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BENTLEY'S
MISCELLANY.
VOL. IIL
LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY,
NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
1838.
'■ ^Trtiiiiii I
LOXnOX :
tkinted bt samvei. iemtley,
llDTWl Sum, Vlcel Strret.
PREFACE.
The Third Volume of this work stands in need of very few observations from the Editor, for its success fortunately renders any remarks from him, in intro- duction of it, unnecessary.
He leaves it to make its entry without any prelimi- nary flourish of trumpets, and hopes that the next ten or twenty volumes will do better still, and speak so well ior themselves as to render it needless for him to say even a word in their behalf.
June 1, 1838.
CONTENTS
or THB
THIRD VOLUME.
PAptms by Boi :
Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boji'a Progress
Page 1,105,209, 313,417. »21 Papers bj Geotge Uoganh :
Frendi lilrrrvr)- Ladies . . .17
ThcroboDers of the SeTeniecnihCcniuiy— iheUucheuofOrieans 121
TlwPamgeaf llwSebcio, byJ. B, LeGros ... 29 A Night of Terror, by the Author of " CourestiuQS of m Elderly
Genilemao" ....... 33
by Delta :
as of llic Middle Aga, No II. — Bonomyv the Usurer . 44
No. Ul. The Professor of Toledo . 544 Papers by Muk Lemon :
A True inslory of the celebrated Wedgwood Hieroglyphic com- monly called the Willow ratiern .... 41
Cvpid and the Rooe ....... 69
IVpen by Captain Mcdwin t
The Three Sisters, a Rononee of real Life . . . M The Innkeeper of Andenuu .... .143
lite Two Sitters ...... 278
TW Cuiiiue Maigrc ...... 347
Pociial Epistle to " hot," fay Father Prout . . 71
Phptts by Joyce Jocuod i
All *f Well th«t emb well (tiol Shakspeare's) . 73
A blilc Lolfor Mr. George Uobins .... A06
The ConlnM ....... SIO
Lnaato ....... 77
A,Cb«fur<iaSe(as.by II. T. M. 78
Papers by H Daiice :
The Madripil of the SeaioDS .... 83 The Laur«l,ili« RoBe,aiid Um Vine . .130
VI
CONTENTS.
Family Dnunaticalt, by ilie Aulbur or"Talc« vfaii Autiqiury" .!*<
Th« Bird of Paradise ......
A Tftle of Grainrawye, by " Dalton" Family Stories, by Thomaj Ingoldsby :
No. Vlll. Or. lDgDl(l»by's Story IX. The Nurse's Story
The Golden Legend, No. I. A Lay of St. NicboUs Tlic Temptations of St. Anthony .... T)ie No« Y«ir, by llic Authgr ot" Ilcadluug; HM" Y* Angler'* Adryie . . ...
A psiwate Account of the late Fire ....
Ttie Female Walton .....
A SpoiliDij ltaiiibl« in tbti Uiglilands .... Paper* by Old Nicholu:
Sonnet to Friendship ....
Sonnet iu a Churchyiu'd ....
The Krcuiiciliation; oi, the Dream . The Poet's Fienxy ......
The Portrait CMtry, by the Author of " Adventures of an Irish Ci-nllcmftn"
No8. V, and VL The Cannon Family at Boulo^e . , lAO, 452
Two of a Trade— the Pc-rmu Barbt-r, by the Autliur of " Uajji Baba" 159
Poems by Mrs. Comwell Baron Wilsgn i
Od conleroplating th« HmvviM by MooDligbl . • . 166
Miuic is twen . . . 34 1
English Comfons, by a German ..... 16T
A Dream ........ ITS
Artists and Worbi of Aft in F.nghuid . ... . . 173
Chequered Life ....... 181
MciDuir of the Rev. Robert Hogg;, by tlwAuthor of "Stories or Waterloo** 181 Concert ExtraordinAry ....... 190
Nighto at Sw, by the " Old Sailor ;•
No. VII. The Rii«e, the Duello, and the Naval Sportsman . I91
Vin. Tlic Buttle or the Nile, llie Dying pRsoner . . 37S
I\. Tliu Bunal at 3«n~Sling the Monkey— the V'aaia Cn(\ M\S The Three Damseb ....... 203
Oiieof Many Tales, by a neglected OpenttiTe .... 305
The Poppy ........ 124
Slukspcare Papers, by Dr. Ma^nn :
No. VI. Tiinoo of Athens ..... 135
VII. Polonius ...... 470
'nete'a oa Mistake in that, by Tristram Mvriylhouiihi . . 242
^mby W.J.Tboms:
Versailles iU
A Chapter oo Clowns .... 617
CONTKNTS.
VII
rapen by Cbwle* Macfcay :
Oti Popular Ant) Nmionul Poetry — No. I. Trance .
II. Switu-rbixl
The Ktisfonnoes and Coniohtioni of Peregrine Tncezle
Olc] Muuiiaja Dew ....
*' Bo Quid, do— 1 'II call my Mother 1"
Coaot Culio'vrhuky and hb Three Houses The Gnud Juror, by the Author or " The I^llard*'* Ode to Ml. Murphy .....
Uonoania — Mr. Khiiichiinbtiich, by J. Uanilton Keynoldi Anacreontic .... . .
f^pen by lient. Johm :
The Dodc-yud Ghost ....
Hie Conreyance Company . .
The Benedict C'lob ..... Pkpen by II. Holl :
Martin Mites, who cared for henetf
VTby did .Mijot MufGn keep « PuTOt ? Th« Deril .....
f*apen by a Hember of Uie Comet Club :
Slmmi Gow and the liule Grey M&n and the Fairies Papers by W, Jerdan :
A Chapter oo Lif« ....
Tlw Sou(r*box .....
Thomas Noddy, Eu), ....
Tha Windsor Ball of the latcM FaahJua
SpeeiiDen or AlUterilioD — SieKC of Belgrade
Uu Claude HcboUe in " Ttie Maid of Lyona"
A modem Rdo^ue between Jemmy Douhleiouch and Pat Moguire, Tnftnm Menytboocbt
A Love Slory in diree Cbapten, by " The Elderly Centleroan"
Nyibology nude easy — My Niece'* Album
TW Uarioei'l Dream — ^Thc Storm Demon .
7W Nanative or John Ward Gibsoo, by Cbarin Wbii^ead
TW Dying Child ......
Tttr VN'elcr.me liiHc . . .
Papcri by Toby AlUpy :
The Upa and Downs of Life .... The Uaoarde ; Adrcnturca in Paiia No. III.
the Uoating ......
TV Wtealh
^ Hw Lifend of Waller Childe ....
H Epuile Extraofdiiiary lo a dear Friend, by Punch H Reunqp for NtgblHigales, by Dick Dislicb .
305
by
Till
CONTENTS.
Book-making considered as one of the Fine Arts, by F. J. F The Raven ......
Song .......
TheLeg ......
Spring .......
The Postman, by Dr. Litchfield
Babiogiaphy ......
The Diary of a Manuscript-hunter
Conundrum ......
Love, Hopej and Joy . . . ■
' A Plain Case .....
A Gleam of tbe Past . . . . .
The Widow cured, or more than the Doctor at fault . Poems by Julian :
Darkness .....
A Fn^tnent . . . ■ ■
Hr. Buggins, by Vaslyn .....
The Bibliophilist, by T. Raikes
Tlie Queen of Spring, by Camilla Toulmin
Versea .......
Index ......
Page 465
469 479 480 484 493
. 507 511
. 520 535 543
. 552 553
. 555 563 556 564 577 600 625
ILLUSTRATIONS.
BY GEORGE CRUIK8UANK.
Page Olirer Twist— the Burglary ...... i
Temptations of St. Anthony ...... loo
Oliver Twist — Mr. Bamble and Mrs. Corney takii^ tea . . 1 05
Nights at Sea— a practical Joke . .191
Oliver Twist — Mr. Claypole as he appeared when his Master was out 209
The little Grey Man and the Fairies .... 305
Olirer Twist at Mrs. Maylie'a door . . . .313
Nights at Sea— the Battle of tbe Nile . ' . . 378
Oliver Twist waited on by the Bow-street Runners . .417
The Golden Legend ...... 496
Oliver Twist ........ 551
Nighu at Sea ....... 585
BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY.
OLIVER TWIST;
Oif TUK FAHIlill HOV'S mOORKAS.
BY BOZ.
ILLtlStMATBD BY OBUKOE CRVIKiiSAXK.
CIIAFTEH TIIR TWKMTIBTU. WnK«EI>' OLIVER. IS DtLIVEBXU OVLH TO U«. WILLIAM flKLS.
WiiBN Oliver awoki' in (he tnuming, he was a gnod UwJ Hur- nrisifl to iimi that a new pair of shoos with strong thick soles had ht^-n places) at his beilside, and that his old one^i hitil bwn removed. At Grst hv was pU'itHetl with thcdi »vtfry, hopin;; it might he the forerunner of his release ; but such thoiij;hts were quickly di^Uct] oa his silting down to breakfa-it alone with the Jew, who ti>ld him, in a tone and manner which increusitl his alarm, that he was to be taken to the reudenc« of Bill SikM lliat night.
" To — to— stop thcrt', sir ?* nfikt-d Oliver anxiously.
** No, m», Diy dear, not to stop there."' repliod the Jew. ** Wc shouldn't bke to lose yuu. Duii't t>e afraid, Oliver; you shall come hack to us again. Ha i ha I ha ! Wl* won't be so cruel as to Knd you awavi my dear. Oh no, no I*'
The old maU) who was Htooping over thu firv toasting a piece of bread, looked round m he ImnterL-d Oliver thus, and chucktetl u if to »bow tliat he knew he would still be very glad to get away if he cuuld.
"I 6upiioM',*' uud the Jew, fixing his eyea on Oliver, "you want lo know what you 're going to Bill's for — eh, my dear ?"
Oliver coloured involuntarily to (iud that ihe old thief hail hmn reading his thotighta ; but boldly said. Yes, lie did want to know.
" Why, do you think ?" inquired Fagin, jiarrying the que«- tiuu.
*' Indert) I don't know, sir," replied Oliver.
" Bah !" said the Jew, turning away with a disappointed counlrnance from a cIom: perusal of Oliver's face. " Wait till Bit! tells yon, ihcn."*
The Jew tnnni-d much vexed by Oliver's not expressing anv grcalcT curiufity uu the subject ; but the truth is, that, cdliiougn nc felt very anxittu*, Im* was too much coufuswl by the earnest
v«u 111. a
OLIVER TWIST.
cunning of Fawn's looks, and his own speculations, to malceany further inquirioH jiist then. He liad no other opportunity ; for thf Jew rcmaincil very surly and silent till night, when he pre- pared to go abroad.
" You may burn a candle," said the .Tew, putting one upon the table; *'anil here's a bouk for you to read till they come to fetch you. (iood-ni^ht !"
*' Good-night, sir !" replied Oliver softly.
The Jew walked to the dixir, looking over his shoulder at the boy as he went, and, suddenly stoppinf;, called him by his name.
Oliver looked up ; the Jew, poioting to the candle, motioned to him to light it. lie did so ; and, as he placed the candlestick upon the table, saw tliat the Jew wns gazing fixedly at him with lowering and contracted brows from the dark end of the room.
" Take heed, Oliver ! take heed !" said the old man, shaking his right hand before him in a warning manner. ** He's a rough man, and thinks nothinf^ of blood when bis own is up. Whatever falls nut, sny nothnig; and do what he bids vou. Mind !" Placing a strong omphRsia on the la»t word, he suflercd his features gradually to resolve themselves into a ghastly grin ; and, nmlding hi^ li^-ad, left tin; riHUii.
Oliver leant his head upon his hanrl when the old man disap- peared, and pondered with a trembling heart on the words h« had just heard. The more he thought of the Jew's admoniiiiHi, the more he was at a loss to divine its real purpose and meaning. He could think of no bod object to be attained by sending him to Sikes which would not be equally well answered by his re- maining with Kagjn ; and, after nie<litating for a long time, con- cluded that he had been selected to perform some ordinary me- nial oflices for the liuusebreaker, until another boy, better suited for his purpose, could be engaged. He was too well accustomed to suileriiig, and had suffered too much where he vaf, tu bewail the prospect of a change very severely. He remained lo^t in thought for some minutes, and then, with a heavy sigh, snuft'ed the candle, and, taking up the book which the Jew had left with him, began to read.
He turned over the leaves carelessly at first, but, lighting on ft passage which attracted his attention, soon bi-camc intent upon the volume. It was a history of the lives and trials of great criminals, and the pages were soiled and thumbed with use. Here, he read of dreadful ericoes that make the blood run cold ; of secret murders that had been committed by the lonely way- side, and bodies hidden from the eye of man in deep pits and wells, which would not keep thi-m down, deep as they were, but hod yielded them up at last, aflcr many vears. and so maddened the murderers with the Right, that in their horror they iiad eon- ^es^Hed their guilt, and yelled for the gil>l>ct to cud their agony. Here, too, tie read of men wIks lying in their beds al dead of
night, hud bc^n tempted and l«l on by their own bad thoughts to such (Irpadful bloodshed as it made thi- Hesh crwp and the limbs quail to think of. The trrribW deiwriptions were bo vivid and real, that the sallaw page* neetncd to turn red with ftore, and thti words upon them to he sounded in his ears as if they were wldnprred in hnltow murnium by the spirita of the dead.
Ill a paroxvam of fear tlie boy clowd the book and thrust it ftom him. T)iun, fulling upon big kiiivK, he prayed Heaven to spore him from such deeds, and rather to will that he should die at once, than be reserved for crimes so fearful and appalling. By decrees he grew uuire cabn, and bcBou^ht, in a low and broken voice, that he might be rescued from his present dangers : and that if any aid were to l>e raiseil up for u (KX>r outcast boy, who hud never known tlie love nf friends or kiiidrvd, it might come to him now, when, desolate and deserted, he stood alone in the midst of wickedness and guilt.
He had concluded his prayer, but still remained with his head burio<I in his hands, when a rustling noiw arntiMvl him.
" What *8 that !" he erii*d, starting up, and catching sight of a figure standing by the door. ** Who s there ?"
" Me— only me, replied a tremulous voice.
Oliver raised the candle above his head, and I(X)kcd towards the door. It was Nancy.
" Put down the light,'' said the girl, turning away her bead : ** it hurts my eyes."
Oliver SAW that nhc was very pale, and gently inquired ifidie were ill. The girl threw herself intu a chair, with her I>ack to- wards him, and wrung her hands; but made no reply.
" God forgive me !*■ slic cried after a while, " I never thought ofaUchis."
** Has anything happened?" asked Oliver "Can I help you p I will if I can ; 1 will indeed."
She rockefl her^'lf to and fni, and then, wringing her lunds violently, caught her throat, and, uttering a gurgling sound, struggled and gasped for breath-
"Nancy !" cried Oliver, greatly alarmed. ** What is it ?"
The girl burst into a dt of Inud laughter, Wating her hnnd)) upon her knees, and her feet upon the ground, meanuhite ; and, suddenly stopping, drew her shawl clone round her, and shi- vered with c*)ld.
Oliver stirred the fire. Drawing her chair clow to it, she sat there for a little time without speaking, but at length ^e raised her head and looked round.
" I don^t know what comes over me Gometimes," said the girl, afTccting to busy herself in arranging her dress; *'it's this damp, dirty room, I think. Now, Nolly, dear, are you ready ?'
** Am 1 to go with you ?" asked Oliver.
"Yes; I have come from Bill," replied the prl. "You are to gu witli mv."
OLIVER TWIST.
" What for ?** Bait! Oliver recoiling.
" Wliat for r echoed tlie girl, rai&inji her eyes, and averting them uguiii the moment they ciicuuntercd the boy^s face. " Oh ! for no Uarin."
" 1 don't believe it," said Oliver, who had watched her closely.
** Have it your own way," rejoined the girl» affecting to ]au|;li. " For no goud, then."
Oliver could see that he had some power over the girl's better feeltngB, and fur an instant Lhou<;ht of appealing to her a>nipas«iiun for his hclploss stale. Hut then the thought darted across his mind that it was barely eleven o'clock, and that many [K*onle were slill in llic streets, of whom surelv «>me might be found to give credence to his tale. As (he reflection occurred to him, he stepped forward, aud said somewhat hastily that he was ready.
Neither his brief considerar ion nor its purport were lost upon his companion. She eyed him narrowly while he spoke, and cast upon him a look of inlclligL-iice which sufficiently showed that she guesM-d what had been jwissing in his tlmughts.
'" ilush !" said the girl, stooping over hini, and [Kiinling to the dunr as she hiuked lautiuuijy round. ** Yuu can't lielp yourself. I have tried hard for you, hut all to no purpose. You are hedged round and round ; and, if ever you are to get loose from here, this is not the time."
Struck by the energy of her manner, Oliver looked up in her face with great surprise, iihe seemed to speak the truth ; her counlenance was wldte and agitated, and she trembled with very earnestness.
" I have saved you from being ill-U8vd once, and I will again, and 1 do now," continued the girl aluud : " for those who H-ould have fetched you, if I had not, would have been far more rough than me. I have promised for your being quiet and silent ; if you are not, you will only do harm to yourself and me too, and perha|»s 1m? my dt-nth. See here! I have borne all this for you already, aa true as God ttees me allow it.**
She pointed ha&tily to wme livid bruises upon her neck and arms, and continuetl with great rapidity.
*' ReuH-oiber this, and don't lei me sufier more for vou Just now. If I could help you I would, but 1 have not the |N>wcr: they don'l mean to harm you ; and whatever they make you do, i« no fault of jours. Hush ! every word from you is a blow for mc: give me your hand — make haste, your hand !"
She caught the liand which Oliver instinctively placed in hers, and, blowing out the light, drew him nfUT her up the stairit. The door was opened ijuiekly by some one shrouded in the darkness, and as (|uickly cIomxI when ihey had |>aHMe<l out. A hackney cabriolet was in waiting; and, with the same vehemence whicli she hati exhihiictl in addresning OUvcr, the
OLtVER TWWT.
girl pullfxl him in with her, nnd drev the nirtains close. The driver waiiteil no directions, but Inched his hone into full speed without the delay of an instant.
The f^rl still held Oliver fast Iiy the hand, and continued to pcHir int» \m ear the warnings and AH^uranceii t>he had already imported. All was so auick and Imrrted, that he Iind scarcely time to recollect where he was, or how he came there, when the carriaire stopped at the same house (o which the Jen-'s steps hod been clirected on the previous eveninf;.
For one brief moment Oliver cft»t a hurried plance along the
empty street, and a cry for help hiinc u[Kin liit> lips. But the
_grrl"» viii«' was in his fur, Iwseechinij niiii in such tones of agony
to ivmcmher her, that be had not the heart to utter it; and
^W'hile he hesitated, the opportunity was gone, fur he was already
,in ihe house, and the d(K>r wah ^hut.
" This way," said the girl, releasltig her hold for the first time. " Bill 1"
** Hallo !" replied Sikes, apni'ariD;r at the head of the Mairs with a candle. " Oh ! that V tiie time ufday. Come on !"
This was a very htrung exiireiision uf apf>r(ibalion, and un uncommonly hearty welcome, from a person of Mr. Sikc^'s tern- peran)eut ; Nancy, appearing much gratified thereby, saluted tiin] cord ill I ly.
"Bullseyc's gone lionic with Tom," observed 8ike« as be |Iighled them up. " He'd have been in the way." •' 'J'hat 's riglit," rejoinetl Nam-y- " So you "vc got the kid," said Slices, when they had all reachctl the room : closing the door as he spoke. " Ye», here he is," replied Nancy. " Did he come quiet 'f" inquired Sikcs. " Like a landi,** rejoined Nancy.
" I 'm glad to hear it," said Sikes, looking ijrimlv at Oliver, ** fur the sake of his young carcaw, as would otiierways have suficreil fur it. Come here, young 'uu, and lei me read you a lectur', which is as well got over at once."
Thus addressing his new protege, Mr. Bikes pulled off his cap and threw it nilu u corner; and then, taking him by the shoulder, sal himself down by the tabic, and stood Oliver in front of bini.
** Now first, do you know wot ibis i%?" inquired Sikes, taking up a pocket-pistol which lay on the table. Oliver replied in the affirmative.
** Well tiK-n, look here," continued Sikcs. " This is powder, that 'ere 's a- bullet, and this is a little bit of a old bat for waddinV
Oliver murmured his comprehension of the different bodies referred to, and Mr. Sikes proceeded to load the pistol with great nicety and ileliberation.
^* Now It 's loaded,** koid Mr. Sikes wbcn he had finished.
OLtVER TWIST.
** Yes, I Bee it ift, sir," replied Oliver, trembling.
" Well," said the robber, grasping Olifer's wriut lightly, and pultiug the barrel »a clo« to his temple that tlicy touched, at which (iionient the boy could imt rupresK a shriek ; '* if you speak a word when you're out u' dcHini with me, exrept when 1 epeak to you, that loading will be in your he»d without notice — so, if you lio make up your mind to speak witliout leave, say your prayers first."
Having bestowed a »cowl upon the object of this warning, to iucreast? its effect, Mr. Sikes conlinui-d.
•* As npft'r as I know, there isn't onybndv as would I>e asking very partitkler arter you, if you wa« di»p"w<l of; so I needn't take this devil-and-all of trouble to explain matters to you if it waiu't for your own good. D'ye hear?'"
"The short and the long of what you mean,'^ said Nancy, speaking Tery emphatically, and slightly fruwniug at Oliver, an if to licspoak his serious attention to her wnrdji, " is, that if you 're crossed by him i« this job you liave on band, you 11 pre- vent his ever tiOling tales aflerwanis, by shouting him thnmgh the bead, and take your chaiitv of (.winging for it a» you do for Ik great many other things in the way of business every niontb of your life.
"That** it!" observed Mr. Sikes approvingly; "women can always put things in fewest words, except wht-n it ''s blowing- up, and then they lengthens it out. And now that he's tho- roughly up to it, let 's have some supper, and get a snooze afore starling."
In pursuance of this request, Nancy quickly laid the cloth, and, clisappeaiing fur a few nttiiutes, presently returned with a pot of pnrter and a dish of shceps' beads, winch gave occasion to several pleasunl witticisms on the part of Mr. Sikes, founded upon the !>ingutar cuincidenee of *' jcinmii-s" Iwing a cant name common to tbcm and an ingenious implement much used in his
rfewicm. Indeed, the worthy gentleman, stimulated perhapv the immediate prompect of being in active service, wan ti great spirits and good-humour; in proof whereof it may Ik ere remarked, that he humorously drank all the beer at ' draught, and did not utter, on a rough ealculatitm, iiiore tliF fourscore oaths during the whole progress of the moal.
tiup]>L'r being ended, — it may be easily conceived that 01^ had no great appetite for it, — Mr. Sikes disposed of a coup' glasses of spirits and water, and threw him<ielf upon the ordering Nancy, with many imprecations in case of failur call him at five precisely. Oliver stretched himself, ii clolhen, by command of the same authority, on a mattres? the flour ; and the girl, mending the bre, sat before readiness to rouse lliem at the appointed time.
For a long time Oliver lay awake, thinking it nut iin that Nancy might seek that opportunity uf whtsperii
OUVKR TWIST.
further ailvioc, liiit the gtrl wit bromltng over the fire witliuiit moving, save uow and then to trim the- light : weary wilii watch- ing ami anxietj, he at length fell asleep.
\Vhen he awoke, the tahli' was covered with tc:i-thing8, and Sikcs yfoii thrusting various arttclet into the jwckets of hu great- coat wtiich hung over the hack of a chair> while Nancy was busily engaged in pretmring breakfast. It was not vet daylight, for the eanule was 9liU burning, and it was quite dai'k outride. A stuirp rain, too, was beating against the winduw-piUKit, and the iky looked black and cloudy.
" Now, then !" growled Sikes, as Oliver started up; "half- poit five ! Look siuirp, or yuu Ul get no break fast, for it ^s late OS it is."
Oliver was not long in making his toilet ; and, having taken gome hreakfaU, replied to a surly inquiry from Sikcs by say- ing that be was quite ready.
Nancy, scarcely looking at the boy, threw him a handkerchief to tic round his thruat^ and Sikes gave him a large rough cape to button over his shuuldera. Thus attired, he gave his hand to the rubber, who, merely pausing to show him, with a uie* nacing gesture, llmt he hod the pistol in a side-pocket of his greDt-<-oitt, clapped it (irndy in his, and, exchanging a farewell with Naucy, led him away*
Olivet turned round for an instant when they reached the door, ia the hope of meeting a look from the girl ; but she had resumed her old seat in front of the fire, und tat |H>rfevtly uio- tiotiless befOTe it.
CHAPTBR TH8 TWILSTV-MBST. TBS espEomoK.
It was a cheerless momiug when they got into the street, blowing and raining hard, and tlie clouds looking dull and stormy. The night nad been %'ery wet, for large poms of water had collected in the road, and the kenTiels were overflowing. There was a faint gltmuiLTiiig of the coming day in the skj, but it rather aggravated than relieved the gloom of the scene, llie tinmbrc light only berving to pale that which tite street-lamps AfTordet), without shetlding any warmer or brigliicr tints upon the wet housetops and dreary streets. There appeared to be nobt«iy stirring in that quarter of the town, for the windows of the houKes were all closely bhut, and the streets through which they piisscd noiseless and empty.
By the time they had turned into the Belhnal Green road the day had fairly begun to break. Many of the lamps were already extinguished, a few country waggons were «luwly toiling on to- wards London, and now and then a stage-coach, coveretl with mud, rattled briskly by, the driver bestowing, as he passed, un admonitory lash upon the lieavy waggoner, who, by keeping on the wrong ^ide uf tlie rood, hud endangered his arriving at
OLIVER TWIST.
tlw (ifficc a quarter of a iiiiiiute after his time. The puhttts hou»cst with f^aa-liglits burning inside, vrre alretuly open. By ilejfTcfs uther hhop* began to be unclosed, and a few KC»ttered iii'i)[ile were mel with. Then came straggling gnnips nf la- (MUrers going to their wurk ; then men and wunii-n with fixh- basketb on their hradH, donkev.carls laden with vegetahti-<i, choise^arls filled with live-stock or whole RircaH'>A «f meat, milkwomen with paiU, and an unbroken cone-nurse of people trudging out with various supplies to the eastern »uburb« of the town. As thpy approitehLtl the City, the ni>isu and trafllc gradually increaRetf ; and, when they threaded the streets be- tween Shorediteh and Smithfield, it had swelled into a roar of sound and buMle. It was as light :u it was likely to lie till night Kt in again, and the busy morning of half t"lte London popuIatioQ had b^un.
I'uming down Svin-street and Crown-street, and n-ossing Hnsburv-><juare, Mr. Sikc* struck, by way of Chit^woll-atrc-t-t, into liarbicaii, thencv into Long-lanv, and mi into Siiiithrit^ldt from which latter place aroM^ a tumult of discordant sounds that ^Ued Oliver Twist with surprise and amazeiia'ut.
It was niarket-murning. The ground was ctivered nearly ankle-deep with filth and mire; and a thick steam perpetually rising from the recking bodies of the eatlle, and niingling with the fog. which sifined to rest upon the chimney-tops, hung hea*'ily above- All the pens in the centre of the largo area, and as many temporary ones as could be crowded into the vacant space, were filled wiih shtvp ; and, liiil up to posts by the gut- ter side, were long lines of beasts .-ind oxeii three or four cieep. L'uuutrymen, butchers, drovers, hawkers, boys, thieves, idlers, and vagalxtntls of every low grade, were mingled together in a dense mass: the whi^tHng of drovers, the barking of dogu, the lx-l!ow ing and plunging of beasts, the bleating of sheep, and gruntmg and squeaking of pigs ; the cries of hawkers, the shouts, Oaths, and ouarrelling on all sides, the ringing of Ik-IU and roar of voices tlmt issued from every pubhc-housc ; the crowding, pushing, driving, beating, who<jpinff, and yelling; the hideous Hud (iiseordaiit din that resounded from every comer of the market ; and the unwa^hed, unshaven, squalid, and dirty iigures constantly running to and fro, and bursting in and out of the throng, rcuderetl it a stunning and bewildering scene which quite cunfnunded thi- senses.
Mr. Sikcs, dragging (Hiver after him, ellmwed his way through the thickest of the crowd, and bestowed very Uttle at- tention upon the numerous sighli> and sounds which so a8to< iiiblu'd the boy. He nodded twice or thrice to a piisfiing friend : and, resisliDg as uiony invitations to take a morning dram, pressed sleiidily onward until they were clear of the turmoil, and had made their way through Hotiicr-lane into fIotl>om.
** Now, young 'uu !" &aid Sike.s surlily, looking up at the
I I
I
OUVER TWIST.
'clock, of St. Andrew's church, ** hard u|)on «evm I you must step out, GhiU', (Idu'i lag ln-hiiul already, Lazy-legs !"
Mr. Sik«* accompanied this (s]x»ch with a 6crcf jerk iit his little cuuipaoion's wrist : and Oliver, uuickeniiig litn pace )iit» A kind of trot, between a fust walk and a run, Kept up with tbc .rapid strides of the housebreaker as well as ho could.
I'hey kept uti their course at tlus rate until they bad passed lyde-Park comer, and were on their way to Kensington,
icn Sike* relaxed his pace until an empty cart, which was at some litlte distance behind, cante up : when, seeing " Ilouniilow" wrillen upon it, he asked the driver, with as much civility as he oiuld assume, if he would give tlieiii a Kfi as far an Ulcworthy**
*' Jump up," said the man. *' Is ilmt your boy ?"
*' V'es ; he 'ft my l»*>V," replied Sikes, looking hard at Oliver, and putting his iiatiij abstractedly into the pocket where the pibtol was.
** Your father walks rather too quick for yon ; don*f he, my man?" inquired the driver, tw'mg that Oliver wa» out of breath.
*' Not a hit of il,' replied Sike», interposing. " He's us«l to it. Here, take hold of niy hand, N»-d. In with yo" !"
Thus addri-ssing OliviT, lie helpe<l him into the cart ; and the 'driver, pointing to a heap of sacks, told him to lie dawn there, ■ and rest himwlf.
As they passed the difl^reot milesloiies Oliver wondervd more and more where his conipanion meant to lake him. Ken- aingtun, Hainmersuiith, (.'hiswick, Kew Bridge, Hreiilford, were ^all pasaed ; aiul yet thry kept on as tsteadily as if they had only lieffun their journey. At length they came to a public-house called the Coach and Horses, a little way beyond which, another rood appeared to turn olf. And here the cart stopiied.
Sikes dismounted with great precipitation, holding Oliver by the hajid all ihe while ; and, lifting him down dircctlv, bestowea a furious look uiion him, and rapped the side-pocLet with his fist in a vrry signific-ant manner.
•' Good-b'je, boy I" said the man.
" He's sulky," rcplie<l Sikes, giving him a shake; " lw*s sulky,— a youug dog ! Don't miud him."
" Not 1 !" n.*joined ihe other, getting into his cart. " It 's a fine day, after all." And he drove away.
Sikes waited till he liad fairly gone, and then, telling Oliver be might look aliuut him if he wanted, once agaiu led biui for- waitl on liis joQ^ney.
'i'hey turned rr>und to the left a short way past the public- house, and then, taking a right-hand road, walked on for a lung time, pa«»ing many large gardens and gentlemen's houses on both sides of the wuv, and at length croti«ing a little bridge whicli led them into ^Fwickcnhani ; from which town they i>tiU walked on »-itliout 8lopj>i[ig for anything but *onie Ixvr, until they reached another lunn, in which, ogaiubt tlie wall of a
8
the f.C :;;rs "Hampton."
hoiisi . tile sigji uf the
ili'S''' .' i short distaiKv,
IH'-p' ,v street, walked
'•"'" ....a sign-board, and
h:i>' ■
i"hj_' . . ;. with a great beam
"li"' . .<.- with hifjh bucks to
ti"-' . v.vt'nil roujjh men in
t" iL'V took no notice of
^i" .,- Siki's took very little
*'■ -iJo sat in u corner bv
■"■^ ..; l>v the company,
t' .'-. and sat here so long
■ .-s.lt' with three or font
.■ oertiiin they were not
,,■ with the walk and j;et-
-.t ; and tlien, tuiile over-
.- ol" the tobacco, i'ell fast
V irtakeiied by a })ush (rom '■ '.o sit up und l(Hik about
^ r'.llowship and cominunica- ■:;i[ of ale.
..i- llalliford, are you?" iii-
. hIio seemed a little the worse ^ t'.T ilrinkinj^ ; " and not slow
■ m't a load liehind him going
■v- mornin', and he won't be
i^ (.1 him! Kcod, he's a good
. .li till- a lift as far as there ?*' de- , ..'Miirds Iiis new friend.
I iMii." n'|)Iied the man, l(M)king .. .; t,. llalHford.'" . ;e|'hi'd Sikes. . I .;,«,"■ replied the other. " Is all
.. , '.. |i;iid," replied the girl.
, .' tipsy gravity ; " that won't do,
■,;i,-., *' ^'ou 're a-going to aecciiii- .ok'iit my standing treat for a pint
. ■»■.! this argument with a very pro-
,-. -■ Mt, sei/ed Sike> by the hand, and
... !*Jlow. To which Mr. Sikes rt-
■ , i.i.l been >ober, lllere wotdd liave
\
OtIVKK TWIST.
II
After the exchange of a few more complimptits, they bode tlic [company good-night, and went out : the girl gatliering up the potH and gla-i»»e8 an they did so, and lounging out to the door, with her hands full, to see the party start.
The horse, whose hesllh had been drunk in his absienw, vai fltailding outside, ready harni^iised to the cart. Oliver and Slkea ^■eot in without any furtiier ceremony, and the man, to whom he hclongefl having lingered a minute or two ** to bear him up," and to defy the hostler and the world to produce his et|ual, ninuuied al^> Then tlic hostiur waa told to give the horse his head, and, his head being given him, he made a very unpleasant uw.' of it, tos&lng it into the air with great disdain, and lunniog into the parlour windows over the way ; after performing which featti, and supporting himself fur a ithort time on hi'^ hiiiddegy, he sturtcd off at grual speed, and rattled out of the town right galliiiitly.
The night was very dark ; and a damp mist rose from the river and the marshy ground about, and spread itseif over tlie dreary fields. It was piercing cold, too ; all vran gloomy and black. Not a word was sjwken, for the driver had grown sleepy, and Sikes was in no uiut»d to lead him into convcr^ition. Oliver sat huddled together in a corner of the cart bewildered with alarm and appreiiension, and figuring j-trange objects in the gaunt treea, wIiubc branches waved (grimly to and fru, as if in some fantastic joy at the desolation of the licene.
As tliey pas&etl Sunbury church, the cluck struck seven. There was a liglit in the ferry-house window opposite, which streamed acrosii the road, and threw into more sombre shadow a dark yew-tree with graves beneath il- There was a dull sound of falling water iiuL far ofl', and the leaveA of the old tree stirred gently in the night wind. It seemed like solemn quiet music for the repujo of tlie dead.
Sunhurv wan pusscfl through, and they came again into the lonely road. Two or throe niilifs morv, and the cart stopped. i^ikes nllglited, and, taking Oliver by the hand, they once again walked on.
Tliey turned into no house at Sliepperton, as the weary boy hail exncctetl, but siill kept walking on in mud and darkness througn ^^hximy lanes and over cold open wajitei, until they came within sdght of the lights of a town at no great distance. On looking intently forward, Oliver saw titat the water wan ju»t below them, and thai tliey were coming to the foot of a bridge.
Siken kept straight on till they were close upon the bridge, and then turned suddenly down a bank upon the left. *' The water !" thought Oliver, turning sick with fear- " He has brought me lo this lonely place tu murder mef
He was almut to throw nimself on the ground, and make one struggle for his young life, when Ik.* saw that they hIckkI bef»)re a solitary huusc'ull ruitKins and decayed. There was u window
12
OLIVBR TWIST.
on each side of ihc dilapidated entrance, and one story aliove; but ntj lig'it ^'^ risibk'. It was dark, dismantled, and to all a{iiiearaiiee iininhiil)iti>d.
Sikcs, with Oliver's hand still in his, si>ftly approached the low |)orch, and raided the latch. The door yielded lo his pre»- sure, and they passud ia together.
CHAITEB TUB nU'ENTY-SECOMD.
TBB BDRDLinr.
" HAI.I.U \" cried n loud, hoarse voicc^ directly ihey had Bet foot In the pasHS^.
:* Don't make such a Tov' eaid Sikcs, bolting the door. " Show a glim, Toby."
" Aha I my pal." cried the eanic voice ; " a glim. Barney, a glim 1 Show tlic pcnileman in, Barney; and wake up first, it' convenient."
The speaker appeared to throw & booi-jack, or aotne nuch article, at the person he addrcttsed, to rouse him from his filuniberR; for the iHHie of a wooden body falling violently was heard, and then an in> distinct mtitCerin)^ as of a man betncen a«]ee|i and Awake.
" l>o you hear ?" cried tlic same voice. " There '» Bill Sikes in the passage, with nobody to do the civil tti him ; and you sleeping there, ua if you loolc laiiclaiium with yourrneaU, anduolJiing stronger. Are you any fresher now, or do you waul tlie iron candlestick to wake you Uioroughly ?"
A pair ofsiipshod feet BhufBcd hastily acrn&s (he bare floor of the roocn as thi^ interrogatory was put; und ttierc issued Iruni a door on the right hanil, firit a feeble rjmdie, and next, the form of the same imtiridual wlio hoH been heretofore described a3 labouring under the intirinily of speaking through his nose, and officiating as waiter at the public-house an Saffi^on Hill.
" Bister Sikes!" exclaimed Bameyj with real or counterfeit joy; " cub id, sir ; cub id."
"Here! you get on first," s^d Sikes, putting Oliver in front of him. " Quicker! or I shall tread upon your heels."
Muttering a curse upon his lnrdint-f>», Sikes pushed Oliver before him, and they entered a low dark room with a smoky tire, two or three broken chairs, a table, and a very old couch, on which, with hia kgs much higher tlian bis head, a man wbb rcpoalng at full length, smoking a long clay pipe. He was dnuscd in a smartly-cut snufT* coloured coal with large bra» buttons, on orange neckerchief, n coarse, staring, shawUpattern waiiitcoat, and drab breechtrs. Mr. Crackit (for he it was) had no vtry great quantity of hair, eillier u[>on his head or face ; but what he had was of a reddish dye, and tortured into long, corkscrew curls, through which he occasionally thrust some very dirty fingers ornamented with large common rings. He was a trifle above the middle size, and apparently rather weak in the legf ; but this circumstance by no means detracted from his own admiration of his top-bouts, which he contemplated in their elevated situation with hwly satisrucilon.
'■ Bill, my boyl" said tliisfigute. turning his head towards tlie door.
OUVEE TWiST.
13
" I *m glad to nee you : I vai klaiost afraid you 'd given ii up, in which case 1 slmuld havu usde a persoiiai wuritur*. Huliu I"
UUcring llii!« excluinHtiuo in a lonv vf grcuL tiiirpri^u an his cyea retted on Oliver, Mr. Tolty Cruckil hrouglit himscll' intn a Siting posture, and dcmandcil who that was.
*' The boy — only the boy I" replied Sikes, drawing a chair towards the fire.
** WuO of Bistrr Fagid's ladt," exctuimctl Barney, with a grin.
" Fagin'e, eh 1" exclaimed Toby, looking at Oliver. " Wot an iowahtble boy that'll make for the oldladivs' pocketa in clupeU. llis niu)f ii a fortun' to hiin."
" There— there's enough of thai 1" interposed Sikes impatiently; and, atoi^ng over his recumbent friend, he whispered a lew words in his eur, ut uhich Mr. Crackit bughed immensely, aud hunourud fOlivcr with a long stare of Bfitontshmenu
■■Now," said iiikcs, as lie TL*»uni(.-d hi« atuU "if you'll girc us
something to eat and drink while we 're wuiling, you 'II put some
Llieart in US| — or in me, at all events. Sit down by the fire, ynunker,
ftnd rest yourself; for you'll have to go out wiili us again to-night,
though not very far off."
Oliver looked at Sikes in mute and ttmid wonder, and, drawing a stool to the fire, sat witli his aching head upon hi* hands, tc&reely knowing where lie was, or what was passing around him.
" Here," said Toby, a» the young Jew placed some Iragmeota of food and a bottle upon the table, " Success to the uratk 1" He roae to honour the toast, and, carefully depositing his empty pipe in a comer, advanced to the table, filled a glass with epiriiSi and dnuik off ita conteota. Mr. Siketi did the same.
" A drain for tlic boy," siud Toby, half lilliog a wlao-glasa. " Down ■witli It, innocence ',"
" Indeed," said Oliver, looking pitcoualy up into the man's face ; " indeed I "
"Down with it I" echoed Toby. " Do you think 1 don't know what's good for yon? TcU him to drink it, Bill."
" He had better," said Sikes, clapping his hand ujion his pockeL " Burn my body I if he isn't more trouble than a whole fkniil/ of Dodgers. Driidc it, you perwerje imp; drink ill"
Frightened by the menacing gestures of the two men, Oliver haatily swallowed the contents of the glass, and immediately fell into a violent £l of coughing, which delighted Toby Crsckit and Barney, luid even drew a smile from the surly Mr. iiikes.
This dune, and Slkes having feaiis^ed hia appetite, (Oliver could eat notliing hut u small crust of bread which they made him swallow,) tlie two men luid themselves down on chairs for a short nap. Oliver retained his stool hy the lire ; and Barney, wrapped in a blanket, stretched hiroaetfon the floor, close outjiide the fender.
They slept, or appeared to sleep, for Mtac time; nobody stirring but Barney, who rose once or twice to throw coals upon the fire. Oliver felt into a heavy doze, imagining himself straying alone through the gloomy Unes, or wandering about the dark churchyard, or re- tracing somt- one or other of the sceties of the past day, when he was roused by Toby Cracltit's jumping up and declaring it waa half- post one.
14
OLIVER TWIST.
In an instant the other two were on tlicir leg*. an<l all were ac- ttrelr engaged in busy preparation. Sibes and hi» cotnpiinion enre- loped their necks and cltini in large dark ahawlfi, and drew on their great-coats ; while Barney, opening a cupboard, hrougbt forth several ariidei, which he hastily crammed into the pockets.
« Barkers for nic, Barney ?" taid Toby C'rackit,
*'Here they are," replied Burney, producing a pair of ptslols. **You loaded them yourself."
"All right!" replied Toby, Blowing tliem away. "The per- suaders ?"
** I 've got 'cm," replied Sikes.
"Crape, keys, centre-bit, darkiea — nothinp forgotten?" inquired Toby, fastening a iimnll crowbar to a loop inside the skirt of his coat.
" All right !" rejojned his companion. " Bring them bit* of timber, Barney: that's the tinac of day-"
With these words he took a thick stick from Barney's hands, who, having delivered another to Toby, busied himself in fastening on Oliver's cape.
'* Now then !" said Sikes, holding out his hand,
Oliver, who was completely btupifieil by tlie uofrontcd exerciie. and the air, and the drink thai hcd been liitced upon liim, put his hand mechanically into tiint which Sikes extended for the pu«{)osc.
"Take hiis other hand, Toby," said Sikcs. " Look out, Barney I**
The mou went to tlie door, and returned to announce tliat aU was quiet. The two robbers issued fortli tvtth Ohver between them; and Barney, having niaUe all fant, rolled himself up as before, and was soon adeep again.
It was now intensely dark. The fog was much heavier than it bad been in the early part of the night, and the atmosphere was so damp that, although no rain fell, Oliver's hair and eyebrows within a few minutes after leaving the house had become lililf with the half-frozen moisture that was Boating about. They crofl»ed the bridge, and kept on towards the lights wliitit he had seen before. They were at no great difitaDce off; and, as they walked pretty briskly, they soon arrived at Chertsey.
" Slap through the town," whispered Sikcs: "there'll bo nobody in the way to-night to see ue."
Toby acquiesced: and they hurried through the main street of the little town, which at that late hour was whnlly deKcrted. A dim light shone al interraln from some hed-room window, and the hoarse bstfking of dogs occasionally broke the silence of the night ; but there was nobody abroad, and they bad cleared the town aa the church bell struck two.
Quickening their pace, they turned up a rofld upon the left hand ; afier walking about a (]uarter of a mile, they stopped before a detached house surrounded by a wall, to the top of which Toby Crackit. scarcely pausing to lake breath, climbed in a twinkling.
" The boy next," said Toby. " Hoist him up : 1 11 catch hold of him."
Before Oliver bad time to look round, Sikcs hud caught him under the arms, and in three or four seconds he and Toby were lying on the grass on the other side. Sikcs followed directly, and they stole cautiously towards tJtc house.
I
I
I
I I
^
0L1VB& TWIbT.
15
And now, for lite first lime, Oliver, well-ntgh tutd with grief and terror, saw that hous<^hrcnkinf; and robbery, il' nut murtk-r, were iliii objects o4'the expedition. He cluprcl his hands tn);ctliur, and invo- luntarily uttered a subdued pxclamation of horror. A mist came before bit eyei, the cold sweat stood upon hia ashy face, his limbft Failed bim, and he sunk upon his knees.
" Gel up !" murmured Sikes, trembling with rape, and drawing the pistol fruoi bis pocket: " get up, or I'll tuew your brains upon the
gnnl"
** Oh ! Ibr God's sake let toe go V cried Oliver ; " let me run away and die lu the belds. I will never come near Loudon—never, never I Oh I pray have uK-rcy upon nic, and do not make mc steal : for the love of all the bright angels that rest in lieuven, have mercy upon me!"
The man to whom this appeal was made swore a dreadful ooib, and had cocked the pistol, when Toby, striking it from his grasp, placed his hand upon the boy's mouth and dragged him to the hnii$e. "J lush 1" cried the man; " it won't answer here. Say another word, and I'll ilo your business myself with a cmck on the head that makes no noic^e, and is quite as certHin and more genlM'l. Here, Bill, wrench the shutter open. He 's game enough nuw, I 'II engage. I've seen older haods of his age took the same way for a minute or two on a cold night."
Kikes, invoking terrific imprecations upon Fagin's head for sending ^Oliver on sueb an errand, plied the crowbar vigorously, but with little loise; and, after some delay and some BssiEtaniH; from Tub» the •butter to which he had referred swung open on im hingeo.
It was a little lattice window, about five feet and a half above the ground, at the back nf the house, belonging to a scullery or small browing.phce at the end of the passage: the aperture was so small that the inmitles had probably not thought it worth while to defend it more securely; but it was targe enough to admit a boy of Oliver's size nevertlitiletB. A very brief exercise of Mr. Sikes's art sufficed to overcome the fastening uf tlie lattice, and it soon stood wide open also. " Now listen, you young limb I" whimpered Sikes, drawing a dark lantern from his [Micket, and throwing the glare full on Oliver's face; *■ 1 *m a-going to put you through there. Take this light, go soflly up the steps straight afore you, and along the tittle haU to Iho atreet- '^tMMT. llnfastcn it, and let m in."
" Tliere 's a bolt at the top you won't be able ta rearh," interposed Toby. " Stand upon one of tlie liall chairs ; there are three there. Bill, with a jolly large blue unicorn and a gold pitchfork on 'em, which ia the old lady's arms."
" Keep quiet, can't you ?" replied Sikes with a savage look. •'The room door is open, is it r"
" Wide," replied Toby, after peeping in to satisfy himself. " The game of that is that they always leave it open with a catch, so that the tltyg, who 's got a bed in here, may walk op and down the passage when he feels wakeful, ila ! ha I Barney 'ticed him away to-night, so neat."
Although Mr. Crackit spoke in a scarcely audible whisper, and laughed without noise, Sikes imperiously comniandcd him to be silent* ADd loget to work. Toby complied by finit prndudng Itin Inntrm,
16
OLIVER TWIST.
and plncing it on the ground; and then planting hiniectf firmly wit liis head against the wall beneath the window, and his hand)> upon tii« kticcs, &o 08 to niake u step of his bacL ThiK was nu euuncr done lliun SikL'S. inouiiling upon htm, put OUver gently through the win- dow, with his f'cvt first : and, without leaving hold of his collar, planted him Eal'ely uii tlii: tluur iiiiiidc.
" Take tliU luntern," fiuid ijikes, looking into the room. ** You see the sinirs afore you?"
Oliver, mote cleiul tlian alive, gasped out, " Yes " nnd Sikes, point- ing to the streetnioor with tlie pintnl barrel, briefly odriscd him to lake notice that hi? va» within shot all the way, and that if he faltered be would full dead that instant.
" It 'fl done in a minute," said Sikcs in the same low whisper. " Di- ^rectly I leave go ot'you, do your work. Hark 1"
" WTiat'a tliat?" whispered the other man.
They listened inteiitly-
" Nothinf^," said Sikes, releasing his hold of Oliver. " Now I"
III tlie »hort lime he had had to collect his Henses, tlie boy had firmly resolvtxl that, wlu-tficr he died in tl>e attempt or not, he would make one olTort to dart up stairs from the hall nnd alnrm tlte foinily. I'dled with this idea, tie advanced at once, but stealthily.
" Come back t" suddenly cried Sikes aloud. " Back I back !"
Scared by the sudden breaking of the dead Htillncss of the place* and a loud cry which followed il, Oliver let hia lantern fall, and knew not whether to advance or tty. llie cry was repeated — a light apfieared — a vision of two tetrilied holf-dretsed men at the top of the stairs 8wam before his eyes — a R&hh — a loud noise — a smoke — s crash somewhere, but where he knew not,— and he staggered back,
Sikes had disappeared for an instant ; but he was up again, and had him by the collar before the smoke had cleared away. He firpd hia own pistol after the men, who were already retreating, and dragged the boy up.
" Clasp your arm tighter," said Sikes as he drew him through the trindour. "(iive me a shawl here. Thoy 've hit him. Quick I Dam> nation, how the boy bleeds!"
Then came the loud ringing of a hell, mingled with the noise of fire-arms and the shouts of men, and the ftensation of being carried over uneven ground at a rapid pace. And then the noises grew confuned in the distance, an^a cold dcodly feeling crept over the boy's heart, and he saw or heard no more.
TUB Bvo or rns Finsr book.
FRENCH L1T£I{ARV LADIEIS.
BY OSonGB UOaAKTH.
Tas iiifl
uence a test of
irthe fair I
u* French mean to
n soci^y i» accaunteU, and ?i>roRTCS«iifcivili7-Btinn ; a imply their superiority to all the rest of the world in thi* respect by the Uie of their faroiirite proverbial phrase, ''Jm Mlf frana' ext If jtaradu des femmex." There can be no dotibt thai the latliefi of France, in modern times at least, have exercised a greater degree of influence, not only over the habiu, mauuen. luid cliiiracter of the male part of the creation, but Q\eT their roost impurUnt aflairs and avocations, public m welt ai priiale, than they have done in any other country whatever. The Sa]i(]ue Law, notwith$tandin|> its long prevalence in France, may be said to have been little more than » dead letter; for where wa^ thu use of providinjij against a female succession to the crown, when the nation never ceased to be virtually under petticoat government? What did it matter thai the throne could not be occnpied by a female sovereign, when the whole power iif the slate was wielded by some female or other, who wanted nothioft of sovereignly but the name? \Vhat, after all, wa-'tthemuch-boa-ited Louip LB Grand but a crowned and "ceplred pti|)pvt, while the real monarch of France, for the time, wa« Maiiitetion, or Lh Valliere, or Mtmtetpnn ? What was his succesuwr but the slave of a Du JUrry and a Punip»dour? And what was the best and most virtuous of tlie race, — the unhappy boui» the Sixteenth, but an inftrtmient in the haiidK of hi« AuBtriiin consort, whose imperious tcinj>er, and reckless interference with affairs of state, which ehc had neither knowledge to comprehend nor wivlom to conduct, preci|jiLiited the caijistrophe which swept her family from the earth, and levelled in the dust the ancient monarchy of France ,- Seldom, however, has a French king been under no Ipgitiraato a sovereignty an thjit of his consort. The pictun^of the Grand MoHarqtif holding his council in the (tottdmr of Madame de Ataintcnon, while the lady sat at her little table, with her work-basket before her, listening to the deliberations of grave itdtesmcn, and quietly putting in her all-powerful word^ reprusentg, in fact, the machinery of the guveniment of France for a century, at Iea«t, liefore the Revolution.
It wax the same influence which, more than an)-thing eL^e, g«re the French society ot' those days its singidar grace, cleganrc, and te- Rncnient. Other things, no dnubt, contributed to produce thai most rt-niarkablc »tAte of manners: that constitutional gaiety and liveli- ness which makes a French man or woninn, of whatever rank or sta- tion, an eminently social animal, must no doubt come in for its share. Ill the aristocmtic nni-iety of the metropolis its exclusiveness had a similar temlvncy. Nu degree of wealth, or luercly pcrsvHul dixlinc- tton, unaccompanied by rank, could admit any ooe within lU pule. If men of letters tmd votaries of the arts were received into it* circles, it wa« as /iVerMfiand artirts, whose position was perlectly iinilor^lood on lilt hands. They had no pretensions which could interfere with those of the class vnih whom they were allowml to mingle ; the tne of the poet could nol gall the kibe of the courtier. They did not
VOL. 111. C
FRENCH LITKRARV LADIES.
rt^uiix' 1i* be kept itnwn by nny x^ximption of supmoritj ; livnCf Ihrir XK'inl iitltrcotiroe with the urcut w«a on a footing of ap- iHitmt i-<j(iKlity »nil frredom from restraint," Something, too, musit i^f nM-rilx-'d to the very insigniHciincp of the French ariatocrncT ■* « politii'Jil boily. They Uu(] nn political power, no political functions, ho politicjil interests, no political rnre^i : they hud nothing to t\o but to mini on their Prt*tes, or pursue the plejuiures of the capital. The French tuAh-tsr of ihc sevcnu-i.'Uth century accifrdinply were a de- cruilnl race; ignorant and viciuu«, costm! in their habits, and brutal in their niuusenients. r'rom this debasement feuiulc influence con^ Cributvd greatly to raise them, The crowd of men of genius, who&e ■iinullatteuus Hppearnnce stied lustre over the age of Louis the Four- teenth, found, among the lni)ie» of his brilliant court, their fireatest Milinirer^ and patrons. It wax through the influence of the fair sex thiit literature became the fashion, and thut itfi profes«orB ciunc to be ItMiked upon a« the ornaments of polite society.
Nothing can be more captivating than the account*, cnntaineil in the DumerouH French biographies and memoirs of the lart age, of these social eirclcH. ofwliiE-h the elements were rank, beauty, learn- ing, and gvniuH. It had, havrever, ita dark, as well as its light side. There wag none of the restraiot arising from the jealousy of rank and station, and the neceniiity ofrepelbng the pretem^inn!» of infe- riors; but the distinction acquired by wit and brilliuiiry of conver- sation iDtro<lucrd pretensions of another kind ; and these noclex rtrnafie Driim, were npt to become scenes of jealousy, rivalry, and laborious effortjt of the company to outj>hine ejich other. " i soon perceived," wys Marmontcl, speaking nf his firH adminsion into this wiciely, "that each guest arrivetl ready to play hi« part, and that the (leoire of exhibiting frequently prevented the conversation from following its ea«y and natural cour»e. It wa>i who should seize most quickly the passing moment, to bring out his epigram, his tJtle, his Anecdote, his maxim, or his light and pointed satire; and very un- natural round-abouts were taken, in order to obtain a lit opjKtr- tunity." There were, buidei, other evils of a more serious nature. The moral tone of tbew el^uit c6tcrieM waa anytliing but pure ;
* ProfL-ssorsof Iheralurc^minglincin the society of tlic noble tuitllbt; wealthy upon iuAer.iiKe, huld a rank ■careen' hiRher than Uiai of inuiictttiu or acton, from amoo!; wtiom indiridusis have olten, hy their ulents and cbaraoter, become membos ofibtj best tocii-ty, while the castes to which such individuuls heloni; rvmaiD in getienJ exposed [oihi-mo«t biimilialiiij; contempt. Tbelaily ur(|uali(y, •ho smilml on the nui of letters, and tlie ntan of r^tut wtu> admitted hiai lo lilt tiiiimiu:y. still retained their coaMioiisDCSs thai he wu not, like thcniselTes, rnmted oul«f "il>ep«wtelain clay of the earth:" and erea while receiving cheir baunlira, or partici|':>tii)); m ihrir pleasurt», itie farourite taiaiit must ofleu have tean duiutbed by the refleelioo that be was uuljr considered as a cH-aiure of BiiRBiance, whom tlic copnce of fashioo, or a suddea reaction of the ancieiu clii|UGttn, mt^lit fling out orthe society where he was at preaent toleruled. Under ihli ditlwartniiiig and even degndiii); inferiority, the man of letters iniRhl be itiinpliril tiiTidiotuly to compnre iho kixurions style of liTtng at which he sat apeimiltvdKUMtMitli bis own mllry hinr^l ;i(artnirn),iuid scaolj and UtKetlun fMnoe of rapporr. Andcrenlno&eofaiiobk'r mood, when ihey hndconeMled to ih»ir henebctors all the grxiitud* tbey could justly demand, must somciiinai hat* K^nlted ibelr own situation —
'* Condrmn'd as needy t\i{>pl»caiiti to nail. While Itdtes uiterpote aiid Uavcs dcbau."
Sir tt'ittu S(»tt'l Lift ^ KofuVAW, %<A. i.
4
I I
PRKHCH LITBKARY MDIlfS.
19
little wRrmth of heart or elpvation of sentiment, and a total xbtM>ncr of religious t'eelinjj or principle. Tbi-ir prfivwilinx spirit >n^m» to h«vi' brtri a selfish indifference lo evcrytlimg lieyonH the puntiit or xni iiM^meiit of the hour. We susjject, after all, that their extreme poliHli HrrMe I'rnm the hnnhicm of the materiaU.
Many diatinj^uiHhed women fijirure in the French literary annula of the last century, a* occiipyinji prominent plncea in the society we have been enfleavourini; to character! ne. But a few notices of some ot'them trill ffxvo a l>ettpr notion nf it than can be convevetl by any geaen\ description. Wc shnll mke. tor the present, t^rec of th« moat rrniarkible amon^ them, — Madame Geoffrin, the Marquise Dii *" ~ il, and her prnteg^r and rival, Mademoiaclle L'Gspinaaae, all Ictniiorariep. and ronnerted with each other, ifadame Omffrin was bom in lOyU. iier faibcr waa a man of family, and had a place in the huusehold of the Dauphin. At fifteen afar WAS married to M. OeofTrin, an eminent glafs>rimimfacturer. Her talenfi and accomplishments early attracted notice, and during her hu-band'B life, an well an atW liis <lealli, her house became the rendrxvoui of the best society in Fari». He left her a considerable fonune. which she grently augmented by prudence and economy, and which »he emjtioyed in actft of benevolence anil chnrily. Her geocroaity was extensive and noble, yet free from any pmfustnn which could impair her means of doing good. " I perceive with Mtisfhciitm."'«he said to D'Alenibert, (ns he informs us,) " that as I grow older I grow more benevolent, 1 dare not nay better, because mv benevolenco, like the malignity of some people, may be tho etfcct of weakness of mind. I have prnJHed by what was often aaid In me by tlie g(n>d Abbe de St. Hierre. that the charity of n worthy nun Ehoiild not be confined to the 9tip))urt ami relief of the nnfor- unue, but that it nhoidd extend to the iinlutgencc which their faulti ■• iA«n aland in need of; and, in imitntion of him, I have taken for my mono two W(M-d>t, dortner el pardonner." Such became her cele- bniy u A leader in the literary Miciety of Paris, that no traveller of ■oj noCe thouftbt he had seen that capital till he who introduced to Madnne Get^Hn. She had receivMl no regular e<Uication, her mind having acquired iti cultivation from her intercour»e with the Durtd. Hlie confessed «he could not even spell ; but nothing coold ffxcrrcl the r*»e and grace of her Atyle: and though she hnd never 4adi«d painting or music, >he was an excellent judge and munificent IMtron of both these art*.
klarmontrl give* some pleasing picturei of the !iarut meeringg at thia lady's houM*. '* At^er having dined," he snyn, "at Madame OvoffHn'a with men of letters or artistx, ] was again with her in the rvfiiing in n more intimate >>04:iety, for uhe had uK--u granted me the favMir of aiTmilting me lo her little cuppert. The entertuinmeiiC *aa ftry moderate, — generally a chicken, some spinach, and an Modet. The company were not numerous ; llu-y roiisistvil at mfwl af Ave or ux of bet particular friends, or three or four grntlemea lod liittra of U>e first fanhion, aelected to auit each other's tailn, and happv to be tofretber.
'• Vou may ea»ily conceive that at these little suppers my aelf-love •ronipted all tJie uieana I ])in>»e»«e(l of being amusing and agreeable. TSr new ulrt I we« then writing, and of which these ladies had the first otfcriugj ware re*! for their entertainment before or after siip-
so
PRBNCn UTBRARY LADIES.
tiipr. They made rpgiilar aiipointmpnts lo hrnr tlicm, uml when t!i* liltle Slipper vras prcvcntwl hy any accHlent, Uit-y asscuiWeii at dinner at Mudnrnc dc Briotine's. I conftss Uiat no succcMt ever flattere<l me so much ns that which I nbtainetl by tlicfc readings in that little circle, where wit, taste, and hi-auty wen- my judges, or rather my Biilf»Rist!i. There was rioi a bingle trait, cither in my colourinp or flialogue, however niinuU-ly delicate and subtle, that was not fflt at once; and the pleasure] gave had the air of enchantment. I was eiiraptwrcd to see the finest eyes in the world Rwimming in tear* at the little touching scenes in which I had made love or nature wet-p. But, notwithstanding the indulgence oF extreme politeness, I eouM well perceive, too, the cold and feeble passage* which were passed over in silence, as well m thfise in which I had mistaken the tone of nature or the juxt tihade oflroth ; and these passages I kept in mind, that I might correct them at leisure."
Madame Geoffrin's husband, like the huKbnrds of many other dis- tinguished i/«c«, was a thoroughly insignificant personage. — b per- fect cipher in his own house. Grimm tells some amusing sti>- ries of Kim. He was in tlie habit of borrowing books of a fritiid, who, by way of joke, lent him the name bonk several times over. It happened to be a vulume of Father Labat's TrarrU. ftIon«ieiir Geoflrin, with the most perfect simplicity, read it over every time it was lent him. "AVell, sir )" said hig friend, '* how do you like the travels?" "Ob, very good — very good indeed; but I think the author a little given to repetition." A literary f<jreigrer, who had fre(juently dined at Madame Geoffrin's without knowing her hus- band, askeil her one day, aRer a long absence from Paris, what had become of the poor gentleman he used to meet there, and who al- ways )>at without opening his V\^ "Uh !" said the lady, " that was my hu»band — lie is dead."
She was celebrated for her lum-mult, of which many are preserved by Grimm and other writers of the day. The Coimt de Coigny was one day at her table, telling, as was his wont, interminable stories. Some dish bnng set before him, he took a little clasp-knife from his pocket, and began to help himself, prosing away all the while. " M. le Comte," said Maflume Geolfrin at l&.<<t, out o^ptilience, "at dinner we should have Inrce knives and little storieV One of her literary friends, M. dc Rulhiere, having ihn-iitened to publish some verj* imprudent remarks on the conduct of the court of Ru!tsia, from the Kale of which he expected to make a Inrge nrulii, she oiTercd htm a handsome sum to put his manuscript in liie fire, from a good-natured wish to keep him from getting himself into trouble. The author begnn to talk in .-■ high tone about honour and independence, and the ItaM-ness of taking money aa a bribe for auppressing the Initb. " Well, well," said she with a quiet smile, " My yourself huw much more you must have.''
As may be supposed, she partook of the infidelity which pre- vailed among the society in which she lived, though her good di.<7)Oflitifln, and, we may Mid, good taste, prevented her from adnptine the offensive style of conversation tlien fa^hionable on the subject of religion. In her long last illness she began to think seriously on this topic, and gave up the wiciety of the phi/ompkert. HaYlng bad a stroke of apoplexy, ber daughter, the Marquise de la FertP-Iinbrrt, took tlie opportunity of shutting h**r door against D'Alembert, Jlarmonlel, and her othtr old friends of this description.
4
4
PRBKCU UTERARY LAUIES.
51
*• Every Uidy cxpcflwl," says Orimiti, "that as soon as MmUme Uciiffrin came to licrsclt', &)ie would (li»H%-oMr her daugliter's procved- ioga ; but the world wu mistaken. Afler hiiving ecolded a )ittl«, tiw forgave lier daughter, and cuiite6ee<l that, iit'tpr all, the viaticum «iid the philosophers would not do very wtU together. She <uu(l her 'itiii-hier h^d b«-ii ■illv, hut gave her credit for her zeal- "My jimht»T," slie sJiid with a smile, "is likeGtKltrey ul'liouillou, — she anted lo defend my tomb against the iniideU." 'fliit. pitiinaitterie voun a tittle of levity ; but her pious inipressioiis appear to hiivc Btrcnfftbetied by the chasteninf; hniid of affliction. She per- . in her drterminniion to sec her tnlidcl fricnd.i no more, and It aa we are iDformcd by the liio^raphie Vnivei-selU, profeMing her belief in the truths of rnigion. .She died in 1777i "t the age of KTmty •eight, leaving behind her a brilliant reputation, and a me- ■MTf cmuilited by many great and good qualities, and unatalned by tfaa vices and fulUcs of her time.
The character of the Marquise du Deffant rcHecUi more faithfully Uw sumieTa of the age, with which tliut of Maduiue (leolfriu. in mmy respects, stood in reuiarkuble contrii»t. This celebrited lady bad all tin; wit, all the talent, all the hejirtles^nesi, and all the immo- rality which entered w largely into the composition of the most po- liabrd •ocirty the world ever saw. She was bom in 1699. of n ntilile fcnilji and marrie<1, nt an early a(^e, to the Mnrquis du Deflnnt, a MflD much older thim herself. The union wa* unhappy ; thcy paftMl, and the Imly cotiMoIrd hernelf with a lover. This did not prtTent a reconciliation from U-ing p;itclicil up Ijctwccn the mnrricd pair by the intervention of friemU. But the lover complained ao WMlly uTthe injury the lady hnil done Itim by taking back hi-r hus> hmil, that, (initing it nec«»'uu-y to cIioohc between thcni^ she gave her iMomarata the preference, and once more contrived to get rid of thr narquia.
After thi4 she tenm to have had n succesMon, or rather a plu- rality of admirers, and to hnve given herself little trouble about areaerving even the appearance of decorum. She is Auid tu have had an intrigue with that inimitable n»u' the Regent Uukc of Ur- haiH; but her earlie-it icnomn lover seems to have been font d« Vol*, ■ man of literary eminence, and of oa cold and heartlPM a character as herself. Her 8ubsec|uent preference of others did not firrvent her from remaining on terms of the most intimate friend- •hip »iUi him, as It wa* called, for more tlian forty years. On the »*Ty cirening of his death. La Ilarpe tells un, slie came to sup with a W)^ pv^y at Mad^iuie de Marchnis*. On her arrival, someboily bn^an to condole with her on her loss. " Alas !' she said, " he died thia ctrntiig at BIX o'clock ; \\sid it not been so enrly f could noi have been here-" So wying, she »at down to unpper, made, as naaal, an excellent meal, and was the ljvelie»t of the company. From a eoUuquy between Iter and thia ancieia friend, we niiiy hiive some (Mtiea of the strength of her friendship. " I'ont de VVbU-,"' slie said Id Um one day, " we Imve been friend^i these forty years, nnd 1 don't tllink wo have had a single quarrel or ditfercnce all the time.' •^" So, madam." — " Don't you think the re»Hon i<«, that we do not care m gmt deal for one atuahcr?" — '"Why, niAdam, it w very bkely.''~W«ll might La Ilarpe say of her, "QutI etait difficile d'avotr moins de »cniibilitc ei plus d ego'tsrae."
$^ rtBNCU UTERARr LADIES.
I^mIk I^mM ^ Vnl*. >}ie bad another lover, ihe President H^ (MSk^lb* hirtirT"" There is «n amusing anocdotc of thfir /tui-ron, L viw W lW «l««nU4:c, tim, of beiuj: autliriitic. They were both _ nr day of the continual inlcrniption!! they met with
'lA* MCirtv ill Mhic'h they lived.
ttK«t « uleavuit thing it would be," said Madame du DeHunt, > . « wThuW day tn ourwives I" - . kcr mfi^rly caught at the idea, and it waa determined tu |Mk «b u* «Ac«'uttan, They found a small apartnitjnt in tlie Tuilli*rie», Q^Midl'Mt t^* * friend, wJiich vfna iincK'e'upit!d ; and there they re- •yi\M, h^e Seyrd, llu- Kiu^ror of Kthiupiu, to lipi-ml a happy day. \b»k <*uivcil aruuitliii^ly, iii i>eparalc Ci4rria{i;e». Hbuul eleven in the tlM«u<.vtit ; \trdrml their carriogeft to return at twelve at night ; and ^VMUitki' dtiutrr IVoni a traitfir.
'Hw iui>riiing wiu s|>vitt entirely to the Mti»faction of both par- \IT4u *^> thv luuid 4'onvrrvitiuii uf hners.
'■* WvU !" thi-y eould not hftp «iying every now and then, " were l|Wt\ di^v lilic thi^, lilV would really be to«) .short I"
Uiiiit«r KAxnt, WAS heartily partaken of, and sentiment gave way V^ %\\ atMl galely. About mx the Marquise looked at her watch,
^' Athulic iu Id be played tu>night, aiul the new actress is to make ^^Hf a)>)M'4iraiK'e."
> M \ iuii«i own," Mid the Pre«ideut, "that were I not here 1 should I^Kl it«>t tcelnu; her."
>■ I'w^c isktv, Vrt'Stflent ; what you say is on expresaioa of rcgreu WfiV )k<u It* tukp{>y n* you prolt-iis to be, you never would Bave ■EihhM v>t the poasibitity of going to H-e the new actreiis !" ^X^v I'lV^iilrtit defended luui^ell', and in turn became the accuiKr. »» It it fw lou to com2)Uin uf me, when you were tlie first to look. tt JVWT Wttlcfi, and to remark lliat Alh«lie was to be aclt-d to-night } ^Uhv i>ii|flit to be no watches fur people who lire happy."
YW ifU»iiute went on. The loving ]>air got more and mure out of |mWau<^( with tach other; and by seven o'clock wotdd both of them tUiV 1>*^'U very glad to separate. Hut that was imjMHsihle.
■ \K''*cri«I the Mar()ui»e, "I can never stay here till twelve
live houra longer, — wluit a pcnante!"
'\ iu|ui>e went and ^tdown behind a screen, leaving the rent
L.- the I'rctident. Piiiucd at this, the gentleman seisei
. ,.. .. L. ....-A luite full of reproaches, and throwH ii over the screen.
\k» Vd> ^ckl It up, goes in sciLtch of pen, ink, and paper, attd
, ., . ... ■M>wfr In tliu oharpcst terms. At lost the hajipy hour uf
^ ; ami each hurried olT separately, resolved never again
■ w rK|M<riinent.
, ,<d to the age of ninety ; and with him, a» with Pont
V '' •.Ifuiici du Delfant kept up an intimacy tu the last. lie
< tio of dotage before hia death: and one day, when he
i.iU*, the having tiiken it into her head to u»k hiui wh«-
I her or another lady tlie best, he, quite unaware of iJie
■ (peaking to, not only declared hi& preference of the
)>iil went on to juAtify it by an enumeration of the
i' hia hearer, on which topic he became *o aniniate<l
il woj hnpw.sibte eitlier to stop him or to prevent
itmiu from having the benefit of his strictures.
Madauiv du J>eOant's cSitrit woa the most briU
FRENCH L1TBRART LADIB3.
ss
liant in Paris. Nnlilernen of tlie hifrhest rank, rainisler-i of ittat**, the mott (listin|;uis[|p(l turcij^ners, men of ^nius of every dcscriptinn, th« mo«t elei^iic and iiccotnpli^ihed women, all thoui;tit it » high ho- nour *nd privileKt* tu he aiimittL-d intu her circle, oi' which she her- i«*lf, from her wit *mJ varioui lalcnts, wm the greatest oriininent. At fifty she was seiied with a disorder in her eyca, which terminated in blindncM. When threatened with loss of »tght, she took Made- muUellr I'KNpinnati^, then u poor friendless girl, emploved a< a g»- vereeu in a convent, to be hn humble companion and iecirice. But the men of letter* who frequented the houHe were more attracted by the />ro/r^.V than the patroneiw ; ntid their increjtwngaltentiona to Ma- demoiaclle rEspinasse f^ave rise to constant JcjiIohmoh and heartburn- ings, which ended in her withdrawing herself, or bein^ diitioivife'I, from Madame du Delfant';* house. Iler recession was attended with that (if D'Alembert, and others of the old lady's literary friends, who preferred the society of the young' one ; a circumstance which pro- duced an irreconcilnl>le feud between Madame du Deffant and the fihilosopfaers, and seems to h:ivc embittered the remainder of her ife.
Af^er thi« time she became actiuainted with Iluruce Walpolc ; and their long and intimate friendEliip gave (K.'ejHiun to the uilmiruble eac-rr*]>oii[lcnce between tlicm which ha« been putili^hird. The let- Icn to Walpole are niudeU in thiti ^pecieti of composition. Equal in raoe, grace, anti ])iirity of style, to tli'ise of Madame de Sevi^^, tbuagh witboot her gentle and womanly feeling, tliey embrace many more bfiicB nf intere«t and entiTtainment to a render of the preM>nt (Uy. They contain dhrewd :ind pointed remarks on pubUc oecur- rmte.«. spirited sketches of character ami manners, discuasions on se- niKi* Mibjecta, the scamlul of the hour, and ainufing anecdotes, all nuDcietl together in an eaxy and felicit4Mia cunfunion. The following Utile Ktory, wiiich we extruct from one of them, is not only exqtiikrtely bi^habte, but iipenkM volumes as to the eharacter of Louis the Fif- IMnth and hi» courtiers. The Duke de Chniteul wo* then Prime Mi- irialcr, and the Itishoji of Orleans \\e\d an nllice in the government.
"About eight days ago, the king after supper went to Madame Vietcirr's apartments, odled a Acrvant, and gave him a letter, utying I/) hiro, ' Jacques, take that letter tu the L>uke de Ch«i»'u1, ami tell him to deliver it immediately to thv Bishup of Orle&iiH,' Jacques cues to the Dnke's, and Ik told that he is at M. de Penthievre'«. He MIova him there, and gives him the letter. Monsieur de Choitwul vrada Cadet, one of the Duchess's valets, to seek the Itishop.and tell bJM vrbere he it. In a couple of houm Cadet return<<, ruid tells the [>uke that he had been to the Bisliop'a, had kni>cke<l at the door with all hi« might, and, fmding that nobody anawcred, h:id been all ofW the town in search uf him without unccess, The Duke had ■othfng for it but to go himself to the Oirhop's npartments, climbed a huodrcii and twenty -eight uteps, and knorked .so furiously at tl>r <tuoT chat a coupli: of servant* cnme running in their pthirt» to ufien it.
" • Where ia the Bishop?'
"• In ht<\ aiuce ten o'clock.*
'• ' Open hit door, and let me into his bed-room."
**The Duke entem ttie bed-room, and rouses the Ri^hojt from
a*
FRENCU LITERARY LADIK8.
" ' What 's the niHttcr }'
" ' Tis I. — I have got a letter for van from the Kinj;.' 4
" ' A letter from the King ! Oootl Gad ! What is it o'clock ?'
"'About two."
" The HiBhop tiikea the letter, and opens iL
" ' I euu't ruad witliout my B]K-vtacles.'
•" Where ore tbcy?'
" ' In my breeches* pocket.'
"The minister goes to find them ; iind meanwhile they are pUK. cling themselves with conjectures. — 'What can the letter contain ? Con the Archbishop of Paris have died eucUK-nly ? Which of the bishopH can hnvc hanged him«ejl'?' At the same tiroc they were iKrth uneasy enough, ai it might perchance contain something of a less agreeable nature.
" The BUhop begins the letter, but cannot see to gel ttirough it He hands it to the minister, who rtfads hs foUowi ;
" ' My Lord Bishop of Orkans, my daughters have a great desire to have some quince marmalade. They want it in very small pot».
Send some; niid if you have not got anv, I beg ' In this part
of the letter there was a scrawHn tlie ti>nn of a sedan chair, and
underneath it the letter went on, 'you will immediately aend to
your episcopal city for some, and let it be iu very small pots. And so, my Lord JBi>>liop of Orleans, luay God have you in hi» holy keeping, Louis,'
" Then there wan a poHtscript ; — ' The pedan-chair does not mean anytliing ; my daughters had drawn it on this sheet of paper, which was the first 1 laid my hand on.'
" Judge of the amazement of the two ministers. A courier was instantly dejipstdied for tlie marmalade, which arrived next day, but nobody cared any more about it."
These letter*, however, with all their wit ufKl liveliness, preaent the picture of a mi»eruble mind. The writer constantly deaciibcj herself as devoured by cnuui, weary of life, and indifferent to eTery- thlng but the affection of her correspondent, whom she often «d- drcttet in terms of passionate attachment, which are not easily com- preheiuible as proceeding from an old blind woman, and applied to a man pa-it the meridian of life, whom, ton, she had never iicen. No wonder she was w rctcJit-d, with nothing at the close of a long life to look to for comfort; when the past whs without Felf-approval, the preM>nt witliout enjoyment, and the future without hope 1
Her death was characteristic of herself and her society. " Her deamt friends," says (jrimm, " Madame de Luxembourg, Madame de Choineul, and Madame de Cambise, were constantly with her in her but illness. Through an extraordinary excess of attachment these ladies played at loo every evening in her bed-room till she had drawn her lait breath ( juiii|u'a son dernier soupir incliistremcHl). Another writer says that her victors happened in the middle ol their game to discover that she was dead, but sat still, and played it out with great compoiure.
Voltaire, her letters to whom have .■^Iso been published, oaed, in allusion to her acutenexs and penetration, to call her, " L'aveugle clairvoyante." With her character and powers of conversation, she could not fail to be celebrateil for her wnttidsms. She tuiid of L'Etftrit din Lv'u. that it was ■■ Uc I'esprit sur les lots." Hearing
FRENCH LITERART tADIE
te*nom liisputing about the fiuiious mtrxcle of SMint Deiiu, the untuning tlut the saint had only carried hi.« head in hi* hands for a few minutes, and the other that he had carried it all the way Eram Montmartre to St. Denis, she ptit an end to the Mrgumeitt by obierving that, *■ in ancb cafies, i7 n'^ a que If premier poa qui cnutr," la regard to Jicr utter hoartlcH.'ntess (notwithRtAndtnf; tne apparently •otitary axceptioi) of her anumalmis attic-hment Co Watpole), all wUu ' ipcak of her ore afireed. \\'hL'n the celebrated Marqutsc du Chaie-
H let died, she showed her grief fur the loss of her oldeiit and most in- ' tiiiiat« friend by circulating all over Paris the very next morning a tnalisnant and Krurrilous atuck on her character : a tingle fact, wUdi u perfectly conclusive.
I
Aladcmoisclle rEspinaase wn» bom at Lyons in 1732. Her mo- ther wu a woman of rank, who had been Unif; before this time •eparated from her husband. She brought up her daughter with great care and tenderneu, nnd it was not till Iter death that the poor girl, at the age of 6ftecn, was aware of the illfgitimaey of her birth, and her fi^rlorn and destitute situation. 8he found an asylum in a coarent in the capacity of a f^nvcrneiu ; and she hiid been four veart in that muntion when she attracted the notice tif Miulame du DeAnt, with whom »he lived for ten years. At the end of that baWvaAer having supplanted the old lady in the attentions of a larce |>oilioa of her literary circle, »he left her house, as has been already nMnuotMcL
With the remains of what her mother had left her, and a pension granted bv the King (through the intereHt of the friends slie had nude in Madame du Dcffant's cfiterie, she fnund herMrIf in u cundi- ika to live independently. U'Alembert, wltu had becotne strongly auached to her, took up hio abode under her roof; and others of Che literati, who had fVequi^nted Madnme du Deffant's house, for- Book the poor old lady, and betook themselves to the society of her Bore attractive rival. ttlademoiselle I'Espinausc was then above ihtrtT, and far from handsome, her face being utrongty marked with ■nall'pax ; but lier countenance was full of intelligence and aniraa- tioa, and ber manners and convematiun quite cnutivuting. Good> bumoaml and witty, po8»es»ed of information, j augment, and ta»te, ■he na* the life and nuul of the brilliant circle of which her honw «u the centre. "I cannot mention the Graces,'' ">« Marmnntel, '* without speaking of one who possessed them in mind and language. Iiwaathe li-iend of D'Alcmbert, Mndemoiselle TRspinasse; a won- dvfill combination of correctness, judgment, and prudence, with tlia UnHest fancy, the most ardent soul, and tJie most lier)' imaglna* tiana that have cxisteil since the daya of Happhu. The constant ob> laaof attention, whether she qiukc (and no one spoke better) or l;^t<mTJ ; without coquetry bhe inspired us with the innocent de- uiv of pleaaing her; witliuut prudery she made freedom feel how far it nigbl venture without disturbing modesty, or hurting decu- ram. Nowhere was conversation more lively, brilliant, or better rvfobtod than in her society. That degree of temiierate and ever- eqmal warmth in which sb« knew how to auctain it, now by re- ktnjntng, nnd now by animating it, was a rare phenomenon ; and \mr it ol>ferv«tl that the heads she tlicn moved at her will were neither wok tior light. The CondilUcs and the Tnrgots were of the num-
96
PRKNCH LITERARY LADIES.
bcr. D'Alembett, ty her side, was like a titnple aitd docile child." " Of this society," says the tame writer in Miotlier pluce. " the gayert, the rnodt animatetl. the most mmising in his gaiety, was D'AIembert. At\er hiviDf; pa«sv(t hia tiiuniiiifipf in ntgebriiic caIcuUtion», mid Bolvinc the problems of mech»nic« or astronomy, he cxnie fmm his »tudy like a boy ju»t let loose from nchool, iteekiii^ only to enjoy hinmclf; and, by the lively and plca»int turn which hi^ luminous, ■olid, and profound mind then nssiimcd, he soon made ua forgi-t the philosopher and the man of science to admire in him every delight- ful and cngag^in^ quulily. The 8(iurre at' ihi8 niiturA) gaiety was fl pure mind, free t'rcnu pa-iainn, satiBfiec] with itself, and in the daily enjoyment of Fomc newly -discuvervd trulli which rewarded snd crowned his labours; s ])riviU'(:e which the malhcmuticsl »ci- euccs exclusively poBtess, and wluch oo other kind of study ciu completely attain."
This illustrious philosopher, raiwd fnr above the level of the soci- ety in which he lived, by the lingular simplicity ami sincerity of hit character, as well as bis high intellectual piiwers, was the victtm of a strong and unrequited attachment to Ahidemoinelle I'KspinasM. She was unuuesliuiiAbly an adventuress, and a remiile fortune* hunter; but ner own pas«ions were too strong to enable her to ploy the part successfully. She appears to have had an affection for D'AIem- bert and to have bfcn fond of hi* society ; but she was too .imbilious and ajpiring to marry a man without family or fortune. She calcu- lated on the effect of her powers of plea»inj;, and tnuigined she could captivate some distinjjui&hed member of her coterie, so much as to induce him to offer her his hand. She succeeded in inspiring the Marquis de Mora, a yoiin^ .Spani.di nohlenian who had visited Paris in his travels, wiih to violent a paitfiion for her, that hia family, ap-
rrehcneive of the consequences, recalled him home. ■• ^Indemniiielle KspiiiUHfie," says Afarmoutel. •■ was no loni^L-r the same witJi D'AIembert; and he nut only had to endure her coldness luid ca- price, but olicn the bitterness of her wounded temper. He bore hit sorrows patiently, and complained urdy to me. Unhappy man I Euch were his devotion and obedience to her, that in the absence of M. de iklura, it was he who u».ed ti> gn early in a murning to ask tor bis letters at the pust-oflice, and bring them to her when ithe woke." Absence diil not abate the young Spaniard's ]Mis.4ion. lie continued liis cc>rrei»iwndcncc with the object of it; and at last, while hia family were seeking to terminate the connexion by means of a suitalile match for him, he fell into a dangerous illness. This pro> duced an extraordinary step on the part of Mademoiselle I'Espi- nasse. She contrived to obtain an opinion from a physician at Paris, that the climate of Spain would be mortal to her lover, and that if his rriendii wished to sHve him iliev ought to si-ud him to breathe the air of France. This opiniun, dictatetl by Mademuii^elle I'Eapi- nasse, was obtained bif D'Altimin^rl from his intimate friend Al. Lorry, one of the muHt celebrated phy!<icians in Farid. It was trnnx- mitted to 31adrid, and the authority of Lorry, supported by the wishes of the patient, produced its effect. The young Marquis was pertiiitted to return to France, and eagerly set out on his journey; but he could nut bear the effort, and died (»i tlie road.
In tlic mean lime D'AlcnilN.-rt'» unhappy attachment preyeil deep- ly on ilia mind. lie neglected all hit studies and pursuiu, devoting
4
FRENCH LITERAttY LADieS.
27
If pntirvly to tlie society of Mudemoiscllc rRspinsatie, tlidiifrh it was productive to him of nothiiij^ but misery. In thi>i extremity, Maflanie OenRViii. vith her uhuaI active frirntl^ip, d<>tt>i-niiii«xl tu nve him, if possible, from tliu fatal cnii.<iequenccs of such n wuy <>f life. Thouu;li unacquiuulud with iMadpniDiiielle i'E«pinas.4e, mIio went to visit bL-r, uttil rtrpri-&eiiteil to Jicr so strongly tlie irreparable injury sbe wu doitig to D'Alembert, witliout the hope, or even the object, of any aJvantJige to herself, th»t she prevailed on Mftdemoi- fvUe r£«|)inaii»e to g\ve up all the letters she bad received from him, und obtained lier solemn promise to see him no more. An a re- compenie for this compliunce, Mfulnme (aeofTrin settled on Made- moiselle t'Rspimui'e a pension, whicli abe received durinir Ute r«> nuimler of her life.
Whatever may hii« been her orij^iiial motive for endeavouring lo captivate the young Spani»h noblcmnn, there can l>e no doubt that ber paasion for him was not only real, but an violent »■ his own. Krom the time that she was Aeparsted from him by the interference o( hi;t family, her health gave way, and her mind was so deeply nf- (ectcd, that she became an object of eommisi^-ration to her (riendD; and hi« death wan a blow from which she never recovered.
But the most extraordinary part of her life yet remajns to be noticed. While slic was paenionately attached to the Marquis do Morm during bib life, and dying with grief for bis death, she was ■t the aune time violently in love with another. Thin was the Comte de Ouibvrt, the ct-Iebniled writer on military tactics. This Mruige circuiuatiince seems to htive been little known or noticed, till it waj brought to light by the publication of her letttTS to (inibert, about five-and-twenty years ago. Guibert, a handsome and fashion. able young man, distinguished for spirit and talents, hod recom> ncmled hinuelf to her by the tender interest he took in her afHic- tino caused by ber «ep»ration from her lover. The correspondence iirtwom them began in i773, won after Rlora's recall, and continued till witliin a few weeks of her death in I77fi.
The*e letters disclose a state of mind that seems inexplicable on the common principles of human nature. That the feelings they ekpresA are fictitious, or even exaggernttd, is out of the question, for ihejr alflw with the eloquence of truth ; and the reader cannot but feel that the pasdon^ to which thev give vent are not the ]i^i real fm being iocoiuiatcDt and conflicting. Long before Alora'it death we find eipreM<ma of the utmost attachment to Guibert. Rven in the wme letter Ouibert is addreswHl in terms of papsionate adoration, and then nijuh< the confidant of her unspeakable luve fur Mora. After htfl death the same mixture of feelings continues. At one tiae ahe pours out the sorrow of a widowed and desolate heart, and Paa-mtmatOL hnrnti with passion for a living object. None of C>ui- bvl's lettera have appeared ; but she conetontly complains of his eddOHi and inditTeTenee. All the while «he neems never to have hepffd or desired from him anything more than the happiness de- nvrd from reciprocity of affection. She appears never to have ex- pected his bond; on the contrary, she advises him to marry, and, when be docs so, the correspondence is continued in the same strain as before.
We extract a few paasages from these singular letters, from which ovr female rCMlers may sec that there has been actually such a thing
SB
LITEHAHY I.ADIRS.
as a lady loving two gentlemen at once. We are (li«satis6e(l wfll our translation of these fragments; feeling that we have been unabte to transfer to another laiigungc, tliose "thoughts th.it brenthe, ami words that bum ;" which (notwitlutancling all the fnulu of the tm- happy writi^r'H character) render Fier efTiisiona ho interesting and imnreKsivv. These passage!* are frnm letters written al'ter the dvutli of Mora, and during the lust year of'lier own life.
" I felt a dreadful reluctance Co open your letter. Had it not been for the fear uf offending you. 1 stiould have sent it back un- opened. Something told nie it would increase my suSeringn, and I wished to spare myself. My constant bodily pains wear out my mind : I hive again been in a fever, and unabie to close my eye* ; [ am quite exhaunied. For pity's sake, torment no longer* life whi^ i* closing, and every moment of which ii given to sorrow and regret. I do not accuse you — 1 axk nothing uf you — you owe me nothing : for, indeed, I have not a feeling or a sentiment to which I have vo- luntarily yielded. When I have been so unhappy as to give way to them, I hare always detested their strength, and my own weakness. So you see that you owe me no gratitude, and that I have no right to reproach you with anything. Be free, then — leave mc to my sorrow ; let me, without interruption, occupy my mtud with the only object I have adored, and wrioHe memory is dearer to me tlioii ul] that rvnuiins under the sun. U, my Gud ! 1 ought not to weep for him — I ought to follow him : it is you who uiuKC me live, and who yet arc the torment of a creature cousuiued by grief> and exert- ing the last remains of bet strength in praying that death may re- lieve her. I tohl you truly a week ago — ^you make me captious and exacting: in giving all, one look»t for ioxne return. Hut, once more. I forgive you, and hate you not: though it is not from generuaity that i forgive you ; it is not from kind fecbng that I do not hate you. It is simply because my very soiit is weary even unto death. Ah ! my friend, let me alone^-do not talk any longer about loving mc ; it is a balm that turns to poison. Uh! how cruelly you hurt me — how heavily I feel the burden of life! IIuw 1 love you noU withiitanding, and how wretched should I be to make you un- happy !"
• * • • ■
•■ IIow often might I have complained ; how often have I hid fVnm you my tears ! Ah ! I see it too well : it ts impossible either to keep or bring back a heart drawn away by another attachment. This 1 repeat to myself without renting, and sumeiimes think myM-lf cured ; but you come, and I find tliiit all my elfurts have been vain. ]leiIe<.-ttons, resolutions. Bufferings, — all become powerless the mo- ment you utter a word, I see no refuge but death, and never has poor wretcll prayed for it more curnestly. Ah ! if you only knew — ifyou only read, what happiness was once derived, by a strong and impsMiioned soul, from the pleasure of being loved by mel He used to compare the luv« unce felt for him. with that felt for him atill; and he said to me again and again; 'My countrywomen are not worthy to be yn«ir icbolars : your sunl has been warmed by the sun of Tama, they seem to have been born amid the Knows of Iiapland ;* and it was frnm Madrid that lie Inid me this. My dear friend, he never praised me; ho felt bis happineae : nor do I think [
I
THE 5EBET0.
pnite mysc-lf when I t«U you that, in loving you to distraction, I only beetow upon you what I haw uo power to withhold."
• • • « •
" My frame i« no lonjjCT rtroiin «nougli for my coul — it is killing me- Vou can do notlttn)^ to me but make me suffer ; do nut then make any furtlu-r «It<niipt.t lo (.-onirort me ; don't trv to make me the victim (^ your moralitif, aSttr harin^ mnde me the victim of vour fickleneu. You Havc not seen me, because there «re but twelve hours in the day, and you iiave hnd the means of filling them up with interests and pleasures irhich must touch you more nearly than my unhappine»s. 1 cluim nothing — I exact nothing ; but I never cesAc to tell niy»eir that the source of happiness and pleasure U kvt to me for ever."
• • a • ■
"Oh, how you oppress my heart, wliuii you wish to prove to me tliBi it ought to be sati^lied with yours ! I would never compUin, but you force me Bometimeti to cry out, 9q deeply and pninfully do you hurl me! 3Iy friend, 1 have been loved — I am so still — and I die with grief that it is not by you. In vain I say to myself that I have never merited the hnppioesK I regret. My heart tells me iJiat, were I ever to be lovetl, it wn» by him who h»i(I charms sufEcient in
mr eye* to wJthdr^iw me from fli. de "SI , and to reconcile me to
lile when I hail lost him. I have done nothing but languish since your departure. I have not had an hour free from suffering ; my ■lental disease affects my frame. Every day I have b fever, and my pbrrioui, though not one of the able^ of men, tells me incewutntlv that I am consunied by some hidden grief, and alwavi takes his kare wying; 'we have w> rctnediffor (he mind.' For me there is, bwiced, no remedy : but cure is not what I desire. I wish for nothinjr bat a little ealm — for a few moments' re|io»e, before obtaining that &m1 rMt which nature will soon grant me."
This highly-gifted and most unhappy woman diet! in 177^, in her forty-tliird year, the victim of violent paKMont' acting on an iU-regii- laud mind. Though wasted with painful and hopeleu disease, she emeinued to go the nccuitomed round ai guitlij ; and her salon was fiUed with company down to the d^y of Inrr deatli.
THE PASSAGE OF THE SEBETO.
" Vixirc fortes ante AgatneniDona Multi ; led onnes illacnrmtbiles L't^^entur ignoliqae loiten Nocte, canut quia rate sacro." — Bobacb.
Tnsobfigition of heroes to lliotc poets who have celebrated their dcsda, hw ever been proverbial.
Diifmtra may arise amongst the teamed on the subject of the Trojan
war. which iome may treat as fabulous, and others as historical. But
even thou who most strenuously defend ttie authenticity of the siege
rompeDed to allow that without the aid of Homer the memory of
kchiUe% St least, would have been more effeclually plunged into the
M«r» of Lethe than his body waa into those of Styx.
SEBETO.
Virgil, by OiruM'iii^ ihe cloak oT pit'ty over eoiiic very questionable traniutctiotis, (a practice, by the way. whidi Ims nut yet fallL-n lutu disuse.) has coiUrivti] to patch up Uic character of/Eiiuus, and wc moderns are content lu receive that whiuiug Trojaii as a hero; not. certainly, in consideration of bis own meritSt but out of respect for those of his bard.
Had not TiUso lived and wrillen, the name of Kinsldo would linvc been no better known than that of any other Taliant crusader whose crost^lcggcd and noRcless effigy we occasionally find on a marble tomb.
Itoland the Bruvc, Amadis dc Gaul, Marmion, Rokcby, and a thousand other hcroc*;, whom it would be lodious to enumernic, have owed their celebrity, nay. many of them their very existence, to the intervenlion of the ratet men.
'Wxe dcvik, indeed, (who, whether Milton intended it or not, is by many acknowledged as the hero of his " ParadiNe Lost,") does at first sight apjnrar lo be an exception to the general rule. But even he, although it mu«t be confessed that his fame waa already established, liBs great reason to be thankful to his blind poet for the feelings he has excited in his favour, inasmuch as the proud sentiments he i« made to utter amidst his fuHtrn pi-era have undoubtetlly betrayed many a ^ reader into a passing udniiration of his 8iilanic majesty. ^|
Since, then, the weight of obligation has been hitherto so entirely ^| un the oue side, it would be both fair and desirable that something ^^ should now be thrown into the opposite scale ; that the epic and the lyric muse ehould hencelbrlh derive their whole inspiration from llie subjects of their song, and poets be thu« enabled tn found tlieir own pretensions to fame on the merit of tlieir chosen heroes.
Fortunate at least would it he for me if this new order of things could be at once established ; for then, in the following humble at- tempt to describe the heroic passage of the Sebeio, my name might be handed down to posterity with that of the warlike Ferdinando the Second, King of the Two Sicilies, of Cyprus, and of Jerusalem !
THE PASSAGE OF THE SEBETO: A BALLAD.*
To iht tune of" A Frog he would a-woomg jo."
A xiMC went to the ** Champ dc Mars,"
FhI Frrdinando. To p1&]r Bi soldiers, free from KOrs, Pot hi! '« not v^rjf likely lo go to the wars. With his rowleypowley inacaroni,^
GalUnl Ferdinando I
* That tlio Kojral Neapolitan Guards on a certain field-day ahoul Tour years ago bnka their line, to avoid a puddle in the cnitrp ofllw " Chamj) de Mars," and that by way of pDnulimeiit ihcy were led by iheir itnf;fy king through the river Sebeto, ii an at^lual fact. I know not if my nianner of idaiing il msy succeed in etciltnp the risible nerves of my r^en, but (m Ihe words of Mntilirwo* prosv retailei uf old jokes) " I do assure them tliat it caused a ray great laugh at tKo iimc."
f " ^la^^l»-Iuaearoni'* is the well-Vnown tobriqmt of a Nmnolitan ; and King Ferdinando, u in dui^ hound, daily di»cu»m a hu)re pile or his natioral fotxl.lo the nuiriUous i|ualities uf whu^h, hi» iocreuing bulk does .imple justice.
THE PASSAGE OF THE SEBETO.
Hit lroo|>* Went clu) in dmsex flnp,
Fal F«rdinuidoI Afxl, a« thty glanced in bright jinnii)iin«, With awelling pride he forni'd his line, With bia rowlpy \>om\tj tnauroni, OalLaDl Fetdinaiidol
U« whael'd them left, iwd whccl'd tbcm liglit.
Did Ferdiii^ndo I When the]' moved so niucli lo his dcli;;bl. ThiU bv mid lo hiiiuelf, " Oh, I 'm mitv ihey 'II figlil, Led bj* rowlej powley macaroDi,
Roynl Fcniiiiiiniln r*
But to dwck thpue hnj>m thnt high did loar,
Ah! Ferdinanilol Abu t ihp niiti of ihe mglit beforB Had wetted (he jrround ten yanU, or more ; With K ntwiey powley mararani, Gatlunt Ferdiriaiulo )
And, ibuugb upon the monial cunp
Wiiti Ft-n]ii9»ido, lib guards, for fat of cold or craoip. Fell out of tlie line to aroid t)i«- dump, LcBViog rowley pDwIey macaroni. Oalluil FeT<]iniin<lo I
Ko wonder ihuL thii should move in rjge
Fal Fcrdinando, Who bopo to shine in liistoryS pa^'c As (he gmtfst warrior of the age,
With bis rowlcf powley macaroni, Gallant Perdinando J
Resolved lo tiy example's force,
Fat Fcrdinando TiM tastant threw him from hi^ hAne, WIw w«c glad «nough lo be nd, of coiine, Of his rowlry powley mat^roni, Heavy Ferdinando.
A itand of coluun llira lie look.
Did Fcrdinando; And, heading bin nwn with an angry look. He waddled bo fast, that his fut adea sUaakt With bis rowt«y powlvy inacaruiii, Callutt renlinaiidD )
tie led iheoi o'er inch broken ground,
Fat Ferdinand o. Thai nuch his guards it did confound To gueu wtwre (he devil tlieir kin^ could be bound, Willi bu rowlcy powley nukcarodi,
CrftUant Fcfdioaiado I
Odbre hint now SehMO lav,
Fal Ferdinanao ; But, bent on valiant ile«d* thai day, Netlbcr puddle uor river could slop the way Of ihiB rowWy powley mu-aroni,
Uallaui Feidinaodo !
31
3)8
Tllfi PA55AQB UF THE SEBBTO.
So, like Philips *on at the Gnuitc flocx),
I'at I''ertlin.in(Jo (TI>ou[fh ht wadM (hrotigh waiw ttninix«l with Ido^id) Couraseouily plunged his hu|^ weicht in the mud, With his Knclcy powlcy macuoDi,
Gallant Fefdinaodo 1
And u his army ibui \iii led, Fai FerdiMOudo, By tliosc who saw tbe deed 'Us said Tne iiflnKhtMl «eb tiefort^ liiin ftwl,
Wiih his rowiey powley muaroni, Gallant Frrdinaiidu !
And we mu«l e'en believe (be tale
Of Ferdinando ; For little ti»h o( coucte would qDul Deforv such o monstrous royal wbnlc As ttiis rowiey powley macaroni. Gallant Fcrdmando 1
But Icsl the stTpam too hifih for 6oinc,
Fat Ferdiiiaiido, Above their knees Tnig;bt chance to <^oine, He otder'd each drummer to float on his irum, With hiB lowley powley loacaroni, Oallant Ferdinaiido 1
A little colonel too he (old.
Kind Ferdrn.indo ! To be by no means rashly hold. But a tajt pioneer by the beard to hold, With iiii rowk'y ponley macaroui,
GulUuil Furdiimnilo I
And thus both thort and tall defied,
Wiih Ferdinnjiilo, Tlic dangers of the swttllen tide. Alld in safely tcadi'd ih* other nidu. With their rowlcv powley macaromi,
Giillant Fenlinandol
Twai theof in this laconic nylr,
Fat Ferdinando His drippinit soldiers did revile. Who trembled with cold and Tear the while Of ihcir rowiey powley macaront,
Gallaul Ferdinando I
** Ye cms ! moie fit for show than slaut^hter,"
Quoth Fetdinando, *' Ye cun ! more fit for show than slaufiltler. If you wonH face fire, you shall face waidr, With your rowiey powley macaroni,
Royal Ferdiuandol"
.■53
A NIOHT OF TERROR.
[This "tory is partly Iranclated, partlv imitBtcfl, from ihe Frprich. Th« Fr«nch author, i suppose, was indebted to eoiiiL- German <iri- Itinal. It is no great matter, »o the reatlex likes it. Jrft uit there- fore, without further preface, begin.]
Yor will recnitect that, three yparn ajjo, wc had a dreadful uinter throughout Europe. It was severe in thnsc quarters whore the oli- inate ta osunlly genial ; in the north it was nb^otutely dreadful. My
■iner and I were on a visit to nurold friend, the Princess N , at
her Lithuanian castle. The tiling wai arranj;ed tliat Adelaide was to be married to the Princwti's son, Sobieski, who was daily ex- pected jVoui Spain. I suppose my sister looked forward to the ar- rival with more impatience than the rest of the party ; and certiiiiily !t> male portion were far more interested in hunting the wutf all the morning through the snows, and drinking down the fatigties of the rbase in the evening over the fire, than in anything connected with the tender pasxinn.
The wished-for morning arrived at Inst. Sfibie-«ki appeared in the caatle of his ancestors amid the acclRmations of an admiring peasan- try, to be kiftsod by hii mother, shaken handa with by his friends, uvl kxJccd at, I suppose, by his betrothed. Foreign travel had improv- ed him, and a single year had sufficed to turn the h^nidsomc stripling into a fine and noblc-lnoking young man. The Princriw was happy, AMaide was happy, Sobieski wiis happy, we all were happy: but dM bappimeM was destined to be of short duration ; for we had hardly men from iM^i^fast when n wearied cniirier arrived, bring- mt in the melancholy information that my father had lieen suddenly taken ill in Bohemia, and that our attendance wa^ in»itantly re<piirvd, as hia life was despaired of. It was of course necessary that we ifaould start on the instant ; no time could be lust, and our arrange^ mmu Ibr departure were made with the utmost rnpidity. Sobi«$kt wished to have gone with us ; but how could he leave his mother, wbotn b« had only seen for two or three hours oAer a year's ab- Nore? Beatdes, why expose him to the trouble ami inconvenience af the journey ? It', w we liii[»ed, we found the nUrni ex:iKgeraled, it would be easy to send for him, or to ri-tuni : if the event were wtMt our fear* suggested, it was arranged that my sister's future hsaac was tn be tlut of the PrineoHs. .\del2ude and 8obie»ki had n laa|[ private interview before we p/irte^t. What they »aid I do not bwvt but it would not be hard to guess at what was the tenor of iheir eoovrrsalinn. With much reluctance he gave his consent to remain behind : but, fan-well is a word that has been, and mu«l be ; il WM nioken at la<it. and we set off in our trsvellin<; carriage about lit m the morning through the snowy roadit of Lithuania leading dwoogh ibe grrat forest.
We got over the short day without any adventures different from what might be expected. Our carnage sometimes stuck in the snow, MOWfim^t narrowly escaped being upsel by the stum|i (^f a tree. Kdart an the road were few, and the people at the po«t'liau»ea tenned-half f^oKen, and afraid to open tneir mouths. We were rpL. III. 0
A NIGHT OF TERROR.
tolcrubly indep«itlcnt of!hcm for supplies, ns wo had been suffi- ciently utoreil befori' we started on o»ir route. We left the Ust DM^t-noiisc about six in the e%'enin^, with « pnir of fine, strong, youn^ horses, fit to contend with the night difficuhies of the forest roail. Those difficiiUies did nut Appear to be in any decree remarkiibly formiddble. ThL> full muon, just risen, caist a bright light all RrounJ, nnd a otroni; frwt liavinf; tcx in, the pnth wiis lutrd and pritcticablr. Our driver, »ii old retainer of the Prineess, knew the forest well : for forty yearn, na chnuieur or courier, postilion or coachman, be had traversed it at nil hours of the d«y ami night, and was as well acquainted with i-vcry '■ dingle and bosky botirne of the wild wood " as with his own stitbU-s- I forgot to say that, besides Adelaide and myself, her favourite French maid occupied the inlt-rior of the voi- ture- Heinrieh smoked, whixtUil, and cracked his whip in solitary dignity without. There being nothing in the Rcenery or its associa- tions to captivate the Parisian soul of Louise, who had done due jus- tice to the contents of our basket while wo changed hordes, she speedily dropped into a profound iltiniber, to dream, I 8up{Hi!ie, of the glories of the Pahii^ Koyal, and to tranH)>ort herself from the woods and nnnw.'' of Lithuania to the parterre of <ionie theatre on ibe BoulevariU. She soon gave us audible information that she was far nway in the land uf ilreaniK, and that, if her slumbers were not me- lanciioly, thev were at leniit mueica].
Let it not be imagined that uiy more delicate companion or my- relfpermitted Louise to enjoy our basket- store< I repast without co- operation. Onr epirilB wi*re sevei-elv de|)rcB*ed ; the dreaded death ol*a beloved father filled us both with sorrow and appreheiiiiion, and Adelaide in parting with Sobie^ki had her pecidiar sources ofgrief. But it is n sad truth, that all the movt 8entiiirentnl emotions of the mind give ulace when the most uruentimeiital organ of the body makes its demand upon our attention; and the bracing air of the f«»re»t had largely cuntribute<l to the sharpening of the appetite. The substantial dainties of the Princets, aided by some generous bock, somewhat assisted in my ease by a fair proportion of bran- dy, disposed us also to iiUimber, and Adelaide fell asleep on my shoulder. Her sleeping thoughts reverted in all probability to a certain Northern castle frowning over the flood, garnished M-ith tower and turret, buttress and bulwark, fosse and rampart, draw- bridge and portcullis, and every other adjnnet of feudal war ; but in which was alw* the picture-studded corridor, the gay s-ilon, and. above all, the sofl boudoir, where sounds more fitlnl for the ladies' car than the claxliing of arms were uttered ; round which were form- eil trcIHscd gardens, where IwMnjuets such as the North affortls were culled, and where Muntering walks by raoming-liglit or moonbeam made life forgotten ; or spreading parks and chase*, where some rode together who thought of other joys than those which the syl- van sports rtffordc-d. For my part, my mind wandered to the pm- sible change of my mode of life and position in sociely. I loved my father with an affection which few sons fwl: I adndml the l»i»- Ire of his military career ; our house had h^-n honourrd by the fame he had won and the high repute he rojuyixl ; and I loukud back Mlth mingle<l love and reverence on the uniform kindness which 1 had experienced at hi» hjtiid« ; — but, I ennfcis, I coidd not keep mv- self from tiiinking what 1 should do with llie family estates when they
I
i
BR
came Into my |w»#esrion, of the moile in wliicli I w« lo repilnte my eoniltict, of the tisiiire I was to c»tal court, »f thi> way I wii* to «p«nu the Dextyear, — of— of— of something flat- that it iia now notnecpsaary to speak about. In vain I reproached myself with tliinkin^ of any- thing but thr impenilinp ilcitth of a dear and honoured father. Al I dropped into ilrow-iy hnlf-waking. Kalf-sloepin;; His of ilreAminesfi, ulher visions wntiUl occur, and it was only when I roused myself lo look uulofttie voitun* tn see how we f^ot on, itint a sensntinn of •orrow would take pu>H-sRian of my mind. On my shoulder still ilept Adelaide, on the uihcr side siturcd Louise ; outside Hiuuked Heinrich, thinking, I take it fur grautvd, of leuthing but his boneti ind theae be drove steadily along.
On a sudden, however, it seemed as if they afforded him more than ordinary trouble. I was awnket) from one of my nmldings by brsring him devotin;; tbeni to the infernal goih, in hII the mtneled dialects of Pohmd, Rii»»ia, and GermHoy, — and that for a crime which iddon) flwdkentt the indignation of a traveller in these regions. In ■pite of* all his exertions, they had burst into a furiouH gallop. He enrseil, and swore, nnd pulled, and tug|;ed, but in vain. With lUrmed eye and erected ear, the e.ij;cr borsett disre giarded the utmo(<t ■ffottofcurb and bridle, and draped ut> forwnrd with a velocity I dunild have thought beyond tlieir powers. Ax there was no dunger •f Rcddrnt, 1 wofc tuthcr amused by the unexpected vifjour of uur Heads, aod the indignation of the usually plUigiuatic Heinrich at tbrirapostacy from tbe regulated pucevf the road. All on a sudden, iHfwever, cur driver ceu»ed to swear, and, uttering a hasty ejacula- tkw, something half-way lietween a prayer and n cur»e, exclaimed,
*• The beasts are right — right, by a thousand devils right ! I should bsTe guessed it long ago."
And »o saying, be surrendered lo them the rein*, no longer endeii- vrariOfr to cuntrtd their rapidity. I u»kecl him what he meant. Toniinf; cautiously round, and whi&pering ho as not to disturb my sister, be breathed rather than spoke into my ear,
" They are coming."
M Wb^— whof" Bud I; " who arc coming ^ There U not a hutniin bdaa In sight."
** I did not say tttere was," replied Heinrich ; " and dtftfate scarce in sight. But don't you hear tliem?"
•* rhrar nuthiiig," said I, " but tlie wliiirtling of the wind and the crashing of our own carriage thruu;:li the smow."
"Hark!" interrupted Jlcinrieh, dropping his pipe: "they nrr MBtec, by^— " liut he suppressed the oaih, and crossed himself iMlraa- " Ay, there they ore : I see them plain enough now."
"The 1a>t glans of brandy is in your head, IIcinriL-h. What do Jtn hear ? W'Imt do yuu itee ? Who are Ihfy ?"
Profoundly incliniii|; bis liead, he whispered with a thrilling en- phana.
" Tub wolte*!"
II.
I removed Adelaide from my shoulder as gently -la I could, so as ■■( l<] awaken her, and. ."Standing up in the vuiture, looked in the icrectioci pointeti out by Heinrich. I looked, however, for a while ■ tain. I Mtw a tUrk ma^s at a dirtauee in llie snow, but, a» thfrj
» '2
38
A NrOHT OF TBRROR.
country was p.^tchp<l in all <lirpctioD!i with timber, persisted, as finn- ly as ever did Hoim|mrle al Watcrlim, that it was only trees. In abuut leu iniiiutc-s, liowfTcr. 1 was uiideccivcd as cuiiiplelely as was tlic InttU cuiperur, oiiii by the same meuiis. The dark miu!i wnn un- queHtioiiably in moiioii ; and alter I had aticertained that fact, my eye, stiarpened by fear aiul aiixifty, could perceive that the motion was not only rapid, but acceleratini;. The ftound, too, whicii in the distance I had taken to be the u-hiiitling nf the wind, came more distinctly upon the breeze, and I recojjnized the dismal howling of the Wolf runhin^ closer and closer cvt-rv momenL The terrified horses, whoie inninct had di«covvrred to them the enemy ionf;; before his approach could be dctcrted hy any human organ^ as if they were aware of their impending; fate, j;alloped on with more desperate energy than ever, and Meitirich aided their exertiona by all the skill of which he was miLster.
They came nearer and nearer. We cnuhl hear nut only their dreadful howls, i.iHninf; from a hundred ravenous throaU. but the tramp of their accursed paws paticrinp over the snow. I bad no arms but a hluiiderbu&v, a fowling-pii'ce, and a brace of pistols : Heinrich had a lonjc pistol. These arms, at best but inadequate against the number of our assailants, were rendered comparatively useless by the discover)' we made at the very moment, that we had omitted to bring with us ntore powtier and bull than wan barely suf- ficient for nmtther charge in addition to that which they already contained.
"What is lo be done, Heinrich?" I asked in a whisper. "There is no use in whisjiering now," s^aid the old chasseur, — " they will be upon us in less tliaii five minutes, and it would be bet- ter to Wflke Mis.<( Adelaide and her woman, to inform them of our danger. Poor things ! it would be terrible if thej- were taken out of tJie world, as we are very likely to he, without some notice !'*
I acquiesceil in ihc propriety nf ttie advice, and roused Adelaide. I was about to inform her of the dHuccr. but I'he had been lately dwelling for too long a time ninoiifj huntsmen lo render it necessary I should speak.
" Gracious heavens !" she exclaimed, starting up, *' it is the howl of the wolf! Oh, Herman — Herman ! what wdl become of us? I see them — I tee them ; they are gaining upon us. We are lost! We have but ti few minutes to live! Last year an EnpUsh party was torn to piece* and di-voiired by tliem some leagues beyond our castle ! I shall never see my father agiaiii !"
Her cries woke her attendant, wlio, ilie niom«-nt she comprehend- ed the danger, burst into an agony of yelliuK that almost rivalled in dissonance the cry of the wolves. She curiied herself, her fate, her .stars, her folly, that ever drew her from France to thi< abomina- ble country. She vowed to all the infernal powers she could think of, that if she were to escape thiH peril, ^ihe would never again commit a fault ao unpardonable. Hhc raved about her^lf, and her life, and her dress, and her Aiphonse, (a smart ^ar(aH cuUtHier in Paris, with whom she kept uii an aiualory correspundence, much to the detriment of King Loui»-Pnilippe's tVench,) and all sorta of matters, horrible or flimsy, that crofisnl her distracted brain. [ remember, particu* larly, that death itself did not seem to nfTect her with so much ter- ror as the prospect of being devoured af\erwards by a n3.>ty wolf. Her grotesque 1.1 mentation s had the good elFrct of recidling my
I
A NIGHT OP TERROR.
I
I
titter to her natuMl (irinncM of mind. She felt tlat in thin trying ucciuian tt became her to set an example oj' courage and resigminiim. Mid in an imuuit, (the M-hole »cene 1 have bren jtin describing did not occupy two iiiiiiuttB.) she was herfelfngain. She itssured me in n cuuplc of ward* oi' her constancy, and prt^Rcd niy hand to her heart to nhuw that it was not bcutiiig with tuiy undue emution.
"It 18 no time to ag:itate you now, Hennau," sbc said; "our cbai3c«s of escape, I know, are but small : but still, people have escap- ed from danger? as dreadful, and, under iiod, our houe» principally depend upon yemr prcwince of mind. Our defence is ui yuur hands, and iliere I am t-ontent 1u leaw it. With the«p wordx, she turned to her ahrieking attendant, whont nhe ende^ivourcd to xnotho nitb ail IIm! topics of ciinsoUttion — they were few fiiou/;h in n)l conKcience — ^be could think of, and to cngaj^c in smnc thou^f hts «)f religion, but all equally in vain : Louise could hear nothing but the howling of the wulres outitide, and the howling of her own fears within.
TJie chn.«e continued. 1 stood rewly with my blunderbuss to di»> durge it un the herd the moment tiiey npproaehe^l within shot. I had luu won an uppurtunity. The tIeeteHt of the juick in a few mi- mte« approached within four or five paces of the voiturc. and I fired. It was imjios^iblc to miss, and 1 saw twio or three full kilted or «roiiiKlc«l. To those who were hit it wa» soon matter of little im- portance whether the wound which brought theai down was mortal or not, for they were in an instant surrounded by the rest, who fuoKht for the fallen bodies. This obtaineil us the respite of a few mioutrs, which wna occupietl by the contest among themsrlveft and the devouring of their (lain brelliren. We madetlie Itt^st of the time; but, iJie carc.-is«e» once drmolishe«l, and the bones left to whiten in tiie SHOW, the hunt recommenced, and we had not f^ained a mile when tiiey came up m itii us again. Aly blunderbuss had been reloaded in the mean whde, and on their near approach I again fired, with simi- Ur effect. Hut this time the respite was briefer. The wolves had sow tMted blood, ami their fury was excited, no that the devouring of their mmpnnionii did not occupy half the Sjxire it did before, and ipecdily tijey renewed the chase with bowlings far more terrific than erer.
1 ^pealed to Hcinricht who drove his panting horses at their MBotqwed.
** I have nw" 1 said, " enough for another charge for the bluadvr- Ixua. What is Iwxt lo be iluiie i"
"It la of no use," »aid he, "to (ire our fowling-pieces among than. Tor we could not expect to kill more than one, and that, go fur from delajing, would only spur them oo faster. We h«l better re- serve out fire for our last chance." " la there any f"
" Ont, and tliat but slight. Not far from this, but I do not know fcuw lar.— perbajMi a mile, perhaps three, — is the old hunting-lodge boiit tot the chasseurs of the forest. If we could reach that, — but what a>e i* there iu talking?— you nee these poor deiiU of bortet an tcMTcIy hold oat — they are almost sinking under the hell of a pMo bbey luvc been keeping up Uii» half-lKPur. Have }uu your pis- toJt about you }" • I have ; why K
"Do not disrluirge yoor lu.-t pistol on any account; ik», nnt to MVf your own life. Kceji it until "
S8
JP TRRROR.
Somctliinft choked tlic old mnn's utterance, rniil passing his hand over tiis face, he wi|w«l ofT some moisture, which hnre as much rc- scmblnTice to a tear as Anything hiB eyes could muster, and, applying to hifl lips his cherry 'tree pipe, which woe never forgotten in the ex- treme&t dancer, he discharged a more than usually voluminous efiu- siun of ^niuKe. This done, be beckoned nie to put my head out of the voitiire, h> that whatever be eaid should re««b my ear alone. I complied.
" Keep it until these damned brutes, — God forgive me for ustDE iuch words now ! — until they are compJetelj- mitstrrs of the day, and we have no further chance, and tlien, sinkinf; hi« voice to the lowest punible whisper, "dji'tb«rgp it into the bmins cif Mias Adelaide; put it to her temple, and be sure you do not misft."
God! how his words thrilled ihrouxh my heart! — not even the horror of my own impending death, of the hideous manner in which it seemed inevitable that I should be cut ofT from exiiitence in the flower of my youth, fnr from my friends, who would perhaps for ever rcnifiin ignorant of my untimely fate — not the fierce forma which I buv,- htirrvinj!; to my destruction, and nnticipatiug wiili »,ivage howl tlieir bloody rcpiuit- — not all the terrors of my situation eo pidfeied me, as tliis whisper of Heinrich. 1 looked at my eistcr. iSliu was eminently beautiful : uiid if the dreadful tcene around her hiwl baniBhed the colour from her cheeks, it had inspired her fijiure with an aJr of exalted courage, and filled her eyes with a blended fire of heroiHrn and religion, tliat rendered h*-r one of tlie mort niHjc»tic beings I ever beheld. And this noble creature, 1 thought, — she. full gfallthat renders life one scene of happiness — she, c|ual)licd to inspire love and admiration into all heartS;, the bU-tsing or the onmment of every circle in which she moves- — »»he, who yesterday was wrappeil in vi»ion8 of delight, who this morning woke to welcome the chosen of her heart, and whose present mi«- sion, melancholy as it is, wax hallowed by filial duty and soothed by the recollection that &he has been all thnt father could prav for, ^is she to die — and bo to die? — by the hand of me, her brotfier — her brother, who wuuld gkdly lay down his life for her .^ Alas I aliis I
I'erhaps I sud these Urt words aloud, perhaps Heinrich divined wlwt was piusing in my bosom, for he continued in a whisper,
" To be itire, it is hard enough ; but it is better than that *he should die many ile.iths by the mBUjiling of the wolves. You and I will fight the damned bruten, — fiod pardon me ! — with our pistols to the last, and die like men ; and it is no grent matter how men die. And. indei»], it ia little matter how that screaming baggage, who is almoht ab great n plague as the wolve* them^lven, eunies to an end : fhe 'a lit loud enough for them. But that dear young lady, just think Irora what a liorrid denth you nave her ! She must not be torn by the jaws of a wulf. I "d shoot her myself, dear master, with plea- Hure, but it would not become mc, an you ore here. It is you arc to do it, for you are the head of the family. So don't flinch."
Thin converMition occupied only a few seconds. It was carried ou in llic moot subdued voice, and 1 lliought Adelaide had not heard it. I learned tVum her afterwards that she had distinctly heard every word. When I looked at her. »he wiw busily emWa'vouring to Stiollie Louise. She told me that she hftd purpOM'ty avoided re-
A KICUT OF TERROK.
39
■\g rav fl;lance, lest it might kliake my rirsolution. " Tlicre w«g hill one other hand in tlie world," she said jitlcrwurdii, "by which I •houUl havp preferreti to have died, iC such death was ineviiHlile. H« ^*s not tJicre in person ; be n-ai indeed too vividly present in iiiv beart, thoiif^h his name c«:ap«i not my lips ; and to 'whoiu, de»r bro- iher, vould I look for deliverance but to you ?" Such »"» the effect of iIm wllispcTin^ on my sister. It had not pitM»cd unnoticed by Louisir ; iboUffh, an it wa4 carried on in Grrmun, nlif would not huve u»di?r- •torn a word of it, even if spoken aloud. She failed not, however, to httrrpret it in her own mnnncr.
" Ah, HeinrichI ali, dear baron !'* she cried with an ayony more hitenBe than ever ; " ah ! do not — do not — do not ! I am nure you camiot be so cruel. Ah, dear sweet Heinrich, of whom I was so fofidr
Even at tlLat moment, Ileinricli, m-Iio hated everything Kreiich in l^eneral, and Louise m pnrticiilar fur licr especial impertiiiL>iice tu- wmrds him ami his brother (Jermuns in the service of the ])rinee8s, ODold not refrain from giving a mu«t disiM^nlicnt grunt.
" Dear Heinrich ! deur Muusieur le Baron I do not be so cruel. I know what you are whispering about; I know you are going to tfiniw me to tile wolves, that you may get off while they arc eating IBo. Oh, mon Dieu I mon Dieu !"
Adelaide unde.iTOure<l to edge in a word, but in vain.
"Oh I dear Alonsieur !e Daron, rememUr what became of the wicknl prince who did the «ame tr> Ins courier: he wan torn by his own 4l<^* t'T 't. Kemember this wicked woman who threw her children: the wa» boileil alive for it Oh ! dear Mr. Heinrich, dear SItmairiir le IJaron,— oh I oh ! oU !"
[Lfuuiiie in her agony remembered two tttories, one German, And on*- French- The German story is. that some Polish prince, travel- ling thrtiugh a forest, was pursued by wolves ; and that a faithful hcjrduck devoted himself to save hi:* maKtcr'» life, by <les[>;nding (ram the carriage, and making with his sabre n coiirai^enu)^ light against tbem as long as he could. He knew that he sacrificed himi^elf, but he did it without a second thnnght, in order that, by delaying them firnt by wliatever opposition he could offer, and then by the time it would Imkc ihem to devour his Umly, his master might escape. Hi» devotion ma luccessfut. and the graa*ful master, according to our versmii, pnnrftled fur his family, and heajied liis memory with honours. A ilifrrait version is, that the sel&)b prince who conBented to the «- criGce of »o faithful a servant, reaped hie reward, by being torn to piecea on entering his own jjate by his dog», who did not know him m itw absence of his attendant, under wTu)»e irametliute care they Wd bc«a placed. — The otJier story is, I fear, true: it is that of a wrvte}inl mother, who with her three children were overtaken by waive* MMoewherc in the Kaat of France, when, to save her own life. Jm- flung away the children one by one to be eaten. The wolvn pursuni her to the vates of a neighbouring town, which was oneoed to save her ; but when che told her story, the populace, in- aigiuot at the itniiAtural conduct of this worse than Medea, stoned her to death in the market-place. As a story iievcr loses by the tell- ii^ {I U currently said that they put her into a cauldron and boUe^l
W< hid not tinw to pay any attention to the Ument of tlie unfot-
40
A NIGBT OP TBRHon.
lunate tuivatife, for the wolves were by this lime quite cluse upon the rarrinj^r. Fiuttthey came as a dark cload, scuurinf; witn incon- ceivable rapidity over the mov. Their dreadful howls reverberated through the JWeai, waking its every echo. We could see their flamini^ eyes, their fiiorting nostrilH. their mouths and tongues red and dripping with the fret<h lilood of their mangled companiutw. Another tuonient anil they would be upon us. The mouwiit cainej aniL there tltey were.
"Oh!" cried Ilvinrich, " keep them off one minute — one kiiifcle miuutv, and we arc at Uie hunting-lodgc. "O that the hoTBes mav bold out !"
I'he poor animals exerted th«r last eiTorls. If we had been pressed too closely by the wolves, no other chance remained bat to sacrifice them, and make our way as best we could to the lodge, while our asvailantK were lighting u round the spoil. But there was no need ; one woHunly s>uccee<Wd in reacliingthe window ol'lheioiture, atid him I in»tant1y nhot with my fuMl. Another wak mnklng the nttemj>t ; but I knocked hira on the head Mitli the butt end, and at Icait stunned him. Ik-fore a third could come up, the horses had made some desperate plunj^eo forward, and the wrlcomc lodge was
{;3ine<l. lleinrieti jiimiutl diiwn at once, loudly calling *oe to fol- r>w him. I did *tt, and with the help of AdrUide dragffing on Lotiiite, who h.id fainted the moment the firft wolf had put nia no«e into the cArriage, in less than a second we found ourteltes inside the iron>bound ^ute of the lodge.
" Thank God," I exclaimed, " we arr rape P*"
III.
" A pretty safety indewl !" said Hetnrich, who had lingered be- hind for a moment, as he firmly secured the gate. " Howerert here wo are at all events. 1 hnd jusl lime to take something out of the voi- turethat we shall Bad of u!>e.and unharness the p«>or hurfips, to whom we all ought to be so much obliged, »o ait to give them ■ run for their lives, though there is hardly a run in them, belbre the brutes weru upon me. I could barely say, ' Take that, canaille.' as I slapped my shut miiun); them, which gave me nn instant to get in. 'Ay! there von urv. uiy beauties! howl away as you like, but you aball be baulked of your expected 8up]H-r tu-night.'
The lodge in which we had taken refuge, like uU such buildingii. consisted of four bare walls of rough but uncomniuidy strong ma- Bonr)-, with stone benches built all round for the purpose nf sitting or sleeping upon. It contained a rude fire|>lace without a chimney ; and furniture it had none, except an iron pot. lefi beliind by chance ur fleitign by its lant tenants. It cuntaintnl, however, a treasure to tu of in^Ntitnable value.^-the exjieeted legncy of an immense heap of firewood, which the experienced hand ai' Jlt^inrich speedily dis- covered in spite of the intenM- darkness. What he had risked his life to bring from the voiture, wiis my lamp and tinderbox ; and, by their assistance, he soon succi^vdnl in lighting an ample lire. Though ihecxertionsof the preceding Indf-hmir hajl jmlliciently prevented otir blood Irmn stagnating, the tomb-like caldntfn* of the lodge chilled us, now that the excitement was over, to the very mdhI. Tiie genial warmth wasj therefore, verj* acceptable, and even Lonise began to revive. She at lir»t uttered a cry ol' despair, when she sjiw herself
I
I I
J
A NIOIIT OF TEAUOK.
41
ifl a glootny viialt he«ide « foftring fire, enveloped in tnick clouds (if maoke, through which she could but dimly diM^em our 6gureB. she rAitcicd she had descended to the other world, and did her old friend Ilcinrich the compliment of supposin;; him to be the devil,
** 1 am in no humour, woman," Mid he, " to listen to your prute. Thank your innMer and mUtress, there, for suiving vou ft-om the wolves^ for the devil a hniid 1 'd have titirred luwardR it. However, M you are here, take thi» drop of braudy ; and that may call back your brain& again, ifyou ever had anv in yuur pupi-r skull."
lie proffered her the drauglu of what he coiisiiieri-d a panncen for ill tbr iiU uf life, and which, tu du him justice, he <lid nui pre^ribe witlivut having duly tried it* (|uulitiea upon him§elf. While hastily ninntng back for the tinderbox, he could not resist the temptation of carrying ofl'a umall basket of provisions, wliicli happened tu vou- tain a brandy-bottle, and it was put into immediate requisitiou. LuuiH! received the glaHi with uufeiKued politeneAH in Kpite of the unpHant speech by which it wnii prefaCf>d, and, cheered by the re- ■torfttive, and delighted beyond meaHure with her escape, was be> ginning a long flory of her own courage during the adventure, when »he ttmn suddenly interrupted by a piercing shriek from outside.
"Silence!" *aid Heinrtch muurnfuUv. •' 1 thou/jht bo. It i« the poor bones, sir. They e>tRnd a great ileal, the dumb bea^s, without nakiog cry or moan ; hut when one comp.i to Iw torn to pieces by voItc*, it is 4|uite a diUercnt thing. Ay, there 's the cither. There 's an end of thciu both, poor things ! I feared thcj* had not a run in them ; uiid the blackguard brutes outside have a supper alW all, — and little good may it du them '."
" What I" said Lmjige with a fresh acceeo of terror, " are the wolvei^ outride?"
" Indeed they are," replied the chasseur, beginning lo smoke " Vou will soon hear them, my dear, and perhaps see them too DtKl't be afraid, however, fur a whilL%" iiintinued he, as he saw her clinging to her tntEtrea« ; " nil in goud time — you are safe fur a bit yet.-
It WBi not long, indeed, before we heard them ; for, apparently, ■Iter Uiev had Mten the horses, they surroumled the building on all ride«. iVr couht hear them scraping and pushing .igainstthe gate», tail mdeavuuring to climb up the wall. The only exit for the amoke wn by an aperture tn the ntof, through M'hich at tirst it issued in vnlutac*. ami seemed to nerve as a mn of guide to the wolves ; at lean wc heard them clambering along the roof, as if in search nf an rntranoe. Aittr a short time, thr i^moke be;;nn to clear, and a frenh wind luiving arisen, it was so far blown away, that, luuking tip, we coold pkinTy behold tlic blue sky aXudded with stiiri>. Vou may beilevr me when I tell you that we had no iiute for admiring hea- teo's clear azure, aa we miw plainly llint the aperture would enable At wolves to cume down upon us. Our tears were not without fitanblioti, for in a short tmie a wolf appeared and looked in. LontK fainted outfight; but ne lontno time in striking the intruiter with our fuK ling-pieces, and the brute fell through liie hole. U'e t|>frdAy Wiiuckcil hnu un the head. Ileinrieh then thrust a Urge bUaing spar through the ajx'rture, and waved it about for a lew ■inale^. uttering the cry uited by the chasseurs when they hunt ih« w\Af. H'r heard wliat a))|ieared tu us to be a general Hight from the roof.
42
A NIGHT Of TKRllUB.
" Thry will not try lluit way ftpfrtin," «ud Ileiiirich, and he wan right, " iliiriiiK tlie d.-irknc«-* ; for they are scared olTby the fire, and they havH Niifficicnt instinct to know that one of their party ia killed. We are then safe all night."
" I wish/' said I, " it was moming."
" It is A wise wish," m'lA the iilri man ; " for why shcMild you wwh for rooriiinf; ? Our horses are killed ; we have near twenty miles to get throtijrh maw to the next pn^t-hoUBe ; anil huw could Mitts Ade- laide, to Kay nothing of thin helpU-iis jade here, walk that distance before nifrhtfall, when we should have the v.olve« on us again, if we had them not before ? Wv uiusl not expect anol]i«r lodge like this. Nay, tltou^h this 6re keeps awuy the wolves during the night, yet when daylight rctunis it will ohiiie so much more dimly, tliat it will lose its eJfect, and daunt them no more."
" ! thought," said I, "the wolves retired by day, and prowled only at ni^ht."
"Ay, that's generally the caw; but when there is so strong a pack AM this, ftnd they know that prey is at hunil, »nd »ee nobody to scare them »way, they m^nctimes take coiir.if;e, and do not dreed the daylij^fht. Resides, it munt have been hunger that drove them ao early into these parti: and what bruitjj^ht them here will keep them from Roinff back."
" We, then, have no chance of escape ?'*
" Nay, I don't say that neither : while there 's life, there '» hope. Something may fright the brutes off; or some trsvellera, seeing our carriaj2;c, may stop and come to our assistance ; or "
'* Or, ill slnirt," said I, " Home angel in sevcn-leagned boots may descend from the sky. But no matter, dear Adelnide, we have at least anijlher day's provision ; nntl if the worst enmca to the worat, iw we lived together we shall die tn^etlier. Strangers must close the eyes of our father, and strurigcrB sii in his halls."
" It is the will of God, dear Herman," said Adelaide ; " and (lod's will be done!"
We 'M'rapiied ourselves in our cloaks, and tried to sleep during that dismal night. Liouise, who had eliriekcd and moaned away all her powers, cOd, 1 believe, at last fnll into an exliaustcd slumber, Hein- rich vmoketl, and sipped brandy, aud allenutely sung snatches of ballads or mumbled forth fragments of ]>rayerK, until he was as soundly asleep as if he was in bed, Adelaide and I were Kilent, ruminating on our condition, on the blighting of budding hopes and the darkening of brilliant prospects ,^.on the melancholy fate for which we were reserved, .nnd on our father waiting in the uckly «u8pe»se of hope dcfen-ed for his children, and perhaps sinking down to die chiding us for the nnkindnesa of our delay. In reflee- tions such as these ptuswd the night, undisiurbetl by any sound but Uiat of the ceasek-iia howling of the wolves outside, and the crackling of the faggots within.
All things must have an end, and so had this night. The tardy day broke at lai^t. and Ileinrich, rousing himself, flung numeroui logs on the (ire to excite as great a blaxe as jiossible.
•' It will be 111! of no u*e." muttered the old chasceur as he plied ihU work; " ihey will come in spite of usi but one should never give lip. In the meiui time, let n« take whatever we van get for breakfaM ; for, believe mc, we shall want all the strength and spirits we can muster before long."
A NIGHT OF TEKRUB.
43
I
lie prepared breaklV^t ncconliiiglvi ns wt'll as liifi materials s]. lowed, iind we partook of it with lieuvv htiarls. The sun bimjii shone brij{ht]^' through the .iperture, and Uie logs begoii to " pule their inefTrctual fire." W« made ourselves ready for the expected Httack ; for, «i Heiiirich aiittcipati-d, the wolves hail tiot withdrawn. A suf- Scient charge fur t}ie bhinderbufs, which 1 committed to the chu- srur, was 3cri«|ird together from our united storen, and, except niv pistols, one of which, to say the truth, I had reserved for iiiy»elf', ifdire ncoeuity imposed on mc that use of the other on wjiicn I dreaded M think, we had no other means of defence but the butt-ends of our ftutb. Nothing beyond howling occurred until cbout three hours sftcrmnrise, — and what aM-ful hours were they ! — when ttnddcnly our eyea, which were scarcely for a moment dive*led from tlie aperture, »w the ub)ect of their fear. Two or three wdves of the hirgest size tud eltmlxxl up the roof, and were preparing to jump in. A dis- durge of the blunderbuss drove them awav. and the body of one huge brute dropjivd dead into the loilgc. Sliort respite '. — l!ie way was fotind, and the sun hitd deprived the firebruiid of its power. Anotbcr and fiercer relay was soon un the roof, and we had no nwans of preventinj{ their descent.
"Now," whi!<i>ered Heinrich, " may God help usl for there ia do help for UB in this world. Have you tlie pistol ready?"
1 as»«nted by a glance.
The shaggy wolves, howling incessantly, glared down upon us
witli ravenous eyes from the top, waiting the moment to spring.
Below stood Heinrich and I, illuminated in the bhite nf the faggots,
our reversed fowling-piece* in our hand* ready to strike. Louise lay
«* our feet proatntte, fainting on the ground; and Adelaide, sunk
upon her knws, seeuieil, ait the light from above streamed upon her
opltftetl countenance, emerging in radiant beauty from the smoke
and glare, like an angel about to wing her way hack to her native
heaven from the darkncaa and the turmoil of a hapless and uncon-
nual world.
> • ■ • •
"And is this all?" said my cousin Lucy.
'• I haTe not time/ said f, " to write any more, for I am going out lo shoot with your brother Dick."
" Bat I tell you this will never do: you must put an end to iU How were they saved ?"
'* Arc you sure tlwy were saved ?"
•* V«, quite sure ; else how could you hear Herman tell tJie Mary? And he says, beside, that Adelaide told him how she over- hlMtJ hit whispering.
•' Ah ' i forgot that ; but I must be off."
•' No* before you Bnish the story."
" Ktnish it yourself."
" 1 can't^t '» not my business,"
" Why, you will ne»-er thrive in it, if you cannot devise some way of bringing in the lover to the reacue, with his tmin of huntsmen and wolf^dogft. He must have heard of the bursting down of n pack of wolves, and followetl on their traces just at the right moment to save the party, to kill the marauders, to put fresh horses to the carriage, to whirl oil' to papa, and to come in time fur his blessing. Then tlic iwi ia fcaay. Herman gets Uir cstaU's, — Sobieski gets his wife;— ther tMiUi gel back to his mother's ; there they get — very havp>fr— mkII get rid of Ute iU>ry." Wakua,
44
FICTIONS OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
DONOMYE THE USLKEU.
HotucoLTBAM, or Holtn'8 Cnltrnin, was, as ererybody may not know, a rpHptfctable ecclesiiifllicjil fuuiidatitm in tlic imrlh of Ciioiber- Ifind : uiiil tti*.' ctiTiiiiicle from tvliicli tin- folluwiiii; irudition in taken WU8 lutely purcfauavd in ibal cuuuly, wliere it Iiaa lain unnoticwl by any aiic>()uary, fruiii Lvlnud to the punditfc of tlie " Collwrtnnirfa Top«v grapliica." It U n hmuU foHo volume, writt*?n in (loiiblt* CMlumus, by " various hatiiis," ns the phrase goes, commencing Mitli the year llfiO, nnd ciiilinK in M-iil, and contains several ciiriou?t dramfij;:s and illu- initiHltun.-, — to n:iy iioUiinj^of the remurkiilily funny Morios to be found in it of Scotch Kirlmrity niul Cnmhrian civilixiition, of portents in air and on earth, miriclM, and «uch like maitfrs. Moreover, in details at great length, und with singular minuteness, nn event merely alladed to by other writers ; vis. how Wnller Biwt, ont «f rL-veugc, craeUy burnt Patrick, the son of 'niomuH de (>alMiir> n-ith liis wmiMuiiiiua, in u harii at Iladdin^^ttm, where he slejit tlie nighi utter u touma- iiierit iu wbicli Lu had unhorsed the samu Walter. It would have delighted ScotI, who vraat a sensible man, but would drir« the poor an- tiquaries of the prewent hour out of their iwEines; xvherefore the po»- Ni-iuor will, out uf chHrity to them, keep the volume to himselF.
The c<>nditti>n of the Jews dmriii;; the rei^i of Henry tho Third W.1S, perhup.t, n'ot»e thim it is »»id to h»ve be<'n under bin predt.-ce)uiors. They had no security whatever for their lives and property 8» far aa the king wji coiici-rned. He torineiiteit and robbed tbem an he pleAted. On one occahion ihey were xummoned to give him the third of all their goods, and on another tliu half; and Henry, who hod bor- rowed Iftr}^ Mimfi of bin brother Jticbard Karl of Curo'vall, at leat a>- si^ned him all the Jews in Kn|;land in payment, — that iit to say, hewaa to ■;el ill!) money out of them in anv wny he could ; so that, aa a writer of the lime obsirves, "after the Icim: had A.iyed them alive, he de- lirert>d them o%'er to liis brotlutr to eniliowel."
In spite, however, of the daily perwcution to which they were subjected, the Jews continued to be, with the exception uf the Italian tnerchanta. the sole capitnlittB of the kingdom. Misfortune only >ibar[iened th«ir wjla and increawed their energies; they became expert profewKim «>f the inceaiuua arts of elippini; and sheuiiui;, foi^og and cheating, — reati«ed large ftums in trade, and ittill larKer ]irutita by tunry. All attempts M ^et rid uf them only proved their existence tu be an evil ni.-cessary to the .state: and another histi>ri:ni, whu bad witneiHted their enormities, and in hispious zeal desired iiulhinR better than their total ruin and e\tirpaiion, exclaims, iu a momentarr de- spair, " this accnned race i« like unto the heard of the chin ;^have M cluA* as you may to>day, there will be food for the raxor to-mur- row."
U«ury ia a mighty sin, saith the GoHpel, the liw, and the Chronirle of nolnicoHrum. According to the latter resiH-ctable authorttv. it waa coeval with Uie fir«t umi of money, and majikind reipiired no ii'istruetor in ail art suggested by, and agreeable to, the natural cupidiiv of the hnman rare.
The chruuielur enpreitiirii wuie wuuder that the character of the
80NOMYB Till
I
I
U erer tin" »nnu; anil r|U(»te<i tin- I'liMjueat e*?ar of St. Ani- on tbe stury Totijas for the pwrtrnit of u nionv})-li>ii(ler iii tliu <fa3rs of tli« venerable mclmnolilan uf MiLin, "which in nverj rv- ■pect," MjA be. " IB applicable to the ungodlf and inUjiittniis of our •wn flRe." But ut tlit- cl^^^e of the ihirt«pnth century tlie yeiKTiiliza- tMo of iduoft ifdi* uiiknotrii, and tlie only philusopliy was thut of tli« flcfaoiJs; or the irorthy Diuiik, instead of being HUrprised at this ^t, wmlil liave rt-tnarked, witli tbi: pvrtiiniH of u ninderii tnonilist, that the nme poseJous iiroduce the Katiic effects in all ages and under all orcnmstHnces-
Tbe object of the chronicler in relating the story we truiislutv. is, to tmpreMs u|)on his readers that h terrible nunii.hnient tuvuriably •limits the mint suc«:ewfiil wickinlnes-t ; that ultboiii^b tbe cupuren- jorntent may bare already toucheil the lip. tbe liaiiti uf retribution i» hMdy to dash it dnu-n, — to reclaim tbe iniquitAna from the wa\-8 uf eril. and to warn the thouf^biless and profuse of the danger of en- tangling themselves In the toilii of avurice und the Je\vs. The hurrnr be expre^ces of the whole race of usiirers ivii» natural enough ta one wlio lived in an age when their ]>nitits were enormous, nnd who visweil their practices as contrary to tlie pren^ptii uf the fiospel ; bat, without tunning into |ioliticaJ econuuiy, it nipy be ubserred, that the high interest wJiich money then beru wns ouly eijual to tbe im- mense profits reaped by the few mercantile adventurers of the time, lod lliot the jwopie in );eneral, and inucli less tbe clerj^V) bad nut yet perceived that money ts a mere article of inercb;indise, tbe value of which i* ulw»ys ]iro|iortii>ne<) to tlit^' Mip]ily of it. Trite iw this remark. Bour is, it had nut then entered tbe beads of our w;)rlike legialatorv, who, kuitini; tlicir uvl» to tbvir own cuiiveiiieU'Cf, were unaware that, vbtie at one time they ruluMed to acknuwledjje the legulity uf usury, and at another endeavoured to limit the rate of it, tliuy repreioied the •pint of oommerciul iipeculation, the grand »i>urce of natiomil wealth.
** The tal«- wua relate unto us," ^^^V* the chronicler, " in our rc- '■Mtory, by 8ir Thomns do I^tuiton of Kgrcmont, who hesrd it while in London from peroons of approved credit. The same Sir Thnmaa tsrriRl with as »u tbe eve of the Ascension iu tbe firtX year of King Edward, and prv?iented m cup for tbe Kuehiirist, made ot ugrillins
Sict in silver gilt, and curiou^y wrought witli strange deviev»: liu COofinDed unto us tbe four dozen dislies of ore out of the iron mine M Coapfauid, formerly given unto us by Lambert de Multon ; tiud the b«lr mtbvr ubbot guve unto him a little ciutket containing u toe-uuil «f St. Oitith, which the said pious ktiiglit received with much veuera- tioa and joyfullv carried away with him."
So one can doubt that the abbot had the l>c»t of the bargain, for Ite had long Ceased to tniit in relic:> for protection ngninst the Soots thierra who harried bin lands and btirned hi>i barns ; liut tbe iron Would pay tbe artncd men he w;is oljligi'd to Hupfwrt, and wbn would have given no thanks for a cart-load of urm-lHinen, double teeth, unil OmIs, tlMUgb tiiey had once pertained tu tJie greatest Eaint& in tbe
^^u«- nails
BuMviye the Jew sat, towards tbe close uf an autumn day in tbe year 1247. in tbe little bock-room of his tenement in .\liik>i)treet,(-'hea{^ tidg, Tbe bouse was a miserable wooden erection, patched up againsi B Mmw bttibling apprupriuted tu tbe oflicera of tbe ruyal wardrobe ; and tbt IWMI Co woicb we refer was of the moat uncomfortable descrip-
46
FICTIONS OP TKB MIDDLE AGBS.
tion, flltboiiph it sprved him for cmintinfj-liouw, Irwixtirjr, nnil tnanr purpoii's bi'sid{?s. Ii wfla ft Urge closet, the wnlU of vhicti wenr rudely plaBtered and bliick iviih tliri. the floor pnrtiallr covered by the remninH of n rush mfit, and tlic ftiniiturt' coiisislirig of a Tudoty-sliapnl ouken iMc, a chert etrotigly ttciimd with iron, a cnuple of short tH-iJchvK, utui a single clinir, which, on the preneiit nrcision, wun oc- cupied by tliu owiii>r of th« ptacp. lie wun a miiti Aonipivhat ad- vanced ill years, uliort iti KUturc, aiid nt>sHv»iiiig tn an ex.tritorduuu'T' <legree the Ntronely-markL-'J fuitiirvs of liis race. IJis beard waa short mid grey, and hi» matted hair strapgled over a. well-f(inncd foreliead jieniiifd with many a careful wrinlcle, from beneath n-hich hts sharp, restle-ss tilncV eyn peeri^d out nith nn expretwion of dirtnist and b|^ prehensinn, while a peculiar liabit of hwkitur doun llie line of hia noae, when in conrersation, gave n MinistiT rxpri>!Mi(>n to liin cuiintenancr- He wiijt ihin, of a xallow coninlexirtn, and wore n loiip dark brown robe gathered round the middle by a lenthcfrn girdle, a blnck ^voollcD cap faltint; behind, luid loose boot^ of cordoi'aii K-iitlicr. He nros evidentlr unea&y, lidgEted ali^tut in his xeitt. and althon^h a parchment coverei^ wiib calculacioaii lay on the table Wfore him, Keeuifd at a Iush what to do.
Bonomyc was rcpuu-d to be the richsBt uf ihc many wealthy uiurcrt then ^e^idellt in London ; the king hud him under his sjiecial pro- tection, and, in the multitude uf his transBCtions, he hud obliged ur MvindEt^d not n fvW of thv nobility and cleq^ ; the che«t of the iiutary of the JfW* fontnined more bunds dwe to him than to any other of his money -gftting race.
Hitherto he had been a fortunate man,— li:»d cscuped the fury of aeveral mobH of unruly citizvnit who plundered the dwelliaf^H and murdered some hundrei^M of hi* liicklessi brethren, und, with the ex- ception of two or thre« dehtK which the king had jiiirdoned without consulting htm, his specnlations had provL-d eminentlr successful. Well vas his dwelling Known; thither went men of all degrees, fipom the noble to the squire, the binhop to the ckrk ; the prodigal heir and the acheming oiTchant. all who could give the desired securiiv^ had found Bouuuive an obliging lender, and iiuittcd his threshold with lii:ht beartit. When the day of restitution was cume, and ihey bad not ii^erewith to satiafy faim, though they &till found him smiling and serrile, the suiile was Kiircastic, the servility a habit: for Bonomyc was a mercilesx creditor ; the ruined heir saw bis f.iir lun^s glide anay Wnrntb his grasp, the bankrupt trader curbed him when be Mtw the aheriff in possession of his guodit and warehouse ; and to all the blow was unexpected, for the Ji-w was so civil — listeu'ed to thi'ir tales with aach attention, and seemed so nccet^sible to pity, that they hoped, and were deceiveil. B«Miiimye hated iv Christian, and never renewed a loan. He did both upou principle: hiii fiiuh and the HiifTeriugs of his peopL- led him to the firhl ; and he gpnerally rea-soned justly when ill? suid to himself, " If ihin iMind and the inter«^t runnut ljt> paid, how shall I be satiiilied uhi-n both are duublt'd?" His iiiuney he would have: the teurs of the orpbuu, the entreiitics of the nil but ruined merchant — beauty in its mo».l dazzling guise, manhood in il» hour uf pridt; and strength, age in its helijles^ness, and misery and denpair, had never clumged his resolution. "Nut one drachm lew; I am but a poor man,— you Inive used my mcrney, and it must lie returned." He had never abated one farthing of bin due: prayers
BONOMYE THE USUHBR.
and execrations were unljoeded by him ; be wfifjliod nntl reweiphed, told tliu |)irccs viiK by one into llm chesl — <>ach chink was as a drop of balui tu his Koul, iitid lo the pututi-siiiiHi of his man<>y he wnn ii hnppy nao. Fresh victims were always Ut bv found, and Bonomj-e aUvaya rcndr to sccotnmridate them ; and »o be went on accuffluktinf; and Icnibng, strong in bate, hitrd tn heart, and utterly witliout conscience, aaitb the Chronicle of Holmcoltram ; " homo inifjtiiuimus, filius Dia- holi, tt dnmnntn.«."
The day nf advi^rsity, however, \vas< ar. Imnd. Bunomve ahvayti I«nt «ut to the last stiver, and to kti>p up hin Ktock of cn>,h for the Mtpnly iflf the many demands upon bis purse, he had been whligpd, a few nootha before, to borrow a ]ar;:e itum of a company of linliun nier- dnBtK then in l^ondon. It iva-i put out to Advantage, it in true, hot tbe day appointed for the repayment nf it wan but a week diHiiint, and his cuest nearly empty: his creditum were, if po^ihle, greiiter abuks than Jewa, and in a riot that hud recently tnken place the LeodoDvra seized all their treasure, which they had dejHJsitvd fur Mcurity in the relinious bouses of the town ; so that, iiltlioiiph at any other time they might have been (lis]in^:«d t« renew the loan, they were now nrgent for lhi> dtNcharjie of it. 13iit this (vns not the sum of the Jew's didicMUieK. He might have lunight aMiKtiince from bio bretliren, had ifafv not Hvffered Keren-ly from tbe ftaoio riot that hud ulmont mined the Itatianii. The Jewry was burnt, their syni»goj;iie destroyed, aocne hundreds of Je«-8 were murdered, and their treasure rifled by tbr crowd ; and. above all, at thii calamitous period, it suited the con- ▼enfcnce of the king to cull upon tbeni for a heavy loan, and Bonomrc Kimaelf bad been fivoured that very morning with auTit, in which the Idag addrcAed him aa " trusty and welLMoved," reminded him of tW ioBg and effectual protection he had enjoyed, and commanded him, at tbe peril of Iiindeting his majeiily's busine!^, to centribnte twice the asumnt required of any other Jew." " Two tliuuaand markH," groaned Bnamye, as the fiital mtsidre dropped from his ffrosp ; " so miicb did I gire 10 obtain his countenance ; my bruiber Reuben spoke the word of truth wbeil hetaid that my shekels were as chatrBCnttered before the wind) lirtbat CheGentileheedelh tiothis word. Protection, funtontb ! the boon «f beiog tbe last to be devoured." — Jlonomye knew too well the con- •Rjoence* of a refuxul ; that howe\'er truK hisi plea of poverty might be, it would be teUed by the dentist, tbe gridiron, or the hangman ; and tint a Jew could obtain no pitr hut by piircha«>. Often had ho knoM'n hik bretlin^n aulfer, and hiu) Leurd unmoved the hnrrowinj* recital of tbcir tonnents ; tbe blow had not fallen upon bimsplf. and he wjb in- ae««ible lo tbe mi^ierr of another: but now all the horrid scenes that raooUeetwa oould bnn^ tn mind or tma<nniilion conceive eniwded ou laa llMMi^fata ; he gmuud his teeth — they were all lirnt and »harp, age bad nn'thrr hiOBeni-d nor impaired them ; he had picked a mutton-bone tJiai day fur lliu fourth time, and fouud a dinner upon it. I}es{Miir jito the wretch whose ruin i», or appeani to be, inevitable, to dwell the Tnriuu» htage* of his fall, and to iinii^ine every scene ; and ye slitiddered with ideal pain aa he fancied tbe pincers of the bather Iraring bis teeth from their sockets ; he saw the Elms, that dnarr field, and tboM? m.xii«ive gibbets, green with damp and nuws, tkit Bad witnenu'd the last convnlaiona of so many of hi^ people ; W kanl ihp ralilinn of the dried and bleached bones that yet buns tk tfaoMf cbsitis. and beheld those tilotcbea of ]on<; rank grass bcneutu
48
FICTIONS OF THE MIDDLE ACES.
which still inauUIcri-il H^vuy tlie hiKlit-s of mi many vipliiiiB uf pe" u-culiaii : iii-vvr bud Ijl- hvi;u the sput hut once, yet vvety (valuto uf it waH distinctly in his vyv. llv Fuucivd the brutul and merciless mob their shout» oad their ribaldry, the iniiiiuveable and bokine^s-hke •Qtellites uf death] and his hiind insensibly chitched his lonfc Mrniggy neck ; a^tin did iiiia^iiiutiun exercise iU fearful power — hin willow face grew lliislirti, hi» **ye-i hard mill btirning, mid in Ihut h>n<j nervous gra.<<]t he had anticipated hulf the horrorii of auffooiLiuit. Without une good act tn dwell upon, and his natural timidity increased by an evil cfinacience, want, and perhaps death, before him. Bonomye for the tint time felt the intenae agony of that despair that expects no pity, (he Mckne&s of the heart ihnt Knoivcth no comfort, nnd thiit wount) whicli never benln. He had no tie to hind him to life, no wife, no child, lo leare to lui uncertain fate, hut he dreaded death : now he thoui^ht that could he but ttxvii his life, hu would bo content to [pve up all that he had, and when he cuuKidered wliuT he must sicri^cv — hi* gold, the idol of his waking and ^leepiIlg thoiif^hlK, he would rather resign both together. Agitated by conflicting resolutions, he now detemioed to brave iti all its Iiuirors the Bite tliut awaited him ; then imiij*inud that if be could eitca|H.> with some remnant of hi* wenll.1i, he tvotild bo »b •lt«red man, — that the prayer of the dintreued mhnuld not be addreit»«d to him in rain, that he it'ould he as merciful as he had hitherto been callous. Seldom hiul Bonom ye prayed, but now his lip quivered with the inward entreaty for Divine on^istance ; he felt that the linnd of the Al- mifrhty wa^ justly raised Oj^iinKt him, that the vinl of nniih was about to ite poured on his devuted bend, nnd he vowed, after tlie fa.^hi»n of the Gentile, to rebuild, if he eKciiped his prewut diinirer, the tiynii;;<^ic ao lately destroyed, uud tu rephice the mil that contained the sncred dis- pensatiuii of bin r-ice. " Alas !" saith the Chronicle) " !hi*c were hut pa&sinf; thnuj/ihUs ; the author uf all evil hud Ktrong hold of his soul, sud tmpeUed him towards the bottonili-s!i pit :" after a few moment!^, the feelings of the miser returned in all tneir ancient strength, — prayers, vowB, and resoEutions were forgotten, and Bonomre, opening his chest, took forth u sm;Ul bi>x tilled to the brim with little rollH uf |mrehn)cnt. theacknowledgiiientfcof hiauumeruiisdebtors. Although he knew wvll enough the dates, he Ktill fancied that some might he nearly available, ^he would look and see what bone remained unto him.
" The Abbot of Westminater, lire hundred marks. Ay, they were for the Norway hawks and Hpanish jennets he bought' of Peter of Sienna : thosu Lonibarda draw all to their clutches — nothing comes amiss — one year vet to run — the wwd of the mauor of Hide for ho lon^ an interest ; I did not wisely ; the licrd telli> of the rot. KeulH'n said yesterday the Abbot had suld the wool of Cotswold to tht?ni of Lucas for ten yean to come fur the t>ame sum : a proud prodisal priest that ; the monks ivill suuii get but poor commons, meihioks — the goodly rents of their landK Hy awny uu Uie u'ingH uf the Abbot's hnivks.
" Philip de liorel, a thousand. Maoter Philip kuoweth the ways of the great, and hath found favour at court— the king's justice may not be reminded of the bond of the bishop's aerving-man. Over the term by three months : 'tis lu«t.
" Nicholas de Basing, three thoUMnd. A man well to do. but some- what atilT withal, is Master Baaing : he striveth hard with the Italidn ; Dion say the king luveth him, and ahoweih it by running h>ng hills, Six weeks of the term : be might help me— I '11 iry : his daughter.
BOKONVE THE USURER.
49
I
wIm Inretli fftuni; Aiiiim Buk«rel> is well fiiroured, and the maiden mar like a necklace of the vml Puris irurk."
He went an muttering »ii he read, and many were the nnecdoU'S of fnlks of all ctos&CK which niij^ht bavo he«n gAthered from hiH Kiililnquy- Ue seemed to wish to prolong the rotiult of his search, and, lu kia re- ooUection scrred him, touchvd with more or less minut4>nc»s on the oreiunaluiees and chumcters nf hiR ftebtors.
The ooDtpnts of the box were exhauBted, the last roll dropped on the table, and Bonomye sank back in bii> chair, crossed his Iramh be- fwT him, and, with jiis eyes hxed vacnntly on the vvuU, iuuked the very ima^ of miwry aud dismay- The only ray of ]ii>pe he hud de- rired from hi^ search rested on the chance of Nicholas de Basing being nrillinfc to take up his bond at some rediicliiiii oftJie interest ; but then the lum waaiwsmiill that it uould h« of little usf. The amount h« owed the Italians was four tiinen as much ; and althou);h a jiart of it tniji^t appease them until he shonld hare time to look about him, what could he do u-ith the king's demand upon his purser' A tboughc suuck him — he would place in his hands, btnuls to the amount required of bun ; and although the terms for their payment hiid not arriveil, ))C believed that the royal prerog^ve would be KufKcieut tu compel the liquidation of them, if the money wa« to Ih; hud ut uU.
In the RiidKt of these retleelious, a knock at the outer door recalled Bonomye'a utteiUion ; and having hastily scrambled up the loo»e deeds and returned them to their place, he went to inquire who visited bim thus late in the day.
" My errand is from Albert Boccanigro, the Italinn, to Master Bo- Butnje, the Jew. Upen the door, man, for the wind blows coldlj^ down tJm street. You roust have slumbered, niethiiiks, for I 're stood here tdl I can scarce feel my fitij;erH."
Ban<Hnye, to whom the ivAxne wan well known, half opened the duor, mattering in apology the while aomething about fatigue, druwMinesx, and tbe deafneas of his old servant ; iitnd peered out U{H>n the stranger, wba, hastily pushing open the door, entered without ceremony-
" \o times these for men to sleep in the broad day, Jew : folk^ who would look U> themselveH and their goods niUBt be up and waking."
Ho saying, he walked into tbe room, followed by Bunomyo, who, {KtUiAi; one of the benches towards the t;ible, entreated bim to be aMtdL Tbe strun^r, who from bis speech appeared to he an Eng- Hrfimin. bad a rufeigo look and complexion : his drew» was that of the ncRlunt of those days, but he wore over it a long dark cloak. At his tpnO* was the usual appendage of a wriling-case, and Bununiye re- marked ttiat he carried beside it a long knife or dagger. 'I'he Jew did HM like bis countenance or manner, but diiisemmmg Ida uneasiness M««n u he could, demanded what the Italian would have with him, whaai trbicb be bad some misgivings, for Bucuuiigro was the principal ■f Uw sacietT to wbieb he stood indebted.
"It is late in the day," he remarked, "and Master Albert gen»> nlly loaks aAer business himself; he is not wont to employ sCmggBK. By wkal nark «liatl I know that you come from him?"
"Brtbia mark," replied tbe stronger. "Albert bids me say to yen, tiiat coocerning the silver you owe unto him and others of bis—"
" Bat tbe day is not yet come." snid Bunuuiye ; " it is still a week
diMiBt. DoubtlesB. tlio'ugh times are bad for our people "
i< " Hmr BHS Jew, and tiien llwii mayst speak as thou pleasest.
^ 1
I
I
50
FICTIONS OP TUE MIDDLE A0E8.
Mwiter Roccnni^r» dnubts nut you will rep&y tlicra : but toQchrng the renevrai itf thi! loan, wliicti lie Tofused whvii vuu spoke of it but lately. Jjt- bttdo lufl sav ibat BOine of his TODipoiiy liave arriTed by sea witli treasure from France, and maybe the matter cnn be settled now. They bring niso macb !>ilrt;r plate, and he would conKult vou how to buiivr it elsewhere than »t tlw Itiiijj's exclian^e: t« malce few wiirdM, he wouhl »)>e»k with vou thi« present ui^hl nt hi» hnnne in •Soutbtrark."
" Majii*'r Albert knows," said the Jew, "that I am always ready to serve him with my poor aid ; bnt the night ia coming on, and 'tw not sjifc for our met* to Lie nlirtiad."
" Ay, »j, we know well cnou|>b you will serve if there is nu^bt to be gained; and ha for being abroad at ni^ibt, man, the streets arc quiet enough. Theee Lundunen bare tired of their recent s|>urt, and if ueed be I can protect vou ; so Jet us bo goiii^. If meo say truly, tbou an not wont to be dull in pursuit of lucre."
The stranger now rose, and Utummye, in whom fear and expectation were mingled together, summoned up resolution enough to say that be would accompany him. Taking the precaution to transfer erery louew article to hw chest, and havinjT carefully 1(k:1<vi1 it, and thrust th« key into \m inner rent, he seized hi.s cap and led tli« way to the door. At thie foot of the staircaic, he stopped, and bawled out, " Rachel ! Rachel !" several times without receiving an answer. At length the old denf crone who played the pnrt of liis servant-of-alUwork conde- acended to reply.
" Look to the dwir, Rachel, look to the door, I say : no one mnirt enter while I *m away. And. Rachel, put up the great bar that Geof- frey the smith lilted t'olhiT day. Dust heiir, Racliel?"
The old woniiin having ugitified that she utider»tuod him, he undid tbe door, and quitted the house with the stranger, who hud bvcomt impatient at bis delay.
it tvsfi evening when Bouomye and his companion found themselves in CheapBtde, and a dense October foj; wiis rapidly fipreadinj; its ro- lumes of mist over the long line of irregular buildings which then formed that now populous thoroughfare. Although the buiir was not later than eight, few persons were abrofid ; for after dark the Cheap was a dangcn)U!t sprtt- At the time of which wc write, this »treet had not the regularity and spaciousnesa which a century ufter^vards fitted it for the splendid justs and revifla of the court of the third Edward, when Queen Fhiiippa and her ladies witnessed the sports from the steeple of Btiw or the gallery in Soper-lane. The reader will imagine a long narrow street extending from St. Paul's to the Poultry, od either side of which wc>u<]en sbeds jutted out with the great irregula- rity and tittle regurd to the sanctity of tlie highway, which was in parts conaider.ilily narrowed by their encnmchments : in some instances there were rooms over these sheds; but, gecierMlly, the houses, with their quaint gables, rose a little in tlie rear of tltelii, varying in aiw, height, and appearance, according to the circumstances of the owners. A stack of bare wooden boards, black with age, and mouldering with the rot, was squatted by the side of the rudcly-carrcd and newly- pointed front of a wealthier tradesman or private person, in uhich small gbua windows Kaik the place of the miserable lattices which dli- linguished the jKiorer tenements: and here and there a stone building of home pretension and ^intiquity might be seen ; but in everr instsnoa the buildings were constructed without that reepect to muttial conre-
I
a
I I
BONOMYC THE USUREll.
51
\
wlucli in modem timoa li«s l««en secured Ity law. A few years kut, eoiuidcrahle improvements wore madr-; tlie tlioinnijlifare was wiittudp (he sheds eave woy to cditicf>s wlijcli, thoufch yet of wtH>d, ■RHiwd ■ more regumr appeannw, and the noble conduit of Henry de WaleyB, better known oy the name of its renovator, Ham, convpved a dnaun nf (niri! water Cn tlie ditttriet. Yet, misenilile as was the as- pccS of the Cheap by day, ntill when riewed at night, with n. clear sky. Hid the nivuuli^lit atrcauiing ii]hiu it, the nhurp outlines of the ronfg ividng uniost the horizoa, evcrj- iin||;lc and peculiarity bruuKht into atnmg rett«f, and the broad Ditis«es of gloom below, pn>duced by tlie nnotn prajevtionH of the bouWH, }i;nhleii, and sheds, it afTarded one of tboae bold combinationit of lights aiid shadwn-H, and thnt picturesque cftct which we u*ek in v»ii) iimid the uniform brick pilex that have ■laeeded the humble habitations of our anceiitors. We huve witd that il was • datif^erons spot, and it was ao, because even in the clearest tight ifae mad wia dark, and manr were the nooks in which the foot- put or cot-throat from tlie notorious vicinity of St. Blfirtin's-le-Grand lanf in ambush for the fttm^linf; pns^enger; to Kuch excesses had tli«j nrxKCoded about this time, thsil the holy brntfaerbood of that place, after baring lost half its memben through fright and broken hi-adji, implored io vain the aid of their uatroti saint and the city wutcli, and cnrvrd with bell and book till they were tired, were now building a wondra gallery over the stieet from their cells to the belfry of St. Martin':!, lh^oll^h which they hoped tu pawi to vespers mid matins without loMi of life. From such neighbours the Cheup could not escape. Tbe watch was generally scanty and always idle, and in the depth of wiMcr the strMU were with<mt Hj^hts, save the. cmdlen that twinkled llUDl^^ window and lattice, and tbe red smuky lamp which marked iht locAtitv of Munv tavern : but on the evening in question the diirk* aas was intense ; the damp fog hung overhend, ncNtled in the nooks ■mI eomers of the street, and deenennd the shadown ; viewed through iu dcluflire medium, tbe distant lamp lonki'd likD a flickering in the far faari«an, and tbe toll steeple of St. Mary-le-Bow, and the grotesque ■Btfina oi the bouses, IndUti nelly seen as the vapour was wafted by tW enrrvnt, seemed gigantic because undeliiied.
Long as the Jew bud lived in Lcndun, be bad never been in the ttrccta after dark ; it was dangerous enough fur his nice to tr«iud them in the light nf day, when they did well to escape with the gibes of the pofi«lac«, — and at the present time, above any other, he would have saMed it had he been able. The bigoted mob was yet in a state of WMJI— lent. But a few dara before, seven hundred Jews had been mtmaati, and the mint or their habitarions were yet smolring. A mi nperience iocreiHed his natural timidity, nnd worked upon bin iPHiglBrtisu ; and but for tbe proeiHfct of worldly Kilvatton thus nuex- pMiadly held nut t«> him, he would have recede*) when he looked upon (ike doKuy strei't spread out before liirn. Hit> companion, who seemed indubrcmt tu the scene, trod su-iftly on towards Cornhill, and lloDomye wilb hit trembling gait had Mimv dithculty to keep up with him, •taisbliag every moment ovvr the uneven road, starting in terror at thv tn«t distant soiiniU, and fancying the preocnce of a murderer in n»ry dark curuer of tbe street. Tbey had proceeded half up the C%*tip, when the Jew noticed with some nnsiety that the hitrizitn ««■ rnl with the rejection of ft strong light, and remarked the appear- to hi* conpAoUm, who snsvertu with indifference that !t seemed
E M
52
FICTIONS OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
to be a fire, and was probably ot a distance, os the mist wai deepiv tive. Bouotnye, wlio, from recent occu rreiicfs could only aaaoclate the idea of a fire with the huuHu nf h Jew, f^rcw terribly alurtned, nod hu dread was incresKtfd vt'hi-a, after they b9,d gimc n (ew paces further, the shouts of u mub tH.>cuuiiL- distinctly audihli;. The snunds appeared to be cumiug in their directti>n. Ho eodravutircd to increase his speed ; but a 8tr.in);e perversity seized his comp^inion, wboM pace. lut« so rapid, noir became intulvrahly slow, and he expressed a w'uh to tee th« event of the biiMiK'K*. In vain did the excited Jew point out the risk they wunid int-iir, nnd conjure him lu ekoipe: be coldl)- remarked that they could run no danger by mingling in the crowd, and odviaed bioi to mudlc hi« focf" as much lus possible, and to abide by his di- rections.
When they reached the end of the Poultry, the light became dearly distin^uishiibl«: it was the blaze of hundreds of torches in the hand* of H furi^ius mub, which jwurcd out iu such a rapid torrent from the variuusi ulleyti then occupying the site of the present Mansion- house, thiit the Jew and hiK cunipaiiion were inseiisiUy carried along by it. All was confuMun and u|)roar ; a Ihousand voices, uttering a tfaou^nd different cries, wore ntised together. Yet scarcely a word could be understood ; and from time to time a furious yell uttered by ft dingle individual was (juickly caught up nnil eclioed finm the whoJe iia-ientbly ; ood then the clamour would &uhiude into a loud marmur, which floated, as it were, above the dull heavy tread and ru»h of tba muUitude-
In the centre of the mub some one was drugged violently along, and at inu'rviils his loud cries nnd entrenlieft were distinctly audible.
" What is it?" asked mime. frif>]itened citiiienswho hung on the out- Bkirtx of the throng. Alarm and curiaiily were expressed in tbeir countenances, and st-veral suukc at one :iiid the sume moment.
" A Jew dog who has ataobed Adutn Linton in W'alhnHik : they will hang him, 1 trotv, and do rightly too, I say for one," answered a burlr red-husded fellow, whose dixcoloured leathern apron, Houty face, an^ huge banimer betokened him to Iw q smith, iiud in nhom Bonomre rect^niaed, with some apprehension, the man Qeuffrer, who had lately fitted the iron bur to hin street-door.
" Hang bim ! ay, that will they," >ald a dirty beggar, whose crateh, that lately supported a had leg, now held aloft a dripping torch, " and bum B few mure of tbeir nests, I hope: I got little enough to my share when we aet the Jewry in a bhiiie t'other night. Curse then all ! tbey prey upou us poor folka."
" Prey, indeed !" observed u meagre- hwhin^ fellow to those nearest him : " 1 would hare Iwrrowed tMenty shillings of the Jew Alosae the other day, but he asked two sbtllingit a-week for the use of it, the greedy infidel ! and, by St. Crispin, I needed the money much to get me leather."
" Thou must have cobbled a good few buiOtina to pay that, Master Adam, and hare worked better utan whm you fitted me'tbat new boel- piece; I vow it's loose already," growled a discoutented customer: The cobbler, whose anger was exciu-d by this question of his skill, WU about to reply, when, in the sudden rush ot the crowd tis it en- tered the narrow opening into CoruhiU. Cricpio and his Bccu»er weiv sepaialed.
Ihe mob, recruited by iresb comers in erery dnvction, moved
I
BONAMVI! TIIR CSUltBR.
5S
npidJj on ; and Rnnnmyr, who&e feant wvtv drradfntty excited, clang witb a convuUive fip'asp to the arm of tlie »imngcr, whose object it •nned to get as near as posiiihlc to the miserable nhject uf the uproar. Tliejr had noir reached GniNschiir«h-strfL-t, into u-hich the mob turneil, and, impeded by n niwh of people in the oppiieite direction^ halted. Th« wbole space froni Bi&liopBgate-&treet to FiKh-i^treet-hill was filled with a deiiHc maiw of people uf evtry deiicription. Then; were the butchers and fislimuugurs from the uei^hboiiring tiiarkvt, llio drapers* ■ppreDtioes from C'omhill, the ruliiar.9 of Hi. i^lartiri's, ihievts and beggars, decent citiKens and houseieM vugrunts, all brought together by lb« httjte of plundi^r, or tliut Mtrxn^e ciirioNity which, even in dnv* of greater retinenient, Hxsembleii such crowd* to view the lant muinenls of tbe felon. The den&e fog, from which a drittzling mihC wiu) fulling, littDe a clooDiy canopy above, red with the btaze uf the torchea, and Kodcrea denser by their amukc ; the same lurid tight wan cast ou the faces and heads of the crowd, and on the houses on either side, ut the lattices of which the ahtrmed inmuten were tteen in every variety uf dr«Mi Tiewinf^ with apprehuusiou tbu threatmiiug aspect uud gesturea of tbe mob, the uproar of wliich baffles dMcriptiun ; — yelU and vxe- cntiDoa, tbe nlang oi the mbble, the thuuts of people recognising one another at a distance, the loud tKiisteroas laugh, tbe Ghrill whistle, the low prwfvmional jokes of the ditferent trHdes, the noi^e of fifty cunflids Cor place and rowoi, in which hends wer« broken without numWr, nnd all tbese various sounds at timeH ceasing in the long-continued roar which demanded the puni&hment of the unfortunate culprit. It waa carioaa to sec the countenanced of the crowd beneath the strunge glare tbtt lifted up tbe &cene ; — tbe careli'&4 liiughing face of vouth tM.'<iide tbe grave burgber, on whose features sate gmve concern ; the deformed brgi^r, the malienant-eyed rutfiiin, eager for blood and jilundL-r, who viewed all with tne vacant kIatc and open mouth uf vulgar cnriotuty, aaeertsin of the cront, and excii«cl by no object-
Bunonije, dragged along by the atruiiger, who vigoruuidy elbowed his way through tbv crowd, now found Limjelf near enough tu !iee the prisoner, lie was surroanded by a circle of men, who seemed to be tbe lenders of th« mob, and was kneeling with bis back townrdx the spot id which Bouomye rtood- His blnck gown wuk toni to tatters, Slid covered with dirt ; bis head, over which w«r« scattered a few long grey bairv, was uncovered, and bis hands raisied in supplicatiun; while tbe words of entreaty be would have uttered were broken by bis heavy sad freijuent groans.
*' Save me ! nave me!" he exclaimed at lengtli to a ynung man of a aaperior sir to those about bim, and who seemed to he un unwilling ipsMator of the scene.
The youth turned away, and, as be pa«»L'd hy Bonomye, muttered, " Save tber. man ! 'twould be a miracle to do it."
Tbe victim, to whom the appearuitoe of the jierson be bad thus ad- drqtted seemed to have excited some wild hope, turned his head in tbe dirvctiuo in which be retired. The light uf a torch fell full upon his bee,«nd showed tbe HstoniHhed BoDomye the countenance of his gossip KcobcD. The exclamation ho would have uttered was checked by fan Tfrmpiniim. who presM^d his arm. Hut the name had encaped his lips, mi ths earn of tbe wretched nri
arennd, be iwid,
" y«a, I sm Reuben. wrrtdied Rvuben?"
prisoner were quick. Looking eugerly Who colls me i — ^wbo is it that speaks to
54
FICTIONS OP THE HIDDU AQES.
His L>yc {;ljineeil shiirply nhout, but the ntnuiger now stood beween [iim utul Biiiinniyc; and it wa& lucky for the lattir that t\tv attcntiuD of tliose about him was at Clufi nuiineiit excited by an u]>roar itt the top of the struel, occasioned by the city watcli, who hnd bieen railed out, uiid now piiilenvoiiri'd tn force a |ia&s.i|;{! in. Thi^y were reeeired wjtb loud hhnuts and kugbter, ti>gutht:r with vxhurtntloiiii to gu bumv uiitl vuinfurt tlu'ir wivL-s ; mid n lieu the uldi-ruiuii \vhu cuiiiiiiiutded itnw the dulvtiuiiied iuixs of the niobr iir.d the Hourish of Htavet', and learned that it was a Jew only whose life was in jeopardy, be retreated to tell the mayor that the riot uas of little inoinetit.
The emotion Bunomye b:id shown did not iiriae no much from sur- prUe at seeing Reuben, whom be knew to be m jienceiLbte man, la luch » situation, and charged with so great an otfonce, as from other mo* tivea. Rcliered, aa he imagined, from the ruin that so lately threat- ened him, his heart was aguiu burdened : nnd, after the first mtunent of amaxe, the thou{;ht flashed upon him thnt he had Reiilien's bond in bis chest, — two hundred marks were lust, irrecoverably jioue. " He muut die," tliuiit:ht the Jew, " and tliese FhiliKliueH M'ill Kpbil bi> bouse; — Iciuinut repay ine out of bis chuttcU:" uiid from that moment this wia uppertnuMt in bis mind. He grieved not for bin ancient ac- qnaintance as another would have done; and if be wished him to be saved, the feeliiijj was jinimjilcd more by the dei»ire to obtJtin hU silver tbuii u diaintereiited witdi to see him uiati^hed fntm the dre-jdful fate before him. Pure syinpathy avos unfelt by Bonomyc ; and the only sensation at all akiu to it which he exjierienced, arose from bis know- ing that he him^-lf was quite »» ubnoxious to the ^urroundinj; crowd, and thflt, if discovered, be might take his place beside Reuben. Alen- tally curbing hi.i imprudence in thus veuturini; abroad so late, he pulled his cap lower over tiis face, crept cIomt to the atranger, and au-oited the event with some dread ; but uU lii« uppreliensiuiiti were fur bin uwa safety.
The prisoner bad essayed in turn, and in vain, the pity of ibosewho surrounded bim, and au]>eared, as we have said, to be the ringleuder*. His yeUo»' boiiv huiius, eUsped with the intensity of des^iair, were raised to eiu:h without Huccess ; hiH lustrous hluck eyes, from which the ulenl tear trieltled down bis shrivelled cheek, fell upon scowlin|j; faces, — appealed to Lt-arts JnHanied by rage and the thirst of vengeance. A culf from one, a kick from onnther, and a loud curse from a third, were the only replies to bis impassioned entreaties for mercy and assever- ations of innocence.
" Here, Jew, eat!" cried u burly apprentice, squei'iiinf; into the circle, and thrutting into his mouth the renmins of u mutlLin-pie ; " eat, man. Tbou hast a long road to journey, and but it short path into it. Kut, dog I"
A loud lauub buret from the bystanders, with " Kat, Jew, eat ! — 'til no pork." 'liie miseruble ifun *unk down, covered bis fnev with bis bands, and was silent. The mob, which hiid now wuited patiently for some minutes, renewed its eluninur with incieiiMed fury. Ijoud row the cries of " Hang bim, hanj! him '." Bui aI this moment the bell of Bow Church tolling nine was faintly beard, as the soiuid ^tru^'gled with dense atmuaphere nnd contrary wind ; and some merry fellow in the cruwd roared nut the popular couplet, that had passed current in Lon* duD [loiii the days of the curfew.
I
4
BONOMYS TBB USUKBK.
an
I
I
"Cleik ofUie Bow Bell Willi ilic ydlow lockes, for ttjy late nngiHK Thy head (hall have knoclcei :"
Bnil fartferijlM It Vfut rt- peat'tfd by th? mub in n cborug so iloufi-iiiDg, thsi bal-ml^iferk of the lu'll been there, be uuuld have been stuuticil hj the noise, though )ii<i bead miL;bt hiivc ettcapeJ the threatened knnefca. fiat ibis waa a pasNinj; niimoiir only. Iiitirnt upon tbeir pnpUMf tkey soon returned to their former crtea and iipriinr: the prason npm tlie spot where the prisoner ]a.j crew Ions and fipive ; ibe forenoHt mad moNt outm<;enu.s ol the throng acmandea him to be rival oTi to them ; but the Kinith nnd the beggnr, ivhom we noticed at tb* bcjpuiung of the tuauilt, atid who had ull along acted r cnniipicuous put, with iume of their fellows, Ktoud Htuutlv uguiust the ruBb.
*' Fair play 1" roared the smith, whirling nis nauitiier.
" Fair play ! We can't all have a pull at him, but we may all seff him bang," exclaimed the beggar, nourishing his crutch ; and prepaxtt- tum» wer« made far the laAt Mcene.
tmmediatety oppniite to the fntnl circle in which the prlwiner lay, wan a hostel, diatingniahcd then, tut after, by the sign of the Hnrt on the Hoop. It had a court-yard in front, and the entrance to it woj tbmugli an nrcbeil gate, over which wns an iron hoop surmounted by a nidely-carred ntag'a bead. Thici wiw pointed out hy one of the lenders n a j:o»d spot to procevd to execution ; the Jew wan dragged towards ibe pite, and the cry was now for a rope.
" SlaaUT (.'ornewsiile will have a guod sign," quoth one: " where a Jew bangs, Chrit-tians will (ind good cbeer."
But mine boat thought otlu-iwise. He had witiieiiscd the whole actoe from n lattice, and when be perceived tbc iiittiitionK of tlie mob, daceoded. in coni[»uiy with a friar who happened to be taking his cup there that evening, or cornforting the faosteiw, or prohshly doing bulb, aod iM-gnii to parley willi tbo»e nearest his gate*
'* Wltut, airs .' you will not «)ied blood on tny tbreahnld, and mar the good repute of my house }"
" N'o blood," growled a felltrtv who was trying to fling the end of a rop* through the hixip, — " no blood, Master Gilbert, — hanging Bpill« no blm ; though this itng of a Jew hath spilled honest Linton '» ; — didst Imiiw hiiD ?---the draper in Wulbmok ?'*
** By ibe Oud ubovv, I did nuf slay bim !" exclaimed Reuben, nuiUing «u laat effort: "the miin was dead when 1 found bim, and I did
** Af > my," aniiwered the man who bad failed in his attempt to paw til* nm>. " who ever beard of a Jew stopping to raise or touch a oead Cbnttim? HIagiie iwiw.- the fellow who bn>u(ilit tbin slired !^A T<i]f, t Mj — aaotber rn\w. Don't sUind priiting there, Slasler Gilbert ;^ luolc, man, if thou huat a good rope in thy hoUHe."
" TboQ 'It have no n>pe fr<om me, Itubin Troublctown, An tbon wmUat banfl tbe man, get a rope where thou canst. I 'II liave nought ta do with the death of any one."
With this, Gtlltert Comewnile was about tn dosB hia gate, when ■ kul ptrrcinj* xbriek rang wildly from the oppoHito side of the fitreet, aad be riixMi, the hiUf-clutcd dour in hand. The voice of u female wan bawd entreating the miib to let her through ; ond so sudden was this bNcfraplua af the horrid work, that, taken by surprtnv, a roud ww
56
FICTIONS OP THE MIDDLE AGES.
mode for tier Hcross. Ru!sliiii|; wildly towards the victim, slie th beniolf on her knws beside liim, uvted thu Idh); grer liium tliat bad strolled over his fucu, mid kiHsrd liim with ncrvtmii anvctioii.
" Reuben, mv futher !" slie exclaimed, " 'tis thy daughter Miriam. Luok up, my father, and behold thy child !"
The uiifurtunute old man, by thie time almral insensible to every- thing, gated vacantly u)i<in h<*r beaming fnce, that neemed to look Into his vt-ry soul. A f^iint expr^Aniim lighted up hiii features for a motnent — lie had recognised hia daughter ; hut tiiis last sign of intelligence died away, — he uttered a low, fiunt laugh. — the laugh of incipient idiotcv, — and hia head dropped heavily on the bosom of liis child.
Supporting her father with one urm, Miriam turned towards his peraeeutora. Slie wub eminently beautiful; her lung dark hair,diiihe- velled by her struggle in the cruwd, fell over her KLuuIder», and her full bhtck eyes were suffused with tears as she begged with hysterical vornestneiw fur mercy to her parent.
" Lttvk vou. Mrs.," the aaia, " he is tny fotbeT,— Beiiben, the son of Jacob the ^abbi, — and I am his daugliter Miriam. You will not kill him! — he i» my only p«rent. No! — I am »ure you will not. See, he i» an old man ! — lonx at his grey hair ! He is meiciful, ton, — he ootild not slay a feltonr-creature. Do ytiu think ibis weak, trembling hand," raining her lather's arm, " could wi(^>1d a knife ? Uh, no I n'O ! no ! — it could not he he : he naa ever kind and goml 1 Hay now that vou will not murdeT Itim I^-Gnod |ten])le, let me take my lutlier away, and I will pray fur ynul Gud hiiirn the prayerH of the meauvet of hiii people. Yes, Jtliriam will pray fur una tliuuk you all!" J£ncuuruged by the tn<>- menlary irresululiou that had seized the executioners, bIii* turned again to her futlier. " Look up, ciy father,' — they will nut ^lay thee ! — tlier pity the surrow of thy daogbler — they will be merciful unto tliee anil Die !"
H« gave the same low chuckling laugh, and this time it seemed to tnock the hupes and exertiuns of his child.
A barbarian could not have witlle^8ed tfaii scene uniitoTed. The chief actors in the hutiiness, if not moved, were, to aay the least, puEzIed by this new impediment to their purixnie, and eyed one another in silent indecision. As forCornewuile.who ttill kept his place at the aate, he cried like a child: but the distant mob, (who, though they knew the cauw of the delay, did not see it, and could not feel the force of Ihe chiUl's appeal for the life of her parent.) and the friends of the murdered man, were not to be appeased Imt by the liecrifice of his sup> jiosed asaasMin.
*• Take away the she devil," said one ; " Hang her up with the old one," said the deformed beggar ; and llobin Trouhletuwn, who had by this time procured a frv*h ro.pt; and tiassed it thruugh the htMtp, ap- proached with the smith (u put an end to the affair. When the unfur- tniuite girl saw their purpose, she clung convulsively lo her father. She fipnke not, for licr grit-f was beyond the power of B|ieechj and though her father ues forcibly raised up, she still cluug to him. But nature could suprwirt it no longer: her eyes encountereiflhe fatal rope, that now dangled over hia head; and ere the rude hands tliat would have torn her from all that she loved could effect ihoir purpose, she felt nenselrss to the ground. A moment sufficed to pass the ni>o»e round the neck of the mutionJeHs Ileuben,wh» was supported on his legs, and Hvbiii and the unith, lengthening their hold vt it, dragged him up.
!
I
BONOMYE THE USURER.
57
Tlte bodr, dreadrulty convulsed, ascended but slowly ; more Dicn s«ised tiie rope — the head of the victioi struck heavily against the iron, — with ione null more, it vrns acroHs it «ud tlie neck tirokvu. Laud cries of exulta- tion luiWd the app«arancf of t)ivbiLHly as itkwuiig darkly to and fm. " To ttU house, — lo Aldgate !" ahouted the becgor ; — " To Ald^te !" Kuid the unitb, whirli&g bis hammer, ns though lie were alrt^dy forcinf^ n door. " To Aldgatc, to Aldgate!" rang from mouth to month. And away rasbed the mob to complete chuir work* by drstruying the houM^ and property of the murdered Jew.
Jniriam stUl lay on the spfiC where she fell when her father wna torn from faer amu. The mob, in their hurry lo run ufT ttr Aldj^ie, hud takes no furtbiu- notice of her, and her situutiou wan unheeded by th» few |ieople wbo still lingered near the body. No Kooner was the en> tnoc« to his house sufficiently cleared, thno Gilbert Cornen-aile, iissisted by bis dmwers, cunveved the unfortiuuttc ^rl iuto bin house. " Whut thouufa »he irijre a Jrw<*»«i'" be kindly snid ; " she wiix xtill flesb and blood like binutetf. She bad done bravi^ly in risking her life to save Iter Eather, and 'tw&s a mercy she had nut suffered with him. He had a dauf;bt«r of his own ; but the hussey cared little for her old father, Bad went gadding about ivith that 8cn|K-gnicc, Osbert the fiilconer — bang him ! His dame would look to [iiior Miriam."
And where was Bouomye all thi^ time ? From the moment he re- flogniwil Kt-uU-n, he had viewed the whulc uruceediiig in speeclileat tutor, but it Will for bis vwu safety : and if another thought at uny timt divided the miser's attention, it was the remembrance uf hts lusC ibekelo. The appenrance of Miriam at lir^t led him to think that her htbvr might b« saved ; but he wiliieaaed the utfectiug exertiuux of the child to rescue ber miserable pnrent from death without emotion and without • tear. UUdly did Iiih heiirt beat when, by the death of Kvtlbeil and the retreat of the mob, be was relieved from all apprehen- doD for lum*elf, and atiw the road open for bis escape. As for the Uraager to whom be clung, be maintnined throughout the siime cold danManoor that bad marked him from the first; and Biinomye, who aavar for a moment tjniited bis hold of bim, did nut perceive that he WW In aoy degree atfected by the tragedy. He spoke nut, bis arm trembled nul,— be never changed hh place but when the sway of the cniwd compelled bim, — and altogether bud the air of oxie who contem- plated a scsne rendered indifferent to bim by habit-
Koiooner was tbenmd clear, than be resumed his former rapid pace, dragging the still trembling llonomye uluii^ with bim. Nor did the Jew bestow a thought upon the situation of Miriuin : be was too tcUull, tao aoxioua to get away, to wojtte a moment upon her. 1'h« airwiger wa« ailent untu be reached the bottom of the ttreet ; when he •liaerved,
" TbcM Londoacn arc a fierce set, Jew I Didst \tna\v the man tbcy have JiAflged f Thon wauldst have spiken, but that I checked thee." "Verily," loid Bonomye, " 1 knew him well. We met oft with the ihaagrri in Lombard-iitrect, and be owed me monies that I can ill tfmrt."
" What t money again, man ! Hast thou no other tbooeht but of iky gold ^ Say, do»t think the mta was iuiiocent? Ue looked nut Ukta nlgbl<bruwler or cut-throat''
" Ua wko knowetb all tbingn only cad tell," replied the Jew ; " I mold Mrt answer for any one. 'Ti* hard fur a iioor man to low ibM
ss
PICTIOXS OF TUB MIDDLE AGES.
wbicb it costn so much to (^t. Two hundred mnrlcs," said he, talking to himself, " two buodred, good tale and weight — truly I am a lui- senible inun !"
" Tiuih, mRo, vrith mark* ! Is it not harder for a guiltleu mmi to lose bis life than for a vile miser lilce thee to lose n. fiiw pivc««? I warrant a\v, they did him more good than would ever have come of them iri thy hitndit. Did not the girl beg nobly for her father? — S{>euki man !"
" Ay ! ypR ; you hpeak well. I had forpot ; they call her Miriam," Bttid Bouomye, arauiivd from auothi'r reverie »n hin loitt marks. " She h fair to look upon, but mcthougtjt Reuben lent too much unto her ru- nitieH ; he was but a poor man. Ho would oft speak of the craft of the Gent]le> and yet lent too ready an ear to every idle tale of want or misery ; and he clothed his daughter in costly stu^, sacb as are not for the women of out pt^oplo in the«e clnyit of sorrow. Mayhap, had fa« not yielded unto her wnrLdly dusireit he would ncit hnve Ixirrowed mr silver: two hundred — 'twiiH Wt a while since that he iKinght n goodly string of pearls from Adam of Shorcditch, the goldsmith, for the mniden to hind her hair. Verily, it grieved me to see so many brojd pieces cast away, that might have been out at nuance, to the profit of her father. If they Heize nut hh goods, thuHU pearls might repay me. — Kut. &tAy! will nut Alatttcr Albert wonder thut we tarry so long?"
" Truly, Jew," »aid the &tiaiiger, " thou url a mini oFitoue, and ac- cursed, for thou husl no heart : and as for Albert, he will wait thy coming and mine, tliouj^h it may he sooner than he wuiild."
" How say you ? Did you not tell me thut your errand was from him,— that he would speak with me about the monieji?"
" 'Twere better not to speak oo luud," replied his cotnpanioni " What I suid was tonuit my purj»o«e. We will talk mure of it on the bridge."
The bridge gate was now before ihom, — a tall, embattled tower, that cut olf all access to the bridge but through the arch in its centre, defended hy a portcullis, the grinning teeth nf which were visible be- ticatli the groove into which it slid, A lamp, su^^pended from the ruof of the passage, sbcd a feeble lighl for a fi-w paces ; and beyond all was durknesK, have the faint my that glimmered ihrou^^h the wesU'rii win- dow of the chapel of St. Thomoii on the centre of the bridge, proceed- ing from the taper thut burued before the altar. The place was di>- mul, gloomy, uud cold, for the wind swept keenly ucrostt the bridge, uod Bouomye, whuse fears wvrv oitee more ittvakened by the lost speed, of the silrauger, thought tlie fthuipmeut of the blasit was beyond iiiiytliing he had ever felt. X'he water, which could not be discerned for the fog, rippled heni'ily against the starlings, and a heavy mist was still falling. The Jew could not help thinking that his oon- ptnion, who now turned into one nf the angular projection;) of the fdatform, n few yardh ftum the chapi-l, had chosen a very uncomforta- ble spot tu converse in : he pulled hi« gulwrdine chwer around him, and iuiiuired, with a shiver, if thi-y had not better stand wore under the shelter of tbe chapel tiitie.
" No ; ftome of the doUtrda may be at their prayers and overhear us," said the stronger. " If thou art cold, man, take my cloak ; I need it not."
B«>nomye did not refu«e this olTer, and. uniHIed in its ample fohU, with his buck turned to the wind, he waited fur his companion to begin the conversation.
I
I
■
I
BONOHYS TUB USUHRR.
50
Ton owv Bucmiiijiru Mud ]ii« fru*i><lH twelve tltuuBRiid marks, Jvw, ^Mu I iieord frutn liiit uu-n Ups thin murciiiijj,— ^uid yuu kuow tiot Low lo retwy \h«ni : is it so?'
" Mont true ; but 1 tbought I ww to spenk with Sfuicr Albert him- aelf thereupon, or I "
" — Would not have l?ft liotne," answvred liix companion with a kush. " I give thee crtMlic, Jew ; but with Albeit you ouinut trvut, and Tou muat answer tne !"
*' boubtleiw I can rpjwy him, if Alo-ster Nir'mlas de Hiising "
" 1)o atl thv bop« re&t uu ' its,' uiaa ? Why. then, to end th«n, 1 tell tiiee, Baaing will not — usy, ouinot help tiieu; that thou host no ujie to trust in but d)C I"
" Friend," said Oouomje, summoninft up retolution, "youtpeakus kciomng all things. 1 do not despair uf Master Basing; but — but, if yuu can ttand me in his sleud, I niaj' not r«fu>« to tri-ut tvith you. AU ij«it, know you not——"
" You niu%t tie4it witli me, n-liatever my terms may hv, if you would mve yourself," s»td the titraoger, mth tlio ismcsti(.'«ring laugh. " Al- Ijcrt has thv Imnd in hiH keeping : wliat woiildst thou rink to obtHin poswit»i»n of it, and the means to satiafy the king.'"
Hooomye, man* and mure xtnrtled at the extent of hia «oinpaniun's knowledge and th«^ ti-uor uf htA convenutioD, was silent.
•' I would have thy answerj Jew."
" Though to regain my bond would serve me ntuch, I see not how it may be dune honestly," added nonomre, pausing.
"Dues Uunomye. the usurer, talk of honesty?" remarked the Htmngi-'r, u'itli the liiu^h th:it Uiu Jew disliked mi umcti. " IJnes he think he hiu any choxocter to luae^ Why, man, couldst Uiou heur what folks say of ihev, — imd somelliing thou must bare beard, — tliy speech would f(^ beof boueiity. They who know thee curse thee ; and tliey who do not, when tbey beiar others tell of thy ways, curse tou, and wuiidec th»t one so rile haa lived so long. — Honesty, forsooth I Hu I hal"
" Friend, I know not what you would bare nic do. I like not your speech; it savours of temptiilion."
" Well then, Jew, if ibou art so dull, keep thy honesty, and thy charity too, — fur tliuu bust a» much of the one as wf th« other. But, when the foreigner anktt his monies trf thee, and thou huat not wherewith to pay him, and the Royal leech would suck tbee t»o ; when thy tnle of poverty is derided ; when the tormentor la agonising thy rile liudy, and a horrid death itares tliee in the fuel-; try if thy boucsly cun soothe pain, or make dcntb less tt-rrihle. And if tbou fthouldst yet live, but m want, what will it do for thee? Alen will say as thon cniwlc^t uiung the street, 'See, that is Bonnmyo; he that was the rich, the hard-hearted usurer, who knew uu pity : is he not justly served ?' and thcv will spit on thee, uud thy honesty."
The Biranger had now renewed in Bonomye all his former fears, uud brought to hi» recollection oU the tliuUfiliLs that had »;;itiitod him in the utoriiiug. He stood irembtiug and irrt-solutc. He felt there was some Mniticr meaning beneath bis companion's words. He had a
Seseatiment of evil, and would have tied from it had he known how. itt thvre WKs the m»n stundirig darkly be/ore him like some malig- luint spirit, and thv Jl'w funcicd he eould see his eye*. Hash through the darkness. Below theui the river flowed sullenly aloog : he una but u
■,<ttftug .-^A-t^---
eo
FICTIONS OP THE MIDDLE AGES.
Tvenlc mnn, ilio struugi^r fttroni^ and oclive, — the parapet low,- imali wuulil HCnd him over. Bonomye could set- no hope of escapt-. And then his gold ; how was he to he siiwd from miserv t Ii was b terrible moment for the J*w. flretit wiw the mental slnigple ; de- spite the cold and ruin, the perNpiratidii fttood dd bit brow, ah teeth chattered, nnd his whole frame was shaken. He rcTolved again and a^^in the circumstances in which he wns placed, and " ^VIus !" suitb tlie Chronicle, " the small remuins of honesly and pood iiiient were di.spcnsed by tht- love of Mftmrnon." Hnnoniye inquired faintly what tht! tttratiger wouhl have him do.
" Hnrk you; Albert is mine uneiuy : he ib your creditor ; I would have revenge, you your Lwud, and," bending his head till the words fell on Buuuuiyu's ear in a tow whisper, " he must die, snd that tbia jiij^it."
Bonomye, whose Bjjitation had subsided into that specie* of despe- rate resolution which looks not to consequence*, wnd is always ereater in proportion to the indecision tlint precedes it, listened to tin* pro- piMtition withiiiit a khudder: he could scarcely believe that he was himself — the same man who, a few moments before, hiid tremblud at mere innnuationa. However, he did not reply.
" Ha* Bonomye's virtue ron(;iiered his love of gold and Ufc ?" in- quired the stranger with ii HReer.
*' Can we escape withuut KUHj>icivu ?"
" 1 will conduct thee back to thy dwelliBC.'*
• « a «
The next morning, Albert de Boccanigro was found murdered in luT house in Southw)irk. By hia side was Bonomye, the Jew: in one hand he still held the knife with which he had etfected the deed ; the other gruspeili his bund, which he hud taken from Alb^t's chest, that lay open on the liuur : and there were M^'eral bags of money near bio, prepared for removal.
He aat in a state of sturwr, with his eyes fixed on the atrptie of the merchant ; and when sciiteu and inlerrogated respecting the matter, he laughed wildly, and could ntter nothing bnt " Sathan, Sathan!"
The story coming to the kicjg's ears, he sent brother Simon of St. Se* pulchre'a, a very holy man, to viut the Jew in Newgate, whose piuoa prayers had tlie ctTect of restoring him to sense ; when he made known unto the friar the history of his connexion with the Htranger, — how he had yielded to temptation, and that, having by his means entered Al- bert's house, he stubbed him. Nu sooner had he done bo, than his companion discovered himself to be the devil ; mocked him, upbraided him with his hard-heartednesa ; reminded him of his insensibihty to the fate of Reuben and his daughter ; told him that his initjuitiea had deli- vered him into his po^ver ; imprinted the mark of hU linger on hi» fur«< head, where a dark black spot was still visible, and diaupprared he knew not how : that he had found himself unable to leave the house, or even to quit the body, by which he sat until found there in th« morning.
The Jew, npon this, being brought before the king, " with whom," Bays the Chronicle, "were many bishops and noble men of the realm, (Ua th«re relate the same tale unto all nrewnt, who heard it with xauch aniAse and wonderment, acknowl(.-43giiig the wisdom and judg- ment of God made evident therein. And, after a few d^js, the sotd Bonomye breathed forth liia wicked muI amid luexpresaibte tvrmeuts-"
TUE WILLOW PATTERN.
61
The oini»)on of tlie Clironicler in not inforuiiug us of tTie niiiTiTi« af tlie Jew's death i» laclcilv supplied by aii entry oti ilm Fine Roll of the 48th year of Henry the 'i'hird, memhmne 7. the traiulutioii of which is u follows :—~
" William de Walworth has made a tine with the Lnrd the Kins', by fifty marks, to have the hotue nnd tenement in niilk-«treet, London, which was formerly the property of Bonomye, the Mn of Cres«e the Jev, but now in tht king's hands, us his escheat, by reason of the Mony of the sitid Bonomye, who. at the instigation of the devil, did lately »lay Albert the Lombard, in Souihwnrk, for which the Mid Bouumya was burned in the Clieap. And the King's Kscheator in Loudon is cmnaianded to give the mme William pussebition uf the aaid booM and teuement."
A TRUE HISTORY OF THE CELEBRATED
WEDGEWOOD HIEROGLYPH, COMiMONLY CALLED
THE WILLOW PATTERN.
BT MAHK LBMON.
WITH * PLAie.
If* the reign of the Emperor Po (who wa« nearly as long as his name), tbe ffreat philosopher Fum, by the introduction of the doc- trine of raetem psychosis, had set nearly all the pigtails in the Celes- tial Empire "bolt upright," — Nature hnvinn devised this form of vxpresnon foe a surprised Chitiese. Never waa tiatuiusbmeut ao ge- ncraL Wherever ycm turned,
'* Some g;ncefiii pi^il poinled lo the skies."
It waa Mily to be «<]ualled by the delight occasioned by the new doctrine. Death was now no lonj^er a thing of terrors; but every child of the sun looked forward with joyous anticipation to the timv whoi he sboold
** Soar the air, or swim the deep, Or o'er the sephalica ciwp."
Thv f««r was not that they must die, but that they mig/it not. So mxioua, indeed, were many for this transmigration, that, anticipat- mg dcsih, they insisted upon being something else.
Hing-fing, principal tenor to the emperor, fell from the shingleil roof of his dwelling, snd, becoming impaled on the point of his tail, oonedvrd himself * humming-bird, and would not 1«? quieted. Ti-di, the grratest dandy inside of the greatest wall in the untversej rtrut- ted down the principal street of Kou*ioo with a water-melon on his nn, which some miitohievous urchin had attached tu it during his nma. Ti-di was ulwayu so occupied with thoughts uf hiiuf^elf, that at any time the nyings and doings of the rest of the world never five him the Least concern. It is therefore nut niach to be wandered U, that when his brain was being bandied about between self-love aod the new doctrine, tbe jukes and gibe^ of Ute Uugbing people of Vvm-\oQ should have been for a long time unregarded, Wlien he did perceive their merriment, and the cause thereof, be neither
6e
fninUtl, nor swore, nor ran away, nor ditl anytKinj; else that a Chnju liiiii fno] would ^iHvo <lonp. No: he wru Mttisliet) thnt he hail ilie<l without hein^ aware of it, ant] was nnw a cockatoo of the first feather. Under this imjire-wiion, he presented himself to the em- peror, and it was not until the bamboo had been lihtrnlly awarded that he was ronvinccd that he had fed, and not talons. Si>lung, n fulsome Hatterer, discovered that he was a creeping thin;; ; Tri-tri, an old cnurtcKan, became « spider; and Nic-quic, a lawyer, was caiivcrted tntn a vnlture by the force of imagination, and a devout b&licf ill Uie new dottriiiu.
Such wa* the state of things in tiie C-L-lestial Kmjiire of the mighty Fo, produced by the eluqueuve uf the philosupher Fum, when our " true history " begins.
.^Ocutle reader,* ring the bell, and deuirc John to bring you a " tvithw pattern piate," John has obeyed you. and, with your per- mission, we will now proceed-^
On the banks of the Iwaiitiful lake FIo-slo (see plate) stood the ouu of-town reNidcnce of C'biiu>cliu. a wealthy dealer in arcca-nuu and betel. — I had written thus far, when, conscious of mv own inability to do justice to this pan of my narrative, I procured the oftsisUince of a friend. I trust the rtyle will betray the author, for his modesty would not allow me to publish his name. He writes ttius :
" TBlf BINOUI-AKr.Y KLIOIULB PRorKBTV,
which was for a letvgthened i>eri<Kl
TSB ADMiKKD ABOiiK OF cuot'-rHt;, vendor ot areca-n»t» and bete),
Ftands on the margin of that
LOVKLY LAKK, — TH K HLO-fLO, which, from its waters, colourless and pale as the
which float* upon them, might be called
A GALAXY, OR MILKV-WAT :
a particular desideratum in this land often.
The residence itself is of an extraordinary character,
being two e-roBiBB hiuu, with a
rOBTICD
of lofty prctensiona, the ascent to which ia by a flight of steps of the mo»t curious
Z10>ZAO
construction. A bow-window, admirably situated
for KISUINCl, UATUIKC. OR BLTCIDU, overhangs the lake. The armngement uf the grounds hiu
"TASKIi THK IKGKNI.ITY OV MAV," {Hophwlcs).
The principal walk ik interxected by oil " IS AND out" FRNCB,
for whicli no reason can at present l>e given ; but an inquiring mind nuiiit derive enjoyment from the pursuit of the divcoverv of its utility. The trees and shrubs arc rahk and valuable. T)ie PUD- DiNO-TRKit of LinntEUK overlungs the house (tec fi/n/r) : an in vain- able acquisition to a purchaser with A lahab pamily op smai,l cuiLDBKN, a« that delicious compound will be always rkauy for the
* Tlie liiiinmir fif anjrjaT this tkeuli will be hotter undentood i/ tLe aborr TC>q(iiw(iiw bv n>ui(Ji«il wiUi.
THE W1U.0W PATTEBN.
63
I
I
I
table. Nor is thiit the only Advantage to the married ribii. Immtv dtatvlf in fmnt, and in close proximity to the nchskby wiiiiluw, grows th*r bkti:la, or bihcu, wlio»e usetiilnetifi needs no coiuuiendii- tion troni the liiimble I'ndividujil who pens this feeble aiirnounceniegit. Among Mime iirlilicinl rocks, a» (lOOn ah rkai,, are two rich speci- Toena of the PYROTRO.iiNir AHBOR, or the natural Cathrrine- wheel and 6z~gig (see plate), sfl celebrated in all books on the abt or KAKINC ptRKWOKKs, in the manufacture of which the Chin e»e so pre-cminci)tly excel. The residence i« connected by a BRiuot; with the domain. There is
AL90
a peculiarity about this pmnerty unattainable by any other: its PxuseiAN-BLrii l-omflrmon] — an advantage wliich may mit at firxt itrilcc the cusujd ubM^rver, but which to the deeply thouglilful pre- tenta an opportuuity nevtr to he met with : for, by a moderate ad- mixture of gamboge, it miglit be made a second
YCKIJ-mX-YtlKU, OR GARDEN OP PKKrKTUAL VKHOLmB. This brief statement must con%'ey but a very vajjue idea of thi* e]y- aium ; and there is one feature which it wmdd !>« prcsiiniptuous to detcr'Ate, — a feature which has piven it celebrity as undying aa that of the Stafkobi>shirb Pottebies :
This ffatiire id it« WILLOW!!! (Hoepfate.) ' TTie force of laog:ua2e can no farther go.' *' Carda to view. &c'*
Now put this in the past tenae, and yoti have a faint picture of the oui-of-towu residence of Chou-chu, vender of arcca-nutu and betel, in the reigns of the Emperor Fn find the Philosopher Kum.
Chou-chu, in addition to his other desirable comnioditiei, had a diughter " pasaing fayr^r' '■ '"- parlicularly fat, for Chin.imen love by «ns;ht and measure. She was a prrj'rcf beauty, resembling a feiu tber-brd triiltotif a string round the luiddle, — a celestial globe, — lite- nllT a whule domestic circle in her^lf. Su much iuvclinesg necen- urily produced a multitude uf aigbing swains, and Chou-chu had SBTJous ihoughti of abandoning the nut and betel biisines^i, and exist- □m entirely on the munificent presents to bis mi^ilicent daughter.
8i-BO (for that was the given name uf ^liss CHiou-chu) had, like ether beauties, some very preposterous i(lra.4, and one ul them was a Mtppoaitiun that the knew better than her excellent pajwi Uie niiut who was most likely to auit her for u hu^ibanH. L'nder this inipre»< lifm, (he might have been nightly seen watching, like another Ilcro, the proaresa of a celestial Leander (in a boat) across the Slivtlo. A« the bark drew near the shore, the night-wind bore the indistinct iamg-miiir of a guitar. Delicious instrument I especially as con- ilnuned in China. Thrc% strings tightly ^trained over a mlUblown bladder atblchcd tn a cane, constitute this ronianiic apiR-ndagc to the MrcnAdcrs of the Celestial Kmpire. Ting-a-ting(Si-MJs leander) WW one of the swvetci^l minstrels in Fou-loo ; but being profoundly It of tliuse struighi'tailed commas by which sound is made TiiiUe. I taiinot convey to you the melody to which the following MaBU was originally sung. The Uiou|;hts are beautifully expressed in (be orii^iiiar, but, at is generally the case, have suffered mucii in tfcc tnualation.
64
THE WILLOW PATTERN
CE-RA-NA.-riE.
( Original.)
" O-fcye-wi-leSlo-flo Ic om-io mi Si-so
Sha ttin-yc ni-lin-ga le-s-ong-in ye-gro-fe Op-inye-lat-ti-ce H^-re me-o Tha-iis I-fu-ia wa-kei-f no-iwa-Ven mi-lofe."
(Trmilati«n.)
*• O'er llie whili? S!o-flo 1 comi; IQ tny Si-so,
Sbamio^ llie mglitingnlt?'* nong id tlw grore.
Opeo ihe lattice.
Ilpar me — oh ! that in, If you 'xe awake: If nol, wakeo, my love"
Sucti was tlie ni^^htly song oi' TinK-a-tiri^ ! — a fittinj; prelude to that deliKhtful interchange uf soul that followed, rendered doubly deliglitrul by the knowledge that it was the forbidden fruit of their young loves.
"ITie courw of ime lo«e never did run smooth"
ia Europe ; and in Asia it has the same disposition to vagarieB. These hours of deep delight could not last for ever. One night Cbou-chu had the cholic, and coultl not sleep. H« rallnl over and over on his bed, in the vain hope of finding a renting-place. At length, exhausted by pnin, he dozed ; when the dulcet note» of Ting- s-ting's kitar roused hini. Tlie lattice of Sl-so'a chamber wanted oil, and as the fond girl obeyed the injunction of her lover, it squeaked. Chou^chu describeu an angle, that it), he aat upright in his bed. Something waa thrown from above to somebodv below. Smack ! smack ! — somebody was kitising the something. It was a bunch of green-ten sprigs* thrown down by Si-so, to show that she ■was awake. A slight rustling against the wall Assured Chon-chu that nfiopf was receiving a reply from hflow. It waa the branch of an ire-plant drawn up bv a thread, by which Si-so learned that her lover was very cold. I'hc reply waa a capsicum, implying that extremes meet, for Si-so was very hot with apprehension, for she fancied thut she heard the shutlfing of her fatht-r'a slippers. It was but the pattering of the rain on the shinglef. Ting-a-ting put up M his umbrellii, — spatter, spatter! Chou-cnu was convinced that all S waa not riglit- Another twinge of the choHc aroused the spirit of inquiry within him. He arose, and tied his tall In a knot, that the rustle of its pendulatinns on his brocailed gown shoiihl not be hear<], and with cnutioiis and noi^elcsa steps proceedeil to the chamber of hii daughter. His hand was on the bobbin which raitetl the latch, when a report like infant thunder made him start back in terror. The rain had then rendered the planks of Ting-e-ting's boat as alip- fiery as glass, and he had fallen on the bladder of his kitAr. Id a moment Chnu-chu's disorder changed its character : he became choleric, and rushing into the room, ne saw — But, like the modest painter of Greece, let me draw a veil over this part of the picture.
* In tht £a«t, Aowen, &£. \tt flft«n jutsted InM th« MThce ttf the immorul little boy l^yre, and fonn a language "»wwt m the UiaugliU dwy icU."
I
CUPID AND THE ROSE.
65
Time passed, am! Chuii-cliu, w-tBely considering that to find Si-so « husband woulii re!eaiie him from tlic c»tv of looking aiYer her, had tM.'lrct4r^l our from anion^ the richcsl oflicr suitors. But Chou- chu wft« mortal, and hif; ht>|>M were vatn ; for Lovi*, ever rich in eipedKnt-i, had conducted Ting.a-ting within hearinj; of the vlo qoenoe of Fum and the new doctrine. His tail was exaltn), and lie liiMlMi a Funiitc. In the disguise of a pipe-merchant, he ha<l uh- tained an interview with his treluved Si-so ; unci having found an
Siportunity to dilute upon the pk>asurej of trsnsmi^netion, he had e f^ratiticjition of seeing the two little curln on each side of her heaul break from tlieir gummy bondage, and yield spiral evidence of her coiivcrfcion to KinniKiu. ■ The happy day (an a bridal-day is facetiously called) at k-ngth ' arrived, and all, except the bride, prepared for the pleasing citc- mony, when, lo ! the presumptuous Ting-a-tinn made his appear- ance. The bridegroom elect turned yellow, ('hou-chu Huctuuted between that colour and green, ami tbe re«t of theCek-itliiiU present
t looked a* though tliey had taken the benefit of the act, and had been whitewanhed. Ere any rmitd lind words to express their indigiuj. tion at this intrusion, Si-so had rushed towards her lover, who, kneeling, transfixed her with hi^ tail, and " buried a dufrper in his own henrt." Amnnement fur a while blinded the ^pect/itor^i, and wbea they did recover their perceptive facuhies, the bodies of Si-ao and Ting-a-ting lia^l diiiapneared ; but perched upon tlie sill of the window were two doves uf extraordinary dimcniiion.s.
Chou-chu ficd in cuublernation, followed by the bridcyroum and hla £ilher (sev ntale). Fuminni had proved the divinity <}!' its origin : for the foidil'iil pair had been traiuifurmed into tiiuKv emblems of tore and gentleness which have so lung occupied »uch a cuiiapicuoua pocitjoti in the celebrated Wedgeuood hieroglyph, commonly coiled " Tlie Willow Pattern.' (See plate.)
CUPID AND THE ROSE.
Whiihik, lijiirly llOJ of lore.
An ihou wantl<.'iitig like a tluvc, Seekiiia in rairh |;cuv« nxu\ Oell Some mir forni oa which lo dwell ! [lilbrr bic, aiitl fondly tip A jiartini; dew-drop from my lip, LJpgtfriiig in my morning cup, Ere micy E'hvbos drink it up.
Too ihinty roe I — this dew of thine, Sw«et Row, is moil ddicioui mrie ; So apitkling npe, m fre«ly givvn, VimiiK« o( momirii;** "'*? Iwavon. Ah ne ! wodM soch but flow far crer,
I '.i Iravr thc«> I^ave Ibnr, love? Oh, never I
Ai n i», the veuel '.i empty, —
I 'm ofT— good-b'ye — I Ve had > plenty
_J =
66
THE THRER SISTERS. A ROMANCE OF REAL LIFE.
I WAS at Berne on a rery pmticutar occamon — n very particu* Ur one indeed, so that I cannot htip remembering it What olyeet other than miixt Iravellen in SwiUcrL-ind have, dn yon suppose Jed me there? To see the view from thv ttrrMce ? No ! To save yoit the trouble of any more gnewieft, I will iit once come to the point, and wy, that I went to the capital of the Canton to — be married. As the car drew up to the door ol" the mini^^cr — I do not mean the divine,— I found before it a Ta«t crowd of the citixen*. who, with shntita snd hisses, were dragging alonjj; two persons, both young, and one vcrr hundxmnc — a boy and girl, I might almo^ call them; 1 tell you no fiction, — to be yoked together, whether they would or not. Your astonishment will be still greater when you hear that they were our com|i>»triou. There is something about English people that cannot be mistaken ; it ia not the costume, thouf^h that is something, but Uieyare a finer race, an improved stock, improved as all the ani- mal world has been with uh, either by climate or croRsing the breed. Ask the foreigners what lliev think of our women ; they, at lea»t, are inipiu-tinl judges. A i-'lorfntine uf my acuuaintance, ou his rrturn from England to his native city, was asked his opinion of them as compared with his own countrywomen, and he answered, " The mrae ilitference as exists between a lady and a payfamnr, bot- houM grapes and our coarsest raugh onet^." !le was a man uf taste.
The delicate yoting girl who. M-ith downcast eyes and blushing cheek, was pressed along by the crowd, seemed a liviiig exeniuli- fication of the Florentine's remark. Don't be afraid th«t I am going to describe her; nothing is more diffiiiilt to define ihjm beauty^it must be felt. It certainly s«-lriiy imaj^inalionat work,— that is to say, 1 wondered what this stfongc scene could mean. We were shown into a room, till the ceremony — the wedding — was conclodrd ; and then came our turn. After tJie conclusion of that formidablf nffaJr, I waa not a little curious to be informeil in what alt this po|iular clamour I had wittieaHed had originated, and the representative of our wvercign told me the following story ; a romance of real life
"About three months since," said the minister, "there came to settle at this capital, three sisters, orphans. I had ofYen observed them in my walk^, and, on inquiry, learnt that they were, or pa.'^sed for, the naturnl daughters of one of our royal dukes. So beautiful were they, and vft all diflering in beauty, th.it they might almost have sat to Cinova for the GraccH. Like Fii^, though hv lut» somewhat violated thu mytliology of the Greeks und clau&ical aulliority by mo- delling them of unequal heights, these sisters three were so unlike in stature and physiognomy* that no one could have gues-^ed their relationship.
"Adelaide was by several years the eldest. Her figure, tall and commanding, aud of perfect symmetry, exemplified the expression of Virgil, Incedil Jle^ina. There was a pride, a haughtiness, in her look, in her step, in her every gesture, that bespoke her origin ; a svnse, too, of superiority of intellect, if not of beauty, tiiat rai»e<l her above the crowd. She was a brunette, and the paleness of her
I
i
I
THE THREE SISTERS.
*
*
*
cTiPck and clciimws of hvr complexion mnindetl mt? of an TtitiMi : tliestf she mhmtwl, I have uihIptkIhixI, t'roiii 1i»t minln^r, wlio vrugof llint nation. Her <)ark hair, which hung in lonf; rinj^ieU down to her (hoiilder. »^ off to advant^c her eyes, that tlirough their long Ushea djirte<l glances of fire. lYi my tnstc, she waa, however, rather made to admire thun love, and I should doubt whether so tender a nusion had cverentered her bosam. — Vtrt. no her Birterfi. The second, Eugenia, wan half a bead shorter than Adelaide: it was the lo^'etv creature who has lust excited your ciiriosity and interest. You will have perceived tnat she is not unlike the pictures of the Princess Charlotte, as I remember to hiive seen her, a year before her mar- riage: the same regularity of features and cast of countenance, the same fuUnc&s of thv eye even tu the colour, was observable in l>oth. You miglit have remarked, as she walked, her hands and feet, which were mignonne to a decree. — The third wiis still lesH than the other two; she wai what the Tusc^ms call piccinim, a diminu- tive that expresws endearment. She seenjed ma<le to be lutoyi-'d.
"They crame to Berne without sny introductions; »nu it waa interesting to sec threw girlit, the eldest not lwcnty-thr«, entirely withi'ut ]iriitectiun in u turcign laud. I was uot the only one of our countrymen, an you shall bear, who ob«erved and admired them.
" Amonf; their adorers was one ahnost a boT> ami neither remark- able for bis appearance, bis family, or his acquirements. liis name- but no matter, perliMns it woulrl he n» well to omit it. For some days he was their xhadow ; he crosseil their patli, he haunted them in their wnlks, be placed himNelf at ttie comer of the »tteet, ami watched, by the hour, the windows of their a|>artmeiiti tn the hope of getting a glim[>se of Bugenia, the lady of hit love, or rather paision.
" \Vc know what nria of eighteen are who have not seen much of the world or of mankind, espi'cially snch as have nt-rer had an at- tachment. Hnw natural is it fur one who think.4 hcr«elf loved, to love in return ! and how soon st that a^e docs she learn to read ibrniigh the glance of the eye, the iieart ! — I shall «iy nothing of sym- pathy. iMinc id a plain unvarnished narrative, though it is some- what a new version of the NouvcHe Hi'lnVMt, — I speak of the first volume, — and perhaps the hero of this Lile had read that dangerous work — pprhnpn hislcrttprs were conicB of' those thoughts thjit plow und words that burn ;" at all events, he profited by St. Preiix's lessons. And she — poor Julia! — But I have not the mutcriaU for tracing the process uf his acquaintance with thi? lovely and innoeciii girl, or by what couDfe of seduction he practised on her young imagination.
■* There is something in the lur of Switrerland, in the primitive manners of it« people, in the freedom of intifrcourse among its inha- bitants, that place* society cm an easier fuotiiig there, than in any other pari of the Continent. In traversing that country, in meeting ut the game inns, in crossing the same mountain parses, travellers Boon become, if not intimate, at leant well accjuainted, and shake olT the more^ne and hnttrtir which is peculiar to us islanders. In the course of the summer, the three Omce.> made an excursion to Inter- laken, and of ctiurse imr inamorato, like a Nymplulept, followed their stepK. At Tliuii they embarked in the same biiat, and on reaching IJnterseen went to the same pennon.
r 2
THE THREE StSTBRS.
" WIiBt « delicious green valley is tliat which lies between the two lakes, (^^illl the bright blue Aar runninf; through it ami connecting them,) — Ua inaRnihcent wjilnut-treei, and cottvj^s thwt so well hxr- monize with th«t scciie nl'iiiirpKssiiig beauty! And then tho Itjtnx des Vaches, thoM^' wild and nnttinil iiirit ho itdmirnbly 'ung, im> elective when hiiriunnized to the clear and i>iU'er voices of the pcaaant^firta in their picturesque costumes, to complete the enchantment. If any ipot on earth could uwakon in young heart:) the sacred flame of love, it would be there; — sacred I call it, for it ^ves birth to the l>e.st, and noblest, and most religious feeling« in virtuous minds. Alan I «uch waH not that of the young man of whom I apeak.
" In the character of Adelaide, mioigltid none of ttic tenderer fccliap that might have i-iideurvd her Cu her ^iisterfi. She was in^tensible to oU ibe weaknesses of her hex., and begat tiuiiv of that confidence or openness of heart that nii^ht have made her a fit (cuardi.in, and friend, and protectress of iier sisters. They rather feared and od- miredi than loved her; there wa» none of the tendcrnewi of affection in their iiitemnirac, and having brought them «p from children, dhe continueti to treat them a* such, though they were grown into womanhood. ^M
" It was this coldn»s and r*9Cr*'c that proved so fatal to both. ^| " Pr iud in her own virtue, she not even for a moment harboured a thought that that of her sinters could be endangered, und wiw blind to tliohe attentioHH which tlic facility of beinfr under tlic !>ame roof. Dp meeting at the same table, and joining in the same walks, enabled tile cold and calculating m-'ducer to pay to Eugenia.
" They extended their tour to Lauterbrunnen, and cronaed tofrether the W'engern Alp. What opportunitii'8 for carrying hit iie£uiMU acheme into eflcct !
" It is fcnrcelv more than a week or ten days since the party re- turned from their excursion.
" Adelaide Jiad very soon sounded the depth, or rather shallow- nes", vf thiH young man's umlerbtanding, She found him empty and viun, and, to her mind, in every way unprepossessing, and was little aware thai her sinter'* young aflectiuns were deeply and irre- vocably engaged. Perhaps he wore a mask bel'ore her, and was con- stanlly on his guard not to betray his feelings. Such duplicity in one so young may astonish, but he waa quite capable of practisinj^ iheso arts. Kven had he expressed his admiration of Eugenia with- out diHgui&r, instead of encouraging his addresses, she would have spumetl them, nnd thought it the extreme of arrogance in him to have a£]i!red to an alliance witli her funiilv. It was only, therefore, by Btealth that the lovers met ; for Adelaide never admitted him into her hou»e. and greeted him with cold formality ; yet meet they did. It was in one of these stolen interview!) that he {minted, doubt- less in the moat glowing colours, the delights of mutual aifection in aonie Alpine solitude, where, the world ' forgetting and forgot/ lliey could love and live for each otlier ; a vision so fascinating, so apt to act like a spell upon a young, a trusting, and unsophisticated heart. Perhaps she never rendered it necessary iVir hiui to dilate on the futility of those ties that the world recognises ; she knew her siater'a scntimcnt« too well to venture on confiding to her the secret that had long been the companion of her bosom, — she feared to lone for ever the object of her tendercst regard ; and in an evil hour,
TUB THRE£ SISTERS.
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thou/thtles« of the consequences, blinded liy pa«sion, and thinking no ucrifice too jjrcai to nhow the exmsti of her devotion, thv threw herself into hi:4 arin«, «n<l ronfirled her destinv to his care,
" Lea\-in{; the untortuimIeji[irl aiid her i^uHty paramour to pumue their jcmrney to Lauaonnc, I now arrive at a more serious act of ibis drama.
" I hftve Eiven you some idea of the character of Adelaide, but the darker side ir yet iindepicted.
" Morning brought with it the revelation of the fujfirive's elope- ment;— the unfilciil-in bed — thu vacant chamber — the lialf-un- clo«ed door, through which, with »teps that left no cchn, she butl fl*d at the hour of midnight. The recollection, now too late, of many circumstances, vlight in themselves, yet which, put together, became omelusive evidence, — but, above all, tetters which, in her haate and preoccupation of mind, Eugenia had lell behind, — were convictions ' clear as Holy Writ' of a siater'a ruin, and her own dis- grace and shame.
" The last scene of the tragedy is now to come. And here we find it difficult to reconcile the firmness of Adelaide's first resolve, with the weaknesa that she exhibited in its execution.
"It is melancholy to reflect that .^he had no friend whom she could oonstilt, and her pride revolted Hi;ainst lietraying to a stranger the event thai liuil taken place. The idea of tirini;iiig the ufffnihir to juatice never uccurreil to tier mind : the irrevowible deed was done, ttie itain upon her honour could not be wiped out, her siBter'a wrong" B<lmitted of no re|>nration ; — a conecioiisnesB, too, that part I7f the blame recoiled on hersetf, that she had neglected those pre- -4BUtions which, us a guardian and protectress, she ought to have ^idopted ; and, perhaps, u feeling that she hud alienated and estranged {fogenia'a affections — that her culdness and reserve had prevented that ^ftaifchemenl dc caur, which, thniugh the medium uf the affec- tion*, might have prevented tbt^ fatal occurrence ;— all iheM coniii- deratiun* tortured her soul to frenzy. She had no religion to call to her aid ; and on the evening of that day of aaony, *hc resolved on-~ ■elf-dcstruction. But that resolve, however cnminal in itself, was ren- dered doubly so. Horrible to say, by her persuading, or rather com. manding, — mr ever^ word of hera rrvi.t a command, — her sinter Agnea, the most perfect angel ever shrined in a human form, so innocent, so yuung, so full of the enjoyment of life, so capable of bestowing happi- neas im others, wax wrought iijxm to involve herself in the same fiite! N'o stronger proof can be wanting to show the power this cold and ■«tfis)i woman had acquired, than the acquiescence of this amiable thilil in lh«I ino«l cruel resolution. Who win lell by what Ihreuts if entmtie* failed, by wh«t arguments, by whnl sophiktiis, she over- otnir that rintur«l reluctance the little creature muBt have felt to p;irt With her ' dear anxious being,' — to quit a world just opening to her with all it* delights? The mind iiick<-n4 ut the thought of the horror with which ith* must have contemplated the grave; and her fortitude, too, — such Ibrtitude, and such gentlcncsa ! The sublimity «f human nature could go no further.
"The dreadful hour fixed for the pernetraiiun of this deed whhout name hod arrived. Hand in hand, tne»e ciaters — sisters but is name, were w^n to trend the |Milh that led to the Aar. The rim; bltM u that of the Khonc ut (iencva, lushes with great Jm*
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TUB THREE SISTEflS.
]tMuoa)ly in > continiuition nf fiUls for some miles brkiw the town ; M cliW U It, that iu trcuclii;roU8 depth reveaU every peliblr, and nukes it aiipew shallow to lui uiiacciifitamed eye. The spot to whii:ii tbi* iiiratunt(.-d vromaa coiiducti-U Agitrs was fringed uitli nl- d«r», under whose bhade, for it wa« thi-ir almost daily walk, itury hail often »at and vketrhed. Among their other uccoiuplisbmentSt in thta they partictdarly Fxcellrd.
" No ere but one and I^li< nbovtr, witnessed the dreadful act I am about to relotr : tJiat one wit» Adelaide's.
" It \n im)MM»ible to know whether the child on whose untimely (ate ninny a tear has been tihcd — and I have inyseir wept like a child — vuhintarily threw herself into the torrent, or whether, a> •onie suppose, ^e wan putuhed off the bank; but it is an extra* ordiiLAry circumstance, and may well excite doubt and suspicion, that she who counselled the crime iUiould not have Bet the example, or, at least, phinped with her Hibtcr into the stream. CertJtin, how- ever, it is, thai aAer she had »ci-n Agnes eink to ritie no more, wlie- tlier the sight of her strug^k-fi with tiie luercilces clement, or the sound of her scrcaius wliich brought a peasant to thcB)K)t, unnerved her mind, or the dread of death, on the eve of ru&bing iutu it« arms, overcame her resolution, she was found by the/wyrair, stariog with a stupid and vacant insensibility on the gulf. In this «tate she was le<l to her house, and a few linurs after, the lifeless corpse of her unhappy victim was coiiftigned to it« IsHt home.
" What muHt the panga of dcAth in all ibi bitterness be, compared to tlie torments of the soul litis fiend in human ahape must be en- during !
" The fury of the populace was to great, that it wns unsafv for her la remain in Bei-no; uiid, after her sister'* funersi, she set nut for Rome, where, hi'irig u (lallinlie, it is her intention to enter into one of the strictcKt ciin\ enU ami to take the veil. Let us hope that, by true prnitence and deep contritiun for her ain, she may make Iter peace with God t"
• ■••••
*' But." said I alUr a pause, and when I lind Eumewhat recovered tVom the emotion which ihi* tragic story excited, "we arc not yt't arrived nt the cause of all tlie disturbance llmi delayed my mar- riMttv. It i« a melancholy story to tell an such an occasion, and may well throw A cloud over the day : I cannot help considering it a bad mnen of my own future happiiie»s,"
" I am no believer in present! mcnti," remarked the minister. •* A» to the tale, I hare liitle to add. After an absence of a very few ihy*. the liearile&s villain who waa the cause of this domestic tragedy brought buck lus bride, meaning to liave returned her to hor aisleri! — to have abandoned lier to her shame. Hk had rifled the flower of ila sweets, and then would liave cast it like a worthless weed away. But his arrival in the town wa<> no sooner known, llian the g(*ud {>enp]e of the place iinniediately surrounded the hotel, and i^fiigged him through the streets to the Gmba-ssy ; when n dread to ntt'el the face nf the tirtuous inhabiloiitH uf llernc, without doing jus- Xiiv 111 Kujicnia, « sense of sliame, and my just reproaches and re- yiuu nirnd.it iun, caused him with an ill grace to lead her to the WW'
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POETICAL EPISTLE FROM FATHER PROUT TO BOZ.
A am M£ 1 ft rhjfDf I ftoai a dUtant dime,— frviit llii> gulpli of the Uenoese ;
O'er Uic luggcil scalpi of tliv Julian AIub, flear lloz ! 1 itiid you iliocc, [To Itfchl thi- Wtfk your caiti)lt«Iick liotiU up, or, iihoiilrj you lisl, ^Td tulivt io Uw <raro you ipin couEc-ruiDij Olimr Twist.
IT.
tBmaue ippbute you 've g^iincd, oh. Box I ihroudi rontJn«ntnl Europe;
You *l! DnK« I'ickwick <rctiiiii.-tiic)c ;* of rumn yau nave a sure hope : kfor bere your books ara faund, tiadzooks ! in srealer ttm ihnn any film ba*« Luucd yet, hutprt»a'd or (ret, from di? types of OalicmahI.
111.
Itwt Bertlier when yon sport yoiir pen, oh, potent mirlh-conipeller ! \^ inning our lieani " in monthly puiu," can Pirkivirk or Sam WelliM- CauK us (o nerp widi pnlboa Jmef, or abftke with lauj^h spjsniodical, A* whtn you dnin yoar c<^ioDS tein for Bentley'it ]>i;nodi€al.
PoOcs all enjoy your Parish Boy,— so truly yon depict liim : ^ 9ut I, alack I whil« thus you (rack your stiiiied pooi'law'g victiCD, ) klusi think of wmc poor ucarrr homr,— poor who, unhccd<^, perish, >Sy Kjuiria Uu^ilva, by " pauioia" gulled, — I iDeaa ilie surviEjg Irish.
T.
In there 't no dtanli uf Irish inirtli, ithicti, lo a mind otfccVm^, ranvih lo b« tlie Helot's Ktc« before lh« Sparlau reeling ; icb {loony UioD^hl o'ercomctb not ihv glow of Kiigland's humour, ~ ric* happy ijle I long may the smile of genuine joy illume her !
Write on, ywingoge! lUU o'er the pepe poor forth Uie Hood of Tandy ; Wai tiill more droll, m«L> o'er the luuL Wii's mtiid ul ncL-romunny. Bfkold I e'en now aruund your brow th' immoitiil Uutel thickens; TcB,&wifi or SttaxE might gladly learn a thing or two from Dickcks.
VIT. Ajmt I a rliyme 1 from a distant dime, — a song Uoia the auuny wutli t I A goodly ihente, lo Om but d«fni tli« mrajuie not uocoutli. ^mld, fiir ihv sake, thai " Pkovt " could mukv his buw in fiuliion finer^ " Partcmf* {ntm tbevj " {wui la Syrie," for Uiuece luid Asia Minor.
* titwXiN' Tift yit fMcaufMrTt.
« ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
(NOT SMAKSPEARE*S !)
BT JOYCB JOOtTND.
■< I AM (}uitr vom out. uid worrieO to death ! Mr esUtence 19 one tiBvuied cvuneof bftti luck — nottunc profpen witn uicT
Th«* words, KJ exprv»sv« of ai!^x>lltent. were nddrvseed bv IMshMxd Brigga to hU bosom-fnend Jack Sotnert. during a atroll ihTBlnh thnr native t-ilUgr. while wutinit the arrival of the stage which Wan to conrey Jack to Ixmdon. No pprsoni could be more diMitttilar th«n llie two friend* ; Brigg» all di^satiifaclion and Com- pUtnl, Smtifra ever ^ootUhiimoured and contented. The former, •omctvhat envious of hU friend's " better luck," m he termed it. of- Irti rrraarked thai Jack had not been boni with merely "a silver »]HH>n in his mouth." but rather a '■ whole »cr»-ice of plate ;" while, tot his partt he certninlv Had inherited coniidcrahU- more than a fair avrnkfeoTnusericK, inhirh would have been otherwiMr, had Dame Na- ture, or Fate, at his birth but condescended to a more equiuble di- %'itiion of this life's troubles, and not heaped half^Mloten people's ills upon hiii uiiciflendiDg oUteiice. Notwiihr^jmdin^ tmch oppoeite twn- jwramems. Jick Somen and Richard Bri^^gs Ii&d become inseparables: they hunted, »hot, fished, rotl«, and walked tuKi-ihcr. Both possess- ing a competi-ncy.. tliey might have been euutdl)- happy ; but, while Soraers looked at the bright side, poor I>ick viewed the world as fomr folk* gaxc at the sun, through a darkened glosv, and beheld all his pleasures in — eclipse. Yet they were seldom apart, and the con- stant aoMcialion of these adverse dispositions gained for them the title of " PKitjiiire and Pain."
" I am heartily sick of it," resumed Briggs, looking as dull as a churchyard in a fog, and twice as mi«erabte. '■' 1 repeat, that 1 am truly ami heartily diftguittcd <"
<■ Patience, my dear fellow !" aaid his companion : " Time briofk all things round."
■■Does he?"* replie<l Brign: "then I wish he would bring all thing* jyMirr, for matters nave assumed moat |>erplexing shapes laU'lv."
•■ \Vhpn lliey cuiuc to the worst," observed Somers, *• the old pro- wib dn^Uie* that lliev will mrnd."
■ "^ ' gnimbhxl Dick: " they cannot coutr to the worst ;
^. , ' jy« wire, and they e*rr will be nt the worst. I am su-
u,' -iiilucky beyond all comparison. Even in the minor
*' •»<■ li'e there are no excejrtioriB. If I fish, 1 never get a
I UiMk my uckle. Now, you are proverbially fortunate; all - V ftsh snw your bail, all the birch get up on your side the '. 11. if H rhiini-p-»]iot cnmes within my range, my gun never 1 1 till lu the pan ! Then, are you not constantly in at the I laiiiiot so much as keep up »ith tlie hounds ?" ■ . k I" replied Somers ; " this last instance »houhl be a sub- . 4tulatum, as it prerenta you—' going to the d<^ !' " ud I Joke," observed Dirk. *■ Do I know what a day's W»* not the steamer in flames on my last trip to t itid no* the coach upset when 1 returned? Who 1 4ei)dvnt occurring to you r"
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"ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.'
7$
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" I have escaped thus Tar, certainly, and that without anjr preteii- iUMU to'wtting the Tu am km on fire;* while you positively had a ' hand in lh«- M fiuwAY 1' "
"Of all thing* I hate an ilKtimed jest," said Dick, blooming more Ktigry as he continued to dwell on his rnncied evil fortunes. " Dome*- tic aflain alTord mc no rclirf : I CAiinnt rear any poultry ; my pigs e>m'/ get fttt; in ^hc garden nothing seems to flourish. I am a sort of walking mildew, u peripatetic pestilence. Whoever saw n single plant froin seed of my sowing? If 1 water a rose-bush, the plant wKhera. Now. 1 feel convinced that if you were to &tare over the hedge of a fallow field, the next morning would beliuld a waring crop of corn." " My dear Dtck I" remonstrated Somen, " by the aid of a little
method "
" Stuffl'* exclaimed Dick. " Adniilting that I may be deficient in method in these mutters, Ic^t us proceetl to more important atfaira. Did not the mail break down, nnd won not the letter delayed that ^UMild have »umm<ined me to the denth-bcd of my uncle, from whom 1 had good expectations ; and did he not cut mc off with a shilling Tor supposed indifference.'' And did he not leave his money to some i^iecious, artful hussy, who gained his affections .^"
'* Not to r«iy his gnod-wii,i. !" interrupted .fack. " However, hfid the letter arrived in time, of yuur udcU-'k favourable intentiims you could nut be asaurcd."
"Assured ! no," sighed Briggsj "nor was my cottage when set Ml fire by lightning."
" Th;it was an evident want of prudence and foresight on yuur part." Mid Sooma.
•' Want of foreright ! I give you joy of that remark," renlied Dick. " Who could have foreseen that Topp» and Lopng's bank would have suspended payment the day alXer I had p.nid in three Imndrrd pound*? — Bui any coimesion with mc is lure lu be attend- ed with fatal conKequencea. Was I not eight monthx boring my eyea •od brain* out, and Hcribbline my fingers ulf, before the editor of the County Magazine thought fit In accept an article fur the eilauing uuinber? I worked myself into a perfect fever."
" Tfpiitg, no doubt," said Jack. " And the ultimate fate of tbJl baby of your brain.*"
" Was moiit melancholy I it never appeared, for the magazine dird without Usue ■'" and here Dick looked as wretched an the joke he had ju« attempted.
** Tbat wad playing your cards badly." observed Somers. " Cards !" shrieked uriggs, seising the opportunity to found fresh CBU*e for complaint, — " Cards ! Do I ever have a trump ? A* for neor- in^ Fight and holding honours, 1 must confer my weakness, but 1 d" mire in my life desire t<i know how pemons feel iu such a posi- tion. What can it be like ?"
"Why, like to win the game," replied Jack. " But you arc lo diBpoaeu to grumble, thai, were yoti at such a point, I fear you woald ' call out !' — .My dear Dick !" rontinued 8omLTB, '- 1 have pa- tiently listened tn ynur catalogue of woes, and feel conlldent that the mater portion arc imaginjiry. and the remainder cauM.'d by yuur own mvlvertcnce. Instead nf findin|; n remedy for trifles, (that are iniig- Bii«liiibimaltflr& of tmjK>rtuitcc,j you chafe at each little it
74
AIX S WRLL THAT ENDS WCLL.
that does not prfftieiit itsclt' in pxactly the position or colours thst you wiiiild prefer, and abdiulon yourstlf to useless rtrpinings. Rei«olution ami precaution would soon enable you to Rtom the current which you t'uiicy is ever flowing to yonr diacomfort. Do not mount your watch- tower of dibountt'nt to louk out for troubles — they find us too speed- ily, and we bave no need to liglit up n beacon for tbvir guidance, or to sound a trumpet uf welcome on their arrival. I shall be a niunth absent; on my return let me meet my friend with »mile« upon the lip that shall greet the renewal of our tntercourse. See, the sta^ is in si^ht !"
" I see the coach, and a vacant place." mumnired Dick, not much rdUhing the proffered lulvice. " Had I been going to town, every horse would have fnllen lame, or the axle have broken, to prevent my journey."
"Anticipating n^ain !" said Jack reprovingly, as he pressed Dick's hand and mounted the vehicle."
" Well !" exclaimed Dick, '* we are sure of s month's fine weather at nil events : it is al way.i favourable for your trips. Wlien / went, the world wits ibrealenud witli a sccoiid deluge, and I never lyiw the sun till my return, when I did imt care a ti^ fur the weather."
Jack shook his head as the coach moved rapidly onward, but not so speedily ah to prevent him hearing bin friend's adieus grumbled forth in a tone and with a look of despondency that would have mnde the fortune of any tragedy hero at any theatre ill the United Kingdom.
There are persona who never will be happy ; so Rich.ird Briggs enveloped bim«elf in the mantle of despair, and revelled in idl the
luxury of wue !
• ••■*•
We pass over a month. Our friends were ngain seen sauntering up the avenue leading to the old ivy-covered church. They ap- peared to be in earnest conver.7Uition, and Dick'? face assumed a re- splendent appearance, upon which phenomenon some additional It^ht may be thrown by the following colloquy.
" I can scarcely believe it," cried Somere. " My dear Dick — you — going to be married !"
*' Fact r said l>ick, with a real downright smile illumining features hitherto unused to jovous looks. " Yes ! I am really about to enter the holy state ul'niatnmonr." And again he emiled, until his own fa- miliar mirror, before Hhii.-h he hud shaved all his life, would not have rccognii^ed (he face it had reflected fur so many years redolent of frowns and lather.
"And how well you look! ten years younger, I declare," aaid Somcrs.
" I hope the novelty will not soon wear off," said Dick. " But, let me tell you the particulars;. You remember the itteamboat taking fire?"
" Most clearly," reiilieil Jack ; " I can never forget that unhappy tarcumstanee."
" The very luckiest event of my life !" exclaimed Dick.
"Surely I have heard you complain a thousand times "
"Exactly!" interrupted tiriggv. "itut the strangest things Anrv* eocoe about: I won a bumper rubber hi.it night of old Dingleilerry and his wife, before we supped off* the BbIi that 1 had caught in the
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morning, vith a brace of birds that I shot thr» days ulncc, being iMie out of eiglit I bAg<;;ed in about thrc^c hours. — Nuw for the itmaer. Yoa must know. Jack, that among the bisMng flames, and on boaril tltal T«ry boat, I mnde the arqiiaintance nf a most worthy old K*fntlciiiati, uiid tlic lovellcat creaturf, hia daughter. I had the eootl furtunc tu ufltud thuiu aaaistaiicc in tbv coiifusioii and frij^ht Dial prevailed ; when by some niiEliap we were precipitalcil into the nver. 1 boldly tiruck out with de»perate strength towards the ibore, the worthy "Id gentleman maintaining a firm hold of me on one vide, whilp I endeavoured to keep his daughter secure on the other; and, thit« biirtlii-ned, ] found niyioelf no liin(rer a sinp;le man without encunibranceti, but with nil the carea of x heavy family cling- ing to me for mifitiort. In this trim we were nil rescued: tlicy suf- ferrd from the fnghl only, while, in addition, I was nearly puUrd to pieccj, tolerably parboiled by the btejtni, and a perfect mummr of mod ; — the recollection iii n never-failing source of pure unmixed dcligbt :" and Dick chuckled over the reminiscence, to his friend's great joy and aatonii-hnient-
"Tlicn." said Somera, "if I iniBtakc uut, you fell into the river, anl afterwarda iu love?"
" Something of the sort. 1 believe," replied Dick. " The following (lay we proceeded towards London, and 1 was terribly low-spiritea at the idea of the coming sepuration, when, just at the thirteenth inilevtnne, the coach upBCt-"
" That ao* unfortunate," remarked Jack.
'* Not at all ! I never enjoyed Mny thing «o much in my Hfc! Don't you »ec. my dear Jack, we were lhrov.n ivgclker again." "Quite by accideni," added Jsck.
"Ju«l Ml! the iiiont delightful adventure, as it has since proved. I wa« bruised from head to foot, but they received no injury : again had I btrt-omc tticir protector, for in my descent I managed to af>rawl upon tome gravel, and they found me a tolerably efficient seret-n to guard them from the flinti.. Neither of them had a scratch, though the blond poured pretty freely from differpnt wounds about my per- wn, and they acknowledged how tJicy muitt hnve suflered had [ nut intirpowd so eflfectuaUv. Quite romantic, wa» it not f You cannot tsagme how they laugnetl when the danger was all over."
" Amiable creuturesi :" ejaculated Somers, " and »o easily pleased too ! I auppD»e yuu set aaiue all ceremony, and became moeC intimate arttuaintanees?"
'■ \iA exactly !" uid Dick ; " we had hardly time ty cultivate a re- dprucal intetcbange of Hentiment, fur tliey hitd urgent buaineM iit Ukothrr part of the country, »o they took a {lottchaiie, and I took phyuc, — tlicy went to London, and I to bed.**
" ilathcr ungrateful conduct," remarked Somera, " considering the ue ih«:y had made of you. Even 1 should have grumbled at aacfa taatmcDt."
" t waa terribly battered, I must nwn,"Baid Dick. "And completi'ly cut into the bargain !"*
"The waiter at the inn, where 1 wa8 confined for ■ week, ssflurcd mt t&at tlie old gentleman placet! his aird in my hand before he Oaned; but* between my pain and Uie confusion, it vrtu loat." " WeQ I pritbec proceed, witliout another break-down."
76
ALL S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.*
"Tn K few (Iftj's I dUcliurged tlie doctor, and im reAching hmne, ffHind my cuttaftv a liuiii ul' cinders."
'■ My dear Uick I" said Soniers^ *'why recall tliai shocking caU- Htrophe ?"
" CataBtrophe ! fiddle-faddle !" cried Drijigs ; " the moet unparallel- ed piece of good luck ! Hjivjnjj no dwelling, I took lodgings «t Pri- ory Kurm," Ill-re Dick smiled till it alinuKt nmountt-d to an incipi- ent gigjcle. " You know that Topptt and Loppn's bank mmpended paymfnt?"
" And you experienced a lost of three hundred pounds," aaid Somera.
" No such thing, my dear Jack J that stoppage was only a conti- nuntion of luck. I miiy truly congratulate myself on that event. Their breaking was my making: in common parlanccj tlieir loss was my gain."
" Astonishing !" exclaimed Somer?.
" Mr. Rutherlbrd hud ii coiiisideruble balance in the hands of TopjM and Lopps," sjiid Dick very knowingly ; '• go he came down to look after matters, and, as Fate would have it, took apnrtmtfntx for him- self and daughter at I'riory Farm. Now you Bce eh ?"
" Can't »ny I do," rc)dtnl SonierR.
" Dear Jack, how dull you are!"
" Nay, "tia you have become so lively !"
"Well, wc were under the same roof. ' Young Love lived once in H humble nhedf' and all that sort of thing: it was natural to re- new our acquftintance, when tlie scars on my face reminded them of my sufferinj^s, and their debt of gnuitude,"
" What !" said Soraprs ; " you don't mean "
" Yea. Imi I do though ! In Mr. Rutherford and his daughter I discovered my coinpauious who had share<l my pt^iU in 'flood and field :' — not exactly shared. — but you know whut I mean. In a word. I am the happiest fellow alive, and the UickicH dog in the iiniveraC'"
" Let me hear that word again," said Jack : " did you say lucky i"
" Not lucky, — the luckie»t uiurtal breathing,"
" That i*, — you are ' beyond all comparison superlatively happy ?' "
" The stoppage of the mail was of no ctHiiieqiience, for my uncle letl me viinu* merely to he«tow his property on my future wife, the only child of his old friend Rutherford."
" Then your intended wife ie the same ' artful, specious huMy who gained his affections?' — ia it so?"
" The same," said Dick. " Henceforth I renounce gnimMing, and believe thai ' all i» for tlie be>t.* Had I not bi-cn on board the steam> bodt, nearly drowned, and ufierward^ titoned to death, my suit might have been pressed in vain. — for gratitude h an extensive fet-ling, and opens the heart, Jock. But for the buniing of my cottage, 1 should have wanted the opportunities that i'liury Farm allurded ; and Topps and Jjopps's busioew crowned all, by bringing tlie Kutherfords hitlier."
'* Ar>d you have liecmne a convert ?"
" Moat decidedly," wiid Dick: "your word* have been realized; matter* have mended — Time baa brought thing!* round. E»eii my gar- den flourishes, for 1 ciin exhibit a pot of swt^t peas of my own act- ling; and, among my other cures, I also cure my own bdCon,<~pigs thrive HuadcrfuUy. '
I
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77
" Bnivo !" csc!aiinp(] Samers ; "I congrntiilnte you on the moral victory achieved, tuid the- important tesgnn thnt you have learned. V«t there is one thing "
" Wl»«t can that possibly be ?" Mud Dick iinpQticntJy*
"Why, 'a circulating medium' for tht>»e 'iiidt-liiiite articles' which -were to huve illumed nnd astonished mankind through the pages of the County Magnxiiie."
" A fig lor the County Magaxine !" »aid Dick ; " it was only sup- ported, like other refugca for the poor and dp!<titule, by '%'oluntary contribntions.' I am enrolled unong the elect in Benlley's Miscel- lany."
" FamouR ! Then your migfortunes are really at an end ?" aaid Jack Somen.
" I uufil, for ever," replied Richard Briggs ; " and I hare arrived at the cvHcluwri,
"Whatbvbb IB — IS Ricnxl"
TO .
Thoi' hast said il,— ti» better, far better ro part, Tlian suffer tlu; laM chill to crtep o'vr the bean; F« better at oner lo ri-iid spirit away, Than feel the life ebh on, in sick'aiiig decay, I omld still cbetisii oicm'ry of past lioura of jov, That DO cold look nor OjuIcI word of (liine could destroy.
What to me were the glance of lliy duk, speaking nyu.
If no fervor o( Wc 1 could in il destry !
Tis not for het htanty Hie Kosg it cjreti'd
Hy tb« Ilutbiil. 4tul »im)(lit for bii pillow of rest ;^
Tis tbe inunse ibat nightly iirDunil her slie throws.
And lb« fragratw* she bniiitlie* o'er his place of repose I
Tbou mayit ibiiik 10 fofijel tnc- It nerfr can be ! E'tn the (uiurr will l«m wiih remembrance to th« : In th« visions of day I sliatl slill \\nrv a place, In tbe slunbcn of nigbi scenes our bliss Oiou 'U retrace ; Tlum wOt think how 1 loved thee, wtiM penl* I dared, To pnnre my devoiiou, Ah ! how have I fared [
I have teen thy brij^ht smile, I hare felt its control As a faery spelt wtettlhing iu charm round my soul; To thy bosom in rapturous loi« 1 '«■» bmu ]>r«K*'d, — Tliine eyes have liclM-ld nw, ihine arms have csircss'd : — Must 1 low thee for ev«r T 'us dune own aietn decree ; Tbou art breaking a bean thai beats only for thee I
Dut 'tis over, and not for what worlds could bestow Would I cast o'er thy spirit a shadow of woe ! — Uayu thoa learn to km^ci tue, if mem'ry be fraught Willi grivf to tliy uMil, — with uni- painful itioughl I — May U»e halcyon of |ioacG make her homv in thy breast I Uy flffi )of«, my only love, still be thou blest I
78
A CHAPTER ON' SEALS, tec, A LRTTRH wilhoiit a seal is «n impertinent and imperfect tiling.
It in
** Lik« a ring wiihowt a fingci; Like a twil wUhoul a ringer ; Like a fort with n&n« lo win it ] Or lire nioou with do man iii il;"
39 Beaumont says. It is a planchet wanting the stamp wliicli Ci>n- fcra a value uii tlir coin : I would not f;ivr the price nt' a ruah for tt. Who can teJl how nmny may liave reitA it liel'ore it reaches your eyes ? It if) no Innfrer, or it Miy be no longer (which nmoiintfl to the ssmc), a pure ond unsullied thing : you can put no faith in it ; it is an arranC jilt. Its beauties, such as thoy may happen to be, have not been re- served for one uloiie : its intnctnees has finil no other itafe^iuard than the discretion of the world — and the world is nnliirally indi!>crec't. It is afi a peach which has no hloom upon it: whether tlte bloom lios been brushed off', or never was there, jiiatters little; the bee no tutifi^T loves to re^t upon it, but leaves it to the slimy passage of the linail.
I would divide seals into five classes ; the seal of pride, the pious seal, the seal iuitiative, the common and every-day seal of hiiii who scorns a wafer, and the sentimental schI.
Th« first is macfa used by those " who draw a long oobility ''
*' From hieroglj-ptick pnxifii or heraldry."'
It is habitually offensive, a puked-»p thing: it sometimes has sup- porters, oerasionnlly a coronet ; it bears the motto (often unrighte- uusly assumed) of an ancient house,— «nlikc its synonyme, the older the coat the mure honourable. Even the " ifiree white luces " are to it no disgrace. U is tricked out in the fanciful impertinence of a. griffin or a sphynx's head; you are expected to do it courtesy: sontp- limes it hae a punning legend, — " ^Ve vHc velis," or the like ; but this is a condescension you mu»t not always look for ; to excite a smile is not its office, — it is rather intended to inspire you with a wholesome awe.
Like the banner o( Engucrrand VII, Sire de Couci, whieb in the fourteenth cennirj- flouted the admiring world, telling them,
" Je DC luil rot, ni prinrt. atiui, — Je mil Sirt d€ Ojuci ;"
or, }&e the still haughtier device of Rohan Soubite.
" Roijt ne fiuitf J'rumjt ne daignef Rfikanjc luij," —
Ik giu^ at everything. No quarry is too lo^y for its siroop ; and
yet at times it will put off its arrogance, " quenching with a (amiliar smile its nuxtere regard of control," and veiling itself in an affectwl umctity and humility, which, however, savours lillle of holy Church. Plain speaking is not ii* forte: tltvre is a gUinmecing obscurity which
A CUAI>T£R ON SEALS.
it lieialy loves, as showing thnt the dost of aj^cs rests upon it, — WeUh or Celtic, LiiCiii ur old Xornian-Freiich — only Greek it caret'ullv e»- diew*.
The piouB wal is one Utile in use ; U may be because tbe really ri^liteciu* shrink from making a, parade of'tltcir religion, or it may \x because the multitude have very lillle religion to parade : hut in ihc itlden lime it was in (treat request. Wc have many instances of it, liAmled down to u« by the eUler poets ; Wither and Gcorpe Her- bert mit amtirig tbe worttt. The hitter, in a pleasing little poem call- ed "The Pony," «ay»,
" Lm Wit* contnl,
Aod with their vrorda and posies windon-s AH ; Le» than (he It^juil
Of all Uiy mercies is my posy sull.
This on my rinc.
This by my picture ia my book I write : Whether t sirvjf,
Ur My, or (lictiite> this ts my delight.
laveniioo, rest ;
C*wipariians, go pUy; Wit, use thy will ; Ijfsa than the least
Uf all God's mercies is my posy sUU."
The 9«a1 initintif'e is of the simplest eon: by it I mean that whirh bear» merely a cypher or a name. It is chiefly employed by tlio plain, unaffected man, vrho takes no merit from a fMrchment scroll, and who at the same time hu» nothing to conceal, ^iomctimes a crest win riwr aboT« it : but in tJiat caw it is no longer proper, but trenchn on the seal of pride. You will see the seal initiative with " Tom " upon it, and yuu may be sure that Tom iit a true man. There are circumstances under which it tread»< on the kibe of the seal Hntiiacntal, aa when it is impressed with a pretty name, say Julia, Qtfry {ffoati Caroline), or Itlary: but then, it is but fancy which lends to it a charm, and albeit one man may ^ze on it with a dreamy itenution of pleasure, as being in some manner a portraiture orexpreMion of its fair owner, to the rest of the world it remains riwpiy iiluBtradve as l>efore.
The common and every-day bvaI of the man of business exhibiu ft head, sometimca a whole figure clottieil in flowing drapery, and fiiaririr id its hand a cWsic wreath, or it may be a torcn. Your grave literary man will adect the rffipet of some bearded sage of aiitiijiiity, as Kocrates, Demostheiiea, or tbe hke ; while your nore lively scribbler etaiups his wax from the j;racef'ul carvtnf; pf an Italian geni. Nut entirely remote fmm tliiit class of aeala ia UirMiver thimble of tlie seinp?ttre>i«, tbe pin-dotted nignaculum of thr ralrnlinc-deltvered hiHi*eniaid, or the watch-key of the lad from ichool.
There ia oroerally aome shade of character to be deduced from thia seal f Knew a man once who habitually wotl- and usrd an iron sosl, with the ima^ of a skullr probably he had at first iturehaKed it in a Jthastlr jeat, but the moral of it fltting with u CLTtani glouini- n«a which tinctured his mind, he had atuck by it : thus casting his tnm nurmfttVi tnari in the tuctli of all h\i Olendti, preaching to them of tiuir latter end u ufKiily, and almost as unwelcomely, as the stara
80
A CIlAPrER ON SRAI^.
in th« triuinnhal chariot preached of mortality to the Roman con- queror of old.'
The sentiiii filial seal is tla- most comprehensive ; it is ^wlyglot, or G[H.-ak«ti ult tongues ; IVotn liic iiu-nieaiiing utUchiui-nt of tlic bourdliig-iichool Mi».», to the strong Ijtuguuge of reul love, every- thing; is within its range. It is sometimes ingenious, but that not much. It is simple and straight- forward in iU natuml form. Like the posy of a ring, it should be short, but M (he name time pithy. It is fond of deprecating forget fidm-^s, und hnrping upon the piia of ahftence. The Portuguese hHve furnished one of it« mo«t touching cxpreatiions, " xtnulu^cx,'' an uncouth word, but which, tike the Ger- man " 3rhusucht," breathes n longing, lingering rt-grct, ft '' panting for the wnters," a struggle of the heart to attain a hitppinesa desired.
The setting of this class of seal i^ perhaps not alnij^pthcr unimport- ant, neither is the substance on which the legend .'>ha1l he engraved. Like as in thi; olden time kni{:htb assumed various colours fur the fit-ld on wluch their arms i^bnuld be emblazoned : he choosing black who would express his uoustuucy : blue, who would usert his claim to loyalty ; or white, who would show hie purity of soul : »o might we fancifully wish that the &eal affectionate might be carved upon a diamond, the inquisitive on an emerald, the supplicatory on a sap- phire, leaving the cornelian and green bloodatone tu the ordinary uses of tlie »tudy and the desk.
Some seals which originally ftpolce a gentle aentSment have dege- nerated by being profaned : like the j^Iarsei liaise Hymn, or the Duke dc Reichstiidt's Waltz, from which the ear turns away since they have been ground on every organ in the land, so have we CL-ase<l to feel the beauty of ceitain types. It has happened to me tu sec a let- ter containing a demand for money whose seal bore the impress of a leaf— the motto, " Je uc chaniic qu'tn m<Mrnnl :" a sorry jest, if you apply a meaning to it ; an empty mockery, if you give it none.
It waa an old custom with our forcfiatlicrs to bear dfyices not alone upon thHr signet-ringfi, but upon the oilier oninmetita of their dreHs: some would have them on the blade, others upon the ptrmmel of their sword, and tlie fair dunies of ihe period were not slow to follow their example. It must have been a pretty sight to have Ken the blonde AttJ: dt Preuilli wearing at her girdle an " aumoiucre rcpri- aentant, av mUictt d'yneJorC-t d'arolKHfues, deiijjcvnes_fillcs,qmfciaieni KM nrur ;" a» also to have turned over the rings and amulets which lay upon her loilet-table, among which we are informed wiu " uw iiitffue sur iaifutlU ^Uiit grntct. iajigurr du litUier, utrc le sif/ut- fie Mart, rtoit f/'tit etril, 'Bon jkiht i/u^rr /« rttpcum irttnt hiofulf lie riugi ana.' "
In those days the cherry blnsMini and the fpntfire de Maiwn were types in themselves, saying, "Aifr: dr mni souvenancr, et nr w'vubliez pas." We have altered the flower to which thia signiliCation attache5, but the »entimL'nt remains with ua btill.
One of the comnioneHt, but not the least pleasing of our modem devices, is the ivy clinging round the oalc, — "Je mrurt ouff m'aUache." \ can conceive circumstanceii under which this seal might have great potency; it bespeaks a helple»snefls which ia ulways imercsting: a faithJui and im)>licit trust. The same plant (paraaite, a» some have
' "llomineat M«iH ntsni triumph&ut, in illo Butiliiniuimif ciirru xlnionEiur : kiif^eritur min lia tarfto'Nvpice yeax le — hnmitietn mpincniA tir."'^Tv;NTeL> LiAM Ml ApelagH.aLy, 33.
I
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A CHAPTER ON SEALS.
81
tRnPortliily called it,) is seen sometimev to twine abuut thf.- broken iliaft of a culuinn, even « Margaret, that sweet pait<;rii ul' tiiir sex, clung to the shatteretl fortunes of ■' luke-warm John,"* — saving, " In tdfftrnt ttiom ^Ja ;" thus expressttig the pertinacious coii»iaiicy of one who will not be sict aside.
A Bomewliat aimilar, but more fantastic ima^ than the fir^ of tiic ■iltovr, is a pin— the legend, " Je pique, mats failac/it." This muttt hare been firH invented and adopted by some sprightly Beatrice, •ome black-eyed damsel of the- hodkin and pomander times.
Pot » seal of invitation, I have seen one cxircmcly nimple and fw«t, — " Do come." The little dash under tiic first womI jiivea it an imploring toite. There is, perhaps, something childish about it; but I douhl whether tliatdoe.'t not add .1 grace to iL I* There is » noble family who have happily combined both atatc and ^Bkliment in their sea] of arms, — " Oiiblier ne puis." These are u-ords ^^■bcb apeak "of triumphs Jong a^o," as well us of present faithtut- ^^Bk ■no truth. The objects animate and iuaniuuite which are made ^K of to express a meaning of\en horribly tortured and defurmcil are numerous. It is at times a luokin^-glasK. which culls it«ell'"u true friend ;" a star which is invoked by some idolater, who exclaims, (tetting Providence aside,) " Vtilles *ur ce que J'aime ;" or a sister pbu»rt, to whom «>me »ea-tOst mariner declares, "Sije te perds,je xuix perdu," But of llicse you will find more than enough at the Puti- theun, or the Soho^nquare BaKoar.
" Oe Icitt tftjwwf i/t pret" is « motto aometimcs seen, and it is one which speaks to the heart: there is no frippery about it; it is honest and nuuily,— or womanly, if you please: so in " Fiei, perodet' Sekaduz" and there is a melancholy gallantry in the last, worthy of ft* origin amid tlie romantic mountains of Castile.
I recollect being once struck with a seal which I took up accJdcn- taDj at the house of a tViend. The emblem wa-f a bird Hyinc- awuy — dM l^^df " Lefroid me chaste." Poor bird ! how many, like thee, wxMilcTfain s^ek a warmer region, but, failing in their search, turn back upon the frozen North and die I
Cupid, under various circumstanccfl. Is pressed Into the service of many seals. I have seet\ him riding on a lion, faiicirully interpret- ing the rawer of love over valour and strength ; carried pick-a-back bjr the ae*'il. the splcneuc motto bcinR, " Le liiabU einpurlc I'amvnr ;" pfaying at foat>baU with the Prince of Darkness, their ^U^nlm being a weru — the motto, " Entre nout :" he is mIko made a wutermaii, and (breed to try an oar for the convenience of old Father Time: again,
hris a fisherman, and eKultingly tells you, " J'at/nijie tage cl fuu :"
BHUckimiitli hammering on an anvit, and forging chains ; or a link- ^PK«Ji»pensing liglit aruutid, whiiitt be himself continues blind.
Thtfrv are tho»e who affect llelenism, ond who engrave Xng>#(Fare- *ril) upon their seal. I have a (iprman correspondent who claims n; attention even before I open bis letters, by the words " Denke mtim."
A few seals there are which cannot come under the denomination of HDtimmtal. and which yet express something like a sentiment of dteir own ; but these are hardly worthy of being classed. Amnng tbcm ill the iiporting seal, a fox's head, or the words "Tally-ho!" die mal vulgar, bearing on it " I N V tny letter ;" " I hope I don't • " JoliD Woodvlll," l>7 C. Laoib.
*ou III. n
4M UADftlOAL OP THE SEASONS.
|gmd« ;" or, " Wlio the devil can this be from f " — and the «c«l 3 awiL *• t^t which represents Lovf playing on the violin to a little tftMb »nX bidding him " Go to the devil and sh&ke himself;" the MaZr Vcm'o^^e And stippliratnry. " Luez el croi/ez," — or, " /Ji/iM-mot VM*;" aiu) Iasi. nut least, ihnt richE^nainonj^thpni nil, of which Atoore IkM tolil you in his poem rtxpcctiiig " Uinirs and Seals."
H.I.M.
MADRIGAL OF THE SEASONa
SPRING HORN.
Tis many on a fair Sphng isom, Wten l)u»h*(l is ev'ry ruder wind. And Nnlurv, like a mother kind, Sniitn joyous ou her b>bc ju5t born : Whcti •[tBikling den ii on the gromd, And fluwr«u gay are budding round, And Hope IB heard in ev'17 sound, ■r>» nwrry, oil, 'ti» merry I
8UMMBH NOON.
Til merry on u Suiiicrifri noon, When Zejihyr t-iiiTn-n wiili balmy kiss, And waki's ihc druwsy psirlh ir. hlist By ijeiilly brwiUimg Lo*f'» own luoe : Whan leaves an jc^een, and iVics arc blue, And wRitra of n galdcn hue. And f v'ry glance brinp hciutiei Deiv, Til merry, oh, "li* nrnrry 1
AVTVmtf KVS. Tis merry on an Autumn eve, ViUva birds sing; fmrcwfll to the min. And, com »eI1 shmvcd, and labour done. The fields the h«illtiful leaperj l«iirc : Wlieii those wlioni dajliirfit keeps afnr May meet bencuth tbe ves[ter lUr Without on« fear their joy to mar, Tis merry, oli, 'tis mcwy !
WINTER lOHT. TIb merry on a Winter's ni^iit, WWnfast descends tliedeep'ninfr *now, And o'er the heath the «.hnU winds blyw. To walob llie crackling fiiggot's li^bi : When spicy wine and nut-browD ale, tJivc zest to each rnre Christmas lale. And song, and joko, and laugh pierail. Tia merry, oh, lis merry!
83
FAMILY DRAMATICALS.
BT THE AtTTHOB OK " TAi-IM OF AN ANTIQUAKT."
" \ pl-V- Ffa^k : — wlieri-iii :it«' %wii lliiii^ ! iuch Tndeous, incin«(rott» things I ihat k nu Blmwi made loe forsTnear ihe iCice."
TAe Uake iif Buckiagkaint Rfkriavii.
Thsrk »re no Torther psrticutars known concerning tin- following letter, than that it wae t'uuiid upon a. svquvstervd ruaU. within a sliurt dijtiuice of a celebrated tuid fuiihiuiiable watering- {ibcc. From the tenor of it* contents, it may certftinty he ^uppOEed to have I'allen from the pocket of an eminent son of Thespis, on his summer cam-
r'gn, who had pcrlixps been readinj; it over, or studying hit part, that retreat. But tliou;^h the direction was wiinting, yet the nmaorandum of " Sent fifty pounds by next poHt" showed tliat it luul been written to one who»e hand waji "open »s day to melting chanty;" though, unfurtunately, the noble action ao commemorflted wu " a deed without a name." Ah there are atill but too many pcnotu in the metropolis who, like the Sticklebacks, make their ■pmdaa for private theatricals the means of tormenting all their hc- aunntancca, and of displayinf; their own absurdities, the following oeicription of tile tasteful and sagacious proceedings of that family is published, to iihow Folly " her own image," — " pour encvmra^er kt ttuirei ;" aince, however extravagant the picture may appear, it never can be doubted that it is an " owre true tale," and actually eofDcd fVoni the life.
Tbuugli I have no letter, my dear Edmund, direct from yourself, yrt I owe you many thanks for the country papers, which give me ■o much information of your motives, and relate how successfully you are tlnrrtH^ It in the proeincra, though as yet not quite a light of ihc first magnitude in toe town hemisphere- With Jitbsvn, how- ever, I must caution you " not tu grow saucy upon it," nor forget that, in \&ia splendid times, before you either felt or deserved the ma of patronage, you have been known to walk the parades at MTtain fair*, and to dance a hornpipe with your white stockings nirimiily blackened round the foct, to supply the lack of pumps: which most ingenious device not only completely wore mit thrir wles, and blistered tfoar enen, but, aa I am confidently told, cost thee, IVon thine indulgent uncle, diver^i aching bones for a month after- ward. Think not, however, that I write tbua out of euvy at your talon or your success. No ! by the never-dying name of Uoscios I piriib tbe seinsli thought I Only, lui " an elJer actor, not a better," "kt me. who know tlic public, counsel you," that " tux/inejji Is young ambition'* ladder." which you shouln be careful not to throw down till you be aal'ely off it at the top ; and also, how ci^rtain other peat actors are uid not u have openly avowed their luuuble origin, oy cxhibiciag tbe Sehing-net which they had ca<<t, or the lowly garb ■hich they had once worn, until they were (iiirly clothed in "the |MirpIe," and the triple tiara was really won.
?Wotwrth>tand>niF all this. I must confess tliat I tki almost
•R
oS
84
FAMILY DRAMATICALS.
yonr liberty ; or rather, that I do moat frrvcntly dwire to share it, u I told you with BO iniicb energy at your departure, in the yard of the Belie Sftuvagi', whicli had iircibably never w itnesited such fine acting before, or at least imt since tlie days when Inns were Tliealrw. For, trust me, *' my (jay cousin Ilaiif;iT." after all the privation and ccmtempl atta(.:hed to the life at' struUing players, sucli as we have been ; —you know, as lilandlxh ^ays, " it' you and I did not Komutimcs sneak I truth to each other, we ehould forget there was such a quality ind- ■ dent to Uie human mind ;" — after all these deductiong, your strolling actor enjoys liis freedom almost beyond any other animal in the world that I know of; and, at thi« present mutnent, I should certainly enjoy mine beyond any other etroller in existence ; for, on the con- trary, here am 1 restrained within limito which encourage much more of " frrtliug " than of " strutting,'' for they are still narrower ■ than those in whirh you left rae. They arc; confined, indeet), to a I certAiii ancient verfre, belonging to a certain ancient court nf the Hovereiffn, bounded on the North and Eafct by Great SufTolk-street and the IJorongh of Sonthwark ; on the South bv Newinglon ('acise- way and the Klephant and Castle ; and on the U'est by the Obeligk, the Surrey Theatre, and the Waterlm»-road ; the whole space of which, in my thoughts at least, well depcrves to retain the old neigh- hourinj»nameof " iMelanehnly Walk." Htrein, 1 say, am I enclosed, like a spirit witliin a circle, — and ihuu knowest what a choice .^piril I am : — whilst thou — loo, too huppy dog ! — i/mi art at liberty to feci the free air upon thy cheek ; to liee the fields in all their brightness, and the blue summer »ky in all its glory ; to roam where you list, " tilt the livelong daylight fail ;" and " then to the well-trod Ktage anon," where you behold nothing but holiday faces crowding nil the bencheE — hear nothing but applauses, shuuts, and encores, until you believe yourself really a king or a demigod, and are ready to my, " Upon my life, I am a lord indeed 1" But I think I lieiir you asking, " M hy, Tom, is thy part to be all patter ?" and duritably reminding me that my legitimate occupation la to rani fuiitian, xn<\ not to urife it- I will therefore "deliver myself like a man of this world ;" imd, taking up my story at your laai cue of " lot me hear from thee," first tell you of my " private griefa," and then of such a scene of mirth and folly, that though it be "seven out of the nine day** wonder whh me," I have not yet decided whether it be most to be laughed at, or lamented. You may therefore think, if yon will, that you uid I are about to have anarrativu-scene together, such as Uimond used »o rpgularly to introduce in the second act of hi« pieces; when two ■ perfiirmerfi always brought forward two chairs to the centre front of fl the stn^c, thereby indicating that the house was about to be favoured with a lung story.
You doubtless remember that, touched by the distresses of our very clever and very worthless friend Seilley, when his best-beloved child lay at the point of death, i became Becunty for liim to Syke- house the surgeon, and afterward* to Killgruve the undertaker, that her remains might receive " a little earth for charity," to a stipulated amount, »« I sujipoaed, and easily within my power. Outc^ist as h« _ is from almost all society by disinheriUuice, debts, tm]>rndence. and fll unfortunate character, you will not wonder that, when his dear un« * died, she was " by strnnger« honoured, and by strangers mourned-" Now that all these cvctiu ore over, I dare say you can at once
KAHILV DltAMATICALS.
85
Hess At thnr actual result, much more entaly ttian I could hare even iccived the i>osaibiIity af it. In a little time, Walter 8f<Iley, Esq. M.A. author of, ftc. See. J^c. was not to l>e tntind, — though / wm, aaii to be am^werablc to An amount very tAr exceeding my itbitities ~ mgagcments. Kvmonstrancu avnilea mc nothing, and therefore, Ite Prince Itenrif, " ^o far as my coin would stretch, I paid it;" itj anlike him, I could make no great use of my credit. I never powewed the consummale art of " Plau!>ilile Jack" Palmer, who could persuade ihe very baiUff whu urrcHtc<l him to 1>ccome his bail ; uid so, to avoid ouch a etage direction as, " Scene changc» to a room it» a prison, Tom Fairstiecch discovered ecated iu a melancholy aitttude," — to eccatie this, [ &ay> I determined to withdraw myself iuto the above well-known and worshiplul liuiitx, to miitie "ior a' cRtun term '' upon the Pleasures of FneniUhip, »nd the best tiieana of rendering my rock'stricken veM&el lit for sea again, which I despair Dot <rf' doing after all ; for well do I believe that
"Tiin« may slili bave one filad houi lo come* Which, wiDg'd wiih Liberty, may overtake UvijaMOu paM."
The rxtenfiion of my bounds was effected by " hard entreaty^ and
i round sata ; — ctitreaty 'd weak wjtliout it;" and bo I actually
tntlwit the walls of " DenmanV Purk ;" though " I pray you,
I any cue, poM«» no gentleuun of our acquaintance with notice of
mt lodging.^
I have Du great philosophy in me, as thou knowest, Kdmund ; but [ am very much of the mind of the young man in (Jay'8 F.ible:>i; u I thought that Care, or his shadow, did go hf/ure my misfortunes, I have no fancy that either should /oWok' me, like (Joldsmitli's Tmlck and Fianipan, " iJefore and behind, you know." I am therefore imhderentiy cheerful in my cage : " And what fur uo i*" as ^eg Oods
"Then you be incrry, merry there. And we ll be meny, meny here ; For who can tcli where we all may be To be mctty auuUiet ytur \"
MonMTver, I can assure you that, if I had wit enough, I have quite caivty enough to describe our neighbourhood in the picturesque and oWBOrou* style ofWashingtou Irving or Mary Mitford: how Lean* dith'a Koyal Ordinary is oppoMtc my window ; and how Trimmings, the C'*^^ Wr«t-cnd tailor, has recently come U> live at lite next door. However, like Old Philip Astley, aa we can't snow white, we'll toow bruwn ; and this leada me to the scene which 1 pcomiaed to nelaie to you half a pare ago.
Uy ftome little regularity of payment, the abovC'raentioneil light beir% aod the eloquence of a player's tongne and memory, I have ■ude a very fair progress in the good liking of my MUtrt-ta Quici-h/, who, pitying my restraint and loueliucKs, hoii introduced me to the family of llie great Air. Stickleback, alau our ueighbour, as "the dviieat and weUnipokcneht gentleiiian aa ever ehc »ce, and one who em HT m» many tunny ttiiugii anil tine spevche^ aa any plny-actor bthe Rttlea, or out un 'cm." Khe, however, tittle suspects that I am in naJity unr of those same " harlotry players," for I have chatted nj naine ; and. tberclort, wheDcvec thou vritMi, liidaiundj do not
FAMtLr baAMATICAL£.
fur 1
I
ifr ma k* t^y sihI title OS sudi, iF thou hast anjr regunl fur oeck. Ow SbckMMck I iud already fnuud as thuniy and . M his name : but bis Cuail}' made aniple ai»eitd», by Cagsplaitant and udkjiti%ely-coi)c«it«d as imper- wdl be. Moreover, they were about to have a _ , to which they invited lue, laooenUng that we were not MWIHBbHl, that I might have taken a part in the same. It ^■i^ ft Ila% nrvtwr, whirh I assure you 1 diet not at all regret; fur, bttl tMiF l^kt bven " OH good a plot a» ever was laid," I, at least, kaa* ted tow Bouch honoumble pmtestiiuiial Ubour to reMMt to such mifmigf acliliC for amusement, — like Pladdo and the Little Devil, 3la wtNil mmJoXers, who, when visiting the King at Hamptoii, de- i Aft (UttaDcc of a pavilion by walking to it on their handft, , ib^ir lin wpvards, as though their daily antics were not euRi- . lbt(. m Qw present iniitAnce, I dei-outly believe that " tJic ^titok. varc of Cato," and preHcrvcd nie from the irrecoverable of the Stick k-bnc-k thcuiricals. ^ this account ul' tJieni, Kdiuund, I will allow you to call **^WQBderrtil ! wonderful ! and most wonderful ! and yet MwuJerful ! and after that, out of all whooping!" Nay, you '' almost incn^dible that such things can be, and even :: that you coulrl not have believed them had you seen ll"; but for your life do not aucstion wy veracity. " Wliy _ .„ l .jiiy Uea about?" or how ahould the mind of any decent iiyi\idu«l «v»r devise such folly > " I tell thee what, Edmund, if I ^( . V . . <ip^ ^( j„ ,j,y face, and call me horse !"
.1 vwit to Mr. Stickleback's, the day before the perform- i \iu<Uj;ht the house appeared rather defective in furniture, nnd It: ivimiiion; hut all surprise at either anpearance inonceioied dl^Hyi W'1^ tutHHluced into the room where tne play was to be en- ^jW(«b.l Uhiildiu): tlir fittinp;a-up,ihe dresses, and the decnraticww. ..* iiK-vd that hurdly a floor ws* left covcrcil by its respective i-iUK'i ; ihtit the winiluwH vfcre nil despoiled of their cur- iae bedsteads were retluced to what Jinilors call " hare H>; resigned tlieir valances, &c to furnish forth the , *>k.l )>i<.*|ieTties of the »"nteriaiiinieni*. Thtsi', as we were in- , li> * I'lll printed with the ordinary hand-types used for marlc- knliold liiii-n, were, "Pizarro; or, the Invasion of Peru; I III" Hutu ; a variety of eingine and dancing ; and the ro- ^ un-«- 111' ihc HIiiid JJoy ; or, Hodolpli, the Usurping Prince
yf ' kiul Ktilig, the Faithful Courtier!" llut before I re>-
■ •• ftilliea of tliis perlbniiiuice, I ought, in equity to himself, to sutc that he waa entirely ignorant and - . '>. all. since the whole design was private^ concocted
b -i- and family, who also took the opportunity of his
JV .ue to afltonish their ao{uaintance by such a display
'..i.'HuU " Bui they arc coming to the play : get you a
i.
I
^
?^
I >>f the stage «*as formed by the opening of two U, I was assured by Mr*. !5ticklebjtck, who np-
loUc pride and t-omplncency in pointing out the gf the arraiigemcntn, were absolutely taken off ^ftte€ was fdled up by un old ja})anned cornice, uT a window>curlain, and u grcun tuiic
rAUlLY DRAMATICALS.
87
rather the worBc for not a few years* wen*, which had been taken up from the roum within. But these appointments were Uy tar the must niDile&t and apprupriate of tlie whole. In my own puur uutioiut of such nuLtt«r», u lurgv Uible-lamp nn each eiile the utagc, and another Kuipeoded from the L-ciUng of tlie audience-aparttnent, would have re«prcubly and suHiciemly lighu-il the front. But. no ! the Stickle- backs bad .1 soul and conceptiun I'ur beyond such every-day contriv. ance*. When we were alt seated in staring and silent expecUtion, We first heard the steps and loud whisperings and dUputings of mc- veral persons in the adjoining narrow passage, carrying sumc large heavy vessel full of lic)uid, which ever and anon seemed to give a lurch, and then to wasli over the edge. t<i the great dismay (i( ita bearers. At lust the curtiiin was pnrtly raitted, and four persons appeared, carrying — mind, I "il swoir for the truth of thi*, whatever you may think, — four persons appeared, carrying a large trough of new bright tin, of sufficient capacity for baJf a do7,en swine to feed at, if they were dii^posed to be accommodatinj^, three purta filled witli lamp>oil, in which were floating a multitude of small niece* of cork, with a lighted wick attached to each! With much labour, Uld no little spilling of the siaid oil. these most extraordinary footlights were borne to the front, and set down: but when the pologue came forward, they were found to be 6o smoky, so oRVnsive and so much in the way. — for the whole machine reached to the middle of his, the saiil Prologue's legs, — that they were at once uno- Rtmously voted out, and were removed with the same labour and mischief; their place being then supplied by • row of caitdles set upon the flmtr.
I say noUiing about the total overthrow of this mu»t delicious invention, which, I fear, from the noi&e and confusion ufter its exit, took place in the |>a».>iigtr, but pass on now to the performance. I dare aay that you can very well iina^ne both tune and wurd^ of the prologue, which was, doubtless, home-iniide, mid <^tiite like the ge- oerolity of such comimsitions, having a gri^sl deal about " our cause," and *• ^oiir applause," without which innny persons think an honest prologue cannot be written. There were also divers choice poetical simile*, alwayti ending with " thus we to-night ;" and in one part the f»tickU-backfl likened themselves to phomixea and young eagles, though I tlioii};ht tlut magpies or inckdiiWA would have been by fur ibc mure Bnpru|»riate birde. I (ult truly concerned for the young IBHi who deliveretl this address, because he might have been reapecu ■fale cstough in sound health ; but at this time he was fur advanced ia « most dangerous malady, which has been of late very fatal tu ■any of our acquaintance; that is to say, he was nearly eaten up by conceit: and I farther found, as the play proceedra, that all t£c ocher actors were deplorably sick of the same dise.ise. This terrible pestilence, Eilmunil, usttally devours its victims down- ■ards, since it fir^t seijcex u)>im sume weak ))art of the head — next it dntmys tite »ensi.'s, intoxicate:! the night, vanquishes the tonj^ue, ad- vaioes to the heart, and then the man is lost for ever! " Pruv vuu. ■toU iL" '
The principal parts of the drama were of counc divided chirHy Ixtwrcn the members of the git\ed family, each of whtmi was dimin- euisbesl by some ftrnxi^d peculiarity and striking excellence, wliicli MViog once seen, theru waa no mij>taking them at\crward. Thu^.
«t
FAMILY DRAMATICALS.
ifflp. 1
1
Mr. CtrMU* Auj^stus Stickleback, as AlaUha, had n elicht snuffle, mikL Iwinjr •omrthiit^ of a negro make ami colour, looked, in his •lag* altire, not unlike tlie ima^re of a Virginian which had run •WAV trom a tobarconist's Rhop-door. ItfJia, Mr. BnitiiH Stickle- baok, fxntjM^ralcd tliu h, and Uic uudii-nct-, in i-vcry speech ; and bul ■ a iftMMl deal oi' Uic bcar-ganlen fiuurisli in bis acUim, which, pcrluip!!, I tUH not quite hiiriuoni»e with the niajeelic modest)- of the Peruvian Icaih'r. Alonvr, Air. Sebastian Stickleback, coiild not ciiuuciate Ins »*• and k'i without a tittle previous contortion of hi* eyes and lijMi ; and liii dress was a domino, which bud figured at all the fourth-rate mai(|uerade6 about London for the last quarter of a century. Miss Judith Alnrc'ta Stickleback, as fjvira, was, I »ta pertuaded, dis- tinctly liL'.ird for three doors off on each side the house, ns well as by •11 who p;ijii«'d it, such was her noble anxiety " to top the part," as liaypx *HT«; whilst the narrow stage appenred loo little lor either her soul or her body. Little Misji Kitty Sticklchftck, on the con- trary, waa so lisping, end mincing, and Inngnistiing, m* Cora, thnl one hdlf of her speeches could not be understood, and the remainder vrerc never heart! at all.
These were the principala ; Init a ftw select fHends of slmHar taste and qualifications were permitted to gather up some scraps of the family glory by personating the inferior characters, or appearing us soldiers, priests, and virgins. Their liabits were mostly while night-gowns, or divers-coloured bed-furuitute, &c. with huge gilded auns about their necks, which seemed to nie verj- much like those leaden plates that the 8un Fire Office affixes to the houHcs of its in- burer*.. The weapons were chiefly plain staves, or lia ewords ; and the shields were made out of the ui^ual substitutes for such proper- ties,— namely, the covers offish-kettles and »aiice))Hns. These Mra. Stickleback herself assured me that her son, Ca-sar Augustus, had been at infinite pains in collecting, and also that he had actually cauted quite a wrarcity of euch articles in their vieinit>', and their price to riite up to mure than double. They were well scoured, and very (ii'Tcely painted with what I suppose to Ik- sotne of " Satan's t/mcM," since I know of no other potentate win, could ever have assumed such. The best properties and tlrc»sie> were, of course, somewhat unequally divided, and few in number, like the lirrrica of Vetrvthio'* Bcrvanta ; —
" Tktre were none fine but Adam. Italpli, and GrvKOry ; 71m ml were lagiied, old, and be^ij-ady.**
But of all the characters, by far tlie greatest and grandest personage was Vizarru himself, as right was no doubt. To be sure, a gaudy old Turkish suit, with cu^n, calpac and turban, tin crescent, aci- mitar, &c. were not in tlic purest style of costume; but then the wearer did so roiir, and rant, aitd strut, and lyranniiie, that he must have been worse than a 'J'urk who held him to be a hair's breadlli behind Francisco Fizarro hiniM'lf in tliuse quiJitie^. The performer of this |»art was a huge black-haired individual, named Josephus Elijiih ^chmoliinRer, whom I uuwiirily supposed to be a German Jew; though JMrs. Stickleback siKin enlightened niy ignorance, by Mving thut '■ Bomc of bis faniily were such, but that Mr. Jovephus wati )i" sooti n ChriMian as any of themselves, um\, having come over W Kt>Kl»»«l young, he wai thought to ^tcak the lunguc as well u
FAMILY DRAMATICAU.
they Hid." There waa no HenyiDg xficrtions to poyrerFuWy iup- portcd, especially an I was very much of her mind ; but /low he apake, you will 1h- able to conceive, when 1 Iclt yow xhiit he smindetl n M3 all, «r as t; and > AS /Ahf and that thus he proinniiu-ni t'izarro'% opening wpeedi in the third wcne of the third *ct : — " Veil, eanri* rintis id>>l$. Fortune!! ! be mine ruin thy vork and ihy bwist. To m)ne:ielt3 \ vill still lie true. Vet, ere I fall, ^ranl me thv Hmilet to pr'jiii>er in von net* of venf^eanres ; an<l be tJint smiles, Alontxu'i deathn !"
I flhall not try your patience bv g;^ng all through " the mnrder of PiMnro/' scene by scene, and character by character ; for in auch ca«e< as this, enough i» britt-r than a tVast. Some circttmstaiici-a in the representation, however, struck me ns bcine novel. Onv wiui, that instead of RolLi offering the Castilian sentinel a wed|{e of gold as the bribe far viMling Ahns4>, he produced a small |>ert, cockney-lookinj:. reil leather purse, with a tuck, and stamiicd with the words, "A Trifle from jMarj;ate!" In the last scene, too, the hl{{h, rude, and liuzarduus bridge between the lolly rocks, was a long and broad white deal board, not five feet from tJic floor, so se- curely planted, that no eflbrt of the Peruvian could push it off the aideboard without the aid of the Spiinish soldiers, who very consi- derately came to his assistance, and who aAerwardi^, with equal con- sidemtinn, set it up again. The curtain drop|ied at laat, without Vf other accident thuii the usual one of leaving Pizarro's body half lutaidc, which wus dragged in by it« legs and arms.
1 was now determined to niuke my e»ca]>e as soon as I decently
could; but preiiunLly ciime un original epilogue, of about the snme
tJDcrit as the former address, boih of which were of the kind men-
llianed by Bayesi, when be says, " I have made a prologue and an
"" _ le, which may botli serve for either ; that it, the prologue for
I epflogue, or the epilogue fur Uie prologue : nay, they may both
Mrve for any other play a« well as this." By tlie time it was over,
yharro was so mucli refreshed as to enter again in the raiae hubit.
!id roar to us Braham's "Death of Jt'elsou," in the voice of a
3, his lower notes aud his pruiiunciiiUou being |H>tiitively
rAiL
" Tvosh ilk Tratiilni's bay Vi saw de Frencbmans lay,
£»ch hart* rot a bounainK den 1"
Atler this, which was about half-past eleven o'clock, one of the jriuiiKer fry of the Sticklebacks, who was considered to be endowed with no bttle ]Hirtion of the vi* comica, came forward in the habit of A Worn-out scarrcrow, having his face duly v.imi'thotl with Bruns- wick black, to cluirm the audience with the tasteful mclmly of" Jim Crow," The next entertainment was to have beim Madame Ves> tria's Savoyard song, by Ctira, for which purjMitie a real husear- dresscd thonkcy had been hired from ft real Savoyard, and securely tied to a choir in the green-room. About the middle of the necaitd meore of the previous elegant melodj* of " Jim Crow," faowe%'er, a loud and husty knock was heard, at which the performers, who knew that tliey were acting without the paternal licence, turned pale under iCheir paint, most of the audience fell into consternation, and the lltwtess started up, exclaiming, " Aly !>tjirs alive ! if there am't Mr. 'Sdcklcbock, after oil !" At the same time, the apartment was ob-
90
TUB BIRD OP PARAIllSK.
served to be rapiiUy filling with *moke, «nd a stronjf tmcll of Are, £rain the nnall adjoining parlour uied an a " 'tiring- bouse." In came Mr. Stickleback, truly tlie Provoked Husband, and in a 6tting miiod for playing Sir John Brute; and, alarmed at the smoke in the pas«aee, and the noi^e and confusion cverywberc, he rushed at once uito the Kreen.room. It was then discovered tbdt the husdAr-clreswd monkey had been amusing himself by fishing the cork floats out of the oil-trough, which had been carelessly set aside within his reach, with the wicks alight, and throwing them about the room ; when they had caught the dre&s of Ataliba, which he had hastily thrown aside to gi^t. ready for ht» hompipc>
It was with itome difficulty ttiat Mr. Stickleback was prevented fi'om twisting tlie neck of General Jocko, who, however, widely ea- Ca|)ed in tlie cuufuaion. A little prompt attention, and a giH>d deal of water, ouou put out Uic fire, and no great mi-seliicf waa done by it: but as for tlie oil. dirt, and disorder in the house, " St. UuniiUui !" thought I to myself with Garth die xwiiieherd, " how it muU be scraped and cleansed ere it be agnin fit for a Christian !" All these events liave, nevertlieless, effected one beneficial end: for I hear that when old Stickleback's passion subsided, he swore roundly tliat if ever he should find bis dwelling so turnetl out at windows again, he will have his wife indicted fur keeping a ilis- ordcrly houtie, and ftend both actors and audience all to the tread-
luiui
THE BIRD OF PARADISE.
Uow weak ia Matter when oomparetl with Mind 1
How slowly docs die hmvi those hieh lliuu(^iu writo Which spihl do«a so brilhanlly iiiilile!
The feeble pen lotU xlugLcisliljr behjiitl
Ttio^e llai>l)i[i}; visions ofifoCalic liglit, Tliftt piiM litforc ihc mimrs Inieinal night,
With all ilieii iiue% of beauty and of t;race I
Before the plodding instmment can trace
A word made up of letters cold and dead. The dauhng Bird of Paradise has fled.
Or, siiipp'd of its fair plumaEet drops to eanh. The coiourt faded fron its golden wings. Uh I 1 could weep to see such higfa-boni iliintjs,
Such fLuliiiig thoughti, that arc of heavenly birth,
De|)art without a rccoid of their wonb.
U that the Lightnings were my ready [len I Whui glowing pictures could l>c wrilteit tlicn !
Hew longs the everlasting mind to tell
Of scenes wliere scraplis rapt in glory dwell,
Caught ere ibeir culours fade, bkc dew-drops Isur, Tliat sparkle when the $;1or;ous sun is there I
But if a cloud obseure its kindlinji layi, Lost ate those colours, liki: tlic diamond bright;
No longer cut the dew-drop spaikUii); blaze — It is a drop of conimoa water quite.
91
A TALE OF GRAMMARYE.
Thk Baron came home in his fury and rage, He blew up his Henchman, he blew up his Page ; The Seneschal trembled, the Cook looked pale, As be ordered for supper grilled kidneys and ale. Vain thought ! that gnll'd kidneys can give relief, When one's oivd are inflamed by anger and grief.
What was the cause of the Baron's distress I Why sank his spirits so low T—
The fair Isabel, when she should have said " Yes," Had gi«n the Baron a " No." He ate, and he dnnk, and he grumbled between : First on the viands he vented his spleen,^ The ale was sour,- — the kidneys were tough. And tasted of nothing but pepper and anuff" ! — "Hie longer he ate, the worse grew affairs. Till he ended by kicking the butler down stairs.
All waa hushed — ^"twaa the dead of the night —
The tapers were dying away, And the armour bright Glanced in the light
Of the pale moon's trembling ray ; Yet his lordship sat still, digesting his ire. With his noae on his knees, and his knees in Uie fire, — All at once he jump'd up, resolved to consult his ComeUuM Agrippa de rebut occulta.
He seized by the handle
A bed-room flat candle. And went to a secret nook.
Where a cheat lay hid
With so massive a lid. His knees, as he raised it, shook, Partly,perhaps, from the wine he had drunk. Partly from fury, and partly from funk ; For never before had he ventured to look In his Great-Great-Grandfather's conjuring-book.
Now Lord Ranulph Fitz-Hugh,
As lords frequently do. Thought reading a bore,— but his caae was quite new ;
So he quickly ran tbroi^h
A cha'^ter or two, For without Satan's aid he knew not what to do, — When poking the fire, as the evening grew colder,
He saw with alarm,
As he raised up his arm, An odd-looking coimtenance over his shoulder.
Firmest rock wit! sometimes quake. Trustiest blade will Mmetimes breiUt, Sturdiest heart will sometimes fail. Proudest eye will sometimes quail ; — No wonder Fitz Hugh felt uncommonly queer Upon suddenly seeing the Devil so near. Loaning over his chair, peeping into his ear.
9S A TALE OF CRAHMARTE.
The (tranger first
The silence burst. And replied to the Bfuroo's look : —
" I would not intrude.
But don't thiuk me rude If I KnilT at that musty old book.
Charms were all reiy well
Ere Reform came to Hell ; But now not an imp cares a fig (or a spell.
Still I see what you want,
And am willing to gnuit The person and purse of the fiiir Isabel. Upon certain conditions the maiden is won ; — You may have her at once, if you choote to say ' Done I'
" The lady so rare,
Her manors so fair. Lord Baron, I give to thee ;
But when once the sun
Five years has run. Lord Baron, thy soul 'a my fee !"
Ob 1 where wert thou, ethereal Sprite }
Protecting Angel, where t Sure never before had noble or knight
Such need of thy guardian care t No aid is nigh — 'twas so decreed ;— ■ The recreant Baron at once agreed, And prepared mth his blood to sign the deed.
With the point of hia sword His arm he scored, And mended his pen with his Misericorde; From his black silk breeches The stranger reaches A lawyer's leathern case, Electa ajpaper, And snoffing the taper. The Baron these words mote trace: — " Five years after date, I promise to pay My soul to Old Nick, without let or delay, For value received.*' — " There, my Lord, on my life, Put your name to the bill, and the lady's your wife." • • • •
All look'd bright in earth and heaven,
And far through the morning skies Had Sol his fiery coursers driven,— That is, it was striking half-past eleven As Isabel opened her eyes.
All wondered what made the lady so late.
For she came not down till noon, Though she usually rose at a quarter to eight.
And went to bed equally soon. But her rest had been oroken by troublesome dreams : — She had thought that, in spite of her cries and her screams. Old Nick had borne off, in a chariot of flame, The gallant young Howard of Effinghame. Her eye was so dua, and her cheek so chill. The family doctor declared she was ill, And muttered darit hints of a drai^ht and a pilL
A TALB OF GUAMMARYE. '93
All duriog breakfast to brood doth she Mem
O'er BOoie secret woes or wrongs; For shti empties the salt-cellar into the creaiu,
Aod stirs up her tea witli the ton^. But scarce hath she finished her ihird round of toast.
When a knocking is heard by all — *' What may that be ? — 'tis too late for the post, —
Too soon for a morning call." After a moment of silence and dread. The court-yard rang With the joyful clau^ Of an armed warrior's tread. Now away and away with fears and alarms, — The lady lies clasped in young Kffinghame'i arms.
She hangs on his neck, and she tells liim true. How that troublesome creature. Lord Uanulph Fitz-llugli, Hath vowed and hatli sworn with a terrible curse, That, unless she will take him for better for worse. He will work her mickle rue 1
*' Now, lady love, dismiss thy fear, Should that grim old Baron presume to come here. We '11 soon send him home with a Rea in his ear; — And, to cut aliort tlie strife, My love 1 my life I Let me send for a parson, and make you my wife !" No banns did they need, no licence require, —
They were married that day before dark : The Clergyman came, — a fat little friar,
The doctor acted as Clerk.
But the nuptial rites were hardly o'er, Scarce had they reached the vestry door, When a knight rush'd headlong in ; From his shoes to his shirt He was all over dirt. From his toes to the tip of his chin ; But high on his travel-stained helmet tower'd The lion-crest of the noble Howard.
By horrible doubts and fears possest,
The bride turned and gaz'd on the bridegroom's breast —
No Argent Bend was there; No Lion bright Of her own true knight,
But his rival's Sable Bear ! The Lady Isabel instantly knew Twas a regular hoax of tlie false Fitz-Hugh ; And loudly the Baron exulting cried, '* Thou art wooed, tliou art won, my bonny gay bride ! Nor heaven nor hell can our loves divide!"
This pithy remark was scarcely made,
When the Baron beheld, upon turning his head,
His Friend in black close by ; He advanced with a smile all placid and bland, Popp'd a small piece of parchment into his hand.
And knowingly winked his eye.
As the Baron perused, His cheek was suffused
94 A TALE OP ORAUMAKVE.
Widi a flit^ betwffm briek-doit nnd brown : Whilethe fair Isabel Fainted, fttid fi-ll Tn a Mill and deaxh-like *woon. Lord Howard rouKd out, lill the chapel au<l witlc* Rang wiih cne« for t^urnt fcmhcrs ami volatile salut.
" Look at the date \" quolh ihe queer-looking man,
In his own peculmr tone; My word hath been kept, — deny it who can, —
And (lOiT I am com? Tor mine own.*' Mipht he ini« his eyes? — ^Ala* ! and alsek I Twas a bill ante-diiled full tiv« yean back I
Twa* all loo true —
It was over due — Tlic Icrm had cxl)i^^?d '. — he wouldn't " renew,"^ Ami llie Devil looked black as ih« Union liK'kt'tl blue.
The I^rd Fitt-Hngh
Made a ip^at to-do. And espectiklly blew up Old Nick, —
" Twni a stain," he iwore,
" On (lift name he bore To play such a rascally tricJt 1" — •' A tnckf* quoih Nick, in a lotip rather quick, " It '» one often playeJ upom people who ' ticL." "
Blue flnme-i now broke
From his mouth as he ipoke. They went mit, and kft an uncommon thick smoke,
\Vh;cl) eitvekinin^ quile
Hiiiiieiraiid tlie Kni||;til, Tlic pair iti a moment were clean out of sight.
When it waflwl away, '
Where tlie dickyns were they ? Oh ! no one might guew — Oh I no one might ey,^
But never, I wia,
pToin titut lime la \h\%, In 1ialL or in hovrcr, on mounlaiii or plain, |]m ttic EJarou been «eeu or been heard of again.
As for fair Isabel, al\er two or three nghs, She finally open'd her beautiful tyt*.
She coughed, and she saecwd.
And wns very w«1l ple&sed, Aj\cr being so rumpled, and towzLcd, and teased. To find, when rettofed from her panic and pain, My Lord llowiird had married tier orer a^n.
MORAL.
Be warned by our »lory, ye Nob1e» and Knights,
Wlio'rc so much in llic habit of '^flyiMg of kites j"
And beware how ye meddle auain with such Flights:
At leact, if your energies Creditors cramp,
Itemeinbtr a Unurrr '» alw;iy* a Scamp,
And took welt at the Rill, and the Date, and the Stamp i
Don't sinii in a hurry, whatever fuu du.
Or yoa II |^ to the Devil, tike Baron Fits-Hugh.
" D*I.T0(1."
FAMILY STORIES— No. VIII.
DR. INGOLDSBYS STOUY.
Tlie Lady Rohenia lay on her dentli-be<l I
So said the doctOFj — and doctor* are j(»nier«lly allowed to be judges in Ihcae miUers ; besides. Doctor Butts wiia the Court Physician ; be carried a cnitcli-handlcd staff, with its crasa of the blackest ebony, — raixoN de p/«w /
" If there no hope, iloctflr ?" wud Beatrice Grey.
*• Is th*re no hope ?" wild Everard In^ohlsby.
" Is there no hope?" said Sir Guy de Xfontgomeri — He wu the Lndi- Rohe«ia'H husband ; — he spoke the last.
Tne doctor nhook his bend : he looked at the disconsolate widower ■a puitt, then at the hour>glaR$; — its waning sand »eenied sadly to shadow forth the sinking pulse nf his patient. Dr. Butts was a very learned man. " Art limga, tUn brrrla!" said Doctor Butts.
" I nm very sorry to hear it." cpioih Sir Guy de Wonigomcri,
Sir Guy was a brave knight, mid a tall ; but he was no Scholar.
"Alas! my poor sister!" sighed lipgrjldsbv-
" Alaa ! my poor mistress !" sobbrd Beatrice.
Sir Guy neither sighed nor sobbed ; — his grief was too deep-seated Ibr outward manifestation.
"And how long, doctor, — f" The afflicted husband could not finish the sentence.
Doctor Butts withdrew his hand from the wriitt nfthc dying lady ; be pointed to the horologe ; scurve !\ nuarter of its sand reiniuned in the upper moiety. Agaiu he shook Iiifi head ; the eye of the pa- tient waxed dimmer, the mttliiur in the lliruat increased.
" What *B become of Father Francis ?" — whim]>ered Beatrice.
"The last consolations of the church — " suggested ETCrard.
A darker sliade came over the brow of Sir Gay.
" Where is the Confessor ?" continued his grieving brother-in-law.
" In the niintry." cried Morion Hacket pertly, as she tripped down stairs m &i>urch uf that veiicrut>le ecclcftiastic ; — " in the pantry, ij warrant nic:." — The bower-wuman was not wont to be in the wrong ; — in the pantry was the huty man discovered, — at bis de- votions.
" Pax vohitcum I" said Father Francis, as he entered the chamber of death.
" Fita brevir.'" retumet! Doctor Buttf : — he was not a man to be browbeat out oT IiIk Lutin, — and by a paltry friar Minim, too. Had H been a Bishop, indeed, — or even a mitreu Abbot ; — but a miserable Franciscan!
" Bcnedicite !" said the friar.
*• Art toBga I" retortefl the leech.
Doctor Butts adjiit^ted the tassels of his falling band, drew his abort sad-coloured clnak closer around him, and, grasping his cross- flundled walking-staff, stalked majestically out of the apartmenL — Father Francis hod the field to himself.
The worthy chaplain hastened to administer the last rite* of the church. To all appearance he had little time to lose: as be con- cluded, the disnisl toll of the Passing-Btll sounded from the bellVy tower ; little Hubert, the bandy-legged .Sacristan, was pulHng v. im all bis might — It was a capital contrivance that same Parsing- Bell:
96
FAMILY STORIES.
— which of the Urban* or InnociMits im-enteil it, is a query ; bul. wboicvtT it was, he tlescrved well of his country and of Christcmlum.
Ah ! our nnceptors wpre not Biich ftwls. after lUI, as wc, their de- generate children, conceit them to have heen. The Passing- Bell ! a most salemn warning to imps of every descriptiou, i* not to be re- garded witli im|niiiity : the most impudent SuccuOns o( them all dare as well dip his cliiws iu holy waU'r as come within the verpe of itx sound. OKI Nick hiniiscir, if he sets any value at all upon his t»il, had best convey himself clean «iut of hearinir, and leave (tie way open to Paradise. — Little Hubert continued pulling with all hi* might, and St. Peter began to look out for a customer.
The knell seemed to have some effect t'v»;n upon the Lady Ro- he«a : she raised her head "lightly ; iruirtictdate sonnds issued from her lips, — inarticulate. Uiat is, to the profane eiirs of the laity. Those of Father Francis indeed were sharper ; nnthinjj, aa he averred, could be more distinct than the words " A thousand marks to tlie priory of St. Mary Kouiicival." Now the Lady Kohesia Ingoldsbv iiad brought her fmshand broad lands and large possessitms : mucn of her ample dowry, loo, was at her own disposal, and nuncupative wills had not yet been abolished by Act of Parliament.
"Pious sftii'l !" ejaculated Fatlier Francis. "AlhouMiid marks, she said — "
" Ifahe did, I '11 be ahut !" aaid Sir Guy dc Montgomeri.
" — A ihousaiid marks r continued the confeusor, fixing Ins cold grey eye upon tJie knight, as he went on, heedless of the interrup- tion;— "ft thousand tuarks ! and as manyviicit and Valvrs ahalt be duly said — as soon as the money is paid."
Sir Guy shrunk from the monk's giize ; he turned to the window, and muttered to himself something that sounded like " Don't you wish you may get it?"
• •••••
The bell continued to toll. Father Francis h.id <piitted the room, Liking with him the remains of the huly oil he had been using for Extreme Unction. Rverard Ingoldshy waited on him down stair*.
"A thousand thanks!" said the latter.
•■ A thousand marks !" said the friar.
" A thousand tlevtU I" growled Sir Guy <le Montgomeri from thic top of the landing-place.
But his accenw fell unheeded : hifl brother-in-law and the friar were gone; he was left alone with his departing lady .ind Beatrice Grey.
Sir Guy de Montgomeri »lood pcnaivcly at the foot of the bed: his anns were crossed upon his boi^nm, his chin was sunk upon his breast ; his eyea were filled with tears : the dim rays of the fading watch-light gave a darker shade to the furrows on hia brow, and a brighter tint to the little bald patch on the top of his hcad.^for Sic Uuy was a middle-aged gentleman, tall and iiortly withal, with a slight bend in his shoulders, but that not much: his complexion waa somewhat florid, i-»|)eciidly about the noee ; but hi.* lady wu in ex/mnM, and at tldn )iurticiilur nKiment be was paler than usual.
"Bimbonie!" went the bell. — The knight groanud audibly ; Beatrice Grey wiped her eye with her little square apron of Ince de Malines : there was a moment's pause. — a moment ofinten&c affliction ; she let it fall, — all but one corner, which remained between her finger and thumb. — She looketl at Sir Guy ; drew the thumb and foreGnper of
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PAMII-y STORIES.
W
t
hi
hcf other hand slowly nionc it* border, till they reached the oppo. ■ite extremity ^She sobbetl aloud: "So kind b laily I" said Beatrice Grey. — "So encclleni a wife!" responded Sir fJuy. — "So^ood!" ««id the damsel. — "So dear!" said the kiiight. — "So pious!" said ihe. — " So humble!" Raid he. — "So gomi to the poor'" — ^"So ca- phal m manager !" — "So puiietual at matins!" — " Dinner dished to a moment!" — "So devout !" said Bcutricc. — "So fond of me t" aaid Sir Guy. — "And of Father Fraiicis !" — "Wliut liio devil do yoa loean by that.*" wid Sir Guy de MontBomeri. • « •
The knijrht and the maiden had rutig their antiphonic chniif^es on the 6ne quftlitiev of the departing lady, lilt^ the Strophr and .iHlisiropfie of a ureck play- The cardinal virtues once dioposed of, her minor excellencies came under review : — She would drown a witcli, drink lambawool at Christmas, hcf^ Dominie Dumpy's boya a h(>)irl;iy, and dine upon sprats on Good Friday !^A low moan from the nidtjert of these eulogies wouhl intunate that the enumeration of her good decdj waa not altogether lost on her, — that the parting spirit felt and rejoiced in the testimony.
" She waa too good for earth I" continued Sir Guy.
"Ye — Ye— Ve»!" sobbed Beatrice.
** I did not deticrvc her !" said the Knight.
" No-o-o-ti I" cried tlie damsel.
"Not but that I made her an excellent husband, and a kind; but the it going, and — and — where, or when, or how — shall i get aneh another t"
"Not in broad England, — not Jn the whole wide world 1" re- sponded Beatrice Grey ; " that i«, not_/««/ *uch anotlier I" — Her voice ■till faltered, but her accents on the whole were mure articulate : she dropped the corner of her apron, and had recourse to her handkerchief; in fact, her eye* were petting red, — and so was the lip of her none.
Sir Guy wa» lilent ; he gaxed for a ffw moments steadfastly on the fteeofliitf lady. The single word "Another!" fell from hia lips like a diitani echo ; — it is not ot^en that the viewless nymph repeats more thtn i« alxolutely necessary.
•• Bim ! borne!" went the beJl.^ Bandy- legged Hubert hail l>een lalliDg for half an hour ; — he htgnn to grow tired, and Ht. Peter
" Mstrice Grey !" said Sir Guy de Montgomeri, " what 'A to be dotw? what 'b to hccorae of Montsomeri Hall } — and the buttery. — ■Md the wrvanta f and what — what 's to become of me, Beatrice GrcT ^'* — There was patlioa in hie tones ; and a solemn |uiu*e snc- CMdid. " I 'II turn Jfouk myself.'" said Sir Guy.
" Monk !" said Beatrice.
" 1 11 be a Carthusian 1" repeated the knight, but in s tone leas asiiiml : he relaptNHl into a reverie. — Shave his head ! — he did not so nuch mind that. — he was getting rather bald already ; but, beans for dtohrr, — and tho«« without butter, — and then a horse-hair shirt !
The knight seeme<I undecided: his eye roamed gloomily round tlv apartment, paused upon different objects, but as if it saw them not ; Kj sense waj shut, and there was no specubitioii in its glance : h r««CAl at last unon the fair face of the sympathizing damsel at hu fide, heautifii] m her grief.
Her tears had cyaseil ; but her eyes were cast down, and mwum- Wly filed upon her delicate little foot, which was baating t*"" Jrt'il'it tattoo.
VOL. lit. X
96
FAMILY STORIES.
— whicS of tlie tTrbans or Innocents invcntod it, is a qiierj* ; liut, whoever it was, he deserved well of hia country and of Cnnstendum.
Ah ! our Ancestors were not nucli fouls, after all, as we. their de- generate children, conceit them to hiive been. The Passitig-Bi;ll .' a most solemn warninp to imps of every descriptinn. is not to be re- garded with ini|iiinity : the mtistiinpiulent Succiibux of them all dare a.1 well dip his cluws in lioly water as come within the verfie of its Buund- Old Nick himself, if he sets any value at all upon his tail, had best convey liinitclf clean out of heartli):. iiiiil leave the way open to Paradise. — Little IIubiTt continued ])ulUn{; with all liis might, and St. Peter began to look out for a ciivtomer.
The knell seemed to have 8i>me effect even upon the Lady Ro- hesta : kIic raided her head »>lightlv ; inarticulate soundtt issued from her li|»», — iiiarticuliite, that is, to the profane earn of the laity. Those of Father Frnncii* indeed were Bbarpcr ; nothing, as he averred, could he more distinct than the words " A thousand marks to the priory of St. Mary Houncival." Now the Lady Rohesia Ingoldsby had brought her husband broad land* and large posae5«on« : much of her ample dowry, too. was at her own di^poftal, and nuncupative wills hnd not yet been abolished by Act of Parliament.
"Pious soul!" ejaculated Father Francis. "A thousand marks, she said — "
" If she did, I 'II he shot !" said Sir Guy dc 3lDntgoineri.
" — A thousand marks !" continued the cuidessor, fixing hit cold grey eye upon the knight, ua he went on, heedless of the interrup- tion ; — "a thousand marks ! and as many Aves and Paters shall Iw duly said — as Boon as the money is paid,"
Sir Guy shrank from the monk's gaze ; he turned to the window, and muttered to himself gumclhing that founded like " Don't you wish you may get it ?"
The bell continued to toll. Father Francis had quitted the room, taking with him the reniiiins of the holy oil he had been using fitr Estrcmc Unction. Everard Ingoldshy waited on lum down stairs.
"A thousand thanks 1" sitd the latter.
" A thousand marks!" said the friar.
" A thousand devils!" growled Sir Guy de Montgomeri from the top of the landing-place.
But his accents fell unheeded : hia brother-in-law and the friar were gone; he was left alone with his departing lady and Beatrice Gre^.
Sir Guy dc Montgoracri sIimkI pensively at the foot of the bed: his anux were croM&cd upon bis liosom, his chin was sunk upon his brcRst; his eyes were filled with tears : the dim rays of the fading watch-light gave a darker shade to the furrows on his brow, and a brighter tint to the little bald patch on the top of his head, — for Sir Guy was a middle-aged gentleman, tall and portly withal, with a slight bend in his shoulders, but thai not much : h'i!> complexion was somewhat florid, especially about the nose; but his lady was m txtrrmia, and at this particular moment he was paler than usual.
"Bim home !" went the bell. — The knight groanccfaudibly : Beatrice Grey wiped her eye with her little square apron of lace «le .^lulincs : there was a moment's pause,- — a moment of intense affliction ; she let it fall, — all hut one comer, which remained betwwn licr finger and thumb.— She looked at Sir Guy ; drew the thumb and forefinper
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PAHILY STORIES. 99
Doubtless the a(ln^ " Then ii idao; > slip
Twixi ibe cup and the lip,"
hstli ri-ference to mvtlicine. Sir Guy's Up was Again nil but in con- jtinrtton with thjii uT liix hriiW elect-
It htii be«n hinted alrcaily that there vras a little round polished patch on the suimnit of the knight's jKrkramum, from which hit locks had gradually receded ; a sort of oo/r'j, — or rather a Mwii lilattc in miniature^ rising above the highest point of wgetHtioii. It was on thi» little »pot, undefended alike hy Art n\ii\ Xatiire, that at thi* intcre*tini; inomettt a blow descended, nuch hh wo must borrow a term from the Sister Island adequately (o describe, — it was a •* HTiack r
Sir Guy surted upon hi) feet ; Beatrice Grey atarted upon hera ; but a mnglc glnnce to the rear reverted her position, — she fell upon her knees and screamed.
The Knight, too, wheeled about, and beheld a sight which mi^ht have turned a bolder man to stone, — It was She .'—the all but defunct Roliesia. — there she sat, bolt upright! Her cycjt no lunger i;laxcd with the fitni of inipendin|; diii80iutiun, but Bcintilluting like Hint aud steel ; while in her hand she gratped the bed'StaS',— a weajvon of mtekle might, as her hu-tband's bl<wdy coxcomb could now well tes- liiy. Worda were yet wanting;, for the ()iiin»ey, which her rage bad broken, still impeded lier utterance ; but the&irengtli and rapidity of her guttural uitonaliuti.v uu^iired well for iH;r future clotjuetice.
Kir Uuy de .Moiitgomeri stood for a while like a man dislr'Xueht; tliiii resurrection — fur such it seemed — had quite overpoweretl him. " A husband ot^iimes makes the bcht physician," says Uie proverb ; fa« was a living person ifieation of it;* truth. Still it was whimpered he had been content with Doctor Bmts, but his lady was restored Ui bless him for many year?,^ — Heavens, what a life be led!
The Lady Kohesia mende<l space; her t|uin»cy was cured; the bell wxN stopped, and Uttl« Hubert, tlie ^>ac^istan, kicked out of the chapelry ; St. Feter opened bis wicket, and looked out, — There wu Qobody there :^9o he Hung-to the gate in a passion, and went back to his lodge, grumbling at being hoaxed by a runaway ring.
Vears roll^ on. — The improvement of Iwdj' Kohesia's temper did not keep pace with that of her health ; ami, one fine morning. Sir Guy de Slontgonieri wa* seen to enter the purlr eochi-rr of Durham House, at that time the town residence of Sir Walter Raleigh. N»> thing more was ever heard of him ; but a boat full of adventurers WKi known to have dropped down with the tide that evening to Difptford nope, where lay the good ship, the Darling, commnndeti by Captain Keymis who sailed nest morning on the Virginia voyage.
A brass plate, some eighteen inches long, m.iy yet be feen in Dtn- ton chancel, let into a broad slab of Ilethersden marble; it repre- sents a lady kneeling, in her winipic am\ hood ; her hands arc clasped in prayer> and beneath is an inscription in the characters of the age,
" ^tait for n* sotoU of »' IvitJiit Uontft, SbD lor flflf C^rUttniotott*'!"
The date is illegible; but it ajtpears that she lived at least till Klizabeth's time, and th.-it the disisoiution of monasteries had lo*t St. Wary Uouncival her ihousaud marks. — As for Beatrice Grey, it is well known that she was living in l.'iUlt, :tud then liad %-irginiiy enough left to Iw a Maiil of Uonotir to " ignud Queen Ik-ss."
J
THE TEMPTATIONS OP ST. ANTHONY.
ILLVSTXATLD BT CEOIUlk CILII1K6HAIIX.
" Hi would ham pikMed & pleuftnt Ufe at iu Sn deipltc of the drvil uiil kU bu worka, (f lus patli luitl iint ^M'■l crosMnl by a IwiiiK tlial OkiiK* mure iierpluit; Ui norui] mail ihuii gtiostii, Kulilinn, and th» wbule nte of witcIiM |mt Wt;«thitr, ami (hM WM— a wamui .' '^SkrtrliSvoi.
St. Axthoiit nt on « lo^ly iUkiI,
And a book woB in his haad ; KcviT liik vyo fiotii lU pat(G be look, EitliM u> fi^lit or left to look, But yr'iih itU'iutfuii •oul, us was Ins rule.
Till) lidly page he MCAijiietL
** Wu Mill woo," said llie imp, " Sl Aalhunji'* ry«»
Off from bin liulj' buuk : W«- will go (o hitn m11 ill itmngc 4l{9gtilM, And ttoso him wiili Liu|;lilei, whoops, nod crtes,
Tliiit Iu; u|H}n v* rDajr louk.*'
Tliu Dvvit *>M in lh« beat humour thit thijr
That ever liit highnm was in : And tlial't wliv he Mn( out liii inipM lo i>Uy, And ha fuTnishud ilivm torclies Id li^bl tneir way, Nor Hlititrd lliein inct'ii.si; to bum as the/ may,^
Siilphui, and [iIicK, and rostti.
So they cams \o the Saiiil iu a motley crew,
A l»cten)gcneou> rout: Hian wete imps of every shape and hue. And K>iii« looned black, aod tome lookt^l blue. And ttii-jr pasird and vaiicd before the view.
And twitted ihetnselvfs ikbout : And h^d the/ trulnbilM Ihos lo you, I think you 'd have fell in ■ bit ofa sl«w,— <. Ut so should myself, I doubL
There wne some witli fcalhiMi, and some with scnlt:*,
Aiid some with warly skins ; Soma had not hc«ds, and some hud tails. And some had claws like iron nailt ; And somr had rx>nibs and bmks Lik« bmU, And yet, like jays, could utter words ;
Aud •umc Itad ^Is and hos.
Soina rode an skeleton beasts, anayed
Id vEold and wlvel stuff, With iich tiaras on the bead. Like kini^ aud queens among the dud ; While fucoaiid bridle-hand, diiplay'd, 111 hue and aubaiiuioe scrmed to cop« Will] niaayots in a mieroacope, Atid tlieir thin lint, as white as soap,
Wetw coldrr tiiaii cntiugh.
And sptdrn htfi (lou llie eetling hung,
From every creek and nook : They had a cnfly, uKly Ruise,
And looked ai tlic Saint with thuir vinht eyei ; ,
And all Ihul iiialiL« could devise or evil 10 the good and wise
Seened wcUing from ihcir look.
THE TSUPTATIONS OF ST. ANTiIO:<Y. lOl
B«ellct ;ii><J slow-worm* crawled aboni.
And toads did squat demure; FnHO holes in tlw wtunscotm^ mice peeped out, O a sljr old cat with bis whiskered niout ; Asd roTiy-roels, a full spaa loog, DaiKnl II) and out in an emtleM tllKiDg : There ne'er bus beeii ttxa tuch extnvaipkDl r\wt
From that lime to this, 1 'm lure.
Uui the ^ood St. AntSony kept hia eyes
KiTcd on the holf book ; — From it they did not aink nor rise ; Nor sights oor laughter, shouts nor cheai
Could «in avtay bis U/ok.
A qoaiot imp sat in an earthen pot,
111 a l>i^-t><:lliiHl Kutlu-ii jjiit Hat be : Tlirougb bolea in the bouom his le^ outsbot. Anil liolas in lh« aida hi« arms bad got. And lua bead cause out through the mouib, Cod wot f
A conical tight to tm.
Aod be drummed on his bdly so £ur and round,
Ob hb belljr to routd and foir ; And h gave forth i niiiil>)iiii;, luin^lcd sound. Twill a noAed bell and a srowltng hound,
A comical loaivd to bcai : And be sal on the editv of a lable^deak,
Aad dratnaml it with bis beels ; And b« looictd as sbange lod a« pictureaqu* As the fiffuns we ice ta an aiabeMne, Ilalf hidden m flvmnt, all puntw in Eres^ue,
In Golbio vaulted ceiU.
Tbett he whooped and bawed, aod winked and griuoed.
And hia e^ Mood out with gltie ; And be tatd these words, and be sung l)ii» song, Asd bit leg! and his arms, with tlieir duiihle prong, Karoing lime with his tune aa it galloped aktiig, StiUon the pot aod At tibk dinned
As birth to his song gave be.
** Old T0D7, mj hoy ! shut op joui book.
And kam 10 be men; and gay ■■ Ton ill bke a bu in bis oloinmd nook, I jke a nwnd-^boutdcr'd foot of aa owl you look ; But itnigbiai your faMk from its booby crook.
And oKWe sociable be, 1 piay.
" Lrt a* sea you fan^b, let «s hwr you sing i
TbhcaleawMt (name, old boy! RcMsher thai lifc bv a Oeetiag wing. AiA lk«n <«■•• Dcuh, that stem old king,
S* w* *d beocx Ottke sure of joy."
0«i dw aNd St. Anthony bent lits eyes
Una tba holy boofc: Br hnni iImi lonf wid a bu^h oriw, B«t h« bMw 4ai *• nwu had a naughty guu^,
Aad ht M MH ore 10 look.
lOfl THE TEMPTATIONS OP ST. ANTHONY,
Ario((>er imp came in a ni&fquerade,
Most like to n monk's a,ttirc : But of livjng bats his cowl was tntide. Their winf^s slilchH together with spid» ihreai); Aiitl Tuuud and uttout Inni they fluricrtxi atid played ; Aud his eyes shot out from their mtsty shade
Lung parallel bars of lira.
And lii» loose t«eth chattered like clanking boaSi
When the gibbet-trcc sways in the blast : Aiid with suritUuu; ilifikui, and siill«d ^ruans, He mocVed the good SI. Anthouy's Iohm Aji Iiq tiiultcrcd liii pruyui full iatL
A rus^iry uf bends was l>iiiiu; by li<$ vidt^,—
Oh, uaurit-laukiiL^ beads were lliey ! And still, wh€u the good Saint dropped A beadj lie (Iruji)ied a litolh, and he took guod heed To rattle his string, and tliu lonta replied,
Like m nitlle-siiitke'.t tid at |)lti)*.
But tlie fpod St. Aniliony bent his eyes
Upon the holy book ; n« h«at(l ll);it mock of (;Toan5 and sifchi. And he knew ihm the tbiiist had as vril gutw.
And hf did nut dure lu luttk.
Anotlir^r imp came with a irmupet- snout,
llial was niDUlh and nose in one : It bad KlopR like a flute, as you nerer may doubt, Where his long lean finders cBpered about, As he twm^ted hU nanul roeloaies out,
Id quaver, and shake, and run.
And his head moreid forward and backward still
On iiiii lonif and sn^ky n«ck ; As he bent his ener^es all to fill rii« iintey tube with wind and xkill, And hf ifteeied liLi oe raves out, until
'Twas well-nigh ii-ady to brrak.
And close to Si. Anthun y's ear be came,
And piped bi» iiiusit: In : And the shrill suuiid went through ihet^ood Suiiil'i rrsims, Willi a Rinart and a siinf;, like u shred of flanie^ Ut A be« in llie ear, — which is much th« sRiue,^
And he shivered with the din.
Uut the ffood St. Anthony beiil his cyot
LI poH the holy bouk ; He livanl that ^nuui with its ^inlet cries, And lit? kitew that the imp bad an evil guis^.
And he did not dare id look.
A thirg with homy eyes was there.
With horny eyti like the dead : And Its long shaqi notv was all of bom, And its bony eliceks of Itekh were shorn, And iis ears were like thin coses torn From feel of kine, nnd its jaws were ban: ; And bah-bou«s ercw, iiutMd of bur,
Upon its skinless bend.
THE TEMPTATIONS OF ST. ANTHONY. 103
Iti body wu of thlo btrdy bones.
Bound round with a pnrchment ikin ; And, ithen 'iwas struck, the hollow tones That circled round like dnim-dull groans,
Bespoke a void witliia.
Its arm was like a peacock's leg.
And the claws were like a bird's : But the creep that went, like a blast of plague. To loose the live flesh irom the bones, And wake the good Saint's inward groans. As it clawed his cheek, and pulled his hair. And pressed on his eyes io tneir beating lair.
Cannot be told in words.
But the good St. Anthony kept his eyes
Still on the holy book ; He felt the clam on his brow arise, And he knew that the thing had a horrid guise.
And he did not dare to look.
An imp came then like a skeleton form
Out of a chunel vault : Some clindngs of meat had been left by the worm. Some tendons and strings on bin 1^ and arm. And his jaws with gristle were black and deform.
But his teeth were as white as solL
And he grinned full many a lifeless grin,
And he rattled his bony tail ; His skull was decked with gill and fin, And a spike of bone was on his chin. And his bat-like ears were targe and thin,
And his eyes were the eyes of a snail.
He took his stand at the good Saint's back,
And on tip'toe stood a space : Forward he bent, all rotten-black, And he sunk a^in on his heel, good lack I And the good Saint uttered some ghostly groans. For the head was caged in the gaunt rib-bones, —
A horrible embrace ! Aiu] the skull hung o'er with an elvish pry. And cocked down its iDdian^rubber eye
To gaze upon his face.
Yet the good St. Anthony sunk his eyes
Deep in the holy book : He felt the bones, and so was wise To know that the tiling had a ghastly guise,
And he did not dare to look.
Last came an imp, — how unlike the rest 1 —
A beautiful female form : And her voice was like music, that steep-oppress'd Sinks on some cradling zephyr's breast ; And whilst with a whisper his cheek she press'd.
Her cheek felt soft and warm.
When over his shoulder she bent the light
(>f her soft eyes on to bis page. It came like a moonbeam silver bright. And relieved him then with a mild delight, For the yellow lamp-lustre scorched his sight.
That was weak with the mists of age.
YEAR.
Her ! Uie f^oorl St. Anthony Ito^led his e]rcs
Ovft tlic linlj! book : IIo ho ! At the comers ihey '^n to me, For he kntw that ih« thing hail n \ove\j guise,
And he could doI clioo^e but look.
Tlier« sre many devils thai walk OiU worlO, —
Devils Urf!«, and d«Tils small ; DcriU so meagre, and d«vili so «t0ut ; Dm]« with horna, and devils vrithout; ^ly devd« that (;o with iheir taib upciirled, Dold devils Ihflt carry them quite unfurled ;
Meek devil*, nnd devili iliat hny\ ; Serious d«vils, and liui;hinj; devils ; Itniis for churches, and iin[»t« for nrcU ; Devils ufteouth, and devili poliu ; Devil* b|[Kl,ui(l dcvili wtjito; Devils foolish, and devilii wise ; Uul a Iiiui£)uiT)i wainan, with two bright eytt.
Is the woT&eal devil of all.
T.H.S.
THE NEW YEAR.
Lintt on Ceorgt CridhkaMk't Ilhutratton ofJimuary, in the Ctmic Almmnick
far 1838*.
»r TBS AUTHOR OP " HRA0LOMO BALL."
A ORr.tT philosopher an thoii,Geoise Cruilisluink,
In ihy iininatcli«d groieiquvneff 1 Antic dance,
WiEie, mirth, and miinn, wetKime thy New Ywr,
Who make* Iht t-iiiry ;i« a mliant child.
With smiling fiice, in holiday apparel,
Hearing a romurjnpiK, crowned >nd clustered
With all ihc elemetils of Testnl joy :
All smiles »nd |itonii«c«- Bui looking closet;
Upon that smiling face, 'tis but a tmuk ;
Fitted Ru well, It almost seems a facv ;
Dut mil a mask. What features lurk beneath,
The rolling months will show. Thy ULd Year ptuan. —
Dwic«d nut in morkery by the ft-nive band, —
A tided form, with thin and pallid face.
In spectral weeds ; her maik u^ioq the ground,
ller Aioahha-a's tiom ^e^'e^sed| and emptird
Of all Rood thiiiii^, — not even hope remain iiii(.
Such will the N<jw Ye&i be: thai smiling; mask
Will fdill ; to some how soon : to many later ;
At last to all I The itarae transparent shade
OfwHied means and broken [>roim*M
Win nuikc its exit : and ;uiat)ier Year
Will enter masked and smilini;, and be welruinni
With rainMnliy aud rorclry, as Uin is.
105
OLIVER TWIST;
0R» TUE PAHISH BOV's PltUOBBSS.
BY BOZ.
ILLtlSTHATBD BY CEOItGE CHCIKSHAXK.
BOOK THK SKCOVD.
CIIAPTKR THE FIBSr*
WBICn VOKTAISS T«C SUBSTAlirt QT A PLCASAHT COMTKSSATIOlt atTIVKIH ME. BVUKLK tua A [.<l>v; AND KNOW* THAT EVKK A BSADLK MAT BK StrfiCBPTI BLK OR SOME POINTS.
Thk night was bitter cold ; the snow lay upon the groiinfl frozen into u hard thick crust, so that onl_v the lieapit that had drined into by-wavs and corners were afiVcted by the sharp wind that howled abroad, wbicb, as if expending increased fury on such prey as it found, otiught it savagely up in ctouils, and, wbirbng it into a thousand misty eddies, scattered it in air. Bleak, dark, and piercin;; cold, it was a night for the well-housed ■nd fed to draw round the bright fire, and thank God they were at hom« ; and for the homeless starving wretch to lay him down and die. Many hunger-worn outcasts close their eyes in our bare -strccK at such times who, let their crimes have been what iliey may, can hiirdly open them in a tnore bitter world.
JSuch was the aspect of out-of-door affairs when Mrs. Comey, the ruatrun of the workhouse to which our readers have been already introduced as the birth-place of Oliver Twist, set herself down before a cheerful fire in her own little room, and glanced with no small dfgrce of complacency at a small round table, on wtiich stood a tray of corresponding size, furni»Iicd with all Decesury materiul.s fitr the most grateful nifal lliut matrons mjoy. In fact, Mrs. Corney was about to solace herself with a eup of tea: and as she glanced from the table to the tireplacci where the smallest of all |K>&sil)Ie kettles was (dinging a nma\l long in B small voice, her inward satisfaction evidently in- rreaaed, — so much so, indeed, that M r». (.'■orney smiled.
*' Well," said the matron, leaning her elbow on the table, and looking reflectively at the fire, " I 'm sure we have all on us a ^TCBi deal to be grateful for — a great deal, if we did but know It. Ah t"
lAn. Comey shook her head mournfully, as if deploring the mental blindne^ u( paupers who did not know it, and, thrusting 4 silver npnon (private property) into the inmost rvccsbes of « l«o.4iunoc tin tea-caddvi proceeded to make the lea.
Mow slight a thing will diHlurb the equanimity of our frail minds ! The black teapot, being very small and easily filled, na over while Mrs. Comey was moralizing, and the water ■tigfally scalded Mrs. Corney s hand.
vou III. 1
lOG
OLIVER TWIST,
" Drat tlie pot T mM the wortliy matmn, Ktting it down very hastily on the hob ; " a little stupid thing, that only holds a umple of cups ! What use is it of to aiiybocly P — except," said Mrs. Corney pausing, — '* except to a [lour detiolate creature like me. Oh dear !" m
With these words the matron dropped into her chair, and, V once mnre resting her elbow on the luble, thought of her solitary fate. The small teapot and the single cup hwi awakened in her,j mind sad recollections of Mr. Cornev, (who had not been dead] more than five-and-twenty years,) and she was overpowered.
*' I shall never get another !" said Mrs. Corney pettishly, " shall never get another — like him I**
Whether this remark bore reference to the hufrbaod or the' teapot is uncertain. It might have been the latter; for Mrs. Corney looked at it a« she spoke, and took it up afterwards. She hud jui^t tasted her first cup, when she wa.t disturbed by a soft tap at the room door.
" Oh, come in with you !"" said Mrs. Corney sharply. •* Some) of the old women dying, I wupjxise; — they always die when I 'm at meals. Don't stand there, letting llie cold air in, donH! What *» amiss now, eh ?"
" Nothing, ma'am, nothing,* replied a man's voice.
" Dear inc t" exclaimed the matron itt a much sweeter toneyj " is that Mr. Bumble?"
"At your service, ma'am," »aid Mr. Bumble, who had been stopping outpidc lo rub his^ shtH'.'i clean, and shake the snow off his coat, and who now made bia appearance, bearing the cocked- hat in one hand and a bundle in the other. " ijball 1 shut ttu door, ma'am ?^
The lady modestly hesitated to reply, Ie«t there should be ani impropriety in holding an interview with Mr. Bumble witl closed doors. Mr. Uumble, taking advantage of the hcititulion, and being very cold himself, shut it without farther permission.
*' Hard weather, Mr. Bumble," said the matron.
" Hard, indeed, ma'am," replied the beadle. " Anti-porochial ■weatbci" this, ma'am. We have given away, Mrs. Corney, — we have given away a matter of twenty quartern lottve«, and a cbcctic and a huf, this very blessed afternoon ; and yet them paupers are not otntenled."
"Of eourse not. When would ihey be, Mr. Bumble?" said the matron, sipping her tea.
"When, indeed, ma'am!" rejoined Mr. Bumble. "Why, here's one man that, in consicferation of his wife and large family, baii a quarteni loaf and a good pound of cheese, full weight. Is he grateful, niu'am, — is he grateful ? Not a copper farlTiing'a worth of it ! What does he do, ma'am, but aak for a few coals, if it 's only a puckvt- band kerchief full, he says I Coats f — what would be do with coals .^ — Toast his cheese with 'em, and then come Iwck for more. Tliat 's tho way with these
OLIVtR TWIST.
107
»
people, ma'am ; — fpve 'em a apron full of coaU It^^clay, and they 'II come back for another the day after to-morruw, as brazen at alabaster !""
The matron cxpros^od her entire concurrence in this intelli- gible simile, and tlie beadlt- went on.
*' 1 never," wiid Mr. Bumble, " sl-c anything like the pitch it's got to. The day afore yesterday, o man — you have been a married woman, lua'ani, and I may mention it to you — a maD, with hardly a raj; upon Ids back, (here Mrti. Corney looked at the flaor,) goes to our overseer's door when he has got com- pany coming to dinner, and says he must be relieved, Mrs. Corney. As he wouldn't go awayi and shocked the cunipanv very much, our overseer acnl him out a pound of potatoes and half a pint of oatmeal. * My God !' says the unyrateful villain, * what '■ the use of this to me ? You might as well jiive me a pur of iron spectacles.^ — * Very good,' says our overseer, taking em away again, * you won't get anything else here.' — ' Then I 'U die in the streets !* oays the vagrant. — ' Oh no, you wo'nt/ lays our overseer."
'* Ha! ha! — that was very gciod ! — so like Mr. Grannct, wasn't it r" inleqjosed the matron. ** Well, Mr. Bumble ?"
** Well, ma'am," reioiued the beadle, " he went away, and did die in the streets. There 'it a obstinate pauper for you !"
" It beats anything 1 could hiive believed !" observed the tutron emphatit^lly. '* But don't you think oul-of-dour relief a very \>3n\ thing any way, Mr. Bumble ? You 're a gentleman of experience, and ought (o know. Come."
** Mrs. Corney," said the beadle, smiling as men smile who ■re conscious of superior information, ** out-of-door relief, pro- perly managed, — properly managed, ma'am, — is the porochiol aaCp-gaord. The great principle uf out-of-door relief ir to give tbe paopers exactly what they don't want, and then they get tirw of cumiug.^
** Dear uic !" exclaimed Mrs. Corney. " Well, that is a gooil one, too!"
** Ye*. Betwixt you and me, ma'am," returned Mr- Bumble, " thai 'ft the great principle ; and tliat 's the reaM>n why, if you look at nnv CAses that get into them nwdacious newsp,iper8, you'll always observe that sick families havi- Irvh relieved with tbon of cheese. That's the rule now, Mr::. Coniey, all over the eouotrv. — But, however," luiid the )K-aille, simiping to un- pack his bundle, " these are official secrets, ma'am ; not to be ■pokni of except, as 1 may say, among the poroehial ollicers ■ueh OS ourselveH. This is the )K>rt wine, ma'am, that the board ofilered for the infirmary, — real fres.h, genuine port wine, only out of the cask this afternoon,— clear as a bell, and uo scdl- oinil,"
Having held the first bottle up to the light, and shaken it *tll to teat Its excellence, Mr. Bumble placed them both on the
1 3
lOff
ULIVK&. TWIST.
top of a chest of drawers, folded the handkerchtcF in which they had bcea wrappcti, put it carefully in his pocket, am) took up his hat OS if to gn.
*' You '11 have a very cold walk, Mr. Bumble " s&id the matron.
'* It hlowH, ma'am/' replied Mr. Bumble, ttiniing up his coaU collnr, " enough to cut one's ears off."
The matron looked from the little kettle to the beadle, who was moving towards the door ; and as the beadle coughed, pre- paratory to bidding her good-niglil, bashfully inquired whether — whether he wuuMii't take a cup of tea ?
Mr. Biituble iiistantaiieuusly turned back his collar ar^in, laid his hat and ^tu-k umu a ciiair, and drew another chair up to the table. As he slowly seated liiinsctf, he looked at the lady: ihe fixed her eyes upon llie little teapot. Mr. Bumble coughed again, and slightly smiled.
Mrs. Corney nisc to get another cup and saucer from the closet. As hhe »at down, lier eyes once again encountered those of tlie gallant beadle ; ithe coloured, and unpliL'd her/«elf to the task of making his lea- Again Mr. Burable coughetl, — louder xhh time than he had coughed yet.
*' Sweet, Mr. Bunible r" inquired the matron, taking up the sugar- basin.
" Very sweet, indeed, ma'am," replied Mr. Bumble. Ilefixed his eyes on Mta. (!'orney as lie said this; and, if ever a beadle looked tender, Mr. Bumbli- iras that beadle at that moment.
Tlie tea wa» uaade, and hauded in silence. Mr. Bumhie, having spread a handkerchief over his knees to prevent the crumbs fraiu sullying the splendour of his shorts, began to eat and drink, varying the«' amusement* occasionally by fetching a deep sigh, which, however, had no injurjuus cfrcrl upon ht.s ap- petite, but, on the contrary, rather seemed to fAcilitatc hia ope- rations in the tea and toast di-pariment.
" You have a cat, mu'aui, 1 see," said Mr. Bumble, glancing at one, who in the centre of her family was haaking before the fire ; " and kittens too, I declare I"
" 1 ara so foud of them, Mr. Bumble, you can't think," re- plied the matron. "They're so happy, jo frolicsome, and so the«?rful, that they are quite companions for me."
'* Very nict; animals, ma'am,** replied Mr. Bumble approv- ingly ; " »o very domestic."
" Oh, jea !" rejoinc<i the matron with enthusiasm ; " bo fond of their home too, that it 's quite a pleasure, 1 'm sure."
'* Mrs. Corney, ma'am,'' feaid Mr. Bumble clowly, and mark- ing the time with his teaspoon, " I mean to say this, ma'am, that any cat or kitten that could live with you, ma'am, and not be fuud of its home, must be an at*, ma^am."
" Oh, Mr. Bumble!" remonstrated Mra. Corney.
" It's no use disguising factti, ma'am," said Mr. Bumble,
OLIVER TWIST.
109
tlovrly flourt»hin<!; the (easpoon with a kind of amorous dimity that made him doubly ioipressive; " 1 would drown it myself with plcaaure."
** Then you 're a cruel man," said the matron vivaciously, as she held out her hand for the beadle's cup, *' and a very hard. bearled man besides."
•' Hiinl-hrarted, ina'am !" said Mr. Bumble, " hard !"" Mr. Bumble resigned liis cup without another word, squeezed Mrs. Comey'a little finger as she took it, and inflicting two open- baadetl slajKi upon his laivd wm.sluoat, guve a mighty nigh, and hitched his chair a very little morstd farther from the fire.
It was a round tabic; and as Mrs. Curney and Mr. Bumble had been sitting umio^ilc each uther, with no great space be- tween them, and fronting the fire, it will bo seen that Mr. Bumble, in receding from the fire, and flill kft-ping at the table, iDcreascd the dittance between himself and Mrs, Corney ; which proceeding some prudent readers will doubtless be disposed to admire, and to consider an act of great heroism on Mr. Bumble's part, he being in some sort tempted by time, place, and oppor- tunity to give utterance to certam soft nothings, which, however well they may Wcome the lips of the light and thoughtless do •eem immeasurably beneath the dignity of judges of the land, Diembers of parliament, ministeni of ntale, lord-mavorA, and other great public functionaries, but more particularfy beneath the rtatcliness and gravity of a beadle, who (as is well known) should be the sternest and mn^t inflexible among them all.
Whatever were Mr. Bumble's intentions, however, — and no dnubt ihey were of the best, — whatever they were, it unfortu- luitely happened, an has been twice before remarked, that the table wait a round one; con»e(|uently Mr. Bumble, moving bin ciMxr by little and little, luxin begau to dimiuish the distance bctwcvn himself and tlie niatmn, and, continuing to travel mnud ihe outer c<lge of the circle, brought his chair in time close to that in urliii;h the uuitrou was seated. Indeed, the two chairs touched: and, when thev did so, Mr. Bumble stopped.
Now, if the matron liad moved her chair to the right, Hhe would Iiave been »corche<l by the fire, and if to the left, she cntut have fallen into Mr. Bumble's arms ; so (being a discreet malniti, and mi duiibt furesecing I hese conset]uences at a glatice.) khc remained where she was, and handed Kir. Bumble another cup of tea.
" Hnrd-hearte<l, Mrs. Corney .*" Bsid Mr, Bumble, stirring hid lea, and luokiiig up into the matron's face ; *' ore i/ou bard- faearti-d, Mr*. Cornev ^
•* Dear me !" e.\clttimed the matron, " what a very curious que«tiou from a single man ! What can you want to know for, Mr. BumbWr
I'lu* beadle drank his tea to the la&t drop, finiiihcd a piece of toa**, whisk^Hl the crumbs off his knees, wiped his lips, and dcli- facratoljr kiued the matron.
no
OLIVER TWIST.
*' Mr. Bumble," criod that discreet lady in a whisper, for ilit* fti^lit was »o preat that she had quite lost her voice, " Mr. Bumble, I shall scream !" Mr. Bumble made no reply, hut in a slow and dignified manner put his arm round the matron's waist.
As the lady had stated her intention of screaming, of course she would have screamed at this additional boldneM, but that the exertion was rendered unnecessary hy a hasty knocking at the door, whieli was no sooner heard than Mr. Bumble darted with much agility to the wine-bottlcR, and began dusting them with creat violence, while the matron 6har|)ly demanded who was there. It is worthv of remark, as a eurioufi physical in- stance of the efficacy of a sudden surprise in counteracting the eftects of extreme fear, that her voice bad quite recovered ah ita official asjwrity.
" If you please, mistrcM," said a withered old female pauper, hideously ugly, putting her head in at (he door, ^* old Sally is a-guing fast.
" Well, what's that to me?** angrily demanded the matron. " I can't keep her alive, can I ?"
" No, no, mistress," replied the old woman, raising her hand, " nobody can ; she 's far ueyond the reach of help. I 've seen a many people die, little babes and great strong men, and [ know when death 's a-coniing well enough. But she 's troubled in her mind ; and when the fits are not on her, — nnd lliat 's not often, for she is dying very bard, — she savs she lias got some- thing to tell which you must hear. She'll never die quiet till you come, mistress,"
At this intelligence the worthy Mrs. Comey muttered a va- riety of invectives against old women who couldn't even die without purposely annoying their betters; and, muffling herself in a thick shawl which she hastily caught up, bneflv re<)uested Mr. Bumble to stoj) till ^hc came back* lest anything particular should occur, and bidding the messenger walk fubl, and nut he all night hobbling up the stairs, followed her from the rcmm with a very ill grace, sculdiug all the way.
Mr. Bumble's conduct, tn\ being left to himself, was rather inexplicable. He opened the elo8i?t, counted the teafrpoons, weighed the tsugar-tongs, closely iuapi-ctcd a silver niilk-p«t to ascertain that it was of the genuine metal ; and, having satisfied his curiosity upon these points, put on his cocked-hat corner- wise, and danced witli much gravity four distinct times round the table. Having gone through this very extraordinarj' |wt- formance, he took ott' the cocked-hat again, and, spreading hini- Kelf befor*' the fire with his bark towards it, wemed to Iw men- tally engaged in taking an exact inventory of the furniture.
OLIVER TWIST.
Ul
I
I
I
CHAPTER THB SECOND
TKS&TS Ojr A TKSV POOK SUBJLCT, BVT IS A (HOKT OKI, A»P UA1 BS
nvvo or iifPOHTnKCE iw this bistorv.
It waa nu iinfil messenger of death that had disturbed the (juiet of the matron's room. Her body was bwit b^ age, her hmbs trembled wiili pal&y, and her face, distorted into a mum- bling leer, resembled more ihe grotesque shaping of Bome wild pencil than the work of Nature's hand.
AU<i f how few of Nature's faces there are to gladden ua with their licauty f The cares, and sorrows, and hungerings of the world change them as thev cliange hearts, and it is only when Ibosf passions f.U-f|i, ami \mvv lust tlieir hold for ever, iJiat the troubled clouds pass oil', and leave heaven's surface clear. It is a common tiling for the countenances of the dead, even in that fikfd and rigid state, to bubhide into the long-forgutien cxpres- ■toD of sleeping infancy) and settle into the very look of early hfe; M> calm, so peaceful do tbey grow again, that tho^e who knew them in their happy childhuoJ kneel by tlic coffin's stdo in awe, and see the ungcl even upon earth.
The old crone tottered along the passages and up the stairs, muttering sonic indistinct answers to the chidiugs of her com- panion ; and, being at length compelled to pause for breath, gave the light into her hand, and ren)ain<.'d beliind to follow as she iB^ht, while the more nimble superior made her way to the room where the sick woman lay.
It was a bare garret-room, with a dim light burning at the farther end. There was another old woman watching by the bed, and the parish apothecary's apprentice was standing by the fire, making a toothpick out of a quill.
" Cold night, Mrs. Corney," said this young gentletnao as the matron entered.
" Very cold indeed, air," replied the mistress in her most civil tones, and dropping a curtsey a& »\iv spoke.
** You should get better coaU out uf your cuntroctors," said the apothecary's deputy, breaking a lump on the top of the Hre with the rusty poker ; " tliew are not at all the sort of thing for a Qtld ni^ht."
" They 're the board's choosing, sir," returned the matron. '• The le'a^t they could do would be to keep ua pretty warin> for our places arc hard enough."
The cooversaiion was here interrupted by a moan from the woman.
Oh !" said the ynitng man, turning his face towards the , as if hf had previously quite forgotten the |>atienl, " it's all L'. P. there, Mrs. Curacy."
" It is, is it, sir.'" asked the matron.
^ If she lasts a couple of hours, 1 shall be surprised," said the apodiocary's apprentice, intent upon the toothpick's point.
U2
QLlVEK TWIST.
** It's a break-up of ihc Bytletn altogether. Is she dozing, old
ladv?"
i'ho ntifiitlaiit stooped over the bed to ascertain, and nodded in the atKrnintive.
" Then perhaps she'll gooffin that wAy, if you don't make a row,"' said the young man. " Put the light on the floor, — she won*t f4s; it there."
The atti^iidaot did as the was bidden, tiHaltinjr her hend mean- while to intimate that the woman would not die i-o easily : and, having; Hone so, resumed her seat by the Mde of the other nurse, who had by this time returned. The niislreM, with an exprc*- Bion of impatience, wrapped herself in her &hawl, and sat at the foot of the bet].
The apothecary's apprentice, havinjj completed the manufac- ture of the toothpick, planted himself in front of the 6re, and made good use of it for ten minutes or so, when, apiHircnily growinjr rfllher dull, he wished Mrs. Corncy joy of her job, and took himself tifl" on tiptoe.
When they had sat in silence for some tin»e, the two old wo- mpn rose from the lied, and, crouchin;L' over the fire, held rut their withered hands to cntch the heal- The flame threw a ghastly light on their shrivelled faces, and made their ugliness appear perfectly terrible, as in this position ihey began to con- verse in a low voice.
" Did she say any more, Anny dear, while I was gone ?" in- quired the messenger.
" Not a word," replied the other. " She plucked and tore at her arms for a Irltlc lime; but I held her hands, and she'sonn dropped off. She hasn*t much strength in her, so 1 easily kept her quiet. I ain't so weak for an old woman, altliouj;li 1 am on parish allowance ; — no, no.^
** Did she drink the hot wine the doctor said she was to have?" demanded the first.
" I tried lo get it down,'* rejoined the other : " but her teeth were light set, and she clenched the mug so hard, ihat it was as much as I could do to get ii back again. So /drank it, and it did me good."*
Looking cautiously round to ascertain that they were not overheard, the two hags cowered nearer to thefirv, and chuckled heartily.
*' 1 mind the time," said the first speaker, " when she would hare done the same, and made rare fun of it afterwards.**
*• Ay, that she woultl,'* rejoined the other ; " she bad a merry heart. A many, many beautiful corpses she laid out. as nice and neat as wax-work. My ohl eyes have seen thent.— ay, and tticM- old hands touched them tix> ; for 1 have liel)K.-d lier scores ^f time*."
tilretehing fortli her trembling fingers as she spoke, the old CIIVUlMre thouk them exultingly before her face ; and then, fuui-
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OLIVER TWIST.
113
bling in her pocket, brought out an old timcrdiscoloured tin siiufT- box, from which she shook a few grains into the outstretched palm of her ronipaninn, nnd a few more into hrr own. M'hile they were thus employed, the matron, who had been impaliently watching; until the dying woman sbiuhi awakt-n from her stupor, joinetl them by the fire, and sharply a^kcd how long she was to wait.
" Not Inngi mistrese," rq>licd the second woman, Itmking up into her face. " Wc have none of us long to wait for Death. Patience, patieoce ! he'll be liere soon enough for u» all."
" Hold your tongue, you doling idiot !" said ihe matron stemlr. " Vou, Martha, tell me; has she been in this way before P"
*' Ofien," answered the first woman.
*' But will never be again," added the second one ; " that is, shell never wake again but once,— ^nd mind, mi&tress, that won-t be for long."
** Long or short," said the matron snappishly, ** she won't find me here when she doe*;, and lake care, both of you, how you woriy me again for nothing. It's no part of mv duty to •ee ail the old women in the house die, and I wont, — that's more. Mind that, you impudent old harridans I If you make a fool of me again, 1 *11 soon cure you, I warrant you !**
Hhe was Ikiuncing away, when a cry from the two women, who hod lumcd towardi^ the bc<l, caused her to look round. The tick woman hud raisc-d herself upright, and was stretching her arms towards them.
•* Who's that ?'* she cried in a hollow voice.
** Hush, hush I** said one of the women stooping over her,-^ ** lie down, lie down !"
" I '11 never lie down again alive .'" said the woman struggling. ** 1 will tell her ! Come here— nearer. Let me whisper in your ear."
She dutched the matron by the arm, and forcing her into a chair by the bed«de was about to tipeak, when, looking round, ibe caught sight of the two old women bending forward in the attitude of eager lislcnerii.
** Turn them away," said the woman drowsily ; *" make haste — make haste !"
The two old crones, chiming in togt-iher, hi-gan pouring out many piteous lamentations that the poor dear wait t<K> far gone to know her best friends, and uttering sundry protestations that they would never leave her, when the superior pushed them from the room, closed the door, and returned to the lM>di>ide. On bemg excluded, the ohi la<He« changt-d (heir tone, und cried tbrougli the keyhole that old Sally was drunk ; which, indeed, vmsnot unlikely, since, in luldilion Ion ninilcrnte dose of 0|Uum pre*cribed by the apothecary, Jilu- was labouring under the riTectJ of a 6nal taste of gin and water, which had been privily
114
OLIVER TWIST.
administered in the openness of tbeir hearts by the worthy old ladies theninelvea.
" Now Hslen to me !" tuud the dying woman aloud» as if making a great effort to reviveone latent spark of t-ncrgy. *' In (liis very riKini — in lliis very lied — ! once unrsed a pretty youn^ ercemr', that was brought into the house with her feet cut and bruised with wallcing, and all soiled with dust and blond. She gave birlh to a boy, and dii>d. Let nic think — What was the year again ?"
" Never mind the year," ii&id the impatient auditor ; ** what about her ?"
*' Ay," murmured the sick woman, relapsing into her former drowsy stale, '* what about her ? — what about — 1 know !" she cried, jumping fiercely up, her face flushed, and her eye« »lart- ing frtmi her head, — " I robhed her, so I did ! She wasn't cold ■ — I tell you she wasn't cold when I stole it .'"
•' Stole what, for God's sake?" cried the matron, with a ges- ture as if she would call for help.
•' if/"- — replied the woman, laving lier hand over the other's mouth, — " the only thing she bad ! Siie wanted clothes to keep her wanii, and food to eat ; but she had kept it safe, and bod it in her bosom. It was gold, I tell you ! — rich gold, that might have saved iier life !"
" Gold !" echoed the matron, bending i-agerly over the woman as she fell back. *' Go on, go on — yes — what of it ? Wlw was the molhi-'r ? — when was it .*"
" She charged me to keep it safe," replied the woman with a groan, '* and trusted me as the only woman about her I stole it in my heart when she first showed it me hanging round lier neck ; and the child'B death, perhaps, is on me iM'sides ! They would have treated him hotter if ihey had known it all P
" Known what r" asked the other. " Speak !"
" The boy grew so like his mother," said the woman, ram- bling on and rot heeding the question, *' that I could never for- get It when 1 saw his face. Poor girl .' poor girl ! — she was bo young, too f — such a gentle lamb ! — Wail ; there '» more to tell. 1 have not told yon ail, have 1 ?"
*' No, no," replied the matron, inclining her head to catch th^ words as they come more faintly from the dying woman. — " Be quick, or it may be too late."
" The mother," said the woman, making a more violent cfTort than before, — ** the mother, when the |iaiiiH of dealh tirst came upon her, whispered in my ear, that if her baby was born alive, and thriva^d, the day might come when it would not feel disgraced to hear its poor young mother named. * And oli, my God !' she eaid, folding her thin hands together, ' whether it be boy or girl, raise up some friends for it in this troubled world, and take pity ■ijMin a lonely des<ilate chiht Bl)andonc>d to its mercy !' "
'^ I'he ixiy's namei'" dcniandL-il the matron.
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OLIVER TWIST.
115
" They calied bim Oliver," replied the woman feebly. '* The goUl I Btde wa3 "
** Yes, yes — what ?" cried the other.
She was bendiDg eagerly over the woman to hear her reply, but drew Ijw^k instinctively as plie once again rose slowly and stiffly into a fitting postnre, and, clutching the coverlet with both hands, muttered some indistinct sounds in ber throat, and fell lifeless on the bed.
• • • • «
" Stone dead t" said one of the old women, hurrying in a> 5000 as the door w:ts uponed.
'* And nothing to tell, after all," rejoined the matron» walking carelessly away.
The two crmifs were lo all appearancr Um busily occupied in llie preparations for their dreatiful duties to make any reply, and were left alone hovering about the body.
CHAPTER TIIR TninD.
wBsaxiR tats histdrt ivtan to uti-non akd coutAvr,
Whilp. these things were })asBiiig in the country wdrkhouite, Mr. Fagin sat in the old den, — the same from which OIi%'er had bwu removed by the girl,— brooding over a dull smoky fire. lie held a pair of bdlowfi upon hiH knee, witli which he had apparently been endeavouring to rouse it into more cheerful acuon ; but he had fallen into deep thought, and with his arms folded upon them, and his chin rciiiing on his thumbs^ fixed bis ryw abstractedly on the rusty bars.
At a table behind him wit tlit.- Artful Dodger, Master Charles Bates, and Mr, t'hitling, all intent upon a game of whist ; the Artful taking dummy against Master Bales and Mr. Chitting. The countenance of the first-named gentleman, peculiarly intel- Iteeat at all times, acquired great additional interest fruni Ids cfose observance of the game, and his attentive perusal of Mr. Chilling'» han<l, ti]K)n which, from time to time, as occasion fcrved, he bestowed a variety of earnest glances, wisely regu- lating his nwn play hy the result of his ohfcrvations upon his ■Mighbour** cards. It being a cnld night, the Dodger wore his bat, OS, indeed, was often liis custom within doors. He al^o suilained ti eluy pipe between his tot'th, which he only removed for a brief space, whc-n he dec-mod it necessary to apply for re- fmhment to a quart-put U)>on the table, which stood ready filled with gin and water for the accommodation of the coii>- pany.
Master Bates was alw attentive to the play ; but, being of a morr cxcJlable nature than his accomplished friend, it was ob- wrrable that he more frequently applied himself lo the gin and waliT, and nioreuver indulged in niuny jests and irrele- tOBl remarks, all highly unbecoming a H:ientilic rubber. In-
Jl€
OLIVER TWIST.
dMdf the Artful, presuming upon th«ir dose Atcschment* more than once toolc occasion to reawn ^fravely with his companion upon thcsu imprnprietics: all of which rcntonslmncc^ Aloater Bales took in extremely good part, merely requesting his friend to be *• blowcd," nr to insert his hand in a saciv, or replyinjy with some other neatly-turned wtltici&ni of a Mmibr kind, the happy application of which excited considcrnhle admiration in the mind of Mr. Chith'ng. It was remarkable that the latter fii;eatlemaD and his partner invariably lost : and that the cir- cumstancPi so far from angerinjj Master liateH, apjieared to afford him the highpst amusrmcnt, inasmuch as he laughed moU uproariously at the end of every deal, and protested that he had never neeri huch a jolly ^me in all his Iwrn days.
" That 's two doubles and the rub," i-aid Mr. Chitling with a very long face, as he drew half-a-crown from his waistcoat pocket. " I never see such a feller as you. Jack ; you win everything. Kven when we've good cards, Charley and I can't make nothing of 'em."
Either the matter or manner of this remark, which was made very ruefully, delighted Charley Bates so much, that his conse- quent shout of laughter roused the Jew from his reverie, and induced him to inquire what vfOf. the mutter.
'* Matter, Fagin !" cried Charley. ** I wish you had watched the play. Tommy Chitling h.isn*t won a point, and I went partners with liim agninst the Artful and dum."
" Ay, ay?"snid the Jew with a grin, which sufficiently de- munntrnteif that he was ul nu loss to understand the reason. «( lYy 'em again, Tom ; try 'em again."
" No more of it for me, thankee, Fagin," replied Mr. Chit- ling ; " I 'vi> ha<l enough. That Vre DiKtger has such a run of luck, thill there '» no fttNuding again' him."
hn t my dear," reiijieJ the Jew, "you must get up
lln
vei
nauttv
■
I
I
ry eailv In the morning to win against the Dodger."
•» MuruiMg I" said Charley Bates ; " you must put your boots oit iiviT tiight, and have a teleitcope at ' each eye, and a opera- ^tnii* hi'iween ^our shoulders, if you want to come over him."
Mr. Dawkms received these' handsome compliments with much philosophy, and offered to cut any gentleman in company for tlie tirst picture-card at a shilling a time. Nobody accepting the challenge, and his pipe being by this lime smoked out, he procee*led to amuse himself by sketching a ground-plan of New- ^ gate on the table with the piece uf chalk which had served him ■ in lieu of counters, whistling meantime with peculiar shrillness. ™
" How preciouB dull you are, Tommy!" said the Dodger, slopping short when there had been a lung tiilpnce, nnd address- ^ ing Mr. Chitling. "What do you think he's thinking of, V
" How should I know, my dear .'" replied the Jew, hmking und H" he plied the bellows. " AlK)Ut his losses, maybe, —
OLIVER TWIST.
117
oT the liitle retirrmcnl in the country tliat he's just !cft, eh ?— Ha ! ha ! Is that il, my dtar?"
'* Not a bit of it," replied the Dodger, tttnpping the subject of discourse as Mr. Chitting was about to reply. ••What do jfou iay, Charley '^
** / should say," replied Master Bates with a grin, " that he was uncommon sweet upon Betsy. See how he's a-hlushing t Oh, my eye ! here ^^ a mcrry-fjo-roundcr !— Tommy Chitling 'a in love ! — Ob, Fagin, Ksjjin ! what a spree !"
Thoroughly overp*»were<l with the mnion of Mr. Chitting being the victim of the tender pansion, Mafiter Bales threw him- self back in his chair with such violence, that he lost his balance, and pitched uver upon tho floor* where (the accident abating nothing of his merriment) he lay at full k-ngth till hi-i laugh was over, when he resumed his former position and began an- other.
•* Never mind him. my dear," paid the Jew, winking at Mis- ter Dawkin», and giving Master Bates a reproving tap with the nozzle of the bellows. *' Betsy 's a fine girl. Stick up to her, Tom : stick up to her."
my ficar ; clout mmd hnn. Uetsy 's a fine girl. Do as she bids you, Tom, and you 'U moke yotir fortvme."
•* So 1 do do as she bids me," replied Mr. Chilling ; " I »houUiu*t have been milW if it haHn't been for her advice. But it turned out a good job for you; tlidn't it, Fagin ? And what's lix weeks of it ? Il must cnnu- some lime or another,— and why not in the winter time, when you don't want to go out a-walking •o much ; eh, Fagin 'f"
" Ah, to be sure, my dear," replied the Jew.
'• You wouldn't mind it again, Tom, would you," asked the Dodger, winking upon Charley and the Jew, " if Bet was all right?"
" I mean to say that 1 shouldn't," renlie<l Tom angrily ; ** there, now! Ah! Who'll say as luuch as that, 1 should like to know ; eh, Fagin r"
•* Nobody, my dear," replied the Jew ; " not a soul, Tom. I don't know one of 'em that would do it besides you ; not one of 'em, my dear."
'* 1 might have got clear off if 1 'd split upon her; mightn't I, Fftgiu K angrily pursued the poor half-wiited dupe. " A word (mm me would have done it ; wouldn't it, Fagin P"
** To be sure it would, my dear," replied the Jew.
" But I didn't blab it ; die! I, Fagin ?" demanded Tom, pour- ing question upon que»liun with grval volubility.
" No, no, to be sun-," rL'|ilietl the Jew : **you were too stout- hnrte*! for that, — a deal too stout, my dear.
118
OLIVER TWIST.
" Perhaps I was," rejmnL-d Tom, tonkin^ round ; " and if I was what a to lauffh at in that ; ch, Fagin ?"
The Jew, perceiving that Mr. Chilling was conniderably roused, hastened to assure him that nuliudy was luugliiiig, and, to provp the gravity of the company, appealed ti) Master Bates, the principal ofTeiider ; hut unfurtunatvtv Charley, in opening his mouth to reply that he was never inure serious in his life, was unable to prevent the escape of such a violent roar, that the abused Mr. Chilling, without any preliminary ceremonies, rush- ed across the room and aimed a blow at the oSeodcr* who, being skilful in evading' pursuit, ducked to avoid it, and chose hi& timp so well, that it lighted on the chest of the merry old gen- tleman, and caused him to stagger to the wall, where he stood panting fur breath, while Mr. Chilling looketl on in Intense dismay -
" Hark !" cried the Dodger at this moment, " I lieard the tinkler." Catching up the light, he crept sortty ui> stairs.
The bell rang agam with some impatience whde the party were in darkness. After a short pause, the Dodger reappeared, and whimpered Fagin mysteriously.
" What I" cried the Jew, " alone ?"
The Dodger nodded in tlie afRrmalive, and, shading the flame of the caudle with his hand, gave (!^harlcy Bates a private intimation in dumb show that he had better not be funny just then. Having pcrfurcncd this friendly office, he 6xed bis eyea on the Jew's face, and awaited his directions.
The old man bit his yellow fingers, and meditated for some seconds his face working with agitatiou the while, as if be drradeil something, and feared to know the worst. At length he raised his heatl.
" Where is he ?" he asked.
The Dodger poiutcd to the floor above, and mode a gesture as if to leave thf rmim.
" Yes," Mtd the Jew, answering the mute inquiry; "bring him down. Hush I— Quiet, Charley! — gently, Tom! Scarce, scarce !"
This brief direction to Charley Bates and his recent antago- nist (o retire, was noflly and immediately obeyeil. There waa no sound of their whcrealKiut when the Dodger descended the KUtirs beariiiu the light in his hand, and followed by a man in a coarse umock-frock, who, udter casting a hurried glance round the riM>mi pulled oil' a large fihnwl which had concealed the lower portion of his face, and di^cloiicd — all haggard, unwashed, and iinihitvi-n, — the features of flash Toby Cruckit.
" How are you, Fagey P" said the worthy, nodding to the Jew. *• Pop that shawl away in my castor, Dodger, so that I may know where to find it when I cut ; that 'k tlie time uf day ! You It be a fine young cracksman afore the old file nowr
OLIVER TW)ST.
ItB
With these woi^s he pulled up the anvoclc-frock, and, wind- ioj; it round hi& middle, drew a chair to the 6re, and placed his feet upon the hob.
" See there, FagcT)" he said, pointing dis-consolately to his tap-b{M>t» : *' Dot a drop of Dav and Martin since ^ou know
when; not a hiihhle of hiacking, by ! but don't look at
mo in that way, man. All in good time; I can't tallc abonl business till I Ve eat and drank : so produce the suslainaoce, and [et 's have a (juiet fill-out for the first time these three days •"
The Jew motioned to the Dodger to place what eatabltfs there were, upon tlie tabic: and, seating himstlf opposite the housebreaker, waited his leisure.
To judge from appearances, Toby was by no means in a hurry to open the conversation. At first the Jew conlcntL-d himself with patiently watching his countenance, as if to gaitt from it» expression some clue to the inlollisjence he brought; but in vain. He looked tired and worn, but there was the Banie complacent repose upon his feature^t that they always wore» and through dirt, and heard, and whisker, there mill ^none un- impaired the 5elf- satisfied smirk of flush 'J'oby Crackit. 'I'heti the Jew in an agony of impatience watcht^ every mor.sel he put into his mouth, pacin/; up and down the room meanwhile in irrepressible excitement. It was all of no use. Toby continued to eat with the ulmo»t outward irtdtiTcrencc until he could cat uu more ; and then, ordering the Dodger nut, closed the d(K>r, mixed A glaiis of spirits and water, and eompoKed biuiiielf fur talking.
*• First and foremost, Kagi-y," naii) 'I'oby.
*• Ye«, ye* !' interposed the Jew, drawing up his chair.
Mr. Crackit &top))ed to_ take a draught of spirits and water, and to declare that the gin' was excellent ; and then ]>lacing his feel against the low mantelpiece, so a& to bring his boot» to about the level of his eye, quietly resumed.
** First and foremost, Fagey,' said the housebreaker, '* how 'a BUir
" What r screamed the Jew, starting from his seat.
• Why, you don't mean to say " began Toby, turning
pale.
" Mean !" cried the Jew, stamping furiously on the ground. ** Where are they .^ — Sikes and the boy — where are they? — where have they been? — where are they hiding? — why have tbey not been here ?"
" The crack failed." said Toby faintly.
" I know it,*" replied the Jew, tearing a newspaper fn)m his pnrket and [Miinting to it. " What more ?"
" Thev fired, and hit the boy. We cut over the fields at the back with him iMUwcen us — straight as the crow flies — ihmugh brdge and <Iileh. They gave chase. D — nic ! the whole coun- try WAA awake, and the dogs upon us !"
LAl^RELt THE ROSE, AND THE VINE.
4
*• Tbe boy !" gasped ihc Jew.
" Bill had him on his hack, and scudded like the wind. We »tupu«.l to take him again between us; his head huu}; down, and ne was cold. They were close upon our benla : every mau ^^ for himself, and each from the gallows .' We parted companVi ^^ and left the youngBter lying in a ditch. Alive or dead, that 's all I know of him." M
The Jew ittopped to hear no more: but uttering a loud yell, V and twining hiH hands in his hair, rn^^hed from the room and from the house.
THE LAUREL, THE ROSE, AND THE VINE.
TttrKE iptung up ooe day
So gnnd an aCTray B«tnixt ft fair plant aod n flow«r,
Tlitt ihc who!* leify world
Inio frinfe wm soon hurl'd. Each .lidiug wiili one nvtl power.
Tlie Lnurfl nnd Itose
\\'er« ibe»e iwo aagry fow. And the object or all their loud itotfaer
Wm mvrvly iLikuuw
I r mortals below Were rul'd more by one or by t'other.
For KremI hour«
Hie plants and the flon'n Stalk'd about ; ind iho' gnxn iu their krms, sir,
V«, brave at the rwt.
They 'd ill of them tkoat. And culling for some had its charnu, nr.
Hien, hotly et):i:aiiecl.
The figln Hercel) ni^d, Titi, sniokitii; hti> loiig Girtnin hooker,
F/oin llic batiks or the Htiine,
The strong Pnissiaii Vine Came up, like moihcr old Hluuhei.
" Now, wlm upon earth
To this row could spvt birth T" He cmJ, pyeing sieruly the Laurel ;
'• I thou^t you M enough.
With men, of such stuff; And you, Row, hxrc do rigbi to quand.
But, here 's the Imt way
To end the nSny : Come, drink tilt ytw ti4iTeD*t k dry »y»J
For iranc shall cacape
From my rouiufi otgnpt, S» caob ohooM bit wine— AoEik til mUii !"
191
THK POISONERS OF THE SKVENTEKNTH CENTl'RY.
BY (iEOaCB UOUABTH.
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I
jlMoyo (he auaHinations couiniitteil by meaiig of poiEoii during' tlwfwitti<i Mliea ttiat crime woe »» {irvvulL-nl iliruugiiuuL Kuro|]c, wnn llut ul' HL'urieita ai' Kii{;luiiil, Duclmiiii uf Orlfunii. Thut slic tlius penHtitnl bcemb heyond a doubt: Uuiu^h ilic causcM ol' hvr murder, anil iu pur|K;tnitors arc itivolvud in home dcgreij til'myetery, wliidi cinnot nun- he entirely cleared up. Her death, however, vius iit- tended with circumstnnces wliidi alford room for strong presumptions on (he subject.
Tlie Princess Henrietta AntiL' of England was the daughter of Charles the First and hia queen Ilcnrieita Marin. She wiis the child of Hdversily from her very cradle. In the dcspcrutc fortunes of her father, when he was driven from place to place by the forces of the Parliament, hiii queen accompanied liiin in all his perils iind wandcr- inga Mith heroic courage and devoted ad'ectioii. Finding the time of Wr conlicieineiit appruaehing, *he »ii» fbreed to leave her hus^hnnd, and l^ke relume in the loyal city uT Hxeter. They parted alter a lender farewell, which proved to be their UeC. In Exeter the queeo wu redtieed to such extremity, that, had it not been for the assist- ance of the Queen of France, she would have wanted the common Dcceasaries rt-cjuired in her situation. On the lljth of June lti4>l, ber daughter Henrietta was born. Tlie Karl of Eiisex was advancing to Exeter at the head of a |:rarliaiuentary army, and the poor tjueen «sa obliged lo fly before &he had recovered from her aecouchement. SBTMIMtt days afterwards, leaving her infiint daughter to the care of the Coimtess of .Morton, she found menns to reach llie ^ea* aHe, escaping with difficulty the vigilance of the host lie soldiers; and got on Board of a nmall vessel, which was pursued and cannonaded to the very ciiost of France.
On her arrival at I'aritc, she was at 6rsc received u-iih the honours doe to the daughter uf Henry tlie Fourth, and with the appearance of aflection to which she wasenlilled from the ro>a! family of France, hcT near relutiooH. Sood artcrwai'da the troubles of tlie Fronde brolce aai, and the popular jiarly were l>e«ieged in Paris by the royal Ibrcca. During tbiM time she was not only insulted by tlie populace, ■s a member of the royal family of France ; but reduced to such want, that she was conKtraiiied, as she said herself, to ask charity from th« pvliameiit to enable her barely to subsitit. In this melancholy situa- tion she received the overwhelming tidings of the Iragical death of her hushand: and, after having in f^ome measure recovered from the •hock, she retired to a convent. ]n thi;^ retirement she spent her time in the education of her children : her daughter Henrietta hav< iog been some time before brought to her by her faithful governess, I^y Morion. Her retreat, however, did not protect her from the fory of the iiuurgeoi tM|)ulace, and bIic returned for hal'eiy to her former retideoce in the Louvre. The young king and lliu ruyul bnily luul been forced to retire from the capiuil, which in conse-
\i3
TKi; POISONERS OF
qiience of ttie civil vmr was tuffering from deartli; nnd in this ilesertcd unil unprotected suite tlie Queen of England aat reduced to sucli a slate of destitution, that Cardinal tie Retz, in paving her a visit, found her billing in her daughter's room and the young princess in bed. " Vou sec," said the queen, " that I am liteping ilenrietia company here; for the poor child cannot get up to-dfiv for want of a fire." — "Poslerily," says the cardinal, " »i!l scarcely believe that the }>riind'daughter of llenry the Fourth, in tiie palace of the Louvre, cuuld have been in want of a faggot to niurm ncr in the month of January!" This uuhapiiy {|ueea'» sorroM-s ended only with her tile. SIm livetl to see the rcstoratiun of her son, but bis conduct in various respects was n source of grief and mortificutiun to her; and. a(\er baring resided for some time in Kngluud, shv restolvcd to tinieh her (fays in her peaceful conrent near Paris, where she died io the jcfir 1660, at the age rjf fifty.
The young princess of England, brought up in great retirement, and educated in the school of adversity, gave indications of a charac- ter not often met with in the highest sphere of human life. She was remarkable for the sut-etncsi of her temper, and the unadccled htjmility of her disposition. Ilcr youthful grace and beauty, her cheerful and alTable manner^ and elegant accompliihments made her the ornament of the court, and recalled the remenibriuiee of her unhappy ancestress Mary Stuart. It is Fuid that her mother and Anne of Austria, the mother of Louis the FourtcLMuli, desired ttiRt the young king should marry ber, but that he objected to the ar- rangement because the prineets was not old enough, ijoon aAcr- wards the queen-mother proposed in the Queen of England that the princess should marry her second son, Philip Duke of Orleans. The marriage was agreed on ; and, on the dist uf March 1661, the yotuig pair were united in the chapel of the Palais Royal.
Before the marriage, the duke t.eated his betrothed with all man- ner of gallantry and tmpttstm\enl, and \m attentioiiM, says Madame de la Fayette, were ^'anting in nothing but love; " but," she adds, " the miracle of inspiring the heart of this prince with love was be- yond the power of any womnn in the world."
United to a husband of this disposition, a degree of circumspec- tion and knowledge of the world were necessary, which the secluded education of llie young duclicss Imd not given her the means of acquiring, (iay, incx|>enenccd, and conHding, she fell into impru- dences which exjiaBcd her to suspicion, and became involved in the intrigues of the corrupt and selfish courtiers of both sexes by whom she was surrounded, and by whom she wis led into £Ome nctiooa which cannot be quite reconciled to the general character which is given of her by every contempornry authority.
A young nobleman of the court, the Count de Ouiche, was at this time high in the good graces of the Duke uf Orleans, by whom hu was introduced to the duchess, and particularly recomiueiided to her favour and attention. The coutit was very liaiideome, remarkably elegant in his manners and dress, aud an adept in the amorous jargon which made up the polite conversation of the day. A young gallant of that tiuiu burrowed his language from the romances of Calprenede lutd Scudcri, and held it essential to his character as a man of fashion to entertain a lady with the exaggerated compliments and elaborate
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conceici to abundantij^ su[(plied hy tho^e nupcrfine produclions. It mi B tone of cun verbal ion siitjjlar to that which, under the ntimu a( eup/iuiKm, [irvvuiled attiuiif^ Uie wits and courticri: ul' our Queen Elixabeih's lUiys, and is ridiculed by Scott in his cbaructer of Sir Percy Sliaflon. Tlie diicliesa took great pIcuRure in the society of ibia accomplished cavalier, while he apiienrs to have become ■erioBsly enamoured of the young nnd liisrinnting creature uiih vhom he woe permitted to enjoy such unreserved intercourse. His deportment and liinpinge, at first full of the devoted gallantry re- quired by the m&nnerft of the age, gradually guvc iniiicaiiuns of warmer but Icsa respectful feelings ; and the state of his mittd, though unprrccived by the inexperienced object of his wishes, dia- coTcrcid ilscJf to the more practised eyes of ^lademoiselle de zinnia- lais, one of her attendonts. Tiie count, however, found niean» to gain this lady's good {traces ; and, in place of putting her miHtriKS on b«r guard against him, she fuvourcd his designs, and even undertook to prevail on the duchess to receive his letters. This she at 6rst refuMd to do; but, overcome by the artful entreaties of her cunning attendant, she was persuaded, not only to receive the count's letters, but (o answer them, and even carried her imprudence so ^r aa to admit him to aeveral private interview;.
Of one of ihe^e stolen meetings ne lind an account in (he very curious fragments of origiiiul letters uf Charlotte Llizabetli of Havaria, tba tccoiid wife of the Duke of Orleauu. " One day," siiys tliis lady, * Miiatne (the duchess), either for the purpose of teeing her chil- dren, or of conversing more freely with the Count do Guiche, went
to the aparta>ent of Madame dc Ch ^. She had a valet-de-
cbaiDbre called Launuis, who was left on the staircase to give notice in caae the duke should make his appearance. Launois suddenly ran in, saying < The duke is coming down stairs, and close at bund.* Th« couQl could no longer make his escape through the antechamber, a< the duke's at (ondantn were there already, 'There is oidy one way of getting out,' said Launois (o the count ; * go near the dour.' Launois then ran to meet the duke, and struck him with his head so vtoUmtiy on the face that he ni<ide his nose bleetl. ' My lord,' ha crted, in great apparent confusion, 'I humbly beg your forgiveness. i did not think you were so near, and wus running as fust as I could to open the door for you.' Madame and the governess came forward ui grrat alarm with handkerchiefs, which they apphed to tlie duke'a face, covering bis eyes as well as his nose, and kept about liim till the count got to the staircase. The duke thought it was Lauuoia who had run out nf the room."
This story is awkward and suspicious enough ; and yet the second Doehes* of Orleans, who tells it, dnrs not put upon it the unfavour* ■hie construction which it would hear. " 1 have always been much iacUoedv" she says, " to believe poor Madame more unfortunate than rnlpable. She had such had people about her I" This celebrated latter- writer is anything but averse to scnndal, and far from charita- ble in her judgments; and it seems difficult, therefore, to discover wlwtlicr she is sincere in this exculpatory phrase, or whether, like Mrs. Candour, she believed that the effect of a scandalous story ia bf no means done away by the addition of a good>nnlured cxpreuioD af belief that, after all, there might be no harm in it.
K 2
l«i
THE POISONKRS OF
Thit story rests on tlie aulhority of these LeUrrt, at least wc haw not fouud il anynhcrc cUc- it mny tlierefure be untrue or ttXM^'gcmtci] ; but llic Icvily autl impruilinice ol' ttie tluche&»'tf i-on- duci in Iter intcrcuursc wilh tlic Count de Guichc appear to be uutleiiinblL*. Thi'ir fBmiliuriLy at lael roust-d tlic suKptL'iuii and jea- Inudy of ihe duke, who ohtuined an order frum the Liii^'. exiling De Cuiclie to Poland; iind iMndeniuiselle de MontutaJs wBc dis- missed.
Soon after thoir inarringp, the Duke and Duchess of Orleans hnd joincil the court al l-'cntuinL'blcau. The ^iiii; uos cnptivntcd by the biauty and graces of liis sister-in-law, and, it bat been said, repented of his precipitancy in declining the proposition of marrying ber. She, on the other hand, waa pleased wiih the uttetilionG of n young and amiable ninnarcb; and Ucr intiinaey with liim, like llmt with the Count de Guiche, gave ri]<e to 0 great deni of contemporary scandal. Anne of Anstrin, afruid of (he Ui»bruge »liich it niighl give to the (jueen, renionstrHieci with her son on the subject; and it violently irritAlvd the jealous temper of the Uulcv of Orleans. Whatever feel- ings, huwever, the king may ba\-e entertained towards the duchvss, ibey were soon dissipated by the attractions of MadctTioiselle do la Valliere; ami indeed there i?> no leasion for believing that there ever was anything more between them than t!mt confidential intercourse which was produced by mutual regard, and sanctioned by near re- lationship.
A groat iniituQcy had arisen bc-twceii the duchess and the Countess of ijoissons, the celebrated Olimpia Mancini, niece of Cardinal Maza- rin. This woman, with the genius for intrigue which distinguished her family, wished lo use Mademoiselle de ]a Valliere as the means of increasing her own inftucncc with the king; and she contrived to pcrsudde the duchess Co enter into her views in this respect Poor La Valliere, however, was a stranger to the oris and intrigues of a court, and could make no use of thctn cither for the sake oV licr own advancement or thut of anybody eljo. Provoked al thi-i, the Coud- tess de Soisson* resolved to ruin her with the king ; and it is unfor- tunately true that she had address enough to drnw the duclieu into tbi» coniipiracy. I'heir plan was to get La Valliere supplanted in the king's afi'eclions by another court htnuty. Madrmoii-elle de la Mothe- (laudaueoMrl, in whom, when «he became the royul favourite, tb«y hoped to lind a more docile and eunvenieut disposition. It was through tlj« jiersuHsiun of tlie Count de Guiche that tlie duchesa was induced to join in this buite plot ; and the Marquis de Vardes, a lover of the Comitess de Soissons, atfiisted in carrying it oi>. They forged ■ letter 10 the Queen of France from her father, the King of Spain, iiirorming her of the iiaistm of her husband with La Valliere. This letter had its natural effect on the mind of the <jucen. It was put into the king'g hands; and he -having spoken of it. and the annoy- ance it caused him, to some of the gentlemen about his person, ^'arJes, who was one of them, contrived to throw his Nuspirions on the Duchess of Kuvailles, a lady of austere virtue, as having given the queen's lather the information which occasioned the letter. Madame de \avuilles was disgraced, and the trick remained for some years unditicnvered.
The Count de Guiche, on his exile, recommended the Marquia de
TUB SKVBNTEbNTH (:BNT(;RY.
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Varcles to ihe ducheBa'i ihvour, id order itint I)is frieitd might terve him in his absence by kcrping ah'vc her feelings of regard tor htnt. Admitted to the confidence of the duchess, Vurdcs conceived iho pro. ject of supplanting him in her good graces, and of getting her into hu power by oblaininji possf^^tsiou of tlic correspondence between her aiid the count. Tlii;* iinnj^eroii!< correapontWnce had been entrusted to the cur*.- of Maiiemoisellc de Muntalaim, llic ctuitidjiiite whom rhu duke's jealousy had diitmiB»ei:l from \\i* wite'n service. V'ardes rcprc- tenled to the duchess the extreme iniporlAnce of recluiniitig this depovit, and destroying tlie letters. He was iiulhorized accordingly lo receive them from Madenioi»e]le Oe Montalais ; but, having got poaiewioa of Ihem, he refuned to give them up. The disputes and negotiations on the subject ofthefce letlere gave occatioti to private interviews between the duchess and Vardes, which roused the jea- louiy of the Countess dc Suissons. i^hc believed thui the duchc&s had designs upon her lover, and was heard to iipeali ul' her in lan- guage dictated by resentment and hatred.
Her vindiclive feelinga were heightened by a eireuinttt.ince vrhtch happened at tliiii Lime. The (^he^ulier de Lorntine, Irom his runt: and perranal advantage^) was one of the inodt di^lin^ui^hed young men at the French court. Happening one day lo rneei the Mar<[uis dr Vsrdcs, they fell into conx-crsution in the Idshionabtc tone of the day, complimenting each other on the elcgunce and good taste of their dress, and laughing over their honnes Jhrlunts. Dc Vardca acknowledged that he nas getting rather too old to be so successful «ith the foir as he once had been; " but as to you," he added, " at your age, you may do what you will. Only throw thu handkerchief^ and there is not n ludy at court who will not take it up." The Che- '«alier de Lorraine repented this conversation to one of hit) com- pBaiDin. the ,^Ia^qui!i de Villvroy. an enemy of Vardes who imnie- diaialy hastened to the Duchess of Orleans, and told her that Vardes kad Mid ID the chevalier that " he was wrong to occupy hiniM-'lf with the maid, and that he had better try the mistress. He would tind m btUr difficnlty in the one (juarter ns ilic other." The duchets, in- dignant at an insult which kIic conceived to be levelled at herself, eomplnined lo the king, and Vardes was sent to the nastile. Kn- nged At the injury done her lover, the? Cnunte^s de S«i»sons used tfa« nuMt violent language against the duchess; and carried her ani- ■MJIj M lar as to inform the king of the secret correspondence that had talien place between the duchess and the Count de tiuiche. Thus driven to Miremity, the duchess frankly conlcssed her errors lo licr brotlier-in-laur ; hut at the same time she revealed to him (he dangerous secret of the fabricated letter from the King of Spain, in which the Coutitess de Soiisnns and Vardes were chiefly implicated. Ilic king, furious at having been grossly iuipuH'd on by a man whom hi- had iidmilted lu his confidence, sent Vardes as ti prisoner lo the ciladcl of Mniilpelher ; and the Cotinl de Soitsons was exiled, almiK witli his wife, t» bin govemmetit in ClmnijiagiK:.
The unfortunate princess was thus inextricably involved in the intrigues of this profligate court. Her own conduct appeori to have bun unguarded in the extreme ; but some excuse for it is to bu Gtood in her yuulh. inexperience, and trying situation. ** She was AiaiMMHDy surruunded," says tlie second Ouchc!>s of (hlcads, wliuiu
1 20
THE POISONERS OF
Tier huaband married after her death, '* witli die most unprincipled women of the court, who were alt of tbcni the mistresses of her cnt- mics, and used every meanit to lili up the measure t>t' her misfortunes by making a breach heliiecn her and lier husband." In this design they soon were successful.
The Chevalier de Lorraine had succeeded the Count de Guiche in the favour of itie Uulci; of Orleans, and obtained an absolute ascend- ency over Ills M'cak mind ; an nscendency of which all the household, not excepting the duchess herself, daily felt the effects. The Che- valier de Lorraine had a mistress, whose name is only given to us as
Madunie de C ; and this lady had contrived also to gain the
atfeccioni of the celebrated MargliaL Turcniie. She was one of the conhdential friends of the duchess, who was so iniprudcnl n to tell ber Engliiih secrets of slate, and these she immediately conveyed to her two lovers. The Chevalier de Lurruine took occaBiun from this to prejudice the duke against liiiiwife. He told liinii that thcdudicss made Jiini puss will) the king for a weak-minded man, who repeated to everybody the most importnnt matters which she communicated to.hmi; ami that the king, unilLT the impression that he was in- capahle of keeping a secret, had no longer any confidence in him: and he persuaded him that, if this went on, his wife would deprive him of alt concern in stale ufTairs, and rcdiK^'c him to a mere cipher. The duke, upon this, required his wife to communicate to him what she knew of English atfairs; hut she positively refused to reveal to him the secrets of her hrnther, the Kinp of England. A violent quarrel was the consequence. The duchess was then at the height of her fiivour with her brother-in-law the king. She complained to him of the arrogant conduct of Lorraine, his interference with her household, and his attempts to create dlMension between her hus- band and herself; and the eflect of her complaints was, that the Che- valier de Lorraine received an order lo depnrt from France. Such is substantially the account ^iven by the second Duchess ol' Orleans of the cireunnttancee which led to the exile of the Chevalier du Lorraine thiou;th the indueiicc of her prcdcccESur ; and she uddti, " it cost the princcKu her life."
The Duke of Orleans, like other weak men, waa inconsolable for the loss of his favourite. " On receiving the news of Lorraine's ba- nishment," says the Duke de St, Simon, •* Monsieur fainted ; he then burst into tears, and went to throw himself at the king's feet, be- seeching him to recall an order which reduced him to despDir." Un- able to succeed, he threw himself into a passion and retired to th« country, after having used the most outraiteous languogc against the king and the duchess, who always protested that the had no hand in the matter. The king, however, soothed him by means of pre#«nls, compliments, and attentions: he returned lo court, though his heart yet swelled with resentment, and by degrees lived as before with tlte duclieKis whom, fr^m that time, lie treated with studied neglect and uttkindness.
It was about this time tliat the king discovered, by the duchess's ownconfcssion,tlicsharvshe had had in the attempt of tlie Countess de Soisaons to undermine Mademoiselle de la Vallicre ; a discovery which created a great coolness towards her on the king's part. But while sht was thus neglected by her hmband, out of favour with the king.
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and deurtcd by the court, a great object of political interest was t)ie mean!) of restoring ber influence. In 1670 Louis metlitnted ihc ruin of Holland, and therefore wijihed to detach Chorlca II. from the iriplu alliance between that power, England, and Sweden. An anibasKatlor bad been sent to L.onaon with this view, but be liad not been able lo bring matters to a conclusion. Louis, knowing the trieiidiiliip which subsisted between the Duchess of Orleans and her brother, conceived the idea of turning it to account for the accom^ilishmcnL of this object. He began to treat her with hiit former kimdneitk, uiiil [>rv- failed on her to undertake a misMion to tin- King of tn^jUnd. An excursion of Ihc court to Flanders wno aiiitotinccd, under the pre- Vtxt of ahowing the queen the cities n-Iiich Iiud been heis by birth- right, and which Lcuis had recently annexed to France. When (he cuurt KSK at Calaim the DuchcM of Orleans crossed privately lo FZn^lond, and met her brother Charles at Do«er, " where," suys Hume, " lliey passed ten days logeiher in great mirth and festivity. Uy her aniticci Bud caresses she prevailed on Charles to relinquish the most settled maxims of huQuur and policy, and to Jinish his cngiigcniLUts with Louts for the dciitructiuu of HuIIund, as well as Cur the subsc. quent change of religion in Knglatid." Al the end of that lime ahe relumed in triumph, having accomplished the object of her Dtiaaioo, and bringing with her a treaty alTectiiig the interests of half the countries of Europe. Tarito mpiciitid rfgtttir nitaitfus.' thus ftlightly and frivolously have the potentates of the earth disposed o( tbe destinies of millions upon millions of their fellow-creatures!
"The confidence of two such great monarclis," soya Bossuet, tbd celebrated court -prvacKer, "had raised her to lh« height of greatness and glory," when, on Sunday the H'Mh of June llj/tl, the court, then at St, Cloud, was suddenly alarmed hy tbe outcry that " Mutlume woa dying." The duchcfs li»d been coinpltiining of a pain in tier side ■nd her stomach. At seven in the eveniug she calU-d for a glass of saccory -water, which she had been taking for some days. She had Karcely swallowed it, when an excruciating pain in her side matle ber utter the most piercing cries ; and, in her aguny, she eomtatktly mclaimed thai she was poisoned. The scene n hieh tbilowed is graphi- callj described by Mademoiselle de .Monlpcnbier. viho occupies so proniioent a place in tlie private history of the court of Louts the Faarteentl).
** Ileiog told that llie c|uuen was going oul. I was runni;ig down in order not to keep ber waiting, when the Count d'Aycn said lo roe, * Madame is dying, and the king has ordered me to find M. V'ulot, and to bring bin to St. Cloud immediately.' When I was in the carriagp, tbe queen said, < Madome is in extremity ; and, what is dreadful, she believes she baa been poisoned.' I expressed my horror, and asked bow it wus. The queen said, that Madame wis tn the saloon at St. Cloud in perfect health ; that she had asked for some succory .water, which wa« given her by ber apothecary; Ihat when she had drunk it cried out that her atoroacli was burning, and Imd scrcntned inceit-
itly ever since; and iJial, a message had come lor the king and lor M. VftloU A gentleman who had been »vnt by the <jueen to maku inquiries now arrived, and lold ber that Madame liad cluirgud him to aay thai »lto was dying, und lliat, if her mujesty witheti to see her alive, abe iiiu»t come to her without a moment's de'ay. We went lo the king's apartment, and found him at supper. The queen was advised
388
THB P01SUNGR8 OP
not to po. While she was urnlccided, f Hcggcd her lo allow me to go immL'diiiicly : unil the kin^ said he was goin;;. and offered lo tnl<e me in his rarrioi't'. The Counlesa de Soissonn v/aa of the pflpty. When vrc had Rot halF-way, we met M, Valol returning; he told the king that Mudame's illneM was merely a colic, and not at all diin^erous. When we got to St. Cloud, iiohody seemed nlilitled; hut Monsieur had an air of nslnnisifimeiit. Matlnme w»s laid upon a little couch, with her hair in dinordi-r, her cIierniBe open at the collar and »leeves, lier face pale, and her features distorted. Her whale appearance wm deuth-iike Slie sard, "hen we entered, ' You see thi- state I ain in 1" We wept in silence. Madame de Montespan and Madame La Val- lipre came in, and, as well as Monsieur himself, who wa« at the duchefd'i bednide, behaved with great contpoture. It seemed to give her pain to see the people about her bo very tranquil, while she wa» in a titate whicli ou^lic to have encitud the utmost pity. She spoke lo the king fur u tew uimiienls in u low voice. 1 came forward and took her hand. She pressed mine tenderly, and said. ' You arc losing ail affectionate frietul. who wqh beginninp to know you well, and love jwu very dearly.' I eoold answer only with my tciir?. Slie asked lor uiicmetii:; tlie phyRician siiid it was unnecessary, aa these kinds of colic sonietinies lasied nine or ten honrft, hut never exceeded four-and- Iwenly. The king bepan to argue with lliern. and tliey did not know Iiow to answer him. He said, * Who ever licnrd nf allowing a woman to die without giving her any assistance?' They looked at each olher, and said not a word. Meanwhile, the people in the room were talking, going up and down, ai^d laughing, ns if nothing had been the matter. I went into a corner to »[>eak with Madame d'Ejiernon, who bcemed shocked with the scene. 1 i'uid to her tl>»l I was astonished that nobody liad'put Madame in mindof Ciod, and that it was sliame- ful to all of iH. She Niid that Madame had asked for a confessor, nnd that the Cure uf St. Cloud hud come : but that, not knowittg liim, she had Ocdy Epoken to him for a moment. Monsieur came to us; 1 told iiim I did not think Madame was prepared to die. and that she ought Co be spoken to about religion. He said I was right : and added, that her confessoT wbr n Capuchin, wlin was good for nothing but showing himself along with her in her carriage, in order that the public might see thai ^lie had u eonfettsor; but that another sort of man was neces- sary to attend tier on her deathbed. ' Whom," he asked, ' can we lind. vhusc name [luiy sound well in the gazette as having aiisisted Madame ill her devotions ?* I answered, that the best recommendation for a confessor at such n moment wa». that he should be a good and de- vout man. ' .\h,' said he. ' I have it, — the Abbe Bosauct,* who baa juat been made Bishop of Condom ; Madame used sometimes to con- Terse with him : he is the man.' lie went to propose the obb^ to the king, who told him that he ought to have thonght ofit sooner, and that Madame ought to have received the sucrament before that time. Madame was replaced in her bed; the king embraced her, and bade her farewell. She spoke to him, ns well as the <|uet'ii, with great tenderness: for nie, I was ut the foot of the bed dKowiied in learn, nnd uimhie lo approach her. W« returned to ViT»aille*; and the (]uoen went to supper. M . de Lauxun airived an we were rising from table; I Went up to him and said, ' Here is an incidvut which will
* ADrrwitiit llx' (.•Irlirtilot nitlioji of M««ui. I lU funcrj) 4«nn>nij ou tlie ilealli vf itiit ptitiOCM u uueineU Uic nii»t etoi|n«al anJ paiKcrfui ol hit woiLi.
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY,
129
difcoocert me *adly.' — * Ym,' he »aid; • I am persuaik'd it will derange all your plans.' ■■ And ihii court lady, overwhelmed willi gritT for lier dyinfjc friend, immediately proceedB to diiscut^ llie prubablc uffeL-l of that friend's deaili on ht-r own nialrimoniaL prujcclih
Wtien tW kiitg wufi gone. M> I'Vuillet, Cuiion ol' Su Claud, wds called in, und, alter txtiortiiig cliu ducbeeu to prepttre for dcaili, in a tone of austerity and liari>hiiess vvlilch iiiiglit have been iipared, ad* tninistered lo her llic sacrament and extreme unction. She had gent for the t'n^tish anibat^sador, to wlioni, un bit) cnming in, she spoke in English. The priest, hearing tlie ainl>as«ador auk her if she believed tliat she bad been poisoned, interposed by uiying. " iSIadame. accuse nobody, and offer your death as a sacrilice lo God." She M'us tliuA prevented from anitwering the ambas^ador'n question. Kooo after- wards Bossuct arrived from Paris; but by this lime she was »peech- teu, and apparently insensible. About three in the morning bhe ex- pired.
Thus peridhed Ihis poor young wnrtian, at theageof aix-and-lwenly, a victim to the intrigues and diabolical hatred of her enemies. That •h« died by poison, hiis never been doubted ; but it remains a (juestiou who were the perpetrators of the crime.
That the WHS poisoned, whs the universal belief at ibe time. The letters of the English ambassador, written immediately aller the ca- la<itrophe, show this to be the case. He thus wrote to Lord Arling- 190. tlie English niinislcr tor foreign aifuirs : " According to your lordship's orders, I tend you the ring n-hieh the Duchess of Orleans had on her linger when fihe died, which you will have the goodncin u deliver to rhe kin;;. I have t:ikeri the liherly to givean nccouni lu the kiop him.vclf of some things which Madame hud charged me to communicate to him. Since her deoth, as you may imagine in such a case, there have been many rumours. The general opinion is, that she haa been poisoned, which renders the king and his ministers un- eiuy in tlie extreme." — In his next letter he said : " I write at present to mention to your lordship a circumstance which you are perhapH already aware of; it is, that the Chevalier de Lorraine baa been per- mitted to cume tu court, and to serve in the army as a 3Tarri-haI-de~ camp." This passage was written in cipher ; and the letter goes on : " If AIudaniG lius been poisoned, »r ahiio«t everybody believes, alt Tnuice looks upon him as her murderer; uiid is surprised, with |i;uod rauon, that tlie King uf France has hud so little consideration lor the kiog, our master, as to allow him lo return to court, considering, loo, the insalent maimer in which Ue always behaved to the princess dur- ing her life." In the ambaisador's letter to the king, giving an ac- count ot' Ilia conversation witJi ihe dying princess, he says: " !>he apoke to me in English. I took the liberty tu a»k her if she did not Mieve thai she hud been noisutied ? Her confessor, who stood by, ■nd heard niy question, said to her, ' Madame, accus^c nobody, and ofrf up your death ns a sacrifice to (ioU.* This |>reveiited her from an- iweringme; and, I hough I repealed the question several limes, site only shook hi-r. head. 1 asked tor the casket which contained her Ivllers, Ihdt I mighl send them to your mnjeaiy ; and she desired me to ask them of .Maddmc dc la Horde : but that Indy was so i>ver> wbelnnnl with grief, that the fdl into one fainting-fit niter another. ami, bffbro she came to her&clf, Motuieur had laid hold oi the caskcl awl carried it oti."
190
TUB POISONERS OF
The princess's body was opened in presence oT the physicians
physician :
/licians and surgeons of the court, and the EngJish amhassodor's physician : and their report was, that her death was natural, oa the lun^ were dis- eased, while the stomach and heart were sound. But Mademoiselle tie Montpengier »Ay», in her Meinoirs, that a separate writin;; was drawn up by the English pliysician, and sent to England, to the great dixpleaeure of the Duke ofOrlt^ans. Am), it will be observed, it was after this cxutnination tliat the Eiii(lish ambasDadnr, in the letter* al- ready quoted, BO strongly expressed hijt belief that she hud been poi* toned. The duke's second wife, too, who had gathered all the cir- cumstances belonging to ihi.i tragedy which were knuwn at court, tays pusitively that the princess was poisoned i and that, when her body was opened, three holes were found in her stomach. The evi> denCL- ol' court physicians. Id tuch a cQ^e, cannot go for much. The French court had the greatest interest in niuking it appear that the Imd died a natural death. A rupture with Charles the Second was a thitig* t|} he greatly feared : und it is easy to imagine how iliuse politi- cal considerulicms may hiive influenced the report ul' the physiduns.
There can be no doubt, then, that the crime was cnmniLtted: hut who WHS the criminal ? Some suspicion fell at first upon tlie Duke of Orleans, but it iippcars to have been speedily dissipated. The con- temporary writers concur in acquitting the duke, nnd in accusing the Chevalier de Lorraine. This man, atier the duchess hod been the means of his exile, reliretl to Home, where he bore his disgrace with great impatience. lie had in the duke's houschoM two friends, or rather companions of hi& debaucheries the Marquis d'Effiat and Uie Count de iieuvron : men wlio eagerly desire*! Iiis relurn, from the services he could do them with the duke. The duchess being the sole obstucie to his being allowed to return to Paris, he seems to have used their assistance in putting her out of the way ; and this, it &|>- peors. was accompli:ihed by means of a subtle poison, which he sent ihem by on Italian agent of his villony, of the name of Morctli.
This may aliuost be said to be proved by the facts stated by llie Duke de St. Simon, and the second Uucliess of Orteuns,
The duchesii had been fur i^oine time in the habit of taking a cup of succory -water, by way of medicine, every evening at seven o'clock. A servant of her chamber had the care of making it ; and, having done so, he put it in a cupboard in the antechamber, with a cup to drink it from ; and, along with the china pot in which it was marie, he put another containing pure water, with which the duchess might mix It if she found it too bitter. The Mar<]iiis d'Effiat had observed all this. On the 20th of June, the day she was taken ill, in passing through this antechamber he found nobody in it; seizing the oppor- tunity, he opened the cupboard, took up the dririking-cup, and wa* rubbing it witli a paper when the servant came suddenly in, and, ttnd- log bim so employed, Kaid to him, "Hir, what are you doing in that Cupboard ? Why do you touch Mudame's cup?" — " I am excessively thirsty," answered d'EltiaU " and was seeking something to drink. I was going to pour some water into this cup; but, seeing it dusty, 1 was cleaning it with a bit of paper." This circumstance was re- lated tu tlu! second Duchess of Orleuns by this domestic himself, who was long in her own service. He had been for many years in the scr- ▼iot of hit former mistress, to whom he was strongly attached.
I
■
I I
THE SRVENTEENTU CENTURY.
151
In tlie evening the duchess drank the succory •water out of the cup ; wu» tMt«iitly seized with excrucinting |>ainx, and exclaimed that thv was poisoned. Her attendants had drunk t,ame. of the name lui'- corjr'-waler, but not out of the snme cup; and it had done them no liariD. It can tiardly be doubti-d, therefore, that Ihe drinkini:-eup WB9 poisoned, and not the succory-water in the pot ; and that d'Etliat w&t rubbing the inside of it wiiU poison when he preteiided. to the cervaat who surprised bim, that Ite was cleaning it in order to drink from iu 'Htcre was some cunning in poisoning the cu[^ bceauxe it wat tued by nubody but the duchess.
She expired at tlircc in the niornio^. The king, who Eccms to have conceived some deep sutfjiicions. uo sooner Iieard of her death ihiui he cot out of bed, Hcnt fur Briesuc, un oflicer uf bia body-guards, and ordered hitn lo go secretly, with six of histnoBt truBiworthy men, seize Purnon. the ducliess's chief nia//re (Thdtel, nnd bring him to his closet; which was instantly done. Ah soon as Purnnn entered, the king desired Briuac and his valet-de-ch&mbre to retire, and then, nd- drcAsing him in a stern tone, and with n piercing louk : "Attend to what I say to you, friend. If you confess all, and answer triy questions truly, I »hall piardon you, whatever you may have done. But beware of Ihe tlighlent disguise or concealment; for othcrwiiic you nmy look on yourself as a dead man before you leave iIur cfoscl. Has Madame been poisoned?" — " Vec, »irc," answered Purnon. — "Who poisoned her, and how »*ub it con;niitted ?"" Purnon ariitn-ered that it was the Chevalier de Lorraine who had sent the poison to d Hfliat and BeuV' roo; sod he then detailed the circumstnnces wbicli have been men- lioncd. Then the king, repeating bis as^urancoi of pardon and threats of death, ajtked, with an appearance of painful effort. <■ And, my brother — did he know of it >" — " No, sire," said Punion ; " none of us three was fool conugh to speak of it to him. He cannot keep a Eccrei, ud would have ruined us" At these words ilic king uttered a long "ah!" like a man who breathes again after t>cing relieved from a loftd of anxiety. " That," he said, *' is what I wished to know ; but take care that you have told mc the truth." lie then called in lliisiiac, lod ordered him to set Purnon at liberty as quietly as he had arrested him.
The account of this remarkable interview was given by Purnon bimseir, many yean afterwards, to M. Joly dc Fleury, the procureiir- generol, by whom it was related to the Duke de St. Simon. " The same magistrate," says the duke, " in another convcrsalion I had with bim on this subject, told me some things he had not mentioned at finU A few days after Monsieiir'n second marriage, the king took tbe new duchess aside, told her the nbove circumBluiice, and added, iLat he wished lo satisfy her thai be was too honourable a man to have allowed her lo iiinrry his brother if he was guilty of such a criia^. Madame made lier own use of this itiformution. Purnon had taraaincd in her service n^ tnaitn tThGttl ; but by degrees she aFccted to make Intiuirics into the expenditure of her household, and so an* Doyrd Purnon tlmt she forced bim to leave her service."
"The persona who formed the plot to poison Madame," b4IV8 the •ecood Duchess of Orleans. " disputed among themselves wfieiher thejr khould reveal tt to Monsieur: but one of tbein decided question by uying, ' Ko, no ; he would have us hanged were it
132
THE POISONKRS OF
ysAti hence' TIic ilelihcriUionB oftheje wretches are well kncmn. Thfv made ihc duke believe that tht Dutch Imcl given Madame a slow' poison, which had not taken effect till then ; for, as to the poison itself, there was no dcnj-iri]; it ; she had three holes in her stomach. One Morelli was the a^ent employed to bring the poUon from Italy: by wMy of recontpertsf. he was aflerwardti placed in ray liouscliold as diiefKifltVuf tChAtri ; Hnd, ufter plundering nie in every way he could, his patrons made him sell his ofltce at a higli price." She dcscfibeit him a» a man of superior talenta, but totally unprincipled, piven to every sort ofdebaucher^- and wickedness, and prutcusing atheism even on his deathbed.
There seems, then, no reason to suppose that the Duke of Orleans had any participation in the murder of his wife. He had never loved her, for he ^eems to have been intapable of loving any one ; and he was led by the utuchinatious of her eiieuiies tu treat her niih neglect and unkindncss. Uut neither, on the other hand, d'les he appear to have been eupable of atroeiuuii crtnieK. He n-as weak, iiut nicked. It was ihf vile policy of Mazarin to enfeeble his mind from hia very iiifanry. *' What do you mean," said the subtle Uiiliiin to Motbc-le- Vayer, tliu yninif; prince 'b preccptflr, " by trying to make the king's hrotbcr un able man ? If lie were better educated than the kinfj, he would soon forget llic- duty of blind obedience." llii mother, Anne of Austria, seems to hnvc concurred in this odious policy. Even when prown up, she used to treat him like o great girl, dressing him in petticoats for the amuoenient of her court ; while his brother was flCcustoRied to manly occupations. Thiiit the Diikc of Orleans was, all liis life, imbecile in eliaracter, and eS^'emJnate in litu taster and aiTiuicments. i )e was fond of dress, parlies of pleasure, masquerades, the paiteiuilry of the drawing-room, and pompous ceremonials- The natural rrrnit of hiii education, loo, was utter seliij^hnetis and insensi- bility i and, if he Innl no hand in the assAssination of his unfortunate wile, il wu* evident that her death was a matter of eniire indifference to him.*
Some writers deny, or ut least doubt, the guilt of the Chevalier dc I-orraine. " Il wa» alleged," says Voltaire, *• that the Chevalier dc Lorraine, a favourite of IMonsieur, in order to lake venj^canee for the exile and imprisonment which his culpable conduct towards Madame had brought upon him, had commitCed this horrible act. But people did not consider tliat the Chevalier de Lorraine was then at Rome, and that il was no easy molier for a Knight of Malta, only twenty years old, and living at Itonie, to purchase the death of a
• •' Tht Sltiifseiion." sayi Hame. " which CUrlw roaped from tk new »\\\Mfn WOthttl • (jTcnl clipfk by ilie iIesIIi of Im» %Mct, and null niQre by tlii>te mclBnctioly t-ltvumMuiMTk xliich atic'nil<>l ii. ll«r ile^ch wa* kitJJeu. >ru;r s icw Jayt' illncu ; %ial «k« '*<■■ Kitted xiili H m4Udy upon diinkin;; a sUm of nnct-my- water. Strong gggHJIfiH •! poiwn arou in Uic couH of l'nin<Y, and »cie tpre;ul all over £uiDpe ; uX ID knr< Vrtgiljnnil had dltcovcretl niaav ii}rnipUiRi( of iaalouKjr *'°'^ di*?oi>tent ou w ■ III. he nuunivvDallyWliut-ed to be lIjv author of the cniuc. CliarUa I 'V liiiii;, wa» rtuiretv ccovinced of hit piift ; but u|"ui rcwviog (be I tM |>'>j ■■liana, ntio tin a^'rnhi \\t.t IkkIv finiiiid nofo'inildliun* tor Ihr i;«uenil I im/i^M prvlcCilnl III \\r. tttttA-f'S. The UuLe v( Diloint iniic**! dill net«r, ziiuiiniuiiii af liii Itic, Lniray Kucb )lK)Nitiiioaa ai ini^ht l>u4U him to ta .1 )ady, It it Mill. ilTsnk the rcmaint of the fame gU&i vriUiout
V. Tbciutklcn drath of nnnc«a U rommonl; nrroRiiwiiit-d
.»>«»**. and Ikercfari! leaa miglii it to ba laid on the auspicioDs of
THE SEVENTEESTII CEXTURV.
}sa
grcac princeiss." This is but a weak prvKunipllun in fuvuur of Lor- ratne; Tor tlic ctrcunibUiucu* rclalcii by llic Duku de .St. 8iinon and llie wcuiiil Uucliesa of Orluans eIuiw thui lie was cnubliid to gratify his revenge, not by purclmsing the denih ui' the princesH, but by having confederates Hbout hervery person, whose tuotivcs for desiring ber death were as strong qs his own.
Lorraine's restoration to favour, within two years of die commission of this crinio, has been urgcci as a presumption tnat he could not nuvc been the criminal ; for, had h>o been guitty, it is said, the king would never have permitted him to return to I'runcc. Wc have already seen, from the jwiss&gc written in cip&t^r, in tlic EngltHh anibasAador's letter to his own court, bow much he was astonished at the pt'niiissioii which Lorraine hnd receivc^d to return to coitrl, and to enter the military service. Madame tie Sevigne, in a letter to Ikt diiughter Madame de Grigiian, in Febriiaiy Hi73, «ayi4 that Lorraine's restora- tion to favour by the king was owing lu the earnest entreaties of the Duke of Orleans, whose joy ul obtaining it was an passiotvate at his grief had been when lii» liivourite waE sent into exile. Although the king had been acquainted with Lorraine's guilt, he could not well have resisted his brother's importunities; for, in the circumstances uudcr which he had received his infiinitution, he could not allow it to appear that he knew anything of the mutter: and hL- wai therelore under the necessity of outwardly treuliiig Lorraine and his cunfede- rales as if the futiil secret hud never come to liiH knuwLedf^e. Lor- raine's return, loo, was uiAcful lo the king; fur, having untiounded influence over the duke's cimdiiut. he wug the Httest instrument to iiiaiiHge him according to the policy of the court.
Those who wish to rt-Iieve the Chevalitr dc Lorraine of the lmputa> lioQ of this dreadful crime, seem inclined to throw the suspicion of it on the Countess de Soissoiis. ThiN Italian was of a deep and danger- ous character. She bore a deadly hatred towards the Duchess of Orieans. She was so much implicated in the dark transactions vf the notorious women, La Vijjoureux and La Vuiitin, (hat, ivhenthey were convicted of preparing and sellJng poisons, she fed precipitately to Brussels: and llmugli I.uui!i wa« gri.-;itly attached to her, as the coin-
[laiiion and playfellow of bis tender years, yet lie would never hear of ler return to IVance, und allowed lier to die abroad. lie sometimes even expressed his regret at liuving perniltled her to make her e.icapc, ■fid used to say, " I lear I am respuns^ible before God for not having bad her arrested." From all this we are warranted in believing that the Counter dc Soissons was capable of any atrocity : but, of her being a party to this crime, there does not seem to be a vestige of evidence.
It does Dcc teem that any further light can now bo thrown on this incholy history. The character of the unfortunate princess is
iwn, by all her contemporaries, in the moat engaging colours. I*,x. rrpt by her cold-hearted husband, and the wretches who were leagued together for her destruction, she was universally Iieloved; and her death it described as throwing o gloom, not only over the court of Fraoce, but the whole nation. Even her faults are treated, by those •ho arc (ur from charitable in their judgments, with indulgence and pity; and, though slic was an object of the libels and calumnies of HuBsy Kabutin and writers of his stamp, the purity of her character as a wile has not been impeached by a single respectable authority.
134-
Y» ANGLERS ADVYSE.
TuEtsB i*a» a Jolli« anjtler olde
Full fayrt^ to look upon, tlis vysigu hanJuii(.'iJ «vu by colde.
And kioiiud in y' siiDfie.
Anrt be it cold, or bo it hot.
To river, or lo lake, Thi* jollia angl«r fsij\^A bim nut
His joumie all to make.
It cliXiicoJ upon at »iirTirnp !.■'<( day Y" winde was fayre and goode,
Y* ttoul (III] ill y* vrnU-t plnye A) at sucln times iliey slioLde.
Y* analer old* Mood on y* buth. And foilh drew he «•- Tyulie ;
His osiet cref I, which <;r5i was lanke, Was full as he could wi>lic.
Wlirn, lo ! (here standen hy hi* syde, Wiih fayce of son; di»maye,
A manne trho ail and loudiie cryed, And syghed wcll-a-dayc !
** Now, out on ttiee, unmanlie loona !"
To liim y' angler sayde, " Wily doxi thgii >iii;{soilrcareaiuneT
^VJial hath ihee thus disinaydr I"
"Alastcl alas»el*"y«torii mftTinesayde,
" A wretched loon« am I ! HTifl of my tpouic I am afntvd*,
Aiid tlLcri! be rL-uonnca wny.
** She scoldeth eke fra morn lill eve, And nought c:iiin<- I due ry^hte;
Sh* wit) not aiighle I itaya belyre, Ani Yexeth roe wiili tpyte.
*' In Molhe, a wretched tnnnne am f, Alnnwii; devour'd ofgricfti ;
And ii ivold^ be, if I sholde die, To hur aod me rriiefe I"
Lutidr Uuffhed that joll ie ansler wight, Kull loiidp ;)ii'il long I.iiipl'ifd lie;
It was, 1 wern, a merrie iifjhto ilii mitihfiillo fayce to k«I
*• And do'h*," anyde he, " a woman's tongue Thus smother thee with f,mOs ! Thou ■hnldm, indeede, on liighc bt hung, AU for a Kurvyc tkiefe I
' Dm! ( will give lh«« ^yte advyte, Which. c*rt«i, wilt avayle:
'Dmu 'It follo'T i[ if thou art wise ; To cure, :i will not f^yle.
'* V* ri«e> banki are fiyie ni>d gr«ene, y* hyrdcs doc iwet-lnc sing.
And mickie ii ilier* to be s»eu Id aiitomn or in springe.
** Arwl if ihou 'It be a fysshertaann,
I will impart my skilli-; And i« it iiul ii liki'lyc pUnn« Thj" care and giiefe to kill!
" Each morning by y* river syde We twairv with jjle* wjll roam;
And, when j* hillt* y' sunnc do hide. Thou sb;iU b«tuke ihes home.
"Then to thy sponse be rough and bolde,
And at her vlumours Innglit* ; And if 3h« slill shold raile and icnW,
Thcci (wingc iiLt with tliy ila9e."
Y* lom mnnnc grasped y» fyulicr'i hande,
ThII Inwlic touted he ; And sayde," Uy thyadvyieni stand,
l-'or bttlCT may not be."
And now, each morae, these twain did fyssh<! ; Y' inrievpd maniie grewe sloule ; GraytG sporte he had as he eouUe
Wlnhtj,
And pleased was y* loule.
And if, at eve, his spouse did routf, And clamotir wiOi lier toiigu"-.
From nnnk his'staflTe quirk took he oiiie, And snynged her horde and long.
Tltii phjkicke iooi>« cured tier disease, Ur tongao she foyne must ataye.
For, if she lel it runne al ease, Her body« rued y* day*.
Eftioons she quir i grewe and goode,
Y* stjiRp wa» out of u^ ; She slravc to ptrase, as erst she ihouldc,
Aiid gave Kim not abuse.
A PRIVATK ACCOUNT OP TUB LATE riRE.
1S5
And bappil]^ li<td theye and latt^,
Aod lu th^ angler old* Their f^lilude was much and slrimg,
For well bu pliuinv httd tuldc.
Y* manne who nnre nu ioilx lo live, Now nwrne (►Mteil his lyfe;
And ^ood Kdvyiv this K»g doth g>re, To nunagtt «r«ll » wife.
If *hr wilh dcTil ho {KwnHid, And stirewUh be, and crofse,
Lci licir liki- [i)scj«xni« he wi^ll ilr«ss'tl. And gitfi lier good oake <kiioe.
Btit, if dhc It^ep a nuiet Koosv, And ofi dotli liitiih- and taughe.
Tile loon ihnt swjngetli sucli a spouar, HintMlf Rholde have )■ lufTbl
A PRIVATE ACCOUNT OF THE LATE FIRE.
[llTRACT OF * LETTKK mOM JBKKI.V MOHCAN TO UlS BUOTUBlt
uavy( kbah abertstwitu.j
"Dear Daw,
" La*t Wedneiday night I happeDeil lo pass with luafilcr, our jroting squire, through the city- We caw the wjitdinif^n u-smelliiig all round a place they call the Royal Kxcliaiige,— «i»eUing for all the world like our hounds in the couutrj'', for there w'99 a huge Bmell of fire, which soon aftrrwards broke out. and burnt to tljc ground thii firand building. But, um you in your ignorance may not Know what is the Itoyal Exchange, I shall tell you for your in»truction. Tt is a big place, Hixlccn or twenty timeb more uiablc nor the market-place in Aberyfttwith, — yesj indeed I am not joking, — with a pcnt'house all roiiD4l it, when it rainn, for people to go in. All the great mer- chant* of London and the Lord Alayor uted to tne<-t here every day to talk about their stock, and buch matters ; but you must know it was not »Toclc of sheep and oxen, but something, young muter Mys, about paper ; and, sure enough. Dnvy, there wa^ an un- oomnon sight of paper there, — &» ynu sliall henr presently. It was a abocking cold night, cruel coM, and maHtrr ^id that the 'mometer was down to nero ; hut what part oC llie world that is, I never heard. Well, tlierc wui one old walcliman, — wliicU minded mc of old Tow. IrT in uiir park. — smelled himself all the way to a room called the Cuuina* Itoom ; and there, sure enough, was n big (ire whirlingabout a* if it was doing come great act of kindness to come out of ics snug dwelling in such dreadful cold weather. Then master cot himself into a famous passion, and sweared in good Welth, and kicked the gateway w ith all his might ; but it was no use. The key wa» gone down to (Jrctfiiwich, where it seem* it lived. So, after a great deal of talking and councilling alKiut whetJier it would be propriety to bmk open the door ; or whether il would be polite at all to throw c»>ld water upon the fire without axing the Lord .Mayor to make him a speech; it was utunimously decided that nothing could be done wiUMMit sending a deputation to the Mansion. I louse, which is the place where tlie Lord Afayor is kept. After a good deal of ktK>ck- Eng aad blattering, the door was opened by one of his lordship's women ; and wlien he was made to know of the lire, he got up in a minute out of his warm bed, and after fastening on hi^ great chain, — which the Common Council always make him wear, — be calls for a stout, jittly- looking fellow, with a led nose, — who al-
1S6
THK FKMALE WALTON.
ways carries his lorddiip on these occuion^, — and, tnounting cm hia buck, he ride» him in great state before the gates of the Ex- change. When his lordntiip had arrived there, he observed that there wa« * fire to the aUlenitan, — which nil agreed to, except the oppmition lender, who »iiid it couhhi't be, because it was imposaible: however, it wati af^reed by the majority tliat the gates should be inntantly broken open. In tnc me«n white, many fire-en- jTJneft had arrived, all loaded with briitk, active fellows, riding upon real tea-kettles full of hot water, and they all began to pour with ill their might upon the Exchange. Oh, it was a grand sight, Davy ! — On went the fire without mercy, destroying papers, money, bills, the rorporatioti Heal, nil the old kings of England, and a gr^aX deal more lumber besides; and the air was filled M'ith clouds of paper and baiik-tiutes, which fell upon the crowd in ithowers of fire; and no u«e was all the money tu any living soul but to burn their clothes instead oftbeir pockets. Then it made one 'most cry to 8CC the flames enter the beautiful tower, and curl round i( as if it wan embracing a young bride: and, oh, Davy! — indeed to goodness it is true 1 am speaking. — the bells of the tower begau to ring, in a most melancholy way, the old song ' There's no good luck about the house;' and they rung the song alt through to the end, and then fell down to the ground one alter another. And the old clock, Davy, he went on without getting a minute too fau or a minute too hlow, although the noise and IViglit might well have put him out; — hut at last it got so hot that he couldn't bear it any longer, and then he struck. It was now one great ^J blaac all round the building; — a more awfuller sight could never ^| be seen. Old master in the justice-room was nothing at all lo it; ^1 and it bkied and burned for a great many hours before it left off. And now and then there was a huge crash heard as the old kings and queen^^whn have been »tanHing in the Exchange ever Bin ce they were dead — fell into the square below. There was one of these fellowo, who stmid in the luiddie of the building because he was so wild and had euch a bad Character, so the gentry would not allow him to cume up stairs, — this chao eseajM-d altogellier ; and master says it was all proper that he should rscape, bo I 've no doubt it was. After this we went home, and sorry in the heart is master at wlial he *aw ; so I unburden myself by writing the account to yon. Ijove to sister and tlie rest, from your loving brother,
JlCNKlN 31oB(iAN."
4
THE FEMALE WALTON.
Dick pays no comphmenis to Uvely Sail.
She su)* she don't Kxpcri them from ihai quarter. " You *ni tishitif for ■ comphmfnl, my girl."
" Ha, Uick, indeed, uot id such sliallow water,"
137
A SPORTIiJG RAMBLE IN THE HIGHLANDS.
** JIfy Iteart 'a <ii th^ Ilif^land*. mr hcftrt it not bttA, Sly li^ATt '» in lliL- Higlilaiiili u-cluuing tlici iImv ^ Chaaing lh« wili) ilfwr, nnil follawiiif; the ruv, Uy baut 'i in tliti HifchlnndB wherever I go."
" Mc R»«'» Uoiel, Arxl-nam-beam, N. B. AueiiM, ib:i7.
" Dbab Fhank, — If you call ' quit the pay and festive scene,' — Lundon. — und pay us a visit iu tlie ilighlaiids, wc shall be delighted U> see you. Our sport hti» bteii excellent. My return of killed last *rek was a hundred and fifty brace of grouse, four red deer, and do end to »aIriKiii. We go to Glengaolach on the lyth-
h" Ever yourt , " FiTi-Ror. I "P.S. — I $end you a box of grouse."
1
The above epistle was put into my hands, or, as the tradesmen ■ay, "came to hand," on the morning of one of the hottest days in Aagant ; and, anxious to leave the Bweltering metropolis, I imme- <iiatcly deqatclied the following answer :
•« Dkax Pitz-Roy,— The ' Ducties!* of Sutherland" steamer start* to-nrarrow : and, wind, or rather smoke nnd weather permitting, I sIibU be frith you on the l^th.
" Ever yours, (aa we say in Sussex,)
" Frank Falconeb.
" P.S. I was mort\0td (aa were the grouite) at the length of time tbity were journeying here."
No sooner wa* this affair arranged in my own mind, than it wa« pot in train for execution. Moore'i gunti were paraded, Punley'in nfit* tried, ammunition provided, and every preparation itminletcd tat taking ihc field. After a very prosperous voyage o'C fifty hour«, I fiwind myself off Gannouth, on tlie north coast of Scotland, a spot calibmed for the landing of Charles TI, who, as the guide-hoolis Wtnld wyi van shortly .tfterwarcin rrnwned with mnci) magnificence at Some, but lost, pro irmptire, his crnn-n and kingdoms in the di^ MtrotiB battle of Worcester : and certainly no event since that memo- rable period ever produced so great a seiifitiun hh the divftnburkatiun of myaeir, two pointers, four setters, a couple of decr-hound»— Luith nd €«lert ; my cab-boy Frank, a perfect pocket specimen of the tigvr breed, and wbo, from his " wee " appearance, diminutive tops, Kod tiny coat, (tome ventured to add " small " waues) bad obtiiinecf at Crockfonfs door the wbriquct of " Huniieopauiic ;" and tart, not lowt, my Greek valet, not tu mention an innumerable number of trunk*, purtmanteauH, carpet-bag*, writing, drensing, hat, and gun* ram. A boat of ragge<l urchins formed the " gathering" whicli wvtcoowd tne to this celebrated !<pot, and who, in reply to my in-
•OU III. I-
138
A 8PORTIN0 RAMBLE IS THE HIGHLANDS.
quirie*. proceeded to conduct me to the liostelrle. A cluster of some half-dozen Bina]| nntt dilapidated dwellings formed what wm termed, par e.icrtleiifc, ''the vJilag*." As usual, one ofthc most imposinff of these «»id edifices had been termed " tlu^ hotel," thimph only rendered coiispictinuM above the others by » roicph hounl .tuspcnded Trom q f^al- iHWR-lookinp post, on whirli ■»•»« pnimcd, in the most aitfj '.Stan field 9tj*lc imaginable, a schooner under weigh, with " Donald Mc Kay's Hotel" written undcmejith in large, though not exactly very eapitil, letters.
Mine host soon made his appenrance : but great waa my annoy- ance, on inqutrinf; whether it would be possible In pet any convey- ance to Ard-nain-beatn, to receive in anHWcr the following reply : " It's Hue impossible, but it's \aar.i dlffieulL" At lust, after some little delay,— iluriiiQ; which Frank had been lottdly vocilerating for "cab unhiretl," and had shown con^iik-rable disgust at aicertaining there w.ib never 'sitch a thing u» a hoiunibus" to be had. — a kaart, »i it was called, iel est cr>.il-cart, was produced ; and into l/iU vtmn the Honouniblc Francis Falconer, the arbiter eUfiantutrwm of St. JamesVstreet, &c, compelled to jump, huddled togftlirr with dogs, luggage, *:c. all previously detailed, and that, loo, amidst the cheers ofthc unw.i»herl multitude, aqd a few reinsirk* of surprise »t my costume. N.B. The 6rst French- polished boots ever Men in this province. |
" rley! what a brnw nhow he'd make in a landwnrd kirk !" — " He thinks himsel', nae doot. nae sheepshank." Amidst these cheers I was driven ofl", and for pix hours wai, as Sir?. Iliirdcnstle saya in the play, almost " jnlled to h jelly-" The evening, however, turned out remark.ibly fine ; and, were I now writing a tour, I ahonld, in the fjsliioiiable phrasi-nlogy of the day, describe to perfection the gorgeous beauty ofthc scenery, llic Tiiiuneiique tints ofcolours, the Turnerian crl^pnegs and clf!inic,-s, Cluudeiin mcllovrncps. Copley- Fiehlini; touches, &c. A^i it wa>>, I contented myself with a doze, froru which I was at length awakened by tile cracking of my conduc- tor's whip as we drove up about dusk through a few solitary cot-j tnges to tlie door of Mc llae'f Hotel in Ard-naui-benm.
I immediately nlightt^rl, anticipating ji warui ;ind hearty welcome, and, following my landlord into a room which the gun-0)Me:«, old newspapers, and magaxines showed me to be my friend FitK-| Boy 'a apartment, I felt rather chilled at beholding my own lettcri unopened on the table. Mv host soon informed me that electioneer* | ing business hud summoned the party unespectedly away before the arrival of my despatch, but that ttie foresters and others had received orders to show every civility to any southern who might chance to arrive ail interim. This reception, rai/ifier the north side of friendly, '■daaht-d," or, to ute a Scotticism, "fashed" me not a little; but. determined not to confos my disappointment, I began to think of ilmply replenishing the inward man. Aks ! too soon I found that, like Bailiie Xicol Jarvie, I h.-id not carried the comforts of the Salt- market at my tail; for, on ordering fish, flesh, or fowl, for a nine o'clock dinner, 1 was informed timt there was nothing of the kind to be had witliin five mile:*. A bottle of Uqueur, which by the pn>-i vidence of my Greek had been stowetl away in my dreesing-CHsc^'l WAS produced, and I managed to rough it on maraschino and |ioacli«di
t
A SPORTING RAMBLE IN THB IIICnLANDS.
139
refcs, as lh« ^"'■"l^'nan ■" •»<! to hare done on beefiteakt and ]>ort. Retiring ejiriy, I fell asleep, dreaming much ** Of sport by thiclcet or by sueam, Orhawlc, of hcMinil. of rinc, orgtove, Or, « brijihier" yet, {not " lighter," as Scott lays,) of lady's lore," tilt daylight )^cntne<l through my Uttict>s- As thtf novels xay, " the cartcm »an bad illumined the moiuitain's brow with fluid Rold." when my faithtul Aittnnio made his a{>]>mrancc, informing me that the foresters were in w«itin|;, and that brenkliist was ready.
" Then, oh, what a hreakfast ! oh, not like your ghort of a break- fast in England, your curst tea and toast!"
Inatead of tough ham, French eggs, domestic coffee swertened with maple sugar, I found finnan hiuTdock^, kippered H-ilmon, Iri&Ii trout, onEmeal cakes, honey, jam, marmalade, &c. all of which Uik ihonghcrul forester had, on nearing of my arrival, provided for me.
f)<«r-stalki[tg was prupoHed. and GU'n^aoluch recommended as my bvad-quarters. Aly shcUie was at the door, and I was about to mount, when my gilly. in the most respectful manner, asked me if" I was canging out m Ma/ gear?" I looked at myself with no lhtl« satisfaction- I evidently saw that I had " Htirprised the na- lives;" for, "though 1 say it. that aliould not," never was mortal man better got up. Cooke hud done hit bent, — and he is the king of Schneiders. A dark mnlberrv-coloured shortting-jnckct, tartan waistcoat, the nearest possible white cord " oh no, we never men- tion ihems" in the world ; a drab hat, and coloured neckcloth, formed mjr shooting costume. I thought that my artist, however an\iuus he might have been, tr>»M hxrdly have afforded to have purchased me At mi/ otrn valuation, to at/ind at his door in Patantl-stTcet to attract custom, as the w^x fi}iure<i do in (he unknown region!; of Cbeapiide and \rhiicchapel. The forester, seeinj? my determination la mount, c«me forword, and explained that the qiiick-bighted deer wnuld niTcr rome within shot of surh a conunie, and Huggeated a hctthcr-coluurcd suit of my rrien<r!i, which fortunately hatl been left bcfaJDcL In this I was soon attired^ and ^t fortli for my iirst e^say ■t red-deer italking.
After a ride of two hours, we entered that wilderness of the moim- lafau calleii Glengaolaeh. A scene »o new, ko wild, s<j lonely, aruT wtthal so different from anything 1 had ever seen before, filled me with a confused feeling of delight, not, however, unmixed with awe ; wbile the only shelter from the storm, or from the angry ghosts of Ossian when in wrath, was a few loose stones, piled carclestly one opoD another, afttr the manner of a cow.hou»e. My readers will, bowevcr, understand me better if they have, by any enance of fate, ever seen a Highland botliie. The one appointed for my use was a neat>built dwelling of but one apartment ; and which, like the cob> bler'a sull, was condemned to serve for parlour, kitchen, and every- tluagt ebe. A* some refreshment wai bring prepared, some dry whins soon blazed on the hearth, the timoke furring its way throu|;n «l antrditunan sort of chimney formed out of an old herring<tub. Of furniture there was none, save and except u deal box, five feet iiesen by llirce, — a seal by day, and a bed by night ; and an empty whtsky-caik, assuming aa many forms as the A*cot-race man s
I. a
140
A SPORTING RAMBLB IN THE HIGHLANDS.
"papyro-inelnmorpbotii," (ns I presume it is called in these days of
higb-sountliiig names,) namely, a table, seat, sideboaril. ami cupboard, and in which last-mentioned receptacle a scanty furnishing of crockery liad been stowed awx)-. An iron kettle bung from the rafter* ; and ii Htick of bdxwood, l>i«tened in the wall by patches of wet clay, did dut)' for CHndlesticIt.*
The boihie, however, such an it haa been deocribed. was beau- tifully situate upon a brae-aide, surmounted on all sides by ranj^cs of lof\y hills, trhich gradually lost themselves in the distant horizon. The heather was in it^ thickest and deepest bloom ; white a moun- tain torrent, or scaur, rushing down from the rocky steeps in bold and sudden sweeps and curves, was partly visible, and partly con- cealed by the fdliage uf some dwarf trees which clothed its lowlier banks.
[n the mean time, tliu herd of deer of which wc were in search, sheltering tlicmsclvcs in the iiio»t remote mid almost inaceesfible re- ce«*es, rendered the tusk of overtaking or nearing them equ,illy toil- some and precarious. Alter two hours' labour amongst the clip's and crB^s, one of them, a royal stag, came within shot. Mv hand trem- bled with the excess of my anxiety- I however piillecl the trigger. The »ht»t reverberated thniugh the riKkn, and 1 fancied that he fell.
Calling iiky <log Luith to my aidj I hallooed him on. With a bound like that oJ" the startled slag, the noble animal is off and away,— he is racing with the winds. And now the deer bounds over rock and glen, or plunges onward through the mouniiiin stream. Following the forester, 1 neared him. cheering, and 1 believe half maddenefl witli excitement ; when, lo ! I now beheld, to niv utter consternation and dii<mny, my dog throttling and pulling down, not ft royal stag. but — oh, nhnine be it spoken .' — a shepherd's ahe-goat, and which, in i^pite «f every exertion I eould make, 1 was finally unable to extri- cate from the tangs of the ruthless Luith.
" Hey ! wtnat a bunnie beastie !" exclaimed my gilly at the sight.
"lie's niair flayed than hurt," replied the she])herd ; "so ne»er fash yourself about it."
A tew shillings served to satisfy the old man. who, in the oot- pourvngs of bis gratitude, thus expressed himself:
" Ve need nac hae gi'en yuur»elf sair much trouble: it'a too much ; it 'a just xcandahut !" which said method uf returning thanks sounded not a little ambiguous to my southern ears.
Such, then, was the consummation, urrdevoutly to be wiabed, which concluded this first day's hunting the stag.
A joke of the practical sort had been played ofl* this morning upon my unsophisticated valet, which certainly created a hiuch amidst hia "hjindsmeiii in the hall." Antonio had unfortunately left my " Pe- tersham mixture" in London, and, wishing to replenish my melan- choly account of empty boxes, made inquiries for the nearest and
best purvej'or of snn^. Mc Sneezer, of fliiill, in the town of E ,
eight miles ufl', was immediately recommended. \\\* shop wa» de-
* A puient unell of rarlntnslL, mounuln-dow, and paant. prc^-ailvtl tUroiighout. As lliB pan uf ihe hsart dom •' tiot" tay,
'^ Vuu iiukIiI Av irhst ym\ will, Hut tIi«K«ni€irihe«bi*k7 •raiilil cliiig lit tU IV *<<//."
A SPORTING RAMULE IN TUB HIGHLANDS.
HI
Kriberi as being next door to that of one Me Intosh, of Wnlerprui), uid opptmite tn Kiichan Fairntosh, of Cocieloijie. It was also iti- ■istcJ u|M)ii tlial, an the grouee were very quirk -.tight ed, a few pounds of iK-atlKT-folourfd shot would be very acceptable tn his matter. My Greek, in the innocence ol' his nature, — especially after my hNtber-cotoured iiicl^iiinrphusig, — relied implicitly on this vague nUtcment, and oW he stiirteu uii loot, being inlorined that at the botnie two miles off, he woukl, without any diiliculty, procure " Shanks's
sbrltir." Wfiat occurred at E I know not ; suffice it to »ay, that
my poor Greek rcturne<l from his expedition very much disconcerted. The Waterpruif Ale [ntosh was unknown ; a " Hoot awM, inon ! ye 're Mii let ■» nave nonenfye'rcti«hniaclaverii !" greeted bin> at the shot- ■bop, and Shanks's nheitie turned out to have tneant but his own bipraal legs.
But to return to my sport. Emerging from the thicket, I found nvaeir on a ledge of flut rock projecting over a chasm of not less than a Imndred feet, where the dark mountain torrent made n rnpid nhnnt o»rr the precipice beneath. My gilly, stopping suddenly, hastily culaiined, " Shoot 1 lihoDt 1 — a tnd ! n tod!" Lookiit^ towards the spot, to my great surprise I saw a foK bearing gallantly away. An iavoluDtary " Tally hu I" escaped me, and for a moment my thoughts wiQcfered to W-ir wick shire. My mind's eye for the instant pictured ti» itself Hill Morton Gorse, — Tom Day's "Gone awav 1" was even •oanding in ray ears ; when my reverie was put an en^ to by ■ shot whistling through the rocks. The forester's unerring aim had tak<ni effect ; aiHl I watched, not without a sigh, the last struggles of i>iK»r Rcinaitl, it he fell from the cliff, and was carried away by the force tif thr mountain waters.
Patiyueil »nd dii^tppuintetl with the day's mutlinlietl disattent, I bow exprestietl a <le»ire to return once more to Arci-nam-beiarn ; on wtuch my guide disappeared all at once from my side, til), nearing dke precipice, I beheld him catching by notches, roots of heuther, ■id alight projections of the rocks, rupidly di^sccnding the steepest lUca of the chA-tm. I, however, though by a longer route, mnde pwd my own retreat; and, returtting home, sleep and repose lulled my tired senses to rest.
Tbe next day was wet, or Boh, aa it is called; and the falling tt a. Hcotcli mist, vis. a thick, driitsling, and unintcrruptetl rain, wss by no means unacceptable as an excuse for refuge from fuir- tbet fatigue: to dine, therefore, and to dine in comfort, was now tbe diief desire of my heart. On leaving London 1 had provided aayMlf with a few quarts of Peacock's best turtle, and u mo»l llelin- gabalinc pate dfjoie grat. Wishing tu cre;tte tin Rgree.ible stirprise la ■osnc brother spurUsmen who liad consented to favour me with Amr cxMnnany to dinner, I gave my gill)':^ spoii<,e Ntrict orders to prtyare the soup by simply boiling the contents of the white Jar, adding lo it only a few glasses of madeira. Aly last injunctions were» ** Rciaemb^r the white jar !"
I proceeded to unkennel my dci^a, revise my gim.s, overhaul my tkat, ttc. till, the day having happily wore through. ! at last saw all ■f gnrtCs arrive. Our toilets were soon made, and down we ruit to MBcr. With what glee did I take uifthe suun-cover, — for the soup, W it kaown^ was the only disb in my bill of fare that I thought it
li&
A SPOATISO RAMBLE IN TMB HIGHLANDS.
worth while to announce, — and with u Urge lea-cup, which served u» for turvvn-lmlle. begin tu hi-lp my-*i-lf and friends ! Uiit jtidfte of my horror vrlieii ] perceived h wliitf, greasy, uiiPHTOUrj-loiikiiig aiibatAncc f\it»unff sti )>pi(-ioii)>ly on the top, and, on dlvltic for Uie green fat, discovereii certain hard blacV-looktng truffles. The mys- tery wai soon dissipated. A eonsidtatitin of northern Jlrs. Glass's haul rftalised the proverb, " Mcikle cooking spoils the broth." They had misuken the jars aiid boiled the fitile dej'oie gras iu pUce of the turtle. Byron talks of
"The rage of tie vuUaiy, Theloreortlieiuitlo;"
mine eq^ualled the former for the loss of the latter.
The morning artcr my dinner failure, a trusty messenger arrived, having, as he enlleil it, "just stepped over" a diatance of five-and- twenty miles with my letter*. I read my Engli^ one^ with avidity. How nnich might be written about a Irtter-bax 1 I" » few lines penned, perhaps, in all the careleisness of haste, we read that oar lioppH are haiilke<l, or our ruin complete*!. Anollier may bring the death of u parent, or a friend, in whose afieetiuns we ourteives reigued paramuunt. At length, however. 1 tunicd nie to the others, and, ill addition to the aunounccd return of my Iriend, 1 found im-it«tion» poured in upon me fruui all the surrounding families of title and di»> tinction, Scottish hospitality had couunenced. The season of vi«t« had bejiun; ajid now, cured of my first awkwardness, [joined in all the sports of the country. Of the interior of noble castles, uulaces, and shooting-lodges, I shall not here speak, as the subject might be endless ; but, ere 1 part from my readers, 1 may sulVlv say that the healthful beauty of the daughters of the Morth, the dulcet »tr,)ins of their voite and harp, and their graceful bearing in the merry dance, must haunt my mind's rvmembrance till I, or time, or both, become no more ! •
" Faiewell lo the IligMoitHs ! faren^ll lo the Nonti I The bidh-pliioc of valour, tlic rniiniry of worth ; VVhi'fevtr 1 wander, wherever I ro^e, Tbv tKHit of the Higtilnncis for ever I love :"
for* ID the words of th« Jacobite ftong,
"TI)ouKh rich be die soil where blotsoins the rose, And fiarrcii tlic mounluint, and cover'd with xuowR, Whcie blooms the red litAtlier and ihi&tk so gieeo, Yet for friendship tuicere. and lojrnliy true, And for couiaue so bold no foe can subilui', Unruatch'd is our country, uorinll'd uur swttius, Aitd lovely atid (rue are the avniphs of our plains^ VVii<fr« rises (bo ihisUe, Ik* t'hislif sg green I
J 13
THE INNKEEPKR OF ANUEUMATT-
Sbortly after the ffei>er)i1 peace, — in cumraon with troops of mv oimfMtrioU, to whom the Contintmt hut] l>een so toti^ rfoned, — ^1 traveUed to Switzerland. Liltlc was then known of that cotintry ; the inns w*^e few ami hiid : not no now. The inhnbitanls, too, have, nnce the perioil of which I ^eak, lost much of thc-ir individuality. The attriuon of fomgnep.'*, niul the corrupting influence of their gold, hii%'L>. 1 am sorry to aay, worn off much of ihiit simplicity of m-mncre, and iimst of tlic rii^ged virtuea, bequeathed to the mouii- lainecr by bis ancestors.
One oriny first visits was to the- Lake of the Four Cantons; that lake, the border of which gtive birth to the heroes and jmtriots who »hnok otF the yoke of foreign tyranliy. The lakes of Swilzer- land have each a peculiar character of tlieir own, and this owea iti
■ charm to itv deep eolitiide and sechtsion.
^^ Prom AltorfT I croxsrd tlie JMont St. Gothard, and, fortunately ^l^riiie, <<;tw it before the new road, in imitation oftUfttof the Sirnplon, ^P^hto begun. The mechanical art* and civilixAtion are the dexth of
■ •mtinient, despair to the nrtiiit, but Atill more to the poet. There H «a« then no hideous steara-buiit, with its bUckcning column of H smoke, to destroy the connexion of the present with the pa«. ^ A bateau, of the snme construction as that from which Tell, kap-
ibg on the rock, — where the chtipel now stands to commemor«te the exploit. — wiii}fed the arrow into the hpurt of tJctner. conveyed me to ttie foot of St. (lolliard. It then afTordi'd no prsciicnhle way fdr carriages, with their imperial.^ their couriers, ami fetnmes ae ehamhrr, all ptieked t^i^rethiT at the t<ip. The )>ass that had been iroddMi for centuricH, decp.wurn and precipitous, admitted only of being traversed on foot, or A mufrl ; thut |tas», the must terrible in Hk «ublitnity of alt the rest, with hs deafening turrent, and its Mdr> tliick-iet with giant ninc^, that yet gr.idiially diminished Into iea aA tliey lo^t theniselves among the clouds above our heads. WAn the month of April, and near leu o'clock at night, when, tfter a Imig niiuch, I reached an inn in the out«kirt« of the small town that beari the »ame name of euiuiroiiit and musical Honiid, — Laeano. It waa not the be«t hostel in the place ; but, al^r the ft^thlM in whieh I had been lodging, I had become very indifferent ~ the »Core of accommodation, and jfUd to find shelter anywhere, buidlord seemed Co liave little respect for foot-paiuengeri, for b* flid not move from hii ehuir to give me welcome as 1 entered hi* door. He was seated in the chimney comer with a traveller, »ba looke<l like an ohi Aoldier, to juilgc from his grey moustache md half-military costume; white a girl uf eighteen or twenty was pmuring hiti supper.
Onr bost'i maimers were eeruiiily not preiiosRes^Ing : and he MMiiiil but little inclined lo afford me thjt paid hospitality which Goldiniith lo much vaunted, lie told m* sulkily ttiut his house was Ui, that his guests bod retired, and that thrgentlrm:nt who hnd just ~ ivrd, jnd to whom he pointed, had enKiigeil hit last ch.imbvr.
r firr. place wok one of tlitt kind still common id fiirm-iiousec fci ' ', and universnl in Wn!e«. with wooden benchc* on each
*•'■' i.ing the ieo^rth of tJie chimney. I told bim, therefore.
144
THE INNKEEPER OF ANDERMATT
that if he votild give me a couple oF blankets, I would Bleep tur le dur.
The stranger politely ofTcrcd me hulf his bed ; but, our hust hav- ing acceded to my pr'opositiun, I declinetl to shore it, with Uie be»t grace I could.
Suiiiv excellent vermicelli soup, delicious red trout, and ah omekt an.i hrrbct, cuusulcd me for the modicum Aotpitium in other ways. I Mt down with a true Alpine appetite. Discovering that the cellar contained one excellent bottle of Bordeaux, the stranger and myself ordered a second.
Illy companion was «n agreeable person. We communicated t<> each other whither we were bound and whence wc had come. I apoke witli niptiiref dI" St. Oothard, and of the green valley of Andcrnjalt, At the name of Andennatt 1 saw a change come over the stranger's countenance, as though it were clouded by poine painful retrospect; and, nf^er drinking two bumpers of the claret in rapid succession, as if to give lum courage, he tnU5 began :
" You may have heard of Suwarrow, and the dreadful priva- tions he and the Rus.'iianB endured tn that memorable rvlreat over Sl Gothard. 1 was a conscript iu the Krvovh uruiy at that time, and bein^ on the rcar-guanl, cuiiiposed of a compftny of chasseurs, in charge of btorcs lately come up, we bivouacked for the night at An- dermatt. Vou remember well — and who oin forget ? — that green valley, and the peaceable and quiet stream flowing through it, which by a itrnnge caprice of Nature presents a startling contrast to theehaoH of r»»clt(i and turbulence that marku the headlong course of the torrent till it mingle* with the blue waters of the Lake of Uic Quatre Cimtoiis.
" Well, Uiere h, or was, at Andermatt a solitary inn."
The landlord, who had been h.tlf asleep for aome time from the effects of intoxication, here gave a start, and threw down his gla»x. I had senrcely till then remarked the man or his countenance ; but, as the ^re-light. Hanhed upon him, I wondered I had not done so bc-- forc. He waa fifly-fivc nr sixty years of age. His person, short and thick-set, bespoke tiic niuuntainecr ; his hair ha<l been almost as flaxen as an Albino's, but grey now preduminaled ; hh eyes, too, like theirt), were of a bright grey, much inflamed with hard drink- ing ; his cheek wos iiale wiUi the leprosy of drunkenness ; his features betrayed an habitnal gloom, as though he were engaged in the continual contemplalirm of crime, or u prey to some deep mid secret remorse, — at Itaal, such was the impression he gave me ; and I WHS possessed with an indefinable feeling tFuit be was in »ome way connected with the tale to which he was listening,
There is in ourselves, if we did not repress it, an internal cou> sciousness, a sense independent of our external senses, that gives ua a prophetic insight into the truth of things, a secret power of divi- nation that makes a look an interjection, a gesture eloquent: thu» with the throwing down of that glass ; it was an echo that respond- ed to ray mind. I determined to watch him n.irrowlv.
\V'hilst I was thus reasoning witli myself, tlic French officer Had been going on to say,
" TTub solitary inn, or rather hostel, was ai that time a mere r^t'uff, such ajt we see on the Simplon and Uie other great passes, anil hid been built by the government for the shelter of travellers.
I
TUB INNKEEPER OF ANDERMATT.
145
I
I
i
We had bivoutcked on the banks of the fitrroin. The dctnchment being n very weak one, not excectlitig twenty rank and Ale, under the charge of a young 8ub-1ieuteniint. and the mountAins full of JuHttrAa and marauders, it wait iiecesBarv to ke«p a good tonk-out. The yonng assistant commiHsiiry -general it) charge of ttie stares, who had no military duties to perfurm, hud taken up liib quarters at the ekdUl, where, in the only rouui yf which it coiiaisled, they had pre- paretl biui a twrt of bed. screened only by a blanket from that of the flOkt and h.\* wife. As he was sitting over a cheerful fire of pine- wood, there entered a comniis vot/tigcMr, who had been detained for ■omc time at Altorff by the preneiice ol' the emmy, ami their occu- pation of tlicpaM. Am soon, therefore, as he heard oftts bi-ina;oj}en, ne had pushed forward on his way to Afilan with the intention of pTtnecuting the re»t of his journey under the guard of the troop», and proceeding with u» the ensuing morning. His employers were great diamond-merchaoiB ; and he, having partaken rather too freely of the eau de cerise, — the only liquor tliat the place supplied, — spoke rather indiscreetly nf the value of the casket — one of the usual brnss- buund shape—of whicli lie was the bearer. I forgot to tell jfou that the coniinissarv's name van Adulplic, and that he came from the aame village in Burgundy asniyaclf. We hud been seliuolfellows and fricndb from iufaiicv ; and our intimacy was i^till furllier btrcngtli- awd by his aliection lor my sister, to whom he bad been long be- tfiithrd, and w.i» about to be married, when the decimation of the Comuiune marked us on the same day as victims to the conscription. It waaa nielanchuly moment for poor Adolphe when the hour of pait- itig came; and a still more heart-rending tme to his mother, whose hoaband had been killed in action at the hreiiking out uf the revo- lotionary war. Adulphe w;i« her only son, litr only atay in the world, a >taB' to the feebleneni* of her age. The cottage tliey in- babitrd, and an orchard and meadow at the back, were her own prujierty ; and ahc looked forward to clasping on her knees the graiid-ciuldren of her Adolphe and Gothon, — such was the name of her intended daughter-in-law. But nil these dreams of hap)>int!S(t were doomed to be at once blighted! When «he clasped him in ^cr widowed arniA, it was their lai>t embrace.
' "We joineil the army on the same day, and were attached to the atme corjis ; hut in cuiiftequenee of the ftervices of Adolphe' .-i fnther, who had been known to the colonel of the regiment, my friend was attached to the commiitsuriat department, — a branch of the service that nramiiieil him the realization of a rapid fortune. Hut he waa Ui-caJcuUted for a life of activity and enterprise ; he was of a mehin- dioly temperament, and hie thoughts were constantly reverting to his home, and those wjiu bad endeared it. During the day's march he waa frequently by my »ide. The frightful solitudes of the Alps, and ibn Icrrific grandeur of the Devil's Ilridge, recalled more forcibly the frecn pastures and vineyards of his native plaina; and a sombre pre- ■ccupatJoti of mind, a presentiment of evil, made him remark to nie that St. Gothard was an eternal barrier between him and his hopex, —that he should never again cros.^ it. I laughed at his fears, treated ihem as idle and chimrrica), and endeavoured la cheer him ; but in vain. Such waa the mood in wliich I lej\ liini for bivuunck.
**Tbe commit n/t/tigrur and Adolphe having suppe^l together, the hlUrdffcred the sLranger, — m I have done you, sir, — the half of Ids
b*
THE ISNKREPea OP ANDERMATT.
I W fnlefully accepted ; and, hkvtng deposited his prts moAet his had Ji» a pillow, soon sunk into a. deep 3lp«p, ' mr««le(l. Tbe other inhiibttAnta of the chiilrt Imd _ 'fn&rd to ihe'ir grabaU ; btit Adolphe's imaginiition wss
%!• «ctf V* fir •hiaber."
Hart ibt bast gave a deep sif h, which was however unobserved b^ lh« narrator : and, indrt-d, there scem^ nothing as yet to ucca- MMiil; I eyed him iittvniivelv ; his bead niu resting on bit hand, ihftAMX^ uf vhich cin»ped hi* foreheiul, and 1 could perceive a WBWdntm about hit mouth, but it was momentary. T'le broken nhta lay at bis feet ; mid it sevmffd to me Ktranjie that hv had not wuviwd hiiDself with xnother, ao ihr bottle continued to circulate.
" Tbe tuoun was at ihe lull, mid h«rr raya strtramed in a nilver line thtwljtb the middle of the ckiiiel, iitrepinff both sidea of it in pitchy darbuvaa- She »eemcd to tnvite Adolphc into the open air. He got WK 'UhI tried the duor ; but it was fum-ncd by two bolts, und lock- ed ; aud, ftnrful of disturbing the alecoers by unbarring it, he be- ihtMigbt him of the window. The hntcn yifldcd ulmost without an effort ; aud climbing to the aiifrture by meitns of a wooden chair, wbacb b« hnetl mSixr liini. he leapt with it into the road.
" WbK a glorious BpoctnL-te uus that mnouHght bright, among the
Afps! How sweetly diti that emerald valley slumhcr in its beams!
IWw Irvuiulously did they quiver on the bright iiiul pvlluctd stream
tbtf wvmihI through it like a silver snake! Every jKiint of the
CMiga, ••«« to the- fnr-ofl' heights of the Grimsel, was tipped with
< ~ t~i<> )iroa<l glance of the Ithonc that liiy between, di»tin-
■iiali its wide extent, glittered in the pure effulgence,
.1 ui l-.ke u tit pathway lor spirits up to heaven! Not a
b<\ > ■■ llie grass. Such was the silence, xhat the meai^ured
wvy vt ttw Motinelft was diiitinctly heani a» tliey paced the velvet
1^1 1, AmX ihr I'idl* of the Reuss came at iiitervaU on the ear, fainter
I' I'uuit in respon^e, till they died away in the distance.
^ ' l|'hi' c-ndcavotireil to find a calm for the lever of hii thoughtt
1 Nature. He wa* .ioon challenged by the intrn on guard.
.> 'W>m I wAi one. We recognised him ; and it being contrary
i>iitB of the service, we did not exchange a word. He
.i.i.iol'the stores, and my eye fnllowed him along the course
.»tr idl he was concealed by a projecting rock. How long
- :(, tir bow inT, I know not, tor I was atinost immediately
lievcd.
ice questioned Adolphe aa to the length of \\U walk ;
'>t'red of it wa», that he had *to<id for some time on the
,^■, iitid, as he looked down upon the fonming torrent oa
iikIi the arch, was tempted to throw himself over the
'i.id grrat (lifliculty in resisting the impulse-
1, )uiut!vrr, \\f- found hi" way back to (he chalet, aixA laid
I (II bin clotheH hy the Etrnnger, and fell into a heavy
>. like that produced by opium, was scarcely clumber;
'td by frightful visiouii. i'he figure of the Lindlord of
• .c<\ to stand palpably t>efore him, his handx dabbled in
' \ bciti i<toaned audiblv ; but the narrator, absorbed in htt i' ftuppoiiing tmt the groans arose from sympathy.
'A-VA-- f .
«"*.,,— V
TIIC INNKEEPER OP ANDERMATT.
U7
"lie thought," ccmtinuircl tin.* officer, " that a death-cold corpue U}' by hts side ; tliat lit.' felt the very hitiKl of a rurjiMr gntspcd in his owo ! So like reiility wtt the dream, that he titarled up in the bed, and stared Mildly around him ; biet all was ftilcnce, and the n)«)cm bein^ down. — pitchy darkness, — he laid himself on the couch again, and soon Ml asleep.
" Wc were to recommence our inarch at dawn. It wn« in the month of June ; and in these Alpine heights the day breaks earlier than in the valley. It «'as scarcely three o'clock when I was awak- ened by a loud iliii of vutcvii, auiuuy: which that nrtlie lonillord rose above llic rcfiC. Hl* vas in his i>hii't> and dratr!^iiig toward our guards a man ; that man wuh Adolphe. He detiuuiiei'd him us having CommiLted a tiiurd«r in the iint, nml called fur the tiiflcer in chares, Wc left our mules half saddled, ami rushed pell-mell into the ckdiel, wlwre a horrid spectacle awaited ua. The cofuvt'iM vw/ageur, yet warm and bleeding, was stretched on the bed, that bore tF>e intpreitc of another person ; lor a purple stream, vet welling from a wdund in the deatl nuin's side, had formed a puddle there. Beside hiui lay the sword of Adolphe stained with the recent wound.
" It mu»t be confessed that his having left the inn before day- break, and by the window, — as the chair on the outside revealed, — initead of the door ; the diiiappeanmce of the casket, which it mieht be supposed he hud gone to hide in some recet^s among the rocka, to be rvnioved nt a C4mvenient opportunity ; alTordetl strong circum- ftantial evidence to affix upon bini the niurdt-r.
"A corisciouMuese uf the damning proofs that everywhere stared him ill the face, and, above all, the fucee uriheufliccr and tJiose around him, where he le;;ibly read a full conviction of Ins gulU, and ihc certainty of the cruel fate — the ii;noniiniou8 de.-iUi — that awaited biin, eo unnervetl and unmanned him that he ^tottd ^tIlriI)g nith the |fl»aay tyes of idiotcy, and had nut a word to urge in his defence. His countenance, too, watt pale and ghastly from horror at the deed, a:id the dreadful night thai Jie hud putted. Never Mas there a more
Crfctt picture of conscious guiil. In thi« tAnW of despair he was iKUiiircd, and marched, together with the landlord of the inn, to Ucltciigitu, where the hcad-quurlcrs of the army were establinlied.
" Military trialw, e.i[>ecially during a campaign, arc very summary. The eontuiatidant was a Swiiis ; he entertained a high notion of the •B|ieTior virtues of his countrymen, and scouted the idea of a suspi- cioo attaching itself to a simple peasant, a mountaineer, who, he said, cotUd have no u«e for diamonds or gold, even when he had obtained iben.
■• After a delajr of only a few hours, a court-martial was appoint- ed, and sate upon my p<ior, beloved, and innocent friend. It was with a prouriition of all hiu energies, mental and pby^'ieal. and al- bkM an uncon^eiuuHness of what was passing, that Adolphc listened Itf %be connected evidence — evidence tluit he had no power of rebut- tisc. When called up<'n for his defence, he admiltnl the faetH that haa been adduced against him, all but that of the murder ; related bis vandering among the mountains, his dream, and finding when he awoke in the moming tlie dead body hy his side, and the aU' ifrgittt ulandiug over hitn : but all tliia in so hurried and confused aaBaniier, and with so evident a perturbation of mind, that his whole dnSMOoor seemed rather to confirm his judges in the conviction
1+6
TBE INNKBEPEK OF ANDERMATT.
couch, which he prBtefully accepl«! ; und, having depontc ciouH casket under h\« heinl a» a pillow, soon Hunk into a il M his ^norin^ revpjtled. The uchur inhatiitanU of the long befuru reured to their grabau : buc Adol^b«'s iiDagi too active for slumber."
Ilert' the host gave a deep H^h. which wa» however by iht' iiarrutur ; and, indeed, there seemed nothinjj; at tion iu I eyed him attentively ; his head wa« r««tiiiK the fingers of which clasped liis forehead, and I oi-. convulsion about his mouth, but it was momentarr. glass lay at his feet ; and it reined to me i^trange lli provided htmnelf with another, ;\i> 'he bottle continm "The rniion w;i« at the foil, andhT rays stream*'' through the middle of the chtilfl, stccpinp both sld darkness. She sccmcil to invite Adolphe into the ■ up, and tried iJie door; but it wa< fastened by tw cd ; nndf fejirriil of disturbing the oleepers by m: thought him of the window. The lintcti yielded efi'iirt ; nnd rlimbitifr to the upcrturc by means which he lilU'd alW him. he le;ipt with it intu i;
" WhKt a glorious spectacle wns thtit moonli j Alps ! ilow Bweetly did that emerald valley How tremulously did they quiver on the briy that wound through it like a silver sniikr ' r
crags, even to the far-oil' heights of the Ori silrer ; and the broad gUnce of the Rhone li gui^hable tlirongli its wide extent, glittered and M-etiied like a lit ]Uthway for spirits i breath elirri-d the grass. Such was the mL litrp of the i>rntincU was distinctly heard turf; and the fulls of die Rcuss came ot i and more faint in response, till they died ''Adulphe endeavoured to find a Calm 1 in that of N'nture. He was soon chal'i among whom I wai one. \Vr reco;: to the reguLitions of the service, we ■'< passed ill front of the stures, and my •' of the river till he was concealed h , he wandered, or how 1^, 1 know n >. slterwarda relieved.
" I have since questioned Adol/' ■ all he remembered of it was, that Ic Devil's Bridge, and, as he Itmked 'i it flashed through the arch, wa« tt-t parapet, iind had great diliicuUy in " At length, however, he fuumt ' himself tlowii in his clothen 1>. trance, which, like thm prodm. I it WAS disturbed by frightful v ' the inn seemed to stand palp.! blood."
Our host here graaned audil' own rellections, or suppu&ing < scarcely noticed them.
Tipary groans
nil lay iiirMg-
xfore seemed
. 4ctr regarded
. - ^ mind ; and,
i> he hung over
aiaiper of Ander-
: br aukes Hamlet ^4fv*euUt>on of the
~Mt- &<>t. thus re- .^ hardened wretch ijj*r Never shall .'.v^' During his , ,'j« teemed to iiauni . ,«tl«way! Thus
\^ ^^i: and, the next
_^ aflM fvr a warrant
^ j^HWrheoded. Like
■ _^. y^ir found remorae
^ Liiii il ikath will not
^ ^m aLoueuient to the
^^ML — the innkee[>er
^•(vaUeMon, and paid
149
A POETS FRENZY.
Sweet is a kiss from rosy lips.
Sweet the dew the honey-bet! sips.
Sweet the cooing of the dove,
Sweet the memory of love.
Sweet the milkmaid's merry song
As she treads the glades among,
Sweet an injury's redress.
Sweet is Beauty's loveline^iit.
Sweet is to a miser — gain,
Sweet is music's dulcet strain,
Sweet the voice of mirth and gladness,
And sweet is sometimes pensive sadness ;
But sweeter still than these, — than all
Supremely intellectual, —
Is the mental exultation
Of the poet's inspiration.
Yes ! a poet's frenzy rises
Far above earth's vulgar blisses :
It is a touch Promethean glowing, —
A chaunt from Heaven's orchestra flowing, —
A vivid flash of heavenly flame
Illumining
Stop, Pegasus I for something tells me
That now a poet's frenzy Alls me.
Just let me, pray! secure the ginh.
Else I might tumble back to earth.
There, now 1 Away I 'm borne In rapid flight,
•Mid crystal waves and isles of light,
Where dread Sublimity appears
Enshrined amid those starry spheres :
Where Poetry her throne has placed,
August, magnificent, and vast.
I see, 1 sec the goddess: lo! she wears
A crown of dazzling spendour; Tis gemm'cl with heaven's own golden stars,*
A diadem of wonder : And in her hand a sceptre, brightening With flashes of the beamy lightning. Purple clouds her dmpery form : Her ministers, sunshine and storm.
Well ! if this be not Uie frenzy, I Am seized with a strange phantasy. It must be : so, without furtlier proem, 1 11 just commence a little poem.
While in the grove, at eventide, My thoughts were thus to ver^e applied. An Owl, perch'd on the opposite tree.j Thus from his roost accosted me.
** Your frenzy on a very fine
Pinion may be rising ; But take advice, — go home to bed,
And cease your poetising."
Ye stars ! which are the poetry of Heaven. — Btrok.
150
POKTRArT G^VLLERY.— No. V.
CANNON FAMILY AT BOUIjOCNE.
W« left two of the ladieo in a seroi-clasBic state, clnsped m the arms of two GnuU ! What a situation ! — what a condition for modest chaste Enjflishwomfn ! What could hnve CAuanl ciich an outrage, — flijch n brctu'li of common decorum ? Simijly one word — one mo- nosyllable— tliouj»h orten reiteratwl. What niomentous events, what fearful re^iultfl Tiiny. or may not, arise from one single word !
An iiigenioiifi author, well versed in philology, und uhilo^ufdiy, and metapliytiicx, mi^ht inditu a dozen loUos to relate the life aud advent iirt's of a. word I As Batxac says,
" J'uiJiiU du diiiicicux tayaffes, embarqui rur un nict, (fans let ahtftnts dujmssv, comme un insecte tjui JhUe txu t/ri d'uitjietire eur an brin d'/terbe,"
iHouoayllahka are untiuestionwbly more eloquent, more conclusive, . more cotivinciiig. than all the circumlocutions of oratory. Yet, no ; Jit, tiein ; otn, hu», — what bliss, what misery have not these two short word* occasioned, when irrevocably pronounced I All your |)rocla- mation«, your tnanifrstos, your protttcols are idle, comitared to thrni. They come out sometimes boldly, at other limes (Irawltuff, from tiie resolute and detcrmiiwd mo»t niiLscidine of feminine woman, or the timid maiden, hiding her downcast and burning cheek with her cork-screw undulating curU, and wafting hfr lover's imagination to the seventh p»radt»(^ of Afiihomet by a languishing ffe*^'t-es. 1 beg your pardon, miss, — that's not it; lay a pro(>cr emphasis im your jr — thus, v.cr-«-s9. Thus will your consent come Hittitig hot, and fire your suitor with unquenchable urdour.
But surely the chaste Mis* Cannon could never have said ^rs, short or long, to these insolent Frenchmen I What, then, could have been the mystic word ? — who could have pronounced it?
It was Snltey Simper,— in a nioincut of terror. Sukry had also par- taken of the soups II Caseillr ; Sukey bad also suffrred from the effects : but she was in un uitic ruoni, without a light, without a beil, without a knowledge nf tlie liinguoge; she wan in a fever, bunting, psrehed with the thirst of Taiitalusr She rushed to the head of the etairs, bawled out '■ It'aler f" ncreecbed out " Wai kk !" roared out " WATiiK !'■ The great Frederic »aid that there were only three things required lo wage war, — monky, biONBY, monkv I Sukc only wanted lo be pacifie<l, — wiTER, watkb, watkr ! — she kncAv not the French for it. Although pain made her repestt-dly exclaim *' Oi .'" in variouH modulations, no one heard her ; or, if they heard, they heccle<I not- Indignant, despairing, cursing the Frank* from Pliaramond down to the Bourbons, she exclaimed, " You vagabonds.
you won't give me water l^but 1 11 be if you don't !" She re-
collectcfl the French for fire, and, with a voice that would have roused the Seven Sleepers, she liellowed out ** Feu J Jht ! fnt .'"
Now, when a man is awakened hy the cry of " W'atcr," it Dears with it a chilling, cold character, which makes him, with an eeotiatical feeling, coddle himwlf more comfortably and warmly in liis nett. Not so when the terrific roar of "Firr f" rouses him from his slumbers.
I
I
CANNON FAMII.V AT BODLOCKE.
151
Next to Sukey's room tliiTe luippencd tu »^]ccp two eommit vofftt- gf»rt, or coimiRTcial travellers. Thev were, pcrliaps, tlrnaraing of t>uuple», paitcnie, bargains, ]>erh&p!t of love, ^hcii her cries made [bein jump out of their virtiiou» Wda, like pea*) uut of a popgun. They must have been dreiiniing uf love, for incontinently they ru»hed down !itair», re-echoing tlie alarm of fire ; snd .is the devil, ihev sHTi wilt occasionally throw ttinptatioii in uur path, they he- held Miu Lucy Cannon and Afi^s Kitty Cannon, shivering and •halting, at their chamb^^r door, and exclaiminf; with p^reaT trepida- tion, " Quoif quoi? qurA?" " Ten ! Jeu ! feu .'" was the reply of the travellers, who bchig, bcBTdcs men of biisincsi^, men of consummate i:alUntr}-, whipped up the two ladies, and, as wc Iiave «ecn, carried them out into the yard.
In n moment, heads, night-caps, snd candles were peeping out TrtTin every window : there wa^ a guard-hoUBe in the nei^hhuurhond ; ihe drum be:at to arnih, the lire-lwll was Get ringing, all Uuulogne was in commotion.
What the world calls modesty is clearly an artificial feeling, ori- ginating from civiliitiiiion, and perhapa coquetry. If a nruof were wanting to convince the incredulous that our notions on this subject are most erroneous, let him, like Sukey. roar out " Fire !" in the miudle of the night in a crowded hotel, and he will soon perceive that every <me in the house will burxt from the shHckleKofuriginHl itin, and dia- play the unsophiitticated innocence of our first puirent-t. A learned philosopher very wisely maintained that the only clas^n of Hoctety »1k> derived benefit from the fir^t transgression were tailors.
Sam Surly alone proycd himself a binnt-r — (he bad onee been tried for horse-stealing). He alto filcjit near Sukey ; snd wheti «he gave the alarm, with a true patriotic feeling he rubbed out, having first wrapped himself up in a blanket, and performing the same kind office for Sukey, tteized her in his brawny arms and bore ber away aa vigorously as Apneas carried hia aged father from the Trojan con- flunitian.
The gate having been thrown open, the yard wa* aoon thronged with soldiers, firemen, |>ulictmc-n. all roaring " Fm !" though not a spark waa leen, or a ^niell of smoke perceivable. Alt stood amiiKeit ; the ladies looked aghanC. and fied in every direction to their cham- bers ; the (iardcnalioMtiic and the tnpeurs pompiers were conjugating aad declining their favourite ejaculations with all tlie veheu.cncr of ibe abbess of Andouillets, insisting, like most of their counlrymen, tm being paid ft>r doing nothing, and wanted to dr.ig old Ooiumoilua C<annon and his male olT-nrin); before the rvmmiiiKurt lie jioiice «• prriurbattitrt itti rritat public. The laiidlord'M interference alone pre- vented thia diabolical outrage, by promising, in the name of tlie nyagetirt, that they should be duly rewarded. Suke and Sam dur- ing thia confusion were quietlv sente<l in the saLe i) manger, di*- cvaang a bottle of Qrillnttire, wfiere they were soon joined by several FrracHmen, who, regardless of the maiden's blushes, crowded in tbe roam, as the aoldiors say, "as you were," to relrcsh thcniwlves with ta gatUte — AH^lici, a glaaa of cognac, — served by the lre«d)hng wail- Wr who were cordially cursing Jean B«!l, and all his generaiioo, ler roating tliem out of be<l.
Tbe parties were gradually withdrawing to rc«t, some .swearing, tome buighiug, wbeii tlie most outrageous cries once more bruktf tkmugli the sjlenc« of tbe night.
152
PORTRAIT OALLBRY.
Whatever foreigners may lay of DHtish wfhitecture, if wc dn not Oisplay ii proper rIt»«Hii.- UiKtc in the exU'rinr ufoiir public edifici-a, tlie interior ol'oiir dwelliiiB-hounes fully conifienaate*., liy the com- fortable distribution of our apnrtnients, for the luck of that ffi-nnrfj«M£ of our neighbours' palaces and hotels. But of all the eviU of out- Umlish accommodation, corridors arc the most fearful, nay, the most dangerous. The doors do so resemble each other, that niintakes arc not only excusnble, but unavoidable. They are only proper in monasteries — in nunneries — where earh c«ll opens on a common pas- sa(;e. Even in nurinerieH mistaken have sometimes taken ]>Iacc ; and a travelled frinul of mine assured me tlut in u ccrtuin uunvent in Spain a distinctive mark was affixed over each door, according to the uge or atlractiuns of the sL<cludi.'d tenant of the narrow chamber ; and while a portrait of the Virgin, with the inscription of "Ave Maria purissmit, fit pccado cotter If'da," were di9]>layea on the cells of the young novices, a death's head and marrow-bones were depicted on the entrance of the aged nun's abode. But, alas I in the corridor of the hotel where the Canniwm were lodged, no dtstinrtive mark, savinfT the numlier, could jjuide the tpiivering traveller, returning to his warm bed, after having been by various causes turned out in the cold ; moreover it was scarcely grey morning. Aurora had only opened one eye, and was gaping; Apollo hud just pulled the bell to order his horses to be harnessed; Nox was only tucking up the skirts of her sable and stellated mantle; the beCl-ringcr hud only tossed off n prlil lerre r!c rogminnr.. to pull his malins. How then cuuld CommoduH Cannon, through this crepuscular medium, find out the ehatuber in whtcli hh terrilied belter half had crept froui tlie horrible scene that we have endeavoured to describe?
Cummudus opened the door. Imprudent traveller! — why was it not lucked, bolted, doubly bolted ? He groped his way, shivering as though he laboured under a tertian, a quartan, a quotidimi ague. HadDomitian, or Nero, or Robespierre, beheld the poor old gentJe- Dian, they would have given him a dose of quinine, in mercy. In bed be got, and he coiled himself up, and he gathered himself up to warm himself with bis own caloric: but it was too latent- Lutn ns he was to disturb Mrs. Cannon, whose slumbers, like a good hus- band, he ever respected, although he was not a chemist or a natural philosopher, he »ought on this occasion to increase hi* tem- perature by a little of the specific warmth of his bcd-fellow, little thinking at the time what combu»ition he was about producing, when, stretching out his hand over the person he fancied was flirs. Cannon, his icy hand lighted on a long grisly benrd !
Cannon had read Don Quixote, and various marvellous stories of sor- cery and enchantment ; but to find a beard aa long as any capuchin's, or any Jew llabbi's, on \m darling better half, was more than mortal man could bear. He could not recoil as frum a rattle-snake or a boa constrictor ; he could not jump out of bed, as when but recently the alarm of ftre had been spread ; he was seized with a convulsive movement — what the French call a crifpnlion de nerj't, and instinc- tively, mechanically, graspetl the hairy appendage which he fancied .iHixed to Mrs. Cannon's chin, aud loudly uttered— 1 shall not say an oath — he wa^ not sufticiently ieaiiied to swear by Jove, Minervrt, or Apollo, — by Isis, like an Athenian,^-or Oiiris, like a Theban ; he waa tou religious a man to swear by G — ; but he roared out, ** Afy ir^ /"
I
CASNOS FAMILY AT BOULOGNE.
\5S
'. hsYe o^en sought to discover the oripn of this singuUr exc]a-
mation, although on thi» occasion, by an asDOciatiDil uf idcat:, it mi^Iit h»yg been accounted for, since C^annon's scratch was !oui<.*what of a r-hair tcxlure. I one*.* fancit-d that a baJd man, who hud lust tliia Scial protection, mi){hl cnuswler it a calamity, and excWiiu with {noper emphiottii, " Oh ! mi/ irii; f"
Then the name man, st^eking for hi* jaxi-y, and layinf; hold in the dirk of something like it, miitht ejaculate " Ila ! nnf H<ig .'"
At other times I fancied it derived from the strife between Whigt and Tories, who all wnlte, arcordinjf to Swift, to save their wimt At last I traced it in Sophocles, where good people awore by tne hair which they h-id cut off from their victims.
Cannon Iiad never read *S<iphot'-lp3, nor the exnlanatinns of KuBtn- thius: yet he roared out "My fig.'" when, to his utter [liRmay, a ftracorian voice bellowed out, " 'lunnerrf de ii'ieu ! (jn'ejrt'Ce qne c'fst ^ ffl f" and in a moment he wuh seized by the throat with an mm itrnsn.
"Murder! — help! — murder !" wa* the only reply he could make, rolling out of Ijed ; while? his companion, no ways disposed to let go hi» hold, rolled out nloii||« with him, exclaiming, " Alt, sacre cliieu if An^latM, lu me ie pairraj f"
Now ihi« waa a sinRnlar phra«e in the mouth of a Frenchman, who pretends that honour can only be satiHlied with blood. "You skafl paifjiir IT," Is a mean expression, only befitting a nation of shop- keepers. A man runs away with another man's wife: he exclaims, « Th^f rnncal thall jmij far it f" Pay for tl .'—What? — the wife? A man who calls a wile it, surely cannot elnim damagcH : it in a nea- tnl demonstrative, applied to wortlilexs, insignitiennt thirij^s.
•' Tu me ic paieras .'" roared on the Frenchman. " Mtirder ! — help I" roared nut Cannon; while he of the beard was ahaking him agamat the wall, and calliiif; him sc^itTat, larhe, brigand, inimlaire !
Had Cannon understood tlieae opprobrious epithets, no doubt he would liATe re^'ntud the inault like a true-born felnglishman, even at the pedigree of De Foe. But there wa;; no need on this occasion of moral excitement, for, despite o'C physic, his physical enei^ea wmaroUM.*d; and, as it is true that everything Buds it« levvl, th« Iwa/dcd Frenchman, measuriii;r six foot tour, wliileour worthy only •taod five f«fet and a " wee bit" in bis »h(K>», hJM head found ititelf on a borixontal plane with his antajKC"'"^'* abdomen, and, butting like a Welsh goat, with all the energy of an iinrient battering- ram, he drf>«e his cranium into the stomach of his foe with such violence that W produced more fearful cfTccti than he and all the Cannons had ex.
~i«nced from the muj>c a I'oPeiUf. The Frenchman fainted : every individual in the house ^nupcd the combatants; our hero litrutlin^ up and down the earridor, nuflinf;, blowing, and swearing in energetic vernacuhtr, pnmd of liis achievement, while all the waiters and servants were load in their indignation at auch an in&ult being offered to a (kildat FsAsi^aia.
For, be it known, the msn of the beard was a bold saprur of a nipBient in garrison at Calais, and travelling on leave. A aapi-ur'a beard, Im it also known, is coneidcre^l Much a valuable apftendix to a vf, that the government once allowed the*e diitinguishcd warriors a my jjtr diaa for its due and pr«|)ertitivatiou. Marshal Soult, 'VOL.111. M
151-
rORTRAIT GALLRHr.
however. Wing a grcnt economist, (whom ou r vigilnnt piardiflTiB oFthe niiblic puree ouglit (>cCiKion»)ly to trail in, in ctHisiiltatiiiii,] — Slarsltal SnuH ventured to curtail the army expenditure, liy tlirectinn; the»e wild benrds to lie etit off. Oh ! France, de^aded France 1 where w*a thy warlike spirit? — and you, veteran followerfl of the Imperial con- queror, hnd you forgotten Marengo and AustcrlitK, your eagles and your trophies, to permit siieH an nnn-jigc? The mercenary jsnift. sarie« III' Charles XII. revolted uhcn he presinned to meddle with their chins ; Peter the Third caused a mutiny in his army when he dared to order their hcnrtis to he cropped. Alas ! poor France ! thou wcrt shorn of thy ^ories when thy pioneers were submitted to the dej»ni([injr raxor. The very Indians punish the liliickest offences by ithavingnfTthe beard ; in Lombardy it was tlie penalty inflicted on in- cendiaries and murderers. The beard ven^ iilvays consideml a mark of dialinrtian> of dignity, the badge of magistracy, mcerdotal power, and military prowess. A Turk or Jew would nnicli rather receive the rheum uf indignity in liis face than on his Ijennl. Perhaps my reader doea, or does not, know tJiat the Tartars waged a horrible war against Uw Persians, whom they considered base infidels, because they would not trim their beards according to their fashion, A beard, in short, is as prcdous agin to man as it might be consideretl 8CurM> to the fair sex ; and Herodutus informs un that when the Tarians were menaced with any dire calamity, a beard sprung forth on the chinF of JlinervH's fair priesteeses.
I know not whether our tapeur, by name Monkieur Jeun Pierre Fram;ois de Danlringiie, but whose inim tie gticrre was /^ THli/te,—l know not whetlier he had read the annalu of beurds, but he conai- <lered tlio insidt he had receivetl fnmi Connnndiis Cannon of )iuch a nature, tltat blmid, and blooil alone, could wu>Ii nff Ur* fuul stain.
The fullowiog morning ('Dtnniodiis wuh f|uietly «eate<l at liia breakfiut, relating, with no small liharo of satisfaction, the summary punishment he hud inflicted on the Frenchman, when the waiter came in and informed him that a gentleman, tUcore, wished to h»ve the honour of speaking with him en jiari'iaiUtr. Cannon, 1 know not why, turned pale ; some strange forchiKlings, perhaps, had milled his tranquillity ; perhaps the debility produced by the toupr A I'otciUe and the turlar emetic did not exactly predispose him to valour. On the pica of his ignorance of the French Ibngunge, he requested his Bon, Cornelius Cannon, to accompany him, and, leaning on his am, went to meet the stranger.
Asmight have been expected, it was achnllenge, — \in combat iiloKfe cMlrance, as it wax railed by M. dc la Tiilipe's friend, a fellow six feet lii|:;h, with enormous mustucliios, and a deep sabre-cut diagonall}' furrowing his aquiline no^e. solving its symmetrical con- tinuity. Miaisirur dt la lialafre, as he was called, was remarkably polite, offered a pinch of snuff, a peiit verre of ci^nac; inrormcd old Cannon thiit hia friend would feel grp.nt honour in measuring himself with him, since, by hia dress, and buttonii, and grey hair, he was no doubt a marin disliuf'iir ; and tiiut his cunirade lelt him the choice of arms, between smiill swonls, unbuttoned foils, sabrcH, or confri-~ paintex. Dune of which deadly weapons had our worthy ex-tallow- chandler ever heard of During this pleasing conversation. La Tulipe was mctng the yard, giving vcitt to his indignation in ttie most energetic and poetical language, threatiming to cut a thorough-
CANNON FAMILY AT BOULOGNE.
IKS
fare through his imtnjTonietB ppntre, — to Bee dnrlight through hi« carcaue, — and, finally, to plaster hiw wound with the hilt of his sword. And wct and anon hu would stoji, put liim»>flf en gnrde, and fence with bia cauc uf^ntt the wii]l, with loud exclamations of " lla ! ha ! ho ! ho ! tin, deux. Ha ! ha f «a, iteiu. Ho ! ho I" And fear was beginning to act most fearfully upon poor Mr. Cannon, when Comehus stepped forward, and, havinif been an en»i^ofan Irish militia ri'girnvnt, like a dutiful son exclaimed, in whjit he fancied intelligible I'Vench,
" .Wonsiafr, nion p^re est beaucoup trap jhrl frappf en haul attc la jihyn^ue gtre votrt medinne I'ranfais dorinv Irii pour eTKontrvr rout litrns le champ; tt mot pas ai-ani poiir tentr debout dnas ses touliert avoir piftoUls pour deux dans uri mej't>fsi f"
At the word pisfolei, the only one he could understand, La Tulipc kUBpended Ilia ffiicing; La Balnrrt- niaintaiiiM that his friend, who hatl heeii the insulted party, hnd h right to choose his arms: it waa eriiienl that they did not relish the proprwal. What a sudden effect doe* thehesiution, the wavering of combatant* produce! Rven old Cannon, who was leaning against the wall in a cold perspiration, experienced the stimulus, and ventured to look at the foe; white CtiroeliuB exclaimed,
"Je aoufflar voire ccrvcUe dehors pour un poltroon,"
"Monsieur," replied the Frenchman, " my bu«ines8 is not with you,butTour father, who is urn- disgrace A voire viarine — «ji capon !'^
"A wrnitl" roared out Cannon.
" He calU you a capon, father."
Xow. whether or nt*t Corncliua pronounced the word incorrectly, I cannot pretend to fay; hut the insult did so rouse up the feel- ingn of the old gentleman, that he actually pushed bia son aside, md swore that be would fight them nil himself.
Finally, the hour of four rjti. wns fixed forn meeting at Napoleon's Column : the parties separated for due preparation, and all Boulugitc ma on the tiptoe of expectation. The publicity given to the ap- proaching duel was not likely to prevent it ; had two Frenchmen Dcen about cutting each other'ti tlinKits, the police migJtl have in- terfered, but it was only un Jiifchis wlio wjw iibiiut receiving a tcMnn from «m brave; and although Hotdogne, once a poor dirty fi*hing-tnwn, owed all its wealth nn<i comparative splendour to ita British reaidenln, yet they are as cordially detested as benefactors gmcrally are.
But where to find a second, to be third in this murderous hu- ifaicva? the Cannons were strangers, (>hlCommodu<i would willingly luve ljc«n bottle-holder to hia son in a bout uf lietv-cuffs ; but in a Ttmanttre with deadly wcapoiia, when he might benold his Comcy rcoriTing a mortal wound^-dcspite a gliifs of noyau, cr'me des Barimdrs, and parfaii amour, diluted M-ith brandv-and-wuter,— tlie oUl gentleman's paternal yearnings could not bring him to the paniti
it WSB at this critical moment .that a French gentleman, wearine hllf K dozen bits of ribands, who huil met the family at the table fh&le. Olid eyed Ali«s Kitty Canmm till her checks were .is red a» the badge of tiie Legioii ot ilunour that decorated his button-hulc, ame forward in the mo»t friendly manner, and in tolerably good.
■ Adtttud.
M a
166
TRB PORTUAIT GALLERY.
EnfttUh expressed his readlneu to iiccoinpanjr them to the ReXA : hts n«mr wos the Comle de« Oripeaux, ana lie moreover was in the gai-titt tie corps. He jiUMirerl the young Indien tlial he would shed the Lut drop or hin blood for their father and brother ; that he would ni*ke a rampart tA' hie bmly to protect them ; and that, nioruuvcr, he'd man^erait I'Ame, (cat the wul.) or luni it bwide out, [la intt- Irait a ffnvers,) of any one who would dare uileiid them. Ilowbeit.as eating a toul, {.ind it was rot a Jwtr woigrr,) is very poor suotenance, Aion^ieur de« Oripeaux su^sested that a dejruncr « la fnurch^U might be acceptable avant d'rnUer en campafit, and the Cannons forthwith ordered the heft breakfast that could be served up. The ladies were quite (leliKliled with their new acquxintance, altliough the Mi»« O;imion» were itnniewhat shocked at 9>eein|i; him wearing variociK lainples of hair, black, brown, and fnir, in brooch, rinf^, watch-muard, and watch-chain ; and as he was allojiether a very good-looking man, thry collectively and individually sighed in fan« eying him a " gay deceiver." although the Comte paid more obse- quioim court to the mother than to the daughters, — ■ circumstance which gresitly gratified Jlrs, (.'aiinnn, who, between ourselves. wa« not aver.'ie tu a little innoeeiit flirtation, which, in her Maiapropic terms, she would call i'Mhotic nffiction, as she invariably, witn a sweet li*p. pronounced Plato — Vh'tho.
The breakfttHt was dctightrul ; champaign sparkled in every glata an«I in every eye ; thoughts of anything but deKtructioD occupied the minds of the ladies, whilp all the male branch of the Caiinons were eager for the fiRht, and it was with tlic utmost difficult>" that Commudus wiu dissuaded by his better half from personally re- Mnting the mortal insult he had received.
The clock (.truck the hsli'-hour, three carria^ies.were at the door: the fir«t co»eh eontjiined Ci>mm<Hlits C'-uiinon with a bottle of brandy and a medicinc-che^tt, Corneliuii CaTiiion with a cAse of pistoU, and the Count with half a dosen sword* of various dimensions ; the second carriage contained Mr. C^mnon junior, with amither case of pistols, a couple of bottles of champaign, and a French surgeon with n ease of instrnmunt-s ; ttic third and last coach bore IMer Ctnnon with a French and Kngli»h dictionary to correct miALike*. Sam Surly, who ewore he wouhl see fair play, with a blundcrbus*. and an English surgeon with all the necessary app;iratu» for ampu- tation, extirpation, incihiun, and exciirion. It had become necessary to put up the doctors in separate conveyance!", or a dnel might have arisen on the ni;»d ; the Euiilitih surgeon swearing that the French oarber hud been merely brought by bis countrvman tlie Count, and the French officer of health, proudly ranintaining that the Gng> lish knew better than to place their wounds in ute hands 'uf a British apothecary. Indeed, it occurred toevery one present that the French operator mu«t have proved the most valuable in ca.se of need ; for he had put into the carriage at least half ft pound uf lint, a set of splints fur fractures, n poir of crutches, two tourniquets, six rollers, an eighteen-tailrd bandage, and four sponges, the very sight of which would have made any cnura^e ooze out ; he, mnrenver, on the road, dencribed the various wonders he had performed in gun- ■liiit wounds, — slugs cut out of hearts, splinters of shells out of lunga, Krane-Hhot uul of eyes, and canister out of heads, — for all of wh^h be liad obtained La crois det firavtt, nageant dans le aang *ur k ciamp de la ticimre.
I
CANNON I'AMll.y AT BOULOGNE.
157
At Iftst the party arrived uyinn the field. There it something tomcwhat nervous n-hcn a combatmnt casts his eyes upon the fp-oiind which may shortly bike his measure ; Commoilus Cannon could nnt help heaving a deep i\nh when lie thoiigKt of his once tninqiiil firc- •ide M Wick-halt, and looked iijion his son Corney, of wnom he shortly might be bereaved. The fiimcfl of chnmpnign were be- ginning lu rvapunite, and leave the brntn clear tor inure Koher im- pressiuiis ; but Comte dcs OripL-aux assisted liim to a Utile cognac : the old geotleniau cuughed, irhnuk himself, and, strclching uut hia trembling hand tu his son, exclaimed with a fuUeriiig vuke, which he in vain sought to strengthen, " Comey, my boy, behave like a man — like an tiiglisbman!"
They '*ttvn discoverud their adversarirH : La Tnlipe had thrown off hi« coat, aiul tiird a yellow hundkiTchief round bis bead, which, eontrasted with hi» b!«ck grinly ivhiikerit tind heard, gave him an mtearthly appearance : be h»d stuck lour Aworda in the ground, niid waa pacing up and dciwti like a warrior of old on the eve of' knight- hood ; his companion, with a cigar in hia mouth, and an old paste- board Rpy-gUss cocked to bis eye, was on the )ook>out for the eoemy's upproHch.
And now nadder thoughts crowded on old Cannon's eenBorium, ay, on hiti very pineal gland, in which portion of the bratn Deorartes very properly lodged the soul, — a little insignificant gland, ofWn- timra choked with earthy matter that would check the growth of any good, and, moreover, of no apparent use or beticlit to toe wesrcr, in lAi* trvriii at least. The triuinphatiC column of Ntipuleoii ^tuod before liim. — monument of glury and deiith, ambititjn uud misery : the day wag dark and windy; black clouds were flitUng in rapid KuiU over the pillar, cnftling it in gloom, or emitting ti faint suii- bcBOl to kbed a transient luAtre on iU destinies ; it was now a com- aMmomtive record of the Uourbons' return ! — in short, the scene around him «poke a very Dc prof uuiiis —vhvn he whs routed from hia abitorption by the hiud voice oi' La Tnlipe, who, having snatched an eiiornioiiji siibre out of mother earth's boMom, helbiwed out, ** £m garde, Jmti UuU !" as he threw biintcirintn a terriftc tragic and ■nelodrarautic posture, — one aiut the same thing in the |>rcBent classic ■Ute of the drama. The Oragonof Wantley must have been a mere child's bugaboo to hira ; he would have titaggered the very Aloore of Uoore Halt, despite the "thing on his foot ;" no wonder, then, that iD the Cunnona pointed their countenances nt each other, I nhall not my in terror, — they came from Shropshire, — but in instinctive amaze% ■lOiL Nut so with their friend the Frenchman, Comte dcs Oripeaux ; ha drew out hi« " lor^nun," snepended ruund his neck by n pie-bald cfcain of black aiid fair hair, and calndy requested the ferocious eym« ~~ ''cator to put up his sword and prepare hift pistols. The injunc- •tcmly delivered, acted like mugic ; the vapouring bully at-
■pte<l to explain — to discuss the point ; talked of ha firarr inxvU^, u avUal Fra»i;aiii, le rhaia: dts wrwicj. The Count innitted, M. de b Baiafre assured him they had no jiiittnls ; tlie Count persiated, and at Iftst be drew forth from a leathern bag a brace of old {tenttadcrt, — one of which, from it* length, might have been taken for a baby of iKe Eg^-pliiiii culvvriii in the l*ark, — exclaiming with a »hrug of hu> niljty, " A'vMs uavoMM tjue pr," wbjcb in plnin Kngli»li meant to nay, " WV can't aff»rfi to thoal ftevfifc itilb ani/lltiHg bftUr." Now the pridB_
158
SONNET TO FRIBND8B1F.
of Enj^lnnd WAi very properly routcti at mich a miserable pettifog- ging Bubterfuge ; for no gVntlemiUi can be possibly expcrtttl tu give satisfaction 1o any person unable to pay at It-Hst five- and-twenty guineaA for a pair of Jlantonn, and Comt'IiuB Cannon felt at that moment such a proper Bpirit of aujifrioritv, that rather than submit lu the de},'ruding thuught of expoi^ing niiiigelf to tha muzxle of a vulgar, rusty " miu*king-iron," that a highwayman's croom in former days would not have carried, he drpw hinmctf up Uke a true-born Bnton, opened bin Kplen<Hd case of " Kggs." and, pointing (u Uie highly finisried weapons with pride, exclaimed with a becoming cuntumpluoua look, " Ja suut pardeimit pmidre nn mo/- propre apunlai/v tic «/ hommr patrvre," Now Cornelius meant thii in all the warmth of a gcnemii!^ heart, uid really intended to call his antagoniet a " jioor man" wttJiout any illibernl alluMOD to his poverty : but \us unfortunate application of the adjective bore a different construction ; and, had ibc pioneer been even poorer than he actually was, be would have prided lumrelf on bis lusty old pistol, an much as any gay and gidlunt cavalier of former days on- one of the moot elaborate suits of Benvenulo Cellini, and rcmring out, " Vwi, diim de bnutii/uier ; ri Je n'ai jms tCor.jui du pfvmb.— Sacrv yom .'" he foamed, kicked, and loiided bis pistol with such determination and fury, that he seemed revived tu lire away pistol and all ; and took his ground.
Curneb'us was equally rapid iu his roovements, scarcely giving timi: to his father to.shake hands with bini, pi-rliaps for the lant time. The Count was to give the signal of ojjr, inru, three. By oite, CommoduB had engxdphed a draught of brandy ; at Uro, he put hi« hand Uj his face, and turned bis back to the npprttaching horrible scene ; at (hrer, a terrific shout followed the report t>f fire-arms, and Cornelius Cannon wa« struck with terror, not m beholding himself, but his worthy father and his ferocious antagoiust Atrotcned upon the ground.
SONNET TO FRIENDSHIP.
Ah t who can telS wliat joy it is to nie«l
The friend whom Fate hntli sevci'd for long yean ;
Tu bal-iDce Hha account of hopes and fearjt
With jmiica of welcome Slid cndcanncnls swcel,
That spenk iu music uf life's iu^cy ; to greet
Tilt- pilgrim cf Ihc wurlil ! while Memory jteera
Uy FiietiiUliip's compasit o'ei the past, if tears
Itusb (o the eyc», if h\y\t the boiom Leal
Aud ihc Toi<;i- fullL-r, syitj]jaihy is sirotig,
Antl ietiAt iu laii^unt>;e home unto tlie heart:
None else con hcai it, but the ni!tt;ic looe
Is in its silence- eluquvni ; ihe wrviiij;
And injuries which we have bomc depart.
The preteni o^er the miud teJKua absolute — alone-
Out Nicholas.
15Q
TWO OP A TnADE.
A FRBSB MohametUui, iransfcrreti at once from his own country to ours without the intervention of any other \mu\, is a most jilen- suit object of observation. Every thing to him inujft l>c new; Un- giuge, tnanneTK, modes of lifv, buildings, climate, mode of convey- ance, men, women, — every thing must be new. He leaves regiou» where the f»cc of woman ia not permitted to be seen abroa<], and where her person stalk^i about in diRf;uise ; nnd arrives in a Country where wc need not say how much she is seen. It ix an much as his life is worth to be observed lulking to her in his own streets ; here be finds the rcxcs in a most proniiseuous state. Then, his fellow nen are so different to his own countrymen! — here, active, alert, busy ; there, inert, pa.'^sive, ami indiflerent to every thing but their own individual uch'are. lie him alwnys been accustomed to sit on tbc ground ; here all arc mounted u{)on chairs. So medium has he ever known between hiiu^i-irand his fooil but his own fingers ; now be must cut, and thrust, and pitchfork it, if he wish to Jo like the reit of the world. Then, what a world of carriages, carts, and cun- reyancea of every sort, — things he has never seen before ! None of his dear camels to greet his eye, none of their philosophical faces and grave motions ; all is hurry-scurry, running, pushing, and tear> ing about, a« if no one dared to ston, not *veii for a nHuuciiL He falls into the middle of a luultituoe ns ignorant of him and his beJMigings as he is of theirs. Every man with a long b<-ard, a turban, and floating robes, is a Turli in their eyes, be he Persian, Tltar, Georgian, or AfTghaii; be he Syrian, Egyptian, or African. Then, what a host of miseries he has to endure before he settles down into new habits 1 Here he bids adieti to his beloved aun — that constant friend and promoter of cheer fulnefls, in lien of which he tnbales an atmosphere denser than the steam of his kummum. 'Tis Ime. if be pleases to be lax, he gets rid of liis prayers five times a day, his genuflexions, and dispenses with the prescribed lu»traiions. But, on the other hand, he tins hi-en taught from hh infancy to look upon all infidels tu unclean ; and, when lie touches and eats with one. he feels thai he M providing for himself much penance and mortification. 1'hen, what does he not undergo concerning his fced f Has tbc chicken ho is called upon to e^t, bled in tlie proper way? Ha* the sheep, of wliich he is e:itjiig the mutton, hxd its throat cut f Is there no infuxion of tlte iincleun beaat in his soup? He meets witii none of his beloved pilUus, is refreshed by none of Ua delicious shcrbeu, and never sees that one source of hi» comfort, * tAOomk or ■ ialuin ! He has to undergo an entirely new eiliica- liw, and mast submit to be laughed at, and starcil at, and cnticiseil, and erofi»- questioned from night till mom ; — for oii Knglislmiun no comproniisc to moke with hia tuitioiial feeUnga and pre-
Te have made these observations because it ia our intention to aabmil a abort sketch of matters relating to Orientals, who were in landmi lomc seventeen years agu, to the notice of our renders. It wfcMlliiiiiii that we are acquainted v.'ilb the gentleman who hnd tlie <«T(uie mebnisndar, as he was called,) ui the last Persian emba>»y lo EagUnd. He had lived in Persia, was actiuainted with the loi^
IGO
TWO OF A TRADB.
giiSfj[e, »nd hiitl Acquired an innKht into t^e manners antt cuctoms of the jieople. It w»j> his jjood fortune to wittietii> nmny most Hiniitiint; ficeneA during tlic residence of Uiat embassy in Lomlun, which brought into strong contrast the manners of England and of the Ea«t. Beginning with the flinfuit^ador himself, auelling with his own imiKirtance, and with llie convicticn of the superiority of his own Shah over any other king ; and proceeding down to the lowesit j^room, who cyetl every fjnt^listh home as> dirt, compared with hia own quadrupeds; be found the task of defeating prejudice and producing subservience as diAicult as it was amusing.
The skitch we luive to make, is cnnnecteil with the loves of the barber of his Per^inn excellency's eNtAbtishment. The liri^t outbreak of the romance t^wk place one morning when the mehnumdar was seated at breakfast in hi-i lodgings, when his ser\'ant informed him tliai a person wished to s{irak to him. Supposing it to be one of tJie numerous applicants he was daily in the habit of seeing on but^i- ne$H relating to the eiiihHsey, he immediately desired him to walk up; but, whtii the individual api>cared, he saw one whom he bad never seen before- He whs rather an imposing personage to look at, fur he wab handsomely dreucd in a cloak anu tasiiels, and hia head was adurucU with a glossy wig, adjusteil with the greateat pre- cision to a Ihce no lunger young, lie wa< in hia person an illustra- tion of that ot^CD-repeated saying, that tlierc is only one step t>e- tween the sublime and the ridiculous ; for he was a sometliing be- tween (Jeorge the Fourth and Liston. and he was that »tep. It w«!t difficult to decide, upon so superficial a survey, to what class of society he belonged. The inchmandar offered him a chair, pressed him to «it, and then rei^uested to know to what he awed the honour of hi* vi«it, saying,
*' Are you come upon any butinese in which I can be of use ?" " Hi ham," answered the »lrauger, " and my name i« Sluconib." By the magic of these profound ahjiirates he became immediately informed of what he wished to discover, and straightway put him- self iti an attitude to give a patient hearing to Mr. Slocomb. We will spare thi.- reader Mr. Slocomb's deviations from the usual mode of pronunciatioii, as well a* his variations u]wn grammar, concludinf; that he is not too refined to understand our vulgar tongue; we therefore beg of him to take it for granted that wherever an li, or a le, or a V, were to be misplaced, Mr. Slocomb was sure to misplace them.
" fliay I trouble you to inform me of the object of your viiit ?" ■aid the mehmandar.
" Sir," said Mr. Slocomb, with a tnnst emphatic look, ami endea- vouring to fish up from the depths of his unclersL-inding on opening sentence, which he intended for dazzling eloquence, — ■■ Sir, 1 must apulngise for intruding upun your valuable time: but. having been informet) that you .u-c the gentleman as dues fur the Persian aza- bassndor, I make bold to unfold my case to you. The object of roy visit is a delic^ite object. You nee before yon a man wJin doesn't know which way to turn. I 'm a profcf^'^ional man, and in a deli- ute position, t\>r 1 am a great perfumer, a first^ratc wig-nuiker, and cuta hair,— that's what I do. I keep a lai^e, reH}H-ctable, and I inuy say clegtint establiKhment, in a bliop that shows as large and as grand a bow-window as any in London, though I vay« it. It's a corner houK in one of the greate&t thoroughfares in the mctru"
TWO OF A TUADB.
161
polii^ (and here he named the street,) and I must freely own that I am proud of my prcmixes, and the wny they look down both sireetSf rutting them at riRhi-angU*?, as one may Ray."
" Well. »ir : but the object of your visit?" said the mchmandar^ beginning to ahow Eyiiiptuiiis of imjiatLcnce.
"Iain coining to thut, sir," suiu Mr. Slocimib; "lor all this is eoniiecled witli Uic luuiti ubjecL 1 wite Mtting in my back-room in toy usual way, waiting tor n hi-ad to cut, — tor they come in quite promifcuous,' — when Mrs. ijloo^iiib w<i5 in tlie sliop, and our daugh- ter Nancy all ready dressed to help, — for we like to be genterl both in and out, — when who should come in but one of your FerHixns with hU interpreter, fur he tuld us whKt the other »aid. Mrs. S>. inunetliatrly CAtled out to me, not being up to such rum customers; •o, AS soon as I came, the interpreter tuaitl very civilly that bin cont- paoion was chief hair-drcHser to htti excellency, and, eecitig that I wai one of tlic craft, had ealle<l to see mc; and then be looked at ■ome of our soap, of which lie said his muster was very fond. Well, thinks I, this ia a gaoA job if I can be mnde perfumer to his ex- cellency, and stick hU name* over my door; so you may Uelk-ve, t.ir, how civil 1 waa. I did help him to Roap, and I made him smell ever}' cake in the shop, so scixiouh w;is 1 to do the civil thing, lie looked at every thing, but particularly at our daughter Kancy ; for — although I say it, who should nut, — she is as pretty a creature a« Qoe would wish to see."
*■ Ho, hoi a love business, is it?" exclaimed the mehm<indiir.
"Stop a bit, sir," continued Mr. Slocomb, "and you shttll see. Well, sir, he came a second and a third time; and every time lie came, although he smelt our soap, yet he looked in fact at our (laughter. He couhl not at first say a wordofKnglish, yet be very soon picked up m few uhraseo ; and it ix quite surprising, at last, how well be made himself understootl. There was one word, however, which he ke|>t conatmtly Haying, which quite overpowered Atrs. K.'s delicacy and made our Nancy lonk f[Ueer, and that was 'tc//y,-* he was always repeating 'hetltj, belly,' until wc found out that it wns only his way of saying ' yea ' in his own tongue. 8o he kept fur ever ling, until it went from bad to wor*e, when the neighbours lid talk, and Nancy began to look pale ; and so, having renlU' elt the rat, wc want to knnw what to do, for we are at a loM. iwoo't do to lose a gaud customer ; and, if ho is a gentleman and ■ leipectable man in bis country, wc wouldn't lo&e a good husband for our daughter. It is as jdain as dnyhghl that he id regularly VPUfting thr girt ; and now, sir, I lieg leave to ask you whether vou know niiything of this man, and whether you would recommend us to ciioiiraifjr bis addresses, or on the contrary."
"I tell you what, sir," said the ttiehmandar, "it is my honest opinion that you h;id better lie a millstone mund your daughter's neck and throw her into the Thames, tlian allow her to marry any Fenian, be be who he may."
** lacleed !" excLiimed the abounded perfbmer, almoat starting frvRi the ground as these startling words issued from the mehman- dar's mouth. ** Well, blciu me! but tliat is surprising! What will ilra. 8loeomb aay ? Yuu surprise me."
■•Order your daughu-r never to nee this Persian agaia, and 111 talut care tliat he sbul not molest her more," said tlie un-hinai
162
TWO OF A TRAPR.
" I will, «ir, I will," Rutl Mr. filocomb, in much apparent confusion of mind ; *' but it wouldn't look well to turn awny u customer ; it '< not what wc urc nccustomrd to do : but, since you nay it, sir, "
"Why, you woulchi't for a moment plnce the happinesa of your child,** saia the mehmandar, " in comjwlition with a trifle of gain? Beddes, of what possible prolit rmi the purchases of auch a misero- blu fellow as this pennyless Per«ian bu-ber be to you i"
"Profit, sir!" esclnimed the hair-cuttcr, "why, he haa done no- thing else but get nrticles from us every day he comes- There is not a [lay tbit he does not Ret either soap, or jierfuniCR, or combs ; and I can assure you, sir, ttuit he has run up no trifle of a bill witli us. lie somvliuies ukcoa liking to one tiling ami sonieliuics to an- Dtbcr; and so day by day he has gut L>%'cr m many things, for which we have never gut luiytbing yet but an orange or a piece of sugar- ciuuly : be one ilay brought u» a live lamb, to our astiinishmem, and culled it ' picAkits,'* but 1 did not see it vaa a bit better than any common lamb."
"Is it MJ indeed?" exclaimed the mehmandar; "Uien I am a&aid lluit rou will never hear more of your jterfumery and combs. 1 am afraid he has come the Persian over you."
" Not get paid for my articles !" said Mr. Slocomb ; " why, surely his roaster will be obliged to pay; they can't b« sucfa rogues as all that, not to pay for what they have had."
" Well, well," sjiid the tnenmandar, " I will make some inquiries, and endeavour to see ju^tice done you. Send me a bill of wh.Tt they have h.id, and I will sec about it,"
" Thank you, ear," said the perfumer, so bewildered that he scarce- ly knew what ht; was about ; *' thank you : then you think that I hjid best not allow him to see my daughter .=' You don't perhaps think him a rc^peclnbtc man in his own country?"
•' RcspccLible or not respectable," said the mehmandar, "you surely woulil not willingly be the cause of making a Mussulman of your daughter, who, I hope, is a goml Christian."
"Make a SIussulmriM of my daughter," inquired the perfumer, laying s stress upon the Inst aylLible ; ** how can I ever do that?"
" You don't uittlerstand me. If she becomes ■ Persian's wife, she must change her religion, and adopt his ; she must believe in Mft* homed ; you would not wish her to do thaL"
"No, sir, uo," said Mr. Slucoiub, "I should not wish that ex- actly ; but it would be a pity alXet all to lose a good husband for want of a little belief."
*' Then, if you place her once in a Persian harem," continued the mehmandar, "you shut her up from the world for ever, and you never know what uui happen to her. Her husband may beat, poi- son her, put her into a »ack iuid ilrown her, and no one be tlie wiser I'or that- Vou surely would not subject her to auch tyraiuiy f"
"No, sir, 1 don't think that fair; — I'm all for liberty, and I doa't see whr our Nancy should not have hers as well as any true-bom Knglisllwoman. No, sir, i won't allow it, I 'H do what you advise me, ])rovid«l Mrs. Slocomb agrees," Then, wisliing the mehman- dar a good morning, he took hiH leave
The mehmanilar lost no time in .sending for Feridun, — fbrthat was tlie name of the IV-rsian ambassador's dalak, or barber, — that i*, who performed the offices ot'the hot-baths, trimmed his beard, shaved his
* Pftthkah, au offering.
TWO OF A TBADE.
163
hmtl. And ilyeil his hundti, feet, or hair, as tiich operations became m-cessary. He WiUt a short, tliick-scl, niuinaUtl Uttltr IVUnw, witli a lively cxjireuiimi of eye, and cunning painted in evwy I'eature. The colloquy that took place wa» :u lollows:
*' Selam akkf {Peace be with you !)" «aid the mchmandar.
" Aleltem telam ! (Peace be unto you !}" answered the Persian.
" BumiUah ! (Jbi the aanie of AUoh 1} be Mated," said tlie luch- mandar.
" Way your shadow never be le»8 !** anawered Feridun.
"I want to know," said the mehmandar, "whether you arc Bciiuainted with a Frank of the name of Slocomb?"
'■So-ln-com? Ye«," luud the Persian, "I know him; he is a barber like aiyself."
" I» there anything between you?" said the mehmandar, winking his riRht eye, — " any business, any takine and ffiving ?"'
"There is nothing," said Feridun, with a most uiUQOved counts* nance. " He ia ray acquaintance, — my friend."
"Nothine?" said the tnelimandar, "no daughter? no love-play? no nothing r "
" What daughter? whattove-play ? what nothing?" said the other. "The little mjui hu.'j got a weak one of a daughter, a )ioor creature, a tiling of nothing, who RitA in a romer and has no word>- I have no bu:<iites)> witli her. 1 have no ktiowhxijje of her."
" Man !" &aid the mehmandar, lakJug up a sterner tone, " by the aoul of the auibabsadur, speak truth! we have heard things."
" JJy your soul! by the salt of the ambassador t by the tomb of the Prophet ! by the name of the Shah \" exclaimed Feridun in a breiith, •■■ there i^ nothing. Solocora is not counted amongst men. lie Wax. got one worn-out daughter, without face or countenance, who is tmlhiug. \Vhat do you want more ? He " a b«tber» and I nm a barber ; what is there new in that?"
"Thi» h no child's pUy ! tiiin country i» not Persia <" said the mehmandar; "these are Knglish people; their laws are strange laws, and their mam>ers odd manners. The man came Itere this morning, and asked a great many things. These people are devils in their own right. If you make play with one of their daughters, and then leave her in the lurch, they will divide your head into two bits,' — they will make your soul Hy out of your body."
"What have I done?" exclaimed the barber, beginning to look alarmed. " I have done nothing, by your own aoul, and by that of your father and mother ! A man may look at a woman in tins country of infidels; there is no harm in that: my eyes are like any other man's eyes."
" What I ha.? there been no lore-play ?" said the mehmandar. " The man, Slocomb, hna l>cen swearing to me that you go to his house daily, that all the world knows iliat your heart is all day kissing his daughter's feet, and that he talks of marriiige, and that the mo- ment will 30on come when you must ttend the marriage pcuhlieth, or present."
" It is a lie from beginning to end 1" said Feridun. " I have aa word to give to bin daughter. I go tn his shop because he it a bar- ber like me ; and I see soajj, nuors, and towels, and J try to talk kis language."
"What! have there been no presents?" said the mehmandar. "Have you not sent a lamb and swcetuicats ?"
1G4
TWO Of A TKADE.
" Wb»t prcacnts. let ine ask? The man does nothing but giv« me things, and thnll I nut give him thiiign in return r It i« not for the hotiour of Persia, anil of my nuibauadur, that I ohouli) refrain ; so [ )iave sent him ,a iniseriible lamb, unt] some tnelanilioly »iigar- candy. To this there is nothiiif; to say."
*' Difl he givr ymi thiti^t ? Slocomb says he sold them tf> you. Giving pre»ent« is nol die custom of thi» country ; do you know what u hiil iiie.ms?"
" Slay the grave of f>il{'s father Iw defiled !" sjiid Feridim. " Wher- ever I go there is always bill. The man doca not know how to live; he first gives mc thingi^, and then wants me to pay for them. Mav the men of such a country have their fathers and mothers griOing in Jehnnum i"
" In line." !»aid the mehmandar, " let me give you ime piere of ad- vice. You Jirt B man of underjiUndinf!;,— one word in heller than two. Oo no more to Mr. Slocomb; never see his daughter again. Vuu know the ambiusador, and you ulvu know me. Whtit u^e is there for raying more ? May Khoda take you under bis protection !** Upon which the mehni.indar disttiinstrd him.
The barber took his leave, and went his way, mnttering within bis lips, " I '11 bum his father, in6del that h« isl May hit bouse be ruincdl We Hre Persians; in finsj why sliuuld we eat tlie dirt uf the«e infidels?"
Days passed on, and no more was heard of Mr. Slocomb, hiadaugh- ter^ or of Kcridun, until one niomingj on going to see the ambaua- dor, the mclimimdar found him standing in his dining>room, sur- rounded by H posse of men and women, a.nd the house in a great state of commotion. The fir&t person he discovered was Mr. Slocomb, standing between liis wife and daughter, flourishing a long -slip of paper; a fat lawyer-looking man, with a blue bag under hia arm, hail taken np a po.sition in front t Keridnn was standing for- ward alao, wliiist the interpreter w,ns making explanations Ui the am- bu&sadur, who looked angry and ai-toni tilled. As soon as tlie nieh- mandur A|p|>CAr(-d, his excellency turned toward him, and crietl out,
" Utah, Liah, [come, cume,) here is a strange to-do ! wonderl'ul oehes have fallen upon my head ! these men with ruined houses have entirely killed me ; I am dead !"
'■■ What news ?" said the na-hmandar.
" This burnt father," uoinliiii; to Feridim, said the ambautador, "has been gmng about this city of London, marrying one girl after anotlier, and here they all came to take hint to prison."
" So, is it !'* said the mehmandar.
Upon his app4>arance everybody simultaneously appealed to him, and the confusion of tongues which ensued may better be imagined than described. The lawyer put in his word with an utficial, though serrile accent. Slocomb was inclined to be vociferous; his sharp- looking .inou-)e threw out n ohrill voice in mo^t aridnUted acrenta ; the fair ^uni-y looked pjile and lachrymose ; Feridun swore by every object sacred to Persians; wJiilsi the ambaswidor, bucked by his nu- merous suite, all talked to i»ch other, bewailing tlieir tirifurtunate fates at being tto beset by infidels.
" Sir," said the lawyer, " we sue for a breach of promise of mar- riage."
"Look at tfaii bill," eKclaiined Slocomb^ '*and tell roe if this
I
TWO OF A TAADE.
IBS
loolu like giving ? Who ever p^ve away a dozen and a half of waah- baJU. and !>ix puiiiidj) ul' Windsor snap ?"
"Calling bimacLt a gi-titU-maii, and a prince tno," squeaked out Mrt. Slocuml), "all to gcl our N'imc>' from us ! Il's acryitig shame !" " Hush, motlier t" cried Nitiicy ; " Tor Heuven'e sake, hush !" "Wulhh ! liiltnh f (by Allah !) they all tell lies 1" exclaimed Feri- dan, extending his hands to his master. " I hjive dune nothing ! Why do you tre»t me thus in this Foreign land ? Why did jou bring U here to be reviled by thc»e Franks ?"
" Doynu )>peak thustome, dog?" exclaimed the ambiissador, every hair in hi' beiird distended, and growing livid with rttge. "Strike htm on the mouth, snjehim!' he cried with a loud voice to his men, who rushed forward, and, taking hold of him, pinionetl hia arms behind his back, whilst otic, pulling off his shoe, advanced, and inflicted several blows on his mouth with the iron hrct thereof, Upon Mving this, the mehmandar also rushed forward towards the ambaaBailor, and exclaimeil,
" Pardon ! pardon \ he is ignorant of our cuntoms. Let him ofT, and wc will arrange the whole business. Tins threat is pouch, — ia ftaff and nonsense."
It woa long, however, before any one could gain a hearing. The lawyer, the perfumer, hh wife and daughter, had not arrived pre- pared to witness a Persian tumult, and truly it had never before been tbejr fate to witness t)ie outbreak of passion in -io dreftdful a shape. Tbey all lecmml to shrink back within themselves, and keep aliK>r from the barbarian), afraid lest they too might atajid a chance of losing their front teeth.
As aooii iis the mehmandar had in aome measure calmed the nm- baaaador, which he did by pernuiiditii^ him to call for hin talian, (<ir pipe,)— ^i common custom after .^n explosion of rage, — and, having wen him bend his steps to the drawing-room, he then accosted Tklr. Socomb, Saying,
**Uow ii t!\i», sir? Did not you assure tne the last time we met dwt 3^00 would never allow Feridun to enter your doora agniu, and Aat ftm would send me your bill for all tlie articles yuu had deli- frrcvi to him f"
** Hi did, sir," said the perfumer, "and so hi would; but my wife, abc wouldn't hear of It, for she said that one man U as good as ■MCner, and she didn't we why »he was to be done out of .-i husband for ber daughter, although he was a Persinn, and wore a beard."
** Hold your tongue !" exclaimed the wife to her huvband in an accrnt more cutting than the east wirMi, "don't make yourself an «^ ! I 'fc a right to do with my daughter wti»t I likes! it's no- Iwdy'f buainevt but mine ; but it does not follow that every rascal chat oomes baa a right to do the same. If that fellow there, has ■ode a pfranise of marriage to my daughter, and refuses to keep it, let btni pay for it ; — that a the law, isn't it, Air. Sniggs?"
" It can't be denieil," replied the ohsefpiious Snigga.
" Let me inquire^ ma'am," Raid the mehmanfiar, '■ how tliat pro- mi»e wai made? Your daughter must l>e well advanced in the kiMwledge of the Persian language, or her lover in that of English, to be able m soon to make themselvea understood upon so delicate » •object."
" Oh^ that 'a eaaily done !" Answered Mrs. Slocorab, witb a niofet
TnE UEAVENS AT MIONIGHT.
4
■Mf aail coatemptunitis tos^ nf her head. " I promise vim :*« Hwn Uoiiv! The tluinb, 1 wjirranc ^oii, woulil undertstAnii lodMroo that hcid, — let alone n Pertian, and a nice girl, like
"SST.
ask* what did he ny when he propoied f" urged'the meb-
«|^ wr '■' uid Stftcomb, " we ure raii|iht there !"
^ttoUl »uor tomguo, fool f" ahnrjiiy exclaimed Mra. S. "you know ^iiy^illt ahout it. Ho said, ' Ufllif, ttrU^f" which I know means "'jM*' Hi titeir Unruagfj vrhatever it may mean in ours."
"Obi>!" iaid the mehmnndnr, "then it wns your daughter who wvi-u-^t^ attd he »aid 'yes ;' that niters the rase very much."
'II whiiA the lawyer dlcpped Torward to prevent Airs. RIocomb <nM> Mijliuc any thing further, cmleavourinf^ to throw the whole QflM iatoan official form favourable to hifl clients ; but he only sur- iWitlwl iu nkiog a second etonn, in which mother, daughter, and RkthM" teiok tiw principal part, and which ended in the usual violent t|M%k tff tear*, with the allowed portion of hysterics.
It « ill n*,it l>c necessarv farther to increase our narrative of thla ^Wbwt tu My, that, hy the mehmniidar's timely interference, he in •rrccning the ambssitador from the desij^ns of the in-
to^, ntev, — who had put the perfumer op to this »clieme, —
^ _ lo Keridun liis freedom and protection from blows, and
^ ■ ! .Mr. Nlncmiib'fl demands upon the inroads that had been
^- . . I his |iru|K:rty.
STANZAS
W< rt>NTEMPI.ATrNf» THE HEAVENS AT MIDNIOHT.
DV HIU. CORNWSLL SAilON Wir.SON.
Tw I nw, yo ItrigliOy-ljorainp orha of nipKt,
Now ■liininp* (loWH on our t«rmtria1 splim, M tut \wir rc4ihn> ilie vvinii takes its Higtit
wImo II llirows offiu morial coTcrinc hen ? — Uow U utiP «iiig fitid to the skies ns)iin-, 4|al bMklhi] Ibrtti aonga in hnvgn Iq some melodious lyre > ^tH HMN fair Mnon, that niPit in ictlicr's nince.
A't I*-"* •omc worM, peopleil witli crcutiirrs fnt, VifVu I'liMifr'il spiriis *Iia[| tnect far« to face, tW vnl nf jromorlality T— ... Hi'tf know, ev'ii as on etith we're known, -Wl *i^U AHiMiion clasp heans mado again iu own * Vtli .»■). «« cloud*, that o'er the aiore heaven l(« ihe itrcamera of some bridal vl-sI, i iti* braeie of midnight ye are driTCo,— . ■ iiiopy some place of reil, . . 1 Ituurn lo wliich the spirit fliea ''•I lv*i of eanh and r^siiniie iu lies t Jiuwvr 1 aiKl it in not meet X i .1 » thwild he iolv'd ui. Why should luaHt
^> . u<> Diid tfavtl'Weiried feet,
\ ! I .\Ic whnt Bn^ds wan
^ . . - - . ■ IjuI dimly.'— lei him bend,'
]u^i^ «te w«« Mtuo not sight can comprehend 1
\
167
EN'OLISH COMFORTS.
PROH THR OEIIMAN OP DR. PRANCtS KOTTRNKAUP.
/«m »«« an Ktiglifiliman who quits hU " blesseil isliind" for tlic first time, ymi will cvrtninly believe him when lie sdys, that he is like a fish out of water. If he iaml 8e«-xick nt Hnmburfr, uml they offer to rover him with a feather-betl, on which he is »ccii»ilonieU only to lie, he will believe with diHmay that people sleep in Ger- many, one over another, like packed herrings. Fresh air is <lenie<l him, fur he CAnnot riu'se up the window uti he is iiccutttomccl to Jo. Il is with repiigiHince that he treads the scoured floor of hu room. Iiec;:iii«e it is covcretl with no carpet. He stretches liim- lelf UDCvmfortably on the sofu, for his eye cannot re!>t npnii dark Bubogany. At breakfust he tigliii allcr toast ; at dinner die pUtc i» not poliihed well cuougb, and he lion nut the plcsiiuru of behold- ing Kn};lii!i plenty and elegance. And tlteii the charming rircsiilc, — which the Kuf^lisbntJii always associates with the thought of lisppy (lomc^tic life! — he must, in spite of all inconvenience, constantly W*ve the door of the stove open in Germany, and now and then cut a glance at it, — to «ce the fire, as he say*.
But, really, one should not finrl fault with him for this. The nost sickly hypochondriac in Germany would be unable to resist ibe domestic conveniences and comfortu of the English, and wouhl "■ish to acquire by dejjrecs the cheerful tranquillity of the gentle- man. It ui the same thing with respect to this sensual refinement of oonveniency, as with English cookery^ of which one may justly say, a person only learns the value of a palate in Knglnnd ; thouf[h the ilepraved taste of a Neapolitan ambassador onre found a coun- try in!4uppnrtable, where tKere arc six hundred kinf!;a, (the members of the upper house,) and only one sauce (melted butter).
A love of dome*itie life in a prumineni feature in the character of an northern nations of German origin, but it in more remarkable in dw English than in oiiy other. Their climate excludes them from «Mdoor amusements; the individual pride of their choleric tern- pcnment confmes their social and familiar intercourse within a ITTOW circle. In tiiverns Engli^hiuen «it behind partitions, to trmd contact with unknown persons ; in coli'ee>house« and clubs thay are ncreened by fficantic newspapers; at public amiinenu'nta (racM, &c.) sociability dijajipears in the crowd ; even at dinner, the meridian of life, tlie conversation not unfrequently Hags, and enter- tnnment is sought more from eloquence than discourse. The clubs vhich, since the beginning of the last century, have superseded the bvMjueting halls of the Cavaliers and the conventicles of the Puritans, ■id which firom the lieginnin^ of the present century havu also l>e- eanie more common among the middle classes, present, it is true, m antidote against proud unsocinbilily. But only bear what some BnglUhtom aay : " The elubs are injurious to habits of domestic life ; Act create the shameful, blameable practice of seeking pleasures abraaJ, in which the family does not share ; promutu a love for hKury. play, &c."
In short, in every station and circumstance, home is for an Eng* Klhioao tJlc centre of pleasure and enjoyment. No wonder that am
16S
ENGLISH COMrORTS.
c«Mcentr«ie« ev«rytlunig; that rich«s. art, or uulustry can pi OiiT, — not for show, but to relax his mind, or fcratify Ins »en»e9.
OHt^inly the imprcwiMi |ir(tt)iiced mi » etruifier, who enter* MlBnglixh ilweltinft for the first time, must be fiTournble and agr«!«- abW. As an Rnj^ltshman (lis)ik«s onutment nnd ^udinp<» in his drMi, he always studies iimnlicity in the Btting up of hi* house, thuaich ciferything h in the highest degree rrckrrch^. The never- Okilin^ carpet on the floor, of the finest wool, is interwoven with plain btit taitteful patterns: the fttmiture, of polished n)ahog;any. Is of nn eleirant form ; and the cushions, welt dusted, are fine, though tkot uf a show y ruhiur : the frrate and fire-iront* are «« bright its > looking-glass and without a singk* sput : thepaintingRor enfrnvingg, Bus)K'ndetl to the walls, please the eye without beiiiEf so numerDus as to fatigue it. In everything solidity is combined with fashion: clocks, plate, tile metal ornaments of the furniture, arc at once mo^ sive and fafthionable ; the latter without the former would be no- thing more tfian fripp«'ry : nfilher agreeable nor genteel. Disorder IB, in the opinion of the Kiiglinh, highly uncomfortable; et'erything ha« it* fixe<l, it* appointed place; order in tlu* proper arrangement of dif^rcnt form* c rentes an elegant ri/xonA/r, and «hm lhi» lym- mctry in spoiled, it is as had a* overcharged or tastele«« ornanientJ. Cleanliness is the liighcnt comfort of all classes, and from the no- bility down to the farmer or artisan the most extreme care is taken to secure it. Prince Puckler found, on an eiitate, n henhoiiaeao nicely fitted up, that there an* many pour people in Ireland, or on the Con- tinent, who would be very glad to Imve xuch a dwelling.
One may justly envy the English their comforts, for they appear thereby to acquire a right to ridicule the way of living and ar- rangements among foreigner*. Thus we remember to have seen a caricature with the 8ubgcri|)Uon, " Gennan vumjortti." It re- presented a Oerninn lying at his cas^e on a reather-beti, smoking out ofa long pipe, and reading a. dirtily printed new!>p3per — the Cor- respondent of Ilnmburg : and who, for greater convenience, had placed a utensil near hi* bed, which would frighten a healthy Eng- lishman, if he perreivpd it in hiu bed-room. The dislike which the English entertain for the lower clnasek of Irinh \» partly caused by the f*ct, that they disdain to practise tkeir principal comfort, cl«aiw lineat.
Ai n matter of course, the comfnrta of a dweUing-ho(i»e vary ac* cording to rank and the degree of riches. The opidcnt man adorna the walla of his apartment with works of art, which in general arc as well choHcn iis dearly paid for, and eflecttiaJly refute an asaertian furmcrly current, that the English were without taste or talent for the fnic arts ; the fallacy of which, without speaking of Hogarth, bai been sufficiently proved by Keynolds, Lawrence, Wilkie, Chantrey. In the letters of a defunct, — the author of which, owing to his love of parks and villas, visited the handsomest country seats of the English nobilityi — we only reiul a description of tlie pictures, which are there unfortunately concealed from the view of the majority of amateurs; but we are, liowever, convinced, that it was neither a love of show uur lud taste, but, on the contrary, discertunent and knowledge, that |jrtr>ide<l at the choice of these colleriion». The poorer clasne« con- ,*.. kit-elvfA with engravings: with cnpip>i of the works of Wilkie, Lh, or of the portraha of Lawrenct>, &.v. If ihe.ic be wanting.
ENGLISH COMFORTS.
169
Uw C«i>per6 and kitchen utetiKJU. well Kcoured, uid polwtied a« farif^t «» a looking-g^Usft, are placed on shelves, where tliey ngree- •Uy relieve the eye by the contrast they form vrith the white
Nowhere in Europe i» country-life, for all the clas^^es that apply tlie!D«f}vcs to ^^iciiltiire, more afire*«ble thun in EiigUiiri. Near that high degree of household cimifon, which mociern indiistry haa readered accessible even to the poor, is always to be found the art of onbellishmc; nature, and of profiting by those charming situations vhich the unmilAiing 8oiI of the huppy itnd fruitful iitlund, traversed by rangcn of gentle hilU, so frequently offers to heighten rural enjoy- nrnt. Thus England became the cradle nfan art, which, jt ia true, has-beeu imitated on the Continent, but never carried to the same catent and perfevtiun it has tliere attained. TIiu English purk is t^ handsomest garden ever luid out; fi^r, initlciLd of atieuipting to imitate nature en c/m, they uim at enibelUshinff it, and pro- Ittn); by the beauties which already exist. In the pi Ciisu re-ground of a Hch Kngli-thmnn, this intention iji scarcely perceptible, though Mery point Ae i;«e \» taken advantage of, to produce an agreeable irapfeMiun. Attempts lo imitate nature by HmxH gr'ittueM, hilN and ■McrfalU, Grcciitn templei) and ruiiist, appear to John Bull grt- lucc : he ivould find thi8 ait ridictilouii na a Cockney who, in Run- ^Mv clothes, should attempt to play the gentleman with the aubscr- ntnt air nf the counter.
Even the little landed proprietor or the farmer will not entirely ndnile ihU rural cumfiirt mmi his dwelling. If he has not room nam^ tu lay out a liitle pleaiture-ground, or to plant a grove, fce hu at least liefore his door the green plot, the pretty well-mowed bevlinc'green, the grass of wliich ia i^n fresh and luxuriant that me aelidoui seea any like it on the Continent. The &aveller will munbcr with pleasure tu have seen many of these well-kept plotn, ■Udi M he drove rapidly along tlic high ruad were pleasing to his
The attachment of the Etiglinh for these rural comforts h nearly ■ uld aa the nation. The feudal lord, in the time of the Plan- tafcncta, was the more anxious tu find pleasure in liix castle, because l£ prida maile liim preiVr tu live there, riithtr than At court. The admed park, though it then servetl priiu-ipally to prenerve game Md deer, bore uinie reiiemblarice, hy its shady winding pi«tl» and —HI iiu« 6»h-ponds, to the modem plcaHure-ground. We need ■ly Bi«ittion tne park uf Woudntock, or fair Ri utamutvd'h bower, as At lajr* of the middle ages and popular songs descnbe it. Coit- mieocy in the dwelling-house appears then, as far as it was po»- Adt, to have been attained. At li'ast, one must draw that euuclu- MM from the dewription Prince Pueklcr givi-s of Warwick Ca.'*tle, ■Wh i* Htill well pretucrved in feudal magnificence. The halU nnd fce ^miture of the midille agCK there described are far auperiur tu mnl^iag a( the kind iliat has been preiicrved in Germany or France, Wihe reader is forcibly reminded of the individual facts cited by fc hixlorian IlaJIsm tu prove the comforts enjuye<l in those times • Eoifland. It i> true that it wr-* difTerent with respect to the Wtb firitofis, or Seot«. j^^nea«. Sylvius wrote in the fitteciUh cen- tay, " the merchant* at Nurnberg are betttT loilgeil than a king of '^■Imd '" but in the middle ages the Scotch were quite different
TiiL. rii. »•
170
ENGLISH COMFORTS.
from the Engltsti. Btid strongly ecporated by manners and hustilit}-. — How it an Engli&hnian Uas itll thviC cuiiilorts cDmbini.-d ill Ilia dwelling, be enjoys tht: bighext dt-^ree uf pleii^ure, wlieii he sits round the 6re with his family ; and, even oht>u1d he not i^peuk a word, it affords him entertainment enough to eee the 6re. A fircHide is to him tb« kk'jil of plcjisure ; when he pronounct-H that word, he itnmedintely thtnkx of him fHmily, and the tr»in uf idoua puts him in k gocid htimour. The Rngllsh are indeed, ^mr escelUnce, aa they say themselves, the marn/iiig nation ; they, therefore, find as little fault with the marriajre-hunting of their ladies as they do with the careless marriagej of thdr idle poor, and even Pitt was ofVen obliged to submit tn the reproaches of the oppo^tion for his ba- chelor's life: the Enplish are, besides, by the melancholy tincture in their tempemment, an much inclined to Henti mentality as to spleen. Truly, their fiuuily Eife k an hotioumlilu and luniublr iTHiC in the nutioiial ehuracter. Even the coldest Eni;lib^lmmi> will be- come cheerful and confiding at the fireside ; pride will nive way to a well-founded *elF-retpect, heightened by hospitality ; unfeigned kindness is shown to every one wlio is received into the circle round the lire, instend of the re«i>rve which custom, fashion, and national character prescribe in Kocial interco»r«e. In short, Kngli^h humour, wit, and sense are seen in their proper light by the hloze of the coal fire, and one may tike it for granted., that strangers who have tra- velled in England and afterwjirds reviled the nation, never had an opportunity of lilting round n fire with an Hnglt^h family. For the reat, thie attachment to rloracstic life offers a stronger guarantee for morality than the high Anglican church, which tH, in tiome respert?, ss rotten as the once glorious rotten boroughs.
No wonder that the said fireside Is often a favourite theme with which novel-writers connect the dciicriptionH of pcrsouH .ind situa- tions, that have gained »t> much praise for Englttsh literature, though they may be accuaed »oinetiniea of being too lonfr. Certainly there is no reader who doe» not experience a pleasurable feeling, on read- ing Goldsmith's description of his gowl vjcar enthroned near tlie fireside with his family around him and his little ones on his knee. It would be udvifable for foreign novel-writers who place the scene of action in Kngland, not to forget that fireside, wnen they wish to display their humour, if they be fortunate enough to posscai any.
The feeling of the most complete security from the aggressions of policemen or fellow -citizens, as well as a free imcnnfineil will in hi». nonae, which is granted to the Knglish by the common law, do not contribute a little to tliia pleui^uri- ; it is indefd not consJdereil as one of the comfortn. but their undisturbed enjoyment is thereby assured, and that seU'-respecC which is conmcted with them is aug- mented or preserved, i^hould he be tormented by creditors, he has the agreeable prospect of entering the fleet, or some other prison, and Uius agnintft nit will acquiring the rights of the curporatiou In the mean time, he may, near his firenide, forget hi? cares and quietly enjoy his comforts, for nu baililT will dare to enter hit dwelhng without being let in. If he did so, he might with full righ treat him as a housebreaker, and^ if he pleased, shoot the unwelcomS g^est, like a gallant adventurer.
John Oull is not a little proud of the privil^e, " My house i|
I
I
EXGL15H COMPORTS.
171
castle ;" utd it dives him jileasure to boast of it on evenr favoar- aUe oocRaion. and practically to demonstrate it bernre itll the world. Wbca fMf Francis Burtiott was to hv uptit to the Tower by order of the Boufle of Commons, and the officer of parliament, to whom m^Koatnon could not be refused, had not yet npppiired. there arose a |Ki|Hilsr tumult before the house, on which occaftion Ctistlereagh tmoi^t it necmAsry to order some troops out. Sir Franm Burdet^ m bu aide, did himsulf the ulvaeure of placing pieecH of cannon at (be windows and pointing tJiciu at the troupe, and Custlcrcagh, un being itifnrroed of this, quietly sdid, '' 7'hey ci>Litd not preveut Sir Fnmci» Burdett fmni dointr it."
Ciifwrtunalely, the suspicion witb which an Enfflishman views tvcrtbodT who entvr» hi^ buuie, di?privf« the forei{;n traveller of mmeb pttjoyment ; for John Bull dof* not wiltinply let anybody croK» In tlire»hoId who in unknown tn him, or who has not been reconv ■ended to him, or. in fine, who has not busincas to transact with him. Tbtis, the treasares of art which English wca5th has collected from ill parts of Europe, are ihut up from the stranger, who is the more MBUhxecl by the lettcra of Prince Puckler Muskau, whose station ^r* hini access to them. Hut even tlie defunct wafl once in danger effacing created aa u thief, baTing, to gratify bia curiosity, without
iW knowledge of Lord R , smuggit-d hiuiHi-If intu his purk by
Unng the (fate-keeper. Another time he was even obliged, toi>iiiii-ly ki^DBMoa for parkA, to climb over the wall like a gallant poacher.
Aoagh in this way the acale of comforts is so tolerably filled that
l4aoouM bear his cloudy days and even the defeat of his party, there
dinnaina a comfort, the want nf which even in the happiest circum-
itaKM would render him very iniconifurtiible, and destroy all bis
PBd-bumour ; namely, a new8])aper with his breakfiut- He would
Wber do without toast with htn tea than be deprived of hiH gigantic
Hnting paper; for a breakfast without a journal is for him an
;dactioo witbout an election dinner, or an Irishman without a bull.
I ithti Bull doeii not, it is true, place such implicit f^ith in that oracle,
'4eprcaa. maJ»y'» Partsnun baditHd, who kept hi-t bed because he read
« the Dewspmers that he bad broken his leg; but, however, he
aula them witn such conscicntiousneiia, that he doca not overlook a
He not only wi^iheti to see his politick opinion reproduced
atbem everv murninj;, but he reads with so much the more plea-
tbe " Chroniijue Scandaleuse" of the town, the less he troubles
■df sboot acandalin society ; the more careful and suspicious h«
^tmetttuttg his property, tl)« more he is amused by accounts of
lies, housebreaking, and swindling ; though he never risks
Ifa iniail 11 in betn, or gives his wife cause to fe:ir tttat he should
task s leg at a fux-hunt, he never misses reading the interest-
HsportiDtf intelligence, comprising accounts of hunts, races, cock-
Mn^ Ae. Neither does he omit the rerscs and the fatal accidenu,
**Ucli rcgul" accounts are sent from the most distant parts of
^UDgdotD, «nd in which the English take so much interest, that
2\fff,tfmm ** tiresome to the stranger as the impurtancv tbey at- IP the •ucceas nf a favourite racer on the turf. ^HJHHtir** John Bull may have, besides, a particular whim for le inc&riJual comforts, be will feel himself pretty well off with te we have de»icribed. There are. indeeo, some secondary te wantinir, f'J'' instance, a dressing-case for travelling : how^
iw
A DRGAH.
fver, th\» belonfrs rather to tlie dantlir, «nd the real John Bull can sii well do without it as the army Could diapcnw with those •tore- waggons, laden with hair-brushc», which the «oldier« of Soult once captured, but which were probAbly only intended fur a few regiments of dandie« and exclusive*, such »n the GiisrcU, &c. Now, almild he feet himself tolerably well off witli all tliuse comforts, tliough he may long for one or two more, he will Bssume the air of a philosopher, and think, with Goldsmith,
" Mao wants but little Here Mow, Nor vnxM that little hag."
A DREAM.
Tim halm of »lwp fell oVr roe, and I (5reamt—
Oh ! 'twas a Aria, and sweet, and hanpy dream !—
I (Irvaml ttial 1 vra» uiricd lo a liuid,
A fair and lovely land, round whirh the SM
Careered in all its wild and lonely grandeur.
'J Jure weie most sweet fttrata and (uery walki,
And tU<ly grnvft^ and toflly purling streww ;
And all ll.iR>u)(Kout ri'Miiinilnd lo the tongs
Of Natun-'s thoriaters. The niEhlio^lr
With ljv<'1v (uirot, the mrci.-t fulUtwied thniih,
And ot\ici foil' innumeroui wngsters.
With ilulcH vlraiiu orminijled |>f>[ilmody
vEolmn, charmed the listening wene — *vvna tweM
Ax if a Setaph nwcpt tJi« harps of heaven.
Around, ihe trees wafed witli their boauieoui fniiU, —
Fean, p«acbef> apricots, and juicy pluou ;
And orange* m aureate clumers hun^.
The air was scented with a fra^nmi btdni,
As If from beds of fronkincense it drew
Sabnan sweetness. And orerheud, the sky
Rolled clattdlctt.
With ecstasy I wandered Throu|;hout thii lov«ly paradml spoi. How sw(^ thuughi I, lo dwell in such a place. Afar from all the noisy haunts of men 1 Andf oh I if there wer« one to dwell wjih me, — She, the dailing of my hopes I
Scarce the wish Was uttered, when forth &h« caarn to meet me, Another Eve, in all her maiden beautjr. Ob I tiha looked lovely, u her 6ne blue eye Met mine, and down lier aUl.uilur nuck tier golden hair in wavy ringUts hung. " And art thou here, my lo»e, aiidwilt ihou slay? Oh I never, nerer more we part. The world To tui i« ootliitiR now. How nweet to luve. And be beloved ! Here in this place well dwell ; — Oh, speak 1 thy words arc music lo niui: car." Her face hun? on my bosom, and her eye — The angel of her soul^ — picrcud to my heart. I Atoopcd, and on those dewy lips impressed A Iwnff, loot! kiss. " Oil ! never more i»« p«rtl" And as I spoke, all faded from my view ; — lie golden light of rooming hruku the spell, And I avroke lo find such happiness-^ A ihadow} uEitubsuniial dmm.
173
r
ARTISTS AND WORKS OF ART IN ENGLAND.
MS DR. WAGBN, DIRSCTOR OP TOB PICTURE OALLBHV IN BRRI.IK.
I
VISIT TO THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND.
IdMtDoti, 20th May, 1835.— At last I have some notion of Uie dwelling and mode of lil'c of an English diikp.
Pniviileci with two letters of imroduelion by the kindnenn of the Dnchess of Cumberland and the Princess Louise of Priiasis, I waited on tlic Uuke of Sutherland, who received me in the most fiicutUy manner, and conducted me through his palace. It ia dirtiDguiehed from nil ottiere in London by extent, stately ^rtion, richness of niBterial, and beniity of eituntion. It was I by the late Duke ol' York, under the superintendence of llic itect Wyatt, and after hia deatli bouglit and enlarged by the Marquis of Stafford, the father of the present l>uke of Sutherland. ^ A fin*- prospret is enjoyed from the windows, of the Oreen Park «» ooe ftide, and on the other of St. James's, with its ntighty trees, above whoae luxuriant foliage rise the towetsof Westminster Abbey. The ere tumA, however, willingly to the interior of the a|»irtment», ■here, besides tlie magnificence of furniture, draperies, and carpetit, it lindA the nobler enjoyment arising from the contemplation of varies of art.
Hie marble chimney-piccea are adorned sometimes with antique ImM tad reliefs, sometimes with cleg.int vaacs, of various rare kinds tfmomt, af\er the mu«t celebrated antiques.
Tlie finest ornaments of the puUicc, however, are the pictures of ,|Ik Italian, Flemi<ih, Spanish, and modern Englii^h schools; a col- iKtion which the duke, one ol'the richest men in Kngland, is con- i^ndj endeavouring to enrich still more.
The gallery, situated in the new story which the present pos- naor kas added to the original building, is lighu:d tVnm above, and *U MKin contain all the mu^t valuable uf hiit paintings. The duke ■ bis youth »pent some time nt the Prussian court, and the nume- Mh portraits of our royal family seem to indicate that he has re- kHted a lively remembrance of the period. Among them is a marble ■I of our departed queen, by K<iuch, alWr the monument by the Mae artist at I' harlot tenburg.
I had aflerwanU the honour of being introduced to the duchess, •bese uncommon beauty, in the true £nglish ityle, is heightened ^ so capreswon of great intelligence and swcetne** of disposition.
I*fTha|M the most imposing part of the mansion ia the sLEureaaew T^ ra*t space, which passes through every floor in the house, is ifailrably lighted by a lantern from above, and by it^ excellent pro- I ■Runia, by ihe colouring of the walls, where iKe giallo artticv has I &■■ nort happily imitated, and by the balustrade richly ornamented *afc cOt bronxe, producer a most Matety and im1>osit^; etFect. It ^iiill i1 me in a most lively mnnner of the mighty space so fre- ^mmdf met with in the palaces of Genoa.
X wnl loon write to you more in detail concerning the picture- pdhij. to which the kindness of the duke has allowed me ' "
174
ARTISTS AND WORKS OP ART IN ENGLAND.
access, and I shall then entlezvour lo give yon some id«a of the in«f-
tiinablv Ircasurrs of art thiit Knj^land has been collcctini;, especi- ally Worn the time of the French Revolution to the present day.
BALL AT DEVONSUmE IIOISE.
I I«n a party at half-past clwcii o'clock to go to a bait at the Ihikc of Dcvonahire's, for which 1 had received » canL The line of car- riages was so lung that a full hour eliipited before I was able to gain admUiion. The house was uplriididly lighted up, and as I ap* proached I was greeted with ravishing strains of music. The fimt apartments were so throngt-d with tliP beau moitde, thst I had aomc difficulty in making my wiiy tttrough them.
The iluke conv«r8e«i with me a idiort time in the most friendly manner, mid g.ive me an invitation to a breakfast at his villa at Chiswick for the 13th.
The quantity ot Ught, almost equalling that of day, and the splcn. dour of the de^.'or&tions, were worthy of the guests assembled. One small room, whose walls were covered with rose-coloured drapery and looking-j^lasit, and in the midst of which were placed a number of exquisite t)ower«, filling the air with their fragrance, and delight- ing the eye by their gay variety of hue, was particularly admired. Itfl charm was completed by the slender sriph-like forms of the young Englishwomen of thn higher classes whom this fashionable ball h^A Attracted in unusual numbers.
Although myself no artist. ia\ lung-con tinned familiarity with their workii has accustomed nic tu view all obji'cts witti an artist's eye; and a more gloriuus opportunity for contemplations of this det>cription than this bull HfTonlcd could hardly hiivc iM-tn found. I wait able to yield myself up to thoni with le»a interruption, at; tlirrc were but few in tiiis vaat atiseniblage to whom I wn» perMmally known. I remarked many specimens of distinguished beauty in botli sexes — many a living Viindyke, with those delicate regular features, dear, warm, trausjiareiU cuiuplvxion, and fair hair, which he caught to incomparably well.
Still more striking and piqannt were many faces of quite soutliem character, with black hair and strongly -marked brows. There may perhaps be the devcrndnnts of the anaent Britons, for the invading Baxon and Norman races were fair. There wua one girl whose ex- qtiisitely graceful head wnuld have enraptured Uuido, and one young man, wiio appeared to me almost a perfect model of symmetry and beauty ; tlic dark, deep-»et, dreaming eyen, the beautifully cut mouth, where a touch of refined sensuality, mingled with a alight expression of melancholy, would have aflbrdcil to a Grecian artist the most admirable model for a youthful Bncchus.
As he was very young, and evidently still new to these circles, there waa as yet no trace of that self-suflicient conscinnsness of beauty which so powerfully diminishes its impression. His cou»< tcnance received a new charm when his glances rested for a long time, with evident pleasure, on a lovely blonde, whose brilliant eyes shone with all the radiant light of youth and joy.
Perhaps you may feel vome curiosity to hear the names of some of tliete beauties ; but, for inv mrl, 1 i^hould as soon have tliought of asking the Latin names oi toe flowers in a garden. I waa too
ARTISTS AND WOUKS Of ART Kt HNCLANS.
175
Itnppy 111 thL' contcmpUtinii of these fulrc&t of die hiimnn flnners .ttut bloom upon God's earth ; and thi»c blos^onia ore unqucstjnnnbly "^ UDd in greater prrfectioii in England than in my utlu-r country. 'i« cause of superiority is sufficiently obviouB. In no other rountry the physical education of children from their birth conductetl in rntiunal a mannrr, and nowhere have I seen so many children blooming in all the luxuriance of perfect health. The greate9t regularity in their mode of lite, the most simple yet nuurishitig diet, and n constant exercise in the open air, are the chief puintA ; and the attention to these is unremitting during the whole period of child- hiHxi and youth. One great ndvRntiiKt- enjoyi-d by children in Eng- land rtbovf tho«4< (if any other northern country- is, that they are not kept half the ye»r in overheated rooms, for tne open fires are not aiiahle to the iiamc objections. The close heat of a stove is apt to ulTup and bloat the skin of the face: whereas here, as in Italy, the rms are more decided, without being lets delicate. To all thia be added, th«t in the better classes there is no fatiguing cra- ploymcnt and seldom any distiirhing pare to interrupt the tr.inqiiil dcvi>lopcment of beaulyj or shorten it.i duration. The s.ime plants, under the tcndencc of a careful gardener, placed in a rich »od, and cx|>05e-d to all the most beneficent influences of sun and rain,flouriAh better than when sometimes exposed to the noontide glare, and some- times beaten by the fury of the ittorm : the same remark applies tu the delicate blossoms of human beauty.
It is a very remarkable fact, that in particular familie!) the old type of a ceruin character of beauty haa maintained itself through t Icing series of family portraits, whilst at the .lame time the greMer kerdomof the English nobility in the choice of tlieir wives prevents It fnim degenerating into caricature and dcfonnityr as is w often seen in other countries.
You will easily imagine that there was no want of costly and ele- ,nt Inilettes ; and I could only regret that I had not your feminine* nowledge of the subject, Uiat 1 might describe them like a true connoisseur. I am afraid also I should scarcely do justice In detail to the costly iliifplay at ttie two bulTets, at one of which was tlie greatttKt variety of rcfrc^hmcnls, while at the other a hut wper was served by a numerous and splendid train of attendsntti. The whole J'^tc proved that tiie Duke of Devonshire has not undeservedly attained his high
Sputation among the nobility of Knglaiul for fashiuu and boapi-
TTie exterior of Devoni«liir« House is unpretending ; but it con- tains extraordinary treasures of art and literature. Besides a \ery rich collection of picturen, f saw in one of the sitting-rooms a glass case containing it remarkably fine collection of cut stones and medals, five hundred and sixty-four in number. Mv greatest treat, however, w«i the sight of the renowned " Lihro di Veriln," which the duke Was kind enough to place in my liand^ and allow me to contemplate at my leisure. It wan tint* Claude Lorraine denominated a book in which he bad made drawings of all thc'picturcs he had ever exe- cuted. Since even in his own day his works had obtained a great Vcputation, it was found that many inferior artists had punted pic-
' The letter* from which these extracu arc taken arc addrcswd bj- ibe auibor to his w1f«.
176
ARTISTS AND WORKS OF ART IN ENGLAND.
turn til hi* Ktyle, antl solil them as genuine Claudes ; so that it w;is found necenuT to prove the authenticity of his paintingB by a n- fcretice to his " Book of Truth." The drawinjjs r« in number about two hundred, ami upon the back of the fir»t is a paper parted, with tbe following; word* in Claude's own handwriting. 1 preserve his own orthography.
"Audi 10 dagotto IC77. Ce litTt Aupartiena mog que jt fuict ^urtmt ma vie. CtauJio GUtee Dit /« loratm. A Itumn ix 29. Avt. 1080."
WheD Claude wrote the last date he was leventy-eixht years old, and he died two years afXerwards. On the hack of everj- drawingis tbe number, with his monograni, the place for which the picture was painted, and usually thr ptrrmn by whom it waj) ordered, and ^tlie year; but the "Claudio fecit" is never wanting. According to bis will, this book was to remain always the property of hiit own family ; and it was so faithfully kept by hi& imiuediate deitcendanta, ^that all the edorts of the Cardinal d'Estrees, the French ambassador ■ at Home, to procure it were in vain. His later posterity had ito en- tirely lost all traces of this pious reverence for it, that they sold it for the trivial price of two hundred scudi to a French jeweller, who aMin sold tt tn HnlUnd, whence it came into the nossesaion of tlie Dukes of Devoniihirc, who have preserved it with due honours. The well-known copies by Barlow, in the work of IJoydcll, give but a very vague and monotonous representation of thci^e sptetulid dniw. ines.
The delicacy, ease, and masterly handling of all, from the slighteikt sketches to tnotue most carefully finished, exceed all description: the latter proiluce, indeed, all the effect of finished pictures. With ihe simple material of a pen. and tints of Indijin ink, sepia, or bistre, with some white to bring out the lights, every characteristic of sun- shine or «hade, or the '' incense-breathing morn," is perfectly ex- pressed. Most happily has he employed for this purpose the blue tinge of the paper and the warm sepia for the glow of evening;. Some are only drawn with a pen, or the principal formi* are slightly sketched in pencil, whh the great mn»ses of light broadly thrown in with white: the iimigtiution easily filU up the rent.
In one ca&e which the duke opened, I saw etately volumes con- taining engravings of ^larcaiiton and other scarce masters ; but much M I was temptetl to look at thetu, 1 resisted it, ou the principle I laid down for raysrtf on coming to England, to wajtte no part of my limited time in seeing what I could see on the ContinenL
The duke is deeply versed in the old dramatic literature of Cng- Und ; he sh^iwed me some volumes of hia coUectiuu of old plays, which is the richest in the world, and is every year increasing. He is just printing a new cjiUl»(;(ie. How earnr-stly did 1 wish that Ticck vere with me to revel in these treasures I
WINDSOR CASTLE.
(During Ihe UUe rti^n.)
By eleven o'clock on the following morning, I was with Lord Howe in his carriage, on our way to Windsor. So many hamlets and villjiges, formerly nt some distiincc from London, have now be- come connected witn it, that it was long ere we got free of the continued line of houses. In laying out the ground in these suburbs^
ARTISTS AND WORKS OP ART IN ENGLAND.
177
the gmtnt possible care is taken ia economise space, so th»t in the c^iiinry huuseii ttir door is no ]&Tgvr tlinii is just ni.-cc>ssiiry to admit one perAun ; but the hnuites »re all clexn, «nd iieiUly roofed with slater. Wherever the Mnalletit ncnip nl'fjrodnd is seen in front, it is laid out u a little flower-garden ; and where even this is wanting. cretfing plutts, with their pretty blossom!), are generally trained up the walls.
The Hppearance of such an English village is very pleasing, and these little decorations are !iure iiignii of the general proRperity of the people ; for it is not till the necessaries of life have been secured that the desire of obtaining some further pleasure arises. Another proof is allbrdvU by tile swarnia of hatidsuiue, well-fed, roay-t-hteked chil- dren whom one nvcs everywhere enjoying the " dokt fur nivatc." This pleading imprenaion wm strengtliened by the flouri»bing ap- pearance of the country, where bright green meadows and rich com- ftehls succeed eiich other.
Tbr swift motion of th« well-hung carriage over the smooth road created a verj' agreeable sensation, increased by the sight of the dis- tant tuwert of Windsor Castle, among which one wa» ea|)eciBlly con- spicuous- A* we approached the town, Shakiipeare's " Merry Wivea rf Windsor" naturally occurred to me; and the remark of I^rd Howe, that the wood through which we were just driving was the tmae where Shakaneare ha^i tormented FalstaflT, rendered the in)pre»- oon fttill more lively.
A( length the carriage i^topped before the entrance to the castle, sAcr we had driven five German miles in two lioiira. The first ^^i^hc of this etUGce is really impoNing. From a rocky height commanding the country round for n vast extent, its g^rcy towers and battlements vise in picturesque confusion. It is tlic very pLace for the rhival- roo* king!! of old to have held tlieir courts, and looks like the rcali. lation of some fantastic dreatrk of the middle ages. A part of it rcsUr dates back to those times, the gigantic old tower which I rc> ■MrCed from tlie distance having, as it is said, been inhabited by WiU Uam the Conqueror. I'roin a small watch-tow (.-r, which appears to grvw out of it, the royal standard of England now waves. The castle was much altered and extended iu the year 18M, by the ar- chitect Sir Oeoifry Wyatlville ; .ind is certainly the only residence worthy of a King of Kngland, — the ruler of more than one hundred BtilUont of men, if we include the Emtt Indies: for as much as his power and greatness transcend those of ordiniiry mortals, so d«es the caaUe exceed the dwellings of the ordinary children of men, which, in cxmiparison, appear like pigmies. The King and Queen generally !■«• the greater part of the year here.
A* we entered the caiitle, we met Von Raiimer, who, like my- self, was waiting to bo presented to the Queen. We had to pass ihroagb several court-yards before we reached the part of the build- ing inkabited by their majesties ; and whilitt Lord Howe w«nt in to aanonnce us, we amused ourselves by examining the stately corridor vbcre we were standing, which runs round the interior of a court- Hie celling was of oak, richly wrought in the best style of Gothic atdlltcctUTe, which attained a high <legree of perfection in KngUnd about the end of the Eil\eenth century. The walls were adorne«l wttii luany pictuiev, among which were some of the host of Cana-
176
mf IBlremidn^
.^vpvsans in ko
ite Mflw luaiiuvr
-^ Bttk great who
^mcbty behaviour.
*4t£tl cotnraandn a
1^ sue gliilen first on
vhich ri-^es « fnun-
mimrr of the |>ark, which
m ibmissed us mostgrn.
to accompuiy us round
«id (Iecnrstior« of the -^ dal Tetrel and gold, — were of .. mfirc intcrcstc<I in tim Hu ^.> ukI ifit' grand meL-titigK of ^iktlT propoiruoned, and fitted up •^, of cMved oaJt, itdorned with _-nuine effect of richness and . iges. In (Fir sinaller »aloo<n, it, arc btiHtD of tliree of the f >,'f'Ison, in hroiirc, and of ■ ' , in marble. A<t work* I •,.( f,iri sii]i.-rabl-e.
.c of Prince Rupert and the wcU.
txr more valunblc, at least to an
;-ds tfiL' Kifht to King Henry the
^'OuM. It is the work of Ben-
'.' iti rich uniameiitA of figures,
':■'•-[ -jM't'iincns existing. It
I i il.i- Jiiu?st shield in thccol-
l.'iii'ortunately, a very thick
. J J, lui'ul of this excellent work
-^ocuUirly attracted ray attention, 18 »i » iiilendcd to serve au s raemorial of .ii'Tii* which closed with Uie battle of . .rthe sovereigns and otherreiuark- n. executed by the celebrated por- by command of King George the Viifitriaisplacedon one side, with ■ ^m^, and on the left the Emi>eror ■ , f Uardenhcrg and Cardinal Gou- s lint Nesselrodc and Pone Pius the ^ tiitre is occupied by King George ^^ |>ersonnges arc King William the
, ,y ^V^.aadt'""ljntlgc, the Duke of Wellington, ft***"^ j44^^* CluirlcB, Prince Schwartzcnberg, ^**'. T^ li%<nwa*' »•"' ^t" "'*• ^uke of Cumberland, M ' zZ-j^ W>* ^' **■* '*''*^ "f^ Bymmetry. ^
^!^}^^ilt» k de'otP'i to tJte reception of a collec- ► •JK^r^y*^ "" I''"'"'^- Wherever the waits
J?:Sit0l^ "T^- ■Mlt**^ f-irms a *trong and disagreeable ••2S**"—- j/ *l«»*»or that appears every wb«ro else.
ARnSTS AKI> WORKS OF ART IN ENGLAND.
179
At «1I events, wiother colour should hove been chosen, u white is exlreravlj- unfavourable to the effect of the pictures. The works of onf tiM^ter yciierallj Iiaiig together in oue room, That canttiiuing twentj'-oiie pictures of Van Dykewas to me one of the moat interevt- of the whole. A« a portriut^paint*^, he was undoubtedly the tpCMttat maxter of his time. Hi* conipoHition is almost alwayn a^ee- jabte, often signitiamt; hit attitudes natural and convenient, the drawing of the head and hands refitwd, and the keeping excellent. To theoe merits may be added great cleames* and warmth ofcolour, and a free yet delicate handling ; *o that hia portrait* are in a hiffh degree elegant and attractive. As he passed the last ten years of his life (1631 to 1641) with little interruption in England, there arc no- where so many of his masterpieces to be met with as in this country. Another apartment is devoted to Rubens; and there are many fine pirtiire« of the older German and Italian schools: several arc said to be by Holbein, with whose name, by the by, they raiske I -nucl) too free in Kngland. The half-length picture of Henry the |£ighth, fur inBtaucc, nppears to me extremely doubtful ; though it is I bung to high that it la difficult to form a decidetl opinion. That of the young king Edward die Sixth is certainly ton feeble and un- meaning for Holbein. Even the portrait of his great friend and patron, Thoma»< Howard Duke of Norfolk, is undoubtedly not ge- nuine. Among Komo fine pir-tun» uf the Italian school arc Gome which uppear unwurtliy of a pbce in such a collection as that uf the
King of Jbngland.
• • « • •
As we were rather fatigued with the view of so great a number of pictures, we were quite ready to do justice to a aejcuner d laj'our- vftetle; after which. Lord llowe accompanied us to St George's Chapel, a Gothic structure of the time of Ilemy tlie Seventh ; and on coming out we found an elegant open carriage, with two small brown horses, here called ponies, sent by command of the Queen to take us to a cottage belonging to her, situated near the celebrated Virginia Water. The varying sunshine and shower, as we drove swiftly through the noble park, afforded the finest possible variety
I of light. I Bhall never foiget the exquisite green ol the grass and foliage, as the mmnhine broke over them while they were still wet from the rain. The eye really revelled in the enchanting beauty of the colour.
At five o'clock we were again on our return to London ; and as wc had four beautiful horses, wc soon saw the metropolis lying like a dark cloud before us. At eleven we went to another* party at Lord Francis Egerton's, still more numerous and splendid than the
I first. Notwithstanding the spaciousness of the apartments, they
'were more throngeil thnn wb.* agreeable. When the tnmc Tyrolese raised their wild song, the com|uiny streamed tJ)w»rd<i them, and left me to enjoy at leisure the contemplation of my beloved pictures. AInch 05 1 like the sound of these MHigs in their native Alps, they
I alwayM t>eem to mc coarw and screaming in a confined Hpacc, and in the presence of im elegant town company. At an early hour I re- turned home and retired to rest, satibficd with Uic cun&cioumess of n well-spent day.
The factor bad oa a {onaa caasion ei^^oyei bis lordship's Jmspitality.
180
ARTISTS AND WORKS OP AHT IN ENGLAND.
VISIT TO SIR HOBEUT PEEL.
JhiwSI.
Wluit a rich and interesting life 1 lead here ! Not a duy paMes on whicli my leclings are not excited by the contemplttiiM) of ex- quijiite worka of art, or by communion with remarkable men.
On leaving Ettslkke's, I drove to Sir Robert Peel's houw. The
Kite is well chosen ; for tlioiif^h utusted in tlte most r»sbi(»inblv part
,of Uh> tovrn, nnd close to the H(i)i»e of Common*, the xci^nc of his
■•chievemi-nts, it has many of the advantages of rural retirement, nnd
enjoys • delightful view of the Thames.
Sir Robert is a stately man, of preposseflsinp; manners, and highly re5netl and cultivated. Of his refinement anu cultivation I found a strikiufi proof in his tasteful cnllection of pictures of the Dutch and Flemish schools, a rtring of faultlcHN pearlR ; with the eye of a con- firmed connnisfleur, he kmiw-< tiovr tu di)>tiiij;ui)ih in each the peculiar merits which make it dctierviiip of a place in Kuch a collection. Such
tiictures must be tiL-en twice : for surprise and admiration, on first l>c- lulding tiiera. are too powerful to allow a tranquil enjoyment. Through a kind word from the Duke of Cambridge, 1 was a^orded this second opportunity ; and I will endeavour to give you some idea of the cnllection. It coniusts of rathi-r mure ttuui sixty pictures ; and tlie manner in which they are placed shows that the owner does not look upon Uicm as mere decorations for Ids rooms, as is too IVe- quenlly the case here, but that he is desirous of enjoying each se- imratefy, in the true spirit of a lover of the arts.
The room in which this colii*ction is nrrnnged is of an oblong form^ with windows at the two extremities, so that the picUires all enjoy the advantages of a strong side light. Kvery picture is placed in a utU3tion to be seen wiUi perfect convenience, none bving hung so hiuh 09 to remove its beauties from the eye's reach.
r'irxt in the list must be mentioned Ilubcns'a celebrated Chaprau df Paille. This picture, a balf-Iengtli portrait, repreaenU a young girt of the Antwerp family of Lunden. Tjie broad brim ofa black Spanish beaver hat throws a shadow over the face, wliich, however, \« well seen, owing to the strong sunlight by which the picture is ilUiminated. TbiH Ims aflVirdcd Rubens an admirable opportunity of showing his skill in the treatment of the clear obtcurv. The paint* ing was formerly known in Belgium under the denomination of " hti Spaansch llofdje," which in later times has been changed into its present very incorrect name of Chapeatc tie Paille. The head is painted so con amore, and the expresaion is so beautiful and full of animation, that I am easily believe the tradition which says, when Rubens painted the picture he was in love with tlie origina]. He was so attached to it, tJiat he never could be induced to part with it; and even Iii^ widow preserved it till her death, when it waa pur- _ chased by the Lunden family, in whoi«e lionds it remained till lnl7r Lvhen it was sold for sixty thousand franei<. At the death of the purchaser it was disposed of by auction to Air. Nieuwenhuys, for thirty •five thousand nine hundred and seventy Dutch florins. The purchase waij made on juiut account with two £iiglifth picture-deal- ers, by one of whom the painting was offered to George tlie Fourth, but declined. It was then exhibited tn London, and upwards of twenty Ihousaod persons visited the «shibition. In ItBJ3 it waa
CHEQUERSD LIFE.
ISl
bought hy Sir Kobert Peel, who is said to have n'lren three thou- sand five huiidrtxl pimndx fur it, — the highest pric«, probably, that «ver wu paid for x hvlf'tenj^th portrait.
There are two other picturci by Rubens ; one, a B.icchwnil, with eight figures, equal in passion, ana depth, and clearnciw of cnlniiring, to a.iiy of his works, hut anrpassinfr any I have ever seen in the ta«te and decorum with which the subject is treated, and i" the ex.
aoioite beauty of oik- of the nymphs. After the death of Rubens, lis piiiiitiiig wrtK Ixiught by Carainal Richelieu, and afterwards rawed into the hands of Lucien Bonaparte. It wa» botight by Sir Robert Peel for eleven hundred pounds. The (bird Riibfiis in a slight but spirited sketch of the celebrated Lion Hunt in the Dresden Gallery.
Sir Robert posBesses likewise two Rembrandts, one a male portrait, the other a landscape. The former ia one of the few pictures by that master in which we sec united a correct conception, and a fine feel- ing of nature, with carelbl indunrv in the execution.
The collection Is jmnicularly rich in pictures of the Dutch school ; indeed, there is scarcely one of the most eminent masters of nrhom a specimen ia not found here.
[0r. Wagen gives a critical catalogue of the painting* composing this beautiful collection, but want of space precludes its insertion lurre.J
The room in which all these treasures arc preserved is one of
those constantly inhabited by Sir Hubert Peel : so that he and his
rftmily contract a daily itttiinacy witli thene masterpieces, and, in
abedience to the impulse of the moment, may allow their attention
to repose upon ilie picture that more immediately captivates them.
In the room leading to the gallery, Sir Rola-rt called my atten- tion to several full-length portraits by Sir Thoriiii^ Lawrtnce, one of whose chief patrons be appears to have been. The Dulte- of Wellington, Canning, and Hu«kis«on are the most distinculsheti of the men with whose portmits that of Sir Robert Peel himself is most worthily aa^iociated. lit every one of the heads vou imme- diately recognise the work of an excellent portrait-[«unter ; but in tlie general conception of the pictures there is frequently BOme- tiuug orerstrained, particularly in that of Canning.
CHEQUERED LIFE.
Alas! how joy and grief are mined TlirougVi all hfri ■* nhefjuered hours t
How piecciog thoms •av ««vr fut«d Ben«nih ths laTcliut Huwers !
As to the wildest won)* ot mirth.
The echoes whispei low ; E'en Ihiu there i* no bUu od etnh
Without its mocking wov.
A
182
MEMOIR OF THE REV. ROBERT HOGG.
PoBTs and philosophers ever have been, and ever will be, perions of extriiofdinary ap]>eAraiice : an exterior »tamp brands thetn as a diatinct species, and, in the great laniil^ of man, severs them fVom the CDtnnifiii herd. A bom poet is expectefl tn W liune, rickety, or awrv ; and should be luiply possess tlie use of his limbs, same or- frame defect must act as a euu titer vuihnj^ iiifimiity. and ni-irk him from the many- Hence, if he be not half blind, he must occa-Kionally be whole mat] ; or, at least, if He keep caste, be most affect the one or the otbiT at fit seasons.
PhiloKophers are dilTerent altogether. " Unkempt hair," soiled tinen, and a cotirtitutioital aversion to soup and wjiter, are the grand rec)uisite« which characterise tins erudite specie* of the body politic. No matter to what school Oie individual apperlaineth, a well-shaped garment is his abomination; and to the thorough-bred sntanl "a shocking bod hat" is indispensable »m an air>pump.
Generally, poets and philoHophcrs arc, after their kind, good and jolly souls. They eschew their potations, eat, drink, and get merry, like ordinary mortals ; and, bating an incurable prolixity and de- flperate attachment to quotation, in every-day socictj- the men pass currently enotigh.
Two luminaries of the R.tnie name, but opposite (^iccies, have not long since paid tJie debt of nature. James Ho^, the shepherd, waa extetiEivcty known. His native talent, his oddities, and tlie acci- detttal circuin^tatices whirh threw Iiim among those who elicited and fostered the rou^-h uncultivated Kparklings of Ins gL-nius, nb. tained for the Ettrick bard coiiinilcrablc iiuturit.-ty ; wliilc the philo- •ojiher, sui gcRrris, the more remarkable persoiuige of the tw»in, sank to the grave " unbonoured and unhung."
Robert, or, as he was more familiarly called, Robin Hogg, was the son of a dissenting miiutt«T, and educated for the profession of his father. That he was a man of botli talent and acquirements, his subsequent appointment to be assistant ottrunomer in the observa- tory ol Arrnagu, with a small country congregation • short distance from the same city, would sufliciently establisn. In Cockle Hill, as his meeting-house was named, his ministry oomroenced and cloaed: there the noiseless tenor of his way passed on, and to the grare he carried the respect and aflections of his people.
Robin's outer man was rather remarkable. He was a atout, burly, plain-looking personage, dressed in black clothes of a very peculiar cut, with a brood-leafed hat, and silver shoe-buckles of large dimen- sions. His walk was a angular sort of swing .- his thumbs were generally inserted in the waistbnnd of his nether hnbiliment, and, as he rolled along, no stranger would p.isji on without turning to liMve a second look at the astronomer.
Robin, like his namesake the bard, was nlterly ignorant of the world. His situation as a man of science frequently introduced him into the upper ordprs of society; but. from his own confessions, Hogg always approiidicd thoM! of higher rank with alnrm and dis- trust, and ever felt a relief when the professional interview had ter- minated.
HEMOia OF THE RSV. AOBERT BOCG.
183
With «U Hogg's simplicity', lie was, in his way, a wng. He oouM {■crcave abEurdity iu otliers, and fclyly. and witituut Buapiclun, elicit a lattgfa at their expeu»e. One very leanted lady, wliuiu he met Bcddentally at a dinner- party, bored the company for an hour with a ■cicntiGc disquisition touching the virtues of recent discoveries in nedicinr made by the Frmch rheiTiiitt;^. Hnd more than once appealed to Robin, to obtun the Hccnnlniit; npiiiioii of tlinl " learncil pundit." on being hani prcAited, fairly pleaded gcneml igiii)r>iiict!. Dce I have been a man, my lady, I never taalcd pill nor powder." Indeed, Mr. Ilogg ! And why, may I nsk, have you this dialike t> medicior >"
" Why, faith, my l»dy, I got so much from my mother when a biry. thai I never could abide it afterwards." ** Was her treatment simple, 3Ir. Hogg ?"
"Simple enough, my kdy> HUc liud but two remedies in the «erid for every disease incident to man: she gave ' llvbin run Uie Mce* at night, and ' Itog bean' in the morning. One she called ' a riri£er out,* and the oUier she named ' a sweetener;' and with four Wr»M in the year which I underwent, no wonder, madam, I dread ^ ^ypcarancc of a drug."
Tbe ludicrous BJmpJicity of Mrs. Hogg"* practice of physic pro- ceed a general biugh, and the fair empiric never appealed to the ■trapigoer again.
To a Tery odd exterior, tlogg united a nnsal drawl tn speaking, ■d tht most imperturbable gravity of countenance. When all were ■ a roar, Robin never relaxed a muscle. After supper,— his favour- •e hour for story-telling, — then was he in his richent vein. Gene- nflj himself the hero of the tnle, the qiialntne<^s of his manner wu knMtCible ; and his anecdotes had a poignancy which neither efibrt ■r Imitation cnuld produce.
The" earliest event in Hc^g's life which he deemed w»irthy of record vu his being bent from home to the grammar-school of Armagh. ffu Cither's income was too narrow to permit ilobin being entered oil te otabUahment, and board and lodging were taken for him at the Imk of an elderly spinster. But bib abode lltere was short. On fe anioiated day he presented himself fur the inspection of Misa HCallagh, and she wati ple.isi^d to say, that " my benavioiir was ino- 4k and becoming." Dinner came. A huge roast goose smoked ^QO ttie board, and when he had &aid grace, the antiquated virgin nynlml Hogg to cut the bird up. Through life Robin was gifted Wb an excellent appetite; and at seventeen, and af^r a six-mile nil, be must have been a first-rate trencherman. "I helped her,"
rb Rabin, "to a wing, and I took anotliiT nnd a leg myself, wsa but a poor feedifj and I cut off the other leg, with a shaving rf the breast. Aliss M'Cullagh would eitt no more, so I finished ibt was on the breiutt. and then picked the pinions and the back- hoT- Thia fini-died the got^se, and 1 ruse and returned a blessing. hardly waited till it was over. " ilobin," says slie, " I wish you but Gud protect us from such a cormorant! Ketum to your ■, bonrJit man : tell him I would na' t.ik four times your fee and \j^ "Why, man, if I gave you goose, ynu would eat me out of ^■K and home witliin the quarter ! — And," he continued, "greatly * Uf mother 'i surpriac, I was back with her that night lur
1S4
MEMOIR OP TDE RBV. ROBERT BOOO.
After finiflhing hi« college coone, Hogg vrm ordainetl, and jiccDptetl an invitation to visit n brother dit-ine named Dickey. Tliat vifit had nearly prave<l an nnforttmace one.
" I had been with hiin ihrec days," as Hogg used to narrate (t, "preached on the Sabbatfa, and my sermon giive great sati»raction. Well, nAer dinner, aa the evening was long, 3Ir. Dickey proposed, when we had taken our punch, that wv should ride over to see the colliery : tu whiuh I unluckily consented. IJc had u bendstruuK horse, and I a tuiglity bad bridle. Well, we gut on pretty well going; but on our return, Dickey's horie ran away, and mine ran after hini. The road home was through the town of BnDycastle ; and wlivn wf got ih^re, wt- M-cre botli galloping ai if for life and death. EverybiKly r«n to thr door«, tind, taking it for granted that we were running » race, the remarks they made were very diitagree- ablc. The old weemen, (as Hogg alwityfl pronounced the wnrd,) ronrwl, "Och. man! look at ihc drunken probationer*!" Some called out. ' Dickey, you're bate !' and others shouted, * Stick him with the .ipurs, and you 'll ^vjn yet I' We never stopped till we reached home, and I thought I would have dropped on with vexation. Mr. Dickey made light of tJie buKiness ; but I was not without my doubta, — and next Sabbath confirmed them.
" We arrived at the mceting-housc, and there ■were the elders as- sembled before the door. Dickey turned white a.s a sheet when the oldest man charged us with being drunk on Sunday, and givini cautie for Hcanda). by running races, tike merry-andrews. AiW long lecture, Kc said, that, in ctmsequrnee of our yuutb, the eldersl bad consented to let ui> uRT with a j'ublic rebuke. To my ^ururise^j Dickey admitted his ofTcnce, and acquteKoed willingly ; but 1 de-j clared, that as I wod not of their prc;^bytery, they sliould not [lasa* censure upon me. They would have insisted on it, but I was deter- mined ; and it ended in Dickey being rebuked alone. I wondered at hiB want of spirit, and when worship was over and we were re turning home, I charged him witli meanness. ' Friend Hobin,"] says Dickey, ' what yuu my is very right ; and had I been us yuuj were, I might have rebelled too: but the truth is. Brother ni^g^i there were four or five wee things against me before; and froui, having you for a companion, 1 knew I never would get off so cheap. The rebuke cleared old scores, and all 't off my back, like water off a wild duck."'
Hogg's ministry seemed never fated to be brilliant. Pulpit elo-j qucnce was not among his git\s ; and from hia quiet charge at Cockle Hill, Robin was never called to any other. Upon his preach- ing tAlenta Hogg did not plume himself; and, with irre.sistible naivete, he used thus to recount the failure of his powers of per- suasion.
A congregation in his vicinity had lost their teacher, and differed touching the selection of a successor. The parties were pretty ccpia], — tlie dispute waxed desperate. War to the knife was declared, and at last the C-apulct^ and Montagues would not even listen to any, probntioner proposed by the other side. The meeting-house became"" aboar-garden : alt was clamour and discord, and the synod resolved to place the appointment in alieyance. and supply Uwm witli placed minitiler<i until tlidr pas.4ions might cool down and »ome compromise be happily effected. Among many others, Hoggwasdeputtnl toassjsi;
MEMOIR or THE ftEV. kOSS&T BOGQ.
IS5
' aad be prep«red ■ tenaam vitfa great e«v« JaeuJatimg duisdm durity and forbrariincc.
" Wtrll, I preuc]j«d it,'*afl bewvald n^, "mnd, I tkKigbt,«iUi con- •iderablv eoect. Worship beia^ cBdnL I mtmrud my hone lo ridt home. Thciv were two b^ hedges I tmi W paaa brtw«tn» and I vas just ima^ning tiut tbe partita vcs« lewcfled and thrir call bad bnm onanimoat, wben a iliovn- of ttaot* flew rouod MM like a fltf;ht of »parrava. 1 faUoped oC; but, qtucLIjr a« 1 w«bC 1 could ovcrfaear that in vbalever elae thtj diSered, so <aie point. mIohc, each party wa» agreed; tor fnm both aidca of the nedgv united in the suae aj, ' To b — with Uogg aod bia Chriatian
Huge was niMrried, bat had •• dhBdrai ; md wberettr he watt, Vm wtw and a ennHttM WfJt wefe alwxyc Ua eaoipndana. Be sAoi made excmaioni, tfcr nUde aloW'hachcd liMl ar> wilh a b^pe huDpCT Aafcd with bnBa* bong baaC roatt finrla, moAr at tmnm, li^uda ia due propo»tioo. He «tB|yed when the tne fir npaee affWMchcd. and, with pArivdhail ■aipiickjr. abode ifamv vtfb hia " aerraat and fail hawMiaid.''
Didwfto we hare KtD Hogg «i a pteacfaer awAj, bat a morv QVMwa denMpenwnt oc bta oiaiscter wtll tpipewt , and praoaUy the aKwC rental table of he* atngidantie* waa a thaeongh bdBef in lyf hJiaai He dreaded i^iectrc* oMrtally, and naKhiAK b«l ■qeat would tetspe hxni to move out after 6tA. Mt Ua ■>»• caBed bba ftupendj le 4e oker- boara. Theb«tfog wa aaae dimnee fr^ Ui tfwelBM. and tltt itwl lar tbrwi^ an cMloaed i^irf, ailed -TW Uafl/ which, eboivfa nuA ftcMented in "rwuIi day," «a» Iwl/ and deaertBd mr anaet. Here Robin mgfaK be oe- bbBt CBCoaalcnd br aaof mdfngnt icicUcrv pvcccoad by bia Jmmn, cvrrtng an nnmeiMe Uiop. vboK ample leas laag a af %bc onr tbe riaiimim ; tbe aatnMmcr fcetpfav cald hf a bofe wrapping coat, aad wfaile ' maid* who leva tba mooaT mi. and tbe nuiataieid in alarm
leariac tbe dngoon't love-c^ betftol^wbo befeae -Sa ilave of the lamp,-
««epa«fiMi. Ibaa wKotamo
Ratia
expoaed to ikoctaraal ad icr«7, ' H««g admincd that be new bad a ^ iaccrriew wiuTaagfal -afaadowy and aaieal* and be aaad tbM to narrate the pvtievlars :—
befiee tbe great cmnec appeared in 1»13. Doctor Ha- bc^ «ttaMwr, who had beaa far aeaie time m bwl beahb. If, mA dmd. His eqirmrt bad not beai appiiinwd, • date efwauk aad ward deratwd, »Mia<i|Mialj,eci •^CKblelia. At hrt tbe comt* modem **a*.a«l. Bt^j« *<aKDe meat cacoiilly vpoa Ida abMrntkiM- Tbat ai^* he waa almw^ Jew-« eye for a wamitwei AU «aa ^ M Ae eavev— ^ Hi a mouae rtirriag ' U««]i'» hcwt beat ^^rf^rdU afdv nmrtii'— brnde bun Ml Ixke a dedgc- ^v ^ ^ ^hO. * Wtel tbooglil of tbe poiT doctor." qi»a«b
^■iB
18G
MRMOIR OP THK REV. ROBBRT UOGO.
Hojiff, " I felt very uneasy : bi» last hours hnd been diiiturbed by
iincprtaintj', and his mind wna mnde very uncomfortible. for he died in great doubt wlielher the comet's tail was hollow or BoUd." Other rarcumstances iitt4nidcd tlie atttronomcr'tt c\tt tr»m this earthly ball which were more than suBpieioiie, and Iiis lavourite tt-'lescope disap- peared the ver}' night un which he was conimiltetl tu hU kindred clay.
All the*L' thine* considered, it wiw no wonder that llopf felt •larmed. He had to ascend to the top of the building: and to do thi», he must pasa the door of an iipartment constantly occupied by the definict astronomer. Slowly he mniintL-d the stairs, iiml on reaching liu- l:indiiig-p!«ci', there, by evi-rjtJiing aidereal, wa* the dead doctor ittandinf;, in propria pertond, and the raining telescope snug under hi* arm !
" Gnod-night to vr>u. Ttnhin !" says the ghost. .
•' Ah. then, doctor dear. i\ that you >"
" In troth it i*. Robin." said the spectre,
" 1 'm grently afraid, Doctor Hamilton, you *re not to uy comfort- able where you are." muttered liogg.
■'As to that. Kobin." suys the ghost. " we'll say nothing one way or other. I came to tell yon that the tail's boast as a cane: and mind, Itobin, that I returned the reflector."
" With that," llojfg used to s»y, " Doctor Hamilton vani)ihed ; and when I lookeal about, tlie lost teltMCope w«» lyinj^ in the corner !"
In general Hokj; wan extremely ohlifliofTr courteouit to strangero who visited the observntoryj and ready to explain to them the uses of the various instruments. Biit at tune* his patience was sorely taxed, and the fair sex, alas! Mere found occaMonally rather trouble- •Ome, To one lady he gave mortal offence. It was on an occasion when
" Thi! moist star Upon wilow influence N+'plumtS em|iire sUiid«, Was sick almost to doomsday rthh. eclipse."
On the mornint; of tbi^ occurrence it wan intimated to the philooo- pher that the observatory would be honoured by a visit from the Primate, accompanied by sundry noble guests, Kobin was conse- quently in a desperrtte fuss. John brushed his best coat, his wife gave an extra polish tu tlie Milver shoe-buckles, aiKl oil' he started to prepare for the receptioTi of the head of the church. Just then, a maid-«ervant ran after him, bawling, " Mr. Hogg ! Mr. Hogg !"
" I can't stop," returned the astronomer.
"Wait only five minutes." rejoined the spider-br usher, "and my mistress will go with you to the eclipse."
•• (lo 'long home," replied Robin, " and tell yonr mistress that to- day I 'II have nothing to aay to weemen, good nor had !"
The mi^wge was literally delivered, and Hogg to the day of hia deatli remained unforgiveii.
As n public penonagc, the minister of Cockle Hill was equally eccentric. It so happeneil thnt Hogg was moderntor of the tiynod of Ulster iu the memorable year when the royal visit to Ireland wai paid hy Oeorj^e the Fourth ; and in hi* official situation be headed a deput-ttion frnni the Pre«byteriana oT the North, with a congratula- tory addreas to "the best-wigg'd prince in Christendom." On thin important errand he travelled to the metropolis on the old ear, ac-
I
I
MEMUm QV THE KEV. RflUERT UOGO.
187
ued lund provisinnvd iis UTiual ; and hit* unpretending turn-out WMM *veci nmkmi; it4 way down S»ckvillp-Htreet among h crowd of splendid i^quipjigeH, while Hojj;(;, his liH pmKtt-, nml hut nmn ex- prf<se(l tberir npmions on all they saw with a Himplicity that elicited pc»b of Ltughtor from persons who occAJuoiuilly overheard Ihetr remarks.
But though the journey hnd been thus tortunattOy nccomp3i*heil, thv dui^LTrHie portion of the expedition remained to be iichieved. Dbc travelUrra had esteerowl thtmsplves "wise in their generation" ta coming pnn-iijiuuvd, us if the capita! hud bec-n declared in a state nT blockade ; but. unhappily, where they should bestow themselves «H) their arrival had hittiertQ never C')st a thought, and only on CTitrring the city did thirt thought iit last obtrude. As they pro- oerded. obM'ure huteli and houieH of refreshment, under divers ap* prtlationii, were tried in vain ; and more than one*, from the general appearance of the party, the iii(|uiry wax iiupi)Ofted an excuse for Mnister purposes to gain admistion to the hall, and it was plainly htoied that anv subsequent attempt at cntr>- ahoiild cnsiirr the mo- derator and his e«tablishmcnt a month's residence on the treadmill, and Dot cost any of them n sixpence.
Hatters now looked ginnmv ; and, nn evening wsi^ falling fast, HcCK made a stop at Grexham a. This rh^v was aUo uusitcccKsful ; bat Robin wa* neither threatened with the treiidmill, nor <lid the por- trr c«n the police. A group of young getitiemcti were standing ou tile broad >tep, and oiu' entering freely into cunver^tion with the minister of Cockle Hill, learned the purpart of his visit.
"AikI »o vou are one of it deputation with an address?" he in- aturrd. " Pray, is that good-looking lady and yonder gentleman of Ui« aame party i*"
Mra. Hogg bluHhcd like a ppony.
" That woman," replied Hog;;, " is my wife ;" and he added her maltlen name for the i^trauger'c satisfaction ; "and the boy* is my jcrraM John."
"Nothing, sir, could be more fortunate than my nccident»l1y diii- eovering who yoii arc. You will please to remnrk yonder house," and be pointed to Billon's. " That hotiae is set apart for members of ihe deputations. Tlie front druwing-room wit!i a Iwd-rhamber behind it are fortunately di_scng.iged ; and if the noise in the street would not diacoinmude the liuly, she will have tlie best windows in Dublin from which to view the king's enlrie to-morrow."
" Bln-n yoiir heart !" responded Mrii. Hogg from the car, "once my bend > down, the worlu i* no trouble to me."
" And as to me," rejoined the H»tTonoiii er, " jirovided the charge* are moderute, I don't mind noiiie a bnus button."
" Whv," said the stranger, '• at these times lodgings are of course ^ if(h. if'or your apartmenU, fire and liKhts indudeii, thej- will ex- pect probMbly Three-and-sixpence a day."
•' J»Bver oibhle, Robin dear," interp'oMd the lady frnm the ear.
" We luve our own provisions with us," obsiTved Mr. I logg.
"And all we would want would be a HBUce)tan of polaioei," re* jdned the lady.
" Voiir fiireMight hn» been truly fortunate," continued the stran- ger. " Cools are not to be had at any price, and the cooks have en-
la Irotand ■ynanyrooua with Mrraal.
o a
188
MEMOIK OF THE REV. ROBERT BOGO.
trred into & combinfltion : but you, mftdani, arr indt^ptyndcnt of cooVs iiixl cnflla. Wbon you nrrive at the door," cominued lliis kind ad- viser, "yon will find it crowded with iiilern: answer no questions, but remove your lugf:ai;f into tlit hall; and if the lady wouhl just run up-stairs &ud secure ttiu aparliuciits at oiicc, it would be aU the better."
Tbty sqmrnted ; and vrhen the attronomer rolled ofT 'with hit household, the party on GreBham's step burst out into a roar of laughter, and thou^li dinner wan announced a* ready, they 5troUt*d down the strevt to witness the result nf Hojig's attemnt on Bilton'ii. It was priini|>tly made, and soon over. To re-ach tlic *cene of ac- tion required hut the crosaing of the street ; and in their transit he of Cockle Hill congrntiilated his helpmate on their jfood fortune, — who, in return, ble->9«d (iod that " if tlie lodgings were dear, the si- tuation was excellent, and they should have at least ' gape-need * for their money."
The hotel was full from the tinivs to the cellar, the street Iwfore the door crowded with puriu-i^, and the outer hall filled with prooma and livvry-eervunt!!. Never did hone»t Kobin gnxe mure rapturuuH- ly on a newly-discovered rtar than on the name of Bilton, att he rt'ad it emulazoned above the purt-h ; while his lady pointetl out the front drftwinp-room to tin- attendjint, and intiniNteil that she should oc- cupy the centre window on the morrow, and thence witness, " pro- rlainii-d by trllln)^and drum," the advent of the British kitjj;.
The car stopped ; none of the porttT tribe dcipned to notice it, "Bofg seized on nn old hair-tninlt, now nearly bald from age and hard usage, in which the personal efl'ects of the triumvirate (as nn Irish- man would term it) uere combined. John shouldered the hamper ; ■while niadnme, nr^t oblivious of the gentle Htranjter'it admoniiionj dashed stoutly past groom and lacltey, and, like a leader to a breach, boldly aBcentlcd the Htaircai^e. None opposeil ; for none dreamed that a forcible pusseMion was in progreiw. Alas '. like the field of Waterloo, a miimenlar)' success in the opening operations only ren- dered the ultimate disconi6ture the more signal I
It may be here proper tu obnerve. that Mrs. Jiofi:g:wa5two feet taller than that heiftlitwliiL'h it liaiipleaj^dCasiiiva to assign tu Ins celebrated Venus ; neither did she boart ttie roundneiui of tnrniation with w hich poetk usually depict ihf favourite CM])btarer of the thunderer. She wai a thrifty housewife ; she iravclled as prudent travellers ithonld ; and her best fjemients were ronse<piently deposited in the hairy trunk, and in the safe cn^tnily of the ai^tronnmer. " Anything," she said, •' was good enough for the road ;" anil hence her costume was neither in cut nor colour in strict accordance with the latest of Ackermnnn's dvsiTns. Flushed with the exercise of the day, ami conscious that to her had been intrusted the most decisive part of the combined move- fnents, there was a lofty character in bearing and tuuiUcTiance that might either indicate heroism or insanity. Alas ! — as the result n ill prove, the latter construction was utdiappily bestowed upon it.
Safely and unchulleiiged xhe re;iche(l the landing-place, and the door ot the " great chamber" was belbre her. Voices were heard within, and of course the room Mas occupied. But a nunnent's con- aideration jiersiiaded Itlrs. Hogg that thexe revellers were but transi- tory guesls-~vii Avfnrera induli^ing in a hnrried lunch, and she deter- minnl to notify lier arrival to them in personj and intimate to th«se " iirterlopcTB " that " the real Simon Pure " was brinw.
ilEMOlR OF THE REV. KOBERT HOGG.
189
hn])peTipfl thai the familien of C and
^OW it iinfortuni
H had hicalcd themsf lv(^ in tlist suite of apartments which Bil-
Kta'i iirui-flour cmbraicd, and at lliis moment some dojien of "the noblest of the Und " occijiied the identical driiwin^-room which Mrs. Hogi; had KclecteJ for her especial accommodation. Dinner wax wer ; tlie dessert upon the table ; the servants withdrawn ; and, tbua favoured hy accidental circuuiHlajHi>H, tlie lady of Cockle Hill found heritclf in undisputed poMsi-<iKiun of the outworks. — namdv, the landinf[-pUice. The noble earl and hia " fair companie" had drunk an cnthuHioatic welcome to the Majealy of England ; but, scarce bad they drainetl their " dratigUts of llhenish down," when the door open- mi, and in stppped Aim. Hogg, — not, im they fay in Ounnaujtht, with a " God »ave all here !"— hut a countenance on which a " notice to quit " seemed luminously impienAed !
Groat was the nutoniiUment of all parties, and the present poMes- •ors and new cUimainl appeared eijually surprised. The astrono- mer's lady WAS astounded on discovering the splendid circle into which she had ushered herself without the form of an introduction ; while, considering her a maniac who, in the hurry of the royal visitf bad eluded her lietpers and i-sicaped from an asylum, the ladies testified their diamav by n wild scream, and the jicnilemcn with " turn her outs !" The bell ran;; its " loud alarum," and, attracted by the uproar, a score of meninLi nished to the rescue of their lords, llurneil tin her advance had been, tlii; descent of the moderator's helpmate wus infinitely mure rapid ; tmd wjieii she reached Uic ball, she had liic suLiiifiictiunof witnessinp; the honest astronomer ejected from tlicduur with an increased velocity from s momentum admi- nistered by a lacquey's foot; the hairy tiunk and basket bundled after him ; John in the cui^tody of the police, and already some steps "eu roMle" to the house of correction ; a tattered mob hoUooing bvlow ; and, bitterer still, a titled one enjoying this desperate dis- comfiture— and from tlie very windowt which, five minutes since, in tile pride of her heart, she '* had fondly called her own."
But the darkest hour of hii evil planet was over, and a deliverer at hand. A passinR Samaritan fancied that he recogniiied the phi- losopher, as, with the velocity of a shooting -star, be crossed the loot- way. He looked again ; the face was Robin's, aml^-confirmatiun •trong^the silver htickles were idenlifietl. To reivue John from durance, replace trunk and hamper, remount Airs. Hogg, and ex- tricate the persecuted group from " tlic common cry of curs," was n)ce<lily efTectcd. Onco more the astronomer's vehicle was in mo- Uon. " The world Wiis all before them where to choose ;" and, after "an awful trial,'*— ^^ J*"'*'" called it, — they obtained a back cham- ber " two pair np " in PilManc, and *' rested from their labours."
The year in which Hogg wan moderator turned out a season of no Dommon importance, i'he addre^ to the royal visitor was suc- ceeded by a general convocation of the clerpy. Heterodoxy hnd been creeping into the church, and at a meeting of the svnod botli iu coutes and cure were to he considered by that rc%'erend body. Robin bad two infirmities that were incurable, — ilmwsiness, and a dread of thunder. It happened, on the eventful day when Arianism was imputed and deuied, llint one of the most gified of the ministry was addressing the crowded meeting. All lisitened in deep attention ex- cept the worthy moderator, who skte in the pulpit rocking bimcelf
i
to and fro, and pronounciiiK witli a moriotDnous cadence, "Order ! order!" Auiuiycd ut aii interrupt ion so ill-iiincd and unncLVMsary, the orator Ktopiied suddenly, und retiuesled to know -wba it nii« w-faoui the moderator tliouf;ht disorderly. " Hoot, man !" respond- ed Ilog^, " noliody 's disorderly at all ; but if you don't let me My 'Order I order I' I '11 nurely fall anleep."
The liiiaiiieii'* proeeeded ; liiit Rubin wxs not destined to witness the termination of the diftouswon. A dark elouH ctillected, xnd the justronomer evinced syniptoinfl of uneasiness. Presently a fliwh of lightning crossed the windows, succeeded by a peal of thumlei*. Up sprang; the moderator, and, bounding down tlie putpit otepj), mntfrri all attempts to nrrert hi?* flishl. lie fled from the nsittembly, and ran at speed to the inn. To proceed without the controlling member of the synod was irregular, and two or itirce cf tlli; ministers and elders w'ere dcwpatched to bring back the refugee. They discover- ed him cn«cuncvd in the celliir ; but nu inducement or remun^i trance could coax hitu from his den.
"' What !" said one of the deputation. " would you desert the pulpit, Brother Hogg, while the great Arian question is debated ?"
" I tell you what, Brother Gowdy," replied the nntronomer from behind a iieer-ca«k, " if Arius were on one side, and ArminiuB on the other, I won't quit this cellar till the thunder is over !"
In Robin's death a curioui* coincidence might be traced to.what he termed " his earliest misfortune." The demolition of Miss M'Cul- layh's goose produced an eviction from her mannion ; and, indubita- bly, the !^am« iinhieky bird shortened his mortal span. He wa^i re- covering ftlowly from severe indii^posiliun when an unlucky cook tempted him to eat stewed giblets at his supper ! These an ostrich migiit have digested ; but tney prove<i too much for an a.strnnonier, and honest Robin died ii uiurlyr to gee)«e f^izxurds and dyspepsia.
He lies in Cockle Hill ; the name slnb covertt htm<telf, his help- iDftte, ami hi." man Jolm ; and the grave, " that leveller of rank," did not separnte a worthy triad, who wended life'e journey in com- pajiy, and, like contented trasellers, wisely took the rough and nnootli just as Heaven i>ent them.
June 1, 1837.
CONCERT EXTRAORDINARY,
DmringlhttonJlagratiiMoftie Seyit KxrAaugr, on IMe ICtA of Jtmnvry, IB38.
Tut m«n or DmidwoodS Gre^ngade,
la water to tlicir middles, Willi Hkill and great |>recisiOn play'd
Un Arthur fktii'a fiddles.
Mr. Iklto's Musiral iDiininiGni Warehouse under ili« North I'luia was one of llie earliest victiuis to the HamM.
tvttkrfw»ifr>—
■'" /••iVwo^fciA^
W-ia. RK-JWi Il««*T r*'''.!***
NIGHTS AT SEA ; Or, Sietchei vf yartti Life liuriiiff the fVar.
BX THE OtU SAILOK. IMtTU AS ILLtSTBATlOX IT OkOHOK CKOIKIUAKK.
>'o. VII. TUE flUSK— THE DUEl.U>— NAVAL SI'pKTSMEN.
DAVLtnitT brokf upon th^ Ncen« as tlie -Spginkawsy, fast cJosinj; with ibe iIip|x4ito, ivbs liriiif; Iildnk cartridfrc from her )>i>tr-;jiiii!i, mid the wue ivtanuDg it from her ^tern-clianLTs. tu l)ie )(re.it ncMiiilal of old mrige the boatswain, n-lio swore enough that night to serre the Cluiiinul Fleet for a tiVKlvctnonth.'
The bpBiitifiil glir>v nf a lirij^ht clear morning ! — In what part uf tile wurlii are the murnings w luvelyas in tht> MecLiterranenn^wlien the mu cliiirbs nbuve tiie vvrgv uf the hurizun, mill gilds the iJeery dnnilx, — white, edged with gold, — iiit they M>il through the azure vault of heaven ? And then to see the rust cities, wMch func]r pictures lu risinc from the ocean. — turret, dome and minaret, gorgeous palaces, glowini; in the full efl'tilgencL' of glory, with lh«ir |iuviliun curtains of pnrple, and critniuui, imd g»id ; the durk-hhie wiilerti doing huinitgc »t their feci' Oh .' there i» no place lilte the Mediterranean fur wilne»s> tag a aonrise- The poet baa said,
" Morning ia tKsautiful e«fywlicro,"
But I liare n-itnpssed the first beanm of the gtcirinuK orh ax it seemed t« emerge front the Atlantic wave, tinging the ocean nnd th^' heavens with their glowing hues; I hare seen his red aotl hazy light, lifting bearilr from the waters of the Sautheru Si'u, after tracing bi:« course Uirvogli tho nit;ht by the- ruya that it]iruiul lhi'ni»i>lve& above the horizoD ; 1 bare xeen hi» earlv radiance reMiiig upon the blue tops of the Andes ; J have beheld the glist<.'ning rt'Htictton of his dazzling bnlliancy from the icebergs of the North; but I cnn, from tried txpericjtce, ueclure thiit nuthui^; iiurixiHse^ (lie sjH-cliicle which in exhibited in lhe«e seaa when " be cometh forth uit » bridegroom froni hia chamber, and rejoicetL u « atrong man t4i run a race."
And, aa I hare already Kaid, the morning of which I am writing was brigbl ami clear. The ktrunger> were tiiade out to be fi French frijiate, with a large armed ship in company. Up went the national ooloura of KngUnu at llie SpanLaway's |x>iik, and up went the republican Hog tJi the HippoJito, as the Britiali frigate was walking up to her aup> pmed enemy bund over hand.
" Fore-top there I" aliuuted the captJtin ; and as soon on the usual r«»poDw, "Ay, ay, nir !" was given, his lordship continued, "Away op and knock the fid out of the fore-to'gall'nt inact. Mr. iSaragv, •««y away u)H>ri the nioat-ropej air; and when the 6d '• out, lower away ^ndaOHMly."
"Ay, ay, uiy lord," an«ivvred tlie boatswain aloud, and tlien mum- hlnl to his mattf, " W«ll, Jack, whut cnn you make on it now ^ — we ahnli have tu knock the chockk away from the bo'spric preaently, and run iL in fore and aft, like a cutler "
"Bear a hiind there fonid !" shouted his lordiiliip: "leai of tli« ihark'a bead, if you pleaw. Are you ready aloft y
" All naidy, my lord," aiuwereil tlie man in the forc'topmut crass-
\92
NIGHTS AT SEA.
trees ; " away away 'pon deck — High enough ?" He pulled out the 6i]. " Lower away."
" Lut run the forp-tapsel hnllinrds," cotntnandf d thp captain — " lower away the t'gall'nt must rouDdly— clear away the lifts and urerlutul them — let fly the oiarlward foretopsul shtfet-"
'IliK orders wvre jiuiictuiiUy obeyed ; the wiU bung in entire coii- fuMon, — tht! top-gollaut-uiust ^va» i^triick ; and tlija tu thviiistant thin* apptrared Uie effects of the Ilipjiolito's shut. They were nearly along- «ide : the prize rounded to Hnd e«nt her hroadside, and in a few minutva the henry ririn)' gave notice to the Htrangcn that ■ wvere eDgagratent hud riiminenced.
" Mr. Savap; !" cried hia lordship, as the veteran ntnod wondering what it all cuuld mean, though the mereat hoy in the ship bad guessed the ruse.
" Ay, ay, my lard," returned the man of the Hilver call, walhing aft to the quarlcr-ilcck in u state bordering ujinn umasKnient. or what Juck Sheiivehole ealled " a tit uf perplexity."
"Strike tbe niizen topmast, Air. .Savage," Baid bis h>rdship, "and have all clear for swaying aloft again."
The veteran stared with avtunisliment ; hut be well knew that bis only duty wus obedience, and in a very ithort tiuie the heel of the mizeu topmast wn* Iinlf-n-ay down tbe lower mast, the top»ail and top- gallant-sail Hying in the wind.
" I'he Frencbniitn 'a hove about find standing towards us, sir," hailed a fiirctopinan from alufl-
" l}(iuhle-shot the fttarhoard guns !" exclaimed his lord&liip; " round and grape. 3fr. Blueblnzcul sec tliat every gun on the larboard side ia loaded with shot when I give the word. Seymour!" he hailed. " Johnny is running Into the trap ; he all ready fur him."
" D — my owld tnrry trowsers ! hut I sees it all now," uttt'reil the hi>«t>wain, 'slapping his hand vehemently on liis thigh. " Well, Jnek, it 'a comical as I didn't diskiver it ufurv." Then, turning to Miingo Pearl, who was rather unceremoniously showing his inirtb befi.re his superiors, ''Out o' that, you black angel !"said he. " Does tbe skipper think the nights are not limg eiivugb, hut be must sliip a double Hllowaiiee u' darknesa to Ktri'tcli 'em out?"
Broadside u{K)n bruudbide rattled from the sbjun combatnnla, till the Spuiikuwiiy, apparently lirxt itoticing the approecbing reiufurcement of heropjwneiH, up slick to run sway. The IlippolitOj however, kept close Cm her, — tbe strangers m.ide more sail to joiu in the affray. Onward came the French frigate ; not a nail or a npar touched, not a rope-yarn strained ; and sh« looked beautiful as she glided with her swelling can- vas through the clear smooth wnter^, the repubUcan enhign floating in the breeze, and a long pennant gracefully descending from the main- truck.
The Ifippolito had dropped somewhat astern, and ai the Frencli ship hailed in pn!>s)ng, thry n*ere so close that their yard-arms nearly touched. The French captain knew the shin, and was congratulating himself upon the easy conquest of a British frigate, (for he mnde srire of jointly capturing the Spntikmvny,) when, to his utter amaKenieitt, down dropped the nationiil colours, up went an English ensign, and rattle came a broadside that made him bluguer again ; the misen-masl reeled for a moment, and then, with its whole weiyht of top hamper, fell over tire larboard (io.irter, tlie shuttered end comiiig in-buard, and knocking away a great pait of the wheel. At the same moment the 8punltBnuy
J
THE RUSE.
193
cnmcd hi* bsn'se within excellent range, and poured in n raiting fire llxil qaite unsettled bis nerves. The icipelus he had gained made him nipidly Aboi>t a. hvad of t!ie prize without nfturning a «hut.
Innteitd of Andtng twi» to one in liiv fuvmir, he finind thut lie had tviro tu oae against him. NererthclesH, he tried to redi^em liin error, and maiuEOTred and fought his ship well : but he had British skUl itnd Brituh ralour to di.-ul with. Tlie udils ivere feorfii]l)' uiifavourahie: ike Sponkaway had relicLcfed her mizi'ii topmost and fore-top-gnllunt- and vras all ataunto. to the extreme murlificutiM]) uf thu uiifortu-
Fivnchtaau. who savre'd evfrylhiug ou inch hiyh, aud was ulti-
awt«ly compelled to haul down his colours.
The armed ship had made nail away; but the Hippolito went to dnue, and, ufter a three hourH' run, brought her back to share the fate of ber conworl- Tlit; prisoners were rt-moved : Mr. Sinnitt wiis Kent with A prtzt^H;^ew tu tiilce charge of the frigate, which jirwved tu be L'Ethalion, of thirty -eight guns ; and Mr. Winterbottom assumed com- BEitd of L.1 Gironde, of eighteen gutis, acting su a transport, and luden jth naval xtores^ '
bold achievement, however, was not ncconipliished without Josa ; bniTe fvllowa were DD* frum the 8[>iinkaivay 8 biioks, and fifteea were w.-vcrely wounded; but the sweet craft had dune her share for thiit cruiae, und, tjkiii)^ the lead, followeil by her prizos, she hauled huf sriod and stood well out to sea, like a swan with well-fledged cygneU in her train.
In his cabin Ixy the wounded inEWter, whom the no'ise of the fptnn and the imell of the powder had brought back tu ainMcionsnesa. Dut^ tog the action he had Ifcen stowed away upon his bedding in the very hout uf the cuble-tier; hut, now tlie hatlle was fought and tho vic- tory won, his cot resumed iu M berth, and his friend ihe surgeon utood •vtrr him, soothing hj-s mind under the niurtiticotion of having been. absent from the deck diirinj^ the engagement*
"Well, tliB devil's children have the devil's luck !" growled the old aaati. '^ Another frigute cufrturcd, uud ould Will hnve down, mnyhap fiir a full due, doctor! — iuive overboard into Davy Jones's ^ucAer, witn aif chett stove in !"
'* But you must be nenidble, master, that your not being at your •tatiim Was no fault of yours," nrged tlie Joctur.
'* Why no, me»mutv ; Huil thai '» mhiw gloomy satisfaction too !" re- sponded the Vtfteriiu mournfully : *' like iUk niarnmid who had her ey» knocker] out when they were heaving tlie lead, it 'a more my misfortune than my fanlt."
" Fault ,''■ ottered Lord Kuiitnce as he entered the eahin ; " the term ifl not applicable to the cose, doctor. l>u you call it a liiult to be laid upon a bed of honour?"
" And »ith auch a cloriout wound too." muttered the old mtm, oa- soDting a rueful countenance.
" Hhy, master, you will bo crowned with iaurtli" exclaimed bU lurdMhip cheerfitllv.
" Aud hure a sick-fio^y in prospect for the rest of my days," rcipond- cd the veteran, writhing with pain. "1 hope everytbiug is going on light, my Urd, in my department?"
•• Make your mint! eaxy «ii that score, Mr. Parallel," returned the Bable teaman ; " evtrj tiling in an it nhould b« : but, to prevent errors, 1 mtut be at my station." He quitttrd the cabin lu rvMiwe his dutiit.
* Diwhnrged dead.
19 (
NIGHTS AT SEA.
And extrrmclr ioipurlaot tljose duties were. The number of pri- santrTH iii^rly duulilcd iliv cn-w of tlio Hpaokuwu}- ; oud us I^ird Ku»Uce (ltd ntH like tv ewrche uiueh severity towarda tlicm, there rtqiiired gnat vjgiJance on Iiis part to keep Lliem in &ul>ji*ctiun.
Tbe captain of L'Ktlinlion was a very dilfereiit sort of a persouflgu to Monsieur Citix^n Kr^Hutl. The Uttem-ns h fine-lvoking man, wilb ifmilnr nnd handnnm^ ft-utti re.t ; whereuH the foniu-r wuh a little, idiri- velled, weazel-faced creflture, with eyes like a hatt-k and a iiuse like bis heak ; in fact, tho muutli and chin seemed quite superfluous artirLea, and totally unneecsaan' to complete the eontuur of Iiis cou[iceiuin<.^e. The fiire purl of his he«d wan Imid ; but he had a devilinh-luukEng long qui^ue behind, that eiignitwed the whole of Ins hair. His dre^-t ivus a niixlUFi* of eleffunce uid sanx-cutulinn. Hl* wore silk Jnwe on his ^pindle-shuiik^, mid the lit wu so close that it wws impossible fur him to pleiid the nejirf/a excuse when he wan told, " .Sambo, you Ve yut a crooked leg !"-^" No, mnstta, tun little bile yoii please; — neber hub CTiHiked le;; — all de fault ttb de d — croiiked tockiii|{ !" ]K* wore high- heeled .ilioeK, with gold buckles ; hnee'breeehe& of a dirty tinge, suoie- wliat between a sandy-grey russet and a fire-stone drab ; a Mrarlet satin embroidered waistcoat, Avith sla&lied pockets ; and a uniform coat, that an English scarecrow would not linve exchanged without a con- sideration. His cocked-hut was of superlative dimensions, and might upon an emergency have s'.-rved fur a jolly-boat, — aud the republican cockade n-aa not the lea^t visible part uUtut it.
" 1>— tny geutility, Jtiek t 1 'm saying, who the blazes does tic call liim»elf ?" uttered old Savage to hiii veteran mate.
"I'm thinking he's the skipper o' the Cropohs, sir," answered Sbeave- liole with n grin of contempt. " God A'mighty cut him out for a monkey, but his mammy wuutd rjg him up for a man — and that makes faim so d- — iy wanting in bis outfit."
"1 wonder if liis niuclier hitd any more un 'em like him.'" suid Jw) Ntgbthead, as he wait cuiliug down a rope.
" You may be sure, not," responded old Jack; "for if she'd bad an- other, she 'd have given both on 'em to the pig*. — Welt, blow me tight ! just sec bow he scrapes ond bows to the governor F 1 'm blessed if it arn't quite onnatural for a fellow to fliug hix lower eiCiiiicheuas about arter that fashion."
" Hi.<i father was a professor of music, anybody may see I" exclaimed Dob Mnrtingal.
"What makes you think so. Bob?" inquired the serjeant of ma- rines : " how can you make it out i"
" Because the ould chap :is owna him gave him a couple of German flutes to walk u|wii," antiwered BoU
" And did be walk upon 'em ?" asked Sam Slick, the tailor, io the innoceiicy of h\% heart.
" Why, look at them there thing* as yon 'd call legs,'' responded Bob, "and then ax that queation if you can, you lubber!"
This rat.ted the laugh at Sum's expense, nnd an intimation from the honisn-ain speedily dinmiased him from the forecastle to the waist, bis allotted HtalioQ.
Twilight came again, and the quarter-deck of the Spanksway was crowded with offie^-rs of both nations- In the BrititJi service, etiquette leaves the wealbvt-side to the sole enjoyment of the eaplain and the lieutenant of tliu w.itcb ; uliilsl the midshipmen puce to tiud fro under
TAB ftPAE. 195
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196
NIGHTS AT SEK,
** One crening we were inviti'd to u gnuxl aiaembiie at Moutleur Tallevnnd's, at whicli llic CLief CouhuI mid Jost-phinir, wiili iimny wbo figured in lit Rpvolulion, were to be present. We went, — for O'Brien accompunied me, — and certainly the party was very splen- did ; but amidtC tbe affectation of republican uianners it wax im- possible to avoid tletectiiig thove amliiliouB aspiriii|rH tn excloiive ariBtocrncy which generally resiiU when tiittinnul entptiiiiis are anb- niiliiig into Hocia] order. O'llrien was deUfrlited. His otateroDl un- cle w-aa a general in the French service, whiwe father had left hiit country, Scotland, through persecution, when young, imd had settled sotnewliLTC in France, or, I think, in Ciimbray, wiiere the general won born, and served in the Army of tbe Xorth, in iihich lie rose to be chef dc division. This bad rendered tbe nephew well kuuwn and ac- ceptable in tbe bi^^ber eirclet;, uud tbroti{(ti his medium I was intro- duced tu uiuiiy eijiinent individuals with wko»e hi&tory I was already well acquainted.
" Dressed in the very extreme of Parisian fashion, and suironnded l)y a circle of beniity xvhich he wa» deli(;)ittii}; with llie brilliancy of hi» repartee and the mcine&s of hin wit, wati CitJEen Oiiptaici Lanmrit. I ob- served him Very narrowly, for O'Brien bad called my atteiuion to him by several anecdutts, — one of whicli was, that in 1794, having refused to lay oiudc bis title, he was nenr Iosihl: his bend fur tbe sake of an empty name ; in fact, they ivere liurryinfl him to the pwillotine, tbe crowd preying upon encb other in their euf^ertiess when he aniRe in the tiacru, and. witb perfect self-pL'ssfSHtou and guod-huniuur, advised tbeui ' to lake their time, and out injure one another, us be was in no haste, but would M'illingly await iheir leisure.' This ^aved hiin : tW mub were tickled with Ilie pleaMuntry'uf the tiling, — there was a clapping of hands, tbe tiacre wits turned nnind, and Liiuiunt escaped. ' Do yuu see yon giant r' said O'Bricu, looking towards a tall, mus- cular, darlc-lookinp majeslic mnn, (jorgeously itressed in green with broad gold lace and embroidery, ;iud decorated with Htant uud orders: he was nearly seven fett high, ^tout in pruporticin, and Ins olive-culiiured face bad s terrific appenrdnce from his enormous whixken and moustache. ' That is the i^furquis PJHtszzi,' continued O'ltrien, ' an Italian, the bully of the salons, a professed dnellisi and — But, halloo ! what the powers is tlie fellow at •'
" The inarquis had been xtundiug near Lumunt, occaHionalty joining in tbe conversation, and O'Urieii's escLumatinn wiia caused by seeing the giant cttcb hold of the little count with one bund and carry him towards the ivall of tbe apartment, where, bavitig removed a large and superb timepiece from a lofty briicket, he ijiiickly enthroned Lumvnt in it* place, leaving him toduiij^ie his heeU, to the gre;it amusement of the coniptiny, the principal [lurtiun of which, ei>{ieci>iMy tiie femaiei^, actually screamed with delight: in fact, it wna beyond the power of human control to refrain from laughing at the ridiculous figure th« unfortunate Fn-nclimaii cut, whilst on antagonist, throwing his huge limbs into the attitude of the bolero, imitat^ the rattling uf tbe caa- taneta with ht» fingera and thiimhs, aa any person would, who wiiitied to amuse uu infant.
" To my surprise, tbe count retained hi*, position, atvkwardasit was, with tbe utmoit coidness : indeed, he nonld have hazarded the break- ing of bia limbs bad he alLeiiipted to Jump down ; but be uttered no invective, and though there was a Hashine nerceness in his erea, — and, no douU. Nugent, you bore perceived iio»v very quick and piercing
THE DUELLO.
197
tbey are, — yet be did not give the idightest indication that he was on- aoved or nluttiK'd, hut rutluT vnti;rcd with some degree of glee into the cpuTt that he had excited, nud rc-iiiurki;d ti> thu niarc{uis, ' Whjit a capital old name you would make.' ThiK roused the Iialiiiu'8 ire to hajr and Beiziiif^ one of the wax-lights, he wii!i nlioiit to applv it tu the ooant's dre«», wli^n O'ltrieii stepped forward : ' The hi;c bla^g&ord!* miA hv ; snd, with one fillip of htK imiK), he sent the candle pnctising Minrni«t<i in its progretu to ihe far end of the ro^m.
" The marqui* turned short round upon the Irishman, and drawing lua sword, made a furious past at iny friend, which he verr clcveily ■TMikd by stepping aside, and the flittering wt^pun was thrust tkmugli the loup^e &tiA enortnciiiK hend-ilrexsof an antitiuiLtect dnwnger. Tbis rendered the fellow siill mure tufuriiited, and hefure he eniild exiri- ettc bid aword, O'Brieu deMerouhly gripped liini by the wrist iind dis- anud bim in an instant; hu then diKeii;*jgvd the wcupun and xnnpped it aerosi his knee, obnerving that ' it wan not lit to truM: wilh u man's life i' he ni'xt lifted the count from his unpleasant Kituation, and pliiced him upon hix legs. I I'Xpected, ii« )i mutter of course, thiit nii immediate rencontre would take plitce ; but, to my »ur{iriw, the little cuuiit bowed tncak politely to the haughty and enraged Italian, and after n few plnuantTieii, uttered in the most courteous and agreeable manner, lo the hidies, recollected lUwithtT engtigement, nnd exprea^ing the deepest rt^rrei at being compelled to leave them, withdrew.
" ' Bah, the bviccLih!! ! • a coward after all," Baid O'Brien cnntcinptu- oualy ; ' but the divel may care ! 1 'm in, fur it, Kustsce, and yuu must Hand Biy friend.' ' .M«nt certainly,' suid 1 ; ' and the siooner this affwr » amiDged tli« bvtUT, for, if 1 am n<jt very uiuvh rnitt^eu, that Fellow is of u villunotix disposiitiun. I Imrdty expected the count vrould have sneaked ufTaH he has ; but he's not worth a thought. Will you meet the marquis at once ? or shuU we drive to the residence of thu Kngliftb Embaijsy ^' "No time like time present,' replied O'Brien. ' But Iww « ill you gel him out ?' iuijuired I. ' Och ! Inve thut to me.' returned O'ltrien ; ' niityhe I won't fetch bim out u' thiit in a tni- nate!' lie p»«fd the umrquis, Ireuding heavily on hiH loex, aud aa he walked quii^kly on, he luukcrl uvcr his ^thoutder at his enemv in a aianMr that was not to be mii^uken. I followed my friend to the cvriage; nnd jtist before we reiiched it, the Italian wns nt our heels. The icrrunt kiw us approaching, and opened the door of the carringc; by one common impuW we drew up on each side of the stept*, and DiotioRed the nianpiis to enter- He did so without the slightest hesi- titiun : but he hud scarcely pasted within the vehicle, when iinolher penwn diirted forward, sprang up the stup« with one bound, and, with- out uttering a word, pnmiptJy took Jii^ seat fiiving the Italian : it was Captain LamonI- O'Brien and myself aUv entered. ' What placer figoor ?' inquired my coni[»imion of the marquis, 'The Hotel dr Monlmureiici,' replied he. The order was given to the servant, and off we d^xhed at a rattling pace.
" Not a word w^s spuken till we arrived at the place of onr desti- ■ation, and were usberi-d into a capaciims upartment well lighted up. The domestics were directed to wilhdniw, and we became aware iwt a fifth person hnd entered with us, who, on bei[ig questioned an to bia appeamnce, slated that 'be was present at Alonnieur Talleyrand's wllfn the unpltiisant nfftiir look place — had noticed our leaving the nam, and, judging that Man.sieur I« Murquis would require an at-
• Drfonnwl i»»>r»<in— nrrippl*.
198
NIGHTS AT SKA.
tendaat. readily volunteered liis Rervices.' The oflicionsness of tli gpntlemitu at oiicu hrukc ihe lee, ami O'Hripn stood fiirih an a princi- pd in tlir tjuflnvl : but tliv couiil, butviiig with tlii* mnut vasy j;ruce, i •Xvluimed, ' Nun, monsieur ! do yuu think w ini-iiiily of iiiu lU tu bu[>-,i pose I will aHow another to occupy my ground?" ' Uy tlie powers!" »aid O'Brieti, ' I thought you were — .' ' Afraid,' utt«red the (Tuunt, fillin); lip tiiv psiiM; my fiipnd hud tnadC. ' Utd ynu imaginif tbut my quiet dpinruiirnir m'.-im the olTt|)ririf; nf ft*iir? Vou »rv mtstiiken: I am no poltroon to Houriali my Kivord Kefure ladie« so lui to ti'rrify lh<-m liy nsconndc ; I would have endured the murtyrdom that wrclcli dtrsi^ned for me without a groan, nither thun have ulnrmed the dear creatures. liuC allonii, monsieur; we have not a mnmeut to lose: Fuuche wus in tho ruum, and bis mm will sjieedily find n» out. if they are not now upon our Hack.' He dreu- his&wnrd, lient the yioint with liis huud. threw oir JiIji coat and sprang out of his shoi-K: i»uit u look round tiie roviti, and cb(i»e hi* poditiun- A cuntest arose between Liimont and O'JJrjen as to which should f*ce their terrible opponent ; whilst the hitter, takin)! up a aword tbut Iny iipr>n a couch, adclreHM^d a few woriU to the straikger who had tendered hi» ollices an second, and xjemed perfectly indilTerent as to which he was to encuunter. The Frenchman cer- tainly bad the priority, and I was not sorry to see it decided on hia side, fur 1 made n^rtnin of tho imposaihility of his surviving nti^aiast such a giant, and my friend O'Brien, in the event of the miirnniH be- coming victoriouji, whicli I did not entertain a doubt of, would have Mine knowledge of bi» practice previiitis to tlie aet-to.
" But 1 was misukcn ; Ltie cuinhatuHtti took their places an appoint- ed by tb« BtraoffirfWliu showed himself pcTt'ecUy eoiiveri^ant uith nil the rute« of tho (luelto. O'Brien wiih M;cond tu the count ; and wbi-n the principals sUnd oiiposite eucb other, you may form some guess of the umazing und really ridiculous contrau that was pre&eiitecJ, — the head of the marquiti towering at legist two feet, if not mure, ubofe that of the diminutive cjunt. Their »wurds crw!t>ed, und gratetl with tlist peculi'.ir xoiiiid wliich comen diMtreibiii^Iy upon the ear, cuuionjj; the Hen* sation styled by the old women us ' injking the blond run cold ;' though it quickens the pul^eti and clears the !tight of the individuals engaj;ed. , In n few seconds the weapons clashed together to di.stract the attention, and the mnrquis made n rigoroiiH thrust, which would have infiUiritly terminated the nlfair but for theufituniF>hing(|uickne»!i and itfilily of the count, who not unly avoided it by a spring like a grds»bopper, — for panning aguiiist such violence was out of the question, — but actually,- bounding back again to his position, the moment his feet had touclieil the floor, he wounded his assailant between ibe rib».
"The fencing was extremely beautiful and auentiftc, and I soon discovered tbut wlmt was wanting to thv count in altitude and sine o-as amply atoned for, by skill, coolness, and judgment. Several severe hits had been exchanged; but, whilst tho»e received by the marquis served to irritnte and enritge him, the Frenchman, on the other hand, profited by his, and becninc more cautious and wary. Bhiod was flowing very freely, still it wn.s imposidhle to form a eurrect idea of the result ; though I must on-n that I experienced unpleai^unt apprehen- sions for the ssfi'ty of my little friend.
'' The nuiM* of the fraeoK, as might he expected, excited alarm amongst the people nf the hotel, who soon assembled with the police iit the door of the room, which they threatened to burst in, if it were not opened to them. The combatants were at tliiNtinie eyeing each other with pe-
THE DUELLO.
199
k«enn«ai^BsifTiiitiiife«ting « determination to bring the con- ■ mn twue before thv poliw could intwfrrt. Tli?re whb a item- in tfarir IiKtkft, :ift tlirir vivonl* cruut^tl nii(] ))t:(iU> cU«)iifil ugniiist ,UMte, pLtiuly bliowiiiK tliiit etch had mwlo hitnwir >t|i for (lUKrltiff. tnev wfttched with fu^i-r tntfnt, when the mim)iii& made • to idrow tlw^ count off liis pinrd ; Imt it failed, and tlio latter, '^km^ imtnMliitte advnnlnge of it, wonM havu nm his Atlantic odvcr- tbrough the bndy. but liis foot slijijiinfr. the point of \m Rword intt) the dc^liT part of the inurquit'n tliifsh. The Italiun, n-itb tasc |;n^n. shurtuni-d ill biH wr-.i|>oii to pve Lamont tlio cut';! Je ' ; but, in lem than n» instant — for it jtiisM>U like a tlush of li^ht- mimg, — ttie Frenchman liad diH'Uga^eii liiuiwlf — ^tiot by Hpringiog luck, b*t by boldly rushing in to hi« mun, siitl tenrinji nway his nwurd by lli«er Dinscular pou'vr »» he darted behind him. Still he did not ps- -ape witliQUt hurt, for tlii* tnnn|ui(i v-a» not to b» foiled ; nitliough, In^ppil;, as I HCurcfly nred tetl you, the uonnd wa» not niortul, nnd •u instantly repaid by a lunj^ in the nlMliHiu-n before the Italian emM recover bis ^uud. In fact, 1 never silw anything performed with more intrepidity and clcvcmfss in mv life.
" At ihia moment the door wns burst in: the pendnrmes ran be- tween and Kepunited the opponents ; wi> were nil diiwrniud, and they w«re about to convey us uwny iutti safe ciistody. when the stranger vbo had vt)iciute<l for the umtijuis took the K«rrji-ant it-side, and in • few minutea O'Urien unil myself were released upnn our pa- nrfr efAotwewr to iippi-nr the next day- The marmii* and the L-«uiit Imd tbeir wound<i dretfied, and, uniler the immedinte Kurveillanco of tlie grndarmea, trere conveyed tu wparate apartments ; the whole beini; arranged by the stranger, who, O'Brien 6ubKeciuently discover- ed, itj the mifdium of his uii<;le, wiw » chief aj^ent of police under Fouclie, wlto had inHtriicted him to follow uk from M. Talleyrand'i, and, in tbe Chief Cimittirs name, to order the niar4]uin to quit the Prt-ncb territory within twenly-four honrit. Tbe agent, however, had Rcrtre*! no directtoiis to prevent their fighting, and, being a Corucan, hid aided tbe mnrquin.
" What further tramtpired I cannot tell yon, as we heard no more of tlie matter ; but if yon are eurioiis to ascertain, I make no doubt tbe CStiiten Captain will alTord you every information ; and bere be ts to ■Uidfy yuu."
The Fresehmsn advanced with a polite bow, and was addresaed by lua lordship, — ^"'I wan jiwt relating to my young friend here, the cause of a>ur fir»t interview, monsieur."
*• Ha! ha! c'etait une ufruire tri*»-dr61e, milord," replied be, ahni^ ging bi> ahoulders and laughing.
" And bow did it lerniinate, monsieur f" inquirfd Lord Ktutace. " I quitted Parin a day or two afterward*-"
"Oh, 'twta mere noting, milord," ana^vered the Frendiman. " De numiQia was ble»£ to confine to his lit,— vat yon call couch,— no, bed, ^hUi, bed, more for one mont, and den he mnrclies aans tambour for Italye ; — moi, seulemeni tree wit-li ; den 1 ravinh des dames wid ma gnlanterie, and come for my fregale: tnidheureuHvnient |KMir nmi ! ne- TtT mII be mv fre(;ate again .'" and he nigbed henvilv.
'• Nugent," «iiid his lordiJiip, " send down to Mr. I'lumstone to go
roond tbe decks with a guard, and aeo that the priwiners ore all ae-
cure. There niu>tt be a picquot kept np ibroiigbotit the night."
*• Ay, OT, my lord !" responded the lieutenant ; and culling to
MOO
KIOIITS AT SEA.
tjairtcr-mastett bv directed titn to requmt the marine officer's pre- Mnce upoB deck, wbere the csptaiii's orders were rejieated, und piinc- tBftUy Meyed.
Ataag we me^s-berthfi were ranjred the watch lielow, intermingled iritk neorlr four times the number of men who had so InU-lv fought ■euBSt thein, tud who were nuw receiring a rough hut brotherly nlten- IMHL Jl is true that here and tliere Jack CTed his new mesNiniiti' with ■ lack tli«t iadicated liuspicinn or dislike ; nor, if nhyiiiiijiiinniy ia to be amMBed aa iadcx to bumau {ias<iion8, were llntsc SvvVni^ uuuie- ril*d. iiwcfTuink ther^ wltl' sunic vilUinuus i-uuutoimucL-s lu be seen — nn)jiit the pri«»ners. The convcrsutlonit were carried on in a jargon ■1 b«TKaruus und conTiued as that wliich terminated the biiililing of fiabel : for the French trit'H to speak i^nglish, and the Kri;ili>h— not ta be behiodhand in gmtd feeling — trieiJ to tiilk French; whilst at iUerrRls some ]iretender to lioth lanfrua^eH would attempt a. truuidu- INB, tad th(>rebr tnnke tnatt<.>rs ten times worse.
Ob the old iipot, just before the foremast on the forecastle, enjoying th* ddifhtfal freshness of the evening;, were aioemhled the invelerute TVii-«|unnerB, with a pretty nunierouM auditory collected rouud them. Bat Mch vf the pcttv officers now huil his cutlujui by his 6ide and a liCHe of ptstoU ia bistielt by wsv of precaution, nnd the look-out men were veil iraied. At the weatfier cat-head was our old acqumntaiice Joe ^tigbtlwad, parading with a ahip'a musket over bin »huulder, ex- pooed to the jibes of his mesamates who inquired " when he had last •e«n rorporal Stunt." Joe, however, took it nit with perfect good- hnmour, — stuck to his lext about " King Uerod/' and " wished he wuh mkon gWDg a-shooting."
"Ah, yon looks like a sportinp character!" said Bob IMartinj^nl ; ** bat I 'm blow'd if I thinks you could hit a hare — unless you fired at « wift"
" I remetnWrs, some r<>ars ago," said the enptatn nf the forecastle, "havine a prime bit o fun in the sporting wnv. I was a fore-lop man in the Plover Hloop-of-wur as was lilting in Portsmouth harbour, and had ebam of the jolly-boat. So, one day the purser axes me whether 1*4 g> with him and the master out a-&hooting, jubt to carry the ^nine ud tmne grub ; — I suppw-es they meant me fur a ]Kiinter. So, in OMtnie. messmate*, I kavs ' Yes,' and aw^y wv Htnrted ; them with a long MM Mcb, and I with powder and shot, and a bread>bag with aome bi»- OliC * fJMC of beef, and a full bottle of rum. Nuw, messmntea, thinks I* * WWre the devil 's the use of going n-sporting witboiit dogs ^' and m^ Coisg throTigh Oyster-street, I aees a handy-leg cur as ciime wad- dliag and barking out of a barber's shop, and I chirps to him IJke a bird, and thron's him a bit of beef, and I 'm bletised if he didn't fultow Die OS nwt'ral as a child would it^ duddy, and ko I christens bim ' B«auty ;'andlte twinkles his daylights and wugs his outrijiger abaft, a* had ounly a short Etump left; and I gives him another piece of bc«f. and he joins company juxt as rulional as anybody eUv as was liungT)'. Preueittly afterwards I fills in with a birfrrr hanimal an fvas caulkins under the lee of a butcher'n shambte ; — 1 thinks he was what they CiklU the bull breed,^but he was blind of one eyo, and precious tine in his scantling, seeing as he &howed his ribs through 'em. Sa I pitches bim a pifceof oeef : for, says I to myself, * It 's t>e.st to have a pair on 'cm, Hsing as maylinp we may go u-huntitig afore we gets into port agtin,*'— for, Bliipmntes, as all on you knows, thtre 's never *uch a thing
NAVAL SFOKTSHES.
201
■tdKm;«hat in«f torn op when oiuct f on 're In cbm. S(«, u I >aid, 1 pktta him a lump uf twvf, and ' Yo-b-ir V mrs I, ' will you benl Wwiad sod go aluag wi' lue?' So be picks up tbe beef, and wiiika
ti f>ti kim ; and away be drop! into mj wake alongside u' Ueautr. JHaiBal'Tal ma lifc>
'And a prvtty fleet thfre ffflft of ua tneMtmnteA, aa we treat sailing ik^tall ship-)diape, in ihrec dtrifiioiu. Fint, there tra» Muster Gun* Is, tbe tnkMter, reg'lar Dtitcb build, weighing abuut eifjbteen stone. mi n full of blublwr as a sp^rmjcity. By bis side ivaa Muster Sloric, d*|mrwr; as fiit as a match, and bis le^ swelled as thick aa tobacco- fipb: be was nearly a faihotn in lenj^b, and be locdced for atl the *iirU as if biH niotber bad stretcbed him out like a tbreud-paper thnt fa figure mlulit keep tall^ with his name. These twu, wiih their guns •fv tbeir woulden, formed the wan divisiou. Tlieu Ibcre ivas me, KQ TbompMHit made the centre divi^ivn ; and the Iwo banimal!i, Ikaet and Beauty, brought up the rear. So awuy ne goes imo ib» Md*,— where I Kudn't been fur many a long day~ni>, not »ince I wm aTwtmlcer mid went hirdft'-nefttin^. Huwsmnvver, away we went, and r?ery nuw and then the guns went bang ! Init we couldn't never see aa game wbatsomcver to pick up ; ao I Borcbea alung io the dyke.<), and At dofTi fiUows me; and, being out uf sight of th« ottic«r.s 1 wrves ■A the rum in fuir drums atwixt myself and the faanimuls, seeing us «c had most of tbe work to do."
" Yon don't mean to say, Bill, that yuu pave the dogs tbe rum i" ■od tbe sergeant of marines, who Httiod leaning af^alnst tiie ma^t.
" But I dn, tltnagb !" respnnded Bill somewhat angrily. " Do ytm tbiiik I 'd cheat u messtnate f fur I baled 'em out full mea.sttri^s, And azeU 'cm to take it, mid if the)' wouldn't, wliy then in gum! riubt t.a bdangiag to the same mesn, it was mine ; luid ho, every Uuie as I tiiuk ■ aip myself, in course I curved it out to tbem. 1 defy any messmale aa erer I bad, to say I ever wronged him !"
" 1 *m sati^ried, Bill," said tlie tergeant of marines, laugbiRf; ; " such aiaaainatea, wbvn tbey pipe to grog, wouid be convenient every day. —But ga on, mj boy I"
"Well, aliipmutes," continued Bill, " d — the thing could we find, thongh butb the purser and master swore tbey 'd hit everything tliey 'd fired at; and, being co»ld, I got liehind a haystack with the bdniniuls, sod fiell foul uf thelK-ef and bread, whiUt the oHicers were marching tiir hareSi and rabbits, and phennantii. and ducks, ucid itiirtridges; and a pradiMU lot on Vm they shot, ounly the crciiturM cuulon't be tuund- At last tbegrubwus all gone, and we deinptied tbe bottle ; so I made con- venieot to drop the bag lut we were crossmg some stubble to join the rest of the fleet ; and then 1 got a blowiua-up for my careleKswf w, and tbey siaoce I was drunk, — as if one buttle of rum was likely to toaticaie three on us. But tbey were cowld and hungry, and so wc bcire up fur a anug village ; where we got into a capital roadstead, and the muster Ofdered a freiJi supply of provisions, — eggs and liacim. and rooht pork, I glorious mixing of not flip and nle, and brandy pawney. So the I mnes by theirsels, in course, in one room ; ana wt — that "s me, Baney, and Beauty — pipes to dinner in another ; and so 1 make> oe 'em sit np at table iill mi-ssmate-likc, and sarvea out the grub ^VOL. III. ¥
S0£ KIGIITS AT SKA.
reg'lor iuir »n<] square, and olTers 'cm the suction as I did nfur^, and, as they "■uuldn'tsluwit away, I was coniprlled lotuke their shnri; and iny own too. And u jovjul tiitic we Und of it ! we lived like li^litiiii;- cock*., iind B >ni'y wink'd his one eve iLiid Deuiity u-a^ed his Klunip u I drank ' Better tiiDes tu us !' and the lubberit in the galley Uughed* and there wtu » precimis shindy.
" Artera g<»od tnrk-iHit, and h<H«tin^ in a proper allowance o' strong flip, thf miiftlfT would (III out ■An(\ try iiix luck w\lh the gun i^;ain ; au away we went: and I'm bleased if I didn't »ee plenty of jfame,-^for every sparrow looked to me as big as a turkey-cock ; Wt, «»mehow «r other. tht'T all S^ ^ iiway. At last says Moaler Gunter, sayn he, ' Iloiild on. Thompson; there '3 n fine hare !' And sure onous:!! there wiia isometie upon n rid^e near the middle of the lield as lookt-d iverry much like it; thnnf^h Muster Htoik, tvho wax more nlnfcthan weiswnre it waa no audi thing. Ilowsumever, the master wimld let fly at it, and j^artiulv he knock- ed it over between the ridges dead i-uuiigh ; but whilst we were goiug towards the place, we hears the terriblest rumpuii behind, and I 'm bless- ed if there wiini't a hull coming ap astnm within a few fathomB of u« ! his spanker-biwtTTi rigged straight out ahaft, and his bow-chaxers [tuinted towards <)»1d IV[u»ter Ounter. * Run, master, run !' ohuuts the pumer, making Hail away, and trusting to the len^^th of bin heelit. ' Run, y'>nr honour !* says I. ' or o!se I "m d — if he don't mean boarding on you !' And so the ould man titnrt<i, and oirrics on a taut press ; and I tries by sending n shut iit the haninial to draw him olf the chu^e. Weil, hehuula his wind for an instant ; but, sei'ing there wur three on us in the cen- tre and rear division, he U|is stiek again, and cracks on orter the mas- ter, whu luckily hud got atturt through the diversion 1 hud made, und reached the hfdge leading into the next field ; Imt be couldn't get through, fi>r the passage was choked by one uf them yarn-winch stiles, mid he got jammed hard and fast in the middlu of it ju&t an Ute bull was coming to close quarters.
" ' Hurrah, messmates V wiy» I to the two dops. ' Hurrah, Bonev I hurrah, Beauty ! bear down to the rescue '.' And so otf we set, the hiiiiitnaU under«t:tiidiiig me all the name as iial'raUhnrn C]]n<.tent ; so that just aa the hull was goiag to sky Muster Ounter up like a ha'pi-n- ny for heads or tails, Buncy ceizeti him by thi' nu^e and pint him down, whilst Beauty catches boutd of his neck. ' And that '» my darlings !" savs I ; ' they're reg'Iar hunters ; niithing cnmes amiss to em, from a cockroach to a hulTalo !' Well, £hipm.ites, at that very momentum, — the master stuck hard and fiUit, and the bull repelling the Itourding-par* ty, — up comes u gang of liberty-boys from the ould Kuttle»nake, as was Iring ncit hulk to ours, who hud come out for a country -cruise, and we soon drove the ball off. with the help of Boney and Beauty ; and having got the master out uf limbo by rousing down the stnncheon, we look'd
Lout for the purser; but, like the jiatne they 'd Rhol, he warn't nowhere to be seen, till at last we diakivvred a pair of heelH sticking out ofu hedge, and I'm bluwei] if they wani't Muster Stork's! He'd taken a run to jump over, flunking the hiinimars horns were in bis atarn : had made n bit of a slip, and come down head-foremost on to the top of the hedge, buryinghis bead and shnuldera in the bushes, and jamming hia annt like Jockaon anas he had no manni>r o' use on 'em: and there he stuck, with his legtt spread out, looking for all tliu world like the letter Y, or nure like the Shears beacon in the Swin. — Well, arter a guild deal o' trouble and niiin>h^indliii|; we roused him out o' that, and set him ou vend all atauuto, except his hgure-head, which bad got d— ly L 1
THE THREE DAMSELS.
£08
iiinuletl amoiiKst the brnmUles. But the master ivould go fur tbe bare he bad shot, and eo we all mEide »iiil along with him tu tbc jiiutM- ; and when we got there, he Urts it up fruai ntwixt the ridgea — and wbaC d»J you think it was, sIiipiniitcN f Wi-ll, tb<fn, J 'm bloweil if it warn't the bread-bitg as 1 A dntpped there afrtre dinner ! imd the Jiot liod knocked tbf rtim-boltl^ all to shivers, nn tbftt nic and my meftsmateii were savvd from blame in regard of the Ktuff bcin^; gone."
Agencml Imigb follim-cd tbis utwiuiincemttit, which bronjilit acum- mana frum tW qimrter-tleck fur " leȣ noiae, and a better luuk-out un the fokstie !"
"Well, shipmates," contiuuod Bill, ar bcniti as the usual "Aj, ay, my liml V bad been given, " iiway m-c fiht;rried with the niu.ster'« bare, sba|iin(; uur course fur the public-bousc ; and if ivu dtdii't buve -a juvial sbeave-o for the rest of tbe day, then nobody ucTcr had ii jot-ial sheare-fl in their lives : and Boney and Beauty were treated to the best the place could sHVird, uml if tliey 're ah've now, they arti't forgot no mure nor me, the day we went out a-)tb<M»ting."
THE THREE DAMSELS.
Thaie daoMels looked down from die casllv luwvr
Thai frowned o'« llir wiiniin)( v»]f, Wber«, bcrnc on his »Ued of tnatciileu bn-ed,
Rode ttieir »ire m knighll; inail. "Anil welcome, Sir Father! and WGlcpme/'djL'y cried, *' To Uiy dauglilcn. who lone Tot Iby coming have »ii(tiad ! Oh, iay, what gifU dosl thou bring ?*'
« On ihM thy fond father badi llioughl lo-day,
Mj fur girl ID y«U()vv (lirsl ; For dear to tliy heart is tlic iod«t'> ut.
And jcvreU and k""" |'l«"<e iHee best. So lake lliou this chuia of ruddy gold ; I WD& il ill fight from a ^Ibnl liuld.
And ttisu Italian! bold I slew !"
llie damsel hath fluog ll>at Rlitterisg chuin
Her Bwa»-lili« neck NTOund ; And she soughl out the spot where the gallant stain
All dreticlit^ in li" Kore she found. "Ob, tliame, that a ktiii{hl bicc a kna^-e should lie The scocnand ilie KofFof each ruli^i e)cl
Hath my loved one no resling-place ("
And his {hsBtly corpse in her arms *)ie bore
To the KTUund that ilie priesu liad hli^l ; And she nnnnurcd a prayer as sbt- laid him theie
In dit to«nb wbere nei Cithers rest. And cloM rotmd her neck the chain alw drew Till the lail bresdi of life froro her bosocn dew.
And sl>e slumbered by him she loved !
Two damsels looked down from the CMlle tower
Thai frowned o'er the windiusE vale. Where, borne on bi« steed of miiclilcs* breed,
llode their »ire in kniithdy mad. '* Ami welcome, Sir Faiher ! and welcome," ihey tried, " To iliv daughters, who loo^ for iby cutmng have »igh«d I Ob, siy, wital gid^s d06t tlvou bT\1vj '."
TUB TIIKBB DAMSKLS.
" On lliM thy fond hthtr hath thdujtiit U>-dny,
My fair girl ihui in kitroen art dresl ; Kor (iMirly ibou Invest to (treeowrood to Strajr,
And tlie chase on joys thee beal, Tli«Ei tnkr ihou this juvflnii, my venturoui child ; I won it in fight from ilic hunter wild.
And th«- liunter wild I xlevr I"
Th« jHvelici di« look frcim hi-r Fuihi^r'ii lianit,
Then roamed io the ureenwood awav ; But ilif lioni ihnt ohc urmini) ptvv a dirg^like muncl,
'Stead of himipr's roundelay : And »he MW "neiilh a willnvf-trrcN mournful sh«d« The youtli of her lieail in deep »leflp laid, —
The de«|>, deep sleep of dealli !
" Oh, true tn the failh thiil I nlifijhted, ] come
To our tryoling-Tilacfl, Iov^kI one, to thcc !" And quick in hft brarl hailt nW buried the dAit,
And sunk her beiiralti the tree. And o'et the two fond ore* siwmI Dow'teU «|iritig. And iliu birds of the forn'sl ui summeT'tideaing Thf loverit' liilluhy !
One damsel looked down from the ca.HtIc lower
That frowned o'er jW winding vnle, Where, home on hi^ Meed of malchtcM breed,
Rndf h-er sire in knif^htly mAil. " And welcome, Sir Failier 3 nnd welcome," she dried, "To thy daugiiler. whn Iohr for lliy com ins hath sighed I Oh, say, «hai pft dost tliou bring f"
** Na;, think rtot thy sire hath forgotten thee,
My fair f(irl Ibai in white nrt dresl ; For dearer thnn ^cnn are the »ori Doner* to thee.
And the ^denn e'er joy thee beat. From the fl;>Tden«r to skilled, for m? darling one, ThiB flow 'ret, than siU'cr h* fairer, I won,
And the gurdener so iikilied [ slew !"
" And hast ihou then ainin that f^rdeiier m skilled, —
That );aTd«n« so skilled biiil thou >lain 7 My fiowers d id he rear with a Ruber's can—
Jiow iKey never will hloom a^n I And he swore Io his loved one, no fairer flower £'er blushed 'midst the hcuuiiM nf Flora's bower
Than the flow 'ret he nurHircd for mc I"
Then next to her boiom so cienile site laid
The flow'rirt her father had guwi ; And forth to the pirden she dolefully strayed,—
Thut f;ardeii her home and her hearten ! There » umall mound freshly raiited »hr dt-wriid. And the lilies, like tiioumer«, were drooping beside ;
And she sunk on thai fn-shly-raised mound!
" Oh, could I but do ot my mitn have done,—
Bat div a* my sisten ha^e died I — But tnv delicate Honer to wound hath no power.
Ana death ot ita bnnd* it denied I*' Like the ftaw« that shi- pued on, m) wan and pale, Did sli* brVallie out hrr life to thr pacing fr-ile: —
Like lM:r Dower did ^be fade and die t
Sf05
ONE OF MANY TALES.
BY A NEGLECTED OPERATIVE.
Sir, — It was not until I had ascertained beyond all dispute that there arc publica lions both ready and able to defend retinng merit, and to exhibit in tliclr true light all instRRceii of nL-glcct^ and cruelty, and pcntcculion, which may be properly brought forward, that J re- solved on sending you a sketeh of my case. You are probably well aware that in an early number of a popular ni&gazine a full statement will be given of the proceedings of the Custom>bouse otficer who inftiftted on nearrhinj; the frmtk of an elephant recently imported, ncu) actually <\\A turn it in»i(le out, nrgin;^ that he was J'uily uutl)ori»od sO'to do, nnd waa but acting up to the Uth-r of Iiie iuBtructions. So, however, it it ; and l\w knowledge of this circnmBlance having reached the ears of the editor, he has most benevolently determined to expose the officer, vindicate the beast, and have his disarranged trunk set to righu, and returned ; and you, sir, will, I am sure, feel sufficienlly for me, when you have fully perused mt/ knotty Htatement, to bring it before the notice of a sympathising public>
Talent nnd merit are indeed often allowed to wither in obscurity for want ol'a discriminating and futitcring putruu : but it is not often that ail active and unflinching icrvatit of the crown, whose capabili- ties are known, and wiiuse elitcicnoy hoa been for yeorii exhibited Slid valued both at home and abroad, is. while in the full vigour of his powers, led neglected iind unpcnsiuned. The foremost in the light, the unflinching advocate nf military nnd naval discipline, the irieil friend, and steady siipporicr, and constant advocate of every officer in both services, I have tcorhtii my way into notoriety, and have been invariably looked on with the most {>rofound venerfltioii, though some- timca it has been my misfortune to fail into rough and unskilful hand*. But, while I have been contitantly held up aa a most slrt/ttnff example of all that was required in my situation, — while I have never been suspected, mucli less accu&ed, of imbecility, of cowardice, of un- fitoess in any way whatever fur the station I have long occupied,— I 6nd myself day by day more neglected, and called every week of my existence into ie»H active operatiuii. I am, sir, already little better than Uid on the shelf- I am spoken of with indiflerenee bordering on conteni|it, by very muny who I believed would to their dying day have Ixjme (he most indelible impressions of my exertions on iheir lielialf; men, sir, who hare received my favours unseen, for wlimn 1 bate laboured when they were unable to tell from whom the henetit cam^ these very beings are the firRl and Uie most active in the con- duct of which 1 complain. And this is a hard ca^e; it is, however, mine. Redress in eonic shape 1 must have I An ample restitution I can never expect I for even, were Jupiter himself to make a general auction of Olympus, and pay mc over the proceeds, I doubt greatly if they would sutisly my claims. 1 have many, very many cutting tales to bring forward, any one of which would, I am sure, sir, pro- duce DO your reudcrs llie most sensible efiecis, as tliey already have done on all who lutve praciicalty perused their startling cnnclusinns.
Will you, sir. devote u few piiges to a hiisty statement <>f some par- liculara, and a^tsi^^t mc in Uie recovery of that station which 1 Iulvo
S06
ONK OP MANY TALES.
long occupied ; sod wtiJc-ti, M-ithout arrogunce be it written, I am ^et both uable snd as willing tu 6)1 as in my earlier and liappier days 'i It wili be sufficient lor me to Htate, that my very earliest recollec- tions are of bloodslitxl und of warfare ; and, having been inured from my first exi«tence to scenen such ai ibeiie, I am not reluciaiil lo con- fe** that I entered on iheni with the greatest readiucss, und never felt so happy as when in full en7]jloynient. And. sir. be it known to vou, akhuugh 1 speak of iny«ell' as being yut In full vi^^our, ttiut I nave fic-eu aB much service both aHoat und ashore us any otic of my own standing. I was present on bourd tliu adniirar» ship, i)tc ship of tlie iminurtul NeUon. an tlic nevLT-to-bc-forgotten FirKt nf August, io the liny of Abcrukir; and during the whole of that daiigeroui and gloriouH conHtL-t did I remain at my potf, exhibiting no svni- pinnis of fciir, although at one moment I vas, within a hiiirft broudth of annihilution, for a ciinnnn-^hiit actually curried away a very long tail, — and tails were then generally worn by our jolly tars. This, I felt, could be easily replaced : nnd so it wns, thaiiKs to the boat- swain ! I was with the Hero of the Nile during the whole of his cruisifigs ill the Mediterranean : and was by many of the captains and oflicers on that station contiintiilly pointed out to the men, and praised ns a most efficient disciplinarian ; and numerous indeed were the resulu produced by my active nnd powerful operations. Indeed, during the later years of Nelson's life I was almost invariably on board Yiis ship ; nor did I quit it until hia remains were brought to England, and consigned lo their stately and final resting-place amidst all the pomp, and pride, and ciicumstancc which a ({rntfful and be- reaved nation could bestow. But, sir, upon this occasion 1 was not allowed to form a part of the mournful pageant; although olliers much younger, and of much less experience than myself, were there. Hut it is not my intention to indict on your readers a wearying detail of my varied services: it is, however, necessary to slate thai I went tlirough the whole Peninsular campaign ; und my having been engaged both aflout and ashore must convince tlic most sceptical that my services were not held unimportant by the powers of those days. 1 do not hesitute to appeal to hi» Orace tlie Duke of Wellington for a confirmation of the truth of my assertion. My interference was on very tnany orcosions cnmmiindcd by his (irucc personally; and in no one instance during that lengthened and etirring warfare had I anv reason lo believe that my duties had been intHicicnlly pcr- ^^H formed. At Vimeira, at Corunna, Talavcra, Fuiaco, Citidad Hoclrigo,
^^^B Badajoz, and \'ittoria. I was in nitendance, and, aa you will believe,
^^^ got my share of rubs and blows. Often, indeed, when in the thick
^L^ of tlie tight, did I tliink and fear that I sliould become so mutilated
^^^B in appearance, and so broken in constitution, as to be rendered unfit
^^^^ fur further service ; but the kind and sympathising watchfulnciU of
^^^H my friends, who viewed me with parental fondness, streoglbening
^^^V my weakness, binding up my fractures, and day by day restoring me
H as my neces»itieK and tlieir abilities prompted, carried me safely
H through these, the nioKt ardtiowf of all the varied scenes in which 1
^^ have hitherto engaged.
^^^H Since the conclusion of thv war, it has pleased the authorities to
^^^B employ mc very considerably at home ; and the various barracks and ^^^^ depdia scuttcrod through the country can each aitd all of them bear
^ , I ^
m
ONE OF MANY TALBB.
■07
testimony to my visitations. 1 Imve, lliorefore, in Mme branch of my profession bvea for very many years un active servant. Tliirrr la, in* deed, scarcely an individual iu tlic army or in the navy with whom I have not in one way or other liuen brought inio contact. Witlt many my acquaintance baii been intimute, and my connexion hu btas »«ry close i with more 1 have been rather an ucqouintaiicc of dw eye than of the hcflrt ; bur. of all with whom t tvcr became familiar, DO one has y(* turned his back on me without havinj; had tlie miMt •ctHStle evidences of the temerity of his conclurt. Sow it i<, Mr. tlat in tlui weak f»piDg time of peace, the servtcec are veniurins to mcak dnmpeetfally of mc ; they view my operations tut over, and UiereTora sk aTtbem %faity ; they oidy look to my fbture uwleMneH, hmI qute oBiniiidfal of my pail efficacy. 1 am, it i« true, at tliis mo-
wrOkout empkmnent, and without pension, — nej-lected : in fact all from an idte prejudice, a paJtry affecUtton of scd-
ff which ta floddroly i^nused agwost toe, and allowed to oM- ■irip rewa of deputed labour. If you, Kr, have individually beca braqgfit witlwB the vpbere of my more immediate tppHeaUomi, I Mi av« lh«,cve* to the prv«<nt dsy.you must bear aboM yod A* matt Bvdj eii^icfi gf my BymfioBs. Then are, iaJwi, bw ftv «lw h«ve beat OMkr my oiaoylmc witbovt fgcmiag ibc agM mriUmg proo& ofHr ptvwaa. Oo tbc y«Mg nd M tbw aU, b cte CMf^ m ibe bmcfc-yard, aad «• the decb,lb»e iimiiHilIy hat»crfto< iaid mniae; mieaAmd ill by wfaoM aqr Mrviaea !■«« baaa ■*> cffved, have bane ftr ever after ibe bmk ycnaaMM mtmt^k^^i Biy iaaeffianca.
It m tmgjtmmame aaa ptawM pnoc aaua neaMn ay aMaanH dM oere mmdaL Uad I be« awleai, I mi^^ ba»« bw* fmpMtmt laJte— l^iag- I iT iiaalbaarwilbwfa—|^»efa(,| Ibe abfevMi Mta wbkb I aM Ariy bMM^ : bw I tea
vyMiHMia.
•?****y
lattMilabr
,lv»w.
'^vf
908
SONNBT IN A CHURCHYARP.
TiduaJly felL He did not, however, stale one fact, whicli will, 1 know, apjicar altogether incredible to nianj' of your rcadtrs, which 16 tliis, — tlmt I Imve at-'tuully been, for u wry long period, firmly lashed to an uinnowd lo^ ui' wuolI, fruni wliidi it if. utterly impos- 8ibk> for me to get Iree. .Muny liuve shed teurii at the fti^hc of nie : gome metk have even died in consequence of my huving been brought into their presence; and one and all wlio have felt the full weight of my impositiomi have never ceased to think upon me with the most unequivocal Bensations. Tliere are. also, many, — and it is a debt of which I must acquit myself, — rlicre are, sir, I say. many, and those too general officers, to whom I oive my grateful acknowledgments for the kind feelings with which they have had me taken in hand oc- casionally; although, even by them, I have been only brought to the buck of the rank and file: anything is, however, a relief from my present obscurity. I have long borne my sorrows in silence. My uYi/cings are not loud, but deep ; hut, through your assi&lnnee, I hope and exi>ccL relief, for I am now in such a aUle, so worn, »o .tattered, so forgotten, that I would rather submit even to decima- '■tioEv than to the prolongation of my preicnl pasBive endurance. Sir, if 1 had not the qualities of a cat, I hIiouM have been out of being very long ago.
Under your kind patronage my now hopeless case may possibly be improved. Your influenliul interference may perchRnce assist me to my old station; I may once more re-exert my weighty in- fluence; I may become not only a member of, but really and truly, the l/nit&i Service Ciuh iWelf; and. should such be the case, be- lieve me. eir, you shall at all times command the undiiiching ser- vices, whether required by yourself peraonully, or by any of your acquaintance, uf Yours, to command,
CA'r-o'-N7NE-TAILS,
SONNET IN A CHURCHYARD.
I KTAXD l>«iid« the grate where ytan long past
The flrsl-hom of my love was lowly laid, —
Beside l)>n Ntone on which in \t:^n wat paid
The iribiiie of my tenderness. IJow {an
Th« luoUi of Tinic hath r:it ihoff words away I ihe loal
Thkl yet sidl linger, formless ami ilecayed,
Tell not Oie name, nor worth, nor how long stayed
I'pon thi» unptr earth, a l>r in^ cfi»t
Id Nature's loveliest mouli) I Slill, still reinaiu
Those reeanl* in ei h«.irt which Time defies,
Who»e sorrow yet \i green: dust will it lum,
Like ihM o'er which it broods, iH-fore ihe chain
Ur memory is broken. Whtn it dies,
0 mfty it miogle in the selfsame um I
Old Nkuol4b.
I
5
309
OLIVER TWIST;
ORi THS PARISH fiOv's FKOGRESS.
BY BOZ.
tlLDSTKATKD BT C E O R G E C B D ■ K S B « X K.
BOOK TRB SECOKD.
CHAITEM THE FOUUril-
IK WBICa A MTSTERtOUS CKIRACTCX APPEAItS VfO* TKC BCEME,
AMD UAKV THINGS IK^EI'ARARLi; mOU THIA niSTORT
ARE t>ONt X\D rERFOKU£I>.
Thr old man had guincci the street corner before he be<
fan to recover the effect of Toby Crackil's intelligence. Ho Bil relaxed nothing uf hi» unuiiual ^.pi'ed, but whs xlill pre»»- iog onwurd in the same wild and disordereti oianncr, wheii the sudden dashing post of a carriage, and a boisterous cry from the foot-passengera who saw hi» danger, drove htoi back upoa the pavement. Looking hastily round, as if uncer- tain whither he had been hurrying, he paused for a few mo- ments, and turned nwav in quite an opposite direction to that in which he had before pi-oceeded. Avoiding aa much as po9Mble all the main streets, and skulking otdy through ihe by- travs and alleys, he at length emerged on Snow Hill. Here fie walked even faster than before ; nor did he linger until he had again turned into a court, when, as if conscious that he was now in his proper element, he fell into his usual !<l)uH1in^ pace, and teemed to breathe more freely.
Near to the spot on which Snow Hill and llolt>om Hill meet, thtre opens, upon the right hand as you come out of the city, m narrow and dismal alley leitding to Saffron Hill. In its lillhr fibops are exposed for sale huge bunches of f,econd-hand silk handkerchiefs of all sizes anil patterns, — for here rcMde the traders who purchase them from pickpockets. Hundreds of these handkerchiefs hang dangling from [H'gs outiidc the win- dows, or flaunting from the door-pofits; and the shelves within are piled with them. Con6ned as the limits of Field Lane are, it haji its harlier, itK cufl'ee-shop, ila Ijecr-shop, and its fried-fish warehouse. It in a commercial colony of itself, the emporium of petty larceny, visited at early morning and Kctting-iu of dusk hy ftihiit merchants, who traffic in dark back- par h hi rs, and gn Oft strangely as ihey came- Here the clothesman, the shoe- vamper, and the rag-merchant display their goods as sign- boards to the petty thief: and stores of old iron and booes, and heaps of mildewy A-agmenis of woollen-stuff and linen, runt and rot in the grimy ct.-Uar8.
It was into this place that the Jew turned. He was welU known to the sallow denizens of the lane, for such of them u
VOL- III. Q
sio
OLIVER TWrST.
were on the look-out to liu^ or sell, iiotldiH) familiarly as he pas8C<l along, lie replied to tliojr salutations in the ^me way, but bestowed no closer recognition until he reached the further end of the alley, when he stopped to address a salesman of small stature, who had stiurczcd as much of his periion into a child's ch.-ur as the chair would hold> and vras smoking a pipe at his warehouse- dmir.
'*Why, the si^ht of you, Mister Fngin, would cure the hop- talniy !" said this respectalile trader, in acknowledgment of the JewV inquiry after his health.
" The neif^hhourhood was a little ton hot, Lively T said Fa- gin, elevating his eyebrow», and croi>sing his hand* upon his iihouIdcr&.
** Well ! I Ve hcerd that complaint of it once or twice before," replieil the trader, '* but it soon coolii down again ; don'^t you find it so?"
Fa^n nodded in the ntfirmativc, and, pointing in the direc- tion of Safrron Vlill, inquired whether any one waa up yonder to-night.
"At the C'ripplen?" inquired ihe man.
The Jew nocined.
" Let me see !" pursued Ihe merchant* reflecling. " Yes ; there's some half-do/xn of 'em gone in, that I knows on. I don't think your friend "'s there."
" Sikes is not, 1 suppose?" inquired the Jew, with a disap- poinied countenance.
" .\'oM htwenliis, as the lawyers say," replied the little man, shaking his head, and looking amazingly sly. " Have you got anything in my line tonight ?"
*' Nothing to-night," said the Jew, turning away.
*' Arc you going up to the Cripples, Fngin ?" cried the little man, calling after him. ** Stop ! I don't mind if 1 have a drain there with you V*
But as the Jew, looking back, waved his hand to intimate that lie preferred being alone ; and, moreover, as the little man could not very easily disengage himself from the chair, the sign of the Cripples was, for a time, bereft of the advantage of Mr. Lively's prcsenre. By the time he had got upon his legs the Jew hail disappeared ; so Mr. Lively, after ineffectually standing on tip-toe, in the hope of catching sight of him, again forced himself into the little chair, and, exclianging a shake of the head with a lady in the opposite shop, in which doubt and mistrust were plainly mingled, resumed his pipe with a grave ilemeunour.
The Three Cripples, or rather the (^ripples, which was the sign by which the establishment was familiarly known to its patrons, was the same public-house in which Mr. Sikes and his dog have already figured. Merely making a sign to a man in the bar, Fogin walked straight up stairs, and opening the door nf a foom, and softly insinuating himself into the chamber, looked
OLIVBR TWIST.
SIl
anxiously about, blmding tiU eyes with his haDd, as if in learcti of some particular person.
Tlie room was ttUiminated hy two gas-lights, the glare of ik'liicb was prevented, by the barred shutters and clo»ely-iirawn curtains of faded red, from Wing visiblti outside. The ceiling was blackened, to prevent its colour being injured by the flaring of the lamps ; and the place was so full of dense tobacco-smoke, that at first it was scarcely possible to discern aiiytliing further. By tlegrpes, however, as some of it cleared away through the open door, an assemblage of heads, as confused as the DOtses that greeted the ear, might be made out ; aud, as the eye grew more accustomed to the scene, the spectator gradually became aware of the presence of a iiunierous company, male and female, crowded round a lung table, at the u]([h.t end of which sat a chairman with a hammer of office in his liand, while a profo*- •ional gentleman, with a bluish nose, aiid his face tied up for the benefit of a tooth-ache, presided at a jingling piano in a remote comer.
As Kagin stepped softly in, the professional gentleman, run- ning over the keys by way of prelude, occasioned a general cry of nnler for a song ; which havhig sul>&ided, a young lady pro- ceeded to enterlain the company with a ballad in four verses, between each of which the !UMX>nipanyist played the melody all through as loud as he could. When this was over, the cnair- nuui gave a sentiment; after which, the professional gentlemen on the chairman's right and left volunteered a duet, and sang it with great applause.
It was curious to observe some faces which stood out promi- nently from among the group. There was the chairman him- aelf, the landlord of the house : a coarse, rough-, heavy-built fellow, who, while the songs were proceeding, rolled his eyes hither and thither, and, seeming to give himself up to joviaiity* bad an eye for everything that was done, and an ear for every- [thing that was said, — and sharp ones, too. Near him were the '■iogerB, receiving with profesMonul Indifference the compliments of the company, and applying themselves in turn to a dozen
Eroflered glasses of spirits and water tendered by their more Digteraua admirers, whose countenances, expressive of almost , every vice in almost every grade, irresistibly attracted the at* ^tention by their very repulsiveueas. Cunning, ferocity, and drunkenness in all its stages were there in I heir stmngest as|>cct3 ; and women — some with the last lingering tinge of their early freshness almost fading as you looked, and others with every nark and stamp of their sex utterly beaten out, and presenting but one loathsome blank of profligacy and crime; some iners rls, others but young women, and none past the prime of life, ■fonned the darkest and saddest portion of this dreary picture. Fagin, troubled by no grave emotions, looked eagerly from UiCK to face while these proceedings were in progreat, but appai-
•ftritX TWIST.
* ikal of which he was id aearcL
the uvo of the man who im slightly, ami left the
I 4» tfur vou, Mr. Fa^iu r^ Hoflly inquired tW ~ hiM out tu the landing. " Won't you yan
^^ X^0ft% W iMichted, every one of *em.
hu lH«d impatiently, and said in a whispn-t
^AMaavtwaofBArney?^ inquired Fagin.
• NtWffv'* lv^lli^^^ till- landlord of the Cripples, for it was he. **n« «««iS fttir till it 'a all safe. Depend on it that they 're on IIm- K««t ^kiwn then', and that if he moved be 'd blow upon the iWkc at unoe< Hr \ all right enough, Harney is ; else I should Wvf hvard of him. I 'U pound it that Barney "s managing |W\>|«rtW. 1^1 hiin ttUme f»»r that."
^' Wtll ke Imt here to-night r^ asked the Jew, laying the same nni^tit on the pronntin as before.
^'Mtmk* do you tnenni^' inquired the landlord, hesitating.
»* Huth I" Mud the Jew. " Ves."
•* Certain," replied the man, drawing a gold watch from hi» R«b; '*lcx|)ected him liert- hofore now. If you'll wait ten minutl^s he'll be "
" Ni», no,* Mi3 (he Jew haittily, aft though, howe\er desirous he might Ix' to see the (K-Tnon in quettion, he was nevertheless rclicvevl by hi» abitcnee. *' Tell him I rame here to sec him. Mid that lie musi come to me to-nipht ; no, bay to-morrow- Aa ht» b not hen*, to-morrow will be lime enough."
•• Oood !" Raid the man. " Nothing more ?"
" Not a word now," xnld the Jew, dtTwending the stairs.
*'' 1 «ayt" Haid the other, looking over the rails, and speaking in a hoartc whiNinr : *^ what a time thin would be for a sell ! 1 Ve got I'hil linrkor here, so drunk, that a boy might take him."
•■ Aha I Hilt il 'a not I'liil Itarker'a time," said the Jew, look- ing up. " Phil han somelliing more to do hefort we can afford to pan with him j no go back lo the company, my dear, and |«|1 them lo h-ad merry lives — white they iatt. Ha ! ha • ha !*
Thv landloul rwiprix*ated the old man's laugh, and returned lo hit guvtitK. Till' Jew waR no sooner alone than his counte- naiKv rv^niuttl tin former expression of anxiety and thought. After a brief retl*-etioii, he called a hack^ahriolet, and bade the mau «lrivQ towani* IWlhnal Green. He diBuiisset] him within ■iMiH< qtiarler nf a mile of Mr. Sikes's residence, and p^rfornied ihr ■h*wl h-mitinder of the distance on foot.
" .Now," mutten\l the Jew as. he knocked at the door, "if ihcrv i* any vUvp pUy here, 1 shall have it out of you, my girl,
OLIVER TWIST.
SIS
She was in her room, the woman kbIiI ; so Fagin crept raftly tip-slairs, and entered it without any previous ceremony. The pirl was alone, lying with her head upon the table, and her hair strangling over it. " She has been drinking," thought the Jew coolly, "or perhaps ahe is only miserable'*
The oKi man tuinoil to close the door as be made this reflec- tion, and the nuise thus occasioned rouseil the girl. She eyed his crafty face narrowly as she inquired whether there was any news, and listened to his recital of Toby Crackit's story. AVheo it was concluded, she sunk into her former attitude, but spoke not a word. She pushed the cnndle impatiently away, and once or twice, aa she feverishly changed her position, »huffled her feel upon the ground ; but this woe all.
During this silence, the Jew looked restlessly about the room, 84 if to a»8ure himself lh«t ihert- were no appearances of Sikes having covertly returned. Apparently satisfied with Iiis in- spection, he coughed twice or Itince, and made as many cfTorti; to open a conversation ; but the girl heeded hiiu no more (huii if he had been made of stone. At length he made another attempt, and, rubbing his hands together, said, in bis moat concihatory lone,
"And where should you think Bill was now, my dear ; eh?"
The girl moaned out some scarcely ititeltigihlc reply, that the could not tell; and seemed, from the hair-»motherea noiw that escaped her, to be crying.
"And the boy, too,** said the Jew, straining his eye* to catch a glimpse of her face. " Po(»r leelle child .'—left in a ditch, Nance; only think!"
** The child," *aid the girl, suddenly looking up, " is better where he is, than amttng us: and, if do harm comes to Bill from it, I hope he lies dead in the ditch, and that his young bones may rot there."
*' Wliat !" cried the Jew in amazement
" Ay, I do," relumed the girl, meeting his gaze. " I shall be glad to have him away from my eyes, and to know that the worst is over. 1 cun't bear to have him about nia : the nght of hint tunis me against myself and all of you."
" Pooh !" said the Jew scornfully. *' You 're drunk, girl.*'
** Am I ?" cried the girl bitterly. ** It's no fault of yours if I am not ; you *d never have me anything else if vou had your ■will, except now ! — the hunmur doesn't suit you, jloesn'l it ?**
•■■ No !*' rejoined the Jew furionitly- *' It doe* not I'^
"Change it, then !" re^pondetl the girl with a lau^h.
"Change it!" exclaimed the Jew, exasiicrated lieyond all bounds by his companion's unexpected ubalmncy and tht^ vexa- tion of the night, " I will change it ! Listen to uiv, you drab I listen to me, who with si\ words can strangle Sikes ns surely as if I had his bulfn throat between my fingers now. If he comes backj Rud leaves that boy buiiiad him, — if lie gels ott' five, and.
2U
OLIVER TWIST.
dead or alive, fail* to restore him to me, murder him yourself if you would have hira escape Jack Ktlclj, and do it the moment he ficis foot ill this room, or, mind me, it will be too late I" ■
" What is all this ?" cried the girl involuntarily.
" What is it !" pursued Fagm, mad with ra^^. " This ! When ihe boy 's worth hundreds of pounds to me, am I to lose ■ what chance threw me in the way of getting ufdy, throughl tbc whims of a drunken gang that I could whistle away the lives of, — and me bound, too, to a born devil that only wants the will, and has got tlw power to, to "
Panting for breath, the old man stammered for a word, and in that one instant cheeked the torrent of his wrath, and changed bis whole demeanour. A moment before, his clencbcd hands had grasfied the air, his eyes had dilated, and his face grown livid with passion ; but now he shrunk into a chair, and, , cowering together, trembled with the ajiprehermion of having' himself discloBed some hidden villany. After a short silence be ventured to look round at hh companion, and appeared somewhat reassured on beholding brr in the sjitne listless at- titude from which he had 6rst roused her.
" Nancy dear i" croaked the Jew in his usual voice. " Did yon mind me, dear ?"
"Don't worry m« now, Fagin!" replied the girl, raising her bead languidly. "If Bill has not done it this time, he will another: be lias done many a good job for you, and will do many more when he can ; and when he can't, he w*on't, and so no more about that."
" Regarding this boy, my dear ?" said the Jew, rubbing the palms of his hands nervously togclher.
"The boy mn:*t fake his chance with the rest,* interrupted Nancy hastily ; **8nd I say again, 1 hope he is d«ad, and out of hann^ way, and out ol'^ yours, — that is, if Bill comes to no harm ; and, if Toby got clear off, he 's pretty sure to, for ho 's worth two of him any time."
"And about what I was saying, my dear?'' observed the Jew, keeping his gli&tening eye Rteadily upon Ikt.
" You must »ay it all over again if ii 'b anything you want roe to do," rejoined Nancy; **and if it is, you tiad better wait till to-morrow. You put mc up for a minute, but now I 'm Ktupid again.""
Fagin put several other questions, all with the same drifk of ascertaining whether (he girl had i)rofited by his unguarded hints ; but she answered them sa readily, and was withal so utter- ly unmoved by bis searching looks, that his original iuiprmsion of her being more than a trifle in liquor was fully confirmed. Miss Nancy, indeed, was not exempt from a failing which was very common among the Jew"*!) female pupils, and in which in their tefxierer years they were rather encouraged than chi-ckctL Her disordered appearance, and a wholesome perfume of Ge-
OLIVER TWIST.
215
neva which pervaded the apnrtmetit, afforded strong conlirni- atory evidence of the justice of ihe .few's supposition ; and whpn, after indul^ng in the temporary display of vi<ilence above described, she subsided, first into dullness, and aftt^rwardu into a compound of feflines under the influence of which she «he(\ tears one minute, and m the next gave utterance to various [ exclamations of " Never eay die !" and divers calculations a& to what might be the itmount of the odds fu> lon^ a-< a lady or gt^n- leman were happy, Mr. Fagin, who had had considerable i-x- perience uf such matters in his lime, saw with great satisfaction that she was very far gone indeed.
Having eased his mind by this discovery, and accompUsbcd his two-fold abject of imparting to the girl what he had that night heard, and aurertnining with his own eyes that Hikes hnd not returned, Mr. Fagin again turned his face homeward, leav- ing his young friend asleep with ht-r heml uiwn the tabic.
It wajf within an hour of midnight, and the weather being dark and piercine cold, he had no great temptation to loiter. The vharp wind that scoured the streets heemcd to have cleared them of passengers as of dust and mud, for few people were •broad, and they were lo all apjK'arance hastening fa*t home. LJt Mew from the right quarter for the* Jew, however: aud straight "fcefore it he went, trembling and shivering as every fresh gust drove him rudely on his way.
He had reached the corner of his own street, and was already fumbling in his pocket for the door-key, when a dark figure emerged from a projecting entrance which lay in deep shadow, ■nd, crossing the road, glided up to him iinpercdved. " Fagin !"' whift[jered a voice close to his car. " Ah !" said the Jew, turning quickly round. ** Is that' " *' Yes !** interrupted the stranger harshlv. " I have been lingering here these two hours. Where toe devil have you been?"
"On your business, mv dear,** replied the Jew, glancing un- easily at hilt companion, and slackening his pace a^ he spoke. *'Ou your business all night.'"
** Oh, (if course r said the stranger, with a sneer. "Well; and what \ come of it ?"
** Nothing good,' said the Jew.
"Nothing Iwul, I hope !" said the stranger, stopping short, and turning a stirtlrd look upon his companion.
The Jew sliook Ids head, and was about to reply, when the stranger, interrupting him, motioneil to the house, before which thpy had by this time arrived, and remarked that he had better say wimt he had got to say, under cover, for his blood was chill- ed with standing about bo long, and the wind blew through him.
Fagin looked B5 if he could have willinply rxcusod him*elf from taking tiume a visitor at that unseasonable huur, and mui-
115
OUrZK TVUT.
homt facriag no foe; boC Ui MiiiB^ ki» imu—l m * pcmpptory Butaarr, be antockcd tW itmt, Md liyufcJ Ihbi to dene it aoAlT, vfadle he ^ « ligbl.
^ it's ■• Mrit ■• the fcnvf," cssd the maa, pafwag Ibrvmid afcvMcpi. '^MakebMCe; Ihatetfa«r
*-S)Mit tibedoor." wfaispend F«(>ia &«■■ die nxl of tbe pn- mf^ A» ht ipoie. it doNd vith a load nabr.
** TWf vavt oiT dong," Mid the odHr naa, frdmg tot mr. " The wmd blew h to, or it khut of its own accord : ooe or the «Chcr. Look iharp with the light, or I fthall knock nj brains •■K ryfrr^ aofDetfatnjt io tfaii confoudded bofe."
Fagia Mcahfaily deaomded the kiicheo Main, and, after & ihatt abteoee, maraed with a Li|^ud candle, and the inidli- Ipaee that Tubv Crackit was asleip in the back-rooin below, and the hayi in the front one. Beckootog the other man to fbUov him, lie led the war up stain.
'* We can say the few words we're got Co ^y, in here, injr dear," said ihc Jew, throwing open a ckior on ibe first floor ; ** Utd u lh*fTK are holes iu the »hutters, and we nerer show UriiU tu uur neiirhbuurih we'll tel the candle on the slairs- TTiert. !-
With iheNe u-urds, the Jew^ stooping down, placed the candle on an upper flight uf stairs exactly opposile the room dour, and led the way into the apartment, which was deslilule nfall mov- ■bka tare a broken ariri-chair. and an old coucti or Bofa, without rovrring, which bio<k1 behind the door. L'pon this piece of fur^ niture the stranger flung himself with the air of a weary man ; and, the Jew drawing up the arm-chair opposite, they sat face to face. It was nut t^uitf ilark, for the door was partially open, and the candle outside threw a fceUe reflection on the oppoMte wall.
1'hcy conversed for mme time in whispers; and, although no- thing of the cutiverfatiun was distinguishable beyond a few dis- jointed wurda here and there, a li.stener might easily have per- ceived that Fagin appeared to be defending himself against some reniorks of the stranger, and that the Utter was in a state of cnnniJerable irritation. They might have been talking thus for a quarter of an hour or more, when Monks — by which name the Jew had designaled the strange man nereral times in tlie course of their colloquy— ^uid, ruihmg his voice a little,
"I tell you again it was badly plannetl. Why not have kept htm here among the rest, and made a sneaking, snivelling pickpcK-ket or him at once?"
•' ( »nly heHf him ( ' exclaimed the Jew, shrugging his shoulders.
" Why I do you niejin to wiy v<"i couldn't have diine it if you hiul chosen?" demanded Monks stcrnlv- *' Haven't you done it with other b«»y8 scores of limes? If you had had pa- tience (or a twelvemonth at most, couldn't you have got him cuiivictod and sent safely uiit of the kingdom, pcrliaps fnr life.''''
OLIVBR TWIST.
tl7
'* WTiose lurn would that have Bcrved, my dear?'* in<|uired the Jew hunibty.
"Mint?," replied Monks.
** But oot mine." said the Jew submissively. " When there are two parties to a bargain, it is only reasonable that the inte- rest of both should be considted ; is it, my good friend ?**
■* What then ?" demanded Monks sulkily.
** I saw it waii nut easy to train him to the business,^' replied the Jew ; " he was not like other boys in the same circum- stances.'"
" Curse him, no !" muttered the man, *' or he would have been a thief long ago.*'
" 1 had no hold upon him to make him worse," pursued the Jew, anxiously watching the countenance of his companion; "his hand was not in; I had nothing to frighten him with; which we always must have in the beginning, or we labour in vain. WItat could I du P Hend him out with the Du<lger and (.'bar- ley ? We had enough of that at firtil, my dear; I trembled for U8 all."
'* That was not my doing," observed Monks.
" No, no, my dear !" renewed the Jew, " and I don't quarrel with it now ; because, if it had never happened, you might never have clapped eyes ujion the boy tci notice him, and sii led to the discovery that it wa-i him you were looking for. Well ; I got him back for you by iiiean& of the girl, and then »ht begins to favour him."
"Throttle the girl !" said Monks impatiently-
"Why, we can't afford to do that just now, my dear," re- plied the Jew, smiling ; *' and, besides, that sort of thing is not iu our wuy, or one of these days I might be glad to have it done. I know what these girls are, filonks, well; as soon as the boy begins to harden, she *ll care no more for him than for a block of wood. You wuul him made a thief: if he is alive, I can niuke him one from this lime; and if — if — " said ihe Jew, drawing nearer to the other, — *' it 's not likely, mind» — but if the worst comes to the worst, and he is ilead "
" It 's no fault of mine if he is !" interposed the other man with a look of terror, and clasping the Jew s arm with trembling handfl. ** Miud ihat, Kagin ! I had no hand in it. Anything but his death, 1 told you from the 6rst. 1 wuuH »hed blood ; it's always found out, and haunts a man iK-sides ! If they shot him dead, 1 was not the caui^e ; do you hear mc ? Fire this infernal den ! — what 's that ?"
*' What !" cried tbc Jew, gra.sping the cuwnrd round the body with both arms as he sprung to his feet. " Where ?"
" Yonder !" replied the man, glaring at the oppubite wall. *^ The shadow — I saw the shadnw of a woman in a cloak and bonnet pass aluiig the wainscot like a breath !'"
The Jew released hia bold, and they ru»hvd tuoiulluc
SIS
OLIVER TWIST.
fnHB the rtxim. Tbc vaiidle, wasted by the drauffbt, vra& staod- ittg where it had been places!, and showed ihem the emply stair- cases, and tlieir uwii while faces. 'J'hey listened inteutl'y, hut a profiHiiid Kilciice mif^iiLt] liiroii^hout the house.
" It's your fancy," said ihc Jew, taking up the light, and tumiDf; to his conipaiiion.
** I 'U swear I saw it !" replied Monks, trembling violently, ^* It was bending forward when 1 saw it first, and wheo 1 spoke it darted away."
The Jew glauced contempt unusly «t the pale face of hts as- sociate, and, telling him he could follow if he plen<ied, ascended tbe stairs. They looked into all the rooms; they were cold, bare^ and empty. They descended to the nassage, and thence into tht cdlars below. The green damp Imng upon the low vmlls, and the tracks of the snail and slug glistened in the light, but all wms still as death.
'•What do you think nnw, my dear?" said the Jew, when tbey had regaiofd the j>a9S3ge. '^ l5e8ides ourselves, there ''s not • rrvttlure in ihc house except Toby and the boyis and they ^re aafir enough. S«e here !"
As • proof of the fact, the Jew drew forth two keys frooi his packet; and mptained thai when he first went down stairn tie nd todted th^ in, to prevent any intru^on on the con-
ThbacruniuUlod testimony effectually staggered Mr. Monks. Hts protestations had gradually become le^s and less vehement M ibey proceeded in their search without making any discovery ; ■■d now be gave veot to several very grim laughs, and confessed it could only bitve been his excited imagiimliun. He declined any rmewal of the ranversatlon however for that night, suddenly remembering that it was past one o'clock ; and so the amiable eotiple parted.
cnArren tiik fifth
Aioyu ros nu PuroLttEKUs or a roiiMciL ciiAPTi.it, whicu Di:»r.KTti>
« LAbT UnST L'XCr.BtMOtiKIUSLV.
As it vould be by no means seemly in a humble author to keep to mighty a personnge ns a beadle waiting with his h««.-k to a 6rv, and the skirts of his coat gathered up under his arms until such time as it utight suit his pleasure to relieve him; and as- it would still less become bin station nr his gal- lantry' to itivulve in the same neglect a lady on whom thai be.!- dle had lottketl with an eye of tenderness and affection, and in whoit ear he bad whispered sweet words, which, coming from Kich a quarter, might well thrill the bosom of maid or matron of wlwtMH-ver degree; tlie faithful historian whose pen traces ihcM' words, trusting that be knows his plare, and entertains a bciXHoiitg reverence for those upon earth to whom high and im-
OLIVER TWIST.
sig
porUnt autliority is delegated, hastens to pay them that respect which their position demands, and to treat them with all that duteous ceremony whjcli their exalted rank and (by conse- quence) great virtues imperatively claim at his hands. Towards this end, iudecd, he had purposed to introduce in this place a dissertation touching the divine right of beadle«, ami elucida- tive of (he pi)»itiun that a beadle can do no wrong', which could not fail to have been both pleasurable and pro6iable to the riglit-inindfd rtader, but which he is unfortunately compelled by want of time and space to postpone to some more convenient and fitting opportunity ; on the arrival of which, he will be pre- pared to show that n befidle properly constituted— that is to lay, a parochial beadle attached to the parochial workhouse, and attending in his official capacity the parochial church, — is, in right and virtue of his office, possessed of all the excellencies and beit (|ualitie& of humanity ; and thai to Done of those ex- cellencies can mere companies* beadles, or court-of-Iaw beadles, or even chapel-of-ett»e beadles (fave the last in a very lowly and inferior degree), lay the remotest sustainable claim.
Mr. Bumble bad re-counted the tea-spoons, re-weighed the sugar-tongB, made a closer inspection of the millt-pot, and ascei^ toined to a nicety the exact condition of the furniture down to the very horse-hair seats of the chairs, and had repeated each process full half-a-dozen times, before he began to think tliat ft was time for Mrs. Corney to return. Thinking begets think- ing ; and, as there were no sounds of Mrs. Corney** approach, it occurred to Mr. Bumble that it would be an innocent and vir- tuous way of spending the time, if lie were further to allay Ms curio<iity by a cursory glance at the interior of Mrs. Corney** chest of drawers.
Having listened at the key-hole to assure himself that nobody was approaching the chamber, Mr. Bumble, beginning at the bottuu), proceeded to moke hiuiiielf acquainted with the cuateuts of the three long drawers ; which, being tilled with various gar- ments of good fashion and texture, carefully preserved between twolayertt of old newspaper hfieckled with dried lavender, seem- ed to yield bim exceeding satisfaction. Arriving in courK of time at the right-hand comer drawer (in which was the kej), ami U-holding therein a »mall padlocked box, which, being ihaLen, gave forth a pleasant MHind as of the chinking of coin, Mr. Humble rttumed with a stately walk Co the fire-place, and, resuming liis old attitude, said, with a grave and determined air, ""I 'U do it r lie followed up this remarkable declaration by ■baking his head in a waggish manner for ten minutes tui though he were remonstratmg with himself fur lieing such m pleasant dog; and then toi^ a view of his legs in pro6Ie with nnich seeming pleasure and interest.
He was still plftcidty engaged in this Utter survey when Mrtm- Comej, hurrying into the waaif threw herself in a breat' '
220 OLIVER TWIST,
State oil a cliuir by the fire-side, and covering her eves with one hand, placed the other over her heart, and gasped for breath-
" Mrs. Cornev," said Mr. Biimbl^e, «ti.joping over the ma- tron, "what is this, ma'am? has anything happened, ma'am? Prav answer me; I'm on— on — " Mr. Bunilile in liis alarm could not immediately think of the word '* tenterhooks," so he said " broken bottlen."
** Oil, Mr. Bumble !" cried the lady, " I have been bo dread- fully put out !"
" Put out, ma'am 1" exclaimed Mr. Bumble ; " wTio has dared to — ? I know !" said Mr. Humble, checking himsidf with native majesty. " this is them wicious paupers !" .
" It's dreadful to think of !" said the ladv, Rhuddcring. **Then doiit think of it, ma'am," rejoined Mr. Bumble. " I can't help it," whimpered the lady.
*'Then lake soinetbinf;, ma'am,'' said Mr. Bumble soothing- ly. *' A little ijf the wine ?"
"Not for the world T replied Mrs. Corncy. ** I couldn't — oh ! The top shelf in the right-hand comer — oh i" Uttering these words, the good lady pointed distractedly to the cupboard, and underwent a convultuon from internal spa&ms. Mr. Bum- ble rushed lo the closet, and, snatching a pint green-glass hot- tie from the shelf thus incoherently indicated, filled a tea-cup with its contents, and held it to the lady's lipt^.
"I'm better now,*" said Mr». Coroey, falling back after drinkini; half of it.
Mr. Bumble raised his eyc« piously to the ceiling in thank- fulni^M, and, bringing them down again to the brim of the ciipr lifted it to his nofic.
"Peppermint,"' explained Mrs. Comcy in a faint voice, smil- ing gently on the beadle an &he spoke. *'Try it ; there's a little — a little something else in it."
Mr. Bumble tasted the medicine with a doubtful look ; smacked his lips, took another taste, and put the cup down empty.
" It's very comforting," said Mrs. Corney. *'Very much m> indeed, ma'am," said the beadle. As he spoke, he drew a chair beside the matron, and tenderly in- quired what had happened to distress her.
*' Nothing," replied Mrs. Corney. " I am a foolish, excit- H able, weak creelur."
H *' Nui weak, ma'am," retorted Mr. Bumble, drawing his cliair
H a little closer. *' Are you a weak creelur, Mrs. Corney ?"'
H " We are all weak creelurs," said Mrs. Corney, laying down
H a general principle.
^^—^ " So we are," said the beadle.
^^H Nothing was said on either side for a minute or two after-
^^^ wards; and by the cx]»iration of that time Mr. Bumble had illus- ^^^ traied the position by removing his left arm from the back of
OLIVBR TWIST.
2^1
:Mrs. Corner's cliair, where it had previoiisly restetl, to Mrs. 'Comey's apron-string, round which it gradually t)ccame on- twined.
" We are all weak creeturs," said Mr. Bumble. Mra. Corney sighed.
" Don't sign, Mrs. Corney," said Mr. Bumble. ** I can't help it," Kuiil Mrs. Curiiey ; and she sighed again. ** This is a very comfortable room, ma'am," Raid Mr. Bumble, looking round. " Auottior room and thi», ma'am, would be a complete tiling."
•' it would be too much for one," murmured the lady. " But not for two, ma'am," rejoined Mr. Bumble in soft ac- cents. " Kb, Mrs. Coruey ?"
Mrs. ('orncy drooped her head when the beadle said this, and the Iwadle druojwd his to get a view of Mr». Corney's face. Mrs. Corney with great [iropriety turned her head away, and re- leased her hand to get at her pocket-handkerchief, but insensi- bly replaced it in that of Mr. Bumblu,
** The board allow you coals, don't they, Mrs Corney ?" af- fectionately inquired the iK-adle, pressing her hand.
** And candh"*,'' replied Mrs. Corney, slighlly returning the pressure.
" Coals, candles, and house-rent free," said Mr. Bumble. •* Oh, Mrs. Corney, what a angel you are !"
The lady was not proof against thia burst of feeling. She sunk into Mr. Bumble's arms ; and that gentleman, in his agita- tion, imprinted a passionate kii-s upon htr chaste nose.
*'Such jiomchial perfection !" exclaimed Mr. Bumble raptu- rously. ** You know that Mr. Slout is worse to-night, my fascinator ?"
" Yes,^ replied Mrs. Corney bashfully.
*• He can't live a week, the doctor says," pursued Mr. Bumble. ** He IK the master of this establishment : his death will cause a wacancy ; that vacancy must be filled up. Oh, Mrs. Cornev, what a prospect this opens ! \Vbat a opportunity for a joining of hearts and housekeeping t" Mrs. Corney subbed.
"The little word?" said Mr. Bumble, bending over the bashful beauty. ** The one little, little, little word, my blessed Corney •"* " \ c — ye — ye» !" sighed out the nisiron.
" One more," pursued the beadle ; " compose your darling feelings for only one more. When is it to come off. ^
Mrs. Corney twice essayed to speak, and twice failed. At length, summoning up courage, she threw her arms round Mr. Bumble's neck, and said it might be as soon as ever be pleased, and that he was " a irresistible duck."
Matters being thus amicably and satiftfactorily arranged, the contract wa^ solemnly ratittt-a in another tea-cu|i-full of the peppermint mixture, which was remlered the more necessary
faft OLIVER T\TJST.
by tlie flutter and agitatiun of Uil* lady's spirits. While it was beJD^ disponed of, slie ncquainted Mr. Butntile witli the «ld woman's decease.
" Very gotxl," said that gentlvinao, sippiuj; liis pepponuint. " I'll cull at Sowcrberrv's as I ^ home, and lell hiin to send to-morrow Tnomiiifr. M'as it that as frightened y»u, lovcT*
*' It wasn't anylhinj; particular, dear/' said the lady evasively.
" It must have been somethin;^, love," urged ftlr. Bumbie. " Won't yon tell your own B. ?"
"Not now," rejoined the lady; "one of these days, — after we're married, dear."
** After we're tnftrried I"* exclaimed Mr. Bumble. ** It wasn't any impudence from any of tliem male paupers ait "
*' ISOf no, love !" interposed the lady hastily.
*' If I thought it was," cuntinueti Mr. Bumble, — ** if I thought any one of 'em had dared to lift his wulgar eyes to that lovely countenance — "*
"Tliey wouldn't have dared to do it, love," lespondwl the lady.
'*They had better not!" said Mr. Bumble, cleochiojE his fist. " lict me see any man, j>orochial or extra-poroehial. as would presume to do it, and 1 can tell him that he wouldn't do it A second time !"
Uucmbcllished by any violence of gesticulation, this might have sounded as no very high compliment to tlic lady's charms ; but, as Mr. Bumble accompanied the threat with many warhke gesture!^ she was much touched with this proufuf his devulinn, and protested with great admiration that he was indeed a dove.
The dove then turned up his coat-cullar, and put on his awkcd-hat, luid, having fxchaiiged a long and affectionate cm- brace with his future partner, once again brave<l the cold wind of the night; merely pausing for a few minutes in the male
f>auptTrs' ward to abuse them a little, with tlie view of satisfying iimnelf that he could fill the office of workhouse-master with nefdful acerbity. Assured uf his qualilications, Mr. Bumble left the building with a light heart, and bright visions of his future promotion, which served to occupy his mind until he reached the shop of the undertaker.
Now, Mr. and Mrs. Sowcrberry having gone out to tea and supper, and Noah Claypole not being at any time disposed to take upon lumself a greater amount of physical exertion than is necessary to a convenient performance of the two functions of eating and drinking, the shop was not closed, although it was
East the usual hour uf shutting-u^. Mr. Bumble tapped with is cane on the counter several times ; but, attracting no at- tention, and beholding a light shining through the glass-win- dow of the titde pariour at the back uf the shop, he made bold to iH'cp in and see what was going forward ; and, when he saw wliat was guing forward, he was not a little surprised.
OLIVEa TWIKT.
The ointh was laid (or Buppcr, oiid tlie table was utrewMl with bread ami butter, plates and -{la^M^, s uortL-r-pot, and a. wine- iKitllc At the upj)er end of tlic table Mr. Ni^ab Cla^pulc lolled nepHj(ently in an liasy-chair with bis legs thrown over one of the arms, an open clasp-knife in one hand, and a tna*» of bulterL'd bread in the other ; close beside him hUxhI Char- lotte, opening oysters from a barrel, which Mr. Claypolc con- descended to swallow with remarkable avidity. A more than ordittary redness in the region of the young gentlenmn's noee» and a Vind of fixe<l wink in his right eye, denoted that he was in a slight degree intnxicitcd ; and these syniptoins were confirmed by the intense relitih with which he look his oysters, for which nothing but a strong appreciation of thoir cooling properties in c«sc9 of internal fever could have sufficic'ntly ac- counted.
•' Here '3 a delicious fat one, Noah dear !" said Charlotte ; ** try him, do ; only this one."
" What a delicious thing is a oyrter P remarked Mr. Clay- pole after he had swallowed it. " \Vhat a pity it is a number of 'em should ever make you feci uncomfortable, isn't it, Char- lotte ?^
*' It '9 quite a cruelty," said Cliarlotle.
"So it is," acquiesced Mr. Claypole- "Ain't yer fond of
'* Not overmuch," replied Charlotte. " I like to lee you eat 'em, Noah dear, better than eating ihem myself-"
'* Lor' !" said Noah reflectively ; " how queer !"
" Have another?" said Charloiie. " Hen? 's one with such ft beautif\il, delicate beard !"
" 1 can^t manage any more.'' said Noah. '* I'm very sorry. Come here, Charlotte, and I *ll kiw yer."
'•What.'" said Mr. Bumble, bursting into the room. "Say that again, sir."
Charlotte uttered a Rcrcani, and hid her face in her apron ; while Mr. Claypole, without making any further change in his |>osition than Kuflering his legs tu reach the ground, gazed at the beadle in drLUiken terror.
" Say it again, you vile, owdacious fellow !" said Mr. Bum- ble. "How dare you mention such u thing, sirP and bow dare you encourage him, you insolent minx? Kiss her!" ex- daimed Mr. Bumble in strong indignation. *' Kuugh P
" 1 didn't mean to do it !" ^aid Noah, blubbering. "She's alvavs a-kisstng of me, whether I like it or not." ^ *' Oh, Noah 1" cried Charlotte reproachfully.
'* Ycr are, yer know yer are f ' retorted Noah. *' She 'a al- ways a-duing of it, Mr. Bumble, sir; she chucks me under the chin, please sir, and make* all manner of love !"
'* Silence!" cried Mr. Bumble sternly. "Take yourself down stairs, ma'un! Noah, you shut up the shop^ and say
ftU
THE POPPr.
another vord till your master comes home at your peril ; and, when he dops come home, tell him that Mr. Humble said he was to send a old woman's shell after hreakfast to-morrow morning. 1>q you hear, sir? Kissing!" cried Mr. Bumble, holding up his hand». "The sin and wickedness uf ihe luwer orders in this porochial district is frif!;htful ; if parliament don't take their abominable courses under consideration, this country 's ruined, and the character of the peasaiilry gone for eTcr!" With these words the Iwndle strnde, with a lofty and
I j[loomv air, from the imdertaker's premises.
f Ana now that we have atronipiinied him so far on hia road home* and have made all necessary preparations for the old wocnan^ funeral, let us set on foot a few inquiries after young Oliver Twist, and ascertain whether he be lilill lying in the ditch where Toby Crackit left him.
THE POPPY.
PROU UHLANU.
Seb where, loft crndlfd by ihc wesUrm windi,
'Mong its brijihl iii»t<», ihe trlootninii; poppy ^Innui ! The filumb'roui flower, whose jrarlaud filly binds
ITie drowsy lemplL's of llw; God uf Drcums: Now Termcil-lintrlured, as i[ liad beeii (lijjpcd
Amid the plow of day's dcpahing red ; Now wan and [milnl, ;is it had bceu lipp«d
Willi coloun from the .tickly moonbeam* sh«d.
Tliey lold mo, with the vnicf of warning care,
\Vho«*«r b«?:ir»tli (hp poppy sajik lo sleep Was borne away to a dim wgion, where
\Va« roijglil MVf tirea-ms— dull, passionless, and deep ; — Nor did the spell wtch nuking hours depnrc ;
Its chiiins still hung upon the soul, and all That had hefn near^M, dcarrst lo the ht-an,
Se«tn«d shiouded in a visionary pall.
In my life's morn, unlieedinj of the ]jOur>,
Once lay I, minting many an idle talc, N«iling unseen nmid fair cluaiering flowcn.
Far down within a solitary vale. Oil ! 'twas a lime with joy and sw<n.-iiieu rifo I
And, while I tcarcdy ofthc cIibiih* did deem, A picture seemed the oiuving world uf life,
All real tilings wer« only as a dreacD,
E'ct sitirc that hour, within my bmom furled,
ilus lain the golden rision th«n 1 knew; — My picture— ii has been my living world.
My dream alone been firmly hnu-d .ind true. The shapos, thai nxe and float around me now.
Bright as ihu sUrs — the eternal jtwrs— are they ! Oh, poppy! flower ur(>oc«y I do thnu
Amoos my loclu entwine and blnom for aye t
E.N.
££5
SIIAKSPEARR PAPERS^No. VI.
TIMON OF ATHENS.
Tub story of Timnn the MUflnthropc was popular not only in hia nutivc Innd of Greece, but in the Knglish litcrattirc of the Middle Agea, CldMicftl readers, who &rc of courtie acquainted with the lively dinlague of LuciAn, were once apt to look upon the pliiIo«opher of Simofuiti as affording the original of the piny of Shak^pcArc ; but I duubt if LiiciaHj though familiar tu the learned, was popularly known evL'i) at the end of the Mxtvcntli century in Kngland. Shak- speare was indebted for tlie hint, aiid the prtiieipai incidents of hiA drama, U> Plutarch, trauHlated from the rreiicU of Ainyut by Sir Thomas Xorth, aiul to Painter's Palace of Pleasure. Dr. Karmcr. in his very shallow and pretending " Kssay on the Learnitij^ of Shxkspeare." announce* this important fact amonj; others equiiUv important, with much flourish ; and thoce who fei^l inclim-d for siicti inquirieA, will find sutllcient to satisfy their curioxity in the volu- minous note* gathered by the industry of SFalone, Steevens, and Boawdl.
To u&c the phraflc of Dr. Fanner, which immediatety succeeda his notice of Timon, " were this a proper place fir ttitch a disquisi. tion," t should have something tu suy, not merely on the learning of ShakspeHrc, — a point on which I differ exceedingly with the Ataater of Emanuel, — ^but on the utility of learning tu a dramatist. I should be prepared to contend, that though tlie greater the store of knowledge, no matter whence derived, — from books, from observa- tion, from reflection, — possessed by a writer on any aubjert, and the larger the field whence an authur of works of imagination can cull or compare, so much more copious will be hia sources of thought, illustration, ornament, and allusions ; yet that the dramatist, and indeed the poet in general, (the exceptions are few, and easily ac- counted for,) should not travel far out of the ortUnsry and beaten patli fur the main staple and material of his poem. Witliout im- mediately referring to the (lucstiun of classical learning, many reasons exist for thinking that Ricmtnl the Third was not so deformed cither in mind or body a* he i* repreHented in the two plays in which he appears in ShakHjMfare, or in the single one into which they are both ■omewhat clumsily rolled for tho ilage ; but popular opinion, and the ordinary chrontclr* of the times, »o represented him, Northern antiquaries are generally of opinion that Alacheth was the true king, and that the blood-stained mnnllc of cruelty and oppression ought to be shifted to the shoulders of the " gracious Duncan," who was in reality the usurper. In like manner ue can conceive that if the ■uthoritiea of Haxo-tirammuticus or Oeoffry of ^lonmouth could be hunted up, a different colouring might be given Co the tales of Hamlet or Leor. But what is all this to the purpose ? It is no part of the duty of the dramatist to invade the province of the antiquary or the critic; and yet, for confining hin»f If to Ins proper deparUnent, he incurs the cenaur«of Farmer, and other personHofthesarae calibre of intellect. If Shakspeare had had all the concentrated knowledge of all tlie antiquarian societies of Denmark, Scotland, Norway, or Wales, he would have completely forgotten, what it waa utUrly im-
vni,. III. ■
HiB
SHAKSPEARE PAPERS.
possible he eliouM forget, — the fiMt principle* of dramatic artj if he (lei>icte(l iMiicbcth, Lear, or Hamlet in any other manner than that which he 1ms chrtsen. He would not have taken the trouble, even if L-diUuiiH oi' Haxo-<Tr(iinniiiticu9 or Hector HoethiiiR were as plenty as black bt.Tri«3, tii tiim over a single put?' "f their folios. lie fuund all that his art wanttil in the hii^turiuMK or romance-writers ol' the day. — in Hall or II ulitiKhed, or the Tragical Ilietury uniuniblet, and that, tiw, trannlnteil. not tVom the Lntin of the Danish annuUit, but from the French of the utorj-.teller Belleforeat- ('oinnion 8en«e wonld dictate this course ; bnt if the learned languages be wanted to bupport it, I may quote Horace, who, being eminently the poet of common sente, speaks for all times and countric».
Recttib Iliacum carmen (It'ilincio in acCtut, QuutD 51 proferres ipioia imlictuque [iriinus.
Take the tale or the legend as tl is popularly believed for the foun- dation of your drama, and leave to othtrs the obscure glory ofhuut- inp after new lights, or unhe.ird-of adventure*.
In his classical plutf> the tame principle holds. In his Antony and Cle(>patr«, Julinii Cwsar, CoriolanuB. and Tinion of Athens, " it is nnt»rioii«," to one the word» of l>r. Farmer, " that much of his matter af fact knowledge i« deduced from Plutarch ; but in what language he read him, hath yet been the f]uefltion." A more idle question rould not have been asked. He mi^ht, for anythinj; we know to the contrary, have rend him in Greek ; but for dramatic purposes he ustd him in English. Sir Thomas North's translation of Plutiirch WHS a remarkably popular bonk ; and Shakspenre, writing not for verbal critirs, anxiously collating the version with the ori- ginal, and on the look-out to catch slips of the pen or mistakes of the press,' hut for the ordinary fretjticnters of the theatre, con-
* 8udi u i.jdia for LU/jia., in AntAny and t:|[MpittnL. Aet iii. !n^ G.
majg lier
Of liHOi'tir Syria, Cypnis, l,t)ilitt,
Alijtoliite ijuefii, U])H>n. oormilns it from the tm o{ PJuurrJi, 8ubatitut«d Libya ; and Dr. Johnson anil othtfTcomini.'rniaioni nili-|>I<*<l tlir oirrii-iinn Farmer Kiui clu* emit tnoi'il uf diKruiverinK tln«i the iToril in t.i/-iia in North, whoin Stinkuprarr fnllnwiii. It ivns a |{re«l ikaiac iitdwd that Iil* liml not n»iii:nl ilievrn>r, anil cifUali'*) ihi; Eojiiisl] vith the (iri^k '. Ill Uie «ame spirir At laKiu-iniit criiifUm It it remiu-ked. tliat Caviar U matte to leiiv« tu tlif' Huiiiaii )tt^<]i- >ii»);i>MWitk, &c. ** on IhU liilif Tilipr," whereas i\ (liould be " on lliat tide Til>Fr,"_ihp iiri([inal bring wi(« vS vtrmiuv. North tnmiLitn it. han-vivir, " on ihU ndr," and Shakupcare aftain Mlow* liim without tiiniing tA th« (irvrk. F»rm<T, with ati i^lil rhrtArical uriiliro, Htyi, " 1 oouM fiir> niah you writh many iiiotd initaiiiia, hut tliew! nrv u ^immI u b diimiand." Ilv had given Mfw — and I extremely doiilii if he ixiuld linve i^ven thrav ini>r«. He bids ui ** turn to the trsnolniinn friMn the French of Atn^nt, by Thoni&i Nurtli, (n toKo. I&36, anil yrtii wil] at mice >« ihr origin ul lli« minUkc. It i> hurJ w »»y in aliat leuir t'amieT am ihr vwatA "origin;" but ih* mhtakfa originate in Atnyat. who tno^tii* the formrr pMMge " Royne d'i:(r7ptr, da Cypres d# Ljfdit," and the Utter " ei ^it'il laiunit au pvnplc dt:* jardloi «t rtrjctrf def la rivirrr ilu Tylire." 1 a^''" "''^b Fanniir, howvver, in thiiikiiif; chat, ifh«iMiuld adduoo tbn ibnuum) inmiincM of which h« tpcaliB. hit aririinienl wmitil lir nothiii); the batter. It wnuM tmty ynve that ShBk*pean<. for tho iniiTwi« of Ki» I'laya. consulird North In i:ngli»h, and not PlitUrch in Orcek ; a Inct ohirJi mny be mtdily oonceilcd, wnti, u I hare aatd in the tvxt, oontpleiely juatified go the inM jvinciplot of lli« ilnuna.
I dc not agrM wiili Upton and oUien in th«ir prviposrd altmtion ot tbfw two ptaaagta, which, tumerer xhtj mav diffi^r fKim ihr text ot Plutarch, I would aiijler tn remain m ihej ap|>ef>r in tlie fulio, bocauae I am lura thai 6hak«pcarc to wruttr
I I
I
TIMON OF ATHENS.
sa:
•ulted t>ie volume of the English kiiighti not that of ttie Btroiiaii biojB;rspher. If he had been as learned as Isaac Cftsaubon, he wuulil have sL'ted precisely in the name manner. The muiiite and un- ceasing rtudy of clii»»ical literature since the day* of Shakapeare has bani«hcd blundrm frnm our editions and translHtiona, and not even the miwl cjirelestily etliiCitted m-oiiUI dei-tn il prdantic or mis- placed in a (Irantatiat tn write with a rrmNlniit reference to the original, nn matter in what langtin^ic, from which he drew his story ; but, on the otlier hand, wc should deem him a very duU critic indeed who wouhl inmist upon it that in n play avowedly written M\er Hooke. or Gibbon, or Clifford, iu author should verify cTcry quotation, and take care that their authorities were given with alt the perfections of the Imt " vditio aliis longe locupletior."
Ben Jonson tuuk atiutiier course, and hisEuccvHs «-asas indifTerent as that of Hhaki^peare was overwJiclming. His 8cj»nu& ami Cati- line are treasures of learning. Gifl'urd truly uys u? the Utter, that " the number of writerR whom Jonson has consulted, and the in- dustry and care with which he has extracted frora them every cir- cum><tanc« conducive to the elucidation of his phrt, vm only be con- ceived by those who hnVe occasion to search alU-r his authorities. He has availed himself ol" almost every sc*tterc<l hint from the age of KalluDt to that of KHxaheth for the correct formation of his cha- racters, and pluccd them before our eyes an thcv appear in the writings of those who lived and acted with them." Die conse- quence is, that Catiline is absolutely unbearable on the stage, and fails to please in the closet, because the knowledge with which it nhouuds is conveyed in an inappropriate form, [f Jonson had be- rtowed the same pjiins, and expended the same learning, upon a his- tory of the Catilinarian conspiracyj he might have produced a histo-
Of tb« third, rBr«rr«d 10 iij Dr. Fanner, 1 am Diit mi cirnr. I n AnioRjT and , Aet iv, Sf. I. Auirii>lu«, in rr|ily to Aiii(iriy'«cliaIIi!iii,'e, layit livt the nld nifhan know I have manv otli^r vayt lu >lie~~mritiitiitii?. Lauxh at hill chnlirng*. <* What a fVply is Uiii 1" sap UpUMt : " it is ackni>wlecl^ng b« ibtiuM fall uaitr iba uwiu^ osoihat. But it vre r«Ml.
Let the olJ ruffian knoir Ifti haih many alhfr ways to die ' maantiniB, / laugk at his chaUengv. «C have the poifcnaiicy uwi the very rcjMrtM at Cvoar in Plutarch." To diif nt^ng, which faa» Igtii jp.'"*''jlly ■tloytgd, Dr. Fanner uhjecls thai, thmigh it is(«r- UioJy so In the Gn*k an<i tli« niiMlern translattDn, " Sbakapraro wna midrd tiy itia ■ohifBity cf thfl old onr." Antoniui Mtnl a^sin to cLall«n|te C»ur to li|{bt hinii Ut wfatdt Ck*ar an*wrM, " Thai he tiail many lUher w«y» Ia (li«." Tlie Donor Mif(ht to HavD told lis that th« antbijiiiilv liem pructwdcd fruni Amyiit ; *' Ceaar lUT St npoiiM!, qu'tf svoit Ifeaucoiip d'autrm iDt>>-eiL> tie maurir qua ratuy-lh;" liut it Is DM an ambiguiiy nf a very punting kJDd. Il appoan to me that Sliakqieaiii waald have folloveil hi* tfxi litrrally a* uhmI, and iMrrftwed the wnrd *'Ae." I am, tbrrafnr*, in fanmr of t'pinn'* nadinji; Mpeoally ai it mondi tha metro, whidi, in the prcsant tczt> b •onewliai out ur j«lnt.
(;«aar t« Antony. l<et the nld niffian know I llare manv uiImit ways to die — tneaatimCt L«u|{h ai bit challenge-
JftfV. C'wur niuRt think, Ac,
TW inpgMA MBdinic •Kiuld make it much nnoothvr.
CMar tu Antony. !«! th» old niSian Know be hath many other ways w die : ilaaatini^ I langh at 's challence.
Mmt. Canar must tliink. he.
22»
SHAKSPEARE PAPERS.
ricftl trestifc to be applnuded, instesd of a trngedy to be tit iiio»t dw tolerated, lliii learning oppressed him. lie whs too full of know* ledge to borrow his plots, not to siiy from North, but from Plutarch himself. The inaccuracies of the old story-teller would have cnn- Btanlly shoekeil his jichol;ir-like mind ; and, iiiKtrad of drawing chn- ractera or inventing idluationit, he w-onld lutve been in perprtiial
?ueat of authorities to corroborate or contradict his principal text, lad there been any such thing ns a Plutarchian life of CntiUnc, or *' a Tragical Iliatory of the bloodv conspiracy of Home, showing how they swore upon a bowl of blooa to burn tlic town, and murder the senators; with the particiilara of the execution of gome of the con- spirators, and the kdling of the rert in a blou<iy battle near nnto the Italian moiintainB Cfllled the Alpea," the eubjerC might have attract- ed the atleruiun of Sliakspearc, who would have assuredly looked no farther. The gossiping biographer ur the prating ballad-monger would suffice lor his purpose ; and all other authors, from the age of Sallust to that of Elizabeth, might rest unconauHed in peace. We should, however, have had characters which, if they were not as correctly formed, " and placeil before our eyes as they appear in the irrititig.t of those who lived and acted with them," would have been plmced bt'forc us a» they ajipeared in the eyes of men thenixlves who saw them live and net. ITe >vou1d not have dre«aed n» the dry-bones of history^ skeleton-fashion; but clothed them witii flesh, and sent upon the stage, not critical abstractions, but actual men. It is usual to talk of the art of Jonson as something opposed to the genius of Shakspeare. With deference to those who employ this language, it is not over-wise. In everything material the pos- Msaion of genius incbiriea the possession of art ; and in their com- mon pursuit it would be easy to prove that Jonson was as much in- ferinr in dramatic art, as it is admitted he was in dramatic genius, to hia illnsitrinus contemporary. I am much mistaken if I could nnt support my opinion by the authority of no less a person than Aris- totle liimHelf, of whom Jonson thought so highly as to write a com- mentary on his Poetics. 1 do not say this out of any disparagement of that great writer, whose name, on many accounts, stands emi- nently high for erudition and geniuN in our own, as it would in any other literature, and whose memory was shamefully i;»*ed by some of the Sliak^pearian commentatora of tlie last cetitury ; but I refer to him because the acknowledged failure of his learned dramas af- fords, in my mind, a full justification of the course pursued by Shakapeare, and ought to put an end to the idle gabble as to the learning of him whom I>r. Farmer so complacently calls " the old bard.' Hut the full discussion of this qnesiion, with the numberless incidental disquisitions to which it must give rise, would occupy too large a space to be ventured ujion in the?e 6eeting essays : and might make the readers of Hentlcy's Bliscellany set me down, if its editor were ra-.h enough to iiifiict sucit toil upon them, ass bore of the first magnitude for intruding my dry criticisms upon his pleasant und festive pages. I am rather afraid that they are something inclined CO think ]ne so already, and am unwilling farther to jropardy my re- putation on that »core. I must confine myself to Timon.
Lucian introduces Timon aOer bin fall from riches, besieging Jupiter with a storm of epithets, and railing at the dotage into which the god has fallen, and hIa imbecility in permitting so much
I
TIUON OF ATHENS.
evil ill the world. He reminde him uf \hv furnier times, in which hid lightning Htid thunder were in constant uccupation ; when bis sgia wss pprpvlually shaken, his bolts darted like clouds of arrowit, his linil mttlcl down ns throuffh a ftieve; and how once on a great i»rca»ion he drowned the world in an universal deluge, leaving but a »parlc of lite behind in a cack-lKwt Hiranded upon hy~ corea for the propagation of greater wickcdncftn. Alter some genera) reflections, he comes to his own particular case, and upbraidi* the god for allowing him to he treated with so much ingrfttitude, especially as he had so often siicrificcd at the jovial festivals with so much libe- rality. His clamours tiurceed in arreting the nltenciun of Jupiter, who had been Reared away fur some time from looking into Athens by the noisy disjiutes of the philosophers : and, ri-co^niging his claims on divine attention, he deispatches J^lercury to find Pluius, and bring' him to Timuii in the desert. The meftsenger of the gods willingly uudertakes the commission; and a pleasant dialogue between him and Plutus, on the difficulty of keeping ur retaining wealth, the dif- ference its possession and its want makes in the humnn character, and other similar topicx, ensues. Plutus im noun introduced to Ti- moo, drives away Poverty, and del'emU himself against the accusa- ti<ifU of the miMiiithro)>e, by referring tn his ovrn reckle*:^ extrava- gance, iind want of discrimination in the choice of Associates. Recom- mending Timon to dig vigorously, be departs. The digging ia abunduntly successful. It turns up gold in countless quantities, and presently arrive troops of flatterere, nlliired by the mere smell of the mnal. Some who hud treated him with remarkable ingratitude are among the number, and Timon resolves on vengeance. As one by one they approach, — some under pretence that their visits were paid for the sake of doing him service, others promising him public ho- noura and dignities, — he u^saulla them w-itli hin spade, and sendi them home Itattcred und broken- headed. At Invt ihu visitors be- come too numerous fur this clo^e combat ; and determined, like the old man :n the story, to try what virtue is in etones, he comiiiL-nces a battery upon them, which soon compels them to retreat, hut " not," 18 Timon says in the concluding sentence of the dialogue, " bloodlesa or unwuunded."
Such ia a hasty sketch of what ia generally looked upon to be one oftbtmost finished coinpotiitions of Lucian. The style throughout ia nr and airy, (though somewhat hampered by its mythology, for Plutu« is made to bear the incompatible characters of the (jod of Gold, and of gold lUelf, which every now and then comes in awkwardly,) and the characters are ptraaantly sketcheil. But Lu- cian nowhere reaches the Height of the comic; and over tragic, or pathetic, or satire, in its loflier range, he has scarcely any power. The objects of his ridicule are comprised within a small oompasa. His reader* may well exclaim with uord Byron, " Oh! thou eter- nal Homer !" for he con scarcely write two pages without some jeer- ing reference to tlie Iliad or OJyssey. the spirit of which divine poems he did not in the »Iiglitest degree comprehend. The wrangiings of the sophisU among whom he lived, ond to wliicli be attached a wonderful importance, form another topic of which he is never tired. Sketches of Athenian manners and »i>ciety abound, ufWn graphic, but perpetually filled with cuuipUtiitk of the insolence and upstart ]iridv of tlie rich. He i» always on the watch to remind them of the
SlIAKSPEARE PAPERS.
transitory nnture of iheir posReRsionn; and to comlpmn them to in- sult and (\]f{^T&ce at \he haiicl^ of \he poorer cltLases, whuin thuy liRtl ircKti-d with hauteur duriiif; Hfe, when they (Ic^cciid to imother world. He rci>cati! in icvural pluci's tlic cuniparitiuti ul* life to a tbtatricid ))ruces!>ii>n . hi whii'h msgiiificeiit [mnx are assigned to some, who pass before the eyes of the spectators clothed in costly garraentii, and bedecked with jfhttering jewels ; but, the momrnt the show IB over, arc reduced to their original nothingness, no longer kings and heroes, but poor players whose hour has b'Cen strutted out. It gives him wonderful pleni^Hre to call Cra^ujt, and Midn*. and the other generous prince* of old timen on ihe Asiatic coast, whose name* are everlnslingly hacked to piece* in the common-place sa- tires, or squibs, or homilies of the Greeks, wretches and ofl'wouir- inga; and to exhibit Cyrus, Darius, or Xerxes, occupied in dc]s;rading tasks ill [he infernal rcciom). These topics, with perpetual sneers at the tlven tunihlin]* mythology of Paganism, almost excliiMvely oc- tuny the pages of Luciati.
His reiti of satire was sniutl, and its direction not elevated. It is easy tu see that petty feelings nf personiil hpite or envy are at the bottoiu of all lie writes. Hi- was jealous of tlic atleiitiun paid to wealth, and anxioufi to »how the world its uii»toke in not bestowing exclusive homage on those far superior persons who could write witty di.-ili>gue, sparkling persiflngr, or smart reviews. In the sketch which is callml his Life, lie lets us into the secret. His father wax anxious to make him a »culptor, and apprenticed him to an uncle, who had obtained Konie reputation as an artist. Hia uncle treated liini harshly, and he took a dislike to the business. He then tells tia of his dream, in which the (jodd«!>Mes of Art and Kluquence contended for him; and, after hearing the pleadTngsof both, he decided Jur the hitter. The argument which weighed most with him, was, the power conferred by a successful career on a public orator of assuming the port and insolence of the great, I doubt not that Lucian in his prn^perous circumstanre.'^ — ^ti is saul that he died Procurator, i.e. Lord Lieutenant, of Egypt — was fully as arrogant, and as brnsible of all the privileges of liiii position, as the most Hwt'lling and preiiumiituous of tho»e whom he belabours in his Dialogues. Swift said that he wrote fur no other reibkun than that he might be treated as if he were a lord; Lucian's ambition for literary renown was stimulated by the hope that be might treat others in what be conceived to be lordly fashion. In other re- apects the game he pursues is, in general, suihII. Living in the pestilential atmosphere of a literary town, he thought the squabbling and quibbling of the p^edagogues by wliuui he was surrounded things of vital moment. It was, in his eyes, matter well worthy of all the Malirical powers he po»ke»«ed, to quix the fluvei)ly dress, or the quack pretcnMona, of a M^t of pmir deviU whose very names must have been unknown beyond the narrow precincts in which they bustled, (ircece, in his days, could not boast of any produce tions of genius; the commentating and criticising age had come; and the classic* of bygone times were the subject nf everlasting chatter among sects of reviewers anxious to show off their own wit and cleverness. The country hati for ages ceatcd to uke any in- tcrcst in polities; ami nothing remained tu console national vanity but perpetual deelaniatioiu on Marathon and Salaniis and vapour-
I
TIMON OF ATHENS.
931
in^ about their tkirmishin^ an<l Ifuccaiieering wars sf^iiiH tho Persians. Philip, and his "goillike son," were, for many reiiAons which I need not rt*)p to recjipitu Iflte, no favourites with the scrib- bling tribes of fallen Greece, and in general tltey make their ap- pCsrance only for sc>rn«- such silly purpose as To point .1 moml, and adrtm a uilc. Of the events which occurred in the lour or five centuries which eLtpsetl from the death of Alexander lo the daysof Lucian,no notice is taken. We have scarcely » hint, except in one or two estiays of duluouii authenticity, of the existence and profrress of Chri^tianityj which was with relentlefls hnnd knocking to picccn those gmls who were Mt often made the butts of Lucinn's ineffective icsttng. If there remained to lis nothing but his writinf^, we should be ignorant almost of the existence of the grent P.omnn empire under which he lived. His vision is confined to the gossip of Athena; whnt he sees there, he depicts with a plea:jant and faithtul hand ; hia world h that of sunhisu and reviewers, and on their i-oncerns he is shrewd, witty, and tustructivu. Nothing in its style can be better, fur exuniple, than the Cobbler and the Cuck : but the manners tliere depicted, aud the foibles satirized, are triiiliig. The Art of writing History is a perfect model of a review ; but then it is no more tlian a review. The Auction of Slaves is a capital st^uib ; but notliing more than a Ki)uib. He has ol\en been compared to Kabt-laiM, who has some- times borrowv<l largfly from him ; (Epistemon's account of what he Ukw in the other w<irl<l, for example, is taken not only in conception, but 19 many of its details, from the Neoyomantia of Lucian ;) but diose who know how to read the OaCKantua and Pantaj^uel in the manner recommended by Rabelais himself, in his address to the " beuveurs trez illustres," and the others to whom he dedicates his writings, will appreciate the deep difierencr between a light and Riarkling wit, amusing himself with offhand pleaiuintries on literary folly or provincial absurdity, and the Inng-pondering old man fitl^ with omnigenous knowledge, rioting in bittcr-sonlrd buf- fooni-ry over all that can affeci the inicreHts or agitate the passions of mankind, (."omparc Lucian 's True Hialory, with the \'oyage of Panucge in quciit of tlie Holy Rottle. The Greek has the merit of tbe original idea, which \ms since suggested all other imaginary mytges, and supplied no few materials to Gulliver himself, and a pleasant history it must indeed be allowed to be; but what is it after all, but a ijuiz or parody (often an unfair one) on Herodotus and Homer? In the other, literature and its concerns hold hut a trifling place ; but as the vessel, Mteered by Xenoinanes, glide* on- ward through allegoric IiiiicIh, and prtidigiouH adventures, to its fimil destination, it leaves untouched no coast where matter is to be found for reflections cm law, religion, medicine, science, politics, phi- losophy, in all their ramifications, poured forth from a bosom mled with unbounded erudition, and a heart perfectly fearless of those U> whofn it could trace superstition, imposture, quackery, or car- ruplKtti.
I have dwelt prrliapa too long — certainly longer than I had in- tended— on Luciuii ; but I wish to point out the inutility of looking to him, even if he had been at Shaksiteare's elbow, a^ supplying in any degree elements for the character ot the dramalic Timon of Athens. he is the more energetic misantbrojie. fie indeed liala mankind.
232
SIlAKSfEAKK PAPKKS.
The Greek is not in earnest. In the depth of hts indignation he tum» awAy tojcfit upon some trifle of ninnncrii. He can recollect the ill-breeding and gluttony of the philosonhtT who IicUb up the rich sunce off the plate with hitt fingers ; and he ran stop to bandy' jeRts with the hungry purAeite, or the venal uratur. Ilia optniing addrcsB to Jupiter, cnninienceii with a frolic recupitulution of the cpittictsaddrcBS'ed to the Olympian rultr by tlie poet£ ; and the tni»- anlin-upv is to far furgutlcu in the litterateur, tliat he pauses before entering on bis own culuuiiLiee and wrongs, to hiugh at the brain- stricken poets who are obliged to >top the gap of a yawning rhythm, or to prop up a halting metre, by an epithet. This miaaii- thropy did not very (mouslv affect tht- |i«tifiit; nor are the evil* of whieh he complains, amounting »» they do tu little more than hi» being cut hy his uhl acquaintances now that he i» poor, «o dreadful or extraordinary ak to make him
bid the llmnder-lieaiPi- nhool. Or tell tales of them to liigb-judh{inG! Jove.
The wrnlli of the Timon uf Shakspeare is conceived in a different npirit. No jektiog escapes his lips while hi- hurls his hatred on Athcnu. His witln-ring malediction touches nil tlu- paints on which we are most sensitive ; many, from the mere conKith-rntinn of which wc instinctively turn away. He prays for Uie incontinence of ma- troni, the disobedience of children, the degradation of nobles before Hlave^ and fools, the foul desecration of virgins beneath the ryes of their parents, the bursting of all social bonds, the preternatural cruelty of boyhotHl to age:
Son of sixu-cn, Phick the lined cruidi ftam lliy uld limping sin:, And beat his brauH out !
The utter uprooting of all theciviUned instituttnnii, all the charitable feelinpi, all the honourable or holy thoughts that link mankind to- gether:
I'itljf acid fear, KeliRion to the gods, pejice, jusUee, truth, Doniniic awe, nigbl>r4;»t, and utrijiliboorhood, liisiruclit^R, manner^ mjsitm-a and tradn, l>egTees, obscrvnnoi-s, ciis(oin» ^imJ laws, Jlethm* In j-gur confuuiidiiig coniniiies, And )ft cnnfu^ioii live.
This is no mock hatred; it is the harrowing language of a roan thoroughly aronsed to indignation, and deiiperait: against his kind. Compare it with the parallel passage of Luciuii, and we shall »ii?, without recurring to any such fonliah inquiry an to what was the precise quantity of the '• less GrteW" allowed to Shakspeare by Hen Jonson, that to no other source than that which supplied the male- dictions of Lear, or Constance, or fllargaret, need we look foe the bursting im])recatioiis of Timon.
He i« inti-otlucrd, at the conimencfmcnl nf the plav, surrounded with all the pomp ami circumstance of profuse wealth. The poet, the painter, the jeweller, await his appearance with the tributes of the pen, the pencil, and the mine. The noblest nii-n of his city bow before him, cap in hand ; the humble look up to him tt» their 'eurefel auy in distress, and none depart dituippuiuted. All wniUtiona and all minds, the poet says in the florid style.
riWOH 0FA1
S33
As «*el1 of Rlib and Uippary crmliirees" aa
or trravc unci •u^tere qualily, leiidei down
Their sen ice to Lord I'linon. Hia large fortUDe^
Upon Kis good nntl gnLcioui nnture hangiBc,
SuIk]u« ;ind propenies to liis lovr und tenilnnM:
All iorls orhcarW; yva. from the gUis-fuced flalteter,
To A|>eni»ntui, thai Tew thmgi lovci bolter
Than to abhor himself. His first appearance on the sUge ia lo rdesse m prisoner by pay- ing the debt ; to give the tloury rrqiiirvd to mnUe two Uivfrs happy in their utiion; to bestow iHviFti rrroinpense, und, what i* fully ax dear to the ear of painter or poet, conimcndationa equally lavi^^h on the productions o^cred to his patronage : to rcci-ivc with aboundtng^ hospitality Alcil>iMdp» and hi.s train; to preside at a magnificent banquet, heapinjj his ijuesLs witli gil"t.'<, and enterlaining them with all the splendour that taste and prudic»l expense eni\ command. Hia own heart, proud and gratified, swetls with a itrong desire to do •till more:
Melhinks I could dcd kingdoms to my friends.
And n«'Vr be w(ary.
He is happy in being the in.strument of eontributing to the hap. I^nesa of others. It is his delight — his pleasure — his hobby. Not to be generous, i« not to bu himself. His profuse itnd libera) habit blinds him to all suspicionb that the rest of the world is not of th« Mine temper. 'Hie time comes when he in to be cruelly undeceived, and when his sincerity in these prufessiunB of universal love and benevolence ia to be tievercly tested. His wealtii, which he thought inexhaustible, has taken lo ilsL'lf wings iiiul fled. But even thi^ docs not make any very deep impresaiun iipun him. He listens with cha- racteristic impatience to the tale of hi8 ruin told by the di§eonso1ate I'lavius. He answers in brief and hasty sentences, and tiiHin bidii bim "sermon no further." He has his own resources left, his own plans to fall back upon. He reiuerubers his wish when in the height of imagined prosperity ; he had often desiretl to be poorer, in order tliat he might come nearer his friends. He had been affected even to tears when, with overftowtng heart, he thought of the precious emnfort of having so many persons knit together so closely, that, like brothers, they commanded each other's fortunes. He reflects whh a justitiable pride, that his generosity was not directed to un^ vorthy purposes, or called forth by unworthy feelings :
No villanoHS Iwiinty >-et hath pati iny heart ; Unwisely, not ignobly liave 1 givcu.
Uc will not listen to tlie suggestions of his steward that he can find any difficulty in borrowing. Kven when he li'arns that the senators, on whom he had public claims, and from whom h^ expected a large sum of money for the mere asking, have turned a deaT ear to nppli- catioim mule in hi« name, be is not diicournged. He utters a slight cKpresaiou of ipleen, " You gods reward tnem!" and at once bid- ding Havius look chccrly, proceeds to arcount tor their ingratitude u an exception to the general rule, arising from the lack of kindly warmth in cold.blooded age. Elsewhere he is secure of success :
Ne'er speak or think
Tim Timon's fortune* 'mung lii> fncndt can sink.
* SlwukI uut this be " creature," i. : cresUoa t
234
SHAKSPKARB PAPERS.
All these lifipe« are dashed to the ground in a moment. His at- tciQptj at Imn-nwing are vone thnn unFiica^HKrul ; tlicy make his diHicultirs noturiouH, snc), instead of afisistin;; his waiitD, caone hh house to be bt-sicgcd witii clamuriJUH creditors. Shakspeare has not written the Hceiie in which thf ungratctul refusals of his friends are cninmunica.ted to hiiu ; but he shuws u* the effect oC the cimi- iiiunication on Tiii>on'» mind. It Ktrikei^ him with instant nickneM. " Take it on my soul," says his servant ServiliuB,
Idy lord leuTO wniidrously to dUconterit.
His coRirorinble lemper has foKook. him ;
He IS much mil oflir-iillli, «ii(l kvf|»i Ins chamber.
This i* the cold fit of the ague by which he h ainitten. The hot fit of fever i* soon at liand. He burst* in controllf^ss rage through the li]ea of opposing duns; plaiisa whiiTi«tral, but a decisive revenge; and, having executed it, parts from the crowd of
Smiling, Huooili, deiesied parasites, CuurtvuuB desUDjun, affable wvlvu, meek bears, The ftJoh of fortune, Uctii:her-f[ tends, time-flies, C'iip-iind'kncc sLiVts. vupuurs, iicid iiiitiutv-JaH*,
whose pr<Kligiuiia ingratitude had driven him almost mad, with a stern rciiolutio'ii riirver more to expose hini»clf to simitar cauica uf grief aiid indignation, liy herding ag^aUi with mankind.
It is useless to wiy that such a determination was unjust. He who aSecta to be a misaiithroue, i» a pitiful and troublesome cox- comb; real misanthropy is madness, ami in the concluding; acts of the play, Timon U actually insane. He bad no friends, llis money and iits dinners attracted dependents and gueets in .-.bundauce; but he ought to have known that they went_^/or tiie money and tlic dinner, and notJiing el«e. The entert&iner »nd the entertained were on a level. If they had the pleasure of receiviiiK. he bad the gtury of giving, and neither party had a right to mmplnin. The eourne of life he led, was calculated expressly to drive from him all who were po&se^scd of qualitie* capahlc of imtpirin^ respect and friend- ship. No honourable or high-minded man would frequent the house of Timon, to be exposed to the suspicion of going there with sordid or selfish views. lie gathered around him thrtjngR of people whom he corrupted into sycophancy, iuid he is unrea».onuble enough to (.'umplain of the very meunness which was chiefly of his own creation or encouragement. He set no value on what he Hung away with lavish hand, and in reality cared as little for thuie to whom he flung it. While dispensing tiis boundless hospitalities, or K scattering his roi^^nificent gifte, he had in him, though undeveloped,
H and even by himself unsuspected, the seeds of misanthropy as
H deeply set us when he was bowling against
H All feasts, societies, sad throngs of men,
H in the desert- He consulted merely liis own wliim in giving. He
^1 thought that no profusion couhl exhuu»t his wenlth ; and he thcro-
H fore was profuse, as he imagined, in becurily. If we held the
H purse of rortunatus, or could chain
^^^_ Velalile llennes, and call up tinbound,
^^^H^ Id various fuTliis, old I'rolciu frvni die i&»,
^^^^^^^_ Dranu through a limbeck lo lus uaiitc foria.
TIHON OP ATHENS.
•»
■nd achieve the iHscovery of the philosoplier'a alone, where would be our uierit in dispciieiiig gold all around ? We give nothing when we give that which CMts us nothing. We do not see that Timon mak«s any sacrifice, or puts himsclJ' to any inconvenience; and we must esteem but lightly that Iiber«titj' which looks forward tu re- compeoK or return. In his pro«peritv he cherUbed chance com- jMHions without consideration ; and, with equal want oT considera- tion, he curses all mankind in hia adversity. The difference be- tween his feelings in the two cases amounts to no more than this, that Tiinon, rich, quietly showed his contempt of the ill- cho«en circle of paraaites with which he hnd unrroundrd himself, by a careless bounty, showered without d!.stinrtinii on the base »* on the worthy ; and Timon, poor, clamorously exhibited his hatred of nil mankind, hastily judging them by the wretched sample with which he had UCociated, in a strain of general imprecation as reckless and undis- criminating,
A kvrvile or senaiia] mind would have adopted tlie plan of Onatho in the EunuHiua, who, aller he had wasted in " riotous living" whatever property he pub!>u&sed, — after jiatria aKigurierat iona, — seized on such a gull at ThraEo, and have endeavoured to live upon others, as others had lived upon Iiiin. A good-natured or thoughtlesH fellow would have tried to mend his luck, called for fresh cards, and begun ngain. He, no doubt, would be at first especially annoyed by the loss of his money, and still more by the reflection that he had Ik-cii choused and ill-treated by those whom he took to be hiit friends, and who, at all events, were the partnerit of hi# (psyer hour*. Bui the fit would soon iiass, the bile would be got rid of, and (if of Kngliith tongue}, after a few of those national prayers which hnve obtained u» a celebrated gobriijuet among all the other people of the earth, liberally diatribtited to alt and sundry, he would regain his teni|ier, and philosophically sing
Why shoulJ wc quHrrcl for riches,
(ir uUivi sucit ^Imering toys T A li){hl hnri bnd u lliiii pair of breeches
\V ill gc tlirou^-h tiiv wwrid, ray brave boys \
He would 9trugf;le on, and puxxle it out in one way or another ; and, if Fortune smiled once more, be as ready as ever to coiiniience the old game, forgetting and forgiving everything and everybody, imd as open u* IwlVire to be imposed ti|>oti by those who gave themselves the trouble to do vo.
But Timon coidd not adopt either of these courses. Too high- bred, too haughty of thought, he could never have descended to be a trencher-slave; too scllishly awake to his own importance, he could never have pardoned ttioM who had hurt hia pride, or mortified his vanity.
Much conirahU as these, 8hakspearc had no notion of opposing to him. But he has cliosen the appropriati- contrii»t in Apemantus, the anarling pliilowpher,* who is niixlt'lled after the cynics, particu- larly after Diogenes. In Tiuion'x prosperity, be haunts his enter-
* lit it ihu* introduoml at Timon** banquet. ■* Then cooiM, <lrop|>inf[ sftrr ■U, A^enaatus ditountvnMdly, Mli# hiwu*tf." Therf hat Wen smdo dscp cniidsm on llicW words ; but, ■• UM^y do nwl univry any vrrj tirilliant awanlng, I inriin« la tltink Uw dir«c\ian was, *■ Than evmcs, droppittg a/ici all, AjioMaittiH iUsoni- tanictUy, ^ himwlf.''
836 SnAKSPBARB PAPSI
tainmt'nt^ for tlie ptirpone of indulging hin impertinent finmour mrpiiig at the criin|>»ny he meets there. Like Diogenes hiin<ielf, he 19 no more than an ill-mannered houndj who deserves perprtual kiek- in^i, antl is lolcmtcd only for his vrit. It is a character easy to assume and to support, requiring; nothing inore than a sufficient ktock of cool impudence and effrontery. V'ttnity is nt the 'bDttora. A desire to briizen out the inconveniences of low breeilin^ and Hwkwaril manners, and a love of iiotorietyr no matter how obtained, arc cnoujfh to make a cynic. The well-known repartecH ai I'lato aud AriisiippuB set the character of Dj<^iies in its true light: we may be certain that Alexander, in their celebrated dialogue, looked upon him merely ns a bulfoon, tumbling about for his diversion in a peculiar fashion ; but he was undoubtedly possessed of much vrit and humour. The jesting: "*' Apemantus is as pUin-spoken and ill-naturetl, if not ns jtu^id, as I hat oC the famed Irnnnt of the tub ; und Tiiiion keeps him at bin table as an uri^infil — a Kurt of lion, M^ho i;t a* much n p.^rt ol'thc diversion ot" the eveninjif, a* the inasijue of the Amazons, or the lofty *train of the hautboys. There are some touches of nature in the fellow, hotrcvcr ; for he aces with rccrct the approaching duwnfnl of his Hhend host, and wartks him against the consequences of the course he is pursuing, with a grumbling kindnet^s.
His cynicism is not mifcantEirupy ; it is of the aame stamp as that of the hero of a celebrated pUy. which its celebrated author in- tended as an exhibition of the feelings and prupcn^itlies of u man- hater, and gave it accordingly the name of Lc Alisantropv. It would be absurd to offer eulogies to Moliere, but it ij; undeniable iJiat he ha& made a mistake in the title of hi« play. Alceste is a testy and fVetful man ; nothing more. There is none of the insane rage, and consei|uentIy none of tiie poetry, of Uie mJMinthropc about him. It is hard to say what puts iiim out of humour; and, indeed, he can hardly tell the reason, except that
Moi, jt rcHX mc ficlier, rl ne rpin poiiil citlcndrc. When he comes to matters mure specific, we find him repeating the complaints, almost tFie phniHi-s, ui' Apemantus :
Nun : jg nt puis soufTrir i^Ite liVUe iiiuthoJs Qu' afl'f:ctei)t la ptupoit de ros cens a-la-modej El je lie hay rien Unit que Iw cutilorsium De lous ces gnndi faiseurs de prolesiaiions : (IT again,
M«s ytox sani Irop bleswi; et la oour *tl la vjlle
Ne m'otfrant neii qu objets ^. mVchauSer la bttc,
jVntre en une humeur uoirc, cii un cI)>);tiii piofond,
(jaand je vois vivre entie tux les homines cwmmc lU fout.
Jc lie irouve par-toii( que Iftclit^ fl^k'rte,
'lju*uijii5tiCf!, intfirtt, inhison, fourherit ;
Je ne puis pLui tenir, j'emage, ei moii deswin
(Isi dc tompnr en vt»i^re h tout le genre humaio.
It was liardly worth while to come to so desperate a determina- tion for so small a cause. His friend Hhilinte may well say
Je ne voii pas, mo), que le cas toit j'^ndabte. Even Apemantus is of tiigher strain on the same subject of insincere politeness:
Achtseonlraci uid stanre )vur nipple jnnis!
ilial ihere should U" small Iwe 'mongsl llie« »»b*i knaves,
IIMON OF ATHENS.
237
And all Ihh courtesy [ I'be stnin of man 's brwl out Into bftboon and monkey.
Who lives that's not Ocpnved, and <]r{)nivcs ? wlia diM, lh»l bears Not one spiirn to tlieit era^i'" o( ttieir frienilB' gift ? I thould Tnr, those ihnt dunce before tnn tioiv H'oulJ one dny snimp upon me. Ii biu been done ; Men shut their iJoors agiiinvt a telling sun.
What a coil'* here ! Serving of becks, nnil juUiiif; out of bums ! I doubt whether th«ir legs be worth the sums Tltal lire i{iv«n for thfrn. Friendship '» full of dregs ; Melhink*, false hcarti »bould never have sound Ugi. Thus honest fool* hiy out ilieir wtnlth on cuunesiei.
nr this strain Auenianlns is consistent thruuclioui, Alceste ia not. Oronte renus to him a silly sonnet, and le ]Mii>ai)trr>[>e i.i an careful of the u«age«< of society in conveung his censure, a^ any of the flatterers he condemn*. IIisdisBp|>rovR| is conveyed indirectlv; instead of saying at oik-l- that the verses are sad trash, he veils Ilia criticism under the pretence of its huviiig; been addressed to anotlicr :
Mais, UD jour, i. quelqu'un doni je lairai la nutn, Jp disois, 8lc
The treatment which the poet experiences from Apemantus is of a more decisive character. AlcesCe. bettides, so far from havinj; de- termined to break " en visii-re a tout le genre huiiiain," is in love, imtl in love with a flirt of the fimt magnitude. He is dcsiit'r.itelr jealous of his rivals; nnd, instead of supporting his inisantliropical character, is ready to ilefy them li I'outrance for laughing at him. A duellist, not a misanthrope, would have said,
far )e mikibleu I messicun, je ne croyois pas Mre Si ptaisanl que j« sun.
Ue experiences all the usual vicissitudes tif love,— jealou^T> nn^er,
Suarrels, reconciliatioKs, and so forth. If we did not fiml* it in the lisuiitrope, we should be inclined lo ascribe the following tender nwr);ritu — and there arc more b«»itle— to as love-»imitten a swain as ever talked ' softely to his ladye love.' Alceste says to Celimone ;
Ab I que *ous s^afei bien ici eontre moi-meroe, Perlide ! voui scn'ir de ma foihtcsvr i-xirtme, F.i men*4|[Fr («nn vuui l'exc^< prixli|{ieuii Oe cc fittal ainour, nC Ak ros Irujires ycax !
We find nothing like this, in the misanthrofie drawn by a mor^ vigorous hand. Aloliere himself seems to have a sharp nii«^vtng as to the consistency of bia character, for he makes Philinte say with astonishment
I)e rhunwur doni le Ciel a voulu le furener,
Je ne s(ai pas comment il s'avtse d'aiiuer.
He may indeeil be well amcxed ; but it is also not a little to be won- dered that the some considuration did not induce the autlior tu choose a difTrrent title for his comedy.
The anarler living in society, and the furious man whrt has (led from it, meet in the wood. The scene which ensues, is the mas- ter-piece of the play. The contrast Iwtwecn the hardened prac- titioner in ratling at mankind, the long-trained romptiund nf impu-
23S
SHAKSPEARB PAPbRft.
dent humorist and sturdy be^injar, who never had fell «n honooT- ablc or gcnoroin emotiun, and whofte whole career had beer devoted to prorure, under the cover of philo*oj>hy nnd independence, an it)f;lnri(ius living in lazy i(IIt;npi)», hy amnainfj thoHO wl)D«e taste lay that way with scurril ribaldry ; and the man who, born in lofty rank, hud cnjoyc-d all Uii' luxuries and the hplenilaiirn of life, whu had the mouths, the toi)|;(ue<!, the eyes, and hearts nf men paying lioniufte to hiiu, who Iiail never bent for favour, save when be tlioueht that he did honour to those of whom he iu-ked ii ; and now deprived of all that had been hia glory and hapninei's, the godtt of his idolalry ihattered at one blow, his brilliant BKy ouddenly over- ca»t, and the rich and bri^fht-cuJoured rainbow reduced to its orifp- nal ml»l and vapour ; — the contratit between the^e, — one content with his lot, nnd even vain of the ponition into which he ha^ thrust him- self; the other, torn by all the passions of an^cr and mortification, — IN finely conceived and admirnblv executed. Apcmantus telU Ti- mon that his present character sprmgs only from change of fortune ; that he is a fool to expotie himtielf to the rigour of woods which have outlived the eagle, M-hile hiti flatterers wear silk, drink wine, lie ffift, and have Ibrgotten his existence; that his sour cold habit hapi been put on enforcedly ; that he would again be a courtier, if he were not a beggar ; and, n» n moral of his discnurse, recommends him tu iniiUite the practices of those who ruined him, — tu hinge his knee, crouch, flatter, and betray in turn:
Tis most jujt Thftt titou turn nscnl ; (lad^l thou wealth again, lU»cab should have il.
Timon scarcely replies to the railing of the cynic, and utterly dis- dains to notice the scoundrel advice with which he concludes: but he retorta on h\h unwelcome visitor, that his character also was framed by bis circumstances; that he was born a beggar, and bred a dog ; tiial his nature commenced in sufferance, and that time made him hard in it; and that, if he had not been from the curliest mo- ment of his life the most degraded of mankind, be would 1h- a knave and flatterer. In these mutual censurew there is a mixture of truth and injustice. That Timon's misanthrojiy w»» forced upon him hy the downfftl of his fortunes, and the fflithlcssuess of his friends, is true; but Apemantns does not do him justice when he hhvs. that he would return to his old mode of life, if he were to regnin his former wealth. The iron hus entered too deeply into hia soul. Nor has the cynic proiierly appreciated the character of Timon, when he re- ctrnimends him to turn rascal. Here he speaks from himself, and U laid defencelessly open to the |jowerful retort of the tiiUcu gen- tlemao. " lladst thou," says Timon
Like u», from oui first swath, proceeded
The tvta degre«s iJiat this brief world affords
To such as may the |<a)uir« d rugv of it
FfMly command, Uiou wouldst have plunged tbyivlf .
, Ja geoeni riot ; tnelli?d doum i)iy youth
lo dilcmit beds of lust, and ne«<>r Iru-ned
The icy preccin* of rmpcci ; ba( followed
The lugared i^i<: beran; thee.
The same selfish mood of temper tliat rendered the beggar Ape- mantus insolent, and denrous of vexing whomsoever he met, «' always a villain's office, e«r » fool'^" would have made the high-
TIHON OF ATHBNS.
239
hofti Apcmantim pursue such a course u it here describetl l>y Timon ; «n<I, if he hncl broken down in hie career, there can scarcely l»e » doubt ttiat hf wmild have followed the servile advice he tenders. The bej^.ire<l prodij^al would have Iwcome a sycophant. But Ti- mon, Coo, )« unjust towards Apemniitii* when he aay«.
All villains that do stand Iiy thee are pure :
Tor the cynic had no other >']lUny than iinpudrace and IdleneM. The fact is, that neither can dft'cnd his own conduct, and each is driven to take the p-oniid of impugning that of his accuser. Such ■ conversation can have but the one end. It must conclude, aa it does here, in a torrent of miitunl abu^e ; and thej depart with in- creaaetl Hcorn and contempt of each other.
With the fourth act, the Shakespearian Timon may be (laid to be- gin and end. Tht: lirst at*!, cxiiibiting his prodigal extrava^nce; the second, bis tottering estate ; and the third, Ilia murtiftcatJun and revenge, are taken from Plutarch ; or. if we must 8peak by the card, from North. There is nothing remarkable in the character* of a prodifial host, a confiding friend, or an Irritated Iwnefactor soured by unlooked-for ingratitude- The fourth act ia Shakspeare'g own. Alarm h»d made way for rajre ; raffr now bursts into madness un- controlled. In the other sketrhen of Timon, he i« shown as a sple- netic wit; and those who visit him in the hour of his returning wealth are no more than ordinary parasites, plying their welt understood vocation. In the ftf^h aL*t Shakspcarc dramatizes some of the old traditionary *torie* of the man-hater, and the force and energy which he had impnrted to the character are immediately weakened. The invitation of all Athenians " in the sequence of de- gree" to hang themselves, is a touch of mere comedy ;• and even hit answers to the senators, though savage enough, are C\t removed from the intensity of frenzied hatred exhibited in the fourth act. There he is indeed the misanl/irufroi who hates mankind. The poetry of the mtsimthropic feeling is there fully developed. In Apemantus, his hatred of mankind is a tolerated impertinence, which * obtains admi&sion to lordly tables, and alTords an opportunity of railing and carping without being exposed to their proper con- •e()urnccs. In Atceste, there is in reality no misanthropy at all, Phtlinte may well call it a folly :
CW une fulie, it nulk auti« >«coiid«, De vouloir se luilcr de corrigcr lu monde.
In Timon it is absolute maclnesa. He goca not about displaying his wit or his ill-nature at the ex|>en^ of those whom he meets. He fties from all society^ and confounds the universal race of man in one common curse. As for correcting the world, he dreams not of such foUy. It suits biiD better to pray for its universal ruin and damna- tioai-
This is the only light in which misanthropy can b« considered
* Sbakipoara, in inuodudiiK il^it uory o( the iroe. iliil uot laku tbs uuubls of rMoUaotisg that it ia a town suirj, aad not luiied for ihn desert. 1 liBvc • tm. irtiicli grow htt* in tny cJoM, Tluit mjnp flirn u»« laviles mu to rat Jown, And I (nuit fell <l> Ms hanllv ha4 a doM at hU awd, or Indeed a tree af Itii awn^ In the ilearrti whers b« dwell in • chv« ; Imidr*, br iMid no iieoeMilr for rdliag any pariiralar tnw, ur, if lie liad, thm twiuinad nuiugh far \hm piirpnsc* he TWOommvBiled.
240
MIAKSPKARB TAPERS.
for the purposps of prtetry. If we do not look upon it a» m»dit«»,it becomes contemptible. 'Timoii. born to great irstat*', w««te» it in riotoua living ; anil, when his money is gone, he finds it not quite to easy to borrow as it Imd been with him to lenii. The case is far from being uncommon : and it i? borne in different ways, according to the different temperanients of men. It drives Timon out of hi* aense*. Gold, and the pompn and vanitiea which it procures, had been to him everything. Nuture had not supplied him with do- mestic attachments ; he i* Ariihont wife or children, kindred or relit- tions, and he has m»de no friend. All that he regarded, vanished ■with hill wealth. His w»iil, like that of the licentiate, Perez (Jarcis, lay in his purse ; when the purse was lost, he lost his senses too. In his prosperity we do not find any traces of afTeciioii. honourable or otherwise, for women. In his curse-s, disrespect fur the femole MX 18 remarkably conspicuous. The matron is a counterfeit, her smiling bnbe is spurious ; the virgin is a traitor, there is no chastity which ia not to be sacrificed for Gold> that
Ever }'oun^, fresh, loved, and detteate wooer, WIkwi! tiliish doth Diaw ihe «fn»ecraied anow That lies on Dian'j check ;
and those who do make the sacrifice are instantly converted .into the pliigiR-s and tormi'nts of miinkind. "There's more gold." he «»yi to Phryne and Tiinandra. alter a speech of frenzied niving ;
Tin yau dnmn olUen, and let this damn you,— And dilchei gmce ycu alt 1
Thciie philoKoptiical ladies atisiire liini that they will do luiylhing for gold, and inank him for his cnmplimenta :
More coutimI »iih more n.oney, bounieousTintonl
lie readily believes them to be no worse than the rest of their sex ; and, as gold had been hi& alt-in-nll, feeU no scruple in thinking that its operation ought to be resi&ttess in subverting the honour of women, »» well as the faith of men. Nothing, I repent, except insanity, couhl raite such a character from contempt ; but inve>t him . with madness, and poetry will always be able to rivet our attention, and excite our sympathies for the mnody pansiomt of the man hated of the gods, wandering alone over the limitless plain of life without end or object, devouring hit own heart, and shunning the iiaths of men. No women nppenr in this play except Phryne and Tinmndra, and they but in one short scene, when they do not speak, between them, fifty words. TIuh, of itself, is sufficient to keep the playoff the stage, for few aclressea will be desirous of .ippearing in snch ch«- Tnctern. 'fhcy are precisely the descriptinn of women suited to contimi Tiinon in hia Iiatred of the human race, and hi*! conviction of the power of money over all. It is unnecesflary to say that ladies of a different class of 60ul nrc to be found in Shak^pearc, but their plBC« is not here. Isabels and Imogens, Juliets and Desdemonos, would have scorned the riot and sycophancy of his proxperous hours, and would have acared away by thrir unpurchaseable purity the de- grading visions of his misanthropical fancius in Uie witud. I'lie inis- tKMes of Alcibiades [the r*'at Aicibiades, I xliould imsKhie, was much ' better nccommodatcd ' than he apporit to be in this play, J are Timnn'a patterns of womankind ; ax the parasite train, who infested his hon», are his patterns of mnnkiml. Vet even he might have
TIMOS OF ATHENS.
!M-I
neva that liis estimate was unjust. The churlifh Apemantusi who Ate roots while others revelled at hif< overloaded board, Mvek!i luin in the forest to offer soroethini; better than roots to mend his feiutt. IIU titewxrd, Klavius, approaches him in Ins calamity with a tender of his duteous Mcrvire. Alrihindr*, the most honoured of his jiuesta, and who never had received any favour:* at hia handt, o^ern liim as- sistance una_<ikcd. These tnuchcs of kindne4i« mi^ht have ab-itrd his censuri', and made him waver in hia opinion that he shuuld find in the wooda
The unkindeat beut more kinder than mankind.
But no, ThefevliiiK which war nt the root of hi* madness is ax conspi- cuous in his reception of these offers, as in all other parts of \m con- duct. He patronizes to the end. lie is toucliwl by the derotion of Flavius^ becau>>e he recotriiiKi-N Timon in thtr li;{Iit of a master ; he decUites tlit* (jold oC Alcibiaile'4, hecaime he wiahefc to show that fie hoA more gold, aiwl can ^till lavish it ; but Apeniantuit he spumi>. He will not acce|»t assistance from a beggar, and a bcfi^ar upon whom it would be no matter of pride to waste his bounty, eren if the perverse anarlcr would recci%'c it.
Iiuanity. ari^in^ from pride, is the key of the whole character ; pride indulged, manifesting itself indirectly in insuni* prudigatity, — pride mortified, directly in insane hatred. Apeinantus was wron^ when he tuld him tliut he was long a mailman,, and tlieii a fool. He aboutd have revLTKcd iL Timon waa first a fool, and tJien a mad- Bwn. Alcibiades eves at a glance that
bit wil* Are drowned and lont in hit calamitin ;
and for such a catastrophe Tinthinf; can he a more unerring prepare tion than the stublxirn wilt of pride. " AKsuredly," say^ the Liui reaie, " in most cases, madiieiu is more irequently a diseaite of the will than of the intellect. When DiabuluH appeared before the town of Mansoul. and niude his oration to the citizens at Eor^i^te, laird Will-bc-will was une of the first that was for consenting to hid words, and letting him into the town." Well may Dr. Souihey con- clude his speculations on this subject by saying, " In the hu- morist's course of life, there is a sort €)f d»-fiaiice of the world and the world's law ; indeed, any man who departs widely from ita usages, avows this ; and it is, us it ought to be, an unea«y and un- comfortable fet-ling wherever it is not sustained by s high state of exciteirient, and that state, if it be lasting, becomes madocss." * The Laureate in this sentence has written an unconscious commentary on the Timon of Shakspeare. The aoul-stung Athenian, when he
made Ins everlauiiti; rnnnsion (Jpoo the beached *ct^ uflhc suit Huol,
called himself a misanthrope: — he was n madnian! W. M.
• " Thr Doetijr." hx. vol. iii. pp. 272 anJ 2*11 . la stuibuting this wnrk lo Pr. Svaihry.
I bdUirc no aaofM m ^okud
I ng.
%* Tlia textof Tiinoa of AthaasUalkHit tha km« oomipt af tbe Jtlays. gf*i > Tew alWmlHuui,
An iii. thvita I. laieullus, wt*litn|( to britio Flavins, san, ** l{w« '« threv foA- ^•PM for thi!«." K(«evein dednres ifais coin <«» >« from the mint o( the pact. It ti mttior**. i- c. tiituu-4'»r, — a pi«oe w)in«l in Frauce hy our llenrv V. ifao Ho- liaahad, RadiKg, Uucai^-. Ax. Il b mentiuool by HawLut atan ihaii nittw. VOL. III. a
S4^ THERE 'S NO MISTAKE IN THAT !
Act iv. Scene 3. '^ Raite me thii b^^&r, and denude the lord, The Maator ihaU bear contempt hereditary. The beggar native honour. Read — ** Robe me this beggar," i. «. array the bq^ar in the robes of the sena- tor, and reduce the wnator to the nakedness of the b^gar, and contempt and ho- nour will be awarded according to their appearance.
Act iv. Scene 3. Timon, addressing gold, says,
O thou sweet kingJtilier, and dear diroroe 'Twixt natural son and sire ! Read — " kin-killer" i. e, destroyer of all kindred affection. King-killing waa no crime in Athens, where, as Shakgpeare knew, there was nu king ; and all Ti- mnn's apostrophes to the wicked power of gold relate not to the artificial laws of society, but to the violation of natural ties, as between son and sire, husband and wife.
Same scene.
Thou bright defiler Of Hymen's purest bed ! thou reliant Man ! Thou erer young, /reth, IovmI, and delicate wooer, Slc.
Perhaps frtih - lived.
THERE 'S NO MISTAKE IN THAT !
" Errors excepted. "~BiU qf Cotti.
tNjpublic life it is most true
That men are wide awake; In private matters, doubtless, loo.
There now is do mistake. Whate'er is thought of, said, or done,
Whate'er we would be at, \\'e all take care of Number One,—
There's no mistake in that I
The f)ut9, now long deprived of place.
Of course tlie Ins oppose: The Ins rejoice, while, face to face, .
Their " aves " can beat the " noes." " Voluntas' (ibis their daily song)
" Pro tatione aut ;" Which means, " We'll go it, right or wrong l"-
There's no mistake in that!
Good I/>uis Philippe feels, 'tis said,
In very doleful plight. Since Frenchmen practise at his head
With bullets day and night. For diadems, some play odd tricks;
They 're safer in a hat : Few crowns are now worth two-and-six, —
There 's no mistake in that I
" No man," (erst said Sir Boyle,) "'tis plain,
Unless a bird were be. Can be at once in places twain ;"
Of course, mucb less in three.
there's no mistake in that! 243
Ilul, what with railway and balloon,
It would surprise the Pat In (en at once to see us soon, —
There '« no mistake in that !
But what have I with home aifain,
Or foreign news, to do ? I 've got enough of private cares,
And woes of deepest hue ; My laudlbrd just has called to say
(That odious Peter Piatt j) That Friday last was quarterwiay, —
There 's no miitake in that !
My banker, too, in language bland,
Present) his kind respects, And gives tne pUin to understand
Tliai I have " do effecis ;" And then, the matter short to cut.
Proceeds to tell me fiat. My bill is due, — roost sorry, but—
There's no raistdke in tiuUl
Last month my fiieiidi at Rottingness
(Tliat borough pure and brig!it) Requested I'd resign, unless
I voted black was white. To lake the Chiltetn Hundreds let,
Again I never bat. — The only hundreds 1 shall get I —
There 's no mistake in tlut !
My health of late has suffered much ;
So in came Dr. Grains, My pulse and fees alike to touch.
And banish all my pains. (Juoth he, returning watch to fob,
" We must reduce this fat ; And then, melhinka, we '11 do your job," —
There 's no mistake in that 1 * My tailor, too, his small account
lias thrice for payment sent ; I promised him the full amount
When I received my rent. In anger to and fro he stalked,
And changnl his civil chat. And soon or Uoe and Hoe he talkeJ,—
There 's no mistake in that !
Twas then I wooed the Widow Stokes,
Who did not say me " nay ." And, though 1 've found her wealth's a hoax.
Still I must wed to-day I Ah ! would that 1 had never popped 1
liut Lawyer Latitat Some hints of " breach of promise " dropped, —
There 's no mistake in that !
TalSTBAU MtURlTHODOin
a9
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P
VERSAIU.KS.
Tub >luii(!iim at VersaJllea k llic proudest monumpTit t-ver yet erected to the glory of " la belle Franfe." Never did novcrfifjjn con- ceive a more iipprupriute ii)ud« of testifying U\* p-Htitude lo the ficrjple who bestowed upon him his crown, thxii Loui)« Philippe, when If delrniiinecl to consecrate V'ersuilk-s to the memory of the atiiririfC deedK xiid dttrin^ spirits recorded >ti tlii- most brilliant passajrcs of his country 'i* iiniisls. The ide« wm worthy of the monarch of a great people, and han l«-i-n wniiight »fut in a manner to iJiow that, what- c\-cr may be the timlts impuublc to Louis Phi3ip|>e as a king, his heart bents but lor France, and he freU like u pHtriot and a Frencli- man on the tiubject of his Country's glory.
Should liny whose lot it in«y have Iweii to have paced, tome few years sinre, through the vast and lonely naloojis of VersiLillc!*, now chance to retrace their flepft, how j^reatly must they admire " the conjuraliun, and the mifrhly tna^c," which hiiH summoned up the illui^triou!!: dead to people once more these ]ong-de»erted halls, and converted these crumbling ruinj- into « theatre wherein hH the great events in the history of France are, a« it were, enacted once a^ain !
" I,e palaif fir rermiUci r.tl If paUii* dr soufmir*," njiys a lalc French writer, and well doe« it deserve that proud and expressive title ; for within its w-rIU are now aiuiembled the effigies of all that are dead to tlie nation. No unworthy prejudice*, no mean dis- tinctions, liave «|>erated to the exclusion of one name or one event which sheds a lustre over the history of France. Clovis and Charle- magne ; FniiH'is, the King of Gentlemen ; and Louis Quatnrze, 1e Grand Honarque hinikflf, — »H are there. Napoleon, and the glories of his reign, are there, in la galerif df S'apolfou, where all his his- tory is told in the order of nis battles. Nay, more ; Charles the Tenth, at the Invitation of his successor, takes his place Binuiigst the OKsemhled monarch s.
Great must have been the labour, unwearied the researches, ne- ce)»ary to attain for this national monuttieriit tlie perfection which it ha* now reached. From the tombs of St. Denis, from Uie vaults of the Chateau d'Eu, from the mouldering ruins of churclies and of moDusteries, have tlie half-decaying figures of the monarch* of the firdt race been restored, to appear with iTowned brow and weptred hand in the Galleries of Sculpture. Their siicoe-surs are seen ca- pariioned in ewit of mail and plaited steel ; while tllose of still more recent timen appear, each of them,
" III ihenmc fignrci lik^ iheking iWsdud."
But thiK care and spirit of research, be it renieuibered, have not been devoted to kings alone. Warriorn, vtatennieii, sagew, and poets, have shared the kinme honour* with the wivertigns whom they served ; and the same hall which dii^)>Uyi< the marble^l effigies o( the kings, displnys also the form of many a doughty crusader who (might 1m*- »ide them, and of many a noble dame kneeling in prayer to Heaven fur a husliand'* safety.
For, amidst the aKcmbled hosts of Hteel-clad warriors and laurelled bards, tlie eye nee* with delight those fairiT portions of creation, whose matchless beauty and unwearied intrigue have ever exercised so great an influence over the manners and spirit of the times in
I
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which thry livpd; snd whose presence in the*? halls i<i x» necessary to the makinj; of thi* s;Tvnt work " one ciilirr miil prrlVct chryso- lite," as it i» arcordarit willi the gallant and chivnlroun (W-liiiijit of the nation. To a general parti ripatinn in these feelings throughout the whole hody of the French people must he attrtbuteil, in a great degree, the immctiH* influence which women cxerciM-'d for so long a period in France over the affairs of «tate. Indeed, until the Revolu- tion, it may he said to have been alvrnys extremely doubtful whe- ther the mistrcKH or the minister held more potent swiiy over the sovereign ; and, if ever a conle.«t for Bupritnac}- did arise between these powerful rivahi. the policy- of the xtatt'stnan too often uruved b(tt » very ineffectual weapon ugainet the charms and blandishments of the ruling beauty. Of no country in the world can it be naid bo truly as of Fnince,' that there men rule the itate, but women rule the men.
And what variety and piquancy has Ulii condition of society served l<» throw over every page of French history ! Whsil inUTPst doei it impart ev(>n to the museum we are now considering ! What an additional brtlltnncy does it slieil over the mere ojttalogue of cele> hrated namet, who^e memories are enshrined in these truly national galleries! How exciting to us, even as Knglishmen, arc these mingled names of monnrchs, beauties, wits, statcamen, and warriors, which Hparkle na we write them ! and how, nt the hare mention of them, must the French " find their hearts moved more th.in with a trumiHt," as Sir Philip Sidney, as rare a spirit as any aninngst them* Mid of the old ludhul of Chevy ChasC 1 Charlemagne and Clovio; Charles the .Seventh, and .leannp d'Arc; Agnes Sorcl, and the brave Dunoiti, Le Batard d'Orleann; Francis the Firbt, and Diana oF Fotctieri ; Bayard, the valiant knight " sans peur ei aant reproc/tc ;" Henri Quatre, and ^largueritc de NiLvarre ; the Due de Guise, and tile i^Iontmorenci ; Marie de Medicis ; Sully and Colliert; Cor- nvilie, and Itichelieu, and Anne of Austria; Louis the Fourteenth, and La A'allierc; Alontespan, and De JMaintenon ; Itavine, and Mo- liiTe; liie Kegcnt Orleans; Marie Antoinette; Napoleon and his SlnrshaU; — all are here. Here, too, the records ofttieir deetU and of their power, written by those simplest of nil annalints— the sculp- tor and the painter, vo tluu all who run may read. Le Brun and Vandermeulen ; David, and Horace Vcrnct, — the true kings at arms, ^lere blazon furtli the stirring actions of the mighty spirits of their *ge. In short, treasured up Mithin theiie walU, may be found me- morials of every event and remarkable per'wnnge in the history of Wrmice, calcidnted to funiish food for the moralist, inturmaliun to the hl<<toriaii, and models or warnings for tlic patriul ; and which, taken altogether, constitute a museum illustrative uf the national history, such as no other country in the world can boa«t. — a uiu- srum fully deterving of the truuble uf a journey to all ttioee who have the time and opportunity to visit it:* and justifying to the fullett
* Whea Mationwc ftrand that the mountain waidi) nan oonw to htm, likv n ten* riUa man a» bs was, MabonM nude at* man to in, but uraight wmt to iha moBn- taifl Oar reaJcra, wbw luay imn be able rery mnrcnicotly to Ti^our Aur a4rhw la rUt VvmUlts, may liavo xb» moantaln, — thai in, VwwUm, tu viut ibnn,— in tba ■hap* of a l««utifuUv illoitnMd watk, oonuiuini; oopiw o( all ibv jileiuns, tia> tuBi, Ac. there tMeeua, publitlted in inimlien, aad entitled "Caterift /HiU- _HfiMr« ilr VrtMillr*. pvl-Ki fmr mWrr Vti ttai jmr (b. Gnrvrd." faris ; TmilUl 1 Ca^-ilamd'ai ; Kenwt.
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the folldwing ciicoiniiims bestowed upon it and it* royal author by M. Diipiii, in the (lUcourBC ithich tie delivered to the King upon the opening of the galleries :
" Une creation qui 8*ulc aulfirait pour illustrer un rejfne, est ctWe du graml Alnn'C tl<f WMHillex. Aucun mcmiimriit n'olTre iin csu raciere plu!» ruttionMl ; cVsl Ihifttoire de Prance en action. Lcmi« XIV, rcYcnant a Ver»ail!es, ne pourruit plus dire, ' L'Etal, c'ftt vioif Plus fier encore, Ic ;pTind roi, en voy»nt tent dc grand* hommcs, sVcricrait, * Mfssifurt f tElal, c'rsi nous !' Car a Versailles toun Irs temps sont rt-unis^ toutes le«) ;;loircs ^ont df'i6t'ea> touted les Tictotrcs «e 4iiivcnt. he Roi I'n nins^ voulu ; jamKitt histonen ne fut plus impartial !"
Out the idea of converting the Palace of Versailles into a (Jallery of Art illustrative of tliu niitiuual hii^tory, does credit tu the good BCTise aud right fet'lingof Louis Philippe innciothiT rcspuct than that of erecting it into n iiionuiiient to the glory of hU country, with which l)i» name must hencel'ciruard be inseparably connected.
Versailles might become a national museum ; it could never more become a royal residence. It» glory departed From it with the de«potic spirit of the aiicirn ri'gime. The monarch of VcrBaille* must bf aut Ctrxar aul uultun, anil not the tnomirch of the Bar- ricadeit.
LouiA Philippe, even had his known fondness for the enjoymentu of private life led him to wi(.h it, could not have hoped to recall Versailles to the unostetntniou* condition in which it appeared as the simple hunting-seat where Louis the Thirteenth found a refuge from political cares, and from all thoiie endless troubles and anxieties with which the monarch is sure to be surrounded in his mate apart- ments. Still IfSB could the sovereign nf In nmrr/ir France hope to reinstate it in the i^plendour which it displayed under the direction of Le Grand Moiiarcjuc hiuuelf.
Napoleon, when at the Kciiith of his glory, anxious to conciliate the ndmirtrs of the ancient court, and tu invest bis own with the reflection of that brilliancy which still tthines like u halo round the recollections of that of Louis Quatorze, conceived the idea of re- ttorjiig to the deeolate walU of Verxaiiles the splendour which hiid 80 long deserted theui. lie wan at the summit of his power; a* emperor, invested with authority almost «s despotic as that of liouis ; and deriuing it, perhaps, no less advantiigeous to bispolitJcjil views, than flattering to his ambition, he determined to renovate and inhabit Versailles. But the enormous sum which it would have required to enable him to carry this resolution into effect, having caused him to pause for a while, he was induced to consider the matter more narrowly; and the reaiilt ws^, that, pciceiviug he could no more bring back Versailles to the rrputation which it en. joyed under Louis Quutorze, than reduce France to the state of alinoKt feudal slavery" in which it existed during the reign of that monarch, he very wisely abandoueil the undertaking.
But when the house of Bourbon re-ascended tlial throne from which, by the voice of the nation, it had been so long excluded, it neemwl as if the hour for the restoration nf Vercaille* had arrived. In fact, Louis the Eighteenth directed lite r.ecessary steps to bo taken tor the HCconipli^hment of that purpti»e. But fate, and the Minister of Pinunce, willed it othmnise; and tJie va»t lulls of
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VerMilles remainctt as they hdtd done for yews, nient and de- serted.
Yet, even in tlieir desolation, the KallcriM of Ver^illes formed a fitting monument to the memory of their foimclcr. They tolil of hia glory. They were nietnoriul^ of his love of magnificence and t\\»- play, and tliey told of the extravaf^nre at which that love was gra- tified ; and they »hiMved to succeeding generations^ what the indif- ference niatiife»tcd ui his funeral showed to his contemporttries, how fleeting and unBuhslaiiUal is the popular adtniration of a sovereign who does nut uiake the end and uiiu of hiii government the happi- ness of hi? peojile. But they did juftice al»o to the genius of LniiiR, who, if h« neglected the interests of hig people at home, laboured hard to make France respected abroad ,- and they »huwed how fur he. who was " every inch a king," excelled, in talent* and kingly tastes, those by whom he was succeeded. Versailles is, in fact, identified with Lcxiin Qu^torze; it was his palace when living, and> when dead, hi« toinh.
It was, it is true, inhabited by Louis the Fifteenth ; and the death of that monarch took place within its walls. His successor, and the charming Marie Antoinette, likewise kept their court here. It wit- nessed, moreover, some of the most striking events which preceded the Revolution, some of the most Rtartling scenes of that eventful era. Vet. after all these changes nnJ vicissitudes, at the mention of Ver- eaillefi we think of none of these: when that name falls on the ear. the mind, overlooking all intcrmedintc objects, rushes back at once to the contemplation of Louis the Fourteenth, and uf the brilliant court which he had here created around him ; for the interest which we feel in Versailles is as clotely identifietl with that whicli we experience for him at whose bidding it aroiie. as naa the progress uf th).-< proud structure with the varied aspects of its creator's rei[i^.
We H ill just glunce at a few of these ; and then resign the matter into hands well calculated to deal with a oubject like the present. which may be said to combine the truth of hixtory with the ima- giration of romance. i^Ir. James, who has shown in hiit romantic noveU of " Kichelieu," " Fliilip AugH^ln*," and " De L'Ornie," his familiarity with the hi>tury oF' France, mure especially at those mo- ments when itN interests are of the deepest, could not have found a fitter theme for his well-practised pen than " ToR LiFR and TiHsa OF Loujs TUB FoLtBTEENTu." The records of such an era, ■bounding in events of the most startling nature, and which called into activity the moat daring ftpiriis and the profoundrst !ititP!>inen which that age produced, when chroniclod by a writer so popular aa Jlr. James, cannot but he welcome to the reading public ; and, accordingly, to the forthcoming and concluding vuluuirs uf his Iuh- lory, after bestowing some small ndditioiuil tedium upon our readers, we shall beg to refer them ftir a more elaborate picture of Versailles when in its " most high and palmy state."
Versailles may be said to Iiavc had but one master, its fir»t and greatest. But it witnessed the rise of three mirtresses, — the gentle La Valliere, the tpirittirlle ;nid imperious 31ontes]>an, mikI, lastly, the shrewd and anibitiuu» Oe .MHintenon,-~whose several reigns furni wellf)e5iieil epochs in the history of this princely edifice.
It row when the star of La \ allierc was in the ascendant ; when Louis, naturally anxious tn csL-n|te tVom the tuo rigid surveillance of
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Anne of Austrin. and to be himself tlie master of his own (ictif»n». this anxiety streiiKtIiened by his growing but fecret paswion f<tr the beautiful La Vallicre, Tradition hai asserted thsl tlie cniiM of the kiiijf's abfiiicloniiig St. Germain, (where he first held his court, in con»efiuence of Iuk inKujiemble objection to re»i<Ie in the capital, — nn objection conceived frum the troublpd -trenes which his oliUdhood had witnessed at Paris,) was a morbid dislike to the sight of the Abbey of St. Denis, the buri;il-place of his predecessor*, and which met his eye whenever he l>ooked from tlie winilows of the Palace of St- Germain. There mny be tiome truth in this Ie;>;end : as also in another, which attributes to Louis a bplief in the divine origin of kinga, very different from the metaphoricil sjiirit in whicli that doc- trine is generally received, and which, if true, M'tjuld elucidate e«veriil points in the character of this monarch.
Was the ^ight of St. Denis ihe wiuse; or that more reasonable one alleged by others, and to which ive have already referred, namely, the king's anxiety to escape from the observation of eyeii more ■watchful than was agreeable to him i*— jt is certain that his earliest visitit to Versailles, which were almost stolen ones, took place at the periiKl when hi* tomlnetis for La Vallierc wa» » secret known but to few. At this time, as at the latest moment of hi.s reign, the fiict of being invited to join the king at Versailles was the standard of royal favour.
At length, in the spring of the year IfiO't, Louis announced hii? iiUeiitinn of giving a grand festival atX'ersjiilles; and this, which was ostensibly in honour of the queen, but in reality in compliment to the beaiilifnl and iiminble Louise dc la Valliere, was the iirst event which betokened the future destiny of this choaen spot. The kin|f had commanded that this entertainment should exceed in tnagni* licence all that had preceded ; even the splendid tounvaments which, two years before, had foJ-med the admiration and delight of all Paris. The king's commands were faithfully obeyed. The management of the entertainment was entrusted to the Duke de Saint Aignan : the ]>lan to the Italian, Vicarani ; and the reiiult was an allegoric^d pit- geant in the ta^le of the times, founded on a scene in Arioslo, and entitled " LtJr I'liimrK dr Clsk Knchantir." Jn this, Louis, covered from lieatl ti> f<x>t with Jewels, and surrounded by a <Lix/ltng re- tinue of heralds, knightu, pageo, and squires, displayed the beauty and majesty of his person and hi« skill in arms, by entering the lists, and carrying off no less than four times the victor's pri«e. It was nt this festival, which is invested on that account with con- siderable literary imprest, that Louis read the three first acts of the then unfini<iheci " Tartiiffe."
Krom this time Versailles became the scene nf those gay festivala with which the king was accustomed, more especially during liis/i(iMo» with the Duchess de la Valliere, to excite the wonder tuid admira- tion of hii courtiers, among wimm it now became a matter uf cease- less anxiety and intrigue to obtain the king's commands to form one of the royal party, which henceforth yearly took up their abode in the buildings constantly erecting for their accommodation. The peace of Aix-la-('hnjie!le was here celebrated, on the I8lh July If>d8, by a »umptuouB entertainment far surpassing that entitled " t'I»\f Eiicttnulrr :" and, four yc^ra alter this, we find theac ad- diiinnal building* so far completei), that Louis found himself en-
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£49
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ibt«d to remain nt VerMuU«« with his ministers, and his more tni- me<liat*r circle, for the greater portion of the year.
Thp chivalrous ipirit, however, which had up to this period, or Terj' nearly »«, char«cteri«ed the court of Louis, was thortly (iootned In change. On the 10th April lf>74, LoTii»c dc 1* Vallierc took her formal deiMirtiire from the ciiiirt, in the chnmher of her ftucceti*riil rival, SEadame de Alonteapun, in order to enrol herself aa '* .S'rrnr de ta Miaericorffe" in the CftrmcUte nunnery of the Riic Sl Jatjues, at Paris ; where, brooding; over her sorrows, and seeking by good works to atone for thotte errors Into which she had been betrayed by her own bmuty and a monarch's love, she live<I for ni«ny year*, to use her own expressive bngiiage, '• hoI happy, but cantrni .'"
The successor of this •• humble viotct," aa she was stylwl by Madame de tievigne, was La Alarcjuise de Momvspun, who eiijuyed the aBections of Louis during the inuat briliiNnt part of his reigo. The dominion of this wittv. spirited, and haughty woman, and the (mnntory appearance of her sisters, the still more beautiful and witty Abbess de Fontcvrault, and the captivating and gi(\ed flla- flame de Thiangeii, form a brilliant era in the hintory of Versailles. AUdjiine dr .Mnintenon, who eventnidly sitppUiitnl the miKlrcAA wlio had intr(Kliice<l her to Lniiift, deACriben her as " amuMfi]]; hcrsclTby allowinf; six dormice, harnessed to a chariot of filagree, to nibble her Hnger's ends, while she exhibited the king to the ministers as if he had been %child ; at the same time, knowing alt the most important affairs of state, and giving very beneficial and very baneful ad- vice upon thetn, according to the humour in which she happened to be."
Madame de Montespan wns clever as she was haughty ; and her raillery — and what raillery is so effective aa that which proceeds from the month of a pretty woman ? — waa so dreaded by the whole herd of cnurtiertf, that it is said, there was not one amongst them who would venture to pass tJu* windows of her apartments at such timex as they knew tht- presents of the king would enable lier to point the shafu of her ridicule with increased bitternexs and a»- sured success; and this lakut contributed greatly to the establish* mcnt of that rigid system of etiquette by which the whole atfoirs of Ijouis' court were from this time reRulaled. Tlie elevation of M«- dninc de .MoiitespAii to the di«tiii^u).*lH-<l poxition wliicb shti enjoyeil Was a meiiHure pregnant with tlie greatest danger to that vxtrn- ordinary respect in which Jjuuis had aucceeilcd, as it were, in en- shrining the throne. Yet the character of the favourite, who held that it was good to assume u virtue though we bad it not, and «h(we wit and beauty enableil her to preach this doctrine far mnre effectually than stonier moralists could have done, combined with that love of order which T^nis always exacted from those around htm, to bring to perfection tftot mysterious engine of state policy, entitled Eticiuette; which, regarding the monarch as its supreme source or centre, superior to the ordinary observancea of life, sanc- tioned his violation of the laws of virtue and propriety, without erecting his conduct into a pattern for imitation. The reign of 31adnme de Monteapan forms the gayest periml in the history of Versailles ; the court had regularly taken up its residence within it* wailf, deUined to fi.>nn tJu- inodt-l uf half the palaces of the contiuoiit, and every court in Kuro|K- resounded with the praise*
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VERSAILLES.
of those festal displays of ma^ificmec in which Louis so much de- UghMil.
Hut whilff ftladiime <!e Montcspwn still enjoj-pcl the favour of Tjoiiii. and even in the iiiidfit nf his transitory pnsi^iun fur the benutiful Uuchei^sc ilc Kuntanj^es, tliu epirit uf JIudainL- dt' ^laiii- li-tiuik wuN busily weaving urninul the king tUu^e toils frum wliich he was duuttutiL never more tu L-xirlc»te himself. At length 6he ob- tained the object I'ur which ehe h&cl »c> lon^ »itruggled.- — the hnnd as well as the heart of her royal lover. During the winter following the death of the queen, which took place in July 1GH3, the " chftrm- infj" JladameScarron, now transformed into the "cantini; ' MadaniD de Miiinleiion— (iteader, thi? epitheta Rre W^l pole's, )—wii» secretly married to Ij(nii>i by the Archbi»hop of Paris, in a private chapel of the castle, and in the presence of Pi-rc la Chaitie, Hontempa the king's first chamberlain, and other confidential witneii&ca.
The king now gave her apartments on the same floor which he himself occupied, and, indeed, immedintely opposite to his; and. having here e^ttnbtished her throne, this queen, in all but name, very seldom qviitted it. From thin time she was seen hut little in public. The king rcreiveil her visits only on the nccajiion of his initispOHition ; and the Duchess of Burgundy wat) the only one, with the exception of his majesty, who could l>r>nat of eudi an honour.
These were Uie gli^uiniot days whicli Versailles witnessed during the long reign of I.e Crund Monart{Ne, notwithstanding they formed the golden age of the celebrated Oeii tie littiif. The ^alne pood star which had so long shone briphtly over the destinies of France, had sunk beneath the jiorizon. Those uble uiini:iter.>< who had »o long
guided her counsels, had dropped one by one into the silent grave, careely were those wounds healed which the unfortunate war and fearful winter of 1709 had inflicted upon the people, when death robbed Louie nf nil his direct and legitimate dfJtcendants, with ibv excc])tUin of the sickly IJuc d'Anjou- From this moment the king was rarelv aeeti in the va»t aaluonn of ^'ersaille* except iu the garb of mournmg.
Nor was it "the inky suit alone" which marked the sorrow vhich had taken hold upon him, and the change which adversity and the counsieU of Aladnme de Maintenon had wrought upon his mind. Louis te Grand, that mighty sovereign, who had dictated the peace urNiniegucn. formed the Canal nf Langnedoc, and stanc- tiuned the pcrt'uruiance of '* TartufTe," gradually sunk into a doting bigot, who transferred the suat of empire to the bedchamber of Scurron's widow.
" Oil, wlial a fdllinp-off was there, my mnalPM !"
Said we not rightly then, that Versailles saw its gloomiest days under tiic foundress of St. Cyr?
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S51
ON POPULAR AND NATIONAL POETRY.
BY CBARI.RS UACKAV.
FKANCE. Bacon did not invest poetry with undue importance when he wrote, " Give me the writing of Bongi for a people ; let who w ill make tlieir Uw»." It would he no unintereBtinn or uninstructive study, taking tlie remark tor n text, to note the influence which song* have exer- cised upon the fortunes of nstionft, by keepicii; alive IVoin generation to frenenition the hopex, the fearii, nnd the prejudice" »)f the people, and ihufl weakening the effect of such laws n» may have been forceil upon them in spite of either. It is not my object, however, to take «uch high ground on the present occasion ; hut rntbcr to traverse the pleasant fields of Enropeiin ifon^, and cull on the way son]e of the fnirest flowera which may tie indigenou.s to ench pjirlieular soil. In France " fa chanson " wields a ]niwer M-hich has heen at timea suffi- cient to make a monarch wince upon hii> throne, and which in the tiays ol' Louis XIV. and XV. fully juittinud the remark that the go- vernuicut was an absolute monartFiy " tern per ^e par U's chansuna." In Germany, Switzerland, Hunji^^ry. ScotliUid, and the Tyrol, the Hon^^ o( the people are mirrors in which the national mind is vi- vidly reflected. In England the songs with a few exceptions, pop- se<t9 a more cosmopolitan character. Our lyrics, beautiful though lliey be, do not in gemn-al embody the characteristics and aspirations of our ptYtple. This renmrk applies more particularly to our mo- dem songs, which have nothing exclusively English about them except the litngiijige, and might be tr.-inHUted into French, Ger- man, or Hpaniith, without the lu-iti of a beauty, or the necessity for explanation, even to a reader totally unacquainted with our history and present state. But our deficiencies in this respect wil! be ap- parent if we make a more intimate Acquaintance with the popular poetry of other countries, especially of those which have sulfered ihc mo^t from poltticni enures. Among nations, as among indivi- dual.!, luirrows and triiiU draw out the latent poetr}', which but for them might have slumbered for ages. Marrow is indee<l the nurse of song, and inspires more muKtc than joy or triumph.
To begin with France. What a faithful index to the national mind may be found in the tongs which delight the people ! Ifow redolent they are ai the land which gave tliem birth I How untrans- lateable in all their original freshness, and how incomprehensible in some of their most delicate and touching allusions to the stranger who is not thoroughly acquainted with the history of the coutitry and the characteristics of the peu]>Ie ! Songs which cheer the hus- bnndnien, or are hummed by cottage girls at their rustic labours ; and the uncultured but still poetic staves sung by the corn-reapers or the vintagers, in whidi, ever and anon, there recurs a word full of meaning to the politician who \i acute enough to under- stand it. There are very fpw songs of this deftcription current among the French people which can boast of n dnte anterior to the Revolution, ami these are mostly fragmenta. The old songs of Ron- »ard, Villon, INron, Marut. Panard, and others, and the still mure ancient lays of tlie troubadoiirtt, do not come within our mlc- gory. They wvre songs »uite<l only for Uie atmosphere of court*
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ON POPULAR AND NATIONAL POETRY.
and cities, and filled with those amatory nnd bftcrhanalian conceits which arc derived from the Grecian mytholop;)-, and arc common to ."ill th« nnlioii» of Europe. The sonjfs of the pcii*«ntry are more valtinhle ; and it is miicJi to be ref^Ptted that maimals so precious to every historian who wiF>he.« to record manners an well a« events, thould have been lo!<t in the Lnpsf of agt'B for the want of Dome industrious culletior. TJie t'runde and the LigHc gave rise to many ejii^rams and satires, but tu fuw bungs. We must go still further hack to arrive at the ino$t ancient of the popuhu* lyrics which have detccnded to niir day.
One of the most interesting had its origin '" the time of Charles V'll. when .loart of Arc acquired her inimortai relebrity. Tlie langii.igc has been moilerniited more thmi once, anlherr are several ver*iorin in ex. istence ; but even in its prcMtit Rjrm it dateit iu far hack &» I.^kIO. The concludtnj? stanxa contains a boast which every nalion m;ike« nse of na an incentive against the enemy. " Vug ae nous en vatiU fptatre!" is but the French version of the common English phrase nrhich Goldsmith puts into the mouth of his disabled soliJicrf— " One Knglishraan C4in beat five French at any time I"
" Enire TOus, gents de vilagei
(jiii ainif' Ic roy iTHn^oyi, Prfn<i Gha(|un bnn cnum^
I'our combatue lei Bn);loy>, Prea^ cbaqun uno liouo
Phur uiii^ux lent dtiniciner ;
S'ils u« sen voulent alter, Au mtynK, fnilo Iriir In mode.
Ne cnii?nC' poinl : nll^ hattre
C«» ^(xWnn, pinclie* ii poy» ; Car unt; de noui en vault quatre,
Au majtis, rn vjuli-il inii*!'*
The second alaniEa of thin riide chaunt id exquisitely characteristic of the French to thin tiay. Il'they co*ild not externitiiate the Kng- lish by the "liou<" — which means not only a hoe, but tJiat more formidable weapon, a flail, — they were at least to make fnces at them, that they mig'ht see the abhorrence in which they were held ( Something of the same kind took plarc during the occupation of Paris by the allies in IHIfl, when the Parisians, unable to vent their detestation by .iny other mode, gave it free scope in caricatures, lampoons, and puns against the Dukeof Wellini^tonundhis Uuchcss. In otlier words, they made the move, &* their ancestors had been ad- vised to do under similar circum&tances.
The death of Francis 1. before Pavia filled the French nation with grief and indignation ; grief for the fate of the gallant young monarch, and indignation against those who were accused of having betrayed and deserted him. Among the many songs made at this period, the following is one of the few which have been preserved :
" MaiildicU Koieiil Ics (mhistrcs
fin\ I'ont abatulflnn^ I En fnici <le vill«nio
lit B»Bonl (niijouni monitn^- <) la raulc«canhille1
<jui ont Ic roi trompc ; Au poiiil dc la bataille
N ont point voiilii fnj>p£.
FRANCE.
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Priiicct I Mi^wura de Frantv,
Kl noblisi chrvMli cm 1 Ayei vQ remembrance
Le* nohin irespMMa, Ayex en souvemuiioe
he iioblu rojF Fran^oja !"
The riirle Mtrl Mtmple, but wHrin-lieArted inhnliltanta oTBrittAny have preservwl a number of songs of the olclcn time; and many ancient crones in the most uufrcqiieiited district* of that province hatn over snatches of -war and love «ongs which were common to many other purls of the country four hundred year* a;jo. Matty of them, nf;atn, iire peculiar to Brittany, and, when heard by a na- tive of that di:<lrict when wandering on a fori^i^^n ^hore, cxerci'W npuii him an inHucnce as puwerfnl as the celebrated " Haaz drs vacAr« "ducb upon the Swiss, or " Lt/cJiuber no vivre" upun tlie Sgot- tith Highlunder. The nuptial song ut'the pea-saiitv of iiriituny sub- dues the roughest Breton into tears ; ^nd an insttmce ih related of a lawless fellow, who quitted his native village for his crimes, and retired to the backwoods of Lower OanaiU. After roaming about fur two years in the western world without it winh to revUit the Hcene* of hiJt cliildho<Ml, he one day arrived by chance ^t ii cottage, where he heard the daughter of a Canadian »ettler Ringing the well- rctncrabcred air. He paused, enraptured ; and the very next »un- rlse aaw htm trudging his weary way towards Montreal, to secure • MMlge across the Atlantic. In less than three months he was uae again in his honiettteud, brought back by an old Mmg. which had awakened within him in a strange land the kindlier feelings of his nature, and ninde him, if not a good, at leaiit a better man.
The song *»f the reapers of La V'enih-e is no leas dear to the coun- try people, and has been their delight for generations. Although "its rhymes are feeble, and iu rfyle is old," it i^ full of grace and simplicity, and wedded toonairwliich renders it still mure touching. It runs thus :
" i/« wiic rr^oit tic met UUrn far I'tiiauctif tit* ciuim^, Eiie n'cnoyt Ut matu* Par U ivuignal chanttmt.
Sam satwr Ur' n'ccrirt ,
Nom Motvni t'qui al dedatuz II J/ a dnbint cet Ultra, ' Aimr mill ; jc I'ttinte titnt !' "
There are few who will not appreciate the Iwauty of the above. 'Hie following paniphrave preserves the idea, although hardly tlie tinipUcity of tlie original:
"1 wnd a ineMUKC to in^ dear Each mornini^ by ihv laik, Add evirry uit;li[ the ni|{btinsale Gnii)^ auawcr crv the dan.
And, ibough we ncitbvt ruad nor write,
I know, niid wtW knows she, TtM both tbe lettef and reply
Say,- Imkim: I Uwetie^I"
Madame de StafJ, in her touching ronuince "Dr//»Ai«e," has pre- •erved tiie ancient bridal chauut of the peasants of Longuedoc, and
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ON POl'ULAEl AND NATIONAL POETRV.
tleiicri1>«8 in eloquent language the effect it ]>ro«infei» on a fttranj^r when sung in mil cliorus by tlit- villagers. Her description in, no duubl, ciilourt^l to tin* hue of her own impaMioneil narrative ; but t\vt*e who knew thr cHVi-t of their nncient songs upon a simple but affectionate people, will iml think it greatly exaggcriited. The fir^t verse h sung by the bride, and is literally ns follows :
Grant me thrn, nrif mother.
For my hutbaiui, mv Unxr^ I iL'iU lave film tew/tTli/
At thou haxf loKtd mi/jitther !
The mother replies in nearly the same worda,
TAj malher gi-antt iJiev
for thy huibanit, ihif heer ; Tlu'u wilt Unv him Itiuhrtij
At the has l\md tfiy father.
The father then takes up the strain, and to the same air repeats
ily daughler, imitate thg mother I
For tfiji huiband, lake tfii/ loar. And ekeruh kim Ifitdtrltf,
At the hei chrritbed Ihif father.
I have made no attempt to give a rhymed version of the above, for fear of deotruyitig its simplicity, but have contt-nied niyiwlf with renilering it word fur word ami line fur line from the uriginal.
The rcvululiun of lldf^, which swept awav t>o many of the an- cient jnannLTa of the French people, carried uwuy many snatche* of old buiifjs; hill it gave riae to score* of others, upon which it impressed it* own vivid and burning mark. " Ca ira," *• La Car- viagnole," and '" La MartciUaixe," will be as celebrated in history as the fierce events from which tbev sprang. Who can say how many a mind was maddened into poritical frenzy by the first, or how many of the victories of the Itepublic were lu-lped on by the pa- triotic eiith»«ia»ni raised in the breaHt of the " citi/en sokdier " by the iowjHring jioctry and muhic uf iSe Utter? " (^a ira " was the greater favourite with the mere popuUee.— and many a deed of blood waa pcrpclrttted while the mob were bellowing forth its revolu- tionary stanzaji in furious chorus. " I.a Marseillaise " was every way superior ; and, bottl as regarded the air and the poetry, was worthy to be considered the hymn nf liberty. There are many still alive who remember during some of tlie fierce»it outbreaks of the rcvulutiim, when the people were encamped by thnuunds all night in the quais and M^uares of Parii*, to have heard long after midnight, and autid the deep itilence of everything else, the sudden swell of this national hymn. The ejfeet is tleuTibed as having been grand and beautiful in tlie extreme. And who can wonder at it.^ It wax tiie song of the epoch; and, heard at Much a time, and in »uch a matuier, must have excited a long train of sub- lime and gloomy reflection!! : mime triuiupliaiit feeling at the awaken- ing to freedom of a great nation lung euntaveU, mingled with no sligTit degree of shame and sorrow at the foul deeds which had stained so fair a cause.
An English prisoner of war who wu in Paris just before the
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I'all of Itobeftpierre, and who only esc8j>etl death hy the death of the latter, (Ipscribei, in his memoirs the gloomy sensations ex- citrd in tlic tniniU of the peaceable citizenM whenever the famou* fn>illotinc Ming wns siin^ hy the rt-votutioiiary bands of the capit-il. The air, though dritwlinj; Hiid ni<in«il<inou», was grnnd. from tlie death-like reminUcenceii with which it wa« associated. The words were something to the following effect :
■* AtettoM tiimi tn oraUon —
Miif! liincueringiin, ])<rnnt ttiintc guiltiitiiKtlc—
MaguingutringKi tic. !"
This jumble of ttnurtds, many of them without meaning, would be ludicrous in Kngli-ih. But even nonsense may be somctimeH hor« rible ; and, amid all the absurdity of this wild chorus, there was one idea which gave it terror. The terms of fondness and endear- ment lavished upon the guillotine arc utterly loathsome ; and be> tray, better, pernnps, than any more laboured phraseology could do, the true character of that dismal period. As the judges o( ope day lierame tlie criminaU of the neiLt, thisi ttmig was at hiet Mn|^ OH the scaffold && well as at tlic fout of it ; the poor victims thus chauntiny fur themselves the same chorus which tJiev bad ahuutcd for others, and apiilytiig tu the instrument of decapitation the sdine disgusting and oluioH blasphemous expressions or mock fotidness.
But a brighter period was at hand. The strong man came at last ; and, trampling anarchy under his iron heel, diverted the thoughts of the Frencn into a new channel. Under the despotism of the empire the French poets hnd leisure to indulge in tlieir favourite satire. Olory, also, with wliicli they were so dazsled, inspired the muse; and une poet aroMr pre-eminent to throw tlie mantle of his genius over the ejK>ch> and embulm in undying verse the memory of the hopes, the grievances, and the fears of the people. His name has of Ute years become pretty familiar to the English public ; even to thousands who do not understand, or who, understanding, do not appreciate him. This poet was Beranger, whose songs, ho exnutMte from their truth, their wit, their tendeme.is, and their simplicity, stand a fairer chance of immortality than anyofthc productions of his contemporiiries. They are known to hundreds who cannot rciid, and — sure -sign of long life — they are sung by village gossips to children in tlic nurHcry. He has conrpletely identified himHclf with the po- pular mhid ; and to the force and simplicity which always please the unlettered many, has united the grace and polish which are the ad- miration of the scholastic fe«'.
.Songs are the most enduring expression of the national feeling with regard to the events which they celebrate, and lhi>«e of Be- ranger will be valuable ages hence fur their embodiment of the pubhc sentiment in France at the close of the career of Napo- leon. Weariness of his dopotic yoke, mixed up with the moat utt- bounded admiration of his military glory, filled the popular mind before the battle of Waterloo. After that event, so painfid to the self-love of all true Frenchmen, their anger evaporated; and the people forgave his oppression or forgot it, Iiestowing nn his tad reverses their deepest pity^ and on his glory, unparalleled in
S56
OS POPDLAR AND NATIOXAL POET«T.
modern time*, an udmiralicm akin to iAdaHrj. AH these feelings are tmpr«*ted vn the songs of Benuiger, anil soflkacntljr cacplaiD thr rea*on» of hit imntense po|)ulan^. The Mvig entitled '^ TMe old Serjeant" is full of the peculiar characteristics of Beranger; and commanicates, through the dmpte medium of the reminiscvncea of a diaabled soldier, a patriotiBin which must touch every heart. All the imager arc plain and natural, and the effect of the whole is nn< anipmed in French poetry. *' t^ viev-z drapeau," written in lH3ft, harps upon a similar sLriug, and cxpre^eus tlie wishea of a veteran of ttic wars of the republic to M.-e tlie ancient Rag, tlie immurtal tri- cotuur. reslori^d to the head of the French armies, frum whence it had been ca«t down to make war fvr the white Uamier of the 2k>urbon». This song, so truly national, enjoyed from the lir»t moment of it* publication the most eKtensive popularity, and found an echo in every French Ixisom. In the " Broken fiddle " the poet wa» equally happy in sei^iig a sentiment common to a whole people, and eniliahning it in language full of truth and poetry. Xo subject could well be simpler than the indignation of a poor old fiddler, who«e instrument had been ruthlessly destroyed by the suc- cessful bvaders of the soil; but this theme is worked up by the poet M powerfully tlut the woe^ of the fiddler become national. In another style, but equally happy, i» the song entitled " The Sutler ;" which, in langua^ appropriate to tlie subject, anil abounding with tlie expressions, images, and ideas which may be supposed peculiar to the female follower of a camp, exults over the successes, and muurus over Uic humiliation, of uie French anut, till, nutwithitsiid- ing the buiueliuesj »i' the »tyle, and the questJoiuible morality of tliu speaker, Uie heart warms at her noble pntriotiem and generous ayniuathy for diaCrcss. " Lex ttctavet Gauhu: " ii in a higher strain, and 19. without exception, the most beautiful lyric in the French language. It was written in lt{24, when the foolish Bourbons, dis- regarding all tlie solemn warnings of the past, were endeavouring to re-rivet the chainti which « nation had snapped asunder. It repre«- senlii a party of ancient Gauls in »lavery, brutnlised by misery and d^radation, breaking open the cellars in the ab»ence of their mas* ler, and drinking the wine which had formerly l>eloiiged to thcm- ■dve*, and chnunting in full chorus, under its influence, their con- tempt for freedom. E%'ery line of ihia elo(]uent composition struck deep into the miuU of French poHtirianB nt that period. The burn- ing satire worked well; and, altliougli the poet himself suffered fine and imprUanntent for this, and other ufl'usians as ubnoxious to the tyrannical government of the day, his name was engraved ou the hi'arta of tlie French people. The bitter irony of such poetry as the following, tended to keep up the indignation which burat forth irreprea&ively in 1^30.
" Savct-vous oil gil riminUe pierrc
Del Kuerriiirs marti iin noire icmpaT Lit— p)u!i dV-pou»ti till |>ri<.-(i; ;
La — [ilus de fleura, tnJime uu priutcmpet '. la Ure atiendne
Kc redtt plus Icun noins cffacfi lous. VntfpK da u\t i]ut meart pinir ta patrk !
JsAiviooi nous \
4
4
PRAXCR.
a>7
I
La Libert^ l^Clnfpire encore
Atcc <ies rvatet tlu vertu ; Elle nous dil, ' Void V&ototp :
P«u[>l« t toujoun dorrnint'tuT IWitf «|u'on vanie,
Rccnite uilkurs its marlyn et dcs fou; ! L'or (e <-orrom(>t. la gloin t'^pou vaoie :
Eoivruns noue 1
Oui ! lottt« etp^'mnce ext bannie,
Ne compioiis plui In nuux soufiVrla. Le nv»n(>aii de In tyrannic
Sur les nutels nn nc<s fers. All mondc <^^ iiiulle,
Di«ux toul-puitsans, qu«i exetople oifrei-vovis ? Au char den roii un pri^ira vou* auM1«.
EnivTDDS nout I
Riona des dieux, — nBvaa Ics t»^ ;
Flallon» niH) mullrRs almotu* ; Doniions-leur nos tils pour uiiiges :
On wC dr. hiintc ; an n'en mturt ptta ! Le pliai.sir nous vEtige :
Sut nwK 'III «un il l^il gliMM let rpupa. Trainoiii gaiemcnl nofi chainei dans U &n(K.
Enivrons ooiii I"
It would occupy too much space ir I were to attempt to signalise all the soiijfs, rviiileied national by their wit and truth, wliith iiavc pr*t- reedetl Irom tiic prolific peti trfthe firti MHijr-writcr uf Kraiit'e; but. as my subjrct preclu'les me I'rom entering into the conMclL-rntion ul many Ixaiulitul sonf^s of his which are not itrictlv of this dcrcription, I may be forgiven for dwelling at erester length upon th<iiE« which tiTV. If ever poet g^ve the liv to the Hs^erlion tliat the 3Iuse» are alien to politics, it is IkrnuiKer. It w»uld be hard indeed were poetry, which HyinpitthiiK^R *o deeply and no truly with »ll that con- cerns bumuiity, to he di^bHrred from touching on thoiw ^rHiicI quw- tion« which involve the happiiicoii or misery of nation*, «nii the pro- j;fre«uve improvements of thf human race. The sublimeat poetry ia rcHgioiu, but to religion^ politic?, in the nohIe»t and most ex- trniive aense of the word, inipire-i the grandest concentions to the tiuc poet. Those who would restruin him from entenng into that wide field, can have no correct idea, of the importance of his mtsnon. The aong entitled "The Holy Alliance of Nations," written in IHIH. in commemoration of the evacuation of the French lerrilory by the allied armien, is a fine specimen of the union of the highe<it p>litic8 with tbe highest poetry. The following paraphrase may give the Englinh reader some idea of this nobW sonc. which bu drawn down the approbation of pbilosophtrs and critics, not only in France, but in every country where French literature w cultivated.
THE UOLY ALUANCE OF NATIONS.
** I saw from lunveo draceiid the tersph Fnce, To cIm«t the world, ton lon^ by discord lorn ; Ttm m was calm, as, bidding warfare cvatc, - She fluD|{ BTvand hpr, flow«r* luid ean of com.
III.
2SS
OH POFOLAm A50 KATTOSAL tOETKY.
' Ofc, hBM r wiJ At, ' Jmiatiul uwHtm, Ww I Ei^lM nd FicMk, wd a eMan4M« hods,
Feoi M ilhiTf. Mr aid mmc, Aaljani.jimlM^I
, — lp»Brli1tof ■HI""*'?— '*^ >pai jM cjci, wd be n» loMer bind ; IT i*Bwld |c nfe Md Aid MM olWrV blood, Mcaasc m MMMeh AUa Ui natat ouofued ! — Wkr whoi W bmbIi kis chviot, abosU je rhcer, J^M dbai^ te Wt «fccdt cmfa the obvwM luda f-
FflCB Ml ilHaarr^ mOmf add nstfK, ABdjokuiahiH^I
Le 1 'moeg iIm con, now br«ned sdiI tnaipled down,
Tm ftcMMd ■Oldien breMlMd iheir djtng Kraans; Aad « «ch bcwdv fcft nd fmiMf town
Ite bsMB aotl nom tieli with tmnu boM* I Iklarid ^u-mak, bbxinf bt Md near,
B« fiW wiib hmr >a dw aoSering iHdi. F«m as lUiiBec, bolr ud metn,
Aad join, jois taou !
Sbovld nnlliocK 6>ll in tbrtr uahelf strife.
SiiJi ■uwtto thbk dieir butln chouily wob ; Wbat Aa dwy cn« far waning butnan Uie 1—
llw; *?• niiwd a pranncei and ibt Aing it doot I Tbao «p to Woao lhe>r haughty baadi Ifcejr rear,
Aad poM «f glcwy to Uw UeediBf bikdi. Fona an tlliance, b^Y and 9idcct«,
And jocD, join bands !
Wbj thoold their ^ory, foanded on jroar woe, Uatde jrour ajm and yoke jroo to tbcir car F —
An yc dte gainea tnr tbeic pomp and abov, FooU tbat T« '•« been, «bcn-«tghud tbai jre are I
Why sbonld Hicae tjitaata Iroabk ihoa y«ir spbcre. And with thtir quanab dtcinua jmtr Uow?
Fofn an alli»m:e, boW and iinociv,
* And join, join hands I
Yea! tnt and hapf^, let the worid repoM ;
Stieub«d be (he girard. and be the cannon danb : Aifl let the memory of yoot fanner woea
Make j-ou the wiMr (or the dajrt to come I TImo ahall ripe coni-ficlds al] your laboun cfaeer.
And the red Tiniag* gladdtn all the lands. — Vona on allijince, kolv and nncere,
Ai»d Join, join huMal'
Thiia U> the nationi ipoke the senph Peace :
'Dm *intaf[e ripened, and the good com grew ; Meu toxic their i»u|;sl«i and dmenvoiu cra&e,
And youlhi mid niaidcna danced uiwn the dew ! Ttien hrar, je nalivDn ! hear, ye i>«o|il«. bnri
FrredoiQ and wealth shall gladden all jour lands, When this alliaoce, holy and siacvrr,
Ilai joined all hand^il
The other poets who were insjiircd by the spirit of this agf arc few and iiiiimportsnt. .Scribe wrol* muii^k for the theiiin-*s ; atid CMimir DeUvtpw^ « poet far superior, followed bis example. None
ON POPULAR AND POPUtAR PORTRY.
950
of tlir^e hatl the xliitnp of iiniiiiTiKlity u)>mi them : aiHl tlip songf of Ber«ngcr rontintte<1 alone to be extensively popular. Thev Iti'pt up with their eternal refrains the hatred A^ainnt the elder bratich of the Bourbons. Evfry act of tyranny anrl perversity into which tbey blundered was aligmati^eil in sonffs. Thrse being invuriably adapteil to some old am) favourite melmly, were speeuily sung in ever)- corner of the kingdom. At last the moment came whtn the nation could submit to ttie lash no lonrar ; and, in thiit moment of indignation, the old cchoi-s of the Tuilcrics were startled by the deep tones of the well -remembered MurjeUlaixt:. The new sonfja for a time gave way to the old one; and ever and uuoii, during the three dnys, «mia the thunders of the artillery, the ears of the absolutist* were alarmed and offended by the swelling chorus of this popular anthem. Tli« rfFtct of uiuwc upon the mind in moments- of difficulty and dnuger has l>cen often, dwelt vipon. The inspiring sounds of martial music are constantly employed to lead the soldier to victory ; and the populace of the three days instinctively cheered and supported each other behind their barricndcs by the same means. After the carnage was over, and when the people had leisure COKBson upon theirtriumph, a poet conceived the idea that another IwtioaBt sung waa wanting to celebrate the victory, and JM.Cdsimir Delavigne wrote the Parisirmir ; Auber compoHiid the music, and ill lesN than three months from ita first publication there was hardly any thing else in the way of music to be heard in Fr&nec. Kven Belgium' and Germany caught up the strun, till every street min- atrel gave up bis own favourite chxunts to make way for the one which liad ao suddenly captivated the mind^ of the populace. There is not much in the poetry ofthis song ; and the music i« but n rijaci- mrnlo of some of the finest passages of ita great predecessor, the MartciUaUe. It is light and graceful, willi a dash of joyousness befitting a song of victorj'.
Since the revolution of 1830, the French poets have in some de- gree lost tlinr national characteristicti. Luuis Philippe gives thvm nothing to sio]; about. Heranger has re.tsed to warble^ and the re- mainder are Hinitten with the love of JJyron or Goethe, and waste themselves nwsy in servile imitations of these model*. Victor Hugo and Atphonsc de la Afartine are exceptinni, and. it must be owned, illiutrious ones, to this accusation ; but they do not sing for Frnnre. Their poetrj- is the poetry of the drawing-room, and their names and works arc alike unknown bcyo»d the circle of the educated claases. In the next article upon this subject we hope to stray witli the reader over the girden of German and Swiss poetry, and make ncquatntance with such of their songs aa are strictly the song» of the people; and which, like the French songs already quoted, are characteristic of the country, or were in«iiired by events of naUonal importance. C. M.
T a
SCO
THK GRAND JUKOR;
OR. SBBVIKO Mr COUKTBV IN ORASD rTTLK.
" A rRiNTKD papn" !" »tdii I ; " what can it W ubout ?"
" Why. it ■* a unmmons, to be sure !" replied my wife.
"A sumiiionitt" I re{)eat«d ; and I luiclecl, in order to give a re- e))<?ctable fini^ih to niv HjieccU. " very odil this !""
Hut, tliout^fi I Kiiid it viWi odd, 1 ttiuuglit it was unplejtMiit. and wen malicious ; and fur a moment J vax (ti)<}M»M.*tl to cnier- tain a very unfavourable opinion of Air. Selvetlge the lineu-dra- per, Mr. Oiblet the pmiUerer, Ulr. Barrett gf the Black Lion, ami fi few other 7ieiii;hlK>ura from whom we take short credit, to itave the Tiectssity of wriling a cheque for everv Iriflinji sum,
']'he pwper wim brought to me, and I then found that it was indeed a nummon^, but not ainch a one as I hiitL suppooed, inas- much a.4 it required mc, not to attend before the commiKNioners of the court of coniirit-nce, but to serve on the grand jury for the cniinty of Surrey at the assizes about to be hulden at Uorumuii- ger-lane.
I was a little disconcerted at this, us if I wish to be thought an excellent member of society, I have no objection to allow others to perform Uiuhc duties which occupy some time, occB&ion trouble and exjH-Tiiic, and bring no profit.
Sufli being my taste, I felt no dissatisfaction when I discovered tlmt there was a mistake in the spelling of my name, which is Gos- lin^on ; but it w^k here made to appear Guzlinglon.
Tliia defect, though I had no doubt in the world that the snm- mons was intended for me, would, I thought, fully excuse me from Attending to it at wll ; itiiil indeed I consiilered thiit it ought to be received a" a perfect juKtitieation of my Ltmduct in .ibsenting uiv- aclf if 1 »tnt.ed that from the spcDing I Iiad supposed it must have been inteniled for tome other person.
But my w^fc decided that it would be better that I should at- teud at the time menlinnud in tiie summnn». To explain thi-t niattmr ; oCherwiae 1 might be fined, which she remarked " would be a Jine
bu»ine«-"
I concurred with ner in th« ; and accordingly went to the ue*- iinns-houM on llie appointed day, mixed in the crowd, and waited till the names of the persoiu caUetl upon to serve, an I had been, ircTf read over.
When the officer got to the word " Guxlington," I thought the time wa5 come for getting off from the dioagreeable task, and re- ^mriy stepped forward, tletcrrained to make it known that tJiey ImA wa right to detain me ther*-.
TW name '>f fluzlingtoti was repeated. I heard the quemion ^|„i_«|ghehere?"
lMh«»«»U«l f"*- "1^1—" But. not being in "the habit of ^yyi( M^^iOf." as the phrase is, I conid not get any further. ^W^^JMTttOt ancwer," Maid the officer.
*lfa^- I (JW o»t ; " I— 1~-
^j^ 'tev't" cried H grubby-faced man on my left hand, whom IB of tliL' pariiiLi constables.
THE GRAND JUfHlK.
361
I
I
" Oh, he nnswcTA '." I hraril the clerk any, uid I saw htm about Uj write sonu-tliinj;.
'■ I wish lo exniBin/'BaitI }, "that my name U not Oujelington." " Then what (lid you answer to it for? You called out ' here* !" raid the clerk.
" I was luld to do so."
" You were lolid to do so I" L'cliocd the clerk, te«towing un me « >[tancu of oflicial contempt. " 1 sufipo^e you know your oWti nume when you hear it, and undersUind that you are nut to speak fur an- other."
" I wish to explain," said I ; and then, determined to finish this btislnes.4 out of hnnd, I went on: "a nolife has been Ie)1 nt my hoiur, addrenseil lo Mr. Ou/.lington; but that," I abided, proudly- drawing myself up, " is no name of mine." " What is your name?"
"Not (Jujilington, but" — and now I thought the matter would be tattled in a moment, — " but," I repeiited, " Gosling — " "Very well,— that will dti!" he replie*l, and wrote in hi;tbook. The busiue^.H vax xettle^l (juite as ."ioon as I expected it would be, but in a diiferent manner: for the Testament wsh instantly handed to me, and 1 was sworn to serve as a grand juror.
I was rather vexed at this rcKult, as 1 knew it would cause my eloquence to be very disparuKingly spoken of at hutiie. However there was no help for it ; and atVr a fipeech had been delivered by the chairman for the purpose of intitructing us in our duty, which, from the noise that prevailed, none of us could hear, we were c»n- durted to the room reserved for tiie deliberations of the (jrand jury. Tile first thing 1 saw wlien I got there wjw a bill of fare, which •omcof my fellow jurors proceeded immediatelv to take irib> their most aerioua conMidcnitiun. I wiis favoured with a pcruiud of it; and I really fell a g<KMl de«l consoled for my recent failure while going over thiit ducunient. Sjihnon, sole», fowls, tongue, saddle of ■uitton, custard-puddinji:, and tarls all set forth in poodly array, ■eemud to promise a very ctmsidernble aniHinratinii of the duties which t had to perform. — for I took it fnr granted that the public was to pay for all; but my datisfartion was ctpusideraldy ubuted when I got to the end, and found it dir^tini-ily stateil that seren and lixpencc was lu be charged to each individual.
The names were now cidled over by the gentleman who had been named our foreman. When he reached what was supposed to be my patronymic, and which had been bo carefully currecte<I in open court, I found that the officer there lia<l conitiderjibly improved on the original blunder, and, instead of OoHting havinf^ l>een subsli- tuled for OuxliiiKi the latter word wa« prtfijccd to my proper name, which accordingly appeared from this list to be Guzling Goslington ! I riarted with indignation at finding myitetf thus described, and aninMdverted with comtiderable severity on the hurry and negligent manner in which the business ot the cflunty was {lerformed by some of it4 officers, who were but too well paid. 1 doubted whether I - could be compellwl to rcmnin, bring thus in)pro[ierlv described ; but my next-door neighlwur, Mr. Kneller the undertaker, remark- ed that I had been sworn, and hoped that they should not low die pl«ajiure of my coni{tany in conNCijuence of a fo<d)sh mistake, — for •uch he and all the otli'vr jurors thought it ; and lliey laughed at
I
tbrrefare rtrj heartily, or «Ue — but I ha«« no •erioai reaaaa for ftOMiecting that — the}' Uuf^hnl at me.
leventually t](^cid«l to «tar ; for. beades hang Bontevhatin doubt that the inaccuracj vhich 1 haTc mentioned vould not be a legti justification for then abaentin^ myself, t thought mi to act ntigbt be conKidered uluikhj, and I did not like Ui be thought meanly of for mrvea and rixpence.
So my real name, Tristram, was inserted in the list. I inaisted on Ifaia reparation ; and I took my teat at the table viih the rest of the company.
And now began a very important proceeding indeed. It ma Def:eMarir to know exactly how many gentlemen proposed to dine there. 1 permitted my friend Kneller to name me for one, and im- mediately ailer this the foreman called upon me for a guinea.
I <lid nut clearly understand this ; but, at Mr. KneUer told me il wan unmil, I thought it won Ix-tter to comply with a good grace tlmn ^l rink being RUBpecled of meanness or of poverty- Nearly all the gentlemen present put down the same sum. The chairman remarked that we hurl thus got a snug little funti, which, the un- dertaker nddect, he hoi>ed would keep us alive.
I now cnnrluileil that the most ditiagreeable part of the day's wm-k waa over, — for it in not pleasant to be taxed atui laughed at ; when my friend, Kiii'IUt. very gi>ud'naturei]ly obficrveil, tlial it was the Hmt time he had liuil the hcippinecf of seeing me tJieru, and he be- lieved I hut! never served on tlae grand jury before.
I uiTswered, with great alacrity, that he was right on both points. " Tlirn, Mr. Foremnn," said the imdert^iker, with ull the grave MiigKcry jieeuliar tu the mirthful fraternity of which he is a mero- her. " my iVtend here is a coil."
" llless met" said the foreman, in the tone of one w!io had es> CNped no common danger, "I had nearly t'urgotteu to look afler Ihe tvUour* f"
And Inrn, that this momentous part of his duty might not again be jt|Hiic«l lo oniifcsion from his negligence, he proceeded to call o»er ^hr names jn'r'mtim, and to ask the owner of each if he had ever MTVed t«> the grnml jury before.
Three bt-aides me onKWcred as I had done, and each waa reqaired t,t pat t4'n an<l itixneiu'e fur being a colt"
The Due was rather nii^MiUuibte U> a man of my economical turn. Aivd I dill not feel very gmtcfal to Mr. Kneller fur hie servicea on Ik* nttoaiii^n. However, I put down the money with as good a ■nn ** I eould, and, while doing so, attempted to be facetious ; re- vnarkdm that " I suffered for being a coft, while many ol'my netgb- huM* 1^*^' nothing tit pav on account of their being /'uU-gmem
V^lfalt tiuportant matters had hardly been arranged when a nes- ^^tt MM* ^*' "* ^''"^ ^^^ Ctmrt waited, and could do nuthiitg till we ^JLyi ttavc »pnt up some biiU ; ujkhi which Mr. Wiggs, the diair- ™V^j^ wv mu«t prtKTeil to buwnr>* without loss of time. He ibirt the be*t ci>ur«e would be, to take the ctaes of ccr- vWich were complained of by thctt twighbdur*, as npoii f, there would be little diuerenre of opiiuon. We all
a very good idea ; and to it «e went against tboae
ifcuiltr '--^--*- «rre stated, witli all the imlitpenaafaW
THE GRAND JDROK.
xes
rigtnsrde of law, to have ufTeiiclcd "aeninst our Lord the Kin^, his Crown, and dignity," (our Lady the Qucfii bviug thcu out ol' tlic question.) The jury were not lung in diaposiiiK of them. In tho couTBe of half .in hour we hatl a good handful ofbillv ready. All, I believe, felt hh I did, that acting thus we had rendered good Ftrvice lo the moraU of the nation ; but, in the course of the next twelve tnonthSj I had some doubtsoti the subject. Tliough the parties pre- •ented were convicted, they were let off scot-free, except that they were obliged to ftbate tlie nuiMuiee, which was siuppofted to be <lone by their removal. But, as three <>r four of the onendern were in- habitflnta of the same street, fill they did was to change houses, and their trade went on without interruption as usual. The county, however, h.id to pay the coiiittables and witnesses, and also for the drawing «f the indictment and other legal charges. To ine it an. peored that the chnracier of the neighbourhooil was not inaterially improved; but hUII 1 mii.>*t in candour own, that, as it put money into the pockets of the officf-Tii and variouii individuals uonnectea with the proBCCUlion, tho main object of the indictmeot was fuUy annwer ed- it would hardly be doing jut*lice to the parties engaged to for- ward the atlminist ration of justice if I were not here to mention that Ihey really make considerable exertions to diRCOumge vtte and immo- rality. That was clearly ctdablinhed by nil the evidence given re- specting nncturtml disturbancr* »t pu1>lic-hou»e». gaming- shops, and other place* of diK«ipatiiin. The oliicerit certainly did not go the extreme length of compelling the keepers of such establishments to cloae their doom at eleven or twelve o'clock at night, which I had previously understood to be their duty ; but they subjected tlie owners to so heavy an impost on keeping open, — I mean, they de- matided such large sums as " hush-money, ' — thai it really amounted to « very dreadful penalty, which, connected with the inflexible determination (unchangeable as the law of the Medes and Persians) to punish without mercy those who were so shockingly irregular iu their habits as not lo keen up regularly their payments to the police inspectors and parish funciionaric*, must have the effect of deterring many from entering on that course of life, while it holds out a strong inducement fur otherii to leave it. In this way the magistrates of the county, (who touch no per-ccntage on the tax,) as it constantly works the parties in question, are unanimously of opinion that "the law works well."
We went vn with the calendar, which somewhat disappointed me, and, I believe, the wlinle of the jurors. "There is nothing at all inte renting," was the general remark ; and some of us were inclined |utthelically to deplore that no spirit-stirring murder, no ttirtling assault on man or woman, and no burglary of import- ance, appeared on our Ust. In the absence of these we were obliged to nut up with the meagre fare of street-rows, begging-leltcr writerii ann stealers of pewter-pots.
Our lot was hard, but we resolved not to suffer alone; and, as "one atory is always good till another is told," we bravely i>enl all whose misdeeds were brought before us to answer for their con- duct eUcwbere.
Labour so arduous soon made ut all feel that sandwiches and ■twrry were absolutely necessary to go on, and theee were occc
S64
THK GRAND JUROR.
iogly introi1uc»1. At k ImUt hour in the dfty a very ffood dinner -WM servet) up. A true bill was aaan found aj^xinat that ; and it wu not only Iritd, but cj^eculed with prniscworthy despatch. Consi- dering the toil we had undergone, nnd the iwlemn chiirticter of the duties we hnd to perform, we were in pretty good spirits, fllr. Kneller especially neetned lo feel himself quite at home, and could not have been more jolly at a funeral.
The cloth removed, not to appear too feitivc, wc determined that only two bottU'it of wine tshuuld remain on the table while we con- tinued our inquiries, which we hoped to bring to a clow that day; but that — though, as we proceeded, the witnes&es called in b^ame fewer and fewer, and the examinations ihorter and shorter, — we could not accomplish, and in the end wC were obliged to a<ljourn to the following moniing.
On asM>iiil)lin^ in the ^and'jury room on the second day, the first inquiries of the chairman and Mr. Kncllcr were naturally di- rected towards dinner. I had paid my guinea on our first mectinc, rather than look mean, with a toleral>ly good ^acc; but I hardly cared to subscribe a necond, nnd such, 1 perceived, waa tlie feeling of at leaitt half the company. It produced a Heries aC rery gen- teel excuses, and ap»l(>gies of the mo^t touching character. One gentlemun was oblicfd to deny himself the eiijoyiiiciit of our so- ciety, as the Lord Aluyor on tlic preceding diiy liiid post|K)ned a party solely oit his account. Mr. Felt, the hatter, could not be with us, as he had n public duty to perform, having to carry a pe- tition to Mr. Quackly the member, which must be presented that very evening. Another juror begged to be excused, as his mother (a lady who, as he was at least ^ixty-tive, roust have been some- what ailvanced in years,) was dangerously ill ; and a cadaverous little man, with a tiini-up nuse and crooked k'tis, w.ts most anxious to be at home, as his lady was on the point of bein^ confined. Air. Kneller, who was appointed treasurer the day before, and who in that character had been most active in collt'Ctinc subsrriuiions, received these excuses, and half a dozen others, with aa nnucn good will oil this occasion as he had done the guineas upon that; ond whispered to mc with a friendly wink that "he by no means wish- ed those to stay who desired to be absent, as h« for his part had no taste for scremng tlornu."
I held this to be very liberal on his part ; but to show that I did not value money more than he did, and having never been in such a scene before, i dttermined to see it out. Our task wa« not very severe; and early in the afternoon we found ourselves so near the end of imr liibour, that the president considered we had leisure to see the prison, and acctinliiigly sent a message to the cliairmail of the sessions, rcqueatiiig his periniHsiun to do so.
Our suit was granted ; and, preceded by a man with a wand, who had on both days been in attendance, we all inarched to the gaoh I beheld, with mingled feelings of satisfaction and sorrow, the com- modious but formidable iron-guarded area appropriated to the va- rious classes of prisoners then awaiting their trial. One circum- stance struck me rather forcibly: where the iiit-n were confined, several sad. anxinus-louking females appe/ired, who opproaclied, as closely as the grating woulil pierniit. the objects of their solicitude, evidently deairous uf coatributiDg all the sol&ce that af}'cctinnBti< syni'
I
J
KftAND JURJ
9S5
I
pAtliy Cotild stipplj- ; but, when I looked to the yard in which the women w«re d«tAined, ni> iitAti wax to Iw seen lurMng thi' same kindly part bj- them. *• Oh, woman!" I mpntwlly encUimed, "wliilf man ■ft happv, shy, timid, and retiring, you «re Taitht'til to him in ndver- sity ana dUgrace !
' When Hem affliction wrin(^ the brow, A miiusierimg xa^ thou I'
But he who eagerly, impetuously piirmv« you when ease and com- tort Burrouiitl you, coldly Ivravex you in the hour c>r yuur humili- atjon and ditlreas, to pine and «i):!h, and, it may l>e, tu die alone !"
[ wished to see more — to explore the interior — to examine the cells; but no order to that effect had been given, and, instead, we were allowed to walk round the jrovernur'ti garden, which, the strawberries then being ripe, was plcnsant ennngh. We returned tn the, grand jury room, wnere a report, setting forth ihnt we had minutely inspected the prixon, and were highly gratified with the cleanliness, ortler, &c. which everywhere prevailed, was tvndcred to us tor bigitature. Uf cuurse wu all put uur ntiiiK's tu it; tliuugh of tlie uenvral econuoiy ufUie gaol, as may be collected from what has just ueen stated, we knew no more than we did belbre Waving our apartment, or than might have been indited with equal propriety from Camberwell Grove or London Bridge. I do not mean to say that I felt this was exactly right ; but then, I thought to myself, it wa« no u«e one going against the rest of the jury, and I did not like to make myself couiipiruoufi. To do no might have olTended aome very pleasant gentlemanly people with whom I had been on excel- lent terms for a day and a half, and for what ?— to abate the mijtery of a hundred or two of wretches whom I liatl never seen. The thing would not bear thinking of.
Our last bill presented, with the report aboTe mentioned, we sat down to dinner. The fare waa excellent, — so excellent that occa- sionally I had what, under some circumatances, might have been called a pre^'ntiiuent on the subject of what was to follow in that thrilling moment when,
^ " ibe banquet o'er,
Tbe tcckoiiing comes, and iben locn smile no more."
Mr. Kncller called our attention to this important matter. My tnind was a good deal relieved at hearing him say we should not have more than half a guinea each additional to pay. All present, I thought, .seemed cheered by the intelligence ; but what language can aileipiately paint, as an eloquently descriptive writer would say, the transport experienced when, in the next nmmunt, he added, "Tlie fact is, gentlemen, we have funds hullicieni to cover every- thing, and three bottles of wine to come in."
Oil ncenes of extraordinary felicity it is generally thought unwise to dwell. At the tlieatre, managers drop the curtain the moment all iwrtJes are seen happy. Proud to imiUite an example mt illustri- oua, I stop not here to tell how we acknowledge<I the uble and im- partial cunductof our chairman,and the wonderful virtunof his vice,
*' Scimo feeliini are to mortals given With less or urth in ibem than heaven,"
Mr. Kneller the undertaker taid In a "neat and impressive speech," it being hia way tu go from " gay to grart," white returning
26G ODE TO MR. HUfiPHY.
thiuikfl on his health bein^ drunk with three times three. He ex- plained the cause of our present happiness to have partly grown on the readiness with which he had admitted the shirking excuses of about half our body, who would, it was more than probable, — ao he said, and so I thought, — have forgotten tlie Lord Mayor, the House of Commons, the dying mother, and the lying-in-wife, had they been aware Uiat they could have found in the grand jury room a. superior dinner, plenty of wine, and nothing to pay.
H. T.
ODE TO MR. MURPHY.
Hail to thee, Murphu ! sage prognosticator \
With "tueaftSo- eye"
Scanning the sk^. Hiou art no commen-iator !
No mere harum-scarum
" Vox stellarmn," But the great $h/-Lavoter .' Go, FraDcis Moore I all-wiae physician !
Thy " more or less
(A mere old woman's guess) Proves thee to be, unlilce our Murphy, vo magidan I
Tis plain.
Frost, tliunder, wind, and lain, All follow at thi/ bidding 1 Not in vain
Thou scann'st tlie stais.
Venus or Mars May smile or frown ;
Or the "Gnat Bear,"
Or the " man in the moon," may stare. And try to put thee down : Thou carest not a button for them ! so,
Tis all" no gw"/ Great Murphy ! thou rt in everybody's mouth
From north to south :
The passing salutation
Throughout the nation Is daily now " Good morning ! —
Murphy 's right !"
Or else, " Good night ! I 've book'd a place for Sunday by the mail, — The nextjiw aay, as Murphy gives us warning 1"
" When do you sail?" '* Not till the 25th, becmae I/ear the gale .'"
Tis very strange.
But every man on " 'Change " Grows learned ! talking much of " meteoric. Galvanic, and magnetic powers," " caloric,''
And all the secret causes strange combin'd, Obscure to all lave Murphy't mighty mind;
Expressing oft their wonder What damage will be done nejt autumn by the thunder !
Murphy, adieu ! beware I The public sometimes " change,'* which is not "foir." Long may you reign, a hale old man q( metal. Great prophet ! 'till the tnowt of ^ shall settle
Around thy brow !
Farewell 1 and now (Though not a glutioo) Enjoy your " heavy-wet " and wether-mutton ! W. E. S.
967
lONOSANU^MR. KLONCHCNBRUCH.
" Cmiiin, T tliink tlicu srt cnamuured UpMii lii* riillirt ; >i«ver did I bt«r Of (LDT princv, k mid, »i liberiy !"
flenff IV. Ptift t. '* My piiliw B« yonni doth Monperai*!;- kwp timv, Auil muknt a» livullliful oiuaic : it ii not madnec^ !"
Jlamltt.
In. JiTLitTs Shkmpknpri.t Hackrrman Smith Kltixcrun- CB «a< an EngliHlixnan, in spite of himself, and in spite of his l«, (selected 88 compliments to friendfl and customers,) which might have »ent him hnine to his parish in more countries than one. His father had been a (Jerninn ; had localised in Englnnd as a purveyor of German, French, and Italian goods ; had opened ■ shop in early Uayii in a guud quiet ailuation at the West-end of London, — showiu^ dark, ^(luabby bottles, full of rough, emcrald- ctilourffd liule tilings in vinegsr, liki* children's gaiigreuc fingers in spirits, — hangint; out at the sides of the door-posts tDuminy- looking tongues, and lumps of brown dirt in strings, called tlHm- bro' beef; not to mention constables' staves dotted with while spots, which were prnclaiiiied to be real Bologna sHii!iages,^-and tri-cornered lumps of dlngj- fat, which bore tl»e inlerfsling title of pigs' chops. Thts, though an unpicturesq oe, was a thriving trade, — driving, however, upon the terms on which every trade is only thriving, viz. by a strict attention to buainei>s from the hour t>f ■even in the morning to eleven at night ; a parsiinoniouH regard to the (Vugalitie» of the home department ; no ambitious heavi- ness or SHellingiie»s in the weights and mensures used in the trade department ; an anchorite'^ abstinence from scenes of pleasure in the leisure hours ; careful book -keeping, with no want of nig- gBrdneas of 6gures to thum.- wliu are on credit; an arrangement of old goods fur thoM* who are ill on the boohs ; anil, if possible, n pa- rochial situation as overseer or tax-;:rnthereT (the last, the best,] to extend the trade into the business and bosoms of men.
Old Mr. Kliinchunbriich was a very careful man, — an extremely careful man. He was to Ikt seen at the early hour when his boy —the usual chenp parocbiid martyr, who had, by the consent of church wjirden-, .ibiindoned fur no coni>iideration the muHin-cap and Uie Itnet^less leather breeches, for the eternal counter and the bed under it, — took down the shutters, and let in the morning lif^bt, the only London romance of his life. The old gentleman stood at the door to see this ceremony, tying on the apron of the day bts- fure, speaking a courteous word to the clumsy -liipped Welsh wo- man, whn made inaudible the kindness by the martial mode with which she gitmniled ike arms of her milt-paiU ; nnd looked at the sky altcniaiely with the shop-window, as though he were divided in interest between fleeting clouds and Gorgona anchovies, the bluo fky and split peas, India sov and sunrise. The fact is, this excel- lent tradeHmnii wiu) — as idf Germans are — most ticnsitively alive to " the skyey influence's " as well as to the influences of trade ; and if any weatlier-wist:' perHiti would have tiikrn tlie trouble to have gone by his shop at seven o'clock tit the tuurning invari«Mv and
aea
tONOSANIA.
to haw luukcj into thoae mIciud oIcI grey barometers — liiit t^-es — ^he would with a. modi-rale intellect have anccrtairied whetlier wntt winds or We.'ttphalia bams were likely to look up, ur whether IruMt or girkins woiilt) prevail. He had peeulinr eye^t. of a colour I had never yet seen, — lileak brown, stained while, faded green ; an ex- nreuion, tii tihort, something hetwi-cn that of pickled onions and French olives. Thi* is a nice distinction of colour, unknown to 8tanlield, and artietd who pretend to know what colour it. Dear «ld man ! he stood at his door a concentrated huniun emblem of bi» trade, — a cod's-tiounds eoniplKxiun, potte<i-fhar person, knap>wroral lege ; and. certainly, with a fniukcd tongue for general nue, as he could nut divc-vt hiniM-'if of hJs Gerniuii idiomit, making their way over the tobacco-tiavonrcd ii{>H in odorous twang to h]» Knulish pur- chafers. He wam civil before breakfabt, civit after breukfaHt, (tliat men) being a very alight partition between the two civlliiii-ij) ; civil before dinner, civil al'ier dinnt^r, (the partition ditto an to slight- nes4) ; extremely civil in the litlle Imck-ryoni behind the shop over a very cuuibrout* Hwiirthyold pipe, which I could iirvrr help think- ing he Binokcd (so earnestly, so patiently, no |ier)*everingly he did it,) with an eye to hams, tongues, aau^nfieM, beef, hung ditto, piga' cheeks, and other dintortions of smoke, bhU, and red muscle. Having mentiimed thene great faculties, it »eems trtriini; witli the niceties uf biogniphy U> mention thai he wore powder, h:i<l hi* hair in ii queue, and was mnrried. !!« found & lady at the German cha|iel who bore a very long, aolcmn, and severe ogling, and who with mulled lendernesH, liked a autcessful and attentive tradesman, and did not dislike gar- lic and sauerkraut ; and aAcr a severe acquaintance, the two darling slowneasca became one, mixed (to use the language of the trade) their two mild vinegars of aflectinns — the eschalot and the Chili —together, and made a very reipeebible mixed ])ickle of human married life.
There is no event in the life of old Mr. K liinch iinbriich to warrant me in having been so minute as to take an inventory of hia exiat- enee. His wife was as himself, only liner in t[iudity, — pearl Imrley to common barley: the refincmeni oidy on the common German dish. They scarcely bad a life: they scetned tu vegetate, perhnps with a proffssional eye, — flo innocent and so hurniless were their lityx and thoughts, — to a pretervittg of a higher nature than this world held out to them. They saved money ; aud iu due, orderly, German time, were purveyed to another world-
In the impetuosity into which a biographer is naturally hurried in writing the life of a Uerman. 1 had almost forgotten to recur to llie hero of my tale : come I to the »<m. 1 have mentioned that Mr. and Mrs. K liinch iinbriich were blessed with a iK>n : the name, Uiere- fore, could not die. Oils, vinegars, sauces, mustards, Hnlts, pickles, sausages, cheeses, apices, the whole genera of the immortal ahop i*eeme<l to have centred in and imtpired the son; — he was all tlu-Hc. At tiineji he had the German ^olciiinitv and solidity of the father and mother; and at times be had the wicked, un trades man like plea- santry of an Rnglifth boy. The fact is, he ran in and out of the door in a pinafore all the early days, when the memurins of chil- dren are " wax to receive and marble to retain," between imperinl prunes and seven o'clock in the morning, between Italian niceties and London cries, between Rgs nnd fine air, Cogliart )>aste and duat-
^hOnbhuch;
969
men, India nirrj'-powiler and chick-wewl and ffmumUrll, JIalh- brk-ks Mm) tapiocH, till he pnrUiok o( tlie in-door traile and the oui-<l4inr tradp ; th*- GiTm«n turinnliH was sublimnted bv the iiiry Rngli.ih cIcMlrr, and htr tmintht^ hiniKelf from the ht^avy durk of his own parents into the active tide of London existence. Air. Kliineh- unbriich, jun, saw his respectable relatives at the ]>r«per times (for Germans take their time, and do these thin^rs properly.) int<i their joined home; carried a white handkerchief for the aUottiMl number of hours, and wore n crape for an nllotlefl nunil>er of months; van convulsed at a crinis, and wanted no holding;; tried to find teoTH wlien he gut home, and was out of the article; bore hia suit of cables witli a ciieerful cuumenuiico for tlie uoiial period; declared he could never hold hJs head up for the remainder of his life, and made a Buccee^l'ul speculation in captiicmn? ; drcwped at the time betVire the boy in the shop over Dutch herrines, but recovered his i>]iirits miraculously over a lucky importation of IVench pre- ierved truffle*.
Mr. KluncliiJiibruch, jun. I grieve to say — it brenks my heart to «ay— but I ninwt be a granite- hearted Gibbon, an iron Hume — 1 must tell the fact ; — Mr. K. jun. unlike hiit strajj^ht-forwiird father and straight-forward mother, who hiul brought him up in the xlowect and moHt precise of wavs. wan a speculator! Immediatciv after their denths, he wils irapresoed with a notion that a fortune waa to be got, and not saved ; that a coup dc main wa8 to be made in trade at) well a^ at the ^amblinf^-table. 1 nay in trade ; but he thought that the OMtfi wa« to be tnaile out of trade ; inspired by the advice uid peculiar information of a neitfhbuuring tradraman that a day in the fundi or on the turf would bring wealth in a Hood — like the overflowing of the Kbine, and enable him to nend all the curinnH tilings, "purveyed to her Majesty and the loyal family ," purveyed to the devil. I do nut think I am the besc historian, or rather bin- erapher in the world, for Klundiunbriivh, jun- bad married — and 1 have hitherto omitted to mention it — an Kngliah lady, the daughter of an Apothecary; and she bad produced to her enter pricing breath- ing moiety an annual little piekle, which Fate invariably t<K)k it into her hea«I to prrtene. There were six little noiitv he anil sUe KliinchunbruchH always to be fed, a perfect Jnr of them, up in s •quart unfurnished room which was called the nursery ; and our ipeculativc vender of piccalili, having his quiver m extremely full, waa only the more anxious to make an extempore fortune either iD-doors or out, by deliberate or dashing means.
Mr. Kliinchiinbriich with the buneh of oiirnames, engaged an extra whSsae apron with a ^im, young, fawning figure behind it ; from wludt,Btthe end-HoftH'oarm8 that looked like twolong-aixet, blushed a pair of tomata-coloured hands ; and on the top of which figure was a head amoothed all over with very black Khitiy hair, eteeped, it would seem, every morning in Flomice, Lucca, neat'^-fout. linseed, furniture, spemiaceti, or some other essential oil. Witli oil in man- ner, hair, and discourse, was this living apron marked. The youni;, glowing specimen of H fureman was very respectful to the eustomers, very attentive to Mr. and Mrs. Klunchiinbriich, devotedly fond of all the six children one after the other, partial at evenmgs to the housemaid, and an occasional play-goer at half-price to the minor tJieatres. The worst of this auistancc was tliat Mr. K
270
M0N09ANIA.
unbriich conceived he was at liberty to nbsent bimeclf with safirly from his morning shop ; aivl to seek, througli thf iiitfrventiim tii' tl>e stock-broker, tiiat iminettiate introduction to Fortune wbich his own plodding r«t;«il trade would never afford liim. He left the Spnnisii luxuries of Ids own eatablisbment for the more expensive Spanisli ditto of the city ; he abandoned Capot's capers lor Capel, Dutch herrings Ibr Durmnt ! The con^ecguence of thcM- travels thruuich Teinple-bar was, that the freedom of the city was conferred upon his ready cash. All went wrong. Mn. Kliinchiinbrucb p'»y- eu Rotsini, Donizetti, and Bellini, very much out of tune, all the moniing over the «hoi>, and did not liK>k after the foreman ; the foreman looked with all possible zeal and attention after the servant- maid; and the servant-maid looked out of the aecond-fioor window with a« much regard for her curiosity as the weather and the atten- tive foreman would permit. The six little Kliinchunbruchif got up minor performances of music nnd mischief of their own ; and the whole house, owing to the calamitous turn for sudden fortune in the master, seemed to progress towards irregidnrity and disaster with a rapidity bcatinfi that of the march of mind, which i« now allowed to be goinR; at such rapid strides !
Luckily for the K.'s, the situation of sccretarj- to tlic We«t London Female fteforming Orphan PenitciHinry hat! been, in the bright days of the Dutch .Kmoked-sahnon Jobber, conferred upon him. And so Btrnng and beautiful was the effect — the romnntic effect — of kcep- inR Virtue's aceuunts. of the combined bpauty and power of the peculiarly elevated end of tlit- jiiirtropolis. the sex, the rescue of youth, and the narentlevs destitution nf tlnit youth, on the really good hcHrt of Kiiinchiinbriich, that on this duty nothing disttirbed or cuuLd dinturb hie method, hiu precise zeal, his quiet industry, and onnifBed correctness I lu Threiulneedlc-iftrcet, or the Rotunda, or the Alley, he might be distracted, flighty, excited ; at home lie might be abnent over little vendings of alkanet root or French tammy, or excited and impatient at six little tungues all going aC once up stairs and not ouc going in the Bhop ! But, let the hour ootnefor the recording, in hit buck parlour, the incomings and 001- ^goings of this excellent charity, and he wit down (to u»e a figure) with his pen in hand, like a lamb, and his line* and account-" were precision itM-lf. His house then remindetl you of Blair's Sermon on Order. Mrs. Kliinehunbruch was inspired with uniiccountablc »we when thetf books were brought out ; and the foreman, if he entered the room, asked in whispers about the isinglass and vanilla. And all the little children were snubbed, winked at, and silenced, whilst the columns — ^the Doric columns— relating to this West Lon- don Female Reforming Orphan Penitentiary were looked solemnly ■t, cast up and cast down, and proved. Two and two are four, and three are seven, and seven are fourteen, &c. &c. through a line of ^ure« as formal anil ordinary ax the Coldstream in St. James's Park at half-past ten in the morning, were worked with all the solemnity of a Protestant at prayer, or a Catholic at confeaaon. His finger went up, accompanied by his eye-brow, and Ins eye- , brow accompanied by his eye, as though he were going up the Duke of York's column ; and he Ret down nought and carried one with the air of an old accountant who had been respectfully called upon to lay the first stmie of a temple^ sacred to the memory of Cocker !
INCHON BRl
S71
All the iced correctness and phle^rniatic calranes? of the GermiBi in this his responsible occupation, CAine over him. Accounts beCUttS his country ! He wait tlie patriot of pounds, MhillintEH, and pence ! He at once stoictsed into a Ciita, enibetkled in partnassn, ivory- blark, and tamarinds !
One line mornini;, — for I must leave book-keeping for hioffraphy^ Mr. Kliinchiinbriich, after giving six faint kisses to his children, and a upanker to Mrs. K. over the overture to Tancrcdi, and after de- Biringthe oily-headed foreman to be attentive [obusinesi in the ahop, departed for the city, elevated by the prophetic alacrity which at- tended his conviction that the HpaniKh, of which he won a larf^ purchaser for the account, and wiiich was only at 60, would be at KO. He walked ms thutifi^h the Strand were paved with air, and "hia feet feathwed like Jlr. Hamlet's Mr. Mercury. He com- pliuientcd himsfli" liiKhly, though mutely, in his own mind at hia acute aptness at Hiiiflinf; a rise ; and he ran over a hurried, but vivid, sketch of his own retirement to a snug box at Ctapham, ■with three stone steps, two poplarK, two parlours, two drawing- rooms, two bedrooms (one for a best one), and two attics wains- cotted into four. He tiad & visinn of a buggy ; and a little boy, in a pepper^ntl-salt livery, to clean the home, and reminri you that he had cleaned him while he waited at table. These dreams — aweet aa airy agreeable dreams always are — occupied him until he reached the little dingy alleys iLb<mt the then Rttyal Exchange ; and, with the gavest of hands, inspirod by the gayest of hearts, did the ethereal iilr. KUinclilinbriicti open the thin door with win- dova, gaitered with white paint half up the glnsSi and enter that co«l-cefiarupon earth, the office of hia civil and active stock-brokers, Mea<r«. Gobole, Bubble, Jones, and CJolightly.
"Well, Mr. Bubble, how 'a — ^" Here the inspired spendator paused, for he could ju»t ascertain that the gloum of the four squue feet room was not haunted by the presence of any one of the four partners. The firm, to be »ure, never cowW be in the office together for want of space! A c«m»uniptive counter hod a dirty-brown closed book upon it ; and against the wall pale forma of transfer tickets, and stock and dividend warrants, were sus- pended, like gig;uitic ghosts of pallid inilk-tallieH and dead ace* uf diaiooiid«. There was a small desk elevated over onp, and perhaps the ubxcurest, comer of the counter, which waj> ascend- able by three straight, tall steps ; and it curved, in foggr-coloured wamscot, in front of a brown window, that let in brown light upon worse than brown blotting-paper. This desk looked like the moiety of a country bridge over a burnt-umlter piece of staf^nmt voter. The dreary colour of thi<i place, however, had no effect upon our Hpanish ambaasador; to hini it was a fairy palace tinted whh uUra-marine, carpeted with crimson, — Fortune's city retreat ! Ht called out, holding the white-g altered door still in nis hand, " Bobble ! — Jones t — Golightly ! — well ! — eh I — where ! — what !"
Mr. Golightly lookeil down heavily ovrr the broken arch of his desk, poked his spectacles up over trie rugged furrows of two ex- tremely uneven eye-brows, in ortler the more clearly to distinguish bis visitor ; sighed, closed a book over which he was engaged, took of hia hat, (for stock-brokers show their hilarity or their serious^ Beta by the conduct of their hata,) then took olT his spectacles, then
«7a
MONOSANIA.
gave an important hem ! that miglu have rt^ad the port of a i fpA down frtim a very hi{;li moo) ; aud thi.-ii Mr. Kliiiichuiibruch be- held a very luii); pair ut'dmb guiter* crawl down into the ufficc like a daddy luiiK-tegs, and tlie lurge old spider of a stock-broker lookn) silently at the poor treacled fiy that was imme^hed in the dirty web of his office. The very silence of solemn ^Ir. GoHshtly cast the flhadow of ii wry awful truth over the mind of Mr. Kltinchtinbriich ; nn efiect similar to ttiat produced hy the gentleman who " drew Pnam'M curtttins in the dead nf ni/^lit," and looked the burning of Troy without the aid of the tongue, — ^the latter, howevefj an ar- ticle more in the way of Mr. Kliinchiinbriich than of Mr. Goljf^htly.
Kliinchiinbriich plucked up a spirit ; and. after a slight gaap, to clear the passaf^e up a contracted tnront, spake !
" Well 1— Eighty ?— Eh ?— Seventy at least!— How 'a Jones?— How "s Bubble ? — How 'a thingH ? — How *s Gobble ?'"
Mr. OoH^htly bowed, plai»;u tliu speetadee, which he had held in hiH hand on tni: counter; rubbed those hands very much after the &shiun of Lady Macbeth to get the blood out. and bruke nlence.
" Happy to see Mr. Kliinchunbriicfa ! Let me see. How do you stand in Spaiiitth ? — a bull, or a bearP"
"Oh! a prodigious bear !"
"Hemt— «h !^-oh ! — ah!" And theiie nxmosyllabirs fell upon the heart of the poor pickle-dealer like the knell of a city bell tolling for stimething departed !
Mr. Golightly continued: "Jones is well. Consols are steady. Bubble is only gone to Ladbrokc'a, and will be back in a few mi- nute). There '* a panic in the rooms. Gobble dines out at $narc»- brook. Our clerk, Mr. Sncakington, is on the Old Ualley jury ; and Spanish "
"What of Spanish?" half sighed and half stairiniered poor Kltin- cbunbriich.
*' Spanish i.i at /wfnti/'six .'"
The victim supported himself by the nieagre counter.
** Sellers [" added the unsparing Gulightly. " SelK-rii !" the word disposed ut' every particle of breath which the astounded upeculator had for the last five minutes only jw&seeiied in remnants; and he faded into the uidy chuir in the nii^ernble uHice, ns though every muscle had been skilfully an<itoiniM-d out of his body by the opera- tive skill and decided exaclneH!* of this Liitonian i^toek-brokcr.
Mr- Goli>[litly pau«:<l, hung over the sufferer with a mixture of the t*llne«« of the poplar with the »adncss of the willow He mut- tered something about " fetching water, — calling a coach, — sending for a policeman, — bearing up like a man, — hnlnncc of account,— family, — severe loss, — hark-cah, — and Jones, Gobble, and Bubble!"
The ruined Italian-cream man mi. huddled up in despnir and silence. Rlr. Golightly fL-ll the lead at hia heart. He imreated ; he looked at the accounts during the sunken helplessness of his principal. He looked like a city U^olino, and went to the door.
Mr. Bubble came in with a banker's book a« big iis a Bath cheese, which he invariably carried to and fro up to the t/oor of Lad- brokes, during the busy hours of the day, to give a look of con- firmed account and solidity.
Mr. Bubble looked at Mr. Kliincluinbruch, and went to the door; and, by dint of some ingenuity, and handing up the banker's
4
MR. KLUNCIlONBRtJCH.
273
hp
book to the half-bridge ileitk Tto make room), gnt Mr. Goliglit- \y back into the ndicet and tlie two stock-brukt-rs held a comiuiuee ovrr the fallen victim.
He hail iii>t riiint4.-d : Germans, uiid men of German deKrent, never faint. lie wan ^eiiselenti : imd Germ«nii, perchance, like other people, may be so. Miii head had fallen on his handit; his hands had fallen over the counter, lie vra-i n loop of than har\ff up, tiu»- pcnded, as it were, by the merest chance-hitch upon the rim of the counter. Me was, like his frtl],— disordered, faHeta, atarchless. lie did not weep ; he did nut start ; he did not nu»an. The Spaniith question put bis ca^e out of all question. In the sixtieth of n mo- nicnt he saw — bought at (iO, price 2(1! — fallen — t>ix children — nne wife — two a^isi^cca — madiiUES — Htonc-bliiid as a statue — despair ! — ami he vanished iutu the weak, hdplctis inanity, on the one chair, which I have described, or atlemptvu to pourtray.
Bubble, hall'.shocked and half-saddened at th« picture before him, advised his sombre partner to watch that he, the ruined man, did not fall from his chair, or — run away! whJUt h« felclied a porter, and .itopped an uiiinibus going^ to the Wc4t-end.
Xow thiA wiM extremely htimnne in h »tock-brokcr, who»e chance of loss miG:ht be rtiinouit in iUielf. Bubble wtis not a ble&k-naturcil man; Golighth*, too, woj> sternly kind; Gobble would also have been kind had lie been present,— for he was a member of the scfe ciety for preventing cruelty to animals ; but Jones would have been the severest of the firm, — for he wa« fl midille.af;ed married man, of a selfii^k turn of mind, witli one child, — was expenbivc, and yet, stran|;e to say, very parbinionious at the same time !
Mr. fiolichtly, who had fetched some water, the moment that Air, Bubble had secured a conveyance fnr the ruined invalid, pro- ceeded to touch the insensible man M-itli a wet forefnif^er uii the tip of his nose, each angle of the forehead, each fat little lump on the ear, and the point of the chin ; and, KlUnchiinbriich aroee, after a sigh,
" So piteous nnd profound
As it did Hem lo shaUer all his bulk,
AihI end his beint; : thai dgnu, Uc Irts 'nm bo ;
And, with his head ov^-r his khouMer tum'd,
He Kem'd to 6iid bis way withaut bis eyes.
For out o' doors he went without tbeir lielpi I"
The meaning of thU passage in prose as applicable to our poor Spanish refugee bein)*. (for we have no right, in s[>eaking of a Ger- man tradesman, to leave hix character dependent ujion poetry,) that he really sighed one of those long sighs wliich seemed to be the full, candid history of a sorrow ; that his frame wa» shaken into life by it; that he rose without the aid of the two «tf>fk. brokers, who, Bke • couple of Curnliill Chesterfields, would, when they saw him likely to rise, " encumber him with help ;" that his eyes were opeii« though their sense was shut ; tliat he assumed the virtue of ■ calmness, though he had it not ; and that, with a terrible plaridiiy, he left the black-hole of his ruin, his hat being .lUurhed down upon his eyebrows, and, without a word cither to Bubble or Gu- Ughtlv, he iunk into hack-cab No. l'U>2, and again druoiivd, await- ing his departure !
Bubble bcrkuned tliu driver up tu the door, at which he and Go- lightly stood in double file, — not a-bruast, for that was on imposs'-
rou III. u
«T4
MANOSANtA.
bility ; nntl hflving (flvm dirertiona for the deposit of the fare, «c- comfuinicc) by an inHmation that he iihouU) quickly ToUow, the young gentJcnmn with a ragged coat of no immciliate colour, shiny pilot-hat, and fthort but extremely fat whip, mounted himself upon the roof of « vehicle th&t looked sumething like an omnibus !)hiit up imernally, opcTH-glass fashion ; and with a keen whiatle, a. rhenip, anil a de- ciiledly heavy full nf iJie same fut whip upon tlie titeHming pidea of a vrretcliinl quudruptxl thiit hud but just eet down u fare from Kiiights- bridcc, away ebuok the triplc-conipountt of mitt-ry in man, brute, and horse.
Bubble, lis he saw No. 1302 whiz awny, immediately turned bis rejections upon No. I, and hia feelings became at once roused to what the iirm alwayn called " the main object :'' he delivered himself aUn of a cood trade ngli ; and Gulightly, being a taller mnn, sighed »Jtnn sigh directly over hi* dhoulder ; and the dliirmetl two wheeled lo the right-about, and filed into iheir own officp. The brief, Im- portant sikncc of ihe pair was eloquent of apprehended loss. Go- h'ghtly looked at Bubble, fetched the books, replaced his specta- cles, and nn inspection vras immeiliateiy carried on with an enrnest- ne«8 worthy of two watchers at « nii:;ht-t(IegTaph during a time of war. The balance was great which the Principnl wa« liable to pay; be was a man of honour, but he wae evidently very much affected. The firm liad a difticuU part to play. IluweviT, it was arrungcd tlist Bubble ftbuuld make the best of bis way to the WeBl-emJ of the town with an exact statement of the nccuuiit between tlie high con- tracting parties ; and that he should, ifposkible, get a cheque fur the amount ti> be paid, or something like a security to protect the firm. However, to the aftlict»l, it was agreed nein.con. that "Gobble, Bubble, Jones, and Oolightly " felt like a man I
H'c have been perhaps a little too minute in describing this city scene, and the characters connected with it; but, as the rt-sult of it wa'iiofthe deepest and most fatal importance to the hero of oar story, we could not resixt being more precise in our details than perhaps we ought to have been. We shall endeavour now to puah our biography on at a better pace.
No. 1302 hunted his horse severely home to the destined house ; — cabs have no time to .«pare. The driver cast the reins on the back of the .inimnl recklessly, swung himself down safely on to the pave- ment by means of three slippery biti of iron, mnile a resprdfui ap- pearance at tlie back door of hia vehicle, and found his fare in pre- cieelv the same drooping situution he had seen him in the last time he didn't part with him at C'ornbill. The " Now, em I" startled KSiinchtJiilnvich u little out of his lethargy, and he sauntered out of the cxb with fixed eyes, but with the air of a man of ease; parsed across the footway, assumed a more resolute manner as he walked through his own shop, found no one in the parlour, and relapsed into his arm-chair,^a lost man !
From this dreadful day, ruin,
*' The paltied hand of ruin, was upon the bous« !*"
The firm of Gobble, Bubble, Jones, and Oolightly obtained from the bewildered man all (he means in money and security upon whieh he could lay his hands. The wife and children found tJiemselvea unexpectedly dependenta on the father of the wife, — who, poor
■ I
I i
1
>Leu
wed
rom ■
J
WR.
mCHl-NBRt'CH.
soul ! little thoug;ht he huJ iiivcst«il hU daughter in a iiiuniicr to brin? kill! ill such com|i<>uni) interest in the wny of jrranil-ila'jghliTii ana grtuiMon», The buHne^i went to wrack. The uily-Etewded furc- man >et himself up at the corner of a cokirl (ippusite tu the house <if bis maxtiT, and made in hi« small window am) at hiK dour a displujr of «rttcU'>i [Minfully like tJiose which had »o lung danj^lvd at the door nr re>t«'d in the ithop of hU master: ami t!uit nuster, stunned by thcfltidtlen and rri|{htfid Mow upon a mind which had riiten ujton the clastic spring; of hope to receix-e it halt* way, of course with double wcijiht and aeverity, became a forlorn, weak, placid creature that felt nothing about his childrcD. aorrowcd nothing about his wife, but wandered around the hou^e of his Asther-iri-law, accompa- nied by the most watchful of shabbily dresxed men. — ii careful in- truduclicm on the part of Dr. Warburtan.
" By decrees,
The mini) sank slowly to infacitine ose,
To playful folly, and to cauneleai joy ;
Speech without nini, and, without eod, etoploy. • ■ • • a
iUrmlcfs ai kuBtli die untiappjr man was found, Tlie sptril Milled, but tlic reaaoii dniwn'd ; And all tliv dreadful tempest died away Tn die dull utillneu of Uic- mixly day I '
For weeks and weeks did tiiis misty day remain upon the mind of the unfortunate Kliinchiinbruch ; and there were of cour»c not wantinj; friend* tn i«sue that circular, callcil a secret, respecting the clouded state of his mind and the tUI'ipidated condition of his for- tunes. If he had been confused in iiis intellect, and yet at the same time pri><>j>eronH in lit« finaiici's, he would have been, as we invari- ably find it in this blessed world, the fittest of all men to perform the duties of the situation to which he bad originally been appninted. But he was a dependent now upon the bounty and pity of relatives ; «nd a« the only relief tu thn^e rehitives was derived from the small aolary attendant upon his -vprretaryfliiip to the West London Female RBfbrming Orphan Penitentiary, it was a natural vontieqiience that he was prunouiiLed by most of liis scquuintnnee and friends to be totally inadet|UJitL* fur further employ, and an active canvass took place for the next vacancy, — every tetter deeply liuueating the cmiue which occasioned such vacancy, and with a smcenty (cut out of tbe same piece of cloth) pletlging to the most unremitting and earnest exertions in tbe cause of the inestimable charity, to the secretary- ship of* whicli the appointment was respectfully, humbly, but conti- dently entreated. Then followed "grateful servants," and "obe- dient servants," and " having the honours to be," and " very re«j>cct- ful and most humble servants," and in fact all the burlesque and farcery of scrvantry whicb invariably bring up the masquerade coa- cliMion of a letter.
The canvus, as I have stated, went on actively for some time. — at 6r9t, like the progress of in^iidious fire, in s smothered slate ; but nt lengUt the flamr-i broke out witliitut disguise, and it appeared i|uite certain tlut nuthitif; cuuld save the ruin. Tbe governors hod each his favourite candidate. Five of the-sir candidates were, by a fccleet precioua private committee, to be chosen out of tbe sixty-eigut for the
t contest. Gutdiy's testinionials were considered undeniable ; but
270
M0NO9AS
Binglcy wos backed by a bishop and two rectors, and was ■et down st B daiigeruuD tiian. lloberU, a very resjxK^t.-ible p^H-er, relied upcm the 8tren(itli of his mixed tea, his eerious lixbits, ami llie eloquence of his circular, whirb had bet'ii writU^n by the Rev. Mr. Skmi, of £Iiei)exer Ch:i])el, and which circiilnr was pronininccd by several uh) hi<lie4 of the congregation to he forcible about female virtue. All, in fact, were looking forward to the election, and the hulf-ycarly general meeting was pradually approaching. Poor KtiinchiinbriJch mutt therefore soon subtnit to that iinmiitnble destiny which would send him into the end privacy of a withered life, to be a burden to ihoM who s/hmU have been the happiest bnrthen to him, anil to look to rclutio)iR-in-law for those common charities which Lear has bo pa- thetiralty described ni three words, "raiment, bed, and fowl !"
Puur KliiMcliiJnbrucli! — mini 1 to? — nut ^opuor ! An thedav of his dutii'b approMcia-'J, reuHon np[>eareil l'> npprwiih with it, — faintly, and Iikea»hiidow, it mu»lbeconfe*i»ed. The Jir»t symptoms of the dawn- ing of his sen»e of the djiy was a simple restlesBness afler books and papers. His wife, too, for whom he had hitherto shown no sym< patby, anil yet who watched hicn with a tenderness of which only trouble httd shown her to lie capable, seemed, by her attenttoiu or her voice, occa»ionally to vibrate tipon his memory.
" Kindly she chides his boyish f!igkt», while he Will (or a mcrineni fixed ^ui pcnjiive he; Ami, ai »he trenihhit^j speaks, his lively vyes Ki|ilore liov iuoks ; he li^li-iis la licr sigliS. Cliann'd by tier voice, il>' Imrmoaious sound* tiivade llii ulouOcd iiiiiid, and fur a time peiiuade: Like a pic.is'd ii)fant, wlio lias newly cau>;hl I'luni iHr mali^mnl ^laticv a ^Ivuni uf tli(iui;ltt, lie sianda campt, ttie half-known voice lo liear ; And ;t(.irU, liull coiiHciuui, at tlir falling Ifarl"
Again and again he spoke of books; he called hJs wife by her Christian name; he patted the headu of bin children ; he was runous as to the perwui who waji su conliinially in hi« society ; he became anxious about the uth of July (tlie <lay ''■) i and he at length was un- ea«y utctil he had hia pro]ier books and documents before him rela- tive to the charity ; and when they were before him, he sat down lo them with the sjime remarkable interest and solemnity which wc have helore noticed ; ca-^t up, corrected, and proved the accounts with precisely hia original serious aeal ; seemed to advance, as it were, into the dayfifiht ofthe mind ; prepared e%'erything for what he tilled the board ; and, bating the picKle-»liop and all its duties, and tlie Funds and all its distraciionfl, he bcemeu to be again the great secretary, and in " his habit as he lived." The famify around him wondered at, but encutiraged. this retuning ofa mind which hud hithertu ap- parently been so utterly unstrung. They, from pure heart, lunged to encourage a reaction of the intellect.
The great half-yearly day of the Wert London Female Reforming Orphan Penitentiary at length arrive*!. The five fortunate holders of tile lucky chances, having made coniiiderable outlay in cards and lettcm, were in attendance in an ante-room. A large round deal table in the board-room, covered with vorv coarse green Uiise, furnished with twelve clean pieces of very red "blolling-papcr, twelve sheets of fiiohcap, twelve extremely new pens, and six leaden inksLands placed
'
above the centre between each two or the pieces of blotting-paper, &c. hnil uverst very protruding waistcoats thrust ugaiitst its etlge, and several waistcoats not of the corporation were pluced at certain varied distance a from the edge; audi in fact, mixing new ]>ena, foolscap,
tiowdert'd heads, leaden inkstaiicls, variously. filled Maistctiats, and )lottiiif;'p.-ipi'r into one mass, you have before yuu the committee of llie M'e»t Lundon Kcmale Kcfurmins Omhan Penitcntinric.
Just licfurc the chairman, tJie Rev. l>r. PI limping; ton, the nwy,
wclI-powdcrcd rector of had taken his seat, — a little plethoric,
but very Hcriou«, — he stood convcrsin;^ with members of tlic com- niiltei' previously to its opening, whi-n the meeting was struck with "most admired disorder" by the calm but bu»iness-likc entry of n seriate apparition, in the form of Sir. Kliinchvinbriich, with bmiks and docunicnts under hi.f nnn and in his hand, dre-'^^ted as uuatly aa upon the iinjiurUiit uccaKioii of every former day, hii> eye placid and expressive of a sense of duty, his manner cuuipobedly affable, yet ronnally respectful : he bowed from govenior to governor, — cer- tainly, a thought lower to the chairman : arranged his books and papers at his appointed place as secretary, and prepare*! for the procet-dings of the audit with a serenity so akin to that of the previous half-yearly flay of meeting, that his intermediate apathy seemed to be all in- ventive calumny ; and the gn^-crnors felt that all the secretary, and all the accountant, and all the man of buaineas, reduced to their usual half-yearly essence, was now befure them !
The Rev. Dr. Plumpinglon took his jieat amidst a vast deal of recovering couf^hing among his circular eleven. There wa-t a bniiz,
■ good deal nf fat-whispering bcl-wecri double-chins, pods, silent ad- Buuions, pahns pressed against palms, and elevation of eyebrows, when Mr. Kliinchunhriich, with a quiet manner thitt was perfectly irresistible, laid the minutes of the Inst meeting before the Hev, Chiitrmnn. What was to be done ? The proceedings proceeded in- (^ontrollably ; the secretary read the necessary accounts, vourh«l tliem, took the proper minutes for the nest half-yearly mcetinj^, si- lenced every report that had been prejudicial to his favour without
■ breMth of explanation, and was congraluluied upon his good looks and the correctness with which he kept the chanty accounts. The election wu never touched upon in the presence of the secretary, or openly at the board; and the five stewed-down candidateji went home in a more bewildered stJite even tliaii tlio secretary, carryhiff with them several large bundles of cards an«l circulars, which could now but serve as playthings for the children and squill* for the wives.
Home in a ensch, with all his books and documents, (unattended.) went Mr. Secretary Kliinchunbriieh. His guardian man walcherl him, — himself unwatched! The nutounding luinily of this day aU moit made his family insane. Alas ! his return after this strange, yet to him nccu^tonied attention tobnsiness. was a return to a severer apathy. The mind, overstrung lo an uiinatumt tension, had not a string that was not relaxed and liKisened. lie took to his betl -, his childiKhncH^, hi»i estrangement, his insanity returned ii|)on him in a deeper mistiness (or months. "Oh I what an accountant's mind was here o'crthrown !'*
nic terrible results of this exertion of a day were colouri-d, cir- ciiUtetl, esaggernied by the "friends, ctmntrj'men, and lovers" cf
278
THE TWO SISTBItS.
the whole diHtrtct. Rut although it was canfidptitly belierttl tJial on the Bub8ci}ucnt, and indeed on many subsequent occasiuns, the electiun must ofBltt-cr and hitler necessity occur, — the day of eli-ctioii kas not _i/ei arrived f Kliinchunbriich has, with a mind like a half- yearly aloe, invariably bloomed, expanded into action on the es- sentrsl day, gone steadily through his duties, and sunk into an in- crcjiscd stall' of jirostrntion the moment the day was over!
Poor, poor Kliincluinbriirh ! — liiine has been « hwd fate; — to be 'con.^idcred to hove but tvru day^* of Mtnity in the yeitr, and by those who assume to have three hundred nitd sixty-five inch days, and have none I — to have a oensc of duty in thee nigh enough to rise over wrecked fortune and happiness, and yet to enjoy but two days in the twelve months worthy of thy true and liibourin/j spirit ! Thou livest Eitill — (for in the mnin incidents this sketch is foundetl on rea- lity,)—and solnnjc as tliy .lecoiints arc not railed from thee on earth, I verilr believe tlicrc is a vitality in thy sense nf this world's duty that w;ll protract a call to thy more solemn and fmol audit.
J. U. R.
TIIK TWO SISTERS.
No wonder that the areal lyric poet should have given the epithet of " wid/eWrt" to "pUmta," or that the Romans CTecte<l temple* to the goddrNs Tusu8. Roth prove that tlie famed cHmc of Italy wa« not proof, even in ancient times, against the moHt deadly of nta- lodied.
There in an importunate iniest, who comes unhidden ; first knocks jfently nt the dour, then with more assurance, alWr a time will admit oi'no denial, and at last makes the house her home- Shall I draw her portrait ? It is not a prepostiessing one. Site is a " death in life," an »/;e in youth; her face is " white an leprosy ;" her eyes are lustrniiq and 'glassy ; her breath, of fire ; her step inaudible, 3-rl sure.
She delif^ta in the keen blasts of the wintry wind, the bleak and unsheltered mountain, a uide extent of coast open to all the fury of the north-east, the autumnal nowls witlt their fallen and decay- ing leaves, the ttagnant und weed-overpn«»n pool, the putrid waste of tremulous niarshen : thetn- are some of htr haunts !
Vet does ithe not disdain the resort of man. Go to the gas-lit theatre, lingrr in the draught of itii corridors ; enter the crowded and unventilatwl ball-room; kneel in the vaulted aisle of atonic church, felfoining putrefaction : she is there, in her multiplicity of form, ATiA ubi(]uity of evil.
Yes ! in all and each of these places she is to be found.
Uh ! the vulture that she is. To use the words of the Greek draniatisl, "The scent of human prey sends up n jiratrfid odour 10 make glad her nostrils, as laughter does ilie heart ;" and, like the bloodhounds of Orcbtcs, she never loses sight of her prey till she lut> tracketl it to earth.
She is no rtspecter of person*, has no predilection for dresses: bouittimes she clotlics heru-U' in th« rube of pride and sometimes
THK TWO SISTKRS,
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ik uta in rags, Sh« pretends to be the must tifTectiotuite ofbridw; telln her lover " Be happy i" wIdcIa him in her chill)' xrtus, amlj writhe as lie may, he cannot escape from her hellitih cmbrxceti.
You shitll be acquainted presently with her name: may you only hear it I Be etriingers Co each other, butavoid her a^you woiil<t a pestilence i
1 will let you into the secret of those whom sJie loves bmt. liistcn !
If there is a father who has an only sun, the last scion of his stuck, the stall' of hit) tlcclining years, his idol, the object of hh worship, one uu whom he guxes tilt he shed^ tears of lendervat Ue- lifiht, m yoiitb " the ubt^rved ufatl observers," who has ennobled bis mind, cultivated bin talents, and purified hiH adections,— it is on him she casta her longing eye, she bri*atlieij un him with her breath of flame. The artist at his e:)i!t-l, the student in his closet, the. author in his garret, the moiuifacturer at hU loom, — these arc the ubjecta of her fond reganl. But for the bloated epicure, the hnlf-»1«rved miser, the ^'''p'liK "j^urer, the painted hnrrldan, — thene, with a sin- gular caprice, she posses by unobserved ; whilst from youth and beauty — youth, crc it comes to its prime ; not as it displays it- self in the muscular vigour of limb, the roseate bloum on the un- changing cheek, or ebmic vigour of tlie utep ; no! no I — like an unwusonnbte frost, she chooses to cut off the faireA flowers, and nip the tenderest cihootA.
She is called CuHsumptUm. Yet comes bhe not alone. DisvKse, Oesolaliun, und Despair. — ibetc arc her lumilisr«, she brings them with her in her iiujRTijd train: they thrust themselves into the chariot, they uccompnuy her to the public gardens, tliey intrude on the secluded walk, they seut tliemselves at the table, drug tlie wine with gall, mix poison in the viands, haunt the couch of ret^tlex^- oesa, and quit not their victims till the cup of bitterness is full, — till they have found a refuge fruui pitin, sorroiv, regrett in that last restiiig'place of the wretched, the grave.
Sucli were my reflections uk in March, ninny, many years ago, X was lounging leiturely in the " Invalid*!' Walk" at Tvrbay- It is the Nice or Pi«a of Kngland, and the great refuge of consumptive patients from all parts of the tliree kingdoms. This famed spot i« pro* tectcdlVom the north-easterly winds by range behind range of hills: here, carpeted with turf of eternal verdure; and there, lunnounleil by tors covered with plantjitionn to their Irms, or showing, de> nuded of the slightest vestii^e of vegetation, their b«dd scalps, of the most fantaMic forms, and rich in colour as ihoM of the liikes of (*u til her land or Killamcy. Ho that Torbuy is not only the nrnti picturesque, but the most defiruble renidciice un the coast of De- vocuhire. But if the cnviions are beautiful, what shnll I uy of tbe place itself, with its basin, like a small sea-port scooped out of the rock, artificially formed by means of two pieri or moles, the miniature of those of Oenoa ; terrace above terrace, its buildings and villas of the niu»t elegant conKtrtictioii, with their verandas and balconies commanding a view of Torbay, seen from between two ri%-al wooded cone*, uliere many a thatched cottage pcepv like a bird's nest out uf the thick foliage oS evergreens that embower them i I have culled Torluy a u inter residence ; no ! winter tbcire Is none: »u mild is the climate, that the ilex, the arbutus, and th«
S80
THE TWO «ISTER$.
philan^a, Hctc crow to a alzc that they never elsevrhtrc attain. The myrtle U seen clnmbering over the winilowii ; and the Chinii rose hU| throughout the year, ii constant siiccession of bmis ami flowers.
The; grou}! thai (;avc orca&icm to my ttombre apostrophe consisted ofu lallier uitil his two Uauglitcrs, whom I had met ibr some time in my rambles, mid with whom I nfterwuidK became acc|Ufiiiited. Would I had null fur the Intter were duotued wiihiii n few months, to become victiiiit to an hereditary malady thai had proved fatal to their mother.
The father, at least sixty years of a^, in hi» gait and air bore the np]jearanco of whnt he had been- — a soldier. He had M>rvi'd in the Eiist Indies; and it might be perceived that, in common with other long reMidrnts in that country, he had not escipod the effects of iu destructive climate, but that his constitution waa much impaired. Some deep sorrow seemed imprinted on his fine and noble fentnrea, which had lately taken a still deeper fthude, from u presentiment of evil, — a conviction that a prematurr fate raennced tlieiive^nfthow dearer to him e\'cn than his own; that it hung BUBpcnded, like a sword by a single thread, over the heads of liis daughters. I'hey wurc drawn in chairs of a light niid fragile form, which, as they eate, giivc a peculiar cLeganee and grace tu their attitude; being Kuch aa Cuiiova, modvUing from the antique, has chosen for one of his statues. The general was walking between them, and his eye turned occjitionally from one to the other: neither spoke; his heart was too full to give utterance to his feelings; and to them, the effort would have been painful, even had they been pi-rmitted by their pliysitiaii, to converse in the open air. They held at times their handkerchiefs — one was, I perceived, spotted with blood, — to their mootliH, as though the atrauxphere respired was too keen f<n- their lacemtetl lungs. Now and then lliey interchange<l ghtnce*. which aeeined to be mutually under«tuud ; and 1 thought 1 could read in their countenances a sense of the loveliness of the scenery around them, a pleasure tinged with melancholy, whenever a ray of sunshine through some opening in the trees smiled on them. Then, too, they smiled; l»it it was a faint smile, like that of the March sun,— a mockery of joy.
Julia, the ehlcst, was a bruitctte : her figure was above the com- m<m height; and lier liair, which »heworein long depending ringlcu on each side of her face, wjut, like her eyes, black as jet.
Caroline, the youngest, in no way resembled her sinter; and the singular contratit between them, a foil to the beauty of each, gained them the appellation uf the Celestial and Terrestrial Hemispheres. Caroline had just attained that critical period u\' life when the girl gives place to the woman ; nhe was in her neventecnth year. Like tlie shiKit uf some parasite plant that is scarcely able to Miip]Mirt itnelf, thin, tall, and delicate wait her form. For Mjnic months che had been unir<|unl to walking, even fur a few yards, without fatigue ; and her father always carried in his hand a cumi>-seat, on which, when- ever she had crawled out on the jettee, or to the strand, at every twenty or thirty yards she was obligp<l tn rest ; whilst Julio leant affec- tionately over her, and watcheil every turn of hrr atster's changing countenance, her own sweet and angelic aa that of some divine messenger sent to comfort a dying martyr. No murmur or com- pUint ever escaped Caroline't lipi ; notbing could be tuure affecting
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THE TWO SISTERS.
£81
than to see the cITort slic niBdc to tliBguise her sufTeringii. in order to quiet tbe appreliensiuiis ul' ttiusv bt-iuge whose livea liuiig upon
I have said the was beautiful: what words can Uescrihi; her love- lineftfl !— it was that of an embodied spirit. In a portrait, surh a complexiun would have BeemetJ the flattery of the art ; enamel could give n Taint iden of its cleHriios, its brilliaDcy, its trans- parency. It -wriw pure as hemelf, the reflex of licr soul without a taint of curth. Her eyes were what the Span'mrds call adurmi- tUliot ; an epithet the most endearing end significant, mtd which, for want of a diminiitivo in our language, admits of no synonyme. To make it inti-lligible by a pnrnpnra»o, I should say they were eves which, under the veil of their long silken InsheR^ express, not that the soul is asleep, hut dreaming of love, — divine rather than huraan love, for who wua worthy of inKpiringtt? Rut when she raised those dark blue urbH, liicv thunc uitli the light of j^enius, ibe fire of intelligence ; and yet toere wuk, at times, in Uiem an un- natural lualru, like that of a lump that burns the brighter as it is about to lose its vivifying oil. In proportion as the malady became mote inveteriite, her Kpirits increa««i ; nnd the pure emanation of her piind peemed to throw a halo about her, inakiTig her look like an angel — with all, ttave wings, for heaven.
I saw, with a regret a» if she had been my own Mster, Death ap- proach with stealthy pace, and foresaw that she would at Lint sink into his arms, calmly and peaceably at. & child is hushed to *lum- bcr on its nurse's breast. And yet every day did her check nsiunie a livelier hectic : und a common observer would have fancied he observed symptora<t nf convaleftcence ; like the gala-day in the Kast, it wai only a ilattering revelation.
This context between mind and matter, this strife between the powers nf life and death, reminded mt of a picture of GHidoa,* re- presenting a rosy infant lying on a winding-sluH-'t, and playing with a ukullj or rather, of two paintings in otie of the* colleciionB at Bo- logna, the same that coivtidns the Ecce Homo of Correggio; but I have forgotten the name of the gallery, nor is it im|>orbuit. The cufttude himself, though familiarity might have blunted his feelings, shrunk from it in disgust ; for my»elf, it not only made b deep im- pression on me at the time, but ban never recurred to me since with- out causing me to shudder. (>ii niie side of a double case is a large miniature in oil, representing a girl : she is in the very lenith of life, and youth, and health, and radiant with all the rich glow of auutbern beauty. She died, it appears, shortly after sitting for this portrait. Now for the reverse. The father, with a strange caprice, long after she wa^ conveye<l to the family vault, had her disinterred, and em- ployed the same artist to draw her then likeness. The work of putrefaction luis begun, the lips arc purple, the eyes sunken, the worm is at its revels ; und yet, horrible to say, there is !>ulficient simi^ litude between the two faces to eH(abli^h their identity. O jwor mor- tality t niuMi Caroline soon come to Uiisr Yes, her hour was nigh !
^fliL-Iuid an extraordinary talent for music ; and composed, the even- ing before ihe died, an air that expressed, better thun word» could do, the peculiar state of her mind, her regret at being about to (|uit, »o ft young, this beautiful world, which she had almost worshipped.
H * In di« caliitifi nt' 3t. Schaaip*, at Uh«gu
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TUB TWO SISTBaS.
It was «i apotheosis of nnture * a fsrewell to the universe ! It )■ prubiilvle that, feeling her end s|ipn>!ich, she had gone down into the breakfast- roiim early in the muniing lu \i\ay this pathetic dirgv; for she was found in a larf^c arm-chair, her fingers extended, as tliuugh in the act uf tuuebini; the piano. Tho^e who discovered her thus, supposed frUe ulept ; tor the pleasure of the music, and the thouKhts that had inspired the air, yet lingered on her countenance, and lit it up with a faint smile. Half hoping, yet fearing to awaken her, Ihey might, with Lear, have nppIiM a mirror to her mouth to see whether her breuth would clt;n itit Iti^tre. No! thdt aluntber waa lier U»t ; her spirit liaiJ Hed to Him who gave It.
In losing her siHtcr, Julin had lost all the ohjeet.4 of life. To whom could she now communicate her most secret thoughts ; make them intelligible even nithout words, comprehended by a glance? The books they uacd to read together, — she could not open then without finding ttomc pas!ingc one had marked to show the other. The instrument, — she could not bear its tones ; the duets they had played, the lurslhey had iiing, all the inanimate things in tlic room, ttie vaemit chair, the uiifini^hed (Embroidery, her own sketch etiU lingering in the gloss, where it was Caroline's habit to put wlutevcr last had pleased ner, so as to have it constantly before her eyes, re- called to her remorseless memory the recollection of ber irreparable
ll>«!t.
Kven the face of nnture seemed ehaiiged: those views on which she had gazeil with rapture had loHt nil their cliarm. The little garden which CnruHne had Inid out; the flower« she had planted, and watered ; the whispering among the leaves, the ripple of the waves on tlie Hea-ithore, the fong of the birds, were all associated with her, and did but nourish her grief, aiid make her solitude more lonely.
Oh ! let one who would seek to extinguish unavailing recollcctionn By from the scenes of fttrmt-r happiness '. Two mouths elapsed, and the general and his surviving dnughtcr had changed their abode for a villa at Tor. Time, that heals .ill bnt compunctious vialtings o*" eon^ricncc, htul begun to pour its opiate on the soul of Julia. Sighs and tewrs are the gafeiy-valres of nature; they are the balm of the wounded 8|^)irit, like the tenderness of a mother, or tlio sympathy of an aflectiunate friend. Her health, too, hutl begun to improve, aiid all the worst of her symptoms to disappear, when there arrived at Torbay oneof tbu^e missionaries, those disciples of the new Whit- field, who, under the mask of adherence to the rites of the esta- blished church, preach the desolating doctrines of elei:tton and place — doctrines that overthrew the intellect, and poisoned the life, of one of the most aminbte, beneficent, and virtuous uf mankind, the infatuated Cowpcr, This mi(>i<ionary was a man of fifty, with a face in whose hard and strongly marked features were vioihW the traces , j^jrly pa*s>o'itr *he violence of which might have driven him into Ac coWD'**'"" '*'' ""y '^•''oi'': — passions that had been smothered, mC fxtingo'*''*^*'' by the cold and calccdatiug dictates of worldly ^jjjjpj. The inward conicioameM of his own sinful nature r^j^^him contx'ive that alt the imaginations of the heart are evil, •""j^urt* *'*' '"'I of cnncupiscence and the long catalogue of "^ ivtubbtl'^ Apohllecimmcnitcs, (Vmtinual mortilication and mi the exercise of prayer, had made him mistake habit
THE TWO 8I8TBIIS.
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tor faith, and bclit^f for conviction; I will acquit him of th« hy- pocrisy of the Phapiiie*. He was no Tartuffe, such as MoHi-re has drawn, for hi a zeiil nnd fanaticiBm were alike IndispiiUble : a zeal far adding to his little Hock ; and n fanaticism that, leading him rtfp by step to cnnatrue to the strict letter, and torture to hii own internretation, tlic parable of the porter's vessel, and a few texta Uuit nad a gcncrid appUcutiun in var]y days of Chritttianity, made him implicitly believe liiut, with the partiality of a father for one child over another, the GcmI by ivhom he was called to the tniuiHtry to preach, had pre-ord»ineu and nelccleil hiniitelf, and a chotieii few, to complete the number of the elect, whilst all the rett of niniikind were irrevocably and iminediably removed out of the pale of itaU vstion.
Such i* the human mind, that by intense application and ab- Btractiun, by continually brooding on one subject, it can place blind crrdencft in any doctrine, however absurd.
It waig not long before, witti a spirit of prosclytinn, he found out Julia.
It is uid that the heart i» never more disposed for a new attach- ment than at the ninment when the object on which it doted is gone for ever, and that the pmve is not one of the affections ; Lady Jane Grey ia a satire on the bl-x — a liliel on wfHnan. This deso- lating sentiment h only cnterUiincd by those who have never felt the Hscred power of love, who have mistaken passion fur affection, (be joy a of the senses for the mv»tical union of »ou1h. But when all earthly things fail to »upp1y the void in hearts that have once beat with love or aflcction, thev took for cunsolatioo in the ibonghta of heaven; they seek for things above the earth rather than of it. Never was there a being in an apter state to imbibe the poison which the tempter wa* bent on instilling than the de- Tuted Julia.
As soon «« he became a guest of the house, one selfieli feeling •walloweil up the rest; religious enthuftiasm took poimession of her; distracting doubts destroyed the wrenity of her souL At their first conA-rcnces, he expressed himself shocked at her utter iffno> ranoe of all the tenets of the true faith — at the heathen course ot her life ; told her «thc wns a Etray lamb gone out of the way, that her malady was « juAt inflietiun of Providence for rins of omit^nion or cootmiaaion, tlmt she should cnnsidcr it as a salutary ordeal through which she should gain the road to salvation. In order to fit her for another world, he enjoined her to wean her aAectiouft fruni all tJiat this contained, to seclude herself from all intercourse with her fel- lows, and renounce the bocirty of her friends. The love of nature he considered idolatry ; her elegant pursuits frivolous, and unwur- tliy a can(b<I)ite for heaven ; he Miid tlint by prayer and prostration tiw aliould struggle to receive grace divine, and to ubtmin tlie cuii- victioit that her calling ami election were sure.
Such were the doctrines that served lo embitter and diMurb the retauning houri of thi« victim of bigotry.
•• La mort" soys a French writer, *' rencontre un puUtant aiuUiairt tiani U moral, ijuand il se trauve graiemenl attire." ThiiH licr diseoM now mjite a rapid progress ; the worm that preyetl on her vitmls daily made grenu-r inroads on her constitution, and it was clear tlut I few weeks would Ujr her by the aide of her ftivter.
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ANACREONTIC.
She had till now, in the presntce of her fntlicr, axsumml a cheer- fulnesv, even if she ielt it not, and grrrtwl him with a vmile of re- turning li«p]>it)««s ; and, liowcver painful the elTiirt it coDt, had at> tended to the nHiLirx uf his house)iiil<l. But a change came over her ftpirit.
During the laiit viiiit I paid her, nhc looked tnnrc Hke the "Mug- dalen of Ouido than the Mndonna of Itaphscl. Her eyes were red with weeping ; over the natural pnlcnci»i of her cheek was spread a fliinh, less of bodily disease than the fever of her mind. She ap- penred lost in a self-nbstrartion that eclipsed all extermd objects, itnd discovered no lipht within; siith as. the funjitii: in the exal- tatinn of hh fervour flnds, to compensate for the lost brightnes.'j of the world.
For Eumti days bL-furc her death, she abode in perfect darkness, and would not cvi-n see her I'litber: she refused all »ortj( of nut- tenunce, or to take her accustomed medicine; and with feeble voice, tliat inanition rendered more like a murmur or & mund, was heard at intervals muttering accents of despair.
This could not last long- She was found with Irt h.-inds clasped in the iittitude of supplicnlioii, in which she died- tier head was bent back on the pillow^ and her eye* were raiseil to hi-aven.
At these Histera were unitetl in their lives, mi far were they in tlte itinnner of their death that no one received their last aigh.
These details have little that is dramatic in them. Ihcy are M'enc* that hove rvuthing to recommend them but tht.>ir fidelity ; yet they tire not without a moral le«:<on. I have lately made n pilgrimage to the graves of the Two Sifters, and have thought that tftey should not perish without «ome humble record to save their memurica from oblivion. I remembered (he word* of a great poet, and said with a »igh( when two biich spirits pass away,
" Ttie world M-vma «ii«il'U'i>f a change: Tlicy icait behind ;.i puld Ir.t!i<]tii1hly, Ueiilh and iht {;rave, iknt an: not as they trcrc I"
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ANACREONTIC.
Eroi, god of love, 1 'II bring To thy slirin* no offcrini; ; I will only bi'iid the knct, Uaecliui, gud of wine, lo thee.
Where's the eye that shines as cloir As these niby ipurklrw tiiri; f Where *a a hp so swcel as this Crystal gflbltit't Uiat 1 Itiss t
Ktos, god or low, I 'II briujf To ihy shrine no ortitriiiic, FoT h\ llua rich draut;!)! I row, Uoy, I am thinn e^uni imw I
M.L.
986
THE T>OCK.YAnD OfTOST.
BY RIOHARD JOIINB.
If was .1 (lull and rainy afternoon in a dreary sea-port town ; the Terjr waves came in Bluj[giF>hly. as if they found it too mncli trouble to wash the shores ; wliik- tlie idle u inda wantonly pliiyecl with their ripplii)}; curU, inatend vf Iduwin^ them up for neglect of duty- I do not mean to nay that the huroiigh uf UockHrtcn wan ii dirty town, and wanted more purification than nther communiliex of men ; for b« it from mc to make so unkind an asAertimii : but Air. Mnu«cribc'M Ouide to the beauties of " thii ancient port and its neijihbaurhood" tnakpfl particular mention thnl it^ ahorcs arc " waiihcd by the bound- Icsx deep," and I am old soldier enough to require contracts to be
{iroperly performed. The eventful day the incident occurred which lat matle mc turn scribbler, was in the autumn of III — , not many years atU'r the close of that ever-to-be-rememljcred Kuropean war which covered England with national glury and national debt, and entitled her to that continental gratitude wliicli, 1 am inclined to think, was incontinently forgotxen. The town I refer to, had greatly flourished during the struggle of kingdoms ; for it possesses. a» Mr. Mouscril>c has it, " b dock-yard where the giant oak of England in hollowed and Miuared, and fashioned to stem the heaving tide, and go forth the mignty bulwark nf ournative land." Doekarton in the war-time was contequentl}' a bustling sea-port, and had n large gar- rison of veterans and mililiii, together witli n goodly population of sailors and »Lo{>-<ieilerfl, innkeepers and outlitters, pinipH, crimps, and priae-agcnts, tailor*, hatters, wine, brandy, and ])rovi«iun merchants among the sterner sex ; while the ladies boasted a miscellanenus as- semblage, which, for the most part, had better be imagined than de- scribed. Peace arrived, and in a short time grass yrta actually discovered growing in the streets. Hhips were no longer launched, and but rarely commissionol or paid off; Jack now .seldom came "caper- ing on shore" with money in both pctckcla ; the Jews' watches were at a diftcuuut, as it wun no longer the fu^hiun to buy them by the half- duaen ; and when k tive-pound note was cashed for a new hut, it hill GGBseU to be u^uai to '* d ~ the change !" Tailors now were loo bniily engaged looking after oUI bills to entertain old customers with champagne luncheons; hotels were shutting up, or dwindling into pot-houses i ami »hops unce aUmdonetl by their tenants reroaineti unoccupied. Change followed up*in change ; even the veter.ins and militia ilepnrted, and in their pl.ice his ^liijesty'a ^ regiment <ltd duty on the diomnntled lines, silent saluting-uatteries, but still noisy dockyard of Uockarton. The reader will now understand why I called this a dreary town. I believe it has since, in some degriH?, recovered firmn the sudden effects of the peace; hut stupid enough
it was when Knsign Augustus S looked from the windows of
the King's Head Inn at the drizxling rain which begreased the pavements of the princi[)al street in Dockartun. Bitterly he cursed the shuwera which hatl converted a fine niurning into • wet after- ncxin, and prevented a certain daniM'l with whom he was de>p«Tately nutmuureil. from keening an apiHtintiuent duly made in a mceting- luiUK the •Suiulay bei<;re. '
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DOCK.YARD GHOST.
The fair "Mtry Ciillcil herself a niirscry-govMneBs, Rnd it it ceflun Ac govcmecl the nurit*-ry of a family in the vicinity : but though " Mnsler Bobby " and " Slisa Emma"* were too old to mrry, tliey were yet rather young to IcJirn ; anil, not npenking tlicir nativr tongue vi'iHi flueiK-y, it is probable they did not trouble their pro- tectress by entering into the coniponfiii partJi of tliu language. Be this as it may. it pleiiscd the nurse ry-miiid to attpire to the dignity of f^orerness ; anu Ei»ign Augustus cared not to oppose or contra- dict her, a», clad in luutti, he would stroll beside hii invaviorala and her young charf^e, when the weather and her miotreM permitteil thiFtn to take the air. On the present occasion the pretty nlnry wai prevented from meeting her lover by the min ; and the en»i)[n wAi coniicquently out of temper with himflelf, with her, with the whole world, and everybody in it.
Af^er hAvin^ pro{»o»ed other terms of capitulation In rain, he Hod just determined on a tnesaUlance with Miss Marvi i" sovereign con- tempt for the prpjudices of his/bre/if ur*, who had made it tlietr cuii- tom to marry ]n their own station of life ; and the moonerhe informed his gentle enslaver, the sooner Enitign Augiistuti thought hix heart would be at rest. The only way of iirihurthening his mind wss to embody hio huuoiirablc proposal in s letter; but this seemed a plan of proceeding which, with a latent dread of u possible action for breach of promise of marria£;e, he hesil;ited to adopt. Brooding over his disappointment, he finished hi« sherry and sandwich ; saun- tered to a billiard -room, where he made two or three foolish bets, losing his money with a »till greater profusion of his temper; and from tlience lounged to his quarters. Jlere we will leave him plnying Itobin Adolr, Dulce, Dulce Domuni, with other heart-in- thnilliii); airs, on bis German flute, whiling nway tedious moments till the mcsH-hour ,- and transport ourselves to the royal dock-yard of Uockarton. It is the evening of the same day, eventful in the re- cords of the — regiment, to which our gallant friend belonged, and Tom Mnson, a full private in the ensign's own company, is on sentry in a retired part of the " Yard."
It was still *• very dubcrsome weather," as Tom rcmarfcod to him- self us he walked to and fro before his box. The rain had ceased, ami the mooit seemed making up her mind to shine, as if in attempt to dry the wet- blanket- looking cltiudn that hung around her heaven- built hall. Not A soul was stirring in the dock-yard^nt least not totheeyeof Tom JIason — except a brother sentry on a disuuit Jetty, when the clock chimed the half-hour past eight- Twenty bells now took up the sound as they were set going by the hand.-) of the civil watch — wtirlhy old men I — showing that they were not yet gone lo »Wp< whatever might hapjwn ; while sentinel answered to sentinel. ^a^ watchman to watchman, tn one long miitinuous cry of "All 'l ^flll" which, echoing in the distance, died into silence.
I luve said Tom's post was in a very retired part of the " Yard," mJI WvC further to mention that the place was "banned witJi an ^^ iNWe." Whether some " Jack the Painter's"" wandering ghost ^^•jli ^ttlted " the glimpses of the moon" in that porticular quarter, h . ^tf^J liske on me to say ; but certain it is that several soldiers *i ibtpy hfid beheld n figure pass them that would give neither
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the "parole" nor " tiiimWr." To purtme thi»t appnritinn, whalcvrr it might be, would take them from their prntttt, iind be contrnry to orders ; vhilc to fire nt everybody they could not otherwise secure, Bunposing thrir challenge to be unanswered, — their strict line of duty — Iiail mi a late occusion, fatal to the intruder, though ludicrous to the tliouglulpjii) soldiery, culled forth n CHUtioii from the conimismioneT of the dock-yard not to be too prrcipilnte itith their mu^ketn. A •entry had one dark night shouted " WKo goes there?" till he vrna bo«r»e — fired — alarmed the guard. "Why did you shout him?" Mid the Berj«*nt.— " Why did iiol the jackaaa answer, tlien ?" cried the sentinel. "Who have 1 shol?" — "Jackass, indeed," rejoined the noD'CommigMoned officer, Ta.\sma the head of the dead body, at)d letting the light of his lantern fall on tlie long visage and leaden eye of the deceased. — It was the commissioner's donkey !
Rut, to return to Tom M^son. Se;ircel;' hnd the dock-yard re- lapsed into KJlence when a black (ig^iirc, huUlit);; whut appearetl n ktnall white fln^ or handkerchief in ita hand, paoAcd along a range of timher-shcds about fifty virtU from Tom's ]Kist, And then came to a dead halt. Our sentry <iuly challenged, though, it must be confess- ed, with ■ trembling heart; for he had notthelen^T doubt he be- held the ghost. The dark form answered not. but slowly waved Its Bar. With a ln*t effort nf despairing courage Tom challenped again ; ■au the apjKirition, uttering a faint BcreJim, seemed to sink into the earth. Thin wa>i too much for mortnl man to tiupport ; at lc«<^t so thought Tom 3I;LHon as he took to Ins heels, and never rested till he had reached iJie opposite jetty, where, holdiuji; by ihe arm of hia astonished comrade, he once more looked in tlie direction of tlie i;liost-walk he luid quitted.
" There it is again !" exclaimed he, pulling at the shoulder of Dick Cumining«, who, being no believer in ^irits except those sold at the canteen, most provokinglv declined to take an old anchor-stock in the distance bedaubed with a patch of white paint, for a supema- tund viailant : Tom's fears having by this time anpointed a deputy ghost to do duty in the absence of the late appnrition.
" Vou are a fool, Tom Ma»on," austvered nls comrade, with that eaay address dislinguiNhing a rnmiliarity which, if it does not al- ways breed contciii|rt, in fruitful of blaek eyes.
'• If ever I »aw » ghoit in my life, that 's one !" obstinately contj- naed Tom.
**Very liketv ; and yet that's the old anchor-stock you and I paaaed three times to-day when the reliefs went round," dryly answered his brother Mildicr. '■ An*t you a pretty fellow to stand lentry } AVhy. Paddy O'Brien's story of the black and white gha»C — that pe|)f>cr-uml-^lt bit of the devil's cookery — has fooled the wita out of you !"
"Well, well!" said Turn, taking a long breath, "I believe you are right as to the anchor ; but the thing I challenged just now walked, and waved a white Rag after the same fashion that Paddy told us of, and screamed, and sank into the ground, which is more than Ar ever saw *"
Without seeing any thing further to alarm him, Tbm Mnsno, soon after nine o'clock, was relieved by the very Paddy O'Brien who bail »trengthened the superstitions of the garrison as to the dock-yard being haunted, by roundly asserting that he had *een the
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TDB DOCK-YARD OBOST.
apparition. In a few miiiutM mor4^, Diok Cumminf;* aIm ha«l ve- ftif[iR'd his po«t to iinother, and wns marching be«u1o Tom tn the guard-room. \Vhati'vpr might have Iwen the intention ot'ovir ghost- ridden sentinel, — ■whether to r€T>c»rt whut hn hnd beheld, or keep the 5ecret to hitiiself, in the hope of ('iiinmin^s not betrnyinj' him to the ridicule ofhi!^e^}itipaniuiii>, — littli- titnewau iJluwed hhii fur deli- beratiun ere Dick tauntingly Jinked if he hud '' seen the devil again." Angry words arose; blows were exchanped ; and the whole affair WAS, in consequence, referred to the officer on duty, who happen- ed to be no other than uiir friend, Ensign Augustus, he having been disturbed at mess to fill the pocttion of « brother subaltern taken suddenly unwell ud guard.
The pugnacious eoldiera were reprimanded, and reserved for re-
Kort to the higher authorities on the morrow ; and the ensign, who ftd a small touch of romance in his composition, sallied fortli alone to investigate the mystery of the haunted jelty. Here he found Paddy O'Brien— « hiijje specimen of the grenadier company— -<]uile on the alert, challenging at the top of his voice, and cUnhing hia anua ax he brought his mu<>ket across his chent to the port, with a noise enough tu frighten any ghost happening in the days of its body to have tasted cold steel.
" Paddy," said Kiiitign Augustus, " wh«t i* this story of yours about the black and while apparition? Tom Masun siiya he saw it and spoke to it iust now."
"Oht the devil he did, sir!" cried O Brien, with a start that brought the chin-stay of his grenadier's cap across his mouth, while the l>earskin itself stuck mit at rtght-anglea vrith hih back. " Oh ! the devit, thin, what n mistake V
"Mistake!" repeated the ensign, in no little surprise at the aci>- Iry's exclamation. 'M\Tin made a mistake? — answer me, sirrah !"
"She, sir! — he, sir! — the ghost, 1 mane ! Oh! bloodimd 'oandst what will I do, anyhow ?"
" Walk your post, sir," said the ensign angrily, " while I get behind your sentry-box; and wf'U see if this ghost of youra payi you a visit."
" Oh I don't air, don't !" cried the twldier, now in evident and ui>- diHguiited trepidation ; " 'twill be the ruin of me !" This was ad- dressed to Ensign Augustus aa that gentleman stepped behind tlie box ; and what answer so curious an appeal might have elicited it is impossible to say, for just at that inunient the young officer caught sight of a black figure coming towards the jetty.
" Challenge it !" exclaimed the ensign, putting nis head out from bis concvalmenL
" I won't !" shouted Paddy, in an agony of desperation ; adding in A pareiitlu'tical cry, vrliich resembled the huul of a whipped dug, *' Oh ! 1>1o(m1 and 'minds! she'll know the sound of my voice and come up to me !"
" Oh ! iriU she ?" answered Ensign Augustus from behind. " Is i/iat your fun, O'Brien f Ch.itlenge, you scoundrel ! or I 'II pink you !" at the same time giving Paddy the sHgUtcst possible taste of the point of his sword, m the rear.
"Who goes there?" roared the ncntry, from habitual subordina- tion no longer resisting his little officer. The npparition waved its handkerchief, but remained silenL On it came, though witli an
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tiiuletermineil naxt. as if not perfectly xatiiifieil u to tbe reception it nii);ht expect.
** Tell it to advance, yiwi ruHcal V whiatperetl the ensifpi. '* Oh ! pray t'xctiM^ inc, sir t For love and honour's itake fxcuae me, sir!" cri«! O'Brien, now turning round on his pPrMcutor. " It 19 the commi39ionCT''s daughter ! she '» comini; to spend an htiur will me." Imnul«ea arc strange things ; had it hren possible to have be- lieved Paddy's appeal to his generosity, — had the ghost been declaretl to be the comintssitinpr'H cook, or the housemaid.— our cnKign might not have so rudely interfennl witji the Irishman'!^ iininur ; but the commiiisinner'tt daughter wa.*! too good a joke. He in an iuHUuit dashed past the Iwwildered sentry, and gave chase tn thu appurilioni whidi lied before him ; leaving the forlorn grenadier sUuiiping iu ilc»|mir at his post, his musket at his t'ect, his cap flung to the earth, as now shouting after his officer, and now apostrophising hiouelf, he exclaimed,
"•Stop, sir! stop, sir! Let the poor crater run, if there '0 anj mercy in ye. Oh I what will I do ? The old commissioner will be the dentil of her ! and she to fond of me! and what a swatv pretty crater she in, and the five thousand pounds to her fortin ! Oh ! Paddy O'Brien ! why did ye till her the wrong relief, and let Tom Mason nit sight of her^" While Paddy was thus lamenting his sad fate, the enaign was fast gaining on hii« " chase ;" an unlucky log of timber was in her way, down came the mysterious fugitive, and by
the aid of the mischievous moon Ensign Augustus S fixed
hU astonished ga/e on the well-known features of his faithless Mary, the pretty nursery -maid. That young lady, of course, e** aayed to make all proper explanations; but without effect, a» " her Augustus" would not be convinced tJiat it wa« at) a ini*take, aitd a. moonlight walk to mediuite on hi* alFection. The cruel ensign escortctl the weeping damsel to the house of her mistress, the wife lef a dock-yard dignitary, whose abode was within the walls. He ' even most inhuman!}* informed the said dignitary of the strange
Itredicament she had placed herself in. Miss Slary consequently 08t her place, nor did she, I believe, gain a husband ; Ensign Au- gustus, about a twelvemonth al\er that eventful night, making A most determined sacrifice to the prejudices of society, actualty married a gentlewoman ; and Paddy O'Brien, when he discoverea tliat hia beloved was uut the commissioner's daughter, declined her lalUanoe. There tJi a report that the parish authorities found it ul- timately nccetaary tn induce the Irish grenadier to make an Iionest woman of hia ghostly comforter during the watches of the night ; this is, no doubt, a piet-c of Iwirrack scimdal, but " I tell the uTe as 'twas told to lue" ou the "Wain Dock Guard" of Dockarton.
VOL. III.
2fM)
MARTHA MITES, •• WHO CARED FOR HERSELF.'
Orbat truths nctitl few worila ! anil we will conlcnt oursvlTrs with laving heibrc our reAder»(i>lioiiltl any be found raith enough) oiie nr the greatest truths in the fewest syllables. •' woman i» a rithilc !" So thought Simon Plumb, as, disippoiiitec) in his hopes of a wife, hf returned to hh stuip, Maf^'lj' Iraprt-iiacd with the line of Cungreve, ttint "wunwn is the rcKectiuii of heaven in a pund, auit he thatloap* at her in sunk." Now, although Simon Plumb luiil, iii the dayt> of his Touth, jumped at and caui^ht cherries, he knew not bow ini- pusEible it wait to catch a woman twenty-four hourji in the vume mind ; Simon 6lap|)ed himself into a chair, and row^d never to think again of Maxtlia Alites t
MarUia was an only ehikl ; her father lived by what killed othera, — phytic. He u' us nit apvtiiecnry in one of our ancient eitieo ; and, aa the people in llial pxrticuUr city had failli in an :ipi)theuiry, John fijites became a man of money : truly it might be laiil of him, tus pills were gilt.
Martha waa a fiwtunate child, for her father left her fifteen thou- sand pounds; with thi* sura sJie might have lived a life of plenty, but plenty was to her one of the seven deadly sins ; and a» in her childhood »h« had picket! and pilfered fnmi her school -fel Iowa cake9 and ]K-iice, so now she, on a larger scale, lived ii|>on her neighbours. The teas she drank, the dinners she ate, at tlie expense of other*, were innumerable ; and, as it wan observed by her opposite neigh- bours that not A crumb was ever seen to enter her doors, it w»ft wiaely speculated that the gentle Martha Mitea lived upon tile crumbs she got elsewhere.
Martha received an invitation to London, which she accepted. The waggon conveyed this exemplary young woman by easy ntaf^ to her favoured friend ; and luxuriating on two or three hard egfn, and hitd of bread, Mies .Mites, whose drink was water, lived liiie a princess. Arrived at her destination, and being worth fifteen thou- sand pounds, and the mistress of the house having a son withmit as many pence, Alartha wa» the diamond of the dwelling, and, as tlie ladj' justly observed, Aliss Alitee was worth gold to any man I
It is now nearly a century ajifo, when Simon Plumb, a grocer of no mean wealth, and luxuriatin)^ in the title of Capuin in one of the City Train-bands, — those bruve defenders of our country's peace. — honoured the company at a Lord Mayor's ball witii the light of his presence. The lady Martha was visiting was known to Grocer Plumb, — she bad her sugar from him, — and Simon was introduced to Martha Mites : uoed us he was to sweets, and up to his eyes in bar- ley-sugar, Simon looked and hinged for the apothecary's daughter, — iiay, he even went so far aa to m:ike her an ofler of marriiige upon the spot : but Alarthn, who had open eye* to her own interest, nad no wish to marry a man of figs t
Simon was con«tani in his visits, and, as he brought her presents, Martha wka anything but shy, — for, as long as ahe could get any- thing, Kfariha was always civd ; nnd thus for mimlhs she kept him at bay, receiving his presents, but refusing, though often preA»e<l, to name the day of marriage ; for she wisely thought, that if she married,
MARTHA MITES.
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the motley would Dot br, sa it were, under her own inime<liAte tliumb.
On the day thAt Simon Plumb cntf re<l hj» «linn, rliMppointed snd in vrrnth, Kfartha hail under^fonc an nlncbirtion. SKe ft-A nmt with hopes MilonK, that hope* had ceased toimiirish; and. with true mi'itary ar- dour, Simon rtsolved upon a forcible earrying-off. He enticed her into a conch under prctimce of bjaiint, and, accompnnieiL by a brother officer — Tiot a slienlTs — ilrove to the Fleet, where marriiigeit wero then letrnlly performed. M.nrtbn, its Boon as Bhe wiw the "cross- bands" over the door-way, shouted at the pitch of her voice ten thousand murders; but Capt^iin Plumb w.tx not a man to be daunted by a womuu, whatever he might he by one of his own tex, and carried hu-r kicking in bis arms before the roan of marriages. AlartJia broke windows, screamed, and hallooed ; the parson, with hia book in hand, began mumbling words, simple in themsvlvcs, but dead- \y in their e9*ects ; and in a few minutes more, he would have added another sin to his soul, and a marriage to his list. — for niarriaees are only pardonable when they are made in heaven ! When Martha'* screams became louder, some butchers who were passing, finding what was going on, an<l being themselves married men, burst open the doors, and resrueil the iLair fr<im the jaws of matrimony. They could have killed sheep with pleasure, but they had more charity than to let a marriage be performed ; and yet 'tis said butchers have no feeling!
Had Simon breakfasted upon pod pepper, he couldn't have looked redder in the face. But Alnrtna. like an injured excellence, re- turned weeping homo, ihut herself in her bed-room, and for an hour and a half wat nb^rbed in lookiiig at the presents lihe had received from 8imon Plumb, who, for the next month had no tongue for treacle, or tante for tea, but sat wTapped in sentiment and Jlartha Alitea.
Martha, " who cared for herself," learni'd a golden lesson from the page of Simon '« courtship, — that a lover is worth something ! and. to do her justice, she was not slow in profiting by iu Baited with fifteen thousand pounds, Martha hooked more gudgeons and more presents than we have space to enumerate; and on her return to her native city, she spread her nets so well »% to cheat one to whom cheating was second nature, to wit, a lawyer, who delight- ed in lite name of Octavius Lixard.
Octavius Liiard was an attorney of no small practice ; and it was the wonder of many how a lawyer, who knew «o well what deceit was, could ever be deceived ; but truth is sometimes strange, and the attorney wasoutwittctl. Marthii h.\d fifteen thuuiuind )mhiihIk ; Lixard, a goot) practice, n large house, ami whs be»ide a bachelor.
Lixard was anient in his suit, and Martha willing — ^to take any- thing she could get. One day OetnviuH — for the lawyer would show itself^ — obt^iinrd her consent, and n bond of forfeiture to the amount of live hundred poan<U on the event of her after-refuMl.
Lei nut M.irtha be censured as shallow in allowing Lixard so ttrong ■ hold upon her ; it was the depth of cunning .- the lawyer WM lo ber ■ noclcet-glu«s, that &he could see through without sLrnin- ing brr ejresight, and she could squeeze him as she could a lemon. Krum that huur the houHe of the attorney became " a Iioum; uf call," for she gave him not only ber bond, but the sweets of her iKKiety :
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MARTHA MITES.
ahn WAS subject tu litii or ii-alouf^y, which 6ts came upon her rcvu- 1»rly (lirue Uuii's a day. Never did Octuvi'us sit down tu brraUtuut, liut JMnrtbu, seizcil wiili lit the first, came in for her share ; his chops no longer were in couples, for Alurtha at his dinner-hour wa» jealous tor the second time, and chopped with him; tea, that meal of filop and scandal, never passed but Marths came for the third time, and xippc-d the cupn of comfort ! Shyhick's bond wAk a pbiythiiijS to thi.'i — a pound of fle^h ! Lizardn was for a rib !
Now Ootxvius -wnn a lawyer, and, as such, waa in the habit of piekin;^ otlicra ; to ic picked was contrarj- to ^iracticc. Still he Knew not how to complain, as love was the occasion of thi^ tender Milieitu<le upon fier part, and the cost upon Aw; but then 'twna odd her fm were ever hungry, imd always came at mejd-times. Slioutd he deny himself to her f should he — ? no ! fd^een thousand pounds were nut to be ofieiided. and Lizard gulped hi:H chops and tea. He pressed her U> natac u day : Martlm blushed, ut least she ^id au ; but Xiixard, though be had often made black white, cuutdn't metamorphose a dull yellow into red. Martha, hopelesj of living longer upon truft, promised to become Mrs. Octavius Lizard that day month. The month was passed, as many other months had been, in fattening at liis expense. The day was at hand, Lizard procured a licence- and a suit uf chithes. The inoniin^ came : Mitrthn was dressed; Lizard, even to his shoe-tie, looked the bride|^onm. 8he called him " naughty mun," and hinted at his want of confidence in havluf; " asked her for a bond." Uc, all excuses, unlocked his iron chest, and selected from a hca-ft of harmless papers her mnrriage promise. The lawyer made an effort to kneel ; but, being Btiff-knce'd, preferred shuffling, — ut he often did.^^nd presented her with her hood. He was despatched to the church to sec that things were as they should be ; she was to follow. The parson stood ready for his task af comfort, for his words were plums, and every one a mouthful. The guests — aa j;uests .ilways are — were open-mouthed, and Lixard open-eyed; he looked, ami looked : Martha was dressed when he left her, and now two hours l>ehiiid the time .' Minute followed minute, and wonder came with wonder; but Martha never came at all : for months she had had three meals a day. — one was her usual fore, — and Octavius was outwitted. lie stoodhvid amid the jeers of the standers-by ; hi* fil\een thousand pounds had vanished iti a wtilH'; he had been libvnd, and. what was worst of all, got nothing by it ; he felt it as a pro- fessional afl'nnit ; and Lizard never after named the name of Alar- llia Mites.
Some thirty years bad passed since the last>recorded ]>criod in the history of Martha fllites, when an object of some curiosity attracted
the eyes and fooutej)s of the worthy inhabitants of the city of
The window* were full of eyes, and heads thrust forth in all direc- tions ; the streets were thronged, And many little boy.4 stood yelping ill the kennels, as hitle boys will do. An old broken coach, of some century and a half old, stood in the centre of the High-strecl. The paint of by-gone years was yet visible in blemished patches; the
Iunels, worm-eaten and bare, liorc here and there a trace of what lad once been vnrniiih, and a curious urchin counted no less ttian three differutit spots, which beyond question had once been gilt; — the mortal remains of a coat of arms. And there it creaked upott the wheels that now, alasl moved not, for the horse bad droppe«l down dead ! And tbera it lay u]K)n the ground, ■ curious study tu the
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turalist Uiut it Ehould huve breatlied its lant mi hour bincc, wlien to h11 u|iuc3riiiice it liad been the aiiatumy of » hur^e lor fitly years;
Erofitwi* to all but the bone-bumer, tor the hide wi* vvm into ales, and no dog had the vanity tu ima^ne there was a dinner to be had from the wholL- carcass. An old man, dre»*ed in a strange li- very, sat tnutiuiiii'ibt uiioii th<> hnx ; the nnns, two pieces of rope, hung in his handn, iind lie hitiked at the dead benHt us thouffh he "aw the shillingii it had been worth turned into lead I The only faculty left him was fti^ht, and that he fastened ii^unn the skin of boncH before hiin, deaf and senseless! — deaf hemuict have been not to hft*e heard the accents nddressed to him, and iti no penny-whittle voice, by a head thriutt out t'roni what hnd once been a wiitdow of the coach. The head had a bonnet on it. said to have been found nine- teen yearn before upon n diingliill ; and the tiirc lonked — ycN, it wiu that of Martha Alitci:, arid in a vuiee »f gentle admonition she ^hniit- vd to tlic rt:vcrvnil njuiiiiom on the box, •■ Adam, ymi brute ! why don't you go uti.^" Martha huirtunibK'dfrMiii thecuacJi, — Hteps there were none. — and with a shrivk convinced the jieople how keenly she felt the lo*s of her favourite steed ! Martha looked, and for the ncM ten minutes, like Adtiin, lived in alnbaster !
The chief merit of an historian is diittinclness, and we fear we »hall not be entitled to assume that credit tu ourselves without ex-
Elaining how Martha Mites, Adam Thornton, and the deiid Imrse, iipi>ened to be in the HiKh-Mtrcet. The termination of Octjivius LiK9rd'« coiirtithip ])ut an end to the like 5olicitAtions from others, and Martha now more than ever " caretl for herself." Many are the tales told of her penuriouH habiu, and the eyes of Simon Plumb would doubtleM have been de- l^hted to hare seen the dress he gave her thirty years before, now Ingina in tatters upon her [)erson. 80 wretched was her appear- ■Bcr, that numberless were the pence offered by way of chanty to the " poor woman ;" but Startlia had a soul above piry, and on one occasion only, was known to accept of it. In her journey to London in the waggon, the waggoner, a jMHir man with eiglil children, struck witii her miHerahlc' look, j-efusttl his fare, anil said, •' Pmir »oul! yon want it even more than I do;" JMarthu left him, and an K hour atU-rwurds purchased five thousand ])ounds worth of Ntock. H Her avarice grew so much upon her, as to cause her to deny her- H self the necesisariea of life. The streets supplied her with fuel, and V Martlia might be seen witJi an old rag in one hand and a stick in tlir other, searching up and down fur hits of wikhI. The crumbs shaken from a table-cloth never feasted the sparrouii v. hen Martha saw Ihcm lull, and Nj)^irro\vs were not the only thingH she rohbeti ; wherever slie went, something was missed, — threads, needtes, hits of Upe, nothing wan beneath the notice of her acquiring mind.
ft wttA at this time that Martha fell in with old Adam Thornton, a prototype of herself, a wretched being; in fact a man Martha Mites * lie had wealth ; hi<i money-liagHj were to him, wife, friends, children t and with tliene he held cumiuunion lui with a secoml self. His wife the great smiter hud cut off but n few years bark : and Adam was left a widower with an only child, a ton, — a noble. DMily creature, in one word, the opposite of his Muntcil sire. His ISttlier su<^<UtilY dead, and with her his means of suhriBtence, the pen become his refuge, and s garret, of course, his abode.
1294
.MAKTHA KITES.
Martha Mites mrt with Adnm TSorninn ; they hiul but oiip bduI, though perhaps thnt is too large nn allowance: one room wiUahekcr two, one candle iifiht two, — and should they, who knew so well what cancUes cost, bum two? No! from Uiat hour they burut bul one. Ailnii) Thomlon had an old house in the outskirts uf the town, and there they lived topethtr. Here was a sop in the pan for SdUtdal! but we beg to aaaure our readers the rciiort* were Hnfoundecl. The house was in ruins ; the doors were without hinges, the frames with- out glaaa, and, u Adam liked a free circulation of air, the roof re- mained unrepftired, but with a wise economy its use* were two.fold, for the well had no bucket, and buckets cost money ! The boya who brougiit the water, iisked a penny for « tubful. Adam was opposed to all extortion**, mid, like his predeceiuor of the same ntime, trusted to Heaven for his wants, the hole* in the roof sup- plied them with water for drink ; and it was evident they never applied it to any other purpose. The flours were rotted, the walU bare, nndthewhrtlc dwelling — if dwelling it might b« called — ^liioked desolate nnd waste ! And her<^ they lived, but not in idleness ; for they buried themselves in rearing cabhagea, both for sale and liome ronttiimptinn. A patient slave, he trod the path she pointed out, for with all her faults Adam worshipped her ; her fuoistepa t^eemed as very lipht, for elie hatl opened to his eyes llic doors of many saving ways, and they loved each otlier, not perhaps for common virtues, bul unconinioii KCantinvss; and they lived wrapt in each other, delighting in the emulation which cuuld live upon the Idift, but Jlarlha always bore the palm. One day she kindled with a bright thought — -a thought to pave the way to cosy riches- Adam had a coach, a reUc of his grandfather; true, it was the wor»e for wear, but still on wheels ; and wisely did Martha think that by purchasing a. horse it Cuuld ply for hire as a fly. It was a gaining thoualit ; and a horse, blind of both eyes, was purchased from a neiKhbouriiig nacker's for the worth ot as many pounds of dogs- incau A coachman was only wanting to complete this gorgeous etiuipage, and Adam, drcHiicd for the occasion, mounted the box; hi« upper man w-n squeezed into the fiided trnppinc of a drummer- boyS coat, the trimmings hung in threads about nim. and Adam looked as if he had been a drummer-boy all his life, with only one coat. His lower person, after making nUnwunec for n century's change uf fashion, wear, and motlts, looked respectable, though in want I Adam mounted the box ; but Martha had u jealous eye. for Adam as a coucLiman might, us other coacluneii do, peculate in aixpences. Seiited itii>idc, Martha could tell to u fraction the com- ing in. Thus tlirn lliey plied; but how ill is industry rewarded, nut once did they obtain a job ! Bob, the horse, was a little feetler, and so wan IMartha, and Bob's allowance was cabbage-stalks and weeds. A week passed in patient endurance of the jeers of the more fortunate fly-drivers, when, on going up the High-street, the horse, unmindful of what they luid paid for liim, had the ingratitude Co drop down dead !
Bob again became the property of the nacker ; and Martha re- turned with Adam thouglitfoUy home. They had lost shilbngs by their bargain, for the horse weighc<l pounds less than when the nacker sold it. nnd Martha justly Umente<1 that so much good food had been thrown away. Adam'e ciwt, I<»o, had been purchased
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MARTHA MITES.
Sd5
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I rag-shop ; and, what was worse, they refused to Like it buck .' Distrt-ssvs Ml thick upon them, and they returned saddened home. The-ir 8iirpri«tr may l>v im»gtned when, on tltvlr near »]i- proach, they saw hinoke ixsue from their chimney: Adnni rubbed his eyes, and JIartha thutif^lit it «ii ojitical deltisioii ; but no, ftintitce — real smokt.' curled from their rJumney-tOf>, — a phenomenon scarcely to be bflieved. Martha hastened home, threw the door open, and titarted back aa she saw the ligurc of a youn;; man intently occupied in cooking some mtittun-chops! AlLttton-cho|is!^Miirtha hadn't tBfted tbem for years ; and to si-c her hearth desecrated, and a fire in the grzie huge enough to have cooked a joint by. — a whole year's luel crackling iintler two mutton-chops! Human nature was out- raged, and Martha burst into the ro<tm. What damage she might have done either tu herself or the stranger, it is u&elesui to deteruuiie ; for, rising; from his occupation, the yuuiig man turned as the door 0[>ened, and, spite of the drummer's coat, Sydney recofinised his father. Uut Adam taw nothing but the chops ; the sight of food iipun his table had overcome him, and he Htooil rapt and wondering.
Sydnej' Thornton had, by !-oine strange good I'ortunc, obtained a few poundsi fur what had coat him months of application and .itudy; and a vitiit to hi^ father was his (iret thuu|;hl. He knew the old man's ways of old ; hut ^till, though miserly, Adam was not bad- hi^arteil. and at any other time wouhl have been glad to see his sun, but Martha lud reformed him from the ways of weakness. Sydney traced his way to the old house, and entered ita doors; they were not even hitcned, fur they kept nothing worth stenling: the grate was black, but not with smoke; and Sydney, hungered with hiR ride, and anxious to see his ftither on his return home, purrhaseil meat and comnience<l the task of cooking. He wa.-i an author, and knew what chops were too well to slight theni ! With pjitiont in- dustry he lit a tire from a h<mp of nticka piled in a earner, and com- mence\l broiling Uieni upon a ruaty pair of tongs. His task uas nearly done, and so were the chups, wnen Martha entered the room, and Uraked her horror of the deed full in the gtuitou's face.
Little importance as our readers umy be dinpoeed to attribute to Sydiiry's cooking mutton-chops, he had better have thrust his hand into the fire tlial bruiletl them ; for by so doing he laid the first stooe of a ruin that fell and crushed him.
The few «Uy« he stayed benealh his tattier'e roof, Alartha fas- tened upon Ailam's ^kirt*, fearing the old man might yearn towurda bis son.^^i Hon, as Martha thought, bitten by the vice of waste ; and gining money to bis like, was jiouring water in a pitcher that was cracked.
Sydney Thornton returned to town, where, wc grieve to relate, be marriiil. Up fell — not into a ditch, but worse — in love with a benutiiul and gentle being, and, like mott thing.'* beautiful, iVogile a* ■he wju fair. Sydney married; and Adam from that day writ him duwn a.« uaiit rcuemption.
Old Adam full sick ; the uckneaa of waned strength came upon him, for tlie oil of his life wu dry, and bis existence flickered like a wasted lamp, there he lay upon his hard bed witliout nouri&h- itKMit, witliuut those soothing comforts wliich are tu the fick what the sick "Illy know. His days were riuniberetl. his will was made, and Martha Mites led sole executor. Alas I where was Sydney ?
S96
MARTHA U1TE8.
Martha was uut, and Atlain lay sick^-dying in his bed. His son I his own and only son !• — the old nian'» brovr grew heavy, and his eyes filled. Foolish Martha J^Iites to le&ve »a ricli a man while ]if« was in him ! Rich men should never be left to dit alone ; they »eldoni arr, for luving hdrx arv always crowding round the couch, to viiio<ith the pilluw. or to hold the head: hut Afarth^^s
She was returning home, had reached indeed tlie threshold, when the door opened, and a little old man dressed in black luinti- out; their eyes met, the Httle man in the kindeH mannw possible told her that Adam v/at dying. Martha entered his darkened rixmi, and there he lay fraxpiiin lor breath, his mouth wide open, and the rat- tles workinf; within his throat ; his hands, bony and dry, clutched np the clothes ; his eyes glased as they stared upon ncr with ■ peculiar meaning, and they had a meaning; and he sank back— « corpse !
Adam was buried, and at the least posiible expense ; ATartha, m mourning coats money, made her countenance answer a double pur- pnae, " and decketl her face in decent sorrow." The dead man's will was to lie read ; tlic room was full of anxious relatives, and others who " expected." A ull pale-faced young man, dre^ed in deep mourning, stood within the room : it was Sydney Thornton ! The will was rend ; Adam died worth lif^y thmcsand poundf, and he bequeathed to his loving son, Sydney Thornton, tlie Bura of — he stood breathlesti with suspense — one shilling! To Alartlia Mitea, all beside ; and Sydney was disinherited I His ImndK wure clasped upon his rurehead, his clothes were thrown open, his pale face now looked ghastly; he had fainted away: Marttia. who delighted in BCi« oi' charity, gave him a basin of water ! Here was the conse- quence of eating miilton-chopa!
• • • • #
Mouths have passed, and it is winter when we resume the thread of our history, and we find Martha still in the old house, lying in bed two-thirds uf the day to save firing ; the rest she passed at a cobbler"* shed, where, over a pan of co<uIs, she warmed her blue hands, BDd munched the crust she had picked up in her way thither. But it was astonishing the friends she acquireu ! — many, very many families, and of tile first consequence in the town, pleased, no doubt, with the singularity of her conduct, innted her to their table, — she was to pe- culiar. And only to think of their condescension ! — they would even call upon her, sit by turns upon a threc-Ieftged stool, chat with her, and g^vc her varioua trirtes. At^er this, who xiiall say people of coti- acquence arc proud? we ask our readers, in the simplicity of truth, was tkh a proof of pride ?
With the pen for his caterer, Sydney Thornton found his viands scanty, and hismenU irregular. 11 he boasted produce of the brain — bread and cheese, failed him in his need ; and he, with his sickly wife, often dined wilhimt the latter luxury. Fortune looked dark ujMin him, and he relurned to his native town, where he set up «t:hool-. master. But some, do what they will, plant only to gallier weeds : so it proved with Sydney ; nnd he saw nis wife, pale, hollow^yed, and shortly to be a mollicr, sinking duy bv day without comjdaint, without ft sigh for hit* hearing, — but the (Wkcncd eye and sunken cheek told him a tale of death. Maddened, he knocked at the door that he had grown beneath, now the dwelling of another; it was
UAKTHA MITES.
S97
opened, antl Sydney lliornton stood before Alartha Mites. Hiit wife wu d^inff. Sydney Tliuniton knelt — knelt to ^Manha Mtu^8, and with tearful eyes surd for Iter aid: it was refused, and he wiu tcld to do M shu hat) tlutie; " liiit he was a spendthrift, and wasted where he might make; and now waste on, but not witJi hers!" Paasion subdued hi» ^ief, as risiiiu from the icrouud he icized her by the arms, taxed her with uie evils she had wrought on him and his, and la-shed by his feeling of desolauuri. and the know- leilgv, that through her he had been disinherited, liia anger might have hurried him to a deed of violence, when the door of the apArtment opened, and the same little man 3Iartha had seen leav- ing the house on the d.-iy nl' Adam 'a death entered the room: Sydney threw her from him, mid nank ujxm a scat I
The little man entered the room, and xj^ain hi» eyes aiul Mattlia's met. There was a feeling of dislike between them, ba instinctive as bttweeo a dog and cat. There was a paune of a few minutes, during which Sydney sat with his hands clenched upon his brow, mad hia breaA heaving. Alartha fidgeted about the room, and the little man in black said nothing ; but his eyes, small, black, and piercing. watched Slartha, as a snue watches the thing it darts at. Sydney rote to dcfwirt,
" Sydney Thornton," said he of the black sint, in a voice that «11-wise Nature had pronortione<l to his sixe, — "Sydney Thorn- ton, if you are he, stay wncrc you are." Then turning, with sudden recollection^ to Martha, added, "■with this good lady's permission."
" Neither he nor you I" was her courteous reply. " My honitc is no highway for beggars to swarm in ; you *11 get nothing licre, I can tell you.'*
""No matter : we must to business first, and fatten after."
" Buainesal what business?" and Martha waxetl imperntire.
" A little," was the patient reply; "you are, or I mistAkc, the heir of Adam Thornton ?"
" And this is my house, and the sooner you prate out of it the bttter," added Martha.
'* I always sjieak within doors;" said the little man, litUog down upon a stool.
Martha had the will, but lacked the strength ; or the poor little fellow would have been thrown from the window, (juietly turn- liflg to Sydney, he resumed, " And you were disinherited ?"
'* Ay," cried Sydney; " and, with u dying wife, 1 now want bread to gi»e her I"
" Bread is but a poor oomfurt to 8 weakly stumach ; will yon not give him something better?" said he in black, looking like a note of interrogation at MarUis Mites.
" A stick to beat you henre 1"
" Nay. Sticks are for the master's hand to beat intruders ; Itave NOW one?" and the small gentleman looked at Sydney.
Sydney paused. Martha siiid nothing, but Hdgctcd, aa though eumelhing were at work which she couldn't understand.
" Yestyiw.'" said the stranger, laying an emphasis upon the word. ** You would be muster if you had your father's will."
"It's false!" yelled Martha; and she hurried to the old lable, from the false bottom of which aht- drew out Adam's will, and cried, *• Look at ihisl"
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MARTHA MITES
" And look at this >" — the little man took a parcltment froi coat, and, with a lau^i. uildcd, " Adnm niude it an hour betbre he died, aijd Sydney Thornton is not disinherited I"
Martha spoke not, but gasped as for a lost breath: a mntncnt, and ithe darted at him with uic spring of a wild cat; and, hiit for (lie timely prevention of Sydney, we fear the little man would have been cut short in his days, for the knuckles of Martha fastened at hit thront. She whs forced back, and Sydney read himself the heir to his father's wealth [ Adam had repentecl in his last moments, and, when Martha was absent, made another will, by which his son inhe- rited his all. The careful little Mr. Drip was summctmed lo hi» bedside, and Adam signed the parchment but a few minutes before he died. The little man had kept it a secret from a whim ; and, seeing Sydney enter the house, followed him. Here, then, was the raeuinng of Adam's last loolt : Murtlia cursed him as she remembered it: — ^}-csI it /ucd a meaning I
Wuuld tEiut uur pen might ccuse its labour without recording the huart-strieken grief of Sydney Tliornioii, wlio, cu lii» return to hie poor dwelling, so lately without peni:e. now ihv heir orthuu&unJ&, found his wife dead ! I-W muntli^ alterwards he might be seen wandering as a shade by the grave of his buried wife. 11^ lived in solitude, and from ibc haunts of men ; and Sydney Thornton died a misanthrope.
For days after the diBcovery of anoliicr will, Martha whh possessed as by a ncnd: she raved, stormed, howled, und Adnm, lucky Adam, wus in his coffin, happy in a peaceful death. But us death comes to ai\, so came it to Martha Mitcx, and in a pigeon-pie.
The liouse no longer hers, Martha lived in a garret, and bitter tvas the panjj with which slie p^aid lier rent — a tritle, but to her the wealth of worlds ! One day a parcel, directed to " i^li^s Mites.*' was brought to liur ; and as the carriage was paid, Martha tooic it in, and there discovered a pigeon-pie I The milk and lioncy of our forefathers was notJiing to this, and Martha gloated upon it with her eyes, as in it she siiw a month's provision ; for Martha wus no glutton, and well ahe was not, for, after a very sparing dinner, she was seized with sick- ness, violent and painful ! Mearing her groans, the people of the house sent for u doctor, who gave her an emetic, and discovered, to the horror of ull present, that the pigoun-pie was seasoued^not with suit, but arsenic I Now, had Martha been a feeder of any preten;£ioii>s her death had followed her meul ; but she ate so little that it only made her sick, and in a fvw days, though weak, she was sufficiently recovered lo hunger after food. The doctor had said that the season- ing ofthv pie was poisoned, but Llic erust was good ! The pie was taken from its dark corner-cupboard, and Murtliu looked upon il a.'i a friend ; with careluL lingers she removed uU taint of seasoning, and with eager hand itte the crust: und such a crust! the like had never passed the lips nf mortal ! Hunger, that sweetener of fat bacon, was gnawing heft bihI she smacked her tips, and blessed the Providence that had M her to think of the crust! In a short time site was seized with MM. And fticknesH, all the symptoms of poison ; she grew livid with Vht (4>¥* of death, and an hour after Mudliii was a (Mrpse '.
K ««• ihc cruit tluit had been ]>oi»oned, and not the stasiutuiy.
H. Hoj,!..
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Ji99
FAMILY STORIES— No. IX. THE NUKSES STORY, r Br THOMAS iHcomsBr.
^ THE HAND OF GLOUY.
' *■ M»lefic» iiuivdani :iiiif>ii>ainx in An^1■l^ fiitc, i|tiiiiu Oifiniiim Imriiliilitt^' «x- iuuriUiti el impununin mpcr uciuuni lorribiltin, per tturtt ra|iueniDt. Cliunor- lerribilM (nt fcmntj per <|ii«tikor tortni milinritt auditbanuir."
iVurrntA. Chum.
<)m Uie Ibiie bleak moor,
At tW miduiiihi Uour. n«neitili Ihi- (lalliiwx Tree,
lluud in huiid
'rill- Mii«ler«ir» ^tund By one. by two, by ihree I
And cW McKm lliul niglit
Willi a (Tcy, cold lislit lia^h linUfiil objftcl li(is;
One half (if lier form
Is ie«n lliroi^);li tW !<t(>nn, The otIu-T hulf '» tiici in F.<:lip.<e 1
And tli« cold \Vimt lionls,
And the Tliondt-r growlii, Aud the Lit{htniiJK is brci^d and bright ;
And aitogfthcr
It's very liad weather, And ati unpleiiiiuiiL m>ti of a Night.
" Now mount who list,
Aiid close by ibe wn»t S«Ter me quickly the Uvad Man's &st I —
Now climb who dare
Where lie swinga in air, And pluck nie fivalueka ofibc Dead Man'a Itnir.'" • • • • ■
There '» an Old Woman dwells upon Tappiat;ion Moor, Sfae liath yearn on her ba>ck ai the ledst founcvni, And ionic pcopli> fancy u grt^t many more;
ikr uQVi it is book.'d|
Ilor back it it crook'd,
Her eye» blear and red :
On Ihe top of her hrad
Is ii inutcti, otid on that
A shocking bad liat, Extingui^er -shaped, tliv bnm lurtow and flat: Then, My Graciousl her beard 1 — it would »a<lly |icrpl«x A sp«ctulor at first to distinguish her »n ; Nor, 1 'U veiiluie to sjy, iTillioul icruliiiy toii'tl lie Fronouncc her, olT-haadcd, a Punch or a Judy. Did you M« liec, in »hor1, (hnl iiiud-Iiuv<;l wiUiiii, With her knees to her nose, ami her nuu to her chtti, I,ceTiiig up wi(h lluit c|iirer, indescribable grin. You M lift UT) your hands in amaumcnt, and cry, ' — Wvll 1 I nevar tUd jut >ucIi 4 reyjutiir Ouy!*'
And now before
Tliat Old Woman's door,
soo
FAMILY STORIES.
Where nouglii ihai'« good may be,
ll»iiil in hand lliG Muidercis stand, By on(f, bjr two, by tliret- 1
Oh 1 % B bcrrible li^hl to view
In ihit horrible horel that borriblc rnvi.
By ilie Uijkk blue glare oritiM Akkcniig fluue,
Uoing toe deed thai ha^ never a name 1
T» awful lo hear
Those words of fear ! Tbe priiy'rniutti.'r*d buckwardv, aiid nld with ft tneerl (Malitiew Ilonlitni liimscir has asftUT«d us thai nben A ^^'jlch a)s Wi prsy'ni, ihc begins wiUi Ameu) —
'Tu awful to nee
On ilial Old Wuiiian'g knee Tbedead, shrivell'd hattd, u Mie cIm|» it willi gleet
AikI how, Willi care.
Hie five lacks of bair Krotn lli« fekull of tlie tienileman dAn^Iing ujUbvic,
U'il)i ibi- i^Ty-iuw and Ibc fit
Of ablackToraCal
She liiuicus to mix,
And lo iwist iiilo wicks. And iitiff on tlic thumb, und t:arh linger lo lu.^ ^For imather recsijit the same chum to preptkra^ Coniult Mr. AinawonJi* und PttU Albert.)
"Now open lock
To Ihc Dead Man's knock 1 Fly boll, and bar, and bB,nd ! Nor iiiov«, nor $w«r«e. Joint, tnuscte, or nerve, At iIkc stwil of Oie Ucad Mim'i hftrid ! Sleep all who sleep ! — Wake all who wake! — " Hut Lh; sm llie Dead fur iliu LHad Man'* Ktke ! !" • « • • •
All is ^eni I all U atill
Sav« the cea»«lrM n>onn of the bubbliiit; rill
As it w<ells fiom the busom nfTupiiingiiHi llill;
And in 'i'apjiini^oii ilail
<!reat and Soiall, Gentle and Simpli:, Suuire and Groom, Facli one liatli suuight tits sepunie room, And fikiep her dun mantle liaib o'er tliein ea>l, For tlw midnight hour hatti long bccti post I
All U darksome in earth and tky,
littre, from you cawnieni tiitrrow and higli,
A quivcnng beftm
On the liny aiream riays, like »onic tapers lilful gleam By one ttial u, waicliing wturily.
Within that rjuement nartxivr and hi(;h, Id Ills secret Uir, «liere nunc may spy, Sits one whoM brow i* wnnkltd with care,
■ Vi<]p Hnnkwitm], \W uiotl k|)lrit«d and original ftunuuieu of Uie day ; Standard
THE HANI) UF GLORY.
'And tbe thin gny look* of his Ihiling linir llftv« left hid litUc b&ld pale all bare ;
For liii fulUbgiiotii'd wig
lliini;s bushy and big Od ihe lop of liis okl-iiuliiuticd, hi^h- backed chair.
Unbraced are bis clntticn,
UBKai'in''d liia how, Ili.i gown i« bediieiicd with tuli|i and nnt, Flowets or rrtnarkable size iind hue, Flower? nudi iu Edcii ti«rcr kn^w ; And there, by many > eparkliitg henp
Of the good red gold,
The ule ii told, What powerful »p«ll avads to ke*n That cure-worn man from his needful sleep.
Haply, be drain* do eye cut see
As rte gloats on his m-^jiure i^reedilyy—
The shilling store
Of glilU-rin^ ok. The fair Rose-Noble, tiie bright Moidore, And the broad Douhk' Jiir frcim uyonl the sea, — But there 'b ooe that natches as well u he ;
for, wak(>ful and sly.
In aclfiflet hiird by. On his truckle-bed lieth a little I'ogt-pifce, A boy who's uTseommonly shaqi of bis uge,
Like youDK Master tiorner,
\Vho crsl in a comer Sat ealiii^ i Christmai pye ; And, while ihal uld GetillemaiL s counting his hoards, Lililc Hugh pi-eps tliroujfh a crack in the boards. « • « • »
There '» & roioe in the air.
Then 's a step on the stair, The old man starts in his cane-backed chair ;
At the (list faint sound
He piTi's around. And holds up his dii> of sixteen to the pound.
Then naif arose
From beside his toea His little pu(;-dog with his little put; aose. But, ere he can vent otie inquisitive anifT, 'lliat litdc puR dog standi iiarlc and siilT,
For low, yet dear.
Now Tali on ihcmr, — Where once pronounC'cd for ever ihey dwell — The unlioly words of tbe Dead Mao's spelt !
"Open lock
To like Dead Man's ktkock ! Fly bolt, and bar, and baad I Nor move, nor swerve, Joint, muscle, or nerve. At the spell of tlie Dead Man's hand I Sleep all who sleep ! — Wake al I who wake ! — But be ai the Dead for the Deail Man's sake ! '"
Now lock, nor bolt, nor bar avails,
Nor itoui (nk panel ihick-tiudded with nili-
901
FAftflLY STOniES.
Heary and harali iko liitiRea crrak,
Though they had been oifd iu ihe course of »l» w«k ;
The door opens wide b» wide may be,
And ibere iliey stanO,
Thai mil rdfTnus hand, Led by the li^bt of ibe Glouiovs HakDi
Uy one, by Iwo, by three !
Th<9 have rau'd llirou^li lh« porch, they have pass'd throagh the lialt, Whera the Porter sat snoring afrninst the wall ;
The very snore froie
In his very soub nose, You 'd have verily deem d ho bad tuored his laat Uhvn tlic CtoECorii Hakti by the side of htm panl lE'en the little wcc mouse, (ts it mi o'er the mat At the lop of its speed to escape from the cat.
Though b&irdnid with alTright,
Pau.i'd in its Hiiibt ; And the cat, that was chasing thai little wee thiiiii. Lay GTOucb'H as a Status in art to iipilng !
And now they are there, On the head of (lie st-iir. And the long crooked Trhitlle is gleaming and bare! — I really don't think any money would bribe Me the horrible scene thai eQ<niMl to describe, Or the wild, wild (ibire *
Of that old roan's eye, Uis dumb despair And deep tgoiiy. ■
The kid from the pen, and (he Inmb from tlie fold, Uumov'd inuy iho blade of the butrhcr behold ; They lireum not— aii, bappicr Iht-y 1 — thai llw knife, Thoiii^h uplifted, can mcnnco their innoeenl life : It fall" i 111" frjil Ihn-ad of their hving is riven. Yet they drend tioi, suspGct not Ihe hlnw till 'tis given. Ijiit, oh! what u thicif] tit to sec and to know That the hare knife is Tais'd in the hand of ibe foe, Wiihoul ho|nj to rpjirl or to ward ofl" the blow ! P.noiifih ! 1ft 's pass over as faax as we can The fate of iliat grey, that unhappy old man I
But fancy pool Hugh,
Aghast at the view, Pow'ricss alike lo speiJt or lo do!
In vain doth he Ity
To open the eye Thtt ia shut, or elose that which is dnpt lo (he chink. Though he A pi« all the world lo be able lo wink ! No ! — for all that this world can pive or refme, I would not be now in that little boy's shoes. Or indeed any garment at all that is Hugh's ! lis lucky for htm tliat the chink in the wall He baa peep'd through so long, is so narrow and small !
Wailing voices, sounds uf woe
Such as follow drpunitii; friends, Tliat fatal aiu,hi round Tappinglun ^,
Ii< lon^-drawn roofs and its ^ble-endf ;
THE HAND OF GLORY.
Ethemi S)iirit5, gpntle atid pmi.
Aye w«ep :iniL Inmpiil u'«r a d^ed oruiood.
• • ■ • • T» early dawn — tbe aiorn a grey,
Aixl thr cloud* uud ttie lenip^I hkv« {Mua'd a«ray,
Ai»] all iliinp livtukcn a very fine day :
Tint, white the Lark liet carol i* lingiav;.
Shrieks aud scrvams are ilirougli Tap{)]n^n liD^in^)
l.'()»tartin^' all.
Great arid SihaII, T!mJi one who '* found within Tappin^on Hall, Gentle or Simple, Squire or Groom. All M«k at once llml old Orntlemaii's room ;
And therf on the floor,
Hrvnch'd in ita gom, A ghastly corpse lies einos'd to the view, CoiroUd tintl jugulnr botfi cut lliiuugfi ;
And there by its side,
'Mid tiie critnwn tide, Koeets a little Fool-pige of lenderest jreui ; Adown his pal« cbeek tli« (asl-folling Ims Are counirvg each other round and big. And he 's Maiinchin|[ ihe blood «ilh a rull-bottOiD'd wig ! Alas ! and aliick for hi« itaiinchiiig ', 'tis pliiin, As analoinirts lell us, lliat newer Sf^^in Shall life rerisit the foully slam, When once they *vc be«n cut dtrough the jugular vein !
• • ■ • •
Tilde's a hue and a cry through the County of Kent, And in obuv of the cui-throat> n Coniiabic 's seni, But IK> one can tell ihe man which vv.iy t^iev vretil. Tlwf* '» a liillo Fool-page witli that ComtaulQ goes. And a little pug-dog with a little pug nose.
In llochester town, Al the sign of the Crown, Three shabby-icenteel roeu are just sitting down To a bi »tijbblc-80oae, with tmuttoes done brown, Wleti a little r'oot-page Rushes in, in a rage, ttpsellinz tbe apple-eauce, ooionsi and sane. Th4t liillc I'oot-paf^ takes the first by the thrrMi, Aud a HiUe puB-do^ takes the next by the eoai. And a Constable seises the one more temoie; And fair tow-ooblei, aod brood moidofes, The Waller pulli out of their pockets by scores, And Ihe Eloots and die Cliuaucnnaids run in utd ttara ; And Ihe Conalable say-s, with a digailied air, "You're wanlea, GrolentH, one and all. For thai 'ere precious laik al Tappmj^n Mall '."
There 'a a bhok gibbet rniwui upon Tappiiigton Moor,
Where a former black gibbet has (lowu d before;
it is as black as black may be.
And nurdercn there
Are dangling in air,
By one, by two, by three !
There '• a horrid old Hag in a »teeple -crown "d liat, Itound her neck they have lied (o a hempen craval A 1)«!k1 Min'i liani], and a Hr^il Tom Cat.
.w.-;
80i THE DEVIL.
Tliev bare tied up lict thumbs, thejr lisv« tied up her toes, litev have tif-i] up Wr cvM, thejr have lied tip Her limbt. Into 'TappiDglou milUOaiu souse flit: 'pKS, With a -wlioup and a halluo t — *' Slit swims !— She twims V
Thev have dract'd bcr to Uad,
Ana every i>ne » bund Is gmpicig a faggot, a billet, or brand, Whn A quel' Mo liking lioMrmiin, Amt all in Iil^4ck, Cilcbea up lliot old harridan just like a sack To the crupper hirhind him, puts xpunt to liis liAck, Mokes a diuh through the crowd, and is off in a cn(J: 1
No one can tell.
Though thfiy guess pretty well, Which way that giim ndpr and old woman go, For all nee he's a sort of inremal Ducrow;
And site lereain'd so, and died,
Wc may lairly decide That ibe old womau did uoi mucli letish her ride 1
This tnicat of Ktorie* confinn* licyund douht That truest of adages — " Murder will out I" In vamtnay the D I ood-spi lie r " doable " and fly. In vain even witchcraft and soroeiy try : Although for a timo h» may 'acapa, br-and-by He 'II be niie to be caught by a Hu{h aiid a Cry !
TuoMu I^ooLosBr. TdppiHgl6UfFth.24.
THE DEVIL.
The scene, like the day, was a feir:
Tile liejicM wcrv all in htgli ii|)iril« ; The pQppei-plays, jMgs, and the bear,
^V era applauded to turn tor their locrits. Thimbleng, aud a thousand such thm^,
Occupied die grovn>-up folks' attentkm ; RoundaSoutt pleased the children, and iwingt ;
And all was delight beyond nentioa.
"Dw only exception to iLit
Was a mouTiu-bank come frant a distmcc ; Xhmc Fortune to tiim wiu rnniw,
Not a Mul seemed to want his usistance.
" Walk up I** be. in agony, cried :
" 1 brine you good news from Verana ; A wflodcrnil wonder "s inside.
The devil in projiri' ptrwmi .'*'
Ilis platfonu was soon filled with folk.
For sixpence a-bead tbey came slap oa it ; —
Uc dkcn OKW a pane from his poke, And showed tKen then was not a rap in it
** no* you ncVr saw kit worship before,
Yoitli adtnii. all, thai this is the devil! — E— "
" TV devil II M r was the loar.
And tbey 'd trcaied hun ruber UDcinllr.
Tohts paaran tkey &in wdoM have sent him.
For uieir ra|t« was faneatiag *' like bndu ;" But be bolud. and tbey *d lo ccMent '«tn
By piidiinj hi* platK>nn lo Styr f
Ixvit. Gmr.
- ' ^^£f^ ^yi^ci^ '^^^tm^ jeJ^.
Lcm|M» HKMM IMllJJ. M.
rAWN G<
305
fit THE LITTLE GREV MAN OF" TIi£ DAIRIES.
wnn kx iiLVSTnaTjoK bt ohoxoe ovimiiajek.
" This niitbt it i* (nir fleaiurc tti pA ilmnk ! Arid tliia our Quwu sliiUt bv B^ druuk w nv-"
" Wfll, boy*, what is it I 'ni to {rive yc ?" raid my uncle Neil, faddreisiiig ii groti]> of Tieij^tibours who hnci siseiiibted round my fatTivr'fl cheerful heurth to discuss the merit* of a fre^h riiimiiig at polltm,) kncKking the a»hp» out oC his pipe, and exlinguitthjng llic remuninj; ember* with the little liii);«'r of hii right liand. " I sup- pcMe, Rs it '» come tu my turn, [ miifttirt Up worM nor anotlier."
" Ned, nohorm I teil us the story of Pmidieen Hwee, that danced « biiC^ with the fiuad jtrople for s y»r ati' a day withotit rening," said my pretty rouain Peftgy. Mapping fur an instant the rapid- moveoient of her knittin/^-noedleit.
" No I — Unkey Ned, icll all about the prrey bull and hU «vrti calves," exclaimed little Shawnren, a cnrly-headrd urchin, scram- bling up his knee^. and laying hie head a^rnet bin uncle's 1)oHom : "won't 'ee, uncle Ned?" and his full blue eyea were turned rnax- liij^ly uti hia face.
" Whist, yc iitile houchal d/iauna !" aaJd ray fatlier : " leave Ned to hia own fancy ; I 'II be bail it 'II be something jileiu-ant."
" Troth, and maybe it 'ud bo nothing to brag of id^licr all," r«>
tilled my uncle. "Any how, if I c^n, 1 'II rape up an ould story I lard at !^yl RooiKy's wake, when I was a gossoon ; it'a about the Ciifugh an far dhlott, aa they call the big rock that lies ncraas the sthrame below at the stepping-stone: it was wnnt>t,~but that's long agonv, — in the an&hent times of all, stuck up atop of that other great corng that stands close by, like two of Fian fll'Cool't jack- stones ; but it was baTnniiil on with so much curusity, that, though tbia child on my knee could turn it as any as a quem-ilone, it never budged an inch, but stud there for many's the long day, playing tfaiJi/Jiitctftf With every idler that kfrni the way."
" Stop, Ned I" said my lather, interrupting him ; " it 'a dhry work talking, — to^ite a drop of this, just to wet ver whistle ;** and, filling ■ capacious measure of mountain dew. he handed it to hin brother, with, "Come, Ned, honey ! aiirra dti^h na skeat!"
" Hweet waa your fifX, Briney, jewel !" »aid my uncle, extending liis haml for the prufTered beverage. " Slainlha chvd vghtAa ! anil Peggy, ma cailUew>s:^, here 's t'wards your incUnaltotti, soon au Buutlent !" and, winking knowingly on the blushing object of his jest, he emplieit the noggin at a single breath.
** Musha, Ned, ma boHchut ! but it 'ud Iw a thousand murdhers to soMU you, an' you sich bji ihgaiit fine draught {draj}) intirely," said liiJl Connor, tiie parish wag.
"Truth and you may soy that, Bill, aivtirntxn ! but that'* by reMon thxt I never got a rrmgti.rider upon mv ftaek yet, praise be toOod!" and he looked full ut poor Ilill, mKo was notorioua for having a tittle futnlum wife at home, who froirtd u)K>n the top>rooU. OfcourM-, ttie gatliering laugh which Bill's witticism had engen- dered, burttt with inerea»cd momentum on his own head ; but my uncle, who nought only the harmless triumph uf retorting succeu- voi.. tii. T
^ '.
30^
SUAWN OOW AND THB
tltlfy Ml the tic^naod jeater. relieved lus eonfueion bj recontmenctng
" Well. iM-isWwiirs. a^! I sai<l, the Chtigh an far iliihtjt stud un- UMtuTl>«tl out of the memory of man; for there was nn ould tuiytng ^ImI tt wan A haunt of the tairiuM. and that who^^vtr 'tid meddle iir Wakff with it. some mecravgh 'ud be sure tu beful either biini^elf or Muuur one bel(mj;ing to bim.
" At mny rate, ihiTe lived once u]>on the Lung Bog one Jack HiMrdoa. ur, as be was chilled, Hhotrtt tjvjr, in the regard of bis fol- toving the accipation of a blacksmith; and it's he that was cbe WOntln of the country all out for strength, for he'd think notJuDff in lift of working two slitljj^r'hHmint'rs lor the Wngth of a summer • dav ; tnU he flug^fed tli4? divil nt pitchin' a bar, lifting weiffhts, and •winginft an anvit betune his tt^eth. Itiit, though lie was the bully at such dtvartiions, he was paiceable as a lamb, und wouldn't milest a Hv. let alotie a Christian ; and it was this made muiy an upset- ling »jMil|>een, that he didn't value a scraudern, think he hadn't the rale itpiink in him: and' it was so by Corney I-Taherty, the little waiver, who, having a drop ofdhrink in him one day, b<^un ag> ■nyating and gibing 8liHwn, telling him he wa^ no more nor an gMMTOwn Kly-clob. (for Curncy wuh a gre»t i>clmllard.) and. bv gor ! he wii;t on, tat in the long run he riz Shawn's temper »o. that Ee Rripped the waiver by the collar, with a hoult likt his own vice; but, loth tu hurt the dawney crather, that be could have ett out of a face, lie only doubled a bar of iron that lay in the forge round hi-4 sliiulher throat, and knotting it iligantly afore, in the nntbur of a iraravat, he left poor Corney, like a pig with a neck-yoke, to be laughed at by all the boys in the parish ; and it waan't untal he went down upon his bare birnded knees to beg his pardon, tliat Shawn 'ud take otVliia new-faHhioned n«:kUcF.
" Well, it hajjpened that Slwwn (jow was one evening at the
ehristnin' of a neighbour's child, where there was no scarcity of the
best of good ating and dhrinking, — white bread, eggs, and the dint
of Int belly bacon, lashins and leaving, with ceaj miUv J'aiUliagh.
There wiisn't any potteen in them times, for the poor ignorant
uauboguea in these parU hadn't the knowle<ige of making it then ;
but there was pliiity of strong invadth and heath beer, and sich
«• the otihl Danes afore Brian Borhoo's time used to dhrink— divil'a
vure to thcin ! At any rate, what with luiiglnng, and singing, and
looking at the other Iwys dhrinking. bad cess to the one but ^liawn
gul ft little onreg'lar, — not much the worse of the liquor to be no-
UCtfd, only a Utile hearty-like ; and, when all the fun wns over, he
wd out along with some m-iglibnurs 1x9 pleasant as larks, d.ineing,
and «crevching, and culling capers along the road, tal they kern to
^n ulepping-stimes, when one of the boys, to take a ri»e out of
lilwwu, Mys to him, ' I '11 bould you liafe a gallon of the best,' uyi
ln), ■ Hliawii Gow, that, for all your bragging, you 're not the man
\ iiiti,!i the Ciuugk an /ar MiUat into the rtrame there.* — 'Done!'
'i »M u, for his blood was lip, and he waim't to be cowed by any-
aiul, with the help of God, IMike, you '11 pay nie this liqtior,
.• irtie as the thrate I won off you on the hisid of litUng
lUiylf, Iwots, spurs, i^iwip, and all, into his saddle with one
lltil when the thieves ww hiin jnitting hi» shoulder lo the
. ^tiuvat, aitd thit it was alreMly tottering before his powerful
I
I
•
«
LITTLE ORET 5fAN OF THE FAIRIES.
307
I
I
k
ftrength, the divil a toe one uf ttieni would stop near tlic place, but belter-skelter away tbey run, kh i{ nl] the &/u-rrgrK an' ciuricttunf in the barony wac aftlier theiu, without wuiisl loukiriv back to see how Sbawn was getting on with hin work. And a haru job he hnd of it, «ure t^mich ; for, though the stone was quite a!iy at first, rtill lie couldn't hotft it off M-alI-at-;il], until, grttitiji a set with hin Iwck utxlher it, he fitirly liftfd it off iu bed, hikI df)vrn it whop[>etl with a noise like tundher into the brook. Immedialely the water bilcd like a pot of praticfi, and riz up as if there was a mountain swell in the river; and a kind of thick fog curled and gothcr over the spot where the stone sunk. Shawn, be coorse, got terribly f'ritene<l ; the courage of the liquor wont clane off, and he didn't think his life worth a rush<peelliig. But, if he was staggered afore, he was twicet a.4 bad when he pursnved, coining t'wards him out of the mist, s little weazend ould man, dreBsetl quite grand, with a broad- Icafcd hat and a cock's feather in it ; a long grey coat with shining buttons, kneC'brveclies, and white stockings. Looking mighty wickeu at Shawn, he stepped up with the air oi'a guint (i^iaiit), though be was scarce the hoith ofa iiotigfilaun ; and, clapping his arms a-kimbo, says he, 'Shawn Gow, ye dhrunken baste, had ye no regard for yourself or your dacent family, that yv kem here, like a big-boned fiml aa you are, to throw down the stone that took nic tifty lung years to get up there? Was it tirt-d of your life ye were?' — ' Please your nnner/ says Shawn, taking ofl' his bit of a caubcrn, and making a aubmtsiiion to him, ' I 'm at yer onner's marey intlrely, and I beg God's pardon, and yours bkcwi^f^, air; and sure if I thought that it was on the head of my pitching off that tlirifle v of a pebble there *
" * Pebhie !' roared the little man ; « d 'ye call that rock a pebble, or U it game you *re making of me?'
" ' Well it 'ud becnme the likes of roe,' eays the blarneying thief Shawn, 'to make game nf a rale jintlemnn like j-er nnner, and ona that wouldn't llnnk it worth his whilu tn hurt or harm a pnor divil like myself, that gut a little overtaken with the dhrink— bad hick to it ! fur it '« like to be my ruination at last. Ogh ! Molly atthore ma cotUen, it's little yuu 're dhraming in your snug <e(//e what a nii»- fortinet end I 'ra come to ! and, my poor childer, how will they lire at-all-at-all .' — and \ed JIayeit' horse not shod yet. Ogh! wirm, wirra 1 won't yer uuner take pity o\\ me in no ways?' and th« literem let on tc» wipe his eyes with the tail of his coat.
" ' What sarvice will you do nie, Shawn?' says the little tnanneen, if [ let you oinVee?'
"'8«rvicc, sir? Ogh, thin, anything undhcr the heavens this blessed night 1 'II do for your worship ; and sure it '■ myself that '11 pray for long life and a merry wake tu your rivrrence,'
" * Why, thin, Shawn Oow, you 're not all out unrasonable ; so 1 11 not be hard with ye, and all I '11 uc is for ye to shoe my black mare.'
" ' Mushs, thin, if myself doesn't put as purty a set of irons undhvr her feet aa ever cut the daiiiies, may 1 never strike metal again 1 But, if I may make bould to ax yer oniier, where 's the baxtc ?
" 'You'll see her time enough, my fine fellow,' says die little chap ; and, pulling out a snuff-box, he took a pincb himself as grand aa a lord, tic then offered the box to Shawn ; but, though
L
808
SHAWN GOW AND THE
he didn't like to have any dftlin^ with the like!) or him, he roulchit mnke littie of his civllitudc, io he jist took a dt-eshy tMte lie- tune hill fingers, and amellnd to it : but, by Aad ! it w-aa the inift> chief's own snuff intircly, for it hardly touched hi« nose tal he gave three ^eat sneezes that rnti'd henr oo the top of Kilworth moim- tnin ; and when he kem to n bit, he peraaveu that he wasn't new the Ckmgh an Jar dhiost at-ali Rt-all, but in a strangle place, all alone with the Grey Man, and a little black mare tied tu a tUree.
"■There's your job, Shawn, — ehoe that mare afore 1 let you go; for that'e our burgaiii, yuu. knuw,' ssvii the Far dkUist.
"'Maslui! thin, tut*-an-ottniKs ! bir, ii^ii't it « quarc thing to ax B DUD to shoe a bute without the la^-te convatnience fur tlie work?' aavB Shawn, quite vexed, bekase be thought he was made a fool of; but the worda were hardly out of his mouth, when all at wanst a compUte forge startpd up by his *ide. The little chap jumped up, and worked away st the betlowH like a tbraaher: and though there wasn't a «punk of lire on the hearth, the irott heated quite n>g'lar, and Shawn, you may l>e aartin, wasn't lonf; about making an iligant set of shoea: but when he kem to put them on the innre, if he wa> to drive fifty naiU in, sorra one of them would stick. • Sweet bad-luck to yez !' saya Shawn undi-r his tooth, afther nearly working himself into an oil ; ' what am I to do now ?' Just then It came acran hiH mind that he had » few ould nails in his breeches pockcU ' It '11 be no harm to thrj- them, anyhow,' thinks he ; and — would ynu b'licvc } — the very fir^it o»e he druv, the four ithoes fastened on of themu-lvcH. When the ould fellow mw the job complalp, he lookeil urifuninioii aiigrj-, and never a word wna inhinJAw tal Shawn wafi tiltnginf; on his cnat; and thin saya he, ' Shawn Gow, I 'm thinking il'K a liurning b'hanie you have nothing better tfldhrink nor that wake stuff you 're useil to; here's a houlc of somethiug good ; tiike it with ye, and as long as you keep it, 'twill be always full. But mind what 1 Miy, or ye '11 rue it: don't dare open it tal all your friends are preaent, an* let cbeni have ahare of your good fortune.'
" ' i thank yer onner mosit kindly: it's yourself is the clever dacent jintleman, to give such an iligant present to a pi>or bny ; an' more beauty to yuur purty face !' says the rogue Shaun, taking tho bottle aad putting his tongue into his opjKwtte cheek.
*' 'Now, shut yuur eyes, and turn round wanst.' whispered lh« Grey Man. Shawn did as he was de>;ircd ; but, when he looked about, he was struck all of a hape to find hiniM'lf standing in bis own bawn, and the bottle in his fifX, without man or mortial near liim ; only he thought he hard a kind of gibing laugh fleeting away upon the wind : but th(-n, snre, that might be only the cackle of a flock of wild-geese flying over hti head into the bog. The next morning, at cock -shout, there were mefwengers sent to Murn all tlic Kenrdons, his own relations, and the Donovans, hia wife 's people, not to fail, but to come tu the Long Hog that evening ; and, to be sure, there never was seen afore sich a faction in one place. There they kem by hundri-ds on homebMck an' »-foot, the woiuen on pit- lions and in cargt, aiKl the men riding or walking ; hapci of claoe active boys with shillelaghs in their lists, blue friexe-coat» on their shoulders, and rale silk kneckrrchers upon them : an' lliin the col- leens I — it '» they that "ud ilaxxle your eyes, and make the heart leap
I
LITTLE GREY UAN OP THB FAIRIBS.
300
i
I
'm your buzKum with their Uughin|^ rye* and rosy ch«e)ca, brightn- iKir the red scarlet ribbons in their capt- Ogli I it 's no u«e in tiilkinff ; it 's Hoidom any of ub '11 ha%c the lucli to see nicli b sight.
" U ell, when thej* were uU gothtr together, well become* Shawn but be ups and tell« his itory, and then uncorked the bottle: be rooFBe he took the first dhrop hims4-ir, ani! sure enough it wm aolbin' else but rale fine patleeJi ; but he didn't know what ihe dickens it was — how could lief He then handed a cniiskeen of it Xo the rest of the <'om)uiiiy ; and thoug-h the; thought it was tfas mcM beautiful diiriiik in the world, E>orra one of them ever taited the likes of it afure- Iiuws'e^'er, when tlic bottle went round wanst Or twicet. the boys begun to grow very pleiLsant, and nothin' "uda Mfve them but they should aend for a piper to have a dajice afore the Aoar with their sweethearts ; and though the tttuddy outd folks ^C|ft their sates, they began to sing songs, and thake hands, an' kisi etch other eyer so loving. But the poor innocent people wamt Hsed to the strong spent); the rrathurit hadn't no heaos to bear it at all, not all as one as us that it'* as nathral to as mother's milk ; and so afthcr a while the bad blood begun to stir, and some of the blackguards were casting up onld spites and grudges in eaehtither's faces: this maybe 'ud breed a little scrimmage, and no Hooner 'ud it be quelled by the paceable people nor another row 'ud start up somewhere el%e. The yoimi; men now begun to take part in the disputes, the dancing stoppeil, and the ahilldagfas were flourishing aa ill sides. A few handy blows were exchanged at first, that broaght the blood out of f uuie hot heads ; tliis set the women <)rreechiT^ and the men .<diiinting, and in five minutes there wag as reg'Ur a ruction locked up as Tou 'd wish to see. UiidcE. brothers, cousins, and re- liriBBa were whacking each other fur the bare life; for by this time they were all tearing mod dhrunk, an' nothing could stand afure them. Cliairs, tables, stooh, and crockery-ware were knocked to nnilhrrreiu. — not a pot or kettle encaued ; and while tome were 'hnihing away inside, the rest were lighting it out fairly in the ba«By — more glory to them .' Hut the best of it all was. when it got too dark altogether lor them to ttee each other, a gallows bird chip- ped a coal of Bre in one of the Curn-stackf, and M-t it all ofablase; and sure enough it was a bright thought, fur it would have been ■ighty ontxjfiv anient, you know, to be utrikiog in the dark.
^ Ax length the |K>wer of the blows, or maybe the strength of the whiskey-, strrtcheil the who]« faction, ould and young, bleedinp atop of ooc anotbcT, and snoring like p^ in a sty, tal next morning : aa' it waa broad daylight afore Shawn onened his ryes ; an<l then, hv the power* ! he could only see throngn one of them, in respect of tat other being dacently cloaed up by a nate polthogue over bis left eye.bruw: but what he did nee put him in no kind of nperits at all, tat there was nochin' bot rack and ruin around him; bis bits of Mbonu all brack to sma%h, an' his hat^artl one hape of asbcs, UmtM lying at his aw in tlie ducks' lough, iuid the piper'* carcase aoraM Yam. But what kilt him worse nor all. was, the ught ut' the OoU On; UjB flitting upon a stone among the tmuking corn, taktiw aniocb of Hwf quite iligant, winkin' an' noddin*, an* ktUin' bimsMt wofaAe langfchi' at JUiawn. Flesh ami blood cuuldnt stand rieh vma/t^ for aon It was all on account of the fitiry liquor he gave him.
rtfl JiilMi M tM ihrr*'' tiUatthe contintion was bred among bhxid-
S10
1.IFR.
relationfi at »1L ; bo Shuwn up with thi? hotHc that lie t^till had a fut (Trip of, and threw it uilb a wiek«d aim ut the little man, who jumped u|> as suiurt as a cuek at a bliickberrv. an* cotch it an it was coiuiiig t'wards hiin ; then, tucking it undlier his arm, he made Stiawn a tow bow, vanished away with a loud Uugli, an' was never seen or hard tell of siuce in thi» coiintrj-. Al'ther a while, tha»e tliat wi-re able to crawl, stoK* home, »ore and sorry for their nport; hut it wa« innny a long day atore all the heH(l» and friendships broken »t Shnwn Gow'o were haleil. Shawn himself worked in his forge tal he \t.i.t an ould man, thouf^h it niver ytm his luck to come ncrasH a clurif/trtn's bottle, or to taste ttoUceit again; but, if he liad lived from that day to this, he eouldn t have met such rale ehuicf: Huff* as what we're dlirinking at this present meny meetiu'."
IJFK.
LiPR has been compared to an many tbin^, tliat it was held, at a late meeting of the " Nothing New Under the Sun Society," to be impoMible to institute a new simile uii the suhject. The preudeiit declared it tu he utterly exhausted ; and the vice delivered his opi- iiiun to the eH'eet that any attempt to meet the demand for a novelty must be hojjeless. The secretary, the treasurer, the bottle-holder, and the common members, chimed in with this opinion. They had forgottrn the inventive jtenius of the individual who had formerly Murnrised them, at a meeting in the 8un Tavern, by roa*ting bunrhet of llainburgh grapes, hung before a great 6re by a worsted thread, with a (.-jiptain'if biecuit tu catch the drippinj,'^, and which waa ac- knowledged tu be an entirely new difth! The^anie person now ttood up, and said, " LiFH ih likk a Wbkk."
" Like a week !" exclaimed the chair. — " Like a week !" squeaked the vice. — "Like a week!" aaid the secretary.— " Like a week!" whispereil the tre.iiurer. — " Like a week !" b»wle«l the bottle-holder. ■ — ■'* Like a week r" int€rrog« lively asked the mminon nicmWra. — " How the d — I can life be like a week?" gabbled they alL "It may ho like a day, like a piay, like a Mash of light, like a shitde oT niglit, like a dream, like a stream, like stubble, like a bubble, like a vomit, like a comet, like a ravel, like a travel, like a rattle, like a battle, tike n joy, like a toy, like a flame, like a game, like a road, like a load, like quicksilver in a trough, like a musket going off, like a beast, like a feast, hke a fib, like a equib, like a viol played upon, like H tritil hardly on, like a potion, like a motion, Uke a mght, like a hglit, like the sen, like a tree, like a chase, like a race, like a crip- ple, hke a tipple, like a trance, like a glance, like a muddle, like a puddle, like a vane, like a lane, like a whistle, Uke a buatlc, like a mstch, like a watch, like a riddle, like a fiddle, hke a reel, Hke a wheel, like a bother, like another, Uko a tub, like a ' Nothing New Under the Sun Club \' but like a week ? — there can be no resem- blance!" Nevertheless, life is like a week.
Monday.- — We know not exactly how it Iwginii ; but on Monday, itii first (lay, only luok around, and you will sec the general pursuit of human kind \a suction. It is called Saint Monday, — u Gtund con- genial appellation with the holy innoccney of childhood. At this early stage in ihe divisliMi of time the othcIc of truth is listened tu
I «t fl
LIFE.
S11
with attention as at the sacred « ell of Rabelais, and Cuthfulljr obcj. etl in hi» admonition to "trine, trine, trine!" Naturr ti pliant and pliable : stubbormwH of churacter baa not superseded instinct ; and, thiiu^h neither man nor child can walk akinr, thev are doc too proud to receive aid ami support in their helpless cooditioa.
TuefUijf.-^Thr leadinfT-atrir^ and rue king-chair are gme. We can not only wxlk, bnt we can ran. Oreen are the fieU* beneasfa our feet, clear i* the firmament above oar beads ; and, lo '. the but- terflies of spring are dancing and careering before us in the light- ■ome air. Thui is our day to give them chase. Mo«t escape; but aome are caught, of fragile Irame and erancscent hoes. We hug and admire our treasures, — our firA rictorirs in life, the bright rewards of (mr first exertion und persererance. The flies are onr own. Pity 'tis tliat the moment of their seixQre is tfae moment of their de^tmetimi.
fi'tdnetila^. — Ah, how different is tbe pur<<uit lo-dar^ yet how much the umc! and bow Utile hare wc learnt by tlie lesaon of yesierdar ! Love has •prviig up in the boe4jm, and woman is the objfect of our dciire. The purple light of poHiian enshrines the rikible world with a baxe, a colour tnat imparu at once a depth and ■ ^ow altering the form and aspect of all things- From one grand and ptrrrading idea within the heart emanates that Mraage medium which encumpaueth whatever the rye beholds, ortbesdues endeavour to appreciate. In love, by lore, with love, throng love, Ae MBveraion u cnmpWe; and the mid-day of life'* week is a wODilcrfnl phenomenon. But, al^s ! as on tbe preceding day, there are many diaappointmenu. Alas ! stiD more ; in some instancea tbe triomph is attained. Soon does the porple light becoate grey, and the visible world return to its own plain and sombre shapes. The b«tter£ic* have mouldered into dust ; aitd their succesaors— ^ But lei OS proeeedlo
Tkur»dag, — Ambition fits the sool. Tbe Iclhsl strife of war; the sirwggie for pre-eminrnee wfaeiesoeTer the mind and toogue of nuui may be eiwaged in ioteUectsal copflict : the fierce conteotion for supetior weuih, or power, or £uiie ; tbe etnulatjan for a place for Mdf. however small in ralmC, and Kttle in advance; aach are tbe darker eflbrta of tbe seooad mid-day. There is yet a («ir in the blood, an rxritement in the itor^^ ffsme, a glory tn the final sac- veea- If we are not happy, we ere bosy : if ve hare no time for en}oyment, we have M limt time fir ifaccrtmL TW fires of hope, ■a lar &oca being ewJMiiihed. em*inae to bore, petfaaue mere ■teaaily ihmibefae; ■pdtaa eod yli aims, nA cbacnn and expce- ladea, mA bakan aad scimmbn, pme em Tbersdiy hastily away.
Ml^.— Avarkc. cnld, bbirtcd, end aeUbh. soccorIs to the sole ceoimend. Tbe ffreedr is marenvcoms i tbe miser sMwe ooMCwal ;
the liberal. iMMiim ; nd the verr prodigal, sanBg. OoU u
the mIoI of tbia period ; the droaa wkkb cannac smooCfa, hot mabcs the bed of nckncaa m vatmf bed of eare. tbovgh ic nuy gild the Body co&n, azkd plume the sImwv bearab The vaeee of wisdom bM oeMcd to have the sUgblert itO^maa over tfae miad ef fcrmnej men. Ilemapa with the greater caergy at wfaat Is tbe meee eadma, as he mu>tleeveicassoeBa*d«tefaed. Tbe limgingarfMoaday, of Tacsday. of Wcdneaday, of Tbwraday. be«* all aacw arsnbUnfy «f rcaaod* and seme racrwmmiJerinn Km' the bMmen race ; bat the mt- did and cfii^HV vretdi wbe •« tkta stage of csistcDce tiva acdy to
312
SPRCIMEN OP ALLlTCKAtlON.
opprcsH antl grind his ffttow-crcAturca is n monster to be sblinm^I, Mild iii'ilht-r jiitied among the weakiii-«i*n?», nor oxcuKed among ihe tollies, nor pttrdoneil amonfi the errors of niaiikinti.
Saturday. — We are tirwl with the long-continued Iiibour. Our Btiflened limbs have forgotten the buoyant activitj- of the butterfly hunt ; our over-laden meniorii-^, the nine) nnd dnxxling feehngt) of the 8tict*e<;(ling chjtve; our wenrietl N|iiritN the agiUting impulsew of oar nnibitiouM day ; Riid our stricken conscience* «rr«y in dn-Bcl before UK the perdition of our worldly guilt. Whitt neek we now hut nv poDc ; to return to childhood ngain, to he quiet, to be Au5taiRed,'to be nursed and upheld, to be troubled no more?
Tltc Sahbat/i. — Life and the Week arc over. The Sabbiith of the f^ave and of rest is ours. Obhvion has Allien npon the past, with all that has charmed or afflicted, Hoothet) or embittered, blest or wrong;, ed its fleetinp houTB. Oh that looking back therenn may encourage UH trt look forward vith humble conRdence I and that we may be nble to comfort nuri<elve« with the thuupht tliat during this week of life we have done our best to make the paths of our brother-su- iourners piitlis ofjieace and joy! Did men but do so, how much brighter wuutd be the days. aiiJ how much calmer the nights, of all the iu-dwtllcrs of the earth !
As it i», we are only aware of the prevalence of such disporitions, and such n system of conduct, in the president, vice, secretary, trea- surer, and common members of the "(Nothing?) New Under the Sun Society;" who have unanimously agreed that this paper iVa novelty, and worthy of Betitley's Mi»rellnny, which, being only a year old, is deserving of being deemed another.
Tkdtha.
Si'EClJIEN OP ALLITERATION.
SIEGE OF BELGRADE.
An Auitrian anny, awfullf arrayed, Boldly bybft'tory besieged Itr^mde; Ooawck Cdmmajxlrn cannoniidiiiie come, ]>Kiling destrarljr.D'a df'vaiinLting doom. BvtTv tmiit^ttiiir rni^iitvrt essay
yor bme, for fomme,— liirhiing, furious fray ;
QeueraU 'gaiiit.itiMicnt1i grapple- gracious God!
Slow honours Heaven heroic iiardiliood !
XiifiiHure, iniliMrrimiiiale in ilt,
Xrinsrarn kill kinsmen,— IcinsHien kindred kill I
Xmbour low Uvfl* luftint, louge^t lives ;
Ken iD!UY;h mid mounds, 'mid moles, 'miJ murderous itliMS.
Mow noi«y, uoxious numbers notice nouglit
Of ouiwsrd obsidrlet oppoiiiikf uuglii ;
Foor pftlrKjts, panly purchased, pardy preMed,
Qnite quahin^, qmckly cjuarter, quartur qoesl.
Rf'-tsioo nHums, religtoiu rijihi redouuds,
Suwarrnw »iom >ucIi sanguinary sounds :
Tnjty w d»e« Turkey— In umph Co ihv mini
tfnjuil, niinise, tmmercirul L'kniine!
V-inish vain vicloiyl nini»li victory vainr
Wlir wish we wArLrr t Wheicforp welcome we
Xerxrf) Ximi-ues, Xauibm, Xavierpt
HvA-i, y« yoiitbs f ye jeomeii, yiflJ your vdl I
X«no\ l^arpaiut', l^orouicr's teal. And all altru-ting— arms againu a|>i>eBl.
919
OLIVER TWIST;
OB, TKB PAHI81I BOYS PIIDORCSS.
BY BOZ. ILLDSTRATBB n T O E O R 6 K C » IT 1 It > II A X X.
BOOK TIIK SECOND.
CHAITCB THB SIXTH.
LOOXS APTKR OUVCft, AKD PftOC£tDft WITU Htft ADVUiTVBES.
WnLVRs t*«r your Umjats f" inuttorod Sikes, grinding his teeth; ** 1 Viiih I was aiuoug some uf you; you''d huwl the hoarser for it."
As Sikrs i;rowlecl forth this imprecation «ith the Rio»t dntpe- rate ferocity that his desperate nature vim capable of-, he rested the bodv uf the wutindetl boy aerass his bended knt-c, and lumviJ his head for an insrant to look back al his pursuers.
There was little to be made out in the iiii^l and darkiiefts ; but the toud shouting of men vibrated thruugli the air, and the barkinj; of the neighbouring; dogs, roused hy ihc sound of the alarm bell, resouuded in every direction.
" Stop, you white-livered hound i'' cried the robber^ ehouting after Toby Crackit who, making the best use of his long l«g«i was already ahead, — " slop !"
The repetition of the word hroiight Toby tn a dc-ad ntand- &till, for he was not unite Katis6cd ihal he was beyond the range of piftol vfaot, and Sikett wue in no mood to be played with.
" Bear a hand with the Ixiy," roared Sikes, beckoning furi* oitsly to his confederate. " Come back !"
Toby made a show of returuiiig, but veulured in a low voice, broken for want of hrrmth, to intimate coiiiuderahle reluuUuice as he came slowly along.
** Quicker !" cried Sikes, laying the boy in a dry ditch at his feet, and drawing a pistol from ois pocket. " Don't play the booby with me."
At this moment the noise grew louder, and Sike« again look- ing round, could diM:em thut the men who had given cha»e were already climbing the gate of the field in which he stood, and that a couple of dogs were some pHces in advance of ihem.
•* 1 1 's all up, Hill," cried 'J'oby, " drop tlie kid and sliow V-ro your heels." With this parting advice, Mr. Crackit^ preferring the chance of being fthot by hi* friend to the certainty of being taken by his vneuiies, fairlv tunied tail, and darted oH' a( full speed. Sikes clenched his livth, took one ItKik round, threw over the prostrate form of Oliver the cape in which he ha<l been hurriedly mullled, rati along the front of the hfdge a\ if to dis- tract the attention of those behind, from the spot where the boy
vou ni. X
HH
OLIVER TWIST.
lay, paused for a eecond before another hedge which met it at right angles, and whirling his pistol high into the air, cleared it at a bound and was gone.
** Ho, ho, there !" cried a tremulous voice in the rear. ** Pinchcr, Neptune, come here, come here !"
The tlogs, which in common with their mastcrB, seemed to have no iiarlicular reljhh for the »[x>rt in wliich they were engaged, readily answered to this command : and three men, who had by this time advuncMl some distance into the Ueld, stopped to take counsel together.
" My advice, or leastways I should say, my orders is," said the fattest man of the parly, ** that we 'mediately go home again."
" I am agreeable to anything which is agreeable to Mr. Giles," ftnid a shorter man, who was by no means of a slim figure, and who was very pale in the face, and very polite, as frightened men frequently are.
'* I fihouldn t wfeh to appear ill-mannered, gentlemen," said the third, who had called the dogs back, " Mr. Giles ought to inow."
'* Certainly," replied the shorter man ; '* and whatever Mr. Giles says, it i»n't our place to contradict him. No, no, I know my sitiwation, — thank my stars 1 know my Riiiwation." To tell the truth, the little man did seem to know his situation, and to know perfectly well that it was by no means a desirable one, for htn teeth chattered in his head as he spoke.
*' You are afraid, Rrittles,** said Mr. Giles.
" 1 ain't," wild Itritties.
" You oiv," said Giles.
" You're a falsehood, Mr. Giles," said Brittle*.
" You're a lie, Brittles." said Mr. Giles.
Now, these four retorts aroHc fmm Mr, Giles's taunt, anr Mr. Giles's taunt had arisen from his indimmtion at having the responsibility of going honiL* again im^iuseu upon himstrlf under cover of a cumpliment. The third man bruughl the dispute to a close most philosophically.
" I'll tell you what it is, gentlemen," said he, *' weVe all afraid."
** Speak for yourself, sir,"* said Mr. Giles, who was the palest of the party.
^* So I do," replied the man. " It^s natural and proper to be afraid, under such circumstances : / am."
" So am I,"* said Brittle*, *' oiily there's no call to tell a man he is, so bounceably."
The^e frank admissions softened Mr. Giles, who at once owned that he was afraid ; upon which they all three faced about and ran back again with the complelest unanimity, till Mr. Giles (who had ihp shortest wind of the |iartv. and was encum- bered with a pitchfork) motil handmniely insisted upon stopping to make an apology for his haMlnes« of speech.
OLIVER TWKT.
Il5
•* But it 's wonJerful," laid Mr. Giles, -when he had explained, '* what a man will do when his blood is up. I should have committed murder, I know I should, if weM caught one of the rascals.*'
As the other two were impressed with a wmilar presentimenti and their blood, like his, had all goac down again, M)iue bjuvu- lation ensued upon the cause of tin's sudden change in their temperament.
'* I know what it was," said Mr. Giles ; " it was the gate.**
" I shouldn't wonder if it was," exclaimed Brittles, catching at the idea.
" You may depend upon it," said Giles, '* that that gotc stopped the now of the excitement. I felt all mine suddenly going away as I was climbing over it."
By a remarkable coincidence the other two bad been visited with the same unpleasant sensation at that precise moment; bo that it was quite conclusive that it was the gate, especially as there was no doubt regarding the time at which the cliange had takeo place, because all three remembered that itiey had come in sight of the robbers at the very instant of its occurrence.
Tills dialogue was held between the two men who had sur- prised the burglars, and a travelling tinker, who had been sleep- ing in an nuthouse, and who had been roused, together with his two mongrel curs, to join in the pursuit. Mr- Giles acted in (he double capacity of butler and steward to the old latly of the mantiion, and Brittles was a Ind of all work, wlin having enlerc<l her service a mere child, was treated as a pronii&ing young boy still, though he was something post thirty.
Encouraging each other with such converse as this, but keep- ing very close together notwithstanding, and looking apprebea- aively round wlicnever a fresh gust rattled through the boughs, the throe men hurried hack to a tree, behind which they had left their lantern, lust its light ehuuld inform the thieves in what direction to (ire. Catcliing up the light, they made the best of their way homo at a good round trot ; and long after their dusky forms had ceased to be discernible, it might have been Men twinkling and dancing in the distance, like some exhalation of the damp and gloomy atmosphere through which it was swiFlly bunie.
The air grew colder as day came slowly on, and the mist rolled along the ground tike a dense cloud of smoke; the graas was wet, the pathways and low places were all mire and water, •nd the damp breath of an unwhulewme wind went languidly by with a hollow moaning. Still Oliver lay motionless and in- sensible on the !i|)oi where Sikea had left him.
Morning drew oii apace; the air became more sharp and
Eiercing us its first dull hue— the death of night rather than the irth of dav — glimmered faintlv in the sky. The nbjccls which had looked dim and terrible in tlu- darkness grew more and more
2 2
316
OUV£& TWIST.
defined, and f^raduallv resolved into their familiar shapes. The rain came down tliicfc nnd fast, and paUt-rc-d noisilv anion {f the leaflfJis l(U>litf8. But (_)liver fell it not, as it Wal against iiini, for he stiU lay stretched, helpless and uneunscious, on his bt-d ol'clay.
At length a low cry of pain hrokc the stillness that prevailed, |«nJ utterin;; it, the hov awiiko. His UTt arm, rudely bandaged tn a Rhawl, hung heavy atid u^*lc5s at his !iide« and the l>andage wait saturated w-itli blood. He was »o weak that he could rwarcelv rui^e hiniwlf into a silting posture, aiid when he had done so, he looked fwbly round for help and jjroaned with pain. Trembting in every joint from cold and exhauiilion, he inaue an effort to stand upright, but bhuddcriog frura head to fixji, fell prostrate on the ground.
After a ('hurt return of the »lupor iu which he had been so long phingiil. Oliver, urged by a creeping &ickncss at liis heart, which scctiied to warn him that if he lay there he must surely die, gut u|)ou )iis feet and essayed to walk. Hi» head was dizzy, and he staggered to and fro like a drunken man ; but he kept up nevertheless, and, with his head drooping languidly on hli brea}>t, went stumbling onward he knew not whither.
And now, hosts of bewildering and conTused ideas came crowd- ing on hi» mind. He seemed to be still walking between Sikea and Crackit, who were angrily disputing, for the very words they said sounded in hiit ears : and when he caught his own attention, as it were, by making some viuleiit eflorl to save him- ftelf from falling, he found that he was talking to iheni. Then be was alone with Sikes plodding on as they had done the pre- vious day, and as shadowy people |iAs>etl theni by, he felt the robber's grasp upon his wrist. Suddenly he siarled Imck iil the report of fin-arms, and there rose into the air loud criee and ihouts ; lights gleamed before his eye», and all was noiae and tumult as some unseen hand bore him hurriedly oway. Through all these rapid visions there ran an undefined, uneasy, conscioufineas of pain which wearied and tormented llim in- cessantly.
Thus he staggered on, creeping almost mechanically between the bars of gates, or through hedge-gaps as they came in his way, until he reached a road ; and here the rain began to fall so heavily that it roused him.
He looked about, and caw that at no great distance there was a house, which perhaps he could rt-aeh. freeing his condition tliey might have compa5»>ion un him, and if they did nut, it would be uellL-r, he thought, to die near human beings than in the lonely open fields. He summoned up all his strength for one last trial, and bent his faltering steps towards it.
As he drew nearer to this house, a feeling (uime over him that he had setJi it before. He remembered nothing of its details, but the shape and Obpect of the building seemed familiar to him.
OLIVER TWI8T.
That garden wall ! On the prasa inside he had fallen on his kiiws last night, and prayed the two men's mercy. It was the very same house they had attempted to roh.
Oliver felt such foar come over him when he recojjnised (he place, that for the instant he furgut the a^my of his wound, and lliought only of 8ij;lit. Flight ! He could scarcL-ly stand : and if he were in full po!iKes»ion of all the best powers of his flight and youthful frame, where could he fly to? He pushed against the garden gate ; it was unlocked and swunft open on its hinges. He tottered across the lawn, climbed the steps, knocked faintly at the door, and his whule strength failing him, »unk down against one of the pillars of the little portico.
Jt happened that iiboiit this time Mr. Gdes, Brittles, and the tinker were recruiting themselves after the fatigues and terrors of the night, with tea and sundries in the kitchen. Not that it was Mr. Giles's hahit to admit to too g^eat familiarity the hum- bler servants, towards whom it was rather his wunl to deport himself with a lofty affability, which, while it gratifted, cuuld not fail to remind them of his superior position in society. But Heath, fires, and burglary make sll men equals; and Mr. Giles rat with hi» legs siretchi>d utit bi-fure the kitclien fender, leaning his left arm on the table, while with his right he illustrated a circiimatantial and minute account of the robbery, to which his hearers (but es)]ivially the cook and houatuiaid, who were of the parly) liiitcned with breathlew, inttrest.
** It was about half-past two,*" said Mr. Giles, " or I wouldn't swear that it mightn't have been a little nearer three, when I woke up, and turning round in my bed, as it might be so, (here Mr. Giles turned round in his chair, and pulled the corner of the rablo-cloth over him to imitate Wd-clothes,) I fancied I bevrd a mHse,"
At this |ioinl of the narrative the cook turned pale, and asked the housenrnid to •^liul the dcmr, who asked Itiittles, wlui asked the tinker, who pretended not to hear.
•* Heerd a noise," continued .Mr. Giles. '* I says at first, ' this is illusion ;' and was compobing myself oiT to sleep when I heerd the noise again, dlNlinct."
" What sort of a noiw?" asked the cook.
** A kind of a busting noise," replied Mr. Giles, looking round him.
** More tike the noiine of powdering a iron bar on a nutmeg- grater," suggesteil Brittles.
** It was. whenyow heerd it, sir," rejoined Mr. Giles; '* hut at this lime it had a busting sound. I turned down the clothes," cuntinued (jiles, rolling back the table-cloth, " Hat up in bed, and liHtenitl."
The couk and housemaid simultaneously ejaculated, *' Lor !** and drew their chairs closer together.
" I heerd it now, ipiite apparent,*^ resumed Mr. Giles.
818
OLIVER TWIST.
* Somebwly,* I Mjrs, * is forcing of a door or window, what's to be dune t I '11 call up that poor lad, Brittles, and save him from being murdered in his bed ; or his throat,' I &avs ' may be cut from bis right ear tu his left, without his ever knowing it.' "
Here all eyes were turned U|iun Brittles, who fixed his upon the speaker, and stared at him with his mouth wide open, and his face expressive of the most uniniligated horror.
" 1 tossed off the clothes," said Giles, throwing away the tablecloth, and looking very bard at the cook and housemaid, ** got Koftlv out of bed, drew on a pair of — ^
'* Ladies present, Mr. Giles," nmriimred the tinker.
" — Of sAoea, sir," said Giles, turning upon hitn, and laying great empham on the word, " seized the loaded pistol that always goes up stairs with the plate-bafikct, and walked on tip- toes to his room. * Briitles,' 1 says, when I had woke him,
• don't be frightened !' "
** So you did," observed Urittles, in a low voice.
" * We 're dead men, I think, Brittles, I say V continued Giles, " ' but don't be under any alarm.' **
** Was he frighleoed?" asked the cook.
•' Not a bit of it," replietl Mr. Giles. ** He was as 6rm — ah ! pretty near as firm as I was."
'* I should have died at once, I'm sure, if it had been me^" observed the housemaid.
*' You *re a woman," retorted Brittles, plucking up a little.
" Brittles is right," said Mr. Giles, nodding his head approv. ingly ; *' from a woman nothing else was to be expected. But we, being men, took a dark lantern that was slanding cm Brit- tlcs's hoi), and groped our way down stairs in the pitch dark» — as it might be so."
Mr. Giles had risen from his scat and taken two steps with bis eyes shut to accompany his description with appropriate action, when he starled violently in common with the rest of the com- pany, and hurried back to his choir. The cook and housiiiuaid screamed.
" It was a knock," said Mr. Giles, oKsuming perfect serenity ; *' open the door, somebody."
Nobody moved.
" It seems a strange sort of thing, a knock coming at such a time in the morning," enid Mr. Giles, surveying the pale faces which aurroimded him, and looking very blank himsijf ; ** but the door must be opened. Do you hear, somelKKly ?"
Mr. Giles, as he spoke, looked at Brittles; but that young
imaD being naturally modest, probably considered himseu
[nobody, and so held that the inquiry could not have any appU*
cation to him. At nil events he tendered no reply. Mr. Giles
directed an appealing glance at the tinker, but he'had suddenly
fallen asleep. The women were out of the qui-stiun.
" If Brittles would rather open the door in the prenencv of
OLIVBE TW»T.
SI9
witneeses," said Mr. Giles, after a ghort litencct " I oni ready to make one."
" So am 1," said the tiuker, waking up as suddenly aa he had faUeii asleep.
Brittle^ capitulated on these terms; and the party being somewhat re-assured by the discovery (made on throwing opcD the Hhuttere) thuL it was now brcmd day, took tlieir way up stairs with the dogs in front, and thL* two women, who were afraid to stop helow, bringing up the rear. By the advice of Mr. Oites they all talked very luud, tu warn any cvil-dtspuned per- son outside that they were strung in numbers ; and by a mostet^ stroke of policy, originating tn the brain of the same ingenious gentleman, the dog''s tails wen; well pinched in thu ball lu make tUeui hark savagely.
These preaiutiuns having been taken, Mr. Giles helii on fast by the tinker's arm, (to prevent his running awuy^ as he i)U'a> Minlly said), and gave the word of command to open the door. Brittles obeved, and the group peeping titnorouslv over each other's shoulder, beheld no more formidable object than noor little Oliver Twist, speechless ami exhausted, who raisea his heavy eyes, and mutely solicited their ooinpa-tsion.
*' A boy !" exclaimed Mr. Giles, valiantly pushing the tinker into the bnckgmund. *' What's the luatier with the — eh? — Why-— Brittle^— look here— don't you know .*""
Brittle^, who had got behind the door to open it, no sooner aaw Oliver, than he uttered a loud cry of recognition. Mr. Giles Sfizing the lH>y by one leg anil one arm — fortunately not the broken limb — lugged him straight into the hall, and deixuiiled him at full length on the tinor thereof. '* Here he is !" Iwiwled Giles, calling in a great state of excitement up the stairca^; " here's one of the thieves, ma^am ! Here's a thief. mi«s — wounded, miss! I shot him, mis-sand Brittles held the light."
** In a lantern, mi.-«s,'' cried BrittLt-N, applying onv liand to the Hide of his mouth, so that his voice miglit travel (he better.
The (WO womtMi scrvDntaran up sluirti to carry the intelligence thai Mr. Giles had capturc<l a robber; and the tinker buried himself in endeavouring to restore Oliver, lest lie should die be- fore he could be hung. In the mid&t of all this noise and ann- motion there was heard a sweet female voice which quelled it in an instant.
*' Giles !" whiK|>cred the voice from the stairhead.
" I 'm here, miss," replied, Mr. OileR. " Don't be fright- vued, niies ; 1 ain't much injured. He didn't ninke a very de»- perate resistance, miss; 1 was soon too many for him."
*' Hush !" replied the young lady ; ** you frighten my aiinl almost as much as the thieved did. Is the poor creature nevrrely hurt ?" E ** Wnundeil desperate, miss," replied Giles, with indesrribahle
320
OtlVfiR TWIST.
** He looks as if he was a-j^iof;, miss," bowled Brittles, m llic same manner n« brffirc. " Wouldn't you like lo come and luok Ht him, miss, in case he should — ?^
" Hiiah, pray, there's a good nmti T rejoined the young lady. ** Wait quietly one inslAUt while 1 speak to aunt."
With a footstep a? soft and fjentle as tlic voice, the speaker tripped away, mid hmhi riMuriii-d with the direction that the wounded pcraon was to he carried carcfidly up stairs to Mr. (jilesV room, mid that Brittles wa;: tu naddke the pony and be- take liinnself iiifitaiitly tu CUerlsi'v, from which place he was to despatch with all speed a consiahfc and doctor.
•* Bui won> you take one look at him first, niiw?" said Oik's with us much pride as if Oliver were some bird of rare jtlumagc that he had skilfully brought down. *' Not one little peep, uii»«."
*' Nut now for the world," replied the yowug ladv. ** Poor fellow ! oh ! treat l)im kindly, Giles, if it is only for my sake!*
The old servant looked up at the Bpeaker, as slie turned away, with a glance as proud and admirinf; as if nhe Imd l>een hi? own child. Then bending over Oliver, he hclpt-d to carry him up flairs with the care and solicitude of a woman.
I
CUAPTfUt THK SEVENTH
BA» AK IKTHODVCTOBT ACCOUKt OF TKE IKUATtS OF "rat DOl'SE TO WMICa OiaVZR REtOKnCDj AND ttUttLh WHAI ijii:t tbqudht or MIK.
In 8 handsome room — though it» furniture had rather the air of old-fashiuned comfort, than of modern eleganre — there sat two ladies at a well-spread breakfast tnble. Mr. Giles, dressed with scrupulous care in a full suit of black, was in attend«i>ce upon them. He had taken his station some half-way between the sideUiiard and the break fast- table, and with his body drawn up to itii full height, hh head thrown back and inclined the merest inQv on one ^ide. his left leg advanced, and hie right hand tlirust into his waistcoat, while bis left hun^ down by his eide grasping n waiier, looked lilte one who laboured under a very agreeable sense of his own merils and iu)[Kirtance-
Of the two ladies, one was well advanced in years, but the high-backed oaken chair in which she snt waa not more upright than i^lie. Dressed with the utmost niit-ly and precision in a quaint mixture of by(;«He costume, with some slight concessions to the prevailing tastL-, wtiicb rather served to point the old style p)i.>as»nlly than to impair its eflV-ct, she «at in a st.ttelv niau- ner with her hands folded on the table before her, and her eyes, tif which age had dimmed but little of their brightness, atten- lively fixed upon her V"ung companion.
The vuunger lady was in the lovely bloom and spriug-time of womanhiHid : at that age wbcn^ if ever augela lie fur Goirs S""^
I I
OLIVBR TWIST.
SSI
I
pitrpbaes enlhroTied in mortsl forins, they may be withottl im- pietv supposed to abitle in such as tiers.
8l)e was not past seventeen. Cast in so slight and exquisite a mould, so mild and genlle, so pure and beautiful, lliat earth seemed not her element, nor its rouch creatures her 6t com- panions, 'i'iie very intelli^nce that shone in her deep blue eye and was fitam|K-d upon her noble head, spemed M-ari;cIy of tier a^ orof the 1^'orld, and yet tlie changing expreHsion of -tweetneM and good hiunnur, tlie thousand lights that playt'ti al>uut tliu face and left no shadow there; above all, the sndle — the cheerful happy smile — were entwined with the be»t sympathies and affec- tions of i)ur nature.
She was busily engaj^ed in the little offices of the table, and chancing to raise her eyen as the elder lady was regarding ber, playfully put baek her hair, which was simply braided on her forehead, and threw into one beaming look tiuch a gush of aflcc- tion and artlew loveliness, that blessed spirit» might have smiled to look upon her.
The elder lady smiled ; but Iter heurt wa.s full» and she brushed away n tear n«4 she did so.
*' And Brittles bajs been gone upwards of an hour, has he?" asked the old lady after a pause.
*• An hour and twelve minutes, ma'am ;" replied Mr. Giles, referring to a silver watch which be drew forth by a black ribbon.
" He is always slow," remarked the old lady.
•' Briitles always was a slow Iwy, ma'am." repUed the attend- ant. And seeing, by-tlie-by, that Brittles had been a slow Iwy for upwards of thirty years, there appeared no great probability of his ever being a fast one.
" He gets worse instead of belter, I ihink," said the elder lady.
'* It is very inexcunable in him if lie stops to play with any other hoya,'^ said the young lady, smiling.
Mr. Giifs was apparently considering the propriety of in- dulging in a re8]>ectful suiile himself, when a gig drove up to the garden-gate, out of which there jumped a fat genlleniaD, who ran straight up to the door, and getting quickly into the houw by oume nivnu-riuus proceas, bur>t into the room, and nearly overturned Mr. titles and the breakfast table together.
" 1 never heard of such a thing !' exclaimed the fat gentle- man. •* My dear Mrs. MayUe — bles* iny «oul — in the Mience of oipbt too— I ftei'rr heard of such a thing !"
With these expres^nons of eoiululeiice, the fat gentleman *ho«>k hands with Itoth ladies, and drawing up a chair, inquired
)w they fuund theniwlveH.
'* You ought to Im- dead — positively dead with the fright," »aid the fat gentleman. " Why didn't you send? Bless me.
OLIVBR TWIST.
o^ man should have come in a ininute« or I in3?setr and voj assistatit would have been delighted, or anyI>ody : 1 'ni sure, K^dar such circumstances; dear, dear — to unexpected — in Uic «I«we of night too !"
The doctfw seemed especially troubled by the fAct of the rob- bery having been unexpected, and attempted in the night time, a« if it were the eslablishrd cuKlom of gentlemen In the house- bronking way to trannoet busini'ss at noon, and to make an Np> pointraent by the twapeiiny post a day or two previous.
*' And you, Mm Ru&e*" said thu doctor, turning to the young lady, " I "
" Oh ! very much so, indeed," said Rose, interrupting him ; ** but there U a pour creature up fttairs whum aunt wishes you to see."
•' Ah ! to be sure," reph'cd the dcwrtor, *' so there is. That was yuur handy-work, Giles, I uudcniland."
Mr. Giles, who had been feveriahly putting the tea-cups to rights, blushed very red, and said that ne bad had that honour.
** Honour, eh ?" said the doctor ; " well, 1 don't know, per- haps it 's as honournble to hit a thief in a back kitchen, as to hit your man at twelve paces. Fancy that he firt-J in the air, and youVe fought a duel. Oiles."
Mr. Giles, who thought this light treatment of the matter an unjust attempt at diminishing his glory, an»wcred respectfully, that it was not fur the like of him to judge about that, but ne rather thought it was no joke to the opposite party.
" 'Ciad, that's true!" m\d the doctor. " Wheru is he? Show me the way. I '11 look in again as I conic down, Mrs. Maylie. That's the little window that }ie got in at, eh? Well, I couldn't have believed it." Talking all the way, he followed Mr. Giles up stairs ; and while he is going up stairs the reader may be informed, that Mr. liOHberne, a surgeon, in thenejghbour- huoil, known through a circuit of ten miles round as " the doctor," had grown fat more fioni good humour than from good living, and was as kind and hearty, and withal as eccentnc an old bachelor as will be found in five times that space by any expbrer alive.
The doctor was absent much longer than either he or the ladies had anticipated. A large flat box was fetched out of the gig, and a Ijed-room bell was rung very ufteu, and the sei^ vants ran up and down stairs |)erpetually, from which tcikeOH it was justly concluded that something important wa.< going on above. At length he returned ; and in reply to an anxious in-
3uiry after his patient, looked very uiysterioua, and eluded tiie oor carefully. *' This is a very extraordinary thing, Mrs, Maylie," said the doctor, standing with his back to tlie door as if to keep It shut. *' He is not m danger, 1 hope?" said the old lady. " Why, that would not be an extraordinary thing, under the
I
I
circumstances." replied the doctor, " though I don't thiok he is. Have you seen this thief?"
•* No," rejoined the old lady.
" Nor heard anythiog ftbout him ?"
** I b«g your patron, ma*am,'' interrwged Mr. Giles; *' but I was going to tell you about him when iitocCor Losberne came in."
The fact was^ that Mr. Giles had not at 6rst bran able to bring his mind to the avowal ihat he had only shot a Ixiy. Such commendations had b««n bestowed upon his bravery^ that he could not for the life of him help postponing the explanation for a few delicious minutes during which he had flourished in the very zenith of a brief reputation for undaunttnl courage.
" Kose wished to set: the man," said Mrs. Maylie, " but I wouldn't hear of it."
*' Uuoiph !"" rejoined the doctor. "There's nothing very alarming in his appearance. Have you any objectiun to see him in my presence?'
" If it be necesaary," replied the old lady, *' certainly not."
" Then I think it is oecejaary," said the doctor ; " at all events I sm quite sure that you would deeply regret not having done so, if you postponed it- He is perfectly quiet and com- fortable now. Allow me — Miss Rose, will you permit me? not the slightest fear, I pledge you my bonour-"*
With many more loquacious asEurances that they would be agnvably surprised in the aHpect of the criminal, the doctor drew the young ladv'i) ami through one of his, and offering his disengaged hand to Mrs. Maylie, led them with much ceremony and statcliness up slaira.
** Now," said the doctor in a whisper as he softly turned the handle of a bed-room door, " Jet us hear what you think of him. He has not Ik-cii shave<l very recently, but he noeHn't look at all ferocious notwithstanding. Stop, though : let me see that he is IQ visiting order tir&t."
Stepping before them, he looked into the room, and motion- ing them to advance, closed the door when they had entered, and gently drew back the curtains of the betl. Upon it, in lieu of the dogged, black-visaged rutlian they bad expected lo b<v Itold, there lay a mere child, worn with {>ain and exhauittion and tunk into a deep sleep. Hia wounded arm, bound and spbut- ered up, was crossed upon his breast, and his head reclined upon the other, which was half hidden by his long hair as it streamed over the pillow.
The honest gentleman held the curtain in his liand, and looked on for a minute or so, in silence. Whilst he was watching the patient thus, tht- voungcr lady glided softly past, and seating herself in a chair by the bedside gathered Oliver's hair from his
Cnd as she stooped over him, her tears fell upon hjx forehead. ' boy stirred and smiled in his sleep, as though tlieee marks
I
324
OLTVKR TWIST.
of pity and compassion had awakened some plwisant dream of a love and nflection he had never known: «^ a (itrain of gentle inti*ic, or the rippling of water in a silent place, or ihe odour of a flower, or even the mention of a familiar word, will tmmetinies call up sudden dim remembrances of scenes that never were, ia this life, which vanish like a breath, and whit-h some brief meoiorj' of a hapjjier existence long gone by, would neem to have awakened, lor no power of the human mind can ever r«cal them.
*' What can this mean !"* exclaimed the elder lady. ** TTiJt poor child can never have bi*n the pupil of robbers,"
" Vice," sighed the surgeon, replacing the curtain, *' takes up her abotle in many temples, and who can say that a fair out- side ^l1all not tiislirinc her ?""
" Bin at so early an age.'" urged Rose.
" My dear young lady," rejoint-d the surgeon, mournfully shaking his head* '* crime* like death, is not ctmfined to the old and withered alone. The youngest and fairest are too often its chosen victims."
" But, can you — oh, sir ! can you, really bt-licve that this delicate buy has been the voluntarv associate of the worst out- casts of society ?'" «Aid Rose anxiously.
The surgeon shook bis hend in a manner which intimated that he feared it was very possible; and observing that they might disturb tbt patient, led the way into an adjoining apartment.
" But even if he has been wicked," pursued Rose, *• think how young he is; tliink that he may uever have known a mother's love, or even the comfort of a home, and timt ill-usage and blows, or the want of bread, may have driven him to herd with Ihe men who have forced him to guilt. Aunt, dear aunt, for mercy's sake think of this before you let them drag this sick child to a prison, which in any case must be the grave of all his chances of anicndniont. Ob ! as you love me, and know that I have never felt the want of parents in your goodness and affection, but that I might have done so, and might have been equally helpkfis and unprotected with this pimr child, have pity upon him before it is too late."
*' My dear love!" said the elder lady, as she folded the weep- ing girl to her bosom ; "do you think 1 would harm a hair of his head ?"
" Oh, nn t" replied Rose, eagerly, *' not you, aunt, not you !"
" No ;■" said the old lady with a trembling lip, *' my dayi are drawing to their close, and may mercy Ik* shown to uie as I show it to others. What can I do to save him, sir?"
" Let me think, ma'am," said the doctor, " let me think."
Mr. Losberne thrust his hands into his pockels and took seve- ral turns up and down the room, often stopping and bnlancing himself on Ids toes and frowning frightfully. After various ex-
I
OLIVER TWJ&T.
3»5
I I
I
cUmations of " I Ve got it now," and " no, I bavn't," and as roaii^' reiH-wals of the walking and frowning, he at Itiigth made a dtitd halt, and spoke an follows: —
" I think if you ^ive me a full and unlimited commission to
bully Giles and that little boy, Britlles, I can manajfe it. He
-is a faithful ftllow and an old servant, I know; but you can
make it up to him in a thouhand ways, and reward him for
being such a pood shot besides. You don't object to that ?"
"Unless there is some other way of preserving llie child," replied Mrs. Maylie.
•• There ii no other," said the doctor. " No other, lake my word for it."
*' Then aunl iiirests you with full power," said Rose, smiling through her tears; " hut prav don't he harder upon the ixxjr fellows than in indi&iwnsahly necessary."
" Vou seem to think," retorted the dtn-Lor, " that everybody ii< disposed to he hard-heiirtcd tiwtay cKC'cpt yourself. 1 only hope, for the sake of the risinj^ uitile sex generaUy, that you may be found in as vulnerable and t*oft-hearted a uiuud by the Tcry first cli)(iblc young fellow who appeals to your compoa^ion ; and ] wiah / were a young fellow tlut I might avail iny^lf on tlic spot uf i^ueh a favourable upportuoity fur doing w, as the present."
•* You are as great a boy as poor Itriitles himself," relumed Rose, blushing.
** Well," uid the doctor, laughing heartily, *' that ia no very difficult matter. Bui to return to thi» boy : the great point of our Hgrevnicnl ih yet to come. He will wake in an hour or so, I dare uiy ; and although 1 have told that thick-hea<Ietl consta- ble fellow down stairb that he niusn't be moved or bpoken to, on peril of his life, I think we may converse with him without danger. Now, 1 make this stipulation — that I shall examine bim in your presence, ami that if from what he 'Bay»^ we judge, and 1 can show to the satisfaction uf your cool reaton, thai he ia a real and thorough bad one, (which h more than pos<tihlc,) he shall be left to his fate* without any furtl>er interference ou my part, at all events."
" Oh, no, aunl !" entreated Rose.
" Oh, yes, aunt !" said the doctor. " Is it a bargain ? "
** He cunuot be hardened in vice," said liose; *' it is impoa* Bible."
"Very good," retorted the doctor; "then so much th« more reason for acceding to my proposition."
Finally the treaty wa^ entered into, and the (lartiea thereto sat down to wait with some impatience until Oliver should wake.
Tlie patience of the two ladies was destined lo umlergti a T trial than Mr. I^insberne had led ihem to expect, for hour hour passed on, aud still Oliver alumbned hMvily. It was
OLIVER TWIST.
CTening, indeed, before' the kind-hearlcd doctor brought thwn the iiitettigeiice that he had at leneth rousud sutlidt-ntty to be spoken to. The bov was very ill, he said, aiid weak from the ]o!u of blood ; but bis mind was so troubled with anxiety to dis- close something, that he deemed it better to give him the oppor^ tunity than tu insist upon his remaining quiet until next morn- infj, which he should otherwise have done.
The conference was « long one, for Oliver told them all his simple history, and was often compelled to stop by pain and want of Btrenglh. It was a solemn thing to hear, in the darkened room, the feeble voice of the sick child recoimtinu a weary cata- lof^ue of evils and calamities which hard men had brought upoo him. Oh ! if, when we oppress and grind our fellow-crcjiturcs, we bestowed but one thought on the dark evidences of human error, which, like dense and heavy clouds are rising slowly, it i» true, but not lesa surely, to heaven, lo pmir iheJr aflei^ vengeance un ntir head<i — if wc heard but one infttant in imagination the deep testimony of dead men's roices, which no power can stifle and no pride shut out, where would lie the injury antl injustict, the BuFering, misery, cruelty, and wrong, that each day's life brings with it !
Oliver's pillow was smoothed by woman's bauds that night, and loveliness and virtue watched him as be slept. He felt calm and happy, and could have died without a murmur.
The tnooicntuus iiiterv'iew w.im no B<K>ner concluded, ami Oliver composed to rent again, than the doctor, after wiping his eves and condemning them in the usual phrase for being weak all at once, betook liinisclf down stairs to open upon Mr. Giles. And finding nobody about the parlours, it occurred to him that he could perhaps originate tite proceediugH with better effect ill tlie kitchen; so into the kitchen nc went.
There were assembled in that lower house of the domestic parliament, the women servants, Mr. Briltles, Mr. Giles, the linker, (who had received a special invitation to regale himself for the remainder of the day in consideration of his services,) and the constable. The latter gentleman had a large staff, a laree head, large features, and large half-boots, and looked as if he liad been taking a proportionate allowance of ale, us indeed be had.
The adventuren of the previous night were still under discus- sion, for Mr. Giles wai c\]>atiating iiiKm his pre-senrc of mind when the doctor entered ; and Mr. Rnltles, with a mug of ale in his hand, was corroborating everything before bin superior uid it.
*' Sit still," said the doetor, waving his hand.
"Thank you, sir," said Mr. Uiles. " .Misses uished some ale to Iw given out, sir, ami as I felt nowayH inclined for my own little room, dir, and disposed for company, 1 am taking initMf among Vm here."
4
I
OLIVER TWTST.
•s headed a low murmur by which the ladies and gen- gcDerally. were understood to express the erati6cation lerived from Mr. Giles's condescension ; and Mr. Giles 1 round with a patronising air, as murh aa to say, that so i\b they behaved properly. Tie would never desert them. How is the patient to-iiight, sir ?" asked OtteR. So-so;" returne<l the doctor. *' I am afraid you have got turself into a scrape there, Mr. Giles."
" 1 hope yiiu don't mean to sny, sir," said Mr. Giles, trem- aling, *' that he's going to die. If I thought it, I should never be happy again. I wouldn't cut a boy off, no, not even Britllee here, not for all thi:> plati> in the country, bin''
'* Thnt'a not the point," said the doctor mysteriously. " Mr. Giles, are you u Protestant ?"
'* Yes, sir, 1 hope taC faltered Mr. Giles, who had turned fery pole.
" And what are you, boy P" said the doctor, turning sharply upon Brit ties.
** Lord bless me, sir !" replied Briltles, starling violently ; " I'm the same as Mr. Giles, sir."
'* Then tell me this," said the doctor fiercely, ** both of you — both of you ; are you going to take upon yourselves to swear that that boy up stairs is the hoy that was put through the little window last niglii ! Out with it ! Come ; we are prepared foryou.*
The doctor, who was universally considered one of the best- tempered creatures on earth, made this demand in surli a dread- ful tone of anger, that GileK and Brittlcs, who were considerahly muddled by ale and excitement, stared at each other in a state of stupefaction.
" Pay attention to the reply, constable, will you," said thv doctor, shaking his forefinger with great solemnity of manner, and tapping the bri<lge of his nose with it, to bespeak the ex- ercise of that worlhy'rt utmost acuteness. *' Something may come of this before long."
The Lxmslable lookeuas wise as he could, and took up bis staff of ofUce which hatl been reclining indolently in the chimney- corner.
'^It'sa simple question of identity, you will observe,*' said the doctor.
" Thai's what it is, sir," replied the constable, coughing with great violence ; for he had fmished bis ale in a hurry, and some of it had gone the wrong way.
** Here 's a house broken into," said the doctor, ** and a couple of men catch one moment's glimpee of u boy iu the mi<Ut of gunpowder smoke, and in all trie distraction of alarm and darknesH. Here's a lv>y "mics to that very same house next raoming, and lKvau.se he happens to have his arm tied up, those men lay violent hands uiwn him — by doing which, tliey plv
OLIVER TWIST.
))U lifL' in greftt dflnger — and swear he is the thief. NowT'f itutmiuti is, whether those men are justified by the fact, and if nut, whar situiitinn do they place themselves in f"
Tho cons.tal))e noddcH profoundly, and said thai if that wasii*t law, be should be glad to know what wa».
" I ask you again," lh»inU;red the clodor, ** are you on your solemn ontns ahle to icleniifv ihat bov r"
Ltrittleb looked douhtfiilly at Mr. Giles, Mr. Oile« looked iJDuhtfulIy at BriLtlen; the eoustable put his huml bohind his ear to catch the rc[>ly ; the two women and the tinker leant furword to listen ; and the doctor ^'Innced keenly round, when a ring was heai'd at the gate, and at the same uioiuuut the sound of wheels.
" It's the- runner* !** cried Brittles, to all appearance much relieved.
" The what !" exclaimed the doctor, aghast in his turn.
"The Bow-street officers sir," replied Hnltle«, taking up a candle, '* me and Mr. Giles sent for 'em this morning.^
*' What !" cried the doctor.
'* Yes," replied Ilrittles, '• I sent a tnessajje up by the coach- man, and 1 only wonder they weren't here before, sir,"
*' You did, did yiiu. Then confounil and damn your
alow coaches down here; that's all," &aid the doctor, walking ■way.
ON WITNESSING MR. M.\CREADY-S PERFOKMANCK OF CLAUDE MELNOTTE IN "THE LADY OF LYONS."
IIv«H ibr thick bn^th, — ind dill ihe throbbing liwrf I
Siu not lo bretlc the de«p, vci ilinlling trance ; And call not chit thr w;tuf'« lii)vling purt,
ViHion of poesy nnd y«ung romance ! Tti« bri^iu 4-rculiwiii ol the pwrl'f ihottulit.
In irulh and |jr«, with thee Marrcndv dwell; ]iy Hell and kimlml gemut, only lau^l
To cast o'er ui the M>ul-«nthralliiig spell.
I cannot spenk — the orer-^utlilng h«irt
Bitratti into numbers : — dull perchance and cold. Would I could hoati the »ubik polished &n
And G^owinR woids to ]Ktun perieciion's noukl. Actor and bin'd — your inin}>led triunipb liike—
Stem niniilioud, tve«, wipes llio (eat away — For yours the chords of sympathy lo wake.
And old and youti|{. Hk cnchajilct'ti will o\ity ! Match 13lh, 1&9Q. C. T.
JSS9
A MODEHN ECIXHiUK.
' Null tu in triviit, iiuJocU), volebtM
TCU., III.
Stridsnti miseram idpuli diiperdera curraefl i
ViBo. Eel. a.
Ok « itout boncli, ihat faced "The Fig tad Friar,"
Sat Jeoimy Doubleioucli aatl Pal Ma^uire:
Long Cub«s of clay, with dark Virginian w««d,
Crovin'd [he rude board to serve thdr present need ;
\Vhite, pbced by Tapps, ihe han, hi-lwp^n «ach m&D
tiesi doul>li<-s[aut o'crflow'd the polisti'd can.
And who were Pat and Jemmy J moio will cry :
" Arcados ambo," is our suge reply, —
" Cantare pftru," and if not too wviiry,
Or «I»e too drunk, " panti respondere."
In tiC.l, thry both were rliAunt«r5— tip and down —
Highway; and byways — nounlry and in Wwn —
Travertcd ibr liind while lowl ihoif diilies rung,
And oft composed the s;mii(.-t9 which they suni; ;
And now by chnnc# liat^ mpl beneath the thade
TliRt Thoma.i Tapps' w id istp rising beech-tree made.
Whni gl««s were iroll'd, how many clouds were blown,
What cai)« were fiW'd and emptied, is not litiown,
(Save by the host,) unlil, as time flew past,
Thmigh tricnds at first, they had a tiff at last,
And oti tliis poim tu niiKer tooi> ilieir stand—
Viho in his CTdift was di?cm(>d the belter hand.
" I '11 bet," <)umh DoubK-ioudi, " four quarU i>f stout
To utie of punch, (but «tiff,) I *ll serve you ouL
But, hark f my daisy, nothing cild won 1 do :
So mind your xlom, ami strike up mniiiiat miiw."
" Agreed !" says Paddy : " Done I" cries Jem, " that s ftai !
Bui for a jud^ (—here '» Tupjis— now go it. Pal !"
rat.
Och ! whisky 's the life and the sowl ofa man, So I '11 sing its pnbe first, and as long as I can : If th« ugi were made of it— Rood luck to the siftht ! It'a I07*elf 'ud be twimmin' from mornin' tdl nighL
Ob ! Kit ii the stair that will make a dog jolly.
Wot cures tbem is sick and is got melaocnoly :
It runs through our nmmul than <]uick»ilTer (luickarr —
I 'n blw'd if it ain't the most phmest orttcker I
St. Patrick'n tlie boy that could turn lopay-tnrty Great Uiitaiu and Scotlaod — so says Father !tfurphy ; He bothen the world with hia divtt-inBy>care, O ! St. Patrick for iver, the comical Kara f
Jemmjf. And wltcre is ibe chap for St. Geor^ that won't cbeier Nor swijj in his honour a gallon of beer T St. Geuriiy '* the ona a* a body may brag on ; Hurrah for the f^ilkir u wallop'd tlte dtagoo 1
Pat. I '11 lint; DMt of pralees tlw boMl of ould Erin What dainty, cooiiared wid 'em, '• worth a red berrin' 1
3a
SSO A MODERN ECLOGUE.
You may walk rrom Coleraiiie to that plttc* tficy call Hayli, h-Afi luck to the tbiDg yon will lind llkt: a pnil; .
Janrntft Let ilie MouDseer go boast of his soup mndc of herte, — or his garlic ilic Don, vicli lome ttomachs disiuriw; I knows »i)t is vot, aiid I 'm wRsily mistaken If they 're equal to utbbugv, whtiu biled with good bacoo.
Pat. Was ihere Iver u buy od the 'anii or ibv uir Who's nnltiajicttd a jij; at i^rcat Dotuiybrook Kair? The blissed remiiabniticc e'co tiow oiakca mt frisXy, — Such crackin' of hatdi, and »uc)i lashiu's of whisky !
Vot « light 8« i» Barllu'roy !— not any pari in Of Engltnd collected sich venders for sariiu'. Here's the man a» willdwallowa swotd, if Uc'« let : Vot I hungiy old com, and uncominon sharp-setl
Pat.
In love I 'm oil uver wld Kaiiy O'Fluinagliu), For a glance of whote eye orLen back have 1 ran again ! Aisy death to me then, but she botes human tiulur, llie 4wale little, natc little, iliK&nt craturl
Jmmy. Uh ! dear Molly Muggint, rot lov« js between ua ! You 're a rej^ibi, no-mistake, oul-niid-out ^Vciiiu ' Sich beauty to pieces would lalher tlie world. When y«ur hitir 'i out of paper und dapperly «urled.
Put. Och, ini»ha I then sure it 's mytelf thai must pity The vpalpeen thai nevet saw dear Dublin city. They mayialk of their Conslhaniinople — sliool aisy ! — Whooo ! we could buie them with Uallinacnay.
Jemmy, Fail ! I.uiinon '» a town vol is dr^tjicrate fine. And liroin &U otliiei vities will take out lliv shine. There 's the srcai Leaden Hall, and an Acre vol's long, And the Paflismeut Uou» where tliey dmSa it so sirong.
Pat. By this and by thai, but a wager I 'd liowld, No plant 'i like tbe Sliamro^ue, so purty and bowld, Which stuck in our bau ou our Saint's day is seen, — But we siftpe it, jour sowl I all the nigbl iu polteeu.
Janriiy. YooT Sawney may chatter and boait of liis Thistle, Taffy talk ofhas Leek^but 1 care not a whistle, — Odd ral it! what fellor in country <ir town As would not give a cbtcr for the Kose— and tlie Crown t
" Uold, hold, my masteni 1" Tnppt exclaioi'd, " ha»e dooe •
I Uiinlu ns how both beta are faitly won ;
For botlt have chaunli.ll prime and come it strong.
Jemmy, the punch is your'n for thai 'ere song :
To you I juagM, Pal, four (juarii of stout,
Aticl, if you plenae. will help to drink it out;
So now to work :— but trre \qu ^or* awray,
Gemmen, I hopes you won i fat]^i lo nay."
Tki«tim MeRKTTUovonT/
331
A LOVE STORY IN THREE CHAPTERS.
CHAfm 1.
— Whence spring* thi« A«^ d(«f>aJr f From siicii u <uum> u ftllK mini.- cyr* with learn. And »tof% my vetnfae, trbllt! bnun it drnwu'd in Ckm.
//ffwy tA0 AirfA. Third Pmrt, Act iii. Sc. 3.
I BAD not Reen Russell Tor many yeart: — nearly a dozen. We were contemporarie-i in college, but many events Kept us asunder. I «pent ■ con^uU-rabte time wi tlie tJontinent; and wlw-n I returned, it so rh^nced that my vWiU to Lmulon were »>hurt mid far between. 1 hcatd of him occiuionwlly, hut witK no minute uarticulnn «■ to his career. It wm merf^ly known to me that he had been called to the har, and that the expected succession to a tolerably handsiime inheritAncc, by the death of an uncle some few years earlier than it ha<l been culcuiated upon^ made him at firrt indifferent to hi* pro- fession, and shortly estranged him from it altogether in everytning but name, tn fact. I knew scarcely anything about him. and for aomo fuur or five yt>ar.i had hardly heard hi« name mentioned.
Buitinetis with wtiirh it is needless to trouble any one but tboae immediately eu[ii:i!rned, rendered it necessary that I should pass llirough Londuii, laist month, on my way to America. I had uuly four or five day* to remain iti town, Mnd these were busily occupied. On the day before my departure, however, it so happened that all I had to do was got over at an early hour, and I lounged somewhat easily through the streets, diverting myself with their various wonders, when I was saluted by a friendly slap on the shoulder. Taming round, I recognised ray old friend HusseU- He was not much altc^red duriiijj the twelve yexrs I had not neen him, — much less, in tact, than meti usually jUtrr,— and his maimer and style of address were as good-humoured and good-natured a» ever.
Alter the usual wonderments, and mutual applauses of our mar- vellous good looks, wc fell into such conversation as might be ex- pected between old acquaintances meeting ntler a long period of nb- •enca. Jack This was dead, Tom T'other was married ; Will .Smith had got on in the world, Joe Brown had been unlucky. Bright- eyed Miss A. was now aober-eyed Mrs. B. with half a dozen daughters, cine to come nut this season; brighter-eyed Lady C. the reigning belle of our early circle, was still unmarried. Then there wua th.n shucking story of Mrs. D. and the itad fate of poor Sir Richard K. and so on until we got through the alphabet of our old friends chatting in thiti manner, as- we Miuntered along, not earing where. The evening began to set in, and Russell asked me if I was engaged to dine. 1 answered in the ui^ative, and he therefore made it a point tJiat 1 should dim' with him.
" 3Iuat I dr«*»i'" said I ; " for, as 1 start for Liver]>ool in the morning, my luggage is all packed up ; so if there be the least cere> .mony, 1 must decline."
" Not the least — you may come precisely ai you stand, and we are not very far distant fVom our destination."
I accompanied him. and a few minutet brought us to hia houaa.
3 a2
332
STORY IN thrbb chapters.
H is Mtuatcd in one of the good strccti near Cavendish Square, and Among the most epncious of ita ncighbourhoo<l. We arnved there about six o'clock. He npologUpd for leaving me for a moment, and I found myself alone in an elegantly-furnished drawing-room. It is hard to say what it 13 that reveals the pre.ience of a lady in a house, and yet yuu caimut enter one in which she dwclU without being at once convinced of female superintendence. It is not merely order and care, for in tlie well-arrouged hou'se of a wealthy bachelor tJiese may be attained with a« much scrupulous rigour as in any vKnage superintended by a lady. Nor is it necessary thai the in- explicable array of those matters in which female ta«te, nr what they arc pleased to call industry, should be met with on the tiny tables tliey "o much Inve, for theoe we do not always meet with ; but the triaemhie of a rocwn inhabited by a Indy has an air strikingly dif- forcnt from that which is the result of the carelessness of a master or the anxiety of a servant. Such was the air impressed an me by my first glnnce round Russell's drawing-room.
Is he married ? I thought. Perhaps. — I never heard bo. But then we have been so much asunder. — Would he not have said some- thing about it? But then he might have taken for granted that I knew of his marriage, but nothing of his tadv.
My doubts were sooit resolved. Ru^eell returned with some Blight alteration of dress.
" You are a man of the world/" he said, " George, — and, in short, have you any objection to meet to-day at dinner a l»dy to whom I give my name, but who — who, in fact — never consulted the church about our union? 1 could not, of course, introduce her to Lady Herbert ; but to you- — "
" Never niinci me," eaid I, "it is a matter of no conw- quence^ I have leen tt>i> many strange things in my travels to start at so ordinary a trifle. Mrs. Kussell shall be accepted by me aa you introduce her."
His eye gleamed with satisfaction, and murmuring, " Poor Jane !" he diverted the cnnvera-ition to some common-pUce topics. In a few minutes diiuier was announced; and on proceeding to the dining-room, I found that the lady wa.i there before ns.
She was tall and dark, with hair as black as the skies at mid- night, and eyes as Ha^hing as the brightest meteors that ever flitted acroiis them. Her features were handsome and lultv, but, 1 thought, marked by a varying expression of iiicluncholy ami sleriiiiesB. This might be no more than mere fancy, occasioned by my knowledge of the unliiipplneHs ot'her position. She was dressed in black velvet, which admirably set oil" her majestic and symmetrical figure, Il«r geiiturea and iiiaiiiier were of the highest order of grace and dignity, and the few words of greeting with which she addrensed me were marked by a sweetnerii!i of tone, and au elegance of style, which acts like a masiinic sign to introduce on the instant to each other persons who belong to what Burke calls tlie Corinthian capital of society. She is indeed a splendid woman. Her age may be about thirty, nr, rather, a year or two less.
During dinner, our conversation was of the ordinary kind; ber share in it wan sufficient, however, to prove that she had mingled in good society, had read much, and had thought more, Russell's coo- duct towanla her appeared tu mc to be studiously tender — nay.
A LOVB STORY IN THRBE CHAPTERS.
S3S
gallant. Iii hvr behaviour she seemed fiTixious to please him in every manner, but without far n moment bending from the state- lineu wtiich was evidently her ordinary charnct<.'ri.sti('. I playeil Tay part aa if I bad iiu Htistpiciun that ^Ir. and AJr& KuhscU were not united by the most orthodoxul veremunies uf the rubrie.
We had talked ourselves into high spirits, when, almost imme- mediately after dinner, a servant brought a note to Ruisseil. He evidently knew the writing of the address, for, making me a slight apology, he lore open the envelope with a look of the utmost cha- grin. Glancin/f hi:i eye over the conletits with the rapidity of a moment, he looked first at Mrs. Ru»sell, and said, " It is what we expected: it must be attended to at once." She turned deadly pale, and made no reply. " Herbert," said he, " 1 really must beg vour pardon. Here is a cursed law buaincss — a csjnsultation, which I miut attend. The chnmbeK of the lawyers are not very far off, and I shall drive there as last as I can. 1 hope that I need not be ab- •etiian hour. Will you excuse me? Take] care of the claret on the table, and 1 am sure Mth. Russell will eulcrtain you in my absence. Rut I must so for an hour."
" 1 am sure," said 1, *' you leave mc in good hand»: 3!rB. Ru«- •ell, without the chiret, would be u mure than sulficient induce- nient to stay."
He laughed. She looked at me, and I returned the look I do not know how tl was, but the equivocal nature of her situation — or, rather, as it waa known to me, its uncquivocil nxtu re— confused mc under her gknce : 1 suppose 1 lookeil somewhat puzxled. She coloured. It was clear the secret was known to us iKilh- In a few f minutes the wheels of Kussetl's cab were heard in rapid whirl bear- ing him otTto his destinatioQ.
I began pUying with the walnuta 1>efare me, thinking of a topic to commence upon ; but I was speedily saved the trouble.
" Sir George." said the tady, fixing her dark eyea upon me, *• you know what I am here."
I paused.
" Vou know that I am not the wife of Arthur Russell — say iL Your looks have said so already ; it is Icas sorrow to be stigmatised by the tongue, tlian pitied or deitpiitcd by the eye."
" StiginatiMKJ ! Alrii. Rusjell." I exclaimed; " who stigmatises you ? I am sure I do not."
" You know hj then, from Arthur? perhaps — but no matter. He had a right to put you on your guard against what you would hare heurd less kindly from all the world. Vet I know ifou will not judge of me hardly."
" Mrs, RuNsell ^'•
" No ! I know i/(m will not. There was a kindness and a good- nature in your lone about women liwlay at dinner, — alas ! wa.s it Itoconsole rac? It may be so, How can 1 help it, if it wen (
that were the only hypocrisy in the world, how little tthuuld I bave cause to feel so Keenly ka t dn now !"
" I spoke, Mr*. Ru«.'te!l, ns I tliought, without reference to snar- ling beyond tlie subject on which we were talking. Do not agi- tate yourself to no purpose : I am incapable, I hope, of offering the insolence either of uffrunt or patrutiage to any lady in thv world."
334
A LOl
" I do not know. You ■eem Ititid, at all events. Do not deipitr me utterly."
'■ I do not demise you at all. Why, dear Mrs. Ruswll '*
" Give nie a glaaa of wine ; the lit is pnsxing. I wns almost over- l>oweredjuHt now: but I am calm Bt present, — calm — palm — quite calm." AihI she bent her bead upon ber hand and wept aloud.
CHAPTER II.
I«rc h*r in h*r c«ar«, und ilried not ore erf tliem with bin rtimfmt ; *WKno IlU vows wKolc • " "in fi-w boivwod on hor, ber own lameiiuilion, wliicfa yet •he irctin for Kl« take.
nil unjual uiikiuiliiiris. That in nil rviuon vhoiiiii hare qij«iii.'lL'd her love, Ilaih, like lui iiupcdinicnt in iho currnit, mult.' il More vident iind unruly.
Meiuurt/oT Bteamrt. Act Eli. So. I.
" You have known RDisetl lonjr ?" she raid, recovering herself.
" Almost from his boyliood. Circumstances have oepHruted us, but we were most intimate frieiuU in youth,"
" I have heard him mention your name with frreat affection ; and in Mome things which I hare heard of you from others, know you acted like a gentleman and a man of honour. Do you care much about Russell ?"
" It IS an odd question/' I anevi'ered. " I have already told yon that he was a frieml of my youth ; and though years have elapsed since 1 laist saw him before to-day, I do not think my original feel- ings towards him are in the •lightest degree altered. He wa.i when I knew him, and I am sure he lit Btill, an honourable, high-minded, noble, and gciUTOUH Fellow, full of kindly diqxiflitiann, and pos- sessed of the accotnpltahmcntH which ornamtnt the »olid merita of life."
" He 19," she said, — " he is all — all — all that you say. If you knew him as I know him, you would tay more. lie is tl)e most uuu-llish of men. He has made sacrifices that few men would make —what no man whotn I have ever met would make; and he haa made them fur me — for me, the deg^'aded woman you see before you !"
" Niiy, Mrs. Rus!ieU, do not use such "
** 5Irs. R«9.*ell !— God forgive me! Am I Mriu Rus»ell — I, Mrs. Russell ? Oh ! Sir George, Sir George ! you know that the name is in itAcIf an insult. Nay, do not apologise; I know ynu meant none. Is it nut another mark of kindneas 1 do not de-ierve, that even the small respect of that thin-veiled covering of disgrace is granted me by him ? Good Arthur ! honourable Arthur ! kind Ar- Uiur ! dear Arthur ! O thai to those words of unfeigned affectiuu 1 could add, beloved Arthur!" " And why not?"
" Why not? Oh, sir, ask me not the question! I know not. There is rwt a uuble quality which I Khould not as willingly, as truly concede, — tliuugh concetle is not the word — tliat J should not blaxon forth, a* the merit of lljat man. lie is a handsome man, too, and fit to win a lady'* love. But how little there is in that ! .^hr was not handaome."
A LOVK STOnV IN THRBE CHAPTERS.
.-3.35
"Who?"
" No matter For a name," the uud with • ahudder. " I wu talking of Ilunsell. I was saying that all you, his old friend, could adviniL'e in his praise, was nothing to what I know of hb goodness; but — I Io%'e him not."
1 felt it wa? far too delicate a matter for rae to interfere aliout, anil I therefore held my tongue, looking as mysterious an I could. In the dilemma I took ajiuther {clots of claret, and cracked a fillwrt. She. too, was silent for a short space ; but she wu again the lirHt to speak.
" It i* odd why 1 should say this — this to a gentleman whom 1 have never s«en before, who tells me that to-morrow is his la«t day in Knglnnd, and whom, in all probability, I shall never see a^ain. I say to you, who knuw nothing of me, who 8e« me only in this me- laiichiily and fallen xituation — I say that which must make you de<)])i«e me for my faithlesflness, at least of hean, and my apparent treachery to your old friend who introduced ynu. But I luvc another."
Her tears fell fart, and I remained i>ilent and embarrassed.
" I love another, sir," she continued ; " as unlike your tViend, as darkness to day, as biisene»i to honour, as falsehood to truth. Bear with me for a moment. I thought DOlliing more of Ruftsell, some fiReen years ago, than that he was a pretty buy, when I wa^, as they toM me, a pretty girl. \Vc arc about the sanie ai^c — he is but two or three years uld<-r ; and aa our fathers dwelt in the same netgh- bourhoou, we had played together in chiJdhtiod ; but the intercourse between our families was slight. When I first knew hiui, we had no notiou that there were any such things as hearts to lo»e ; and, God knows, I tittle dreamt of the horrid fate for which I was destined ! There was, however, one — a gentleman he was, and he ia
in the eyes of the world, — he was a cuuvin of my own I must
take nnother gtasa of wine- Air. RuhvcII is away, sir, and you are Dot doing as you would have done if he were here: take some more wine.
" It is no use in dwelling on the story, lie persuaded me to leave ray fathers house: I left it, I am of good family — nay, I may sav, I am of high family. Sir Geoi^e, and I left my father's house with Aim. It is a shameful thing to tell : I was wrong— oh .' how wrong f and how was I rejiaid ! Smooth and elegant of manner, cruelty and .lelfishness alone t<waycd him : he sought but his own gratification, and for a passing whim would sacrilice aU the stock of happiness of another. I ao nut think he ever eeriously cared about mc — I once thought he did. But, for some reason — maybe he was tired of me, though scarce tliat, for I was not much mure than seventeen, and it was but three months since he had taken nie from my father's house ; — maybe he had other ladies in view, and that I do tJiink, his present uiarria^- is most unhappy, and, flod forgive me! I am not Christian enough at heart to be sorry for it; — for some reason, no matter to me what, he left me ontt morning in famished lotlgingN in I^ondon, telling me he would return to dinner. Fifteen years have pasted, and, save in one or two casual glimpses, I have not seen bim since. He \tl\ me ruined of tiame, exiled from my family, with scarcely a farthing in my pocket, a stranger, ■ be-ggar, and a word of scorn !"
336
A LOVB STORY IN THRKE CHAPTERS.
" He was a scoundrel 1" said I. " So saiil uij brother — my ooly brother, and he ii no more !" A still bilterijr fluud ul' tejirs followed these wordt. I shall not uttvmpt to rcpvat iLte broken and scarcely intelligible conversation uliich imiiiediiitely succeeded. I learned enough to know that her brother had chnlleiiged her seducer, and had been shot dejid on the s|M)t in the duel whidi Jollowe<i ; her father had inexorahly resolv- ed on rot 6eeinf{ her ; the man who war the cause ol" all this sorrow shortly after married a Homi^whnt elderly lady ol' larjje fortune ; and my new confidante was, at the age? uf less than eif^htccn, flung upon Iter own resources in the tnnat pitiable condition of helplessness.
CBAFTGB Itr.
Oiie eye yet luoks on (lieo ; Kilt with my Int^ri iho ocli«r evo ilutli »ee. All I puor our tnc ! diii TauU in us I flud, Tbe i>rror of niir eve tlirn-.u onr tniuil r HTiat errur IcniJ* muK pit.
Tnilu* and Crtuiila-
Act ». Sc J.
Aptkr a while, she continued, in a more compoied utrain— _ " I knew not what to do. My brotbur's death, iiccisioncd by nie ~^Dd so occasioned, almoat drove me mad. I do not know why 1 should say almost — 1 think I was quite mad. The people of the house in wlitch 1 was abandoned, were civil — nay, kind ; but I felt that I could not remain much longer. Where to go I knew not The Serpentine was rising every moment in my thoughts; one plunge, and ihLii adieu to my tni&tortunes for ever. A atiU more dreadful suggestion arose; for one of the servants, who wa-i not deceived aa To my situation, hintfd plainly eTir>i)«h that I might live by in> t'aiuy. Oh, sir ! not even in that time of horror and deapair, shunieful as you may think — aa indeed ymi must fi-el my presenc mode of life to he, not even In thought came I to thuil
" But OS I wandered, one day — destitute of all ; poverty and despe- ration suggesting the evil thoughts of nt-lf- inflicted death, or t«r- turing me with dreaded antieipalions of »elf-inllictcd shame — to- wards the river, mere chaiicu threw your friend Arthur Kii»»ell in my v/tty. He knew all my melancholy — all my wicked *tory, and his heart melted. He brought me back to my apartments, he put an end at once to my pecuniary diflirulliea. I accepted these favours from him, an from tlie lad who liad been the playfellow of my childhood, without *crupie. He interested himself with my angry father, but in vain. He endeavoured to arouse the feelings and armpathiea of my false lover, but in vain. He tried everything tliHt the most teaimis and the most honourable friend could do to litt van from my sunken position, but in vain. Just then his uncle died. Hi- uHiTcd mean asylum in hin house. God forgive me! I accf-pied it. How il is thai we arc thus living, 1 hardly know — nor does hti. We likeit one another's society, and our connexion be- came daily more and more intimate ulmoet without our observing iu progress. I have bt-en a sad impediment to him in his onward course in life ; but he loves me. Often and often has he pressed me to marry him. Ohl Arthur, Arthur I I ciiinot, 1 cannot !"
" Why notr " 1 asked: " if he wishes ttj it may be easily ma- naged. Aa for society "
A LOVE STORY IN THREE CHAPTERS.
S3T
I
I
"Society!" she anid, flashing her du-k and fierce eyes npon me, — " Society ! do you think I care for that phiuitom or folly ? Let me be in or out »f it, it is nothing to me. — But, tur — Sir George, [Kirilon M wmnun'g weakness < your I'riend Arthur Kussell is all ttmt 1 can praise, — what he lias done for me, what he haa offerctl to do for me, »h>ill never be erased from my eoul ; Ac — ^he, niy seducer, has de- ceived me, cheated me, dishuiiuured me. robbed me, insulted me! by him my father's grey hoira have been, indirectly, brought tu the tomb earlier than ruiture would have demanded ; directly by his hnnd fell my only brother, — but then A« exposed himself in (hat, life against life; he haa done to me all tliat can hurt or grieve the heart, all th»t can humble or crush the fuehng of womun ; and rtill I love him I I love him. Sir George, a« I loved him the first day I confeued it under the winning lustre of his false, false eyes."
.She wepL I could not re«train my tears, though I made a strong effort.
" And yet," she continued, " I tried to check bU recollections of my love ; and in part I succeeded. I was beginning to be reconciled to my lot, such as it is, and to forget— «h, no ! hiit not to think of what had been. Hut now the wound is opened afresh, and my heart h torn agsin from itji neet of quietude. L tnld you he was my coaiin: it go liappeited that, in the days of my duluvion, I guvc him an intere»t in buiue estates of which 1 was to be mistreea when 1 came of age. How 1 had the right to do so, or how he had the [K(wer of converting tluit right, whatever it might have been, into money, I do not know — 1 cu> not care. If it lud been my heart's bloud, I lihould then have given it him. Why do I say Men ? I feel ] should do it noiv: ay I after all — after all, I should do it again ! — iJut my I'atiier died, leaving hi^ prop^rrty in such a manner a« to come into the liands of the lawyers, and it is ubsulutely necessary that I iihould ap[>ear. O that tlie cstiite wa» sunk at the bottom of the sea ,' I care nothing about it, I loathe its very name ! I have not thought of it for many a long year. And now, I must meet Aim — ay ! and alone."
" You distress yourself," I said, " without much reason, dear Mrs. Ruksell. If you meet this gentleman, it is on business. There will be attorneys, and barnstert, and all the regular people of the law."
" No, no! it is quite necessary, on account of one thing in my fitther's will that no pertion should be present at first, but our- ■elven. It is a mutter that none out of the paU- of the family must know."
" Even so, still it is business. V'ou will talk of family aJTairs, deeds, wills, bonds, stamps, obligations, and so fortll, with allthetech- nicftlities of law. Tliere need nirt be any reference to other events."
" O, sir, sir, liir! that I could think it I I alone with him — 1 under the glance, within the influence of tlie magic of that voice, and talk of nottiing else but the technical matters of the law 1 O that 1 could I"
" Why, Mrs. Russell, you should muster a lady's pride. With- out wishing to speak more harahiy of him than you have spoken, I think the gentlvutan's conduct to you has been such as to call up any otlter feelings than those of regard or respect, far leu love. If a
338
A LOVE STORY IN TURGB CUAM'KKS.
inan had beliuvci3 to me witli so much insolence, potting all other nuttera otit of the qunstion, I Khuiild Int far mure iiicliiitt] to kick him tlowii stairs ihjiii to receive him with even •►rOitiary civility."
•' You never lovetl. Sir Georjte,— you never loved as a woman. I have mustered that lady-pride of which you gpeak ; I have thought of all the «*ronf];s I have suffered, — I have thotight of the flight with which he insulted me, the ehame he has M-roiight me, — I have thou);ht of hi» meantieiu even in this matter of the money, — I have thought on my dead brother and on uiy broken fa- mily ; — I have thought on the unutterable kindness, goodness, gen- tleness, generosity, the unwwincd love, the sclf-sacriticing devotion, of this dear, dear gentttmnn with whom I live. I have contrasted it with the cold and calculating ttelii^h hdrtlesiniettj of the other; — 1 have summoned pride, anger, rantempt, disdain, revenge, re- morse, to my asmtance ; — and, God pity me .' I feel assured that all will be defeated by one perjury -brcatliing accent, one soi^ened look of practised falsehood. Well shall I know that they nre perjury and fal»«hood ; but can I retiisc theiu, when I know thai they are as- sumed for nie^"
" He in unworthy," said I. " of each affection ; he is "
*' Hu^h !" ^he said ; " that is Kusi<eir8 knock. 1 muxt clear my eyea. Da not say anything to him of my ^trajigc dlscourHC. It was on that business he went — to have the impcrs ready for llic lawycrji; he is himself, you know, nt the bar. It should have been done on the first day of term,- — it is now the fifteenlh, — but f put it off day by day. O thnt the morning appointed for my meeting him —it must come fcoon, peihaj)* to-morrow, — 1> tJiat that morning found me dead J"
She left the room. Russell retuninl in good humour. " It wan a troublesome job," »aid he, "about which 1 went ; but I think I have smoothed it. The matter is not worth talking alxtut, nor would you know anything of the parties if I told you. However, I think yon will be glad in general to hear that a great scoundrel, and a most heartless scoundrel to boot, will get « trouncing, if some people's scruples can be got over. And 1 am pretty sure, loo, that even without exposing those feelings to ptiin, it can be done. He is a ruined man to-morrow, as sure as fate!"
'• Who?" I asked.
" A person," said Russell, darkening, " of whom you know no- thing; but a scoundrel. A month cannot pats over, without his being driven to the pistol, as an escape from the hangman. But where is Jane?"
" She left the room only as ynn came in."
" Pardon me — 1 must see her."
In a few minutes she returned, paler than Carrara marble, in company witll RurbcH. She cast her eyes on me as if to say, " Forget our conversation," and, nt Ruitsell's request, sate down to the piano, to sing, with sweet and unfaltering voice, the romantic ballads and melodies of which he is fond, as if there were iio- tliing in the world to agitate or distretui but the poetic sorrows sung in tlie melting notes tliai thrilled from her melodious tongue.
Wati-ac.
339
MY NIECES ALBUM._No. 1.
MYTHOLOGY MADE EASY!
DkaB Minti]', miiiL' is but > mu«tjr old MiUF,
And knows noihio^ graceful or fiuc> Such «« flows From tlir <oft Senyih quills of Sky blues
In the Gem or the Annual Line.
If you wish for a tale of a hont with five legs,
(.)r a dolphin in boots and coc'k'd hat, A J«w boil d sliTc, or a doM thai laid eggs,
I could hit it ofi rather mote pal.
Or, supposing w« iry a short touch at the lore t>f the bearded old Itornani and Grwks }
Then nuister your nerves fot the horrors in store. And iina|jii)(> ihul llvrculca speak*.
" SiiiK row-de-dow dow-de-dow, dub-a-dub-dub,
Tol-de-rel lol-de-Tol-loI ! Here 1 i,'oiae with my club, Eome diagou to dnib, ToWe-rol lol-de-rol-lol !
Wh*ii, a baby in nrmj, I racnc first to the scnilcBi,
With die snakes who albck'd me in bed, The bit«ni were bit, and met more than their maich.
For t throttled and pitch'd them out dcsd.
My vciicR in* like ihunikr, my fiit was like sleet.
And tlie nurses all dtradcd my ^pe, If lliey crilib'd hut a ^niiu from my iufiintinc njcal,
A pcck-loaf and a bushel of tripe.
I have made my leeth meet thmiigh an o«ken join&ttool
In my peis, as a two.year-old boy ; At four, I was cock of the county ^x:c-»chool,
Bui learDiQ^f was never my Joy,
So I grew up a youth ofa practical taste.
And rery «uuii felt iti the uiitid To knock down the monsters who laid the land waste.
And llie Ogns tliul gobbled mankind.
The NemieaD lion mnde havoc and rout. Eating shepherds and sheep f^r ind «vide ;
Dul I Krippu him, and tqueez'd his tough chilicrlings oui, And tanu'd me a coat M his hide.
Tbe bear, Kryinatitliian, — 'twas precious tough work
To bring him to bay in ibu wood : Bui I Sluck pi^Ky-wiiigy, und turn'd him to pork.
And his aauu^ei — tm I they were good I
And Cerfoemi also, the ihree-beftdcd brute !-■ Who was house-dog and pet lo <Hd Nick, —
I unkennell'd and whark'd nim, and tamed him lo boot, And lattghl him lo carry my sliek.
340 MY niece's album.
I twisted the tail of the mad bull of Crete, Jump'd astride him, and gallop'd him dead ;
I trapp d the famed stag with the gold horns and feet. Ana show'd him for sixpence a head.
I clean'd out Augeas's yard, a rile slough Wliereio his best cows had got stuck;
But the hunks never paid me a farthing, I tow. Pretending I wasted his muck.
X spiain'd both my wrists, and was half stunk to death, And was cheated at last by my friend,
But I leam'd, what I 'U hold with my nry last brtath. Dirty work never pays in the end !
I bagg'd the great Rocs upon Stymphalus' coast. Who could swallow a mammoth for lunch ;
Tniss'd a couple and tried them by way of a roast, But I found them too stringy to munch.
The Tluacian King, Diomed, also I threw
For a feed to his cannibal stud ; And Geryon the bandit, 1 settled him too,
Who would laugh aa he suck'd up your blood»
My nerve was most tried by the Hydn, a brute
The most singular under the sun ; For, as fast as you cut off its heads, they would shoot
At the rate of a dozen to one.
lolaus, my tiger, — a stauach little trump, —
As I dock'd off each head in the lot. Made it hiss a new tune while he sear'd the raw stump With a frying-pan heated red-hot
The Amazon Queen, (for young girls will be rash,) Of all men, must needs challenge me :
I whipt off the girdle that held all her cash. And gpank'd her well over my knee.
I hocuss'd the Dragon, so watchful and grim. Who slept with one eye wide awake ;
No use were gold apples to dragons like him, And vrtiat a prime swag they did make I
I now could afford to get settled in life As a squire, and gainsay it who durst;
So I laid in my cellar, and married a wife. But 1 had to fight hard for her first
This was well, and I ought to have ** let well alone," But as bigamy then was not reckon'd
A legal offence, in a whim of my own I married one day wife the second.
Young men, be advised, and don't envy a Turk, —
At least, I '11 be shot if I do : One spouse was no tai, but 'twas wearisome work
WiUi the quarrels and freaks of the two.
Hcsic IS sweet!
At lul, «el Qti fir* by a plio«pborus ihin,
By way of a ronju^l jcal, like a tQckvt I Hew up lo t)«av'D at oDe spirl.
And ihere ^ot a qutcl night's lesl.
DiToTccd by the ciitumsiaiifo, — fortune be praised! —
1 forgot niy sad rci>cnt ruisluf), And «3poiisvd pr«lly HuK-, thi: Jay sbo vna raised
To be barmaid of Fathfr Sove'% Vip,
Now I buDl aHcr land and sea-monsleis no more, Thuigh from liabit 1 curry l>rul>dni^on.
And «njoy myself much iu the veleriin corps, For ilebe neVr sliuto my full Hagon.
At any spue time, to ivoid setting fill
And ke«p up my npmtitv^s edge, I mt ■gunH^Mar9, wliom I floor nitli a pat.
Or gi«« Vulcan a lum vtiih the sledge.
By the way, a right Imni^t good fdlorr is that.
The comforl and joy of my life. Each ntghi tiu-a-tttt wc cnrouM>, smoke, and chat.
Out Llebe sha'n'l visit bis wife.
I could tfll you much more thai befel me befor«
I was ftnally laid on tlie sliclf: fiut I 'm one of few ivordi, and long yan» an a bore,
Esi)ecially Uilei of ooc's-ielf."
Thus spoke a good fellow, ihe stoutest of men :
If you wish loconliouu ttiu »tavc. Take, Minny, your |>rn, und consult brother N.
Thai Grecian eii|>erieDced and grave.
WhateVr you may liglii on in Lcmpriere's patte* You may thus with smatJ trouble condente,
And inscribe your joint <*or^ lo the rising youog vfgt. As " MyLbolo^ made Common Sense."
3H
MUSIC IS SWKETt
BV MItS. CORMWBLL B4B0N WILMN.
Mti»ie is street, at oeninp's clo«.
When pale mists skitn tlie aiure sky, In somo lnn»t spot, wiierc to rcpo*C
It hymns the DayN soft lulUiby '■ Music IS »«f el ! when surs shiiic brishi,
Like angel eyes, llirough heavenN nine screen,- Wheo pearly dvws weep leais of light.
As &?pbyr sighs, the k-aTes between '. Mosic is sweet !— when friends throng round.
It iidds new charm* to Pleajure's •P«t'^ When kindred links the haut ha« ^^'
KdA yoong Hope rings Life's bml«l bell I Bui, oh I mott swMl, when lire's »ft wojue
Bmtbe* ditough ils cotes tlie msgic wo«li Like &bled harp by Houn stxiing,
By biased spinU only heard I
• AUimUd« w a Mahomo*ui iupwilitlon.
342
THE SNUFF-BOX.
A TALK or ITALBft.
Of &11 the inhabitants of our i«le«, — and there are still many di»- tiDct tribes whow Celtic, Gallic, Danish, SiLxon, and Normnn dis M;ent can be traced in a moment, — there are none more peculiar in character than the Wplih, or Ancient Britons. You may j[ull a Cockney, rob a Damnunian, cheat a Vark»hircn]aii, or out-Jew s Scut; but a Welshman is not to be done: m natural and inborn ■cutenenut protects him from the deepest itratajfcm*, and a leek ought certainly to be the aymbol of the Goddess of Wisdom.
Thia ia a brief preface to the brief historj' of a lour of pleasure made by a very accamp1ii>hed Kni^lish gentleman into Wales; the interest- ing mining operutiutin of which country he was desirous to investi- gate, not only for the promotion of n great scheme in which he was himseU' enlaced, but for the patriotic purpnne of rendering tlicni more extensively uteful, und disseminating their products of wealth more diffusely over the empire.
Mr. GeorgL' llampdcn was a man who, yet in the early prime of life, — for he wa* little more than thirty, — had seen a great deal of the world. His fund of infornnition was prodiji^ious; yet so sim|ile ■waa he in speech and manners, anr) sa readily did he lend his ear to what (ithers might truly think the in»ij;iiilicaiice of common-place intelligence, that no one could suspect hU depth, or fancv that he wM ought above those easy, good-humourod listeners wlio, desti- tute of any precise object of their own, are readily aeduced into a paauuK interest in the concerns of the ct^nniunicative who ch<Kwe to make everybody that cornea nenr them a confidant in their bosoms* business and secrets. Quiet, unobtrusive, gentlemanly, and withal
food-louking, such was the hero of our tale, Mr.George Ilampleii. le had trAvrllctI far, as we have hinted ; but so modest was bis nature, that he never intruded the rtrcnmstances of his journeys upon society. He had ainpl« materials fur the publication of a tour; but lie never wrote one.
With the views to which we have alluded, he proceeded by the Quicksilver coach to Kxeter ; and thence, by the brmieli, to Truro, ^here he began hi* explorations of the rich mines, which, cince the days when the Cart hagini ana uaed to trade with the'nalivea at Market Jew, atiat Mararion, were never examined with more philo- sophical acumen and sagacity. From Falmouth to the Land's-End, and from the Lflnd's-Knd whither nubo<ly could tell, he descended vvery shaft, and tried every lo<le. A doxen of hampers filled with arranged specimens, and a dozen of bags containing the more recent diwoverics vouched for the diligence of his labour, and the extent «f his research. He had seen more veins than Air. llenwoud, col- Iprted more minerals than llr. Carne, and examined more mines \\\M\ Mr, Taylor, He hnd lend fVom Llangynog, quarts from Kt4]yr KlMyry. rhiorilc from Diilfrwynng, copper from Old Crinnis, silver |y%HU TuU-arne, tin from Wheal Vor, fliior from Wheal Gorlsnd, (urV l*^* from Laiiescol, zinc from Fenstruthal, gosaan from Gwennnp, If^MMl IViwn St. Austell, capel from .^nglesea, iron from Vniscedwin, kVltllv* {\'om Trnavean, blende from Uolcoath, gold from Glen
TB£ SNDFF-BOX.
'Mi
Tnrretf ihale from Drwysot'd, sulphur from Brynfellin, Aticcnn from AUifneit ktlliM trom Lluiidiiliio, elvuii fruiii Polgunth, plutntiago from Cutd-v-Crae ; beiitles cobalt, lelspur, talc, calc, serpentine, cvunitv. lepidolite, prehnite, laumonite, zeolite, zuidiic, wavcHitc, ciiryMjlite, treiitolite, hspmatite, syenite, titanite, chlorite, actyiit*- lite, lucultite, augite, antlirscitc, gypsum. tr«p, mica, zircon, iuitt- mqny, alum, calcedoiiy, jaupcr, cchorl, niJingKnenp, nickel, and a hun- dred other Hen and 8]uirM, nil Ubelled in the most precise and cu> rious manner; ku th«t no one rouM tor n niotniriit doubt his prodi* gtoua acquirements in the sciences of mineralogy xnd fie<]loj;y, at connecteci with the grand operations of mining. Sedgwick's) ham- nier was but an idle toy compared to his: he could have tauf^ht Lyell, Phillips, and Murchison, more than they knew.
Thus laden and accomplished, Mr. Hampden at length treached Swansea, where he took up bin quarters for a season, to observe the nature of the valuable ores which are stamped and aotd there, from erery quarter of the fi^lobu, — from Chili and from Norway, Oipiapo and Tretowelh, West Cork ami Oobre, Bttllymiirtagh and f'uba, Carn Brea and Valparaiso. With his usual mudcbty be took genteel and moderate lodging)), nnd by no meant> pressed liitubvlf upon pub- lic notice. He wutclifnily attended the mart, to be »ure : and, like any uther common stranger, pretty constantly frequented llie newa- Tootu. Here, by degrees, he grew into a slight and partial acquaint- ance with that cla»s of the inhabitants whose habits led them to a Hi- milar mode o( passing the time; and, in a few weeks, conversation produced invitation, and he was asked to dine with several of the rMpectable citiiens of the place. Simple in his manners, well-in- formed and unosteTktatious, he n;>se into general favour ; and, as fami- liarity increased, he gradually let out a portion of his private hi»- tory and present views. One day after dinner, at Mr. I)obl>e»', lie first exhibited the snulT-box which givea a title to our tale, and upon which hinged an event very importflnt to hie future destiny. It waa indeed a splendid article, ahaped like a chest ; it was of the finest gold, and »o richly chased that the eye would have delighted in tracing the fanciful arabesque-s which, as it were, flowed over the ahining metal, had it nut I>et;n prevented by the daxzling enrichment of precious stones which nearly covered the ample surl«"«. On the lid, a very hank of large diamonds vai surmounted by a regal crown, where i^apphireti, amethy»ts, emeralds, and rubies, ufatniost iuestiniable *.'i?.e and value, alternated round the coronet; whilst the centre-tO[> di»played a chrysolite hardly to be matched among the royal JewcU of Europe. The touch, by the pressure of which the box opened, waj> a turquoise of nearly e<|ual rarity ; and beluw it, m» if forming part of a kick, wait a pearl of price. From this, all about the e<lge ran a wavy circlet of gems ; and the bottom waa embellished in a vimilar manner, only that the broad wreath of diaiiiurids round the brilliant initial letters, " 0. 11." were let in, and embedded more deeply in the golden matrix. To say that no one in Swanaea had ever seen Buch a box, is to say nothing ; we question that Huiidell and Ilridge ever set eyes on its fellow, or that the Queen of EngLind could have such a treasure made for her from all the jewels belonging to her bright inheritance: that which the Pasha of Kgypt gave to Sir Ddvid Baird, and which Ujuly I presented to Theodore Ilouk for bis excellent biography o
344
THE SMUPP-BOX.
tieroir liuRbaiid. is a mrre bauble to Jt. No woii«ler thiit it greatlv aJmircd, Miid tluit cariosity wu excited us lu wliai might be its probable -worth. To questions of this kind 31r. Uampden an> Bwcred carelewly, that it had been rttliied in Lond<Hi al uiylil tliou- sand guinea* ; but that, in fact, it -was unique. Bursts of wonder how he could risk such a prnpertj- by ourying it about wiih him naturally foUawnl: but our hero coolly declared that be bad no feant on that head ; that he seldom took it tVom its saTe repontonr ; that he had only removed tt to-day^ as he purpotwd attending tne town-ball on the morrow evening; and that, after all, he prized it more a^ a testimony of rovol fHendship than as a thing of intrinsic value, however considerable it really was in that sordid point of view. The spring was now touched, and the lid axcended, as if moved by a gentle lever. 3f r. Hampden had the kindness to hand it to Mr. J}obbe8 for inspection ; and tlie following inRcription on the inside was read by him, and all the gucsu at table :
pFBWDted
by his Majes^, Louis the Fini,
King of Bavaria,
to
George UaiBpdfii, Esquire,
io gnlefol coosideration of his vxttaordutBry semces : —
This token,
togadwr n-ilh the sum nf 20,000 flonus,
(the nine to be paid to him annunlljr for erer.)
will raoaain to him ai>d hts poitent; as a pmot of the high esteem of his
Ihlajes^, and of his royal gntitnde for the discorefy of the
inethaustiblG Silver Mine of Kiupuhl, Uw prosperuas working of wbieb,
cocDmeuc«d A- D. 1837, promises a rerenue of iocakuUble
macTiiiude lo the Gararian ThroDe.
Having amused thctnaelres with the indifferent English in which the King of Bavaria had expressed himself, which, however, seemed to add a personal interest to the giA, the cain]>sny gathered from Mr. Hampden that the intcriptiou was really compo.sed bv his Ma- jesty himself; and, that when the box was presented to turn in full coart> it was accompanied by a deed from tne chancery, conveying to him and his heirs for ever a well-secured annuity of 20.(XX) llorins, which indeed might easily b« paid, since the Kitspuhl mine had, within the first three months, produced more pure silver than the Veta Madre of Guanaxuato, the Real fU-l Monte, the Bolaoos, the Dolores, the Gallcga, and the Zacatecns, the richest mines in Mexico and Peru, had yielded altogether within the compass of a whole year. Mr. Hampilen farthrr evplained that his present tour and so- journ in Swansea were connertcd with this nionicutous subject ; and th.1t, from the experience he had now aei[uired, he diil nut doubt but that his royal patron wuuld be enabled to double or quadruple his immense reiwurces by pursuing siiniUr measures at tJit; Wenzcl fai Furstcnherg, which he had by his advice purchased fruui the pro- prietors-
From this period, it is needless to state that Mr. Hampden became on object of peculiar attentiou to the good people of Swansea. Al the ball to woicb we have alluded he dnnccil with Miss Mary Fat- ten, .Alias Greenfield, and M'n* itetty Bolthoie, the three richest heiresses in the county ; and the Utter, in particular, being nlresdy
4
TBE SNDPF-BOX.
S4ff
I
I
»
iwneroT* lion's share in the fHiaous black tin minea of Oharles-
, bendes ■ fair slice in the com>er of Kiiockmahnn. Chnncc
re Mr. Hanipden the happiness of liandiiig tliis fair Welsh lady to
le supper-room, and placed hini l>v her »ide at the refectiun. Among
ther topics for that the snuff-box was not forgotten ; anil Misa Bolthuse WKK ^raliftcd with an inspection of th« gorgeous, but well- defterved, Rnvarinii present. Nhe »a* enchanted by its beauty, and Dot leas pleased by observing that it« owner appearcfd to be mightily struck with hers. Yet ahe could not be called beatilirul ; for, tiuiugh her feature were tolerably regular, her complexion wna rather of a coppery colour, and her dark cy«s had a dullish cast, not very un- like that of black tin, It wns strange that her fortune, certainly not short of thiny thou!uind pounds, hail not propelled hor tnto matri- mony ; but the truth wak, that old Bolthofte, her father, wa.i of a my miserly disposition, and had thrown cold wnter on all the »uitors who had aspired lo his daughter's person and purse. ThuR she was still in single blessedness at the age of twenty-scvL'n, when our hero was introduced to her notice. We will not dwell on the ordinary matters which ensued, — on the moming-call after the danc«-. or the intimacy that speedily followed. Sufficr it to say, that Mr. Hampden contrived to make himself so agreeable to the lady, and to all parties concertied in her dii4f)Oftal, that, within three weeks af^er the ball, he wa* daily r«ceive<l at Tincroft House lU the accept- ed lover of its fair mistress. Like a skilful miner, he blew up the furnace of her affections, and struck while the iron was hot. The ahaft had reached hor heart, and the ore was malleable : in Jine, they were united in the parish church of Swansea ; and itliss Bolthost? became Mrs. George Hampden, the wife of the wealthy discoverer of KitKpuhl, and thus p^irt-proprietnr of the royal box, as he was of lier handsome dower of tliirty thousand pounds.
Fetes and fcaating attended the auspicious union, and a happier couple were never tasting honey-moon, when a trifling, but unlucky accident happened to Jar the harmony and interrupt the felicity of the »cene. Mr. and Mrs. Hnninden, a week after their marriage, were giving a small party to their most intimate friends, th« Dobbes', Fattens, Greenfields, and a few others, (some of the females not be- ing uver-juyful at the triumpli of their late coni|>«nion,) and the wine and glee were contagious of good-humour. Winka, and nod«, and wreallied flmileH played round the social board ; and the box of boxea passed from hand to hand. At this moment a rude and vulgar fellow burst abruptly into the room ; and immediately behind him tollowed a still dirtier and more disreputable -looking rascal. MThat VM the astonishment of the company when they aaw the for- mer march up to Mr. Hampden, and, slapping him on the Uiuulder, heard him exclaim,
" Aha, Master Smith ! so I Ve nabbetl you at last I"
The bridegroom was almost convulsed with confusion, while the mtSan ran on,
— " And, my eyes! I say, Jem, if tliere i*i»'t the werry box too! Vrll, my trump ! 1 hope you can pay for it now ; but, ni order to make sure, you vill allow me to pocket it far the tneanwhile," which ■aying, he gTabl>e<l the King of Bavaria's diamond crown, ju«t as if it had been Birmingham or Sheffield. And, not to keep our reader* anj longer in suspense, it was of that sort. The gold was motait
roL. III. • S a
846
THB HARINBRS DREABI.
the rtones were Bristol. Ilie niAiiiifncmre LnniJon, the imcripdon Mr. Hanipcifn's. ilia mininjr was of the sort culletl Undertnin- ing; hh tbreifpi travel hud Weil amimf! the kutif^arooA; and his
£ resent most Hiicce^sful pursuit "a» etiljrcly the plot which nude wwisea hiB rwiing-pUce, and the Welsh heiress of Charlestown, Ktiuvkuiahun, and Tiiicrod Ilou»e, hi» bluoiuiiig hride. It was a bsd business ; but what was to be done f " Of a had barf^ain," says the song, " make the bent" It wns an easy matter to tettle with tne bailiffs, a« the arrr»t was only for eighty guineas, being nothing else than the price of the itnufT-box to a Jew trader in Bc Mary Axe : but then canie the morlificatinn and dingnire of such a connexion t MiH» Patten tittered, and AI it>fi Greenfield Uughed at the dtiumrmfni ; and poor Mrs. Hampden was obliged to be salikfied with bis ■»- Burance that her lord and [na.npr would turn honest man, and beharc like A gentleman. — which, if he dop*, will be a wonderful change, and worthy of award more real than the fine Bavarian royal box.
THE MARINER'S DREAftl ;
Oa, TnS KTORIf-nRHOX.
]<ODD nmn the bla»i
O'er the foatn-cresied ocean -. 'Ilie ruad na^n are dancing
III liuL-rietl corninotion ; The wntrr.»pout liunli, —
lu dark eoliimn iiprearing, Like a spirit nfdcatli
(>*M the billow* careering ] The beaveni arc all flame ;
The bt&ck cloud ** rent a«iiiid«r ; The Stom-I>rmon comas
In hii cSanolofthuDdarl
Sjiirila,— dark spiriu, —
His lurtinions obejing. Now trooping around hem.
Their homage are DUjiug. Ilnrk I hark t how tncy Uugli
As the lirmppit is telling Hill triumphs aln^,
To tlw wild music inelliogl "Up. spirito! awayl
uVr the Bane-creMad ocean,*' The &torm-Danon cries,
*' Wake your wildest rommotion !" Now, ihrauded in weeds.
From tlieir watery pillowa, Ohosis ofdrownM mariners
FloMio'er the billow*! Tlie p1iautorn«(hip bounds,
Tbi' loud tempest ilcf/ing, CroHdiit]^ nail, and away
O'CT the mad wnlers Bying! Tlie pair, ehasdy crew, —
How dieir eyes roll with woodtr! And wild is ilivlr shriek
Ai Uioy phinge 'aid (he ihaoder!
W. E. S.
347
I
THE CONVEYANCR COMPANY.
AN UI>D IXCIDBNT. BT niCUARl} JOUNfl.
" I-r is very odd !" «*id I to myself, running brcflthleiifily up to « Conveyancr Company'ii omnibus that stood before the NightrogKle, a wctUknown public-house near the Edgewatc-road.
The reader may ask what was odd ; and very kind it will be so to do. It in the man of drum and paiidean pipes out of doors, who elicits from Mr. Hunch hi? best aayingK. I do not pretetid tu be such a wag as the waodE>ii Ruscius, but I will tetl tliu obliging peru»cr of tliiti nkctcii iVura real life, what waa odd. Number one ap- peared un each side the door, where lately I had beheld a -{• to signify that the amuibus ran rtast the site of the ancient village of Charing — (I love to do a little bit of antiquari.-iniBm when it bavm one from tautolojfy). Did I see straight i* — Vvs [ what waa to prevent me? We hnd only a magntim <i-piece at my frietKl'a of St. John's Wood, and a few (xld glasses of whi»kcy-toddy.
" It is very odd !'* »ttid I, throwing my&clf into the farther comer of thecuthiona clad in the liame plush material which people's arms seem to entitle their servants' legs to wear. " Why does not the cad take care of number one?" Well, that wan no ufTair of mine: M I stuck out my elbows, and squared my legs, to see how much room I could po»ttibly occupy, to my own comfort and the incon- venience of otherii, when the conveyance got crowded ; and well was it I did so, for, one by one, passengers dropped in, till there waa no lack of occupanU. It was very odd ; but I seemed to be ac-
ritnted witii all these personage*, though they knew not mc. Not t ihcy were public characters whom everybody tidies the pri- rUege of staring at when present ; and criticiaing, — uiind, body, and inexpressibles, — -when absent. No ! thew; were people whom I seem- ed to know by intuition. I understood their birth, parentage, and education ; together with their secret history, iaterapersed with cliaracteristic anecdotes. It was very udd. ]$ut tu commence ; nur, like a Vii«ty gimlet, content niyineif with my jienetration, without thinking <^1 conting out for the benefit of others.
The first who entered was a stoutly built, elderly gentleman, with ft red face, redundant of obstiiucy and apoplexy, attended by a slim yoath of «ome fifteen years' 8tanaitif;> rhese were father and son, and I set them down at once for an odd pair, — a designation in ttaelf curious enough. Thu old man was a perfect original, and the boy was roming on; promi&ing fair to e<]tuii his father when he was out of his time, fur he seeined to htvc a regular apprenttctv shiptohis resjiected parent. Air. Hurley Buskin, and his sun Timi, hnu the greatest AtTection for each other : and the old saying of " what one says, the other will swear to," was in them beautiiully exemplified. I was perfectly aware of nil the pceuliarities of Sir. Buskin senior. He notl seen much of the wudd, luid been many years abroad,— <OMset|t)ently was at home on every subject. In nini, the traveller's liceiiceto entertain all listeners with the wonders that earth, air, and water could be made to produce through tlie me- dium of a magnifying lens, was about as far exceeded as magisterial authority for muiic and dancing, granted to Uie Cat and Fiddle at
•2 B a
THE
nJVEYi
Hoiimlsditch. ia outraged by llie performance of Bpectacle, opCT»» tight-rope, firc-catiiig, tumbling, hornpipe in fetters, and thelrgiti- male draoiB. Mi>rt wonder-tellers are content with having sren stroiige itights, and taken a moderate share in extraordinary ndvm- tures ; but Mr. Burley Buskin wn« always the strange sij(ht him- self in all hi« storiif Mt Inimc or abroad, — the nctor of all work in erery scene on ths worlcrs wide stage. A patent did not even se- cure an invention from his claiming it ; he had originated the idf« yeu^s before the thing was made public. — in fiict, hud mentioned it to some one who knew another person who wat^ ncquainteil M-ith the supposed inventor; and Air. Burley Buskin had good renson to believe his plan had been conveyed to the patentee, who ought, ■t least, to have iicknowledgtsi the fact, and (riven credit where cre- dit was due. Son Tom accompanied his lather's wonis, «rf(o focf, in a Mirt of running cuminciititry ; wittiuut waiting for the old man to ceutte speaking, lie managed tu vouch for fact after fact u they ■were announced, thuugh dated some twenty yeara before his birth; and when his worthy parent actually came to a full stop, to allow of the liHteners' notes of admiration, he invariably wound up his portion of the entertainment by throwing his heHil on one side, take a glance lit hix original prof^enitor, and exclaiming in a nfaril voice, " Just a« father says ! father 's right '."
" Talking of Bengal tigers," sflid Mr. Burley Bu&kin one day at &mily party, — " when I was in Bengal, I tniined two large anim. of that species to draw Mr^t. Buskin's open carriage : und the go-' vernor-generul was kind enough to allow two sepoys constantly to attend her when she drove out, to shoot the beaiits if they were ii^ clined to be dnngeroiis,=a proper precaution you will allow: bu' Mrs. B. was not at all alarmed ; and no accident ever occurred, except in the end, when during the night one of the beasts ate the other up, and was found dead the next morning in hia stable from repletion. I believe Mr. Davii's idea of representing Cybele, goddess of the earth, asi drawn by lions, in his picture at the exhibition, was taken (rota Mrs- U. and her tigers: the young man was ut New South Wales at the time, and the "Attracan" sailed tlirect for Sidney, while all Bengal was talking about tny tigers. I usulerstand the fellow mentions taking hia subject from nn imcient lueilal ; but I know better, 'twas from Mrs. U. and her tigers; and a verj' goo«l n^itiun it was, but he might have honestly owned where he got it-"
"Just as father says I" trebled young Tom ; "father 'a right! Don't ynu remember that story (ibout our cat and the ducks?"
" GwkI, Tinn, good I Did yon never hear that ?" said Mr. Burley Buskin, turning with un inexpressibly Bclf^natisfied smile towaras his silent and asttHUKhed auditory. " Caught a wild cat in my bam in Devonshire : taraed it c-ompletely by shutting her up, and feeding her on bran and barley-wnter ; could do anv thing with tlint cat; why, she seemed to teach every other animal to adopt her mode of thinking, and to dwell st peace with all living kind. Got toge- ther in a large cage owls, mice, rats, rabbits, terriers, ferrets, and canary birds ; kept them on bran and barley-water, and putpuM in with them. IIhl\ a little trouble at fn-nl ; but, in the end, notbina could be more amicable than the whole lot. As to that cat, — drownca A litter of her kittens, and gave her six young ducks to rear : suckled them all : and they imbibed so much of her ruiture. that 1 remarked.
aw
his
rilM
<a]9 a
THE COW
349
when they were in high nk'e in th« ^ttrr, they could not quack for purrinpf By-lhe-by, the man that Imikwi aftrr my farm at that time I »<>«>n after di:ichar^(N) for nrcdiiniinjf to smy that my new machine for cutting chaff was hij invention ; he now niaketi a ()e-> cent livelihood by showing some of the dpscendants of the very animola I taught to forget their nature ; and the fellow swears hie never knew me, and that the conciliation of animals was his own discovery."
" It 'e. jutit what father nnya 1 father 'a right !" Raid Tom. Mr. JJurley Buekin had a very pretty taste for zoology ; and, if he bad nut actually csUblished them aa facu, had certainly put forth •ome tfxtraordiiinry piirticulars respecting the class quaururoaua. But thi» WHS a bitter subject to roy worthy acquaintance, when much irritated at the ingrratitude of the world in attributing the many benefits he hud conferred on society to other pcrwons. Getting very red in t)ie face, and »triktrii; hin cniie on the ground with » noise which Kcemetl to warrant the ide» thiit the ferule wa» a de- tonatin;;; cap, he would exclaim,
" And that Mr. Mackintosh ! how has he made his money? Did not I tell his mother year^i ago that we always knew when the rainy teuM>n WAN coming on in South America by the monkey!) tearing th« hark of the caoutchouc trees to rub themRelvea wiih the sap ? I don't mind the fortune he has made; but he might have owned where he got the idea."
" Like ilic Bear in Piccadilly, I am the original !" seemed fur ever descending from Mr. Burluy Bti&kin's mouth ; whilst »du Turn, his Jackal, WIS ever ready to instigate, applaud, and, afVer hi* fashion, to say, " That 's the ticket !"
1 had hardly made theRe verj' acute observation*, when my attention was diverted from the Ituskiniv by perceiving that a thin, anxiou»> loatuiig, middle-aged man bad taken uu«wi)»ii>n of the seat tmmedi- atelv ojjptMiite me- There wa» a quick twinkle about hin eye, and an unpalient rubbing of lii» hand, aa though he were mightily in- clined to be actively em]>loyed ; if only about trifles, still he must be doing. My newly and strangely acquired penetration into mat- ters of character, availed me with resjtect to Mr. >Va»telesH Haverley. I HW at a glance he was odd. He had come into the omnibus quite nut of breath, and no wonder ; he had been very busy all uay. PosHCfssed of a gentlemanly competence, good health, a wife that did nut contradict him, a family tliat gave him no trouble, friends that did not want tu borrow luuney uf him ; a houae tJuit wa« in every way convenient, guiltless of a single Muoky chimney ; and n garden that boai<ted the finest fruit, in a neighbourhood the buys of which, strange to say, were not given to peculation ; who wo happy a* Mr. Wasteless Saverley ? Ah ! gentle reader, that was a very natural conclusion furyuu to arrive at. but he had a peculiar- ity which, if it did not actually make him unliappy, brvugbt a host of cares in it« train, lie coulu not bear to have anything wasted.
•* Vm what yoi) like, but waste nothing >" — this was the maxim in Saverley's Iioumi; and a very good maxim it is in moderation, but not as ray ftieiid, through excess or liking, abused It. I mean not tliat abuse which is said to be often begot of love, na cxem- [dified in nutrimoniol dispulea and love quarrels ; hut it wa« the iQvrdinatc u»c of a maxim, good in itself, which made Mr. Waste-
THE CONVEYANCE COMPATtY.
lea* Saverley full of trouble*. He was not peniiriouB. but he com- mined a thousand ineannefnes. Wlien at home, he. wan a running MDtry between the Htable, Ktnre<roon), lieer-celUr, aiit) even the pantry : the kitchen he had tried ; but ''cook," who luul been long m the family, was nut to be trifled with in her ovro domain. Here he could oulv look in now aiid then, by bringing a head of game from the |iouiterer'a : thus armed, he could sometimes get a rapid survey by walking carelessly in by the back-door to deposit his burthen on the dresser ; then, with a single glance, be would pick up enough informatJoti to read a lecture on his favourite maxim to the whole house. At table, abroad or at home, Mr. Saverley never innde a selection till he saw which dish wa« motit deJipiscd by others. *■ It niuitt not be waiited," thought the anxiou* man; he con*e- ■cjucntly dined off the neglected viand, though he might find it un- palatable. He once wore a livcrj-^coat, that would not fit a new groom, inotcad of a dressing-gown, " that it might not be wasted ;" and got Iii9 ears boxed in misuke, by hi« drunken coachman, for not bediling down the horses. Such were the inconveniences he Kubjcctcd himself to, in piir.iuit of his darling pauitm.
His amusements were ciguidly peculiar. His conversions were as curious, and far more numerous than Joatma Southcote's. Broken tumblers became kitchen saltcellars ; decanters were cut down into »ugar-basin$, ifonly broken conveniently for the change ; and woe betide any luckless wtglit who smashed an article beyond thr power* of his master's ingenuity! It wns even asserted, that a greyhound having broken bin leg, he had tried to cut him down to a turnspit ; but this piece of information having be«n traced to Mr. Burley Buskin, I would rather not vouch fur the truth of it.
Many were the benefactions of Air \VaKle]e«a Saverley to the neighbburing poor, in consequence of the death of some cow in whom vaccination could not prevent dit>ease, or the discovery that a pig had sickened with the measles. But, it must be honestly cmi- fessed, that Sir. Saverley would willingly have consumcil these daintier at home, could he have persuaded his family to have aided in preventing tUcir bcinc waalca.
The day of our meeting had been an eventful one to my new friend ; he hod been poiiitively nssurcd by his spouae that an un* lucky hare, which, by-the-by, had gained him a glance at the kitchen a week before, would not keep a day longer.
"Well, well, my dear !" said Sir. Wasteless Savwley ; "aurtly you can have it dressed for the servants at once: you know X can I bear to have anything waited I"
" That is iuiil why I menlioned it," rejoined the lady. " We have more meat m the house than will Uat us a week, and the hare must be spoilt."
"Never !" exclaimed mv careful acquaintance most emphatically. " Sooner than that, I will myiflf take it to my friend Willuns, «t Walworth."
Armed with this determination, and hare in hand, he put hiroaelf on a suge. which, rapidly proceeding to town, «et him down at the corner of Oraceehurch-street.
" I 'II walk to Walwurth," said Mr. Saverley to himself. •' Carry It for you, sir ? Poor boy, sir ! Do it for throejwnocr crie<) a sijuaJid stripling, whom our sEurt-singe Iravcller thought UN
4
4 4
4
THE CaNVBYANCK CUMPANY.
S6I
rag^d to be trusted. " Keep dose to you, ur t Take it any- wheres you likes!"
" Oft atung with you, will you !" Mid Mr. WisteJess Savurlcy,
hurrying onward.
The buy desisted from his importunity, and turned avriy : had he been employed, Mr. Wilkins of Walworth mijjht have dined off the hare, if he liked high (ctiiDe. Friend Saverley liad reached King WilliflJTi-Htreet, when he felt m tug nt poor putts; niul in a second a fellow darted before him, and <liuhed avray in the direction of the bridf^. flfr. Wasteless Saverlcy was at all times a bad runner; and hrst then he had on a pair of his eldest son's boots, which that youth having di^arded as not being well made, hie father, though tliey were a sixe too ^innll for him, could nut allow to be wasted. Taking the»e things into cmisi deration, it is not surpriaing, though each ran his iK'st, that the hare-hunt wa^ a short one. Atr. f^vcrley did not ciiU out " Stop tliief !" He did not like to waste his breatli; though it was nut much worth saving, since tt failud him just as Uiu robber darted down the steps beside Uie dry urirh of London-bridge, and in n moment mure was sciuiiperiiig through Thames-street. Now, what did Mr. Wasteless Saverley i lie had lost his hare,— of that he was certain : but a new anxiety had taken possession of his bre»st. .Staggering to the parapet, be roared after the thief, in a tone which might have belonged to :i crying Urobdignag baby,
" You scoundrel ! you scoundrel ! If you don't dress that hare lo-daif, it will l)e waAte<l !"
Several other pa-isengera had now crowded into the conveyance, which commenced its rumbling course ; and, as the light of the in- side lamp fell on their countenances, my intuitive perception of who they were, and all about them, was actively engaged. I particular- ly remarked a woutd-be-youthful gentleman of fifty, the love-lock curia of whoae wig concealed those markei where time had been scratching at his eye-i till their lustre was somewhat bleared. But Mr. Lulharin Lacklove knew not that the tight of his eye^ had de- ported. Life was yet before him, ever new ; and yet the lajfl thirty- Dve years of his existence had been pa9»ed in unfortunate attacn- mCDU. " The course of true lore never did run smooth ;" this has been th« lament of thousands, but few have experienced the bitter verity of the adage to such an extent as my new acuuainlance.
Mr. Lacklove's position in society was not particularly inimical to his forming a happy alliance : a gentleman by birth and educa- tion, a little travel, a lundiwme person, a good voice, a knowledge of the guitar, and an unencumbered income of four hundred a-year. These qualifications for sucrcHsfuI wocMUg might not only have found many amiable girls sensible of his merits ; but even mammas and papas, who hjid not ifry ambitious viewn for thetr daughters, access- ible to his proposals. But, no ! by some strange fatality, Mr. Lack- love never felt the least affection for any young Isdy who had not on obstinately cross father ur guardian, aii ininiense iortunc, an exclu* sive mother ; or who was ho far above him in position, that nothing iftit an unfortunate attachment could ensue. From such apparently impracticable fair ones would Lothario elect damsel aAer damsel tu be the ouecn of his affections; one unfortunate attachment rapidly succeeibng snother, till Mr. Lacklove's heart must have lallcM a vii» Um to coinpouud iractures, had not self-conceit, like Don Quixote's
THB CONVEYANCE COMPANY.
balsam, cured a\\ wounds. In yearn gone by, Extthario must hnvt* done much mificliict'as a Indy-killcr, and many mu»t have been the " scenes" in which he had tAkeii apart. The gurden-wall scaled. reckless of sprinfr-puiis and man-traps. The stolen meeting in the green-hotiee, sn<l the alarmed f)i};ht amid the erash of f^lass and geraniums; *' Slen of Hoss," "Fair Kllens," and "Comm»nder*-in- Chief," sharing in the general ruin. The iwlemn inten'iew in the fatiier'e iibrary ; " Vou vtuxl be awmre, sir. tliat your attentions to my daughter are dit^ agreeable to me \ I must retiueat, sir. that you vrill not repeat Uieni ! Ynu will favour me, sir, by discontinuing your visits to my house ! John, «how the gentleman down stairs V
Such might nave been among the n^rrMenj of hi^ earlier days ; but good looks CBiinot la§t for ever. Continental travellers are now more in number than hedge-sparrows. Even a man's voice, strange to say, after a while ceates to be in his own favour ; and who, now- a-<1ays, can keep four hundred a-year unencumliered ? Mr. T^ck- love, before he was fifty, had long found that it wan rather difBcult to excite reciprocal unfortunate attachments; but the habit he had so long indulged continued strong in him, and it was not to be put down by change of circumstances. The higher a young lailv'« rank in society, 00 he had but hare access to the circle in which ma inaamorata moved, the more likely was Lothario incontinently to be- come devoted to her; while every new crack his heart received seemefl now, by some strange process, transferred to his head. Kven royalty did not escape him: he lived bis; weeks iu Lisbon, a few ycora back, trying to sigh and ogle, each in her tuni, the three priiice<iHes of the house of Jlraganza into unfortunate attachoients ; and came home in n frnnlic rage when, after having particuUrly distinguished the youngest of the royal sisters, that lady bad the bad Cute to marry a Portuguese iiiHrquis.
He had l»ecomo deaperatc. He gazed on the long list of hia re- jections with dismay.^ Like an angler, when his fish at one bite makes off with the bait, nor affords him even play for his loss, so re- fusal came upon refusal, not only from mamma »nd papa, — auch he was always used to,— but the young ladies too, who now invariably preferred consulting their parenta' wishea. Not a single love-scene coidd he get up.
He had even formed a romantic attachment for the pig-faced lady; but she declined favouring him with an interview. Since his jtdventures in Portugal, some ten years had flown over Mr. Lothario Lacklove; but they had not brought him wisdom, — their flight had only made him more flighty.
That very morning had he been standing, as had been hia woni for days before, contemplating the many windows which enlighten the royal palace at Pimlico.
" HerhapB she is even now gaaing at me .'"cried Mr, Lacklove. "Oh, thui I could tell from irhicb casement those blue and melting eyes, in pitying softness, regard the devotion of my unwearied love- watch ! But yerterday she smiled, and bowed to me, when I raised my hot from off my maddening temples ! Not a soul was near me BS the carriage passed, save some poor shouting wretches! — idiou! boors i Perhaps they tonk that look of beaming beauty to them- selves ! No ! it is treasured here ! *Twas mine nionc V Thus murmured Lothario u be walked before the Qaeen'c palace ;
4
the; conveyance company.
sss
now pregting hia hand to hU heart ; now pauniiif;, miil wftvin^r a white handkerchief in the direction of the rflyal dwelling;. Sudden- ly, to his inexpressible delight, a gentleman, who had a ahort time before lufi a side-door of the palace, Hpprodched him.
" Good Heavens .' there "s n mesBaffe for me !" exclaimed LothnHo, in the greatest perttirbation of spirit, as he thrust his handkerchief into his breast, and hastened to meet tlie fancied messenger of love.
The court etaissary bad a blue cloak on. which, thrown back on llm shuulderti, discovered a coat-coUar much oriiiiiiieiited with silver lace.
"You may ufely trust me," said Mr. lixcklove. colouring up to his eye», which np^irkled with delight : " I am the gentleman !"
"I know yau are!" rejoined the cloaketl stranger, prwlucing ■ silver baton, niid beckoning to three of hiit followers. Alaa ! for Lucklove, they were new-policemen ! " We have been on the look- oat for you. You would have thrown a nose!;ay into the Queen's carriage yesterday, only tt fell in the mud. I 'vc got the Bowers ; and now I 've got von, ray gentleman !"
The astonished Lacklove was for n while speechleHS : when he did make utterance, it was first lo demand if tin* <lignitapy of police realljf bad authority for uhnt he wan doing, and then to bescccfi tluit be might not be exposed in a certain puhlic-uflice at Uueeii-Ki|uarc; but to this awful tribunal Uc was conveyed, and only discharged by the intervention of a friend ai Su John's Wood, who became answer- able for his good behaviour. Lacklove had dined with this obliging person, and, quite cured of hie excessive loyalty to our sovereign lady Queen Victoria, was now evidently trying if chance and an umnibus bad not happily thrown him in contact with a fair damsel who might supply the recentlv-fornie<i hiatus in his affections.
Thin drew my attentioti towards two other ]utsaenger«, who had taken po««es!>ion uf gteati by my *ide, and were consequently the via~^-vis of Mr. Lacklove. An elderly matron, of large proportions, clad in the many folds of a plum-coloured silk dress, beshawU rd with scarlet English cachemire, her brown curly wig entrust- ed to the care of a black uttin bonnet, there slept, unconitcious of the rumbling conveyance. Deep as were her slumbers, the old lady Imagined herself watchful for the especial guardiansiiip of her daughUT, a very pretty and expensively -dressed brunette, who, as if confiding in mamma's protecting eye, had ttemingly resigned her- self to the influence uf Somnus ; but, in reatily, was as wide-awake as his cousin Alercury.
"I could a tale unfold" of Mrs. Browne t Nu ! let the old Woman sleep ; I will not tell tales of her. But how luis Mr. Lack- love made his insidious advances to the acquaintance of Miss Ara- bellA Rruwne? Kveu through the medium nl' bis pliant fuut; which, with gentle ])ressure, carefised the natin slipper of ihatyouUg lady, whose full haael orbs now opened to acknowledge the soli asaautt. One glance waa enough. Miss Arabella looked so ex- eeuively marriageable that Lothario waa alarmed at his imprudence.
L" 1 b^ you a thoainnd pardons, ma'um !" exclaimed he. LacuMS Hr. Lacklove ! iu his hurry to retreat from the advancca lO faicautiuuHly made, he at that minneiit drew the bharji uile uf his shoe acroan the shiu uf the slumbering mamma I
I
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254
THE CONVEYANCE COMPANV.
" 'EtvKt liave merpy un me! Whtt's cut my leg?" KreniDetl Mm. Browne as the bounced from h«- sleep. " Ig it you, itir i" and site Itxed her angry gaze on Lothario.
" I beg i) tiioussnet pardons!" reiterated that gentleman, quite ap- palled.
" What 'a the une of begf^ng pardon ? will that mend my leg ?"
"Very true, ma'am," intemipted Mr. BurVey Buskin; "in St. Domingo it is made capital to rup a luittve over the nhina. Puni«h> ed with death, ma'am ! The negro can't stand it, ma'am !"
*' Put mc down ! put me down !" said Mr, Waatdetw Savcrley ; and the omnibus stopped.
TJiere wa« a dispute about a bad sixpence.
"Wiiat am I to do witli it, Uieii?" remiinHtrated Sir. Savcrley.
"Do w'itJiit!" shouted the cad. "Why, chuck it in iho mud, but don't K^tnasU it ujioii me !"
The disappointed experimentalist produced the required legal coin of the realm. It waa very annoying to bis feelings; he had gone a mile out of his way home, on ditcovering that be had a bad dixpence, to pass it un the omnibus cad, that it might not b« wasted!
" Why Jo yoti not drive on ?" cried 1 to the conductor, who w»» impudently staring in at the door.
"Drive on! that '« a pretty go, ain't it?" gneeicd the fcJlow. "Where should I drive to?"
" V'ou are nn impertinent scoundrel !" said I in a rage ; " and I ap- peal to these bulies and gentlemen !" I looked for my late compa- nions, but they bad flown ; and mine own position waa suHiciently curiouB. r was regiilnrly embedded in the straw under the lamp at the extreme end of the omnibus I
"Come, come, old gen'lnian! don't be calling namea [ Come out ol* that, or 1 'II fetch you ] You di-sarve three months on it for this, you do! It's a rcg'lur act o' parl'amint tluit nobody 's to steep in the hopen hair ; so don't be 'buMve ! i 'm not to be gam- moned I"
The cad eeemed preparing to draw me, as a terrier dniwa a batlccT ; so, in spite of ray wonderment, I gathered myself up, and walked forth into open daylight.
" Wasn't this the hut omnibus?" said I.
" It 't the last you comed out on !" grinned the cad most maUci- ousty ; " and one that I 'm a going to clean for Jemmy Green to drive to the Elephant at eight o'clock. Why, bless your heArtl it's been standing here all night. I see your honour 's come to yourself now. Half-a-rrown won't be much for a night's lodging I"
I gave the fellow hiH demand, and made the best of my way down the street. Happy was I when tile laughlt-r and jeer» pour- ed alter me by the niorning loungers at the door of the Nightingale were lust in the distance 1 It was very odd 1 What strange visions my head had teemed with, when 1 was " in the straw," unconsci- ously making my bed in a "Conveyance Company's" omnibus !
355
THE ^'ABBATIVE OF JOHN WAKD GIBSON.
COJITTBR til.
(Continued from piLge 353, \o\. i\. and una void ably postponed in conMqiience of lliu Auiliur's iuditposLliou.)
Whbn I recall to memory live cirrumntance!) of that terrible nijlht, I wonder tliat I did not, dthcr by wonl or action, betrAy my- aelf. I do nut know — I'ur I am no sdept at the aulutiun of moral qitifttioiib-^wlRHlier men ure equally provided by nature with what is termed con»cience ; but I am certain that there are some who can not only cgnceal, but supprew it. It was not until many years afWvrards, that I was made fully con»cious of the enormity of my critne ; and then conscience Came tiK> late, »» it always does.
The child aiiil myMelf were resfcuecl from the btirning rtiini with- [Out having iftistained any very serious injury; but JMrii. 8tciner was to frightfully disfigured a« to leave nmall hope of her recovery, and none of her ever rcfjaininp her former appearanro. She was con- veyed, in a state of insonttibility, to the house of a nnghbour, who had iifTered Bromley and his family a temporary anyium ; and, when the fire was at length got under, I returned to my own lodging with the gratifying c-cinviction that the chief portion of tlic most valuable proijcrty was dentrnyed.
It is indeed true, that far from feeling any compunction for the •ia I had committed. 1 gloried in its consummation. They who had \ to oftco sneered at my dependent condition, who had made their superiority of circuniittAnces a ground for the aHsunii>tion of supe- riority in all other points, — -to have brought them at last to ray own level, it was xomcthing. Whilst I confess this, 1 must, in justice to myself, mention that 1 was not at the time aware of the dangerous Condition of Mrs. Steioer, but conclutled that in a few days abe would be restored. 1 was, at leart, wiUing to believe so.
Jtut when tlie si'iiw; of 8ati»fied vengeance began to, abate, a feeling of considerable anxiety with regard to myself, and the icaikduct I ought tu pursue, occupied iu place. Was it likely — waa ^t posfibic that they would auspect me? there was no evidence— or ratncTj was there any? — that could convict me. It now ocrurre<l to niF that I had not taken all such precautions against detection aa, the act once committed, my feara pointed out sa necessary. And yet, hitherto, I had shown mrsclf a proficient in the duplicity which they had tuuglit me to practise. Rut now, a comfortable reflection presented itself; I waa even mod eiiougU to imagine that I taw the immediate agency of Providence in the accident which had pre- v«i)l«d Mrs. Sterner and the child from leaving London on that evening. The exertions I had made to save Uiem must furnish, at once, conclusive testimony of my innocence: I had notlitiig tu fear fVom Calumny or malicious conjecture. In that certainty I hugf[ecl myself, and towards daybreak fi^ll into a aound and refreshing sleep, ftom which I did not awake until noon.
And yet, notwithiUduliog the state of composure to which I had ftncreeded in bringing myiielC I fflt tliat it would be necessary to 'fltUrh myself to Uroniley as cluMily as possible; leA, during my -•bwnce, his own thoughu, or the whispered surmises of others,
SSfi
TUB NARRATIVE OF JOHN WARD UIBSON.
should breed nuspicions af^ainst mc. I arose, thtrefore, uid pro- ceeded to hia tenipomn' lodging.
I fouTid him, as I expected, surrounded by his neighbours and friends, the mitjority of whom very liberally offered the old man such aesiittunce us in to be extracted from advice. Far Irutu seixing the opportumty, when « e were alone, of indulging a vulgar iriuinpli at his expenae, I endcavourtsl to soollie and lo console him, to cheer him and to raise Ins spirits: reminding him (I could not forbear that one luxury) that there was no situation in Hte that honest industry could not render respectable ; that, although this CJiIamity had be. fallen him, he might yet, late as it wa», recover hini«eir, and evento- allv raise up for iiini»plf kind and attached friends — as I had ttoiitr.
I utteretl these 1il!>4 M-nrdft in a Muflieiently marked and emphatic mnnner ; and yet Jlroinley felt them not, or did not apjicar to heed them. Indeed, he seemed, as vet, hardly conBciotia of the extetiC of hia misfortune ; merely cxpressmg great anxiety for Steincr's return, at though that event were the only matter to be thought about. His manner to me was as cold, distant, and nuperciliouH as before. I knew, however, that this iijuithy could not last long, — that tlic truth niiiHt noon find ita level ; and I wma perfectly uonient to wait till it did do eo.
Li' 1 had nut. long ago, acquired an ingenuity in forging palliations and excuse* upon my own heart, I should have been overwhelmed with remorse and horror when the dreadful situation of Mr». SteJner was made known to me. As it was, I felt deeply shocked ; but liol nuire so, I endeavoured to innke myself believL', than I should have been, had she buffered in other circumstances: 1 was innocent of tiiis — 1 strove to tliink so; because I Ujid not contemplated it. I ■argtied the cm*: too much with niy own niind to have been right- However thi^ might be, I wait much relievetl to he-ir, about a muntli atterwxrdfl, that Hhe wajt out nf danger ; but it waa added, she was so shockingly altered that I should not recognise her. I wns not much concerned at this: I had no wish to perpetuate the me> mory of ii face that had »o often looked upon me with undeserved contempt anil ecom ; and t hnd ceased tn feel the slightest interest in the fate of a person who, owing probably her own life and that of the child to my exertions, had nut even repaid me by the oom- mon gratitude of acknowledgment. But to return.
During three days that succeeded tlie hre. I was almost coiutontly employed in Bromley's business; by which time, a tolerable estimate wu» completed of the extent of his misfortune. The intervotfi of my leisure were occupied with the old man ; and many occasions were afforded me of watching the gradual operation of the truth, «» it siltintly and surely made its way lo Iii» heart. At first, the melan- choly state of Im daughter wa^ his chief, if not sole affiiction ; next, the absence of Steiner waa deplored ; until, at length, the one cala- mity, the irreparable loss, extending over the future, lay clearly be- fore him. I, too, could see a» clearly that my vengeance had been amply fulfilled ; and I wa« »atislied.
Oh! it was a humiliating apectaclp to witJies* the abject creature lamenting the downfal of the base image he had set up, and craving pity on a plea whose validity he had «i oftirn denied. He wua once more to become one of those who " prey upon the middle clasoes," — it vra< Ida favourite vxprestion, — for he had iio longer " a capital ;"
THK NARRATIVE OF JOHN WARD CiBSON.
SM
•omething whidi, in hi* opinion, inelutlwl all the cardinal virtues, ■nd religion into the bar(rain. I ituRpect thrre is a very Urge ivct in this country, holding the same faith.
I had bi-en too much occupied with Drmnley'K uffiiira, on the fourth day, to call upon him before the afternoon. At I enlertd the room, he srose nnd met me hnlfway.
" Gil]<ton,*' Raid he hnrriedly, an<l in M>ine a^tation. " you had 'better come afj^ain in .ui honr or fwo : but, 8t»y ; I don't know what tn sav — " he pauEi-d ; " what in best to be done ?"
" What is the luiitterr" I inquired.
" Mr. Stuiner is returned ;" and lie pointed to a door which com- muDicuted with nn adjoining chamber.
" Well, ur, I am fftad of it, for your take. You have been anxious for his return."
Bromley looked perplexed, but presently motioned me to take ii •eat. " You may a» well see him at once, perhaps," he remarked.
I bowed. " I shnll be very glad to see him."
At thia moment Sleiner, who, J think, had been linteninff, opened the door, and, flinginy^ it after him, strode into the middle of the room. There was a kind of white calmneM in his face, which I knew well how to interpret.
" Well, this is a very pretty piece of buiinens ; indeed, is it !" luud he; " what dotfou think. j\lr. Gibnon ?"
" It is a very sad one," I .mswered.
" Have you no conce|)tion how it originated ?" he inquired.
" None whatever."
" Uii you mean to mv." he retiuniecl with <|uickne8S, " that you do not know how the fire waa caused, — by what — by whom ?"
" I do."
Steiner look Bromley aside, and bef^nn to talk to him in a low tone. It was a relief to me, hlK doing so at that moment. A audden faintnC88, a deaerliun uf the vital powers, had in an instant reduced roe to the helplcMness of a child; 1 dreaded the interview which 1 foresaw waa about to cake place. He suspected me, that was cer- tain; perhaps had obtained some clue — wnne witness H^inst me. I lelt that I could not confront him like an innocent man, I had nut even strength to rndenvour to do mu.
" Had yuu not better be Hented ?" said Steiner, turning towards me, for I had remained standing motionless.
Steiner sat for a while absorbed in thought, with his eye* fixed upon the ground ; but, at length, I could perceive his glance slowly ^Uealing upward from my feet, until it settled itself u|>nn my face. T eould not bear the immovnble gaze with wliicli he regarded roe: in vain did I attempt to withdraw my eye^ from his, some horrible fascination con^tMined me ; I could feel that there wu not a thought of my soul hidden from him, — that my crime wsale^bly written on my countenance, — end I was nlmoMt tempted to shnek out the cun- t'eesion winch was struggling in my throat.
" A» there is a Ood iti heaven !" cried Steiner, striking hi* knee with one hand, and pointing towanU me with triunipliunl malig- nity, " that man set nre to the premises. l.->«ik at liim !" he added, ■eizing Bromley by the arm ; " would not that face alone convict him in a court of justice ?"
Bromley. 1 think, arose, and laid hold upon Steiner.
THE NAKRATIVP. OF JOHN WARD 0IB9OK.
" Pot nMven'« mfce V' uid he ; " do not be so violent. You ilon"t know that, — we rfim't know it yet. Speak, Gtlwrn; what do jon My ? Yoii ahull be heard ; what answer have you to make to this?"
None. I mftde an effort to speak, — to say I know not what, — but I could not utter u ^ylUble. How I got out of the i-oom I f»nDot remember. I must have slunk out, like a benten hound.
When I recovered iny.'ieir, I found that I hod sunk upon a win- dow-seat on the firtit biniling of the stairs There was a slight noifle above, ijteiner had attempted tu follow me, but was pr^ vented by Bromluy. My [ircsciice of uiind returned to roe of ■ gudden, and I siiruug from the wat. Of what unmanly, paltry weakness had I been t^nilty ! what cau»e could they have of sua- picioa ? what rigfil had they to »u»pect me ? Yes ; they knew their
Eersecution of me: they fcU that they had earned this reprisal at ray undB, — that 1 was jutititted in returtiiiig; evil fur evil. And they had extorted a tacit coiifexMon, at least, of the justice of their accusation. No— no, I was not tii be over-reached quite an eaiiily ; that must not be. The blood boiled through my veins, and pressed upon my brain with a dreadful weight I rushed up stairs, and flung open the door.
I cannot describe the feelings that possessed me at the raoment- I had almost brought myself to the belief that t waa an injured man, and yet I wrb aware of the neccBuity of counterfeiting- a violence of resentment which ehouIJ satisfy my accuRers that I was bo. Ac all events, there was that in my face, as I slowly approached' Steiner, which appalkcd liim. ; fur he retreated some paces. I Run^ my open hand from me, imd beized hiui by the cullur. I ircuibled violently, but my words came clearly and distinctly from me,
•' Steiner '." sud I, " you have said that I act ilri! to the houae; you have accused me of it ; yoLi shall prove it — I wilt make you at- tempt to prove it !"
Here Bromley rushed between, and besought me to '* exercise more temper." Z cajst him violently from rae.
" And you." I wiid, turning towards hira, — " you, who in con- Junction, l«iK«ied with thin villain, have been diligent^ have set your poor wits to work, to make my life, at^r it hu* been drvottu to you, a curse to myself; you wish, at length, tu compjus mv death : but I shall baffle you; I defy yon both^ aa much — I cjin tmy'ivu more -^ I despise you."
Steiner, as I said thia, rolen-tecl himself from my grasp, and en- desroured to a.uumc a threatening aspect^ which, Kowever, failed of its intended eifcct.
" I have accuited you. Gibson/' said he ; " and I mil prove it."
I smiled xcurnfully at hiiu. He waa perplexed, and would have appealed to Bromley.
" Did you not see him when I sold sor" he exclaimed.
Bromley made no reply, but raised his hatida, aa though un- willing to take further part in the business.
" Is it n'lt »traui|re," resumed 8teiuer, addressing me, " that the fire shuuUI have coniuienced in the shop— that it should have made luch progress before it was discovered — ^that nothing whatever of value should have l>een preserved.*"
I turned from him, and approached Bromley.
*' Tell him," I said calmly, " for you know it, the lie he has this moment uttered; your daughter, and his child, were preserved by
4
TUB KAHRATIVE of JOHN WARD GIBSON.
359
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me, and at the hazard of mjr life: the thanliBjroa owe me« you may pay — when you pay your other tit-bu."
Bromley was tfiiitrcsdcd : I could tcv that, but I vaa in no humour to bate a jut of the advaaUigc 1 hud gained. " You and your ac- com|)licL-," I continued, " know where I am to bu found : 1 shall be fortlicoming, I [jromise you. Good morning to you!"
It was now no time for aupinenesf, or frullleHs mtxlitation. I took advant^e of H\« opportunity they hxd afTorded me, and in- foroKtl the mrighlwurhtHtd of the aci'iiMtion they had laundied against mc, and of the stL-pi* they intended to lalte. That was wisely done. Who could believe me guilty of this act, who wiw tlie Urtit to promulgate the charge ? I suborned a favouralile verdict before my enemies commencou operations.
Steiner was as good m his word. He obtained a warrant against me, and I was brought before a magistrate. But what could this avail* He had no evidence: not the nlightest symptom of guilt was observable upon my face. Aly worst enemy, even Steiner himself, could extract — could infer nothing unfavourable from my manners or demeanour. I wai conscious innocence: and when I collectedly, and with a nuuiifest desire that the circumstances aliould be mi- nutely related, constrained Bromley to testify to the efforts I had niad^ — the successful efTorts to preserve his daughter and her child, a monnur of indignant horror at the baseneM of Steiner and him- self pervaded the justice-room. I was dischar^eil, not only without a stain upon my character, but with mnny compliments upon my heroic conduct ; and, a« I left the office, the ailmiring plnudits of the multitude, and the yells without with which they n^isailcd my pcr- Kccutors, symctioned the justice of the magistrate 'm decision.
I need hardly liay that I went on my way rejoicing. I had not proceeded tafj however, before Steiner overtook me. He tapped roe on the shoulder ; I was not sorry that he had followed me : I was glad of the opportunity of enjoying my triumph tn the full.
" You have escaped," said he, " for the present ; but you shall not escape me. W c shall yet," and he »hook his fiat in my (Mt, — " we shall yet be loo much for you."
How exquisitely I enjoyed the empty menace I " Steiner," I re- plied, " do you intend me a personal outrage? if you do, 1 11 have you taken into custody forthwith. Here !" and I beckoned to some men who were already collected on the otiier »ide of the street.
lie was daunted. " 1 shall not lose sight of you," he muttered. " I mean what I have said — I sliall see you again !"
" Yuu shall, indeed," I said calmly ; " and that very shortly. Vou owe me, I recollect, six montlis' salarv — nearly a humlred pound* : I hope, when I call upini you, it will be convenient to you to pay it,'*
Steiner had not expected this. He was dumb. It waa an incon- venient circumstance.
*• Ho ! ho !" I said, with a smile of contempt ; " I have, it seems, Cfoped your malice, and tliis had escaped your memory-. Vou may ke^ it. I hope, Steiner, you may live tu wont iL This one hope uf mine I thinic likely tu be fulfilled."
CBATTRB IV.
Wdisn morntists purpofo to deter you from vice, they tell you bow insidious it ia; how it ■trengthens by encouragement ; how v
360
TilR NARRATIVE OF JOHN WARD GIBSON.
po8siMe It is, -when it has ontx taken root, to eradicate it : vlim the^- <lc«iro to reclaim vou from it, they nay how easy it ii ta. fulfil a good rcsohition : " tlirou' liut a stone, the giant dies ;" one conqoest gained makes way for jumthcr. &c. Convenient nJOraltBU!
Perhap.t I uns not originally ibrmcd of such BtiilT as Raints are made cif ; ur, perliH])H, the dtH'd 1 had done, and its results, threw me into a frame of mind in which vice coninieiitb itself most cosily to one's adupLion ; for nn sooner had t left Bromley and Ids partner, as I believed, for ever, than I chiinged my lod^^iig, and, neglecting the opportunitifs which had biren pr*-i)ented to me, Hurrendered my- self to a coursi* of the loMent nnd most depravcrd dissipation, until the money I hud been years in navtnfr was expended, and the per- emptory coniliitions of existence were once more offered to my acceptance. At this time, the thouf^ht of committing suicide en- tered my mind ; but, although I did not encourage it, I take no credit for any religious scruples that withheld me. It is no less tnie, that the habitual practice of vice unfitii a man for death, than that it renders him afraid to die. We all look forward to some amend- ment of onr condition ; many place Hwir faith in the world to come, many rely upon their chalices iti lliis. 1 was uiie of the latter class.
At length, in the loit extremity, I applied to Mr. Taylor, of whom 1 have before spoken, lie receivea me kindly enough, sympa- thised with my misfortunes, was indignant at the treatment I had experienced from my former masters. But it is one thing to sue, and .-mother to be sought. He would by no means renew the flat- tering oiTcrs lie had previously made rae. " Wliat & pity it was," he aaid, " that I liad not come to him immediiitcly I left Dromley. And then, although the accuKuticni iiguiiiHt me bad so entirely fallen to the ground, the world was fi<i cenMsrioun — mi uni'lmritable! In a worn, however base the world might be, I found iMr. Taylor tho- roughly ft man of it ; and accordingly, like others who drive hard bargains, he thought the most likely way of getting me cheaply, was to depreciate me.
During the two years I remained with Mr. Taylor, I saw neithn- Bromley nor 8teiner. I was aware that they left the neighbour- hood shortly al\er their parting with iiie. and I knew that neither of them liad re^tumed buMiiesit. I concluded, therefore, that, having settled their involved affairs, they had proceeded to Uermany, where, 1 had often heard lum srfy, Steiner had many rich and in- fluential connexions. I endeavoured to exclude the remembrance of them ; nnd had begun to look back upon the fire as a calamity which, morally conHidered, had probably operated with salutary efficacy upon all the parties concerned, except myself- And yet the memory would intrude itself upon me sometimes, nor was 1 able to dismiss it.
Tajinr and myself were mutually disappointed in each other. I found htm a low grovelling person, who had originally sought to procure my services, not more to forward hh own interest than to pursue an ohi enmity Ixtwcen himself and Bromley, of whom, con- ceiving that he hail «.'ciired ii rrsily listener when I first entereil his seivice, he wiis alwavft (Speaking in terms of bitter hostility. On the other hand, I believe he had eonie reason to complain uf Die. I had lost all alacrity, 1 evinced no zeal for busiuees. It hail
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THE NARRATIVE OF JOHN WARD OIBSON.
361
not only become irkeomc to me, but I began to wonder how I could possibl)' luve taken an interc&t m it at any time.
I had been with Taylor two years, when an event fell out that, in a moment, entirely changed the whole aspect of my future life. I wa», WW evening reading the newspaper, when hu advertJMrment caught my eye. It wh« to this effect: — " Thnt if any reUtion of Luke Adam*, of Luton in Beflfcirdxhire, were in existence, and he would apply tn certain Rolicitoria in Austin Friars, he would hear of something greatly to his advantage." I remembered instantly, that Adams was my mother's uncle, to whom she hud written, at my father's death, requesting eome tripling assistance. N'ot to dwell upon this part of my narrative : I waited upon these gcntlenien in the city, and after consiileriible delay, and no small difficulty tn proving my own identity, was acknowledged sole licir to his very coiiiiiderable property, and I took poi^scssion accordingly.
I do not think that this sudden cliiuiKe of my condition produced any great mural altcrniioii in me, whether tor better or worse. It must be remembered that « man may be virtuous, as the world goes, at a very cheap rate, but vice is an expensive luxury ; and to expend money liberally is of itself considered a species of virtue, especially by tliose who receive it. Witliout any love of vice for it* own sake, or for the sake of any delight it afforded, 1 plunged once more into diksipation, and pursued the same idle and proHtleas pleasures with which most men, without other resources than money, are fain to content tliemselvea. That I was not happy, perhaps t need not say; I became more and more conscious every day (1 had not felt it HO much when I vas poor, and compelled to earn my living,) of the grievous wrong I had done to Bromley. Bitterly to repent an injury inflicted upon another in a torment that knows no alle- viation— that no time will mitigate. Dut, although conscious of the wrong, 1 could not repent it until reparation was made to me: that reparation came at last, and repentance followed, and misery Iwneeforward abided with me for ever.
One day I hud taken shelter, under a gateway, from a heavy ahower of rain. I had not been standing tiiere many minutes, when a woman, meanly clad, entered hastily, and perceiving me, started back, and involuntarily pruoounced my name. I should not have rcncmbered the face — the mvagr of l/ml lig/il had made a fearful, a hideous change,— but the voiir« vrsa familiar to me.
" Mrs. Steiner !" I exclaimed; but she hud turnetl from me. The tone in which she had uttervd my name was the tone of former years, and my heart was touched. I approached her. " Will you not speak to your servant, madam ?" I said. ■' Oh ! do not say so, sir," ahe answered ; " I am very glad to KC you." She trembled, but offered me her hand.
Tliere ia nu sight in nature mure pitiable, more humiliating than that of sclf-ab«8«d poverty. I could not witness it unmoved ; I took her hand and prewed it warmly: 1 inquired ofler Bromley, whether he was yet Uving; and aaked it ihetf ttill resided with him.
" / live with him;" she answered, " Mr. Steiner U not with u* at prevent."
"I should very much wish to ice Mr. Bromley again," I said •amestly.
TOb. 111. So
TBB NAHKATIVB OF JOHN WARD GTBSON.
Her cres brighlen«il for a rnomwil. " Should yoa ?" she replied. " but perhaps—" Ac paused.
'• lie woiiU) not cmrt to we me. Did you mean that? I know hU nr«jiitlit'C a^unsl me,"
- Thjit, sir. Gibson, hu breo lon^ ago dispelled. It would lUAke him happy to see yon once more, before he diet, fie haa laiH ta often, but ne is «sham«l and afraid to meet you."
I prevailed upon her to allow roe to conduct her home. She made many excuse*, and at length, with a raltering voice mur- mured soincthing about the meanneM of the lodfpng. Drawing her arm between mine, we proceeded on our way in »ilence, (my heart was too lull to »pejik,) towards a narrow street in Westminster. " We live here," she saidj with a deprecating blush, a* she knocked at the door of a miserable dwelling. " If ^ou will wait be- low for a ntoment, I will prepare toy father to receive you."
I waa dhown into a small room, ^rantily fumii^hed, on the second Boor. When I entered, Bromlej- came forward to meet me, — but rery feebly ; anil, placing his lund upon my shuulder, he gaied long aund earnestly nt me, whilst the tears rolled down his face.
"And you have cunic at last to see me, Mr. Gibson?" be Hid tremulously ; " I do iutt deserve this kindness from you. Oh ! boy,
I have wrmiged you, — but, listen, — that villain !' he looked around, but Mrs. Steiner lu>d left the room, " that villain, Stciner, set u* against voii — iKilh of us ; he did — he did !'*
I placer! (liK ifid niiin in his chair, inid sat down by his side. He was verti'i'S uixni *rt-und childhood, but I fTAlhereil from him enough to know lliut I hiul tieen the instrument of ruin, of m!*«ry, of des- tiluticri, iitiil "f )ii* prt-sent helpleu and piteous condition. Steiner had long itiJo abandoned his wife and child, having converted into money i-verything he could lay his hands upon, and they had neither ai-eii nor heard fVom him for years,
I could wish to nvoid thU part nf my confession — I mn hardly bear to tliink upuii It even now. Alorc awful circumstances do not •o disturb me, as the remembrance of that day. I staved with them for some hours. We talked of by-gone days — my Jays of happi- ness,— but we spoke of ihcm sadly, mournfully, and with regret. At length I iiift>rmed tliem of my unexpected possession of a for- tune, and abruptly — for I could do it in no otner way, expressed my determination of providing for Broinley and his daughter, and of t;iking the child, who was now grown a fine boy. under my pro* tection.
Icanncvcrrecal to memory, withoutagony, theold man, as hetot- lareii from the room, chuckhng as he went, to tell the woman of the house, below, that he wa.4 a made man again, and tlul Gibson had brought him back hts property; and 1 grnaned in %-ery anguish when Mrs. Steiiier fell at my feet, bathing my hand with her tcar^ and callnl upon the child to kneel before me, and hies; their bene- factor. 'Hiey could not have dc\l»ed a more dreadful vengeance upon me.
I, tim, when I returned home on that night, went upon my knees, not for forgiveness of my crime, but that ne would direct me bow to atone for it iiv this world. And 1 arose, perhaps, a better, if not
II hap|uer man.
Peace it, however, preferable to happiness ; if it be not in it$ best
THE NARRATIVE OP JOHN WARD GIBSON. 365
tease the miiiv tiling, and if an exemption From extenial influencef ma_v be cnlled peace, I enjoyed it for six years ai\«r my interview with Bromley wid hit daugliter.
Wliat I ha<l promised to do for them was done, and done prampt- Ir- 1 settled an annuity uptHi tliem, which was continued to Mrs. Steiner after the death of her father, and I sent the boy to a Uoard- ing-school in the vicinity of London, intending to realise fnr him the proanecta which had been designed for me by my early pro- tector, Mr. Ward.
The world fimU it very difficult in many cases to draw the line, and in some even to distinguish, between crime and niii^fortune. I am about to enter upon a circumstance in my life whtdi diiefly par- takes of the latter. I cannot bring my^lf to think otlwrwisv. But it will be iiect.-sHBry tu state in a few wordn how matters stoud when thit circumstance occurred.
I had been living fur the ii|Mice of ax years a »ecluded and an in- oflTenBive life. I occupied u siiuill ilctnchcd house at ('het^ea, and re- tided alone ; the woman who attended upon nae coming every morn- ing, and returning to her own home at night The boy opent the chief portion of his Imlidays with me; but at other tinieit, with the exception of an owanitMial visit to and from Mr*. Steiner, I neither went to fcee nor received into my bouae any human being. I had no friends.
My early attachment for the boy had been renewed, and he re- turned my aflectiun. He was dow thirteen yearK of age; and, at the time of which I am about to qieak, at achooL
CUAPTED V.
I bad been expecting a letter from Mrn. Steiner, which she had promised to «ena mv in tlie evening. It was a letter for her son. to which I wished to add a few lines. It was growing late ; my >er- vant had lef\ me, and I was about to retire to bed, when a Knock auniiQoned me to the door. Late as it was I concluded that some person had brought the letter- On opening tlie door a tall, muscu- lar man, with a fur cap on his bead, and enretiiped in a rough great coat, stoixl before me.
"Is Mr. Oibson within?" he inquired.
** He l»: my name 'u Gibs»on."
" Ynu don't remember me, I perceive," said the man.
" I do not."
" Ay r he continued ; " times arc changed since wc la«t met : with you for the better ; for the worse with nic. My mate la 8l«iner."
I stept back in aatoni^ihuient.
"You won't know me now, 1 suppose?" resumed Steiner, "and I believe you have no reason to care much about me; but I have aaffered mtsfortunes since then."
This WAS spoken in a tone of humility, which almost affected me.
" Nay, Steiner," said I, " I have long ago forgotten and forgiTeti the past."
"Have you?" he replied quickly. "Mr. Gibson, you havp • good heart, and I always thought so ; though I didn't always act M if I thnnght so. But, won't you let me step \nf I iiavo a &- vfmr tn beg of you ; and I won't detain you long."
ScS
SGi
THE NARRATIVE OP JOHN WARD CIBSOK.
I Il'J tJi« wuv into the parlour, aiid hv sal down. Ab lie toalc otf his cap. im^ threw back tiie great-coat, I at once recoj|pii«vd mj* old enemy. Time hud contributed hi» usual share to the idteration I detected in Inm ; but sordid wants, and recourse to miterable shifts and expedients, will breed care, even in the most callcms bosom ; and its dftTta wrre observable upon his face. He looked il)> wim, and exhaiiflted.
"Will you not take wrnie refreihroent ?" 1 said: "you appear fiiint." ^11—
" I am BO," he rpplied. '* Vou are very kind. I will take aom^ thing. I have not touched a morsel to-day."
I went down Ht/iir5, and procured what the pantry contained^ which I laid before him.
" Vou had butter take Bome wine," 1 said, placing it upon the tabic.
I watched him in silence as he despatched Im meal, wonderini inwardly how he bad obtained a clue to my place of ubode, and what retjueit he was about to make to me. He thrust the tray from him, and helped himself to a glass of wine, which vtu pre* gtntly followed by another.
" You i»o«m to have a pirasnnt place her*, Oibion," tnid he. "Well, thin iM A strange world ! Who could have Nuppoaed lifteen years aj^ that you and I would have been situated oa we are now; — but you don't drink."
I took a glass of wine. "It has pleased fortune to bestow ha favours upon me," said I ; "but, after all, fortune "
"Ah! well; I 'm glad of it!" he cried, interrupting me. "I^ glad of it ; you deserve it. Here '» your health, old boy !"
" T was sompwhnt startled at this sudden fiimiliarity. I had nerer admired Swinrr in his gayer mood, CijiEcially whun it had bem induced by drink. I knew it of old as the prelude tu an ebullition of a totally opposite nature.
" Will you let me know how I can be of service to yoa, Mr. Steiner," I said abruptly ; "it is growing late."
"So late? not so very latel" returned Steiner. truth is, I am poor, very poor, and I w;int money !"
" You are in want, you say f Well, I can, perhaps, "
"Perhaps!" aaid he. "Certainly,! should think. Come, more wine : I see you have some on the sideboard."
" Another glass," I answereil, producing with reluctance a second bottle, " and we part. Do you mean to say, sir, you are in positive distress ?"
" I do," he returned ; " I have nothing left in the world,— no- thing? Yes, thift. Do you remember it?" and he produced from hiii pocket a dagger, the sheath of which v-aa curiouitly chased, and which had ornamented Ilroudey's shop from my earliest re- membrance. " I have kept it by nie for years," he continued, "in case it might be wanted." He threw it upon the table, and seised the decanter.
I could see in his eye at that moment the man I had lost sight of for yearn ; the man who had threatened me when 1 lart saw him. But I had no wish to quarrel with him.
" Have ynu seen Mrs. Steiner since your return to England ?' I inquired.
■ii-^ *^
I I
"Why, the
THE NARRATIVE OF JOHN WARD GIBSON.
3G6
" No. I h«ve not «cen Mrs. Strincr since iny return to Rng- Und," sjiid he. " I called at my former lodgings, and they uifunu- ed me of cv«ything. Tliey tuld me where I might Hud jou, and
I
I iireCerreil ciilUng upon you first"
" Well, Steiner," ' it grows very late."
"Well, Steiner," said I, rising, "I am sorry to hasten you, but
"Ha! ha!" cried he, not hewlinj; jne ; "I hear yon have done •oniething tor tUt* buy, and pruvidvd for Loui»a. Welt, it 's gene- rous of you; I will say that. She's altered, eh! not quite so handsmne f But you always liked her, you dog I 1 knew thnt." I sat down, in utter and mute Burprise at the man's iNisenefts. "And old Bromley 's gone too," he rCTumed. "Well, we must all go ! The law of nature they Call it."
" I must beg you to defer your bu»ineA9 till to-morrow TOorning," said I in dingust. " I will not be kept np any longer!"
" No, no," returned he dccisivclv ; " I can't do tnat. If Bromley oould have deferred his death tilf to<morrow he would have done so, I dare say ; but he couldn't. I enn't defer my buttiness !" " What do you want ? " said I peremptorily.
"Money!" answered Sicini-r. "Come, GibKon; I know you're a goud-natured fellow. I want a hundred )iound&." "A hundred pounds !"' and 1 drew I»at'k in surprise. "No noni^eiise, my gentleman!" cried Steiner, tajiping the table with the hilt of the dodger. " You know, and I know that yen set (ire to that houae in Wurdour-ntreet Vou ruined us. Yuu reduced u« to beggary. I mu.-it liave this money ! — I must — mur! t"
The old feeling entered into me which I had years ago encouraged, and bv whose power 1 had sueceHsfully wrought out my vengeance. "Alust?" said I; "must, Mr. tileiuer? that ia a word 1 never obeyed in my life!"
"Time you began!" said Bteiner with n sneer. " Come, OibtOdf you are no match for nic ; you knuw iL You tried me once, and you were wanting. Vou are alone in the houae. I have you in my power !'*
"What Ho you mean?" said I, but I waa not alarmed. "What do you piirpoae?"
"This!" cried he, and he unsheathed the dagger. " Your life," said I promptly, " your life, Steiner. will answer it!"
"What is it to me?" he returned. "What ia yours to you ia the question ! Will you let we have the money i" " tio \"
-Vou will not?"
" No !" I thundered. " Steiner, I shall sell my life dearly ! Never shall a Ixrast like yourself extort money from ine by force — by in- timidation !"
I said more, but I know not what; »nd grappled with him. He was ■ powerful man, but lisd become enervated by excess. I learnt that aflerwards. And the wine he had taken, although it hail aiimnlitnl his brutal nature, had deprived him of that advan. tage which is derived from quickness of eye and directness of aim. I, uw, had grown stronger since we were last opposed to each other.
lie had woundct) me in the arm hefnrr 1 cIoRcd with him, and
806
^HB nriNO CltltlK.
wrested the tiagfjer from hin hund. The «tni|re1e was thra chort. coiuprcswHl, ami deadly- We fell to the *'*rth t<»^elh«rr. Stetner'i bold upon me seemed to relax:, — a faintne»« overcame me, — xht TCHim appeared to fo round rapidly, — and I sank into inM^n^biI■ty. When I recovered my senses, and aros«, — which I dul with difficulty, I found the candles burnt out, and the daylijrht utreain- Ing through the shutters. Why was I here ? What had happen* ed ? It was a hideous dream ! 1 nude an effort to approacli ibe window, hut I stumbled over sometliinf; mi the floor. It yrai Steuier, — llie lifdifsi. body, — the coq>te of Steiner ! I had killed him ! Hia neckcloth told me that 1 bad strangled him !
THE DYING CinLD.
" Shall I med tttee ftf^ain, my child — my child i
^ukW I meei ihcc again, my child, RooiniEiS along l>y ihc liill sjile fieei Bounding away nitb boyish glee
In lite e^'eiiiD)! lunWuin mild T Oh ! down by Ihe flood, in the tufted vood.
Shall I mteK lb«e agun, my child 1" " Mother, no; t)ir mountain path
No longer i.1 mine to see ; And tha glow of thp ■ummor aunbeaiD hxlh
No warmth or joy for me 1 Olil neveragun by ch(f or gieD
Shall my footstep wander free 1"
* And shall [ not meet thee again, my child, Not meei <h«e again, my child, Where the haXhf berriei all red and bright,
Doni) by lh« copt^wood wild J Where (he nested bird in its joy i* heard. Oil I bIisJI I not meet ihee, my child J"
" Mother, no ; ihc yoonf; bird's song
No longer is mine to bear ; Aud the muiic slrmm as it lollt alon;;
No bnsror will catch miuc «r ; And the cTimson bouj^h oflhe bally qow
MuiC Uouom over ciy bier 1"
*' Thou gopst to lle^aven, my child, my child I
Tlmu goesi to Heaven, my cLtId ! And thine cy« is gUred whilv the spring soft Bii^teni Iha path wht'rc so o.n and ah
Thy chenib-Ups have smilEd ; And ahe.'idy ihey «eep oV r thy dTeamleis sleep.
My loved and my sainted cliild !
" But, oil ! wiien the hoiotn* of all funift. And the lieanh rin^s a^in with glee, Tlivn, llirn, will mine acJiing lida be wet,
My gallant chdd, for thee 1 When simini«r with flowers and fniits shall come.
And all are in mirth and joy ; Oh 1 ibm, in ihe t^id^t (if the tiir earth's btooin, 1 '11 kiss thee, ny dartinc; boy !"
N. F. D.
367
THE CUISINK MAIGBE.
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ThkHR are in th*" Itcnutitul cabinet of Srunweur SoTiampd nl Ghent two pictured bv .lean Stein, oneof those masters whose workit abow not only that he was a huninriftt, bat a close obaerver of nmiiikinil.
ni» favourite Htmlies were the lowest bdngs in the acjile of ex- istence, and his .nubjecls generally taken from the paingelfc or the eahiiref. His bours have a eharacler of tlieir own, and »huw in every t'cMture the conovc|ueueL'S uf habitual debauchery and obscenity. He is no great colourist, like most of tJie Uutch or Flenii«h school, and wetna to have cared little about the finish or minulue of his art. Ilia ])rinf:ipa] nim and acconiuli!>hiiient being effect, and truth to nature; plain, unadulterated, disgusting, degraded nature, without caricature or exaggeration; struck oS" at once, and left ajt struck off. Ab b morali^it he xiMuetimea remindo u» of our Hogarth; and to me one of hii; interiors, with their hard-outlined figures, sketches as they are, is worth more than the mellowest Ostade, or a Teniers witli all itH iiilveriness.
Uut to return lo the pictures of which I am 8|>eaking. They are called in the catalogue, "The Cuisine grois," and ** The Cuisine inatgre."
It in to the latter only T mean to confine my remarks. Such wa» the impression it made on me, tlut I seeui nut only to have it before my eyes, but ti> have been present at the spot whence it was taken.
In a dilapidated grrnier, with a ralXered roof, ia a Ncenc such aa we have only to go to Manchester, or one of our manufacturing towns to parallel. All the furniture the room contains U w>ine wooden benches and a table. Over this table lean*, at the further extremity, an emaciated tall woman, whose age it would be difll- cult to clelermiiie, — fur mitery Ilis no age, — the wretched mother of a numerous wretched offBpring. She has jurt been anemptinc to suckle an infant ; but, from the ap]>carance of her breasta, which hang down like the dugtt of some wild forett beast, and the face of the child, who is evidently crying for food, attempting it in vain.
The husband, sealed on the bench, a man of forty, in squalid- ness and rags, mutelieji well with his helpmate. HIh countenance expresaeg none of the deformity of vice, or emariation of drunken- ness, usually seen in Jean Stein's picturett ; but is marked by the griping hand of penury and deslilutiun. We may trace in his fine, manly form aiid features that he has seen better days ; llial he haa been retluccd to what he is, by the pressure of circumstances, hy the force of some overwhelming destiny, rather than by extrava* gaiicc or di»sipation. It is no temporary misfurtune that has fallen upon IlJm ; but for years and years he has been familiar with every exueme of human ill, — with cold, nakcdnesa, hunger, and degra- dation.
The woman has juit handod to him, in an earthen vessel, a diah of muacles; which he is sharing among the half-famished groupe that encircle him.
These facca bear a strong resemblance to hia, and ore, M it were.
368
THE CUISINE MAIGRE.
the reflex of hi« own. They are feces «iich lu I remember at Pcrf, ami other of the Neapolitan mountain villager. Children whu bid never been younp. dwarfish, hurtl- featured, capable of any crime, exhibiting a premuture decrepit tide, counterparts of those ire ftoine- times see titAnding shivenng about the purlieus of 8t. Giles'a, or perched ucainst snn\e wall opposite to a ga«>1ight in one of the crowdeil thorough fares of the metropolis. Mendicancy^ baa been long their only resource' and employment; and it appeara pK)ba- blu that the meal they are about to partake, Kcanty as it la, htt biini purehosed with the eariiin^g of the day. No ingenuity could posailJly have conceived any dish Ie«» satisfactory — leso calculated to uHsu*)ffe hunger,— than tfie one before them,
The father's right hand is immcrBL-d among the muscles, and he is continuing what be has already beguiij the distribution of their truly ciiisinr maiere.
In front wtandV erect a boy of perhaps thirteen, and roars at the top of his voice, which, doubtleiis, is shrill and piercing. It struck me that he was not to be served ; perhaps as a punishment, he having brought no alms home with him. — for heje.iloudly even the portion that hiia just been distributed to his opposite brother, whose back being towards uh, we eaniiot see him devour it. Another, with tears iti his eyes, is rcprcEented stretchitig out bis skinny hands— more like taluiu thiui bauds— for his pittance, with all tfc cugeniesi) of a hawk about to pounce upon its prey. A third wolfiA- looking child, with long stniig)' hair trailing over his face, cuts savage glances at his brotherEi, as though he were euual to any ex- cess) in order to appease the giiawingii of hunger, whilst the os- seous profile of an old hag, doubtle&s Oie grandam, — a match for one of iMichael Aiigelo's Futea, — peeps from under the arm of the mother- Whe is watching intently the process of distributioo ; but without :iiiy hope ur expectation (if ptirticipating in the meal.
Between the table and the chimney, are lying on tlie Hoor two children, a boy and a jiirl in tattered weedi, who have got between them, and arc quarrelling and fighting over ttie pot in which the shell-fish have been boiled. One is sucking the fingers of her right hnnd, and dipping the other in the half tumed-up vessel ; as the brotherj brerrhleHs, — an urchin of five or sis, — brandishes high the wooden ladle, which is ubuut to di-scend on the head of bu taster us n reward for her imputed greediness.
To complete the scene. Over the a»h«it of the hearth — fiir there is no fire — I observed, croucihing on hi& knees, a sixth boy, the eldest of the party, who may sugge&t the fate of the rest. liis head is enwrapped in a lumdkercliief ; he is evidently pining with nekness, — perhaps in the laHt t^tufre of consuinptioit, — and now loathes the food tor which the rest arc craving.
Prom this picture it would not be difficult to make » tale, and bow true and common a tale let Htatesmen and politicians gufwa.
T. Mbdwim,,
I
I
I
969
I
m uunff
THE RECONCILIATION; OR, TRB DBRUf.
A STORY FROM IBAL LtTS.
SV OLD NlceOLAS.
" WiLl. yoQ give me a peony, sir?" stud a litUr ragged bojr, u 1 pasted the step uf a door on which he wa» HRing,
There wu something 90 unbeggarly in the tone and manner of the fupplicant, that I stopped.
" V'e<f." said I, and I took one fmm nijrpocltei.
I lookrd the child in the face ; there was a degree of intelligence that rnnimanded attention ; an expreuion, too, that far a moment I fancied I had »efn before.
As I put the money into hti hand I asked htm where be lived.
" Id a court over the bridge," he replied.
" With voiir mother?"
*' Yes, sir ; and father and Bisters."
I beckoned him from the main Elrcet to learn more. In » fVw minutm I heard enough to dctrrmiue mv ou accompanying him borne. We cros-cd Blaekfriars" UriilKC. and, after winding through •everal courts aiid alleys, on the Surrey side, and close by the river, we stopped at a sruaU hovel, which appeared lit only for tlie abode of wretchedness and misery.
The child pushed the door open, and we entered. In tlie centre of the floor, upon what appeared to be the remains of a piece of matting, sat a young woman of ap]>arently five or six and twenty. In ber arms was sn infant of very tettder age; two or three little one* were huddled together in a comer, whoae crying my appear* anoe partially hu«hed.
Their mother raised her head from the baby as I approached her. I apologised for the liberty I had taken in intruding upon her ■orrowa. She answered not, but burst hito tears. I offered her my arm to raise her frnm the floor, and looked round, but in vain, for a ehair or stool, — the walls were bare. She was too weak to stand. I itcppcil into the adjoining tenement — cottage I cannot call it, — and putiini^ down hslf-o-erown on the table, begged the loan of an old cKair, that was the only furniture of one side of the apartment.
When the poor creature was seated, I asked in what way I could best serve her.
" Oh, sir !" she replied, " food— food for my poor ItUle ones T
I gave the little fellow who had been my conductor money, and hade him get xmie meat and bread. In an instant he was out of aiglit. I comforted as well ».i I w«s able the apparently dying woman ; told her the accident that had brooght me to her. aiKl pro> ndacd the little assistance that might be in my power. Rhe would have spoken her thankn. but her streneth was exhauMed with the few words she had already uttered. The children, encouraged by the kind tone of voice in which I spoke, now one by one stole from their comer, and came rmind me. They would hare been fine. healthy crt«tures, if misery hod not "marked them for ber own ;" but the cheek was hollow, the eye sunken, the lip thin and livid. Uiuiger was fait consuming them. As I looked upon them mv
370
ECCOKCIUATIOS.
hart nafc witka ae, farceJihwiiliMiBlo
I cmU
:^^
T^faB.
■rik
1 WSB I
the achffs;
■* An wm haaigrw, dr, tavf
Ptaor (kid ! wiifc her.hiyi had ever h tkci^bi of them Ht dM oMKicB iM» her
-fiS?i«AI; -I i> ■« h»p7; ha hsML-
•■Aad ai?"— "Aad ac^— "A^ ar? thv na dkkaiBf a thrj
« Yi% J[el>rr I
8MB thK U am dsp«d. ad a^ iliiai iflj
I fjn tayaCiaal / fi» thcj aaHlea aorva thtt wonls. I ■iml to the doa Id Im^ ftr li 7>lcin|[ ■ ftw stape vp tlkf cutut^ I aval aa lariiiig ■Bumk ta wall, aod C7i*V hitterly: on ae^g ae he hid hi* {mat to hi»
■■ What k the aMttr?" ind I ; «■»< vhae H die nunc; I |[an year
» Fstber aw a«, aod took k jssf.* ahhad be. " jast a 1 «w oaac into the bekei'e ibiaL' ^^Wherc b vow frthar I afad.
"Orer h the pnbiir-hwae,' he maliiaiiil. "^w; and, faecua I cried, be hat ae f aad berv tbe |war EOfe Imam, pottisig devo Ut haode, ahowed ae hia e;e nnrt fivhlMly ot.
Mr ftnt impala «u to go over to me pohfic-boaw ; but, reflect- iag ui m itvUnt oa the ■tste oTthea Ibadjait left. 1 jipfiitiBlriy wcDt a jr*elf Bod purchaad each leedr Jitaul fcod a 1 tlMiBpl|l waald tutBtx fm- a good aaal ; and tkcs, hani^ had the chiw* vovod yruprT\y altcodrd to, I retonwd to <a^ the laxat; of •cnng lata tLMrwvt^ baQjr compwaiively hajjpj aod coafortabtr. M'hen I took mjr d^atture I left whet tnoorr I had about tut, and proaiad to renew mj riiil before it fthonldbe exhaustnL
It wu mj intention to have gone in a daj a two ; but the lol- loving circumaiana prarcnu-d my dmng ki for a wbotie week.
Od ibc next momiDg earh I waa umt (or hj an old genilcman vi A whea I wu on ternu of great intinucj-, atefaoa^ oar acquaintance wa not of lon^ standing. lie wu extremdy tU, and wished to make « (li>|jotiuon of his property. I took a pai, and waited far hi* iiiolructitm*.
■' 1 (jirc and bequeatli," aaitl the invalid, "all monies, bouses, laiitU, ami whaUoever tUe I may die possessed of, to—" lie pauied, na If eniitidtrring. Suddcnl}- hi* cuuntirnance indicated a »trons ill- terimt •triiigfle, aa if bitter recollection* came upon him, which br HMc iltficriiiini-d t» diacard. I put down my pen.
" Ou on, atr 1 go on i" aaid lie, hurriedly. " To— to Heury 3Us- Urra— "
I auruul with uloniahnient It wu my own name.
*' Vtnt lAiitifA mean this, nr t" said I. " I have do claim upon jron to aoi'h «'" < »irnl. 1 — "
"To Jli'iiry Alttstcrt," he repeated dowly and diAinctl^*.
1 npproarlu-d liis piltuw. " 3Iy dear friund, I have hvard that you have a uliild. Ought uut — "
I
I
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THE RECONCILIATIOM.
3T1
He put his hand upou my u-m. "Child I Oh, yes! I know it ; but 1 had forgotten it uiiltl this hour. For years I have fur- gotten it ! Why tmnk of it now ? I will not think of it !"* he ex- claimed riolrntly ; then falling back, xad exerting extruordiuary ■elf-control, he agun repeated more dedaively than before, " to Henry Master*."
I could not bexr to writ4^ down worda that would shut out a child for ever without another elTort: I commenced in a persunxive tnantier; but he instantly interrupted me; and hii look and tone I shall not readilv forget.
" 8ir," said he, " I made up my mind on the most important part of thi^ matter years ago, when I had health, and strength, and intellect about me. It in not honest to try and make me waver noir that I am an tmbccile old uian."
I uould say no more. He again repeated hiis iuelructiuns, aud I reluctantly obeyed them.
For some days I was his constant attendant ; indeed I scarcely ever left his bed-side. OccaMonallv bin mind wandered, and then his muttering^— fur tliey were little better^lia*! evidently connection with ht8 last rational cttnver»ction- — the diapositton of his property. Bitter exclamations about hia child — hit daughter, plainly uliowed that, though dittowncd, fthe was not, and could not be forgotten. Once or twice he became calm and perfectly collcctwl, and on each op- portunity I endeavoured to bring him to a reconsideration of the step he had taken; but in vnin. It was the onlv tiubject upon which he would not he-^r me. I learned from the physician in attendance that his recovery was perfectly hopeless ; but that be might linger some little time. I longed to see my poor dependants ag.iin, and, one morning when my patient hail fHlleu into a deep iluniher, I took my hat, and, uuictly stealing from the chamber, directed my footsteps to their abode. The fiuidly were in a rtato little better than wnen I first aaw tliem. The woouin's husband, a reckles»( and inveterate drunkard, judging from the food he found at home that from some ([uarter or other, assistance had been given, forced the fact from his trembling partner, and then nearly the whole of the little money I had let^ bi-hiiiil ; since wliich violence he had not returned. Again I •iiip|ilied the i>oor creatures with re- freshment, and attempted to soothe the only one whom food could not alone sittiitfv — the heart-broken mother.
She briefly told me her Mory. It was indeed a piteoui one.
She was well connected ; anil, at the time nf her marriage, living
with her parenLi in ccmifort and aiflutmcc in Xew V'orli. They
wished her to connect licriielf with a man with whom she felt she
never could he happy, and she ri-lused. She wus secretly plighteil
U> another, — secretly, fur he was forbidden even her lather's bousa!
Her father coinniiuided, her mother pereujuled ; but it was in vain.
ller's was a passion that neither threat nor argument could weaken.
She married, and was renounced, they told her, for ever I She
turned to the chos«n of her heart ; and, tliough the daughter wept,
the wife triumphed t Rut, alasl the leant upon » broken reed.
Her love hiul glossed over fault*— nay, viccs^which calmer judge*
■ hajl dv^tected, and she had fancied perfection where all was frail. Her
H husband cruelly neglected her: she was n married widow ! Chil-
H dren came about her : they were fatlierleu ! Iler mother tctulerty
I
S72
THE RECONCILIATION.
loved her, and this MretcbednesB broke her heart I Her fiilhtr w»» of Btemer rtiifF, lii the low of his own partner, he Miid, i murdf-r hnd been commiltetl, «nd he doubly steeled himself iguuri it* unnatiirftl Hiithor. Then it was th«t in utter dr^pAir she left her eountry, long urRed to the step by her huBbanil t*hrt Mud he could get employment here ; and who solemnly promised ih»t in i new Iflnd he would lead another liTe ; and that, once removed from hi* haunts of ruin and dissipation, he would forswear tbero for erer, and strive to keep holy that cwred vow which bound iam to " forsake all otherfi, and cling only unto her."
On Ills arrival in England hu (>ucccediil in ubtatninj^ a lucratiTe situation, and for a brief' period all was well ; but soon the demoB, Drunkenness, aj^ain laid hold upon him, and he was lo«t fur ever.
Friendless, and alone, she struggled against the stream of ad- versity ; her health and stren|[th soon failed her, and she fell inw utter destitution, — in utter deHtitution I had indeed found her!
Thin was a slight outline of her xad hiitory. At its conctuston she burst into a violent paroxysm of tears. In such moments words of consolation are but ciiustics, keeping open wounds they cannsC cure : I attempted tliem not. The violence of this fit had in some degree exhausted itself, and I was about to ^euk of doing itome- thmg for her children, when a knocking at the door, accompanied by several voices talking in a flupprntified tone, made nic start frotn my seat, t undid the latch, and tnree men entered, bearing' in tbdr arms a fourth in a oenselcss state.
Tliey laid their burden on the floor with but little cerrmoay, Uid would have departed without a word.
" Stay r said I, seixing the arm of one of the party, " Wbft is ibiB? and what is the matter?"
" It is my huxbaiid ! my poor hu^bnnd !" exclaimed the wretched wife, springing forward.
" Ves ; and drunk as unual !'' added the man id a brutal niBtmer as he slammed the dour after him.
I cast but one look nt the face of the lost being at my feet- It was enough : disttirtiun was in every feature !
" For GikI'n sake '." said I, pursuing and coming np with the party who had just left us, "fetch me a medical man. Here i» money ; ami I will pay you belter by and by."
Money made them Samarititn^ — ^thoy hurried off to obey me. I returned. (>n the floor, and in a state of insennibiHty, lay stretched the long- neglecting, depraded husband ; and, hanging over him in all the agony of doubt and fear, liic neglected, long^enduriog wife. It was a picture that touched me to the quick.
"Henry! Henry I" she shrieked. "Ohl speuk to me! speak! but one word!" But, he spoke not; his mouth was frightjully distorted ; his lips livid and frothy.
" I^ook at me I" she continued, pressing bis hand ; " look at me I" and she spoke with a winning affection of tune and niamier, tint consciousness could not have withstood ; but his ears were aeded, and his eye» full and fixed.
A surgeon now came in ; he looked at him, and, having tmtde some inquiries as to tlie length of time he had been in the state be saw, at once pronounced his fears for the very worsL He inime- ilialely bled him in the arm, and as quickly as possible cupped
I
I I
I
cupped ■
THK RECONCILIATION.
S7S
him freely in thr neck. During the latter operation hia patient showed for an in»tflitt some signs of returning Iveliiig, atid this, by the look with which he gaxtnl upon his agonised wife. To at- tempt to (ic»crihe that look would he attempting that to which no langUA^e is equal. I think no pencil could have ever done it, mnch leas a pen. It wah one which tuld that the vinion of hia pait life, concentred, fla-thed suddenly before him ; a life during which abe who was bis ministering angel had been a victim to cruelty and neglect: there wtis an intensity of gaze, too, as if he felt that he was lookine hia last It was a lingering spark of affectinn struggling iiiLu ligut through the dark horrors of remorse. Again and agaiu she breathed cortil'art and reconciliation into h\* ear. I know not whether her words readied his hearU 1 fear that with the exception of that one momentary glt-am of reality, there wu a pro«tration of power and intelleci wHiich denied him such a blewing. I need not, will not go into fuller detail. He died the aame atlernoon, some few houra afWr he had been brought home.
I hired a person to perform the necessary duties to the departed, ami to remain with the corpse until I could give orders for its in- terment. The widow ,ind children I reiolvea to place with a re- lative of my own until the funeral shonld have taken place. I did !». Before taking leave, I begged the heart-broken woman to tell me her family name, that I might write to her fricnda in Ame- rica on her behalf.
" Friends," said she, " 1 have none. Aly mother wad my only friend, and she is gone !"
" But you have a father ?" said I.
"I know not/' she continued; "I have not known for year*. Most likely he is gone too !"
" At any rate I will write — "
" Not to America,"' she replied ; " for when my poor mother died he left it, 1 know, never to return."
" And hilt name }" said I, leading her to the point upon which 1 wished information. " His name was — "
" Jackstm." said the mourner.
Why did 1 start at this single word ? Why did my words hurry rapidly on one another us I questioned her as to the Christian name^ and why, when I learnt it was Adam — Adam Jacksott— did my frame tremble, my countenance change its hue, my heart beat audibly? "Oh, God!" said I, inwardly, "if it should be to*.''— • • • • • •
I sent for a coach ; and, handing in my Mill weeping compa- nion, and the little fellow whom I hod fir.it seen, deiiired tJir man to drive to Mortimer-streel. It was the residence of my dying friend. Showing the mother and her child into a room below, I hurried up stain to hia bed-chamber. 1 had already been absent several hours longer than 1 had intended. When 1 drew aside tbc curtain, the old man turned his ejes towards me ; tliey war« deep, sunken, and glassy; his features, angular and emaciated u they had long been, were now prrfectly ghastly. I was pain- fhlly struck with the advances which death had made towanls his
Tictim.
My friend lookeil steadfastly at me for some minutes without
374
THE RECONCILIATION.
Any token or ni^ of recognition. I Hpoke, and my voice udiii]! perhxpfl his faiHt-fuiUng' mrmury, called mc ti> bis rccoUcctiun. He fi^asped my iutnd with a convulsive torce, eo great tliac hia bcaj GngcTs actually gave me pain.
"I thounht." 8«i() he, striving, but ineifectually, to mive hin- (leif in bed, " that you bad neglected — )ei\ tnc, left me in my Urt trial, 8it down, and come rlo«e to me. I have bad n alc^p— • lon^, lon^r Hleep, and a dream m horrible, so real, that w»kiii;, though it he to <lit', in happineM .' Ckwne closer," he continued, " and I will tell you all. I thought that I saw my long-departed wife; she came to me in sorrow, for our lost, discarded daughter was on her arm. She strove to speak, but could not ; s^ain and again she strove, but hitter grief choked her utterance. She took our child by the hand, and led her towards uie ; but I turned from them. The penitent fell at niy feet. I apurned bcr away. 1 steeled my heart ; but could not close ray ears to bcr supplica- tion*. They were the outpouringi of a contrite heart; but tbej touched me not. She spoke in sngiiisih of her little one* — her helpless little ones! and I laughed — laughed at hermiwry. Still «h« prayed on ; she bathed my feet with tenrs ; she lifXed her hands, and would have touched me, but I shrunk from her ad- vances, and heartlessly commanded her to be gone ! Her voice was suddenly stilled: 1 heard no sob. no sigh! I listened; but could not even detect the heavy hreathinKs of sorrow. For an instant 1 remnined wrapped in gloomy and unrelenting anger. I tamed to grntifv once more the devil th.it wns in me ; but gbe was guiie! I sought for and called aloud upon my wife; but tbe ton had depsned !"
Here the old man pauwd ; then placing hts hand upon my shouU der, so as to bring my lialf-avcrtcd face towards him, " You trem- ble !" said he, "you tremble, and turn pale !"
It was so ; in spite of every effort to appear composed, I could not command my feelings. J waa about to »peak. Ue put his finger on his lips as enjoining silence, and continued.
" Vou are already affected ; you will shudder when you have heard me out. I thought that immediately on being left alone I waa seized with an icy chillnena, which I Itnew was the touch of death. I looked around for help; but could 6nd none. I prayed for some hsnd to assist, some voice to comfort me in my dying hour: but I prayed in\-(iin. I heard but the echo of my own lameo- tations ; and was left to go down to the grave unheedeid and alone.'"
Ag»in he paused ; and so grent were his excitement and agi- tation, that I little expected he had strength to resume; but, a(ier some minutca ht: did so, and in thc»e words: —
" I awoke; but in another world, or rather, when this world had passed away. As I rose from the tomb, but one thought, one feeling possessed roe; / trat goin^ to he jtidgrd ! Every thought, word, and action of my life had snared my reiiurrectiun, and stood ^uilpably embodied before mc — a living picture. My last inter- view with mv child wan the darkest Kpot ttiere. I shudderetl a« 1 beheld it. I strove, but *>h ! how vainly, to blot it out! Au all- coniiiming tire was already lighted up within me, in the horrible con- victiun that this, even in its naked self, would endanger my sal-
"^ '^~ ' Suddenly a sound such as oMrtal ear had never
mdon for cvet!
I I
I
I
THE ftRCOJJPlLIATION.
875
I
I
hrartl before, burst on tht tDMiiMnig myrindi nrouni). It was a Hound tfiat fillwl mH rrentinn, culling nil thowe who had Cvrr been to be Again, «nri to wait thr word that should blem*. or «»ei*n ihrni into endletift perdition. Millions upon millions had paswtf on in judf^fnt ; and I thoiiRht thnt IremuHngly I (ipproachcd the throne of grace! Mercy smiled upon me! and I looked with straining eyes after those iorgiven npirita wlin had gone before. I was about to follow, when a witnesH came againet roe, at whose presence, conscience i^tricken, I fell prostrate in dcspuir! AIv daughter '. my Hpumed and pirsecuied daughter ! No voice of acciiaatinn wns heard ! No look of reproach from her ! Yet silent and mulion- les», dejected nnd wan, as when I had last beheld her, she told of ibe early orphanage into which she was stricken by my unnnttiral desertion ! the destitution which my savage vengeance had en- tailed 1 ] trembled under the weight of the«e awful charges. I tried to lift my eyes to my child to win her inleruession; but 1 had no power to move them from myself, I tried tn speak ; my tmifriie clove to my mouth. How — how could / plead for mercy who had yielded none? Pressed on by thronpng crowd.* yet be- hind, I advanced as if to enter that blesited path which the happy trod; but suildenly it was barred against me! An angel with fVnwninfr a^ipect waved nic aside, among a countless herd as wretch- ed as niy.ielt. A cloud passed over us ; our souU sank within us: it shut us out for ever from even the gliiiimerings of hone. I Uiought that we fell, and fell deeper, and yet deeper, galberiiig in numbers »<* we fell ! Groans and blasphemies were in my ear; impenetrable darkness above, and hell below! I shrieked madly ! I was answered but by shrieks ! A thouttond times I grasped at objects to stay my fall : J clutched them, but they yield- ed, and helped me nut ! Hopeless and eternal perdition was be- fore me! One plunge more, and a lake whose waves were of fire — Rre inextinguishable, would engulph me for ever! Myriads be- held it too; and now one universal ftcrcam of horror, enough to rend twenty worlds, burst upon me!"
Here the old man was so excited with the recital of these imaginary- horrors, that I could with ditltrulty hold him in my arm*. His frame cjuivercd, hi.i eye glared with unnatural power and brightneM. I spoke and sootlieil him.
'* The euund is now in my ears!" he exclnimed wildly. Almost tttstaiitly after, he added, as calmly. " I awoke! 1 am awake!" and dai|iing his withered hands together, and raising his ejes to henven, "he said fervently, " I thmik lliee, Ood I it was a dream !"
Almost immediately afterwards he fell back on his pillow, per- fectly cxhinmted. Anxious as I was to speak to him once nmre, to ask biin but one question— to satisfy my more than surmises, I cuiild not— dared not do it, as he then wa^i. I watched, oh ! how eagerly, to see bii eyes open, hii lips move, that I might address myself to him, hot he lay in a "itnte of complete stupor : I trembled as I ga^fd, lert he might never move again. After some little time paimNi in this atate of painful su-spense, and still no sign of returning conscioua. nesa, I grew more alarmed, lest when he did recover. It might be bnt for a moment, as I knew to be a not uiiftrqucnt case, and that I might have no time to inquire into the striking coincidence, to •ay the least of it, that bad bo extraordinarily presented itftelf to mi!.
THE KECOVCOUI
Wiihdusfiear mm wn mimd, I dowBjtfiin, ■idaKiirfjiiic aywlf m
WhcB I CBlcrad Uk nmm is vUi hercUil, I bod tlw IbvMr anii«
to brr hmdi Ihi boy w« at kv
iW 1
with ^ief and when am I? WIhw fewe is tll»^ tW trfilr, ahe wrtinowl. "tin book — ihM iU tlxr'i; it WB Ina iwb hSbitl Bo* w Ui a* pofl br B17 own band.' And taminc la the «M JMoibed - Adam Jadtmn. Ne« Tack,' d
MdKM
rfr-
_ iitfct i^riiiai tte kd
that I karv Dat «b^ mhr la Mfcc I ftarai thai Ae «as mkr krfi^cr'a raoC tkc ikr
caidd Mot ba eradv^ fir bar whola bong aeCBad to hi waited for.
aa bawudavi^ to tcB kv M a»
Mk:I
rertjuad br bt nl^Kr, afaa snacd dit wriit ▼ioleni^ ^ti n- ~ ' wildad hm^»
^sbtVP
ptwtti kt a load and aeaada^ toae. «hOe her wild look betokened iwo'pienl iimlmai. ** Wbow boaw ia lki»?~
" It 19 tbe boiur,' and I mildly, " of Adun JsckMau"
"My&thBrrihcitoetcdhytq-wany.andfrllwMthjiatl
Alter ci)«Mid<riMc £ScnltT 1 raturgd ber to companciTe cai*- BOM ; I wai tbea cwaptOed to expUui to brr the fnaiTJtfi «f bit parent witoovt dMipUMr tot, at fint, she uopei ati*clj noitid aa ■■aing bim- AAer tliit, cbe aaiond me ihm wouUl be gnyafed W ■^ wiabei^ I led her to the aick chamber. A* we entered I peioM to « chair br the beJi^ade, and the tottered towards it. The rfi^ noM we nude iHituTbed the old nun, and in a Cuni voice be oMti me b^ my oame. I carcfallj pliocd mvA^ between him and lii efafld.
" M J d«ar, dear fiiend T be began, " I hare been aame time dymf , bat I feel tbe strac^ is DceoiT orer."
At the sottitd of bo- SSm^s roice, the tremblinfc crtatitre bv mj aide sprang ftam ber war. Ae would hare nulwd into bis inns, — tbe curtain wi« between them, and be was tligbtly tamed froo her. 10 that the moreiiient aras iineeca ; with ooe luutd 1 forciUj rcitraimd ber.
She unfc down, bat a half-Fuppressed and choking tob, tbjL might have broken her heut, escaped her. fl[
" Do not grieve," said hr, advctioiiatelj: pressing mjr hi^P " rather join me in thankful prayn- to the Almightv that I haie lived thus long — long moogh to renounce as I now do, the deadly tin of unrelenting anger against a fellow creature; a sin which I madiv hugged even on the brink of tbe grave !~
" t)o you understand me ?" he continued, speaking with diffltcal^- " My cbild ! my daughter '. God — GmI bless ! as I forgire her !**
Had I wished to have delsved longer the meeting between father and child, I could not ha\-e done it. With the grr atp« difficult I had, up to this moment, restrained tlw racking impalienca «f
sn
m. I
0«l
vlw.'
.fewi
nka^dEvTar. 1 tnMbM lor tlw
k» dn^i apsK, ar he fnci fab losfcs toward* farr. rill fivjps Ae «gMf «r ibM sMnkCBl !
Be tMJ m if a^B id adAcM ne. She, wtnn M^ he Wd |mI Utmed, and who vm pn>lU% ai afayea af his ihoaghw, sto.id in life, if Ib^ hmie Ub! His hair-<:ltM«d «]r« gaxcd G\nilj but wildly ; rtxd bnn in the «tteiiipt. ihnwt, ss if he strove to 'mg voice, whtdi Metnri to tatapai die power that wnt jedL ** This U no drr.-kin ! it tmging open his MXmt,, she.
r-. I
I hevd a raCtiiii^ in aosld aat: Aam io a pic
ii far erer. be
iB^hi ■jdMJ^tetr
6«ei hn tnnce, ^mng forward and fell upoD hit
WHhiD a frw MOtw aAcr thii toadiiiig Kvne, I was called to the door of the timmhet; X Ibnnd it wu the pfaj-udan : I took him a»d« asd huiiiaJy cxpboncd to Um the ereots of the la»t few hoon. We thcB approaAeJ die bed : the old man wiu dead < hii arm* were i rli'adi il acnae bit diiU, wboac &oe wa» buried in the piUow. On rmmwg her ap, a itrcain of blood rushed from her OMBdl ; a Toad had bcca raptaied ! la la» than half an hour her ipBi^ too^ had &cfMVDa.
THE WELCOUE BACK.
Oa ! nett M the hoar daa bnap lu hoBM^
Wiw aS wA afiainv la aen Bi ; m«K hndi aie Mntaig at w« cone
To be tW im to pcei us. Wla DM wafM hai •ami m tmmpt md wmh.
AadCMilHeaMdypea^ ^
T« Hoa lo ba>« tiw lonsc naik.
Aad ia4 a fa««de Uatq 1 Oh! >DyM]r dear is ^ bootewwd tnck. If «c ae bat MK «r a wdoMae UcL !
WIm do w* radt on ■ dnatj- wij>,
fhoa^ taadjr and henig^biail. If w« Iem« iWe as* lips to
Aad CTCi Atf wA heMi, love Wlac b Ibe wOTih af
Todto Whde
WcbmaheiHlVdiM Ob ! ><7l«D7 4ow is fti If wevtbttMKafa
*9.
• fa* wena ac your wanaoe he ibaec ite i^a pkasa,
*• weeds dot wrieoM bad
r
III.
37H
KICHTS AT SEA;
Or, Sk^ckes cf Saval JJfe during tkt Wtu.
AY THB OLD SAILOR.
No. VHI. Wim AN ILLVnS&TlOK SY CEO&CK CRVIEUi&VK.
THE BATTLE OP THE NILE— THE DYING PRISONKU.
If L^ird Eustace had felt gratified at hiiviiii; captured one frigate, how muclt greater were Uie ple&tiure and pride oi his heart when he beheld two fine frigates anu aii armed transport gracing lii* tri- umph I Vet, the greAtest cxiise of HBti»factioii to his iiobW mliid arcMe from a conviction tliat two of his U^utenHntx would be ntjule commander*, mid the same number of paused midithipmen would »hip the white lapelles, whilst hi* i)rave fellow* would receive a very handitome sum as head and prize- money.
It was 8 line, cleiir night, with warm weather, and smooth water, and the vcstela moved but slowly tlirough it l*ord Eustace wa» too anxious for the security of his »bip to turu in, %o he wrapped himself in hiA boat-cloak, and took an occasional shOTt snooxe upon the lofa, visiting the deck at every interval, to make sare tliat a Btrict look-out waa kept upon the prisoners- Nugent was equally on the alert; for, though he could not expect present promotion, yet the captures they had made would, he was well aware, tell h.ind- somcly in his favour on some future occasion ; bendes, notwith- standing his boaated appliances to book-ii)skin|*, and hating what Spurzheim would have called "da bomp of consheit vera large." be was a good officer, attentive to his duty, and obe<lient to the routine nfthc SLTvict'. The purser and the doctor, tliough only civilians, found plenty to do; the former in attending to the French oKiwrs, the latter in looking after tJie wounded. Meanwhile Plumstone and Peabody, the marines, kept watch and watch, visiting the prisoners, and manifeatiug to tliem that all attempts at rising would be met with condign punifthmeuC. Nur were tliose noscgaiit* of the navy— the warrant olhcers — less diligent in their stations. The gunner, with his assistants, was down in the magazine tilling cartridges. The carpenter and his crew actively employeil themselves in debating upon the best mode of plugging a shot-hole ; whlbt old Savage lean- ed over his picture-gallery, looking into the blue depths of the ocean, and praying for the gitt of Glendower to "coU spirits from the vasty dee])," — for the boatswain's bottle waa empty, and he longed for a " Aanh of lightning " to titillate his tliroat. Ry his side stood Jack Sheiivehole, wondering what bis superior could be think- ing on, although giving a shrewd guess at the cause which induced him to rMmiiiate so ardently.
It was near four bells in the middle watch (two o'clock in the morning), when old Savage turned round to his subordinate, uid
* Ctlled " Nosfignjn " from I<Anl Alclvtllc having pn>oo»ii«ed tbem tli« TWy fifteen of tiM urnoa.
SEA,
txclninird, "Then I "11 tell you what it is. Jack ; when a ftllow 'a linni up it *» <1 — d onlucky. and that '9 all about it"
The Jixioin just suited honest Jack's ideas, wid ihc mathematical preciftion with which it was uttered,— a precision enforced with ail tbc «L-)mina of a firut-rate learned proftiuior in the tcience, exactly lAllicd with ohl Slieavrhole'fl notions of tiling* in ^neral, and he had only to clench it with his Q. E. D. (more properly Q, I. D.). " And, 'cause why, your honour," lutd he, whiliit tne iKmttwain's ears tingled at "your hononr," — "if a poor devil am*t got no 'bacca, he can't have no chaw !"
" And if his bottle '9 empty," resumed the boatswain, in accenu half indignant, hnlf sorrowful —
" It stands in Rood reason that he arn't never got a toothful of stuff to bless his<>elf with," aaid his mate, finishing the (sentence his supe- rior had cutnmc-nccd.
" Well then. Jack." nturncd the boatswain with energy, '* that *i
just my predickU-ment, and I'm if my inside isn't going round
■ml round, like a spuii-yaru winch, and twisting my integrals into foxes .'"
"That's almost ss bsd ai« a stark calm in the w^ind>pipe," «Aid Jark, comniistf rating the situation of hix olHctr; " but I 'm tninking. Master S«vage, there '» ituine good stuff in Uie prir.es !"
*'No dmtbt on it, Jack ; no doubt on it," responded the boaU swain ; *' and I wi^h I had a gallon or two here ; you should have • stiff 'un to cheer the cockles of your heart. Jack ; for urtcr alt, I IVels more for others than 1 does for myself. My bowels of compassion yams for — "
"A glass of grog, and some bincuits and cheese, on the capstan- head, Mr, Savage, with the captain's compliments," said his lord- ship's servant, ^dressing the old man. " It is brought up for all tlie officers ; are there any more on the forecastle ?"
"Can't say/ retume<l old Savage; "it's quite enough to look out for number one, eh. Jack?" ami the veteran walked aSl.
" Ah, there he goes, with his boweU of com passion, which 1 takes to be all nddle-strings !" uttered Sheaveholc in an undcr-tone to Bob Martingal. " Well. 1 won't be envious, though 1 should like to — "
"f^piicc xhii mriin-brace, boatswain's male !" ^hvutetl Mr. Nugent from the quarter-deck.
"Ay, ay, sir !" responded Jack, shaking tlie dust out of his call. " He 's just hit it. Bub. Twhit! twliit ! Splice muiii-brace, a- hoy !"
Never was summons more cheerfully obeyed. An allowance of ftuff was served out to all handi, "that," «.^ Lord Ktistacc sud, "ereryaool fore and aft might be tarred with the same brush."
Again the yarn-spinners lusembled nn the old spot liefiire the foremast, and once more they commenced their tuugb 'uns: their tongues beiiw oiled with the lubricating liquor.
" I say, Bc3> !" exclaimeil Joe Nightliead, " then I 'm blewed if we ahiin't cut the shine out o' all the sancy frigates on the station ; and they may get itp agtngerbread battle at the theatre, with the throsh- *em-all Hpunkaway and her prises!"
" I \io\tc it nil be a better consam than I once fell foul on in a place they called ' Bart'lemy Fair,'" said the captain of the fore- castle. "Well, I m blow'd ifit warn'toiiUsnd-ool gammon ! D'y*
k
S D 2
380
NIGHTS AT SEA.
mind, I wu in the owld Ooliah stvciity-fuur, in Ninety- eif;ht, Nile ; ami k'd into the nttiuti. ultiiuiigh lluod in the Zvalvui tried d — liard (or it; but our nkijuper, Captain Foley, wam't th« boy lo Wt liiiu do the trick, for the Goliah hm the heetit of the Zealou*, aM we pM>ed a-head of her, inside the enetny'tt line, every gun double* •hotted: ' llecau»e,' «ays our ekipper, *ay» he, "we'll take Vm on the iti-»hore side, a» the I'hance is they '11 not expect iix there, and thtit hroniUiile wmi 1 he titantied ;' which in course was all riebc eniiii>:h, and jotii an vre found it. Well then, I 'm blessed if it didn't look funny to run so close to 'em thm you mif^t have seen a mo*- kito wink hia eye. We tried first for the French Oorear, but slip> ped past him to the Conkernnt. 'caune the best bover hung in the stopper arter they 'd ffot-the cable out abaft. Ilowsoinever, J am'l ffoin}^ to light the battle over a^tiin ; owiily at the peace we got long leave, and, Jiaving lots of prize-money, J thought 1 *d go up Co Ltin- iiuii, just to see what eort of a place it wa«, as I 'd beard my ship- mates in their watch overhaul a good deal about it. Well, my boys, I just t«kes a berth 'pon deck in one o' your fly.by-nigbt wehidcs from Portsmouth ; but, as to what sort of a passage we had, 1 don't much disrrmember about it, seeing as 1 'd had more plu<>h that day than any cook u* the raess in the aarvice. Howiwmever, next morn- ing, t tinds myself all Huut;, rJdini^ it out in a four-masted thiiig-'em- he, as they calls a po.°it bed along shore, and the c:in%-ti!t was hanging in the brails ; and there was chairs, and a table, and a looking-gias*. and t' other thing, all ship-shune : and I 'm blow'd if there wani't a beauty alongside o'me: ' Yo-hoy !" says 1, 'what ship, my dar- ling ?' — ■ The Goliah, to lie sure.' iiays she ; ' dnn't you know tliatf ■ — .'I'm blow'd,' says I, *if you arn't more like a cousin than an acquaintance. How came you in my hammock?' says I. — 'You was groggy last night,' saya she, laughing like a tickled ^VeRus, 'and 8C! I WHS afeard you 'd rowl out." — 'All right, my precious!' says I; 'but, where's the shot, my darling?' — 'All safe in the locker,' says sbe; and so it was, shipmates, every bit of it, not a stiver missing. 'That's my tight 'unl' says I; and, in course. Bob, we consorts together, and that artemoon we hauled our wind for what she called, 'showing me the city ;' but I 'm bless'd, ship- matei), if I could »ee anything fur the houses till we got to a place as I said afore was nnineil ' Ritrt'lemy Fair.' Now, in regard u' Sal's kindness, d' ye mind, I 'd rigf^ed her out fore-and>aft, from the keel to the truck, with a spick-and-span new suit o' nails ; and, »» far
colours, then I 'm if she hadn't hn ensign and pennant as long
as that 'ere craft as swept all ihe sheep off the Isle of Wight going down Channel. Her gnwnd waft covered with flowers, every one on 'em as big as a cabbage ; and her bonnet would have sheltered the frigate'^ marl ties in a snow-storm. Then she'd pink silk :stockings upun her legti, as wiirii't like ycr kickHliaw-s|iiiidlc-dh»nk bliding- guiiter ladieit', but u reg'lar pair of good. «tout lower-deek ^talldleon8. as 'ud howld up stiif in a squalL She wanted boot» ; but I thought it 'ud be a sin and a shame to hide such hand&ume and proper con* sarns in leatlier -casings, so I stepped her hetU into pink long-ijuar-* teretl puiup^i with blue x-mtUU, in regard o' Ihe colour o' tiie jacket. Then t>he 'd a broad red Iwntl round her waist, with a fatJiom and a half of the same towing over her starn, and when the wind caught it, why it blow'd out like a pennant A-om the peak as a signal for go*
THE BATTLE OF THE NILE.
sai
\
iiig to churcTi. She 'd blup at thp main, and a banging; gold watch huiigin^ a cockbih undor one ot' her ciit-hrnds ; and n smarter-look- ing frigate — ownly she waa pimpled a little about the nme with groii bliMSums — I never set eyes an.
" Well, shipmate)!, su she said she 'd show nie Lunnun ; hut. Lord love yer hearts ! 1 couldn't never make out iiulbing but a big tliurch an thry called Saiit Pnul'c, booming up in tlie air so, ns you couldn't see anybody in the top*. At last we got to Bart'lemy fair, and then there wati som'ut to look at. for I 'm blow'd if they hadn't turn'd the handu up to akylnrk, or mtlier to mischief I There was Hueh a haU loo-bulloo, and »ame of the liibber^i began to overhaul their jawing gear so as tn pay nut the slack of their gammon, that I should have been dead flabbergasted if it hadn't been for Sal, who pitched it at 'em again, sometimes sending a long shot a<head, and then giving 'em round and grape from her stam-chaserft. As for the snows I well then, I 'm bte^tA'd if there wam't a little som'ut of every thing ! At last I spie« outride one of the booths ' The Ilnttle of the Nile to be seen hi.>re !' with «ime mure lingo about machinical figures and touiniytuiiH : but. ' Blow me tight. Sal !' say» 1, ' that 'ere 's just what J must see. in regard o' the owld (jolinh and Lord Nelson.' So I tips the blunt to a fellow in a box and walks in, with Hal atongvjde of me, and a woman comes round with a basket ot'orniiges, and axea me to buy. Well, shipmates, seeing as 1 'd plenty o' dumps, I buys the whole car;;o, and carves 'em out to all hMUtU, young «nd old, whilst the fiddlr« Htruck up ' Jxck '« wlive !' and presently they niana the fore-clew garnets, buiitlings. and Icrehlins, and up went the fciresel in a crack, and the music changed to ' Come cheer up, my
lads !' nml says I to Sal, ' Then 1 'm if I don't, owld gaJ, and
to here goes!' and I took a precious nip from n bottle orum she'd stnwe<l awav in her ridicule. And there vm the sea all pretty and picter-like, and the shore beyond; but the devil a bit rnnld'l see m the French fleet at anchor, or a craft of any build or rig, till there was a flash o' priming, and then in Mlla a ship under Brili.sh colourH, and fires u gun ; and tJien, in comes another, and another, till there wur the whole of Nclsan's K4|iiailrun. though they were no more like line o' battlers than Mungo Pearl is tike the Archbishop of Canterbury. Still, shipmates. I tmya nothing; for 'Atayhap/ tbioka i to myself, ■ jt may do all very well for them know-nothinga aa DCTer seed a aeventy-four in their lives.' But, presently, whea they 'd uU hove in sight, in comes the French fleet arter them, just aa if for all the world Nelson had run awKy, and owld Brewy was tn cbaae. ' D-^ my prei-iuus limbii!' says I tn myself, 'but that's coming it pretty strong V nnd I shies a orange at the French admiral ukI capsizes him, so that he went down directly- ' Who threw that 'ere.^' ihimta a man, poking; his head up right in the middle of the aea, like a grampus coming up to blow. * It was I. and be d — d to you !' says I. shicing another at him, that took him right in his bridle port. * V'ou lubberly Hon of a nca-coiite!' says I, "when did Nelscm ever run from the enemy, you wagabone^ And her« goes again!' says I; for, shipmates, my blowl was tip, and 1 atapa ■uother shot at a Frenchuion, and sunk him in ati instant' Hal hail- ed me to sit atill, HiuL everybody shouted, and the fellow Iwbs hfs bead down uiuler the aea again : ' Battle of the NileV sav" I, 'and lite one of the owld (iuliahs, fis had young Mu^cr I>avies killed alon|^
MIQBTS AT SEA.
side o' me ! Make (be French run. uid be d— d to you f si , 'heave about, and Btrike yuur colours! That arnt the battle of the Nile, yer tinkering tailor« !' But, finding that they were slack in stays, and that the French fleet were pursuing the English, I couldn't bear it any longer, shipmates; so up I jumpi, and board* the stage, and putx two or three of the French liners into my pocket, when the same I'ellow ruuMfs out agxin right through the water, and pitchei into mc right and left ; and I lets fly at him again, till a parcel of pollift-oflicem came in, and there I was grabbed, and brought up all standing. Ilowsomcver, as they axed me very purlitely to go with *m, why io course 1 did. carrying my prises and Sal along with me, afore aotne of tlie big-wigs, and ' Yo-bay, yer hom)iir» !' nys I. making my sakanis in ail due civility. 'I'm coioo to have justice done me un that 'ere gandcr-faccd chap as pretends to fight the lialtit o' tlie^'ile. and oieoneuf tbeowldOuliahs!' — * Your worships.' says the luan, hu ' 'salted me. and ' 'salted my ships.' — - ' And rn-etty pickle you *ve made ofit, you lubber !' Miys I. And then the big -wig* axed what it was all about, and the man upv and tells 'em about the fleet), and my shieing the oranges, and hitting him in the i.'ye, and the whole coniiam, even to my having the Frenchmen stowed away in my 1ocker«. And the big-vrigii litughe<l ; and one on 'em says to me, Days he, ■ Now, sailor, let un hear what you 've got to Mr for the defence' — 'The Defence, yer honours?" nays I. glad to find they know'd som'ut about the squadron; 'the Defence,' says I; 'why, yer honours^ sh« came np a-6tam o' the Minnytaw, though she ar- terwords took her station a-head fif her, and engnged the Fr«nkUii French eighty — ' — 'All very gwoil,' Bays the geiiclman ; 'but we want to know what you've got to mv for yourself?' — 'Well, yer honour/ says I, * tt arn't altugethcr ship-nhape for a fellow to blow hta awn trumpet, but 1 was stationed the lifih gun from rhork aft on the lower-deck, and I liopes I did my duty.'—* We *vc no doubt on it, my man,' says another of *em ; ' but how come too to attack this man's expaOiioH ?' — • Oh, yer honoum, if it "s owniy an expedition," says I, ' then I got nothing to say again it, ownly nc 'd chalked up that it was the battle o' the Nile, and there warn't one of the Frencti Heet at anchor, but all under way. and giving cha»e to the English.' — ' He mistakes, yer worship,' say» ttie man ; '1 brought the Eng- lish fleet on first, out of compUmeut to 'em.' — ' And a pretty compli- ment, too, yc lubber, to make 'em be running away !' says I. — ' But, you have done wrong, sailor, in mi&lcsting him,' says one of the b^- wig». * Let us sec the ve-9«eU you have taken.' So, shipmate*. I hauls 'em out of my pocket; and I 'm hlcs&cd if tl>ey wur anything more nor painted pasteboard as went upon wheels, and ' Here '» the prizes, yer honours!' says I, handing 'em over; 'it's ensy enough to sec tliL' wagabone's u cheat.' — 'Still he's entitle<l to his expedi- tion,' says the ma^''irtrate ; 'and I'm sure one of Nelson's tars wouldn't wibh to mjure a fellow-countryman I' — 'Lord love vet honour's heart 1 no. to be sure I wouldn't.' says I, ' and so he may have the prizes back again.' — ' But you have doiw him suroe daraagc, my man ; and you 're too honest not to pay for it,' says he. — ' All fight, yer honour !' sayo I, • in course I "11 pay. HTiat 's the damBge^. owld chap?' So the fellow pulled a long face ; and at last tlie big- wigs axed him whether ten shillings would satisfy him? and he makca a low bow. as much as to say ' Ves.'-^' All square,' «ays I.
I f
I
I
I I
THE ItATTLfi OF TUB NILE.
S8S
I pltdieB a guinen on the Uble. ' Take ft out o' that !' rays I ; :l, yrr hoiiaurii, be inriy kcpp tlii; whole on it it' he 'II let mc go have uiiuthtT shy at tht- Freiicli.' But the genelmeii buighed me out of it, luid the lubber bud hi^ U'li shiUiiigs; utitl HaI and I made sail for a tAvcrii, wliiTC wc gut all haup^, oud tlieit bawled home to the cabin ol' a coach, singing ' Kule Juntannia.' "
" Ah, you man-hsndled 'em like a Briton !'* eaid old Jack. Sheave- hole. " There 'b nothing like a shot or two to bring the lubbers to reaMon."
" Trim haiIs n-hoy I" went the pipe of the second boatswain'a male from abaft, and every ftoul waa inittantJy on the alert, flie breeze frcfihenetl from the northward ; canvas* waa packed ujwn the frigate and her prizes, and away they danced cheerily orcr the waters, making n goodly ahow.
" Everything favours us, Nugent," said his lordship. "I ihould like to fall in with the admiral, as I make no doubt he would be for keeping the two frigates up the Htridts if thi're watt any ]K)9sibi- lily of getting them manned, and I am certain hist bc^t efforts would not be wanting to gel ftlr. Seymour appointed to one nf them. We must luok out for anuUicr chance fur you, Nugent."
"Your lordship is very considerate," returned the lieutenant; " and I hope 1 bhall not be found unworthy of your kindness."
"Well, doctor, and how d'ye find the muster?" inquired Lord Eartace, as the surgeon made his appearance on the quarter-deck.
"Much better than I could have expected, my lord," relumed the physical functionary, " I hope to set him on his Icc5 again in a week or two. But, my lord, I am here u an ambassador from one of the prisoners who u wounded — niort-illy wounded, and he eame-stly entreats peraiusiun to speak to your lordship before be dies."
"Certainly— certainly," taid Lord Eustace, "Poor fellow ! per- Iiapn some request to make. Where is he, doctor? The coloura should make no distinction after an enemy has ctruck. Pray where is he ?"
" He is in the forc-cockptt, my lord," returned the inrgeon. " Shall one of the young gentlemen get a lamcm?"
" No — no," said his Inrdship. " I can find my way well enough. The sentry has a light, I supjjose?"
" There are plenty of liijhla, my lord," responded the surgeon; and his lordship having IciV strict orders for a good look-out to be kept on deck, descended on his errand of mercy.
The number of wounded, and the crowded Btiite of the frigate, ren- dered it necessary that some pl.ice shonld be entirely appropriated to the former, and here they laid, extendetl upon hammocks, Hpread carefully for the purpose, and blocked up in such a niaimrr as to prevent their fetching way, nhould the ship have nny cinisiderable motion. Some of the pour fcUows were writhing and groiming with pain; others were venting impracations in impotent wrath at being maimed ; and a few were uttering prayers, as tlic certainty of dnilh brought with it a stronger conviction of the necessity of intphiring imrdon for past offences. Every now and then a shout arow; of " I'ite la Satioa!' "Vive la liepubUijue Francis !" which was reapmideil to, by Mjmc Briiish tar with ■■ How Id btill, ye lubber, do! ami don't distarb them as wants to be quiet !" Wlulst one more cxeiteil ex-
J»
SIGHTS AT
font wtBnij
fMA
i«reA:
Oewgifarerq-!
It vai a moomfnl qMBUda t* I
Aad, M Ukc n J* froa die Untcms firJl opca mMBf a gfantljr tenanw, wbcre the •nnkcn tjt* were fiui MCliiig in * ' heart of bmiMni^ eoold not annd deep ft*K»gi of
Ob, tAM ■ ii»rib1r thing u w ! an iin^lr monMcr. crer ife- BMMlhtt hnaMi wciifae 1 a ijoch, at wbaw ifarine the only tC AAmmUmA IJwal tihioil! By wfaM. a d%fat teaara do thi ■■■■■I Mil theaoUitr bold custanca! I^^ tbr lbrBR'6 b tha Hwat fecariooi, baviny nuay tmemia ta ooMcDd againai, vbibt the fatter bai only one! What a tfaeoe for noralixij^ daa ibe dMk of baxUc nr the 6eM of cam^a^ aKird t Wbo hat ever looked upon tlw boodreds of fLnn, as thr; lay id the attitude of ^oncl r«po«e, or -wen dcmblrd op in all tbe tddeoos cooturtioo cf a covmlsire diwolutioo, but ha* ihaddeml at the ttTmngt niyricry wfaicb «epiratri the still lining spirit from the dntd cwporcal frame I One hour strong, active, fall of energr. OQ'l hif;h chiTalric hodoor; the tunt m mangled, deserted coffpar, frocn which we turn away widi loatbinff and diafrost !
Lord Eurtace looked round unon the woondcd and dyioe, and tat manly brran experimred all those aenaabons of »yniapthv whidi are i-v^r the conpanioafc of true cooran. Sevml of his own pliant frllcnrs recognised sod endearoured to greet their truly noble Mnunandcr with a cheer, and the latest, fait lint»ering breath ol' one escaped his Gps for ev«r> bearing an bone>t but faint greecine ta the esri of the captain, as following the surgeon, he sought the ned of the npirin|f seaman wbo hod su ramcslly rcquestnl an inter- view with his binbbip.
He was apparently s young man of some frve-and-twenty years of «ge ; the upper part of his per»)n was naked, and his gigantic anni and broAd cbett evidenced that iw bad poMeswd herculean powers ; yet, there be Uy, helpless an infancy, bis pbyucal strength wisted by the loss of the vital current that supplies the fguntain of Ulc. The lineamenti uf bi^ face marked him as one tf[ iirderkt pasrifltWi whether for gi>Qd or evil, thoogh, by the shade of derp remorse that clouded hi* brow, an ittference might be drawn that tlie Utter hfld predominated. Still there were the rrmains of great maacuiiw beauty, and every feature bore ample witness that, though weak in body, nnd, prrhspii, feeling but little pAin, his mind remained still ■Irong to ituSer, Htill mighty to endure. A faint .iniile, tike a gleam of suuahine bursting uiruugb ilie dense cloud of a stormy skyi ligbtiiicd up his features for an instant sa he beheld the captain ap- proach him ; but the opening fruni hia heart tfiruugh which that ray of seeming pleasure had emanated was xoon closed ngain, ami all waft as steni and as gloomy before.
" Voici, moniieiir le capiiaine," said the surgeon in the best French he could muster. " Dites done, mon ami."
•■ Qui 4ue vduit wiyez, je ferai tout pour vous obliger," uttered Lord Kustace, bending down over the dying mnii.
«■ I^ibun l<.:..A. •' <;xclaimed the prisoner, waving
Laissez, laisiez,'
^ DYING PKISONBR.
886
the sttemlanU to aUnd buck, whicli, nt hi* lorilNhip's Higj(f9tinn, they iinmedintely otievet), Mid the two were left nf^arly nlotic. The priBioiier remained without uttering a word for a minute or two, whiUt heavy groans and iU.rcpre«»cd sobs shook every limb of hi^ enieeblod body. At length be grew sonicu-hut more composed, and by a desperate effort raised hnnaclf so that the light might fall •Uvngly upon hi.i pate hageard face.
" Do you nut know me, Kii^tace ?" naid he in perfect English, and in a manner that made lus lordship, tliough nut given to nervoiiH- ness, suddenly start. "Am 1 ko altered?" cuntinued the prisoner deprecnlingly, and then added. " I have nut seen my face fur many noDtha, and perhaps it may be «o, for such was the brand of re- morte on the first murderer, and perhaps the approach of death — " he paused and shuddered.
" You arc Kngli)<h tlien, or, I would hope, American^" said his lordship, eyeing the individual with MmmtioiiK in which iltilig- nation and diitgust ^trugj^led agaimtt pity. " Am I ipeaking to a traitor ?"
"And a murderer! both — both, my lord!"' returned the pri- soner failing back. " Yes, a traitor and a murderer! I stained my hands with human gore! the blood iif one who fondly. Fervently loved me. I fled my country — l)e<'arae a wandtrer, an ouicatt, seek* ing for death, which conntanlly avoided me till the prcxeiit moment ; but, oh I I little expected. Kustace, Uiat you would be the avenger!" The noble commander of the t'riguU' ga^cd with intense eagerness upon tile pruotrate man, who)i« face wa« again thrown into tthnde, and it was evident, by the working of every feature, that the brave Engliiihiniin was greatly agitated. " Can it be pu*iiible?" he mur- mured with a hisDing sound between his comprewsed teeth ; " is
it ? I hardly dare even think of the name, associated as it ii
with ever}' bitter curse my heart has ever vented. Yes ; I ik)W
see — I now feel you are "
" Maurice Delaney," groaned the man ; " your playmate in child- hutnl, your relative, my lord ; think of that, and tp^ire the blood of kindred ! Yes, Kustace, fur I will atil) call you »u, though you may spurn mo for it: our early days were |Mi»scd in infantile en- dearment ; nuriied in the lap of luxury together, we grew up as boys
who hMl but one heart and *"
" Villain ! dcte<)tab1r villain 1" exclaimed Lord RuKtace, whoiie miiul was apparently occupied by uric single thought which stung him to the tiuick. and jiuisoiied alt tlic bi-lter feelings of his nature, for it prompted him to deadly revenge upuii u fallen and a dyinjf enemy >
" Oh God !" ejaculated the prisoner with anguish, ju he clutched his lingers together and cunvulsivc)y wrung liis hands, " X have denied thy beiu^ ; but no power but that which is Almighty could inflict the piingN I xufl'tr in this hour nf retribution. 1 have sCoffKt at the mediation of Him who dietl fur man's transgreasiona, and tKnr^K>h ! no, no ! the unrepented murderer can find no rednuptioo here, no prospect o( salvation hcrealYer. I have laughed at the idea of future rewards and punifJimenUi, but, oh ! I feel that hell has already begun to seize upon my never-dying soul !" He stopped, overpowered by afony crt* spirit, Imi in a few secoiub proceeded. *' Buatace ! my lord ! »ay that you forgive me ; uh ! let nie bear tho
pvdon of one fdlow-cmtare tfatt I have deeply injam ■KMnce of my Atitker ; it may plead for me at tite bar of EtnaiJ Jtutice — fitcmBl Justice ! — ay ! that u it, mad there- ta no xnadutj in tlw words. It u £temal Joatice, aoA there u — there can br » hope of mercy for me 1"
So birrrible, so excruciatiiu; appeared ibe mental sttfiningi of iht unhappy man, that Iford Eustace felt his indignation rwax, and frrrently offering a humble petition for the gift of fiiilliamii i . bxi mind gradually •oftencd down to the chastened Ume of Christum charity and brnevoleiice. " Maurice," aaid be, mini his voice be- came tTf muloun with emotion ; " cruelly as you have injured me, y«t in thi» hour uf dixftolution it is no time to cherish malice or rrvragr. Slaiirice, may the Ciod of Heaven forgive you, as freely as I fac|gi«c you !"
•' Your hand, Eustace, my lord, your Hand!" uttered the dying man ; but his lordship could not avoid a shuddering repugnance that deterred him from compliance. The jtrisoner was inittandy aware of it. " You will nut forgive me, then? the words are fVmn yoor Upa, and not the honcRt effuidan of your heart :" he folded his arms across his bn-ast. " Well, 1 merit it ; tsruwell, Kustace ! I wti>bed to have spoken to you of my parents — of her mother, but "
The young nobleman extended his hand and grasped that of his traitor captive ; the touch neemed almost electric Lord JBuitaO sprang from his kneeling position ; he looked around and became aware that he was the observed of mfiiiy ryes, ami motioning lo the surgeon, lie hastily ascended to the deck, whilst the prisoner ia accents of wild supplication, itaplorcd him to return. ^H
" Doctor," said the captain, when they had reached the m^H deck ; " you tiave been witness to •> melaiirholy scene. I loved biin once as a bmther loven a brutiier, but the viper neitlled in my af- fections but to i»tin|^ me!" he ceased for a minute as a silent prayer was brcatlied for strength to stay the vindictive risings of impetuous paaaioii. " Doctor," he continued, " will you kindly oblige me by having him removed to my cabin. Is he able to bear it 'f can it accomplished t"
•' His end is not for distant, my lord," returned the surgeon, mt affected with his commander's camcsuirs^ after the spectacle he had witnessed ; " but 1 do not think it will be hastened by removal ; an the contrary, it is more tikely to be rapid by remaining as he is; for. hark ! my lord," — the sound of the unhappy prisoner's voice was distinctly heard up the hatchway a» he raved for pardon, — " his cries will soon destroy him." ma
"Ue quick, toen, my worthy friend," said his lordship; "bear^H luuid and have hiio conveyed alt in a cot- I will go and order the steward to mukt; every necessary preparation;" and the officers parted.
The dying prisoner grew more tranquil And comjMsed when the surgeon informed him of his intended removal to the cabJn, where, in a very few minutes afterwords, he was carefully deposited on fl cnpacioiii) couch with a ttmall bi^ he hod brougiit with him, and wliii;h he seemed to clutch with a tenacity as if it were the only iliiu}* in life he wished to cling to. " &f.iy (lod reward yoit, KusUice," uttered he in a low and scarcely audible voice; " 1 1
roy
TUB DYING PRISONER.
887
|>«Hfij7 fiut ! 6«y once more Uint you forgive me ; it ib like an opiale to my ItTTor-Rtricken conBciem-e ; I know tliat it will be unavailing to KBVf me irova i^teriiiil conclemniition, but "
" Alauricc, I du Ibrfpve you," rctunit^il hie lurdsliip, its the tears •tood treuibliog in his eves ; " I will Uiink, if 1 can, o( eirly yearn alone^ But your time ih spceiiiug away. Do not tlivii lut<c one moment in imploring Divine pardon. Pray — IVrvently pray !"
" Pray .'" shrieked the detpiiiring man. " To whom muet 1 pray r To UiM whom I have for years denied? Pray I to the JttKtNo wlioin I made it my atudy to deride f Oh '. no, no, Ruttace, Have you turgottcn the words ' I will mock at ttieir calamity, and laiigh when their fear cometh f The peritxl has nirivnt ; the 8con>er ia rebuked in hiw affliction, not pitied ; ihe acofTer is d(-«ipi»ed in hia last momenta, and never can he pardonol."
" Do not tliufl throw your only hojw away," said the surgeon, as he iimoothed the pillow of the dying man, and gently elevated hfa head.
" I tell yon it in tiselesK !" retumeii the prisoner, his breathing be- oomiug every instant more and more irregular. " The future is even now o{>i.tung before me ; 1 we the t>ar before wlndi I must §hurily appear, and there stands the aecutiing angel ready to bear witness againrt nie. Eustace! my mother! lell me — oh! my lord — tell mc of my inotlier ! for years have passed since I last beard of any of my i'amily."
" Your mother, Maurice," replied the kind-hearted nobleman, deeply affected, " in now amongst the >tpirit» of the blcs-ietl."
" We shall never meet again !" groaned Dclaney, as he sobbed convulsively. " Yet, Eustace— dear Hn»tMce, may she nut plead foe me — me her unhappy, guilty son i*" — his thoughtx wamWred, " Will she not dtssuude Slaria from nppeartng againut me before Ihe Judge ? I am going, KuKtace !— there tlicre are the terrible ageiita of divine wrath ! I xre them waiting for me, and there is no poui- bility of escii)>t; I Chains and a dungeon would be paradise to the place of cndle»!i torment ; dry bread and water woula be sumptuous five, compared with the burning drought where no drop of moisture will ever cool the parched tongue!" He raiseil himself a little. " Eurtacc, dear Eustace, hold me — if only for a few minutes, hold me fju^t ! every moment gained in time, in snatched from an eternity of never-rcaemg pain !" Hiii lordship took hiif exteiidi'd hand, and the surgeon udmmistrred a little weak glimulant that rfvivud liini ; '* 1 have nut an instant to throw away, Eustace," continued be more calmly; "in this bag you will find my brief history, penned by snatches and at intervals ; it uaii the only consolation that my henit knew; do what you will with it. I have BuSi°Ted — ay! dreadfully mflvred, and now — . The priests have told me, 'Ceux qui pechent contre Dieu seul, doivent etre punis dans rwutn* monde ; mois ceux (|ui prctient conlre les honimes, doivent I'etre danK celui-ci :' but I have hiniied against both tiod and man, and a> 1 have been j>unished in this world, m> shall I alxo be punished in the next. And yet, Eustace, I wouUt iWm hear you pray for me — we once mingled our Voices togetlter in supplication to the tlirone of Omni[)otence. and though it can never be >o again, yet, Enitaee, it would I'nim my last moments to hear you, my much-abu<cd and injured friend, inter* cette for me."
388
NIGHTS AT SEA.
" Man's intercvi'siuti i& but wt^ak," retiirned bin 1()rd«>hip ; " but, Afauricc. why will >'0u iiuC luuk tu tliat nhich has never failed? The expiring tliiet' found luercy and |jardt>u uii Uii.- cru^."
" You are mocking me," said Delamey, bin wurdi; becoming itm articulate and di&tinct. "Am I not a renegade tu the faitb of my fiitlierM, H traitor to the country of my birth, a base assai^^n, and a murderer? An age <if repentiiiicc would not suffice to make atone- ment for the jMisl ; and I — there art- but a few minutea between me and eternity. Eu»tace, i» my father living ?"
" lie was, j^laurice, when I last heard from England," an«wered his lordship ; " and in good health."
" Never let hitn know my fearful end, my lord/' uttered the dying man ; " do not bring down his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave. And I would a^k "
" She is the same heartlesa being »k ever," responded his lordship, anticipating the question. " But, Maitrice^ let me entreat yoit to forget the affairs of this world"
"Will you then pray for me?" implored Delaney. "Speak
race and comfort to my mind — lull me into fancied security, that may enjoy a few moments* ceosation from agony l>efore 1 enter upon evcrlaBtiinJ ages of endlcBji raiwry."
Lord Kujttaci- retniested the I'tewarri to bring him the Btble, and he commenced rpaibng one of the penitential pAalmK. The prisoner lay perfectly atill, and apparently tranquil, as the noble chief pro- cccded ; once, and once only, a spuamwlic shivering shook hia frame. and when the Pwilm was ended, a deep silence prevailed for several minutes ; the surgeon was the first to break it ; he laid bia hand upon the face of the captive; it was still warm, though cinmmy with the dews of death : he shifted his hand to the sent of life, but tJiere wa« no throb, no pulsation. The spirit had fled.
" His days are ended, my Inrd," .Mud the aurgeon mournfully ; •' hia earthly auficringG are over."
Lord Eustace iihuddereil as the thought crossed fait mind, that probably the desperate dinner had entered upon a more seveM ordeal. IJe looked upon the corpse of his eurly nIaymBte and friend, and the lapse of years Mas forgotten as ola aMociationt and old remembrances rose up before him, presenting in the sun* shine of boyhood a picture "i endearing enjoyment, glowing with tho«e bright tints that colour life but once. Tht-nce the pro- grew to an after perio<l became natural and easy, and the noble captain turned awny 8>i a burning Sush of indignation, Mhicb he could neither suppress nor control, glowed upon bis countenance.
" Doctor," Buid his lordship; " I but little thought, when yoa requested my attendunce uiion a dying prisoner, to lind in that un- happy man a relative, ami one who inflicted upon my heart the bitterest pang it ever knew. Yet mi it is ; the niysterious eventi ' nf real llle far surpass the imaginary narrations of romantic fiction. He was a cruel enemy : hut, peace tn hia aoul I for once 1 loved him as ardently at youth ever loved a highlv-prieed companion. The retributive hand of justice buti overlaketi liim E
Then in a Providence that shapes our ends, Rou^h hew tlitrnt an ng rnay I
He spoke of bis hi&tory in that bag. Shall I peruse it, and tear
I
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PRISONER.
S80
open afr«sli the woundii which tiiTii> nnil ik'tiTiiiimition werr heal- ing? Would it not Iw better to connin" them with his body to the tieej)? And jet there arr tlnnyn wwl »»ccHm'nt'e« which I ]ori;( to learn ; thy nmj- clciir uii tiiurh that 'm now involvml in obnciirily ; and thall 1 shrink from tiie trinl ? It muU he dour, hul not now — no '. not now ! 1 have more important duliea to perlorm." Ilia lord&hip released the baj; I'rom the drAwii<u]i fingers and paralvHrd hand of the dead and deposited it in a drawer, which he lucked. "Doctor, you must know by your own feelings, what mv winhet are, and I am fuHy 8en.sible that I enn rely upon your diocrrtion. Hteward, let the body remain for th(,> preHent. ' and Lord KtiNtncu hastily ascended to the qunrU-r-deck . whilst the Hur|{eon went for- ward to visit hia patienu in the corkjiit.
The breeze was delightfully rcfreihiiig, the sky vfu beautifully dear, the moon, leiteeiiin;; in iln dutnieter, shed its pale silvery lunlre upon the ocean, whilst daybreak, with it* first orient tints, was co- loorin^ over with fairer lights the intense blue that darkened the fiasteni horixon. The st4>p of I/ord Kustacr, aa he paced fore-and- aft, was St the outM-t rapid and iiiipatient ; hi* ihoualits were ab- aorbcd ia oac alI-engros&in(r aubject ; he scarcely noticed the nfTiror of mu ilH s. ai with a respectful ulute he announced " All '».well." Hogmt, also, uw that aomething had ruffled him, and kept aloof, Ao«gh be wuhod to report pfogress.
Bat vfca has ever gasea upon the lovely face of Nature and ■M cnerieneed a hofy calm within hin breart? >Siicli was the OMT wKb Lord Eaatace Dash: the ro!>eate tints of opening day, hltmSam with the pale chaatencu of the moon's crystalline light, MOscUa hai attentim ; be Mood with folded arms alone, near the the sweet influences of the Bcene, the golden castles with their burnished pinnBcles and ^lining roofs, 1 brii^ vennUion, on tlic horizon ; the traitquillity uf I abvre, the nunouring music of the waters below, ini- sink koD fron his reverie of sadness, and a toothing I af diii||bt atid admiratKNi softened tbe asperity of his ferU . 9W9WJ puc was peaces
mtme be dcaeoioed to the cabin, and there in the dubious £^jr be seen the outline of tlie corpM, as the white k straag tr>oery over the vari<nii paru of the human e aafale aeanaa looltcd upon it long aiMJ ardentU ; big • IsAawcd eadi adMt dann his dk«ekt, and the' unre- ^ bam fraM hi* bcart ; the Tietar was sad — the eon.
■ bt dw Etbalion. and it was whb no
laee aMertained from the FVndi o^
t haaMe ■oMBai, hii rskdvc wat an
r, M tte Rcp^ficM Ann. aod Bsefa
tf CooaaL Pcariog. in bs aCcial ca-
hc had, wbcn tba frigitr
' the diagviac of a forcaaast-flsan,
t haaltac dtfwn, tlisZ be received
deprived bin of ettateoce.
■a be a* «Av Aaa br apymuL he had been amed
r mitk^ «f *e ^aifcswT. where a«idei1 cavvcvad W
ble iitoafc Witlesw*
390
" BE QUfBT — DO ! t *I.L CAM. MY UOTHBR !
nwmi^nt's he«itRtlutt lie vntrcnU-d Ote surfr&m to IntercMle for ui U-n-iew, aiul the rtsull liae uire&cty been shown,
A glorious dawn cuiue btrcunung thruugh the cabin-windows, ind the earliest beam» of the rising sun pUycd npon tlie sheet tbit covered the cold and lifeLeto corpse. Lord Kuslace opened Uu drawer which contained the prisoner's bog ; be drew it turth^ ad emptying its contents, found a thick but small book of memo- randumti, the vellum covert of which were fastened by silvBT cImm; he took it with eager hiutc, and seating himself on the 9tdk abaft, tuntn) over the lenves with consideiable mpidity, occMionally stop- ping to penine some particular paiwigc which caught his eve, idl mustering a firmer resolution, he commenced at the lieginning, and the emotion and agitation he evinced as he proce«detl plaiiily in- dicated the deep impression erery word made upon hia mind.
"BE QUIET— 1)0: I 'LL CALL MY MOTHER r
[LesT the author of tlie followim; should he aecuMd of [tlwiarisni, i»e thinks il right tv stale lUal in the secood volume of the Parmaue an Dantea, thei* b i •onR, the buntfn of which is, " Tatez uoa» tai, j'apoeUenu mo niir. It i», howev«f, too gioM for irensUtion. and iwihiiig of it fias bt«n preserted in ll» preienl hncs, cxcq)! the njfraiii.]
As I «u siltine ia a modi
Untl<:r an oaK-tree'l iMfv cOfCTf Musing in pleaKtnl Boliluoe,
Who khould come liy, but John, my lover! Hepfe»»ed iny (ami, and ktwed my cheek ;
Tnan warmer growtng, kiocd ihe oihct ; While I c«claimi,-d, and siroTe lo shriek,
" Be qHiel — doS t 'U fall my tnatktrf"
tl.
lie saw my ao^er was sincere,
And loviiiRly bfg-aii to chide me ; And, wiping from niy check the tear,
lie sat him ou tlie ^rass beside m«. He fetmiied tucli prrtty, nmotoui woe,
Urcaihcd such "wcei vows oue after other, I could but smile wl>tl(> wlnipcrinK low.
**Btquict—iial I'UtuUtiy mother r
HE.
fie tallced so long, and ulkwl so well.
And swore lie meunl not to deceive me; f fell mure grief than I can tell.
When wiOi a kiss he rose to lca*e me. " 01\, John !' mill I, " ;iiiil mu« ihou gi> f
1 lore thee bctior than all other ! TTierc i* no netd to hurry so,
/ txver meant to call my mother f
CM.
THE UPS AND DOWNS OP LIFE.
■r TOST ALMPV.
'* Prohotion," we learn from irrefVigable nuthority, " onmetli neith<^r from the East mir from the West, nor vet from th<^ South:" nor yet (since the time when the great Lorii North wielded his pen of office ill Downing Street,) from the North. Promotion, like n Will-o'-tbe-Wtsp. whisks about hitlier and thither, — here to-day, and gone to-morrow, — no one knows why, — no other gueHscs wherefore. History hespti up her volumes on uur shelve;), to instruct u* why people are born great ; but by what miigtc penple hiive greatnetis thrust u]>on them, or ncbieTe grpatne)»s, is one of the granu mysteries of life. Bislmps have bren promoted to lawn sleeves for their dexterity in ahuming the curds at tho royal rubber ; Welsh IJaroneti h«ve been translatcfl Irish Peers, to silence their importunity for a key of the royal parks ; and Rnglish Squire* have been belorded and belanded for the judiciously>aj)propriated hoapiulities of their country-«eat5. We have seen 3iirtillo pre- ferred to an under- secretarj-sliip, not that hia pen is that of a rea<]y writer, but becau.se Mirtillo hath, ' upon mv lift, a very pretty wife !' In short, it is impUKsible to determine by nny vulgar form of augury, rvhicff of our sooa may riEe to be chief justice, which re. main a briefless barrister. Hang over the cradles of your progeny as long as you will, and the wooden tpouii or stiver Iwlle which the wise women of Brentford pretend to bo bom in their mouths, is wholly ami absolutely undiscoverable.
Ned Ormoiiii was my scliool fellow, an ugty dog, an ignorant dog. but a tnorri'ig dog : every possible caninizauon wiu beHtowefl upon Ned, except that of being " u stupid hound !" He was •• up to tnuff," but always at the bottom of hie class. We were dunces of neither Harrow, Kton, nor We»tmin"ti.T; it was our fate to be Hogged up the hill of learning aluiig « le»s distiitguisheU path. Our short-sighted parents thought more uf making; Urirek verses than Knglisb connexions; and at fourteen, we quilted our hu^e red'brick house of correction at Chiswick, knowing nothing — not even a lord.
Unfortunately, I had {larents alive— and alive to my deficiencies ; for having, in family council, ToCetl me a dunce of the first magni- tude, they despatched me to Edinburgh for the completion of my education, under the cross-grained vigilance of an old uncle occu* pying a professor's chair, who fur four eii&uing years crammed me with knowledge, and crammed me with nought beside. My kins, man spared everything but instructioo ; and 1 aceurdingly grew np H *pve a3 he was sparing : till I was starved into juekey-weight of neih, and Johnsonian ponderosity of Ivaming. I quitteil Edin- burgh at two-and*twenty, as pramising a young sprig of a pedant w ever emanate*) from its humanities.
Ned Urmond, meanwhile, who wa«an orphan, bullied his giiardian
I into trending him to Cnmbridge. The txpenw of such n step wm alomiing, lor his fortune smountetl only to six thuuvnml poundB; but Ned represented, and with conHa'uiance de camr, that there was DO getting on in life witliout a college education.
I
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393
THE UPS AND DOWNS OP LIFE.
Oil! niiasrt, th(^ f^uurdiin, who ilreaily. in his mind's eye, bdieU hia promiiriiig ward pUyinf; Fjirin iii »n Hcadt-mic gowu, making option between tlie naked chamiB of " tlic three black graces. Law, Physic, and Uivinity," confessed that there was some Beii»e in tbe lad'a assortiun, and it was oiiiy when, aitcr being ru^ticated Tor hU irrvKiiliifilies, Ned Ormund escaped expulsion by prudently with- drawing hit n^iinv J'runi the university books, that the old gentle- man repented his acuuiencence.
" You are a ruinea ntan I" cried Russet in a fury.
*' I am a made inaii !" retorted Ned with perfect coolneaa.
" Your proeprctm are fjone."'
" Biy realities have c^imnienced."
" Henceforward you vrill do nothinfr for youwelf."
" It is A task I mean to leave to other people."
" You know nothing!"
** I know the world."
" 1 hoped you would become a steady young man I"
'* 1 always intended to be a rising one."
" Vou have lost the three best years of your life."
" I have gained three hundred desirubW acquaintaucea."
" You huve tlirowu away your lime and money."
" I have picked up time and money 8 worth."
" That remain" to be proved," quoth Kusset.
" 1 wish you may live to see it," whs the rejoinder of his ho| ward ; and it wa* shortly after this ciillmpiy bftwn.*n them that we were launched into our several r^ireers of life; NVd l<« become a man about town, I, to be a wanderer over the workl. Having taken my decree as B.A., I was to commence my liratilac career as bear-leader to a yoiinj^ tiobleffian, puAtLeatiing immense [witronage in the church. Appoinleil to preside over his lord>hip'a travelliiif;- morality, I was comiwlled to be, if not a field-prtachcr, at leant a road-preacl)cr, against the temptations of tlic vorld and the flesh ; with A vipw of intttalling myself hereafter, preacher to the poor ol' hJH lordship's pflrish, against the temptations of the devil.
We got on admirably together. Ilia noble practice throve UDdn my ignoble preaching. My axioms seemed indeed to iiouesaa sort of negative attraction ; for whatever the pedagogue interdicted, the pupil onatched to his bosom. Day aller day wits 1 insulted, quixxed, Koaxed, and defied. There woultl have been no living through it all, but fur the living which lay, like a land of Canaan beyond the wilderness, at the end of the prospect. I knew timt sufferance was the biidge uf all my tribe, .tnd subnntted without a murmur.
Three long yeari^ did I pipe to tJie dancing of my lordly bear ; ill France, Italy, Germany, Rufcsia, and Spain ; now frozen to death, now stewed alive, now diluted with soupf-meigre, now ttufied like a turkey with trulhes and mouU ; the hercest extremes of "weather and diet were inflicted without remorse upon the poor bear-led hear-leader of a tutor ! At length, ns the period of my re- lea.>ie was appra.i{-hing, and I telt that in reqintal for the purgatory I hail burii4: so patiently, his lordship could du nu less than conduct me into the Paradise of (iranglebe, my noble tormentor was knocked on the hewl by the morning star of a Drontheim watch- man ; when my applicniion for preferment to the distant cousin succeeding to the e;<rldom, wa» answered by a haughty hint that 1
I I
THE UPS AND DOWNS OP LIFE.
393
I
I
ought to have taken better carv of my pupil j anil ihat the family wished lo hear no fiirtlier mention of my nviie.
A (lve|>er hiiiiiiliAtiim ^onii Ml tm my profesBiotuil cnrvvr tlinn even that of t tondyini; tntoriihip. One ilny, haTing beuii idle enough to attend a meeiirtf; of tlie Geofrraplijcsl Society, I woa pitched upon by n miUant Captain Unrenll, with vhnm I had n)aile acquaintance at Malta, to accompany him in an expeilitioD of African discovcrr. My meek forbearing countenance in&pire<1 him with interest. He swore I was the man for his morcy ; promised that I should shiire his glory — nbare his gains ; baptize toe whole kingdom of Dahomey, throw iluwn the idola of half a continent, and write a qnartiir of his own quarto. The captain wag a bold man. He talkcil with plausibility, — I Itstcued with enthusiasm. Having secured the necessary fu-uians. and a sjiecilJc againitt the plague and the cholera, we embarked with a cargo of blue beads, tin-tacks, caoutchouc-sheets, oilsilk parasols, and a patent frcexing- apparatus ; ami in the course o( three years from our landin^r, con- fronted stripes, imprisonments, the cheating of consuls, and bar- barity of brys, fniir fevers, two dy»ent<.*ries, one roup'ffriutteil, ami a variety of cutaneous abomination*, tun tedious to enumerate ; all the plagues of Pharaoh, and, in short, a hundred more! Not, howi^ver, to dwell too painfully on my excruciations, Huffice it that in the sequel I returned sole snrvivor of the c:icpe<lition ; having, as I have since been assured, eaten the surgeon of the partv bake<l in a Hottentot anthill, and leaving all that the musquitoA had lct> of the gallant captain, inhumed in the Kandx of Willah-mallah-assi- boo, two thousand miles beyond Timbuctoo ! Nothing remained to me on my nrrivnl in town, but the ragge<l shirt whereon, with a pin and lampblack. 1 had inscribed the note* of my African di»- coveries ; which, when transferreil to hfitpretis, the world derided aa lies and impositions. The frontispiece to my work, rennfienting ihf favourite idul of the King of Daliomey, the Quarterly Keii-iew held up to ghanie, as a satire upon th« Right Honourable the Lady Helena O'Dunoghue.
Jllcanwhile, as I scudded along the by-waya of tJie metroj>o!is, bearing my inky dishonours thick upon lue, I was one day splashed by a fluhionable cab, and hailed by it* owner.
" Hollo! Delphic, nir fnie fellow !" cried a most dandifiefl edition of my old cbum, Netl ^nnond ; " where have you been m.iking it out fur the last hundred years? — Can't talk to you in this cursed placr, — get in. We've a couple of miles between thia and Belxravf Sip I are."
I obeyed ; and with the perspicdous hrevitjt attained by having had to condem>e my tale of woe into one or more memorials to government, I related my strange eventfvl faiitory.
"Sad business indeed '." replied Ned, aa we claabad along. "CleAned out, turned out, kicked about the world, like fwtune's football. But never mind ! the tables are turning ! / 'U see what I ran do for you. / 'U speak To the itiNird of Control. / 'U mentinn yon to the Colonial Office. They 're always wanting a liisltop for'indiaj or a Governor for fiierra-IJeone."
"Thankye, thankye!" cried 1, " 1 have had enough of elephantine etimates. [ should prefer the merest trifle at home; the romancr of life is over. Mrs. C^ntlivre the dramatist, you know, who eloped VOL. III. ii E
394 THE UPS AND DOWNS OF LIFE.
with a poet at sixteen, eapouded at sii-and-thirty the head cook of Queen Anne! Couldn't joii recommend mt, my deur Ormtind, u cbapliiin to the Lord Mayor ?"
" To be sure I could ; tut/ interest is universal. You have no notion how I have got on in the world, since we parted.'' " You have had an increase of fortune?" " Not a (Stiver !"
" Hut how do you manage to keep up such appearances on an income of three hundred s year?*'
" By living at the rate ol" three thousand." " And running in debt?" " Pho, pho, pho !"
'* You must have taken up money?" *' Laid it down, you mean." " Vou have positively borrowed nothinjj?"
" Not 1 1 1 know better ! -l/y plan to get on in the world in by (fading, I began, you know, with six thousand )}ounds. Four thousand arc nt this moment lodged in my banker a haiid«, otie thoii»iind of which will he transferred to-morrow morning, to the account of my friend, the Duke of Outatelbows, at Coutts'a, as I »ui now on my road to inform him."
" And the remaining two thousand are lost to you for ever ?'* " By no means! 1 have good Bccurity for every guinea: bills or I. O. U. from Bome of Uie Bret fellowK in town. Aly |>npulnrity u immense. Kvery uiun of a certain i^umding knows tne to liave at my command a Boating ^um in ready money. It haii been my for- tune to save the credit of many a fine fellow, hard up after a fteavy settling-day. It was I who he|m-<l young Sir W'innnm Scamp to carry off his heire«i< ; it was I wno lent old Hiirbottle the twenty- pound note with which he won hi* (jualerne in the French lottery : I assiHted !^ir John to buy the winner of the St, Leger; I enabled Lord William tu prenent that omnipotent pair of diamond ear-rings to Zcphyrine; in ^horl, 1 am the universal friend in need. What follows? That I have dinner invitationt) for every day in the season, and half a dozen balls per night! I am on the lint of four pa- trune^»e!i for Almsok's ; and it rains opern-tieket^t on my head. More haunches of venison crona my threshold than that of Birch ; and I might stock the Clarendon and Albion with game. My li- brary-table groans with Annuals nnd presentation copies ; ray din- ner-table with cards, far more to the purpose. So much for Lon- don ! hut when the country-season seta in, show me the county in England in which I may not quarler myself for six weeks, in ac- ce|)taiice of pressing inviutions 1 Du kvn, marquises, earU, vioctmnts lords, and comuions, are my obligateen ; and burning to throw otT the obligation, load me with hospitalities. A single thoui^nd pounds of mine uncc changed hands so many times in the cour!>e of a year, that I conceive it has ever since returned me, in value, an income of two hundred a year. Ko, no! my dear DclphicI talk no more oi' /ir>mtuin^ a* ii source of prosperity. Trust rue, that one of the best tr.tdes goiiig in tlic fnthioniible w^rld, is that of a ju- diciou:« lertiUr. Such is the charm which haa uiude my ugly face beautiful in the eyes of society, my pertnc»N jmlm* for wit, ray vul- g.iritv. for the frankness of a good fellow. Don't offend Nc^ Or- mona." they say, ** he 's such a devilish u^ful acquaintance."
THB Vfl.LAOR BRIDP/9 PARRWELL.
Ormond is always ready at a pinch;" "Ortnond 's n friend in need."
I aighed a deep sigh in rcspou» ; for we had just utuined the lordly purlieus ul' Udgrave Square. In passing TatU-rsatl's, I had teen the hands of half the sporting peerage kiBsi-'d tu Ned ; and, in taking off the Stanhope angle of the park, perceived the hats of all the double-lacqueyed ladysnip chariots, doned to his cab. Thanks to his notea, he had lifcome a man of note ; thanks to hia guineaa, he had won gulden opinions from all sorts of men and women. A gold- beater could not have hammered out tii« Hubttance to cover ■ greater extent of popularity ; a wire-drawer could not have drawn out fincTj hia means and appliances. Instead of being worshipped as was once the Golden Ball, he wa^ worshipped as ihrff golden balls. Nevertheless, I was ashamed of him. I fancied that "Money Lent" was inscribed on the front of his cab ; and murmuring be- tween my teeth
" Nstilicc a boriower iivi a k-iider be,"
1 took leave of my thriving friend ; and mounted cheerfully to mv attic, to earn the price of a dinner by dedicating to the public this brief sketch of the money-lender and his friend.
TH£ VILLAGE BRIDE'S FAREWELL I
Mt village liome I my village THends ! Eftrewell !—
I'or proud domains I quit your lowly bow'rs ; But, oh t I feel lh«l memory will dwell
Upon tlie *cenea where pus'd my childhood's hours! The flowery wreath Uat here so oA I 've wvro
A> (Jucc-n oi May, is ohaag'd for cosily peari : — 1 Icaye nuy walks to be in cvriage borne,
itut Mill I am tlie tintple cottage {irl 1
I know aot hnw 1 cam* to be allied
To oni; of wealth and proudcjt dimity ; — He mitjbt have found a. ncln^r, fvirei bride,^
But where could I &nd such a lore as lla ' He sav'd my life, when no one fUe wuuld liare
To watch mc from the rude warea' stormy whitl^ And ia it stEange that I his heart should ihaie,
Thodgh I was but a simple couage girl ^
Mjf mother dear I my faiber's soul aha** \
My little listers, y*t loo younp lo know The easy change from KtBtuudo lo lore,
Come kisa me all, and bless roc 'ere I ^ 1 t)h '. think aot 'tis for grandaur tluu I leave,
To be tJie lady of a lordly eart ;— Tis for die nches his dear beati can p«e—
For still I am the simple roltage giri.
W.
i Kt
39G
CRITIQUR.S ON CIUTIC8;
Oa, A WOBD TO THB WOl'IJ>-»B aUCH. Kptr^c: Judgx.
In turning over tlic teiivcs of luiy old lexicon, we cannot but br sirtick by the auuimlivs tUat exist between our modern, ttcgcne* rate, and luose application of tiuuiy wurds baid tu have lieen adopt- ed from tbe Ancients, and the purely timplu and dtijcripti?e mean^ iiigs they cnrried in the time of those worthies. For inHtancf : — no profe»Hion or calling was more honoured foriDerly ihnn that nf school niaxter ; and deKrv«-dly »o : for he to whom was iitlriisted not only the intellectual but the moral instruction of youth, must of necessity have been a jierMMi entitled to esteem and re«peet.
" Hfnce 'iwiu ft mu>ta Id Uiokc aiicicnl day*,
Wtwii meo sougtit knoaiaige firsl, and by itpnitc, ' Was a thing ftiTl of reircnnce, profit, lamv ; FatMtr itself wu but a ucoiid name J"
fio Bitid CdttXEY. Now-a-days we alliterate "poor pedagogue' with pity or contempt
Tybant, too, is another terra that has fallen from lis " Iiiph e§- taie ;" fur, insLend of being applied to Kalher Jupiter himself, as ff old, it serves at present only to designate a despot or a viliaiD in either public or private life. 1 could mention many more ; but, above all, (to come to my point at once,) there is no word so much Abused by its modern application as that of cuitjc : which, at the motto to thie paper tgioweth, i$, or ought to be, synonymous with jvugk! Kheu! how many critioi do we now «ve, and how very few juilji^ej) ! Kvery publication, fmni a momtHg to a auarm lerfif, teems with the ini^hty fiat of wb in praise ur censure of something or other which they, in nine cases out of ten, do not understand. Poetry, painting, maftic, and the pretonsionK of their professors, are treated with the grafi«c«l familiarity by critics who know nnt the difFerenre between prnae and metre, daubing and colouring, nnine nnd harmany ;^-«r, if hy chance they should he so far discriminating, they are not aware how a great artist may occasionidly eubsiilute n little of one for the other, and produce the happiest effects by hitt whim .' But, the worst of it in, that the niighty WK, al\er all, generally cnnt^i»t8 in nothing more than some dinnnutive I — by whom were the aforeimid ,/(Vf/ iittiuetl, not one for every hundred that now fear and respect would be found to regard at all. Were a man in a public room (where moitl of iheite eplienieral criticisniH arc written) to read aloud the dictato- rial opiiiionM of liift pen, it is a million to ij that they would be rejected as impertinent ami egotihliciil assumptions. But the mo- ment they appear in print they arc* treated with blind idnlatry.
Tom Snooks is ready to qunrrel over a glass of grog with his friend, Jim Dobbs, about itome vital affnir of the nation.
•' Voti *re wrong, my dear fellnw !" says Snookfl. "I read [t, as I state it to yoH, at full length in tlie .Morning Paper,"
*' Iti the Morning Paper?" quoth Dobbs chuckling; "In the
ITIUUKS ON CRITICS.
397
llominf^ Paper, forsooth ! \V1iy, I wrote Uip article niywlf ; all in tlic way of busiarss. you know ; but, whut '« that to do with the l>Uiii irulh?" Snoiiks iihakps his hcnd^ doubts his friend, nnd still slick* lu ihi' pritil !
A few iiuitations of tJie modern critical style may not be amiss here.
"COVENT-tJAIlDEN.
"On Jlondsy night a new opera, an tlie billii announced, was produced at this iheutrc; authur and vampoaer (! .') unknown to the pubh'c and to fame alKu, as iv£ ^lall prirsi-itily thuw. The plots of opCTM iiow-a'dity«i are Kiicb abotlionb that we will not fatigue our readers with a detail of the present attempt ; ^ofiice it to say, that it contoinit no incident or development of character worthy of notice. There i«, to be sure, the usual dinpUy of expenuve cuattiine, scrnery, tVc. ; hut a moMt 'plentiful lack' of drama, in the true Ken«e of thrtt almost forjjolten word. One of the »ong», however, plea^ied ii». We insert it for its touching simplicity.
" Mule anJ jguinJIes* it lier harp, Cold and ffoicn efcry finger Thai had 5uc1i j>ow'r o'et flsi aud >liui>. And did accord 90 well with siDg«r:
" MotioDlns is ihal nwt«t roicc. Silent are her auburn ire«ies; NolKing can tny hoarl rejoice, Ur iraJre it till il i!fq>t witli Ueuy's!"
" As to the mnitr, the first cottjtd'archet by the miliiari/ band be- hind the curtain convinced us that the overture was not ori{:;inal : one of 3Iuz:irt'8 ayinplumies (wb think, to Prometheus) terminating with the same chord, if we except a sharp 4 which is introduced by the aspirant a^ a cover for bis plagiary. The iireat drum and trian- gle were as usual oul of tune, time, and, we may add. place ; and, ranreovcr, as we seated ourselves rftwe to the orchestra that we miffht }iear every thing to tliv hf:sl at! vantiijie, whut whs our iuto- ni»hmeiit to find the cl-trioiietls playiuK in a key oite trhtJe lane above Ihe Te$t of the hnml ! This fact we can Mifely as«rrt, inasmuch aa the overture was in E Hut, ami Ihr^ tcere in F, onejinl .» \Vr advi»e Mr. C. to look to this, and ' reform it aliojtcther.' The 0|)ora con- tains MHne pretty bits here and there : but vk must decidedly set our faces against that prerulent vice of foiHting in old lavourites of otiicr pieces as novelties in new oneo. Wr havp heard at Icut two mor^aujt of thi-i opem upwards of twenty timei in (.'iiid(>rella. Thia ia at) iiitiult upon public confidence, und Miuuld meet with unquali- fied cvtisure.
" tjince writinj; the uIkiyc, we have learned that the ojiem is a ver- mn of Rossini's celebrated Armida, from the nblc pen of .Mr, Hvnjn- min Borrow -brains, who surpriest-s all hi* conti-mpor-nrien in the Urt and judgment with which lie adapts the productioiiH of foreign au- lilors to the Enttlifih stage. The picc€, nu doubt, will imprwr on further acnuaiiiLinte."
fiomuch for the criticjtj acumen (centrally fpeaking) of those who attainpt to rnview niunical pruduclioiia. Now for a nam pie a taste (jf tlicir quality whuiie businew it is ti> give n brief notice of the
398
CfUTigUES ON CRITICS.
Iiul new trsftetly ; und let the reader bv gooci enough to lupposf tAat lu be one of Sh*k»peare'», — mj- OTitRi:.L0 !
"DRUHY-LANE. " Litrt niffht a new trtgedy, (bleu the mark <) in five acts, was muditceil at this theatre, entitled Othrllo ; or Ike Moor of Venter! The plot may be bricfty told. An old black general (Othelltt) in the Venetian service contnveii to win the afTcctlons of a romaiiiir young lady {^DesHftnona), who is so bent upon having a husband that she is nolvicfla a thatlc, and secretly ninrries him. This givee a splen- did opijortunily to la^o (u ruffian officer under Uic general) to re- venge a jealousy wliicli he huu conccivetl aguiiut the venerable aoJ black Adotiis, on account uf sunie indelicate attempts of the latter against the_/oir progeny of hi« wife {EmUia). He contrives, by the means of a handkerchief (1) — a magic one, by-the-by -^ to make OlhtlUf jealous, in his turn, of one Coxxio, a silly •brained rellow, who is made apecixlly drunk for the occasion. Othrllo at first doubts his wife's guilt ; but soon falls into the artful snare of his falsie friecu): frets awhile in great nnguish of spirit, but ultimately makes up his mind to tukc the law into his own hunds. He acconlingly accusu Orsdemonn of infidelity ; tuma a deaf car to all her protestations of innoet'ucc : tells her to «ay her last prayers, and then most diexte- rously smothers her with a pillow j This murder is scarcely over when he finds reason to becomeyWo-rfe-jK', on learning that his wlie was perfectly chaste and true ; whereupon he suddenly feels the propriety of letting out hin own soul at dagger's point, — no doubt to overtake her's with nn ample apology for his cruelly and rash- neh*. Thp other characters have tragical ju-itire done to them, anil thus ends the piece. The language throughout is intolerably com- mon-place and indelicate. Wk rectimmenil the author to atake his exit from dnunnlic composition, and ■ sin no mure.' In candour we must say that the house was crowded to excess (no doubt by the fVieiids of the niamiK^'' '"id scribe), and the piece announced for repetition every night till furtlier notice amidst the cheers of boxes, pit, and galleries."
Oh, Snakspeare! immortal Shaks])eHre! thus might thy noUesI work be turned into ridicule by the flippant and Mir-assurcd pen of a nn-Mlem evcry-day critic !
In [minting, too, their smattering is very amusing. A florid vo< cabulary, in the firnt place, is deemed essential. Nothing produces a finer efleci in their uiitid ttian tlie frequent use of compi^und e|u< thets; overiiice people, like OoUUniiLli, may call them bombastic; but. nevertheless, they are not only thought elegant, but highly ne- cesaary. M'hat can be more toucUiiig or descriptive tlian the fol- lowing }
" Wk are glad to perceive that Air. A. has profited by our sugges- tiuns of lust yeiu*. lie has limi-d down his dufancet into such sweet silvery-softness that the eye is lost in their liijuid lran>i)arency ; no longer have we to complam of his rupged deiiiarcations : his middle tints, however, should be more wnrnily glowing, and fus f'oregrounfl depths more intense and brownly umbrageous.
"The 'Cat and .Snufltrs,' by Mr. B., is evidently a copy after (icrard Dow, but, nevertheless, evinces cotibidcrable genius and ori- ginality. The silent, stealing inquisiliveness of Grimalkin beauli*
CRITIQURS ON CRITICS.
309
I
I
fully contrasts witli tlic repose ol" tlic »ilvt.T>giIt sniiRbr'! ; while Uw Binuke ur the hulf'-^xttiiguiKlic-O wick iuuing frum its fivmi-clowd JMWB, gives a CVau(/e-Uke mistiness to the picture, whivb is quite re> Irv-sliing.
" Mr, C. continues rapidly to improve. There is a f^renter hrtatith and freedom ofdeitijtn, with h more correct lumdhMg both in colour- ing ond (Irawinff, in his ■ Dish of opened oj-xters/ than we have oIv> serveil hitherto. T^et him not, at the .■uitiie time. triiH tn the (|i> vemty of pigments upon his palette, but to the judicious f^kicini; of his picture. Sir Joshua Reynolds used to paint in with simple black and white, and al\erwBrda g/nce ,* with what yre know not, but WR recommend Indian vellow.
" VV'b liave not a-t yet viniteil the sciilpture-room ; hut are in- formed that it cmitflins (>everal beautiful TurMt by living srtials, olW titc manner of the ancients."
But tu be EcriuuB. •S'r^raia (as <juoted by Drvdcn) Iiax distin- guished the readers of poetry (every one of whom reUl criticise after his own fu»hion,) into three classes. In the lowest form be places those whom he calls Ics petils esprit*; such tiling w arc our upper-gallery audience in a playhouee, who like nothing but the hdiik and rind of wit ; prefer » quibble, a conceit, mm i-pigram, brfore solid vense and ileganl expression. These iire mol> rt-Hders, und thniiigh their ignomnt criticitms create « «hoal of authiiri o^ the HaiTie level.
There is a middle »ort of readers and critics ; such oa have a farther insight than the former, yet have not the capacity of judging rightly. "\ »pe»k not," continues he, "of those who are bribed by a party, and know better, if they were not corrupted; but I mean a company of warm young men who are not yet arrived ao far hi to di»oerii the difference betwixt fustian, or oetenuiiuna sen- tences, aiul the true sublime. I need nut say that tkeir authors (the mushroom, hut sickly tribe, dependent upon their iTitieul pa- tronage) are of the &sme taste with tlieir admirers. They anecl KKBineM in all they write ; but it is a bladdered greaCneu, like that ot the vain man whom Senecu describes: an ill babit of body, full id'humuur:), and .swelled with dropsy."
Thus far with regard to two sort? of jodee* ; who, in my opinion, are answerable for nine-tenths of the fu«ili)>h performances we every day see exhibited, not only in poetry, but aUo in the sister arts. Thev are the nmck ^Urcmases of our time, who are followed by ao many pltantum i'ir^iU .'
Let US now turn to the third class — tlic really judicious: critics of the highest rank and truest understanding. Thetie, alas ! are few in number; but still, there arc some, and, "Whoever" (uya our great translator,) " is so liappy as tn gain Mrir approbation can never lose it, because they never give it blindly."
Rnt here, it mny be asked, wliat constitutes n true critic? What are bis diagnostics? How is he to l>e known? In answer to this, I shall briefly set down what 1 conceive to be rvquisites of a good critic; fenrless ofoO'eiiding the Mflf-love of tliose who fondly think they daily labour in the vocation.
In the first place, a gowl crilic has in all age« been looked upon as a great rarity. Tliis i" not to Iw wondered at if we reflect a mtmient upon toe many and various qualities necessary to form lus charsctf'r.
L.
«W tf<> Ml. cvrroNS eesionation.
Bv MHrt fciii ■ mamA ttmatd tot the ready apprehciuioa of all that i> hMalifal, iwC Mri ri|Hbr in art ana nature; but, at the
MHs tkasb aver wsKn^ to Min its mcrity of judgmrnt iu favour ttrntmaai onrioe, at lutewti— ■! ccssentricity, wliertrin no vioU- IMB m pwyM't^ is coauuittrd. uid the common ends of inteUeo- taal RVBtDMs atfanncd W cirrottoas but nleuant deriations. Ilf
•hoald br -wedded 1o no ytandud of rxo«Ucnrc already c<!tabtuhcd bjr othera, but rather incline to doubt of any such having; betrn a« yrt discovered ; and, ctuueqaently, be sccastomed to wpif^h the prrtcnuiona of evi^ry nev comct in the arena of invention, with the HtrictMt impArtialtty and eimm^MCtmi. This Utter quality depenil* In n Krcat meaHure upon the rtace of hiit moral feelings, which ahoulil be iii* pure and generouR as his natural enduwntcnts «n «truiif[ and cultivated. He bboald be the frieud of no party vtcejit tho tiMiri of merit ttruggUng id sn uqcuubI strife with ad- vermty wr npiinuaitm ; to whom be should hold out the virtue* of |»at)riicc and |HT«rvTr*nce »a the tutelary guardians of Ills pil- flrimaitt', «lid endeavour to excite him by uie kindest assurances lu liellevc that, wtuiier or Inter, thcj- nerer fail to conduct true de- iCrl to the objrrt of its legitimate ambition ! Lastly, he should petmm n large ktui-k of general learning to enable him to reason dtadyand EoUalcraily an moat thing*, and on the subject or matter ht UOotrtakes to CRiTiciiiK he munt, above all, be pro/cwMdiy akiUcdl Pbpv'i ltd vice.
" Drink deep, or lasie oot ihe Picrinn sprinj?,*'
b acnrrcly so applicable to pocu as to critics. But these, indeed, wbvn Seiiuine, are so nearly allied that it would not be worth whilr M mute distinct rules for them. Johniton has beautifully drscrib' rd llu'ir relationship when he astigna to criticism the office of hacd* nwid to the Mumts, and makes it one of her duties to beat tiine lu ihfir chorus, nnd re»lrain their M'ild dnnce by the meuure of hw watchful rh3rthm ! How haa she loet her place?
ON DR. COTTON'S RESIGNATION OF THE OFFICE OF ORDINARY OF NEWGATE.
CvnoK wiibdra«6, ami rw;kl«n »oii* of slaiijj Say, u lai* now so rarrly life rnn loucii,
The ouiVi must be, siooe uiicvrs tm [ungtr lung, Ue could not lately get a lirvp too muck.
All vortUd rogues n fricDil in Cctttm ios«^ And oone itic sad impressioa can resist,
Tlwi they will find who brave lUe fetal noose No pleasant lubsunite for Cotton ticiti.
fWi KTcrcnd sage I wilJi fond regret, perhaps, .V.WK"''" renicirl.«red. in thj liower or tftoi
\V iH »>I1 rt.'dl llip rlraiu*, tmllii, [>lairuifn% ca[i», \*tl tS\ (lie tftis Ihat bound llifc lo Uiai i\^y !
401
ADVENTURES IN PARIS^Na lil.
Cr TOBY ALLSPy.
TIIF. MANSARDE.
" W hy *buuld our tlumci lie all nriaUcrUiA t BUr, litMLMt muacs aiul ting oi llt« tmck iiuc."
Pori;, 1, Vurivnm prfi/,)
NoTHiNO can be more HUtinctive of the difTercnce of mrtraU unci manners lietweeti England and the Continent, than the discropAticy between joiir EnjfUsh garret and your foreign maiisarde. Alike ele- vated in their views, alike "commercing with the ("ktoe," — the English fTarret i« racred to the priestesses o( dnmcBtic drudjfery, huusemuids. conk maid h, lady's maid!), empty tnmks, broken band- boxen, foul linen, decsyecl (iirnilure, younjf master's old rocking- hor«e tunipd nut to p'as-i, a Kmokc-drivU patent vlium, a bira- orf^n waiitinj; a handle, and otlier luiiibir; which, liaving Bcr\-cd the caprice uf the hour, would be thrown or giveu away but for that avaricious tenacity of human egotisin which decrees that "oysters would be deuced good eating, if the shelUcould be hashed for the wrvants" hall."
Still, amid all the htjOfglnly-pig^ledy of a fiomtun garret floor, there predominates a homely cbaraeter of order and decency. It rioeth with the lark ; it rooAteth with other household Inrds; tta curlew is rung (as reganleth it* long-aixes, for lire-places it hath none,) isomewhere about ten of the clock; and it closeth Jta tssic of scrubbing, lying, picking and stealing for the day, with tlM brief devotion of a |>atL-mo3iier.
Par different the mansartie! Though !)o much nearer heaven that it occupies the seventh or eighth, rather than the (iflh door of the house, it-i morality is nf a more dubiou9 description. L'nen- cumher«l by lumber, living or dead, (for e%'ery story is bound to give shelter to its own meniflla and empty trunks,) it is swept and garnished aimoi>t aii decently ns the rest of the mansion. But^ being let in single chaniberii to fingle men and women, the re* spectability attendant upon double-bodietl individuality is unhap> pily wanting. I do remember me of having located in one of the first hofltcU in Vienna, vhereof (he ground-floor was occu- pied by cofl'ee-rooms, aj»i a ball-mtim for the masquerades of the camivnl ; tlie second wtis the li.-ibitation nf no less a person- age tluiii Don JMigiiel ; the thir<l (odds ducatu and dollars!) th« coimling-house an<l domicile nf llaron Rothachitd ; the fourth> a heleriigcneoua domicile of tailora, mantUA-niakera, Jew'brokers, and picture-dealers ; while the lif^h wai a notorious den of thieves I This villanous propinquity between "honourable men," such ai your Rothschilds and Don MigueU, and a gang of robl>ers and brokem, could nerer have existed in srientifir England, which dia* tingnishea its human classes aa accurately as Liiinirus his *egriable tribes.
Now the attic story, or vtntfsarde, of the mansion of the Bnule- vards .M ontmartrc, if occupiiil by ^ca^lpe• of a leits notorious infamy than thoM! of the It K , had (as luiglit be inferred IVoa Um
402
ADVENTURES IN PARIS.
frequent oriitiotii* of Alndnmc OrSgoir*, tlw port*reM, in hooour of tlip " partinilarity " of the l^ndlunl,) little to lioast in the w«y of cxcliiwivencas. Divided into two section*, h« is utxiai in tuch aU tituile-s by a long nitrrow paii«age, redeemed from utter darkoew by small single panes of glass inserted at rare intf^rvala into tbe rooff each liaving a dark j^e*n bull's rye in the centre, the b«tt«- to exclude tlie light ; the flooring consi^ed of Hexagonal tilex, nrigi- nalty reddened and polished, but now jnundiced to a yellow tinf^, and looac iu their bockcts, tm the patent mineral miutieators of Alademuii^clle Bertltc-. Alung this corridor wa^ ranged a succcssimi of dirty aiid crazy-luoking duorii, bearing nuineraU from No. 47 to No. tJ2, and, consequently, giving access to filUvu lodgem of either 6CX. J3y the aide oC one or two were suspended harcVfoot bell- |lulU, beftide others httTidlcleiis and scarcely handleable woollen cord» ; some boA»te<l only a ]Hicktliread, others a bare wire, octicrs nothing. For evert the mnnxartle pretends to degrees and distiuo- tion« among its " thrones, potentates, dominions, princedooH, powers ;" uAd the front attic, looking, or rather peeping, down upon the Boulevards, inhabited by MBdcmoisellc Toinctte, ourrii-re modute, rlahlic pour son compfe ft (Uins sfs meuLltt, regarded with becoming disdain No. 61, n dark closet, borrowed out of the eloping of the roof, and approprintnl to the truckle-bed of puor Ougu-sie, the foot-boy. lietween this major and minimus of the i^tttge were three rooms, "Rmiill by dcgrccB. and beautifully less;" the first a con- demned blue cliambcr adjoiuing the milliner's, understood in the house tobe])aiU for by Itlouiiivtir Buucu'ur, ibe de^mty. as a lumber- room for the nnsigh[liiie».)ic>> iil' his L'l^tablishinent, but which no human being was ever wen to appruach during the day, though footsteps were ueca&iuiially heard there during the night; the se- cond, a room of capeciiil order and triume&ii, Inhidiited by Alodame Tio%x\ii, " n rL'tired public functionary, living ou her means." tliat is, ex-bux-upcner of the Ambi^ Comique, having a peuaion f^om the theatre of one hundred and lil\y francs, or six pounds jwr an- num : and thirdly, the le«« trimly, but lar more ornate, pied-ti-lem (if Alademoisclie Isoline, tlie dtfputy-double of the general utility fenne premiire of the minor theatre called the Funarobules. The rest of the romni were occupied by clerks belonging to shops or counting-bouses in the commercial quarter of the Hoiirti>e; a young law-^tude^t, who drHpihing the lone and atmosphere of tbe" Pays Latin, chose to Irudge three miles per morning to the endurance of Ilia profeuional dutich ; a deeayed old genileiiian, whose family having risen in the world, had t>en!>ioned him off, and compelled him to rise aliio lo « deit in an ntlic Ktory ; ami a young vtrmfilUut (if thi; Uoulcvard*. whose doily means vnabkvl liim to indulge in a cup of A"«<'/^'"« itiitliimtmt for hrenkfiut, an ice and wafer «l Tor- loni's for dinner, tenpeniiy worth of fashion and fine-artaat .Mueord'e concerts, a cuul and waistcoat from iiUn, and an astounding pair of whiiikerii. Such wan tlie population of tbe place; and the ele- ment* of this chaos, forty feet itquure, duly considered, the decency and decorum o( its legislation, were truly wonderful. No noise, no riot, no confusion, no smftshing of windows, or calbng of names, jtt when in Kngland such jarring atoms of humanity meet and fer- ment togt-liicr. The familiarities of the upper region proceeded no farther thuii siilutalioiis cif " Bon Junr, mon vouia 1" " Bqh juur, om
w^^^l
THE MAMSARDE.
405
eJiarmaHie voisine!" " Ca va bicnf" "Quel chtcH de tempt f" "A revoir !"
B^^tween No. 49, the residence of the eA-vHvrrum:, and No. 61, the hiibitation of thp actretia, a sort of profeesional acquainunccahip, however, was kept up, in jargon de ruulisscs nimost incomprchcn* Hible to people beliingiiig to the world of actiisliticH. One even- ing, shortly afUT tlie coiuii)cii<:eini-ut of Kcquuiiitancu between the finiC and third Hours, Madunie Dosne weis iteuted beside the slen- derly-sujjplied hearth of JVIademoiselle isoline, having cuiuidcrately brought with her the classical old chanffrHtr of iron in it» walnut- wood case, which, in Iter palmy dnys of box-opening was nightly iu- stalled under her carpet ehocK during tlie interx'ula of her busy vo- cation. On the table between tlieni stood two of Uia»e diminutive glasses purporting tti contain potables, which being more pernicious liuii wine, arc allowed to poison mankind in minuter pruportiutu ; At the bottom of which was a highly .or umatic sediment, tlie lees of cognac, cura<,-oa, absinthe, opium, or some other patent medicine ad- minifttering to Ailments of the hiimfin mind or body. Beside Afadame Dosne lay her horn spectacles, and a crumpled copy of the Entr'acte, or universal gnaselte of playbills for the ])recpding night ; beside Aladenioitetle Isoline the copy of her part in the mcltHlraina of" Inez de Cafltro/' of which a general rebettrsol was to take place at the Funanibules tbu foUowit^; evening, iiut, as is ever the ui&c where females sit down to study in cou^des, the labours of the brain were grievously interrupted by those ol the tongue.
"Of course, ray dear child," observed the pucker-faced lady to one who might have been coUed young, had her hve-und-twenty years have passed in any less corrupt atmosphere or calling than the he- lotism of a sixth-rate theatre, — "of course, mom cm/(jii/, nothing can be more praisewortiiy than your deteruii nation to abstain from equi- vocal society, and yoor reMjIvc to be seen no more xt the balls of Im Chaupuere, or other 8tmday resorts, pleasant but wrong. Otdy I must permit myself to observe that if these sage projecta hitppen to originate in the hope affixing the affections of ^(onsieur Kric, cr \ trugcttien ijki hc detHeadrn/amaU fraud, who (^ ftar partiHlhete) famously hissed the other night at the Belleville theatre, in the part of SyllR, I fairly warn you that your pains are pleiuures, u well as labour, lost."
" ^[onsieur Kric ! Aloiisieur Eric ! Will your bruni never run on any other topic than Monsieur Eric.^" cried Mademaiaelle Isoline, pushing from ht-r the dog's-eared tlieatrical manuscript, indited upon paper the colour and consistency of the cvmcls, which conveyed from the lubaccoitjst Xa> the hand of her venerable neighbour her weekly livepennywortli of Macouba. " Ever since the d:iy tliat It grof tragi' did bribed you with a pound ul' ctiocviat nmj p'uttn:htK to convey to me one of his stupid uilUls-ilaux, (for tlie wretch writes in prose, without a word to say for himself worth consideration,) you have chosen to surmise that my feelings are influenced by a snuffling, phthisicky hobhUdegu, for whom it would l>e charitable in tJie adtni- nistration to provide a set of caoutchouc lungs, whenever he ha* |o get tlirough a live-octave, five-act, heroic part of Victor Hugo's ur Alexandre Dumaa'k."
'■ I had rather surmise as much, mem cHjamt, than fancy you were
•MH
ADV£NTDRE£ IN PAUIS.
tlirnwing sway your afTvctioiis oil s Lailur'E UymBR, Kuril m» cicur If Clu-'valier liftlor de Gobeuiouchc, Uie Iud|n!r at -IS, whs hongs bis cambric handkercbiefa and dickies \o dry out of the wm- dovr adjoining mine, — an iDdecwiim which nearly co«t me a brtoe of favourite canarirfi by a catarrh last season at breeding-ti toe." S
" Moiivifur l« Chrvalier will nevvr attract any other atteittiun jimn ^1 his own in the looking-glaM !" intfrruptcd Mademoiaelle Isolioe in a tone of Contempt
" Pardi f it can be no other, then, than Monaietir Kugene, tbe medica] student, who ftent you the tino bouquei n( cameUia» and mi- mosa the night of your benefit ?" cried Madame Dosne, allowing no opportunity to the young deputy-double to defend herself. "Ah, in* i-hild ! what a falling-ofT from the rich marc/iand dt comfMiihUt M the Palais Koyal, on whom yoii had bestowetl your affectiona when I had lirst the pleasure of E«eing you perform one of the Ze- phyr« ill the t'l^le de Hure in a sky-blue petticoNi edged with silveTj m which, dangling I'rura a cord, with bluc-ligbts clmroiingly thrown on you from beluw. you looki>d like something truly angelic t You were then icarc«Iy lixtcen, men hvliiK, a pretty, docile^ littli creature."
"A miaerable dupe and idiot I" cried the actress, shrugging her shoulders while a xlight blush romr to her face at the recullectioii,
" During the nine ensuing ye^r«, my child," pursued the cunning Madame l)o«ne, looking wistfully at the cmply i>«]iieiir-glajs by way of hint for rpnlpiiinhment, "you have had tipnottunitieji of putting by a comfortable provifsifin for winter times ! lluinph ! Thf young milord, who broke hi« neck in a hurdle<race in the Bois de Boulogne, wa* not sparing of hi« giiineaa."
" Poor soul ! he was the beat of good creature* t" said laoUne gravely. " I burn a taper for his soul every ToHsiaiut in the cfaurdi of Notre Dame do Lorcttc.'*
"The favourite temple of the arti !" ejaculated Aladame Dome. " It is tliere, that the talented JClsslcr has her prie-diru ! But, aa I was saying, ma IclU; you have had many good opportunities of writing your name in the ledger of che loigi-e d'cpar^ms. Humph !" " Would 10 heaven 1 had prnlitcd by thctn ! " cried the young »c- tress, with a look of desnair vhich rendered the defeatures of her haggard countenance only more painfully apparent. "For, mtre nuns, Ma'nte Do^sne, 1 have not a five franc piece befure me ; and, su far from rising in public estimation to warrant hopi-s uf an increase of sidary, 1 was all but bisswi lawt week in my favourite part oi Puctjiiita; and hencet'orw;U'd au jilii/siquc taut i/u'an moral, I am no longer worth a sol."
" Vou Tnu«t have been a tiad and wasteful prodigal, then, in your time I" replied Madame Dosne, taking a pinch of itnutf with a highly- reprehenwve air, and contracting IiOT already narrow brows.
" I don't say no," replied Iwoiine. " It hjui ever been my maaiin to taki' with one hand, end give with the other."
■• Siii/iintffr with the other, you mean J" perntsted the old woman tnoJiciuusly.
" Not altAgetlirr. I ran scarce rail the money /irn'jni/rrn/ which fur five ynira went to pay a hniidrrd francs ii luontli fur my old fa- ther'n hoard in tliv Iliiapicc de Si. A!e4lan.l down at my fta^/s yondtr ill Jlurguiidy. I can acarcc cull llie luuitey nfMandtrrti wliicli Mved
THE MAKSAUDB.
405
my pour cuUHin ami piayinnte, JacqueS) (wp were promlKtl in our childhood bi-forc 1 was m.'id eitough to niii awny from my appren- ticeship to the liitgrrv at Uijuii with a cart itt'strollt^r*,} when he had the hick nf u bUick niimbfr tor the cuiuicriplioiv Neither do I call money iquandered which went to take my {xxir aunt'a I'umtture and the couverls out of pledge ^ehen— •"
*' Why, what have you to ik(in> for it all?" demanded the phleg- matic Afadame Dosnc. " Tell mc that ?"
" I have something to J'eel ; sonielliing that keeps me from freez- ing theiie long winter nights, when I have only a couple of couver-> lures, and the embers of the morning's log, to keep out the froHt," replied IsoUne cheerfully.
'* But, what bugjiicse have you to have fallen to low in the world ■s to two blanket!) unil a li^? I repeat that you have had fine o\y- portunities ; and wc owe iiu account lo Providence, my dear child, of the talents committed to our charge V aaid the rj--o«r»rr«»r »ancti- raoniously. "For example, what can exceed the wastefulneH of pinning that splendid cachemiro shawl op to the window by way of curtain? I warrant me it did not cost less than three thoiiimnd franca ?"
" I hung it up only when you talked of spending the evening with me," replied Isoline f;ood.humourcdly ; " lor one of the panes has a hole in it as big asa<tixlivre piece, where that Mucy jackanapes op. iHMite, Monsieur Ernest, thought proper to throw in an orange, try- ing to hit me as I stood curling my liair at my looktng-gUja«. It was out of r^ard for your rheumatism, Ala'nie Dosne, that I pinned up my poor shawl."
" A couple of yards of serge would have served the purpose as well."
" I don't happen to have a couple of yards of serge," replied Imline, carelessly.
"ICyou choose to disencumber yourself of the bhawl, (I know a rich banker'a ludy in the Rue de Provence who is always looking uiiE for I'fjckemiret doccasKtn, which she passes olF as new to her fa'inion- alile friends,) you might luruisli yourself with creditable mohair curtains, and the odd blanket you »eeiu in wnot of; besides putting threvor four hundred francs into your pur*c as a nest-eieg."
" I don't chu<M« tu part with the shawl," baid Isoline coldly : " 'twaa given me by my poor milnrd."
"And will your poor miiord be the wiser, pray, in his fine tomb up at Perc I^chaise, for your having made yourself comfortable Ibis cold winter?"
"'Tijlhe onlygif^I have left ofhia," aaid Isoline. " The diamond ear-rings went to procure poor .lacqiics's subsliKiie at the time uf the conacription. I won't tlirow away the last token of a deceased
" You arc not going tu play sentiment, I trust, ma belli- ?" said the old ouvrnue with a hideous sneer. " Keep lAat, ma itauvrr fniliue, tot the Funambules!"
" I sliall, — I do ! and my shawl for a comfort to my old sboiddrri ten years hence."
" If /Art/ be your nearest need for it, child," persevered tile rapa- cious ot<l womiin, (who hoped to come in for a luck-penny on the bargain,) "why not leave it tn fitU-nilunf witit the udminulralivn?
1 know alicenseil comniitiioncr of the Mont de Pit-te who wonhl od-
406
ADVKfmTS^S IN PARK.
vance ymi a liundreil crowns on the shavl, and keep It till better
times."
"As if I would insult Alilnrd Greenhorn's memory by pending his gift tu sir dishonouring a placir, or demean myHell* by wearing it af- terwutb !" cried IsuUtie, ulmort angry. " Astez U-aeiftui ! I mean to keep both my temper and my shawl ; so let 'i talk of something else 1"
"I see how it is! Yon will come to die in an hospital!" ex- clainu-d Mndnmc Doeiie. shrugging her shoulUcri!. " However, my dear cliild, 1 shall always feel comfortud by the reflection that you were not lost for want of good advice. And now, good nicht I for you have your part to study, and my eyes are drawing stmw« already." " Won't you hear me rejieat it before you go, Ma'me Dome ?" cried Mademoiselle Isoline, snatching up the dog's-eared manu- script, and appealing earnestly to the old hjig, whoxe ioJadrice ahc well knew had been the ori^^n of all lier indiscretions, and half her misery.
"^o^ to-night, ma helte, not to-night!" replied the onvreuie, who had a plan for dropping down a story, in the hope of a glaat of somethmg warm -with her kinswoman, Afademoi»elle Bertlie. " Tis nine o'clock, child ; and ray neighbour, old Monsieur Dufosac, would be raising n sciuKlal in the house if he hearcl me out of my chitm- bcr at such an unHeemly hour !"
And having obtained leave to fill her chauff'itilc with the few re- maining embers of her poor hostess, away hobbled the public func- tionary living on her means, leaving IsMuie to her studies and her meditations.
The hearth soon waxed cold; and a Dcce'mber wind, whistling ovcnr the roofs of the houses, blew through the aperture in the win- dow, sharp and Htraight as a discharge from one of Perkins's steam- guus. The young actress at h^ngth dragged down the much-dis- cussed cachemire, aiid flung it over hn head and shoulders, as the best mode of self-preservation from Oie intemperance of the s«a$on. She cast a wistful glance around the uiansarde ; on tlie dirty and distempered walls o( which, flickered the uncertain liRht of a bougie tie Cltvilc stuck in an empty bottle. Percheil on n gilt ball of the cracked gUsa of her toilet, was the silver lot/ue and featlicr* sent by her dresser for npprobatiun, from tlic 'theatre, preparatory to the rehearsal of the following night ; and on the dirty marble slab be- low, lay scattered a glittering chain and buckle of crysocol or rao- Muc gold, a pair of paste car -rings entangled in a bunch of false ringlets, » rouge-pot m a pasteboard-box wanting a cover, a stick of pomatum, a pair of fleHli-culuured gauze stockings, four two-sous pieces, and a tionfionnierr fdled with stale palf dr guimauMf^ On the wall hung, on one side the rouni, a highly -coloured print of Tag- lioni in the Sylphide, the Scottish farmer kneeling at her af^ria) feet, having a bird of Paradise feather stuck knowingly in his bon- net ; on the nttter, a row oi pegs, whence depended sundry dirty peignoirs, a mock Ikik, and a splendid satin dreM, of the newest fashion. There was nothing encouraging in the survey ! Still less, when, on crossing the room to ascertain whether there was so much aa a crust left of her breakfast in the hujfti, to serve for a frugal 8uj)per, Isoline discovered nothing within that nnaavoury cupboard, but a few chipped nUte* of ifrrf de pipe, a dirty miistard-pot, and a half-em|Ply salt-!=jilveT.
I
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TUB MANSARDB. 407
On returning to her KM ^m this tVnitless royage of discovery, the diKappninted actrpii« caught it glimpse of her own rueful coun- tenance in the cracked toilet-glass, and lauglicd outright at it^ <lo> loroua expression. Rut after a >>econd clance at ihe cart-worn luce, to which n complexion, seared br tlie high luibitual painting of the sl^ge, black-dyeil eyebrou«, hollow cheeks, and, above all, a pair of deejv&et eyes, to which habits of din^ipation had imi>arted that iudL-fcribable expresHion which touches tlic brink of all we hate, Isoliiii.' fdl aImo><tliorror-strieken. The puor. cold, hungry creature read there tlie announcement lliat, miserable a» were her fortunw, tliere was a lower grade to which the was inevitably falling. ]I«r youth was deserting her ! Aud to what had that youth been de- voted?
jjuinelhing almost amounting to a tear arose in her eyc». But )t wan nut in IsoUor's nature to be sad. Throwing herself back in her :ttraw chair, »he cast aside her cares for a time, by rtniolutely taking up thr part in which she was to be i>erfect by the morrow, and after the laptie of a few ininuteH, was humming the air of a f^y vauilenilit\ For more than an h<mr afterwarda did she stultify her muter* tan ding by pondering over the incoherent phr4i«c» of a far- rago of what is called fine writing ; till at lengtii, benumbed by cold and weariiie*)!, she watt on the point of falling asleep.
" If I were to ley another priit tcrtrY" mused Isoline, ittarting up and glancing towards the Inittlc that stood on the buffet ; "I think there must be one glass left. But no ! 'tis a detestable habit in a wnninn 1 and a thing he hates and despises I" And rul>- bing her chilly hands together, to restore circulation, she betook her- self nnce more, courageouslv to her Btudies. At length, the candle scctned to d-inre before her Tieavy eyes, the hook fell from her hands, and the piwr sltivering actress dropped u»leep.
It was inipoBailile to guess wliat space of time had elapsed when Aladeiuoiaellu Isoline, rou!^ hy a nuiiie in tlic corridor, started up to find herself almost frozen with cold, with the candle burning low in the bottle.
'* I may as well sleep in bed as hrre," w.is her reflection; and i'urthwith she began to prepare herself for her hard pillow.
Tiic stained and rumpled silk gown was soun unhooked at the waist, and appended to ita peg ; when, just m Isoline vma ou the point of tying upon her head the Aliiilrus handkerchief which served for nightcajt, it occurre<l to her that she hwl not yet tried on tiie silver /('^uf in which she was to figure the following night as Inez de Castro; and having hastily assumed the ringlets and rur-rings indispensable to giw effect to tbc cuiffnrr, the pUiitie« of which al- ready nodded over her brow, xhe was so thf^iattHfied with her hag- gard and wretched a.4pect, as to seixe tlie harei>faot, and restore by A patch of rouge the false brilliancy wanting to complete the toiUt of an actress, — when lo I just aa the professional daub lind been ad- miuisteretl to her icy cheek, a haaty tap at tlie door claimed her aU tcntioit.
" Be off" with you, Monsieur Eugene!" cried the actress. *' Yoii know I have told you fifty times, that if you persist in insulting me by these dlfiturbances, [ will complain to the proprietor and Ma- dame Gregoirc."
To her great surprise, however, iiutead of the whispered ren
408
AbVRNTUAKS IN PAIIIS.
atr«nce« she was accustomed to receive in itniiwer to her hftran^ufii low, gentle, remnlc vmcc woa heard, entreating aclmitt*nce. R*- gardless of her bare shouliier* and glittering toijue, IsoUnc JDStuitlf hauened to the door; on undouDg which, she discovrred bj the lieht of the candle in her hand, th« sliglit ftgure and |>slli[l tare of Afsdemoiinellp de Coureron lennini; a^in^t the wall. InstinctJTclTi the child uf perdition felt heri<e)f to he in the prei>cnce of one of the childron of light ; and tnecttnniually smitdiinf off the ^udy bead* dress, ahe retreatwl into the room tu cover liersclf decently wiih the memonible ahaul. ere she proceeded to uujuire " what there «» for the lervice of mademoiselle?"
" Pardon, pardon! I fancy I have made a tnistake," cried Clairr, retrenting in her turn, in utter consternation, " 1 fancied this wa» AlntlemoiaeUe Toinette'M apartment. I c«m« to beg « little braise to Hj^ht my fire.*' *
" Mademoiselle had better knock at the door of Afadame Dotne,'' said I«o1inCj courteously. " MA'msclle ToJnette is wldmn at home at this hour."
" AIas ! I have already applied to hcr>" faltered AtadeiniHselle de Couraon. ■< But ctlie would nut even open the door, and bade me get about my business ! It ih such a dreadful ni^ht, and tnainma ig very ill I 1 almost fcur, Gcd help me ! that she U <iying !"
" l>ying! Step in a moment!" cried iHuHne, who had often n<»- ticed, on the stairs, tlie ititercsliiif^ cuuntirnancv^ of Claire und her mother, for whom she felt the iirupressiblu respect wh><di vice enter- tains for virtue. " Perhaps, with a tittle patience, we nuiy be able to rekindle n few embern on my heitrlh."
And iti a moment she uas down on her knees, puffing awav with the utmost aid of a miserable pair of bellows, till a few kindly sparks amonjr the ashes began to glow and redden.
'* It WM very wrong of the garde to let a sick person's fire go out on such a. night an this ]' miid the actreu, ns she proceeded eagerly with her task.
" My poor mother has no nurse but myself," faltered. Mademoi- Belle de Courson. " She had fallen asleep with my hand in hers, and 1 dared not disturb her to attend to the fire. I tremble to leave her alone for even the few niinutea necessary to come up hither."
" No nurse ?" cried Isnline. " At jfQur age venture to be alone with an invalid in danger of her life. Is not this very rash ?"
" It iH inevitable." rt-plicd Claire, moved by the kindness of the actress, yet unable wholly to tlivest herself of tlio re[)iignance with whirh she hud been inspired by her mother, on some occasion, when the 6nunting attire of Mademoiitellu Isoline had attracted in the entry the attention of iMadame de Courson.
" But consider, my dear young lady, what your aitiiation would be, should anything actually occur to madame ? You Diight be un- able to summon nesislance \"
"I know it I" faltered CItiirc, shuddering, partly with cold, partly with terror, and scarcely able to repress lier tears. " But we nave not the means of hiring proper attendance^"
" If it would not be taking a liberlv," said Isolinc, in spite of her professional hardihood, almost intimiilattd by the aspect of this holy
TKK MANSAILbBT
40S
I
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I
>e bappy to at up with you fnr the ranainder of the night ?"
" Woultl yiHi indeed? tt wottld be nii net uf stj^al luervjr ! V'et what right li«vc 1 to Rc<.'«pt such a service from » Htraiigcr. — destitute as I nm ot'thi^ Miuille^t power of mnrkiiiff my gratitude!" Cfiod Chure, correcting her first eager acceptance.
"Say nut a word of gratimdc. Mutual service is a debt we poor creature* of clay owe cucli uiher iii a ivorld of trouble ! ' cried Isoline. " I am not unhandy in a sick cliBiubvi' : niitl since yuu will allow me tg assist }o\i, return at once tu the invalid, and I will fol- low you iiiAtantly with the shovel-full of ember*."
With repeated thaiikB. Muiieraoiselle de Courson accepted tJie offers and advice uf her new acquaintance; and the moment she had fioitted the room, Uoline hastened tu " wuxh the lilthy wttnP4;i from her face ;" and hnving ansumed the most decent of her eap>) and p^^Hftirs, and enveloped herself anew in her shawl, hurried dowii stairs, on charitable thought* intent.
From the length of time' tliat elapsed ere the door was opened, a(\er ^lie liiid rung the hell, the actreA^ wa& half inclined Ut fear tlut the poor young hidy repented having accepted the ufTen t>f a neighbour of such indifferent reputation ; but wlien at length *il- rtiittance waa grantetl, the .ogiuied manner in which Claire an- nounce<l tliat alie had fouiul her mother in a fainting state. i«ttaf»etl her that the delay wa^ untiitvutiunal. vVdvaiicing hastily to the bed, die only article of furniture in tlie denuded chamber into w tiich she was introduced, the good .Saninritan pioceoiled to feel the hands of the sufferer, und found tliem cold as death.
" What have vuu dune for her ? what medicines has »he token f what are yau about to give ber ?" cried Iwiline. alarmed in her turn.
" Notliing [ alas, alas ! ebe cau no longer swallow 1" cried Made- moiielle Courson, wringing her liands ; siiil in a moment, lioline snatched the light from the table, and behel«l u|K)n tlie counte. nance of the poor »uflerer those lilac streaku and nting dew« which ap{>car to I>e the preciirNor* of death. Still, the nctresa had §ten in*tanceit where similar aptteiirunces were produced aolely hy the fsintnc«s arising from exhaustion.
" Give me the eau-ito-CoIugnc!" cried she.
■' I have none '." replied Mademoiselle dc Courson.
" Ea»wle-vie, then."
" Atafl! there is nothing of the kind at hand."
" liieu de diett ! what restoratives, then, have you been using?"
-■ Tliis JinivN af aalu ' I can have nu further tli^guisea with you ! We IiAve exhausted cverytliing ! We are destitute of even the ne- oeuarie« of life!"
" Blow up a little fire as well as vou can whh tliow embers, and
Kut on some water ; 1 will be back in a moment !" cried Isotine, on earing this alarming announcement- And long before her com- panion h'td succeeded in raising the requisite floine, the actremr re- turned, bringing with her the fortuiiat«ly »]Mirod bottle o( cofcnac. A few tlrops adminiBtcred iti a tefl-it|>oon to the motionless invalid, ind at inlervnU renewed, at lengtli caused a heavy Mgh to burst from her lip*, and »■ her eyes unclosed for n moment, she faltcrefl vnf,. lit. 9
m vnt
410
ADVENTURES IN PAKIS.
with yearning tt-ndemt'SB the imiiie al' her daughter. A time cruchoti, filled willi boiliiijj water, was next [ilaceil at her feci ; and \\y the time Aladaine de Courson was able to express herseli' id in- tellipble wurds, ]!>oline was ready with n cup ofrteaming br«ttd p»- uoda, the only aliment the burp cupboards of either of the tittle ne- cessitous houiehnldii could at that moment supply. For the actrea* had guessed rightly ; the poor lady wu ainliing only for want of food.
" Don't mention ray name, let madame take me for a hired nurse," whispered iRoline, conjecturing that her respectable neigh- bour might entCTtnin ttcruples nt finding her daughter in faroDiar companion ship with a person of her c1n!<s; and Claire, without un* der»tanding tier object, silently pressed her hand in token of as- sent. " A kind neighbour, dearest mother, is come to assint me in nnrHinz you," was all the explanation tiecee^ary to be given to Ma dame dc Coursou.
" Wiie is very good. Don't li;t Ijcr fatigue herself," laurmureU the Hufierer ; and at once revived and overcome by the food and iti- mulantH «he had imbibed, t«be reclosed her eyes and sank into a tranquil sleep very different from her previous insen!<ibi!ity.
" Rely upon it, she will now rest comfortably," said IsoUne, drawing the curtain.
" I scarcely hope it!" refilled the young girl mournfully. "Thi« i* the fifth night I have sat tip with maniina, and «he never «leep9 more than ten minutes at n time. Her nerves are miserably shaken. She starts up, fattrying jR-oplc are in the room, come to take her to prison."
" Have you no physician ?"' incjuircd the actre«ft. •• We haft one ; but liiiding that he was not regularly paid, he ceased to visit us," replied Claire. " You. whof« cnarity has caused you to Ik! introduced here, «o aa to view the nakedness of the land, must perceive at once the rnndttion to which we are reduced. Since mamnm's illness, I have lM.M.'n unable to take in work. All our property is gone; and unlcbS I should receive a favourable Answer to an application I made yesterday, Madaiiie Gregoire hai given us warning to quit, and my dearest mother can only be re- moved to a public ho^ital. We have seen better days. My mo- ther is — but no matter f She must die I 1 feel — I feel that she must die in an hottpitall"
All thi» W.-LS uttered without tears; but broken by sobbing lighs, such aa burnt from the bosom of a child afler a oevere fil of weeping. A tear meanwhile fell from the hollow eye of the actress, but it fell in silence.
" How much do you owe to the proprietor?" she inquired with- mit apoloify of Mademoiselle de Courson.
" Nearly seventy francs, Iwsides five to the portress !" " Is there any oilier pressing demand that niArms yon ?" resumed Isoline.
" There is the baker," said the young la<ly, hhiflhing deeply as Jihe glanced towards n wofnlcn tally tivat lay on the chimney-piece. " And the milkman asketl yesterday for the four fVanca we owe him ; but Ar, I ivaxKy, might still be induced to trust u« !"
" lie comforted, then," cried the actress. " If this be the worst of the case, I shall mystelf be able to asiiist you; and to-aiorrow
4
I
4
n
JUI ■ WW^H
THE MANSAADE.
411
shall be no further wiuit uf tbud, fuel, or advice. Xo thankf, ma chirr dcinoiiirUe ! It i& something that you deign to accept the aiwiMtance of such a one as I \ And now, lay yourself quietly (Itiwii nX the foot of your mother's bed, and take wnne rent, i shall be im the ifui-vive ; and if she calls, will be sure to wake you to attend upon her."
Claire suffcret) henelf to be t>erfiua(l(Hlj for, in truth, the poor girl WAS scarcely able to siCanH. She rested her aching head bcnidc her motjier'a feet; and the light of a grey winter sunrise wa* gteflm- ing into the room, when again ahe opened her eyes to the sorrows of life.
" The good lady has stirred but once, and after taking souie warm I'uaunc IVom my hand, mi^itnking it fur yours, soon dropped off to sleep again," said laoUne, replying tu her cunipauion'H looks uf terrified iinpiiry. And on exninining the room. Mademoiselle de CottTKHi founil with surprise and gratitude, that her new friend had swept up the hearth, set on the bwithiif, filled the pitchers with filtered water from the fountain on the /^n/i^r, ami tidied up the place. Their one tea-spoon stood in a bright tmnsparent tumbler, the tntps were rinsed, the curtains neatly arranged ; everything waa in order.
" And now 1 nni!«l Irave you, for I have urgent business on hand," said Isnitne, gond-huraouredly. " But in an hour or two I fthall be here ; till when, ma bonne demouflU. keep up your spirits."
It WHS that very morning, of all the days in the year, that Mon- ^dtur le Che^'BJier Hector de Gobemouche.'aa he was seething in hia ^ovolate-pot an unctuous compound of honey, olive-oil. and ptmt- madf tie cuHcombret, intended to restore whiteness and snioothnesa In his chapped hands, at a more convenient cost than the emollients furnished for such purposes by Mcsincurs Lubin and Co., overheard through the thin wainscot of his room the following discourse be- tween his neighbour, Alodamc Dosne, and a voice which be did not immediately reeognifte.
" An't you ashamed of yourself, for having denied your door last utght to a poor fellow •creature in distress?" said the namelcsa ■gteaker
" .V« J'tM .' if one were to open one's doors to all one's fellow- creatures in ditttreiis," repUeil the outrcuse, " one must lodge in the Parais Notre Uanie !"
" There came hut o«e poor soul, and you refused her. But no matter ! I come to ask you a service. You offered to dispose of my shawl for me. Have you any objection to take it to tlie armmii- aionaairf you spoke of?"
" Far better sell it outright to the banker's lady," mumbled the old woman, who had a better chance of profit in an ad li/'itum sale.
" It docs not suit me! According to your account, 1 shall obtain ftvm the Mont de Fii-te the sum of which 1 stand in present need ; ■m1 Hun the shawl may be redeemed and come back to luy hajuls again, some sunshiny day."
" 1 can't be troubled tlu» momtng. This is my nxtking-day. I liave mv pol'ttu-j'ti to mind," »iaid Madame Uosne, doggedly, tot incliiie«l to vote for the amendment.
" But (Ar'rr Ma'iur Ihnui- ! if I nromtse to watch the soup white you are gotH- ^ I would go myself, only I have still this
•2 r
*\it
ADVeHTORES TN PARIS.
Em of Inez to haiuuicr into my head ; and I could lit by ymcr emrth and cim it over."
" YeK ; and tufTer tlie broth to spoil Ibr want of skimming '."
" Perhaps you fancy that I think of giving you this trouble for nothing ?" remonstrated Isoline. " But pray undrntxnd that there will be a crown of bonne main fur yoo, it' you make a good bar* gain."
" A crown indeeil ! I used to makt as much when I was a box- opetier by every f»inting-H[, nnd nothing furiUBhed for the money but a few civil words and a gluw of spring w«u*r ! Whereas, if I trudge out this wretched morning in the mud, there vrill be, in the first place, twenty cfulimet to the iUcroUetir for cleaning my ahocs, be- sides the prohahility of catching cold."
" Make vour fee a five fnmr piece, then, and f;et you gone, or I will go myself!" cried the indi(niant Isoline, eiifurcing her tlireat by au outh more iiKelligiblc to A«r t-ars smd thoKe of the oufrrutr, than it would have been to the pure-minded Claire de Cour»on. Whereupon Madame Dosrie. by no means witihing to We the job, attempted to Hoothe her, by exclaiming, with .i chuckling laugh, " Come come, ma beUe enfant! not »o hasty with your old fHend ! 1 'II juKt on with my cloak. Fold up your shawl neatly in paper ; or stay, — bot piiiwi a hot iron over it, lo take out the creaics and make it look like new ; ami if I ilmi't brinf; you back fifty crowns within an hour, my name'ii not Agripriinn Dmne !"
" V'ou must bnng me back a huntlrcd, or nothing," said Isoline, firmly. '■ If I can't get that much for it on pledge, I "11 lake it at once to our manager's wife, who has ot\en onered to purchase it of me for thirty Napoleons."
" I '11 do my best, I can but do my best !" cried lh« hag, shufRing on her fuMy old merino cloak.
" Itememher ! f Arre hundred francs or nothing !" cried Isoline. aa htr ambassadress quitted the room- And, on finding heraelf alone, she drew fortli once more from the pocket of her Jmtiard apron, the cu|)y of her luckless part of Ineis de Castro ; and, sitting down beside the fire, witli the Bkimming Udic across her knee, and her eyes occa^ionrilly directed towards the eanlun jar, in which simmered a piece of lean beef, tied up wilh packthread, amiil au odoriferous mixture of leeks, celery, carrots, turnips, and buntt onions, iilie began to recite aloud with becoming emnliasis, " O lei* objet de tail tie iwrij/ Tui .' itoni la leadrcsse rtmouwe r»curt le cteur nn/aH/i tie tii plus iHnUn-iiretise det J'cmmex ! Toi .'" The floating scum upon tlie sinmiering st«w-pot here claimed the u- sistance of the nuuimrcf) lir^t rmivrr, rn^M» encore, »r^wi* — . •' Now what on earth will l>ecijme of me!" exclaimed poor Isoline, interrupting herself. " The nmre I strive to drive this tiresome stuff into my brains tlic more my thoughts wander to that un- liiijipy daufjhicr and mother on the third floor! If it was poetry, I could learn it in five minutes ; mtiu la proae, c'rtt embttante txtmmc tout .'"
m
COUWT CASKO'WHISKY AND HIS THREE HOUSES.
A TRMl'KHANCK BALLAD.
Tmebe u a. demon in the land,
A deciton fitrrcc and frisky. Who sl*a)s ihe ioiiU uf mortal m«(i,
Hia nunc is Ciuko'vrhisky.
I^ 1 tTJOUDtfd an • titry st«»d, il« rides through lown and village.
And cilU the norkitinn from iiis shop. The farmer from liii lillaje.
Clulohol in liis lanky red righi hand
He hulds a iiti)ihty bicker,* Whose |M)1ishe(l miles run dnily o'er,
With 6o<k)e of buniiii^ liquor.
Around him press ibe clumoroiu crowdi.
To VttK bis liquor greedy ; Bat chdly come the poor and SKd —
Tile sanvriag and tne needy.
Ail tbuie opprened by grief and debts
Tilt iliitcilittr— llir laiy, Diaggle-t^il'ii sliiU, anri iihiriless men,
Aod young girb lewd and crety.
•* Gite ! give 1" tlicy cry, " give, gi'e ui drii»li I
Give us your buruiiig liquor, We 'LI empty &sl na you can fill
Your fine cajiacioui bicker.
" Cm t give us drink to drowni our care,
And make ii* ligl>t and frmky, Give ! give I and we will bless ttiy twnie
'lliou good Count Cajko'whiiky ?"
And when the demon he«r» them vry, Rieiil merrily he laugheth.
And Twid* hti bicker out to all. And L'ach poor idiot qtnlTetli.
lite lint <lrof warms ihcir sbinering slcin*.
And dnvLi a^ay their sadiiot, Tlw tccrind h^bts ihcir sunkm ey«s
Aad ftlh their touli with gladooH.
■ Tht authnriuM am agMOM ma ia ibo use of th!t word. Dr. JohiiMn bat ii ifmkfr, a l'ti|> w'tb a bmM ur spiMit. In ttw nortli uf EnglaDiJ aad tlia Kialb of feMHland bielur mama m bowl, wldiout any re&reiuv to iha btmk. 1 ineUna la il>» Iwltef that Joboaaa U attofethcr wmnir, and UuU lb« trtie d«nrmtl<fli of iIm wiicU i* fram tJ» TcDlunic httker, a ilrinklni; nt)i. Ilovrver, my rliyino miium tl tobcfiicfcrr,— M tiick<<r 1«i ji Iw, aa furu the pmmt liallail UoooMmed. Ha rhyiBtfr uui give a non lutaiMiory anawat Uuu) tlit exipuciet of his rliytiwh
414
COUNT CASKO WHISKY
Th« third diup makes Uiciu shout and roir,
Aad play vuc1i furious aniiu. Tb« fouith (trap boiU iteir very blood,
Tbe atth drop driv» thvm Trulic !
And itill ihcy drink the burning dRUi|]ii,
Till old Count CukoVhnky IIoldK his bluff side* with iLiugtiier fierce,
To vee ihem all so thsky.
** Nvro 1 more !" ihey cry, " cnav givu ui marc !
MoK of that riKlil Kood liquur 1 rill u[), old buy, lliiil wc may drain
Down lu the dregs your bicker '."
The demon ^p-un hi* fi«ry steed.
And Uugbi) a laugh %n hollon', Th«n waves hi* bick«r in ibr air,
Aod beckons tht-m to follow.
On ! on I he ridet, and ouwardt rush,
Tbe lieedleKi tliousdnds nfttr. While on-r hill anil valley *id^,
Kvwunds tis tiiniillil;e laugtitur.
On I on ! lliey rush tItrouEh mud and mire.
On I on I they rush, exclaim inR, " O Casko" whisky, give us more.
More of thy liquor HamiRij !'*
Al liut he slops bis foatning stetd,
Beside i> nisbiiig nvtrr, Whuiu naicn to the palntc aweci,
Arv poiouii la the liver.
" nrtff) !" B»ya the demon, «' driak your fill—
Drink oftheu wsien mellow. They '11 make your brigtil iryes blear and dull,
And mm your while skim yellow,
aud hil.
" I'hry 'II All ynur homes with rare and grief^ And clothe your bucks mth talters,
Thf-y *tl fdl your hKirB with ciit thoughts, — iJui never roiudl — what matters!
** Tliougti virtue sink, and reason fiiil.
And Mjciol tics diiiever, I 'II be your friend m hour of need.
And And you Itomcs for ever I
" For I bare built iLrcc tn-iu«ionf ''■s's
Thiw strong Rnd poodly bmises, To lodpe al l^nl t-juh j<>ll,v Koul ^Vlto all bis lils caiousu .'
Ji
ITb THREE UOVSKS.
" Tlw fim it ii t goodly Iioum, Black are its iniit, and high. And Ml «f dungeons deep and ^t. Where deatb-doornctl Worn )i«.
" The serofM] ii a taiai>houie, Rank, f<nid, and unholy ;' Where, fellercd by diseam Ibul, And hopeless mcUncholy,
" The victims of poUtioiu deep
Fine on their ooocb of sadneH ;
Some calling dMOli (o end their pain, Aud mine imploring maHiiMs.
" The third house ii a spaciouA housp. To all but sot) apfr.illing ; Wliere, by Ibo parish bounty fed. Vile, in ihe !>uiit)mii- ctawiitig,
** Tlio KOTD-out drtinkard ends liia days, And cats the dole iif oihcn, A plague aud burtlien to himself, Aq eye-«or« to hu brothen !
" So drink l)i« vraters of this ttreani, Drink dwp the cup of rum ! Uni>li, and like lten>e« madly roib £B«b man to his undoing !
" One of ray manMons high and strong, One of my goodly houses, 1* »ure lo lodge each jolly soul Wlio lo the dregs caroutea !"
Imo the Mrrnm his courser plunged.
And all the crowd plunged after | Willie over hill Etnd valley wide
iUwninded peals oflauuhier
For well he knew Uiis demon old,
How »ain was all hu pnitching ; TliK raiised crew tbu rouod bim ttochcd Were too far gone for leaching.
K>en as ihey wallow in the atmm
Tlwy cry aloud quite frisky, " Uere's to thy health, them Itest offrtendal
Kind, generous Caako'whisky t
" We care iwt for thy bousee three. We live but for the preaent. And rovrry will nta make il yet. And quaff these waters pleasaoll*
Loud laughs the Acnd (o Itear thetn speak,
And lifts hi» bnmmiRS bkker, •• Drink, fools I" nuoth he, " you "11 pay your s«« ;
1 II have your h>uU fur liquor !"
CM.
rilB MKKTINR.
THE MEETING.
«rT£llTUI. UAXMCR Ol' tUOWia OHLiHB,
Once 1 1^ beiide a fcHimaJnt Ltill'd me with its (jjeotle aon)-.
And my ihoughlit o'er dalr &n() mountain, \\ ilh the clouds wf re bonic alonf .
Tlic-ni 1 saw o)d csatles Hinging
Shadotty ^1eam« on morclen wu ;
Saw gigantic Toresla swio^D|> To and fro wcttiimt n brwn ;
And in du«ky «M«y9strarin|!
Manjr a aiant *hapt of pewet ; Troops ofiijinphs m sunshine playiog.
Singing, dancing, hour on hoar.
I, loo, trode ihwe plains F.lyiiun, Hcaid iheir dcar-loned notes or mirth;
But u brii(htpr, fairer vision, Called me back agftin lo eartli.
From the forest shitde ndvanf ing. See, there coioe» » lontly Mtjr.
The di-w-like gems before her glincing As she bruises it awa/.
StTxight I n»e, >r)d ran to meet ln-r, Seiied her tiand ; ihehuiivciily blu»
Of her bright eyes smiled brighter, iw««ter, As she isked me " Who tre yau ?"
To this <]'ue3lJon rame anotlior — What il<i aim I ililil roust doubt —
And she a^ked me " liuw 's your mother? Dotri she know that you »r« ont V
" No ! tny mother does not know it, Deanleotu, liviivrn-desceiided Mok !"
" Thnri olfnc >aU) my haixlsonio poet. And say I not you with the news."
E.N.
•-1
417
I
OLIVER TWIST;
0R( THB I'ARIHIt BOV'S PROGKRhS.
BY BUZ. ItLV&TliaTID »V OBOXOI CBIIIK!tHAIiK.
BOOK THB SECOKU.
CHAITSB THB filCHTH.
IKVOLVKS A cnrTtCAL rOSITIOM.
•' Who's ihul ?■' inquired Britlles, opening tlio door a little way with tin- chain up, and |KH->piuj{ i>ul, tiliadin^ tho candle with his hand.
"Open tlwdoor,"* replied a man outside: "itV the officera from Bow-ftlrtit that vras ticnt to, to-day.""
Much comforted by this assurance, Bnttles opened the door lo its full width, and confronted s portly man in a great coal, who walked in wiiliuut laying anyfliing more, and wip«d hia shues on the mat as cmilly as if he lived there.
'* Just send somelwdy out to relieve my mate, will yoii, young man .'^ said the utTicer . "he's in the gig minding the prad. Have you got a eoaeh'us here that you could put it up in fur five or tea minutes f"
Brittkra, replying in the offimiative, and pointing out the building, the portly man stepped back to the garden gate, and helpeii his cuin[)aiiiun to put up the gig, wliile Hrillles lighted them in a 8tate of great admiration. This done, they returned to the hou.se, and, being shown into a parlour, took off their great-coati and hatu, and ithowed like what they were. The man who had knocked at the door was a stout personage of middle height, aged about fifty, with shiny black hair, cropped prttty close, lm!f whi)»ker», a round face, and sharp eyes. The utlit;r was a red-headed bony man, in tup-boot.s with a rather ill-favoured countenance, and a luriied-iip sinister-looking nose
" Tell vour guvt-rnor that Ulathers and Duff in here, will you i^ Kaid the stouter man, smoothing down his hair, and lay- ing a pair of handcuffs on the table. " Oh ! Good evening. master. Can I have a word or two with you in private, if you pleasu P"
Thifi wad addressed to Mr. lyosbeme, who now made his ap- pearance; and that gentleman, motioning Brittle, to retire, oruught in the two ladies and shut the door.
** This i» the lady of the huuae," said Mr. Ijoaberne, mo- tionJng towards Mm. Maytic.
Mr. Blathers made a Low, aud» being desired lo tit down* put hia hat u|K)n the Bnor, and, taking a chair, motioned Duff to do the same. The latter geotlemnnt who did not ap|)ear
VOL. 111. i r.
418
OLIVBR TWIST.
4 I
quite so much accufttomed to f^votl Bocit^tVt or qtiitc so much lits ease in it, one of the two. st-ali-d liimself. after undergmnj: neveral tniiscutnr nflections of the limbs, and forced the head of ^M his Alick into hi.« mouth with »omc einbarraMmcnt. ^M
" Now, with regard to this hci-e robbery, tDaster," said Bla- thers. " What arc the circumstances?" ^^
Mr. liosbeme, who appeared desirous of gntning time, re-^H counted them at great lenf^tb and with mvich circundocution : ^H Messrs. Kiathers and Dufl' looking very knowing meanwhile, and occasionally exchanginjr a nod.
" 1 can't say for certain till I see the place, of course," said Blathers ; " but my opinion at once ia, — I don't mind commit- ting myself to that ext«zit,^that this wasn't done by a yokel — eh, DuiTf"
*' Cerliiiniy not," replied Duff.
*' And, translating the word yokel for the benefit of the ladi^a, 1 apprehend your meaning to be that this attempt was not made by a. countryman ?" said Mr. Losberne with a smile.
"That's it, master," replied Blathers. *' This is all about the robbery, is it ?"
" All," replied the doctor.
" Now, what h this alwut this here boy that the servanta are talking of P*" said Blathers.
"Nnthing at all,'' replied the doctor. "One of (he fright- ened serw-ints chnse to lake it into his lu-ad that he had some- thing to do with this attempt to break into the bouse; but it^s nonsense — .Hlicer nljsurditv."
»• Wery easy dispused "tif it is," remarked Duff.
" What he .says ib quite correct,'' obwrvcd Blulbers, no*ldiny his head in a con^rmatory way, and i>layin}< carcle^ly with the handcuffs, as if they were a pair of^ castanet.H. "Who is the boy.' What accouut does lie give of bimtcif ? Where did he^^ come from f He didn't drop out of the clouds, did he, master ^*^|
•* Of course not," replied the doctor with a nervous glance at^^ the two ladies. " I know hi» whole hidlory ;— Imt we can talk about thut presently. Vou would like to see the place where the thieves made their attempt, first, 1 suppose ?" ^i
"Certainly," rejoined Mr. Blathers, "We had better in-^l spect the premises ffrat. and examine the servants arlerwards.^^ Thot's the usual way of doing business."
Lights were then procuretl, and Messrs. Blathers and Thiff, attendeti by the native constable, Brittlcs, Cities, and everybody else in short, went into the little room at the end of the passage, and looked out at the window, and afterwards went round by way of the lawn, and looked in at the window, and after that bad a candle banded out to inspect the Khutter with, and after that a l.-iulfrn to trace (he footsteps with, and aAer that a pitch- fork (o jjoke the bushes with. This done amidst the breathless interest t>f all behohters, they came in again, and Kir. (iile^
OLIVER Twirr.
419
Brhtles were put throuf;li a inelo-dramaiic represenlalion of their iduTe in the previouft night's ndventuri's, whicli tht-v [N>r< fcmied some six times over, contradictinf; each other m iH>t imiru than one itnportant respect the first time, and in not mure than a dozen the Im^t. This canHummation being arrived al, Blathers and DulF cleared the room, and held a tong council together, compared with which, fur 8e<.'rpcy and solemnity, a consuliaiinn of great doctors on the knottiest point in medicine would lie mere child's play.
Meanwhile the doctor walked up and down the next room in n very uneany sute, and Mrs. Maylte and Rose looked on with anxious faces.
*' Upon my word," he Bsid, making a hall after a great number of very rapid turns, " I hardly know what to do."
" Surely," itaid Rose, " the poor child's story, faithfully r^ peated tn these men, will be Kufiicient to e\nneruie him.'"
" I doubt it, my dear young lady," said the doctor, shaking his head. " I don't think it would exontrate liiin, either with them or with legal functionaries of a higher grade. What is he, after all, they would say — a runaway- Judged by mere worldly cousi<teratiou$ and probabtlitiet., his story is a very doubtful one."
" You credit it, nurely ?* interrupted Rose in haste.
"/belie^'e it, strange as it i», and perhaps may b« an old fiMil fur lining fio," rejoined the doctor: "'butldon't think It u exactly the tale fur a practiced police officer, nevcrlheless."
" Why not ?" demancled Rose.
'* Recausje, my prctiv cross -examiner ,*• n'plicd the doctor, '* because, viewed with their eyes, there arc so many ugly points about it; he can only prove the parts that look bud, and none of thoBe that hMik well. Confound ihc fellows, they will have the why and the wherefore, and take nothing for granted. On bis own showing, you t>ee, he has been the couipaniun of thievtrs for some time paat ; he has been carried tu a police-olTIce on a charge of picking a gentleman's pocket, and is taken away forcibly from that gentleman's house to a place »hich he cannot describe or point out, and of the situation of which he has nut the remotest idea. He is brought down to Chertscy by men who Bcem to have taken a violent fancy to him, whether lie vtill or no, and put ihnnigli a window tu rub a bouse, and then, juBt at tlw very moment when he i» going to alarm the inmates, and so do the very thing that would wt nim all to rights, there rasbra into the way that blundering dog of a bairbred butler and s>hout4 him, aa if on purpose to prevent his doing any good for himself. l>uu't you tee all this ?
'* 1 see it, of eourw," replied Hose, smiling at the doctor's im- petuofiity ; *' but alill 1 do not see anything in it lii rriminale tbe poor child."
'* No," replied the doctor ; ** of course not ! Itlew the bright
420
OLIVER TWIST,
eyes of your sex ! Tliuy never sec, whether for gooil or l>afl more than one sidu of any ()UV6tit>i) ; aiiil that is, iiivuriably, the one which first ppesenti itself to them."
Having given vent to this result of experience, the doctor put his haoda into his pockets, and walked up and down the room with even greater rapidity than hcforc.
*' The more I think of it," said die doctor, " the more I »ee that it will occattion endless trouble and difficulty to put these men into possession of the boy's real atory. 1 am certain it will not be believed ; and, even if they can do nothing to him in the end, still the dragiring it forward, and giving publicity to all the doubts that will be cast upon it, must interfere materially >vith your benevolent plan of rcwuing him from misery."
" Oh ! what is to be done ?" cried Hose. " Dear, dear ! why did they send for tliese people?*
*' Whv, indeed !" exclaiined Mrs. Maylie. " I would not have baa them here for the world !"
" All I know is," said Mr. Losbeme at last, sitting down with a kimi of desperate calmness, ** that we must try and carry it off with a bold face, that ^s all ! The object is a good one, and that must be llie l'X.cum:-. I'lie hoy has strong symptoms of fever upon him, and is in no condition to be taJked to any more; that's one comfort. We must make tJie best of it we can ; and, if bad "*» the bctit, it 's nu fault of ours. Come in."
" Well, master,'' said Blathers, entering the room, fallowed by his colleague, and making the dour fast before he haid any more. "This warn't a put-up thing."
" And what the devil 's a put-up thing !'' demanded the doc- tor jmpalieutly.
*' \\ e call i( a put-up robbery, ladies" said Blathers, turning Co them, as if he compassioncd their ignorance, hut bad a con- tempt for the doctor's " when the servants is in il."
"Nobody susjiected them in this caai,',"said Mrs. Maylie.
" Wery likely not, ma'am," replied Blathers, " but they miglit have been in it, fur all that.'"
" More likely on that wery account," said Duff.
** We find it was a town hand," said Blathera, continuing liis report ; " for the style of work i» first-rate."
" Wery pretty indeed, it is," remarked Puff in an under tone.
" There was two of 'em in it," continued Blathers, " and they hod a boy with 'em ; that's plain, from the size of ihe window. That's all to be said at present. We'll sec tlii» lad that ^ got up stairs at once, if you please."
*' Perhaps they will take something to drink first, Mrs. May- lie ?" said the doctor, his face brightening up as if some new thought bad occurred to him.
" Oh .' To be sure !" exclaimed Koee eagerly, have it immediately^ if you will."
" You shall
4
OLIVER TWIST
lani
you, Mii>ft!" Mtii] niathcrs, drawing hiA coal- sleeve across his mouth; "it's dry work this sort of duty. Anything that 's handy, Minn ; don t put yourself out of the way on our account*."
•' What shall it he ?" asked the doctor, following the young lady to ihp sidelKwird.
" A little drop of spiritB, master, if it 's all the same,** replied Blathers. "It's a cold ride from London, ma'am, and I al- ways Hnd that spirits comes home warmer to the feelings."
Thi-t interesttng communication was addressed to Mrs. May- lie, who received it very graciously. While it was being cotl- veyetl to her, the dot-tor slipped out of the room.
** Ah !" said Mr. Blathers, not holding his wine-glass hy the stem, hot grasping the bottom Ijctween the thumh and fore- finger uf his left hand, and placing it in front of hia chest. " I have seen a good many pieces of business like this in my time, ladies."
"That ernok down in the hack lane at Edmonton, Blathers,*' said Mr. DuiT, assisting his colleague's memory.
'* That was sonifthing in this way, warn't it ?" rejoined Mr. Blathers ; " that was done by Conkey Chickweed, that was."
'* You always gave that to him," replied Duff. " It was the Family Pet, I tell you, and Conkey hsdn'i any more to do with it than I had."
"Get out!" retorted Mr. Blathers; "I know better. Do you mind that time ('unkev was robbed of his money, though P What a start that was! bcticr than any novcl-buok I ever
sec
t"
** What was tbal F^ inquired Rose, anxious to encourage any symptoms of gtiod humour in the unwelcome visitors.
" It was a roblu-ry. Miss, that hardly anybody would have been down upon," aaid Blathers. "This here Conkey Chick- weed — -"
"Conkey means Nosey, ma'am," interposed Duff.
" Of course the lady knows that, don't she ?" demanded Mr. Blathers. ** Always mterrupting you are, partner. This here Conkey Chiokweed, Btliss, kept n puhlichouse over Battle-bridge waVi and had a cellar where a good many young lordp went to SM cockfighling, and badger-ilrawing, and that; and a wery in- lellertual manner the sports was conducted in, for I 'vc seen 'cm off 'en. He warn't one of the family at that time ; and one night he was rubbed of three hundred and twenty-seven guineas in ■ cunva>>.hag, that was stole out of his bedroom in the dead of niglit hy a tall man with a black patch over his ey, who had concealed liimself under the bed, and. after committing the rob- bery, jum|ied slap out of window, which was only n story high. LHc wa.<t wery quick about it. But Conkey wa» <[uick, too. for he was woke by the noise, and, darting out of IhiI, tired a blun- derbuss arter him, and roused the neighbourbfx>d. TItey set
OLIVER TWIST.
up a hue-and-cry directly, und, when they came to look about Vm, found that Conkpy had hit the robber; for thi-ra was traces of blood all the way to some pntinr^ft a gond dintancp ofT, atui thLTC they lost Vm. However he had made off uith the blutit, and> consequentiyt the name of Mr. Chickweed» licensed witteri appeared in the fiazctte among the olhrr bankrupts ; and all manner of benefits and subscriptions, and I don't know what all» wns got up for the poor man, nrho wan in a uery low slate of mind abovit his loss and went np and down the streets for three or four days, pulling his hair off* in such a desperate man- ner that many f>eopV was afraid he might Ite going to make away with himself. One day he come up to ihc ofhce atl in a hurry, and had a private interview with the magistrate, who, after a go<Kl deal of talk, ringn (he bell, and order» Jem l^pyers in, (Jem waft a active nllioer,) and tells him to go and assist Mr. Chickweed in apprehending tlie man that robbed his house- *I sec liim, Spyers,' said Chit-kweed, * pass my house yestenlay morning.* — *Why didn't you up, and collar him?' says Spyers. — * I was so struck all of a heap that you might have fractured ray i^kuU with a toothpick,' says the i»Hir man; 'but we're sure to have Mm, for between ten and eleven o'clock at night he pa5»«d again.' Spyers no MX>ner iK'ard lids, than l»e put some clean linen and a c-onib in his pocket, in case he hhould have to stop a day or two ; and away he goes, and sets himself doom at one of the public-hou!« windows behind a little red curtain, with his hat on, all ready to bolt at a moment's notice. He waa smoking his pipe here late at night, when all of a sudden Chick- weed roars out — ' Here he is I Stop thief f Murder!' Jem Spyers da^thcd nut ; and there he sees Chickweed tearing down the street full-cry. .\ way goes Spyers; on keeps Chickweed ; round turn the iieople; everybody roars out ' Thieves f and Chickweed lumtielf keeps on shouting all the time like mad. Spyers loses sight of him a minute as he turns a comer, — shoots round — sees a little crowd — dives in. 'Which is the man T — * I> — me V says Chickweed, * I 've loat him again !'
*' It wBH n remarkable occurrence, but he warn't to be seen nowhere, so ihey went back to the public house, and next morning .Spyers took hia old place, and looked out from behind the curtain for a tail man with a black patch over his eye, till his own two cye» ached again. At last he couldn't help shut- ling Vm lo vuKv *em a minute, and (he very moment he <Iid so, Ih- bears Chickweed roaring out, ' Here he is !' Off he etarta onre intire, with Chickweed half way down the streel ahead of him : niul, after twice a& long a run as the yesterday's one, the men's Intt again I This was done once or twice mure, till one half ihe luighboursgave out that Mr. Chickweed had been rub- bed by the dcvU who wa.s playing tricks with him arlerwards, and the other half that poor Mr. Chickweed had gone mad with grief."
** What did Jem Spyers say P" inquired the doctor, who had
ULIVBR TWIST.
i8S
\
I
I
I
retunied to the room shortly artcr the cornmcncpment of the story.
*' JcnkSpycrs," resumed the officer, " for a long time said no* thin;;; at all, and listened to everything; without seeming to^ which showed lie undemtood his buBtnc»s. }tut one muniing lie walked into tlie har, and, taking out his saulT-box, Hatd, * Chirk- we«|, I 've found out who 's done this here rohbcry.' — * Have you ?' aaid Chickweed. ' Oh, my dear Spyers, only let me have wcD'a-ance, and I shall die conU-nted ! Oh, uiy dear Snyc-rs, where is the villain ?' — ' Come !' said Spyers, oftering him A pineh of »nuff, * none of that gammon ! Vnu did it ourscli.^ So he had, and a good bit of money he had niadi; ly it, too; and nobody would ever hove found it out if lie hadn't been so prrciouM anxious to ke«p up appearances, ihut^s more!" said Mr. Blathers, putting down bis win(.-glass> and clinking the hnndcnff's together.
*• Very curious, indeed," observed the doctor. •* Now, if you ^easc, you can walk up stairs."
**l! you please, Mr," returned Mr. Blathers And, closely following Mr. I-oslx-rne, the two officers ascended to Oliver's bedroom, Mr. Giles preceding the party with a lighte<l caudle.
Oliver had been dozing, but lookeil worRC, and wa» more fever- ish than he had appearea yet. Doing assisted by the doctor, he managed to sit up in bed for a minute or so, and looked at tlie strangers without at all understanding what was going forward, and, ill fact, without seeming to recollect where he was, or what had been passing.
** This," snid Mr. Losbcme, speaking softly, but with great vehemence notwithstanding, ** this is the lad, who, being acci- dentally wounded bv a spring-gun in some boyish trespass on Mr. \Vhat-d'yp-call-him's grounds at the back here, comes lo the hon!i« for assistance this morning, and i* immediately Uid bold of, and maltreated by that ingenious gentleniati with the candle in his hand, who has placetl hts life in considerable dan- ger, as I can professionally certify."
Messrs. Blulheis and Duff looked at Mr. CHles as he was thus rvoommended to their notice, and the bcwilderetl butler gazed from them towards Oliver, and from Oliver tovartls Mr. Ijov beme, with a most ludicrous mixture of fear and perplexity.
"You don't mean to deny tliat, 1 suppose^'" said the doctor, laying Oliver gently down agaio.
" it was uU done for the — for the best, sir I" answered Ulles. ** I am sure 1 thought it was the boy, or 1 wouldn't have med- dled with him. 1 am not of an inhuman disposition, sir."
*' Thought it was what boy r" iu<iuired the senior officer.
"The housebreaker's Iwy, sir V replied (iilcs. "They — they certoiidv had a boy."
" Well, do you think so now 'f"* inrjuired Blathers.
"Think what, nuwr" replted iiiics, looking vacantly at bis questioner.
4«4
OLIVKR TWIiST.
" Think it 's tlie Miine boy, stupid-head P" rejoined Mr. ISUtliers imnnliently.
** I (Juii'i Know ; I really don't kiintr/* gaid Giles, witJi a rue- ful countenance. '* I cnuldn't swear to him."
•' What di>you think?" asked Mr. Blathers.
" I don't know what to think," replied poor Giles. '* I don't think it is the boy ; indeed I 'm almost certain thai it isn't. You know it can*( be,"
** Has this man been a-drinking, sir?" inquired Blathers turning to the doctor.
"What a predout* muddle-headed chap you arc !** aaid Duff, addressio)^ Mr. Giles with supreme contempt.
Mr. Losbcrne had been feeling the patient's pulse during this short dialogue; btit he now rose from the cimir by the bedside^ and remarked, that if the oHicers had any doubts upon the suH- ject thvy would perhaps tike to step into ihc next room, and nave Brittlps before them.
Acting upon this suggestion, they accordingly adjourned to s neiglilwuring aparimwit, where Mr. Briltles being called in. in- volved himself and his respected superior in such a wonderful maze of freeh contradictions and iiiipoKKJbilities as tended to tlimw no particular light upon anvthiiig mve the fact of his own strong mystification; except, inJeod, his declarations that he shouldn''t know the real boy if he were put before liim that in- stant; that he had only taken Oliver to be he becaum? Mr. Giles had sa.\A he was khiI that Mr. Giles Iiad five minutes pre- viou<ily admitted in the kitchen that lie began to be very much afraid be had been a little too hasty.
Among other ingenious surmises, the question was then raised whether Mr. Giles bad really bit auyhody, and upon examina- tion of the fellow pistol to that which he had fired, it turned nut to have no more destructive loading than gunpowder and brown paper : — a discovery which made a comsiderable impresaioo on everylKHEy but the doctor, who bad drawn the ball about ten minutes before. Upon no one, however, did it make a greater impression than on Mr. Giles himself, who, after labouring for some hours under the fear of having mortally wounded a fellow- creature, eagerly caught at this new idea, and favoured it to the utmost. Finally, the officers, without troubling them- Belves very much about Oliver, left the Chertscv constable in the house, and took up their re.it for that night in the town, promising to return next morning.
With the next morning there came a rumour that two men and u boy were in the «ige at Kingston, who had been appre- hended over-nigbt under suspicious circumstances; and to Kingston Me»rs. Hlulhers and DuC journeyed accordingly. The suspicious circunislunce», however, resolving themselves, on investigation, into the one fact thai tlicy had bcx-n discovered Bleeping under a liayfttack, which, although a great crime, U
OLIVKR TWIST.
4ii5
only )>unisliable by imprisonment, and is, in the merciful eye of the Kn^Iisli law, and its comprehensive love of all the Kinjj's ■ubjccts, held to be no satisfnctory proof in the absence of all othvr evidence, that tlie sleeper or sleepers have committed bur* glary accumixanieii with violence, and liave therefore rendered themselves liable to the punishment of death, — Messrs- Blathers and Duff* came back ugam as wise as they went.
In short, after some more examination, and a fjreat deal more convi>riation, a neighbnnrinft magistrate was readily induced to take (he joint bail of Mrs. Maylie and Mr. Losberne for Oliver's ap{}caranco if he should ever be railed u)K)n : and Blathers and Duff, bein^ rewarded with a couple of guineas, returned to town with divided opinions on tlie subject of their expedition: the latter gentleman, on a mature omsideralinn of all the cir- cumstances, inclining to the belief that the burglarious attempt had originated with the Family Pet, and the former being equally dispoKed to concede the full merit of it Co the great Mr. Cunkey Chtckwced.
Meanwhile Oliver gradually throve atid prospered under the united care of Mrs. Maylie, Kow, and the kind-hearted Mr. Losberne. if fervent prayers gushing from hearts overcharged with gratitude be heard in heaven, — and if they In- not, what prayer* are ? — the blesangs which the orphan child called down upon them, sunk into their souLsj diffusing peace and happiness.
CRArTBR THB KINTH.
OP THE IIArrv LIFB OLIVXK IIUIAV TD LKAD Wrm VIS KIKO raiKUD*.
Ouvek's ailings were neither slight nor few. In addition to the pain ami delav attendant upon a broken limb, his exposure lo the wet and cotd had brought on fever and ague, which hung about him for many weeks, and reduced him sadly. But at length he liegan by ftlow degrees to get better, and to be able to say sometimes, in a few tearful words, how deeply he felt tlie gotMlnesH of the two liweet ladies, and bow ardently he hoped that when he grew strong and well again he could do something to sliow bis gratitude ; only sontettiing which would let them see the love and duty with which his breast was full ; some- thing, however slight, which would prove to them that their gentle kiadnt^-s had not been vnnt away, but that the pour boy, whom their charity had rescued from misery or death, waa eager and anxious to serve them with all his heart and »)ul.
" Poor fellow ["^ said Itose, when Oliver had been one day feebly endeavouring to utter the words of thankfuUicM thai rcrse to his pale lips. ** You shall liave many op|Nirt unities of ■erV'- ing us if you will. We arc going into the country, and my aunt intends that you !>hall accompany u"- The quiet place, the pure air, and all the pleasures and beauties uf spring.
4ttii
OMVEK TWIST.
vill restore you in a few days, and we will otnploy you in a hundred vtay^ when }'DU can bear the trouble.^
"Tlie tniiihlf !" cried Oliver. **Oh! dc«r Udy, if I could but work for yoii.^f 1 could only give you pleasure by water- ing your flowers, or watcbing your birtU, or running up and down liic wliolu day long to make you happy, what would 1 give to do it r
" You shall give nothing at oll,^ said Miss Maylie NniliDg: " for, an I told you before, we shall employ you in a hundred ways; and if you only tnke bnlf the trouble to please u« ibat you promiBe now, you will make nic very happy indeed."
"Happy, ma'^am r* cried Oliver: "oh, liow kind of you to say sol'
** You will make me happier than I can tell you*^ replied the youDg lady. ""To think that my dear good aunt should liare been the means of reacuing any one from guch sad niinery at you have describe<] to us woidd be an unspeakable pleasure to me ; but to know that the object of lier goodness and compas- sion was sincerely grateful and attached id consecjuence, would delight Die more than you can well imagine. l)o you under- stand me?'' she inquirL-d, watching Oliver^s thoughtful face
*' Oh, yes, ma'am, yes !" repliea Oliver eagwly ; " but I was thinking that I am ungrateful now.*^
•* To whom ?" inquired the young lady.
" To the kind genlleman and the dear old nurse who took so much care of me before," rejoined Oliver. ** If they knew how happy I am, they would bp pleased, I am sure."
"1 am eurc they would," rejoined Oliver's benefactress; "and Mr. Losberne has already l>ecn kind enough to promise that when you are well enough to bear tlie Journey be will carry you to sec them."
" Has he, ma'am !" cried Oliver, his face brightening with pleasure. *' I don't know what 1 shall do for joy when I sec their kind face^ once again !"
In a short time Oliver wa* sufficiently recovered to undergo the fatigue of this expedition ; and one morning he and Mr. Iiosbeme set out accordingly in a little carnage which belonged to Mrs. Maylie. Wht>n they came to Chertsey Bridge, Oliver turned very pale, and uttered a loud exclamation.
" What 's the matter with the boy !" cried the ibctnr, as usual all in a bustle. "Do you see anything — hear anything^ feel aiivthing— eh.^"
" Tfiat, sir," cried Oliver, pointing out of the carriage win- dow. " That house !"
'•Yes; well, what of it? Stop, coachman. Pull up her*," cried the doctor. " What of the nouse, my man — eh ?*"
" The thieves — the house they took me to," whispered Oliver.
" The devil it is I" crietl the doeLor. " Halloa, there ! let me out !** But before the cuachoun could disoiount from his box
OLIVER TWIST
427
be haH tumMeH out of the coacIi by Rome means or other, nnd, ruituiiii; down to the deserted tenement, begao kicking at thv Jour like a ni»dnian.
** Halloa !" said a little ngl^r hump-backed man, opening the door so suddenly that the doctor, from the Tery inipelus of hit last kick, nearly fell forward into the passage. " What'tt the matter here ?"
*' Matter '"exclaimed the other, collaring him without a mo- ment's reflection, •* A gooil dral. Hnhliery is the matter."
*' There 11 be murder too," replied the hump-backed man coolly, " if you don't take your bands off. l>o you hear me ?"
*' 1 hear you*" said tltc duclur, giving bin captive a hearty shake. " Where 's — confound the fellow, what 's hia ra.4cally name — Sikes — that ''5 it. Where'* Sikes, you thief?"
The hump-hncked man Blared as if in ex(!esA of amazement and indignation ; and, twisting himself dexterously from the doctor^s grasp, growled forth a volley of horrid oathi, and re- tired into the house. Before he cnuld shut the door, however, the doctor had paused into the parlour without a word of parley. He looki.>d anxiiJUiily round : not an article of furniture, not a vestige of Roything, animate or inanimate, nut even (he position of the cupboards, answered Oliver's description !
** Now," said the hump-backed roan, who had watched bim liccnly, ** what do you mean by coming into my house in Uiis violent way? Do you wont to rob me, or to murder nie? —which is it ?-
" IHtl v"" ever know a man come nut to do either in n chariot and pair, you ridtculouH olil vampire f" said the irritable doctor.
** What do vou want then ?" demanded the hunchback fiercely. '* Will you lake yourself off before I do you a miachief ? curw you !"
" As soon as I think proper," said Mr. Losberne, looking into the other parlour, which, like the first, bore nu reMMnblanve whatever to Oliver's account of it. *' I shall find you out lume day, my friend."
•* Will you ?" uneered the ilbfavoured crippla " If you ever want me, I 'ro here. I haven't lived here mad, end all alone, for five-and-twenty years, to be »carcd by you. Vou shall pay for this; you shall (lay for this.'" And so uvin^, the mis- shapen little demon set up a hideous yell, and danced upon the ground as if frantic with rage.
" Stupid enough, tbiV muttered tbe doctor to himself: *' the
boy mmt have made a tntstakb There ; put that in your
pocket, and shut yourself up again." With these words be
'flung the hunchbai'k a piece of money, and relurned to tbe
carriage.
The man followed to the chariot door, uttering tbe wildest imprecations and curses all tbe wav : but qh Mr. Losberne turned to speak to the driver, be lookeil ioiu the cnrriiige, and
OUVEK TWIST.
Wf^A Oimr for an tBStant with s glaiin.' so sharp and fierce, and «K tW same time ao furious and nndictive, that, waking ar ■tuning, be could not forg«t it for months afti-raards. He con- liBued Co utter the must fearful imprvcatiuns until tliu driver had T<«umed his »eat, and when tbcy were once more on their way, tbev could see him some distance behind, beating hi^ feel upon the' ground, and tcuring his hair in transports of freu:Kied rage.
" I am an a&s !" said the doctor after a long silence. ** Did vou know that before, Oliver ?" * "No, Mr."
" Then don't forget it another lime."
** An ass," said the doctor again after a further silence of tome minutes. " Kven if it had been the right place, and the right ffllows had been there, what could 1 have done single- handed 'f And if I had had awtstance, I see no good that I should have done except leading to nv own exposure, and an unavoidable statement of the manner in which I have Imshed up this business. That would have served me right, though. 1 am always ioTolviDg mvself in some scrape or other bj acting upon these impnIspH, and it might have done me good."
Now the fact was, that the excellent doctor had never acted upon atiytliiii;.' l'Ul- but imptilse all through his Ufe ; and it waa no bad comjjliirniit tc» the nature of the impulses which governed him, that so fur fntm being involved in any peculiar troubles or misfortunes, lie bad the warmest resjtect and esteem of all who knew him. If the truth must be told, he was a little out of temper fur a minute or two at being di^ppointed in procuring corroborative evidence of Oliver's story on the verv first occa- sion on which he had a chance of obtaining any. y(e soon came round again, however, and finding ihat Oliver'* replies to hia
auestiuns were still as struight-furwurd and consistent, and slill elivered with as much apparent sincerity and truth, as they had ever been, he made up his mind to attach full credence to them from that time forth.
As Oliver knew the name of the street in which Mr. Brown- low resided, they were enabled to drive straight thither. When the coach turned into it, his heart beat so violently that he could scarcely draw hh breath.
•' Now, my boy, which house is it ?" inquired Mr. Losbeme.
"Thai, that !" replied Oliver, pointing eagerly out of the window. '* The white house. Oh! make haste.' Pray make baste ! I feel as if I should die: it makes me tremble so."
*^ Come, come !'* said the good doctor, patting liim on the ^^ulder. ** You will m% them directly, and they will be over- joved to find you safe and well.**
'"()hl I hope so !" cried Oliver. 1^ ; lo very, very good to me, sir."
The coAch rolled on. It ntoppeil. )^^w>> 'I'he next door. It went on
"They were so good to
No; that was tlie wrong a few faces, and stopped
OLIV&K TWIST.
4S9
afjain. Oliver looked up at t?»c windows with tears of bappy fxpcctation coursing down his (ace.
Alas ! the while house was empty, and there was a bill in the window—" To Let."
"Knock at the next door," cried Mr. txi:«berne, taking Oliver** arm in hie. *' What has become of Mr. Brownlow, who used to live in the adjoininj^ house, do you know?"
Tiic servnni did not know; but would go and potjuire. She presently returned, and said that Mr. Urownlow had sold off bi3 i^iKids, and gone to the West Indies six weeks before. Olifer clasped his hand*, and sank feebly backwards.
** Has his housekeeper gone too?" inquired Mr. Losbeme, after a moment's pause.
" Yes, sir ;" replied the servant. *' The old gentleman, the housekeeper, and a gentleman, a friend of Mr. Brownlow's, all went together."
** Then turn towards home again," said Mr. TjOisberne to the driver, *' and donH stop to bait the horie till you get out of this confounded Lnndoti !"
*• The Iwok-stall keeper, sir ?" said Oliver. " I know the way there. See him, |)ray sir ! Do koe him !"
** My jMNir boy. this is disappnintinent enough fur one day," said the doctor. ** (Juitc enou^^h for both uf us. If wc go to the buok-slall keeper's we xball certainly Bod that he is dead, or lias set his house on lire, or run away. No ; home again straight '." AnJ, in obedience to the doctor's first impulse, home they went.
Tliis bitter disapnointnient caused Oliver much sorrow and grief even in the niiiiHt of hiit happine^a ; for be liad ptetised him- lelf many times during bis illness with thinking of ail that Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Bedwin would say to him, and what de- light it would be lo tell them how many long days and nights be had passed in redvctiiig u[ion uliat they had done for him,
id bewailing their cruel se^mrutiun. The hu|ie of eventually 'riearing himself with them, too, and explaining hnw he had been forctffl awuy, had buoyed him up and sustained him under many of his recent trials; and now the idea that they should have gone so far, and carried with them the belief that he was an impostor and robber, — a belief which might remain uncon- iradiciL'd to his dying day, — was almost more than be could bear.
The circumstance occasioned no alteration, however, in the ifaefaaviour of bis benefactors. After another fortnight, when the fine warm weather bad fairly begim, and every tree and flower was putting forth its young leave.') and rich blossoms, they .made preparations for quitting the house ut Cbert^y fur some 'months. Sending ihc plale which had so excited the Jew's cu- pidity to the hanker'f, and leaving fiiU-t, and another »ervnnt in care of tbc house, they departed for a cottage some distance in the country, and took Oliver with them.
4S0
OLIVKK TWIST.
iml dplight, the
of
Who con describe tlie pleasii mind and soft tranquillity, whidi the sicklv bo_v (At in the bnlmv air, and among the ^ecn hilU and ricli wixitls of an in- land villaye I Who can tell how scenes of pracc nnd quietude' sink into the minds of pain-worn dwellers in cIok and noisy places, and carry their own frcnhnns di-ep into their jaded licarts? Men who have lived in crowded pent-up streets, through whole li^es uf toil, and never wiHhed for change; men to whom custom ha.<i indeed Ikc^n second nature, and who have come almost to love each hrick and stone that formed the nar- row boundaries of their daily walkei — even tliey with the hAod of death upon them, have hcen known to yearn at last for one short glimpse of Nature's face, and carried far from the scenea of their old pnins and pleaKureR, liavc seenie<l tn |)3^<i at once into a new »talc of lM*inp:, and crawlinjj furth from flay today to some green sunny «pot, liave had sucli nieniuries uiikeiied up within them by thcnii-rc sight of t^kv, and hill, and plain, andglititeninE; water, that a furcto&to of Heaven ilscif has soothed their quirk decline^ and they have sunk into their tombs as peacefully as (he sun, whose setting tliey watched from their lonely chaml)er window but a few hour;* before, fadetl from their dim mid feeble sight ! The memories which peaceful ctmntry scenes cull up, are not of this world, or of its thoughts or hopes. Their gentle influence may teach us to weave fresh garlands fur the graves of those we loved, may purify our thoughts, and bear down Ircfore it old enmity and hatred; but, beneath all this there lingers in the least n-Hectivc niiiid a vague and hair-rurni(.*d consciousness of having held t^ueh ftvlings lung before in nonie remote and distant time, which calls up solemn thoughts of distant times to come, and bends down pride and wurldliiiess beneath it.
1 1 was a lovely spot to which they repaired, and Oliver, whose davs had lieen spent among Mjualid crowds, and in the midst of ncnse and brawhng, seemuu to enter upon a new existence there. The rose nnd honey-suckle clung to the cottage walls, the ivy crept round the trunks of the trees, and the gardei>-flower» tier- funied the air with delicious odours. Hard by, was a kttte churchyard : not crowded with tall, unsightly gravestones, but full of humble mounds covered with fresli turf and moss, be- neath which the old people of the village lay at rest. Oliver often wandered here, and, thinking of the wretched grave in which bis molher lay, would sonietimeh &il him dowo and sob nn- ieen ; but, as he raisetl his eyes to ihe deep sky overhead, he would cease to think of her as lying in the ground, and weep for her sadly, but without pain.
It was a happy time. The days were peaceful and serene, and the nights brought with them no (e&r or care, no languish- ing in a wretched prison, or associating with wretched men : nothing but pleasant and happv thoughts. Kvery morning he went to a wliite-headtrd old gentleman, who lived near the little
OLIVER TWIST.
431
clitircli, «ffio taught him to rcail IvL-lter antl to write, nnci spoke so kitidlviaiKl took such |iain*i, thot Oliver could nevcrtry enough to please tiim. Then he would walk with Mrs. Mavlieand Hose* and liear tliem talk uf books, or fK>rhu|M) sit near tlicm in Mime flhady pincc, and listen whilst the young lady read, which he could have done till it grew too dark to see the letters. Then hu hail his own k'ssini for the next day to prL'paru, and at thin he would work hard in a little room which looked into the gar- den, till evening came slowly on, when the ladles would walk out again, and he with thirni : listening with such pleasure to all they said, snd so happy if they wanted a flower that be could climb to reach, or had forgotten anything he could run to fetch, that he could ucrcr be quick enough about it. When it become
3uite dark, and they returned home, the Vf^ung lady would ut own to the piano, and play some melancholy air, or sing in a low and gentle voice bouie old sung which it ploascd her aunt tu hear. There would be no candles at such times as these, and Oliver would sit by one of the windows, listening to the sweet music, while tears of tranquil joy stole down his face.
And, when Sunday came, now differently the day was spent from any manner in which he had ever «)K-nt it yet ! and how happily, too, Uke all the other days in that most happy time ! There was the little church in the morning, with tne green leaves fluttering at the windows, the birds ringing without, and the sweet -smelling air stealing in at the low porch, and filling the homely building with its fragrance. The poor people were so uent and clt-an, and knelt m> reverently in prayer, that it seemed a pleasure, imt a tedious duty, their aist-mbting there to- gether ; and, though the singing might be rude, it was renl, and sounded more musical (toOUver'^ ears at least) than nny he had ever heard in church before. Then there were the walks as usual, and many calls at the clean houses of the labouring men : end at night Oliver read a chapter or two from the Uible, which he had been studying all the week, and in the performance of which duty he felt mure proud and pleased than if he had been the clergyman himself.
In the morning Oliver would be a-foot by six o'clock, roaming the fields and surveying the hedges far and wide, for nosegays of wild flowers, with which he would return laden home, and which it took great care and consitleration to arrange tu the best advantage fur the embellitihment of the breakfast-table. There was fresh groundsel, too, fur MUn Maylie's birds, with which Oliver, — who had been studying the subject under the able tuition of the village clerk, — would deawate the cages in the moat ap]>roved ta«te. When the birds were made all spruce and smart fur the day, there was UHually souiu little commission 'Of charity to execute in the village, or failing ttiat, there was al- ways ftompthing to do in the garden, or iiltout the plants, to which Oliver — who had studicu tbu scienctr oliu under the same
4SS
THE WREATH.
master, who was n gardeniT by trade, — a{)plied himself with hearty pood-wiH till Miss RoM* made hor appearance, when there were a thoui^and comtnendatioDs to be bestowed upon alt he had done, for which one of thosL' light-hearted beautiful smiles wan an ample m-omprnsc.
So three months glided away ; three months which, in tlw life of the most bleswil and favoured of mortals, would have been iinmixiNl happiness ; hut which, in Oliver's trouhlMl and cloud- ed dawn, were felicity indeed. AVith the purest and most ami- able gi-nernsity on one ddc, and the truest, aiitl warmest, and most soul-felt j;;ralitude on the other, it is no wonder thai, by the end of that short time, Oliver Twist had !)ecome completely do- mesticated with the old lady and her niece, and that the fervent attachment of his young and sensitive heart was repaid by their pride in, and attachment to, himself.
THE W R K A T H.
FROM CHI.A;^D.
Tbtae went a maid, and jiUifiked the flow«n,
That Kfpw u)>on a. tunny l«i ; A l(td)t: from ibe greeowood came,
Mcst lieauliM lo see.
Slie mei ihe laaidtn wiili a smile, Nhfe twined a wreatli into her hair,
" II blcwmt ool ytii, but it will bloom, Oh ! wear it ever liietv !**
And u the m&idea ^nvt, vii] ronnM'd Ueneuh Ihe moon so pale and wan,
And ttara fell rroni her, Mkd »nd ■wwl. The wnatli to bud began.
And when a jo>-atu bride she lay I'por her fAillirul letiiuiS breaxt.
Then smiUiiif hloKoiiis bunt the folds Ol'llicir enf^ircliiig t««l.
Soon, cradled gently in her lap, The mother held a blooming child ;
Then many a f^olden fruil ftoin out Thu lecify cliuplei soiiled.
And whfii, alack ! hi-r love had tnok
Into (lie dark acid rluiiky grave. In ber dishevelled huir a sere
Dry leaf wiu tow* to wave.
Soon she too titeiv be<id« hjin lay,
Bui still her i)ear4ai>ed wreail) sW wore ;
And it— oh I wondrous sight to KC,-^ Both frail and blovom ttore.
ILH.
433
WALTER CHILDE.
■' My ouwMr'i tnention of imaU bevr. in i-ulfv parUncr unipirt, rrmindi in« a( OU Tom orOxford'ft ' AffortionWe orhndoUinrr with UW) iilirit' notne rtan ngo.*****" 1 riHtimt the Oxford ^tiriit l» Mrc^t tbr Kuiiniiicr of iiiv liiftli aiiiiiJmitian kod Itood-witI : I shak« haiidi with him mvtitally mid conlinlly, urxd vnirNt him w write mure tongi. nich a& ^laddca the hearu ot uws Knulithmvn."
7ho Daetor, ro(. jr. p, 383.
Doctor,— or im I privilej^ to ii«
A fTfcnUsr, and a more tftmiliu* namp ? — I bavv no trusted secret tv abuse ;
And w for my nrmisea, they 're the aame As the whole world'* : — but I Ve no time to Ium
In vain oonJMturM, and my prriwnt aim N to i^ive pmof lliat I «*teem aright The Jiattfring honour of your kind iavite.
" Lauduri a laudatia,"— well you know
1 he pnivM-h— hii« imp^'H'd me to a Uile ; And, if thu reader finihi it but so-au,
1 can but ahmii. and {Mint to yoti as bail. 1 pive my Rrst to AlHckwood yuurv ufto,—
A sort of thiniT to chaitnt o'er home>hrflw'd tAt ; " Th« One Horse Chay."— 'tiraH father'd, I halieve, On him who cJi<i>h) to >in([ it, poor •'ubn Kiwve.
A friend, too, (to (ti)r^^M, and bout, and cackle, ore The ri(rht8oMVhistlecraf''s irreisuW whuol,^
Told me [iii «mr*e. I ricem'd thn ffirt oracular,) lli< f'xiiid hiti (tfirman courier on a ttool,
SinKtnsi that hung,, to tearh our tonjpie vernarulur To liir French maid; but. though 1 cliiim a rtile
Til c^aiae a bit, I miifit not nroar.
]>o44vr, you *ro «aid the woru, attd ao here k<kw-
TlIE LEGEND OF WALTER CHILDE.
1 LovK old County Btoriea.^'f the which Our fair Went Coiintrv hath a diri'nl titiare, —
8ome tijucliiiifr laivv iinil levupier, yhmt and witch, Altered well enuuifh Ut make vou Ntare ;
Some ill hriNid Durii: lirriKiiv. mid liumour rich ; But all dead letter, till Hmie wtxard rsiv
i^luili a stray idintd of 8cutt'» lintad mantle dahn.
And give our Cuddies body, ithape, and fame.
But, good maleriala in themieJvea are nought.
Luve'a labour, forming plaaaor* out of toil, Familinr intemrt, from rntith'a earlieat thought
Idmiifyin^ hctart with niitivo «uil : The pride, by old bnr«3>trul deed* weU>)>o»ght,
OTbta uwD acuhihiHm, acathM in Border broil ; All theae oonbio'd in S<i»lt, th» man inimitable, With muter^tact, and puwen uelt-nlgb illimitable.
VOL. II).
'i II
4A4 THE LEGEND OP WALTBE CHILDE.
Then. t«o, tli' enlnrjr'il, th« randiil, niRTily sjiirit !
The upright, downri^Eht, hv^trt-of-unk acuinen, So truly Dritiitli, uliirh he did inhpric
Ak » bum-^ent-U'iiutn,— wliich mndp htm view men Aa their (>m) form'd them, K»d embody merit
Even in ihif pliiin>^t liunililtKt fn^dif nf tnie men. He lov'd hin) kind ; felt wliut he noMy timitht ; " Niiii« «rt'«-i*th hiK gratt MiJti'r'fi AJuup fur iiought/*
Than the liright Siin, (hnt true rnHmopiilite,
Whii'h wanriM and li^hU uji »]1 thin^ in his kerir
Smllinic, an 'twere fn.ni hi« Kiinrrior height. On the tNniall feiida and frenkii of fr^fiil men,
Attmrt« Mill f^lorifiiw Kith I'auilmw light
Drops from enfli vUlajjB broiik, nr lowly fen,
Ak fnim the lordly lakf^; nrid colouring inrm
Untu the nieatie&i thing that breatliai nnd live*.
Speak ye, who knew how his frHtik nature car'd For alt he met urith, " body, Wiuit, and bairn ;"
Ye who hia luisuro waIkH, like me, liavf nhnr*d Fn>ni Melrnw ttiwer np lu th« wild «waa'ii turn.
If I preBumc, u uumelew bunnet-laird,
Tn cawt one pehhie on vnr rhieftiiin'i raim,
Ttd but to «ay, *' 'lliib tnhute, nile-hty Scott,
From one who knew thee, and fi>rg*t8 thee iiot!"
But U> the |itir)i<Mc. irhen I xponk of Wemex, Honour'tJ uf yore liy Alfreil's birth and nwny,
1 don't tJeiire<:inte Yorfctthire, Ki'ut. and Essex,
\^'llich nave their charmn in murJi the self-satne way
As reKurdx inwit in thv ktcM or \vm Kex, Soeiety. parks, turnpikes, riorn, anH h«v :
But, iwrnehdw, at the jirt^eiit timv iind tide,
I 'n> for that tHaic old thing, pnivinciitl pride.
Our ^VykehamistH feel this. Went r/iuntry folk
In gi'iH-nil, and men of wiirth undicnonledge.— ThnuKh, us old fiirihivnii nmr urn liirn'd to joke,
Town-i-olerie-wit. wilh it* leaxinp small edge, May rut thi'm up fi»r'l ;— hajdv. were truth Mpoke,
\Vc had Bome sjiice of il (it (Vifl <'oile({e, In Oriel's |iiiliny davit ; aixl noiii' niuld Ahitn- it {klore tlian our guide and friend, our k^cq and pwl ,
He of the* well-knuwn atork of ^ent]<> Mnnd, Ak old )H Oevoii'x Iiillii, wliit-Ji Ih' ncjii^e i|unint
Dtends with the wil, and tipeaks their lineajre n^od, |jun|f mv- the dnys nf Norrtian king nnd iiaint.
If hy " out-colle^ mem " not undertttond, 1 KliidI nut mure |iurtiuul»rly jmint
Him I was pruud to enll my friend nnd Mentnr:
Su tltuoe who chooie may guea him nt a venture.
Thin eaniB provincial pride the Frenrh well knetr, FoHter'd etftrit de nrnxi, wltrti c'li)lh'd in wurdx,
And Ctliuugh tliuy lough'd at its excess, 'tis tme, 111 Monnieur I ourreHugine on the "tagv boardii,)
Would animate with extra lighting jri>tff
Their old crack regiments, brave an their own swordn.
" See ttM Deronihire prnvo-h itf iIm tlirrr faniflieii whom •' Whea the Coni(uaror oum ho found at tumc."
.LBOEND OP WALTER CRILDR.
495
I
' DinphlrW- 1— Bourgo^e, ■ moi I i Ib mitrialle !— Vive le Rui '"
w, I 'm told. hav« set St. Aliband ~ St DeniB' pLue; do noiisht for onu|^t, Dw and tlivn Mwnrinnle. tu hIiqw ■0« vpU the suliject'a privilr^P it tauf^ht. .whether l^ui« <^uiiit«, or Mirnbeau, '^(nuoftU alike) thi!i noble nMi»n broui^Lt To flach a (litcoii* I'a**. i* >'«* " myrtprj' ' Whirii th^ muot hj^t out «l theW of history.
Our Utiliitft. w ho labonr to extend
The empire of their* uiou*fr-hole, the oldf Mountain, Cn", " Ye provinciiilit, Iienr us. and amend ;
Central izatiun is Imtirovenient'ii fountain." True; hut they just mmmence at thdrronf^ end,
(Such Hli)jhl mUtakes not entering their account in,) And, M thn«« u«M to tht^n expect of course, ExartJy put the cart before the borve-
Man'i armuatliicifl tint nidiate frum his Lam
To old familiar faces ciirly known. Thence to hia townsmen ; {" coaigteguiXut ftrm
Cum paribUB," a* Cic«-ro trell h&th ahovu :) Each brnther-lund thus liuk'd, (heir mutual care h
1*heir i-oimnon Father-land, and in tlir throaa Centerintf at laaC, thoTC local ravH of loyalty Bleutl, rainlwir.Uke, in th' Ortflunme of royaltjr.
TheWelsh »r« nrnud, hut thi'it Uieir twif-reipecl la hns'A on •■ Live and let liye." " gire and take,"
Btiridx for the jmhich, which one ini|it)it half expect That tHilistfi would prize fur rheapneM* imkfl.
Tliev i)f the Marciieii, hif;h and low, affwl 'niiH nhok'wnH! practiiN],— nay, a buninMi DiakCf —
To spell, withuiit one letter** wroni; ndmixtur^^
Such naJufM ii» they I'steem u cuuDty-fixture>
Give Dad of l-^ge's ntrname a third D, llalff.'heidiire would W put in an alurum :
Leifh nnkx Ihe I, and Williams Wvnn tlii! K,
From motives whldt their friends reapiH-t, and share 'cm.
Pryxe of Gwurddaii Hbuna both I and C : And ihoufd you dare »pell Saluabury like New Sarum,
Sir John the Strong and the old Cavuiemt
Would riw up from their ({ravea to cuff your eara.
* f Parturiuui itUinlM, nxKetur ridlnUua moa."
t " La Hoatague."
t See Pennant's Wales, vol. ii. The rrpeewiiiariTe. by maternal Mitod. of tlw Mar branch of thl» familv, (by whncu ihv puory ot i'Mrmeliu* wm fMinilod at lanfaifk In the reifcn oT Ueiirv 111. ) ii the preHiiil Lord C<vub«nn««v. The w- Bod fc«r«BM, Sir Tboniai, of Ueweni Uall. gnndson of Sir John the ttnunjt, waa .dlKiagaished caralirr in the dril wars, and a man of literary talent. In IMO, >eiibigh Castle wa* |[itIUni)y Mieaded for four nonlhi aniDtt Oenani Hytton'i IBiUamencar)- anny, l»- CoIomI Sahwlnuy of Badtyaibyd, mntaonly eaUsd Ho- anan Oleition, or Blue Stocklaft, and nirrendered ea honeurable oondltloiu, the present baranei, sir Chades fialiubary of Uanwam, HMinteuthshire, la of a rounger branch, fannerly setlled at Baehygnig Uoase, near Oenbi|^. aboot the imv t4 the Rcfwmation . of which was Mrs, Plotii, the friend uf Dr. JiAiiaatt.
2 II S
436 THR tROEND OP WAITER CHILDK.
The Vmughans of Nant»u. H»rk, yon tlmndfring noUe !
Hither it ralU, aU rattlp. smoke, anil Htcam, The looomutivi; I (icnny-printer-boyB
C\iag thete by ahonlit, nnd shout the parrot theme. " Knowledice is' power !" Awake, aiid twrtc new joy*,
Tbnt beat Ocoana'« UtopiMi drpniii. Ye ruBtim ; nib up your dull minds, and niromafte 'cm, To suit this ^Id-And-iron Hgo of Bnimma^m!"
Well ; (rratiU'd jiteam and railroads mnv nrrARire our Ii'auilitieH, and iflut May-Fair »iili nienty, 'Cii
In my tnind to he fcar'd an a fclrj^ht danger, That we may ruli off nil our i>ld identitiw,
And, jumliled in one hodc;o-podfri'r rack -and -man^r. And hdttr-i-keltcr, sink to mere non-«nUtiifii,
Like Kons of thiit hijrh Geminri family,
Who 're not baptiz'd, Imt number'd, one, lwo, thrfte.
Not that I mean to hint the least restriction
On ttii; gn'M Man -Mitendii mixing plnn ; "Twerc prejudice, and \a\c of cmitradirtion.
80 agitate ! print! ventraliie ! nnd ban Old tandmark, proverb, mw, nnd pioiiK Miction ;
Reform and ransack every thintf you can: Consolidnte nil fund* of school nnd rnllrpe. And leach with " half-.'i- croon's worth of cheap knowledge."*
Make England one ffrcat factory, black and leafless,
Hich, Hmoke-beKrim'd, and biintlin^. — watcb'd and cway'd
By or^i^ni^'d bniuiHutK of thi> BricJlesK:
1 've sons, and want to tiiid them all a trade,
L^it iomu curs'd chanci^ nhould Ichvc them brt>Hd-and-beefle« Uoirn with Kniiid juries, and the Great Unpaid !
Whate'er tcmU riaihin^ n)u<4 be guod for Duujcht.
None will work ffrMn «ho»c time '^ worth <l grout.
1 must distinctly sar that my arena
I-t not pnliticnl ; 1 would not kIom over Old Tory fnulu; nor, like a wild hyxnsi
Orniatl bull, run amuck to fforc and U11* over Your M'hi^liiii;, wbu ia, tliuutfh Uflute nnd keen, A
Tbinp I hold" no ^e^t Ah^ces" a-i a phlluttojiher, And wioh it had, to grat^- offidid Ktnlton, Bume commuD SL-nse, and homely observation.
" Hold! auch Mmy pifla can't clearly he dt'fin'd,
TTiereforc cxirt not." True, I liad forgot : Well then, accelerate both steam and mind
tfp to three hnndred ! go It hard and hot ! Pert, pvddlinKl'oddinKtuDiacis, unranftn'd,
Shall fAlt in (ileoHure'ii aid to boil the pot, Vend bubble- shitreB onud Siberian ujiow. And teach the Ht>tt«ntot« to jump Jim Crow.
Our landlordd, too, ami workini; County men, if It
Be f.ict that they \irov mwai^vA at hnme. And HpoiU for social intercourse, »ill IwHefit
^Vliea ktript of onerous duties ; and may room StCflm-borne, and xhiittlecuck il off in any fit
Of iid£eU. from St. Pelt-rxburvh to lUinic, Bohhinft and j«rking over land and orcaii Like clouds of gnat* that sway iu endleta notion.
* For a glorioiu ilio^rinc np of the Iwic^nny pmt, Me f nwfr'i March nuiabwr.
.TUE LEOISND OP WALTBR CIIILDB.
But, <ili ! i{re»t H'hi|; an<l factory-Iordc ! whrn you go Our ctrvuil, duoiu nut SUinvli«n||Ce bv dwree
To mond the umAh ; dun't ticket^ on we new (;o, A" ■• NuiiiluT (.'iiv, find MCtioii. CVmimon* Cj"
lh» b(Hi«e ut' Wyndh&n) ; «pnn the fine wrugo Ot ri-lUv, M hich ii* riouclit tu yuu or tne,
Delight Li!tk Uotrlci), and the fair n}-in|iha uf CavUly.
60 ne'«r niBy yvvr grwt dyiuuty die oNfttily.
If all our fullin be not yrt «urrnU'd
By vnur prufuodily, vouchaafe tu know Sucu i'lsiTiin.-s art) iiric-tivitrc], aiid yet [)rtjc't].
By folk.t of the old school, who lotif n^u Pii'k'd up liii-ir whiiiifi, livwever lll-a(lvi«*d.
Like old (_'nrfe Cartle, on the mind they ifTOw, (Or Dure biird by) wlwii every day at band. Or Glaston'a pile, the prld« of \t'Mt«rD land.
Dear land of Wewwx ! but tb? wi^ht an vm ia Who votit§ hiti lucal prejudice too crudely ;
I will mit ^ny it uctunlly auquas^ea All Kn^luii'l, tbuiit(b 1 may luspect it iihr«wdly.
But we ha*« boiunl men, and lovely Imus, Oaks twb'd with nwei ; i>ad I jurt pea nidoly
A «l<etch, to abow that comers here ar« found
MaUbing tlie vlamc vpota of Border gruuiid.
For instance — in a kind uf daylight dream I »trull from thixild omkcn-panvril iHMikery,
And watch the tnml shuat down the rapid stream* Skirtenjij; the tvied clmi of my huarve rookery ;
Then rlinib yon upland, where the aunwt'a gle*m Li^ht* tJin luii« idieiihcnrii hut in mimm Uiu^ luwkcfj'
IU<-h in fern, goldrn broum, and lichen 'd thorn.
And hi-aiitbifr, whiub wild Cheviot need not scorn,
Hilfh on yon timber 'd kncll — a brscsr spot, —
Von round tuwt- n •iU>iiUy bexr thetr weight of yvsn ;
Aad acarr'rl, not humbled by tho Rnundhead's ahiit. Record the atidMiit fiiitb uf Cavnlierv,
Htirb hearts and true, wkuM fame ahall perisli not. fisstwsrd the Ktey old manor-houw appeara
Of my own kinHmati, which <uin also tell
ItA tjtle of Aj^bt and lei^ucr known right well.
Then. i;Lanein^ westward down yon wootly d«tl,
With no projectinc point to interrupt The twiro-fiiu^ht lii'M krhero n>ibl<t Falkland fell,
1 mind me that tlie quartern wh*?re hv sleirt Were at my hurras aoeestor's, if well
The recurds uf <nir net)thbouritm town .ire kept : Far Routhwsrd a hold niitiine shuts the view : Tia Hnnpahiro'* border-hilU, the firvt I knew.
In the fure-trrouud stood Chaucer's old oak trM Fifty yean since; but who tun trace, alack !
The mlnstrsl's lootsteps now ? Albeit to me There is » spell in the ioiacined triuk :
I ludf wfath, if Ngsin 1 cross the tea
For a lon^ term, may bomclit ihaw nie bark :
Onw la « way see Flurenm, Niiplei, Koine,
But Uoger nut. Remeatber " lloine u lluue !**
437
488 THE LEGEND OF WALTER CBILDE.
WoaM not this scene itir Mnrr Mitford'a iniife ?
None el** in llerk»]itre woiiftt stand any chanoff Tluit U, if Ifinire wrVM her. and «he choose
To Tillietudlrrti u« in « romnnce ; I 've rend C<wir>ne, and ww irnt with the Blu«t
Who laud tlie crotchets of Almnirif nr Frnnfe; But give me. Englishwoincn horn and brt-tl. With sound oM-faabion'd heart, and Attic h<«d.
We'll talk thew matter* over, when ere lonjf She come* to pmr« my roof, an honouT'd gueat :
MMntime, as ] 've tepn i-xll d 'in fiir a aong By Doctor Dnniel Dove, 1 '11 do my beet:
To n fritnd's nwit the l^ijend dulh liflong
Somfl miJra to Ih' partward, where I Ve crack'd my jwrt,
And iipt the cri<nm of hos)>itable chtvr : —
You 'II know it by it 'a oaks, and elutcly deer.
I tell the storv frmn the heat hnnay ;
And, if I K(ld Home tourhm of a nature To me pxtremely [jrobaWp, I pray.
Call ii»t my jientle M'i«<p a 'y'^K faitour. But erant Rome i<ma)l indulfcenn', euch as " Mail
8*il no' it [ijw vrnl, i! mt-riti' liicn dt- 1' Mr* ;" And BO we ehaJl jog onnard, my i^ood fricnib, In mutual (xinfidvorti, till thi« tnl^ etida.
YoTjni!; Walter Child* »aw nMTifP by the lode Of a\» idain father, ere eighteen yeara old :
ThuK wpr* bin ptirtu and nnirain' mirJy trii-d ; And, though not strictly ofihe IVerter mould.
Which our Bweet AnnuaU would eoiUirine with pridv, Aa a mule " Flturor" or " fiem,"he was, I 'm told,
A lad ofUtl) and limb, and dauntlew tipirit.
With Komc giHiA look*, and murh more sterling merit.
Evil and gaoA had mingled in hiii fate.
The civil wars, which left him fntJiurlMS, Had ew«pt in iieq»estnitiiin the estati!
Which he was born to, rrtt the ronsciousneM Of heirship turn'd and maptfoliz'd hin pate.
Bold, hnrdy, ■tiidiouii, hi.- inifflit hope aacoecs In mnst departmontB link'd with penr« nr war, But for bin own goud rcaxius cliiiw thi* Bar.
" My sword,*' aaid be,*' shall rust ere atrilce a stroke For the rank hv^crites who bear the sway :
^Tfae Spaniiih Mam— but if yon Btranger q>ok« With truth, fuul deeds are dono there aow-a-dny.
The Bur— yes, there, by PfitTona{[e'a yoke UovJiackled, I might hope to win my way:
A doused purpoM naatcn power and «bill,
Aud uuwH ail obstaelee to Mrerulgn will."
Taming his martial tamper down perforce, Habit, hn found, createn at laut new joys.
Which weak minds know not : carbini', sword, and burt«. To him, (lod wot, had not been giitt^ring toy*
For idle show, — a holiday reeouree
Mui ii 4?ovfted in UL-ttCti by pamper 'd boya ;
But lath he uft had wielded m ((XKid earnest,
Ei-dear'd by sAddenli^ UioiighU of strife the atmwsl.
THft LEGbND OS WALTER CHILOB.
Urac'd eurijr by Advarstty's keen fnict. Our Childc'H hiffh outmi|r<i b»rtf bim w<^ll klong;
A uilUnc«, wr'd fnm wreck, jut^t |>im<1 bU cost ; Hia w«nla tteie r«v, bi» resolution stnuig :
N»)j>lewiiri- t'lmuer'tl wilL. no m'lmtiitt Im*; Tiu>u;;h (MM'd t<*ikt lejr*) rinfht And moriJ rranf,
He uft siintiiij'd ihut law. uyni ditwection,
Ww not quit« huiniin reMOo'* Iwt perfeett4tci.
la Icpitl fictions, and fttalc* repetitions, Hi!> Niiw ji inkM curilriv'd Ut |iIim:4> uwiy
To %-ul^i(r iyeA (i¥Aa, doctrinism, and |K»atioiis ; And weary cut the soepUc who would pry
Into the m><-r('t of the Uw'a omnincit'nce : Ho >uiw ttiat cliuaccry-ffuita, m nouv deny.
An hebl intlictiotia uf hfov'n'a spMlal ire.
OuUHeroding bli^lil, mumin, flood, and fir«.
Ni>t that be i^ud^d » grain of toil expeadtd. Or let^Micb shrewd surniiHti abftke liM palJenccj
•* When'l'ro Cliief Jimtice. ihiimhall be umpnded," QuotJ) h^ iinil back*d ^ncb b<>ii<>Mt ikflirniittiuiu
With n Btray leaguer -^mtb. 'T wah wt-ll iiit«iid«d ; Hut. pride of Art. aeiiair'd »KU(>rtitti(>Ds,
And uli(|uette'a free-niKtvnry, will bind,
AU in due tinte, tbr moet ingenuooa miod.
Well, the point 'h not whut be mi^bl one day doj But what be did at our chief comttr town,
Th' eventful morn wlwn fimt the joy« be knew Of a dear tnnideii brief, and duun'd bi* ^wa
Ijike (.'inwr'a niuntto, bupinR f»' bi» due Of limir- ex petted coikiulhi and renown ;
Me deeni'd aumv " lidf in th« ttSairn of nieo "
Set in Ut turn bis le^iul mill just tben-
It cJi«iK'd the client on the adverte tide Wa« an astute old Anahaptist lawyer, A ninn of weigbl nnd terrilomi pridi).
Who roue from nought by nwindlin^ b'a employer ; And u"w. fur party Ber^-ieelt Iwik tried,
nul'd Wbifi f(iniinilte«a. and waa vile enjoyer Of many ■ fair »eque«trat»il po«a««'>aa. The present was a ca««e of gnm opfrtmao.
(hir bero, when he evidently mw
The Judfte waa iilaiw'd, and the jury pack'd,
Cbaf 'd like a war-fiune touch 'd u|>oa tJte i»w. Ably he dtnl precedent and iicX ;
H ia speech hiul pith and Are, wa* sound in Uv, But wrvti^bedly devoid of prudent tact.
For he awintt'd WMUidly in ki« p«rantlan
The man of infliieaee and ooDiiauiding atatioin*
He hook'd tk« great Leviathan, and tore [lis rvveouaa jaw» in mch uncpariog tort
Ai tickled the mugfa clovaa to their beart't oar«. llirice cheek *d, and menae'd for onitmnpt of court.
Hi* bliHtd MNA ruiin'd ; defiwwe. »■ of y»re
On tbu pitch'd field, tpokt in his Imik aa«l port ;
The bricbt eyes fix'd on nini, the rruwd'e a|t|Jj|ua0
H« nuuK'd nut, for hia heart wa» in the cbum.
439
440 TIIK LBGEND til-' WAM'BR CHILUE.
He lost his verdict^ rs wm w«1I roroKdo Ity the initiate c1ii|u«, the itelf'OiiDOUDo'd
Ah " w(LEt«ni upon I'ruvidencc." wfioM uImd StuHK to the qiiicJt, predicted him well trounc'd.
"!' wKi evta p\tun to hut pcrMption keen.
He wiut look'd ahy on ny hia caate ; Aenoanc'A
As a mark'd ntftn, who had cuntriv'd to mar,
Ai th« times went, his pro«|iMts st the hitr.
Farde. hiH brat friend, otha iiln>-4>*« took his pitrt, Silt with a UiDg face, lookini; vex'il niid Morrieil>
And «ut five pen* to stum]tii in gn^f oi' heurt- His client's ywn ultorney, red and flurried
At bia diaplay ofCirrruninn itrt,
I'lilVd him ntiide, and wiih wi accent hurried, ^
" CiDod Heav'n, air, think what yim have dune I"' hu wiid,
" Kun fruin my strict in»LrMctinn« ; rifJw'd my hr«a<l !
" 1 took thin Kurkwiiril cAUxe fram pure good will, Socuriiiff first, of courMi, my nwn L-xuencex;
Censur'd l wan fur it hx thhIi ; liut atill I nlniixft pU-dif'd yuu to avoid uffcnoea
Vroaa and uncali'd fur- 'twUl take all my skill Tu clear triyi»cir; and the prufes^lvn'M aeuw ia
1 should he ruin'd, sir. paiit all relief,
Uy ever oAisring you auuther brief."
T WM Hnmewhnt gullinjr to our Chi]d«, to find He rink'd the cherished end of seven yearn' toilp
fiut thii) he reck'd of leiM ; w when entwin'd The wiM »taff struggles in the bon'e coil,
Hit) soul *weirJ, hilt eve (1««h'd, to wc fomhin'd Itapint* and frnud to wu^te hia native toil.
And jiifttioe bnrtor'd. 'T was past human hearing :
IJe wisfa'd — but he had aome ycarti left off aweurin);.
Now, had this hanpen'd in the present day.
Our friend bnd iratii'il htH cniiae, unA HpoUt avy etory ;
For, ua to tttatc uiTain', whatever may Bo my convictions as a tMimlry Tory,
Our yeoman Jurica, in th^ir pluin army
And dear rou^h judgment, lire the nation's ^lory;
Take, too. thoae juaxes I have aecn the mutt of.
Fair samples of a bench we well may boast of,
Keen A j uhoa« cver>" glance dPclarM
The Senior Wraairler; hooeat Sir John G ,
Ho of the falcon beuk, u-hnae pinnh no aciure* A shuffling or incompetent attorney ;
C , with whom a rhat on hy-^ne year*
Were alwnyw worth a lonn iirand jury journey,
Itetaining all the traits of well-spent youth.
The calm, fine temper, and tha soul of truth.
The court c]os*d ; at his inn, in muaina mood, Wat oy'd ubRtractedly hiK UDtoueh'd steak.
(Bar-dinners and full toa^t^ his oMaiw eachaw'd,) And pondered inly what next courm to take.
A prospect lay before him bleak ami rtide ; But aye he quell'd hh heart'a rebellious ache
With the sure solace of some wilful men ;
*' My cviiKience mj-i, I 'd do the *«ine affsin.
TUB LEGBND OP WALTER CUlbDE.
441
" Come, Surtttm e»ria ! aa our rJuipIaIn «aiil
M'iirii retinw fiUl'd lie in tital fieek's hArd fnrat :
At ckfcht<ADd<tweiit]r » l>»ld lii>art «nd head May will fuir furtuni! »□ kudiv funritiu ouast-
— Liv'd there a monarth like IJanlavcs dfad — But, coura^v ! iiuue sliull ta,y my «t)>niach'« lo»t.
(Some wtn^, Uiere, my kind b<is(ea»1) k*X and dhiik ;
TtMliiy keep up vur uearls ; lo-morrov think.
" CJU apllol good miiUon this of thine,)
Better, perhaim, had I beitun it hot ; (1 'm not «> iJcill'd n jud?e of ihv ^ood wine,) —
^Wfaen did I t^iiite H ine last ? 1 've clean forgut :— The next mny he perhnim on the fnr Rhine,
Or — hxtX whut hiwrt* to scan my future lot ? (Here, tike nwny Ij the ftiolish iiunic '" xuhdued. Thank l>u>l for a lijtht heart and wholeaome focMl!
" "Vn glttfir, friend Waller, in the civil line.
While tlieso Lliiu)r> l-»>t thim 'rL luid iijiun the thelf. (Ni>, uu. I can't tat mure, ^mA bdv mine :
lltrre 'a to tliy health ; liiii^h Iht^'fla-k tliyaelf.) Hut what. Id trulh, chouM be life't) main dviti^n ?
— For old camiiatfcnen have unall newl of pelf— M'hy, t« «crve Ood. and fill sume awful »uiion. Where justtoe and likir play are «lill the foAhion.
" 1 have it now — New KukIiukI i« my name.
What '« >]ohauk, Cherokee, or (.Atahaw, To the«e rank knHvea } I speak it tn their ahame :
Our culoiiistd may priee sound Engtiflh law: In any eaw, my once unerring aim
May save friend K))hniiiii from a panther** daw. They re good men, too, und kind ; and I respect And love the f^ood mid true of every tect."
Thus pitnder'd Walter CMlde. the train pumiin^
of HN-eet iind bitter thotif[hts, and bark-wood viaioBa-,
" ll'ippy '• the tTo«iM|{ Ihnt'K not Uins a-doing," S) Mtyti the adH^e : and our friend s derisions,
Thougli tiuiKt timeo acted on, nerp not l«it|C hrewini;. And brook'd few nt^er-thnughts, and no reviiduoH.
Ilisaecret »a« — I ii|)eiik it hero ajiMrt —
Small care of self, sound head, and single heart.
" Now for this boll," aooth he, " though, i-icweil aright, Seemti il not Inrk'd like a faotactic forix' on
To a deep trn^it- drnma i Sinee the niftht i pray'a with thiit poor hind cundemn'd for anion.
I Ve aeen the ciiikf>m in a dilfi-rfiit ll^ht. — Uod re«t hin voul ) — 1 'm but a vorrv parmn,
Htit mi'ant well. Come, ju»t now I want variety ;
Beaide«, must take my leave of good •ociety.''
END OP CAWTO t.
'• WIIY DID MAJOR MUFFIN KEEP A PARROT?"
r
BT B. BOLL, AVTHOB OP " BIDDY TIBS," " MARTBA MITKB," KTO.
Thb Mjing hjith it, " Never soeak before children !" for children, not« itfastanthnjc the wise exnmnle set by their fathers ind mothers, will tpeak the truth, i'flrrnts. like children, are of an imiutive lUid truth- loving; nature ; -.ind in lar^ tettero we vrrite upon thi» pa^A . the fuUowing taut ion i^Ncrer »]i«rak before parrots !
Msjnr MuSin — why did he keep a parrot r' — lived next door to Alias PriM-htpe Crab. He vra« a in.tn of lurtal ! She was a woman aim of nioUilic influence, only of a diflereiu quality. The Major, tnonntcd with braM. was lined, aUs! with cop)>eT; -while Penelope,
a linen-faced, had ^Iden pockets — pockets which, in the eye» of ufitt, held mines of wealth ! 9Iis9 Penelope Crab was the only tUughter of A fish salennan, who dyine a widower at a good old age, lr<M>er ibe miscms of hertelf and his fortune. She waa now able to buy anrthiiig ibe fancied, and ahe thought of a hudiand.
M^^ lldGn bad aeen service, and was now living upon hii |HMMMU~-aiid balf-p>y. Bung a military man, he bwore, of course, rumfcnpr on the contrary, was devout-minded, and. being a lady, «w«M INK,— exceut wbeu nXiv cundemncd the euuU uf the profane, which ibe did al itatu ■ dozen timet a-ijay. Haviug now performed tbU Miiy of poliu wcicty, atid introduced to our readers Major Muffin and Miss Pendopc Crab, we bequeath tliem lo their merciei, vhiW we amuse oarsdves by a chat with their liervaiita.
o Tbat master of yoars swears enough to frighten a house down V Sttch « aa the confidential eommaiucatiun conveyed by Deborah— for PrtW'lope'ii maid had a holy name — over the area rails to Molly,
tbe SI)ijor"« abijiail. •' And as for his parrot "
Here .1 loud chuckling voice tuld her to be — wlut nobody wishes |g bc^^nd compared hvr Ht the ume time toa dog. Deborah lotted npt and there »aw Major Jluffin'a grey parrot mounted on the out- udf- of his cage, whialing and shouting fruro the balcony.
" I should like to wring that brute's neck !" uid Detmrah, as ahe ipive her m«»p "H energetic twirL The parrot returned the favour by ealliiiR hrr — what fhe itth\ »he wasn't — wc think so too ; hut ttie major* parrot had a »ay of calling ladie.4 in the street names they miildn't help thinking personal, and Ecimetime^ to tamiliarly, they thought it must be Eomebody who knew them.
.. liiwk nt miwun's parrot," cried Deborah ; " he "» a dove of ■ poll, »nd sings iwalms like a Christian ; but tiiat Bob of your*" — Mich *■■ '*" "•il»'*"'"*l"*g name of the major's parrtrt — " swears aa |wd *» '"" mMtrr or the — " and Deborah coughed ; *' there ain't nv pio" »" 'hoow between them." And bang went her mat j».«i the "I"""'* •'"''*'■ «'"' ""t flew a cloud of dust, which envdoped tf^\*l» vliTk. who was passing, like a blanket. As soon as this «M (n^HHUpUshetl. Deborah vented a fresh shower of abuse iL.i. ^»a B fresh chapter of praise wan lavislicd upon the vir- -■» Poll " If ever a parrot was a >iunl,her missus'* ,..;t bv name— " wa« one!" And no wonder, for Pe- . wt.4 him under her cloak to church, where, strange
"WHY DID UAJOK MUFFIN KBBP A PARROT?** 44A
I
I
to say, he never wimt to sleep, not even during the nermon ! " Rot that nAsty swearing brute of a bird," — and she ^hook hcr fist at Bob, vho WAS qutetlv cleaning his naiis, — " he ought to have his hiaa twi<itnl otT!" Al'illy, on the contrarr. cantended thut Bob waa a gaod-nutured Poll, siul tAme »s a chit'ken. She confessed to the swearing ; but that, she said, watt tlie fault of his " broughtage up." But then he never bit anybody ; while Jeremiah, though a saint, was r^uite us suiteful, and wouhl bite bis best friend to the bone. And as for mischief, though a parrot, tlicre never was a monkey tike him : fur he did more harm in on hour than Bub would in a year, who hopped nbout the house, phiyed with the cat, and behaved liimHelf like a gentleman, as be was I
The maids, as they could not agree, — and servant maids do not always agree,— began to toss their heads, and call c«rh other " ma'am," and in the end di*scmde(l their area st^s in a hufl".
As Major Jttuffin had no other dependence tlian hi;> half-pay, he could not very well be called a rich man. He was forty, and a bachelor. Penelope was wealthy, and a spinster ; while her age might be what a bountiful Providence pleased, for Muffin did not care. Now, strange to wy, the Major had taken, we know not why, a mortal dislike to the lady next dnor,- — albeit he had only aeen her once or twice, and thitt in perspective^ at the window, — but still he disliked her. Her name sounded of a ten years' courtship; white her surname. Crab, though a heavenly sign, seemed to him a sign of going backwards. But tJien her money ! Kcjiort had trumpeted the thuusaiiiis she was worth into his ear, and, alter Nome natural
Sualms uf venturing upon matrimony. AluUin determined to lay OM- siege to his ncxt>door neiglibour.
Miss Penelope Crab sat in her drawing-room ; her pious Poll stood meekly in his cage, and blinking his eyes, looked as if thinking of a nap. Penelope laid down her book, " Watts's hynms, " and leant back in her cnair. Were her thoughts of Major Mullin? He was certainly not a bad-looking man; and, being a mibliirr man, and a major, not a bud catch for a fishmonger's daughter. She had often •|>eculated upon tin* bleuing of l>eing married ; yet, strange to say, she had never been aoked. Thin undoubtedly argued a want of taste in the gentlemen. Could it be that they thought her too lean, too old, or loo holy for their earthly hopes? — For Penelope waa pious, and her sanctitv '*f*» deep as a well ! In fact, Penelope was a walking Evangelical SSfjigntine ; and, as she sat in her chair, would have made a "splendid illuntralion" to that most excellent work ; for her dark, dull, unmpsning conntennnce looknl — lu an evange- lical portrait always looks — n face of clay mouldi'd with the Hngersl Major Muffin was hcr next door nrigEil>our, and she could not help thinking that she shouh) have uo objection to biTomu Mrs. Major Muffin. But then they were utter Mrangers, — llicy luut not so much IIS spoken to eiich other! And then a^ain Penelope felt un- easy, when nhe rcincrabered Deborah vowed Uiat 31ullin, though a major, swore like a common trooper. She shudderol, and taking up the book, which the tiioughts ol' Muffin had made her put a«idef was soon out of sight of earthly tilings, and high in the clouds of
L pious irrottration ; yet, strange to say, the words kept jumping about, and, spite uf herself, spelt nothing but " Alajnr Muffin.** Sbo shut her eyes, and looked again, and as she looked saw '• marriage **
%H
WHV DID MAJOR. MUFFIN
In vtfio^ writtm backwards ! It certunly was very strange ; and irUi^ tfalEn
A IhmI knock At the clot>r hiirrie<1 her acroiis Uie room to lUten at %^ dsar. " l» 31 i&s Crab at home •" -was Bskcd. oiiU in a gentleman's intoi Penehipe shut. tl)c bouk. and threw Dr. Wutu upun the safa. ]>etMnh climbed up stairs, atid luuked as if the clouds were coming down.
•* Who '» that, Deborah ?" inquired her mistress.
Ucboruh't mouth opened hKe an oyster as she mid, " Major Muffin r
■' Major Muffin !" There was a pAU»e of more than a minute — each stood open-eyed and <i|>en'iin>tithe(l. At length Penrlop«'a shut, as she ailded, " Show ihc major un."
" Yes, ma'am," — and Debornh went slowly down the stairs.
There was a ercakinc of boots along the passage, a hem or two. and PcncVope Ifft. the door for a chair, where she sat as though she hadn't moved. The door opened, and Deborah once more announced " Major Muffin." Penelope was a full yard s^cvter as she curtsied. The major made his liest bow, and Deborah listened at the key- hole.
" I am sorry, ma'am, if I have intruded ;** and SIufGn waited aa those who »ay "they are sorry if they have intruded" always do. Fenek'pt- said as usual.
•' Don't mention it, Major Muffin. Pray take a chair,"
Muffin felt ba»hful to a degree. This may perhaps sound sin- Bular, as the major wa* in the wrmy ; but summoning hie courage, he began by " hopine Mm Crab waa in good healtfa." Her answer deliglited him by tnfortniiig liim fihe was "quite, thank you." And after travelling through the miiny iiitricacicfi of a sell -introduction, and that to a lady, the m^jur "begged to assure hcT of the great resiieet he had always entertained for Aliss Penelope Crab." He had condemned that virtuous lady to the Satinic domains a hun- dred times, and Afuffin hera'd, or rather grunted. His cravat was tight, perhaps, but nevertheless he expressed hi« sorrow, "that, neighbours as they were, they were not better acquainted ; and if Miss Crab — " here Aluffin made a dead atop, and Penelope, scarlet with confusion, rang the bell. Deborah, like a prudent maid as •be was, moved on tiptoe from the key-hole, and, creeping dovm the firxt Hight of stairs, walked heavily up again into the room, as though she had just come from the kitchen.
She was told to hand Major Aluffin a glass of wine.
The conversation now proceeded more glibly ; the gentleman ceased to stammer, and the lady gave over blushing as a bad job, whilst Mtifliii btrgaii to think her a much nicer woman tluui he nad ever belieceil it in her nature to be. Penelupe felt as she hadn't felt fur venrk. Could it be possible she was f»led to be Mrs. Majof Muffin!
The wise in society, if they wish to ingratiate themselves in the uwkI graces of the mother, always begin by extolling thuae of ber (hubby brat ; — the female heart opens as to a magic key at every I IViih ihower of" sweet little creature!" and "how like its mother*'' I Thv umjor, aa a man of the world, began by praising, not Miss Crab, IJlllt- Crab—that was n plra-turc to come — but her parrot! Penfr- Iwi^. iVli the compliment, and cumincoced enlarging upon his meritl.
*
'AttROT?'
4«
nnd Aluffin was mnde KCnsiblc tliitt the parrot was n vn-y |foocl parrot, for tir NAid {>r«yeTS like n Chriftti«ri m he wait, niul waa nn full of good aentencea ka « pincuahiun ia of pina, in the advent r>f " a little atwtnger." Tn fnct Penelope"* Poll wa* a bird of character ; h«
» whistled HalleluiaS tike an orgnn, and couid say the Lord's Prayer aa well as an arcnbinhop ! The |Mrrut, evidently aware he was the subject of conversation, »moothed hiFi fenthers, nnd fixed his bUck eye like a gtmblet upon AInjor Miitlin, who, taking a chair beside the cage, delighted Penelope by asking Poll "' What it wns o'clock ?" Poll wan as correct aa a eun-dtal, and then, whistling a hymn, con- vinced Muffin of his powers.
" Some ptiuple," and Paivlope looked at the majur, "teach their parrots to swear. She never iru«te<l her Poll even into the baU cony, for fear," as she »aid, " his moralti slionld be corru]iLed. Some people, she hiiil heiird," and she emphasised the word, " were not so particular."
The Major'* cravat was again inconreniently tight Feeling himaelf slightly pulled, Muflin turniil his head, and saw, to his horror, the p.irrot quietly amosinj; himM^If by biting sundry holes in the Liil of his coat, new on that day ! Penelope fttarteil up as if she hud been shot at hearing the major d — n so good a bird, ntt he tried to cxti-ioate his coat. But Poll fastened on it with his claws and beak, end fed upon it as if making a meal. A sudden jerk iVeetl the coat, while Poll in a passion shouted aeveral sentences of acrip. tara] condemnations against the m.ijor's bouI, as with hts wings out- ipread. he fluttered along the perch, and HCreamml up and down the tides of his cage. Penelope cried, " Ah, you nflu;jhty bird !" while the major eyeil him with a look of death, and talked of " wringing necks," as lie inspected the damhge done tn his coat. But Muffin was under an evil star, for as his hand incautiously strayed near the wires of the cage, the parrot darted on it, and, seising one of the fingers in his beak, made the ends meet at the bone. M uffin slinuted ten thuuMand deaths, and dragged the cage half ocrutis the room, for
J>retty Pull held by his fleiah hke a vice before he could get away, lad Penelofre not rushed as she did between the major luid his wrath, we fear Jeremiah would have met a bird's death. His neck, however, remained untwisted, and Muffin's 6nger was bound up in s piece of rag.
The cunversatiun having continued M>me short time further. Major Aluffin rove to depart, a*«uring Mi»s Cral>, a^ he did so. and, as he said, " from the bottiun of his heart." that she hiul made him feci a happy man. " Vna will be sure and come," continued the major ; "Mul perfaapa you will bring vour parrot with you :"^4te looked as if he could have eaten it. " Pretty fellow ! he will be a conpanim lor my Bob." Penelope hinted something about "evil couimuni- oationa;" but Muffin maintained the report to be unfounded, and declared Bob to be the be^'natured creature under the sun, atid never bit anything but his food. Here tht- major rublied his finger.
Penelope, al\er the usual number of " good morning)t " had pasted, opened the drawing-room door; Deborah atood ready at the street one ; and Major Aluffin, aAer saying he " should expect her at five," made his bow and his exit, and, as he went down the steps, fi'lt satis- fied that be had mule an impression upon his ncxt-doM- Dcighbuur.
Now, Deborah and Molly had tiffed in the rooming, wnile dls*
446
" WHY DID UAJOR MUFFIN
cussing the rclHtivc inrnts of the rival parrots; but as tbey wflK fi'tctuDj? the beer for dinner, it mi hxppened the^ each arrived at their trpapatpii iit the name momrnt. When a M-onuui hu n secret to tell, she forcelii ev«n her dii^like ; and Uvbornh beckoned myste- riausly to MuUy willt her fiitgur. Now, Molly was still BwdUng with ber fureiiouu'H indignatiuii ; but at Debumlt hud niudp the " ovtemlr hoHonibff," Khe swallowed her pride, as she had uf\eo door other things, «itd wiited, jug in hand, to hear Deborah i coauDuni- cntion.
"Mollf," — Deborah looked like a propheteM as she added, "who'd a* thought it ?"
Mtilly pn-pared herselPfor the intelligence by a long drauEht oF beer. The other had Hpa only for her secret, us she said, " Who do you think has been to sec misnu thi« morning?" Molly looked, a» the really was, — ^ignorant.
Deborah, at\er sundry telegraphic signals, whiipered in her ear, '■ fllsjor Mnffin !"'
" ^faster !" and Molly, who was naturally of » quiet dispasition, stood su villi astoni&hini'iiL
" And what do you think i" said the other ; *• he asked her to go
to tea r
" Miss Crab coming to tea !" Mullv Z'^z&X with uubelief.
'■ And her parrot '« going as well. I see what it will end in," and Deborah bobbed her head with a most meaning bob. " There'll be a Mrs- Major Mufiin bfforo lone;, I 'm thinking. You should have seen how they looked nt one another, and how minuB blashed!"
'* Blushed 1 — how could you see i" asked the intjuiring Molly.
"How did I see?" and Deborali felt surprised that any servant should .isk such a question ; " why, through the key-bole I"
The belU of both kitchens, idler having lieen rHtig several times, becatne at length violeiitlv communicative, and the M^rvant maids ran down tboir area stt-'ps, big with the fate, not of Cato, hut of their master and mimsus. - ■ • • ■
The clock was striking five, when Miss Penelope Crab knocked at the door of her nejtt-door neighbour. Deborah stood on the top step with the cage in her Jiand. The parrot, like a good bird, sat meekly on his perch, und eecmcd conscious he wai> going to pay a visit. The door was opened, and the lady was shown up- stairs. AlufFJn himself met them at the top, handed her a chair, and sat, like n gentleiiian should, clo^e by her t>ide. Molly, profiting by their example, placed Jeremiah in his cage, side by side with Itob, shut the uoor, and proved herself a much better servant tlian Deborah hud supposed her to be, for she listened most attentively on the outside.
The parrntA, as parrot* always do, hmked suspiciously at one another with their beail-like eyes, but remained (|uiet on tbrir perches.
Now, Muffin, although no Jaaon, saw in perspective a ** golden fleece;" for that Penelope kart gold there was no question: he had f\illy satisfied himself of thai fact, and the vapours of his dislike meltetl as before a ruing Kun, that looked upon his poverty, and turned it into wealth! Gold, that true phihiaopher's stone, which all seek for, — thut fruit alt ho|H> to gather, ni.ide him turn his ejret upon Penelope Crab, who, dowerless, might have livetl next dfK>r for
A PARROT?*'
+♦7
mgn, and unsotif^ht of Aluffin ; hut, ladvn with a freight of thoa- funds, the man of war hnpt-d to !<ul in tier company upon the sea of AratriiuonV' But there were hidden rocks he dresint Dot of— why did Jlajor Mutlin keep it purrot ?
P»melo]>e herself could not be cslled ^hy upon (he question. She was fHly ; and wished — as every reuwmable wonuin uishes — to be married ; atx), if the gentlcnian should propnoe, Penelope felt she must say ye*. Of mie thini; she was certain, that she rfiould not My no. And Major Muffin, irhv — why did he keep a parrot?
Tea -wa* brought in ; Penelope did the honour*. The"raiVd" was plentifully shovelled from the caddy ; and the major was acnoi- ble of the delicate attention when Penelope disdained the toast, and fastened on the muffins. He looked upon it as a f^ood omen; and hoped ere lonp to be himwlf as well biHtered ! Tea was pniired out, and milked hy her own hand to hi.i tikin;* ; while he returned the cniiipltnient by HUffnrini; hers, which he did to a degree of nicety »carcL-ly to ht- believed; for she looked and smiled, and looketl and blushed, " and smiled B^ain." While llie major, like a Kkilfut (j;^ nera], attacked the enemy in the wvukeiil part; and with uetl-di- rected volleys of mouth-fliittery aimed directly at her heart! AVIiile she.— what woman could do otherwise, — she looked as if she mufit ({ive in, for the major pressed liis attacks with so much vigour, and the tea was m nice, thai Penelope, icy virgin as she was, bej^an to melt Ijeforc the warmth of the gentleman's (ifTection ! The longest winter, though wrappetl in xttmnx and frown«, mnilr.'i at length at the vonnB-Ieafod summer, mid Penelope Crab, who had so long nuraed her»elf in maidenhood, felt overjoyed at the pro«pect of be- coming a wife, perhaps a mother ! The thought of a little Major Huffin grafted on a Crab, m.tde her heart bound like a shultl<?cock, and turned her — what we aMsure our readers she never was — topsy- turvy.
The parrots — for parrots are wise birds, — seeing what was going on at the other end of the room between the ma«er and mistresi, began moving with a sidelong look over their cage<t, and every now and then muttered indiRlinrt ehatterings, a^ if deairoua of a little more familiarity, hut neither liking to begin : unlike the m/ijur, who iresMd Peneln|>e with all the eloquence he was master of, to take
umither cup of tea."
" I 'd rather not, thank you, i^tajor Jluffin."
Penelope had alrciidy dcspatchetl fuur cups, and vowed *' die couldn't drink niiv more."
" Another hit of muHtu f" and the major handed the plate.
This was an offer ihe knew not how to resiat; *he couldn't find it in her heart to refuse muflin. fjeerini! in his face, she luuked wiiat ;ehe apoke, that " she couldn't refuse fifajor Muffin."
He drew his chair a little nearer, and look her hand. Penelope employed the other with a spoon. The major, heaving a nigh like a pavior, declarei) himself to be an " unfortunate man '." and he shook Ilia head. Penelope also aighed, and rndeavoured tn fancy herself what wn are sure she was not — " an unfortunatr wonuin I"
" Yes." cried the major," I am an unfortunate wretch ; for I harp trifled with my affections until they have left me a man withnut a heart." Penelope felt she did not know how. The major continued, '* Ym, Feaolofie, I am a man witliout n heart." md he sqacFactl
MS "WHY niU MAJOR MUFFIN KERf A PARBOT ?*
her lianil. Tlie otiier -wan actively cngagcil with the iwispoon. ** This Iianil," and he gave it another squecne, "this hand is to roe as good a« gold !" and Muffin looked as though he had spnkcHi a truth. "Yes, Penelope, future peace and ]ircs<?nt joy an; written in the lino^ of thi« little palm !" BAving which the major — our pen trembles as we record tlio fact — ravished a klsa ! PctiL-lupe was no doubt thinking of sometliiiig eUe, or she would have snatched it away ; but her mind dwelt on the spoon, which moved in mystic circles over the tea>board, and doubtless drowned the noise of the kiss, though Aiolly affirms to this day that she heard it outside ihe doorl
A skilful general watches witli a hawk's eye fur a fdctuDate chance. Thv inujur ought to have been promoted to Held marshal ; for never did man lake better advantage of '' the weak invention of the enemy." And, as for a fortunate chance, Penelope, with her wreath of red roses, was to him fortune itself. With one arm gen- tly roving round her waist, he pressed the yielding damsel to his breast, and whimpered soil persuasions in her willing ear, " Would she? — would she? — oh ! would Bhe?"
"Would I what?" and Penelope looked bashful.
"I dare not ask." cried the ma^i»r like a hero of romance. " Bui, if — ," her white dress crushed like tissue-paper as he drew her to his side. " if I might venture to propose — " Penelope held the spoon quite quiet, while Muflin looked as much like a Koineo a» any man of forty in a blue surtont and brs$s buttons could, as he added, " dart- I venture ?^-dare I ?— may I ?"
Penelope looked in his lace as much as to say, " be might," drop- ped her eyes upon the ground, and reroained silent.
Silence we all know gives coiieenL Muttin evidently thought so ; and, sinking up«)n one knee, initinuated in his wottest tones, " Ok, Penelope, will you be mine? Say yes! — only yes.' — only — only — "
" Ve — ^" The "a" was only wanting to complete the happy word as Penelupe wax turning tu embrace him ; when the major's parrot, in a long, loud chuckle, ahouted out, evidently in imiution of his ma«ter's voice, " I wish that damn'd old woman next tloor was dead !" which Miss Crab's Jeremiah seconded by saying, " we beseech thee to hear us, good Lord !"
Penelope started up as if cut out of wood. Her own parrot, the sainted Jeremiah, in pray for such a wish ! And the major's par- rot, who had no doubt rpjwnted whnt he hnd often heard, he to wish Iter not only dead, but the other thing I and ju«t as he had " popped the question," and she was going to say "yes." Wood I — she was stone !
Major Muffin — yes, 3Iajor Mufrm knt-li, and ueemed as he could never rise ; but his fault did ; he lui»ked upon his error, and saw it written, " Never spenk before parrots !"
The end of this [ale may easily be conceived. The parrots once started, vied with each other which could speak the fasttest. Bob made over the old — wc omit the word — next door, not only over to death, but to the dominions of a gentleman who shall be namclcHs, with an accompaniment of all oaths thut are pronounceable. While Penelope's Jereiuioh, her sweet Poll, swore at the other, only in a different style — his were orthodox condemnations! And thus a
EPISTLE KXPOSTUI-ATORV.
M»
vnllcy orBcrefltiis and clmckling abuse was kept up bciwern the twn bird«, who rlappcd tlicir viin^s, and »)mutcd as if taking part witli their masU-r and miKtrcss.
Penelupe — tioC to be outdone by her Poll — bestowed upon ^lajor MufTin the fruits of ber displeasure ; and, af^er callitig fiim " base wretch.'" " villain T' "monster I** "brute!" and sundry other epi- thets which female* pronounce bo gHbl y, left the room with n bounce, and lilt.- house with n bang, leavinj* the mnjor atill on his knee in a oloiid of wojuIc r, r*ge, and disappointment.
Thc^ tea-thinf^)! Rew about the room; and hiti old favourite Poll, the innocent atu»c of no much mischief, had a narrow escape ; for the poker, aimed with a deadly aim, whirled across the room to the damage of sundry wires of the cace, but not of Poll ; who to this day repeatis tlie daily lessons !^et by ni» bachelor master, and chuckles out, " I wUh that d — d old woman nent door was dead !"
Mi-sR Penelope Crab, with twenty thousand pounds, died as the had lived, a virgin.
" Why did Major Muffin keep a parrot f"
EPISTLE KXPO8TULAT0RY
TO A DEAR FRIEND, Wka hat hem o/ien kicked, and r^tatrdljf honaetiif^ird.
Deak Matt, — II is willi deep concern That I, this morning, " live and leani *' You have conthvcd lomcbow lo caru
A new hotwwtiippinc t IiMJeed, 1 hear now every week That, cither from revenge or pique, Your very bones are made to squvak :
The list of sfaippiitg,
T1>e price of ktllowit and tobacoM, And rine rums, mn from the Canceas. And who at Darby are oul-back«n.
An hardly more Poitpd, anil known, and regular, 7^1 the aorounu of where you are, And what oool Coloiwt Bogg d you there,
Whdsi jrou kepi score t
TOL. II r.
Why, d — n it, man ! od*« looks 1 od't loundi t It puEtlea me — eonfates— coofounda! — You pocket blows as lh«y wct« poundsi
And never piy One back again upon demand, 'Dioujih Thompson lias your note of hand (He who your Windtot whippii« plann'd.)
Thai, some odd day.
9i
4M
EPISTLE BXPOSTULATORY
You woulJ repBjr.wiitiuut cviuiion, The trouble be, on llial ocrioion. Took 10 pro\iilv liiHt sure probatioD,
With inttn^:— What is the coiii)c<]Ucnce t The fellQiv, ^Though lianiili'ii<t as » taouM',) when mellow, Stvcsn that he 'II b^at )ou blue and ^ellowl
Is tlinl a jest I
Your courage ww « »ioui at Acrtt' ; Bat either you have join'd ihc l juaken, Ur dso ilai Yukec stct. the Shaken,
If I may judge ; Aod you, wbo ODM (Untd louk at Nero,* Imp«rtioPDCe's Sfanuicheril lieru, 'ZouikIs I where 's yout couiagc now ? At ttrv.
And Kill not hutlga '
Tis strange that men who resd their Qtbtes, And loro 10 laugli at others' foibles, Should hold in ku<.-h avenion libels,
Whoie sole oflence Is mrrely stabbing iheir good name,— Which is vith Boioef a son of fame; — Tbcy kick at it like cocks call'd {tfime.
And p«ibaii9 dispense
Svdi blows about your biosdent buck, (£uh one n iiraBf bed-beuer's thwack,) As Icftvc you refy bnuMd uid black,
Aod somewliat tan ; And ftfler tbey hare doiie this nell. You stare at tbcm— tncapablc Of wiikiiig tlicRi in hea« «3i or h — II,
Uut glad 'tis o'er !
Oh, Matt I d«Br Matt I what are you ai? Art thou become a street-door Alatx, On which nice tnen their boots so pat
Wipe clean nlico dirty ? 0» wliioh their Iriah ««mnt'» cane Orv ahowers hard blows — a I>fating nin, — Labonr of lov«, but Io»c in »aio,
It dcn-s not hurt *ee!
AiitJ, Mrhaps, you like 11 ? Ii propels Your blood, tlial idles in its cell*, And gins a current to tV- wells
Which All yonr veirui I True i but the kick tliat stirt jour hloo<l May send you sprawling in ihr> mini. Or shoot you plump, from nliere jcu ^tood,
Through thrc« largi: )nnes :
On which out darts John Smith io liasl«. Who has 00 notioD of your lasto. And, ere you can •xplain, you *re placed In durance vile I
* Croat's tfrtv, an Itomt's. ■ murb Ins rMprrtnMe animal.
tit
A DEAR FKTRND.
_ tihWt the j;emlem™ii po rtout, I gave the kicik (liat caused Ihts roiil, I goue his buiinew about.
And walk'd t Eslle !
Oat grows witb a^ leu scniitive.
1 kuovr some men— »ay, four or fiif»^ Who'rs lione-whipp'd Iwk'e a we«lc, and ihrivCf
Atu] iwag|rer tool Tou cut and .ikuh, and cufTand ktck* It) nin— ihHr liid« '% no ihre^soI«d thick. You might as soon hurt wall of bnck 1
You iplil yoursboe. But jar not ihcir philosophy,—' A brulr iadifTrrence, wlitcb I Might de|>Kiate, but will not try ;
Ueu iHati, do you ?
I 'm sure you odea do, and niidi :
And ytt you take (yaut sirength i« surii t)
A> much toutid li»Atin({ as your Uuli-h
Obdutau! creatn, \Vhi]« nlow fiubdiiinii down to buiier, 'Km you can be enComrd to muttci How you difltke it, or to utier
A cravea scrDsm !
In shoit, you are as great a slutton In tliumps Ba Johnton inn in mutton. What nJlous annoiir have you [vui on 1
A coat of mail f No, maJt if vhal you periupt ihould wear, i'Of 'til uiimalely thus lo bear Bdoic kickin^i than can br your share.
If you ketp tailte.
A little kickiiiB's v«y w«Jl ;
But whea you mnt to " bear the bell."
And t&ke tnoie kicks Uiao you ean tell,
Tia limtr thai I, Your tender, fervent, faithful f/iend, Should counwl you lo put an ciul To tliii ambiiivfi, and amend
ItUMlly!
PVKCB.
* But aaoM) mm liara Mxmdy •roaibilityeaiNwh to know wlian tb«y am k{dt«i ; •ad oiber^du n.it unilnrstaud dwly what akldtJnit BHajtswheB tbeyaee It sAW- «d. A Tery politi' FraBcbman, OT«f km, wiinMsJng. for lbs fifU \iam, •> an af- fair of Unituur " itt thii wrt. <ra* ntiifhlily pttnlMl as lA iu tn>|k(irt. ** Vu is daa you Aii|[li>ti play wtd," be a»krd il>i> nuthnr, •* vn« one gvntllbnnune tak« anoder iio tcmtilhonune by de cidUr vi liii n?«t, snd be von'i let bbn -, and den de oo* ^ntilhinnaiie hit ile odor no KeatiUMMntnt? rery liani hehliwl rid bis fonu till be sav * D— n ill' anil ron away ; and den do iceoulhomnie jxila iluwn liJi fooli. and call a/ier de oder veniilhomine d«t ran away to Hop a bit nnd beta Harip more, rikI he ma't }" " That is a kicking. Motiaioari" «'»■ ibe autbor't reply ; but Moiuicur, my friend, did not uudemand it tban.
8 If
4r>«
POK'l'RAIT GALLERY— No. VI. THE CANNONS' ADVENTUBtS IN BOULOGNE.
Whkn formerly vegetating M Wick Ilfcll, Mrs. Cannun and tlic MisMTfi Cannon would have been agonUed to their fingers* eiida had the old gt'ntlcmun or one of tlR'ir brothers fruffered from a mere whitlow; yet. now their natural gtutrdinni) and protecturi^ were in peri] of their lives; the lailif.') were — Da not rnm|M;l mc to relate it — let it remafn in Eitencc. Tht- Misses Cunnoii arc spinsters, and I inipht miir iheir )>rue|icct» in ihc tuatrimouiul hurizou ; yet, aa a failtiful liisturiun, tlie truth must out. The ladies were firouped before their lookinp-(flflS5oa, preparing to take a itroll upon the Part witli u Frencii cavidier they had met with in the hotel, — a IMonnieur de la Ulai^ue,— an amiable, interesting young raan, with long Unkf black hair, sliurt curly niustachios, a. fascinHting imptriaic or chin- luck, — in fact, a type of the middle a^es, although he waa but a youth ; hi« net-k bored, to display the whitened* of hia skin, ccintra«ling with his whiskers hke dott on a domino, was not encumhertxl with a bolstering cravat or a stiff stock, but might have ^ivcn a lesson of prudence to the young ladies, by displaying that eminence in the throat of man commonly called Adam's aypte, —no doubt from the very probable tradition that Eve's temptation stuck in our first parent's gulkt. Rut whether Monjiieur Ic Cheva- lier dc la BU(;uc did or did not di-iphiy his thyroid g:laud fur thia moral purpi>se, ur to du the Apollu or the Antinuus, I do nut pre- tend to affirm. He looked interesting — he iro* interesting — as inte- resting US any novel in three volumes post octavo. His language and Ills con ver tuition were also suited to his ap]H>ar.ince. He had interested tliv ladies with u tale <if mittrrv, aiul e\cited both their compufisiun and their generutiity iu the behalf of a sad child of woe, for whose relief he was collecting all the miles he could. The tale of sorrow was as follows: unfortunately it was a fiction \
A poor foreign woman, without friends or money, had impru- dently taken puss^ige on a steamer nt JPover to visit France ; but, bIuh ! she had not taken out a passport ! Atler having been tossed about in all the hurrom uf itea-sickne»>« for six mortal hours, the ODly clothes she had on her b.ick drenclie<l through, she arrived at Bou- logne. Her passport was demanded, — she had nonet »he was loo veracious to !av she had lo.>it what she never had possened. The ^uiiauiera and the }i(Ake were inflexible; tliey would not allow her tn land. In vain she supplicated and entreated — they were callous to her prayers, and she was obliged to remain on board, helpleaa and penniless,— -terms justly and truly synonymous. Thus she had uo other resuuree than tu return to England ; hut there, alas ! (Vesh tribulatiotis awaited her. Her outlandish dress, her unintelligible language, and her gip«y complexion gave her all the apiiearance of a Bohemian wanderer. In vain khe endeavoured tu prove that site had but recently left the shore* of Britain. The custom-officers eworeshe was an alien, and, with the same merciless resolution to ful6l their dutteti, prevented her frnm laiuliug. Thus had she been kept for six week* rolling about Iwtween France aiid England,— tusM^d like a shuttlecock from Dover to Boulogne, and Boulogne lo Dover,— 4iot allowed to set foot on shores and dreaded and abhorre<l
ADVCMl/RES IN BOULOGNE.
io3
' on Imartl, as tlie Eujtcriitilious tailors swore that the wns nn evil gi-ntus, mil* of.MotlHT <.'iiri.*y'B iiiip«, l)w cmiK- of foul wpnlher and runlrary wiiitU, which even the hor»e-ah(if luulctl to their mast could not avert. Without any oth«r nourishment Uuiii whai ocm- sioiial charity afforded, she nl\pn was delighted to Ijcar tlie sailors ta)kii>f{ of hi'uvin^ hrr overlmanl for it witch.
Sudi was the pitiful iil>je<:t fur whteh Alniiitieiir de la Blague wait 'iRiakinjit a clviritiible colk-ction, tmtil an order xliould arrive from PiirLi to l)l>crAte the itiifortnnate victim of international laws. The application was not unavailing ; the pur«eH of at) the Udie» weru un»trung, and each of thorn placed a uapoleon in the handii of the generous atlvocate of mfTering humanity !
This philosophic action was worthy of a reward. The ladies congcnt«l to a promfnoHe. mr ie Port ; and Aln*. Cannon and Misn Lucy Cannon, leaning on the arm uf tlieir new aci|iiaii]taiice. and followed, now in double file, and now in " rank entire," hy the other young ladiefl, the party iti stntely gait proceeded to tlie gteaC centre of attraction.
No Jioraina, or psnoramu. or neorania, or any other rama, enn [display as ^rval a variety of motley j;ro(ip» as the Port of Bou- llogne, more especially when a cargo of fresh importation* arrives. A chain of cuHtomhouse-oificers is formed to separate the new comers from the old utagers, the pure from the impure, the pro- llane from the elect. No quarantine laws in plague or cholera 'could fix a more posilivL- line of fleniamlioii «itd circle of action, — to which all and every IiMinper blocked or rushed with as much avidity as thou^'h the great Mo;!til, or Aome far-famed plcnipo- lentinry, vts\« abiiut lantling. Scmie, recogniited old acipinintsuces, welcome or unwelcome ; utherfi, sought for new ncquaiiitancrs ; mo- thers pushed forward their daughters, in tlic hope of a catch at a first^sight love ; younger ions of younger brothers pushed forward to catch the eye of some lady, who^ splendid peliue or tippet, whcue liveried folluwerit or half-dead page, Wspoke rank or for- tune ; while general prnctitioners joined in the rush to ratch the eye of %nme poor, sickly, yellow, infirm, half-dead traveller, in search of foreign health and five-lVanc doctors, who were ready to roar oot. •• Physic ! physic! physic! — who wants physic! — wn wanta phoe-«ck ?" — in conjunction with the commutumHoiret who were thrutttlng their unwelcome hotel cards in the trembling hands of the painengers bellowing out, " 1 lotel dc I'Europe, — du Xord, — ^des Itains — tlAngleterre." — the last ejaculation sent grafiRg to the ^tars of many, since the iiamc dignified title had been conTcrred upon the town jail.
And then »otne colonist, returned to his friends, would shake liands with diKloeating cordiality, exclaiming, " How do ! — What news? — any el<i|M-inent ? — any ima^h .^■— who 's cleaned out? — who 'a done brown .''—how g<»^i on immortal tcarle f—n\\ right as a trivet t"
" Well, how does Lunnun look?" rrpUed tJie re<<tilent; " gay as ever^" And then a reluctant sigh miglit have been heard.
" [<ondon ! — d— <1 stupid — all the world out of town ; hut a vaU number Inquiring about you, I assure you — liaF lis! bit!"
" Elow are all my firiends?" anxiously asked tax ociilial of ' «]>ectrc with a green f<\Mv\v over his cye«.
" Your frlencls !" replied the utiu-r, in a sinister tone of vt» *' Btiny of them, I asaure you, would be drligtited to <ce you agal
4M
PORTRAIT GALLRRY.
And th«i anothw kind friend sWppeil up tn a fat mallv English- man, who was trutitllin(» alnnp » thin. BjKirp. elderly Udy. ni« worthy apoiisiv jan nrrived in time tu visit their daii^htur at a boartlinfi;- flchool, and with nome hesitation t«ld thinn, " I iim snxic
ixioiiu to prt- pare you for an iinplraiiunC hit of news, my dear Mr. Sluffin."
"Wliiit's the matter? Is Molly sicli— got the ir.ea»le»!- «x- clairaed papa.
'i*he niamnia wa« gilcnt. perhaps from (ome secret forebuding*.
" Xolhtny very particular," replied the kind firiend; " it \* only fcporteil that she jumped out of tJie ichool window."
" And broke her leg ! Oh dear ! oh dear !"
" No, — but broke her Jali in the arm* of Alonslenr Ronfiait, the melodramnttc actrir."
" How kind 1" exclaimed the naother. " The French are eo pet- lite !"
"So Misi Molly thought," rejoined the kind friend; "for ihe hfts remained in hii arms ever sinee."
" Oh, JVfrfl. Muffin '." ejaculated the old citizen, " I told you how 'twould bo! Hut I will have satisfaction! — I'll apply to our am- bflfwadoT '. — Parlijiment shall take it up !"
And n:>w JVIrs. Muffin fell into hysterics in the arms of the rom- missiimnaire of one nf the hotels, -ivhn hod thti<« iict*idenUilly secured her. Hnon a busy crowd of all sortt waa collected round the discwi- gulite foiiple, following thcui iis they proceeded up street, lament- ing their misliaiia, to the great oniUGement uf the French amsteun of Hritish scaniJa't.
" Knfancr lafam'dle des Mouffint ,'" cried one.
" Fameux!" exclaimed aitother.
" {"est potirtant Cadet ftotifiarl, eelm-fS tjvijme hs tifrana danx la petjitnmitnfS qui a fait ce coup In," tittered a third.
The enngrcpiition were now dispersing, and Slonaeiir de U Bla^e and the ladies continued tlicir «alk towards the whhIh. Wm Liijeune France making luve ? Strange to eay, no — at least directly — but he wttf liiunching his amorous skiff on the troubled ocean of intrigue with a side-wind. The conversjition naturally fell upon the danger that the gentlemen were then exposed to; 6ut the B«y cavalier allayed the ladies' apprehensions by repreitentint; his dear friend Le Comte dvs Oripeaux as a very yEgiilium of protection aiiJ •afety.
" The count," he added, " ia one of my ileareat friend*, and I may say that, without exception, he in the ftrari of French noliiUly. Courted by men, sought after by women, he i« justly considered the ttvjuflucfif, the whooping-cough of the ladies, and the terror nf hia rivals. Already has he refuoed the band of the most di-iiin- (Tuished beauties, — beauties who have driven all Pnri« to despair! He has unfortuijatelr one fault — such, at least, it is conHdered by Frenchmen, though I am far from agreeing with them. He fanriea that hia countrywomen arc coquettes, — all made up like oar dishes ; whereas he deUghta in your KngHsh ladies, which, like your cook- ing, is all av nalurei ; — and be therefore haa sworn on his sword and his crosi of honour, that an English girl alone can make him bappr* Fortune he desipises, At the death of an uncle, the Marquis ae Saiisterre, be will be a niiUioanaire ; but all the treasure that he c<n'rla it a lovely Anglairr, with tranii|iarnit skiii, that allows the hue of
i
ADVENTIHIES IN BODLOGNB.
453
K tiniid blush to carnation her cheelt, whose blue cyeKtJnduM en amandes, ' sptit like ui almond,' (he added, by way of translation*) boptak their national timidity, cuiubined with rumantic love."
All Uiix wiut i-xprvsst^d in broken EnKliHh, which made the hatid- ■ome caviiUer still mure interestin^r, n» Indief are ever prompted by their natural good nature to nisiiit tho!ie who ihkv ^nn difficulty in their Iant;uage ; a. reeiprotal feeling which the trench most fully appreciate- Oh ! how the hearts of nil the iadie* were beating and pNlpitating I A doctor with a Ktetho)(C<ijK- would instantly have discovered Cupid dancing and waltzing jii their boMHn*. But Slon- aieur tie I* Blague's looks were fixed upon Lucy t^nnon's golden ringlets and axnre eyes, which corresponde<) with his enthuhiantic DOtkntii of English l>cauty, — though now and then he atolc back a look for her mother, — who^e right arm he occasionally prcsMd ■gainst hia side, while Lucy's hand he ever and anon drew gcntlv and cautiously upon what nnatomi!<t« call his rardinc region, i. r. Alt heart, which, by dint of keeping in hi.i brenth and accelerating hit renpiration, he *et going like the pendulum of a clock.
ThU delightful conversation was unfortunately interrupted by a busy throng gathering like a snow-ball round one of Ikmlcvno's newsmongerE, who, out of breath, ant] wipine thu dew-drops oJT his brow, was communicating tu the anxJuus tliroiig sume iraportatit intelligence. Mts. Cannon, whose presentiments seemed to anltci- pate evil, trembled from head to foot. Lucy accom]}anied her, and all the younti ladies exclaimed, "Dear, tr^U can the ftttittrr be !" a» they hurried towards the crowd, when their ears, pricked up tn ajiKJouit expectation, heard the following astounding sentences.
"Yes; the old gentleman dlMrovered the intrigue, and, like « prime old cock, he called out the fellow,"
This the Indies thought alluded to Mr. Muffin ; but, alas I tbey were soon undeoeive<l.
" The parties went out — they fired — the old gentleman fell mor- tally wounded through the abdomen. Hui son, a brave lad, in- stantly rushed forward and shot the Frenchman's head off. Th* |M>ltcc and the gendarmes interfered ; the young gentleman's brother and their servant fired upon them ; two gendarmes were killed, and four wounded ; and the whole boil of them «re coming into town, stretched upon doom and window-shutters."
In a moment the group dispersed. (Jentle reader, if you hav« ever sctm truant urchins breaking up school, or a mob dispersed by policemen's staves, or u hue-and-cry aAer u pickixK'ket, or a scam- licring before a goaded bullock, or a race on the tulltng of a nuddi-n shower, or a run from breaking ice on the frozen Ser]>entine. or a devil- take-thc-htndmost to see a man hanged, or a hcller'Skelter to bebokl the Sovereign openiiifi Parliament, or — or — what more can I ■ay ? — you may imagine the Brttifli population uf B^mlogne running pell-mell to see the casiialtitt of an amorous intrigue brought in upon a door, dead or dying.
M. de la Dlaguc hurrietl on the ladies, as promptly as their fal- tering steps could take ttiem, to the sci-nc of dismay and uproar. For, although until this moment the eloquence of their companion had made them forget husband, father, and brother, the horrors of their aituation was now exaggerate<l to a cenlifold degree at this fou^l intelligence.
'156
PORTRAIT CALLER V.
Aliu ! I feel that ray mode of relating these events may have add* «1 to the mischief ; fur, while I have been conducting my render in the hasy port, ami dwelling on idle chiuchnt, I left my conibntAtiti bleeding on the field, nerhiipB to death, or to a syncope I
We have aeen that \n the diselurge uf ('ornelius Caitnon and bis antagonist's pistols, Air. Cuinm<Klii» Csiinuii ojid Cornelius rif-a-vu hnd fallen. How was thlti? Cumtuuduti had received a gun-sbvl wound in liia gtriftrus ma^imiit, a& the surgeoiu call it : uid M. de I la Bii&tringue hud a few uf hiit citrtHjt bone^^pruhably p-'U't of some ' pietactirpfil une« — bluwn away. That 's no answer. How was this ? I'll tell you. It may he recollected thjt the French saj>rttr, indif;> nant at tne sristocratic bonst of Cornelius regarding his " Egg'»," hiid proudly loaded hi« own rusty weapon, and chared it with the name unpetiio»ty »« he verhiilly dimchar^ed hia -wrath; deeming that
Sawder, like words, cannot lie too abtindant in av<.'nging wrongs as ire as thotie he h.id received. Now, under the influence of unruly passion it U as difficult to restrain tlie current of language as that of a powder-horn ; and, while the enraged Frenchman wa6 expending his vocabulnry, he wait loading his pit^tol beyond all " proof" or prudence- The con«iequence was that the Ivarrel parted company with it« stock, hut with such reluctance that it Hew into various and sundry l'ni):meniH and bpUnttTi,, w hich Hew into vurluue and feuudry purliunii of iKe bodies of tiie contending powers.
Nuw all this luight have been coiuidered "fair play," — a jewel which every country should appreciate. This was not the cue iq the present instance- The Frenchman having roared out that he was auasiinated, fortliwith rolled upon the grass, twisting and writlting like nn eel! and the gendarmes, who had hurried to the spot, on seeing tUeir countryman thus ill used, proceeded to apprehend Corne- lius Catinuii, and might possibly have laid violent lundii on his father, only the old gentleman was cutting as many cajvers on the j^round as hi" r^>\'* antagoni*t. Satn Surly would incontinently have bfought his blunderbusb into play to atrttle matter;), had he not been also taken up oa a ftertttrhateur ti cotnpfke of a base murder. In the midht of this horrible confusion, trie gendarmes, accustomed in former wars to bear ufl* wounded, and w itkhing to return to Bonl<^;:ne in a picturesque manner^ hud unhinged the doors of a neighbouring cottage, despite the loud remonstranced of ill proprietors, who were silenced by the authoritative words, " Pesptct atix I^is el a la \ farce arm^e f" for, although they might not have cared a button for tlie lir«t part of the injunction, they knew better than to dispute the latter argument ; and the wounded Krcnchnian and Commodus Cunnon being pru|)erly and conifurtably strt-tched upon the said doors, borne by various volunteer;), were carrie<l into Uoulognc, ac- companied by a numerous and variegated cortege, preceded by Cur- iiey Cannon, duly led a prisoner, guarded by four gendarmes with drawn Mwords.
t'oHuiiodus was thus carried to bis hotel. Corncy to prison, and the wounded Frenchman to the hospital.
Scarcely had the old gentlrmmi been put to bed by his disconso- late i'limily, whom the Couitedes()ri|ic-au.\ and the I'hevalivr de la i Blague etuleavoured to console by all uuseible means, when the •eOHimiiaaire de poUcf, attended by the ffrrffier, and on nffkicr tie aoMlf, arrived lu draw uut ti j^ioci* terixi/. \Vhtn the.kdies beheld ihJl
ADVENTURES IN BOULOGNE.
457
public functionary, with his white null and vnormous ccKked hat, 'eBcorted by four »crje»nM, they fancied thai he was at least the pub- llic execLitinncr.
The oRictal commenced opcrationa by informing old Cannon, that
rwhen stran^crR thought propiT to vi«it foreign cMuntriew they be-
1 came subject to the laws of the land ; and he added, thnt metsieurt
[Its Anghtis were a moat lawless RPt of people. lie then drew out
twritinj} materials, mid ordered tlie surgeon to report professionnlly
\fn\ tlic nutute of Le Sif^ir fltf Cannons wound, and the itffider »4f
[jarajlc procee<]ed fonhwilh to probe the same, malgri the atrociouft
rin^ of the pnticnt, the lametitationn of the Indies, the curses of
lis tiona, and the expustuUtiuus of their Freucli friendx.
After half an hour's ])uking it was decided that /^ Sieur dct Can^
\norui had received a gun-shot wound by rictxhct, that had Uccrated
[the integuiiieni«. unci injured the ght<ttu muximus, witliin three
J fingers ul" its tendinous and aponeurotic inncrtion in Uic o* Kicnim,
faniT the ({fficier de Mute was further of opinion tiiat the &.iid wound
liad been iutlicied by some firc-iirra, to the which tiie aforesaid Sieur
des Cannons had In all prob^bditv- turned his back iiutead of his
1 liront ; a», in the latter case, by the direction of the nroieetile, instead
Xpi wounding the (jluttrtit tiMJ-itaus, it would in all hkelihoud have
njured tJie Sieur des Cannons' y^wAw.
Tills wise conclusion hnving been delivered stcundum artem, the
tiConiiiiisiuiire dictated hiv/^rrxrjtr^rAn/ nearly in the following terms: —
" Attrwlu qut ie Strnr Camtiunle fin Cunntw-g, ^nUiJtoniiHe, iiatifdc
AindrtB, AitglehrTfjUeiMtrtrmeHt de Vcsutiiiffrr, t\itl most grievously and
PWanlonly insult and outrage Le Mieur de fa lia^inttyue, dit Lti TuHf/fie,
liiitaire, by pulHng his beard, and endeavouring to deffrotle hitii by
heoie defait in every possible manner ; that, instead of giving the Mtid
\tnititaire the satifuctJon of a brare, he had deputed hia son to meet
lim, with a destructive weapon of foreign manufacture, bearing the
foutwaid appearance of a piittol, but being in reality a fire-nrm of a
IDust diabolical nature, loaded with innumerable balls, bullets, slogs,
And pellets, whereby the said Sieur de la Bastringue had bad nis
cartMjf and Mtlaatrpal bones singly and severally shattered, battered,
and blown off; thereby incapacitating him for evermore from serving
tile state in the capacity of a soldier, or earning a livelihood by the
Kerciae of his former profeflsinn of cirfi'ife fn chrreux. And, atlt^ndu
ipie the suid Le naittringue having received this dp*|)erate injury at
the very moment he wan pulling the trigger of his pistol, the weapon
being struck, took a wronc direction, and the ball muot have hit a
ane, or a tree, or some other bard and resisling Btibstanre, whence
had been rertecunl by rintc/iet, to the injury of the said Irf; Sieur
^omnHMle du Cannon's gluteus mujimux, within two fingers of ita
tendinous inncrtion in the os urtrnim ; but. vu, that the Hud Sieur
Cannon, and his son, Coniey Cannon, pleaded ignorance of tbe five
cotles, it was reromiuended that this alTair might be Mittled witliuut
reference to the Inbuiiul de jx^irt correctionnfUe ; for the which it was
necessary, yrimo d'a/f</r*i, that l/cs Sieurs Cannon, yxre ei fit*, shouUl
procure a substitute fur the said Sieur de la Baslringue. Swundo
eHtvile, that uftcHtion alimentuire ahould be settled upon him durine
bis natural life, but transmissible to his heirs natural or unnatuiw.
Tertio iiftrvi, that all the expenses incurred by the •iirgical trratincnt
of the wounds received by the said f>icur de Biutringue, should be
458
TUB PORTRAIT GALLEBV.
defray^tl by M«t«]cur8 Cannon, pert et^. And, qvarta enjin, thit all costs "f proceedings shuU be aImo borne by them."
In vxin wa!ii[repre!i«nted that LeSieiir de Bn^tringue had blown otrhiHOwn fingers, — that old Cannon had been wounded by a splinter of hU pJBtol— that the piatol of Cannon _/fi* was a lawful and pro|«T ■weapon. The eommissaire replied, that if the matter went before the tribunauT, the parties would in all 1ike1ihof>d be sentenced to the " Trftvaux forces a perpctfiit6," or hard labour for life; as, in nddi- lion to the said offtnccs, the said Sicur Cannon /wre had been guilty of an attentat eonirt Its bonnes nHmm, by appearing in the yard of hts hotel in a cnstume inde^tnl. Vu ijh'U ^latt en ehemite, et attatdu qu€, the hotel gate having been thrown open, the etmr became a vae pfibliqnc ; and he further added that he would forego further pro- ceedings, taking into consideration the circuni,<itance of llic oSenuiog parties being foreigners, whom it was tlie wish of the French go- vernroentto treat with the utmost ho^Tiitality and favour, bearing in view at the same time the interestij and protection of a Pren^ citixen. Slcpsicuri dcs Onpeaux and Da la Blague ventured to expostu- late ; but the commiiiiKairc, with a most significimt wink, told them that it would be mure wise in them to mind their own alfaire. However, they took the ofticial aside, and soon after returned, in- forming i!dr. Cannon that for five hundred franc* the whole matter might l>e arrangi'd ; and this amic-ihSe atljustmcnt, which tliey strongly recommended, terminated this mighty affair. In the evening Corneliiit ioini'd the family at a merry »upi«T, during which their new French ncqiiaintances were actually (in the eyes of the Lmdirs At least) coruscations of wit
It has been observed that misfortunes and adventures are like showers, and that it never rains but it i>ourii ; such lecmed to be the destinies of our peregrinators. Moreover, it haa been remarked bjr learned philosophers that climate has a singular influence on thie moral and the physical characteristics of men and nations; and that, under various circumstances, longitude will prompt people to assume a greater latitude in their behaviour. The ingenious Mon- tesqnieu, in his disquisitions on this head, haa unfortuiuuety fallen somewhat short in his lUusirationH to prove that we are the crea- tures of cliinme. Had he lived ut Boulogne-aur-AIer, in the pre- sent ngc, be might hnve witnessed various proofs of the correctnese of his doctrine. For its atmosphere, like that of Paplios, most un- questionably IK favournble to amorous emotions ; nay, capable of inspiring the most frigid and rigid nncboritc witli melting feelings. Some physiologixtn have endeavoured to attribute these circum- atarces to the keeime-ti of the air, to the use of finh, which occa- sion» weak si^rht ;tnd impaired di^jt-xtion, and consequent optical delusions, in which the patient nometimes takes another man's wile for his own. Ilowbeit, this investigation is foreign to the busincM of this veracious history.
Sam Surly was a man, who, when in his native country, waa a perfect strjinger to the tender passion. If ever this morbid state of vision visited him, it was in regard to horses, but never when in presence of the fairaei ; although for various motives, which we have nu business to inquire into, he did oecnsionally pay much at- tention to Sukey Simper; whom, an the reader may recollect, be hid kindly wrapped up in n blanket, aud carried off in safety, when the alarm of fire di<turiK*d the hotel.
4 I
4
ADVBNTURBS IN DOULOONE.
459
I
I
I
low far this freltng m-s» or was not loundml on love, platonic friemlAhip, or wliM is c&lird fupho«r<) affrrtion, i« Agun a matter forfifin to the purptwiv. However, for the fir«t time perhaps in hix life, he now felt an inclination to perpetrate nii inlitlelity.
There lo();fe<l in the nanie hotel a sickly Utiy, with lier hnxhand, ■who were attended hy a buxnm laas from Normandy, whnne silrer- tissue grenadier cap greatly enhanced natural beautiea that had smit* ten our YorkHhireman. Marian was truly a handsome wenrh. By no metns of a romantic disposition, she had a joke and a slap for every merry inniAte of the house ; and as possibly she fancictl there might be siome variety with forei^ers, she by no means discoun- tenanced the pantomimic advances of >Ham ; who, as far no gestures. and a few Woken words of French went, endeavoured, chough 9oniewhat rudclv, to express his growing aflcciion. This amour afforded no ismall -thare of amuH^mcnt to Marian and the French servants, although it might have been le^s entertaining to Sukcy Sira- per, hnd she not, perhaps in a moment of pettiith jealousy, encou- raged the addresses of a green-coated nnd green- feathered German c&axxeur.
Wise folks carry on love in n discreet manner, bat wise folks contrive to make each other well understood. This was not an easy matter with Sam and Al;irian ; and it wan in con«e<|«ence nf a sad raiaund era tending that the whole hotel was once more thrown Into a horrible upronr, more terrific, if possible, than the iailjrams of the beard.
51. de U Blnguc was assisting the fond v\ew» of M. des Ori- peaux ; and the comte rendering him a recipwK-al service with the Indies by detailing wondrous feats of counige that would have done honour to Amadi«i, Kolanit, and Trislani, in days of ehivalric glo- rtet, eat-h pretending to be " quite baahfu) ** at hearing his immortal exploits detailed ; and their warlike stories were of course followed by troubiidour romances, in which the minstrels fondly dwelt on the tender rhymca of r»V, nmic, amours, tor/Jottrit^ nfisemf, fxijteitce, supplier iind delicc, when the party were init-rrupted by the moat polyglot row that could ever have broken outamongsit the hod-bearers of Bahcl's lower ; the vocal sounds Iwinc accompanied by the loud time-keeping of desperate blows, inflicted by some strange^snunding weapon of offence or deOnct. The porty stjirted up with terror, when Sam Surly rushed in, roAring murder, and purciied by n spectre en chemue, with a red night-cap on liis head. wielding a warming-pan, wiili which he unmercifully battered .Sam'a head, while he fervently roared out, " Pommv cnile — pmiimrctUtt" AHglici — roast apples — roast apples !
A host of servants and travellers were following the comlratdnta ; it cannot l>e supposed that a Vorkkhirenian would tamely sulmiit to such a treatment ; ami to e»ch blow of the brass we.ipon, RAtn returned a trallup of a pewter vessel, which he whirled and twirled about with singular agility and effect ; since, if blood was rtreatn- ing from his skuU, his antagonist's nose and mouth were ponring forth a congenial and sympathetic purple stream, interrupting the wards " Vamiaf culte — pomme cuUc !" With much difficulty the lrellig(>rents were separated. The Frenchman being naturally taken for a maniiR-, as no one prcwnt could ancociate the idea of bitking appltfl with breaking a nuui's head with a warming>pu».
A appltfl 1
460
THE PORTRAIT GALL&RT.
Yet wc should iif VLT be- priTipitalt- in forming cnnduMoiH : tlieru may be tcueuns in ruuNliiif;; uppk-t' as well aii in rousting p^^ ; and i'urllier expiniiiiliyii* unU'red liilo by \he parlies, afliirdpd proofs of tlie canity ol him i>f the warii)in);-]ian. The I'ict was aa follofrfi.
The dcene of Sjim'ii amorous declaration to the maid Mariati wu the kitchen, when surrounded bv the uhurI k''*"'P 'hat coitgrvgaln around tin* Mivoury lienrth, revolving in tlieir minds future gairtra- timiiic enjoynienU an the hfiivy-Uden ^ptt turned roond, and lickin, their lips a* thp cook or the #ctiUion btiHteit the wid browning ji>iDV (lippinj; his hidlc in the leche-fritc, or dripping-pan, Sum's conver- sation and iMarinn'fl merriment became the Miui-ce of much hilarity, occasioned by his con'«tant mi&uppliCAtion of the moKCuline and femi- nine nrticlcit, htuI various othtT misCakc!). Sam on those occaaions would look volume.^ nC wrath,— an encychmcdia of indignation, and most probably wouhl have used more sinking ar/itimenta, but for tUcguud humour of his rustic belle. At last an opportune moment ujfered : he met Marian uloni* on the Ktair«. He gave her a »itver thimble ; — she accepted it. lie gave litr a kiss; ahe could not de- cently return it, although the f^iftmighi have been uunclcome. At Ijwt he asked for a remlezvous, where uninterrupted he might declare his passion. He told her he loved herjitrt btuHaiup, aud went »u far an to propose a »upper in her room when all werea»leep. which he ex]ire»<Hd by iayiiifj his \wai\ on the palm of his hand, and •noring an loiiilly as an upoplectic- Then with a deep sigh he »aid, *' Vuii>, — inofilrt Z'luni, rhtimbrt ;" then again he snoreij, and then be endeavoured to ank her what »he \iou)d like for supper, «hen A[a- rian told him that ponimrs ciiitci wptp her delight. This intelh- gence rejoiced S,iiii. In tlif. t\rnt place he also liked them, and in the second place he could not have hit upon a treat more ectnto* inical. This matter settled, he once more begged to know her cham- ber, which Marian, in tits of laughter, pointed out.
Sam, as night approached, waa prepjiring for thii momentau« in- terview. He drank more wine thnn usiinl, aided it* effects with a few glasses of brandy, purchased the (ineiit apples he could procure, ruhlieil them, and polished them with his coat-Meeve again and again, fumlly CDmpnnng the blushing iVuit to Marian's rosy cheek ; and tlieii he pricked them with a skewer, opprehcnKivc tlwt a steel fork might spoil their llavour ; and tlten he put them before tlie fire, a tittle corner of which he cUimed in so determined a luanuur. that no one seemed disposed to dispute its posses^ioii. And a!^ the apples cracked, and friezled, and spat their foamy juices, and he turned them Httd returned them, blowing off the ashes, white his heart was glowing willi »s keen a lire, he anxiou«ly waited for the hour of twelve, tlie appointed moment, when, as he had antict{>ated, the kitchen inmates dropped off one by one, leaving him in the sol* enjoyment of fireside and apples.
And now the apples were done, pOBSiWy « little too brown, and, with a heart beating with anxious expectation, he took in haiid th« apple-roaater, and proceeded to the rrttdfifottji.
But who could nave thought that so simple a girl a* Marian.-Hi Norman peasant, — could have been as deeply verted in the science or the art nf roybtification as any Parisian or London coquette ! lliat she coidd have returned the impassioned rxpre5.sions of a plain honest Yorkfrhireman, which, however deficient thry might have
4 4
4
^URES IX
461'
I
I I
k
heen in gruDBUr, w*rtr pcrfeclly intelligiblp in spirit, — by the bn»r«t, the vilett tmcti«rj-, *ni\, hI\vt entatitcling him in hrr wiles, seek Ut entrap him in a mt»l fc-hrM toil • It can ticuro^ly ''^ cre- (tiled — but siirh wa» t)ie fart — thiil inHtend of her nwn ohanilwr, *he haj dirt-ctcd the nnliicky Sam to the ronm in which her sick mi«- tress and her irascible master slept. Sam well remembered the si- tuation and number. The accident of the heard had warned him. Alnrian toht him the door would be on the latch.
Sam Surly ascended with stealthy steps, his shoes off, on tip-toe, holding hiH brenth, for fear of a discovery ; hin pinitig-hot apples in band. He urrivcd at tJic door: with a gentle motion it opened — nil was silent. A niKht-lainu whh emitting a feeble light, by which he perceived a curtained bed, the drapery half drawn aside. With a fluttering heart he approached the couch — be heard a gentle muaii. "Is it pocsible," thought he, " that at a moment like this she can sleep !" lie beheld her fii«t on her pillow : — he would have awak- ened her with a ki»», but he thought the announcement of supper would be quite as efTectuol, and he whi>ipered in her ear, in tone* an amorous as a man accustomed to converse with hordes and kitchen- m«ids Could maitter,
" P€>ni tptil, pom f/U't, pom tpiU .'"
The voice must have been ascending in the scale, for the lart pom quit awoke the ulecpiiig laily, who gave a toml shriek, which was followed by the imprecation of a stentorian voice, " Au voieurf an voteur f"
The terrified lover inntinctivcly thrust the baked applea in tlie fiici* of the affriglited lady, wliase husband, who had been lying by her side, now jiimi>ed out of bed, and seized the first instrument oH re- venge he could liiid, a warming-pan, while Sam, foreseeing danger, grasped a pewter vessel which he rtiimbled over, and commeuced his retreat, closely pursued by the indignant Frenchman.
Lnughfiblc as the adventure wsa, nothing could appease the furious husltand ; he foamed and d,inced almut the room, exclaiming that a tc^lerat, a vile ravitteur, bod hrokeii through the iduml>er<i of his b^Oime, al\er taking a /M>/if7H rotmaitte and auodirtr ; that to oBer roasted apples to a woman of her fomIiIwh was to take her for aj'cmme t/r mauvauc i;iV,
In vain his countrymen represented to him that it was a mistake, retjuested him to return to his lohoHur, an he was nm in a mije (/A emle, being en chtmixe, and tAat, moreover, of short dimensions, and torn to ribands in the fray. Scarcely could four pertums restrain him from milking what he allied a heattombe and a caUtnmtbc of Sam, who, squaring himself for a regular set-to. woa exclaiming, " If yuu 've the pluck of a man about you, you blooily-minded foreigner, come on. Come on, you d — d parlcy-voo, — come on, and 1 '11 sarre you out !"
But what irritateil tlie poor fellow more than the blows he had re- ceived wait the *i(rlit of Marian at tliedoor, her arms a-kimbo, and in fits of loud laughter, in which every one joined, with tlw exception of the parties immefliatcly concerned, while the sick luly iip-stairs bad rushed to the window, alnnning the whole town with tihrieka and yells after inos mari — meat ptiit — utom pam^rc hammf—an rolatr I
rf r OS tn 3 UH.
ilar fmnrrf hommr nt last was persuaded to witlidraw, Sam bim*
THE rOftntAIT GALLBflT.
nAtnc tbe Uud of hi» bushy bewl, vuuld not help ■S the aSvcnturr, klthoqgb he was ofU-a irriuted at tlir rf Pamame Cmir, wliidi erer after rtock to hira.
^B t*^ *!■«** fMor Air. CimwiwIm Csuiiuo, wbo, as Solotntm e«MiT Mid, «mt Dot able to " UKey9Mr-wn% for a week," v^u lurniiii: ^ti mmdimg m fak bed, while hU busy tbougbtt were in a «iniilau- fesiai^aBad. He mold now and tibaifi|^ heavily, am) think at Vkk Ha and oompaf* tbr opprcHivc bwt of Kn^'lnml with thoM ^ Ac bad of fivedea whidi be dow had ristted, while daily, nay. Wairiv ifc ■laiiili upon his pur»e, wfaidi nccenitated constant draltj ^M n bsikrr, tnovimwa him that a PreBch hotel is as expensive i» a ttaaly as any English establUfament of the kind, without nny ^it» ociiiifi>rta}iIe enjoymenta. In Shro[Mliirc he had been EOme- tlai^, ahhoogh lately eclipsed by a brighter and more attractive ttm- What «u he in Fntnce ? Less than nothing, in a land where i^tMngnfM alone is sought after, lie would wilUnglT have re> ttwed nb steps, but, like many other pereoni wbo ilo tooUth things, ka was ashamed to avow hiii folly.
Sadk were not the fediiijcs of the ladie*. They were encliantcd with their new ucquaJHtaiices. wlio gave tlictu Icicons iik French, romaace, singing, aud guitar, and t-carii playing. It may be easily ■nnitcd that our two eAemiifn had alri-ady selected two of the jroaiig ladies, under the impre^Biou (|)iTha(j<i) of tiieir being entitled la a bandaome fortune. The Couite dea Uripeaux not only trusted IB Ms gcKKl luck, but toued up vilh his companion for the first at- tempt to M>curi> the (rirl'n aflvctions. Tho die was in his favour, and he act to work the following momitig.
He propoHcil to lake a ride with Alolly Cannon, to which sheasseut- ed, w bile Lucy accepted, a aimlliir ofler from M- dv U Blague. They were to procure home:*. A dealer of tlieir acqv:aintaJii:e was upplied to, and a conNultation waa held, wlicn it ur« deciiletl tliMt Mit» Molly fhould be accommodatt^ with u stumbling animal, which, although he might keep his lej^ at a Kallu)>, was kure to come down at a trot. The following niurning tlie |Hirty set out. Whether it was that Molly Cannon rnde tolerably well, or held her miserable jade tight in liand, the hea£t tpmitd not come down. But Dcs Oripeaux perceived that. accuHtorocd to welLtrained horses, it was necessary to try her iikill on a kicking Uosinante; and therefore, under nre- trnce of tightening a. girth and settling n crupper, he did soroenow or other contrive to put the animal under the absolute iicce&sity of kicking ad libitum. The strata^^em liad the dejurt'd cffL-ct ; tlte galled ttea&t begtin wincing and sntHting, and iinatly plnyed so many pranks, that a rough-rider would have found it dinicult to keep bis teat. Molly roared, the horEC snorted, and at last set off at the top of bis speed, until horse and rider rolled in a ditch. The Count, galloped .-ifter them ; and having Eucceedcd in seizing Molly Can- non's reins, tumblrd oiT hiu own horse after her, accidentalltj bitting his howl »gain»t a stoue, and covering his tcrrifie<l companion with hit generous blood *» he rolled over her, while AI. De lu Blague «U »Bai»ling them off the ground, exclaiming, " Oh, AltnUmtMKlk it vM* ff ■^""''^ '" "''•" -And ko thought Molly Cannon, and M thought Lucy Cannon, who, perceiving that her siHter had only bmn sbn^^b' bruised, wished in her henrt that her horse had played hcq* ihe snmc trick.
I
NUTMnOS F0& NIC1ITINGAI.B8.
46S
Mids Molly '« horse was jjone, the Lord knows wberr. To tp- tum on foot wrb out of the question. A cottage was nigh. McJIy was faintiiiff with fear. Lt- Comt<*, supporting Iter in Ilia mrmn, called HpeaMot, who wn«/o/>^tonin to town as fnstns he coiildfnracnrrix^e, wnile a wink and a five-fnmk piece, which, strictly xpeakini;, wun part of the charitilile donation to the shuttlecock alien, intimated to the bumpkin that he wait to move as slowly aa poMihle. KIim Molly recovered from her fright, beheld the blood flowing frotn the generous Krenchmnn, andj with becoming Kentimentit of ^ympathT. could not help »inking on his tx>«om. when he swore that he should luve been proud to have shed the last drop f>f his vital Btreani to rescue her irom danger.
M, I>e la Blague, who deemed it neccasary to look for the run- away hofbe, endeavoured tu iiersunde Lucy to accompany hira in Chestiarch; but she, from various motives, that 1 shall not presume to question, remained with her sitter.
NUTMEGS FOn NIGUTIXGALES I BY DICK DtancH.
No. I.— SUERIDAN KNOWLtS.
Fiu,, flit up a bumper 1 no twilig^tl, no, no I J^t IiNits, now or never, und pobl«u o'erllow I Apulia cuiuinumls llial me driuk, atid ihe NiiKf A gciiciuu* ii|»nt io gvncruui win«.
TliK loiK uRitrlh iu swtct Call it wliai name you will ; 1 he ri^ht lioiifHl h«it i» an honeit heart atilt ; Can wc find a tnicr lo garnish our l>owlg Tbun SlieriJui, !SheTr]r, or prime Fdildjr Kiiowle* }
The ban], in a bumper ! beWd, lo ihe brim They riM, the yay ipirila of poesy — wliim '. Around av'ry {[lius titt-y a i^iitUnd eatwine, Urspriga from the laurel, und travcs from the vine.
A bunper ! dw hard who, in eloquence bold,
Uf two noble fothers the story has told ;
Whit pangs heave the bosom, what tews dim die eyes,
\^'beD the dBg(;er u sped, and ibo arrow it flies.
The baid, in u bumper ! Is fancy bis dteme f Tis «porli*c ami light as a fiury-Und drenm; l>oes love tune his liarp ? 'tis devoitd and pure ; Or fricndahip ? 'lis that which shall always eDdure.
Ye tmnpleis on libeiiy, tremble ai him ;
His MDj; IS your kiicil, aiMl the slavv'i moniing hymn I
His froliclcivmc humour b buxom and bland.
And briijbt a* tlie goblet 1 Hold iii my ItSiid.
Tbe bard t bcira your ([laises ; a bumper ! a cheer t LoO(t may be lire in i^od fellovrsliip hen. Shame lo tJ)e«. Britain, if ever be roam. To si^ wilh the uranger a (nend and a Itone I
ICVTMECS FOE NICBTrSOALEf.
Gnw be h>» wiMv, wofc «w <■ htt farov ; Cwea « the «MBlk thtf cadRlM ii aew 1
Arf tnrt fan $Md bcBkb M W taili Jwm the htD ;
b fowa hi *t Idt ID b^iad U^ by CoI» 1
B« W ««•> iMwe Whad him Mitfaar PU Knowk* !
Wo. n^HOURS TIIERE AEE TO MEMTIY DEARER.
floan th«re an Co i»eB*rf dearer Ibnihc BUK('*haHdid pctf:
Hoc* &cetio«tH qunicr, qoeenr, 'nam Grtnldi-aoe hMMdft
Nodiiof now an croA ar wroa^ go, Bbn'd «hh such & far'no^ gtie ;
Tbott an pMg'd id cup* of conco, I ia dnaghu of Barieo lie I
AttheGooMsadTbtoiblt.Gntawich, Flceung vatoiu ^ drauns dstnsm I Chormnc Lrdn ! boey d«db ; Wha I thoaght my Lrdu won ;
Wbeo««dra*donluDh9iMl«>imgt, "Offow covrtiBC wtut «thc Qse. if LitfniBgleAoaeeKaugbells* I (she whispered) wed but oae *
Twti I iboaglM ««r wwd BMbor'd Tibbs Timocbets. top of X'efe-Strc«i, tn lore's baiteut afe and aound ; He, bold jotHh, hu bowl'd you oul.'
Tboa, the tacnp ; [. the tankard ; AD my tnp» are now in (juensStrwi, SoUy aigfaing, passing round '. All my sputts ap tb« *po«u
No. Ul.— THAT ROMAN NOSE.
Thzt Roman noae ! that Roman dom ' I walk die streets, ti>a allejra, rows;
Hai robb'd my boaom of reptue ; 1 look at all the Jemi and Joe* ;
For when in sleep my erelKU doKi, And old u>d imtng, and (rintds mid torn, <
II haunts me still, that lloman umc ! Dot cannot find a Roman hOH !
Rclwera two ty«9 as black as sloes 'Hie bright and Bamii^ ruby glows; Thai IComan nose I that Roman nose! And beats tbe biush of damask roae.
Ttwn blevwd he titc day 1 choae That ouaH beauty of my beati's; And when at IasI to heafen I poet, I hope ID spy hb Roman agse!
No. IV.— TELL ME, GENTLE LAURA, WHY.
Tell me, gentle Laura, why. When a drop i» in my eye, 1 could laii^i, and I could cry, I don't know how, I can't tell why?
When my blood flow* hottvr, quicker. Is it love f or is ii liquor f To decide the pi>iut I 'm lolh : One ot t' other 'tis, or both I
Whan my pecpen wink like winkin', After tnymj loU of Jrtnli in.
tiorrly I^nra, nymph dif ine '. Is it Mgu'b mug, or thine!
When my muizy brains becin Like n humming-tof) to spin, And I carry too mudi sail. Are i/mt liummiitg, or (he al« T
Now I know what mnkc4 me queAr* Vou are spruce, and so 's the beer; You are fair; lh« stout is brown ; Thai is upt and / am down !
IG5
I
rONSIDKRED AS ONE OF THE FINE ARTS.
CoMiNJHiTiON (in Literature) U a metaphor prnbnMr Iwrrowed' from the printing-office, and, (as the etynmlogy of the word implies) corijiat!! in the " cnmposin!!," or arranging of certiin inteilec- ttiAl materials, (Imvetl eilher from the mimU of other men, or fVnm n nian'n own — either ahxtnicteil by the memory, or separatetl by the scisnorK. Buokcr»i*t, therefore, iii to n certain extent to be ennsidered an one of the manual arts ; and the productive InditRtry of the country during the last half century, in tJiu article of boahii, has probably no parallel, except in the article of cotton goods. An extmordinary iiujietus has recently been given to the book manu- facture, l>y the larK<^ consumption of that class of goods denomi- nated " Penny Publicationti," which are got up with little labour, made of old and coarse materialti, and have a rapid and estendva. Mie, producing a quick return of the nnall capital employed.
The object of the following pAgeA i.t to render bnok-iniiking ea: to the meanent capacity ; to lay down Mich rules and prim-iples the art, as will increase the productive industry of a numerous, and somewhat despised class of men — a class that (with the exception of the hnnd'lanin weavers) mav be tonitidered as the most indu^ Iriouji niul ill-pniil of (he worknig claswK — 1 mean the journeymen book-maker*; and I tru!<t that the prment CAsiiy will be thuu;;ht worthy of being reprinted and nrculate<l by the •• Society for the DifTiision ofL'sel'iil Knowledge,"
In the practical consideration of our subject, our attention will be first directed to the miirket : for it will be necessary first to ascertain the eommotlity required, and then the best and cheapest mode of producing it. |
Now, the home-consamption of modern books ta principally cotk^ fined to the lighter kinds of goods, and, for some years, the run baa been chiefly u|>on pamphlets, travels, novels, and above oU, minia- ture books of science.
The composition of a pamphlet is one of the most simple processes in the art of iKMik-making. I have known an adiuirable [lainphlvt on " Capital Punixhtoentt " " nta<lc" at^er supper out of a tile of " Aforning IJcratds," with no other assistance tlian a few e^jtletives and a pair of scissors ! The recent publication of a valuable work railed the *- Statistical Journal," baa greatly facilitated the " composi- tion ■* of |>amphlets by fiiminhlnp, with tolerable correetnesi, ihoM im- posing rows of figures which form Ml indispcnsafileapartof thestock* tn-lrade of a pamphleteer. The immense number of Parliamentary Reports on various subjects now accessible to the public, furnish also a rich vein uf maUTials for tliix kind of \^ritiug. There is i class of writers that feed almost entirely on this kind of literary ofTal. Some of these {>eutle[iien like their game " /I'gft," and luny be seen cpccasiorially In the manuscript-ruom in the 13ritish Musenin, with their white head* hanging over the «tate parchniciits, like tooth* oi damn garment ! At sunset, these indusLriouo creatures (like btim< ward-bound bees,) return, lailen with the sweets of centuries, their garreu, to toil through the night at tlic work of reproductic
rou lit. 12 K
WG
CONSIDERED
" Wliilitl o'er tlieir hookt i)ieir eym bvgiit to roll, Id plca»iii^ mt^niory of all lh« ilcde, Hovr berc they imped — how tni-n \Ucy plunilvrcd ftiug. And tacked all cj'er, like an induMnotu Itu^; !"
Yniir •' pttii Littralevr" ift indwci, essentially, n benst of prey — he i», tnoreover. a ^(ws feeder, and deridedly omniverouii.
A f^vc mctH])hyncian of this cla&A will occaaionally plunder a thought from Byron'« " Cain," and a hunfjTy dmall-bew poet will somelimca snatch a mouthful fVom the " Philosopher of Mnltnes- bury." I hove known u whig-doctor quiirtly appVopriale a lewlioj; nrticlp from the ■* Stnndanl," and n tory parMni lay violent hjmdg upon a whole rhnpter of Jeremy Ilentliam. It if a^toiuHhiiig how literary materiuU chiitige and improve under the band& uf a skilful workman. The rude old hiack-lc-tter hallad is jwlistied into an elegant modern lyric, and the stern religious tracts of the grim old puritanic, are sul^ened down to the sweet and unctuous manuals of their modern reprffcntatives.
I now come tu tlie bvok of irapch, which may appear, nt UnK sight, to be out of the reach of tJic journeymim book-maker ; but let it be remembered that the luoitt beautiful defecriptioiiii of Italian scenery (those of ilrs, Hdtclitlc) were coiDuosed by a writer who was never in Italy. How great a latitude of (iescri}ttion may be in- dulged in by a writer, who discourses of tlie sources of the Nile and Niger, and the manners and customs of Copt» and .^^thiopijma I Who shall gainsay him if he describe an island in the South 8ea>, ihe male inhabitants of which lie <i-b«-d and drink cawdic at tlie " accouchement" of their wives, and who iii tun«« of dearth piciU their grandfathers to presertt theinsvlves?
As to home tourii, (a» they may be callwl) — ^Trips to Paris, Ram- bles in Spnin, t^xcursionw in Itjily, or Wanderings in Switzerland. these may be " thrown off" in a fortnight «-piece, (by any one con- reraant with the most jiopular modcU) with the help of a guide- book R]id a French vocabulary.
It is not my tnti>ntion to nay much on the composition of " tJi» novel.' The moilcls of this kind nf writing »re an numerous, and yet »o uniform, «mi the nuiterials out of which they may he worked so abundant, as to render any remarks almost unncce**«ry. I would, however, briefly observe in reference to the mnnufacture of wluK \i called the " fashionable novel," that the writer should have an ac- curate and extL-nsive knowledge of the names and dwellingo of fashionable tnulesmi-n. such as pastrycooks, pprfumcrs, CfMchmakers, &c. Sic, and a speaking acquaintance, at leaiit, with the uupce nervanLi at a few great hnnsns. The moHi es'ieiiiial " ointerial' foe this kind of writing is tlie tlialngur, and great care must be taken to observe the nicest proprieties m address i/et»een personr of rank, for nothing is su fatal m the clumsy laying on of tins ytari of the ma- terial, which should only be used with great discrimination, ami at the proper intervaU. A great advantage may be derived by the writer from a severe and critical study uf the " Cuurt Journal," and other rcpositnricfl of fiahionable learning: and he should also stu<ly nature, ticcaaitmidly, frimi tlic pit of tlie Opcrn-llouse, if he has no culrrr to the boxes.
The miniature book of science (which may be considered as one of the moAeTn noveUieft of the trade) is, like the pamphlet, prin-
AS OHB OP THE nMR ARTS.
4g:
dpallj "' vrorhed up" out of nlrl m«t«ria1ii witli the lu^ialnnoe of the ■dasoTi. It is usiutUy publuhed in the catechetical form .irxt in smwll octavo, bound in silk or canvo&s, (but of this hcrcarter) ; and if well done (that is if the titOHglUi without the language of the plundered original be preserved], it hu a rapid and extensive liali:.
1 httve studiounly uvnidnd saying anvtJiing in this rHsuy on the keavivr productiuns uf llie buok-lrade, Wcauw the consumption is M> unall u to render this branch uf the tradu liurdly worth engaging' in, and the little trade there is, is principally confined to Scotlunu. Alison's " Modern Euro|>e*" belongs to this claw ; a work of un- doubted merit, but somewhat too heavy for the market. Little OT nothing " is doing" in poetry beyond song-writing for the Alnga- zines. "Hie piHrtry-market, indeed, appeared to " look up" n few veara since, on the publication of the " Omnipresence of the Deity,** but anddenly " fell" again on the nnblic-ition of " Oxford." It ik now remarkably " dull," and only enlivened by an occasional •' aupply" from the Lake*, or a " spirt" from I*. E. h.
One of the curiosities of modem literature is what are called mnnnsrript sermons. Judgln;; friiiii the nunieroiiM advertisements of Ihiii article, I should imagine there are an many handa employed in Kngland in transcribing the old Uivinen, as there are in 'lurkey in copying the Koran ! I liavo myself seen a copy of ilH- sermons wliich had a cunHiderable run amongst the " hedge-[>iirBons" in Nor- folk mid Lincoln. tUm were "composed" (by n little boy who kee|» a buok-ntoll in Holywell Street,) out of n volume of sermoniau- ilreased to " Charles the First when Prince." The usual fomu of " advertiifini;" are as follows : — " To the clergy — fifty-two MS. aer- mfliiB of a Ute divine, (ailapted to every Sunday in the year), may be had on reasonable tenn» by applying, &c. &c. 8tc." " The widow of a deceased clergyman, D.U., is anxious to dispose of a i|u3n- tity of .US. sermons belonging to her late huiilwuid. The sermons ■re written in ele^.(iit languHge, and are quite kound in doctrine."
But there are other considerations connected with the book-trudc, besides the manufacture uf the commodity, which it may not be out of place to di>iCuM in this essay ; this 1 shall do under the hauls " title," " type," and " binding," " puffing,"* &c.
The title of a book is, undoubtedly, of considerable importance tn itf; KuccCAs. 3Iany a book has fallen still-burn from the preas, soluly from having a had name. Never give a dog,' or a book, a bad lumo — you know the rest. Who do you suppose (unlcM it were some romantic housemaid) wuuld read a book now-a-daye entitled " The Uleeding Nun." " The Knight of the White Bnniier," •• The K|>«ctre Bridegroom," or " Tlie Victim of Si-ntnuenU" Ironginc a raijpous work published under the title ot' " A H«ire of Slilte* for the Low in Christ," or " lientley's Miscellany" edited by ■* Bare- bones" instead of" Ijojt \"
Again, as to type an<t binding. If a pleasant countenance is " a letter of recommendation" in any case, it is doubly ao in the case of a book. It would be a curious and valuable inquiry In the " ttiu tistjcs" of " book-making," to axcertain how many gucceatirul books have been ushered into the world. " hound in silk and gilt-letternl !" lu no case can it be said that " fine feathers make tine birtls" ho truly as in the mystery of bookrral\. Who do yim suppose
'in ^
•OOK-MAKINO CONSIDERED.
IW Biak. of Beksty" (unlns it were MHne love-flisk boy, or - wMMrMfffM" tot the ukc of tlic picture*,) bound in " rough ^llSr ^ 'TW ]>nwu!^.TO(ai Scrap-book" in ahccp-fkiu? You M|r ■» wQ CBpect a Udy la adhaat vuu to )ht boudoir in cor- 4lHPV***dlH*h^*"'>l>»**taflm an' ill-bound or ilUpriDted book WfflA hmt tablaw Vkmk wafcin tmo oAm urglvi-t the " drapery " of iMr *" vonpoikHai,* fren «■ naotdiaMc vamty about the " fipire ;" Wl tiNT ibo«U itnaoabtr iIbi baalt* arc not always ordered to b« HmL b«t (Hke tbe PetitioQ oT iW Glasgow Weavers,) " to /if
TW haC subject to which I wo«Iil call tbe attention of the craft. ia the proct^ of " puffing." Wben a book t* nearly ruady for u«blication, the. " diaceminjj" public n prepared for it by this most \UBportant procen ; tome of the common foniu of which I transcribe thxa memory (for tbe benefit of the trade) not of tbe doily papers.
" We understand that the talented author of haa m the
prcu a mart startling; work of fiction, tbe leading incidents of which are said to be founded on the domestic ckfimuKances of a cvrtain noble family, residing not a hundred miles frwa 8t James's Square." Or thus: —
" Tbe uovcl of , shortly about to be poblisbed, it U said,
will contain chnracter^ that will be recogniwd m certiiin high circlet a» drawn froia the life ; uitd tlist amongst ollwr portraits will be
found tlinve of the once famous Colonel , Lord II O ,
and a celebrated rfirorctV of high rank."
If the book is to be published unonytnously, certain dark hints may be thrown oul, as to its probable author, in mauwr and form following : —
" It is rumoured," in the Clubs, " that the novel of shortly
about to be piibliitbed, is from the pen of a certain noble Lord, hold- ing a high office in the present goverument;" or leu suspiciously, thus: —
" We are authorized to state that the novel of is hoI from
the pen of a certain noble lord, a member of the cabinet."
In laying; down the foregoing rulen und principles of the art of book-makinft, I trust I have contributed in some degree to the stock of " UBeful Knowledge," and in theKe utilit-irian limes my efl'orW will, no doubt, la- duly appreciated. I feel I have by no means done juuice to my Hubjert; but if I have Bucceedeu in merely suggesting the possibility of elevating book-making to the rank and dignity of a science, my end is fully answered ; and i leave it to abjer writers to carry out tbeprinciplt-s I have Ifuddown.
Perhjipt, by ^ipplying the principle of the " division of labour" to this interetiting braiuli of tliv nationnl industry, the next gene- ration may nee book* " coinposed," printed, bound, iuid published, by the hitnda now employed upon a pin, a saddle, or a watch t
P. J. F.
I
i
uss
T H E K A V E N. Bv G. F. W.
IIaxk! hatkt nhut ii iliac doleful (ou»d
Thul 't echoed by Uie woodi atound ?
Ah I 'lis Uial taveu's hullow croik.
As lie niti upon yan witfaer'd oak- It BQunds so drear In the wildemns here.
As though the voice of a dcmoD spoltc t
The raven u a djeaded bird, The olonicst quail when his voice is heard ; For when, 'u» taid, hi« ditrual cry Rends thrLc« the miiquil a2ure *kf,
Ti) tlie token
Surely apc^en lliut ravenuuf dotih ii hov'riD^ nigh.
Tlie childrpn nn the %-il1agv gnen. When his liatml rarro is seai, C«iiM * ttMe ihrir harmluB [AKy, And nuch with ftxt liis winged wny.
I'nlil he '■ *eeEi
In the tky serene. Like a ipeck in the (listaDc« far away.
The timid maiden in alarm Mure tiuiiily clotpi her lover's arm ; The old man, loo, whoM form ippean Bowed and broken down with yews.
Usteiu trilh awe
To ihe taven's caw, Aa though (ho ■ommont of death liv livar*.
The sulTFrer, too, whose i;hastly cheek Dolh the approach of death bt*p«*l(, When this omen tneeti his ear, Slill more pallid lunu with Tear;
I''or ii Mcuii to ny,
•' Prepare to-day ! The ftlrugfile of death i« drawing Dearl"
He Ments the rarpw« of the ftlain That ilivw the gviy battle phiin ; And where dead warriors nMnijkd l>e, The pride and ftowei of chivalry*
Thiltiff will go
This bird of woe To hold his tiornd revelry.
And then again he lovee to be Sitting upon th« gibbat*liw, Where the felon's booea hava hm^ Beaton by winds <utd tempests lonig ;
For dainty food,
Right rich and good. Is the mouldering deih for his gluttonoiu loapie
Dui (hougii tite servant of deatli ha it. The harbtiiifef of miscnea. To lei I th« approach of the Aua) Uuw That lays the very giaal low ;
Not even he
FriMn death {* fne — TImi motutcr spares nd frienl or foe*
SHAK8PEARE PAPKRH. No. Vri.
POLONIUS.
This i* a chara«'ter which few actors like to perrurm. Cuatom cxnct* thnt it niu*t be reprvMiitetl as a comic piirt, and yd it wants the MimuUnt!) which chrer a coinediait. There arc no Mtiiationti or reflections to call forth ]>eal3i of laughter, or even fill thp auilienre with uriLinory merriment. He is pbiyed as a htiRuon ; but tlic text tloes not afibnl the Mljuncti of buffoonery ; and, in or<li>r to supply
zltnl
their place, antic f^esture and p-imucc are resorted to by the puszl irerroriner. It is imUwd no wonder that h« should be puzzledj for lie is ciideavuuriiig to do wluit the author never iiitendea. It wnuld not be mure- impottsiblc — if we be allowetl to fancy degrees of itn- {msttibility — to pcrfurm Uic pant<iTniniir PantAlnon seriously hi ttie nmniier of Kinc Lear, than to make the improuiioii which Shak- Hpeare desired tnat Puloniue should ninkv, if he be exhibited ia the (■tylc'of the dotard of Spanish or Italian cvuiedy, or the ^ganarelle whom Aloliere has borrowed from them. Tliere in some resem- blance in Lord Oglcby ; but we cannot persundp ourwlvea to think that George Colman, cider or younger, could have written any part in Hamlet I doubt not that butli thought their own Coniediei^ far 8unerior.
Polonius is a ceremonious courtier ; and no more ridicule flitachcs to him than whnt attaches to lords of the bt-dcluuiil>er, or chamber> lains, or other f\ivU fumiture of a court in general. It is deemed neceasary that kiiige )>hou)d be hedge<l not only by the divinity of their regal honours, but by the more corporal cntri'iichnient'* of ofRcers of state. In fact it muxt be so; and in every history of the World -we find the»e functionHries, ditii-ring only in name. We know not the internal arrangemrnts of the palaces of the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned any king over the chiUlrrn of Israel ;* but we may be sure that Bela the son of Bear, and Hadad the snn of Bedad, who i^niote Midiuii in the 6eld of Muttb, and Kaul of RchobutJi bv the rirer, and Hadar, whose city was Pan, and whose wife wan Motred. the daughter of Mvzabab, and the other princes of the house of Esau, who appear for a brief moment in the eiirlics.t record of human alTaics in the book of the world* generation, but to die and make wny for others to rrlgn in their nlnxl. had onirtiers around tliem, to whom were allotted dulirN in fnxtiiiiu dilTerent, in spirit the snme as those which wrre periomiftd by the courtly oHiciuls of the Byxantium emperors, Uic togaed eomilcH of the Ctf.-*ftr*i, the ruffled aiwl jtcriwigyid gras de la caur of the Oiaud Monarque, or the gold sticks and silver sticks ol (jiieen Victoria ; — and performed, no doubt, for the &nme reason — for that con-si-de-ra-ti-on, which, whether in tJie shape of flocks and h^rds, or land and beeves, or the more easily managed conuno- dity of shekels and sovereigns, when the aerret of " a circulating medium" was discoveretl, lins ever been the stimulants of tlic general herd attracted lo a courL It would be indeed travelling far
I
I I
• ftoi. ujcvi. ai~ SU.
POLONTUS.
ym llic purpose of these puper* to talk moriOs or polidcs on euch a subject ; but there cad be no harm in raying that, in tiineft of difficulty or danger, vhen " uneasy is the heat) that wears a crown," it i^ not to them it« wearer muU look for zprI or awtstance. Tlic dog toveti the mnRter — the cat Inven the hnime. The nobter nnimal who cuuelit^ not in the dm wing-room, and is not cnrcEsed and puiupvri'd witli oouthiiig and officious hand, but who jtuards the dwellinj;, and folluwe to the field, miiy, if treated with kfndness, be depended npon to the last. He will die at the feet of a maater returning in the twentieth year — will couch upon his grave — will Mfiie his murderer by the throat. The mere domestic crenture, fol- lowing her instinct, will cling to the house through every change of dynasty, ready to welcome with gnitulatiiry purr whatever hand may rub down her flossy cimt, and »upply her with customary food, even if that hand ahouul be re«>kinfr with the blood of the fallen owner of the mansion in which Bhe had l»ecn reared. Bui the cat is not to be blamed. She acts as nature tnnmt her to act; and what nature is to a cat, habit is to a courtier. Nothinj; can be more im- probable than thai the Queen should bother herself— I lalk Hibcr- nically — with reading these p'lperR ; — nothing is more certain than that, if she doca, »he will not l>elieve a word of what 1 am Miyiiig. Yet if she livua to the age of the great lady in whose diiys the creator of Poloniua nourished. — and may she so live, ctiually glorious in her charitcter of Queen, and far "happier in her characti-r of woman ! — she may be inclined to think that I am right, and titnt the profession of etiquette, well calculated as it may be to<li(inii~y the ceremonial of state, ia not to be confounded with the loyally which ins|)ires
" The tnanly hearU to (tuard a Ihrone^" But it is perfectly natural that the profeiisors of the science ithould net a high value upon iu The chamberlain who gave up the mo- narchy as lo8t wheu he saw M. Roland enter the presence of the king with ribbons in his shoes* was perfectly «iucere. It was no
Iiart of his bueim.-«s to inquire farther than what he s:iw K-furc him ; IV liAtl nut to ask into tlw riHuoter causes which gavt^ AI. HiiUnd the eouragr or tlie prrBUuiptJon to viitUte the laws uf court decorum, which the stafT^beiirer had throughout his hfe comtidL-rcd to be as steadfast as the hiws that regulated the motions of the earth, if ' indeed he ever comlesci-nded to think on «uch uncourtly trifles. It is easy to Inngh at this chamberlain ; but he wnii iiub.iUntially right. The Kingdom of the doomed Louin did not depend upon stockings or buckles; but it depended upon the belief thai the person of the king wo^t inviolate, and the breach of decorum was hut the first irten leading to the Hcaffold. The clown, who troubloi not hiini>elf wttli astronomical, nieteurulogical, or chemical studies, knows well that harvest is to follow ftccd-ttiiic, and prognosticates with unerring cer- tainty that the grain which he is scattering in tlie ground is to ripen into a golden ear; so our court functionary, wholiail never dreamt of iNilitical speculations, never Consulted any philoMtphicul obsvrvrrs ^-looketl not beyond the circle of the Tuilleries, and w uuld not |tav«> iindrrstiMid a single word of Mr. Carlyle'a eloquent thcoric I this one grain of (hsrcspcct the coming crop of destructiun.
HoUml tke Jiim witti riUiana in kia ihocs."
vm
SlUKSPKAKE t'APKBS.
nothing of his after histm-y — |>erh«ps In- rmifn^t*^ with atbrr* Wis order ; bitl if he did not nri^iinnllv coTnniit 1 hnt fal w »tcp, — and 1 hi)|)(; lor llic honour of so shrewd an observer that he did not — rfor M'hat had At- to do w iih chivalry fl — I have httle doubt that he fourul hi« fittifif; placo umung the gohl-laced suite of the Eni|x>ror. — wel- comed with welt-iriiined bows the return of Loui-i the Kighteenth, — served (Miarles the Tenth with Appropriate ceremony, — and is, I truat, uuw in hii< old sgc disciis^iti^ the )rlori<-R of the powderMl and rupirrcd circle of Louis QuiiiKe, bcnenlJi the approving smile of Louis I'hiUppe.
or this ratx* was PoloniuK. Let nut the uhstraeted bage ur the smug Riii't-rer iiungine that it u*n« a race ui' f'uoU. In euch courts as those which 8hak»pcare contemplated tbey were fur IVum it indeed. They had been bred in camps and colleges — fPoloniu* had been at the universilv, where in the dramatic entertainments, usual in the ■«aU of learning in Siiaks|ieare's time, he was selected to pertVrm no lew a part than tliat of Julius Cu-uirJ — had acquired the polish t^ courto, if, indeed, uc shouhl not rather say they created il^iuinf^led habitually among the great and the witty, the frmceCul and the vise ; — but, from pt^jietually confininf; themwlve;! to one clan of aociety, and that thv iixut artiflcial of all chiAies, and deeming all other interests depending uiion thflt of their masters, as they saw all other persons bowinp in subMTvience before them, it is no wonder tliftt their world wafi hounded by the precincts of a paUee, and ibtir wisdom or ability exerted, us everylKidya ability or wi»loni is exertefl, to ithinc or thrive by the una which contributed to tnake way in the world wlit-ieiu Uieir lot was cast. Their sphere of courtly duty made them appear to be frivolous ; — it does not fallow thiit they were so in life elsewhere.
This 'distinction i» ailmirabiy kept up in Poloniua. In the pre- M-»ee he U at! ceremony and etitjuettc. lie will not open the buai- m-M of Jlnuilet'* addresses to hii> daughter, while the ambaasadon from Norway arc wailing an audience.
"(live f*nx admittance to (lie hiiiIiii^miIouts, Thy new» shall be die fmit or that great feait-"
Who could be better qualified to introduce them with due honoured 'J'hc king appoints him to the duty at once : —
"Thjsflf tlo gritce lo them, antl brittij ilietn in." lie performs his courtly mission, and waits il» TOncIusioti befotc he (Tommcnces to speak on what concern* his daughter.
"Tliin buiioes* i» well eiidtxl ;" Hid now for a speech.
" My liege, auil madam, lo expostulate ( wW majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night nighl, and tunc is time. Were nothing but lo waste night, day, and time." Tliii is the exordium. Wc now proceed to the propositlu. •* Therefore, since brevity u Uk- s«uI of wit. And tcdiousur»4 iJie limbs bikI oulMutd lloumh». I will he bnef; Vour ncble son is miid."
fhc n»i«Uo ihouU follow ; but a paremliclicul remark cauuol be
K11.0MIJ8.
473
" Mad call 1 iL" You uiubt take it uii m^ aBwrtion—
*' For to derioe true madacM, Whai u 't bui to be DuUiing dK but mail ! But let that GO."
Tile i|ueen agrees with the orator that it might an we)] be let gu, — for she desirvJi '• more matter," with less art. Her chain bcrliiiil, of course, like alt rhetoriciaoa, diaciaims the empluymenl of rlictorical artifice,—
" Madam, 1 swear, I use oo ait at all."
and proceeds to the nnrratio, which is again stopped for a niuiueiit by a trick of the art which he cieniro thiit he in tising. " Ttut be i» hmhI, 'li» Iruc ; 'tiB true, 'li« piljr ;
And pity 'tia, 'tis (rue : a fooliih figure ;
lti)( Rirewdl it, for I -will UM> no art.
Mad let us zrant him llicn : and nnw remalni
lliat we find out Die cauM of (his etr«cl ;
Ut. rather my, ihc ctDie of ihu defect;
Tor (hii efr«C(. defective, comes of rause."
QThe argument i» strictly logical. It being granted that be id mad, we iini»t find ihe cause of what lo^iriAiin cnl! i-fTcct — whicli in cunimuii parlanre, as Applied to the madneMj (if Hamlet, would be CAlird a defect, — we must find it, I say ; because whatever an effect may be, detective or not, it must arise from a cause.]]
" lYiua it remalm, and ihe remainder (hus perpend.* ] have a daughter," &c.
In due ctiur«e of reasoning he exhibits his proofs — Hamlet's verses and letter, and Ophelia's confessions. In equally strict order follows the argument, cotiMsting of an elaborately arranged vnuiucrution of the circumstances attendant on Hamlet's madneu :
" Aod III.-, itpulscd, (a »l)or( tale 1o make) Felt into a sadneis ; thctif e into a fatt ; Tlivcice (0 a wau-lt ; [iitd] (bence iiiio a weakiicaas Thence 'o a lif^htneHs ; and, by (hii declension. Into the madnesi wherein now he ravw, And all we mourn fnr."
Ac this period of the speerh, if it were delivered in the Houae of Cooinions, there would be loud cries of" Hear, hear," and the right hoaourablc gentlenmn would W oblige^l to pause for several luinules. If he were a rising nii-mber, all his friends would come up to con- gratulate him on his success, and the impre&tnon he hod obviously mwie; if an established speaker, the friirndH of hia party would exclaim. " How admirable!" — " I'oloniui surpasses himself to-night" — " Did you ever hear anythint; so fine, so dose, so logical," Sic &c.
H The opposite side would be obliged to look candid, and say that it
B certainly was clever.
H All chat remainn is the |>eroratio. Cheereil by the success of his
H arguments, he proceeds triumphantly in gratnlatioD of liia own
H sagacity.
m - Ti
I
This Use is unnatural. The nrtrt.- wimlrf bt right, aati the tach tt tlw aiyle inurr tit rliuractcr if wa read,
Tliiii It rcin^ini : rmiaiiwlw (hu* iwrjmMl.
474
SHAKSPEARE PAPBaS.
" Ihth ttiere been iucli a time (I 'd fain know that) lliul 1 >i4vi' jKifitivrly K.iiil, 'Pis *u, WlicH il proved iuher«'isi' *"
VSHt king ujrg, " Not tlwl I know " — which i» equivalent " cbeen from the ministerial benches."
"Take tbts Trom Out, if tins be oihenvUv," I^TIiis ia s sample otgcslut. He points to his head and shoulder^
" ircircumtlaiicu Fead i»e, I will tlnil Wbi^rc truth is hif!, though it were hid indeed Wjtliin ilie ceiitic."
The speech is over, complete in al! its parts. There Is scarcely' an orstoricai ligure wliicli is omitted, and it might »ervc as an uDequHllcd nindel for mKny n crack *peech " elsewhere." Who is there that hns not heJird promises of brevity made preludes to tedioiiiiness, and disclatnicrs of art vehicles oF rhetorical Nourish? What figure more used tlian nmpli ficatioii such as that, — ^{irefaced, AS usual in such cjiscs, by a declaration that the tale will be short. ' — in which Polonius employs half a dozen lines to detail thede^ees of the madnenn of Hnmlet? — and what practice more common than pasainnHtc appeals to the pofit conduct of ttie .speaker 06 guarantees for the wisdrim and uprightness of the courM* which on the present oceasiini he is about to pursue? The fipeeeb of PuloniuR translated into Ciceronian Latin would be wortliy ol' Cicero hiinpelf ; — ex* panded into three columns of a newspaper report, would be the topic of conversation tlie i(!ny after its delivery in all the clubs, and the welcome theme of applause ur confutation by the leadtng- article-mnnufacturers of both sides of the question.
Here Polonius was in his character of courtier and privy-CCMin* cillor. He had the e.-ir wf tlie King, and he held it fast. Ilig 3I»> je»ty and his royal consort duly appreciated the merits of the uM orator; but, as ui^ua) in courts, he dot?s not win the e^une favour in the eyes of Ilamlft. The ministers of the existing prince arc sel- dom favourites with his hetr-.ipparent — his immediate Camarilla never. Youth also generally thinks itself wiser than ajje; itnd wa wonder not to find in the next scene that Hamlet treats Polonius its a driveller. The old gentlenuni bears conrteouHly with the ii>civi- litiea of one whom he coiijfidcrs to be either n mere madman or a prankish jcater, and, recurring to the days of his youth. excu»ie« the ])rineeJbr imtulging in feelings which lead tu derangement of iiiens. Even the recollections, however, of the davs when, like bis coiilemponiry tlie gravetiiggcr, " lie did love, (fid love." cannot overcome liim to the degree of confewiing that he was actuollv mad. He suffered much extremity ; but, after all, he was only " very near mndncK!*.""
■ l> itoL (liis dinlft^ii; in lilnnk rene. ? Thi« »peodi of Poloatu* cvrtainJy ja, ^■' Slj'll Imr^iiK uii My liaiifthier 1 Yi?t be knew me not at fim. Uti saiil. I was a Bdnnonger. Be is Kir i;"iir. f^r ptni-; utiH inily. in nijf yoilUi 1 kulfercd ami'h psirwnily for lire*: Very near thii. 1 'II sjwiik to bini nffulii." I raawinciid nil fmnro ediiari of Uamlet to ri'BUiTi- ihu ariginal rradiiig uf pinnap liiniiinlinnlji jirmMling, —
*■ F<ir if ilic (UII brvnf tnitf^uUi in it drad dng, UriiiB a ypwf-itbsiag tarrioa. UaveTmi ailauKbtvr?"
tOLONlUS.
475
When th« plnyers arc inlrodticcd, it U onlr becoming thiit he wild laui sa long known what was tlif mode MhuuiU be their principal critic,— and lus crtticimiis urciii the iiitMt approred style of polite*K.
ill ipiw of Wurburt'in'i Riiniilicvrii cvmiDvnt. wkick, lenrdUw to •luliaton, teu tlM critid on a ievA witti ilio author. •* Tho Illuira putku) ICor]," tKjw tin Uahe^ "•hows UiF ipnlipr l<> be rcaMminf; [rum MiinMhliip be had Mid before * what liiBl vu w«1ieamln [Imm wordn, ' To £« httmH, lu /AU iMfUysM, It to te«M# fidcad 9»t nfl«n lAoatand.' Uaving uid tlii*. Uiu chain vf Mmi Im liitD to rafact upon lb« •rgfiimROt which lib«rtiim briiif; agmiiui Pruvidr.ncv from the dn-tim* aUinr« af abouniiuig toil. In tlic next tpecrh, (liervfurr, tie miJi^iiviHirii tu uaaircr tliM objectiuii, Hiti) vtmUnte Providenre *vvii un a •iipurMitioti o{ tlio fact that al. MNl kU mcH nTff wkknl. His vypmeni m tbe two litim in <iuenioD ii tu ihii MnpOM. But loAy nr^tf uw wtniitr mi Mu afo»Mrf<n^ ^*«Ij9 F>r, t/ M4T ran ar«n< maggalt in a dead dug, icktch titcmgh a gad, ftl thttUiug it* Jltat aad in/lu- MKw N^WM mrrion. Het« be suiya ihort, iMt, ulkictt tuu ninat>qacaii>Ily, tlw benrer ]iiJ(;ht luiipvct liia inadUHa to \m Mgaei, — Bud h> turru Udi off IrotD the uibjKt by iiii|iiiiintf o( hi* <U»ffht«r. Dut th« iiifrrriniv which ho iutriidMl to malw via m ir«y iMtbU enw, and to thia pnrpoao : If lhi> 1 nya ha) tm tha eaa», tbM ih* «ffwct fullow* tW thing vpontad upou [MrWvn], and ujt lb« tUra op»- niinf ^a^odj^wbjr need we wander tbu tlMSupnrocl'auM urall tlilnp rtlBudnf lu lilflaNO^ on inaiikiiHl. whoii a* it vrtrc a d«ad carrioii, dcnd iu original siu, — IMn, iiutmd of a pro|<vr reluni of duiv, iihniild lirooil onlir mmiptinn mid vit'n ? Thu b the arfunieiit at hinpii, and is n imbh) a uit« in nxhalf of pruviJvnce as «ouUl owne fram the ncHooI* of divinity. But Ihb wanderftd nun bud an art not an\j o{ nc<iitaiiit>nK Ll"^ atidiimOB with wbu hi* ncton My. l>ul with wluu tht-y Ikink. The •Piiiitnent, too, it allt^ilirr iti dwractM' : fur Hanilpt 1* |wi'p«-IUAUy mutmlixin^. and hii drcuiniiunnv rnftlio this nrdvctioii v«ry twiunL"
KiiMiy never bf fore or titu-nwiuiaiivpiKirilhlivfl f>anirJp,/«r, prened tODCTform auchhanldnty. If fJaiiilct ludnrit/all tlint bis tbcoltigiual oDmmenUtornMkeahnn think, PoUm^> wvuld bav* let Um down aa mad, bryood all hoM of neonvy ' tuive tifiai ih«ifi:bi, while mdiD( tlui mne, thn h wu s piiy Wulninnn had bM wntiei) s iinninciiliu'y on the pimiliap of ilu> Lunl irf ItaiwL-iil and hu aiit«||pMtiat \wtafm Pautagniel, and 011 tb* judgniMii dtJivernl in lIh' mso liy that rviMiwufii Eiiim. If he duarrered aii ruoy on arifinal HO in ihJa lUatiTOMrtkle^r, he wijhU aMiin^hr hare due up A whole Corfttia TheologicniB in tho law-vgnmmta in KaUilai*. The tic of Xyttleton, wfaidi coawred ao nndi BMkninit tu the mind ot Coke, la not to be ooopuvd with the /or of Warbnnun. He changed tbe nU readii^t " a jTM^kining curion," into **ai*n'kUr{iif nrrion."
11m maaning of the ymtngt ia thia. Hamlet tuspecti tbu Ptdoniui know* of liii lv<r« Cnr Ouhel^ and that he inteitdi ui " Iuom hi> iLiuiibter tu bin." Iln itiam- fan odla uiu a flihmotiger, i. t. a purveytir of looM Sib. 1 1 would not be Wes- •Ua b pegCi which miut (aU into tba hands of the Touag and fair to follow op the aUkiaian. F'lluniio intcrprvta the word litcnJIf, ana ia inatantly aaaiirvd thiit tlie '^—■"pf arc iim tluiutand tu one If be 1* aa bonaat aa the met* Indaanuti nlio tmWt actual fith. I )ie prince. In hi* affectatkn of craalMai, pmeedt M hhit tJiai tba oi>iiM)>|ueoc» of ejtpoaing a yoan^; lady to tba ttnptacioiu at pccaoM bi Ugfa rank or uf wans bUiud may be dangcrwiu, and ooudIm the mitrt aaaertion that tbe uiu can brood tuag^u with a rafecaooe to PoUmnu'a daugbiar. IM h^r not waU in tht fHM. Let her not put henelf la the peculiar danger to wlUcb I allude, and to whii-lt her fkiha*! perfonnliifr A* pan of fttbounfir nay lead. The tun ia a ^•lOMl.kitaiiigcarrMn — [ftaf^px— it it a wntd which tiaewhert oCCTira ia Shabaiwara. t^uii'lily, in the Merry Wives of Wtnd»ar, ia oaBad a oinioa, dco.)— a haggs^ce food u( kiMitif:> In Hvury IV. Priitce Hal cotn^iam iW *un to a fair hot wench in llaine-CDJ<Mired laiTeta ; and if Uie tuu can bread ntagguts in a dead du^t who kuuwa what may happen elMwhcn ?
Then- it a trnubieaoine w(inl in King Ikwt. of which I have norer lean a atlii- fuiory iuiarprcution. In ihe Monn ^ abuatvo epitbeU wklcb Eant pouia u|iaa the aivward, he aUa him " a barber-CMncM." Tbe guenea at tba meaning ar* all inautident. Pcrba|n it abouU read ** bar lw/>nMn(rr,"— that ia, fi*hn»in)tn- in » pecvUar lanae. 1 thraw oat my conjeanro to M njoctad at [ilaiuiire. I m»ft remark, howovvr. that tlioae who are piaaled bytlia meaning of a "bundrMl- IKjiind knave" nvty run! it in RabeUit or Sir TluMitaa Ur^tibari. It la a wi>nl of (vpniadi wldnwrd to ibe heavy pomlnffjuiulrf Uvmaua. it oooirs lu Tlrklle- guu«r'» funiouBaiDry of ihepuf(iMauuaUa»<»niaibeaunpat8todtbolm. Wr Jahn
+7fi
SUAKSPBARt PAPERS.
let iiH
When Ilonilrt speaks bis part of the tragedy, of coure« Pulofil C'imip)imi.-iiu him fur the Kood xccent and good discretion with which he has spoken it. When the plnyrr delivers the reinitinder of the speech, uie critic fintU it too long. R*'b»ikf(l by the prince for his censuro, he Ukes the earliest opportunity of declitririg that an affected phrai*-, which »tnrtle« Hamlei somewhat, to tlecWe that it in good. In the end, when the player display* ari emotion rotuird by hiji art, Poloniuo, according to the rules of goil/, desires that an end nhoulcl be put to the pcrforminu'e. When the phiy is actually performed before the king, etimiette keeps him silent until he sees tltAt there in something in it ai&pl(!a.4ing " in a high quarter." wtad then the shrewd courtier stops it at once. It \b his voice which directs that tliey should " give o'er the play." He is throughout the ceremoniouA but sagacious atlachi of a palace : and the king and queen accordingly treut hiiu with the utmost deference, and consult him in tlitir mo»t critical enicrgencJes. He dies in their i«rvice, fitly practising a slratagem in perfect accordance with the muralt of the circle in which he has always moved, and in which he has engaged to show his wi»dom, devotion, and addre**.* Hamlet well charactrrizes the chiM of men to which the slain courtier belonged in his farewell to the body.
" Thou busy, mh, iiiirudniK fool, farewell ;
I look Ihee for lliy l>ett«T,— take thy furtune.
TfiDu fintlvsl 10 be too buty is some dan^r." But Polonius i)i no fixil, though he is so called here. Hamlet annoyed bv his meddling and ofRciousneiis, and therefore ap|ilii-» the epithet, fle murks his sense of his general respect for the old man, even when he in mott pestered by his interference. In a peevish exclamation be styles him a " tedious old fool ;" but when lie am that the players are inclined to follow hi* own example, he checks them by an authoritative command, ^^
" Follow ibat lord, and look you mock bim doL" ^^|
If be calls him to Roftencrftntx and Guiltlenstern " a great baby, not ^^ yet out of his swaddling clonta," and Jeers hira in their presence, it IS partly to nhow that he is but ma<l north-north-vest, and can know a hawk from u hsnd-saw when the wind is southerly, and . partly to mark that he has diiteuvered the conspiracy against lum,,^H and to display his contempt for alt engaged in it. ^H
AbBtracted from his courtier- character, I'oloiiius is a man of pro- found aen»ie, and of strict and affectionate attention to fais duties. A man whom his children love can nevi'r be contemptible. No one, it is said, can be a hero to his valet dc chambre, becau»« he sees all the
Uavkias, in hi» abmird lifv of Dr. JohnHtn, JmaitinM diat it is a mrd iovetued bj Un|iih&n. witit n» man umniiL^than Oii> urdiniLry tUngwonU of tbaday.
In tlip rnncIiMioii "f Uip t^eut bi-twri-u lliutilet and Pdonlus. the formrr »• claim*. " TliKM i«()iuui old fimli !" Would \\ uot be bMter, " Than udioos uU fool l"~fiir it ia pUiii tkni. [lsi&l«t Is thinking only of tb« iroublwome old who hai bean postarinff him,
• " BehiniJ llir smw I 'II ranvey oiyMlf,
To bear titm prorml ; I II warrant mm *tl tax hun bnma.
And, u you aid, and vritrly uan It mid,
'Til iDsn that some more aiMli«iic« than a inoilier.
Since nature inakr« ihrm pHrtiHl, alioul^l nVrlidal
Tlip apecclt (if vjititHf,'L-. Fare you urll, my lim(c.
I 'tl call upon you *ri> you go u> heit,
And mU )im what I knew."
439
petty phy^inil wants and moral dpf«rts of his master. How much imire (lilfifTult ti» hv »1ie oliject of^^tpi-ni ami il«viiliiiii in th*- fye-t of tliii^e who Imvc tiirneil thfir eyrs ii)k>ii u» frtini chililltixHl. Natiiru) alTcction will, of courw, i\a niurh ; but the buffoon of iht r*tagc never could have inspired the t'eclinff* exhibited by his (.-hildren, who must hare been perpetually grieved and disgriiced by antic buffoonery, of which they, from their connexion with the rourt^ tnust hnve been conitant witneeses. Laertes, a fine high-imirile«l young gentleman, and Ophelin> the rose of May, the (frscc and orna- ment of the rircle in which she moved, conlu nut have »u deeply reverenced and tui bitterly deplored their fatlivr, if he had been indeed a great baby Ktitl in his Kwaddliiip clouts. The dovhU of Vmit- taloonr whom we &C'C tuiubliito- abuut in Drury Lane or Covent Garden, would not have roused the blowl of Laertes to fury, still leM led him to juittify a-<i8a9«i nation in aveii){ing his fall ; nor would bill death have driven Ophelia to madness. Such a father might be dead and gone,
" And at ha head a ;ras»-f(reen turr, And tH ]iis hvcU a ilouc,"
according to the inflexible laws of mortality ; but his ion would soon wipe the natural tears he might drop, and let him lie in hia gravu witliout any complaijil ui'
h
*' His obscure funeral ; No trophy, sword, norhaldiment o'er his bones; No noble rite, nor formnl oticnutioa."
Nor Mould bin dau^rhter, in her brrilten-heATteil inn.-init^', huve iiita-
E'ned that at his death violets, the Hweetest fluwem of the spring, ,d universally withered. Let me observe, that by this remArk I mean no disre^neat to our actors, many of the most eminent of whom have perforraert the part. They yield to lonB-e<(tab]ished custom, and, as the part it not of the same importance m the play as Shytork in the Merchant of Venice, it is not probable that any Klacktin will ari&L>to rescue him from bufluonery. ne&ides, as it is occessary that he should in one part of the play designedly act up to the foUiea of Hamlet, it would be difficult to make the distinction between the •MOBed and the natural character; and yet perhaps it ought to be attempted, for, as it is played at present, it is perhaps the least at- tractive of the prominent dramalu pcrtvna of Saakspeare.
Even ill the very part to which I have just alluded, where he ia fooling Hamlet to tne top of Ui* bent, he cannot avoid displaying f(lance« of his h.ibitual shrewdness, lie >>u»[>t-ctii the reality of the ma<hieas from the besinning. The insulting taunts addressed to him at second hand from Juvenal only call Ibrtli the rcHi-ctioii that there is method in the m»dnes«. In the end he plainly considers it aa n»> thing more than a prank. He bidii the Queen
" Tell him )iis ptaiiks have bceti loo broad lo b^ar wiili. And Uiut your gnue hath tcrefned and txood boiwi-fn MucIj lies) aud hitn."
Neither Luertea nor OphelJA are present while he is engaged in lundying folly against fully, and he therefore docs nut such before Utoae by whom he mu«t desires to be res|>ec-teil. When alone wit*
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tbenir his true chsrncter appears; — and what can Iw more sciisibl Hi* CHUiiM>l(i to his ton have never btf ii I'ur worldly wisdiwii »«rf paaMxl. The ten preccpU nf Lurd llurleich. adilre fwet] tu his sd Robert, on wliicli it ■» generally ftiippoaetl the :i|>oplithe);i*i» ut'l'oM niui are baBcd, are perhaps i--([ual in shrewtlnew, but they want tl pithiD^u and condertHation ol' vcne. Neither are tliey u* philnw phical, being drawn, to talk logically, a fxulfriori, wliilr tlituw ( Sh»k»pe«ri.' are deduced r'l priori. Take, Car eKantpIr, LxMrd B«ll leigh's tifth maxim on borrowing and IciKiitifc money :^
'■ IVware nf suretyithip lor thy be*t friend*. He that payd another mnn'a debt* oeeketh hift nwn decay. iJiit if thou conat lui otherwise chaose, rather lend thy money thyself upon Kuod bcMKb although thou borrow it; so shalt thou secure thyself, and plea«uf a tVtend. Neither borrow money ol' a neip;hbour or a frien<l, but 4 a stranger, where, paying for it, thon shalt henrnomnre of it, oth wise thou ahalt eclipiie thy cretlit, looae thy freedom, and pay dear a^ to another. Itut in borrowing of money be prccioua uf th, word, for he that takes csre of keeping payment is lord at' aaat man'H purse."
Full of priiclieid c^ori sense, no doubt, as indeed h everythi that " wise Kurleigh «poke:" but it mi^ht occur tn minds nf smclla calibre than that of the I«ord High Treasurer. Poluiiius takei higher ground.
*' Neftlier a bamnrar nor a landsr be ; For knn oft loM* bolb iUetf and (iriend ;
AnA Itorrowiiig dulls the edge of huabandiy."
Lord Burleigh givea us but the pet^ details, — in Sliaktpcare wi find tlie principle.
A^aiii, hid* Lnrdship's ninth precept ia : —
" Tnist nnt any man with thy life, creiUt, or estate; for it b mere foltv for a min to enthrall himself to a friend, ns though, 00 cusion bein^ nlfered, he should nut care to become thine enemy."
It is joud ad%'ice; biit how much better done by Pulonius !
"Tl»ia1>o*<^ oil- To lliin« owit Mrlfbe true, Atitl it must fulluw, (IS tiic uit^lil tin day, I'hoa cxmt imiI tln-n be fjUc to iiny uaa."
A comparison of nil the precepts of the poet and the etite«mail would yield a )kiniil.ir result. And yet nobody ever thought of ex- hibiting Burleigh, inferior aa he i» in dramatical wiMloni, as an obJ jcct of merriment upon the Atage for many a ye.ir after he had beea gathered to his fathers, until it ]ileased the sntiior of the Critic to put him forward to make hia oracular nod. There is no u»e it| moralizing, but we cannot help reflecting that Sherid.tn would hav« done better in life if he coulcl have followed the prudential ndvic* of the great minister whom he morked. It is certain that if he had avoideti mimicking him at humble distance elsewhere, and never thought of playing at Parliament, — ^if, cqntent with winning dnw matic honouri* only second to those of Molicre, he had eschcwe*! throwing himself into paths where the half-nods of the less than tenth-rate Burl cighs are of more weight than aU the wit and genius of the School for Scandal, there wotud not have been any nercMity that his death nhoiild be neglected ami his funeral honoured, with a contempt and a sympathy equally characteristic of those whom
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1 1nn1«hip mil* " the plow-^nnii*, I mcnn purMitM and sjcfiphant*, who will ffivi ami fnwn iipnn tliee in tlie Kuiiiiner uf prosperity, but in atlrcrsc siorma they will shelter thee no more thnn an arbour in winter."
Hut the nuitterfr Lord Ili^h Trcn^urcr mi^ht have been the mark for the covert wil of the dramatist, — covert indeed^ for in hU time, or in that which immediately »uccee«Ied it, there wan no safety in making unseemly jeiits too ojienly nbovit him. — ii> hi/rhly prfibalile ; and tJle eiHTny of Khsux .ind Knlcij^h* uould not be an object of adDuratioit in the eyes uf StiakBpeare. Lord Jturld^h. in his courtly demeanour, was us ubsvrvunt uf etiquette aa Polouius and aa ready in using indirections to find thereby dtrectiuiK out. The Queen wni fond both of ceremony and stjitecraft: but I doubt much that the old gentleman in Hamlet is intended for anything more than a ge- neral personification of ceremonious courtiers. If Lord Chesterfield hail deiiigiicd to write a coninieiilJiry upon PoloiiiuH, lie could not have more crmipk-tely succwded tbiin by writing hi* famous letters to ht« tioit. His Lordship, like every man of ta»te and virtue, and what Pope han comprchendol in the expressive term of "all that," in hid time utterly despised Khakitpeare. There is nothing to blame in this. What can we talk on but of what we know? One of the grandest of the herd, Horace Walpule, wrote thcSIysierioHniloilier, and therefore he hjul a right (had he not?) to offer an opinion on Macbeth, and Ui pronounce MiiLiummer'fi Night's Dream a bundle of rubbish, far more ridiculous than the most absunl Italian opem. Lord Chetiterfield wrote nulhiiig, that 1 know of. to give liim a name as an author, except bis letters. Of cotir».> he wnite dematchea, protocols, and other such ware, worthy, no doubt, of the ttetl Ta- pery of which he wiu so cminenta member.
* Hvto in ihett prempu hia lordship c&niiot krold a « eird" u thnse lemaric- aUa mm whuMi wKOuplishuieiiU werv, tiuw rvt-r, nxicb man likely to |i1iiim' yt<rt» tad adraniurtn tbau subw •uuwmatn. Wr kaatr huw SppiuBr ininiur(.>li«r« %\w Sbaphard of die OBana, and vhh wbiit ponip of vvnv '* the pnvntl of <iur Rr>ci»*n muftnm" » inlnNlDMd klinont l>y niuae in the rlionik nT Henry V. MuUtftpMrf's mt»( iwU'iiul plav, w u Cnabjmofvonif^ntoa wriUi tiie iMruuf AxiiMMmr hmNlf. la Lurd BiirleiKn iliey only apptv w tiiiwUt examplw lo poini tbv nonl nf » iDBxim. " Vet I adviw ihee not tn aAect or wifliict |>ofNilarity too mtidi. Sttk n«( to 6* £fs«jr — «At(M to (<f Itakigk,"
80N0.
Wr.LL, lie it so, we rimI tio morel I cannot orizc so coltl a bcwi ; And, «jni:<' Lure's dreamy lifr ii oVr, Tis better dial we ihuv mould \mt\. I do not ask thy Io«f ii)puii. Thy falsehood mtc* too keai a paio.
"Hiey told me ihou could'rt orrer be Lonacontinnt lu one itlol'^sliiinc ; Bat I had lovrd ihee — only thro. And knew how inie I waa lu miu* : I did not deem ihat one so Wt Could be as falw as odisn urcte.
THK LEG.
A TALK PKOBt TOE GBKUAN.
In tJic autumn of 17B2 the surgeon, Louis Thevenct, of Calais, received an ai)onyniou!i letter, requirini^ his attendnnet- on the Cn\- lowing diiy at n certain house not tur tVom the town, and requcst]ni> him to bring with hJni tJir ni-ccuary imtriimenlE for anipuUitine a limb. Thfvrni-t wmt, Ht thnl period, renownetl fur nnd wide for rtii skill, and it wm* liy no ineann nnrommon for patients to send for him from Kiigland, in order to be guided by hia jiidp^ent in cajp« of more thin ordinary importance. lie had been long jittarhrd to the army, and, though of somewhat uncouth TnRnTier,waa univerullr bclovetl on nccount of the kindness of hl.s disposition.
Thevenet puxr.1e<l n long time over the nnonymnus eommiinica- tjon. Both time and place were indi'Cated with the greatest exact- ness ; At such an Imur, and at such a spot, would he he exptrcted ; hut, as before observed, the letter bore uo signature. " A hoait, in all probability," was the conclusion he arrived at, and he remlved < nut to uo.
Three day* afterwards he received a similar invitation, thnagh couched in more pressing terms, with the announcement that a carriage would be at his door at nine the next morning, to coDTey him to the appointed spot.
Scnrcely had the clock Gni&bed Gtrlking the hour of nine, on the following morning, tlian a baiuNome open carriage drove to the surgeon's diM>r ; he made no furllier heMtation, but entered it. A« he got ill, he inquired of the coachman whither lie was going to drive him, and the man replied in the Engli))h language, " I do not meddle with things that are no business of mine,"
'* O ho! flo I have to do with an Englishman, you aurly dog," replied Thevenet.
The coach arrived at length nt the appointed house, " Who an I tn 3ee, — who lives here, — who is ill ?'" a»ked Thevenet of the coach- man as he left the carriage. The man rupeateil his former answer, and was thanked fur Iiih civility in terms very mucli resembling those above quoted.
He vBfi received at the door by ■ handsome young man, abont twenty-eight years old, who conducted him up a ctsircue In i large room. His accent betrayeil him to be a native of Great Britain. ' Tlievenet addressed turn in Knglish, and was replied to with much politeiietut.
" Yop deittred my attendance," said the kurgeon.
" I am very grateful for tlie trouble you luve taken to visit me. Pray rest yourself; here are refreiihiiient« of all kinds, if you wish anything before performing the operation."
" Fir»l of all, sir, let me *ec and exunine the patient ; pouibly it may not be necessary to proceed to amputation,'*
" It will be necessary, Slnntiieur Thevenet. I>et me entreat yoii to be Bcated. 1 have the fuilcxt coiilidenee in you — listen to me. Here is a pur«c containing n hundred guineas, they are yours when
THE LEO.
481
I
the operation it> over. Irt the result be what it may. If. on the con- trary, you refuse tu fulfil my w)»he»— -you see this lomii.tl pisto), — you arc in my power, and, at sure as God i« in heaven, I «noot you dead on the spot."
" Sir. your pistol does not in the lra«l HlMrm me- What is it you require? Tell me at once, without further preface, for what pur- pose have I been suniinoneO here?"
" You must cut off my right leg."
" With all my heart, sir, and your head as well, if you please: but, if I am not mistaken, your leg appears perfectly loimd. You
sprang up the staircase just now, with all the agility of n dancer. What is the matter with your leg?"
rope-
■' Nothing whatsoever, only off it must come."
" Sir, you are a fool !"
" That, AIonBieur Thevenct, is nu business uf yourf)."
'' What sin has chat well-sbapen limb of yuur's committed?"
" None; but have you made up yuur mind to ukc it off?"
" Sir, you are a stranger to me, and 1 should like to have proors of your being of sound mind."
" Monsieur Thevenet, will you grant my request?"
" First, sir, give me some sufficimt reason for inflicting bo wanton a mutilation on you."
" I cannut disclose the truth to you at present, I may, perhaps, within a ye.ir ; but I wilt L>y ynii any wager, xir, that you your- self will, At the expiration of the twelvemonth, allow that my rea. Mtnn for desiring to be freed of my leg were most satisfactory and praiseworthy."
" I make no bet with you, unless you inform me of your name, your residence, your family, and profession."
" All this shall be duly communicated to you, but not at present. Allow me to aak if you consider me a man or honour ?"
*' A man of honour does not present a pistol at his sui^eon'a bead. I have duties to perform even towards you. who are a total stranger to me. Without it lie strictly necessary, i will nut consent to mutilate yuu. If you are bent on becoming the assauio uf aii innocent fatlier of u family — fire I"
" 'Tis welt. Monsieur Thevenet," answered the £nglishman, taking up the pistol: " I will not be your murderer, but I will still compel you to remove my leg. What my entrratiei have failed to obtain ; what neither the nope of reword nor the fear of death have succeeded in extorting from yon, I wiU owe to your compassion-"
" How so, sir?'
" 1 will lodge it ball in my leg, here before your very eyes."
The young man sat down, and deliberately placed the mutsle immediately above his knee. MonKicur Thevenet niflhe<l towards him in hopes of preventing him from effecting his mad design. " Stir from your seat!" excbiimed the Kngliiihman: " and I pull Uie trigger. Answer me once mnrr, uill you put me to nemllesa itain^will you, by your refusal, cumpd me to increase Uie suffer- Jiig I have to endure ?" ■ " Kir, uTirc more you are a fool, but he it as you wish, — 1 consent
H to take off that cursed leg of yours."
H The necesNiry pre|)arAtions were soon made. Just before the H VOL. III. 3 t.
48f
THE LEO.
incision, ihe Kn^liithmui lighted his pipe, and iwore it should not go out. Truf! to hia word, he smoked on till hiti leg ]ny on ibe ground beforL- him. no longer hi» own exclusive property.
Miiniiivur Thevvnet fehoued all his wonted skUl, and, in s tole- rably short space of time, the patient vra* restored lo hunlth. Hegave bis surgeon n munificent fee, and iVIt his esteem for him increaw each day. With tears ofgratitnde in hi» eye:* he thanked him for relieving him of bis limb^ and sailed for England duly equipped with a wooden leg.
About eighteen months after these events, Monsieur Therenet received a letter from England, to the following effect:
" Enclosed ia an order on Monsieur Panchaud of Pafis, for two hundred and fift^' guineas, which I beg you to accept in token of my heartfelt gmtitude. Bv depriving me of « limb which formed the sole obstacle to my earCnly bliss, you liave rendered me the hap- piest of mortals!
" Bent of men t At length ehull you be made acquainted with the real j^roundfi of what you were pleased to term uiy mad whim. Yi)u piTfriutud ill maiuuining that no rntioniU cause could pobsibly warratit the KL-lt'-muiilation I have undergone. Well fcv you thM you refused to accept the wager I offered.
*• Shortly after my last return from the East Indies, I became acquainted with perfectiun, in the person of Emily Harley ; I fell deiperately in love with her. Her M'ealth and family connexions, made my relations as eager for the match as my.self, thniigh I &aw but her beauty and angelic dEiq>oj;ition. I yoked myself to the car of her admirers. AIuh ! my dear Thevenet, I was fortunate enough to become the moi>t unfortunate ot* all my rivals; she loved me^ and me only ; she avowed her affection, and — rejected me I In vain did I press my suit, in vain did her parents and IViends intercede for me, — she remaine<l inenorable.
" For a long time did I fail to discover the cause of her refosid to become mine: — to make one happy whom she owned to loving ttt distraction. At length, one of her sisters revealed tlic mystery. AliHH Harley was u marvel of beauty, but, Fitrange to relate, was born but with one leg, and this blemish rendered her averse to be« coming my wife, as she feared 1 might look on her with aver- sion.
" My rcHolution was voon formed. I determined tliere ehoald be no disjNu-ity between us, and, thanks to you, worthy Thevenet, it exii«ts no longer.
" I returned to London with my wooden-t^, and at once betook myself to M'im Harley. The report had circulated (set on foot by a letter I had previously despatched to England), that I had in- jured my leg by a fall from my horse, and that amputation was found necessary ; I becnme the object of universal pity. Emily fainted away at our first meeting She remained for a long time incunnolable. but nt length ronsented to our marriage. On the day afivr our union di<i I, fnr tlic iirst time, disclose to her the sacrifice I had matle to gain licr hand. Her love for me became even yet more tender. 0, Thevenet I to obtain my Emily, I would lose ten more legs, without tlie Iea.Ht compunction.
" My gratitude towards you can only end with my life. Coow
I I
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THE LEO.
4S3
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to Loniloii aod pay iia a vieitt aiiO when once yau have wen my Biigcl-wilv, 1 ilcty you to say ogiu'ii tlut J am a fottl !"
*' CUABLBS TkhPI-P.."
Monsieur Tlieverwt shuwed the tfltcr to liis friojuU, after having related nit the precediiifi circuiobiaiices, aiid Jic never told the story without a burnt of laughter, aft he wound it up with: " IIu is as much a foul as ever !"
The following was his answer to tlie above.
" Sir,
" I am ohligeid to you for your munificent preitent, for nich tnunt I term a sum, so much I'xcenlJng the value of iny humble ter> vices.
" I conf^-atuUte you on your marriage with your accomplished countrywoman. True, a It-g is a heavy price to pay for the po». session of a fair und virtuous wife; ycl not too heavy, if the renult prove in favour of the change. It cost Adnm a rib from his body to be btciscd with Eve ; many uther men, since him, have lost tfadr ribs for their fair ones, some even have furfeiteil their he^ds.
'* Notwithstjmdiug your protestations, you muBt allow me Xa re- tain my nriginnl opinion. Very probably you arc right at present, fur you are still in all the rapture of the honeymoon. I am right, too, but with this difrcrvnce, that it requires time to be coiivineeU of the justice of uiy opinion : for it is ever long ere we arc wilUiig to admit the truth of ideas that cWh with our own.
" Have a care, air, for I strongly suspect, that ere two years are flown, vou will begin to wish that the amputation had been per* formed (k&m> the knee-joint. In Uiree years it will strike you that you might very well have compoundwl for the loss of tli« foot only. In four years you will think that the Kacritice of your greut tutr might have very well sufficed, and before the expiration of the fiHh year, you will grudge even your little toe. Alter nix years, I am afraid the paring of your nails wdl seem to you all that was necessary.
" I have »aid all this without prejudice to your wife's mcrtta. Beauty and virtue arc nut m> fleeting lu the judgment of man. In my youth I would have laid down my life for the beloved one, hut I never would ha%-e lost my leg for her ; the loss of the one 1 shMild never have repented, but earn day I should have re^neil over the sacriflcc of the other. Had I ever consented to such aacrtBcc, I should say : ' Tlicvetict, you were a fool !' and herewith 1 have the honour, kc. &c.
" O. Thevenet."
In the rear 1780, during the Reign of Terror, Monsieur Thevenet, who bad iwen denounced as an aristocrat by some aspiring member of hia profeasioo, fleil to London in order to escape the equaliaing propensities of the guillotine. When there, deiiiriitg to incrcjiw Ilia acnuntntancc, he inquired for the reititleuce of Sir Charles Temple.
He WHS dirccte<l to hi« mansion, and was announced to it*
master. Seated on an eauy chair by the fireside, a foaming Unkard
of porter at his elbow, and twenty newspapers strewed about him,
appeared a portly gentleman whose uic would scarce allow him
_ to quit his cliair.
A at.9
4M
SPHIKO.
" Ha! riglit wck'unic, Alonsieur Ttiovctict!" cxclatmed the portly gemlcniun, whu was nu other than Sir Cburlcs Tiinple; " do not w o^ended wich me it' I resume my neat, but my curbed wooden leg i» alway* in my way. In all probid^ility, my worthy frtciid, you are come to ascertjiin if my hour of conviction has orrit'ed ?"
" r am here «» a fugitive from my native land, and cWm your jmitection."
" You mult take up your abode with me, for. of a verity, yoa are a wife man. ity tnia time, Thcvenet, I shouhl have been AdniJ- rnl of the Bhie, if this infernal wooden 1c-|; had not incnpiacilalMl me from serving my country. Here am I reading in the papen. news of the most stirring kind, and cursing my stara that I can take no part in all that is ^ing on. Come, My something consoling to me." 11
" Yuur excellent lady is far better adapted than I to play the^| comforter." ^H^
" Don't mention her. Her wooden leg hinders her from dancing. Ro she has devoted herself to card* and scandal ; there is no pat- ' sible dealing with her: but »he is a good enough woman in her way." ^
" Then after all, I was right ?" ^M
" Moat indubitably no, rov dear Thevenel; but enough of that. 1 ^^ committed an egrefpoua btunder. Had I but my leg back again. not a nail-paring of it would I part with. Between ourselves, be it said, I was a fool ; but keep this piece of truth to yourwlf."
8PBING.
Oh. joyous %pna^ '. thou hail broughl onec more Beauty and iniilh unto x» and »)iore; The free W»t wave*, ami tlic slrnims reJoic« To hear ihc sound of iliy jdad sueei voice : The lovcttesl »kiM ore oVi thcc spread. The moss-lurf brightens beueatli thy trend ; And tlie yftiing flowers ihpir incense hnng To gieei Uiy rcturo, oh, jovoujt sjwing I
llenld nf ^iimmcrt tliou cutnL-st forth A blrxnnu fruiu llvav'n unto ibe earth ! The glorinus lifflit of thy ^unny sky llilh btighl>^)'il tli« inoiiTii«r's laiisuid ejc. With ihe soft breaiU ol'thy firsi-bom flowers, Awak).- sweet dreanm of life's nioniiriK houn. .!oy is amund ihee I Rach living ihinj^ Is glad in thy pmence, oii, torely ipringl
Alas ! dtcre are hecirls which tiever more Thy besuly and fraginni:^ may fctlore ; There are fye%, which even lliy sun-lieams briglil No more shall kindle with Joy and lijthl ; Bui not for the dead well mourn. Thy bloom Shall flu>h with glndnen llw silent tomb ; OVr il lliy fairest flowers we 'II flmst Emblpinii of hoi>R, nnd a brtt;liter spKngI
J. A. Browm t.
ms
ON POPULAR AND NATIONAL POETRY.-No. II.
SWITZERLAND.
BY CHABLBS MACIUy.
Tus naliveii of an extensive plain, however ^t.'Jkt their loi c for the land uFilicir birtli, and their respect for its laws, seldom cherish towards il that iiileiiHC afTection, which 19 t'ett by those who are bifrn iimid the more luagiiificent tii-enery of mnuntaiii and valley. Tlie natives of the tonuer arc more attached to ihe iiietitutioii» and the nwn, U)e Utter to the soil of their country. Thus the Switzer, who ha« »o little nationality, who lends hiiiiMlf out to fight for the highe»t bidder, and who docs not know patriotism in its mott rational sente, loves hi* native hilU with a fervour of enthusiasm wliich neither rime nor rirci]nutanc*>H tan destroy.
This chiiracter t«i inipre»»ed upon all ihe popular minstrelsy of Switzerland. There is little or no poetry of Swiss birth which ex- presses any attachment to Switzerland from political causes: their eongB do not curse or satirise the oppressor ; they do not even exult in the f^lory of their illustrious countrymen. While in Scotland the honoured names of Bruce, Wnllucc, or John Knox, creatt? a glow even in the heart of a cow-bny or a pig-driver, the Switzer of the same rank kiiowii little of tlie triorious dcedii of William Tell ; ind if he has heard the name nf CHlvin, he Iloh never inciuircd whe- ther he were n AwLia or a Tartar. The Scotcli ploughman knows the locality of Bannockburn : hut the SwisM drover euiiuot tell iti what canton h the lleld of Griitli. But to make amends for thia indifference to the great men of hi^ country, the Swiss pcaiant doats upon every inch of the ground of his own village, and celebrates in simple and touchii^ songs the delights of his mountains, hii glens, and his lakes. Nearly all the popular poetry of Switxerland is of this pastoral character, descriptive vi' uaturJ scenery, rural occu- pation, and the loves of the peasantry.
Among these the Kii/ireihm stand in the first rank, and claim the first notice. The French call them Ran: drt Vaches, and in Kngllsh (hey may be called " cow-songs," although the derivation of the phrase, l>uth in French and German, seems to l>c from the words '■ Reihen." stu\ " tang," — a rank, or dro%-e, — making the littTal trans- lation ■■ CofF-ranit." The cheese and butter of Switzerland are the greatest sources nf its wealth, at least as fur aii the iJCiisiiiitrv are concerned, and the cow is regarded by them with peculiar fontlncas. Their be»c songs are sung in its prai>>«, and their finest niu»ic is era- ploved to call together the herd M:'iittere<l upon the hilU- Such tra- vellers as have not journeyed in the beaten highway of English tourists, but have turned into the by-ways «nd villages to make ac- quaintance with the manners of tJie people, deacribe aa a most plesMing scene the return of the raws in the evening from their mountain piuture. The cow-henl, witli his long Alpine horn, seated Ufwn a conimaiulini; s|>ot among the hilU, sounds tne pUintive tofr* lady of the kukreiim, uid the animals, obedient to the summons, idowly leave their |>asture, gracing as they come, and marshalling
OW POPULAR AND NATIONAL VOETRY.
themselves around him, are led down to the villa^a. The mtuic <if nil the tHJirei/im h nveex anil idi-IhiicIiuIv, and the tunes uf the hum. re-echoing from erag to crag, aiid I'rmn hollow to hollow, are well mlculated Lo incrcafc the plcsiiunibte cFcct ol* the mcloily. Every district has its il« peculiar kuhreiAen. Thus there are the " Kik- reihcH of ObtrhuxUr;' of " Sicbelhal," of " EmtuHhal," of " Emili. hack," of " AppenzeU," of " Cngg'uberg," and of " ZnUigcr," in the Germui distncts : while in the French districts there are the Romz de> Fachrx of the " Oriiwi«t/^," the " Ranz dr Jotal," the " Ranx q/" Mount Pilate," the " Han: of Ihe Grrtyirr Alps," and one or twn others. There are also two which are common to nearly all P"*^ «if Switzerland, the " Kuhretheii turn Aufzug auf die Alp tm Friik' liitfi," or the call of the cows to the hills in spring ; and tlie " KiiA- rdhen mr AbJ'akrt tan dtr Alp im Hcrlvl," or tKe farewell to the mountain in autumn. Besides these, there are several others, the airs of which, not being emptied to call home tlie cows, Aa not come under the appellation of liihreihcn, but which, being con- nected with the cow, may be clashed under tlie Knglisli term of cow-song^ Most of theae describe the pleatiures of a drover's life, and hii^ t'ourtship witli the milk-mBiua on the lulls. Others again are eulculiitcd for female Hiiigers ; fur the lass of many lovers, and for her, more fiilthful, wbu hu» but unc ; but all bearing some reference ti> the cow. No niarriave is ever contemplated without takin;! the favourite animal into the calculation. The effect pro- duced on the minds of the Swiss by these songs, when they are far ^from home in a foreign land, is so powerful as to bring on a deep melancholy, which nothing can remove but the sight of their native gleni*. It is well known that in Napoleon's army, wb<*e many Swi)>» were serving, he was obliged to iswue strict ordern thai the iiait^ des Vacha should not be played by the regimental bands. Although they were gt>od soldiers, the thoughts of home, inspireil by the niutiic of their childhood, took such an cHcct upon them, that they de^rtetl by scores, and went home to Switzerland. No punish* ment could restrain them ; the fear of an ignominious death hail li-'Bs terrors for them than the prospect of long Danish ment fromlheir beluvfd Switzerland. If they had been %hting in delcncc of their country, the music would doubiless have nerved their arms to deeds of heroitim; but lliey were fighting fur hire only, in the service of a foreign power, and the recolU'cUon of home, being dearer than ihe hope of reward, they forsook their colours without remorse. 'J'lie ranz which thus unmaimed them was the " lianz dcs t'achefdet Alp» de Giyiifcre," or of Uie canton of Fribourg. The words aire in the Frencli pnUtii of tlie district, and. as tlie reader may think on« verse curious as a specimen, I Hubjoin the lirst, together with a translation of the whole ballad. It runs tl]u»:
" Li x'urmaillu de Colvmbettu Dt Urn owUiM tc Mui lelui ;
Ua.' ah! Ha! aJit Lioba .' Lioba ! par tarw .'
The cllurus repeated at the end of every BtanEa it
I'mide loiif lUimtt' (t nerV ;
■SWITZERLAND.
48T
ttadyet motdUf
Dnmtnn' et otrvt
tfeio OH IscAinOf
io it w i'ario,
Deso Ok treinblio ;
lo i'e trtintto ! tAAa I Lioba ! por t'aria ! Lioha .' Lwta } por t'uria .'"
]t may be necessary to remark that the words Lioba ! IJo^ ! which recur »o frequently In the fblluwing, are u»ed ai a tenn of emiear* ment to th« cuws. Being altogether untmnnlateable, I have* preserveil the original word. It U pronounced in two syllables, and in Mtme districts of Switzerland is written iMfia.
lUNZ DES VACIIES OP THE GRUYfiUE ALPS.
" Tlie cow-boys of tlie Colombetta, Arose one mom nc hrttk of day.
Hal alil Ha! alii LJoba t Lioba '. your milk to dnn !
lUOHV*.
Under the oak tree
SuiuIb tbe pail ; Hatittr ye mlcb-kim,
Down the dale ; Black nnd brindlHl,
11<KLD and grey. Bis and Ittllc,
Hute, away I Lioba I Liolia t haste, away !
HutL-, away 1 Liuba! Lioba I basic, away!
When they came to (Ite Tale, aim I
The walen w«ra out, and they cuuld not paw,
Hal ah! Hal obi Lioba I Lioba I your milk to draw !
' The witen deep we can't gel through — Ob, wbal on wrti ar* we lo do '
lUlahl Hal ill 1 Uoba ! lioba I your milk lo draw !' —
■ llie panan h%i hrlped us oft befiirc ; Let ua knock at the uartou's door I
Hal ah! Ha! ah! lioba ! Liob* I yout milk i" draw 1*—
' 1 know he II aid us if lie can ; Bni what ibiUl we nv to the Kood old nun ;
Hi I nh I Ha! ah I lioba I Uobal your milk lo draw C—
Parhaps be 11 lell us, if we would pus, Thai we mual batf a solemn man; —
Hatahl Hil ahl Uoba ! Lioba I your milk to draw !'
Tliey went and knocked ai the pataoo'B door, His kind aadHinw to ifflplon,
. Ual ahl Hal aht Uoba I Lwba ! your milk lo draw !
4S8
ON POPULAR AND NATIONAL* POETKY.
' Oh, reverend tatlier 1 ay a mass, "nat me nuy safe throu^ the water* mu !
UnUh! H&! ah! Liolnl Liobal jrourmilk ludnw 1' —
Then acewered thetn that holy tiuui : '111 tell you what i*ihe wne« plan.
Ha! ah! l/al ah! XJoba ! Lioba ! yaor milk to draw !
' Smd ma a weighty, fine fat chccw. And Toa sbaU paai whene'er you pleaw. Ha I Hh ! Ha ! ak r tJobal lioba I your mifk todrawl* —
' If you wnd us down your »CT*aTii laaa. We *Ll give you a ch«Mc thai we mar pau.
Ha ! al> ! Ua ! ah ! Lioba 1 liobal your milk to draw !'—
* Mr urranl latis I cannot spare ;
I war you 'd keep het ihe ts to fair i
Ha! ah! Hal aht l^oba ! Lioba [ your milk (a draw 1'-—
* Oh, never fear, thou paraon good I We would iioi stisd bcr if we could !
Ita! ahl Ha! ah! Lioba I Lioba ! youi milk to draw !
' For, if to WiM her we were driven, Robbing tlie church iii ne'er forgiven !
lUI ail! Hal ah I Liobal Liobal your milk to diavr!
' So fear not far your pretty hus, We ni givit lier a cheine thut wi' may p«at,
Hal ah I Ha] ah! Lioba 1 Lioba ! yotir milk to draw 1' —
* Ah, well I ah, well !' said the holy maii, ' I 'm sure 1 'U aid you if I can.
Ha! abl Hal ah! Lioba ! Lioba I your milk lo draw t
* Au avc for yoH I will toy ;
So remember the cheese when you pau this way,
Ha 1 ah I iia I ah ! Lioba 1 Lioba I your milk to draw 1' —
That holy man he told tbetn true,
For .lure enough they passed rif^hl throuEh,
Da! ah! Ha! ah! Lioba! Lioba 1 your milk lo draw t
CBO&V!).
Under the oak tree
Stands the pail ; Uaate, ye milcli-kine,
Down the dole-. Black and brindled,
Roan and grey. Big and Uitle,
Haste, away ! Liobal Lioba! haitc^away)
Haste, away ! Uoba I Lioba I haste, away !''
SWITZERLAND.
480
I
The ori^na], having no pmen^ions to elpc^HHce, but bdng valtmhlp merely because it i^ a sons of the olden time, compodod tor and by the peupio, the reader wiiriioC cumiilain tlut the translation 'n rough and unpiilUhed. It has been ri'tidcrod as closely from the original as the difTerence of idiuni and the extguncica of the rhyme would allow. After all, the " Eincoura," as the Kwitis oC FribuurK call the curate, ii afraid to truM hit pretty serviint with the druver;!, but prefers tu wait for bis cheese till they pass that way again. The siyi quiet satire is about the bitterest in popular Swi^s poetry ; a fact which would seem to show that the Hwiss peasaatry have but little gall in tfaem.
The Kuhreikrn of Oberhaslcr is a very lengtby composition, ex- tettding to about forty irregular Ntanzas, or two hundred and aixty line*. The timt stanza is the cji1l to the cows, and enumerates the whole herd by diflercnt epithets borrowed from their colour or qua- lities ; the black, the white, the brindled, the scant of milk, the full of milk, the frisky, the staid, the curly-horned, the strong-boned, the joung, the old, the big, the little, those who rub against the bedgea,.and those who are always moving their tails! The second stania refers tu a totally diRl-rcnt matter, and ii! &ung to a variation of the same air, which, like moEt of the kuhreihen, is sweet and plaintive. The third staii:zu, oguin, takes up tlie call to the cows, and the fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and everv alternate «tanza to the end, uontiimett the subject, and describes the duties of a cow- boy, die passage of the herd to the'hills in spring, and their return to the farms when the cold weather sets in. The iutermudiate stanzas are upon all subjects : some of them are proverbs in rhyme, and others, snatches of old sungs, dovetailed in, for no other appa- rent reason than that they suit the mrasure of the kuhreikeH, The main subject, which is continued regularly in the alternate stanzas, is thus broken up by these constantly-recurring fragments. Some pf the latter are exceedingly graceful. Others, again, by tbtnr sud- den introduction, and total want of conr>cCtion, appear nbsurd. One of them Literally translated is.
" In tHmmer time 'lit ttetei lo roam Aimong ihr k'dU to i/utct, Tafyj'ar atcofffrom wife and hral$. And alt thnr luiur ami riot .'**
This is evidently the groan of an unhappy husband. The follow- ing appears to be the wish of a philosopher in a small way :
*^ Sir MiaiAtd AtUan in my lack.
And two ttore cOkm apon the Mtt, And I 'like iunipy ill day bng.
And eat and drink, anJ takt my fill t But. no ! what '* life without good tnufff
Owe "w W«rf, too, and I've owt^ 7"
The next ia a lover's wish.
" Oh, 'lu iwert i« /**■ atmmer time. Up im the high teitd hUta la tUmh, 'lotil iiiain tkr f'lnh fifrtn gram,
And talk to Ibee, my ^ rr/ff Um t"
400 ON POPULAR AND NATIONAL POETRY.
The Kiifarethm of the BmmentKal Is in ^ ghape of a tUaloga« between a young drover, whose shoe pinches hun, aiid u )'o»u>g maiden, who kindiv lends him « pair of suppers to ease ium- Talk- ing of BlipptT* leaJe to a remark on the pretty feel which bad worn them, and, by an obvious train of thought, to the praise of othw charms. The charmH produce love, love an offer of marriage, and marriage, once mentioned, becomes a 4uegtion uf cows. Without a Ifoud Nlock of these ihi- union would be an imprudent one-
The next class of songs most popular among the Swiwi are tho« expresaive of their attachment to their itative hills, and of their melancholy or " Aomc-frw" when away from them. The foUowiofL b^inniDg "Hrrz mya Herz," is the most graceful and natural of these Bong», and the most admired. Ooetbe has imitated the ftM line in a song beginning,
" Hen ! m«in lien I was sol! dai Oeben ?"
and the query has become a great favourite with German aong* writers of iuferior note. The tomans In fact lay claim to the enUre fong : but there is no doubt that it is pure Swiss. That in the Bernese diilect is the mo«l popular in Switaerland, and appear* to have been the original. It begins,
" Uen ! my$ Hert I tMi-wn m tnaig, Umi leat tall tiat Acit n Well f 8*1*130 icAi/n in frumdr Lande,
Jfcri : myt Hrr.- ,' ictujfJUt drr mfh ?"
Several English paraphrases of this tender little .song have already appeared, but they introduce thoughts and expressions « hich are not to be found in the original, and omit some of the colouring which renders it bo national. The following is a clowr translation.
SWISS UOME.WOE.
'* Heart I taj heart 1 why so dejected * And what uieau* Oiy cunxlant wo« ? Is 't Do\ Ur in forcigii rsgions f Heart > uiy hesui I what grieves thee so ?
What doth grieve me f— all suound aw ;
Quiw forsalici] here I roam ; True, 'lis Titir in forvigu regions,
Bui I 'm piaing for my home t
Oil, my hotnel for ihec I languish;
WuulJ t>ial I could l>teaUte tluae airl Si'u my bther, sec my mother.
Sea tijy hilU and valleys fair !
Oh, to »e^ tli« mautitain summits,
Down whose aide the larrenU rani Craj(s, Lhat truil l>y diainvis only.
Scorn the font of morLtl man !
Oh, to bear the aweei bell* linlding
M ibe drgver mouats ihe liiil ; Willi his kine aiul Luubkiiii brownii^.
Oi dbpoftiug u their wdl I
SWITZERLAND. 401
'Oh, to Mt my Rali*<; vilUgv,
undemeaili ihe monDUiiis l>lue ; With iti gnwi) anti flowery meadowt, And its lake u clear lu dew ;
And its iDany-<»l(»ired tKMMs;
Ob, Id »n th«tD all ooM morel And (o gntu the friendLy nHifhboun,
Excb nisn siandiag at hi* door !
No ont Awn w Aerr, or ihoiba w
TKdra tmd kindiy ty tht kaitd ; IMtte chiiibru mitU nvt mt vs,
Ai at home in SwUterland J
Oh, I pin« 10 BM the homesieiidt
Where my happvyoutb Qe'« by: Vp, my limba, and bear me thither J Bear me ihiUi«r, ere 1 dit !"
The allusion in the seventh stanza to the " fiUHle htUt" or " iiHiny* colciured houses," will be readily understood by the traveUer who remembers the t'fti^lon so common in Switzerland, Belgium, and some pttrts oTGennnny, of w»»hing the cement on tlic outer walli of different colours; one house being green^ the next perhaps rod, another white, and another yellow.
The stanza in iulica is exceedingly beautiful and umple in the ori^nal. Tboue wJiu have known wlutt it is to be utterly alone in m strange land, — who have come, prrha)}s. from distant parta to mi^ty London, without knowing on« face nut oTthu million and a half that throng its streets, will feel its force, and acknowledge ita truth to nature. It is a poem in itself.
Another very popular soog is called the Ueimiehr, or the return home. It is without rhyme in the original, a peculiarity which I have imitated in the following translation.
THE RETUaN.
" la Aarjiau were two lovers.
Who loved each other well \ And li]«) yuune man 's gone lo battle : When will be cotnc aguuf
lie 11 cone agaiu in smmner,
When foteMi Isara are ^<ntn ; lie 'tl come igain to Anna,
la hopes lo find her tnM.
lie came again to Anna,
When fonnt leave* were graeo ; ' I'm ccfme^* said he, • wy tteut oh<,
I kc^ (Ami tiTt^tt nc tiiil.'
*0k, Bof said Anna, smiling,
" / '« got atothtr mm ; J 4d>uiaiMnc (iN>/ « ricA inie, To buy mrjevcUJiitt.'
the yotiiig man tunK-d, Hud left Im-i,
W itliuui 4uoihef word ; but bilUii VTkU litB »unow,
And sorely Iw did we«|h
40S ON POPULAR AND NATIONAL POKTKT.
* Oh, my tan!' tiiid liis nioltitirt
' Whi vsfepett Hum to kitv?'^ ' tt'/io could refrain from vxemttg i I 't<e lost my liarling Ann J'
' It imxs yon right for roaming!' Replied liis nother ihni ;
* Ytm 'it nvt fiare tvU yimr Anua,
Ij'^tiu bad itoid at Aomc '*
The followinjf i» a 1ove-8ong of m difTprent description. The original ia in the BemetM* ilialeot, And i» very popular in all the runl districts where German is understood. A lover, knocking at his tnisCress'B door, says,
" Good evening to thee, Brennelte, Ami My horn hctt llum brru t I've mtuh to ttUthte, Bmuulie, So ritt and (ci me in"
There are, it would appear, jieople in the house whom Bretinelie wishes U> keep in the dark relative to her love-meetings, and she calls out ill a loud voice, so tliat every uitc may bear,
*' Go. gtt you from iny door, tir ; I '« fti)(( ■/ in t/otir/act ; Or let ow poodle ut you, To drive ytmjrom the place!"
Lcht the lover should mieiiudcrstaiid, and believe her wrath tu be genuine, she adds in a low vuii-e. that he alone can hear,
" Cmae hark again at midnight, 'ITtaii 'Itjind the bott girt vnty ! Come bitck again lU mwiwAf, / irt// not toy thte nuy?"
Many favourite songi are written upon the subject of the " Abe- telzc," or daily gathering of friends and neij^hbuurn around the fire^ side ut evening. There are ilUo several extant relative to those rural festivals once common to most European nations, instituted in honour of the spring-time, or the harvest. The stern, hard-featured lace of modem civilization has been ^adually paring away fVoni among us hII the»e relics of ancient manners. The may-songs which used to be so merry in England, are now but poor aflairs indeed. Instead of the jolly ]>eafuuu UcU and lHSfte», a few hliickguard chim- ney-sweeps alone celebrate the ndvi-nt of the month of HuwerH, lock- ing like the grim ghosts of the hearty festivities of yore. The same effect ia produced hy the same causes in Switzerland ; but as civi- lisation, with her steam-engines, factories, and gas-works, does not penetrate so easily on to the mountains as into the plain, the Swiss peanuintry, puritiiiiig their old occupations, «till cherivh umny ancient customs which have become obsolete elsewhere. On the Ut of May the youths and children of the villages deck themselves out in tlleir best attire, and bcAring in their hands branches of trees hung with tnany-cotoured ribands, they go about from house to house, offering ^gs to the inhabitanu, and t<mging in full chorus,
" Der Al^m itch kommen u dan itthja vxhr !"
ANACRCONTIC.
I
I
I
^.^■ong in praise of May is very old. Uul h.-if» little except itt an- liijSny to rfcuinniend it. At its conrtuNinii, tlie ungfrx receive pre> sents ftoDi the peaple ; af\t- r which they aiig a supplementary verse* by way of thouks. It is literally a£ luliuwi) :
" God thauk yo«i, friendly people nil 1 Cod help yon in lili hcavi-tilj kingdom I In heaven ihere is a ^ol<len uble, WJterv lit tAe angfls htatiti^ and trfti. In heaven ttiere is a vrold«ii ihroi^e. God pre you all an ctfroul reward !"
Many Ciermaii poets havt written songs in praise of Switxerland in choice Teutonic; but these, nlthough in some intctances extremely beautiful, are " drawing-room poetry." and, as such, do not come within the limits of our subject. The songB of the people, which we have been cnnsidering, aru the cHuhiuiis of nniuvlciis ami forgot* ten poetk, — in all proUability of drovers and nn]kmaid<;; the more %-a1uabIe on that accuiiiit, because so much the more likely to give a true description of the manner* and feeling* of a class of society upon whom depends, in a great measure, the welfsre of a country.
Like to daisies, ijnnw-drops, blue-bells, ftirget-me-nots, crocuses, and hedfjr-roses, which the child may pluck as it runs past, and the labourer plant in his bosom, are the fraf^enta of old nijn|{« that dclicht the people. They grow, like them, w-ilJloul culture, in corn- fields and shee|>-walks, and are as precious in the sight of the true lover of nature a* the rare and costly exotics of the rich man's con- servatory. On another occasion [Bo7 volente] we propose to pre- sent the reader with a wreatli of such wild flowers gathered on German soil.
C M.
ANACREONTIC.
Fiti mc, boy, a bowl on I— up! Till the wine o'erflom ine cup. Fresher flowers for me braid, These I wear too soon wiH We.
Fill, boy, fill tKff bowl agnn I Tor, wiih every dringht I drain, Bfighier dreams ny nncy sees ; Sk«p htdi no suck phanusias.
Fill, boy, fill I My bumins soul Asks aooiher nDamliuiE bowr; Dnm il to ll>e utmoil, boy I
lla! Iia! ImI I'm oiad with joy!
M. U
A LAY OP ST. NICHOLAS. 405
" Fiiends would wliisp*r, awl foe« trauld Tmwn,
^itl) Uiou arL a Cliurchman of liich (Ipffree, Aud ill mote it mnli^h willt Ihy fair renown That a Kwaderiiig damsel dtoe with iheel
" There is Simon tlip Deacon bath pulic in store. With htiua Jitiid lc.-lli]ces fair to m« ; His leDteo fare now 1e( me shon-,
I pny thpc, I^rd Abbot, in charitie!"
— " Though Simon the Dencon h«»« pnlse in vtore.
To OUT putron Saint foul sJiame il were SEioulil way-worn ^vnt with toil opiwnl
Meet in his abbey such churlish mn.
" Tlierc 19 Peter the Prior, and Francis thn Friar, And Roger lliv Monk Hhall our convivet be; SmuU scandal I ween oHall then be bmo ; Tlioy are a goodly companie I"
llie Abbot halii donn'd liii miCr* and riii([.
His rich dalmaitc, and inaninic finr : And the chomten sing as the Uy-brothen bring
Tu the board a inagnificcut tutkey and chine.
The lurhcy and chine ibey were ditne to a nlcMy ;
Lintr, and gi/iurd, nnil all were ihere : No'er mote Lord Abbot pronounce BfnniidU
Q««r marc luscious or delicate fare.
nut no pious stave he, no Potfr or Ane,
Pronouncid, at he fpae^ on that maiden's fue ; 8b* allied him for ilnliin^, she »]ied liim For fnrjt
And ghoanl ; but never ouc« a^ed htm for Orao« (
Then f^i1y the Lord Abbol smiled and |>real.
And the blood-rad wine In the winc-cu|i fijl'd; And lie hrlp'd his ^ueil to a bit of the brea>t.
And he sent tlic dmniBticks down to be grill'd.
Tlivrc was tia lack of old Sticrris nek.
Of ilippocnis fine, or of Malmwy liriglit ; And aye^ as he dmmcd off his cup with a stnack,
He gr«w ieac ptoos and more [joliic.
She pledged him onre, and sbe pledged iiim Iwiee,
And sm- drunk as a Lady ought tioi to drink ; And Iw preitnt her hand 'ni^lb Iht- table tlirict,
And he winked as an Abbot ought not to wink.
And Peter the Prior, and Francis (be Frur,
Siftl each wi4h a uapkm under his chin ; But HoKer the Monk cnt cxf-'CtBively drunk.
So ihcy put Iiim tobwl, and tlicy lock'd him inl
Tbc hy-hiother* i^ui'd on >>acb oilier, amat'd ;
And Simon the ]>eacon, with grief awl lurprisv, As he peep'd throutth the key-hole could icarce fancy t««l
The scene he beheld, or believe hii own eyes.
Jn his ear wu ringinf tbe Lord Abbot itnging, —
He coald not dudnaaish llw wotd* rery plain. But 'twas all abont "Cole," and "jollv old Soul,"
And ** Fiddlers," and " Punch," and things <^uite ii» profai>ft>
llid Imili mvA Kinlatt'd k
— Bui, Iwrfc '- -'lU ■ wiuihI Trma ite
A tlatiliof •■nintl rtum ■ tmwtrtfal faloML
WIm hii'wki «• Ulw r— II H liiir KfWt ciiifei ny t)w chnik, Htxl III* rlo«k *• tt* mma^
Ktnt, [iprhaitt, Itml tiirli limil ilmihli imim Itaim tiniril In ht NlrlioUi' AUipy bobic;
Atl OKirMl " ll Witk •ItorlLihD Ip Iwvp pCOfle Uui iiuiitj Kcfiiri) tiirlinMllo <*iMwetlltt
Now B lmii]iii litiLK ilirotigli Uic clai*(«n rw«. Anil ihc ^utc fill lU liiiiKr» wii|« open flew;
And uJI were awar* of ■ Pttlmcr itmw, Wiih liis cockle. Itni, lUfl. and htf ludal aboe.
Mnny a furrow, «iid many a frown. By toil itnd tim« oa hit brow werr Iractd -,
And his lanfc looie fown woa of |iii)i,'i.t brown. Anil his roMry dandled Imlow Itm waiat
Now Mldom. I ween, ii lucli cMtume imii. Except at »ts«gf-p!»y or inMqueriiilp ;
But who doOi not know it vtni rnhnr iltego Wiih Pilgrims and SniaU id ilicKcond Cnisnde?
With noiielM* airide did lltnt Pglmcr glide
AcTOM the oikeo floor : And h« mkde them all jump, h« gave nidi k thump
Agvo»t the Itdiicrory door I
Wide open it flew, und plain lo ilu- *iew
Tllf Lorri Abbot iticy all mote tee ; In hii hand wan a cup, and hf lifted it up,
'• Here's lli« Pope t good health with liircell*'
Itiing in their ean ihrw; deafeuing cheers,
"llutis! liuxzaJ huEza!" Ar>d on^r of the |Hur1y mid, ■■ Co it, my hearty I"
When out sftka thu Pilj^rim gn-j —
i ■[
VOL.
A LAY OF ST. NICHOLAS.
" A boon, l^rd Abbot I a boon 1 a boon ) Worn ii my foot, ttiid vmpiy mjr nnp ; And nolhinx lo fpeak t>( sincv yattrdiy noon Of food. Lord Abbol, baili passed mjr lip.
" And I itni Komv fruii) ;i Ear cotmlrec, And havf vi«it«<l mauy a tmtjr shrioe; And \om bare I irutJ the sacnd lod
Where the Saints do rest in Pakaline !" —
" An ihou art come fTom a far counlre*, Ami if tliou in Pajnim lands hast beuti. Now ledt^ Tnc anghl ibe nnit •rondnful stghlt lliou Palmer gny, that ifaiDe ejea hare avf n.
" Arede me ariglit tlic most wonderful sight, Grey I'nlmerj (hat ever thine eyes did sm, Aud a niai)vli«tltt of breud, and a good warm bed. And a ctip O* the bat >hall (hy gueidon be I" —
"Oh I I ha*e beeu ratt, and 1 hare Nm west. And 1 liavc wen tnaoy a wonderful sight : Out narcr to me did it hHfiprra lo see A wonder Like that wliicb 1 see this nigbl!
" To tee a Lord Abbot in rochet and stole,
Wjib I'ncr and Kriar,— a slmnge inar-Tellfi 1^ O'er a jolly full bofrl. sitting cheek by jowl.
And liolxiobbing away with a Devil from Hell f*
He felt in hi* fcown of f^inuer brown, And be puUM out a flask frnm beneilh ;
It was rather tough work to f^vl out the cork. But be drew it ai latt with his teeth.
O'er a pint and a quarter of holy water
He made tbe sacred sign ; Aad be dftsb'd the whole on the lo^itante daogltier
Of old I'lanlagenei's linel
Oh I then did she reek, and squeak, and shriek.
With a wild unearthly srrcAm ; And 6zil«d and hist'd, and produced such a tnisti Tbcy were all liatr-diok'd by the »ieftin.
Her dove-like eyes tum'd lo coals of ftre, Her beavitifut nose to a horrible snout.
Her hanJt lo paws with nasty grvat claws. And ber bosom weut in, and ber tail came oat.
On her chin there appear'd a bog Nanny-goat's beard. And her tusks and her teeth no mao inoie tell ;
Aud her horns nod ber boo& gave infallible proof* T was a fnghl/ul Piend from the RCthermosl Hell '
The Palmer threw down his ginger gown, His Irni and bis cockle ; and, plain lo sigbi.
Stood St. Nicholas' self, aud his sltaven rrown Had a gluw.wurm halo of beaT'nIy light.
Tlie Fimd made a grasp, the Abbot to clup ;
Bat St. Nkhotas lifted his holy to«. And, Just in Uie nirk, let fly »uch a kick
On his etdcrly Namoiakv, he made him let go- III.
407
In escaping he tumbled, and fractured his hip. And bis left leg was Sorter thenceforth than his riBht I « • » • «
On the banka of the Rhine, aa he 's stopping to dine, From a certain Inn-window the traveller is shown
Some picturesque ruins, the scene of these doings, A few miles up the river, south-east of Colc^e.
And, while " taar knaU " she sells you, the Landlady tell: That there, in those walls, now all rooSess and tnre.
One Simon, a Deacon, from a lean grew a sleek one, Un filling a ^i-devant Abbot's slate chair.
How a fi-devant Abbot, all clothed in drab, but or texture the coarsest, hair shirt, and no shoes,
(His mitre and ring, and all that son of thing Laid aside,) in yon Cave liv'd a pious recluse ;
How he rose with the sun, limping *' dot and go one " To yon rill of the mountain, in all sorts of weather.
Where a Prior and a Friar, who liv'd somewhat higher Up the rock, used to come and eat cresses together ;
How a thirsty old codger the neighbours call'd Roger, ' With them drank cold water in lieu of old wine !
What its quality wanted he made up in quanti^, Swiping as though he 'd fain empty the Rhine E
And how, as their bodily strength fail'd, the mental man Gain'd tenfold vigour and force in all four :
And how, to the day of their death, the " Old Gentleman Never attempted to kidnap tfaem more.
And how, when at lensth in the odour of sanctity, All of them died without grief or complaint ;
the Monks of St. Nicholas said 'twa? ridiculous Not to suppose every one was a Saint
And how, in Oie Abbey no one was so shabby Ah nat tn mv vearlv fniir inn««M n hpail.
I
I
I
THOArAS NODDV. ESQUIRE.
TtiR Noddyi ire a verv nnmt-rous Uid ancient family. Outer derived Sir Anthony Notfdy, who wm »cn<.-«chal to the Duke of Buckinjchnm, truip Ttic. III., from Kitif; or Duke N'od, jgreaX-^t&rtd- »on to Phut, ruler of the lend o1 Xod, and who i«Irpt with hi» fathers, after giving his nainp to the country, in the firth |Tr>ncrAtion from the XoBchic Deluge. Cl/trencieux could not, however, trace the race higher thnn to (iiiy Noddie of No<l()ine;tonj Beds, one of the first two kni;rlitti returned to Parliament far ihut county a. d, 124x1. Iliii ^(;at' grand Hon, Ned Ntxldy, accompanied Eclwnrd the Third in his invasiim uf Hcoilanil, A. ii. VMS, and on the retreat nf that munordi was left, at. tile genealuftical Ixw stutcii, " wmindeil iH'hind;" mcanit)^ thereby that he was leA behind, wounded, and without any disparagement of hit conduct or courage. This SvA Xoiidv settled jn Ayrshire, and waa the founder of the Scutch hrnncn of the family, upon whom was written that lunoui toiig by King Janiea the Fourth,
** KnA wp 're a* noddta, Nid, nid, iioddin, We're ■' noddin At ouK houae at hane."
This branch became extinct in Sandy Noddy of that ilk, who de- ceased about the lime of the Union, having >tu()'fri-d lung and much from the musical disorder of the country, (which he used to iday to the foregoing tune,) and died without any other issue. Of the Noddvs of Irrland liltic in known, except that a small sept of them settle() on the edge of the Fuil, or Pale, and, aXieT giving their name to a sort of carriage peculiar to the nation, aaaumed an Irish title with a great O in front of it, and became, by living In Irish air, very restless and dirtiiiguished agitators.
The genealogy of Thomas JN'oddy, Esquire, is thus limited to the Kngli«h pedigree, and we find it rich in characters, of worth and dignity. Abbot Ntxidy was the celebrated churchman fur whom Cimabue painted hia famous picture of Aoranui, son of Krebus and Nox (not now in the National Gallery); and Prior Noddy vtaM dit-
fiomtesited by Henry the Eighth of the Priory of Sleepsley, ¥*• ued at the time of it« dtsM>lution by that dissolute monarch at the annual sum of thirteen pound* four shtllingB and threp|>encc. In the cultivation of science the Noddy h were equally renowned. Notwititstanding the ridirulouH claims of Alesmer, liarun Dupotet, and Dr. Elliot«on, it is well known thai Professor Noddy wm the reid di^corere^ of animul magnetism ; the idea of sunmatnbuliani having occurred to him on witnessing the effect* produced, when preaching, by his futlicr, Bi.shoii Noddy.* The manuscript rcvelS' tion and proof of this fjict may be referred to in the British Museum. fier CoTTOK, Lib. JuL Ctts. .Vo. ///. 4K*- Dr. Noddy, author of the " Treatise on Laudanum, with remiu-ks on the cognatr ({ualitiea of Poppies and Lettuce," wxa another ornament ot the house of Noddy. He was the fimt afler Esculapiua to introduce compoaing
* It w>* fram thU hnly maa aiiJ pJoiu divine tliat SMcnUisa ef the ■'•W *«r* MvM Sy-iMKl».— Tidtf JLrclivolofia, vol. {. II. 1.
ff»2
THOMAS NODDY, ESQDIRE.
dniughU into the aystein of phytic, and it Is confeMied that no BTcMt-r improvement has nince boett madt^. Of the Nod<Iya who fiave dhone in the legal profession, we shall only montioo Justice Noddy, the immediate progenitor of Tliomas, thiin whom a more respectable judge never sat upon the bench. He lived to a very old nge; and his suong opinion, ju»t before he died, against Mr. Wak-Iey, the present AI.P. for Finsbury, had f^eat influence in decidinfi^ the famous cause in which he was pbuntiC His only* aon. Ralph Noddy, who held the ainccurc office of Clerk of the Peace, having been previously cut off by apoplexy, he was miccecded by his grandson ThnmuSj only child of the Mud Ralph, by Margery La- xenby, daughter of Theodogius La%enby, of Laxenby Hall, Line, who thuH became heir not only lu the estate of Noddy -cum-Slum- berfl, but co-heir to Laaenby i' the Fcna.
Our bcru was at thii> period twentv-Lhree vears of age, and, but for an accident which happened to him in his inrancy, might pro* bably have been n marvellous proper man. But it seems (as we have it from his nuri^e) that shortly after her cunHncmeiit Mrs, Noddy took the baby out with her for n drive in the pmiy-chaise, when, uufortuiiately falling asleep in Uie heat uf the sun, ahc dropt her poor little eon Totn uut of the caiTJog^e, and one of the p^^nys trampled upon his neck just before a wheel ran over his body. The child lived, but the consequences wvre distressing. His hi-ad WM twisted awry, so that whenever he did or said a silly tliinjg, jocular people pronounced it to be turned ; and it was besides so oddly and looHely confirmed ujMin his neck, that he ever and anon, as it were, juvoluntnrily jerked it down with a wink of his eye, the movt unmeaning meaning that ever wnh seen. (>n the demise of his grandfather he took poii»eiii>ion of the fine mansion built by him on the river Mole, near Dorking, (originally Dftrking.^-sec Doomsday Book,) and resided there during the ensuing summer and autumn. In September nnd October he attempted the sports of the field ; but bis exploits in the shooting line were particularly unsuccessful. It i* true that when bir<l» ro*e he i>hut one of his eyes, and nresenteil his piece in their direction ; but the unlucky twist generally occur- ring at the some instant, though he sometimes hit a tree, a turnip, or a gamekeeper, he never hit a hare, a partridge, or a pheasant, in fishing he was a little more prosperous; for if the twitch happened til coincide with theriiiingof the trout, the contemporaneous motion hookeil him to a certainty, and Mr. Noddy hnd the p1ea.<ture of landing some twu or three dozen of finny captives from tlic Mole and the Thames.
But the rural season closed, and the town season opened. Squire Noddy, like other squires, removed tu Lundun, and located liiuiKcll* in Dover Street Henceforward notliing but misfortunes betel blni. Hifl unhappy peculiarity brought him mto endless troublcii ; and, blest with youtl), ubunduiice, and the faire^-t of prospects, ultimately made hira the hero of our tnle as tlic lust of tlie Noddys 1
It is neces^ry for us to recount a few of the incidents and adven- tures which led to this melancholy issue.
The first public act in which, owing to this cause, he figured, wiB on the debut of Mr. Otway iMarlowe in the arduous part of Ilainlct. The pnbUc having I>een excited into due curiosity and expectation by preliminary puffs and paragraphs, Mr. Nuddy was but too locky
THOMAS NODDY, ESQUIRE.
Ml
in being able to secure a front-scat in tho itagc-bo'^ for the occasion, paving Mr. Miinchauiten, llie lessee, a guinea iherefor. And the price was Hiirely niodemte. when it iit considered what an excellent son Mr. Otway Marlowe was, and, on that account, how likelv to be unparalleled in wriii^ng hie mother's heart and avenging his tuther's murder as the Prince of Denmark. Alas ! he was never destined to r«ach those f^and points in tlie ploy : he was damned by Mr, Noddy in the very second scene with the ghost At that interesting mo- ment all eyes were turned towards the stage, and, of course, the atajte-bnx, where sat our hero in his conspicuous poMtion. By a deplorable coincidence, the Ohcwt stocxl dir»?ctly between htm and Hamlet, who apostrophizing the solid ohadow of hi* haplcM papa, in the agony of his grief, and directing his tooki* alike to Ghost and Noddy, exclaimed, " Why, ay, all, ah — '
' Jflhou catisi nod, speak lool"^
The ludicrous effect was instantaneous, and roars of laughter shook the theatre. It wa« impossible to restore a trngic sympathy, nnd poor Mr. Otway Marlowe was the victim of a few unintentional no<Is and winks. The fufui, complaints, and ruw of next morning may l>e conrcive<l by all who are acquainted with thoatrical matters. Mr. Noddy was glad to compromise the affair by the iwyment of one thousand pounds, of which the les»C4- pocketed eight hundred for the lu«i incurred by the theatre, and Mr. ^farlowe two hundred for the damage he had Hustuined ; and all the newHpapcrs rang with varied accuunta uf Uic malignant and unprincipled conduct of aa unknown assassin, no doubt employed by the rival manogeuietiL
Less serious, but li&rdly less unpleasant, circumntauces attended Air. Noddy's every-day life. When at dinner with a company, three-fourths of whom were absolute strangers to him, he would find himself drinking wine with persons to whom he had never spoken, interfering as a third party between each two who were endeavour- ing to perform the same social ceremony, and interchanging cour* tesies of the most intrusive uid impertinent kind with every person It the table. It was a noil here, and a wink there. " Shall 1 have the pleasure of wine with you ?" oHid with a tender voice by a lover- looking gi-ntlemon opponite to a beautiful girl by his aide, would be met by u willing recugnition from Mr. Noddy, and his head inter- jMJscd would meet the jidver«e glance, and eclipse the fair one's countenance from the prnffcred compliment. He was obliged to eat of every dish olfercci to him ; for, atway.i appearing to give his assent, the plates were loaded and handed to him by the servunti, — astonished in their turn at the extraordinary politeneos of the guest to theiniieWe&
One day Mr. Noddy strolled into Harry PbUtipf* mmns in Bond Street, whilst that astute auctioneer was selling a Taluable nii>>cel- laneous collection of china, jewellery, pictures, and plate- From some previous business at Noddy tirove, on the Mole, hiH person, though not his habit, happened to be known to Mr. Phillips; and when he began bidding like fury for every article put up, it re* joiced the heart of the seller. Competition was vain. Salesmen, brokers, and •lews, gave up in despair. The hammer descended on lot aAer lot; till, Gtially, two lovely 6gur«s of Chinese Mandarins
* TIm writer hopes la ti* fofgirta for inaklii( a llamkt of Don Juan, ar
SOS
THOMAS NODDY, ESQUIRE.
were cxhibiteii, and as Mr. Nwddy, iHslikinH their appearance and ACLioit, qiiitteil llie room, tltvj' vevrv knucked down to hi« last nod, for twenty guineas. Next day the wsi;:j;nn-lotd delivered at Dover Street, utonished his nervanU, who, in the absence of their master. took in and arranfted the cliina, and the pictures, and the plate, and the jewtls, in the best manner they cotild ; bat tbeir astonishment was nothing to his own when be cliscovrretl thai he had purchased these bftTftffins to Uie amount of two thouaand three hundred ponndi and five half crowns.
Shortly afler tliift Mr. Noddy viaited the Sarrey Zoological Gar- dens, to witness an eruption of Mount Vcsuviii*. In the early part «f the eveninf; he walked about nodding at the monkeys, who iiudiled at hira in return, and winking at the owls, who very gra- ciously shut and opened their eyes in reciprocraling the salutation. Home of the animals Icnpt more nimbly frum nlde to side in tJu-ir cages, as he gazed upon and twitched at them : whilst the cock- atoos on their pegn set up their rreist£ and Kcreecheil as Irightfally Ha if they had hcen perrhed on thr top of tlie burning mountain. But the worot of all took place t%i Mr. >«iiddy was wending his way homewanl. Bv an oversight, not altogether nnprvi-cdentcd in London, an opening to lay down gas-pipes had been leli unwatched and unliglited in the street through which he was piixsin^. No wonder that, with n very sidelong nod, he fell into the hole, to M-hich his erica speedily brought the aid of the police. He was ex- tricated in an almost seniieless condition, when these active and skil- ful persons, observing the twist of his neck, immediately concluded that it was out of joint, and began to pull it straight with all their might and main. The torture of the unfortunate gentleman was extreme, but he had to endure many a lug by the ears ere he could mjike his benevolent persecutors understand that they were en- deavouring to rectify nature, and not accident. He was confined to his bed for a month.
On his recovery Mr. Noddy attended a levee. IFe was presented to her Mtajentv by the vice-cliumbertiiin, and gare her such a nod and such a wuik, as she hud not received since her accession, nor will perhaps meet with ag.iin during the whole of her reign. What would Lord Melbourne give to be allowed a like privilege? The Court Newsman was spreiiiHy eiijoine<l not to report the circum- stance ; but it was the goMip of the maids of honour attendant upon tlie queen at night, tbnt she could not have been angry with Blr. Noddy, as, in truth her majesty herself, on being put to bed, both winked and nodded after the very fashion of that loyal subject.
In the balUroom, it must be aeknowledged, Mr. Noddy did not shine. There was a heaviness in his demeanour and a gravhy which did not accord well with movements on tlic light fantastic toe. To Almacks, arcnrdingly, he only went once; and wa» re- warded for hia intrusion by tlie witty Lady ■ " • ', at whom he winked, observing thai the alecpy-headed fool was fit for nothing but doze-a-dotc.
Going down Regent Street one aAemoon, our IViend met a good- looking *toul lady on the arm of a wel!-dre9fie<i man. who was evincing his perfect independence by smoking a cigar. The fkihion of the former, and the superior breeding nf the latter, could not re- strain Mr. Noddy from his usual trick. A stare at the damsel was
TtlOMAS NODDT, BSQDIRB.
I
I I
quickly followed by a wickeil closure of the left eye and « know. inff inclination of the head. A toss of the lady's was the retort. The game was repeated, and a crack over the offending caput from tlic cane of the smoking bravo was the instant retribution. Mr. Noddy was spread upon the pavement, and his offence being ex- plained tn the crowd that soon assembled, the insulted pair walked off in triumph, and he got from the ground to a hackney cab amid the hootiiigs and sneers of the judiciouH mob.
As be puniJi-rcd on thiji. Air. Noddy felt coustderable surprise at the difference existing between different part* of the town. Even •o near us theQuudr»nt, he hud winki-d (iiid nodded ut every female he met ; and lo far from being osMulted by a nod<3t-ed stick for it, he bad been greeted in return Dv winks, and nods, and smiles from thrm all. Liston having cured ni« broken pate in less time than he rtiluci-d Farley's none to the true Grecian mould> he resumed the tenor (if hi* luckli:s<i career.
Ills last adventure, indwd, approached : the knock down in Regent Street wa« the nhadow before of the coming event. Mr. Noddy was lounging in Hyde Park, when a lovely girl and a mi- litary-looking person approached him in deep, low-whispered, ami earnest conversation. Attracted by their appearance, he contrived to tip the young lady one of his most powerful winks, and as aig- ntticant as he hod bestowed upon the throned Victoria. A blush waa the result; and the wink wa? re-enacted with the accompani- iBGQt of an equally significant motion of the head. Again and again WBl the affront committefl, till the fair one's cunfuHion could no longer be conccHled,and her friend wasmnde aware of the annoyance she had suffiTcd. The epithet of insolent sroundrel and a blow was the immediate retaliation, whilst the frightened girl sank fainting on the griis<4. The spirit of Mr. Noddy was awukenetl, and the abusive epithet and the blow were returned. A scuffle ensued, and before the unconscious beauty Man rewlored to sense, the cju-ds of the enraged combataiiU bud been exchanged with menaces of future vengeance.
As a gentleniitn, it now became Mr. Noddy's task to seek out a second, who Mhould wc talisf'aclion given tor the winking, uiHUUng, wincing, and ilrubbing, which had taken phut!. Plaviug laid hit ^^ before his third cousin, I'eter Luxenby nf the Mpaniith Service, who, by the by, stood to him in the reintiun!>hi|i of next of kin arul heir-apparent, that worthy undertook the office with the mo«t friendly alacrity. Caj>tain Mttcficrccdall of the DIues having ap- pointed his next on the li»t. Lieutenant PierceAeld, to a similar trust, it was arranged that the meeting should " come off" at day- break next morning, on the grounds of the Hippodrome, Just where the private path is di.<q>uted.
ITpun this race-course the chance was taken whose race should be run. Captain AlocfirrceduU and Lieutenant Picrcelield yrnre not earlier in their attendance than were Thomas Noddy and Peter tJ«axenby, iCtK|iiires. Nu attempt was made at explanation or con- ciliation. The distance was sulkily and shortly measured, and the Combatants, plrtol in hand, placed in their positioiin. They were lo fire lo^vther by signal : the word was given and they fir»-il. Vayt- tain Aluclit-rcedufl missed his opponent ; but goe of hi* twinges oc> curring just as Mr. Noddy pulled the trigger, he gave a tuthksn tui
504
THE POSfMAWT
round and wounded tus lerond »evprely in the shoulder. In tpite of this misadvcnlure, so snxious was he (ur the honour of his prin- cipal, he agKin prepared his pistol for a second shot, and retirinjf a reasonable way farther one of the jMisiiible range of the bail, once more gave the signal to fire Two fliubea were visible, and a curl of smoke mounted over the per«oDft of the duelli»t«, AlacfieroHlall and Noddy. But, alaa ! the person of the first was still erect: the body of his adversary vra« stretched bleeding on the earth. He was shot through the heaid ; and with one wink at the Captain, and one nod at hi» cousin, he breathed forth hia spirit uu ttic cuute»ted fooC-
Eath. The Captain took the hint, and in three minutes waa, with is second, en route for Culain. Nor was Lazenby long behind him. BaviiiK deposited the body of Mr. Noddy in Dover Street, he alva embarked tor the Continent till the stonn blew over. A ceremo- nial trial at the Old Bally concluded the fatal bu«>nrss, and it was clearly shown by the counsel that the defunct Thomas Noddy, Ksquirei was aloue to blame thraujjhuut tlie whole tran»action. The jury rvtumed a verdict of jusliliable homicide, and the judge who tried the cau8e, *» well a« tJie aldermen who Hat near him in the Court, nodded their entire approbation before they went up stairs to dinner. The remains of poor Tom Nc^ddy, with the bullet in his noddle, were buried al Noddy-cum-SIumberB; and Peter Laaenby, Kvquire, ituccveded to Ijindi-d property in Beds. Line, and Surrey, of no legs rental than eight thuuaand a year.
Having wound up the narrative, it is time that I should conclude, which I the more willingly do since the scribbling has kept mc up till long post midnight, and I have been nodding, myself, during the last hour and a half. Of one of my prcdeccxsors who wrote with like credit to himself, and much fame, it mas said " nunquam domii> tat;" and, finishing this my epic, I need not be ashamed to allow that, as Homer sometintes nodaed, so at thi4 epoch do 1.
Tbutha.
THE POSTMAN.
BY Iin. MCOPISLD.
Hi9 portrait is an cvery-day picture of life, and ytt not easy to paint. He \» the very incarnation of alacrity, the embixlied spirit of regularity un<l prt^ctxion. Day by day, hour by hour, he x* to be seen traversing with rapid step the limits of his own narrow district. The heavens may smile, or fro«Ti. lU-volutions may shake the land j or peace and prosperity gladden its children. Disease may wave its pestilent torch ; or sadden calamity sweep nway its victims. But the postman is utill at his jtaxl. A diurnal dispenser of news. A kind of HOPE in the Queen's livery, visiting every nnc in turn, ami welcomed by alt. A mcsaengcr of life and of death ; of gratified Bmhition, or disappointed desire; of gracious acceptance, or harsh refusal. He is still welcome, for bis presence, and that which he brings at least, puts an end to the most cruel of human sufferings^ uncertainty.
He is the chief link which unites the past to the present, the present to the future. The my.itcrious voice which whispers its se- crets in every ear, and touches every heart. Like Fortune he is
STUAN.
506
II nt-onHciously pleasure or pain. I li by his iK'xUt nn^cr and tliunib :ii tvt'rv heart. All doors an- open ta ' ii. KncD ear h on the ulcn tu Imni fur And, ■feniutiuu cutnes wkh him, it ' «* him. And if to-day he brings de>- •-•( the empire, full of little pu»«)onfi, little < tries, to-morrow this universal plenipoten- iiiiir and space, may be the bearer of morr t iiig iiitrUigeiice, waited on post-office pinions 1- ol" the earth. ' iL- Tnopenn t/.jtoatmATt are usaally clothed with a ■iiT than those of his colleague, the General pott- . . may bring tiie news of distant battle and of death; jfl by ^hipvreck, or c;ntned by suceeonful enterprise. jI' the former consists chiefly in beinp the bearer of the lief which cnnstitute the business of ordinary life ; — in- Ihc ball and concert ; notes of congratulation and in* foMX, culeur tie rose, perfumed willi the sweet brestli Ided into faniastic forms, and «»led with devices which fieeret they try to confine. But t>til] the twopenny post- same smart, asuiduoue, and steady character, a# he of the "lo labour is too heavy for him, the letter of the mer- rnring a bank order of large amount, is as light aa the letter Eelcrk, full of love and protestation. Like the general post- is the master of every secret, without knowing anything of terv himself- He has all our private afTairs in his keeping, iiirver betrays them. He reads by iiistinct the rharactrr of a without opening it. Hv witnesiie»— nay, i* a party to.-^very le, every emotion, every paiaion of life; but is so discreet and : that he never allude* to the one or the other. lie is ct^ually die bearer of the request and the reply ; causes the wound, and cure* El; rarriea at the same time consolation and despair, and is nccom- I>anied in hin progress by n clamorous concert of complainti, prayers, pralsea, and entreaties ; which, however, do not in Xne slightest de- gree disturb his et(uanimity.
The postman is nlso a man of general information. He knows precisely our standing in society, aecortling as we are rich or pour, celcbrateil or unknown, wise or otherwise. He finds all this imaged HI our correspondence ; and in the same clear mirror beholds re- flected the extent of our influence, and the character of our under- Ktandiiig, until we are laid bare to his observation in all our native beauty or deformity. Such is the drama of life — so interesting, so striking, so profound. — which is played by the [KMtiuan every day ; and si^erward* complicated and renewed at each succeeding turn of duty.
We may finish the portrait of the postman in a few words. He ia ■letive and merry; for he has no lime to he idle and sad. He ia honest and trtiAtworlhy ; for his reputaiion, and that uf bin de|)art- ment, dei>end upon these qualities. He is civil and iJiIigiitg; for the new year must needa come round, with it* gratuities and re- wards ; and, to crown all, he is faithful and true ; for, though cn- uusied, aa we have seen, with alt the aecrets of tlie town, he nr dreoius of divulging ihcm.
^6 A LITTLE LOT FOR MR. GEORGE ROBINS!
BV JOTCB JOCUHIl.
lUiL, Mr. Robinsl first ofauctwDe«nl
No entiout jeen.
Wo rival's cliwrKiiir,
Can reii^cf impotent yoar poteut hammer ;
W(iid> knocks aown
(As quickly ta your nrguniL-nis do fallaciM) ;
"TUfc SOIXMK TCMPt.CS, AKP TBF. r>OnCSOU& TALACSS t'
Noubilit can withsUnd
Your ptxctiMd hind.
From peasant's coUbk^S) to
" Faihv BowruN,"
Vn^ea needy folic expectant heir* are ridding-
Of" Ouop r^rAH-S.*"
Oil • it i» awt-iH tlte vhilt
To lunrk yoai Etnilc,
And wali:h your keen eye loukinti oul^^'' HJiHtig f
"lilM MaJ»TT IUE (jl'tEK "
Mif^t seek tu purcha.te xucli
**A STLVAX ^CCKC"
As you desciibc, wiili pen of
"Wiziito's TOUCH,"
TrariAfumiino; in n Ince Desolate tracts into
"A FI.K»tCT FARflOISE!" With all yoDT lattdJcapM, picturesquely ibowing
"MCAVPEflINC KTSllANS"
llirou^h gTMo i-nlct Dowing
Ad4 "ijOT»"of '* WArEft-MiiLs, for e«M " ^tfing /
O'erliung by
"A Mjijlstiv wood,"
In shnclows iturk ;
Somt^tliiu^ofa
*■ Olatk i-orest"
Neitilibourlioodi
A sort of
"MOiOO pARir
1 ntk you, in all courtesy, ofeaunw.
Have you not, Mr. Uobiri^ vrer Contrived to trace on pApcr, aonw "Broad rivek. Which likfl "Tar. NiLK." Hiui but n qutfttiotiablc taurcef And are uol iiiHDy *'MlKfelO*iS," Country one*, and town. But well *' puffed up," lo be aa well " knocked down " t And tliongl) most cIl-vcHj yoit ciiiivy The world with icmptini; aflm, xuch a» tb«c. Friend Robint, don t jcm think now thai yourlrtei Ilcmind one v.'uily of "Tpa oiiovu or BLAIINEY?"
507
BABIOGRAPHV:
OEIHQ A 0IS5EBTATI0N VPUS BABl-'ilON8T£KS. " Et orii famlomm," &c
I AM inclined to believe that the next ^nerntinn will bp distin- jfiiished fibove nil thnt have pri-ccdpJ it, by an extrAordinary deve- lopemerit of intclkctual cncrjiy arising from the iiitrodiic-tion of iutJmt schnolii into KngUnd- i hujtpon at the |ircseiit time tu lie aci|uaint«l (iti u viry limited circle) with at least s hundred juvenile CriclUuna und infiuit prodi^es, who promise to adorn uhiiutt every station in life, — the church, the senate, and the bnr, — the court, iho camp, and the counting-houGe. I hnve in my mind's eye at thii
firesent writing an embryo Lord Chancellnr just breeched, — n bluff ittle Wellington staggering about in >i go-cart, — and an indubitable JJyron just put into the " at iti pr/rtenti." It is astonishing that iithey has not noticed thi» remarkable feature of the age in di»< CiiuinfE the " Proii|>ect« of Society," or Bulwer in discoursing of the " Intellectual Spirit of the Timea." When I consider the prfi»ent state of infant education, I lia%-e little doubt that, when the Fining generation shall have " put^hed us from our stools," delighted audiences will listen to limning lectures on politicnl economy, vreep over the pathos of pigmy AiacreadyA. and laugh at tiliputian tiistons. In our nurseries, " Tom Thumb" will give way to Karon's Essays, and " Blue Beard" be superseded by Jeremy Bentham ; the hoy- den, who is now ignnminionsly employed in licking chalk and craunching Mate- pencil, will be transfortned into a Jnanna Baillie, a Jamieaon, or n >Iartineau: wringing the heart with tragic fiction, delighting with graceful and delicate criticism, or puzsling with Muya on pojiulation.
I oave Iveen led into these reflections from having lately had an opportunity of observing the habits, temper«, and talents ol three or four of these baby-monsters in a Hingle family, and who, to my immortal honour, call me by the endearing name of uncle. I am a middle-aged man, of a reserved and sumewhol nervous temperament, ■crupulously regular in my liabitfl, and critically neat in my ap- parel. I am exceetlingly fond of children, when one is secured from the violence of their affectionate plavfulniis by an abte^boilird nursemaid ; though I must confes* I sfiould prefer them if tliey eoulft be exhibited io « glass case, like the beautiful insects in the Uritish Museum.
It was during the laat winter that I was invited to spend a few jt with a married sister iu the country, who haji for many yrara ten in the habit of prctH-nting siuiually to her "adoring" husband, one or more of the " little responMbilities" of which lam oboot •• (tiaeourw!. On entering the drawing-room, I found my rister I) on the sofa, (for she had just been making one of her annutl [ aentatiuns,) surrounded by her young and interesting familjr. I i a fine opportunity of observing the animal beauty of their peno: from the various postures and attitudes in which tbcy were d.a played. Some were climbing the barks uf chairs, mme were tnm- MiDg and " spread-eagling " on the Hoor, and otbcra were cxhi
508
BA BIOGRAPHY.
biting (as my sUter observed) the original state of human natitrr. (which, (tccordiiig to the " Philosojiher of Maliucsbury," !■ a " state of wfirfare.") by pulling Cfluh other's hair. On my appearance the little rt'bela all crowded round llicir iiiollicr, and reminded me of Lord Byron 'a bcKutiful simile of "cherub* round an altar-piece;' though, from ibcir screams nnd vociferutionu on the present occasion, 1 could only think of that class of " cherubim" of which it ia writ- ten that they " continually do cry."
When our first wiluLitiona were over, my jiister hastened to inform ine of all tho»c intererting and important matterjt that so afTectingly a^tate the mnternid mind. IJob hnd a flight touch of the hooping- cough ; Augustii!) (for Bynco]je Gutty) was just going to be vacci- natcKl ; little Emma, it was feared, had caught tne measles ; " the baby" was to be christened next wccli ; and n tall pale girl, in a pinalbre and cnrl-pnpcrft, was about to be confirmed. It was then remrmbered that I had not st-en " the baby," and Bob was directed lo ring for it. I confess 1 felt considerable nervousne»a whilst awaiting its arrival. In all probability 1 should be requested to take it in my arms — I am very ehort-idghted — I might take hold of the fvruHg end — 1 might let it fall — it might — . But it wad uselen to baraes oneself with these dihlressing anticipations whilrt the " enetuy wus at the gate." I am nut aware that the little stranger (which sure enough was put into my arms) di^ered in any important
fiarticular from the usual specimens of infant humanity. It hail a ittlc, puckered, kitten-face, of a pale brick-^lust colour, and »fvinced, on handling, that excess of " radical heat and radical moiature," which I nm told is the universal characteristic of early babyhood. I felt cun^iderably relieved when it was Temo*-ed, though I had suffered no farther inconvenience than « slight derangement of my dreM», the little creature having \til round my neck a part of ita apuurel, which [ have vince learnt ia technically called " a bib."
I cannot tell how long I might have been indulged with the play- ful gambols of my young relatives, had not Bob (who had climbed up the back of ray chair, and waa amusing himself with the innocent recreation of tugg;ing my hair, and poking a pair of scissors into my ear) at this moment fallen squat upon the carpet, with a sound similar tn the Hab of a young rook tumbling from the nesc. The little barbarian stared about htm for a moment, just to collect his vnergiea. and then set up a roar that wuuld Imve roused the Seven Sleepers : it was deemed advisable that the interesting sufferer should be removed. Shortly afterwards the room was cleared, (after a brisk and spirited resistance on the part of the rebeU,) by the united nrowess of a footman of six-feet-two, and a ratfigonian nursemaid. So console me, however, for the loss of their lively society, my atRtcr promised me an exhibition of their various talents, which the assured me were of the highest order, nn the morniw.
On the following day I was requested to iittrnd a morning con- cert, to be performed by the baby, in ousters in the school-room. The lean giri in the pinafore and curl-pnjiers presided at the piano. Bob, on being called upon, pcrl'urni*^ a. sulo on a penny trumpet. which his mother assured me had been considfred by competent judges as promising to rival the best performances of Harper. ** Gutty," who was about four years old, delighted us with a lao- taaia on th* Juwe'-harp, and afterwards with a very cUiborate per-
I
BABrOCRAPHY. 509
fonnance on the trais-vici1, wliicli. oomtMerinij the ilifficultics ander whicli be laboured, (the irmtrumpnt being twice as bi^ n« ibe per- rormer,) wan rertiinly a* wonderful as tlic sin[;lc>string AorcmcN of Paganini. IvniRM, who had just cut her hst tooth, wan " in fine voice," and favoured us with aereral exquisite little »tongs, amongrt which we were especially ploaaed with " Little Jack Horner,'* and " I had a little husband no bipper than my thumb." Of course the baby could not be expected to lake any prominent part in the per- fdrmniiceN ; but her mother called my attention to the lingular f»ct of her screaming in iimt; which kIic jueUy considered as indicating a stroit^ bias inwards " the joyous sdeucf."
When Uic mu»ci] jjcrlormftnccs were over, the two male Inbv- monstera had a " set-to" with the foiU, whilst the young lady in the pinafore and curl-papers executed a waltx with her little siater, — the two exhibition)! unfortunately ending in Bob getting a pokt in the eye with the foil, which sent him iK-ilowing from tiie room, and h'ttle Emma being gracefully whirled into the fire*place. These Caauatties put an end to the exhibition* ; but 1 had seen enough to convince me that my sister had ftrrmed a very accurate estimate of the talents of her ofl'ipring in reference to cxtcnul accomplish menta, and I was >oon convinced that 9he liad formed an equally accurate estimate of their mental powers. Before I \ei\ the country I siir- priitcd little Emma one day, deop in a dog-eared copy of one of aliii Alnrtincjiu's stories. Bob I found daily alworbed in the study of entomology ; he had already made a valuable rollcotion of spiders, blue-l>nttle.i, and beetles ; and such was hin devotion to the cause of science, tluit lie had twice fallen into the fish-pond in a chivntroun attempt to rapture b dragon-fly, and hod once flattened his nose against a wnll when in eager purenit of a rnriouii butterfly. Gutty had manifested uriec|uivocal symptoms of a talent for poetry, and I was indulged, under u solemn promise of secrecy, with the tight of several suunctf. written in rt>und hand, and addresaed to Carlo the pointer, Dicky the canary-bird, and nn uld srrubby pony called Peter. In consideration of these poetical manifestations, his mother had arrayed the young Petrarch in a huit of black velvet, and hod already decided that he should pn«s through tlie world without a neckcloth. I take no farther notice of the young lady in the pinafore and curl-papers, who was bom before the great era of infant education I am deM:ribing. Indenl tihe had imbil^ many of the vices ot* the old system of instruction, and WMted much of her time in watering the t)owers, feeding the pi*ultry, durning stockinn^ marking linen, and other menial and servile employment*, now hap* pitv confined to houM-mnids and humhle eompanioos.
I cannot conclude thid brief sketch without expressing a hop« tliat I may have drawn the attention of my readers to a very inte- rciiting Kubjert. There is, ] repeat it, in this happy country an hnmense fund of infant learning daily increasing. The itateanian, the philosopher, and tlie philanthropist are equally interekleil in pro- mutmg its developemi-nt. Towards this great end, 1 would pro|Ni«e the immediate evtablt«hnient of a baby-college, in connection with the great scheme of national educjtita now in prugresn. As a necessary pan of the discipline to he adopted, 1 would suggeht tlie brtal sup- prearion of all games am) pastimes which tend to divert tlte \n(nut mind from the serious pursuit of plulotuphy and sciunce. In tliis
I
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THE COSTttAST.
there would be no hftrdnhip, inumuch as a statute ia «til] in ence restraininjif the undcr-gracluato mcmbcra of ihe UniveTfitvrf'^ Osford from tlic comparatively venial rctrreation of marbles, Pn>. fcssors might W procured without difficulty from the various infxnt ■cbools throughout the kingdom, nnd their appointment .ihould be Tttted in the crown. Proposals !<lH)uld be published for the crcetion of a suitflhie buildioj;, whiclt should contain within its walla * nursery and a dairy, together with suitable HCcnmmodation» for vet and dry nurses. When the scheme Hlmll come into full operation, it vill be necessary farther to establitih a Society for the Diffuttion of Infant Kuowk-due, which shitll supply the infant public with cheap and popular works iu the catechetical fonu. Uut perhaps, anterior to nny steps being taken, it might be advisable, in eonforuiity with the general practice in such cases, to issue a coniatitsioH, empowering any number not exceeding teo asad gentlewomen, (to be nomi Dated by the Crown,) to examine on oath all nurses and others emplo^'ed in the care of children, and report their proceedings to ParUament. I would suggest that the salaries of the comniinsioners should not exceed three guineas a-wc«k, with their travelling expenses, and half a pound of gunpowder ten.
There arc, I ndmit, some objections to the system I am proposing, owing to a cerUiin eccentricity in infant genius. The most highly- cultivnted b1oi<.!ioins will not always hear fruit. lie who is a voung
Ehilosopher at four, will at six frequently return to peg-top and mai^ !ck ; mid the melanehuly picture is exhibited of the intellects of one's children progressing iu uu inverse ratio to their bodily stature, which makes
" the philosophical l>e^oMei Sigh for ihcir wkcs ihcy crc-r iliould grow older."
T have known several instances of the most promising monsters at three or four ye.ir.<> old gradually become <lutler and duller, until at ten they have sunk into a state of morbid obesity and mental stupor. Worse than thu fat boy iu " Pickwick." There is, I fancy, at the present time a stout gcnttemnn walking about town, undistinguished in the crowd, whose childhood was fed with the ineeuu: of applaud- ing theatres, and who rejoiced in the flattering title of the " Infant R- s." I say nothing of the uu-lancholv situation of a fat middle- aged man being doomed to bear through life the horribly -ludicrous zoubri(|uet of Mr InJ'aul, when perhaps at the sume tirae he may be puird'idly c(in«cl»us of having a wife and ten small children, and of weighing lilteen stone! These cases, however, are to be looked upon as exceptions to a rule, and by no means as representing the infant mind of England in the nineteenth century.
I trust I have now fairly and honestly, however immrfectly, stated my case, which I submit with confidence to '* on emightened and discerning public."
F, J. H.
THE CONTRAST,
OvH rvrlor in his cliariot rolls, Because he has " Itie can of souls;" Our doctor wsllcs, the cause is, suie, Because he liu no soul lo-^utv /
Juves JW.USP.
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THE UIARY OF A MANUSCRIPT HUNTER,
" Aa I do live, my honoured lord, 'tis true'"
(UHttT.
Thk fiillowirifi narrative is drawn from the papers of the Knfilish rcsidrnt at the cuurt of France during the reign of Henry the Fourth, and if the reader entertains any aiiEpicions of itn truth, he may sa- tisfy htB doubts by comparing it with the despatches uf tlie laraB persDD, still preserved among Secretary WuiwoiHi's [Mipeni.
I.
HENRY THE POURTII AND THE PRINCESS OF CONDfe.
Henry the Fourth of Franee was a prince comparable to any, in the eniinency of tun p^ilitical virtues and the splendid successes of his life. In this he did partake, in a great measure, of Ciesar's eon- stcllation. whom, as he resemWed in courage, in constancy, in for- tune, in wisdom and clemrncy, and in the suddenness of a violent death, so, above all, wa« he like the noble Roman in the variety and errancy of hiR afTni^ctiona.
His marriage at an early age with the sister of Charles the Ninth was solemnized by the massacre at Paris, and the murder of his fViends and family, who had been invited for this purpose to be pnwtit at the colcbrntinn of his nuptials. Detained in a jealans nmrt, not by the strength of walls and fetters, but by the corruption of his servants, by un espionage on his words, connienance, and ac- tions, he abandoned himself to the love of women, not from incli- nation only, but from industry-, that, under the mask of carelessness and pleajjirre, he might calm the jealnustea of the state, and soothe the argus-eyca of those who daily thn.'atened his safety. The con- duct of Henry the Third, and the wantonness of the Queen of Na- varre, furnished him not only with an excuse, but even a plausibi- lity for his conduct ; and when, after an interval of three years, he escaped from imprisonment, to become the head of the Hugonots, his ancient partisans and allies, the lenons which he tiad learned in impri»Dnment, he practised with less affectation and publicity, but with more efficacy, and no less assiduity. His wife lent henwlf a sedulous instrument to his intrigue*, as much to colour and excuse her own, a^ to gain unlimited authority over htm: and when her mother, Catharine dc Medici, came to visit Henry upon public bu- tineas, she failed not to take with her the choicest heniities Af France, for whom, in the day of his captivity, he had declared his af- fections- Thus his licenlioiifiness was encouraged not only hy natu- ral proncnsitv, hut likewise by habit and appetite. — by vanity and political intrigue. Nor could the bitter Lnunts of die assembly at Hochelle about his mistrcases and their children produce any other effect upun him than a distate to themselves ; as a Uttle water cast upon a strong fire increases ita intensity atler a moderate inten-al.
In the distraction of the timet which followed the death of his predecessor, neither the greatness of his hopcn, nor the intricacy of (lis ailairs, could prevail u|Kin htm to change his course ; true to his
51 S
TDE DURV OK
fonner rharactrr, thmc whom lie loved in his retsfortunes he ron- tinucil to love when wealth and honour wcru ut liis disposal, and even pinecd them nrouni! Iiim as the chief ufficcr* and oriiunents of his court. Such ivas Gnbrielle d'Extreos, nflerwardtt Duchess ot Benufort, renowned for her sin^fular beauty, and the exquisite sweet- ness of h«r temper, who g^vemetl his aficctions with absolute domi- nion ; yet, though nhe brmight him three diihlren, whom he dearly loved, hud not di-atii prevented iier marriage with him, she hjul cau«ed a new division in His party.
The hap|iiiicds of his second marriage prevented him not from en- tertaining in the interim the Demoiselle d'Estracus, aftervards Marchioness of Veurveil; and, unable to resist the importunacy oF his dcMres, he lia<l entangled himcelf in some slippery promises (ifmarri^e- The haughtine&ti of the lady, ami the petulance of ber tongue, c(nii]>elled him to redeem his proiniseii by proceeding capitally againtit her and her father ; and yet, though she never to ber dying day forgave him, nor failed to demand the performance of tlie ho|>ca she nad once conceived, he not only continued his viriu to her, treating her with the utmnrt condescension and at- tention, but seetned to hear with patience, approaching to delight, the freetloiti nml bittemefs of her wit. Alter this lady he fixed his atfectioDii upon the Coiinteftn of Kforet la Hay, and a hundred others, too tediou<) and impertinent to mention. We, therefore, pacing on to the occasion of our prew^nt narrative, intend to take a view of him only in the last years of his life, when he had reached the age of fifty-eight (160!)).
At this time he was, for his years, of a strong and sound com-
Clexion ; a hardy education, continued evercise in peace and war, ad seasoned him to laltoiir and endurance : ifubjecc to no indi>po«U tion but Buehasan amorouH appetite mi^ht produce, and some slight fits of the gout; of a moderate stature, a shape well-formed ami compact, deficient nmhcr in titrength nor agility, nor in beauty of feature, or complexion ; of an aspect most agreeable beyond belief, especially when he spoke or moved. For promptitude in his actions, readiness in hif< answers and retorts, he was inimitable: though sometimes over lavisJi in hia speech, to his own prejudice, but of. tener to the prejudice of truth — ^yet hia convcrtntion was not defi- cient in Qiajcbty and awe, tempered with sweetness, ei|i)ulling him- self to the level of the meanest ; und yet, when it suited him, ei- jiressing such majesty and dignity towards the greatest as made theui tremble at bis words, and even at hi)i countenance. lie btill retained, even after his conversion to the Roman Catholic faith, so much of the refurrued religion as to place the principal exercise i>r his devotion in private prayer. He wa» a xe^lous attendant at the public exerciNes of the Romi>h Chuich ; but failed not to express impatience at any symptoms of hypotrrisy or anVctation of extraor- dinary zeal.
Thus stood matters when, in tbe summer of the year 1609, aotne overtures of marriage took place between the Prince of Conde and Marguerite de AFuntmorency, youngest daughter of the Constable uf Ft ance. The Duche«s d'Angonleme, the maiden's aunt, a lady much respected by the king, undertook to communicate with him upon the subject, and to introduce the young lady at court for that pur- pose. The intended bride was in the morning of her age, nut fully
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L
vixtcen, of an exquisite shiipo miuI beauty ; her behaviouraiitl sppccli »o excellemly u-moeretl between the confi(lei>ce of her uwii %'aiue Rtid iiinocence, uiil tlie uiocletty of lier youth ami education, that iii nil company where fihe CAiae she brcxthrtl nn air of sweetneM am) (leliflht, like ■ choice flower v,-hrt*e (lincloninj; beauticA draw the eye^ of the beholders, and sheda itti beauty and fragrance around. Henry, who was fcrown weary of hi« mercenary miHtresHen, fait kings have the continuHl dioiuitiiirHction of never beinf; certain mat they •re loved fi>r thera*elve*,) waa instantly set on fire by her presence : and those considerations which should have kept him back, — regard for his repuution, his greatness, his years, — ser*'ed but to betray him, and to flatter and encourage the vehemency of his pa^aions. He at once grew impatient of every little abaence, omitted no occasion to court and entertain her ; and, when interrupted by otlier circum- stanoes, ceaiied not to pursue her witlj such intent and devouring looks as if hia whole »oul had bv«ii teatetl in liiit eyes. The cour- tier*, curious Cu observe the iiliKhtest motions of princes, were pre- sently full of whispers on the subject, which buoy rumour scattered abroad with increased intensity. The f«r Marguerite, whether prompted by her own vanity, or the craft of those about her, failed not to ca«t a melting and relenting eve upim liim ; snd her friends, wbo at hrr jirst introduction anticipBte<l ii ditRctilt and tJiorriy iiefjo- tiation for her ntorringr witli the prince, now found their prnpOMls accepted with rheerfulnes!) and welcome.
The Prince of Cond<>, until the king's second marriage, had always been brought up in expccution of aucceedii^ to the crown : and, fur greater security, those about him had taken especial care to instil into him a pertinacious hatred of the reformed religion. Mc wa* quick and prompt in apprehension, eloquent nf speech ; but in sta- ture little, and of so bad an aspect an though nature had prema- turely BUniped upon him an evidence of iJiose vices he had not yet had time to evince. He was now about the age of twenty-two, still retaining ^mme swelling thoughts of his family's ancient greatneas and blighti^d irxpcctations ; but his fortunes were miserable, for his father bav tng been the head of a party, all hid lands and estates were engaged for the jNi) uient of his father'!) debts, and himseir and his mother compelled to depend u(>on an ill-paid pcniion from the king fur a scanty and prt'carioub Bubsistencc. The king despised and suspected tbrra both ; and though divers propo-ilion* had been made for the
Eritice's uiarri'tgv, twinie with ^reat advantage to his fortunes, the ing, not de»irou>« to see princes of the blood increaMt too fm\, had ever found means to break them off. Ilut thia motion was be-
S;un under so propitious a star that it was eagerly admitted, ami bund a rapid conclusion, and the dowry of one hundred thousand crowns, which the father gave with her, was employed in clearing tlie prince's estate. The king promised them his countenance and mpport, nettling upon them for the present a pension of twelve tbouaand pounds sterling.
I pftss over the ceremonies of the affiance and marriaffe ; it raflicctii to tay. all things were concluded as the young lady de> sired, by whose will the king's heart was absolutely steered.
The court made short and frequent removes, sometimes to Paris, sometimes to places in the neighbourhtmd, (as men in fevers are im- patient of the same posture,) hut the king stirred nowhere without vol.. 111. 3 X
514
DIARV OP
thl
the compsny of the queen, that he might thus have an occuion oi enjoying the prcBence of the young princess; anil nhererer %] came, as if it had Iwen the joiirney of Bacchus into Inrlin, aU w feasting, and music and aong, ode« and et«ei«x, tiltin;; iind runnin at the ring, above all, duncing, in which the lady i-xceedinely d lighted, and ^ve a far greater dpli[;ht to alt behntdtM^. In t*^ paatime the ninbitJouii courtiers did lend unlo the king's pass! not their experiBc only and their bravery, but thrir youth, an, beauty, and wit, and lie vat highly saiiffiud who could*by any in Tention favour the king's pretences, or flatter his hopes, or eaak^ tome ingenious report of the Prince of Condt^'a fears and | loDsiea.
The prince at first laughed heartily to see the king's unrcaso< able passion, the alacrity with which he received the notion of tna riage and other pretciicw, so contrary to his foriner experience; n was bis eariic^tncM fur the nn^tinls in xny degree abated, u eon dent that the king's xffectinn would rather above himsplf than fri Aim ; yet, when the mnrriage had been concluded, xnd the whisui of tbokc who would in-'iituate them«etv«s into his grace*, and th more open remarks which the wrtrld made upon the violence of king's passions, srouwd his fu4picion«, he b^^gan to be very tpoo blesome with his cunipl^iints to hi« wile'H friends, inipoituning h to retire into the coontry, though, olherwiw, he whs no Yery g; adorer of women. At last, when all excuses had been exhaus when such a feast, or such a marriage, (occasions of delay, inter- posed Bometimei by the entreaty of others, or the more abM>1u motion of the king,) when these and other pretences served na longer, the prince, in the eod, canied her away to mis of hit casUes in Picardy.
The king, who had as yet reaped neither fruit nor blnwaoms front the seeds of his bitter passion, other than what might be attributed to respect, or at most to vanity, was yet so pleaaeri with the objcol of his delight, that whilst he enjoyed her presence and converse tion, he wa« kept floating on the waves of his own de:#ires; and lh« he«t of his affection resembling the vigour of youth, infnsed jof ami brightness into his eyes and countenance ; as the saving is, the'tooth of desire bites sweetly. But now that she wa^ gone, without any tix«4, time being nppointed for her return, he luink at once into aadneaa ; his ioy and pVasantnc&s were fled. Ho entirely w«.s hii soul occupied witii hift passion, tlial there was no business, of never so serioua m consequence, but if it came to any long debute, he wnuld draw the mentitm of the Conde into it, thoutjh it were with tlie most grave and silent of his council. In those rooms where he had enjoyed her preaeoce and conversation, be lingered with a manifest yet in- effbctual pleasure, which was no sooner perceived by his assiduoa* courtier?, than, anxious to anticipate bis wishes, they set about un- dertaking pilgrimages to viul her. in procuring lettcni from, or re- Eorts about her, in making feasts and balls to divert the king's so. tudc. Puet& likewise did expose their abilities in songs and eleg{ei commemorative of her departure, and the king seeioed to take a re- Uith in them, contrary to his wonted inclinati<m.
It icems that men who have been successful in the world have a certain period in their prosperity at which, when they have arrived, their felicity ruins itself for want of opposition. Besides, when
A MANUSCRIPT HUNTER.
outwanl oppQtition faileth, in it* place »uccee<l enry. hatred, ca- liimnjr, and secret practices for tneir ruin- Such wd) the Cfi*v with till* kinj;, who to his fsc<f wait exquiiitcly soothed in hii p«fr- Bion, yet evrrywlicre eliw traduced beyond the truth— his lecret actions, words, and very thought*, reprritented in a multiplying glass to the nrinre, by those whiim he least *usi>ected.
On the 24th of October, the kin^ came suddenly fi-oni St. Oer- maino to Paris^ and the next day disparted by three o'clock in the ninrninf;, leaving directions for some of his guarda to come afler him to Fontflinbleau. There they stayed three days without hear- ing any news of him, til) at length he arrived at Fontain- bleau, and thence returned to Paria. The trutli is, he took with bim his natural son, Dv Vcndamc, and four or five other niiniaters of hin pleatures, such as he had IWuicrly t^nipluyed in thesu pur- suits, uioguifed like merchants, intending tu visit the Princess of Coiide at her own hot)!«e, taking the opportunity of her hubband'a ab»ence, who had appointed to be at a solemn meeting of the gentry at Picardy, in memory of Ht- Hubert. Yet, notwithxtandiiig the auddeiineta and secrecy of this resolution, tlie prince had received an
\ti intimatiLiii of it, and h«d circuiatol a retxirt tlmt some persona, liaguiMd, ha<l coine upon an evil de)>i);n. This, ad^lrd to a c[Marre] which had arisen between two of the chief personii in that pro. vinoe, made a great alarm among the gentry, and messengers were ported up and down to assemble friends and discover the persons so disguised. When the king arrived, he found all in a disturbance and uproar, and was compelled to retire without any fruits of hit Ad- venture. But upon nis return to Pariit, every house and every asaeinbly was full of the strangeness of this action, which was every- where related with different, and generally with lalse and malicious, circumstances.
A nuther occurrence happened at this time^ which gave occadoQ to men's wonder and astonishment.
8ign»r Koscarini, the \'enctian Ambassadnr, who bod formed an intimacy with the Prince of Candt% took occasion to address the following words to tlie king: '*fiirc, all the world doth ac- knowledge of bow infinite importance your life is to the well* iM-iiig and quiet of Christendom, and bow much your health, and i:iinsc(]uently your life, is concerned in tl)e disquiet you receive by the absence of the Princess of Conde- If your majenty will be pleuned lu make use of my service, I am ronlident tliat there is no man in France can so soon prevail with the Prince ofCondc, and persuade bim to bring his wife to Paris, as I can." The king was at first abashed by so monstrous a proposition ; but suddenly re- collecting liimself, he said witi) a jeer, " My Lord Ambassador, cir- cumftances are by no means such as you imagine , but I must beware of you, who, being an ambassador to me from a foreign state, have got so great an interest with the princes of my blood."
Upon the universal murmur wbicti arose at tliis strange adven- ture of the king, the Prince of Coiidr, by these and ouier plaints, lud induced the Duke of Montmorenci. his father-ii to write and expostulate with the king, which he did in mai rHpecti'ul terms, yet ^eniibly enough tu give las son-in-Uv bidon, and to set before the king's eyes the scandal whi world mtertained at hit proceedings ; but a» bodies cormp
516
THE MISFORTUNES ANO CONSOLATIONS
peccant humours turn nil tlint is nutriment into a contrary quality, so tlid tile king mnke use of these compinint* to ieed his pnMion ; writing to llie Princt* of Condc, and jesting at the idle cimipljiinU and almdows'or liiK sick iinaginutiun, and in the end commanding him to return to Paris, where he should receint Mli»fiictioD for these unfounded npprehen^tons.
THE fillSKORTUNES AND C0NSOI.ATI0.NS OF PEKKGRkVE TWEEZLE.
Mr friend Tweezle has, through lire, been the most unfortif oate, and yet tht- most fortunate, of men. Every species of ca- lamity Hhh btrfalten him, iind yet lie has never once been un- huppy> Slisforliine and he have ever been st war: she darting her miHst]t>N at him ; and he throwing them hjick at her, or r.-i>8ing lip baMions, behind which he has ensconced himself, and ItLiighed the malicious judc to 8Com- Lucky has it been for him that he has been made of such " impenetrnble stuff;" lucky for him that be hnit bad a thick head and a tough hide; and that, like the tortoise, whidi, encased in its hard shell, lela the ponderous waggon-wlieel pass over it withtmt flinching, he also has be«n able to li't the heavy car of Fate drive right over his back without hai ing a single hone broken by the pressure. Some men, when under the lash of misfurtunf, i-iidiloiily iniiigine that they might to be religioui, and take to jiriiying most vehemtiiilv while the danger lasts; others ^ again arc optimists, and, uhen the ithue pinches t)ii*m, cunsole them* ^| aclvcs by quoting the hackneyed line of the poet, " whatever u, is ^^ right ;" wh^le others — poor wcok-mioded creatures ! — fly to tJie bottle for solace, and make beasla of themselves, because Kate baa proved unkind. Tweexle, howevi>r, cundemm; all theE« tnethods. Mid C€0- fiolrs bimitelf in a manner |ieculinrly his own. Whenever any t'cowliog, ill-favoured fiend, of the many that follow in the train of misfortune, stares him in the face, my friend Tweexle sits himself c;«]n)ly down ami looks at him. He quietly takes the measure ol' bis deformity ; and, if the fiend have by chance any good parlH ab«)ut him, he treaAures tliem in his remembrance. Then he sbutk hi» eyes, and gives loose rein to hU imagination ; which, finding itMlf at liberty to disport, B|iecdily dcpicw the monster as ten times more hideous than he really is. At this creation of hi* fancy Tweezle shudders, bis hair htand^ on end, and he thinks himself indeed an unfortunate inaiv, to be in tiie jirescncc of a misfortune so great and so menacing. This, however, only Usls for a momentt and Tweexle opens his eyes again. The monster is still there. " Ha i ha !*' saya Iweezle, pretending to be agreciibly surprised, "is that you? Lord love you I I thought you were a great deal uglier ; really, yo« are nut Imlf nu imil »k you might have been. Your face ia rridlr pleasant, and your behaviour actually courteous, in comparison witfc the one I took yon for. What » lucky fellow 1 am that Fate has sent me, in your peT3fin, a mixfortune that 1 can put op with. Ha ! my good fellow I there is comfort in store yet ! " »ml Twcizie, rhapRodizing i
1
OP PF.REGR1NE TWEEZLB.
this stmin, nctunlly rejntct's that n little misrortunc hu come upon him, bfcjiusie a ^renter might, with ns much jtistice, have b^ldllcn hiin.
Tweezlc and I wrrc KrhonirellowB, ami one trait of hin eiaXy cha- rucler will exemplify his peculinr philosophy. Peregrine, hem^ so easy and good-natured, tjuirn) Uie t'liit of all easy I'olks, aiid was always put upon, and became, in fact, the scapegoat of the whole ffchuol. If any riotous urchin had committed a fault, — broken a window, knocked down a pie-woman, or drawn a caricature of our pedagogue upon the wull, — Perefirine was pointed out aa the delin' uuent. Straightway the awful ferula waa put into requisition, and TwecKlc and itii thongs became mure iiitimat«')y ucquainted than waa at all «f{reexb1e to ihe former. Tweexle wao at this lime but tieven yean old ; but hi* ruling maxim had even then penetrated into his brain, and become the guide of hi« conduct and hi« conM>> Ution in distress. Our pedagogue, Mr. Thump'emwell, had a wife, who had a very inortUnate notion of her own excellence, both men- tal and corporeal, and a very supreme contempt fcr her husband In both refpects. ThumpVrawell, if rumour spoke truly, now and then experienced from this afTcctionate partner a few prooffi uf her supe- riority, which iihe mntiifeftcd by imprinting upon his cheek'* the inarka of her delicate fingers, and by letting fall u|Km his eyes the All) weight of her dainty fi»t. One uidueky morning, some satirical rogue — iU-natured, as satirists always are,— drew with chalk upon the wall a very tolerable representation of one of the striking scenes above alluded to, which had on the previous n-ening agreeably re- lieved the dull monotony of the schoolmaster's life. When Thump* 'cmwcll came down in the morning, his eyes rested immedialely upon this sketch of his connubial felicity. He gazed upon it tors rninute in awful silence ; ami then his eyes sparkled with fury, and fStis face grew so red, and the veins of his forehead so swullen, that Ive thought he would luive kutfocated. Cl^nching his h^tnd, and •Iriking it agitiuNt his de^k, upsetting at the same time an inkstand all over his nankeen nether garments, he, with a still small voice, ordered us all to stand up. The dread summons was obeyetl, and we itood in a line across the room. Thump'emwell was always in a tremendous fury whenever he spoke low and blandly, and we ac- cordingly prepare4l ourselves for an explosion.
'• Now, my dear children," said Thump'emwell, " yon know I love you sincerely/' and the hypocritical wretch seized bold of his feruLi as he spoke: " and I slitiuld die witli grief, if one of you ever came to the gallows. Do you hear i
- " Now," continued he, after a pause. " I was telling you tltnl 1 loved you all dearly ; and, as 1 love you, I mual ttive rou (Vom <b» gallows. Now, the little atrocious vagabond who made thn ing is sure to be hanged : nothing can osve him iVum it, find him out and flog him, and confine him fur three fla breaxi and water. You see, therefore, my dear children," ot he, still in the same bland voice, " that my nlfeclioii rompet punish the ulFendor. Therefore I ask you who did itf" No rvply.
" Tell me, or I will flog ever)' soul of \ou, from t)ie biggrst t Irasr. Who is the atrocious little reptile ihut had tlic audadl do it ?"
518
THK MtSFORTUNKS AMD COKSOLATI0K8
Still tliere wail no reply ; anrl Thnmp'emweU lifted his rod, uiil bruidialii'd it in ur, pofising* the Hugera of Ins left baud lovingly throuifh the tbungs as it dusceiidcd.
Still a general silence prevailed : every one looked innocent ; and the reul culprit, certainly the niost innocent of all.
Again the question wus asked, «nd all eyes were directed towarda poor Twecjile, who, though guiltless as the babe unborn, stood trembling &t the bottom of the lile. Ilis countenance trai pale, liia eyes were downcast, and hJii knrcs knticked t<^ether. As the fierce look of the pedftgogue wn* turned towards him, my poor friend thought thitt he mij>ht as well hjive been guilty, since he was sure to bear the puntuhmcnt.
" It wea you, was it. Ton incorrigible rascal?" said Thump'oa* well, seizing the unlucky Peregrine by tlic nape of the neck. " Now go, «.ir, and rub it off."
Twecgle did ns he was deiirctl.
" Now, my dear little boy," sjiid Thump'emwell, " come here !**
TwerzU: knew it wnuld he of no nite to resiiit, nnd he went.
In a minute al\rrward^ the instrument of torture ascended and descended in rapid Eueci.'tsion, and the screams of the unhappy sa£- ferer resounded tlirough the upurtuirut.
" I '11 teach vou, you imp, to make sport of your superiors," aaid Thump'emwell, after he had flogseiJ nim till his arm was tinxL " And now," he added, " come with mel"
'i'weezle still bellowing, as if he hnd had the lungs often urchins, was dragged by Xhump'emwell to a little dark, du^y room, used-as the prison for juvenile delinquents, and there locked up. We all of us heard tiini roaring for about live minutes, when the noise gradn- ally subsided, and in a »tiort lime he was as quiet as if he bail drop- ped n»leen. Feeling acutely lor his sufTerincs, and indit^iant that ne hHoiiIcI have undergone such severe punishnirnt (or »n offence of which he wrk guiltless, I seized an opportuniiy to fle»\ away to condole with him upon his wrongs. Tapping gently at the door of his prison, I announced myself, and straightway tVom the outside beg,in to console him under the pressure of his evil fortune,
"Oh, I am quite comlbrtable ! ' said Tweczle, stopping me short in the midst of my IjimentationR.
" What !" B.iid I, surprised, •• after such a beating ai that inlenial Thnmp'cmwcll gave you ?"
" Yes," said Tweezle.
"And three whole days yet to be locked up here, and condemned to bread and water. Comlortiible did you say?"
'* Ves, quite comfortable," said Tweesle ; " one thing only irou- blee me."
"And what is that?"
" That 1 was not guilty ; however, I intend to become so u sooo as J get out, nixl there's comfurt in that!"
" Well done, Tweer.Ie ! I admire you for that I But is it not cmel, nevertheless, that you should be conflne<l here fur tliree days? Is it not disgraceful ?"
"It it rather," replied Tweezle ; "but I dun't mind it. Three dayn will poKS sooner than a week. It might have b<:en wor*e !"
And with thi:* small grain of comfort — that hi» punishment mioht
4
I
4
OP PBRSORTNE TWRRZLR.
S19
Tiave hetn more Mvere — ^Tireezle pitaaed the term of his Impriaon- ment in chcerfiilne*» ! Happy Twecitlc I
Thii WAS one of the troublei of his carlv life : and in manhood he hat not been more fortunate. Ill-luck has always followed him. HchasbeeninlDvc, and been tilted ; he has played, and been plucked ; he hu confided, and been ileccived : but still, the more that Far- tune hns frowned, the more stublnirn ha» he been in his defiance of her, and the mare eager to c<)naole himself, even in Fate's darkest day, by reflecting "that it niiuht have been worse."
Another adventure in which he was cuncvrncd will show bit turn of mind. The Hon. Major Fitzfigfrins. a gentleman who rejoiced in a great atock of auuranoe, a tolerably handDome person, and a very Bcoommodating conacience, took it into his head to pay some very marked attentions to Miss JuUettA Blossom, a youiif; Udy to whom Tweezle wu «n|^ged. Those )<aIIantrieB of the major towards the fair Juliettn were, of course, imt very pleatiinf; to my friend Pere- grine ; and it may be inferred that no tftent portion of good*will sub- sisted between him end the major. Perefinne, being an easy, good. natured man, would never have inaulteil Major Fitxfig^ins ; but the latter, being an ovcrbearino; puppy, thought lit to apply an epi- thet towards Mr. Peregrine Tweezfe, which, as a gentleman, Mr. Peregrine Tweeaile could not do otherwioe thnn resent. I was in consequence commiasioned to bear an invitation to the Hon. Ma- jor Fitsfiggins to ukc a walk to Cha1k<Fiirm on tiie following morning, where he would find a certain perHon whu would be mott happy to exchan;;e the politcnefiH of a shot with him. Major Fitz- figgins wan too much of a gentleman to reject so courteous an offer, and next morning, accordingly, the meeting took place.
"Sad rascal that Fitzfiggins!" said Tweexle to me aj we ar- rived upon tile ground.
"And a good shot!" said I, like a Job's comforter aa I waa.
" I 'm glad of it !" said Twe^ale,
I was about to uk him why, when the Hon. Major Fitzfig- fcins arrived un the field, accompanied by his second. The cus- tomary cold and furmal civilitieR pxsHeil between the belligerents; the ground was measured by the seconds, and the principals took their places. There was an tiwfiil pause. Each man fired, and each man fell I 3Iy friend Twcezle was severely wounded in the right arm. I knelt down, and began to bantlage up his wound »» well as I was able, when the second of Major Filsfiggins came up to me. Alarm and anxiety were imprinted on hi.s Rnuntrn.in>re.
•• For flod's sake !" said he, in a hurried tone, " genllemcn,— loae no lime— fly, fly — .Major Fitzfiggitw is, 1 fear, mortally wounded."
"(lood (Jt)d !" said I, *' 1 hope not!"
" I fear ho," answered the second, shaking his head dolefully ns he turned to render that nnsistance which bis friend so imperatively needed. To my unsophisticated mind the aspect of affairs was dis- agreeable enough. Tweezle saw that 1 thought so; and, looking earnestly in my face, whispered in a con&ding tune, " // might Aave t/rcM tForsrl"
•• How ?" replied 1 mechanically, for I was thinking whither wa should proceed till the disagreeable business had blown over.
•' I might have misted bun t" said Tweeale; and he fainted from loss of blood.
5S0
CONUNDRUM.
I carried him in m^arms to a hackni'y'Cnach that was in wail- ing, and we drove a-way rapidly. Three n-rckit ailerwards Me heard that Major Fitzfi^sing tir»% itlowly recovering from hi» wound, and that no lorther fear* were entertained for hi* *jitety. Not so, how* ever, with poor Tweczle. Hi» wound had proved excce<]ingly dit ficult of cure ; and at the end of a month he lay tn a very prec*- rious atate. To add to this vexfitiou, newM bIao reached u* thai the heart of the intereitting and romantic AliiM Julictta Blossom had been touclied by the dangers whirl) the gallant major bad un* dergone for her sake. Rumour addnt — and rumour for once spoke the M-hnle trutli, — that the gentle fair one had, ai\er a nhort »iepe. yielded her heart, and fixed u day when )>lic would yield her hand to lliu ca}jUvaliiig soldier. Tliis iie»ft 1 thought wuuld prove ra- ther tou much even fur the comfurCnble pbtlusophr of my friend. and I hesitated about communicating it to him. By some mcaiii. however, it came to hi» knowledge.
"What's your opinion of my wound, air?" Mid he to me one day, after I hud returned from a suhtary saunter through Boulogne-
" Bad enough," :>iaid I ; "but you will recover in tliree or four months."
" I doubt it," replied Twecxle ; " but still it might have been worse !"
" If he had killed you uatright," said I, gncaaing hia meaning.
"Precisely »a." replied Tweezle, smiling, and looking quite happy to tKink he had escaped with life, and had only receiveil a wonnd which would confine nim fur mx months to his bed.
*' And what do you think nf womankind in general," said Twee- ale again, " and of Hiss Julietta Rlos^om in particular ?"
" They arc faUc in general]" said I, " and &Ii»s Julietta BloMom is false in particular."
"All!" said Tweexle, chuckling, "I am a happy man !"
'* I wish you a long cunuuuance of your happinejsi'," replied I.
Tweezle looked serious for n moment, and then heaved a d«ep fiigh. " I have Wt Iier [" sivid he.
"Miss BIoBsoDi?" inquired I.
"Yen! and a t»weel creature the was! rich, beautiful, and well bnrn ! and I— I 've lo!<t ber!" Tweexle made an effort to look sad. " But if wiigitl tiave Iteen a'orse!"ht added, brightening up.
For my part, I was glad to see him so cheerful : but I ccmld not well sec what reasons he had for being so, and 1 therefore B*ked him.
" I might have married her !" said Twee»le.
Happy, happy Peregrine !
4
CONUNDRUM.
As a skaiter was aporting his elcgnni make
tu the Ite^eiit'* Vikik, lut wai uk'd llns con. :
Why U ibis sheci of ice like a Cuiuln \»kt 1
Cine il up ?"~" IktauM! it '» llie lake i/imi 'rr on (Huron).''
11:=.
OLIVEK TWIST:
OR, THE fARISH BOV's rSOCnESS.
BY BOZ.
ILLDSTRATRS BT OKOHOE C R 0 1 K < II A V H.
I
I
BOOK THB SECOND.
CUlKTKlt THE TKNTK.
WMSXKIX TIIX nAmMEM or OIJVKR AKD ttllt raiKNM. tXftUKKrSf A SVbDEN CUECX.
SpRtNc flew Kwirtly by, and summer came ; and if tlio village had been iHraiitifiil at lirst, it was now in the full glow and lux- uriance of it* richness. The ^rent trees, vhich had looked shrunken and Imrv iu the earlier mnnthn, had now bnr»t into strong life and health, and, sLretching forth their green arms over the thirdly ground, converted open and naketl ^jmts into choice nooks, where was a deep and pleasant sh.idc from which to took upon the wide prospect, steeped in siins^hinc, whicli lav stretched out bevond. The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green, and shed her richest perfumes abroad. It was the prime and vigour of the year, and all things were glad and flourishing.
Still the same quiet life went on at the little cottage, and the some cheerful serenity prevailed among its inmates. Oliver had long since grown stout and healthv; but health or sickness made no diflVreuce in his warm feelings to those about htm« (though they do in the feelings of a great many people.) and he waR still the same gentle, attached, affectionate creature, that he bad been when pain and suffering had wasted his strength, and he was dependent for every slight attention and comfort oo ihMe who tended him.
One beautiful night they had taken a longer walk than was customary with them, for the day bad been uiiusuallv warm, and there wait a brilliant moon, and atliglit wind haJ sprung up, which was unusually refreshing. Rose hatl lieen in high spirits too, and they hatl walked on in merry convvrsation un- td they had far exreethtl their ordinary Itoundn. Mrs. Maylie was fatigued, and they returned more 5.1i»mIv homr. The young lady, miTcIy throwing ofi* her simple bonnet, »al down to tlia piano as uiiual ; after running abstractedly over the keys for a few minutes, she fell into a low and very soli-mn air, and as she played it they heard her sob as if slie were weeping.
** lioac, my dear ?'* said the elder Indy.
KoK made no reply, hut played a little ctuieker, as lliough the sound had roused her from bome {loiuful thoughts.
VOL, III. S r>
■ VOL, III
sn
IILIVKK TWIST.
" Rose, my love!" cried Mr«. Maylie, rising hastily, aiii IkiiiUi)^ ifVt-r luT. ** What is this? Your fat^ is bathed in Icnrs. My Jear cliiW, what (lislres^es ymi ?"
"Nothing, aunt, — notbiug." replied iJie young lady. ** I don't kuovr what it Is; 1 can't deM-rihe it ; bul 1 feel bo low lf>- night, and — "
"Not ill, my love ?" interpoM^ Mrs. Maylie.
" No, no ! Oh, nut ill l" replied Hnse. Hhiiddertn^ as though Kuine deadly chillnoss were p&^»ing over her while she spoke ; "at least, I shall be better presently. Close the window, prav."
Oliver hastened to comply with the request ; and the young lady, making an effort to recover her cheerfuliiess, strove to play some livelier tntie. But her fingers dropjied powerless on llie keys, uiiil, eoviTing her face with Ikt hand*, she sank upon a 9ufn, and gave vent to the tears which she was now unable lo repress.
" My child T said the elder lady, folding ber arms about her. ** I never saw you thus before."
** I would not alnnn yoti if I could avoid ll," rejoined Rose : " but indeed I have tried very hard, and cannot help thi», 1 fear I aut ill, aunt."
She was, indeed ; for, when candles wi>re brought, they saw that in the very short time which had elapsed since their return home, the hue of her countenance had changed to a marble whiteness.' Its expression hnd lost nothing of its beauty, but yet it was chnnget), and there was nn anxious haggard look about that gentle face which it had never worn before. Another minute, and it whk suffiiited with a crimson flush, and a heavy wildness cime over the soft blue eye ; again this disappeared like the eiliadow thrown by a poLssing cloud, and she was once more deadly pale.
Oliver, who watclied the old lady anxiously, observed that she was alarmed by these appearances, and so, in truth, was he ; hut, seeing that rthc affected to m:tke hght of thcin, he en- deavoured to do the same, and they so far succeeded that when Horn; was |iersuaded by her aunt to retire for the night, she was in better spirits, and upjK^ared even in lietter health, and assured them that she felt certain she would wake in the morning quite
*' I hope, ma'am," said Oliver when Mrs. Maylie returned, " that nolhnig serious is the matter. Miss Maylie doesn't look well to-night, but "
The old lady motioned him not to speak, and» utting herself down in a dark corner of the room, remained silent for aome time. At leugtb hhe said, in a trembling voice,—
" I hope not, Oliver. I have Inen very happy with her for soine years — too happy, perhaps, and it may l>e thiie that I should mwt with some misforttme; but 1 hope it is not thjy."
OLIVER TWIST.
" Whflt misftwtune, ma'am ?" jnauirvd Oliver.
** The heavy blow," said the »la lady alinosC inarticulately, " of losing the dear girl who has so long been my comfort and happinens."
" Oil ! God forbid !" excloiraed Oliver bastilr.
" Amen to thal> my child !" said the old lady, wringing her hand .4.
" Surely there is no dooser of anything so dreadful J** said Oliver. " Two hours ago she was quite well."
"She is very ill now," rejoined Mrs. Maylie, "and will be worse, I am sure. My dear, dear Rose I ()h, what should I do without her !"
The lady sanlc beneath her desponding thoughts, and gave Way to such great grief that Oliver, suppressing his own emo- tion, ventured to remonstrate with l»er, and lo beg earnestly that for the sake of the dear young lady herself she would lie more calm.
'* And consider, mn'am," said Oliver, as the tears forced them- selves into hi» eyes despite his elTortu lo the contrary; "oh! consider how young and good she is, and what pleasure and comfort she gives to all about her. I am sure — certain — outte certain — that for your sake, who are so good yourself, and for lier own, and for the sake of all »be makes so liappy, abe will not die. (iod will never let her die yet."
'* HubU !'' said Mrs. Maylie. laying her hand on Oliver's head. "You think like a child, poor boy: and although wliat you say may be natural, it is wrong. But you t^ach me my duty, notwithstanding. I hud forgotten it for a moment, Oliver, and I hope I may be pardoned, for I am old, and have seen enough of illneiis and death to know the pain they leave to those behind. I have seen enough, too, lo know that it is not always the youngest and best who are spared tu those that love them ; but this should give us comfort rather than sorrow, for Heaven is just, and such things leach us impressively that there is a far brighter world than this, and that the passage to it is speedy, tiod's will lie done! but I love Iwr, and He alone knows how well !"
Oliver was surprised to see that as Mrs, Maylie said these words she checked her lamentations as (hough by one sinig- gle, and, drawing herself up a» ithe spoke, became quile com- posed and firm. He was still more astonished to lind that this firmness lasted, and that under all the care and watching which ensued, Mrs. Maylie wa« ever ready and collected, fxr- forming all the duties which devolvL-d upon her steadily, iind, lo all external appenraiu-c, even ctu-i-rfully. But he waa yuu»g, and did not knuw what Kirong mind« are capable of under try- ing drcumslances. UuW should he, indeed, when Uieir poft* SMBDrs so seldom know themselves P
An anvious night ensued, ami when muniing came Mrs. May-
^0*2
H An
594
lie's predictions were but too well verified. Rose was in the firtt Btage of a high and riaiigerniis fever
We
useless
must be active, Oliver, and not give way grief," said Mrs. Maylie. laying lier fiiigcr oa ber lip as she kuked steadily into hi? face; " this letter muiit be sunt with all poKi^iblc expeilition to Mr. Ivosbeme, It must be carried to the market-town, which is not more th.in four miles off by the foot- palli acrots i)ie fields, and rheiur cli"i|Mttrhed by an express on norsebnck straight to Chertsey. The people at the inn will un- dertake to do this, and 1 can trust j'ou to see it done, I know.'
Oliver cuuhl make no reply* liut looked his anxiety to be gone at once.
" Here is another letter,"" Raid Mrs. Maybe, pauMng to re- ject; *'but whether to I'end it now, or wait until I s«e bo» Kose goes on, I !<icarccly know. I would not forward il unless I feared the worst."
" Is it for Chertjwy, loo, ma'am ?" inquired Oliver, impatient to execute his commission^ and holding out his trembling hand for the letter.
" No," replied the old lady, giving it him mechanically. Oliver glanml at it, and saw that it was directed to Uarry Mnylie Esquire, at some lord's Ihiuse in the country; where, he could not make out
** Shall it go, ma'am ?" asked Oliver, looking up impntienily.
" I think not," reiilied Mrs. Maylie, taking it back. *' I will wait till to-morrow.
With those words she gave Oliver her purse, and he started off without more deluy at the greatest speed he could muster.
Swiftly he ran across the fields, and down the little laoes which sometimes divided ihcm, now almo-tt hidden by the high corn on either side, and now emerging into an open field where the mowers und haymakers were busy at their work ; nor did he stop once, save now and then for a few seconds to recover breath, until he emerfjed in a great heat, and covered with dust, on the bttle market-place of tlie market-town.
Here he paused, and looked about for the inn. There was a white bank, and a red brewery, and a yellow town-hall; and in one corner u large house with ail the wood about it painlerl gri-en, l>efore which was the sign of *' The George," to which he ha<iten«l directly it caught his eye.
Oliver spoke to a postboy who was dozing under the gate- way, and who, after bearing wlial he wanted, referred hitn to the hostler ; who, after hearing all he bad to say again, r^ ferreU bim to the landlord, who was a tall gentleman in a blue neckcloth, a white hat, drab breeches, and boots with tops to match, and was leaning against a pump by the stable-door, picking his teetli with 3 silver tootb-pick.
This gentloman walked with mucn delit>cratinn to the bar to make out the bill, which took a lone time
cmg
OMVKH TWIST.
sss~
I
it was rcatly, anti )taitl, a horse had (o be saddled, and a ninD to be dn.'s5e<l, which took up ten good minutek more ; oiuauwhile OlivLT wan ill such a desperate stale of impatience and anxiety that he frit a<i if he coulci have jumped upon the horse hiiii<telf, and galloped away full tear to the next stage. At ivn^th ull was really, and ihi: little |MurcL'l having l>ecn hniulcd up, with many injunctions and entreaties for its speedy deliverv, the ninn set spurs to liis horM-, and, rattling over the uneven paving of the market-place, was out uf the luwn, and galloping along the turnpike-road iu a couple uf minutes.
It was something to feel certain that assistance was sent for, and that no time Imd been lust. Oliver hurried up thu inn- ynrd with a somewhat litjhtor heart, and was turning out of the gateway when he acciilentally »tumbled against a tall man vrapped in a cloak, who was that moment coming out at the inn-door.
" Hah !" cried the man, fixing his eyes on Oliver, and sud- denly recoiling. " What the devil 's this .'"
"I beg your pardon, sir," ^id Oliver; '• I was in a great hurry to get home, and didn't see you were coming."
*' Death r muttureil the man to himself, glaring at the boy with his large dark eyes. *' Who'd have thought it i Grind him to ashe« ! he'd start up from a marble ootfia to come in my wayr
" I am sorry, sir," stammered Oliver, confuMsl by the strango man's wild look. " I hope 1 have nut hurt you .^"
" Rot his iKines!" murmured the man in a horrible |>asuoa between his clcnchetl Icoth, '* if I had only hod the courage tosay the word, I tmght have bevu free o( him in a night. Curse» light up4m your head, and black death upon your heart, you imp ! What are you doing here ?"
Tlie man shook his list, and gnatthed his teeth, as he uttered these words ineolierentlv, and advancing lowartis Oliver an if with the intention of aiming a blow at him, fell violently on the ground, writhing and foaming, in a tit.
'Oliver ganteil for a niuoKiit at the fearful struggles of the madman, (for such he siipposetl him to he.) am) then darleal into the house for help. Having »*vn him safely tarrie<i into (he hotel, be turned liis face homewards, running as fast an he could to make up for Utst time, and recalling, wiiii a great doal ofasto- ninhnient and some fear, the extraordinary behaviour of the {lerMm from whom he hail just partetl.
The circumstance did not dwell in his recollection long, how- ever; for when he reached the cottagi- ihi-n.- was enough lo (k^ cupy his mind, mid to drive all considemlious of self conipktely from hih memory.
Rose Maylie had rapidly grown wor«c, and before midnight wax delirious. A medical practitioner, wlio rvnided on the f>put, wa>< in constant attendance u|H)ti her, and, after fir^t !<eeiiig thu
■ wa>< m t
588
OLIVER TWI8T.
patient, he liad ttikvn Mr». Maylit* atule, ant! pronoimccil ber disorder Ui be oik" of a most alarming natiiR'. " In fact," he said, " il would be little short of a miracle if she re- covered."
How often did Oliver start from his bed that night, and, stealing out with noiseless footstep to the staircase, listen for the fah^htcst sound from the sick chamber .' How often did a tremble ithake his frame, and cold drops of terror start uiun his brow, tvhen a sudden lmm])ling of feet caused him to fear that something too dreadful to think of had even then occurred. And what had been the fervency of all the prayers he had ever uttered, compared with those he poured forth now, in the agony and passiua of his Eupplication, for the life and health of the gentle creature who was tottering on the deep grave's rer^ge !
The 9U«pen^, the fearful acute 8u»pen»e, of standing idlr by while the life of one we dearly love is trembling in the bal- ance^ the racking thoughts that crowd upon the mind, and make the heart beat violently, and the breath come thick, hj the force of the images they conjure up before it — the despe- rate anxiety to be doing somelhing to relieve the pain, or lessen the danger which we have no power to alleviate; and the sinking of soul and spirit which the sad remcnibrance of our helplessness produces, — what tortures can equal these, and what reflections or ^orts caD> in the full tide and fever of the time, allay them !
Moruing came ; and the little cottage was lonely and stiJ. People spoke in whit«|K'rs ; anxious faces apjK^ared at the gate from time to time, ond women and children went away in tears. All the livelong day, and fur hours after it had grown dark, Oliver paced softly up and down the garden, raising his eyes every instant to the »ick-chanil>cr, and shuddering to sec the darkened window looking as if death lay stretched inside. Ijate at night Mr. Losbcme arrived. "It is hard," said the good doctor, turning away as he spoke, '* so young — so much b^ loved^but there is very little hope."
Another morning the sun shone brightly, — as brightly as If it looked upon no misery or care; and, with every leaf and flower in full bloom about her, — with life, and health, and sounds and Plights of joy surrounding her on every side, the fair young creature lay wasting fast. Oliver crept uway to the old church- yard, and, sitting down on one of the green mounds, wept for her in silence.
There was such peace and beauty in the scene, go much of brightness and mirth in the sunny landscape, such bhihesomc music in the songs of the summer birds, such freedom in the rapid flight of the rook careering ovurhead, so much of life and JoyouMiesM iu all, that when the boy raised his aching eyes, and l(Ktke<l about, t\te thought instinctively occurred to him that this was not a time for death ; that Rose could surely never die
OLIVER TWIST.
«7.
I
when humbler things were all so glad nml gay : that graves were for cold nnd cheerless winter, not for sunlight and fra- grance. He slmost thought that shrouds were for the old and i>hrunken, and never wrapped the young and graceful form within their ghostlv folds.
A knell from the church-bell broke harshly on these youthful ihouglits. Another — again! It was tolling for the funeral service. A group of humhle mourners entered tlic gate, and they wore white favours, for the corpse was young, They stood, uncovered, by a grave; and there waK a motht-r — u nii»- ther once — among the weeping train. But thcsuu shone bright- ly, ami the birds sang on.
Oliver iiuiieil hnniewanls, thinking on the many kindnesses he had received fmni the young ladv, and wishing ilint the time could come over again, that he mignt never cea^e sliowing her how grateful and attached he was. He had no cause for helf- reproBch on the score of neglect or wont of thought, for he had b»en devoted to her service ; and yet a hundred little occasions rose up lK>fore him on which he fancied lie miglit have been more zealous and more earnest, nnd wished he had been. We need be careful how we deal with tliose about us, fur every death carries with it to some ttmoll circle of survivors thoughts of BO much omitted, and so little done ; of so many things for> gotten, and so many more which might have been repaired, that such recollect inns are among the I)itlerest we can have. There is no remorse so deep ns that which Is unavailing ; if we would be spared its tortures let us remember this in time-
When he reached home Mrs. Maylie wn^i sitting in the little parlour, diverts heart sank at mght of her, for she had never left the bedside of her niece, and he trembled to think what change could have <|riven her away. He learnt that she had fallen into a deep sleep, from which she would waken again either to recovery and life, or to bid theui farewell, an<l die.
They mii, listening, and afraid to speak, fur hours. The un- tosted meal was removed ; and, with looks which shoved that their thoughts were elsewhere, they watched the sun as he sank lower and lower, and at length chaI over sky and earth those brilliant hues which herald his departure. Their quick ears caught the sound of an approaching footstep, and they both in- voluntarily darted towarils ihi* iloor as Mr. I^tshena- entered.
" What of Kose ?" cried the old lady. " Tell me at once. 1 can bear it ; anything but suspense. Ob, tell mc t itt the nan)e of Heaven !"
*' You must compose yourself," said the doctor, supporting her. " lie calm, my dear ma'am, pray.**
" Let me gtj, in God's name !" gasped Mrs. Maylie. *' My dear child ! She is dead ! 8he is dying !"
" No !" cried the doctor pnsMonitely. " As He is good and merciful, she will hve to Mch$ us all fur vciirs to come. '
sxs
OLIVER TWI8T.
The lady Ml uj»o» lier Vnev^, nnd trie<J to fold lier hand* to- gether; liut the energy whioli bad supportetl her so long fled lo HeaTcn with hor firtit thanksgiving, and she &unk back into the friendly arma which were cxu-ndcd to receive her.
CnAPTCR THE S1.CV8NTH.
COKTAtRS fiUHB IKTRODUtTORT PAKTICCLAK9 KEtJiTIVE tO * VOCXO OI** 1LFM*9I WnO KOW aRIIIVIS OPOS TDt SCEXC, AM> 1 KCW AfiVKKTVU WRICU lUPl-EAtU TO OLIVttt.
It was almost too much happiness to bear. Oliver felc Btunned and »tupified by the unexpected intelligence; he could not weep, or speak, or rest. He had scarcely the power of undi-rstandiDg anything that had passed, until after a long randilc in the quiet evening air a burst of te«r& came to hi& relief, and he seemed to awaken all at once to a full f^nse of the
i'oyful change that had occurretl, ami the almost insupportable oad uf anguish which had been taken from his breast.
The night was fast closiug in when be returned homewards, laden with flowers which he had culled with peculiar care for the adornment of the sick chamber. As he walked hriskly along the road, be heard behind bint the noise uf »onie vehicle approaching at a furious |)ace. I,uoking round, he saw that it W.1S a post-chaise driven at great jipeed ; and an the honcft were galloping, and the road was narrow, he stood leaning against a gate until it should have passed him by.
As it dashed on, Oliver cavight a glimpse of a mau in a white nightcap, whose face seemed familiar tu hio), allhoiigh his view was so brief that he could not identify the person. ]u another second or two the nightcap was thrust out of lbs chaise window, and a stentorian voice bellowed to the driver to stop, which he did as soon as he could pull up his hordes, when the nightcap once again appeared, ami the same voicv called Oliver by his name.
" Here !" cried the voice. ** Master Oliver, what '» the news? Mis» Hose — Master O-li-ver.*
" Is it you, Giles .^" cried Oliver, runniog up to the clioue door.
Giles popped out his nightcnp again, preparatory to ntakiog some reply, when he waa Middenly pulk-il buck by a ycMmg gi'ntleman who occupit-il the other corner of the chaise, and who eagerly demand<xl what was the news.
" In a word," cried the gentleman, ** better or worse?"
" Belter — much better,'^ replied Oliver hastily.
" Thank Heaven 1" exclaimed the gcutleuian. ** You mre Hire r
" Quite, sir," replied Oliver ; " the change took place only a few imurs ago, and Mr. Losberne uys that all danger is «t «u end.""
OUVBR TWIST.
I
I
The gentleman aaid not another word, but Miening the chaise-door leaped out, uiid, tjJtiiig Oliver buniedly hy the arm, led him aside.
" Thu is quite certain ?— there is no possibility of any mis. take on your part, my boy, is there?** demanded ttie gentleman in a tremulous voice. '* rray do not deceive me by awakt-ning any hnp<»i that are not to be fulfilled."
" 1 would not for the world, sir," replied Oliver. '* Indeed you may believe me. Mr, Lusberne's words were, that she would live to bless us all for many years to come. 1 beard him say 80."
The team stood in Oliver's eyes as be recalled the Bcene which was the beginninn; of so much happiness, and the gentle- man turned his face away, and remainetl silent for rame nimutes. Oliver thou^rht he liisrd tiim soh more than once, but he feared to interrupt him by any farther remark, — for he could well guess what hi» feelings were, — and so stood apart, feigning to be occupied witli liis nosegay.
All this time Mr. Giles, with the white nightcap on, had been fitting u|X)n the stepn of the chai»e, supporting an cUmjw on each knee, and wipiii<; his eyes with a blue cotton pocket-handker- chief dotted with while spots. That the honest fellow had not been feigning emotion was abundantly dcnionslrated by the very red eyes with which ha regurdi-d the young gentleman, when lie turn»l round and addressed him.
*' 1 think you had belter gt> on to my mother's in the chaise* OilfTi," Naid he. " 1 would ratlier walk slowly on, so as to gain a little time before I see her. You can say I am coming."
" 1 beg your pardon, Mr. Harry," said Uiles, giving a final |K)li8li to liin ruffled couiiU--nanoe with the handkerchief, " but if you would leave the postlmv to say that, 1 slmuld l>e very much obliged tti you. It wuulJn'l Iw proper for the maids lu see nic in tliis state, sir ; I slionld never have any more authority with tht-m if they did."
'* Well," rejoined Harry Maybe, smiling, " you can do as you like. liCt him go on with tbe |Kirtmanleaus, if you wish it, and do you follow with us. Oidy tirst exchange that nightcap for some more appropriate covering, or we shall be taken tor madmen."
Mr. Giles, reminded of hts unhf^coming costume, snatched off ami pocketed his nightcap, and suLntiluted a luit of grave and sober shape which he took out of the chaise. This done, the postboy drove off, and Giles, Mr. Maylic, and Oliver followed at their leisure.
As they walked along, Oliver gljinccd from time to lime with much interest and curiosity nt the new-comer. He seemed about 6ve^nd.twenty years uf age, and wa^ of the middle height ; his countenance va*. frnnk ami liaiidsonu-, and bis demeanour singularly easy and preposiiessing. Notwitb»tandiog
590
OLIVER TWIST.
the (liffV'rpnces between youlli and uj^i; he bore mi strong a likeness to the old Udy, that Oliver would hare had no great JillicuUy ill iuiarpniitg their relationship, even if be baa oat already spoken of her as his mother.
Mrs. Mnylie vas anxtouslv waiting to receive her son when he reached the cottage, anil the meeting did not take place without great emotion on both sidc-K.
" Oh, mother," whispered the young man, " why did you not write before f"
"I did write," replied Mrs. Maylie; "but, on reflection, 1 determined to keep tjack the letter until I had heard Mr. Lov berae's opiaion."
" Kut why," said the younj; man, ** why run the chance of that occurring which so nearly happened ? If Rose had — I can- not utter that word now — if this illness had terminated difiVr^ ently, how could you ever have forgiven yourself, or 1 becii happy again ?"
" if that had been the case, Harry," said Mrs. Maylie, ** I fear your happiness would have been eflecluully blighted, and that your urrival here a day soouer or a day later would have been of very, very little import."
** And who can wonder if it he »«, mother ?" rejoined (he voung man ; " or why should I say if? — It u — it is— you know 11, mother — you must know it."
*' I know that slie well deserves the bcit and purest luvc that the heart of nmn can olfcr,"" »aid Mrs. Maylie; " 1 kntiw that the devotion and atfoction of her nature require no ordinary return, but untr thut shall be deep uiid lasting. If I did not fm this, and know, besides, that a changed liehaviour in one she loved would break her heart, I should not feel my task so diffi- cult of performance, or have tu encounter to many struggles in my own bosom, when I take what seems to me to be tlie strict line of duty."
" This is unkind, niulher," said Harry. " Do you still sup- pose that I am so much a buy as not to know my own mind, or to mistake the impulses of my own soul ?"
** I think, my dear fellow," returned Mrs. Maylie, laying her hand upon his shoulder, " that youth has cnany generous im-
Eulses which do nut lust, and that among tliem are &ume which* ring gratified, become imly the more Heeting. Above all, I think," said the lady, fixing her eyes on her son's face, •* that if an enthusiastic, ardent, ambitious young man has a wife on whose name is a stain, which, though it originate in no fault of hers, may be visited by cold and sordid people npou her, and upon his children aleo, and, in exact proportion to his success in the world, be cast in his teeth, and made the subject of sneers against him, he may — oo matter how generous and good his nature— one day repent of tlie connection he formetl iu early life, and she may have the pain and torture of knowing that he docs w."
OtlVfiR TWIST.
5»1
" Mother," said the young man impntieotly. " he would be a mere selfisli brute, unworthy alike of tlit- name of man and of ihe woman you describe, who acted thus."
" You think so now, Harry," replied his mother. *' And ever will," said the young man. *' The mental agony I have suffered during the last two days wrings from mc the undiBguiKd avowal to you of a passion which, a» you well know, is not one of yesterday, nor one I have lightly formed. On Rose, sweet gentle girl, my heart is act as firmly as ever heart of man was set on woman. I have do thought, or view, or hope in life bevond her ; and if you oppose me in this great Make, you take my peace and happiness in your hands and cast them to the wind. Mother, think better of this, and of me, and do not disregard tlie warm feelings of which you »ecm to think so little."
** Harry," said Mrs. Maylie, *' it is because I think so much of warm and sensitive hearts that I would spare them from being wounded. But we have said enough, and more than enough, on this matter just now."
" Let it rest with Rose, then," inter|MJse(l Harry- " You will not prc-iu thet«e overstrained opinions of yours so far as to throw any obstacle in my way ?'
" I will not,*" rejoijiea Mrs. Maylie ; ** but I would have you
consider **
** I have considered,'" was the impatient reply,—*' 1 have con- ddered for yeurs,-»cunsidered almost since I have been capable of serious reflection. My feelings remain unchanged, as they ever will ; and why should 1 suffer the pain of a delay in giving them vent, which can be productive of no earthly good ? No. Before I leave this place Ruse shall hear me.^ " She shall," said Mrs. Maylie.
*' There is something in your manner which would almost imply that she will hear me coldly, mother," said the young man anxiously.
" Not colmy," rejoined the old lady ; " far from it.* •* How then ?" urged the young man. ** She has formed no other attachment ?"
" Xo, indeed," replied bis mother. '* You have, or I mi». take, too strong a hold on her affections already."
" What I would say," resumetl the old lady, stopping her son ft« be was about to speak, '* is this. Before you stake your all on this chance, — before you suffer yourself to be cnrrJnt to the faigbeet point of hope, reflect for a few moments, my dear child, on Rose's history, and consider what effect the knowledge uf her doubtful birth may have on her decision, — devotetl as she is to us with all the intennily of her noble mind, and that perfect Kacri6ce of self which in all matters, great or triflingi has always been her characteristic." ** What do you mcwi ?"
fiSS
ULIVBK TWIST.
** That I leave to y«>i '« discover," replied Mrs. Maylie. " I must go hack to Knse. Hod bleu yuu T'
** I shall sec you agaiu to-nij^ht r'** said tlic young man eagerly.
" By and by," replied the lady, " wlieu 1 luave Kosir."
" Ytm will l(*ll her I am here ?" said Hurry.
" Of ciiurse," replied Mrs. Maylie.
" And say how anxious 1 have been, and how much I have suffereti, and how I k>ng to sec lier — you will not refuse to do this, mother ?"
'' No," said the old lady, '* 1 will tell tier that C and, press- ing her son^s band aHectionately, ehe hastened from the rnom.
Mr, Loftberne and Oliver had remained at another end of the apartment while this hurried conversation was proeeeding. The former now held out his hand to Harry Mavlie, and hearty salutations were exehauged between them. The doctor then communieated, in reply to multifarious questions from his young friend, a preci.se account of hiH patient's situation, wlueb was quite as consolatory and full of promise as Oliver^s state- ment had ■encouraged him to hope, and to the whole of which Mr. Giles, who affected to be bu.-iy about the luggage, listened with greedy ears.
" Have you shot anything particular lately, tiilw?" inquired the doctor, when he had concluded.
" Nothing particular, sir," replied Hr. Giles, ootouring np to the eyes.
" Nor calcliing any thieves, nor identifying any house- breakers ?" baid the doctor maliciously.
'* None at all, sir," replied Mr. Giles with much gravity.
" Well," said the dot^tor, " I am sorry to hear it, l>ecail«e you do that sort of thing so well. Pray, now is Brittleaf^
" The boy is very well, sir," said Mr Giles, recovering bit usual tone of patronage, " and sends his respectful duty, sir."
" That *s well," Kaid the tloctor. " Seeing you here, reminds me, Mr. Giles, that on the day before that on which I was called away so hurriedly, I executed, at the request of your good mistress, a small cummis^on in your favour. Just step into this corner a moment, will you ?* <
Mr. Giles walked into the comer with much importance and some wonder, and was homiured with a short wlii.-ipering con- ference with the doctor, on the tcniiinalion of which he made a great many buw6, and retired with steps of unut^ual stuteUiiess. The subject matt<T of this conference was not di»clo$4.>d in the
}>arlour, but the kitchen wa« B]>eedily enlightened concerning it; or Mr. Giles walkeil straight thither, and having cidled for a mug of n)e, announced, with an air of majeftljc my-'^tery which was highly eireetivt^, that it had pleased his mistress, in consi- deration of his gullant liehaviuiir on the occasion of lltnt at- templed robbery, to deposit in the local savings hunk the sum
OLIVBR TWIST.
sss
of Iwenty-fivc pounds for liis solu use and Iicnefii. At this the two women servants liftu.1 up their haud!< and eyes, uniX sup- posed that Mr. Oiks wouUl begin to \k quito proud now ; whercunio Mr. Giles, pulling out his Bhirt-frill, replied, " No, no"^and that if they obierved »l any ^ime that he wh» at all haughty to his iiiferiors he would thank iIilmd to tell hiui no. And then he made a jrreat many other remarks, no lotw illustra* tire of his humility, which wore receivt*d with equal favour and applause, and were withal aa orijipnQl aud us much to the pur- pose OS the remarks of pvat men commonly ore.
Above »tair», ihi- remainder of the evening passed cheerfully away, for the doctor was in high spirits, and howuver fatigued or thoughtful Harry Maylie mi^ht have been at Hnt, he was nut pniof against the worthy gentleman's r«mx1 humour, which displayed it^lf in a great variety of aalUes and professional recollections, and nn abundance of SBi&ll joke^, which struck Oliver as being the drollest things he had ever heard, and caused him to laugh proportionately, to the evident satii^faction <jf the doctor, who liiughed iminoderalely at himself, and made Harry laugh almost as heartily by the very force of sympathy. So they were a;; pleasant a party as, under the drcumstdoce*, thev could well have been, and it was late before they retired, with light and thankful hearts, to take that rest of which, after the douht and suspense they had recently undergoni;, they stood so much in need.
Oliver rme next morning in belter heart, and went about his u&ual early occupations with more hope and pleasure than he had known for many days. The birds were once more hung out to sing in their old places, and the sweetest wild flowers that could be found were once more gathered to gladden Rose with their beauty and fragrance. The melancholy which had seemed to the sau ey^s of the anxious boy (o hang fur dny^ past over every object, benuliful as they all were, was dispelled as though by magic. The dew seemed to sparkle more brightly on the green leaves, the air to rustle among them with a sweeter music, and the sky itself to look more blue and bright. Such is the influence which the condition of our own thoughts exer- cises even over the Hppi>arance of external objects. Men who look on nature and their fellow men. and cry that all is dark and gloomy, an> in the riglit ; but the nombre coloart are reBc^ tions from tlioir own jaundiced eyes and hearts- The real hues ■re delicate, and require a clearer vision.
It is worthy of remark, and Oliver did not f^l tn nntr at the time, that his morning expeditions were no longer made alone. Harry .Maylie. after tlie very first morninc when he met Oliver cuniiug laden lu>mc, was seized with sucii a paairinm for flowers, and displaved such a taste in tlicir arrangenumt, m% left his young companion far behind. If Oliver were bebind- hani) in tlii'serccpevits, iKiwever, hr knew where the best
534
OLIVEK TWIST.
Ik found, and morning after morning they scoured tbe country together, and brought home thi? fuiri'st that blo&)inm«d. The wiodow of the young lacly*a chamber was opened now, for she loved to feel ihc rich Eumoier air t-tream in and revive her with its fre<ihncss; but there always stood in water. Just inside iIk* lattice, one particular little bunch which was made up with great cjire every morning. Oliver could not help iioticiog that the withered flowers were iievt^r thrown away, although the little vase was rugularly replenished ; nor could he help observing that whenever the doctor came into the garden he invariably cast his eyes up to that particular corner, and nmldeil bis Iiemd most expressivelv as he set forth on his morning's walk. Peod- ing these observations, the days were flying by, and Rose was rapidly and surely recovering.
Nor did Oliver's time liang heavy upon his hands, although tbe young ladv bad not yet left her chamber, and there were no cveuing walks, savi* now and then for a short distance with Mrs. Maylie. Reapplied himself with rcdoubled.assiduitv to the in- structions of the white-headed old gentleman, and laboured to hard tliat hh i]nick pnigress surprised even himself. It wis while he was engaged in this pursuit that he was greatly startled and distresned by a nn«t unexpected occurrence.
The little rmiin in M-hich he was accustomed to sit when bufy at bis books was on the ground-floor, at the back of the house. It was quite a cottage-room, with a lattice-window, around which were clusters of jeRsamine and lioney- suckle, that crept over the casement, and filled the place witi) tht^ir delicious perfume. It looked into a garden, whence a wicket-gate opened into a email pad<]ock ; all bevond was fine meadiiw-land and wotKl. There was no other dwelling near, in tliat direction, and the prospect it commanded was very extensive.
One beautiful evening, when the first shades of twilight were beginning to settle upon the earth, Oliver sat ot this window intent upon his books. He had bi-en poring over them for some time; and as the day had ticen uncommonly sultry and he hod exerted hiin^elf a great deal, it is no disparagement to the authors, whoever they may have been, to say that gradually and by slow degrees he fell asleep.
There is a kind of sleep that steals upon us sometimes which, while it holds the body prisoner, dues not free the mind from a aense of things about it, and enable it to ramble as tt pleanes. So far as an overpowering heaviness, a prostration of strength, and an utter inability to control our thoughts or power of motion can be called sleep, this is it ; and yet we have a con- sciousness of all that is going on about us, and even if we dream, words which are really spoken, or sounds which really exist at the moment, accommodate themselves with surprising readinesii to our visions, until reality and inm^nation bet-ome BO strangely blended that it is afterwards nlmo),! a matter of impossibility to se|mrnte the two. Nor is this the most striking
I I
LOVE, 1[0PB» AND JOT.
535
\
I
nlionoim'ntin incidental lo such a fltatc. It is an ascertained fact, that nlthmijfh our seniles of touch and sight be for the time dead, yet our sleepiog thouglil-i, and the vi^ionarj- scenes that pass before tis, will be influenced, and inaierinllv influenced, by the' mere sitfnt presence of some external object which may not have bi-en near us when we clu».ed our eyes and of wboM vicinity we have hail no waking consciousness.
Oliver knew perfectly well that lie was in his own little room, that his iKwks were lym^ on (liu table before him, and that the swci't air was stirring among the creejiiug plants outside, —and yet he was asleep. Suddenly the scene changed, the air became close and confinetl, and he thought with a glow of terror that he was in the Jew's house again. There sat the hideous old man in his accustomed corner pointing at Mm, and whispering to another man witli his face averted, who sat iH'sidtr him.
" Hush, my dear !" he thought he heard tlic Jew say ; " it is him, sure enough. Come away."
" He !" thi? other man seemed to answer ; " could I mistake him, think you ? If a crowd of devils were to put thcnihelveg into his exact shape, and he stood amongst them, there is some- thing that would tirll me how to [xtiul him nut. If you buried him fifty feet deep, and ti>ok me across his grave, I should know, if there woNn't a ninrk above it, that ne lay buried there. Wither his flesh, I should P
The man seemetl to say this with such dreadful hatred, that Oliver awoke with the fear and started up.
Good God ! what was lluit which stmt ibc blooti tingling to his heart, and deprived him of voice or )K>WL-r to move ! There — there — at the window — cli>jie before him — so close, that he could have almost touchtxl hiui before he started back — with ht> eyts fwering into the room, and meeting his — there stood the Jew ! — and Iwside him, white with rage, or fear, or both, were the scowling fi'alures of the very mau who had accosted him at the inn yard !
It was but an instant, a glance, a flash before his eyes, and they were gone. But they had recogtiiBed him, and he them, anil their look wa^i as firmly iniprciift-d u)>on his memurv as if it had been deeply enrved in stone, and set before him irnm his birth. He stood transfixed for a moment, and then, leaping from the window into the garden, called loudly for help.
LOVE, HOPE. AND JOY,
Ixi«c Hope, and Joy, tog«th«i bum, SwcetolHprin^ora hesTCuljr l>irili,
Forsook tlic akm t»w rosy mom. To wander for a vhile on ranh.
Lo*e was a bir and {icntle boy,
Aud Hope a bricla and lia)<)iy iliinc,
Aai, gay as sunUgBt, langlnn; Joy Olanotd liy Ibvm oii hit rrcfckiLt wing,
5SG
LOVE, nOI>£, AND JOY.
They pass'd ihrongh intny a sonny icene, Uy fb>ii>( nni) vnUcv, glen and (cnve.
And ereiy spot look'J luorw sua-nv Where wiLnder*d Joy, and Hope, and IjOt».
Rut en tlie three Itad nmblcd fiir, They inirt jroiuis Ueauiy on the way,
Wit]) eye u bright as though it star DtBMibred to iotm it* every ray.
Oh 1 with what glowing bovoni Love Drank rapture from thove orin of light ?
The woTld around, tbfl ttars abore,
All save hfr smile lo him were night; —
Bui Beauty heeded not thv boy, ^Vhose every feeling was hfr own :
She g«ve faer hout lo launhmg Joy, And left poor tiapleii Lore alone.
Not yet &h>ne — Hope stayed a whilR, And whi»pvr*d l)ira »oine future day
Would bring him back dear Beauty's smile} But soon tin- laUe Que flew away.
Ah 1 iheu ha wat indofd alone. With weary heart and leaifiil eye ;
The sunihine of his day wan ^pnw— He would — but no, he could not die.
Though pTcu'd by sorrow't heavy load, AiS bendint; with the weight of ill.
His buwm ycl uU fondly glow'd. And told he wai immonal still.
He droup'd a while— but Memory came,
Immoniil too, with magic glast, Within whose itraoM and witard ftamc
He saw each vuiish'd *ecne rvposs.
There still was Beauty, young and £iir, At finii site met his raptured view;
Each byKoue feelioK linger^ thcw That mirror, .it the least, was tne :
And on it, as a holy shrine,
Hit eA)(er gai« for ever luiti'd,—
Whik' in his heart ihe ray divine Which Beauty kiudled brightly burn'd.
But sad waj poor young Qmuty's Aite,
For Joy was fickle as the wind ; And soon, alas ! but, ah, too late,
She wvpt for l«Te she left behiud. Her smiles do longer beam'd around.
Her eheek'i faint blush bad lost iu tmHf llrr »ti-|i fiii^iil its gladsome bound,
And, ah ! her hMR «u brealttng too !
She died. Lore heard hei early doom- lie heard it, and wilfa scarce a stRh —
He nw her placed within the tomb, Bui knew ber spirit dwelt or high.
And tlien, al length, hit wing he (um'd Back to his own immortal sphere i
And I,ove no mnre fnnaken mourn 'd, For BeiiuCy saided to bless him there.
B J. M.
537
WALTER CIIILDE. Camto U.
■ '>(^'^>H"llAHi9>tl>» >>*'■• > '"ear.
'Wilh tliTltrnwiTmctiuM of CromreU'a court ; i)ul ii'>w wu're ill toe country, and *tii fair
To tl^tm that Noll, who {lUroTiml good sport, (Id fact he boiitflil liiv fomout Coffin murp.)
And u'ct his wine play'djotcM orniti^hei>C sort On hi* pet wunt*, to vcdI hi« co»ert (£'*•» Wiiik'4 hftrd ml wbot ho wua not forc'd to SM.
B«nd««, M hit authority wu new,
'T ir« meet to throw the whal« a tub just Iben, And br con>ce«ioD buy, aa waa hia cue.
Guidon <i]vinions fr<itn nil wrt« uf mon ; S<i, ):k«> the de«)mt vf Ihe Lfdian crew,
(Aa stands recorded by iiome cIiumc ym,) " Lit tbfliD dum OQ," aaid he ; '* 't will ktvji tbvm f|uiel ; I 'tc gain'd ny poiot, and why provoke a riut?"
It «ftem9 to me, who vastly prrfw rhvme
To politico, in which 1 um a svciitic. That power and iilnc* mav work th' effect in time
Of ^enerou* diel und pilia analeptic. No doubt tbAt in the Trruurf'B foi1«ring dime
" The T&il'a " most niBrhni; little wiir dyxpppUe Mifcht ffraii quite hUnd knd jolly in due m-hmh]. And BweU hU hide out like a new-boU'd niiiun.
But we plain ruMtirj, who hiive nought to fpun By party btrifv, and tome snail alalte to loee.
Some yeara ofettA in entranre-feea iuaitain
n'heo Ont Jack-^ntry lill tbeir U'tten' ahon,—
We 'vt Jii4t oburv'd enough to aee quite pl^in 'lltat patnotifiin, though a niooaKnil ruiw
To gull the breerfalsM, raeana , in modem (ense.
Hoot, leve£*, brit«chlcaNi, plate, aod coasequencv.
JEaop, although more pLiyful than ceaaonoiia, Wa« a iry wac, who knew a thing or two i
Hill fnblir or the Fox und (iiiaU in giorioui, And puta Con»«rvati»n in itM true view.
" I^oave my old friend*," mid I'ug : " that twarm uproarious. Hovering aloft, would auck me black and blue
If once Ih^ found itn upi>ninK : tboao 70U ioe
Are sleek sad well-behav'd, and os'd to ne."
And thuH old Noll, though in hia up-hill day
A moat munitigated knave, I fear, M'hen once ertaui*h'd Ann in regal away,
Wmit on improvintr still from year to year: A gentlrmiin by birth, he ahew*d no trait
Of Ihw"' "poll horseback'* mad r«reer ; Being (auhouifh hia skull b now OxutiJAn.) A ('luitah, anil no Brumnuigwn Besonian. VOL. III. i p
5S6
fm or ViLTCB CniLDG.
^ Utfrii M bcco wrought, mIm^^ ■ «M wid faction, 1^ «1 «■« Wt at Dou^t. ta*llt«lMde tnnnetion, .^■fl Ar wklch thef fou^t, t lis ihqr fint Mt ou t, ^Kanft mui to pent.
. m* averae
r>vt ktcJt'd down;
. 4o4 be pervene, I aiiAidiUniic rntwn. . aa ftill naptne ■sf Sw, tlie Crown t«Kll tie kail-roam'* din,
1 U> begin.
lUittal
mt hii mind
^^B I lA v*)*^ S)>]>ea] ^^Mai|>et«nt and kind. ^<ittf, or a reel,— ^^^ uw are y»u Indin'd : ■'^fc.fcJir— ! did nd doubt K;
^, iMii'tgec on trithout it.
_^- If I nniRt Ml}' more, '■f wliidi murt nppal.
; atgnetiz'd " rappoH '* ^•^^ gtavJae tkuUt of Ndl _j ^aiwlnilin come o'w 4 ^ mjrttify you alL
^ tha deril '« in it ;
Mt wait anollier mi nuta.
.Tut, while I try Wtitr; oil no matter what ; ^ ifcat four company ^ ■ ^dence they ought nvt
^^: call R JiK, gavott*. ^^yia, or bulimi, 1 ^ my lost hero.
^^^^ waits! I 'm mAiter here.—
^ tligk Dutch aliominittioti% '^^fc^.— No, no. my dear, *" ^« a moment'* puUence ;
' 111^11'"" *t'* f leiir ;
^^, and such innorationa _^fifc i* * kindred strain, "^jl CharlenV ribald reign.
^^Imt in the frrent hull, • ^oa** ''''^1}' winking
-'^litfc***"' tl'c l»all
'* ^ iD hour of earnnt thinking.
^^ •«• ditjCPBted all ^^^mig, aiiH men drinking; ►^^^ ^ OBC* enauinjT, '* ^ ^uile ** '""^ how-d'jr*-'*'''"!!-''
TlfE LEGEND OF WALTER CII1LD1!.
Tlir room fill'd, u bis nounlin^ fiincv iipecl
0>r th# brand main, and Ihp rre«< ^oivwt'a space ;
Ha felt him to a new exiMtrnnt we<l. A giitnt, btint.eil for » •even-lemni'd race;
Buoyant in air, he almiMit fear'd to tr«ad
On th<* pfMir crowd, bound thrii)l« of home and place.
And half lor^ve Whig juries in his henrt,
"S-t. GeurgA, nnd wrKtwRrd, ho! full blillie wd part.
" Tim wrjennt here? I 'm in for'!, hUm'd, ron»ord, And lau^h'd at in ht« niefve. I 'II make him stare
For tlii» mum's bailing.*' — Ills design oiire tnld, The buu went round ; what men call a " white besr "
Hreak* the utilT ire of purtnerK dull and cold, >V'hen ii;iv*n with " onction," and an earnest air;
The Aulijoct htid nut otherwiM been heeded,
Out iiiierei>tiii(; BmoU-talk wis tore ncetled.
It chanc'd the !M>n. too, ofhia mDminir'a Tictim
MacTi: nil ii iruiintr-Tnan bin fimt dfhtit. His iire, too much entn't^a'd to contradict him,
f)r curb him in hi* rhildhnod, 'gan to rtie His past ne^-lect. but feHriiiK lo nntricl htm,
(Which (trohably mi^bt make but w«ir*e ensue From a bad temper, arrogant and mulish) Fretted at home, predirting sonietbinj; fuotiah.
YounfT Hopeful! Ii[)p'd the bnililTN Prejich CTOVn,
(A ffift 'jnuHual. and for him pn>fus«,) ^^'lii] hniutcht th' Hiirh Slienff'n miminoiiit from the tuwa.
He never dreamt of jHtrryin^ with ekcu«e A duty whtrh mi|th( fpvp bt» part« renown.
The jiid|re'fi trumpet really fir'd the ^oom With luAv rtKioiiii -, and with nridu complete, In the grand jury room he tuolc his seat.
He topp'd hi* freshman 'a pAft ; put pompona queationa To draw out petty facta jut4 told oefore,
Delay'd each bill while Mitering with aufi^etliom The dolour-suff'erii^ roreman o'er and o'er,
And havinit spoilt ^and-jurvmen's ditreitionR, Who ctirs'd him as their ('uture standing bor«,
Vsunted, when answering tf> his father's health.
The old knave's public tservjces aiid wealth.
This Don Ma^ifico, with hu|re deaire To wind up welt hi* •elf'lriumphant Awf^
And sweeleu the bad odour of his sire,
Enlpr'd the b«ll-roora, bent on mortal fray,
And made no »ort of secnt of his ire, Threateninir (I ^ve the wonk he Hiom to mj)
To (each a skip-jack, bardljr worth • I—,
How to molifrn the honour of his house.
He fronted Thilde, determin'd to adhere
To hi« iivow'il and tnimlent denifni ; "Sir!" hut be batted in hi* full career,
For a hitrb IVn wiM«)ieiihinf[: — " I3on't deeUn«; Consider, Wat, we meet but ouce a year;
No help fur 't ? come at leaot to feitre and dine ; Shirley and Head look for their promui'd sport With the first ■wordamaa ia the luru of rourt."
540 THE LEGEND OF WALTER CHILDE.
" Poyntz, WBB not that the boo ? old Barebone's pet ?" — " Confound him, yea; the fool that kept iis waiting
During your speech ; the foreman on the fret." — " Strange I he etood doae to ue as I was stating
My forc'd excuse ; turn'd short, and off he set ; 'Sir!' he said just before, andeeeni'd debating
On something for my ear." — " Can't tell, I vow ;
But Parker may ; be talk'd with him just now.
" Frank, can you solve this mystery ? come here."' Young Parker's patience had been in revolt • At the pot-valiant boasts pour'd in his ear
Five mortal minutes by an angry dolt.
His commentary, making all things dear. Hit the true version of the sudden bolt,
Prim'd with the stoiy, the two county wit«
Soon put their cotene in laughter-fits.
Oh, it was glorious ! Stilt in open view Stood the creat-fall'n, while round the whispers ran ;
All watch'd th' effects which plainly did ensue Upon hie outward and hb inward man.
But then occurred the rational question, " Who Is this young Crichton, bit with his mad plan,
The timely hint of whose gymnastic fame
Smote the lout's ear like Demogorgon'a name?"
Poyntz no great pressing on this head requir'd.
*' A first-rate fellow, — talented — decided — As open as the day — but so retir'd
That you must go out of your way, as 1 did, To know him well ; he spoke like one inspir'd
You say ; but I foresaw how things were guided By the old clique ; disgusted with the law. He means to colonize, and wed a squaw.
" 'Tis a sad case; the leading counsel, Forde, Dedares his head ia form'd for state employ ;
They say he 's ouite unrivall'd with the sword. And fought abreast with Rupert when a boy.
I argued with him, urg'd him, nay, implor'd To change his hair-brain'd purjpose ; 'twould annoy
My soul to see him throw himself away.
Cromwell ere long will give the law fair play."
Our ChUde, grown quite a lion, a monstrosity, Wander'd unconsciously 'mid that gay crew ;
He car'd not for the Bocial reciprocity
Call'd ball-room gossip ; hia few friends, who knew
His most peculiar lack of curiositv
In trifles, ne'e^ inform'd him who was who,
And had quite dropt their often-proffer'd duties
Of introducing him to county beauties.
Some cautious triflers can act well-bred lies,
And fan, or quench at will, their sofi sensations ;
But he, not quite so prematurely wise.
Prone at his heart to conjugal temptations.
Had made, like Job, a covenant with nis eyes. And hopiog one day to attain the patience.
In all things, of that much-enduring saint.
Kept his own headlong temper in restraint.
)F WALTER
iitDsr
£41
Tip now Tnus'd tliii^. — " H'iim in ttit> vrnodn I tlwell, Kollowiiifc. like iill nnmiid inu. Adun's triulc.
Some htithp hi^-mclttcd lass nliojuit rsn ft|H>ll, Stfmx.' briirtit-ey'd. iDvintr.lieitrted millL'r's tiiMid,
Mnv prJM my faith, nnd grncfi vay wi^wnm well. Von dninty toyn, mp niirtur'd. <k> arrnr'd.
Kit hrl|>nint«)t they to mnk n bitmn'n huinp.
And ilitih it on a rouj(]i-liewn ma)iIeH(tuin)i t
Hark ! — his own name, itnt] c(iii]ilH «rith a eiierr !
A ^eM hall pillnr rhanc'd to intervene Uetu'een him and the ■]>«U(er<, but IiIk car,
Tntin'd pri'motur^y, wns nwake nnil keen A* the wild Ifidiim's. which a Imft-'an henr
IlijMtlinir fjkr <ilf amid the fitn^ crtMMi. " You heurd him, l»o|ilp f* know hitn then bj si^ht f — An m/nnt perdu— a tile montie, ijuite."
" I heard hitn— hcanl thu n<»lile> rjuitifpit inn
He gave that wretch, u( whwrn Gilew flvpireadi
Witrc » fulnt type l—DrnrVtrr., dioiqird ii fWiion U'hidi, truat me, beet were hunour'd in the breiu-h.
I liMilhv the French court-cnnt ; liijth Ktiirl)*)> pnimiaii 'Iliey tnveetie. becanso ihcy cuniiot reui-h.
His |»ruji<<^'it wild, Imt ttpejika no (-niiimon miin :
Cromwell himself was bcut ou the snmc plan."
— " TJicy say he 'c here : ootncs he, as it »Jioti1d teen, S4IIIIII' Iterkiihirp ilam«el*err)iHt'K r»iLh t<> try.
Ai«d lurw to join him on his wilii-gouM whenie?" — " Kate, if I knew and lov'd him. thnt would I,"
— " How ! this from Isolde Kenrirk * surf> I dreAm— You, whom our |;all»ititH call «> i>>hl and khy ?"
— '• l-rt them : my heart is dee]ior th.iM my Wltet,
M'hich iiriy sinijiletim might lUral nii<l (Kicket.
" Kate, I don't know or like j-ou, luvf, lo>ni|fht ;
Yoli 're not yoiirself." — " ^V ell then, ihc truth to sa^, "I* wa« rotitnuiii'tidii, with a K|i:re of *|ii(t>.
Poyiitz, whose liifch noM tiirnH up til viil|>xr Hay. MhiIc quite a >))ee«li on thin hi* fiivourM knitiht.
ThiriK oHiim warniMi and narrii-d ijiiite away, Ilia dry, lat^onic S|iAniJt riiiirtHhi|i I he Whit ne'er tuuehMifm u <^*m|diiiM;nt to ine !'
—"Oh, Katel"— •• Well, well, ho U>v^ me. 1 belieM." (Here Walter's ronwiem-e half wlvi^'d a mova }
" Hit frieml, on whnee aJihirn allow nxt leave
To any, you 're stniDSrly eorioiin thrown, my love,
Uu«t be like you — {Isolde, I w<m't deceive,) A bighHyer, with hiii head in cloud* abuvif,
Juat oae of your own worlil-defytng school ;
lu fact, a noldv creature,— am) a foul.
" Heaveo«, what a look '. why all the ('ynnr hliio^ Mimnta to your dieek.— dw 1 prtni«iim-e it rijihl t
^tr,\ngv, that thre« cmttirie* of oair air and food 81i(Hild not have danip'd the wild H'eUh spirit i|<iiLc.
Now, be a i["i»l pnrl — I nay, toii 'rv always Kood,) And I will Hift thill denr old t'r>ftle lo-niifbt,
The only one who kikofn loo Itl-tory hi>re.
' Tia wliisiier'd, lia waa a known ('■vmlMtr."
54^
TllR LEUBND OP WALTER CHaOE.
— " Nay, deftrert, ktndMt, yoit mlrtake hit driti.*' — " No ; WB iOl call vou a contirni'd «ld maid
Of three-Jind.twenty.' — " Well, hut dont Miy • aift ;' Whttt atii til' )'« to me ? yet 6un.' twine aid —
Our «>iisiii Bliindfll— liiffnidiby— It shift
hy Ibeir )ii};li intere^ surely qiitiht be tnfide :
Tlien I'uynix, m miu'b look'd itp to, «o sincere—
But he 'it too proud Ui stir ■ ilvp, I fur.
** Kate, do yon understand mf nnw. or not ?" — *• ]M>lde.— I know you mean whiiteVr roni •ay."
— " Oh, when nc aim at gO(Ml, no matter wliui. Our ux's awkwnrdueH stands in our way.
Smile if yon plMM : but tliink, the hopelesa lol Of Hortli and tnl«nt cru«h'd by thi« foul play.
And doDtn'd to wither in Ihoite iiavage clime* I
One *fl mad ennugk already with the timet,
"* No moiTu ; hure come my tormeot*." ^l' altar now Made a flank muvement from hi« former place ;
He thou((ht at last to realize, aomehow. Hi* fiivourtl« ShHk«p<^ar« modi>l« of all gnc»i
To miitch with hlKh-Huul'd Beairice'b brow, And Kiiudind's fine funn and spvakiriit^ factt,
Tbo dear, deep muKic of that voice, rcveulin^,
(So Fancy augur'd) iU-e|ter tluiught and {ttlmg.
" I »ee hvr now ; the livtena to young ScropVi
Th' Ili^h Sheriff's hrir. iin ICuphuist fantnstcic:-^
How the fop fumble* with hi* pluni'd hut '4 loop ! He rt'ddcnt! ; he divines her smile sarciutii: —
Bowa hiiiiKcir ufT- Now olhen K«ell Ihts group. And bait her wilh their c<>iti[»linienti> butiiluUtic ;
Her cjitni, fix'd look of putiL-ncu anys. * 1 prny,
Proceed, fail' gentles, and bay out your aay.'
" Ha ! Korcle limpa up to ber. Ay, wit and worth Dwelt in my poor fnend'a form, unamth and Iwiw. —
She aiisweni— nhiit » look uf c«>rdJal mirth Js there ' the calm, otill statue '> not the same :
Sure nought so Qytnph*likc trvade on thU dull earlb. Her eyes — I ne'er admir'd them, soft and tame —
Have all the woul and fire uf the )iny South.
And what a beautifully trell-cut muulb !
*'Forde catches now my rye— my name spun !
I know hix kiuilne»i| hut fur my own peace I 've heurd mul ncen too much, tvhich must remain
Link'd uiih oU future thuught till life aboU ceoic. Could nhe— but penury tmd hupeleu pain
Are in thii land my portiun. — ^Vhy incresM Mv ill« p«rt c«r<^? Tii-morrow, tiicn, I ((o; Hold fa»t, Resolve I St. Ueoi^e I and we^tw&rd, bo I"
Be l*jni'd abruptly, seokine some excuse
To nhun all that he feari\ M»d loiific'd for moat.
" H'yld, keep the book I lent, 't will prove of use : — Don! aCBO Die, tny dear felluu, like a ghott."
Pale us the deud, iu troth, ho )rlided looM From hLg astounded friend ; the Stuic boaat
Of proud JtidiiTcrcneo, which fiUBtain'd our hem
Not hair an hour at^o, nob down at icoro.
A PLAIN CASE. 513
" Alice, U 't thou ? plague on 't 1 my good old dams,
I grieve to think 1 kept thee up awake." — " Lord bless ye ! 'tis my custom all the same ;
Now, dear younff man, what will ye please to take ? The flask you left is fresh ; there 'b chine and ffame."
" Nothing, dear Alice." — " Not a slice of cake ?" - — " No, nothing, thank ye, nothing ; never mind it Nothing but rest; (would I knew how to find it!")
He threw him — no, 't was his habitual use
To do things rationally — went to bed. And thought o'er hie lov'd Shakgpeare, to induce
Some train of thought to calm his feverish head. The very worda betray'd him. — " Idiot ! Goose \
Seeking ' Bome bright particular star to wed,' My reason 's like ' bells jangled out of tune,' And I a baby, crying for the moon."
Then Beatrice, and Rosalind, and she,
Gentler, but with like singleness of heart, Devoted Imogen, too pointedly
Brought to his mind their fancied counterpart. He turn'd to childhood's home, the chesnut-tree,
The fielda where once be stray'd ; but like a dart At once the searching question smote him, " How Wsa 't I ne'er reck'd of loss of lands till now f
" Well, fifty years hence, and 't will all be past :
I'his fever'd frame will rest a tranquil clod In cooling Delaware's savannahs vast.
By the lone hunter's kindred footsteps trod.'* He stretch'd him as in death ; the thought at last
Of flowing streams, and his long home's green sod. Brought a good hour of sleep's unrivall'd balm. The early morning found him risen, and calm.
END OF CANTO II.
A PLAIN CASE.
OV HSAKIKO TBAT THE VAIH AHD COLT LADT IKTEDDED GOINO
TO TBS CALEDOMIAM BALL AS " HABT QUEIH OP SCOTS !''
What I Scotland's benty, ftail as AurT She cannot cotmtauaue that character I Sure modesty must make her roe it ; I 'm certain $he Mai not the face to do it!
Louisa H. SKERinAN.
£44
FICTIONS OF THE MIDDLK AGEa
TIIE PROFESSOR OF TOLEDO.
Upon ihe sides of a steep acclivity, suiTouiided by lofty mountain*, itands the renowned Toledo ; in days of yore as much celebrated for its school of magic, as it has since become for it» m«nuf«clory of sword- bladeB. At one angle of the city, built ujKin the point of an abrupt and rocky sunimif. comniiiriding an extensive prospect, is the Alca- itar, live hundred feel below which the river Tagus angjily dashes alonf( between rugged precipices, and then foIIh away throiig^h neighbour- ing valleys, fertilizing and fructifying the green meadows on its banks. In the Alcaznr is u grand public square called the Fkza Mayor, or Socodover, where the inhabitants of the town used to rendezvous and promenade, under stately colonnades and fanciful baicunii-s. There thu proud higli-blooucd noble and the luaty merry-hearted muleteer unconcernedly elbowed uaeh other, and the young and lovely wife, attcuded by her connUmt and jealous Cortejo, f^a/ed with the greater froidenr ot her superannuated hosband; but, when evening yieldetl the world to night, then began the scene of bustle and romance,— ^h en the gay and amorous cnvaliero, im- bibing maddening draught? of love from his gentle sefiora, poured out his soul of song to the tinkling of his light guitar.
On the night of the l»t of April 1208, the moon then shining in brilliant splendour upon the lofty towers of the Alcasar. two oiTft- litTos, concealed in the ample fofda of their cloaka, were in earneit conversation in one of the most retired walks of the Socodover.
" U'uuld yuii have me break my oath, Ilermano, and, by olTending nty uncle, lose his estates and wealth } Know you not that he has awnm at the shrine of the IToly Virgin, if I ever entered the Pro- ftrsHor'a Tnwcr he would disinherit mer"
" I would be the biat man in Toledo," answered Hermann, " to counsel Don Alberto to act agniuHt his coiisciencf; ; but if he have received a shall fVoiii the frailest and solU-.'^t thini; in nature, — woman's eye, it behoves him to get the wound speedily cured, or it will fester into frenzy."
" It has done that already," replied Alberto; " yet must 1 bear it ; for he that wars, hunts, and loves is subject to a thousand Bor« rows for every plea*ure,"
" Nay, nay," interrupted Hermano, " tho^e are fearful ixhN. My experience ways, one sorrow to a thousand pleasures, — and that, I thmk, is ample payment, — at least it fully satisfies me; but those who conjure up evils, and play the lover, poet, or lunatic, — for tbey are all one, — must suffer the penalty of their absurdity and temerity. I have gener.i!ly observed tnat n love-shaft pierce* through nine hundred and ninety-nine hearts at onee, and, beinj; spent, lodges harmless in the tliousandth, in the pmitiun of which 1 always con- trive, if possible, to place my own. Rut. to be serious, and recar aain to this self-same profcsbor, who is not one of your upstart venturers, no needy fortune-teller and threadbare juggler, but one who, by his intercourse with spirits of the invisible world, can control the eternal order of the planets, and extort from reluctant demons the secrets of futurity — lie can extinguish and recall life, blaat creation's fairest works, and cither inflame or subdue the strongest passion."
THE PROFESSOR OP TOLBOO.
MS
" I doubt not that lie is a wonderAil And fearful man ; but I hate," said Albrrto, interrupting him, " your pbiltres and amornuv potions, and tiiich like buitR and Irickn, to force nfTifticm, turn men'l brainH, and (Hrrvert their juilfrmFnLs. llciiiileii, hnvp I not told you that the girl htTself is not insutisible to my passion, but rptunu itt "I'h her cur»t-U father and rt'ligiuii that atauif in my way,"
" \VkI\ — what of tliat? Go to the profe»or," said Hennano, " and iC he do not devise Hmie mixle of fulfilling, ay. and exceeding lot), youT utmost de^irpH, oil) me dotard, or any other naine you plejiNr. liv«idi-<», what harm c«n liBtciiing to his project do you? Uepend upon it, Alberto, Dame Nature had some «i>te end in view in traniing ear* without thow coverts she htK^. placed upun the eye* and tonfjue. After nil, you need nut follnw hid advice ; fur, by Santiago, that is an article oltener required than adopted."
" Then you sincerely advise nic to go, notwithgtanding my unrle'a vow. whatever be tJic conwquence ?"
" I vrmg never more sincere in my life," answered Hcrmano.
" I will go, tlien," «iid Alberto. •• be the renult what it may."
" And your curseH rest upon my head," retunicd llermano, " if yuu repent your resolution."
The friends cnibraceil. — Ilcrmanu hastened to Ids tliree-deep usiftnations, and Alberto slowly mid sadly {UMed through the couru and echoing galleries that led to the tower in which the Pru> fessor practised his mysterious ]>owers of %\w\h and incsntatiooi. Little aid Alberto dream that the man whom he wa." ftoing to coa< suit wn9 no lesN a pirrson th.in Ktxleric Xinicncs, archbishop of To- ledo, bis reputed maternal uncle, (pope«, and other difcuitaries of the Kuroish Church, never acknowledging children,} who, by his nubtle learning in the occult science*, li»d niiteil him»c1f from com- parative indigence to t)ic high office he then enjoyed. He hui) been educated, under tlie name itf AH'onNo Ka]H»H), in the celebrated school ofm^igic in Tule<lo, where he Itccame such a jtroliciciit in tJie mystic rolls of fate, that he never failed to predict correctly tlie earthly chances that would befall those who consulted him. So j(reat wa« his fame, that his sovereign, Alonxo the Eighth, found it his interest to avail himself of Alfonao'fl advice, and gave the magi, eian apartments in the AtcaKar, where he wielded his w.ind over the (Uadnus of the kingA of neighbouring utates, and employed bin sya- tem of unhallowed machinations tolKild iti complete subjugiition the suhjecu of bis master and jMiiron. The sovereign ami the magician being thus leagued together in a dark conspiracy to deceive and enslave their efiecies.— lui a reward for Ins valuable Bcrvice* rendered to the former, Alfonso was by bis influence elevaied to the highest ecclesiastical dignity in Spain ; but, in order that the Christian world should not be »canuali;!ed by the Hrxife*«i>r Alfonwi KapiMo being enthroned, he ebangrd bis n^me to Ituderic ilc Xiraenew. It Win, huwever, one of the conditiona of his appuintmciit, thai he kliuulil Htill hold the tower in the Alcaxar, and once a-weck during the reign of AUinzu, or whenever llw;re was occasion, exerciM his iupemniurul influence over the people ; for well did both pontiff and sovereign know that a magician in those ilnys had the means of penetrating into more of public and private intrigue tlian tlic most dexterous and insidious system of espionage, and tlut many things would be revealed in a magician's cabinet tiuit would be cunomlt
«4«
PICTIOKS OP THE UIDDLE AOES.
even in the confessional. Tlius King Alonio and Archbithi^ Ro- dcric, favoured by the igtiorance of the times, became acquauited with the tDuat trivial occurrences in public and domestic life.
To return to Don Alberto. lie came at length Co a vaultrtl cor- ridor, which conducted him to a winding staircase, where there was just RufScicnt li|;hl to make the gloom more than ordinarily im> posins'' Descending the Mtair«, he arrived at a duor of higbl^-po- lished braM, carved and embosted with cabJilisticat and hieroglypbi- cal figures. Albertn gave a gentle and irresolute tap ; but, grntle an it was, it must have been instantly beard within, (ttr the door flew suddenly opett with a noise like thunder, and drew buth him and the floor upon which he was standing into a place of incon- ceivable obortirity.
•• Powers nf Darkness!" exclaimed Alberto, " whither are yoo conducling mc^"
" Into the presence ofliim whom yoa seek," was the reply of in invisible sjpeaker; nud Alberto iustantly fclc himself gently raised, with the floor under him, towards the ceilioi;. After he hod as- cended about forty feet, his bead lifted up « trap-door in the ceiling, and he stood in a circular vaulted room of dazzling 1-gfat before xm Professor of Toledo, who reclined upon a crimson velvet ottoman, of oriental shape, from which a stream of supernal melody seemed to flow. Upon a tublc, lying confusedly together, appeared various aorolls of parchment inhcrihed with cabalistic and mystic ligurea, Instruments of quaint forms, booka of science, gla.4sefi, retorts, alem- bics. In the room were twelve crystal lamps Allrd with fragrant oil, which, whilst they delighted the eye with a radiance like the tem> pered light of day, gratified the olfactory neni'es with a delicious perfnrae.
" What brines the sombre melancholic Don Alberto to the Cham- ber of the Vatf.s?" inquired the professor, without rising from his recumbent pfisiurc.
Alberto started at the sound of his name. " Nay, start not," continued the profeiiAur, " at the bare mention of your name. Think you, seignior, tlist mortal man con enter my labontory and I not know him i"
" As you know my penon," answered Albert, " perfaapi you also know my business, and can save me the trouble of explaining it."
" It is the custom for the sick to tell their ailments to the leech, and he prescribe* a remedy," replied the professor. " Yours must be a desperate case, which puts in jeopardy your chance of becoming heir to your uncle's vast estates ami wealth. Knows he of your coming hither, seignior?"
" Truly, »r," said Alberto, biting his lip, artd inwardly cursing his frienid Ilermano for sending him thither, " I perceive you are familiiar with my circumistances, which puzitlcs me. However, I came not here to talk of my chances of inheritance, but "
" Surely not for a lave-chArm, Seignior Alberto ! " interrupted the profeswr, " to nhilter and bewitch some fickle-minded maiden, — nor for an oblivious baneful draught to dose a successful rival who dims the lustre of your smiles. Nay, seignior, frown not; for it Avails you as tittle as do your nervous nail-nihblings."
" A truce with vour binter," said Alberto ; " though 1 deserve it for being such an idiot as to come here."
*
THE PROFESSOR OP TOLEDO.
5i7
lied the professor, " need not the leech'i aid, but
I
" Tbf sane,'' rep tboRe who arc »icK. " I am not sick," snid Alberto indi^nntly- " Then why come to me?" a^kcd the prafesftor> " To seek thy nid,*' dulicnly replied Alberto. " As othiTs do," returned the prufesBor, " who. guided by the magnetic influence of hope, that healing medieuincnt for the miser- able, come here to eeek it amidst the anxieties und mysteries of science; and I, ber officiating priest, dispense to tbe hopeless and despairing that only batm their case requires. But to tbe point — yoa love the Jew Mordecai's daughter," continued tbe professor, casting a searching gtance itt Albrtto's face, " and come to me far advice in your unchri»t ianlike devotion."
Alberto, thunderstructt at the professor's apparent preacience, re- plied, " Thou hast truly named the object of my de^ttre, to procure whom I sought thee in my desperation. IJer father wishes to extort ft vow from Tier never to see me more, and bolts and bars administer to bis wiiL"
" And, by the powers I fierve," answered the professor, rising from his seat, and angrily pacing the room, " 1 will admini.stpr to My will, Don Alberto ! Tuou rhslt have that Jew's daughter for thy mistress, slave, or aught besides — his usurious heart shall break at thy success I Me has crossed my patli, spurned my otTvra, laughed ■t roy spells, and bet my power at defiance !"
" Can your mysterious powers and spells gain me admission into his house?" inquired Alberto; "'tis all J want."
" Ay — there, or anywhere," answered the professor, impatiently tapping his Kn^rs on his forehead. " Here, take this reed, ana introduce one end of it into tbe Jew's window ; then, speaking through it, tell him to proceed at once to the house of Rabbi Alonaa- seh, where be will find Henrique*, who owes him twenty thousand dobleros, preparing to decamp at dawn of day. The door once open, the prise is your own."
" And will your scheme open his door?" inquired Alberto- " The greatest works are of^en effected with the meanest aid," answered the professor. " Ilaate thee away — it wants but one liour •fmidttigbt."
Alberto warmly thanked the profesaor, and hastened to try the
Incy of the reed in gaining him admittance to the presence of the
ol or his soul. Aa he p»K»ed down the CoIIp dc la Campinera, he
his frirnd Ilermano with a chagrined countenance quitting the
"ence nf the p.irish rfMifi-j^sor.
'* Hollon !" saiil Alberto, " who would have thought of seeing the
volatile Hermann coming out of the Padre's door at this huur of
Fnight? Have your sins sate so heavily on your shoulders, that you
. need a midnight shriving f"
" The hare often starts out of a bush where we Wast dreamt of her sitting; and then, pondering and doubting on what oturse she had best pursue to avoid the fierce and bloodthirsty crew that seek her life, she flies from brake to brake, and visits all her well- known haunts to gain strcurity ; but," continued Hermano, " to ipcak less »))ortinKly. I have been with the avaricious pric*t, endea- vouring to raiite another «um to stop the rlunours of the cursed duni that hourly beset me."
£Wt
FICTIONS OF TUB MIPULK AOKS.
"Ami have vou succwdcd ?"a6ke<l Alberto,
" Not iH-yoiul a prumUe," flnswpred HermnTin. " The sum is too litrjje, and must be nnd from A1orc]i?riu, that Jewish dng-"
" WhAtevCT be the sum you rcijuire to mi*ft your prwent exi- gencies a!hai\ be in your possesHion before noon to-morrow^" said Alberto.
•■ Thou art h peneraus fcoul, Alberto '" sgid Ilermano, embracing his friend, " nnd I ii melnncholy sptrndlhrift,"
"Tut, tut, tut! — my generosity is like that of most lenderB," answercil Alberto, " holtoracil upon wiLutiiie something in prtum."
Alberto then related to bis I'riend what Dad belullen him ut the prufeseor*s tower ; and, HerDinno affreeing to assist him, by sjicakin^ ui a feigned voice through the reed, they proceeded together to the dwellinf; of Mordecni. There, the reed having been introduced into tlie window, Ilennnno applied his mouth to it, and exclaimed —
•' O. Jlordecai, thou sun of Haniun ! jjet tliee up. nnd procevd instnntly to the houM; of Itabbi Mannsyeh, where thou wilt find Henriaue«, thy subtle debtor, about to decamp with ihy money. Ari»e, I nay, arite !"
At the very first sound that issued from the reed, Mordecai started from his »i\eep, and raising himielf from his pallet of straw, listcDvd with terrjfietl soul to the prophetic warning;.
" W^hat in it th«t. 1 he«r!" he excLtimed. " Henriques, my prin- cipal debtor, thst dog of n merchant, about to decamp in my henry ■debt? Nay — it cannot be — 1 have been dreaming — my ibouvhts are but the forgeries of sleep, I saw him here this noon— tnrre wa<] no ^lilty intention in his eye. Bui did he not say at portilli;, * ]<*arcwell, until we meet again i' There was meaning in tbooe words. [lark ! — that »ound again !"
" Dort thou hear the voice of thy guardian angel, Mordecai, and yet tarriest in thy bed,* Up, Mordecai I — up!— ihake off sleep — the sixth part of dcatli— or tiieday will wake you instead of your waking it !"
" I rise. I rise, O spirits of Abraham nnd Klijah '." said Mordec«i» suiting the action to the word ; and he ha^^tily washed his hantln, and hurrieil on bin rlothe-R ; accortling to the prescribed rule of the Jews, rinspcl bin moutli, put on bis tcphilin, and ttien pronounced the name of Ktuhiui.
Deborah, who slejtt in tJic adjoining room lo her father, hearing hiiu getting up nt such an unseasonable hour, hastily drcMed lierseir, and came into hif: aimrtnient juM as he was leaving it.
" What ails thee, chUd r" said the Jew ; " got thee buck to thy beiL The night was made for sleep, and not for waking curiosity ; get ther to sleep again ;" and, so paying, he hurrie<l out of liia hoa«t>, enrefully locking and double-locking theduor after him. ^o swjner had lie ttirnetl the comer of the Mrcet, and gone fairly out of sight and he:iriiig, than Alberto and liLTuiinio comiiig from Uic place of their concealment, knocked loudly at the Jew's door, Deborah, think- ing that some accident had bclallen her father, ran to the window bi ascertain what it was ; for she knew that the door was double- locked, an4l the key in his pocket.
" Light of my soul !" said Alberto, as she appeared at the cafe- iiwiit, ■' if you love me but half a* much as you have oiten twoni you do, Hy with luc thi« iiiKtant — not .1 moiurnl must be lost. I will
THE PROPKSSOH OF TOLKDO.
sii>
expUin everything tn ymi when we arv anCely beyrmd the rcAch of pursuit."
" Oh, Albvrtnl what wuuld you Jiavc nic do? Do not iii^c me to nbuiiiluu my lather's rout' in a manner sii ubrupl. and lu put my nmiic iiiitl reputiitiuii upon the faithleu bidauccH uf backbiting and detracting tonguea."
" 1 would root out the mendaciauK tongue tluit should ]>rofane thy nRTnc with lawU-Hi ribahlry !" paasiunately exclaimed Alberto ; " but wr hitv4- now no limf fur woixU: stay not here, I implore thee, wanting the precious moment* that hive ha« granted ii«. Ilnrk ! I hear the trea«l of feet— they come thi» way !^-the window Ih not far trom the gruimd — there is no darker — jump! and my longing arnia shall receive thee."
Scarcely knowtnf; vhiit she did, Deborah half jumped half fell into the arms of Alberto, and, followed hy Ilermano, they hastened to Alberto's houite, where, for the present, wc must leave them.
Meanwhile, witli a hurried and nervous step, Mordei'ai pro* cceded to the house of Itabbi Manasiteh, where Iwing arrived, his htaxt rcdponded against his uie^rc ribti t4> the luHty and decisive knocks wliich he gave at the itabbi'e door, so quick aiKl so loud WLTC those noisy appeilc, that tJie whole strevl ecboetl aiid re-echoed with the toundi). The rabbi being a godly man, and uf consider- able im|>ortance in the sanhedrim, — for he was well skilled in iJie sacred mysteries of the cabali, mishna, and gemera, — thought (es|)e- cially US be duly estimated hinn>elf] that such an anthurilative de- mand of admittance could proceed fnrm no one lr<M thnn the prophet Elijah,* in one of hia nocturnal ramble*. Somewhat elated at the idea of »o signal and unexpectetl a favour, the rabbi, witliout even waiting to put on his garments, ru«lied frtrni hin beil to receive his veoerablc viititar. The surprise, diigust, mortification, aitd anger lie evinced upon ojiening the street door, and seeing the disturbed aiul anxious Jew, can be better imagined than expresMd.
" Am I in timc.^" ejaculated the unhappy Mordceai with an air ordtBtraction; •' U he off yet? — Ilenritiues, with my twenty thou- sand doblerofl ?— « large sum, rabbi, to trust a CbrisUon with, with- out a bond !"
Justly exasperated, and perluipi the more s*) from his disappoint- ment in regard of the prophet Klijiih, the rabbi excljumed, —
" Thou malignant and nocturnal sprite '. what dost thou uieun by thii unaeuofiable interruption f" — and, without another word, nn ceremoniously slammed the door in ^lordecai's face, then with ■ ferocious inward oath he hurried back to his chamber.
As Alordecai could fancy nothing else, from the rabbi's strange and uncouth bebuviour, but that he was in league with, and affording pnrtertion to Henriques, he wrought himself into a (Im-
Krate and ungovernable rage, and renewed hia knocking mor* isterously, if possible, than before; head, hands, and feet were all employed in the otHce of battering-rnm against the patient, but ateodily. resisting door. The rabbi was nnarcustomed to bear with meekness such intolerable insolence and presumption ; he therefore opened his window, and dincharged without remorse tbe contents of
* TIm Jaws bttUerv that Kl^lab Is alvart waadaring alHMi itio wwM as sn un> haMoJor ol Oud, and visiuog Ui« moal hal» uul virtnotu tabbi*.
MO
FICTIONS OF TUB MIDDLE AGES.
a capacious utenul upon the offending h«ad of his bearded betiegtf. At U*tif;th th« noise occaiionrd by the borabardmeDt, as earnevt as that of Titus againat JeruHlem, mingled with the itngry vocifera- tions of Mordecfli, disturbinj; the whole neigbbourhood, brought the algunails to the KCfne of action, who, lik« most others invested with petty authority, not stopping to inquire into the mertt'* of the case, Cell upon the disconcerted and enraged ftrordccai, and Mon^ with handcuff* and fistycnffs, silenced the thunder of his artillery, and led him away captive by the collar to prison. More mercifully and tenderly doett nn eagle bear away the timid hare in his sharp talons, than did thone xprigs of brief authority carry off the poor Jew. They pinched, kicked, and pulled him, 6rst this way and then that, in order that they might the more conveniently and unau^pcctcdly ea«c hia pocket of its contents.
In tilt- moriiinK he was brought before the alcady, who, being an unprejudiced judge, instead of sentencing the miferablv 3lordecai to death, merely condemned him to pay an exorbitant sum for mid- night brawling, — an additional sum because the offender was a Jew, — a farther sum, because he hated the Jews, — and a still farther sum, because the offender was rich, and ought to pay ; for it was not ofbrn that he dared to condemn a pprsoii that could afford to pay. In failure of paying these varioitx fines within twelve hours, the Jew was to be sent to the galleys for ten years, and at the expiration of that term to be brought back to priMMi, and hanged the following morning at sunrise.
With this mild and merciful sentence Mordecai had nothing to do but comply ; and Mordecai was one of those philosophers who think it better to be regarded as a patient ass than an iniputent lion ; though the payment of such large sums was worse to him than even the loss of his life-blood, yet he knew that in Toledo it was oteless to kick against the pricks, for whntever sentence the alcady pronounced was unalterable. The poor Jew was conducted to btt house by alguaails suHicient in number to keep in awe at least ten robust obstreperous clowns. What was his horror, what his distrac- tion on arriving there, to find his home deserted, his daughter dcd ! -He plucked his hnir from his beard, he smote his breast, he stamped his feet ; but to no other purpose than the amusement of his gentle and benevolent guardians, who laiighed at his sorrows, and aeemcd to enjoy his agony.
Mordecai now remembered the harsh treatment to which he bid subjected hJn daughter, .ind was stung to the tjuick by remorse of conscience. " Where is my daughter," he cried aloud, "for whom I have broken my sleep with anxious thoughts, loaded my soul with usurious crimes, and let^ myself without a friend f Give me my child, sirs, and you shall have your money without interest — without a sigh ! Oh ! some bloodthirsty Christian has kidnapped and mur- dered her! Give me my child, or you will lash me into madness .'"
The ravings of the Jew and the merriment it occationed to hta guardians soon collected s crowd round the hnnw; and as even among the Jews, whatever the Cliri*iian may think to xlw contrary, there are kind-hearted Samaritans who pour oil into the bleeding bosom, and assuage the griefs of the sorrowful, some of those hu> mane persons, upon hearing the state of matters from the alguaails, undertook to supply the mulcts inflicted upon their distreaeed
4
4
THE MtOFESSOR OF TOLEDO.
551
I
I
I
I
m, and in a short tJnio cletrfd his hou«c of the mercenary crew hy handing iheni over the money : leaving poor Mordecai to the condolence of his friends, who protTiFred their auifiunce to lind hit daughter. WTiat wa» the effect of their kindnesf will shortly appew.
It waa Easter Sunday, and the Climtian inhabitants of Toledo were a»enibled in ih<r magniticfnt cathedra) to hfMr hi|;h mau per- forzned by the arc 1 1 bishop. Among the catechuin«»4 present was a maiden prnMlyte of surpatHin^ Ii4>niily, uhriK larj^e black cnrruficsnt eye darted into the coldest hearts the flames that sjftarkleil in its orb. She was a convert from the Jewish to the Cbristtan faith, and had been the day before* publiciv baptised in tJic presence of the whole congreeation. She M-as now devoutly kneeling at the altar, and ■eemed nbrarbed in sincere and hnmble oriwng to the throne of grace, where eren the solitary prayer of a contrite heart in more acceptable than ttie united formal prayers of the fullest congr^a* tion collected by mere duty, custota, or necessity.
High mass was completed, and the archblHbop in the very act of exposing the host to the veneration of the faithful, all upon their koees, whilst the anthem. " O sacrum convivium," was being chanted, when all wnn suddenly interrupted by a violent uproar occasioned by the rush of upwards of fifty Jews up the aisle of the cathedral towards the high altar, and upon whuw entr-inoe a sudden dnrknews overnpread the biiihlinj*. At thi* sCranp[e and unceremo- nious intru«inii each imlividunl looked aghast at his neighbour, the anthem censrd, — the prie<<ts and acolyte* were dismayed, — all was confusion. The archbishop alone remained undaunted, though ■omewhat surprised, his deep>set hacel eye flashing liquid fire, aa in his sonorous vnice he peremptorily demanded the cause of that unholy and sacrilegious interruption of the worship of God, npon a day pre-eminent amongst the festivals of the Church. The Jewish proselyte, alarmed at the noise, was roused from her pious reverie. She looked up, and beheld her father ; for it was Mordefni himself that headed the Hebrew rabble. Slie uttered a wdd and piercing shriek, and fell scnsi-less into tlie arms of a ricfaly-attirsd cavalero who was kneeling beitide her.
The mouth of Murdecai, as if in the act of speaking, began now to open and shut, " like that of a crow gaping in hot weather ,"+ and ao did the mouths of nil the Jewish intruders, but not one sound isaued therefrom. The archbishop, thinking tlint the Jews were mocking him and the service of the church, ordered tlum all to be instantly seised, bastinudoed, and ejected from the rathetlral ; but the congregation, meu. women, and children, arose •imnltaneouslr. as if by nn irreflistible impuW, and massacred the U'hnlc of the unbelieving curs at the foot of the altar. Frin^htfnl was the slaughter, and heart-rending ought tn have been the dying groans, die goaahing of teeth, and the moanci of the poor Jews, who were umble to utter one word of explanation or complaint, for by a miracle they had all become dumb. No Fotiiier, Jiowevee, were the last gasp fur breath and the laH death-rattle heard in tlieir throata,
' A <Ut peculiarly approptisied u> tba baptism of JowMi aomns, than sod (inra.
t Tha vorda of the MotanipoTkry writof aff* '* None on |iatulo, nan cam ' sinris ■•dlnis nnn ■porimt)!."
552
A CJl.RAM OF THE PAST.
thmi the unnatural olxtcurity which had ovei-spread the place tm tlieir entrance, vaniHlicil ; the whole iuicr«l vdifice glittnred w itii llir brightncsi. of ti^litning, and n henvenly choir wajt h«Mird tivf^infr. The supcmftl ttrains as th^y died awav vere siircoftled by tho howlings uid barking of b1oo<]hoiind.i, wno (either aCtracted by the carnal smell of Jewish bltaid. nr perhaps mtrAcnlmisly Rent by the saint presidinft «ivfr the catliedral ol'Tolwlo) ye1)M.-«I into the chtirrh, and made a gory banquet of the remains of the unfortunate unbe- liever*.
Twelve nionlhR after this memorable plaughter of fifVy Jews in the r/ilhedral of Toledo, that hi'inp the earliest period which deerncy permitted, the iiujitinlH uf Don Alhertu de XiinpncR and Chrititiana (fur DeboraJi at her buptiem had dropped her Jewish name, and usuiiied a new one more apjiropriatc to hur adopted belief) were celebrated with greiit pomp and Hulendour, oti the very spot where Alordecai had been slaughtered. The archbishun, on the conclusion of the ceremony, delivered a long inflatc<l monitory on the subject of dteolwdience, the necessity and sacred obligatiuit of keeping pru- mi«««. vows, and ro furtli, and wound up bv declaiming' againat the wickedness and intDTenw; absurdity of a beli«f' in the bitiuk art and occult sciences.
Don Alberto felt the full force of hit uncle'a orstion, every won! of which came home to his heart, for he liad oBended in all the par- ticulars about which hit uncle had preaclu-d ; but it wa» not until forty year* »l1erwArd», whpn the archbijihop waa unfortunately drowned in the Rhone, diat he lesnit the truth of the factw «Uted in this liitic narrative. Dblta.
A GLEAM OF THE PAST.
I ftuarr, and o'er my wuid'ring wnwa rame A scene or cittldhood, beauurul aiid bri&hl ; MeitiougKl 1 rushed amn wiih joyous t>oiind To Rreet ilie cuuiiiigj; of the u«w.l»orn day. And Instc her manv-sccnlcd od'roni bieulb. lair Nature spixau a ricb and boundless store To cliarm my sighl ; tbp ruinbuw-iinUTcl flowV t'ncluwd bei virfjiti beauty to ibe sua, Courting hi; tninnl smiles and coldcn branii ; And irtld-iiMS tairied on ilieir lazy Ri(^ts To iteal with Diuitnured lou^ the hisnous spoil ; Again 1 looked upoti ihcr smiling wave. And tract^d ii& Uiry ^uinbul* on the d^i, Leaping to ^ranton music of the breeze. Wearied at leiigdi, mediotight I fuuud my t&t In the soft haven ofa mother's arm* : Jjyv'wi ami Ic^-od, I biiski-d within the^OEC CM ercr-waichfui eye, tilt iniuy gh-ama Stole o'er my brow, and pictured to my view Those visions ofa for and di>Unl land That sliiler in an an^|.reve)iT. Conld I but tasle that blisHful dmin at-ain, 1'l'ouKhllt-!3 or clioiiiiCt and recklew of the flonn, Tbui slumbco in lh« (-loud of woe to coioe I
JfUAS.
J53
I
P
TIIK WIDOW CURED, OR MORH THAN THE DOCTOR AT FAULT.
Ir wa« in the year — . but no matter, I have the most trencher* Otis memory ima^piiable for dates ; when Qiiarz was at Iterlin, — ^yoiif of course, know wlioQtiarz wm, — if you do not, I'll tcII you. Ho was the cclpbrntcil miisirHt composer and musician nl the court of Frederick the Oreat, and, by the way, tautcht him the flute. Quari wiu th* pujiil of the famous counterpointi^l. Oiisiiarini ; Quarz, Jn short, wa« tne m.m who, as he was leavini; thfi ortiicrtre one night, heanl a hall whittle in Ms ear, ticketed for him by the Spanish Ambassador, who was in love with a certain raarchiones*. I can auure you the aim was a good one, and the maestro might well bob lua head, and wink his eyes.
At the time of which I was speaking before I got into these pa- rentheses, Quarx was forty -one: tall, and well made in his person, and of a noble and ckarsctertiitic countenance, which, joinml to a talent whose fiuurriority no one could dispute, gave him free access to all societies, miu caused him to be well received everywhere. He was, among othurs, particularly intimate with one Schindlcr, a friend of his youth, who itad followed the same studies — almost with the tame success — what a blessing wax such a friend I In his hou<e. arter the fatigues and adulations that every cuminj,; day brought with it, Quurz passed his evenings. At Achimlicr's he 8ou([ht for a balm to the wounds of envy and jealouay, fiirtilie<l hi^ mind against the caprices of the great, and, above nil, from Scllindlcr be was sure to incvt with a tribute due to his genius, and pruses that came from tile tienrt.
But deatl) laid his cold and pitiless hand on Schiniller, nnd with his terrible scythe cut that knot, which only he could sever.
No record of the time remains to tell us whether Madame Schin- dlcr " lamented him sore," There are some sorrows orer which we are forced to throw a veil. Perliaps nhe did, perhaps she <lid not, shed a tear — perhaps a Roml of tears. Habit and long intimacy are tnighty and powerful things.
Yet, though Kchindler was no more. Quart aIII rantimiefl his visits: whether from long custom, or particular affection for his lost friend, does not appear, and the young widow continued to receive him with her accustomed welcome.
For a considerable time no particular occurrence happened to interrupt their intervicwn, the motive of which seemed to be a mutual consolation. It is only by looking closely, and examin- ing evetits with attention, that we can discover any diminution of their aflVctiona for poor Schindler, but by degrees he laded from their memory. They now and then spoke of nim, it is true, but Ins and less, till at last they ceased to speak of him at all. Schin- dler was allowed to slumber peaceably m his case of wood, " was quietly inumed." reqttietcelat in paer.
Far myself, I can perfectly understand all this. I can see no necessity for remaining inconsolable at an irrcpiirable loss, and can conceive no folly greater than his or hers had they Amtme-^ selves to eternal regret*.
Whilst the lamp bums, if ever so feebly, nonriib the
roL. III.
554
THE WIDOW CURED-
mestu ; but wlien once it ia extinguished, it is a WMte of tine cuiiiiuon seiue to trim or supply it with oil. There ii an old French Dong than ruiu thus: —
" Quand en est mort, c'est pour long tciiip^.*" Thus, as I «iid, Madame Scliindler had given up weeping, and as every one shouhl have Komc occupation or other, she bethought herself of getting a new husband in lieu of the old. The idea was not a bad one. I« it not so f With thin view she emploved herself in repairing the dimirder of her toilette — in amiling on her vi«itors — in coqiieting with them n little. And who can hiame her ? If ynu know mankind as well as I do, you must be aware that thcs« things, much as we may despise them, go a great way in the world. Depend on it, that if a woman is simple in her manners, and plain in her tlre^s. and without what most people term affectation or coquetry, no one will tiike the trouble of looking at her twice.
Aladame Hchindlcr's house underwent a nimilar metainorphosts to her own. The Venetians, that had for a whole year been care- fully cloHL'd, began tu let in the day, and were drapcricd with more care and elegiince than ever. The very furniture seemed Co assume a new life. Her doors opened almost of themselves to her former friends or new acquaintances, and more than one gue«t at a time took his seat at her dinner-table.
Qiiarz waa, as may be MUppiMted, always welcome; and he had thiJt Rdvaritage, that came when he might she wan at home to him.
Nothing leas could be expected from so old a friend, and no one could posaihty find fault witn her for that, you will allow.
One day, in the iuid«t of an animated conversation wttli her amU able favourite, Madame Schindler all at once burst into tears, com* plaining of a pain in her side, and a violent headache. Quan waa " aujr petit noiiii," and did and said all that might have been ex- pected of him in such a case.
Madame flchindler went to bed, and sent for a physician. Well, you will say, what is there extraordinary in that ? YesWN day I had a stitch in my side and a liuadache, and what can they have to do with your anecd(fte }
Don't be impatient — much. As you ahall hear. Quarx was seated by her bedside when the doctor entered. He felt her pulse, and his lips expressed, by a slight but Mgnificant contraction, th^t he entertaint-d no very lavounible opinion of her symptoms ; whilst Quarz kept hts eye constantly fixed on her pale countenance, where the finger of death seemed to have set its tatal aeal. He was sad and motionless, and iiwaited in silence the stern decrees of Heaven. But the patient had perceived the evil augury of the physician's eye.
" I aet," said she with a feeble voice, " I see, alas ! that I am doomed to die. Doctor, I am grateful to you. I had rather know the worst, than flatter myself with a vain delusion."
•' Well," said he, " since I mnst — since all the aid of medicine ia vain, I leave you, madam." He cast a melancholy gUnce at Quari. who was now really alTccted.
The patient expressed a wish to be alone, and Quore and the doctor retiriKl to an adjoining chamber. Some minuter afterwards, they were again aummuned. " Joachim," said the dying lady, addressing Quarx ; " you per- ceive that I am about to leave you. But before J quit this world —
«
I
4
4
DARKNESS.
;>dd
before I lake my eCertial resL, 1 have one fuvuiir to beg of yon — oiie only — say, will you refuse it on my deuth-bctl?"
You may imngiiic the reply ; Quarz did wbui you or I would have done in bis place. He promiied, whatever it might be, to comply with it.
" I hoped it would be •o," aaid the widow, with a voice still fee- bler ; " but dared not rely on it. It U — that before I die, you nliould make me yourv. Call me but your wife. I ahall then be the bup- pie^it of u'omen, and have nothing further to with for."
The request whh a sintrulxr one, but Qiiaric hnd proiUMiiI, and really the cngAj^emcnt bound him to nothing, lor, in a few moment-s the tie would be broken by the divorce of death.
He therefore conBcntcd with a good erace, and sent for n notary- public. Tlie deed wm drawn up in due form. He signed it. The doctor signed it as a witne^-i. The widow, with a trembling hand, affixed her signature to the paper ; and all wan over.
But all wan not over.
" Doctor !" crie<l Mm. Quarx, jutupiiig nimbly, and completely dresaed, out of bed. " I am not bo near the point of death as you imagine, and have every incUoation to live long for uiy huelKind."
Now look upon the tublfan. The aitoni^hnient of the two wit- neMe* — the notary, wiping hi* spectacle*, thinking his eyes de- ceived him — the doctor biting hi.<i naiU at being deceiredi W well as the rest. Only tliink of a doctor being taken in I
Quars, who was well pleased with the advciiUire, said smilingly aside,
" A good actress, 'faith I If I were an author I would write ■ part for her."
The curtain fell, Madame Schindler was young and pretty, and rich besides.
DARKNESS.
DtaKHCMhsth bound
All luiure around, Aod the nighi-qu«en summons her pcady tnia,
l.tghiing each star
To lis watch (tdid aAr, U'eri world ofviMou aoddrewns again.
Liiiled to ils limp
la lh« ntifhiy deep, Aad hush«d thi> lament of iis glulton wavt i
But (alie the smile,
As a d«fno«*t guilff. Thai iporU on its bosom, and bde* in lU grave.
Trutt not llw rail
Of a traitor- brtrasi, BiHow* now slumb'niia thall wake, and Iw fre<^ ;
Their syrea cnatn
Shall lliey bunt aguin, And the stomwfiad call them lo liberty.
Soon tie (trey daws
Shall uiher Ihc mom Wfih a laic of woe for her sainted bmtli ;
Night wtndi shall rush,
TemnU shall t(U*h O'er ih* msriMr'* brow in its oceMi.dMlh. Jc-Liuti
2 q S
55G
UR. BCGtilNS.
Et ^ui>roni i>ar» mn^a fiii.
Oncb upon ft time, an old English gciitlenmn or that reapccttUb grailc, wliich, conuile Plunco, tised to keep IiouikI* and :»lt fur tbr county, good.nat II redly, or, to use a nearly svnonyniouf tenn. weakly, yielded to the importumties of hie wife and daughter, atKl consented " to jjo abroad."
The la<lip« were tired to death of Bath nnd Cheltenham ; Mr*. FoxcoUf declared that no decent young men were ever In be Ht such places, and nlBrroed, that p<ior Emily had not the slight chance of getting properly married, inafmnich ni her obdurate pa would not hear of giving her a season in town.
If poor Emily did not 8ay the same thin;;, she thought it. the nice young men in her county went to Eton, and IlHrrow, Oxford, and Cambridge, and then tra%-elleil, or Meltonizrd, m lived about town for a few years, to get rid of their superfluous cash and cnnslilutiun, and linally returned to settle on Uieir palernil acreH, liaving provided themselves with wives at Almack'a, an thai hw sole choice lay betwist the fox-hunUTB and the curates. Her personal beauty and probable fortune, euliiled her to aspire some- what higher than to be the wife of a poor curate ; and as for marry- ing a man who roile at\er a fox six days in the week, and talkrd about him to the purson between churcnes and after dinner on the seventli. the vcrv thought of such a thing put her hair out of curl.
Mr. Foxcole liad himself beun a man about town in hia younger days, nnd very aenaibly reflected, that, although he was a great man. and in the very bent society in hit own remote county, he might very possibly find himself' a very small m»n, and in no society at all, if he revisited London al^cr so long an absence; and that the Duchess of Twingleby, who was so gracious to Sirs. Poxcote, «i «o fond of Kmily, at the Twingleby archery meetings and electi balls, might find neither time nor inclination to extend her tronage .ind aRectinn tn lliem in town: like a wise man, honev he buried tlie-se bitter reflections in his own bosom, declined giv Emily ■ sewton in town on the less mortifying plea of ex and eventually compromised for a summer trip up the Rhine i Switxerland.
Excessive was the delight of Sirs. Foxeote, Emily, and Slubb4 tlieir uinid, at this prospect of foreign travel ; yet their joy was IWC wholly unmixed with A|iprvhenBion: they knew not how smooth "~ the beaten trucks of Europe have been worn by constant attriti how vigilant nre the police, how steady the post-boys, how extensi the progress of Alacadainixation ; vid visious of bewiskereil l>and(i .ind prccipitou-i roads suggested themselves occiuonally to hentetl imaginations. Tom Muorc had however song, and had read, that
" The rareM. tleatesl, flowers of l>lit«, Are pjock'd oa danger's precipice;"
»he therefore sootlicd her mother and scolded Stubbt to the brst of
ler xbilitirs, and thfy aII (hr«e ultimately (lecl«re<l that they hud in^le up thfir nimdH to put up with every thing. Hi>w far lh«v ad- hered to this liiiidablc resolve, will lie seen in the coune ot this short talc.
Mr. Koxcotc was by no means equally channe«l at settSnf; out on his travels. He spoke no Iane;ii8/>e mvp hi^ native tongue, was strnrtf^ly addicted to fioiind, ftdl-bodied piirt, and did not much relish exchaiif^ins his coirirortablc home, his InrnkH, hit) horHej), and hia dogs, fur the miestionable delights ufa continvutal (our ; hut having} in au uiiguarutid moment. prutuiM-d, he Mi bimsvir bound tnper- Corin ; and ibe whole party, alter due preparation, di-parted from Foxcote Manor. They delaj'ed h feM- days in London lo enssge h travelling servant, providethemselve* with circularnote*, and toe laat editiono of Air;!. Starke, Lord Byron, Sir V, Head, ;ind such like in- diit]H-n«Ab1e literary tiailr-mtvtims ; and having Kuccemled in securing the nervitfi-9 oCa smalt, fikinny, brown, polyglot edition of an Italian courier, who nevcrthelen* cut a very uiagniflccnt figure when clad in hia profesAioTial uniforra, and mounted on an animal whose ei|ui- vocal name disconcerted the modest IVtisa Stubbs whenever she heard it uttered, our travellers crossed to Calais, passed the fronlieri of Belgium, were exquisitely shocked at an immoral tittle fountain at Brussels, bought tuts of eau-de-Cologne at the unsavoury town of that name, reiid Lord Byron on ■■ tlie HanKs of the Khiiie," and Sir Francis Head at " the Brunnene of Na.'t.viu," and al'^er fewer adventurf^ and mishaps tlian they had unticipntcd, came lo an anchor oi\e tine day at the ])retty Utile Ari^lo-Swiss village of Intcrlaken.
Intertaken i^ a pleasant place — a very pleasant place ; I usetl ta delight in it when I was young, gay, and healthy, and even no' it has its charms fur a treacherouK, gouty old man, who can silent and obHervant- Still, as the life led by most of its frequentv is somewhat peculiar, it does not do for people to come pott bute from Cornwall or Vorkaltire, and rush in maliai re.r at once; they should be gradually broken in, at the more seriate tierman Spas, he- fore they participate in the lew rejitrained delights of its society; otherwise the chances are, that being ignorant of the iiuiocence io- fuse<l into the mo!<t vitiated systenis by Alpine atrawherries and Swiss air, they may depart. astoun<lcd al the frecdota and easineat of the place, and carry with them erroneous and unfiivourablc im- pretsioDB of the manners and mornlH of IId frequenters,
I will endeavour lo give you a slight sketch of it.
ft is situated in a lovely Httlo plain, surrounded by the ibmK picturesque mountains and lakes in Kwitzerlnnd.
The village i.i entirely composed of eslablii-huients culled Pension.*, wberr trnvcliers are fed, lodged, lighted, and provided with stK-iety, fur the very moderate sum of 6ve francs per diem. Thc>e huge buildings arc constructed entirely of wood, and usually cimtain from fifty to a hundred small cells, &tted up na donnitorivs with monaMic simplicity, and a couple of large uloons. one of which is furnished with a long deal table and chairs as a dining-roocn, the other with n jingbng piano and some settees as a $4ttan dr socte/r.
The bea-rooms, tbotitfh ealcuUted to hold only one bed, aro sociable denx enough ; Itetng built of half-inch plank, unpaintcd and ill-joined, the traveller Mion necessarily liecomes as r •trd
with his right and left hand neighbours' peculiaritJt
I
58B
MIU BUGGINS.
teeth, dunning hia tight boou, and scolding his wife, u he poa^ can be with hia awn conrluct in aiirh rrspccts.
At nine in the mortiin^ the penx'wnnaireM usueuible iu the tali* m tftnn^rr to breskfa.'rt, where coarse tea, and indifTereni breui, milk, and butUT, are scarcely coinpenfcated for by eiceilcnt strawberries. honry, and dead tlioi in profusion. At three " on dine," %'eal in Vkriout fftiise^ funning ihe prominent feature nf the entcrt^nmcnt, occasionally varied by joints of gnat, Iravettu en chumoit ; beef and mutton arc known at Jnterlakeii merely by namv. In tlic evening, tea, fitr&wlMrries, honey^ and flien arc a^aiii ocrved up.
The SQciely ia mainly composed of English, attracted by the beauty and cheapiies; of the place : by iheir numbers and be- haviour they have rendered viritors of other nations le»B numeroui ; there are generally, however, some ueifclte Carlist funiliet, who come to learn Kngtish; and a uprinklitig of Gvrmanif, Poles, and Russians.
Tlie £)nglish are either excessively reserved, or sodable in the opposite extreme. In the talout tie loeicte, young ladie* are to be found from morning till night, ready and anxious to talk, walk, ting, play, or waltK with the tirst adventurous pedestrian who,. Alpenstock in hand and knapsnck on back, penetrates into thifi happy valley. They astonish their less Kuropeanixcd coitiitrymen by miirvelltiuK talen of the attention they have received from Prince Slax, or of the despair of the rejected Duke Vincenzino di Cartel ■ Cicognara, The Polish Prince-t^es and Bavarian Oountesaes cnrry ' their heads high, remain verv incog, indeed, {which it is per- haps as well for all parlies t)iat they should do,) and patroniae an Eiii^lisb girl or two. The French look quietly on, and keep a bright look out after their daughter*, if they happen to have any.
As for the English pa|Mis and mammas, they are excellent people ; they look neither to the right nor to the lell ; don't believe one word of the ill-natured stories circulated recpccting the Indies in " izy" and " aki," who are sn kind to their dauf^ters ; go to bed at ten o'clock, leaving the junior branches of their families to enjoy^] themselves, and never know anything of the moonlit walks, priilt] soHpfm, and other midsummer pranks, which render the place soi pleaaant to young people. If they did, I am sure they would be] extremely shocked, hut fortunately thev don't.
A number of wuiidrously whibkcrcil Englishmen, — -no prophets in tlieir own country, but inniieuse j-weils al I nterlaken, — anil two or three foreign (U-gans, are generally the only stationsr)* cavaliera; but a rapid succession of Knglish collegians, German tailors, and French counts, walk in and walk out of the Pensions doily, m«l(ing wild work with the susceptible hearts of my fair CDuntrywomcii, who are no vMnJarouchii, knowing from experience, thai unleas, to «»c a KadeliUian phrase, they can " hurry into one evening the cveulH of a life," tiieir ephemeral amours would never be brought to anything like a »Htii>fiietory concluMon, seeing dial the capti- vating tnuRpers are here to-day and gone to-morrow, playing the Lothario one evening at Interlaken, and sleeping three in a bed on the top of the Fauihorn the next.
At Iiitrrlaken, then, did the Foxcotes halt, and having been fslabtished by the brown gentleman in the moat caimcions cells pro- curable, were informed hy him that their best plan would l>e \a join the tabU d'hote at mcHl-time.
HR. BUGCINS.
559
When Mr. Foxcote van mude to Ctiiu]>rchcnd that the uid table d'hMe was neither more nor lesa than a public ordinary, where every one, capable of paying tliri-« francs for hi» dinner may take a seat, he waxt-d wrutti at the bare idea nf niich promiscuous inter- course; and Mrs. Fuxcote, Klarieiiip Bigiiificantly at Emily's pretty face, declared that 6uch a thin^; wai iiui lu hv tliought of.
Dinner was, therefore, unwillinf^ly served to them in their bed- room, through the influence and e\ertiong of the courier, who was a great man in his small way, and when it was served was execra* bie : thi- next day it wai<, if possible, worse.
On the third morning, Airs. FoKcute, who had heard through her ' maid great things respecting the lahle d'hote, — that there were Ger- man potentates without number, and French Counta iu prufuHion, I'ftnd lots of respectable English families besides, to be %een there •-daily, — began to discourse very sensibly on the folly of not adapting* one's self to the customs of the country one happens to be in, and of [the propriety of doing at Rome as people do at Itome, and at hist ['proposed plump to Sir. Foxcote that they should just give the liable d'hote one trial, adding, that by placing Kinily i>etweeii them t-at dinner, no po«aible evil could bcfal her, and that if they did uut \ approve of the sort of thing, they need not dine there again.
Hunger tames the moot SMvage beasta. Mr. Foxcote, uncon- rincL'd, but ravenous, tSift his Inte meagre diet, capitulated from sheer starvation, and piignificd his intention to hi!« courier, who forth- with directed the Kellner to tilt up thrft> chairs for his fimily in the iiaUe d utaaf^er, where covers were laid for one hundred and fifty guests.
Dinner-time came. The Foxcotcs entered the room, blushing and looking as if they felt they were about to do something rather ■pleasant, but extremely wrong, — tehere they ought not to be — or as a 'Quaker family would look, if they were introduced into the omiiibus- Dnx when Duvemay is dancing tJie Cnchuca, at the elderly lords then and there asnemblMl. Thej* nevertheless took the scats secured for them, ate an excellent dinner, and retired to their rooms^ congratu- lating themselres on huving made such a satisfactory espehnient. The following day they dined there again, and actually made an acquaintance or two; and, by the end of a week, they had insen- elbly adapted themselves to that very mode of life which had shocked their prejudiced miufln so much at first view.
(hie afleriinon their nieata was broken in upon by the noise of an arrival, an event which invariably causes a great teiiiuition amungst the idlers at a Pennon.
Crfick, criick, criick — whSck, whSck, whack- — cr3ck, crSck — whfck. whiick — crack — whack, whiick, critck — cvm. lar., — a neat green English-built brit&chka rolled easily uu to the door ; it con- tained a gentleman and his valet. The gentleman was young and handsome, wore copious moustaches, and was arrayed in a tasty btauK and a highly melo-ilrainatic straw hat ; the valet was wonder- fully hirsute, — a regular Esau, — his jacket was of velvet, his vest and can glittered with gold; in short, be was a very brigand ish-looking fellow indeed.
I leave my readers to imaqpne what a scramble thtre was that evening for the " Femden Buck," and how disappointed all Uie young ladies in general, and uty young lady in particular, were to
£60
»n. BUGGINS.
find thflt the handsome stranger, with the- hairr valet, had entered himKclf neither as Krneat dr Uexulteii, or Hubert <)e rilaltravcrs, but aimpiy as Bug^ins, Rentice, and suite — the Kuite cumpriKJiig the ftfurexiud valet, and a fat, well-fthorn aristocrat of a poodle, ax hot- lookinf; and ne»r1y at) hairy as the valet, and not unlike him in fare and feature. There was one redeeming point indeed — Buggins' fond parents hnd eiidcnvoured to compeniuite for the vile Dame which be nnd inherited from \ui (incestors — a long line of dry-soltera — by con- siderately conferring on him at the bnptiflinul font the euphonious prefix of Percy de la Poer; but, alas! the appendage uf Buggins went far to ainiiliilale the jircxtige attached to the Nomum appeU&- tions which preceded it.
The new arrival did not tnhow in the fahn that evening, but un the rnorrovr, when the ptnsionnaire^ met at breakfast, Airs. Foicote being the penultimate arrival, found herself neated, according to Ibe rule* of Ibe Pension, next to P. de la P. Buggins. She felt rather confuted at her contiguity to the luindsome stranger ; but he, evi- dently a man of the world. Boon put her at her ease. lie oflered her the dilTerent di»lie» as they came round, with a tort of careleas ci- vility, remained silent until her hunger was appeased, and then gra- dually entered into conversation on such subjects as she was likely to be acquainted with. The old ladv's heart ex]>unded as she cx- p.itiAted feelin^ily on the duplicity ufnmkeeperfc and the rc^tiveoNt of poKters, and she began to think tiiat her new friend was a very nice young mnn.
lie made no advances to the rc«t of the party ; indeed he could unt hee Kmily's fare on aecoutit of tlie large Umiiet which idie wore; but both she and her father heard cverj* word of his eon- vcrsatiun with Airs. Kuxcuie, and curdiully coincided in her optniun of him.
Meeting that at meal-dmet, the travellers became gradnaUy more intimate; Percy and his poodle generally joined the FoxcotM in tbeir walka, when he was wont to delight ana instruct them, l^ hi« practical information respecting all y&rts of the habitable globe known to tourists.
lie wa* converMnt with the merita of every hotel and cook on every aarrozzabile road in Pranee, Italy, and Magna Ora-eia (aa the elderly Starke hath it), and could make love and awear at protilliont in seven languages: some persons might have deemed his vocabulary rather limited for the former purpose, but he declared that he aeU dom failed of succeift. One waii, to be ^iire, less surprisetl at hit fiimnet Jortunrt, when one took into consideration hit physical ad- vantagct and the heat of the eiimalcB in M'hich he had .inared.
His courier he dexcribed as being as great a phenomenon an himself, in liis subordinate i^phere ; cnnully successful in making love, and as eminently endued with tlie g\ii of tongues ; on a^tonibhing proiieller uf porithorses, and a regular cordon bleu be^idet). PitrbTeu, ilarail fail set fpreurei, — he h»d ndden ]>u:>t in Ave days from Timbuctoo to Paris, jumping al] the turnpike gates on iJic way to save lime, com- bining expedition w ith economy ; and on hie arrival, though slightly t'ntigue<l, Iiad, to spite curemc and oblige Percy, cooked a diplomatic dinner for his friend, the WelsJi AmlraiMndur, etc he divested hiin- self of hii jack boots.
The poodle was an equal genius in hia way ; if he dttl not s]ieak
*
•
*
I
AG1
seven liuigim^es as flavntly ni his miutpr, he undrrttood them ulniiHt «» well, and waa, btsidt-*, beeinninfi In hlMnhemr vrrv di^tinctl)' tti Knglisli ; and m for niJikii)^ love, Corpo di yetirre f thr U'ss 1 t.ay on that BCorc the better, for the tcpiiUtitm of half the travelling ]»p- <lof;« in Ktirope.
It will not, I think, appear surprising that, endowed with snch
fihyiiica) and moral advantages, Percy ue la Pocr Buggins nhnuld lave made his waj* with Mr. and Mrs. Pnxcote, and even with the timid KmiWt who had eliciteil a good deal nf his private hiilory throuffh Mis9 Stiibbs, with whom liueginit' <'richton of a courier hail forthvitli fiutned a IVimdahip on Platonic principtes. He soon tiecamc Kimty'a cunatunt attendant in her moniing rambles, and, i lament to suy, that the old people relaxed »> far as to allow him to Bit next her at table, waits with her when the eveninii!; M-ere dark, and teach her a little astronomy (for Buggin*, like the hero of a modern romance, wnd omniscient, — a dab at everylhing. froia pitch and toss to animal mnKnetiimi, from rat-catching to the use of the globi-s). On all >>uch occasions Prrcy made the best use of bin time, — whiipered soft nothings in her car, «que«a:e<l her hand, aiul of^led her with unerring skill. Kmily took it all in good part, doubting not that his .ittentions were " pour /c hon wati/'r his valet had affirmed that hi« master, if not actually a tailor, was as rich a* one ; that hi«t father wati an Almannti, and Percy iin only soil, Thin^A therefore went on to everybody'* utlsfoction ; the old people were pleased, tlie young onea were happy In each other's society ; the brigand volet looked more triumphant, and Alisa Stubba more nentimental, every day.
Mrs. Poxcotc could not help lamunting bitterly the time they hod, in her opinion, absolutely wasted at auch pl-iceft ju Bath and Cheltenham, which might have been spent so much more profitably in foreign ports, where everything was so much cheaper, everybody so much more »ociable, where there was to little constraint ami ce- remony to confine people within Uieir chilling bounds; in short, she declared that she was pt-rTectly amazed that any reoMm less com- pulsory th»n a writ of " AV rxeal regno," could keep a soul in such a stupid pluru as old England.
Time " moved on;" the excuntioni which Intrrtakeii admita bf had l}een exhausted ; every green spot in tiie nrt^hbouring Alps, every shady landing-place in the sister lakes of Thun and Bricnz, had become unromonticized by the dehrit of chickens and chom- pa|^ bottles ; the Iteichenhacn ami the Htaubbach had been duly compared ; the Wengern Alp scaled ; Lord Byron had be<en Judici- oiiidy quoted, and Kwry individual of the party had peruioally af- forded a rich rrpattt to the industrious fleas of Urindelwaldt, when on one weurifeouiK uflernoiiii, when even the Sungfrau thought fit to veil tier chaMe beauties in a manile uf mist, an adjournment waa moved. ( am not quite sure who condewended to l>e the Brothrn* ton of the party, but the motion was carried without n division ; and away tliey went, Mr. and flirs. Fnxcote, and Kmily, and Htiibba, and UioacchiiKi ; their t;iil being further elongated, hy the triple joint of Percy, his MaHwnMii, and his poodle. (Juidrd bv a utaer of rogues attired in the blue frocks of Ei with Huggint ever at the stirrup of Kmily, and til imconccd ill the rude thtir A hancM which coiit*}
=ai
5&i
MR. BDQOINS.
her trsvel-stained bandboxes, they wound their way at 1 through scenery, us RousHejtii well remarks, for too go«xl for iu in< habitants, to the befiutiful eity of Geneva.
In thoiie days that vn^t municipal speculation, the wide and com* fortle99 barrack, which is now the fashionable hotel there, had not rearinl its gazalM to the skies, and it was at the Kcu that oar fricnile lialti'd; a very cuniforuble hostetric, uotwithntanrling' it« glijuuiy situaliuu, aud it« salle d tnaugcr, Kwaruiiug witli flies and Cockneys.
It wan edifying to hear them talk over the dangers they had en> countered ; they had heard four avalanches; had lunciieil at a chalet where a wolf had been set- n the year bet'ore ; had passed « lake where a drunken boatman had nearly bt-en drowned the preceding wiuter. Their Aiiccefl»lul and xoctable escapeft had wanned their hearts to- wardit each other, and the loves oi fiuggins and Rmily were now evident to the inobservant and dtiitractcd cyea of the Pere Koxcote, even without tlie promptings of his gratified and lidxetty »pouBe.
Every one of the mrty had unlearnt their prejudices, and no^^ more objected to feeding In public, than do the partakers of nhin^^l of beef and plum buna at the Surrey Zoological Gardens. 'I'ahiti^^ (fhdte bad now entirely ceased to be objects of arersion to their casmopolitan souU. One eventful day, they luid estabUahed llieni* Helves at the weU-cuvcred board of the Kcu. The old people were intent upon their. diiiueri>, as were must uflhe ulJicr guestH; people*! appetites were savEige, as they ulwuys are fur the (irst ciuarter of an hour al\er sitting down tu dinner ; not a sound was to be heard, save the clattenng &f plates and tlie scampering of waiters. I'ercy was u'hispering words, such lu women love to hear, into Kmily's pretty little ear, from which depended a new and beautiful dmp of Mr. Beatte'sj the gill of him who spoke. Wlint tho«e words were I never exactly nscertained, but tliere was a blush on her yonnc cheek, and a tt^ar in her soli eye, which told of proud and gratiRed feelingH. Their interetfting conference was suddenly interruptei) by a lottd and hearty voice from the other end of the table. The i^eaker was no leas a person than Lord Appleby, the M.P. for their county, the son of the Duchess of Twingleby.
Kmily was, of course, rather disconcerted at this inopportune cognition, though glad to meet with such a reputable acquaintanc whose good-humoured attentions had, in by-gone days, made hi the object of many a young dream. But Perry de la Pocr— he grows pale — he fainte — lliere is a scuffle anmnd him, — a commi»eral> ing neighbour jMiure a caraj'un of wattT down hia Iwick, the Kellrter deluges him in the hurry of the moment with a bottle of viu Je Nmc/iafei, which he hoi jut^t prceence of mind enough to clmrge in his bill, and Mrs. Foxcote anxiously chafes his temples Kith the contents of a cruet of llarwy, " for game, for steaks, for tlab, or wild fowl," sovereign, — but not, alas ! (or unhappy Buggins.
There wiis but one smiling face in the room, and even that one. Lord Appleby's, wjm qtialilieD by an expression of annoyance. The lalleii hero waa borne away amidst tlie tears of Eniily and the anxiouN solicitude of her paretilA. vVfter dinner, Lord Appleby sought dir. Koxcote out, and the fatal di^lusure look place, — Bufieitu iriu Au t/tUor, and his lordship bad arrived just in time to< apuiT a most excellent job for him.
ice.H
lira ~
PAAGKENT.
563
I lubwqoently heard ttom the landlord, tJutt there lisd been « luoet difltreiniig scene up stairs ; that the young Indy hnd been taken verj' ill. and tliat, as soon no abo bad recovered a little, Mr. Foxeote had bullied out to inuuirt for Percy, and Kcctned much disappointed on Imrniii); " i/ie Mtlor fluggins rl tttiir etaienl partis en posic pour I'/ialir." M. Kurenacht, who ffavc me this information, added, that the old gentlemiin seemed con»iderably agitated, aiid Irant heavily on D thick »tick, which he wa« not generally iu the habit ut' currying.
Ii 19 curious to observe how suddenly, totally, and unaccountably, people 9 idens alter. Mr. Foxcote had all along, in his own heart, decidtfd that there was no place like home; but Aire. Foxcote had been inTsriably profuse in her admiration of the manners, mode of life, and taus gfnr of continental society.
Now, sin^lar us it may seem, after the event which I have just describet), not a word more was uttered b}' that good lady on this her favourite topic ; and when Mr. Foxcote proposed that they should return to Foxcote Manor, no opposition was made to his witihtht, neither was the ticcompliihed P. die U P. Uuggina ever more ulhided to by any of the party.
Shortly alter they rearlied England, Mim Sttibht was led to the altjir by a one-eyetl groom, whofec hand she had acomfuDy rejected before nettinc; out on this disastrous tour.
I regret that I have also to record, that on the Morning of Mias Stubbs' nuptials, Mr. Foxcote's spaniel produced, to the excessive disgust of the gamekeeper, a litter of line puppies, less remarkable for the purity of their breed, than for a strung resemblance to the blaspheinous poodle whoae acipiaintanee she made at Inlerlaken.
And poor Emily — after some years of wearisome single blesseil' nesa, she has lately taken to confer a good deal nn religious pubjcds with the curate of the parish ; he is a lanky, pale, learned youth, well connected, and, unlike curatea in generid, is not yet, I believe, ogogcd to be marrie<l. It is impossible yet to tell what results may «ri.se from this new friendship — &he mignt certainly stand out with reason fur a better match ; but perhap!) the sad denmianeal of her affair with the seductive Percy, may nave taught her to " cut her {petti) coBt according to her cloth."
FRAGMENT.
UxK gtance alooe 1 and yet mr lieart
Welcomed tbe boney-poisonea t'srt ; Une smile I sikI yet bow fondly gir'ti. Warn as ibe sunbeam firooi its Ikcai'n.
0»e si^h I yet wafted on tliit breath, 1 low bli»>ful Mere ibe lover's death I tine love-kiss ! yd 'twas tntnc, I knrw, llie lifv-bh>ud of th puUc Uow true .'
JULIAH.
THE BIDLIOPIIILIST.
Barcklona U « hAitdiiome and rich city of Catalonia- The M- pitxl of that province, it contains many splrndiil buildings; among which thr i^upofh hotel of the VJccrors. (mm- named Captains geae- tal,) the Exchange, and the Ciist«»m- house near tlie port, are retnark- obh- for the beauty of their rtnirture. It is a place of coiisidcrnblc inide, and the indiititriouc! iceal of its inhahitaiits hm lung bii-n cited ns a contrast to tJie generally indolent habits of their countryiuen, Kred to the uccu|Nitiun5 of active life, this indefatigable population is not \vt^ distinguished by it« attention to the laws, than by it" moral good conduct. Crime in of rare occurrence. A nuhle eniuUtion to provide for their families, constmit employment, «nd a coiitcnl«l spirit, render them little acce»»iblc to temptation, ami tmlxlue ihoM Mneful passions which unginatr in avarice, porcrtr, and idtenesa. Tlierc ia, however, no rule without exceptions. Willi all tbraw tlftims to general esteem and admiration for the morality of its iik- liabitantft, the town of Barcelona became lately the stage on which R continuatian of the most ntrociouB crimes were perpetrated, with< out any clue being nfTurded to detect tlie Mtiirce Irom whence they sprung. Individuals suddenly disappeared, and no tidingn were heard of them again by their uHlicted relatiuni); bodies were found murdered, and secreted in various places, while the finger of suspi- cion wu unable lu point at any individual who could have been in- fluenced, by niutives ul' interest or resentment, to eununit such san- guinary deedii. These awful truiii^rc»)>ions of the law succeeded each other, too, with such alarminfffrequencyi that the whole ^lopu. loCioi) of Barcelona was struck with a panic ; and w hat %t'a« the most surprising feature in the ca&e, — what bullied all conjectures, aud misled every one as to the motives of these crimes, was, that in no one instance had the unhappy victims been despoiled of their per- sonal property. The people saw with dikinny » mysterious eoiupj- racy organised in the midst of them, to which every man felt tliat his own life might at any time fall a sacrifice, while the »en)*e uf danger wais daily increased by the Continued impumty of the «l^ linqueots.
The legal authorities were indignant at this open violation of all laws, both human and divine; the corregidor received the strictcat orders to redouble his vigilance, and, though hitherto foiled in all his attemjHs to discover the crimiiuds, he increased the patrols in every direction, and used the most vigorous ciTorts in his denart- ment to detect a source of iniquity, the continuance of which rcw fleeted so much disgrace un the efliciency of the police.
We must now go back in our recital to a short period previous to this interesting crisis. It may be as well to give a more succinct account uf the events wliich created so much sensation in the town o( Barcelunju
The Arcades, which line the nortlwwest side uf the great square, and whidi gu by the name of the pilLirs c/r luj ffuafiirs, are eatirely occupied by the shopft of brokers oJid hucksters, tt ho deal in second- hand articles of every description. There we to he found the prin- cipal dealers in tiltf hcxtks and prints, who attend all tlie imblic
1
THE BIBLlOPHrUST.
S&S
«ft)««, and live l>y the ipoila of tho«e lihrnrics which the iieceBsities of the owner* bring to the hammer. Auffustin Patxot hail rniidcd for many year* in this quarter, cnrryingon the trade of a bookKeller, which, though far from a hicmtive profession, enabled him to f^ain nn honen livelihood. He vtut a good ncholar himself, nnd intimately acquainted with the vnlue of all publications, both ancient nnd mo- dem ; his opinion was considered of great weight by the amHteurs In literature ; but their number is become very confined in the pn*- sent day, when a sword or a carbine is considered of more value than the cleverest book or the most prerious manuBcri|it. The pro* ietaorit of the university were hin conHlant cusioniers : but, ala* ! they had little money to tparej and the book trade appeared to be ill a falling ntMe.
As the old proverb says, " There is no ill without producing .wme good." the pillage of the oonveiits, and the abulition of numerou* orders of monks, driven from their pioun avocatton.t, much ngnitiRt their will, to mix with the world, brought to light a mirat valuable collection of ancient manuscripts, illuminated missals, and curious records, which bad long lulu hid in their dusty coverings on the shelvea of the wealthy bretlircu. These treasures of literature were sold publicly in the tno«t eiipeditious manner: and, as their value at the Arst was little appreciated by the multitude, men like FaLKot, who were on the alert to make a good bargain, availed themselves of their knowledge and experience to Gil their vtalU at a low price with the spoils of the monkish libraries. Tlus influx of valuable books into the market revived the taste and spirit of specutatiuii among the bibliophiUsts ; and, as it increased ttie number of pur- chusers, its natural eSeet was to bring more rival dealers into the general competition. Among tho»e who came to enUiblish them- aelves with thiH intention in the neighbourhood of Patxot, waa n man who, though he wore the secular dress, and conformed to the usual customs of the world, was easily recognized as having for- merly belonged to one of the late religious orders. His stern fea- ture*, his dictatorial air, and his ungainly manner, procliimetl a life pnH:ied in secluMon, and little arcu«tomed to the eaay habits of mo- dern society. He was in fact the Father l>on Vincente, from the Convent of Poblct. Bitterly had the poor raonk deplored the dis- asters which caused the ruin and fall of h!^ monnxtery. It wms not that he regretted the ease and indolence of his past life, t)ie wealth and influence of hia order, or the thirty livres of Catalonia which the good peaiiant.1 of Hoblct paid as a yearly tjix to the holy fathers for permission to diiiposc of their daughten^ in marriage to whom they pleased. None of lliese objects presented such galling recol- lections to the mind of Don Vincente o^ the loss uf that magnificent library, which one of the last kings of Arrogon, in lime» gone bv, had presented to his convent.
Disintere.'ited indeed wils tills feeling, as he had s-eldom or never stiidiedbimsolftlietiv sacred reliques; but his eye had been accus- tomed from day to day iu his rctivat to gaze with inexpres.'^ible de- light on these numerous manuKrripts, ranged in symmetnral order on their polished ebony shelves, and he knew, at leitst by hcarsar. that they contained treasures of science and literature wliich ivere of inestimable value. " Alas !" would he exclaiui to himself, " prer since the last fatal war, when Uiv orcliives of Soragoau and the
sm
TIIK HIBMOPIIIMST.
sanctuary uf S»n Jimn de In Vena wpre burnt by tlie «n«iny, it Wftk in our coiivpnt alone th»t authentic documents fur the compitAH'on of our earlj' history could really have b<*n fount). Who knows but among those veaerable manuscriptii mi^ht have been diarovered the writings of that Amaldu dc Brescia who founded the heroiies of the Albiffcnies ? There, withont « doubt, were cautiously preacrved nil the detAiU of thiit intereHUnfr vkt, in which uur king, Don Pedro, performefl &uch wonderful exploits, till he rtaa at last slatn by Montfort, his brother-in-law, under the walls of the Castle of Murat. There the future historian might have found the long-last memoirs of Don Pelagio, or of the interminable struggle between Don .Sanchez and his Moorinh enemies. Holy Virgin !" repeated the dci^ponding friar, " wliat a heart-rending idea to think that such invaluable papers should eventually have served to make cartridgca 1 that not a prince should Imve bLvn found in all Christendom euffi- cientty enlightened to rescue from deiftruction those precious relica of former iige«. All, all have perished in one common fate!"
It is not quite clear whether theRe irreparable losses bad slightly deranged the intellect of Don Vincente, or whether the painful ■hock which he had undergone in witnessing the pillage and sack- ing of his convent had exasperated a ])assion, ur ratJier a mania, which hill always prvviou^ly existed ; but such Ik the fact, that he now absolutely raved of nothing but book». He never read as a I matter of study, but his life was spent in turning over leaves, ex- ^vnining title-pages, collating dates, and Mzrutinizing editions, till at last he arrived at a wonderful degree of knowledge and experi- ence in the art of estimating the works of nncient writers. He had on inconceivable talent for appreciating the value of an old mana- Bcript at first sight ; and, being seldom mistaken in his judgment, it was always received with great <leference by his brethren in the trade. In order to indulge this extraordinnry mania, he adopted the profession of a bookwller, and his shop was certainly stored with ■n unrivalled collection of the best authors. Ill-natured people as- ■erted, that while the plunder cf his monastery was going on, Don Vincente himself was not idle; but that, seeing every man oc- cupied in seining that which came fir>t to his hand, he had readily follfiwe<l the example, and had not been unfortunate in the se- lections which he made. This, however, was mere suspicion, and had never been circumstantially prove<l ; one fact alone was beyond denial, that his trade Hourished, and that he was very vuccessful in ■Kractina customers to his shop. He even pretended to study their tastes and political opinions, onering to their notice as they passed his door those publicntinns which he conceived most likely to suit the one or flatter the other. For example, if he observed among the strollers in the Arcade one of the malcontents of the present day, one of thoH- who are iU-afli-cted towards the government of our innocent and gracious queen, he Mould address him with, " Por dios! mi senor," — walk in, I pray you, — "I have something here which you will read with great interest: buy thi« chronicle of the reign uf Johanna the First, of Naples, with this motto fW>m a poet of that period, * InterUva regtii eti a mulirrf regi.' Or, if vou prefer it, here is an imitjition of Casti, in the »hnpe ^ a painphfet, headed by • quotation from dial author, —
THB BIRL10PHILI8T.
S^
,an(l live by the ipoiU of thme libraries which the nccessiticii ' uwiierii bring to liw huuiiiier. Aiiguntin Putxot had resided for many yewrs in thi* quarter, carrying on the trade of a bookseller. which, though tar from ii lucrative profeHion, enabled bim to gain an honest livelJhocKl. He wax a H^mmI M'hiiliir hiniftvlf, and intimately acquainted with the value of nil puhliration:*, both ancient and mu- deni ; his opinion wii« conjtidererf of f^reat weight by the amateurs in literature ; but their number is become very confined in the pre- sent day, when A sword or a carbine ii conBidercd of more value than the cleverest book or the m«*t precious manuscript. The pro- fessors of the university were his constunt customer*; but, alaa ! they had little money to spare, and tlie book tra<le appeared to be in a falling stiite.
As tile old proverb aays, "There is no ill without produdngsome good," the pilhigc of the convents, and the abolition uf iiunierous orders uf munka, driven from their pious avocations, much against their will, t'j mix with the world, brought to light n must valuable collection oC ancient nianuscriptn. illuminated missals, and curious recordn, which had long lain hid in their dusty coverings on the shelves of the wealthy brethren. ThcHc treasures of literature were sold publicly in tlie motit exj>editious manner; and, a» their vnlue at the first was little appreciated by the multitude, men like Patxot, who were on the alert to make a good bargain, availed themselves of their knowledge and experience to fill their stalls at a low price with the spoils of the monkish libraries, This influx of valuable books into the market rerived the taste and spirit of speculation among the bibtiophilists; and, as it increased tne number of pur- chaicrs, its natural efiect was to bring more rival doders into the general competition. Among those who came to establish them< selves with this intention in the neigh Iviur hood of Patxot, was a man who, though he wore the secular dress, and conformed to the usual customs of the world, was easily recognized as liaving for- merly l)elongcd to one of the late religious orders. His stem fea- tures, his diciatoriul air, and his ungainly manner, proclaimed a hfc poaaed in seclusion, and little accustomed to the easy habits of mo- aem society. He was in fact the Father Dun Vincente, from the convent of PobleU Bitterly had the poor monk deplored the dis- asters which caused lh« ruin and fall of his monnslerv. It was not thill he regretted the riise and indolence of his past fife, the wealth and influent-e of hi* order, or the thirty livres of Catalonia whieli the Kuod peasants of Poblct paid as a yearly tax to the holy tatherv for |>rrmisiion to dispose uf their daughters in marriage to whom they pleoaed. None of these objects preaented mch galling recol- lections to the mind of Don Vincente as the loM of that magnificent library, which one of the Inst kings of Arragnn, in times gone by, had prevnte<l to hin convent.
Disintere-ited indeed was this feeling, as he had aeldom or never studied himself these sacred reli<|ues ; but his eye hari been accui- lomeil from day to day in his retreat to gaie witn incxpres<iible d». light on these numerous manuscripts, ranged in synrnietricol ardtr j an their polished ebony shelves, and he knew, at least by heorsa^i that they contained treasures of science ;ind literature which were ' of inestimable %-nlue. " Abis !" would be exriatm to himself, « ever since the last fatal war, when the archives of Haragossa and th"
0fi8
TIIK BIBLIOPHILIST.
by auction to award a premium to the Ust bidder but one, calcu- lated Oft the value of the lot which he was diMippointcd in obtain- ing; this remuneration is CAlled lor rrales dr eonsolacioit ; and m* Vincente was nlwnys left in this predicament, no words can express hit fury nt the constant repetition of this disgusting present. Front this period may be dated tlie unquali6ed hatred which he bore to all the othinr dealers, as they were no longer guided by a spirit of fair emulation, but attempted by such un^vorthy practices to foil all hi!) exertions; and Patxot, being at the head of the junta^ was of course the object of hiii more particular indignation.
It is about four months ago tliat the library of an old lawyer, who bad been a great amateur and collector of curious bookn, wax after his death put up to public sale. There was a numerous attendance of all the trade, and great expectation^ were furtneil of the result. The object which most peculiarly attracted the atten- tion of Don Vincente was a very scarce edition of an old work, colled " Furs e ordlnac'wn, Jetet per ha glorwsm Itei/t de Aragu ah regnicoh del regHf de Falaitia." It was the first eUitioit, pubuithed in 14B2 by Lambert Palmart, who introduced the art of printing into Spaing The literary world supposed that no other copy ofthi* edition w«j now cxtouU
The emulation among the bidders was very strong and animated. Don Vincente seemed determined this time to dely all opposition ; he increased his offers every instant ; no sooner was one sum named than he instantly surpasted it ; the buyers began to waver, as the lot jtppenred to have gonv beyond its real value; and when Vin- cente, m an agitated voice, uanicd the coimderablc sum of four thou- sand five hundred and fifty-five reales de Artlitex,* there was a dead pause in the room : be looked aiixioimly at the auctioneer, and saw the uplifted hammer ready to !ieal the contract ; one minute more, and the treasure was liis own. " Will no one advance on the hut bidding?" said the man. "Goitie — -going, for the last time," when the well-known voice of Aogustm Patxot was heard, pronouncing deliberately the sum of five hundred and fifty-seven livrvs of Cata- lania.t V'incente ga\'e a deep griwin as the lot was knocked down to his enemy. Muttering threats and curses to himself, he rushetl out of the sale-room ; some of the bystanders even asserted that tltcy overheard him predict that Patxot should not long retain his new acquisition.
Vincente, after this disappointment, abut himself up in his house, and became invisible to his neighbours for two or three days ; he then reappeared in his shop, and attended to his busine-<)s. appa- rently restored to his usual composure. He was even more than usually cheerful in his address to the passing strangers whose cus- tom he wished to solicit: he attacked thctn with olil Latin qtioia- tions to put them in good humour, ^ume of which were not quitir in char.icter with the serious profei»«ioii of his former life. He made no alhi^ion to the transiictionit in the auction room, no re|>e- tiiion of bis mensceH, and s^veiiied to hnve quite forgotten his late eagerness to inissess the editiuu of tauibcrt Palmart.
It was rather more than a week alWr those circiunsLooces bad occurred; that one night, about eleven o'clock^ the peaceful inha-
* About fifty-three pounds Engliili.
t About fiOy-ihree pounds twelve ^ilhn^ EogUstt.
THE BlBtlOPIIlI.IRT.
569
bitants oC Barcelona were arniiied Cram their sleep by ihc cry of firt". A crowd spt-etlily ayscmblcd in the great square, wlicre vtt. lumcs ofsinoke and flnmc issued from a house in the norlh-westem Arcade, which seemed to bum with such fury that it ihreuuiied to spread in every direction. The drums be«t an altirni, the guards from the harbour and from the «-u«tam'houe«, both of which posts were near adjoining to die spot, soon made their appearance, and united tht-ir ellurts to iIiom: of tlic firemen in attempts to extin^iidi the flanien. whieU it was ucertiined had broken out in tlie wurehuusc and dw-ellipf; of the bookseller Patxot- It wus luiifj Uef-tre they eould succeed in arresting the progress of the devouring element, or force an entrance into the burning ruins, without coiiiiderable per- sonal danger; but they at UhI uuide Uieir way into the private ■partnient of Patxot, where, amidrt Uie embers of bis tialf •consumed property, they discovered the lifeless body of the unfortunat* tradea- nun, but so disfigured and mutilated by the action of the fire, that no possibility exined of certifying whether he had been the victim of any previous violence. The idea of a crime did not, however, in this in«tance suggest itself to tlie mind of any one, us a cotuide- rable sum of money which Patxot had received on the preceding evening was found untouched on a marble tabic near to his bedside. The fire had evidently originated in this room, and it was concluded that the ill-faied man had fallen asleep while he war smoking ; tliat a spark from liin cigar had dropiietl on the cotton countCT)»uie, which frum thence had communicated with the Indian straw, of which bis tuaitrebses were made, and then it became easy to account for tlie real of the misfortune. There remained only a general feeling of ])iiy fur liis deHolute family, who had thus been deprived by one faul accident, not only ol* an afTeciionate parent, but almost of the means of subsistence.
Nearly about this time some fishermen employed in the harbour found tlieir nets entangled with some heavy substance, which they hail great diHiculty in drawing to tlie land : their suqtrise may well be conceived when it proves! to be u human body, stabbed in va> rious places by some pointed instrument, probably » dagger. The officers of justice interfered, and it soon came to tight that the corpse was that of a young Genimn student residing in the town, who was well known for his love of the arts, and for his literary acqiiirements.
These two concurrent circumstances produced an alarming sen- sation in a town where the traiicguil habits of the people were seldom or never di3turl>ed by such exciting incidents; they were the sub- ject of genernl conversation in all circles, and, lieing luindicd abtnit from one to anotliL-r, were retailed with all the exaggerated cui^|cc- ttfrcs which fL-ar, and a luve of the marvellous, could invent to bnghten the de»cri])tion.
This state of public anxiety soon asoumed a much more aeriinu character, when a third event occurred of the same distressing aa- ture, and attended with the same utifathimi«l>lc mystery.
Some peasants loitering <me moriiinjf early, near tb« Ataratantu, which i« the t;rrnt cannon foundry in that province, stumbled u|>uii a niurder«<l body which liad lieeii thrown carelessly into a diteli. and barely cuvernl by some dead leaves raked U^ether in It proved to be ttie curate of a neighbouring village, wb
TOt.. ttr. Si
570
TilE BIBLlOPntUST.
cstioTis frfqurntly cnllnt him to the town, where he hatl ieTe>ftl' rrirnd-i anil rclHiinii». He was a miin tiiiiver^AUy respected for bis piety, and it secined quiic incredible tluiL kucU a peaceful mofren!<'ive rharactcr cuuld have iocurred the wrath of a secret and so unre- lenting an enemy.
The mischief did not stop even here ; week after week some new victim wag discnverett. who Itad been doomeil to death bv these insatiable aflaaBsins ; aiid their peisuvLTanct* ill the^e cold-bluufled atroeities did not appear lei's a«toiu»liiiig thaii the mystery in which they were sliroudfd, and the impunity which they enjoyed. At one time a body wan found in the harbour ; at another it was con- cealed under a neap of rubbish ; in one or two instances the ilUfated individuaU had been lef^ expoved in name unfrM]ueiited lane or allev, a» if their monlerera had either not had time, or reckltmalv diMlained, to take any precautions for masking their crimes. All seeinetl to have perished in the same manner, and probably by tbv same hands.
The public consternation increased to a dc^ee beyond all human tok-rancc. There wad one extraordinarv feature in these deeds of horror (to which we have alr«idy alluded in the commencement,) which entirely nennrateil ihrm from all ordinary case* of the Mme doiintgnency, and proved lieyond a doubt that the authors were f^uided by other motives than those which in gentTiit stimulate tr> such crimes. In every instance, without exception, the vtctitufi, whatever might have been their Mtuiition in life, were neither plun- dered nor robbed ; tl\eir clothes, however valuable, were untouched j their money, watches, and ornaments, however costly, were nlwajrc left to share the late of the miserable IkhIv to which they apper- tained. This of itself tended more and more to embarrass public opinion, and render all conjectures as to the origin of this scoargc more vague and more nugatory.
There were no grounds to euppoAc it was the result of vengeance, orjealotiav, or any private ill-will, as, in the first place, so many incfividuak had been doomed to suffer ; and, in the second^ nil were men of such quiet inoffensive characters, that they could never have renderetl themselves obnoxious to feelings nf that nature. Not one was known to have had a pergonal enemy ; not one conld luLve hud the opportunity, much less the inclination, to vitally in- jure another. Again, it was impossible that these men could nave fallen a prey to political rancour. Among the numerous victims might be reckoned Carlii^u, Christinos, and Exaicados: — one sole diNiinction seemed to have characterised these unfortunate indivi- duals,— a lov« of literature. Men only of laborious habits, and generally known by tlieir application to scientific pursuits, vecntetl to fnll under the b»ii of this formidable proscription. And what could men of science have done to draw upon thet^^elveB Huch un- extinguishable hatred f The mure this horrid enigma was discussed, the more diffirult apjieared to be the solution.
irthc minds of the citieens were alarmingly engrosted and per- plexed by the repetition of such tVarfiil crimes, it may be supposed that the vigilanetr and ex«a]>eratioii of the police were not )e*s ex- cited at this open defiance of their power. TIte mngisitrates were indignant, and issued the atrictett orders to the subaltern officers of justice to parade the strceu at all houm of the night with nn armed force; but, in spite of their exertions, not a clue could be found tu
xnr mitT.iopHrLisT.
571
trace nut the offi-ndcrc. Nine imlivulunls hail Iwcn pucccbsivcIv tli'»- covfrtnl Imrliarously miirderpil ; anionji^t tlic&c was i>im Pablo
Rafai'l de N , «i honorary alcalde of tlie first tala, or crtmiiial
court, in the province of (.'atalonis ; he was a ItmrtietL mnii, and known in the literary wurhl as the author of some very curiouH re- KOarclieH, which he had published, on the empire ofihe Vfuruiciant tn Spain before the Roman Coittfuest : his body was found in a cirtem nenr the grent iiquare, which po much exciteil the horror of the neif;hboiirB that they never could again b^ indnced Uj ilniw water from it. Another victim was an nlcalfle mnyor in the tiiwn. whoar death the rcgi<lore8 liad boun<l t]iem«elve» wcretly by a solemn oath to avcnfre, in cjuc they Khrmid stirceed in discovcrinj; the author. 80 grent wa« the general irritation, that every one threatened to in- flict summary vengeance on the unknown criminals whenever they tariiriit be found.
When all «iirmise« had proved fniitlesa, the pnblic mind began to speculate in another direction ; hints were thrown out o*' secret tri- iHinalR. whose afRlinteil members, bound by tremendouii vowa of un- qunlilieU obedience, executed the sentence of iheir NupeHorE, even on tneir own and dearest friends. All the ray rterie* of German I'rce- masonry, with thedflffgersof the Frcy ilrrren, were recited overauain to account for the desolation which reiffne<l within the walla of Bar- celona. Others ventured to assert that cUndestine attempts had been made to re-establish the Hyly Office, in defiance of all the hiwa ■which had passed in the Cortes for its exnuluon ; that the Jesuits, emboldeneil by the success of Don Carloa, ha<l re-assembled the fu- miliara of the Inquisition; and that these nocturnal murders were the first-fruits of that abominable By»tem which thej' were about to revive in Spain.
When everything is doubt aiul uncertainty, men cling with eager- Ttesa to any conjecture which may seem to throw a light on tlieir ilarkncas; and, improbable as it was, this idea ofihe Inquisition was taken up with much more eredulity than good smae. Kejiurta were spread through the town that the emissaries of the Holy URirc were at work ; and the priests, but more particularly those who had for- merly belonged to the monkish orders, were watchnl with n jealnus and susnicious eye. If any of these men were eem communing to- gether m the streets, or meeting in a private bottae for the most common purnosea, they were immediately arretted ; and, though nothing could be elicited by ttieir examination, which could eonfirm the prejudice, it still .neeined rooted in the breasts, not only of the people, but of the government.
Among those who stood in this predicament, though his solitary mode of life did nut often bring him l>rfure the public, was Don Vin- oente. Hi* fonner profeasion of monk in the convent of Poblct Was generally known; and the aseetic habit* which he still retained amid his dusty records and black-letter editions, pointed him out as a man well inclined to the old system of absolutism, and ready to concur in any plot for bringing back his old sapprinrt to their for- mer po«ition.
If, then, the suKpirinnn were correct that the Jesuits were labour- ing to introduce the Holy Oflire once more into Spain, and had al- reaily bejrun to effevl their object wcretly in Uarcelona, it was be yond a doubt that Vincente aitt»t be in cominunication with the
6T5
BIBLIOPilll.IST.
I
members of the ortler, .tiul in possewion nrjommmis whidi mif, be exceedingly u<4-tnl in ilctrrtiii^ the con&pimcy. No othir cur pisint wB« mnilr n^inst him, but the public becsme cLunurutu Henouncidf; hnn ni* » socrct ajjcnt of the haled Inquisidon. Vinccni heflrd these ai'CU'>ations whispt-n-d hImui with great inciifTcrmcc; tisfird of thdr futility, ho uuA little trniiblp in denying them ; uid. ' when bewa^ nppnK(-(l thm the government, yielding to the rlMinour, hflfl nrdered donuciliary viflitH to he inndehy the oilirers orjuHticv lo all the ptTMiTiii who wne cunsidereil as accessaries to the ptut, bff raciaved the com^idur ut his liuuev with tbcDtmo&t LriULquiUitj; and composure.
When this oRtcer had fignified the object of hit mi»i<n). he re-^^ quented that the keys, not only of the ware-rooma, but of the dwell-^B ing-house, should lie deliveretl up. Accompanied by hie archer*, ^^ he strictly examined every corner, and "Crutinined the library Iwlow an well as the apartment above. Their investigMtionx proveai. as might he Mip|xt«ed, entirely fruitle:(»; not a trace vtm found of any connexion with the pitrtixaiN of the Holy Inqtiisitioi]. There were many curinu* books of my«teriotiH import, which were unin- I telligible to the comprchenftion of the corregidor and his sateU lite« ; but, as their titles furnishrtl no clue to the object of their aearch, iliey were pfljttKtl over withotil comment. Vincente, who was anxioiH to give them every f;icility. occasionally stepped for- ward to Iran^ilalp the I^^tin title of some ancient manuEmpl, or ex- plain tJie calialirtic mmnlng of certain works which became objecta ^^ of eiixpicion to their ignorant inspcctore. ^M
The premises of Vincente were not Rpartous; the ground floor, ^B which wa« enterc<l by a <loor from the arcade, was lined with 8helve>, and filled with botiks fur the purpu^ett ot' trade. A small BtaircaM> led from thence to an entresol above, which comprised the chamber of the owner, and b anuiU clutet adapted to the purposes of his toilette.
The corre^dor, then, having strictly examined these nparUnenls, was on the point of talking bis departure, with those feelings of die- 1 a})pointnicnt and leuilion uhicli men in uDice generally ex|MTienc«| when lliey have trenched upon the liberty of the subject without gaining any information on the object whieii they have in view. lie was going to descend the staircase when the idea struck him that thi* closet had never been opened. It contaim-d nothing, on examination, . calculated to awaken i)u«picion; there were no caskets to harbour secret papcm, no bureau <jr writing-desk which might betray a irea- aonable correspondence ; a wai>hing><itand and pitcher were its sole ornaments, aave and except a hanging sliclf, on which were care- lessly arrayed a few old musty books according to all npjiearaDce the refuse ufthe owner's collcctiun. The eurregidor cuat an uncon- cerned glance ut iheise relics, when it huppened by chance that hi) eye lighte<l upon tlie title of an o<ld volume, which at ouce called to hts mind the object of his viHt. It waa a small octavo edition oi' " Dirrctorium iHtjuisitorium," by the Dominican Eymeric da , Oironne.
He thought he ha<i obtidned a great prixe, a sure key to fotmd an accusation. lie eagerly comiiiaii<led his clerk to take po«)e«i>)on of this important tlocument, who, following the impulse of hi» chitf^*, seiaed it so roughly that he pulled down with it the book which was
I 1
1
TIIR BIRMontlLIST.
51$
plACOtI next on the m\te\C. To' thi- M.>tt>i)iiihinent' of iht' (-nrrt^iitor iin<l hiA siiit^, this hitok proved to be the identic^ work piilili.->ht-il by Palma^t in I4A2, which had created so much noiae in the town b^ the singular conipclition excit<.-(l at the mIc, and the unusually high price at which it had been purcha4e<l.
Thrir firot impulsw was to question Vincenteas to the manner in which he had become possessed of this valuable book : it wa.s I'resll in every one's memory how slreniiausly he had wislied to make the ncuuisitiuii. and nut less, how publicly l)cron.' tiic world tfiose wiahe« hack been thwarted by the pcrlinucity ut' his upponents. Vineente resolutely preteiMled that the work had been re-i>oUl to him alter the ■MK^ion. Thin was deemeil not only improbable, but inipo^t-ible. The detennined hostility with which the IxHikiellers (jenerally were lea)[ued ngainiit him put it out of the ijuestion that they shuuUl alter- wards have ceded to hiiu that which they had previoii«ly purchaaed nt such an exorbitant rate in order t<i deprive him of iu
The corrcfcidor wait divided between two opinions; but, seeing ample scope for aecusatioii against Don Viiicentc from botli sources, thought it most advisable to arrcit htm on the first count as an ad- herent nf the Jesuits ; satisfied that if any room for indirtment could be de<hiced from the book found in his possession, it would be very easy oiterwanls to follow up the matter. Notwithstanding all his rvmuiiHLraiiccs, and unavailing protestations of innocence, tnimeiliate orders were given lo convey V'tncenlc to prison. He humbly im- plored for a few hours' respite, to make sume arrangement of his pri- vate affairs ; but the retiuest being deemed inadmisMble, the seids were put upon hia premues, and the regidarea escorted him to the public gaol.
Un the following day an akalde matfor proceeded to Vincente'a warehouse, and drew up a formal inventory of all his book». When this catalogue was made public it gave rise to the luost horrible in- ferencrs, and furnished at once a clue to the inyjtterious erinieA which had to lately tilled tlie city with ti-rror and alarm. The fir»t proof of the nefarious sy^^tem which had been carrie<l on by the euU prit was the discovery in his possession c^a work on tlu* Anlii{oities of fl|Min and Africa, with marginal notes In the aulogmph writing of [leniardo Aldrete. It was attested that thi^ valuable book hud
been purchased of Vincente hy Don PaVilo lUifnel N only a few
davH iiefore his death. Several other worki, equally precious, wiyv detected as forming part nf hia library, which it was known, or ratlier now recollected, had Imwh djspoaed of by hint ui various per- sona, who had uJU'rwardfi been aaswsiiuitefl.
The convictions were now so atrong that denial was in vtun. Don V'iiicente, after repeated attempts to controvert the evidence, and re-it- ing his caseM)le)y on Datcontradictiua, was at last forced to yield, and acknow1e<lge the crimes imputoJ to him. He was furtlier tiuluccO ti> enter into more ample confeksioiis by the pruiiiise that his library, whirh »eemetl to be the sole object of his idolatry, should be pre- served entire, and kept »» a uiunumt-nt of literature (ur fitlurft agi-s.
The rest of this extraordinary drama will be best explained hy a ralivc of the triAl, which took place in 1(130, at the Sala He tot iMliiu det crimen, lirld at Oarcolons, the cflpiMl of Catidiinia.
Don Vincente was a man of fthort stature, Rtoutly built, but of a ttllow complexion -, his air was uncn)barra«acd, and he n*plii;d tii
ff7i
TBB BIBLIOmiLIST.
all the qandons put to him by tbe authorititfs in a Krm torn _ out any bvsitatiuD.
The court was crowdnl to cxci-m, as the thrilling interest excited by the late imirdn-s had wound up the public mind to An extraor- dinary ferment : every one w*» eager to behold the author, and bear till- deUiU uf evenu which far the last few months hjut filled hi* mind with constant ter»ir and Apprehension. An soon as the alcaUe goverrtador, at chief judge, had taken his seal on the bencli, utenc* was proclaimed, and the prisoner, escorted by * JPOty of regidorei, WAS brought into court, and placed at the bar. The numerous wiv- ncAses on this trial con»iHte<l, first, of those who had bvcu present at the discovery of the murdered bwli&<i; secondly, tbuM; who could iilentify ihdr persons; and, lastly, those who cuuld identify the books which the unforluuatc men had purchased of Vincente pre- vious to their death : these latter were jiriucipally men in the trade, or Iriends of the ileceused. They formed toother a train of conclusire evidence, sufficient to satisfy the most sceptical hearer ; but, had it not been so, every doubt vanished when the prisoner, being called on for his defence, addres&ed the court without emotion in the fal< lowing terms, having 6rBt made the sign of the crou on his lips aikd on his breast, in token of his veracity.
" I have proinise<) to k|ieak. the truth, and I stand here deter* mined to make a full confession. I only beg to premise, that if I nm guilty, I have been solely influenced by motives whicb are in theinsclvet creditable and praiseworthy. The ctmvuUions wtiich ngiute Spain at this moment, the devastation of Uic oiMivents, and the dispersion of the valuable libraries contained within their walls, hiive given a death-blow to the oiltivntion of literature. It has been my sole object to promote the neglected interest* of sci- Biico, and preserve for |)ost<rity those inestimable treasures which the Vandalism of the present age ia daily eevking to destroy. — trea- sures which, once lost, can never be replaced. If I have acted Ul, if I have committed crimes with a view to this laudable end, let me then pay the penidty of the taw. I ask no favour for myself, but spare my books; they indeed are guiltless. With what justice can you punish the t>addle for the faults which the umW may have committed f
" It was sorely against my inclination that I consented to sell that valuable work to the im|M)rtunate curate ; I was hardly pressed for money, and my poverty prevailed ; but I call the holy St. Jobo (that patron of authors) to witness all the efforts which I nArrward!! made to disgust the reverend futher with hit purchase. I told him that the type was faulty, that a page was missing, but he paid no attention to my remarks ; he counted down the price that was asked, and lcl\ my shop. No 304in(.-r had he got to the end of the arcade thon I found myaelf beset wiili an irresistible desire to re- cover the book which he had carried away. The purchai>er bail pro- ceeded down the Callv matfvr. I ran afUr him with all speed, and overtook him near to die Atorasanas ; tliere again I renewed ny entreuties to cancel our bargain. ' Here,* said 1, * here is your money ; restore to me the book ; 1 have a particular wish not to part with it!' All wai in vain; he obstinately persisted in his refusal. I followed him itill, as he walked, urging niin by every argument in my power lo grant my rt-qucit, without producing the idightest ef- fect We had arrived at an unfrequented spot, and were quite
•
THE BlBLIOPUILtST.
575
■U>n«. I
that
he»r
Mw that no hope was leA of brinftine liini to lie»r reaton . he «vrn vecuieil to «xuU in his obstinacy- Thi» ntBtle ntr angry ; I drew out m; knife, and nUibbcd liim in the throat: he fell tu the ground, voniitine blood at his mouth. I then took out my breviary, and f^ve him trie sbiolution im extrcmia; alter that Another stab, and he was tiead.
" I manAged to throvr the body into a ditch, and covcrwi U over with dead leaves, — a precaution which 1 have not olwayn been in iJie hjibit of taking. 1 brought away my book; here it is; (and tlie priuoner pointed it out among thoae whieb were rangtsl on a tabic iu the court lu) evideoice for the pro!iecution.) It is an exceedingly curious work," fuiid be, " 'yigilitg moriuomm nxttudum c/iorum eccl^ tiar MaguntiHie,' in quarto gotJiic, in red and black character, with- out cypiier, but with Uie catchword."
Judos. — " Out it would opiiear that tins is nut tbu uiily murder that you have committed wiih a similur object?"
ViNCBNTs. — " Certainly not. You may have obterved that my library was well ittocked as well aa select. As the proverb Haya — ' A'u» le gano zamora en in vra,' Zamora was not gaintd in on hour."
JirnoK. — " Explain then to the court in wliat manner you Hasw- unated the other victtmK."
ViNCKMTK. — " By the Holy Virgin, and all the units in Parodiiie ! nothing could be more simple than the means which I employed. In the 6rst place, when I remarked that a customer was intent upon having any particular book which I hail nu inclination to port with, and ue price he offered wa^ 6mc\\ aa I could nut rel'uie without injury to my trado, I took care, previous to the delivery, to cut out one or two pages, which 1 laid by carefully in a private drawer. Little time would elapse before the buyer would return to complain of the faulty edition I hod Hold him ; and, when I had got the book in my luind as if tii examine it. I could evily draw an utisut'pecting man into my rloitet, where the neYtr-failing knife, and a stout arm, soon solved all difficulties, and lef\ me again in uomcmjod of tile coveted prize. When the night came I waited till nil were asleep, and then, taking the corpse on my shoulders, I carried it nut wherever my fancy suggested, sometimes in une direction, sometimes in an- oUier ; but seldom, us you may have rnmu-ked, taking any Iruuble to •ecrcte it"
JuDOB. — "tjhocked n* every one must be at your reciul, let me auk you a ijue»tiun. Hid your cuinu'ience never smite you at the idea of titling your murderous hand agoin&t your fellow -creaturea, made alter the image of your God ?"
V'lNCBNTi'. — " Man is mortal : a little MMincr, or a little later, GimI colls thcni to hinL-ielf, and life is gone. But .•tciemific iMxikn must be preserved above everything; their value is inappreciable. <>n that ocrount I have always carefully replaced the |)agc<i wliicli I hud cut out for my own purpofles, that no n*«[ionjUbiUty of Uiat nature might rest with nie."
Jl'duk. — ■■ V'ou comniitleil. then, all these assassinatiuiiB from no oilier motive tlian to secure tlie possession of these books/"
VijtcBNTR — "Books! books! What eke could it be? B* la }gh>ria de Dioi t It is the ijlory of 0«d !**
JctiOK. — " Tlierc is cvidrnce to prove that you were BCCrswory ' the death uf Augustia Paljiol: do you plead guilty to till* cliorg
.Hi- tTiie. I roulfl Dot •tkrw ■ II *Ji« world ofLstDbevt
. yon manai^ to gun ^.M. [Mor of Uiv iitpbif" Mil by the utnduw over bis oty vben he had left it opvn on aoeaMK of cfar - Jjad at thAt time. I uiadtr mjr kmj Id k>> bed- ita fttC salecp ; I clipped a nipc. wUdi I Ind tbv paqMMC, muiul his neck, then twigtadlt Mm hitd reniied u* exist. My nut otjtct w •« wtx^, of whidi he had to unhaodwwnrij d»- Aft«T all, he wns a gmid »arl of man. poor »4k h* ImcI used tnc scun'tly, I bore bim bo mtBet Aa Man M he was dead, I took off the rap^ and
^1
ijv lou, who profess such extreme rencrabflB ftr . vu«k Boake op your mind thu5 to conmh ihewholr < 4 bookseller indincri minutely to the flamea?**
Oh ! as for that, lie liad mine that were of aiKh
..vra KWaj the only buaks which were of any impact'
■vMiMat k was necenary to my plot that the praaim
>Hil« gArrwiae, if the loss of xuch a wurk had MB n-
.rtt-"— vaiibt have ariseD which Mould have drfcatnl all
4 WT •atrrpriKe. It wait absolutely lequiule lor my
.((unK which wm misoing should be aui^Msed to
'.he in."
jKi yvu leave all the money on Patxot's table ui-
-'•^ Me 1 I take money ! Do you think then I am ■
S:
, «a.plkil confessions, the t«»k of llie counsel for the
«M attended with no difficulty ; the crimes were bo rab-
h« bad no hesitation in requiring a verdict of guilty.
Am- the defence then rose, and in a very ingenious
dW magistrates on the bench not to be biaaaed by
--'^firtitnts of his client, who hud no right in the eye of
:*jlc himself. There are instnnces, he remarked,
^^ J* uMcbid feelings, nearly approaching to melanchotr
,^WiC*U*^ f"' death, and, though unwilling to commit sui-
.1 iccuse themselve.s of any Crimea, to which they are
IT the sole purpose of mcL-ling with tJial fate which
,; 'Nijuld try to avoid. The very circumiflflDce of a
. .^wn condemnation should render bis judges very
'.Tt^ lo such unnatural revelatiuus, much le»8 should
.fuciuunce him guilty on such grounds. This maxim
vl, und thin principle e-Btablithed, he maintained
.<xl to criminate bin clirtit. The bouks which bad
' iiiLvnte's pfMseKtiiou, might have iM-en easily ob-
.'•mt channels tlmn those detailed in llir indictment.
. the opposing Counsel ol>iterved that it was mAtter
, »i) literary characters that only one copy of the
\4ii2 by Lfunbert Palmnrt was now led Id
ui-Lilied in that asscrtjonj" said Vuiccotc'i
rHB QOBRN OP S^
577
Crnin*«l to his oppoiuiil, " l]iat I mn prove the contrary. Ilvre is the CHt»lo(;u(* of M booktwller in Paris, M-hich ctxitxinx Hnntht^r cupy of tlml <ilitti>n ; Riit), if there already exist a itecond, we miiy argue on the prnbiihility of finding a third- "
Trils spcciea of deftmcc seemed to have vety little wei^^ht wilh the nteatdf-i on the bench ; they tiwik a short time to ronuder the CAse, and unanimously condemned \'inrente to the f>Allow9. During the pleadings of hifi own c»uiim.-I, Vincente had hitherto prescrveu the frreatc^ firmnesn and composure ; but, when thin alluMon was miide to the copy in Parix, he wu ttud<lenly ei-en tu exhibit »!giis of in- ward pain and vtriutiuD ; in fact, he lost all command over himself and burst into tear)!.
The aU-atde eiA'trnador, pleased with this late symptum of repent- ance. Mid to him in a soothing tone, " At length, then, Vincente, you begin to understand the full enormity of your crime."
ViNCKNTK. — "AU»! Sei'ior Alcalde, my error has indeed been u n )t.t r doi in ble."
Ai.rAi.nR. — " It is still witliin your power to implore the cle- mency of our grafious Queen Kegcnt."
VmcKSTK. — "Ah ! if you could hut know how nusernble 1 feel,"
Alcalde. — " If the jut«tire of men is inftexible, there i* nmrther justice which is tempered with mercy, to which the truly re]>entant sinner may always hx>k for jiardon,"
Vim:rntb. — "Ah I Sefior Alcalde, then, after all, mine U not the oidy copy ?"
T!IK QUKKN OP SPRINC.
)Iail to the queen !— the queen of >pritig! She lialh jouriiey'il licr« on Um sephyr** wlitf ; Ijrkn > ymu^ oomwtM, sb* hath lingn-'d m ■rliile, Ttiai we nay Mjoita In bw mu and iinU* ! Biic m know Ae has antic, for otr perfiunxl bnaih Ilkth awak«ii'il tbv earth from iu M«iiiing datb. She hu ipnJcain dip wnnl, hihI the iiMua<!iif[i-r bmcao Has whtsiwr'd bcr will to \hv »l.ivcriiif tm« ; Thfir pal« )(rMn Imvm tbey haw nil unfiiri'il. AimI tiM ifinl ^f yantk ii ahrOMi in Umi worU ■ Hail Ut tli» qitMU !— llu! queen nf *)>riiiK '. That hu Jmimey'd lien> on tht> i«|ilii<r'* uiai;. Lee IU twiue hut ■ wreath from Hiv ^iiniiy Iwwrn f >r tlv rl«l#t (•liic nnil yuuiig irikl flnwren, Atid ihe r>lb>y*« lilr inai ffn^w* limidv. And alway* liMitu tiVe the rloln'* brtile. Itiii Mv t— bitri' »r« nun a* ulilwu snuw, Tbeyarr littiuf[ la bind au \\m fair yiiuiiK Unrn . Ana tMr ilM^glawiit^ tidrrm, trlxiw* hum Hni liayua Kmm a bliuh at the prutn ihrlr ktveHitir*" ■""ii i Wki'le llii! Sim vritlk H*nn kiMi*. in whitj^Tt the air. Still tM thm tmatettiiTy, and hl4d ilia liluuli llirrw! Uiit dtp ni*r* an- mniB ! — ihr mii*t ItMim Birny, Or th« $o>nktm »vrU irlll numni for l»«r atay I 1 hi the icphyr'a iriB|f sbv ii wilinn ixrw— . Sht hu many a kWHr Iv amt. yr hatiir. Fof lirr car *!■« hath takm a <r>inli brif{ht bean. And is fadinir away Hke a tia|i|iy dnaai. The *un ndM hi>.-li ia the hearent afatn. Tho fluwm Ixivr liiint frxin llx-ir uarmhl chain | tin thoir Wauliliil ra\fr, Utr ijuwii id Spr>iij[, Uor SMpin has |Hu*'d lu the ttunuDcr Kinx-
t'ajjiLLA TodU
THE BHNKDiCT CLUB.
BT aiCRAJUt JWJfc
Tuft whole town wu in an upro«r. Ifo. Clack«a had anrprtu-^ rMii«l7 told 3trt. CUckett thai the for— tioo of a dub-faouae wu (iMTmionl on b; the principal gentkita af Breborough ; the lulie^. ultl and young, were cunscquendj ap {■ mam,
" Then there 's an end to domestic bauaiMM V wud. tSn. Bum. tiilea, with a despairing agh. when tittle Jbi. OMkctK pre htr this iliniiiiiii^ infonnatiuii. " fiunuide) will oerwg bv at honw. Many »f— pua we have nofr about liis staying oot ■> late M n^ht. He shall «rf be a member, or he must cbuoae batwtca te> and the rile dab. I have money in my own right — b* aoMj take fai> boy, and I thv girl r^«id thus did Mn. Dumudes settle Ac raerally diSadi quertioa of feparation and alimoDy in ooe long Bfffstb, after the before-mentioned *igh.
■■ Y»u are »urf ly not »enout !*' cxcUtmed Mr*. Green, looking to ■HTcttinKly into )>nor Mrs. CUclcett's imall eyes, that they wuJud aod watered under the infliction.
-' But I am, my dear/' said the circulating "frd'^im of R«rebo> nnigh intelligence, who was now one stage farther oo her momb^a^ r«)und ; " and, as I told Mrs, Bumsidcs five minutes ago, I like plan aoiaxtngly. What '• the uae of making a fuM about it? Alen'' will be men, and like to meet each other ; and CUckett wtU be KCreiary, and able to tell me everything that is gmng on. it wiQ bu quite delightful !"
" Men will be men, and like to meet each other," sud Mrs. Grc«o, with a suppressed snh. " I 'm glad you are pleased with such
ilfaaiing a cambric handkerchief from hiT black satin bag; " do- i^Bg has ao much annoyed me for a long time."
■■Oh! my dear, make no stranger of me; I was this moment MJM> 1 assure you," said the town go»ip. •• I had no idea yon ^^iji^ hare taken tlie thing to heart w — I have several visits to j^ , ■ «k! Hway trotted Mr«. Clackett, while her afflicted friend |kt(w bv>^lf on a sota, and soblwd aloud.
" Oh» tireen! Oreen! cruel man! — is thia what a loving wife
^*1||. DM purpose to make assignations with that creature the •yjrtaw ^man, that he is going to support this club."
^<. «ay they will have two or tnree entrances to the houae, ' 'lever know where he is." ^^
\^>ws dare to get up a club in Knrchorough !" exclaime4^| Minniken with vvliumcnt Hurprise, when Sirs. Clackctt^^ .4 iif Uu- morning. " Of course the ladies nre to have >'. rs given tu them, and archery meetings, and all thai
THE BBMEUICT CLUC
579
I
I
I
" No, my dear," said her IihIc informant; " Clackett teUa me 'tis to be conducted in London style. There i« no mention of the Indiei — it is on\y for genilemeii. Everybody is to Iil* balloted for — one black bull to exclude; servants in white and acarlet; old Mr. ThompAon's bouHS in High Street to be biken for the present, and the committee will build immediately. No friends admitted at meal timeH ; every one pays fur bis own ilinner ; can dine tu< low u Gftevn pence, Mr. Clackett taye, bread, and cliecae, and table-ale included. Ae tu wine«, there will be a Katnple of each aurt in die cellar, but only Marsala for jteneral consumption."
" IJa ! ha ! ba [" lauf^hed Mrs. Manly Minniken, at the tup of ■ voice whose very piano »eeraed to have a forty-woman power ; " and Minniken has become a member of this precious club, you sny f Well, ire shall see. 1 hope Mr- Clackett doesn't quite depend oq bim? Perhaps he may chanf^e his mind, you know;" and Mrs. ATanly Minniken, as if accidentally, Kliinced at a whip wbicfa, with her ri(iini>-hat Knd ginveft, lay bciiiile her.
" f)h ] I 'm sure you won't let Jhfr. Minniken diutnf>nint my bus- hand^I 'm sure you won't over-persuade Mr. Minnitcen."
" But I 'm not quite so sure of that cis ifoti seem to be," remarked Mrs. Manly, u-ith asignificAnt compression of the Up.
MrR. Clnckett wouhi not believe her ; — it would be siich a pity to oppose tNck a nice arrangement ; — the gentlemen would bring them liume alt the newn stirring, — and sway hurried the busy little woaMD tu .Mr§. Dawdle Damlcy.
" La! you don't say so. my dear !" drawleil out tlie lackadaiiical loily, when our indefatigable friend hnd, (or the twentieth time that morning, announced the formation of the new club. " What am I to do {or Harry Dawdle to drive me out. when he is at the nasty club? He shall take me with bim, I do declare, if 1 stay at the door iu tbe phaeton while he goes in to read the papers."
" But it is not only reading tlie papers, my dear," said fllri, Clackett ; " they will tUne at the club much ol\ener titan at borne. — Uiat yuu mu»t make up your mind to, like a sensible woman ; and tlien tliry will have billiards in the morning, and cards in tlie even- log ; and Clackett doft think they will be able to get up a little hazard. It will be quite in fashionable style, I do axsure you."
" Then Harry sha'n't go," whined out Airs. Dawdle, with the petulance ot'a spoilt child. " If he does, I'll cry my eyes out. I dun't pretend to be a sensible woman, and he knows it. I 'd rather not have your vinits, Mrs. ('laekett, if you come to Cell me that Horry is going to belong to this club. It's all your fault and your husband's."
" Bless my heart!" exclaimed the astonished little newsmcniger; " what have i got to do with it? Mr. Dawdle Daruley run surely act for himself — I only came to tell you what was going on ; but tf my Company is not agreeable, I can go where it is more esteemed."
Jtlrs. Clnckett rose from her chair in a pet ; and no wonder, for Mrs. D. Damlcy would not take Uie trouble to make an apology, but merely remarked,
" How Hiigry you are, to be sure I La ! what have 1 said f Dear me ! won't you wait till I ring the bell, that tbe door may bv opeovd for you f
But her visitor hod found ber way dowu stoira ere the ttect
£80
THE BBNEIUCT CLUB.
<i|)erati<in was perrnrmeH on the bcll-handlp : anil then Slra. Dawdle DnrnleV) aauntermft to the windHw, l<Ntk«l aiit. fxrlHiiiiing,
" Tbnt tireiwimf Hnrry ! I wish he wouki cuuil- back. How I H'ill MTuld litm, if he lias anylirnif; to do with tlmt horrid club !"
Hut Harry wiis a loitf; liuie tierure he <iii/ come back, an he wiu juttl tlien in solemn c-oiiclave with nuiny other iiuignate» of the town at the Grar^ niul Dra^oii. He wim on the committee for the establiabmcnt of the HeiiMlict Club.
•' We tbeii perfftlly mnltrBlniid i-acb oilier," said Mr. Ilitrnaides, n larg(.--sized. red, ))utterii-culico-priiiter. who hud kindly taken the chuir on that momentous occasion : he was abont to wind up a bril- liant haranftue of twenty-three minutes' duration, by Dawdle Dam- ley'd repe«ter. " Whatever occum tn this room is never to be men- tioned out of it/' vonci uded the clinirman ; " aud having establ isbt^ it a« a standini; rule that no member, except t)ie ori^inul tbiiiidm, be »driiitte<t that ciuinot «how juat cau»e why be doeit nut 5nd hi* home agreeable, we will now proceed to hear the claima of pro|Kiae(| caiulidates tiom gentlemen of the conimittec wbo wish their friend* to be nominated. The Ktricteat imiMrtiality will be shown ; but it ii) necensary to make it clear to the teniHlc part of the cnmraunily inimical to chibx, thai no man i» hI1owl'<1 e\'en to be balloted for by the Henediet Chib wbove home is rendiTed comfortable."
The worthy Mr. IliimnidcH aat down amid much cheering and Mr. Green got immediately on hU legs (not Mr. Bumsidcs) to pro- pose Mr. Harrass at a 6t and proper memlx^r of the chib.
" This gentleman," remarked his proposer, a tall, thin, care-worn man, " has very ^oiind reasons for occasionally wighin;jr not to be ill home. Well knowing, as our worthy chairman has so ab\y explained, all that may be spoken here is under the pled^ of eeerecy, I have no heflitjitinn in -saying that Mra. Harrass is jealous ! It' her htinband venture to look at a woman, she imaj^nes he baa an aye upon her for an improper purpose. Not tu put temptation in the way of Mr. Harra^, she has surrounded him with a huem of fforgona. The house-maid squints, the nursery-maiil i« seamed with the small-pox, and the cook is an old crooked woman ■ but tttill Mrs. Harrasa ib luieaAy at having so many females in the house. She talkx of the cook sleeping out; and has actually given liie nuroe warning, being distressed at her conntantly cocking her eye at her master. Nor is it only tJie abigails who make thi» anxious wife fearful of losing her pnigierty in iJie alt'eclioiis of her husband. 8he has cpiarrelled or cut with every preity woman of her acipiaintance. Jf Mr. ilarrass ulTera to see a laay visitor home of an evening, his spouse looks daggers at him, and then, with a painful elTurl at a smile, turns to the maid, wife, or widow, as the caee may be, and blandly rein.irks, that ' if tlie expected servant dtte* not come, tiitrir man can atxompany Iter : but she im quite kure her de.tr friend will not take Mr. H. out, when he h anything but well.' In vain Mr. Harrass ranhjy declares that he never was better in his life, and that lie should like to stretch his legs after supper ; the guest is hurried itw.ty, and, ob ! the wigging Mrs. tlarrass gives her tliooghllc^s husband ! • Str»-tch your legs, indeed, you cruel man !' — sob, sob, soil — ' you like any woman better than your ujfe!' — aolv^' you '11 brenk my heart, you will, by your infidelities !'— sob, aob, sob, ad iH/iHitum. Mrs. HarraAsgouH into hy^tcricfl, nor will she be [MciEed
THB BBNFDICT Cl.VH.
\
I
till her imhnppy huHliand kIioiiu at ihc pilrlt of hh voice apaiii and af^HJii. ' Da Jn-'!tr iva&oM ! — tlo be f«iinpos4;ii ! — J U*ll vou lliat 1 never ttHloB'Kr Ut MM- uiiybixiy huuic again, nut even Aunt Delfurali!* <Such Hceiie« are nut of uiilVequeiit uecurrcnce in my friend's haiifc," cuti- ciuded Air. Green, " clearly proving Mr< Harra»B a fit cundidate for the Benedict Club."
He wan accordinj^ly balloted for, and not a sinj;le black ball fur* bidding IiIh receiving tliat coinfort which the nociety of brotlier* in affliction murt ever afford, Rlr. Clackett, the secretary, entereil him '■ duly elected."
" Aa the matter h fairly in banc)," said Atr. Bunuide^, the worthy prendent, riaing like the sun in n fojr, — for the committee were amoking, — " 1 shall take on nivMi^lf to propoae Mr. Angcri^team as a member of the club. This genllcninn, my (>ien<l9," continued Mr. Hurnnideii metaphoricnily, " has unfortunnu^ly lieen unable, even aAer several years' ex|ierience, to dovetail his di^jMmtion into the pctulinritica of his wife, so as to prevent division in thu cabinet. Mr. An^crsteuni cunfettset. he is puasionate; but then he decliircH liia passion V hmoix over, if hi» wife does nut commence a species uf aggravatioD which perfectly infuriates him. Mr. Anger«t«un g«(s in » rage if he be kept wtiiting nt the door ; but Mra. Angertteun will cry out to the Bervantu, ' Never mind — it '■ only your tnaater I Let bim knock till yoii 've taken awny the supper-tray.' In cotnet the huKbaiid mightily incensed,—' Why was I kept wl■itin^ at the door P— and where i!> my Ruiiper? I won't put up witii it*'—' You must put up without iL I nave told the servants to go to b««l,' re~ marks the l»ty, hflping hentelf to a g\nt» of wine ; ' 1 was not g<nng' to keep the tray for you, when you were in no hurry to avail your- self of it until you reached the door, and thnnderetl at the knocker. I wish your Uncers had been under it !' — ' Madam, you 're an imper- tinent woman 1' — ' Mr. Angersteam, you had better irtrike ntc — jrou would do it, if you were not afmid ;' — and, by wav itf encou- raging her spouHc to enter into hoHUlitie»<. this wortfiy hetpmatr pushes a decanter of mild port from her with u vehciiirnre which dmpatcbi^s a greiit porticm of its contents, together with some few iVu|rment« of broken glass, into Mr. Angersieain's boMim."
Mr. JiuriiKides couMderntely drew a veil over the concluMon of n scene, which he had only touched on to show that his friend, though not perfectly faultless himself, had gocxl reason to retjuire occanimial relaxHtion troiu family jars. The bidlot-t>ox pasted round, but a black ball wa« discovered. Mr. BuniMidea, getting extra red in the face, utirniiited in good round terniM tliat tliere muftt Iw a mistake- The candidate consequently acain underwent the ordeal, and whs tilia time duly elected ; Air. Klinniken remarking, in hut peculiarly gentle way, that he was alVaid just now he bad got into uic wronK box.
Thin knotty point bein^ decided, Mr. Dawdle Damley begged to propuae hi.4 friend Mir Kelix Fondle, Knight, a candidate who had a peculiar claim on tlie sympathy of the club, he having a wife bo desperately enamoured of him, that if wmc asylum were mrt open for bis accuniniudation, nuch as would be affordcil in *- Tlie llenr. diet," the unfirrtunate gentleman must die the death of a lHi>-dog in being killed by kinditeas. Lady Fondle could nut bear tu have Sir Felix out of her sight. His accidental disappearniice for i
■ reus oi
ffSS
THE BBNRDICT TI,
m
would fill the hcniw with fond inqtiinrx as reiterated, if tt6l tt
giwmjve, Bc tli« blewtinpi of a lamh aAcr tl» diim. — " Felix, dttr' ir Felix ! ha« any one teen Sir Felix ? Where can hp be?" — Aorf then tlie rapture of a reunion after nek a DeparaCion — " Oh, truant ! where Aarv you been ? Why did you go away froni Einnift? Cmnc, you sha'n'l leave mc again for the whole day. want you to read to mc while I work, and then you shall drive vat in the pony phneton ; and then we will hare a nice tSle-iUt^e din- ner ; and you won't f^ to that disn^eeslde Mr. Howard JohnRfMiCt with bis ' wiu c>r the age,' ns he calLi theiTi — stupid fellows ! who can do nothing but write books. You '11 i^tay with yuur own wire, and we will play rcarie, — won't we. Ft'Hx dear?" Lady FoadJf bad [HTvuiuled her husband to give up London entirely, mnd Csfcc , a villa in the neighbourhood of Rareborough, in order thai, accofding to her own Bweet turn of expression, she might have " dear Fdix all to her own self." Unlesi »onie relief were nfiVirded his haple^t friend, Mr. D.irnley believed, on his honour, Nir Kelix'K Keniirs could not lait I through the onauing Mummvr. Kuch a xtate of thiitfjs wa« really terrible, nnd Mr. Djirnley h«ving wrung a reluctant conMent fro«ii Sir Felix to be nominated for the Beneclict Club, the former genllf- man ho)>ed his friend would l>e clertetl, as no individual could be more benefited by occa&ional absence from home than Sir Feiix Fondle.
The worthy knight wis balloted for, and Mr. Bumsidcs, on amiittmcing his election, took occanion to remark, that, *' so fer ^^j| the committee had proceeded in their pleasing task, a prou<] reful^^| tionwoidd be afforded to any ungencrmis observations from the ladi^^ of Rarehorough; ohaiTvationn which the Benedicts mnet ^hare in common with all club-foundeni ; but he felt it must be a great aatj«- faetion to tlie gentlemen present to hear, lliat in no case which had come under thdr notice the richt* of domesticity had been outragnl by the lurt tliey had acted. The Benedict Club, ao far fVom build- ing itself on the ruin of private hearths, or, if he might be allowed so figurative on expression, raising its structure with hearth-vtonet, was highly calculated to remedy many evils of domestic life. Mem* ber* who really retjviircd to be occosioniilly from home, would, when they did go home, find that their absence had amended much that was wrong. Lxdiea could ni>t hcoIiI their husbands so uf^en, if they aaw tesn of them ; and would be glad to moke them comfortable nt home, if only out of opposition to the club. Wives would eeaiw lo be jealous, as they would generally know where to find their hus- bands, or get tired of looking after them ; and over-fond spouse* become accustomed to temporary separation, whole-iomtly tending to try the sincerity of aturhmcntfl never Iwfore subjeeicd to that most severe of all ordeals, which, lo the discredit of human nature, had given rise to the nruvcrb, ' out of sight, out of mind.' "
Air. Burnaides sal down amid more R]>)dnuse than ever. Having talked himself out of breath, he now expressed himself " witlinf: hear any other gentleman who had a friend to propose."
Mr. Minniken was not long in accepting tbe courteous invitiitit He WHS « weawlly-luoking little man, with » constant habit of glancing over his right shoulder, as though he were expecting a box aa his ears.
" I am not going to detain you many minutes^" said Mr. Mint
Tnft BENEDICT CLOB.
I
ken , " I should only like to propose n^y friend Mr. Mooseley as « member of the club. Mrs. Jlousclcy does not acx a kind part by him ; and if he were now and then JVom home, I think lie would tike it mnch. She is not violent in temper, but what one may call n strong, loud, and determined kind of womnn ; in abort, gentlemen, what I have heard denominated a masculine womiin, a ^entlemnn- like lady, gentlemen, — though I take tlua to be a eurt of libel on our set, — for I cannot see what need there is tlwt a aiati bbuuld be rough and overbearing."
At this moment the meeting wa« suddenly disturbed b}' a spirited ▼ocal performance, combining the effect* of many voices, mounting higher and higher on the staircase. The lady patronesAeK of the Itareborough aMemblieH were expending a torrent of eloquence on Mr. Boniface, the landlord of the George and Draj;on, who was in vain begging to be dllowed a hearing. Little Alinniken trembled, grew white as a cauliflower, and held on by the t>ack of his chair ; for one familiar voice waa there pre-eminent above ell the rest-
" Show us into a room, Mr. Boniface. I suppose you have another besides that which the gentlemen are in? The balls will be discontinued at this house, you may depend upon it !"
" The whole committee of ladies are here !" exclaimed Mrs. A[anly Minniken, " and we will make a point of rGCOHunending all our friends to The Angel."
" What liavc 1 dime, ma'am?" responded the BHtc)nti:hcd landlord, — " how have 1 offended, ladius?"
" Never mind, never mind," trebled half a dozen ladies at ooce ; *• we shall all patronifc The Angel in future-*'
" Oh! t/irre they are!" forcibly enunciated Mrs. Manly, as with her bevy of desperate dames she swept by the commiuee-roum of the Benedict Club; " I bear the fellows talking — much good may it do them '." — and the opposition committee took poswRsion of on adjoining ajuirtment.
Then Boniface was sent down stairs, and rung up again, and snubbed, and sneered at, nnd scolded, and bis accountK examineil, and di)ipute<), and at length paid:-^he landlord having, by sundry hint* and inuendoa, discovered thxt he had been guilty of Ute majetfr against the aovcreign authority of woman, in allowing the Benedict Club to have a comniitteC'room in his house.
But did th.it conclave act ? — that concUve. the aasembly of which had caused such direful wrath in the unite<1 female bosom of Kare- IfoTOUgh.^ Reader, we are SAhamed to state. Moat of ilie gentlemen present, in common with Air. Alinniben, Imd heard the voice?i of their Delpmates mingling in that^^ouJ of harmony, which, against all the principles of hydraulics, had lucendod the staircase, and filled the adjoinmg room. The individuals comprising the committee of the Benedict Club looked Qrom one to the other, and wished tliemMlv«s at home.
" Our resolutions are all passed," said Sir. Bumsides, with a yotce irhich WA« rnther husky, and consequently nut so loud m» it had been during the proceedinga of the allemoon ; " theic ia nothing to prevent our adjourning?" continued the chatrm'iii, appcililig to about thirteen gentlemen with their hata in their bands.
" Nothing! — nothing!" ro!i|Kind«d several cunitnittce-men,
" Nothing r said Mr. Minnikcn, who had been to the duor, and
OLn UObNTAIN DKW.
Mcertutinl tbal the apartment in whidi the Ladies were
was brtiuT up the puMj^, and tJtat « rvtreal by tbe siaircaie <
thai secuTvtl to the Urnt^ictM.
No one hinted to hi» ncighboiir what familiar bouaeboU tom had met bia iodividual ear ; but, with aa liltJe fronfunon and «■ little fornnlity a> poMible, the cnmniitie« diuwil vecl. Some mootlH hav« elap*e<l, but no farther meeting of thr club memlM-r^ has takoi placr. Old &fr. Thompson's hi)u<« in Ili^h Street contiitu(-<> unt»- cupin). And the *' Benedict Club" has not yet been cstabliibed la RarcborDugb.
OLI> MOUN'TAIX DKW.
Br CUIKLBS MACKJkY,
AwAT «<ith your \ton and your fiiw-ftaroar'd Asnj, And fill up wilh toA6y as hifth ai you pican ;
We men of tK- Nvrthtand &)ivuld knowouneJras bdler
Titan pledge her in liquon ao paluy ai tho* ! Id wbtaker, peKiimcd by Uw pcut of tht beotber. We 11 aiink to Ihe Und of tbe kind and the tra«, — l'nsulli«d in honour. Our blciisiDt;^ upon \tl ! ScotUuid (or tter*. an<l old mntiniain di^w !
Nei^ I nei»h ! ii«isht hutrat
■
Kfoiinaro dew I etmr a« a S«it'a undeTsuiulin^r
Purf as hi* conscieace whererer lie goei, ir<w-H as hiH heart lo the friend lie Im5 rtiotcn,
iU'vng as hb arm mben lie fictiu wiib liis foes I Ii> liquor like Uus should old Scotland In: toasted ; So III up again, and Uie pledge we 11 renew— Ijaitf^ Bourish the honour Her cliildreii have won her— Scodaod for erer 1 aod old mounlaia dew ! Ncbh ! oeitli I neish ! hum !
May bcr wonh, like hot lowland strcami, roll on noccasiiw,-
Her fame, like her hifchlaiid tulb, laxl evermorr, — And tbe cold of her glena be oonfii>ed lo tbe d>inM«,
Kor etiU'f till- tiearl, though it cmcp through the door I And never may we, while we love aud i«vere bar. As long as we 're bruvc, and warm-faemnedf and tni«. Want rraauii to boast her, (>r whiskey to (aatf ber — Scotland for cviti ! aud old momitain dew ! Nciah 1 neisli 1 ncisii I hum !
. >
NIGHTS AT SEA; Or, SkeiehfJ i^ NavaS lAfe dwriruf the Wax.
BT THE OI.U SAtLOR.
wmi *K iLLDSTftA-rtoK »r oxoaos cbbiksbaiir.
No. IX.
^THE BURIAL AT SEA.-St,INO THE MONKEY.— TUB
PI KATE CRAFT.
Mr lait left the p;.-instit atii) iiuMr comnuinder of the SpanksvAjr aittinfc in hia cabin at eHrly morniiift, with no other companion than the corpse of his assonatc and friend in boyhood, and perusing the mannscript book which had been ra iCrangely be(|ueAth(?<l to llini. Powerful emotions shook hi« frame ns many an cx;ciirrence ^m» revived in his mind by the narration, which was not written in « fuinnected form, but ncemed to ha%'e been compiled at dilTereut times, and under variou^i feelings, for tlie UiiLcuuue evidently en- preucd and tnanifciited the ruling passion at the moment of com- mittinft the record to pitpcr. Had tUc volume fallen into any other hands than thD»e of Lord Eustace, the whole would have been un- intelligible, and the reader would bnve considered it as the uncurbed denioiiotrationa of vome romantic enthuiiast, or the production of an tinfortunatp individual labourinff under thv horrom of inwmity.
A great portion was occupied with abstruae reaaoning to prove there was no ht>re«fliT — no judpc of quirk and dead — no future itAt« of reward or puniihment- And wa« the reasoning conclusive ? No! it only betrayed the inceNunt HtrujfK'*''' of hia mind to cruHh a belief which w&N ever itresent to his conscience; it evidenced the futility of the creature warring againat the aoul- impressing power of the Creator. He hod read the works of Paine, and fancied him- self convinced of their truth ; but there was a still small voice whis- pering ever in his heart that overturned the fallacies of the inHdel ; and thouffh the never-dying soul waa strong in bcUevitig, the pride of periahiug human nature set iuelfupin array agai nut the spirit, and it was not till the immortal esaencc was about to return to liim who gave it, that mortality vieldcil up the pnlm of victory, and in expiring agonies confe8*«d tlie existence of the Deity, though with the same foolliardiness it rejected the hopes of hit divincst attribute —mercy.
And now there Uy the frail body, cold, and rijfid, and senscleaa ; the heart could no more say, " I am faint," nor tlie head that " I am sick ;" ]>ain and grief, trouble i>r remorse, wound or dii^ease, would never again produce corporejd siifTering; the inanimate dead
would return to duat as it waa, and the spirit
The removal of the dying prisoner to the captain's cabin had very anon become the subject of converiiation fnrc and aft, and v»- rioua indeed were the conjectures and reports which prevailed, though in une thing all agreed, vie. that in the periton of tlw captive LonrBuBUce had diacovercd a near relation. Amongst the inve- vot. III. *l%
586
NIGHTS
teriitr yarn-spinncrs the most fertile esAggcntiunt were quickly multiplied ; luid iiitire than one oi- two pretendetl ibat ihey " hail fathoinril the whole affair, and were in pwnewion of nndintialtlc tacu. which, however, tlie^ loeaxit to keep to tbemselveB," whilst at the same time tfaey just let out aufficient to doubly mystify tlie thin);
The heat vl' battle no longer raced, and the dead — which, had
they expired on the deck during uie fury of couu-«t, would have
been launched out at the port — were now quietly extended side by
■ide, and their remains covered over with the flags of their respeo
tive nations. But tlie body of Delnney remaim-d in the cabin, and
trequently durinj; the day did Lord Buotace Mtand over it> and ua^e
long, and immetimco wUdly, upon feHtutea that hxd never been
foTgotten. ^J
Oh I there i* a tad and enthusiastic feeling, to M>leinn, so my^^^H
terinui, kd undefinable, in looking upon some wdl-remembered
countennnce that can never smile again, aa in the ashy paleiies* of
decaying nature, every muscle is rigid and filed, and no breath, no
iound of breathing, PM-npeB from the pallid lips. Oh ! what art
thou, Dpflth, that destroys the pride of strength in the vig^our of
manhood, and strikes down the warrior in liis might? Youth and
beauty, old age nnd decrepitude, are alike to thee, and thy leaden
linger is remorselessly laid on the bright orb beaming with juy
unspeakable, and never-dying love, as well aa the dim and •iiinkea
eye whose feeble vision can no longer behold the works of creation.
The evening approachLtl.— a lovely auttimnnl evening, and in
that part of the worhl redolent witli glory ; the sun was rapidly ^^
descending wef^ward, and throwing around him a mantle of bright- ^H
nets aa he entered his pavilion of gorgeous clouda, whose tints have ^^%
ever Imfflwl the painter'i art ana the writcr'a skill to describe.
Hark 1 there ia the tolling of the ship's bell, and every voice ia
hushed into n whieper ; the ensign and pennant are hoisted half*
mast, and the prizes follow the example ; a gun is heard booming
nn the waterti, and at the expiration of a minute another, to show thai
nn officer of rank is about tu be consitn>cd to his lost home. The
seamen, arrayed in their white OuernMrv frocks and duck trousers.
duster ti^etner, and seriously mourning for departed shipmates^
each has his anecdote to lell of Jack's worth. Bill's integrity, or
Jem's drollery, and frequently the anpiration rose, " Ood rest tbdr
BouU!" Such were the Kngliah tara.
The F'rench also iisseinhied together in groups, but their somrvf came by sudden (ni»hes, and was violent only whiUt the fit lasted. But there was one — a veteran of many years, who sat at the bead of Delaney'g corpse — silent, and solitar;-, and sad. No change of countenance betrsx-ed any internal struggle, — not a sigh, not a look, gave evidence that the man had feeling; but there was a. sterriuess on hi* hrow as, resting his t-lbow im his knee, with hia chin buried in the palm of his hand, his eyes were intently filed upon the deceased — it was the major's confidential servant.
The bell continued to toll, the minute-gun at its stated period sent forth its hollow moan, and the sun seemed to hasten its deacent as it apnro«ched the verge of the horizon. T*he officers, both Eng- lish and French, mixed promiccuuiisly together; but amongst the
THE BtmrAI. AT SKA.
liar
whole none niAnifestetl .1 finer -tense of the rnilemn ncouion than the ci-derant Count ()e Arilleflniir, nnw degeneratt'd into Citizen Cnpuin Ltttnont. Indepd nature appeared to haw eiidowi-tL him with every noble quality of mind, to alone for the egregious de- formity of his person ; for he wa& tnily brnve, strictly honourable, amiably benevolent, and eCrong in hi* [Viend«hipf. And now he stood with a moistene^l eye and a saftened heart, contemplatinfp the havoc of war, and mourning to part from his gallant countrymen who«e la«t battle was over.
The !itin wa« near the verg^ of the horizon, and the western «ky blended with the ocean in its crimson, and purple, and gold ; whilst to the eastward the sombre shades were gathering on the rear of the retreating conf|ueror, to throw their dark array over the plains of heaven as soon as he had departed and once more claim the Wctory- It was at this moment that Lord EuMaee ucendcd tn the deck, and every head was uncovered witii more than unial etiquetts. All rcver<><l the noble chief, all respected Iiih Rorrowi!. And there Hwm deep traces of the latter upon his eouiitciiaiice. in defiance of hu eBbrts to appear tranquil ; a powerful contest had been going on in his mind as to whetiier the remains of hie once beloved re- lative should be treated as thu^ of a traitor, or allowed the honours which would have been hi» due had he been in reality a French- man of the same rnnk. He was still debating the question with himself, when four French soldicra came to carry the bod)' to the quarter-<leck. They were all fine-looking fellows; and the careful manner in which they raiited the corpse, as well as the stem grief vhich was manifest in their deportment, showed that the tnajur had been valued and esteemed by hi* men.
Still Lord Eustace was undetermined, when the first minute-gun was heard, and his lordship was happy to find that Nugent bad aettled the question for him ; for the young lieutenant, not wishing to trouble his commander on every uccnsion, and at the same time deairouii of showing that he knew and coiit<l |>errorm his duties,— there might aUn be, and probably was, a shrewd guess at the di- lemma in which his lordship waa placed,— liad therefore, amongst his other arrangements for the funeral, prepared that every honour thuuld be shown to the victims of national strife. The gratinj^a were laid upon, the gsngwayi covered over with the English and French jacks united, the quarter-masters stood ready, and lii« lord- ship, having laid his )mt upon tlie capitan-bead, advanced to the spot with tlie open prayer-book in his hand. In an instant every hat was removed, and the rival seamen mingled together in solemn silence, no other thought pervading their minds than connected with the mournful ceremony in which they were engaged.
A corpse was laid upon the grating. Lord Eustace read the ser- vice, and at the words " we commit his body to the deep," the inner end of the grating was raised so aa u to form an inclined ^uie outwards, the inanimate remains mnvefl slowly from their poddon* feet foremotit ; there was a sullen plunge, the dark eddies gureled and foamed over the sinking mass, and then re- sumed their smonthness, scarcely ruffled by the brevse. .Another and another succeeilcd. till the whole, except Delanry, were buried in their ocean grave, and Lord Eustace resigned the prayer-botik
2t9
588
1CIITS AT SEA.
to the fargwrtt, who, an <u>nn as the major was MtPOilrd on his naval bier, rrcomnipncetl the btirial .lervire, anil nt the ihua) wnr<^« he WHS crtirri^cd tn the drep, deep aea, at tlie very moment that i\u^ upper limb ofthe snii di-nppcarr»I below the horizon, Nugent and Citizen Captain Lnniuiit »ti>ud at the heacl of the f^iratinff, and as the wiiveii closed over the body, the marines fired three vollej'S, the settmen slowly retrealnl from the Fpot, tbe f^angwny was cleared^ and everything retiumed its ordinary routine.
[I mif^ht here enter on a memoir of Major Oelnney, and give a biogmphival sketch of the life vf Lord Eustace, but I prefer reserv- ing them for a future occasion.]
" Well," Hnid old Jack Sheavehole, as the usual group took tin their accuBtomed pufrition on the forecastle for yarn-rpinning, •• well, there 'BMmo on 'em drafted into t'other world, and knowK a little more about the consani nor we do. shipin»teB, HowsomeTer, may tht? Lord A'miKhly upon 'em, and muster all hands alofl without a ttnf[le R among 'cm."
" ! hope we shan't have to send any more the Anme wwy. Jack," said Bob Martinfcalc ; " 1 don't mean to He^tvcn, but over the stand- ing part of the foresheet. There'll be two or three, if nut half a doxen, get (vreenige, and be laid up in ordinary for the rest of their days."
" And a pretty sprinkling o' cook's warrant*, if Lord Youstitch can have his way," chimed in Joe Ni^hthcad: "I'm blefift'd jf 1 should mind getting one nt the ^.tme price."
" What, the lo»8 o* yer precious limb, Joe?'' exclaimed old Jack in horror. " Well, then, you get your greasy comraiaiion, and let me keep ray timbers."
" Why, what 'h the harm of an ammunition leg f" said Joe. " Lord love your heart 1 you should see the wooden ptn.i as they have piiefl up in ticn; at (ireenige, my buy ! I had, and hopes I have still, an ould uncle in the college, a jolly rnmpagerant ould blade as loves a toothfull o' stuff, and a half-ounce chaw o' pigtail as well as ever he did. He loRt both his legs on the HmX o' June, and now he travels^ about upon a couple of wooden conttarns, hopping the twigs as blithe as a lark. 1 went to sec liini about a yejir ago. and lo wc gut to rambling about auiuiij; the tree« in the park, .ind one and anuthcr juiued con»ort, and ould Nunky was the life uf the whole on 'era, and ' Fine sports you have aboard, Joe,' says he ; ' none o' yer keelhauling and running the gantline, as tliere was in my time.' — 'Not none in the leaBt.oulil boy,' says J, 'barring that ere cat as has got as ninny tails as she ban liveo, and that's nine, But a fel- low hnx ounly to do hiH duty, and the cat's taiU may lay :md grow till the fur cornea as long as a badfjer'it. Hut ] aay, ould 'un, did you ever play tUug the tnonkfff ?'• — ■ Indeed have I,' »ayi» be laugh- ing ; ' and J t houldn't mind having another do at it now, purvided it warn't for my legs.' — * Oh, d — n your l«^ !' says I, for I thought he
' 8ling thti monkey ii a r&roiirite |uuitiiQe aiauiig>t Maroen. A tnpm irlih a nnote in i)iv lower enti i* »ittip(>n(led fniin tnie uf tite ]^>nli, llie maiu or ton i tbe "mnnkpy" paiMs the nuine ruuiiil hii FhkI)- below liii afm-plu, anil tuiDtiiDnt slM-k i* k-fl from alotl for tlie nioiikey^ to rhns* bin lornieniorm M-ho p>(lM>r n>uti4 him villi knotted bsndkerctiiefR. jiiwn (if rnae, \r. irhii'h ihii)- ilci not f.til 11.1 lay <m preiiy unanly at vtny oiiixtnuimy. liie vnly deJcnci; wf div innnliey ta a piece of clialk, and if he can mark any of his aMaiZaiiU iridi It, ibey lu-c imnw*
8LINO THE MONKBY.
389
I I
mennt them as hud cut hi» ncqiinintance un the lirst of June ; ' the ■wwtiden ptnn "ull do well pnoiii;h, and a rope over the outrigger o' this here tree, with the soft swt-et grass undfrncsth. where there's nut no danger whatsomever in a tumble. What do you My. my heartifs, — who's lor a game of ilitg the tnonkviff Well, I'm blesi'd if there warn't more nur twenty on 'em all niati for it : «cnie had one leg, some two, ciirrie<l away; ever so many liad lost an arm ; and there was a flourishing o' three-cornered truck*, and a rattling among the wootlen pins, and 'Who'll get a rtij>e?* waa shouted B.* they duncetl about the ground. 80, A 'ye »ee, ahipraAtes, ^8"^ * S*^^ scope 4ir two ami half inch, and passes one end over the arm of thi* tree, thnt wan rigged out like a lower yard, and Diake.i a bowline noose all ship-shafte below, and gets a piece o* chalk, and tile outd 'utis makes up their hnnJkcrchies into kmrti, and at It we got like fighting- cocks. v\t lant ould Nuiiky gets to be monkey, and I 'tu Uluw'd if I didn't warm hiH ^tsrn fur him, anyhow. And ever so many nobs corned to look at us, and ho we got 'em to cbime in, imd one HpioUle-.sh&nk, sliding, guntcr-luuking ch^ip was cotch'd, and 1 *m a tinker if he didn't stiell out 11 guinea tu get ofT, and the rent o' the gentry giv'd us souie mure money ; so that arter the
f[ame was out we had a jolly »heaveo. and I 'm blesa'd, shipmates, f we didn't Hliiig tlie monkey in fine style, and treating the Jandlud into the bargain."
"I Wonder if they playc at sling the monkey in t'other world," Miid Sam Slick, in the tnnuccncy of his heart, and with the utmoal gravilv of coinitenj*nce.
" M hy, you lubber, to be sure tliey ilo," responded Bob Martin- gale, " or elite what 'u<l such an we have tu amu«e ourselves with, aiHl be d — to you. I ounly wish I inay catch you there, that's
In a few dnys. without meeting any obstruction or adventure worth recording, the Spanknway and her priiies were safe at anchor in Fort Mahon, where beveral of the dashing frigatex were then Iving, and the r:iptains, with a commendable generoHily, yielded up the palm to Lord Kustace. The prisuners were lauded, and Lord NeUun arriving soon afterwards, the two French frigates were taken into the service. The largest war given to a favourite post- caiitain, wbo was superceded by a master and commander in the ahip he had left. Seymour was made acting post inl«> the mduU frigate, and Sinnttt took the sloop-ol'-war which hai.1 breo vacated; and thus Lord Eustace hud (he de»ireH of hio hexrt gratified us it respectt^l his two senior officers; nnd, as a matter uf course, lieu- tenants being wanted for the new purchases, his two oldest mid- shipmen, wbo had passed their eXiuninalion, shipped the while lapelles.
It was a few days subsequent to this that a small putv dined with I<nrd Eustace, and, tu his great pleasure, ohl U ill Parallel, the master, was enabled once more to sit at hts lordship's table to
lUstdy tmr.alansd to iIm Jidk*. The gntttMi huimmr or Uia (puna it itiat tlta HUMikvy, in lbs SSKV p«irs»it of M* tav, tmrv frv^ucntly Iomn aiglii uf ^Uacnitian, sod rans widi su«b spcod u 10 thruv himwlf entinly oil his hdaaos, (lbs rtrf* Mag Mwly pcrpctulimlsr, atid nBariing iMit lilUe ckdck.) lit- swings u|i, si>i> tlisa oucDOS iMilUy duwn sKaiii, whtn lie gets a tnmwiMhiu* buBirtliiig fnioi tbe
rm
NIGHTS AT SEA.
meet mi oltl mMmnate in thu person of Chptain Hawser. Atia the repast, whiUl the wiiic wan going briekly rouiKl, the acene* and events of former days were auiplj discuw-ed, and ultiniilelv old Andrew Nipper, or, as be was more generally culled, Andy Xippcr, a veteran quartemi aster of the Spftnlcaway, was, at Captain Haw- f>er'» request, Bumnioned to have a fninaa of (rrog ; for he had been IIfiw»er'» nautical l»thrr lummuck-nuin and drudKC when thegalUnl captain lir«[ entered ttie >>ervice as a volunteer of the euperior gnife.
" Well, Andy," «aid Hawser, "and how doea the world uw jrou now, old boy .**'
The veteran drank off his ffrog at a draught, with a look which , apoke, u plainly us look could ttpeak, " Never make two bites at a ripe cherry." •' I 'm thinking, your honour,'* said old Andy, "I 'm tliinking of the times when I was with your honour in the ould Clinkeni. eight-aud-twenly, in the West Ingees, and we bad that bit of a do in tlic boaU urter that devil's own half pirate, half ■mufEgler, the Thundercloud «:hooner, coranian<Ktl by a picaroon- iog wafcabone as they used to uy wa» a nat'rnl-born legepitunaie child of uuld fielzebub, and the nigtC^-rs used to frighten the chil- dren to uleep by ounly naming the niime of Captain Bluebbuet."
"What was it, Andy P" »aid Iiord Eustace, who greatly esteemed the veteran. " Put the uld boy a chair at the fiidc-tablc. and gnt him another glaas of grog. Let's have the Btorj- : and, Nugent, keep your ears open ; everj'thing tclU in book -making."
'i he cfjmniAiidii were promptly attended to ; the old man broogk himself conirurtably to nn anchor, with a riire ^titf nor'-wester beOxe him ; and then, turning to t^ijilaiii Hawser, lie commenced, "Your honour 'uU iiiiud the time, I 'm tliinking."
"Why, yes, Andy, I do rtiiieuiber Komething of what you we alluding' to," returned liie officer; "but you know I was only * youngster then, had jut,t served iny time, and was waiting to past, and IVom wjnie cause or other, 1 forget what, I was not with the boats on that occasion."
" No; good reaaou not, your honour," responded Andy- "I "• luenibera it well ; you were hove down in your hammock, nnd« yellow Jack, and Mu«tcr llandeail had the large cutter— the llil^ master's mate, you'il recollect, a tall young roan with broad fu- tures and precious comical cyc^'-"
■• Whv, ay, Andy, your description brings him to my mind," asiented Hawser; "we were messmatea two years: 1 beliCTe l» squinted."
" No, your honour," cxplaineti the veteran, "it ware'! a sqoiifc nor cro'jaok brace fashion, nor yet u Jeer, nor rross-iichied, but I 'm bletB'd if I usedn't to think biaeyeg were knork-knee'tl— I eouW make nothing else on 'em. Well, Aluuter Haiidsail had the IsTjl* culler ; Mubter Cocktail, a follower o" Uie c-apmin's, had the bid*!' cutter : and Bluster Shauginscu, the second IftUnaiit, another Iri<li- mail, took command in the pinnace, with » twelve-iioundcr luoonttd on a slide in the bows, and away we w^nt arter tins here w»g>lx*« of a Thundercloud, right up one of them there narrow creek* « the island of Cuba. D'ye mind we'd chained Iwr lor six hoon abnost within gun-shot, and wmetimea throwing the water upde« m her broail wake ; but, like a d— deceitful two-laced craft ai **" was, no sooner did %ve begin to overhaul Iter, and cjtpcct to grl ha
5^
NIGHTS AT SEA.
after we led the Spaniard and hi« bit^ u' ebony, v/c *«t to wvik with a will to puU out af^ain ; Itiit what with the jitren^h of the current, ami the shatterMl oar-blades, wc made but little bea/tmj'. ■nd got l#rribly out in our reckoning, in the matter o' there beii^ 8 little thoiiMind creeks and channels running into one another, and we couldn't sec cither to starboard or port for the biitih, so u to f(ct any marks on to guide us out of tliis infarnat hole ; and bv- and'bv it came cm toward:* dark, and a tliick Uiuc prew up, and we nil took to shivering and shakinj!; like — a-tiem ! — like a UUt'i Up-do{i in a snow-stonu. Well, at last we had dark night — not a Btar to be seen,^ — every buuI tin us chatlerinR with the a^i^iie, till the very bout seemed to have caujtht it tou, for the quivered all the Bame as if she'd been a right artie»t Christiiin, — and there we was, happy-go-lucky, without a drop o' comfort, ar«c-time ov»t. andnri one on uti knew one minute where we «hotil(l Miove otir nose* the next. ' By ihf p«iwer»,' wiys Muster Handsail, 'it's in the centre of a bubble we are, anyhow, and it'it mesclf as is bothered entirety which wny we'll pet out of it- If it was a bit of a bog, now, Andy, and I 'd a ta*te or two of whiskey, 'twould be all clear enough ; but here we are like wild geese on a hernng-pond, anil dothering with the could in a fog as thick as ould Father Bjillvgannon'a ni^hl-cap.' ^' Don't be talking there in that boat V shoutcJ Alustcr Shangincca; ' they 'II be alWr hearing vou presently.' — ' Kaith, and it 'a ounly me teeth, sir,' aaid Muster liandsail in rvply : 'il'a ounly me teeth chathcring in regard o' the ague, sir.' Well, your honour, the furder we pulled, the deeper we seemed to get into difficulty; sometimes we got a rattling current in our favour, and then we bad it like a sluice dead again us; every two or three minutes we were in aniou^ the trees, and the numpe scrubbing our bottom, and then we were fouling each other in trytnc to get out again, so that we were reg'lar bu^h-rangers, and I 'm blessed if any on us could tell at last what courw.* we were on."
" It t* rulhcr surpri^iug tliat Mr. O'Shaughncisy didn't come to a grapnel," remarked Captain Scud^ "or make fast to the trees UQ It cleared up."
" Why, your honour, he did think o' doing on't," usxcrted Andy ; " but then he said that was next kin to nothmg, and by keeping in motion we should be sure to find ourselves somewhere ; so we kept our small-arnifl dry in case of falling in with anything ; and Dilr. Shauginsen tould us it was best tn he in exercise, an then we should keep our bluud in free skrimmigation."
*' He was right," observeil Captain Hawser shivering, although the weatJier was extremely warm. " I well remember the deatDy chills of those horrible swamps ; the very thought of them makei my blood ruu cold."
" Well, your honours, it didn't last very long," continued Nipper, "for just as we rounded a point as sharp as a wincb, slap we ran stem un to a schouii«r-rigg'd craA, and in an instant, without wail- ing for any word, we juaipe<l aboard; and the first thing I twigg'd was the long gun, and the next moment I got a crack on the head that filled my cyei* with a general illumination, and brought a noise in my ears just like a Alerry-Andrcw beuting a tattoo on the lid ofa gunner's s.ilul>ox ; but I didn't go down, (or Muster Handsat cotclicd huld on ine. ' Kouse and bitt, Andy I' says he ; and »» I
4 4
THE PIRATE CRAPT.
>U3
rallied again, and the SpanUrdt gave u> Buch ■ wMrm rfrrption that it soon took th« chill off, snd at it we went lutmnKT mid long*, the pirnten lighting lik<: tIeviU, seeing nti they ''I been ciropp'd on im- awnrM, and lu lUkvage a-i binxes, 'c»\'*e their owner hadn't time to tTMnmngrify her again, — for I am &artin that it was the same rralt we had overhauled in the artemoon, laying in just the Mtne place at the turn of the point,
" At ii we went, ht>w9iwnever ; »ml, as nil mir party gnt fair foot- ing on the Thundercloud's deck, why Jack Spaniard Bullied art, and in about five minutes, or mayhap it warn't quite so long, we 'd driven 'cm all, holus-bulus, ovL-rbtuird from the taBVel and ijuarterN, and lliey were Bwimminc away for the »>hore. Noneon us expected such a cunsarn, for we u give up all thoughts of the Bcboonvr, and the action wai all the plea»anter for being touch-and-go. ' By the hooky, Andy,* says Muster Handiail, ' but this )< quare work any- how ! Out o' the fog into the Tliunderclpud ; iinu, by the pipers, there '» h flash o' lightning for us !' Hnd rattW come* a whole »hoal of sninll-fthot from the fthore, ripping find rending, and thud-thnd they went into the *chaoner's planking, and whinht-whi^t part our ears as if they 'd coax a fellow out o' the world with a whistle! We got
f;ood sight o' the Aiish, though, just astam; so we slued round the ling gun, and sent it« contents right in the direction., and we heard a rntiling and n screaming as if we'd pitched the iron into someut, and made the splinters fjy. * (live 'cm amither tarte u' the metal !* Kays Muoter Khauginiies. 'else the fellows 'II think we're playing witli "em ! Lay the gun well, and lire when you 're ready !' Slap they had it attain, your honors, round and grape, and I in bless'd but there wus a pretty crnitliing and Hplitting, though what it was that the vhou tould on nobody could gueM, ijome thought it was a craft, others would have it to be a house, and many said it waa ounly the branches of the trees; but then, you know, your honors, them dumb things couldn't screech out. Howsomvver, we soon got Hd of the ague ; and some on 'em as had been overhauling the lockers below, found a breaker of ruin, so we spliced the main- brace, and felt all square again. But the f^wniards warn't idlv; they kept up a running fire, and presently I heard a little voice alongside o' me say, 'Andy! Andy! they 've knocked dnylight through me! I'm off, uuM boy!' 80 I hrnks cm the deck, and there lay the poor young gentleman, Muster Cocktail, on hi* bennw ends. ' Where 'a Handaail P' says he. 80 I gave i^luHter Handsail a hail ; but lie was pointing the long gun, and ' Never mind, Andy,' tava the child, — for he warn't more nor eleven yearit of age, — ' never nund. He promised to hide nie with the cuult, but 1 shall chest him this time. Ob Ooil, Andy !' uttered he in agony, * this is dread- ful ! but it will 60on be over. Fut your band to my Irack, Andy; it is splitting in two .' Ub, my poor mother ! this II breiik her heart !' — ' Who s hurt h«T«?' aaked AIu*ter .Shaugin»ca, nnniiig up. — ' It'd ounly Uttle Cocktail,' said the youngitter. * I 'in going, »jr; 1 fei'l 1 'ni guing!' The leftenant stooped down, «nd took the lad's hand. <I hope not, youngster,' said he in a voice of kindness; ' come, come, let me rai*eyouup!' — ' Xo, no.^irl exclaimed the young gentleman; 'my back's broke, Mr. 8hnugin»ca. 1 shall never »i-e home again ! hut, will you tell the captain, sir, — will you tell him that I did my duty, aiid — •' A hfiasm stopped his uttcrmocs
for a minute or two, m Muster HancUail iigun aeot Ihc contcn(i-< the lung gun at the Spaniard) ; and, whvn tbe tioiK> of the rrpcri died Bway, ' Cheer up, youngster !' My» Aluctrr I^haufptiHS, 'ytm'n not «o much hurt as you think for V But, your tumor*, h« spolu lo a curp«el ' lli« cable 's parted, Andy !' My»lhe leftenant. Laying him gently on the dcrJi, ' but this i« do time for snirelling, you a- — cTouU fool !' Now, vour honom, I wam't a-&nivclliiig, thou^ 1 mufi on I felt Bomeut like spray in my eyes; but the Ictlcnant K-a« AniveUmg like a child ffor uc all lorcd the boy), and «o He blow'd me op 'cause I nhouidn't take any notice on it. ■ Alan your boat, Andy,' nvB he, for I was coxsen of the Urpe cutter, ' and take four marina with you, and be all ready for i^hoving off.' — 'Ay, ay, sir,' aaya I- So I gets the four jollies and th^ cutu-r's crew all ahip-isbape, wbcn I 'm bleH;i«d if a large row-boat didn't clap uie alongside afore erei I an^l a Boul nigh hand; and unc on 'fdi — that's the pirate's, your honor — catches me hould by the nape o' the neck to grapple wjth me. ' Si Higtior,' says I, ' not these ten days !' and I wbipt ■ ball through his skull, aa cured him for e>'er of the headache ; but he held on his death-grip, and souse hr had me overboard. 1 felt hi* IfUit struggle. I heard the grinding of hh teeth. He let go hts hould ; and 1 'd juat time to swim to the schooner's ruddcr-chaiiu i* 1 got clear on him, or else I must have gone astam, and mayhap lieriahed. The noise of the Bring put Sir. Shauginsea up to the trick, and the boat was beat ofl'; but five or uz others tried to board, some on the bowa, and some on the quarter ; but our brave lads druv 'em away, thoui^h they laid off at a short distance, and peppered ua with llieir ^mall arms, but without doing much execu- tion, in the regard o' the dnrknens of the night.
" Well, there: was a bit of a breexe ftprnng up, and it blownl a tioU in the fog alNift, and they cotclied Right of a row-bonl puiitng up astarn. Now 8ome u' the boyo, by Muster Shauginsea's orders, haa run out a couple o' canimnadoH from the starn ports, and they made such a devil of a hulhibiiloo over my hnid a» I held on by the rudder chains that they couldn't hear me hoi! for a rope till all was silent just afore they were going to fire, and then the U-ftenant looks over. * It's rac! Andy, your honor!' says I. — ■ Andy !' says he, ' what, doI gone down ? They tould me you 'd walked ufT lu-m-in-arm with the Spaniard.' — 'They tould ynur honour a <1— .<! He, thenVaays 1, savingyour presence, gentlemen. ' Will you let some o' the lubbers heave me a rope, sir ?' — ' Hould on, Andy,* savs he quietly, ' we arn't gat time now. Lay that gun wellj boy ! — iteady - — Fire I' and bang went bnth cannonadcfi tofrethcr. Sly eyes ! but there was a scattering o' chips, and a screeching out, and ' She *b going down f Hurrah, buys! toad away!' shouted the lef^enant. — 'Hand u8 the etad of a rope, and be u— ~d to some on you !' says I ; but they ■eenied to have foruut mc in their hurry to load again, and ' Away, forud, boys,' cries Alunicr Shuu^^iisea ; * the thieves ore boarding u> on the bows,' Well, your honors, I fell quite tlubbergastrd to think there was lighting going on, where every man's arm would tell, and there was I, Andrew Nipper, floundering round the rudder-chain*, of no maimer o' use whulsompver ; so I tries lu scrunble u]>, but it was a hopeleiM consarii, and ' D — the dog that bit tlie barber,' says I, ' if this arn't a rum go, anyhow !'^' Vou 're right, shipmate !' my* a Toice just close aalarn o me ; and when I felt the hot breath OB
THE PIRATE CKAFT.
595
my nrck I 'm blesccd \f 1 didn't tliink it wot Davy Junes. ' Yt>-hoy f wy* I, quite cuiiatrupt-ruubly ; ' wtiu lUv iltM-il iiia^v you be ?' — ' Ex- nctly 90.' says the voicv, aild a haitd laid huuld 0' my shoulder. — ' Murder,' tninks I, ' if it should be the ould tinner arter all come to Have his crat\, why then, Andy, it's all up with you V — ' What cheer ? what cheer ?' says he, »boving u}j alongside o' me, and f;*'*'^ bintf houtd o' the rudder-chnins. ' l mv. brother, this is a decent ntf^ht to Uike a could bath in ! Why, whiil the h — ore you looking for ? rudder Hah f — ' It 's no u)*e l>einf; dnjinted,' thinks I, And, ' d — his black muzzle, I never did him any spite!' ' It's not the likes o' you I 'in locking for,' says I, 'that 's neither fish, flesh, nor fowl — ' — ' Nor eood red herrinf;,' be chimM in ; ' but, don't be ungry, ahip- uiate. i ou am't one o' tbe itchooners, I take it? There, ude out tor a bend, and give iis room to ittvin^.' — 'It 's just what I'd wiih,' says I ; ' but I 'm thinking swinging 's too good for you, whe- ther picaroon or devil.' — ' Come, 1 like tlut I* says he, laughing quite unconsarned. ' Hut, I say, brother, what ship may you belong to ?' — ' Wily, that '« a civil qufbiiuii,' says I. ' oiiu nobody shiill niv I ever giveu an oncivil a»»wer when properly spoken to, though Davy Jones himself was to ax me. I belongs to the ould CUnkeoi, twenty- eight — * — ' Commanded by Captain Killcrack,' says he. — ' The same/ •ays I, struck into a 6t of the doldrutna to find he knew the ei-afl ao well, and still dubersonie in my mind whcthir it wurn't Davy Jones nner all. ■ Do you know ihe Hooker?' axed l.-^' Vc^, brother, I di>. well,' aaj-s he ; ' but I wiiJi they 'd throw us a rope.' — ' They 're better engaged,' says I, quite bould, — for lying alongside of him bad spirited me up,—' they 're better eng-iged, as yoa may hear ; unlcu, indeed, they could drop a running Ixjwline, or a hangman's nooie round your neck, for, I ukcit, you're no better than you should be, or else you wouldn't be here.' — 'At all evenla I 've a companion,* bays be quite softly and good-humoured. — ' And so/ thinks 1 to my- f«ir. ' if it is the devil he doesn't mean me any harm by his fun.' — ' We 're overboard together, brother,' says he, ' and houlding on by a Thundercloud, which is nest kin to hanging by the eye-lid». Natur piaya us ntxange freaks, brutiier. at timc»; here we are safe and snug from all danger, unless, indeed, an ugly customer of a abark should be cruifing in the neighbourhood. I 'm saying, we 're secure whilst there'» bloody work going on above, and many a poor fellow will lose the number of lus mess. But, how came you uverbuurd?' — ' It wam't to look for my grog, kid,' ssjb I ; ' but, since you axes so many qiiextions. pray wliat brought you a-«wimming to-iUffhtP' for I thought I 'd try and find him out. — ' Revenge !' said he, — indeed be almost screeched, — ' and, if I could ounly lay hould of a rope, I il put Muster ShaujiinH^a up to a move or two.' Well, your no- nori4. I fett quite conltu»tercaied when I heard him name the lefte- nant'sname; but I 'm blessed if he didn't heave my ideas right «lan abock when he adds, quite easy and insinivating, ' Why. I declare, if It isn't Andy Nipper. You must excuse nie fur nut minding you abre, in the regard o' thin being a rather out-of-tlie-way place to nwHt one's friends." — 'Avast, ycr reverence I" says 1, • no mend o' yuura, if yvu please, »e«ing as I defy you and all your works !' — * Why, who the devil do you take ine for, Andy ?' says he, laughing with as much glee as if it was a gtxHl joke. — ' Who do I take you lor,'* says I, ' why. Davy Joma, to be sure!'— 'Capital!' says he, 'a
606
MIGHTS AT S£A.
most excellent ^eas ; and ain't you afeard f — ' Not a bit of it I' mv> I. for I thougnt it be»l to speak out without fear, favour, or jiflVc- tion ; ' not a bit of it, if your holiness will uunly ju«t ^ive m« s ■wider berth,' for he got scrtiMginj; agxin me »« if lie wranled to ix)ui!e mc out o' tliot- 'Well, Aiidy.* »*iy« he, ' be as quiet am a aurkiiii; biiliby ; iniiifartune* iiiitke uh actjuainted with str^tigc bed- fellows," and he shouted, ' 'Pon deck, there ! give us ii rojic over the itarn !' but the uproar of the firing and the fighting prrventc-d any- body henring, and it struck me romical to think if it really waa Davy, why he didn't whi*k up without » rii]>e- 'TiVell, Andy,' aays hr, jiiNt a-4 MOdoth a« vaniish, ' there 'h nothing like patience in thi* worl<l ; it raven a man from many vexations, and a vast expenditure of animal spirits, as you miffht have proved, Andy, if, instead of flying in a patwion with j^fanima Juno at Black-town, when she robbed you of your ticker, you 'd taken it all easy.'—* Well. I 'm bleu'd !' aays I ; ' but your excellency xeenis to know all about it. anyhow, tliouf(h it putxles mycdccation to make out M-hyyou ttoiM here, when you 've nunly to catch bould o' the lafTrcl. and jump nn deck!' — *Do you think so, Andy ?* aays lie. 'Why, then, fiottd b'yc !' and I 'm blcKscd if be didn't rise up out o' the water without hardly a heffert, ounly he claps his thievi tig-hooks upon my shoul- ders in goin^ ftloft, nnd shoves me undtr. When I tube, and shook the spray clear u' my ilaylights, be was gone; but he 'd thrown s rope's ^cend over, and in lees than no time I wa» in ihe middle of luy sliipmiite». liut lighting had made sad havoc uinuiig 'eiu. Some of my oulde«t nicssuiates laid bleeding on the deck, and the dead and the dying everywhere met the eye. Mr. Shnuginsea stood leaninj; against the conipanion-hatcb. liitt bead ilrooping down, and his sword banging loosely in bis hand ; he was severely wounded, and seemed partly onsensible to what was going on ; the poor little mid- i>hiptnan was lying at his feet- JMuster Huiidsail wss at tlie long gun, and by hiti side whs a tjiieer- looking genius uuinling it in a new direclioii. ' Ha, Andy I' says he ; nnd I knew it was my cum- punion of the rudder-chains. ' Here I am, you see. hard at iU Mus- ter all bands, my boy, and get ready to jump in the boats T ] sup- posed it was all right, seeing as he whs alongside of the officer. ' Bear a-hand, Nipper, my boy T says .Muster Ilandffiil ; and 'Ay, ay, «ir!' says I, — for I know'd obedience to orders is best, let the devil himself be the spoke«inan. No offence meant, your honniira.**
" Well, Andy, and pray who was the gentleman after all ?" in- quired Mr. Parallel. " You 've been working a long rt^ckoning ; it iH time we should know something; of the bearingis and distance."
"All in good time, ."(irj all in good time," returned Andy; " pleaw let me spin my yarn my own way, unless your honours arc tired on 'L"
" Oh no, Andy, heave a-hcad, my boy I" exclaimed Ccptun Hawser, in which he was joined by the rest; " we won't intemipc you ; steer your own course."
"■Thankee, — thxnkee, your honors!" said the veteran seaman,
Sulling out hifl " "bttcui"-bo»;, and repleni/ihirg bin quid. "Well, ' ye &ce, I mustered all b.-iiids ; but, out of forty, wt; could only number five-and-i wenty efleciive, with Uirue or four not so badly wounded but they might 'lend the schouner ; ao, arter firing the lou^ gun, down jumps Muster Ilaudsoil aud the stranger into the buata.
ri
4
I
4
THE PIHATE CRAFT.
897
I
I
■m! away we stretcheil out for the t-hnre. « hero, as we atiprrwched, I »aw looming; in the hn7.r a lar^ liiiiltlinp like a barrackii, and then 1 Buppowcl we were coinff to Niomi it. The stranger took the pin- nace, but Muster UaniJsail stuck by the cuitvr, and ' Be ready tn board in the nmoke.* saye he. — ' If 1 may be to bould u» to ax, sir,' uys I. ' pray, who is the HtTAnKe gentleman in the pinnace?*' — 'What, don't you know him, Andy ?' sayg he j ' why, he '« the very devil !' — ' That just tallte* with my idea on him. Muster Hanilfail,' uiya I, more nor ever confurmed that it wh* uuld Davy.—' Howsomever,' says I, 'it's no matter to me, itir, aa long as you're Mtiftfied/ — ' Huah, Andy !' saya he. ■ Keep in hi> wake, and nhove her note in c1o«e to the pinnace as soon as she touches. By the powers, but there's a few of 'cm waitinc for us '.' and, sure enough, the landing- place twemed to be crowded. ' Keadv f shouted the stranger in the pinnace. — ' All ready,' says Muster I^andiuii]. * Men, handle your arms — Fire !' the thing was done in n moment. The Spaniards gave a straggling volley in return; but, when the smoke had cleared away, we run on to the bank, furiueil in an instant, ami Liiled on for the building : but tliere was nu one tu siup uur prugret>s. The place was deserted, and so we soon set it in a blaze.
"Well, while this wa§ going on, the strantter disappears; but when the light began to fliire up, he shows himself almost in the middle of it, shouting out for us to extinguish the Hames, for he wam't by wlien they set it on Gre. Butf Lord love you ! he might just as well have tould us to clap an extinguisher on the xun as to put out the conAagaration, the place 1>eing buih of thin, dry womi, that htased, and crackled, and burnt like fury. ' What can he be doing there?' said Aluater Ilsndsail, 'some devil's trick or other.* — 'No doubt on it, sir,' says I ; ' at alt events he 's more in hia nat'rat Iwle- ment now than when he was floundering undcrthe schooner's counter, and be d— to htm !' — ' Andy !' says a voice whispering close to my ear, and m> I turns -short round, and couldn't see nobody. ' Andy !' it came ajrain, 'show yourself a man if you have a heart, and follow me! — 'Rather not, your reverence,' sars I, without turning my heail, as I know'd him.- — ■' Plenty of rum,' aiiys he. — ' Can't touch it/ says I, paying out as big a lie as ever I tould. — ' 1 shall score you one for that,' says he, and then it Ktiuck me how useless it waa to think to cheat uuld BeUebub. — 'Come, nonsense, Andy !* says he, ' I want tu catch that wagabone tluef. Uluebloaes: bring three luinds with you, and I II see you get the rewanl. Follow me, Andy !' — ' What 's the use »' U-ing afcard ?' thinks 1 t" inywif- ' Who knuwi but the ould chap niity BUnd my frit-nd u|Km a |iinoh.' and so I Oiafceit sail arter him. — ' Where '• the other hand*?' axrs he ; 'but, never mind, %*alk silently, and keep clo«e to me.' So wr giies mumi tu the rear of the buililing, where the bu«h was prMty thick, and dived down right underground intn a dark passage. ' Stay here, Andy,' says he, 'and if anybody ofT^-rs to come out, take hira alive if you cati ; and, if he shows fight, shinrt hira. And now,* add. r<i he very solemnly, 'May Und Almighty assist my aenrcht' — ' Then you am't tht* ilevil?' savs 1, quite gleeaome to hear him t nnunce the great Name, which none «' ihem infurnal genius a utter. ' Xo. Andv,' says he; 'but I haven't time to talk tn y now. HjUoo I who goes there?' and he daahed onwards, and heard the footsteps of two persons running. Now the passage worn .
KUtBTS AT 8EA>
i-
to
■)mat Mwett ker|i the
dnnks I ts and tfaen I cfaalt
gtttvu. 9o 1 fokmayhtad oat o' the miA, md irrtfl my badr hdf-wsr ap. Eke ■ TeUow ertKpiag thnrnf^ lab- ks'* hck. and foofcs at am firr. which was biasing away iiMn%, ^ri I HH ri||4it in the miildle of it a tst of large vquare towvr, thtf look'd »omr'ut like ■ dlhablj, eaniy it ww so big ; and prrcnttT two hatnui bdngf ismed tram the very lop of it, frrspplinK wit^ cedi other, and ■trugglinfr foe the lailii i. Our on 'cm J mno diaktvered to be mr irurty of tbr raddcr-^nn*. *nd the other wu drcM'd in « Kptuiiin drpm, verr dtrtr «od torn- Ft was an Awfa) ^■ectaclp, yotir hrmnr*, to tre thrm. w^uljt the destmcttvc b^emem «M ntttittf; all arniind, and the Aftnief aMppfag like coach-whipi right in their vrry fncea : I 'm nrin^- it «*§ an awfal spertarlr to aee 'rm itrlving to uke each ocbn's life. Vint oae, and then the other, wiw lieni heck over the baiaany adie% as Uieir armt wen twinrd tof^ethtT whh n convaharc dMdi that nothing but deaA could looMii, «iid wich nltenutdjT oblaiMd eihrBDti^. Their face* were imniml with hlnod and powder, and the; louked fearfulljr terrific u thry wrcetleil upon thai anall debated spot, hanging be twixt lif'r mid drnth. 'He's no Dwry June*, thjrt 's for wrtb,' thought 1. 'and yon he's oontcndiiig with niua be the skipper of the RctwHiner, who they tay it one of Davy's nat'ral child^r. At all event« I 'II try whether he '« fle»h and blood if I can but Rct a goad aim.' ft(t I cliipfillic butt of my mu»ket to my shoaUer. ftteadies the burrcl iiixm thi- mirth, juiti junnts the muzsle at the object. Two or three time* I §lijfht]y prc-Kse*! the trigger, a» I thoojfht I 'd corered bim ; but tlio MtriingiT boUbrd in the- way, and happily the trigger wan a uliff 'un. At la«t tlie »lranger. by a •hift of the hand as uuick as lightning, s«iited Hlueblaxes by hifl *>haggy hair, and bent his bead back over the flanies. It was a captital mark, with a strong dear light bchinfl it ; and, though the heads wam't more nor nx tnchet apurt, I lets fly, and there was a wild wreech that I didnt ore about, but it was followed by a laugh—oh, to horrible that it made my blood run could 1 and then there was a hearty cheer from all hands t' other m\e of the liitilding. 'You Ve dune Bume'ut, Andy.' saTH I to mvteir. ' Mnyhnp aimed «t ould Nick, and hit the paraon. Well, I did it for the beivt.' So, when the smoke cleared away, I louked at the chinihlv ; but there wss nobody there. Both on 'em was gone ; and, whifBt 1 was a-thinking about it, I beard two per' wns (for they were talking) coming alung the paeuge. * Tben iJ didn't hit him at laMt?' Kiiys I, and, dropping mv muitket, 1 oidtlf (HI* of my pistols, and stretched myself out on the long grass juM by the hole, so as to command a good sight of it ; and the next ihitig E hears the stranger's voice calling, 'Andyt Andy I wh( are you. my boy ?' and out he comes. ' It 's here I am," says I, ris up,' 'Where's Blueblazcs ?' — ' The villain !' screeched he; ' I 're been revenged; both his soul and his body are in the flames; and. ooulit 1 tell who it was that fired that shot, a hundred guineas should k. liU r. wjird." — ' Hand it over, then,' says I, ' for it was sweet-lIfB iiting to my musket, ' that never sent a ball ontme. Bat, t hit htm r' says I. — 'Can this be true, Andy?' saya hr. ^ '^1 vou or any one else whataoniever ever know'd me Id
^^^^ -^ „v r — ■ 'iljr reward shall be yours. Andy,' says he. — • Obm*
THE PIRATE CRAFT.
599
tnon!' thinks I, 'you don't seem to be worth tiippenw.' — 'Come farth, my lovp,' says lli-*, looking down the umlergniiirKl runnel ; nnit I 'm blessed il'ttKTc warn'l » beautiful young crcatiir Ptrctehinff out her hands to fiiiu I'ur u help up, and »o hv gives her a lil\, and catches h«r in his arms : imd, my ryes, but he sarved out the kiEsve in grand fltyle ! But she couldn't tpexk a word ot'Kngli^h, being of t'oreign build ; — I think she was French."
" She was, Andy," said Captain Hawser, " and as lovely a girl »a ever led a pour oevil into a xcrnp^'. Hhe was a native of Frnncei located at ot. Domingo; hut I won't heave a-head of your story, Andy— tell it your own way."
" Well, your honours, we bore up for t'other «de of the build- ing," continued the narrator, " and then the stranger aayii to Muster Ilandsail, snyi he, ' The lads have done wrong to fire the building. — it will draw enemies fVom all parts; though, JfKiltcrack 8ee« it, and I make no doubt he doen, we shall hnve more assistance from the frigate. But come, bear a hand, my boya : let 'a man the boata, and flee afVer Air. Shauginsva and the schooner ' This devil's nest is destroyed, however, and the sooner we're off ilie hetier.' — ' Which boat will your lorxlship have?' axed Muster HaiHWit. quite reapectfuUy. And • Wheew !* whistle<l I. • here "s a pretty kellle o' f»h I 've made of it ! but I 'm blessed if I mayn't log down tny hun- derd guineas as safe enough, anyhow I' And so I goei> up close to him, and looks hard in bis fac« as the blading light fell broad upon it, and, thcmgh I hadn't awn him i*incc he was a midshipman, I 'ni blowed if I didn't know him directly — it was I^rd C— ford. ' I ■hall go in the cutter with Andy,' My« he. And ' God bless your lordship!' says J, * to go for to thnik I Hhould take you for — ' ' Never mind, Amiy,' «»y« he; ' get your boat rt-ady, my Iwy, and do your l>est for the laoy.' — ' That 1 wuU, my lord," says I ; * but ounly think — ' ' Hear a hand, Andy,' says be; and then he tuma to Muster Ilandsail, ' Take the pinnace, young gentleman, and •hove off for the schooner.' Well, your honors, in a few minuica we were all afloat again, and pulling up in shore ; but the tide had changed, and so we stood Imuldly off, and we found poor Aluster Shauginsea stretched on the deck alongside of the youngster, and ■we got him into the pinnace, and M-t the schooner on fire fore and afl; anil I'm bleit^ed if the burning didn't drive out a couple a Spaniards tliat had stowed themselves down in the run, and we made prisoners on 'em. ' Put one on "em in the pinnace,' aays his lordship, * and, young gentleman, make him pilot you out. If he rsAlfet, or plays you tmicheruuftly, shoot him like a dog. Andy, clap the other in the cutter, and leave me alone to manage him.' So he speaks to them in KjMiiish, and shows 'em hi* pistols, and then they were handed into the boats, and their arms braced slap attack ; to, being all ready, and the flames climbing iin the schooni-r's inaNts and rigging, we gave three cheers, and snored off. Now, I *d picked up aome spare duds n' jacketa on the deck of the craft, and mode a nice comfortable seat for the latly, and his lordship paaaed his arm round her waist, and she laid her head on hia shoulder, and they looked as happy as two cherrybums. We'd tlie tide in our favour now, and in a very rhort time we iUnce<l out into the o|M>ii sea, and tliere laid the frigate at anchor with brr lighta up ; for the fug hod quite cleared away, and the moon was stepping out
V>VSWT.
U-.
ajBuitick* >t»U there «« a foir pleMHoC warm brettc * Sm . itatt ihr pittnacr, mj mcoi,' ■»« hts liirdafa;^ w iDt) bi- roq*«i^ iiuT a!] r^vd}- foT thc woundM tkc ■ ..> . my Udi.. * >* Aad I 'm bleMcd if m
.111(1 MM* 1>*'^^ i inn*e«> wbejg we co«ld kMi
< tfrooftifii;. and wr wrnmt ^MHf ^noutcs in |cnH(
1,...J C lord ran opAe |b«»k«bj> aad prnendrlv
r i-mme amd 'intAi* mvr. jod tlicre «■• oram fir'^
' Never namA.' tmn kw laiiahi|i : ' JaKft can get ifaaHd
Uinj{k :' and to be «mhs Anrb into tbr fcaac. and with btfh
iiiotiiiu the ndr^i^a, and Rta *m lisck likea ''^JUf-
I SluiuftiiHcta ^Hctaff tinw in danfcr, aod at 1mI«b
';iii<.-; liui I ft 1WMI InM MDce ihf. wkao be wsiCm
■■: N rnit«tr ttwi toid «at at DeptfiK<d ; bat lie dM
Tlir pnoe hnl* MiAAaiawn waa bvried w«tb miliwy
^'orl Uojal. and die dead aramcv (ror we broo^taw^
utd woutwleil) were «ewed up in their hanUBOckf* tmt
■-<> ilie deep. Mr ete* ! bet we 'd plenty of |r^ tfc<
:m> wntcb ; and I got tax hunderd jxuinesa as snug at ■
There, your hunors. is a bit frf" a ymra ; and no*.
I>uin Hawser will tail on to it, and tdl yoa bow hit
priK hoiS
^ Miie to be there.' " With All the plca-siirc in life." said the captain clicerAiIIj, " pnK vMf.! that it is a|;n.t-sblc to all haods." V -L^v «kJK-iit wi» given. Mui \ luy, Nipper," exclainked Mr. Parallel, who in all «^ & lurt uf matter-of-fact man, " ] uy, you haven't told ui Mf !ar>Uhip went aloft from the nidder-cbains tn the utTraiL"
" Su tuore I arn't." returned Andy : " but 1 can, sir. for I axed hit lurtlnJup. and he uid wmebody threw it, ur eomchow or other a Tvpe came over tlie >tam — ^it was the eend of the boom-aheet ; and ».- ' ; ■ 1 WHS thinking uf sonieut eUe, and was rather bothered k'< ^ >, JmieH, he urnha huiild without my seetttg it, and acMuef nhiUt he went up hand over liand, and when he was oo KJi it down Again for me."
.;(hhI, An<ly, — very good," rejoined the master; "and u- '. ..liu IlawMrr, if you'll pica&e to favour us, I'm %n at-
t«l>LlMII,'*
80NNKT TO
Wnilk fonning o'er the Uyi of oMmi time,
I rtod or forms in poesy rcliearsed ; UMortptioni. bom of love, by piMioai nuned.
And l»eaiity. sliadOM'd fonh in iclowing rhyme, — 'I'krM- lil'ir-^ik).- t'htirnis invoked in lliouf^hii Mihtime,
t'.iul>u«d with such inliMtse bui holy tire. \Au<v, 10 my iict*|tUr I'Ciuan, jiiciumj iben
At lo^-e-lorn riivin);? of the poet's lyw, ijt 'Mpriice* 100 jnirr for rwilal koD.
', ' Jislxliri'of ihf poetic <]uire1
iiu dT doubt ! — dirtruM of nature's skill, < <i,:ni hiivt-ra|it my veiM viiion atdl, tUk II 1HH wakeu'd on thai nar-gemnt'd ni^ht.
^Ikah niv hnglit hranlji bum upon ony Kight.— -W. 11. W.
001
GRIFFON E,
A TALB OV Tan PSNIHSOLA.
I
I I
ClIAITEK THE FIRST.
IDT.-COLONRI. MAPIBR, AtrTHOR OP TOR UIBTOHV OP ' "TIIK PKNIN5lrl,AK WAtl."
At a short dixtiince from Celorico, and higli up on ifif »tecp «ide of a nioutitain which curves in such a msiiner as tii fomi Jt profound basin, stands the village of l>es Iras, which is the most heaulifid iti the world.
The houses, better built than the generality of PortUKiiwe hahitntions, do not stand contiguous to each other, but arc cast in groups most picturesque without ami clean und cool within. A spring of water, large enough for the head uf a river, gushes out of a rock just above the villngc^ and pours through till the streets in clear gurgling streams one or two feet deep even in •ummer ; uad thev are so full in winter, that the doors of the houses open upon pathways rnised six, and. in some places a* much as ten feet high, to protect the villagtTR fntm the frusheK. Vines* trained on slender rods which btretch from rixif to riKif Bcrowlhestreetf fomi an awning of the richest hues, and, besideii the beauty and pleasure of the fruit, which hanging in heavy and richly-tinted cltii^ters tempts the hand to gather and the mouth to taste, this many-coloured covering keep^ out the sun^ and softens the fierce climate to a delicious teai|x-rature.
Here and there, alM>, arc open spaces adorned with natural fountains, and waterfalls, and archways, and groltoes, woni through huge masses of a porphyry-coloured satidstone by the never-cc-asine streams. In fine the whole village is a labyrinth of vine^ and trees, and houses, and fantastir rocks, with every- thing that is )>relty and fretJi, and everything that i» sublime in form, to delight the eye: to excite the imagination, and lo cost the mind into a state of vohipiuous sensibihty. All around are objeclu of pleasure to meet the Right. Stately cork-trees, giant chestnuts, and pnlriarch oaks abound ; and amidst grapes, and oranges, and mitll>erries ntid pomegranates, and irregular niasM.-s of houses diH)KHie<l in the most delightrnl inantK-r, the pretty peasant girls are lo be seen, dreM^cd ni bright blue and red, or yellow, after the numner of the country, now saunlering with a slow pace along the windings and wooded |MithwiiyH, now Mopping to converse in groups, or gathering round the fotitf tains in graceful attitudes to wash or spread their linen, while the air rei«ounds with the warbling of birds ami with the clear musical voices of the girls singing, — sometitneti »ingly, and ■onietimea in chorus.
Tx)ok down the mountain, and the eve faiU to pierce the da abyw; but sli^t silvery streaks uf light mark the course the waters ns they wind and Inmble througli the ihirk-Htatidti
VUL^ III. '2 T
COS
GRIFFON B.
chccLiiut and ilex trees, winch hang in heary umhragnius masMs on tlie sides at tlie basil), the rirh green and broirn tiois of rheir foliaM deepening into liUckness oa they descend, until dtj itself is lost in tbt' gulf below, from which, howcrcr, on afrreeoUe huiOt u if from Ken tliou^ntl swarms of bees, comes u^ wttli « sootlitiijT sound.
IamV. up, and the eye encounters enormous f;rev slate rocki, peering alwve the tops of the Irifiit*t trees, while, Aij^b orcr *U, the huge Kfltrella peak thnuf^h %rcral miles distant appetn a purt of the mountain on which the village stands, and to nif^ that it would seem an iiutstretclwd hand might take snow fnxD itti hoary head.
Ttii* i? the Talley of " Dm /rn*," which means the Valley of Wrath.
U is so called lirciinse formerly a wizard, being uflended vith the baroD of the valley, foretold a violent death, at a cer- luiii Iwur, for the lord's son. To evade this prophecy, tlir babe WHS put by itx parents into a tower without doors, ^n^^ yarded with the utmost care; but it was nevcTthele«« kille^H at the fated tiniu by the malignant wizard, who, changed into^^ serpent, wont up in a basket of provisions, and thus fulfilled his own prophocv. 1'he lord went mud and disappeared, the lady died of grief, ami the tower was thrown to the grnund bj a thiimlerbolt. Nunc know what became of the wizard, but was said be o>ul<I never recover his human shape again, that he glides perpetually in the gloomy hitllowii of the below. And ever since tliat time a " (hijhtie,'" supposed to he the lord, comes every fourth year to the valley of Des Iras, and remaios for one month. He generally sit.s upon a large branch of one enormous tree ; lie is very stately to look at, and very ro lancholy, but at certain periods of the night he sails slowly oki the dark basin will) ut-ontinual moaning, and finally, horerir for a time over the place where the lower stood, givt-s two lou( shrill, threatening cries, and returns to his tree. He is a fierce enemy tu »" snakes, pouncing upon and tearing thcui to pit mtd he carries a ring of gold upon his right leg, with an in«crif liou purpnrling thai he had Ivcen once caught at Constantinople Whi'lhiT he escaped from confinement, or was purposely Uh«^ l^ttxl, is not known ; but he conies every fourth year without ^ |^« llie valley to sail over the gulf, and to make Jiis moon.
Iv the year 1810, just before Massena's array entered For. ^IgtfX A" V'tigiish otiiccr, who had been wounded in the batde ^^ i'tui, was Fent to this beautiful and retired village to re< .^health, and while there a lively Portuguese boy tdd »iory of the wizaidand the lower, and said hvhadlu9- t« "( Iriffmte" who would certaiidy come again in a inoaUl* .t,tt the fourth year had now arrived. Being laughed , i(\>t very angry, and, n-peating his assertion, drew a , ^fliflin such as they have them on the coach-panda
a, ine
tid bji^
huiM
I. aodH
ban^
o he
and
uxh
ove^l '^'^fl^l
ouOfjH
ercc iece«^^ <npH ■opleH
Uh^
ORtPPONB.
in Ty>mlon. ITr said that wan the shnpc and msnnc-r of the bird whicli he had wen, and that the officer should &ee it oImj. if he wuuM wail for a month in the valley. He knew a vul- turc* he natHt and an eoglo, — and well he inif^ht, for there were thotisands of them in that neigh buurhood, — but they were not like " Grifone."
The invailin^ French army came up so eoon aftpnrardu, that the officer never bow this wonderful oird ; yel he did not the IcM prove in hia own person that the time fur strangL- adven- tures in the valley of^ wrath had not yet possed away. Hi« wound was in the hip, and, as it was still npeii, he was unable to walk much, and used, for want of othet- empluymenl, to
fiasfl many hourit sitting on one nf the natural benches of stone istoning lu the Miund of the fountnin» around him, and either admiring the extreme beauty oi the place, or pondering in his memory the many talcs of love and danf^ which he bad rend in Spanish romances and of which his uell-»tored memory was very tenaciou*. It was moreover his habit so to abittraet his mind on such occasions, that he nctuallv at times believed himself engnm'd in Mich adventures, and was nt-arlv as mud as Don Quixote himself. Indeed everythinf; that coutd excite a young imagination worked in Mk brain. At one moment, intent upon the war then raging, he saw nothing but French grena- diers, with their fiery eyea, large niustachios, and r«I lasselted shacos; at another the beautiful scene before him was tilled with genii and nymphs, .tnd knights and fairies, with whom he loved to converse, while the material world vanished altogether. One day, being deeply immersed in reveries of thin nature, he was startled by a half-siippre«aed laugh, and lix>king up, beheld the arches and o|ienings in the rocks around filleuwith female faces, all lightctl up with «niles, and sparkling eyes, fuch as he h:<d in his waking <lreams given to imagitiarv nymphs. For a moment he thought it an illusion: but (he laugh repeated on all aides convibced him that it was a charming realitVi ind he sprang forward from his seat to lake a nearer view of thew joyous beings of the grottoes. Aliis ! hit wound broke with the exertion, a stream of blooti flowed down his hide, the «udden pain deprived him of power, and he sunk down again ut the foot of the seat he had so Imstily quitted. A cry of fear and pity was immediately raised by tne beings who had thus so strangely and suddetdy ap|K-ar> ed. Olid the next instant he was surrounded by eijfiil ur nine lovely Portuguese girls, from thirteen io seventeen years of age, and, by their ore**, evidently not peasants. Their heads were crowdeil about him ; their long tretwes, ewnpiiig from con- finement, fell upon hi& arms and sboulders; their eager luiads helped him up; their large dark eyes glistened with umri, and Iheir musical voices continually uttered words of condulencu and sorrow, such as, ** Aitttta tritte" — " CoUadinho,*' — "/*oAfr- ;/«Ao,"— " AVrt ferithr—*" Senltor Caikj," — " Caboano* &c.
2 T 3
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GBlFFo^e.
That ia to my, " verr sorry," — " piK>r tliiiifr,'" — " tlt*ar little fvl- low," — "be is woundefir^'SMr. (_'orp<iral," — " ]>i>or little cor- poral."
While thus supported, the officer, who shall he henceforth colled Guillclino, had no desire to a]>(>ear ntronKi-r thsii lie realty wiu, and he Kaiit-d mid m-Hiied with all pt>sMbtu languor U|>ua thnr assisting arms ; but his military pndc wan hurt at beiii^ called a " Huic corpomi^* for he was (all ; and, beinj; at that time unacquainted with Napoleon's cugnouifn, rulher einpho- lically assured the ^rls that lie wai> a explain. 7'hey* linwever* would not believe him, for his wardrobe was but ill furnished, his epaulrtleN werv not un, and his clothes, being the atone he had worn in the action where he received his wound, were fttun«d in various places with blood.
"J./) .' j\h3, nai ! ^0 sta capitao, — Sia cabociiw; — SlaJ^erido* No captain : lie is a little curptiral. Puur little corptiral .' — he is wounded r they all exclaimed at once; and half in earnest, half in froltC) tltey supported biin to his quarters^ which were close by, and then, biudinp adieu to ** Senhor Cabo* citio" they left liitn.
That night the ulTiecr slept little, and when he did sleep lie thought he heurd voices at times re|)eating the words •*Caio, caiMcino,'^ which he vainly endea%-oured to turn into capitao. The next raomiuc ho put on his epaulettes very osteDtatiuualy and r(>paired to his haunt near the fountains, hoping that he- luoked pale and inlercstin^r enough to attract the nymphs again. But none of the wavward ereaiurcs apfH'ared ; and us lie was unable to walk much be got upon bis horse, a little 6ery clie^t- uut barb full of fun and wickedness, and who took a strange delight in running open>niuuthcd after all the ducks, and gwee^ and hens which happened to cross his |}ath. This propensity, it is true, luid been encouraged and fostered by his rider, wlio wa5 et]ually fond of throwing the jerced, that is to say the lonjf cxne uf tlie country, at the screaming feathered bipeds. Bui the horse tuuk tii the sport kindly; and with a sure foot, and bU signs of gladness, would dart at full speed along the narrow winding root-tangled paths of the mountain, suorting, and champing, and turning', and jumping, and prancing, on tJie edge of the most abrupt declivities, in a way that to anybody unuctjuaiuCed with bis temper and agility, would »een) very dangerous.
Mounted on this little fiery animal, the officer felt certain that he should quickly dtseover his fair laughing acquaintances, and had little doubt that he should eaitily persuade bis intel- ligent hor»e to hunt petticoats as eagerly as hens. The tir«t day, however, he failed entirely ; and on his return, a new od- Teiiture cha^etl the reniembrance of the old one cleaii out of his head,— 'for hitherto it had gone no further or deej»er.
When he had dismounted and entered his quarters, he was surprised to find his servant, an eccentric Irishman, sitting
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down in the entrance-room, coverinj^ his face with his hnnds, nnd r|uitc sfleol. After Mfvoral questions as to the caiiH> of this unusual mode of behaviour bod beeo put vithout beincf aDswcreil, the oHicer took him by the shoulder, and demanded rather muchly what he meant. Whereupon Fagan, such was his name, lifting up a countenance ail bruinnl and bloody, said, *'lfyou ehuuse to let the padret murder niej how i:an I an- swer you ?"
"What do you meanT
" Why. I atn hilt by the padres .'"
Now, thcflc padres, as ho called them, And as they shall con- tinue to be called, were three brothers, apparently the masters ufthehiitiw. The eldest was, however, a soi-<iisaiit ca.\Ha\n of militia, and generally wore a larfje old brass-hillvd sword, and n huge cocked hat. The second brother called himself a padre cura, or jiarish priest. The third was a mendicant friar. 'I'hey had Ikx'n all three especially civil and attentive to the officer ; but their li>uks, and some accidental circums lancet, had con- vinced the latter that they were ferwioua, passionate men. He had therefore avoided intercourse with them as much as polite- neT>5 and decorum towards his ho^ts would permit, ana they in return had shown no inclinatinn for greater intimacy.
It appeared that the Sieur Fagan, naving, like his master, a taste lor conversing with nymphs, and not l>eing so fastidious as to require fountains and f^rotloes for accompaniment't, had been paying soft coniplimetits to the kitchen-nuiid, not more, however, than custom, and the rules of the service, — which good soldiers, (and be was a very good one,) never neglect,— de- manded. But the M>ldier\ notions of etiquette did not at all square with that of the padret^ and they had oonsL-(|ucntly faJlen upon Fagan. The captain and the prient held him, while the friar beat his Iwad with a garden-hoe.
When the utiicer hearti this talc of outrage, and saw proofs of part of the accusation in the bruised fice o{ his servant, who was a vury good ft-llow, he became indignant: moreover his temwr was a little crossed by the bad success of hts chaae after the nymjihs, and he had alno b itecrel sym{)Athy with Kogan, upon whom it was evident the beating reallv weighed little in compari^JU of the bad (tgiire he had made in the eyes of the kilchcn-muid. The onirer, 1 say, hiding a rapid traiti of associations under cover uf a just anger, walked abruptly into a parlour where the padres were at dinner, there leaning on the high liack o{ an old oak diair, demanded, in bad I'drhiKUCM", why they hail 111-ukxI bin ner- vanu All three rose, and with that violent gcstieulBtton and vociferation which are uommnn to their uountrvmen, Inrgor ••• justify tlK'mselves; l>ut whether from {msmou or ea;;eriie* their language and manners made the ollicer thiuk ihej to tnaidt him, rather than riinkc amcntU fur their previc rage ; whcrefure be ra»hly menaced them.
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GBIFFONE.
In an instant the utiguvernecl ferocity of their tempers (leveluficd with astounding vioitna;. 'l"he ca{>tain jumped for- ward and seized his great bmss-hilted sword, nrriving vainly to draw forth the rusty blade; the priest swore vehemeutly ; tiic friar, who was on the farthest side t>f tht.* table, snatched up a carving-knife, and rushing round came close in to the cinciT's side, and without a word endeavoured to »tab him. Fortunately the latter had his eye fixe<l u\toi\ the ligcr-lilm nwtiuns of the enemy, and lifting up the oak chair upon which he was leaning, felled the Mvage with a blow ; the crash was great, for Hie old chair tlcw into a ihuuKand pieces, with a, luud crackling noise and much dust ; and the friar swore gal- lantly as he went down.
Tl'ie officer was now in some danger, for be had no weapon, and his wound would not lot him move with the activity tiece:^ sary to avoid the assault of »o many furious vnemtvs : but at that moment tlie indignant Fagan and hiscolleague the batman, the latter a lorgc-handcd long-armed Yorkshiremao, jumped into the n;oni and restored the equilibrium. A brilliant charge against the padrrs took place, and the eldest brother'is sword was beaten out of hiit grasp ; but he got hold uf an uld gun which was hauging upon the wall, and, jiresenting it at the b&tman, drew the trigger. Fortunately it mi»5cd tire; whereupon, exclaiming, ** tSo sta bom,*' — It is not good, — he very deliberately commenced hammering the flint with a key which he took out of his pocket. Before he could readjust his piece, the Yorkshireman knocked him down, and took the gun away. NcvLTthcless the Ixittle still raged, for the mendi- cant friar had recovered him.sclf, and though the Engli»h fought stoutly, according to their wont, the otiicer^s wound and weakness rendered him nearly useless after the first blow ; and the padres, being strong lusty fellows, full of courage* were likely enough to win the day; there was also danger of succour coming io them from without; — in short the prospect was not cheering.
Happily, the village contained few or no male inhabitants ; the whole of the men had been called out on service, either as militia or ordenuncatt or to aid the commissioners in conveying provisions. And fortune, strange to say, being for once more favourable to the army than to the church, brought ut this criticid uiuuietit a. foraging party of soldiers near the house. The screams of women wilhoul, the yells and swearing of men within, together with the clatter uf the tight, soon attracted their attention : and their appearance at once put an end to the battle. The padrct jumped out of the windows, and with surprising agility scaling a garden wall ut ttrast twelve feet high dis- appeared in the woods behind. Nu pursuit took place, and the officer, having first entreated of thcM^reauiiug womai nt the door (ajuoug&t whom, alas \ he could not discern his nymphs,)
UHIPl'ONH.
fi07
lo difpente. as no fartlicr iighti'ug was likely to take place* commenced lucking up hJa baggage, not thinking it either ^fe or decorous to contioue his lodgement in the house after having bealeu the owners.
His preparations were completed, his Ita^age-nuilos brought round to the door, and he was moving off in ofl'ended dignity, when three ladies, the eldest not more than tweaty. none of whom he had ever before seen, suddenly came out of a Hide room and saluted him with formal Portuguese poHlencjis, They nsked if he were hurt or tired, and showed an earneslneas bf manner and an interet^t in his proceedings, fur whieh it puz- zled him to account. The next mstant obcetTing his baggage^ they hoped that he was not going awav. He answered, " Not from the village, only from the house.'^
"And why from the house, smhor?" said the youngest of the three. " Is there anything here that ofl'ends you ?"
'^ Nothing now, certainly ; yet it would not Ik* right to stay in the house of persons with whom I have been 6ghting.''
** But you will not do so: this is my bouse, and you are my deliverer."
" How is tlial, scnhora?"
" No matter Iiow ; but it is so."
** Are you then a relation of tlic men with whimi we have been quarrelling ?"
** No, scnhur, no relation, but their victim. This house is mine, — these ladies are my cousins. We were alone, without protection, when those accursed and false men, taking advantage of the times, came here, got possession of our house, and made us prisoners. You have driven I hem awav, and 1 am grateful, and earnestly desire you to stop here. 'This liouse is yours. It is yours in justice as an English officer wounded in defence of my country, and it is more especially yours as uiy juuticulBr deliverer and the restorer of ray rights.*'
Seeing that the officer smiled rather iricredulouslv, her beau- tiful face f]u<>hed, her eyes sparkled with anger, and she eagerly exclaimed, '^ It is true. I say it, and it is so ! Yes ; this i» my house, and it is yours. Order your baggage back, and do nic the honour to sup with mo this evening. Then 1 will bring some of my neighbours to meet you, who will testify that what 1 say is true."
To refuse <iuch an invitation woa impossible; Don <ii)il- lelino, although he was still incredulous, and thought it unwii>i.- to stop in the bouse, could not for^^o the pleasure of pursuing the adventure. Wherefore, accepting the invitation to the supper, he at the same time declared his residulion to change bit quarters, at least for the pn>sen1 , excusing the ungallaiit decision on the ground of giving the ladies time to arrange their affairs after the flight of the pndres.
" iiut, Svnbor Cspilao,"— fvr, unlike the nymphs of the
tiws, Bhe did not mistake him fur a corporal, " the enemy wiU return if nobody remains to proU'ct ur."
Her »miU> wils enchanting ; but the officer replied with af- fected coldnesK, " No> Mrnbora, — tii>, Bcnhura, be nut alarmed ; 1 will remain in tlic vicinity and do myself the honour of visit- ing yon every day. Yea, yes, be assured you shall be pro- tectcd."
She wa;) not pleased : but Don Guillelmo had still a lurkinj^ suspicion that l)>e wbule affair was a ruse of the padres. And he was reKolved to pmceed cautiotihly. A few hours aftertrardl he was informed that supjier was ready for him, and he waa ready for the supper ; fur having considered that three hand- some young ladicH ini^ht W even more dangerous to meet than three wicked parfr«, he carried with him two very young giib- alterns of his company, who. being quartered at a neighbouring village, had heard of ihc fight with the usurpers, and came juit in time to mix in the advcnfiiic. Thus accompanied, he went to the lady, who received him and his friend vtry cordially and politely. All this was neither very gallant nor romantic : but then Outllelmo was not yet in luve, the story was sutipicious, the affair had begun seriously, and war occupied his thouglitfc at least as much as gallantry. The subtlety and re\*engeful pa*- sions of the Portugue^ were well known to him, and he liad no desire to run the risk 6f being assassinated, or perhaps en- tanglcil in such a manner that n. charge of outrage made si head^juarlers could only be rebutted before a court martial < and, in the least disagreeable of tliCHe supiiuseit cases, the dan- gers and the glories of the coming campaign would have been lost to him.
The sup]H?r was not only well, but elegantly gni up: there was abundance of the wines of the country, and even of chani- {wigne, and olhi-r delicacies which couhl ^urarcely have heco procured in a large town. How these were obtained, or whence tliey came, it was hard to say, but the Portuguese had cu- rious hiding-places. Several very agrei'able women had l>eea invited, aniF tlic ladies of the house, now as cautious and pru- dent as the officer, had also brought the padre cura of the next village, a venerable and good old lively man, to preside over the festi\*ity. The wine moved briskly, the conversation was plea- liant and animated; but the two younger ulGcers, not believing one word that the captain had told them, conclu(le<l all was meant for the display of his bonne fori utie^ and mindful of the intent for wluch they theniselves had come, made love so earnestly to the two cousins, that the venerable padre cura^ although hin)s<>tf innocently gay and debuuu'tr both by nature and from the effect of the wine, frowned once or twice upon them. This was, however, not altogether for decorum's sake. One of the ofTitxTfi had, in the absence of other amwseniunt, diverted him- self the day before, with tlirowing his jcereed at the |uidre*s
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larfjc hat without con»idtrring that the good man's head wai ill it »t the litiiv, ami l)ie ufFnttit was scarcely par<luiied.
The old gentleman's frowns and rebukes, as might he ex- pected, made little impreuion. The gaiety of the society in- cn'as4^» tlu- lights weru brilliant, the air warm and balmy, the doors and windows open, the peasant women outside danced, and the rattling of one ur two |Hiir of castanets disturbed the birdH, who twittered and chir|i<.-il ineefthantly, while the Kurgling of the fountain streams, and the more slow and heavy sound of distant waters tumbling in the abyss below, and mingling with the voices of the company aruurid, formed a strange but pleasing harmony. The moon, nigh and full, shone on tlie lofty iH'aks of snow above the woodetl belt of the moun- tain, and caHl fantastic shadows and flickering fairy lights upon the trees and rocks of the village. Now and then, too, some notes from the guitar of the youngest lady were heard, and altogether the scene appeared to be an enchantment of the an- cient wizard of the vnilcy ; the stately, dark-winged, melan- choly " Grijfone" alone was wanting, to soar over the deep gull*, and to utter his waiting moans and threatening cry.
When the lady had played sereral pretty Portuguese airs, »he liegge<] that one of tne young officers would i^iiig ; and he, vrho&e thoughts were chiefly of war, answered her call with the following camp composition, which he called
THE BIVOUAC.
The chilly dawn, the waning dune,
TUe bill mulv'a mvagi. crjr, TIte sullen bude's blast procUim
Tb« bmit of Aanli u mgli.
Siaiul, Hand 10 snni I
But thick the nixi ii rolling,
Look ool altMig itie lull. And send sooi* men psitrotlins To yonder rum'd milt.
Stand, sund in ams f
Now all the camp ia Mirring,
The day bpglii" lo clwir. Hard, hsid ihe suifarc spumog,
Tlie enemy u am.
Sand, luad lo arms I
1 leo hi* honemen tweeping,
JuM wktf« llw pR-qael siuod ; I aee dw gKy gobu crw|>ii>g
Along uwt oopM of wood.
Stand, atand lo annj f
Bn);hi arc tiu: havoneu gleaming.
Load b lite irumpetV oall, A tounbal'* itir is Iteaming
Difhiml joit coitajju wall.
Sivndj btaiid ia nrnia !
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GUJFFON&.
Ay, now a singft modcci rinf^s,
^wih comet l)ie lii»»iiii; IcjiJ. I SCO iht: silver «agl«'» Miufpi
Above the coluinn tprcad.
SUnd, Ktand to arm* !
The PortugucfM? guwts, with the habitual politeness oftben nation, praised thiB ru^ed performance ; yet to show bov their 6iiur taste was ruffled by such rough tnuMc, they imme* diatcly entreated the youngest lady of the house to scrampuiT Iter guitar with her voice- She appeared at first emharrsMMJ, and ticld down her head as if in dee|) thought, but in a lilUe lime assented, and, taking up heriuslrumont, sung tlie follnwioff impromptu with ttHies of thrilling »twfetness :
Oh I pale is the LusiuEa'*" cbr«fc ; T6a wnmdcr >aa.y not seek With wag U) iCHithr het reKllewi steep ; Her downcast ejc is &x'd lo weep.
The iDviidei** spear sleam'd o'er the ladd^ Ucr brother fell by Blancia'ft branil, lier (klher divd in K*uni's lij^tii. Her mothcT fled to the aajcli bhgliu AimI liic LusiuoK liv«d a thrall To the robber priest withio bei boll.
Ob ! [nle U the I.AnlaIia*s cheek ;
The serenader nav not t««li
With wDg to soouie her restltn ilecp ;
Her downcast ejrc Ji lU'd to weep.
The lady ceased for a moment, and then, casting a glance at Ouillelniu, continued her song, but with a more hur- ried strain uf initsic.
Dut, lo I the Er))(Ush waniors caow, WitL hearts of pride ud tjtt of flu On Coa's hanks ihdr ihouu aroM, By C(w's stream llii-y slew oar foea. Thai light huth wtti aveu^ed our datd, And now the robber priest has fled ; Tlif Lusitufiiao girl can jmiV, Uer sadnrss now she may beguile. Gone is the palcoena frura hf r chouk. The Mranode she lovo to seek ; Gone is the LusitaSa'i jmin, If the English strui^r will remain.
As the last words trembled on her lips, the lady's eyes met Ouillelmo's; but apparently disappointed at their ex- pi-essioD, she turned her head away, and, touching a few low QotiS) changed her niea.sure, and sung the following lines :
Thb is the valley of wrath and wrrow, Hrre no pleitsurea await the morrow; Cnflbnp, Gnffone wu% on high, Aod gneralteods bis moomrul cty.
• M|f B tkM narkad fa Ucald.
. A MM* Htm M OaoanJ Latwai by th« PonocuMB aiuaU7 peopb.
TUU WINDSOR BALL OP THS LATEST FA8U10N.
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When th« EAlryllu'o siiowy li«ighl. Seen by ibe umpnt's SlTul U^l, Seem) lo Uii^h witU drtTiidfiil glee Ainidu the stormy miDhirelsy, WhiW down iu udvt, irilh foain nnil ipny, The mad'ning torrma leap tnd play, Then GnfToDe lo*CB to roBin Rflund ibe ihundn-sh&ken done. Ills vridpHpreid wingi «p]>nr lo *leep, As slo-wly u'er tbe ubysi t)iey svrvepa But his vye ■) tcurrliing lli« gulf baow, When (tides in secret bis lerpeni km. The mtard iiuki^ whoae ratal powtr Itcndend vain the lofty tower, AniJ in that hour, so sad and wild, FulflU'd the spelt, and *l«w the child. This it the valley of pain and sorrow; Here no pl«uurci await t]» noirow.
THE WINDSOR BALL OP THE LATEST FASHION.
Wbkk this a i'Bshioiiable periodical, readen would of co-one ex~ p€Ct itiHt iiur boll was a roiirt-ball, something in honour of the (ju(!eii V'icluria, ur ofthv birliiJay of any guy and (lallaiU aristocrat ju8l entering ujion thi* Ikrce of life ; but, as uur aims arc of higher Right, we beg leave to intimate that the present paper is of n nub- lime, philosophical, and moral character. Ait a picture of maniierA it is, no doubt, unique ; and our uiily hope is that it will be found to be worlhtf of the age.
It is impouible that anybod}> can have forgotten Che announce- ment in the newspapers that there dwelt in one house, situated Jn the New Head, Windsor, a party, consisting of two females and two niatea, whoMe uniteil ag«« amounted to two hundred and niiirty-two years ; and that tliey were about to give their friends «ii entertain- ment upon the occasion ,^-4 he occasion of their aggregate beatinv the grand climacteric by ten yearn. Of that entertainment, of which, lltnBgfi to say ! no mention has ever hten made in the Morning Poit, Court Journal, Morning Adofrtuer, or United Service Gauite, we are the historians.
Cordfl having been i^viued in due form to all the alti friends of the partiM in the ncighboitrhoo<l, and even so far off an London ; the
Jirincifiol rtiom — lluit c»ll(>d the Methusalera chamber — wns ta^te- uliy fitted up with evergreens as a ball-room. The time-piece over the mantel was stopped, so that there might he no hint or sound to hurry people awav at hours too early for the tini^ed riles of ho«pi- taUty : and two beRUtiful plaster hgures, bought fVom n passing Italian urtist, were disposed at each end of the saloon, supporting candelabra in the most graceful manner, The first was a Cupid, d»> conited by the fair hoiKls of the two ladies with a girdle of fig-IenvM, formed of green silk, and fVinged with a lighter shade of primroa« trimming; the other a Terpsichore, about whom was moat fanci- fully arranged by the two gentletnen a highland kilt, at once em- bleraatioU of-her modesty and dancing propensities.
Thus was the scene prepared by these etdertv nfrmnnm: and, though the young imil giddy may laugh at their do *«
bnt little diflerciice between the follies of srvmty ai
6If
THE WIKDSOa BALL
as a fine old writer layetfa of tlie world, common to us all, " What is all t)u9 worldc ? It is nought else but a stage, where vxery one acts hta jwrt, and then makes iin eternid retreate witlioutcn returne. Ileuvfn')! eiK'IoiettrrcHi ^Kiwers broken doune, and they *ee »]| the dulll'ul traf>e4li«8 of unrecAlteiL time, and niarke the unitpe^tkable wickednc&He of mankind. How many follies are acted upon tlie Mage ! For the moste parte plays the bnfibon, and ill their life is but a pleaMnt comedy ; imd with the Kthnick they crye note- ' JCiif, hihf, dormr : patl mtnrUm uiiUti txJuptan. 13ut when all men have acted their parte on this univeriwl stage, then comes all-Commanding dcith, and swiftly erycs to every one, *Awayel gettc you ffone! your parte is played !' So, with his imperiali dart he streakeot alt ktndes of creatures withoiiicn respectc, and then with his ruthleaa hand he draweth the dorke curtaiyne of the grave over the pale body of mankinde."
Sensible of the truth ofthia writing of the moral and snTnetrhat lachrymose Orahame, the inmates of New Road ctiuld not hut feel that their time to eat, drink, and sleep oti^ht to suffer no po&tpone* ment, and :iouth to say, the majority of their invited friends were much in tlie Aiime predicament ; and tlie belief that there were no jMut murtem pleH^iureR, was with them n strong inducement to seise tJie present (ia})py moment for gaiety and enjoyment.
The company was select- Belonging to tlie navy there were a yellow admiral, a commodon; with only une wooden leg, and a re* tired capUiin, a shy and baabful junior of sixty-four. The army fur« nished a more ninnerous quoUi of Major and tiricadier Geueral^ Lieutenant-Colonel* and AI.ijor», on half-jiay for the last thirty years, since before the Peniiisular war and Waterloo. A superannuated ek-rk or two, who had Irelonged to public oftices, and \et\ on good allow- ances, an ancient physician, and a variety of other perHnuges of the male sex, made up thnt divisiun of the party. Of the fair were widows with excellent jtiiiitiireii~l>i(!;hly-iti»urcd life annuitants— a clanji who, it ii» well known, never die. The former wore i>encra)ly flaxen wigs, and looked as much us possible in their prime: the latter had darker ringleta, and. though of the eame standing, npjKared rather older. There were maiden-aunts, whose grand-nieces were beginning to think of the c^nveniency of husbands, and in sliort, connidering the iiumlierK present, there were as much false hair, aa many false teeth, as many points derived frovn the mantua and dress- maker, as many deceitful busts and bustles, (not to mention the Ciilves on the genttemcu's side,) as could be found in any three rooms of equal si«e within her mujeirty's dominions. But dresji nut being a theme with which we nre intimately acquainted, we shall agwn take leave to borrow the opinions of the quaint and worthy au- thor already quoted, which may l>e read with benefit by tbe be-whi>« kered dandies, ohi or young, of the present.
"A man is to be commendcd^if he be cleanly, and chieHy in his linens ; his hairc f i. a if he have anv, and of which few of this com* panv had anv large assortment] — fiis hairc well drwacd, his beard wetf-brui<he(l, nnd always fais upper Hp well curled with a fretaJo ujuifarl, aa if every haire would ihreftten to pull out hia eyes ; for if he chance to kisse a geiillewoman, some rebellious haim may hoppeu to st;irtlc in her nose, and make her t>neexe, to by this nieaiics he applicK both phyHic and courtcsie at one time. Then he may freely say ' God bless you, lady :' receiving buck ihc chirping eclio of > I
I
I I
OP THB LATEST FASHION.
613
thanks yon, sir.' " How kind and cordial were these ancient mannen ; uf wliit'li the Uit-'st remains were witnL-ssed at our Windsor Ball 1 1
Aa our sketch tnuttt of nece»»ity ndopt a desultory forni, we shall merely state that as the company iirrived, and \efi hats, rlnnkn, sbawU, and f^oluahea in the lithhy, the extra waiter hire«l for the oc. cusion, wittily remarked to ^Inrtha the churwtJinan ditto, tliat she Jieed nut uiru- wIktc or huw she dispuKcd of these articles. a» they were all old enuuch tu take care of themselves; which jest being quite new at Windsor, gave Murtha a fit of laushter and couahing.
Tea and coffee were handed round, and tne most beauish and gallant of the visitors had opportunities to display their several ac- complishments and qualifieations. Nothing, it is true, can be more absurd than a coxcomb beyond youthfiJ years, who fancies that he is not only acce|ilable, but a conqueror and heart-breaker arafmg girla in their teens, and acta accordingly ; but it is not quite «o ridi- culous when your girU are nexagenarians ; and. sAcr all, the man who really love;*, does not leave off, cither naturally or of necessity, its glow- ing colours, warm feelings, and romance, at fiAy or at sixty either.
But to our grunps: hi one corner you might see Doctor Pulse gravely chatting; with the Widow Tancred. whobe weeds were itot six mondiH old. nor heri«e1f much above half a century ; in another, reclining un a &ufa, the Keverend Hector of Slow, and the fair Lady Rougemuiit, one of the wealtliJest of the annuitants alluded to ; and in a third, with Jiis timber-toe furcinost, " the gouty old commo- dore "entertaining R circle nitli his seii-jokes and allies. Let us overhear their converstation.
Wiiiuw Tanciikd.* — " Itly eyes are sadly ill, doctor ; horribly ill, aince my cruel Joss. I have hardly ceased from weeping ; ami, in- deed, aufler so much that 1 am sure I could not describe all my dia* vrdcTS to you. No appetite; no sle«.^p, doctor."
Dit.Pui.aB (touching her wrist-) — "VourpuUe is notbad, however.
Widow T. — " AIm ! alas! perhapci it is g«M«d. It is much nj^t- tated when I speak uf tliis aubject. Since I had the niiAfurtune to lose my beloved huhband my health has gradually declined. Nor is it to be wondered at ; my life is so changed, so altered I He was younger than me, my dear George was, and we were so fond of each other. 1 must confess that he was much given to cmitradict nie, and put himself into fitt of passion about Blmo.it everything. But our daily quorreU were soon made up, for his heart was ao good ! and h» was sometimes so tender ! Oh, I shall never, never ae« him more I Since the hour of his death my health has been altogether deranged. I am devoured by sorrow and euriui. 1 have no relii^li fur any- thing on earth. 1 fear 1 never shall be what 1 was again. What TODld you advise?"
Dr. P.~-" Dear madam, do not distress yourself. Yourcumplnints are not incurable. Solitude is not proper for you. Vou might to make an eflurt, and not think of Hying from the world and social pleasures. Why, even marrying again (added the doctor sigui^ cantly, for he wux m wi«lower) would b« preferable to suffering id this manner."
" Mbh. T. — " It is strange ; but, do you know, I liave really been thinkins of that myself."
Dh. p. — •■ And perfectly right."
Mia. T^— " In sliurt, my esteemed friend, the tat
* Caadoar abtigrc us to uv that ws tktnk vr tiarr niAan t/t ^laktipie tttmy Mane Krcncb anthor, but wha we fargrt.
61-1-
THE WINDSOR BALL
but my limi; widowhood (fix months!) has ruined my hrnltb. hmvi' )a«t my rmhonpoinf. and become quite thin. I wiiin to rrgWI little of my former iippe»riuicr. A tliin widow ! Ym eomnnbnl ' me, doctor! I don't like to have the luolts ofa sick and ainiigptt* ton. I detnre only tu recover some of n>y former freshotPM ad pWrnpncfl^ There is surely something wronjt in my system?"
I>ii. P. (with rympUnnt of irritation). — "Yes — ye*. ma*am, tbot is evident w(»knns about yoa ; but, if you seek r^ular ndricc, I »m ready tu iiOord it."
Mrs. T.— " And do you think you could make me quite well?" Dh. p.— "No doubt iif it."
3iK9. T. — "And the re«imm, doctor* and the regimen ?" Dk. p. — " Good nourishing food, ma*Rro. Stnall !«ii])per-ptrt>eL Lenve nflf Mghing ; it occa^ons pains in the breast. You mmtt oAm your mind upon the affair you mention ; and, to prevent agitatioa. It Would he quite as well to brinf; it to a speedy conclusion."
Mr8. T. — " Oh, sir ! I nm infinitely indebted to you. I wooU not hurry such a matter for the univeree ; but now t)iHt you think it so essential to my health, I may tell you, between ourselves and the pait, that it tannut take place till tlie week after next !"
And what is the rector descanting on so oratorically ? By Jupiter, the subject is love ! and his reverence is more eloquent thui ever be was in the pulpit, though he is n celebrated preacher. Uenrken how- he disMTtates like a necond Coleridge. "\t^y should wc not rr'tjir everj- rational and innocent happiDcnin our power? Why let our pl)>»surr!i glide wway like the i^aiias in the hour-gburi, softly, imperceptibly, ^aiti after grain, till nil are gtmr. and Dtdy a v;icuuni is there? In life, dear Lady Koagcrooni, we €»nuDt turn up the jjIum." A gentle *igh from the lady.
"And what is tliere in life to be compared with those dellc^htt vrhich are shared with lovely and faithful woman ? I, a divine, fl|>cak from a volume of pure divinity. Woman is the chierorrre^ tion. ' AfUm,' Heale tells us in hi<t Anatnmie, ■ Adam waa mould out of ihediisty clay of the earth. Eve was formed of the piirifi' body of man. Neither was she made oat of the lowest piarts, that fo »he might seem his inferior ; nor out of the higtwst, that therein she might challenge superiority ; but out of tlic middle of bis body, of a rib of his side, that thereby hhe might appear hin etpial, and be taken fur his fellow-helper. Of a rib also of his left i^ide, w here the heart as in his privy cliamber reateth itself, and wliich the ano of his beloved darling naturally embraceth. Adutn lost, as fur as we read, but a bare bone: he received it again branched into maor bones, bi'wrapped up in tender flesh, twisted on curious ji>intB, fujl of lively spirits, flowing with varm blootl, characterised 'M-ith nsure veins, lu proportiuu absolute, beautiful in colour, lovely to l>e Keen, lovely to be talked withal, like in all things.' " No Hamlet that ever graced the sUge, delivered the famous soliloquy on the perfectiam of man in so touching a toiM, sod so impreuive a manner, as tile rector poured this his borrowed eulogy on woman into the lady's listeninK ear. Again and a^in she sighed, and he went on most tenteutiously to finish his quotation.
" ' For nn a jirinceits preparing to comc into her imptTial rit hath her hnrbin^ern sent before, lier hou^c jidorned, her court pLenished. her attendants ready, and all things for her entertainni' prepju-cd; so it wax convenient that before the queen of the
ie^B
OP THB LATBST FASHION.
615
WW crentpd, t^e world fthoiilil first be perfircted ; pAmiHse, the m<v troiMiIitJin fity of her rewilence. be finished, ami all thin|*« eUe reaily-lumislieil to her hands.* The rectory of Slow," continued the revL-rviid yvtititnuiti, " its bcjiutifully situated ; no villa nn the Thanm can surpass it ; the (rrounui arr ein-ctly laid nut; and its occupier, aiasl is alone. Were it the purathM.' dcHcribud, it could be no paradise to him. For him Sleraory, like a chemist, extracts poifton frotn the faireat flower*," — Here a very handsome cambric nandkrrchiff ^tiflrd i\vt Mpe-iker's voice, but did not impe<]e hi« hearinj;. whil^ hin ear ws8 gratified by the dccpurt suspirstiOTl that hi* fair auditor yet had uttered.
" Never married, never trill !" exclaimed the nM Commodore, "for what is marriage but an agreement between a man and a wo- man to make each other tired of each other > I have always aeen it so ; and I believe it always is so — I do."
" Vmi 've seen a great deal in your time, Commodore ?"
" Whv. yes ; I guesf 1 have. A much more than twenty doxen of your land-1 libber* who have spent their lives asleep aabore. Yet I uevcr could tell a right and fit ynrn of what I 've witnessed' Do ye know, 1 aniofopinioQ tiiaCu fellow may have seen and known too much of the world and of life to be able to describe it well. At leaat that seems to be my c:xw. Seems to me as if all I could re- member of past years was, that they were made for nothing else V>ut, as the Mounseers wiy, ' ywnr patxrr /r Irmpt' "
" Then yuu have had few troubles, CuinTniHloref"
" Few troubles ? By jingo ! I 've had my xhare. Iliit, wlwt then ? If life be a sea o| troublet, is not Hope a cork-jacket to ke«p one up above the waves i and I never was tne chap to be choked by a trifle of spray."
"Ilravo!"
" No. no, my boya ! I enjoyed what was good. I saw people •crape cash together, clnp it into the funds, and draw their dividends quarterly. Uut I invested my pay and priEe-money in turtle, and venison, and wine, and something eUe perhaps; and get my divi- dends pretty regularly through my toe, for the gout often makes this fellow, kicking hia flesh and wooden leg together, "just na shc^r a hulk as this other. Every man to his mind. I wy :"
■Sue)) were tlie colluipiicd ut tliis ancient festival ; while some plajed at cards, bttDd-bookey, ttc. ftc. ami at last the dance was wojpoaed, and led off by the Coniniodnre in despite of his limba. There were no quadrilles nor flirUtionH, though flirutiona, it moat be acknowledged, were carried on under other auspices, — no wattxeat no gallopps, A minuet or two were ujilkrd, and a country danre or two were done- Li(|ueurs, compounded of Old Tom, wrre hand- ed round in profuoion ; and after supper, when the djiiicing was rosumtxl, the intrth and fun grew fast and furious, and all was life and jollity.
At this, the very witching time of night, a scent of sickening odour suddenly invaded the room, and a pale blue flickering lu(ht glimmered at every aperture. The donr wn> thrown open witb a crash, and a hideous ngure presented itself to every terrified eye. It is almoat impossible to paint the monster. It was an Imp about thrae feet in height. The feet were large enmigh for n giant, h ously splayed, and peaked up in front, with Inng clay-e poinu. The lumU rescntblc^l the talons uf a vulture. On t
616 THE WINDSOR DALL OP THE LATEST FASHION.
was ■ hunch, which, if titles were given in prupurtiuQ to «di tub«ranci», would liavc made the bearer a dtikc rutber thmn « MM lord. The filthy abdotucii hutig down oIukmC to its kne«fl, pwmchf and difigUBttug. The knce« met in overlnpping closeness^ and, whs tUe creature walked, knocked one against the othrr. TSr ttm were of PictisK and unhuinan length, TUe head was of the tiK if H kettle-<lruni, and much of that shape, the face being- <m ihe cnnwt side. And such a vi»ag« undn* the matted hair.' C^ulaveroui inil unearthly — no French pawport could (ic«crib<^ it. fhe erej wm raw Hn<t j^lcaming; the noie u broken ace of clubs; the laaatk wide, cavernous, and giet with three or four black stumps of treth; the ear» so long that they flapped the cheeks, — altogecher so obotm- luble a wretch never entered to shock a polite assembly. Bat it was not its appearance alone that appalled the guesta lu it advanced into the centre of the apartment. The bad be^an, yet worse re- mained behind, for on it«i hark becoming perceptible, horror lOK o» horror, as the affrighted guests read in letters uf flames «f la^ as on puff placard, ihe terrible name of " Influbnza."
To paint the dread and contusion that ensued i» iniposflblr. Every heart wax otruck with the idea of late hours and convequeat maladies ; of infection, of diceaw, and of death. They stood net upon the order of their going, but fled as if pursued by the ft fiend, whilst the demon itself grinned ghastly on tbc disorder had created.
The Commodore broke his leg (the wnnden one) in the hiirrj' his Htght, and the doctor had tn bring Mrt*. Tancred out of* fai ing fit in his arms. The Rector of Slow, in escorting lady Rou^ mont home, delivered a iiiiigiiificent appltcilion to the aubject fn St. Chrysostom, and the elTect whh nucIi, that the lady cotiM-tit with a <igh, to Console tlte solitude of the Iwautiful rectory. T they may not be lost to mankind or womankind either, wc re-peat tba worthy clergyman'* rofleciioDS. " Why, if we are to die," said his reverence, " 19 not death the end of all? How finely is it written by one of the greatest of our .saints,' Sweete is the end of the hibouriT when he shall restefrnm his lahour<>. The wearied Lravcller longeth for his night's lodgings, and the stnrme.hcHti-n Khip t^ckcth up fi shore; the hireling oiV questioncth when his yeares will finish «n_ come out ; the woman grete with child will often mu8c and siudie upon her delivery (a short sigh from the lady listener) ; and he that perfitly knoweth that tiia life is but a way to death, will, with the poore prisoner, sit in the doore threshold, and expect wbun jaylor shall open,*"
VVith this It i« fit that we thould close ; and it is only needful expound the mystery of ibis vile apparition. He was the creature of certain Wag* of Windjor, who, bearing of tlw entertainment in ciue«tion, resolved to hs%'e a lark at midnight. For this purpose tney got a dcfonncd dwarf, and perked him out in tlic way we an descriibed, precetled by smells from the druggist's shop, an<t Companied by blue fires from the rhemist's. lie enacted his to perfection ; and it ix the sole pleasure we have to record, that very bad conseqnence-s resulted from the impudent frolic. The four ancients of tlic New Koad still reside in harmnny together. an(t i what if the cuuid was overthrown and broken to pieces; cannd^H they get a new love, of plaster. Car the enduring gratification of a^^l placid and doniertic a quartette, whose united age» have now reached to Imv hundred und ninriy-cig/ii i/eort ! Tbutiia,
617 A CHAPTER OS CLOWNS,
ANU Burn LIKK COmaALITlKS.
nv iriLLiAM J. moMn.
Wb must leavp tlie subject o( iloniMtic (otA-i And jtitcr^ for fu- ture coii^iderutiuii, nnd confiDL' our^^lvvii, in the t'ultuwiii^ brief |>a|>cr, entirel}r to the clowns of the mcKlerii pHntoniimes, which peculiar specii» of cntertaiiimotit, he it ubMjrveu in paHHitig, is sunptwed by a learned unttquary to be derived frum the old dumb aliuns IVir- merly o\hibilvd al furs and iiiux, iu which tlie fuol was ^nernlly enf^ged. ill a struggle with Death, aud which it diitinctly alluded to by Shakspeare in bis " ^leiuure for Measure."*
To trace the gradual transrormation of this dumb chow into ilic splendid pageants now annually provided for the amusement of cnihhen of all ages by the metrojiolitaii theatres would be a matter ol'UboriouM research, while the results would probably be far rn>m aadsfactory. " Vou nhall iteek all day ere ynu find it, nnd wlu-ti you have it, it is not worth your acarclt." .The character of Harlef|uiii alone haa formed matter for weighty didcuAsiona among theatrical historiana; and so ^-aricil have been the proposed derivations of hi« name, a to juatify to the fullest the antirist, who describtid etymolo- gy a.<( erudUiu ad libitum.
The Kngii.^h stage ii undoubtedly indebted to the Italian for Harlequin, as Italy is again to the lively Xeapolitant, among whom the majority of what are styled pantomimic character* have astii- redly lind their ri<)e. The Harlequin of the Italian Mage does not, however, brjir any very Htroiiff rescmblaiire to the agile and parti- colmired gentleman who figures in our Christmas drolleries as tlie a«*iduou8 lover of the gvittle Cohimbine, and the untiring lur- mentor of tlie Clown. In Italy he is at the preM>nt redolent of satire, full of snurtive raillery, and jocow in the extreme. What be was formerly, let Addison describe.
" Harlequin's [>art is made up of blunderi and absanlities: he U to mistake one name for onuther, to forget his erratids, tu stumble over queens, and to run his head against every puat Uiat coine» iu his way. This ih nil attended witli something so cotuicul in the voice and gesture*, ttiat a man who is •enaihic of the lolly of the part can hiirdly forbear to be pleased witli it."
Dominico, whose wittieiims huve been collected into a volume, under the title of " Arlequiniana," was one of tlie earlicrt nnd moit celebrated performers of this periiliar rJiararter. Dnminico was a great favaoritc of Louis the yourlecntli, and obtained by a welU cimed juke permisMon for tlie lulian cumjiany tu perfurm tVeoch playv in Puris. He it wa« wliu, goiiii^ to itoe that nioniirch at supper, fixeil his eyes so intcntlv on a diih of parlriilgci, that Loiii*, who was very (and of hiti acting, said to one of his atten<lants, " (jivc
mrrvlv, tbmi wt Dratk't /o<il ,
Var hlin ilim tiuoiir'st Inr ihy (lifclit lu ilttin, Atid jrn mn'rt towanl him iilU."
9tttu<tnr /or Meiumtt, MX 3, »£•
(iis
A CHAPTER ON CLOWNS.
that difth to Dominico." — " And the |iJ»rtT)fI|(c<i too, sire ?" wm Uw shrewd inquiry of the Hnrloqiiin. Louis, p^-nftrating his art, mii, " And the partridges too." T/ir iiish tras gtUd.
Thotnassin was nnother disdnf^iiinhetl jH'rrdrinn* in this line;, Bal the grealesc pprhiqi!'. that ever exihletl was Rertinnxxt, genenOj called Carlin, or C'arliiio. CnrliiH) uirv iierhapH be known to somt of our readers, by Home 8up])(>sitiliotii! letters w Iiich bnve been pub- lifilied, purportiug lo have bet'ii ii)terclwiip«l bevwccn this actor and Pope (iati^atielli. lie was il native of Turin, and Che ton vt u officer in the Sardinian service. lie originally followed the profit sion of his father, on whose death, however, he devoted himself fo the dramn. The Ilarletiuin of the HoIo^ha company havini; «u< deiily tiiken his dejMirlure, to avoid the iiiipfirtunity o(* hi» credi Bertinaxxi, to relieve the manager"!! embrtrra>nitient, undertook character nnhesitatinf^ly, and this vrith so mueh yrnccen^, t owing to his mask and costume, it wai some days before the pn suspected the change. In 1"41, he vifnted Paris as the ancce^sof Thotnassin, whose 1o«8 the Parisians most deeply resetted ; though he ruine before them with great di».idvaiitnge9, Carlino, such wn* the name he now adopted, inirtimtlv commanded tl.__ ndmiratinn. From diis time forui, for a penod of nearly fcnty years, during winch he not only enacted Arlfquin, Inil wrote vm witty arlcquinades in which lo ucT, he enjoyed the iiiiflimini-ihGa favour of the good people of Pari i^. He was a man ofjrreat probity. and so universally esteemed birth for his professional talents and private virtues, that it u Miid the whole city were iinaiiiuiuus as to the truth of two lines in his epitaph, —
" Toute sa TIC il a fail rire; II il (Utt plpurer a, si mtirt."*
There is, vrc believe, no decided evidence as to the exact time when panlomime:* wore firM introduced upon the Englinh stage; but the thcitre in Lincoln'ti Inn Fields has been supposed entiti to the exchisive hnnnur of firrt bringing them forward. The tpiinades which tlie manager prndiicrd there in 1723 wein to Iwcn so successful UH to have cscitwl the envy of his brethren of Drury Lane, who endeavoured cither to ridicule or erlipse
K.-rfiirmiinces bv tlie introduction of a piece culled Blind Mi ufF, ^tipporteci by tUc ^frcaka of ri^kl AatUquins. The WeeL., .Journal, speaking of it, sfiyft, " The thing was so ridiculous, there was no music to be heard but hissing."
In n pantomiinic performance founded on the old atory of Dr. Faiistiis, written by Monsieur Thurmond, with music by the cele- brated Galliard, protluced at Lincoln's Inn theatre iu the JOeceniber of thi» same year, and which waa so aiiccexful, that on the first night of its performance the receipts of the hou>e amounted to twf hundred and sixty pounds, " Punch, Scjiromouch, and Pierro enUr in scholars* gowns and caps;" but though the publications of the doy take repeated notice of it, and dt-t-m the piece so wonderful a* to deserve a full account of the plot, no mention is made of IJar. lemiin.
In a rapid but clever sketch of the sute of theatrical atnuMUMlit
between the years J 700 and 17(^, communicated to the London Cbfo-
• Kncf/i-lf/M'^w Oei Cent du Mimdt, Toneiv.
nr
»i«ge;
ntitlM^
haiM
3 h4^^^
hren
A CUAPTBR ON CLOWSS.
619
nicle, vol. XV, by a writer BigniiiK biinsi'IfTiiL-atricus,* we ar« lold, — " Pantomime first tLtwiietl in ttie war ITC^ ul Drurv Lmi'. in an entertainment callwl Tfif Tavern iiUktrt. It died Ine fillli night It wa4 invciitt-d by Weaver, a (lancing master at Hhrewcburvi who, IVoni the ei)cmirHKi''nent of the nobility, invented a secontf, called The Aorcr <if Mart and Vtaus, pertoriued itt the Knxnv tlieatre in tli* year I7l<>, with va.t succt*»>» ; which tjcciwiont-d Sir Rich-ird Steele to write the lullow-ing line* on the back ul* one of* the pUy<t>ilU at Button's CoSeehousc, —
' Weaver, cormplor of lliis pre*piit aje, Wlio tint Uugnt silot «ni U)k)ii tlie staje.*
It waB about this time that the taate of the town became vitiatril. One remarkable instance 1 cannot forget. In January I'JXTtVSOM dancers arrived from Prance, and with them one Swurtz, a Germin. This iiiiui brought over two dogs, wlium he had taught to dance the louvre and minuet. TJwy were immediately cnf^nf^ciX by lltch at ten pounds |>er night, and brought a1>ovc twenty ^ood hoiutes, when the Othello of Booth, the Witdair of Wilks, and the Foppinj^uu of Cibbcr wi*rc neglected, and did not bring charges."
The popularity of these performances aeemt to have outlived tlie {latience of the admirers of the legitimiite dramn ; and ttie result was a riot in the yeiir i'iA^, in which the philotumhrr of Strawberry Hill Hccidenially fissured as a ringleatlcr, who tclU the Ktory in hil own odmimltle and lively «ttylc in a letter to Jloracc Mann.
" It cust^ uie nothing, so 1 sliall write on and tell you au adven- ture of my own. The town has Iteeii trying all the winter to beat pantomimes off the atagc very boisterously, fur it is the way here to make even an nfi'air oi taute and senne a mauer of riot and arms. Fleetwood, the master of Drury Lane, lias omitted nothing to nip. port them, as they supported his house. About ten days ago be wl into the pit great numbers of bear-garden bntUtrs (that is the term) to knock down everybody that hissed. The pit nillied their furcei and drove them out; I was sitting very quietly in the sidtsboxes, contemptatiiig all this. On a sudden the curtain Hew up and diccovered the whole stage filled with blackguardH armed with bludgeons and clubs to menace the audience. Thitt raiued the greatest uproar, and amongst the rest, who flew intoapaision but your friend the philoso|iher ? In short, one of the acton, advancing to the front of the stage, to make an ap^Oogy for the manager ; he had scarce b^^un to My, ' Mr. FieetwcKxl — ' when your friend, with a moet audible voice and dignity of anger, called out, ' He ii* an im- pudent rascal !' The whole pit husxaed and repeated the words ; only think of my being a popular orator! UuL what waa still better, while my shadow of a pereon waa diluting to the consistence of a hero, one of the chief ritigteaderis uf tlie riot, coining under the box where I sat, and puUing otT hi» hat, said, ' Mr. H'alpole, what would you please to have ui« do next?' It is impossible to de»<.Tihe to you the confusion into which this apostrophe threw me. I »ank down into the box, and have never oince venturetl to set my foot into the playhouse. The m-xt night the upronr was repeated with grciiler violence, and nutliing was heard but voices calling out, ' Where's Mr. Wal|>ule? where 'a Mr. Walpole^' In than, the wbol* lov—
* Makutm'a " Aauc^atas at London in the KiKkumili Ccnlury, niL U. r- 1
6SiO
hu been entertained wit)i tuy prowcva, and Mr. Conway ha* giwi tnc the name of Wnt Tyler." •
But, hc'iiih prento! novr for the Cirtwn, nnd be is KketchrH Jnifc* words by the pencil of* niMler, " roimd-faced, BrtRiiti-.eyed, knock* kneed, but Ajiilr to a degree nf the dislocntcd, with « RT^^t *ni«<r rrom his mouth, and ■ can on his hc«d, half fool's, and half cuukV No one ncfd «»k from whose hand the picture is. There t* Leigft j Hunt in every touch. Nor whn sat for the likcii<>s<i, for there ii . Joe Griraftldi in evcr^' feature. Before, however, diiu;our§ing upcn how pregnant -with humour wltc thoge features, we must, aa »e have paid harlequin the rumplimeiit of inquiring incn his family historVt do the Jiame by liis merrier plavmaxe. And this., loo. if for
no other reason, at least for that which induced Lurd 'e fat-
dener to put hie unufiendinj;; eon into the stocks by the side of the boy whom he caught pilfering apples, " jurt, ye see, for the »ake o unlfurmity !"
But this snme family history is as intricate, IT not as dry. ai t Peerage case in the House of Lords. The Clown of the present diy ia indubitably descended from one common »tock, the Vice of the earlier drama, with Mr. Punch, whose history haa been collectetl wU^ great indmttry »nd ability by ^Ir. Payne Collier, and ill uatr4tr<l hy^^l magic graver of George Cruiksliank. Indeed, so lately as theyrar I80l^^ the character of Punch was subnitnted for that of the Clown in the |iantomimc of " Harleantn Amulet, or the Alagie of Alona." 7*bosc too, who had the gvor) fortune to witneiis Maiturier's admirable per- foromnce nf Punch at Covcnt Garden Theatre, some few years since, will see the truth of this pruiwutiuti.
Again, our clown can undoubtedly rail cousins with Scaramouche, a character invented by Tibcrio Finrilli, whose extraordinary abi> litiea ni.iy lie judged of from one couplet uf the verses sulMcribed beneath hia portrait:
** II fill le mnilrc de Moltcre, El h nature fui le siea.'*
4
Lbaii^^
His life published by Constantini, who himself invented the eh»- racter of Mer«etin, and was ennobletl for his tnleiits by tlic Kinjf of Poland, is a curious little volume, to which further reference wfll miide upon some future occasion.
The more immediate relative, however, of the modem clown, the Pierrot, a character now very rarely introduced u|ion the Pierrot, who was in the Italian pantomimes nothing more thai simple-minded servant, had hi,* intellects ao sharpened upon the Frencli stage, us tu rival in wit, mischief, and malice the other heroes uf harloquinade. Pierrot still figures occasionallv Ul maiiqiicrade scenes, where he may be caaily recognised by his flow- iog white dre»», and the extreme length of hiii Klcevei-. A Pierrot was very properly produced in that scene of the little piece Mitillpri
* The reader wlm woM wish for farUisr iiiranaadoa on tlia (Mnoaaiinkal fhttxacttn, is reTcrred to the clmpier so entitled in D*lu«eU'« CurioaitisB nf U- teniure, when lie will find ahuDdaim of maUriab miUkumI upon dir subJsA. Hm Mr. U'If.ra«li n<n-er M«ri Mr. t>>llier'> otnerrBiioas on die npte de htft Mm tUrit, rivvn hy Pantu])^ to Tiihoullct. (ses I'liurh aod ivAy, pa^ IS,) that ■• 4tlbi'r nUiiiimi li miHle lo ihe " lit;tii sunnl of liArloijina, which IimI Itithcrla Iwiflid hi» mmi |>,iiiirul rrM-Hiflipg, " than thkt Mr. t.'brk« had diftrarircd it ammigkt die dark uiVMiinin of Ani;i«nl MviJiuIn^' }
4
X niAPTKH
'NS.
621
" Onp hour, or the Carnival Ball," in which Charles Aliithewi daiic*»i tlic TfirMitt'llii «» cleverly ; and nnnther xUmdeil a» Ciown at an exhibition of ropc-ilnncing, some two or three yeiim since, at A»tley'».
The Clown of the present ilav seems pradually to have nppro- priutcil to himself the peciiliaritie.'< of theite three characters, for- merly so distinct, and which we have .ilreiidy seen ti^rin^ together in Monsieur Thunnond's paiitciinime of Doctor Faueitus.
The first attempt at this incorporatifin was probably made hy FuUct, whose i>erfnrmanve of the Clown was bo hif^hly relished by Ui'orpe tlic Third, Uiut that monarch i» said to have visited tliu lliiiHtnt rv|)vatedly, for the purpose of witnessing one of FoUet'a moft celebrated tricks, namely, liis swallowing a carrot, and which we may reasonably suppose, from its attraction, to faftve been a very ludicrous piece of acting.
Signor Delpini, who has been celebrated by Miles Peter An- drcwes,
*' I 'ni all for fun aod frolic, whim and glee, Si^iior Di;lpiiii is the man for me,"
was the contemporary of PoUet. Originally an actor of Pierrot, be verj' frequently played pantalonn to old Hulogna's clown ; this he did in the year IWI in Ilarlcquin Almanack, in which young Bo- Ingna played harlequin, and the well-known Mrs. Wybrow, co- lumbine. He docfl not appear to have adopted the character uf the t" lean and slippered pantaloon" in liis old age only, inasmuch as we find him showing his antics as clown in " Harlequin Teague, or the Oiajif* Causeway," produced in 1782, and in the following year playing pantaloon to old Grimaldi'a clown in "Harlequin's Wed- ding."
Dclpini, who wan indicted, in 17^^. for introducing speaking without musical accomjumiments, and threatened with
" VV'ttifit aiM] bread for calling out ' Roail Beef!' "
roast beef! being litentlly the offending words, was a great f*- vourite with Oeorge the Fourth when Prince of Wales. The Prince generally patronised hia benefit ; and indired it would luivc been difficult for any reasonably good-natured man to have resisted so droll an Appeal as Dclpini used to make to him upon the oc<-a«ion. " All. Mister Prince, you please come to my benefit. If you no come, I must go live inside your papa's big house!" The King's Bench has had many names bestowed upon h, buC none more strictly correct than " your pnpa'a big house."
Laurent^ whose graceful performance of serious pantomime — a species of theatricm entcrt&mmcnt now rarely produceil — was the admiration of the play-going public at the commencement of the present cciiturv. was also a very clever Clown. He has had the credit awarded to him of having given to the character lu present stiapc, or, as it is said, of having Anglkitcd the PierroU But it would seem that this had been previously attempted, and with con- siderable success, by FoUet.
Laurent was a very accomplished fencer, and an accident which he once met with in a fencing bout, is so remHrknblv a* to (lr»rrve t'*p«-ciaL mention. It waH during tlie performance of a neriout pon- tuuiiinc, when, in the business of the »tage, be was engaged In a
ft»
A CHArTEU. ON CUOWNS.
combat wiih smsll awords. IIU adversarjr's fool wiippbag •« ht vm
making 3 |ia«s, hi« Toil suuclt Laurent on the cJieeh-bone •ofisdyK an to fiiiap utr the buttun and a imall portion uf the foil. appM^ttr inflicLiiig no other injurjr upon him tlun a &li(^t icrmtch hj the w uF uue of his eyes, which hsd tlte cfTect. bowerer. uf tumiaf^ Ifaf cye-h«ll on one side- Tiic broken pirceofthe fml could nowbenbc Ibund, altbough the button of it hsuX been picked up on tbr ipat; and it was not until after the Upate of a wedc or two, that I aw ml. finding himseU' diioppointcd in hia hopes of the e;c^-tlall ffcfanoif its natural position 'u-ithout ftui^ical assistance, eonsaltcd an ocvlkt upon the case, «-hcn the missing rrognumt was, npon -» i ijii !■■. diftcovercd to one corner of the eye, from vbence it waa ■!■■»- diatcly removed with as little pun aa bad beca felt at ju intu^ iluctiim.
AnioHjt tlie Cluwns of the preiicnt century, BnuUrarr, PauUv Md Soiitlihy ori; purhapB, next to Orimoldi. the moat remarkable.
Bradbury's Clowii was distinguished more bj violenee of artwa than by that greateat of all requisites, humour. Hn le^M were of afilouii^hinK hvight and extent, and his performance albifretlier vss cbiiructerised by a daring luid reckless displaj of animal pawn little likely to b«- frequently rivalled. One of Jlrndbnry'klcap^ teek- nically culled the Lion's leap, used to bring down thuniJerM of Ip- plaiifle in Dublin, where it was he alone oouhl perform it. Bat if IS sAJd that « certain clever musician, whose lave of fun and pan ia well known, and who was then in the orchestra of the UubUo theatre, took up the character of clown at the terminatioo of Brad- bury'« engagement, and perftu-med the whole of it !
Kean, it is well known, was tin admirable harlequin ; and ihv gentleman above alluded to is saifl, in the «'erv same season in whicfc he played in pantomime, to have displayed a versatility of talent which few can boaat of. He was leader ol the band, and composer of muxic. He produced a successful farce. At the termination of Braham's engagement, when Dublin was all for operas, he quitted the orchestra for the stage, and played all Braham's p.irts with con- siderable eflect ; and finally, as if to show that he could be every thing by turn?, and that to him might he applied what Johnson engraveil upon the munument of hi« countryman. "Nihil tetigk quid non ornavit !" he took Bradbury's characler of Clown, and with it t))c Lion's leap, to the unbounded deUght of die Dublin auHience.
Bradbury is dead, and so is Paulo, who&e Clown, if more huntiv rou* ihaii Bradbury's, was spoiled by that besetting sin, vulgarity.
From this fault fjouthby's iiedbrmance of the character was re- markably free. He wa«, we believe, a pupil of Lnurent'a; at aD events hi« perforinance bore »trong marks of that neatness and finish (or which Laurent's clowii was distioguivhed. Stmthby was prin-
cipally engaged at Astley's, but has now, we believe, quittett tfal^H stage, and devotes hiniKlf solely to his pyrotechnical pursuit^^^ Inntead of starring it in the provinces, he now stars it at Vauxhall.
where hif labours throw a very brilliant light unon that somewhat obscure passage in the Critic, tn which the nutiior speaks of " two revolving suns and three revolving moons." Southby Dcats Shcrii hollow, for he will show a doscn revolving suns and moons u any night of the week on which Messrs. Oyc will commusian to do KO.
Th« equestrian Clown at Astlcy's, as t Alerryman wbe
two
n
A CHAPTER ON CLOWNS.
6S3
I
attends till' hnrsernanHhtp st tlint theatre i^ profcHsionally ilusignatei!, lias, us llie rvatler liuii bclbn- now nu iluubt jiainrully L'spL-rit-ncPil, a nruin Mrie« of »un<iard jukes, which Imvv rL'timined uiicliuiigcd aiiy time thefe twenty ye*T». It h, perh[ip». not gcnern)l\ known that thesv jnkej were tor the niof-t part coined riri|rnft1iy by the Weftiuin- ■ter HchoUr*. The fuci ts so, however. The jokei were made hy the WcMni in stent, xtid broupht out at Artley'n, wFiere the Clfiwn, hnvinjj Ix-en l'ev\\ mid jiroperty iimtrucled how to pi-r|iftraie tht-m, tt^nl to fire thciM ; the rival niAkcm )i«tenin;r with the (;re«te»'t anticty trt ttAcertJiin which toM best. Tho»«- which were most successlul be- came of course fftock jokes.
What Boswdl did for Johnson haA Jioz mett t\an^ for Grimaldi.
The book which oontaina his Biograpbyt edited by Mr. Dieken«, is a good one; there in no iitraining after effect, no seekinf; to elerate the aubject into a hero, hut it tells with kindly ft'elin/r the varied story of ii chequered life, and pfllntH very vividly the ho])es Hnd disappuintnicnu, the histrionic j^lnrieR and painful realities which fell to ihc luc of one of the nimplext-mindc^ and hmicstest men wlioever won the fjir favour of the j>ublic.
Alas, poor Yorick ! lie wn^ indeed a lellow of infinite jeot. How iiurely was every one of his hearty grins re-echoetl by a thoiijand. What magic wa* there in his quiet mirth, making age and care throw off for awhile all thonghtt that overbiirtheiied them. Hid Cflurt^htps so Reductive who could rrttist! Petty larcmy with him were priMty larceny. He did apprnpriate unto himself purtiea, tlringa of lutiiHgef, and all such unconaidered trifte* a« fell in hi» way, with • p-acfr which would Iiare made the Lord Chief Ju«tJce himnelf sum up for hi« acquittal. And n* fur gluy.ing and flutttrr- ing, noble lord* now-a^ay« need not quarrel for kujteriority in this respect, for Joe Grimaldi could outgloze them all. If his drollery had at time* a fcmock of vulgarity, a breadth of colouring, the amallest epice, b* It were, of that ruder mirth in which our grand- fathers delighted, he did so v.irniah it over with hi:» irreiifitiblc httmour, that the verieat pnide looked on and laughed, without once deeming it essential to hide her enjoyment l>ehind her fan.
In none of his performance* was this rare quality, which mi dta- tinguinhed (irininldi from all other ('lowns, mure clearly manifested than in the puntinnime of Harlequin Gulliver, which, to the bef>t of our jtiil(;ment, vas one of hi» maoterpieces. Cruik*thnnk has im- mortuli/rd the IlrolKlignagiani> of this piece in one of the admi- rable bketchcH with which he has illustrated Grtmatdi*s life; but this pantomime nlonu would hate furniHhe*! him with «ubjectif for a doxen such. There wa» the Uniltdigiiagian t'rinci*M Ulnmilulditch in a gu-cart with, if we recollect rightly, puur Joe as her doll. Then, again, there was the gigantic canary, which Grimaldi pronciunt-<-4l, in his unctinus voice, to be a " Caaao-wa-ry," and with which he sung the duet beginning,
" Say, little, fboUih, fttitteniiR Ihini;, If you 're a oock-bird, why uoi siiiij f"*
he being all the time quietly seated on a Brnbdignogion quartern loaf, into which he might have eaten hla way like a mouse into a ebeesc.
Then who but Cniikshonk could paint tlir ineimveni races pnor Joe enduretl from the bayuneta of the Liliputian •oldiitry u« thry
Gi24
A CHAPTBR ON CLOWNS.
marched throaj^ti the pnlocc frate which he was beirtritlmft? show how, when the King al'Liliput's palace wan in flames, be plied the Liliputian cneintB, and cxtiiij^uiahcd the Are in a way whic' would have dclifrhted Swift? and yet "without any offence in' only in jest." aft Hamlet says.
We ought not, perh&pfi, to insist ho stror^ly on Grimtildi's ni?rit» in Iiar1(;(iuiii <>iilliver, a» we never !=aw him in Mntlicr Goose, in which iu- tirht e^Uibliblicd lii» reputation. The Kuropean Alagatine tor Jauiiury 1BU7. (^peaking of Hut piece, asys, "Urimaldi. whon we always believed to poMCtt talents that were not Hufficimttjr called into exercise at iftury Lane, made his first appearance »t Covent (rorden as the clown in thi» piece; and his performance antoni^hed us by the variety of his tricks, and the neatneaa and^^H promptitude wiUi wliicii ihey wen- executed." ^H
From this critici^tm we iimy juiitly infer that Orimaldi'a humour. like good wine, melloweil with ape ; for it wii*> Ion;; nfter this periud that old Chapman, who was regarded an the beat theatriail tmcber uf his day, and the finest judge of acting, wu heard to declare tliat ibe greate-st enjoyment he knew at the theatre woa to go in front, and see (irimaldi in n new pantomime ! Thi?> was a cotnplimetit to Gri- maldi's geniuH, which w»s not even siirpnit^ed by that paid to it bjt John Kcmblc ; who, ntanding at the wings one night, watehinr with great delight Joe's drullcric}', excluimed tn his ronsical and measured pliTHse, — " My tiiiter never did any thing fimtr iu her Is Ulan thnt man is doing now, in his way — iu his way !"
We have »tid thjit Grimaldi's humour got richer uid racier as bt grew older. It \va.» eo: but, alas ! while the i^pirita mellowed, tlw vessel that contained thero was rapidly decaying; and, for some nra- sons befure lie (juitted the stage, he whose nimble wit and ready drollery drew roars of laughter from all who witnenfted iiis per- fonnaiices, sunk as he left tlie Kt«gi; into a decrepid and enfeebled man.
And now fiirewell, Joe Griir.aldil We had tliougUt to have to a tale or two which were once current touching your encomiten witli those who isuuglit to dcspoit you. How, after being robbed ud* night, in thosf limes when there were watchmen irpon ihe fic* "f the eurlh, thou didst follow the spoiler upon hands and knee* untd he came tn hiH box, reasftuuied his great-coat and lantern, and walk- ed forth, like iinv other guardian of the night, to look alter big- ger rogueH thnn liimbelf i How, on another occasion, in the neigh- bmirhood of Bagiiige Wcllti, thou didst escape the fang-i of two footpiuls. who »>itiiultaneously clapped thee on cither shoulder, b^ falling suddenly to the ground, and letting thy foes fall with thee,, and how thou did>t then esciipe from them hy throwing a souiersct* while they rightly swore thou muat be either the devil or Joe Orimaldi.
But, as thou ha.st made nn record of theae tales, we must reject them AS apocryphal, and substitute in lieu thereof a quatrain, which we would fain pass off for
JOE CIKIMALDI'S EPITAPH. G^eAl onre in A-iilt ^etne*, in » grat< He cloth now sttEDiion craTe ; for. since ileatli look Joe (inmaliii, Wliu can dgnbi but wi- men all die 1
led
I
i.
W.J. T.
625
INDEX TO THE THIRD VOLUME.
A.
Ailveotiiru in Faiii, No. III. The Msd-
sarde, 401. '* Adveoturca of >a Irish Gentlemkn,"
Portnil Gall«i7 by the author of, 150. Alembert, d', his altachmeot (o Made-
moiselle I'Esiiinasse, 26. AlliteratioD, Siege of Belgrade a speci-
roen of, 312. AlUpy, Toby, The Ups and Downs of
Life, and Adventures in Paris, ^by,
3<>1.401. " All '• well that ends well !" (not Shak-
speare'm ) 72. Anacreootlcs, 284. 493. Andermalt, iuDkeeper of, 143. Angler's Advyse, Ye, a poem, 134. Artists and Works of Alt in Kngland,
173.
B. Babiography, a DissertalioD upon Baby- Monsters, 507. Dallads— The Passage of the Sebeto,
30; Count Caska'wbtsky and his Three
Houses, 413. Ball at Devonshire House, 174. Barcelona, description of, 564. Battle of the Nile, te€ Nighu ai Sea. lieoedict Club, the, account of the at- tempt to establish ii, 579. Be quiet— Do ! 1 '11 call m
song, 390. Beranger, M. populari^ of his fongs in
t' ranee. 256. 259. Bibliophilist, the, story of, 564. Bird of Paradise, lines on the, 90. Bivouac, the, a song, 609. Book-making considered as one of the
Fioe Aru, 465. Bonomye the Usurer, a^ryof, ue Fictumi
nf ih't MidtlU Agti. BoBuet, Abb^, (aftenvarda Bishop of
Meaui,) notice of bis Sennon on the
death of the Duchess of Orleans, 128 n. -liot," Oliver Twist by, 1. 105. 209.
313.417.521. Ilradbury, the clown, remaika od, 622. Briggs, Richard, 72. Buggins, Mr. story of, 556.
Cannon Family, adventures of, in Bou-
logDe,150. 452. <'arltno, the Harlequin, account of, 61S. (.'askn' whisky. Count, and hia Thm
Huubes, a (eniperaiKe ballad, 413. Chapter on ikals, 78.
my Mother, a
Chapter on Life, 310.
Chequered Life, lines on, 181.
Childe, Walter, legend of, 433. 537
Churchyard, sonnet in a, 208.
Clowns, chapter on, 617.
Concert Eitraordinaiy, during the fire at
the Royal Exchange, 190. Cond£, Prince of, remarks respecting, 51 2.
Prioress of, ttt Mtrntoiartucy,
" Confessions of an lllderly Gentleman,"
Night of Terror by the author of, 33. " Comet Club," Shawn Gow and tho
Little Grey Man of the Paries by a
member of the, 305- CoDtrasI, the, 510. Conundrum, 520. Conveyance Company, the, an odd in*
ddent, 347. Critics, critiques on, or, a word to tli«
would-be such, 396. Cuiune Maigre, remarks on Jean Stein's
piclureof the, 367. Cupid and the Rose, 65.
D.
'* Dalton," a tale of Graromarye by, 91.
Dance, U. Madrigal of the Seasons by, 62 i the Laurel, the Rose, and tk« Vine, a poem by, 120.
Darkness, lines on, 555.
Deriant. Maniuisedu, character and ac- count of, 21 ; extract from her letters to Horace Walpole, 23 ; remarks on her death, 24.
Delphini, Signor, the clown, anecdote of, 621.
Delta, Fictions of Middle Ages by, 44.
Devil, verses on the, 304.
Devonshire House, remarksoo ball at, 174. ■ -, Duke of, his collection of medals, 175; in possession of Claude Lomine'a " Libra di Verita," 176.
Diarv of a Manuscript- hunter ; Henry IV. and the Princess of Conde, 51 1.
Distich, Dick, Nutmegs for Nigliliugales by, 463.
Dock-yard Ghost, story of the, 28,'">.
Dominico, the Harlequin, anucdole of, 617. '
Dream, a, 181.
Duello, the, ut Nlghlt at Sea,
Dying Child, the, a poem, 366.
Dying Prisoner, the, tte Nights at Sea.
Drary-Lanc Thealie, account of a riut in, 619.
096
INDEX.
E. Eelocw, & nuxlini, 329. " FJocri; GanilcmaD," tkr, a Loro Sloiy
in ThtEc (.'bapWra by. 331. En^Ubil, Aitists and Wwit of Art tn,
U3. 3-^rliiti Comtorti. froa Iba G«nnkB at
Ut. Fcmncn KoUenkjunp, 161. £pi»tl« ExpoitaUlory lo a dur Fncnl,
E^MMCt StadMDoinllc I*, uken niMkr
ibe pKileaion of Klulame da Uelinnt.
33 ; account of, '2Zt ; citiacU Irom bw
leucn to Uw Cosile de Ouibctt, 28. F. Familjr Dmm&licak, 63. Slorici. No. \iri. Dr. IngoU-
b>'« Storv. il5 i No- IX. tlic Mutm's
Stor}-, tlio llMid ofGloty. 299. FcDialo WoltDD, linrt no ih«, 13fi. Ficliouanftbi: Middle Akc», No.ll. l{o>
noiu)« lite llturei, 44 ; No. III. The
ProftiMt of ToIwId, 544. Follct, tbit ci«wn, itatwks oa bU pu-
fomiBoeca. 621. FngDueat, K, 563. FraDcv, otxcrvalian* on the Female Ik-
flociice in tbu GoveraiiMiDt of, 17 ; Po-
pulAi iiul NaiionnI I'oct/y trf. ^1 ;
po[iii.1inlj a( llcrangd** muiz* in, 256. Fnscli Liuvarj' Lmlio, l>y Oeocg« Ho-
^nh, 17. Fntudidiip, •unnoi to, 158.
U. G«offriB, Uidii<nc, iLccouni of, 19. Ghost, uaty at lite Uocij-aiJ, «m UmJI.
Viir'lt Gilnnn, .Ii>hn W^rd, nanatiw of. 36^. CImju urUui Put, ^2. (iolden Legend. Ute, a lay of Su I4iclto-
U», I** Lay. Crammaryi. atiilr of, 91. Grand Juior, lli«, or :><ftviDg my CouD-
Uy in Ginml Stylo. •2m. GrifI^>o«. a ulc of ttic I'cmatula, 601. Griinaldt, Joe. Uio 'clown, notice of hii
bioEcu|iby, ti'23 ; niuiailis on bu pn-
formnnces, tl>, Cuil>r-ii. roinie ilc. letter* lA, ffoni Mn-
deiiiiJiiBlli: I'fLipiijiu&e, '211. Cuiclic, Count de, i-lutarlvi of, 122.
Jl. Hampden, Mr.Georvc, cloty of bitSnulS.
box, 342. Iluid of Glory, i^if FauiUti Slvrlu, IJul«quin, Rinarki oo the chuicUr, 6tB. " Headloiif llitU" New \tit tiy Ijis
oulliur of, 104. ll«or|r III. kiain ofKnglutd, hn pcrMcu-
tioQ uf liie ,lewh. 44. lloory IV.afFnnoe, end thel'riimMof
Cond^, trom tliu Diaij of a Uiiuii>
•cnpt-lmntpr, .'ill. Heaiiettu Muiv, Quocu of Enfihud,
fronton of (. hntteA l.j weLi refuse Jn
France, 121. Hi|[lil«tiJ*, Upotling RaiabUt ut titty 137.
Ilopnb, Gmrcc. French Liunuy
aitd tlie PoiiiDDcn of tJM S*ve
CoMirj, In-, 17. 121. Hoa, H«v. Kobeit. tDcmoira of, 192. lloll. 11. ilMiiM MilM. and, Whj M
Major ftUfis k«» ■ farrot T by, 29V.
44'i. Haani tlicre ur to tneiaoni drom. X
tMgi fo( Nightingale*, no. 11. *6*.
In^oUlibjr, Dr. tUury of. 95.
. . HuHUM. Fanilv Stone*
95. 299 ; a Lay of St. NicboUt , ihc
Goldrn LcfteuiC 494. "Invbibk Ccntleinaa,'* iIm, wnei m
llie UcrU hy, 304.
Jerdao, WillUa, Clmpier sb Life; iW
SnulT-box , 'I'liotnaa NoJdy* Ejq. ;
llie Windsor ball of ike Ncmcu f
khion. bv, 310. 342. 499.011. Je*r«, oondilion of, in the reiffn of
111. 44. Jocuoii. JoTce. "All '« tien Au
wclir* Q IJtlleLotforMr.ti.
and the Contnui, br, 72. 506. 510, Jobnt. Lieuieoaat, i^e Doek-ywl G
bf. 285.
■ Richard, the Conrej&noe Cam-
nany by, 347. Jonaaoa, JU«n, criticjinic apoa, 337. Jvlita, a Gleam of ihe J'lit i liatf M
Darineu ) and a FrMfowni tnr,
555. 563.
KliiDchuiibnich, &lr. Julius giniMpMij fcldl Hackennan tknith, tuny iog hiin, 561}.
Knoiwlo, bberidan, T«r«ei no, 463.
Koiteokamp. Uc, Fraocu, KugliiJi Corn* foitk, fiMD tlie Geioun of. li>7. 1-
Laurcni, M. hi* i&IgoU u a oloinit 331.
Lbi' o( St. N itibolai. the liotdeu Lnead No. I. «4.
UgnoJ*— Waller Ch'ilde, 433. 537 ^ lla Golden L«Mod, 424.
t4 Gnw, J U. Pauase of Sebeto by. 39.
I.i:f . Rluty of ibc. fiom tba Cerauao. 480.
Leuion, iMait, Iniellittaty of the Wedg- wood lliEt<;sl)ph by, 61,
- Libra de Vthta." (Book ef Trvih.t of Clnudc l.oriaier, tJ»«iiption of. 17B.
Life, 3 cbapiw oa, 310 ; 0 W ataj llowm of. 391.
Liai;s— To . 77; ao Uh Bud ef
i'and.w;. 'iri , ciu Uic Ncn Ymu. 1(H) on Chci^ucml Life, IHl; on ttiincv- inc Mr. MuRwdy'* pvrforniaiwe of Cuedu ftlolnoiir, ^211; on Spring. 4M.
Litohiicld. Ut. ilic Pa«tvuia by. .^4.
" Lolbiih." till-, llin Giand Juiut bj ibo aaibM of, 2tiU.
LtfrTaioc. ('bev.itii-r de, liii atccikla o«e[ lite DuUufOdcon*, 136.
Lurriiini!. ('laudc, wHDunt at hb '* Libct di Vrniu,"175. 17«.
tao.
I
^4
627
Loibenie. Mi. 329. 41?. IM. l.i>*«, llopa, ant) Juy. ■ po«nn,, &3S. Luwiitpry, in ihrwcliaplcn, 3;jl.
M. Alackar. C. PofiuUr anii Nalional Poeby
b;. No. 1.361 4 Mo. II.4B.'>. Micmdj-, Mr. linrt un wiiucHia^ lii>
petfornttoM of Claude Mclcotie, 32tl. ftlatlrtgal of th« }>«uoiu. 83. MaaiiiD, Dr. SiiakipMn l*ap«rs bj, No.
VI. 2M; No. VII.470. ftlaiatenon, UAil&ma de. nmatks mpect*
iii^-. 260. M«nurdp, iha. No. 111. orAtLvgnturM in
Fmu, 401. Huiiiicript-hnQitr, diiuy oft, «m Diary. 'lariMr'* Dieam, the. or ibo Siurm-D'e*
nan. 346. 'UwOm UUcv, who cared for b«ne]f, sUFry
or. 380. Madiria. Captain, Tl)« Three Sinlon,
lDoVmp<r t»f ApdwniAtt, and 'Ihc Two
SiMen. bj. Gti. U3. 378 ; hi* remailu
on Jean Slrio'a Ctutina Mupe, 367> Idcrting, the, apocm. 41S. UcfiyuiouglittTristruD, "Tbere**Bonu»>
lake in diat I" sod A Mmleiu Eolosva
bstwMM Jinitiy Ooftbhioiicli sod Pal
Marvin, by, 343. »-J9. Ui>fortitnn anil CanwUtioiu of FetCgrilMi
T««)l*, 516. Miln, Maitlii, iIdt^ of, u* Manha MiUt, ftUtnoaania^tlr, KliiiM-'hunbTudi, 2€7. Himtnpan , Madams da , ciiamciar of, 249. Moatinardicy. Mvpiertia dc, deMnpiion
of, hVi : her marnage with the lautco
afCoMl^, &14. MoBtpaiHiaf, lUxlaKie dn, her arrount of
Uw datUi of ihichcM of Oilcaiu, 127. Hon. Maraaia do. his aiiaduncBi lo
MadMMiMUa VEopnouc, •». Uoryan, Joaldo, hia acroant of tlie fin at
tiic Roval Escbao|e, 13£. Sluk'uSwcM, 341. Uulltn, Major.WhfdidliGbmp* Pano(I
443. Murnlijr. Mr. ode lo, 366. , Mj niere'i Albtiu, No. I. Mjiliology Ida oaajr, 339.
N.
■dM of John Ward Cibwo, 3Sk
KaTal SpofUBCn, tloi; ftf, (m Ai^Au M
Sm. >e« Yrar, IImb on llw. 104. Nt|;hii m Sea, or Skuwiw* of Naval Lif«
during ihe ^\ar, No.Vll.llx! Hum;—
Ilia i)u«ll»— and the NutjI l^porli-
oian, 191 -, No. VIII. Itu H*iilc of
the Nile— Tt>« Dyiue I'tiMMw*, 378 : No. IX. lU burial al ISea — Ming
ihe ^lnuk«;.— I1u) Pitaie Cnft, 686. Nig 111 ufTcitor, 33. Nijipot Aiuiy, »wij told by, iff). NiHiil), Thooiaa, K«|. ditiy uf, 4ili9. Nurw't Suwy. i'^ >'MMifii Sl*v-m. NMttl>rK> fur N li;hbliKaUs, ho. I- 4<>3 t Mu. U.ULaad IV. 4(i4.
Cidt— to Mr. Murphy, 366 ; U> ihc (jnt«n
of Spring. 577. Old Honntain Drw. ireraea ia prabe nf.
684. " Old Nicliolaa," S»nncl lo Fncadahip,
Sonnet iu a ChurL-hyard, and 'I'lio Itc*
ooaciliauon, by. I&8. 30B. 369. •' IJIJSaili>r,">iKtibat S«a,t>y iho, 191.
378. Oliver IVisl, or Uie Pariih Bov'* P(0-
EKsa ; delivered over to M>. iSUei. 1 ; ia adtciiiutr* witli hint. 7. 13. 16; con««r>aiuiti l)«twcati Toby Cnukri and llic Jew ret|)e«iin|{ him, iltf ; miticu* Ian relative lo hit ht>loi7. 309 ; coo- venaliiiD retpcctiag him, 213. 317; coQiinualioa of hi* adveuliua, 313. 916; ini^niry into hii conftectioo Milb the rol>b«rr)- at ^lrt.M»lia*i,334.417 : Danimlan of his residence wiih Mnt, Slayiie. 43&. fifll ; a new advciitniv, fi3&.
Oporali*c. n^lccwd. One of Many Tales, hj, 305.
Orleau, Philip Duke of, his morhaM, 132 ; sDSpiciMu coiir.>niin|( him on bis irife's d«aik by poi*uu, 130 { remarlu on the eienuoacy of bis educatioo, 132.
^ - Henrieiui Anne, UucboM of, ae- countof ber, 131 ; h« death b^potton, 120 1 lemailitoii her ajsatnoabon, ISOj on the perpeiraMn, 132.
P.
Paaiomime, firu Introduction of into
EDgUiid,&l9. Pauago of (he S«b«to, IkiIIkI oq the, 39. Poel, 8ii Robert, bis colieciwn of pajat-
iBfi. IBO.
Pcoiusula, a tale of tlie, itt GhgmM. i""Ti
Truilr,
I'cnian IJarber, story of;
W ^ d
PicrroE, leinarkt on the eharaclet of an
ai:U>ruf,(>33, Puatc Crufi, jc« (ii^klt el Smu plain Caw, a. C43. I'laiam, Mamnia, aion mpectiar, 190 i
bitiiorl wiUi Caum Lamont, 197. Poeini — I'be Laniri, llw Kom), and thv
Vine. 120 ; 'llie At^lcr*! Ad«yw. 134 ;
I'oel'* Fmn. Ui> : Ihe Ihrte Dtni*
wU. 'JtU i iltat 's DO .MikUle in rlial.
342, The Uyii>{( Child, 36tl v The
]UiBii.469;Lo<«, Hope, and Joy.&U. TeMical Eptalle to ■■ liai," 71. PoeOT, pofMla/ and nalinnai of f m
3&7 ; of &«ritieriBMl. 48&. Poet's Fniuy, ilie, n pwaii, 149. I'ouoOMs of the 17th I'l-ntrtrr, un
iiatiuo of the DnrlwM • < ' Poloaiaa, cfiticums mi tFii
Shakimiv Papers, No.
I'oppV.tM!; ItawUtMH frill
I'onnlBj aud NatiuuJ IV---,, >. .^-
iS\ . K«>ti(^lB:id.4IUi. Poninii Cialli-iy, ^0*. V. awl VI.
ri28
INDEX.
AdTCOtniM of tin* Cuaoo Faauij in
BaslogiM. 150. 4M. fottnua. Ike, itfecdeDi «b. 604. Pmate AccDunl at the Ulo Fin St tlu)
Kuyal l-'ichann, 136. Pfv(«Mor of ToImd. ■torj of. tm Fi'ctfM*
^tli* MidMU Agtt. PiMi. Fuller. Poeiicil bpiaUe to " Bob."
by. 71. Pu«'b, Kpislb Expoatulaloty to ■ dtot
Fniad. bj. 4tf.
Q. Queen of Sfting^, ode to ibe, 677.
H. Hsvcn, the, a poetn, 469. RMonciluiiunii th«, k ilojy from leal life,
369. KnhiAi, M(. Geori^e, s Utile lot for. 606. Keyni-'lib, J. hamluin, Moououia^Mr,
KliiDchuobriick. by, 367. RooiuiM of Real Life, m Tkut Situn. Stofai EichaDee, » piirale accaunt of Ibe
Ule fire 10, 135.
St. Anlhooy, MmpUliou of. mi Tntpiii-
tivnt. 8Mh, a. chRptnr on, 78. Sebtto, ballad on the pauag* of iHc. ter
P<UM^(.
Sbakmwre Paper*— No. VI. TimoD of
Atheiu.SUA; Na.Vll.l'Dl4)t>iini,4TO. SbaMD Ciow amt lite Liille ijivy Maa uf
ilic Fairies ailA. Skviilan, Lnuia4 II. Plain Cawi b^, £43. Sieue vf llclgnde. a tpectmen of alliioni-
tion. 312. Sling llii: Mnnkey. tn« Kigklt m 5m. Slocumb. Mr., IW. Snutf-but. ttie, • ule of Wb.I(«, 342. Sponittg Kmnble in the liighlauda, ut
Highhiiufi. S'pnnf, line* on, 484. SuiuoDS, Counie&t of. tier iDti[na.cy witb
the I>uchcit of Orlcaiu, iH; uitleJ i«
Ohainn.-i^.ne, I'lh ; hit dtitnu-Wt. 133. 8onx> — NalJuual Soogi in t'luncr, 2&U.
m. '2^: H«c|inirt, do! I 'U call my
MmW. 390 ; > Sun^, 471). SonD«u— In > liiMulkliip. MttiioftCltuicb-
yuni. 208 ; lo , 6CI0.
Soiitliliy, tlieikiwn, Kiniirki on hi* pet.
fonnaucc*. tiil. ytatiMsaii cuntcmplAiini; iboUureDK at
KLduigbl, 166. Swil), Jvnii, roroork* on bit pictute, llta
Cuisine Mutfie, $G7. Stirkleback Funilyt aceount of ihe )wivue
tb«aiiicaboflhc. D6. " Siario* (if U ■ti.-rLi>n," Memoir a( ibp
Rov. Robini IIoi;s by tiiii uuilioi of
(he. m.
Slorm- r lemon, the. »« MuriNtr't Jittam. TiutiirtltnA, Dtike of, lii* ci>lI«L-tiDti of WDlUDflll, 173.
SwitjeHand, popnUr and
or,4ea.
T.
T^c of GnmnvTC. 91.
Tale* of an Anbqiufy, Famitj Diaawb*
call, by ibo Kuthnr of, 83. T«ll nw, geoik Laura, wby. Noincn lot
NigbtitigalMNo.IV.464. TentpUtioai of St. Antbimy, a poem. 100. I'tial Knniin N'oae. Nwiiiwp w fi'tghaa-
^nNo.l]l.464. 'Ihc Laore), ibe Row, and tbe Vtoe. a
poem. ISO- liter* '» no niitUkc in tbnt ! a poem, 3 rU Riut ^ Ibe L>u«llo— an4 the K
Spotuniu. Mf Xighu M 5m. ThoiM, Vi. J. V«rMuU<^. and a Cbipttf
OD CLowtu 117,214. 617. ThrM DuBjeb. Uw. a |ueni. ^03. TbtM SiiUn, tb«. romancv of nai lifc, ffi- TinMin of Alltttia, Mf SfuilujiMn Pn^m. Toulmin CantUJo, Ode Id tbe ijuecn li
Sfiiins by, 677. I'wMiJe, PcngriBo. IblufarDUM and C*-
•elation* of, &!<>. Twi»l. Olivet, ne Ottvtr. Tm of a Trade— lbs Panua Bubat.
alorj of, 159. TmiSi»l«rv,th«,'i78. L. UMand, innaUitoD* from, 334. 43S. Upt nod Doiriia of Life, cbapici do, 391-
Vftltiere, Duchen* de k, reinaiks i«i|wcl-
ing. 248. Vailyn. tioty of Mr. Bagrglu by, 563. VerMillcs. palace »r. (etnaili un Ibe
lilutEUTii in, 244 ; NapoltMi'a deHgntif
reuuTAiins, 346; review of lln ecc«-
jMcn, 347 i ch« Oiubna de la V'altirr^
';4lt; .MndJinic <ia .Votttespdw, 249
Madawc de MainUoon, 'i&H. \'vnw— on ihe rwil, 3M ; on Sb«nd»
Knowica* 463 ', on Uld UwuUub 1>cv,
&84. Vinreoin, F<ii1icr Don, Ibe bibUppktbit,
Octy ol, 565.
W. U'ad«, J. A., Villue Bride's F«kmII,
and Critiijues un Ciilic*. by, 396, 3' Vitgra. Ur. Aititfi and Worik erf An
England by. 173 Muljvle, ll»n. Horace, his ucouU of
a riol in Drury.Laoe HimIic, &i\, ^ValMu Cluldn. Ugead of, ta Child*. Hoilgcwatnl ll>«n)|ilyiA, liwe Hirtoiyof
ti ibo lUM catlwl the Wdlow I'uion,
fJl. ^^oln)1I>e Back, ibe, 377. ^Vbiiehcad. C. Natnlive of John Ward
bibMO by. 3SIi. U'iikn* Cured, or mort tlutn (be Uodee
at rinlt, 5&3. nindaor bell of the latcsl fii»lii»D, til
^
4
I
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