Datasets:

NicholasSynovic
/

Modified-VEAA

Dataset card Data Studio Files Files and versions Community

Split (2)

train · 42.9k rows

text stringlengths 1.96k 5.76k	author int64 1 50
and ten thousand men were at the gates but four hundred held it in the morning and two hundred held it in the evening and no french foot was ever set within its threshold but how they fought those i their lives were no more to them than the mud under their feet there was one i can see him now a ruddy man on a he up alone in a lull of the firing to the side gate of and he beat upon it screaming to his men to come after him for five minutes he stood there strolling about in front of the gun barrels which spared but at last a in the orchard out his brains with a rifle shot and he was only one of many for all day when they did not come in masses they came in and with as brave a ice as if the whole army were at their heels so we lay all morning looking down at the fight at but soon the duke saw that there was nothing to fear upon his right and so he the shadow on the began to use us in way the french had pushed their past the and th lay among the in of us peeping at the so that three pieces out of six on our left were with their red in the mud all round them but the duke had his eyes everywhere and up he at that moment a thin dark man with veiy bright eyes a nose and a big oa his cap there were a dozen officers at his heels all as merry as if it were a fox hunt but of the dozen there was not one left in the evening warm work said he as he rode up very warm your grace said our general but we can them at it i think tut i tut we cannot let silence a battery just drive those fellows out of that then first i knew what a devil s thrill runs through a man when he is given a bit of fighting to do up to now we had just lain and been killed which is the kind of work now it was our turn and my word we were ready for it up we jumped the whole in a four deep line and rushed at the corn field as hard as we could tear the snapped at us as we came and then away they bolted like corn their heads down their backs rounded and their at the trail half of them got away but we caught up the others the officer first for he was a very fat man who could not run it gave me quite a turn when i saw rob on my right stick the great shadow his into the man s broad back and heard him howl uke a damned soul there was no quarter in that field and it was butt or point for all of them the men s blood was and little wonder for those had been au morning without our being able so much as to see them and now as we broke through the farther edge of the corn field we got in fi ont of the smoke and there was the whole french army in position before us with only two meadows and a narrow lane between us we set up a yell as we saw them and away we should have gone slap at them if we had been left to ourselves for silly young soldiers never think that harm can come to them until it is there in their midst but the duke had his horse beside us as we advanced and now he roared something to the general and the officers all rode in front of our line holding out their arms for us to stop there was a blowing of a pushing and a with the cursing and digging us with their and in less time than it takes me to write it there was the in three neat little squares all with and in as they call it so that each could fire across the face of the other it was the saving of us as even so young a soldier as i was could very easily see and we had none too much time either there was a low rolling hill on our right flank and fit m behind this there came a sound like nothing on this earth so much as the shadow on the land the beat of the waves on coast when the wind blows from the east the earth was all shaking with that dull roaring sound and the ah was full of it steady seventy first for s sake steady shrieked the voice of our colonel behind us but in front was nothing but the green gentle slope of the all with and and then suddenly over the curve we saw eight hundred brass rise up all in a moment each with a long of flying from its crest and then eight hundred fierce brown faces all pushed forward and glaring out m between the ears of as many horses there was an instant of gleaming breast plates waving swords tossing fierce red nostrils opening and and hoofs the air before us and then down came the line of and our bullets up against their like the clatter of a upon a window i fired with the rest and then down another charge as fast as i could staring out through the smoke in front of me where i could see some long thin thing which slowly backwards and forwards a sounded for us to cease firing and a of wind came to clear the curtain from in fit nt of us and then we could see what had happened i had expected to find half that	4
wanted it too for the regiment had been melting away like an in the sun but bad as it was for us it was a deal worse for some of the others the whole of the dutch were off by this time fifteen thousand of them and there were great left in our line through which the french cavalry rode as pleased them best then the french guns had been too many and too good for ours and our heavy horse had been cut to bits so that things were none too merry with us on the other hand a blood soaked ruin was still ours and every british regiment was firm though to tell the honest truth as a man is bound to do there were a of red coats among the blue ones who made for the rear but these were lads and the faint hearts that are found everywhere and i say again that no regiment the great shadow it was little we could see of the battle but a man would be blind not to know that all the fields behind us were covered with flying men but though we on the right wing knew nothing of it the had begun to show and napoleon had set twenty thousand of his men to e them which made up for ours that had bolted and left us much as we began that was all dark to us however and there was a time when the french had in between us and the rest of the army that we thought we were the only left standing and had set our teeth with the intention of selling our lives as dearly as we could at that time it was between four and five in the afternoon and we had had nothing to eat the most of us since the night before and were soaked with rain into the bargain it had ofi and on all day but for the last few hours we had not had a thought to spare either upon the weather or our hunger now we began to look round and our and ask who was hit and who was spared i was glad to see jim with his face all blackened with powder standing on my right leaning on his fire lock he saw me looking at him and shouted out to know if i were hurt all right jim i answered i fear i m here on a wild goose chase said he gloomily but it s not over yet by god i ll have him or he ll have me i he had so much on his wrong had poor jim that i really believe it bad turned his head for he had a glare in his eyes the shadow on the land as he spoke that was hardly human he was always a man that took even a little thing to heart and since had left him i am sure that he was no longer his own master it was at this time that we saw two single fights which they tell me were common enough in the battles of old before men were trained in masses as we lay in the hollow two came along the ridge in front of us riding as as could rattle the first was an english his ce right down on his horse s mane with a french an old grey headed fellow thundering behind him on a big black mare our set up a as they came flying on for it seemed shame to see an englishman run like that but as they swept across our front we saw where the trouble lay the had dropped his sword and was while the other was pressing him so close that he could not get a weapon at last stung maybe by our he made up his mind to chance it his eye fell on a lance beside a dead frenchman so he his horse to let the other pass and off cleverly enough he hold of it but the other was too for him and was on him like a shot the thrust up with the lance but the other turned it and him through the shoulder blade it was all done in an instant and the frenchman his horse up the showing his teeth at us over his shoulder like a dog the great shadow that was one to them but we one for us presently they had pushed forward a whose fire was towards the on our right and left rather than on us but we sent out two companies of the ninety fifth to keep them in check it was strange to hear the kind of noise that they made for both sides were using the rifle an officer stood among the french a tall lean man with a mantle over his shoulders and as our fellows came forward he ran out between the two parties and stood as a would with his sword up and his head back i can see him now with his lowered eyelids and the kind of sneer that he had upon his e on this the of the who was a fine well grown lad ran forward and drove at him with one of the queer crooked swords that the carry they came together like two for each ran for the other and down they tumbled at the shock but the frenchman was below our man broke his sword short off and took the other s blade through his left arm but he was the stronger man and he managed to let the life out of his enemy with the jagged stump of his blade i thought that the french would have shot him down but not a was drawn and he got back to his company with one sword through his arm and half of another in his hand chapter the end of the storm	4
of all the things that seem strange in that great battle now that i look back upon it there was nothing that was than the way in which it acted on my comrades for some took it as though it had been their daily meat without question or change and others out prayers from the first gun fire to the last and others again cursed and swore in a way that was to listen to there was one my own left hand mate who kept telling about his maiden aunt and how she had left the money which had been promised to him to a home for the children of drowned sailors again and again he told me this story and yet when the battle was over he took his oath that he had never opened his lips all day as to me i cannot say whether i spoke or not but i know that my mind and my memory were clearer than i can ever remember them and i was thinking all the time about the old folk at home and about cousin with her dancing eyes and de with his cat s whiskers and all the doings at west inch which had ended by bringing us here on the plains of as a for two hundred and during all this time the roaring of those guns the great shadow had been something dreadful to listen to but now they suddenly died away though it was like the lull in a thunder storm when one feels that a worse crash is coming hard at the fringe of it there was still a noise on the distant where the pushing their t bat that was two miles away the other both french and english were silent and the smoke cleared so that the armies could see a little of each other it was a dreary sight along our ridge for there seemed to be just a few scattered knots of red and the lines of green where the german stood while the masses of the french appeared to be as thick as ever though of course we knew that they must have lost many thousands in these attacks we heard a great cheering and shouting from among them and then suddenly all their opened together with a roar which made the din of the part seem in comparison it might well be twice as loud for every battery was twice as near being moved right up to point blank range with huge masses of horse between and behind them to guard them fix m attack when that devil s roar burst upon our ears there was not a man down to the boys who did not understand what it meant it was napoleon s last great effort to crush us there were but two more hours of light and if we could hold our own for those all would be well starved and weary and spent we prayed that we might have the end of the storm strength to load and and fire while a man of us stood upon his feet his cannon could do us no great hurt now for we were on our faces and in an instant we could turn into a of if his horse came down again but behind the thunder of the guns there arose a noise and rattling the wildest most stirring kind of sound it s the pas de cried an officer they mean business this time and as he spoke we saw a strange thing a frenchman dr as an officer of came galloping towards us on a little bay horse he was le boil le at the pitch of his lungs which was as much as to say that he was a since we were for the king and they for the emperor as he passed us he roared out in english the guard is coming i the guard is coming and so vanished away to the rear like a leaf blown before a storm at the same instant up there rode an de camp with the face that ever i saw upon mortal man you must stop em or we are done he cried to so that all our company could hear him how is it going asked the general two weak left out of six of said he and began to laugh like a man whose nerves are perhaps you would care to join in our advance b it the great shadow pray consider yourself quite one of us said the general bowing and smiling as if he were asking him to a dish of tea i shall have much pleasure said the other taking off his hat and a moment afterwards our three closed up and the advanced in four lines over the hollow where we had lain in square and out beyond the point whence we had seen the french army there was little of it to be seen now only the red of the guns flashing quickly out of the cloud bank and the black figures stooping straining working like devils and at devilish work but through the cloud that rattle and rose louder and louder with a shouting and the stamping of thousands of feet then there came a broad black through the haze which darkened and darkened until we could see that it was a hundred men abreast marching swiftly towards us with high fur hats upon their heads and a gleam of brass work over their brows and behind that hundred came another hundred and behind that another and on and on and out of the like a monstrous snake until there seemed to be no end to the mighty column in fix nt ran a spray of and behind them the and up they all came together at a kind of with the officers thickly at the sides and waving their swords and cheering there were a dozen mounted men	4
too at their the end of the storm front all shouting together and one with his hat held aloft upon his sword point i say again that no men upon this earth could have fought more than the french did upon that day it was wonderful to see them for as they came onward they got ahead of their own guns so that they had no longer any help from them while they got in front of the two which had been on either side of us all day every gun had their range to a foot and we saw long red lines right down the dark column as it advanced so near were they and so closely did they march that every shot through ten of them and yet they closed up and came on with a swing and dash that was fine to see their head was turned straight for ourselves while the ninety fifth them on one side and the fifty second on the other i shall always think that if we had waited so the guard have broken us for how could a four deep line stand against such a column but at that moment the colonel of the swung his right flank round so as to bring it on the side of the column which brought the to a halt their front line was forty paces from us at the moment and we had a good look at them it was funny to me to remember that i had always thought of as small men for there was not one of that first company who could not have picked me up as if i had been a child and their great hats made them look taller ld the great shadow yet they were fellows too with fierce eyes and old soldiers who had fought and fought week in week out for many a year and then as i stood with a finger upon the waiting for the word to fire my eye fell full upon the mounted with his hat upon his sword and saw that it was de i saw it and jim did too i heard a shout and saw him rush forward madly at the french and as quick as a thou t the whole took their cue firom him officers and all and flung themselves upon the guard in while our comrades them on the we had been waiting for the order and they all thou t now that it had been given but you may take my word for it jim was the real leader of the when we charged the old guard god knows what happened during that mad five minutes i remember putting my against a blue coat and pulling the and that the man could not because he was so in the crowd but i saw a horrid upon the cloth and a thin curl of smoke firom it as it had taken fire then i found thrown up two big and so squeezed together the three of us that we could not raise a weapon one of them a fellow with a very nose got his hand up to my throat and i felt that i was a chicken in his grasp i said he and then suddenly the end of the storm doubled up with a scream for some one had him in the with a there was very little firing after the first but there was the crash of butt against barrel the short cries of stricken men and the roaring of the officers and then suddenly they began to give ground slowly sullenly step by step but still to give ground ah it was worth all we had gone through the thrill of that moment when we felt that they were going to break there was one frenchman before me a sharp dark eyed man who was and firing as quietly as if he were at practice dwelling upon his aim and looking round first to try and pick off an officer i remember that it struck me that to kill so cool a man as that would be a good service and i rushed at him and drove my into him he turned as i struck him and fired full into my face and the bullet left a across my cheek which will mark me to my dying day i tripped over him as he fell and two others tumbling over me i was half smothered in the heap when at last i struggled out and cleared my eyes which were half full of powder i saw that the had fairly broken d was into groups of men who were either running for their lives or were fighting back to back in a vain attempt to check the which was still sweeping onward my face felt as if a red hot iron had been laid across it but i had the use of my limbs so jumping over the litter of dead and men i the great shadow after my regiment and fell in upon the right flank old major was there along for his horse had been shot but none the worse in himself he saw me up and nodded but it was too busy a time for words the was still advancing but the general rode in fix nt of me with his chin upon his shoulder looking back at the british position there is no general advance said he but i m not going back the duke of has won a great victory cried the de camp in a solemn voice and then his feelings getting the better of him he added if the damned fool would only push on which set us all laughing in the flank company but now any one could see that the french army was breaking up the columns and which had stood so all day were now all ragged at the	4
edges and where there had been thick of in front there were now a spray of in the rear the guard out in front of us as we pushed on and we found twelve guns looking us in the face but we were over them in a moment and i saw our youngest next to him who had been killed by the great s with a lump of chalk upon them like the school boy that he was it was at that moment that we heard a noise of cheering behind us and saw the whole british army flood over the crest of the ridge and come the end of the storm down upon the remains of their enemies the guns too came bounding and rattling forward and our light cavalry as much as was left of it kept pace with our upon the right there was no battle after that the advance went on without a check until our army stood lined upon the very ground which the french had held in the morning their guns were ours their foot were spread over the face of the country and their gallant cavalry alone was able to preserve some sort of order and to draw off unbroken from the field then at last just as the night began to gather our weary and starving men were able to let the take the job over and to their arms upon the ground that they had won that was as much as i saw or can tell you about the battle of except that i ate a two pound loaf for my supper that night with as much salt meat as they would let me have and a good of red wine until i had to bore a new hole at the end of my belt and then it fitted me as tight as a to a barrel after that i lay down in the straw where the rest of my company were and in less than a minute i was in a dead sleep chapter xiv the of day was breaking and the first grey light had just begun to steal through the long thin in the walls of our bam when some one shook me hard by the shoulder and up i jumped i had the thought in my stupid sleepy brain that the were upon us and i hold of a that was leaning against the wall but then as i saw the long lines of i remembered where i was but i can tell you that i stared when i saw that it was none other than major that had roused me up his face was very grave and behind him stood two with long slips of paper and in their hands wake up said the major quite in his old easy fashion as if we were back on again yes major i stammered i want you to come with me i feel that i owe something to you two lads for it was i that took you from your homes jim is missing i gave a start at that for what with the rush and the hunger and the weariness i had never given a thought to my friend since the time that he the of death had rushed at the french guards with the whole r at his heels i am going out to take a of our losses said the major and if you care to come with me i shall be very glad to have you so off we set the major the two and i and oh but it was a dreadful dreadful sight so much so that even now after so many years i had rather say as little of it as possible it was bad to see in the heat of fight but now in the cold with no cheer or drum tap or all the glory had gone out of it and it was just one huge butcher s shop where poor devils had been and burst and smashed as though we had tried to make a mock of god s image there on the ground one could read every stage of yesterday s fight the dead that lay in squares and the fringe of dead that had charged them and above on the slope the dead who lay round their broken pieces the guard s column had left a streak right up the field like the trail of a and at the head of it the blue coats were lying heaped upon the red ones where that fierce had been before they took their backward step and the very first thing i saw when i got there was jim himself he was lying on the broad of his back his turned up towards the sky and all the passion and the trouble seemed to have passed clean away from him so that he looked just like the old jim as i had seen him in his cot a hundred times when we were school mates together the great shadow i had given a cry of grief at the sight of him but when i came again to look upon his and to see how much happier he looked in death than i could ever have hoped to see him in life it was hard to mourn for him two french had passed through his chest and he had died in an instant and without pain if one could believe the smile upon his lips the major and i were raising his head in the hope that some flutter of life might remain when i heard a weu remembered voice at my side and there was de leaning upon his elbow among a utter of dead he had a great blue coat muffled round him and his hat with the high red was lying on the ground beside him he was very pale and had dark under	4
his eyes but otherwise he was as he had ever been with the keen hungry nose the moustache and the close head away to upon the top his eyelids had always drooped but now one could hardly see the of his eyes from beneath them jack i he cried i didn thought to have seen you here and yet i might have known it too when i saw friend jim it is you that have brought all this trouble said i ta ta ta he cried in his old impatient fashion it is all arranged for us when i was in spain i learned to believe in it is which has sent you here this morning the of death this man s blood lies at your door said i with my hand on poor jim s shoulder and mine on his so we have paid our debts he flung open his mantle as he spoke and i saw with horror that a great black lump of blood was hanging out of his side this is my and last said he with a smile they say that thirteen is an unlucky number could you spare me a drink from your the major had some brandy and water de it up eagerly his eyes brightened and a little of colour came back into each of his haggard cheeks it was jim did this said he i heard some one calling my name and there he was with his gun against my two of my men cut him down just as he fired well well was worth it all you will be in paris in less than a month jack and you will see her you will find her at number eleven of the which is near to the break it very gently to her jack for you cannot think how she loved me tell her that i have is in the two black trunks and that has the keys you will not forget i will remember and madame your mother i trust that you have left her very well and too your bear them my distinguished regards even now as death closed in upon him he gave u it the great shadow the old bow and wave as he sent his greetings to my mother surely said i your wound may not be so serious as you think i could bring the surgeon of our regiment to you my dear jack i have not giving and taking wounds this fifteen years without knowing when one has come home but it is well for i know that all is ended for my little man and i had rather go with my than remain to be an exile and a beggar besides it is quite certain that the would have shot me so i have saved from that humiliation the sir said the major with some heat would be guilty of no such barbarous action but de shook his head with the same sad smile you do not know major said he do you suppose that i should have fled to scotland and changed my name if i had not more to fear than my comrades in paris i was anxious to for i was sure that my uttle man would come back now i had rather die for he will never head an army again but i have done things that could not be forgiven it was i that led the party that took and shot the due d it was i ah ma he threw out both his hands with all the fingers feeling and quivering in the air then he let them drop heavily in front of him and his chin fell forward upon his chest one of our laid him gently down lis the of death and the other stretched the big blue mantle over and so we left those two whom fate had so strangely brought together the and the frenchman lying silently and peacefully within hand s touch of each other upon the blood soaked near chapter xv the end op it and now i have very nearly come to the end of it au and precious glad i be to find myself there for i began this old memory with a light heart thinking that it would give me some work for the long summer evenings but as i went on i a thousand sleeping sorrows and half forgotten and now my soul is all as raw as the hide of an ill sheep if i come safely out of it i wiu swear never to set pen to paper again for it is so very easy at first like walking into a stream and then before you can look round you are off your feet and down in a hole and can struggle out as best you can we buried jim and de with four hundred and thirty one others of the french guards and our own light in a single ah if you could sow a brave man as you sow a seed there should be a fine crop of heroes coming up there some day i then we left that bloody behind us for ever and with our we marched on over the french border on our way to paris i had always been brought up during au these years to look upon the french as very evil folk and as we only heard of them in connection with fight the end of it and by land and by sea it was natural enough to think that they were vicious by nature and ill to meet with but then after all they had only heard of us in just the same fashion and so no doubt they had just the same idea of us but when we came to go through their country and to see their little and the quiet folk at work in the fields and the women knitting by the	4
road side and the old with a big white the baby to teach it manners it was all so that i could not think why it was that we had been fearing and these good people for so long but i suppose that in truth it was really the man who was over them that we hated and now that he was gone and his great shadow was cleared from the land all was brightness once more e happily enough through the loveliest country that ever i set my eyes on until we came to the great city where we thought that maybe there would be a battle for there are so many folk in it that if only one in twenty comes out it would make a fine army but by that time they had seen that it was a pity to spoil the whole country just for the sake of one man and so they had told him that he must shift for himself in the future the next we heard was that he had surrendered to the british and that the gates of paris were open to us which was very good news to me for i could get along very well just on the one battle that i had had the great shadow but there were plenty of folk in paris now who loved and tiiat was natural when you think of the glory that he had brought them and how he had never asked his army to go where he would not go himself they had stem enough for us i can tell you when we marched in and we of adam s were the very first who set foot in the city we passed over a bridge which they call which is easier to write than to say and then through a fine park the de and so into the d there we and pretty soon the streets were so full of and english that it became more like a camp than a city the very first time that i could get away i went with rob of my company for we were only allowed to go about in couples to the rob waited in the hall and i was shown upstairs and as i put my foot over the mat there was cousin just the same as ever staring at me with those wild eyes of hers for a moment she did not recognise me but when she did she just took three steps forward and sprang at me with her two arms round my neck oh my dear old jack i she cried how fine you look in a red coat yes i am a soldier now said i very for as i looked at her pretty face i seemed to see behind it that other face which had looked up to the morning sky on the the end of it fancy that i she cried what are you then a general a no i am a private what i not one of the common people who carry guns yes i carry a gun oh that is not nearly so said she and she went back to the so from which she had risen it was a room all silk and velvet and shiny things and i felt inclined to go back to give my boots another rub as sat down again i saw that she was all in black and so i knew that she had heard of de s death i am glad to see that you know all said i for i am a clumsy hand at t things he said that you were to keep whatever was in the boxes and that had the keys thank you thank you said she it was like your kindness to bring the message i heard of it nearly a week ago i was mad for the time quite mad i shall wear mourning all my days although you can see what a fright it makes me look ah i shall never get over it i shall take the veil and die in a if you please madame said a maid looking in the count de wishes to see you my dear said jumping up this is very important i am so sorry to cut our chat short but i am sure that you will come to see me again will you not when i am less and would you mind going out by the side door the great shadow instead of the main one thank you you dear old you were always such a good boy and did exactly what you were told and that was the last i was ever to see of cousin she stood in the sunlight with the old challenge in her eyes and of her teeth and so i shall always remember her shining and like a drop of as i joined my comrade in the street below i saw a ie carriage and pair at the door and i knew that she had asked me to slip out so that her grand new friends might never know what common people she had been associated with in her childhood she had never asked for jim nor for my father and mother who had been so kind to her weu it was just her way and she could no more help it than a rabbit can help its and yet it made me heavy hearted to think of it two months later i heard that she had married this same count de and she died in child bed a year or two later and as for us our work was done for the great shadow had been cleared away fix m europe and should no longer be thrown across the breadth of the lands over peaceful farms and little villages darkening the lives which should have been so happy i came back to after	4
i had bought my discharge and there when my father died i took over the sheep farm and married of and have brought up seven the end of it children who are all taller than then father and take mighty good care that he shall not forget it but in the quiet peaceful days that pass now each as like the other as so many scotch i can hardly get the young folks to believe that even here we have had our romance when jim and i went a and the man with the cat s whiskers came up from the sea fi the end uncle uncle i thb coast of i say that i had read my uncle s letter a hundred times and i am sure that i knew it by heart none the less i took it out of my pocket and sitting on the side of the i went over it again with as much attention as if it were for the first time it was written in a hand such as one might expect from a man who had begun life as a village attorney and it was addressed to louis de to the care of william of the green man in the landlord had many a of french brandy from the coast and the letter had found its way by the same hands my dear nephew louis said the letter now that your father is dead and that you are alone in the world i am sure that you will not wish to carry on the which has existed between the two of the at the time of the troubles your father was drawn towards the side of the king and i towards that of the people and it ended as you know by his having to fly from the country and by my becoming the possessor of the uncle estates of no doubt it is very hard that you should find yourself in a different position to your ancestors but i am sure that you would rather that the land should be held by a than by a stranger from the brother of your mother you will at least always meet with sympathy and consideration and now i have some advice for you you know that i have always been a republican but it has become evident to me that there is no use in fighting against fate and that napoleon s power is far too great to be shaken this being so i have tried to serve him for it is well to howl when you are among wolves i have been able to do so much for him that he has become my very good so that i may ask him what i uke in return he is now as you are probably aware with the army at within a few miles of if you will come over at once he will certainly forget the hostility of your father in consideration of the services of your uncle it is true that your name is still but my influence with the emperor will set that matter right come to me then come at once and come with confidence your c so much for the letter but it was the outside which had puzzled me most a seal of red wax had been at either end and my had apparently used his thumb as a one could the coast of france see the little rippling edges of a coarse skin upon the wax and then above one of the there was written in english the two words don t come it was hastily and whether by a man or a woman it was impossible to say but there it stared me in the face that sinister addition to an invitation don t come i had it been added by this unknown uncle of mine on account of some sudden change in his plans surely that was inconceivable for why in that case should he send the invitation at all or was it placed there by some one else who wished to warn me from accepting this offer of hospitality the letter was in french the warning was in english could it have been added in england but the were unbroken and how could any one in england know what were the contents of the letter and then as i sat there with the big sail humming uke a above my head and the green water hissing beside me i thought over all that i had heard of this uncle of mine my father the of one of the and oldest in france had chosen beauty and virtue rather than rank in his wife never for an hour had she given him cause to regret it but this lawyer brother of hers had as i understood offended my father by his in days of prosperity and his enmity in the days of trouble he had on tiie until my family had been compelled to fly fix m the uncle country and had afterwards aided in his worst receiving as a reward the castle and estate of which was our own at the ml of he had succeeded in and through every successive change he stiu managed to gain a fresh of the property now it appeared from his letter that the new emperor of france had also taken his part though why he should a man with such a history and what service my republican uncle could possibly render to him were matters upon which i could form no opinion and now you will ask me no doubt why i should accept the invitation of such a man a man whom my father had always as a and a traitor it is easier to speak of it now than then but the fact was that we of the new generation felt it very irksome and difficult to carry on the bitter quarrels of	4
can lay your life on that he answered and laughed in so a fashion that i half turned upon him with the intention of him one is very helpless with these fellows however for a serious affair is of course out of the question while if one uses a cane upon them they have a vile habit of striking with their hands which gives them an advantage the de told me that when he first settled in at the time of the he lost a tooth when an peasant i made the best of a necessity therefore and my shoulders i passed over the side of the into the little boat my bundle was dropped in after me conceive to yourself the heir of all the de travelling with a single bundle for his baggage and two pushed her off pulling with long slow strokes towards the low lying shore the coast of france there was certainly every promise of a wild night for the dark cloud which had rolled up over the setting sun was now and ragged at the edges extending a good third of the way across the heavens it had split low down near the horizon and the crimson glare of the sunset beat through the gap so that there was the appearance of fire with a monstrous of smoke a red dancing belt of light lay across the broad slate coloured ocean and in the centre of it the little black craft was and tumbling the two kept looking up at the heavens and then over their shoulders at the land and i feared every moment that they would put back before the gale burst i was filled apprehension every time when the end of their pull turned their and it was to draw their attention away fit m the that i asked them what the lights were which had begun to twinkle through the dusk both to the right and to the left of us that s to the north and upon the south said one of the i how the words came back to me i it was to that in my boyhood we had gone down for the summer bathing could i not remember as a little lad trotting along by my father s side as he paced the beach and wondering why every s cap flew ofi at our approach and as to it was thence that we had fled for england when the folks came to the pier head as we passed and i joined uncle my thin voice to my father s as he shrieked back at them for a stone had broken my mother s knee and we were all with our fear and our hatred and here they were these places of my childhood twinkling to the north and south of me while there in the darkness between them and only ten miles off at the lay my own castle my own land of where the men of my blood had lived and died long before some of us had gone across with duke william to conquer the proud island over the water how i strained my eager eyes through the darkness as i thought that the distant black keep of our might even now be visible yes sir said the seaman tis a fine stretch of coast and many is the cock of your that i have helped ashore there what do you take me for then i asked well tis no business of mine sir he answered there are some trades that had best not even be spoken about you think that i am a well master since you have put a name to it lor love you sir we re used to it i give you my word that i am none an escaped prisoner then no nor that either the man leaned upon his oar and i could see in the gloom that his was thrust forward and that it was wrinkled with suspicion if you re one of s he cried the coast of france a spy the tone of my voice was enough to convince him well said he i m if i know what you are but if you d been a spy i d ha had no hand in landing you whatever the might say mind you i ve no word to say against said the other seaman speaking in a very thick voice he s been a rare good friend to the poor it surprised me to hear him speak so for the of feeling against the new french emperor in england exceeded all belief and high and low were united in their hatred of him but the sailor soon gave me a to his politics if the poor can run in his little bit of coffee and sugar and run out his silk and his brandy he has to thank for it said he the merchants have had their spell and now it s the turn of the poor i remembered then that was personally very popular amongst the as well he might be seeing that he had made over into their hands all the trade of the channel the seaman continued to pull his left hand but he pointed with his right over the slate coloured dancing waters there s himself said he you who live in a age cannot conceive the thrill which these simple words sent through me it was but ten years since we had first heard uncle of this man with the curious italian name think of it ten years the time that it takes for a private to become a non officer or a to win a fifty pound advance in his salary he had sprung in an instant out of nothing into everything one month people were asking who he was the next he had broken out in the north of italy like the plague and withered	4
at the touch of this ill nourished boy he the soldiers in the field and he the in the council chamber with a of energy he rushed to the east and then while men were still at the way in which he had converted egypt into a french department he was back again in italy and had beaten for the second time to the earth he travelled as quickly as the rumour of his coming and where he came there were new new the of old systems and the of ancient lines of fi holland they were become mere names upon the map france was eating into europe in every direction they had made him emperor this officer and without an rt he had crushed down those before whom the oldest king and the nobility of europe had been helpless so it came about that we who watched him dart fix m place to place like the of destiny and who heard his name always in connection with some new achievement and some new success had come at last to look upon u the coast of france him as something more than human something monstrous france and menacing europe his giant presence loomed over the continent and so deep was the impression which his had made in my mind that when the english sailor pointed confidently over the darkening waters and cried there s i looked up for the instant with a foolish expectation of seeing some gigantic figure some creature dark and threatening brooding over the waters of the channel even now after the long gap of years and the knowledge of his that great man casts his spell upon you but all that you read and all that you hear cannot give you an idea of what his name meant in the days when he was at the summit of his career what actually met my eye was very fix m this childish expectation of mine to the north there was a long low cape the name of which has now escaped me in the evening light it had been of the same green tint as the other but now as the darkness fell it gradually broke into a dull glow like a iron on that wild night seen and lost with the heave and sweep of the boat this lurid streak carried with it a vague but sinister suggestion the red line the darkness might have been a giant half sword blade with its point towards england what is it then i asked just what i say master said he it s one uncle of s armies with himself in the middle of it as like as not them is their camp fires and you ll see a dozen such between this and he s audacious enough to come across is little if he could lord s other eye but there s no chant e for him until then and well he knows it how can lord know what he is doing i asked the man pointed out over my shoulder into the darkness and far on the horizon i perceived three little watch he in hb wc forty four added his companion i have often thought of them since the long glow upon the land and the three little lights upon the sea standing for so much for the two great rivals face to face for the power of the land and the power of the water for the centuries old battle which may last for centuries to come and yet frenchman as i am do i not know that the struggle is already decided for it lies between the nation and that which has a young brood springing up around her if france falls she dies but if england falls how many nations are there who will carry her speech her traditions and her blood on into the history of the future the land had been darker and the of the waves upon the sand sounded louder every instant upon my ears i could see the coast of france the quick dancing gleam of the surf in front of me suddenly as i peered through the deepening shadow a long dark boat shot out from it like a from under a stone making straight in our direction a guard boat i cried one of the bill boy we re done said the other and began to stuff something into his sea boot but the boat at the sight of us like a horse and was off in another direction as fast as eight frantic oars could drive her the stared after her and wiped their brows her conscience don t seem much easier than our own said one of them i made sure it was the looks to me as if you weren t the only queer cargo on the coast to night remarked his comrade what could she be cursed if i know what she was i a cake of good tobacco into my boot when i saw her i ve seen the inside of a french prison before now give way bill and have it over a minute later with a low grating sound we ran upon a beach my bundle was thrown ashore i stepped after it and a seaman pushed the off again springing in as his comrade backed her into deep water already the glow in the west had vanished the storm cloud was half up the heavens and a thick blackness had gathered over the ocean as i turned to watch the vanishing boat a keen wet blast in my face and uncle the air was filled with the high of the wind and with the deep thunder of the sea and thus it was that on a wild evening in the early spring of the year louis de being in the twenty first year of my age returned after	4
an exile of thirteen years to the country of which my family had for many centuries been the ornament and support she had treated us badly this country she had repaid our services by insult exile and but all that was forgotten as i the only de of the new generation dropped upon my knees upon her sacred sou and with the strong smell of the in my nostrils pressed my lips upon the gravel is chapter n the salt marsh when a man has reached his mature age he can rest at that point of and cast his eyes back at the long road along which he has travelled lying its of sunshine and its stretches of shadow in the valley behind him he knows then its whence and its whither and the and which were so full of promise or of menace as he approached them lie exposed and open to his gaze so plain is it all that he can scarce ber how dark it may have seemed to him or how long he once hesitated at the cross roads thus when he tries to recall each stage of the journey he does so with the knowledge of its end and can no longer make it clear even to himself how it may have seemed to him at the time and yet in spite of the strain of years and the many passages which have be me since there is no time of my life which comes back so very clearly as that evening and to this day i cannot feel the wholesome of the sea weed without being carried back with that intimate feeling of reality which only the sense of smell can confer to the wet of the french beach when i had risen from my knees the first thing that i did was to put my purse into the inner uncle pocket of my coat i had taken it out in order co give a gold piece to the sailor who had handed me ashore i have little doubt that the fellow was both and of more assured prospects than m i had actually drawn out a ver half crown but i could not bring to offer it to him and so ended by giving a tenth part of my whole fortune to a stranger the other nine sovereigns i put very carefully away and then sitting down upon a flat rock just above high water mark i turned it all over in my mind and weighed what i should do already i was cold and hungry with the wind my and the spray in my eyes but at least i was no longer living upon the charity of the enemies of my country and the thought set my heart dancing within me but the castle as well as i could remember was a good ten miles off to go there now was to arrive at an hour and before this uncle whom i had never seen my sensitive pride up a picture of the scornful of his as they looked out upon this wanderer fix m england back to the castle which should have been his own no i must seek shelter for the night and then at my leisure with as a show of appearances as possible i must present myself before relative where then could i find a refuge from the storm you will ask me doubtless why i did not make for or i answer that it was for the salt marsh the same reason which forced me to land secretly upon that forbidding coast the name of de still headed the list of the for my ther had been a famous and energetic leader of the small but influential body of men who had remained true at all costs to the old order of things do not think that because i was of another way of thinking i despised those who had given up so much for their principles there is a curious trait in our natures which draws us most strongly towards that which the greatest sacrifice and i have sometimes thought that if the conditions had been less the might have had fewer or at least less noble followers the french had been more faithful to them than the english to the for had no luxurious court or rich which he could hold out to those who would desert the royal cause no words can the of those men i have seen a supper party under my father s roof where our guests were two masters three professors of language one ornamental gardener and one of books who held his hand in the fix nt of his coat to conceal a rent in the but these eight men were of the highest nobility of france who might have had what they chose to ask if they would only consent to forget the past and to throw themselves heartily into the new order of things but the humble and what is the incapable monarch of still held the of those old uncle and who having shared the greatness of his were determined also to stand by it in its ruin the dark chambers of that monarch were furnished with something better than the of or the china of across the gulf which my old age from theirs i can still see those ill clad grave men and i raise my hat to the noblest group of that our history can show to visit a coast town therefore before i had seen my uncle or learnt whether my return had been would be simply to deliver myself into the hands of the who were ever on the look out for strangers from england to go before the new emperor was one thing and to be dragged before him another on the whole it seemed to me that my best course was to wander inland in the hope of finding	4
some empty bam or out house where i could pass the night unseen and undisturbed then in the morning i should consider how it was best for me to approach my and through him the new master of france the wind had meanwhile into a gale and it was so dark upon the side that i could only catch the white flash of a leaping wave here and there in the blackness of the which had brought me from i could see no sign on the land side of me there seemed as far as i could make it out to be a line of low hills but the salt marsh when i came to them i found that the light had exaggerated then size and that they were mere scattered sand with patches of over these i toiled with my bundle over my shoulder heavily through the loose sand and over the but forgetting my wet clothes and my hands as i recalled the many hardships and adventures which my ancestors had undergone it amused me to think that the day might come when my own descendants might themselves by the recollection of that which was happening to me for in a great like ours the individual is always subordinate to the race it seemed to me that i should never get to the end of the sand but when at last i did come off them i heartily wished that i was back upon them again for the sea in that part comes by some creek up the back of the beach forming at low tide a great desolate salt marsh which must be a forlorn place even in the da but upon such a night as that it was a most dreary wilderness at first it was but a softness of the ground causing me to slip as i walked but soon the mud was over my ankles and half way up to my knees so that each foot gave a loud as i raised it and a dull splash as i set it down again i would willingly have made my way out even if i had to return to the sand but in trying to pick my path i had lost all my bearings and the air was so full of the sounds of the storm that the sea seemed to be on uncle every side of me i had heard of how one may steer by observation of the stars but my quiet english life had not taught me how such things were done and had i known i could scarcely have by it since the few stars which were visible peeped out here and there in the of the flying storm clouds i wandered on then wet and weary trusting to fortune but always deeper and deeper into this horrible until i began to think that my first night in france was destined also to be my last and that the heir of the de was destined to perish of cold and misery in the depths of this i must have for many in this dreary sometimes coming upon mud and sometimes upon deeper but never making my way on to the dry when i perceived through the gloom which turned my heart even heavier than it had b n before this was a curious of some grass of a variety which suddenly before me in the darkness now an hour i had passed just such a square headed so that i was confirmed in the opinion which i had already begun to form that i was wandering in a circle to make it certain i stooped down striking a momentary flash from my box and there sure enough was my own old track very clearly marked in the brown mud in front of me at this confirmation of my worst fears i threw my eyes up to heaven in my despair and there i saw something which for the salt marsh the first time gave me a dew in the which me it was nothing else than a glimpse of the moon between two flowing clouds this in itself might have been of small avail to me but over its white face was marked a long thin v which shot across like a arrow it was a flock of wild ducks and its flight was in the same direction as that towards which my face was turned now i had observed in how all these creatures come farther inland when there is rough weather breaking so i made no doubt that their course indicated the path which would lead me away fix m the sea i struggled on therefore taking every precaution to walk in a straight line above all being very careful to make a stride of equal length with either leg until at last after half an hour or so my perseverance was rewarded by the welcome sight of a little yellow light as from a cottage window glimmering through the darkness ah how it shone through my eyes and down into my heart glowing and twinkling there that little golden speck which meant food and rest and ufe itself to the wanderer i i towards it through the mud and the as fast as my weary legs would bear me i was too cold and miserable to refuse any shelter and i had no doubt that for the sake of one of my gold pieces the or peasant who lived in this strange situation would shut his eyes to whatever might be suspicious in my presence or appearance uncle as i approached it became more and more to me that any one should live there at all for the grew worse rather than better and in the occasional of i could make out that the water lay in glimmering pools all round the low dark cottage from which the light was breaking i could see now that it	4
shone through a small square window as i approached the gleam was suddenly obscured and there in a yellow appeared the round black outline of a man s head peering out into the darkness a second time it appeared before i reached the cottage and there was something in the stealthy manner in which it peeped and away and peeped once more which filled me with surprise and with a certain vague apprehension so cautious were the movements of this and so singular the position of his watch house that i determined in spite of my misery to see something more of him before i trusted myself to the shelter of his roof and indeed the amount of shelter which i might hope for was not very great for as i drew softly nearer i could see that the light from within was beating through at several points and that the whole cottage was in the most crazy state of for a moment i paused thinking that even the salt marsh might perhaps be a safer resting place for the night than the of some desperate for such i that this lonely must be the however had covered the moon the salt marsh once more and the darkness was so black that i felt that i might a little more closely without fear of discovery walking on i approached the little window and looked in what i saw reassured me vastly a small wood fire was in one of those old country and beside it was seated a strikingly handsome young man who was reading out of a fat little book he had an oval tinted with long black hair in a and there was something of the poet or pf the artist in his whole appearance the sight of that refined face and of the warm yellow which beat upon it was a very cheering one to a cold and traveller i stood for an instant gazing at him and noticing the way in which his and somewhat loose fitting lower lip quivered continually as if he were repeating to himself that which he was reading i was still looking at him when he put his book down upon the table and approached the window catching a glimpse of my figure in the darkness he called out something which i could not hear and waved his hand in a gesture of welcome an instant later the door flew open and there was his thin tall figure standing upon the threshold with his skirts flapping in the wind my dear he cried peering out into the gloom with his hand over his eyes to screen them firom the salt laden wind and driving sand i had given you up i thought that you were never coming i ve been waiting for two hours uncle for answer i stepped out in fix nt of him so that the light fell upon my face i am afraid sir said i but i had no time to finish my sentence he struck at me with both hands like an angry cat and springing back into the room he the door with a crash in my face the swiftness of his movements and the of his gesture were in such singular contrast with his appearance that i was struck speechless with surprise but as i stood there with the door in front of me i was a witness to something which filled me with even greater astonishment i have already said that the cottage was in the last stage of amidst the many and cracks through which the light was breaking there was one along the whole of the side of the door which gave me where i was standing a view of the further end of the room at which the fire was burning as i gazed then i saw this man in front of the fire with both his hands in his bosom and then with a spring he disappeared up the chimney so that i could only see his shoes and half of his black as he stood upon the at the side of the grate in an instant he was down again and back at the door who are you he cried in a voice which seemed to me to be thrilling with some strong emotion i am a traveller and have lost my way the salt marsh there was a pause as if he were thinking what course he should pursue you will find little here to tempt you to stay said he at last i am weary and spent sir and surely you will not refuse me shelter i have been wandering for hours in the salt marsh did you meet any one there he asked eagerly stand back a little from the door this is a wild place and the times are a man must take some precautions i took a few steps back and he then opened the door sufficiently to allow his head to come through he said nothing but he looked at me for a long time in a very searching manner what is your name louis said i thinking that it might sound less dangerous in this form whither are you going i wish to reach some shelter you are fix m england i am fix m the coast he shook his head slowly to show me how little my replies had satisfied him you cannot come in here said he but surely no no it is impossible show me then how to find my way out of the marsh it is easy enough if you go a few hundred r uncle paces in that direction you will perceive the lights of a village you are already almost free of the marsh he stepped a pace or two from the door in order to point the way for me and then turned upon his heel i had already taken a stride	4
or two away fit m him and his hut when he suddenly called after me come said he with quite a ring in his voice i cannot permit you to leave me upon so a night a warm by my fire and a glass of brandy wiu you upon your way you may think that i did not feel disposed to contradict him though i could make nothing of this sudden e in his m m f i am much obliged to you sir said l and i followed him into the hut chapter m the ruined cottage it was delightful to see the glow and of the fire and to escape fix m the wet wind and the cold but my curiosity had risen so high about this lonely man and his singular dwelling that my thoughts ran rather upon that than upon my personal comfort there was his remarkable appearance the fact that he should be awaiting company within that miserable ruin in the heart of the at so sinister an hour and finally the inexplicable incident of the chimney all of which excited my imagination it was beyond my comprehension why he should at one moment charge me sternly to continue my journey and then in almost the same breath invite me most cordially to seek the shelter of his hut on all these points i was keenly on the alert for an explanation yet i endeavoured to conceal my feelings and to assume the air of a man who finds quite natural about him and who is much too absorbed in his own personal wants to have a thought to spare upon anything outside himself a glance at the inside of the cottage as i entered confirmed me in the conjecture which the appearance of the outside had already given rise to that it was not used for human residence and that uncle this man was only here for a prolonged moisture had the plaster in from the walls and had covered the stones with and of the whole place was rotten and like a the single room was save for a crazy table three wooden boxes which might be used as seats and a great pile of decayed fishing net in the corner the of a fourth box with a which leaned against the wall showed how the wood for the fire had been gathered but it was to the table that my gaze was chiefly drawn for there beside the lamp and the book lay an open basket from which projected the of a ham the comer of a loaf of bread and the black neck of a bottle if my host had been suspicious and cold at our first meeting he was now for his by an cordiality even harder for me to explain with many over my mud stained and condition he drew a box close to the blaze and cut me ofi a comer of the bread and ham i could not help observing however that though his loose under mouth was with smiles his dark eyes were continually running over me and my attire asking and re asking what my business might be as for myself said he with an air of false you will very well understand that in these days a worthy merchant must do the best he can to get his wares and if the emperor god save the ruined cottage him sees fit in his wisdom to put an end to open trade one must come to such places as these to get into touch with those who bring across the coffee and the tobacco i promise you that in the itself there is no difficulty about getting either one or the other and the emperor drinks his ten cups a day of the real without asking questions though he must know that it is not grown within the of france the vegetable kingdom still remains one of the few which napoleon has not yet conquered and if it were not for who are at some risk and inconvenience it is hard to say what we should do for our supplies i suppose sir that you are not yourself either in the or in the trading line i contented myself by answering that i was not by which i could see that i only excited his curiosity the more as to his account of himself i read a lie in those teu tale eyes all the time that he was talking as i looked at him now in the full light of the lamp and the fire i could see that he was even more good looking than i had at first thought but with a type of beauty which has never been to my taste his features were so as to be almost and so regular that they would have been perfect if it had not been for that ill fitting mouth it was a clever and yet it was a weak face of a sort of enthusiasm and feeble i felt that the more i knew him the less reason i should probably find either to like him or to fear him and uncle in my first conclusion i was right although i had occasion to change my views upon the second you will forgive me if i was a little cold at first said he since the emperor has been upon the coast the place with police agents so that a must look to his own interests you will allow that my fears of you were not unnatural since neither your dress nor your appearance were such as one would expect to meet with in such a place and at such a time it was on my lips to return the remark but i i can assure you said i that i am merely a traveller who have lost my way now that i am and rested i will not further upon	4
your except to ask you to point out the way to the nearest village tut you had best stay where you are for the night grows every instant as he spoke there came a and scream of wind in the chimney as if the old place were coming about our ears he walked across to the window and looked very earnestly out of it just as i had seen him do upon my first approach the ct is said he looking round at me with his air of good fellowship you may be of some good service to me if you will wait here for half an hour or so how so i asked wavering between my distrust and my curiosity well to be fi with you and never did a the ruined cottage man look less frank as he spoke i am waiting here for some of those people with whom i do business but in some way they have not come yet and i am inclined to take a walk round the marsh on the chance of finding them if they have lost their way on the other hand it would be exceedingly awkward for me if they were to come here in my absence and imagine that i am gone i should ti e it as a then if you would remain here for half an hour or so that you may tell them how matters stand if i should chance to miss them the request seemed reasonable enough and yet there was that same glance which told me that it was still i could not see what harm could come to me by with his request and certainly i could not have devised any arrangement which would me such an opportunity of my what s stone chimney and why had he up there upon the sight of me my adventure would be indeed if i did not settle that point before i went on with my journey well said he up his black hat and running very briskly to the door i am sure that you will not refuse me my request and i must delay no longer or i shall never get my business finished he closed the door hurriedly behind him and i heard the of his footsteps until they were lost in the howling of the gale and so the mysterious cottage was mine to if i could pluck its secrets from it i lifted uncle the book which had been left upon the table it was s social contract excellent literature but hardly what one would expect a to carry with him whilst awaiting an appointment with on the fly leaf was written and beneath it in a woman s hand from then was the name of my good looking but sinister acquaintance it only remained for me now to discover what it was which he had concealed up the chimney i listened intently and as there was no sound from without save the cry of the storm i stepped on to the edge of the grate as i had seen him do and sprang up by the side of the fire it was a very broad old fashioned cottage so that standing on one side i was not either by the heat or by the smoke and the bright glare fit m below showed me in an instant that for which i sought there was a recess at the back caused by the fall or removal of one of the stones and in this was a small bundle there could not be the least doubt that it was this which the fellow had so to conceal upon the first alarm of the approach of a stranger i took it down and held it to the light it was a small square of glazed cloth tied round with white upon my opening it a number of letters appeared and a single large paper folded up the addresses upon the letters took my breath away the first that i glanced at was to citizen the others were in the ruined cottage the republican style addressed to citizen to citizen to citizen to citizen and so on through the whole list of famous names in war and in who were the pillars of the new empire what in the world could this pretended merchant of coffee have to write to all these great about the other paper would explain no doubt i laid the letters upon the shelf and i unfolded the paper which had been enclosed with them it did not take more than the opening sentence to convince me that the outside might prove to be a very much safer place than this accursed cottage these were the words which met my eyes fellow citizens of france the deed of to day has proved that even in the midst of his troops a t is unable to escape the vengeance of an outraged people the committee of three acting temporarily for the republic has to the same fate which has already befallen louis in the outrage of the th so far i had got when my heart sprang suddenly into my mouth and the paper fluttered down from my fingers a grip of iron had closed suddenly round each of my ankles and there in the light of the fire i saw two hands which even in that terrified glance i perceived to be covered with black hair and of an enormous size so my cried a thundering voice this time at least we have been too many for you chapter iv of the night i had little time given me to the extraordinary and humiliating position in which i myself for i was lifted up by my ankles as if i were a fowl pulled off a perch and jerked roughly down into the room my back striking upon the stone floor with a which shook	4
usually none of the hardly grasped the situation however grasped the legs he is always practical the good enough words growled the hairy creature beside me it is because we have talked instead of acting that this has a crown upon his head or a head upon his shoulders let us have done with the and come to business the refined features of made me look towards him as to a possible protector but dark eyes were as cold and hard as jet as he looked back at me what says is right said he we our own safety if he goes with our secret the devil take our own safety cried what has that to do with the matter we the success of our plans that is of more importance the two things go together replied there is no doubt that rule of our exactly what should be done in such a men of the night case any responsibility must rest with the of rule is my heart had turned cold when this man with his poet s face supported the savage at my side but my hopes were raised again when the thin who had said little hitherto though he had continued to stare at me very intently began now to show some signs of alarm at the proposals of his comrades my dear said he in a soothing voice laying his hand upon the young man s arm we philosophers and must have a respect for human life the is not to be lightly we have frequently agreed that if it were not for the of i have every respect for your opinion charles the other interrupted you will allow that i have always been a willing and obedient but i again say that our personal safety is involved and that as far as i see there is no middle course no one could be more averse from cruelty than i am but you were present with me some months ago when silenced the man fit m bow street and certainly it was done with such dexterity that the process was probably more painful to the spectators than to the victim he could not have been aware of the horrible sound which announced his own dissolution if you and i had constancy enough to endure this and if i remember right it was chiefly at your that the deed was done then surely on this more vital occasion uncle no no stop cried the thin man his voice rising from its soft tones to a perfect scream as the giant s hairy hand me by the chin once more i appeal to you upon practical as well as upon moral grounds not to let this deed be done consider that if things should go against us this wiu cut us off from au hopes of mercy consider also argument seemed for a moment to the younger man whose olive complexion had turned a shade there will be no hope for us in any case charles said he we have no choice but to obey rule some latitude is allowed to us we are ourselves upon the inner committee but it takes a to change a rule and we have no powers to do it his lip was quivering but there was no softening in his eyes slowly under the pressure of those cruel fingers my chin began to sweep round to my shoulder and i commended my soul to the virgin and to saint who has always been the especial patron of my family but this man charles who had already me darted forward and began to tear at s hands with a vehemence which was very different from his former philosophic calm you shall not kill him he cried angrily who are you to set your wills up against mine let him go take your thumb from his men of the night chin i won t have it i tell you then as he saw by the of his companions would n t help him he suddenly to tones of entreaty see now make you a promise said he listen to me let me examine him if he is a police spy he shall die i you may have him then but if he is only a harmless traveller who has in here by an evil chance and who has been led by a foolish curiosity to inquire into our business then you will leave him to me you will observe that from the beginning of this i had never once opened my mouth nor said a word in my defence which made me pleased with myself afterwards though my silence came rather from pride than fit m courage to lose life and self respect together was more than i could face but now at this appeal from my advocate i turned my eyes fit m the monster who held me to the other who condemned me the of the one alarmed me less than the attitude of the other for a man is never so dangerous as when he is afraid and of all judges the judge who has cause to fear you is the most my life depended upon the answer which was to come to the appeal of my champion tapped his fingers upon his teeth and smiled at the earnestness of his companion rule rule he repeating in that voice of his u uncle i will take all responsibility i ll tell you what said in his savage voice there s another rule besides rule and that s the one that says that if any man an he shall be treated as if he was himself guilty of the offence this attack did not shake the serenity of my champion in the least you are an excellent man of action said he calmly but when it comes to choosing the right course you must leave it to wiser	4
heads than your own his air of tranquil superiority seemed to the fierce creature who held me he shrugged his huge shoulders m as to you my friend continued i am surprised considering the position to which you in my family that you should for an instant stand in the way of any wish which i may express if you have grasped the true principles of liberty and if you are privileged to be one of the small band who have never of the republic to whom is it that you owe it yes yes charles i acknowledge what you say the young man answered with much agitation i am sure that i should be the last to oppose any wish which you might express but in this case i fear lest your tenderness of heart may be leading you astray by all means ask him any questions that you like but it seems to me that there can be only one end to the matter men of the night so i thought also for with the secret of these desperate men m my possession what hope was there that they would ever suffer me to leave the hut alive and yet so sweet is human life and so dear a be it ever so short a one that when that hand was taken from my chin i heard a sudden of little and the lamp blazed up into a strange fantastic it was but for a moment and then my mind was clear again and i was looking up at the strange gaunt face of my whence have you come he asked from but you are french yes when did you arrive to night how in a from the fellow is speaking the truth growled yes i ll say that for him that he is speaking the truth we saw the and some one was landed from it just after the boat that brought me over pushed off i remembered that boat which had been the first thing which i had seen upon the coast of france how little i had thought what it would mean to me and now my advocate began asking questions vague useless questions in a slow hesitating fashion which set grumbling this cross uncle examination appeared to me to be a useless farce and yet there was a certain eagerness and intensity in my s manner which gave me the assurance that he had some end in view was it merely that he wished to gain time time for what and then suddenly that quick perception which comes upon those whose nerves are strained by an extremity of danger i became convinced that he really was awaiting something that he was tense with expectation i read it upon his drawn face upon his head with his ear into his hand above au in his restless eyes he expected an interruption and he was talking talking talking in to gain time for it i was as sure of it as if he had whispered his secret in my ear and down in my cold heart a warm little spring of hope began to and run but had at all this word and now with an oath he broke in upon our dialogue i have had enough of this he cried it is not for child s play of this sort that i risked my head in coming over here have we nothing better to talk about than this fellow do you suppose i came from london to listen to your fine phrases have done with it i say and get to business very good said my champion there s an excellent little cupboard here which makes as fine a prison as one could wish for us put him in men of the night here and pass on to business we can deal with him when we have finished and have him all that we say said i don t know what the devil has come over you cried turning suspicious eyes upon my protector i never knew you before and certainly you were not backward in the a pair of the man from bow street this fellow has our secret and he must either die or we shall see him at our trial what is the sense of arranging a plot and then at the last moment turning a man loose who will ruin us all let us snap his neck and have done with it the great hairy hands were stretched towards me again but had sprung suddenly to his feet his had turned very white and he stood listening with his forefinger up and his head it was a long thin delicate hand and it was quivering like a leaf in the wind i heard something he whispered and i said the older man what was it listen i for a minute or more we all stayed with straining ears while the wind still in the chimney or rattled the crazy window it was nothing said at last with a nervous laugh the storm makes curious sounds sometimes i heard nothing said uncle hush i cried the other there it is again a clear rising cry floated high above the wailing of the storm a wild musical cry beginning on a low note and thrilling swiftly up to a keen howl a hound they are following us dashed to the fireplace and i saw him thrust his papers into the blaze and grind them down with his heel seized the wood axe which leaned against the wall the thin man dragged the pile of decayed fix m the comer and opened a small wooden screen which shut off a low recess in here he whispered quick and then as i scrambled into my refuge i heard him say to the others that i should be safe there and that they could lay their hands upon me when they wished wn	4
to the hut and the wretched creature half was dragged out into the darkness where is the other the man called he killed the hound and escaped would have got away also had i not prevented him if you had kept the dog in we should have had them both but as it is colonel i think that you may congratulate me he held out his hand as he spoke but the other turned abruptly on his heel you hear that general said he looking out of the door has escaped a dark young man appeared the of light cast by the lamp the agitation of his handsome showed the effect which the news had upon him where is he then it is a quarter of an hour since he got away but he is the only dangerous man of them all the emperor will be furious in which direction did he fly it must have been inland but who is this asked general point uncle ing at me i understood fix m your information that there were only two besides yourself i had rather no names were mentioned said the other abruptly i can well understand that answered with a sneer i would have told you that the cottage was the but it was not decided upon until the last moment i gave you the means of but you let the hound slip i certainly think that you will have to answer to the emperor for the way in which you have managed the business t that sir is our affair said sternly in the meantime you have not told us who this person is it seemed useless for me to conceal my identity since i had a letter in my pocket which would reveal it my name is louis de said i proudly i may confess that i think we had exaggerated our own importance over in england we had thought that all france was wondering whether we should return whereas in the quick march of events france had really almost forgotten our existence this young general was not in the least impressed by my aristocratic name but he it down in his note book de has nothing whatever to do with the matter said the spy he has the law into it by chance and i will answer for his safe keeping in case he should be wanted he will certainly be wanted said general in the meantime i need every that i have for the chase so if you make yourself personally responsible and bring him to the camp when needed i see no objection to his remaining in your keeping i shall send to you if i require him he will be at the emperor s orders are there any papers in the cottage they have been burned that is unfortunate but i have excellent i come every minute counts and there is nothing to be done here let the men scatter and we may stiu ride him down the two tall soldiers out of the cottage without taking any further notice of my companion and i heard the sharp stem order and the of metal as the sprang back into their once more an instant later they were off and i listened to the dull beat of their dying rapidly into a confused murmur my little champion went to the door of the hut and peered after them through the darkness then he came back and looked me up and down with his usual dry smile well young man said he we have played some pretty for your amusement and you can thank me for that nice seat in the front row of the uncle i am under a very deep obligation to you sir i answered struggling between my gratitude and my aversion i hardly know how to thank you he looked at me with a singular expression in his eyes you will have the opportunity for thanking me later said he in the meantime as you say that you are a stranger upon our coast and as i am responsible for your safe keeping you cannot do better than follow me and i will take you to a place where you may sleep in safety chapter vi the secret passage the fire had already down and my companion blew out the lamp so that we had not taken ten paces before we had lost sight of the cottage in which i had received so a welcome upon my home coming the wind had softened down but a fine rain cold and came drifting up fix m the sea had i been left to m i should have found myself as much at a loss as i had been when i first landed but my companion walked with a brisk and assured step so that it was evident that he guided himself by which were invisible to me for my part wet and miserable with my forlorn bundle under my arm and my nerves all by my terrible experiences i in silence by his side turning over in my mind all that had occurred to me young as i was i had heard much political discussion amongst my elders in england and the state of affairs in france was perfectly familiar to me i was aware that the recent elevation of to the throne had enraged the small but formidable section of and extreme who saw that all efforts to a kingdom had only ended in uncle it into an empire it was indeed a pitiable result of their that a crown with eight de bs should be changed into a higher crown surmounted by a cross and ball on the other hand the followers of the in whose company i had spent my youth were equally disappointed at the manner in which the mass of the french people hailed this final step in the return from chaos to order contradictory	4
as were their motives the more violent spirits of both parties were united in their hatred to napoleon and in their fierce determination to get rid of him by any means hence a series of most of them with their base in england and hence also a large use of and upon the part of and of upon whom the responsibility of the safety of the emperor lay a strange chance had landed me upon the french coast at the very same time as a and had afterward enabled me to see the weapons with which the police contrived to and him and his associates when i looked back upon my series of adventures my wanderings in the salt marsh my entrance into the cottage my discovery of the papers my capture by the the long period of suspense with s dreadful thumb upon my chin and finally the moving scenes which i had witnessed the killing of the hound the capture of and the arrival of the soldiers i could not wonder that my nerves were and that i surprised the secret passage m in little gestures like those of a frightened child the chief thought which now filled my mind was what my relations were with this dangerous man who walked by my side his conduct and bearing had filled me with i had seen the depth of cunning with which he had and betrayed his companions and i had read in his lean smiling the cold deliberate cruelty of his nature as he stood pistol in hand over the coward whom he had yet i could not deny that when through my own foolish curiosity i had placed myself in a most hopeless position it was he who had the wrath of the formidable in order to me it was evident also that he might have made his achievement more striking by delivering up two prisoners instead of one to the it is true that i was not a but i might have found it difficult to prove it so inconsistent did such conduct seem in this little yellow flint stone of a man that after walking a mile or two in silence i asked him suddenly what the meaning of it might be i heard a dry chuckle in the darkness as if he were amused by the and of my question you are a most amusing person let me see what did you say your name was de uncle ah quite so de you have the and the of youth you want to know what is up a chimney you jump up the chimney you want to know the reason of a thing and you out a question i have been in the habit of living among people who keep their thoughts to themselves and i find you very refreshing whatever the motives of your conduct there is no doubt that you saved my life said i i am much obliged to you for your it is the most difficult thing in the world to express gratitude to a person who fills you with and i fear that my halting speech was another instance of that of which he accused me i can do without your thanks said he coldly you are perfectly right when you think that if it had suited my purpose i should have let you perish and i am perfectly right when i think that if it were not that you are under an obligation you would ul to see my hand if i stretched it out to you just as that overgrown did it is very honourable he thinks to serve the emperor upon the field of battle and to risk life in his behalf but when it comes to living amidst danger as i have done with desperate men and knowing well that the least slip would mean death why then one is beneath the notice of a fine clean handed gentleman why he continued in a burst of bitter passion i have dared more and endured more with and a few of his kid it the secret passage for comrades than this has done in all the childish cavalry charges that ever he undertook as to service all his put together have not rendered the emperor as pressing a service as i have done but i it does not strike you in that light de quite so it is curious how that name escapes me i you take the same view as colonel it is not a question upon which i can offer an opinion said i i only know that i owe my life to your i do not know what reply he might have made to this but at that moment we heard a couple of pistol shots and a distant shouting from r away in the darkness we stopped for a few minutes but all was silent once more they must have caught sight of said my companion i am afraid that he is too strong and too cunning to be taken by them i do not know what impression he left upon you but i can tell you that you will go far to meet a more dangerous man i answered that i would go far to avoid meeting one unless i had the means of defending myself and my companion s dry chuckle showed that he appreciated my feelings yet he is an absolutely honest man which is no very common thing in these days said he he is one of those who at the outbreak of the uncle revolution embraced it with the whole strength of his simple nature he believed what the writers and the told him and he was convinced that after a little disturbance and a few necessary france was to become a heaven upon earth the centre of peace and comfort and love a good many people got those fine	4
ideas into their heads but tlie heads have mostly dropped into the basket by this time was true to them and when instead of peace he found war instead of comfort a grinding poverty and instead of equality an empire it drove him mad he became the fierce creature you see with the one idea of his huge body and giant s strength to the destruction of those who had with his ideal he is fearless and i have no doubt at all that he will kill me for the part that i have played tonight it was in the voice that my companion uttered the remark and it made me understand that it was no boast when he said there was more courage needed to carry on his trade than to play the part of a beau like he paused a little and then went on as if speaking to himself yes said he i missed my chance i certainly ought to have shot him when he was struggling with the hound but if i had only wounded him he would have torn me into bits like an over boiled so perhaps it is as well as it is the secret passage we had left the salt marsh behind us and for some time i had felt the soft turf of the beneath my feet and our path had risen and dipped over the curves of the low coast hills in spite of the darkness my companion walked with great assurance never hesitating for an instant and keeping up a stiff pace which was welcome to me in my and condition i had been so young when i left my native place that it is doubtful whether even in daylight i should have recognised the country side but now in the darkness half by my adventures i could not form the least idea as to where we were or what we were making for a certain had taken possession of me and i cared little where i went as long as i could gain the rest and shelter of which i stood in need i do not know how long we had walked i only know that i had and woke and again whilst still keeping pace with my comrade when i was at last aroused by his coming to a dead stop the rain had ceased and although the moon was still obscured the heavens had cleared somewhat and i could see for a little distance in every direction a huge white basin in fix nt of us and made out that it was a deserted chalk with and growing thickly all round the edges my companion after a stealthy glance round to make sure that no one was observing us picked his way amongst the scattered of bushes until he uncle reached the wall of chalk this he skirted for some distance between the cliff and the until he came at last to a spot where all farther progress appeared to be impossible can you see a light behind us asked my companion i turned round and looked carefully in every direction but was unable to see one never mind said he you go first and i will in some way during the instant that my back had been turned he had swung aside or plucked out the of bush which had barred our way when i turned there was a square dark opening in the white in front of us it is small at the entrance but it grows larger farther in said he i hesitated for an instant whither was it that this strange man was leading me did he live in a cave like a wild beast or was this some trap into which he was me the moon shone out at the instant and in its silver light this black silent port hole looked cheerless and menacing you have gone rather far to turn back my good friend said my companion you must either trust me altogether or not trust me at all i am at your disposal pass in then and i shall follow i crept into the narrow passage which was so low that i had to crawl down it upon my hands the secret passage and knees my neck round i could see the black of my companion as he came after me he paused at the entrance and then with a rustling of branches and snapping of twigs the faint light was suddenly shut off from outside and we were left in darkness i heard the of his knees as he crawled up behind me go on until you come to a step down said he we shall have more room there and we can strike a light the ceiling was so low that by my back i could easily strike it and my touched the wall upon either side in those days i was slim and however so that i found no difficulty in making my way onward until at the end of a hundred paces or it may have been a hundred and fifty i felt with my hands that there was a dip in front of me down this i and was instantly conscious from the purer air that i was in some larger i heard the snapping of my companion s flint and the red glow of the paper leaped suddenly into the clear yellow flame of the at first i could only see that stem face like some grotesque carving in wood with the ceaseless of the muscles of his jaw the light beat full upon it and it stood strangely out with a dim round it in the darkness then he raised the and swept it slowly round at arm s length so as to the place in which we stood uncle i found that we were in a which appeared to extend into the of the earth it was so high	4
face turned towards us in the angle of one of the windows seeing that i was watching him he rose and waved his hand merrily now you know why he saved your life since you say that he saved it said she it would suit his plans best that you should marry his daughter and so he wished you to live but when once he understands that that is impossible why then my poor cousin louis his only way of guarding against the return of the de must lie in that there are none to return it was those words of hers coupled with that yellow ce still lurking at the window which made me the of my danger no one in france had any reason to take an interest in me if i were to pass away there was no one who could make inquiry i was absolutely in his power my memory told me what a and dangerous man it was with whom i had to deal but said i he must have known that your affections were already engaged he did she answered it was that which uncle made me most of all i was afraid for you and afraid for myself but most of all i was afraid for no man can stand in the way of his plans the name was like a lightning flash upon a dark night i had heard of the of a woman s love but was it possible that this spirited woman loved that poor creature whom i had seen last night in a frenzy of fear but now i remembered also where i had seen the name it was upon the fly leaf of his book from was the inscription i recalled also that my uncle had said something to him about his aspirations is hot headed and easily carried away said she my has seen a great deal of him lately they sit for hours in his room and will say nothing of what passes between them i fear that there is something going forward which may lead to evil is a student rather than a man of the world but he has strong opinions about politics i was at my wit s ends what to do whether to be silent or to tell her of the terrible position in which her lover was placed but even as i hesitated she with the quick of a woman read the doubts which were in my mind you know something of him she cried i that he had gone to paris for god s sake tell me what you know about him his name is cousin yes yes i have i have seen him i you have seen him and you only arrived in france last night where did you see him what has happened to him she me by the wrist in her anxiety it was cruel to tell her and yet it seemed more cruel still to keep silent i looked round in my bewilderment and there was my uncle himself coming along over the close green lawn by his side with a merry of steel and of spurs there walked a handsome young the same to whom the charge of the prisoner had been committed upon the night before never hesitated for an instant but with a set ce and blazing eyes she swept towards them father said she what have you done with i saw his face for a moment before the passionate hatred and contempt which he read in her eyes we will discuss this at some future time said he i will know here and now she cried what have you done with gentlemen said he turning to the young and me i am sorry that we should intrude our little domestic differences upon your attention you will i am sure make lieutenant when i tell you that your prisoner of last night was a very dear mend of my daughter s such uncle considerations do not prevent me from doing my duty to the emperor but they make that duty more painful than it would otherwise be you have my sympathy said the young it was to him that my cousin had now turned do i understand that you took him prisoner she asked it was unfortunately my duty from you i will get the truth whither did you take him to the emperor s camp and why ah it is not for me to go into politics my duties are but to a sword and sit a horse and obey my orders both these gentlemen will be my witnesses that i received my instructions from colonel but on what charge was he arrested tut tut child we have had enough of this i said my uncle harshly if you insist upon knowing i will tell you once and for all that has been seized for being concerned in a plot against the life of the emperor and that it was my to the would be to him cried the i know that it was you who set him on who encouraged him who held him to it whenever he tried to draw back oh you villain you villain what have i ever done what sin of my ancestors am i cousin that i should be compelled to call such a man father my uncle shrugged his shoulders as if to say that it was useless to argue with a woman s the and i made as if we would stroll away for it was embarrassing to stand listening to such words but in her fury she called to us to stop and be witnesses against never have i seen such a of passion as blazed in her dry eyes you have deceived others but you have never deceived me she cried i know you as your own conscience knows you you may murder me as you murdered my	4
mother before me but you can never frighten me into being your you proclaimed yourself a republican that you might creep into a house and estate which do not belong to you and now you try to make a friend of by betraying your old associates who still trust in you and you have sent to his death but i know your plans and my cousin louis knows them also and i can assure you that there is just as much chance of his agreeing to them as there is of my doing so i d rather lie in my grave than be the wife of any man but if you had seen the pitiful that he proved himself you would not say so said my uncle coolly you are not yourself at present but when you return to your right mind you will be ashamed of having made this public exposure of uncle your and something to say mj m e was to you de and the young his hack i on my tlie emperor has sent me to to urn at once at the camp at my heart at the of y from i ask nothing better i cried a horse and an escort are at the n m m i am ready to start at this instant nay there can he no such great hurry said my you will wait for lieutenant g the emperor s sir are not carried out in such a manner said the young sternly i have wasted too much time we must he upon our way m five my his hand upon my arm and led me slowly towards the through which my cousin had already pa ed there is one matter that i wish to speak to you about you go since my time is so short you will me if i introduce it without you have seen your cousin and though her this morning is such as to prejudice you against her yet i can assure you that she is a very amiable she spoke just now as if she had mentioned the plan which i had i cousin conceived to you i confess to you that i cannot imagine anything more convenient than that we should unite in order to settle once for all every question as to which branch of the shall hold the estates unfortunately said i there are objections and pray what are they the fact that my cousin s hand as i have just learned is promised to another that need not hinder us said he with a sour smile i will undertake that he never claims the promise i fear that i have the english idea of marriage that it should go by love and not by convenience but in any case your scheme is out of the question for my own affections are pledged to a young lady m england he looked at me out of the comers ot his grey eyes think well what you are doing louis said he in a whisper which was as menacing as a serpent s hiss you are my plans and tiiat is not done with it is not a matter in which i have any choice he me by the sleeve and waved his hand round as satan may have done when he showed the and look at the park he cried the fields the woods look at the old castle in which your fathers have lived for eight hundred years you have but to say the word and it is all yours once more uncle there flashed up my memory the little house at and s sweet pale face looking over the laurel bushes which grew by the window it is impossible said i there must have been something in my manner which made him comprehend that it really was so for his face darkened with anger and his persuasion changed in an instant to menace if i had known they might have done what they wished with you last night said he i would never have put out a finger to save you i am glad to hear you say so i answered for it makes it easier for me to say that i wish to go my own way and to have nothing more to do with you what you have just said me from the bond of gratitude which held me back i have no doubt that you would like to have nothing more to do with me he cried you will wish it more heartily still before you finish very well sir go your own way and i will go mine and we shall see who comes out the best in the end a group of were standing by their horses heads in the in a few minutes i had packed my scanty possessions and i was hastening with them down tbe corridor when a chill struck suddenly through my heart at the thought of my cousin how could i leave her alone with grim companion in the old castle had she not herself told me that her very life might be at stake i had stopped in my perplexity and cousin there was a of feet and there she was running towards me bye cousin louis she cried with outstretched hands i was thinking of you said i your father and i have had an explanation and a quarrel thank god i she cried your only chance was to get away from him but beware for he will do you an injury if he can he may do his worst but how can i leave you here in his power have no fears about me he has more reason to avoid me than i him but they are calling for you cousin louis bye and god be with chapter ix the camp op my uncle was still standing at the castle the very picture of a with our own	4
old coat of arms of the bend and the three blue engraved upon the stones at either side of him he gave me no sign of greeting as i mounted the large grey horse which was awaiting me but he looked thought at me from under his down wn brows and his jaw muscles stiu with that stealthy movement i read a cold and settled in his set yellow face and his stem eyes for my own part i sprang readily enough into the saddle for the man s presence had fit m the first been to me and i was right glad to be able to turn my back upon him and so with a stem quick order the lieutenant and a and clatter fit m the we were off upon our journey as i glanced back at the black keep of and at the sinister figure who stood looking us fix m beside the i saw fix m over his head a white handkerchief gleam for an instant in a last greeting fix m one of the gloomy re windows and again a chill ran through me as i thought of the fearless girl and of the hands in which we were leaving her the camp of but sorrow from the mind of youth like the of breath upon glass and who could carry a heavy heart upon so a horse and through so sweet an air the white glimmering road wound over the downs with the sea far upon the left and between lay that great which had been the scene of our adventures i could even see as i fancied a dull black spot in the distance to mark the position of that terrible cottage far away the little clusters of houses showed the positions of and the other fishing villages whilst i could see that the point which had seemed last night to glow like a h red hot sword blade was now white as a snow field with the camp of a great army far far away a little dim cloud upon the water stood for the land where i had spent my days the pleasant homely land which will always rank next to my own in my and now i turned my attention fix m the downs and the sea to the who rode beside me forming as i could perceive a guard rather than an escort save for the last night they were the first of the famous soldiers of napoleon whom i had ever seen and it was with admiration and curiosity that i looked upon men who had won a world wide reputation for their discipline and their gallantry their appearance was by no means gorgeous and their dress and was much more modest than that of tiie east which rode every saturday uncle through but the stained the worn and the rough hardy horses gave them a very appearance they were small light brown ed fellows heavily and many of them wearing ear rings in their ears it surprised me that even the youngest and most boyish looking of them should be so with hair until upon a second look i perceived that his whiskers were formed of of black wax stuck on to the sides of his the tall young lieutenant noticed the astonishment with which i gazed at his boyish yes yes said he they are artificial sure enough but what can you expect from a lad of seventeen on the other hand we cannot spoil the appearance of the regiment upon parade by having a girl s cheeks in the ranks it terribly in this warm weather lieutenant said the joining in the conversation with the freedom which was one of the characteristics of napoleon s troops well well in a year or two you will dispense with them who knows perhaps he will have with his head also by that time said a in front and they all laughed together in a manner which in england would have meant a court martial this seemed to me to be one of the of the revolution that officer and private were left upon a very familiar footing which was increased no doubt by the freedom with which the emperor the camp of would chat with his old soldiers and the liberties which he would allow them to take with him it was no uncommon thing for a shower of to come fix m the ranks directed at their own commanding officers and i am sorry to say also that it was no very unusual thing for a shower of bullets to come also officers were continually by their own men at the battle of it is well known that every officer with the exception of one lieutenant belonging to the th was shot down from behind but this was a of the bad times and as the emperor gained more complete control a better feeling was established the history of our army at that time proved at any that the highest could be maintained without the which was still used in the and the english service and it was shown for the first time that great bodies of men could be induced to act from a sense of duty and a love of country without hope of reward or fear of punishment when a french general could suffer his division to as they would over the ce of the country with the certainty that they would upon the day of battle he proved that he had soldiers who were worthy of his trust one thing had struck me as curious about these that they pronounced french with the utmost difficulty i remarked it to the lieutenant as he rode by my side and i asked him from what i i uncle foreign country his men were since i could perceive that they were not my faith you must not let them hear you say so	4
in napoleon s passage of the and the campaign of when you have been with the army for a little uncle time the name of will not be so to you said he i believe that i may claim to be the hero of one or two little stories which the soldiers love to tell about their you will hear of my with the six masters and you will be told how single handed i charged the of and brought their silver kettle drum back upon the of my mare i can assure you that it was not by accident that i was present last night but it was because colonel was very anxious to be sure of y whom he make as it turned out however i only had the one poor chicken hearted creature whom i handed over to the and the ah he seems to have been a man of another breed i could have asked nothing better than to have had him at my sword point but he has escaped they caught sight of him and fired a pistol or two but he knew the too weu and they could not follow him and what will be done to your prisoner i asked lieutenant shrugged his shoulders i am very sorry for your cousin said he but a fine girl should not love such a man when there are so many gallant soldiers upon the country side i hear that the emperor is weary of these endless and that an example will be made of him the camp of whilst the young and i had been talking we had been down the broad white road until we were now quite close to the camp which we could see lying in its arrangement of and beneath us our approach lay over the high ground so that we could see down into this canvas city with its interminable lines of horses its of and its of soldiers in the centre was a clear space with one very large tent and a cluster of low wooden houses in the middle of it with the banner waving above them that is the emperor s quarters and the smaller tent there is the of general who commands this corps you understand that this is only one of several armies dotted along from in the north to this which is the most the emperor goes from one to the other each in its turn but this is the main body and contains most of the picked troops so that it is we who see most of him especially now that the and the court have come to de he is in there at the present moment he added in a hushed voice pointing to the great white tent in the centre the road into the camp ran through a considerable plain which was covered by bodies of cavalry and engaged upon their we had heard so much in england about napoleon s troops and their had appeared so extraordinary that my imagination prepared me for uncle men of very appearance as a matter of fact the ordinary infant of the line in their blue coats and white breeches and were quite little fellows and even their high brass covered hats and red could not make them very imposing in spite of their size however they were tough and and after their eighteen months in camp they were trained to the highest pitch of perfection the ranks were of and all the had seen much service while the in command have never been equalled in ability so that it was no mean foe which lay with its menacing eyes fixed upon the distant cliffs of england if had not been able to place the first navy in the world between the two shores the history of europe might be very different to day lieutenant seeing the interest with which i gazed at the troops was good enough to satisfy my curiosity about such of them as approached the road along which we were those fellows on the black horses with the great blue upon their are the said he they are so heavy that they cannot raise more than a trot so when they charge we manage that there shall be a of or l them to follow up the advantage who is the who is them i asked the camp of that is not a but it is g st who is one of those whom they called the of the they were of opinion that simplicity of life and of were part of a good soldier and so they would wear no beyond a simple blue riding coat such as you see st is an excellent officer but he is not popular for he seldom speaks to anyone and he sometimes himself up for days on end in his tent where he plays upon his i think myself that a soldier is none the worse because he a glass of good wine or has a smart jacket and a few across his chest for my part i do both and yet those who know me would tell you that it has not my you see this upon the left the men with the yellow precisely those are s famous and the other with the red shoulder knots and the hats above their are the imperial guard the of the old guard who won for us eighteen hundred of them got the cross of honour for the battle there is the th of the line which has been named the terrible and there is the th light who come from the p and who are well known to be the best and the greatest in the army the light cavalry in green are the horse of the guard sometimes called the guides who are said to be the emperor s favourite uncle troops although he makes a great mistake if he	4
prefers them to the of ny the other cavalry with the green are also but i tell from here what regiment they are their colonel handles them admirably they are moving to a flank in open column of half and then into line to charge we could not do it better ourselves and now de here we are at the gates of the camp of and it is my duty to take you straight to the emperor s quarters chapter x the room the camp of contained at that time one hundred and fifty thousand with fifty thousand so that its population was second only to paris among the cities of france it was divided into four sections the right camp the left camp the camp of and the camp of the whole being about a mile in depth and extending along the sea shore for a length of about seven miles on the land side it was open but on the sea side it was fringed by powerful containing and cannon of a size never seen before these were placed along the edges of the high cliffs and their lofty position increased their range and enabled them to drop their upon the decks of the english ships it was a pretty sight to ride through the camp for the men had been there for more than a year and had done all that was possible to and ornament their tents most of them had little gardens in front or around them and the fellows might be seen as we passed kneeling in their shirt sleeves with their and their watering in the midst of their flower beds others sat in the sunshine at the of the tents tying up their pipe their uncle and their arms hardly a glance upon us as we passed for of cavalry were coming and going in every direction the endless lines were formed into streets with their names printed up upon boards thus we had passed through the d the de ber the d and the d before we found ourselves in the great central square in which the of the army were situated the emperor at this time used to sleep at a village called de some four miles inland but his days were spent at the camp and his continual of war were held there here also were his ministers and the of the army corps which were scattered up and down the coast came thither to make their reports and to receive their orders for these a plain wooden house had been constructed containing one very large room and three small ones the which we had observed from the downs served as an chamber to the house in which those who sought audience with the emperor might it was at the door of this where a strong guard of announced napoleon s presence that my guardian sprang down from his horse and signed to me to follow his example an officer of the guard took our names and returned to us accompanied by general a thin dry man of forty with a formal manner and a eye lis the room is this louis de he asked with a stiff smile i bowed the emperor is very anxious to see you you are no longer needed lieutenant i am personally responsible for bringing him safely very good you may come in if you prefer it and he passed us into the huge tent which was save for a row of wooden benches round the sides a number of men in naval and military were seated upon these and numerous groups were standing about in subdued tones at the far end was a door which led into the imperial council chamber now and then i saw some man in official dress walk up to this door scratch gently upon it with his nail and then as it instantly opened slip through closing it softly behind him over the whole assembly there hung an air of the court rather than of the camp an atmosphere of awe and of reverence which was the more impressive when it affected these bluff soldiers and sailors the emperor had seemed to me to be formidable in the distance but i found him even more overwhelming now that he was close at hand you need have no fears de said my companion you are going to have a good reception how do you know that from general s manner in these uncle courts it upon down to that m die red coat yonder bat if die emperor why yoa have to look at die of the man who die in plates and yoa will see the frown reflected upon it and the of it is that if yoa are a man yoa may never find oat what earned yoa either the frown or the smile that is why i had rather wear the shoulder of a and be at the side of my with a good horse between my knees and my against my iron than hare grand in the saint and hundred thousand of income i was wondering whether the could be right and if the smile with which had greeted me could mean that the s int i tions towards me were friendly when a very tall and handsome young man in a brilliant came towards me in s of the change in his dress i recognised him at once as the who had commanded the expedition of the night before well de said he shaking hands with me very pleasantly you have heard no doubt that this fellow has escaped us he was really the only one whom we were anxious to seize for the other is evidently a mere and but we shall have him yet and between ourselves we shall keep a very strict guard upon u the room the emperor s person until we do for master is not a	4
interest upon the hero of who had taken command upon the one occasion when napoleon s heart and spirit had failed him he was a man i should judge who would shine rather in war than in peace for with his long goat s ce and his brandy nose he looked in spite of his golden oak leaves just such a vulgar foul mouthed old soldier as every room can show he was an older man than the others and his sudden promotion had come too late for him to change he was always the of the guard under the hat of the french yes yes he is a rough fellow said in answer to my remark he is one of those whom the emperor had to warn that he wished them to be soldiers only with the army he and and with their big boots and their were too much for the s at the there is also the dark man with the heavy face heaven help the english village that he finds his quarters in i it was he who got into trouble because he broke u uncle the jaw of a priest who could not find him a second bottle of and that is i suppose yes that is with the black whiskers and the red thick lips and the brown of upon his face he is the man for me my word when you have seen him in front of a of light cavalry with his tossing and his flashing you would not wish to see anything finer i have known a square of break and scatter at the very sight of him in egypt the emperor kept away fix m him for the would not look at the little when this fine and was before them in my opinion is the better light cavalry officer but there is no one whom the men will follow as they do and who is the stem looking man leaning on the oriental sword oh that is he is the most obstinate man in the world he with the emperor the handsome man beside him is and is leaning against the tent pole i looked with interest at the extraordinary face of this adventurer who after starting with a and a in the ranks was not contented with the b ton of a but passed on afterward to grasp the of a king and it might be said of him that unlike his fellows he gained his throne in spite of napoleon rather than by his aid any man who looked at his singular pro the room features the of which proclaimed his half spanish origin must have read in his flashing black eyes and in that huge nose that he was reserved for a strange destiny of all the fierce and men who surrounded the emperor there was none with greater gifts and none also whose he more than those of and yet fierce and as these men were having as boasted fear neither of god nor of the devil there was something which thrilled or them in the pale smile or black frown of the little man who ruled them for as i watched them there suddenly came over the assembly a start and hush such as you see in a boys school when the master enters unexpectedly and there near the open doors of his stood the master himself even without that sudden silence and the scramble to their feet of those upon the benches i felt that i should have known instantly that he was present there was a pale about his ivory face which drew the eye towards it and though his dress might be the of a hundred his appearance would be the first which one would notice there he was with his little plump figure his green coat with the red collar and his white well formed legs his sword with the gilt and the shell his head was uncovered showing his thin hair of a ruddy chestnut colour under one arm was the flat cocked hat with the uncle which was in his pictures in his right hand he held a little riding with a metal head he walked slowly forward his e his eyes fixed steadily before him measured inexorable the very of destiny admiral i i do not know if that voice thrilled through every one as it did through me never had i heard anything more harsh more menacing more sinister from under his brows his light blue eyes glanced swiftly round with a sweep like a i am here a dark man in a naval uniform had advanced from the throng napoleon took three quick little steps towards him in so menacing a that i saw the weather stained cheeks of the sailor turn a shade paler and he gave a helpless glance round him as if for assistance how comes it admiral cried the emperor in the same terrible voice that you did not obey my commands last night i could see that a gale was coming up i knew that he could hardly speak for his agitation i knew that if the ships went out with this lee shore lee what right have you to judge sir cried the emperor in a cold of indignation do you conceive that your judgment is to be placed against mine in matters of in no matters whatsoever the room but the tempest i did it not prove me to be in the right what i you still dare to words with me when i have justice on my side there was a hush amidst all the great audience such a heavy silence as comes only when many are waiting and all with breath the emperor s face was terrible his cheeks were of a livid tint and there was a singular movement of the muscles of his forehead it was the countenance of an he raised	4
the whip to his shoulder and took a step towards the admiral you insolent rascal he it was the italian word which he used and i observed that as his feelings overcame him his french became more and more that of a foreigner for a moment he seemed to be about to the sailor across the face with his whip the latter took a step back and clapped his hand to his sword have a care said he for a few the was terrible then napoleon brought the whip down with a sharp crack against his own vice admiral he cried you will in future receive all orders connected with the fleet admiral you will leave in hours and withdraw to holland where is lieutenant of the of ny uncle my companion s sprang to his i ordered you to bring louis de from the castle of he is here good you may retire the lieutenant saluted round upon his heel and away whilst the emperor s blue eyes were turned upon me i had often heard the phrase of eyes looking through you but that piercing gaze ud really give one the feeling that it penetrated to one s inmost thoughts but the had all melted out of it and i read a great gentleness and kindness in their expression you have come to serve me de yes you have been some time in making up your mind i was not my own master your was an yes and a of the yes you will find that in france now there are no and no but that we are all working for the glory of our country have you seen louis de i have seen him once an insignificant looking man is he not no i thought him a fine looking man for a moment i saw a hard gleam of resent the room ment in those changing blue eyes then he put out his hand and pinched one of my ears de was not bom to be a said he weu well louis de will find that he cannot gain a throne by writing in london and them louis for my part i found the crown of france lying upon the ground and i lifted it upon my you have lifted france with your sword also said who stood at his elbow napoleon looked at his famous minister and i seemed to read suspicion in his eyes then he turned to his secretary i leave de in your hands de said he i desire to see him in the council chamber after the inspection of the chapter xi the secretary and officials all streamed away to the review leaving me with a gentle looking large eyed man in a black suit with very white who introduced himself to me as de private secretary to his majesty we must get some food de said he it is always well if you have anything to do with the emperor to get your food whenever you have the chance it may be many hours before he takes a meal and if you are in his presence you have to fast also i assure you that i have nearly fainted from hunger and fix m thirst but how does the emperor manage himself i asked this de had such a kindly human appearance that i already felt much at my ease with him oh he he is a man of iron de we must not set our watches by his i have known him work for eighteen hours on end and take nothing but a cup or two of coffee he wears everybody out around even the soldiers cannot keep up with him i assure you that i look upon it as the very highest honour to have charge of his papers but there are times when it is the secretary very trying all the same sometimes it is eleven o clock at night de and i am writing to his with my head aching for want of sleep it is dreadful work for he as quickly as he can talk and he never anything now says he suddenly we shall stop here and have a good night s rest and then just as i am myself he adds and we shall continue with the at three to morrow morning that is what he means by a good night s rest but has he no hours for his meals de i asked as i accompanied the unhappy secretary out of the tent oh yes he has hours but he will not observe them you see that it is already long after dinner time but he has gone to this review after the review something else will probably take up his attention and then something else until suddenly in the evening it will occur to him that he has had no dinner my dinner constant this instant i he will cry and poor constant has to see that it is there but it must be unfit to eat by that time said i the secretary laughed in the discreet way of a man who has always been obliged to control his emotions this is the imperial kitchen said he indicating a large tent just outside the here is the second cook at the door how many to day uncle ah de it is cried the cook behold and drawing back the of the entrance he showed us seven dishes each of them containing a cold fowl the eighth is now on the fire and done to a turn but i hear that his majesty has started for the review so we must put on a ninth that is how it is managed said my companion as we turned from the tent i have known twenty three fowls got ready for him before he asked for his meal that day he called for his dinner at eleven at night he cares little what	4
he eats or drinks but he will not be kept waiting half a bottle of a red or a k la satisfy every need but it is unwise to put or cream upon the table because he is as likely as not to eat it before the fowl ah that is a curious sight is it not i had halted with an exclamation of astonishment a groom was a very beautiful horse down one of the lanes between the tents as it passed a who was standing with a small pig under his arm hurled it down under the feet of the horse the pig vigorously and away but the horse on without changing its step what does that mean i asked that is the head groom breaking in a for the emperor s use they are first trained by having a cannon fired in their ears then they are struck suddenly by heavy objects and fin the secretary ally they have the test of the pig being thrown under their feet the emperor has not a very firm seat and he very often loses himself in a reverie when he is riding so it might not be very safe if the horse were not well trained do you see that young man asleep at the door of a tent yes i see him you would not think that he is at the present moment serving the emperor it seems a very easy service i wish all our services were as easy de that is joseph whose foot is the exact size of the emperor s he wears his new boots and shoes for three days before they are given to his master you can see by the gold that he has a pair on at the present moment ah de will you not join us at dinner in my tent a tall handsome man very dressed came across and greeted us it is rare to find you at rest de i have no very task as head of the household but i think i have more leisure than you have we time for dinner before the emperor returns yes yes here is the tent and everything ready we can see when the emperor returns and be in the room before he can reach it this is camp e de but no doubt you will excuse it for my own part i had an excellent appetite for the and the but what i above uncle all was to hear the talk of my companions for i was full of curiosity as to everything which concerned this singular man whose genius had elevated him so rapidly to the highest position in the world the head of his household discussed him with an extraordinary frankness what do they say of him in england de he asked nothing very good so i have gathered from their papers they drive the emperor frantic and yet he will insist upon reading them i am willing to lay a that the very first thing which he does when he enters london will be to send cavalry to the various newspaper offices and to endeavour to seize the and the next the next said he laughing will be to issue a long to prove that we have conquered england entirely for the good of the english and very much against our own inclinations and then perhaps the emperor will allow the english to understand that if they absolutely demand a for a ruler it is possible that there are a few little points in which he from holy church too bad too bad i cried de looking amused and yet rather frightened at his companion s audacity no doubt for state reasons the emperor had to a little with m and i dare say he would attend this church of st paul s as readily as he did the at the secretary but it would not do for a ruler to be a after all the emperor has to think for all he thinks too much said gravely he thinks so much that other people in france are getting out of the way of at all you know what i mean de for you have seen it as much as i have yes yes answered the secretary he certainly does not encourage originality among those who surround him i have heard him say many a time that he desired nothing but which was a poor compliment it must be confessed to us who have the honour of serving him a clever man at his court shows his cleverness best by pretending to be dull said with some bitterness and yet there are many characters there i remarked if so it is only by concealing their characters that they remain there his ministers are clerks his are superior de camp they are all agents you have this wonderful man in the middle and all around you have so many which reflect sides of him in one you see him as a and you call him in another you have a and you name it or in yet another he figures as a and is called you see different figures but it is really the same man there is a de for example who the household but he cannot dismiss a uncle servant without permission it is still always the emperor and he plays upon us we must confess de that he plays upon us in nothing else do i see so clearly his he will not let us be too friendly lest we combine he has set his against each other until there are hardly two of them on speaking terms look how hates or and or and mass na it is all they can do to keep their in their when they meet aiid then he knows our weak points s thirst for money r s vanity s s foolishness s s for speculation th	4
were never at their ease always upon the brink of a catastrophe encouraged one day only to be rudely the next in public and in private and yet in spite of the man of action it all the singular remains that they loved him and served him as no monarch has been loved and served perhaps i had best stay here said i when we had come to the chamber which was still crowded with people no no i am responsible for you you must come with me oh i trust he is not offended with me how could he have got in without my seeing him my frightened companion scratched at the door which was opened instantly by the who guarded it within the room into which we passed was of considerable size but was with extreme simplicity it was of a silver grey colour with a sky blue ceiling in the centre of which was the imperial eagle in gold holding a in spite of the warm weather a large fire was burning at one side and the air was heavy with heat and the of in the middle of the room was a large oval table covered with green cloth and with a number of letters and papers a raised writing desk was at one side of the table and behind it in a green chair with curved arms there sat the emperor a number of officials were standing round the walls but he took no notice of them in his hand he had a small with which he the wooden at the end of his chair he glanced up as we entered and shook his head coldly at de uncle i have had to wait for you de said he i cannot remember that i ever waited for my late secretary de that is enough i no excuses take this report which i have written in your absence and make a copy of it poor de took the paper with a shaking hand and carried it to the little side table which was reserved for his use napoleon rose and paced slowly up and down the room with his hands behind his back and his big round head stooping a little forwards it was certainly as weu that he had a secretary for i observed that in writing this single document he had the whole place with ink and it was obvious that he had twice used his white knee breeches as a as for me i stood quietly beside at the door and he took not the slightest notice of my presence well he cried presently is it ready de we have something more to do the secretary half turned in his chair and his face was more agitated than ever if it please you he stammered weu well what is the matter now if it please you i find some little difficulty in reading what you have written tut tut sir you see what the report is about yes it is about for the cavalry horses the man of action napoleon smiled and the action made his face look quite you remind me of de when i wrote him an account of the battle of he thought that my letter was a rough plan of the engagement it is incredible how much difficulty you appear to have in reading what i write this document has nothing to do with cavalry horses but it contains the instructions to admiral as to the of his fleet so as to obtain command of the channel give it to me and i will read it to you he snatched the paper up in the quick impulsive way which was characteristic of him but after a long fierce stare he it up and hurled it under the table i will dictate it to you said he and pacing up and down the long room he poured forth a torrent of words which poor de his face shining with his exertions strove hard to put upon paper as he grew excited by his own ideas napoleon s voice became his step faster and he seized his right in the fingers of the same hand and twisted his right arm in the singular gesture which was peculiar to him but his thoughts and plans were so admirably clear that even i who knew nothing of the matter could readily follow them while above all i was impressed by the marvellous grasp of fact which enabled him to speak with confidence not only of the line of battle ships but of the uncle and at and with the exact strength of each in men and in guns while the names and force of the english vessels were equally at his fingers ends such familiarity would have been remarkable in a naval officer but when i thought that this question of the ships was only one out of fifty with which this man had to deal i began to the immense grasp of that mind he did not appear to be paying the least attention to me but it seems that he was really watching me closely for he turned upon me when he had finished his you appear to be surprised de that i should be able to my naval business without having my minister of marine at my elbow but it is one of my rules to know and to do things for myself perhaps if these good had had the same habit they would not now be living amidst the of england one must have your majesty s memory in order to do it i observed it is the result of system said he it is as if i had drawers in my brain so that when i opened one could close the others it is seldom that i to find what i want there i have a poor memory for names or dates but an excellent one for facts	4
or faces there is a good deal to bear in mind de for example i have as you have seen my one little drawer full of the ships upon the sea i have another which contains the man of action all the and of france as an example i may teu you that when my minister of war was reading me a report of all the coast i was able to point out to him that he had omitted two guns in a battery near in yet another of my brain drawers i have the of france is that drawer in order a clean shaven man who had stood biting his nails in the window bowed at the emperor s question i am sometimes tempted to believe that you know the name of every man in the ranks said he i think that i know most of my old egyptian said he and then de there is another drawer for bridges roads and every detail of internal administration the law italy the colonies holland all these things demand drawers of their own in these days de france asks something more of its ruler than that he should carry eight yards of with dignity or ride after a in the forest of i thought of the helpless gentle louis whom my father had once taken me to visit and i understood that france after her and her did indeed require another and a stronger head do you not think so de asked the emperor he had halted for a moment uncle by the fire and was grinding his dainty gold shoe into one of the burning logs you have come to a very decision said he when i had answered his question but you have always been of this way of thinking have you not is it not true that you once defended me when some young englishman was drinking to my down u at an inn in this village in which you lived i remembered the incident although i could not imagine how it had reached his ears why should you have done this i did it on impulse on impulse he cried in a tone of contempt i do not know what people mean when they say that they do things upon impulse in things are doubtless done upon impulse but not amongst sane people why should you risk your life over there in defending me when at the time you had nothing to hope for fix m me it was because i felt that you stood for france during this conversation he had still walked up and down the room twisting his right arm about and occasionally looking at one or other of us with his for his sight was so weak that he always needed a single glass indoors and outside sometimes he stopped and helped himself to great of snuff fix m a shell box but i that none of it ever reached his nose for he dropped it all from between his fingers the man of action on to his waistcoat and the floor my answer seemed to please him for he suddenly seized my ear and pulled it with considerable violence you are quite right my friend said he i stand for france just as the second stood for make her the great power of the world so that every monarch in europe will find it necessary to keep a palace in paris and they will all come to hold the train at the of my descendants a of pain passed suddenly over his face my god for whom am building who will be my descendants i heard him and he passed his hand over his forehead do they seem in england about my approaching invasion he asked suddenly have you heard them express fears lest i get across the channel i was forced in truth to say that the only fears which i had ever heard expressed were lest he should not get across the soldiers are very jealous that the sailors should always have the honour said i but they have a very small army nearly every man is a i he cried and made a motion with his hands as if to sweep them fix m before him i will land with a hundred thousand men in or in i will fight a great battle which will win with a loss of ten thousand men on the third day shall be in london i uncle will seize the the the merchants the newspaper men i will impose an of a hundred millions of their i will the poor at the expense of the rich and so i shall have a party i will scotland and ireland by giving them which will put them in a superior condition to england thus i will sow everywhere then as a price for leaving the island i will claim their fleet and their colonies in this way i shall secure the command of the world to france for at least a century to come in this short sketch i could perceive the quality which i have since heard remarked in napoleon that his mind could both conceive a large scheme and at the same time those practical details which would seem to bring it within the bounds of possibility one instant it would be a wild dream of the east the next it was a of the ships the ports the stores the troops which would be needed to turn dream into fact he the heart of a question with the same decision which made him strike straight for an enemy s capital the soul of a poet and the mind of a man of business of the first order that is the combination which may make a man dangerous to the world i think that it may have been his purpose for he never did anything without a purpose	4
to give me an object lesson of his own capacity for governing with the idea perhaps that i might in the man of action turn influence others of the l by what i told them at any rate he left me there to stand and to watch the curious succession of points upon which he had to give an opinion during a few hours nothing seemed to be either too large or too small for that extraordinary mind at one instant it was the arrangements for the winter of two hundred thousand men at the next he was discussing with de the ing of the expenses of the household and the possibility of some of the carriages it is my desire to be economical at home so as to make a good show abroad said he for myself when i had the honour to be a sub lieutenant i found that i could live very well upon a year and it would be no hardship to me to go back to it this extravagance of the palace must be stopped for example i see upon your accounts that cups of coffee are drunk a which with sugar at and coffee at a pound come to a cup it would be better to make an allowance for coffee the stable bills are also too high at the present price of seven or eight a week should be enough for each horse in a stable of two hundred i will not have any waste at the thus within a few minutes he would pass fit m a question of to a question of and fit m the management of an empire to that of a stable from time to time i could observe that he threw a little glance at me as if to ask c c uncle what i thought of it all and at the time i wondered very much why my approval should be of any to him but now when i look back and see that my following his fortunes brought over so many others of the young nobility i understand that he saw very much further than i did well de said he suddenly you have seen something of my methods are you prepared to enter my service assuredly i answered i can be a very hard master when i like said he smiling you were there when i spoke to admiral we have all our duty to do and discipline is as necessary in the highest as in the lowest ranks but anger with me never rises above here and he drew his hand across his throat i never permit it to cloud my brain dr here would tell you that i have the pulse of all his and that you are the said a large faced benevolent looking person who had been whispering to oh you rascal you that up against me do you the doctor will not forgive me because i tell him when i am that i had rather die of the disease than of the if i eat too fast it is the fault of the state which does not allow me more than a few minutes for my meals which reminds me that it must be rather after my dinner hour constant it is four hours after it lie the man of action serve it up then at once yes is outside with his ah we shall see them at once show him in a man entered who had evidently just arrived fix m a long journey under his arm he carried a large flat basket it is two days since i sent for you the arrived yesterday i have been travelling from paris ever since have you the models there ir oi n then you may lay them out on that table i could not at first imagine what it meant when i saw upon opening his basket that it was crammed with little about a foot high all of them dressed in the most gorgeous silk and velvet with of and of gold lace but presently as the took them out one by one and placed them on the table i understood that the emperor with his extraordinary passion for detail and for directly in his court had had these dressed in order to judge the effect of the gorgeous which had been ordered for his grand upon state occasions what is this he asked holding up a little lady in hunting costume of and gold with a and of white feathers that is for the s hunt uncle you should have the waist rather lower said napoleon who had very definite opinions about ladies dresses these cursed seem to be the only thing in my which i cannot my tailor takes three inches fit m my coat tails and all the armies and of france cannot prevent him who is this he had picked up a very gorgeous figure in a green coat that is the grand master of the hunt then it is you how do you like your new costume and this in red that is the arch and the violet that is the grand the emperor was as much amused as a child with a new toy he formed little groups of the figures upon the table so that he might have an idea of how the would look when they together then he threw them all back into the basket very good said he you and david have done your work very well you will submit these designs to the court and have an estimate for the expense you may tell that if she to send in such an account as the last which she sent to the she shall see the inside of you would not think it right de to spend twenty five thousand fi upon a single dress even though it were for de the man of action	4
was there anything which this of a man did not know what could my love affairs be to him amidst the clash of armies and the struggles of nations when i looked at him half in amazement and half in fear that pleasant boyish smile lit up his pale face and his plump little hand rested for an instant upon my shoulder his eyes were of a bright blue when he was amused though they would turn dark when he was thoughtful and steel grey in moments of excitement you were surprised when i told you a little while ago about your encounter with englishman in the village inn you are still more surprised now when i tell you about a certain young lady you must certainly have thought that i was very badly served by my agents in england if i did not know such important details as these i cannot conceive why such trifles should be reported to you or why you should for one instant remember them you are certainly a very modest young man and i hope you will not lose that charming quality when you have been for a little time at my court so you think that your own private affairs are of no importance to me i do not know why they should be what is the name of your great uncle he is the cardinal de de precisely and where is he he is in germany quite so in germany and not at uncle dome where i should have placed him who is your first cousin the duke de and where is he in london yes in london and not at the where he might have had what he liked for the asking i wonder if i were to fall whether i should have followers as as those of the would the men that i have made go into exile and refuse au offers until i should return come here he took his by the ear with the caressing gesture which was peculiar to him could i count upon you you rascal eh i do not understand you our conversation had been carried on in a voice which had made it to the other people in the room but now they were all listening to what had to say if i were driven out would you go into exile also no at least you are frank i could not go into exile and why because i should be dead napoleon began to laugh and there are some who say that our is dull said he well i think i am pretty sure of you for although i am the man of action fond of you for reasons of my own i do not think that you would be of much value to anyone else now i could not say that of you you would change very quickly to a new master as you have from an old one you have a genius you know for yourself there was nothing which the emperor loved more than to suddenly produce little scenes of this sort which made everybody very uncomfortable for no one could tell what awkward or question he was going to put to them next at present however they all forgot their own fears of what might come in their interest at the reply which the famous might make to a suggestion which everybody knew to be so true he stood leaning upon his black stick with his shoulders stooping forward and an amused smile upon his face as if the most innocent of compliments had been addressed to him one of his few titles to respect is that he always met napoleon upon equal terms and never condescended to upon him or to flatter him you think i should desert you if your enemies offered me more than you have given me i am perfectly sure that you would well really i cannot answer for myself until the offer has been made but it will have to be a very large one you see apart from my very nice hotel in the st and the two uncle hundred thousand or so which you are pleased to allow me there is my position as the first minister in europe really unless they put me on the throne i cannot see how i can better my position no i think i have you pretty safe said napoleon looking hard at him with thoughtful eyes by the way you must either marry madame grand or get rid of her for i cannot have a scandal about the court i was astounded to hear so delicate and personal a matter discussed in this public way but this also was characteristic of the rule of this extraordinary man who proclaimed that he looked upon delicacy and good taste as two of the which attempted to genius there was no question of private life fix m the choosing of a wife to the of a mistress that this young conqueror of thirty six did not claim the ri t of discussing and of finally settling broke once more into his benevolent but inscrutable smile i suppose that it is fix m early association said he but my instincts are to avoid marriage napoleon to laugh i forget sometimes that it is really the bishop of to whom i am speaking said he i think that perhaps i have interest enough with the pope to ask him in return for any little attention which we gave him at the to show you the man of action some in this matter she is a woman this madame grand i have observed that she with attention shrugged his rounded shoulders intellect in a woman is not rs an advantage a clever woman her husband a stupid woman only herself the woman said napoleon is the woman who is clever enough to conceal her cleverness the women	4
in france have always been a danger for they are than the men they cannot understand that it is their hearts and not their heads that we want when they have had influence upon a monarch they have invariably ruined his career look at henry the fourth and louis the they are all of emotion and energy but without logic or foresight look at that accursed madame de look at the of the st i their eternal give me more trouble than the fleet of england why cannot they look after their babies and their i suppose you think that these are veiy opinions de it was not an easy question to answer so i was silent you have not at your age become a practical man said the emperor you will understand then i dare say that i thought as you do at the time when the stupid were saying a uncle the widow of the general de was making by marrying the unknown it was a beautiful dream there are nine in a single day s journey between and and i wrote a letter to my wife from each of them nine letters in a day but one becomes one to accept things as they are i could not but think what a beautiful young man he must have been before he had learned to accept things as they are the the romance what a bald dead thing is life without it his own had clouded over as if that old life had perhaps had a charm which the emperor s crown had never given it may be that those nine letters written in one day at had brought him more true joy than all the by which he had torn provinces from his neighbours but the sentiment passed from his face and he came back in his sudden to my own affairs de is the niece of the due de is she not he asked yes you are yes he shook his head impatiently if you wish to advance yourself in my court de said he you must commit such matters to my care is it likely that i can look with indifference upon a marriage between s an alliance between my enemies the man of action but she shares my opinions ta ta ta at her age one has no opinions she has the blood in her veins and it will come out your marriage shall be my care de and i wish you to come to the de that you may be presented to the what is it constant there is a lady outside who desires to see your majesty shall i tell her to come later a lady cried the emperor smiling we do not see many faces in the camp which have not a moustache upon them who is she what does she want her name is cried napoleon it must be the daughter of old of by the way de he is your uncle upon your mother s side is he not i may have flushed with shame as i acknowledged it for the emperor read my feelings well well he has not a very trade it is true and yet i can assure you that it is one which is very necessary to me by the way this uncle of yours as i understand holds the estates which should have descended to you does he not yes his blue eyes flashed suspicion at me i trust that you are not joining my service merely in the hope of having them restored to you uncle no it is to make a lor it is a tlie to a than to one i not restore your estates de for haye to such a in that if begins l e st oi the is endless it would all public confidence i have no more than the men who mm land whidi does not belong to they me as me the land most remain with but what can this young lady require of me show her in constant an instant later my cousin was conducted the room her was pale and set but her large dark eyes were filled with and she carried like a princess well why do you here what is it that you want asked the in the manner which he adopted to w even if he were them g round and as our eyes met for an instant i felt that my presence had renewed her courage she looked at the emperor as she answered him i come to a tour of you your s daughter has certainly claims upon me what is it that you i do not ask it in my s name but in my l i you to spare the life of the man of action who was arrested yesterday upon a charge of treason he is a student a mere who has lived away fix m the world and has been made a tool by men a cried the emperor harshly they are the most dangerous of all he took a bundle of notes fix m his table and glanced them over i presume that he is fortunate enough to be your lover s pale face flushed and she looked down before the emperor s keen glance i have his examination here he does not come well out of it i confess that from what i see of the young man s character i should not say that he is worthy of your love i you to spare him what you ask is impossible i have been two sides by the and by the hitherto i have been too long suffering and they have been encouraged by my patience since and the due d died the have been quiet now i must teach the same lesson to these others i was astonished and am still astonished	4
at the passion with which my brave and pure cousin loved this cowardly and low minded man though it is but in accordance with that strange law which draws the extremes of nature together as she heard the emperor s stem reply the last sign of uncle colour fix m her pale and her eyes were with despairing tears which gleamed upon her white cheeks like dew upon the of a lily for god s sake for the love of your mother spare him she cried upon her knees at the emperor s feet i will answer for him that he never you again tut tut cried napoleon angrily turning upon his heel and walking impatiently up and down the room i cannot grant you what you ask when i say so once it is finished i cannot have my in high matters of state affected by the intrusion of women the have been dangerous of late and an example must be made or we shall have the st upon our hands once more the emperor s set face and firm manner showed it was hopeless and yet my cousin as no one but a woman who for her lover would have dared to do he is harmless his death will others spare him and i will answer for his loyalty what you ask is impossible constant and i raised her firom the ground that is right de said the emperor this interview can lead to nothing remove your cousin fix m the room but she had again turned to him with a face which showed that even now all hope had not been abandoned the man of action she cried you say that an example must be made there is ah if i could lay my hands upon i he is the dangerous man it was he and my who led on if an example must be made it should be an example of the guilty rather than of the innocent they are both guilty and besides we have our hands upon the one but not upon the other but if i could find him napoleon thought for a moment if you do said he will be forgiven but i cannot do it in a day how long do you ask a week at the least then he has a of a week if you can find in the time will be if not he will die upon the eighth day it is enough de remove your cousin for i have matters of more importance to attend to i shall expect you one evening at the de when you are ready to be presented to the chapter thb man op dreams when i had escorted my cousin fix m the presence of the emperor i was surprised to find the same young officer waiting outside who had commanded the guard which had brought me to the camp well what luck he asked excitedly towards us for answer shook her head ah i feared as much for the emperor is a terrible man it was brave indeed of you to attempt it i had rather charge an square upon a spent horse than ask him for but my heart is heavy that you should have been unsuccessful his boyish blue eyes filled with tears and his ir moustache drooped in such a deplorable fashion that i could have laughed had the matter been less serious lieutenant chanced to meet me and escorted me through the camp said my cousin he has been kind enough to give me sympathy in my trouble and so do i i cried you carried yourself like an angel and it is a man who is blessed with your love i trust that he may be worthy of it the man of dreams she turned cold and proud in an instant when anyone threw a doubt upon this wretched lover of hers i know him as neither the emperor nor you can do said she he has the heart and soul of a poet and he is too high minded to suspect the to which he has fallen a victim but as to i should have no pity upon him for i know him to be a murderer five times over and i know also that there will be no peace in france until he has been taken cousin louis will you help me to do it the lieutenant had been at his moustache and looking me up and down with a jealous eye surely you will permit me to help you he cried in a piteous voice i may need you both said she i will come to you if i do now i will ask you to ride with me to the edge of the camp and there to leave me she had a quick imperative way which came fi om those sweet womanly lips the grey horse upon which i had come to the camp was waiting beside that of the so we were soon in the saddle when we were clear of the huts my cousin turned to us i had rather go alone now said she it is understood then that i can rely upon you entirely said i to the death cried uncle it is to me to have two brave men at my back said she and so with a smile gave her horse its head and off over the in the direction of for my part i remained in thought for some time wondering what plan she could have in her head by which she hoped to get upon the track of a woman s wit by the danger of her lover might perhaps succeed where and had failed when at last i turned my horse i found my young still staring after the distant rider my faith there is the woman for you he kept repeating what an eye what a smile what a rider	4
and she is not afraid of the emperor oh l here is the woman who is worthy of you i these were the little sentences which he kept muttering to himself until she vanished over the hill when he became conscious at last of my presence you are s cousin he asked you are joined with me in doing something for her i do not yet know what it is but i am perfectly ready to do it it is to capture excellent in order to save the life of her lover there was a struggle in the face of the young but his more generous nature won i will do even that if it will make the man of dreams her the happier i he cried and he shook the hand which i extended towards him the of ny are over yonder where you see the lines of horses if you will send for lieutenant l you will find a sure blade always at your disposal let me hear from you then and the sooner the better he shook his bridle and was off with youth and gallantry in every line of him from his red and flowing to the spur which on his heel but for four long days no word came from my cousin as to her quest nor did i hear from this grim uncle of mine at the castle of for myself i had gone into the town of and had hired such a room as my thin purse could afford over the shop of a baker named next to the church of st in the des only last year i went back there under that strange impulse which leads the old to tread once more with dragging feet the same spots which have sounded to the crisp tread of their youth the room is still there the very pictures and the plaster head of which used to stand upon the side table as i stood with my back to the narrow window i had around me every smallest detail upon which my young eyes had looked nor was i conscious that my own heart and feelings had undergone much change and yet there in the little round glass which me was the long drawn weary ce of an aged man and out of the window when i turned were the bare and lonely uncle downs which had been peopled by that mighty host of a hundred and fifty thousand men to think that the grand army should have vanished away like a cloud upon a windy day and yet that every sordid detail of a lodging should remain unchanged truly if man is not humble it is not for want of having his lesson taught to him by nature my first care after i had chosen my room was to send to for that poor little bundle which i had carried ashore with me that night fix m the english my next was to use the credit which my favourable reception by the emperor and his assurance of employment had given me in order to obtain such a wardrobe as would enable me to appear without among the richly dressed and soldiers who surrounded him it was well known that it was his whim that he should himself be the only man in the company and that in the most luxurious times of the there was never a period when fine linen and a brave coat were more necessary for a man who would keep in a new court and a young empire cannot afford to take anything for granted it was upon the morning of the fifth day that i received a message fix m who was the head of the household that i was to attend the emperor at the in the camp and that a seat in one of the imperial carriages would be at my disposal that i might proceed with the court the man of dreams to de there to be present at the reception of the when i arrived i was shown at once through the large entrance tent and admitted by constant into the room beyond where the emperor stood with his back to the fire kicking his heels against the grate and were in attendance and de the secretary sat at the writing table ah de said the emperor with a nod have you heard anything yet of your charming cousin nothing i answered i fear that her efforts will be in vain i wish her every success for we have no reason at all to fear this miserable poet while the other is formidable all the same an example of some sort must be made the darkness was drawing in and constant had appeared with a to light the candles but the emperor ordered him out i like the twilight said he no doubt de after your long residence in england you find yourself also most at home in a dim light i think that the brains of these people must be as dense as their to judge by the nonsense which they write in their accursed papers with one of those gestures which accompanied his sudden of passion he seized a of late london papers from the table and ground them into the fire with his heel an editor he cried in the uncle voice which i had heard when i first met hun what is he a dirty man with a pen in a back office and he will talk like one of the great powers of europe i have had enough of this of the press there are some who would like to see it established in paris you are among them for my part i see no need for any paper at all except the by which the gk may make known its to the people i am of opinion said the minister that it is better to have	4
open foes than secret ones and that it is less dangerous to shed ink than blood what matter if your enemies have leave to in a few paris papers so long as you are at the head of five hundred thousand armed men ta ta ta cried the emperor impatiently you speak as if i had received my crown firom my ther the late king but even if i had it would be intolerable this government by newspaper the allowed themselves to be and where are they now had they used their guards as i did the upon the what would have become of their precious national assembly there was a time when a in the stomach of might have settled the whole matter later it took the heads of a king and queen and the blood of a hundred thousand people he sat down and stretched his plump legs towards the fire through the blackened the man of dreams of the english papers the red glow beat upwards upon the pallid like ce the face of a poet of a philosopher of anything rather than of a and ambitious soldier i have heard folk remark that no two portraits of the emperor are alike and the does not lie with the artists but with the fact that every varying mood made him a different man but in his prime before his features became heavy i who have seen sixty years of mankind can say that in repose i have never looked upon a more beautiful face you have no dreams and no illusions said he you are always practical cold and cynical but with me when i am in the twilight as now or when i hear the sound of the sea my imagination begins to work it is the same when i hear some music especially music which itself again and like some pieces of they have a strange effect upon me and i begin to i get large ideas and great aspirations it is at such times that my mind always turns to the east that ant heap of the human race where alone it is possible to be very great i renew my dreams of i think of the possibility of and these vast masses of men and of them upon europe had i conquered i should have done this and the of the world was really decided at the siege of acre with egypt at my feet i already pictured myself approaching india mounted upon an elephant and holding in my hand uncle a new version of the which i had myself composed i have been bom too late to be accepted as a world s conqueror one must claim to be divine alexander declared himself to be the son of and no one questioned it but the world has grown old and has lost its what would happen if i were to make the same claim de would smile behind his hand and the would write little upon the walls he did not appear to be addressing us but rather to be expressing his thoughts aloud while allowing them to run to the most and extravagant this it was which he called because it recalled to him the wild vague dreams of the whose poems had always had a for him de has told me that for an hour at a time he has sometimes talked in this strain of the most intimate thoughts and aspirations of his heart while his have stood round in silence waiting for the instant when he would return once more to his practical and self the great ruler said he must have the power of religion behind him as well as the power of the sword it is more important to command the souls than the bodies of men the for example is the head of the faith as well as of the army so were some of the roman my position must be until this is accomplished at the present instant there are thirty in the man of dreams france where the pope is more powerful than i it is only by universal dominion that peace can be assured in the world when there is only one authority in europe seated at paris and when all the kings are so many who hold their crowns fix m the power of france it is then that the of peace will be established many powers of equal strength must always lead to struggles until one becomes her central position her wealth and her history all mark france out as being the power which will control and the others germany is divided russia is barbarous england is france only remains i began to understand as i listened to him that my friends in england had not been so r wrong when they had declared that so long as he lived this little thirty six year old there could not possibly be any peace in the world he drank some coffee which constant had placed upon the small round table at his elbow then he leaned back in his chair once more still staring at the red glow of the fire with his chin sunk upon his chest in those days said he the kings of europe will walk behind the emperor of france in order to hold up his train at his each of them will have to maintain a palace in paris and the city will stretch as far as these are the plans which i have made for paris if she will show herself to be worthy of them but i ie uncle have do lore for these tor me tor they i tamed my guns them and they know that i am ready to do so again i have made them admire me mid fear me but i hare never made them like me look what i hare done where	4
she was dressed in a black velvet cloak with white lace at the neck and sleeves and she wore a black hat with a curling white feather her companion was shorter with a countenance which would have been plain had it not been for the alert expression and large dark eyes which gave it charm and character a small black dog had followed them in but the first lady turned and handed the thin steel chain with which she led it to the attendant you had better keep fortune outside said she in a sweet musical voice the emperor is not very fond of dogs and if we intrude upon his quarters we cannot do less than consult his tastes good evening de madame de r and i have driven all along the cliffs and we have stopped as we passed to know if the emperor is coming to de but perhaps he has already started i had expected to find him here his imperial majesty was here a short time ago said bowing and rubbing his hands i hold my such a as de is capable this evening and the emperor promised me that he would set his work aside for once and favour us with his presence i wish we could persuade him to work less de he has a of iron but he cannot continue in this way these nervous attacks come more upon him he will insist upon doing everything himself it is noble but it is to be a i have no doubt that at the present moment but you have not yet told me where he is de we expect him every instant your majesty in that case we shall sit down and await his uncle return ah de how i pity you when i see you among all those papers i was desolate when de deserted the emperor but you have more than taken his place come up to the fire madame de r yes yes i insist upon it for i know that you must be cold constant come and put the rug under madame de s feet it was by little acts of and kindness like this that the so herself that she had really no enemies in france even among those who were most bitterly opposed to her husband whether as the of the first man in europe or as the lonely woman eating her heart out at she was always praised and beloved by those who knew her of all the sacrifices which the emperor ever made to his ambition that of his wife was the one which cost him the greatest struggle and the keenest regret now as she sat before the fire in the same chair which had so recently been occupied by the emperor i had an opportunity of studying this person whose strange fate had raised her from being the daughter of a lieutenant of to the first position among the women of europe she was six years older than napoleon and on this occasion when i saw her first she was in her forty second year but at a little distance or in a discreet light it was no s flattery to say that she might very well have passed for thirty her tall elegant figure was girlish in its and she had an easy and natural grace in every movement which she inherited with her tropical west indian blood her features were delicate and i have heard that in her youth she was strikingly beautiful but like most women she had become pass e in early middle age she had made a brave fight however with art as her ally against the attacks of time and her success had been such that when she sat aloof upon a or drove past in a procession she might still pass as a lovely woman in a small room however or in a good light the crude and with which she had concealed her sallow cheeks became painfully harsh and artificial her own natural beauty however still lingered in that last refuge of beauty the eyes which were large dark and her mouth too was small and amiable and her most j expression was a smile which seldom into a laugh as she had her own reasons for preferring that her teeth should not be as to her bearing it was so dignified that if this little west indian had come straight from the of it could not have been improved upon her walk her glance the sweep of her dress the wave of her hand they had all the happiest mixture of the sweetness of a woman and the condescension of a queen i watched her with admiration as she leaned forward picking little pieces of wood out of the basket and throwing them on to the fire uncle napoleon likes the smell of burning said she there was never anyone who had such a nose as he for he can detect things which are quite hidden from me the emperor has an excellent nose for many things said the state have found that out to their cost oh it is dreadful when he comes to examine accounts dreadful de nothing escapes him he will make no everything must be exact but who is this young gentleman de i do not think that he has been presented to me the minister explained in a few words that i had been received into the emperor s personal service and congratulated me upon it with the most kindly sympathy it my mind so to know that he has brave and loyal men round him ever since that dreadful of the infernal machine i have always been uneasy if he is away from me he is really safest in time of war for it is only then that he is away from the who hate him and now i understand that	4
a new plot has only just been discovered this is the same de who was there when the was taken said the overwhelmed me with questions hardly waiting for the answers in her anxiety but this dreadful man has not been taken yet she cried have i not heard that a young lady is endeavouring to do what has baffled the secret police and that the freedom of her lover is to be the reward of her success she is my cousin your imperial majesty is her name you have only been in france a few days de said smiling but it seems to me that all the affairs of the empire are already revolving round you you must bring this pretty cousin of yours the emperor said that she is pretty to court with you and present her to me madame de r you will take a note of the name the had stooped again to the basket of wood which stood beside the fireplace suddenly i saw her stare hard at something and then with a little cry of surprise she stooped and lifted an object from the carpet it was the emperor s soft flat with the little sprang up and looked from the hat in her hand to the face of the minister how is this de she cried and the dark eyes began to shine with anger and suspicion you said to me that the emperor was out and here is his hat pardon me your imperial majesty i did not say that he was out what did you say then i said that he left the room a short time before uncle you are endeavouring to conceal something from me she cried with the quick instinct of a woman i assure you that i tell you all i know the s eyes darted from face to face she cried i insist upon your telling me this instant where the emperor is and what he is doing the slow soldier stammered and twisted his cocked hat about i know no more than de does said he the emperor left us some time ago by which door poor was more confused than ever really your imperial majesty i cannot under take to say by which door it was that the emperor quitted the apartment s eyes flashed round at me and my heart shrunk within me as i thought that she was about to ask me that same dreadful question but i had just time to breathe one prayer to the good saint who has always been gracious to our family and the danger passed come madame de r said she if these gentlemen will not tell us we shall very soon find out for ourselves she swept with great dignity towards the door followed at the distance of a few yards by her waiting lady whose face and unwilling steps showed that she perfectly appreciated the situation indeed the emperor s open and the public scenes to which they gave rise were so notorious that even in they had reached our ears napoleon s and his contempt of the world had the effect of making him careless as to what was thought or said of him while when she was carried away by jealousy lost all the dignity and restraint which usually marked her conduct so between them they gave some embarrassing moments to those who were about them turned away with his fingers over his lips while in an agony of apprehension continued to double up and to twist the cocked hat which he held between his hands only constant the faithful ventured to between his mistress and the fatal door if your majesty will resume your seat i shall inform the emperor that you are here said he with two hands outstretched ah then he is there she cried furiously i see it all i understand it all but i will expose him i will reproach him with his let me pass constant how dare you stand in my way allow me to announce you your majesty i shall announce myself with swift of her beautiful figure she darted past the protesting parted the curtains threw open the door and vanished into the next room she had seemed a creature full of fire and of uncle spirit as with a flush which broke through the paint upon her cheeks and with eyes which gleamed with the just anger of an outraged wife she forced her way into her husband s presence but she was a woman of change and impulse full of little of courage and corresponding into cowardice she had hardly vanished from our sight when there was a harsh roar like an angry beast and next instant came flying into the room again with the emperor inarticulate with passion at her heels so frightened was she that she began to run towards the fireplace upon which madame de r who had no wish to form a upon such an occasion began running also and the two of them like a pair of startled came rustling and fluttering back to the seats which they had left there they whilst the emperor with a face and a torrent of camp fire oaths stamped and raged about the room you constant you i he shouted is this the way in which you serve me have you no sense then no discretion am i never to have any privacy must i submit to be upon by women is else to have and i only to have none as to you this it all i had before but now i have none this brings everything to an end between us we would all i am sure have given a good deal to slip from the room at least my own em far exceeded my interest but the emperor from his lofty cared as little about our presence as if we	4
had been so many articles of furniture in fact it was one of this strange man s peculiarities that it was just those delicate and personal scenes with which privacy is usually associated that he preferred to have in public for he knew that his reproaches had an additional sting when they fell upon other ears besides those of his victim from his wife to his groom there was not one of those who were about him who did not live in dread of being held up to ridicule and before a smiling crowd whose amusement was only tempered by the reflection that each of them might be the next to endure the same exposure as to she had taken refuge in a woman s last resource and was crying bitterly with her graceful neck stooping towards her knees and her two hands over her face madame de r was weeping also and in every pause of his hoarse scolding for his voice was very hoarse and when he was angry there came the soft hissing and of their sobs sometimes his fierce would bring some reply from the some gentle reproof to him for his but each remonstrance only excited him to a fresh rush of in one of his he threw his snuff box with a crash upon the floor as a spoiled child would down its to rs morality he cried morality was not made uncle for me and i was not made for morality i am a man apart and i accept nobody s conditions i tell you always that these are the foolish phrases of people who wish to the great they do not apply to me i will never consent to frame my conduct by the arrangements of society have you no feeling then sobbed the a great man is not made for feeling it is for him to decide what he shall do and then to do it without interference from anyone it is your place to submit to all my fancies and you should think it quite natural that i should allow myself some latitude it was a favourite device of the emperor s when he was in the wrong upon one point to turn the conversation round so as to get upon some other one on which he was in the right having worked off the first explosion of his passion he now assumed the offensive for in argument as in war his instinct was always to attack i have been looking over s accounts said he are you aware how many dresses you have had last year you have had a hundred and forty no less and many of them cost as much as twenty five thousand i am told that you have six hundred dresses in your many of which have hardly ever been used madame de r knows that what i say is true she cannot deny it you like me to dress well napoleon i will not have such monstrous extravagance i could have two of or a fleet of with the money which you upon foolish and it might turn the fortunes of a campaign then again who gave you permission to order that of diamonds and from the has been sent to me and i have refused to pay for it if he applies again i have him m to prison between a file of and your shall accompany him there the emperor s fits of anger although were never very prolonged the curious of one of his arms which always showed when he was excited gradually died away and after looking for some time at the papers of de who had written away like an during all this uproar he came across to the fire with a smile upon his lips and a brow from which the shadow had departed you have no excuse for extravagance said he laying his hand upon her shoulder diamonds and fine dresses are very necessary to an ugly woman in order to make her attractive but you cannot need them for such a purpose you had no fine dresses when first i saw you in the and yet there was no woman in the world who ever attracted me so why will you vex me and make me say things which seem unkind drive back little one to uncle de and see that you do not catch cold you will come to the napoleon asked the whose bitterest resentment seemed to vanish in an instant at the first kindly touch from his hand she still held her handkerchief before her eyes but it was chiefly i think to conceal the effect which her tears had had upon her cheeks yes yes i will come our carriages will follow yours see the ladies into the constant have you ordered the of the troops come here for i wish to describe my views about the of spain and de you may escort the to de where i shall see you at ihe reception j i chapter xv the reception of the de is but a small village and this sudden arrival of the court which was to remain for some weeks had crammed it with visitors it would have been very much to have come to where were more suitable buildings and better accommodation but napoleon had named de so de it had to be the word impossible was not permitted amongst those who had to carry out his wishes so an army of and settled upon the little place and then there arrived the of the new empire and then the ladies of the court and then admirers from the camp the had a ch for her accommodation the rest themselves in cottages or where they best might and waited for the moment which was to take them back to the comforts of or the had graciously offered me a seat in her	4
and all the way to the village entirely apparently of the scene through which she passed she away asking me a thousand personal questions about myself and my affairs for a kindly curiosity in the doings of every uncle one around her was one of her most marked characteristics was she interested in and as the subject was one upon which i was equally interested in talking it ended in a upon my part amid little sympathetic from the and from madame de r but you must certainly bring her over to the court i cried the kindly woman such a of beauty and of virtue must not be allowed to waste herself in this english village have you spoken about her to the emperor i found that he knew all about her your majesty he knows all about everything oh what a man he is you heard him about those diamonds and gave me his word that no one should know of it but ourselves and that i should pay at my leisure and yet you see that the emperor knew but what did he say de he said that my marriage should be his shook her head and groaned but this is serious de he is capable of out any one of the ladies of the court and marrying you to her within a week it is a subject upon which he will not listen to argument he has brought about some extraordinary matches in this way but i will speak to the emperor before i return to paris and i will see what i can arrange for you the reception of the i was still endeavouring to thank her for her sympathy and kindness when the rattled up the drive and pulled up at the entrance to the where the knot of scarlet and the of two from the guards announced the imperial quarters the and her lady hurried away to prepare their for the evening and i was shown at once into the in which the guests had already begun to this was a square room furnished as modestly as the sitting room of a provincial gentleman would be likely to be the wall paper was gloomy and the furniture was of dark mahogany in blue but there were numerous candles in upon the tables and in upon the walls which gave an air of even to these sombre surroundings out of the large central room were several smaller ones in which card tables had been laid out and the between had been draped with oriental a number of ladies and gentlemen were standing about the former in the high evening dresses to which the emperor had given his sanction the latter about equally divided between the in black court and the soldiers in their bright colours and for in spite of his lectures about economy the emperor was very harsh to any lady who did not dress in a manner which would sustain the brilliancy of his court the prevailing uncle gave an opening to taste and to display for the simple classical had died out with the republic and oriental dresses had taken their place as a compliment to the conqueror of egypt had changed to and the which had reflected the of old rome had turned suddenly into so many on entering the room i had retired into a corner fearing that i should find none there whom i knew but plucked at my arm and turning round i found myself looking into the yellow inscrutable of my uncle he seized my hand and wrung it with a false cordiality my dear louis said he it was really the hope of meeting you here which brought me over firom although you can understand that living so far firom paris i cannot afford to miss such an opportunity of showing myself at nevertheless i can assure you that it was of you principally that i was thinking i hear that you have had a splendid reception firom the emperor and that you have been taken into his personal service i had spoken to him about you and i made him that if he treats you well he is likely to some of the other young into his service i was convinced that he was lying but none the less i had to bow and utter a few words of cold thanks i see that you still bear me some grudge for the reception of the what passed between us the other day said he but really my dear louis you have no occasion to do so it was your own good which i had chiefly at heart i am neither a young nor a strong man and my profession as you have seen is a dangerous one there is my child and there is my estate who takes one takes both is a charming girl and you must not allow yourself to be prejudiced against her by any ill temper which she may have shown towards me i will confess that she had some reason to be annoyed at the turn which things had taken but i hope to hear that you have now thought better upon this matter i have never thought about it at all and i beg that you will not discuss it said i he stood in deep thought for a few moments and then he raised his evil face and his cruel grey eyes to mine well well that is settled then said he but you cannot bear me a grudge for having wished you to be my successor be reasonable louis you must acknowledge that you would now be six feet deep in the salt marsh with your neck broken if i had not stood your friend at some risk to myself is that not true you had your own motive for that said i very likely but none the less i saved you why should	4
you bear me ill will it is no of mine if i hold your estate it is not on account of that uncle why is it then i could have that it was because he had betrayed his comrades because his daughter hated him because he had ill used his wife because my regarded him as the source of all his troubles but the of the was no place for a quarrel so i merely shrugged my shoulders and was silent well i am very sorry said he for i had the best of intentions towards you i could have advanced you for there are few men in france who exercise more influence but i have one request to make to you what is that sir i have a number of personal articles belonging to your father his sword his a of letters some silver plate such things in short as you would wish to keep in memory of him i should be glad if you wiu come to if it is only for one night and look over these things choosing what you wish to take away my conscience will then be clear about them i promised readily that i would do so and when would you come he asked eagerly something in the tone of his voice my suspicions and glancing at him i saw exultation in his eyes i remembered the warning of i cannot come until i have learned what my duties with the emperor are to be when that is settled i shall come very good next week perhaps or the week the reception of the afterward i shall expect you eagerly louis i rely upon your promise for a was never known to break one with another squeeze of my hand he slipped off among the crowd which was growing every instant in the i was standing in thinking over this sinister invitation of my uncle s when i heard my own name and looking up i saw de with his brown handsome ce and tall elegant figure making his way towards me it is your first entrance at court is it not de said he in his high bred cordial manner you should not feel lonely for there are certainly many of your father here who will be to make the acquaintance of your father s son from what de told me i gather that you know hardly anyone even by sight i know the said i i saw them all at the council in the emperor s tent there is with the red head and there is with his singular mouth and with the of a bird of prey precisely and that is with the round bullet head he is talking to the handsome dark man with the whiskers these poor soldiers are very unhappy l asked because they are all men who have risen from nothing this society and etiquette them uncle much more than all the dangers of war when they can hear their against their big boots they feel at home but when they have to stand about with their cocked hats under their arms and have to pick their spurs out of the ladies trains and talk about david s picture or s opera it them the emperor will not even permit them to swear he has no scruples upon his own account he them to be soldiers with the army and with the court but the poor fellows cannot help being soldiers all the time look at with his twenty wounds endeavouring to exchange little delicate with that young lady there you see he has said something which would have passed very well with a re but it has made her fly to her mamma and he is scratching his head for he cannot imagine how he has her who is the beautiful woman with the white dress and the of diamonds i asked that is madame who is the sister of the emperor is beautiful but she is not as pretty as her sister whom you see over yonder in the comer do you see the tall stately old lady with whom she is talking that is napoleon s mother a wonderful woman the source of all their strength shrewd brave vigorous forcing respect from who knows her she is as careful and as saving as when she was the wife of a small country gentleman in and it is no the reception of the secret that she has little confidence in the of the present state of things and that she is always laying by for an evil day the emperor does not know whether to be amused or exasperated by her precautions well i suppose we shall see you riding across the hop fields before long the famous soldier had paused opposite to us and shook hands with my companion his elegant well knit figure large fiery eyes and noble bearing made this s boy a man who would have drawn attention and admiration to himself in any assembly in europe his of curly hair and thick red lips gave that touch of character and individuality to his appearance which redeem a handsome face fi om i am told that it is devilish bad country for cavalry all cut up into hedges and said he the roads are good but the fields are impossible i hope that we are going soon de for our men wiu au settle down as if this continues they are learning more about watering pots and than about horses and the army i hear is to to morrow yes yes but you know very well that they will again upon the wrong side of the channel unless the english fleet nothing can be attempted constant tells me that the emperor was whistling all the time that he was dressing uncle this morning and that usually comes before	4
a move c it was very clever of constant to tell what tune it was which the emperor was whistling said laughing for my part i do not think that he knows the difference between the and the ah here is the and how charming she is looking had entered with several of her ladies in her train and the whole assembly rose to do her honour the was dressed in an evening gown of rose coloured with silver stars an effect which might have seemed and theatrical in another woman but which she carried off with great grace and dignity a little of diamond wheat ears rose above her head and swayed gently as she walked no one could entertain more than she for she moved about among the people with her amiable smile setting everybody at their ease by her kindly natural manner and by the conviction which she gave them that she was thoroughly at her ease herself how amiable she is i exclaimed who could help loving her there is only one family which can resist her said de glancing round to see that was out of hearing look at the faces of the emperor s sisters i was shocked when i followed his direction to see the glances with which these two the reception of the beautiful women were following the as she walked about the room they whispered together and then madame turned to her mother behind her and the stem old lady tossed her haughty head in derision and contempt they feel that napoleon is theirs and that they ought to have everything they cannot bear to think that she is her imperial majesty and they are only her they all hate her joseph all of them when they had to carry her train at the they tried to trip her up and the emperor had to interfere oh yes they have the real blood and they are not very comfortable people to get along with but in spite of the evident hatred of her husband s family the appeared to be entirely and at her ease as she strolled about among the groups of her guests with a kindly glance and a pleasant word for each of them a tall man brown faced and walked beside her and she occasionally laid her hand with a caressing motion upon his arm that is her son de said my companion her son i i exclaimed for he seemed to me to be the older of the two de smiled at my surprise you know she married when she was very young in fact she was hardly sixteen she has been sitting in her while her son uncle has been in egypt and so that they have pretty well over the gap between them do you see the tall handsome man who has just kissed s hand that is the actor he once helped napoleon at a critical moment of his career and the emperor has never forgotten the debt which the contracted that is really the secret of s power he lent napoleon a hundred thousand before he set out for egypt and now however much he him the emperor cannot forget that old kindness i have never known him to abandon a friend or to an enemy if you have once served him well you may do what you like afterward there is one of his c wh fa to night but he gained the cross at and so he is safe de had moved on to speak with some lady and i was again left to my own thoughts which turned upon this extraordinary man who presented himself at one moment as a hero and at another as a spoiled child with his nobler and his worse side so rapidly that i had no sooner made up my mind about him than some new revelation would destroy my views and drive me to some fresh conclusion that he was necessary to france was evident and that in serving him one was serving one s country but was it an honour or a penance to serve him was he worthy merely of obedience or might love and the reception of the esteem be added to it these were the questions which we found it difficult to answer and some of us will never have answered them up to the end of time the company had now lost all appearance of formality and even the soldiers seemed to be at their ease many had gone into the side rooms where they had formed tables for and for et un for my own part i was quite entertained by watching the people the beautiful women the handsome men the of names which had been heard of in no previous generation but which now rung round the world immediately in front of me were and together and laughing with the freedom of the camp of the three two were destined to be executed in cold blood and the third to die upon the battle field but no coming shadow ever cast a gloom upon their cheery blooded lives a small silent middle aged man who looked unhappy and ill at ease had been leaning against the beside me seeing that he was as great a stranger as myself i addressed some observation to him to which he replied with great good will but in the most french you don t happen to understand he asked ive never met one living soul in this country who did oh yes i understand it very well for i have lived most of my life over yonder but surely you uncle are not english sir i understood that every englishman in france was under lock and key ever since the breach of the treaty of no i am not english he answered i am an american my name is robert and i have to come	4
to these because it is the only way in which i can keep myself in the y f the r who me inventions of mine which will make in naval having nothing else to do i asked this curious american what his inventions might be and his replies very soon convinced me that i had to do with a madman he had some idea of making a ship go against the wind and against the current by means of coal or wood which was to be burned inside of her there was some other nonsense about floating barrels full of which would blow a ship to pieces if she struck against them i listened to him at the time with an indulgent smile but now looking back from the point of of my old age i can see that not all the warriors and in that room no not even the emperor himself have had as great an effect upon tlie history of the world as that silent american who looked so and so commonplace among the gold and the oriental dresses but suddenly our conversation was interrupted by a hush in the room such a cold uncomfortable hush as comes over a of happy the reception of the children when a grave elder comes amongst them the and the laughter died away the sound of the rustling cards and of the had ceased in the other rooms men and women had risen to their feet a constrained expectant expression upon their faces and there in the doorway were the pale face and the green coat with the red across the white waistcoat there was no saying how he might behave upon these occasions sometimes he was capable of being the and most of the but this was rather in his than in his imperial days on the other hand he might be absolutely ferocious with an insulting observation for with whom he came in contact as a rule he was between these two extremes silent ill at ease shooting out little remarks which made uncomfortable there was always a sigh of relief when he would pass from one room into the next on this occasion he seemed to have not wholly recovered from the storm of the afternoon and he looked about him with a brooding eye and a lowering brow it chanced that i was not very far from the door and that his glance fell upon me come here de said he he laid his hand upon my shoulder and turned to a big gaunt man who had accompanied him into the room look here r s you uncle said he you always said that the old would never come back and that they would settle in england as the have done you see that as usual you have for here is the heir of the de come to offer his services de you are now my de camp and i beg you to keep with me wherever i go this was promotion indeed and yet i had sense enough to know that it was not for my own sweet sake that the emperor had done it but in order to encourage others to follow me my conscience approved what i had done for no sordid motive and nothing but the love of my country had prompted me but now as i walked round behind napoleon i felt and ashamed like a prisoner led behind the car of his and soon there was something else to make me ashamed and that was the conduct of him whose servant i had become his manners were outrageous as he had himself said it was his nature to be always first and this being so he resented those and by which men are accustomed to disguise from women the fact that they are the weaker sex the emperor unlike louis xiv felt that even a temporary and conventional attitude of humility towards a woman was too great a condescension from his own absolute chivalry was among those conditions of society which he refused to accept to the soldiers he was amiable enough with a nod and a joke for each of them to his sisters the reception of the also he said a few words though rather m the tone of a to a pair of it was only when the had joined him that his ill humour came to a head i wish you would not wear those of pink about your head said he all that women have to think about is how to dress themselves and yet they cannot even do that with moderation or taste if i see you again in such a thing i will thrust it in the fire as i did your shawl the other day you are so hard to please napoleon you like one day what you cannot abide the next but i will certainly change it if it you said with admirable patience the emperor took a few steps between the people who had formed a lane for us to pass through then he stopped and looked over his shoulder at the how often have i told you that i cannot fat women i always bear it in mind napoleon then why is madame de present but surely napoleon madame is not very fat she is than she should be i should prefer not to see her who is this he had paused before a young lady in a blue dress whose knees seemed to be giving way under her as the terrible emperor her with his searching eyes oe uncle this is de how old are you twenty three it is time that you were married every woman should be married at twenty three how is it that you are not married the poor girl appeared to be incapable of answering so the gently remarked that it was to the young men that that	4
question should be addressed oh that is the difficulty is it said the emperor we must look about and find a husband for you he turned and to my horror i found his eyes fixed with a questioning gaze upon my e we have to find you a wife also de said he well well we shall see we shall see what is name to a quiet refined man in black i am try the yes yes i remember you i have seen you a hundred times but i can never recall your name who are you i am joseph de of course i have seen your tragedy i have forgotten the name of it but it was not good you have written some other poetry have you not yes i had your permission to my last volume to you very likely but i have not had time to read it it is a pity that we have no poets now in france i the reception of the for the deeds of the last few years would have given a subject for a or a it seems that i can create but not poets whom do you consider to be the greatest french writer then you are a for was infinitely greater i have no ear for or of the kind but i can with the spirit of poetry and i am conscious that is far the greatest of poets i would have made him my prime minister had he had the good fortune to live in my epoch it is his intellect which i admire his knowledge of the human heart and his profound feeling are you writing anything at present i am writing a tragedy upon henry iv it will not do sir it is too near the present day and i will not have politics upon the stage write a play about alexander what is name he had pitched upon the same person whom he had already addressed i am still try the said he meekly the emperor flushed for an instant at the implied rebuke he said nothing however but passed on to where several ladies were standing together near the door of the card room well madame said he to the nearest of them i hope you are rather better when last i heard from paris your doings were furnishing it tt tt uncle the st with a good deal of amusement and gossip i beg that majesty will explain what you mean said she with spirit they had coupled your name with that of colonel it is a foul very possibly but it is awkward when so many cluster round one person you are certainly a most unfortunate lady in that respect you had a scandal once before with general s de camp this must come to an end what is your name he continued turning to another de p your age twenty you are very thin and your elbows are red my god madame are we never to see anything but this same grey gown and the red with the diamond i have never worn it before then you had another the same for i am weary of the sight of it let me never see you in it again de r i make you a good allowance why do you not spend it i do i hear that you have been putting down your carriage i do not give you money to in a bank but i give it to you that you may keep up a fitting appearance with it let me hear that your carriage is back in the coach house when i return it the reception of the to paris you rascal i hear that you have been gambling and losing the most infernal run of luck said the soldier i give you my word that the ace fell four times running ta ta you are a child with no sense of the value of money how much do you owe forty thousand well well go to and see what he can do for you all we were together at a thousand thanks tut i you and and are the spoiled children of the army but no more cards you rascal i i do not like low dresses madame they spoil even pretty women but in you they are now i am going to my room and you can come in half an hour and read me to sleep i am tired to night but i came to your since you desired that i should help you in and entertaining guests you can remain here de for your presence will not be necessary until i send you my orders and so the door closed behind him and with a long sigh of relief from from the to the waiter with the the friendly chatter began once more with the click of the and the rustle of the cards just as they had been before he came to help in the entertainment ao chapter xvi the library of and now my friends i am coming to the end of those singular adventures which i encountered upon my arrival in france adventures which mi t have been of some interest in themselves had i not introduced the figure of the emperor who has them all as completely as the sun the stars even now you see after all these years in an old man s the emperor is stiu true to his traditions and will not brook any opposition as i draw his words and his deeds i feel that my own poor story before them and yet if it had not been for that story i should not have had an excuse for describing to you my first and most vivid impressions of him and so it has served a purpose after all you must bear with me now while i tell you of our expedition to the	4
the evening sky its upper window burned red like a spot of blood in the last rays of the setting sun close by the door stood a cart of grain with the shafts pointing downward and the horse at some distance as we gazed a woman appeared upon the downs and stared round with her hand over her eyes see that said eagerly he is there sure enough or why should they be on their guard it it the library of let us take this road which winds round the hill and they will not see us until we are at the very door should we not gallop forward i suggested the ground is too cut up the longer way is the safer as long as we are upon the road they cannot tell us from any other travellers we walked our horses along the path therefore with as an air as we could assume but a sharp exclamation made us glance suddenly round and there was the woman standing on a by the roadside and gazing down at us with a face that was rigid with suspicion the sight of the military bearing of my companions changed all her fear into in an instant she had whipped the shawl from her shoulders and was waving it over her head with a hearty curse his horse up the bank and galloped straight for the mill with and myself at his heels it was only just in time we were still a hundred paces fr m the door when a man sprang out from it and gazed about him his head this way and that there could be no the huge beard the broad chest and the rounded shoulders of a glance showed him that we would ride him down before he could get away and he sprang back into the mill closing the heavy door with a behind him the window the window i cried uncle there was a small square window opening into the room of the mill the young disengaged himself from the saddle and flew through it as the goes through the at s an instant later he had opened the door for us with the blood streaming from his face and hands he has fled up the stair said he then we need be in no hurry since he cannot pass us said as we sprang from our horses you have carried his first line of most gallantly lieutenant i hope you are not hurt a few general nothing more get your pistols then where is the miller here i am said a rough little fellow appearing in the open doorway what do you mean you by entering my mill in this fashion i am sitting reading my paper and smoking my pipe of as my custom is about this time of the evening and suddenly without a word a man comes flying through my window covers me with glass and opens my door to his friends outside i ve had trouble enough with my one all day without three more of you turning up you have the in your house cried the miller nothing of the kind his name is and he is a merchant in the library of he is the man we want we come in the emperor s name the miller s jaw dropped as he listened i don t know who he is but he offered a good price for a bed and i asked no more questions in these days one cannot expect a of character from every but of course if it is a matter of state why it is not for me to interfere but to do him justice he was a quiet gentleman enough until he had that letter just now what letter be what you say you rascal for your own head may find its way into the basket it was a woman who brought it i can only tell you what i know he has been talking like a madman ever since it made my blood run cold to hear him there s whom he he will murder i shall be very glad to see the last of him now gentlemen said drawing his sword we may leave our horses here there is no window for forty feet so he cannot escape fix m us if you will see that your pistols are we shall soon bring the fellow to terms the stair was a narrow one made of wood which led to a small lighted fix m a in the wall some remains of wood and a litter of straw showed that this was where had spent his day there was however no sign of him now and it was evident that he had ascended the next flight uncle of steps we climbed them only to find om way barred by a heavy door surrender cried it is useless to attempt to escape us a hoarse laugh sounded fix m behind the door i am not a man who but i will make a bargain with you i have a small matter of business to do to night if you will leave me alone i will give you my solemn pledge to surrender at the camp to morrow i have a little debt that i wish to pay it is only to day that i understood to whom i owed it what you ask is impossible it would save you a great deal of trouble we cannot grant such a request you must surrender you ll have some work first come come you cannot escape us put your shoulders against the door now all together i there was the hot flash of a pistol fix m the and a bullet against the wall between us we hurled ourselves against the door it was massive but rotten with age with a and it gave way before us we rushed in weapons in hand to find	4
ourselves in an empty room where the devil has he got to cried glaring round him this is the top room of all there is nothing above it it was a square empty space with a few corn bags about at the further side was an open the library of window and beside it lay a pistol still smoking from the discharge we all rushed across and as we our heads over a cry of astonishment escaped from u the distance to the ground was so great that no one could have survived the but had taken advantage of the presence of that cart of grain which i have described as having lain close to the mill this had both the distance and given him an excellent means of breaking the ml even so however the shock had been tremendous and as we looked out he was lying panting heavily upon the top of the bags hearing our cry however he looked up shook his fist and from the cart he on to the l k of s v buck horse d ff across the downs his great beard flying in the wind untouched by the pistol bullets with which we tried to bring him down how we flew down those creaking wooden stairs and out through the open door of the mill i quick as we were he had a good start and by the time and i were in the saddle he had become a tiny man upon a small horse galloping up the green slope of the opposite hill the shades of evening too were in and upon his left was the huge salt marsh where we should have found it difficult to follow him the chances were certainly in his favour and yet he never from his course but kept straight on across the downs on a line which took him farther and uncle from the sea every instant we feared to see him dart away in the but still he held his horse s head against the what could he be making for he never pulled rein and never glanced round but flew onward like a man with a definite goal in view lieutenant and i were lighter men and our were as good as his so that it was not long before we began to gain upon him if we could only keep him in sight it was certain that we should ride him down but there was always the danger that he might use his knowledge of the country to throw us off his track as we sank each hill my heart sank also to rise again with renewed hope as we caught sight of him once more galloping in front of us but at last that which i had feared us we were not more than a couple of hundred paces behind him when we lost all trace of him he had vanished behind some rolling ground and we could see nothing of him when we reached the summit there is a road there to the left cried whose blood was with excitement on my on let us keep to the left i wait a moment i cried there is a upon the right and it is as likely that he took that then do you take one and i the other one moment i hear the sound of i yes yes it is his horse i a great black horse which was certainly that of the library of general had broken out suddenly through a dense of in front of us the saddle was empty he has found some hiding place here amongst the i cried had already sprung from his horse and was leading him through the bushes i followed his example and in a minute or two we made our way down a winding path into a deep chalk there is no sign of him cried he has escaped us but suddenly i had understood it all his rage which the miller had described to us was caused no doubt by his learning how he came to be betrayed upon the night of his arrival this sweetheart of his had in some way discovered it and had let him know his promise to deliver himself up to morrow was in order to give him time to have his revenge upon my uncle and now with one idea in his head he had ridden to this chalk of course it must be the same chalk into which the passage of opened and no doubt during his meetings with my uncle he had learned the secret i hit upon the wrong spot but at the third trial i gained the face of the cliff made my way between it and the bushes and found the narrow opening which was hardly visible in the gathering darkness during our search had overtaken us on foot so now leaving our uncle horses in the chalk pit my two companions followed me through the narrow entrance and on into the larger and older passage beyond we had no lights and it was as black as pitch within so i stumbled forward as best i might feeling my way by keeping one hand upon the side wall and occasionally over the stones which were scattered along the path it had seemed no very great distance when my had led the way with the light but now what with the darkness and what with the uncertainty and the of our feelings it appeared to be a long journey and s deep voice at my elbow growled out questions as to how many more miles we were to travel in this hush i whispered i hear in front of us we stood listening in breathless silence then far away through the darkness i heard the sound of a door creaking upon its hinges on on cried eagerly the rascal is there sure enough this	4
time at least we have but for my part i had my fears i remembered that my uncle had opened the door which led into the castle by some secret catch this sound which we had heard seemed to show that had also known how to open it but suppose that he had closed it behind him i remembered its size and the iron which bound it together it was possible that even at the last moment we the library of might find to face with an obstacle on and on we hurried in the dark and then suddenly i could have raised a shout of joy for there in e distance was a yellow glimmer of light only visible in contrast with the black darkness which lay between the door was open in his mad thirst for vengeance had never given a thought to the at his heels and now we need no longer it was a race along the passage and up the winding stair through the second door and into the stone corridor of the castle of with the oil lamp still burning at the end of it a cry a long drawn scream of terror and of pain rang through it as we entered he is him i he is killing him i cried a voice and a woman servant rushed madly out into the passage help help he is killing where is he shouted there the library i the door with the green curtain i again that horrible cry rang out dying down to a harsh it ended in a loud sharp as when one cracks one s joint but many times louder i knew only too well what that sound we rushed together into the room but the hardened and the dare devil both in horror from the sight which met our gaze my uncle had been seated writing at his desk with his back to the door when his murderer had uncle entered no doubt it was at the first glance over his shoulder that he had raised the scream when he saw that terrible hairy face coming in upon him while the second cry may have been when those great hands clutched at his head he had never risen from his chair perhaps he had been too by fear and he still sat with his back to the door but what struck the colour from our cheeks was that his head had been turned completely round so that his horribly distorted purple looked at us from between his shoulders often in my dreams that thin face with the grey eyes and the open mouth comes to disturb me beside him stood his face flushed with triumph and his great arms folded across his chest well my friends said he you are too late you see i have paid my debts after all surrender i cried shoot away shoot away he cried his hands upon his breast you don t suppose i fear your miserable do you oh you imagine you wiu take me alive i ll soon knock that idea out of your heads in an instant he had swung a heavy chair over his head and was rushing at us we all fired our pistols into him together but nothing could stop that of a man with the blood from his wounds he lashed madly out with his chair but his happily him and his blow came down upon the the library of comer of the table with a crash which broke it into fragments then with a mad of rage he sprang upon tore him down to the ground and had his hand upon his chin before and i could seize him by the arms we were three strong men but he was as strong as all of us put together for again and again he shook himself free and again and again we got our grip upon him once more but he was losing blood st every instant his huge away with a supreme effort he staggered to his feet the three of us hanging on to him like hounds on to a bear then with a shout of rage and despair which thundered through the whole castle his knees gave way under him and he fell in a huge heap upon the floor his black beard up towards the ceiling we all stood panting round ready to spring upon him if he should move but it was over he was dead deadly pale was leaning with his hand to his side against the table it was not for nothing that those mighty arms had been thrown round him i feel as if i had been by a bear said he well there is one dangerous man the less in france and the emperor has lost one of his enemies and yet he was a brave man too what a soldier he would have said thoughtfully what a for the of ny i he must have been a very foolish person to set his will against that of the emperor uncle i had seated myself sick and dazed upon the for scenes of were new to me then and this one had been enough to shock the most hardened gave us all a little from his and then tearing down one of the curtains he laid it over the terrible figure of my uncle we can do nothing here said he i must get back and report to the emperor as soon as possible but all these papers of s must be seized for many of them bear upon this and other as he spoke he gathered together a number of documents which were scattered about the table among the others a letter which lay before him upon the desk and which he had apparently just finished at the time of s what s this said glancing over it i fancy that our	4
was a dangerous man also my dear i beg of you to send me by the very first mail another of the same essence which you sent three years ago i mean the which leaves no traces i have particular reasons for wanting it in the course of next week so i you not to delay you may rely upon my interest with the emperor whenever you have occasion to demand it addressed to a in said turning over the letter a then on the top of his other virtues i wonder for the library of whom this essence of which leaves no trace was intended i wonder said i after all he was my uncle and he was dead so why should i say chapter the end general s rode straight to de to report to the emperor while returned with me to my lodgings to share a bottle of wine i had expected to find my cousin there but to my surprise there was no sign of her nor had she left any word to tell us whither she had gone it was just after daybreak in the morning when i woke to find an of the emperor with his hand upon my shoulder the emperor desires to see you de said he where at the de i knew that was the first requisite for those who hoped to advance themselves in his service in ten minutes i was in the saddle and in half an hour i was at the ch i was conducted upstairs to a room in which were the emperor and she upon a sofa in a charming dressing gown of pink and lace he about in his energetic fashion dressed in the curious costume which he assumed before his official hours had begun a white sleeping suit red slippers and a white hand the end tied round his head the whole giving him the appearance of a west indian from the strong smell of de i judged that he had just come from his bath he was in the best of and she as usual reflected him so that they were two smiling which were turned upon me as i was announced it was hard to believe that it was this man with the kindly expression and the genial eye who had come like an east into the reception room the other night and left a trail of wet cheeks and downcast faces wherever he had passed you have made an excellent d but as said he has told me au that has occurred and nothing could have been better arranged i have not time to think of such things myself but my wife will sleep more soundly now that she knows that this is out of the way yes yes he was a terrible man cried the so was that they were both terrible men i have my star said napoleon patting her upon the head i see my own career lying before me and i know exactly what i am destined to do nothing can harm me until my work is accomplished the are in fate and the are in the right then why should you plan napoleon if everything is to be decided by fate because it is fated tiiat i should plan you little stupid don t you see that that is part of fate uncle that i should have a brain which is capable of planning i am always building behind a and no one can see what am building until i have finished i never look for less than two years and i have been busy all morning de in planning out the events which will occur in the autumn and winter of by the way that good looking cousin of yours appears to have managed this affair very cleverly she is a very fine girl to be wasted upon such a creature as the who has been screaming for mercy for a week past do you not think that it is a great pity i acknowledged that i did it is always so with women carried away by and they are like the who cannot conceive that a man is a fine soldier unless he has a formidable presence i could not get the to believe that i was a greater general than ber because he had the body of a porter and the head of a so it is with this poor creature who will be made a hero by women because he has an oval face and the eyes of a calf do you imagine that if she were to see him in his true colours it would turn her against him i am convinced of it from the little that i have seen of my cousin i am sure that no one could have a greater contempt for cowardice or for meanness you speak warmly sir you are not by chance the end just a little touched yourself by this fair cousin of yours i have already told you ta ta ta but she is across the water and many things have happened since then constant had entered the room he has been admitted very good we shall move into the next room you shall come too for it is your business rather than mine the room into which we passed was a long narrow one there were two windows at one side but the curtains had been drawn almost across so that the light was not very good at the door was the and beside him with arms folded and his face sunk downwards in an attitude of shame and there was standing the very man of whom we had been talking he looked up with scared eyes and started with fear when he saw the emperor approaching him napoleon stood with legs apart and his hands behind his back and looked at him long and well	4
my fine fellow said he at last you have burned your fingers and i do not fancy that you will come near the fire again or do you perhaps think of continuing with politics as a profession if your majesty will overlook what i have done stammered i shall promise you that i will be your most loyal servant until the day of my death uncle hum said the emperor a pinch of snuff over the front of his white jacket there is some sense in what you say for no one makes so good a servant as the man who has had a thorough fright but i am a very master i do not care what you require of me everything will be welcome if you will only give me your forgiveness for example said the emperor it is one of my that when a man enters my service i shall marry him to whom i like do you agree to that there was a struggle upon the poet s face and he clasped and his hands may i ask you may ask nothing but there are circumstances there there that is enough i cried the emperor harshly turning upon his heel i do not argue i order there is a young lady de for whom i desire a husband will you marry her or will you return to prison again there was the struggle in the man s e and he was silent and in his it is enough cried the emperor call the guard no no do not send me back to prison the guard i will do it i will do it i will marry you please i the end you villain i cried a voice and there was standing in the opening of the curtains at one of the windows her face was pale with anger and her eyes shining with scorn the parting curtains framed her tall slim figure which leaned forward in her of passion she had forgotten the emperor the everything in her of feeling against this whom she had loved they told me what you were she cried i would not believe them i could not believe them for i did not know that there was upon this earth a thing so contemptible they said that they would prove it and i defied them to do so and now i see you as you are thank god that i have found you out in time and to think that for your sake i have brought about the death of a man who was worth a hundred of you oh i am rightly punished for an act has had his revenge enough said the emperor sternly constant lead into the next room as to you sir i do not think that i can condemn any lady of my court to take such a man as a husband suffice it that you have been shown in your true colours and that has been cured of a foolish remove the prisoner there de said the emperor when the wretched had been conducted from the room we have not done such a bad uncle piece of work between the coffee and the it was your idea and i give you credit for it but now de i feel that we owe you some for having set the young a good example and for having had a share in this business you have certainly acted very well i ask no said i with an uneasy sense of what was coming it is your modesty that speaks but i have already decided upon your reward you shall have such an allowance as will permit you to keep up a proper appearance as my de camp and i have determined to marry you to one of the ladies in waiting of the my heart turned to lead within me but i stammered this is impossible oh you have no occasion to hesitate the lady is of excellent family and she is not wanting in charm in a word the is settle and the marriage takes place upon thursday but it is impossible i repeated impossible when you have been longer in my service sir you will understand that that is a word which i do not i tell you that it is settled my love is given to another it is not possible for me to change indeed i said the emperor coldly if you persist in such a resolution you cannot expect to retain your place in my household here was the whole structure which my the end tion had planned out crumbling hopelessly about my ears and yet what was there for me to do it is the bitterest moment of my life said i and yet i must be true to the promise which i have given if i have to be a beggar by the roadside i shall none the less marry de or no one the had risen and had approached the window well at least before you make up your mind de said she i should certainly take a look at this lady in waiting of mine whom you refuse with such indignation with a quick of rings she drew back the curtain of the second window a woman was standing in the recess she took a step forward into the room and then and then with a cry and a spring my arms were round her and hers round me and i was standing like a man in a dream looking down into the sweet laughing eyes of my it was not until had kissed her and kissed her again upon her lips her cheeks her hair that i could persuade myself that she was indeed really there let us leave them said the voice of the behind me come napoleon it makes me sad it reminds me too much of the old days in the so there	4
of education washington d c francis a m ll d professor of literature in the catholic university of america washington d c by by table of contents vol lived pa b thomas by domestic service on society literature and politics white force of scientific criticism history of the warfare of science with growth of the dead sea legends same white habits of the the natural history of the house swallow same the house same richard grant white the bacon shakespeare studies in shakespeare big words for small thoughts words and their uses by john i heard you solemn sweet pipes of the organ song of the open road for two when last in the door yard o captain my captain hushed be the to day thou now o soul a noiseless patient spider by lived john by george r carpenter s ride telling the bees in school days the eternal the boy the farewell of a virginia slave mother to her daughters sold into southern bondage of hymn winter in doors snow bound child songs the yankee girl the angels of vista the on receiving a of in blossom the summons the last eve of summer written when the poet was nearly martin i managing husbands the von visit of peter the great to william the first pictures of court life mary e the revolt of mother when tom sang by the way david and s request to washington the pigeon by continued unseen spirits dawn college the elms of new haven lines on the burial of the champion of his class at college love in a cottage alexander i by the american the wild pigeon same the fish hawk or the s hymn john in which the shepherd and take to the water the truth of the matter the west in american history william winter s van life and art of joseph a pledge to the dead violet the silence a gallop of three william personal characteristics of henry sketches of the life and character of henry henry s first case same and argument in the trial of by iii lived page i specimen jones george a rocking hymn the author s resolution in a a christmas for summer time mary i s i modem ideal of womanhood a of the rights of women george edward at from my country lines s christ song margaret l woods s confession to dean swift the keeper william by w h lines composed a few miles above abbey she dwelt among the ways three years she grew in and shower a slumber did my spirit seal a poet s the fountain a conversation resolution and independence the s nest my heart leaps up when i behold composed upon westminster bridge it is a evening calm and free by ix lived page william continued to l london it is not to be thought of to six years old she was a phantom of delight the solitary to the i wandered lonely as a cloud to a young lady who had been reproached for taking long walks in the country the is too much with us to duty of immortality from recollections of early childhood to the small sir thomas a description of such a one as he would love an earnest suit to his unkind mistress not to him the lover s cannot be blamed though it sing of his lady s how the lover in his delight as the fly in the fire a of love the lover not to be refused nor forsaken john i i xv same modem version i xiii john xx i v b c ss b c by william the training of a wife s estate at hardships in the snow same the education of a boy by lived page arthur young i aspects of france before the revolution travels in france edward young from night thoughts the death of friends silence and darkness the better part mile by robert glimpses of napoleon iii d b the attack on the mill moral to my in the cathedral of to spain the of by thomas i by s one looks back upon the life of thomas the good name of those from whom he sprung the distinction which after many years of promise he had begun to win for himself it grows clearer than ever that a talent of a rare kind with rare advantages of inheritance is lost to american letters talent of charm of grace of winning fancy that in these literal half ugly days can ill be spared with many honorable generations in his blood thomas came by right to pluck humor and brilliant powers of acquisition among philadelphia lawyers the names of both his father and grandfather remain for one other namely length of days might have been his and persuaded that it was to be he labored steadily cheerfully and in no haste believing that success would come to him all the more ripe and sure for his patience but even middle age was denied him bom august st he died april th full of plans and work letters from theatre and in his desk books and plays in his mind beyond what was signed for by actual contract at the moment a man of thirty seven but at heart forever a boy with his eyes beholding the first visions of worldly reward three periods he knew a beginning full of hope a middle full of struggle and courageous disappointment and a brief end when the rays of true recognition began to shine upon him before he was fifteen he brought home from his first year at college near london ont five and to crown these the given that year by the governor general for the highest average marks in those days he also verse and prose but verse the more and his art with words was already light and happy far beyond	4
the common he first appeared in print then with an of put into english verse and at twenty one he was in the atlantic monthly with more verses entitled by inheritance a scholar but himself robust in fibre fond of swimming and of and of life he did not sustain his prize winning eminence at the university of there he was in with no array of honors but like his father knowing and by thomas loving well the things that he knew from all the shelves romance through shakespeare re and to mark twain he pulled the books down and rejoiced in them his knowledge of what man has written his judgment his imagination and preserved him from those errors of taste and theory that so many genuine but half educated talents in our country the law was thomas s hereditary logical but choice of career after a few years his talent the inevitable crushed the conventional and he e out and out writer in he went upon the staff of the philadelphia times and was sunday editor when he died dangerous for the clever ignorant it was beneficent for him this swift compelling the scholar to be himself to take up his and walk until now neither his matter nor his manner had been quite his own to look at his articles and stories in s magazine and in and especially his clever novels a latter day saint and of new york is to see a genuine gift often from the novels turn to and in a flash the true final stands revealed this is what the gods made him for of fancies rainbow colored dreams away from the of life through which life s pathos and humor and tenderness should delicately play had the word with us americans not been out of all critical meaning should be called a its light completely from a form complete attained this through newspaper work and side work of verses and fantastic for the newspaper made him master of his instead of being mastered by it and set free his fancy from s from the of from paris streets as knew them he brought fancies and more fancies verse and prose ever finer tempered the shining even brighter through the language it is wholesome knowledge that he was a civilized college bred american dwelling quiet at home that cultivation made valuable his gift that he did not believe to be symptom of originality certainly for our pleasure and his rare example we can ill spare him so many of us seem born mere with all the note making apparatus but no wings x s i by thomas from and other fancies by brothers it was ash wednesday morning and thanks to the the night before the labors of most respected of the of paris seemed likely to be severe true the prospect did not weigh upon the mind of the worthy magistrate who busied himself only with his duty and accepted that duty in whatever form it was arrested and brought before him so to speak by the but the thought of a long and was an but refreshing to another of the court the clerk paul half asleep and nodding was paul as he sat and waited for the hour of opening court his head ached and the of the still rang in liis ears he had been out very late himself oh very late and this morning his dearly despised official duties seemed like the vast court room more forbidding and gloomy than ever now when a young man finds his office gloomy in the morning and his duties irksome that generally means that he a soul above routine and the night before only his and as a matter of fact paul deemed that in being made a clerk he had arrived at the wrong address like most other young he thought he had been directed a la and he wished to be instead of a clerk in the court a poet a and most particularly a writer of that should make all paris laugh and sing and dance that should go round the world like the or the de madame that should bring him fame and money and the friendship of the muse and it need not be said that as yet he had not achieved his d alas the dramatic ambition if it is only to write a play around a is the most of all for while there are theatres and actors the appetite can never be controlled as it it grows and grows it begins in the gallery and by degrees to the stall sometimes it may even conquer the green room and the but thus to feed is the bitterest vanity if the ideas will not arrive and that was the difficulty with paul ideas cut him dead except when he was asleep for when he was asleep and dreaming the most striking plots revealed themselves to him by thomas whole performed themselves before him as author and sole spectator only when he awoke he could not remember a single situation it was a new demonstration of fate s and subtle irony that poor paul should nightly renew the bitterness of his own conviction that he deserved success and daily himself against his own unlucky memory as being to blame for his inability to command it yes when he slept he saw all kinds of plays with characters and motives plots and stories drawn from every age and heroes more romantic than bias more comic than theatrical surprises more thrilling than the horn in more clever than the scented glove in and as for stage pictures he had but to close his eyes and they crowded on his sight magnificent in their complex accuracy and perfection yet what good did they do to him none at all now at this very moment should	4
he yield to his overwhelming desire to off forgetful of the and the and the crowd of spectators he would probably witness one of these very productions to be performed only once and then to be lost forever which would leave him no better off still if he remained awake the and the and the spectators would suggest nothing to him and he would in addition be bored so that there was some reason for going to sleep indeed i wish i could go to sleep he said to himself and he folded his arms and closed his eyes almost every frenchman looks as if he had artistic possibilities and with his pale cheeks the result of the and thin delicate closed eyelids the young clerk was by no means a bad type of a poet and a a pretty figure i must be he said to himself to assist at the administration of justice to unfortunate makers who have been less cautious than myself and he began to wonder how he could best secure the magistrate s for some of those very in whom he was particularly interested among the prisoners waiting their turn to appear before were certain who it was said among the were well known actors they had been among themselves at a after the ball and their quarrel had grown so violent that the whole party had been taken into it may be guessed with what sympathy paul viewed their if he could have passed upon their their would have been very quickly at an end by thomas all of a sudden there broke out from the adjoining room where the prisoners were in a snatch of a chorus and every time the princess sighs her tearful subjects wipe their eyes paul started up instinctively crying out silence and he heard the officers calling for order but a few voices still con they sorrow most because her such waste of handkerchiefs outrageous what do they mean by such a disturbance said a stem voice behind him and paul turned with an almost guilty of the dignity of the court and of to tell the truth he had just lost his own conscious ness of official dignity in the perception that the words of the chorus were new to him and that discovery never fails to nerve of the amateur he explained the situation to actors indeed they take great liberties they are a most picturesque collection said paul longing to find a good word to throw in on their behalf there is a a a a a a the eh growled they wish to turn my court room into a scene from cried paul suddenly i have it they must be singing from the new at the it is the one i have not heard but only because i had not time and perhaps this is the cast have them in at once said replying it almost seemed to paul s wish have them in and we will see how they excuse themselves for their follies ah wait till you see the said paul she is a a true oh she is wonderful it is always these old friends of ours who are getting into trouble thought paul as the were ushered into the court room haggard out of keeping with the daylight in their paint the and the led followed by all the other familiar figures a a a wrapped in a long fur cloak a by thomas and two young men in dress coats and false noses their gave them all that droll half look of conscious guilt which and wear before the law and paul as he prepared to take down their names with a pen on court paper felt himself a figure in the comedy which the and the stage hand down unchanged eternal the comedy which shows man human weak but therefore and here a singular incident happened for while this red and white procession was being toward the seat of justice to the immense delight of the s of the an was heard to arise next door in the room devoted to the prisoners i will not accompany the rest of the cried a woman s voice a young and fresh voice i am the my good man and i insist on my e you hear her that is murmured the as he forward his eyes dropping with sleep he shrugged his sloping shoulders it was indeed ad le of the as paul all of a sudden became aware and a hard time the had to bring her out into the court room flushed frowning long of her straight glossy black hair undone and falling over her cheeks and the white sleeves of her dress the tall rebellious tossed back her hair and put her hands on her slim and looked at the magistrate but he was not nearly so much as was paul as he took the names down he thought it more appropriate to set them out as a cast as follows mm all of the theatre des in addition to these m r of the e and m of the by thomas i listened gravely to the report of the a case of conduct and defiance of the authorities of the des blows had been struck and furniture broken the women of the party encouraged the the br and r had taken no part in the but on the appearance of the authorities had interfered to protect their companions it had consequently been necessary to arrest the whole party and all cried because cannot act silence cried the and everybody stood aghast pressed his fingers together and looked over his spectacles not so much severely as at the i so full of grace and wild beauty upon my word he said at last should be glad to	4
acting is on trial and i feel it my duty to examine into his case and pronounce one way or the other it seemed to paul as if his ideas mysteriously communicated themselves to his superior and what was more remarkable controlled him stood forward she made a gesture of such grace and eloquence as thrilled paul to the le she said i am overcome by the honor oh but overcome you ask me for the plot of le s idea was charming most charming and i should be the first to make its for he honored me by giving me the chief after his own i do you see am the princess the scene is laid in italy at the time they called the middle ages but how did they know then they were the middle ages le and i am very melancholy oh i am the most melancholy princess that ever was known they give for me balls water parties all to no purpose they might as well have the of the town before me then they have plays to amuse me dancing dogs the whole worse and worse i weep all day long and i swear that nothing can cure me so my father the king by thomas who is played by le my father is in agonies for not only am i his favorite child but if i do not many the kingdom must go to his brother whom he and when they talk to me of marriage i weep so bitterly that even madame my you understand my most aristocratic gives me up so the king has an idea he offers my hand to any one who will make me laugh is not that an idea worthy of a father but nevertheless so stupid are men that numbers of poor young princes and counts and come and try to win a smile from me and they all fail and their heads are taken off by the such things happen you know in in the middle ages and of course as these repeated happen i go into of grief and grow more and more melancholy because none of the young men asked with a smile possibly said but of course she added with a sudden and dazzling smile of her own of course i do not confess that to myself so there my poor father is at the end of his resources and even my sister the princess played by she does not know what is to be done and as a last resource my father thinks once more of le is the most celebrated in the world irresistible the very soul of and humor it is not only that his wit is so quick and keen but his features are the perfect of comedy you die of laughing just to look at him it is impossible to remain grave in his presence my father would have brought him before me long ago but for one unfortunate circumstance is attached to the court of our young and neighbor the prince now some time ago before all these experiments that ended so sadly on the s block the prince personally asked for my hand and as i declined to hear of marriage it was refused him so he vowed that if my melancholy was not removed by the announcement of his suit i might remain in my present state of depression till the end of my days before he would lift a finger to prevent it accordingly my father goes to war with him both him and and brings the back to court for he by thomas is a terrible man my father as the prince who is finds ont i begin to see the plot said deeply interested court officers and spectators too all hung upon her words is it not too natural cried her eyes sparkling what stupid beings fathers are le why should the king suppose that i who have succeeded in my obstinacy yes i admit that it is obstinacy the idea of weeping one s eyes out like that for any other reason that i who have persisted in my while any number of nice young men were trying to entertain me should all of a sudden face about dry my eyes and laugh like a cook at the of a professional much he knows about a woman actually when he brings before me he is smiling for the first time in years poor man he is doomed to disappointment perhaps is not over confident for he knows what will happen to him if he fails but no matter how he himself and in two minutes he has the rest of the court rolling on their sides on the floor le i pay absolutely no attention to him he says the most things i am deaf he and so as to make you ill with laughing i scarcely lift my eyebrows he even makes sport of his master the prince for suffering himself to be captured i turn away and then what happens is that he loses his courage he he he his hands and finally falls on his knees and to be spared consequently my father orders him to be at once he was wrong said very wrong le but after all see how fortunately it turned out for on hearing his sentence in despair turns to me and sings a song begging me to for him he his wrinkled old hands together and the tears run from his poor old face and his nose is red and his eyes are and his voice cracks and and altogether he looks so absurd and ridiculous and he is such a refreshing delightful irresistible contrast to the terrified and unnatural which every one about me has been forced to exhibit that i burst	4
out into a good hearty fit of laughter the first in years has saved me by thomas there followed general applause which was at once suppressed but which did not seem to annoy very greatly he smiled with satisfaction at the escape of and by the nodding of his head appeared to congratulate the princess on the breaking of the spell that afflicted her as for paul his heart sank there i he said to himself do you wonder that it falls to the lot of others to write and not to mine they have ideas while i and so you marry the prince said oh not yet cried radiant with her success of course finally i do but if it ended now it would be flat indeed paul s heart sank again he had supposed this was the and behold he did not know the elements of construction what happens next is that i become serious once more and swear that as my father offered to marry me to should make me laugh and as has been the one to succeed i will marry this of course is meant to punish the prince for his pride yet after all i have a a little feeling for but you may guess cried with a heightened color how this resolve affects my father and the court and it is only a very little while before they are all in tears at my feet begging me to my decision and as they are now the melancholy ones i am well amused i promise you if you all till i say to them you couldn t make me break faith with my dear poor you know ready to put his head in a meal bag pull the strings well at last the situation is resolved but you must ask madame how how madame oh very simply replied that lady in her measured tones i am the very aristocratic as says and i have been talking a great deal of my family pretensions and setting my cap at the king and it turns out that is my husband there was a laugh and everybody is made happy except probably commented let me compliment you on the grace and charm of your little theme the springs of sorrow and happiness lie very close together in our hearts and you have perceived this and made excellent use of by j g thomas your penetration of human nature and he made a polite yet bow i beg you to believe le that i know how to value such compliments said a little flush of pleasure breaking out on his anxious face but the story has gained greatly from s manner of recital doubtless she will answer that she has gained her inspiration from the story said the courteous magistrate but come now here we are on the threshold of the mystery let us examine it to the bottom you are charged by this young lady with singing your ballad in such a manner as to prevent her from listening properly in the character of the princess now here i am about to throw out a suggestion which may assist us perhaps the difficulty lies in the ballad itself and i should be very glad if you will repeat it or better still if any one here has a stepped forward solemn faced leader of the he drew a marked from the pocket of his you will pardon my critical remarks on the margin le he observed the magistrate found the place and adjusted his glasses la de oh is it you all youth and grace who turn an face and cruel send me to my death so bent and worn so pitiable and forlorn so old a friend think i in the nursery long ago a form like mine you used to know with back with painted cheeks and staring eyes look at me don t you recognize your jumping jack you only had to pull a string and he his arms and legs would fling a dozen ways and then you d laugh ah yes indeed twas easy for me to succeed in those old days by thomas i s you clasped me to your baby breast and cried dear jack and soothed to rest my clumsy head and when they asked you which of all your toys the prettiest you d call my jack you said yes let my poor absurd my crooked back and face my pardon make o child your childhood bring to mind and be to kind for pity s sake while read this aloud slowly and with the reserve of a man who does not commit himself to the support of his author there was a deep silence in the court room then raised his head and it was not difficult to see that he was disappointed i confess he said i do not find these verses in themselves so affecting as to justify s representations there was a little nervous professional stir among the actors but before any one else could speak in behalf of s song was boldly making her own special mon le she cried they are not meant to be read like verses in a book you know they are written for music and the stage effect ah if you will ask ta to them to you you will see yes if you really desire to clear yourself repeat them to the magistrate and let him judge you see le what she was all could say after all said she is correct i am your verses and i see that my doubt of itself if the lines are written solely for the actor there is nothing pathetic in them there can be nothing and smiled and now let me hear you repeat them permit me to say that	4
i anticipate a great artistic gratification looked over at and murmured something no one could hear she her face flushed seemed ready to spring upon him take him by the shoulders and shake him into action so eager was she to be proved in the right by g thomas as if fascinated he kept his troubled eyes fixed upon her and began in a low voice h is it you all youth and grace and as he spoke he betrayed all there was no the import of his tone the man had a voice that should have made his fortune strong full of feeling and yet by a strange and overpowering a curious which though hard and masculine was attractive and even affecting a perfect stage voice intended by nature for comedy and it aroused not only instant delight but also the obscure yearning that the highest artistic sympathy but now it was quivering with the deepest pathos to hear him struck to the heart tears sprang to the eyes it was an appeal all concealment thrown aside to the beautiful young girl who stood before him it told the whole story of their relations of his dumb despairing love and her girlish and self love the words fell slowly and like sobs they conveyed the yearning of a life the surprise of his emotion deeply disturbed his hearers in particular was visibly startled out of his languor and launched uneasy glances at she alone appeared to see in this sudden confession merely the confirmation of her charge her eyes sparkled with triumph her foot patted the ground she could hardly wait until had finished she did not give time to speak you see she cried you see all of you that i have told you nothing but the truth and yet you would not believe me he sings it himself and not to the princess but to me he does not know how to sing it hold i will show you how and before any one could stop her she suddenly pushed away and clearing a little space for a stage as it were and dropped her tall form into a s crouching pose and began to sing it was a most amazing feat of her head sank and rolled on her shoulders her arms hung long and loose by her sides her back was crooked yet all these things were shown by the indications like the heart breaking in her rich splendid voice which with her frightened eye and trembling lip showed the poor at his wits end for by thomas refuge sing it well not the greatest that ever lived it seemed could have sung it better with all its its ridiculous terrified its shaking fingers weakly the air its tottering knees and cracked comic voice its absurd smiles broken by swift of terror as the singer between hope and despair subdued it all to her purpose with the true touch so perfectly bestowed that the very pathos of it seemed a thing to laugh at because it so surely promised that happiness was on the other side of the picture and indeed as verse succeeded verse smiles were running over all their lips as they stood listening ready when she ended to break out into laughter and applause when all at once just as she was the end perhaps overcome by some sudden emotion perhaps tired by the night of confinement and the strain of the police examination perhaps at the end of her artist s since extreme were the demands the song made upon her thus to a at the height of his art for whatever reason she faltered gasped and tottering against who caught her round the waist and supported her burst into tears then enough but with full professional enjoyment of her break down the actors raised a peal of laughter in which all joined except he stood apart forgotten watching her with his burning eyes but the little was especially merry and clapped her hands in an ecstasy of mirth leaped up furious angry darting from her eyes what do you mean by laughing at me she cried you are all beggars wretches vile of actors whom the public will cover with shame that her tumult of wrath must have physical relief was obvious it was the little who s glance fell instinctively on her s face and she it a cry of horror rose sprang at the contempt of court what had not committed she herself at the of her and stood trembling in the grasp of the military police before the magistrate the only why was not with those same was that and r by a common impulse threw their arms about him and restrained him by thomas seemed for a moment lost in consternation at the of the deed which his own had encouraged then he roused himself and addressed the prisoner at the bar he said sternly insensible of the kindness with which you have been treated here you have permitted yourself to commit an outrage upon the dignity of this court which merits the and what is more you have shown yourself unreasonable to a brother artist who after all can only do his best as his talent and to whom it would appear you are bound in very gratitude to art is not life it is but a representation of life and all the more therefore perfection in it cannot be demanded or hoped for it rests with all artists to give the public their best but having done so they must be satisfied and since this seems impossible to you since your temper makes you a among your the that i must now impose upon you should be to this fault that justice may prove i condemn you to prison for forty days and the sentence on condition	4
that you pass the whole of the lent in retirement in good works and meditation without appearing once at the theatre and that will teach you perhaps to control yourself what le leave the stage then might you have seen breaking from the kneel actually kneel like a guilty sinner before the imploring mercy to be condemned for forty days to leave the theatre to leave a successful play to see which the house was crowded every evening she would be forgotten by the public by her friends her would her and the theatre was her life her very being she would die without it to do penance would kill her would not le fine her she could afford to pay a fine oh a heavy fine and let her go and it did occur to that his scheme of poetic justice did not consider the management of the and he said after all i ought not to visit the penalty of your on the theatre and therefore a fine to every one s surprise here interrupted no le he cried quite beside himself with suffering i would rather let her go t by thomas let me go exclaimed her face suddenly owing white yes he answered turning on her his breast heaving we cannot go on like this one of us must leave the there is a limit to what a man s heart can bear and since you mean to break mine since there is no limit to your contempt your disdain and your ill usage i must protect myself i must snap the chain in two god knows i would give you all the theatre my heart my life if you would but accept them god knows i have offered you both my heart and my life again and again and you would not take them you have offered me your heart said with a strange sound in her voice yes he cried in exaltation every night in the song i sing to you the song i wrote to you the song i cannot sing because every word every note breaks my heart when you will not look at me or care for me but why you you so beautiful so young he could not go on drew a long shuddering breath her face was white she choked as she tried to speak finally she said i did not know i did not know i was so much to you and after a pause she added i have promised to marry br gave a cry and then covered his ghastly face with his hands looked at them both from under the dark delicate lines of his eyebrows pulled at his and said nobody seemed able to speak and there was a long silence all at once started and turned and looked at he met her look steadily but without a hair s breadth from his attitude of profound concentrated attention then the blood back to her face again and she cried in excited but clear and resolute tones but as does not love me i release him when we wake from a dream the eye still sees distinct before it the mental image which was the last impressed on the of our imagination and which somehow seems the one which woke us out of sleep and as paul returned to his senses and the real court room again before him and heard the tread of the real echoing behind by thomas him on the there hung for an instant clearly in his vision the miniature actors of the theatre created by his drowsy fancy as they disposed themselves before their flight catching to his breast and and r and and all the rest about in various attitudes of astonishment and delight or perhaps envy slowly the magistrate a glance whose faint suggestion of relief was to paul the touch of it all how willing paul would have been to delay them just a moment longer to hear what was saying to or himself to have saluted the bride but he saw them go without a pang for this once he recollected the plot of his he had at last dreamed successfully and now he had nothing left to do but write his get it accepted by some popular and produced lucky paul by g in his introduction to s american literature says of him that with the possible exception of and he was the critical of his time a later generation may not wholly accept this estimate of mr s work but putting aside he can never fail of recognition as an able man of letters whose taste was sound and whose was thorough and extensive he was not a writer of great originality but his work is valuable by reason of a quality of in it to certain high of literature and of life he was bom in march th was educated at the english high school at and began at the age of fourteen to write for the newspapers for several years he was engaged in a s office in boston in he was made of the reading room of the merchants exchange a position which he held until i when he resigned it to devote himself entirely to literary work during the period of his he was gradually gaining a reputation as a man of letters in he wrote a critical essay on which at once brought him into and gained for him the gratitude of himself in the same year he delivered a series of lectures on the lives of certain authors these lectures being published afterwards in book form he was literary editor of the boston globe from to in he with james t fields the family library of british poetry his writings include essays and in	4
impossible to be solved by human skill and intelligence how to the relations between those who hire and those who are hired so that persons of limited can have a comfortable home take the majority of modest who set up housekeeping on fifteen hundred or hundred a year and ask them after twenty years experience of the petty miseries attendant on their employment of one or two the terrible question is life worth living and it is to be feared that their answer would be a sorrowful or or passionate no more than half a century ago colonel one of the who won their in s in spain and published a book which he called men and manners in america he both our men and manners with a severity such as might have been predicted when a scotch tory assailed the people and institutions of a republic his work exasperated almost every american who read it and edward never wrote a more popular paper than his criticism of it in the north american review the book is now forgotten still one sentence in it in the memories of and it is this in an american dinner party the first dish served up is the mistress of the house it is to be supposed that the author only condescended to dine with persons distinguished by their or official by position and it seems to prove that domestic service fifty or sixty years ago in the of the rich was as much in a state of owing to the or ill temper of the cook and her as it is now in dwellings indeed who has not occasionally seen at ordinary dinner parties where no aristocratic colonel is present the flaming countenance of the mistress of the house as she takes her seat at the head of the table indicating how hard has been her contest with her help but at the time a mrs or a mrs or a mrs may have appeared to the british guest as a victim to the of her cook a representative of the great house of was subject to a tyranny of another kind the duke happened to be prejudiced against port wine which those who were admitted to his great dinner parties preferred to other the duke s butler knowing his master s taste provided the best champagne and that could be purchased in europe but bought the worst port he could find at a low price and charged the duke at the price which was demanded by wine for the best the was successful for years nobody who was invited to the dinners of a duke could dare to against the liquid they swallowed as port at last one friend had the to tell the duke that his butler was a rascal the result was an investigation of the facts the offending servant was dismissed but not until he had a comfortable amount of some two or three thousand pounds as a compensation for his disgrace this is a illustration of the difference between our and those of england people are never tired of ours as and them with those of england who are thoroughly tamed and trained and do their work with skill and propriety in the great houses of england most of the servants are and bending their knees in prostrate adoration before the gentry they serve but at the same time taking every secure opportunity to pick their pockets an english servant of an english noble is apt to be the most of men but the female english domestic is the ideal of many american women who can afford to hire one the history and of england show the of this assumption take by the literature of england from the time of charles the second and you will find that a majority of the clear sighted and represent the servant maids as the obedient of their in every questionable act they do but those whom they serve even to the present day one can hardly enter a theatre without finding the and of the comedy to be a lively combination of liar and an expert in malice and mischief and destitute equally of the sense of honor and the sense of shame in the last century the whole class in his mrs my she indignantly who is my pray as to the large question of domestic service and in our own generation have shown what people have to endure in the continual hostility between the kitchen and the drawing room david when he had won the his child wife is daily tormented by the doings and of the wretches she as servants and whom the is utterly incapable of into help and in the household of mr what a picture is presented of the kitchen aristocracy of the mansion in which the great merchant dwells and in which he has the to believe that he is the lord and master how is he looked down upon when he fails by the meanest whose business it is to the floors of his house indeed the description of the assembly of mr s when it is known that the firm of and son has fallen into ruin is one of s in all his novels seems to be haunted with the idea of the utter of english from the august butler of the mansion down to the who does the lowest work of the cheap boarding house he is never more cynical than when he records the scandalous and judgments delivered by the tenants of the kitchen on their masters and one would hesitate indeed to undertake the forming of a household in england if he were impressed by s as to the essential between those who dwelt below the drawing room and those who dwelt in the room itself the two being separated by distinction of caste can rarely have with each other cordial human relations there may be	4
formal and obedience on the part of by the servants but hate envy beneath the mask of they wear much has been written about fiction as distinguished from fiction which is eminently and english who belong to the latter class are still prone to push upon the attention of their readers a revival of the old relation between mistress and maid it seems from these novels that they are bound together by the ties of mutual the mistress to make her maid her to her all her and joys and is rewarded for her protecting kindness by awakening in the bosom of her maid a sentiment of love which is entirely independent of self interest the husband of the lady is ruined by a trusted friend who proves to be a villain or he is made a by some unfortunate speculation or he is suspected of a crime which him to fly from his home and country at any rate he dies forever or for a time the wife or widow calls the roll of her pays them their wages up to the day of their separation and they depart from the house with an scorn of their ruined employer but one aged domestic remains she that she will never leave her mistress she will serve her without wages nay all the money she has saved up for a series of years shall be at this moment of financial distress in the household and ends by flinging herself into the arms of her dejected mistress and in a flood of tears declares that she will never desert her beloved mistress never never never three points of admiration hardly do justice to the pathos of the scene scores of novels might be named in which it is to the immense satisfaction of sentimental readers who would never do anything of the kind themselves practical people are now apt to consider this disinterested this sublime self devotion of the feminine servant to the feminine employer as something on the unreal so far as their experience goes perhaps some of them are malicious enough to remember mrs s repeated statement to david when the hot punch was passed around the table that despite the injurious opinions which her distinguished relations had formed of her husband s capacity to get an honest living for himself and family she would never desert mr never never never indeed persons of limited whether poets clerks or are commonly subjected and by always have been subjected to the tyranny of without regard to their place of residence in one country or another neither genius nor integrity nor virtue nor fame nor of character can check a s tongue when she to enter a comparatively poor man s home after she has served an even as in the mansion of a perhaps nothing could better illustrate this fact than to an instance from the biography of one of the most prominent poets of the century thomas after the pleasures of hope and many immortal such as ye of england and the battle of the which had thrilled the whole nation settled down in with his wife and child poor but with a great and wide poetical fame in a letter to another immortal walter scott he a comic which had occurred in his own home it seems that he hired a cook recommended to him as faithful and sober who had been with her husband for many years on board of a man of war in the course of seven weeks however she developed her real character and went from bad to worse one fatal day says she fell upon us in a state of cries of rage like an insane and to our names all the the english language supplies an energetic mind in this state of and a face naturally kindled to the white heat of fury and the dialect of the damned were objects sufficiently formidable to silence our whole household the continued till i locked up my wife child and nurse to be out of her reach and descending to the kitchen paid her wages and thrust her forthwith out of my doors she howling with absolute rage during the dispute she cursed us for hell fire children of whose religion was the religion of cats and dogs i asked the what was her religion since her practice was so devout mine says she ms the religion of the royal navy at the same time showing a prayer book after vainly trying to set the house on fire this curious set off for london on the top of a stage coach cursing as she went it seems that this is a typical scene it has been witnessed since by so many small that it is needless to remind them that a certain element of religion with the and of such mine the drunken brute s the religion of the royal navy by all persons who have borne an active part in turning such creatures out of their houses must have noticed that a vague sense of formal piety finds utterance in their wild still it is a piety which comforts itself in sure future to the masters or who call it forth but perhaps the worst of the matter is that such domestic develop the habit of swearing in who previously had shown no tendency to the vice indeed to many heads of families a course of housekeeping is a school of the domestic service of the united states is mostly composed of who differ from their in race and religion in one of the most splendid of edward he happily contrasted the peaceful who came from ireland germany and other european countries to settle here with the descent of the on the roman empire the former came to increase the wealth and productive power of the nation they peacefully invaded the warlike mission of the latter was to destroy and	4
what the genius and industry of former centuries had accumulated the former came to create new capital the latter to the capital which had previously been added to the stores of civilization indeed the immense debt which we owe to what is called foreign labor though from abroad are so swiftly into the mass of our citizens that the word foreign hardly applies to them is practically it has been for some time considered that the yearly additions to our population from this source is in a great degree an index of our advancing prosperity there are evils from this rush of new powers and influences into the rapid stream of our american life but the evils are overcome in time by good it certainly is provoking to have a few foreign escaping perhaps from the of their native countries or from the fear of being imprisoned in them coming to this land of liberty and labor and in comer and beer announcing the doctrine that cannot get their rights unless they begin their against capital by robbery and murder but it is hard to convince a who really works that he is to become better off by destroying the palpable and permanent monuments of previous generations of such as houses mills and other evidences of labor indeed the is merely a of and acting a part which is foreign to our present civilization by this is one side of foreign its beneficent side the other side relates to the mothers daughters and sisters of the host who go out to service and who control most of the business the gradual disappearance of american girls from service in families is a calamity both to themselves and the public and it is based on an absurd prejudice that they lower their position and their independence in doing what they call work they accordingly rather prefer to labor in or swell the crowd of half starved sewing women than to gain board lodging and good wages in a private family the result is that the irish german and women who have had no education them for the business of and general household work learn their duties by on the given them to prepare for the table and on the floors and carpets they are to or sweep this system results in them at last into but it is at the expense of a great breaking of a series of burnt and which are and a trial of the employer s patience which gradually results in nervous the servants undoubtedly follow the theory that knowledge is obtained by observation and experiment but their experiments resemble those of the irish pilot who after remarking to the captain of the ship that the coast was full of rocks casually added as the vessel struck and that is one of em it would be a lesson in the study of human nature to note all the varieties of experience which the mistress of a house passes through when one servant who has been educated in this way and another who has also obtained an idea of what good housekeeping means applies for the vacant place there is no form of more than this of incidents the and of adverse specimens of human character there for instance is the interesting invalid who is and by the energetic who storms into the house demands the wages which she thinks her services are worth them and then the household supreme until the master of the establishment is compelled to interfere and her with words that more of strength than of the list might go on to include the the economical the the shrewd the the humane female heads of that require help but find it difficult to procure by those who it perhaps it would be well to and the whole matter in dispute by an example in which the for a situation was confronted by a woman who had a touch of humor in her composition in all the dignity of second hand finery with diamonds and which must have cost at the least a quarter of a dollar a the towering lady sweeps into the parlor and demands a sight of the lady of the house the meek lady of the house appears i understand you want a second girl to do the yes is the gentle response the high parties forthwith proceed to discuss the terms of the treaty by which the for the office of second will condescend to accept the place stating her terms her and her right to have two or three evenings of every week at her own disposal when her engagements will compel her to be absent from the house the reply is it seems to me if we with your terms it would be better for my husband and myself to go out to service ourselves for we never have had such privileges as you claim that is nothing to me i have lived in the most genteel families of the city and have always insisted on my rights in this matter by the way have you any children yes i have two well i object to children if your objections madam are the children can easily be killed oh you are joking i see but i think i will try you for a week to see how i can get along with you the response is you shall not try me but the one minute which between your speedy descent from those stairs and your equally speedy exit from the door the high parties being unable under the circumstances to a treaty agreeable to both the for the vacant place in a fury of rage it may be said that this is a of what actually occurs in such and but it has an essential truth underneath its seeming exaggeration in almost all the professions and occupations in which	4
men are engaged the supply is commonly more than equal to the demand in domestic service the supply of trained servants is far short of the demand one must notice the readiness with which clubs of late are formed for advancing all imaginable causes which can arrest the attention of intelligent patriotic men they meet weekly or monthly by is so at some hotels noted for their excellent method of cooking the fish and flesh which are daily on the dinner tables of the members but cooked on a method the sunday newspapers report the of eloquence which the saturday meetings call forth the clubs also with a rapidity which ordinary to account for their popularity perhaps a simple reason may be timidly ventured as an explanation of this phenomenon men who are as prosperous citizens like a good dinner which they cannot get at home and at stated periods they throng to a hotel where the lord sends the and at the same time prevents the devil from sending the it will be said that this attack on the present of our domestic service is one sided it is doubtless much may be urged in reply the conduct of and defending that of the many evils of the relations between the two might be averted by a mutual understanding of each other s motives and aims still the previous education of not only in the of their minds but in the of their is the pressing need at present if some charitable person should start a college for the education of female its success in increasing human happiness would prompt others to follow in his lead such a college might turn out thousands on thousands of competent servants every three or four months the it would give would command attention at once and the way now followed of sending to the girl s reference and giving replies would be it would also give all classes of a great lift in social estimation the that they have with honor in such would be equivalent to the b a or a m of of another sort when a young student applies for the position of in a country town or village at any rate a vast mass of unnecessary misery in families might be prevented and a large addition made to the stock of human happiness by is si white american in and political affairs is well illustrated in the life and writings of white whose ripe has been rendered all the more influential by his wide and varied contact with men and things as a as a teacher as a as an of great movements he has exhibited the culture which makes to life his career is an illustration of the possibilities of activity in many fields open to the educated american whose not a small portion of its worth from liberal and intellectual training bom in new york november th he was from in going soon after to europe where as an of the russian he carried on further study laying the foundation of that broad historical and knowledge for which he is shed from to he was professor of history and english literature in the university of he served as state in new york from to he was one of the of university and its first president the duration of his ofl ce being from to it was owing in large part to his wise guidance and to his that the growth of the university proceeded so rapidly he bestowed upon it an of a hundred thousand dollars and founded the white historical library to which he presented a unique collection of books and relating to the period of the french revolution in he was to from to he was united states minister to germany in he was appointed united states minister to russia an office which he held for two years he is again minister to germany having been appointed early in while his most comprehensive work is the history of the warfare of science with it is in his on the study of history and on education that the secret of the vitality of his by white may be found his conception of history is of interest not because it is original but because it is clearly the result of that wide acquaintance with men and affairs through which the conviction is attained that history is not a mere record of wars but the record chiefly of the development of humanity it is revelation or it is nothing the great deep ground out of which large historical studies may grow is the ground the simple necessity for the first of man as man and secondly of man as a member of society or in other words the necessity for the development of humanity on one hand and society on the other with this principle in mind he is quick to perceive that the great forces of history being moral forces apparently events may furnish a clue to the spirit of an entire period louis xiv receiving on the great staircase of was an immense fact at the time to us in the light of general history it is worth little or nothing louis xvi calling for bread and cheese when arrested in and declaring it the best bread and cheese he ever ate a fact apparently worthless but really of significance for it the easy going helplessness which was so important a in the wreck of the old french history must therefore occupy itself with men and events which signify something these from the on studies in general history and the history of civilization contributed to the american historical association give evidence of an essentially modem and as does also the on the relation of national and state to advanced education in which the author making institutions for advanced education the objects of support on grounds both of patriotism and of culture	4
in d white published an outline of a course of lectures on history in a on paper money in france in the same year appeared a little book with the title the warfare of science which had grown out of a lecture of which the was that in all modem history interference with science in the supposed interest of religion no matter how conscientious such interference may have been has resulted in the evils both to religion and to science and invariably and on the other hand all scientific investigation no matter how dangerous to religion some of its stages may have seemed for the time to be has invariably resulted in the highest good both of religion and of science this book was by further articles in the popular science monthly in support of the which grew gradually into the comprehensive work published in under the title a history of the warfare of science with in this work by i is at once popular and it is written in a style which would interest a yet it bears evidence of a whose is only by its breadth the author s european afforded him opportunities for wide and for the consultation of sources it has literally the earth for information which would throw light upon subjects of world wide significance he traces the growth of the modern spirit in many of thought and speculation the passing away of the old order of and the dawn of scientific in he published new germany a subject on which he was well qualified to write through his residence in that country in appeared a history of the doctrine of and in european schools of history and politics his works are written in a clear and forcible style most appropriate to the positive and subjects of which he treats force op scientific criticism from history of the warfare of science with by d co for all this away of opinions regarding our sacred literature there has been a cause far more general and powerful than any which has been given for it is a cause surrounding and all this is simply the atmosphere of thought by the development of all during the last three centuries vast masses of legend marvel and assertion coming into this atmosphere have been dissolved and are now quietly away like drifted into the gulf stream in earlier days when some critic in advance of his time insisted that moses could not have written an account embracing the circumstances of his own death it was sufficient to answer that moses was a prophet if attention was called to the fact that the great early by all which they did and did not do showed that there could not have existed in their time any code a sufficient answer was mystery and if the was noted between the two accounts of creation in or between the of the dates of the in the the reply was but the thinking world has at last been borne by the general development of a scientific atmosphere beyond that kind of by white if in the atmosphere by the earlier developed the older of have drooped and withered and are evidently new and better have arisen with roots running down into the comparative in general by showing that various early stages of belief and once supposed to be derived from direct revelation from heaven to the are still found as arrested among various savage and barbarous tribes comparative and by showing that ideas and regarding the supreme power in the universe are and not less in than in other parts of the world comparative religion and literature by searching out and laying side by side those main facts in the upward struggle of humanity which show that the like other gifted rise gradually through ghost worship and to higher and that as they thus rose their and statements regarding the god they became nobler and better all these are giving a new solution to those problems which has so long labored in vain to solve while in these have established the fact that accounts formerly supposed to be special revelations to jews and christians are but of wide spread legends from far earlier and that formerly thought to and christianity are simply based on ancient they have also begun to impress upon the intellect and conscience of the thinking world the fact that the religious and moral truths thus disengaged from the old masses of and legend are all the more venerable and and that all individual or national life of any value must be by them if then modem science in general has acted powerfully to away the theories and of the older interpretation it has also been active in a and of truth and very powerful in this have been the doctrines which have grown out of the thought and work of men like and in the light thus obtained the sacred text has been transformed out of the old chaos has come order out of the old of hopelessly conflicting statements in religion and morals has come in obedience to this new conception of development the idea of a sacred literature which the most by white striking of morals and religion in tbe history of race of all the sacred writings of the it shows us our own as the most beautiful and the most precious exhibiting to us the most complete religious development to which humanity has attained and holding before us the which our race has known thus it is that with the keys furnished by this new race of scholars the way has been opened to treasures of thought which have been inaccessible to for two thousand years as to the divine power in the universe these have shown how beginning with the god of the one among many jealous fitful unseen local sovereigns of asia minor the higher races have been borne on to	4
the idea of the just ruler of the whole earth as revealed by the later and greater of and finally to the belief in the universal father as best revealed in the new testament as to man beg with men after s own heart cruel treacherous we are borne on to n ideal of men who do right for right s sake who search and speak the truth for truth s sake who love others as themselves as to the world at large the races dominant in religion and morals have been lifted from the idea of a chosen people stimulated and by their god in every sort of cruelty and injustice to the conception of a vast community in which the of god all and the brotherhood of man all thus at last out of the old conception of our bible as a collection of a mass of fruitful in which have given to the world long and weary ages of hatred malice and all of and pomp of tyranny and solemnly constituted of everything which the lord christ most has been gradually developed through the centuries by the labors sacrifices and even the of a long succession of men of god the conception of it as a sacred literature a growth only possible imder that divine light which the various of science have done so much to bring into the mind and heart and soul of man a revelation not of the pall of man but of the ascent of man an not of temporary and but of the eternal law of the one upward path for individuals and for nations no longer an good for the lower orders to accept but to by j i white be quietly sneered at by the enlightened no longer a whose must become or or but a most fruitful fact which religion and science may accept as a source of strength to both growth op the dead sea legends history of the warfare of science with by d co the history of of their growth under the earlier phases of human thought and of their decline modem thinking is one of the most interesting and suggestive of human studies but since to treat it as a whole would require volumes i shall select only one small group and out of this mainly a single one about which there can no longer be any dispute the group of and legends which grew up on the shore of the dead sea and especially that one which grew up to account for the successive salt columns washed out by the rains at its extremity the dead sea is about fifty miles in length and ten miles in width it lies in a very deep extending north and south and its surface is about thirteen hundred feet below that of the it has therefore no outlet and is the for the waters of the whole system to which it belongs including those collected by the sea of and brought down thence by the river it certainly or at least the larger part of it ranks among the oldest lakes on earth in a broad sense the region is on its shore are evidences of action which must from the earliest period have aroused wonder and fear and stimulated the making tendency to account for them on the eastern side are impressive mountain masses which have been strewn up from old and hot springs abound some of them spreading have been frequent and from time to time these have cast up of and large of salt constantly appear the water which comes from the springs or through the salt upon its shores constantly brings in various in solution and being rapidly under the hot sun and by white dry wind there has been left in the bed of the lake a strong heavily charged with the usual and a sort of bitter mother liquor this has become so dense as to have a remarkable power of supporting the human body it is of an and bitterness and by ordinary eyes no evidence of life is seen in it thus it was that in the lake itself and in its surrounding shores there was enough to make the generation of on a large scale inevitable the main northern part of the lake is very deep the having shown an abyss of thirteen hundred feet but the southern end is shallow and in places the system of which it forms a part shows a likeness to that in south america of which the mountain lake is the main feature as a for waters only rendering them by it the and many other seas as a sort of dish for the of salt rock and consequently holding a body of water unfit to support the higher forms of animal life it among others the lake of as a deposit of it the pitch lakes of in all this there is nothing presenting any special difficulty to the modem or but with the early in the case was very different the rocky barren desolation of the dead sea region impressed him deeply he naturally reasoned upon it and this impression and reasoning we find stamped into the pages of his sacred literature rendering them all the more precious as a revelation of the earlier thought of mankind the long account given in its application in its use by by by by and by the to it in the writings attributed to st paul st peter and st in the and above all in more than one utterance of the master himself all show how deeply these features impressed the mind at a very early period and legends many and grew up to explain features then so incomprehensible as the and legend grew up among the of a refusal of hospitality to and by the village in and the consequent	4
we shall see taking various forms through the middle ages the story that the salt statue exercised certain physical functions which in these more delicate days cannot be alluded to save under cover of a dead language this addition to the legend which in these signs of life as in other things is developed almost exactly on the same lines with the legend of the statue in the rock of mount and with the legends of human beings transformed into in various was for centuries regarded as an additional confirmation of revealed truth in the third century the burst into still richer bloom in a poem long ascribed to in this poem more miraculous characteristics of the statue are revealed it could not be washed away by rains it could not be by winds any wound made upon it was healed and the earlier statements as to its physical functions were in latin verse with this appeared a new legend regarding the dead sea it became universally believed and we find it repeated throughout the whole period that the could only be dissolved by such as in the process of animated nature came from the statue by white the legend thus we shall find dwelt upon by pious and for hundreds of years so it came to be more and more by the universal church and held more and more firmly always everywhere and by all in the two following centuries we have an overwhelming mass of additional authority for the belief that the very statue of salt into which lot s wife was transformed was still existing in the fourth the continuance of the statue was for by st who visited the place though she could not see it she was told by the bishop of that it had been there some time before and she concluded that it had been temporarily covered by the sea in both the fourth and fifth centuries such great doctors in the church as st st john and st of agreed in this belief and statement hence it was doubtless that the hebrew word which is translated in the english version pillar was translated in the which the majority of christians believe inspired by the word we shall find this fact insisted upon by arguing in behalf of the statue as a result and monument of the miracle for over fourteen hundred years afterward about the middle of the sixth century martyr visited the dead sea region and described it but curiously reversed a simple truth in these words nor do sticks or float there nor can a man swim but whatever is cast into it sinks to the bottom as to the statue of lot s wife he threw doubt upon its miraculous renewal but that it was still standing in the seventh century the of not only that the salt pillar at was once lot s wife but declared she must retain that form until the general in the seventh century too bishop to the dead sea and his work was added to the treasures of the church he greatly the legend and especially that part of it given by the that upon the sea gold and the form of a bull or birds cannot live near it and the very beautiful apples which grow there when plucked bum and are reduced to ashes and smoke as if they were still burning in the eighth century the venerable takes these statements of and his them together in his by white work on the holy places and gives the whole mass of and legends an enormous impulse in the tenth century new force is given to it by the pious speaking of the town of near the salt region he says that the proper translation of its name is hell and of the lake he says its waters are hot even as though the place stood over hell fire in the period immediately following all the legends burst forth more brilliantly than ever the first of these new who makes careful statements is of who in accompanied king to the dead sea and saw many wonders but though he visited the salt region at he makes no mention of the salt pillar evidently he had fallen on evil times the older statues had probably been washed away and no new one had happened to be washed out of the rocks just at that period but his misfortune was more than made up by the triumphant experience of a far more famous half a century later of finds new evidences of miracle in the dead sea and to a still higher point the legend of the salt statue of lot s wife the world with the statement that it was steadily and renewed that though the cattle of the region licked its surface it never grew smaller again a thrill of joy went through the and of at this increasing evidence of the truth of scripture toward the end of the century there appeared in a superior to most before or since count of mount sion he had the advantage of knowing something of and his writings show him to have been observant and thoughtful no statue of lot s wife appears to have been washed clean of the salt rock at his visit but he takes it for granted that the dead sea is mouth of hell and that the rising from it is the smoke from satan s these ideas seem to have become part of the common stock for who in the dead sea during the same century always speaks of it as the sea of devils near the beginning of the century appeared the book of far wider influence which bears the name of sir john and in the various its and legends of by white the dead sea and of the pillar of salt burst forth into	4
at a later period the learned acknowledged that they shook his belief in the whole matter but during this earlier time under the complete sway of the spirit these difficulties only gave new and more glorious opportunities for faith for if a considerable interval occurred between the washing of one salt pillar out of existence and the washing of another into existence the idea arose that the statue by virtue of the soul which still remained in it had departed on some mysterious excursion did it happen that one statue was washed out one year in one place and another statue another year in another place this difficulty was surmounted by believing that lot s wife still walked about did it happen that a salt column was by the rains and fell this was believed to be but another sign of life did a pillar happen to be covered in part by the sea this was enough to arouse the belief that the statue from time to time descended into the dead sea depths possibly to satisfy that old fatal curiosity regarding her former neighbors did some smaller block of salt happen to be washed out near the statue it was believed that a household dog also transformed into salt had followed her back from beneath the deep did more statues by is white than one appear at one time that simply made the mystery more impressive in facts now so easy of scientific explanation the found wonderful matter for argument one great question among them was whether the soul of lot s wife did really remain in the statue on one side it was insisted that as holy scripture declares that lot s wife was changed into a pillar of salt and as she was necessarily made up of a soul and a body the soul must have become part of the statue this argument was by that passage in the book of wisdom in which the salt pillar is declared to be still standing as the monument of an soul on the other hand it was insisted that the soul of the woman must have been and immortal and hence could not have been changed into a substance and mortal naturally to this it would be answered that the salt pillar was no more than the ordinary materials of the human body and that it had been made immortal and with god all things are possible thus were opened long of discussion as we enter the sixteenth century the dead sea and especially the legends of lot s wife are still growing in father of the declares that the sea sometimes covers the feet of the statue sometimes the legs sometimes the whole body in priest at through his faith was robust and his attitude toward the of the dead sea is seen by his declaration that its waters are so foul that one can smell them at a distance of three that straw hay or feathers thrown into them will sink but that iron and other will float that have been kept in them three or four days and could not drown as to lot s wife he says that he found her lying there her back toward heaven converted into salt stone for i touched her and put a piece of her into my mouth and she tasted salt at the centre of these legends we see then the idea that though there were no living beasts in the dead sea the people of the overwhelmed cities were still living beneath its waters probably in hell that there was life in the salt statue and that it was still curious regarding its old neighbors by white hb natural history of written by white an english clergyman of the century belongs to literature rather than to science because of its poetical spirit of intimacy with the living world making knowledge as much the fruit of as of intellectual like s works it springs from the heart of its author lacking all the severity of a scientific warm instead with the humanity that feels itself close to all happy living things white of was however a of no mean rank although his field of was limited including only the in the south of england to which he and of which furnished him the greater part of the material for his famous book in a letter to thomas he thus describes the geography of this parish every inch of whose ground he knew and loved the parish of lies in the extreme eastern comer of the county of on the county of and not far from the of it is about fifty miles of london in latitude and near between the towns of and being very large and extensive it on twelve two of which are in and if you begin from the south and proceed westward the adjacent are great and the of this district are almost as various and as the views and aspects the high part to the consists of a vast hill of chalk rising three hundred feet above the village and is divided into a sheep down the high wood and a long hanging wood called the the covert of this eminence is altogether the most lovely of all forest trees x whether we consider its smooth or bark its glossy foliage or g boughs the down or sheep walk is a pleasant park like spot of about one mile by half that space out on the verge of the hill country where it begins to break down into the plains and commanding a very engaging view being an assemblage of hill heath and water in this parish of white was bom in was educated at under the father of the poet and at college oxford where he obtained a fellowship in he removed to a country in but returned to again in in he obtained a living	4
from his college by white became of remaining there until when he again assumed the charge of church and there until his death in from his youth he had shown the strongest love for natural history a passion shared by his brothers one of whom retired from trade to devote himself to natural and physical science and besides papers to the royal society became a of works of natural history another brother john of wrote a natural history of the rock and its neighborhood their fame however is by that of the author of the natural history of the scientific value of this book is not it is a of the knowledge patiently acquired by a man who was watchful of each phenomenon of nature whose methods of gaining information were essentially modern because they aimed at complete accuracy attained by personal but the charm of this record not only of days but of hours in lies not in its merits as a history of the natural phenomena of an english parish but in its spirit of loving intimacy with the out of door world the book is fragrant with the wandering airs of the fields and woods each chapter is a in rural england it is a home like work because it tells of things that keen eyes might see from the cottage window or perhaps no farther than the garden dial or the graves in the ancient church yard white noted many curious things of birds and field of and and insects on his through the village lanes his humble neighbors must have caught some of his enthusiasm for natural knowledge for mention is often made of their bringing to him curious scraps oi information the results of their observations in his behalf a shepherd saw as he thought some white on a down above my house this winter were not these the the of the no doubt they were as a neighbor was lately in a dry field far removed from any water he turned out a water rat that was curiously laid up in an formed of grass and leaves at one end of the lay about a of potatoes regularly on which it was to have supported itself for the winter it was upon the birds of his district that the attention of white seems to have been chiefly he knew the times of their appearance in spring and summer so accurately that he is able to make out lists which tell the day and almost the hour of their coming he heads the list of the summer birds of passage with the which comes in the middle of march and has a harsh note with the smallest willow which appears on the d of the same month and till september some have by white a sweet wild note some a sweet plaintive note last of all is the fly who arrives on may th and is a very mute bird he also makes a list of those birds who continue in full song until after and of those who have ceased to sing before to these he gives their latin as well as their english names his quaint shows itself in scattered latin tions bearing upon his subject sometimes in happy lines from the old english poets sometimes in a verse from the bible as when he uses the words of job in speaking of the s cruelty to its young she is hardened against her young ones as though they were not hers because god hath deprived her of wisdom neither hath he imparted to her understanding the natural history of is chiefly embodied in white s letters to thomas he also with with with sir joseph banks and other noted the style of the book is simple and not without a homely beauty of its own one of the most figures in the restless and artificial century is this of white living his serene life near to the heart of nature writing of what he saw to sympathetic friends for himself a long and quiet fame his grave is in church yard amid the scenes with which he was associated in so loving an intimacy habits of the letter to hon from the natural history of the old that i have mentioned to you so often is become my property i dug it out of its winter in march last when it was enough awakened to express its by hissing and packing it in a box with earth carried it eighty miles in post the rattle and hurry of the journey so perfectly roused it that when i turned it out on a border it walked twice down to the bottom of my garden however in the evening the weather being cold it buried itself in the loose and continues still concealed as it will be under my eye i shall now have an opportunity of my observations on its mode of life and and perceive already that towards the time of coming forth it opens a breathing place in the ground near its head requiring by i g o white i conclude a as it becomes more this creature not only goes under the earth from the middle of november to the middle of april but sleeps great part of summer for it goes to bed in the longest days at four in the afternoon and often does not stir in the morning till late besides it to rest for every shower and does not move at all on wet days when one on the state of this strange being it is a matter of wonder to find that providence should bestow such a profusion of days such a seeming waste of on a that appears to relish it so little as to more than of its existence in a stupor and to be lost to all sensation for months together in the of when i was writing	4
this letter a moist and warm afternoon with the at fifty brought forth troops of shell and at the same juncture the heaved up the and put out his head and the next morning came forth as if raised from the dead and walked about until four in the afternoon this was a curious coincidence a very amusing occurrence to see such a of feelings between the two for so the call both the shell and the because we call the old family an abject we are too apt to his abilities and his powers of instinct yet he is as mr pope says of his lord much too wise to walk into a well and has so much as not to fall down a ha ha but to stop and withdraw from the brink with the precaution though he loves warm weather he the hot sun because his thick shell when once heated would as the poet says of solid with safety he therefore the more hours under the umbrella of a large leaf or amidst the waving forests of an bed but as he heat in the summer so in the decline of the year he the faint beams by getting within the reflection of a fruit wall and though he never has read that to the horizon receive a greater share of warmth he his shell by it against the wall to collect and admit every feeble ray pitiable seems the condition of this poor embarrassed to be in a suit of ponderous which he cannot lay by white j aside to be imprisoned as it were within his own shell must we should suppose all activity and disposition for enterprise yet there is a season of the year usually the beginning of june when his exertions are remarkable he then walks on and is stirring by five in the morning and the garden every and in the fences through which he will escape if possible and often has the care of the gardener and wandered to some distant field the house swallow letter to the hon from the natural history of the house swallow or chimney swallow is undoubtedly the first comer of all the british and appears in general on or about the th of april as i have remarked from many years observation not but now and then a is seen much earlier and in particular when i was a boy i observed a swallow for a whole day together on a sunny warm tuesday which day could not fall out later than the middle of march and often happened early in february it is worth remarking that these birds are seen first about lakes and mill and it is also very particular that if these early visitors happen to find frost and snow as was the case in the two dreadful springs of and they immediately withdraw for a time a circumstance this much more in favor of hiding than since it is much more probable that a bird should retire to its just at hand than return for a week or two to warmer the swallow though called the chimney swallow by no means altogether in chimneys but often within and against the and so she did in s time the swallow hangs its nest from the beams in she in and is called the barn swallow besides in the warmer parts of europe there are no chimneys to houses except they are english built in these countries she her nest in and and galleries and open halls here and there a bird may some odd peculiar place as we have known a swallow build down a shaft of an old well by white through which chalk had been formerly drawn up for the purpose of but in general with us this in chimneys and loves to haunt those where there is a constant fire no doubt for the sake of warmth not that it can in the immediate shaft where there is a fire but prefers one adjoining to that of the kitchen and the perpetual smoke of the as i have often observed with some degree of wonder five or six feet more down the chimney does this little bird begin to form her nest about the middle of may which consists like that of the house martin of a crust or shell composed of dirt or mud mixed with short pieces of straw to render it tough and permanent with this difference that whereas the shell of the martin is nearly that of the swallow is open at the top and like half a deep ditch this nest is lined with fine and feathers which are often collected as they float in the air wonderful is the address which this bird shows all day long in ascending and descending with security through so narrow a pass when hovering over the mouth of the the of her wings acting on the confined air occasions a like thunder it is not improbable that the dam to this inconvenient situation so low in the shaft in order to secure her from birds and particularly from which frequently fall down chimneys perhaps in attempting to get at these the swallow lays from four to six white eggs dotted with red and brings out her first brood about the last week in june or the first week in july the method by which the young are introduced into life is very amusing first they from the shaft with difficulty enough and often fall down into the rooms below for a day or so they are fed on the chimney top and then are conducted to the dead bough of some tree where sitting in a row they are attended with great and may then be called in a day or two more they become but are still unable to take their own food therefore they	4
play about near the place where the are for flies and when a is collected at a certain signal given the dam and the advance rising towards each other and meeting at an angle the young one all the while uttering such a little quick note of gratitude and by white complacency that a person must have paid very little regard for the wonders of nature that has not often remarked this feat the dam herself immediately to the business of a second brood as soon as she is disengaged from her first which at once associates with the first of house and with them on sunny roofs towers and trees this brings out her second brood towards the middle and end of august all summer long the swallow is a most instructive pattern of industry and affection for from morning to night while there is a family to be supported she the whole day in close to the ground and the most sudden turns and quick avenues and long walks under the hedges and pasture fields and meadows where cattle are her delight especially if there are trees because in such spots insects most abound when a fly is taken a smart snap from her bill is heard resembling the noise at the shutting of a watch case but the motion of the is too quick for the eye the swallow probably the male bird is the to and other little birds announcing the approach of birds of prey for as soon as a hawk appears with a shrill alarming note he calls all the and about him who pursue in a body and and strike their enemy till they have driven him from the village darting down from above on his back and rising in a perpendicular line in perfect security this bird will also sound the alarm and strike at cats when they climb on the roofs of houses or otherwise approach the nest each species of drinks as it flies along the surface of the water but the swallow alone in general on the wing by dropping into a pool for many times together in very hot weather house and bank also dip and wash a little the swallow is a delicate and in soft sunny weather sings both and flying on trees in a kind of concert and on chimney tops it is also a bold to distant downs and even in windy weather which the other species seems much to dislike nay even exposed towns and making little excursions over the salt water on the wide downs are often closely attended by a little party of for miles together which plays before by white and behind them sweeping around and collecting all the insects that are roused by the of the horses feet when the wind blows hard without this expedient they are often forced to settle to pick up their lurking prey a certain swallow built for two years together on the handles of a pair of garden that were stuck up against the boards in an out house and therefore must have her nest spoiled whenever that was wanted and what is stranger still another bird of the same species built its nest on the wings and body of an owl that happened by accident to hang dead and dry from the of a bam this owl with the nest on its wings and with eggs in the nest was brought as a curiosity worthy of the most elegant private museum in great britain the owner struck with the of the sight furnished the with a large shell or desiring him to fix it just where the owl hung the person did as he was ordered and the following year a pair probably the same pair built their nest in the and laid their eggs the house letter to the hon from the natural history of while many other insects must be sought after in fields and woods and waters the or altogether within our dwellings itself upon our notice whether we will or no this species delights in new built houses being like the spider pleased with the moisture of the walls and besides the softness of the mortar them to and mine between the joints of the bricks or stones and to open communications from one room to another they are particularly fond of and on account of their perpetual warmth tender insects that live abroad either enjoy only the short period of one summer or else away the cold uncomfortable months in profound but these as it were in a are always alert and merry a good christmas fire is to them like the of the dog days though they are frequently heard by day yet is their natural time of motion only in the night as soon as it grows dusk the by white and they come running forth from the size of a to that of their full stature as one should suppose from the burning atmosphere which they they are a thirsty race and show a great for being found frequently drowned in of water milk or the like whatever is moist they affect and therefore often holes in wet stockings and that are hung to the fire they are the s her when it will rain and they sometimes she thinks good or ill luck the death of near relatives or the approach of an absent lover by being the constant companions of her solitary hours they naturally become the objects of her superstition these are not only very thirsty but very for they will eat the of pots and salt and of bread and any kitchen or in the summer we have observed them to fly out of the windows when it became dusk and over the neighboring roofs this feat of activity accounts for the sudden manner in which they often leave their haunts as it does for the method by which	4
and the who wrote for them made them say it in this amazing fashion it is not to be denied that any system which demands the of cars at a rapid rate at an elevation of fifteen or twenty feet is not entirely consistent in public estimation with the greatest from the dangers of such a use of words as this only the lack as well of mental vigor as of good taste and education on the part of the oh said a charming highly cultivated and thorough bred woman speaking in my hearing of one of her own sex of inferior breeding and position but who was making literary pretensions and with some success as far as and money were concerned oh save me from talking with that woman if you ask her to come and see you she never says she s sorry she can t come but that she regrets that the of her engagements her from accepting your polite invitation the foregoing instances are examples merely of a and ridiculous use of words which is now very common they are not remarkable for but the freedom with which by k richard grant white persons who have neither the knowledge of language which comes of culture nor that which springs from an perception and mastery are allowed to address the public and to speak for it produces a class of writers who fill as it is that they should fill our newspapers and public documents with words which are ridiculous not only from their but from their preposterous for the uses to which they are put these persons not only write in point of style but they do not say what they mean when for instance a member of is spoken of in a leading journal as a sturdy republican of integrity no very great acquaintance with language is necessary to the discovery that the writer is ignorant of the meaning either of progress or of integrity when in the same columns another man is described as being endowed with an nature people of common sense and education see that here is a man not only writing for the public but actually attempting to coin words who as far as his knowledge of language goes needs the instruction to be had in a good common school so again when another journal of position upon discipline tells us that a young woman is not fitted for the stem of religious life and we see it laid down in a report to an important public body that under certain circumstances the of an act is heightened and a very morality indeed it is according to our knowledge whether we find in the phrases stem and morality occasion for study or food for laughter writing like this is a fruit of a pitiful desire to seem elegant when one is not so which troubles many people and which itself in the use of words as well as in the wearing of clothes the buying of furniture and the giving of and which in language takes form in words which large and seem to the person who uses them to give him the air of a cultivated man because he does not know exactly what they mean such words sometimes become a fashion among such people who are numerous enough to set and keep up a fashion and they go on using them to each other each afraid to admit to the other that he does not know what the new word means and equally afraid to avoid its use as a british is said never to admit that he is entirely with a duke by by john t ho goes there gross like the great in the forest in gross as nature is gross as or and so far as the and of the conventional man and the usual of polite verse are concerned as as adam in paradise indeed it was the of s verse both in respect to its subject matter and his mode of treatment of it that so astonished when it did not his readers he boldly stripped away everything conventional and artificial from man clothes customs institutions etc and treated him as he is in and of himself and in his relation to the universe and with equal boldness he stripped away what were to him the artificial of poetry rhyme measure and all the stock language and forms of the schools and planted himself upon a spontaneous of language and the poetic in the common and universal the result is the most audacious and contribution yet made to american literature and one the merits of which will doubtless long divide the reading public it gave a rude shock to most readers of current poetry but it was probably a wholesome shock like the rude of the sea to the victim of the warmed and bath the suggestion of the sea is not because there is so to speak a or quality about s work that brings up the comparison a something in it bitter and forbidding that the reader must conquer and become familiar with before he can appreciate the and quality which it really holds to may be applied more truly than to any other modem poet s lines must love him ere to you he will seem of your love as the new generations are less timid and than their fathers and take more and more to the open air and its so they are coming more and more into relation with the spirit by is of this poet of if means anything he means the open air and a life fuller and fuller of the the and the health of nature and of everything that and makes morbid and sickly the body and the soul of man was the first american poet of any considerable renown bom outside of new england	4
this experience grew his drum a thin volume of poems published in it was subsequently with his leaves these were not battle pieces or songs of triumph over a fallen foe but a little book containing night s darkness and blood dripping wounds and of the dead during these hospital years supported himself mainly by writing letters to the new york times his hospital include most ot this material he wrote copious letters to his mother at the same time which were issued in book form during the fall of by his new boston and named the wound from to occupied the desk of a government clerk in the treasury department previous to that time he had been dismissed from a position in the interior department by its head james because he was the author of leaves of grass his services in the army his health and early in he had a light stroke of in the spring of that year he moved to new where his brother colonel george was living now became his permanent home his health was much his means very limited but his serenity and cheerfulness never deserted him many foreign made to to visit him he was generally regarded by as the one american poet the true in literature of modern he died march th and his body is buried in a in an imposing granite tomb of his own never married he was always poor but he was a man much beloved by young and old of both sexes while in a small band of men and women he inspired an enthusiasm and a depth of personal attachment rare in any age in person he was a man of large and fine physical proportions and by striking appearance his tastes were simple his wants few he was a man singularly clean in both speech and person he loved primitive things and his strongest were probably for simple natural but powerful persons the common the universal that which all may have on equal terms was as the breath of his nostrils in his leaves he himself fully with these elements declaring that what is commonest nearest easiest is me he aimed to put himself into a book not after the manner of the like but after the manner of poetic revelation and sought to make his pages give an impression to that made by the living breathing man the leaves are not beautiful like a statue or any delicate and elaborate piece of carving but beautiful and ugly too if you like as the living man or woman is beautiful or ugly the appeal is less to our abstract sense and more to our every day sense of real things this is not to say that our are not stimulated but only that they are appealed to in a different way a less direct and way than they are in the popular poetry without the emotion of the beautiful there can be no poetry but beauty may be the chief aim and gathered like flowers into as in most of the current poetry or it may be and left as it were abroad in the air and landscape as was s aim his conviction was that beauty should follow the poet never lead him aimed at a complete human and left the reader to make of it what he could and he is not at all disturbed if he finds the bad there as well as the good as in life itself a good deal of mental pressure must be brought to bear upon him before his full meaning and significance comes out readers who idly dip into him for poetic or literary or who open his leaves expecting to be with flowers and will surely be disappointed if not shocked his work does not belong to the class of literary luxuries or it is and and is only indirectly poetic that is it does not seek beauty so much as it seeks that which makes beauty its method is not exclusive but it is the work of a powerful spirit that seeks to grasp life and the universe as a whole and to charge the conception with religious and poetic emotion perhaps i should say religious emotion alone as clearly the two light readers only find now and then a trace of the poetic in his work they fail to see the essentially poetic character of the whole and they fail to see that there is a larger poetry than that of gems and flowers the poetry of pretty words and fancies is one by thing the poetry of vast and enthusiasm and of religious and emotion is quite another our pleasure in the measured highly wrought verse of the popular poets is doubtless more acute and instant than it is in the irregular periods of the current poetry is more in keeping with the thousand and one artificial things with which the civilized man himself colors music the the highly the carved wine etc etc in respect to his art and poetic quality is more like simple natural or the every day family meat bread milk or the free elements frost rain spray there is little in him that suggests the artificial in life or that takes note of or is the of the of our civilization though a man of deep culture yet culture cannot claim him as her own and in many of her him entirely he let nature speak but in a way that the man never could in its tone and spirit his leaves of grass is as primitive as the antique while it yet and modem civilization it is urged that his work is on the other hand it may be claimed that a work that makes a distinct and continuous impression that gives a sense of unity that holds steadily to an ideal that is never in doubt about its	4
them shape you light that me and all things in delicate showers you paths worn in the irregular hollows by the i believe you are latent with unseen you are so dear to me you walks of the cities you strong at the edges you you and posts of you timber lined sides you distant ships you rows of houses you window pierced you roofs you and you and iron guards you windows whose transparent shells might expose so much you doors and ascending steps you arches you gray stones of interminable you trodden from all that has touched you i believe you have imparted to yourselves and now would impart the same secretly to me from the living and the dead you have peopled your and the spirits thereof would be evident and with me the earth right hand and left hand the picture alive every part in its best light the music falling in where it is wanted and stopping where it is not wanted the cheerful voice of the public road the gay fresh sentiment of the road by o highway i travel do you say to me do not leave met do you say venture not if you me you are do you say am already prepared i am well beaten and to me public road i say back i am not afraid to leave you yet i love you you express me better than i can express myself you shall be more to me than my poem think heroic deeds were all conceived in the open air and all free poems also i think i could stop here myself and do miracles i think whatever i shall meet on the road i shall like and whoever me shall like me i think whoever i see must be happy from this hour i myself of limits and imaginary lines going where i list my own master total and absolute listening to others considering well what they say pausing searching receiving contemplating gently but with will myself of the holds that would hold me i great draughts of space mine the east and the west are mine and the north and the south are i am larger better than i thought i did not know i held so much goodness all seems beautiful to me i can repeat over to men and women you have done such good to me i would do the same to you i will for myself and you as i go i will scatter myself among men and women as i go i will toss a new gladness and among them whoever me it shall not trouble me whoever me he or she shall be blessed and shall bless me now if a thousand perfect men were to appear it would not me now if a thousand beautiful forms of women appeared it would not astonish me by now i see the secret of the making of the best persons it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth here a great personal deed has room such a deed upon the hearts of the whole race of men its of strength and will law and all authority and all argument against it here is the test of wisdom wisdom is not finally tested in schools wisdom cannot be passed from one having it to another not having it wisdom is of the soul is not susceptible of proof is its own proof applies to all stages and objects and qualities and is content is the certainty of the reality and immortality of things and the excellence of things something there is in the float of the sight of things that it out of the soul now i re examine and they may prove well in lecture rooms yet not prove at all under the spacious clouds and along the landscape and flowing currents here is here is a man he here what he has in him the past the future majesty love if they are vacant of you you are vacant of them only the of every object where is he who tears off the for you and me where is he that and for you and me here is it is not previously fashioned it is do you know what it is as you pass to be loved by strangers do you know the talk of those turning here is the of the soul the of the soul comes from within through gates ever provoking questions these why are they these thoughts in the darkness why are they why are there men and women that while they are nigh me the sunlight my blood why when they leave me do my of joy sink flat and by why are there trees i never walk under but large and melodious thoughts descend upon me i think they hang there winter and summer on those trees and always drop fruit as i pass what is it i so suddenly with strangers what with some driver as i ride on the seat by his side what with some drawing his by the shore as i walk by and pause what gives me to be free to a woman s and man s good will what gives me to be free to mine the of the soul is happiness here is happiness i think it the open air waiting at all times now it flows unto us we are rightly charged here rises the and character the and character is the freshness and sweetness of man and woman the of the morning no and sweeter every day out of the roots of themselves than it fresh and sweet continually out of itself toward the and character the sweat of the love of young and old from it falls the charm that beauty and toward it the shuddering longing ache of contact whoever you are come	4
travel with me i with me you find what never the earth never the earth is rude silent incomprehensible at first nature is rude and incomprehensible at first be not discouraged keep on there are divine things well enveloped i swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell we must not stop here however sweet these laid up stores however convenient this dwelling we cannot remain here however sheltered this port and however calm these waters we must not anchor here however welcome the hospitality that us we are permitted to receive it but a little while by j lo the shall be greater we will sail and wild seas we will go where winds blow waves dash and the yankee by under full sail with power liberty the earth the elements health defiance self esteem curiosity from all from your o bat eyed and priests the stale blocks up the passage the burial waits no longer yet take warning he with me needs the best blood endurance none may come to the trial till he or she bring courage and health come not here if you have already spent the best of yourself only those may come who come in sweet and determined bodies no person no rum or taint is permitted here i and mine do not convince by arguments we convince by our presence ii listen i will be honest with you i do not offer the old smooth but offer rough new these are the days that must happen to you you shall not heap up what is called riches you shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve you but arrive at the city to which you were destined you hardly settle yourself to satisfaction before you are called by an irresistible call to depart you shall be treated to the smiles and of those who remain behind you what of love you receive you shall only answer with passionate kisses of parting you shall not allow the hold of those who spread their reached hands toward you after the great companions and to belong to them they too are on the road they are the swift and majestic are the greatest women by is of of seas and storms of seas sailors of many a ship of many a mile of land of many distant countries of far distant dwellings of men and women of cities solitary and of blossoms shells of the shore dancers at wedding dances of tender of children of children soldiers of by gaping graves down of ns over seasons over the years the curious years each emerging from that which preceded it as with companions namely their own phases forth from the latent baby days with their own youth with their bearded and well manhood with their womanhood ample content with their own sublime old age of manhood or womanhood old age calm expanded broad with the haughty breadth of the universe old age flowing free with the delicious near by freedom of death to that which is endless as it was to undergo much of days rests of nights to all in the travel they tend to and the days and nights they tend to again to them in the start of superior journeys to see nothing anywhere but what you may reach it and pass it to conceive no time however distant but what you may reach it and pass it to look up or down no road but it stretches and waits for you however long but it stretches and waits for you to see no being not god s or any but you also go thither to see no possession but you may possess it enjoying all without labor or purchase the feast yet not one of it to take the best of the farmer s farm and the rich man s elegant villa and the blessings of the well married couple and the fruits of and flowers of gardens to take to your use out of the compact cities as you pass through to carry buildings and streets with you afterward wherever you go by to gather the minds of men out of their brains as you encounter them to gather the love out of their hearts to take your lovers on the road with you for all that you leave them behind you to know the universe itself as a road as many roads as roads for souls all parts away for the progress of souls all religion all solid things arts all that was or is apparent upon this globe or any globe falls into and comers before the procession of souls along the grand roads of the universe of the progress of the souls of men and women along the grand roads of the universe all other progress is the needed emblem and forever alive forever forward stately solemn sad withdrawn baffled mad turbulent feeble dissatisfied desperate proud fond sick accepted by men rejected by men they go they go i know that they go but i know not where they go but i know that they go toward the best toward something great whoever you are come forth or man or woman come forth you must not stay sleeping and there in the house though you built it or though it has been built for you out of the dark confinement out from behind the screen i it is useless to protest i know all and expose it behold through you as bad as the rest through the laughter dancing dining of people inside of dresses and ornaments inside of those washed and trimmed faces behold a secret silent and despair no husband no wife no friend trusted to hear the confession another self a of every one and hiding it goes and through the streets of the cities polite and bland in the in the cars	4
of in in the public assembly home to the houses of men and women at the table in the bedroom everywhere by ij oo attired countenance smiling form upright death imder the breast bones hell under the skull bones under the and gloves under the ribbons and artificial flowers keeping fair with the customs speaking not a syllable of itself speaking of anything else but never of itself through struggles and wars the goal that was named cannot be have the past struggles succeeded what has succeeded yourself your nation nature now understand me well it is provided in the essence of things that from any of success no matter what shall come forth something to make a greater struggle necessary my call is the call of battle i active rebellion he going with me must go well armed he going with me goes often with spare diet poverty angry enemies is the road is before us it is safe i have tried it my own feet have tried it well be not detained let the paper remain on the desk and the book on the shelf let the tools remain in the let the money remain let the school stand mind not the cry of the teacher let the preacher preach in his pulpit let the lawyer plead in the court and the judge the law i give you my hand i give you my love more precious than money i give you myself before preaching or law will you give me yourself will you come travel with me shall we stick by each other as long as we live by for two the last lightly falls from the finished sabbath on the pavement here and there beyond it is looking down a new made double grave lo the moon ascending up from the east the silvery round moon beautiful over the ghastly phantom moon immense and silent moon i see a sad procession and i hear the sound of coming full all the channels of the city streets they re as with voices and with tears i hear the great drums and the small drums steady and every blow of the great drums strikes me through and through for the son is brought with the father in the foremost ranks of the fierce assault they fell two son and father drop together and the double grave them now nearer blow the and the drums strike more and the daylight o er the pavement quite has faded and the strong dead march me in the eastern sky up the sorrowful vast phantom moves tis some mother s large transparent face in heaven brighter growing o strong dead march you please me i o moon immense with your silvery face you soothe me i o my soldiers twain o my passing to burial what i have i also give you the moon gives you light and the and the drums give you music and my heart o my soldiers my my heart gives you love by i when last in the door yard when last in the door yard and the great star early drooped in the western sky in the night i mourned and yet shall mourn with ever returning spring ever returning spring sure to me you bring blooming and drooping star in the west and thought of him i love o powerful western fallen star o shades of night o moody tearful night o great star disappeared o the black that hides the star o cruel hands that hold me powerless o helpless soul of me o harsh surrounding cloud that will not free my soul in the door yard an old farm house near the stands the bush tall growing with heart shaped leaves of rich green with many a pointed blossom rising delicate with the perfume strong i love with every leaf a miracle and from this bush in the door yard with delicate colored blossoms and heart shaped leaves of rich green a with its flower i break in the swamp in secluded recesses a shy and hidden bird is a song solitary the the withdrawn to himself avoiding the sings by himself a song song of the bleeding throat death s outlet song of life for well dear brother i know if thou not granted to sing thou surely die by over the breast of the spring the land amid cities amid lanes and through old woods where lately the peeped from the ground the gray d amid the grass in the fields each side of the lanes passing the endless grass passing the yellow wheat every grain from its in the dark brown fields passing the apple tree blows of white and pink in the carrying a corpse to where it shall rest in the grave night and day journeys a n n that passes through lanes and streets through day and night with the great cloud darkening the land with the pomp of the flags with the cities draped in black with the show of the states themselves as of veiled women standing with long and winding and the of the night with the countless lit with the silent sea of faces and the heads with the waiting the arriving coffin and the sombre faces with through the night with the thousand voices rising strong and solemn with all the mournful voices of the poured around the coffin the dim lit churches and the shuddering organs where amid these you journey with the bells perpetual here coffin that slowly passes i give you my of nor for you for one alone blossoms and branches green to all i bring for fresh as the morning thus would i chant a song for you o sane and sacred death all over of roses o death i cover you over with roses and early lilies but mostly and now the that the first	4
copious i break i break the from the bushes with loaded arms i come pouring for you for you and the all of you o death by o western sailing the heaven now i know what you must have meant as a month since i walked as i walked in silence the transparent shadowy night as i saw you had something to tell as you bent to me night after night as you drooped from the sky low down as if to my side while the other stars all looked on as we wandered together the solemn night for something i know not what kept me from sleep as the night advanced and i saw on the rim of the west how full you were of woe as i stood on the rising ground in the breeze in the cool transparent night as i watched where you passed and was lost in the black of the night as my soul in its trouble dissatisfied sank as where you sad concluded in the night and was gone sing on there in the swamp singer and tender i hear your notes i hear your call hear i come presently i understand you but a moment i linger for the star has detained me the star my departing comrade holds and me o how shall i myself for the dead one there i loved and how shall i deck my song for the large sweet soul that has gone and what shall my perfume be for the grave of him i love sea winds blown from east and west blown from the eastern sea and blown from the western sea till there on the meeting these and with these and the breath of my chant ru perfume the grave of him i love ii o what shall i hang on the chamber walls and what shall the pictures be that i hang on the walls to adorn the burial house of him i love by pictures of growing spring and farms and homes with the month eve at and the gray smoke and bright with floods of the yellow gold of the gorgeous indolent sinking sun burning the air with the fresh sweet under foot and the pale green leaves of the trees in the distance the flowing the breast of the river with a wind here and there with hills on the banks with many a line against the sky and shadows and the city at hand with dwellings so dense and of chimneys and all the scenes of life and the and the homeward returning lo body and soul this land my own with and the sparkling and tides and the ships the varied and ample land the south and the north in the light s shores and flashing and ever the far spreading covered with and com lo the most excellent sun so calm and haughty the violet and purple mom with just felt breezes the gentle soft bom light the miracle spreading bathing all the fulfilled noon the coming eve delicious the welcome night and the stars over my cities shining all man and land sing on sing on you gray brown bird sing from the the recesses pour your chant from the bushes out of the dusk out of the and pines sing on dearest brother your song loud human song with voice of woe o liquid and free and tender o wild and loose to my soul o wondrous singer you only i hear yet the star holds me but will soon depart yet the with holds me xxvi by m now while i sat in the day and looked forth in the close of the day with its light and the fields of spring and the farmers preparing their crops in the large unconscious scenery of my land with its lakes and forests in the heavenly beauty after the winds and the storms under the heavens of the afternoon swift passing and the voices of children and women the many moving sea tides and i saw the ships how they sailed and the summer approaching with richness and the fields all busy with labor and the infinite separate houses how they all went on each with its meals and of daily and the streets how their and the cities pent lo then and there rest falling upon them all and among them all me with the appeared the cloud appeared the long black trail and i knew death its thought and the sacred knowledge of death then with the knowledge of death as walking one side of me and the thought of death close walking the other side of me and i in the middle as with companions and as holding the hands of companions i fled forth to the hiding receiving night that talks not down to the shores of the water the path by the swamp in the to the solemn shadowy and ghostly pines so still and the singer so shy to the rest received me the gray brown bird i know received us comrades three and he sang the of death and a verse for him i love from deep secluded recesses from the ant and the ghostly pines so still came the of the bird and the charm of the me as i held as if by their hands my comrades in the night and the voice of my spirit the song of the bird come lovely and soothing death round the world serenely arriving arriving in the day in the night to all to each sooner or later delicate death by praised he the universe for life and joy and for objects and knowledge curious and for love sweet love but praise praise praise for the sure arms of cool death dark mother always gliding near with soft feet have none for thee a chant of fullest welcomed then i chant it for thee	4
i thee above all i bring thee a song that when thou must indeed come come approach strong deliver ess when it is so when thou hast taken them i sing the dead lost in the loving floating ocean of thee in the flood of thy bliss o death from me to thee glad dances for thee i propose thee and f for thee and the sights of the open landscape and the high spread sky are fitting and life and the fields and the huge and thoughtful night the night in silence under many a star the ocean shore and the whispering wave whose voice i know and the soul turning to thee o vast and well veiled death and the body gratefully close to thee over the tree tops i thee a song over the rising and sinking waves over the fields and the wide over the dense packed cities all and the and ways i this with joy with joy to thee o to the of my soul loud and strong kept up the gray brown bird with pure deliberate notes spreading filling the night loud in the pines and dim clear in the freshness moist and the swamp perfume and i with my comrades there in the night while my sight that was bound in my eyes as to long of visions and i saw the armies i saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle flags borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with i saw them by ij os and carried hither and yon through the smoke and torn and bloody and at last but a few left on the and all in silence and the all and broken i saw battle of them and the white of young men i saw them i saw the and of all the slain soldiers of the war but i saw they were not as was thought they themselves were fully at rest they suffered not the living remained and suffered the mother suffered and the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffered and the armies that remained suffered i passing the visions passing the night passing the hold of my comrades hands passing the song of the bird and the song of my soul victorious song death s outlet song yet varying ever song as low and wailing yet clear the notes rising and falling the night sadly sinking and fainting as warning and warning and yet again bursting with joy covering the earth and filling the spread of the heaven as that powerful in the night i heard from recesses passing i leave thee with heart shaped leaves i leave thee there in the door yard blooming returning with spring i cease from my song for thee from my gaze on thee in the west tht west with thee o comrade with silver face in the night yet each to keep and all out of the night the song the wondrous chant of the gray brown bird and the chant the echo aroused in my soul with the and drooping star with the countenance full of woe with the holding my hand the call of the bird comrades mine and i in the midst and their memory ever to keep for the dead i loved so well for the sweetest wisest soul of all my da rs and lands and this for his dear sake and star and bird with the chant of my soul there in the fragrant pines and the dusk and dim by o captain my captain captain my captain our fearful trip is done the ship has every rack the prize we sought is won the port is near the bells i hear the people all while follow eyes the steady the vessel grim and daring but o heart heart heart o the bleeding drops of red where on the deck my captain lies fallen cold and dead captain my captain rise up and hear the bells rise up for you the flag is flung for you the for you and wreaths for you the shores a crowding for you they call the swaying mass their eager faces turning here captain dear father this arm beneath your head it is some dream that on the deck you ve fallen cold and dead captain does not answer his lips are and still my father does not feel my arm he has nor pulse nor will the ship is safe and sound its voyage closed and done from fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won o shores and ring o bells but i with mournful tread walk the deck my captain lies fallen cold and dead hushed be the to day may th hushed be the to day and soldiers let us our war worn weapons and each with musing soul retire to our dear commander s death no more for him life s stormy nor victory nor defeat no more time s dark events like ceaseless clouds across the sky by ij but sing poet in our name sing of the love we bore him because you in know it truly as they the n there sing as they close the doors of earth upon him one yer e for the heavy hearts of soldiers d thou now o thou now o soul walk out with me toward the unknown region where neither ground is for the feet nor any path to follow no map there nor nor voice sounding nor touch of human hand nor face with blooming flesh nor lips nor eyes are in that land i know it not o soul nor dost thou all is a blank before us all waits of in that region that inaccessible land till when the ties all but the ties eternal time and space nor darkness sense nor any bounds us then we burst	4
forth we float in time and space o soul prepared for them equal at last o joy o fruit of all them to o a noiseless patient spider a noiseless patient spider i marked where on a little it stood isolated marked how to explore the vacant vast surrounding it forth out of itself ever them ever them and you o my where you stand surrounded detached in of space musing venturing throwing seeking the to connect them till the bridge you will need be formed till the anchor hold till the thread you fling catch somewhere o my soul by by by john by george r carpenter appreciation of s work depends to an unusual degree on an understanding of his life and character the verse of his equally celebrated contemporary for example needs little explanation s career was that of the student the the genial professor his tastes his sympathies his were not widely separated from those of men of letters throughout the world with the case was entirely different he was bom of simple farming folk his formal education was merely that of the district school and the country academy the experience of travel was denied him he sprang from the soil of new england showing to the full the virtues and defects of his and and his singular merit is that he represents with extraordinary success the most winning side of country life in his native district its faith its conception of the state its indignation at injustice its of the dignity of labor its old content in simple joys and simple duties not only has expressed in his verse emotions peculiar in many ways to america and common to a large body of americans but there is no other one of our poets of the body of whose work this could be said that he was able thus to hold fast to old and to with sympathy native life and country ways that he did not desert his homely subjects and homely style for the more european matter and of his was due to circumstances that isolated him from city life and the foreign influences that are so plainly revealed in their work john was bom december th in of a family that had been permanently settled in that immediate vicinity since the early days of the century until he was nearly twenty he had no advantages besides those afforded by the ordinary district school in and however he attended the academy for a year he was in the employ of a boston house where he a paper and a for another year he was the editor of the new england weekly review in in by j pi john which he succeeded george d in he signed the national anti slavery declaration as one of the from in he was a member of the in he was for a few months in new york as one of the of the american anti slavery society and from to he was editor of the a philadelphia journal with the exception of the occasioned by these duties s long life was almost entirely spent in county either in or he died in falls new september th thomas the founder of the family is said to have been a his immense energy and devotion to moral aims made him a typical but he showed a vein of unusual in religious matters by taking the side of some persecuted members of the society of friends and during his lifetime his son married a the wife s influence prevailed and henceforth with few exceptions the family followed her simple and noble faith s own father was an active man the type of independent and of the virtuous and industrious on whom the rests his mother was an equally fine type of the matron whose religion found expression in an beautiful character his early life was that of the ordinary country lad full of effort and discipline free from tion a life in which the outer world of cities is and the attention is rarely called beyond the limits of the and the county the were small farmers and their means and the creed alike discouraged special efforts for worldly education the boy performed year in year out his simple country tasks acquiring the scant learning of the district school and retaining it with a firmness of grasp that was stimulated by lack of wide opportunity his native tongue he knew as only a country boy of his time could know it drawing deep from the homely language of the people which clung closer to the of the great centuries than did the of the world a language by the s close contact with life and nature and by the constant influence of the bible he was early a and some lines sent to a local paper brought him to the attention of a larger circle of friends and led to wider opportunities his boyish verse dealt often with national history and public interests and his of mind led him to and politics by he had won a name for himself in both fields and seemed likely to represent his district in two influences to prevent s being drawn into the of the city and under the sway of its alien and by john attached him permanently to the rural life of his boyhood his delicate health made impossible for him the activity and anxiety of a s career and his spirit which was that of the him to what then seemed the lost cause of the movement to support in the field of letters was then scarcely possible especially for an who was by no means a welcome to any which sought a wide and circulation therefore from the professional pursuit of letters and politics resigned himself to the quiet life of the until he was past middle age his were but he was for	4
many years a paid to the most important journal the washington national era in which uncle tom s cabin appeared as a his habits were and his wants few when the success of his political was assured when his voice was recognized throughout the north as that of the poet of freedom and the popularity of his verse had put him beyond the reach of want he still lived in the homely fashion of his ancestors the and jar of cities and crowded an honored friend of the g eat and the learned he held himself aloof from all that would disturb the simplicity and of his life always in perfect sympathy with the old new england and traditions s spirit was that of the as a boy he wrote that he would rather have the memory of a a or a than the fame of a as editor for a time of an journal and by his and poems he was one of the foremost in advancing the claims of his despised but rapidly growing party in practical politics his services were equally and even more effective he was the friend and adviser of he was on occasion a shrewd in the and in his own district he was the recognized head of a party that held the balance of power and was accustomed to pledge the candidate whom it honored with its vote but whatever were his secret services in the direction of public affairs first won his reputation by a remarkable series of poems which arrested attention and public opinion beyond any other american poet he had the power of expressing in a striking way the latent thought of plain people his became actually the song of those who crossed the as of old the crossed the sea we wait beneath the furnace blast were the words of every noble northern heart during the years of the great trial and other verses by john of far inferior quality now forgotten were not without a strong influence on all ranks of society from the president and his cabinet to the lowest soldier and the best of these political tracts in verse had in them the genuine singing quality of s best work they were all but they were in quality instruments in a transient struggle the product of discord and feeling and hence hardly destined to live in the national memory one ballad alone of this sort is thoroughly familiar to the younger generation and will long survive as a tribute to northern bravery and southern chivalry s religious verse is much more national in character here the progress of the century has worked as plainly for the of his fame as it has worked against that of his political verse his political verse tended to differences of opinion that were soon settled forever his religious verse on the other hand steadily a unity of feeling to which gentle souls of all for many all the in america have been moving slowly toward the tending to acknowledge that always by the mouths of poets priests and philosophers god hath revealed himself and that the living spirit of god acting upon the hearts of men is the great guide in matters of conduct and belief s his life of moral earnestness his leisure for meditation his own gentle character and his simple way of taking the world all these made him a fitting in verse of the most liberal religious feeling of his day the main motives of his creed are always the eternal goodness of god and faith in immortality truths so deeply rooted in the of our race that denial of them has the air of painful novelty as of some new city notion that troubles but for an instant the abiding peace of the and rural faith it is however by his verses on country life rather than by his political or religious poetry that will be remembered it must be kept in mind that almost the whole of his long life was spent in a single county of a single state this district that knew so well is richly by nature and except for the absence of mountains is thoroughly typical of new england it is well and yet is free from large cities it has a wild coast and sandy hills meadows and forests farming villages and fishing towns an so it chanced of the scenery and occupations of a whole group of states here a bachelor and an invalid not bound by the ties and the labors that commonly blind men to wider thoughts than society and fortune following pursuits that gave ample leisure for meditation lived with and a life full of of boyhood by john days and of sympathy with the country ways that had never ceased to be his and this and this became in his verse the voice of a whole multitude east and west that still toiled in the fields or looked gladly back from city counting houses to the and of their early years this body of country verse falls naturally into several distinct parts the least important of which is that dealing with labor had wrought with his own hands and had known in his own soul the curse the toil the brutal weariness the mere of gain and though he the feeling of self reliance the consciousness of physical strength and independence that are in some degree the farmer s blessing his poetry happily the mistaken of the professor s pastoral rhyme or the of the walking s he turned more gladly to the side of farm life the evening by the hearth the old fashioned of the more gladly yet in song and ballad to the quaint and stirring romance of new england s history this also treated but not quite in native fashion laboring to give to familiar traditions the flavor of	4
the continental he knew too well was not forced to himself with strange learning he wrote of his own of the earlier centuries the german the mad who planted the the sailor who dug the well of the traditions of his country of the the ride of the haunted garrison of cape ann the prophecy of samuel the swan song of parson of the persecuted of his own creed whatever be the of these verses they are not literary exercises but spontaneous expressions of genuine feeling and interest the days of the fine old are over long ago but these are of their very kin three of s deserve special mention the joys of childhood in the country the equality before the power of love of rich and poor and and the lost opportunities of country life where the mistakes of youth are more than in a society less the first is most completely handled in the boy and snow bound the second in the third less common as if too intimate for public expression in in the treatment in verse of such so close to the hearts of the people has not been among us of the modem child in the modem city with his gloves his idleness and his knowledge of could not have written but with the country boy his acquaintance was intimate and as long as we exist whose feet have trodden the lanes and as long as there be those by x l john that turn back the wheel of memory to the days of the pastures the woods and the hills with a lingering touch of genuine sentiment for the curls of our first rosy his verse will serve to awaken recollections that are of the very essence of poetry that love should mate where it will the second of s favorite is not often now a topic of narrative in the east though in the west it triumphantly in mr s charming and stories the doctrine to wit that all brave and honest hearts of whatever or station may fairly love and marry is almost as classic as that of the declaration of independence and is essentially american in principle and practice in other fields of literature the theme is still common in tragedy and comedy we note the many exceptions to the rule in the novel we discuss the problem in all its bearings in s verse alone is the doctrine stated with feeling in types to which the fresh breezes of the meadows or the sea give youth so that the heart the assent that the judgment might withhold the third theme it might have been though less rarely touched on even in s verse is one peculiarly appropriate in a land where the opportunity for good fortune seems to come at least once to nearly all and especially in the country where lost opportunity is so well nigh many a broken man or weary woman in grinding poverty or misery has repeated as his own the words of s now s fame has not proved world wide even in other lands his verse is little known and beyond the limits of our language it has scarcely reached the ways of other nations are not ours our history our traditions are not theirs s often his sometimes grate on the ear though he followed accurately the local speech of his district his measures often smooth are almost always monotonous and except in his he is at his best when he is nearest the old and of the tunes his verse only with simple things and sincere emotions the justice and mercy of god the freedom of man the nobility of independence the beauty of love before which all are equal the dear memories of early life and early affection but ours is a new and to a large extent a pastoral nation the great majority of the native bom are still at the or fresh from it and to all of us what sings is dear for he sings the tune is simple but the notes are fresh and clear the melody has the thrill of the robin s and the wood s songs the feeling is that of the genuine that comes from the heart and therefore goes to it we have not yet had world poets in america but s verse is that to which the american bom and by john bred most naturally we must look elsewhere for for philosophy for beauty s was the voice that more than a generation ago proclaimed most clearly the duty of man and that now calls us most sweetly to thoughts of days a ah the following poems by mr have been and they are here by permission of co s ride of all the rides since the birth of time told in story or sung in rhyme on s golden ass or one eyed s horse of brass witch of a human hack s prophet on al the strangest ride that ever was sped was s out from old for his hard heart and and carried in a cart by the women of i body of turkey head of owl wings a like a rained on fowl and ruffled in every part stood in the cart scores of women old and young strong of muscle and of tongue pushed and pulled up the rocky lane shouting and singing the shrill refrain here s fur his d an d an d in a by the women o wrinkled with hands on girls in bloom of cheek and lips wild eyed free such as round some antique brief of skirt with ankles bare loose of and loose of hair by john with shells blowing and fish over and over the sang here s find fur his d an d an d in a cent by the women o small pity for him	4
grass and flowers and trees of the singing birds and the humming bees then talked of the and wondered whether the cloud in the west would bring foul weather and forgot her torn gown and her graceful ankles bare and brown and listened while a pleased surprise looked from her long lashed eyes at last like one who for delay seeks a vain excuse he rode away looked and sighed ah met that i the judge s bride might be he would dress me up in so fine and praise and toast me at his wine my father should wear a coat my brother should sail a painted boat rd dress my mother so grand and gay and the baby should have a new toy each day and i d feed the hungry and clothe the poor and all should bless me who left our door the judge looked back as he climbed the hill and saw standing still a form more fair a face more sweet ne er hath it been my lot to meet and her modest answer and graceful air show her wise and good as she is fair would she were mine and i to day like her a of hay no doubtful balance of rights and wrongs nor weary lawyers with endless tongues by john s but low of cattle and song of birds and health and quiet and loving words but he thought of his sisters proud and cold and his mother vain of her rank and gold so closing his heart the judge rode on and was left in the field alone but the lawyers smiled that afternoon when he in court an old love tune and the young girl mused beside the well till the rain on the fell he wedded a wife of richest who lived for fashion as he for power yet oft in his marble hearth s bright glow he watched a picture come and go and sweet s eyes looked out in their innocent surprise oft when the wine in his glass was red he longed for the well instead and closed his eyes on his rooms to dream of meadows and and the proud man sighed with a secret pain ah that i were free again free as when i rode that day where the maiden her hay she wedded a man and poor and many children played round her door but care and sorrow and pain left their traces on heart and brain and oft when the summer sun shone hot on the new hay in the meadow lot and she heard the little spring brook fall over the roadside through the wall in the shade of the apple tree again she saw a rider draw his rein by john and gazing down with timid grace she felt his pleased eyes read her face sometimes her narrow kitchen walls stretched away into stately halls the weary wheel to a turned the candle an burned and for him who sat by the chimney ing and grumbling o er pipe and a manly form at her side she saw and joy was duty and love was law then she took up her burden of life again saying only it might have been alas for maiden alas for judge for rich and household god pity them both and pity us all who vainly the dreams of youth recall for of all sad words of tongue or pen the are these it might have been ah well for us all some sweet hope lies deeply buried from human eyes and in the hereafter angels may roll the stone from its grave away u p from the meadows rich with com clear in the cool september mom the clustered of stand green walled by the hills of round about them sweep apple and tree deep fair as a garden of the lord to the eyes of the rebel by john is s on that pleasant mom of the early fall when lee marched over the mountain over the mountains winding down horse and foot into town forty flags with their silver stars forty flags with their crimson bars in the morning wind the sun of noon looked down and saw not one up rose old then bowed with her years and ten of all in town she took up the flag the men hauled down in her window the staff she set to show that one heart was loyal yet up the street came the rebel tread riding ahead under his hat left and right he glanced the old flag met his sight halt the dust brown ranks stood fast fire out blazed the rifle blast it shivered the window pane and it rent the banner with and quick as it fell from the broken staff dame snatched the silken she leaned far out on the window sill and shook it forth with a royal will shoot if you must this old gray head but spare your country s flag she said a shade of sadness a blush of shame over the face of the leader came the nobler nature within him stirred to life at that woman s deed and word who touches a hair of yon gray head dies like a dog march on he said by john all day long through streets sounded the tread of marching feet all day long that free flag over the heads of the rebel host ever its torn folds rose and fell on the loyal winds that loved it well and through the hill sunset light shone over it with a warm good night s work is o er and the rebel rides on his no more honor to her and let a tear fall for her sake on s over s grave flag of freedom and union wave peace and	4
order and beauty draw round thy symbol of light and law and ever the stars above look down on thy stars below in town i in school days still sits the by the road a ragged beggar around it still the grow and vines are running within the master s desk is seen deep by official the floor the battered seats the jack knife s carved the on its wall its door s worn sill betraying the feet that creeping slow to school went out to long years ago a winter sun shone over it at setting lit up its western window panes and low waves icy by john it touched the tangled golden and brown eyes full of of one who still her steps delayed when all the school were leaving for near her stood the little boy her childish favor his cap pulled low upon a face where pride and shame were mingled pushing with restless feet the snow to right and left he lingered as her tiny hands the blue checked apron he saw her lift her eyes he felt the soft hand s light caressing and heard the tremble of her as if a fault i m sorry that i the word i hate to go above you because the brown eyes lower because you see i love you i still memory to a gray haired man that sweet child face is showing dear girl the on her grave have forty years been growing i he lives to learn in life s hard school how few who pass above him lament their triumph and his loss like her because they love him the eternal goodness o friends with whom my feet have trod the quiet of prayer glad witness to your zeal for god and love of man i bear i trace your lines of argument your lo c linked and strong i weigh as one who and fears a doubt as wrong by john but still my human hands are weak to hold your iron against the words ye bid me speak my heart within me who the eternal thought who talks of scheme and plan the lord is god he not the poor device of man i walk with bare hushed feet the ground ye tread with boldness shod i dare not fix with and bound the love and power of god ye praise his justice even such his love i deem ye seek a king i fain would touch the robe that hath no ye see the curse which a world of pain and loss i hear our lord s and prayer upon the cross more than your teach within myself alas i know too dark ye cannot paint the sin too small the merit show i bow my forehead to the dust i veil mine eyes for shame and urge in trembling self distrust a prayer without a claim i see the wrong that round me lies i feel the guilt within i hear with groan and cries the world confess its sin yet in the of things and tossed by storm and flood to one fixed stake my spirit i know that god is good not mine to look where and may not see by john but nothing can be good in him which evil is in me the wrong that pains my soul below i dare not throne above i know not of his hate i know his goodness and his love i dimly guess from blessings known of greater out of sight and with the own his judgments too are right i long for household voices gone for vanished smiles i long but god hath led my dear ones and he can do no wrong i know not what the future hath of marvel or surprise assured alone that life and death his mercy and if my heart and flesh are weak to bear an pain the bruised reed he will not break but strengthen and sustain no offering of my own i have nor works my faith to prove i can but give the gifts he gave and plead his love for love and so beside the silent sea i wait the muffled oar no harm from him can come to me on ocean or on shore i know not where his islands lift their palms in air i only know i cannot drift beyond his love and care by john so fallen so lost the light withdrawn which once he wore the glory from his gray hairs gone him not the hath a for all and tears not scorn and wrath his fall oh dumb be passion s stormy rage when he who might have lighted np and led his age falls back in night scorn would the angels to mark a bright soul driven down the endless dark from hope and heaven let not the land once proud of him insult him now nor brand with deeper shame his dim brow but let its sons instead from sea to lake a long lament as for the dead in sadness make of all we loved and honored naught save power remains a fallen angel s pride of thought still strong in chains all else is gone from those great eyes the soul has fled when faith is lost when honor dies the man is dead then pay the reverence of old days to his dead fame walk backward with averted gaze and hide the shame i by john the boy blessings on thee little man boy with cheek of tan with thy up and thy merry whistled tunes with thy red lip still kissed by on the hill with the sunshine on thy face through thy torn brim s grace from my heart i give thee joy i was once a boy prince thou art the grown up man only is republican let the million ride at	4
his side thou hast more than he can buy in the reach of ear and eye outward sunshine inward joy blessings on thee boy oh for boyhood s play sleep that wakes in laughing day health that the doctor s rules knowledge never learned of schools of the wild bee s morning chase of the wild flower s time and place flight of fowl and of the tenants of the wood how the bears his shell how the his cell and the ground sinks his well how the robin her young how the s nest is hung where the lilies blow where the grow where the its vine where the wood s clusters shine of the black s cunning way of his walls of clay and the plans of gray for books and tasks nature answers all he asks by john hand in hand with her he walks face to face with her he talks part and parcel of her joy blessings on the boy oh for boyhood s time of june crowding years in one brief moon when all things i heard or saw me their master waited for i was rich in flowers and trees humming birds and honey bees for my sport the played plied the his for my taste the over hedge and stone laughed the brook for my delight through the day and through the night whispering at the garden wall talked with me from fall to fall mine the sand pond mine the slopes beyond mine on bending orchard trees apples of still as my horizon grew larger grew my riches too all the world i saw or knew seemed a complex chinese toy fashioned for a boy oh for spread like my bowl of milk and bread spoon and bowl of wood on the door stone gray and rude i o er me like a tent cloudy the sunset bent purple fringed with gold in many a wind swung fold while for music came the play of the and to light the noisy choir lit the fly his lamp of fire i was monarch pomp and joy waited on the boy cheerily then my little man live and laugh as boyhood cant by john though the slopes be hard the new every mom shall lead thee through fresh of the dew every evening from thy feet shall the cool wind kiss the heat all too soon these feet must hide in the prison of pride lose the freedom of the sod like a s for work be shod made to tread the mills of toil up and down in ceaseless happy if their track be found never on forbidden ground happy if they sink not in quick and treacherous sands of sin ah that thou know thy ere it passes boy i the farewell or a virginia slave mother to her daughters sold into bondage gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone where the slave whip ceaseless where the insect where the fever demon poison with the falling where the sickly glare through the hot and misty air gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone from virginia s hills and waters woe is me my stolen daughters gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone there no mother s eye is near them there no mother s ear can hear them never when the lash their back with many a by j n shall a mother s kindness bless them or a mother s arms caress them gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone from virginia s hills and waters woe is me my stolen daughters gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone oh when weary sad and slow from the fields at night they go faint with toil and with pain to their cheerless homes again there no brother s voice shall greet them there no father s welcome meet them gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone from virginia s hills and waters woe is me my stolen daughters gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone from the tree whose shadow lay on their childhood s place of play from the cool spring where they drank rock and hill and bank from the solemn house of prayer and the holy counsels there gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone from virginia s hills and waters woe is me my stolen daughters gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone toiling through the weary day and at night the s prey oh that they had earlier died sleeping calmly side by side where the tyrant s power is o er and the no more gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone from virginia s hills and waters woe is me my stolen daughters by john is s gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and by the holy love he by the bruised reed he oh may he to whom alone all their cruel wrongs are known still their hope and refuge prove with a more than mother s love gone gone sold and gone to the rice swamp and lone from virginia s hills and waters woe is me my stolen daughters i op up the streets of by the and college g rode the of close behind him close beside foul of mouth and evil eyed pressed the mob in fury him the drunken at him the serving girl prompt to please her master and the begging late fed and clothed at s gate cursed him as he passed her yet with calm and stately mien up the streets of came he slowly riding and to all	4
he saw and heard answering not with bitter word turning not for came a troop with swinging bits and sharply ringing loose and free and the foremost ride him down push him him through the town drive the coward by john but from out the crowd cried a sudden voice and loud ho a and the old man at his side saw a comrade battle tried and darkly who with ready weapon bare to the there cried aloud save us call ye coward him who stood ankle deep in s blood with the brave nay i do not need thy sword comrade mine said s lord put it up i pray thee passive to his holy will trust i in my master still even though he me of thy love and faith proved on many a field of death not by me are needed much that bold that his so stout of old now so meekly pleaded woe s the day he sadly said with a slowly shaking head and a look of pity s honest lord mock of and sport of child in his own good city speak the word and master mine as we charged on s line and his through their midst we ll teach civil look and decent speech to these boyish marvel not mine ancient friend like beginning like the end the of by john the last eve of summer written when the poet was nearly summer s last sun nigh unto setting shines through yon pines and on the deepening shadows of the lawn its golden lines are drawn dreaming of long gone summer days like this feeling the wind s soft kiss grateful and glad that failing ear and sight have still their old delight i sit alone and watch the warm sweet day lapse tenderly away and wistful with a feeling of i ask is this the last will for me the seasons run their round and will the sun of ardent yet to come forget for me to rise and set thou be here or i should be with thee wherever thou be lips mute hands clasped in of speech each answering unto each for this still hour this sense of mystery far beyond the evening star no words suffice on lip or the soul would fain with soul wait while these few swift passing days the wise will and in the evening as at morning trust the all merciful and just the solemn joy that soul communion feels immortal life and human love its prophecy and sign love divine come then in thought if that alone may be o friend and bring with thee thy calm assurance of and the eternal years i by martin of a certain class exercise a fruitful influence in their day and form an important part in the contemporary literary development yet with the lapse of time lose much of their claim on our interest this is true of whose services to the german and were decided both in prose and verse he helped to make the tongue an artistic instrument of expression it grace elegance he gave it a sort of french refinement he was largely active in both classical and studies he introduced shakespeare to his countrymen and by his keen sane criticism did much for german culture was a at a time when taste and were sorely needed in the he was a writer of lively wit and fancy sometimes running into and he the historical culture novel and romance he produced an which had an immense in his own and other languages though now it commands little more than a formal regard an english critic writing at the beginning of the present century could remark with in mind that the fame of is as wide spread as that of that such praise now seems excessive must not blind us to the poet s merits and genuine to the literature of his country fashions in literature succeed each other almost as rapidly as fashions in dress martin by education and early habit had a bias towards philosophical and religious thought though the writings of his maturity were of a very different kind he was the son of a country clergyman and was born in the village of on september th he was carefully instructed under his father s direction and showed literary when fourteen he went to school at near where his exceptional abilities attracted attention next we find him living with a relative in and reading for the university the family home was moved to during this preparation and it was there he met and fell in love with afterwards the wife of de who was the of count in whose home was a constant visitor in after years the intimacy became in a friendship but made its deep impress upon s powers the idea of his first poem the nature by by by martin i j of things written and published several years later came to him while he was walking with he went to in to study law but gave his main attention to philosophy and literature was one of the army of young men in all lands who begin with the law and are irresistibly by their taste toward letters the poet was then a sort of in german literary affairs and to him fired by ambition sent his unfinished manuscript the result was an invitation to visit at and the young spent a number of months with the a cordial friendship being established between them derived much benefit from this association but left his friend and patron in other influences being at work in him he lived for some time in and supporting himself by at the university his writings such as the moral letters and moral tales had been of a and nature and under the influence they continued to be so for several years	4
that he laid stress upon i did exactly according to his taste and whim i was always just as he wished and believed the wife of should be my in such things was boundless so far from him with jealousy i appeared not to have the slightest suspicion of his affairs and by virtue of a sympathy of which b by martin had not the least doubt brought it about that the ladies who had the most charm for him were always the very ones whom i preferred and with whom i was on the best footing through this utter indifference as to his little secrets i gained the advantage that he had no others from me and while i left him in the delusion that he deceived me on this point i could be all the that he deceived me in no others and in everything touching his rule his family and his political relations did naught without my counsel and made no decision i had not led him to but in such manner that he ever believed he was following his own head when really he was the tool of mine by this craft to give it its proper name i in that he was as little jealous of my intelligence as i was of his love and when i had won this all was won you are a woman after my own heart we must get better acquainted with one another but i doubt if with the blood that runs in my veins i should ever be enough to make use of the hint you have g ven me translated for a library of the world s best literature by richard the the sixth of the of the gods volume of collected works the gods while in are startled by the tidings brought by that they have been as by the they talk it over in council and points out that their case admits of consolation characters victoria and and with the other in ol sit in an open hall of the palace at divers great tables and serve to the gods to the the make table music the graces and the hours dance dances and the blessed gods to loud laughter from time to time by his and when the merriment is at its height in hot haste comes flying in you are late my child as you see what news do you bring us from below there to he appears to bring something unpleasant how disturbed he looks the latest news i bring is not very much calculated to increase the which i see here by martin i s at all events your manner isn t what can have happened so bad as to have disturbed the gods in their joy has an earthquake the that would be a small matter has a more violent of my beautiful or an frost the of the trifles trifles now out with your grievous story then it is nothing more than he pauses don t make me impatient what is nothing more than nothing except that upon a motion made by the emperor in his own person in the you have been formally by a decided majority the gods all arise from the tables in great agitation who alone remains seated laughing nothing but that i have foreseen it for a long while all the gods together is it possible you talk nonsense feel of his pulse the gods just as i say formally and with solemnity declared by a great majority of to be a man of straw what do i say a man of straw is something less than a man of straw a mere nothing robbed of your temple your priests your as the highest protector of the roman realm it s a mad piece of news but as true as i am he his club they shan t have done it to me in vain be quiet so then has etc played out his part your statue is and they are in the very act of destroying your temple the same tragedy is being played in all the provinces and comers of the roman kingdom by martin everywhere hosts of goat bearded brutes rush about with and and in a rage lay waste the honored objects of the ancient faith of the folk alas what will happen to my stately temple at and my splendid colossal statue if the desert forth only half of its holy wood devils everything s up oh you don t need to worry who would undertake to lay hands on your image when at it is an understood thing that at the least despite offered it by an hand heaven and earth would fall in fragments and all nature sink back into old chaos but one can t always depend upon stories of that kind my good it might happen with you as it did with the massive golden statue of the goddess at concerning which it was believed that the first person who seized on it would be stricken to tile ground by a and what happened to this statue when the defeated the at the city together with the temple of was and nobody could say where the massive golden goddess had got to it chanced that some years after was passing the night at with a of s the emperor was entertained and as the talk at table fell on the battle of and the of the temple of he asked his host as an eye witness whether it was true that the first who laid a hand on her had been suddenly stricken dead to the earth you see that one before you replied the and you are in fact eating off the leg	4
of the goddess i had the fortune to conquer her first is a very good sort of person and i acknowledge gratefully that i owe to her all my wealth you give me poor consolation if things are going in the world as declares i can promise my at no better fate it is simply shocking that can regard such outrageous things so coolly you will do well if you can manage to do the same you have enjoyed long enough the honor of being from east to west you a mere god from the and you certainly can t desire that it should fare better by is with your temples than with mine or that your should last longer than the master work of if we all over you would not wish to be the only one who remains upright ho ho where have you left your renowned that you take your so mildly if i were not what i am i would answer you with one of them for this silly question you to you must tell me once more if i am to believe you my my temple closed my feast no longer celebrated and the heartless have sunk to this degree of towards their founder i should be deceiving you if i gave you any other information victoria i don t need to ask what is happening to my altar and my statue in the it is so long now since the have learned the art of conquest that i find nothing more natural than that they cannot any longer endure the presence of my picture at every glance which they throw upon it it must be to them a reproach for their shameful with the whose name has become a among the which only blood can wash away victoria has nothing more to do under these circumstances they will certainly not allow the holy fire in my temple to bum any longer heavens what will be the fate of my poor oh not a hair of their heads will be touched honored they will be allowed to die of hunger in perfect peace how times change once it was a shocking misfortune for the whole roman world if the holy fire on the altar of went out and now there would be more to do made if the profane fire in some roman cook shop went out than if the had allowed theirs to be extinguished twice a week but who then in the future shall be the patron of war at rome in my place st peter with his double key has assumed to himself this duty st peter with his double key who is be f by martin i don t know myself exactly ask perhaps he can give you more points about it he s a man who in his shall rule half the world eight hundred years on end although he himself was only a poor what the world will let itself be ruled by by a certain kind of at least of men who in a very cunning kind of fish net called shall little by little catch all the nations and princes of europe their commands shall be esteemed as of the gods and a piece of or paper sealed with st peter s s ring will have the power to seat and kings this st peter of the double key must be a mighty no less than that as you ought to have known long ago all the strange and wonderful things in the world occur quite naturally in this way the which shakes down a whole village was at first a little and the flood that a great ship is at its source a mountain spring why should not the of the in a few centuries be able to become lords of rome and arrange a new religion of which they constitute themselves high priests and with the aid of brand new and politics which they know how to build upon it finally be masters for a while of half the world didn t you yourself herd the flocks of the king of before you made yourself the head of all the in and patched together the little robbers nest that finally became the capital city and queen of the world st peter to be sure in his life cut no great figure but he shall see the time when shall hold the of his and queens shall humbly kiss their feet what doesn t one go through when one is immortal it needs a good deal of time perhaps and not a little craft also in order to bring so far but then the fish will be stupid enough who let themselves be caught by them in the mean time here we are all together aren t we that s the way things stand by martin is various gods better not be immortal than experience such things my dear sons one and all i see that you take this little revolution which i have quietly seen coming for a long while in a more tragic way than the affair is worth take your seats if you will and let us speak calmly and undisturbed of these things over a glass of everything in nature has its time everything changes and so it is with the notions of men they are always changing with their circumstances and when we remember what a difference fifty years make between and grandfather it will not appear strange to us that the world seems to acquire within a thousand years or so an entirely new aspect for at bottom it is only appearance it remains under whatever other and names always the same comedy the silly people down there have occupied themselves	4
reason on their side and in any attack from us always placed it to the fore since now it would only be a to them in their wider operations say good by to it and will not rest until they make it all dark around them until they take away from the people all means of and have condemned the free use of natural judgment as the first of all sins formerly when they themselves still depended upon the well being and comfortable manner of life of our priests was an to them now that they fare with full sails the moderate of our temples which they have made themselves masters of are much too small to satisfy the needs of their pride and their vanity already now their at rome through the liberality of rich and foolish whose dreamy they know very well how to use through the most hunting and a thousand by martin other tricks of this kind put themselves in a position to the first persons in the state in pomp expenditure and but all these springs although grown to streams through ever new will not satisfy these ones they will find a thousand ways never heard of before to upon the of men and even the sins of the world will they through their magic art to golden fountains and to make them yield the more they will think up a monstrous multitude of new sins of which the and the had never a suspicion wherefore do i say all this what does it matter to us what these people do or don t do and how well or ill they shall administer their new government over the sick souls of men and through lust and slavery even the are themselves deceived they too know not what they do but we who see clear in all this it us to treat them with forbearance as sick and insane and in the future to show them as much kindness as their own will give us opportunity poor whom do they harm but themselves when they of their own free will rob themselves of the beneficent influence whereby has become the school of wisdom and of art and rome the law bearer and of the earth through which influence both cities reach a grade of culture to which not even the better descendants of these who now have it in mind to divide among themselves the lands and riches of these and will ever be able to raise themselves again for what shall be the fate of men from whom the and graces philosophy and all the beauty breeding arts of life and of a finer enjoyment of life together with the gods their and have withdrawn themselves i foresee at a glance all the evil that will come in in the place of the good all the the the monstrous and the that these of beauty will pile up on the ashes and fragments of the works of genius and i at the sight away with it for so sure as i am it shall not be so forever although centuries shall pass by before mankind reaches the deepest depths of its and still more centuries before with our help it shall again rear itself above the mire the time shall come when they shall seek us again call upon us for aid once more and confess that without us they by her martin have no power the time shall come when with labor they shall once more draw out of the dirt or dig up from its deep bed of and rubbish every shattered or of the works which under our influence sprang from the soul and the hands of our of art and shall weary themselves in vain by an affected enthusiasm to imitate those wonders of true inspiration and the very of divine power surely shall it come that time i see it as if it stood before me in the full splendor of the present again shall they set up our images gaze upon them astonished with a thrill of feeling and of admiration take them as models for their which in those hands had become ugly and oh what a triumph their shall be proud to build for us under another name the most splendid temple with a great full of in his here s to the future to my daughter here s to the time when you shall see all europe changed into a new filled with and and shall hear the voices of philosophy from the midst of the german forest sound forth perchance and clearer than from the halls ot and shaking her head a little i am glad father to see you in such good courage at this present juncture but you must pardon me if i believe as little in a new as i do in a new to that peter with the double key who is to be my successor i can t get him out of my head how is it with this key is it actual or a natural or a magic key where did he get it and what will he open with it all that i can tell you about it is that with this key he for whom he will the gates of heaven or of hell he may hell for whom he will for all me but heaven that s another story in fact they have arranged to people heaven with such a great multitude of gods of their own that there won t be any room left for us old ones let me look out for that our temples and landed properties on earth they could very easily get away from us but we have been established in too long to by martin be for the rest as a proof of our	4
perfect we will grant to the new in spite of their insolence the right of under the same conditions as before according to what i hear most of their who lay claim to this promotion are not persons of the best society we will therefore with st peter s permission before we let anybody in undertake to give him a little examination if it turns out that in respect of his other and services he can his place among us no objection shall be made to him on account of the golden circle around his head and himself shall not reproach him with the miracles which one works with his bones or his of clothes you can do as you like about the men persons but i shall have the ladies forbidden they say there are some very pretty ones among them we will talk about that when the case comes up and now not a word more of a fresh translated for a library of the world s best literature by richard by von he of of are possessed of a interest not only do they throw light upon a strange period of history they reveal the character of one of the most remarkable women of the century a woman of modem intellect whose warm humanity could not be disguised or suppressed by the and of court life her is less like truth than fiction in its detailed account of this so and is its central figure her father william i of the acts of this half insane sovereign and of his weak wife and the effect which they produced upon the sensitive natures of and her brother are here told with a which only the actual sufferer could into the narrative the eldest daughter of william i of and of daughter of george i of england was bom in on the d of july three years later a brother was bom the crown prince known in history as the great between and this brother there existed the strongest affection founded upon mutual sympathy of character upon community of tastes and by the suffering inflicted upon them both by a most unnatural father who was incapable of the fine quality of their s is woven about this brother and herself as the only two in a numerous family possessing the elements of a family bond affection and understanding her love for him was the light of her life his for her seems to have been no less real if more they grew up as they could sharing a ful paternal tyranny from which they were never free their inexplicable father did everything but murder them outright their weak mother in whom ambition was the ruling passion made their lives a burden to them by her plans for their marriages the is one long record of the sufferings of the royal family through the conduct of its heads it was through her mother s plans for a double marriage however that s trials were brought about from the childhood of herself and her brother schemes had been set for their marriages with their royal english cousins the prince of wales and the princess both marriages were destined never to by i von take place bnt for years the queen mother carried on plots and in the interest of this her pet ambition these were however by the house of which feared the strength such a close alliance with england would impart to has left a most striking record of this long drawn out time of trouble and of persecution she herself was to make a happy marriage though by it she forever her mother she became the wife of the of a union which had been urged upon her as a political necessity but which proved to be fortunate for her husband was a man of pleasing character who at once won her love and esteem after her marriage she was comparatively happy as happy as a person of her high and strong character could be in a petty german court a hot bed of and at however she formed a circle of men and women of culture and intellectual aspirations like her brother she was abreast of the most advanced thought of the time a of and hospitable to the new forces in religious and social life she was not destined however to her influence long her many hardships her many induced by these hardships had weakened a naturally strong constitution she died on the th of october aged only forty nine years the shadow of her death stretched across the remaining years of her brother s life her is one of the most remarkable records of its kind it is a succession of pictures from which the colors have not faded a wonderful common sense it from the beginning to the end tempered moreover with strong human passions and prejudices by reason of the life which is in it it is of more value than many histories and is valuable most of all as a revelation of character visit op peter the great to william the first i have in the preceding year forgotten to mention the arrival in of peter the great emperor of russia this episode is curious enough to be worthy of a place in my this sovereign who was very fond of was on his way from holland and was obliged to make a stay in the province of as he disliked both society and he begged the king to let him occupy a villa on the outskirts of which belonged to the queen this villa was a pretty little building and had been beautifully arranged by the queen by von it contained a gallery decorated with china all the rooms had most beautiful looking glasses the house was really a little and fully deserved its name the garden was lovely and its beauty was	4
by its being close to the river to prevent any damage as these russian gentlemen are noted for not being particular or over careful the queen had the whole house cleared out and removed everything that might get broken a few days afterward the emperor and and their arrived by water at the king and queen received them on the banks of the river the king gave the his hand to help her to land as soon as the emperor had landed he shook hands with the king and said brother i am very pleased to see you he then approached the queen wishing to embrace her which she however declined the then kissed my mother s hand repeatedly afterwards presenting to her the duke and of who accompanied them and four hundred so called ladies these were for the most part german maids ladies maids and who fulfilled the duties of ladies in waiting the queen did not feel inclined to bow to these and indeed she treated the and the of the blood with great coldness and and the king had a great deal of trouble in persuading her to be civil to them i saw this curious court the next day when the and came to visit the queen she received them in the state rooms of the castle met them at the entrance of these rooms and led the to her audience chamber the king and the emperor followed behind as soon as the emperor saw me he recognized me having seen me five years ago took me up in his arms and kissed me all over my face i his ears and made frantic efforts to get away from him saying he had insulted me this delighted him and made him laugh heartily they had told me beforehand what i was to say to him so i spoke to him of his fleet and his he was so pleased that he said he would willingly sacrifice one of his provinces to have such a child as i was the too made much of me the queen and the sat on arm chairs imder a and i stood near my mother the of the blood standing opposite the was small broad and brown looking without the slightest dignity of appearance you had only to look at her to by js von detect her low origin she might have passed for a german she had herself out in such a manner her dress had been bought second hand and was trimmed with some silver the was covered with precious stones arranged in such a manner as to represent the double eagle she wore a dozen orders and round the bottom of her dress hung quantities of relics and pictures of saints which rattled when she walked and reminded one of a mule the orders too made a great noise knocking against each other the on the other hand was tall and well grown with a handsome face but his expression was coarse and impressed one with fear he wore a simple sailor s dress his wife who spoke german very badly called her court to her aid and spoke russian with her this poor creature was a princess who had been obliged to undertake this sorry office to save her life as she had been mixed up in a conspiracy against the and had twice been with the at last we sat down to dinner the sitting near the queen it is well known that this sovereign had been poisoned when a young man and that his nerves had never recovered from it so that he was constantly seized with over which he had no control he was suddenly seized with one of these attacks whilst he was dining and frightened the queen so much that she several times tried to get up and leave the table after a while the grew calmer and begged the queen to have no fear as he would not hurt her then taking her hand in his he pressed it so tightly that she screamed for mercy at which he laughed saying that she had much more delicate bones than his a ball had been arranged after dinner but he stole quietly away and returned on foot to the following day he visited all the sights of amongst others the very curious collection of and among these last named was a statue representing a heathen god it was anything but attractive but was the most valuable in the collection the admired it very much and insisted on the kissing it on her refusing he said to her in bad german that she should lose her head if she did not at once obey him terrified at the s anger she immediately complied with his orders without the least hesitation the asked the king to give him this and other statues a request which he could not refuse the same thing happened about a cupboard by von is with it was the only one of its kind and had cost king i an enormous sum and the consternation was general on its having to be sent to this barbarous court happily left after two days the queen rushed at once to which she found in a state resembling that of the fall of i never saw such a sight ever was destroyed so that the queen was obliged to the whole house pictures op court life anew epoch began with the year m de an officer in the service and a near relation of von one of my mother s came to he suddenly arrived at s quite secretly one day i the bearer of a most important confidential message he said you must hide me somewhere in your house that my arrival may remain unknown and you must manage that one of my letters reaches the king promised him all he asked and then inquired if	4
his business were good or evil it will be good if people can hold their tongues but if they gossip it will be evil however as i know you are discreet and as i require your help in obtaining an interview with the queen i must confide all to you the prince of wales being here in three weeks at the latest he means to escape secretly from brave his father s anger and marry the princess he has me with the whole affair and has sent me here to find out if his arrival would be agreeable to the king and queen and if they are still anxious for this marriage if she is capable of keeping a secret and has no suspicious people about her will you undertake to speak to the queen on the subject yet before doing so and in order to run no risk you had better first consult with von of whose discretion i am sure she will be your guide that very same evening appeared as usual in the apartments of the queen who was not holding he called von on one side and told her all that had passed between him and and added that he had not been able to speak with him about the affair as he was afraid of telling this good news to the queen because he knew quite well that she would at once confide it all to that by von wretched who would immediately communicate it to and his creatures von was much but after having well considered the question decided that should speak with the queen the joy this news caused her is easily to be imagined she at once communicated them to and my lady in waiting who both implored her to keep them secret i was just then very ill i had had a bad followed by violent fever which confined me to my bed the queen desired von to prepare me by degrees for this happy event of which she then wished to speak to me herself the next morning von came to drink her tea by my bedside i cannot think what has come to she said he dances about sings and is full of nonsense and says it is all because he is so delighted at some good news he has heard which he will however tell nobody perhaps he has taken too much i said and this makes him so merry oh no she replied he declares the good news concerns you good god i cried what good news can i expect in the position in which i am placed and how can have anything to do with it but continued von supposing he had received the news direct from the prince of wales himself well would that be such great happiness your royal is very sinful she replied and you will be punished for it if you so despise a prince who risks everything for your sake what do you want do you wish to fade and pine away or do you wish to marry that delightful prince of von would have endured anything that this marriage might be accomplished it was the only point on which we differed and we had often had arguments on the subject i now laughed at her speech without taking much heed of it i thought that the prince of wales had most probably given an assurance similar to that which my brother had given the queen of england and that this had caused s high spirits when the queen herself came to me with this pleasant piece of news however i f lt in a very different mood i by von remained dumb and could not a word my mother thought it the result of my satisfaction at the news i shall at length see you happy and my wishes realized at the same time how much joy at once i kissed her hands which i covered with tears you are crying she exclaimed what is the matter i would not disturb her happiness so i answered the thought of leaving you me more than all the crowns of the world could delight me the queen was only the more tender towards me in consequence and then left me i loved this dear mother truly and had only spoken the truth to her she left me in a terrible state of mind i was cruelly torn between my affection for her and my to the prince of wales but i determined to leave all to providence who would direct my ways that same evening the queen held a reception as bad luck would have it the english came to it and began at once to tell her all the news he had received from his court the conversation grew and and without reflecting on the consequences the queen confided to him the whole of the prince of wales s project m de with intense surprise asked her if it were all true certainly she replied and to show you how true it is he has sent here who has already informed the king of everything oh why does your majesty tell me this i am wretched for i must prevent it greatly frightened my mother asked him why he must do so because i am my sovereign s because my requires of me that i should inform him of so important a matter i shall send off a messenger to england this very evening would to god i had known nothing of all this the queen s prayers and entreaties were all of no avail for he left her to the messenger my mother s consternation was indescribable she was in utter despair came the next morning and told me all that had happened the only means we had in our power of preventing greater misfortune was to endeavor to keep it all from the king at the end of	4
a week the king came to to receive the prince of wales he had had a secret interview with after which the long desired arrival of the prince was daily expected but this joy was doomed to be turned to sorrow a brought the news that at the express command of his father the prince of wales had suddenly left for by von england this news fell on the king and queen like a but it is time that i should now this mystery the english nation were most anxious for the prince of wales s presence in england and had incessantly begged the king to grant it the king on the other hand did not feel at all inclined to do so as he feared he might suffer in personal consideration and that the prince s arrival in england would raise an opposition against him which might lead to in order to have some plausible reason against his presence in england the king had himself written to the prince suggesting his going to and marrying me this step he intended to use afterwards to bring about a with the prince by which means he could keep him several years longer at the prince who desired the alliance with me was only too delighted to obey his father s wishes the sudden arrival of s messenger spoilt everything this messenger was sent to the secretary of state nothing remained to the king who was anxious that no suspicion should be aroused in england but to desire the prince to return poor became the innocent victim of all this he had to spend two years in the fortress of and was obliged to leave the service he afterwards entered the army where he still commands a regiment my father was greatly at again finding himself by england he returned to soon after this affair was settled and we shortly followed him immediately after our arrival my father had a violent attack of which troubled him for some time this illness added to his displeasure at his disappointed hopes made his temper i was called nothing else by him but the english and he ill treated me and my brother in a shocking manner we were not allowed to leave him for one single moment during the whole day we took all our meals near his bedside and to torment us still more he let us have only those things to eat for which we had an absolute dislike but good or bad we were obliged to swallow them down and run the risk of being ill for the rest of the day not a single day passed without some unfortunate occurrence and we could not lift up our eyes without beholding some unhappy being who was being tormented the king was of too impatient a nature to remain long in bed so he sat in an arm chair in which he had himself wheeled about by von the castle he held a in each hand to support himself and we followed this car like wretched prisoners expecting their sentence on one occasion when his temper was more than usually bad he told the queen that he had received letters from in which the announced his arrival at for the beginning of may he was coming there for the purpose of marrying my sister and one of his ministers would arrive previously with the ring my father asked my sister whether she were pleased at this prospect and how she would arrange her household now my sister had always made a point of telling him whatever came into her head even the greatest home truths and he had never taken her amiss on this occasion therefore on former experience she answered him as follows when i have a house of my own i shall take care to have a well appointed dinner table better than yours is and if i have any children of my own i shall not plague them as you do yours and force them to eat things they thoroughly dislike what is amiss with my dinner table the king inquired getting very red in the face you ask what is the matter with it my sister replied there is not enough on it for us to eat and what there is is and which we her first answer had already my father but now he gave vent to his fury but instead of my sister he poured it all on my mother my brother and myself to begin with he threw his plate at my brother s head who would have been struck had he not got out of the way a second one he threw at me which i also happily escaped then torrents of abuse followed these first signs of hostility he reproached the queen with having brought up her children so badly you will curse your mother he said to my brother for having made you such a good for nothing creature a man was once condemned to death in for various crimes he continued and as he was being led to the place of execution he asked to be allowed to speak to his mother whilst pretending to whisper to her he bit a piece out of her ear saying at the same time i treat you like this that you may serve as an example to all mothers that do not bring up their children you can do the same my father continued still addressing himself to my by von brother and with this remark he let himself be wheeled away in his chair as my brother and i passed near him to leave the room he hit out at us with his happily we escaped the blow for it would certainly have struck us down and we at last escaped without harm from the room i had been so upset by this scene that i	4
trembled all over and was obliged to sit down to avoid fainting my mother who came after us comforted us as best she could and endeavored to persuade us to return to the king we were however not the least inclined to do this the scene with the plates and the had frightened us too much at length we were obliged to do so and we found the king conversing quietly with his i felt quite ill nevertheless and fainted away in the queen s room my mother s maid exclaimed on seeing me good gracious your royal what is the matter you look dreadful i looked in the glass and saw that my face and neck were covered with red spots i told her i had been very much agitated and that this was the result i fainted again several times the red spots disappeared as soon as i was in the cold air appearing again in the heat of the room i was obliged to keep about as best i could as i was unable to get to bed that night i was attacked by violent fever which left me so weak next morning that i was obliged to ask my mother to excuse me from coming to her she sent me word that dead or alive i must go to her i then sent word that i had a rash which made it impossible she however repeated her command and i w carried into her room where i went from one fainting fit into another in this condition i was dragged to the king my sister seeing that i was ready to give up the ghost said to the king i you dear father let my sister return to her room she has fever and cannot even stand the king asked me if this were true you look very ill he said but i will cure you and he forced me to drink a whole full of very strong old wine my rash had gone in and i was fighting with death i had no sooner drunk the wine than i began to be and begged my mother to have me taken to my room this she granted on condition that i would leave it again in the evening i laid myself down without taking off my head dress but no sooner was i in bed than the violence of the fever deprived me of my reason the doctor who was called in pronounced me by von to be suffering from an fever and gave me three not at all suitable to my present from time to time i recovered consciousness and then i prayed that god would take me to himself amidst bitter tears i said to von the many sufferings i have been through have made me indifferent to this world and now providence will grant me the highest bliss i am the cause of all my mother s and brother s sorrows my death will put an end to these if i die promise me to say two things in my name to the king first that i beg he will restore me his affections and secondly him to be kinder towards my mother and my brother i lay for thirty six hours between life and death and at last small declared itself the king had never once inquired after me since the commencement of my illness as soon however as he heard the nature of my complaint he sent his court surgeon to find out if i really had small this rude personage said many unkind things to me in the king s name besides being most repulsive in his own behavior at any other time this would have provoked my anger but i was now far too ill to notice his insolence upon the doctor s the statement that i had the small i was put into all communication with my rooms was cut off and nobody about the king and queen was allowed to come near me i felt that i was being treated like a plague stricken creature my and my maid were the only attendants i had though i lay in an icy cold room deserted by the whole world i had the comfort of my brother s visits he had had the small and came daily to spend with me what spare time he had the queen sent incessantly to inquire after me but was not allowed to see me for nine days i was as ill as i could be all the symptoms seemed to point towards a fatal termination and those who saw me thought i should be marked for life i escaped death however and not a trace remained of this fearful malady meanwhile m von who had been sent by the of arrived at my sister s by then took place the ceremony being of the simplest description the king had got rid of his and of his bad temper preserving the latter towards me alone that charming never entered my room without bringing me some disagreeable message from him this bad man was in the very by von highest favor and everybody bowed before him he used his advantages however to do as much harm as he could particularly to the queen my brother and myself he was s creature and that says volumes my father was now kinder towards my brother but merely because he thought it to be so and because into whose hands he had completely fallen advised him to be so count and colonel were in s way and prevented his carrying out his plans they were therefore to be got rid of under the pretext that my brother no longer required he persuaded the king to to their discharge and succeeded the two were dismissed in an honorable manner both of them receiving a good for their services they were replaced by two officers who had not the	4
slightest power over my brother the one was colonel the other m von the former as will be seen in the course of these was no genius and the other while exceedingly clever had no religion of any kind he had read a great deal and boasted of being somewhat of a poet it will be easily understood that my brother infinitely preferred to the former s love of science and learning made him a very agreeable companion they had not long been together before the conversation turned on religious subjects raised doubts in my brother s mind these doubts were as i shall hereafter show strengthened by another person my brother came to me every day and we occupied ourselves in reading and writing i remember well how we read s comic novel and made from it to the king s we called la the of who had reappeared with his pretensions e la we did not even spare the king but i must not say which part we assigned to him we showed our performance to the queen who was greatly amused at it i fear we deserved a severe children ought never to lose sight of the respect and honor they owe their parents i have reproached myself a thousand times since for acting so much against this our youth and the approval our efforts at met with must to some extent be our excuse madame de was not forgotten in our novel we gave her name to the queen s mistress of the robes whom by von we thought she resembled we often in her presence about it so that she became curious to know who this madame de was i told her that the queen of spain s were called so and they all had to be of this family six weeks after this at one of the queen s the conversation turned on the spanish court and my mother s mistress of robes thought she could not do better to show the world how much she knew about it than by saying that all were of the family of everybody laughed and she found out that she had been taken in after inquiring further and being made acquainted with the story of the heroine to whom i had given the rank of major she perceived at once that i had made fun of her and was so extremely angry that i had the greatest trouble in her i was very fond of her and knew her worth and what i had done was done to amuse the queen since then i have left off turning people into ridicule it is wiser to find with one s self how easily the faults of others are perceived by us whilst to our own we are blind but i must return to my story as the of was expected in a week and as neither he nor my sister had had the small i was sent away from before my departure i went to see the king but my mother would not allow me to remain long with him he was generally so unkind to me that as i had not yet quite recovered my strength queen was afraid the agitation would be bad for me my sister s wedding took place amidst great pomp and rejoicing she took her departure with her husband a fortnight afterwards and i was then set at liberty we did not remain long in but joined the king at where the quarrels began afresh not a day passed without some scene or other the king s anger against my brother and myself reached such a pitch that with the exception of the hours for our meals we were banished both from his presence and the queen s he scarcely allowed us the necessaries of life and we were tormented with hunger from morning till night our only food was coffee and milk and during dinner and supper time we were honored with anything but pleasing of an afternoon we went secretly to see the queen and whilst we were with her she always had her watching to inform her in good time of the king s approach by von one day whilst we were with her she had not through some carelessness or other had early enough notice of my father s return there was only one door to the room in which we were so that we had to make up our minds at once what to do my brother hid himself in a cupboard and i slipped under my mother s bed we had scarcely had time to do so before the king entered the room he was unfortunately very tired sat down and went to sleep for two hours i was in a most uncomfortable position and nearly smothered hiding under that low bed i peeped out from time to time to discover if the king was still asleep anybody who had witnessed this occurrence must have laughed at last the king woke up and left the room we crept from our hiding places and implored the queen never to expose us to a similar comedy again i often begged the queen to allow me to write to the king asking him the reason of his anger against me and begging his forgiveness she would not let me do so however she said it would be of no use your father would only grant you his favor on condition that you married either the of or the duke of i quite saw the force of these arguments and had to submit a few peaceful days followed these storms but alas only to make way for still worse the king went to where he met the king of and his son jn spite of all the difficulties that had been placed in his way my father still hoped to arrange a marriage between me and the king of	4
gown her forehead was mild and benevolent between the smooth curves of gray hair there were meek downward lines about her nose and mouth but her eyes fixed upon the old man looked as if the had been the result of her own will never of the will of another they were in the bam standing before the wide open doors the spring air full of the smell of growing grass and unseen blossoms came in their faces the deep yard in front was with farm and piles of wood on the edges close to the fence and the house the grass was a vivid and there were some the old man glanced at his wife as he the last on the harness she looked as immovable to him as one of the rocks in his pasture land bound to the earth with generations of vines he the reins over the horse and started forth from the bam father i said she by mary e the old man pulled up what is it i want to know what them men are over there in that field for they re a cellar i s pose if you ve got to know a cellar for what a bam a bam you ain t goin to build a bam over there where we was goin to have a house father the old man said not another word he hurried the horse into the farm wagon and out of the yard as oil his seat as a boy the woman stood a moment looking after him then she went out of the bam across a corner of the yard to the house the house standing at right angles with the great bam and a long reach of sheds and out buildings was compared with them it was scarcely as for people as the little boxes under the bam were for a pretty girl s face pink and delicate as a flower was looking out of one of the house windows she was watching three men who were digging over in the field which the yard near the road line she turned quietly when the woman entered what are they digging for mother said she did he tell you they re for a cellar for a new bam o mother he ain t goin to build another bam that s what he says a boy stood before the kitchen glass his hair he slowly and arranging his brown hair in a smooth over his forehead he did not seem to pay any attention to the conversation did you know father was going to build a new bam asked the girl the boy he turned and showed a face like his father s under his smooth crest of hair yes i s pose i did he said reluctantly how long have you known it asked his mother bout three months i guess why didn t you tell of it didn t think do no good by mary e i don t see what father wants another bam for said the girl in her sweet slow voice she turned again to the window and stared out at the digging men in the field her tender sweet face was full of a gentle distress her forehead was as bald and innocent as a baby s with the light hair strained bad from it in a row of curl papers she was quite large but her soft curves did not look as if they covered muscles her mother looked sternly at the boy is he goin to buy more cows said she the boy did not reply he was his shoes i want you to tell me if he s goin to buy more cows i s pose he is how many four i guess his mother said nothing more she went into the and there was a clatter of dishes the boy got his cap from a nail behind the door took an old from the shelf and started for school he was lightly built but clumsy he went out of the yard with a curious spring in the that made his loose home made jacket up in the rear the girl went to the sink and began to wash the dishes that were piled up there her mother came promptly out of the and her aside you wipe em said she i ll wash there s a good many this the mother plunged her hands vigorously into the water the girl wiped the plates slowly and mother said she don t you think it s too bad father s going to build that new bam much as we need a decent house to live in her mother a dish fiercely you a n t found out yet we re women folks said she you a n t seen enough of men folks yet to one of these days you find it out an then you ll know that we know only what men folks think we do so far as any use of it goes an how we d ought to reckon men folks in with providence an not complain of what they do any more than we do of the weather i don t care i don t believe george is anything like that anyhow said her delicate face flushed pink her lips softly as if she were going to cry by mary e wait an see i guess george ain t no better than other men you hadn t ought to judge father though he can t help it cause he don t look at things jest the way we do an we ve been pretty comfortable here after all the roof don t a n f never but once that s one thing father s kept it right up i do wish we had a parlor	4
i guess it won t hurt george any to come to see you in a nice clean kitchen i guess a good many girls don t have as good a place as this nobody s ever heard me complain i a n t complained either mother well i don t think you d better a good father an a good home as you ve got s pose your father made you go out an work for your lots of girls have to that ain t no stronger an better able to than you be washed the pan with a air she the outside of it as faithfully as the inside she was a keeper of her box of a house her one never seemed to have in it any of the dust which the of life with matter produces she swept and there seemed to be no dirt to go before the she cleaned and one could see no difference she was like an artist so perfect that he has apparently no art to day she got out a and a board and rolled some and there was no more flour upon her than upon her daughter who was doing finer work was to be married in the fall and she was sewing on some white and she while her mother cooked her soft milk white hands showed than her delicate work we must have the stove moved out in the shed before long said mrs talk about not things it s been a real to be able to put a stove up in that shed in hot weather father did one good thing when he fixed that out there s face as she rolled her had that expression of meek vigor which might have one of the new testament saints she was making her husband liked them better than any other kind she baked twice a week often liked a piece of pie by mary e between meals she hurried this morning it had been later than usual when she began and she wanted to have a pie baked for dinner however deep a resentment she might be forced to hold against her husband she would never fail in attention to his wants nobility of character itself at holes when it is not provided with large doors s showed itself to day in dishes of so she made the faithfully while across the table she could see when she glanced up from her work the sight that in her patient and steadfast soul the digging of the cellar of the new barn where forty years ago had promised her their new house should stand the were done for dinner and were home a few minutes after twelve o clock the dinner was with serious haste there was never much conversation at the table in the family asked a blessing and they ate promptly then rose up and went about their work went back to school taking soft sly out of the yard like a rabbit he wanted a game of before school and feared his father would give him some to do hastened to the door and called after him but he was out of sight i don t see what you let him go for mother said he i wanted him to help me that wood went to work out in the yard wood from the wagon put away the dinner dishes while took down her curl papers and changed her dress she was going down to the store to buy some more and thread when was gone mrs went to the door father she called well what is it i want to see you jest a minute father i can t leave this wood i ve got to it an go for a load of gravel afore two o clock had ought to helped me you hadn t ought to let him go to school so early i want to see you jest a minute i tell ye i can t mother father you come here stood in the door like a queen she held her head as if it bore a crown there was by is mary e that patience which makes authority royal in her voice went mrs led the way into the kitchen and pointed to a chair sit down father said she ive got i want to say to you he sat down heavily his face was quite stolid but he looked at her with eyes well what is it mother i want to know what you re that new bam for father i a n t got to say about it it can t be you think you need another bam i tell ye i a n t got to say about it mother an i ain t goin to say be you goin to buy more cows did not reply he shut his mouth tight i know you be as well as i want to now father look here had not sat down she stood before her husband in the humble fashion of a scripture woman i m goin to talk real plain to you i never have i married you but i m goin to now i a n t never complained an i ain t goin to complain now but i m goin to talk plain you see this room here father you look at it well you see there ain t no carpet on the floor an you see the paper is all dirty an oflf the walls we a n t had no new paper on it for ten year an then i put it on myself an it didn t cost but a roll you see this room father it s all the one i ve had to work in an eat in an sit in we was married there ain t another woman in the whole town	4
whose husband a n t got half the means you have but what s got better it s all the room s got to have her company in an there ain t one of her mates but what s got better an their fathers not so able as hers is it s all the room shell have to be married in what would you have thought father if we had had our in a room no better than this i was married in my mother s parlor with a carpet on the floor an stuffed furniture an a mahogany card table an this is all the room my daughter will have to be married in look here father went across the room as though it were a tragic stage she flung open a door and disclosed a tiny bedroom only large enough for a bed and with a path between by mary e i there father said she s all the room i ve had to sleep in forty year all my children were bom there the two that died an the two that s i was sick with a fever there she stepped to another door and opened it it led into the small ill lighted here said she s all the i ve got every place i ve got for my dishes to set away my in an to keep my milk in father i ve been care of the milk of six cows in this place an now you re goin to build a new bam an keep more cows an give me more to do in it she threw open another door a narrow crooked flight of stairs wound upward from it there father said she i want you to look at the stairs that go up to them two unfinished chambers that are all the places our son an daughter have had to sleep in all their lives there ain t a prettier girl in town nor a more one than an that s the place she has to sleep in it ain t so good as your horse s stall it ain t so warm and tight went back and stood before husband now father said she i want to know if you think you re right an to what you profess here when we was married forty year ago you promised me faithful that we should have a new house built in that lot over in the field before the year was out you said you had money enough an you wouldn t ask me to live in no such place as this it is forty year now an you ve been more money an i ve been of it for you ever since an you ain t built no house yet you ve built sheds an cow houses an one new bam an now you re goin to build another father i want to know if you think it s right you re your dumb beasts better than you are your own flesh an blood i want to know if you think it s right i a n t got to say you can t say without it ain t right father an there s another thing i a n t complained i ve got along forty year an i s pose i should forty more if it wa n t for that if we don t have another house she can t live with us after she s married she ll have to go else to live away from us an it don t seem as if i could have it so father she wa n t ever strong she s got considerable color by mary e but there wa n t never any to her i ve always took the of everything off her an she ain t fit to keep house an do everything herself she ll be all worn out inside of a year think of her all the an an with them soft white hands an arms an i can t have it so father mrs s face was burning her mild eyes gleamed she had pleaded her little cause like a she had ranged from severity to pathos but her opponent employed that obstinate silence which makes eloquence futile with mocking echoes arose father a n t you got to say said mrs i ve got to go off after that load of gravel i can t here all day father won t you think it over an have a house built there instead of a bam i a n t got to say out mrs went into her bedroom when she came out her eyes were red she had a roll of cotton cloth she spread it out on the kitchen table and began cutting out some shirts for her husband the men over in the field had a team to help them this afternoon she could hear their she had a scanty pattern for the shirts she had to plan and piece the sleeves came home with her and sat down with her she had taken down her curl papers and there was a soft roll of fair hair like an over her forehead her face was as delicately fine and clear as suddenly she looked up and the tender red all over her face and neck mother said she what say i ve been thinking i don t see how we re goin to have any wedding in this room i d be ashamed to have his folks come if we didn t have anybody else we can have some new paper before then i can put it on i guess you won t have no call to be ashamed of your s we might have the wedding in the new bam said with gentle why mother what makes you look so by	4
of hay and came in to see if dinner was ready i ain t goin to get a regular dinner to day as long as father s gone said his mother i ve let the fire go out you can have some bread an milk an pie i thought we could get along she set out some of milk some bread and a pie on the kitchen table you d better eat your dinner now said she you might jest as well get through with it i want you to help me afterward and stared at each other there was something strange in their mother s manner mrs did not eat anything herself she went into the and they heard her moving dishes while they ate presently she came out with a pile of plates she got the clothes basket out of the shed and packed them in it and watched she brought out cups and and put them in with the plates by mary e what you goin to do mother inquired in a timid voice a sense of something unusual made her tremble as if it were a ghost rolled his eyes over his pie you ll see what i m goin to do replied mrs if you re through i want you to go up stairs an pack up your things an i want you to help me take down the bed in the bedroom o mother what for gasped you ll see during the next few hours a feat was performed by this simple pious new england mother which was equal in its way to s of the heights of it took no more genius and audacity of bravery for to cheer his wondering soldiers up those steep under the sleeping eyes of the enemy than for at the head of her children to move all their little household goods into the new bam while her husband was away and followed their mother s instructions without a murmur indeed they were there is a certain and quality about all such purely original as their mother s was to them went back and forth with her light loads and with sober energy at five o clock in the afternoon the little house in which the had lived for forty years had emptied itself into the new bam every somewhat for unknown purposes and is in a measure a prophet the of s bam while he designed it for the comfort of four footed animals had planned better than he knew for the comfort of saw at a glance its possibilities those great box with hung before them would make better than the one she had occupied for forty years and there was a tight carriage room the harness room with its chimney and shelves would make a kitchen of her dreams the great middle space would make a parlor by and by fit for a palace up stairs there was as much room as down with and windows what a house would there be looked at the row of before the allotted space for cows and reflected that she would have her front entry there by mary e at six o clock the stove was up in the harness room the kettle was boiling and the table set for tea it looked almost as home like as the abandoned house across the yard had ever done the young hired man and directed him calmly to bring the milk to the new bam he came gaping dropping little of foam from the on the grass before the next morning he had spread the story of s wife moving into the new bam all over the little village men assembled in the store and talked it over women with over their heads into each other s houses before their work was done any from the ordinary course of life in this quiet town was enough to stop all progress in it everybody paused to look at the staid independent figure on the side track there was a difference of opinion with regard to her some held her to be insane some of a lawless and rebellious spirit friday the minister went to see her it was in the and she was at the bam door peas for dinner she looked up and returned his salutation with dignity then she went on with her work she did not invite him in the expression of her face remained fixed but there was an flush over it the minister stood awkwardly before her and talked she handled the peas as if they were bullets at last she looked up t nd her eyes showed the spirit that her meek front had covered for a lifetime there ain t no use mr said she i ve thought it all over an over an i believe i m what s right i ve made it the subject of prayer an it s me an the lord an there ain t no call for nobody else to worry about it well of course if you have brought it to the lord in prayer and feel satisfied that you are doing right mrs said the minister helplessly his thin gray bearded face was pathetic he was a sickly man his youthful confidence had cooled he had to himself up to some of his pastoral duties as as a catholic and then he was by the smart i think it s right jest as much as i think it was right for our forefathers to come over from the old country cause they didn t have what belonged to em said mrs she arose by mary e the bam threshold might have been rock from her bearing i don t doubt you mean well mr said she but there are things people hadn t ought to interfere with i ve been a member of the church for over forty	4
year i ve got my own mind an my own feet an i m goin to think my own thoughts an go my own ways an nobody but the lord is goin to dictate to me unless i ve a mind to have him won t you come in an set down how is mis she is well i thank you replied the minister he added some more perplexed remarks then he retreated he could the of every character study in the he was competent to grasp the m fathers and all historical but was beyond him he could deal with cases but parallel ones him but after all although it was aside from his province he wondered more how would deal with his wife than how the lord would everybody shared the wonder when s four new cows arrived ordered three to be put in the old bam the other in the house shed where the had stood that added to the excitement it was whispered that all four cows were in the house towards sunset on saturday when was expected home there was a knot of men in the road near the new bam the hired man had but he still hung around the premises had supper all ready there were brown bread and baked beans and a pie it was the supper that loved on a saturday night she had on a clean and she bore herself and kept close at her heels their eyes were large and was full of nervous still there was to them more pleasant excitement than anything else an confidence in their mother over their father asserted itself looked out of the harness room window there he is he announced in an awed whisper he and peeped around the mrs kept on about her work the children watched leave the new horse standing in the drive while he went to the house door it was fastened then he went around to the shed that door was seldom locked even when the family was away the thought how her father would be confronted by the cow flashed upon there was a hysterical sob in her throat emerged from the shed by mary e and stood looking about in a dazed fashion his lips moved he was saying something but they could not hear what it was the hired man was peeping around a comer of the old bam but nobody saw him took the new horse by the bridle and led him across the yard to the new bam and close to their mother the bam doors rolled back and there stood with the long mild face of the great horse looking over his shoulder kept behind her mother but stepped suddenly forward and stood in front of her stared at the group what on you all down here for said he what s the matter over to the house come here to live father said his shrill voice out bravely what what is it smells like said he he stepped forward and looked in the open door of the harness room then he turned to his wife his old face was pale and frightened what on does this mean mother he gasped you come in here father said she led the way into the harness room and shut the door now father said she you needn t be scared i ain t crazy there ain t to be upset over but we ve come here to live an we re goin to live here we ve got jest as good a right here as new horses an cows the house wa n t fit for us to live in any longer an i made up my mind i wa n t goin to stay there i ve done my duty by you forty year an i m goin to do it now but i m goin to live here you ve got to put in some windows and an you ll have to buy some furniture why mother the old man gasped you d better take your coat off an get washed there s the wash basin an then we ll have supper why mother went past the window leading the new horse to the old barn the old man saw him and shook his head he tried to take off his coat but his arms seemed to lack the power his wife helped him she poured some water into the tin basin and put in a piece of soap she got the comb and brush and smoothed his thin gray hair after he had washed then she put the beans hot bread and tea on the table by l mary e came in and the family drew up sat at his plate and they waited ain t you goin to ask a father said and the old man bent his head and all through the meal he stopped eating at intervals and stared at his wife but he ate well the home food tasted good to him and his old frame was too healthy to be affected by his mind but after supper he went out and sat down on the step of the smaller door at the right of the barn through which he had meant his to pass in stately file but which designed for her front house door and he leaned his head on his hands after the supper dishes were cleared away and the milk washed went out to him the twilight was deepening there was a clear green glow in the sky before them stretched the smooth level of field in the distance was a cluster of like the huts of a village the air was very cool and calm and sweet the landscape might have been an ideal one of peace bent over and touched her husband on one of his thin shoulders father the old man s shoulders heaved	4
he was weeping why don t do so father said i put up the an everything you want mother put her apron up to her face she was overcome by her own triumph was like a fortress whose walls had no active resistance and went down the instant the right tools were used why mother he said hoarsely i hadn t no you was so set on t as all this comes to by i was an american who in days when the native author had to appeal mostly to british readers lent dignity and attraction to the profession of literature in his land a man of social gifts and graces important as editor and critic a graceful pleasing writer of both prose and verse he was in his time a power in the native development of letters one feels now in reading his works that in his of man of the world he sacrificed still higher possibilities of accomplishment was a boy bom in also s january th he was the son of an editor who founded the boston and the youth s companion of the same city and studied at the boston latin school and at academy preparatory to where he was in gave evidence of marked literary gift in college winning the prize offered for the best poem some of his most popular pieces were composed while he was a student a brilliant future was predicted for the handsome winning young he contributed verse to his father s newspaper the boston two for s g peter and by founded and begun to the american monthly afterwards the new york mirror which in association with george p he also these were the first of many newspaper and connections among which may be noted his of the new york home journal a position held until his death s life was a busy and varied one he made numerous european moved in polite circles and saw the people worth seeing many of his pleasant travel books and sprang from these experiences the majority of them partake somewhat of the character of high class in the case of those which describe with s characteristic picturesque touch his xxvi p by i o meetings with persons of interest in the foreign world of thought letters and society the writer a real service for these pen portraits of now are both and valuable to the social historian other writings like the very charming letters from under a bridge describing his summer home at n y mingle humor wisdom and literary grace and reveal the deeper more side of the man they have high value as essay writing the following additional prose books may be mentioned by the way of adventure of people i have met hurry a health trip to the famous persons and places the his and adventures as a poet makes the impression of a skilled verse maker who wrote agreeable poetry and now and then did a thing showing him capable of finer work than the body of his production contains his poem to the departing at had a command of a seriousness and remarkable for so young a writer in his subsequent career he paid the inevitable penalty of a worldly life he failed of his highest but a few of his printed have a grace a purity of sentiment and of which keep them in the american of song s talent too for the narrative and dramatic was decided his range was wider than the in the sacred poems there is an eloquence of expression an imaginative sweep that have given this work of an hand popularity in the poet s own day and since in his youth was reared in a most religious atmosphere and his poems reflect the influence they are sincere flushed with youth and not seldom beautiful whether as poet or had popular qualities that brought him ample recognition and that judged more at this present time are seen to possess some of the main of good literature there was a good deal below his literary in purchased the estate of near on the and here he lived during his final years there in his death by a coincidence falling upon his birthday january by i when tom sang from by the way if r cried the footman at the bottom of the case mr cried the footman at the top and with his glass at his eye stumbling over an between his near and the darkness of the room enter the poet half a glance tells you that he is at home on a carpet sliding his little feet up to lady of whom he was a lover when she was sixteen and to whom some of the sweetest of his songs were written he made his compliments with a and an ease combined with a kind of deference that was worthy of a prime minister at the court of love with the gentlemen all of whom he knew he had the frank merry manner of a confident favorite and he was greeted like one he went from one to the other straining back his head to look up at them for singularly enough every gentleman in the room was six feet high and upward and to every one he said something which from any one else would have seemed peculiarly but which fell from his lips as if his breath was not more spontaneous dinner was announced the russian handed down and i found myself seated opposite with a blaze of light on his head and the with which the superb room is reflecting every motion to see him only at table you would think him not a small man his principal length is in his body and his head and shoulders are those of a much larger person consequently he sits tall and with the peculiar of head and neck his nothing	4
but a short hand report could retain the delicacy and elegance of s language and memory itself cannot again the kind of frost work which was formed and melted on his lips his voice is soft or firm as the subject requires but perhaps the word gentlemanly describes it better than any other it is upon a natural key but if i may so phrase it it is with a high bred affectation expressing deference and courtesy at the same time that its pauses are constructed peculiarly to catch the ear it would be difficult not to attend him while he is talking though the subject were but the of a wine glass by l s head is distinctly before me while i write but i shall find it difficult to describe his hair which curled once all over it in long unlike anybody else s in the world and which probably suggested his of is diminished now to a few curls sprinkled with gray and scattered in a single ring above his ears his forehead is wrinkled with the exception of a most prominent development of the organ of which singularly enough shines with the lustre and smooth polish of a pearl and is surrounded by a of lines drawn close about it like against time his eyes still sparkle like a champagne though the has drawn his about the comers and there is a kind of wintry red of the tinge of an october leaf that seems on his cheek the eloquent record of the his wit has brightened his mouth is the most characteristic feature of all the lips are delicately cut slight and as an but there is a set up look about the upper lip a determination of the muscle to h particular expression and you fancy that you can almost see wit stride upon it it is written with the of habitual success it is arch confident and half as if he were his pleasure at applause while another bright gleam of fancy was breaking on him the slightly tossed nose the fun of the expression and altogether it is a face that beams everything but feels fascinating beyond all men as he is looks like a this description may be supposed to have occupied the hour after lady retired from the table for with her vanished s excitement and everybody else seemed to feel that light had gone out of the room her excessive beauty is less an inspiration than the wondrous talent with which she draws from every person around her his peculiar excellence talking better than anybody else and particularly with a power that i never saw this distinguished woman seems striving only to make others themselves and never had a more apprehensive and encouraging listener but this is a subject with which i should never be done we went up to coffee and brightened again over his and went glittering on with on the delicious now the world whom he placed above all but and whom he thought with the exception that her legs were too short an creature this by introduced music very naturally and with a great deal of he was taken to the piano my letter is getting long and i have no time to describe his singing it is well known however that its effect is only by the beauty of his own words and for one i could have taken him into my heart with delight he makes no attempt at music it is a kind of admirable in which every shade of thought is and dwelt upon and the sentiment of the song goes through your blood warming you to the very eyelids and starting your tears if you have soul or sense in you i have heard of women s fainting at a song of s and if the burden of it answered by chance to a secret in the bosom of the listener i should think from its comparative effect upon so old a as myself that the heart would break with it we all sat round the piano and after two or three songs of lady s choice he over the keys awhile and sang when first i met thee with a pathos that beggars description when the last word had faltered out he rose and took lady s hand said good night and was gone before a word was uttered for a full minute after he had closed the door no one spoke i could have wished for myself to drop silently asleep where i sat with the tears in my eyes and the softness upon my heart here s a health to thee tom david and the pall was settled he who slept beneath was straightened for the grave and as the folds sunk to the still proportions they betrayed the of his hair was yet and silken curls were floating round the as they swayed to the admitted air as glossy now as when in hours of gentle bathing the snowy fingers of s girls his was at his feet his banner soiled with trailing through was laid reversed beside him and the by l oo whose diamonds lit the passage of his rested like mockery on his covered brow the soldiers of the king trod to and fro clad in the garb of battle and their chief the mighty stood beside the and gazed upon the dark pall as if he feared the might stir a slow step startled him he grasped his blade as if a trumpet rang but the bent form of david entered and he gave command in a low tone to his few followers who left him with his dead the king stood still till the last echo died then throwing off the from his brow and laying back the pall from the still features of his child he bowed his head upon him and broke forth in	4
the eloquence of woe my noble boy that thou die thou who made so beautifully fair that death should settle in thy glorious eye and leave his stillness in this hair how could he mark thee for the silent tomb my proud boy cold is thy brow my son and i am chill as to my bosom i have tried to press thee how was i wont to feel my thrill like a rich yearning to caress thee and hear thy sweet my father from these dumb and cold lips the grave hath won thee i shall hear the of music and the voices of the young and life shall pass me in the blush and the dark to the soft winds flung but thou no more with thy sweet voice shall come to meet me and oh when i am stricken and my heart like a bruised reed is waiting to be broken how will its love for thee as i depart for thine ear to drink its last deep token it were so sweet amid death s gathering gloom to see thee by and now farewell tis hard to give thee up with death so like a gentle slumber on thee and thy dark sin oh i could drink the cup if from this woe its bitterness had won thee may god have called thee like a wanderer home my lost boy he covered up his face and bowed himself a moment on his child then giving him a look of melting tenderness he clasped his hand as if in prayer and as if strength were given him of god he rose up calmly and composed the pall firmly and decently and left him there as if his rest had been a breathing sleep hymn the perfect world by adam trod was the first temple built by god his laid the comer stone and heaved its pillars one by one he hung its roof on high the broad sky he spread its pavement green and bright and it with morning light the mountains in their places stood the sea the sky and all was good and when its first pure praises rang the morning stars together sang lord tis not ours to make the sea and earth and sky a house for thee but in thy sight our off ring stands a temple made with hands by x oo s request to washington it is not the fear of death that my brow it is not for another breath i ask thee now i can die with a lip and a quiet heart let but this prayer be heard ere i depart i can give up my mother s look my sister s kiss i can think of love yet brook a death like this i can give up the young fame i burned to win all but the name i glory in thine is the power to give thine to deny joy for the hour i live calmness to die by all the brave should cherish by my dying breath i ask that i may perish by a soldier s death the pigeon on the cross beam the old south bell the nest of a pigeon is well in summer and winter that bird is there out and in with the morning air i love to see him track the street with his wary eye and active feet and i often watch him as he springs the with easy wings till across the dial his shade has passed and the edge is gained at last tis a bird i love with its brooding note and the trembling throb in its throat by x there s a human look in its swelling breast and the gentle curve of its lowly crest and i often stop with the fear i feel he runs so close to the rapid wheel whatever is rung on that noisy bell of the hour or funeral the dove in the must hear it well when the tongue out to the midnight moon when the rings for noon when the clock strikes clear at morning light when the child is with nine at night when the play soft in the sabbath air filling the spirit with tones of prayer whatever tale in the bell is heard he on his folded feet or rising half in his rounded nest he takes the time to smooth his breast then drops again with eyes and sleeps as the last dies sweet bird i would that i could be a in the crowd like thee with wings to fly to wood and thy lot like mine is cast with men and daily with unwilling feet i tread like thee the crowded street but unlike me when day is o er thou dismiss the world and or at a half felt wish for rest smooth the feathers on thy breast and drop forgetful to thy nest unseen spirits the shadows lay along twas near the twilight tide and slowly there a lady fair was walking in her pride alone walked she but walked spirits at her side peace charmed the street beneath her feet and honor charmed the air by l and all looked kind on her and called her good as fair for all god ever gave to her she kept with care she kept with care her beauties rare from lovers warm and true for her heart was cold to all but gold and the rich came not to but honored well are charms to sell if priests the selling do now walking there was one more fair a slight girl lily pale and she had unseen company to make the spirit want and scorn she walked forlorn and nothing could avail no mercy now can clear her brow for	4
this world s peace to pray for as love s wild prayer dissolved in air her woman s heart gave way but the sin forgiven by christ in heaven by man is cursed dawn that line i learned not in the old sad song charles lamb throw up the window tis a mom for life in its most subtle luxury the air is like a breathing from a world and the south wind is like a gentle friend parting the hair so softly on my brow it has come over gardens and the flowers that kissed it are betrayed for as it parts with its invisible fingers my loose hair i know it has been trifling with the rose and stooping to the violet there is joy for all god s creatures in it the wet leaves are stirring at its touch and birds are singing as if to breathe were music and the grass sends up its modest with the by t like the small tribute of humility i had awoke from an unpleasant dream and light was welcome to me i looked out to feel the common air and when the breath of the delicious morning met my brow its fever and the pleasant sun shone on familiar objects it was like the feeling of the captive who comes forth from darkness to the cheerful light of day oh could we wake from sorrow were it all a troubled dream like this to cast aside like an garment with the mom could the long fever of the heart be cooled by a sweet breath from nature or the gloom of a affection pass away with looking on the lively tint of flowers how lightly were the spirit reconciled to make this beautiful bright world its home extract from a poem delivered at the departure of the senior class of college in we shall go forth together there will come alike the day of trial unto all and the rude world will us temptation hath a music for all ears and mad ambition to all and the thought within will be in every bosom eloquent but when the silence and the calm come on and the high seal of character is set we shall not all be similar the flow of lifetime is a scale and deeper than the of power or the vain pomp of glory there is writ a standard measuring its worth for heaven the pathway to the grave may be the same and the proud man shall tread it and the low with his bowed head shall bear him company decay will make no difference and death with his cold hand shall make no difference and there will be no of power by t in waking at the coming of god but in the temper of the invisible mind the and intellect there are distinctions that will live in heaven when time is a forgotten circumstance the elevated brow of kings will lose the impress of and the slave will wear his immortality as free beside the crystal waters but the depth of glory in the attributes of god will measure the of mind and as the angels differ will the ken of gifted spirits him more it is life s mystery the soul of man its own destiny of power and as the trial is here his being hath a nobler strength in heaven what is its earthly victory press on for it hath tempted angels yet press on for it shall make you mighty among men and from the of your eagle thought ye shall look down on oh press on for the high ones and powerful shall come to do you reverence and the beautiful will know the purer language of your brow and read it like a of love press on for it is to the spirit and forget yourself in thought bending a for the deeper sky and in the very of your flesh with the pure of heaven press on in the grave there is no work and no device press on while yet ye may the elms of new haven from a poem delivered before the society of college the leaves we knew are gone these many and the winds have scattered them all roughly through the world but still in calm and venerable strength by ij the old stems lift their tip to heaven and the young leaves to the same pleasant tune drink in the light and strengthen and grow fair the shadows have the same cool air and prodigal as ever is the breeze the s temperate the trees are sweet to us the strong of the long wandering and returning heart is for the thing least changed a stone is sweeter than a strange or altered face a tree that its shadow as of will make the blood stir sometimes when the words of a long looked for lip fall icy cold ye who in this academy of shade out the scholar s dream and then away on troubled seas went with care but hail to day the well remembered haven ye who at memory s trumpet call have stayed the struggling foot of life the hand and weary of the strife come back to see the green tent where your harness was put on say when you trod the shadowy street this mom not your heart up to the glorious trees say was it only to my sleep they came the angels who to these remembered trees brought me back ever i have come in dream from many a far land many a brighter sky and trod these shadows till the mom from every isle my heart fled home from every roof and pointed arch to find its type in beauty here the moon we through this trembling veil in other heavens seemed and the stars that burned to us through whispering leaves stood cold and silently	4
in other skies seemed here the holy dawn hushed by the breathless silence of the trees and who that ever on a sabbath sent through this leafy roof a prayer to heaven and when the sweet bells burst upon the air saw the leaves quiver and the of light leap like caressing angels to the feet of the church going multitude but felt that here god s day was that the trees by l oi pierced by these shining and echoing ever to prayer to prayer were but the lofty roof of an cathedral in whose breezes and storm winds and the many birds joined in the varied and that so resting their breasts upon these bending limbs closer and to our need they lay the spirits who keep watch us and heaven lines on the burial op the champion of his class at college ye ve gathered to your place of prayer with slow and measured tread your ranks are full your mates all there but the soul of one has fled he was the in his strength the of ye all why lies he at that fearful length and ye around his pall ye reckon it in days since he strode up that foot worn aisle with his dark eye flashing and his lip with a smile oh had it been but told you then to mark whose lamp was dim from out yon rank of fresh men would ye have him whose was the arm that flung defiance to the ring whose laugh of victory rung yet not for whose heart in generous deed and thought no might brook and yet distinction claiming not there lies he go and look on now his is done the last deep prayer is said on to his burial comrades on with the noblest of the dead by i slow for it presses heavily it is a man ye bear slow for our thoughts dwell wearily on the noble there tread lightly comrades we have laid his dark locks on his brow like life save deeper light and shade we ll not disturb them now tread lightly for tis beautiful that blue s sleep hiding the eye death left so dull its slumber we will keep rest now his is done your feet are on his sod death s chain is on your champion he here his god ay turn and weep tis to be heart broken here for the grave of earth s best is watered by the tear love in a cottage they may talk of love in a cottage and of vine of nature simple and half divine they may talk of the pleasure of sleeping in the shade of a spreading tree and a walk in the fields at morning by the side of a footstep free but give me a sly by the light of a with music to play in the pauses and nobody very near or a seat on a silken sofa with a glass of old wine and mamma too blind to discover the small white hand in mine by l oi your love in a cottage is hungry your vine is a nest for flies your the graces and simplicity talks of you lie down to your shady slumber and wake with a in your ear and your that walks in the morning is shod like a true love is at home on a carpet and likes his ease and true love has an eye for a dinner and beneath shady trees his wing is the fan of a lady his foot s an invisible thing and his arrow is tipped with a jewel and shot from a silver string by l oi alexander by of nature is a deep planted human instinct that finds expression in the literature of every people it is the same vital interest that runs alike through the lines of the poet s verse and the glowing prose narrative of the the poet and the are often united in the same individual and it takes only some circumstance of to throw the balance in favor of one or the other of these faculties alexander the was a poet who through force of circumstances became the father of american he was only one of the minor stars in the heaven of scotland s makers not to be named with or burns or he yet holds a place with and william and other of the lesser poets was bom of honest though lowly parents on the th of july in the town of scotland during his childhood his father thought to fit him for a learned profession and accordingly he was placed with a mr a student of divinity whose influence undoubtedly developed in the lad a love for things literary his mother s death his father s second marriage and increasing family prevented the of his studies and by his own request he was at the age of thirteen bound as a to william of later we find him a but all the while brooding over his inability to lead a life of study he indulged his fancy in frequent through the and along the banks of the in the delights of which his poetic nature found a solace many poems and fugitive verses written about this time are full of the rustic scenes and the life of the simple folk among whom he dwelt for a time he worked at the loom again with a mr alexander by l oi alexander a man of some in learning whose friendly influence confirmed s love for study during these years he wandered over the country gun in hand and acquired that habit of accurate observation which went far toward his future career as the of america discouraged with his failure to succeed at home the poet embarked for the new world and arrived at new castle in july	4

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.