more nt his o&r.
i^lie laughed lu hi.-n)i-lf— n low, terrible laugh, wliicit startled rraAr
doctor iulo lakiug his hand vlFthc Luck uf her chair.
"An inmate of your Sjinalorium?" aim rcpeatcti. "Yon <ou^
n^ipi'arancca in everytliliig else — do you propote to oonault appeatsnoa 0
receLring nie inlo your bouse ? "
" Most BRuredly t " replied the doctor, with ealhuxiasm. c I am aff<-
prised al your atViiig mu thv question 1 Did you ever koov a man ofttj
eniltience in my prufvaKion i^lio Bctappi>ftranccaatOefi;incc? If ivu Iion"
Die by ecccptiii)^ my ijirilulion, you enter My Sunutoriura in iIm w*
unimpeachable of oil poaoible chai-actere — in the chanotcr of a Poiicst.''
" When do ycu want my aoawer ? "
*' Can you decide to-day ? "
" No.''
" To-niorrow ? "
'* Y**. Ilnvo you anything more to any 7 "
"Nolhiitg in»rv."
" Lejivc iHu iheii. / don't keep up appearuacea. I wish to bealH^'
and I say so. Good morning."
" Oh, the Bcx ] the aex ! " tald the doctor, with his <xcclleal Wnf
in perfect working ordtr mgaui. " 80 delighlfuUy impukive ! w elant-
ARMADALE. 601
ingly reckless of what thay say, or how they say it I ' Oh, woman, in
our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please I ' There ! there I
there I Good morning 1 "
Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him cooteniptously from the window,
■when the street-door had closed, and he had left the house.
" Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. " Manuel
drove me to it the second time. — You cowardly scoundrel ! shall I let you
drive me to it for the thii'd time and the last 7 "
She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's
dress in the gloss.
The hours of the day passed — and she decided nothing. The night
came — and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned — and the
terrible question was still unansn'ored.
By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Baahwood's
usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain.
" I'll have more time ! " she determined passionately. " No man alive
fiball hurry me faster than I like ! "
At breakfast that morning (the morning of tlie ninth) the doctor was
surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt.
'* I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed
the door on her.
The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of
driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face.
"The time is getting on," ho remonstrated in his most persuasive
manner. " For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here
to-night."
" I want another day 1 " she repeated, loudly and passionately.
" Grantt'd ! " said the doctor, looking nervously towards the door.
"Don't be too loud — the servants may hear you. Mind I" he added,
" I depend on your honour not to press me for any further delay."
" You had better depend on my despair," slie said — and left him.
Tlie doctor chipped the shell of his ^g, and laughed softly.
" Quite right, my dear I " he thought. " I remember where your
despair led you in past times ; and I think I may trust it to lead you
the same way now."
At a quarter to eight o'clock that night, Mr. Basliwood took up his post
of ob^rvation as usual on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge.
He was in the bifjhest good spirits ; he smiled and smirked in impres-
sible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence
over Miss Gwilt, in viiluo of his knowledge of her past career, hud had
no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had
upheld Ilia courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe-Ambrose, and it had
given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself
liad noticed ; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place
in her favour, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the
■heuie ^Mck »r lier hnA wad her look. Uia vanity — lb? tkb'Aj a^
ID BMn at fcia agii i» «nlf d^nr in Atg^m — had now Uft«<d btm m di
Httaifc bcsTtn of tonoca 'kiniiiw oocsmire. B« beUeved ia bsi|M
n be UivTcd to Hm mmaxt nrw viatar Pfc«^«o«i tkai be won— «li
Wlwvtd in tbc dvnqr Btll« cm* (mppnftiUa (o Om «fawiiiq| imSpm 4
bda JB tbor iccni) thu be flatkriifaal in bn haiMl. II* honuaad! lb
wctn-eul old crtatero wbo had wA MUig biic« hu duldbood, kmoMd ■
"ha jaevd ill* pburutm the few fnpnnti be amM remember of a ■»»
aUeUwm^.
Ttio tnin wm due u fxrlj as eigbt o'dodt ibai night. At in
ndmitea paM the hoar, the wluiUe taaaAA Ib Iom tbm Sre nMa
■an^ tbe p— ngen, wen feitbg oitl on Ibe pletlbmi.
Following tbe bwtractkew that had been g)v«ii to htm, Mr. BiA«M<
foade hta way aa -kAX aa the mwd weaM Irt him. aloog the fa* <(j
cartUKca; asd ducoTciuig no linuliar &cc on that fint ianat^iA^]
joined ihc feawi^m far a KCood March among tltem In the
booae waJilng-room noxL
He had WVvd round Uia iryjiii, end had aattafi«d bimnlf tlal IMJ
penoM oecupying tL were all atrangeni, whm he henrd a ntoe Mot
bhn, exdainuns, " Can that be Ur. Bailiwood I "
U« laroed in Mgn t!xp«ctatiDn ; nad round lunuclf (ac< la bee "ni '
the fant nan under hcaren wbotn he lied expected to
Th« nuD waft Mmtracm.
aiAmni u.
Ix TUE lIotTBU.
Ifonaxo Mr. Qfljdiwood's coufiuion (aAn- a momeai'a glance M thednagt
in bis personal apprAmncc), 3Iidwintcr tpoke firat.
" I aoo I ))&Tc i>nq)H»(yl ynti," he uiid. " Yoa wcr« lookii^', I uppw.
for somebody else ? Hare you heard fh>m AUan f la lie os his way \tm
Rgnia ahmdy I "
The ini^uifj about AUnn, though it woold oaturally have anggatwi Mf
to any one in Midwiater'a poBi^on at that moment., added to Ktr. BmA-
troodNl wnrusion. Not knowing how ol*« to extricate liimscJi' from lb*
critical position in which lie wna placed, he look rfAigc in aimple dninL
" I know nothing about Mr. Armndale — olidear, no,Bir, 1 fcuownothin
about Mr. ArtnnilnlA," be eBaw<>red with ncedlma ea^rneM and htat^-
" Wokome hack to KngUui], mr," Iio n^nt on^ changing the mihjf^i ia Va
tterrouily tallaiUv« mnitntT. " 1 iliilti'l know you bod been nhniad. h'i>
M long aincv wc havo bad the picnamv — since 1 have had tho |tleaiuK.—
lUvo yon ciijnyed yonracEf, sir, in Ibrdga parts? Bach dlflVrent mimft*"
from oiira — ^yee, yes, yc*, — inch different manner* frvni ouia I Do ya*
make n long slay In Eiigbmt], now jroii Iihto come bade 7 ''
" i batdly know," anid Hidwintor. " I haro been obliged to altr
ASUADALE. 608
my plans, and to coine to England unexpectedly." ■ He hesitated a little ;
hia manner cbacged, and he added in lower tones, " A BeriouB anxiety
baa brought me back. I can't eay what my plans will be until that anziety
ia set at rest."
The light of a lamp fell on his face while he apoke, and Mr. Bashwood
obserred, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed,
" Fm sorry, air — I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any
use— 7 " suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence, in some
decree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance
of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe-Ambrose in the bygone
time.
Midwinter thanked him, and turned away sadly. " I am afraid you
can be of no use Mr. Bashwood — but I am obliged to you for your offfer,
all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, " Suppose she should
not be iU ? Suppose some misfortune should have happened 7 " ho
Tesnmed, speaking to htmself^ and turning again towards the steward. " If
abe has left her mother, some trace of her might be found by inquiring
at Thorpe- Ambrose."
Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex Wiis
interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt.
" A lady, sir ? " he inquired. " Are you looting fot a lady 7 "
" I am looking," said Midwinter simply, "for my wife."
" Married, sir I " exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. " Married since I last
had the pleasure of seeing you 1 Might I take the liberty of asking ? "
Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground.
" Tou knew the lady in former times," he said, " I have married
Miss Gwilt."
The steward started back, as he might have started back ftom a loaded
pistol, levelled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost
his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him
from head to foot.
"What's the matter?" asked Midwinter. There was no answer.
" What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, " in
Miss Gwilt's being my wife ? "
" Towr wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Arma-
dale 1 " He checked himself by a desperate effort, and eaid no more.
The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly
reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married
his wife had passed tho lips of the last man in the world whom he would
have dreamed of admitting into his confidence I He took Mr. Bashwood
by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the
part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other.
" You referred to my wife just now," he said ; " and you spoke of
Jtfrs. Armadale in the same breath. What do you mean by that 7 "
Agiun there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding
more than that he had iuTolved himself in some Berioos complication which
C04 ARMADALE.
was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Basil wood struggled to extricate liim'
Eelf from tlm grasp that was laid oa liim, and struggled in vain,
MidwiDter Gternlj ropeated tbo question. " I ask you again," he saiJ,
" what do you mean by it? "
" Nothing, air 1 I give you my word of honour I meant nothing ! '
He felt the hand on bis arm tightening its grasp ; he eaw, even in the
obscurity of the remote comer in which they stoad, that jUidwinter'a finr
temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremiQr of bk
danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid mu
possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency — tht
capacity to lie. " I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a deipe-
ratc efibrt to look and speak confidently, " that Mr. Armadale would be
surprised "
" You said Mrs. Armadale I "
" No, sir — on my word of honour, on my sacred word of honour, yoa
are mistaken — you are indeed ! I said J/r.*Armadalti — ^how could I nr
anything else? Please to let me go, sir — I'm pressed for time. I do
assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time ! "
For a moment longer Midwinter maintdncd his holdi and in thit
moment lie decided what to do.
He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as pro-
ceeding from anxiety about his wife — anxiety naturally caused (after the
regiilar receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by
the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her aide fca a
whole week. The first vaguely- terrible suspicion of some other reason for
her eilence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he bad
Iiitherlo attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the
instant be heard the steward associate the name of " Mrs. Armadale " widi
the idea of his wife. Little irrt^larities in her correspondeoce with bin,
which be Lad thus far only thought strange, now came back on his miad
and proclaimed themselves to be suspicious as well. He had hitherto
believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered
her lutters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office.
Now he EUKi)ected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He
had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at tbo only place be
knew of at which a clue to her could be found — the address she had given
him as the address at which "her mother" lived. Now (with a motive
which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong
enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind), he determined,
before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familioiity
with a secret, which was a marriage- secret between himself and his wife.
Any direct appeal to a man of tlie steward's disposition, in the atcwaid*!
present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapoo of
deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinto^
Iiands. He let go of Mr. Boshwood'a arm, and accepted Mr. Bm
explanation.
ABMADALE. 605
" I beg your pardon," he said, " I Lave no doubt yon are right. Pray
attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-faligue, I wish you
good evening."
The station was by this time almost a solitude ; the passengers by the
train being assembled at the examination of tlieir luggage in the custom-
house waiting- room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of
Mr. Ba.abwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early
life with his gipsy master had been of a nature to practise him in such
stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked, away towards
the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages — opened the door of one
of them , as if to look aflcr something that he had htt behind — and detected
Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the plat-
form. Id an instant, Midwinter bad crossed, and had passed through the
long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side farthest from the
platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door, the moment
aAer Mr. Baahwood had entered the first cab by tlie right-hand door.
" Double your tare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, " if you keep
the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute
more both vehicles were on their way out of the station.
The clerk sat in his sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destioa-
tioDS of the caba aa they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was
driving him, call out " Hampstead 1 " as he went by the clerk's window."
" Why did you say ' Hampstead 7 ' he asked when they had left the
station.
" Because the man before me aaid ' Hampstead,' sir," answered the
driver.
Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the north-western
suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over
again, the man answered, " Bight in firont of us."
It was between nine and ten o'clock, when the driver pulled up his
horses at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them, waiting
at a house-door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was
the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward,
and dismissed his own cab.
He took a turn backwards and forwards before the door. The vaguely
terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus, had forced
itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. With-
out the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himsvlf blindly dis-
trusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suaptcting Mr. Bashwood of serving
her in the capacity of gobetween. In sheer horror of his own morbid
fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the
name of the street in which it stood — and then, in justice to his wife, to
return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at
which her mother lived. He bad taken out bis pocket-book, and was on
his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had
driven Mr. Bashwood, looking at him with an. expreflaioa of inquisitive
Hm Urn «t nmiHnftiB§ Hm «b-4rinr, wIuIm h» kad Uw i
t taBii/, iBMsatljr OBBOPtd to hint. Ut look ft kalAcnmn from Itii i
■Ddpol Untotfc*!
< nmij faiod.
**Hm lb* gtlwwn vkuB von doM-c ftata l^ «iiUk>a,
lli>tbi>tieriM>ilua.
- r«, «r."
"Did JOB bar bin ouibbc fariajbadf wbttn the door wasiytHdM
" lb Mked for m ladj, tk. Uim. " Tim ntmn bwiMed.
mw't a cosEun asmc, kt ; I iImhiIi] ktww il aig«m if I be«nl it.*
"^Wisii 'UidwistarT'"
"Ko, air."
•••AriMdakV*'
"Tbtt'a it, nr. Un. AmMU*."
" Are 70a awe a waa ' Urn' anU aob ' Ur.2 '"
** I'm as sore ai a ana caa b* «bo haat'l takts auj pacfiaular '
*.-
Hw doubt iajJial is tbai Uit aaswer «fa<idej IGdwimw 10 aavo^-
gUa tba BBtts oa llie tfU. He aseeoded tbe httnn atiM. Aa V
raiaed ha band le ibe Wl ■( tbe aide of tba door, Uie rtcleDee at \m
■fitaticn ataatered bin pbjuoaPj ftw tba qtooMpl. A, cinag* a^ada
as of soni«lbuig leapiog up from his h«att la bib bnia, ttuiwd lu hM
wildljr eidd;. He btJd hy tba howe-nilingib aod kvpt bin &ea lo dti
air, and »»>lut«Iy wui«d till be ina iMacly aeun. Tbi--a he raoj A*
belL
"laT"— betricdtoaakJw " Un. Armadde," wbcQ tbe natdHarrat
bad opened ib« door, but not even bii reMhttion eould faroa tbc r™* la
jam hm lip»i-^'' b your niLimai as hoatcl ' he aaked.
" Y«, air,"
Tbe girl ahowed him into a bad: {arioar, and rmiirutaiT
little old hkdjr, vith an obliging naiiDcr and a bri^ [air oTsfea,
" Then ia eome nu«tak«," &«id Uidwinier. " 1 wiabod vo <
Once iDore Iw tried to niter Ibe name, and once naore he &i]ei)
it to hia lipa.
" Mn. Armadale 7 " enggeated tbe little old ladj, «iib a smite.
" Yee."
" Sbgn tbo gontkman i^Uti*, Jensj.''
"The girt led tbe way to tlie drawiug^roouL Boot,
" Any aaavn, at 1 "
1' Ho name."
Mr. Baabwood had 1)ar«ty completed bis report of -wbat bad
at tbe lerminuB ; Ur. Botbwood'a imf>«rioue mittrcea was still riwin
■peechleaa under tbe shoclc of tbe discovery that bad Imnt on ber <rt*
tbe door of tbc room opened ; and, widioui a vord of wnmine to piw^
him, Midirinlor appeared on the tbrcahold. He toeJc one atep i(rte tbt
logm; and wccliaiiicaUy pusbed the door ba behind him. He ttaai b
■Ha
ARMADAJLE. 607
dead silence, and confronted hie wife, with a scrutiny that waa terrible
in its unnatural Belf-posaesaion, and that enveloped her steadily in one
comprehensive look from head to foot.
In dead silence on her aide, ahe roae from her chair. In dead ulence
Bfae stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced hec husband in widow's weeds.
He took one step nearer to her and stopped again. He UAed his hand
and pointed with his lean brown iinger at her dress.
" What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-
posBession, and without moving hia outstretched hand.
At the soiind of hia voice, the quick rise and tall of her bosom — which
bad been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tor-
tured her — suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly
■till — as if his question had struck her dead, and hts pomtiug hand had
petrified her.
He advanced one step nearer and reiterated his words, in a voice even
lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first.
One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction might have
been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed
mt the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and
old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke
the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face.
" Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally
clear, " our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that
inanner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the
ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last &int vestige
of colour in her cheeks faded out.
There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix
the language she had used to him in his mind. " She calls me ' Mr.
Midwinter,"' he said slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our
acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. Hid
wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw
the ateward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him.
" I once did you a service," he said ; " and you once told me you
were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I
ask you something 1 "
He waited a little again. Mr. Basbwood still stood trembling at the
fireplace, silently watching him.
" I see you looking at mc," he went on. " Is there some change in me
that I am not conscious of myself 7 Am I seeing things that you don't
see 7 Am I hearing words that t/ou don't hear 7 Am I looking or speak-
ing like a man out of his senses?"
Again he waited, and again the silence was imbroken. His eyes began
u> glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother
rose dark and slow in his otihy cheeks.
" Is that woman," he asked, " the woman whom you once knew, whose
uame waa Misa Gwitt 7 "
G08 AlUIADALE.
Once more his wife collected Iier fatal courage. Once more hia vift
spoko Iier fatal words.
" You compol me to repeat," bIic said, " that you are presuming m
our acqu:uDtancG, and that you are foi^tting what ia due to mc."
He turned upon her, with a savage auddenneaa which forced a or of
olai-ni from Mr, Rishwood's lipa.
" Are you, or are you not My Wife ? " he asked, through his set t«ti
Sho raised her eyea to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked it
him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair.
" I am not your wife," she said.
He staggered back, with his hand groping for something U* hold hr,
like the hands of a. man in the dark. He leaned heavily ngainst the will
of the room, and looked at the woman who bad slept oa his bosom, ind
who had denied him to his face.
Mr. Bashwood stole panic-Btricken to her wde. "Go in there I ''ke
Avliispered, trying to draw her towards the folding doors which led icU
the next room. " For God's sake be quick I He'll kill you I "
She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a
sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lij» tha:
struggled slowly into s frightful amile.
" Zet him kill me," she said.
As the words passed her lipa, he sprang forward from the wall, wiih i
cry tliat rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man fladtd
at her from his glassy eyes, and clutched at her in hia threatening hsadi.
He came on till he was within arm's length of her — and auddenlv stooi
still. The black Hush died out of his face in the instant when he stoppfd.
His eyelids fell, his outstretched handa wavered, and sank helpless. He
dropped, as the dead drop. He lay as the dead lie, in the arms of the
wife who had denied him.
She knelt on the floor, and rested his head on her knee. She csnglit
the arm of the steward hurrying to help her, with a hand that cloitd
round it like a vice. " Go for a doctor," she said, " and keep the pe<^
of the house away till he comes." There was that in her eye, there wsi
that in her voice, which would have warned any man living to obey
her in silence. In silence, Mr. Bashwood submitted, and hurried out
of the room.
The instant she was alone, slic ruised him from her knee. With both
arms clasped round him, the miserable woman liAed hia lifeless face to
licrs, and rocked him on her bosom in an agony of tenderness beyond all
relief in tears, in a passion of remorse beyond all expression in words. In
silence she held him to her breast, in silence she devoured his forehead,
his cheeks, hia lips, with kisses. Kot a sound escaped her, till she beard
the trampling footsteps outside, hurrying up the stairs. Then a low mean
burst from her lips, as ahe looked her last at him, and lowered bis head
again to her knee, before the etrangera came in.
The landlady and the steward were the first persona whom A
ABUADALE.. COl)
when the door was opened. The medical man (a eurgeon living in tlte
titreot) followed. The horror and the beautj of her face as she loolied up
at him absorbed the surgeon's attention for the monieat, to the exclusion
of everything else. She had to beckon to him, she had to point to tlie
eenselesa man, before she could claim his attention for his patient and
divert it from herself.
"Is he dead 7" she asked.
The surgeon carried Midwinter to the bo&, and ordered the windows
to be opened. " It ia a fainting fit," he said ; " nothing more."
At that answer her strength failed her for the first time. She drew
a deep breath of relief, and leaned on the chimney-piece for support.
Mr. Bashwood was the only person present who noticed that she was
overcome. He led her to the opposite end of the room, where there was
nn easy chair — leaving the landlady to hand the restoratives to the surgeon
us they were wanted.
" Are you going to wait here till he recovers 7 " whispered the steward,
looking towards the sola, and trembling as he looked.
The question roused her to a sense of her position — to a knowledge of
the merciless necessities which that position now forced her to confront.
With a heavy sigh she looked towards the sofu, considered with herself
for a moment, and answered Mr. Bashwood's inquiry by a question on
her side.
" Is the cab that brought yon here from the raiUvay still at the door 7 "
" Yes."
" Drive at once to the gatee of the Sanatorium, and wait there till I
join you."
Mr. Boshwood hesitated. She lifted her eyes to his, and, with a look,
sent bim out of the room.
" The gentleman is coming to, ma'am," said the hmdlady, as the
steward closed the door. " lie has just breathed agun."
She bowed in mute reply, rose, and conudered with herself once more
• — looked towards the so& for the secomi time — then passed through the
folding-doors inlo her own room.
AAer a short lapse of time the surgeon drew back &om the sofa, and
motioned to the landlady to stand aside. The bodily recovery of the
patient wax assured. There was nothing to be done now but to wait, and
let his ntind slowly recall its sense of what hod happened.
" Where is she 7" were the first words he said to the surgeon and th6
landlady anxiously watching him.
The landlady knocked at the folding-doors, and received no answer.
She went in, and found the room empty. A sheet of note-paper was on
the dresaiog-table, with the doctor's fee placed on it. The paper contained
these lines, evidently written in great agitation or in great haste :— " It is
impossible for me to remain here to-night, oAer what has happened. I
will return to-morrow to take away my luggage, and to pay what I
owe you."
VOL. xni.— so. 77. 29.
610 ABHADAIS.
"Wliere in sheT" Midwinter asked again, iriies die landlady retoiaed
alone to the diatring-rDom.
" Gone, rir."
" I don't beliere it 1"
The old lady'a coloor tobb, " If yoa knov her handwriting, air," she
answered, handing faim the sheet of note-paper, " perhaps yon may beliere
thatP"
He looked at the paper. " I b^ yonr pardon, ma'am," he said, as be
handed it back, " I beg yonr pardon, with all my heart."
There was something in his face as he spoke those words which more
than soothed the old lady's irritation — it tonched her with a. snddeo pi^
for the man who had ofiended her. " I am afraid there is some dreailfiii
trouble, bit, at Uie bottom of all this," she said aimply. " Do you widi me
to give any message to the lady when she comes hack ? "
Midwinter rose, and steadied himself for a moment against the sofik
" I will bring my own message to-morrow," he said. ** I most see her
before she leaves yonr honse."
The snrgeon accompanied his patient into the street. " Can Z see yoa
home 7 " he said, kindly. " Yon had better not walk, if it is &r. Ton
mustn't over-exert yourself ; yon mustn't catch a chill this oold night."
Midwinter took his hand and thanked him. " I have been used to
hard bulking and to cold nights, sir," he said ; " and I am not easily won
out, even when I look so broken as I do now. If yon will tell me the
nearest way out of these streets, I think the quiet of the country and the
quiet of ihe night will help me. I have somethiug serioua to do to-
morrow," he added, in a lower tone ; " and I can't rest or sleep till I hire
thought over it to-night,"
The surgeon understood that he had no common man to deal with.
He gave the necessary directions without any further remark, and parted
with his patient at his own door.
Left by himself, Midwinter paused and locked up at the heaven in
silence. The night had cleared, and the stars were out — the stars which
he had first learnt to know from his gipsy master on the hill-side. For
the first time his mind went back regretfully to his boyish days. " Oh,
for the old life!" be thought, longingly. "I never knew till now how
happy the old life was ! "
He roused himself and went on towards the open country. His 6oe
darkf-ned as he left the streets behind him and advanced into the solitude
and obscurity that lay beyond,
" She has denied her husband to-night," he said. " She shall know
her master to-morrow."
611
\d lottJIOlI.
Tlie glory cpf a building is in its age and in Qui deep bohm of TOicefnlneaa, of
item watching, of myaterioiu sympathy, aaj, eren of approral or condemDation,
vhicb we ieel in walls that hare long been washed hj the paaaing wares of homanily.
Bdwux'b StvemLampt.
To liAve to live ia a row of hotues bailt hj contract, all at the same time,
and all exactly alike, in which it is imposaible to tell jaai owo dwelling,
except by looking at the Dumber on the door, has alwaya seemed to me
one of the chief objections to life in a town, and one of tiie moet pathetic
and aggravating of the minor troubles of biuoamtj. Mr. Fodsnap, or an^
other type of the reapectable, may think me a monomaniac — perhaps I am.
I hold that bj submitting to, or worae still, b7 rejoicing in, a tame
uniibrmity in our domiciles, we, of our own accord, deprire onrselres of
one of the highest privil^es of reason, and d^rade ourBelres by submis-
sion to one of the necessities under which instinct labours. Bees build
their cells by exact rule and predetermined angle, a msTia^i nest is
rec<^uized as one all the world orer, and probably has not altered by one
iota in its architecture since time b^an. Kabbit-burrows and mole-gal-
leries haye gained nothing in their construetion from the experience of
hundreds of generations. To man alone is the privilege given of impressing
not merely a generic or specific character, but a stamp of individoal pecu-
liarity on his home. If walls have can, houses surely may be allowed to
have &ce8 too, and these are often very expressive ones, telling in many
a case more about their owners than their own Jaces dare to tell, some-
times wrinkled, now painted and patched like any made-up dowager, now
clean and cared for, again grimy and foul as a drunkard's cheek. Houses
die too, as their masters do, and while we love to tell the tale of lives gone
by, to preserve memorials of the generations that leave us so quickly, and
as ^e often pause to see an old house tell its silent story on the painter's
canvas, may we not at times linger to listen to the description of an old
home by a loving pen T Not one from an architect's point of view, even
were it as gorgeous and as lovingly told as that of the baronial mansion ia
Gilbert Scott's Gothic Architecture — not a glowing picture such as George
Robins knew so well how to conjure up, when with melMuous adjectives
he decked out the country Jot to be brought to the hammer. Such are
prophetic and anticipatory of the future, not descriptive of the past.
The homes I love to look l»ck on, and the houses I want to describe, have
had too long a past to hope for a future. The auld house might make
in time a picturesque ruin, but could hardly by any art be described
as a desirable iuTestmeut for a gentleman of fbrtone.
29— a
612 OLD HOUSES.
A bonnie auld honse it is — not a castle, not a prioiy ; yon vrould not
even think of calling it i\ hall — with four sturdy walla of grey stone, teim
at the comers and lintels, harJed with white mortar where the walls are
tough, with high-pitched roof and over-hanging eaves, where the swallnvj
build, and the starlings sun themselves and chatter from April to October.
It stands at the mouth of the glen, just where the hillside curres arc
softening into the gentle waving of the strath, and on its terrace of match-
less turf, seems to lean against the soft bosom of the hill behind, while the
slope of the lawn in front is just sufBcient to give light and air, and an
occasional glimpse of the road through the valley, and beyond it the great
river, and ^11 furthnr off, the sea. The rich old grass ripples up to the
very walls, and seems to grudge to the gravelled road even its narrow strip
of sand and pebbles j and the rough Highland cattle who have had it all
their own way since the deer were killed, rub their long boms againd
the stone steps, and lazily switch their tails in sleepy noontides before the
door. But for the steps they might go in, and now and then a lamb don
frisk up and invade the hall, for, winter and summer, from aonrise b>
sunset, the door stands ever open : what though snow may drift in, and
inner doors may slam, and tramps may peer about, it is the custom of the
house ; and though tliere are now no bairns to toddle in and out, and iew
dogs to guard the hall, the old laird will have it open as of old. Yes, of old,
that is the refrain which echoes through the house— of old : all about it aeemt
to tell of the past rather than of the future, or even of the present. Tfaeic
is nothing new about Uie place. The house itself, though it has sheltered
only some six generations, and is as solid as when it was built (for there
was no building by contract in those days), is but the south front of a
quadrangle far older than itself. The trees are all old, many patriarchal,
'and have to pay their tribute of creaking stiff old limbs, and Intikn
branches, every windy night. The iiowor-gardcn is old-fashioned, with
high box hedges, and a sundial which the ivy has cracked, so that it is haK-
an-hour too slow by railway time, and stniight formal gravel walks when
the peacocks used to strut and scream, before the home-farm was givea
up and the hen-house dismantled. The family acres have diminished in
every generation of late. Farm alter farm has been sold, but the la&t wv
the hardest of all for the laird to part with, lying, as it docs, broad and
fair on an upland slope, before the windows, hardly a mile off: it was
sold, but not it all : one corner, deeply shaded by swaying poplara and
black firs, holds four walls and a heavy iron door. This is the Cave of
Machpclah, the one rood of ground that must be kept, though all else go —
the burying-ground, now nearly full, just one comer empty, by his wile's
grave, the place they chose fifty years ago when their 6rst baby died.
But, says Dives, it is their own fault if they get poorer every yiw;
why don't they make money as I do, or if they are not clever enough for
that, why don't they save, and at least live within their income ? Baft
bow can we bUme, though we may pity the fitlling house. Aa gHt
&ahioued, open-haoded hospitality, a gentlCTeaa that cooid not
OLD uonsKS. G18
bargain, or dismiss an old tenant, were all posaiUe and warrantable wben
wheat waa at war prices, and the cont-Iawa were intact ; but low prices,
and the girk' portions, and the boys' commiaaions gradiiollydo their work:
a few thouaanda to-day, a few more to-morrow — the old acres must bear
them ail, and while bo much is going out there is nothing coming in : the
boys will not go into business, and will not look at the professions, but
wherever for hundreds of years their country's flag baa been dying, there
they are to be found shedding their blood like water. At Quebec and
Bunker's Hill, Seringapalam, Peninsula, Waterloo, Crimea, Delhi, the
Feiho, the vidon of the old house and the beech avenue has been the
last to pass before the eyes of one of its boys, before the teeth were Bet
for the onset, or when all else was &ding from the dying eyes in the shock
of battle. And then some morning at breakfast the letter comes, written
by a comrade at the camp-fire to anticipate the Gazette and break the
news, and by the time his medal and sword have come home the old
house, in losing a hope, has gained another noble memory.
Yet, notwithstanding its poverty, is it not wonderful how well and home-
like the old place looks? The park has been divided into enclosures, and
fat cattle stalk solemnly along, and Cheviots and South-downs nibble the
short grass, where once the deer hid in brushwood and bracken and the
hare sheltered behind the tufted bent. Still the hedgerows -are very lovely,
bright with the fresh green in Muy, pale in June with delicate stars at
hawthorn, blushing with the " briar rosea &int and pale " all the summer
through, and even far on into the autumn, crested with the bloom and rich
red berries of the honeysuckle. And though the cattle have nibbled
the leaves and barked the twigs as high as they can reach, and thus the
lovely sweep in which the lower branches should stoop to the grass is
gone, not one of the old beeches has £illen to the axe. No, even when old
Lord Hunques foreclosed the mortgage, and money was so hard to get, the
laird would not cut a stick of timber ; just as soon would he havo sold
one of his children. Thus the avenue has a beauty of its own, lined though
it be by rough post-and-rail paling, for the beeches are two hundred years
old, and meet overhead in living arches of whispering leaves, and the
cushats coo among the branches as if echoing the re&ain of the angels'
■ong ; and though the gates are heavy and their hinges stiff, the gate- posts
are rich with sti'ange old carving, and piled with mosses, and fretted with
lichens into arabesques of infinite delicacy and variety, glittering in sun-
light and glowing in shade, as no colours of man's devising do.
Very refreshing, too, is the contrast between the coolness and cloister-
shade of the beeches, and the sunlight of the nearer lawn, which bursts
upon ux, sudden and glorious, as we pass the great stone pillars of the
second gate. For the oaks and elms no longer shade the road, but stand
apart, now one giant alone, again in two's and three's, leaving long reaches
of grass between them, green in the shade, yellow — almost white — in the
summer sun ; and now between the tree-trunks we get a glint of the house,
and feel we are really at home : the post-boy gives a final chirrup to the
614
OLD B0D8BB.
WMr^ luuVi, koodI plunge into a grote of liraei, bear^ with leaaiiMl
vilirating villi Uie wmgs of cctnitlca bees, a tarwM of aitort gm^ Mtk
vilh nrwt white dowr — alt I w« are at tfie doer, or nor* oonectlj, at At
Hair, far lb« •ntnuMV ball and mo* of die publie looins are oo tba 6h
floor, and before w rmcb lh« door a broad fligbl of steps moat W
climlwd. wttb B wide Oil b-rm^e ii tbe h^ oo to wfaioli ibe door epMi.
Thi*, OD qnkl aomncr cTcaings whiii the tm baa pmc round to ifas wm
and the ro«ks ar« cawing Ikr up «ver ow boidt, nukea tbe freeat, opolnt
drawiDg-ioom poanble, and all iha year rauud ia ihe fiuailj lotmge, when
plaiM are diMnncd, weather prognoaticatcd, frienda wcloomed as ikty
coia^ and vatohed aa tbej drire away. The entnnce hall is brvftd mi
high, witli aa oak staircaae fiicing the froeit door, and wioding round tha
hall wilh low easy atepa, till it funas a corridor abore. Thv haQ ia hmg
with deer-boms, and lined with cabinets of oak now OLlnuut as dark la
eboDj. Prom tbc hall vpvu tb« public looms, wainscoted witb oali, ha
lai^ and ligbl, Um light abnoat <w Ibe fbmittiM and faoagiaga^ now s
eontiuy old, and fiided almoat ahabbj , woe it not for tbe ondefi^^
ohann which age and use and no&t alcow eaa give, of chtuntcter aad
<H«ndlu»Ma, aaaodations which the yoong call glsdao^ and tlie old kac^v
to be regret, yet regret mingled with aometbtng atraagely swcvt.
£acb ficacralion has added its portnata to tba vatla, and the neaa-
pipoftt, plwtognipba, tima-bilk and rericwa mttst aooin inoongruotia lo lb*
qniee &CC8 thai Jamiesoo and Basisny puiiie<l in leas fcronali timoa.
Thia old liooae of oors Rtands in (h« very heart of & coontcy fiatat^
loDg milea from any town, or «veD Tillage; there are no oool-BeUi^w
matala in the landa, not a manutactOT; or a toll cbimn^ in the wbele
horison. And thos while in tnnny points now tba aga of the old
showing ibtoir, and inucli about it is tailing into decay, dear
Nature haa the amoothiog of ibc ptiluw and the burying of the dead, aof
even deoay beoomea lorefy. As in autumn tbe ricber eolonra of iht
dying leaves are mellowed by nsicr BUDBetay and silvered by din stHM
of morning, and diamondud by graeerulloat hosr-frat till tbe snow i
with her p%m mantle U> hide their graves, lo la the longer e^dl
bound tlic Ii£; uf tree, or cLurcL,orboine,the tvodw motfaex's touch growt'
aofier at the yean run or.. The stem smoolhneea and [nUarc4 alnagli
of iree-tmnk may be scarred and cIciV, btit the scars are *oA,— oftliaiei
ruOdy with lichens and mosa, — tlic n(\a arc filled aad hidden witb
of ivy, oi- the tpnden>r green ami the briglit woird borriaa of iha
tliu cTcriocd wall is fni^mnt wiili swcctbiiar, and tbe ftUen
baa let the walM«wer take root.
The ftameworlc of the old bouse may last for centoriea, but oaie
the babitable rooma arc diminishing in. number. The diataat
are gradtially diKpImished, and must etaad empty, for tf a eott^e '
twenty Diilos is biiml down, or an old scnant wanta a hoine, lbs lajid
would find an empty house, and (money being lo aadiy scarce) would bU
them funmb it (him one of tbe bedrooms that one never oeeded now. So
OLD HOUSES. 61S
thus when the fiist &ost of the next bitter winter takes the old man home,
aad tbo btiryiDg-ground htm been opened and closed for the laat time, the
Ainiiture will not fetch much at the sale. The auctioneer'a man will con-
temptuously speak of the old tables and chairs as bits of aticke, and whea
his old cronies have each bought something aa a remembrauce, the house
trill be no longer the house it has been, but four walls, to be demolished
or restored at the caprice of the new possessor ; in either case to be the
" auld house " no more, but Mr. Black Diamond's beautiful new place in
Perthshire, or Whiteseam Castle, the magnificent baronial residence of Sir
Cotton Whiteseam, built on the aite of, and containing the courtyard and
a piece of the wall of an old mansion-house.
It is of^en strange to watch the Tarioua effects of age upon houses. I
do not mean by age any sudden destruction as by &ie or sword, but merely
the alow changes during the gradual lapse of time. One of the gentlest,
tendercst ways in which age can come to a house is seen when in a lonely
conntiy district a house is simply let alone : " So fieet the works of men
back to their earth ag^n." I know one which was bought some years ago
by a very rich nobleman, from the old race whose house it was. He has
s great house of his own within a few miles, and has simply left the other
to itself. He is fond of Seld-sporta, and now the gardens, park, and woodi
of the old house are a pheasant preserve, do foot but that of the gamekeeper
brushes the dew from the grass-grown avenue. Babbits burrow under the
pear-trees in the garden, and great hares lope about the terraces, where
they feel so much at home, that even their restless ears lie still. No
shadows flit past the windows of the deserted rooms, for the rotten flooring
can support no footsteps heavier than a ghost's, and owls and jat^dawB
chatter and bias where the children used to play. The grass is dank and
long, and the unthinned pines cast a funereal shade even at midsummer ;
Btill the setting sun reddens its turrets and high eaves, and grotesque gar-
goyles glisten white in the moon and the tree air of heaven breathes round
it fragrant with hawthorn in spring, heavy in summer and autumn with
the scent of ungathered roses, even in winter spiced with the aroma of the
pines. How different in scent and colour from other old houses I have seen.
On either side of the High Street of Edinburgh are narrow streets or
lanes which run at right angles to it, as ribs from a backbone. Many of
these terminate in, or are lined by, tall old houses, long ago the residences
of Dobltis and wealthy burghers. They are now inhabited by the very
poorest and most squalid of the population, many of them almost exclu-
sively by Irish immigrants; and there are few contrasts of the kind more
strange and pathetic, than that afforded by the glimpses of the comfort and
magnificence of the past, seen amid the wretchedness and squalor of the
present. Take one for a type of all. A long passage, about four feet wide,
on the level of the street, even narrower above, where the high walls almost
meet to shut out the sky, leads to a massive archway. The passage, if
clean and fresh, would be a pleasant entrance, cool in summer, sheltered in
winter ; but the pavement is broken and dank ooze stands in pools, while
616 OLD HOUSES.
decaying vegetables, fishbones, and other worse refuse, make the passige
a peslhouse. The arched doorway discloses a lofty hall from which large
rooms open, while a noble oak staircase leads to the upper stories. It was
once the town mansion of one of our oldest Scottish families, now every
room contains a separate family ; and not only this, but the larger room*
are divided and subdivided — here by lath and plaster ; here by brickwork
partitiouB, which do not even reach to the roof; here again only by a
ragged curtain, or here in more carefiit manner by screens of brown paper
pasted on cross-bars of wood. Four, even five families in one room,
separated only by such fiimsy partitions ; oaths, brutality, and dronken-
ness making themselves heard through every comer of it : and yet on inac-
cessible niches of the oak staircase the shield and device of the family can
still be seen, and gleams of sunlight still glint on shreds of tapestry-caired
cornices and painted roofs. Where the Solemn League and Covenaot lay
lor signature, fish-hawkers wrangle and oi^n-grinders count their ill-
gotten coppers ; where Charles Townscnd supped with the Lord Presadent
of the Court of Sestdon thieves divide their spoil. Could these rooms
speak what tales they might tell, sad and strange, of change and decay— of
one master slain in a chance medley of Scotts and Kera for the " crown of
the causeway ; " of another, the last of his race that the old honae ever
saw, pining in solitude and poverty in a garret at St. Genuains, watchiif
the fair and fading white rose, symbol of his loyalty to the race for whom be
had fought so vainly. For when Charles Edward was at Holyrood, the
old house rang with merriment and echoed to the clank of spun ; but the
light of the hopeless struggle which had waxed at Prestonpana, and waned
at Falkirk, went down in blood on the disastrous eve of CuUoden, and like
many another, the house changed hands when its master became a banished
outlaw. Then some canny Whig lawyer tried to buy the pictures, and
relics, and the old home associations when he bought the walla. But it
will not do, good investment as it was ; the new master cannot feel it is his
own. Strange shadows lurk in corners, armour falls with a clank at
uncanny hours, and on suggestive anniversaries ; one by one the pictures
with their restless following eyes are turned to the wail or condemned to
the lumber-room ; and by the time the lawyer has prospered enough to
buy " a' bit place " in the country, he finds that the house has got a bad
name and won't let. He then cuts it up into small tenements, leta part of it
for an office : the character of the tenants gets worse and worse, while their
number increases at every term day, till the quiet, grave home of a iandly
becomes the teeming rabbit-warren it now is.
And then the sooner the end comes the better. To be gutted by a fire,
condemned by the Dean of Guild, or swept away by a railway company,
seems, any of them, a more merciful fate than to drag on, a nest of fever
and den of thieves, till from very rottenness it crumbles on tho heads of
its inmates. While it stands, with rags for ivy, and oaths and ribaldry
instead of the wild-bird's song, it is a " caput mortuum," not a min •
peittlential withoot being picturesque.
617
^ ^tranflc ^iorg.
Whes tbe criminal, Pierre Granger, escorted by foar geDdarmes, was
placed in the dock of the court of assize, there was a general etir nmongst
the crowd which had assembled from every quarter to be present at bia trial.
Pierre Granger was not an ordinary culprit — not one of those poor
wretches whom the court, as a matter of form, furnishes with an advocate,
judges in the presence of a heedless auditory, and sends to oblivion in the
convict prisons of the State. He had figured at Augtil in the columns of
the newspapers; and while M. L^pcrvier had undertaken his defence,
M. Louraugain, the attorney -general, was to conduct the prosecution.
Now, at the time of which I write, these two men stood at the head of
their profession. Whenever it was known that they were to be pitted
against each other in any cause, crowds immediately flocked to' enjoy their
eloquent sentences, sonorous periods, and phrases as round and as polished
as BO many billiard-balls. It was a perfect riot of tropes and figures, a
delicious confusion of periphrases and metaphors. All the figures of
rhetoric defiled before the charmed auditory, and sported, jested, and
struggled with each other, like Virgil's playful shepherds. There was a
luxury of epithets, passng even that of the Abbi Delille. Every indivi-
dual substantive was as regularly followed by its attendant adjective, as the
great lady of the last century by her train-bearing page. In this pompous
diction a man became a mortal, a horse a courser, the moon was styled pale
Diaa. My father and my mother were never called so, but invariably " the
authors of my being ; " a dream was a vision, a glass a crj'stal vase, a knife
a sword, a car a chariot, and a breeze became a whirlwind : all of which,
DO doubt, tended to produce a style of exceeding sublimity and beauty.
Pierre Granger was a clumaly built fellow, five feet ten in' height,
thirty-eight years old, with foxy hair, a high colour, and small cunning
grey eyes. lie was accused of having strangled his wife, cut up the
body into pieces, and then, in order to conceal his crime, set fire to the
house, wherein his three children perished. Such an accumulation of
horrors had shed quite a romantic halo round their perpetrator. Ladies
of rank and fashion fiocked to the gaol to look at him ; and his autograph
was in wonderful request, as soon as it became known that Madame
C<^rioe Langetot, the lioness uf the district, possessed some words of his
writing in her album, placed between a ballad by a professor of rhetoric
and a problem by the engincer-in-chief of the department : neither genllo-
man, to say tlie truth, being much flattered by such close juxtaposition
with the interesting pet-prisoner. When Pierre Granger, with his lower-
ing brow and air of stolid cunning, was placed in the dock, the names of
twelve jurors were drawn by lot, and the president demanded of the
618 A STBAIIOB STOBT.
counsel on either side, whether they wished to exercise their light rf
challenge. Both declined offering any objection to twelve such honour-
able names; but tlie attorney- general added, that he would require the
drawing of a supple mentary juror. It was done, and on the paper ap-
peared the name of Major Vernor. At the sound, a slight naurmur was
heard amongst the spectators, while MM. Louraugain and L^pervier ex-
changed a rapid glance which seemed to say : — " Will not jrou challenge
him 7 " But neitlier of Uiem did so ; an officer conducted Major Vernor
into his appointed place, and amid profound ulence the indictment wm
read. Major Yemor had lived in the town daring the last tiro jeaia.
Every one gave him the military title, yet none could teU when, or where,
or whom he had served. He seemed to have neither family nor friendi ;
and when any of his acquaintances ventured to sound him on tbe sntgcct,
he always replied in a manner by no means calculated to encoong*
curiosity. " Do / trouble my head about your affairs 7 " he iroold ny.
" Your shabby old town suits me well enough as a residence, but if yn
don't think I have a right to live in it, I shall be most happy to connan
you of thft fact at daybreak to-morrow with gun, sword, or piatoL'
Major Yemor was precisely the very man to keep his word ; the Sir
persons who had entered his lodgings reported that his bedroom rmb-
bled an armoury, so fully was it furnished with aU sorts of mnrdtsooi
weapons. Notwithstanding this, he seemed a very respectable wtat tt
man, regular in his habits, punctual in bis payments, and fond of mioliig
excellent cigars, sent him, he used to say, by a friend in Havannah. Ha
was tall, very thin, bald, and always dressed in black ; his monslaclia
curled to a point ; and he invariably wore his hat cocked over his right car.
Id the evenings he used to frequent the public readbg-rooms of the town, but
he never played at any game, or conversed with the company, remaiuqg
absorbed in his newspaper until the clock struck ten, when he lit hia dgar,
twisted his moustaches, and with a stiff, silent bow, took his departure. It
sometimes happened that one of the company, bolder than the others, mid,
" Good night, major ! " Then the major would stop, fix his grey eye oa
the speaker, and reply, "Good night, monsieur !" but in so mde and angry
a tone that the words sounded more like a malediction than a polite aalatip
tion. It was remarked that whoever thus ventured to address the majer,
was, during the remainder of the evening, the victim of some atrauge iU-
luck. He regularly lost at play, was sure to knock hb elbow through s
handsome lamp or vase, or in some way to get entangled in a miaadventtue.
So firmly were the good townsfolk persuaded that the major possessed aa
evil eye, that their common expression, when any one met with a Bu^br-
tune, was : — " He must have said ' good night ' to the major."
This myBtcrious character dined every day at the ordinary of tht
Crown Hotel, and although habitually silent, seemed usually coBteotsd
with tbe fare. Ons day, however, after having eaten some broad aoah hi
oast his eye along the table, frowned, and calling th« host, nid s-^**
comes it that the dinner to-day is mtirely meagre ? "
A STBAHQS STOBT, 619
" MonfiieuT, ao doubt, forgets that thu is Good Friday."
" Send me up two mutton chops."
" Impossible, major — there is not an ounce cS meat to be hod at any
butcher's in the town."
" Let me have some fowL"
" That is not to be had, either."
" What a set of fools I " esclaioied the major, atriking hia clenched
hand on the table with such force that the bottles reeled and rocked just
as if all the wine in their bodies had got into their heads. Then he
called the waiter, and »aid, " Baptiste, go to my lodging, and bring me
the inlaid carbine which hangs over my pillow."
The poor host trembled, and grew very pale when Baptiste returned
with a double-barrelled gun, beautifully inlaid with silrer. The major
ooolly examined the locks, put on fresh caps, cocked both barrels, and
walked out, followed at a respectful distance by the guests and inmates of
the hotel. Not far off stood an old ivy-mantled church, whose angular
projections were haunted by many ravens. Two large ones flew out of a
turret just as the major came up and took aim for a doable shot. Down
tumbled both the unclean birds at his ieet
" Sacre bleu ! " said he, picking them up. " I'm r^pilarly sold —
they're quite lean."
He returned to the hotel, and, according to his express orders, oua
moiety of his ill-omeued booty was dressed in a savoury stew, and the other
simply roasted. Of both dishes he partook so heartily that not a vestige
of either remained, and he declared that he had never eaten more relishing
food. From that day the nujor became an object of uneasiness to some, of
terror to others, of curiouty to all. Whenever ha appeared on the public
promenade, every one avoided him : at the theatre, his box was generally
occupied by himself alone ; and each old woman that met him in the
street invariably stopped to cross herself. Major Vemor was never known
to enter a church, or accept an invitation ; at first he used to receive a good
.many of these, and the perfumed billets served him to light his cigars.
Such, then, was the thirteenth juror drawn in the cause of Pierre
Gnmger, and it may easily be understood why the audience were moved
at bearing the name of Major Yemor. The paper of accusation, uot-
withstanding drawn up by the attorney-general with a force and parti-
cularity of description which horrified the ladies present, was read amid
profound silence broken only by the snoring of the prisoner, who bad
coolly settled himself to sleep. The gendarmes tried to rouse him &om
his slumber, but they merely succeeded in making him now and then
half open his dull, brutish eyes. When the clerk had ceased to read,
Pierre Granger was with difficulty thoroughly awakened, and tlie president
proceeded to question him. The interrogatory fully revealed, in all its
horror, tlie thoroughly stupid fiendishness of the wretch. Ue had killed
hia wife, he said, because they couldn't agree ; he had set his house on
fixe because it was a cold night, and he wanted to make » good blaw
to wiTTD himsolf; w to bis cliildreD, they were dirty sqnallfng Gttle
things — no Iocs to bim or to an/ one rise It would be t«dio<u lo
pomie all the lUtuiia of tlu* diigiuttng trial. M. Loaniaj;aui aad it.
L^pervioT bolh ouda inarvcllouiil/ clotincat •pecclici, but the latter
dMCrred pecoliar cn:dtt, havlii;; so very baid a cauac to aaatuiL
JUthoi^h li« w«it kneir that bis olient waa as ihoroagb a aooQudnl
M erer brotUi»<l, and that his condetnoatioo would be a blawiag le
Hicicty, jct Im pleaded liia caiue with all a Lowyer'a rnnnrirntinninrp
l/Fhea he gAt to the perontion, ho nmnt^-d to S(]uc«se Irom fais tytt ■
tevr rare ttbars, the hit and miM precious, I imagine, which he canfoDy
rcwrvcd for aq c*pcci*lly solemn vcctu)i«a — JMat assoaiv (amilica prcsem
n Jew bottle of line old wint, to be drunk at the marriage of a daoghur
or die comiDg of age of a eoa. At Icagth Uie cass closed, ikad the
pro«ideilt waa going to sum ii^; bnt an the h^at in court was cxccnn^
and every one present Mood in iict^ of rerreohment, loaru was girra ftr
the jUTj to retire for Lulf-an-hoar, and the hail was cleuvd for the sam
■pace of lime, io ordvr that it might nndergo n thorough veDtilatiso.
During thin interval, while twclrc of the jurors were cooling th«insdm
with ices and shcibut, iJiu thirteenth lightod a cigor, aad reclimog'iaa
arm-chair, antoked away with tlic gravity of a Turk.
" Wliat a capital cigur 1 " inghed onv of il« juron, as he watdicd. ai&
■DOiviouseye, the odoriferous little clouds escaping from tho snokcr's fiph
■' Would you like lo try one 1 " naked the major, politely ofierimtlB
cigar- case.
" If it woold not irespasa too mueh oa yonr kiDdneBa."
*' By no means. You ore heartily wckome.** The juror toel; al
dgSTf und lightftd it at that of his obliging neig^botir. *' Well, Iwwdvj
you like it? " naked the major.
" Delidout I It has an uncoittraooly plcasnni aroma. From wheiu* i
■roy&u mppliedT"
" From the Ilavannab.'* Several jurois now approacliod,
loDging eyes at Major Vcriior'a cigar-cosc.
■■ Gentlemen," eaid ho, '* I am really grieved that I hare not a
cigar left to oScr you, having juat given the last to oar worthy (Keol'
To'iDorraw, however, 1 hc<p« to lisvc a fresh supply, aad shall tbenadr^
yon to do me the honour of nocepcing snntu."
At thai moment, an oiKcial utmc in to announce that the court ks3
renmiicd its sitting : ihc jury hastened to their box, and the prcfflAosi
begun hia chaq^c. Scarcely had he comraenced, however, when the jonrj
wlio hiid cmokcd the cigar rose and in a trembling voice beggedd
miMion lo retire, as he felt very ill, InUiod, while in the act ol't
he fell backwards, and lay w;n*le5» on the floor. The ptVBident,
course, directed that he tfaould ho carefully conveyed to his honie, mi
denred Mtijor Vemor to take bis place. Six slrokea sounded from the
nid clock of tlie town-hall as the jury retired lo deliberate on ilicir vtriiel'
is the caae of Pierre Granger. Klevea gentlemen exclaijued with
A STRASGE STOBT. 621
voice, that the wretched assassin'R guilt was perfectly clear, and that they
could not hesitate for a moment as to their deciaion. Major Vemor, how-
evpr, stood up, placed his back against the door, asd regarding his
colleagues with a peculiarly sinister expressioD, said slowly, —
" I shall acquit Pierre Granger, and you shall all do the same ! "
" Sir," replied the foreman in a severe tone, " you are answerable to
your conscience for your own actions, but I do not see what right yoiL
hare to offer us a gratuitous insult."
"Am I then so unfortunate as to offend you?" asked the major,
meekly,
" Certainly, in supposing us capable of breaking the solemn oath
which we have taken, to do impartial justice. I am a man of honour — "
*' Bah ! " interrupted the major, " are you quite sure of that ? "
A general murmur of iodignatioa arose.
" Do you know, sir, that such a question is a beak ioauh 7 "
" You are quite mistaken," sud Major Vemor. " What I said was
drawn forth by a feeling of the solemn responsibility which rests with as.
Before I can resolve to make a dead body of a living moving being, I
must feel satisfied that both you and I are lees guilty than Pierre
Granger, which, after all, la not so certain."
An ominous silence ensued : the major's words seemed to stnke home
to every breast, and at length one of Uie jurors said, — " You seem, sir, to
regard the question from a philosophical point of view."
" Just so, Monsieur Cemeau."
" You know me, then 7 " said the juror, in a trembling voice.
" Not very intimately, my dear air, but just sufficiently to appreciate
your fondness for discounting bills at what your enemies might call
usurious interest. I think it was about four years ago that an honest
poor man, the father of a large family, blew out his brains, in despair,
at being refused by you a short renewal, which he had implored on
his knots."
Without replying, M. Cemeau retired to the farthest corner of the
room, and wiped off the large drops of sweat which started from his brow.
" What does this mean ? " inquired another juror, impatiently. " Have
we come hither to act a scene from the Memoirs of the Devil ? "
" I don't know that work," replied the major ; " but may I advise
you, Mon^eur de Bordiue, to calm your nerves? "
" Sir, you are impertinent, and I shall certainly do myself the pleasure
to chastise you."
" As how ? "
" With my sword. I shall do you the honour to meet you to-
morrow.
"An honour which, being a man of sense, I most beg to decline.
You don't kill your adversaries, Monsieur de Bardine ; you murder them.
Have you forgotten your duel with Monsieur de Lilhir, which took place,
I am told, without witnesses ? While he was off his guard, you treache-
A STKANGB 8T0RT.
roiuly struck liim throngli tbe heut. The proapect of ■ wtiwIw cita-
etrophe u certainly hj do means enticing."
With so instinctire moTement, M. de Bordine'a nei^faboors drew oC
" I admire sach Tirtaous indignation," sneered die taajar. ** It cspe-
ually becomes yoa, Monmeor Darien "
" What infamy are 700 going to cast in m/ teeth 7 " exclaimed ti»
gentleman addressed.
" Oh, very little — a mere trifle — simply, that while Monmeor de Bb<-
dine kills his friends, yon only dishonour yourt. Moasieor Simon, vbtK
house, table, and purse are yours, has a pretty wife "
" Major," cried another juror, " you're a rillain 1 "
" PardoQ me, my dear Monrieur Cal&t, let us call things by thrir
proper names. The only Tillain amongst us, I believe, is the nun wba
himself set fire to his house, six months after baring inmred it at tieUt
its value in four offices, whose directors were foolish enough to tw tfct
money without making sufficient inqoiiy."
A stifled groan escaped &om M. Caliat's lips as he covered his fai
with his hands. " Who are you that you thus dare to oonstitato Tonndr
our judge 7 " asked another, looking fiercely at Yemor.
" Who am I, Monsieur Peron 7 simply one who can appreciate yov
very rare dexteri^ in holding court-cards in your hand, and wimljjiig the
dice turn up as you please."
M. FeroQ gave an involuntary start, and thenceforward held his vmt
The scene, aided by the darkness of approaching night, bad now amuoA
a terrific aspect. The voice of the major rang in the eax^ of elevn ^t,
trembling men, with a cold metallic distinctness, as if each word inflicted
a blow.
At length Vemor burst into a strange sharp hissing laugh. " Wdl,
my honourable coUei^ues," he exclaimed, " does this poor PiBrre Gnu^
still appear to you unworthy of the slightest pity 7 I grant you, he ha
committed a fault, and a fault wliich you would not have committed is
his phice. He has not had your cleverness in masking his turpitude witli
a show of virtue — that was his real crime. Now, if after baring killed
his wife, he had paid handsomely for masses to be said for her rcpos^-
if he had purch.-ised a burial-ground, and caused to be raised to ha
memory a beautiful square white marble monument, with a JloweiT
epitaph on it in gold letters — wliy, then we should all have shed teart of
ajmpathy, and eulo^'ized Pierre Granger as the model of a tender husband.
Don't jou agree with me, Monsieur Norbec ? "
M. Norbec started as if he had receivtd an electric shock. " It is
false I " he murmured. " I did not poiaon Eliza ; she died of pulmonary
consumption."
" True," said the major ; " you remind me of a circumstance which I
had nearly forgotten. Madame Norbec, who poaaessed a large fortnnaiB
her own right, died withoat isne five months afler she bad mada '
sole legatee."
A STRAfiGE STOBT. 628
Then the major was silent. They wore now in total darkness.
Suddenly came the sharp click of a pistol, and the obscurity was fi)r
a momeDt brightened by a Qash, but there was no report — the weapon
had miesed fire. The major burst into a long and load fit of laughter.
" Charming I delightful ! Ah, my dear sir," he exclaimed, addressing
the foreman, "you were the only honest man of the party ; and see how,
to oblige me, yon hare made an attempt on my person which places yon
oa an honourable level with Pierre Granger 1 " Then, having rung the
bell, he called for candles, and when they were brought, he said, '* Com^
gentlemen, I suppose you don't want to sleep here ; let us make haste and
finijh our business."
Ten minutes afUrwards the foreman handed in the issne paper — a
T«dict of Not guilty — and Pierre Granger was discharged amid the hisses
and execrations of the crowd, who indeed were prevented only by a
ttrong military force &om assaulting both judge and jury. Major Yemor
coolly walked up to the dock, and passing his arm under that of Pierre
Granger, went out with him through a side-door.
From that hour neither the one nor the other was ever seen again in
tlie country. That night there was a terrific thunderstorm ; the ripe
harvest was beaten down by hailstones as laige as pigeons' eggs, and a
flaah of lightning striking the steeple of the old ivy-covered church tore
down its gilded cross.
• •■•••
This strange story was rehited to me one day last year by a convict in
the infirmary of the prison at Toulon. I have given it verbatim firom his
lips ; and as I was leaving the building the sergeant who accompanied me
said, " So, sir, you have been listening to the wonderful rodomontades of
Number 19,788 7"
" What do you mean ? This history "
*' Is false from b^inning to end. Number 19,788 is an atrocious
criminal, who was sent to the galleys for life, and who during the last
few months has given evident proofs of mental aberration. His mono-
mania consists chiefly in telling stories to prove that all judges and jurors
are rogues and villains. He was himself found guilty, by a most respect-
able and upright juiy, of having robbed and tried to murder Major
Vemor, He is now about to be placed in a lunatic asylum, so that you
will probably be the last visitor who will hear his curious inventions."
" And who is Major Vernor?"
" A brave old half-pay officer, who has lived at Toulon beloved and
respected during the last twelve years. You will probably see him
to-day, smoking his Havannah cigar, ailer the table-dlidte dinner at the
Crown Hotel."
6-24
Sitij Olit poffi) en fhe ^mn PqiUi; ^Iub.
An iXlfpaTy » certainly not Uie moU tempting dUh wliiclk could be pUe^l
upon tlir tiiljl« of tJie modorii liUTwry cpiouro. It nGcnia lo be thr
prevalent opinion thitt (wrmons Ami fiction are beat taken Mparateljr, and
thst, the conihinntion oftlie two, caIImI an allogory, U v«ry much ltk4
pliyHiv Hilniiiiistci-cil to littln bcyx, in which a oertiuQ and pMaily-nn
quuntity of jam deceilt'iilly ci-inveyn an uncertain proportion of rhul
Jt wntild hft wi^ll for 11* not t& furg^^t, howover, tbal our forcfiUbert rvrj
much ddighifil in ihijt spccif-s of liloratiire, and that in f»ct the gnata
portion of OUT poiMry, from AHnm Datic's Vision to tbc Fcurg Qiwm, it
allegorical. From iho time of Spenser to tlic prewnt year of gnee, t'
taste for thiti kind of production fVcms to have declined ttcitJily ; UDce, ■
poetry, Fletctier's Purple /itland. tbc images of Si'n and Ihritk in Mill
Collins' Otie on the Pamonf, and in prose Ihe Vilgriiiis I'ro^reat and
cliannini; liltln .lilogorief of Addison and Johawn, are the only consploai
and nieritorioni" »pe«:iinenii of the class fifiviiting we nrnnpeakingof
have bfcn puWishcd since tbc reign of ICIizalxth. A» oor objcc* it
Khow how our old allegorista have dealt with the snbjeot whioh standi
tbc bead of lliis column, we sbatl take the liberty oT stating briefly
we consider lobave been ihe reaconfl which led them to " moraliAe thur
When allegory flonrished in England, the fa?ourJt« amusemeai
people wcro theati'ical rcprrAcntalionfi in which ihe personagea of the
vera embodiments of abstract r[iialiciefi. ThU was not »o much the
however, wilh reMpect to the mysterlex or miracle-pliiya as to the tnoralJ'
tics ivhich snccccdcd them. Chaucer, who in his C'lnterimry fa/fls KoslcA
ue a living nnd moving piclnre of his timu more valuable iban the h\
of nil tbe Eapinjt and Cartes that ever earned a name for laborioiu ti
iht.ilry, hiiH iticlnded tlie miracle- pi ays among tJio special dirersioM
the jc-yoiia Wfe pf Bath. Of iheso miracle-pkys it i* sufficient foe ibe
present to lay that they were crude and oflcntimefl Itcentioux prodnc-
tiom, spiced as it were Hccordlng to the palate of the vnlgaTi tint
geimii aviilum rpeflaeulonim. In the moralities, however, wbidt wfw
entirely ullegoriuil, may be discerned some indications of dratnittie art.
and ilioy oftcnliracA di.iplay jmnertt nf Kitire w<irlby of Pope or Churchill.
The revelii and kIiowh of the Jina-nth and sixteenth centariei, minute de-
RcriplioiiK of which may be found In Holinahi-d, were the oflVpring of tlw
mystcricH nod iiioniliii'A, ami they in tlitir turn gave birtb to the ouaqR*
wbieh provided such apbndlJ i^mpluyment for the iinagiaatiT« genim ltd
pregnant fancy of Ben Jonson and Millun. The masques reached the
height of Uitiv popularity in the ri-ign of James 1., funl " Comus," which
was ]jrcacnted at Ludlow Castle in lC2i, wax tliu last, of any prtlMttooir
kit
I
THE OLD POETS ON THE SEVEN DEADLY SISS. 626
that jre are able to call to mind. The miDda of the people being tfana
ftmiliarized with mor&i spectacles, we are not sarprised to find that
allegoiy formed the staple of contemporaneoiu poetry. Since tbs
Commonwealth, maaquea, shows, and pageants have ceased to be commonly
represented, and our poets have sought the objects of their strains in
" fresh woods and pastures new."
It is not to be supposed that oar old all^orists would orerlook the
seren deadly sins in choosing subjects for their fine moraliungs. They
would be continually hearing about them from the pulpit ; they would see
them sculptured in the cathedrals and churches; their libraries would
contain richly-illumiuated manuscripts, in which the deadly sins would be
tlie subject both of pen and pencil ; and they would also meet with them
in the popular spectacles — the mysteries, moralities, pageants, revels, or
masques — of their time. Psssing over Robert de Brunne's traoalation of
the Manvel da Pecke'a, which is simply a moral disquisition, in verse,
upon the Decalogue and the seven deadly sins, we come to Piers Plough-
man's Vision (circa 1350). This allegorical poem, in which the deadly
sios are personified, is a vigorous satire upon the vices of the age ; but its
fiercest denunciations are reserved for the priests and tha monstrous super-
Btitiona inculcated by them. This poem is well known from the celebrated
passage in which the author foretells the dissolution of the monasteries.
Nether the discovery among the Cottonian manuscripts of some "Verses
concenung the Destruction of the Monasteriea," written before Piera
Pion^man's Vision, nor the generally expressed belief of the Lollards,
that the possessions of the Church would ultimately become the portion
of the knights, need lessen our wonder at the circumstantiality with which
the author of Piers Ploughman's Vision foretold what actually came to
pass. The same remark which we have made concerning Robert de
Brunne's translation may be applied to Gower's Con/essio Amantis and
Chaucer's Parson's Tale. In the Somaant of the Rose, in Dunbar's Dance,
and in Skelton's Rewards of a Court, we shall find some most striking imper-
sonations of the deadly sins, while in Hawes' Pastime of Pleasure they are
merely minor characters. Sackville's /nducd'on (o the Complaint of Hvnry
Duke of Buckingham contains some wonderfully vigorous person! tications ;
and even Spenser, strong as he was in his own originality, no doubt
derived much assistance in his delineation of the seven deadly sins from
the spirited creations of SackviUe. Phineas Fletcher, dulibed by the
fantastic Qnarles " the Spenser of his age," following his gre^it original at
the distance of half a century, has drawn some of the deadly sins. His
figures are conceived with a certain degree of skill, but the few beauties
of the work {The Purple Island) are lost amid a heap of anatomical
rubbish and absurdity.
We suppose that, in consequence of the mystic importance which has
at all times been attached to the number seven, it was found neces-
sary to discover seven cardinal and principal sins, from whiuh might
be educed the nnmerooa sabudiary branches of human turpitude. We
VOL. xni.— HO. 77. 80.
626
THS OLD FOCTS ON THE SEV£:f SEADLT 8ISS.
have, mid Uie nonlitU, the Mven wondera of tlic world, th«
of Homer, tbc nreii heads oT cht Nile, tlic •erca gnua of TK^ea, lb:
■even iuyii of tbe vr««k, aod why, in tlie nain« of Uic «eren wiaa nun sT
Or«eee, ihould w« not Imve th« levvu dcudljr sin 7 Tlius mighl Uie niunbar
Iwvii bcCD lettlcd. Thv niott oalural onlcr ofplrndDg these RproePtatarc
vices (Kltbough vrosiiall be Binning aliglitl^agaiii«t[Mrco(sl(.>tit in the amngfr-
atai) Homs to Iw rn<li,<>, Wrjitli, Envjr, CoveMusnuai, Gluttony, Lust, and
idleness. If it be true diAl vice in but an cxaggCTiUMti of Tirtu«, wt
tiiink tliAt th« -remark applies esp«cikUy to pride, wlilch twiiig but i«ir-
eMMUi ruD nuul, Btuids &«Ar«Ht to virtue ; thu tvra qimlilics occcpu'lag ibe
poMlM)D of the lusst of tlic vicen «ud the least of ttie virluee. b wa*
romurlcL-d by tke Uanjuu of iiali&UE that " pride in on ambiguoiu word ;
one kind of it is as much a virtue as the otbsr is a Tice : but w« *k
oaturxlly no upt tu diuoBe the worst thit it u become daingiirouH to onn-
mend the best side of it." Jl wns al«i tlic first sin committed, fur b^ it
" fell tbv angels." Saun liaring heard the Son of God proclaijiud
Hesrijtli Kine ui^antcd. cmild not heir
Tkmnich pride that siittit, snal Ifaoaiihl himteU imtMir'd.
lo Piers Plooghnian's Kmion, the deadly wns, headed by Pride,
tepresented aa ooning up to confuea and receive ab«o!atiaa, bavu^
wrought thereto hy the exhoTlaLiuni of Hettson. The author baa de
Pride as a womau, and in tliia aclectt»a of acx he is lolbwed by Sf
alone. It is OMnmon to impale this vice to females in an G.ipecdal ■
—from no other reason tlint vrn know of than because they groii
vanity upon th'uiga in thauuclvua nub uf inuob usf or ewliinution,
tlKTefare expowd to observiition and ridicule, aeuilg that pride tskos it*
cliiim to the world's respect, or inours llic world's aconi, according to tbu
quality of the thing on which it in founded. The pride of mco gcnoiUy
kprings trom Hometltiug held in ei^ccm, not, perhaps, ish^ntatly gond, ud
the rioe is tlierefore tost sight of, uilhoiigh it is just as cgngioiia. ToAt
piostntei hetwlf to the earth, and vowa that she will for the futan
practise homiUtj, and mbmit herself to mimtprejentalion with ^islifni
Dante, in Ji Pia-ifcUorio, has described the proud as walking aboot midar
the hurJtta of a henry stone, and listening to the ineStblo slnun of tiff
Vftioes whieh sing, " Biened nrc tlio poor in spiriL" As a pcnauoe (or her
mlwloingN, Fridc declaitw thiit she will fur blie future wear a hair shirt not
to her skin — a practice strictly in nccurdancc with the religions ^-**™—
of the time. In thcMi degenerate days, it it not perhaps so «aBy as il gsN
was to appreciate oil the torture and discomlbtt vf thia pecoUar mode of
Mlf-diecipliue. Sir Thomas More, even when be was ChaQocllor, wore s
hair sliirt next his skio; whipped himself ei'eiy Fridajr with a knotttd
cord, ami nllowed himself only four or five hours' reel, with the grauil
for bis bed and a log for hia pillow. Dunbar in bis Dance o/ (As Stva
litadiij Sttu, deaeribes himself aa lying in a trance, in the ooutae of wbidi
he bchulilt Iwth heaven and hell. He imagines that in beJI, MalMnnd
d«ci«M_that on Fostcm's eveu (the evening picoeding Lent — ■ xtrj jeD?
^
THE OLD IK>£T6 ON TH£ SEVEN DEADLY SIKS.
637
ftativa] in Scotland) ihcro bfioalcl he a dance or micb as bad acrvr bocoi
ihrived, and that a TntL--<que should be deTis«d U> introduM l}ic cliariioton
in proper ortier. Several ho\y hypncriuv tinit, npptur, bnt tliey cauwi no
mtrtb ui Muhoimd ; when, however, n lot of pricBM with Btiirrcn cromiB
oome ferward, tlie infernal; regions r»&undwith the laughter and mocictij
of the fiends. Tfaia poeiu vas written about sixty y*an btfon the Anal
abolition of popery iu Scotlund ; ami of ili« ocandnloiu oonditioa of the
Scottnh Church at ihin tiiJiL>. IJuUiim, siimmiu^ up tlie lengthy narrative
of McCric, th«3 spealLi : — " The Scots church had been immensely rich;
ita riches bad l«d, aa cver>-wbcrcci»e, tt> nc^Wt of duties aiid iliiitsi>lut«R(«i
of life; and these vioi-s had niH llipir usual punifhmenl in tho people's
batrcd." Tlic idoa vi' making thv pritttts, tta Dunbar has done, the object
«r ■oortt to tho Hinallett cf fitndi— the \Tr}' brovmica oven — is certainly
from the mind of a mattar of latire and tbo grocesqiio. After tl)L> priiHta
bare pmed, Malioond order* the naaque to prooeed, upon which the
Mfen dotdly risa come dancing in. It ia aaid that in aomi! parts of Italy
tfaepeoi>)t art! still fund orxenng speGtaGlet in vhich tlie deadly sini4 dunce
a nmauri: willi the Kvil Oiii>. Firslin th« dance comve Pridv, nttvndcd by
a band or cheating ■coundr4^U (inttnded, ve supposo, to rcprc^t^nt the
DUtncroiu train of viu«t which follow in tbp vake of pride), wliu, as they
iJtip along through tlie scalding &xv, make tlie place ring again iritb ikeir
hideoM groiins. Pride himself Btallcs in after the inanaer of a SpaniA
HitUgo of blueitt blood, with his hair pushed bock from his face, with
hia bonnet set on one aide, and his cassock trailing in rumpliid folds nil
about his hecix. The proud nipcriluily cf dreas which is here retnariccd
apoB, was more churact«riEtic of the female attire of tfae time, tirhidi
xealty was of iiiosl inordinatu amplitude. An amimng »tory is told ia
oa* of the pGrey Society's publications of n woman, who, for excessive
ptidc, wore a very long while train, wliioh, when she walkiid, rnisod a
great cloud of duat h«hiutl hur — afler tho mnnn«r of our modem fa«hion>
■hlc tsir ones. When the lady Jiftod ber train, a cn-lain duvil who
was standing by, wait obftervcd to laugh heartily. On being aalced
the eaosc of bis tncrrinieQl, be said that a brollier deril wm in
the babit of uidng tho lady's tnun for a oorriage, bnt when the
wearer pullet! it up the unfortunate deril was roiled in th<! dirt.
SkelbMi'a Jieu'iircU »/ a C^urt is an allegorical priem or poguant, in
which the ({tialities — the myvtic sewn as usual — most likely to ftovard
one's (iirtunc at court are pciaoniSwl ; and amongst tlto rest aro iaipereo-
oatioBSof one or two of the cardiiuJ eina. Skdton points Pride, under
the uunc %A Disdain, witli very gaudy atid ezpiinsiTe garments ; and,
oltlioogh we find Ecaticred up and down in the works of all the old
writers objurgations upon extrarsganoc ia dresa, yet wc most oonfeai
tliat Skeltoo was espGciiilly justiliDd in his tefleotianx, since tlte dandies of
Ui tiine, in addition to other cxpeasiw alxurdilias, bad usurped the
■limiarlllii and pettiooate of tbe wonun, and carried vary Urge hats, with
eoonaoQs fnUicn, slung over their backs. Skcllon's Pride ia a firv-eating
623
THE OLD FOBTS ON TU£ SEVEN OBADLT SINS.
fellow, wlio eridcfltly lliinlc* ihnt the world u onljr jtut lu^ cnoogh for
liimaelf and perhaps a iwrvnni or two. Spender, perluipa the hat, ii at
tlie ani« timo the duvf of our allrgonstSt and to hiui Dunbar akiae uo
tw ooiwidcrad u • worthy riral. In tite fourth canlo of the first book of
the Fairy QuMn tite poet hxa ikakcribtid ihe IIouBe of Pride and tbi
lanutes tbereof. It will be rctnvnibrml that the Kcd Cron Kniglii,
b&Ting been acparjlcd from Utia hy the treaclMiry of Arehimago, n
brought bj Ouesu to the lloune of Pride. Pride hemdf is seated on t
rich tfaroDc, iviih a dragoa nt h«r IWt, aud is attended b/ a aomenn
train of loriln and Indies. She at attired moat gorgooualy, and altiaa lib
the sun with gold and preciotM stnoeii, the lu*tru of which, however, an
nid to be dimmid bj the awful blase of her beauty. ThU deacripligB
of Pride reminds one of that given uf Medea, when xhe ia first aem by
Janm. Diidaining to Ionic upon the earth aa too rile for her, Pfuh
exalts her eyea lo bpavcn, only lowi-rinff llicm n»w and then to Tiaw bec-
Klf in a mirror which »ho iiol<l« In her h»nd. Liktf Xarciaaa of tU,
alie in ruprL^«enled lu in We niih Ittrsclf. Queen Lucif<'n, aa SaatB
haa named pride, rcfcning ta th« original «in ul Satan Or Lacifer* ivipi
ovi<r a kingdom wlioao sovprf-ignly ahu luu ii«nrpc-d ; but her soeptn vl&H
of course be broken, when we »liiLll enter Lnib ihe full enjoyment oftUfl
promil* of a " recovered Paradine to utl markind.'' Her maxim, will
'nhich thote wlio have Mudicd htiiory will no doubt bo fumiliMr, is tenda
by policy and not by law, and her cminsi'llura are the remuining ea:
•infl. She is the dik^ighter of Pluto :ind Prof^erpine, by wliich tlw ida
her being conceived in hell is iutenJrd to ha conveyed ; but diiT<ah"''*y
ber high pareiiuiiTe, she claims Jove for her aire, and would exak henelf
to a goddess. Of this latter form of pride, history BUppltes us with aaay
exampIeB, such ah that of Alexander, who bribed ihe priestB of Jvpiur
AnimoD to honour him as the son of tJieir deity ; Dumiiian, who CDia-
manded that ha aliould be called God in all the etxte pajxira; Cai»ak
who used to ait among the gods and cnuae ucri^ces to be made to Uk
and also to hurl stones towards hejiwn in dolianco of the thuoder^bcanis
Jove ; snd many others. Aa to the pride of anceiliy, it ccems tmlmli
preach to men of the common origin of the huni.-in laoe, and lo n }mit
to fiithgr Noah, the propositus alike «r \\>a tnivcUing tinker and tbe teewA
Alcibiadot (if tht^ Gnitrdit; or to tell them with Si. Jerome, Stmfmt awl
Jimim notiililaf, claram rM« virtiiti^ui:. There «re oilier brancha of Prnk
which the poets wc have mcalioncd have not dejilt willi, tnch as thai td
wealtl), which i< found in its rampant Ibrm among thcee who have beta
dipped in the Puctolns of modern commerce, and have middetily cook n^
from the depths hoavy witli nuriftrcms droeti. The pride of nligioa >*
exemplified in the FhIl^i»^^o of tbe pnnible was perhupa hardly capabfe^
introduction into tliv allcgorti-s wc hnvv been considering, but it iaa lioli
curious that occasion hns not been liikvn lo eatirise tlie pride tjf humility,
of which we ccmKider the life of Diogen« the oynio to fimurb tbe aw*
Sagrant example.
temiaH
idadfl
latninaV
THX OLD POETS ON THE SSVEH DEADLY SINS. 629
Wrath occnpies the position next to Pride in our catalogae of the
deadly siua; for whea once a man is possessed with pride in some gift
of grace or fortune which he imagineB himself to possess, the least want <^
Bympathj with hia preiensioRH is apt to more him to resentment. In
Piera Ploughman's Vision, Wrath is represented as coming np to the con-
fession invited bj BeaeoD. with his nostrils qnirering, bis eyes wild and
dilated, and hi^ lips tightly compressed between his teeth. He is ystj
properly described as a friar, and at one time gardener to the convent ;
ibr pntting aside the fact that the poem was written by a Lollard, the
monks and friars were then, and had long been, noted for their quarrel-
•ome and brawling character. It was veiy common for them to get up
fights both with fists and knives over their cups, even when these latter
vere full of liquor, showing that their gluttony, for which they were
celebrated, was surpassed by their disposition to quarrel. They would
give one another tlie lie, and swear like our friend Friar John of the
Funnels, with this difference, that, as he explains, his oaths were but the
colours of a Ciceronian rhetoric, and are among the class sanctioned by
I<(H)giDUS. There were at this time bitter feuds between the begging
frian and the monks, between the barons and yeomen]; in fact, society was
in that unsettled and seething state, which is always the prelude to great
revolutions. Wraih dt^clares that among the friars he finds the readiest
foUowen, since there is always some quarrel going on among them, be it
about ihriving the people without licence, or what not. He has two aunts,
one a onn and the other an abbess. He was for some time cook in their
conr&tt, and as may be supposed, he does not neglect bis opportunities
of setting the dear creatures by the ears. By virtue of his office he
would have plenty of chances of doing this, for the cook was a very
important personage in the economy of monastical and conventual esta-
blishments. The office of chief cook waa never bestowed, except on
those who had made the art of Apicius their study, and Fuller declares
that there were some who could have pleased the palate of the archgluttoa
himself. From the description given. Wrath appears to have belonged to
an establishment of the Gilbertines, where it was the duty of one of the
cooks to serve the nuns at supper, for lie says he served the monks and
Quns for many months. His method of stirring up anger and strife
among the nuns, will enlighten us as to tlie tlicn prevailing abuses. He
insinuates that one was born out of wedlock, that another had lost her
▼irtue to a priest, and so on. Tliey sit and dispute over these things till
the lie is given, and thert;upon delicHte nails are buried in delicate flesh,
the want of cold sUel alone preventing its use. That the charges in-
sinuated by the poet nguinst the nuna are not libellous, wo may assume
from the account of the famous vitiitation of the Bl»liop of Lincoln, and
the means adopted by him for eiugling out the chaste from the unchaste;
and also from the discovery in the nunneries of amulets and saintly
relics, supposed to be efficacious in cuaes of pregnancy. The nuns of
Gracedieu, for instance, rejoiced in tlie possession of a part of St. Francis'
TBS OLD 70BTS 05 TBB SEVWX DEADLT SIKS.
ooat, and llion of St Uirr't, Derby, ia tWt of « fragmont oT th* ahirl
of St. 'rhomaa, both cf which were R^poaed (o be TMoful lo I
laqBuidg the good ofBcei or Lucina. Nor did the momwra of the nvn*
improre with timo, if w« maj b*Iie»« Ldlf the fiery narrBtiTe of ihe good
Biili/)p of QiKwy. Moreover, among the Intptirmda area ConvtmOtmf
an ihe foUoTring qovrics. Ar« tlie inmates apt to ^e the lie to euli
(itlier 7 Aic they i& the habit of atriking ooe another 7 Not only in thia
pfiTlicular jwrt, hut tliroughout the whole of Piers Plonjlimiin'B Viaiim,
unil thr works of Chaucer, there i« a grenl (^tiantity of inforroatioD wbidt
ebcdfl a liglil apoD monaaUo and coDTcntual nil«, and photogrnpha for ua, at
it wcrt^ the inner life of tlie devotoos of the lime. Ice comes awaggering
into Dtmbur'a Daitcf, like no UDcirJ bear, in a inaimer iiiteoded to etir
□p inrife. Aa if 10 be ready for a fny he goes alwayi mth hu baod
upon his daggw, whidi at that time vraa oonaidered a neccaniay part of tlw
appurel ot a gentleinao, and iraa wore loepciidcd from tli* girdle, togetker
wilh the punm. lie is a««otnf«aifd by a band of wild swnahbneUv
fellow*, booKUrt, brnggarLo and vrrauglera, nil " armed to point," wlio pMi
o& ia military order, two and two, oa if expecting immediate battla
T^eae rude retainers deal blowa all around tbern at random, and aora»-
tinea fmiNli by tlc^liing their knives to (he liuft in oooh othtr. 'J'tkia ia
intended to rt-Hect upon tUe nuuicroua train of idle followers with whick it
woa the practioe (or the great lords to surround IhemstJvca.
wae this the case with the Highland chieftains, who troubled thi
little to restrain, nay, eren encouraged, ihe depredalionn i^f ibeir
upon ihi; tmfortun&tR lowland proprietors. Henry VU. not long- nfUrwodii
Mt himai'lf called upoa to deal with the matter in England, hy panbg 4e
•tMutca reatroining the nobility from keeping such hosts of retainon, tfm,
u Sir Waller Scott poiiiu out, not only striking at the root of th« peww
oT the aristooraoy, aud oontribating to the downfall of the iiuoitutioD of
chivalry, but Inying the foundations of the subBot^uetat freedom of tba
Engliiili people. Iti the Fairy ilasen, Wrath, to whom Spenser gives Ihft
iMt plscc in his •n^teaquo team, is reprenentrd riding on a lion, which
•Mina lolli to go Ibrivani. The beasts which Spenser has associated witk
tha different vioes are tliocie which the common estimniion of the Qhan»>
tcristica of the various ammols would leail us to look for. We an DO*
perbnpe altogether right in asnit^nin^ certain vicioua qualitiea to partioikr
aonnals, but the custom hus no doubt arisen irora the teaching ei (1m
ftUra familiar to na iu our youth. Seneca snys that if he were eaUsd
upon to dcccribo Anger ho should draw a tiger bathvd in blood, just abo«l
to pounce CO liis prey, or:u; the Furioa are reprssonted, with whi[)i!i, snakMi
&Dd flames. Wrath conica in liis liaod a bumtng torch (the torch of
Discord), which he brandishes about hia licad. Hiseyce flaab ibrtb spsHtt
of fire, hit fiue is livid like thai of a corpiie, bis honda, whieh trembla
with the viulciice of hia passion, clutch an unaheatfaed dagger, and Im
meela ihe regards of all around bim with a ^rim angry atara. Con)pan
thia wiib Soneca'a detcriptioB of aa angry man, with a fierce aud throaBKf
QBBK>- -1
THX OLD POSTS ON THE SBTEfi DBADLT 8IB&. 681
JBg coantenance, ae pale as oAea, and ia the Hame moment aa red as
blood ; a glaring eje, a vrinkled brow, trembling lipa, a forced and
sqaeaking voice, knocking knees and Tioleot motions of the wbole body.
Tbe ragged garments of Wrath are all atained with the blood of thoaa
whom he baa ^ain in fits of unreflecting passion.
For of hU bauds he had no govenomwit,
Ke car'd for blood in bis aTeng^meat:
But, wbea the furioos fit was overpast,
His cruel &cts he often wonld repent ;
Tet, mlfnl man, he never woold foreaut
How jnaaj mUchiefii Bfaonld ensoe his heedlcsa lu^
This is a capital picture of a choleric man, and might very well be takea
for a portrait of our own Henry Ylir., bat that Spenaer wonld take care
not BO to paint the father of the fiery Elizabeth, his own Gloriana and
"dearest-dread." Spenser has devoted a stanza to the enumeration of the
followers of Wrath, namely, Bloodshed, Strife, " bitter Despite with Ban-
conr's rusty knife," Grief, and the rarioas bodily ailments which terre to
sweeten the tempers of passionate men. We cannot do better in leaving
Uiis second deadly sin than quote the beautiful sentences of Sir Thomas
Browne on this subject : — " Answer not the ^ur of tary, and be not pro-
digal or prodigious in revenge. Make not one in the histaria korribiUe ;
slay oot thy servant for a broken glass, nor pound him in a mortar who
offondcth thee ; aupererogate not in the worst sense, and overdo not the
neccBBlicB of evil ; humour not the injustice of revenge."
Kext in the allegoric procession limps squinting Envy, whom Piers
Plongbmsn represents as coming up to ask for shrift, crying mea culpa
with great show of repentance, but at the same time secretly cursing his
enemies. His body seems ready to burst with suppressed spleen, and
his lean and lowering visage has the paleness of one in the palsy, or of a
Bun-dried leek. His kirtle, a kind of tnnic or waistcoat, and courtepy or
oppermost cloak, the sleeves of which have been cut from the gown of a
fiiar, are both old and worm-eaten. It is hard to unriddle the meaning
of clothing Envy in part of a friar's garb, except upon the supposition
that the author regarded the cowled fraternity as representatives of all
the deadly sins. Envy, by his confession, seems to have passed hia life
amid bustle and excitement, for whatever be knew amiss of Watkin
he told to Will, and of course reported to Watkin the shortcomings of
Will, embittering thereby the existence of those two individuals. Envy
goes on to declare that he would rather ensure the mischance of his
neighbour than gain a wey of Essex cheese, showing thereby that he
had not the means or had not learnt the art, common in our time, of
combining the utile with the dulce. Proceeding in his confession, Envy
■ays that when he is in church, and should be praying for palmers and
pilgrims, be finds himself muttering curses ; and that when^ taming him-
self from the altar, he sees an acquaintance with a new coat, he is imme-
diately seized with deep pangs of covetousness. He was present in a quiet
ooonby cborch on a much more reoeat ocoasion, if we are to trust the
CSS TU£ OLD POSTS ON TlUC SSVOS DKADLT SQfS.
nuTttioa by die hutorian ot the adrcntures of Tom JoncB, louobii^ Ui'
dc^ruclion ol' the fine kpparul of poor Molly Seagrttn. Like a liwsti
nol>!G of Uie o]i] school, Envy nidlie^ erery oue were ttis aerf. Of ooune
Im lAU^its ac oUior pcopLu'a miifiTttiDC*, uatl, oquaUy of «oars«, weef*
•»\wn Li8 Dcigliboiira ri.'juiec. Tli« autlior has bore taken a hint &om
Ovid, who taya of Envj—
V'ixqai- tcnrt Incnrnoa, qaia nil UoTmabUo ecnUL
Among tlie many "full ricli poi-trnilar«s " which aro Utnned upoD the
vail of the garden of the Row, an de&cribed by Cliaucvr, is a very exoel-
lent oiie of Enry. She (t'iirldltig hoH ilIso described Envy ua a HomaUt
ant) bna called her the a'uivr o( !»ilup) liaa » " full foul UK)g« '* of iMTtf
LjuWing man or woman aimiglit la the fucc ; she either giv«a susfuciois
tide- g Itinera, or half nliiita Uei' eyvt in the manner of people who wU
to «xpr«aB a pr«teud«d dUdkin, pramptcd by reaJ ji-filout^ of tbow who
are good and woitliy, or who wand high in the eatimation of othi>%
exemplil^'ing ilitreb)', we observe, tlie old anyiiig, Inriilia virtutia amut-
Knry, aiys Chaucer, ncvvr lau;:ht. The full 8Jg;aific«nco of ihii cx-
prctvion can only be npprohvnded by reflecting upon ihe part nbich
laughter {ilayn in lliv bunion econiiiny. Ccirtylt!, in remarking uiioa tk
immortul caohinnalion of TeufeUdtockh, sayn that " no man who hoi
heu-lily and wholly laughed, can be altogelher irrecJaitnably bad." FWi
adds he, art' ahle to Iniigh what can he called Uugliingt but ibc
U-ho caiiiiot Iiiiipli at nil " is not only fit for Ire-i.toDR, atniljig<k«nB,
Spoils; but luK wholo liftf is altrndy a Lrt-iiBon niid a BtratagGnt." Oti
GcoflVe^-, in thus diawing Envy, lins not only exhilijteJ hi» knowloige of
human niitun>, but hia intiwacy u'Jth Uiat philosophy which ha* novt
hcoome associated with ihe n:ime ff thv divioe Pant»grn«1. He t^ lU,
moreoTcr, tlial the Ihioga wlituh ]>leaite Envy tno«t, aiid which bring the
nearest ^proacb to a sardonic grin into her fnoe, are tlie misfortunu^
diseases, and divcomfilurt'it of ihc good, gn^at, and honourable, evva i>
tfa«y should he of her oivii kindred di' fiiciiilH. The niarrcUous pliilv-
sojihy wiih wliich pL-op!e> do bear th« mislbrtunes of their friends — ^p«rbs|v
neither good, preat, nor honuui'^ible— though it may not b« attributaW*
simply to envy, haa yet lur a rery lovg period beon a r«niurkablc Seatun
oi' nioHt human sociuticB. Dtinhar hns described Envy its a trailonoi
fellow, nlio iieniblea as he got^ with accret bale, and wlnw in;ilicious ai
*piii;lul tlioughtv arc v-lioUy heal on "feud sud felony." His foUowtn
aro G<inipoHtd of oily dissent hit! rs, the Pccksnifis of the period, lUlltft»i
bickbitcra, and shindercrs. Atast, cricii ihe pnet—
TUiii coiirl* of noble kbgs
Of Lhrm riiD ni-YLT be quiu
Dunbar, in bis rarious suits at th« conrt of James IV. of ScotluMl, Iti
■ufiorcd from the unfriendly oflicen of those whom ho woulti place in ihc
nbovQ category, and perhaps he was, as a result thereof, at that tine
vndnnng what h« called "tJic silver sorrow." We think bb portrailBV
of Eavy the htmest of the fi(>ur«s in bis Dawe, while it at ibc
i
lowtr»
THE OLD POETS OX THE SETSK DEADLY SINS. 638
time compares ^Tourably with those drawn by the other poets. Some
critics have taken exception to Spenser's description of Envj, and hare
quoted it as a specimen of that nnDecessary minuteness in specifying di»-
gnsting details, which is one of the very few faults with which he can be
charged. In this particular case, however, the sio is not so conspicaooB
S8 in other instances, the description of Duessa for example. Envy rides
in the miserable team of Pride upon a ravenous wolf, which, according
to the tSBte of the reader, may be considered the best or the worst repre-
sentative of Envy to be found in the circle of animated nature. He
chaws between his cankered teeth a venomous toad, the poison from which
runs about his Jaw. Here the image is sufficiently disgusting, it most be
confessed, but it should be recollected that the Elizabethan was not
mealy-mouthed age, nor was it the object of the poet to make the deadly
■ins drawing-room characters, or such attractive gentlemen, that if one
were to knock against them in the flesh, one's first impulse would be to
ask them to dinner. Envy carries a snake in his bosom, and is clothed in
a loose silk gown of various colours " ypainted full of eyes,", the vigiles
oeuli of Virgil's monster fieport, perhaps. Of his other characteristics it
is sufficient to say that he grudges the wealth of his neighbours; gnashes
bis teeth for rage on beholding the heap of gold carried by his neighbour
Avarice ; almost expires with spleen when he sees any good thing, but
r^oices at tidings of evil ; those who feed the hungry be accuses of inte-
rested motives, and generally as it seems to us, instead of exalting the
bom of the righteous, would with all his strength bring it to confusion
and thame ; but worse than all (execrated be his memory) —
. . . Tho verse of funons poet's wit
Ho does backbite ajid spitofDl poison spnes
From leprous montb on all that ever writ
Covetousneas or Covetise is, perhaps, one of the most striking imper-
Bonations in Piers Ploughman's Vision. The poet begins by doubting his
own ability to describe this character fittingly, and introduces him as a
Btem and hungry-looking cuitifi' — a kind of le^in Ciisaius in fact. His
beetle brows, blubber lips, bleared eyes, and slobbered beard, are not
rendered less repulsive by his shrivelled leathern cheeks. A hood, over
which a filthy hat is placed, composes his head-di-ess, while for the rest he
has a ragged and threadbare tabard which has borne the brunt of twelve
winters' wear, and which is covered with those dreaded insects of which
the Italian beggars are supposed to harbour the finest specimens. From
his confession we gain information respecting the principal trade tricks of
the time, which, it may be remarked, bear a striking resemblance to those
which our police courts are continually bringing to liglit. That the
manufacturers of wooden nutmegs, old port, Derby champagne, and birch-
broom tea have much to learn fiom the confession of Covetise, we greatly
doubt ; but it may at least possess for tliem an antiqimiian interest, and,
perchance, may grace the preface of some future edition of The Cheat's
Vade-Mecam. The first accomplishment acquired by Covetise in his
684 TilS OLO POETS OH TlIB SEVBH DEADLY SDfS.
*picDlicclwad WM faUJag lies in tbc way of trade : at>t, b« it rematfcrir
for thu mere pleasure at Ut« thing, Mko Gaitcoa Baii-re fiv instance,
wboM mcmoini it haa Ixxn said thit he w]io hu not mcl tbon casoot be
Mid U> know wb»t it is tg Ite. Tbc next Jcmod CorctiM bad to Icmi
nu to dtcal in weigliing, a tnailor nquiring, ura ihoiild think, conn-
ikmbltt boldneas and Ovxieritj, consiiJmng tli« taiaeiy on the eubject
whicli ia evidenced by the pcuiil proriaiuna of the Statute of the PUlnj
and Tumbrel. The wifo uT Covctit^ bjr name Rom the Regntor, vai,
fit »K told, a WCBVVT by tndc, and Bccias, amiable creature, to bats
been in tbc habit of caiimnting ihc work of lur sptnatcrs by a ir«igbt
repKHBting a poUD<], but n-ally of a, |>oui)d and a quartar. Sb*
also an alewife, and mixed "penny ah and pudding ale" tag«ll>er Sat
labourers and low folk, and oUhough we cannot qtute Mmprehcnd
peculiar ioiijuitf of this proceeding;, it wai doubtleia well undemtood
the «hawbaoonB of the perldd. 'Vbv ooiiftuuon of Covettse ii tlie
»r the aer^n, and vre have only dc&It with the aoIieBt points of it. Onnhtr,
alter St. Paul, apoatrophizes covelutiftacM na the root of oil evil and ground
of Tice. Ha jjires him for rullowern in the Dana a crew of mlncn, usaiai%
ouakwotma, and de^icable wretchea, nho >pit out bot molten gold, lik*
Gre-fl^tea upon one another, and aa aoon a« they hare diacharged thair
autiferoua cargo in this, ecceotrio muaner, l}i« r««dy Aeada fill ihcm ancv
Qp to th<i T«ry throttle wiUi coin of every dvacription, which rcmiodl 01
of what ba.ppeni.'d to Cnuwtit. Tl)« whol« [ncture i« fillnd with ihoH
ludicrous and yet imprvsnive toucho? in which so great a part of Dunbar 'f
excellence conusta. SackTillv'ft "gK^-dy Cnro" ia a rongh moo, «lie*a
tanned and seamed (le>li, knobbed kntirklea, and gi'imy bands, aitett the
violence of the kbour to whiiiik he subjects himself for lb« purpoee of feed-
ing bis nmrice. At earliest dawn ho ninR le bii work, and even when
light halh given place to darkness lie " h&x\\ bis caudles to prolong hia tcil.*
Small need of Early Cit^sing Associntioaa i/lica to work after <Urk mi
con&idend to be n aign of a.varice. Wc nov r«tam to tho contemplaliea
of the. gurgixiua canraa of Sjx-nser. Avarice, the fourth in bis fair bsnd,
rid«a upuu a oamel bowed with his migbty burden 9f gold, wbtch ic
contained in two iron cofTerKL II may perhaps be regarded aa byperenimlr
but we cannot liflji n.-marktn!; Iuth tlmt an ostentatious dii^lay of w«Ul^
such aa Speaker haa dupicied, U by uo mcaos charactensuo of araaicioat
men, who unuallj rniort to the most curious devices in oifier to coaeal
their ncullh. Avarice, acconling to Spenser, ts a wrt-tcbed wigU
tormented witb a grievous goat, and muy be said to hare «ac foot in ike
grave. He uicrificcn very liitle to the graces (a somewhat costly fofn ef
wun>]it])), AK bis tiireailbitre coat and cobbleil shoes testify ; ho bows Mi ■
at tlie shrioc of St. ApiciUE, since be never ta»ted good moad during tba ■
whole of hie lifo. Hia maxim in Khorl la to i^arc from hta belly and liil i
back to fill his money-bags. Ue tcya with a lieap of coin displayed in hi*
lap (anothu' icetonco of the error wa have pointed out), and is rcpreaenteJ
as following Uic trade of an usurer, a kind of Kalph ffiokkby of thr
iber fir _
end the ■
;ood bfH
kragert^
I
eftbf J
TBB OIJ> FOETS ON THE SEVEN DEASLT SISB. 685
petiocL Tbrongh his daily ansiety to get and hia nightly few to lose, be
lead* a miserable life, and according to the proverb may be said to live
TuknowB to himself aioce he can liardly be said to know what living
mflaos. " Moat wretched wight," exclaims the poet,—
Whom nothing toighc suffice ;
Whose greedy Inst did lock in greatest store ;
Whose need hsd end, but no end Coretiae ;
Whose wealth was want; whose plenty made him poorj
Who had enongh, jet vishM ever more.
Under the name of Pleonectes, Avarioe cuts a rather ludicrons figure in
Fletcher's poem. Like the character we have just been considering, he is
an old man with patched garments and clouted shoon. He is eqnipped
tar battle as nearly as possible in accordance with the usages of chivalry,
and since it was necessaiy to come out with the nsoal complement of
sn&our, our venerable fiiend has exercised bis ingenuity in achieving this
rcaolt at the smallest cost. For this purpose he has laid the kitchen
under contributioo to an extent which might fully entitle him to the
bononrable cognomen of the Knight of the Dishclout A helmet, we oon-
oure, could not under any circumstances be the most comfortable of head-
gear, as it could not accommodate itself to alt the nodoeitiefl of the era-
ninn, and must, therefore, while passing over some abrade others ; but
the evil wonld be wofully aggravated if the helmet were to take the shape of
a bnui pot, as did that of Pleonectes. A dripping-pan may be very well
ad«j*ed for a breastplate, a spit is a good substitute for a spear, aa we
learn from the duel at the inn between Roderick Random and Captain
Weasel, and there may be worse shields than a large pot-lid. Whether
or no, such were the offenmve and defen»ve arms of Pleonectes. His
pot-lid shield was embellished with the device of a close-sealed money-
bag, under which was the motto, " Much better saved than spilled." In
this instance, Fletcher, without rising to the dignity of his great master
Spenser, has shown that he has a quaint humour and originality of his
own, which it is to be regretted were not more frequently exhibited.
Whenever the subject of misers comes under discussion, there always
arioes the question whether it is better for a man to be a miser or a ^nd-
thrift 7 Upon this much has been said, and much no doubt remains to
be said. That avarice is not inconsistent with a certain greatness and
nobili^ of character we know from the practice and fame of Cnsar and
Tespaeian; but with respect to extravagance and profusion, or, at all
events, a lordly carelessness in money matters, they are thought to be not
only compatible with, but the almost necessary concomitants of, a great
mind. A miser harms himself more than anybody else, and he, no doubt,
is so peculiarly constituted, tJiat the simple hoarding of money is a greater
pleasure to him than anything earthly that money could buy. His ex-
ample is to a certain degree pernicious ; but he will neither offeud the
just prejudices of society by the practice of flagitious vices, nor will ha
corrupt nMny by the subtle influences of wealth. Like that Cardinal
Ang«lot 1^0 used to steal the oats from the stables of his horses in the
636 THE OLD POETS ON THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
de«d of the night, he will cheat himself mostly, and will, aa we well know,
be the greatest luser by bis own folly. Upon the aepulchte of Seminnm
were engraved certain words to this effect, " What king Boerer ahall want
money, let him open this sepulchre and he shall find as much as be
iieedti." Darius broke open this sepulchre, but instead of Ending money
found this inscription : " £xcept thou wert a wicked man and baaelj
covetous, thou wouldst not have broken open this sepulchre."
Gluttony, one of the carnal eins, next demands our attention. In
Piers Ploughman we find him on his way to confesnon, but in a veej
short time he is induced by the eloquence of his friend the brewer to ton
aside and take a cup with his gossips at the alehouse. Entirely forgetting
the object of his journey he soon enters into the spirit of the occaacn,
and joins with the rest in drinking, singing, and swearing. The descrip-
tioa of the company at the alehouse reminds us of the style of Cbanotr
himself ; and it umj be gathered from thence what were at that time
reckoned the dinolute classes — the tavern frequenters, brawlen, and
profane swearers. In this goodly company Sir Glutton remaina until long
after the bell has tolled for vespers, he having by that time disposed of a
gallon and a gill of ale. lie gets up and proceeds as far as the door, after
the manner of a blind gleeman's dog, tliat is to say, he persistently avoidi
the straight line, or tlia shortest distance between one place and anotbct.
When he gets to the door he falls down in a lethai^ic state, in which he
remains fur two days ; and on awakening he makes haste to confoiion,
and obtains absolution upon the faith of his many promises of anend-
ment. There is not much to admire in this person itication of glaltoay,
Jbr the puct has only dealt with one phase of a vice which has at all timei
exhibited bo many refinements and am phfi cations. It is a little ^gnlir,
too, that beyond the inti-oduction of a hermit among the company at the
alehouse, wc fiud no rejections upon the religious orders, who were noto-
rious gluttons, insomuch that an old writer scrupled not to tell them that
their religion was rather that of Epicurus than Christ ; and another said,
that if they were fed welt, they cared fur nothing else. In Dunbari
Dance, Gluttony is introduced as a foul monster with insatiable and
greedy wanic, who is followed by a crowd of drunkards, flourishing cup*
and ciins, from which they drink to surfeit and excess, and also by a cn'«
of usek'Bs tmibelhed gourmands. In reply to their incessant erica Ibr
drink, the fiends pour hot lead into tlieir ever-gaping mouths, thus pro-
ducing extreme and burning Iieat, the very reverse of the punishment
which Dante hiis described as afQicting the gluttons in tlie third circle of
hcH. They are tormented there by being compelled to lie in the mire
under a ceasek-ss stunn of hail, snow, and discoloured water, while
Cerberus barks over tliem, preparatory to rending them in pieces. Spenser
liaa drawn a very characteristic figure of Gluttony — a deformed, loath-
some fellow, whose body is discoloured by numerous diseases, wkoM bd^
is upblown with luxury, whose eyes are swollen with fatneaa, and <
neck ia of the long and craae-like descriptioD which ia pecnluify i
THE OLD POETS ON THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS. 6S7
for the poipoaa of feastiiig. It is beliered that these orane-necked people
preserre the taste of the delicacies they are derouring for a longer period
than those sot similarlj endowed. Heliogabalus was, if we recollect aright,
one of the long-necked tribe. Glnltonj, who has a dirty pig for a charger,
18 clad, after the manner of Silenns, in Tine-leaves, having upon his head a
garland nf ivy, in one hand a " boozing can," and in the other sometiung to
eat. His excesses have entirely unfitted him for worldly afikirs, and have
BO besotted his senses that he seldom knows his friend from his foe.
It was well observed by Chaucer, with respect to the two vices of glut-
tony and lust, that " these two sina ben so nigh cosins that oft time they
wol not depart." They have always been deemed inseparable by moral-
iflts, and are foand together in all the productions concerning the deadly
luns. In Piers Ploughman's Vision, Lust makes bis confession, and sues for
pardon apon condition of the self-imposed penance, that on every Saturday
for seven years he shall drink pond-water with the ducks, and have but
one meal. He confesses himself guilty both of the desire and the com-
mission of imcleaaness, of sinning by words, by clothing, by watching of
the eyes, and by the arts of the seducer. The author has here again
Delected an opportunity of rebuking the monks, who were at that tinw
notorious for their excesses in this respect. Wickliff lifled up his voice
■gsinat them, and accused them of studying the constitution and physiology
of women for the purpose of bending ignorant females to their desigiu ;
and as to the state of things just before and at the time of the Reformation,
we have ample information from Bale's Acts of English Votaries, and the
" Beports of Henry's Commigaonere." Dunbar has drawn a terribly graphic
pictore of Lust, who, dragging along his loathsome carcase and neighing
like a horse, is led into the dance by Idleness, by which it is signified that
the one is the offspring of the other. He has several companions with
him, dead, as it were, in sin, whose features glow like the red fire of a
burning torch. They all rush together into the dance, holding each other's
tails and forming, as it were, an unbroken line of satyrs. Among Spen-
ser's motley crew Lust comes riding on a goat, whose rugged hair and
streaked and swollen eyes are like those of his burden. The rider, whose
personal peculiarities seem to be imitated from the figure of Lust in
Chaucer's " Court of Love," is black, rough, and filthy, and is dad in a
green gown, which hides his uncleanness.
... Id bJB hand k bamiiig heart ho bore,
Fall of rain fotiitB and new-fanglenesa ;
For he was false and franght with fickleness ;
And learned had to love with secret looks j
And well conld donee and sing with niefulncss
And fortunes tell; and read in loving books.
And thoniiand other ways to bait his fleshly hook^.
He passes his Ume in tempting women's hearts and trying to lure them from
their " loyal loves," and his corrupt body and clouded intellect inspire us
with the utmost horror and loathing of the vices which he personates.
In Idlenen we have the last of the seven deadly sins. Piers Plough-
6S8 THE OLD POETS ON TEE SEVEN DEADLT SINS.
man's Sloth in a blear-ey^d churl, only half-sroosed from the (orpdi^
induced by constoiit alecp. lie gets no Ikrdier in hij confeaioD thn
Benedicite, vhen he b^ine to stretch himself, and forthwith oomnaea
snoring; but he is brought to, by the objurgationB of Btipenbutca, aai
proceeds with his lecituL Although he has been priest and panoa fat
thirty yean, yet he can neither sing by note, nor can he read the Uni
of the Saints. The ignorance of the monks has been a conatant tboM
of reproach with those who hiLve buued thcmaelTes cooceming At
economy of monasticol establiiihmeuts. An old Harleian MS. nyi thit
the monks were so ignorant that they did not even understand what «k
read ; that tlie canonical hours which they chanted were aa a sealed hoik
to them ; and that in reading they put short accents for long ones, aad
vice verad. One of the reascms given by an old abbot for wiahing to reaga
his abbacy wuB, that out of fifteen monks only three nnderstood their nk
or the statute of their religion ; and that when he supplied them wilii
grammars, so that they might leani, only two rotponded to bis uinmBm.
Sloth declares that he cannot even say his paternoster after a. priest ; nd
although be kno^vs nothing that ever was invented coaceroing our Lad
and Lady — by which he refers to the miracle-plays and motmliuaa -yst
be con repeat all the idle ballads about Kobin Hood or Handal of C3ieM«.
The Chester mysteries which are here referred to were so popolar villi
the common people that they held equal ground with the Bobin Hon
ballads, which have always enjoyed a high estimation. Sloth'a otba
accomplishments are an ability to turn up a hare in a field, or to buJd a
court-lect or court-baron for a knight. We leave this worthy geatleaan
for Dunbar's creation of Sloth. Aller having been twice called, be etaei
rolling into the dance liku a sow out of a s^, accompanied by a huge
rout of slovens, sluts, and sleepy rascals. Tlieae ho drags along with a
chain, lest Uiey should all fall to the ground in sleep, while Belial lasbei
them with a bridle rein ; but so slow of feet are they, in spite <^ the kiaJ
offices of Belial, that the attendant fiends raise the temperature, in otie
to quicken the pace. The ingenious gentleman who is said to have con^
a gouty patient by placing him in a room without chair or other available
interposing medium between the iron floor and his feet, and then gradnal^
heating the floor until the forced capers of the victim wrought a cure o:
his malady, may perhaps have taken a hint from this passage in Dunbsr.
Dunbar, in concludiug his poem, represents Maliound as crying fur a High-
land pageant, whereupon there ensues from the Highlanders Ruch a terrific
uproar and shouting in Erse, that the deril himself was—
So deavcd with tbeir jell
That ID the dec]>Mt pot of hell
He Binnrit tfacm with nnodi.
This satire upon the Highlanders is attributable to the ill-feeling whiob
then existed between tbi-m and their Lowland noighbouia, of
Dunbar was one. Idleness ridea forth from the hoase <^ Pridi -i
tlothfdl an, and ia clothed in the black habit and thin unfeevf •<
THE OLD POETS ON THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS. 639
He carries a worn breriury, in which he reads but little, since he passes
most of his days in sleep. He withdraws himBelf from all worldlj cares
and manly exercise, and claims immunity from work of every kind, " for
contemplation sake," instead of which he spends all the time he can spare
from sleep in riot and debauchery, by which he has brought upon himself
a continual fever.
We have thus passed hastily through the several branches of the
subject which we proposed to treat, and have necessarily been somewhat
discursive, but if any person should wish to have a fit comment upon the
whole matter, we recommend him to look out a portrait of the &mou3
Abb4 Maury, member of the Constituent Assembly, whose face is sup-
posed to have been " an image of all the cardinal ains."
^tt <I[a^tittit^.
[Oiptain Cameron, who has been so long imprisoned in AhjtKiaui, has sent ns &e
JEoIlowing verses, with an urgent request that we shoold public them, vlth
bis notes.]
SKOAL I
TO HEKBT W. LOHQFELLOW.
I thank thee, Friend, for this bold song,*
Which thrill'd my burning veins along,
When, madden'd 'neath the sense of wrong,
I wrung the cutting gyves and strong.
That eat these free-bom limbs-f
Bleeding at heart, I work'd each link,
Till ev'n as spear-BtabVd leopards slink,
To cool them by soft Mareb's} brink,
So, wild and worn, I tum'd to drink
The solace of thy hymns.
They spake like Jesu, " Be thou whole" —
But lo, the mystic fennel bowl.
* " The Goblet of Life "—see Long:fclIow'g Poems.
I Chains ronnd the ankles eat the limb intemolly. Tlic sinews shrink, so that
the ankle becomes a mere stick. Tbe coif, at tbe same time, wears away — aod i^ra-
doally retires — perhaps three inches higher than it was before chaining, and its
dimcnaionB above decrease in proportion.
X Hareb, a river which, rising in Abyssinia, loees itself in the Eastern Sarhara.
Its waters, filtered through white sand, are singulu-l; soft and sweet The Sarhara,
like its sister Lybia, is " arida nutrix leonnm,"— and no traTcllcr can pass throagh
without an adrentnre either with lion or leopard.
640 IN CAPTIVITY.
That erfit must quaff* the troubled sonl ; —
" UPli^'' I ^'"^^ '*! *"^ return thy Skoal,*
From honest lieart and free, —
" All scathe to me is Freedom's gaiu —
Then welcome hunger, shame, and pain ;
Yet sing, mj Friend, a gallant strain —
Afric shall soouer cast her chain
For this our misery." f
ISaodxjjl Prison, S7(ft December, 1863. C. D. C
* like Longfellow, the writer has drank muiy k Skoal in Sweden, bo thai*
affectation.
t Tbo slave trade is eanied on with a high hand in Upper Egypt, and akagAi
west coast of the Red Sen.
The writer msy, hereafter, furnish the pnblic wth statistics on the subject Tte
are about foorteen hnndrcd bIstcs passed through Massowah alono to CaptJa mi
Sjedda.
When the writer wos at Massowah, s Greek merchant there, M. Aristide, ealff-
tained the plan of pnrcbesing np a number of these, and accompanjing tbem to Av
respective homes. His object was not phitanthropicol, bat had in riew lbs om-
dilation of the distant Galla tribes, to the end of establishing trading stoticHU aatcig
them. A practical nation, like England, might safely take the same view on a Isip
scale, being oseared that the sapprcssion of the slave trade would necesaarily lead I*
the development of legitimate commerce. At present, a hatred of the white QuvtiM
is Beduloosl; inatitlcd into the minds of the Gallos, by the slave merdiant, vrho rqn-
aents ns as cannibals, for his own purposes.
When the writer was in the Soodnn, ho stopped, by authority, a whole tanna
of slaTes. Tliey all, the prls cspecialty, borst into tears, imagining that ther were to
bo rooHtcd and eaten fnrthwitb.
The slave trade ia forbidden in Abyssinia, though the law is sometimes evaded,
slaves being often passed through to be sold at the coast But there in no open tnMe
in human beings in Abyssinia itself, — rotten as the Christianity of Abyssinia is, >I
has, at least, prodnced this good effect. But, as among the Jews, prisoners of "ir
arc retained as servants, and after baptism, for they generally adopt the rvligios <f
their masters, treated on tbo same footing as menials of the country.
There are many hundred Christian slaves, Abyssinians by birth, seatteit'
throughout the Soudan. They are kidnapped by the border bibes.
f
t
*. ..
Clarcring, on returiiiog one even-
ing to bia lodging* in Blooms-
liuiy St]Tiiir«, iind bt>cn miicli
aslonisJied iii flniliiig tlifrc tlie
cord of Count FutcrofT, « man
of Khom lie had ouly heard, up
to tlinl moment, as tlic fricnil of
tlic late Lord Ongnr. At first
lie liiid been very niigry witli
Lady Ongai-, tliinkJng tliat abu
and tills count were in mma
Iciigue togiilier, ftomc league of
which he would greatly d'ltap-
provu ; but \\ie luigrr liud girt-n
plnco to B new intL-rnl wlion bo
Iciirncd direct from licraetf ihat
slic Iiud net scon the couol, nrid
tliat bJio was aiinply aoxiouti lliiit
ho, lu her friend, should hav« an
interview wiilj ihc miui. He
liud then bi-como rorj eager in
the matter, ofTtring to (ulijcct
hiaatif to Any umouiit of incvttveiiicncc ao llint he might tllcct tlmt niiicix
Lad; Ongnr &»ked of him, Uc vraa not, lkOW«r«r, colled Upon to endorc
vn. iiii. — Ko. 78. St.
■ny specinl trouble or expeote, as 1i« hearj a«il)ing more from Count
Paleroff till he had bwn buck in Londoa for iwo or three weeks.
h*dy OngBj-'H statement to him bad been quite true. It Lad bcca <n'en
more than true; for when sh* had Kritt4>Q ibc had aot cron heard dinctly
rrorn tha count. SHie had learned b/ letter fVon another peraon thai
Count Pat«i-uB* waa iu London, and Lad tlien comuiuDJcat^d tli« Tact to her
friend. This other person was a aJBtor of the count's, who was new ]irii>g
io London, odo Madame Gordcloup, — Sophio Gordeloup, — a lady whoni
Harry had foand itittinf; in Lady Ongftr'a roont when In«t ho bad men bet
ia Bulton Street. He liud not thpn heard ber tu»ne; nor wu he ainire
tht'D, or for eotnc time aubttcqucntlyf that Cotist FutcrofT had any rc-latiTC
in London.
L:trly Ongnr bad been a Ibrlnight in the coiiutry before ibe receirrd
Madame (lorduloup'n Jctttr. in that letter the &istcr Iiod deoiarcd hcnrlf to
be mo«t anxious that her brutlicr ehould eea Lady Ongar. The letter had
been in French, and had been very eloquent, — more eloquent in ita caiut
tlian ony letter with the Kimo object couid hare been if written by an
Englishwoman in Englith ; and the eloqucnee wan l^mt. (jfTensivg than it
ntight, under all concurrent circuni stances, have bt«n had it reached
Lndy Ongar in Knglish. The reader must not, however, mppoae tiiM
the letter contained a word that was intended Io support a lorcr'i luiL
tt mtd very far indeed from that, and spoke of the count simply at a
fri«nd ; but its (>loqiienec w«nt to Hbow that nothing tbnt had pawid
should be construed by Lndy Ongar as offering any bar to a lair friendfbipL,
What the world euid 1 — Bah ! Did trot she ioQW, — she, Sophie, — nod dU
not her friend know, — her friend Julie, — that the world was a great Iiir!
Was it not cteh now telling wicked venomous lira about her friead Jufiet
Why mind what tins world said, neeing thai the world could aot be bciH^
to speak one word of truth ? The world indeed I Bah !
Bu6 Lady Ongar, though ahc was not as yet norc than lioli* aa
Madame Cordeloup, knew what she was about almoetas well aa thai lady
knew what Sophie Gordeloiip was doing. Lady Ongar hod known the
count's nslcT in Franoc luid Italy, having $ctti miicli of iter in ooe of
thoitu Kiidtlen Intimacies to whieh English people nr« subject when
abroitd ; and »he bad been glad to see Madame Ootddoup in Londoa.—
much more glad than she wuuld bave b«en had she b«en reccircd tharc
on her return by a crowd of loi-inj mtire friends. But' not on tbsi
account was fllie prepared to Khiipo her c*induot in accordanoo with tier
friend Sophie's advice, and e«pi'cially not lo when that advtee bad rcfbr«a«e
to Sophie's brother. She had, iherdbre, said very littlo in i«tura to the
lody'a eloquence, nnowcriog the lt:tWr on that matter wry vaguely ; bat,
having n purpose cf her own, had bpgged that Coant PAtrroff might bt
luked to c-ull upon TTarry Cbvering. CouDt PaterofT did not fwl ItimKU
to care very mucli about Ilany Clavciing, but wialimg to do as fae was
bidden, did leave his eard in Bloomsbury Square.
And why was Lady Ongar anxious that the youny nuD who irai b«r
I
i
THE CXAVEUINGS. 643
friend Bhonld see the mnn who bad been her huBband's friend, and whose
lutme bad been mixed with her own in so grievouB a manner 7 She had
called Harry her friend, and it might be that she desired to give this
friend every posnible means of testing the truth of that story which she
herself had told. The reader, perhaps, will hardly have believed in Lady
Ongar'a frieDdship ; — will, perhaps, have believed neither the friendship
nor the story. If so, the reader will have done her wrong, and will not
have read her character aright. The woman was not heartless because
she had once, in one great epoch of her life, betrayed her own heart ; nor
was she altogether falee because she had once lied ; nor altogether vile,
because she had once taught herself that, for such an one'aa her, riches
were a necessity. It might be that the punishment of her sin could meet
with no remission in this world, but not on that account should it be
presumed that there was no place for repentance left to her.
As she walked alone through the shrubberies at Ongar Park she
thonght much of those other paths at Clavering, and of the walks in
which Ae had not been alone ; and she thought of that interview in the
garden when she had explained to Harry, — as she had then thought so
racceaBfulIy, — that they two, each being poor, were not fit to love and
marry each other. She had brooded over all that, too, during the long
hours of her sad journey home to England. She was thinking of it still
when she had met him, and had been so cold to him on the platform
of Hu railway station, when she had sent him away angry because she
had seemed to slight him. She had thought of it as she had sat in her
London room, telling him the terrible tale of her married life, while her
eyes were fixed on his and her head was resting on her hands. Even
theHj at that moment, she was asking herself whether he believed her
story, or whether, within liis breaet, he was saying that she was vile and
Jalse. She knew that she hod been false to him, and that he must have
despised her when, with her easy philosophy, she had made the beat of
her own mercenary perfidy. He had called her a jilt to her face, and she
had been able to receive the accusation with a smile. Would he now call
her something worse, and with a louder voice, within his own bosom ?
And if she could convince him that to that accusation she was not fairly
subject, might the old thing come back again 7 Would he walk with her
again, and look into her eyes as though he only wanted her commands to
show himself ready to be her slave 7 She was a widow, and had seen many
things, but even now she had not reached her six-and-twentieth year.
The apples at her rich country-seat had quickly become aahes between
her teeth, but something of the juice of the fruit might yet reach her
palate if he would come and sit with her at the table. As she complained
to herself of the coldness of the world, she thought that she would not care
how cold might be all the world if there might be but one whom she
could love, and who would love her. And him she had loved. To him.
In old days, — in days which now seemed to her to be very old, — she had
mada confesmon of her love. Old as were those days, it could not be but
ai— 1
ho sboultl flill remember tlicm. Slic liaJ loreJ bim, and htm only. Tu
nniio oilier )mt! site ever prcLeoded love. From none otber bud lore beta
offiifeil CO her. Qctwcro her find that wretched htiag to whom she bid
wM licrwlf, who lifl<l hevn hiklf •Vnd hfrroK she had sera him, tbere hud
been no prvtence of lore. Bui H.iit)- Cluvrring ilin had loved. Harrj
Cbivcnng viu a mftn, Yrlth hII those qualities which ilio r«lued, andslaa
with tliow foibles which uvud him from being too perloct for so slight i
crcaitirc u henclf. HArr; hud hvcn ofTendttl to the <)utck, and iad
c»lk'd her a jilt ; but y<rC it might be posaiUe that he would r«ttim to lur.
ll shdiild not bo luppowd that iitice her rclum lo England die btd
hod one iwltttid, delinile object before her tya with regard to thU rcnimd
of her love. There had brcn tiiiif* in uliicli «b« had thought that abe'
would go uo with the life which tilic liwl prepared for Itcrsolf, aiid ituu ibe
would mnkc henklf contwnted, if not l>a)>py, with thts prie« which bad
l>»'n piiid to her. Ami there were oilier times, in which her spiriti mtk
low within her, and aliti told lierscir that no contentment woa any laofft
pomiblc lo her. She looked at hrr»i-ir in the glAM, nnd found hdvalf *»
be old and haggard. Hsrrj-, the KiiJ, wiu the Uist mnii in tlic world lo
(tell hiniBelf for wuillh, >vhcu ilit-n: wM no love rcaiaiuin^'. Ildrry wouU
never do M she had ilone with herself 1 Not for k11 the wealth thai
wonuin ever inlivrited, — aa she told hcnclf, — would he link himwlf to om
who liad made herself vilu and tiiinlcd among women I In this, 1 thioL
she did bim no mora than juKiice, though it rany be lli.it in aome olW
inatlcrs file rated his chiiracler too highly. Of Clorcnce Burton
as jet htard nothing, though had the heard of her, it may woll
nhe would not on tbut account have deustcd. Such bnag bcr thoofte
and her hope*, the had written to Hnrrr, begging bim to see thurusDV^
had followed licr, — nhe knew not vhy, — from Italy ; and bad told d«
nsicr Mmply that alio ccjuld nut do a« she was naked, becnuse ahe «M
away from Lcndon, olonc in a countiy house.
And 4|uit« alone she was sitting one morning, counting up her nuny.
feeling that tl;o apples wore, in truth, oahcs, when a Krriint csimc to ba,
telling her that there was a gentleman in tbehnlldenrouHdfepeiDgher. The
man had the visitor's card in his hand, but bcAire «he could read tlie nanc
t)ic bl(Md had mounted into her Ihcc at ihc told her»elf that il was Ilsnr
Clnvciing. There was joy for a moment at her heart; but «1io muii wi
hhow it>, — not 88 yet. She had been but four months a widow, and be abonU
not Imvo come to her in thu country. She must cee hin aad in aoina Mf
make him understand t]iiit,»bntKlic would be very gentle with him. Tbtn
her eye fell upon the card, and nhe »w, with gri«roiu disappoiotmenli iImA
it hurv the name of Count raterufl*. No; — fihe was not going to be oanglit
in iliat way. Let tlie result be what it might, eJie would not let Sophie
Gordetciip, or Si'>phit;s brother, get the bclterof herby sucbarawaathat I
" Tell the gentleman, with my compliments," she said, as she hactd«d hack
tlie card, " (hat I regret it gtt-atly, but I can sec no one now." Then the
■ervant went away, and alio tat wondering whether tbccottnt would beftUs
THE CIAVERINGS. C46
to make his way iato her presence. She felt rather than knew that she had
Bome reason to fear him. All that had been told of him and of her had been
false. No accusation brought against her bad contained one spark of truth.
But there had been things between Lord Ongar and dita man which she
vouldnot care to have told openly In England. And though, in hia conduct
to her, he had been cuatomarily courteoun, and on one occasion had been
generouH, still she feared him. She would much rather that he should
hare remained in Italy, And though, when all alone in Bolton Street, she
had in her desolation welcomed his slater Sophie, slie would have preferred
that Sophie should not have come to her, claiming to renew their friend-
ship. But with the count she would hold no communion now, even
though he should find his way into tlie room.
A few minutes passed before tlie servant returned, and then he
brought 8 note with him. Aa the door opened Lady Ongar rose, ready
to leave the room by another passage ; but slie took the note and read it.
It was aa follows : — " I cannot understand why you should refuse to see
me, and I feel aggrieved. My present purpose is to say a few words to
you on private matters connected with pnpera that b(*Ionged to Lord
Ongar. I still hope that you will admit me. — P." Having read these
worda while standing, she made an elTort to think what might be the beat
course for her to follow. As for Lord Ongar's papers, she did not believe
in the plea. Lord Ongar could have had no papers intt^resting to her in
Boah a manner as to make her desiroun of seeing this man or of hearing
of them in private. Lord Ongar, though she had nursed him to tlie hour
of his death, earning her price, had been her bitterest enemy; and though
there had been something about this count that she had respected, she had
known him to be a man of intrigue and afraid of no falsehoods in his
intrigues, — a dangerous man, who might perhaps now and again do a
generous thing, but oue who would expect payment for his generosity.
Besides, had he not been mimed openly aa her lover ? She wrote to him,
therefore, as foUoiva : — " Lady Ongar presents her complimtnla to Count
Pateroff, and finds it to be out of her power to see him at present." This
answer the visitor took and walked away from the front door without
showing any diagust to the servant, either by his demeanour or in his
countenance. On that evening she received from him a long letter,
written at the neighbouring inn, expostulating with her as to lier conduct
towards him, and saying in the last line, that it was "impossible now
that they should be strangers to each other." " Impossible, that we
should be strangers," she said almost out loud. " Why impossible ? I
know no such impossibility." After that she carefully burned botli the
letter and the note.
She remained at Ongar Park something over six weeks, and then,
about the beginning of May, slie went back to London. No one had
been to see her, except Air. Sturm, the clergyman of the pariah ; and he,
though something almost approaching to aA intimacy had sprung up
between them, had never yet spoken to her of his' wife. She waa not
■
646 ^^^ TilE CLAVEWSGS.
quile swe whetlier lin- rank inigLt not detw him, — vlietlier under
circunMliiaBW u titoms now ia qucation, the ofdtgoiry wcial rule* •men mt
ordioKnlj broken, — wbedier ■ cuunio* iJiuulil ouc call on a elcrgjnuo'^
wile flni, iltboti^ ikc cuuniesn uiglit b« Ui« oumngu- ; but kbe did oM
(Ltm lo do w ali« iruuld bar« dune, lud dp bUgfal aUMskcd iuslf (o ber
nutne. Sbs gsTtf Uwrolbre, no hint; sbe mad do word of lln. Ston^
iliouch licr bttsrt wm longiag fer a kiod word from mou! wuinfto's moolH.
But slic &Uow«d hertclf to Ic^d tw vnger agaiiut the tnubftod, sad ikbI
thioagh Imt ]iiiri*li work, tbankiog him ttx liu atuMAuaa.
Of Mr. Gilcn •lie had Meo Toy titUo, and bidm her wulbnuDe widi
Eoo^ Gubbjr, sbe had made no farther attempt to interierB with lh« w^ptf
of the peraona cmploj-ed. Into the boosa of gone of the poor Aa b^
tamdt her way, hot ahc fancied that iIkj were aot ghui to aee b«r. Tlwr
might, pvrhapt, hav* ail haard of bar Hjiatatioii, and tiubby'a daughttf
may bare ooogiatdatcd bcndf tbat tbens wa» anotbcr in the [tur^ u
bad aa her(«lf, or perhaps, happily, worse, llio owner of all tbe wcalA
anrand strove to make Mm. Butloo become a raenengm of eharitT
between beraelf and some of (be poor ; but ilrh. If tit(oa alUplbff
dndinad tb* aniplofnii-nl, ahboogh, as bar miatroai had aioartauwd, Ad
benetf parfotmed her own little mianoaa of cbari^ wilb xaaJ. BdoR
tbe (brtniglit was over, Lady Ongftr wa« sick oT ber bouvc and bcr parlL,
Qtterly dian^vdful of her boraes and oxen, and nnniuidful eren uT llr-
pleannt atrcani wliidj in thctto spring days rippb.<d eoAly at tbe botkun if
ber gnnliau.
She )um3 undertaken to be back ui LoimIou early in Hay, br appMl-
nonl with bt-r lawyvi', iwid bad iuituriuiiut«ly oommuaicatad the fart la
Madame Gorddoup. Four or live days befote sfae «'aa due in SliW
ScTL-ct, her mtadful ^pttii:, with nncn-ing memory, wrote «o her, d«Gbiii|
b«tr rendineu to do all and anything thai the most diligent IVicaUw
could prompt. Sliould tbe m«ei htr dear Jutie at thu nation in Loodca'
Sboold thv bring any sjitrctal carriage? Should aba order any mdal
dinner in Boliun Stmt? She beraelf would of courae come to BolM
Street, if tkot alloni'd to be preeeni at ibu sCaticn. It waa atill cbUlf il
tli« tvimingx, and »htt would liav« firca liu llight nbe auggcat a mart
fowl Hud aonie breaid sauce, luiil porbajn a awwtbnad, — and juiit one gka
of ohs»[Menet And miglit ahi: abare tbe I«uqnet? Thore waa noia
word in Lh« noto about the too obtrusive brother, either oa to tbe oifcrtt
committed by bioi, or tbe oflenoe felt by blm.
Tlio little Franco-Poliab woman waa there in Bollou Street, of canne,
— fur Ludy Ongiu- lind not dared to refUao her. A litiU-, dry, bright woman
sbc w&H, with tjtiick eytx, and Uiiu lijia, and nmall nuar, mid mwin fot^
head, and acanty hair drawn back quite lisHtly from ber iaee aoA \toiii
very dry. but still almost pretty with ber ijuickiMsa and ber brigbttwM.
Shu was finy, waa Sopliie Gordcloup, but die had ao luanaged hRr yaan
Ibat titu was as active m hvr limba aa moot women are at lwaoiy-6«e'
And tbe ditcken and the brutd^iaUiCc, and tbe swectbcead, and tbe ebaffl-
THE CLAT£BING8. 647
pagDfl were Acre, all verj good of their kind; fur Sophie Gordeloup
liked such things to be good, and knew how to induJge hor own appetite,
and to coax that of another person.
Some little satiafitction Lady Ongar received from the laot that she
was not alone ; but the satisikctioQ waa not satiafactory. Wlien Sophie
had left her at ten o'clock, running off by herself to her lodgings in Mount
Street, Lady Ongar, after but one moment's thought, sat down and wrote
a note to Harry CUvering,
" Deau HABsr, — I am back in town. Pray come and see me to-
morrow eveniog. Yours ever,
"J. 0."
CHAPTER XIV.
COOMT PaTBBOFF Airo HIS SiSTEB.
ArT£B an interval of aome weeks, during which Uany had been down
at plavcriog and had returned again to his work at the Adelphi, Count
PaterofT called again in Bloouisburj Square ; — but Harry was at Mr.
Beitby's office. Harry at once returned the count's viait at the address given
in Mount Street. Madame was at home, said the servaat-girl, &om wliich
Harry was led to suppose that the count was a married man ; but Harry
felt that he had no right to intrude upon madam e, so he simply left hie card.
Wishing, however, really to have this interview, and having been lately
elected at a club of which he was ratlter proud, he wrote to the count
asking him to dine with him at tho Beaufort. He explained that there
was a strangers' room,— which Pateroff knew very well, having often dined
at the Beaufort, — and said something as to a private little dinner for two,
thereby apologizing for proposing to the count to dine without other
guesita. Pateroff accepted the invitation, and Hairy, never liaving done
such a thing before, ordered his dinner with much nervooaness.
The count was punctual, and the two men introduced themgelvea.
Harry had expected to see a handsome foreigner, with black hair, polished
whiskers, and probably a hook nose, — forty years of age or thereaboutu, but
eo got up as to look not much more than thirty. But hia guest was by
uo means a man of that stamp. Excepting that the count's age was alto-
gether uncertain, no correctness of guess on that matter being possible by
means of his appearance, Harry's jireconceived notion was wrong in every
point. He was a fair man, with a broud fair face, and very light blue
eyes ; his forehead was low, but broad j he wore no whiskers, but bore on
hia lip a heavy moustache which was not grey, but perfectly white — white
it was with years of course, but yet it gave no sign of age to hia liice.
He was well made, active, and somewhat broad in the shoulders, though
rather below the middle height. But for a certain ease of manner which
he possessed, accompanied by something of restlessness in his eye, any
one would have taken him for an Englishman. And his speech honiiy
048
TEIE CLAVERIKGS.
hetrajed that he wiui not Kngiiitb. Horry, knowing tliKl be was t.
foreign)^) nutit-T'I now iiml ugain ttmm litde acxioircr] diMmctncM
BliMcli whidi ')* liatxily natural to u native ; but otIivrwiM there
tiolhing in Ilia tongiie (o bctmjr liiit).
" I am eorry that you shoiild hare liiid ao mttdi tniulile,** be oi^
ebftMngr luuids vi'iih Ilnny. Clnvcring declund tlwl ho bad tiieurrr'l 14
troublv, nnd declared nlio that be wcmkl bv onlj loo1i[t[>py lo hav«
un)' trouble in obeying n bchtrst from hU ftiuud Lad/ On^nr. ILul he
a Pde nil ws» ihn ctiunl, lie would not hnve Cargotton to itdd that he voulJ
have bveit equally willing lo cxtrt biin»clf with tbu vivw of making
cousl't ncqtuuQtuticc ; but b«ing uatp\y a young EnglUbauui, he iiu.
much loo awkivard for any such courttsjr as that. The eonnC ol
■he omissiua, Bmik-Jr itud bowed. Thca he spoke of the wmther, and
tliat London was a mngnificent cily. Oh, jc*, he knew Loodou wtU, —
had known It thesis twfiily years; — had l>c«i for iSdwn yenrsa
of theTrarclkra'; — lie liked evcrylhiug Knjiruit, cxci^it buniiag.
hunting he had {omid to ha dull worl;. But lie liked aliooUng lor an boot
or two. He could nut rival, he raid, llic int^uai; energy of an £nglkhiiM,
who would work all d»y wilh hU guns harder than ploughiutm with ibir
ploughs. Hoglishmcii sported, he eaid, as tliougb more than tbcir bi^
— (19 though their honour, iLcir wives, their soulw, deponded oo it K
w{w \<ry line ! Ho often wiihed that liv wa» an £i)glubmiin. Thm
lie xhnigged hii fthtiulilorit.
Harry was vci-y aiuciona to conuncncc a cotiTemtiott atmut lab
Ongar, but he did not know how at firai to introduce her n.-inie. (W
PatCToff had conic to him nt Lndy Ougnr's feqiie«i, and tJu-reforc, • b»
hought, the count ehould have been the (ir.< to uietition lier. But Ik
cotuc seemed to bo enjoying his dinner witlioul any thought eiUia<(
Lady Ongar or of her lute hiuiband. Ac thin tintc 1m ti:id been doim »
Ongar Park, on that million which had been, as wo knovr, fmUc ■ Iwlbl
■aifl no word of ihiit to Harry. HenN.-iiied to enjoy his dinner tboroBgkh'i
and mndo himself rery agreeable. 'SSIicn the wine was discuawd b«
Idid Harry thit a certain viatjig« of Mowllc was very fUtnous at ihs
BennfDrt. n.-iriy ordend ilti; iviiie of courtc, and was ddiglitcd to gii*
his gnuA tlie bent of uvcrytbin^ ; but he was a liitlc atinovisl uC fiikHftf
that the Birangor knew bis club better than he Imcw ii himself. Slovlr
the count ate bi> dinner, enjoying vvciy morsel that he inok with tbsi
thongbtful, cooiciouM plcauurc wliieh young men min-r attain jo faiirg
and driukin;^, and whidi men as they grow older so ollen tbisel to
acquire. But the anml never Ibigot any of his own capscilita (ct
pIcAStiTe, and in all thing) made the mott of liis own reaoutvct. To !»
rich is not to havo one or ten thousand a ymr, but to be «l>le to get «■(
of that one or teo ihouHiitd all iliat every gxitind, and every sbtUing, soil
erery pMny will gix*e yen. After tliis fashion the ceimt waa a ridi roan.
" You don't xil after dinner berf , I suppose," suid t3ie eoiml, wbn ke
had completed on elabcrotc wishing of his nioulh and mousUch*. ''I
THE CLAVERINGS. 649
like this club because we who are strangers have so charming a room for our
smoking. It is the beat club io London fcr men who do not belong to it."
Tt occurred to Harry that iu the smoking-room there cotdd be no
privacy. Three or four men hud alre-idy spoken to the count, showing
that he was well known, giving notice, as it were, that Pateroff would
become a public man when once he was placed in a public circle. To
have ^vea a dinner to the count, and to have spoken no word to him
about Lady Ongar, would be by Do means eatlafuctory to Harry's
feelings, though, ns it appeared, it might be sufficiently satisfactory to
the guest. Harry therefore suggested one bottle of claret. The count
agreed, expressing an opinion that the ol Lafitte was unexceptional. The
51 Lafitte was ordered, and Harry, as he filled his glass, considered the
way in which his snbject should be introduced.
" You knew Lord Ongar, I t'hink, abroad ? "
" Lord Ongar, — abroad 1 Oh, yea, very well ; and for many years
here in London ; and at Vienna ; and very early in life at St. Petersburg.
I knew Lord Ongar first iu Russia when he was attached to the embassy
as Frederic Courton. His father. Lord Courton, was then alive, aa was
also his grandfather. He was a nice, good-looking lad then."
"As regards his being nice, he seems to have changed a good deal
before he died." This the count noticed by simply shnigging his
shoulders and smiling as he sipped his wine. " By all that I can hear
he became a horrid brute when he married," said Harty, energetically.
"He was not pleasant when he was ill at Florence," aaid the count.
," She must have had a terrible time with him," said Harry.
The count put up his hands, ^ain shrugged his shoulders, and then shook
his head. " She knew he was no longer au Adonis when he married her."
" An Adonis 1 No ; she did not expect au Adonia ; but she thought
hu would have something of the honour and feelings of a man."
" She found it uncomfortable, no doubt. He did too much of this,
you know," said the count, rai.iing his glass to his lips ; "and he didn't
do it with 51 Lafitte. That was Ongar's fault. All the world knew it
for the lust ten years. No one knew it better than Hugh Ciavering."
" But — " said HaiTy, and then he stopped. He hardly knew what it
was that he wished to learn from the man, though he certainly did wish to
luam something. He had thought Uiat the count would himself have talked
about Lady Ongar and those Floreatine days, but this he did not seem
disposed to do, " Sliall we have our cigars now ? " laid Count Patcroff.
" 0-e moment, if you don't mind."
" Certainly, certainly. There is no hurry."
" You will take no more wine? "
" No more wine. I take my wine at dinner, as you saw."
" I want to ask you one special question, — about Lady Ongar."
" I will say anything in her favour that you please. I am always
ready to say anything in the favour of any lady, and, if needs be, to swcur
it. But anything against any lady nobody ever heard me say."
Harry vraa abmrp enough b> peroetvs ttiat viy aMsriion nuulv vaia
sucli n )ai|ialiitiaii wm vane tbui nothing. It wu a> when » nun. h
dcDjji^ tbe Uulb of s aUtiiiDtot, di>ca so niUi an aaamnun* line on dsi
mbjcct hft ibould cotuiidur kinisell' juUJlied m telling jmy number of Ub.
" 1 dii} Dot write the book, — but you liave no right to nak Hie qDenka,
aod I abould uy llutt I b&d not, even if 1 had." Pataroff wm i|N«lEing if
Lady Ougu lu iliia mq}', uod Uaitj bstul lum ^ doiiis so.
"I doa't vranl jou tu My any good of licx," sud b^ "«r ao/ aviL"
*' 1 corbuiily nhall My no evil of her."
" lluL I tiiiiik ynu know that she bw bcra moat cru«lly tntated."
"Well, there w aboiU usrcn — tboiuand — powKls a Tear, I thiakl
geran — LltaUMiid — a year I Not ftasci, but [xiunds i Wo poor fottigpm
loM oorwlvtM iu ttinixement when uc hta>r al>out your English foctuiM
Scrren tlioiuaiul pouoda a year fur a W}- lUl aJonc^ aiid u boau-iiiul hoaitl
X Iwnw IU bemtilul, tb«y tell me I"
"What hu that to do whb it?" mid Harry: whcrvupon the ecnA
again abnigged hia sbooldara. "What baa tliat to do with it? Piiaiia
tba mao waa rich h» was not jutificd in ill-inating his wife. Did faa bM
briiig fiilae accuMatioiis againat her, in onler OtU lie ini|;ht rub berate
hi» deatlt of all thut of which jou ihitik ao moeh 7 Did ha iH»t boar Urn
whnaa agHinat her, to hia own diahonoar 1 "
" Slic Lu got the iDboey, I tbtnk, — and tbc beautiful bonae."
•' But li«r niime boa been covered with li«."
" WlwL can I Ju7 Why do jron aJt mv? I know nothing. Lot
hvi«, Mr. Cl»veriug, if you vraut to mokt Buy inqtiiry you htul ixtUgt
to my xJster. I don*t see what good it will do, bat she will talk IU<|>
by iJie hoQi- togetber, if you wiah iu Let ua aoitdEe." ^H^H
" Yuur luatcr? " ^^H
" Yea, my sisler. Madame Gordtdoup is her name. Ilaa not tjif
Ougar mentioned my aiatcr ? They arc iitacpuablM. My aiaier liret is
HouDt StreM."
" With you 7" '
" No, not with me i I do not lire in Mount Strnt. 1 bave my i
sometimei at her bouac"
*' Madame Gotdt-tonp?"
" Yea, Mitdame Goird«tot)f. She it Lady Ongar's Iriuid. 6be
tulk lo you."
" Will you introduce mc, Count J^tcruff?"
** OK, no ; it i« iiot ac^muirj*. Too can go lo Mcunt Strcett and fix
will be deliglited. Tiwrt is Ui« card. .And novr wu will nnolEa." Ilaiiy
felt that hv could not, with good- breeding, debus tbu cvtut any Ioqg<r,
and, thertiTore, riuDg from hia chair, Ivd (ku way into the amoktng^ooia-
Whra there, the man of the world HCfiarotul himaclf fiom hia
Inond, uf whose «iithuMaBiu b« hud perhupa had enough, and wa«
*ngag(.>d in convoraaliun with uiiidty oiLcr unit of hia owu »t
Uarry soon pcrcaivod tluit liio guest had no lurLJiw need of
THE CLA-VEKINQS. 651
tenance, and went home to Blcomsbur; Square hy no meaos satisfied irith
tuB new acquaiotance.
On the next day he dined in OdeIow Crescent with the Bartons, and
when there he said nothing about Lady Ongar or Count Pateroff. He
was not aware th^t he had any special reason for being silent on the
subject, but, he made up his mind that the Burtom were people bo iJai
Temoved in their sphere of life from Lady Ongar, that the subject would
not be suitable in Onslow Crescent. It was his lot in life to be concerned
with people of the two classes. He did not at all mean to say, — even to
himself, — that he liked the Ongar class the better ; but still, as such waa
Lis lot, he must take it as it came, and entertain both subjects of interest,
without any commingling of them one with another. Of Lady Ongar and
hia early love he had spoken to Florence at some length, but he did not
find it necessary in his letters to tell her anything of Count Faterofi* and
his dinner at the Beaufort. Nor did he mention the dinner to his dear
friend Cecilia. On this occasion he made himself very happy in Onslow
Crescent, playing with the children, chatting with his friend, and endur-
ing, with a good grace, Theodore Burton's sorcaam, when that ever-
studious gt;Dtleman told him that he was only fit to go about tied to a .
woman's apron-string.
On the following day, about five o'clock, he called in Mount Street.
He bad doubted much as to this, thinking that at any rate he ought, in the
first place, to write and ask' penuLision. But at lost he resolved that be
would take the cotmt at his word, and presenting himself at the door, he
sent Dp his name. Madame Gordeloup was at home, and in a few moments
be found himself in the room in which the lady was sitting, and recognized
her whom he had seen with Lady Ongar in Bolton StreeL She got up at
once, having glanced at the name upon tlie card, and seemed to know all
about him. She shook hands with liim cordially, almost squeezing his
bond, and bade him sit down near her on the sofa. " She was so glad to
see him, for her dear Julie's sake. Julie, as of course be knew, was at
' Ongere' Park. Oh ! so happy," — which, by the by, he did not know, —
" and would be up in the course of next week. So many things to do, of
course, Mr. Clavering. The bouse, and tlie servants, and the park, and
the beautiful things of a large country establishmeat t But it was dc^ght-
ful, and Julie was quite happy 1 "
No people could be more uulike to each other than this brother and
his sister. No human being could have taken Madame Gordeloup for on
Englishwoman, though it might be difficult to judge, either from her
language or lier appearance, of the nationality to which she belonged.
She Kpoke English with great fluency, but every word uttered declared
her not to be English. And when she was moat fluent she was most
incorrect in her language. She was small, eager, and quick, and appeared
quite as anxious to talk as her brother had been to hold his tongue. She
lived in a small room on tlie first floor of a small house ; and it seemed to
Horry that ^e lived alone. But he had not been long there belbre she
fi52
TnE CLAVERraOS.
had lold hirn b1I her biBtorjr, uai t.tp'a:n<d w him mort of Lcr <rirtim-
Kancc*. Ttmt ihe kept book Hunething is f robzbic ; but bow mitnj' in
tii«re who cmi alTurd to lell rrer^lhing ?
Her husband wns stiti living;, but he wu itt SK PrtMv'bnrg. lU «w
a Frenchmsn by fiimily, but )i;u) bi^oii Ijorn In Rusiia. tie bad tjfo
■Itflohcd to Uic Itunsiaii cQibaK<y in Lc'iidcn, but n-as now ottadiedtv
diplomacy in gent^Tnl in Rustlu. bh« did not join him becauM die Uni \
^gland, — oh, ao much I And, perhaps, her husband might cotne hiAi
9|;nin Borue day. tihc did not any that tiie h»d nut eccu liiiii lor Icn fan, .
uu(] nss not qiiit^ sure whviher liu was d(>.td or nlirc ; hut li»d sh^ miibj
a clean kn-oxt in iill ihiug^ the might have done so. She said thit \
Vfoa a good di-al Mill nt the Ruidnn embuMy; but «h« did not My iImIi
lierst'lf wnH a paid ><py. Nor do I say so now, pw-itivcly ; but thus •
the cbfii^actcr rItcq to her by many \rh.o kncv htr. She catlml hr]
brothi'T Kdouurd, as llioitgh Harry had known thv I'ount all tiis life; nil
alwa)-» npoke of Lady Ongtir an Julii?. She utlrrvd one or two litllv hint]
which iHxsned to imply that iihc knew vrcrylliins lliat had poaacd beti
"Julie" and Harry ClaveriDg in early diiys ; and nevnr menUoMdi
Onf>aT without some rcrni of violuit abuse,
"Horrid wretch!" stic mid, patieing over all (he r'.t la tbc
had called him. " It began, yon know, from tlie T«ry firrt. Of eoomte
had been a Tool. An old rou£ is slwnys a fuel Co marry. Wlial dort^
get, you know, for bi« money? A \tn<iiy (ii«'- He's tirxxl of tlal « '
Boon as it's his own. In it not nu, Mr. Clavcniig? But other pMtrJiiii^
tired of it, and llicn he bt-comca Jealous. Itut Lor^ Otfar «■■■(
jfaloUK. Ho wan not mnn enough to be jealous. Ilur-r-rid wr-irit^'"
i>!ie tlivn went on tolling many ihinga wliich, as he liaimei}, almonadf
Harry CiavtTJng'iihair stand on end, and wliich must not bo rcp»tt«dk(t-
She V-rM.-lf hud tnel her broilicr in Pari;*, and had hecti with him »Wt
ihey cncoitntcrod the Oogats in that capital. According to Iier diovi^i j
ilu-y had, otl oflhem, b^^^n togi-tbor nc.iily from that lime to tlie in*
Lord On;t.ir's dentil. Hut Hairy noun leaned to fiMd ilmt ho tomii mi]
belicrc all Ihnt the little lody toid Lim.
"Edoiiard wxa always with him. Poor Edouard T' alio said. "TTwwl
was some money matUr bi'tvrct-n tlietn about t^cnrtj. Wht^n that wr-rctebl
got to be BO bad, he did not like pnniitg with hii nioaf;y', not erra vlicsj
lie had lost it ! And Julie had bt«ti si) goud alw.iys ! Juljc and Edce-
ard had done cvciytLing for Uic nasty wr-rclcb." Harry did tK>t tf sQ
like tliifl mingling of the name of Julie and Edouard, though it ibd oot (at
a momcDt fill his mind with any suspicion as to Lady Ongar. It tnaiej
him fu*], however, that this woman was dnngcroua, and that her loaNI
might lie very miseluivons if tiiv lalkod to othen as she did to turn. Af ]
he looked at her, — and being now in her o\ni room »be was sot JjuaJ
Willi Benipulous care, — and as he listem-d to her, he could not cooocits
wh;it Lady Ongnr had seen in her t^at she slioulJ hnvn nad« a frieoJ f^
Jwr. Her brothvr, the oount, was undoubtedly a geDtteman in ha
THE Cl<A.V£RINGS. 658
manners nod way of life, but he did not know by wliat name to call this
womaa, who called Lady Ongar Julie. She was altogether unlike anj
ladies whom he had known,
" You know that Julie will be in town next week ? "
" No ; 1 did not know when she was to return."
" Oh, yes ; she has businesa with those people in South Audley Street
on Thursday. Poor dear I Those lawyers are so harassing ! But when
people have seven — thousand — pounds a year, they must put up with
lawyers." As she pronounced those talismanic words, which to her were
•ImoKt celestial, Harry perceived for the first time that there was some
tort of resemblance between her and the count. He could see that they
were brother and sister. " I shall go to her directly she comes, and of
eonrse I will tell her how good you have been to come to me. And
Edouord has been dining wirh yon 7 How good of you. He told me how
dwrmiug you are," — Uarry was quite sure then that she was fibbing, — ■
"and that it was so pleasant ! Edouard is very much attached to Julie;
ferj much. Though, of course, all that was meru sonsense ; just lies
told by that wicked lord. Bah I what did be know 7 " Hany by this
tioM was b^inning to wish that he had never found his way to Mount
Street.
" Of course they were lies," he said roughly.
" Of course, mon cher. Those things always are lies, and so wicked !
"What good do they do 7 "
" lies never do any good," said Harry.
To so wide a proposition as this madame was not prepared to give an
unconditional assent ; she therefore shmgged her shoulders and once again
looked like her brother.
"Ah 1 " she said. "Julie is a happy woman now. Seven — thousand
—pounds a year ! One does not know how to believe it ; does one 7 "
** I never heard the amount of her income," said Harry.
" It is all that," said the Franco-Pole, enei^etically, " every franc of
it, besides the house ! I know it. She told me herself. Yes. What
woman would risk that, you know ; and his life, you may say, as good
M gone 7 Of course they were lies."
" I don't think you understand her, Madame Gordeloup."
"Oh, yes ; I know her, so well. And love her — oh, Mr. Clavering,
I love her so dearly I Is she not charming 7 So beautiful you know,
and grand. Such a will, too I That is what I like in a woman. Such
a courage I She never flinched in those horrid days, never. And when
be called her, — you know what, — she only looked at him, just looked at
him, miserable object. Oh, it was beautiful ! " And Madame Gordeloup,
rirang in her energy from her seat for the purpose, strove to throw upon
llarry such another glance as the injured, insulted wife had thrown upon
her foul-tongued, dying lord.
" She will marry," said Madame Gordeloup, changing her tone with
a taddenness that made Hany start ; " yei, she will marry of course.
Wi
■nrE CLATSRCfCS.
Your Englidi -ividows ainya many if tliej linve mottey. They an wroof,
and eb« will )m vron^; but the win many."
" I do not Inow bow [hat najr be," nii] ILuTy, looking foolinli.
" I t«U you I know shu will many, Ur. Clarcring ; I toIJ Edouad n
jcst«r<lljiy. Ho nrtKly xmilci}. It would b&rdly do Ibr him, she W
90 mncb will. Kdaatad has a will also."
"All mea hare, I BUppow."
"Ah, jes; but there is a tlifleienoe. A sam of monvy i)sws,ifa
man » to tniury, » belbr than a widow's dow«r. If she dies, you lEOOft
h« looW so fboliiOi. And itlic i« grand and will vrnnt t« epomj crvrvthaC'
laihe much oldtr titan yoti, Mr. ClaTering;? Of course I know J«&r'«
Bgc, thcugh perhaps you do ooL What will yoa give me (o tell ? " AbJ
the woman leerec) at him with a tmi!a which made Harry tliink thslii«
was almoet more thoa mortal. He found bimwlf qtiito unable to cope«i:&
her in eoav^raatioii, and aoon alW tfali ^ot np to tnk« hU Icatc. " T<M
will come again," she aid. *^Doi. I like yoa so ronch. And wfinloh
ia in town, we shall be able to t«« her together, nd I will be your tAnl.
B«lierQ me."
Harry was very far from bclieTing her, and did not io the Int
require lier friendehip. Hot frinndship inilocd ! How could any decal
EiiglUh mtin or woman wisdi for the friendship of anch a creature at tfe<*
It wa> Ibofl that he thought of her m he n-alked away from Mount Satt,
making heavy accasotiona, within h!a own brena, agminst I.^r OneV*
he did ao. Julia t lie ncprolcd tho name over to himwlf a dozeal^Kt
thinking that t]ic Dnvoiir of it was lost nnco it lind been oontamiMb' **
oAen by that vile tongue. But what concern woa it of his 7 I,«i^^
Julia to whom nhe wonlJ, she eoiiSd nGvc>r be Julia again to ht& B*
alio wcw biH frii'iid — Lady Ongar, and he lotd himself ploiQly ||#b
friend had been wrong in haritig permitted hcrstli' to hold am b^
mncy witli such a woman as that. No doubt Lady Ooffnr haJ b^
subjected to very trjing traables in the last monihs of f,er httabaft
life, bnt no circumatAiicca could justify her, if the continued to enteK
iho fidifl cordiiilily of thnt hnrribly vulgar and evil-mindeii little woaa^
As regarded the graro charges brought agiURHi Lndy Ongor, HarrriCtt
gave no credit to them, etill locked upon them lu calumnies, in nttctf
the divmniog advocacy of Sophie and her brother ; but ho fett tlal alu
luuat have dabbled ia very dirty water to hnvc returned to Engl
such claimants on Iter fricndihip as these. He had not much ad
count, but the count's sister hod b4«n odious to him. "X will ba yov
friend. Believe mc." H«rry Clavering stamped upon the pavemeni »
lie thought of tlio littlo Pole's offer to him. She be his friend I 9*,
indeed ; — not if t.!iere wen; no other friend for him in all London.
Sophie, too, had her thonght* about him, Sophie waa Tery aaxiom m
ibis matter, nnd waa reaolved to stick as oloss to hep Julie na iKwiNr-
" I will bo his friend or his enemy;— Ut hira chooae." That Ittd baa
St^liie's wfleclion on the m.itter when she was left alone.
THE CLAVERINGS. 655
OHAPTEB XV.
As Etesing in BoIiTOh Steeet. '
Tem days after hia visit in Mount Street, Hairj received tlie note which
Lady Ongsr hadwrittea to him on the night of her arrival in London. It
'was brought to Mr. Beilby's office hy her own footman earlj in the
morning ; but Harry was there at the time, and was thus able to answer
it, telling Lady^ Ongar that he would come as she had desired. She bad
commenced her letter " Dear Harry," and he well remembered that when
she had before written she had called him " Dear Mr. Clavering." And
though the note contained only half-a-dozen ordinary words, it seemed to
him to be affectionate, and almost loving. Had she not been eager to see
him, she vronld hardly thus have written to him on the very instant of
her retam. " Dear Lady Ongar," ho wrote, " X shall dine at my dob,
and be with you about eight. Youib always, H. C." After that he
conld hardly bring himself to work satisfactorily during the whole day.
Since hia interview with the Franco-Polish lady he had thongbt a good
deal about himself, and bad resolved to work harder and to love Florence
Barton more devotedly than ever. The nasty little woman had said certain
worda to him which had caused faim to look into hia own breast and to tell
himself that this was necessary. As the love was Easier than the work, he
began his new tssks on the ibllowing morning by writing a long and very
afifaetioiuite letter to his own Flo, who was still staying at Clavering
rectory ; — a letter bo long and so affectionate that Florence, in her ecsta^
of del^ht, made Fanny read it, and confess that, as a love-letter, it waa
perfect.
" It's great nonaeoBe, all the same," said Fanny.
" It isn't nonsense at all," raid Florence ; " and if it were, it would
BOt signify. Is it true 7 That's the question."
"I'm sure it's true," said Fanny.
" And so am I," said Florence. " I don't want any one to tell me that."
"Then why did you ask, you simpleton?" Florence indeed was
having a happy time of it at Clavering rectory. When Fanny called her
a simpleton, she threw her arms round Fanny's neck and kissed her.
Aiid Harry kept his resolve about the work too, investigating plans
with a resolution to understand them which was almost succeBsfid. During
thoee days he woold remain at hia office till past four o'clock, and would
then walk away with Theodore Burton, dining sometimes in Onslow
Crescent, and going there sometimes in the evening after dinner. And
when there he would sit and read ; and once when Cecilia essayed to talk
to him, he told her to keep her apron-strings to herself. Then Theodore
laughed and apol<^zed, and Cecilia said that too much work made Jack a
dull boy ; and then Theodore laughed again, stretching out his legs and
arms as he rested a moment from his own study, and declared that, under
those circumstances, Harry never would be dull. And Harry, on those
«sc
TUB CLATEBISGS.
rrcnliisi^ voold be tiken i^Matn to aee ibe bainu ia tbeir oott ; sod m
be ttood wttli tlwir nwdcr laokiog doini npon tbo chtklreo, pRitf ««di
^TOuU b* com! sboat Floivocr and bis fnum li& ; a»l mil wa* gong Mtoy
an B nmria^ heO. Bat oa Uiat rooming, when tbc Doto had come &«a
L*dy Odsu-, Harry eoBld ««rk no mere Id his wtiAerifto. U« tenolpl
npoD bit blotting-paper, and made no pragraai wkaiaocm- lowarii At
uaderttaDiUng «f anjrtbing:. It was tbe dajr ao wbieb, ta due co«i«v k
would wnl« to Florence ; and be did write to bar. But FIorcMa £i
tbow tb» Utter to Fannj, claiming tor tt any meed of godliVe
It waa a stupid, stiort Ictur, in vrhicb b* declared tbat he waa rtrj
and that bi« bead ached. In a pottseripl be told her tbat be waa gebg
•re Ladf Ongar tbat ercfung. This be eommoaicatetl to her oiider:
idea tbat bjr doing ae be made everjrthing right And I thiak tbsl
tailing of it did ivlieve b» conscience.
He left tb« office aooa mficr thne, baTing bnnight kimaelf to
to the beadaefce, ai>d miint<'rt<d down to bi* dnb. He fisund aoen plnifl{
whist there. anH. u whisi miglil be good for bu bead, he joined thai.
Tbey won hu money, and *eoldcd bim for plajing badly till be «■
angry, and then he went out far a walk by himself. Aa b* weot alaVI
Piccadilly, he nw Sophie Gordcloap coming towarda liint, tratttng abnf^
with her drco held w«ll up orer her ankles, eager, quick, and, as beaui
to himself, clearly intent upon some miMhief. lie endoavoured le
her by mrnin;; np ibc Burlin|;t(m Arcade, bat she was loo quick (at
and was walking np tlio arcade by bis side before be hnd lirea p*^"
make up bU minil m to the bent mode of ridding biaiself of mA '
eompooiou,
" All. Mr. Clarorinj, I am so glad to see yoa. I wna with J^l*
night She was {sgffd, very mtich fagged ; l)i« joumvT. vou kaef,^
the btiEtDCM. Bm yr^t w handaome I And we talked of yoo. T*>
Mr. Clareriog ; iind i told her bow good yoa bad be-rn in cow^ ■
me. She said you were alwaya good ; yet, ehe did. When ahd *a>
•eehM!"
Harry daTcring wa* s bad hsnd at fibbing, and a bad hand abo rt
tearing a qunrtion unaaawcrcd. When qoestiooed in this way be 6i
not know what to do but to answer the truth. He would much nlbc
not liitTe aatd tbat he was going to Bolton Street that evening, bat
conid find do alternalire. "I bvlicve I sbatl ace bcr tliut evening,"
Bait], Mmply venturing to miti^tc ihc evil of malting tbe communicatiM''
by rendering it fiilscly doubtful. Tlierc are men who fib with so bad ■
grace and with so little tact th<tt they might as well not fib at all. IVj
not only ncvfr afrire at success, bt« never even venture to expect it
"All, tliiit evening. L*-l nic eee. I don't think I can be thnre to-
night ; Madnme BercnstofF reeeivca at the embassy."
" Good afternoon," said Harry, turmag into Tniolit'e, tbe b>>''
dreaier's, shrip.
** Ah, very well," raid Sophie to bencir; "jnst s». It will be bcU",
I
4
*"■■ -^
THE CLATERINGS. 657
much better. He is umply one lout, and why Bhoold he have it all 7 My
God, vhat fools, what louu, are these Englishmen I " Now having read
Sophie's thoughts so far, we will leave her to walk up the remainder of
the arcade by herself.
I do not know that Harry's visit to Truefit's establishment had been In
ony degree caused by his engi^ement for the evening. I fancy that he
had simply taken to ground at the first hole, as does a hunted fox. But
'now that he was there he had his head put in order, and thought that he
looked the better for the operation. He then went back to his club, and
vhea he sauntered into the card-room one old gentleman looked askance
at him, aa though inquiring angrily whether he had come there to make
fi«Bh misery. "Thank you; no, — I won't play again," said Harry. Then
the old gentleman was appeased, and offered him a pinch of gnuSl " Have
yon seen the new book about whist 7 " said the old gentleman. " It is
very useful, — very useful. I'll send you a copy if you will allow me."
Allien Harry left the room, and went down to dinner-
It waa a httle past eight when he knocked at Lady Ongar's door.
I fear he had calculated that if he were punctual to the moment, she would
Hank that he thought the matter to be important. It was important to
him, and he was willing that she should know that it waa so. But there
■re degrees in everything, and therefore he was twenty minutes late. He
waa not the first man who has weighed the diplomatic advant^e of being
after his time. But all those ideas went &om him at once when she met
him almost at the door of the room, and, taking him by the hand, said
that die was " so glad to see him, — so very glad. Fancy, Harry, I
haren't seen an old friend since I saw you last. You don't know how
hard all that seems."
" It is hard," said he ; and when he felt the pressure of her hand, and
MW the brightness of her eye, and when her dress rustled against him
as he followed her to her seat, and he became sensible of the influence of
her presence, all his diplomacy vaniahed, and he was simply desirous of
devoting himself to her service. Of course, any such devotion was to be
given without detriment to that other devotion which he owed to Florence
isnrton. But this stipuhition, though it waa made, was made quickly,
and with a confused brain.
«Tes, — it is hard," she said. " Harry, sometimes I think I shall go
mad. It is more than I can bear. I could bear it if it hadn't been my
own fault, — all my own fault."
There was a suddenness about this which took him quite by surprise.
No doubt it had been her own fault. He also had told himself that ;
though, of course, he would make no such charge to her. "You have not
recovered yet," he said, " from what you have suQered lately. Things
will look brighter to you after a while."
"Will they? Ah, — I do not know. But come, Hany; come and
sit down, and Jet me get you some tea. There is no harm, I suppose, in
having you here, — is there? "
VOL. xm. — Ko. 78. SB^.
i
esB
TU£ d^AVERIKCS.
" Hiirai, Lul> OngH t "
" Yes, — balm, Ludf Ongir.** As bIm repnted ber own nuM
him^ aaaif in Ui loae, aliu amilcil race ogHUii and tlieit aba
oftebe uecd to look in ihe «]J da^'t, wbcn nliv would ba tmnj nitL
'< It in Iiatd lo know wbal a wcnuui ida^ do, and what ihe mw^r not.
my bosbaud was ill and dyinj;, 1 never leil bis bedaidc Frw
moR>ei)t oTtny niftrrying Itim till bi« d«ath, I bardlj spolu to k loia
in hjfl pmcncc ; and wliut ooce I did, il vru he tbai bad oenb Liai.
lor alL tbat pwplo liarc turacd tbvir badu upon tav, Toti and I
old frieoda, Uan^, and MMnetbing more ODoe, — wer« wu aott Ba
jtlud yoM, m joa waie man eoougb to Icil hdbi Uow I did rsa^iect
wlieii yon dtwed to vpotlt the With to me. U«ik don't kuww wemea.
tJi«y would b* biirdtr lo them."
" I did Dot mean lo be hard to yoa."
" If you bad taken mo by th« sliouldots and shaken oae, aai tet*
declared that before God yoa vtoaH not allow such "■ifVnlTirM. I daidl
bave obeyed you. I know I aboBld." Uarr)' tfaougbl of Ftorcocc, anil cotuj
sot bctag biinsdf to sny that bo wiabud ll bii;0 buvo ao. "But afaoil
ironld you lutre bceu ihen, Harry? I waa wrong utid falta «ad a
to marry that nuui; but 1 should not, thtjelbre, have been ri^ht t«
you and roio you. It would bav« b«xa nun, yoa Icdow, aod WAibMU
simply have bcon iboU."
*' The lolly was vary pleasant," aaid be.
" y«*, yea ; I will not deny that. But thui (be wiacloai
pnidunco aftorwA.r<l» t Oh, Iliiry, tJiat w« no* [>t«a&aat. Tbut
pJonmat 1 But wbat wai I suyi»]{ 2 Ob ! about (be (iropriely 4j^
being hcr«. It is so Wd lo know uhnt is piop«:r. As I bjNb*
iQsrncd, 1 siipixM I may nwotvu wboiii 1 ])li;as^. Is not tbat tJiellir
" You may recriTe itie, I sliould tliiiik. Yuiir sister ia my
wifi;." Unrry's inatkr-ol'-iACt argua.cut did aa wt;U *a anvtlunc ^Mt
it turned her lliougjlit at the iiioiueaL
" My u&ter, I Jany 1 W there waa nuUiing to mako ua frienda tnl ^
oonavaiioa thioiigh Sit Hugh Chivuriu^, 1 do aut know tluu I abuuU b*
fMriiculnrly aiuctou:! to tvc you. How unman^ be bw bMn, and b«T
crwcl."
*' Vt-ry cniel," said Harry. Then ha thought of A*cbi« and Archw
suit. '* Kui b«! is williai; to change uU tliai iiow. ilenulono wkfl
the other day to pcreuiidt- you to go to Ciavorinj."
" And have you come here to use your elo^ae&M Ua t^it ponaK
I will oevor go to Clavmug again, Harry, unless il ^oold be youa
your wile should offer to receive me. Then I'd pack up fvt ibe d^r'
duiJ, mlenia old pkco tbotigh I was on the other aids of Eorone."
" It will Btver be rain«."
** Pmliably luit, and prolmbly, theruHirr, I shall never be tb«i« agtii^
^o i 1 «m forgive an injury, but nvt an iiuult, — not an. tnault audi «
thai. I will not go to Cluveriog; lo, Harry, yoa may aare yoiu ttaoam*-
H
i««i*'^
THE CLAVERING8. 659
Hermioae I shall be glad to see whenever she will come to me. If yoa
can persuade her to that, jou will persuade her to a charity."
" She goea nowhere, I think, without his — his "
" Without his pernusaion. Of course she does not. That, I suppose,
is all aa it should be. And he is such a tyrant that he will give no such
permiBsion. He would tell her, I suppose, that her sister was no fit com-
panion for her."
" He could not say that now, as he has asked you there."
" Ah, I don't know that. He would say one thing first and another
after, just aa it would auit him. He has some object in wishing that I
flfaould go there, I suppose." Harry, who knew the object, and who was too
faitliful to betray Lady ClaveriDg, even though he was altogether hostile to
luB cousin Archie's suit, felt a little proud of his position, but said nothing
in answer to this. " But I shall not go ; nor will I see him, or go to his
. house when he comes up to London. When do they come, Harry ? "
" He is in town now."
" Wliat a nice husband, is he not? And when does Hermiono come 7"
" I do not know; she did not say. Little Hughy is ill, and that may
keep her."
" AAer all, Harry, I may have to pack up and go to Clavering even
yet, — that is, if the mistress of the house will have me."
" Never in the way you mean, Lady Ongar, Do not propose to kill
all my relations in order that I might have their property. Archie intends
to many, and have a dozen children."
"Archie marry 1 Who will have him? But such men as he are
often in the way by marrying some cookmaid at last. Archie is Hugh's
body-slave. Fancy being body-slave to Hugh Clavering ] He has two,
and poor Hermy ia the other ; only he prefers not to have Hermy near
bini, which ia lucky for Imr. Here is some tea. Let us sit down and be
comfortable, and talk no more about our horrid relations. I don't know
what made me speak of them. I did not mean it."
. Harry aat down and took the cup from her hand, aa she had bidden
the servant to leave the tray upon the table.
" So you saw Count Pateroff," she said.
*' Tea, and his sister."
" So she told me. What do you think of them 7 " To this question
Hany made no immediate answer. " You may speak out. Though I
lived abroad with such aa tliem for twelve months, I have not forgotten
the sweet scent of our English hedgerows, nor the wholesomeness of
English household manners. What do you think of them 7 "
" They are not sweet or wholesome," said lie.
" Oh, Harry, you are so honest ! Yout honesty is beantiful. A spade
will ever be a spade with you."
He thought that she was laughing at him, and coloured.
" You pressed me to speak," he said, " and I did but use your own
words."
32—1
660 THE CLAVEBINOS.
" Tea, but yon used them with such Gtraightfonrart] violence * Well,
you shall use what words you please, and how you please, because a noti
of truth is so pleasant after living in a world of lies. I know you will not
lie to me, Harry. You never did."
He felt that now was the moment in which he should tell her of hii
engagement, but he let the moment passi without using it. And, inde«^
it would have been hard for him to tell. In telling such a stoty he wonU
have been cautioning her that it was useless for her to love him, — and tldi
he could not bring himself to do. And ho was not sure even now tlm
she had not learned the fact from her sister. " I hope not," he said. Li
all that he was saying he knew that his words were tame and impotoit ia
comparison with hers, which seemed to him to mean so much. Bat tlieo
his position was so unfortunate 1 Had it not been ibr Florence Burton be
would have been long since at her feet ; for, to give Harry Clavering iii
due, he could be quick enough at swearing to a passion. He was one rf
those men to whom love-making comes so readily that it is a pity tint
they should ever marry. He was ever making love to women, usoillj
meaning no harm. He made love to Cecilia Burton over her duldnni
beds, and that discreet matron liked it. But it was a love-making without
danger. It simply signified on his part the pleasure he bad in being on
good terms with a pretty woman. He would have liked to have mde
lore in the same way to ll^dy Oogar ; but that was impossible, and in ill
love-making with Lady Ongar there must be danger. There was a pnK
nAer the expression of his last hopes, during which he finished his Ui
and then looked at his hoots.
" You do not aalc me what I have been doing at my country-boat'
" And what have you been doing thero ? "
" Hating it."
" That is wrong."
" Everything ia wrong that I do ; everything must be wrong. Thit
is the nature of the curse upon me."
" You think too much of all that now."
" Ah, Harry, that ia so easily said. People do not think of inA
things if they can help themselves. The place is full of hira and hi*
memoriea ; full of him, though I do not as yet know whether he ever pnl
his foot in it. Do you know, I have a plan, a scheme, which would, I
think, make mc happy for one half-hour. It is to give everj'thing hick
to the family. Everything ! money, house, and name ; to call myself
Julia Brabazon, and let the world call mc what it pleases. Then I wonlil
walk out into the streets, and beg some one to give me my bread, li
there one in all the wide world that would give me a crust ? Is there oni;,
except yourself, Harry — one, except yourself 7"
Poor Florence ! I fear it fared badly with her cause at this momait.
How was it possible that ho should not regret, that he should not look
back upon Siratton with something akin to sorrow 1 Julia bw'
first lore, and to her be could have been alwsji tnu. I ftir V
THE CLAVEBIKGS. 661
of tbis now. I fear tbat it ^as a grief to bim that Le could not place him-
ficlf close at her side, bid her do as she had planned, and then come to him,
and share all hia crusts. Had it been open to him to play that part, he
would have played it well, and would have gloried in the thoughts of ber
poTCrty. The position would have suited him exactly. But Florence was
ID the way, and he could not do it. How was be to answer Lady Ongar?
It was more difficult now than ever to tell her of Florence Burton.
Hia eyes were full of tears, and ahe accepted tbat as his excuse for not
answering her. " I suppose they would say that I was a romantic fool.
When the price has been taken one cannot cleanse oneself of the stain.
With Judas, you know, it was not euQicient that he gave back the money.
Life was too heavy for him, and eo he went out and banged himself."
" Julia," he said, getting up from his chair, and going over to where
she sat on a aofa, " Julia, it is horrid to hear you speak of yourself in
that way. I will not have it. You are not such a one as the Iscariot."
And as he spoke to her, he found her band in his.
" I wish you had my burden. Hairy, fur one half day, so that you
might know its weight."
*' I wish I could bear it for you — for life,"
" Tu be always alone, Harry ; to have none that come to me and
■cold me, and love me, and aometimes moke me smile 1 You will ecold me
at any rate ; will you not? It is terrible to have no one near one that
■mUX Q>eak to one with the old easiness of iamillar affection. And then tha
prflteoce of it where it does not, cannot, could not, exist t Ob, that
iromin, Harry ; — that woman who comes here and calls me Julie I
And she has got me to promise too that I would call her Sophie I . I know
that you despise me because she comes here. Yes ; I can see it. You said
at once that she was not wholeaome, with your dear outspoken honesty."
" It was your word."
" And alio is not wholesome, whosever word it was. She was there,
lianging about him when he was ao bad, before the worst came. She read
novels to him, — books that I never saw, and played ecart^ with him for
-what she called gloves. I believe in my heart she was spying me, and I
let bei come and go as ahe would, because I would not acem to be afraid
of ber. So it grew. And once or twice she was useful to me. A
woman, Harry, wants to have a woman near her soraetimea, — even
though it be such an unwholesome creature as Sophie Gordeloup. You
must not tliink too badly of nie on her account."
*' I will not ; — I will not think badly of you at all."
" He is better, is he not? I know little of him or nothing, but ho has
a more reputable outside than ahe has. Indeed I liked him. He had
known Lord Ougnr well ; and though he did not toady him nor waa afraid
of him, yet he was gentle and considerate. Once to me he said words
that I was called on to resent; — but ho never repeated them, and I know
that he waa prompted by him who should have protected me. It is too
bad, Harry, is it not ? Too bad almost to be beUeved by such as you."
LATERnniS.
*• It is very bad,** sud Harry.
" Afinr that he wm olw&p cnortcoiu ; rnaH nheo Uie caul eanie isj
things vcre tcij ten-iblo, lie bcluivod well and luikllj. Ha weal lo mi '
out quietly, and ltk« nti oM friend. He paid fur evtrythiag, and
nwrul. I Vnow tliat oven H\U nuulc p«op1o talk ; — ytit, llaxry, era
moh a tDomont M tlmt ! But in sf^iie or the Ulking I did b«U«r irilk
liim tlipn chnn I eoutd Iuit« done vitbuut bini."
" He lookn like a man who could be kind if he cbooaec."
*■ Tto is mm of thoae, Hany, who find it cs^ to be good-nnlar«dfJ
who nre ki(1 hy notitre, w cats are,— not Irrnn their Iteart, ))u( tin
inalfaictiTC propeneitj t« eoflncMk ^Vlicii it *uiU them, tjicy scratch, rrn'
thoagh they hnro bM>n erarao mA before. Connt PaterolTis a caL Yo^
ITarTy, I think are a dog." Slie pn'baps copocted that lie wotild ptmnkf
to her that he wonld b« hw dop, — a dcR in of.rrtftncy and afT^ction; bat
b« was nil! miiMlAil in part of Florence, and rv«mtiic<l himself.
" I niiitt ull yon Kinctliiiig Airth«r," she mid. " And inderd k b
^ts that I paiticuiarly want to tell yon. I have not aeen liim, yon knmr,
flinoc I parted widi him at Florence."
" 1 did not know," sinid llarry.
"1 ihonghl I had told you. llowerer, so It is. And notr, Ustai: —
He came down to Ongnr Park tho other dity while I was tticre, and art
in Itis c«d, When 1 reftwed to rceejve him, he wrote to mc pr^nf Ut
Tlsit. I still dL-cIined, and he wrote ngnin. I burned hiu note, bena*
I did not choose Uiat anything from him should bo in my poaMBtt
Ke told Bnme storjr abcnit papers of Lord On^^ar. I have nothing Is*
with Lord Ongar's papers. Erer}-iliiDgof which t knew was ocaikrfif
in Ibe count's pfinKncc and in mine, and waa sent tA the lawycnt fiitiit
execuloni. I looked at nnthing ; not at one word in n single Ieit«r. KM
otjuld be have 1« say to mo &f L«id Ongar's papers ? "
" Or he might hare ■written 7 "
" Al any mtc he should not have com© there, Hariy. T -nYiilld nd
sec him* nor, if I can help it, will I sec him here. I will be open «lik
yoti, Hairy. I think that perhaps it miglit Kuit him to nutke ue W
wife. Ruch BTi nrmngenient, howcvrr, would nnt suit me. I am art
going' to bo frightened inlo tuarrying a man, because he boa Iiecn &lltjf
called my Iotct. If I cannot escape tlic calumny in any ollter way, I wZ
not escape !t in that way."
" IIuB he said anytliing? "
" Nu ; not a word. I har« not seen him since the day after Lad
Onsar'o fUneral. But I hnve accn his idslcr."
" And hna she proposed sncli a thuig 7 "
" No. sho ban not proposed it. But slic talks of it, saying that it
would not do. Then, when I tell her llial of course ii would not Ai, d>»
shows me all tliat would make it expedient. Slie la ao sly ud to Us*,
that with nil my eyes open I cinnot qaitc imdenitand .h«r, or qtdte know
what she i» doing. I do not fec^I sure that she wiahce it bcraelf."
THE CLAVEHINGS. 663
" She told me that it would Dot do."
"She did, did she? If she apeaka of it again, tell her that ehe is
right, that it -will never do. Had he not come down to Ongar Park, I
sbonid not have mentioned this to you. I should not have thought that
he had in truth any such scheme in liia head. He did not tell you that
he had been there 7 "
"He did not mention it. Indeed, he said very little about you
at all."
" No, he would not. He is cautions. He never talks of anybody to
anybody. He spealcB only of the outirard things of the world. Kow,
Hany, what yoii mast do for me is this." As she was speaking to him
she was leaning again upon the table, with her forehead resting upon lier
hands. Her small widow's cap had become thus thrust back, and was
DOW nearly off ber head, so that her rich brown hair was to be seen in
its foil luxuriance, rich and lovely as it had ever been. Could it be that
Ae felt, — ^half thought, half felt, without knowing that she thought it, —
that while the signs of her widowhood were about her, telling in their too
plain language the tale of what she had been, he could not dare to speak
to her of his love 7 She was indeed a widow, but not as are other ^vidowu.
She had confessed, did hourly confess to herself, the guilt which she had
committed in marrying that man ; but the very fact of such confessions,
of mch acknowledgment, absolved her from the necessity of any show of
sorrow. When she declared how she had despised and hated her late
lord, ibe threw off mentally all her weeds. Mourning, the appeanince
even of mourning, became impossible to her, and the cap upon her head
iras declared openly to be a sacrifice to the world's requirements. It was
now pushed back, but I fancy that nothing like a thought on the matter
had made itself plain to her mind. " What you must do for me is this,"
«he continued. " You must see Count Pateroff again, and tell him from
me, — as my friend, — that I cannot consent to see him. Tell him that if he
will think of it, he must know the reason why."
"Of coarse he will know."
" Tell him what I say, all the same ; and tell him thnt as I have
hitherto had cause to be grateful to him for his kindness so also I hope
he will not put on end to that feeling by anytliing now, that would not be
kind. If there be papers of Lord Ongar's, he can take them either to my
lawyers, if thnt be fit, or to tliose of the family, ^ou can tell him that,
can you not 7 "
" Oh, yes ; I can tell him."
" And have you any objection 7 "
" None for myself. The question is, — would it net come better from
irome one else 7 "
" Becanse you arc a young man, you mean 7 Whom else can I tru-st,
Harry 7 To whom can I go7 Would you have me ask Hugh to do
thiB7 Or, perlmpa you think Archie Clavering would be a proper mes-
senger. Who else have I got ? "
«M
THE CLATEBINflS.
" Would not hta tiaut be haiurt ? "
" How ihotiU I kftoir tbat alie had lold him? She woold lell
ia otm itor^, — vliat ■!>« lierwlf witbed. And irbatever tfory abe tsU,
ha woatd Dot belitre it. Thejr kcow cAcb otber better than jooa&dl
lutow them. It tnunt be you, Uut}-, H joq will do it."
" or courw I will do it. I iriU try uid aee him to-morrow, yiitn
(loM he live 7 "
" How r}ioii1(1 I know 7 Perhaps Dobody knows ; no one, pcrii^j^ «
all tiiuao with whoin hu wwocisUrs oonittaatly. Thvjr do not live after cur
ffwhion, do tlicy, thoM; ford^ncni I But you will find hlia at tus dab,
or hear of him at the liouae in Slount Street. Yoa vrlU do it ; ^
Harry?"
" I will."
" TtiHt in my good Harry. Bull suppose jva would do ftnTthtDgl
uked yi>u. Ali, well ; it ib good to Iiaw gne irtcod, if one baa no man.
Look, Harry I if it in not Tienr tlev*ai o'clock I Did you know that jm
liud been li«rc nearly tliree lioun ? And I bare giren you notlung but i
oijj of tea 1 "
" Whnt elm c!« yott think I have wnntcd 7 "
" At yoar club yoii would Iinvu liiid clgam and bnuidy>and-inltf, tti
biltiorda, and broiled boncw, aud oyvtcrs, and tuiikards of bocr. I knfV
all about it. You have been very patient with mc If yoa so QW^
|Mrba]ja you will not be loo lace tor tbc taokordji and the oystere."
*' 1 MuviT have any Umkards or any oyslera."
*' 'ilion it i« cigars aiid bmndy>and-water. Go quickf mud nAf ]
you uifly not bo too Ulc."
"1 will go, but not there Onu cannot change one's iTinnAf* '
suddenly."
" (lo, then ; and da not change your ihoughu. Go and tltiok of »ti_
and ]^ity mo. Pity me for wluit 1 Lbtc gut, but pily me tno«t iat <rifltl
I have lost." Harry did not say utcthcr word, but totjk her band, vi
kiMOd it, and llivn lolt h«T.
Pity her for whnt sh« hud W ! ^Vhat luid die loat? 'What didA>
mean by that f He knew wd] what she meant by pitying bcr for wl«t
•he had gut. What had she loM 7 Slie had loMt him. X>id abe islead
bo evoke bia iHby for that low? She had loat turn. To, indeed.
Wliolhcr or no the kf wsa one to regret, ho would not aay to Idaiadti
or nillier, he, of coune, dtvLirtd tlint it wan not ; but «icb as it ww, il
had bcvD iocurrod. lie was now tliv properly of f lorencu Uunon, anli
wliatcver happened, he would be true to her.
Perhaps Iio pitted liinvwlf olio. If so, it ia to be hoped ^h^ Flonoot
may novet know of such pity. Brfdro h« went to bad, when he ni
pmyiof on liia kttves, be inaerted It in lia piaynra tbat the God in vhoD
b« bclittt«d might make him true ia bia faith to FloreDce Bunoo.
665
2Jh8 ^-4is«0Dfr2 of §ant^'s ^fwahw at gao^nna.
Before ectenDg on the more immediate subject of this paper, it may not
be uninteresting to relate a few of the circumstances connected with my
search for the document that has furnished materials for this article.
They illustrate in a very remarkable manner the interest taken in literary
and archeological matters in the new capital of Italy.
Having heard in England that a Commisaion had been appointed by
the Italian Government last year to inquire and report upon Dante's tomb
at Ravenna, the extraordinary le-discovery of ihe poet's remaina, and
their condition ; shortly after my arrival in Florence at the beginning of
last winter, I made inquiries respecting the labours of the CommiasioDers,
and especially for their Report, which I incidentally heard bad been pre-
sented to the Italian Government and ordered to be printed.
Although my inquiries did not at first lead to any information what-
ever on the subject, I naturally supposed that I had not gone to the proper
quarters, though it might be reasonably apprehended that every person in
Florence, of even moderate education, would be more or leas acquainted
with the labours and results of such a commissioQ as this. But when
aj^IicatioQs to gentlemen holding high official appointments, including the
secretary of the municipality of Florence, were equally fruitless, I confess
that my astooi^ment become as great as my disappoiDtmeot, for not only
did I iail in seeing a copy of the Report, but I could gain no intelligence
whatever respecting its existence.
As a matter of course, I expected to find the document in Vieuasieux's
extensive and excellent library ; but it was not there, nor did a copy
exist iu the vast Miigliabecchian, or, as it is now more generally called,
Ifationa] Libraty.
It would probably weary the reader were I to relate all the incidents
connected with my search for this Report. Enough, however, has been
(aid to show that intellectual activity among the Florentines b stlli at a
low ebb, and that though the printing-presses in their city have greatly
increased in number, and there doubtless are many signa tliat lifu's pulses
are beating quickly at this centre of the peninsula, the causes are moro
allied to politics than to art or literature,*
At length I received apparently authentic information that the object
of my search existed in the Department of the Minister of Public
InstructioD. Acting on this, I procured a letter to the secretary, but this
gentleman was at Turin with his chief (a not uncommon answer, by the
* Official Btatiatica state that there are tiofr (1366) 112 priotiDg-piBBses in Florence.
668 THE RB-TlI9C0VE1tT OV PATTTT^S ItrWAIXS AT R.WESSA.
way, j^'iTOi you at pTescst in Florence, the official links betwmrn tliat atj
ond Turin not being ytl whnlly ncreml), viil (its depniy bad ^ono to
bredcfiut — il was twelve o'clock. A second And tbird Tislt wetv eqnsDj
vamicccwful : l^« ep«reta?y was still nUen:, mid tiivm was no perm
attached to bi^ dvporlincnt who coiild give me any iorormaiion.
Sticli iru the conditioD of nSkirfl, wbcn, on tbc occasion of mv foortl
risit, the aecpfttar^ asd chief Ixing «i!l nt Turin, I made mj- wanu kixm
to rlia porter w1k> luid uuwered my iiKiiiiri*^ and wbosr tntelligcnn w«
crideDtl^ of no common order. Appriied of the;* ho proceeded to
me that Iw thought l)H-n> was a genllMniin in an ofliiK en the upj^rl
of the ci-dcrant convent,* who mig'ht be able to give me pre^m tiUbma>
tjon. Acoordinglj, A]raiMh<'d with hit nomc, tiUtr having tbmded nmri
labyrinthine pwnagca, I di>coiner«<d hiaofSce. He wan at hia poat— «eeejf^
me TCT^ coitrteotnl/, sod aAer aoma dalay — ^for lio wat not quite sure wl
copies of the R^imta warn to ba fbatid— kindly plaoed one in my
Those who hare been engagi-d in a long' bunt fin- a rara book whkb
haa rcmlted in finding it on perhaps a vmall book-atoll in bh obacm
flll*-y, witl bwt appvedalQ the delig)it that J felt when I h«cam« tMMWHid
of tli<< document, a translation of tbo prindpa] portion of which is tab-
j(»npd. And, if rny readers idnra my o^rfnion rmpceting itn great intgrnt.
they will agira with me that it ia most axtraordtnaiy that tta cx^Mst
■hoiild not bnve been well known in llortnoc, at loast by tbc odneMad
dan nmong whom my imjninen iverc mad^. Vl* might almcM be<
to belieTD that Byron's lines —
Viign(«r<it Floivnre ! Danle ik^ps afar,
Xika SHplok buried bjr the urlinutlinc afaora,
a?B BtiU qiplicablc to the citiicTi* of this poet's nalivB towTi. Fc
bonta it erecljiig a colossal munumento! etatuef of Ihii immorlnl sat
the Divina Commedla, if th«y are cntiwly ignorant of Eicta which
BtJr them deeply.
As my liulc hialoiy may cntnil oritldian, it fal riglit ta add. tint
oTthough the Report bears thu dat« of (he 13tb Jnni^, I8C5, it was art
printed until the autumn of l^t year, and, moreoter, that il bat set
pomcd llirough a publislier's hoada.
Let lis now turn to the Kfjiorl itjiclf. It is preceded by tbc ibHowif^
prefacfl i—" linfernnf! to tU? nolrniti and almrat miraculous i«^i»coTny
of the rvmnins of Dunto on the 27tli -M.iy, 1865, the Minister of PnUie
InirLritclioii, by oommand of his Majesty the King of Italy, dtvlarst sad
BppoiiitA Oommendatoro Contc Giovanni Goz»idiD>, Coate Kasponi, HjaSSfi
* Thn huililinc anw orrapini lij (ha Mtoiatcr nf Ifahlic lanRietka hi nsRBK
na Ibnncrly nnc of the litrpMt ronvrnU ja that citf.
t Jt prvpDt nf thta lUtni:— una at Patal'a most laeceKftil woAs I wms iismt
thai all throngh this winter ii was Rnronnitod, and almost vntinlv lii^doo, bt mffM
infr, nmr did I «Ter ]>crcciv« uny ni^ni i>f Ulwur nitliia the honnliDg ; but ire ibaaU
Iw iluw to (tIiIcUc (niT iiei^'libuun m Ihuir nrt-uiatbos, stdag that onr gmi Dsb^
politku Htlson Btmatticat rearnhn anfliiiahrd.
THE mB-DISCOTERT OF DANTE'S KEMAINS AT HAVENS A. 667
of Bavesna, Commenflatore Vanueci, Commflndatore Professore Giuliani,
Cavaliere Profeaaore Paganucci, Cocte Cappi, Librarian of the Public
Library of Ravenna, to be his Majesty's Commisainners, and further
appoints Conte Gozzadini president. These are to act in concert with
the municipality of the city of Ravenna, which was a loving mother to the
Alighieri family in time of trouble. And they are, moreover, hereby
desired to draw up a Report of their labours, preceded by a copy of their
official instructions."
** Instruction* to the Commissionen appointed to inquire into, and verify
thejacta nlaling to the re-ditcovery of the bones of Dante.
" To collect, as far as possible, all information, whether -written or tra-
ditional, relating to the sepulchre of Dante, and to the incidents connected
with the burial or removal of his remains, between the years 1321 and
1677, inclusive.
" To ascertain whether the bones of Dante were removed in 1G77
from the sepulchre in which they were placed by the Frati Minori, and if
ao, to discover the locality to which they were conveyed.
"To examine the wooden chest in the Braccioforte sepulchral chapel,
faid to contain the bones of Danto, particularly for the purpose of ascer-
taioing whether the chest bears any marks by which it may be referred
to the year 1677, or to any other year.
" To aECertain, as far as possible, whether the human bones in the
sbore chest are such an might have belonged to a man who ceased to live
at the age when Dante died, and to examine with great minuteness the
CTBiiiiun, and compare it with the cast taken from the mask of Dante
bequeathed by the Marquis Torrigiani to Florence, and preserved in the
Royal UflSzi Gallery.
" Tlie Commissioners arc, moreovpr, invited and authorized to make
any ftirther investigations within or without the above aepulchrtil cliapel,
-which may be at all likuly to throw further light on the particular sub-
ject of this inquiry, due care being at the same time takon that no
inrestigations be made without the full concurrence of the municipality
of Bavenna."
Report of the Commission appointed to verify the facts connected with the
re-discovert/ of the bones of Dante.
The Commissioners appointed to examine and verify the facts connected
with the re-diecovery of the bones of Dante assembled on the morning of
the 6th June, 18Gf), in Ravenna, when they were moat courteously
received by the honourable municipality of that town, all the members of
which testified the most ardent desire to assist their inquiries by every
means tn their power.
All historians, biographers, commentators, and writers of epitaphs
agree in stating that Dante Alighieri died in Ravenna, on the 14th Septem-
ber, 1321, and was honourably interred in area lapidea, near the Chmrch
THE R&DI6C0VEBY Of CANl'E'S nEUAISS AT RAl
tiC tlw Futi SliiKiri; t)ia cpttAfh Utnbiucd to GJorauiu d«l Vn^io,
irbivli liaa ]Mxa K[iroduccd wtUi olbc» of a later date, baving bcca
placed ovvr his torab. Thi« *w!paJcbr«, er«ot«d by GuiUo Korello di
I'wk'nta, n^ipean to bave be«a ooly provisional, as ii was intnidcd Co
ri-{>UcG it by aootlivr in all rctpecta more worthy to ooDtaln tbti rcnuuni vt
tiut diTine poet; but Guido, liAving l)i.>«a eipollcd from Ravenna, aoddying
young, waa unable to carry out h\» uobW inteodoos.* Coder tb«M eireon-
•liuic«a, in 1483, Bcnwnlo Bcnibo, at tbnt period pnctor in liuTuiaa tut
iIm! republic of Vmico, ordered Pictro Lombnrdi to make a nutfUt
nioriuinent in bonour of tli« port, tlie front of nbicb bore a bano-RlkffO
ot Dttiitv, with (I [i«w cpilapb. Tbc ravage* of time haring- gmuly ipjnnd
iliin nioDumenl, it was restored and redecorated in 1692, at tba cxpean tt
tlio cily of ]tarcn:ia, by ibe iitsligatioii of tbe Florenliuca Dotneoioo Ktaoii
CoTM, cardinal l«£ftt«of Emibn, and GioTanni Salriati, pro-legutv. Lwtty,
in IToO, tbo carduinl legate, Liugt Vulanti Gonziign, ordered the aiBaU
tcniple wbicli atill stands to be en-ctcd, is wbicb tlic sculpture by PioiQ
Lotnbardi is preserved.
Tbia ftimplo history of the first tomb of Donlc gave rise to a km
discunuon, with tlic vi«w of tosling ils accuracy, and elicitiog, if poMkblc,
further detailn. Nunc, howerer, of auy great momcut, were brougbl ID
Uow long the poet's remnins, which wer« assuredly dopneitod with gt«t
care in llic llrnl Ivmb prtpurcd for thcDi by Guido Nortllo, rmnaiatdiB
th«)r rCMtiiig-plACC, is iinccrti^n. It is probable, howertr, llutt a fiiir jtaii
Mibse>]UL-nt to l'<i'2l tliej- were privately removed, prior to the aninlii
ItnvcntiB ot Cardinal llcrtrando dd I'cggclto, Iff^to oT Pope John XUU
tit BuliJgnn, wliu bad conic for tbe urowid [mrjiow »f barboroiuly ^a-
tvn-ing^, excommunicating, nnd biiniing \\m rumuiiis of Dante. Qat
project* were, however, liappily fru»trule<l by the Flvreotiaca Pina
Toaa and UEtagJo da Folenta, who boldly came foru'ard us cham
Uantc'a fame. When the apprehcneioDS ai-ising from Pope John's iempt
liod subsided, tlia lomtiint of Dante woro probably replaced ia the ouuiu-
* Tills OuSclo Xorollo wm a pcraan of gnMt oonseqooncs In Knecnnit, mmI •
pind rue oT tbe laisest pslnect tn Uist fiIt. WIicq Uoiile wiw cx|«llcid frotn TtanBCt, j
he offend tbe poet an i^Ibib In UaTonna, and U'cnntf Iiis llrm firiend, thongk, wh» '
luiiiitolv, thi> frietxlithip wti indiroollv Ihc ruine of ihc p<itit'« death j ioT, b*rint
j;ruit coiifidencD in DiuiUi'i ili|>]un]iiti« uliiliiitv. Lc <wiit bini la negotiate a pcaoe iriA
the Vi'iii'tlnns, wbovcrQ preparing for tioilililics agiilnst Itareniia. But as Dsste
wr» iinublr to pronini an Budienrc &I Venior. he rctiimeil to RaTeBtu bj U»d, tpfK'
Itenilinu tbttt he uiigbt be iijtcirc|iiml bjtht Venetuiii flrct had ha atumpirii loge
liack bjrsea. The mortifioatiMi of bsving fsllMt li>hU>ll«iiit.t tQ[.rtM«rTe ItianunW
patron Itoin impcDiIiitg daofitr, and the faligno of tlio jounicj, threw Daots i
fever, wliich tcnninalcd liU cxinteucc lie iliuil in tlie palncn of Ida friend, wbo I
muurnul ListkaLh, and I'linecd tlio nicial liniler nf^nnl for hti nwrnofy. He kala '
CMt taken cif liii faee, and caiixnd tlie hod)- of the poet, inrTODniled by variocv |
iImI^i, to ha carried in state, on a bier, tbreugh th« prin<-i()Al itnct* of TtinnW.
aftd wbieli it mm de|^tc<j ia a marble sanvphagiu {mj«ivii hj hiusslL
THE HE-DISCOTBST OF DANTE'S SEMASTS AT BATENlirA. 669
ment erected for them bj Bembo, in vbich they remained until new
apprehensions induced the friara of San Franciaco to remove the precious
treasures ^ain, which ahed lustre on their convent. This removal took
place in 1519, at which period the Florentines petitioned Pope Leo X. to
exercise his papal authority to cause Dante's remains to be transferred to
their city ; and as this pope was a Florentine, and a member of the
powerful house of the Medici, and Michael Angelo had, moreover, offered
to erect a suitable monument, in au honourable locality, to the poet, in
Florence, the friars of San Francisco had the more reason to apprehend
that the remains of Dante would be abstracted.
Whether the latter were replaced in the sepulchre restored by Car-
dinal Corsi seems to be questionable, ibr it appears that fierce quarrels
prevailed between the Frati Minori and the Commune of EavcDna respect-
ing jurisdictiou over the tomb. Tlie enmity between these bodies was
so great, that when the commune wished to restore the sepulchre, thiy
were under the necessity of sending thirty-two policemen to protect the
workmen engaged in the task. Thus protected, the sepulchre was finally
completed in 1C92. It then appears to have been secureJy closed, encircled
by an iron railing, and the key of the door committed to the keeping of
the heads of the commune. And in order to assert their jurisdiction over
the chapel containing the sepulchre, they caused the following inscription
to be placed over the door: — S.P. Q. R- jure et are euo tamquam tkaaurvm
•mm munivit, instauravlt, omavit.
But, although the friars were in this instance beaten, they refused to
acknowledge the supremacy of the commune of Bavenna, and stoutly
maintained that the tomb of Dante was their exclusive property, their
establishment having, as they stated, been granted the ground on which it
stood in 1261, by the Archbishop Filippo Fontana, with the adjoining
houses and gardens. They further appealed to Rome against the com-
mune of Kavenna, alleging that the Litter, by restoring the mausoleum,
had violated their rights and ecclesiastical privileges. The question
became still more involved in 1G92, when a prisoner with two accomplices
having escaped from prison, fled to the mausoleum, and grasping the iron
railing encircling it, claimed right of sanctuary. But having been seized
by the police and recommitted to prison, a question of privilege was
raised and referred to the Council of Ecclesiastical Immunity in Rome.
The latter consulted Archbishop Raimoodo Ferretti, who replied on the
9th August, 1694, that Dante having been declared a heretic after hia
death, the place of his sefflilture, though originally sacred, was now un-
doubtedly polluted, and consequently no longer possessed the privilege of
sanctuary. The friars endeavoured to upset this decision by affirming
that the chapel no longer contained Dante's bones. But the archbishop
would not allow this to be any reason why the place should be entitled
to ecclesiastical immunity. Be this as it may, it is evident that the friars
were greatly interested in keeping the remans of Dante rigidly concealed,
apprehending that they might foil into imsafe and unworthy hands. It
670 THE RE-DlSCOTESr Of DA2tTK'8 SEXAJUS AX UXVEXXK.
iiLio turther it[^9t:ara tbaC ia 1780, wheu Cardiaal Voleati Gntuu^ encMl
the aupernnclure of the ntudl Unple of I'ietro Lonbemlit th« tomb wu
•olciuitly opened, in order to rc-c«tubluh tlie iact vrli«ihcr it cootainad
Dauto's roiuuaa. Xli« ctttult of tLa uuiaiaadoo ia Dot cl««r, for, maooti-
ing to the olMtuure language of a cooteinpufary fautciruui, tfavm vnu fitaoA
that which utudo doubt oo longer occesau-j (in* ii rutiKHue nil ci« tn
flcnfjdrib per naa JuUtame),- — word« which admit ol' two ioitrgtp^-
tiom. HoMerer, It ia (o he obacrvcO ilui coiiataiit tnulitinna mnintaimJ
that ihuitv'a bonca wcr« ow Iwugur in his tvpuldiic ; aud llua ib confirmed
hj a uumujcript note lately found in a book, which there ia evid«Dce to
)ii'uvc waA wiitLea at ilie clost: of itic List ceaUir/. This noto ataXea iluB
at tliitc period tlie lodb of JDauto na* o])«aod, and notliing foiuul whluBi
This, obBerro tlu Cotuminiuiiei*) it UDirelcuin« iufomation, and if no Mop;
Iiavc ainix been taken to verify tbe 9iatci[i<.-Qt, it wus probably bccam
thtfc vat an unwillingness to accept an ctJlain so painlUl a tmil).*
Bajipily, howerer, we now pass from this region of doubti( oad m
able to t»6l clear light oa tlic Kniajndtr of our iutcreatiug hUlcn^.
The city of Kavunna, Iiaviiig rvtolvod on cuK-bratiog the nxdi cent*-
nary of Dante's birth, good fortune brouf^t a circuni»Uince to light wfakfc
created a great aensation, and the more to, aa it occurred only a few dajs
bcforu llie inaugiuatitui of the monumtint erected to the [KKt's boncaria
Florence. With the viuw of iucreaxiog llie iuUreat in Danlo'a tomb, lb
municipality of Itavgnna determined on removing th« vraU adjoLniag llit
cbapcl of Bracciofuttu. By its rc^ujoval the loirib would beoome ifiobmC
andthu^f better kuh. Accordingly the work of dtuiolitioowas oomntsceJ
OD the Z7tb of 31ay last yeur, and had not proceeded long, wbeu fin '
recaai within a cloaod door in lIib wmII tuoibkii a rude wood<7n (^
wbiuh llyinj; open as it cataa to the ground, disclosed butaaQ Iratid n^
inscriptions on the iruier aa well a& tiuter sides of tbe cheat, to the jBtt
ihxit tliu rcuuiiita wure those of Dauto.
Tlie discovery having been commuuicated to iho autbocititf l'
Bareiina, a searcliiag examination was nuido of the cbcM antJ iia couialk
aiid tiit-tti having been carctully noted, the elieet vsu Caatded to tic
cliar^e of a dctactimcnl uf ibe Katiou^l Guiinl, with whom it naaiud
^^^ until the Kf'^ai Comuiissioncrc went to Ruvtnua. Bttforc, liowersc, pfo-
^^^T * AlUkuugl) the autharititA of ItaraiuM, oivil a* wijll u vcclcaaaaCIivI, hwl teaU-
W lau famn long awuc lliat Daata** boDcn ncrc not [a tlidr ori)|iaal icnlii^Mriace, li k
I cattain that ncli hu not been Q* ojiliiiau of the public genoallf. UtrtatiMaald
■ dMcrlptiona of " Uuides " makx mention of Dasu'l rWDalns in cottiicctiMi «U tkt
I poet's giigiiul wpnlchro i anil even KjKia, wlvo was a devoted trcnkipjiEr of Vatit,
■ bcVav«d itiAt Ibc}- U/ bcm unilinturUd. •- VauU," aap tbe author uf CUUe llwU,
■ "ims bnru-il (ta mtra Minwitm m/c) ol Bavcana, la a liaodamne tooib, ntien ^
I litiuiN n;iDaia." AdiI hi Don Juan lie mileo, —
^^^^ 'I pass eaoh day whtm DanU's boaas am laid:
^^^B A UUla caiiotn, mure beat Uum soleaia,
^^^H ProtccU hi* diut, but n-'ivreacc livra is paid
^^^H To th« lianl's loaili, auA oot the waniot'a "■'■■wn.
I
I
THS KE-DISCOTBBi: Of DAHTfi'S BEUAINS AT BAVENNA. 671
ceedJog to examiae the chest and its ccmteiits, the CommiiiBioners resolved
on haTing the ancient sepulchre of Dante opened. This was effected on
the momiiig o£ the 7th June, in the presence of the Syndic of Barenna,
and all the municipal authorities of that town, and s deputation of those
of Florence. The result was that the tomb was only found to contiun
according to the evidence of the chief surgeon, CaTaliere Gio^'anni Fug-
Jioli, and Doctor Claudio Bertozzi, two phalanges of a hand, and one of a
ibot, with some fragments of laurel-leaveB mingled with organic remains
in a state of powder. The bones and the latter substances were cardiillj
collected, and placed by the Syndic of Ravenna in the hands of the presi-
dent of the Commission, in order that they might be submitted to more
detailed examiuation and chemical analysis, and the sepulchre was then
careAiUy closed.
The very small results arising from the opening of this tomb, which, it
ia' stated, occupied irom eight o'clock, in the morning until three o'clock in
the afternoon, rendered it the more necessary to make a careful examina-
tion of the bones discovered on the 27th May in the cheat. Accordingly,
on the 11th June, in the presence of the same parties who had witnessed
the opening of the sepulchre, &e chest and bones were submitted to a
moat coreiiil examination, with the following results : — The chest was of
such rude workmanship as to render it evident tliat it hod been nude by
a person wholly unskilled in the art of carpentry j one of the sides mea-
Rored 77*5 centimetres, while the opposite side, which should have been
of the same length, only measured 748 centimetres. The two inscriptions
were not cut in the centre of the superficies of the sides of the chest, but
were placed in irr^ular positions. That on the outside is as follows : —
SA5T18 OSSA
A ME run. AmoHio bahti
IDC KMITA
XSO 1677 DIE IS OCIODBtS.
The other inscription within the chest runs thus ; —
Dxmie osBx
DEKUPEB (lie) B£T1SA 3* tUSU
167T.
The first inscription is in larger characters than the second, but the
letters are not so deeply cut; both inscriptions, however, have evidently
been graven by the same hand. The characters of the two inscriptions
were also found to be, in almost all respects, aimiloi to those in a book
written by the same Fre. Antonio Santi preserved in the archives of tlio
municipality. The identity of the characters is very apparent in the
small as well as large letters, but especially in the capital l)'s, which, in
the book as welt as in the inscriptions within and without the chest,
consist, so to speak, of three portions, being, according to three persons
front Bologna, Bergamo, and liavenna skilled in writing, the work of the
same bond.
Thus we have the strongest evidence that Italy is indebted to this
672 THE Iffi-DISCOrCRT OP CASTE'S BEUAOS AT RAI
Volts SuCi for tht pnsenrmtion of Dante'a remuns ; for be It wm woo,
a tame of impending danger, Itad pI«oed lli« prccioos booea in • lomlily
wbert tiwj wonld be saTe.
The Commtsuonvra were, diercfort, ttrj nfttuniU; cxtrandj Jearov
of Mcertaiamg vho ihi* FnU Saoti vu. Their rceewdtes, whUh w^c
long Mid bboriooB, showed thst bis p*ntiU wen Leonardo nixl Eltrabtiea
Ingoli ; tKat b« wai bcm on tlie 3rd Auguar, 164-1, in Bavt^aa ; beeuH
a nwmbcr of llic Fnui Minori, aod llml in l(i77, whea Im placed ilitfl
chest wiOiin ihc wall, he was Chftncellor of \he Coarent of San Fmidna
'Jlie irehivea of this «stabUshra«nt coDlain his official agnatim ni chU'
Cfrllor to capitulary docampntj bctw^r^n 1€72 nod 1679. 6abm]tiaBllri
Frnte Saati wu dcckd gtiiudt«ii or lic«d vfbia conrtnt.*
The Commiuionen draw eipeofail aileniioD to the laot, that
the 19lli Maj and SOlli Jane, 1677, and between the &rd aaJ 20th
bcr bfthe fano fear, th«r« aro no official rvenrds showing that tbe
of lb« oonrenl met daring tJioae periorlH. and thpy doduco from thii iwt
the infereiKe, that the abalntcti»n of Dante's rctmuoB from tlieir origiiiil
nepnlohre and phcing ihem in their n«w resting-place, waa a Mervt kooaa'
onljr to Santi and a few otha* peraons; the more lilcely to be kept, a*
meetinga of the chnptcr wcro held at lh« ttmo wlion the pott's
wpTO removed.
yVe now come to one of the mo«t intercstiD£ parte of the R«pon: tie
Mcnmination of the honca fonnd in ilio chost. Thit appeaiv to lun fatfs
made with great care and alcill, the Commiaiioneri having had the •««■
aoce of tho highest anatomical authorities.
Tho boiici, tbii^r Rtnte, ore thom of a robiut adnlt male, TatWaJ*
ranccd In mnnhood. Exteriorly, they arc rather black, preccaliM tb
appearance that bonea generally liave wh?n long ecclooud ia ralidfe
marble, or wooden recojiiacleH, Their texturo lias not n&dercnDe «dj
remarkable alteration, and nhat is even mure nurprising ia tho fact, thtf
with the exception of the rnund-headed artictilations ot tbe extremity <f
obtain long bones, and in aomo localities of the cranium, no impertnl
chani^c from time or Uomp is appiircnt.
It wan foiiitd (hnt Uic bonc!, compared with n perfect humui stcktoa,
wanted preciiu-ly tliosc parlions which were found in tbe orif^nal stpol-
ohro; and it was fiirthcT noticcii that tho hue of the mrliLca of tho*
phalanges was similar to thai of tho bones found in Fratc .Santi'a wooden
chest. The length of tho skeleton was one metre and fiftj--fi»e centi-
motrca. If to this len^h bo added tiiat of tho soft parts, such ai thd
Carlilngi-H, £c. of the human suhji^rt when living, ii fullowa that tbe hoots
were thwc of a man of middle etnture. The weight of tbe bones, withMl
(he Iwad, was four kilogrammes and 150 gmmmea ; the craaium wdgbei
730 grainmea.
i
* rurthcr ilet&lb ot lIm life of Frntr i^nnti «ill be (bond ia a work othleJ
C'DMini illxitri di if<ti<mna aatica. Uolacns, 1*03,
THE BB-DISCOVERT OF DANTK'S llEMAISS AT IIAV£NSA. 673
Examination of the ekeletoa of the trunk and of the four extremities
showed that the claTtcles were oon^derably curved — due to the resistance
of th^ humeri and scapulars — aa were also the bones of the thigh, legs,
and feet. The BBcrum was found joined to the first portion of the coccyx.
The femurs were forty-four centimetres and five millimetres long.
As might be expected, the portion of these osseous remains which
engaged the greatest attention, and were subject to the most detailed
examination, was the cranium, which in all human skeletons must be cou-
mdered the most noble portion, as being the seat of the brain, always
regarded by anatomists as closely cotmected with the thinking organs of
man. In order to ascertain the probable weight of this organ, the cavity
whicli enclosed the brain was filled with grmns of rice, which weighed one
kilogramme and 420 grammes, equal to S-1319 Ibe. avoirdupois. Very
accurate measurements were made of various parts of the cranium, the
principal only of which are subjoined. The diameter from the occiput
to the firontal bono was thirty-one centimetres and seven millimetres; the
transverse diameter, taken between the ears, thiity-one centimetres and
eigbt mtUimetree, and the vertical diameter, fourteen centimetres.
The periphery of the cranium, measured along two lines starting
respectively from points on each side of the most projecting part of the
occipital protuberance, and terminatiog at the nasal prominence, was
fifty-two centimetres and five millimetres.
Particular attention is drawn in the Keport to the circumstance that
the upper jaw bad been furnished with only two incisors (the central
incisors) instead of four, and that the right last molar tooth had not been
natundly dereloped.
Various prominences were extremely couflpicuoua on Dante's skull ;
one in poitioular was remarkable ibr its great size. It was situated near
the middle and upper part of the frontal bone, and was of longitudinal
form. Thotigh not acknowledging themselves to be disciples of Gall or
Spurzheim, the Commissioners draw particular attention to these promi-
nences, and st^ that, aocording to the laws of phrenology, Dante largely
poBsened tb^.org^ns of benevolence, religion, veneration, independence,
aelf-esteem, pnde,' C9n9cientiouanes3, mechanical design, sculpture, and
architecture. \
Finally, the Commissioners declare with justifiable pride, that Dante's
skull denotes the highest order of brain power, being precisely similar in
conformation to the skulls of those individuals who have held supremo
dominion over the minds of men, and have been the true madtera of
mankind.
In order to enable the public to see the honoured remains of Dante,
Ibe Commissioners and authorities of Ravenna directed that they should
lie in state, efficiently protected by glass.
Accordingly, on the 25th June, which was Sunday, they wore exposed
to public view in the Braccioforte Chapel, and it was the opinion of all
those who bad the high privilege of gating on the head of the author of
VOL. xm. — HO. 78. 88.
67-* TUIS BE-mSC(jVKRT or SAHTB'B BBUADTS AT KATKinUL
lti« Divtna CmMMtiM, liat it ponested all the pliys'ical fMtana of tke
higlwt iatcUwmal mfflitimioc. Aad n it cannot be oar priyilugi u
luok on thu Ttlio of Mirptasiog iateiCflt> it will b« mtieSuAory to oar
rawlen, aoil cspecMlly to thoM who bar* bc«n in rU>r*boe, «r who ]w-
poM viHlIng llut fitir rity, l» lie inrormed llint tbu mask of Uu iUwlnmi
poet preeerrcd in tlic UtGxi Ualk-ry, to vrbioh nllttuou. bas beta audc, lot
b«ea found on latM cftrcfnt coiiiparuon lo b« ia kll re*pcaiB aiiDiUr in 0«-
ligtnation to tho cnmnon ditcoTcred in the wnodoi cbesi nt lUvnai.
Tha IcDgtb of the oasnl b<mM ogrtcd pnciMlj', and ibe wins twamk
ftppliM to all other p&rt« which admittod of QwasnTement.
Thui, nltliough, lu Uie ComininioDers obanre, boom! curennislaaev in
oonneziou ■nUk Daote'a or^nal Bvpulcbra 1iat« yet to be laada ttmr%
i-apedally a* re^rda Jta aaH; hialory, tfaer* is no doubi wbaivrar tbl
the hainan rcmaioa tbcj i-jtaotined wen tb« geouiiw and noml booN
orDsntv.
I tFust iliat ihs roodcr er« tbu hux coma Iq ilia concliuKxt i)ial Aa
Report frDiD wlmos (ht lor«going partwulan have bcvii drawn, hmtd
nn And enrpttflriag inlerert. Ilia diMwvfiy of any portioa wf Duiit'*
reniaina at a liiue vrhvn Jtaij was about to lioti«iir liis tamtaorj hgr iim-
memocatiog the eixth watta»ry of kit biHh with great pomp sod aAaa-
nilj, Bwy be iodei^ r(igait1u<l, in ih« words uf th« CDtnmiaiioo«i% w
aluDst miniculotiB; but vhtii vre fiud llmt among ifaoaa rwaaiiK ii lb
bead of Icikly'it immorUil pc«t, the dkcoreij amy wall b* nniiriilmJ
of the moat intereating that luu over bwa made.
For U>Dt bend balongad to u man who, ax oentnries a^, mim
was turn bj- political ftctiooi^ cneh atnLiticus for power, aa4 aDoilinl'
uDMxiipiihrus as lo the mnuh employed to obtain ir, laboured with aaifiaf
zeal lo bring about ImUbd mitj ; y«t, whose palxiotinm mat ■» tiiw
reward tlian exik-, how bilterijr felt appears fiwia thoui hmt iiilitf
linn la the PwraJiao : —
BI coDc m di mJd
L* iNUM kltnut 0 com' ft dsia talla
lo Keaiiece e'l ulii per raltni KslSb
But even more inlerutiog is the knowledge tfant this htaA, a»
pree«rvcd, m3m th&t of OQO of the Rio«t diTinelj'-impired nocti that
world hai seen.
■3
676
^ fi^rman ^if^ itfor? thit ^m^ af 1815.
WoEK we look at our neighbours in Gemiony and see the quiet way in
whub they lire, how they cling to ood keep up their family ties, how
opealy they practise all tlie little kindlinesB of life which we think proper
to keep out of sight, how they unite the denionetrative afieotion of Mary
with the care for the household of Martha, we might almost suppose they
have trudged on in this primitive fasliion sioce the middle ages. And we
might fairly think tltat the protracted existence of these old-world ways
could only be accounted lor by a loug undiaturbed condition of society ;
we might presume that people must have gone on making cakes with big
round holes in the middle of them since gabled houses were new ; — (those
odd-eh&ped cakes have been left with a North German name to them even
when the Dutch set loot in the East Indies) — that they had drank quanti-
ties of weak coffee at all hours of the day since first cofiuc found its way
from Mocha by Trieste to Cologne ; that they had given each other birth-
day presents all round, like only good little children do in England, since
FioleBtanta tiegan to keep birthdays instead of Saints' days; and dressed
Christmas-trees once a year, since — does any one know how long 7
But if we look into any history of Europe, the driest school epitome,
even, which only gives fects and do philosophy of history to distract one,
we shall see how fax from a quiet country has been this Germany, which,
without what arc called natural boundaries, has isolated by race and
language the whole centre of Europe, from the North Sea at Hamburg to
the Mediterranean at Trieste, and from Alsace to Poland. Wars and
fightings were throughout the land when the Rhine castles were built :
they fell to ruin, and com and the vineyards of tho south spread ov^
the country till armies came into it again. " The Unl battle of Leipzig
was in 1631," says the lesfon-book. " The Palatinate," the land we now
know as the Grand Duchy of Baden, " was ravaged by Tilly." There was
the " Thirty Years' War," and the " Seven Years' War," and just about a
hundred years ago, the great Frederick, aller the peace of 1763, counted up
the towns destroyed and the men killed, and set himself as bravely to face
and redress public and private wrongs as he had ever faced any enemy.
We read of it all aa history, but let us tiy and divest ourselves of this
telescopic habit of looking, and come close and ace what happened in
countries where armies, and those foreign armies, " marched and counter-
marched," or "halted " awhile to rest. Soldiers do not always "march"
even bo regularly as when we now and then see them coming homo from a
review, hot and kicking up a dust, and twitching off a few flowers' heada
M thf^ go by a garden. Any one who has lived in a garrison town will
recollect changes of regiments aa involving a few days of aot very serious
676 A OERMAl! LIFE BRFOBG TIIS PEACE 07 1815.
but not Tcij pIpsKint dlwrder ; il b wiilitn our rc^otlcclion llmt tolditn
DD ibc move ia England vrciild coiac into a yurd And lend vff & w>Spa
auti tcftm Tor Uie day*s march, nnd it was liwrul so lo do ; htit xhtry werV'
In ftittr own counir/, wLci'g thcycpokc tlic language, at Intsi, ofthv
iL«>y dieturbed : if llicy were ever eo "jollj" mid riolous, all
people would aJloiv for som« in«gti luritj when incn rest from a long
We icmcmbcr a tetty comniDdorc Tcidying to a clergyman who remomlnled
witb him c« tlio Vhnviour of sailors allowed Icurc lubore when tb« i^i
came into liarbaiir. " I'd like; In know, sir, if yonW «xp9ct two huodrd
nod forty panwus lo kwp order if they came into port after a craiee."
But ifsoldi^rs nnd sailors (and "even ptirsc4is ") «re likely not to keep v^
the etriclcat diacifliiic when they are on the ino^e in their own conntrj,
wli*t i* likely to Iiiip|n:n in n foreign iiciitrfti if not hcAlili; piacv, wlwa
ngiment after regiment, cannon nl^er cannon, come Oirougb ; rvgiintaU
ibot atm^le through hedges and over iiolda, cannon whoM drirers no niont
rwp*ct gnrd^ns than Peter tho Great did Mr. Evelyn's ycw« ; Qver lli«
young corn in ihc spring,iiinong llic templing applc-orctardN in ih« stimmiT,
through, •traight tLrongb, the tang)(.-d vineyards in the autumn. Villagrn
IHghtcned lenvo thdr bousMi lo tbestningvnt; the tfch think wuor too^n
their gates and dispcDse unwillingly hoepilaiity lo giieets who receive and
repfiy it ia kind, anil tlio work nnil lb« [dMUir* of j«an ig annibiUtcd
'* all for a famous victory." All ibii^ nnd over nod over again, Gtmnioy
has BuSercd vrithiu a hundred years of this lime. From this il lis
recovered tu be ibc prosperoiiB Innd we sec ; through nil thin it has pit-
nerved iu curiously- tumplc huhita, nnd now all is over nnd tli« oid wsys
become dearer than ever, nalionnl character and nntionnl costoms rise vf
north ond Hoiiih and cast nnd went, like i^trung shootitfr(>m thooatatftteViW
roota of on old tit.'c that hos been lopped in time,
'I'liQ life of n German family during this period between th« end of lb*
IniiL century and the peace of 1HI5 ia worth looking into, and in a menxir
of Caroline Perthes, by the Inti; Profceaor A^nni-d, there is a ake
lh« quiet hoiiA^hold of her father (tlie comparatively little rci)i«n]
Wuadtdtoeker &i>lc) and of the trouble and strife into which she wM
plunged OS thu wife of the Hamburg bM<kiwller, a ski^tch that ifw*
follow for twenty yrars will luko us into scenes tlint it may bo fcr
wiir good lo remember weio enacting on iho Contim-nt while w«
iu o'jr island homo could dread but ntver see " Bonapiuto and tb(
Frcncli." The Claudius family, of whom Caroliuc, aftcnrnrda wifc tt
Frederick Perthes, wiw the eldest daughter, lived at Watidahrck, a fc*
miles n«rlh-e»9)t of Hamljurg, but in Holslein. Tha hona«faold inwt
have been lui iitir:ictivc one. Claudiua wax gifted with a rich fund of
hiiinonr, which made hiiu an unusually -ciittirtuining companion ', W
bcsidca thia, he hod a profound faith in God and his mmy, and ww
deeply ponotratcd with religious principles, and llrat at a time wbco UiW
and rvligions were dislodged ftxim ihoir hold on thinking men, wha in
t'ruiiCR it waa not siife, in Gcnnany not common, to coiiiess a faelwfia
anything thnt had been a dogma of a clinrch. In 1796 lived At ^uirt
A GERMAN LIFE BEfOKE THE FBAC£ OF 1815. 677
Waaili^beek the famiJics of Claudius and Jacobi. Jacob! }iad coaviucud
hiDiself of the Bouodness of the prevailing opinions, but tbia did Dot
exclude him from the circle of intimatee in which were the Stollbergs
and Beventlows, and Caroline, Claudius's bosom friend, waa that Princess
Gnllitzis who retired from tlio world under the counselH of Diderot, devoted
henelf to the education of her children, begged her friends not to try and
convert her to anything, and read and reasoned herself back into the
church she had been born in.
It waa at the houite of Jacobi was prepared that year the Christmaa-
treo, that old Lutheran observance, which perhaps dates aa far back as
do the lioraes' heads orer North German farmhouse doors, which has spread
itself by degrees into Western Germany, has become CBthoIio aa well aa
Protestant, and in a much-changed form has located itself recently in
England. A German artist lately painted a group of his countrymen
unveiling one in the wilda of Minnesota to an astonished group of
North American Indi&n?. But the Weinachtsabend and its Christhaum of
German life arc quite different affairs from our English merry Christmas.
Here it is esaentially a seiious though not mournful time, and the " tree "
ifl purely a family or friendly fealival ; beyond the household none
are present, save such few intimates as from one cause or other have no
celebration at home. The tree ia hidden by doors or curtains from
the room where all assemble, children watch in eager expectation the
iucreasing light behind, the elders (if their weakness lies that way), with
occasional misgivings of fire, as tiny candles flash from corner to corner.
The pause is broken by little voices singing a hymn, the father leading verse
by verse, oad then the tree is exposed, and in a moment the room ia lit up
With a qtuQtcBieiice of flame,
From thonsand tapere flaring bright.
The tree, the happy little fir-tree of Hans Andersen's lale, is decked with
candles and baubles and bonbons and tinsel, quaintly- deviaed giogi'r-
bread, wonderful garlands of quince sausages, some superlatively bright
ornament being fixed to the topmost shoot ; but after all, except for the
l^ht it gives, the tree is for the time a secondary consideration. Tlic
room it now illuminates ia encumbered with presents that have been
preparing half the previous year ; presents for old and young, for liigh
imd low, from mother to father, from father to mother, and even to the
stranger that is within the gates. The mother leads the children and
servants to the chair or table appropriated to each one's posaessions, and
there is a confused murmur of " Du liebste Mamma," " die gnadige Frau,"
with the long drawn-out " wun-der-schon " that German children so
delight in. It was into such a gathering as this that Perthes was invited
by Jacobi, and went from his books and his philosophical talks with his
customers, and he made his silent declaration to his future wife by
detaching the gayest painted fruit from the top of the tree, and presenting
it to her before all the world.
Her life had been wonderfully placid until she married. Though more
than ufually cultivated, she and her liaten helped as German. lBd.\ft&^'Ava&
A anuuy tire bctorb the pbacs or
do in the bonoeworit, bdieriag UuU ■ rigktiy-tiaaiei pa
good or beUer ■ pMeryoook tlna a ntitt drudge, nd Icmoo
•kinuning prcKfTn. So tbtt jroanf hdia made tft« aik«B in the aMmag
for the guecU to cai, while tli«7 plsycd tbo foguca of Badh or libs a^piv
BJca of Mooft tn ibe evrtiu>g. But when Cajoliiw Penha vast Id H«b-
InUf ibe flune for the firx litnc inb> direct cciitnct witU the- worU. ITor dtil-
drcQ w«rc bom intlie (int jrcaiaof iki^eenlurjr. iu 1801 the BocUc of Uk
Baltic WAS fouglit. It it said tlw boom of tboBe gwia was lieatd erv liM
alnlkm acaa and along IIm nnda of Scltlavig, fnnbrr thaa atiy aaood hu
bMn Twordod to iMTe bean biaid ; but ifit did »oi reach ilambwglliift
ware mmoun enough of inr aod tmnulL " For the hattlo Tagaa load m1
Bttong, and tltc etornlT IcmpeatB bloir." Slill tor Um pnaeal h «aa art
nndi nearer lo Iht- Harntitirg )win«* than it ever eami lo oar EogiUdi OMft
It had to cora« cloapr bofoni it di<l toorc chaa exdU' bonor and pitj'. M
In IBJO, Pcrthft* fcok lit« tatmly to visit gchwanburgt bia aalit^
fUnee. Hi* imclea and llieir ohildrm came op the last IiiU to iDtet hia.
and pacliiiig all the litrlc coarim together Into die c^wciou* tnmAlf
coach, tbc^ enit)rjie«d each other and wa1k«d ea tulkiag over old ti^m,
" lill," aaji tJ>e first letter home to WniidolH-ek, " ihey i^ Mntf
yrart joungtT for being tiigetht-r nsmn." A fen imk* iil\er, QuoKk
I'crthn wrote fWnn Gollin : " While wc were in Die Tburingiaa faeM
Vre had aliiMMt foTf^ttcn the Frt-nd), bnt iwn wo are reotindud of iImi
I every dn)'. For montlis psct, njilcndid caiinoA from DaAt<ic and Sibadl-
fbiirg hiixn Itrva dntgged through the toim on their wnj to Farii." Jai
to quote 31. Mcnnard, " the was doomed to be both a witaeM mi a
TicHm oT the wretchedness arinng from a eocial eendition wbci* l^
rnada might, and wlivrc the aword irn* the niling power. A lew ig*
bfifera Uia CbriBbnas of 1810, b; a decree of the Freocb Sen&te pablUiHl
at UanbUTfE, the Iluose Towns and tlie North-Sost of GermaBy w«k ia-
coiporated into the French Knipirv."
Ilia first occu[Mtion of Humbtirg b; llio French aader Daroot (ofj
whom St. Heuve najs, ** J'ai oul dire ({u'll n'etait poa taoidn!,") lasted t^tj
Slarch, t&lS. It vraa a reign of arbitrary puwcr, when apoliation and
extortkii were pemittod and justice was defied ; but it waa • period of
lea raOering ihaii that which followed. Patriotic ciliaena e««M
Ibetasclvcs into a iniard for tlicir own prolcctim, aod of coutaa the i
ritios, o«- rattu-r tliom wtio wern i>i power, Miu[«cled ihetr k
Pertlias tad otheis drilled in Mcret in (heir own housca, and hia i
first en the liat of tlioM to be «rr««<cd : houses were seurched, tbo i
even the insane disturbed in their bods, and the family never taj dnva id
reet without pmvidiiig mmiM fr hit cao^e, and planning, with ibebrif
of a minlivo who wan his clt'rk, how to gain time by dclajr if the di lailal
riNit ihoiild lake pince dnring the night. " In 1813 Mosmjov waa bamt; *
French aoldirra wtre needed clMwhrTe, and till a mora atnugeiit ooaatnp-
tk<n hnd filled tho thinned mnks, Knmbnrgwiu oraensted. Ttta Hanse
Towns formed themsclrra into a lenguo tin- their comuHm diA-Mc la
fluch cmtrgeucit*, iw "m *V« tetlwit pcri^nla of aodeljf, pbjrianil rtrengA
gaekaadfl
I Aim* tn ^1
i
A GERMAH LIFE BEFORE THE PEACE OF 1816. 679
must accompany mental CTicrgy, and in this respect unfortunately Von
Hess, thrar commander, was wanting. Hia health waa feeble. It needed
the ntBQost exertions of those who served under him to make up for the
deficiency. Foremost among these was Perthes, and whatever were their
diffionltaes, the defence, when Davoust and Vandamme bombarded the
town, was 80 brilltnnt, that DavOust, infuriated, declared " if he could get
into Hamburg for two hours, he would not leare one stone on another,
and would atrip the inhabitants of everything but their eyes to weep over
their misery." Misery it was indeed. St. Just said, "Ccax qui font les
T^voltttlcnia dans le monde, ceus qui veulent fiiire le bien, ne doirent
donnir que dans le tombcau." It was for a higiier cause than to effect a
i-eTolntion that Perthes devoted himself. " For twenty-one nights," writes
hia wife, " he has not been to bed or changed his clothes. All day I nas
in fear for his safely, and he could only come in now and then for half-an-
boor at « time. Not a man was left in the house, all were under arms,
bat people were continually coming and going, ashing for anything to eat
or to drink, for no one that we knew had yet begun to keep house again
in the town. In the large room, I had a number of mattresses spread,
where many of our weary townsmen might lie down. One of our friends,
•nd many whom we knew, were killed on the ramparts. But the French
were daily reinforced, and no town can hold out long unassisted." " Day
and night I passed on the balcony," she writes again, " watching to see if
my hosband or any of my family or fHends were among the wounded who
were cnrried to the hospital." At hist — and it was only at the very lost
—the family of Perthes escaped to Wandsheek, which was on Danish
ground. This waa on the night of the 28th of May : on the SOth the
Ihuanans retired, and Hamburg was again at the mercy of the French.
In the night Pertbea joined bis wife and children for a moment, Wnnd-
■heek was too near to be safe for one who hud been so prominent among
the defenders of the city, or even to be sufficiently secure for his fiimily.
They must puA on to Nutachau, and put themselves under the protection
of Count Moltke, and lie must go further off still. There waa no
time to hesitate, or even to prepare ; they set out in a country
cart, and reached the place before morning. " There were ten of us,
and two beds, so I pprcad clonks on bundles of linen for the children
to lie on ; " but even there they could not stay, so active was the
search for Perthes, and they went on info what has latfly been the
scene of the war between Prussia and Denmark, to Eckemfiirde, where
Count Caius Revontlow could give them a little deserted cottage by
the Boa-wde. Perthes liad succeeded in carrying off from Hamburg
hia account-books, and he sat down to examine them resolutely, to see
what wer« hia prospects and what were his means. Everything was lost :
the house of business and all his property were sequestered; hiadwelHng-
houae waa stripped of its contents and inhabited by a French general;
he had no ready money. Comfort there waa none ; consolation he might
tiJce from the expressions of esteem and confidence he received from one
tad all ot hii creditom, and from many eminent men, his friends. How
G80 A GEIUU» LiyB BKFOBK THK rEACE OF ISlG.
(])• r«ufiil ordMl bod liliiTCd Uio dtptU of tlfi German wonaa'a am\
mvf be Men in her jmuA rejoicing that ber liaaband nas excluded faa
ibe genenl ftmneaty tbitt tho Frencli proclumed od rf^-unlcrinr; llamliwg.
" I am tlimlcful from lite bollom of my h^ait," she vritcs to her hotlMid,
wbo IiJid ulen refuge in Mecklenburg, " Uiat }^our name is toaai aauo;
tkoM of tlie cQciniea of tbc ruUog powin-. It irill be our pride sed rar
iMppUMM Its long u we live." Tbeir lifu at Eekcnifcirdit TW{alr«d die
coQSolntion of llicse generous fceliDgik
" The h«D»o con>Ut«d of a room nnd flotno l«n*. Except tbc Suma
who lived Itaid bjr, tb«ro was not a muI fur miln round, and with sll bi
good will, he bail Iitt:nil1y nrt the meuis of giving (u nioru than wok
Ktid butler. Bread, nil, aoap, mid oil, and mob things bad to b« fttdel
(kom tliree miles off, and this was the tailc of ray aister and the two <4dnl
childn.-n. For eighteen wccka vtd saw neither meat nor while bnodt
lL« go-calli'd kilcll{^n was ouuids the hooeo; it was supplied with four
copper nucepans and a tin ont^, n few plateH, and thnt was all. I had und
•omc spocQx i wc bought koivct and forki ; but we wer« licb in conpari-
Bon with inany of our (riends, for at ail erents we bad & hnndnsd limfl
more tlinn nothing." ?'he one room alluded to hadin it twelve windon
opening do\Tn to tli€ ground, and theM in a house by tJie aea-«dtt dn^
a wl Riimnivr n«re anything but wholMoiiie, cauning constant
bcth to tliv children and their isulht-r ; nliiU', tliougb there nasa{
naturcd horac-doctor at Eckemfdrde, there wsa no better advic« novrr
llinn Kiel. The Itercntlawa and Ilallberj^a were constdiit in ibcirkiod*
neiB, but it was n fearful time. lA-ttci* from Perthes rcachod ber irre-
gularly, »hilc nimoari, exaggerated and confuted, of his danger i
through othem, JIc dared not cxposo her to the rial, of coming to i
he could not go to her. But tlio political horizon waa cloai-ing, :
cninc out plainer, too, in ibu foreground, if the middle dialanco
indistinct. On the ChriMmai cveoiiig of 1^13 be en Jdealy appcMivl In
the family circle, but only for a very few days, for on him had devolved
tho duty of dlstiibuling the sums cJ* money sent from all parta to rvErn
the distrosE of Uiobq who had been (Itivgd out of Hamburg. The cMMt-
qoencca of war were bcccmiiig more ketuly felt as ilH exeitenenti
lencniog; posts were irreg;u)ai- and iut<nuptcd — be waa but a few '
froin Hamburg, and could get no iicwk uf liix wife who was at Kiel. !T>
became alarmed, and succeeded in reaching her. " You are nil VcU f
waa bia liret question — but one Uttle one woa lying dead, and the Icttcnl*
warn bim of iis illnen and tell Uim of its death were lost. A sue
from the nuwiaa liead-ijuorteis to a coufcrviicc about the liigitiTa
Hamburg interrupted his passicnalc grief. "In times like these, and fcr
such a purpose, you must ohcy the call," «aid his brave wife ;— and qiis
ho VM plungi-d iuto tho niidnt of all tbb niistiry, poverty, and iever caaul
by the occuj jilion of the country by foreign troops. Am aceidont fol-
lowed by an attack oftlic ferer brought him to ihc verge of tJie gr^fr^ sod
before h« recorered thoFieneh were gone. From Blankenesc, when he by
recevering, he «aw the white fhigx fly out from the towers tod atcejlei of
A GERMAN LIFE BEFORE THE PEACE OF 1815. 681
the city, but he saw, too, the returning exiles land from the boats at the
mouth of the Elbe : groups of worn parents dragging along many children
who gathered twigs off the first bushes thej came to as if taking poafwssion
of their country again ; carriage-loads of little children, whose parents had
died in the hospitals at Bremen ; exiles returning from Hanover, " many
people and no baggage," — but they were going back to their homes.
On the 31fit of May, 1814, Perthes entered Hamburg with the
troops. What a year had passed since he had escaped with liis
family in May of the previous year ! — " a weary and tumultuous space."
But he had finished his duty as a soldii:r, and now he resolved to resume
his business, and bis place among men of letters. " I can rejoice, I
can forgive, I can forget all but my lost child," wrote his wife, " but
there are hard times still before us," Before the quiet life could be
resumed, before they could " live a year as they were wont to live,"
there was much to be gone through of mental anxiety, and much of
bodily toil. Tlie liouse was standing, and that was about all that could
be said fur it ; there was not a corner in it fit to sit down in, the floors
were a foot deep in filih, the lower story had been used as a guard-room.
A stove being in the middle of the large hall, and the soldiers disinclined
to take tlie trouble of constantly feeding it, had hit on the expedient of
pushing trnnks of trees through the windows, so that one end reached the
fire, and as it was consumed they could shore it further and further in!
We bare heard of an indolent Asiatic doing this to save the trouble of
chopping wood, but it was new to us as a European practice. Every bit of
wood- work had been torn down, every morsel of furniture was gone, and if
the want of money precluded any but the most necessary expenditure, the
aspect of the greater poverty pressing on all around reduced even this to
the lowest possible limit. Still, by the next year they were able to receive
Claudius into their house, and to surround bis bed with comfort when the
old man lay down in his daughter's home to die. It was then he said,
" Since my youth I have specuUted on tliese last hours, and I no more
understand them now than I did when I was in the fulness of health."
Life in Hamburg ceaged to be eventful; "happy" indeed they could
feel was " the nation without a history." The family resumed its quiet
round of daily life, tliough Perthes had oflen to take what were then
long Journeys on matters of business — making acquaintance with all the
great men who in various parts of Germany had been working fur the
cause of national freedom. His memoirs, as written by his son, are full
of interest, and we cannot but join iu his ejaculation, "May God send us
many more such men as Frederick Perthes I " To those in England,
who beheve as many do, that " all Germans are Kationalista," we cannot
do better than show them lor their enlightenment the conversations of
Perthes with Hoffhauer, Protestant and Catholic as they were, or his
letters to his wife, and her rejoinders as he was passing from Protestant to
CathoUc states. For those who think it beneath an Intellectual woman's
dignity to love her husband and children devotedly, and make no secret
of it, there are lettere overflowing with tendemcas. Fot \\vtj*<i -w\\o 'CwsJt.
A QtKUAS UFli BEfORK THK !'BACh OP 1615.
R Btrong-miodi^ woman tmut nut coinpnnntM ber eoiutatefuy !■;
ntundhig to triili-a. t1i«ra i* to be accn in OKrolioe Perthes ft tmaa
irko tteniblwl onljr with h«irt-Bi^ncM «t tite mwni rf ibe bombaHnai
of th« toiTO th« wss living in, who eoulil mt?r MrnoMly intti herlni*-
band's poiiUeaJ uptntions, ntd «till oould write to her married dragbltti
**I>ftni, ny dear haaaewifp, tn find plcasan in jova daitf fife; groil
events arc tBrc" And t\ie could wril« with glee of the packEnj; tic bcu
uf Chiistum prcwnu for vid from one and all, and i-ccnll the Chi-iilmw-
tree of a qniirtoT of a oenlur^r (Mford.
Tbe bonaehold wc have ibIlAWol from peace lo var, imd bode i^iio to
peace, u one of the manj ihonsnnda Hint Bnf&rml a* tntich, trllfana
kktorians to tell llic tido ; and now, white ne irriie thin, the ihoaght u
atroog within lu tliat ail this may be aprnin, not at some distant sail
■tnngo time, but iDdoiit, nlmcM wtihin Ihv ho<iir. And this time th« half
that will diTToWaU-, tli« cntmon that will ikstroy, the commniiders tluit wiH
dirNi llie ruin, and th« women who will wtep in vietory iwd in dcfttfi
will nil bo GerinAn. We cannot oontvmjJUe tliis cvont willi lh« enttn
Mlf-silisracttDQ of thoac Tiublic writcrx who ec« no solutioQ Ibr the problem
but iu a ]inros)-un of nalional mndne-at, and nn coiitinuully ihnnVfiil ifaU
they am not «vi-n iia the (jerB-.angL 'Hie rata.<itiT^]>lic rn us is too inleian,
and our conviction tfasi Ute beet (formans coiitv«npla1o their own pMliM
with «yv9 at lenst as ditar aa oiire, too rinccre, lor ua to mn en dm
hypollicna. It maybe that Iho rery Tirhm to which we Iinredrtvn
altmtioft in these [Mges a» not wiibont tli«1r Atire in bringing nbont lUt
political oomplication. Tho *' plain lirine ntid high thinking" which
Wordawerth monraod orer m "no mow" in (^iiglnnd,and whidi express
81 irill as words can do the ideal of German domoatie lift*, mny ban had
the duadraatage of Icaring the active diroctioii of grant alliun ton mndi
in (he hands of nmerupuloua men, who know how lo lnk« adrantajc of
the imlincts and ospirat^oni of the people and lo tuw ibcm (at mibk
and dytuLclJc objccta. The iatoiuity of tbe feeling ajiiiinitt tlic Pmnin
UliiiiMer and bin policy on the part of tlio lending momlwra of ih* 0]i{Msi-
tion is no growtlt of ordicmry pnliticnl ilid'itencc or ancini anlntadty, bat
it eotaes from tlio settled belief that ho it provoking ciTil war without
any orerpowcrinj; nroi-Hity of principlu or duty. The iiltinRite objnti
lo which both ho nnd tlie I'msttiin nation IooIe may be the mai^ bv llic
norel lens through wliidi they are setfn by bJm is totally distinet H«n
llifiiii, atid ihcrvfure ihry ilioroufflily dimpprove of hit* mrnn! of aliaitnlif
thvin. t^u<'h cliantctera »* are poHraj-ed in the volume to whidi we hate
dianu Btlcntion, and whidi Mill griioe the towni of Northern Gvnniinr,
though inti-nn-Iy nnlioniJ, and rcmly ftr any patriotic Micrtfien, ksn
Duthing in common with (be nggieniTA, almMt Glibiuiering *pinl, whJdi
pcrrodca ccriiun ctauri, and which threatens oonfmdon to Ktiiopp, ud
diaa»(ipr not only to tltdr domcwic Ufe and nilEi-joid iMcrwIs, bnt, il mtj
be, to the iou-grity of their rattion.
G33
eas
JLrm;t(1al9.
DOOC TUB La^t.
Tnn
CHAPTEK in.
PuKPLB Flask.
'■.
I ^^^ HE cnb -wftH wniling itt th« £al«l
US MtsH Gwilt aiTproMliMl llio
f^nnatorium. Mr. Bfui)iwcio<l gnt
CTU nnd n(ivim«d to meet her.
She took hia nnu xnd l«d him
N. raiclo V fc^v Ktcpv, out of tho cab-
tnmi'ft bmring.
- - " Tliiiik wliat you like of me,"
«lie Kiiti, kcw^ping liw tliieic bUdc
Tiril dowti over her Inoe— "but
(iou'tiipwik tome to-night. Dmc
1 i.-k to ytmi- hot*'! im if nothing
R-^ Lj)<1 liiiiipeiioil. Meet ilin tidiii
Iniin lo-uiDtTDw na usual ; luiii
come to me after wanlfl nt tlie
Sunatoiium. Go without a trord,
And I Khali believe there in Mie -
wan in die fforld wlio realljr Iotm
nic. St»j Mid Bsk qtuBtionfl, and
I shall bid you good-by al vacv !iud /It cvi>r ! "
She pointed to the ci)b. In n ntinnM tnorc it had le(i tlie Sanatorium
and waa biking Mr. Du8bvro;><l back to his hotcli
Sbo fljioncHl t]i<! ii-iiii g*to and wnlkcd ulanly up to the lioueo door. A
afatidder ran lliroiigii iier n-i the rang tlie Ih--II. She laughed bitd-rLy.
" Shircring aghio I" she raid to herself "Whovonld faaTe thought I
had so much fi-eliBg leA iu me ? "
f oroncc in bia lil'u the doctor's face told the truth, wkcft the study
door opened l)et«cn ten nnd elcrini at night, and Min Gwilt entered the
room.
" Skrcy on ni« ! '' b« cxdnimed, with a look of the blankest bciriMer-
tnant, *' what don this inenn ?"
'* It uiMins,'' ttlic niiatrerL-d, "that I liare deci^led 1o*n1gli( imttldof
deciding to-morrow, Vou, who know wotncit so well, onghl to know that
=^-..^
t
tlicy set on inipulflo. 1 am hero on an impulife. Take me or knra bh',
jaat as you like,"
"Tnko yfiU or Icivc yen?" rr-pcaU-d tlto doclor, rocOTering his pre-
seDce of mind. " My dear luily, wluil n (IiT:iilful vny of putting it I Youi
toom hIiaII b« ^t ready instADtly ! WJicrc in your luggage 7 WUl ywi
let tnc send for it? No .* Vot] can do -without your luggage lo-uight?
AVhat ndmirahle fortitude I You vil[ fetch it yourself lo-morroir * What
exlrftoi'dinary independence! Vo take off jour boni]«C Do <b«w in lo
lilts fire ! "Whiit cnn I offer you ?"
" OfTLr Dii: tlio utrongtst dirjiing-draught joit ercr mndv in jour tili!|*
kIio rqilii'd. "And Itvre me clone tiJl thn time coint>ii to tuke it. 1 iQiiII
be your puticnt in eameil V the adJcd fiercely as tlie doctor attempted to
rciHonatmlc. "I shnll I>o the maddest of llio mail if you irritate uic
lo-r.ighl!"
'I'hc PrincifAl of tlie Sanatorium bccnuic gravely aud bridly proves-
n<tnaJ in an instant.
" Sit down in iJiat dark corner," lie said. " Nut a itoul aliall dhliirh
yoD. In half on hour you will Bud your room n-udy, and your alecpag-
drniight on tliu table, li'a bc«n n, liimlcr struggle for her than I antid-
fdU^d," he ttioti^Kt, a.<> he lefl tlie room, and croitsoil to his Dupenaaiy on
the opposite aid« of the hall. " Clood heaTcns, whiit husionfltas the with
a cunsciencp, after such a iir« .is hers has bei-n t "
'flic Dispensary vma elaborately licltil up wiih all the )ntcst imprare*
ntcnts in mHicnl runiitum. Rut oncuj' the four walla of the roooiwu
luioccnpied by slictvL-a, and here die vacant Kjmcc wax filled by a battdaoaic
iutli(]u« cabinet of carved wood, ciirioiuly out of Lurmony, aa nn object,
VJtb the unomiLmenml utilitarian anpocl of the place gen«mllr Oa
dthcr tide; of the ctibinut two B[it.'flkiiig-tubca were inserted in tbe wall,
commnnicntini; with tbe upper rrgioni «f the houM, and Itibclkd napra*
tiv«ly, " IU«iilunt TliDpam-r," nnd ** IK-ad Nursf." Lito Uvs mieaai of
these tubca the doctor apokC) oa entering the room. An elderly woman
aiipenred, took her orders for preparing Mra, Aimadolo's bed-ehambC)
curLteyed, and retired.
LvA alone tig*in in the Dispensary, tbe doctor iinlocVcd tlic centre
oomparlmtnt of lliu cabinet, and disulcwcd a collection of boltlea imlds^
conlaiaing th« \jirioii8 poisons uacd in mtrdicine. After taking oat the
laudanntn wnttlod for the si oopin^- draught, and placing it <<n lb« diapes-
aary-litblo, lie wnnl hack to ibe cabinet — lookn] into it for a )iiil« while—
ebtiok hii head duublfuliy — and crosncd to the open hhelvcH on the opp»*
ailo side of iho room. Here, after more conHidenition, be took down oa*
out of the row of krgc chcniioil hottbi iK-forc him, filled with a yellow
liquid: plox'ing the Lolllc on lli« tuMc, he ivtunied, to the cabinet, «mI
opened n sldr c(>m|iartnient, containing some Epccimenx of Bobemiaa gfaus-
work. Aflor nic^ienrinfr it with his eye, he took from the apecitnensa
handaome purpio ilaek, high a>td nnrraw in form, and closed by a gkus
etoitpcr. 'i'bit he GUcd with the yellow liqiii^l, kaviug a sniall ijuantity
ARMADALE. 685
only at the bottom of tlie bottle, and locking up the flask again in thu
place from which he had taken it. The bottle was next restored to ita
place, after having been filled up with water from the cistern in the Dis-
penaary, mixed with certain chemical liquids in small quantities, whiuh
restored it (ao far as appearances went) to the condition in which it bad
been when it was first removed from the shelf. Having completed these
mysIeriouB proceedings, the doctor laughed softly, and went back to his
Bpeaking- tubes to summon the Resident Dispenser next.
The Resident Dispenser made his appearance shrouded in the neces-
■ary white apron from his waist to his fi-et. The doctor solemnly wrote a
prescription for a composing draught, and handed it to his assistant.
"Wanted immediately, Benjamin," he &.iid, in a soft and melancholy
Toioe. " A lady-patient — Mrs. Armadale, Boom Number-one, Second-
floor. Ah, dear, dear 1" groaned the doctor absently; "an anxious cose,
Benjamin — an anxious case." He opened the bran-new ledger of the
CBtablishment, and entered the Case at full length, with a brief abstract
of the prescription. " Have you done with the laudanum 7 Put it back,
and lock the cabinet, and give me the key. Is the draught ready 7 Lnbcl
it ' to be taken at bed-time,' and give it to the nurse, Benjamin — give it
to the nurse."
While the doctor's lipa were isnuing these directions, the doctor's
hands were occupied in opening a drawer under the desk on which
the ledger was placed. He took out some gaily-printed cords of atltuia-
Bioa " to view the Sanatorium, between the hours of two and four, p.m.,"
and filled them up with the date of the next day, " December
tenth." When a dozen of the cards had been wrapped up in a dozen
lithographed letters of invitation, and enclosed in a dozen envelopes, he
next consulted a list of the families resident in the neighbourhood, and
directed the envelopes from the list. Ringing a bell this time, instead of
q>eaking through a tube, he summoned the man-servant, and gave him
the letters, to be delivered by band the first thing the next morning. *' I
think it will do," said the doctor, taking a turn in the Dispensary when
the servant had gone out; "I think it will r'o." While he was stiil
abcorbed in his own reflections, the nurse re-appeared to announce that
the lady's room was ready ; and the doctor thereupon formally returned
to the study to communicate the information to Miss Ciwilt.
She had not moved since he left her. Slie rose from her dark corner
when he made his announcement, and, without speaking or raising her
Teil, glided out of the room like a ghost.
After a brief interval, the nurse came downstairs again, with a word
for her master's private ear. V
" The lady has ordered me to call her to-morrow at seven o'clock,
ur," she said. " She means to fetch her luggage herself, and she w.inls to
faave a cab at the door as soon as she is dressed. What am I to do 7 "
*' Do what the lady tells you," said the doctor. *' She may be safely
tnuted to return to the Sanatorium."
AimADJlIX
Tbe lirealtbat bOlU at the SonsU
trns liair-p.iAt eit>lit o'ckt^i
Tbe dooMr «« qrilt
.tvniim
Ity tlint liiiio MIm G«ih hnd MtUed cvci^thmg
rclurnod wiili Iter liiggagR tii her oirn poaenioi).
atoRMvI at Ibo promptilDde of his pnticnt.
" Why ynMc m mnch cntrgv f " ho ii$ke<d, vliim UiP)' mi-t «t tha 1maii>
fiut-tal>k. " Wliy he in sucli k hurry, my denr lady, wli«li jaa fcfed iH
tbit monuDg bcfoni you f "
" Mero mtlcMiMM) " ulic im><I, l>ripny. •' The longer I lit*, Uw men
ImiNilinit I gnU"'
Tbc dwtor, who hnJ noUocJ before she Pi*l(e iKat bw foee ksW
Rtniiigoly pxin And old that momtiig, oli»rTed irbra alie answned hin
ihat her ex|ireasioti — trntonilly tDo\>iIe in no otdidary degree — naiiaci
quiU) nualterpd fay tiw «9oit of sfi^ftkl^ig. Th«ra wm none of ths nml
•nimilioin en hpr }![«, nniie of itic nsiul tcmiter in her eyCM. n« M
Dcvor Mcu hvT R> ioipenctroMy aM caMly cotnpotcJ A* he mw ber now.
" She han made up lier mind ■! inst," he ihoneht " I ttuy My tn bir
Uiia tnoraing, what I couldn't my to hi:r bit night."
IIo jitrfiiod Ills coining Tvninrki hy a waniing look at hn widov'f
drm.
" Now you have gvt your luggage," Lc Wgan graydjr, " pcrmil me Id ^
iniggi'at putting that cap away, and weai-ing aaotlicr gown." I
" vn>y ? "
"Do you rcuiemher wbatjou toU me, n d*y or two since T" bJwJO*
(loctor. " Yoii suid there was a chance of Mr. Arnixd-ilo'fl dying in aif
Sanatorium ? "
" I will Eflj it afaifl, if yon lilt*.'*
*' Anions Hiilikcly cluneo," pursued tho tloctor, drnf as ptdt Id
Kwkvinrd inlui riiplioi:t!i, " it in h.-irdly posaihle to imn^nc 1 Batu
na it IS a chance at nil, it is worth considering. Hny then Ihnt In: lEd^-
dica Kiiddtoty and iinexpTCttOly, and maVes a Coioom-'b Tnqunit
iutljc hoiLsc. W'htkt is our course in t1i»tcas«f Our course is to]
Ui(icli;irfK:ti>ra to whicli w<! hnve C(^>nt»iittcd ourselves — ^j*ou aa hto wHe*-
and I Its Uie wilnvSH vt your inarri:igc— nnd, in those charactert, to cMil
the fallMt in^jniry. In the entirely improt>fthl«erent of hia dyinj
we want him to die, ray idea — I might eren say. my rr7:olDttoa— H
admit th.it we knew cf'liis rrnitrTection from the sea ; nnd to
l}i&t we iiiittrnctctl Mr. Itn'hwood to oiilmp him into this houw, by 9^^
ofa IJilw MHtetnt-nl hIkiui Mi«s Milroy. When the inerimble qnwlim
fullow, I profKiHc to n)7^'irt lhat he exhibited KyniplomaornirutatalwsalM'
ihortly alWr your maniage — that his delusion cooaifiiotl in dcoyi(i( >^
you WLTc his wifk?, and in declaring lliAl he vroa en^^nl tu 1w manWl*
Jii'iM itilroy — tiiftt you were in mich terror of him on thia acconst, »*•*
you heard ho was aliro and romiitg back, as lo h« in a Mnte ef drtms
agitation thnt rcquirt-d my c»tc — that at your re(]i»Ml, nnd to eahn iW
ucrrons agitation, I saw him pnfeaianalty, and got hirn quivilr bto tte
bouse by a humounng ofhia dtliision perfectly jtutifinlde in encbat
tert, to cMil ^
ingJBrt*1r*fl
!ottoB-h,«M
J
ARMADALE. 687
and laatly, that I can certify bis bralo to bave been affected hj one of those
mysterious disorders, eminently incurable, eminently fatal, in relation to
which medical science is still in the dark. Such a course as this (in the
remotely possible event which wc are now supposing) would be, in your
interests and mine, unquestionably the right course to take — and such a
dress aa that is, just as certainly, tmder existing circumstances, the wrong
drcfls to wear."
" Shall I take it off at once 7 " she asked, rising from the breakfast-
table, without a word of remark on what had just been said to her.
"Any time before two o'clock to-day, will do," said the doctor.
She looked at him, with n languid curioaly — nothing more. " Why
before two? " she inquired.
" Because this is one of my ' Visitors' Days.' And tlie Visitors' time
ia from two to fonr."
*' What haye I to do with your Tisitorsf "
" Simply this, I think it important that perfectly respectable and
perfectly diGintcrested witnesses should sec you, in my house, in the
character of a lady who has come to consult me."
" Your motive seems rather far-fetched. Is it the only motive you
have in the matter ? "
" Jfy dear, dear lady 1 " remonatratcd the doctor ; " have I any conceal-
ments from JOB ? Surely, you ought to know me better than that ? "
" Yes," she said, with a weary contempt. " It's dull enongh of me not
to understand you by this time, — Send word upstairs, when I am wanted."
She left him, and went back to her room.
Two o'clock came ; and in a quarler of an hour afterwards the
Visitors had arrived. Short as the notice had been, cheerless as the
Sanatorium looked to spectators from without, the doctor's invitations
had been largely accepted nevertheless by the female members of the
families whom he had addressed. In the miserable monotony of the
lives led by a lai^e section of the middle clashes of England, anything
is welcome to the women which ofFcis them any sort of harmle»i refuge
from the established tyranny of the principle that all human happinrss
begins and cuds at home. While the imperious needs of a commercial
country limited the rcpreiicntativcs of the mule sex, among th? doctor's
visitors, to one feeble old man and one sleepy little boy, the women,
poor souls, to the number of no less than sixteen — old and young, mar-
ried and singlo— had seized the golden opportunity of a plunge into public
life. Harmoniously united by the two common objects which they all
had in view — in the first place, to look at each other, and in the second
place, to look at the Sanatorium — they streamed in neatly dressed pro-
cession through the doctor's dreary iron gates, with n thin varnish over
them of assumed snperionty to all unlady-ltke excitement, most significant
and most pitiable to see I
Tiie proprietor of the Sanatorinm received his visitors in the ball with
A KM A DALE.
2IiisGw'ill oil hisann. Tliv liunj^t^- cjres tif every ttoiuaU in clic caittpuiTl
oviu'lociked tbe doclor :ib if no snch persbti liHd vxUled; nnd, flxiAgMtlM
Btiange lady, dcvournl Iivr from bead to ftiot in an inslanl.
" My Finn Inmalo," taid tlw doctor, prMcnling Miaa Gwilt. " Tlu
iniy only arrived liit« lau tiiglit; And ilie lake* Um present opportaniiy
(tli« only one my morning 'a engageiiii'iiba bitvc nlloweJ mc to give licr) of
going over tlie Sanatoriutn. — Allow mc, tua'Ain," be went on, nloaai^
Mioa Gwilt, and giving bis arm to llie eldest Indy among ibt vIitlDn.
"Sbattcred Dcrv«« — dooiosttc nnxivLy," li« wUiapcreJ cvn&dcnltallf.
" Sweet wumnn t tad caw I " IIu sigliwl sotily, and led the old Uiif
acniu ibe Imll.
Tlieflrtkcfvitilortfollr-wed; ^liasCwilt 3<;eonipanviugth«tii in ajleow,
and walking iilonp— among iliem, but not of thcra^tbe laat of all.
" Tbv ground*, ladica and gciitlcmGn," said tlitt doctor, wliftding taml
find addn«iing bid nadii-ncp, fhitu tlie foot of tbe Hlaira, *' are, aa jroH hatx
Ktn, in a juiniiiUy utifinlrJied condilioii. Under any circunutanos,
•liould lay little atr«M on ibe ground*, having llatotxitead Ilcatb » mar
hand, and carriagc'cxcrcixc and borse- exercise b^u; parts of my Sji
la B IcSKT degree It is also necessary for me to aikyour indulgence brilit
bnwment floor, on wliicb wo now stand. Thi' wiiiiinj^-room and aiady
ibat side, aiid ibe Dis[K>usary on tlit' oOicr (to wliicb I sluiU presenllj atk'
jour attention), nrc completed. But tltc large drawing-room ia Mill in
Itie decorator's band*. lu llint room (wbm lliti wnlls are dry— nfi &
tnomcut liefurc) my itimati,^ vriU nMeinble for cbcerful society. Kutliif
will be spared that CAn improvi.^, «Ivvat«, and a<l«rn life, at these
Itlllc gathcfriugK. Every evening, for exniiifk*, tbcrc will b« mwie
those wbo like it."
At tbiii [mint Uinrc vaa a faint slir among tbo viailors. A
of n fiiTiiily iiit>*rru]ite(l ttie ductor. Sbc b(;ggc(] (o know wbelbcr
" c%'<.-ry evening " iuclnded Sunduy evening ; and, if so, wluU mtlsk ni
jpcrfoi-m*d I
, "Sacred niiule, of conrse, ma'am," said ibe doctor. " ITamM ""
Suaduy evening — and Ilaydn occoaionally, when iKit loo cbMrfuL
Bui, iLB I was about lo say, miisic is nut tlio only cnttg-tuinnieat ifil'^
to tny nervous inmates. Amuaiiig reading ia provided ibr tboM irb«
prefer books."
Tberu was anotbur etlr among tbe visiturt. Another motli«r it*
fmnily winhcd to kiinw wlii-lbtT niuusinf; leading meant novcIiL
" Only such nrvclu ns 1 bnve ecloctMl and perused uiytolf, in tbf ftnl
iDslaRCP," said the doclor. " Nothing painful, ma'am I Them may b(
plenty Ibat is painful in real Itfc — but, tor that very reason, we dv''
want it in books. Tbo English novcUul wbo enters my Iioum (uofbrn^
BCVeltst vril! In.- .-idiniiti'tl) nuut miJiirflland bis art on ibc bcalthy-mindol
Engjiab r«adir audeislandi^ it in our time, lie must know tint o"
purer mcdern tastL*, our higher mtnlern morality, Uiniu hira to dttlif
exactly two ibincfl for vs, wbcn he writm us a book. AU vo
I
ARMADALE. CS9
of Iiim is—occauoDully to nialEe us laugh ; and iuvariably to make us
comfortable,"
There was a third stir among the vitsitoi'S — caused plainly ihia time,
by approval of the sentiments which they had just heard. The doctor,
friitcly cantious of disturbing the favourable impression thcit he had pro>
duced, dropped the subject of the drawing-room, and led the way upstairs.
As before, the company followed — and, as before, Miss Gwilt walked silently
behind them, last of oU. One after another, the ladies looked at her with
the idea of speaking, and saw something in her face, utterly unintelligible
to them, which checked the well-meant words on their lips. The prevalL'ut
impreaaion was, that the Principal of the Sanatorium hud been delicately
concealing the truth, and that his first inmate was mad.
The doctor led the way — with intervals of brealhing-time accorded to
the old lady on hia arm — straight to the top of the house. Having
collected his visitors in the corridor, and having waved hia hand
indicsdvely at the numbered doors opening out of it on either side, lie
invited the company to look into any or all of the rooms at their own
pleasure.
" Numbers one to four, ladies and gentlemen," said the doctor, " include
the dormitoriee of the attendants. Numbers four to eight are rooms
intended for the accommoduUon of the poorer class of patients whom I
receive on terms which simply cover my expenditure — nothing more. In
the caaea of these poorer persons among my suffering fellow-creatures, per-
sonal pie^ and the recommendation of two clergymen are indispensable to
odmiasioo. Those are the only conditions I make ; but those I insist on.
Pray observe that the rooms are all vendlated, and the bedsteads all iron ;
and kindly notice as we descend again to the second floor, that there is a
door shutting off all communication between the second atory and the top
story, when necesaary. The rooms on the second floor, which we have
now reached, are (with the exception of my own room) entirely devoted
to the reception of lady-inmates — experience having convinced mc that
the greater sensitivenesa of the female constitution necessitates the higher
position of the sleeping apartment, with a view to the greater purity and
freer circulation of the air. Here the kdi^s are established immediately
under my care, while my aaMstant-physician (whom I expect to arrive
in a week's time) looks after the gentlemen on the floor bencatli.
Observe, again, aa we descend to this lower, or first floor, a second door,
closing all communication at night between the two stories to every one
but the asastant-physician and myself. And now that we have reached
the gentlemen's part of the house, and that you have observed for your-
■elvea the r^;tdations of the establishment, permit mc to introduce you to
a Bpeoitnen of my system of treatment next. I can exemplify it prac-
tically, by introducing you to a room fitted up, under my own directions,
for the accommodation of the most complicated cases of nervous suffering
and nervous delusion that can come under my care."
Ho threw open the door ot a room at one extremity of the corridor,
690 ^^^^^ AUMADALE.
Mtimberod Pour. **T«ok in, Inlks »ii'l gaitlmwn," b« 1^6; "nrf.if
yon tec anything rctnorkaMc, pray mctiticn it."
TTie room *» not vny larg*, Imlit wa« well lit by onetwadwtndwr.
Ootnfbruibljr fumi«heil aa n liRlinoin, it waji only rrmxr^ahlc xmong otlio
lootttt of Uic Nttns scrt, in one irBy. It hitd no fir«placc. Tbc ritdtcn
luHng DOtiond iliifl, were intbmtc<l thnt ihe room wnj warmed fnwintir
Iry tneana of hot'-wsttr ; and ircrc llicn inrilcJ buck aeaia into t!ie rarrido',
to tn»ko the d!«eoreriM, under praftiAlonftI diroclion, nhidt tbcy vm
Viinb!« to mnWc for llieinwlvM.
" A word, ladies anil geiill«mf n," »i(J the doctor ; *' lilvmlly s wnJ,
en ncnrcus dentngement finl. What is llie pntffss of traitmcnt, miia.
let IIS ny, mental anxiety has broken jou down, and yoa api>ly to yooi
doctor? Ue k«b you, Wan yon, and glvc« yon l«o jorvncripeioni On«
b wHUon on pRf«r, uui luadd up tt tb« «)ipnitn**. Tlin oih^r ta tidsii-
oiMtrcd by word of mouth, nt ihc jiropiltoua motnmt when the Iw n
Icady ; and eoniiiU in a general rrcoutncndation to you to Ict^p yon
BiiDd turf. That exceUent adTice giTcn, your doctor learm jon to tfon
yoaraeli'all esrlhly anaoyaocn by your own nnBtdi>] cQbrts, until ht oIU
again. Hen*, my Synom irtci>a in, and ht-lpn you t Wh«n J rtt tht
Bcccasity of kcejung your mind ctvtv, I rake lh« bult by tlie boma aoJ Jo
' it for yon. I place yo« in n spliwe of aetioo rii which the tco lbo«mnJ
tntlM whieh miut, nnd do, irritate nervoiix |>eopttf nt home, »n expm^
oonajdeird nnd proridcd against. I throw up imprpgnablc moral entrsieh-
tnrats bolwpOTi Worry nnd ToU. Find a dow han;^inff In tUs boQM, if
y-ou can ! Cnlrli a wrrant in thtt hoiiK, rattling the tea-tbicgn whn W
takes awny the tray t Oiseorer barking dogs, crowing cocks, hammfrins
worbnen, screoching childmi htre — and I nigage to close My SnnatOTiiBi
to-morrow! Arc thwc nuisances Inughing matters to iicr\-i>na pecfhT
AhIc thcml Can they faciipe these nuinaeca nt homit ? Ask theot
Will ttoi minutc-s' Irrilation ttom a barking dog or a itcroochlf^ tkW,
undo erery atom of good done to a nervous t>iiSi>r«r by a monthV kmM
treatment 7 There isn't n competent doctor in England who will nolon
to deny it! On lho» phtin grounds my Systctn is bnsetl. 1 assett A*
ini-ilic.1l treatment of ntrvous siifIV.+ing to be entirely subudiaty (o ti*
nioral trentmvnt of it. That moral trntmcnt of it, yon find hen. 1W
moral tr«alincnt, aedulously punued throoghotit the day, fbllovf tlM
anftrcr into his room at night ; and wyvthcs, helps, and cures htm, willloW
Ilia own knowlDdga — you ehiitl *PC hnw."
Tlie doctor pouiied to take hrealh : and looked fcr tht first tiioe tfW
the visil*r9 lad entered iTiehome, «t MisaGnill. Forlheflret time, 6»hf
Btd(!, Ac Btopp«d forward smong the audience^ and loc4;ed nt kin in tecvm
After a mommtiiry obelruiition in Ihc whapccf a eowgli, the doctor wcslM'
" Say, Indie* and gentlatnen," he prooeedod, " that mj patient Im* j*
onme hi. His mind is one mass of nerrona fancim nnd eapriev, "Iik*
Ilia friend* (nilh ll.o btst powihtc inlenliona) hare \ttcn IgnortstiT
irritaling at Iwmo. They liaTe been afraid of him, for ioatmici*, at stglt
i
J
AHHADALE. $91
They have fiwced him to have aomebody to eleep in the room ■with liim,
or, they have forbidden him, in case of accidents, to lock his door. He
comes to me the first night, and saj^, 'Mind, I von't hare anybody in
my room I ' — ' Certainly not ! ' — ' I insist on locking my door.' — ' By nil
means I' In he goes, and locks hie door; and there he is, soothed and
quieted, predisposed to confidence, predisposed to sleep, by having his
own way. ' This is all very well,' you may say j ' but sappose something
happens, sappose he has a fit in the night, what then 7 ' Yon shall eee 1
Hollo, my young fnend 1 " cried the doctor, suddenly nddreesing die
sleepy little boy. " Let's have a game. Ton riiall be the poor sick man,
and I'll be the good doctor. Go into that room, and lock the door.
There^ a brare boy 1 Hare yoo locked it 7 Very good. Do you think
I can't get at you if I like ? I wait till you're asleep, — I press this little
white button, hidden here in the etencilled pattern of the outer wall — the
mortice of the lock indde falls back silently against the door-post — and I
walk into the room wlienerer I like. The same plan is pursued with the
window. My capriCTous patient won't open it at night, when he ought,
I humour him again. ' Shut it, dear sir, by all means I ' As soon as he
is asleep, I pull the black handle hidden here, in the comer of the wall.
The window of the room inside noiaeleaaly opens, as you see. Say the
patient's caprice ia the other way — he persists in opening the window
when he ought to shut it. Let him I by all means let him I I pull a
second handle when he ia snug in his bed, and the window noiselessly
closes in a moment. Nothing to irritate him, ladies and gentlemen —
absolutely nothing to irritate him I But I haven't done with him yet.
Epidemic disease, in spite of all my precantions, may enter this Sanato-
rium, and may render the purifying of the sick-room necessary. Or the
patient's case may be complicated by other than nervous malady — say, for
instance, OBthmatio difficulty of breathing. In ihe one case, fumigation
is necessary : in the other, additional oxygen in the air will give relief.
The epidemic nervous patient says, ' I won't be smoked under my own
nose ! ' The asthmatic nervous patient gasps with terror at the idea of a
chemical explosion in his room. I noiselessly fumigate one of them ; I
noiselessly oxygenize the other, by means of a simple Apparatus fixed
outside in the corner here. It is protected by this wooden casing ; it is
locked with my own key ; and it communicates by means of a tube with
the interior of the room. Look at it ! "
With a preliminary glance at Miss Gwilt, the doctor unlocked the lid
of the wooden casing, and disclosed inside nothing more remarkable than
a largo stone jar, having a glass funnel, and a pipe communicating with
the wall, inserted in the cork which closed the mouth of it. With another
look at Miss Gwilt, the doctor locked the lid again, and asked in the
blantjest manner, whether his Syrtem was intelligible now 7
-" I might infroiluce you to all sorts of other contrivances of the .ennjc
kind," he resumod, loading the way downstairs — "but it would Im only
the same thing over and over ngain. A nervous patient who alwoys hat
hi* own waj, i« n nervous pn(i«Ql «1» is nerer worried — jmil a Bcmm
jxitu-nt vrha u never wnrricd, is ■ nervous juliciit ciired. Hwre U U in
n nutaheU ! — Comtt ftod KC Ui« Diq^oaary, UdJM ; tbo Diipcntar/ asJ
tlie kitclien neat ! "
Once more, MtMGwilt drofijwd IwIiiiKl ihu viiitori, and vmiiod alooc —
looking ttMdlkaclj at the Room irhicli the doctor lad op«acd, and «t tW
Appiralua wliidi ihc doctor had unlocked. Again, witliout m vurd
puung between them, ehe bad uaderetood hua. Sbs knew w wdl n if
lio httd oonfomod it, thai he wM oradilj' putltng UiS docmbij tcufiWiH
in h«T xiny, before witneaws who could speak to the NUperfidally-iBneoMI
acts vliich they hud kcd, if anjrtbing ktious happened. Tb« A;^
ntni, originally cotwtrucUHl to lei-ve the porpoge of the doctor's nedied
crotchets, was evidently to he put to some other use, of vliich the doota-
himnelf had probabl/ never dreamed till now. And the chnnc«B vntt
thut beTore th« day vz» orer, thai otlier uw would be privulvly rrmW
to her nt the right luoinent, in tli« prcscnoo ti the right vitnc«.
"Armad&lc will die this time," ihtf enid to horseir as slie ireal itont;
down the hlEun. " The doctor will kill him, hy my baada."
'Xlie vialora wero in thu DLiq>ctuary when alie joined tbun. All ih*
Indies were admiring llie licautjr of tlic antique ovbinet; and, as n ni^Mf
aary consequence, all the ladies were d«iirou« of icciag what was tnvde.
The doctor — after a preliminary look iil Misa Gwilt — good-htiffl9iiT«dl/
aliook his head. " There is nothing to interest you inside," ba and.
*' Nuitiinjf but tovi of little shabby bolUes containing the poisotts umI ib
medicine wliiuh T koep under lock and key. Come to the kitchen, ladi^
and honour me with your adrioc on domestic matters bdow alairSi." Haj
ghmeed again at Mi« Gwilt ns the oompany crosacd the hall, with abotj
which said plainly, " Wait here."
In anoUuT quu.rter-or-An-li<%nr, ilio doctor had ex[ioundifd lus Tiewt tt\
eookory and diet, and the visitors (duly furnished with prorpectttaes) »en |
taking lenve oC him at the door. "Quite an intvllcclual tmt I" thTJ
sail! to euch other, as they atrcamed out ngmn in neatly -dreaaod
llirongh the iron galea. " And what n very miperior man I "
The doctor tiu-ncd bnck to the Pi^ptfosary, humming abwatly !•
himself, and fnilinj; entirely to obscrvo tlic comer of the ]|«U in wUck
Min OwiU «too<3 retiroJ. After an instant's hcajtation, the roUoved Ua>
Tho atnalanb was in the room when ahv entered it — summoned lij bi*
employer the moment before.
" Doctor," she said, coldly and meclinnioillr, as if ate was rvpcatnea
liMon i " i atn &» curioiu as ihc other ladies about that pretty eahawtof
yours. Now tlw^y nre all gone, won't you show the iiuide of it to mif
the doctor l»ug;hed io his plcussatttt miinner,
"The old atory," l»o aald. " lUiiu-Kwnl'a looked chamber, «^
ftmale cnrtoaity I (Don't go, Benjamin, dou't go.) }tSy daat lady, vhtf
iutenrri can yott poinbly have in looking at a locdtcal bottla^ mm^
iK'cauae it happ«aa lo be a bottle of poison ? "
ARMADALE. 693
Slifi repeated her lesson for the second time.
" I hvre the interest of looking at it," ehe said, " nnd of thinking if it
got into some people's hands, of the terrible things it might do."
The doctor glanced at hia assistant with a compassionate smile.
*' Curions, Benjamin," be said ; " the romantic view taken of these
drugs of ours by the unscientific mind. My dear lady," he added, turning
again to Miaa Gwilt, " if that is the interest you attach to looking at
poisons, yon needn't ask me to unlock my cabinet — you need only look
about you round the shelves of this room. There are all sorts of medical
liquids and substances in those bottles — most innocent, most useful in
tbemselrea — which, in combination with other substances and other liquids,
become poisons as terrible and as deadly as any that I have in my cabinet
under lock and key."
She looked at him for a moment, and crossed to the opposite side of
the room.
" Show me one," she said.
Still smiling as good-humouredly as ever, the doctor humoured hia
nervous patient. He pointed to the bottle from which be had privately
removed the yellow liquid on the previous day, and which he had filled up
again with a careAilty-colonred imitation, in the shape of a mixture of his
own.
" Do you see that bottle 7 " he said ; " that plump, round, comfortable-
looking bottle? Never mind the name of what is inside it; let us stick
to the bottle, and distinguish it, if you like, by giving it a name of our
own. Suppose we call it 'our Stout Friend?' Very good. Our Stout
Friend, by jumself, is a most harmless and useful medicine. He is freely
dispensed every day to tens of thousands of patients all over the civilized
world. He has made no romantic appearances in courts of law ; he has
excited no breathless interest in novels ; he has played no terrifying
part on the stage. There he is, an innocent, inoffensive creature, who
troubles nobody with the responsibility of locking him up I Sut bring
him into contact with something else — introduce him to the acquaintance
of a certain common mineral Substance, of a universally accessible kind,
broken into fragments ; provide yourself with (say) six doses of our Stout
Friend, and pour those doses consecutively on the fragments I have men-
tioned, at intervals of not less than five minutes. Quantities of little
bubbles will rise at every pouring ; collect the gas in those bubbles ; and
convey it into a closed chamber — and let Samson himself be in that closed
chamber, our Stout Friend will kill him in half-an-hour I Will kill him
■lowly, without his seeing anything, without his nmelling anything, without
hi* feeling anything but sleepiness, \yill kill him, and tell tlic whole
College of Surgeons nothing, if they examine him after death, but that lie
died of apoplexy or congestion of the lunga 1 What do you think of that,
my dear lady, in the way of mystery and romance 7 Is our Iiarnilesa
Stout Friend as interesting tioa as if he rejoiced in the terrible popular
&mc o! the Arsenic and the Strychnine which I keep locked up there 7
604 ^^^^^"^ AUMADAI.B.
Dgo'i Mippoae I an cz^ggemiD!^ ! Doa'l wppoM I'm mTOOiag » tlacf to
pfU you off trilh, u ifau cIuUku njr. Ajd: Bei^kaun, tlun^" buI
tlw doctor, appCBling lo hbi aansUal, wuh bii aj-m fixed OD Ui»
GwilL " A^ D«aj«uiu," lie repealed, vritk Ike ^^^a(^i<^rt *inpbiwft t» tk*
D«xi vrortU, " it* six doitea from Uuit 1>otll«, at iaUrrali* of fi«« nintiU*
cnofa, would noil andcr titu coaditiom I Iwre lUtcd, prodiwe ths nmlti I
bore doKri bed 1"
The II«Bid«iU DUpaoHT, nudcailjr adoiiriog Min Guilt nl a. duusce,
Rtarted nod coloarcd op. He nia pUinly gruLitwd \^y Uie UtU« •UcaUm
which hw) inclutU'd liim in tho oaTcrsatioo.
" l*bo dixlor i* i|uiic ri^lit, lua'ua,'* he jaid, addreaaiog MIm Gvili,
widi lui belt bow, " Ui6 productioiL of Uto gu, utcnded ovir tuif u
lioDT, would be quitu gnidual enough. And," «dd«d tli« Diiywag,
aUently sppeating to liis empUij-ar to left lum exliibit a little cbaual
knowledge on bin own luicotint, "ilic volume of tke gaa would ba nlfi-
cicnt at tliv end of the lime — if I am tuc mistalMD, lir t — lo bo tiai t«
an; p«faou eatcrisg the tmna^ in kfla than Jive ninntcs."
** Uiifliiefllio(iAU7, Boiyamin," rcjoiiiod the doctor. " But I tbiid:
wv have bad enongh of clinntitr; itir the prcaeuli" lie addod, taiuag le
Miaa Gwilt. *' Willi cvciy d«Bir«, inj diior lodjr, to gratify e««7 |*u*iV
wish you may form, t vcuturc to propose trjiog u mure cheerful tulgiU.
Suppoao wc Icare the Diepeuary, bcCoro it niggcata any nor* iaqdiia
to tiinC notivo mind of }'ou»7 No 7 Yoit want to see an exp«ric»Mlf
Toil want io aeo how the Ultlu bubbles arc made t Woll, « uU 1 ili«n ii
no harm in thnt. Wo AVJU lut Hia. AmuuhUe acv tbe uubhlM^" OW-
tiiituvl the daalor, in tlia looc of a lorcfit humourmi; a ipoik liiiii.
*' Try if you con fiaJ a tevi of tiioao fragmeuta thai we waat« Bajauin.
1 dnrueay the workmen (alorcaly Allows 1) luive left tovnctlkatg of tM
■ort about the botiae or the grounds."
The Seodenl Diapenser left the room.
Aa eoon as his back was turned, the doctor began optouag aMl
abutting drawera in Tarioua parta of the d!sp«n«ary, with tho air of a ma
who wwitii Mmething in u harry, and doesD'l luiow wh«ra to finA ik
* BlMt my aoul I " he exclaiiooil, suddenly atc^iping at the drawer hoe
whinh ho bad taken his carda or invitation en the pverioua day, *'«kii't
ttilT A key? A dupKcnte key, aa I'm alrre^ of my AuAigating Aff»-
rntiia npalairs ! Oh d«ar, denr, liow careleaa I get," Raid the docM;
luTiiing round briskly to Mim Gvrill. *'I hadn't the )i-aat idea ihrt i
poaateaed ihiu (ceond kty. I ahould never hant miwe*! it. 1 Js ,^mt
jou I iihould never 1ia.Tu miaaed it, if anybody had takm \n <nU df d*
drawer I" He b«Ml«d away to the other «od of the rimm nifcii
ekxing the drawer, and wilhout taking Bwjtr the dnpliijitee kry.
In aiknce, Mim Gutll lisknrd till be lud done. In silence, At cBW
lo the drawer. In ailencc, xbo look the key and hid it in bar 4«>
pocket.
'Jlio Dispmeer oamo beck, with the fragmenia required of Um, ci^
<
AltilADALB. 695
kctcd in a baun. " Thank you, Beojamui," said the doctor. " Kindly
cover thfltn with water, while I get the bottlu down."
As accidents fiometimes happen in the moat perfectly regulated
fiimiliee, so clnmsinesfi sometimes possesses itself of the most perfectly-
disciplined hands. In the process of its transfer from the shelf to the
doctor, the bottle slipped, and fell smashed to pieces on the Hoar.
" Oh, my fingers and thumbs 1 " cried the doctor, with an air of
comic vexation, " what in the world do you mean by playing me such a
wicked trick aa that? Well, well, well — it can't be helped. Have we
got any more of it, Benjamin 7 "
" Not a drop, air."
" Kot a drop ! " echoed the doctor. " My dear madam, what excuses
can I otEet you 7 My clumsiDess haa made our little experiment impos-
sibk: for to-day. Bemind me to order some more to-morrow, Benjamin
— and don't think of troubling yourself to put that mess to rights. I'll
send the man here to mop it all up. Our Stout Friend is harmless enough
now, my dear lady — in combination with a boarded £oor and a coming
mop I I'm BO sorry ; I really am so sorry to have disappointed you."
With thoae loothiag words, he offered his arm, and led Mias Gwtlt out of
the ^i^nsary.
"Have you done with ms for the present?" she asked when tliey
were in the hall.
" Oh dear, dear, what a way of putting it ! " exclaimed the doctor.
" Dinner at ax," he added with his politest emphasis, .-is she turned
from him in disdainful silence, and dowly mounted the stairs to her
own room.'
A clock of the noiaeleas sort — incapable of offending irritable nerves —
was fixed in the wall, above the first-floor landing, at the Sanatorium. At
the moment when the hands pointed to a quarter before six, tho silence of
the lonely upper regions was sofUy broken by the rustling of Miss Gwilt's
dress. She advanced along the corridor of the first-floor — paused at the
covered Apparatus fixed outside the room numbered Four — listened for
a moment — and then unlocked the cover with the duplicate key.
The open lid cast a shadow over the inside of the cosing. All she saw
8t first, was what she had seen already — the jar, and the pipe and glass
funnel inserted in the cork. She removed the funnel ; and, looj^ing about her,
observed on the window-nill close by, a wax-tipped wand used for lighting
the gas. She took the wand, and, introducing it through the aperture
occupied by the funnel, moved it to and fro in tlie jar. The fiunt splasli
of aonu liquid, and the grating noise of certain hard substances which she
van stirring about, were the two sounds that caught her car. She drew
out the wand, and cautiously touched the wet left on it with the tip of her
tongn*. Caulion was quite needlcsa in this case. The liquid was —
water.
In pitUiog tha funnel back in its place, she noticed something £iintly
ATWAT»ALR
, ll)>nir.g it) ll« ol«curt>!>--Ut vacant apaoo at Uwnfc of tlM Jar.
it tilt, and prodacKd ■ rbTpIv Flask. Tbe Iii]iiU witb which it «m!
■bowed iuTt throDgh the tnBt|Mreiit coloaring of Um glaas; nai, batmi \
M regular intcmil* Oouro one eiJe of tlie Fliod;, wnx six tbia ttripi «f '
pMfa-r nliicfi iliwided tlic contents into ux eciiul puts.
Tiicrc waa no donbt now, that Uie Ajiporatua had been aecmljr pee- '
parol for her — tb4 Afparalos of which tbe akot (bttidcx th« d»ctor) '
poweued tb*- key.
Sw put back iIm Fkak, and locked the oorer of the oa^ng. Fori
m nonnnt, she P.tiN>il looking at it, with the key in b«rhand. Ooaaoddot,!
her loat colour came 1>ack. On a luddcii, iu natunl aninutioii t«tiiiBod,|
ftir tlic fint timi: that da;, to li«r liioe. She turned and httrried hnaih- 1
lc<*ly ujialain lu her room on th« E«ooD<t Aoor. With eager haodt, lh*J
tchcd ber cloak out uC tli« wnnlrobe, and took her bontiet
I'box. " I'm not in pnwtn I" the bunt out impctaoiuljr. '■ Vrt \
\-tBte of oiy limbs I I cui go— no matter whiav, as long as I am etA
thin licmsc ! "
With licr clofele on her shoulders, with her honntc In her hand, the ,
crowed the room to the door. A moment more — and she would baTC ben-
out in tlio passage. I» thnt momoDt, tbe rcD>«mbranoc fladwd hack do ^
her of tlie litislinnd whom slio had denied to hia lace, tiha tt^f^ti
lattanliy, and tbrenr tbu cloiik and bontiet from birr on ibe bed. "No'"
■ho said. " The gulpb is dug between lu — the wont ii dono I "
I'hi-re wit* a kncicrk at the door. The doctor's voice outcide, polilol/
romi))dvd her ihat it wn> nx o'clock.
8ho opviied the door, nnd stopped him an hU way dowiutiira.
" Wlint time is the train due to-Dight 7 " nhi: naked in a whinixr
" At Ion," im*werc<l llic doctor, ia a voice wltidi all the world might
bimr, and welcome.
" What room ia Mr. Armadulo to have when be comes T "
*' Wliflt room would you like him to harn 1 "
" Numlwr Four."
Tbe dock'r kept up appcaniuoe* to the verjr luL
'* Niiml^er Four let it be," he said gracioasly. " Provided, of ecmnr,
Ihal Number Four la unoccupied at the dnie."
Tlie (•Vfii'tug wore nn, and ihe night came, '
At a few tniiiutos bi?lbru ten, Mr. Biishwood was again at bis pMt;
onoc more on the watch for the cuming of t!ie tidal train.
'I'lic inspector on duty, who knew him by sight, and who had Mr-
aMuilly aicerlainiid thu hit regular nltcndanco at the tcrminua Implnd n)
dciigna im the purses and portmanleaua of the paaiengcnt, noticed two
bcw drcumstaacea in connection with Mr. Bashwood that night. In th
lirtt pIiiM, inslCAd of exhibiting hia customary cbeerfulneaa, he looktd
nnxiuits mill dvprenrd. Id thu i>pcond place, while be was wntchinffliir
ihe train, Ke was to all itpi>«iraDc« being witkhcd in bin turn, by a ilm>
AltSfABAtE.
(larb, undernscd man, who hnd lufl Iiis luggage (nurkcd trith the name
of Midwinter,) iil itio euKlom-hoitio department ehe cvenmg before, xnd
who bid returned to liave it ezaminuJ ulwut liitlf nn liour siiiM.
Wb»l liiul brought Midwinter to th« tcrniin'us J And why was he, too,
wailing for tbo tidal train 7
After siTiiying aa jar n.s Ilcndon during his lonely wfilk ofihc preriuuft
night, bo bad taken ri^fugn at tho rillngc inn, itn'l Imd fiill«Q auUcp (rioin
ab«er «xhxiwtioii) towards ihoAO Uter hours of the morning, which were
tho houni thai his wift's fi'rwiight hud turned to account. \^'hen he
rcttiniMl to the lodging, iho landlady could only infonn him llrnt htr
Mnant had settled t;verythins with her, and had left (for irhnt dMttnation
n«ilh«T she nor liirr servant could Icll) more ih.tn two hours fincc.
llnring given snme litLlt! lime lo imiuirion, the rotrnlt of which con-
viocird 1)1111 thut the ctu<* wus \oM »o lar, lilidwintcr hod quitted ihu housp.
and hnd pursued Lis way ineohanicnlly to the busier and more central
puu of tlie metropolis. With the light now thrown on hi» wife's character,
la call at the nddrcu nlic had givcQ lum M the addrew at whicli her
molhvr lived would be plainly iwli^sn. H» went on through the Btrcets,
rraoliitc to diKorer her, and Irjing vainly (o see the mi-nns lo his end,
till the erase of fntigne furecd itsull' on liini once more. Stopping to reat
and Ttcrnit his atrength at thu first hotel ho came to, a chance disjiuiu
botwocn the waiter nnd a etratigcr about a lost porltnantcau remindrd
htm of hia own luggnge, left At the ti-rmimiB, nnd inslantly took his mind
back to thf circtini stances under which he and Mr, Basbwood hail met.
la a moment more, lh« idea that ho bad brcn vainly Becking on his way
through the streets flashed on hlni. In » moment more, he had determined
Ut try thti Ghauc« of Hiidlag the stewanl again no the watch for the
p«rson whoie arrival ho had evidently expected by tlie provions even-
ing's train.
JgnoraDt of the report of Allan's death nl wa ; uiiinfchrujcd, at the
lerriblo interview with hts wife, uf tha purpoKo which licr assumption of
a widow's drms really hud in vitw, MiJniiiier'n Hist va^nic BU5picion!i of
ber Gdeltly had now inevitably developed inle the conviction that ehe was
Alia. He oould placo but one interprctatjoa on her npen disavowal of
Iiim, and on her taking the uanic under which ho bad accretly married
her. H«r condoct forced iho ciinclusion on hiia that the was engaged in
some in&mouB intrigue ; and that she hud basely secured heraolf bcfore-
baod in the jioaition of alt oihort in which iho knew it would be moat
odiona sod moat repellent to hiin In claim his authority over her. With
that conviction he wnji now walching Mr. Bu»Iiwood, firmly perxu;»ded that
tiia wife's hidinfi;- placet wa* known to \hv vile wi-viint of hia wife's vices—
And darkly siispocling, .1* tliu liinu wore ttn, ilint the unknown man who
had wrongnl him, and the unknown traveller fur whose arrival the
•tvWard was wailing, were one and tho same.
Tbo train was lat» that night, and tho earrlng<« were more than
tunallj crowded when they arrivod at IasI. Midwiotci became involved
Toi- xni.— KO. 78. Vk.
eaa
ARHAn^LTJ!.
in Iha conranon on tbo pJatAnm. and in tha ttCari tn cxtricaTQ hinirlf bi
lost «gb( oTJilr. Biuliwood for the fiM tin«.
A kipM of t^mo few minutes liai] punJ bofcre ho a^atii diiccnnid
tliB slewnrd tslkiog niferlx 1» a nan in k Icxow nha^cj coat, vhaae Iwk
was lurncd towattlf httn. For)i«tfuI r>r nil tht ctuiiMu and rcaltamu
tylikll he bi»d tmposMl on bimwir btCan the train appMtvd, Midwinirr
' ikfttDtljr a^Tknced na tHcm. Mr. Bnltwotxl mw lits tbrcataaing fine o
h» MiM QD, and fell bock in sihrncc. Tim mm in iha lna«e cost tnn«l
to ]ogk «li<?it> the ktcward wu lootiinfr, and tlncloanl to MidvinMr. in ik
CM liglit or thn tiMtiou-)anip, Alljin't fiicc I
for ilio moment iliQf Soili ktood ijwcclileM, band in lund, leafcnii al
cneh oilier. Allan vnt llip Gr»t In rncnrer himwlf.
*' Thank Gcd tar ilii* ! ' he laid r«-rTeatly, "1 don't ntk botrjrouaiM
htm — it's Li)oiigb for mo that ynn hnvp cocne. His«>t»bl(i nemt bai Bvt
mu already. }lidwiolor. Nal)ody hut jou can oomfiirt mr, and bdp OM ta
bcvr it." ilia mice fillered orcr theaa Urt wor<h, and bo mij bo mntv.
Hie tone in nhtcb b« had cpokco roii>cil Midtrinicr to uif«l li*
otrounalancea m tbay vcR, by appcotiiig 1o the old gnitcful intetm io hit
rriend which had oneo licen rho foremoit intcirat of hia lif*. Ha maaund
hia persona] misiTy for the first time tinw n lnw) l-illra an htm, lod geptlj
(■king Allnn oiidc, oaked what luu) happAn(>d.
Tlie anawer — after inbrming him of hU fn«nd'> rrpoitetl death at as
— announced (on Mr. Bahmod'a aiitlionty) that the ntrwn Imd nwlud
Niai Milroy, and thai th« deplorabla nmh of the ^ook ihna iafn^ffd, W
obligtd ilie tiiajar to liAce liia duo^hler in the neighbour booil of Loadr«i»
under mcdictil caif-
Betbre aayinj; » tronl on his riiit!, Mi'lwiiitet' looked diKtniufiiBf
behind him. Mr. Ilaahttrood had follovrd tbcm. Mr. Bubiaood
wnlching to ie« what thuy did ntxt,
'MVm ho waiting your arrival her* to Utl ¥Aa this khonl
Milroy 1 " n«kcd Midwinlcr, looking Imck ngain from the ateward lo
" Yea," aojd Atitu. " H« baa bi'm kindly woilinf h«i«, n^ht «Aa
sight, lo meet me, sad break llie n«wa to me."
Midwinter paused onco more. Tha attempt (o reouafile tlio coaclunes
he had dntwit frfim hia triri^'a rondnct with thu diwovery thai Allan *■*
the maa tat trhnsr nirlYal Mr. liwdiwood hnd been iraiiiu^. nat bopelr*
The ooe preaent eltance of die^overiiig n truer eblntion of tba inratoyi
waa to pren the sicward on the one nrxilable point in which ha hid
liioiaclfopen In atlack. He bad podtiroly denied on (he ]ireviou* evaodaf '
itiat ha koQv imrthing of Allan 'h mnvnnonu), 'tr ilint bo had my iutMail
in Allan's rchirn to Fugtnnd. Hnving (Wt<^cliil Mr. Baalivocd in oBib
lold to hini»elfi Uidwiulcr iiuLtnlly eiupeoted hiui of teltiag aaDtbert*
AUnn. He »cizcd the nppottuaily of aiJ'ting the sUt^ttMot ^bonl Xii
MilioY on (he npol.
" Hen- }..-ir.3 y•^^ hccon)« aciinaiatcd. W-ith lhi» sad Duira? "* be tti|aiR?I|
fuming sudUmly on Mr. baeliirood.
idaffl
AltMADALB. 699
" Through the major of course," said Allan, before the steward could
answer.
" Wlio is the doctor who has the care of Jfiss Milroy?" persisted
Midwinter, Btill ttddressing Afr. Bashwood.
For the second time the Btcward made no reply. For tlie flecond
, time, Allan answered for him.
"He ia a inan with a foreign name," said Allan. "He keeps a
Sanatorium near Hampstead. What did y6\i mj the place was called,
Mr. Bashwood?'*
" Fairwcather Vale, sir," B.iid the steward, answering his employer as
a matter of necessity, but answering very unwillingly.
The address of the Sanatorium instantly reminded Midwinter that he
had traced his wife to Fairweather Vale Villas the previous night. Ua
began to see light through the darkness, dimly, for the first time. The
instinct which comes with emergency, before thQ slower process of reason
can assert itself, brought him at a leap to the conclusion that Mr. Dash-
wood — who had been certainly acting under hia wife's influence the
previous day — might be acting again under his wife's influence now. Ho
persisted in sifting the steward's statement, with the conviction growing
firmer and firmer in his mind that the statement was a lie, and that hia
wife was concerned in it.
" la the major in Norfolk ? " he asked, " or is he near his daughter in
London 7"
'^ In Nwfolk," said Mr. Ba.<<hwood. Having answered Allan's look of
inqairy, instead of Midwinter's spoken question, in those words, he hesitated,
looked Midwinter in the fuce lor the first time, and added, suddenly, " I
object, if yon please, to be cross-examined, air. I know what I have
told Mr. Armadale, and I know no more."
The words, and the voice in which tiiey were spoken, were alike at
Taiiance with Mr. Bashwood's usual language and Mr. Bashwood's usual
tone. There was a sullen depression in his face — there was a furtive
distrust and dislike in hia eyes when they looked at Midwinter, which
Uidwinter himself now noticed for the first time. I^fore he could
answer the steward's extraordlnaiy outbreak, Allan interfered.
"Don't think me impatient," he said. "But it's getting late ; it's
B long way to Hampstead. Tm afraid the Sanatorium will be shut up."
Midwinter started. " You are not going to the Sanatorium to-night I "
he excUimed.
Allan took his friend's hand, and wrung it hard. " If you were as
fund of her as I am," he whispered, " you would take no rest, you could get
no sleep, till you had seen tho doctor, and heard the best and the worst he
had to tell you. Poor dear little soul I who knows, if she could only see
me alive and well " The tears came into hia (lyes, aqd he turned
sway his head in silence.
Midwinter looked at liie steward. " Stand hack," -ho said- " I want
to ipeak to Mr. Armadale," There was acmcthing in his eye which it
34—3
V-aa not >al« to trldn with. 3Ir. Bachwood ilrew buck &ut bf hnrin^.
but not oiU of Biglit. Miduinicr laiJ ha hand foiidl/ on fais frkiri'i
aliouUcr.
"Allan," lie said, " I Iibto raaaons " Ho Btopped. Cttuld ilio
nnsooi be given before he hnd fitirl/ nsEsed (liirm hiniseir; At th»t tine,
too, «ail noder tliose circumrimicct? Impossible I "I hava naioitt,"
he nKomod, "for ■dvtNing jroii not to bcli«v« too raadily what Air. Btdi-
v'Mxl may Niy. Don't tell bim lliin, but Tnke the wnruing."
Allan looked nt bia friend in uctoniiiUnicnt. " It was you wbo alvnyi
liVcd Mr. Bashwoodl" he exclaimed. "It was jco wbo trusted kUn,
vrh«ii lie first camo lo the great houae I "
" Pcrlinps I was wrong, Allan, and pt^rhaps yon were right. Will
ymi only wait till we cm telrgnipli to Mujor Milroy nod ^t his answer f
Will you only wait over llio nigtit 7 "
" ] shall go Diiid if I wait over tbe night," raid AiliiD. " Yoo lure
made inc iDorc nnxlotia than I wna before. II' 1 am not b> apeak about it
to Unahwood, I nnist and will go to the Sftnat«riuni, and 6nd out wlidlta
•ho is or ia not tliiTO, from llic doctor liimsclf."
Midwink-r anw that Jt was us«le«|. lu Allaira intcrcsta (here «m
only one olli«r course left to lake. " Will jou l«t mc go with yoa? "Im-
aekcd.
''Allau'sfacc brtgbtencd for the first lime. '* Tou dear, good (clloirt''
lie Bxc1niiiiL<d. "It was the rery thing I was guiug to beg of you tny«df."
MidHintei- beckoned to tlie steward. "Mr. AmmdHlc is going to tbe
SanutoriHrtt," lio aaid, "and I iiicun to accompany hitu. Get acnbul
come with ««."
He waited, to see whctbt'r Mr. Ita^wood would comply. Ilariir^
been Btrictly ordi-rcd, when Allan di'l arrive, not to lose aighl vi him,
aiid having, in bis own interestM, Midwinl4-r')i ui)eX[M?cted ap^tearanoe (o
vjcpluiu to Miss (iwilt, the tteward b-td no vlioioe but lo comply. In
Hulk-n EubmiBsIon lie did as he had boon tuM. Tbe keya of Allaa'i
r baggage were given lo l1ic foreign iravolliiij; servant whom be had
'brooglit witlt bini, and tbe man was instnictivl to wait Ids nioster'a ordeia
Hi the letniiiiua 1iot«i. In d minute more the rah was on iia wij eotcf
llie station — wilb Midwinter and Allan inaide, and with Mr. BMhinod
by lliu drivi'r on tbo box.
I
Cctwtcn cK'ven ond twelve o'clock that uiglil) Mia Gwilt, staixliag
iiloiiC at tlie window which lit tbe eoiridor of the Snnalorium on the
feetmd floor, beard the roll of whecU coming towards l^r. Thewxmd,
gflihcring rapidly in volnino ihroiigb iho sllenee of the londy neuhbow*
hood, slopped at thu iitin gatL':^ In another tninulQ sbe aaw tl)« cab dnv
up beneath her, at the houau duoi-.
The earlier niglit had hern cloudy, but the tky was clearing sow, mi
Ibe moon was out. Sbe opened the wiitdow to »c« aad bear more clearly-
Uy the light of the moon ahoaaw Allnn get out of the cab, aqd tain
ARMADALE. 701
to epeak to nme otlicr person insidi-. The answering voice told licr,
before he appeared in hie turn, that Armadale's companion was her
husband.
The same petrifying influence that had fallen on her at the interview
with him of the previous day, fell on her now. She stood hy the window,
white and still, and ha^nrd and old — as she had stood when she first
faced him in her widow's weeds,
Mr. Bashwood, stealing up alone to the second floor to make his report,
knew, the instant he set eyes on her, that the report was needless. " It's
not my fault," was all he suid, as she slowly turned her head, and looked
at him. " They met together, and there was no parting them."
She drew a long breath, and motioned to him to be silent. " Wnit a
little," she said ; " I know all about it."
Turning from him at those wordn, she slowly paced the corridor to its
furthest end; turned, and slowly came back to him with frowning brow
and drooping head — with all the grace and beauty gone from her, but the
inbred grace and beauty in the movement of her limbs.
" Do you wish to speak to me 7 *' she asked ; her mind far away fioin
him, and her eyes looking at him vacantly as she put the question.
He roused his courage as he had never roused it in her presence yot.
"Don't drive me to despair 1" he cried, with a startling abruptness.
" Don't look at me in that way, now I have found it out I "
" What have you found out? " she asked, with a momentary surprise
in her face, which faded from it again before he could gather breath
enough to go on.
" Mr. Armadale is not the man who took you away from me," he
answered. " Mr. Midwinter is the man. I found it out in your £ice
yesterday. I see it in your face now. Why did you sign your name,
' Armadale,' when you wrote to me ? Why do you call yourself ' Mrs.
Armadale 'BtiU 7"
He ^kc those bold words, at long intervals, with an effort to resist
her iufloence over him, pitiable and terrible to see.
She looked at him for the first time with softened eyes. " I wish I had
piti«d you when we first met," she said gently, " as I pity you now."
He atmggled desperately to go on, and say the words to her which he
had stmng himself to the pitch of saying on the drive from the terminus,
Th^ were words which hinted darkly at his knowledge of her past life;
words which warned her — do what else she might; commit what crimes
•he pleased'-to think twice before she deceived and deserted him again.
In those terms he had vowed to himself to address her. He had the
phnsea picked and choeen ; he had the sentences ranged and ordered
in bis mind; nothing was wanting but to make the one crowning effort
of speaking them — and, even now, af^er all he bad mid, and all he had
dared, the effort was more than he could compass 1 In helpless gratitude,
even for so little as her pity, he stood looking at her, and wept the silent
vomaiuih tears that fall from old men's eiyes.
70S
AimADALl?.
Hb« took Ilia haai Uiil spUie to him — nitii Diw-kod fvf l>eSflK*i blA
wilhoni iho idigUl«it itgn of etnotion oii he* eidv.
"Tuu !.:ivc Mciutd iiliaii]^- at luy iecim-=t," hIic siiiJ. " WaJiaHl*-
murrow, and you ttiti know All. If }-0U tnut notlnii]!; etu (hut 1 Ii»e
told yon. yoii may Irtirt whit 1 tell yon now. Jt unit fnd tty-ni/jht."
As »liv Buid tbc wonli!!, tin- doclor'a tttp w«s limnl cm tbc stAir*. Ur.
BHtbwood drew bii«k fioni Iter, with hi* hesrt l<«Rtiiig fnjit In nnuttonbl«
(>x|)ectBLion. ■ " It will «nd u>>ii%lit I " h« repwti^ to Kitncelf, hnder lui
btcttb. M Iio niuTcd swav ttJwtmlA tlic liir ftid ofllic rorridm-.
"Don't let me disturb rou, «ir," miiil ilie dcwlur, diitM-niHr, ut)irT
met. *' I linirr noiluttg to K'f to Miv. Arniftdale TmU uhnt <koU or >nr-
l)«dr tttajr licnr.*
Mr. liusliwoud Weill c<n, wiiLuiit ■iisw Pi-'inc', to tlie f^r Mil of tkeeor-
ridor, atill rq>«iting to liimtwif, *'lt will end lo-nSglit )" Tlie Awn
^atiii\i% liim in tii<; r')>pc«tl« direction, j<rin«d MiM Gwilt.
" You luiTe heanl, no dtiubt," Iw Iwgan in hi:* hbtKica niunncr nrf
bin roundcft tona, "that Mr. Anundale hut artin-d. fvrniit tuc to aU,
tny dwr leiiy, thnt ihete i* not the Waa wawa for nny Qi-rvotis t^>Iidiiun
C'U ^our part. Uc Imi hcL-n airerullr liiimourud, utd he iii m qtitvi Had
manageable aabis bt«t friends t»fuld wish. 1 hare iufonned him tint it
U impowiblo tQ nllov him nn interrivw with th« yotin^ hidy ta-ttt^lit —
but tinu L« luny count on wcing h«r (with the phi^ier precautloni) al t&<
Wrtiwt pro;iiiiou9 hour, «n«r she is awiike to-mornjw morntnir. A-s three
h no hold iic-ar, nml ns llic pnrpitious hnuf niay occwt nt a momml
Bolicv, it vrua cltMirly inutimbciit on nic, uudur iho |M.-culi«r clnuUftaaofl^
lo offer him the bosjiiialiiy of the Sfln.itoriurn. >I* has Aec«})i«il It wiili
thv utmost graiiluJe ; and hm than\«d me In n RioM ifputi>-iianif »4
~ lonehiitg tuanner for the pninn 1 Unvo taktm to »c-t hia mind at ia».
Perfectly gratifying, ptrfcclly Kili^fiictory. so Isr 1 But then lt» b«Ba J
little hilcl) — now hapiiily got orcr— whivh I thiuk it right to auntlioh t<t fl
}oti before we all retire fbr tiMt night." ^
Karinj pavid tho ^raj in tho«e Wnnh (Hnit in fttr. Bashimoi'i btkriog)
for tb« Blai^uieul which h« h*-! rteviottsly aunwmceii bis Intention cf
making, in the event of Alliin*« dying in llio Sstintoriiiin, tho doetor «M
shout to ]iro«-Rl, HhcD hit tittulion whs ottnictcd by » gotind bebw liLe
(he laying of 1 dwir.
' H<i indnnily tU-scpndetl the «lnir«,an*1 iililoelced thedoor of cotntnuaitt*
Hon brlWi-cn thufinliutd ntvond llotnii, which he hud l0i^(?d behind him oa
|t!«««y \a\i. But the person who tiad tried Ihe door — ifmeb a person tlitft
nqilly had been — ^was too quicli fin- him. IIfIooIikI along Uii> enrridor. anil
OTtr the slaiicoae into the hoi), and disoovcriii'pr nothiiig-. rcLnmffl to 3Gm
C" ill, a/liT ewuring tho door of fofflumniralioii Miind him wac« nicW-
"Pnn1o.-i nif/' )>c rvftumed, "I thought I hmud aotncthinj domW&M
With RfAKl lo the little hiteb that I adrerlcd \*> jtut now, jicmnl nr h<
inftri-iu you that Mr. Annadiile lia« Inmight n friend here wiib him, if^
Iiears lii« stranj^ tnmc uf Midnlnter. Do you khow ibe geutlcmiil
I
I
^
ABMAIiALE. 703
all?" asked the doctor, with a suspicioua anxiety in hia eye^ wliicli
•traogely belied the elaborate indifference of bis tone.
" I know him to be an old friend of &Ir. Armadale's," ahe iaid. " Does
he ? " Her voice failed her, and her eyea fell before the doctor's
Eteady scruliny. She maalered the momentary weukneu, and finished her
qaestion. " Does he, too, stay here to-night ? "
"Mr. Midwinter is a peraon of coarec manners and saapicious temper,"
rejoined the doctor, steadily watching her. "Uewa* rude enough to insist
on staying here as soon as Mr. Armadale had accepted my invitation."
He paused to note the ciTect of those words on her. Left utterly in
the dark by the caution with wliich she had avoided mentioning her
husband's as^uuied name to hiui ut their first interview, the doctor's dis-
trust of her was necessarily of the vaguest kind. He bad heard hur voice
fail her — he had seen her colour change. Hu suspected her of a mental
reservation on the subject of Midwinter — and of nothing more.
" Did you permit him to have hia ivay ? " she asked. " lu your
place, I should have ahown him the door."
The impenetrable composure of her tone wat:ued tiie doctor that her
self-command was not to be further shaken tliat nigbt. He resumed tlie
character of Mrs. Armadale's medical referee on the subject of Mr. Arnia-
dide'a mental health.
"If I had only had my own feelings to couault," he said, " I don't
difiguise from you that I should (as you say) have shown Mr. Midwinter
the door. But on ippciiliog to Mr. Armadale, I found he was himself
anxious not to be parted from his friend. Under those circumstanced,
but one alternative was left, the altei'Uative of htunouriug liim again. The
responsibility of thwarting him — to say nothing," added the doctor,
drilling for a moment towards the truth, " of my natural apprehension,
with such a temper as his friend's, of a scandal and disturbance in the
bouse — was not to be thought of Ibr a moment, Mr. Midwinter accord-
ingly remains here for the night ; aud occupica (1 ought to bay, insists on
occupying) the next room to Mr. Arm&dale. Advise mo, my dear madam,
in this emergency," concluded the doctor, with lui loudest emphaais.
" What rooms shall we put them in, on the lirst Hoor ? "
" Put Mr. Armadale in Number Four."
"And his friend next to him, in number throe?" said tlie doctor.
" Well I well I well I perhaps they are the most comfortable rooms. I'll
give my orders immediately. Don't hurry iiway, Mr. liashwood," he
called out cheerfully na he reached the top of the stiiircose. " I have left
the assistant- physician's key on the window-sill yonder, nod Mrs. Armadale
can let you out at the stalrcaae door whenever she plfaaea. Don't ait up
Jste, Mrs. Armadale I Yours is a nervous system that reijuires plenty of
sleeps ' Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep.' Gmad line I God
bless you — good-night 1"
Mr. Baahwood came back from the far end of the coi-ridor — atill pon-
dsriDgi in unutterable expectation, on whut was to come with the night.
704 ahmadalk.
" Am I to go now ? " he asked.
" No. You are to Btny. I aaid yon sliould know all if jon waited
till the moniiog. Wait here."
He he^tated and looked about him. " The doctor," lie faltered.
*' I thought the doctor swd "
" The doctor will interfere with nothing that I do in this house to-
niglit I tell jou to itay. There are empty rooms on the floor above
this. Take one of them."
Mr. Baahwood felt the trembling fit coming on him again aa he looked
at her. " May I ask- 7 " he began.
" Ask nothing. I want you."
" Will you please to tell me ? "
"I will tell you nothing till the night is orcr and the morning hu
come."
Hia curioaty conqaered his fear. He persisted.
"Is it something dreadful?" he whitpered. "Too dreadful to tell me?"
She stamped her foot with a sudden outbreak of impatience. " Go I*
■he aaid, anatcbing the "key of the staircase door from the window-sill.
" You do quite right to distrust me — you do quite right to follow me no
farther in the dark. Go before the*house is shut np. I can do without
you." She led the way to the stairs, with the key in one Land, and the
candle in the other.
Mr. Bashwood followed her in silence. No one, knowing what be
knew of her earlier life, could have fiiiled to perceive that she was s
woman driven to the last extremity and standing consciously on the brink
of a Crime. In the first terror of the discovery, he broke fn;c from the
hold she had on him — he thought and acted like a man who bad a will of
bis own again.
She put the key in the door, and turned to him before she opened it,
wirh the light of the candle on Iter face. " Forget me, and forgive me,"
she said. " We meet no more."
She opened the door, and, standing inside it, afler he had passed her,
gave him her hand. He had resisted her look, he had resisted her words,
but the magnetic fssciniLtion of her touch conquered him at the final
moment. " I can't leave yon I " he said, holding helplessly by the hnnd
ahe had given him. " What must I do ? "
" Come and see," she answered, without allowing him an instant to
reflect.
Closing her hand firmly on his, she led him along the first-floor corri-
dor to the room numbered Four. " Notice tliat room," she whispered.
After a look over tlie slaii-s to see that they were alone, she retraced her
steps with him to the opposite extremity of the corridor. Here, facing the
window which lit the place at the other end, was one little room, with a
narrow grating in the higher part of the door, intended for the sleqnif
apartment of the doctor's deputy. From the position of thii fo
graUng commanded a view of ^e bed-chamb«n down each
AltMADALE. 70fi
corridor, aad bo enabled iho dcputy-plijsici.in to inform liiniself of any
irregular proceedings on the part of the pntienta under hia care, with liUle
or no chance of being detected in watching them. Miss Gwilt opened the
door and led the way into the empty room,
" Wait here," she said, " while I ro back upslnirB ; and lock yourself
in, if you like. Tou will be in the dark — but the gaa will bo burning in
tlie corridor. Keep at the grating, and make sure that Mr, Armadale
goes into the room I have just pointed out to you, and that he doesn't
leave it afterwards. If you lose sight of the room for a single moment,
before I come back, you will repent it to the end of your life. Jf you do
OS I tell you, you shall see me to-morrow, and claim your own reward.
Quick with your answer ! Is it Yes or No?"
He could make no reply in words. He raised her hand to his lips,
and kissed it rapturously. She left him in tlie ro^m. From his place
at the grating he saw her glide down the corridor to the staircase door.
She passed through it, and locked it. Then there was silence.
The next sound waa the sound of the women-servants' voicca. Two
of them came up to put the sheets on the beds in Number Three and
Number Four. The women were ii* high good-humour, laughing and
talking to each other through the open doors of the rooms. The master's
customers were coming iu at last, they said, with a vengeance ; the liouse
woiild soon begin to look cheerful, if things went on like this.
Afler a little, tlie beds were got ready, and the women returned to the
kitchen-floor, on which the sleeping rooms of tlie domestic servants were
all situated. Then there was ulence again.
The next soi)nd was the sound of the doctor's voice. He appeared at
the end of the corridor, showing Allan and Midwinter the way to their
rooms. They all went together into Number Four. After a little, the
doctor came out Srst. He waited till Midwinter joined him, and pointed
with a formal bow to the door of Number Three. Alidwinter entered the
room without speaking, and shut himself in. The doctor, IcH alone, with-
drew to the Btatrcaae door and unlocked it — then waited in the corridor,
whistling to himself softly, under his breath.
Voices pitched cautiously low became audible in a minute more in the
hall. The Resident Dispenser and the Head Nurse appoared,on their May
to the Dormitories of the Attendants at the top of the house. The man
bowed silently, and passed the doctor; the woman curtseyed silently, and
followed the man. The doctor acknowledged their salutations by a cour-
teous wave of his hand; and once more lef^ alone, paused n moment, still
whistling softly to himself — then walked to the door of Number Fctir, and
opened the case of tlie fumigating apparatus fixed neiir it in the corner of
the wall. As he li^ed the lid and looked in, his whistling censed. lie
took a long purple bottle out, examined it by the gaslight, put it bad;, and
closed tlie case. This done, he advanced on tiptoe to the open sttilrcaKc
door — passed through it — and secured it on the inner side as usual.
Ur. Bashwood had secii him at the apparatus ; Mr, BoKhwood V^
706 AHMAUALE.
noticol i\m Uiutaer «/ ItU wiilnlrAwul (Ufov^ itu alaireaa»-<lo«r. AgtiSB
tho KtiM of nu unutterable exjxicuilitm tlinilibeO at luk LcarU A Utrui
UiKt wu iJour uul cc^ uiul tlcaJlj crept into bii liosd*, nod gunlnl tlictn
ia tliu <liuk to (be Vey that bai^ l>cca lutl for liiiu in tin* mnbt vAt of Ae
door. Hn luni^ U In rajae distriut of. wbot m'l^t bajapni n«xt, aaJ
wiuleili
XIm (low iikinui« pnasMl, aatl notliiiig baii|>on«i]. TIm ntmn «u
liornblst llu tulilude ot' tlie Icmrljr corridor wM s solitode o( iDviribh)
kKaoborifli. ' li« bagtut lo count lo keep hN mind cmplo;«4 — to k«p lit>
own grawing clreaJ away from faim. The nuuib«ra, u lie tcliispenJ
tiienii ibiloved vnd] other sfowlj up to a liundrwl, aud biUI oMbiif
1iap|i«ae<l. He luul begun ths tiicond bundrvd ; ho had /nt on to tmnij
— wlivii, ivitbuut a souud lo betnjr itMl ko bad bcvn movlog^ in Uo mw.
liUlwinlei' sudJvtii/ appourod in tbo oonridor.
He stood {(»■ & uiDinenl uhI liiteneai — ^be ««nl lu tliv Main and I:> ' '
orer tuto the hall bcnenth. Then, for tlie seeond lime ilat ul^tit, be lj:-.
thf alaiicu* door, and fvr the second time fbnnd it B«t. Al\vr a uooitsii t
nlluclion, lie trivd the dooi-s of tho bedroomt on his right hud out,
luuLvd inio oRc after the Dllicr, aut^mw that thi'y were citipljr, tlico amf
to tbu duor cf tbo end roiini in which the sttivrniil wna eivoeculcd. [Iw«
again, iIm lock ivsiMed htm. 1 la lijrti.'nod, anil lotiki-d up at tlip grating. A'o
sound was to Iw heard, no figbl kua la be aoeii ioridc. " Slinll I break tbo
dvoi- In," 111; Buid lo hiniscit', "and make tnrvl Naj it would br givisg tiia .
doctor au excuK Tor taruiiig tnc out of ihu lionM-." lie ntoved avtj. xni ,
, looked into lti« two empty looina in th« row uecu}4>-d by .VJlaa and him-
Bcir, tlieo walked to tlie wiudow at the itaiivai« cuid of llu* cori-fJrr. lien, i
ibc Viifn of the fumigating appamtaa nltractcd hia attenticni. AfW ti^fs;]
vainly to ttf«n it, liia uu[t>ciun wenied lo bo niwiMd. tie SDarfchcd
along ili« corridur, and uWrvcd iLiit no object of a Miiiiliu- kind ap|]
outtdda any of tht othtr bedcbaubcr*. Again at tho wiudow, ht
again at Uie appaiatui, and turned »vay bom it with n g«Mnra vlif^l
plainly iudiciitL^ lliat hu had tried, and lailod, lo Rursa wliai {t might Ic
Il^iAlvd «t all jKiiiiui, liv >till •boircd ito ^n of rclnralDg to bi» btd^
cbunibi-r. llv Muod at iho tThidov, whii hiit«yet tlxvd on ilte door oTAliu'i
rottiB, tliiiiking. Jf Ur. IlAaltwood, furliroly wiiichiug him through
gnijng, could hav« icvn Itiin nt that inoDteiit ia tiie raiud aawtll u In lh>
body, Mr. Boalivood's hcnrt nii^ht hare throbhcd irvcn fiuxor ihan it vn*
ihiubhing now, ia p.vpecutivn ol' lliA next cvaat which UJdwintirt
deoisioo of U)Q uczt itiitiutu vvaa lu bring forth.
On what was his aiiud occupied m he stood olonri at the AraJ ^
nighl, in tho ilrango hoUHef
Hi» mind was uvoupied in drawing ita disconncdrd Imtttvsuulii htf^
tbur, lillle by little, lo onv poiul. CooTJuvod, from lh« Krst, that wf^
biddim danger thn'att'ned Allan in iho Sanatorium, hia diatnut — rwgti^J
aMociatcd, tltua lor, with the ploue iiwulf ; with hie wil^ (wboiu he fii^T
bditved to be now uudvr tlio laoie i-oof with him) ; with tbe doctofi '
m*^
ARMADALE. ?0?
was as plainly in her confidence an Mr. Bashwood iiimself — now narrowed
its range, and centred itself obatiiiately in Alliin's room, designing all
i'urther eiFoit to connect his BUspicion of a conspiracy against his friend, with
the outrage which had the day before been offered to himself — an effort
which would have led him, if he could have maintained it, to a discovery
cf the Fraud really contemplated by his wife — his mind, clouded and con-
fused by disturbing influences, instinctively took refuge in its impressions
of facta as they had shown the nisei vch, since he had entered the house.
Everything that he had noticed below staira suggested that there wna some
secret purpose to be answered by getting Allan to sleep in the Sanatorium.
Everything that he had noticed above stairs, associated the lurking-place
in which the danger lay hid, with Allan's room. To reach this conclusion,
and to decide on baffling the conspiracy, whatever it might be, by taking
Allan's place, was with Midwinter the work of an instant. Confronted
by actual peril, the great nature of the man intuitively freed itself from
the weaknesses that had beset it in happier nnd safer times. Not even
Ihe shadow of the old superstition rested on his mind now — no fatalist
nupicion of himself disturbed the steady resolution that was hi him. The
one last doubt that troubled him, as Ite stood at the window thinking, was
the doubt whether he could perauadb Allan to change rooms with him,
without involving himself in an explanation which might lead Allan to
inspect the truth.
In the minute that elapsed, while he waited with his eyes on the
room, the doubt was resolved — lie found the trivial, yet BulHcicnt, excuse
of which he was in seaich. Mr. Bashwood Saw him rouse himself, and
go to the door. Mr. Bashwood heard him knock softly, and whispef,
" Allan, arc you in bfd 7 " .
"No," answered the voice intidc, "come in."
He appeared to be on the point of entering the room, when he checked
himself as if iie had suddenly remembered something. " Wait a minute,"
he said, through the door, and, turning away, wont straight to the end
room. " If there is anybody watching ua in there," he naid uluud, " let
liim watch ua through this ! " He took out his handkerchief, and stuffed
it into the wirts of the grating, so as completely to close the aperture-
Having thus forced the spy inside (if there was one) either to betray
himaelt' by moving the handkerchief, or to reninin blinded to .-ili view of
-what might happen next, Midwinter presented himself in Allan's loom,
" You know what poor nerves 1 have," he said, " and what a wretched
sleeper I am at the beat of times. I cun'i sleep to-night. The window
in my room rattles every time the wind blows. I wish it was as fiist
as your window here."
"My dear fellow!" ciied Allan, "I dnn't mind a rattling window.
Let's change rooms. Nonsense ! Why tliould you niuUe excuses to me 7
Don't I know how eawly tiiiles upset those excitable nerves of yours?
Now the doctor has quieted my mind about' my poor little Neelie, I begin
to feel the journey — and I'll answer for sleeping anywhere till to-morrow
708
AltMAPALK
aomai.' lie look up 1i!i tmv-elling-tutg. " Wn nmut be quick ftboul tl,"
Ite «ddi.il, poiatiiig to lits Ointlle. " Tliey liiiY«»'t l«ft nie mucli canJlc t«
^o to bed br."
"Re very qiiiel, Allan," eaitl Midwinlcr. opening tlie door (be hm.
" We muitii't (liKturb tl>c liouac nt thtx time of nigVit."
" YflS, JM," rwiumwl Allnii, in a. whisper. "Good night — I I»p«
joa'11 elccp 81 wfll u I bImII."
MidmntcT law iiini into Number Thr««, nnd notiood thsl hu om
cnndle (wliicli lie hnd left t)ier«) wa.i at atiort ax AlUn's. " Good nlghl,"
lie mid, kiiil cante uut ngnin ialo'tho corridur.
Ho went BtrnigUt to the grating, and looked snd tintcned <rnoc inorv.
Tlic handkerchief rrniuine<] exactly m hu had left it, and still there ku
no »<nind to be hfnrd witliin. H« relumed riowly along the eorriiior,
and tliougbt of the prccnutions he had taken, for the liuit lime. Ifan
there no oilier way (lina the way he was trjinp now ? There vtaa uonr.
Any openly -11 vowed ponliirc of dcfeiicfl — vrhilo Uie n.ilure of lb© danger,
and the quarter froni which ii might corne, were alike unknown •^wouU
be utdew in itoclf, and wor*c thnn uselvis in llic wiitequeneca whidb tl
might produce by putting Uie people of the house on their gnard. Wlih-
onta ^ct that could justify to other minds his distrust of what might
hnppen willi the night ; incnpablc of shaking AUun's ready faith in tlrt
fair oulndo which thi> doctor hnd presented to him, the one eafi-guanl in
hii friend's interests that Midwinter could act up, was the safcgiiardof
ehuigiitg ihe rooms — the one policy he could folJow, eomo what might of
it, was the policy of waiting for erentii. '* I can tniiit to oi» tiling," he
•aid to ]il)tii>elfr AS he lookcl for the lust time up and down the corridor—
"I enn iruitl myself to kwp nwnku."
Aflcr a gliuicc at the clo«k on the wall opposite, he went into Nnmlfr
Foor. Tbe aound of tho eloiring door was )ie«rd, (he sound of the htniiiig
lock followi;d it. Tlien, th<* dend silence fell orer the house once more.
Little by little, the stcwnnVa horror of the stillneas and the daikncM
OT^ronmc hia diead of moving the liand kerchief. He cautiously dit*
tuide one comer of it— waited — looked — and took courage nt Ust to dnv
the whule bandkcrchicf through tlio wires of the grating. After Cnt
hiding it in his pocket, he thonghl of th« consequeneee if it wiw fennd on
him, and threw it down in a comer of the room. Ue Ircuibled when
hchiid cast it front him, at he looked at hia watch, and placed hioudf'
again at the grating '.o wait for Afimt Gwilt.
It was a quarter to one. The niot^n had come round fiom the side to
Ihe frontof tho S.in!itorium. From time to time h^r lijiht glvanied oa U>e
window of the cortidor, when the gnpj in the flying clouds let it tfafM^k.
The wind had risen, and 8iu>g its mournful K>ng bintly, as it swept M
intervals orer the deaert ground in front of the hon«*.
Tlie 7niniite-hand of the clock travdllcd on half-way round the drtb
of the dial. As it t^'Uclicdlhc quortcr-past one, Miss Gwilt steppe*! noisr-
le»ly into tlic corridor. " Lot yourself out," •hi- whicpertd Uiretntli tl»
ahmadau:. 709
grating, "and lallow me." She returned to the slaira hy which ihc hail
juBt descended ; pushed the door to softly, after Mr. Basbwood had followed
her ; and led the way up to the landing of the second-Hoor. There slie
put the question to him which she had net ventured to put bcloiv stiura."
" Waa Mr. Armadale showD into Number Four ? " she askt'd.
He bowed his bend without speaking.
" Answer me in words. Has Mr, Armadale left the room since?"
He answered, " No."
" Have you never lost sight of Number Four since I left yon 7 "
He answered, " Never."
Something strange in his manner, something unfamiliar in his voice,
iiB be made that last reply, attracted her attention. She took bor candle
from a table near, on which she had left it, and threw its light on him.
Hia eyes were staring, his teeth chattered. There was everything to
betray liim to her as a terrified man — there was nothing to tell her that
tbc terror was caused by his consciousness of deceiving her, for the firat
time in bis life, to her face. If she hod threatened him less openly when
ehc placed him on the watcb ; if she bad spoken less unreservedly of the
interview which was to reward bim in tbe morning, be might have owned
the truth. As it was, bis strongest fears and bis dearest hopes were alike
interested in telling her the fatal lie that he bad now told — the fatal lie
which be reiterated when she put ber question for tbc second time.
She looked at him, deceived by the la»t man on earth whom she
would have suspected of deception — the man whom she bad deceived
heraelf.
" You seem to be over-excited," she said quietly. " The nigbt baa
been loo much for you. Go upstairs, and rest. You will find tbe door
of one of the rooms left open. That is tbe room you are to occupy.
Good night."
She put tbc cit&dle (which she bad left burning for bim) on the table,
and gave liim her hand. He held ber back by it desperately as ebe
turned to leave him. His horror of what might happen when she was
left by bersclf, forced tbe words to his lips which he would have feared to
speak to licr at any other time.
" Don't," be pleaded in a whisper; " ob, don't, don't, don't go down-
Btairs to-nigbt ! "
She released her haud, and signed to bim to take tbe candle. "You
shall see me to-morrow," she said. " Not a word more now I "
Her stronger will conquered bim at tbnt last moment, as it bad con-
quered him throughout. He took the candle, and waited — following her
eagerly witli his eyes as ahe descended the stairs. The cold of tbc Decem-
ber night seemed to have found its way to lier through the warmth of tlia
house. She had put on a long heavy black shawl, and had &stened it
close over her breast. The plaited coronet in which she wore her hair
Beemed to have weighed too heavily on her head. She bad untwisted it,
and thrown it back over ber sliouldera. The old man looked at her
TIO
AUUADALE.
Iny «J over Uic blade »H«wt — nt her npfilc. Inof-
Ilowinjr linir. o
fic^nrnl liaiiil, M it tiid davQ tim bttaubaM — at the smoolb, («Jactirt
gmvA of i!V»rj raoTduenl Uiat tuok her liutlier and liirlliur sway &aa
him. " Tile itifflic will gu nuickiy." he said to himwlf as «faa iwMed fiwa
1^ \ kv I ■' I •Iiall tlr«iiin of hvr till tits inunit&g «DmBi
I
t
She veoured the tldtreaae dwr, alter cli« had poaacd thm^
lialened, und HatuGcd beisvir tliat nulliing unii ttirring — thra W4lU
kIowIjt along tli« conidur to (lie windoiv. Lcjiiiiij; on ihe vribdmr-uLL
she looked out at tltc uigiit. Tliu clouds vmo vvvr the uiooo at that
nuiuent ; noUiJug wna to be Hecii through the daiktiea but xht HuUtend
naalighla in Um ftthtirh. Tutuiug from the wtudon, ihn looked u iW
cloclt. li was twenty mioutM pui one.
Fur thv LuL lipH-, the reMalutiuii ilwi huJ i:oiit« lo hor in tb« earlior
Dighl, «ilii tiiu iuiuwicdge that bur husbiuid mus iu ihe hoiue, fiiteod iladl
uppermost in her miod, For the ksl luue, the Toiot: within bar muA,
" Think il' thei-u is uo oibn vaj I "
8I111 iteud«f«d oT» it itU li>c miautc<haiui uT tli« elwck pMiit«d lu (Jw
hair-huur. "No!" aiie sutd, sLill lliuikiiig of bvr Luaband. "Ilia uib
cJuncft lefi) is to go through witlt il to (h« vbd. ilo kUI learo tb« ihiag
andone whidi he liua couti hvni to <Iu; hii will luuvu liia wotda unipoktn
'hicli he bus Qwuc buro tu 6»y — wiien ha iiaoHs that thoact uiny nalur
m A fiiililiu «e«ii(3ul, aiui that the wutua amy Bciid mu ti> tlie acafivU!"
Her cahiur roae, rii*J eho auiilcd with a terriblo iiotiy aa uiu [ooked for tk«
liist tiiuu at tho duur bf tiiu livoui. " I thaU Ic )(jUI' iNhluv," ahesaiJt
" ill ball-aD-hoiir ! "
tjli« o]n:iii-d liic ckm: of tltc iijijaivlu*, uiid louk the Puipla FtaU: in
her haud. Afur uiiukiu); ihu tiinv by a ({iduct; at lUv dock, aha di«t^
into the gliia I'uunei the lirbt uf the six atita-nita Puuiiiigs thai wmv
uieaaiirttl for her by tho paper alipt.
Wiien >li« had put ilm h'luk baek^ sliu h»teued at the luoalh of lbs
ftuiiii'l. Hoi a auuud teuchtid her eur : the dentlly jutiMM dal its vork,
in ihe ailt^nca of death ilaoll^ When shv ruse, aad looked up, tho taoatt
uruH >Jitiiing iu at lltu wiudou', and Ute iiiwuiiug wind wat (luivL
Oh, thu tiiur 1 lh« tlnie I IT it could vuly Uavtt been bviiun and
ftiwifil iv'Uh tliv lirst i'ouriiif; I
SliG neut duwuslaira iuio tiie hull — tiu walktol to and fro^ aaJ
lu)Ieiii.-d nt the opto tluor lliuC lul (o the kittdieu attitni. She came up
ii^iii I «h« went dowi) again, 'i'he hi-M of tho iut«ivida uf five oiianUa
u;iK t-ndk-M. Tiie liuie ntuod ttill. The naipniuo was inadJenUif.
The iuteriiU ]>iiabcd. A* tltt tuuk the Fluak for thv eeeoDil tiiac^ aaJ
dK>p[ti.-iit in tbii 6iK'oiid I'ouriiig, tl^e alouda AoatLHl over the mo<ii>, ainl t«(
sighl-viun through the windour slowly darkened.
I'lie rij«tl(»(acM lliat lind dttvvu hvr up ond dtfvm the tlaira, aoJ
backwards and funvanls In thv liall, Mt Iwr nt tiuldeuly a« it had «viur-.
tihc nuitsd thiough^Uie sccutid iulcrva}, leouing ou thx nisduw-iil^ opJ
ARiLUJALE. 711
aUring, wiiliout conscious llioiight of any kinil, into the black night.
The Jiowling of a belated dog wits borne towartls her on the wind, at
iutervals, from some distant part of the suburb. She found herself
Ibllowing the faint sound as it died away into silence with a dull attention,
and listening for its coining again with an expectation that was duller
Ktill. Uer arms lay like le:)d on Ihe window-siil ; her forehead rested
agidnst tlie glass without feeling the cold. It was not till the moon
struggled out again that she wns startled into sudden aelf-remcmbrance.
She turned quickly, and looked at the clock ; seven minutes had passed
since the second Pouring.
As she snatched up the Flask, and fed the fVinnel for the third time,
the full consciousness of her position came back to her. The ferer-heat
throbbed again in her blood, and flushed fiercely in her cheeks. Swilb,
smooth, and noiseless, she paced from end to end of the corridor, with her
arms folded in her shawl, and her eye moment alter moment on the clock.
Three out of the next five minutes passed, and again the suspense
began to madden her. The s]iace in the corridor grew too contined for
the illimitable restlesanetu that poaacssed her limbs. She went down into
the hall again, and circled round and round it like a wild creature in a
cage. At the third turn, she fdt something moving Goflly against her
dress, 'llie house-cat liad come up through the open kitchen-door — a
largp, tawny, companionable cat that purred in high good temper, and
followed her for company. She took the animal up in her anns — it
rubbed its aleek head luxuriously against her chin as she bent her face
over it. " Armadale hates catu," she whispered in the creature's cur,
" Come up and see Armadale killed !" The next moment her own ftight-
ftil Ihncy horrified her. She dropped the cat with a shudder ; she drove
it btlow again with threatening hands. For a moment aller, she stood
Etill — then, in headlong haste, suddenly mounted the stairs. Her husband
had forced his way back again into her thoughts ; her husband threatened
her with a danger which bad never entered her mind till now. Wliat, if
he were nut asleep T What if he came out upon her, and found her with
the Purple Flask In her hand J
She stole to the dtor of number three, and listened. The slow, regular
breathing of a sleeping man was just audible. Alter waiting a moment to
let the feeling of relief quiet her, ehe took n Bl«p towards Number Four —
nod checked herself. It was needless to listen at thai door. The doctor
had told her that Sleep came first, as certainly as Death afterwards, in tlie
poisoned air. She looked aside at the clock. The ttuie had come for thif
Jourth Pouring.
Her hand began to tremble violently, as she fed the fuimel for the
fourth time. The fear of her husband was back again in lier heart. What
if some noise disturbed him before the sixth Pouring 1 What if he woke
on a sudden (as she had often seen him wake) without any noise at all ?
She looked up and down the corridor. The end room, in which
lit. Baabwood had been concealed, offered itself to hec as a place of refuge.
.
t
ARMADATT.
"Imtght^in tlicToT'dic timughL xlfiwlicli'fttlickfiy?** Sbc ofcoci
tlie Joor to looV, nml kiw i)mj haiiilkcrcliief ibrawn down oii tlitrdvir.
AV«5 it Mr. Btulmowl'a Iiand kerchief, loft then by accidoat 7 She csaminwl
il (It i}i<] ccrnors. Id tlie fccond comvr she fDiind ber liiuband'x luum* !
Iter Unit impiibe hurried her to tke etaimse-door, torCKi>>c thcstcv-nnl,
nnd insist on nn «xplaaftiioii. 'J'liu m>xt moment, bIic retneinbered llie
I'lirple Pliisk, and tti« danger of Waring the oorridor. 8lie turofld, and
Jvokcd At tli« door of number ibr««. li«r husband, on tUfi criJcnce of tbe
Itatiiltcorehiuf, hitd uDijuefi lion ably be«n oat or hu room — nad Ur.
Hiiiliwood bad not told her. \Vas he in bis room now T In the violence i>(
lirr tigitation, lu the <]nnMion jmnuvt through her tniud, thv forgot Ik
di*covoTy ivliich itbo bad herflcll* iiiniie ii»i n iDlnuM bvfore. Agata, Ac
lititmi-d at thv door; again, sliffi heard the slow rfgnlar brcailititg ct ibe
•Wjiing mnn. 'I'lii* Oral time, the tvidcne^ of h«r ears iiftd been eooogh
tA <]uict Iicr. Tiii time, in tlic tenfold n^sruvntiua of her aiupiciun and hn
olarii), sheurjA dcbtrmincd to hnvc tli« crtdcnc« orhcrojesas wdl. "All
tlie ilosre ojicn Koflly in tliia house," nhc buiO lo herself; " ihBr«'i no
fuar or my valcing bini." Nottclcsilj, hy an incti at n tlinc, alic of»nnl
the milociccd door, and looked in llio moment the apertnro was iridt
enough. In tho liillt.- light ahe hud let inlo the room, the sleeper** bnd
«a» just YJaiblc on tb« ptltow. "Was it 'luilo n« iaik against the whib*
jiiitoiv n* liei- Imtltniid's head looked vhea be vm in bed t Waa tk
breatliing .ia llj;l>t as her fausband'a breathing irliea be wna a»1eepT
She opened the door mors widely, and lookod in by the clearer liebl.
Tliere lay ilic man wlio^e life alio had att«mpted for the lliird tinw,
jMMoeTuUy tleqiing in the room that bud been given to her hoatnod,
anl ID tiie nir tliat could harm nobodjr !
The iai^vilahlti concliiiion ovorwltclincd her on the inttanL Willi s
frtintio upward action of her bands she etags^'red bade into the puaatr.
'J'hc door of Allan'a room fell tu^but not noisily enough towakohim. Sht
ttirncd as ehc ht-ard it cluse. I-Vr one moment abe stood atannj; at it like
n woman aiapelied. liio mxt, her instinct mslied inlo acliun. before lift
reasnn recorered itself. lu tiro stppa aliu n-at at ttie door of Number Foor.
'i ho door was locked.
She f.-h oviT the wall with both hnndu, trildlv jmd clumsily, for ibe
button which she had t^eiii tlic doctor pitd*, when he wai showing the
room to the yisitora. Twice she miHsed it. The (hirj time bcr ma
bflped her lands— she found tlie button and pre«ed on U. TIic mortice
of the lock inside fell back, and the door yielded to her.
Without an iiialant'a hftilation she entered tho room. Though the
door waa open — though »o abort a time had elapsed idnee the fourth
Pourinji, tliai but little more than half the contemplated volume of fal
had Inwh produced na yet— the poiwned air aeizHi her, Hku the grasp i^a
Iwijd at her threat, lilic llietwi-itins of a nira round her head. She foo»d
him on the lloor at the foot of the bed— hia bend and one ana wert lo-
worda tho door, naif he bad risen undw the firat fcnUng I'f drowsuicM^ and
ARMADALE. 713
tad sunk in the effort to leave the room. With the desperate concentra-
tion of strength of which women are capable in emergencies, she lided
him and dragged him out into the corridor. Her brnin reeled as she laid
him down and crawled back on her knees to the room, to shut out the
poisoned air from pursuing them into the passage. Al^r closing the
door, she waited, without daring to look at him the while, for strength
enough to rise and get to the window over the stairs. When the window
was opened, when the keen air of the early winter morning blew steadily
in, she ventured back to him and raised his head, and looked for the iirat
time cloBely at his face.
Was it death that spread the livid pallor over hia forehead and his
cheeks, and the dull leaden hue on hia eyelids and his lipa?
She loosened his cravat and opened his waistcoat, and bared hia tliroat
and breast to the air. With her hand on his heart, with her bosom
supporting hia head, so that he fi-onted the window, she waited the event.
A time passed : a time short enough to be reckoned by minutes on
the clock ; and yet long enough to take her memory back over all her
married life with him — long enough to mature the resolution that now rose
in her mind as the one result that could come of the retrospect. As her
eyes rested on him, a strange composure settled slowly on her face. She
bore the look of a woman who was equally resigned to welcome the
chance of his recovery, or to accept the cerlainty of his death.
Not a cry or a tear bad escaped her yet. Not a cry or a tear escaped
her when the interval had passed, and she felt the first faint fluttering of
his lieart, and heard the first faint catching of the breath at his lips. She
silently bent over him and kissed his forehead. When she looked np
again, the hard despair had melted from her face. There was something
BotUy radiant in her eyes, which lit her whole countenance aa witli an
inner light, and made her womanly and lovely once more.
She laid him down, and, taking off her shawl, made a pillow of it to
support his head. " It might have been hard, love," she said, as she felt the
iaint pulsation strengthening at his heart. " You have made it easy now."
She rose, and, turning from him, noticed the Purple Flask in the place
where she had lett it since the fourth Pouring. " Ah," she thought
quietly, " I had forgotten my best friend — I had forgotten that there is
more to pour in yet."
With a steady hand, with a calm, attentive face, she fed the funnel for
the fifth time. " Five minutes more," she said, when she had put the Flask
back, after a look at the clock.
She fyll into thought — thought that only dtiopencd the grave and
gentle composure of her face. " Shall I write him a farewellword7"ahe
asked herself. *' Shall I tell him the truth before I leave him for ever ? "
Her little gold poncil-casc hung with the other toya at her watch-
chain. AfVer looking about her for a moment, she knelt over her husband,
and put her hand into the breast-pocket of his coat.
His pocket-book was there. Some papers fell from it as she unfas-
Vl«
ARMADALi:.
tened ite clnsp. One of ihem wi« Hiv leHpr wliidi liad cone to li!i
Sir. Brock's ilmtkliixl. &I10 turt)i:<i over llic Iwu sliculH uf doId-ju:
which the rector lik<l ntitun the tirordt ihat had now Mm^ triM— 4ld
rotiiid lliu IbhI p3^ i>f tlitr tsM slieel n lilrink. Oil ibu [wgc sh<r irrote litr
farewell wortle, kneeling nt her 1itiibau<r8 sidv.
" I ant Worse Ihan tb« Wum you am thiuk of me. You h«n nvi^
Armndiilc by chaagins roonm iritli him lo-nrpht — oiid j-ou Imve rami
liiut fi-om M«. YoQ cftii gOL'M ROW wh<.>«« wiibw 1 iilioiUd Itare diiiiniil
to lit!, ir jrou had n»I prtwrrved his life ; mtd vou will ktiow whst « wrvtidi
you uiiuHeil vliiut yuii latiTi'ivi the wuitiaii vLd uritM llirac linci. Slill,
I had same innocent raoncnta — nnii then I lorcd you ckfirly. Forget mr,
tny (Turlliig, in tlK lure of a better iroiitaii llinii I :ini. t nii[ilit, ptftvpi,
luiT« Ucn tlint bvittf WHtno tuysclf, ir I had ruA. Uied a ^isenbfc ttti
belbre jon m«l witti nm. It tbatten liilln tmw. Thu t.ne nlonKihMl I ton
tniikc TuT all tl>c wrong I bare done tou is Uic alontuicnt of my dratli. It
is not hard for mt? to di<*, now I know you will live. £vt^b my tiii-ketlscti
hna line merit — it tas not protpvrvd. 1 hare never boi«n n hnjipy wtMnati."
Slic f'-ldcd the Ititor u^ain, ntid put it into bis haud, to ntiTWl \ih
Rlli.-ntiuu ill lluit nuy wlien he cunin lo hiiii»lf. At alie |:(«ily clowJ liii
fingcis on tlic ppcr nnd looked vft, the UsI minute of HiQ Um L&tartl
fiicci) hvr, n^ordr^ on tho Hook.
Shu Will over him, and gave him her fiuvwdl klM.
" Live, my angd, life 1 " she muiUDred tenderly, with hvr lift jwt
louehing his. "All your lili! u bdbra you— a hajipy lifr. Mid nd
liODOuml life, if you are iVn.^ ftom mc .' "
Willi a liui, lin^rinf; tendntnats, At parted tlM hair bttck ij«tu hk
iorchpad. " It is no Rivril tu hare lornl yoii." ahc mid. " Yon an n*
qI' the niL-n nhom woiuvn all like." 8ho Hghvd and left him. It maW
Inst veukoeas. She hvni her head afltnnotivdy 10 tlio eloek, aa if it kad
been a tiriiti; ci-cature siieaHlng^ to litr — and fed (be funnel fur the h**
tiiDi', to the liiU dn^ Ii^ft in the l-'buk.
'I'he WMiing moon iIiduu hi faintly at liie wiudutr. Willi hgr haul
on the door of the noiu, slit: turned and Ivukcd at die ligiit thai
alowly fiidtng out of tlic murky idiy.
- Oil, God. forgire uie I " alie aaU. " Obi Cbtli^ beat nitim
have «ti{l'uri:d ! "*
One nicuii'iit tiioiv i>be liiij^fml 011 llic threabold ; Ungnral fur b«r ^
ItnA in this world— and lunivd dial luvk on /tin.
" Good-by I " filifreaid tofl-y.
1')ii> door uf iho Tooni opviied— nnd clo«rd on her. Them MM ■>
interval of Bilcnce.
'Ili^, a sound c»me dull and anddvn, Ifkv the sound of a £iI1.
'I'hva, tliero was uiaice again.
• * a a
Tho liBhiiEi of thv ebuk, fullowttig ihdr iteady rwiit., rvchsatd Us
'luinutea of the moruii^ aa one by one ibey Ujiti #«*/. It m lh(
I
AltMADALK. 715
tenth miQUte einte the door of the room had opened and closed, before
Midwiuter BtirTed oil his pillow, and, Btruggling to raise himself, felt the
letter in his hand.
At the same in6inent, a key was turned iu the slaircase-door. And
the doctor, looking expectantly towards the fatal room, saW the Pnrple
Flask on the window-sill, and the prostrate man trying to raise himself
from thte floor.
TUE ESD OF TUE LAST BOOK.
Epilogue.
eilAPTER I.
News fbom Norfolk.
From Mr. Fedgifl Senior {Thorpe-Amlirose), to Mr. Pedffiji Junior {Pmia).
" Mr DEAR AuaosTfS, " High Street, December 20tli.
" YoL'ii letter readied uie }e3tt;rday. You seem to be making
the most of your youth (na you call it) witli a vengeance. Well 1 enjoy
your holiday. I made the iiiost of my youth, wlieU I was your age ; and,
wonderful to rc-luto, I haven't forgotten it yet I
'* You ask me for a good budget of news, and especially, for more
iuforniallun about that mysterious business at the Sanatorium.
" Curiosity, my dear boy, ia a quality, which (in our profeaaioa esjje-
cially) Bometimes leads to great reaulta. I doubt, however, if you will
find it leading to much on this oceasiun. All 1 kuow of the tiiystery at
the 8anatoriutii, I know tVom Mr. Armadale ; and he is entiiuly iu llie
dark on mote than one point of importjince. I have already told you how
tliey were eutrajiped into the house, and how thi'y passed the night there.
To this I can now add t!iat sonicthin;; did certainly happen to Mr. Mid-
winter, which deprived Iiim of consciousness ; and that the doctor, wlio
nppenrs to ha.Te been mixed up in the matter, carried things with a high
hand, and insisted on taking his own course in his own Sanatoi;iuu). Tijere
'j» noi the Iftast doubt that the miserable woiiiau (howevtr she might hav«
cume by her death) was luund dead — that a coroner's inquest inquired iiito
Uie circuihStancea — that the evidence showed Iier to have entered the
hoUHe SB a patient — and tliat the medical investigation ended in discover-
ing that she Imd died of apoplexy. My idea is, that Mr, Midwinter had a
motive of his own for not coming forward with the evidence thai he miglit
have given. I liave also reason to Buspect thut Mr. Armadale, out of
regard lor him, Ibllowed his lead, and that the verdict at the inquest (uttaeh-
716
AIUIADALE.
I
ing IM> bUint lo knybodjr), proceeded, like mqny otiwr verdicts of lbs nine
kind, fmm iin enttfdjr saperfiouil inrtatisBtioti of ibt clrconuUoccs.
Tlic key t6 thp whole myitcry U to be fotiiid, I flrtnljr WUct*, in lliat
wretdicl woman's nltcmpt to penonnte the diameter of Mr. Annaclnlr'i
widow, wltcn tbe newa tf( Itra d«nlh Appeared in lti« papets. But wlinl
flnt Ml her on thu, nnd by wbal inconceivable process of dcMfitiaa,
■be can bnvc induced Mr. Midwinter to marry her {a.s tlie cerdlicale
{woTOi), tmdcr Mr, Arniii<laU.-'ii niunr, in marc tban Mr. AnaftdAle htflweif
Itiunra. The point wu not touched at ibe inqueal, tar tlie simple rskm
Utst Ui« io'iiuvt oiiiy conueracd itself with the circaoistaaces attcodiic
hvr dcftlli. 3Jr. Armadale, at his friend's mprnt, snw'Uisa BUaohari^
mm] ttiducol her to siivncc old Durdt on thu sTibjcct of the dnim that lad
been niudc jclikiin^ to tJic widow't income. A* t)>c clnita had merer b«ai
admittn], even oiinclilT-nM-kod hrottipr pmctitioner contented for once to
do MM liL> wan at*l((-[1. The doctor's fttAtenii^t that bis patient mm the
widow of a ^nllcmnn Damed Armadale, wai accordingly left nnehal-
lenged, and so the matter liss be^n hiiKlicd np. She is buried iu the great
cemetery, near the place where «hc died. Nobody but Mr. Midninlcr sn>l ,
Mr. Armnilale (who iiWilai on going with him), Iblluned her lo iImH
gTRTc; and nothing hoi Iwen inscribed on tbe tonibetoiic, but the initiiJ ^
Idlvr of her Christian naiuo, and the dale of h«r dmih. So, afler all tU
Imrm the has done, the reeu at hut — and to tlic two men whom she 1^
injiin-d liATc forgiTcii Iter.
"Is ihpvo more to nay on lliis subject bHum wo ]ear« itf On
rcfiTring to your letter, 1 fiiiil you Iiare mi^ed onv otlirr point, whidi Hiiy
bo woTllt a moment's notice.
" Tun i»«k if Lhci-r iit ri'aKnn to Hupposo that the doctor comes out
the mutter with hiindu wliich arc rwilly ns clean aa thty look ? My dor
Auf^ntiin, I bdicve the doctor to have been at the botlotu of more of tfai<
tui»c)iiert)i3n we simll ever find out ; and to have profiled by tba stlf-iin-
pcsci] sik-iicQ of Mr. Midwinter and Mr. Armadale, as rogues pei^iMnally
profit by the miefbrtuDca and necessities of honeat m<'n. It is an Moer-
taiiicd fuct tluil he ctiuuived at the £die statement about Misa Mihoy,
which ciitmpi>cd tlio two gcntl«nien into his louse, — itnd tlint ooe circun-
Btance (after n>y Old Bailoy experitnee) te enough for me. Aa lo eridenM
BRainaC Iiitu, llierc is not « jot, — and as to Retribution oreruking him, I
can only say 1 hoartily hope Kciribntion may pt«vc in tlie long mo to U
the more cunning customer of the t»o. There ti not much prospect of it
tt prcaont. 'The doctor's fricuda and ndiuircrs are, 1 underatamd, aboat
to present him with a Ti'Stimoninl, ■ exprcasire of th«ir sympathy umkr
the aad occurrence which has thrown n cloud orcr tlia opening of hit
Snaalorium, imd of their uiidiniini^hvd confidence in his iaicgrily sul
ability at a medical man.' We live, AtigtisttM, in an ag« eniMitllf
favL'urahle to the groirth of all n<gu«r)- which is careful eoougli to kiep
uji n]>]H-aTanc(*. In t!.i* euliyliteiied ninctccnlh century, I look upoi
doctui- ns oat of our rising men.
ARMADALE. ' 717
** To tarn now to pka^auter Eubjccts than Sanatoriums, T maj tell
j'ou that Miss Neelie is as good iis well again, and is, in my humble
opiDioo, prettier than ever. She is staying in London, under the CJire of a
female relative — and Mr. Armadale salisfiea her of the fact of kia e:tisteiice
(in case she Hhould forget it) regularly every day. They are to be mar-
ried in the spring — unless Airs. Milroy's death causes the ceremony to be
poetponed. The medical men are of opinion that the poor lady is sinking
at last. It may be a question of ^veeks or a question of months, they
can say no more. She is greatly altered — quiet and gentle, and anxiously
afiectionate with her huaband and her child. But, in her case, this happy
change is, it seems, a sign of approaching dissolution, from the medical
point of view. There is a difficulty in making the poor old major under-
Bfand this. He only sees that she has gone buck to the likeness of her
better self when he first married her ; and he sits for hours by her bedside,
now, and tella her about his wonderful clock,
" Mr. Midwinter, of whom you will next expect me to say something,
is improving rapidly. AAer causing some anxiety at first to the medical
men (who declared that he was sufiering from a serious nervous sliock,
produced by circumstaoces about which their patient's obstinate silence
kept them quite in the dark), he has rallied, as only men of his sensitive
temperament (to quote the doctors again) can rally. He and Mr. Arma-
dale are together in a quiet lodging. I saw him iaEt week, when I was in
London. His face showed signu of wear and tear, very aad to see in so
young a man. But he spoke of himself and his future with a courage and
hopefulness, which men of twice his years (if he has suffered, as I suspect
him to have sutTered) might have envied. If I know anything of humanity,
this is no common man — and we shall hear of him yet in no common way,
" You will wonder how I came to be in London. I went up, with a
return ticket (from Saturday to Monday) about that matter in dispute
at our agent's. IVe had a tough fight — but, curiously enough, a point
occurred to me just as I got up to go ; and I went back to my chair, and
settled the question in no time. Of course I stayed at Our Hotel iu
Coveat Garden. William, the waiter, asked afler you with the afiection
of a father ; and Matilda, the chambermaid, said you almost persuaded
her, that last time, to have the hollow tooth taken out of her lower jaw.
I had the agent's second son (the young chap you nicknamed Mustapha,
when he made that dreadful mess about the Turkish Securities) to dine
with me on Stmday. A little incident happened in the evening which
may be worth recording, as it connected itself with a certain old lady, who
was not ' at home ' when you and Mr. Armadale blundered on that house
in Pimlico in the bygone time.
"Mnstapha waa like all the rest of you young men of the present
day->-he got restless after dinner. ' Let's go to a public amtisement, Mr.
Pedgift,' says be. ' Public amusement 7 Why, it's Sunday evening 1 *
aayt I. ' All right, sir,' says Mustapha. ' They stop acting on the stage,
I grant you, on Sunday evening — but they don't atop acting in the
ARMADAZtR.
pwlfit. Como «nJ •« lli« Ust iww S>inf!«r purfonnw of ftW li»W.' A«
fat) WMiHn't hiiTo uiy mora wine, itierr vrai nothing «li« lor it, Tmt to g%
" W« wnil ID N ■ttMt at tiie VVrel F.nd, ind found it litoekcd up wiili
, carrUse*. ir it hit^n't h<^n Sundaj nigitt, I *>)onl<l Kav« tbMD^ ««
urgre going to l)m openi. 'What did I Kll fuii f ' nys MiMipbi,
taking OM ap to an open door Tfi'li a |PIb «l«r outoiJ* wttl n btU vf tk
ferturmutoe. I liod ju«t time lo ooxice Dut I wu« fp»tifi 1o one of a km
of ' Sunday Ersnin^ Dvconrtca on tbo PompB and Vsnitirs of ibe WwU.
by A SianrT T\1io lis* &<irv«d Th«nn,' vihna Miulnpha joju;«d my d^v,
ai)(l vtitUpored, ■ nalf-a-erowti it ilie rAJiidimblu li|>.' I fatnd ajrall
baiiractt two demur* aad aileol gwUsatcn. wiUi iiLilaa in thr-jr iMtk.
VDUnninonly wcll-61I«d afnady wiilt tlvo fcahionahlt tip. UtMwphi
]>alrnniicd one plate, and I ibc oilier. We ptaied lliroagli twn doaninn
a Ion;; room, cmmnicd villi people. And thire, on a platferm at tlx
jhnher ond hnlding TtiIi to Uitt nudioucc, wm — not « mas aa I W
•xpootad — but a \Vooutn, and llist tvouiao, MoniKa Ouucbsa' 1 Tov
««r«r liirfenod to nnytbing mora olcwjuent in ]'o*ir life. A« Irajt a* I
hmrd Iwr Kite -k^k nevpr onoe at a loss (or a vonl nnywUere. I wall
ibinfc leai oC oratory «• n btimao aoDOnipUthoient, Atr lii« rA of wj
dftjv, after tUat Stindajr orening. Ai Tor ihe matter of the aermMi, I Biay
defcribo it nsanairaliva oflUra. OUlipniJiAu*sex|ierieaeeanioiif;dilapidal(d
■nrotnco, proftucly illiiMntcd in the piou* snd iwnitentinl Mylc. Yaa nill
tiiilc wluit M>rt of audience it »*»». Trincipally WDiixn. Aii^iistu* — and, at
I hope lo be MVfd , all the eld hamdam ol' ibo vvorid ol' fubiun. vkoR
llolhet Oldcrsbav bad emunclled in bar time, aiuing boldly in tha fruat^
yiteen, irilb tbeir cheeki ruddled wiih point, in a itata of deroul fl«jo^-fl
mwt womJerftd lo««l 1 Ifft JIo»to|>lm to li- ^ i' v. I of it Aad t
thought to myself, ak I vent ctii, of vrbat i>li.-:- \ • >oii>owbn«> —
' Loi-d, vbat fools wo moitaU lie 1 '
" Ha^e I anylbing ntora to tdl joo, heian I Imvc off J Qb\f
thing that I can rememlH-r.
" ThAt wrclcLcd old IWhvood lias confimM ibcfmrd I irdd you I
sbont bim, %rhcn bo ira* brMight bncl: liciv front I^>ndoa. Tlierai«iKikiii
of doubt Ibat be lua really lost oil the littU* reason he ever had. Hfu
periectly liannl«B»<, and pcir«tlybapi>y. And b«vir«uld do very Ftli,if¥«
could otfly prevvnt bim I'mui going out ii^ hta lasl new »uiL of cloilxa, amiti-
ing acd antiliag, and inviting everylKxJy to his appnacbin^ niarriafB
iIm haadspinoit Mroman iu Engbiiid. It vnda of course in the beya pdll
him, nod in bis eooiing htn crying lo ue, covered yi'iOi mud. The imbciiI
liis clotliuH are cleuied ac^i ^o ialls back into his iinniinie ddonoo. lad
struts aWut bcjore the ehureb gntca, iu ibe cbnracter of a ^ridtglMBt
vaittiig for Mits Gwilt. Ws miutget the poorvretcb taktMi care of an^
■K-lKre (mx |1i« nxt of tbc little time be lias t4 liTv. Wite would cYtx bare
thouglit of n inuo oi bi< age failing in iottt and who votUd svcr tu«
belit-vedibot ibeRiiN;liief tbuwoinan'sbtauty 111- ' . i>ld bavenacksl
as for in Ibc downward dire«tio» as our sni-cmr. , d<Hi)
if V« H
luti-l
ARMADALE. 719
" Good-by, for the preaeiil, my dear boy. If you ace a paiticularly
handaome anufF-box in P«ri8, remember — tliotigh your father scorns
Testimonial^ — lie doesn't object to receive a present from his son.
Yonrs afiectionstely,
A. Pedgift Sen'.
" PcsTSCRiPT, — I think it likely that the account you mention, in the
French papers, of a fatal quarrel among some foreign sailors in one of the
Lipari Islanda, and of the death of tlioir captaip, among others, may really
have been a quarrel among the acoundrelawho robbed Mr. Armadale, and
Fcnttled his yacht. Those fellowH, luckily for society, can't always keep
up appearances ; and, in their case, Kogiien and Retribution do occa>
EiLinally come into collision with each other."
CHAPTER IT.
Ji[ I D W I N T E n.
The spring had advanced to the end of April. It was the evo pf Allan's
weflding-day. Midwinter and he had sat talking togetlicr at the great
hopse till fiu: into the night — till so fur that it had struck twelve long
sinpe, and the wedding-d>iy was already some liours old.
For the moat part, the convereation had turned on the bridegroom's
plans and projects. It was not till the two'fnends roFu to go to rest, that
Allan insisted on making Midwinter apeak of himself. " Wc have had
enough, and more than enough, of m^^iiture," he began, in his bluntly
straightforward way. "I^'s say something now. Midwinter, about yoms.
You have promised me, I kuow, that if ypu tak^ to Literature, it shan't
part U9, and that if you go on a sea voyage, you will remcmliei' when you
come back that my bouse la your home. But this i| the laat chance
we have of being together in our old way; and I own I should like to
know " Hia voice faltered, and his eyes moistened a little. He
left the sentence unfinished.
Midwinter took his hand and helped him, as lie had often helped hitn
to the words that he wanted, in liie bygone time.
". You wo^ild like to know, Allan," he said, " that I aliall not bring an
aphing h^tt with me to your wedding-day ? If you will let nic go back
for a mamept to the past, I think I can satisfy you."
They took their chairs again. Allan saw that Midwinter waj mpved.
" Why distress yourself? " he osked kindly — " why go back to the piist ! "
" For two reasons, Allan. I ought to have thanked you long since for
the silence you have observed, for my sake, ou a matter that must have
seemed very strange to you. You know what the name is which appenrs
on the register of my marriage — and yet 3'ou have forborne to speak of it,
from the fear of distressing me. Bel'ore you enter on your new life, let
VB come to a first and last understanding about this. I ask you — as one
7H
AnwADAm
litora Viaiaem (0 m* — lo accept my lusuninco (rtranse u ibc dtittg wai
Bccni Lo you) th:it I am blnmoleas id thUtitatto- ; and I eatnu ycnvt
bclierij tkal Hie rrasons I har<' Tor IraTing it uticxfilftincd, an TraftBi
which, ifMr. RmvV viag liviiiK, Mr. Brock himsdf would ajiprore.'*
la Lhoac worJ*, )i« ivyt lite sc«r«t of tK« two nanus — Kud left tbe
liiciiiDry or Allnn'a tnotbcr, wbnt be had found it, a sacred munoty in (bi
bcail of ber aon.
"Oott word more," li« went on — "a word which will take lu, tlt«
tiiue, from past to fnturv. It bos bwn aaid, and truly said, Uuil tml >it
Evil may come Gcod. Out of the horror and the misery of ikit night
you know of, bu com« the viluncin^ of a doubt wliieb ooco mad« t»y Itii
uiborabhi wtih grouiidleu anxiety about you and alivot myself. Vt
slouda, raiaed by my superstition, will ever corac bctvtn-n lu igaia. t
ean'k honeetly tell you that I am more willing now thnn I vrm when «c
were is the Tale of i!i[an, to take what ia called the raliooal view of yocr
Dream. Tboiigb I know uhtit cxlraonlinary coincidences are petpctsally
happening in (hi! i>x]ic*ri(-nc« of all of w, still I cannot accept cciacidencvi
ns explaining tliL* fulfilment of th« Viaions which our own i-ycs Itaie Men.
All I con (inccrdy aay for myself is, wlmt I think it will satisfy jov t«
know, that I hnve learnt lo view the purpose of the Dream with a new
mind. I once heliorcd that it waa sent to roo&e your distntat of the
friendless man whom you bad taken as a brother to your heart. I now
tnow that it came to you na s timely wnmEng to tukc bim cloter itill.
I>oe9 thi* help to Mtitfy you that I, too, am standing hopefully oa the
brink of a new life, aud that while we live, brother, your love aod
will never he divided again ?"
They shook h»iiilB in nilenoe. Allan waa the first to recover htm:
lie answered in iho few words of kindly assumnce which were lit
words t1mt ho coulil addrru lo bis friend.
" I hiiTV h^'jird aU I orcrwanlto hear about (he paM,*" beauul ; "atd
know what I most wanted to know about tlie fmure. Everybody siyV
Midwinter, yoit have a career before you — and I btlierv thiit ercfybody
is right. Who knowa what great ibings may happen before you and E
arc many years older 7 "
" Who nfed know ? " mid Midwinter, csilmly. " Happen what mar.
Crod ia slUmerciful, God is aU>wt*^t>. In these words, your dear old friend i
oDoe wr&l« to uc. In that faith, I can look back without marmurloi akfl
the yearn that arc paat, and can look on wilbout doobtiog lo the yisd
that arc to come."
He i«M, and walked to the windotv. While the}' had been spnU^
together, tbe dorknei;^ bad passed. The first light of the new dAyiW
liim as he looked out, nnd rested tenderly on bis face.
t
TIIF. tKD.
721
dfittrteitcUn.
It is, happilj, not only in Mrj tales that things sometimes fall out as ona
coold wish, that anxieties are allajred, mistakes explained away, frionds
reconciled ; that people inherit large fortunes, or are found out in their
ne&rioua schemes ; that long-lost children are discoTered disguised in soot,
that vessels come safely Bailing into port atler the storm; and that young
folks who hare been faithful to one another, are married off at last. Some of
these young couples are not only happily married, but ihcy also begin life in
pleasant palaces tastefully decorated, and with all the latest iropTDvementa ;
with convenient cupboards, bath-rooms, back- staircases, speaking-tubes,
lifla from one story to another, hot and cold water laid on ; while outside lie
well-kept parks, and gardens, and fiower-beds; and from the muslin-veiled
windows they can see the sheep browsing, the long shadowy grass, deer
starting across the sunny glades, swans floating on the rivers, and sailing
through the lilies and tall lithe reeds. There are fruit-gardens, too, where
great purple plums are sunning on the walls, and cucumbers lying asleep
among theit cool dark leaves. There are glass-houses where heavy dropping
bunches of grapes are hanging, so that one need only open one's mouth
for them to fall into it all ready cooked and sweetened. Sometimes, in
addition to all these good things, the young couple possess all the gracious
gifia cf youth, beauty, gay and amiable dispositions. Some one said, the
other day, that it seemed as if Fate scarcely knew what she was doing,
when she lavished with such profuuon every gill and delight upon one
pair of heads, while others were leh hald, t^orn, nnheeded, dishevelled,
forgotten, dishonoured. And yet the world would be almost too sad to
bear, if one did not sometimes see happiness somewhere. One would
scarcely believe in its possible existence, if there was nobody young, for-
tunate, prosperous, delighted; nobody to think of with saiisfacdon, and to
envy a little. The sight of great happiness and prosperity is like listening
to barmonioafl mouc, or looking at beautiful pictures, at certain times of
one's life. It seems to suggest possibilities, it sets sad folks longing, but
while they are wishing, still, may be, a little reproachfully, they realize the
existence of what perhaps they had doubted before. Fate has been hard
to them, but there is compensation even in this life. They tell themselves,
" Which of U8 knows when his turn may come 7 " Happiness is a fact : it
does lie within some people's grasp. To this or that young fairy couple, age,
trial, and trouble may be In store ; but now at least the present is golden ;
the innocent delights and triumphs of youth and nature are theirs.
I could not help morahziug a little in this way, when we were staying
with young Lulworth and his wife the other day, coming direct fh>m the
you xni.— MO. 78. 36.
Mr%^ii)gdulli)tiac«ph«feOifhoaMtoilieg(iU«apUddity ofLulwortli &ra.
They drorc aa oTcr to Cliffis Coort — ftoothor wis, 00 it eeeucd to me, m
she arid pUins of life. ClilH: Court ii n charming, <tlie«rfu), Itjiliui-looldiig
bouBe, stBodtng on a bill in the mtdtt of a Eery fumaoc of gentniamt oikI
flow«r-bedjk "It bckmgti to yoaag Sir Charlr:) Bickardson. lie U lu-
and-twealy, and iho liandMineitt tnui in l]ie oounty," aaid Frank.
" Oh, no, Fntik i >ou arc joking, eurelj-," said CeeUia ; «ad ttm A*
Uartd, and then bliuhed in Iter odd way. Slw MiU abirMl MwwiHWi
when ahe waa ahy* oa ebo lued lo do befoore f>he marned.
So mu^ of her fDnaer bnbita Cedlia had alM retained, that aa tltt
dock Blnick eight o'clock erery morning a great pnoctual breakflut-btll
used lo ring in the «at«r ball. The ditung-ioom caaement wbb wida opH
upon tbe l>«da of rowa, lh4 t«a was made, Ctdlia In h«r eriap «kiw
morning ilrew, and with all her wavy bcooie hair curling about har bOb
ma vaitiog to poor it out, tli« cggf were boiled, the baeott vu frixalliig kM
upon tho plate to a mometit ; Uiera wus no la-w allowed, mt a mlnole'*
gmoe for anybody, no wtMti bow hizj. They bad been married n titllo
more tlian tvTo ynri, and wtrc quitu Mtabbuhixl in tbrtr eoariify horae.
I wiab I could [mriirni Rcone incarnation like tboae of my frimds the
fttirica, and conjure up the old fiirm bodily with a magic ware of tuy f*a,
or by drawing a triangle with a circle through it upon the papir —
A^ SB the enchanlKTi! do. The luoeA rcinarkabto tbinga abooc tbe Um
>A. -K. wtiTG its curious and beautilbl eld chimney*— indeed tbe wb«la
ooimty of SufiMJC ia otilcbralcd lor tbem, and the meoneai litilc ootta^e*
have nnble-lcioking alaclia oU oruamcDtvd, canrod, and wcatbei^bflisra.
There were gnblcs also, and nlony inullioned windows, and aaeJent M«p
with rusty tings hanging lo them, iifllxcd iberc to fantcn tbe bridtatof
boraea that would hnvc run away several litindred years ago, if this pc4-
snutioD hud not bera taken. And then there were xoreboiue* nod rkla
and bams, all pil«d with tho abundance of the harrcBt. 'Hie faniyard
wu aliro with young fowU and oocks and bens, and gniaM-heiiSf tbosa
gtntle little dowsgert went about glistening to silver and gray, iml
Gedlia'H gcvac came clamouring to moet b«r, I cau sec it all as I tUnk
about it. Tbe old walls are all carted and oniumcntfld, sonotimM by
art and work of innn's hand, aotnolimes by t4me aud lovely little natunl
l&DKea. IlDUM-I««ka grow in olunpa opoa tbe thatch, a pr«tty ^
is pooping through a lattice window, a door is open while a rorfi of
Bwect morning scent comes through the shining ookeo poasago Inai tbe
herb-garden and crehard Iwhind. Cows with their aoll brawa eyci am)
cautions tread arc poieiitg on their way to n field ootob the K»d- A
white borsa waiting by his stable door shakes hie bead and whinnies.
Frank iwd Cecilia took us ibr a walk after breakGut t}iiL> Artt monins
we came. We wej« taken to the stables first add tbe cow-homo^ and
tboQ we passed out through a gale into a field, and croaring tbe field "«
got into a copse which skirted it, and so by many a lorely little wfaillng
path into tbe woods. Young Lulwortb look onr dcUgfat Mu3
I
ji
CINDERELLA. 72S
8B a personal compliment. It was all Lulworth property as far as we
conld see. I tbonglit it must be Btraogely delightful to be the possessor
of such beautiful hills, mist, sunshine and shadow, violet tones, song of
birds, and Bhimmer of foliage ; but Frank, I believe, looked at hie future
prospects from a material poiut of view. " You see it ain't the poetic
part of it which pays," he said. But he appreciated it nevertheless, for
Cecilia came out of the woods that morning, all decked out with great coii-
toItuIus leaves, changed to gold, which Frank had gathered as we went
along and given to ber. This year all the leaves were turning to such
beautiful coloors that people remarked upon it, and said they never remem-
bered such a glowing autumn ; even the year when Frank came to Dorli-
cote was not to compare to it. Browns and russet, and bright amber and
gold flecks, berries, red leaves, a lovely blaze and glitter in the woods along
the lanes and beyond the fields and copses. All the hills were melting with
lovely colour in the clear warm autumn air, and the little nut-wood paths
seemed like Aladdin's wonderful gardens, where precious stones hung to
the trees ; there was a twinkle and crisp shimmer, yellow leaves and golden
light, yellow light and golden leaves, red hawthorn, convolvulus-berries,
holly-berries beginning to glow, and heaped-up clustering purple black-
berries. The sloe-berries, or snowy blackthorn fruit, with their soft gioom
of colour, were over, and this was the last feast of the year. On the trees
the apples hung red and bright, the pears seemed ready to drop from their
branches and walls, the wheat was stacked, the sky looked violet behind
the yellow ricks. A blackbird was singing like a I'ipple of water, some-
body said. It is hard to refrain from writing of all these lovely things,
though it almost is an impertinence to attempt to set them down on paper
in long lists, like one of Messrs. Bippon and Burton's circulars. It seemed
sad to be sad oh such a morning and in such a world, but as we were
walking along the high-road on our way back to the form, we passed a
long pale melancholy-looking man riding a big horse, with a little sweet-
iaced creature about sixteen who wai cantering beside him. He took off
his hat, the little girl kissed her hand as they passed, nodding a gay
triumphant nod, and then we watched them down the hill, and dis-
appearing at the end of the lane.
" I am quite glad to see Ella Adiford out riding with her father again,"
said Lulworth, holding the garden gate open for us to pass in.
" Mrs. Aahford called here a day or two ago with her daughter," said
Cecilia. " They're going to stay at the Kavenhill, she told me. I thought
Colonel Ashford was gone, too. I suppose he is come back."
" Of course he is," said Frank, " siace we have just seen him with
£Ua, and of course hia wife is away for the same reason,"
" The child has grown very thin," said H.
" She hag a difficult temper," said Cecilia — who, once she got an idea
into her soft, silly head, did not easily get rid of it again. " She is a great
aoxie^ to poor Mrs. Ashford. She is very diflerent, she tells mc, to Julia
and iJsette Gamier, her own daughters."
33— a
724 CIllDBBELLA.
*'IIuurtr tbotn vben -die; were chiMreo. We ued to aee agnatdeil'
of Mn. AtliJord vili«ii slio vas lint a widow, and I went to Iter
wedding."
W« urtre «t Viu'i* ooe year — ten y«UB bcfare the lima 1 am wriuaj
oF— Mvl Ml*. Gataiet lived over va, ia a tiny little ^wluient. Sbi ua*
VC17 poor, «nJ Tcry gnadljr dretaed, and «lu obmI to conw metling la l»
aee us. KuEiling m baidly the word, ilia was mudt too gneeM and
womaDljr a penoa to nutle ; brr bag mSt gowiu used tD ripple, acd vnxt,
and flow awa/ as Bhs come and w«ot ; aad her bcautirol vya omiI t?
fill witli loin OM ebc dfonlc bcr lea aod ooaGded ber Uoublos to «a
II. nerf-r liked }ieT ; titit 1 rourt coafeaa to a very kiaily leeling for lb«
poor, gcolie, beautiAiI, forlom jroung craaturp, ao psanooately JameUuiS
tb« loaa An had Kustsinvd iit Majoi^Guiend Garaicr.. Ha had left ber
very badly cS, although sbc was well ooDaiscled, Sod Lady Jaoe Pffpcr-
come, bcr coutiiQ, tiud o8ered ber and her two Uttle gtrl< it botna at
Bnvcnhill, ahe used to tell ita ia her eptora manner. I do iMt know yihj
ab« sever availed hcnolf of the offVr. She nid ooeo that i^be woold sot
be domg jiulice to )ier [irectoiis little oatt, to whom th« di^roted benelf
with tli« usisUinoc of an «x])ericiiceil attmdanl. My impmaoa ia, lint
the lilttc one* tiaed to Kcnib oue another's little ugly baft, and pMl md
anotlici'i little light Cltincae- looking tniJ*, while the experienood aiiendant
]ac«d and drecaed asd adorned, and aeenlcd and powdered ibelr maninny
Sha really waa a bcnatiftd young woman, and would bnro looked qvila
cbarming if ahe had IcA herself alone for a aingle infltantf bat diic mt
alu-nyi poatiig. She bad dnrk bright eyes ; obe bad a lovely Uttlc arcbed
mouth ; and bands so white, k> sofi, bo corered with rioga, that ona fell
tlmt it vrnii indeed a ptivil^e when alie odd, " Ok, how do you do T" aad
extended two or tbree gentle confiding lingers. At Gnt she treat nowben
except to church, and to walk in the retired paths of the Pork dc Mon^ciu,
although abc look in Galignani and used to read the l>»te of arrirali
But by degrees abe began to — chiefly to please ate, the said — go out a
little, to make a few acqaaiatao«cs. One day I waa wolkiog witk bcr
down the ChumpK Elyi^, when she suddenly started and looked up at a
tall, nieUnohoIy-lcoking gentleman who was pnosinst and who atarad at
her rery hard ; and Boon after thnt it whs that she b«^a tetlilu me A*
liail dcturminLil to make nil cQ^ort for her children's sake, and to go a littki
more into society. She wanted mu to lake her to Madame de Girouelte'c,
where abe beard I was going that evening, and where ahe bellered ilic
should mcut nn old friend of hers, whom she particulnily wiohed to sec
again. Would 1 help ber ? Would I be ao very good ? Of course I w»
ready to do anything I could. She came punctual to her time, all ercy
moiro ar.d bUck Uce ; a r«miie was teat for, and wc sot olT, iog^a^
along the crowded slreuU, with our two lamps lighted, and a surly moa,
in a Tcd waistcoat and un uilokiii hat, tj drive us to the Rue de Lille.
All lliQ way there. Mis. Garnier was atrange, silent, aervou^
•, ntMm^^t
CISDKItEU^.
725
Her ey«3 trere like two Bhinini^ craters, I tUotigtil, when we u-rircd, ftn<l
M we climbcil up tlic JntcrtDinnblo Di'gliU of auirs. I guesied who wm
ihe old friend will) the grty niotistnclic in a miniitA: n good, well-iookinff,
sick - looking iiiau, Rt.'\iidiu^ hy Limsclf iti n cc>mor.
[ upent a ciirioufl ("veiling;, diMractcil lietvveen Mndamc dc Girouettc's
staM tiUk, to which I was Bup[>oted to bo linWning, and Mr*. Garniuf'A
niurniiiri-d conTcr»ati«a iviili hvr old fritiid in ihe corner, to which I w;ia
^■ftiiilv tiidcavouriog not to iittifod.
" My dear, imagine a bouillon, Bumiounl«d with liltJo tiny flutiags nil
round the hottom, nnd then three rucJ^u, altemnting with three lilllv
volautt, with gr«it chotix nt Tcgular tnterralfi; OT«r Ihia s tunic, caught
up nt the side lij- a jardiniere, n (xinlnre I'l Jtt S/be."
" When you ii'Si ua I wtis a cliitd, weak, rooUsb, cnslly frightened uid
iiifluenceti. lincnrly brokti my hfart. Look me in tlie Jaoe, if joucan, and
tell mc you do not bt;Hi'VC am," I heard Mrs. Gamier murmuring in a low,
thrilling whisper. She did not menn mo to he&r it, but iIia wu too
absorbed in what she was Mi)'ing to think of all the people round aboot her.
" Ah, Lydiu, what dot« it mutter now 7 " the friend anEvrcrcd in a sad
v<4«c, which loudied me ftomehow. " We have both been wrecked in our
venlurea, and UTe haa not much IcH for cither of us now."
" It i» cut en hinin" Madame tl«; Giroufttc w«nt on ; " the pieces which
nr« tHk«i out ni. one i-nJ are let in at ihe olher : the efl'ecl is tiujte
charoiiug, itud the ecouomy ia imnienae."
"For jou, you rnarriod th« pi-rBon joo loved," Lydia Garnicr wa«
ansn-crbg ; " for me, out of thu wreck, I htirc ut least my children, and a
romcmbrancc, nnd a friend — is it bo 7 Ab, Henry, hnvo I not aI least
a friend ? "
" Every body wauta cue," said Madame dc Girouotte, oonoludlog her coa-
versnlicn, "nnd tboy cannot )m made limt enough (o aupjily the demand. 1
am proniLfid mine to wear to-morrow at the opening of llie tidon, but I am
afraid that yoa bavo no chanci>. How the poor thing ia overworked — ^lier
tnagazin ia crowded — 1 believe idie will It'Jive it alt in charge of her pre-
miirc dcnioificllc, nnd retire to her campagne &» soon as llie veooon is over."
"And yoti will come and Me me, will you not .' " said the widow ut
V* went away, looking up. I do not know lo this day if she was acting.
I believe, to do her justice, that she -n-as only acting what iih<i roally felt,
ns many of us do at times.
I took Mrs. Garnicr home at I had agr««d. 1 did not oak any
(|UestioDa. ] met Colond Aahrord on the stairs next day, nnd I was not
siirpriMtl wlien, about a week nflcr, Mra. Garni«T came iiito the drawing-
room early one mominj;, sinVing down at my feet in a cavcleiit altitud«,
seitcd my band, and said that slie Lad come for counsel, for advice. She
hod had on offer from a person whom ilic respected. Colonel Asbiord,
whom I might have remarked that night at Madame de Girouctte's ; would
I— would I give her my cmidid opinion ; for Lcr ctiildnai'a sake did I not
think it would he well to think seriously t . . . .
^ae ^^^^^"^ CCTDKBfcLLA.
" And for your owo, too, m^ dor," mii I. " Colonel Aslifbr'3 is ia
P«rlium»it, Iw it very Vf II olT. I bdiore you will bo tuakuig ui uxcelleDl
niarnaje. Aowpt him by alt cicaniL"
"Tlrar IVitoid, nnoe thid it your rod heanfllt oplaioo, I Tajot juiir
jiidgtiiciit too higjily Dot to act by it* dictstM. Once, yean ago, thoc
wu tbooglit of thU b«tiro«a mc nnd Hvnry. I will Dow confide ta jvq, toy
hoot bus never failed from iu early diTotion. A cruel &t« sep&ratcd u.
I mtrriH. TTo mnrriod. Wc nro hrongbt togetliw u by a mJriiiclf, but
our tlirw cliildr«Q will nvrur knowUiv low of tlieir pareats' love," ftc &e.
GUoioe, band-pretwure, &«. — tVAn, &«. Tbea s ioag, Boft, irritaiiug 1d&
I fdt for tbe lirat time in tny lil« iacUned to box ber con.
Tbc liltic Gnmicrs octtainly giuned by tbe bofgaia, and tbe cotnd
fat down ta write home to hit little daughter, aad t«l| htr tb« oevn.
Poor littk Eila, I wcmdur what sort of aozietjca Mra. ^Vehibrd bad
CAused to ber biforo she had bem Ella's fatber'a wife a year. Mi«> A*b-
ford niutio the l>est of it. Slie was a cbcciy, bap]iy little creators, look-
ing at ever^-lliing from tbe nuiay side, adoring ber bthcT] ranging wild
out of dooiB, but with an odd turn ii>r bouse-knpiog, and order aod
method at borne. Indeed} for the Isat two yeans ^^^f mace abe me
twelve yean old, ehe bad k(^pt hvr fntbcr's boose. Languid, gentle,
eauly impretaed, ColoniJ Ashfonl vras qiule ouiioudy iuflueoMd by
this IiUlc dnnghtcr. She could make him con-^ and go, ttti blie aod
dislike. I think it was EIU who sent him into Parliament : she oonld
not bear Sir Biuaham Rtcbardion, thcii next attigbbonr, to be an U^.|
and an oracle, while lier father was ou!y a retired colonel. Her ways
and her Bnjings were ft itrangc nnd ptcity mistsre of cliildUmcn
and precociouaneas. She would be ordering dinner, aeein^ that the
firea vere alight in the study nml dining-room, writing notw to aare
her father ttoublo (Colonel Aabfotvl hated trouble), in bcr cramped,
citKiked, giili>b hand ; the neit minute ahe was purhap« Sying, n^k-
footod, round and round tbe old ball, ikipping up and down the ode stairs,
lauglitDg uut iike a child us shu [ilayed with bur puppy, and dangkd a
UtUe ball of elriiig under his blauk uotic. Fufi*, with a youtbAil lurk, ^
vonld leiae the ball and go aoattling down the corridors with Lia price, I
while £Ua pur^utrd him with her quick dying feet. She could an^ '
ohumingly, with a clk-ur, true, piping roiiK, like a bird's, and slie lund to
dunce to her oivn singing in the prettiest way imaginable. Her doneiog
was really luaarkahlc : ahe huj the most hcuitiful feet nnd hands, and
aa she MeBawc<l in time, stiU xinging and mortng in rhythm, uiy «au
seeing Iier could not &il to have been atnick by the weLrd-like liitfa
accomphshment. Some girU have a passion for dancing— boys baTe a
bundreil other ways and means of givmg vent to their activity sad
exercising their youthful limba, and putting out their eager youi^
strength; but girla have so such obances; they arc coadomned to iralk
through Iti^ for the mo^t part quietly, soberly, putting a ciirb oo tbe liA
CINDERELLA. 727
and vitalitj vliich is in them. Tbey long to throw it out, they would
like to have wings to fly like a bird, and so they dance Bometimea with all
their hearts, and might, and energy. People rarely talk of the poetry of
dancing, but there is Bomething in it of the real inepiration of art. The
music plays, the heart beats time, the movements Sow ae naturally aa the
branches of a tree go waving in the wind
One day a naughty boy, who had run away, for a Inrk, from his tutor
and his schoolroom at Clifie, hard by, and who was hiding in a ditch,
happened to sec Ella alone in a field. She was looking up at the sky and
down at the pretty scarlet and white pimpernels, and liateuing to the
birds ; suddenly she felt so strong and bo light, and as if she muBt jump
about a little, she was so happy, and go she did, shaking her pretty golden
tnane, waving her poppies high over head, and singing higher and higher,
li^e one c^ the larks diat were floating in mid air. The naughty boy was
much fi-ightened, and firmly believed that he had seen a fairy.
" She was all in white," he said afterwards, in an aggrieved tone of
voice. "She'd no hat, or anything; she bounded Eixfoot into the air.
you never saw anything like it."
Master Bichardeon's guilty conscience had something to do witli hia
alarm. When his friend made a few facetious inquiries he answered quite
sulkily, — " Black pudden ? she offered me no pudden or anything else. I
oply wish you had been there, that's all, then you'd believe a fellow when
he says a thing, instead of always chaEBng."
Ella gave up her dancing after the new wife came to Ash Place. It
was all BO difierent ; she was not allowed any ntore to run out in the
fields alone. She supposed it was very nice having two young com-
panions like Lisette and Julia, and at first, in her kindly way, the child
did the honours of her own home, showed them the way which led to her
rabbits, her most secret bird's nest, the old ivy-grown smugglers' hole in
the hollow. Lisette and Julia went trotting about in their fri!I tromiers
and Chinese tails of hair, examining everything, making their calculations,
saying nothing, taking it all in (poor little Ella was rather puzzled, and
could not make them out). Meantime her new mother was gracefully wan-
dering over the house on her husband's arm, and standing in attitudes
admiring the view from the windows, and asking gentle little indiiferent
questions, to all of which Colonel Ashford replied unsuspectingly enough.
" And ED you give the child an allowance 7 Is she not very youog for
one 7 And is this Ella's room 7 how prettily it is furnished."
" She did it all herself," Boid her &ther, smiling. " Look at her rocking-
horse, and her dolis' house, and her tidy little arrangements."
The house-keeping books were in a little pile on the table ; a very
suspicious-looking doll was lying on the bed, so were a pile of towels, half
marked, but neatly folded ; there was a bird singing in a cage, a squirrel,
a little aged dog — Puff's grandmother — asleep on a cushion, some sea-
anemones in a glass, gaping with their horrid mouths, strings of birds'
eggs were suspended, and whips were banging up on the walls. There
rad
atiDEREXXA.
wot a gntt bunch of flower* in Ibe wiixiow, Asd a long duty-clMUi
fotteoed up in leMooDs lound th« ghn ; and tlien on the loUette-taUt
there vrcrc ooc or two v>Jiuikle triokcii Kt out in their litllc cues.
" tkmr nv," uid Ur«. Aahford, " it it not a pity to loan mush
tatioo in the yray oftbe Bcnrants? Little earclew thing: — ^bad I not better
ktvf ihcD fi>r Iter, Henry 7 Ui«y ar« very beautiiul-" AM Mrs. Ajfafiffd
•oftly collected Ella's Ireiiuim ia her long white bands.
"l^lUliaa some very Taluable tilings," Colonel Adtibrd laid. "She keeps
them lock«d up in a strong box, I beUere ; yea, there it ia io the conwr."
"It had mui^ better cone into my dosH," Mrs. Asblbrd aid. "Ob,
lioir heavy t Come bcN, sUong-ano, and h«]p me." Colonel AiUbrd
obediently look up the bcoc as he was bid.
'* And I think I mny as ndl finish niarkijig tlio dotsters," Mud
Mrs. Athford, looking round iho re4Mn ns the coll«ct«d thoia all in b«r
apron. '* The books, of coarse, are now my duty. I tliink Ella will not
1m sonry to bo relieved of her cares. Do you know, dexr, I think I ant
glad, for her nke, tliat you married me, as w«-ll as for my own. I think
ebc baa bad too much put upon tier, is a little too dcadcd, too prtmatoie
for one so youn;. One would t»>t wish Io see ber grow up bofora the
tinw. Let them remain young and careless whik tbry can, Heniy.**
So vboa £Ua canx.- back to mark the diutcia that sho bad been
homming, bccauao Mrs. Alilton was in a liuiry for tlteni aiid the hoosc-
maiJ hud hurt ber eye, ihey were gone, and ao were her ncnt little book*
that she bad taken siicli pride in, and h:ul been winding op bdbn die
gave tlicm to Min. Ashford to ixvp in fuiUTC ; so was her pret^ eoil
BCckfaiCie that ehe wore of on erening ; and her pearls with the dtamoad
elasp ; and her beautiful clear carbuncle brooch that ebe wiu ao Joed ol^
and her little gold clnsp bmcolct. Although Eliss and Sumn had Bred
with tliem all ber life long, they had neircr token Ii«r thii^s, poorBSa
thought, n little Utterly. " Quite ansatlable, .tt your a^, dearm," Mn>.
Ashford wamiurcd, kxBsiog hor fondly.
And Ella nuvur got them back any more. Many and mjuty other
things then: were flic never got back, poor child. Ah me t treuont
dcsrvT to liar than the pretty coral ncoklaee and the gold da^ bnodefr—
liberty, ooofideiMe— the tender almoifibere of admiring lore in which she
bod always lived, the first pUoe in hoc Other's heart. That choold oerer
be ben again some one had determined.
Tlie only exctue for Mrs. Ashford is thut she vns rety much in lore
will) her hatband, nod eo sclfi«hly attached to him that alio gnidged the
very care and devotion whieli little Kil:i k-td spent upon her &thcr aU Ibo*
yean puu Every fte«Ji proof of thought and depth of feeling In aueh a
childish little croatore hurt and vexed the other vonaa. £lla mwt be
taught her place, this lady determiaed, not in so many words. Alia 1 if
we eoold always set our evil thougbta and scbeiaea to wod^ it wooM
parinps be well with u«, and better hr than driftiiig, itnoonaeioiis sad
twvantcd, into nameless cril, onowocd to OMWl( ecitrcely reoogoized.
ClMDEBELLA. 729
And 80 the years went hj. Julia and Lisette grew up into two great
tall fashionable bouncing young ladies ; they pierced their ears, turned
up their pigtails, and dressed very elegantly. Lisette nsed to wear a
coral necklace, Julia was partial to a clear carbuncle brooch her mother
gave her. Little Ella, too, grew up like a little green plant springing up
through the mild spring rains and the summer sunshine, taller and
prettier and sadder, every year. And yet perhaps it was as well after
all that early in life she had to learn to be content with a very little share
of its bounties : she might have been spoilt and over-indulged if things
had gone on as they began, if nothing bad ever thwarted her, and if aH
her life she had had her own way. She was a bright smiling little thing
for all her worries, with a sweet little face ; indeed her beauty was so
remarkable, and her manner so simple and charming, that Julia and Lisette,
who were a year or two her elders, used to complain to their mother
nobody ever noticed them when Ella was by. Lady Jane Feppercome,
their own cousin, was always noticing her, and actually gave her a potato
oflF her own plate the other day.
" I fear she is a very forward, designing girl. I shall not think of
taking hef out in London this year," Mrs. Ashford said, with soma
asperity ; " nor shall I allow her to appear at our crfiquet party next
week. She is far too young to be brought out."
So EUa was desired to remain in her own room on this occasion.
She nearly cried, poor little thing, but what could she do ? her father was
away, and when he come back Mrs. Ashford would be sure to explain
everything to him. Mrs. Anhford had explained life in so strangely
ingenioiis a manner that he had got to see it in a very topsy-turvy
iashion. Some things she had explained away altogether, some she had
distorted and twisted, poor little Ella had been explained and explained,
until there was scarcely anything of her left at all. Poor child, she some-
times used to think she hod not a single iriend in the world, but she
would chide herself for such fancies ; it must be fancy. Her father loved
her as much as ever, but he was engrossed by business, and it was not
to be expected he should show what he felt before Julia and Lisette, who
might be hurt. And then Ella would put all her drawers in order, or sevr
a seam, or go out and pull up a bedfiil of weeds to chase such morbid
Janciea out of her mind.
Lady Jane Pcppercome, of whom mention lias been already made,
had two houses, one in Onslow Square, another at Hampstead. She waa
very rich, she had never married, and was consequently fer more senti-
mental than ladies of her standing usually are. She was a flighty old
lady, and lived sometimes at one house, sometimes at the other, sometimes
at hotels here and there, as the fancy seized her. She waa very kind aa
well as flighty, and was constantly doing generous things, and trying to
help any one who seemed to be in trouble or who appeared to wish for
anything she had it in her power to grant,
85—5
730
ClItOSRSLU.
B(> wbco Mri. Attiford said, — " Oli, Loci; S»nt, ptiy m* \ My bmlMnd
Mi)-> he cannot uflcn] to take me to tova tihii year. I ehvuU m like to
go, for ihe dear giiU' pftke of counc " Lad; Jane gkTe a little
grant, and uid, — " I will l«-n<l you niy bcmie in Onslow Sqiiai«, if yoa
\\\<i — lh»t ia, if jou keep my rcom read^ (c>r tne ia caso I irant to ooat
11^ ut any time. But 1 doresiiy you ivoo't care Ibr audi an ua&sbiooabla
i]uaHfr of tbc world."
" Ob, Lady Jnno, hovr exceedingly Linri, bov very ddighthl and
unexpected 1 " cried KIra. jVAliford, wbo bad bom hoping for it all ibc
llmtt ^ wbo battoaid to commiiaicfltc tbc n«w« to LiMtt« and Julia.
" I diall want H regular outfit, inainnin," raid Julia, wbo -Kta food of
drew. " Perbape no aliail tncet young Mr. Ricbardwn ia town."
" I aball b« mapped up directly by •omu one, I c-xpoct," auid LittMe^
vlw waa veiy rain, and tho;igbt hcrSL-lf irresistible.
" Am I to ooiae, too 7 " atkcd £lbi, timidly, from tb« otber «nd of tlM
nam, looldug up from her aeving.
" I do not know," replied bcr atvprnotlMrr curtly, and £11* sigbtd a
litllft wtlfiilty, and went on 8tit«hiiig.
" At irbat age ehall you let mo oomeoubT" afac prcsentlj uked, abyly.
" WboQ you •»> £t to be truflt«d in tbo world, and hare cur«d ynor
unmly Icinjier," Mid Mra. Acliford. Klla*a«yea filled wtlb t^art, and ihe
blii^cd \ip; but tier latbor earns into tbe room, aod sbe ainiled tbrou^
b«r tears, and tbought to herself tbst ai&M her l«mp«r was so bad, tb*
Iwd better brgtn to rule it tbnt very inatant
It is a bright May morning nAer a iiigbt of rain, and altiioui^b lUt U
Luudon niul not the country any mora, Onelow S<[uare looks brigiii tai
elcan. Lady Jano bun bnd ibc houio sourtly dous up : clean ebiau,
llriped btinibi, a balcony full of mignonette. She Itas kept two bule
roOBU for beraelf and b«r uaiil, but all th« r«flt of tbo booae ia at tb«
litbrda' dif^xMal. Erciybodyia satisfied, and T" Tiaated with h«t
ttle rooin npnliiirs. Mrs. Ashfonl in making I a and dsmer-
Jos and millinera' addresses ; Lisette is looking out of window at
DO carriagca which uv paadng ; the obildrcn nod narwji arc uiting
\jmitt tb« troM ia tb« tquarA ; Julu ij looking at bcndf in ibe gbia aad
pnuitiiiii; her couit cartseya ; and Ella ii in the back-room arrajigii^ a
great hMp of book* to « bookcase. " 1 abould to like to go to the Palace,
mamma," tUtv laja, mad htoking up with a snudgy face, for the bcoka ven
■U dirty cod eovemi with duU. *' Do joa think there wtll be room fcr
Ella had oo pi-cprr pride, as it ia called, and always uaed to take it
fbr granted fhe wivs wonted, and that eone acddeot prerented ber tno
ffiiag with Ch« oihera. ** I am sorry tb«ro is no rootn for you, EUa," cM
Mrs. Aslitbrd, in ber deep rvk« ; " t 1uit« ad»d Ur. Bichsrdua to octM
witb us, and if be &il0, 1 pnnUKd to call foe the Countea Bricabrae-
Pray. If you do not eftr« lor walking in the si^uare thli aAcnioooi, M
I
I
CINDERELLA. 731
that my maid puts my tLings properly away in the cupboards, as well
as Julia's and Lisette's, and help her to fold the dresses, because it is
impossible for oue person to manage these long trains unassisted."
" Very well," said Ella, cheerfully. " I hope you will have a pleasant
day. How nioe it mast be to be going."
" I wish you would learn not to wish for everything and anyUiing
that you happen to hear about, Ella," said Mrs. Ashford. " If you hear
any Tisitora coming, go away, for I cannot allow you to be seen iu thia
dirty state."
" There's a ring," said Ella, gathering some of the books together.
" Good-by."
Young Mr. Bichardson, who was announced immediately afler, passed
a pretty maid-servant, carrying a great pile of folios upon the stairs. She
looked so little £tted for the task that he involuntarily stopped and said,
" Can I aedst you ? " The little maid smiled, and shook her head, with-
out speaking. "What a charming httle creature !" thought Mr. Richardson.
He came to say that he and hia friend. Jack Prettyman, were going to
ride down together, and would join the ladies at the Palace.
" We are to pick Colonel Ashford up at his club," Mrs. Ashford said,
" and Madame de Bricabrac, I shall count upon you then." And the
young ladies waved him gracious nu revoirs from the balcony.
" Oh ! don't you like white waistcoats, Julia ? " smd Lisette, as she
watched him down the street.
They are gone. Ella went up to help with the dresses, but presently
the maid said in her rude way that she must go down to dinner, and she
could not have anybody messing the things about while she was away.
Carter hated having a " spy " eiit over her, as she called Miss Ashford.
The poor little spy went back to the drawing-room. She was too melan-
choly and out of spirits to dress herself and go out. Her face was still
smudgy, and she had cried a little over Lisette's pink tarlatane. Her
heart sank down, down, down. She did so long for a little fun and
delight, and laughter and happiness. She knew ber father would say,
"Where ia Ella?" and her mother would answer, "Oh, I really cannot
account for Ella's fancies. She was sulky this morning again. I cannot
manage her strange tempers."
The poor child chanced to see her shabby face and frock and tear-
stained cheeks in one of the tall glasses over ihe gilt tables. It was very
Billy, hut the wobcgone little face touched her so ; she was so sorry for
it that all of a sudden she burst out sob, sob, Bob, crying, " Oh, how
nice it must be to be loved and cherished, and very happy," she thought.
" Oh, 1 could be so good if they would only Jove me." She could not bear
to think more directly of her father's change of feeling. She sat down on
the floor, aa she had n way of doing, all in a little heap, staring at the
empty grate. The fire had burnt out, and no one had thought of
relighting it. For a few minutes her tears overflowed, and she cried and
cried in two rivulets down her black little face. She thought how forlorn
732
CLNUElUEXtA.
alia wu, wliat ■ dull lilb ebc led, bow iIotHi she Uvcd — euch a
or rognt Rnd misciy orerpoworod h«r, tliat the lild Iter face in ha hiadi,
unconsciouA of an^hisg vise but bcr own swlnen. . . .
She di4 not hear the beli ring, nor a onrriagc Mop, Dor L*dj- Jont's
TootJiU^ SJio oame aooss tbe Toom and stood looking at hvr. *■ Why,
my dear liltla cieatorc, what is tlic ntuter ? " end l)ie old loAy it hit
*' Crying T don't you Vnow it ig v«?ry natighty to cry, no nialU-r how bad
tilings arc * Are they iiU gone— arc you aJI alotic 7 "
EUn jumped up, quitv Htorllud, blualicd, wiped h«r tears in a sanidia.
" I tliougbt nobody would tee idg cry," ebe stiil, " for llK'y ara all goaa
to Lbe Cryata] PaUcc."
" And did th«y leare you bcUind tjtutc by yoonelf 7 " tbe old lady
ojtVcd.
'' They w«rc to aarty ihey had no room for mc," said good-uUond
littlo Klla. She could net bear to bear p(>ople blamed. ** They had pto-
miaed Madame de Dricahrac."
" la that all ? " said Lady Jatic, in her kind imperiouii way. " Why, I
h&va driven in from Uanip»ti>«d on ptirpo^} to go there too. TbenV a
great llowvr-Hhow lo-day, and you know I am a first-rate gardener. I're
bronght np a great Iinmpcr of thingn. Put on yonr honnc^ wasb your
faoe^ and come along direcUy. I've plenty of room. Who in that talklag
in that m<ifl way? '' for at that ioataat Carter called out from the dnwiag-
room door, without looking in,—
" Now then, Mlaa Ella, you cm como and hdp me fold iben
uresscti. I'm in a nurry."
Carter was much discomposed when Lady Jime appeared, irate,
dignified.
" Go upstaira directly, and do not Ibiget younclf agun," toid tin
old lady.
" Oh, I think I ought toga and fold up the dreesea," said Ella, heti-
tating, flushing, blushing, And looking more than grstdbL "lIoirTtfy
very kind of you to think of me. I'm afmld they wooldn't— I'm afraid
I've no bonnet. Oh, thank youj I — but "
"Nonwnao, child," said Tjidy Jane; *' my niadd ahnll kelp that
woman. Here," ringing llie bell violently, to the footman, — "what bats
yoB done with the hamper I brotight up? let me Be« it unpacked h«n
immediitely. Can't trust those people, my dear — always sea to evety-
ihtng myocjf."
All «<rt8 cf ddicions thingg, se«nta, oolotm, Kpring-flow«r* and T«g*-
tahlefl came out of the hamper ia delightful coofluion. It waaa hamper
full of trcasnrco— sweet, hriglit, dcUciuutct&tited — asponguB, daffodilKflf,
hhicbclU, B.il.ids, cauliflowers, hot-house flowers, cowslips from th« fieUl,
aiallas. En)i'ii natty littli; fingers armagcd them bU about tho room fa
plates and in viues to perfectly and k> quickly, that old Lady Jaao end
out in adiniTRtion, —
" Why, you would be & finrt-rale girl, if yon didn't ciy. Hen, yea
CINDERELLA. 788
John, get some bowls and trays for the Tegetablea, green pe&ee, Btraw-
berriea ; and oh, here's a cucumber and a nice little early pumpkin. I had
it forced, my dear. Your stepmother tells me she is passionately fond of
pumpkins. Here, John, tnke all this down to the cook ; tell her to put
it in ft cool larder, and order the carriage and horses round directly. Now
then," U> Ella, briskly, " go and put your thinj^ on, and come along with
me. ni make matters straight. I always do. There, go directly. I
can't have the horses kept. Raton, my coachman, is terrible if be is kept
waiting — frightens me to death by his driving when he is put out."
Ella did not hesitate a moment longer ; she rushed upstairs ; her
little feet flew as they used to do formerly. She came down in a minute,
punting, rapturous, with shining hair and a bright face, in her very
best Sunday frock, cloak, and hat. Shabby enough they were, but ehe
was too happy, too excited, to think about the deftciencies in her toilet.
" Dear me, this will never do, I see," said the old lady, looking at her
disapprovingly; but she Bmiled bo kindly as she Bpoke, that Ella was not
a bit frightened.
" Indeed, I have no other," she said.
" John," cried the old lady, " where ia my maid? Deairc her to come
and Bpeak to me directly. Now then, sir I "
All her servants knew her ways much too well not to fly at her
commands. A moid appeared as if by magic.
" Now, Batter, be quick ; get that blue and silver boumous of mine
from the box upstairs — it will look very nice ; and a pair of grey kid
gloves. Batter; and let me see, my dear, you wouldn't look well in a
brocade. No, that grey satin skirt. Batter ; her own white bodice will
do, and we can buy a bonnet as we go along. Now, quick ; am I to be
kept watting all day ? "
Ella in a moment found herself transformed somehow into the most
magnificent lady she had seen for many a day. It was like a dream, she
cot^d hardly believe it ; she saw herself move majestically, sweeping in
silken robes across the very same pier-glass, where a few minutes before
she had looked at the wretched little melancholy creature, crying with a
dir^ face, and watched the sad tears flowing. . . .
"Now then — now then," cried Lady Jane, who was always saying
" Now then," and urging people on — " where's my page — are the outriders
there? They are all workhouse boys, my dear; they came to me as thin
and starved as church mice, and then I fatten them up nnd get 'em situa-
tiona. I always go with outriders. One's obliged to keep up a certain
dignity in these Chartist days — universal reform — Buflroge — vote by ballot.
I've no patience with Mr. Gladatone, and it all rests with us to keep our-
selves well aloof. Get in, get in ! Drive to Sydenham, if you please."
Lady Jane's manners entirely changed when she spoke to Baton. And
it ia a fact that coachmen from their tall boxes rule with a very high
hand, and most ladies tremble before them. Raton looked very alarming
in his wig, with his shoebuckles and great red face.
784 CINDERELI-A.
What a biry tale it was t There was little Ella aitting in this IdtgIj
chariot, galloping down the Brompton Road, with all the little boTs dieer-
ing and horrahiog; and the little outrideia clattering on ahead, and the
old lady siting holt upright aa pleased as Punch. She really had bees
going to Sydenham ; but I think if she had not, she would have aet ofT
inRtantly, if she thought she would make anybody happy by bo dcoog.
They stopped at a shop in the Brompton Boad — the wondering sbop-
woman came out.
" A white bonnet, if you please," said Lady Jane. " That will do
very well. Here, child, put it on, and mind you don't crease the
strings," And then away and away diey went once more tiirough ihe
town, the Eqnares, over the bridges. They saw the sfaipa and steamen
coining down the diver Thames, but the carriage never stopped : the out-
ridera paid the tolls and clattered on ahead. They rolled along pleasant
country lanes and fields, villas and coontiy-houses, road-side inns and
pedestrians, and crawling carts and carriages. At the end of tfar«e-qaarten
of an hour, during which it seemed to Ella as if the whole gay cortige had
been flying through the air, they suddenly stopped at last, at the great
gates of a Crystal Palace blazing in the sun and standing on a >iill A
crowd was looking on. All sorts of grand people were driving up in
their carriages ; splendid ladies were passing in. Two gentlemen in white
waistcoats were dismounting from their horses jost as £l]a and Lady Jane
were arriving. They rushed up to the carriage-door, and helped them to
the ground.
" And pray, sir, who are you ? " said Lady Jane, as soon aa she vm
safely deposited on her two little flat feet with the Ainny old-iaabioned shoes.
The young man coloured up and bowed. " You don't remember me,
Lady Jane," he said. " Charles Richardson— I have had the honour of
meeting you at Ash Place, and at Cliffe, my uncle's house. This la my
friend Mr. Prettyman."
" This is Mr. Richardson, my dear Ella, and that ia Mr. Prettyman.
Tell them to come back in a couple of hours " (to the page), "and desire
Raton to see that the horses have a feed. Now then — ^yes — give her
your arm, and you are going to take me 7 — very well," to the other while
waistcoat ; and so they went into the palace.
What are young princes lite now-a-days? Do they wear diamond
aigrettes, aworda at their sides, top-boots, and little short cloaks over one
slioulder? The only approach to romance that I can sec, ia the ilower in
their button-hole, and the nice little moustaches and curly beards in
which they delight. But all the same besides the flower in the button,
there is also, I think, a possible flower of sentiment still growing in the
sod hearts of princes in these daya, as in the old days long, long ago.
Charles Richardson was a short ugly little man, very gentlemanlike,
and well dressed. Ue was the next heir to a baronetcy ; he had a pale
iace and a anub nose, and such a fine estate in prospect — CliflTe Comt
its name was — that I do not wonder at Miss Liaette's admindBa
CINDERELLA. 78iS
him. As for Ella, ^^ thought how kind he had beea on the stairs
that morning ; she thought what a briglit genial amile he had. How
charming he looked, she paid to herself; no, never, never, had she dreamt
of any one so nice. She was quite — more than satisfied, no prince
in romance would have seemed to her what this one was, there actually
walking beside her. As for Kichardson himself, it was a case of love at
first sight. He had seen many thousand young ladies in the last few
years, but not one of them to compare with this sweet-faced, ingenuous,
tender, bright little creature. He offered her his arm, and led her along.
Ella observed that ha said a few words to his friend ; she little guessed
their purport. " You go first," he whispered, " and if you see the Ashfords
get out of the way. I should have to walk with those girls, and my
heart is here transfixed for ever." . . . . " Where have I seen you
before 7 " he went on, talkiog to Ella, as they roamed through the beautiful
courts and gardens, among fountains and ilowers, and rare objects of art.
*' Forgive me for asking you, but 1 must have met you somewhere long
ago, and have never forgotten you. I am haunted by your face." Ella
was too much ashamed to tell him where and how it was they had met
that very morning. She remembered him perfectly, but she thought he
would rush away and leave her, if she told him that the untidy little
scrub upon the stairs had been herself. And she was so happy: musie
playing, flowers blooming, the great wonderful fairy palace fiashii^ over
head; the kind, clever, delightfiil young man to escort her; the gay
company, the glitter, the perfume, the statues, the interesting figures of
Indiana, the dear, dear, kind Lady Jane to look to for sympathy and for
good-humoured little nods of encouragement. She had never been so
happy ; she had never known what a wonder the palace might be. Her
heart was so full. It was all so lovely, so inconceivably beautiful and
delightful, that she was nearly tipsy with delight ; her bead turned for an
instant, and she clung to young Eichardson's protecting arm.
" Are you faint — are you ill? " he said, anxiously.
" Oh, no I " said Ella, " it's only that everything is so beautiful ; it is
almost more than I can hear. I — I am not often so happy ; oh, it is so
charming ! I do not think anything could be so delightful in all the
world." She looked herself so charming and unconscious as she spoke,
looking up with her beautiful faco out of her white bonnet, that the
young fellow felt as if he must propose to her, then and there, off-hand,
ou the very spot ; and at the instant he looked up passionately — O
horror I — he caught sight of the Ashfords, mother, daughters, Madame
dc Bricabrac, all in a row, coming right down upon them.
" Prettyman, this way to the right," cried little Richardson, despe-
rately; and Prettyman, who was a good-naturod fellow, said, " This way,
please. Lady Jane ; there's some people we want to avoid over there."
• * * * •
" I'm Bure it wag," Lisette said. " I knew the colour of his waist-
coat. Who could he have been walking with, I wonder 7 "
786 CINDERELLA.
" Some lady of rank, eridently," said Julio. " I think th^ ire&t vf
into the gallery in search of ua."
" Let US go into the gallery, deatB," said Mra. A«hford, and iwxj tlnj
trudged.
• • * • *
The young men and their companiona had gone into the Tro{»cs, nd
meanwhile were sitting nnder a npreading palm-tree, eating pink ica;
while the mtiuc played and played more delightfully, and all the ui ini
lull of flowers and waltzes, of delight, of sentiment. To young lUchardna
the whole palace was Ella in everything, in every sound, and flower ud
fountain ; to Ella, young Richardson seemed an enormotu giant, and liii
kind little twinkling eyes were shiQiug all round her.
Poor dear I she was so little used to being happy, her happiness almoit
overpowered her.
" Are you going to the ball at Guildhall, to-morrow 7 " Mr. Bic^tardKO
was saying to his unknown princess. " How shall I ever meet yon again !
will you not tell me your name? But "
" I wonder what o'clock it is, and where your mother can be, £11^"
8.nid Lady Jane ; " it's very odd we have not met"
• • • • »
" I can't imagine where they can have hid themaelTes," said Jnlia,
very crossly, from the gallery overhead.
"I'm so tired, and I'm ready to drop," said Miss Lisette.
" Oh, let us sit," groaned Madame de Bricabrac " I can walk no
more ; what does it matter if we do not find your friends ? "
" If we take our places at the door," said Lisette, " we shall be sine
to catch them as they pass."
• • • • •
" Perhaps I may be able to go to the ball," said the princess, doubt-
fully. " I — I don't know." Lady Jane made believe not to be listening.
The voices in the gallery passed on. Lady Jane having finished her ice,
pulled out her little watch, and gave a scream of terror. " Heavens I my
time 13 up," she said. "Katon will frighten me out of my wits, driving
lionie. Come, child, come — come — come. Make haste — thank these
gentlemen for their escort," and she went akurrying along, a funny little
active figure, followed by the breathless young people. They got to the
door at ].i3t, where Raton was waiting, looking very ferocious. " Oh^
good-by," said Ella. " Thank you so much," as Richardson helped her
into the chariot.
" And you will not forget me ? " he said, in a low voice. " I shall not
need any name to remember you by."
" My name ia Ella," she answered, blushing, and driving off ; and
then Ella flung her arms round Lady Jane, and began to^cty again, and
said, " Oh, I have been no happy I so happy I How good, good of jflO
to make me so happy I Oh, thank you, dear Lady Jane ! "
The othera came back as hour after them, looking eztranil
ClNDEItELLA. 737
and were much surpriBed to find Lady Jane in the drawing-room. " I am
not going back till Wednesday," said the old lady. " I've Beveral thioga
to do in town. . . . Well, have you had a pleasant day 7 "
" Not at all," said Mra. Ashford plaintively. " The colonel deserted
us ; ve didn't find our young men till juAt an we were coming away.
We are all very tired, and want some supper. Some of your deliciooa
fruit, Lady Jane."
" Oh, dear, how tired I am ! " said Julia.
" Poor Richardson waa in very bad epirits," said Lisette.
" What a place it is for losing one another," said old Lady Jane. " I
took Ella there this aflemoon, and though I looked about I couldn't see
you anywhere."
"Ella!" cried the other girls, astonished; "was sfia there?" . ■ .
But they were too much afraid of Lady Jane to object more openly.
That evening, afier the others lefl the room, as EUa was pouring out the
tea, she summoned up courage to ask whether she might go to the ball at
Guildhall with the others next evening. " Fray, pray, please take me,"
bhe implored. Mrs. Ashford looked up amazed at her audacity.
Poor little Eila ! refused, scorned, snubbed, wounded, pmned, and dis-
appointed. She finished pouring out the tea in silence, while a few bitter
scalding tears dropped from her eyes into the teacups. Colonel Ashford
drank some of them, and asked for more sugar to put into his cup.
" There, never mind," he said, kindly. He felt vexed with his wife,
and Borry for the child; but he was, as usual, too weak to interfere.
" You know you are too young to go into the world, Ella. When your
Bisters are married, then ^our turn will come."
Alas ! would it ever come ? The day's delight had given her a longing
for more ; and now she felt the beautiful glittering vision was only a
vision, and over already : the cloud-capped towers, the gorgeoua palace ;
and the charming prince himself — was he a vision too ? Ah I it was too
sad to think of. Presently Lisette and Julia came back : they had been
upstairs to see about their dresses.
" I shall wear my bird-of-paradise, and my yellow tarhilane," said
Lisette ; " gold and purple is such a lovely contrast."
" Gobert haa sent me a lovely thing," said Julia ; " tricolour flounces
all the way up — she has so much taste.''
Good old Lady Jane a^ked her maid next morning if any dress was
being got ready for Jliss Ella. Hearing that she was not going, and that
no preparations were being made, she despatched Batter on a secret
mission, and ordered her carriage at nine o'clock that evening. She went
out herself soon after breakfast in a hired brougham, dispensing with the
outriders for once. Ella was hard at work all day for her Etisters : her little
fingers quilled, fluted, frilled, pleated, pinned, tacked the trimmings on their
dresses more dexterously than any dressmaker or maid-servant could do.
She looked bo pretty, so kind, and so tired, so wistful, as she came to help
73S
CtM>»Ui:LLA.
rdKoT" ■
SBttaau at V
■4
L^ltffa to drcM^ that litMM «u quite loucbed, uid utdf — " W«U, Efla, I
" AouUn't vondor tf; after I am siuppcd up, you were to gvt bnU of a
liiMbvDiS MRiui d|iy. 1 dairsBy tonte p«>pU! might thmk }rou tuoft-looLiDg."
" Oil, do /oD iliiuk K> R^f, LiKtieT" aaid KlU, qtiile plcued i uij
tlien tiikriBg, "llo yow think .... Shall joa tee Mr. KiclwrdMaT'
" Of oonn* I tbalt," mid LiMIU. " lie tvu talking great
ycflta^a^ After ve found Ittm ; BBjriog Uut lie Imd met witb pcriocliMi
lut — vet; devoted altogether ; acarceljr apoke to iii« uC all ; bat tbu ti
tlie grratcat pioof of devotion, you know. I koow wliat lie mcaitl raj m
vcJL I ■boalds't b« ax all tnrprbed if b«waa ta propose to>Diskt ffl
doo't kaoxf whellier I Bball bare him. Tm always a&wd of bong thiwii
avay," eaid Liactto, looking over livr •boulder at bcr train.
Ella loB^ to aand a racBoge, a greetiiig of aomc sort, to IJasCtc't
adorer. Qb, Imr she earied ber ; what voold ihe doc Lave gina to be ^
go!&g U»1 ....
" Wlai ! are not you dressing, child ! " said Lady Jaae, coming into 1
room. " Are llicjr again obliged to call for Madame de Bricabno 7
had looked up a pair of ihoelwickleB for jou in case you went ; bat keep
thera all tb« aune, tbey only want a li)0« rubtiiug up."
" Ob, thank you ; how pretty tli«y are i bovf kind you on to ae,"
aaid flla, tauUy. >'I — I — am not goiqg." And she borst ont cryiag.
It wa« jiut dreadful not to go ; the pooi child hod had a great dimught
of ddigbt th« iaj bdbre, and aha vos aching and ai«k«Qiag fvt mute, aaJ
loDging with a poaaion of longing which ia only Iroown to reij jttiag
pcupic— flhe looked ijiuto worn aod pale through her tenn.
" Kub up your ahoebutJJiM — that will distract you," sftid 1I19 oU Wyi
kindly. "Thoy nro worth a great deal of money, though they an coljj
paMe ; and if you peep in my room you will Gnd a littlo pair uf alii
to wiau- llioin with. I hojMi thvy will fit. 1 could hanlly g«t uymiUJ
aiDUgh for you." Tbcy wen: the luveliiitt little white uitiu lUppcxis vidi
IBlin heelH, all embroidered with glnn buula; but suiaU u ihcy were,
they were a little Ioose^ only Ella took care not tu nay so, u tbn tried
them «Q.
We all know wh&tiM coming, though liule EUa had no idea of it. Titt
baill wa« at UuimiitUI, one of the granduat oad gayesc lltat erer wu prvtl
in the city of London. I( was in honour of the bcautiftil vootig Pnoe^
who had just landed on our ahorea. Priticet, ambassadotv, eoblo, lORV
orders and garlCTB and decotatioati, were to be prcacat ; all the gnodoi^
gayott, ric'lK-st, li.tp|ii(yit pooplu in the uuuntry, nil the Enost bvautif^il ladllB
and jfiWfla uiitl (lowers, w«rc to be tlierc to do homage to the peal«i|
joung bride. The Ashfords had no sooner started, than Lady Jane, wh»j
had b«ea very mystevious all day, and neTer told auyr one that she hU,{
been to the citjr to procure two onormous golden tickets which wen DM
in her bcdiooin, now eanii>, smiling very benovoleotl/, inly the drawii
room. Little Ella was standing out iu the balooa/ ytidx her pale bc*^
and all ber bur tumbling down her baek. She bad bova loo buHy to put
CINDERELLA. 739
it ap, and now Bbe was only thinking of the ball, and picturing the dear
little ugly disappointed face of Prince Richardson, when he should lode
about everywhere for her in vain — while she was standing hopelesflly
gazing after the receding carriage.
" Well, my dear, have you rubbed up the ahoebucklea ? That is
right," said the old lady. " Now come quick into my room and see some
of my conjuring."
Conjuring I It woa the moat beautiful white net dress, frothed and
frothed up to the waist, and looped up with long grasses. The conjuring
waa her own dear old pearl necklace with the diamond claap and a
diamond star for her hair. It waa a bunch of grasses and delicate white
azalias for a headdress, and over all the froUi a great veil of flowing white
net. The child opened her violet eyes, gasped, screamed, and began
dancing about the room like a mad thing, jumping, boimding, clapping
her hands, all so softly and gaily, and yet so lightly, in such an ecstasy
of delight, that Lady Jane felt she was more than rewarded.
• •«•««
"Ah! there she is at lost!" ciied Mr. Richardson, who was
turning careftilly round and round with the energetic Liaette.
" What do you mean 7 " said Lisette.
Can you fancy her amazement when she looked round and saw Ella
appearing in her snow and sunlight dress, looking so beautiful that every-
body turned to wonder at her, and to admire ? As for Ella, she saw no
one, nothing ; she was looking up and down, and right and left, for the kind
little pale pkdn face which she wanted.
" Excuse me one minute. Miss Lisette," said Mr. Richardson, leaving
poor Lisette planted in the middle of the room, and ruahing forward.
"Are you engaged," Ella heard a breathless voice sayiog in her ear,
" for the next three, six, twenty dances ? I am so delighted you have
come 1 I thought you were never coming,"
Julia had no partner at all, and was standing close by the entrance with
her mother. They were both astounded at the apparition. Mrs. Ashford
came forward to make sure that her eyes were not deceiving her. Could
it be — 7 yes — no, — yes, it was Ella, She flicked her fan indignantly into
an alderman's eye, and looked so fierce, that the child began to tremble.
" Please forgive me, mamma," said Ella, piteously,
" Forgive you ! never," said Mrs. Aahford, indignant. " What does all
this mean, pray 7 " she continued. " Lady Jane, 1 really must "
and then she stopped, partly because she waa so angry she could scarcely
speak, and partly because she could not afford to quarrel with Lady Jane
until the season was over.
" You really must forgive me, dear Lydia," said Lady Jane. *' She
wanted to come so much, I could not resist bringing her."
Weber's inspiriting last waltz was being played ; the people and music
went waving to and fro like the waves of the sea, sudden sharp notes of
exceeding sweetness sounded, and at the sound the figures all swayed in
740 asGtmKLLA.
harmouy. The Tcet kept oiMcen ntman to Ibe muio ; Om
ihj'tliro tbrilted and cootroUud tb«in nil. T1i« nunc ww like an
obantniciit, which kept tbrm moring and awtj'mg id circlci nnd in
dcUghlful •objection. Las«ttid«, uultton, diMppoioCmeot, EOx't akno, lH
mdMd away for the itmt ; paltea bou, and the daacera accaawrf to ilte
mmsatt
AU lltat erofiing yormg Bichard«on djLneod willt Ella and wttlt no en*
efae : the; tcnrciily knew how llie lime wnil. It vu « fiuij world : ibtrf
were flying und Bwinimiiig in melody — the &irj lioun went bj to nUM;
in ligtit, in delightful ccrapanioDshlp. Ivlla did nnt care for Mim. A^ifiri'*
darkening look*, lor Bnytliiitg llint niiglit happen : ijie wu ao bt^ifn- ia ifaa
notncnt, Mbe nlmoM forgot to look far Lady Jane'i lytn pathetic glaaea.
" Vnu must meet mc tn the lodiea' clook-nxtm pimciually al balApat
uIcreD," ber i>atrone« had whifpcrcd to her, " I cniutot keep Stiua,
with hit bad cough, cut after tvelre o'clock. Mind you arc pnactnri,
for I have pronuaed not to keep liim waiting."
" Tea, ycc, dear Lady Jane," nid Ella, and away the danced ogna ta
Llia mnsio. And time went uti, and JiUia luul iio purtnen; and Golead
^Nbrord carae tip to his wife, aayiog. — " I'm bo glad you arranged ferEUl
loo " bo laid. '* Haw nice Ae is looking. What ii the matter with Jolii ;
why don't she doooeT'* Tnmty, huuty, tumty, went the instrmneDtf.
And mcanwUto Mr. Richardaoa was anying, — " Tour dnncing pnla mt io
mind of a fiury I onoe saw in a 6eld at Cltffb long aga Nobody wmU
erer believe uie, but 1 did aco one."
" A fairy — wlul Vfa« alie like? " nuked Ella.
*' She wA.-t very like yoii," >iud Mr. Kichatdaoiit hmghing.
b«li«rc it uviA you, and that wna the lime when I anw ymi bef<Ne.'
*■ ySa, it waa nol." wid Ella, bituhing, and feeling she ooghl to taaSm.
" I will tell yoV' B^ ■*'*^> " >'' 7°"- '***U prouuM to daocc vm txton dance
with me, after yoo know. — Only one."
" Then yoii, too, reniombcr," he cried, edgerly. " Oncmore JanceT —
twenty — for ever and ever. Ah, you Diust know, yAti miait gueaa tha
fwling in my heart. . . ."
" Listen Sr«t," nid Ella, trembling very much and wnttxiag on
slowly. "It was only the other day " Tli* clock atrodt lhfM-qo«ti
" Ella, I am goin^ ," said Ijidy Jane, U>pi>iiig ber ou the aboaUtr.
" Cyme along, my dear "
•■ One word ! "* cried Richnrdaon, eaijeriy.
" You uin elay with your mother it' you like," the old lady
preoccu}»ed — she was ihiiiking of her coacltouui's in — <* but I adviM f
Io come with ine."
" Oh, pray, pwy stay I " mid yoflng BichardioQ ; " where ia f
mother? Let me go and ask herT"
" Yon had brtier go yourielf, Ella," raid old Lady Jane. "Will yW
give me your arm Io the door, Mr. lUchnitUon 7 "
EUaTenliipto Mrs. Aahford — she was bold with bappdlMM to-aigbt-'
ijn.
lance
bT-
itha
cnfOEirerxA.
and made her request. " Stay with wo ? ceriainly not, it ix quite out of
th« qneetion. You do me great liooour," Kiid the Indy, laughing mrcas*
ticaily. " Lady Jane biougLl you, Lady Jotio must talte you back," saitl
the stepmotbur. "Fuliciwyourchaporono if you pIaiu;o, I Imve no room Tor
you in my broiighnm. Go (tirtutly, Miss ! " siiii] Mra. Aslifonl, so savagely
>tlM( t])« poor child was quite frightened and Mt off running After the ether
iwe. She would have caught them up, hut at that inKtant Liwtte — who had
at lut Kcured a portacr — came waltKing up lo Bucb a violent, angry way,
tJiat bIio IjuttipeJ right up iignimi the Ittilu flying maiden and nearly
knocliud her duwn. EIlii gave a low cry ot pain : they had trodden on
h«r foot roughly — tliey had wounded Iior; h«r little satin slipper had
come ofT. Poor Eltu stociped and trit'd to pull at tho Blipper, but other
ccniplcs cnmc surging up, and ahc wati alooc, and frijjhtciicd, and obliged
to ahufllA a httle way out of the crowd before she could get it on. The
poor little frightened thing thought she never should get through tlie
crowd. She mado the bott of htr way to the clonk-room: it Momed to
her aa if alie hud htien hourst getting tiiorn. At liut hIio rcAchi-d it, only
to seOt to her dismay, aa aho went in at one door the other two gvitig
out of another a long way off! She called, but they did not hoar her,
and at the laina moment St. Paul'x great elock began slowly to strike
twelve. " My cloak, my oUiak, imythlng, pleaK," ah« crit^i in grca.t
agitation anrl anxiety; and a &tufid, bewildered maid hastily threw a
ahabby old efaawl over hex ahouldcra — it belonged lo como assiatont in
the place. I.ittlv KII.1, more imd more frightened, pulled it up as she
hurried along l1i«: blocked |>ii«sugeEi And curridora all lined wiili reil and
tliroaged with people. I'hey all stared at her in surpnae aa aiiu flew
along. Presently her net tonic caught in a doorway and tore into a
long ragged slired which trailed aflrr her. In her ugitalioa her comb fell
out of ber hair — ahe looked all xcnred and frightened— nobody would have
recognized the bcjiutiful triumphal prlncesa uf half nn hour before. She
heard the linkmtn calling, " Peppercome's carriage stops the way ! " And
Bho hurried faaler and faster down the endless pasaages and steps, and at
last, juAt as (Jie got lo t!ie doorway — 0 honor I she aaw the carriage and
idem going gleaming off in the moonlight, while ev^ry thing else
d black, dark, tiitd terribk'.
" Stop, stop, please otop I " cried little Ella, rushing out into tbo clrc«t
Lbrougfa tlie amazed footmen and linkmen. "Stop! stop 1 " she cried,
flying past Richardaoo himself, who could Lardly bcticre hia eyes. Raton
only whipped hia liortee, and KII.1 faw them dieappeumg into gloom in
tho ditlaccu in a sort of agony of des^mir. She waa 'excited beyond
measure, and exnggcrated all her feelings. What was to be done 7 Go
back ?- — that was impossible ; walk home? — she did not know her way.
^■fl it fency ? — was not somebody fjllowing her? She felt quite desjw-
nt« in the moonlight and darknoUL At that instant it seemed to her
like a fairy chariot coming to hor roacue, when n cabman, who wu
slowly [>aulng, aCopped and aaid, ** Cttb, mum J "
742
CINBERXXtX.
"YmI oil, yMl To Oiwlow Stjoare," cried TAlti, jnmpctif b
■butting the doer in Ooliclit and Ktlief. Sb« drove off jiut ■■ tin
bemlder«l little Richardson, who liad followed lier, reaehnl the ipet
He cnme ap in time only to m-u tHe cnb drirc olFi aoti to pick op saoe-
thii)^ which wu lying. flMning on tbo pavement. It wm om cf thi
dlamoad bncklca which had &llen from her tboe u she Jumped in. T^
littlo diamood buckle might, perhaps, hare led to her i<^tifieUKia
young Richardwm had do', taken the precaution of aLScertaining A«a
Lad; Jane, Ella's name and address.
Ho Knt a acrrant ocxt mominf with a Ijtllo pntoet aod a nolt l«
inquire whether one of the Indie* had loat what was eficloHd^and whether
Colonel Aahford yroali tte him at one o'docl^ on boaJiMce.
" Di'fir niP-, wlint n prMiy little bnekla ! " nid Liwtb), ttjing it oa htr
lnTfie flat fijot. " It louka vcr; nice, don't it, Julia ? 1 think I pia»-
don't yoti 7 — what he it coming for? I shall say ' No.' "
"It's too tmall lor you. It would do boUor for m«^" said Joia.
eootenpltiting iter own long itUpper, embeUbbed with llie diamonds.
ia not tmn. We ninst send it back, I snppewe."
"A ahoclmclde," nld Ella, coming in from the I(ilcli«j, whtre
hod be«n luperintcndlng prcaerrea iti her little brawn fro«k. "Let
KS it Oh, hew glad I am ; it ii mine. Look here I " aod she polled l!
fellow out of her picket. " Lady Jnne gare tbetn to me."
And HO tlio prineit arrived iHrforfl luadwnn, and tvas Hoseted wiA.
Colonel Anhford, who gladly gave his coiuent to what he wonted. And
wliiMt Mr«. Aihfotd be^an to explain tilings to hitn, aa wm her way. b>
did not listen to a single word she said. He was ao absorbed wondstia^
when £Us was comii^; into tiic room. lie thought once he beanl « litdt
roitte on the atatra outside, nod be jumped ap and nuhod to the dear.
It wna EILi, sura cnnugb, in her shabby licUe gown. Then hs kiw*
where And when hn had necn her Before.
'* £l]a, why did yon run awny fVoni me last night T " be aid. ** Tea
see I have followed you after nil."
They were so good, m happy, eo deroled to one another, that eT«s
Llsette and Julia relcntirJ. Dvur little couple ; good lode go with
happiness, content, and plenty. There wna somcthliif; quilu toochii^
their youih, (endemess^ and simpticity, and na they drovtt off fa)
caniago lor the honrymoon, Lady Jane flung the verj identical Mllri
■Upper after them whidi Ella should hays lott at tlie bdl.
1^
748
Sihit Jpaiionnt iortr^alt (SjEtubition.
The object of the present paper ia that it may serve as a familiar guide or
companion to the fine Exhibition of N'ational Portraits now on view at
South Kensington. There is, of course, a catalogue of those portraits ;
and considering the range and difficulty of the subject, it Is very creditably
executed. But they are 1,030 in number to begin with, which confines
the compilers of the catal(ffi;ue within the narrowest possible limits. And,
in the second place, the exhibition is of a nature too peculiar- to be a
proper subject for ordinary catalogue treatment. The mass of the pictures
compofflng it are not interesting as works of art, but as illustrations of
history ; and their interest varies so prodigiously in degree on this account,
that some deserve aB many pages as others do lines of commentary. Our
duty would therefore seem to be to select from the whole body those
works which aro most worthy a visitor's attention ; indicating great
artistic merit where it is generally allowed to exist by experts in those
matters; but mainly remembering that portraiture is a kind of biography,
and that the people here portrayed have, on the whole, been the leaders
of English life, and ought to be remembered with some familiarity. But
before banning the task as thus conceived by us, a few words must be
given to the history of the undertaking. The suggestion of it came from
the Earl of Derby, whose powerful influence has mainly contributed to
itt sncceflB ; and the collection has been formed under the superintend-
ence of Mr. Samuel Bedgrave, by Mr. Soden Smith, the Bev. James
Beck, and Mr. E. F. Sketchley, who has acted as secretary. Most of the
great houses of England, from Windsor downwards, such as Althorp,
LoBgleat, Enowsley, Ghatsworth, &c., have furnished portraits, and their
example has been followed by colleges, corporations, and tho halls of
country squires. In fact, there has been a good creaming of our English
portrait galleries; not a final one, for more yet remains, and must be
made use of next year j but still one which gives n fair representation of
our English portraits down to 1688. Next year, those of later dates
come un. But it is also intended, we are glad to learn, that a second
creaming shall take place, before then, of the earlier times; and now that
tho country ia getting widely informed about the whole afiair, treasures
will come to light the existence of which ia hardly yet suspected. Only
the other day we learned by accident that an old Yorkshire family
possesses a complete or nearly complete series of the famous Whartons
down to the eccentric duke, immortalized by Pope, who died at
Tarragona in 17S1. But their possessor, it seems, never knew that any
such project as that of the Exhibition was in the irihd. The search for
THE MATIOHAt POBTRAIT gltUBn'10!f.
fiituM muterult uuat be idotq quoum tbu it bu htm hitberto ; *a.i it
wonU be irell if those wlio lure old portniEu o( auj kiod in thrr
poneaoQ would pot tbenuclTCS ia cofntnun»catJc« wUb tbo SaBl)i
Ketuingtoa authoritioL
Alter ibii brief preamble, let ni commence our ^eroneebip bjF
ndvtfeiiig ll« n»itr to do hi* irork ctironoIofpcalliT' For tbis puTfow<
he Mccndt tlic Uain insl(i«d ef cnturing lbs gallery Luitncdiaiely bel<^tc
bim, nnd Rain lumnclf in the Eiurt«rni Corridor Mnon^l the old {lotciilaiti
of the FJo&tiigetict rdgnii. Portrailure, be wes at cnce, is n ihji^ of
comparatively modern dale in England. Tbvre are oa\y h few pcroaiti
of very ancuut tioiea, and of thcE«, aoms are tnthy BctioDs, man/ an
of artificial origiDf and iwarly all are of vneorlAia date and atitbonlii[>.
The fint clau ia represcnLcd by a " Ho«amond Cliflotd " (No. 1), purdjt
imaginary ; and by n. "Sir William 'VValluce" (No. 2), in a tartaa
•carf, evidently dntvrn from womn Argj'Ieshire cattle-lifl«r uuder aentcsci
of d<rath at GUingow about (be period of tlto Cuioo. There is aaIg;nilicaaM
in (Am impoalure which illustratos the whole subject of portrait-miau-
fit^liirv. To put "Wallace in turlan could only liaTe been an jiit*
originating in modem tintcK. He waa a l^wlaad gcnllenuit of EagGili
deaoent, bis name " Waloya " beii^ one nhkh ooevra among English
barons and lord mayors of bis ccntuiy, and vhicb Brut appears in tk<
chartulwy of Paisley along with Uie foondwi of the house of Stowin
whom the WaleysM evidently accompanied to Itenfinawil}ira from Sbrop-
ahira. But lht>rc is a fictilious portraiture which bulong* lo art, w
ircU as a flctitious portnuluro whiab only belongs to fabl& During tie
•niddlc agea, our hctald-painters nnd illcuiaatora of USS. w*k
habit of making representations of their heroea or fAtrou ; Mid the
on lomba and church- wlndoirs wciru cvrtainly intended lo bo likenewM
roueh aa the heads on dasaical or on modem coins. When these ome M
be used during the ntvival of art, ni models trom which to make Wgei
portraits, the nttuU was a porcrailur^— o(\cr giioiat enougb indeed-^>iu
by no means conlcmptilile or unrniatworthy. Chaucer was painted ia
miniature in old MSS. ; and down lo the lost century a picture of kia
TCasTiaiblo on his tomb at Westminster. If, then, the two " Chnucent "
in the Exhibiuon (No*. 6 and 9) are not taken from life, as is ctirtsiti
enough, there is no reason to duubl their being like life. And they butli
represent the poet as a man of eeuubility and intclkct, thou|;h witli all
ihc gravity of cxpresrion which belongs to early schools of art. Tlw.
author of the Canterbury Talet was a humourisc as decidedly as a
but iba power of giving ifas famiUsr, comic, or everyday view of a
belongs to the later ogea of «rt nitlier than to the find otM«.
"Henry IT." (No, IS, compare No. 10) remninfd long nt Haniptoe
Court, Herefordahiro, which was built by a kmght in Hcary's scrtie',
who married n titealan related to the king. It has thai an «xoelieiit
pedigree, and wan uo rlotibt copied in !aif e from n niiniiuurc ill
tion. The "John Talbot, firjt Earl of Jjhrewsbury" (N». 19),
art. u
ring tie J
TUB NATIONAL POKTRAIT EXUIBITION. 745 .
the old warrior, who is in a tabard, look like a playiag-card. This
portrait, which is in oil upon panel, was discovered by Pennant at Canons-
Aahby, the seat of Lord Northampton, whose deaceadant, the Marquia,
Iiaa lent it to the Exhibition. It is of the age of Henry VI., and a
duplicate of it, which used to hang near the earl's tomb in old St. Paul'w,
was brought to the Herald's College after the fire of London. The tabard
recalls s fine scene which old writers tell us took place when—
that great Alcidcs of tho fleU,
Valiant John Talbot, Earl of Shrawabmy,
lay dead upon the field of Chastillon. His herald found the body of the
aged fighting-man, — he was eighty years old, and had been victorious iu
forty pitched battles and skinniBhes, — and kiaaing it, broke out into
" these compassionate and dutiful expressions," — " Alas, it is you I I
pray God pardon all your misdoings. I have been your officer of arms
forty years or more, 'tis time I should surrender it to you." And,
*' while the tears trickled plentifully down his face," goes on the account,
" he disrobed himself of his coat-of-arms, and fiung it over his master's
body." Another portrait taken from life in this antique second-hand
way iathat of "Sir Thomas Lyttelton" (No. 36), Lord Lyltelton'a ancestor,
which was evidently done some generations after tho famous old judge's
time, probably from portraits in the windows of Prankley or Halesowou
churches. The " Jane Shores " (Nos. 33, 34, 35,) disappoint one as far
as beau^ is concerned. But the Eton College portrut (No. 34) deserves
attention on the ground pointed out by Horace Walpole, — that her con-
fessor was provost of Eton, and received through lier intercession some
lands of which the college had been despoiled. The pictures thus specified
arc all good, or, at lowest, curious samples of the old feudal retrospective
portraiture, as we may call it. But there are two works in the Eastern
Corridor of greater authority and higher merit than any of them. These
are " Edward Grimston " (No. 17) and " Sir John Donne and Lady
Donne " (No. 18). The first is a portrait by Petrus Christus, a pupil of
Van Eyck, of an ancestor of Lord Verulam's, who was employed in llie
Low Countries in the fifteenth century. It is executed with the greatest
power and truthfulness, and has the additional and unique interest, as 6a
as we can see, of being the earliest portrait directly jrom life, on that
scale, in the whole Exhibition. This is the more remarkable because
very little is known about the Grimston family to the world at large, by
whom they have been chiefly beard of as holding the title and possessing
the estate once belonging to Bacon. The " Sir John and Lndy Donne "
is B noble religious picture by Van Eyck, in which the knight and his
lady are kneeling before the Virgin and Child. Such pictures were
presented by men of inflnence to reli^ous houses in the middle ages, and
the introduction into them of the patrons was a kind of return for their
generosity. This one has the true realism and deep thoughtful sentiment
of the old Christian schools. Like the " Edward Grimston," its interest
VOL. Jiu. — so. 78. ^%,
TOE ITATRMf-VL POTITHATT rXinHITlUX
w Hitircly fJiflt-rent IVom llwt uf Uie raai inajoHty i-f the vorkx in ili*
Kxltibitton. lu iaUNt tfl wIioU^ in the pattiUT, lail not in ibi cnbjeet ;
Klirrvnn inont of diftportnia ar« Txltinlile for the luTtject; and odIv kfcw
ui-if at nice greal in niWjvct nnd iii •ixi-culion.
On Invtiig tli« lutttcm Comdor, we find nannlvcs in tfi« EMtm
Callprir, vtik'Ii luolu plooMUtUy ont on U)0 UurUcullunt GtinJi^ut, mid U
(lividi-tl into nine bay* or oemApnTtawnls, dnn)(«d to iho mm aoi) mwitn
or the Tudor rcigni. Almost tlie fint portniil llutt mnts the eje bfrc —
tlwt of "Thorn** Stanley, fim KaH of Derby "(N". 42)— m^iiiMta d,e
tiTicrrtftinty of nil early works of tliv kind. Kot only U (be otMinme ihnl
o( K Inter ilalo, but the mrl liintwtl' is tl>e " donblc " of a Diika of
SrmerMl of £l>mib«llt'f reign, who lig:urej cl*evrh«r« in the uollcctmi
(No. S6D). Nny more, Lis wii, Lord SlniDgo (No. 63), anil Iuh gntndwii,
iho Kcontl tmrl (No> 70), liave a aiinilar look of iDaou&cturc about tlMn.
Iliifl Trniark does not apply to llic illustrious second wife of the fint mrl
— SIar|[nrct I)oanlbr% Counter of BiolitDond and Derby — a conaectJoa,
Ly Uio way, trhich makca a cvrtniu eonfuaion b«twcca Stanley and
lleanfert portraits tn somo degrrc inlolligiUc. Lord Dvrhy's poruait of
■Imt ln>ly (Xo. 4S) naentially irscmUee lite one sent by St, ilolin's
Collrgc, Cnnibric^ (No, 47), ol' which gbo was a fenndrMa; Hear W
lii\nt*« ■' Edwanl 8l»fron1, tbird Duke of Buckii^ham " (No. 44, and iH
Ka 71). Tliia is lh« Uuckingbam of Stiakspcare's JTiitrg Vtll^ wlo
«iy* of Wol*cy, —
ThU balrli«r'* tar U iVDfoiMneittk'il, laA \
lt«»r iii.it lh« pOH'rr V» iuumIc bun j
and wboM death on Ih* scaSbId was an iaeidtnt in tbat war betwven ibi
old nobility nnd tlir n«w, wliicli is n i»lient fwitite of our ariHowalM
biKtcry under ibt Tudura. His daughter Kliaabutb luarticd iba ihlid
Duko of Norfolk — -by wbom (be waa tnlamoiuly tr«at4d — and VM ill*
iiiotiicr (if ilia iHottrious Eati of Surrey — tho Hover of tfaa boon of
Ilo^iiinl — of wboM andnlifulacn, w« ngrct (0 tay, sb« made \»iKrj oon-
[>1aiiitB. Bui wo arc giving the nobles pr«cedeiic« ovtr t)ie aorercigm,
wbidi will nct'cr do. I<ct us ohecrrc fint, tben, that 04* all tho ticary
Vlll.'e, — ^burly, florid, vigoroux, nnd taut tuit pm brutal as they vnr-
tlio bat iti No. 99, from Warwick Cutlu. I^ us dasi callattculioo to
the fine picture of " Hi-nry Vll. and Fwdinand of Anagon" (No. b\\
nnd to tho oxquiutc Iklnbuw, called (it is thought enxw«uiujy^ « Tb«
Cktidrim nf Honry VU." (No. Eitl)tbut wluch, under any otbar tiaan;
would be ec^ually a roM of aH. Th«re is ake a fine comely full-Uaglb
of *' Mai^garet Tudor, Qu«co of Sootlaod " (\o. 6$), whoM marri^ «tk
James IV. of that kingdom ulttmalcly broiicbt tbe Eogluh Ofown W
Iho Stitnrta; who wsm at once a grandmother of Marj' imd of DanUay;
and who is the link whicb ccnnccta her Majesty with all tbe oldtr
sovereigns of ICpgUttd. QuoMi Mat^gnrct'i sister, the rritKOOi Maiy, ia
alao rvprpH-ntei) (Niw. 7fi nnd 80j, Willi Ler pleafnnt, jolly-lookltig
buaband, " diaries Uim^lon, Duk« of SnlTolk," whotu Kcniy tfvidiTitl/
wlio m
I
THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT EXHIBITION. 747
pardoned all tlie more readily because he recognized in his IiandaomeneBB,
hia animaliein, and his high spirit, a nature kindred to his own.
The presiding genius of this part of the exhibition is the great Hans
Holbein — the Swiss whose genius, like the Ebine, took its rise among the
Alps and Howed northwards — the friend of Erasmus and Sir Thomas
More, one of the earliest, truest, wisest, and most finished of all portrait-
painters. Itecent investigation has shown that Holbein died sooner than
used to be thought, and this has thrown doubt on several portraits
formerly honoured by bearing his name. But there are enough
uni^ueBtioned specimens of him at South Kensington to give the visitor a
thorough taste of his genius. We may instance, particularly, the " Sir
■WiUiam Eutta" (No. 110) and "Lady Butts" (No. 115). Butts, who
was physician to Henry the Eighth, has had the cnrious luck of being
immortalized at once by Holbein and by Shakspeare :
By holy Mary, Batts, tliere's knavcrj-,
enya Shakspeare's Henry when Butts shows him from the window
Cranmer kept waiting among lackiea outside the Council Chamber by the
Lords of Ccuneil. Holbein, however, has done the wife even belter tlian
tho husband, or the picture has been luckier in its history ; for a more
characteristic human head was hprdly ever put upon canvas. The " Sir
Kichard Southwells," also (Nos. 108 and 112) are very good, and make
one think of tho man who accused Surrey of treason, and whom Surrey
offered to fight " in his sliiit." Still more interesting, because the painter's
genius is employed on a higher man, is Holbein's " William Warbam,
Archbishop of Canterbury " (No. 86% a fine, honest, tender old face,
rugged but gentle, alive with intellectual light, and soft with moi-al
patience. Watham held Canterbtuy immediately before Cranmer, and was
one of the Conservative Reformers, like Erasmus and More, who hoped
that the Church might be improved, chiefly through literature, without
disruptim of its unity and without social convulsion. Of hardly any
man does tiie great and delightful Sage of Rotterdam speak with heartier
warmth than of Warham. And we are now in the thick of Erasmus's
friends. We have not, indeed, reached as yet the More family, one of the
glories of the whole Kxhibition. There is, liowever, an excellent "Linacre "
(No. 96), attributed either to Holbein or Quintui Matays, and an inferior
Dean Colet (No. 60), which makes no such pretensions. The poet Sir
Thomas Wyatt, Surrey's friend, one of the many men of that age who
combined the pursuit of letters with active life, certainly sat to Holbein, as
his contemporary, the antiquary Leland, affirms. But tlie painter's
hand is not visible in the poet's head as wo have it from the Bodlei«a
(No. 68), though on the whole we prefer tlie Bodleian Wyatt to the one
sent by Mr. John Bruce (No. 98). The family portraita of our great
families begin to be authentic as the sixteenth century advances, tliough
the artista are often unknown. The " Sir William Cavendish " (No. 81)
of this epoch ia significantly like the ahrewd persevering loyal Gentlemau-
748
TllR NATIONAI. POnTRAIT XXDIBITIoy.
Vslia of Woke/, tl« real fouD'Ji-r of tb« Home of D«ran«Iiire. His
fidelity to Vfviaey serrtd him with tbu King after Wolaey'i £tU. Prioiit^
and gJ>h^i were " duaofved " into a strc-ast of nealUi for him and liilfl
poAleHtjr. And he named, for bis third «ife, a widow £ur and ricli,
uvl eiill cl«v«rcT than slio wm fiiir and ridi, — tho nolorioiu Elia*
bcth Uarilwtck, comraonljr called *'Ben o( Uanlwick " — ui alliwiet
which first planted the Cavondiahcs in D<rVahirc. Other dunc-
t«rittie tocf» «f (Ik foiindvn of our modem oriitocnic/ am Utose of
"Sir Willimii Petr«" (>'% 128). with hb ugaciotu look and fim
aKiuth ; of " Willi&ni, first Lord Vitgtt " (No. 159), long-iKMed, and acut«{
of" Sir John Thjnne " (Xo. 161), iLi- eteward of the Protector SomcT
aharp, piuhiog, nud bolJ. On nil llicac niro, and Boch aa ih^y, ik
Seymoora UKloded, " the gttitk Sumy," aa Sir Walter Soott eilU hit
looked with diftrast and haotcur. And thU feHing of 9urrc;r's c^r
in such uyings as (hat '' ihey lored no ancient nobility," and that "^ wboT
the Ki&g died they thonld nnnrt for it," did noliillo towardn brioging that
brilliant b&id of his to lh« block. There are tlireeportraitaof the Ear) oM
Surrey in tho Exhibition, of vrbich fkr the mostatrikiiig ia the brilliant full-
Ittigth conlribuird by tlie Cotinlon Delawarr (No. 131), and whicb, if it
lud no other claim lluii] the linving come down fnim the Sackvillea, who
were related to f^ttrrey'a tatnily, would J>e of grv*t importance. But ita.
splendid vitalities aa a picttire attiact every artist, and ii ta difficult
ga» en the slntely Sgorc, and the rad, ptoud, intellectual loolt of the &ce
witJiottt feeling iliut so onco stood bclbre hi« coni^ntporariea tbu
faiDOtia of the Ilovraidn in ihe aJxtrcnth century, Ifq IcatB against
colootD beaiiog a motto which he had clwacn, $at auptrttt, and to hta ri{l
ii the abield of bis anceetor Thonias Pkntagcnct of Brotherion, the carry-
ing of which was one cf ll>c ofTcoccs tbat c<M him his head. This Sua
portrait is oncribcd to Ilolbcm. Itut it ae^ins otoro likely lu be the imk
oCGuillini Street, tlioiigh i-vnn thin is doubtrul, and ifaore are attilioftttn
vrhu think it due to some paint4^ of Italy. The chronology in this, as il
other canes, does not suit the Hollwiu ibcory. For iostaaec, "£diri
8la]i1ey, third Earl cf Derby" (No. 1^3), is called a Holbein liksuiae.'
Itttl if Holbein died in IMS, a» now stems certain, lltat Lord Derbyi
many years younger at the time than the portrait makes hint,
jiorirait good enough to be classed with genuine Itolbeios, though the hr
has beeu tampered uitli, is " Sir William Sidney " (So. 141), the ma^
father of Sir Philip. This fine amiulilo-kiokiog gentleman Icddd off
Bidneys in l)ie Exhibitiou, of whom ibcrc are no less than tliirtecn. Tfal
tnmily likeness ia enrioualy viable in many of (hem, aud a plcaaant tjE
of fsce It is, always benignant, intellectual, and refiued.
Of all the pictures, howcrer, bearing the name of Holbein, that wliEi
earnea off the palm in the niiiltitudo of nsaocialioiu,— hi4<oci«,
literary, — gatliering round it, is tic '■ Sir Thomaa Slorc and his Kanul/''
(No. 1 63), belonging to llr. Charles Wioo, of Yorkrhtir. That Otihdt
paiateA a. famUy gToxi\i nt the Morev in eertnln ; for wc luiTe two letl((sJ
) tetlcAa
THE KATIONAL POIITHAIT EXHIBITION. 749
of Erasmus still extant id which he mentions having seen a picture
of tliG kiod. In the fii-st of these, dated Friburg, 5th September, 1529,
Ei-asmiis says to Sir Thomas : — " I hope it may be allowed me yet once
in life to see those most dear friends, whom in the picture which Holbein
lihowed me I have looked at with the greatest pleasure of mind." In the
second, written next day, and addressed to Sir Thomas's daughter, Mrs.
Margaret Uoper, he dwells on the work at greater length : — " I can hardly
tell you," the old scholar writes, " what pleasure I felt when the painter,
Uolbein, showed me that whole family so happily brought out, that if I
liad been present I could not have seen much more. Frequently am I
wont to desire that once before my fatal day, it may be my lot to see that
most dear company to which I owe a good part, whether of my fortune
or ray glory such as it is, and owe to no mortals more willingly. Of this
wish, the ingenious hand of the painter has given me no little portion.
I recognized them all, but no one more readily than you. I seemed to
myself to see Bhining through its most beautiful dwelling the much more
beautiful mind." And he adds that he had kissed the image of Margaret
Kopcr's mother. Now, that the portrait here spoken of was such a
portrait of the whole household as the one before us in the Exhibition, is
abundantly plain from Erasmus's words. They are nil there, — grand-
futber, father, son, daughters ; and Margaret Koper is comely enough to
justify the good old scholar's compliments. The household clock is ticking
on die wall ; the family fool is standing iu the background ; flowers from
the garden perfume the air; and the whole atmosphere is redolent of
homely domestic life and pence. But how much of the work as it at
present stands came from the hand of Holbein is not easy to determine.
Walpole thought that he made the design, and that it was executed in
large by journeymen ; and he enumerated six pieces extant on the
subject, one of the three largest of which is the one of which we are
speaking. Certain it is, tliat Mr. Winn's picture has pedigree in its
favour, for it can be traced to the Kopers already mentioned, one of whom
Margaret More married. Its general authenticity is thus indisputable ;
and if we miss Holbein in the details, we are sure that his genius is
there as the animating spirit of the whole.
As wo approach the period of the Elizabetlians, a few admirable
portraits by the great painter Sir Antonio More, who came to England
with Philip the Second, present themselves for particnJar study. Such
are Iiis portrait of himself (No. 18G), a noble work; and that of "Walter
Dcvereux, first Earl of Essex" (No. 263), whose keen wise eye and
arch expression have an irresistible look of life. This able and long-
descended nobleman was one of the seven men whom Elizabeth made
peers in her fifty years' reign. It is believed that he was poisoned nt the
instigation of Leicester, who married his widow, Letticc Knoliys. He
was the father of Elizabeth's favourite, in whose face a family likeness ia
discernible (No. 253). But it is a pity that wo have no portraits either of
bia wife Lettice, or of his daughter Penelope, whose beauty was renowned.
760 TUE NATIONAL POBTRAIT EXHIBITION.
Another highly remarkable work by Sir Antonio More is '* QneL>n Elizabctli
aBPi'incesa" (No. ^71). This in exqoiditely painted, and represenuihe
Queen as a young woman, eminently intelligent, and by no means bsti-
looklng. Few of oar readere are probably » confident that Eliaibrib
was beautifitl as Mr. Kingsley. But the g^era) imprcsaion to the
contrary which aomehow previiila now, receivcn no confirmation from the
many portraits of her in this Kxliibition, taken in the lump, ^yhetbp^
as a girl with s book in lier hand in the very fine picture (it has been
aeverely scmbbed by the way) from St. James's Palace (No. 217) ; or
in enrly womanhood aa Moro presents her; or biasing in gems, from the
brilliant pencil of Zucchero (No. 207), in middle life, she cannot fair'j
be called plain, and her face has always intellect and character. What it
noticeable, too, is that tlirough all Elizabeth's portraits there is a general
aimilurity of type visible ; whereas moat of those of Mary Queen of Scots
are neither like each other, nor like anything that the sixteenth century
writers t«ll us about her. In scarcely two out of thirteen, do we see tbs
belle creature of Joseph Sculigcr; thu
Nvmiihft inter pulchros pnldicrriiiiu NuptiininaH,
N} ro]>faa Caledonia gloria magna tun,
of George Ruchaniin ; or her whom Koii.'wrd Bang of a.=, —
I'lia Ilov'Do Bi belle,
Ecllu cu jurfection ; car touto la bcBntu
Qui C'it, ct qui tuvn, ct n jriiuiiiii cjite
I'li's lie la EJi'iiuo est luiilc.
The grc[it men of Kiizabeih'a great reign are fairly represented in the
Eiisturii Gulleiy. The ejtgacicua Cecil and hia son are there (Nos. Hi,
'2i5, 259), bir Kicliolaa Bacon'a aoUd brow and poweri'ul jowl suggest
a man equally great ut the council-board and the dinner-table (Xo. 223).
No <niit<; worthy lialeigh appears, indeed, but there is a far-travelled
penttraiing look about one portrait of him (No. 250), which iaducts
U3 to give it the preference. " Thoiiiiis Sackville, Earl of Dornet,''
bcsvt knou'i) in literature as Lord Buckhuratc, and ancestor of many
Sackvillca dietinguithed in their times, figures to adyantage on the
canvas of Garr.ird (No. 255). The Admiralty, too, have sent nn
imprcBsivo full length of that fine old grandee, Ghiurlea Howard Eail
of Nottingham, the conqueror of the Armada (No, 857). For some
reason or other, however, the sailors of this age have not received juflice
at the hands of its artists. Neither Drake (Nos. 34C, 361) nor Frobisl;er
(Nos. 351, 395) satisfy the imagination. How cheerfully would we
exchange for really great portraits of such men, the criminals like
Leicest(;r, who seem to have been painted on all hands, or the obscure
big-wigs who were painted only because they had money to pay for it,
and whose names, read in a catalogue one day, are lorgotten the nextl
Of the many kinds of moral interest about a portrait gallery — eapedal^
a portrait gallery of a nation, as this one at Kensington ii wtft tj^
THK KATlOKAl PORTKAIT EXUlBll'llui'. 751
least ia tho lone of irony Tisible'in the wny in which fortune arrmigea
whose portraits ahull survive. It runs through all departments of life.
There are more Cecils, Griniatonee, nnd Wallops, than TalbotB, CllffonlH,
im<l Verea. The grave-digger who dug Mary Qneea of Scots' grave
ii4 there,— and nobody can answer for the likeuesses of Shakxpeurc.
'J'he only portrait of Edmund Spenser (No. 836) ia without a hiator}-.
The only two of Ben Jonson (Noa. 332, 833) are hardly like each other.
And we look in vain on the walla for Marlow, Kyd, "Webater, Peelc,
or Nash.
We must not, however, grudge the Elizabethan " swell " liia compara-
tive prosperity, because he was nearly always a " aweli," and something
more. He was a lily of the valley, but he knew how to toil and spin.
Sometimes, like " George Clifford, tliird Earl of Cumberland" (No. 397),
he made long sea-voyagea for England'a glory at his own e:cpense. Some-
timea, like Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (whom we regret to find
absent), he wrote poenia which the world haa not allowed to diL>, He
fought with Sidney at Zutphen ; with Devereux at Cadiz ; and poured
out — freely aa the wine flowed in hia castle — hia old blood on the
American sand, A certain elevation of sentiment marks theae men, which
even the cavaliers did not poaaeas in the same delicacy of bloom, and
which was totally wanting to the witty rakea of the Second Charles.
" Fulko Grevilie, first Lord Brooke " (No. 299,) wrote himself down in
hia epitaph, to be read to this day under hia rotting banner in tlie cliuvcli
of St. Mary at Warwick,^
Scnaiit to Queen Elizabctli,
Counsellor to King Janiee, ,
And Mcml to Sir Philip Sjdncj- f
hia life of whom is BtiU wortli reading. And Philip hiimiulf ia pro-
liably looked at in the various excellent portraits of him which the
Exhibition containa, with as genial an admiration as any man uiuk'r
ita roof. Our own favourite ia the Warwick Caatle Sidney (Ko. 271),
which has come down to Lord Brooke from the biographer just men-
tioned. Near it hangs his loved and honoured sister (No. 284), on
whom Ben Jonaon wrote tlie famous linea which Simonides never eur-
paased, and which, quoted a tJiousand times, shall here be quoted fur the
thouaandtli and first : — ■
TJndemcatli this sable hcnrse.
Lies the anbject of all verse,
Sidney's lietcr, Fcnibroke'i mother,
Death, ere thoa hast slnin another
Leam'd, and fair, and good aa die,
Time shnll throw a dart at thee.
It ia customary to apeak of this sweet little poem aa an " cpitajih," nnd
the catalogue, following this custom, adds truly that it waa never engraved
on Lady Pembroke's monument. But the truth ia that it is not ancpit.iph.
TIIE MATIOSAL POnTHAIT EimBITIOX
but an fpicmJion ; — not an inwriptioa for n tomb, bat s d'age, or fuiienl-
WQ^, for o funeral. Tlie popuW tobquotatioo " wkb^ Lcane " 1im dooe
miicli lo k«ep up ihg popular cnwr on the tubjeet. Auiiredlj, ibe
lirnuiira of ilut gracTBtioa Dcrer were witLout a vaUt weir. Not hi
rrt>ni " SUr/ &i4a«j, Couot«M of Pcubrolie," u lli« pjewsnt gocd-
tmtureil fiiec of "Alice Spencer, CmxMm of Derbjr" (No. Sd&), wbts
cekbnttcd ax her jouth b; the poet Spenser as " ivrcct Amor/ma,* bad a
nuitl; — the " ArcodM" — dedicated to h«r in her oU ag« b^ Utiton. Sit
WM ihe wife of "FcnlinaoJo, fifth Earl uf Derb/" (Noa. 266, S89).
whose poitraita — not oUxa-wiM remarkabU — bare a dodded air of nolitj
aboat them. That of bii fiitbcr, *< Henry, the foortb Earl of Derby'*
(No. 287), give* a capital ootJonof tin higher potiiciaai ortbatdajr-, vrhote
poiition waa alvraji a ropoottblc, aod oft«D a pcriknu odc Out the
Exhibition do«« not contain a stnglo h^ad f£ the Stanleya Gron wboai tfaa
proMXil Earl of Derby deeceada — tlia junior brancli who succeeded to the
CAYldom in 173G — and we caooot expect to traco virid reeembUnees
between Utitig men aod the lacei of thocu from whose foortb oounaa
tboj arc sixth or eovrnth in descent. Othvr tsciuben of hoosea aaw
patrician, worth looking at in this far cod of tlia Eaatso. GaUerj,
nrc " Bir John Speaccr" (No. 071), fnthcr of the fint peer; and (in the
Eiutvra Corridor) " Sir Oliver Wallop " (No, 885), Lord FottraoiUb'i
anccalor— a good, round-hcadc-d Ughtiiig man, wiLit no lac^ of ehaneitr
about him.
On Iroving the Entt CootrAl Coriidor At the end of wluit Duij be
rnllvd ihc Tudor Gallery, ui; .-ixci-nd tlie sluira, and patsaing tbrangb
Die Nurul Miifrcuui, coiuc )o a Inrgc ai^uftre apace— the Coitre — in whiob
iho reign or Jnniea the First begins. Ri-foio we enter it, three por-
iruitj Cicc us. That ia the middle — the tall Bgiire iti blitck doublet nod
hose— ia Lord WiUJAQi Howard, the " Belted \)'iU " of 27ic Lay of lii
Last Minttitl : —
Ili» Bilboa Made, by Slarchmcn Mt,
iiuag lu a Itrtwl uiil itticUeil belt;
Hence, in ru'do phruc. the Ixinirrcrs Kill
Colled Noble Uuward, B«ltod Will.
lie wna n younger son of TbomaB, the fourth Duke of Norfolk (No. 368),
who loHt hii) bend Icr his fooliali poiitioiil Jliflation witli Hary Qooraef
ScoUt In 1&7S j and nns thus a f^rnndiOR of the "gentlo Sorrer," the
ooniniou ancestor of at! \he grent Howards — except the ElEagbam Udc
wlifi cnniB off e&Hier — down lo this day. "Belted Will" foauded lb*
CiirlJfilG brandi, endoning tlium with broad lands by liia inarriogv with
K'ivtibclb A ca-heirc«« of the Inal Lord Dncr* ol' Gillealand. The thm
liaironcs of that great noitliem Iioiim: all married Howards ; and ihe male
liiiL' of Dncrc, reduced to poverty, and nie«tlug no justice, died unhappy,
taiaa iti cxWo, and aomo nt homo. Of course, there are no Daeres in ibe
Exhibiiiui), " Klixabeth Lady Howard " excepted (No. 4£9). On eilhrr
if J« of thQ old Border chicfbin hang a mnriicd coQpIc whoae liiiturj ii
rjii ^
THE NATIONAL rORTllAlT EXHIBITION. 753
a romance. These are " Sir fiobert Shirley " (No. 404), and " Lady
Thereaa," hia wife (No. 400). Sir Kobert was one of those adventurous
travellers whose Htcs give so much of its picturesque colour to the age of
Elizabeth. He was employed in Persia by the Shah, and brought home
to the court of James the Persian lady — ■
Serene with nrgcat-lidded cjcs
Amorous
whose pretty face is before us. In the Centre, round the corner, the first
hend which strikes the view is that of an old gentlewoman, and it is
called " The Countess of Desmond," by Rembrandt. We all remember
this Countess —
Who lived to the age of a bnodred and ten,
And died bj a fidl from b. cbeny-tree, then ;
What a frisky old girl I
OS Tom Moore ainga. But this cannot be the old g^rl in question, or if
it is, then it cauuot be a Rembrandt. A very orilliant figure next attracts
attention, "Sir Nathaniel Bacon," by himself (No. 411). He was the
great Bacon's half-brother, and was au amateur of real genius fur the art.
He painted his wife, also, who is beside him (No. 415), and the work is
a very clever gne. Two portraits of Arabella Stuart are on the same wall,
one of tliein (No. 422) probably — as Miss Cooper suggests,* — that which
WHS sent to Loiccsler when he wished to betroth the child whom he lost —
flic infant Lord Denbigh — to tlie child Arabella. The "Swinburne" in
the corner (No. 426) was an ancestor of the young poet who is again
making the old name familiar. But the leading figures of the Centre are
King JnmCH, his family, aud some of his court. James is hei'C, as cvery-
whcie, intuUigcnt- looking, but ignoble; — no sovereiga and no gentle-
man ; — reminding one much of Thackeray's saying in the Book of Snobs
that he was " a snob and a Scotch Snob — than which the world contains no
more offensive creature." But the personal appearance of Prince Henry,
the " Marcellus of the House of Stuart," —
Ostcadeat terris hnne tantum fata, acque ultra
Esse sincnt
is not unworthy a prince whose parts attracted Bacon, and hia character,
llaleigli. In Bacon's Latin eulogium, Henry's personal beauty is strongly
insisted upon, and compared to that of his sister Elizabeth, whom ho
resembles. Bacon says, as much as a young man could resemble the
conspicuous beauty of a virgin; "quam etiam, quantum potuit virilia
fonna ad cximiam virgiualem pulchritudinem collata, referebat." He
looks best, we think, in the Van Snmcr (No. 446), sent by Lord
Craven, whose ancestor wa.s in such close relations with Elizabeth of
Bohemia. The " Queen of Hearts" is always stately and handsome
* In her TOCCDt excellcat and agreeable Zi/i of ArabtUa Stuart,— (llxmi and
BlacketL)
7K
TRC "WATlOJtXL FUftlRjIIV
fe
-a m
feed p«fai— 1» C«om* VflBn^ I>ik« of
&ttUy iImi an btfadfid fkmm fay Ja
tHJIw food loeicM, vr« vbn, »ft« T J»Mw, O^ «■• lAlri «^
cri*M. IImMb^ if bcr farottriua were fai)Gali« bar coaadllor* ««re war.
Itnt Iba evvalnns wbcM Jaut* nued oat W tkff daal lo tibc tc^^t af
grwnw front taatma as liuW rofaetable ai thmt wUeh nadt a
Bnatao aufanir luf a a IwadOTma ISorfM — ^wera aBavad lo iUbamour t^
(bar loll/ tb« conittiy wUch ll»cy tobb«d in tMx grtKi, moi tcr^
bauJaa, intiilcat aiul llocntioni bc^ood all bUtoncal example. It il a
rtlidf to Uun froni Umbi to tli« itoui BoonilKadi and ibo gaUaDl &«a-
licfa, lli« men of Clonndon and yaadyd. For wbat Holbain i* B»
Erwimui, Vaniljrck U Co Cbreodon. Tbe i«i&ter flhiUnrtea tW writer,
•U'l Uur wrilur lUuNtraKa tb« |«ia(«r. It wu do mac bacy of W«Jpoie'>,
but a Mtid mad Tiiluabl« ubaerration t}i8t be made, wben he cot^iafvd
tba ponniita at thoM two great nicn. Thcj tiod bodi in a di:^ar
dognw tlin [Hiwtr of brining oat iDdtridcd daiaetiir, ami ^cUbiiiji^
it iitulur iu most Boblv und gracafttl aiipvcts. 0/ CliroMlou'a pothin
Wa Mj iiotlimg. But it will not bt tti« worst result of the Portnb
Eiliibiilitn if ii fn'liicfw people to read him n Itttle mure iKaa bit
ht^ra lliQ lulitbn laldy ; and to enjujr tbe charm of Ubi ■u:rIiaM^
I i;ll«\vJ l>jr £iiiiiii«rlty ; lib pomp, qiuMed by gT*eo. Il« is tbe cowf
lorprl of Vandyck in a daier ort; and jiut as amoog the TudoM we
(lilulc uf ErnMiiaa vrbca wo look at Ilolbeln, M ne lltiiJE of CUmdofl
»licii wv )>i<>k at Vamlyck.
Wo lint g«t into Ilie Viui>1/ck legion on arriving at the Wivt C«Btni
CuTrlduri wblcli vrc tntcli by duoctnliug tLc aUiin nAor qattUng tbu
C'tnlrv. littii, two excellout Vondydcii immediately Attract aticnlioD, ibat
vf tl)« If'vnl and lioiicurablo " William* Brut Karl of Craven " (Xo. ICO;^
nml llioi pf'Tbtmui', first Lord ArmiiJt!! of 'VVflrdour" (Xo. 463), a
Ctiii till ratal aoidiL-r ttf tlic ptrkid, whom one iminMJiately bcginato
inii ol' III if ona bad tuoicn thU ■potUtdt to 1m like, llerv wo faaa into
■tiotlior f(ull«ry, tlt« Wcitcrn Gallery, and iind ounclrca amoug Hoai« of
ihu ubk-nL iiivii (if lliu tarly part of lbs •erantwntb century. Ther« Ua
giojil lull-ktit|ili of biKua from Gorliaubury (No. 4Cd), but it » tli*
l)»««n of tbo wwld and |ho court ntb«r tlian tbo Bacon of pbiloaoiJiy ftr
i<]l(i>t*, and i> ieca jiivuidng than ibe fine alntuo of Uw anga ia St. MiehaaTi
CImnilii St. Albau'a j tL« &co ia cuanlog, aiid wltat the Scolcb «aU
"fHwky," Ukoro than wiauj and we miia in it the pottio el«ui«iu wiiiob
llualira thruii^^li hU llio philuaopber'a apecDlatioiM, uid wblcb baa mob a
iiM>uraAd boniity in at^mo of tlie opening acatcacca of Lis wUL A "l^dy
Liubart" (No. 469), olwe by, ia a find oamvHt old lady'a lund of tb4
Iirrioii, ami itubvdy will bo diaappolntcd i-illuT wtib CutDden (Noa. 47S,
4tlil), »i- Woiivn, for th^ r^co of th« otd diplotnatiat ami |Hwt is fall of
liglil (No. 4Vi;). Tltu l-:.ir1 vT Pooibroke wbo manied ■' SiidtM7*a
THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT EXHIBITION. 755
is in tliia part of the biiiWing (No. IDS,) separated from llic civti.t-faced
Itidy ivhose name keeps hia .alive, ami throws over liim a puct;-y that he
does not deserrc — for hia diTOroe of his first wife Kathcrine Grey was baeci
and we suspect tlmt what Ida Cimily saw to admire in Mary Sidney was
less her personal worth than her Dadley connection. A lady not unlike
Mary Sidney in Eome points of character is represented by a delightful
[wrtrait in this quarter — the Lucy Ilarington (No. 507), whom Ben
Jon son nddressi-a as —
Lnty, jou bri|;htLi(W3 uf our sphere, who nro
Life of the Muses' duvs, their morning stur.
And anollier who made herself a name in the mcriioird of iho tloie
.st.inds with a quiet grade before us — Anuc Clifibrd, the heiress of the
Earls of Cumberland, one of whose husbands was Mary Sidney's son. It
is a. ourionB fact, however, that the women of England are worse repre-
sented in this collection than tlie men ; acid Anne Clifibrd, maugre her
great descent, is insipid compared with sucli cavaliei's as Vamiyck's Earl
of Cleveland (No. 542), and that burly ol<l wanior, in yellow buff,
Berkeley of Stratlon (No. 546), whom we never look at without feeling
that he must have emptied a flagon at eome time or other with Dugald
Dalgetty, Another almost typical cavalier — every inch a king and church
man — ia Sir Eevil Granville (No. 563), — be who fell at Lansdown, and was
so much loved through all the west country. It ia strange to see these old
worthies looking at us tranquilly, aide by side with tbose whom they never
met in life, except as mortal foes ; and to turn from them to their enemies,
the long-headed Lord Saye and Sele (No. 551), and the resolute bright-
witted John Pym, one portrait of whom, Lord Townchend's (No, 609),
we think thoroughly characteristic. If, in a general way, however, the
men have the advantage over the wonten in these galleries, there arc aome
brilliant female portraits, and in the DuighbourLood where we now are
that of Chnrlotte de la Tremouille (No. 554) is worthy of particular
attention. It ia a ciiarming Kubens, full of life and spirit and grace. The
young French patrician lady ia sliJl in her own land, — the siege of Latham
and that darker scene at lloiton lie hid from her in the distant future, — and
the sense and resolution which gieat trials arc doomed to evoke, only
appear as yet in the form of a happy, joyous, girlish force, suggestive of
love and wit and aong and dancing. The reader will find it interesting
to compare this delightful Rubens of Cliarlotte de la Tremouille, when
young, with the Vandyck which depicts her as the grave, niattonly
Countess of Derby (No. 694), and with a third picture (No. 606), in
which she ii in mourning for the honest lord, — true to her and to hia
kintf, — who died so bravely and yet so modestly on the scaflbld. This is
the Countess of Derby whom everybody remembers in Peven'l of the
Peak, and whose family, — one of the noblest in France, and sprung from
the old sovereign counts of Poitou, — is still in existence.
In some degree this Rubens of " Lady Derliy " will be a surprise,
since the counteas, though famous for her courage and scnne, was never
m
TUB VATtVSJLL IVRTHXIT EXUIBtTtOX.
andi etkhnsad
bcnlj. Bat i&e fiur TcMtk Di^, tke wA
Bit Knirfw, » SUali^ fcgr Wik, m* m ii»a»arf » tU gOBslMo wiik
wUdi wo art now eecttfiMd m P^Mkfc D«*a«a la Um g^nnana
fanawdbM^y jneeilins- ^ lUadM wh aloKMt tncnlinrtrfj {nod
oT l»er l«r«litMM, mmI waa Bat taaetM Otwqb life lo bare it wnred
Ijjr art, tor lb* aihniralJoB «f inOaity. Aeeardb^j, we «• bcr ta
Ike EiUUtiiai, both ttvfa^ and dtaL Iba partsn «£ bcr after dnlk
(Kb. b'O), ttfitmatt her aa if ailarp ; Mid «c know fion Ben JoBaon'a
porm, that bar ban^ fauad dead hi hvd - cacitod iba iiiitniiiiiFni ei
Imt admirera —
Dan I probow, tt> irwtii^aaa b
To (tcM or eric** btr vA toiimmtiK,
8e nrMlljr uk«n U tto coait «< bOH,
Aa ifiiiu bad alokn her ifMC b a fctaM,
FtDia atf hat ptBov aad Jiladiit UJ,
Aad kh bcr lovel/ body nndnasht dcaL
It ia klwuja [ilcnaaat to find Ute liiitt arta pla/ing into caeb othci'a haadi
III tliii wmy ; an<l of manj imUiiioca of lb« kind In the Portrait Exbibitioa^
ndt the li-ast romiirkablc ia alTvTded hj tUis ootabk nt«« of Digbja. Tbc
|i«i-fliiii>u and amjililiulo of Sir Kenclm (Noil 575, C-IG) arc haidlj man
iiiiffmivv, crcn un iLc caaraa of Vand^ck, tban in ibc verve of Jooaon,
wIic Tvfmt very di«liactly to tb«ni —
In lilui oU vlnnc k beheld In luio)
And lia U bnilt liLc aomc iiiiiierial nua.
Tor UibI Io dwdl ill ami be iliU at bone
Tha " imiHiriat " ntitv of [be " room " U nnmlfltakalilo, iudocd, in STo. 573;
and ono la ttmptoJ lo lliink iliac u woa a diniog-rootn I Th« Lady
Vojivtia il comeljr onough in thv tutuWy gtcap porlnits, where biB' two
liUld buya ar« dtliglilfu]]/ done (No. 67 j). But hoc rfloowiied lovcJ
ia uo>l vlafble In the ullvgorioal piature of her (No. 658), where Cili
aro liuliling a wrcatli of laurel over her bead, nod whcru ber beauty
i« M-vn U' )iiivu bct-ti of n fmo tj'jic— not tluit or Itcualiuil and AuaijIUti
IhiI tliut vl' UvAtriiM iii:(l I'urlia. While on this diHjjtvr of aeTeuteeatb-
nviitury l>cuulii:ii, M uh point out, as pretty und <;i^agiog, tvx> Udicaof
limiuliut which landa n givnl tigura nl Uial time. One it *' Anne, Couut«a
orMurluii " (No. &71), wlio but nit tlin volupiuoua cbanua for which t}ie
Villici-wun wci'9 r^iudi kubk', ;uiij wliivli conio lo iim'ur pcctUiar peHedion
ill llw " i>iM)bc« t.r t Ifvotmia " t.( l.ely (\«. SJl). The oibw U " Ijidy
Lliifothy Sidiivy« Countcaa of SiiiiJirliiiid," the " Socbariaan" of Waller,
X*l%OM govd lookf am luslili«d lo by four portrniu (N'os. 676, 662, ^i'
T7Jt), tlioDjIi mow pcoplo ibink tlivni beio^v lier f;iii)«. Tlierc ia a good
Wullvj' (Nu. CfiU) auiunj; llic ctcutlcut pictures ooutribnt«d bjr Mr. FooH-
iMiiiir, ol' Norfolk; but llic Uuiiidiain Waller, it s«eiDi^ coold not ^
vblaiiKd, Bcautiea mid wtti go u&lurally togiifaer, lo wo mity kcia
ai; iImi, bgaidci a good Walkr, tbo Esbibitton ooulaina an ^renbla
SiHkllivi (No, C$S>, Olid a ranarlablo Cowley (No. 757). Wc mw,
THE NATIONAL POItTRAIT EXHIBITIOK. 757
however, Cleiveland, who had the sharpest sting, and Herrick, who
produced the sweetest honey, of all the Attac bcea of the time ; a time
remarknbie for the excellence of its light literature — which In poetic
epigram, in wit winged with fancy, has never been outdone. The satirist
of Anne's reign was a viper inside a bundle of dry sticks. The Caroline
satirist was more Aristophanic, and shook his poisonous dew from the
bells of flowers.
In an exhibition of this kind, the historical student feels that he ia
paying a visit to his illustrious friends among the dead. He turns natu-
rally to those who, " having done what deserves to be written, or written
what deserves to be read," have long filled a place in the spiritual which
he desires to see them occupy in the bodily eye. It is a kind of intro-
duction that he gets to. men whom he has long desired to know. Thus,
with what natural curiosity he turns to Lord Herbert of Cherbury, or
Falkland " the virtuous and the just I" Lord Powis, who represenls
Lord Herbert of Cherbury, has sent two portraits of him, one an oral bust
(No. 622), which we prefer to the full length (No. 628). This bust was
probably executed in Italy, It baa the look of Italian work, though not
of the very best class. And we all know that Lord Herbert of Cherbury
was iu Italy, where he told a pretty nun, who sang sweetly, that, die
when she might, she need not change either face or voice in becoming an
angel. His o^vIl face is that of a man of brains and sensibility. But
where Is his younger brother, the poet, the holy George 7 Has the family
which unites the honours of Clive with those of the most truly distin-
guished branch of the Herberts no likeneas of him ? As there are two
Herberts of Cherbury, so there are two I^ord Falklands. Our own pre-
ference is given to that sent by Lord Amndell of Wardour, where the
kindly open expression finds its way to all hearts (No. 619). But the
other has an earnest and tender look, almost equally fascinating on
careful study (No. 658). Both of them bear out what Clarendon tells
OB of a certain " simplicity " which belonged to Falkland's look, and
which was thought to show him to a disadvantage compared with some
of his lordlier contemporaries of his class. He has the air of one, how-
ever, to be loved dead as he was loved living ; and the eye turns tenderly
to his pretty wife, Lettice Morri&on, on the opposite wall (No. 596.)
She was the sister of his bosom friend. Sir Henry Morrison, his friendship
with whom Ben Jonson celebrated in an " Ode Pindaric." The little
circle of scholars and wits which met at Falkland's house. Great Tew,
near Oxford, is only partially represented at South KcnBington, Chilling-
worth is not there, nor Hammond. We find, however, one of his most
constant guests, Bishop Morley (No. 1004), who deserves remembrance,
were it only for one admirable hon mot, go little hacknied that we must
repeat it here. A country squire having asked him " what the Arminiana
held," he said they held all the best bishoprics and deaneries in the
English Church.
758
THE KATIOyAL POBTRATT EXfllltmOH.
Aftnr rxhatnsiirg iUe Westeni G&IIery md Conidon, onr nodtr ami
rHrnce lit* *tcpe, m><1 il<a«<nd to U>« Low<r WcBlcra und I^wer EMtara
Gallcriej, on the gronixl floor. (UbJUUotu am or uo politics. HoKinea
of Mnn DDv »greo wilb CoUridge, that in rouiuig about our great CirJ
War wfl cm roipcet both buIm. And no modem RonitcUiMd kAim* to
Tiivb a CbtbUct hj Vaodj'ck, maj more thnn a nodrm CsTiUer otjeeU
to o Uooit<lht«d by C«opcr or '\Va)kCT. Plounnt lud profitiUile bo«n
imj be spent m conunpUtiDg both. The cnyoa he«d of "Croitf
well," by Cooper (No. 808), tutunUy lakn the Imd in intcsaat orer all
«tb«r poTtrniu ot' tuon of tbo ComrooowcaJlh. It m ftiU of nggcd lUii
asd monl ronoentniUon. There U an "Adniiml BUltr," U>o (No. bit),
of Mr. Fooobiue'tf, wluch is oMuporatively n«v to tho gcoerai votU«
and exceeds in ctiander, wu think, the weU-lcnown Blake of Wadkam
(No. 816). "Crotawcir* Mother" (No. 78C,) has not die beauty oo
ca&riia which beloagt to b«r in Ibo minintuna. imon lua \xva at latf
unfolded to the public ga» in hia Unu iaaff!^ hvr'aif been long r«ptt-
it«nt«] in pOTlraiture by Sir Jolui Mioiiisi (No. 603). Among the gnodMl
in tbis ri'gioti, (bo beautirul littU group of Uowmrds in dtatemiar
(Ko. 71S). attmcis dcMrrrud adniirattoii ; u well ai dual of Algamoo,
tenth Eurl uf NoTtlmmbcrlnnd, mid hi» fumily (Xo. 719), nbvro the
child c^edally i» one of tlic nioM agraiabte crcatiuna of Vntidyck. A
d«lii;htful Vandyck, too, ii liia J&mea Stuart, Uukc of Kiclimoad (No. 730),
ihdn wbotn Chaticf tJi« First had no nobler kinaman or loyalist- IbUoirw.
The three little S!do«y« (No. 780) arc well vottii looking at, for the
young red-haii-«] odo holding tho d<ig u the famoux Algernon — a nanw
wbiob ho took from his motbtr's fanilly, the Percieo. The Carvw'aad
Killigrew, from WitKlrar (No. 754), is an eoiinendy splendid Kpcomenof
Vandyck ; Killigrew, wiio (iu<n tlio rcidcr, being rendered willi pofiwt
grace and aoUciMss.
The Lower Eaitcrn Gallery, which lUogc remains to be noticed, iadH
fjivountc port of the whole oxbibitir^o lor ihi^ lorcn of p»|uaiit gevif.
Here aie raiind the tncn attd votnen of Cluuleii tlie Seeood'a ttiue — of ^fpja
and QrammoDt, end th« graver Evelyn. Bii^bt ey«a and bright leyinga
rule the hour, and the wnrld is governed by \dmeB and eptgroniM. Pepp
and Lcly go together Iiitv, w Clorcncloa nod Vandyck do In the gallery
which wc quitted last; or Hdticiu and Kramti* — Sir Antonio More itti
Shok^ieare, — in the gallery with which we b^an. It ta a world tbe
"onecdotage" of which is &r belter known than that of earlier woriib,
howcTor much lees worth knowing, which in tbeee tnatt«n doM oot coast.
Let us cgtiti-nt uuraclTcs wiih pointing out what is clc^-emt and fiet-
HLDlMt, for cIev«rnGU and picaunineaa were tbe charactviiMia qualiliM
of tho period.
Thtte «r« several Kell Gwynt^ No. fill bdug pcrhapa tbe pfe<tiMr,
thottgh the piclure is terribly cracked. 'J'bere is q ddiciotia " Barfcata
ViHien, Duchess of Clerehind " (No. 6M), a languiaLing liouri of the tnae
^
THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT EXniBITION. 7uD
Lc!y type ; and another of licr (No. 842) as " Minerva " (surely Vcnua
would have been llie more appropriate goddess?), hanging not far from
the unlucky and ill-looking Catiicrine of Bragaaza (No. 837), from whom
she drew many tears. The " Comtcase de Grammont '' is pretty and
characteristic (No. 844). The beat Duchess of Fortsmouth — that Louise
de Querouaille whom our rude nncefltore, as Macauhiy aays, called
''iladam Carwell," is the Gascar (No. 84:')), nnd her boy, the Duke
of Richmond's uiceator — from whom, too, Charles Fox was descended — ■
is a very nice-looking lad, with much of his mother'ii face (No. 913).
Lacy Wallers is showy, and we fear a little bnuen-looking (No. 839),
while her eod, the Duke of Monmouth, haa little of Charles's distinctive
look, — so little as to corroborate the vietn of those who thought his
paternity doubtful (Nos. 836, 876, 1020). None of liiii portraits, how-
ever, are sent by the Duke of Buccleuch, who, more than anybody el«e,
is iDtercsted in this small question of antiquarian detail. Those who care
for this peculiar class of hiatorical pereoDS may bo referred to " wanton
Shrewsbury," a kinswoman of Lord Cardigan's, though tl»c picture is only
mediocre (No. 808). Eleanor Lady Byron's, also, is a sweetly pretty face
(No. 866). The poet did not descend from this woman, but from another
marriage. The philosophy of race, however, is Icfl to shift for itaelf in
the battle of artistic life. We have Barbara Villiers, but not the Viliiera
who was mother of the great Chatham. We bare the profligate Wilmot,
the second Karl of Eocheater, but not his more wortliy father. To be
Biire, many of ua were agreeably dirappointed in the features of this
genial and certainly clever rake (No. 854). He looks a most innocent
and hopeful youngster, and his head is painted with all tlie cleverness of
the school then in vogue. There was no great power about the school of
Leiy, but a kind of refinement and ingenuity which has its o\vn attrac-
tion. Leiy never came bo near Vandyck, as Vandyck in some of Iiia
best works, such as the "Carew and Killigrew" lately mentioned, came
neiir Titian. In every age the portrait-painters and their sitters corre-
spond to each other in a very notable way. You want a Holbein for an
Eraflmus, or a Vandyck for a Strafford ; but a J^lj does well enough for
the noble friends and kinsfolk of a Lucy Walters or Moll Davis. Th-i
portraita of Charles the Second by no means bear out liis character as " a
merry monarch." On the contrary, he is, in some of the best of them,
saturnine, and even sad. By an o<!d contradiction, the mistresses of his
brother James are better-looking tlrnn tradition represents them to htive
been. The dencendauta of that king and Arabella Churchill (No. 1018)
are still extant in the nol/Usse of France.
The more respectable men of Charles's age have not been overlooked.
That stout old " tarpaulin," (to use one of the familiar words of the time.)
Sir John Lawson, the admiral, is there (No. 817). lie was one of the Com-
monwealth— who lived to become one of the llesloration — udiniralo, and
died of woundi> received in battle with the Dutch, having ref]ucatcd, before
760 TUB HATIOKAL PORTRAIT EXUIBITIOK.
Ilia last figlit, a timall provision for his widow, about the payment of which
Clarendon docs not seem to have been so bopeful as could be TviBhed, The
old age of Hobbes is, moat effectively broogbt before us, especially in the
portrait of the Duke of Devonshire (No. 954), with whose forefathers the
philosopher lived nnd died. The All Soula' Jeremy Taylor (Ho. 962)
is thought to be the best Jeremy Taylor extant: while the Kit-Gat
Dryden, of Kneller, besides its intrinsic claims, is remarkable na having
been derived by its present proprietor from Drydcn's publisher, Todhod
(No. 1000.) "Hia portraits," says Sir Walter Scott, "bespeak the
look and featurea of genius ; especially that in which he is drawn with
his waving grey hairs." The grey hairs are waving in this portrait, to
which Sir Walter evidently alluded. It would be well if the whole series
of portraits of which it is one, could be obtained on any tolerable tenus
for the nation.
The general verdict of the ramblo: throngh these galleries, — our
notes on which must here cease, — will certainly be that the whole exhibi-
tion is highly attractive, inatmctive, snd successful. All success is, no
doubt, more or lesa imperfect. There is nothing in the rooms irom
Wobum, Wilton, Petwortb, or Belroir, in all of which — to say nothing
of more humble but still anuent establishments — treasures of portraiture
exist. Nevertheless a great deal has been accumulated, and disposed aod
illustrated in such a way as to be very useful and agreeable. Let us hope
that the exhibition of next year may be even better; and let ua all do our
best in our different spheres to make it bo ; not foigetUng to be gratelnl
to the Eari of Derby for a suggestion which has borne such good and
pleasant fruit.
L«ndcn 1 Frlnttd by Skits, Eldis jvd Co., Old BaUry, B.C.
MiiiinHi
3 b" O'O 574 lit